The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force

June 25, 2012 | Saint Theophan, Uncategorized

Monday. [Rom. 9:18-33; Matt. 11:2-15] The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. The kingdom suffereth vio?lence — that is, it is attained with vi?olence, with labour, force, and diffi?cult spiritual struggles; therefore only those who lead a labor-filled ascetic life attain it. This is how comfort of every sort is renounced along the path to the kingdom. Plea?sures of all types distance us from the kingdom; but these days we have concern only for pleasures, sometimes emotional, but more of?ten fleshly: to eat, drink, have fun, make merry and luxuriate in every?thing. We have said to the kingdom, “I beg you to excuse me,” though there is a feast in the kingdom — a royal feast, one so sumptuous that we could not even conceive of it, be?cause we do not have the taste for it. What there is considered sweet, to us is bitter; what there is pleas?ant, for us is repulsive, what there gladdens, for us is a burden — we have gone totally separate ways. And the kingdom, together with the violent who take it by force, with?draws from us. We are glad, even ready to drive them away more quickly, indeed we already have started talking about it; but the evil one does not manage to arrange this.

Saint Theophan the Recluse

He that endureth to the end shall be saved

June 20, 2012 | Saint Theophan, Uncategorized

[Rom. 8:2-13; Matt. 10:16-22] He that endureth to the end shall be saved. And do we have any?thing to endure? In this nobody is lacking. Everyone’s arena of endur?ance is vast; therefore our salvation is at hand. Endure everything to the end and you will be saved. Howev?er, you must endure skillfully; oth?erwise you may not gain anything by your endurance. First of all, keep the holy faith and lead an irre?proachable life according to faith; immediately cleanse every sin that occurs with repentance. Secondly, accept everything that you must en?dure as from the hands of God, re?membering firmly that nothing hap?pens without God’s will. Thirdly, give thanks sincerely to God for ev?erything, believing that everything which proceeds from the Lord is sent by Him unto the good of our souls — thank Him for sorrows, and for consolations. Fourth, love sor?row for its great saving worth and cultivate your thirst for it, like a drink which although bitter, is heal?ing. Fifth, keep in your thoughts that when a misfortune has come, you cannot throw it off like tight clothes; you must bear it. Whether in a Christian way, or in a non-Christian way, you must bear it nonetheless; so it is better to bear it in a Christian way. Complaining will not rescue you from misfortune, but only make it heavier; whereas hum?ble submission to God’s Providence and good humour relieve the bur?den of misfortunes. Sixth, realize that you deserve even a greater mis?fortune — realize that if the Lord wanted to deal with you as you rightly deserve, would such a small misfortune really be enough? Sev?enth, most of all, pray, and the mer?ciful Lord will give you strength of spirit. With such strength, others will marvel at your misfortunes which seem like nothing to you.

Saint Theophan the Recluse

Judging Others

June 16, 2012 | Saint Theophan, Uncategorized

Saturday. [Rom. 3:19–26; Matt. 7:1–8] Judge not, that ye be not judged (Matt. 7:1). What a disease — gossip and judging others! Everyone knows that this is a sin; nevertheless there is nothing more common in our words than judgment of others. One says, “Do not count it as judg?ing, O Lord,” but continues judging to the end. Another justifies himself that any reasonable person must have an opinion about what is going on, and in his gossip he tries to be coolly reasonable; but even a simple ear cannot help but discern a high-minded and gloating judgment of others in his words. Meanwhile, the sentence of the Lord for this sin is strict and decisive. He who judges others will not be justified. What should one do? How can one avoid misfortune? A decisive remedy a?gainst judging others consists of this: to consider yourself condemn?ed. He who feels himself condemn?ed will have no time to judge others. His only words will be, “Lord have mercy! Lord forgive my transgres?sions!”

Saint Theophan the Recluse

Renewal of the Inner Before the Outer

June 15, 2012 | Saint Theophan, Uncategorized

Friday. [Rom. 5:17–6:2; Matt. 9:14–17] The Lord was asked why His dis?ciples did not fast. He answered that the time for them has not yet come. Then in a parable he showed that in general, the strictness of outer as?ceticism must be in keeping with the renewal of inner powers of the spirit. First kindle the spirit of fer?vour, and then take on austerities; for then there will be a new inner power capable of enduring them profitably. If you take them on with?out first having this fervour, be?cause you were either impressed by the example of others, or wanted to make a show of your own ascet?icism, then it will bring no profit. You will sustain this austerity for a bit, and then you will weaken and drop it. And you will be worse off than before. Austerity without the inner spirit is like a patch of new linen on an old garment, or new wine in old wineskins. The patch will fall off and the rent made even worse; and the wine will burst the wineskin, and the wine will be lost, and the wineskin ruined. This, by the way, does not mean that austeri?ty is bad, but only suggests that one must begin it in the proper order. The need for it must come from within, so that it might content the heart, and not just press from the outside like a weight.

Saint Theophan the Recluse

Trust in the Lord

June 14, 2012 | Saint Theophan, Uncategorized

Thursday. [Rom. 5:10–16; Matt. 8:23–27] They set off for the other side of the sea. The Lord was sleep?ing. A tempest arose and everyone was terrified, but they forgot that the Lord was with them, and thus there was nothing to fear. This also happens in the earthly and spiritual course of life. When a tempest of misfortunes or passions arises we usually become worried to the point of paralyzation, and think that this is normal; but the Lord sends us a lesson: O ye of little faith! (Matt. 8:26). And justly! It is impossible not to notice what is happening, but it is possible to maintain a wise calmness. First and foremost, see what the Lord wants of you, and submit humbly to His strong hand. Do not rush about, do not become frenzied. Then lift up your faith that the Lord is with you and fall to His feet in prayer. Dot cry, “I perish!” but with devotion call out, “Lord! If Thou wilt — Thou canst do all things. Not my will, but Thy will be done.” Believe, that this is how you will safely escape the tempest that has arisen.

