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The beginning of wandering and searching for ceaseless prayer

I am, by God’s grace, a Christian, a great sinner in affairs, a wandering beggar, of the lowest rank, wandering from place to place. My houseroom is as follows: at my back a bag of stale bread, and in my pocket the Sacred Bible. That is all. On the twenty-fourth day of the period after Troïtsia, I went to church for lunch to pray. The Apostle was reading from the letter to the Thessalonian Council, verse 273, which says: <em> you must always pray </em>. This phrase especially struck me and I began to think how one can pray ceaselessly when it is necessary to learn to conduct one’s life in other ways as well. I looked in the scriptures and there I saw with my own eyes what I heard it was necessary to pray constantly, pray at all times with the spirit, put on prayerful hands in every place. I thought and thought, not knowing how to resolve things.<a href=”https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/1551779462961878595/130684622320109952?hl=uk#” title=”Follow link” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”> <strong><em> [151/152]</em> </strong>.<strong> <em> [152/152]</em>.</strong> [152/152]<aHref=”https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/1551779462961878595/130684622320109952?hl=uk#” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”> 152/152

English: Another alternative is to use a watchdog-style utility to create a printable list whenever data changes. This is often done by making a backup copy of the original files and then updating the backup copy each time an update is applied. While this is more labor-intensive, some programmers are able to code elegant solutions rather than manually updating. This has proven to be a reasonable test procedure where it is performed regularly. This is also the method most often used in academic research. In cases where the report is for a large database, creating custom reports often results in a considerable amount of time spent on reporting, which can be devoted to key research findings.

            What should I do, I thought, where can I find someone to explain this to me? I will go to churches where good preachers are celebrated, and perhaps I will hear something that is relevant to me. And I went. I heard many wonderful sermons about prayer. But they were all about prayer in general; what prayer is; how one should pray; what the fruits of prayer are; and no one spoke about how to achieve success in prayer. There was a sermon about prayer in spirit and persevering prayer; but no one gave instruction on how to achieve that prayer. So, listening to these sermons did not lead me to what I wanted. Why, after listening to them and not understanding how to pray perseveringly, did I stop listening to public sermons and turn to God’s help to find an experienced and knowledgeable companion who could explain to me about persevering prayer, a relentless desire of mine for this knowledge.

            I wandered around for a long time: I read the Bible all the time, and asked whether there was any spiritual tutor or devout expert guide nearby? Sometimes they told me that in this village there had long been a gentleman who practiced constant prayer and read spiritually inspired literature. Hearing this, I no longer walked, but ran to the village mentioned and reached the landlord.

            – What is your need? – he asked me.

            I felt that you were a kind and intelligent person, so I beg you, for the sake of God, to explain to me what is meant by the Apostle’s words: pray consistently, and how one can pray consistently? I would like very much to know this, but I cannot understand it.

            The landlord paused, looked at me intently, and said, “Uninterrupted inner prayer is the constant striving of the human spirit toward God. In order to succeed in this sweet exercise, one should more frequently ask the Lord to teach one how to pray incessantly. Pray more and more fervently, and prayer itself will reveal to you how it can be unceasing; for this, you need your own time.”

            After saying this, he ordered me to feed myself, gave me a little money on the road, and let me go. And he did not explain.

            I went again, thought, read, pondered, and still did not understand what the landlord had told me. I was eager to understand, so I did not sleep at night. I walked two hundred versts and came to a large provincial city. There I saw a monastery. Standing by the entrance, I heard that the abbot here was a good, pious and marvellous man. I went to him. He welcomed me kindly, sat me down and began to treat me to a meal.

 I said to him: “Holy Father! Wait a minute, please.”

 “How shall I know how to be saved?” said the elderly man. “Live by the commandments, pray to God, and you shall be saved!”

 “I hear that I must constantly pray, but I don’t know how to pray constantly, and I can’t even understand what constant prayer means. Please, Father, explain it to me.”

 I didn’t know how to explain it to my dear brother. “Okay, I have a book here. It has an explanation. And St. Dmitry’s spiritual teaching on the inner man is contained therein. Read this page.”

 I began to read as follows: “The Apostolic words: pray constantly. Let us understand the prayer practiced by the mind: the mind can always remain fixed in God and pray to Him constantly.”

 Please explain to me how the mind can always be fixed on God, not be distracted, and constantly pray.

 This is very strange. Suppose God himself gives someone this ability, said the abbot. And he did not explain it.

 With the Elder overnighting, and after thanking him for his kind hospitality in the morning, I went down the road once again, not knowing where I was going. How sad I was for not understanding, but for consolation, I read the Holy Scripture. I walked for about 20 days on the great road; and finally, as evening was drawing near, an old man caught up with me, apparently from the monastic community.

 When I asked him, he said that he was a Schimonaché from the desert, which was 10 versts away from the great road. And he invited me to go with him to their desert. “In our monastery, we entertain and comfort travelers and give them food together with penitents in the guesthouse,” he said. I didn’t really want to go, and answered his invitation as follows. “It is not the place you live in that brings peace, but spiritual instruction. I don’t bother with food, I have a lot of dried bread in my bag.”

 “What sort of training are you looking for, and what are you surprised about? Please, my brother, come and join us! Here, we have experienced elders who can give you spiritual instruction and point you on the true path, in the light of God’s word and the reasoning of the holy fathers.”

            Well, you see, Father, about a year ago, when I was at lunch, I heard in the Apostle such a commandment: Constantly pray. Not being able to understand this, I started reading the Bible. And there, too, in many places, I found God’s commandment that one should constantly pray, always, at any time, in any place, not only in the non-sleeping hours: not only when busy, but even in your sleep. I sleep, but my heart watches over . This surprised me greatly, and I could not understand how this could be done and what methods to use; a strong desire and curiosity arose in me; and day and night it did not come out of my mind. And so I began to walk around the churches, listening to sermons about prayer; but as many as I heard, I did not get any instructions how to pray constantly; everything was only about preparing for prayer or its fruits and the like, not teaching how to pray constantly and what such a prayer means. I often read the Bible and checked the heard with it; but while doing this, I did not find the desired knowledge. And so I remained in wonder and concern.

The Elder crossed himself and began to speak: thank God, beloved brother, for this discovery. In you there is an impassioned desire to know the incessant interior prayer. Learn from this epithet the Divine, and be assured that up to now you have been tested in the harmony of your will with the voice of God, and it was possible to understand that not by the wisdom of this world, and not by external curiosity, but rather by simplicity of heart can one attain the divine light of interior prayer, but rather by simplicity of heart. And therefore it is not strange that you could not hear about the essential matter of prayer, nor could you know the teaching, how to attain its incessant action. And to tell the truth, although many preach about prayer, and there are many sayings of different writers on the subject, but since all their reasoning is based mostly on conjecture, on the reasoning of natural reason, and not on active experience, then they teach more about the belonging of prayer than about its essence. One well reflects on the necessity of prayer; another – on its power and blessing; a third – on the means to perfection of prayer, that is, on the fact that for prayer it is necessary to have diligence, attention, warmth of the heart, purity of thought, reconciliation with enemies, humility, sorrow, etc. And what is prayer? and how can one learn to pray? – on these, although the most fundamental and most necessary questions, one can rarely find detailed explanations in the preachers of our time; therefore they are much more complicated to understand than those stated above, and they require a mysterious kind of teaching, rather than just a schoolbook science. But what a pity that empty natural wisdom leads to measuring God by human measure. Many people ponder the matter of prayer quite confusedly, thinking that preparatory means and efforts create prayer, not prayer that generates efforts and all virtues. In this case, they mistakenly take the results or consequences of prayer as means and ways to it, and this belittles the power of prayer. And this is absolutely unseemly for sacred writing: for the Apostle Paul gives instruction about prayer in these words: I pray first of all to make my prayers. Here lies the first instruction in the Apostle’s utterance about prayer in the words: I pray first of all to make my prayers. Many good works are required of a Christian, but the matter of prayer must come first, for without prayer no other good deed can be accomplished. One cannot find a way to the Lord without prayer, understand the truth, purify the flesh from passions and desires, be illuminated in the heart by the light of Christ, and be saved by the power of prayer. I say often, for both perfection and correctness of prayer are beyond our capacity, as the Apostle Paul says: we pray behind a veil, as we should, without knowing how. Therefore, only frequency and constancy are left to the fate of our ability as a means to attain the purity of prayer, which is the mother of every spiritual good. Hold the handmaid firmly, and she will bear you children, says St. Isaac the Syrian, learn to acquire this first prayer and you will easily perform all virtues. And of this, those who are little familiar with practice and are not familiar with the secret doctrines of the holy Fathers, know nothing clearly.

      In this interview, we’ve almost reached the very desert. In order not to miss this wise old man, but rather to get permission for my desire, I hastened to tell him: please, good father, explain to me what continuous inner prayer means and how to learn it: I see that you know it in detail and with experience.

       The old man accepted my request with love and called me to himself: come, let me show you the book of the Holy Fathers, from whom you can clearly and in detail understand and learn prayer with the help of God. We entered the cell, and the old man began to speak as follows: continuous inner Jesus prayer is continuous, it never ceases to call the Divine name of Jesus Christ with the lips, mind, and heart, with the image of His permanent presence, and to request His mercy, in all activities on every activity. It appears in the following words: Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! And if anyone gets used to this invocation, he will experience great consolation, and will need to do this prayer constantly, so that he would not be without prayer and it would flow out of him all by itself.

       Do you now understand what continuous prayer is? – Very clearly, Father of mine! Teach me how to achieve it for God’s sake! – I exclaimed with joy.

Reading ‘Loving Kindness’ and spiritual progress

How to learn prayer, we will read about this in this book. This book is called Loving Kindness. It contains a complete and detailed teaching on continuous inner prayer, laid down by the twenty-nine holy fathers, and it is so profound and useful that it is considered the main and first mentor in contemplative spiritual life, and, as Saint Nikonofor reveals, “without effort and work it introduces into salvation.”

       Is it more elevated and more sacred than the Bible? – I asked.

– No, it is not more elevated and more sacred than the Bible, but it contains explanations of what is mysterious in the Bible, and is not understandable in its height for our shortsighted mind. I can give you an example: the sun is the greatest, brightest and most wonderful light; but you cannot gaze at it with your simple, ungrounded eyes. You need a special glass of some kind, which is a million times smaller and dimmer than the sun, through which you could gaze upon this wonderful king of lights, admire its flaming rays, and accept its warmth.

I now listened – I read how to learn uninterrupted inner prayer. – The Elder opened the Lk. 7 God-Lover, found the instructions of St. Simeon the New Theologian and began: “Sit down silently and alone, bend your head, close your eyes; breathe more silently, meditate on the interior of the heart, draw your mind, that is, your thoughts from the head into the heart. While breathing, say: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me. Expel the thoughts, have patient patience, and repeat this practice more often.’

Then the Elder explained all this to me, showed me an example, and we also read from The God-Lover of St. Gregory the Sinaite, of St. Calist’s Patriarch, and of Ignatius. Everything we read in The God-Lover, the Elder explained to me in detail, and even in his own words. I listened with enthusiasm and tried my best to remember. So we sat up all night and, without sleeping, went to morning.

            The Elder, sending me away, blessed me and asked me to come to him with a sincere confession and revelation, because without the confidence of a spiritual director, it is inconvenient and unsuccessful to engage in internal ascetic exercises on one’s own.

            While standing in church, I felt a burning zeal to study inner, uninterrupted prayer with all my might, and I asked God to help me. Then I thought about how I would go to the Elder for advice or spiritual upliftment; after all, they would not let me stay at the guest house for more than three days, and there are no apartments near the desert. By God’s grace, I found a place of residence. I was hired there for the summer to guard a man’s garden, so that I could live alone in the steppes on this garden. Thank God! – I found a place of rest. And so I began to live and learn, as the Elder showed me, inner prayer, and to go to the Elder.

            For a week I earnestly took up, on my own, the study of uninterrupted prayer, exactly as the Elder had explained to me. At first it did seem to be proceeding. Then I felt a great burden, laziness, boredom, overcome by sleep, and various thoughts came to me like a cloud. With sadness, I went to the Elder and told him about my plight. He, lovingly meeting me, began to say: “This, beloved brother, is a war against the dark world, to which nothing is so frightening as a heartfelt prayer, and therefore it does everything it can to hinder you and divert you from the study of prayer. However, the enemy acts, not otherwise, but by the will of God and by His provision, as much as we need it. It can be seen that you still need a test for humility; and, therefore, it is too early for you to approach the higher inner opening with excessive zeal, lest you fall into spiritual selfishness.”

Here is what I will read to you about this case of training with Dobrotolubye. The Elder found the teaching of the Monk Nikita and began to read: “If you have worked a little and you cannot enter the kingdom of the heart as you have been instructed, then do what I say to you, and with God’s help you will find what you are looking for. You know that the gift of language is in everyone in the throat. (If you wish) and let it speak constantly this: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!”One day, when I had not seen the old man for ten days, he came to see me himself; he explained my state to me. He listened, and said: “Now that you have become accustomed to prayer, think of maintaining and strengthening this habit, do not waste the time allotted to it, and with God’s help, decide not to do it in vain by performing twelve thousand prayers a day; observe solitude, get up earlier and go to bed later, and come to see me for counsel every two weeks.”

            Then he went to the elder for a revelation and told him all about it in detail. He, having heard him out, began speaking: Glory to God for the revelation of your passion and ease of prayer. This is a natural thing, which comes from frequent exercise and asceticism, like a machine in which a push or a kick is given to the main wheel, which has been operating for a long time on its own; and to continue its movement, this wheel needs to be lubricated and pushed. Do you see how wonderful abilities God has bestowed on even the sensual nature of man, which can be felt even outside of grace and outside of purified sensuality in a sinful soul, as you have already experienced it yourself? And how wonderful, wonderful, and satisfying it is when God graces someone with the gift of spontaneous spiritual prayer and clears the soul from passions! This state is not apparent, and opening the secret of this prayer is a foretaste of the sweetness of the heavenly land. This is what those who seek the Lord will find pleasant in the simplicity of the loving heart! Now I allow you: do prayer as much as you wish, devote all the time you are awake to prayer, and without hesitation call upon the name of Jesus, Christ, humbly surrendering yourself to the will of God and expecting help from Him: I believe that He will not abandon you and will guide your path.

            Having accepted this instruction, I spent the whole summer in constant silent prayer to Jesus, and I was very peaceful. In my dreams, I often dreamt of creating a prayer. And when the day came, if I happened to meet someone, I found that everyone, without exception, seemed to me to be as affectionate as relatives, even though I did not deal with them. Thoughts almost completely subsided, and I did not think about anything other than prayer, to which my mind began to incline, and my heart began to feel warmth and some pleasure on its own. When I happened to come to church, the long silent service seemed short, and it was no longer tiring for my strength, as it used to be. My separated corner seemed to me to be a wonderful temple, and I did not know how to thank God for sending me such a pitiable sinner, such a salvific elder and teacher.

Death of the Elder and Beginning of an Independent Path

            But I did not benefit from my loving and godly old man’s instructions for long – at the end of the summer he died. I, with tears, took leave of him, thanking him for teaching me, the wretched sinner, the fatherly teaching, asked him for some prayer shawls after him as a blessing, and I was left alone. Finally, the summer passed, and the town was cleared. I had nowhere to live. A man calculated me, gave me two tsyalki for a watchman, and poured a bag of breadcrumbs on the road, and I went wandering from place to place again; but I was no longer walking as I used to with necessity. The call of the name of Jesus Christ cheered me on the road, and all people became kinder to me, it seemed as if everyone began to love me.

p class=” wp-block-paragraph”>I began to think about where to put the money I received to keep the city, and what to do with it. Well, watch out! There’s no old man now, no one to teach me; I’ll buy me Dobrotolubie, and then I’ll start learning the inner prayer. I crossed myself and then I went off to pray. I got to a provincial town and began asking for Dobrotoluubie; I found it in one place, but they wanted three kopecks for it, and I only had two; I bargained, bargained, but the merchant did not give in at all; finally, he said: “Go to the church, ask the parish priest; he has an old book, maybe he’ll give it to you for two kopecks.” I went and actually bought Dobrotoluubie for two kopecks, all worn and very old; I was delighted. I patched it up a bit, wrapped it in a piece of cloth and put it in my Bible bag.I wandered around for a long time in various places with the accompanying prayer of Jesus, which encouraged and consoled me on all paths, at all meetings and occasions. Finally, I felt that it would be better to settle in one place, both for convenient solitude and for studying Love of Goodness, which I had read a bit, resting on the nights, or on a day’s rest; but there was a strong desire to immerse myself in it and with faith to draw from it a true impulse toward the salvation of the soul through heart prayer. But as, according to this desire of mine, I could not find a suitable job anywhere, because of the inability of my left hand from the time of my childhood; and therefore, being unable to have a permanent refuge, I went to the countries of Siberia to Saint Innocent of Irkutsk, with the intention that the forests and steppes of Siberia would be silent for me, and therefore it would be more convenient to engage in prayer and reading. So I went, and constantly made a silent prayer. After a short time, I realized that the prayer had begun to somehow move into my heart, that is, the heart, as usual, began to speak to itself in its own words with each heart beat, for example: 1) Lord, 2) Jesus, 3) Christ, and so on. I stopped saying the prayer with my mouth, and began to listen carefully to what the heart was saying; remembering how the late Elder had explained this to me, how pleasant it was. Then I began to feel a subtle pain in my heart, and in my thoughts came such a love for Jesus Christ that it seemed as if I would run to His feet and not let them out of my hands, caressing them sweetly, to tears, but thanks to the fact that He gives such delight in His name, so kindly.

Due to my sins, or my sinful soul, or the need for spiritual life, or a better instruction and wisdom, towards the end of the summer, some temptations began to manifest themselves. Namely, I came out on a great road in the twilight, and two men resembling soldiers’ heads approached me; they began to demand money. When I said that I had no penny, they did not believe me and shouted insolently: “You are a liar! Wanderers often collect money!” One of them said, “There is no point in talking to him,” and struck me on the head with a stick so that I fell unconscious. I don’t know how long I lay unconscious, but when I woke up, I saw that I was lying by the road near a forest, completely stunned, and my bags were nowhere to be found; only the ropes that had held them were cut. Thank God that they did not take my passport, which was lying in my old hat, in case I needed to provide proof where it was demanded. When I stood up, I cried bitterly, not so much from the headache as from the fact that they had taken away my books, the Bible and the The Goodness of Love that were in the bag. I kept groaning and crying day and night. Where is my Bible, which I had been reading since I was a child and always carried with me? Where is my Book of The Goodness of Love, from which I drew instruction and consolation? Frightened, I lost both my first and last storehouse in my life, without having had the chance to become satiated. It would have been better to kill me than live without this spiritual food! I can no longer buy them again!

        Suddenly, I came across a stage with wagons led by a convoy. When I compared myself to them, I saw two men who had robbed me, and since they were walking on the edge of the others, I fell at their feet and asked them earnestly where my books were? At first, they did not pay attention to me, and then one of them began to say: if you give us something, we will tell you where your books are. Give us the whole thing. I vowed that I would give them, without fail, for the sake of Christ; here, if you want, take my passport as collateral. They said that my books were being carried in the convoy, along with other looted goods. How can I get them? Ask the captain who is accompanying us. I rushed to the captain and explained everything in detail. By the way, he asked me: do you know how to read the Bible? Not only can I read everything, but I can also write; and on the Bible you will see an inscription that it is mine; and in my passport my name and surname are indicated. The captain began to say: These are fraudulent, deserter soldiers, they lived in a dugout and robbed many people. They were caught yesterday by a clever bulldozer who wanted to cheat them out of three rubles. They are probably going to give you your books when they are here; but go with us for the night; it is not far, four versts away, and it is not possible to stop the stage and the convoy for you. I was happy to ride alongside the supreme captain’s horse and talk to him. I found that he was a good and honest man, and not a young man. He asked me who I was, where I was going, and where I was going. I answered everything truthfully; and so we reached the stage house where we were to spend the night. He found my books, gave them to me, and said: where are you going at night, stay with me in the hall. I stayed there.

        Having received the books, I was so happy that I did not know how to thank God; I pressed the books to my chest and held them until my hands hardened. Tears flowed from my eyes with joy, and my heart was beating sweetly with delight!

        The captain, looking at me, asked: You must love to read the Bible. I could not answer him with joy, but only wept. He continued: I myself, brother, carefully read the Gospel every day. At the same time, he unbuttoned his uniform and took out a small New Testament printed in Kiev, all cut with silver. Sit down, I will tell you what led me to this. Give us something to eat for dinner!

One day I was sitting in the barracks with a pensive look. Suddenly, a monk entered, with a book to collect for church. Whoever had something to give gave it. He came up to me and asked: “Why are you so sad?” I told him my troubles, and the monk, sympathizing with my situation, began: “Exactly the same thing happened to my cousin, and this is what helped him: his priest gave him an Evangelion, and strongly ordered him to read a chapter from the Gospel whenever he wanted a drink; if he wanted to drink again, he would read the next section. My cousin began to do this, and in a short time his addiction to alcohol disappeared, and now for over fifteen years he does not even touch a drop of alcohol. Do as I say, and you will see the benefits. I have an Evangelion, I will probably bring it to you.”I listened to him, and said: “How can I help your Gospel, when none of my efforts, or medical books, have kept me?” I said this because I had never read the Gospels. Don’t say that, the monk replied, “I promise you it will be helpful.” The next day the monk brought me this Gospel. I opened it, looked at it, read it, and said: “I won’t take it; there’s nothing in it I can understand; and I’m not used to reading Ecclesiastical seals.” The monk kept urging me to read it carefully, for it is written in it what God Himself said. There’s nothing you don’t understand, he kept saying; just read carefully. One saint said: if you don’t understand the Words of God, demons understand what you’re reading and tremble; for the taste of drunkenness is always spurred on by demons. Well, here’s what else I’ll tell you: John Chrysostom says that even the church in which the Gospel is kept scares devils with its stench, and is prone to their deceptions. I don’t remember what I gave the monk; I took the book, put it into a box with my other belongings, and forgot about it. Some time later it was my turn to ask for God’s forgiveness; death was calling me, so I opened the box and took out some money to run off to the inn. The first thing that took my eyes was the Gospel, and I quickly remembered what the monk had told me; I opened it and began to read the first chapter of Matthew. After reading it all, I still didn’t understand anything; and I remembered that the monk had told me: there’s no need to understand what isn’t understood; just read carefully. Let me read the second chapter; as soon as I began reading it, I heard a knock on the door of the barracks: inside, for the night. So I couldn’t leave the building; and I ended up staying there.Look, ever since I was healed from my drunkenness, I have made a vow to read the Gospels every day for the rest of my life, as a full Gospel a day, despite any obstacles. And that is what I do now. If I have too much work to do and get very tired, then in the evening, when I lie down, I force my wife or my son to read me an entire Gospel, and I stick to this rule unremittingly. I have made an altar of the Gospels in pure silver, in thankfulness and to the glory of God, and I always wear it around my neck.

            I listened with pleasure to the captain’s remarks, and I said to him: I have seen the same example myself – in our village, at the factory, there was an extremely skilled craftsman, a good and much-loved craftsman, but he was an alcoholic, too, and was often a heavy drinker. A God-fearing man advised him that if he wanted to drink wine, he should recite 33 Jesus’ prayers, in honor of the Holy Trinity, and to commemorate the 33 years of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. The craftsman listened and began to comply; soon he gave up drinking. And what else? After three years, he went to a monastery.

            Then what, the captain asked – the Jesus Prayer, or the Gospels? – The same thing, I answered – that is, the Gospels, it is the Jesus Prayer; for the divine name of Jesus Christ contains in it all the gospel truths. The Holy Fathers say that the Jesus Prayer is a condensation of the entire Gospel.

            Finally, we prayed; the captain began to read the Gospel of Mark from the beginning, while I listened and prayed in my heart. At about two o’clock in the morning, the captain finished reading the Gospel, and we went our separate ways in peace.

As usual, I got up early in the morning; everyone was still asleep, and as soon as it began to light up, I rushed to my beloved Dobrotolubye. How happy I was to open it! It was as if I had met with a dear father who was far away, or as if with a friend who had risen from the dead. I played with it and thanked God for returning it to me; I immediately began to read Theophylact of Filadelfia, in two parts of Dobrotolubye. The instruction in it surprised me, in which he proposes to one and the same man to carry out three different deeds at the same time: while sitting at table, he says, give the body food, the ear reading, and the mind prayer. But the memory of the past, joyful evening, proved to me in practice this opinion. And a secret was revealed to me here that the mind and the heart are not the same.

            When the captain got up, I went out to thank him for his favors and to say goodbye. He gave me a cup of tea, gave me a full one, and said goodbye. So I went on my way, rejoicing.

            After marching for a verst, I remembered that I had promised the soldiers a whole, which I suddenly now had. Should I give it to them, or not? One thought told me: they beat me and robbed me, and it is not convenient for them to take it for their own use, because they are under arrest. Another thought imagined something else: remember what the Bible says: “If your enemy wants to, let him drown” (Luke 12:65).

Having walked 50 versts on a large road, I decided to turn off to a dirt road for more solitude and convenient reading. I walked through the forests for a long time, occasionally passing through small villages. Sometimes I spent the whole day in the forest, diligently reading The Merciful Thought; I learned a lot of surprising knowledge from it. My heart was burning with joy to be united with God, through inner prayer, which I sought to learn, under the guidance and supervision of The Merciful Thought. At the same time, I was sad that I could not yet find a refuge where I could read quietly all the time.

At the same time, I was reading my Bible and felt that I was beginning to understand it more clearly, not as I used to, when so much seemed unclear to me, and I often met with amazement. The Holy Fathers rightly say that The Merciful Thought is the key to unlocking the mysteries of the Scripture. With this guidance, I began to partially understand the hidden meaning of the Word of God; I began to see what the inner mystery of a person’s heart is, what true prayer is, what worship with the spirit, what the kingdom within us, what incomprehensible moans of the Holy Spirit, what be with me, what give me your heart, what means put on Christ, what means pledge the Spirit in our hearts: Father, etc. etc. When I began to pray with my heart, everything around me seemed to me in a wonderful way: trees, grass, birds, earth, air, light, everything seemed to tell me that they exist for man, they testify to God’s love for man, and they all pray, they all sing praise to God. And I understood from this what is called in The Merciful Thought “the guidance of wordless creatures” and saw a way in which one can converse with God’s creatures.

Many days I wandered like this. Finally, I came to a secluded place where there was not a single village for three days. My supplies ran out, and I was very worried about not dying of hunger. When I started praying from my heart, disbelief passed, and I put all my trust in the will of God, and I became cheerful and peaceful. As we walked along the road that lay next to a huge forest, I saw a dog walking out of the forest; I called it, and it came up to me and began to caress me; I rejoiced and thought: Ah, this is God’s grace! Surely there are llamas grazing in this forest, and, of course, it is a shepherd’s hand dog or, perhaps, a hunter is out hunting; whether it is so or not, but at least I can beg for some bread, because I haven’t eaten in two days, or I can ask where the nearest settlement is. Turning back, and seeing that I have nothing to take, the dog went back into the forest along the narrow path it had taken to get to the road. I followed it; after walking about two hundred steps, I saw that the dog had gone into a den from which it started barking.”Yes, I was,” he said, “a far from being the last man in my village, I had a skill, I painted kumach, and I spoiled the paint, and I lived in abundance, though not without sin: I cheated a lot in trade, I guaranteed foolishly; I cussed the lazy, I drank and fought. There was an old uncle in our village who had an old, old book about a terrible judgment. He used to go to the Orthodox, and he read it, and they gave him money for it; he went to me too. Sometimes I would give him ten kopecks, and sometimes half. Well, I used to listen, sitting at work, while he read, which torments we will be in hell, how the living will change, and the dead will rise again, how God will come to judgment, how the angels will blow their trumpets, and what fire, resin will be, and how the sinners will eat. Once, when I was listening to this, I became frightened; I thought: my torments will not be evaded! I will try to save my soul, maybe my sins will be forgiven. I thought and thought, but then I abandoned my craft, sold my house, and, being alone, I went to the forest dwellers so that the world would give me bread, clothes, and wax candles for the sacrament.Listening to this, I regretted for him and thought to myself: they say that some scholars and wise men become freethinkers and do not believe in anything. Well, our brothers are simple men who are plotting disenchantment! It seems that the dark world is granted access to everyone, and to the simple, perhaps it attacks them more easily. As far as possible, try and strengthen yourself against the enemy by the Word of God. In order to help and support the faith of these brothers as much as possible, I took the Dobrotolubiv, found a chapter by St. Isaac, read it, and began to explain to him that keeping discipline from sins, fear of suffering, is unsuccessful and fruitless; it is impossible for a soul to be delivered from imaginary sins, no matter how hard it tries. Therefore, everything is acquired by inner prayer, and not only by fear of hellish suffering, but also by desire for the kingdom of heaven. If someone should commit saving deeds, the holy fathers call this a mercenary work. They say that fear of suffering is the path of a slave, and the desire for a reward in the kingdom is the path of a mercenary. And God wants us to follow Him on a son’s path, that is, to love Him sincerely and diligently, to behave with honesty and to enjoy the saving union with Him in the heart and mind.

