Part 1

What dignity is man’s, what dignity is the human soul, when the Lord deigns to grant him communion with the most pure Body and Blood of Himself and makes him His temple, a temple of the Holy Trinity! Think on this, mortal men, and learn of immortality granted to you by the Victor over death. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (Jn 6:54).

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The soul is a creative principle: both awake and asleep, especially in sleep, it constantly creates, imagines, or represents all sorts of beings, things, and forms of nature most diverse, produces or sees different events so that you wonder where they come from, how they are created, from what inexhaustible source. This creative property of the soul is wondrous. Where do these diverse manifestations come from, these things, these forms of nature? Who presents them to the soul’s eye? It is strange that a sleeping man, not using any senses while asleep, yet sees and hears and touches and uses the organ of speech, which during sleep is completely bound and inactive. The soul during sleep acts independently, independent of the body, as the ruling living principle. “How wondrous are Your works, Lord” (Ps 138:14)!

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The human soul is of beyond measure worth, truly and by God’s righteousness, yet people value it very little or not at all, do not care for it, do not cleanse it from the thorns of the passions, do not care for repentance (repent), for cleansing, for adornment (the wedding garment), for confirmation, for striving with all strength and ability toward heaven, toward heavenly life on earth, as the saints did: “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3:20), for the fulfillment of every virtue. Most people as if deliberately give themselves to every passion and abomination, every vice, and remain unrepentant. Woe to those men who bury their talents in the earth and do not multiply the pledge given by God for their own blessedness, for God’s glory, for His infinite goodness and bounty. Read, Christian, with attention and often the Gospel; understand it and lay God’s words in your heart.

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Only the Creator knows all the dignity of the human soul, whom He created in His image and likeness, and only He can worthily appreciate all her boundless love and devotion to Him, the Lord God. Blessed is the Christian who will understand this and with all his heart cleave to God, his Creator and Redeemer, and endure every trial in love and devotion to Him, as Job of the Old Testament, as the apostles, hierarchs, martyrs, and all the ascetics who pleased God and were deemed worthy of heavenly citizenship for their faithfulness and devotion.

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All organic and animal life in the world lives its own peculiar life to the glory of God, proclaiming His wisdom, goodness, beauty, the first and unbeginning Life. A special, rational, personal, eternal, blessed life is given by the primordial and unbeginning Life to live only to angels and to the rational, chosen human race, obedient to the commands of the Creator—that is, to the holy saints. And this is the life we must attain, according to the guidance and commandments of the Creator and with His almighty help, each day and hour—and we are commanded to watch constantly, “because your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1Pet 5:8).

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The Lord wants you to grow spiritually and reach maturity like an ear of grain, or to flourish and be fragrant before God with every spiritual virtue, like a beautiful flower of the fields and valleys. This is your calling, man. But at the same time the Lord wants you to avoid every stench of sin through repentance and tears, through self-denial and constant watchfulness over yourself, through struggling against thoughts and sinful inclinations and passions, for “the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it” (Mt 11:12).

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Out of compassion and infinite love God mingled Himself with human nature, to deliver man, created in God’s image, from kinship and admixture with the devil; but man, taught by the devil, mingled himself passionately with every kind of brute flesh, not to mention unlawful and unnatural mingling with human flesh. He mingled himself even with wood and stone, creating stone and wooden gods, saying to wood: “You are my father”, and to stone: “You gave me birth” (Jer 2:27). What absurdity is sin! What lawlessness, what mockery of the enemy over man! Deliver us, Lord, from such madness.

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Eternal divine love unceasingly surrounds us, builds us up, keeps us, directs us, helps us, strengthens us, makes us victors over enemies both visible and invisible, and heals our sicknesses, cleanse our sins, brings peace to our souls, enlightens us, comforts us. Glory to infinite love!

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In our mind, in our heart, and in the movements of our fallen will there are almost constantly moving and acting sinful imaginings, imaginings of this or that passion, which from earliest youth nest in us, grow, and take root. Therefore it is the duty of every male and female Christian to watch themselves strictly, to constantly drive away these sinful imaginings, this spiritual delusion, this devilish abomination, and to guard their spiritual and bodily vessel in holiness and honor, so as to be forever temples of the Holy Spirit. “You were bought at a price”, says the apostle, “so glorify God… in your bodies and in your souls, which are God’s” (1Cor 6:20). Conduct yourselves “worthy of the calling you have received” (Eph 4:1).

