These words: "There is one thing needful," our Savior said to all of us, O Christians! Many Christians are concerned about this and that, but often they themselves do not know what they are concerned about. Forestalling this useless effort and care, the Lord says to all: "There is only one thing needful." What is it? Eternal salvation. This is the first Christian work, and Christians should have the first care for this. We need food, clothing, a house and everything else necessary for this life, and for this we pray to the Heavenly Father: "Give us this day our daily bread." But eternal salvation is so necessary that without it everything is nothing. "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul" (Matt. 16:26)? There is no benefit, truly none, where there is no salvation. What does it profit us if we gain the whole world, and lose our souls? We cherish temporal life most of all, all the more must we cherish eternal life, which is more precious than the whole world. Just as for every man the first thing to do is that to which his title obliges him, such as: with a judge to judge, with a farmer to cultivate the land, with a merchant to trade, with a shepherd to graze cattle, with a teacher to teach, with a student to learn, and so on; so for a Christian, the first thing should be to please God by faith and truth, Whom he confesses and honors, and so hope and expect to receive eternal life from Him. This is the first Christian work, care and care. This is what is "the only thing that is needed". Beloved Christians! We were created not for temporary, but for eternal life, by holy Baptism we were renewed for eternal life, by the Word of God we were called to eternal life, Christ the Son of God came into the world, suffered and died for the sake of eternal life. You see how dearly God honored our eternal salvation. He created everything for this, and for this He Himself came into the world. We must also have the first effort and care for this. Satan tries to steal eternal life from us and destroy us forever, we should not slumber either, but we should protect this priceless treasure. However, we see and sigh that many Christians do not care about this primary matter. Fornicators, adulterers, and defilements do not care, blasphemers and scoffers, drunkards and sensualists do not care, thieves, kidnappers, and robbers do not care, liars, cunning, and hypocrites do not care, slanderers and reproaches do not care, all those who please not God, but the world and their own whims, do not care. All such and similar people do not value the treasure of eternal salvation, which was obtained by labors, illnesses, suffering, and death, but by the death of Christ the Son of God on the Cross, they do not value, and so they do not revere Him Himself who suffered and died. For today's Christians, that which brings honor, glory, wealth and luxury is precious and great, and eternal salvation is considered as the last thing, so the same deeds follow. Eternal salvation "is the only thing needful," according to Christ, but here it is either gained or lost. It is gained by repentance and faith, and lost by an unrepentant life. Hear, sinners, and you, blessed Christians! Eternal salvation is "one" for us "to need," and here it is either gained or lost. Let us deepen this in our memory, beloved. Sinners! Let us remember our vows given to God at Baptism, and let us repent, so that we do not appear before God as liars. Let us remember the hour of death and repent, so that we may depart from this world not without hope of salvation. Let us remember the Dread Judgment of Christ and repent, so that we may not appear there with our sins. Let us think about the sweetness of eternal life and the sorrow of eternal death, and let us turn to God, and propitiate Him with tears and repentance, so that He may open to us the doors of mercy and His eternal kingdom. Lord God Almighty! Turn us, enlighten Thy face, and we shall be saved. Amen.

Homily 15: On the Christian Education of Children

 "Bring them up in the doctrine and instruction of the Lord"

(Ephesians 6:4)

