They asked Schema-Archimandrite Vitaly: “What are the signs of purity of heart?” He replied: “The first stage is seeing your sins and crying about them; the second is humility before each person and not seeing the sins of others. An even higher stage is love for enemies as for one’s friends. But purity has no end to perfection.”
October 19, 2018
Asks: Elena
City: Moscow
Question about my mother. We all (her relatives) feel that she is possessed. My worst sin is that I cannot forgive her in any way for what she has done. I have an old prayer book, in which there is an exorcism of the soul from the dark forces. I sit and say this prayer every night. But the candles crackle, smoke, and I begin to hiccup, which does not allow me to continue the prayer. What should I do? I want to save my mother's soul, but I can't. She does not want to go to the church. God bless.
Answer: Hegumen Daniel (Gridchenko)
Hello, Elena! Before you help your mom, you need to help yourself. First, forgive her, no matter how guilty she is before you. And secondly, if you don’t want to really go out of your mind, stop reading exorcism prayers, which are hardly recommended for every priest to read. Pray with ordinary prayers from an ordinary prayer book. Receive Holy Unction, confess, take communion... Try to do this regularly. And be humble in your spiritual claims. Otherwise, the enemy of the human race will simply trample you. May God enlighten you!
One of the parishioners of the church of the prophet Elijah was a person of deep faith. Working on a collective farm, she never stopped reading the Gospel, and when her team went to lunch break, she retired to read the Word of God. But now it's time for her to die. The Father was informed about this, but when he came to her house, it was already too late. "Did you take all the actions?" he asked the doctor. “Yes,” she replied. Then Father Vasily said: “This servant of God did not leave out the Gospel, and God will not leave her without Communion.” And, turning to the recumbent, he said: “Repent, servant of God!” And he began to list the sins. At that moment, everyone saw two tears rolling out of her closed eyes. And the priest asked: “Will you take Communion?” She opened her mouth, and the priest gave her Communion. “Yes,” said the doctor, “there is God!”, and from that time, she started to believe in the Lord.
A disciple came to the elder Joseph from the Optina Monastery and talked about his weaknesses and shortcomings, and the elder listened to him and, apparently, made some comments, but nothing more. And when asked why he, knowing so much, being so experienced, did not tell him more, the elder answered: “Good must be voluntary. But what you asked me, I answered you. You've got it understood. If I just talk without your asking, it won’t always be helpful.”
Question: Irina
City: Syktyvkar
Dec 21, 2020
Hello Father, after Olga Asouliak's courses, my mother-in-law considered herself a healer that "cured" people and thought that she helped them. Occasionally she gives some information that comes to her from the outside. Isn't it all sinful? Or is it some form of schizophrenia? Although she goes to church and prays.
Answer: Hegumen Daniel (Gridchenko)
Hello Irina, This is obviously a sin that is turning into "some form of schizophrenia." We assume that your mother-in-law went to Mrs. Asauliak of her own free will, in her right mind and full memory, which actually determines the sinfulness of her deed. But then, when we perceive a lie as the truth, processes begin to occur in the spiritual domain, which affect, among other things, a person's mental state. It breaks up. Not to mention the direct demonic possession, when in the course of false spiritual practices demonic suggestions are perceived as some kind of divine revelations. Your mother-in-law, unfortunately, is in great trouble – in spiritual delusion, to put it in church terms, considering that despite all her reckless experiments she still somehow manages to pray and go to church.
Discretion is grasping the divine will at any time, at any place and during any activity.
One should not tell other people about one’s ascetic practice and prayer rule, even if it is not for the reason of vanity, lest you lose the gift you found.
Discretion is a priceless gift that enables one’s soul to resist the passions acting in accordance with the will of God and the fear of God.
There are some people, ardent but not reasonable, who want to become fully righteous at once. The words of a great Russian saint, Seraphim of Sarov, who lived not long ago, in 19th century, and knew the way of nearly modern life, can help them:
Question. St. John of the Ladder says that “Men can cure the lustful, angels the malicious, but only God the proud”. What does it mean? It seems that only the Lord can heal all passions.
