Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (In the English translation of the Bible, instead of the word “truth,” the word “righteousness” is used, that is, “thirst after righteousness.” - Ed.).
Righteousness, according to Webster's dictionary, refers to actions in accordance with Divine and moral laws and free from guilt and sin.
Orthodox and church holidays and fasts
Today is an Orthodox church holiday: * Great Martyr Euphemia the All-Praised (memory of the miracle by which Orthodoxy was established, 451). * Equal to the Apostles Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, in holy baptism Helena (969) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... Tomorrow:
* Martyrs Proclus and Hilary (c. 98-117).
* St. Michael Malein (962) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... Holidays are expected: 07/26/2021
- * Cathedral of the Archangel Gabriel.
* St. Stephen Savvait (794) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... 07.27.2021
- * Apostle Aquila of the 70 (I) and other saints whose names we remember on this day...
07.28.2021
- * Martyrs of Kirik and Julitta, his mother (c. 305). *** Equal to the Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, in holy baptism Vasily, Baptist of Rus' (1015) and other saints whose names we remember on this day...
All Orthodox and church holidays and fasts...
Orthodox Saints of God
The holy saints of God show special love and mercy to those who honor their holy memory.
It seems to many that the saints are far from us. But they are far from those who have withdrawn themselves, and very close to those who keep the commandments of Christ and have the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The holy saints in their earthly life turned to God for help in healing their ailments, sorrows and deliverance from temptations, asking God that even after death He would honor them with the gift of helping people in various cases of life.
The saints have reached the Heavenly Kingdom and there they see the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ; but by the Holy Spirit they also see the suffering of people on earth. Many holy saints of God received special grace from God, and He deigned them to be intercessors before Him for deliverance from our sorrows and bodily ailments, in which they themselves were tempted.
The saints rejoice at our repentance and mourn when people leave God and become like foolish cattle. They feel sorry that people live on earth, not knowing that if they loved each other, then there would be freedom from sin on earth: and where there is no sin, there is joy and gladness from the Holy Spirit, so that, wherever you look, everything sweet, and the soul wonders why it feels so good, and praises God. The saints hear our prayers and have the power from God to help us. The entire Christian race knows about this. We must remember: in order for a prayer to be heard, one should pray to the holy saints of God with faith in the power of their intercession before God, in words coming from the heart.
In our prayers we turn to the Lord God, to His Most Pure Mother - our Intercessor and Helper, to the holy Angels and holy people - the saints of God, because for their sake the Lord God is more likely to hear us sinners, our prayers. The Saints have different names: prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, saints, unmercenaries, blessed, righteous, confessors. more>>
The Lord says: “When you light a candle, you do not put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it gives light to everyone in the house. So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:15-16). Saints are bright stars that show us the way to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us treasure the closeness of the holy saints of God to God and turn to them for help, remembering that they love us and care about our salvation. It is good to pray to the holy saints of God on those days when the Church celebrates their memory.
«Holy Saints of God, pray to God for us!»
Saints: life, memory, suffering...
Gospel beatitudes
God gave people the Ten Commandments back in Old Testament times. They were given in order to protect people from evil, to warn about the danger that sin brings. The Lord Jesus Christ established the New Testament, gave us the Gospel law, the basis of which is love: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another (John 13:34) and holiness: be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). The Savior did not abolish the observance of the Ten Commandments, but elevated people to the highest level of spiritual life. In the Sermon on the Mount, talking about how a Christian should build his life, the Savior gives nine beatitudes . These commandments no longer speak of the prohibition of sin, but of Christian perfection. They tell how to achieve bliss, what virtues bring a person closer to God, for only in Him can a person find true joy. The Beatitudes not only do not cancel the Ten Commandments of the Law of God, but wisely complement them. It is not enough simply not to commit a sin or to expel it from our soul by repenting of it. No, we need to have in our souls the virtues that are opposite to sins. It is not enough not to do evil, you must do good. Sins create a wall between us and God; when the wall is destroyed, we begin to see God, but only a moral Christian life can bring us closer to Him.
Here are the nine commandments that the Savior gave us as a guide to Christian deed:
- Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
- Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
- Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
- Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
- Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
- Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unjustly because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: just as they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
First commandment
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
What does it mean to be poor in spirit, and why are such people blessed ? Saint John Chrysostom says: “What does it mean: poor in spirit? Humble and contrite in heart.
He called the soul and disposition of man Spirit. <…> Why didn’t He say: the humble, but said the poor? Because the latter is more expressive than the former; He calls here poor those who fear and tremble at the commandments of God, whom God also calls through the prophet Isaiah pleasing to Himself, saying: To whom will I look: to him that is humble and contrite in spirit, and to him that trembles at My word (Isaiah 66:2)." Conversations on St. Matthew the Evangelist." 25. 2). The moral opposite of a poor spirit is a proud person who considers himself spiritually rich.
