16. Those Who Blaspheme the Saints Are Punished by God

People of this age, especially in recent times, think nothing of frequently blaspheming the saints and virtuous men. “That person,” they say, “who is called a saint, did not live at all as is written about him; this one had such-and-such sins; this one, for his deeds, deserves not praise but censure,” and so on. What do you think, brothers—will such people’s slanders against the saints go unpunished, or will they not? Know that they will never go unpunished—not only, without doubt, in the life to come, but even in this present life. A certain lady cherished a fervent love for the Venerable Seraphim and, out of that love, wished to have a portrait of him in her home, which she duly obtained. One day, an educated gentleman of her acquaintance came to visit her and, seeing a likeness of Father Seraphim hanging on the wall, asked: “Whose portrait is this?” The lady told him it was a likeness of the great ascetic, the hermit and recluse of the Sarov Monastery, Hieromonk Seraphim, and she expected that her story would move her acquaintance to reverence for the elder as well. But the outcome was quite otherwise: instead of reverence—or even ordinary decorum—this gentleman began mockingly sneering at Father Seraphim in the coarsest of expressions. But this did not go unpunished for him. When he returned home, he was suddenly struck with so severe a blow of paralysis that his face was turned backward, and his tongue fell mute. His family, at the sight of so terrible a misfortune, immediately turned to the lady with a tearful plea to visit him in his distress, and she did not delay in going to him. She found the family in bitter tears, and the blasphemer himself in the most agonizing condition: disfigured and speechless as a corpse, he lay in his bed in such a state that it was dreadful to see him.

The lady’s first act was to urge the family at once to persuade the sick man to turn with faith to Father Seraphim himself and to beg his forgiveness for the insolent blasphemy against him. The sick man visibly agreed to this. The lady then advised them to invite a priest and to serve a memorial service for the reposed elder Seraphim. As soon as this was done, to the general astonishment and joy of all, the blasphemer’s disfigured face regained its former appearance; but the insolent tongue remained forever bound and silent—as though in testimony to the just punishment of God upon one who had reviled the righteous elder (Account of the Life of Father Seraphim by Schema-Abbot Seraphim, pp. 329–330).

O you who are not afraid to treat the saints and virtuous people with mockery and contempt! Take heed, lest you suffer the same fate as the blasphemer of the Venerable Seraphim. And that you will not escape God’s anger in the life to come is beyond doubt; for God’s word is sure: Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Amen.