18. To Children—That the Lord Is Especially Merciful to the Good Among Them

To you, children, our word is directed, and today we will tell you that the Lord, even in this present life, especially rewards the merciful among you. A certain girl, twelve years old, once traveled with her mother to the Sarov Hermitage in order to have the blessing of seeing Father Seraphim and receiving his blessing. Upon arriving at Sarov, she happened to learn of some poor, worn-out prisoner who was passing by the monastery in heavy chains and was in a most pitiful state. At the sight of this unfortunate man she was deeply moved by his condition, and finding on her person a fairly valuable silver coin—having no smaller change—she gave it to this unfortunate man. When the girl and her mother then came to Father Seraphim, he—who had never seen them before—immediately called the girl to him and, blessing her, said kindly: “Well, that is good—that you gave alms to a poor man,” and then, quite unexpectedly to all, called her a “general’s wife.” Her mother, extremely surprised by this greeting, began to explain to the elder that the rank of general’s wife did not belong to them at all; but he, as he spoke with them, did not cease calling the girl a general’s wife. And so mother and daughter returned home not knowing the reason for the elder’s unusual greeting, and for a long time they could not understand what it might mean. But afterward it became clear to them, when the girl, who had such compassion for the unfortunate, reached adulthood and married a general. And then the prophetic words of the man of God were fulfilled—he who had long foreseen the future through the grace given to him by the Lord (Account of the Life of Father Seraphim by Schema-Abbot Seraphim, p. 220).

Now look, children. What did the Venerable Seraphim say to the girl before he called her a general’s wife? He said: “You did well to give alms to a poor man”—and only then did he begin to call her a general’s wife. This means he was saying, as it were: “You showed compassion to an unfortunate person—and so the Lord will reward you with great happiness.” And as he said, so it came to pass. In view of this, so that the Lord may reward you as well, imitate the girl I have mentioned: be merciful to the poor and unfortunate, and then the Lord will not leave you without his mercy either. You will say: “We have no money.” But money is not needed. One can show love and compassion to a neighbor without money. For example: sit with a sick person, bring him in time what he needs, or speak kindly and warmly with someone who is in need and sorrow, and grieve together with him—that may well be enough from you. And yet, even such mercy as yours toward the unfortunate—or any other like it—will never be forgotten by the Lord, and he will surely reward you for it both in this life and in the life to come, as he himself assures us. Blessed, he says, are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Matt. 5:7). Amen.