Spiritual poverty means humility , seeing one’s true state. Just as an ordinary beggar has nothing of his own, but dresses in what is given and eats alms, so we must realize: everything we have we receive from God. This is not ours, we are only stewards of the property that the Lord has given us. He gave it so that it would serve the salvation of our soul. You can by no means be a poor person, but be poor in spirit, humbly accept what God gives us, and use it to serve the Lord and people. Everything is from God. Not only material wealth, but also health, talents, abilities, life itself - all this is exclusively a gift from God, for which we must thank Him. Without Me you can do nothing (John 15:5), the Lord tells us. The fight against sins and the acquisition of good deeds are impossible without humility. We do all this only with the help of God.
The Kingdom of Heaven is promised to the poor in spirit and the humble in wisdom . People who know that everything they have is not their merit, but the gift of God, which needs to be increased for the salvation of the soul, will perceive everything sent as a means of achieving the Kingdom of Heaven.
Second Commandment
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are those who mourn . Crying can be caused by completely different reasons, but not all crying is a virtue. The commandment to mourn means repentant crying for one’s sins. Repentance is so important because without it it is impossible to get closer to God. Sins prevent us from doing this. The first commandment of humility already leads us to repentance, lays the foundation for spiritual life, for only a person who feels his weakness and poverty before the Heavenly Father can realize his sins and repent of them. The Gospel prodigal son returns to the Father's house, and, of course, the Lord will accept everyone who comes to Him and wipe away every tear from his eyes. Therefore, “blessed are those who mourn (for sins), for they will be comforted (emphasis added by us. - Author).” Every person has sins, without sin there is only God, but we have been given the greatest gift from God - repentance, the opportunity to return to God, ask Him for forgiveness. It was not for nothing that the Holy Fathers called repentance the second baptism, where we wash away our sins not with water, but with tears.
Blessed tears can also be called tears of compassion, empathy for our neighbors, when we are imbued with their grief and try to help them in any way we can.
Third Commandment
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are the meek. Meekness is a peaceful, calm, quiet spirit that a person has acquired in his heart. This is submission to the will of God and the virtue of peace in the soul and peace with others. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30), the Savior teaches us. He was submissive in everything to the will of the Heavenly Father, He served people and accepted suffering with meekness. He who has taken upon himself the good yoke of Christ, who follows His path, who seeks humility, meekness, and love, will find peace and tranquility for his soul both in this earthly life and in the life of the next century. Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria writes: “Some by the word earth mean spiritual land, that is, heaven, but you also mean this earth. Since the meek are usually considered despicable and devoid of importance, He says that they primarily have everything.” Meek and humble Christians, without war, fire or sword, despite terrible persecution from the pagans, were able to convert the entire vast Roman Empire to the true faith.
The great Russian saint, Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, said: “Acquire a peaceful spirit, and thousands around you will be saved.” He himself fully acquired this peaceful spirit, greeting everyone who came to him with the words: “My joy, Christ is risen!” There is an episode from his life when robbers came to his forest cell, wanting to rob the elder, thinking that the visitors were bringing him a lot of money. Saint Seraphim was chopping wood in the forest at that time and stood with an ax in his hands. Having weapons and possessing great physical strength, he did not want to offer resistance to those who came. He placed the ax on the ground and folded his arms across his chest. The villains grabbed an ax and brutally beat the old man with its butt, breaking his head and breaking his bones. Not finding the money, they fled. The Monk Seraphim barely made it to the monastery. He was ill for a long time and remained bent over until the end of his days. When the robbers were caught, he not only forgave them, but also asked to be released, saying that if this was not done, he would leave the monastery. This is how amazingly meek this man was.
Fourth Commandment
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
There are different ways to thirst and seek the truth. There are certain people who can be called truth-seekers: they are constantly indignant at the existing order, seek justice everywhere and write complaints, and come into conflict with many. But this commandment is not talking about them. This means a completely different truth.
It is said that one must desire righteousness as food and drink: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. That is, very much like a hungry and thirsty person endures suffering until his needs are satisfied. What truth is being said here? About the highest, Divine Truth. And the highest Truth , Truth is Christ. I am the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6), He says about Himself. Therefore, a Christian must seek the true meaning of life in God. In Him alone is the true source of living water and Divine Bread, which is His Body.
The Lord left us the word of God, which sets forth the Divine teaching, the truth of God. He created the Church and put into it everything necessary for salvation. The Church is also the bearer of truth and correct knowledge about God, the world and man. This is the truth that every Christian should thirst for, reading the Holy Scriptures and being edified by the works of the Fathers of the Church.
Those who are zealous about prayer, about doing good deeds, about saturating themselves with the word of God, truly “thirst for righteousness” and, of course, will receive saturation from the ever-flowing Source - our Savior - both in this century and in the future.
Fifth Commandment
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Bulgarian Elder Dobri Dobrev
Mercy and mercy are acts of love towards others. In these virtues we imitate God Himself: Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful (Luke 6:36). God sends His mercies and gifts to both righteous and unrighteous, sinful people. He rejoices over one sinner who repents rather than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent (Luke 15:7).
And he teaches us all the same selfless love, so that we do acts of mercy not for the sake of reward, not expecting to receive something in return, but out of love for the person himself, fulfilling the commandment of God.