 This is the word the Holy Spirit speaks through the Apostle to parents and exhorts them to raise their children as befits Christians. "Bring them up in the doctrine and admonition of the Lord." All Christians in holy Baptism were renewed to a new, holy and Christian life, and promised to serve God faithfully and truthfully, and thus to please Him. But in order for those who have been baptized not to become corrupt, and not to fall into a state of misery, and so that it does not happen to them according to the true proverb: "The dog returns to his vomit, and the washed pig goes to wallow in the mud" (2 Peter 2:22), they must certainly prevent this miserable state by bringing up their children well while they are still small and young. For with pain and sighing we see that many children in their youth are corrupted. This happens to them from the negligence of their parents. Many parents teach their children arts that serve for a temporary life, others try to teach foreign languages, and spend a lot of money on this, but they do not care about Christian teaching, and do not try to teach their children to live in a Christian way. Such parents give birth to their children for temporal life, but the doors to eternal life are closed for them. St. Chrysostom, reflecting on parents who neglect the good upbringing of their children, and on the misfortune of badly educated children, says: "Parents who neglect to bring up their children in a Christian way are more lawless than child-murderers. For infanticides separate the body from the soul, and they cast both soul and body into hell of fire. Bodily death by natural law cannot be avoided, and the death of the soul would be possible if the negligence of the parents were not to blame for it. Moreover, bodily death can be immediately abolished by the coming resurrection, but nothing can restore the perdition of the soul" (Discourse 5 against the detractors of monastic life). Therefore, parents, listen to the word of the Lord: "Bring up your children in the teaching and instruction of the Lord." A young tree, newly planted, is tied by the gardener to a stake, planted in the ground and established, so that it will not be torn out of the ground by wind and storm, and the unsuitable knots and shoots on the tree are cut off, so that they do not damage and dry out the tree. Do the same with your little and young children. Bind their hearts to the fear of God, so that they may not be shaken by the snares of Satan and abandon piety, and cut off the passions that grow in them, so that they do not grow and possess them, and so they do not kill the inner new man, born in holy Baptism. For we see that when children grow up, sinful passions are shown and grow with them, like worthless shoots on a tree. Therefore, in order for these lawless shoots not to grow, and not to damage, and not to destroy a person who has been washed, sanctified and justified by holy Baptism, it is necessary to cut them off by the instruction and teaching of the Lord. Cut off then, beloved, such offshoots from your children, and "bring them up in the teaching and instruction of the Lord." As soon as they begin to understand at least a little about good and evil, begin your work and teach them. Do the following with them: 1) Remind them often of holy Baptism and that they then promised God to live decently and be constant, to serve Him faithfully and truthfully, and to shun all evil and sin. 2) Repeat to them often that we are all born and reborn in Baptism not for this temporal life, not for the sake of acquiring honor, glory and riches in this world – which our very death shows, otherwise we would have been in this world forever – but we are born and reborn for eternal life. Our entire life in this world, from birth to death, is the path along which we go to our promised homeland and eternal life. Remind them of this often, so that they do not become addicted to the vanity of this world and learn to "set their minds on things above, and not on earthly things" (Col. 3:2). 3) Admonish them to Who is the Christian God and what He requires of us, that He hates evil and loves good, punishes man for evil, and rewards him for good. And although we do not see Him, He sees us, and is invisibly present with us, and sees our every deed, and hears every word. We must fear Him and do what pleases Him. 4) Enlighten their inner eyes, Who is Christ, in Whom we believe, and for what purpose He came into the world, and lived, and suffered, and died. The reason for this was our sins and our eternal salvation, so that we, having been delivered from sins, would receive eternal salvation. 5) Teach them the law of God and tell them what this law requires of us, that is, that we love God and every person. Everything contrary to this law is vice and sin, and everything that is in agreement and resemblance is virtue. To keep the law of God, and thus to shun all sin, and to live virtuously on holy Baptism, we promised God. Whoever lives differently does not keep these vows, and is a liar before God, and if he does not truly repent and reform, then at the judgment of Christ he will appear a liar. 6) Present to them the end: death, the judgment of Christ, eternal life and eternal torment, so that in this way the fear of God will be instilled in them and they will guard against all evil. Pour all this and so forth like milk into their young hearts, that they may grow in godliness. They call you parents, so be true parents. Ye have begotten them according to the flesh, and beget them also according to the Spirit. You have given birth to them for temporal life, revive them also to eternal life. Beloved Christians! Appear both you and your children at the Dread Judgment of Christ, and give an answer for them to the righteous Judge. He will not ask you whether you have taught your children arts, whether you have taught them to speak French, German, or Italian, but whether you have taught them to live in a Christian way? Young children pay more attention to their parents' actions than to their instruction. Therefore, if you want your children to be pious and good, be pious and good yourselves, and show yourself as an example to them, and thus "bring them up in the teaching and instruction of the Lord." Then your children and you will receive eternal salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Homily 16: On Conscience

