Three stories from The Holy Fathers
The following is an
excerpt from a letter of Saint Basil the Great to a certain noble patrician: "It
is good and profitable to communicate everyday and to partake of the holy Body
and Blood of Christ, for He Himself tells us: 'Whoever eats my Body and drinks
my Blood has eternal life!' Who, then, doubts that partaking continually of
life means nothing other than having manifold life? We, here, have the custom
of communicating four times a week; namely, Sunday, Wednesday, Friday,
Saturday, or any other day on which the memory of a Saint falls."
A young monk, going
down from the skete to the city, passed by the but of Abba Ammoun and confessed
to him: "My elder, Abba, is sending me to the city on an errand. I,
however, who am a man of weakness, fear temptation."
"Be
obedient," the holy man advised him, "and if temptation should arise
before you, say these words: 'O God of powers, through the intercession of my spiritual
Father, deliver me.'"
The brother took
courage from the words of the Abba and went immediately about his duty. The
devil, however, who had been biding his time to bring harm to the monk, sent a
woman of evil ways hastily to entrap him in her evil den. In his despair, the
monk suddenly remembered the advice of Abba Ammoun and shouted with faith:
"O God of powers, through the intercession of my spiritual Father, deliver
me."
He then found himself, without
knowing how, on the road that led to the desert.
"With what difficulty I work to control my tongue," a young monk agitatedly said one day to Abba Nistheros.
"When you
talk, do you find peace?"
"Never."
"Then why do
you talk? Learn to be silent. When it is a matter of something of profit, it is
better to listen to others than to speak," the wise elder advised him.
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Some Words about Obedience
“The truly intelligent man pursues one sole objective:
to obey and conform to the God of all. With this single aim in view, he
disciplines his soul, and whatever he may encounter in the course of his life,
he gives thanks to God for the compass and depth of His providential ordering
of all things.” (St. Anthony the Great, The Philokalia)
Nun Olga: Once, during the dialogue with
Elder Sophrony (Sakharov) people were talking about humility. One of the monks
said that lack of humility
is our personal self. I would rather add that disobedience is our
personal self as well.
If a person
lives according to his own will, he deprives himself of the true joy. He can be
near it, he can “see” it, but he is always outside it. Just as if you looked
through the window and saw the people celebrating something inside, while you were standing outside and felt cold and sad…
Every person
has experienced the moments, when you just do what you should do. And there is
no need to philosophize. Sometimes your own will seems so alluring that it can
even make you reject your obedience. It depends on what a person will choose. And
we have to make our choice every day. In other words, we are the architects of
our happiness.
As a rule,
something what makes you protest most of all, appears to be the most saving for
your soul. I would like to wish that our trust in God prevails over our inner
voice, which always tries to scare us and says that everything we do is
absolutely senseless.
Nun Tatiana: At the
present moment, the only way for me to get inner freedom and to silence my
inner voice is to follow my obedience. However, I cannot say that I always do
like this. The thing is that the human nature is very corrupted. We used to
have our personal opinion on everything, but this only makes our life more
difficult.
What should we
do in order to find a right decision or to do something good? Sometimes this
inner choice can be so troublesome for people, that they just cannot find a way
out. But the solution is quite simple: you just have to ask. There was a moment
I felt very free just because I had an opportunity to ask my spiritual father
or a sister and had not to decide on my own. Freedom means that you can ask God
anything through your neighbor, and He will answer you what you should do. I
think, this is how we can learn to obey. When I force myself to do something or
understand that I need to ask someone for advice, I feel free and happy. If
only we always could do like this!..
St. Elisabeth
Convent,
January 20,
2017
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Illness and the Work of Perfection
The desert ascetic
Father, St. Abba Dorotheus, exhorts his disciples to "take the trouble to
find out where you are: whether you have left your own town but remain just
outside the gates, by the garbage dump, or whether you have gone ahead little
or much, or whether you are half way on your journey, or whether you have gone
two miles, then come back two miles, or perhaps even five miles, or whether you
have journeyed as far as the Holy City and entered into Jerusalem itself, or
whether you have remained outside and are unable to enter" (On Vigilance
and Sobriety).
Illness helps us to
see "where we are" on life's road: "sickness is a lesson from God
and serves to help us in our progress if we give thanks to Him" (Sts.
Barsanuphius and John, Philokalia); "for the one rule we must observe is
to bear every stroke of illness thankfully; for these are sent to us because of
our sins" (St. John Chrysostom, Homily 38 on St. John).
In the life of
Riassophore-monk John, latter-day disciple of St. Nilus of Sora, we see how
bodily infirmity is not allowed to interrupt the struggle for salvation.
Riassophore-monk John was a cripple; because of this he had been compelled to
leave the Monastery of St. Cyril of New Lake. Feeling sorry for himself, he
shortly afterwards was standing for an all-night vigil in the deep of winter.
"Suddenly he saw an unknown Elder in schema come out of the altar to him
and say: 'Well, apparently you do not wish to serve me. If so, return to St.