By doing good deeds to people, as creation, the image of God, we thereby bring service to God Himself. The Gospel gives an image of the Last Judgment, when the Lord will separate the righteous from the sinners and say to the righteous: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you accepted Me; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him: Lord! when did we see you hungry and feed you? or to the thirsty and gave them something to drink? when did we see you as a stranger and accept you? or naked and clothed? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and came to You? And the King will answer them: Truly I say to you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did it to Me (Matthew 25:34-40). Therefore it is said that “ the merciful will themselves .” And on the contrary, those who did not do good deeds will have nothing to justify themselves at God’s judgment, as stated in the same parable about the Last Judgment.
Sixth Commandment
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the pure in heart , that is, those who are pure in soul and mind from sinful thoughts and desires. It is important not only to avoid committing a sin in a visible way, but also to refrain from thinking about it, because any sin begins with a thought, and only then materializes into action. From the heart of man come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, blasphemy (Matthew 15:19), says the word of God. Not only bodily impurity is a sin, but first of all impurity of the soul, spiritual defilement. A person may not take anyone’s life, but burn with hatred for people and wish them death. Thus, he will destroy his own soul, and subsequently may even go as far as murder. Therefore, the Apostle John the Theologian warns: Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer (1 John 3:15). A person who has an unclean soul and unclean thoughts is a potential committer of already visible sins.
If your eye is pure, then your whole body will be bright; if your eye is evil, then your whole body will be dark (Matt 6:22-23). These words of Jesus Christ are spoken about the purity of the heart and soul. A clear eye is sincerity, purity, holiness of thoughts and intentions, and these intentions lead to good deeds. And vice versa: where the eye and heart are blinded, dark thoughts reign, which will later become dark deeds. Only a person with a pure soul and pure thoughts can approach God and see Him. God is seen not with bodily eyes, but with the spiritual vision of a pure soul and heart. If this organ of spiritual vision is clouded, spoiled by sin, a person will not see the Lord. Therefore, you need to refrain from unclean, sinful, evil thoughts, drive them away as if they were coming from the enemy, and cultivate bright, kind thoughts in your soul. These thoughts are cultivated by prayer, faith and hope in God, love for Him, for people and for every creation of God.
Seventh Commandment
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are the peacemakers... The commandment to have peace with people and to reconcile those at war is placed very highly in the Gospel. Such people are called children, sons of God. Why? We are all children of God, his creations. There is nothing more pleasant for a father and mother when he knows that his children live in peace, love and harmony among themselves: How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together! (Ps 133:1). And vice versa, how sad it is for a father and mother to see quarrels, strife and enmity between children; at the sight of all this, the parents’ hearts seem to bleed! If peace and good relationships between children please even earthly parents, all the more does our Heavenly Father need us to live in peace. And a person who keeps peace in the family, with people, reconciles those at war, is pleasing and pleasing to God. Not only does such a person receive joy, tranquility, happiness and blessing from God here on earth, he gains peace in his soul and peace with his neighbors, but he will undoubtedly receive a reward in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Peacemakers will also be called “sons of God” because in their feat they are likened to the Son of God Himself, Christ the Savior, who reconciled people with God, restored the connection that was destroyed by sins and the falling away of humanity from God.
Eighth Commandment
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are those who are exiled for the sake of truth. The search for Truth, Divine Truth has already been discussed in the fourth beatitude. We remember that Truth is Christ Himself. He is also called the Sun of Truth. It is about oppression and persecution for the truth of God that this commandment speaks of. The path of a Christian is always the path of a warrior of Christ. The way is difficult, difficult, narrow: narrow is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life (Mt 7:14). But this is the only road leading to salvation; we are not given any other way. Of course, living in a raging world that is often very hostile to Christianity is difficult. Even if there is no persecution or oppression for faith, simply living as a Christian, fulfilling God’s commandments, working for God and others is very difficult. It is much easier to live “like everyone else” and “take everything from life.” But we know that it is precisely this path that leads to destruction: wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13). And the fact that so many people are following in this direction should not confuse us. A Christian is always different, not like everyone else. “Try to live not as everyone else lives, but as God commands, because... the world lies in evil.” - says the Monk Barsanuphius of Optina. It doesn’t matter if we are persecuted here on earth for our life and faith, because our fatherland is not on earth, but in heaven, with God. Therefore, in this commandment the Lord promises the Kingdom of Heaven .
Ninth Commandment
Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unjustly because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: just as they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
40 Martyrs of Sebaste
The continuation of the eighth commandment, which speaks of oppression for the truth of God and Christian life, is the last commandment of beatitude. The Lord promises a blessed life to all those persecuted for their faith.
Here it is said about the highest manifestation of love for God - about the readiness to give one’s life for Christ, for one’s faith in Him. This feat is called martyrdom . This path is the highest, it has a great reward . This path was indicated by the Savior Himself. He endured persecution, torment, cruel torture and painful death, thereby giving an example to all His followers and strengthening them in their readiness to suffer for Him, even to the point of blood and death, as He once suffered for all of us.
We know that the Church stands on the blood and steadfastness of the martyrs. They defeated the pagan, hostile world, giving their lives and laying them at the foundation of the Church.
