A thief
broke into a hermit’s cell one night. The thief didn’t find any valuables so he
asked the hermit:
— Where’s
all your property?
The
hermit smiled and pointed at the sky:
— I’ve
hidden everything in the higher house.
There was
a monk who lived in the Egyptian desert. He was so tired of temptations that he
decided to give up monastic life and go wandering around.
While he
was putting on his shoes, he saw another monk who was putting on his shoes in a
hurry.
– Who are
you? – the monk asked the stranger.
– I’m
your own ego, – the answer was. – Wherever you go, I will go there with you.
There was
a man who came to his bishop complaining that he was surrounded by cruel and
unkind people, and that was why he felt very lonely in this world. The bishop
listened to him and said:
– In
fact, there are many good people around you. The problem is that people are
like mines you have to dig into in order to find the hidden treasury. You can’t
do it with a spade or picker. The only tool that you will find useful is called
“love”.
That is
how one ascetic explained what humility is like:
– All
people want to be great but God wants us to be small. You have to kneel down to
enter the door that leads into the Heavenly Kingdom.
A foreign
tourist visited a famous elder and was surprised to see that the elder’s
apartment had just one room packed with icons and books. A desk and a stool
were the only items of furniture.
– Where’s
your furniture?- the American asked in disbelief.
– And
yours?
– What do
you mean, my furniture? I’m on a trip. I’m a tourist!
– I’m a
tourist, too, – the elder replied.
At Paris
there lived a great merchant and worthy man called Jeannot de Chivigni, a
dealer in silk, and an intimate friend to a certain rich Jew, whose name was
Abraham, a merchant also, and a very honest man. Jeannot, being no stranger to
Abraham's good and upright intentions, was greatly troubled that the soul of so
wise and well-meaning a person should perish through his unbelief. He began,
therefore, in the most friendly manner, to entreat him to renounce the errors
of Judaism, and embrace the truth of Christianity, which he might plainly see
flourishing more and more, and as being the most wise and holy institution,
gaining ground, whereas the religion of the Jews was dwindling to nothing.
Abraham answered, that he esteemed no religion like his own; he was bom in it,
and in it he intended to live and die; nor could anything make him alter his
resolution.
All this
did not hinder Jeannot from beginning the same arguments over again in a few
days, and setting forth, in as awkward a manner as a merchant must be supposed
to do, for what reasons our religion ought to be preferred; and though the Jew
was well read in their law, yet, whether it was his regard to the man, or that
Jeannot had the spirit of God upon his tongue, he began to be greatly pleased
with his arguments; but continued obstinate, nevertheless, in his own creed,
and would not suffer himself to be converted. Jeannot, on the other hand, was
no less persevering in his earnest solicitations, insomuch that the Jew was
overcome by them
at last,
and said: " Look you, Jeannot, you are very desirous I should become a
Christian, and I am so much disposed to do as you would have me, that I intend
in the first place to go to Rome, to see him whom you call God's vicar on
earth, and to consider his ways a little, and those of his brother cardinals.
If they appear to me in such a light that I may be able to comprehend by them,
and by what you have said, that your religion is better than mine, as you would
persuade me, I will then become a Christian; otherwise I will continue a Jew as
I am."
When
Jeannot heard this he was much troubled, and said to himself: "I have lost
all my labour, which I thought well bestowed, expecting to have converted this
man; for should he go to Rome, and see the wickedness of the clergy there, so
far from turning Christian, were he one already, he would certainly again
become a Jew."
The Jew
took horse, and made the best of his way to Rome, where he was most honourably
received by his brethren, the Jews; and, without saying a word of what he was
come about, he began to look narrowly into the manner of living of the pope,
the cardinals, and other prelates, and of the whole court… Now thinking he had
seen enough, he returned home.
As soon
as Jeannot heard of his arrival he went to see him, thinking of nothing so
little as of his conversion. They received one another with a great deal of pleasure;
and in a day or two, after the traveller had recovered from his fatigue,
Jeannot began to inquire of him what he thought of the holy father, the
cardinals, and the rest of the court? The Jew immediately answered: "To me
it seems as if God was much kinder to them than they deserve; for, if I may be
allowed to judge, I must be bold to tell you, that I have neither seen
sanctity, devotion, or anything good in the clergy of Rome; but, on the
contrary, luxury, avarice, gluttony, and worse than these, if worse things can
be, are so much in fashion with all sorts of people, that I should rather
esteem the court of Rome to be a forge, if you allow the expression, for
diabolical operations than things divine; and, for what I can perceive your
pastor, and consequently the rest, strive with their whole might and skill to
overthrow the Christian religion, and to drive it from off the face of the
earth, even where they ought to be its chief succour and support. But as I do
not see this come to pass, which they so earnestly aim at; on the contrary,
that your religion gains strength, and becomes every day more glorious; I
plainly perceive that it is upheld by the Spirit of God, as the most true and
holy of all. For which reason, though I continued obstinate to your exhortations,
nor would suffer myself to be converted by them, now I declare to you, that I
will no longer defer being made a Christian. Let us go then to the church, and
do you take care that I be baptized according to the manner of your holy faith."
The Decameron,
Novel II (1352-1354)
By
Giovanni Boccaccio
Saint
Innocent (Veniaminov) of Moscow used the following parable to explain the
concept of the Kingdom of Heaven to his parishioners.
– Imagine
that you happen to be the sole heir to your rich uncle. That uncle bequeathed
to you his luxurious mansion on the top of a picturesque mountain. An introvert
that he had been, he had not built a road to his mansion but used a path to get
there instead. He left you a map of the mountain with the path marked on it.
Therefore, you have to take that path if you want to get to the mansion that
you inherited.
This is
not unlike what we who aspire for the Heavenly Mansion, which our Lord Jesus
Christ bequeathed to us, should do. We should learn which road leads to that place,
and what we must and mustn’t do to get there and so forth.
Our map
is the Holy Scripture and Orthodox books; the rangers are the pastors of the
Holy Church whose duty is to help the faithful and lead them towards the
paradise. Our food is God’s grace that strengthens our spirits. The path that
leads to the paradise may sometimes be extremely narrow, thorny, and hard to
tread, whilst other paths may appear wider and more comfortable. However, you
should not trust your eyes. The Lord Jesus Christ and his apostles have
forewarned more than once that there is only one road that leads to the
Heavenly Kingdom, and that is the road described in the Gospel.
Translated from: https://azbyka.ru/days/
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