Answer. I think these words should be understood in this sense: pride is such a terrible passion that people cannot help in any way here. If the ascetic strives to overcome his passion, prays, repents, in other words, opposes pride, only then it diminishes. And no wise advice, no restrictions imposed on a proud person will help. For example, a person subject to fornication can be limited in communication with the opposite sex, fasting can be imposed on him, he can be forced to make prostrations and taught to keep away from lusty thoughts. And pride is even very difficult to notice: it seems to a person that in fact this is not pride, but a correct view of things.
... I only think it necessary to remind you that everything good that you do should be imbued with humility: whether prayer, fasting, almsgiving, forgiveness of your neighbors, and so on, do all this to the glory of God and with humility. I suggest this to you because I know that the hater of good, the devil, when he fails to turn us away from some good deed, he tries to darken it with arrogance and vanity (I, 161,325-326).
... As in every good deed, vanity and conceited opinion of oneself are intertwined, it is necessary to resist and reject it; and just as a climbing plant dries up many trees, so vanity destroys good deeds (V, 575, 774).
What is done with good intention cannot harm; it is only necessary to observe that ivy does not creep on good plants, which can dry up their fruit - by ivy I mean vanity, which was approaching you; but for this you need to have vivacity of mind and see your own badness; otherwise, falls will involuntarily humble you (III, 273, 484).
As far as I can see, you are led by vanity, you wish that your weakness is not noticed, but you want to appear good; self-reproach and humility are not visible in you, and you do not endeavor to have them (V, 496, 666).
Something like this also happened: in the monastery, there lived one monk, already tonsured to the Stavrophore, a Greek by birth. He gave a large amount of money to the monastery, but also kept a little for himself. The hegumen told him: - If you want to live with us, then don't have anything at your place; it is now in your power. And if you miss it and don't want to part with it, then don't give anything, but find a place where you can live with it. And if you hide it, and after death it will be found, then it will be thrown into the grave with you, and you, as the destroyer of the cenobium, will not be considered worthy of commemoration of the brethren. He answered: - Holy Father, what I have, I give everything. The hegumen accepted him, and then tonsured him into the schema. The monk was very humble and meek, and useful to the monastery, as a good craftsman and carpenter, and the brethren loved him very much. But the hegumen saw the serpent of greed for money lurking in him, and often he called and exhorted him with tears to reveal his money.
Being hardened in it, he said that he no longer has it. The hegumen, seeing his hardening and the death of his soul approaching, wanted to correct him. One day, in front of all the brethren, he ordered some of the brethren to drive him out of the monastery with dishonor, and throw away all his property, and gave him his money. He did not take the money, and said that the money was donated to the monastery forever. The brethren greatly regretted him and tearfully mourned that the hegumen punished such a humble man without mercy. The monk left the monastery and found himself a friend and bought a cell. He paid 4,000 levs, and used 2,000 for the construction. Then all the brethren understood why the abbot had expelled him from the monastery. But when he bought a cell, and spent all the money, despondency fell upon him, and he could no longer live in a cell, and gave it to a friend, and he himself went to the monastery and began to ask the gatekeeper to report to the abbot that he wanted to ask for forgiveness. The gatekeeper said to the hegumen. He, having heard, ran out himself, took him into his arms and said: - You spent all your money, is there anything left? He replied with shame and tears: “Forgive me, Holy Father, that I have sinned before God and before you. Now there is nothing left but my sins”. The hegumen said to him: “And now I rejoice that the Lord has cleansed you; now you will be a monk. And he gave him a cell.
In general, Elder Gerasim almost every day does deeds worthy of surprise: he knows whom to punish, and whose infirmities to forgive.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
LETTER 697
Question: “If, however, the discussion concerns the Scriptures, should I still keep silent, or may I then speak? And if they happen to be unsure of something about which I do know, is it perhaps good for me to speak then or not?” Response by John.
Silence is always better. If, however, they are unsure about something, and you happen to know about this, then in order to solve their doubt, you should say what you know with humility. But if you do not know, then do not say anything at all from your own thought; for this is foolishness.
LETTER 698
Question: “If the conversation concerns various matters that are not harmful to the soul, should I keep silent or speak?” Response.