But the enemy of the human race does not calm down and constantly initiates new persecutions against Christians. And when the Antichrist comes to power, he will also persecute and persecute the disciples of Christ. Therefore, every Christian must be constantly prepared for the feat of confession and martyrdom.
Orthodox prayers and icons of the Mother of God and saints
The word “icon” comes from the Greek language and means “image”, “image”. The image of the icon is consecrated with holy water and special prayers, through this consecration the grace of the Holy Spirit is imparted to the icon, and the icon is already revered by us as holy. According to the Orthodox dogma of icon veneration, approved by the VII Ecumenical Council, “the honor given to an icon relates to its prototype, and the one who worships the icon worships the hypostasis of the person depicted on it.” The Council especially emphasizes that we give veneration to icons, and not the worship that is due to God alone. “The icon mysteriously contains within itself the presence of the one whom it depicts, and this presence is the closer, more grace-filled and stronger, the more the icon corresponds to the church canon.”
All Icons of the Mother of God and Saints
Blessed are the poor in spirit or what commandments do we live by?
Blessed are the poor in spirit or what commandments do we live by?
Blessed are the poor in spirit, says the Lord.
What does this mean? This commandment is the most incomprehensible and most mysterious of all. There are different explanations for what these words mean. The simplest explanation: “poor in spirit” means the humble, those who, realizing their sins, understanding their unworthiness, consider themselves spiritually poor. This commandment encourages them. He says that if you see your sins as the sand of the sea (as the saints said in the patericon), then you have begun your salvation. The path to perfection begins with the consciousness of one’s thinness, smallness, with the awareness of one’s sinfulness. This awareness is mandatory for a person. This is perhaps why so few people go to church now. Because people consider themselves good, self-sufficient, they do not need the Kingdom of Heaven. They already have everything on this earth. Our pseudo-prosperous age creates the illusion that you can live, you can live well, you can live even better. You can hope that you will make a career for yourself, save money for old age, that you will relax, travel, that you will enjoy food, drink, communication with the opposite sex, watch interesting films, play interesting games. Earthly life is filled with various amenities and pleasures. This is the seduction of wealth, the seduction of imaginary prosperity, it prevents you from seeing your sins. When you ask about the commandments, everyone usually remembers “thou shalt not kill,” “thou shalt not steal,” that is, the Old Testament commandments. But we must rethink them in a completely different light. For this purpose, we were given the Beatitudes, without which it is impossible to recognize Christ.
The Beatitudes are the steps by which a person can ascend to the Kingdom of Heaven. But, unfortunately, they are unknown to most of those who call themselves Orthodox.
The singing of the beatitudes begins at the liturgy during the small entrance with the recollection of the prayer of the prudent thief. That thief who was crucified next to Christ. He began to pray to the one whom everyone blasphemes, who is spat on, who was given over to a painful and terrible death. He turned to the one who had only a few hours left to live on earth and asked Him to remember him when He came as King. We begin the singing of the commandments given to us by God for bliss, with the words that the thief said: “In Your Kingdom, remember us, Lord, when You come in Your Kingdom.” After them, the singing of the commandments themselves begins, which would be good to sing along with the choir in order to check yourself every time - am I fulfilling this or not?
A more or less organized life becomes, as it were, a net that covers people, and they do not see their depravity behind it, do not see what they were created for. Like a wonderful bowl, decorated with stones, gilded, created to be a royal cup, used in the sandbox to make sand cakes. Or maybe for even lower needs. This cup has forgotten what it was created for. She might feel good and warm in the sand. And she forgot the royal feast, its fun and joy. So man lost the memory of his greatness, which was invested in him by God. He has nothing to compare himself to. The saints are forgotten, they are not talked about. The miracles that the Lord performed have been forgotten. Why do we need them when we have modern medicine, which also performs miracles of healing: you can transplant organs, you can cure serious illnesses in order to somehow move on with your life. The Kingdom of Heaven opens to those who are uncomfortable on earth, who do not want to make Easter cakes in the sand, who want life with God. The path to God begins with the awareness of one's complete insufficiency and sinfulness.
The Holy Fathers give another interpretation to the phrase “poor in spirit”: that person who is not attached to anything on earth, whose spirit is free from all attachments - from wealth, from pleasures, from awareness of its significance. This is where the path of bliss begins. And of course, when a person realizes himself like this, he cries. Therefore, blessed are those who mourn. Although the word “cries” is not entirely correctly translated into Russian. I read that there is a Greek word here that translates as “sorrowful.” When we say “crying,” we mean crying with tears, eyes watering. But this does not always happen when a person grieves and is sad about his condition. And most importantly, he does not drown out this grief within himself, does not console himself with entertainment, delicious food, but continues to grieve. Such a person is consoled by God himself. And the consolation that God gives is incomparable to the consolations that we invent for ourselves.
This commandment also means that blessed is the one who seeks the Spirit and asks for it from God. This is my interpretation, I don’t know how true it is. This is not just a man poor in spirit, he is poor in spirit. A beggar is one who begs all the time. We call those who beg beggars. They are not just poor, but they are asking. The person who asks God, the one who seeks God, who is turned to God, he is blessed, because the Kingdom of Heaven is revealed to him.
