Spiritual talk #325
The first gift of the Holy Spirit is wisdom (fore-wisdom). More precisely, the wisdom that comes from above, about which the Apostle speaks: "The wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then peaceful, lenient, yielding, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and not hypocritical." /James. 3:17/ The opposite of this wisdom is carnal wisdom, about which the Apostle says: " In simplicity and sincerity before God, not with carnal wisdom, but with the grace of God, we lived in the world ." /2 Cor. 1:12/ Borrowing testimony from the Old Testament / Is. 29:14/, the same Apostle speaks against this carnal and worldly wisdom in another of his epistles: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and reject the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise man? Where is the librarian? Where is the debater of this century? Has not God made the wisdom of this world mad?" /1 Cor. 1:19-20/
The second gift of the Holy Spirit is the gift of reason , or of understanding the secrets and will of God. The Scriptures teach about him like this : " all the wise in heart, to whom the Lord gave wisdom and understanding, so that they could do all the work necessary for the sanctuary, as the Lord had commanded." / Ex. 36:1/ About Daniel and the other children with him it is said: " God gave these four boys knowledge and understanding of every book and wisdom, and gave Daniel also to understand all kinds of visions and dreams." /Dan. 1:17/ In another place it is said: " Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures." /Lk. 24:45/ The apostle writes: " May God grant you to understand everything.” /2 Tim. 2:7/ This understanding is opposed to foolishness and unbelief. The Lord says: " O foolish and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have said!" / Lk. 24:25/ App. Paul wrote to the Galatians, “ Are you so foolish? Having begun with the spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?" /Gal. 3:3/.
The third gift of the Holy Spirit is a counsel , helping to glorify God and the salvation of human souls, which agrees with the truth. The Scripture speaks of him: " I did not fail to make known to you all the will of God." / Acts. 20:29/ Opposite to it is the advice of the wicked, about which the Psalmist says: " Blessed is the man who does not go to the assembly of the wicked." /Psal. 1:1/ And in another place he says: "The Lord destroys the counsels (plans) of the pagans, destroys the conspiracies (unanimity in evil) of the nations, destroys the councils (plans) of princes." /Psal. 32:10/.
The fourth gift of the Holy Spirit is fortitude (strength and firmness), because by preserving all firmness and manliness in the faith, we are bound to withstand (oppose) various temptations. The Scripture says about her: " Be of good cheer, stand in the faith, be courageous, be strong." / 1 Cor. 16:13/ In another place in the Gospel it is said: " Stand, having girded your loins with truth and put on the breastplate of righteousness, and shod your feet in readiness to preach the (evangelical) peace; but above all, take up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one; take also the helmet of salvation and the spiritual sword, which is the word of God .” /Eph. 6:14-17/. The opposite of the fortress (firmness and strength) is fear, about which the Psalmist says: " There they will be afraid of fear (where there is no fear)" / Psal. 13:5/. Our Lord Jesus Christ forbids us to have such fear, saying: " Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and then can do nothing more." / Lk. 12:4/.
The fifth gift of the Holy Spirit is knowledge . The holy psalmist gives the following explanation for him: " He who instructs the nations, who teaches man knowledge, will he not rebuke?" / Psal. 93:10/ Another of the prophets says: " I will give you shepherds after My heart, who will shepherd you with knowledge and prudence." / Jerem. 3:15/ This knowledge or knowledge must be aimed at understanding God's will and God's law. Opposite to it is the misunderstanding (ignorance, ignorance) of God's law and God's will, about which the Psalmist speaks: " Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You, and on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name." / Psalm. 78:6/.
