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Parable of the Day: Be not Afraid of Cemetery


“Vanya, go down the road and find the sheep,” an old man told his grandson.

The road was next to a cemetery. The boy was scared:

“Grandpa, I’m afraid of the cemetery.”

When the old man heard it, he said:

“Vanya, the cemetery is a God’s place, it’s a sin to be afraid of it. The bones of our relatives rest in graves peacefully and quietly until the Archangel’s trumpet wakes them up on the Judgment Day. Why should anyone be afraid of them? Instead of being scared, you should visit them as often as possible. If you come to a cemetery often, you won’t harbor evil thoughts. Remember death, judgment, and the Heavenly Kingdom, and you’ll never sin again.”

The old man paused and then added, “Of course, there is a horrible place in our village.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s the bar. It’s the place where demons live and destroy those who go there. Where are fights, foul words, ravaged households, tears of mothers and children, and ruined health? In the bar. I can’t even count all people who went broke or died because of alcohol. Be always afraid of the bar, Vanya, and run away from it, for it is a place cursed by God. The cemetery, on the contrary, is a holy place, the Lord’s farmland.”

Prepared by The Catalog of Good Deeds

CONVERSATION