The meek
Then it says something amazing and incomprehensible to us: blessed are the meek. This is completely contrary to the spirit of our times. We associate a meek person with a downtrodden person. With a person who does not know how to stand up for himself. With a person who cowardly hides from troubles and dangers and does not confront them. But meekness is a completely different word. In the 19th century, Russian people knew about this virtue. Dostoevsky wrote about her. But in our time, meekness is something completely mysterious and incomprehensible to people. “He who dares, eats two”, “for every failure, give back” - and in general, if you don’t answer, then they will all disband, you need to be able to stand up for yourself. And meekness is trust in God, it is the preservation of a peaceful structure of the soul, silence of the heart, tenderness, agreement with another will (not an evil will, of course, not a devilish one, you cannot be meek with the devil!), hope in God that he will protect you from evil. This meekness is a precious quality of the soul. The Lord himself calls himself meek. There is even an interpretation that the Beatitudes are a portrait of our Lord Jesus Christ, a description of His soul. And you and I must be like Him if we want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is the meek who will inherit the earth. There are two interpretations of these words. Meekness as the inheritance of a new earth, the Kingdom of Heaven, and meekness as self-control. Only the meek know how to control themselves. An angry, irritable person does not possess himself. He has anger. They are dominated by irritation. But the meek one rules over himself, he inherits the earth. The earth is us. We were taken from the earth. Of course, this is a little strange and incomprehensible - how a red tomato or a green cucumber can grow from black soil. How blue eyes or flaxen hair, skin, heart, blood can appear from the earth... But our body was taken from the earth and must go to the earth. We must cultivate our nature. And only the meek have such power.
Those who are merciful are merciful by God
When a person has learned to control himself, learned meekness, he turns to heaven. And he wants to know God. Wants to know the truth. A person who thirsts for this as a hungry person wants to eat, as a thirsty person wants to drink, only such a hungry person is satisfied with God. God does not give his truths to those who want to know them out of curiosity or just for fun. God reveals his truths, his truth to those who are sick with thirst, who want to live in this truth, according to these rules. Therefore, the Lord says that blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
And when a person knows the truth, which is that God is Love, he becomes merciful. We force ourselves to be merciful, but we fail. How can one be merciful to some scoundrel and robber? To someone who rapes children and organizes terrorist attacks? But a person who knows the truth about God’s love, he becomes merciful to everyone. It's a secret. But it reveals itself to those who seek it. Those who are merciful are merciful by God. The Lord forgives such people their sins, the iniquities they committed, and covers all untruths.
And when God has mercy on them, then their heart becomes pure. But people don’t care at all about purity of heart. They only care about external cleanliness. Modern people are very squeamish. They are clean, they shower ten times a day. They invent shampoos, hair conditioners, and lotions. They often change their clothes, wear white shirts - cleanliness has become a principle in the modern world. What about the heart? There is so much dirt in my heart, although I am a bishop and must take special care of it. How much dirt people scoop up with buckets, not even shovels, on the Internet - carnal dirt, impurity, dirty thoughts. Their eyes are open to obscene sights, their ears are filled with sounds that disturb the peace of the heart. And this commandment says that a person whom God has mercy on no longer wants this dirt in his heart, and then a vision of God is revealed to him. Without purity of heart, a person cannot see God. Just like with eyes covered in dirt, one cannot see the sunlight. You can distort your vision so much that you can’t see anything at all.
War against everyone
And when people see God, they see how to bring peace to earth. After all, we are in constant hostility: with ourselves, with God, with friends, with wives, with husbands, with children, with parents, with employees, with bosses, with other parties, with other nationalities, with other states. War of all against all - how to calm it down? The person who sees God becomes a peacemaker. He communes with God and is called the son of God.
Then an interesting development of these beatitudes begins. Until now, the knowledge of virtue has given us something. Our thirst for truth was satisfied, we were pardoned by God, we saw God, we learned to be peacemakers. And suddenly an absolutely amazing thing is said: blessed are those who are exiled for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. We climbed the mountain, acquired certain positive qualities, and suddenly we were expelled for the sake of truth. The fact is that we do not understand where we are expelled from. And we are expelled from a world where sin reigns. When the saints were expelled from the world, when they died, when they were deprived of honors and ranks, when they were not given the opportunity to perform their service in this world, they rejoiced. Because living in this world is hard and difficult. Blessed are you when they revile you, when they cast you out, when they say all kinds of evil against you, rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven, said the Lord. These words end these commandments. They end with the exodus from the world and entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. When these words are sung at the liturgy, one enters the altar with the Gospel. The priest or deacon, if he carries the Gospel, exclaims: “Forgive Wisdom!”, sometimes makes the sign of the cross for those praying with the Gospel and enters the altar. As if entering the Kingdom of Heaven.
