HOW TO SPEND YOUR SUNDAY DAY? Interview with priest Vladimir Kryuchkov

Life according to Christ. Christian's Day

According to the way of life today, the end of the day is usually spent in absent-mindedness, which is so harmful to the soul.
The majority of townspeople now positively cannot sit at home in the evenings: some force draws them to familiar houses, to evening meetings or to the theaters. And, positively, you are surprised, considering in your mind the number of theaters, large and small, and cinemas - how is there enough audience for all of them? Meanwhile, the evening is a time that can be used for spiritual life. All the day's activities are over, worries are put off until tomorrow, and in the evening calm you somehow feel God closer.

This is the time when you can open the Holy Scriptures, spiritual books, and when, as you read such pages, bright images of holy people will surround you, calling you there, into the heights, into the radiance of the heavenly light.

Happy is the one who, having set his soul high by such reading, thirsts for prayer and, standing in front of the icons, first reads the prescribed evening prayers, then, having fulfilled this rule, begins to pray in his own words: and he will tell God about everything that fills him, that he is agitated and seething, and will tell Him all his desires, putting himself at God’s complete disposal. He will remember everyone who is dear to him and pray that God will preserve them and prolong their affection for him. Just as an affectionate child of his mother talks about everything, so he will tell God everything he would like - large and small. He will also remember those who departed from the earth and whom he, unchanged among the general worldly variability, did not forget... And then he will go to sleep, making the sign of the cross on his pillow, crossing all four walls and in the psalm “Alive in the help of the Most High” asking himself God's protection for the night.

And the Guardian Angel will stand at the head of such a person with a quiet smile of love, rejoicing that here God’s property is resting from the daily struggle in the creation of God’s will. And he will dream pure dreams, and perhaps revelations from heaven will flash to him.

“Oh, how they sang,” one Christian soul told me, “if I were a composer, I would, of course, be able to record their singing as a memory.” In a dream, I heard Angels singing a prayer as they flew by. They sang quietly, and there was some kind of happiness in their singing, which flowed in a blessed wave. I felt their slow flight and remembered the last words of this song: “And spare and preserve, God to their Savior, God to our Savior.” So the Angels prayed to the Almighty for people and for themselves.

- Why can Angels call God their Savior? - I asked.

- And because He saved them from betraying Himself, He delivered them from the fate of Beelzebub. What bliss should fill their souls because they remained faithful to God.

“It was in the carriage,” another person told me. - I saw the Mother of God in a dream. It seemed to me that great preparations were being made in the sky for the feast of the Resurrection of Christ. I did not see what these preparations consisted of, but only felt that it was so. Then I felt some kind of revival, they were waiting for the arrival of someone Great and Sacred, and finally voices were heard: “The Queen, the Queen is coming.”

I didn't see Her face. She walked at a distance in a red robe with a golden crown on her head, as the Blessed Virgin is depicted in the image of “The Joy of All Who Sorrow”: tall in stature, in great glory. But, although I did not see the most pure face, my feeling was so vivid, as if I had personally met the Lady.

Another time I dreamed of a huge crowd of people. There was a procession of the cross, and they were carrying one of the miraculous icons of the Mother of God, which later had a great influence on my life. Despite the fact that there were a lot of people, when the icon caught up with me, I instantly made my way through the crowd, fell to my knees in front of the icon and pressed myself against the board of the miraculous face that stopped there...

We have not sufficiently analyzed the question of the influence of spirituality on the strength and life of a person, but this influence is undeniable. The kingdom of grace in which a person moves gives him some kind of special life, while a person living outside of grace undoubtedly shortens his life and his strength.

How, if not the beneficial influence of grace even on the physical side of a person, can explain the fact that the righteous, in the most terrible living conditions, in caves without the sun, in dry eating, lived to be a hundred years or more? But people who constantly take care of their health and do everything to prolong their lives rarely exceed six or seven decades?

If the bodies of people who have lived righteously, after their death, exude some kind of grace-filled invisible currents that revive people who come to them for help, then what can we say about the very life of people led by grace?

