Congratulations and Good Wishes to One Who Has Repented and Received the Holy Mysteries of Christ. One Who Has Entered the Path of True Life Must Maintain Unceasing Remembrance of God

By now, surely, you have already confessed and received Communion. Congratulations! May the Lord grant that this be for you a lifting up of the spirit, a clinging of the heart to the Lord, a comfort and consolation on the path of life, and moral strength for deeds pleasing to God.

But above all I wish for you to feel the joy of salvation in the Lord. For the Lord is in you, and where the Lord is, there is salvation. A certain pagan king, when a storm caught him at sea and the sailors in their fear did not know what to do, said with his characteristic arrogance: “Why are you afraid? You are carrying such a king.” Those were empty words. But the Lord, when once a windstorm was putting in danger the boat in which He was crossing Lake Gennesaret with His disciples, and they, not knowing what to do, cried out to Him: “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” — He first ”rebuked the wind and the surging waters,” and when the waves had subsided and ”there was a calm,” He said: ”Where is your faith?” (Lk. 8:23–25). Thus only with respect to the Lord can one truly say: “Why are you afraid? The Lord is with you.” This is what I say to you: fear neither the inward nor the outward waves, for the Lord is with you. Do not lose your living faith in this, and your heart will confess: ”Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me” (Ps. 22:4). And all who have received Communion may fittingly sing: ”The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Ps. 45:8).

Now, renewed, strengthened by the grace of God, and animated by the presence of the Lord, go forth to the work of God that you have taken up with such earnestness—to do it until the evening of your life. As a help to you, let me mention one secret of a proper life in the Lord—namely, the unceasing remembrance of God. In this remembrance one must strengthen oneself by every means until it becomes an unceasing companion of one’s attention. God is everywhere, and is always with us, near us and within us. But we are not always with Him, for we do not remember Him—and because we do not remember Him, we permit ourselves many things we would not permit if we did. Take upon yourself the labor of growing accustomed to this remembrance. Nothing special is required—only the intention to adopt it and the effort to remember that the Lord is within you, that He is near, that He looks upon you and into you just as keenly as someone would look you in the eyes. Whatever you do, always remember that the Lord is near and is watching. Begin striving to grow accustomed to this—and you will grow accustomed to it. And as soon as you do, or even as soon as you begin even a little to form the habit, you will see what a saving effect this produces in the soul. Only do not forget that the remembrance of God must be held not as one holds the thought of any other thing, but combined with the fear of God and with reverence. Through this, people all become reverent.

To make it easier to grow accustomed to the remembrance of God, fervent Christians have a special practice—namely, ceaselessly repeating a short prayer of two or three words. Most often it is: “Lord, have mercy! Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner!” If you have not yet heard of this, well, now you have—and if you have not been doing this, begin from this moment on. Whether you are walking, sitting, working, eating, or lying down to sleep—keep saying: “Lord, have mercy! Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner!” With long practice, these words will stick so fast to the tongue that they will repeat themselves of their own accord. And this greatly calms the wandering and roaming of thoughts. Again, do not forget to combine this with reverence.

What else it would be fitting to say to you now, I already wrote to you as soon as you expressed the resolve to take up the work as it ought to be done. Please review that again. And what else beyond that needs to be recalled to you—that will come in what follows.

Be of good cheer and rejoice that you are entering upon the path of sincere service to the Lord—a sure path that will bring you to the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven. May the Lord and the Most Pure Mother of God help you!