            However hard you try, whatever laborious and strenuous work you want to do physically; however, if you do not always have God in your mind, and unceasing prayer to Jesus in your heart, then you will never calm down from your thoughts, and you will always be prone to sin, even in the least of cases. Accept, brother, to perform Jesusʼ prayer continually; it is both easy and convenient for you in this seclusion; you will soon discover benefits of it. Evil thoughts will not come to you, your faith and love for Jesus Christ will be revealed to you; you will learn how the dead will rise, and the terrible judgment will seem to you as it really is. In your heart there will be such lightness and joy from prayer that you will be surprised and no longer will feel bored or frightened by your righteous life.

            Then, as I could, I explained to him how to start and continue constantly Jesusʼ prayer and how the Word of God and the holy fathers teach about this. He seems to have agreed to this and calmed down. After that, I, having parted from him, closed myself in the old earthen cellar that had been indicated to me.

My God! what joy, peace and delight I felt as soon as I crossed the threshold of this cave, or rather, of the burial mound; it seemed to me to be a marvelous royal palace, full of every comfort and pleasure. With joyful tears I thanked God, and reasoned: “Now, in such a quiet and quiet place, it is necessary to carefully devote myself to my task and ask the Lord for an awakening. So I began, first of all, to read the Kindness of Love, all in order, from beginning to end, with great attention. I read it briefly and saw what wisdom, holiness, and depth are contained in it. But since it contains many different subjects and various instructions of the saints, I could not understand everything and bring it together in one place, especially what I wanted to learn about internal prayer, in order to learn the method of studying continuous automatic prayer in the heart. And this was very desirable, according to the commandment of God through the Apostle: Set your hearts on magnificent gifts and still: Do not hold back your Spirit . My reason is insufficient, my understanding too; there is no one to interpret it. I will begin to bother God with prayer. Perhaps He will enlighten me somehow. After that, I did nothing for a whole day except remain in continuous prayer, without ceasing for a moment; my thoughts calmed down, and I fell asleep: and in a dream I saw that I was in the cell of my pious elder, and he was explaining the Kindness of Love, and he said: This holy book is full of great wisdom. It is a mysterious treasure of understanding the secrets of God’s will. It is not accessible to everyone, nor in every place; nevertheless, to the extent of each understanding, it contains such instructions for the wise — wise, for the simple — simple. Therefore, you, prayers, should read it not in the order in which the books of the holy fathers are arranged one after another. There, this order is theological; and for the unlearned person who wants to learn inner prayer from Kindness of Love, it should be read in the following order:

1) First, read the book of Nikifora the monk (in two parts); then 2) the book of Gregory Sinai, except for the short parts; 3) Simeon Noul Bogoslov on the three images of prayer and the words about faith; and after this 4) the book of Kalistas and Ignatius. All these fathers contain a complete teaching and doctrine on the inner prayer of the heart, which is understandable to everyone.

And if you want to see a more understandable instruction on prayer, then find the image of prayer at 4 o’clock of St. Kalista, Patriarch of Constantinople. I, as if holding in my hands my Dobrotolubilye, began to search for the instruction that was given, but could not find it soon. The Elder himself, flipping through several sheets, said: Here it is! I will note it to you, and having lifted the coal from the ground, he highlighted the passage on the page of the book opposite the article that was found. Everything that the Elder said, I listened carefully and tried to remember as precisely and as completely as possible.

I woke up, and as there was no light yet, I lay there and repeated what I had seen in a dream and what the Elder had told me. Finally, I began to think: God knows whether the soul of the deceased Elder is for me, or whether my thoughts are so adjusted, because I often think about Dobrotolubilye and the Elder? With this surprise, I got up, and it was already beginning to lighten. And what? I see on the stone, which had been the table in my earthen house, a Dobrotolubilyebook unfolded at the very place that the Elder had shown me, and underlined with charcoal, exactly as I had seen in a dream, even the charcoal itself was lying near the book. This surprised me, because I firmly remember that there were no books here at nightfall; it was folded up in my head, and I also know for certain that there had never been any note at the indicated place. This case convinced me of the truth of the vision and of the holiness of the memory of my Elder. Here I began to read Dobrotolubilye, following the same order that the Elder had indicated to me. I read it once, then I read the same thing in another, and this reading aroused a desire and diligence in my heart to test everything I had read in practice. It became clear to me and I understood clearly what inner prayer is, what means to achieve this, and what results from it, and how it gives pleasure to the soul and the heart, and how to recognize this pleasure, whether it is from God, from nature, or from beauty.So, first of all, I began to find the heart place, in the manner of St. Symeon the New Theologian. I closed my eyes and looked with my mind, that is, by imagination, in my heart, wishing to imagine how it is in the left half of my chest, and listening carefully to its beating. Thus, I first engaged for about half an hour, several times a day; at first, I noticed nothing but darkness; then, soon, the heart began to appear and to indicate movement in it; further, I began to insert and withdraw the Lord’s prayer together with my breathing into the heart, in the manner of St. Gregory of Sinai, Calistus, and Ignatius, that is, by inhaling air, with a mental vision in my heart, imagining and saying: “Lord Jesus Christ”, and when exhaling the air, “have mercy”. At first, I engaged in this for an hour or two, and then the more I did it, the more often I started doing it, and soon I spent almost all day engaged in this exercise. When fatigue or laziness or doubt arose, I immediately began to read in the Dobrotolubie the places that instruct about heartworks, and again there was encouragement and diligence in prayer. After three weeks, I began to feel pain in my heart, and then a pleasant warmth in it, consolation, and calmness. This encouraged and encouraged me to engage more and more diligently in prayer, so that all my thoughts were occupied with this and I felt great joy. From this time on, I began to feel different temperaments in my heart and in my mind. Sometimes it seemed as if there was a joyful boiling in the heart, and there was such ease and freedom and delight that I was completely transformed and carried away. Sometimes there was a burning love for Jesus Christ and for all of God’s creation. Sometimes sweet tears of gratitude to the Lord, who had been gracious to me as a wretched sinner, flowed on their own. Sometimes my old foolish notion was so realized that I easily understood and reflected on what I could not even imagine before. Sometimes the sweet warmness of the heart spread throughout my being, and I touchingly felt the presence of God everywhere. Sometimes I felt the greatest joy at the name of Jesus Christ, and I recognized what He meant when He said: “The kingdom of God is within you.”I spent months, alone, in this prayer activity, enjoying the sensations mentioned, and I became so accustomed to heart prayer that I kept practicing it continuously, and finally felt that prayer was carried out and spoken, not in my mind, but in my heart, in my sleep too – it did not stop even when I did anything. My soul thanked God, and my heart was in constant joy. It was time to cut down the forest, people began to gather, and I had to leave my silent home. After thanking the policemen, I prayed, kissed the corner of the earth on which God had granted me His grace, put my bag with books on my back, and set off. I wandered long distances in various places until I reached Irkutsk. Heartfelt, spontaneous prayer was my consolation and joy throughout the journey, at all kinds of meetings, it never ceased to delight me, no matter where I was, what I was doing, I never felt it was a hindrance – it never diminished in any regard. Whether I was working, or listening intently, or reading, prayer never stopped, and I felt both that and the other at the same time, as if I were divided or had two souls in my one body. O my God! How mysterious the human soul is!

       “How great are your deeds, O LORD! How vast are your works!” Many wonderful things and events have happened on my way. If I were to tell you all of them, it would take a lifetime. Here, for example: one winter evening, a man was walking through the forest to spend the night in a village about two miles away. Suddenly, a large wolf attacked him. I had a woolen rope in my hands (I always carried them with me). And look at that! The wolf rushed at me with the rope in its paws. What happened? The rope slipped out of my hands and got stuck right behind the wolf’s neck. The wolf ran away from me, jumped through a bramble bush, got caught in its paws, and began to struggle; but it was uncomfortable for it to free itself because the rope had pulled its neck tight. I blessed God and went to free the wolf, and moreover, thinking that if it tore the rope and escaped with it, my precious rope would be lost. As soon as I got close and reached for the rope, the wolf did tear it and fled without a trace. So I, thanking God and remembering my venerable elder, reached the village safely; went to the innkeeper’s house, and asked to spend the night. I went into the house. In the front room, there were two men sitting at the table: the elder was a schoolmaster and the other a clerk at the land court; both were nobles. I asked the man who was at their horse, who they were. He told me that the elder was the schoolmaster, and the other clerk at the land court: both were noblemen. I led them to the fair, which was about 20 verstes from here. Sitting there for a while, I asked the old woman for a needle and thread, went up to the candle, and began to sew the torn rope. The clerk looked at me and said, “Obviously, you hit your knees hard, because you were able to tear the rope!” It wasn’t I who tore the rope, but the wolf… “Are wolves praying?” the clerk said, smiling. “No, I mean, how can wolves pray? It’s just that you threw in some cinders at him, and the wolf was afraid and ran away; because both dogs and wolves are afraid of cinders. It is not surprising that everything happens in the world – you should believe in everything that happens. Hearing this, the teacher began to reason with him: “Do not believe, my good man, do not believe! You do not understand the scientific part! I can see from your story the mystery of Nature and Sensory and Spiritual… How can it be?” the clerk asked. Here is what you see: even if you have no further education, you clearly wanted to study the brief sacred stories of the Old and New Testament, the answers to the questions and answers for schools. The old man whose rope that was had been holy: what does holiness mean? Nothing more than the return of the first person’s innocent status to a sinful human being through the deeds of asceticism. When the soul is sanctified, the body is also sanctified. The cloths were always in the hands of the sanctified one; therefore, through the touch of his hands and his subtle particles, holy power is attached to them, which is the power of the innocent status of the first person. This is the mystery of Sensory Nature!” “And what is this book?” the teacher said. “Let me have a look!” He rolled it up and the new Ordinary of the Symeons Bible was revealed. – “Ah! There must be a theological book. I have never seen it… This book, Father, is almost entirely made up of a teaching about inner prayer in the name of Jesus Christ; it is revealed in full detail here in twenty-nine chapters of the Holy Fathers.” – “And I know inner prayer,” the teacher said… I bowed to him and asked him to say something to me about inner prayer. And there is what the new chapter says that people and all creatures emotionally submit to the will of God, and all naturally long to be free children of God; and this mysterious longing of creatures and the innate desire of souls is inner prayer. There is nothing to learn, as it is in everyone and everything!” – I asked him. I do not remember whether it is written somewhere in theological treatises, the teacher replied. Here is it – it is all written here, I indicated… The teacher took a pencil, wrote down the name Dobrotolubiye, and said: “I will definitely copy this book from Tobolsk and read it.” And so we parted.

After leaving, I thanked God for my conversation with the teacher, and prayed for the scribe, asking the Lord to arrange for him to read The Acts of the Apostles at least once, and to teach him about salvation.

Meeting with a pious priest

Another spring, while visiting a village, I stayed with a priest for three days. He was a kind and lonely man. After examining me during this time, he began to say to me: Stay with me, I will pay you; I need an honest person; you have seen how we are building a new stone church instead of the old wooden one. I cannot find a reliable person to watch over the workers, but to sit in the chapel to collect money for the construction; and I see that you would be able to do this, and it would be good for you to live on your way; you would have to sit alone in the chapel and pray to God, there is a separate room for a guard; please stay with me, even if only for this time until the church is finished. I refused at first, but after the priest’s persuasive request, I had to agree. So I stayed for the summer until autumn. So I began to live in the chapel. At first, I had peace and comfort in my religious practice, even though many people came to the chapel, especially on feast days, some to pray, others to take a nap, and some to collect something from the collecting pot. And sometimes, when I read the Bible or The Acts of the Apostles, some of those who came began to talk to me, and others asked me to read something to them.

     After some time, I noticed that one peasant girl often came to the chapel and prayed to God for a long time. Listening to her mumbling, I found out that she was reading some strange prayers, and others were completely distorted. I asked her who had taught her all this, and she said that her mother, who was a churchwoman, and her father was an iconoclast. Feeling sorry for all that, I advised her to read the prayers correctly, following the tradition of the holy church, and I interpreted to her: Our Father, and the Virgin Mary, rejoice; and, at last, I said: Pray more and more often, the Lord’s prayer; it is more profitable than all prayers to God, and you will receive the salvation of your soul through it. The girl took my advice to heart, and began to do so simply. And what happened? After a short time, she announced to me that she was accustomed to the Lord’s prayer, that she felt a constant urge, if only she could, to pray it, and that she felt a pleasant sensation while praying, and after finishing, she also felt joy and a desire to pray again. I rejoiced at this, and advised her to continue praying in the name of Jesus Christ.

Now, as summer was drawing to an end, many of those who came to the chapel began to come to me as well, not only for reading and advice, but also with various sorrows and losses, and even to ask for help in finding lost objects; in fact, others considered me a sorceress. In the end, this girl in distress came for advice on what she should do. Her father was going to marry her off to an unmarried man, from the same village as she was; and the wedding was to be performed by a peasant. What sort of a legal marriage is that? she exclaimed, it seems so indifferent! I want to escape, anywhere my eyes can see. I told her, where are you going to escape? Nowaday, no one can hide without being found, they search everywhere; but it is better for you to pray harder about this, so that God may, by His Providence, thwart your father’s intentions and preserve your soul from sin and from heresy. That will be much safer than your escape.

            When they saw that I was a holy man, the priest said. If I am a holy man, then what should I do as a weak sinner? Finally, I said goodbye to this kind priest, and he guided me on my way with love.

A story about a saved girl

            Ten miles later, I stopped to spend the night in a village. On the night I saw a desperately sick man, and advised the others near him to administer the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist to him. They agreed, and by morning they sent for the priest in their parish. I stayed for a while to venerate the Holy Gifts and pray for this great Sacrament. I went outside, sat on a fence, and waited to meet the priest. Suddenly, a girl came running from behind to me.

            How did you get here? I asked her. 

            We were supposed to be the bride-robbers to take me away, so I went. While bowing down to me, she began to say: Have mercy, take me with you and take me to a women’s monastery; I don’t want to get married, I will live in a monastery to pray to Jesus. They will listen to you and accept me. 

            For God’s sake, I said, where should I take you? I don’t know any women’s monasteries in this region, and how can I go with you if you don’t have a passport? Since you won’t be accepted anywhere, you can’t hide now, you’ll be offended and sent away by the authorities. Go home and pray to God, and if you don’t want to marry, find some sort of shelter. This is a salvation endeavor; this is what Saint Clement’s mother and Saint Marina did, who took refuge in a monastery for men, as well as many others.

            At the same time we were sitting and discussing, four men were seen driving a carriage along the road, and they immediately rode up to us. They grabbed the girl, put her in the carriage, and took her away with one man, and the three of them tied my hands and drove me back to the village where I had lived in the summer. When I protested against all of this, they only shouted me down: You, holy man, we’re going to teach you how to catch girls! In the evening they took me to the village council, shackled me in chains, and threw me into a prison cell until dawn, until they could convene the court. When the priest found out that I was in prison, he came to visit me, brought me dinner, comforted me, and said that he would intercede for me and tell the local cleric what sort of a person I am, not at all the kind of person they suspect me to be. After having a good chat with me, he went away.

            Later that evening, a “obshchik” (inspector) was passing through the village and was told about what happened. He ordered a meeting to be held and me to be brought to the judge’s house. We entered, stood there and waited. The obshchik arrived, sat down at the table in his uniform and shouted: “Hey, Epifan! Didn’t the girl, your daughter, do anything wrong in the yard?” Nothing, Father! Nothing has been brought to light about this fool in any bad business? No, Father! Yes, this is how we will judge the matter and decide: you and your daughter will deal with it yourselves; and we will punish this young man tomorrow and ban him from coming here again. That’s it! Having said this, the obshchik got up from the table and went to bed; and I was again placed in custody. In the early morning, two men, a hundred-sky and a ten-sky, dragged me out and let me go; and I went, thanking God that he had given me the opportunity to suffer for his name. This consoled me and warmed me even more with constant heart prayer.

            All these events did not offend me, as if they had happened to someone else, and I had only seen them; even when they beat me, I was willing to suffer; prayer, which delighted the heart, did not allow me to listen to anything.

            Four days passed, and I met the girl’s mother, who was returning from a market with her purchases. She saw me and said: “Our fiancé has refused; he got angry at Akulka for leaving him. Then she gave me bread and a pie, and I went on.

The weather was dry, and I did not want to spend the night in a village; but in the evening, seeing two fenced-up sheaves of hay in the woods, I made a bed under them. When I fell asleep, I saw in a dream as if I was walking along the road and reading the heads of Anthony the Great from the Book of the Love of Devotion. Suddenly an old man caught up with me and said: “Don’t read here, here’s where you should read, and he pointed to chapter 35 of John of Carpathia, in which it is written the following: at times, he who teaches is subjected to dishonor and suffers temptations for those who have benefited from him spiritually. He also pointed to section 41 of the same John, where it is said: those who recite prayer more zealously are seized by the fearful and violent temptations.

Then he began to speak: be vigilant in prayer and do not be dismayed! Remember that the Apostle said: ‘There is more than enough in you than in the world’ (Lk. 12:22). Now you have experienced for yourself that no temptation is permitted above human strength; but it is with temptations that God works and does so by a speedy coming. This hope of divine help strengthened and disciplined the zeal and effort of the holy prayer-virtuosos who not only lived their lives in unceasing prayer on their own, but who also with love taught and revealed this to others, whenever and wherever the occasion presented itself. This is what St Gregory of Nyssa says: ‘Not only do we ourselves, according to God’s command, have the duty to pray unceasingly in the name of Christ, but we are also obliged to teach and reveal this to other monks, all the laypeople, and men, women and children, and to urge everyone to make effort.’ Likewise, St John Cassian of Antiochia says: ‘Neither mental or spiritual action about the Lord (i.e. internal prayer), nor spiritual understanding, nor the means of extolling the soul, should be kept within one’s own mind alone, but should be written down, taught, and expounded in the interests of common benefit.’ The Word of God also speaks that ‘let us strengthen each other, for … the city with its walls is strong and high’ (Ez. 36:3).

            In order to spend this day in peace, without obstacles to spiritual joy, I asked the church janitor to let me stay in the stable until the next day. All day long I was in an ineffable joy and sweetness of heart; I lay on the straw in this unheated stable, as if I were resting on the bosom of Abraham: prayer was doing its work powerfully. Love for Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, like sweet waves, swelled up in my heart and seemed to plunge my soul into delightful ecstasy. By night I suddenly felt a terrible pain in my feet, and I remembered that they were wet. Ignoring this, I began to listen more intently to my heart with prayer and no longer felt the pain. In the morning, I wanted to rise but saw that I could not move my legs; they had completely dropped and become limp, like a corpse; the janitor dragged me off the straw. And so I sat motionless there for two days. On the third day, the janitor began to drive me out of the stable, saying, “If you die here, go with you.” Only as I crawled out on my hands, did I lay down on the church railing.

            I lay there like this for two days. People who passed by paid no attention to me or to my requests.

One man approached me, sat down and began to chat. By the way, he said, “What will you give me?” I’ll cure you. For me, it was exactly the same; I know that from this medicine. There’s nothing for you. And what’s in your bag? Just some bread and a few books. So, can you give me at least one year of health, if I cure you? And I can’t work well; you see, I can only use one hand, and the other one is almost completely dry. So, what can you do? Nothing, apart from reading and writing. But writing! Well, teach the boy to write, my son, he knows little about reading, and I want him to be able to write. But the masters ask a lot of money for tuition, 20 rubles. I agreed, and they took me and put me in the house of this man behind the back of the house in an old, empty bathroom.

Here is how he set about curing me. He gathered forty different bones from fields, yards, and rubbish pits, both of animals and birds, and of all kinds. He washed and crushed them into smaller pieces with a stone and put them in a large basket; then he covered them with a lid that had a hole in it, and put them in a hollow earthen container, and thickly smeared the basket with clay on top, and, covering it with a fire of wood, burned it for a whole day, and, adding wood, said: ‘This will be tar from bones.’ The next day he dug up the container from the ground, and it was filled with a thick, red-hued, oily, and odorous liquid from the basket through the hole in the lid, like fresh raw meat. The bones that were in the basket became white, pure, and transparent, like mother-of-pearl or pearls. Using this liquid, I rubbed my feet about five times a day. And, six days later, I could move my toes; after three days, I was able to bend and stretch my legs, and on the sixth day I walked with a stick around the yard. In short, after a week my legs were as strong as before. I thanked God for this, and thought to myself: What wisdom God has in creatures! Dry, rotten bones, almost completely swallowed up by the earth, retain their life-force, color, smell, and effect on living bodies – as if they communicate life to dead bodies. This is the guarantee of the future resurrection of bodies. If only I could show this to the steward who had taken me in, who had doubts about universal resurrection!Don’t think like that, father, about this holy book. It was written not by ordinary Greek monks, but by the great and holy men whom your church venerated, such as Anthony the Great, Macarius the Great, Mark the Traveler, John the Golden Mouthed, and so on. And the Indian and Bukhar monks took over in them a heartfelt way of inner prayer, but they distorted it and distorted it themselves, as my elder told me. And in the Dobretolubiyah, all the instructions on the essence of inner prayer are taken from the Word of God, from the Holy Bible, in which the same Jesus Christ, who commanded us to read: “our Father,” revealed also the unceasing and pure heartfelt prayer, saying: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind; be alert and diligent and pray; remain in me, and I will remain in you.” The holy fathers, citing the testimony of King David of the Psalms, saying: “taste and see how good the Lord is,” interpret it in such a way that a Christian must seek and achieve the sweetness of prayer and constantly seek consolation in it, and not just read the “Our Father” once a day. Here I will read to you how these holy men condemn those who do not seek to acquire and learn the sweetness of heartfelt prayer. They write that such sinners sin in that: 1) they consider the divine scriptures to be contradictory, 2) they do not imagine a higher and more perfect state for the soul, but are content with external good deeds, piety, and thirst for truth, so they find no ecstasy and joy in the Lord’s good deeds. You read something high, said the ruler; why should we ordinary people run after this? Here I will read to you something simpler and about how good people in worldly life were taught about uninterrupted prayer. I found in Dobretolubiyah the words of Symeon the New Theologian about the young George and began reading.

In the night, in thin snow, I heard my old man’s voice and saw no one; the voice said to me: “Here, your master has healed you, but you do not help the housekeeper. God has commanded us to sympathize with our neighbor.” I would gladly help her if I could, but I don’t know any means. Here is what you should do: she has hated tree oil from the very beginning of her life, and she not only does not eat it, but she can’t stand the smell of it without nausea; therefore, give her a spoonful of the oil to drink, it will drive her crazy, a bone will come out, and the oil will cover the wound in her throat that was scratched by the bone, and she will recover. But how can I give it to her when she hates it – she won’t drink it? You told the steward to hold her by the head, and suddenly, even if it’s forced, pour the oil into her mouth. I woke up and immediately went to the steward and told him about this in detail. He said, “Well, now what are you going to do with your oil?” She was already moaning and hallucinating, and her neck was swollen. However, we must try it; the oil is harmless medicine, although it won’t help. He poured oil into a glass and gave her some to swallow. Instantly, there was a violent vomiting and soon the bone came out with blood; she felt better and fell into a deep sleep.

In the morning, I came to see her and saw that she was calmly sitting at the tea table, and both she and her husband were amazed at the healing, moreover, as I was told in my dream, she did not like tree oil, because no one but them both knew that. A doctor came, the housekeeper told her about what had happened to her, and I told her. The doctor, after hearing this, said: “Neither this nor that case is strange; in both of them, nature’s own force was at work, but for memory, I will write it down; he took an pencil and wrote it down in memory book.

After that, word soon got around the entire neighborhood that I was both a prophet and a doctor and a healer; from all sides, people incessantly came to me with their various affairs and cases, brought me gifts, and began to worship and ask my help. After a week of watching this, I was afraid of falling into vanity and damaging myself by dispersion and left it secretly at night.

   One day I left the separate road for the monastery and felt such ease, as if a mountain had fallen off my shoulders. Prayer was increasingly consoling me, so that at times my heart boiled with immeasurable love for Jesus Christ, and from this sweet boiling as if consoling streams flowed through all my joints. The thought of Jesus Christ was so ingrained in my mind that thinking about the evangelical events I almost saw them before my eyes, I was moved to tears, and at times I felt joy in my heart that I cannot describe. It sometimes happened that for days I did not enter human settlements, and in a state of ecstasy I felt as if I was the only person on earth, one loathsome sinner before a gracious and loving God. This loneliness comforted me, and the prayerful pleasure for Him was far more intense than that of a man.

   At last I reached Irkutsk. Kneeling before the relics of Saint Inokenty, I began to think to myself: where do I go now? And I did not want to stay in this city for long, because it was crowded. I walked thoughtfully along the street; and then I met a merchant here, who stopped me and said: Are you a traveler? Why don’t you come to me? We went into his rich house. He asked me who I was, and I told him about my origin. Hearing this, he began to tell me: Oh, come along to old Jerusalem. There is a shrine like no other! I would have been happy to go there, I answered, but I have no funds at my disposal; I can walk to the sea, but to cross the sea I have to pay a lot of money. Do you want, the merchant said, I will provide you with a means; here, I sent one of our old townspeople there last year. I fell at his feet, and he began to say: Listen, I will give you a letter to my son in Odessa; he lives there and has trade relations with Constantinople; he has ships, and he would be happy to take you to Constantinople, and there he will instruct his errand boys to hire you a place on the ship to Jerusalem and pay the money. After all, this is not very expensive. Hearing this, I rejoiced, thanked this benefactor of mine much for his mercy, but thanked God even more for his paternal love for me, the sinful sinner who does not do any good either for himself or for others, and whose soul consumes the bread of others in laziness. And so I spent three days in this beneficent merchant. He wrote me a letter to his son about me in fulfillment of his promise; and so I am now going to Odessa with the intention of reaching the holy city of Jerusalem: but I do not know whether the Lord will let me worship His life-giving Throne.

The third story

            Before leaving Irkutsk, I went to see my spiritual father, with whom I had been having conversations, and said to him: “Here I am on my way to Jerusalem; I have come to say goodbye and to thank him for the Christian love he has shown me, such a worthless traveler.” He said to me: “May God bless your journey.” But why didn’t you tell me anything about yourself, who you are and where you come from? I have heard a great deal from you about your travels; it would have been interesting to know your origins and life before you began to travel.

            Well, I said, I will be pleased to tell you that too. It is not a long story.