The sixth gift of the Holy Spirit is godliness. Along with true faith, it is based on diligent (smart) prayer and good works. The Apostle says about him: " Godliness is useful for everything, because it contains a promise for the present life and for the life to come." / 1 Tim. 4:8/. Therefore, only those who, by offering unceasing prayers to God, at the same time remove themselves from all wickedness and sin, are rightly called pious. What is meant here is not external piety, but true and heartfelt, so that the Lord does not say about him: "This people draws near to Me with their mouth and honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me." / Matt. 15:8/. And again: "Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and the dish, so that they may be clean on the outside." / Matt. 23:26/
The seventh gift of the Holy Spirit is the fear of God. It should be like the fear that children have for their parents, not the fear that servants have for their masters. The Psalmist spoke of the first: " Fear the Lord, all His saints, for there is no scarcity among those who fear Him." /Psal. 33:10/. About the second kind of fear, the Apostle says: " There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because in fear there is sorrow." He who fears is not perfect in love. " /1 In. 4:18/. Scripture commands us to fear God out of love for Him with the words: “ You who fear the Lord, praise Him. All seed of Jacob, glorify Him. Let the whole seed of Israel revere before Him ./Psal. 21:24/ He who has such fear of the Lord keeps His commandments, as it is said: " If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word." / Jn. 14:23/
The fruits of the Holy Spirit, or the signs of divine grace, are nine, according to what was said about them by the apostle Paul: " The fruit of the spirit is: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, mercy, faith, meekness, self-control." /Gal. 5:22-23/ But we must believe that the rest of the virtues should also be called fruits of the Holy Spirit, because they also originate from Him, and with His (the Holy Spirit's) assistance, a person can fulfill them. That is why the apostle Paul does not say against those (who are carriers of only the specifically mentioned virtues) there is no law, but says: "against such" /Gal. 5:23/ (like those listed, but also like all who have other similar virtues) there is no law, because there are others similar to the listed virtues.
Adapted from: " ORTHODOX CONFESSION...", pp. 59-64, St. Petersburg, 1840.
St. Rev. J O H N o f K R O N S T A D T
/1829 - 1908/
SPIRITUAL AND PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS
Unfaithful God, You have said through the mouth of Your prophet: " Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me." /Ps. 49:15/ Deliver me also, Lord, from the sorrows that surround me, crush me and oppress me: deliver me from confusion and fear with which the devil attacks me, and give me faith that is not ashamed, love that is not hypocritical, and hope that is known. Be careful (to always have this prayerful attitude ready in you).
There is a (special evil) persecutor spirit, a kind of mental pharaoh , who persecutes our thoughts while reading the prayers. Therefore, we must be careful (not to be surprised when it appears and not to succumb to its attacks). And what can we say about the people of this world (do they even consider that there is such a reason for the distraction, the wandering of the mind, the idle fantasizing - just when sometimes they still settle on sound spiritual reflections?).
Constantly strive for love - when you walk, stand, sit, lie down, pray, read, or whatever else you do - extract the honey of love from everything, turn everything into an occasion for love ... On the contrary, drive away dislike from everywhere, especially when hatred also arises. Avoid even the smallest occasions that can lead to it!
Belong to God with all your heart, because otherwise you will belong (unknowingly and willingly) to the devil. Then the devil will laugh at your insincere efforts to please God.
When you approach the Life-Giving Mysteries (for communion), to ward off devilish lies in the heart (as a consequence of unbelief), always say to yourself with all your heart - the lie is me (it can enter and establish itself in me), while it is before me the pure Truth (God Himself, to Whom falsehood is inaccessible) . Along with this, (force yourself to) have no fear even for a moment of the dreamy disturbances and fear with which the devil strikes the heart before communion. " He who hopes in the Lord is like Mount Zion, - he will not be moved." /Ps. 124:1/. You too hope in Him without any hesitation!
In unbelief the heart is fearful and all human actions are imprecise, unstable, indecisive (or have an admixture and tinge of all these). Man's words are also so unstable, fast and fragmentary, his voice (often like) trembling... Our body is nothing more than a clay vessel, made by the hand of the Wise Artist (Creator) - our God. In this earthen vessel, by the wise will of the Creator, an immortal spirit is enclosed - His breath. In the fallen state (in which it finds itself after the sin of the forefathers), this spirit drags its material dwelling, the body, to disease and destruction.
