In the same way, the helmsman boldly enters the fierce waves, often despises the bad weather, the raging sea, and the fickle winds, decides to endure both sea storms and long passages, when he imagines the heaps of goods and the harbors of the voyage and sees the incalculable wealth that comes from it. In the same way, the warrior endures wounds, receives clouds of arrows, endures hunger and cold, long journeys, and dangers in battle, representing the trophies, victories, and crowns thus acquired. But why did I mention this, or what do these examples mean? By this I wish to offer you an exhortation to listen and an encouragement to deeds of virtue. If each of the above-mentioned considers difficult things easy in the hope of the future, and moreover, of such a future, which, if any of them are able to attain, ceases with the present life, then much more should you be diligent in listening to spiritual teachings and courageously endure struggles and struggles for eternal life. Moreover, they hope for temporary uncertain blessings, and often, remaining with the mere expectation of blessings, they end their lives in this way, delighting in hopes, but in fact not achieving what they expected, and meanwhile experiencing the most grievous misfortunes for them. Thus, for example: the farmer, after many of his labors and efforts, often at the very time when he is sharpening the sickle and preparing for the harvest, from a damage that has occurred in the corn, or from a multitude of locusts, or from excessive rains, or from some other calamity that has occurred, from unfavorable weather, goes home empty-handed, having endured all kinds of labor, but not having received the expected fruits. In like manner, the helmsman, who rejoices in a multitude of goods, who has hoisted sail with great pleasure, and has sailed through many seas, often at the very mouth of the wharf, when he strikes a rock or a rock, or some other similar unexpected circumstance, loses all his goods, and scarcely has time to save his naked body after innumerable dangers. In the same way, a warrior who has been in many battles, who has repulsed opponents and defeated enemies, sometimes loses his life at the very expectation of victory, without receiving any benefit from labor and danger. But our deeds are not like this: we have eternal hopes, unchangeable, firm, and not ceasing with this temporal life, but having in mind an incorruptible, blissful, and eternal life, and not only not changing from unfavorable weather and unexpected circumstances, but not destroyed by death itself. From these same hopes one can see fruits that shine even in the most accidental circumstances, and abundant and great recompense. For this reason Blessed Paul also cried out: "And not only this, but we also rejoice in sorrows" (Rom. 5:3). Let us not, I exhort you, to ignore these words; but if the speech led us again, I do not know how, to the pier of the beautiful helmsman Paul, then let us take up his saying, although brief, but teaching us great wisdom. What do these words mean, and what does he inspire us when he says:

"And not only this, but we also rejoice in sorrows"? If you like, let us turn the discourse of the teaching a little higher, and we will see very clearly the power of thought here communicated to us. Let no one be weary of the body, but let there be a desire for spiritual hearing instead of dew. Thus, we are talking about sorrow, the desire for eternal blessings, patience and retribution for those who have not fallen. What does it mean: "not only this"? Whoever has said this expresses that he has spoken to us of many other blessings that have preceded us, to which he adds this also, the good of tribulation. That is why he says: "And not only this, but we also rejoice in sorrows." In order that what has been said may be clearer, be patient for a short time while we speak of the most remote subject.

From this rose punishments, torments, threats and everything that people consider terrible.

The word, passing like a sword and separating the sick from the healthy, everywhere produced great confusion and competition, and gave cause everywhere to appear enmity and attacks on believers. Hence, some were taken to prisons, others to judgment seats, and still others to the path leading to death; some were deprived of their property, others were often deprived of their homeland and their very lives, and calamities fell on them from all sides like torrential rains: there was a struggle within, dangers from without, from friends, from strangers, from nature, from the most united with one another by nature.

2. All this was seen by the blessed Paul, the teacher of the universe, the teacher of the heavenly dogmas, and since the calamities were at hand and wrought before the eyes, and the good things were only in hopes and promises, i.e. the kingdom of heaven, the resurrection and the receipt of those blessings which surpass every mind and every word, but the ovens, frying pans, the swords, the punishments, and all kinds of torments, and death, were not in hope, and by experience, and moreover, people who had to enter into such feats, until recently were converted to faith from altars, idols, luxury, intemperance and drunkenness, and were not yet accustomed to imagine anything lofty about eternal life, but were more inclined to present blessings, so that it was natural that many of them gave themselves over to faint-heartedness in the midst of daily torments, weakened and fell away, – then see what the communicant of the ineffable mysteries does, and listen to the wisdom of Paul. He often converses with them about the future, sets out rewards, shows them crowns, encouraging them and comforting them with hopes of eternal blessings. And what does he say? "For I think that the present temporal sufferings are not worth anything in comparison with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).