Abiographical essay and a description of the former worldly life of the pilgrim

I was born in a village in the province of Orlovsk. After my father and mother died, it was only the two of us. My brother was ten years old, and I was two years older, the third. And then my grandfather took us in to nursing; he was old and wealthy and pious, and he kept an inn on the main road, and because of his benevolence, many people stayed with him. We began to live with him; my brother was lively and always ran around the village, while I mostly stayed around my grandfather. On holidays, we would go with him to church, and at home he would often read the Bible, the same one that I have. My brother grew up and went astray: he learned to drink. I was already seven years old. One time, I was lying with my brother on the stove, and he knocked me off, and hurt my left hand. Since then, I have not even used it, it’s all dried up.

One day, grandfather faced with the fact that I would be unable to work on the farm, he began to teach me to read: in the absence of books, he taught me to read from the Bible, somehow; telling me to point out letters and make up words. Even now I do not understand exactly how it was that, following his advice, I got taught to read. Finally, when grandfather began to have great difficulty seeing, he often drew me near to read the Bible, while he sat there and corrected me. In our house, a parish clerk used to visit for copying, and he could write beautifully; I watched him and adored his skill. I began copying words in his style, he taught me, gave me papers and ink, and even repaired my pen. That is how I too learned to write. Grandfather was delighted and encouraged me to say: now the Lord has given you the wisdom to read, you will be a man; so you should thank God for this, and pray more often. So we used to go to Church for all services and often pray at home too; grandfather and grandmother would make me read: “Have mercy on me, O God”, while they would kneel or bow down. Finally, when I turned eighteen, grandmother died. Grandfather began telling me: since we now do not have a mistress in our house, how can we do without a mother? Your eldest brother has fallen into a bad way, and I want to marry you off. I protested, considering my infirmity, but father insisted and I was married off. They found an honest and sensible girl for me, twenty years old. A year passed, and father became ill at the end of his life. He called me to him, said goodbye, and told me: “Here is your house and inheritance; live in peace with all, and do not deceive anyone. Most of all, pray to God. Do not count on anything but God. Go to Church, read the Bible, and remember us both. Here is one thousand ruble of your money. Keep it well; do not squander it, but do not hoard it either. Give to the beggars and the church of God”. Now he died, and I buried him. My brother became so jealous of being alloted his share of the estate and the manor while I was given everything else; he began to be angry with me, and the devil had helped him in that matter and had even intended to kill me. Now here is what he did secretly, when we were sleeping and there were no servants in the house: he broke away a lock, where the money was kept, pulled it out of the chest, and set the lock on fire. We heard only when the whole house and yard broke into flames, and we just barely managed to jump out from a small window, putting on what we were sleeping in. The Bible was under our heads and we took it along with us. We saw how our house and yard were burning and we said to each other: Glory to God! Even if the Bible did survive, we still have something to be happy about after the fire. So all our possessions burned, and my brother left without telling us what he did. Later, we learned that he had begun to drown in wine and to boast about how he had taken our money and burnt our house.”

            So I stayed barefoot and naked, having lived a wretched life, and foolishly put my small house on loan, and began to live like a pauper. My wife was a skilled handi-craftsman: she would weave, spin, sew, and do work for people, and she would work day and night, and feed me. I, with my bare arms, could not even crochet. She would be spinning or weaving, and I would sit by her side, reading the Bible, and she would listen, and sometimes she would cry. When I would ask her: Why are you crying? Thank God, we’re alive. Then she would answer, “It’s so lovely to me that the Bible is so well written.” We also kept the commandments of our grandparents, we often fasted, we’d read the akathist of the Mother of God in the morning, and we’d put a thousand bows down at night, so we wouldn’t be tempted. So we lived in peace for two years. But what is amazing is that although we had no idea about inner prayer, which takes place in the heart, and we had never heard of it, we simply prayed in words, and we bowed down like idiots, and it wasn’t a difficult outward devotion to prayer. Perhaps a teacher was right when he told me that there is a secret prayer within a person that takes place in the heart, of which he himself has no idea how it happens, and arouses him to prayer. who knows what and how.

            A wise Russian proverb says: “Man omits and God has,” I said. I had planned to go on foot to the Holy Mount of Jerusalem, but things turned out differently; a completely unexpected circumstance left me here for three more days. And I could not resist the urge to go to you and ask for your advice regarding this situation that I had come upon unexpectedly.

            Such are the random events that occur in the course of life! And yet God and His holy providence govern our plans and intentions, as it is written: “What we want, and what the sons of God are” (Ps 13:3). On hearing this, my spiritual father said: I am glad, dear brother, that God made it possible for me to see you in the not too distant future. And now that you are free, I will keep you with me for a long time, and you will tell me more about your instructive encounters on your long journey of travel. I have listened with pleasure and attention to all your previous stories. This is what I am happy to do, I answered, and began to speak.

            There were many things, good and bad; it would be too long to recount everything, but much has already been forgotten, since I tried to remember only what moved and inspired my lazy soul to prayer, while I rarely remembered or rather tried to forget the past, following the example of the holy Apostle Paul, who said: “I seek to be in the upper rank, forgetting the past and looking forward” (2 Corinthians 3:18). And the deceased blessed old man also said that distractions hinder heart prayer from two sides, with joy and clear thoughts, that is, if the enemy does not manage to distract from prayer with vain thoughts and sinful schemes, then he renews the instructive memories in the mind or gives a pretext to a meaningless prayer. And this is called a clear theft, in which the soul, having neglected the conversation with God, turns to a satisfied conversation with itself or with creatures. And therefore he taught me that during prayer I should not take the most beautiful spiritual thought, and after the day, if I happen to see that the time spent was more in an instructive reflection and conversation than in a meaningful and unimportant prayer of the heart, then this should be considered as an extravagance, or as a self-interest for the necessary, for spiritual greediness. There is nothing more important in prayer than the amount of time spent in merriment before the time spent in unnecessary meditation and conversation. But it is not possible to forget everything. Other things, however, have become so deeply etched in the mind that I have not remembered them for a long time, remember, for example, one godly family, in which God granted me to stay for a few days with the case described below.

When I was traveling through my Tolyatti province, I happened to pass through some small town. I had almost run out of ration bread, so I went into a house to ask for bread for the road. The owner told me: “Thank God, you came at just the right time. My wife has just taken the bread out of the oven. Here is a warm blanket; pray to God for us.” Thanking them, I started putting the bread in my bag, and the mistress, seeing this, said: “What a skinny sack! It’s all worn out. I’ll change it for you, and she gave me a good, firm sack. Thanking them from the heart, I went on. At the exit, in the small goods store, I asked for some salt, and the shopkeeper poured some into a small sack for me. I praised my soul and thanked God that He was showing me such kind people. Here, I thought, for a week I’ll have nothing to worry about, I’ll sleep and be satisfied. Blessed be the souls of my Lord!”

            A few arzhany from this town, I saw a poor village and a poorly built wooden church, but beautifully decorated and painted outside. Passing by, I wanted to pay homage to the Lord, so I went inside and prayed. By the side of the church, on a muddy pavement, two little children, about five or six years old, were playing. I thought that they were the children of a priest, though they were very well dressed. So, having prayed, I went on. I hadn’t gone ten steps from the church when I heard a child’s cry behind me: “Beggar! Beggar! Stop!” This was the cry of the two little children who had run after me; they grabbed me by the hand: “Let’s go to our mother, she loves beggars.” “I’m not a beggar,” I told them, “I’m a traveler.” “But what’s in your bag?” “It’s my bread for the road.” “Come on, we’re going anyway; our mother will give you money for the road.” “Where is your mother?” They replied, “Behind the church, behind that tree.”

            They led me into a beautiful garden in the middle of which I saw a large mansion; we entered the chambers inside, which were so clean and elegant! Then the lady appeared. “I’m begging your mercy! I’m begging your mercy! Where did God send you to us?” Sit down, sit down, darling! She took the bag off my hand, put it on the table, and sat me down on a comfortable chair; would you like to eat or drink tea? And do you have any needs? I thank you every time, I answered, I have a whole sack of provisions, I drink tea, though I don’t have the habits of our peasant way of life, your diligence and gracious hospitality is more valuable to me than food; I will pray to God to bless you for your evangelical conduct with repentance.” While saying this, I felt a strong emotion to go back inside. Prayer was rising in my heart and I needed peace and silence to give space to this spontaneous flame of prayer, to hide from people the external signs of prayer, such as tears, sighing and unusual movements of face and lips.

            And so I stood up and said to her: “I beg your pardon, mother, I have to go; let the Lord Jesus Christ be with you and with your loving children.” Ah, no! God forbid, I must go; I will not let you go. Here, it is almost evening, and my husband will come home from the city, where he serves as a judge in the district court for the elections. How he will rejoice to see you! He considers every traveller as a messenger of God. If you go, he will be very sad not to see you, and tomorrow is Sunday, you will pray with us at lunch, and you will share what God has sent over dinner. We usually have guests at every feast, up to thirty brothers of pilgrims. And you did not tell me anything about yourself, where you are from and where you are going? Talk to me, I like to listen to the spiritual conversations of godly people. Children, children! Take the pilgrim’s bag and take it to the icon room, where he will stay the night. Listening to these words of hers, I was surprised, and I thought: am I talking to a person, or am I seeing a ghost?

There was nothing to do, so we left. When we entered the garden to make it more convenient for me to keep silence and not talk, I bowed down to the lady and said: “Please, mother, in God’s name, tell me how long ago you have been leading such a godly life and how you have achieved this holiness?” Perhaps I will tell you all about it. Here, my relative, the relics of Saint Joasaph, whose relics are now at rest in Belgorod. We had a large house in the city, and the wing was rented by a poor nobleman. He eventually died, and his wife became pregnant, gave birth, and died after childbirth. The newborn was left an orphan; my mother took him to raise, and a year later I was born. We grew up together and studied under the same teachers and teachers, and so we became accustomed to being brother and sister. After some time, my father also died, and my mother, leaving the city life, moved with us here to this village. When we reached adulthood, mother married me to her foster son, gave us this village, and built a monastery cell of her own. Having given us our paternal blessing, she made us this bequest: to live in a Christian way, to pray earnestly to God, and to do our best to fulfill His most important commandment, that is, to love our neighbors, to live in simplicity and humility, to raise children, to provide for and help the mendicants of the brothers of Christ, in simplicity and humility. This is how we have been living here alone for ten years now, trying as much as possible to fulfill our mother’s bequest. We have a mendicant with us, in whom more than ten people with disabilities and illnesses live; perhaps we will go to them tomorrow.& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp; Do you not have any writer on prayer? I love to read about prayer. There is a new book on prayer, the work of a priest from St. Petersburg. The gentleman obtained an interpretation of the Lord’s prayer: Our Father, and we with pleasure began to read it. A little later, a lady came to us, brought some tea, and the children brought a whole silver-crossover, something dry, like buns, which I had never eaten. The gentleman took the book from me, gave it to the lady, and said: “Here, we will make her read, she reads wonderfully, and we will treat ourselves.” The lady began to read, and we began to listen. While listening to the reading, I heard the prayer that was being said, inside my heart; the more the reading progressed, the more the prayer developed and enjoyed me. Suddenly, I saw someone quickly pass before my eyes, as if in the air, like my deceased old man. I jumped, but in order to hide it, I said, “Sorry, I had a little dream.” Here I felt as if the spirit of the old man had penetrated my spirit, or illuminated it, and I felt a certain light in my mind and a host of thoughts about prayer. As soon as I made the sign of the cross and tried to dismiss these thoughts, the lady read the whole book, and the gentleman asked, “Did you like the work?” – And our conversation began. – I very much liked it, I replied, but the Lord’s prayer “Our Father” is the highest and most valuable of all the prayers we Christians have. It is the interpretation of this very well, but it is directed mostly to Christian activity, while I had to read in the Holy Fathers and a contemplative, secret interpretation of it.

& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; What did you read? For example, here, in The Revelation of St. Maximus the Confessor, and in The Habits of St. Damaskinos. Please, do you remember what? Be kind. The beginning of the prayer: & nbsp; “Our Father who are in heaven ““; in the book read, it is interpreted that under these words one should understand the whisper of brotherly love for one’s neighbors, as children of the one Father. This is very just, but the holy fathers explain it further and more spiritually, that is, they say that in this expression one should turn one’s mind to heaven, to the heavenly Father, and remember our obligation to constantly present ourselves in the presence of God and to walk before God. The words: & nbsp; & nbsp; “Let your name be hallowed” ’, the book explains meticulously that one should not pronounce the divine name without reverence, or in an unfair oath, in other words, that the most holy name of God should be pronounced divinely and not used in vain; and the secret interpreters see here a direct request for inner heart prayer, that is, that the most holy name of God should be printed inside the heart and should be sanctified and sanctify all the emotions and spiritual powers by self-directed prayer. The words: “Let your kingdom come” “ The secret interpreters explain it thus: Let the inner world, peace and spiritual joy come into our hearts. In the book it is interpreted that by the words: “Give us today our daily bread” ’ one should understand the request for the necessary needs for physical life, not superfluous, but only necessary and sufficient help for others. And St. Maximus the Confessor, under the name of daily bread, understands nourishing the soul with heavenly bread, that is, the word of God, and uniting the soul with God, by God-pondering and unceasing inner prayer of the heart.

Oh, what a great undertaking and almost impossible for the inhabitants of the world to attain inner prayer, exclaimed the gentleman; although the Lord certainly helps to send it forth without effort. Do not think so, father, he said. If it were impossible and exceedingly difficult, God would not have commanded it to everyone. The power of God is found in weakness; and experienced holy fathers offer ways that make the path to heartfelt prayer easier. Of course, for the hermits of the world they point out special and higher means, but they also give instructions to the laity about convenient and guiding means for attaining inner prayer. I have never read about this in detail, said the gentleman. Please, please, I will read to you in the book Dobrotolubivka. I brought my Dobrotolubivka, found Peter Damaskin’s article in part 3 on page 48, and began to read the following: “One should learn to call the Name of God more than breathing, at all times and in every place and deed. The Apostle says: ‘Constantly pray,’ that is, he teaches that one should have in mind the Creator of things, whenever one does something; one must have God in mind as a reason for praise, and so one is constantly praying, and one’s soul will always be joyful as a result.”After they had gone, their servants went off to rest, and the three of us remained in the room. That’s when the lady brought me a white shirt and stockings – I bowed to her feet, saying: “I can’t wear any stockings, because we’re used to wearing garter socks. She rushed back again and brought her old cape, a thin yellow cloth, and cut it in half, and the gentleman, saying: “Here’s this poor fellow’s worn-out garter socks,” brought his new boots, the kind he puts on over his shoes, then said to me: “Go out in that room.” I went, changed, and came back again. They sat me down on a stool, and began to put on my socks. The gentleman began to wrap my legs in garters, and the lady began to put on my boots. At first I didn’t want to cooperate, but they ordered me to sit still and said: “Sit still and be silent, Christ washed the feet of His disciples.” I had nothing to do, and I started crying, and they too cried.

History of conversion and the life of the landowner

Forgive me, dear brother, I asked you not out of mere curiosity, but with goodness and Christian participation in you, and also because two years ago, I saw an example from which my question to you arose. You see, an old beggar with a retired soldier’s passport came to us; he was old, old, and so poor that he was almost naked and barefoot, spoke little, and in a simple manner, as if he were a steppe peasant. We took him to the poorhouse; he fell seriously ill after a few days, so we moved him to this gazebo, consoled him, and began going to him and treating him. He was probably nearing death; we prepared him, having summoned our priest to confess him, anoint him, and put him into communion. The night before his death he got up, asked me for a piece of paper and a pen, asked that the door be locked and no one was to be admitted until he wrote a will to his son, who had asked that it be sent to St. Petersburg after his death to an address. I was surprised to see how he wrote not only in a fine, highly educated handwriting, but also the writing was wonderful, correct, and very tender. Tomorrow I will read to you his will; I have a copy of it.

            All of this surprised me, and it awoke my interest to ask him about his origins and his life. He swore me to secrecy about this until his death, to God’s glory, and told me his life. I was a prince who had a very wealthy estate and led a luxurious, luxurious, and scattered life. My wife died, and I lived with my son, who was happily serving as a captain in the guards. One day, when I was about to go to a ball attended by an important person, I was angered by my valet; unable to restrain himself, I brutally hit him on the head and ordered him sent to the village. This was in the evening, and the next morning the valet died from an inflammation of the head. But this came from my hand, and I soon forgot about it. Six weeks passed and the deceased valet began to appear to me, first in dreams; at night he bothered and reproached me, repeating constantly: “You are a coward, you are my murderer!” Then I began to see him in waking life. What follows, he began to appear to me more and more frequently, and then almost non-stop he kept bothering me. Finally, together with him I began to see other dead men whom I had brutally offended, and women whom I had seduced. They all incessantly reproached me and did not let me rest until I was completely exhausted, and my skin came off my bones. All the efforts of skilled doctors did not help in the least. I went to be healed in foreign lands, but after living there for half a year, I received no relief and the tormenting visions continued to increase. They brought me home barely alive; and I felt fully the horrors of the torment of the soul, first of all that of separation from the body. Then I was convinced that there is a hell and learned what it means.

            Being in such a painful state, I realized my disobedience, repented, confessed, gave freedom to all the people who served me, swore to torture myself with all kinds of work for the rest of my life and to hide in a wretched form, to be the last servant of the lowest class of people, because of my disobedience. As soon as I firmly decided on this, the visions that tormented me immediately ceased. I felt such joy and pleasure from being reconciled with God that I cannot fully describe it. That was when I also experienced what it means to be in heaven and how the kingdom of God is revealed within our hearts. Soon I recovered, fulfilled my objectives and secretly went from my homeland with the passport of a retired soldier. And now it is 15 years since I have been wandering around all over Siberia. Sometimes I would be hired by peasants for hard work, and sometimes I would earn a living by God’s name. Oh! In all this toil, I have experienced what kind of bliss, happiness, and peace of conscience! Only those who have been translated from a painful hell into the kingdom of heaven by the mercy of the Intercessor can feel this. Having said this, he handed me his will to be sent to his son, and the next day he died. However, here is a list of his will in my pocket, placed in my Bible. If you wish, I will read it now. Please be so kind!

            I unfolded it and read: In the name of God Almighty, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

            Dear son!

            For 15 years now, you have not seen your father, but he is somewhere unknown, occasionally reporting to you about you, nurturing a fatherly love to you, which makes him send you these last thoughts of life.

            You know how I suffered for my carelessness and negligent life; but you do not know how I blissed in my unknown wanderings, enjoying the fruits of repentance.

            I die peacefully in the goodwill of my kind benefactor, because the good done for the father must accrue to the kind son. Express my heartfelt gratitude to him for what you can.

            Leaving you my fatherly blessing, I beseech you to remember God, to keep your conscience, to be careful, kind and prudent, to treat your dependents as kindly as you can, not to despise beggars and oddities, remembering that even the dying father in his poverty and sadness of spirit tormented himself.

 Calling upon the grace of God, I closed my eyes in the hope of eternal life, with the compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Your father.

 That’s how my good master and I were lying, and were talking. So I asked him: I think, Father, you don’t have any trouble or worry with the uneducated boy? After all, many of our fellow migrants are walking around at night or fretting about work, and are just drifting around on the road, as I have had the opportunity to see. There have been few such cases, and more and more real migrants have appeared. We encourage and keep such idlers with us. They often correct themselves and become humble and gentle people after staying among our poor beggars, the brothers of Christ. Recently, there was an example of that. A local townsman became so careless that everyone was driving him out of their gates with sticks, and no one gave him even a piece of bread. He was a poor, violent and rebellious man, and he also stole. In this appearance and hunger, he came to us; he asked for bread and wine, to which he was an extraordinary hunter. We welcomed him kindly, told him: live with us, we will give you as much wine as you want, but only on the condition that you go to sleep immediately after drinking, and if you even slightly revolt and get drunk, then not only will we pursue you and never accept you, but I will also act as a servitor or vine gardener, a drifter. By agreeing to this, he stayed with us. For a week or more, he did indeed drink a lot, as much as he wanted, but always in accordance with his promise and with his willingness to drink wine (so that he would not lose it), he went to sleep, or went out into the garden and remained silent. When he came to his senses, the beggars brothers exhorted him and gave him advice to abstain, though at first gradually. So he gradually began to drink less, and after three months he became an unassuming person, and is now somewhere hired, and does not eat some stranger’s bread. Here, on the third day, he came to me with thanks. What wisdom, accomplished through the guidance of love! I thought to myself, and exclaimed: Blessed be God, who shows his kindness in the shelter of his refuge!

 After these conversations, my master and I went out half an hour or so, and just as we were entering the church, my wife was already there with her children. We attended morning prayer; and soon after that, a Divine Liturgy began. My master and I, along with a boy, stood at the altar, and my wife with her daughter stood near the altar window, to see the lifting of the holy gifts. My God! How they prayed together, and their faces shone with joyful tears! What a light they had in their faces, so that I could not help but cry with them.

After the Lord’s service, the priest, servants, and all the beggars went together to dinner, and there were as many as forty beggars; there were cripples, sick people, and boys. They all sat down for dinner. How quiet and solemn it was! I took courage and gently said to the master: in monasteries, the lives of the saints are read during the meal; well, why not for you too, and you have a circle of four hands. The master turned to the lady and said: indeed, Sasha, let us arrange this. It would be a disgrace. Well, at the first meal I will read, then you, then the priest, and then the brothers, in turn, who know how. The priest, after eating, began to say: I love to listen, but the obedient servant has no free time. As soon as you get home, you don’t know how to get back to all the worries and troubles; there is something to do, and there is something else to do; there are a lot of boys, and a lot of cattle, all day long in a bustle, not to read or instruct. Having heard this, I shuddered, and the lady, sitting next to me, grabbed my hand, and began to say: Father, he is saying this out of humility, he always belittles himself, and he is the kindest and pious person. He has been a widower for 20 years and has been raising a whole family of grandchildren, and besides, he often serves. At these words, the following saying of Mykita Styfata in the Life of the Monk Dobrotolyubya came to mind: the nature of things is measured by the inner state of the soul, that is, whoever he is, he sets up others in the same way. And he goes on to say: Who has attained true prayer and love, he has no distinction of things, he does not distinguish between the righteous and the sinner, but he loves all alike and does not condemn, as God does; as the sun shines and sprinkles on the righteous and the wicked. Silence began again; across from me sat a completely blind beggar among beggars. The master fed him, cut up the fish, gave him a spoon, poured juice for him. Carefully watching, I noticed that this beggar’s mouth was wide open, and his tongue was constantly moving and seemed to tremble; I thought that he was a prayer-bearer, and I began to pay more attention. During the end of the meal, one elderly woman became ill, she was seized with a severe fit, and she groaned. The master and the lady took her into their bedroom and laid her on the bed; the lady stayed to walk behind her; the priest, in case of emergency, went for the reserve sacrament; and the master ordered the carriage to be harnessed and rode off to the doctor to town. Everyone went away.

            I felt a prayerful as if hunger, there was a strong need for prayerful bursts, and solitude and silence were no longer there the next day. I felt a kind of flood in my heart, which wanted to break through and spill out into all the members, but as I held it back, there was a strong pain in my heart – a consoling one, which demanded a wordless calm and crowding with prayer. Here I saw why true creators of prayer, who dictated to them, went away from people, and hid themselves in anonymity, and I understood why St. Isaac the Syrian and the spiritual and useful conversation, but uncontrollable, called it useless babble, just as St. Ephrem the Syrian says: a good word is silver, and silence is pure gold. In the contemplation of all this, I went to the poor beggar; there everyone took a break for lunch. I climbed to the attic, calmed down, rested, and prayed. When the beggars got up, I found the blind man and took him outside the garden; we sat there alone and began to talk.

After reading this, I started to think that it was very convenient for me, and I began to pray in a hushed voice over my sewing work, and I liked it. Those who lived with me in the house noticed this and began to make fun of me; are you a sorcerer or a magician who continually whispers or chants? I stopped moving my lips to hide it and instead began to say my prayers in one language. Finally, I got so used to prayer that the language itself, day and night, spoke it, and I liked it.

I went with the blind man, and we went little by little, progressing ten to fifteen kilometres a day, and the rest of the time we stayed in secluded places and read The Purity of Love.

I read to him about the prayer of the heart in the order that my departed elderly spiritual father had indicated to me, that is, beginning with the book by St. Nicetas of Sinai, Gregory Sinaíta, and so on. With what eagerness and carefulness he listened to everything and how much he liked it and was glad! Then he began to ask me questions about prayer that my mind could not answer.

After reading what was needed from The Purity of Love, he began eagerly to ask me to demonstratively show him how to find the heart with the mind, and how to bring the divine Yname of Jesus Christ into it, and how to pray with joy within the heart. I began to tell him: here you see nothing, but you can imagine with your mind what you have seen before, that is, a person, or some object, or some part of you, for example, a hand or a foot, you can imagine it as vividly as if you were looking at it, and you can direct and focus your attention on it even when you are blind? I can, the blind man replied. So you can also imagine your heart, cast your eyes as if you were looking at it through your chest, and as quickly as possible imagine it, and listen carefully to how it beats and hits over and over again. Once you have got used to this, start with each beat of the heart, looking at it, to adapt the words of prayer. In this way, with the first beat say or think Lord, with the second Jesus, with the third Christ, with the fourth Forgive me, and with the fifth Me, and repeat this many times. It is convenient for you, because the beginning and preparation for inner prayer are already in place. Once you get used to this, start bringing in and bringing out the whole Jesus prayer in your heart along with your breathing, as the fathers teach, that is, taking in air, say, imagine: Lord Jesus Christ, and when you breathe out, say, Forgive me! Engage in this more often and more intensively, and you will soon feel a subtle and pleasant pain in the heart, then there will be heat and warmness in it. In this way, with God’s help, you will achieve self-satisfying inner prayer of the heart. But at the same time, take great care to avoid thoughts in the mind, and any kind of imaginations. Do not accept any imaginations; for the holy fathers strictly command that we keep our eyes closed during inner prayer, so as not to fall into lust.

A blind man, having listened to all this with respect, began to act in the way shown with diligence, and at night, when we stopped for the night, he mostly spent a long time doing this. After fifteen days, he began to feel a strong heat and an indescribable pleasure in his heart, and moreover, a great desire to continuously practice this prayer, which opened the door to his love for Jesus Christ. Sometimes he began to see light, although he did not notice any objects or things in it; sometimes it seemed to him, when he entered the heart, that a strong flame of a lit candle blazed sweetly inside the heart and, coming out through the throat, illuminated it; and in this flame he could even see distant things, as happened one time.

     I said to him, “Love Jesus Christ and thank Him; but be careful not to receive different visions as immediate revelations of grace; for this often happens, and naturally it must. The soul is relatively free from place and matter. It can see even in darkness and in very distant places, like the same thing that happens nearby. But we do not give strength to this spiritual ability, and we suppress it either through the clumsiness of our bodies or through the confusion of our thoughts and scattered thoughts. And when we concentrate on ourselves, we are distracted from everything around us and become refined in the mind, then the soul enters into its purpose and acts to the highest degree, this is a natural matter. I heard from my deceased elder that not even prayerful people are able to do this, or who are in pain, in a dark room can see light as it comes from all things, can distinguish objects, feel their double and penetrate into the thoughts of another. And when the heart in prayer springs directly from the grace of God, it is so pleasant that no words can speak, and nothing can be applied to it, and nothing can be compared to it; all sensual things are low in comparison with the sweet feelings of grace in the heart.

     My blind man was listening to this with diligence, and he became even more humble; his heart prayer developed more and more, and it pleased him more and more. I was glad of this from the heart and thanked God that He had allowed me to see this blessed servant of His.

Finally, we reached Tobolsk, I brought him to the hospice, left him there, and, after a hearty farewell, went on my way.