Do not test (do not seek too detailed explanations), but (more) believe, because your Lord is a God of miracles (which are beyond the explainable and conscious regularities of rational knowledge). You yourself, as soul and body, are a miracle ... Hidden (invisible) miracles are constantly working in your body - the constant renewal of blood, juices (the entire inimitable and ultra-precise system of metabolism, nervous and humoral regulation). Your body is constantly being built and destroyed, living completely independently of you, but only according to the will of its Creator - God, who has determined the laws of its existence and Himself maintains its life.
If you sometimes feel difficulty reaching God the Father in heartfelt faith, remember the Savior's words: " no one comes to the Father except through Me" /Jn. 14:6/ Also what is said in another place: " No one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and whom the Son wants to reveal." / Matt. 11:27/ Pray that the Son of God will reveal this knowledge to you!
Consider the spirit of confusion, fear (fear) and despondency as smoke, as indeed it is no stronger than smoke, if there is (strong enough) faith in your heart. This spirit affects our hearts only because of unbelief. (It is no coincidence that in our time of mass unbelief, because meager faith, as well as incorrect faith, superstition and superstition, cannot be considered true faith, people especially massively and increasingly suffer from a variety of clinically manifested diseases, both mental and somatic, in whose genesis are fear, despair and hopelessness.)
Fear even the slightest stirring of any passion, otherwise (if you are careless about it) the devil will possess you (get power over you), mock you cruelly, and impose his tyranny on you. The stronger and more prolonged the stirring (activity) of passion, the stronger the devil will cling to you. This is what personal experience has taught me.
Why do others often dislike us? - Because we don't love them (sincerely). (They especially detest the displays of false, hypocritical love that cover up the lack of love.). Why don't they obey us? - Because we also do not obey (to whom we owe). Why do we stumble at prayer (why does it not proceed with full attention, affection, from the whole heart)? - Because (too) often we stumble into (committing) sins (which with greater diligence we can avoid).
Do not forget that more important than anything else for you, you need to know how to purify your heart, so that in this only way you can unite with the Lord. Do not overload your head (mind, attention and thought) with other knowledge, especially when the feat of prayer is before you. Don't let it happen that, pursuing the unimportant, you lose the most important thing - the heart's prayer, the burning of the spirit. Because (from inappropriate mental overexertion) you may get heaviness in the head and especially anxiety.
Translation from the explanatory supplement: “Holy Righteous JOHN OF KRONSTADTS, TO THE PRIEST”, extracts from diary notebooks, pp. 122-137, M. 2005.
Spiritual talk #326
We must try with all our might to keep our heart light (free and unencumbered, without unnecessary and unnecessary burden in itself), and light - then it will easily be filled and will retain within itself living faith and love for God, as well as to everything spiritual and holy. But if we allow it to become obese (cf. "the heart of this people has hardened - in the Slav. text : " odebele bo serdè lyudii sihyh" / Is. 6:10/ and become heavy (as a result of overcrowding), according to the Gospel words: " lest your hearts be vexed with overeating, drunkenness, and cares of life."/ Lk. 21:34/, since (excess of) food and drink lead to such a coarsening and heaviness of the heart, as well as earthly cares, then the heart becomes unable to accommodate (accommodate) faith and love. Then the devil easily nestles in it. This you may know by the inner disturbance and fear (when you fall into a state of such heart-hardening, hardening, and insensibility ).
Doubt and unbelief in works of faith refer to blasphemous thoughts planted in our souls by the devil. Therefore, we should not pay attention to them, but treat them with ridicule and contempt.
Have you noticed that every time you want to do some work of faith and piety, you suddenly feel a weight in your heart that presses and oppresses you, that prevents you from doing what you started. It separates you from the holy purpose through soul-destroying unbelief . This is an act of the devil.
When you engage in reading a work of spiritual content, never rush your thoughts to some other work less important than what you are doing. Remember that your whole life should be a constant study in the Word of God! Therefore, let the reading of the sacred books be for you your main and best occupation. Read, get wise, save yourself, and save others! Above all, read the Word of God itself, so that the book of God's Law is always in your mouth. This Word is the pattern of our human speech. To be strong in your words, you must borrow the appropriate places from God's Word . You are obliged to be permeated by the spirit of God's Word, by its purity and holiness, by the spirit of salvation.