Cyril.1
"At these
words, the Elder struck him with his right hand quite strongly on the shoulder.
Noting that the Elder exactly resembled St. Nilus as he is depicted on the icon
over his relics, John was filled with great joy, all his grief disappeared, and
he firmly resolved to spend the rest of his life in the Saint's skete"
(The Northern Thebaid).
To those who
suppose that they can only progress in the spiritual life when all else is
"well," St. John Cassian replies, "You should not think that you
can find virtue when you are not irritated — for it is not in your power to
prevent troubles from happening. Rather, you should look for patience as the
result of your own humility and longsuffering, for patience does depend upon
your own will" {Institutes). Towards the end of his life, St. Seraphim of
Sarov suffered from open ulcers on his legs. "Yet," as his Life tells
us, "in appearance he was always bright and cheerful, for in spirit he
felt that heavenly peace and joy which are the riches of the glorious
inheritance of the saints."
"You are
stricken by this sickness," the Holy Fathers say, "so that you will
not depart barren to God. If you can endure, and give thanks to God, this
sickness will be accounted to you as a spiritual work" (Sts. Barsanouphius
and John, Pbilkalia). Bishop Theophan the Recluse explains: "Enduring
unpleasant things cheerfully, you approach a little to the martyrs. But if you
complain, you will not only lose your share with the martyrs, but will be
responsible for complaining besides. Therefore, be cheerful!"
In order not to
lose heart when we fall sick we are to think about and mentally "kiss the
sufferings of our Saviour just as though we were with Him while He suffers
abuses, wounds, humiliations...shame, the pain of the nails, the piercing with
the lance, the flow of water and blood. From this we will receive consolation
in our sickness. Our Lord will not let these efforts go unrewarded " (St.
Tikhon of Zadonsk).
The patience we can
learn on a sickbed cannot be overemphasized. Elder Macarius of Optina wrote
about this to one who was ill:
"I was much
pleased to hear from your relation how bravely you are bearing the cruel
scourge of your heavy sickness. Verily, as the man of the flesh perishes, so is
the spiritual man renewed."
And to another he
wrote: "Praised be the Lord that you accept your illness so meekly! The
bearing of sickness with patience and gratitude is reckoned highly by Him Who
often rewards sufferers with His imperishable gifts.
"Ponder these
words: Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed."
"If a man used
to singing to the accompaniment of a harp finds the harp broken, and its
strings undone...he puts it aside and instead of calling for itsnotes he
delights himself with his own voice.
"In the same
way, a sick man allows the harp of his body to lie unused. He finds delight
within his heart and comfort in the knowledge that his conscience is clear. He
sustains himself with God's words and the prophetic writings and, holding these
sweet and pleasant in his soul, he embraces them with his mind. Nothing can
happen to him because God's graceful presence breathes favor upon him....He is
filled with spiritual tranquility" (Jacob and the Happy Life).
Quite often the
most God-pleasing spiritual "music" of all is produced in anonymity,
by unknown or nearly-unknown saints. But such holy "melodies" are all
the more sweet because they are heard by God alone. One such modern sufferer
who lived an angel-like life in spite of advanced and terrible sickness was the
holy New Russian Martyr, Mother Maria of Gatchina. Her story is known to us
only because it pleased God to providentially arrange for one of her visitors,
Professor I. M. Andreyev, to record his memories of her.
Mother Maria
suffered from encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and Parkinson's disease.
"Her whole body became as it were chained and immovable, her face anemic
and like a mask; she could speak, but she began to talk with half-closed mouth,
through her teeth, pronouncing slowly and in a monotone. She was a total
invalid and was in constant need of help and careful looking after. Usually
this disease proceeds with sharp psychological changes, as a result of which
such patients often ended up in psychiatric hospitals. But Mother Maria, being
a total physical invalid, not only did not degenerate psychically, but revealed
completely extraordinary features of personality and character not
characteristic of such patients: she became extremely meek, humble, submissive,
undemanding, concentrated in herself; she became engrossed in constant prayer,
bearing her difficult condition without the least murmuring.
"As if as a
reward for this humility and patience, the Lord sent her a gift: consolation of
the sorrowing. Completely strange and unknown people, finding themselves in
sorrows, grief, depression, and despondency, began to visit her and converse
with her. And everyone who came to her left consoled, feeling an illumination
of their grief, a pacifying of sorrow, a calming of fears, a taking away of
depression and despondency" (The Orthodox Word, vol. 13, no. 3).
"Thus God has
acted. Like a provident Father and not like a kidnapper has He first involved
us in grievous things, giving us over to tribulation as it were to
schoolmasters and teachers, so that being chastened and sobered by these things
we may, after showing forth all patience and learning, all right discipline,
inherit the Kingdom of Heaven" (St. John Chrysostom, Homily 18, On the
Statues).
