37. Rendering Assistance to Monastics is a Good Deed and Beneficial for Us Ourselves

Many free-thinking people refuse to help monastics and monasteries, and commonly say: “What does a monk need money for?” or “Monks have everything provided for them”; or “Monks do nothing,” and so forth. In saying this, the free-thinkers are mistaken, for first, even a monk needs money, because he, like every person, wants to eat and drink; second, by no means all monks have everything provided: there are very many extremely poor monasteries, and they send their monastics out to collect alms, sometimes thousands of miles away, in order somehow to feed the brothers and meet the most pressing, one might say crying, needs of the monastery; and third, monks do not do nothing, but labor constantly: they stand through the very lengthy monastic services, carry out various obediences, and many work without stopping. Yes, truly, in saying this the free-thinkers are mistaken, and therefore we must not listen to them or act toward monastics as they do. All of us without fail must, according to our means, make offerings for monastics and monasteries, and firmly believe that our offerings will not be wasted and will be remembered by God. A young man, setting out for war, stopped on his way at the Sarov Hermitage to visit Saint Seraphim, to ask his blessing for the journey and the war ahead, and to ask him to pray for the preservation of his life. The elder received him very warmly, blessed him with his brass cross, which hung on his chest, kissed him, began to hear his confession, himself naming his sins to him as though they had been committed in his presence, and finally gave him many soul-saving instructions and dismissed him in peace. On leaving the Venerable one, the young man placed three rubles next to him, for the candles. But the enemy the devil, envying the peace of his conscience at that moment, planted in him this thought: “Why does the holy father need money?” This adversarial thought troubled the youth, and he hurried back to Saint Seraphim in repentance and with a request for forgiveness of it. But the Lord visibly punished him for having allowed such a wicked thought even for a moment. Walking around the Venerable one’s cell, he could not recognize it and was obliged to ask a passing monk: “Where is Father Seraphim’s cell?” The monk, likely surprised by his question, pointed it out. The young man entered with a prayer to the elder, and he, anticipating his words, recounted the following story: “During the war with the Gauls, a certain military commander was to lose his right hand; but that hand had given three coins to a certain hermit for the holy church, and through the prayers of the holy Church the Lord saved it.” After this the Venerable one addressed the youth with the following words: “Understand this well, and henceforth do not repent of good deeds. Your money will go toward building up the holy monastery for the benefit of your health.” Then the Venerable one confessed him again, kissed and blessed him again, and concluded by saying: “May the evil spirit that came upon this servant of God be driven out by the grace of God” (Account of Schema-Abbot Seraphim, pp. 276-278).

From all of the above it becomes clear that we must not listen to free-thinking people who reproach monastics and refuse to help them, but must not forget those who have left the world, and firmly believe that our offerings to them will not be lost and will be remembered by God. Just now we heard that the commander’s hand was to be lost, but since it had given alms to a hermit, it remained unharmed. And apart from this, we are also convinced that offerings to monastics will not be forgotten by God by the example of the holy servants of God themselves. Mercy toward monks and monasteries they always considered a godly and holy matter, and therefore when they could, they showed it with a generous hand. Thus holy Sava of Serbia “sent one portion of a wealth unexpectedly received by him to Constantinople, to the monastery of the Evergetissa, distributed another among the Athonite monasteries, a third to the cells of hermits in the desert, and the fourth, finally, contributed to the monastery of Hilandar” (Athos Patericon, vol. I, p. 229). “The blessed empress Theophano enriched and renewed monasteries, established cells for monastics, and endowed communities with property.” Saint Abrahamius built a monastery in one city. Saint Dorotheus built cells for monastics. These examples, it seems, are already sufficiently convincing. And in view of them, we ask you again: do not listen to free-thinking people, help monastics, and be assured that your offerings will not be wasted. And how could they be wasted, when they are given to those who belong to Christ? How could they be wasted, when perhaps thousands of prayers will be lifted up for you to the throne of God by those who have dedicated themselves entirely to the service of God? How could they be wasted, finally, when God, who supplies seed to the sower, always gives abundance to what we have sown and always multiplies the fruits of our righteousness? (2 Cor. 9:10).

Yes, it is beyond doubt that even the good deeds rendered to monastics will be remembered by the Lord at His judgment, that He will refer them to Himself and will say to those who did good: For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink… Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:35–34). Amen.