 God, creating man, implanted his conscience in his soul, so that, as a rule, man would be guided by it and instructed what to do and what to evade. Conscience is nothing but a natural or natural law, therefore it is similar to the written law of God. For what the law of God teaches, conscience also teaches. The law of God commands one God to know, and conscience teaches this. That is why even the pagans, convinced by their conscience, recognized one God. The law of God commands us to honor God more than all creatures, and to give Him alone the highest honor, and so does conscience. The law of God teaches us to have no one equal to God, and conscience teaches us the same. The law of God commands God, as the Supreme Ruler, to show submission, obedience, and obedience, and conscience teaches the same. The law of God commands us to fear God, as the Most Righteous Judge, — we hear this from our conscience as well. The law of God commands that those who blaspheme the name of God should be executed, and our conscience does not tolerate blasphemy. The law of God teaches God to obey more than any earthly authority, and the same is taught by conscience, for all earthly authorities themselves are subject and subordinate to God. The law of God commands us to love God above all things, and conscience also commands us, because God is the highest and supreme good and the source of all good. Therefore, one should love Him more than any created good. The law of God teaches us to thank God for everything, and conscience also teaches us, for conscience itself convinces us to be grateful to a benefactor. The law of God commands all hope to be placed in God, and conscience also commands. For God alone can do all things as the Almighty, but every creature without God and without God is weak, and therefore the hope in him is fickle and uncertain. The law of God commands parents and all authorities sent by God to obey and give honor, we hear this in conscience as well. The law of God forbids harming a person and taking away his life, and it also forbids conscience. The law of God commands us to help a person in case of need, and conscience commands us to do the same. The law of God forbids adultery and fornication, a person hears this in his conscience, and it cries out inside a person not to defile himself with impurity. The law of God forbids touching someone else's property without the will of the owner, and conscience demands the same. The law of God commands to give to the one who asks, and a person hears this from his conscience. The law of God forbids lying, flattering, deceiving, and conscience also forbids it. The law of God forbids slandering one's neighbor, and it also forbids conscience. The law of God commands not to covet anything that is not theirs, and so does conscience. Thus, the Law of God and conscience are similar to each other and lead to the same goal, that is, to our blessedness. For this reason even the pagans, enlightened by philosophical teaching, wrote many useful institutions, which proceeded from nothing else than conscience or the natural law, through much labor and training of the enlightened. Therefore, everyone who sins against conscience sins against the Law of God and the Lawgiver God Himself. Whoever does not listen to his conscience does not listen to the Law of God and God Himself. If he does not obey his conscience, he does not obey the Law of God and God Himself. If the conscience is irritated, it irritates God Himself. And such Christians who sin against their conscience do not truly revere God, but are hypocrites. For it is impossible to worship God without a clear conscience. A true Christian does not want to sin against his conscience and thus does not want to violate the Law of God and is afraid, and it is better to agree to suffer than to sin. In such a conscience, faith rests and makes a person joyful. For where there is a clear conscience, there is faith and joy. As the Law of God convicts man for sin, so does conscience. That is why it happens that when a word of accusation is spoken at all, then sinners, wounded by their conscience, are troubled. Thus fornicators are confused when fornication is spoken of; thieves and thieves are confused when theft and embezzlement are spoken of; flatterers and liars are confused when flattery and lies are spoken of, and so on. The fact that such people are confused can be seen by certain external signs. This is how the conviction of conscience works in them. Just as the Law of God frightens the sinner with the judgment of God, so does the conscience frighten him, and it cries out within the sinner: "Man, it will be bad for you!" Just as now the actions of the Law of God and conscience are similar, so will they be similar at the judgment of Christ. There the law of God, which he has violated, will expose the sinner, and his conscience, irritated by his sins, will also expose him. Thus, conscience and the Law of God against each sinner will be there, as it were, two witnesses and accusers. It happens that an evil conscience seems to be asleep, but when it wakes up and begins to denounce the sinner, then a fierce torment will follow from his conscience. As a result, it happens that many, unable to endure the pangs of conscience, kill themselves. For just as there is no better rest than from a clear conscience, so there is no greater anxiety and torment than from an evil conscience. If conscience is so tormented here, then how will it torment the sinner in the age to come, where it will present all his sins to him and denounce and torment him for them? Sinners! What do we sleep? Let us wake up, and repent, and cleanse our sins through repentance and contrition of heart, and correct ourselves, and cease to sin, and to irritate our conscience, so that we may not appear at the judgment of Christ with an evil conscience, stained with sins, where the books of conscience will be opened and each will receive according to his deeds. Amen.