For a month I walked slowly and deeply felt how instructive and encouraging good living examples can be; I often read Dobrotolyubiye and believed everything I said to the blind man of prayer. His instructive example burst into me with zeal, gratitude and love for God, the prayer of the heart gave me so much pleasure that I did not think that anyone on earth was happier than I, and I wondered what greater and more beautiful pleasure there could be in the kingdom of heaven. I not only felt all this in my heart, but everything and the external appeared to me in a wonderful way, and everything drew me to the love and gratitude of God; people, trees, plants, animals, everything was as familiar to me; I found the image of the name of Jesus Christ everywhere. Sometimes I felt such lightness as if I did not have a body, and I was not walking, but simply floating happily in the air; sometimes I went all by myself to myself and clearly saw all my carcasses, marveling at the wisdom of the human body; sometimes I felt such joy as if I were made a king and wanted to die as soon as possible to pour out thanks at the foot of His in the world of spirits.

Hardships on the road and the story of the old soldier

            Apparently, I was greatly enjoying these feelings, whether it was due to God’s will or not. After some time, I felt some agitation and fear. I would not be spared, I thought, from some evil or misfortune, like that of the girl I had taught Jesus’ prayer in the chapel. Thoughts came to me in a cloud, and I remembered the words of St. John of Karpas, who says that one who frequently teaches is subject to mockery and suffers misfortune and temptations for those who have benefited from him spiritually. Facing these thoughts, I intensified my prayer, which completely dispelled them, and encouraged myself and said to myself, “Let it be God’s will! I am ready to endure anything that Jesus Christ does not send me because of my sinfulness and pride.” And those to whom I had recently revealed the secret of the heart’s entrance and the inner prayer were, above all, prepared for my meeting with them by direct divine teaching. Calmed by this, I went away with joy and prayer, and was delighted once again. For two days it had rained, and the road was so muddy that I could hardly drag my feet out of the dirt, so I walked along the steppe, and there was not a single village along the road. Finally, in the evening I saw a little entrance near the road, I rejoiced and thought, “Here I will ask for a place to stay and spend the night, and tomorrow morning, if God wills: maybe the weather will be better.”

I sat down and thought that she would not calm down soon, so I said to her: “Where, mother, can I sleep? I am tired from the road.” I found her a bed, and, laying a bench by the front window, I spread a mat and put a pillow on it. I lay down and closed my eyes, as if I were asleep. The housewife still rummaged around for a long time; finally she climbed up, put out the fire and came to me. Suddenly the whole window, the frame, the panes and the pieces of the frame, flew up with a loud crash, the whole house shook, and there was a horrible moaning, screaming and an uproar outside the window. My grandmother, frightened, jumped to the middle of the room and fell to the floor. I was terrified, thinking that the earth had opened up beneath me. There I saw two ass-stable-keepers bringing a man into the house, all covered in blood, so that even his face was not visible. This frightened me even more. It was a pathfinder who had come to change the horses here. The stable-keeper had failed to turn correctly in the gate and had beaten out the window with his whip. The carriage had turned over, and the pathfinder, falling, had struck his head on the pointed pole with which the stairs were attached. The pathfinder asked for water and wine to wash his wounds, soaked them with wine, and drank a glass himself, shouting: “Horses!” I stood by his side, saying: “How are you, father, with such pain?” “I was once sick,” he replied, and set off. The two stable-keepers took my grandmother to the furnace in a corner, covered her with a rag and said: “It was just a vision she had, from fright; she’ll come round.” And the supervisor got drunk and once again went to doze. I was left alone.

            Six years after this event, passing by a convent for women, I went into the church to pray. A strange abbess took me to herself after lunch and ordered tea to be served. Suddenly, unexpected guests arrived; she went out to them, leaving me with the nuns, her inmates. The humble nun who served the tea aroused my curiosity and asked why you have been so mad, Mother? She answered that she had been brought here because she was crazy, and God had been kind enough to cure her. The abbess left me at the celibate and entered the monastery. “What was this madness?” I asked her. “I was transported in such a way to a temporary station,” she replied. “At night, while I was sleeping, the horses broke the window open, and in my fright I went mad. My relatives took me around for a year, and here I am cured. Hearing this, I rejoiced in my soul and glorified God, wisdom conceding everything to the benefit of those who build.”

            There were many different instances that I would mention to my father; if I tried to relate them one at a time, I could not even speak them all in three days. There is one more occasion to relate.

Meeting with a village priest and a pious young woman

            On a bright summer day, I saw a cemetery next to the road, or as it is called, a cemetery, that is, a church and some priestly houses. It was time for the obitus. I went there, and the surrounding people were also going there; others, as far as they could walk, sat on the grass and, seeing me coming quickly, said to me: “Don’t hurry; stop here and have a drink; the service here is very long – the priest is ill, very bony and jaundiced. Truly, the service lasted a long time; the priest was young, but thin and pale, and he acted very slowly, nevertheless very piously; at the end of the obitus he preached a wonderful and comprehensible sermon about the ways to acquire love for God.

When lunch was over, the priest said to me: “After lunch, go to bed, and I will read the Word of God and prepare for tomorrow’s sermon.” I went into the kitchen; there was no one there, only an old woman crouching in a corner, coughing. I sat under the window, took my The Goodness of Love out of my bag, and began reading about myself quietly; finally, I listened to an elderly woman in the corner whispering the Jesus Prayer incessantly. I was glad to hear the holiest name of the Lord, which is often uttered, and began talking to her: “How good it is that you are always praying!” This is the most Christian act of salvation. Yes, father, she replied, in my old age, the only joy is that God will forgive me! How long have you been praying like this? Since I was a child, father; without it, I cannot even survive, because the Jesus Prayer has saved me from death and death. How so? Tell me, please, in the glory of God and to the praise of the grace of the Jesus Prayer.

        I was a young, beautiful girl; my parents arranged a marriage for me: the next day, there was a wedding, and the groom came to us, and suddenly, without having taken a step, he fell and died, having never breathed! I was so frightened that I completely gave up on marriage and decided to live unmarried and go to holy places to pray to God. But I was afraid that when I was young, evil people would scold me. A woman who was an acquaintance of mine taught me that, wherever I went, I should constantly recite the Jesus prayer, and she assured me that, with this prayer, no misfortune could happen to me on the road. I believed her, and I was able to walk safely everywhere, even to distant holy places; my parents gave me money for this.

        In my old age, I became ill and this priest came to us out of his kindness and took care of me and gave me food.

        With great joy, I did not know how to thank God for the day that had opened up such instructive examples for me. Then, having asked for the blessing of a kind and reverent priest, I set out on my journey with great joy.

A story of the conversion of an old Kazan official

        Not long ago, as I was walking through the Kazan province, I had the opportunity to learn how the power of prayer in the name of Jesus Christ is clearly and vividly revealed to people who do not consciously engage in it, and how the frequency and duration of prayer is the most reliable and shortest way to achieve good. I happened to spend the night in a Tatar village. I entered the house, and there I saw a carriage and a Russian driver next to it; the horses were eating near the wagon. Excited by this, I intended to ask for lodgings at once, thinking that at least I would spend the night with Christians. I approached the driver and asked who was on his way? He replied that the gentleman was traveling from Kazan to the Crimea. While we were talking to the driver, the gentleman opened the door of the wagon and took a look at me and said, “I am staying here too, but I did not go into the house, because it is so bad in Tatars, and I decided to stay in the wagon for the night.” Then, he went for a walk, for the evening was beautiful, and we continued talking.

        Among other things he told me the following about himself: until he was sixty-five years old, I served in the fleet as a captain of the first rank; in old age, an incurable disease – gout, afflicted me, and I retired and lived in the Crimea on my wife’s farm, almost constantly sick. My wife was a vagabond, of a stormy character, and a great gambler. It became boring for her to live in the country with me, the sick man; and she left me, leaving her parcel here in Kazan to our daughter, who was sent here for a clerk by our father on this occasion. After taking possession of everything around me, she even took away my household servants, and left only an eight-year-old boy, my godson in my place. 

      I set him in the room on a stool, ordering him to recite the Jesus Prayer constantly. At first he didn’t like it at all, and he did his utmost to avoid this and often fell silent. To make him carry out my instructions, I would keep a knife by my side. When he was reciting the prayer, I would calmly read my book or listen to him recite it; but as soon as he fell silent, I would show him the knife, and he would be frightened again and start reciting the prayer; and this calmed me down greatly, for there was a sudden quietness in our house. After some time I noticed that the knife was no longer necessary, the boy was willing and more diligent in carrying out my order; further, I saw a complete change in his lively nature. He grew calm and silent, completing all his work with greater success. This made me happy, and I began to let him be more free. In the end, what happened? He had become so accustomed to reciting the prayer that he did it all the time, without my forcing him to do it. When I asked him about it, he replied that he felt an irresistible urge to recite the prayer constantly. After all, how do you feel doing this? Nothing, but I do feel good when I recite this prayer. How so? I don’t know how to say. It’s fun, isn’t it? Yes, it is.

It was already twelve years since the war in the Crimea began, and I had gone to my daughter in Kazan, and he accompanied me there. They placed him in the kitchen with other people, and he suffered greatly from this and complained to me that people, playing and joking among themselves, also imitated him and laughed at him, and this prevented him from taking up prayer. Finally, in three months he came to me and said: I will go home; it is unbearably dull and noisy here. I told him: How can you go so far alone and in winter? Wait until I go and take you with me. The next day my boy disappeared. They sent everywhere to look for him, but they could not find him anywhere. Finally, I received a letter from people in our village in the Crimea, saying that my boy had been found dead in an empty house on April 4, the second day of Easter. He was lying on the floor in my room, with his hands on his chest, in the same cold ragshe wore when he walked with me and left. And they buried him in my garden. Receiving this news, I was very surprised at how quickly my boy had reached the village. He left on February 26, and on April 4 he was found. In one month, he was able to travel about three thousand versts, God willing, and even on horseback. After all, he would have to walk a hundred versts a day. And then, in cold clothes, without a passport and without a single ruble. Suppose that some people may have carried him along the way, but that is all without the special care and providence of God for him. Here is my boy, said the priest at last to me, he tasted the fruit of prayer, and I have not yet come to his measure, even in my old age.These are the words the monk had just said. When I had finished these accounts, I said to my spiritual father, ‘Forgive me, on account of God, for I have spoken a great deal, and the holy fathers call excessive speech a form of repentance. There is no time to waste, so come and visit my fellow Jerusalemite. Pray for me, an unfortunate sinner, that the Lord may, in His great mercy, guide my path to good.’ ‘May God’s all-present grace be with you, dear brother, my co-religionist in the Lord,’ he replied. ‘May God’s gracious favor illuminate your path and accompany you, like the archangel Raphael your guide.’

            One of these methods is common for success in prayer as well as for success in the Christian life, in a way:   unconditional obedience, as St. Simeon the New Theologian says;  acts of benevolence and asceticism, as the Church sings in its hymns:  acts found by you, God-inspired, in visions of the East (Troparion of the Priest);    external prayer for internal prayer:   Lord, teach us to pray;    special grace-filled influences, such as:  Sister Kalivet, once when she had been in fervent prayer to the Mother of God for two years, suddenly felt the sweetness and warmth that filled her heart; young George, in simple prayer, suddenly saw an inner light and accepted an incessant automatic prayer, etc.

If quantity leads to quality, then frequent, almost continuous invocation of the name of Jesus Christ, though at first and scattered, can lead to attention and warmth of heart; since the human nature is capable of assimilating a certain mood through frequent use and habit. To learn to do something well, one must do it much more often, said one spiritual writer; and St. Isaac says that frequency gives rise to habit and draws toward nature (chap. 7). As can be seen from the observations of experienced men, this is how it happens with regard to interior prayer: one who wishes to achieve interior prayer decides to frequently and almost continuously invoke the divine name, that is, to pronounce the Lord’s Prayer out loud: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Sometimes it is abbreviated, that is, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy,” as St. Gregory of Sinai teaches. He adds that the abbreviated invocation is more convenient for a beginner, though he does not rule out either of them, advising only not to frequently change the verb in prayer, so as to become more accustomed to the invocation. And to motivate oneself even more to the constant creation of prayer, the student considers it as a rule to look at the time to set a certain number of invocations, that is, to say a certain number of hundreds or thousands of prayers with a rosary during the day and night, not hastily, but speaking, straining the tongue and lips. After a time, the mouth and tongue of the expert acquire such an habit and such a self-motion that they move by themselves with the name of God, even without a voice. Gradually, the mind listens to this movement of the tongue and gradually clears itself of dispersion and comes to attention to prayer. Finally, the sterility of the mind in the heart can be imitated, as the Fathers express it, that is, the mind, having returned to the heart, warms it with the warmth of divine love, and the heart itself is free, without coercion, with indescribable joy to invoke the name of Jesus Christ and pour itself out with the prayer: “My heart watches.” St. Isaac wonderfully expressed the fruitfulness of frequent intelligent invocation of the name of Jesus Christ: as the rain, which drops down on the earth, multiply it, so it also fertilizes the earth, and the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when it is invoked frequently, joyfully works and rejoices in our hearts, as if it were being addressed most often.

Although the method shown, based on the experiences and observations of the Holy Fathers, is sufficient to guide one in a convenient way to achieve the desired goal of interior prayer, there are still higher methods, so to speak: the union of the mind with the heart. This first method belongs primarily to those who have not yet been accustomed to attention and are not yet able to work successfully on the heart, or it can be an introduction and supposition to the following methods. However, depending on the differences in nature and abilities, one who prefers this and this chooses, as Nicholas the Hermit says.

Attention is the keeping of one’s mind, as St. Nicholas the Serbian says, or attention is the concentration of the mind on itself and its delving into a particular object, leaving all foreign thoughts and images aside. As it is necessary, when engaged in prayer, this is assured by the holy Saints Cyril and Ignatius, citing the words of St. Nilus: „Attention, which seeks prayer, will surely draw it to itself; for prayer follows the mind much more than any other thing, and it is appropriate to attend to it” (The Good in Life, Second Part, Chapter 24). St. Isychius writes likewise: As much as you can, pay attention to your thoughts, and the soul will be wanting to pray (Chapter 90); and also: the air of the heart is filled with the joy and silence of intense attention (Chapter 91), which, as he says, „is as necessary for prayer as a lamp is for the lamp’s light“ (Chapter 102). Likewise, Nicholas the Hermit, after explaining the doctrine of internal prayer, concludes that, if it is not convenient to enter into the heart by the example he has set, one should make use of every attention in prayer, which, without the slightest doubt, will open the innermost entrance and develop internal prayer, as is confirmed in the Holy Scriptures on this truth, that, without attention, it is not possible to commune with God, saying: Let our hearts be silent and let us understand that I am God.

            Therefore, anyone who wishes to reach internal prayer with the aid of attention should keep as much as possible to solitude, avoid conversation with people, pray not for short and not with a rush, but with some arrangement, deepen the mind in the prayerful words, as happens during attentive reading of a book, invoke with all his might and pray to his merciful the one he seeks: sometimes, after creating a prayer, he should pause for a little while, as if waiting for a divine answer, try to keep his attention both at times of distraction and at all times, keeping in mind that he has undertaken to be in constant attentive prayer for the Lord, exalting the mind from all its thoughts.

Third Key: Calm Breathing and Rhythm

            The third key is the ascent within into oneself or into the heart. Without expanding our thoughts on this subject, let us present the image and the teaching of the Holy Fathers about self-improvement and entering into the heart, according to the methods they have tested, as faithful guides to true spiritual internal prayer. Let us state the instructions of the Holy Fathers here in their own words, dividing them for convenience into three rows and arranging them in the following order:

The first row consists of the Fathers who left us comprehensive instructions about the Lord’s Prayer, such as: 1) St. Symeon the New Theologian, 2) Gregory of Sinai, 3) Nicholas, the monk, and 4) the monks Callistus and Ignatius of Ksanthropoulos.

            The second column consists of the Holy Fathers who left brief utterances on interior prayer, which are: 1) St. Makarios of Egypt, 2) the same Ignatius, 3) St. Isaac the Syrian, 4) St. Euthmios of Meragioun, and 5) the same Ignatius and St. Euthmios of Meragioun.

1) Bishop Theophylos of Jerusalem, 2) Philo of Sinai, 3) Feolipt Metropolitan and 4) Varusonofii and Ioan.“If you work in this way, you will find yourself on the right and clear path to the third form of prayer, which is as follows: may the mind keep the heart while it is in prayer, and may it continuously turn within, sending its prayers to God from within the depths of the heart. That is all that is needed: work thus until you have tasted the Lord. When the mind finally tastes Him and feels goodness in the heart, it will no longer want to go away from this place, but will instead look constantly back into the heart and turn there without ceasing, driving away all the thoughts that the devil endlessly concocts.”

        Three things are required above all else: care for everything, even the blessed, not just for the unblessed and worldly, or otherwise, deadening everything, a pure conscience in everything, so that it does not expose you to anything; and complete impartiality, so that your mind is not diverted to anything. Then, sit in a special, silent place by yourself, close the door, turn your mind away from all temporal and worldly things, lean your head to your bosom, and thus, keep your attention within yourself (not in your head, but in your heart), directing there your reason and your senses as well. There, having your reason, trying all you can to find it, where is your heart, and once you have found it, your reason is already wholly there. At first, you will find darkness inside, and stiffness; but then, if you continue this task of attention incessantly, day and night, you will gain a continuous joy. The reason, with its labors, will reach the place of the heart, and then, immediately, it will see things inside that it has never seen or known before. From the moment that any thought arises from anywhere and arises, before it enters within and comes to mind, reason immediately drives it away and destroys it in the name of Jesus, that is, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me. From that moment, whenever a thought arises, before it comes inside and thinks, or appears, reason immediately resents the demons, chases them away, and vanquishes them. But what usually happens as a result of this practice, with God’s help, you will learn from experience yourself, by keeping your attention and holding Jesus, that is, his prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!

2) Instructions of St. Gregory the Sinaite

Святой Григорий Синаит изложил учение о внутренней молитве в сердце и о способе овладеть ей в трех своих статей о безмолвии и молитве, помещенных в Добротолюбиях, часть 1-ой ст. 112-119. Вот сокращенное выделение из них:

         Мы должны принять дух жизни об Иисусе Христе, жизненной молитвой путем чистой молитвы,-говорить с Господом херувимовски; однако мы не знаем величия, чести и славы благодати возрождения и не заботимся о том, чтобы духовно расти через выполнение заповедей, и не схватиться за состояние разумного созерцания, а вместо этого прибегаем к небрежности, вследствие чего впадаем в пристрастные навыки и опускаемся в безумство и мрак. Более того, мы даже мало помним, есть ли Бог, а не знаем, какими нам самим быть, как Божиими детьми по благодати, про это не догадываемся. Мы верим, но верим не живой верой, и после возрождения духом в Крещении продолжаем жить плотски. Если иногда, покаявшись, и начинаем исполнять заповеди, то исполняем их только внешне, а не духовно, и даже отпадаем от духовной жизни, так что явления ее в других нам кажутся несправедливостями и ошибками. Так до самой смерти мы продолжаем жить мертвым духом, живя и действуя не для Христа, и не отвечая тому определению, что родящееся от Духа должно быть духовным.

Meanwhile, the faith we received at holy Baptism for Christ Jesus is not obliterated but hidden away like a treasure in the earth. And prudence and gratitude demand that we endeavour to bring it to light. How is this to be done? There are two ways: first, the gift is manifested by the ardent keeping of the commandments, that is, when we do this, as we perform the commandments, the gift is illuminated and shines forth all the more; secondly, it is discovered and disclosed by constant calling on the Lord Jesus Christ, or, what is the same, by constant remembering God. The first means is very powerful, but the second is more powerful still, so that the former is divinely strengthened by it. Therefore, if we sincerely wish to reveal the hidden seed of grace in us, let us hasten to cultivate this last hearty practice and have as a single object in our hearts this one work of prayer, not to be described as merely illusory, until it warms our hearts and inflames them to immeasurable love for the Lord.

         When one’s mind becomes dull and the body and the heart are exhausted from the constant calling upon the Lord Jesus, then get up and sing, or engage in contemplations of some passage of Scripture, or reflect on death, or read, or do needlework, or something else.

When one takes up this work of prayer, it is appropriate for one to read only books that expound the teachings of inner life, chastity, and prayer, namely, the Ladder, the words of Isaac the Syrian, the ascetic writings of Maxim the Confessor, Symeon the New Theologian, Isaiah, Philo of the Sinai, and others. Other writings should be set aside for the time being, not because they are bad, but because it is not appropriate to engage in them with one’s true state of mind and aspiration: they may distract one’s mind from prayer. Read only a little, but with depth and absorption.

            Do not neglect prayer either. Others keep a great prayer rule, while others leave the prayer book altogether and pray to the Lord with a single intelligent prayer. You should choose the middle way: do not memorize many prayers, because this causes embarrassment, but do not leave them either, in case of weakness and relaxation. If you see that prayer is working in you and does not cease to move in your heart, do not leave it and do not take up the prayer book. This would mean leaving God within, stepping out and extending a conversation to Him from the outside. For someone who does not yet have the power of prayer, it is necessary to pray a great deal, and even excessively, in order constantly to be in this multi-faceted and versatile prayer, until one’s heart is heated by such a painful work of prayer, and the power of prayer begins within it. Once one has tasted this grace, one should pray in moderation, and spend more time in intelligent prayer, as the fathers prescribed. In the event of a relaxation of the inner life, it is necessary to pray or read the writings of the fathers. Overdoing it is superfluous when the wind is full-sailing. The sails are needed when the wind dies down and the boat comes to a halt.

            The great weapon of a person who keeps weeping in prayer, so as not to become conceited because of the joys that prayer gives, is on their enemy. The person who retains such a harmony of sorrow will avoid all harm. The true, not magic, inner prayer is one in which the heat, coming from the prayer of Jesus, casts fire in the earth of the heart and inflames passions like flame. It illuminates the soul with joys and mirth, and comes not from the sacredness or shininess of a country, nor even from above, but breaks through from the heart, like a spring of water, from the life-giving Spirit. This one must be loved and returned to in one’s heart, keeping one’s mind always open-minded. With this one should not fear anything; for he who said: Rejoice, I will not fear, is with us.

3) Advice of Nicéphoros the Monk

            Nichifor, the monk, in his essay on sobriety and the guarding of the heart (The Good Part 2, p. 36-43), describes the path of entering into the heart.

            Those of you who want to receive the fire of the heavenly heart in feeling, and to experience the kingdom of heaven, come to me and I will tell you the science of the heavenly life, or rather the art that effortlessly and easily brings the craftsman into the refuge of impartiality. Through falling we have gone out; let us return to ourselves, turning away from the external. Reconciliation and kinship with God are impossible for us if we do not return to ourselves and enter within. Only inner life is truly Christian life. This is what all the fathers say.

            Thus, the brother asked Avva Agathon: what is more important, bodily labor or the guarding of the heart? The elder replied: a person is like a tree; bodily labor is the leaves, and the guarding of the heart is the fruit. Since, according to the Scriptures, every tree that does not bear good fruit is uprooted and thrown into the fire, it is obvious that you should devote all your attention to the fruit, that is, to the guarding of the heart. However, for us, both the foliage dress, that is, bodily labor, is necessary.

            St. Leontius says: close the doors of the cell for the body, the doors of the mouth for the tongue, and the inner doors for the evil spirits. While sitting on the height (that is, maintaining your attention on the heart), observe, if you are skillful, which and how many come to your mother to enter the vineyard of your heart and trickle the grapes. Having labored, the overseer (that is, your listener), rises up to pray, then again sits down and courageously takes up the same task (that is, the attention of the heart and prayer).

            St. Macarius the Great teaches: the main task of the ascetic is to enter his heart, to create a struggle with Satan and to resist his thoughts, to fight against him.

            St. Isaac the Syrian writes: Wash yourself from sin, enter into your inner treasury, and you will see the heavenly treasure. The hiding place of the kingdom of heaven lies within you, that is, in your heart. Therefore, wash yourself from sin, and gather yourselves within your heart: there you will find the steps by which you can ascend to the heights.

            This is what Carpathian says: much effort and labor is required in prayers, in order to find an undisturbed state of thought, that is, another heavenly heart in which Christ lives, as the Apostle says: – do you not know that Christ lives in you.

Here are the words of St. Symeon the New Theologian: “Since the moment when man was driven out of paradise and separated from God, the devil together with the demons has had the freedom, night and day, to move invisibly the illusory force within each person. To protect yourself from this spirit, there is nothing else that you can do except by constantly remembering God. Whoever has his mind on God can restrain the wandering and the activity of his mind.” All the holy Fathers teach this. This is the practice that most of us acquired through teaching. Very rarely are those who have not been taught given it directly from God, because of the heat of their faith. So, you must seek a teacher who knows the matter. If you do not have such a teacher, then, summoning God’s help with tears and contrition of heart, do what I tell you.

  The principal precepts of Saint Kallistos and Saint Ignatius [Xanthopoulos] are contained in 100 chapters of their works. The following are the most important points for us:

  The beginning of life for God is zeal, and making every effort to live by Christ’s saving commandments; the end, however, is a state that is perfectly fulfilled in us through the divine grace of baptism, or that which is the same thing: to put the old man, with his deeds and desires, away, and to clothe oneself in the new, spiritual man, as the divine Paul says: “My child, until the day of Christ’s manifestation comes in you.”

  When we are baptized, Saint Zosimos says, then our soul shines more than the sun, it is purified by the Holy Spirit. Like fine silver, which lies before the rays of the sun and emits pure, but not by virtue of its own essence, but because it is illuminated by the sun; so the soul that is purified in baptism receives the rays of grace from the Holy Spirit, and is itself inwardly glorious. But, unfortunately, this glory, which is immeasurable and fearful, remains with us for only a day or two, and then we extinguish it by our everyday concerns and passions.

  In the divine baths, that is, in holy baptism, we receive the perfect divine grace. If, after that, we hide it under the veil of everyday worries and passions, we can once again restore it and cleanse it with repentance and the fulfillment of divine commandments, and see its natural luminosity. This happens to the extent of each person’s faith and the ardor of their efforts to live according to the faith, especially with the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ. St. Mark says: Christ, the perfect God, gave complete grace to those who were baptized with the Holy Spirit, which does not require any program from us; it is revealed to us and is clearly made manifest in us in the measure of our fulfillment of the commandments, until we reach the fulfillment of Christ in the span of our lives.

            Thus, since the beginning and the root of salvific action is to live by the commandments of the Lord, and the end and the fruit is to restore the perfect grace of the Spirit, which we have received previously in baptism, but which is buried by passions, and which is once more revealed through the keeping of the commandments of God: it is proper for us to proclaim this grace.     

            The Apostle John says that he who keeps the commandments of the Lord with the Lord is with the Lord also. The Lord Himself gives a more complete expression of this, saying: Anyone who keeps My commandments and loves Me, loves My Father also. And whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will come to him and live in him, and he will live in Me. Where I am, there also will the followers of My commandments be around. 

            It is impossible for us to carry out the works of salvation without the Lord Jesus Christ, as He Himself says: Without Me you can do nothing , and as the Apostle testifies that there is no other salvation . He is for us the way, the truth and the life. That is why our glorious elders and teachers, with the living and all-holy Spirit in them, most wisely teach us, above all else, to pray to the Lord and to ask Him for mercy unquestioningly, and to keep His most holy and most sweet name always in our hearts, minds and souls, and not to sleep, walk, eat and drink. For just as all evil and harmful things flow into us when we are not called to this, so all the opposite is driven away at the time when it is in us, and nothing good is lacking, and there is nothing we could not do, as the Lord Himself said: Whoever has Me and I have him, we will both create. 

Therefore, having realized our own weakness and having placed all our hope in the Lord, loving the commandments with a willingness to lay our very life to the ground rather than violate any of them, we should devote all our efforts to getting into and becoming established in this continuous invocation of the saving name of the Lord, which is destructive of every evil and creator of good, as we read in Holy Scripture: Keep My commandments and do them; then I will give you rest in My presence.