After communion, make a special effort to be meek and humble, so that in this way you can honor in your heart the Meek and Humble (our Savior) who entered under your roof. But woe to you if you lose the spirit of meekness and begin to chafe at the pettiness of your self-love. The spirit of peace and joy will leave you and a hellish fire will burn in your chest. Then with much sorrow and tears you will seek peace (which you lost), but you will not get it for a long time to learn to guard so priceless a treasure.
Try to prayerfully ask God for firmness in the fight against the invisible enemies that attack you. Such firmness you need to be able to stand still on the Stone of Faith, oblivious to all the painful heat of their arrows, to the thick darkness they scatter, to all their blasphemies. Not to betray the Lord either by thought or word of any displeasure, but to bless His authority, which from time to time seems to hide itself, to test our souls to what they are inclined and what their own efforts are in the fight against the enemies . This hardness ie. (imperviousness to sin) is impossible to attain without patience, without meekness, and without manliness. Therefore, be patient as if you had no flesh, meek and manly - as the Savior was meek and manly throughout His life, as well as in the face of His enemies.
When you pray to the Lord, you imagine (with great reason) how insignificant and despised you are in His eyes. But you must know that God does not look at faces. Everything (that exists) is a creation of His hands. He does not distinguish between the small and the great (human-like things). A pure heart - this is what is great (great and important) to Him. Have a pure heart, and though you are worthless (in life), do not be ashamed or faint-hearted.
With his characteristic cunning and malice, the devil is in the habit of attacking us at the end of our pious pursuits. Thus at their very end (completion), he deprives us of their fruits. For example, from the fruits of our labors in prayer, from the virtues, so that everything loses value (before God). This shows my almost daily experience.
" He who does not know how to manage his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?" /1Tim.3:5/ Make his house upright first, i.e. your soul and body, and only then will you be able to fix others as well. (This understanding of St. John of Kronstadt adds another dimension to the apostolic words, apart from their clear and direct meaning.) Curb your passions, remove your bad habits - then, with God's help, you will be able to (cooperate) in the victory over the passions and in the others.
ABOUT THE PRAYER
When you pray, don't rush your thoughts to other things, because prayer should be the most important activity throughout your life . Learning to pray worthily is the most important work (for every conscious Christian).
Why do many (of Christians) not want to pray? - " Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." / Matt. 6:21/ Some have not (at all) learned to value prayer, (mostly because) they have not understood its sweetness from personal experience. In other cases - even if they knew this, then they became negligent (in maintaining constant prayerful work). An impure heart loves worldly things, it cannot accommodate (and hold for long ) the spiritual. " What do light and darkness have to do with each other?" /2 Cor. 6:14/.
Why sometimes the language stops during prayer (the flow, the course of the prayer thought stops for a short time or for a longer time)? And why do the hands of the clock usually stop? - Because his insides have become damaged or polluted... Such suspension can also occur during prayer when the inside of a human being has become polluted or damaged. This inside is the human heart , which becomes cunning, filled with unbelief, when enmity or some other impurity is established in it. To man, in a sense, language is what the hands of a clock are. The arrows show the internal movement of the watch movement. The tongue is also a kind of herald or advocate of the heart and thoughts. It informs about what is done inside, about what fills the heart. Therefore the Savior says:That which comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, that is what defiles a person; for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, perjury, blasphemies." / Matt. 15:18-19/
When during prayer you feel that against your will your heart is cunning, filled with unbelief and pride - do not be in the least disturbed by this and do not bend to its cunning - you must know that in this way the devil tries to incline you to spiritual impurity with yourself (when you retain, accept, are embarrassed by unbelief and pride in your heart, so you allow the action of their inspirer - the devil in your heart, you enter into an impure spiritual mixture and union with him). In the same way, understand when you notice in yourself embarrassment and timidity, don't be embarrassed by this - this is also an action of the dark spirits, who, by causing fear in you, seek to draw you into unclean communion with themselves (as bearers of an evil spiritual nature only). Be firm in such cases (which are by no means rare), and put humility and faith as deeply as you can into your heart. Along with this, look steadfastly to the Lord in expectation of His mercy. He will certainly visit you and drive away the enemy. You yourself will feel this in the heart's peace and sweetness.