Homily 17: On the Gospel

 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost"

(Luke 19:10)

 Beloved Christians! There is nothing more pleasant, sweeter and sweeter for us, sinners, than the Gospel. Freedom is not so favorable to those who hunger for bread, to those who thirst for drink, to those who are captive and imprisoned, as the Gospel is to sinners who know their misery. "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). This is the sweetest voice of the Gospel. Who is He, the Son of Man? This is the Son of God, the King of Heaven and the Son of the King, sent to us by His Heavenly Father, Who wished to be called the Son of Man for our sake. What did He come for? To seek and save us who are lost, and to bring us into His eternal kingdom. What can be more favorable and desirable for us, who are lost, than this? But let us see what the Gospel is, what does it require of us, and to whom is it preached? 1) The Gospel, by its very name, is the all-joyous news. It preaches to the whole world Christ, the Savior of the world, "Who came to seek and save that which was lost." Listen, all sinners who are lost, listen to the sweetest voice of the Gospel! It speaks to all of us: "The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." It is frightening for us to be in sins before God – the Gospel preaches that sins are forgiven us for the sake of the name of Christ and that Christ is our justification before God. In Thee, O my Saviour, Jesus, the Son of God, I shall be justified, Thou art my righteousness and sanctification. It is frightening for us to be under the wrath of God – the Gospel preaches that Christ reconciled us to God, and "when He came, He preached peace to all, to those who are far off and to those who are near" (Ephesians 2:17). Terrible to us is the lawful oath, for we are all sinners. It subjects the sinner to both temporal and eternal punishment. The Gospel preaches that Christ "redeemed us from the curse of the law, becoming a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). Death is terrible for us – the Gospel preaches that Christ is our resurrection and life. We are afraid of hell and hell — the Gospel preaches that Christ has delivered us from hell and all that calamity. It is frightening for us to be separated from God and His eternal kingdom – the Gospel preaches that "we will always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:17) in His eternal kingdom. These are blessed Christians, the sweetest voice of the Gospel. And so, "taste and see how good the Lord is" (Psalm 33:9)! "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged" (John 3:16-18). "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he visited his people, and wrought deliverance for them, and raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David" (Luke 1:68-69). 2) It is required of us, Christians, that we gratefully accept this heavenly and sweetest news, sent from heaven, and that we always thank God, our Benefactor, Who has had mercy on us so freely, from a pure heart, and show Him holy obedience and pleasure out of gratitude. For conscience itself exhorts and persuades us to be grateful to the benefactor. He has loved us, the unworthy, and we also will love Him, Who is worthy of all love. Love requires not to insult the beloved. God is offended by every sin. Let us turn away from all sin, and let us do His holy will, and let us not offend Him, our Father and Benefactor, so merciful. "Our Father, Who is in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth," and so on (cf. Matthew 6:10). (3) To whom is the gospel preached? Christ answers us: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; for he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, and has sent me to heal the brokenhearted" (Luke 4:18). That is, to those people who, recognizing their sins, see their poverty, poverty and wretchedness, and have a heart broken by the fear of God's judgment and sorrow. To such the Gospel is preached, as a life-giving plaster is applied to an ulcerated body. Listen, you sorrowful and contrite souls, listen to the sweet voice of the Gospel: "The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." Apply this life-giving plaster of the most sweet Gospel to our wounded souls, and with this salvific medicine heal your broken hearts. "The Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost." He will seek and save you also, for you also are of those whom He came to seek and to save. If you acknowledge and confess yourselves sinners before God, your sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ's name. If you repent for your sins and have "sorrow for God's sake" (2 Corinthians 7:10), salvation from God is ready for you. For "it is true and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first" (1 Timothy 1:15). The Holy Spirit is saying to you through His servant, "Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God will not despise a contrite and humble heart" (Psalm 50:19). This sacrifice is offered to God by a repentant and contrite heart, and it is more pleasing to Him than any offering. God looks mercifully upon such a sacrifice and sends down His grace (see Isaiah 66:2). From this you see, Christian, that the Gospel is not useful to those Christians who live fearlessly and lawlessly, do not know their sins, poverty and misery, and do not have a broken heart. For what is the use of oil to a stone? A plaster is applied to the wound, and healing is given to the one who knows and acknowledges his weakness. Such people are told: "Repent, be broken, weep and weep; let your laughter be turned into weeping, and your joy into sorrow. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you" (James 4:9-10). And again: "Already the axe lies at the root of the trees: every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matt. 3:10). Sinners! Let us fear the Dread Judgment of God, and let us strive to have a contrite and humble heart, so that we too may draw from the Gospel, as from a saving source, the living water of coolness and consolation, and give our souls water, and thus receive eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. To Him shall be glory with the Father and with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Homily 18: On the Honor and Nobility of True Christians