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).

Do you see that he boasts of this much more than he admires the resplendent crowns, and therefore says: "And not only this, but we also rejoice in sorrows"? What does it mean, "and not only this"? Not only, he says, do we not lose heart, experiencing sorrows and calamities, but, as it were, more and more abounding in honor and glory, we especially boast in the midst of calamities that befall us. Further, after saying that from sorrows proceed the greatest glory, praise, and joy – and it is well known that glory also gives pleasure, because where there is pleasure, there is certainly glory, and where there is such glory, there is certainly pleasure – having shown that the endurance of sorrows is accompanied by glory, celebrity, and joy, he speaks of their other greatest effect, of some greatest and wondrous fruit of them. And what kind of fruit it is, we'll see. "Knowing that out of tribulation cometh patience, and out of patience comes experience, and out of experience comes hope, but hope does not put to shame" (Romans 5:3,6). From this comes the greatest fruit, that a person who is subjected to sorrows becomes stronger. As of the trees, those that stand in shady and windless places, although flowery in appearance, are pampered and weak, and are soon damaged by every pressure of the winds, but those that stand on the high tops of the mountains, are tossed by many and great winds, endure frequent changes of air, are shaken by the fiercest storms, and are covered with abundant snow, are stronger than any iron; Just as bodies brought up in many and different pleasures, adorned with delicate garments, often washed and anointed, and pampered with excessively with various kinds of food, are made utterly unfit for feats of piety and labor, and are worthy of the greatest punishment, so also are the souls, those who lead a life devoid of calamities, enjoy pleasures, are pleasantly occupied with present things, and prefer a life without sorrow to the endurance of sorrows for the kingdom (of heaven), following the example of all the saints, they are more delicate and weaker than any wax and are prepared for food for eternal fire; and those who are exposed to dangers, labors, and calamities of sorrow for God, and are brought up in them, are stronger than iron itself or harder than adamant, becoming invincible to the assailants from frequent endurance of adversity, and acquiring a certain invincible habit of patience and courage.

This is what the wise organizer of the heavenly life expresses when he says: "And not only this, but we also rejoice in sorrows," because even before the kingdom and the heavenly crowns we receive from this the greatest reward, since from frequent sorrows our soul becomes stronger and our thoughts become firmer.

Amen.

CONVERSATION

to the words of the Apostle: "We know that all things work together for good to those who love God" (Rom. 8:28), about patience and how much benefit there is from sorrows.

1. As if after a long time I had returned to you, in such a disposition: I am in spirit today. Although I was imprisoned at home on account of bodily illness, it was as if I were far from your love, so I felt. Whoever knows how to love sincerely, but cannot be with the one whom to love, even if he lives with him in the same city, will feel no better than those who live in a foreign country. Those who know love know this. Therefore, forgive us, I beseech you: this separation did not arise from our laziness, but bodily illness was the cause of silence. I know that now all of you rejoice that we have been delivered from the disease, and I rejoice not only that I have been delivered from the disease, but also that I can again see your longed-for faces and be comforted by your love for God. As many people, after being delivered from illness, seek vessels, cups, and refreshments, so for me your assembly is more pleasant than all joy; For me, it is both the cause of recovery and a source of joy. Now, then, that by the grace of God we have met one another again, let us pay you the debt of love, if it is ever possible to pay it. This one debt has no end, but the more it is paid, the more it increases; and as in money we praise those who owe nothing, so here we praise those who owe much. That is why the teacher of the universe, Paul, says in his epistle: "Do not owe anyone anything except mutual love" (Romans 13:8), desiring that we should constantly pay this debt, and constantly remain in debt, and never pay this debt until we have finished our present life. Just as it is difficult and unpleasant to be indebted to money, so not to be constantly indebted to this debt is worthy of condemnation. And in order that you may be convinced that this is really so, listen to the wisdom of the wondrous teacher, as he offered an exhortation. Having said beforehand: "Do not owe anyone anything," "except mutual love," desiring that all our debt here should be paid, and this debt should remain constantly unpaid, because this especially supports and strengthens our life. And so, when we know how much benefit there is from this debt, and that it increases more when it is paid, let us now try as much as possible to repay the debt by which we remain indebted to you, not through laziness or any carelessness, but because of an illness that has befallen you, offering a brief conversation of your love, and borrowing the subject of the conversation from the same wondrous teacher of the universe; what he spoke of today in the Epistle to the Romans, we, having presented it, will remember, and after a long time (silence) we will offer your love a spiritual treat. But it is necessary to say what has been read, so that you, remembering what has been said, may more easily assimilate our words. "We know," he says, "that all things work together for good to those who love God" (Romans 8:28). Why is such an introduction said? This blessed soul does not say anything in vain and without purpose, but always applies appropriate spiritual remedies to the diseases that appear to them.

What do his words mean? Since many temptations surrounded those who turned to the faith on all sides, and there were incessant subterfuges on the part of the enemy, unceasing intrigues, and the opponents of the preaching did not rest, throwing some into prison, others into exile, others into many other abysses, then, just as an excellent military leader, seeing the enemy breathing great fury, goes about his own everywhere, encourages them, strengthens them, it prepares, disposes to courage, makes us ready to raise our hands against the enemy and not to be afraid of his attacks, but with a firm spirit to stand against him, to strike him, if possible, in his very face, and not to be afraid to oppose him; In the same way, this blessed one, this soul reaching to heaven, wishing to encourage the souls of believers and trying to restore their minds, so to speak, began his speech thus: "We know that to those who love God, all things work together for good." Do you see the apostolic prudence? He did not say, "I know," but, "We know," adding them also to the expression of agreement with the thought that all things work together for good to those who love God. Notice the accuracy of the apostolic expressions. He did not say: "Those who love God escape disasters, are freed from temptations; but: "we know," he says, i.e. we are sure, we are convinced, we have received proofs by experience, "we know that all things work together for good to those who love God."