This whole life is permeated with currents of such grace, which performs miracles in a person. Here is Elder Ambrose of Optina, approaching eighty years of age, who, after a day of work and a night spent almost without sleep, rises half-dead in the morning for his daily feat, during which he will listen to the most terrible confessions, see many mournful, crying people, weak in body and spirit, and instruct a hundred monastics. Here he is, in whom there is a slight glimmer of life, who exists in an incomprehensible way; Here he is, frail, dying every day, pouring the miraculous power of life into the souls of people.

Here he is, John of Kronstadt, in daily preaching, in ministry, on the road. Late, well after midnight, having returned to Kronstadt, when the lights in the whole city had long been extinguished, he quickly moves his pen over paper, scribbling line after line of his diary. And after a short sleep, while the stars are still burning in the sky, intending to burn out for a few more hours, he will leave the house outside and, invisible to no one, raising his eyes to this mysterious sky and to these God-glorifying stars, he will begin to pray a silent prayer. And there is matins, during which he reads from service books and sings mass in the choir with many communicants, a tour of the sick and dead in Kronstadt and a long ride from house to house in St. Petersburg with requests for healing, with confession of grave sins and infirmities... His almost torn to pieces, they grab hold of him, they torment his heart, but, completely imbued with currents of grace, the next morning satiated with the wonderful meat of the Body and Blood of Christ, he is young in his old age, light, agile, full of strength for this convict life for humanity, which he gave God to him. In exactly the same way, those Angels who stand and bend over the headboards of people who called upon them before going to sleep to keep them invisibly pour strength into people...

* * *

The day is coming. In spring, summer and at the time of the first autumn, a person awakens in the rays of the sun and joyfully gets up to do his work; in winter the sun has not yet risen, when a person must get up, using some effort on himself... What to do - nothing in life comes for free.

One righteous teacher of our time, Bishop Theophan the Recluse, advises to always go against yourself: if you want to lean on your elbow, it’s better to sit up straight.

Just as the first thought of a loving person upon awakening will be the thought of his beloved being, so let our first thought upon awakening be the thought of God... And let the first movement of the hand be the sign of the cross. And this sign, under which we must faithfully and persistently fight, will serve as a call for us as the sound of a military trumpet is for a soldier.

Russians, by their nature, are diggers, and interfere with one thing after another: instead of quickly getting dressed, some people, while dressing at the wrong time, indulge in various thoughts... They will start pulling on a stocking, will not finish this task, will think and think for five to ten minutes. Everything in life must be done quickly, decisively, clearly.

Those who do not care about their appearance are wrong. The Lord clothed the whole world with beauty, giving its crown in man... The tree, submissive to God's will, stands and flaunts in its inviolable decoration. Why should a person violate the beauty created by God and similar to God through impurity and lack of care for himself? When the whole person is washed, then the soul is somehow cleaner.

And now the man is dressed...

Prayer should not be approached in a disorderly manner. In monasteries they dress for prayer. A person must be selected morally and physically, and not stand before God in a disheveled form.

“Lift us up, O Lord, to praise and to do Your commandments...”

In order to put yourself in a prayerful mood, it is good to read some spiritual book first, but reading the Gospel is mandatory for a person.

In addition to the fact that the Gospel teaches us everything necessary for the soul, it also contains miraculous power: by delighting the soul, the Gospel calms us, brings the soul into a state of grace-filled silence and drives away the enemy-tempter from us.

According to the current state of life, city dwellers spend part of their morning reading newspapers with a description of everything that is happening in the world, with a description of all sorts of incidents and crimes that have occurred in recent days... reading is unnecessary, even harmful, because it scatters the soul, leads it into circle of vital interests, everyday vulgarity. Whereas spiritual reading, a description of the lives of the saints, which we think about in the morning, has an elevating effect, setting our thoughts in a high mood for the whole day. Worldly temptations will have less influence over us when before our eyes, renewed by reading in the morning, stand the bright images of those who were glorified in earthly humiliation: in humility they acquired the lofty, in poverty the rich.