Eternal news
At the liturgy we remember eternal truths that we do not live by. We are used to living with something temporary. It seems to us that this temporary thing is more interesting, more attractive, more meaningful than the eternal. We chase novelty and are in constant hustle and bustle. The liturgy draws our attention to what endures forever, is eternal joy, eternal news. Is eternal life. But sometimes even eternal life seems to us like some kind of outdated formula, it seems to us a forgotten phenomenon that once existed. In fact, this is an introduction to eternal life. To life in God. And what seems dead to us can actually come to life if we try to pray to God, if we see the inner content behind this external form. You can't just stop at saying words. We cannot dwell on what we understood in these words yesterday or at the last liturgy. We need to understand that every time behind these words the living God can reveal himself to us. Open up to us a new meaning, open up a new truth, open up a new vision. Take us to a new level of understanding of what these words mean. Therefore, when celebrating the liturgy, constant work must be done. Our consciousness, our feelings, our heart, our soul must work all the time - glorify God, repent. And we must turn to ourselves internally and internally work at the liturgy all the time. Unfortunately, we don’t know how to work like this. We are used to living chaotically. We are accustomed to following what our mind pays attention to. He spins, pictures and images change. We do not know how to live consciously, we do not know how to live purposefully. And the liturgy also teaches this.
Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12)
- Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
- Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
- Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
- Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
- Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
- Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unjustly because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: just as they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Bishop Panteleimon (Shatov)
Prayer in the Christian life. What is prayer? About prayer
Prayer is the most important part of the spiritual life of every believer. Through prayer, a person turns to God, asks him and asks for forgiveness from him. In other words, prayer is nothing more than a person’s way of talking with God. About prayer...
The basis of the life of an Orthodox Christian is fasting and prayer. Prayer, said Saint Philaret of Moscow, “is a conversation between the soul and God.” And just as in a conversation it is impossible to listen to one side all the time, so in prayer it is useful to sometimes stop and listen to the Lord’s answer to our prayer.
Prayer does not require a specific time, place, circumstance or form. It can be verbose - long, and laconic - short. The prayer can be said at any time of the day or night, and anywhere. A person can pray under all circumstances of his life: when he is sick or healthy, when he is happy or sad, when he succeeds or fails, when he is in the company of his enemies or in the circle of his friends, when he is abandoned by everyone, or when he in the midst of your beloved family. But God’s temple serves as a special place of prayer. On Sundays, as well as on weekdays, if time permits, we should go to church to pray, where our brothers and sisters in Christ - Christians - gather to pray together, all together. This kind of prayer is called church prayer.
Every Orthodox Christian must pray daily, morning and evening, before and after eating food, before starting and at the end of any task (for example: before teaching and after teaching, etc.).
In the morning we pray to thank God for preserving us last night, to ask for His Fatherly blessing and help for the day that has begun.
In the evening, before going to bed, we also thank the Lord for a successful day and ask him to keep us during the night.
Before and after meals we pray to thank God for His gifts and ask Him to bless and sanctify the food.
In order for the work to be done successfully and safely, we must also, first of all, ask God for blessings and help for the upcoming work, and upon completion, thank God.
Unfortunately, many people forget about the necessity and importance of prayer, and resort to it only in cases of feeling hopeless. However, even in these cases, as practice shows, God does not forget about the person and gives him his love and support. But not a single prayer will bring anything good to a person if he simply reads it without thinking about what is said. Therefore, it is extremely important, when turning to the Creator in prayer, to truly feel every word.
God is the best of interlocutors; he will always hear a person and help him. You should not be embarrassed to talk to God even about the most secret things that are in your soul. The main thing is to do it with true faith in God.
“True prayer does not consist in words and saying them, but true prayer consists “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). When we pray to God, we must stand before Him not only in body, but also in spirit; and say prayer not only with your lips, but also with your mind and heart; and not only bow our heads and knees, but also our hearts before Him; and raise our intelligent eyes to Him with humility. For all prayer must come from the heart; and what the tongue says, the mind and heart must say.” Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
And no matter what happens during the day, everything happens according to the will of God; all, without exception, are circumstances in which the Lord wished to place you, so that you could be His presence, His love, His compassion. His creative mind, His courage... And, besides, whenever you encounter this or that situation, you are the one whom God put there to carry out the ministry of a Christian, to be a part of the Body of Christ and the action of God. If you do this, you will easily see that sometimes you will have to turn to God and say: “Lord, enlighten my mind, strengthen and direct my will, give me a fiery heart, help me!” At other times you will be able to say, “Oh my God, thank you!”
In the Christian catechism, that is, in the instruction on the Christian faith, it is said about prayer this way: “Prayer is the offering of the mind and heart to God and is a person’s reverent word to God.” Prayer has extraordinary power. “Prayer not only defeats the laws of nature, not only is it an insurmountable shield against visible and invisible enemies, but it even holds back the hand of the Almighty God Himself, raised to defeat sinners,” writes Saint Demetrius of Rostov.
In the New Testament, prayer is a living connection between the children of God and their infinitely good Father, with His Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Kingdom is “the unity of the entire Holy Trinity with the entire spirit.” Thus, prayer life is a constant and natural presence in the presence of the Trisagion of God and in communion with Him. Such vital communion is always possible because through baptism our being has become one with Christ. Prayer is Christian because it is communion with Christ and grows in the Church, which is His Body. Its dimensions are the dimensions of Christ's love.
