A Pilgrimage to the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. Guidance for Pilgrims

So it was this person who introduced you to Saint Pimen! Someone who speaks about divine things with great enthusiasm. I can guess who it is. It must be the very same one who visited me together with you. I am very glad of this circumstance—glad that there is someone near you who can speak in such a way. Make use of him, and whenever he visits you, steer him toward such subjects and draw everything you can out of him and make it your own.

You are planning to go to Sergiev! Very good. God bless you. And on foot, no less! That is two or three times better still! So that others do not gossip about it, you can arrange things discreetly. But if that cannot be managed, let them talk. You are mistaken, however, if you think this will be a pleasant stroll. Perhaps for the first fifty versts you will walk without too much difficulty, but then you will begin to feel something quite different from what you expect. You will arrive in two days. At your first overnight stop you will learn what it means to travel on foot, if you did not know before. Do not forget to take a small flask of vodka with salt—rub it on your feet at night. By evening your feet will no longer feel like your own. After rubbing them, they will recover somewhat by morning. In the morning you will not set off as briskly as you did from Moscow, but you will warm up as you go. On the return journey you may take the railway, for you will hardly manage another two days of walking. But do as you have set in your heart to do. The labor is for the Lord, and He will give you the strength for it. And afterward He will give you something as well—noticeably or imperceptibly. And the venerable Sergius will give you something too. God grants the saints the ability to see what the faithful do for them and to hear what they ask of them. Only let everything proceed from the heart. As a telegraph instantaneously conveys a message from Moscow to Saint Petersburg and beyond, so what is born in the heart makes itself known in an instant to the one to whom it is directed. The venerable Sergius, from the very moment you resolved to visit him, is already watching over you; when you set out on the journey he will watch over you even more, and still more when you enter his monastery, having borne the labors of the journey with good cheer and gladness. So—God bless you! Only do not expect pleasures; expect fatigue, blisters, and aching bones. Prepare to offer a sacrifice, not to seek enjoyment.

As you walk along the road, repeat unceasingly the short little prayer I wrote to you about, for otherwise your thoughts will carry you off who knows where in the open space. They can carry you toward things it is altogether unbecoming to think about, and all the more so for someone setting out on a pilgrimage. When you grow tired of repeating that prayer, take up some psalm and recite it from memory with reflection. Read “Have mercy on me, O God…” or “O God, attend unto my help…” or another that you know. And do not concern yourself with reading it from beginning to end, but with pondering and entering into its meaning with feeling. Attend to every word, surrounding it with questions: why was this said, and where does it lead you? Dwelling deeply in this way, you will not notice how the versts pass by one after another. Reciting psalms from memory with reflection while walking is the rule of the first great fathers, Anthony and Pachomius. It was their law that whoever came to them as a disciple must without fail memorize several psalms. Those who could not read would learn the psalms by hearing them from another person before they learned to read. Having memorized a number of psalms, a person was then required to recite them both while sitting at work and especially while walking anywhere. Please make the attempt to imitate the ancients.

Do not forget to go to confession and receive Holy Communion at the monastery. The labor of the journey will take the place of the labors of fasting and preparation. Confession is not difficult for you now, after the thorough confession you made previously. Conceal nothing that your conscience disapproves of, whether it be small or great. But do not fail to include what is most important—a little tear of contrition. One small tear—and you will feel as though you have bathed or washed yourself in a bath.

About such a little tear I had wanted to write you something before, but I forgot. I will write now. You borrow books from the library to read. Take Zhukovsky and read the piece called “Peri and the Angel.” It seems to be in the fifth volume. Most edifying. It is a long work, so I will give you a brief account of its contents. Peri, a spirit, one of those drawn into the fall from God, came to his senses and returned to Paradise. But flying to its gates, he finds them locked. The Angel who guards them says to him: “There is hope that you will enter, but bring a worthy gift.” Peri flew off to the earth. He sees a war. A valiant soldier is dying and in his dying tears prays to God for his fatherland. Peri snatched up that tear and brought it. He brought it, but the gates did not open. The Angel says to him: “It is a fine gift, but not powerful enough to open the gates of Paradise for you.” This expresses the truth that all civic virtues are good, but on their own they do not lead to Paradise. Peri flies off to earth again. He sees a plague. A young man of great beauty is dying. His betrothed tends him with self-sacrifice, but she too becomes infected. And no sooner had she managed to close his eyes than she herself fell dead upon his chest. There were tears here as well. Peri snatched one and brought it, but the gates of Paradise did not open for that one either. The Angel says to him: “It is a fine gift, but on its own it is not powerful enough to open Heaven for you.” This means that the virtues of family life on their own do not lead to Paradise either. Seek on! There is hope. Peri goes to earth once more. He found someone doing penance. He took that person’s tear and brought it. And before he could even draw near to Paradise, all its gates were already opened wide for him. So that is the kind of little tear you should bring to the Lord. There is rejoicing in Heaven when someone weeps and grieves, feeling themselves to be a sinner. And this is the surest path for us: ”Repent and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:15).

God bless you!