When during prayer (all kinds of) thoughts begin to enter your heart that disturb it, then remember the Savior's words: " why are you disturbed and why do such thoughts enter your hearts ?" /Lk. 24:38/. You must know that you have nothing to be troubled by, and you must not allow into your heart any thoughts that trouble him.
If during prayer you notice that it is not accepted by the heart (it does not reach the heart), like a wet tree that does not accept fire - then use all (forces and) means so that the prayer somehow penetrates the heart. Without this, prayer is of no use - the heart remains cold and dead, and with it the soul. Such a callous heart is mostly the result of much eating and drinking (intemperate, wanton and immoderate eating and drinking).
If during prayer your heart begins to grow cold, remember that for every minute, for every moment of living faith and diligent service to the Lord, He will reward you with thousands of years of blissful life.
Don't you notice how sometimes it seems as if a stone rests on your heart during prayer? This is the action of the invisible enemy, who seeks to hinder the holy work. Overcome this with your zeal for prayer. The invisible enemies who fight with us during prayer are mentioned in the morning prayers.
When you speak (pronounce mentally or aloud) the words of the prayer, do not rush, but allow time for the heart to respond to them, for them to become words of your heart, your possession.
When you pray, follow with your mind's eye what purpose during this prayer is in your heart. Is it not simply to read the prayer, or to purify the soul with it. If you establish the first target, you must immediately remove it and establish the second, the real one. The first purpose breaks down prayer and makes it a mere verbiage that God will not hear.
During prayer, the heart must be implanted (completely surrendered) to God, so that the person praying feels in his heart the truth of the Lord's words: " he abides in Me and I in him." /Jn. 6:56/. The Lord unites with us both during the prayer of the heart and after it - just as he unites with us after receiving the life-giving Mysteries. With this difference, that the last union (communion) is closer, more sincere (in full union), because it takes place through the very Flesh and Blood (of the Savior). The Lord says: " We will come to him and make a dwelling with him. " /In. 14:23/ God's presence in us is manifested by (feeling) sweetness of heart, peace or quietness of feelings, (total, complete) contentment in oneself.
What does it mean to pray " in spirit and in truth" / In. 4:23/ - This means to pray with that faith, hope and love, with which the holy Fathers prayed, who left us the spiritual treasure of their prayers, of their eulogies and thanksgivings to God.
When you pray to the Lord, at the beginning of your prayer for the strengthening of faith put (calls for prayer help and assistance) all the heavenly Powers, the prophets, the apostles, the martyrs, the reverends and the righteous. And so, guided by their sonm, by their prayer, and himself prays to you with their faith, trust, and love.
Brethren, when you pray, do not allow slackness in prayer - not one heartfelt sigh, not one sincere, good and holy feeling will remain lost and unnoticed by the Lord, if you try to keep it in your hearts. Our (Almighty) Lord is always with us - all seeing and all hearing. He sees and hears all our heartfelt thoughts. We live and move through Him, He knows perfectly everything in us and about us.That He is with us always and in every place, you can easily be convinced by a simple experience. If you are good (correct) in your soul - then you feel good, peaceful, light and joyful. However, if you are not good (you are not healthy) in your souls - then you are definitely not feeling well, awkward, unpleasant, heavy and restless. How are we to understand this? – This means that when you are good in your soul, then the Lord is with you, He is present in your hearts. Then He is your Father, and you are His good children.
Translation from an explanatory supplement: Holy Righteous JOHN OF KRONSTADTSKY, "TO THE PRIEST ..., extracts from diary notebooks", pp. 13 8 - 157, M. 2005.
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