Angel Did not Write down the Names of Those Who Took Communion with Unconfessed Sins

Rufinus the Presbyter. "Living of Desert Fathers."

(translated from Russian)

We cannot pass over in silence the inhabitants of the desert adjoining the Porfenian sea and bordering the area of the city Diolk. There we saw one wonderful priest, named Piammon, who was notable for the absolute humility and meek indulgence. He was given the grace of revelation. Once bringing the Bloodless Sacrifice to the Lord, he saw an Angel of the Lord near the Altar: he was holding a book in which he wrote down the names of the monks who approached to the Holy Altar. The elder carefully noticed whose names the Angel missed. After the end of the liturgy, he summoned separately each one of the missed by the Angel and asked him whether he had some secretly committed sin in the conscience. At this confession, he revealed that each of them was guilty of a mortal sin ... Then he persuaded them to bring repentance, and casting himself down before the Lord along with them, prayed with tears day and night, as if he was involved in their sins. And he was in repentance and tears until he saw the Angel again, standing before the Altar and writing down the names of those who were taking the Holy Mysteries. Having written down the names of everyone, the Angel even started to call each one by name, inviting to come to the Altar for reconciliation with God. And the elder, seeing this, understood that their repentance was accepted and happily admitted everyone to the Altar. 

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False Joy

Letters of Saint Ambrose of Optina.

Praise and thanksgiving to the Lord for due to all-powerful petitions and prayer intercession of Our Lady Blessed Virgin Mary your gloomy thoughts at least were somewhat cleared up. Although the desire to move to Arz. does not leave you, sometimes the thought contradicts you, and the secret suggestion in the heart says that this intention and desire is vain.

You write that the suggestion is very quiet and calm, but on the contrary, when the desire to leave the monastery seizes you, you feel bitterness, gloom, unforgiveness, and hatred against neighbors, and laziness in prayer. You should understand from this that the desire is from the devil, and it is a suggestion of the enemies and haters of the human race, looking for our eternal damnation. Saint Gregory of Sinai writes: "You need great discrimination in order to distinguish between good and evil. ... You must also be aware that the effects of grace are self-evident, and that even if the devil does transform himself he cannot produce these effects: he cannot induce you to be gentle, or forbearing, or humble, or joyful, or serene, or stable in your thoughts; he cannot make you hate what is worldly, or cut off sensual indulgence and the working of the passions, as grace does. He produces vanity, haughtiness, cowardice and every kind of evil." (citation from Philokalia, Vol. 4).

You partly experienced this yourself, by your own experience, so be careful and reasonable: keep the good, and reject the evil. You write that sometimes some kind of painful, untamed, disheveled, fierce, devilish joy comes over you, that tires you awfully, and that every sorrow of the soul is better than this ugly joy. Now you see for yourself that this joy is from the enemy: but at the same time you should know that this disheveled joy does not come without cause, and, apparently, it was once that you accepted the deceptive and delusional joy as a true one because of inexperience and negligence.

I likewise advise you to sit at home, in the monastery, and in your cell this year, and to go nowhere. God knows how much your life will last, and therefore, especially in recent times, you should not despise the secret suggestions of our conscience, aroused by the Guardian Angel, given to us at Baptism. Not in vain the ancient fathers said: "Sit in your cell, and it will teach thee all". Especially that befits a person, who is weak, both bodily and mentally. Now wandering and physical works are inappropriate in time and place. Old men and women don’t go to the children's school as it is inappropriate and untimely for them due to their weakened memory and physical strength. It is appropriate for old and weak to humble themselves and to prepare themselves with sincere repentance to go to eternity.

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Most of the Ascetics Are Temporarily or Permanently in Delusion

Letters of  Hegumen Nikon (Vorobyov) to Spiritual Children.

Letter 132

Dear ... !

10 days have already passed since I received your letter, but I didn’t set out to respond.

On your feelings about Bright Matins, I would say that all things work together for good to those who love God. The Holy Fathers say that the kingdom of God does not come with observation. When we will expect the spiritual joys - then we can just (and often it is so) not get them. The right disposition of the soul is to consider yourself unworthy of any spiritual consolation.

Moreover, Venerable John Climacus says, "Drive off with lowly hand every passing joy as something of which you are unworthy, for if you let it in, you may be admitting a wolf instead of a shepherd". This idea is expressed in different forms by all of the Holy Fathers. All people are easily inclined to every sin, and especially to those no less harmful than gross. No one can notice and overcome everything by one’s own forces, only realization of one’s infirmity, poverty, sinfulness, irredeemable indebtedness to God, and hence the incessant cry of the heart (heart is broken  and subsequently contrite), which all the Saints of God had - this is the right spiritual disposition, protecting people from fall, leading to spiritual gifts and protecting these gifts, if they are granted. The ascetic, having no cry of the heart, is in spiritual delusion, i. e. false disposition, and if he does not improve, he may fall into apparent demonic delusion and perish. In our time, all this happens implicitly, but it happens and most [1] of the ascetics are temporarily or permanently in delusion. This matter is rather subtle.

I'm sorry to tell you this, maybe at the wrong time. It scarcely concerns laymen (although, in some respect, of course, it concerns them, but in a simpler form).

So you have overcome your grief and resentment at the chief, and maybe you have also understood that you were properly deprived of the consolation by the judgment of God, to look deeper into yourself and become humble. The success of spiritual life is not measured by spiritual consolations which may be from the Devil as well, but by the depth of humility.

How are you? Forgive me if I wrote poorly, but I assure the correctness. I will not multiply words any longer, hoping to talk to you personally.

Respectfully N.
18/V-49

[1] Translator's note: depending on the stress in the original Russian word, it can be translated also as “large part”, but “most” is closer to the general sense of delusion which “is the state of all men without exception” (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov).

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How to Pray

Letters of the Valaam Elder Schema-hegumen John (Alexeev).

Schema-hegumen John (Alexeev)

01.07.1954

It is very sad to hear that the priests teach their spiritual children to imagine the Saviour, or the Mother of God, or some Saint in the mind while praying.

This method of prayer is wrong, even harmful. I know that the ones who prayed so, became of unsound mind and went to the doctors to be treated.

I'll tell you briefly how to pray according to divinely wise Holy Fathers. The mind must be enclosed in the words of the prayer and attention should be kept in the top of the chest, for attention is a soul of the prayer. You should not push the heart with attention, since if there is attention in the chest, the heart will sympathize. When tenderness and warmth of heart appear, do not think that you have received something great. It happens naturally because of concentration, but it is not delusion. Yet God gives some consolation to the praying person by the grace.

By all means try not to judge anyone for anything. What you do not want for yourself, do not do to others, and nor bear hatred, or the prayer will not become establish in the heart.

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