“Prayer is not telling God our needs. Prayer is the condition under which Divine power can contact our spirit and act in us. God is omniscient and knows us better than we know ourselves.” Archimandrite Rafail (Karelin) (XX century).
Apparent Righteousness
The righteousness of God is completely different. Spiritual righteousness involves submission to God's will and all that we must go through before we become sanctified. In more detail, a righteous person is one who adheres to the principles of goodness, truth, follows the Word of God and behaves accordingly.
According to the Bible, someone who obeys the Word of God in everything is considered righteous. And to be hungry and thirsty for righteousness means to desire to become righteous, like hungry and thirsty people looking for food.
As the old saying goes, a three-day hunger will lead to theft. Even the most highly educated person with good moral qualities, having suffered from hunger for three days, will try to get food for himself in any way. Of course, our parishioners are not among such people.
People of the older generation lived in conditions where they had to limit themselves in everything. But even if you don’t have such experience, you may have seen severely starving people on TV, maybe read about them in books. If starving people cannot find any food, then they begin to consume even what is unsuitable for food. The Old Testament gives examples of people even eating their own children. Insects, rats, tree bark - everything was used for food. They were so hungry that they were ready to eat everything that caught their eye.
Thirst is even harder to bear. Some of our parishioners experienced this in the army. If soldiers march in formation in the hot summer, then without an adequate supply of water they will sweat and suffer from thirst.
If they come across at least some body of water on their way, they will begin to greedily drink water from it. Even the fact that the water in it may be dirty will not stop them: the main thing is to quench their thirst. Just as people desperately suffering from hunger and thirst experience bliss when they find food and water, in the same way blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, this will leave an imprint on their hearts and actions.
Blessed are the people who seek to become sanctified, to dwell in truth, to become like the heart of the Lord and to become a part of His Divine nature. Why don’t you feel a desperate hunger for the truth? Those who thirst and are hungry for righteousness will strive most to know the Word of God.
Holy Fathers on Prayer
“Prayer is a great weapon, an unfailing treasure, wealth that never runs out, a serene haven, a foundation of peace; prayer is the root, source and mother of countless blessings and is more powerful than royal power.” St. John Chrysostom.
“Prayer in its rank is higher than alms.” St. Isaac the Syrian.
“Prayer is the emergence in our hearts of one after another reverent feelings towards God.” St. Feofan, the Recluse of Vyshensky.
“During prayer, let our speech and supplication be combined with decorum, calmness and modesty. Let us think about the fact that we stand before the face of God and that we must please the eyes of God both by the position of the body and the sound of the voice.” Sschmch. Cyprian of Carthage.
“You must abstain from marital affairs in order to engage in prayer; to abstain from worries about wealth, from the desire for earthly glory, from the enjoyment of pleasures, from envy and every evil deed against our neighbor, so that when our soul is in silence and not disturbed by any passion, in it, as in a mirror, God’s purity and uncloudedness will be insight." St. Basil the Great.
“When starting a prayer, leave yourself, your wife, your children, part with the earth, pass through heaven, leave every creature visible and invisible, and begin by praising Him who created everything, and when you praise Him, do not wander your mind here and there, do not talk about fabulous things. pagan, but choose words from the Holy Scriptures.” St. Basil the Great.
“Every place and every time is convenient for us to pray.” St. John Chrysostom.
Orthodox prayers to the holy saints. Holy saints of God.
Orthodox prayers for those in need for various needs and infirmities.
What does it mean to be hungry and thirsty for righteousness?
The Bible explains to us what God's will is and what actions are righteous. Anyone who desires to become righteous will thirst for the Word of God. Psalm 119:123 says, “My eyes fail, waiting for Thy salvation and the word of Thy righteousness.” And in Psalm 119, in verses 147-148, it says: “I anticipate the dawn and cry; I trust in Your word. My eyes go before the [morning] watch, that I may delve deeper into Thy word.”
Do you feel hungry and thirsty in truth? Do you always reflect on what is written in the Bible, do you analyze the sermons heard at Sunday service during the week so that they enter your life? That is, so that the Word is stored not only in your memory in the form of knowledge, but that you pray over the Word, fulfill it in your heart and put it into practice. This is true faith.
When I first became a believer, I was very hungry to know the Word of God, and as soon as I came to understand it, I immediately began to apply it. I was interested in revival meetings where the Word of God could be heard.
I wanted to understand as much as possible. I longed to know the Word of God and longed for awakening. I applied the knowledge I gained in my life. Having learned that God commanded to keep the Sabbath Day, to give tithes, to keep the Ten Commandments, I immediately submitted and began to give tithes, because God says: “Let them not come before Me empty-handed.” I donated at least three times a week.
Because God commands us to love and forgive, I have forgiven everyone who neglected me and gave me trouble when I was sick and poor. At the first revival meeting I attended, I forgave everyone against whom I had accumulated hostile feelings during my seven years of illness.
I once thought: “Even if I just get better, I will never forgive them,” I tormented myself by hating them. I was sure that I would never forgive them if I only got my health back. I thought that I would become rich and take revenge on them for everything. But, having accepted the Lord and hearing about Who God is, Who the Lord is, about His love for us, I repented, tears flowed from my eyes and nose at every meeting. I learned that God hates sin, that He forgave us in order to save us, that there is a Heaven where there is no sin. I cried and repented at every meeting, and my hostility melted away like snow.