Therefore, to adapt to this work, our holy fathers suggested a particular action, calling it the art of keeping this invisible name of the Lord, which is a slap in the face of the devil, and a safe haven for the journeying soul. We suggest here to the venerable Nicolas the natural art, how to enter the heart through breathing, which greatly helps to gather thoughts. 

            This is what all the holy fathers taught. St. Chrysostom says: I exhort you, brethren, to never cease performing this rule of prayer. In another place he says: Everyone, whether eating or fasting, sitting or serving, traveling, or doing anything else, should constantly repeat the invocation: “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me”. And when entering into the depths of the heart, it calms down the demons. Never stop calling the name of the Lord Jesus, so that the heart may be filled with the Lord and the Lord with the heart, so that the two become one. He also says: Do not alienate your heart from God, but always keep the Lord Jesus Christ in your heart until his name is placed within the heart, and think of nothing else but that Christ may abound in you. Saint Leontius says: Let the invocation of the Lord Jesus be united with your breath. And Saint Hysin writes: If you wish to cover the thoughts of others with shame and to constantly keep your heart under control, let the prayer to the Lord Jesus be joined to your breath, and within a few days you will see your desire fulfilled.

            Let it be known that if we teach our mind to proceed to the heart along with the breath, we will also notice that when it enters there, it becomes one and naked, holding only one memory and invocation of our Lord Jesus Christ; on the contrary, when it comes out and moves toward external objects, it willingly divides into many images and memories. For the purpose of preserving this simplicity and separateness of the mind, it was prescribed by the experienced Fathers in this matter that the one who strove to acquire the habit of keeping his mind in the heart should sit in a quiet and dark place, especially at the beginning of this good endeavor. For the sight of external objects naturally causes the dispersion of thoughts. When the quiet and dark cell hides us from external things, the thought ceases to wander and is more easily brought together, as Basil the Great says: “The mind, which does not spread its senses to the world, turns toward itself.”

            Pay careful attention to the fact that the essence of this effort consists in a unanimous, heartfelt, pure and not widespread invocation with faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and not only in this one proceeding to the heart through breathing and sitting in a quiet and dark place. All this and similar things were invented by the Fathers not for anything else, but in order to use them as a means of gathering thoughts and returning them to themselves from their usual scattering. On the other hand, the habit of being gathered and listening to oneself gives birth to the habit of pure and not reticent prayer with the mind in the heart.

2) Instruction of Iusice Christian

2) Fear is the firm establishment and standing of the mind at the door of the heart, so that it sees how foreign thoughts, these thieves, come, hears what they say and do, these destroyers, and how demons draw up and enclose an image, trying to capture the mind through dreams and captivate it. If we find it difficult to pass through such an action, it will clearly show us the art of mental vigilance (ch. 6).

3) Images of sobriety: the first is to avoid being excessively absorbed in dreams or by watching a model; the second is always to have a heart that is deeply silent and wordless before any thought; the third is to constantly call upon the help of the Lord Jesus Christ in humility; the fourth is to have in one’s heart a constant remembrance of death; the fifth is the most effective of all: always to look toward heaven, not blaming the earth in any way (chapters 14-18).

  8) The devil is like a roaring lion who walks around with his hordes, calling who to consume. Let our hearts not be tired of careful watchfulness, sobriety, conversation with our thoughts, and prayer to Christ Jesus, our God. For there is no help like that of Jesus, for all life, for He alone is the Lord, as God, knows the tricks, schemes, and deceptions of the demons (chapter 39).

  9) Just as salt adds flavor to bread and all food, preserving flesh from corruption and maintaining it in integrity for a long time, so understand the wise preservation of the imaginary pleasure and the incredible deeds in the heart. For it also delights the inner and external man, banishes the odor of thin thoughts, and preserves us in goodness (chapter 87).

  10) The more carefully you listen to your reason, the more enthusiastically you will pray to Jesus; and the more carelessly you observe your reason, the farther you will be from Jesus. And again, the first, namely the carelessness of sobriety and the sweet calling of Jesus, usually completely eclipses it (chapter 90).

  11) Uninterrupted, with a warm desire, filled with delight and joy, the calling of Jesus makes what the spirit of the heart is full of comforting tranquility from the complete attention. The same thing, so that the heart is completely purified, is attributed to Jesus Christ, the Son of God and God, the author of all good and the Creator. For He Himself says: I am God, who shapes the world (chapter 91).

  12) The divine state is born of incessant remembrance and call to our Lord Jesus Christ, if you do not neglect constant prayer to Him in your mind and constant sobriety, as the only indispensable matter. And indeed, one and the same thing done always we must have to do with, the calling of our Lord Jesus Christ; with a burning heart we cry out to Him, let Him grant us to share and taste in His name. For habituation to purity is the mother of practice, whether to virtue or to vice; and habit then already dominates, just like nature. Having arrived at this state, reason has already been searching for its enemies, like a ferocious dog chasing a hare through the bushes; but this one is looking for it to eat, and this one to strike and drive out (chapter 97).

13). The experienced David says to the Lord: “I shall keep my kingdom in your hands.” And the preservation of the inner and visible peace of heart, from which all virtues are born, depends on the help of the Lord, who has given us commandments and repels unneeded forgetfulness, which often destroys inner peace, like water quenching fire. Therefore, do not resort to sleep out of carelessness, but with the name of Jesus beat down the adversaries. This is the most sweet name and a comfortable rest for your breath; then you will recognize the worth of peace. (Ch. 100.)17) What a wonderful fruit for the mind is silence, where sins, which first strike the mind only with thoughts, and if they are accepted by the heart, become then coarse sins of the senses, are all weeded out by the virtue of sobriety in our inner man, which prevents them from entering inside and allowing them to enter inside and into Jesus Christ (chapter 111).21) Rightly, if our soul is kept constantly pure and fertile, we can immediately see the idle thoughts that arise in the mind. With regard to correspondence – to expose and expose the thought that has attempted to enter the air of our mind through the perception of a sensual object. The same thing that immediately quells and disperses every intention of the opponents, every word, every dream, every idol and every pillar of wickedness, is the “call of the Lord.” And we ourselves see how powerfully Jesus, our great God, strikes them down and how he protects us who are humble, poor and unfit for anything (Ch. 153).

2) Words of Filokalyia Sinaikhe

     1) The Creator’s goodness has such a language, and it pursues the goal of perfectly calming one’s heart with thoughts of God. It will help to leave everything behind, including the body, and to ignore real life in order to obtain the One God in one’s heart (ch. 1).

     2) Before dawn, one should manfully and unwaveringly stand at the door of one’s heart with a firm remembrance of God and a constant Jesus Christ prayer in one’s heart, slaughtering all the sinners of the earth: that is, with a faithful, timely, and powerfully seductive remembrance of God, sowing, “smashing and chipping, destroying and overthrew, breaking down and rebuilding, burning and scanning, investigating and examining the foundations.” (ch. 2).

   3) Temperance is rightly called a “way,” because it leads to the kingdom, to that within us, and to the future, and to the “wise Creator.” It produces, and refines, spiritual habits and transforms passion into serenity. It is also similar to a window that opens onto the mind, through which God reached the human mind (ch. 3).

   4) Where there is humility, remembering God with sobriety and vigilance and often addressing prayer to enemies, there is God’s place, or the heart’s heaven, in which the legion of devils dares to stand because God lives there (ch. 4).

   5) The first gate leading into the Jerusalem of the mind, to the mind’s attention, is the sober silence of the lips, even when the mind is still not silent; the second, is moderate frugality in food, drink, and sleep; the third, is that which purifies the mind and the body through unceasing remembrance and contemplation of death (ch. 6).

   6) Delightful remembrance of God, that is, of Jesus Christ, with a deep-rumbling heart and healing hostility to everything sinful, generally destroys all the charms, delusions, the words, and dreams, cowardly imaginings, and in short, all that is hostile to our souls. Jesus, when called, easily burns up all such things. For there is no salvation in anyone but Jesus Christ. This is also what the Savior himself said: “Without me you can do nothing.” (ch. 22).

            7) In every year and in every moment, we must observe sobriety in keeping our hearts from thoughts that blacken the spiritual mirror in which only Jesus Christ must be impressed and written. We must constantly seek the kingdom of heaven within our hearts; and, of course, we shall find within ourselves the secret grain, the seed, the leaven, and everything else if we cleanse the eye of our mind. This is what our Lord Jesus Christ meant when He said:  The kingdom of God is within you (see chapter 23).

            8) In the conduct of inner vigils, do this: keep intercession and prayer together, and sobriety will strengthen prayer, and prayer will strengthen sobriety. Sobriety, constantly keeping watch over everything within, notices how enemies try to enter, and, fencing them off by its own strength, it also calls upon the help of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that He may cast out these evil soldiers. In this watchfulness, there is a threat of entrance in the form of contradiction; and Jesus, who is called upon, expels the demons with their dreams (see chapter 25).

            9) Keep your mind in the utmost attention. As soon as you notice an enemy thought, immediately refute it, but at the same time hurry to call the Lord Jesus as deliverer. The sweetest Jesus, when you speak, says, “Here I am with you to give you succor.” But even after your prayer, when all these enemies have been subdued, continue to listen attentively to your mind. Here again, waves of thoughts that multiplied themselves one after another will rush upon you, so that your soul seems to be sinking into an abyss and ready to perish. But Jesus, aroused by His disciples, again, as a God, forbids the malicious winds of thoughts, and they subside. You, having gained freedom from the attacks of the enemies, for an hour or a moment, praise Him Who saved you and immerse yourself in thoughts of death (see chapter 26).

            10) With every heartfelt attention in the spiritual sense, you will perform your way. Attentiveness and prayer, being joined together daily, do something like a fire horse-driven chariot, raising to heavenly heights one who is involved in them. What do I say? In the one who has established himself in sobriety, a pure heart becomes an imaginary heaven, with its sun, moon, and stars, which may be the dwelling place of the unmeasurable God in a visionary and ascensional (occupation of the mind) manner (see chapter 27).

1) When the sun is west, night begins, and when Christ departs from the soul, the obscurity of passions and the miscreations of the mind begin to torment it. When the sun of the senses has set, and the animals retreat to their burrows. Christ illuminates the mind of the one who is praying, and every world of fancy disappears. The intellect can then take up its own task, that is, divine instruction until evening (Letter 45).

            8) Believe me, I tell you the truth, that if you have the Mother of all good in your every work, unceasingly – prayer, then it does not extinguish until it shows you the way, leads you in, and fulfills the inexpressible glory and joy. It removes all obstacles and makes the path of virtue smooth and convenient for those who seek it (letter 48).

            9) Marrying the mind, read the verbs of prayer, and speak to the Lord, crying out constantly and not grieving; praying unceasingly, imitating the indomitable widow who pleaded with an untamed judge. Then (this will mean) you are walking in spirit, not heeding sensual desires, and not interrupting the continuity of prayer with worldly thoughts, but being a temple of God in which God is silently extolled. Thus, by praying in your mind, you will finally be able to achieve unceasing thought of God, to penetrate the hidden secrets of the mind, to see the invisible in secret contemplations, serving God alone to one, in the wise love of yourself alone (letter 48 cross).

4) Sayings of Varnabas the Great and John the Prophet

            1) Enemies are weakened by the calling of the divine name. Knowing this, we will not cease to invoke the divine name for help. This is a prayer, and Scripture says: “Pray without ceasing” (Reply 422).

            2) Remember that God is the healer of hearts, looks on the heart, and call Him in your heart. This is what is said in Scripture: “Close your doors and pray to your Father who is in secret” (Reply 427). Let us close our mouths and pray to Him in our hearts; for whoever closes his mouth and calls on God, or prays to Him in his heart, he fulfills the commandment given (Reply 427).

            3) The work of your heart must consist in ceaseless prayer for God. If you desire to succeed at this, set out and seek tirelessly, hoping, and God will bless you with success (Reply 26).

            4) Unceasing invocation of the divine name is a remedy that destroys not only passions, but the very functioning of them. Just as a physician seeks an appropriate remedy or plaster for a distressed person’s wound, and they act without the sufferer knowing how: thus, the divine name, when invoked, destroys all passions, although we do not know how this happens (Reply 421).

            5) The Lord said: “Ask and it shall be given to you.” Therefore, pray to the All-Merciful God that he may send you the Holy Spirit of Consolation; and He, who has come, shall teach you everything and reveal all the rites to you. Seek Him for a guide; He shall not permit determination or dispersion in your heart, nor shall He allow carelessness, wandering, or slothfulness to come into your mind; He shall enlighten your eyes, confirm your heart, and uplift your mind. Cling to Him, trust Him, and love Him (reply 136).

            6) When you see that the combination of the enemy hinders you from praying, do not enter into argumentation with him, but try to call upon the name of God, and God will help you and cancel the schemes of the enemies (reply 424).

            7) A perfect prayer consists in conversing with God, without dispersing our thoughts, gathering all our thoughts and feelings. A person enters into such a state when he dies to all men, the world and everything that is in it. Such a person has nothing in his mind except that he is waiting for God and is conversing with Him (reply 79).

Useful words about Avva Filimon

            1) It was said about Avva Filimon the hermit that he shut himself up in a cave near Lavra, called Rumiavy, and devoted himself to ascetic struggles, repeating mentally what, according to the tradition, the Great Arsenius said to himself: Filimon, for what? A pleasant moment was in this cave. His occupation was to make threads and weave baskets, which he handed over to the economy and received small loaves of bread in return. He did not eat anything except bread with salt, and not every day. He probably had no care for his body, but by practicing contemplation, he was in divine illumination and, having found a delightful inscrutable mystery here, he was in spiritual training. Going to church on Saturdays and Sundays, he always went alone in meditation, not allowing anyone to approach him, so that the soul would not be distracted from its action. In the church, however, standing in a corner and bowing his face down, he shed streams of tears, constantly having complaints and in his heart turning around the hearts and imagery of the holy fathers, especially of Arsenius the Great, whose footsteps he tried to follow in every way.

(p198) 2) When a lie appeared in Alexandri and its environs, he left, and went to St. Nicon’s Lavra. Receiving him, the god-fearing Pachym gave him his private dwelling and provided him with immobility. For a whole year he would permit no one to see him, and he bothered him only in the time he brought him the necessary bread. The Holy Resurrection came; when, conversing with one another, they spoke about monasterial life, Filimon realized that even this pious brother Pachym nourished a noble intention (of pursuing a holy life), that he offered him a lot of words of ascetical guidance, both written and oral, showing everyone that it is not possible to please God without complete seclusion, that thus the Word of God inherited the practice of Moses, and that the practice gives birth to lamentation, the lamentation to fear, the fear to humility, the humility to insight, insight to love, and that love makes a soul healthy and sincere, and the human being knows that he is not far from God.3) He (Philimon) said to him: it is necessary by means of silence to completely purify the mind and give it unceasing spiritual activity. Just as the eye, turning to the sensuous, wonders at the visible, so a pure mind, turning to thought, is amazed by the spiritually contemplate, so that you will not even detract it from it. And as one is uncovered by means of silence from passions and purified, so much the more is dispensed (the spirit of spiritual things). The perfected mind is when it tastes the essential portion and becomes one with God. Then, having the dignity of a king, it no longer feels poverty and is not enticed by temporal desires, even if you offer him all the kingdoms. Therefore, if you wish to achieve such virtues, run away from the world and with diligence travel the path of the saints, cast aside the concern for your outward appearance, wear an impoverished clothing and modest adornment. Keep modesty of manner, simple speech, unrighteous gait, and a blunt voice. Love to live in poverty and be neglected by all. Most of all be careful about keeping the mind incorruptible and sober, be patient in all kinds of hardships, and as much as possible keep the spiritual goods already acquired intact and unmovable. Take care of yourself with diligence and do not accept any of the passions that creep in secretly. For although silence subdues the soul’s passions, but if one allows them to flare up and intensify, they usually become even more violent, and those who allow this, with even greater force, lead them into sin. Thus, even the wounds of the body, when rubbed and torn, become incurable. A single word can also distance the mind from the memory of God, when the demons are hungry for it, and the senses agree with them. It is a great feat and fear to preserve the soul. Therefore, it is necessary to completely retreat from the world and, having torn the soul from all sensibility to the body, to become homeless, homeless, landless, homeless, dishonest, carefree, unburdened, ignorant of worldly affairs, humble, compassionate, good, gentle, gentle, quiet, quiet. Because even on wax it is impossible to write without erasing the letters previously drawn on it, as the Great Basil teaches us. Such was the pattern of the saints, who, having completely withdrawn from all worldly customs and having preserved the divine wisdom unwearying in their hearts, were illuminated by the divine laws and glowed with godly deeds and words, dying in this world through sobriety, divine fear and love. For unceasing prayer and instruction in divine writings open the wise eyes of the heart and see the Lord of the powers, and there is great joy, and a divine desire unceasingly breaks out in the soul, while the body is preserved there also, by the action of the Spirit, and one becomes truly spiritual. This is what the creators of blissful silence and the most strenuous ascetic life desire, who, having extricated themselves from all human pleasures, with one, the one existing in heaven, constantly converse with the Ruler of All.4) Having this in mind, this devout brother, struck by the divine love within him, left his place and, together with Filimon, reached the monastery where the greatest of the fathers were engaged in the path of holiness. They settled there to live, entrusting themselves to the abbots’ care, because they wanted to live in silence. And they stayed there, by the grace of God, in complete silence, celebrating the divine services together on Saturdays and Sundays, and spending the rest of the time in seclusion; each one performed prayer and service in particular.9) A certain brother named Ivan, running away from impertinence, came to the holy Saint and great Father Philimon, and, embracing his feet, said to him: What shall I do, father, that I may be saved? For my mind runs and flies here and there, where it should not go. And he, after a little silence, said: this illness (of the soul) is the property of those who are external, and it dwells in them. And it is in you too, because you have not yet received the love of God, the warmth of love and knowledge of Him has not yet come into you. The brother says to the elder: What shall I do, father? He said to him: Go, take the secret teaching into your heart, and it will cleanse your mind of this. The brother, not having been initiated into what was given by signs, says to the elder: What is this secret teaching, father? And he said to him: Go, be sober in your heart, and with fear and trembling say in your thoughts: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! Thus speaks the primal and the blessed Diadah.11) A brother asked him this: I see many vain thoughts in my dreams. The elder told him: Do not be lazy or timid; but before you go to sleep, do many prayers in your heart and resist the thoughts and gestures of the devil to lead you in his will, so that God will accept you. Do your best to fall asleep with psalms on your lips and with wise instruction, and never allow your mind to take on the thoughts of others, but with what thoughts you prayed, you should bow down on the bed, so that while you sleep, they will be in you and on you. Say also the holy Symbol of Orthodox Faith before you go to sleep, for the truth about God is the source and protection of all good things.

            And he said to him, “Think about fleeting things that happen in your soul, which are the illness of a faultless soul that has given itself to negligence; this is what the Scriptures teach us, that we should keep our minds, sing with diligence and prayer without distraction. Therefore, brother, God wants us to show diligence toward Him, first with works (aspirations and good deeds), then with love and constant prayer, and He will give us the way of salvation. It is obvious that there is no other way that leads to heaven, except by perfect detachment from all evil, by acquiring all good, by perfect love toward God and by remaining with Him in piety and truth, so that when one has this, he will soon seize the heavenly bliss. But at the same time, anyone who wishes to rise to the heights should immediately kill the passions that exist on earth. For when our soul enjoys the sight of true good, it no longer returns to any of the desires that are aroused by the sweetness of sin; but by turning away from every bodily corruption, with a pure and chaste mind, it receives the manifestation of God. Therefore, we need great self-preservation, many physical works and purification of the soul, and we must inscribe God in our hearts, so that we can perform His divine commandments without fault, and so that He Himself may teach us to observe His laws, radiating His works on us by the grace of the Spirit. By works and temptations, we must cleanse the image in which we were created as rational and capable of perceiving meaning and resemblance to God, wearing gentleness pure from all impurities by melting them in the furnace of temptations and being imbued in the royal dignity. God and human beings created necessary for any good thing that can contemplate in the mind the joys of the angels of glory, dominion, power, beginning, sovereignty, light unconquerable, glory brilliant. But when you correct some virtue, and do not allow your thought to rise above that of your brother, because you corrected it, and he hated it – for this is the beginning of pride. When you struggle with any passion, do not mourn or lose heart over the fact that the fight is going strong; but stand up and turn your face to God, saying heartily with the prophet: “O God, judge those who reproach me,” for I am not strong against them. And He, seeing your humility, will soon send you his help. When you are traveling with someone on a journey, do not engage in frivolous conversation, but give your mind spiritual activity, the one it had so that this good habit would be preserved in it and the forgetting of worldly delights would be avoided, and he would not depart from the haven of detachment.

            With these and many other words, the elder sent the brother off.

13) For a while, he came back and, beginning to speak, asked: What should I do, Father? In my nocturnal service, sleep weighs me down and prevents me from praying correctly and from deepening; and I want to take up work when I sing. The old man said: when you can pray correctly, do not handle handicrafts; but when your breathing exceeds your intention, lean against it and handle handicrafts. He asked again: Do you yourself, Father, not become weighed down by sleep during your service? The old man said: it is not so easy; but when sleep sometimes hits me, I lean against it, but start reading from the beginning of the Gospel of John, directing my mind’s gaze to God, and it disappears immediately. I do this like that even with thoughts, especially when I meet one as if it were a fire with tears, and it disappears. But you still cannot arm yourself against them; but strive with all your might to keep the secret instruction and strive to perform the prayers set forth by the holy fathers, namely the daytime prayers, namely the third, sixth, ninth and evening prayers, and the nocturnal services. Attend, moreover, to do nothing for worldly benefit and beware of having animosity with someone from the brotherhood, so as not to turn away from God. Try also to keep your mind undivided, always listening to the inner thoughts. When you are in church and plan to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ, do not leave it until you receive the perfect world. Standing in one place, do not move until the dismissal; internally, however, think that you are in heaven, and await the Holy Angels with God, ready to receive Him in your heart; prepare for this with fear and trembling, so as not to be worthy to be a participant of the Holy Powers.14) Up to this, his brother, who was living with him, went on saying the following. One day as we sat close to each other, I asked him whether he had been tempted by demonic clutches when living in the desert. He replied: “Forgive me, brother, if God should permit demons to come upon you, of the sort I experienced, I do not think you would be able to endure their bitterness. I am seventy years old, or with an addition, I have endured many temptations while living in various deserts in complete silence; what I experienced and through endured from these demons is not useful to tell those who have not experienced silence yet. In such temptations I always do this: I place all my hope in God, to whom I also give allegiance vows, and He soon rescues me from all needs. Why, brother, do I no longer make any endeavor at all; but knowing that He cares about me, I easily endure the temptations that come upon me. And the only thing I bring before Him is to constantly pray. A great deal is helped by this, as well as the confidence that the more pain and misery are suffered, the greater are the crowns bestowed upon the patient: for in the righteous Judge they balance each other out. Knowing this, brother, do not yield to cowardice. Having entered the midst of the struggle to fight, fight, and be encouraged that there are very many – more than the enemy’s armies – who fight for us against God’s enemy. And how could one dare to confront such a terrible adversary of our race if the sovereign power of God’s Word did not embrace us, protect us, and cover us? How could human nature withstand such a clamor? For, as Job says, “who will reveal the secret of his garment? To where shall it pass the swallow? Flames from his mouth go out, and sparks of fire shine forth on his feet. From his nostrils comes the smoke of a furnace of brimstone, that smokes in a flame. The sinews of his quivering flesh are like as iron; his breasts are like brass. His power is on his neck; destruction is before him. His heart is like stone, his inmost parts are hard; he will not be moved with a clattering of jaws. He will overwhelm the nations with a noise, likened to the noise of the furnace, and the sea will become as a sounding basin, and a waste as an almond tree. High places are beneath him; he abideth as a mighty one against all, who dwell upon the waters” (Job 25:3-5). Behold against whom we fight, brother! Behold how many and in what manner the Word of this tyrant has described this one! Nevertheless, it is quite easy for us to conquer him, who lead a solitary life in accordance with the prescribed order, and who have given up all that belongs to this tyrant, through their renunciation of the world, through their virtues, and through having someone to fight for us. For who, tell me, when he has come before the Lord and has taken His fear into his heart, has not become pure by nature and has blossomed with divine laws and works, and has not made his soul radiant with divine insights and thoughts? Filled with God, the holy soul is never allowed to be unholy by Him who eagerly drives the mind to seek light. In this way, the soul is constantly affected by Him, and the Spirit does not permit it to stray into passions; but a king who, inflamed with fierce wrath and concord, brutally strikes at them. He who is such will never return but with the practice of righteousness, by the influence of his own hands upon the heavens and by a reasonable prayer, will attain victory in the struggle.15) One time his brother told me that Abba Filimon had such virtues: he couldn’t bear to listen to empty words, and if someone, having forgotten, told something that did not concern the salvation of the soul, he would not pay any attention to it. Moreover, when I went on any business, he never asked why I was going, and when I returned, he never said, ‘Where were you? or what and how did you do there?’ Once I went to Alexandria for a necessary matter, and from there, on the business of a church, I went to Tsargrada, without letting the servant of God know; then, after spending enough time there, visiting the pious brothers there, I at last returned to him in the hermitage. Upon seeing me, the old man rejoiced and, with his usual greeting and prayer, sat down; but he did not ask me anything, and was busy with his usual wise activities.18) Until now, he added the story of a hermit, saying that he had already reached complete detachment, and that he receives bread to eat from the hand of an angel, but that he has lost such honor through distraction. For when the soul relaxes its distracted and concentrated attention, then the soul is seized by darkness. Where God does not shine, everything is poured out, as in darkness; and the soul cannot then look upon the one God and tremble before His word. “God comes near to ‘shalom,’ “ says the Lord, and “he is not God in a remote place,” or “Man is hidden in secret places, and will I not see him? Do I fill the heavens and the earth?” spoke Jeremiah. And he recalled many others like them, who had suffered. He brought the fall of Solomon, who, he said, had acquired such a wisdom and was so celebrated by all, like a rising star, that when morning dawned, his wisdom shone upon everyone, but whose glory he lost through a small favor. Therefore, it is fearful to indulge in laziness, but it is necessary constantly to pray that another plan may not find us and take away our minds from God, replacing it with something else. Only a pure heart, becoming the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, can see God in himself, as in a mirror.

            In the one who at the beginning of repentance does not dwell the sorrow of the heart, the spiritual tears, the remembrance of endless sufferings, the true silence, the unceasing prayer, the psalmody, and the teaching in the divine Scriptures, in whom this has not become a habit, so that, because of its continuity, one’s mind is moved from desire, and the fear of God does not reign in his soul: he still rests in fellowship with the world and cannot have a pure mind in prayer; for only piety and the fear of God purify the soul from passions and, making the mind free, lead it into the natural contemplation of it, and enable it to touch upon the theology which it perceives in the image of blessedness (“the pure in heart shall see God,”) – this is for those who please, as yet undetermined.

20. This is what the elder brother who lived with Avva told us. But who will not be surprised with more about his great humility? Having been honored with the presbyterhood many years ago, and having touched the heavenly life with his mind and spirit, he avoided all divine services, and so, for many years of his ascetic life, he rarely agreed to partake of the sacred table (for the service). Yet he did not partake of the divine sacraments, although he had to communicate with people during which occasion nothing earthly was said, but useful to those who looked for conversation with him. And when he intended to partake of the divine sacraments, he would first hinder God much with prayers, psalm singing and confession. He was afraid of the priest’s voice who spoke: “Holy to the holy.” For at that time, he said, the whole Church was filled with holy angels, and the Lord Himself mystically performed the service, and the bread and wine were changed into His body and blood, by means of the holy communion, and were poured into our hearts. Why, then, should we be left without concern and fearlessly, as if without a body, to approach the most holy communion of the holy sacraments of Christ, so that we may participate in the enlightenment that was derived from them. Many of the holy fathers saw holy angels who kept them from everything unworthy: therefore, they themselves conducted their lives in deep silence, not speaking to anyone.