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“All mankind is vanity”, says David (Ps 38:12). “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity”, says Solomon (Eccl 1:2). Even a great part of the Christians who have received from Christ the graceful new law serve vanity.

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Remember the great supper and the endless good things prepared by the Master of the house and the invited guests through His mercy: all declined because of their worldly attachments, and therefore none of the invited will taste His supper. This is terrible! What unbelief, what disrespect toward the Master! What sloth, what absurd attachments! And yet this is how it was and how it will be! All go the broad path of easy sin; all avoid the narrow, sorrowful path, the path of purification, of trial, of preparation!

And even the dust of the earth will testify against us at God’s judgment. “And shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them” (Mk 6:11). My God, how many witnesses of our impiety! Where can we flee? Where can we hide?

All the saints will be witnesses to the salvation-bringing power of Christian faith against all our learned worldly ignoramuses who boast of their false education, against all non-Orthodox Christians, especially those who are only called Orthodox Christians, having long betrayed their faith in their deeds. That is why the martyrs are called in Greek μάρτυρες—witnesses. Remember, Christian, how many witnesses stand against you at Christ’s judgment.

People are in upheaval, the elements are in upheaval, air, water, earth, fire are in upheaval—because of men’s sins, the elements soon to be burned will be destroyed, and the earth and all things upon it will burn. Sins have multiplied to their measure. There is no longer the possibility to live in peace. Church of God, Bride of Christ—adorn yourself to stand bright before Your beautiful Bridegroom, incorruptible, eternal.

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It was frightfully heavy for all creation at the hour of death of the God-man: not in vain “the whole earth shook, the rocks split, the sun went dark, tombs broke open, and many bodies of the holy dead were raised, and having come out of the tombs after his resurrection appeared to many” (Mt 27:51-53). But creation held firmly in the hand of the Almighty and still holds… waiting for the end, when the human race becomes a stinking corpse and will have no reason to exist, when the wheat is finally ripened and ready for the final harvest… Then it will be said: “Put in your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come” (Apok 14:15).

In the end we all must leave this brief age, pass into eternity, appear before the holy and righteous Judge and Creator of all, God, and give account of our lives. How and with what shall we appear? What judgment and verdict of His shall we hear for all eternity? This is what we must think about more often, this is what we must care about. O, let all think on this future fate and prepare good works, spiritual fruits, lest anyone appear as a barren tree.

Christ raised Lazarus from the dead by His word—which means He is the Creator of Lazarus, the Creator of mankind. He raised the widow’s son by His word—which means by that same word He created the world out of nothing. He commanded the winds and waters by His word—which means He created them by His word, and all things obey it. He walked on the waves of the sea as on dry land—which means He is the Creator of the seas, lakes, rivers, and all waters. He turned fire into dew, water into wine, rivers into blood, dust into gnats, and brought frogs from the sea to punish the Egyptians—which means He is the Creator of the elements. Therefore by that same word of the Lord the earth in the last time will become a blazing pyre and the elements will be burned up and destroyed. Thus by the word of the Lord all the dead will rise. Is this marvelous creativity and God’s providence over the world clear even to the godless?

Lent has ended, the Great Fast is over. The feast has come celebrating Christ’s raising of the righteous Lazarus from the dead, a sign of Christ’s resurrection and of the universal resurrection yet to come. In that future resurrection all will begin a new eternal life—for the righteous and the repentant, blessing; for sinners who disbelieve and do not repent, eternal torment, as Christ Himself declared. His word does not pass away. The righteous Lazarus lived several years after his resurrection, was made bishop, and died in advanced old age. Everyone must prepare for the life to come. Man was created for endless life; only sin brought death into the world and a brief life full of sickness and sorrow. But the Lamb of God took upon Himself the sin of the world—Christ conquered death.

Glory to the greatest feast of Christ’s resurrection from the dead and to the triumph of resurrection!