Almighty God the Creator gave His only Son as an atoning sacrifice, so how can I hate anyone? I had no right to hate anyone. As I thought about this, I felt all my negative feelings melt away within a few days of awakening. Then I began to think differently about things that were previously beyond my understanding. I began to look at things not from my own position, but from the positions of other people. When I put myself in their shoes, I began to understand why they did what they did: they thought differently than I did. That's why they behaved like that. If I were in their place, maybe I would have done the same. And I tried to understand everyone.
Looking at things from other people's perspectives, looking closely, I tried to understand what filled their minds, and everything became clear. We cannot evaluate everything based only on our own opinions. Everyone thinks differently, so we need to understand the thoughts of others. This is how I came to understand people and repented for several days during the revival. Then my views also changed. I was grateful for everything.
I was grateful to those who gave me trouble and hated me. I was grateful to them because it was thanks to them that I came to God. If I had not gone through difficulties, I would never have known God. If everything had gone according to plan and I had defended my doctoral dissertation, earned a lot of money, and achieved a lot in worldly life, then I might never accept God. And what would await me then? I would go to hell and suffer eternal torment there. And through what befell me, I came to know God, accepted the Lord and was very grateful for it. I was very grateful to those who caused me a lot of trouble during the years of my illness.
Because all my hatred simply evaporated, a state came where I was full of gratitude. Therefore, I was able to forgive those who looked down on me and created various difficulties for me. By using these people, God allowed me to receive the Lord; they actually helped me at a time when I most needed it.
Moreover, while reading the Bible, I kept the commandments, which commanded me to do something and not to do something, to follow something and to renounce something. If I couldn't obey something right away, I wrote about it in my notebook and prayed. So I was able to immediately stop the work of the flesh. I just couldn't do it anymore. I immediately threw away everything unnecessary and never returned to it. For example, during my awakening, I stopped drinking overnight.
I immediately quit smoking when I realized that it did not please God: the preacher said that God did not like it, and I quit smoking. I was able to immediately begin praying at dawn. I did everything I could without procrastination, and immediately gave up what I could give up.
But there were also things I couldn’t deal with right away. I mean those sinful thoughts that were in my heart. No matter how hard I tried to overcome them and stop thinking about them, they reminded me of themselves again and again. I wrote all this down in my notebook and prayed every day for deliverance from my sinful thoughts. Some of them continued to remind themselves for three years. We managed to get rid of others almost immediately. But like I said, there was also something I had to pray about for 3 years before I got rid of it. All this time I looked into my heart, looked into my notebook, and only when I was convinced that such evil was no longer in my heart, I crossed it off the list with red ink. It took me three years to cross out all my notes in my notebook. It was actually entertaining. As I read the New and Old Testaments, I kept a record of the things I did wrong according to the Word.
This list was not so long, since I had already gotten rid of the work of the flesh, and only sinful thoughts remained in my heart. Over the course of three years, I gradually, one by one, crossed them off the list. I was so grateful to God for His love and grace for healing my dying body, and I loved God the Father so much that I longed to know His Word, His will, and act upon it to please Him.
If you have truly known the love of God, you will be hungry and thirsty for His righteousness. The only begotten Son of God, Jesus, blameless and innocent, suffered on the cross and was despised in the place of us sinners. If you really believe this, you will not be able to live any other way than by the Word of God. You will be passionate about reciprocating God's love and pleasing God by doing His will. You will be thirsty and hungry for the righteousness of God, just like a person who is hungry and thirsty.
Therefore, when you listen to the Word, you should submit to it, throw away all sins, and put the truth into practice. In 1 John 3:9-10 we read: “Whoever is born of God commits no sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. The children of God and the children of the devil are recognized in this way: everyone who does not do righteousness is not from God, and neither does he who does not love his brother.” The one who hates, judges, condemns and accuses his neighbor, slander, not loving someone, slanderes him, is not born of God. So you can distinguish who is born of God and who is not.
When we are humble and act according to God's Word, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, it proves that we belong to God.
What a Christian Should Remember
There are words of Holy Scripture and prayers that it is advisable to know by heart.
1. The Lord's Prayer “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). 2. The main commandments of the Old Testament (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18). 3. The main gospel commandments (Matt. 5, 3-12; Matt. 5, 21-48; Matt. 6, 1; Matt. 6, 3; Matt. 6, 6; Matt. 6, 14-21; Matt. 6, 24-25; Matthew 7, 1-5; Matthew 23, 8-12; John 13, 34). 4.Symbol of Faith. 5. Morning prayers and evening prayers according to a short prayer book. 6. The number and meaning of the sacraments.
The sacraments must not be mixed with rituals. A ritual is any outward sign of reverence that expresses our faith. A sacrament is a sacred act during which the Church calls on the Holy Spirit, and His grace descends on the believers. There are seven such sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Communion (Eucharist), Repentance (Confession), Marriage (Wedding), Blessing of Anointing (Unction), Priesthood (Ordination) ...