Happy is the one who has developed the habit of going to bed earlier and going to bed earlier - daily, or at least several times, at least once a week on weekdays, to attend the Divine Liturgy: happy is he in the hour of solitude in a church immersed in semi-darkness , where it is easier for the soul to go into prayer, where God is felt closer.

And there earthly work will begin.

Whatever we do, let us recognize ourselves as God’s workers and do our work as if God had given us a lesson for today and will ask us for an account tonight. At the beginning of their classes, children read the so-called prayer before teaching. There is a little-known prayer and an even less used prayer before the beginning of any undertaking.

“Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of Your Beginning Father, You declared with Your most pure lips that without Me you cannot do anything; My Lord, Lord, with faith in my soul and heart spoken by You, I fall down upon Your goodness; help me to complete this work, which I have begun, for You, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen".

It is also wonderful to read the greeting of the Theotokos “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice” at the beginning of our classes, calling on the all-powerful help of the Queen of Heaven.

A Christian’s mood should always be equal, his relationship with people should be affectionate and kind. Besides the people who depend on us, whom we can constantly insult with our arrogance, rudeness, harshness, how many cases are there to be kind to strangers, complete strangers to us, to be pleasant or unpleasant.

The person walking in front of us has dropped something - it is the duty of not only politeness, but also Christian love to pick up this thing. I once happened on Nevsky Prospekt, at a time when there were a lot of people there and in the middle of the street horses and cars were rushing, overtaking each other, to see an ancient old woman who was helplessly marking time, obviously wanting to cross the street and not daring to do so. the sea is terrible for her.

A general, a very rich man who belonged to the highest circle, approached her, offered his services to the old woman, took her by the arm and confidently began to lead her across the street. This was not only a chivalrous act, but also a deeply Christian act.

When we pass by churches, we must not forget to take off our hats in front of them and put on the sign of the cross, so as not to earn ourselves the reproach at the Last Judgment for being ashamed of the Son of Man on earth.

It’s a strange thing: how proud a person feels when the king approaches him at a crowded meeting to say a few words to him, how usually such a person is immediately surrounded, showing him all kinds of attention. But to show that we are trying to be close to the Lord Almighty - we consider this a shame. Why is a person so full of madness and such abomination that it is impossible to even find a name for it?

But, in addition to praying at the churches we meet, we must also try to go to some shrines and have favorite shrines in the city.

How nice it is to walk from a noisy street into an open church, where in front of some revered icon unquenchable lamps are quietly burning and everything is full of some kind of holy concentration. How good it is to breathe this air, in which the prayers poured out here are imprinted, the miracles performed here, in which there is an echo of the great words spoken here, in which there is some kind of breath of eternity... Stand for at least a few minutes, breathe this air, renew your connection with heaven - and move on...

Along the way we will have many opportunities to make at least a small sacrifice to God. It’s a rare day that we don’t meet on our way a collector asking for church construction. Having often unwinded a lot of money for ourselves, shall we really spare a copper coin for him!.. In general, let the thought of God and eternity be constantly alive in us, directing our actions.

Nowadays, more than ever, people have developed a desire for luxury and swagger. And out of a desire to keep up with others, they make incredible expenses, completely unnecessary, and they will spare even fifty dollars for a good deed. As if nothing had happened, they spend tens of rubles every hour to decorate the dining table with luxurious fresh flowers on those days when guests are invited to the table. They dress up beyond any need, turning everyday life into a continuous, permanent holiday, eating delicate, expensive dishes, drinking drinks brought from different European countries at crazy prices.

What is all this for? And will these or other “brands” of wine serve us well, will they open the gates of heaven? A Christian cannot live a large life. At every step he must force and humble himself. And before you arrange luxury around yourself, remember that there are churches in Russia that have paper images in the iconostasis.

The abyss of entertainment that is now offered to city residents is also not good for the soul. All these gatherings and spectacles, most of which are directly designed for the sinful impulses of our corrupted nature - all this sitting for whole hours at cards, with passion developing over them, these parties with dances, which also inflame a person - all this can be replaced with healthier ones and reasonable entertainment.