            21) As he was saying, when it was necessary for the elder to sell his own handicrafts, to avoid any kind of lie or deception, or extra word, or any other kind of sin, to talk and bargain, he would pretend to be a beggar; and anyone who wanted to buy his handicrafts would take it from him and pay for what he wanted. He worked small baskets, and he would receive them gratefully, without saying a word, this god-fearing man.

Summary of the teaching of the Fathers

            In conclusion, we offer a summary of the lessons contained in this book.

            Here is what the Fathers pointed out to us as a way of praying and the conditions for success in it:

      The part, that is, the repeated repetition of the Jesus Prayer.

      Attention, or the immersion of the mind in Jesus Christ, by banishing other thoughts.

      Change of prayer words, that is, using the Jesus Prayer, sometimes in full, sometimes abbreviated.

      Punctuality, that is, to alternate prayer with the reading of the Psalms, sitting, standing with outstretched arms, and again the Jesus Prayer and afternoon reading of the Fathers.

      Before God, that is, to always feel God’s presence and to remember God in every action.

      Disconnection from the world, in remembrance of death and the joy of prayer.

      The incessant invocation of the name of Jesus Christ, at all times and in all situations, if alone, then aloud, and in front of people only with the mind.

      Sleeping on a bench with the Jesus Prayer.

      External prayer for internal prayer.

            Therefore, the soul that desires to achieve interior prayer and the yearning for continuous union and the most delightful communion with Jesus Christ, come, weigh it up and carry out the instructions of the Fathers in this way:

            1) Sit or better stand in a dark and silent corner in a prayerful position.

Let us start the ascent to our Supreme Lord with love and devotion. Remember that it is a feast that straddles two Holy Days, and what better time to do it than in this joyous atmosphere, taking our leave of the festives of yesterday. I honor that now the several circuits we observe three times daily are held in honor of the Savior. Wrap yourself in the light of Christ our Lord. Begin at the top of your heart. Breath in. Sit down in an easy chair. Let’s begin. Read this prayer out loud if you can, but say it mentally if not. Feel the salutations burn inside as they reach up to God. Relax and settle into this radiant awareness. Acknowledge that this day is a day of all the divine virtues in celebration of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God.

             It has been a year since the last meeting with the pilgrim, when, at last, the quiet knock at the door, and the prayerful voice announced the arrival of this blessed brother to the heartfelt pleasure of welcoming him.

            – Come, dear brother. Let us give thanks together to the Lord for the blessing of your journey and your return.

            – Praise and thanks to the Almighty Father for all that He does not consider to be good for us, pilgrims and wayfarers in the “land of strangers”! Here I am, a sinner, having parted from you last year, and by God’s grace, I am happy to see and hear your kind greeting again. And of course, you expect a detailed report from me about the holy city of God – Jerusalem, to which my soul was wandering and my intention was obvious; but not always what we want is fulfilled. This happened to me, and it is not surprising, because am I, a poor sinner, to be honored to set foot on the sacred land on which the divine feet of the Lord Jesus Christ were imprinted?

I thought and thought: where should I go now? And, at last, I based myself on the idea to go to Kiev first, where I had not been for many years. And so I set out. Naturally, at first I was sorry that my wish to be in Jerusalem had not come true, but I consoled myself with the hope that the merciful Lord would accept my intention and not leave me alone on the difficult road to salvation.Finally, one hundred yards from Odessa, I encountered a wonderful incident: there was a large train of goods, about thirty wagons, and I caught up with them. One of the drivers, acting as a leader, was riding his horse, while the other, forming a column, were moving behind. It was necessary to pass close to a natural pond, in which the broken ice turned with a terrible noise and spilled water in a circle. Suddenly the front young driver stopped his horse, and all the wagons followed suit. The other drivers came up to him and asked why he was undressing. He answered that he had a great desire to take a bath in the pond. The surprised drivers began to mock him, some called him crazy and others scolded him, calling him insane. The senior, the driver’s own brother, who was undressing, began to prevent him and push him to ride. He resisted and would not obey. Some of the young drivers, in a joke, began to fill buckets with water from the pond and splash on the man who wanted to bathe – some on his head, some on his tunic, saying: “Here we buy you!” As soon as his body touched the water, he cried out: “Ah, how good!” and sat down on the ground, while they continued splashing him. Then soon he fell and quietly died. Everyone was frightened, not understanding why this had happened. The elders were concerned and said that it should be reported to the court, while the others argued that such a death was written out for him by his destiny.

         I said to him, “My brother, I am at a loss to say anything to you on the matter, except that nature is full of many marvelous and incomprehensible things to our understanding. It is, I think, ordained by God in order to make human nature more clear to us by a direct display of the providence and the plan of God in respect to nature, by untimely changes in natural law taking place on specific occasions.”

            I myself once had the opportunity to witness the same phenomenon: not far from our village there is a very deep, steep ravine, though not very large; it is even somehow scary to gaze at its dark bed. For pedestrians there is a precarious bridge over it. A peasant from my parish, a family man of good character, suddenly, and with no apparent reason, felt an irresistible desire to jump from that bridge into the deep water. He struggled against that thought and impulse for a week, and finally could no longer resist the powerful urging; he got up early one morning, hurried away, and jumped into the water. Shortly afterwards, upon hearing cries for help, he was pulled out of the water, with his legs broken. When asked what caused his fall, he replied that, though he now felt a painful pain, his soul was at peace, that he had fulfilled an irresistible desire, which had been so consuming him during the whole week that he was prepared to sacrifice his life rather than not fulfil it. For a year he was treated at a city hospital; I visited him often, and, seeing the doctors by his side, I wanted to hear from them, as you did, what was the cause of this incident. The doctors unanimously replied to me that it was a “rage”…

            After travelling for several days and getting rather tired, I arrived in a large trading town called “White Church”. It was already late in the evening, so I began looking for a place to stay. I met a man who looked like a traveller himself, asking around about the house of a local resident named Eweriev. Seeing me, he came up to me and said: “You look like a traveller too, so let’s go together and find a local man named Eweriev. He is a good Christian, runs a wealthy inn, and likes to welcome travellers. Here I have a note about him.” I gladly agreed, and we soon found him. Although we did not meet the master of the house, his wife, a kind old woman, welcomed us kindly and took us to a special room upstairs to rest a bit. We settled in, took a rest, and then the master came and invited us to dinner. During the dinner we talked, and somehow the conversation came around to the reason why he was called Eweriev. “I will tell you a wonderful story about this,” he replied, and began to tell his story. “Here, look, my father was a Jew, born in the town of Shkloŭ, and he was an enemy of Christians. From his earliest childhood he was preparing to be a rabbi and diligently studied all the Jewish intrigues to refute Christianity. One day he happened to walk through a Christian cemetery; his feet were tied to the coffin. Suddenly, an unknown person appeared before him and reproached him, saying: “How dare you mock the dusty remains of my bones? I am a Christian, and you are an enemy of Christ!” This vision recurred several times at night, and it deprived him of sleep and rest. They read prayers and spells over him, but the vision not only did not leave him, but became more frequent and aggressive. He consulted with relatives and trial lawyers, but the vision would not leave him, and he had already resigned himself to it. Then he made this request: “I would be happy to do anything to get rid of this painful and unbearable vision.” When he signed his request, the vision stopped and never bothered him again. He moved to this place, married my mother here, who was a good Christian, and he lived a devout life in prosperity. I listened to this story with awe and emotion, and thought to myself: My God! How merciful our Lord Jesus Christ is and what a great love He has! What different ways He attracts sinners to Himself and how wisely He uses small incidents to guide people to great deeds! Who would have imagined that the wrath of the Jew over a dead bone would lead him to a true understanding of Jesus Christ and become a guide to a godly life.

            After the dinner, thanking God and our host, we went to our room to rest. We didn’t want to sleep yet, so we talked with each other. He told me that he was a merchant from Mogilev, that he had lived in Bessarabia for two years as a servant in one of the monasteries there, but only on a temporary passport, and that he was now returning to his homeland to obtain a lifetime release from the merchant society to the monastic life. He praised the monasteries there, their statutes and regulations, and the strict life of many pious elders who lived there, and assured us that the Bessarabian monasteries stood apart from the Russians, as heaven is from earth. He also persuaded me to go there. While we were talking, they brought another lodger to us, an under-officer who had been dismissed from the army for a while and was going on home leave. We saw that he was very tired from the road. After praying together to God, we went to sleep. Waking up early the next morning, we began to prepare to leave. And just as we were about to go to thank the host, we suddenly heard the morning bell. The merchant and I began to wonder how we would leave, having heard the bell and not having visited the church of God. It would be better to stay for morning service, praying in the holy temple, and then going would be more pleasant. So we decided, and we took the under-officer with us. And he said to us, “What path is this, and what profit for God, that we will go to church? Once we get home, we will pray there! If you want to go, I won’t go. While you are at morning service, I will go a verst ahead, and if you want to come home, remember to ask God to lead the way!”

            So we went to church, and the under-officer went on his way. After celebrating the morning service (there was also a morning service there), we returned to our room and began to pack our bags. We looked: the hostess had brought us a samovar, and she said, “What are you going to do? Here, have some tea, and have breakfast with us; will we let you go hungry?” Not two minutes had passed, and we were sitting around the samovar, when our under-officer suddenly ran to us, looking pale.

            – I have come to you with both bitterness and joy.

            – What is it? we asked him.

 – And here’s what happened! As I said goodbye to you and left, I wanted to go into a tavern to exchange my money for small bills and have a drink to make it easier for me to go. Entering, I exchanged money and rushed off like an eagle on the road. After going three paces, I wanted to count the money and see if I had given it to the innkeeper as I had intended. I sat down, took out my wallet, checked everything and everything was correct. Suddenly, I grabbed my passport, which was lying right there, but it was gone; only notes and money. That scared me as if I had lost my mind. Furthermore, I realized that I must run back there. I ran, ran, and there comes trouble yet again: How could it be that it wasn’t there! What would I do! When I ran back, I asked the innkeeper and he said, “I saw nothing.” Again, I became sad. I had to look for it and walk around the places where I had been standing and wandering. What happened? Fortunately I found my passport just as it was folded and lying among the straw and trash on the floor, all crumpled in mud. Thank God! I was elated; it was as if a mountain fell from my shoulders! Although, for sloppiness and for filth being brushed under the fingernails, you are put to death; but that doesn’t matter. At least I can return home with my eyes clean. And I came to you to tell you all this, and since I was afraid I was running so quickly that I scraped my leg with a wooden stick that it was impossible for me to walk at all. For this reason, I ask you for a cloth to bandage my wound.

            – That is, come on, brother! Here’s what you get for not listening and not going with us to pray. – The merchant began. – Here you wanted to go ahead of us, but in front of us you turned back, and you even joined the cult. I told you not to rush ahead, and that’s exactly what happened! Not only did you not go to church, but you also said such words: ‘What good is it for God that we pray?’ Brother, this is not good … Of course, God doesn’t need our sinful prayers, but out of His love for us, He likes it when we pray. And not only sacred prayer, which the Holy Spirit helps to bring and inspires in us, is pleasing to Him, because He requires it from us, commanding: ‘Be in me, and I will be in you,’ but even every small act done for Him, for our salvation, every intention is precious to Him. For all this unbounded mercy, God rewards generously. God’s love gives a thousand times more graces than a worthy human deed; if you do a small contribution for God, He will give you a gold coin. If you are only going to the Father, He is already coming to meet you. You say with a short and dry word: ‘Accept me! Have mercy on me!’ And He is already embracing your neck and shaking you. What love the Heavenly Father has for us that is not worthy! And with this love alone, He rejoices and appreciates every and even the smallest saving movement of ours. You find: what glory does the Lord have from it and what is the use for you if you only say a prayer, and then you keep having fun, or even if you do some unimportant good deed, for example, if you read a certain prayer, put down fifteen or ten bows; you let out a sigh from your heart and call upon the name of Jesus Christ, or you notice some good thought, or you decide to read something that saves, or you refrain from eating, or you keep a minor offense in silence … All this seems to you insufficient for your complete salvation and as if it were unfruitful. No! each of these small acts will not be lost in the tunnel and will be counted by the All-Seeing Eye of God and will receive a hundredfold reward not only in eternity, but also in this life. This is what St. John Chrysostom says. ‘No good deed, he says, no matter how insignificant it may seem, will be underestimated by the righteous Judge. If sins are examined with such meticulousness that we give an account for words, for wishes and for thoughts, then the most meritorious works, however small they may be, will be counted with special diligence and in many ways.’

Here I shall give you an example which I myself experienced last year. In the Bessarabian Monastery, where I lived, there lived an old monk who led a good life. One day a temptation came over him, and he longed for dried fish. Since it was not possible to get it in the monastery at the time, he had the intention of going to the marketplace and buying some… He long debated this thought and reasoned that a monk should be content with communal brotherly food and should make every effort to avoid slothfulness, and that it is also improper for a monk to walk about the marketplace among the people. Finally, the insinuation of the tempter prevailed over his reasoning, and he, giving into his vanity, decided to go for the fish. Leaving the monastery and walking down the town street, he noticed that he had no rod in his hand and began to reason: “How can I walk as a warrior without a sword? It is indecent, and the worldly people, meeting me, will disapprove of me and be tempted to sin, seeing a monk without a rod.” He wanted to turn around to take them, but, looking in his pockets, he found them there. He took them out, made the sign of the cross, put his hand in and walked quietly. As he approached the marketplace, he saw a horse standing with a huge cart full of large barrels. Suddenly, frightened by something, the horse leapt up with all its might and began to kick; it hit the monk’s shoulder and threw him to the ground, though not severely. Shortly after, the cart with the barrels tumbled over and broke up. Rising, the monk was naturally frightened but also surprised that God had preserved his life, because if the cart was a second sooner, he would have been killed like it. Without thinking about it any further, he bought some fish, returned, ate, and, having prayed, went to sleep… In a dream there suddenly appeared before him an unknown and noble old man, who said to him: “Listen, I am the patron of this monastery and I want to admonish you so that you understand and remember the lesson that the struggle against sensual pleasure and idleness gave opportunity for the enemy to come against you and prepared for you the incident that you have just seen. Had you accepted the temptation and expressed it sincerely, it would have saved you from death. After saying this, the old man who appeared hurried away from the cell, and the monk bowed to him and with that he woke up, finding himself no longer lying on the floor but humbly bent at the doorway. This vision he immediately told for the benefit of many people, including myself.Indeed, the love of God for us sinners is boundless! Is it not strange that for such a small matter, that he took a few coins from his pocket and put them in his hand and called on the name of God one day, this little thing gave a person his life! And at the scales of human destiny, one short moment of Jesus Christ’s calling outweighed many hours of idle living. Indeed, here an offering of a little gold coin is given – a valuable thing! Look, brother, how powerful a prayer is and how powerful the name of Jesus Christ, which we call upon in prayer! St. John the Carpophyte says in The Love of God, there is a mysterious voice of God that responds to every such request: “Child, your sins are forgiven for the hour.” In prayer, a person is not different from saints, pious and martyrs, for as St. Zlatoust said, “a prayer, though uttered by us, who are full of sin, still purifies” (words of Peter 2). The love of God for us is great, and we, sinners and careless, do not want to give a small hour in return to Him, and we exchange the most important prayer, which is the hour of prayer, for life’s concerns and worries, forgetting God and our obligation! That is why we often face troubles and misfortunes, but this is determined by God’s loving providence. For our understanding and conversion to God.

He took out a book from his pocket and began to read a wonderful story about a pious Agaphonikas who, from his childhood, had been taught by his pious parents to read the prayer “Theotokos, rejoice” and other prayers daily before the icon of the Mother of God. He did this every day. Then, when he came of age, he began to live alone, engrossed with worldly worries and chores, and rarely read the said prayer, and finally completely stopped. One evening he took in a traveler to spend the night, who told him that he was a hermit from Phyavéidion and had seen a vision to go to Agaphonikas and reproach him for abandoning the prayer of the Theotokos. Agaphonikas explained his reason for abandoning the prayer as that he had been reading it for many years and had seen no benefit from it. Then the hermit said to him: “Remember, blind and ungrateful one, how many times this prayer has helped you and delivered you from dangers. A travelling companion of yours fell off a cart, breaking a leg, and you suffered no harm. And mentioning many other instances, he finally said to him: “Know that all these incidents have been kept away from you by the intercession of the Holy Theotokos through that brief prayer by which you daily dedicated your soul to union with God. See the Blessed on the next Stations of the Cross. Do not abandon this prayer, for it has delivered you from the evil of forgetting and being left without her intercession. “After this, I walked for five days, enjoying the memories of the stories I had heard from the pious merchant from the White City; then I began to approach Kiev, when suddenly I felt a burden, lassitude, and gloomy thoughts; prayer was difficult, I felt some confusion. Therefore, in order to rest, seeing a forest and dense bush on the side of the road, I went there to sit in a secluded corner and read Dobrotolubstvo to strengthen my weakened soul and to calm my cowardice. Having found a silent village, I began reading St. Cassian the Roman, in the 4th part of Dobrotolubstvo about the eight temptations. After reading for half an hour with joy, I suddenly saw a man about 50 yards away in the depths of the forest, standing motionless on his knees. I was delighted at this, thinking that, of course, he was praying to God, and I began to read again. After reading for an hour or more, I looked at this man again, and he was still standing motionless. This made me very touched, and I thought, ‘Here are the godly servants of God.’ While I was thinking about this, suddenly the man fell to the ground and lay down humbly. This surprised me, and since I could not see his face, because he was standing face to face to me, I became curious to go and see what kind of man he was. Approaching, I found him in deep sleep. He was a country boy of about 25 years old, spotlessly clean in face, and noble, but pale, wearing a peasant cap and a straw rope around his waist, and there was nothing else on him – no bag, not even a stick. When I heard the noise of my approach, he woke up and stood up. I asked him who he was. He told me that he was a state peasant from the Smolensk province, who was going from Kiev.

            – That is how it happened, he answered me: I have been a shepherd in our village since my childhood, and for 10 years everything was peaceful. Finally, one day, after bringing the herd home, I did not realize that the oldest virgin was missing. And our elder was an angry and inhuman man. When he came home in the evening and saw that his sheep were missing, he came to me, began to scold me and threatened that I should go and find his sheep, or he would kill me. Knowing that he was so angry, I went to look for the sheep in the places where the herd grazed during the day. I searched, searched, searched further into the night, but nowhere could I find a clue. The night was so dark, because it was autumn. As I entered the depths of the forest, and the forests in our province are impassable, a storm suddenly arose. It was as if the trees were all whipping themselves! In the distance, wolves howled, and I was overcome by such fear that my hair stood on end; the farther I went, the worse it became, and I almost fainted from fear and fright. That’s when I fell on my knees, crossed myself, and with all my strength said: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” As soon as I said this, I suddenly became light, as if there had been no sorrow, and the fear left me, and I felt so good at heart that it was as if I had taken flight to heaven… I rejoiced in this, but I kept on saying this prayer without ceasing. And I do not remember for how long the storm lasted, and how the night passed, and I found myself standing in one place on my knees. That’s when I stood up calmly, looked around, and saw that I had not found the sheep, so I went home, and my heart was really good, and I wanted to keep saying this prayer. As soon as I arrived in the village, the elder, having seen that I had not brought the sheep, beat me to death; he dislocated my leg then. So, after these beatings, I lay almost motionless for six weeks, only knowing that I was praying, and this consoled me. Then I recovered somewhat, and I began to roam the world; but as it seemed to me that it was boring to be constantly pushed around by the crowd, and there was so much sin, I went to wander in the holy places and in the forests. And so I have been wandering for a year and a half now.

I knew few words in Russian. But, God’s grace, I soon found a comfortable place to stay.  My first and main desire was to talk, confess, and take Holy Communion in this place of blessing. So I stayed closer to the saints, so I could get to the house of God more easily. A good old Cossack accepted me into his house, and since he lived alone, it was peaceful and silent for me. During the week I was preparing for confession, a thought came to me that I should confess in the greatest detail. I began to recall and examine all my sins, in the smallest details, so as not to forget; I began to write down those I remembered, down to the smallest details, and I wrote a large paper. I felt that 7 miles from Kiev, in Kiteyev Pustelya, there was a priest with a penitential life, very wise and reasonable, who, if one did not visit him on the spirit, became thoughtful, and returned with a life-saving exhortation and lightness of heart. This put me at ease, and I went to him immediately. After consulting and talking, I gave him my paper for examination. After reading it, he said to me: “Dear friend, you have written a lot of nothing. Listen to me: 1) you should not mention the sins you have previously repented of and been forgiven and have not repeated them at confession, otherwise it would be distrust of the power of the Sacrament of Confession; 3) the Holy Fathers forbid you to mention the sins with all the surroundings, but to confess them in general, so that you do not, by means of a private discussion of them, awaken temptation in yourself and your confessor.

            – It is a pity, dear friend, that you have understood so little of what I have explained to you. To teach you more quickly, here is a list by which I myself always confess. Read it and you will clearly see the exact proofs of what I have just told you.

1) I do not love God. If I loved Him, I would think about Him with heartfelt pleasure; every thought about God would bring me delight. On the contrary, I think about it much more often and much more eagerly. Thinking about God is a labor and a dryness for me. If I loved Him, then communion with Him through prayer would nourish me, delight me, and draw me to continuous fellowship with Him; but, on the contrary, I not only do not enjoy prayer, but even while engaged in it I feel labor, struggle with reluctance, become lazy, and am ready to be absorbed in some unimportant occupation, just to shorten or stop my prayer. In idle occupations, my time passes unnoticed, whereas when I am engaged in God, when I place myself in His presence, each hour seems to me like a year. Whoever loves, thinks about his loved one constantly, imagines him, cares about him, and in all his occupations the beloved does not leave his thoughts; but I scarcely separate one hour during the day to plunge deeply into thoughts about God and to engulf myself in His love, and for twenty-three hours I willingly offer fervent sacrifices to my passionate idols! I am dry, sad, and lazy. If I am accidentally drawn to another to a conversation about the divine, I attempt rather to move on to a conversation that flatters my passions. I tirelessly seek information about news, civil regulations, political events; I eagerly seek to satisfy my curiosity in secular sciences, in the arts, in possessions, while instruction in the Law of the Lord, knowledge of God, of religion, makes no impression on my soul and I consider this not only as a frivolous occupation of a Christian, but as a side and only a side, leisure-time. In short, if love of God is discerned by the observance of His commandments: ‘If you love Me, keep My commandments,’ says the Lord Jesus Christ, and I not only do not keep His commandments, but I hardly even try to do so, then the purest truth is that I do not love God…This is the ‘proof that a person does not love God and His Christ is that he does not keep His commandments’ (The Sovereign Council of England, 3).

3) I do not believe in anything religious. Neither in immortality nor in the Gospel. If I were firmly convinced and absolutely believed that the grave holds eternal life with recompense for earthly deeds, I would constantly ponder over this; the very thought of immortality would terrify me, and I would regard this life as that of an alien about to enter his native land. On the contrary, I do not think about eternity and consider the end of actual life as the limit of my existence. A secret thought dwells within me: who knows what will be after death? If I say that I believe in immortality, then I say that only out of reason, and my heart is far from firm conviction in it, as my deeds and my constant concern for the well-being of the sensual life openly reveal. If the Holy Gospel, as the word of God, were accepted in my heart with faith, I would constantly engage in it, study it, enjoy it, and look upon it with deep reverence. The wisdom, goodness, and love that are hidden in it would inspire me with admiration, I would enjoy the teachings of the Law of God day and night, feed on it as my daily food, and with deep reverence draw near to the fulfillment of its rules. Nothing earthly would strongly distract me from this. On the contrary, if I seldom read or listen to the word of God, it is either out of necessity or out of curiosity, and without entering into deep attention, I feel dryness, insipidity, and, as if reading common things, I leave it without any fruitful result and am readily willing to replace it with reading on the worldly, things.Reading this message to me that a confessor had shared, I was frightened and thought to myself: “My God, what terrible sins are hidden in me and I still did not notice them!” So, my desire to be purified led me to ask for guidance from this great spiritual father, by whatever means, learning the causes of all these evils, to find a way to correct them. So he began to explain to me.With respect, I listened to all this, and I heartily asked this holy father to initiate me and grant me the Holy Mysteries. So, the morning after receiving communion, I wanted to return to Kiev with this blessed instruction, but this kind father of mine, intending to go to the Lavra in a while, left me at this time in his hermit cell so that I could freely take up prayer in this silence. And indeed, during all these days I felt as though I were in heaven: through the prayers of my elder, I, the unworthy, enjoyed perfect peace. Prayer flow so easily and peacefully from my heart that it seemed to me at this time as if I had forgotten everything and myself, and thought only of the only Jesus Christ! At last, the priest returned, and I asked him for instruction and advice on where to continue my journey. He blessed me thus: “Go to Pochaiv, bow down to the Miraculous Foot of the Pure Mother of God, and she will direct your step on the path of peace.” So, with faith, having accepted his counsel, I left for Pochaiv three days later.

        So I wanted to leave and went out into the hallway, and to my surprise I saw a person who seemed to be not Russian, lying on a bed and reading a book. He beckoned me to him and asked who I was. I told him. Here he began to say: “Listen, my dear, won’t you agree to help me, an ill man, for one week until I recover with the help of God?”

              And you know what? If you want, he said, I’ll still tell you (and somehow he named it correctly, because he said he had studied at the Academy of Athens), about the intonation of the Lord’s prayer.

There is now a saying: one prayer and the same; Orthodox Christians hold the same faith; it is common knowledge that the most important and highest of all prayers contains two objects – Lord Jesus and His mercy; everyone knows this. Why then do not all express it in the same intonation, i.e. in pronunciation? Why does one place in particular strike the soul more deeply and reach a heightened and intense tone? It is possible that many will say that this is due to skill or the example taken from others, or to the idea that corresponds to everyone’s different views, or, after all, what is easier and more convenient for each one to pronounce according to his ability to speak… And I think otherwise. I would like to look here for something higher, which not only does not know, but even the one who prays cannot penetrate: how and what to pray? And if everyone prays in the name of Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, according to the revelation of the Apostle, then the secretly acting Descented Spirit, “pray for those who pray,” together with this can, against his will, also give each one a grace: to one, godly fear of God, to another, love, and to another, firmness. And therefore, the one who has received the gift of grace, reverently worships and glorifies the Authority of the Almighty, and in his prayer expresses with particular emotion and passion the word “Lord” in which he means the majesty and power of the Creator of the world. The one who has received the mysterious effusion of love in his heart is predominantly thrilled and overwhelmed with the delight of the exclamation “Jesus Christ,” just as an old man without any special emotion of love and delight could not even hear the name “Jesus” used in common speech. The one who unflinchingly believes in the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God the Father, beamed with joy and became even more firm in his faith by saying the words “Son of God.” The one who unflinchingly believes in the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God the Father, beamed with joy and became even more firm in his faith by saying the words “Son of God.” The one who has received the gift of humility and is deeply aware of his own powerlessness at the words “Forgive me,” repents, is humbled, and with a strong intensity flows out in these last words of the prayer of Jesus, nourishing the hope of God’s mercy and the trembling of his own fall. These are, I believe, the reasons for the difference in intonation in the pronunciation of the prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!.. And from this observation we can understand (to the glory of God and for our own benefit) who is specifically seized by the feelings of who has what spiritual gift. Someone said to me: “Why do not all these signs of secret spiritual gifts appear together, in their entirety? Then not one word of the prayer would be imbued with the one-managed and enthusiastic intonation of the one who prays…” I answered this as follows: “Because the grace of God divides the gifts of the Holy Scriptures, who can test this and enter into the realm of grace with a limited mind?”