It is never good to speak before being asked. [171] If you are asked to say something, then say what you know with humility and fear of God. Neither feel arrogant if your words are accepted, nor feel grieved if your words are not accepted. For this is the way of God. [172] Moreover, in order that you may not be considered as being silent, say something from what you know, but be brief and avoid too many words or inopportune glory.
[171] Sayings, Euprepios 7, Poemen 45, and Nau 468.
[172] Cf. Mt 22.16.
284. The elder said: if a saying comes to the heart of a brother sitting in a cell, and he follows after this saying, having not reached the measure and not attracted by God, then demons appear and interpret that saying to him as he wants.
About Fr. Alexis Mechev
When everything happened as the Father had said, I asked him once during one of our conversations how he could know exactly the will of God when revealing it to me.
The Father wasn’t a little surprised at my question and answered me: ‘The very first thought that comes to one’s mind after the prayer, comes from God, and one has to follow it [1]. As I noticed that many times and got absolutely sure about this, in certain cases after an ardent prayer, I began to proclaim His will. This was my way with you, too…’
I also heard that from an archbishop, a great man of prayer. He said, when giving me an example, ‘Sometimes, after having prayed, I made my decision to punish a faulty clergyman, but later felt pity for him and didn’t discipline him strictly, which was not good for him, as the future revealed. One must stick to the first thought that comes after one’s prayer.’
[1] The first thought of a person who leads a holy life is meant. St. Alexis (Mechev) was one of such persons. Especially the first thought when the person is asked by another person, not when he thinks something by himself.– Eds.
March 7, 2013
Question: Natalia, Moscow
Hello Father. My question to you is this. I have been able to heal myself and heal my loved ones by reciting prayers. Is it allowed to do this on Great Feast days, on Fasts, and on Sundays?
Answer: Hegumen Daniel
Natalia, that is a bold statement you've made. And what are these "wonder-working prayers" that help you achieve such remarkable results? In fact, there were saints who received the gift of healing from God after a lifetime of rigorous asceticism, sometimes decades, and yet they carefully concealed it because they understood that pride and vanity that might accompany such a gift are the passions that destroy human souls. And let me express my doubt that your "gift," if indeed it is a gift, is the one from God. And so I would strongly advise you not to use it not only on Sundays and holy days, but at all other times. Unless, of course, you prefer to be spiritually damaged...
The servant of God Anna, a resident of Pechory (from Ovrazhnaya street) told:
“I happened to be a witness to the following case. Once in the summer, leaving the St Michael Cathedral, we, all worshippers, saw a woman lying on the stones near the temple and crying. To our question, what happened with her and what she cries about so bitterly, she told the following:
“I came to Pechory and went to Fr. Simeon for a blessing. I knocked once and I hear the answer: “Go out!” I knocked a second time and looked into the cell. Father Simeon stood at the lectern and, not looking at me, shouted a second time: “Go out!” And when I knocked again, Father Simeon said again: “Go out!” And added: “You have a mouthful of firebrands”. Then I immediately recalled my grave sin. I confess to you that I committed a great crime in my life: offended by my neighbor, I set fire to his bathhouse, and the whole village immediately caught on fire from it. ” And then she burst into tears even more. We were stunned and surprised by the clairvoyance of Fr. Simeon and immediately began to pray to the Lord, asking him to forgive the great sinner, weeping over her sin.”
With the sign of the Holy Cross I lead you, brother, to a spiritual vision. Our guide will be the great Father among the saints, Anthony the Egyptian desert dweller. Through the power of divine revelation, he once saw the traps of the devil that were set all over the world to lure mankind into perdition. Having seen that there were an infinite number of these snares, Anthony implored the Lord with tears: “Lord! Who can avoid these traps and attain salvation?” (Skete Paterikon. — St Abba Dorotheus. Homily 2).
I contemplate these traps of the devil. They are set both outside and inside a person. One net is tightly bound to another. In some places, these nets stand several layers deep; in other places the traps are set over great pits that lead most convoluted nets, from which deliverance seems impossible. Seeing these numerous nets, I begin to cry bitterly. Involuntarily, I also ask question of the blessed dweller: “Lord! Who can be delivered from these nets?”