And most of all, a person should look closely at that face of God, which is reflected in the wondrous creation of God’s hands - in nature.

When you are tired of earthly labor, instead of looking for noisy societies, go outside the city or look for some pleasant places in the city itself. Here is a river rolling its waters in front of you - think that, just as these drops of water are carried away by the current into another large river, carrying its waters into the ocean, so a drop of your existence, together with other people, irresistibly strives into one great ocean of eternity.

Look at any hour into the heavens, which speak loudly about God. Try in the whisper of the leaves of the spreading grove to hear the quiet, reverent prayer to God made by the trees.

Above the evasive and fast birds, think about how much good, clear and beautiful the Lord has invested in these cute birds, carefully building their nests and raising their chicks. Over a blade of meadow grass or over a flower quietly shaking an fragrant cup on a thin stem, marvel once again at the wisdom of the One who, with His own hand, developed this plant so wonderfully and beautifully, as even thousands of hands of the greatest earthly masters cannot do.

Looking at nature and understanding it is almost like praying. And for ascetics of all times, nature in those beautiful places that they almost always chose for their exploits was the best companion and instigator of their prayer. And if during such a walk you are “in the spirit,” that is, the inspiration of prayer and thoughts comes to you, hold on, stop this mood and then immerse yourself in contemplation.

Choose for yourself, for example, the Immaculate Virgin as your companion during those hours and with a living thought walk with Her the path of Her life. Conduct Her to the temple when the high priest

in this mood brings Her into the Holy of Holies; Watch with tenderness and trepidation how She grows in this temple, instructed by the conversations of the Angel, who at certain times brings Her heavenly food. Witness how She is betrothed to Elder Joseph, and in quiet Nazareth stand with Her as She, with skillful hands, prepares a magnificent curtain as a gift to the temple. Marvel at the whiteness and fragrance of the lilies swaying in the hand of the evangelist and be present in your soul at this conversation between the Virgin and Gabriel, which opened paradise to people.

Follow the blessed Virgin to the elderly Elizabeth and listen to the mysterious prophecy of the verbs that then poured out from the souls of these people .

other related wives. With a moving heart, accompany the holy travelers from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Listen to the singing of the Angels speaking to the shepherds of Bethlehem. Unite with them then to worship in the cave the incontainable God reclining in a manger. With the Magi, follow the radiance of the mysterious star, and with your zealous soul bring gold, incense, and myrrh to the Child. Breathe into yourself the freshness of that night, under the cover of which Joseph and Mary and the Child fled from Herod to Egypt, and marvel in your soul at those palm trees that in Egypt, as the holy travelers passed, bowed their proud heads before them. Returning to Nazareth, watch as the old woodcutter Joseph and young Mary work to feed Christ. And take into your soul the words of the Mother of God, after which the first miracle of Christ took place at the wedding in Cana of Galilee: “they have no wine”; and pray to the Most Pure One, so that in the hour of your lack, She, as then, would tell Her Son about you about what you “do not have.” Stand beside the Mother of God at that hour when the procession of the cross was climbing the rocky, winding streets of Jerusalem, and take into your arms Mary falling backward from the terrible sight. Stand with Her at the Cross. Open your heart, like John, to the words: “Behold, your Mother.” With your hands with Mary, accept the body descending from the Cross. Follow the orphaned Mother when the sorrowful disciple brings Her into his home, and catch Her hours of prayer after Christ’s departure from the earth, when She went to the Garden of Gethsemane and the sad cypress trees bowed before Her. Watch out for the new appearance of Archangel Gabriel to Her, who brought Her the news of Her calling to heaven. With the apostles, be carried by the wind to Her deathbed and with Thomas, find Her empty tomb.

And may following the path of life of the Mother of God replace your wandering through the crowds of people.

* * *

...You have reached evening.

How beautiful is the prayer that poured out at this hour from the soul of Basil the Great, touched by the beauty of nature plunging into rest.