            I spent five days with this old man, and he little by little began to gain strength. This time was for me instructive, that I did not notice how it flew by, for we in this hut, as it were in a silent prison, were resolutely engaged in nothing else but praying secretly to the name of Jesus Christ or talking of only one subject, that is,

Here he had begun to approach the town of Potachiv. Not reaching a hundred stages, I was overtaken by a soldier. I asked him where he was going; he told me that he was going home to Kamianets-Podilskyi province. In silence, after going ten stages with him, I noticed that he was breathing heavily, as though grieving about something, and he was very gloomy. I asked him, “Why are you so sad?” And he began to embrace me and said: “Good man! If you have noticed my sadness, then shake hands and swear that you will not tell anyone, and I will tell you all about myself, for death is coming and there is no one to advise me.”

“Look,” he said to me, “I was handed over to the soldiers from the peasant proprietors. After serving for five years, I became sick of it, but I was often beaten for misconduct and for drunkenness. I decided to run away. It is now the nineteenth year since I have been running away. For six years I hid and hid here and there; I stole horses, broke down stalls, and sold everything to various swindlers; I met a soldier who was going home to a distant province with a clean discharge. That soldier died and I became an expert. I went boldly to the distant Astrakhan province. There I became sober and went around looking for work. I finally died in a year, along with my wife, after spending all that was left from the old days. One day, I could not find a job, so I took my old, poor horse to a merchant and sold it for half a ruble to a livery stable. Then I went into the woods to wait until midnight. When I lay down there, I fell asleep. My head and arms were left outside. Then this fluffy cloud seemed to descend on the ground, and my old grandfather, who had died twenty years ago, came out of it. Several bags of things that I had stolen at different times. I was even more frightened. Squeeze it harder! ” And suddenly the ground began to press and compress me so strongly on all sides that I, unable to endure the pain, grunt and scream: “Have mercy!” Squeeze it harder! ” And I felt such a strong pain and constriction that no torture on this earth can compare with it. Finally, this old grandfather of mine approached me with the horse I had stolen the day before and shouted: “What is this?” and it squeezed me so painfully from all sides that I could not even describe how cruelly, terrifyingly, and exhausted I felt. It was as if some force was pulling me out and strangling my body with such a terrible pain that I almost fainted if the torture had been even slightly lessened. I crawled to the ground, which I had already spread. At that moment, at that blow, I woke up in a terrible fright and, trembling like a loosened bird, I got up and went home. My spleen has been sick for a long time, as you can see, and now there is a scar that was not there before. I often get violently ill, and finally I have become afraid of people and ashamed, as if everyone had known my former treachery. Well, from endurance, I wanted to suffocate. But I thought that I wouldn’t live long anyway and would soon die, because all my strength was gone, so I decided to go and say goodbye to my homeland and die there. What shall I do with this wretch? After all, my endurance is not enough!

            – It’s empty, brother! The devil is putting these thoughts into your mind. God is infinitely merciful and has compassion on sinners and forgives those who repent soon. After all, you know the Lord’s Prayer, namely, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ Therefore, repeat it constantly.

            – But how could I not know this prayer! Sometimes, when I was going to sin, I would read it so that I would be braver.

            – So, look here: God didn’t condemn you even when you were speaking the prayer while going in on sin; and would you be destroyed if you would pray this prayer on the path of repentance? Now you see that your thoughts are evil! … Believe me, dear, if you recite this prayer regardless of what may come to your mind, you will soon feel relief, all your fears and burdens will pass, and you will eventually become a completely calm, God-fearing person. I assure you of this, because I have seen it many times in practice.

            At the same time, I recounted several cases to him where the Lord’s Prayer had performed miraculous power over sinners. Finally, I began to persuade this soldier to go with me to the Pochaiv Mother of God, a shelter for sinners, to confess and take Holy Communion there. All this my soldier listened to with attention and, as could be seen, with joy. Therefore, he agreed to everything. We went to Pochaiv together, on the condition that we would say nothing to each other and that we would incessantly perform the Lord’s Prayer. We walked this way for a whole day. The next day, he told me that he felt better; perhaps he was more at ease than before. On the third day, we arrived in Pochaiv, and I confirmed him again, asking him to keep up the prayer night and day until he went to sleep, and I assured him that the Most Holy Name of Jesus strongly avenges his enemies and is able to save him. At the same time, I read to him the prayer from the Dobrotolyubie – the prayer hereinabove mentioned. He did that with special care, particularly when preparing for Holy Communion. He did that, and immediately confessed and received it. Although thoughts often still attacked him, he managed to banish them with the prayer of Jesus. On Sunday morning, to make it easier to get up, he went to bed earlier in the evening, and kept on performing the prayer of Jesus without ceasing, while I sat in the corner with a lamp and read my Dobrotolyubie . It was an hour later when he fell asleep, and I started praying. Suddenly, after twenty minutes, he started and, waking up, jumped up quickly, went to me in tears, and with great joy said, “Oh, brother, what I just saw! How easy and joyful I feel now! I believe that God does not torture sinners, but He has mercy on them. Glory be to You, Lord, glory be to You!”

            I, surprised and delighted, asked him to tell me in detail what had happened to him.

            – This is what happened: as soon as I fell asleep, I found myself on the same meadow where I had been tormented. At first I was frightened, but I saw that instead of the cloud, the sun was shining, a wonderful light flooded the whole meadow, and I saw red flowers and grass on it. Suddenly my grandfather came near me, so handsome that you cannot believe it, and said to me in a gentle and friendly voice: ‘Go to Zhytomyr to the church of St. George the Good Shepherd; there they will take you as a church guard; live here until the end of your life and pray constantly; God will have mercy on you!’ Having said this, he crossed himself and at that moment disappeared. I felt such joy that I cannot tell you what it was like, as if something had fallen from me and I had flown to heaven… With that, I suddenly woke up, feeling that it was easy for me, and my heart did not know what to do with joy. So what should I do now? I am going to Zhytomyr immediately, as my grandfather commanded me. Now it will be easy for me to go with a prayer!

            – Have mercy, dear brother, where are you going in the middle of the night? Say your morning prayer, so pray and be with God. So we did not sleep, but after this conversation we went to church. He prayed earnestly with tears and said that it was very easy and joyful for him, and the Jesus prayer was happening with delight. Then at lunch he also received communion and, after eating, I took him to the Zhytomyr road, where we said goodbye with tears and joy.

            After that, I began to think about myself and thought where to go now. In the end, I decided to return to Kiev again. I was also influenced by the wise instructions of my spiritual father there, and the fact that, having lived with him, he might not find any Christ-loving benefactors to send me to Jerusalem or at least to the Mount Athos. So, having spent another week in Pochaiv, spending time in remembrance of those instructive encounters that I had seen on my way, and in writing down some instructive subjects, I set off on the road, put on my backpack, and went to church to pray in farewell to the Mother of God and to pray for lunch.

I stood behind the church. And suddenly a person came out, although not very well dressed, but who looked like a nobleman, and asked me where candles were for sale. I indicated the place. The woman went away, and I stayed to pray at the foot of the Mother of God. I prayed, and then went on my way. After walking a little in the street, I saw an open window in a house, under which there was a gentleman sitting and reading a book. I had to pass by that window, and I saw the same man who had asked me about the candles in the church. As I passed, I took off my hat, and he called me to him and asked: “Are you a traveler?” and, having called me, asked who I was and where I was going; then he offered me tea and said, “Listen, my child! I am traveling there, and I am going on foot on the promise.” And, hearing this invitation, I considered this, at that unexpected moment, as guidance from the Mother of God, whom I had asked for guidance on the paths of goodness, and, without thinking, I immediately agreed.

         I was very pleased with his reasoning and desire for prayer, and I asked him: “From what specific Biblical instruction do you draw your teaching on prayer?”

         – From all four Evangelists, he replied, and from the entire New Testament, reading it in order. Long reading and studying this, I discovered what the progressive and correct relationship is for the teaching of prayer in the whole Gospel, beginning with the first Evangelist and going in a correct sequence (in the system). For example, from the very beginning, the teaching on prayer is presented in the form of an attack or introduction, then its form, or its external expression in words, then the condition necessary for prayer, the means of how to practice it, and examples. Finally, the secret teaching about inner, spiritual, constant prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, which is presented as higher and more beneficial than prayer of words; then its necessity, good fruits, and so on. In short, everything is carefully and completely presented in a systematic order or sequence, from beginning to end.
After hearing this, I intended to ask him to show me all this in detail, so I began to speak to him: “Since I love to listen and talk about prayer most, I would very much like to see this secret connection of the teaching on prayer in all its details. Show me, Lord, everything according to the Gospel itself.”

“,” he said to me, “read your Gospel, look into it, and note what I am going to say.” (He gave me a pencil, too.) Please look at these notes. “First, in the Gospel of Matthew, turn to Chapter 6 and read from verse 5 to verse 9. Do you see here a preparation for prayer or an introduction that teaches not to begin prayer for the sake of appearances and in a noisy fashion, but in a secluded place and in peace, to pray only for the forgiveness of sins and to be united with God, and not to make many and unnecessary requests for material needs. Then read further on this same chapter, from verse 9 to verse 14. Here is the formula of prayer, that is, in which words it should be pronounced. It wisely combines everything that is necessary and appropriate for our life. Then continue reading verses 14 and 15 of the same chapter and you will find the condition that must be observed in order for the prayer to be valid, because without forgiveness by us of those who have offended us, the Lord will not forgive our sins. Passing to the seventh chapter, you will find from verses 7 to 12 the means of success in prayer and acceptance of faith: “Ask, seek, knock.” This strong expression represents the frequency of prayer and the surpassing effort in it, so that prayer not only accompanies us in all our activities, but even surpasses them in time. This is the main characteristic of prayer… In this you will find an example in Chapter 14 of the Gospel of Mark, from verses 32 to 40, where Jesus Christ himself repeats the same prayer words again and again. A similar example of the frequency of prayer is given by the Evangelist Mark (Lk. XI, 5-14) in the parable of the persistent petition of the friend, as well as in the vehement request of the widow to the judge (Lc. XVIII, 1-15), depicting the instructions of Jesus Christ that should always, in every situation. to be persistent.”

            After this thorough introduction, the teaching of my precious inner prayer will be revealed in the Gospel of John, first of all, in the wise story of Jesus Christ’s conversation with the Samaritan woman, wherein the inner worship of God in spirit and in truth, which God desires and which is ceaseless and which is unceasing. (John 4:5-25). Then, in chapter 15 from verse 4 to verse 8, the power, strength and necessity of inner prayer, that is, the abiding of the soul in Christ, in the unceasing remembrance of God, is still clearer portrayed. Finally, read in chapter 16 of the same Evangelist, from verse 23 to verse 25. See what mystery is revealed there! Do you see that the prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, or so-called Jesus prayer, that is, “Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me,” often and many times repeated, has great power and brings greater convenience and opens the heart and sanctifies it. This can be seen vividly from an example. The Apostles, who, though they had been followers of the Lord Jesus for many years and who had already been taught the Lord’s Prayer, that is, Our Father, and which we know from them, yet at the end of their earthly life, Jesus Christ revealed to them a secret that they lacked in the prayer so that their prayer would be decisive. He said to them: “Yet you do not ask anything in my name. If you ask for anything in my name, your Father will give it to you.” And this was so with them, for after this, when the Apostles had learned to offer a prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, then how much they did miraculous wonders, and how fully they were enlightened themselves! Now do you see the bond and the fullness of the teaching on prayer as eloquently presented in the Holy Gospel? If we then proceed with the reading and letters of the Apostles, we will find a consistent teaching on prayer there as well.

             Thus, by studying the Bible carefully and diligently, we can find many more discoveries of hidden knowledge hidden in the Word of God, which escape from a haphazard or hasty reading of it. From what I have just said, have you noticed how wisely and consistently, that is, in a secret systematic way, the New Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ reveals its teaching on this subject, which we have now traced? In what a wonderful order of continuity the New Testament is arranged in all four Gospels? Here, for example, in St. Matthew we see an attack or an entry into prayer, the form, conditions, and so on; moving on, in St. Mark we find examples; in St. Luke, parables, and in St. John, hidden exercises in inner prayer, though in all the Gospels (shorter or longer) these things are found. In Acts, we see the practice and consequences of prayer; in the Apostolic Epistles, as well as in the Apocalypse, there are many accessories inextricably linked to the matter of prayer! This is why I am content with only one of the Gospels in studying all the ways of salvation.

             All the time as he pointed out and interpreted to me, I noticed all the markings on my Gospels, which are to be found alongside my Bible. All this seemed very wonderful and instructive, and I thanked him for it very much.

             Then we walked for nine days in silence. This companion of mine was very ill with swollen legs, probably from the unfamiliarity with long walking, and so he rented a pair of horses and took me with him. So we reached your borders and stayed here for three days, to rest and then proceed directly to Anzer, to which he passionately desired.

            – What a wonderful companion of yours! He must be very pious, for he is very educated; I should like to see him.

             – We are neighbors; I will bring him to you tomorrow. But it is time… Please excuse me!

Further news of my travel companion.

Brother to brother we help each other, for
the city is strong and high: it is like a city founded on a rock.
(Prov. XVIII, 19).

              – Here, by word and promise, yesterday I invited you along and the venerable companion, whose spiritual guidance made the journey lighter and whom you desired to see.

           – It is truly a pleasure for me, I trust, and for these honourable visitors, to see you both and to hear your useful and experienced words. This is the reverend Schihmon and this the humble priest. So, as two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus Christ, he is promised to be there; and as we are together now in his name, his grace flows even more abundantly over us!

           – Yesterday, the account of your sincere devotion to the Holy Gospel from your companion was wonderfully instructive. It is interesting to hear how this great austerity and secret of piety was revealed to you.

  And most amazing of all, this willfully impetuous Lord, who desires the salvation of every soul that comes to the knowledge of the truth, opened this light to me in a fabulous way, without any human intermediary. For five years, I had been a professor at the Lycée, passing most murky roads of mischief, and indulging in the frivolous philosophy of the world, not of Christ, and may perhaps have perished had it not been for the counsel of my pious mother and my sister, with whom I lived in that boulevard. Here I met and became acquainted with a fine young man of French origin, an aspiring student who had recently come from Paris and was seeking a position as a tutor. His uncommonly intellectual character greatly pleased me, and I invited him to stay with me as a traveling guest. For almost two months he visited me quite regularly, and we often walked together, talked a great deal, and went out with the most respectable of our friends.Once, unexpectedly, a hermit came to me, who goes into the wilderness for a retreat. He strongly advised me to stop relying only on medicines, which cannot help without the assistance of God, and asked me to ask God and to pray earnestly about this, because “prayer is the most powerful means for the healing of all diseases, both bodily and spiritual.” “How can I pray in this state, when I cannot even bow down nor raise my hands in the sign of the cross?” I objected to him out of carelessness. He said to me, “Pray anyway!” After this visitor left, I began to ponder prayer and its power and effectiveness, remembering the theological lectures I had heard in my student days. This occupation was very beneficial to me, revived the luminous religious knowledge in my memory, warmed my soul, and immediately I began to feel some relief from my painful attacks. Since the Gospel was always near me, I, in accordance with my faith, considered it the best place to learn prayer and Christian piety. Reading this, I drew from it, like a rich fountain, a complete system of a life of salvation and true inner prayer. With reverence, I noted all the places and texts on this subject, and from that time on I have been trying to learn these divine ordinances and to practice them as best I can, though it is difficult. With this occupation, my illness gradually eased and, as you can see, I have completely recovered. Having remained alone, I thank God for His fatherly mercies and healing and enlightenment, and, following the example of my sister and the inclination of my heart, I have decided to devote myself to a hermit’s life in order to freely receive and assimilate the sweet commands of eternal life indicated to me in the word. Now I am making my way to a secluded hermitage near the Solovetsky monastery on the White Sea, called the Anzer Hermitage, of which I have heard that it is a suitable place for contemplative life. Let me tell you: it is indeed comforting to me on this journey that the Holy Gospel is with me and illuminates my immature mind, warming both my cold heart, but, in recognition of my weakness, I openly declare that the conditions for performing the works of godliness and acquiring salvation, which require perfect virtue, which require perfect humility, which the Gospel commands, scare me with their height and because of the injury to my heart. Therefore, standing now among despair and hope, I do not know what will happen to me in the future! 

SCHOLAR: For such a binding promise of special and wondrous grace of God, and with your scientific education, it is unforgivable not only to be in sorrow, but even to allow the slightest doubt about God’s intercession and help to enter your soul! Do you know what the Holy Zlatoust says about this? “No one should be sad (he reproves) and consider the preaching of the Gospel impermissible or inconvenient! God, in determining a person’s salvation, of course, did not order the commandments to make him a sinner through their inconvenience. No! eternity” (Christ Pantocrator, of the Divine Wisdom [Patriot]), and adds, “For the needy man, the idle man is a martyr, and the idolatrous man is a martyr.”

        Obviously, regular and consistent fulfillment of God’s commands for our nature seems extremely difficult, and therefore salvation is inconvenient: but the same divine word that initiated the commandments contains not only the means to implement them conveniently, but even the consolation of their implementation. If at first glance this appears to be wrapped in a veil of secrecy, it is, of course, precisely in order to bring the practitioner closer to humility and to make it easier to unite with God through the indication of a direct refuge to Him in prayer and a petition for His paternal help. This is the secret of salvation, and not by relying on one’s own efforts.

      BUILDER: How I wish I could know this secret, so that through it, with the help of a means, I could somehow correct my lazy life for the glory of God and my salvation!

      SCHOLAR: This secret is known to you, dear brother, from your book, The Charity of Love. It consists in uninterrupted prayer, which you have studied so thoroughly and which you have studied and rejoiced in so eagerly.

      BUILDER: I fall at your feet, venerable father! For the sake of God, allow me to hear from your lips a useful secret about this saving secret and about the sacred prayer, which I most desire to hear and love to read, in order to strengthen and bring comfort to my sinful soul.

      SCHOLAR: Although I cannot satisfy your desire with my own reasoning on this high occupation, because I am still inexperienced in this matter, I have a very clear notebook of a spiritual writer on this very subject. If our interlocutors wish, I can bring it now and, if you wish, I can even read it to you. Thank you!

ALL OF YOU: Do us your grace, venerable father! Do not deprive us of such a life-saving knowledge.

The secret of salvation through unceasing prayer

“How to save oneself?” This is a pious Christian question that naturally arises in the mind of everyone as a result of the feeling of a damaged and relaxed human nature and the remaining desire for truth and righteousness within it. Everyone, even if he has some faith in immortality and the reward of eternal life, is automatically faced with the thought of how to save himself when he casts his gaze upon heaven.… Finding it difficult to solve this task, he asks the sensible and knowledgeable about it, then reads, according to their advice, the books of spiritual writers on the subject, whose expositions and rules affirm that certain conditions appear to be necessary for salvation: an honest life, deeds and labour on oneself for a determined self-sacrifice, which leads to the creation of good deeds, to the constant fulfilment of all God’s commandments, which testify to the immutability and firmness of faith. Acted out with deep humility and in their entirety, for just as all virtues depend on one another, they must support, perfect and inspire each other, like the rays of the sun, when they are concentrated through a lens into a single point.“

            Guided in this way, the aspiring saviour with all cheerfulness proceeds to the fulfilment of the prescriptions and the addition to the studies of everything heard and read. But, alas! at the very first step of his aspiration he finds no means to achieve his goal, foreseeing and even feeling that his nature, weakened and relaxed, will take the upper hand over the convictions of the mind; that his free will is constrained, inclinations weakened, and the strength of the spirit exhausted. In the face of this well-informed awareness of his powerlessness, he naturally comes to the thought that there is no remedy for fulfilling what the law of God orders, what Christian piety demands, and what all who have been blessed by obtaining salvation and holiness have performed. As a result, in order to reconcile the demands of reason and conscience with the powerlessness of the executive faculties, he turns to the preachers of salvation with the question: how can one be saved? How can one justify the conditions of salvation that are inaccessible to him? And can the one who preaches all that he preaches consistently perform it as well?”Ask God, pray to God, and He will help you!” Is it not more fruitful to have learned prayer earlier or always, and at all times, in order to fulfil all that Christian piety demands and is what obtains salvation? concludes the questioner, and thus begins to study prayer, reads, reflects, understands the teachings of those who have written on this subject. True, he finds many noble thoughts, profound knowledge and expressions in them. One reflects wonderfully on the necessity of prayer; another – on its power, benevolence, on the obligation to pray, on the fact that diligence, attention, warmth of spirit, purity of thought, reconciliation with enemies, humility, sorrow, etc. are required in prayer… 

This is a universal concept of prayer for those who are not familiar with the writings on inner prayer and the contemplative works of the Holy Fathers. Finally, the seeker comes across a book called The practice of loving kindness, in which twenty-nine Holy Fathers expressed clearly the doctrine of true and essential heart prayer. Here the mystery of salvation and prayer begins to lift its veil for him, and he sees that to pray truly means to direct the mind and memory to a constant remembrance of God, to walk in His divine presence, to rouse oneself to His love through contemplation, and to unite the name of God with the breath and movement of the heart, the direction of Jesus Christ, or the creation of Jesus’ prayer at any time and place and in every occupation without interruption.

            Although these bright truths, illuminating the seeking’s knowledge and opening him the way to study and attain prayer, and convincing him to immediately embark on carrying out these wise instructions, however, in his experiments, acting in periodic steps, he will not remain without difficulties until an experienced instructor reveals to him in its fullness the secret that only frequency or constant prayer (however it was pronounced from the beginning) is the only powerful means for the completeness of inner prayer and the salvation of the soul. Part of prayer is the foundation or foundation that supports everything in the circle of saving activity, as is confirmed by St Siméon, the New Theologian: “He who continually prays, he has in this one thing obtained all good,”.

            So, to present the truth of this revelation in its fullness, the instructor develops it in the following image:

            For salvation of the soul, first of all, true faith is needed. Sacred Scripture says: without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews XI, 6).

            But from the same Scriptures it is clear that a person cannot by himself bring about a faith, not even a mustard seed; that faith is not from us, because God is a gift; that faith, as a spiritual gift, is given by the Holy Spirit.

            So what must be done? How can one reconcile the need for faith in a man with the impossibility of bringing it into being on his own part? In the same Scriptures, a means is revealed for this and examples are given: Ask and it will be given you. The Apostles could not bring about the perfection of faith in themselves, but they prayed to Jesus Christ: Lord, give us faith. Here is an example of gaining faith. Hence it is clear that faith is obtained through prayer.

Each of us is capable of goodness. For salvation of the soul in true faith, good deeds are also necessary – virtues, because “Faith without works is dead”, because deeds reveal man, not faith alone, and “If you want to enter the body, observe the commandments: do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not love your neighbor’s wife, but pour out your soul.” All these commandments must be kept together. «If one of the Law is broken, he is guilty of all.» This is what the Holy Apostle James teaches.

            A true prayer requires its own conditions: it must be offered with purity of thoughts and heart, with ardent effort, with firm attention, with trembling reverence, and with deep humility. But who in a conscientious state will not agree that he is far from the above conditions for true prayer, that he offers his prayer more out of necessity, more under compulsion than from the desire, the pleasure of prayer, and the love of prayer? This is what the Scriptures testify to, that man cannot completely cleanse his mind of unclean thoughts: “Does a man have an evil thought from his youth?”, that only God gives us a new heart and a new spirit, “that what we want and what belongs to God are what he desires”. And the Apostle Paul himself said: “My spirit is praying, but my mind is without fruit”, and “I know nothing about it, that we pray under the sacrifice”. This means that we cannot fully manifest its essential properties in our prayer.

            What, then, remains possible, on the part of human will and strength, for the salvation of his soul? He cannot have faith without prayer, nor good works; in the end, he is unable to pray authentically. What, then, remains for his part, presented to his will and strength, so that he does not perish, but is saved?

            Since in any action there is a quality, then the Lord has presented it through His will and gifts. And in order to show more clearly the dependence of man on the will of God and to immerse him more deeply in humble wisdom, God has left a certain quantity of prayer to human will and strength, commanding them to pray continually, at any time, in any place. And thus the mysterious way of reaching true prayer, along with it faith, the fulfillment of the commandments and salvation, opens its secret. So, a certain quantity of prayer has been given to human will … This is precisely how the Fathers of the Church teach. St. Makarios the Great says: “to pray somehow (but often) is within our will, but to pray truly is a gift of grace”. Bishop Isaac says that the frequency of prayer takes on the habit and turns to nature; that without constant invocation of the name of Jesus Christ it is impossible to cleanse the heart.

The Holy Fathers exhort us before all else to begin our ascetic feats and virtuous deeds by praying incessantly and often to the name of Jesus Christ, because often, even an impure prayer can be brought to purity. Saint Diogenes explains that if a person prays frequently, he or she will not commit sins. What practical advice these holy and wise Fathers give us, how close they are to the heart! In their profound simplicity they shed light on the ways and means of improving the soul. How contrasting their moral precepts are with the teachings of theoretical reason! Reason says, do this and that well, equip yourself with courage, exert your willpower, be convinced by the good results of virtue, for example, cleanse your mind and heart from vain thoughts, fill the space with instructive reflections, do good, and you will be respected and at peace, live like that, as reason requires, and – in the face of all efforts – without frequent prayer, without the help of God, you will not achieve its goal. Let us now explore the teachings of the Fathers and see how, for example, they speak of the purification of the soul. Saint Lysian writes: “When the soul is darkened by unclean thoughts, overcome your adversaries with the name of Jesus Christ, repeating it frequently. There is no stronger and more successful weapon than this in heaven or on earth.” St. Gregory the Synaite teaches: “Know this: no one can restrain his mind by his own efforts, and therefore, when thoughts are impure, call on the name of Jesus Christ more often and more often, and the thoughts will die down on their own.” What a simple and convenient, yet experienced method, and also the opposite of the counsels of theoretical reason, which strives to achieve purity through its own self-reliance! Having understood these practiced instructions of the holy Fathers, we come to the true conclusion that the main, only, and most convenient way to obtain the means of salvation and spiritual perfection is to become a part of, and to continue without interruption, prayer, no matter how poor it may be.

            Christian soul! If you do not find the strength in yourself to worship God in spirit and in truth; if your heart does not yet feel the warmth and sweetness of intellectual and inner prayer, then offer as a prayer sacrifice what you can, what is within your power, and in proportion to your strength. Let the lower parts of your lips be like the first in unceasing prayer invocation; let them constantly and incessantly call upon the powerful name of Jesus Christ. This is not a great effort, and it is within everyone’s power. This is what is required by the experienced commandment of the holy Apostle: “Offer up unto God the sacrifice of praise, or the fruit of lips confessing His name,”

            A spiritual writer discusses this beautifully. “I know”, he says, “that for many false-minded, lazy philosophers, who seek everywhere for false greatness and vices in the eyes of reason and pride, the simple, verbal, and individual but frequent exercise of prayer appears to be a negligible, or slight, or base occupation. They forget the instructions of Jesus Christ – ‘Unless you become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of God.’ They make up for themselves some science for prayer, on the cunning premises of natural reason. Did not our Divine Master himself extol such frequent prayer? in half the world, there is no need! Only follow it, do not bother, and do not worry: it will clear itself far enough.”

      So, after all these persuasions that the frequency of prayer, despite its weakness, is immensely powerful, easily available to man, and lies in the fullness of his own free will – try it, though once for the first time, spend a day watching yourself, observing the frequency of your prayer so that, as it were, on the prayer call of the name of Jesus Christ, it is taken much more; and this superiority of prayer over worldly affairs – in time will undoubtedly show you that this day has not been lost, but gained for salvation; that on the tribunal of God’s judgment, frequent prayer tips the balance of your weaknesses and deeds, and smoothes out the sins of that day in the unblemished book of conscience, places you on the scale of righteousness, and gives you the hope of receiving sanctification and eternal life. (From the author’s manuscript, received by Father Ambrose of the Good Monastery).