Traps intended for my mind are set in various books that pretend to be illuminating but instead contain the teaching of darkness, written under either the overt or implicit influence of devil, from the source of the fallen reason, damaged by sin, “by the trickery of men, in [their] cunning craftiness” (Eph 4:14) as the Apostle said; writers, who are “vainly puffed up by [their] fleshy mind” (Col 2:18). My brother, whose salvation I desire, can also become a trap for me. Leading me to damnation, when his mind is caught in the nets of false teaching and so-called wisdom. My own mind is stamped with the fall; it is enveloped in murk, it is infected with poison of lies. My own mind, fooled by prince of this world, lays traps for itself. Even in Eden, the mind tried to acquire knowledge without wisdom and attentiveness, and the knowledge proved to be lethal! After the fall, it became even less discerning, even more careless. Brazenly, it drinks the cup of poisoned knowledge, and so even more confidently it destroys in itself the taste and desire for the divine cup of the knowledge that gives salvation.
The schism was supposed to occur this summer. During the celebration of the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus'. Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch was already ready to consecrate it. Viktor Yushchenko greeted him with an escort of motorcyclists, huge photomontage billboards and straight columns of Ukrainians along the entire route. Portraits of the Patriarch of Moscow were hastily removed from everywhere.
Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov:
Doctors categorically forbade him this trip. Because they knew that due to his poor health condition, he could not endure it. It was associated with great agitation, and this agitation was not just contraindicated for him, but was, so to speak, a mortal threat. He felt that he had to do this. If he did not go, then there was a serious threat that Ukraine would separate from the Russian Church.
<…>
Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov:
And when His Holiness Patriarch Alexy returned from Ukraine, having fulfilled his duty, the doctors' words came true. On August 4, the heart of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy stopped. Clinical death occurred. Thanks to the doctors who were nearby, they managed to bring him back to life. But it was precisely death. That is, Patriarch Alexy really sacrificed himself in a true way and died for the Church.
110. Satan appeared before one holy man, at the very hour of his death, and said to him: "You have escaped me". The elder replied: "I do not know yet".
You see to what extent the fathers were vigilant, so as not to boast of any deed.
First of all, one must believe in God, “that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6).
Faith, according to the teachings of St. Antiochus, is the beginning of our union with God: a true believer is a stone of the temple of God, prepared for the building of God the Father, raised to a height by the power of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Cross, [with] the help of a rope, that is, by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
“Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26); while the works of faith are: love, peace, long-suffering, mercy, humility [2] repose from all works [3], just as God rested from His works, bearing the cross and living in the spirit. Only such faith is imputed for righteousness. True faith cannot be without works; whoever truly believes will certainly have works.
[2] Cf. Gal.5:22
[3] This means, of course, not literally rest from all works, but the absence of excessive concern for them, troubles. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matt. 6:33-34).
Devil also tempted spiritual children of Elder Ignatius. One of them heard very late in the night somebody knocking at the door and a gentle voice saying: ‘My child, do get up! Go down and enter the church. My everburning lamp has blown out.’ The disciple got up, went to the church and saw that it was true that the lamp at the icon of the Mother of God blew out. He lighted it, prayed and got back to the cell. He decided not to say anything to the Elder about this, as he believed it was not a sin. But the Elder saw all this through. He forced the disciple to own up and asked him afterwards, ‘What feeling did you have when lighting the lamp?’ ‘Joy and gratitude’, said he. ‘What else?’ the Elder persevered. ‘There was a kind of worry and confusion’, the disciple specified. ‘That’s the main feature of devil’s presence,’ the Elder said.
In 1985, I took courses in Yaroslavl. At the beginning of winter, I took a commuter train. A woman sits down next to me and wonders how far it is to the Shestikhino station. I answer her that I go there, and I will tell when to go out. She asks: “They say you have an elder living there?” “We have Father Pavel. I'll explain how to get to him".
The woman was traveling from the Chita region. She said that she was full of all sorts of diseases. She was in hospitals, nothing helped, she decided to go to holy places. She got to Yaroslavl. In Yaroslavl, she was told that such a miracle-worker lives not far from Nekouz. I explained how to get to Nikulskoye, and we said goodbye.
A couple of days later I hear a knock at the door. I open it, that lady is standing. I wonder: "How did you find me?" “I asked where such and such a teacher lives, and they told me.”