“Blessed are you, Lord Almighty, who enlightened the day with the light of the sun and illuminated the night with fiery dawns, who made us worthy to traverse the length of the day and draw closer to the beginning of the night; Hear our prayer and that of all Your people, and forgive us all our voluntary and involuntary sins. Accept our evening prayers and send down a multitude of Thy mercy and Thy bounty upon Thy property. Shade us with Thy saints, Angels. Arm us with the weapon of truth. Protect us with Your truth. Protect us with Your power."

And may the Guardian Angel overshadow us with a quiet wing, bringing bright thoughts to us... May now, in the calm, the sky descend closer to us... May joyful holy images excite us with a quiet, happy excitement.

And two great saving names never tire of whispering. And in response to these names, the heart sank in sweetness: “Jesus... Mary!..”

* * *

Holidays should be marked by a special aspiration of the soul towards spiritual objects, a particularly vivid reminder to oneself of those great events that are celebrated, of those saints and wondrous people who are revered on this day.

Nothing in life comes without difficulty. Likewise, in order to brightly celebrate a holiday, you need to prepare for it from afar. The Church knew what it was doing when it established fasts before the great holidays - Easter, the Nativity of Christ, the Dormition of the Mother of God, when it established a one-day fast before the feast of the Baptism of Christ, and also a fast in honor of the apostles, not without a secret, perhaps, thought to honor everyone with this fast generally glorified holy followers of Christ.

Fasting refines the body, which usually crushes the spirit, strives to enslave it and, as it were, suppress it. Fasting gives us freedom from the bonds of the world, from all kinds of temptations and temptations. Fasting brings us closer to heaven, makes us more sensitive and receptive to the phenomena of the spiritual world.

The purpose of the holiday is to give rest to the soul tired of the bustle of the world among spiritual strong impressions, to bring heaven closer to us, to renew in our soul the so easily forgotten images of Christ, the Mother of God and the saints.

But during the holidays, we not only do not strengthen our soul, but only weaken it, and our holiday proceeds completely opposite to how it should be and as the Church desires. Instead of increasing the frequency of attending church services before the holiday, strengthening ourselves in spiritual reading, reading, for example, the life of the saint we are going to celebrate, at least before our name day, we scour the shops to update our clothes and buy countless amounts of provisions for festive eating. At the same time, we completely forget that it is not with a new dress or an extra heavy dish and a lot of wine that we can please God and attract festive grace to ourselves.

And the whole church side of things on holiday is completely in the background for us. Thus, it happens that a person who has fussed over holiday preparations until he is tired will not make it to church at all, either for the Nativity Vigil or for mass. This would be similar to if someone, summoned before the king, began to prepare in advance for this occasion a large reception for relatives and friends and, in the hassle of this reception, missed the day on which he was appointed to appear before the king.

In general, among the absurdities of our life, one of the greatest is that people perform some external rituals, completely indifferent to the events that caused these rituals. For example, people do not believe at all in Christ or in His Resurrection, but celebrate Easter: on this day they dress up, prepare the Easter table for breaking the fast - this is as meaningless as if a Christian began to celebrate a Mohammedan holiday.

The holiday is usually marked by aimless wandering around to visit each other, congratulating one’s acquaintances on something, even though these acquaintances would be non-believers, by large consumption of food and all kinds of sweets - in a word, by the complete victory of worldly life and worldly principles, worldly vanity.

All this should be just the opposite. Holiday preparations should be reduced as much as possible, because a Christian is full every day, and should not mark the holiday by overeating. Before a big holiday, you need to speak and receive communion a few days before it or on the very day of the holiday, and spend the entire holiday time in this atmosphere of spiritual abstinence. Russian tsars went to the graves of their ancestors on holidays, visited the clergy and prisons, and we should at least commemorate the holiday with some good deeds, which none of us does.

Recently, among many wealthy families, a custom has developed on their name day, when they first called guests, spent a lot of money on it and were very tired of it, to leave the city altogether to some place nearby: for example, from St. Petersburg for the whole day to Pavlovsk , Vyborg or Helsingfors. This avoided the holiday bustle, fatigue and expenses, and with the money saved from the abolition of the holiday reception, something useful was purchased in these cities.

Even more correct is the custom of commemorating your holiday with some kind of pilgrimage.