      BUILDER.  – From the bottom of my heart, thank you, holy father! you have enjoyed this reading for my sinful soul. For the sake of God, bless me to copy this list for myself – I will write it down for a few hours. Everything read is so wonderful and enjoyable, and my stupid mind understands it clearly and exactly, as in “The Joyful Life” the holy fathers meditate on this. Boetius, for example, John of Caphafaris in the fourth part of “The Joyful Life” also says that if you do not have the strength for moderation and active deeds, then know that God wants to save you by prayer. And in your notebook, as perfectly and clearly as it is, everything is spread out. Thank you, first of all, to God, and then to you for being able to hear it!

PROFESSOR. – I listened with great respect and satisfaction to your lecture, honourable Father! All the arguments are convincing according to the most rigorous logic; but at the same time, it seems to me, the possibility of constant prayer is determined primarily by favourable circumstances and complete solitude. For I agree that frequent or incessant prayer is a powerful and unique means of acquiring the grace of help in all matters of virtue and the sanctification of the soul, and it is within the reach of human powers; but this method can be used only when one has the opportunity of solitude and peace: when one is removed from engagements, chores and crowds; then he has only to struggle with laziness or boredom of thought. But if one is obliged by post or duty to work constantly, if one must live in a noisy society of people, and desires zealously to pray often, one is unable to do so because of the inevitable dispersion. Therefore, every person cannot use the only possible method of frequent prayer under auspicious circumstances.SHEMNIK. – In vain do you consider the impossible! Not to speak of how a heart disciplined in interior prayer is able at all times, in all occupations (both physical and mental) and in any noise to pray and invoke the Name of God uninterruptedly (the conductor himself knows this by experience, and the inexperienced must gradually be taught this); it can safely be said that no worldly affairs can interfere with prayer. As the secret thought of man is immune from any external interference and is completely free within himself, it can always be felt and turned into prayer, even the very language, in the presence of many, can secretly express prayer without external sounds, and in the midst of external occupations; and, although one’s own occupations are not so important, and our conversations are not so interesting, that it would not be possible to find a convenient time and place to invoke the Name of Jesus Christ, even if the mind is not yet accustomed to continuous prayer; although, of course, privacy and the removal of distracting objects are the principal condition for attentive and continuous prayer; yet, in the absence of such a possibility, one should not excuse oneself for the poverty of prayer, since the number of opportunities available to each person – both healthy and sick – is determined by his will. The examples of this are those who were burdened with obligations, distractions, worries, troubles, and work, not only always prayed the Divine Name of Jesus Christ, but even through this they learned and achieved continuous interior prayer. Thus, Patriarch Photios, who was elevated from the ranks of the senatorial order to the patriarchal rank, while managing the great Church of Constantinople, was constantly in invocation of the Divine Name, and even through this he attained self-contained, heartfelt prayer. Thus, Calistus on Mount Athos, while performing the burdensome duties of a cook, learned permanent prayer. Thus, the simple-hearted Lazarus, burdened with incessant labors for the brethren, incessantly, during all the noisy occupations, pronounced the Jesus prayer and was comforted. And many others who similarly practiced continuous invocation of the Divine Name. If it were impossible to pray amid distracting occupations or in the company of people, that would certainly not be commanded as impossible. St John Chrysostom in his sermon on prayer says the following: “No one should suppose that it is impossible to always pray while engaged in life’s cares, or that one cannot be in the church. Everywhere, where you are, you can place a sacrifice to God in your own mind, through prayer.” Prayer is possible anywhere. And indeed, if a person pays close attention to himself, he will find comfort for prayer everywhere, provided she is convinced that prayer should be the main occupation before all her obligations. We should not be too distraught in our works, so that through all of this we may acquire more time for silent prayer. Given the possibilities of man and his will, and that it is possible, and convenient, to pray at any time, place, and circumstance, and to move from frequent prayer in word to prayer in thought, and from this to prayer of the heart, which opens the kingdom of God inside us.

       PROFESSOR.  – Agree that in all mechanical occupations it is possible, and even convenient, to engage in frequent, or even continuous, prayer, because mechanical needlework does not require intense concentration, and a lot of reasoning, and therefore my mind can, at the same time, immerse itself in continuous prayer and my lips follow this path. But when I have to engage in something purely intellectual, something; attentive reading, or reflection on a deep subject, or a work, then how can I, at the same time, pray with my mind and lips? And since prayer is primarily a matter of the mind, then how can I assign different occupations to the same mind?

       SCHEMATIC.  – Solving this question of yours will not be difficult at all, if we take into consideration the fact that prayer is divided into three categories: 1) beginners, 2) those who are able to pray regularly, and 3) those who have learned to pray. Therefore, beginners can have and, during intellectual exercises, recurrent frequent arousal of the mind and heart to God, and the utterance of a short verbal prayer; and those who manage to pray or have come into a constant state of mind can engage in meditation or work while remaining in the constant presence of God, as a basis for prayer. This can be expressed by an example. Imagine that a strict and demanding Sovereign has ordered you to elaborate on a deep subject given to him – in his presence – at the foot of his throne; no matter how fully occupied you are with your subject, the presence of the King, whose life is in his hands, having overcome you, will not allow you to forget for a moment that you are meditating, understanding, and elaborating not alone, but in a place that demands special reverence, respect and propriety. This sense of the presence of the King, vividly feeling it, clearly expresses the possibility of engaging in continuous inner prayer while doing intellectual exercises.

             As for those who, through long practice or the grace of God, have acquired a prayer of heart, such people not only in deep intellectual activity, but even in their sleep, do not cease from continuous prayer, as the Wise Man says: ” While I sleep, my heart wakes me.” O God, who by himself arousing himself to prayer, draws the mind and the whole soul into a continuous prayerful outpouring, in which state, who prays, was not, and whatever a person is engaged in, abstractly and intellectually.

       ADDENDUM.  – Your conclusion might have some basis, if it were not connected with the advice of the oral prayer, its continuity or constancy; if the prayer in the name of Jesus Christ did not have any spontaneous power, and did not attract attention and diligence through gradual practice. But since we are now talking about the frequency, duration, and continuity of prayer (even if it was initially inattentive or dry), we will explain further. One spiritual writer, convincing us of the greatest benefit and fruitfulness of frequent prayer, expressed in monotonous words, concludes as follows: – Although many intellectually ill-informed people regard as wasteful and even trivial the unvaried production of one and the same prayer, calling it mechanical and absurd; the mystery that is eventually opened up by this mechanical exercise does not know how a verbal, but frequent wailing, becomes a genuine cry of the heart, penetrates into the inner being, becomes pleasing, becomes natural to the soul, enlightens it, feeds and leads to unity. To boys who are supposed to learn the alphabet and reading; the secret of this boring exercise in letters was for them to purify the soul; first you purify the body: you fast for a day, deprive your body of nourishing and irritating food? it is good to do good, so easily forgotten by you – and you experience it through experience that, through the external fast of your body, you acquire the inner refinement of the mind, the calm of the heart, the means to control your passions, and the reminder of the spiritual exercise, and thus you acquire an inner spiritual benefit through the external matter. of prayer, which develops through its long-term nature the internal prayer of the heart: it kindles and promotes the rational union with God. It happens that whoever has undertaken to call on the name of Jesus Christ incessantly, or, what is the same, to utter the Lord’s Prayer continuously, usually at first feels the work and struggles with laziness, but the longer and more one practices this, the more insensitive one becomes to this occupation, so that subsequently, imperceptibly, so that subsequently, effortlessly, the lips move and speak the prayer without a voice. to bow down and listen to this unconscious action of the lips, being thus aroused to attention, which in the end becomes the source of the sweetness of the heart and true prayer. of the arguments you presented in support of your objections, it is explained by a proper consideration of them. They did not acknowledge it in their hearts. This is what is said to them, and it does not refer to the reading of the prayer, of which Jesus Christ directly and positively, or certainly, commanded as follows: &8220;It is like a good man, constantly to pray and not to wring his hands in the church, understanding this to be about public teaching, and not about prayer itself, of which he speaks so positively: &8220;I want you to pray constantly. &8221; Or without meaning, or in a foreign language in the church, or as a lesson for the general public, and not for prayer in the proper sense, which he speaks so positively: &8220;I want you to make prayer in every place.&8221; or unceasingly to pray.&8221; is a proper understanding of Holy Scripture?&8221;

      <strong>BUILDER.</strong> Truly so, Father, you are honest! I have seen many who, simply, without any enlightening training, and not knowing what attention is, create themselves, in an uninterrupted way, the Lord’s prayer, have achieved what their mouth and tongue could not restrain from speaking a prayer that later so delighted and enlightened them, and made them weak and careless.

      <strong>SCHEMETIC.</strong> Yes! Prayer seems to transform a person. Its power is so powerful that no power of passion can withstand it. If I wish, I will read you, brothers, a short but interesting article that I have brought with me.

      <strong>ALL.</strong> With pious excitement, we will listen to it.

      <strong>SCHEMETIC.</strong>

Confession on the power and the action of prayer

       Prayer is so powerful and mightly that if you pray and do what you want, prayer will lead you to the right and righteous deed.

       For godly life, nothing more is needed than to love. – Love, and do whatever you want, says Blessed Augustine: for whoever truly loves, he cannot wish to do anything that would be ungodly to his beloved … Since prayer is the outflow and the action of love, therefore it can truly be said something similar: and do whatever you want, and you will achieve the goal of prayer, you will achieve sanctification.

       To develop this concept more thoroughly, let us explain with examples:

1) Praise and think of everything you want, and your thought will be purified by prayer. Prayer will give you an illumination of the mind; it will calm and banish all inappropriate thoughts. – This is what St. Gregory of Sinai says: – “If you want to drive away thoughts and purify your mind, drive them away with prayer, for, except for prayer, you will not find any other way to keep your thoughts away.”

           2) Praise and do whatever you want, and your actions will be godly, and useful and saving for you.

1) Daily prayer, no matter what, will not go unanswered (St. Mark the Ascetic) because it is in itself a beneficent power. “Therefore, the name of the Lord, and every one who calls upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.” For example, someone who prayed without success during the time of unbelief in this prayer, received illumination and an invitation to repent. A dissolute girl prayed when she returned and prayer pointed her the way to a chaste life and to obey the admonitions of Jesus Christ.

          Now you see how profound the thoughts focused in this wise saying are: “Love, and do what you want. Pray, and do what you want!” … How joyful and delightful everything said for the sinner, burdened with weaknesses, – for one whose soul is worn down by struggling passions!

However, all these means have their dignity and arise from a true understanding, but a sickly, gluttonous soul, taking and using them, rarely sees their fruitfulness because these medicines are bitter to its spoiled taste and weak for its deeply wounded nature. For one who is a Christian does not know that one must pray often and diligently, that this requires God; that slothfulness toward prayer will bring punishment; that all the saints pray diligently and unceasingly; yet this knowledge rarely has favorable consequences! Every observer sees that he himself either does not do these things, or does them only partly, and when they remind him of this, he lives as poorly and lazily as before.Clear example of this method, as a powerful means, is seen in many places of “The Good Hypocrite” in detailed descriptions of prayer delights; it is as often as possible necessary to read battles against sickness and dryness in prayer, considering oneself unworthy of such delights and humbly reproaching oneself for negligence in prayer.

      MONK. Does not such meditation lead the inexperienced to spiritual vanity, as the theologians call that desire of the soul which strives for excessive delight and love of grace, not being content with what it is required to do, the work of virtue by duty and necessity, not dreaming of a reward?

      PROFESSOR. I think that the theologians in this case warn against excess or greed of spiritual delights, and not completely reject delight and joy in the virtues: for if there is a desire for reward and delight, then God does not forbid a person to think about reward and delight, and even to observe commands until he has attained perfection. – “Shall love thy father and mother,” that is a command! – And then the reward that encourages its fulfillment: “Blessed are you.” – “If you would be perfect, go now, and sell your possessions, and give them to the poor,” that is the requirement for perfection. – And immediately after it, the reward that encourages to achieve perfection: “Let your treasures be in heaven” (Matt. XIX, 27).

            “Be glad when people take pleasure in you and when they speak well of you, because of the Son of man” , that is a great requirement for a feat for which extraordinary strength of the mind and unshakable patience are required. For this, there is a great reward and delight, capable of breaking down and sustaining extraordinary strength of the mind: “because thy iniquity is forgiven, thou shalt have a great reward in heaven” (Matt. V, 20) . Therefore, I believe that some desire for delight in heart prayer is necessary, and is the main way to achieve both diligence and success. Therefore, all this undoubtedly confirms the practical reasoning of the father of the ascetics on this subject, which we have just heard…

    There is no higher word to speak about this subject than one of the great theologians, St. Makarios of Egypt, has said so: “In the cultivation of the vineyard, effort and labor are added with the aim of gathering the fruits, and if there are no fruits, then all the work is in vain; likewise, in prayer, if the fruits of the spiritual are missing, that is, love, peace, joy, etc., or the fruits of hope, that is, the enjoyment of sweets in our hearts, we must fulfill.” (p. 3, chapter 5). Do you see how clearly this Holy Father has explained the question of the need for pleasures in prayer? “But something came to my memory recently that I read, and this is the main reason for the tendency to idleness, and therefore the consideration of this property can also be a powerful means of arousing diligent prayer, the means of which the M. Professor wishes to seek. Investigating that there can be no action without a cause, and following the ladder of perceptible things, descending from the lower to the higher, one finally reaches the ultimate cause of God. Therefore, no nation, no tribe of savages has ever existed, and there is none, without any idea of God. Something nags at it to something unknown … From this source all natural religions take place, and it is very remarkable that the essence or soul of each religion is a secret prayer, which is marked by some form of motion and a clear, wild concept of savages! “.

          Oh, if only one did not misuse this noble faculty and keep it above his spiritual nature! Then he would have a great encouragement and a means of progress towards moral perfection. But, alas! How often does one transform this noble faculty into a foolish passion of self-love, when he turns it into an instrument for the satisfaction of his animal nature!

          I thank you very much, my dear visitors! Your heart-rending conversation has delighted me, and has given me much instructive information as a beginner. May the Lord give you His grace for your instructive love.

          Everybody said goodbye.

The Seventh Meeting: Spiritual Conversations

“Pray for one another and heal you” (Jac. V, 16).

      THE BUILDER.  – My pious companion, the professor, and I could not resist the common desire to set out on the road and not come to you finally to say goodbye and ask for your prayers for us…

      PROFESSOR.  – Yes, your sincerity and the saving conversations we enjoyed with you among your friends are a lasting memory in our souls, as a guarantee of fellowship and Christian love in the far-away land where we are heading.

             – Thank you for your memory and love, but in the meantime, as it happens, your arrival is timely! Two wanderers have stopped by my house: a Moldovan monk and a hermit who lived for twenty years in silence in the forest. They want to see you; I will summon them now…

             Here they are!

      THE BUILDER.  – Ah, how blessed life in the wilderness is! And convenient for the unobstructed attainment of union with God! The silent forest, like the Garden of Eden, in which the tree of life grows sweetly in the prayerful heart of the hermit. If I had any means of food, then I would not part with solitary life.

      PROFESSOR.  – Everything seems particularly good to us from a distance, and experience assures everyone that each place, having its own conveniences, also has its own drawbacks. Of course, for one whose temperament is melancholy and who has a taste for solitude, life in solitude is comforting, but there are many dangers on this path! The ascetic history presents many examples in which it is seen how many hermits and hermits have completely deprived themselves of communication with people, and have fallen into self-deception and deep comforts.

       The Hesychast.  – I am surprised how often in Russia, not only in monastic monasteries, but even among some pious laymen, it is necessary to hear that many who wish to live in solitude or to practice inner prayer are deterred from following this impulse by fear of perishing from temptation. Insisting on this, they give examples to support their conditions; that whereas they themselves shun the inner life, they also discourage others from it… I think this arises from two causes: either from a lack of understanding of the matter and a lack of spiritual education, or from their own laziness to engage in ascetic contemplation and jealousy lest others superior to them in these higher insights should surpass them. Let us examine the reasoning of the Holy Fathers on this subject, who teach clearly and firmly that there is no need to be afraid or to doubt when invoking God. If some have fallen into self-deception or mental exuberance, this has occurred to them through pride, from the lack of a mentor, and from accepting visions and dreams for the truth. If such deception should happen (they continue), it would lead to sobriety and repentance; for God’s swift help intervenes in this indulgence. Be courageous! I am with you, do not be afraid! says Jesus Christ. (Greek Synaxarion, loc. c.) From this it follows that vain fear and intimidation from the inner life under the pretext of self-deception is useless: for a humble awareness of one’s sins, an openness of the soul to the mentor, and “without seeing,” in prayer, are a firm and secure safeguard against temptation, which many fear so much, and hence many are afraid, and many fear so much, and many are overwhelmed, as the renowned words of St. Philotheus of Sinai clearly demonstrate, who says the following: “Many monks do not understand the temptations of their minds, which are experienced from demons; that is, they diligently practice only one activity (in external virtues), but do not care about the mind, that is, about inner contemplation, do not care, do not care. . . If they even hear about others who have been inwardly touched by grace, they consider this envy.”

       The Hermit. — Although the guidance of an experienced and spiritually knowledgeable instructor, or elder, to whom one could open the heart, the mind, and one’s progress on the path of interior training with full trust and benefit, constitutes the main condition for practising heartfelt prayer in silence: parents who do this are an exception. The Monk Nikon clearly teaches this thus: “In practising inward heart action, a true and knowledgeable instructor is necessary. If there is no such one, one should diligently seek out: if you don’t find one, then with sorrow of heart pray that God would help you to obtain instruction and guidance in the teachings of the Holy Scriptures”. In this, one must also take into consideration that a genuine diligent seeker can hear a useful and instructive word from ordinary people, for the Holy Fathers also assure us that if we ask a Saracen with faith and a righteous intention, he too can give us a word of counsel; if, without faith and a righteous purpose, we ask for counsel from a prophet, then he will not satisfy us… We see an example of this in the Great Egyptian Makarios, whom a simple peasant once understood and thereby eliminated his addiction. As for “unseeing”, that is, not to perceive or accept any visions of light, angels, Christ, or any saints, and to turn away from any dreams, the experienced Holy Fathers, of course, prescribe this precisely because the ability to conceive conveniently can give life to an image; and an inexperienced person can quickly be carried away by these dreams, ascribe to them images of grace, and fall into self-deception, and at the same time, as Scripture says, that “the devil can transform himself into an angel of light”. And the fact that the mind can naturally and conveniently be in “unseeing” and maintain it even in the presence of God is evident from the fact that the power of imagination can perceptibly imagine something in “unseeing” and hold an image in mind while attending to objects that do not belong to the sense of sight, that do not have a form, and that cannot be measured by touch of something that is on coldness! For example: the imagination and the self-perception of our soul – air, warmth, cold; while in the cold, one can quickly imagine warmth in one’s mind, even though it does not have a form, does not belong to the sense of sight, and cannot be measured by touch of something that is in the cold! Similarly, the presence of the divine and inscrutable essence of God can be imagined in the mind, understood in the heart, in unseeing”.

BUILDER. – I had to hear from pious people and those who seek salvation that they were afraid, remembering the allure, to make contact with the inner work. Some of them I considered with benefit from the teachings of St. Gregory the Sinaite in which says that the activity of the heart cannot be magical (not in the same way as the activity of the mind), because even if the enemy wanted to transform the warmth of the heart into its disordered burning; or the joy of the heart to replace with satiating pleasure: but time, experience and feelings would distort these plots of his on their own, even for not very – p. 156. p. 156.

      The Hermit.  – I think that gloominess and doubts are best excited by the dispersion of the mind, and not by the silence of turning and turning to oneself. The ancient sages, in overcoming despondency, acquired inner illumination and strengthening through hope in God, in the tranquil quietude and solitude; and they gave us a useful and wise advice in this case: “Sit silently in your cell, and it will teach you everything.”

      Professor.  – According to my confidence in you, it is very desirable for me to hear your critical analysis of my thoughts on the celebrated silence and the beneficial utility of celibacy, which the hermits so love to observe. Here is how I judge this matter: since all people, by the law of nature, commanded by the Creator, are in necessary dependence on one another; and therefore are obliged to help one another in life, and to work and be useful to each other, this fellowship is the basis of the welfare of the human race, and of love for one’s neighbor. And how can a silent recluse, having withdrawn from social intercourse with people, be of any use to his neighbor in his inactivity, and what benefit does this bring to the welfare of human society? He utterly destroys in himself the Creator’s law, regarding the bond of love for one’s fellows and for beneficial influence upon one’s fellow men!..

      The Hermit.  – Since your view of silence is incorrect, then your conclusion is likewise wrong; let us examine this in detail:

            1. The secluded, silent hermit is not only not in an idle and empty state, but is in fact active, and even more so than the one who takes part in public life. He works tirelessly with his highest rational nature: he observes, understands, watches the condition and course of his moral existence. This is the true meaning of silence! And as it is useful for the perfection of himself, so much the more is it useful for those next to him who are deprived of the opportunity to immerse themselves unbrokenly in themselves, for the development of moral life, for the secluded, observant hermit who, by means of his inner experiences, either verbally (in exceptional cases) or by writing them down, becomes a blessing and a benefit to more and higher degrees, than the public and private benefactors, for the private, sensual benefactors of worldly people are always limited to a small number of those who benefit; but the benefactor who has acquired convictions and proven methods for the perfection of spiritual life becomes a benefactor to entire nations; his experiences and teachings pass from one generation to another, as we see and also make use of, ever since the time of the ancients – and what is nothing less than the generous mercy of Christ for the sake of Christian love, but even surpassing it in its consequences.

            2. The beneficial and useful influence of the silent man on his neighbors becomes apparent not only in the communication of his instructive observations on the inner life, but even the example of his detached life benefits the attentive layman, awakening him to self-knowledge and leading him to a sense of awe… the inspiration for a pious life, recalling what a person can be on earth, and how easily it is to return a person to his original contemplative state, from which he came from the hands of the Creator. The silent, solitary man teaches by his silence, uses life itself, indicates and convinces to the search for God…

            3. The benefit shown comes from the silence of the true, enlightened and gracefully illuminated one. But if a silent man did not have these gracious gifts to be a light for the world, if he entered the path of silence with the sole purpose of hiding himself from a community of like-minded people, through his laziness and negligence and his bad and seductive example, then he would still do a great deal of good, and would have a charitable influence on society, and would have a charitable influence on society with dry and fruitless branches, and would throw out harmful plants for the unobstructed growth of better and more useful ones. And this is already much, and this is already a public benefit, that the silent man by his solitude deprives himself of the temptation that would inevitably have arisen from his seductive life among people, and would have harmed the morality of his neighbors.

            St. Isaac of Syria alludes to the importance of silence thus: “When we put all the affairs of this life on one side, and silence on the other, we will find that it outweighs on the scales (p. 41). Signs of the Creator, and miracles, and forces in the world, can not be compared to the simple ones with silence, as if dishonor on silence, the silence of silence. Peace, and the conversion of many nations to God.

            Even the most frivolous sages recognized the benefit of silence: the Neoplatonic school of philosophers, which had many famous followings under the leadership of the philosopher Plotinus, deeply developed the contemplative, inner life, which is achieved mainly in silence… A spiritual writer once said that if the state were developed to the highest degree of enlightenment, there would be a need for people for other, contemplative purposes, besides public civic activity, to maintain the spirit of truth and receive it from all past ages, preserve it for future ages, and pass it on to posterity. Such people are, in the church, hermits, hermits, and hermits.

Engineer. – It seems to me that no one has so clearly appreciated the advantages of silence as St. John the Theologian: “Silence, he says, is the mother of prayer, a return from the realm of sin, an unconscious success in the virtues, and a constant ascent to heaven.” And Jesus Christ Himself, in order to show us the usefulness and necessity of solitary silence, often left the public preaching to go into places of silence for prayer and rest.

            So they began to study together, passing on one another what they understood; the subject of study was the same. And what happened after a few days? The negligent became diligent, loved the teachings, neglecting them became diligence and prudence, which had a beneficial effect on his character and morality. And his companion, who was prudent, became even more capable and industrious. They benefited from each other in action… And that is natural; for man is born into a society of people, develops intelligent concepts through people; the customs of life, the moods of feelings, the aspirations of desires, in short, he acquires a model for himself. And since people’s lives lie in the closest interrelation and powerful influence of one on the other, then whoever lives among people acquires habits, actions and customs similar to his own. So a cold one can be warmed up, a dull one can be sharpened, a lazy one can be woken up to active participation similar to himself by a person similar to him. The spirit of a spirit can transmit itself, can have a beneficial influence on one another: to draw him into prayer, to attention, to cheer him up in despair, to refute him from vice, and to arouse him to holy activity, and therefore help one another, can become more pious, more active, and more godly. one for another, asking for prayers to a brotherly one! 

            And from this we can see that God is not satisfied with many requests and petitions (as it happens in strong lands), but the spirit and the power of prayer purify and stimulate the soul for whom prayers are being made, and present it as capable of union with God. 

            If such a fruitful mutual prayer is made by those who live on earth, it is self-evident that the prayer of those who have passed away is also mutually beneficial for the closest bond of the heavenly world with the earthly one; it can also bring into communion the souls of the militant church, with the souls of the triumphant church; or, what is the same, with those who have departed. 

            Although all that I have said is a psychological judgment; but by revealing Holy Scripture, we will convince ourselves of its truth! 1) Thus says Jesus Christ to the Apostle Peter: ““Pray for you, that your faith may not fail”.” Here is the power of Christ’s prayer to strengthen Peter’s spirit and encourage him in the temptation against the faith. 2) When the Apostle Peter was in prison, prayer was fervent in the church for him. Here is the help of fraternal prayer in difficult circumstances of life… 3) But the clearest commandment on prayer for others is expressed by the holy Apostle James as follows: ““Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. For many will benefit from the prayer of a righteous person, let him come quickly” .” Here the above-mentioned psychological conclusion is clearly confirmed…

            What can we say about the example of the Apostle Paul, given to us as a model of prayer for one another? One writer notes that this example of St. Paul should teach us how much we need mutual prayer for one another, when both this holy and mighty ascetic recognize their need for this spiritual prayerful help. In his letter to the Hebrews, he expresses his request like this: “Pray for us, for we are hoping, as the good conscience of all who are eager to live a good life. Listening to this, how unreasonable it would be to rely on our own prayers and successes, when one who is guided by humility and who has been granted only grace asks for our communal prayer, knowing that the power of God is manifested in our weaknesses.

            By confirming this example, let us also note that prayer for one another supports the bond of Christian love, which God has commanded, expresses the humility and spirit of the one who prays, and ignites this mutual prayer.

      PROFESSOR. -Your reasoning and arguments are wonderful and precise, but it would be interesting to hear from you, yourself, the manner and form of prayer for others, because I think that if the effectiveness and efficacy of prayer depends on the living participation of the neighbor, and on the constant interaction of the spirit that prays with the one in need of pleading, then there will be no occasion to place oneself in the inefficacious presence of God, or to expose one’s soul to God in one’s own need? And if only once or twice a day is it sufficient to mention one’s neighbor with his participation and to ask him for God’s help; then is it sufficient to draw near and support the soul of the one for whom one is praying? In short, one would like to find out how to pray for others.

      Monk.  – Prayer of what does not – the one that is brought to God – need to and cannot leave the presence of God, because, if it is poured out to God, it naturally occurs in His presence… Regarding the way of praying for others, it should be noted that the power of this prayer consists in a sincere Christian participation. Therefore, when remembering him (the neighbor) or at the appointed hour, it is necessary to direct one’s reasoning gaze to God to offer the prayer in the following form: “Merciful Lord! May Your will be granted to all that they may be saved and come to the knowledge of truth: save and have mercy on Your servant (such-such). Receive this desire of mine as a cry of love, commanded by You.”

             These words are usually repeated as the soul moves or when counting beads, with this prayer. I have learned from experience how beneficial such prayer is for those about whom it is spoken.