Glory to the future universal resurrection of mankind. Let no one dare to darken the glory of this worldwide event. No godless persons, no Tolstoy—an irresistible glory covers this event, and the Church celebrates it worthily, alone in all the world. How meager, how impoverished, how puppet-like is the celebration of Christ’s resurrection among Catholics and our schismatics, because it is false, man-made, not from the Holy Spirit.

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Since our enemy the devil has become all in many and seeks to be all in all humanity through a darkening, defiling, demonizing, corrupting, deadening, and deforming power, and seeks to enslave the entire human race to himself, the all-good, all-just, all-wise, and all-powerful Lord wishes to be all to humanity in combat: in holiness, righteousness, conquering power, victory, enlightenment, cleansing, renewal, fragrance, strengthening, deification. Glory to You, Trinity our God! Sin has infected the whole human race—soul and body: the mind, heart, and will, the physical organs, all the senses—sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch—sin has infected all the elements: air, water, fire, earth, and light—all is defiled by human sin. Therefore “the earth and all the deeds on it will be burned up” (2Pet 3:10), and there will be a new heaven and new earth—incorruptible—and “creation itself will be freed from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God” (Rom 8:21).

“From now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Mt 26:29). The Lord speaks thus as man: He foresaw a new heaven and new earth in which all the chosen will be renewed and will have all things new—a new city, the spiritual Jerusalem, new food and new drink, which are Christ Himself and the Holy Spirit, and a new Sun, or Lamp, which is Christ. The current fruit of the vine—Christ’s Blood—is the symbolic drink of the future true communion with Christ in His kingdom (its likeness). How truly worthy is it to partake of You in the unwaning day of Your kingdom.

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How oppressive to the body and dark to the soul when light fails altogether—the absence of the sun. How everything freezes from the extreme cold, how it dies! How sorrowful, painful, dreary! And what of the human soul without God’s grace, without prayer, without God’s Word, without worship, without the communion of the Holy Mysteries! Only death will show many the destitution, poverty, and wretchedness of their souls!

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O Lord, how the human soul will grieve one day—how it will regret—that when given freedom to enrich itself with theology, divine contemplation, and love of God, to rise above all earthly and corruptible things and inherit the Heavenly Kingdom, it voluntarily subjected itself to corruption and fleshly passions! When it could have soared high, it sank low—so very low, into the abyss!

Terrible are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: “where their worm” (of sinners) “does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mk 9:44). These will be fulfilled in all their truth and power upon unrepentant sinners—adulterers, murderers, thieves, and others. O sinner, weep with tears of blood for the terrible calamity that comes upon you. Whether you believe or not, this calamity will come to you and creep upon you unaware. “It will come…on a day he does not expect” (unexpectedly), “and at an hour he does not know. And will cut him in pieces and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt 24:50-51).

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All unbelieving and unrepentant sinners await eternal punishment, eternal torment, “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt 25:41), and justly so, for they did evil and fulfilled his wicked and ruinous will. Each of us experiences within himself the punishment for sin: disturbance, sorrow, and anguish (Rom 2:9).

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The present life is a spiritual school, a struggle, an effort, a battle against sin and the spirits of malice in the heavenly places who war against us to evil. Everyone must learn to conquer sin in himself with God’s help; for without God we cannot even step across the threshold. From God are given all the divine powers for life and godliness; we need only not be lazy in using them. Do you want to learn to seize the kingdom of heaven by force? Learn from the saints how they labored, what effort they applied to themselves, what self-denial they had, what detachment from wealth, worldly honor and glory, fleshly pleasures! What temperance they had, what zeal for God, what constant prayer, what labor, what virtues! And truly they attained the kingdom of God. Not one of them was put to shame; all received incorruptible life and eternal glory, eternal blessedness, and live secure from any fear of losing the kingdom of heaven they have acquired. Imitate them too, each according to his strength; read, hear God’s Word, pay attention, understand, strive unceasingly toward the goal of your life—and you will receive eternal blessedness. After all, you labored this way or that for earthly well-being; labor then especially to obtain eternal life: “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things,” all earthly goods, “will be given to you” (Mt 6:33). Amen.