St. Martyr Tatiana of Rome, and Those who Suffered with Her
The Holy Virgin
Martyr Tatiana was born into an illustrious Roman family, and her father was
elected consul three times. He was secretly a Christian and raised his daughter
to be devoted to God and the Church. When she reached the age of maturity,
Tatiana decided to remain a virgin, betrothing herself to Christ. Disdaining
earthly riches, she sought instead the imperishable wealth of Heaven. She was
made a deaconess in one of the Roman churches and served God in fasting and
prayer, tending the sick and helping the needy.
When Rome was ruled
by the sixteen-year-old Alexander Severus (222-235), all power was concentrated
in the hands of the regent Ulpian, an evil enemy and persecutor of Christians.
Christian blood flowed like water. Tatiana was also arrested, and they brought
her into the temple of Apollo to force her to offer sacrifice to the idol. The
saint began praying, and suddenly there was an earthquake. The idol was smashed
into pieces, and part of the temple collapsed and fell down on the pagan
priests and many pagans. The demon inhabiting the idol fled screeching from
that place. Those present saw its shadow flying through the air.
Then they tore holy
virgin’s eyes out with hooks, but she bravely endured everything, praying for
her tormentors that the Lord would open their spiritual eyes. And the Lord
heard the prayer of His servant. The executioners saw four angels encircle the
saint and beat her tormentors. A voice was heard from the heavens speaking to
the holy virgin. Eight men believed in Christ and fell on their knees before
Saint Tatiana, begging them to forgive them their sin against her. For
confessing themselves Christians they were tortured and executed, receiving
Baptism by blood.
The next day Saint
Tatiana was brought before the wicked judge. Seeing her completely healed of
all her wounds, they stripped her and beat her, and slashed her body with
razors. A wondrous fragrance then filled the air. Then she was stretched out on
the ground and beaten for so long that the servants had to be replaced several times.
The torturers became exhausted and said that an invisible power was beating
them with iron rods. Indeed, the angels warded off the blows directed at her
and turned them upon the tormentors, causing nine of them to fall dead. They
then threw the saint in prison, where she prayed all night and sang praises to
the Lord with the angels.
A new morning
began, and they took Saint Tatiana to the tribunal once more. The torturers
beheld with astonishment that after such terrible torments she appeared
completely healthy and even more radiant and beautiful than before. They began
to urge her to offer sacrifice to the goddess Diana. The saint seemed
agreeable, and they took her to the heathen temple. Saint Tatiana made the Sign
of the Cross and began to pray. Suddenly, there was a crash of deafening
thunder, and lightning struck the idol, the sacrificial offerings and the pagan
priests.
Once again, the
martyr was fiercely tortured. She was hung up and scraped with iron claws, and
her breasts were cut off. That night, angels appeared to her in prison and
healed her wounds as before. On the following day, they took Saint Tatiana to
the circus and loosed a hungry lion on her. The beast did not harm the saint,
but meekly licked her feet.
As they were taking
the lion back to its cage, it killed one of the torturers. They threw Tatiana
into a fire, but the fire did not harm the martyr. The pagans, thinking that
she was a sorceress, cut her hair to take away her magical powers, then locked
her up in the temple of Zeus.
On the third day,
pagan priests came to the temple intending to offer sacrifice to Zeus. They
beheld the idol on the floor, shattered to pieces, and the holy martyr Tatiana
joyously praising the Lord Jesus Christ. The judge then condemned the valiant
sufferer to be beheaded with a sword. Her father was also executed with her,
because he had raised her to love Christ.
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Judge and Victim: The Two Images of Christ
There are two basic
images of Christ in the Church, each marking one of the two poles which hold
the very limits of the cosmos. The first
image is that of the Pantocrator and its derivatives, essentially Christ shown
in the guise of a glorious emperor, both the origin and the final judge of the
world. The other basic image is that of
Christ on the cross and its derivatives, where he is shown humiliated, beaten
and crucified outside the great city as a vicious criminal despite his
innocence.
Yet standing at the
other end of the cosmic expanse is the cross, the bridegroom, the burial and
other images of Christ’s Passion in which Christ embodies the excluded and
marginal space where order breaks down into death — where order, where law, can
exclude and kill the innocent. It is an image that inspires compassion, pity
and mercy.
In the opposite
manner, by favoring Christ as crucified, in seeing Christ as the innocent
victim, we may come to resent authority, oppose order while feeling entitled as
we face what appears to us as tyrannical power. This may go to the point of
accepting sin, of rejoicing in rebellion and disorder.
Considering this,
St. Maximos links these extremes to our passions. The first is a passion from
the Right, based in the smug attachment to our own self professed capacity for
discipline and order. The other a passion of the Left, the fall into the chaos
of our individual whims and desires:
The passions of the
flesh may be described as belonging to the left hand, self-conceit as belonging
to the right hand.”
It is by
understanding these two poles, that the excessive polarization of contemporary
society can appear to us explicitly as Anti-Christ, for it is through the
dividing of what is united without confusion, the radicalization of the Right
and the Left hand which reduces them to their pathological states. As Christians we must strive to keep our
hearts, to hold on to the center, so that we may continually see in these two
icons – Christ Pantocrator and the Cross – how Christ’s outstretched hands
reach from the highest Heaven to the depths of Hell.
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