Especially when your soul is wounded and painful, when you are in a long separation from the people you love, when you are worried about some deep and lasting emotional excitement - then the holiday bustle is completely unbearable for you and you are drawn somewhere far away, away from the usual environment, away from this festive scale, which only insults and torments you.

I knew two cousins ​​who were experiencing intense grief at the same time. One lost her beloved mother, with whom she lived in perfect harmony and whose disappearance left an unfillable void in her life. Another loved one person whom she wanted to consider her fiancé, but her parents did not consent to this marriage, and therefore the situation was unbearable, strained and painful.

This young man was abroad at that time, and they were in daily correspondence. Their relatives lived noisily and cheerfully, and the holiday in their state of mind seemed to them torture.

Hearing from their friends how good it was in the winter in Sarov and Diveevo with St. Seraphim, they both decided to leave for Sarov before the New Year. Two days before the New Year they left St. Petersburg for Moscow and on the evening of New Year they left Moscow for Nizhny.

Tired from the day, they calmly went to bed in their department at ten o'clock and were in oblivion at that time, as there, in noisy St. Petersburg, to the clink of glasses and a splash of champagne, people spoke to each other hackneyed phrases about new happiness.

On New Year's Day, they crossed the Oka River in the pre-dawn darkness on a sleigh, boarded the Arzamas train and spent the entire day of January 1 riding in a cart from Arzamas to Diveevo, where they arrived in the evening and held a solemn all-night vigil, since the other day, January 2, was the day of repose. the great elder Seraphim. They got to Sarov for late mass, visited all the places marked by the elder’s exploits, spent the night there, bathed in the healing spring of Elder Seraphim, returned to Diveyevo and lived there until the evening of Epiphany.

The orphaned daughter found satisfaction of her grief there and returned from there revived, and the bride made a vow: if her wedding took place, she would be with the elder with gratitude along with her groom... Everything soon worked out for the better.

How does such a celebration of the holiday differ from the celebration of the New Year that is completely inconsistent with Christian dignity, which has now become fashionable? Thank God, people faithful to the Church are standing in church at this hour for the newly introduced prayer service. And others sit in a restaurant from about ten o'clock amid the popping of wine corks to the sounds of a soothing orchestra and at the strike of twelve o'clock they clink their glasses with loud wishes on their tongues. They will celebrate the New Year without even crossing their foreheads. Of course, there are some scandals here.

And there, in the depths of Russia, quiet country roads with immaculate white snow will lead you under spreading fir trees, covered with sparkling frost, as if all silvered, and the moon will pour its blue shine on them, and from the thicket of the forest, it seems to you, a bear will now come out with its heavy tread , and the old man with heavenly fire in his blue eyes will hand the wild guest his daily piece of bread.

How good!.. And how good it is that the advent of the New Year is associated with the memory of the great wonderworker, helper and benefactor Elder Seraphim, that, thinking about both your spiritual needs and your daily bread, you can exclaim to him on New Year’s Day, who opens the circle holy memories: “Elder Seraphim, and the wild beast had his meal with you: feed me too, your servant...”

* * *

In general, we should not change the ancient holy and wise custom of our ancestors and perform pilgrimages as often as possible.

It is here that we come into contact with the stream of spiritual life of the people. Here, in the midst of this simple flaming faith, we can ignite our inert hearts. Here we can meet different people of God, starting from monastery elders with gifts of grace and ending with those passing people - pilgrims, among whom there are great souls close to God.

It is important that parents take their children with them on pilgrimage and that the saints to whom they take their children are not some abstract concepts for them, but become living, affectionate, sympathetic people who promise and keep their promises.

There are things that the mind sometimes objects to, but to which the heart is drawn. In our time, a time of many betrayals of the past, yet, according to the spiritual heritage that we involuntarily received from our fathers, much of what liked and attracted them also likes and attracts us, in addition to the denying mind.

How joyful, for example, the soul feels in those places where there are miraculous wells, how calming the soft splash of water and clean streams are, into which God was pleased to invest His incomprehensible healing and strengthening power.