He points to the same thing in another place, when he says: "A momentary slight pain" (2 Corinthians 4:17), by means of quantity showing the unimportance of quality, and by the shortness of time lightening the burden. Since the circumstances of that time were calamitous and difficult, he lightened this burden by their short duration, and says: "For our slight suffering for a short time produces eternal glory in an immeasurable abundance, when we

we do not look at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen: for the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:17,18). And again, raising them to the thought of the greatness of the goods there, he represents nature itself as sick and sighing from present calamities, and strongly desiring future blessings as if they were perfect, and says thus: "All creation together

groans and is tormented until now" (Romans 8:22), Why does she sigh? Why does it hurt? Expecting future blessings and desiring a change for the better: "And the creation itself shall be freed from slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Romans 8:21). However, when you hear that she sighs and is sick, do not think that she is endowed with understanding, but remember the manner of speech peculiar to the Scriptures. When God, through the prophets, wishes to proclaim to men something great and pleasant, He also presents the most inanimate objects as feeling the greatness of the miracles performed, not so that we may call nature sentient, but so that we may be able to represent the greatness of miracles by what happens to men.

That is why the wondrous prophet David, announcing the blessings granted to the Jews, and their joy after their deliverance from Egypt, said: "When Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a foreign nation, Judah became His holiness, Israel became His possession. The sea saw and fled; Jordan turned back. The mountains leaped like rams, and the hills like lambs" (Psalm 1-4). Meanwhile, nowhere had anyone heard such an event. True, the sea and the Jordan returned at the command of God; but the mountains and hills did not jump, but only, as I have said above, wishing to represent the excessiveness of pleasure and relief from the Egyptian exhaustion granted to them, he said that the inanimate objects themselves jumped and jumped in the blessings they received. In the same way, when God wants to proclaim something deplorable that comes from our sins, He says: "The juice of the grapes weeps; the vine hurts" (Isaiah 24:7); and in another place, "The ways of Zion mourn" (Lamentations 1:4), and even says that senseless things weep: "The wall of the daughter of Zion! pour out tears like a stream" (Lamentations 2:18); It is also said that the land itself and Judea are in lamentation, and are drunk with sorrow, not because the elements feel it, but, as I said above, each of the prophets wanted to represent the excessiveness of the blessings given to us by God, and the punishments sent upon us for our wickedness. That is why Blessed Paul also represents nature as sighing and painful, in order to show as much as possible the greatness of the gifts of God that await us after this life.

3. But all this, it will be said, is in hope; but a faint-hearted and distressed man, who has recently turned from idolatry and does not know how to be curious about the future, is not very edified by such words, but desires to receive some consolation even at the present time. That is why this wise teacher, who knows everything, not only consoles with future blessings, but also encourages with present joys. And in the first place, he enumerates the blessings bestowed upon the universe, which are not in hope and expectation, but already by experience and actually received, which serve as the greatest and clearest proof of both future and expected blessings, and then, after offering a lengthy discourse on faith, and mentioning the forefather Abraham, who, in spite of his nature, which refused him to be a father, hoped, waited, and believed that it would be done, That is why He became a Father, and from this he leads his listeners to the fact that one should never fall into weakness of thought, but should be seen and encouraged by the greatness of faith and philosophize highly, he then speaks of the greatness of the blessings received. What is it? In this, he says, God gave up for us, the ungrateful, His only-begotten, true, beloved Son, and us, burdened with innumerable sins and exhausted by such a burden of transgressions, not only delivered us from sins, but also made us righteous, not commanding us anything difficult, grievous, or unbearable, but, requiring of us only faith, made us righteous and holy, declared us sons of God, made us heirs of the kingdom and joint-heirs with the Only-begotten, He promised the resurrection, the incorruptibility of the bodies, life with the angels, surpassing all word and understanding, abiding in heaven and communion with Him, and from thence He poured out the grace of the Holy Spirit, freed us from the power of the devil and delivered us from demons, weakened sin, destroyed the curse, broke down the gates of hell, opened paradise, sent not an angel nor an archangel, but the Only-begotten Himself for our salvation, as He says through the prophet: "Not an intercessor, not an angel, but the Lord Himself saved them" (Isaiah 63:9). Is this not more brilliant than the innumerable crowns, that we are sanctified, justified, and moreover by faith and through the descent from heaven of the Only-begotten Son of God for us, that the Father has given up His beloved for us, that we have received the Holy Spirit, and moreover with all ease have been vouchsafed the ineffable grace and gift? And so, having said this, and having explained everything in brief words, the apostle again turned his speech to hope. Having said: "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom by faith we also received access to that grace," he added: "in which we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:1,2). Thus he spoke both of what has been accomplished and of what is to come: that we are justified, that the Son is slain for us, that through Him we are brought to the Father, have received grace and a gift, have been delivered from sins, have peace with God, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, is what has already been accomplished; and to the future belongs that ineffable glory of which he speaks in the added words: "In which we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."