Well, you can’t kick her out since she came. I began to find out how she went to the Father in Verkhne-Nikulskoe. “Oh, oh,” she says, “I don’t even know what to say. He scolded me all over, just about beat me.”
She arrived in the evening. Father Pavel let her spend the night in the lodge. In the morning the woman met him and began to talk about her misfortunes, passions and illnesses. He cut her off and asked: “Listen, my dear, and where do you work?” “I don’t work now, I’m retired. And I worked all my life in trade. I worked as a store manager, head of a depot, director of a restaurant. “How he, — she says, — shouted with bad language at me: “You bastard, you stole so much in your life! And now you want the Lord not to punish you yet? You deserve yours, so gulp down now. Take your baggage and get out of here.” She was upset, kept repeating: “What should I do? What to do?"
This woman did not go home immediately. Through acquaintances, I learned that she lived for a month at the Cathedral of the Feodorovskaya Icon in Yaroslavl, cleaned the church and tried to find a person who would solve her problems with one movement of his hand.
There was a young priest who, in his simplicity, began to pray for the possessed. The sick and suffering began to come to him, and he, thinking that he had the power to cast out unclean spirits, continued to admire "his" successes. In the Pochaev Lavra, experienced elders advised him to give up this activity: “This is beyond your power, you have a wife, children, give up exorcisms and pray with a contrite heart.” His fellow priests said the same thing, but he didn't listen to anyone. After he developed a head disease, then Archbishop Damian banned him from the priesthood. When he recovered, he was again allowed to serve, but the priest already thought too highly of himself. The disease progressed, and as a result, an unexpected death (after a cold, the kidneys failed) put an end to everything that this young priest had. To avoid this, one must humbly obey the Gospel commandments, church rules, and one's ruling bishop. But most importantly, in my opinion, you need to do your service humbly and zealously, giving all of yourself with love to God and people.
Question: Anastasia
Hello. Bless me, Father. They say that epilepsy is treated only spiritually, not with medicines. Does this apply to all diseases or only to epilepsy? And how to tell if a monk or a priest has the gift of healing? Thank you.
Answer: Hegumen Daniel (Gridchenko)
Hello Anastasia, Some things we are told are not true. And it is advisable to be treated not by some mythical healers and miracle workers, but by ordinary good, and honest doctors. Generally speaking, if a priest or monk advertises his extraordinary healing or other abilities, he is a classic scoundrel, either pursuing his own self-interests or being inflated by an exorbitant sense of his own importance, and that might be even worse. God's true servants are humble people who carefully conceal their gifts of grace, who only manifest them through love, prayer, and in such a way that those who receive help from them do not always immediately realize it.
298. A brother came to an elder and said to him: Abba! Tell me, how to be saved? The elder said to him: if you come to someone, do not start talking before he asks you. The brother, having come to contrition from these words, made a bow to the elder and said: indeed, I read many books, but nowhere did I find such an instruction. And, having received a great benefit, he left.
There are many dark tricks of Satan that bring him closer to the soul, but the path that Satan prefers to follow and tries to lead the humans is pride. For he knows well that even if God’s commandments are fulfilled, pride alone is enough to make an ascetic perish. He himself, having no other sins, has fallen from God through his pride only.
Sinful people are usually proud. They sin only because of their pride, which prevents them from accepting God’s will and obeying God’s commandments. Devil, a cunning tempter, knows how to make a man have a sense of grandeur about oneself. Those who are not of high intelligence, he tries make proud by telling them that they are smart or that they have some other exceptional qualities. He puts an idea to the mind of clever people that they have unique properties of their minds. To the wicked, he gives a proud persistence against the will of God. The pious, following his hints, begin to put on airs because of their execution of God’s commandments. Thus, all get by pride under the power of Satan – all those who have not stood up against his tricks, believers and unbelievers; clever and stupid; and sinful and righteous.
Where there is pride and there are visions - they cannot be from God, but surely from the evil one. Some say: ‘We know that those who have divine visions are virtuous people as they fast, pray, act honestly, visit the sick, give alms, show great love for their neighbours... Can these people indeed have visions from the Satan?’