* * *

We spoke above about the joy that solitary prayer gives to the soul on weekdays - in the darkness of winter, early mass. Participation in national celebrations has a completely different effect on the soul.

What a joy, for example, to look at the magnificent celebrations of the Moscow religious processions, where the earthly Church is crowned, decorated, exalted.

A solemn procession moves slowly to the loud chants of prayers from a mighty choir, and in front of it is a huge lantern with a burning candle, carried on a stretcher, representing a temple. Then stretches a whole forest of banners: some are light, others are barely restrained by strong banner bearers, swaying heavily on their strong shafts. Holy faces shine in the sun, metal weights ring heavily and sonorously. Icons, famous for miracles, some of enormous size, seem to float in the air above the crowd, raised high from the ground on stretchers.

And then - in solemn vestments, a bright, brilliant host of clergy. And the soul feels that above these visible churches the heavenly Church has risen, and above this earthly procession of the cross another feeling is unfolding .

bottom procession. And over familiar places, Moscow miracle workers, rising from their precious shrines, walk in procession with the former Moscow clergy, with the former Moscow people.

And what a joy for the soul to be present at the opening of the relics, what a joy to see the people stirred up under the influence of this event, to see these waves of people flowing from all sides, to hear about the miracles constantly occurring at the place of burial of the righteous, to hear the last funeral services performed for him, his parents, people who had a relationship with him in earthly life, and, finally, in the evening service, to see how from the depths of the earth, like a luminary rising above the earth, a coffin with relics hiding within itself the life-giving power is worn out; to hear these wondrous words of majesty, which one cannot hear enough of. And the next day to go behind the shrine in a solemn procession of the cross after the liturgy, when prayer cries and loud crying are heard from among the people rushing to the shrine, and zealous gifts fly onto the shrine like a hail of linens, scarves, silks and money; and feel in everything the closeness of the sky, which fell to the ground for several hours.

All such Orthodox impressions support faith, nourish the spirit and make one feel the area into which the soul will be absorbed in the next century...

Work as a blessing and a curse

It is vital for a person to rest. To a large extent, labor is God’s punishment. When the Lord expelled our first parents from paradise, He said: “By the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the land from which you were taken” (Gen. 3:19). From that moment on, work in some way became our curse. It depletes our strength, and a person needs to rest. This is given to us so that we understand our weakness and limitations and gain humility. Wise people say: “You can’t redo all the work.” And the Holy Scripture calls our daily labors and worries vanity (Eccl. 1:2).

Today, when we are overloaded with information, a huge number of events, stress from unfamiliar situations, we especially need rest. Modern man lives in a state of psycho-emotional overload. To avoid it, you need to find free time. Step back from the flow of events, look at what is happening from the outside. Then it will be easier for a person to understand what is happening around him, he will be able to analyze the information received and understand where to go and what to do next.

Do the monks rest?

“Work and pray,” said St. Anthony the Great, “and this way you will be saved.” The life of monasteries is regulated by statute. There is a place in it for work, obedience and prayer, not only public, but also personal, as well as for sleep and rest. Monks also have personal time. No one monitors each resident: whether he prays at the appointed time or is tired and rests. Let's not consider monks to be iron, supernatural people. These are people of the same flesh and blood, with their own problems and concerns.

The monk also rests thanks to a change of different types of activities. If you exchange hard work for easier work, you also rest. In a monastery this is possible thanks to the variety of obediences. So you dug up the garden, and then sat down to peel the potatoes. What is peeling potatoes compared to digging up a vegetable garden? Monks have time to read a book, meditate, and turn to God with personal prayer.

Take a break... from spiritual life

Extreme workload not only with everyday issues, but even with issues of spiritual life is unacceptable. It is very important to avoid extremes. You can not only overwork, but also “over-pray.” This is also bad. If you “over-pray,” you may fall into delusion. It happens that people reread akathists many times and believe that the more prayers they read, the better. They take money not by quality, but by quantity, and this negatively affects their psycho-emotional state.