But since hope, as I have said above, is not very capable of edifying and encouraging the faint-hearted hearer, note what else he is doing, and look at the firmness and wisdom of Paul. From the very things that seem to sadden, disturb and confuse the listener, from this he weaves crowns of consolation and praise. Having enumerated all the above, he finally adds: "I will not only say what I have said, that is, that we are sanctified and justified by the Only-begotten, that we have received grace, peace, the gift, the remission of sins, the communion of the Holy Spirit, and moreover with all ease, without labor or effort, but by faith alone, that God sent the Only-begotten Son, and has already given one thing, and promised the other, namely, the ineffable glory, immortality, the resurrection of bodies, the angelic life, the relationship with Christ, the sojourn in heaven, because all this he depicted in the words: "We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."

Thus he speaks not only of what has been and will be, but also of that which is considered deplorable among men, namely, judgments, imprisonment, death, threats, famine, tortures, frying pans, ovens, plunder, wars, sieges, battles, insurrections, contests, and these things he sets among the gifts and blessings; for it is not only about what has been said above that we should rejoice and admire, but also about this we should boast, as He says: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and I fill up what is lacking in my flesh of the afflictions of Christ" (Col. 1:24).

In external feats, struggle brings work, and crowns bring pleasure; But this is not the case, and even before the crowns, the feats themselves bring great joy. In order for you to be convinced that this is really so, remember each of the saints, from each generation, as the Apostle says: "For an example of suffering and longsuffering, my brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord" (James 5:10). And the same Apostle who today offered us this podvig and composed a real spiritual spectacle, i.e. Paul, after he had counted the innumerable misfortunes of each of the saints, which it is inconvenient to recount now, add: "They wandered in alms and goatskins, enduring deficiencies, sorrows, bitterness; those of whom the whole world was not worthy," and yet rejoicing (Hebrews 11:37,38). The same thing can be seen when the apostles, after being imprisoned and backbiting, having received scourging, were cast out. In fact, what is said about them? "And they departed from the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that for the name of the Lord Jesus they were counted worthy to receive disgrace" (Acts 5:41).

4. This was also with us; If anyone wants to know what I am talking about, let him remember what happened during the persecution. A tender and unmarried maiden came forward, having a body more delicate than wax; then, tied to a tree on all sides, she was tormented and tormented by scraping on her sides and bled, but as if a bride sitting in the bridal chamber complacently endured what was done to her, for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, receiving crowns in the very feats. Imagine what it was like to see a ruler with armies, sophisticated swords, and so many weapons, being defeated by one maiden. Do you see that sorrow itself is accompanied by the greatest praise? You are the witnesses of what has been said. In fact, while the martyrs have not yet received recompense, nor rewards, nor crowns, but have been dissolved into dust and dust, we flock to their honor with all zeal, we compose a spiritual spectacle, we glorify them and crown them for their wounds and blood, for their tortures and torments, for their sorrows and sighs: so the sorrows themselves are accompanied by praise even before the recompense! Imagine what Paul was like when he lived in prison and was brought to the judgment seats, how glorious, how brilliant and famous he appeared before all, especially before those who attacked and enmity against him. But what do I say: he was glorified in the sight of men, if he was more terrible to demons when he was scourged? When he was in chains, when he was shipwrecked, then he performed the greatest signs, then he especially defeated the opposing forces. Therefore, knowing well the benefit that comes to the soul from these sorrows, he said: "When I am weak, then I am strong"; and then he added: "Therefore I am pleased in infirmities, in offenses, in wants, in persecutions, in oppressions, that the power of Christ may dwell in me" (2 Corinthians 12:10,9). Wherefore, speaking to some who dwelt in Corinth, and reproaching those of them who were arrogant of themselves, and condemned others, he, observing the character of the epistle, and being compelled to present to us an account of his exploits, composed it, not of signs, nor of miracles, nor of honors, nor of pleasures, but of imprisonments, judgments, famines, cold, strife, And he said to them thus: "Christ's servants? (in madness I say:)"; And, explaining this expression: "I am greater," and his advantage, he continued: "I have been much more in labor, immeasurably in wounds, more in prisons, and many times in death," etc.: "If I must boast, I will boast in my weakness" (2 Corinthians 11:23-30).