Saint Theophan the Recluse

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

June 12, 2012 | Saint Theophan, Uncategorized

Tuesday. [Rom. 4:4–12; Matt. 7:15–21] Beware of false prophets (Matt. 7:15). From the beginning of Chris?tianity and to this day there has not been a time when this warning was not applicable. The Lord did not in?dicate exactly which false prophets to beware of, for how could they be pinpointed? They change like fash?ions and are continually generating more like them. They always appear in sheep’s clothing, with a likeness of good will in their deeds and a mi?rage of truth in their speech. In our time their clothing is sewn of prog?ress, civilization, education, free?dom of thought and deed, a person?al conviction which does not allow for faith, and such like. All of this is a deceptive cloak. Therefore, if you come across this show of clothing, do not be hasty to open your ears to the words of “prophets” dressed in such clothes. Examine closely whether there is a wolf concealed under this sheep’s clothing. Know that the Lord is the only motivator toward true perfection, the sole soft?ener of hearts and customs, the sole educator, the sole giver of freedom and filler of the heart with a feeling of the truth which forms a convic?tion so strong that nothing in the world has the power to shake it. Therefore, as soon as you perceive in these new “prophets’s” talk some shadow of contradiction to the teaching of the Lord, know that they are predatory wolves, and turn a?way from them.

Saint Theophan the Recluse

Take No Thought

June 11, 2012 | Saint Theophan, Uncategorized

Monday. [Rom. 2:28–3:18; Matt. 6:31–34; 7:9–11] Take no thought (Matt. 6:31). Then how is one to live? We have to eat, drink, and wear clothes. But the Saviour does not say, “do nothing,” but rather, take no thought. Do not weary your?self with care that consumes you both day and night, and gives you not a moment of peace. Such care is a sinful disease. It shows that a man is relying upon himself and has for?gotten God; that he has lost hope in the Providence of God, wants to ar?range everything for himself solely by his own efforts, to procure all that is necessary, and to preserve what he has procured by his own means. He has become chained in his heart to his property, and thinks to rest on as if it were a solid foun?dation. Love of possessions has bound him and he only thinks of how to get more into his hands. This mammon has replaced God for him. Work by all means, but do not wea?ry yourself with evil cares. Hope for every success from God and commit your lot into His hands. Accept all that you obtain as a gift from the Lord’s hand, and wait with a firm hope that He continue His generous giving. Know that if God so desires, a rich man can lose all he has in one minute. All is decay and dust. Is it worth it to weary yourself for that? So, take no care!

Saint Theophan the Recluse

Love Your Enemies

June 9, 2012 | Saint Theophan, Uncategorized

Saturday. [Rom. 1:7–12; Matt. 5:42–48] Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matt. 5:44). There is nobody on the earth without love. People love their parents and relatives, benefac?tors and protectors. But the feeling of love toward parents, relatives, protectors and benefactors is natu?ral and forms unaided in the heart; that is why the Lord does not give it value. True Christian love is proved by our relationship to enemies. Not only should light and incidental an?noyances not extinguish our love for others, but not even attacks and persecutions, misfortunes and dep?rivations, intentionally and hostilely inflicted. We must not only bless these people, but also do good to them and pray for them. See wheth?er you have such a disposition to?ward your enemies, and judge by this whether you have Christian love, without which there is no sal?vation.

Saint Theophan the Recluse

Ye resist not evil

June 8, 2012 | Saint Theophan, Uncategorized

Friday. [Rom. 2:14–29; Matt. 5:33–41] But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil (Matt. 5:39); in other words, allow yourself to be a victim of hu?man selfishness and malice. But how can one live like that? Do not worry. He who gave this command?ment is our Provider and Guardian. When you desire to live like this with complete faith from your whole soul, to not resist any evil, the Lord Himself will arrange a life for you which is not only bearable, but joyful. Furthermore, resistance in fact can irritate an aggressor even more and motivate him to invent new troubles, whereas a yielding demeanour disarms him and hum?bles him. Thus, if you would just suffer the first onslaught of malice, people will take pity on you and leave you alone, while resistance and revenge kindle malice, which is passed on from the individual to his family, and then from generation to generation.

Saint Theophan the Recluse

Looking at a woman

June 7, 2012 | Saint Theophan, Uncategorized

Thursday. [Rom. 1:28–2:9;

5:27–32] Whosoever looketh on a woman… hath committed adultery with her already (Matt. 5:28). Living in society, one cannot help looking at women. What to do? A man does not commit adultery simply by look?ing at a woman, but by looking at her with lust. Look if you must, but keep your heart on a leash. Look with the eyes of a child — purely, without any evil thoughts. One must love women as well, for they are not excluded from the commandment about love of neighbour — but with love that is pure, which bears the soul and spiritual aspect in mind. Just as there is neither male nor fe?male before God in Christianity, so it is in the mutual relations of Chris?tians. But this is very difficult, you will say. Yes, it does not happen without a struggle; but struggle pre?supposes a lack of desire for evil. The Lord counts as purity the un?lustful desire of the merciful.

Saint Theophan the Recluse