Workaholism, when a Christian is constantly busy with work, is a negative phenomenon. He has work in the morning, during the day, in the evening, and even at night... At the same time, believers often create for themselves the same intense spiritual life: they go on all the pilgrimages, to all the churches, and go to patronal feasts far away. Many people run away from their internal problems.

It becomes their psychological addiction. They do not live a simple, joyful life, but suffer and suffer. In addition to the long working day, every day they have some kind of patronal holiday. Until three or four o'clock in the morning they read prayers. In the morning they fall asleep during the service, but still attend it. Such a person is constantly in an overloaded state, he is overwhelmed by problems, work and responsibilities that he imposes on himself. This leads to complete exhaustion of strength, both spiritual and physical, to nervous breakdowns and can end very badly - even lead to death.

The phenomenon of emotional burnout has long been studied. Businessmen, medical workers, and priests suffer from this - everyone who works with people and works from dawn to dusk. It is very important for a person to leave time for himself, for his own hobbies. The Lord created us for a simple, joyful life. He wants us to be happy and doesn't want us to stress out. We need to slow down the pace of life that society imposes on us.

I believe that modern society is going the wrong way. Today information interferes with his life. She keeps us on our toes. People have lived for millions of years without global problems or crises. Let us remember righteous Abraham: he roamed the desert, tended flocks, prayed to God, and received strangers. He lived a simple measured life, with his joys and sorrows. We also need to learn to live more calmly. Put an “information filter”, not to learn everything and not to believe everything. Enjoy simple things, don’t set yourself high, unimaginable goals.

What kind of holiday is Holy Spirit Day, its meaning

To understand the history of its origin, you need to study several chapters of the New Testament. According to him, the Holy Spirit came to the apostles in Jerusalem during their prayer and reminded them of the importance of the commandments of Jesus, the need to continue his work and bring Christianity to new lands.

From this moment on, the apostles acquired many new skills:

• began to speak different languages ​​and understand the speech of all peoples;
• received the gift of prophecy and fortune telling;
• could heal various diseases.

These gifts from the Messiah were given to them so that the apostles would convey the word of God to the inhabitants of all countries and help them come to the true faith. They also helped all those suffering, explained the nature of miracles, held conversations about the purpose of man, and talked about the atonement of sins and forgiveness.

All this happened in the Upper Room of Zion and was described as a sudden strong noise, reminiscent of the howling of the wind. The blessing descended on the apostles in the form of a flame, after which they noticed changes in themselves and the birth of new gifts and skills.

If on Trinity the main event is the descent of the Holy Spirit to the followers of Christ, then the next day all attention is paid only to it. In fact, the All-Holy Life-Giving Spirit is one of the three hypostases of God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is one of the most ancient holidays among Christians and is of great importance.

It is believed that on that day the spread of Christianity throughout the world began, because the apostles were able to carry the word of God in different languages. In essence, this event is the birth of the Church in its traditional understanding.

Why do we get tired when we rest?

Our rest does not have to be passive. This could be hiking, cycling, knitting, sewing, fishing or beadwork. You can go for a walk, attend a concert or photo exhibition, or visit relatives. Aimless pastime should be avoided. Man is created for joy. Sin darkens our joy. If a person lives with unrepentant sins, little makes him happy, and he cannot rest fully.

Today we have a powerful entertainment industry. This is already an entire sector of the economy. Disneylands, shopping and entertainment complexes, slot machines, nightclubs and pubs. This is an attempt to slip a person a surrogate of joy and happiness. The bustle from which we all strive to take a break. All this cannot truly become a vacation. The entertainment industry can be fun at first, but then comes a feeling of emptiness and dissatisfaction.

Whether to participate in some kind of entertainment and forms of recreation must be determined by whether they disturb our inner world. If we are uncomfortable in this environment, we need to avoid it. There is a sin of people-pleasing - when it seems inconvenient to refuse work colleagues, friends and not go somewhere with them. You cannot overstep your moral principles for the sake of entertainment. If we say “no” in response to the next invitation to drink, they will begin to respect us. We need to strive for the joyful, bright, Godly - that which brings peace and joy to our soul.

Archpriest Alexander Khvorost