Part II, section 18 of 21

As you breathe every minute by means of air, so every minute you are mentally either with God or with the Devil, according to your inward disposition. What air is to the body, the spirit of God is to the soul. As you breathe from the air the elements required to nourish your body, so likewise you breathe into yourself from the Spirit of God good inclinations and thoughts.

When I read the Gospel, then it is not I that speak, but the Lord Himself; He Himself is in these words. For He is the Spirit, the Wisdom, or the infinite personal Thought; it is He Himself Who is in these wonderful thoughts and words of the Gospel. Only the word is ours, human; or, rather, even the word is also His; whilst the thought, its essence, truth, is the Lord Himself. I see the same, for instance, in the image of the Saviour or His cross. Again, He Himself is there—my omnipresent Lord is in them, in this image or in that cross, as in the word of the Gospel. His image on the icon or on the cross is only an outward appearance, whilst the essence is He Himself —manifesting Himself everywhere, in everything and through everything, and especially through the images and signs upon which His justly-worshipped Name is inscribed or His representation is drawn. So also He is in the priest's blessing by the sign of the cross, in which He Himself appears, and as though Himself blesses. Hence the importance of a priest's blessing. And even our customary making of the sign of the cross has also God's power, if only we make it with faith. Thus everywhere we may find and feel the Lord.

"If he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." As the Searcher of hearts, the Lord knows that men are liable to very frequently trespass, and that, having fallen, they often rise up again; therefore He has given us the commandment to frequently forgive trespasses, and He Himself is the first to fulfil His holy word. As soon as you say from your whole heart, "I repent," you will be immediately forgiven.

The whole Gospel is the gospel of the kingdom to which Christians are predestined, and forms as though one single promise (all the parables, all the prophecies and miracles); the epistles of the Apostles reveal in greater detail the promises of Christian hope.

"Thy kingdom come"—that is, Thy perfect reign in our hearts!

By my body I am merely earth and ashes, whilst my soul lives and finds its rest in God alone. He is both the clearness of my thought and the strength of my heart; I myself am nothing.

The saints fulfilled the word of the Lord; the Lord fulfils their word; they worked for Him—He does so for them. The Lord Himself said: " With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." This is why the Lord speedily fulfils the prayers of the Saints for us.

When praying, we must truly sorrow for our sins, and truly repent of them. When enumerating the sins specified in the prayers, we must say them feeling them in our heart as if they were our own. Also we must have an ardent desire not to sin in future by the same sins.

Having the intention of speaking concerning Christian hope, I should reveal to you the promises given by God to us, and the wiles and snares in which the enemy entangles Christians, in order to divert their gaze and trust from priceless hope; they are—the flattery of riches, of earthly pleasures, and of honours. In speaking of Christian hope I should reveal to you the treasury of the blessings promised to us in Christ, to show you the incomprehensible, infinite mercy and the innumerable bounties of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; of the Father—our trust; of the Son—our refuge; of the Holy Ghost— our protection. My God! the infinity of blessings promised to Christians presents itself to my gaze, and at the fame time the infinite carelessness of Christians towards these promised blessings, their little faith, and, finally, their unbelief and coldness, trampling under foot the Blood of the Testament and neglecting the mystery of salvation. But may the Lord give me a mouth and wisdom, that I may speak with fiery tongues, that with His help I may light the fire of trust in hearts that are cold! Book of the immutable Covenants! tell us of God's promises to the righteous and to the sinful.

Concerning hope in God after having committed sins, whatever they may be—that is, hope of being reconciled to Him after we have given way to anger, or have fallen into despondency, anguish of heart; or have sinned through the passions. It would seem that the hope of the sinner in the forgiveness of his sins and in salvation is nowhere so clearly and powerfully expressed as in the prayers before Holy Communion, in the canons to the Sweetest Lord Jesus, to the Mother of God, to the Guardian Angel, and in the canons to the Saints of the day.

Hope also requires a life corresponding to the hope. Those who hope must not live "as others who have no hope." "Having therefore these promises ... let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit." "Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you"—this is what I ask of God.

"Where I am, there shall also My servant be "—"with Me in My Throne;" "shall be caught up together with them in the clouds ... so shall we ever be with the Lord"—such is our hope!

Take away from each one the visible thing which he loves above all; ask or take away money from the covetous, dainty food from the glutton, his prerogatives from the ambitious and proud man, call him by an evil name, and you will see what constitutes the hope of each one, what treasure, what passion is his! O, what shameful passions one sometimes meets with! Sometimes a man attaches himself with an impure love to a person of the opposite sex, breathes by it—so to say, feeds on it. O shameful hope! O unclean heart, withdrawn from the Lord! O man, setting his carnal, weak trust in an insignificant creature like unto himself, I will show you Whom you must love! You who burden your hearts by surfeiting and drunkenness, I will show you Who ought to fill your hearts! Money-lover, I will show you of Whom you ought to buy silver tried in the fire! You who seek after pleasures and honours, seek the honour of the heavenly calling. You who love fine raiment, buy of Him " white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed with righteousness." Despair, despondency, and presumption are sins against hope.

The punishment for sin, and the peace of the conscience after repenting of it, visibly prove that there is one Judge, the Life-giver and our God, Who can save or destroy us, Who has given us life and the laws of life, and chastises us for their violation, and that He is unchangeable.

The holy prophet David calls the soul an eye ("Mine eye is consumed because of my grief"), hearing, a tongue, a hand, a foot or steps ("Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness; that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice .... my tongue shall sing of Thy righteousness." "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved"). The eye of the soul is not closed even at night.

Take me captive, Lord, in the sweet captivity of Thy Holy Ghost, so that my words may flow "as the rivers in the south" to Thy glory and to the salvation of Thy people! Grant me this sweet and powerful inward impulse to set down upon parchment the fulness of spiritual visions and feelings! Let "my tongue [be] the pen of a ready writer"—of the All-Holy Spirit!

A deep feeling of spiritual poverty, a lamentation at the existence of evil, a thirst after salvation, are to be found in every straightforward and humble soul.

The ringing of bells is a call to converse with God, of children with their Father—a call to appear before Him.

What do we love most in the world? Life and health. Who is our life and health? Jesus Christ. Therefore, if you wish to live, and to eternally live and be blessed, believe in Jesus Christ, and please Him by living in accordance with His Gospel.

Love is God. If you love God, God dwelleth in you, and you in God. Malice is the Devil. The instant you begin to feel malice against your neighbour, the Devil is in you, entering into you like a needle, and endeavouring to become a mountain within you, so greatly does he spread, and so heavy is he! And therefore continually love God and your neighbour. Do not admit malice into your heart, even for a single moment j consider it as an illusion of the Devil. Amen.

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind;" whilst malice is impatient, quick to anger, and exacting. Malice is quick to punish, whilst love is quick to indulgence and forgiveness. Charity looks at its own defects, and is reluctant to notice them in others; whilst malice is sharp-sighted to notice the smallest defects of others, and is blind to its own great defects. We see the mote in our brother's eye, and not the beam in our own; this happens often, and most often, notwithstanding God's inward teaching.

Fear malice as you fear the fire; do not admit it into your heart, even upon any plausible pretence, and still less by reason of anything disagreeable to you; malice is always an evil, a child of hell. Sometimes malice enters the heart under the pretence of zeal for the glory of God or the good of our neighbour. Do not believe in your zeal in this case; it is false and unwise; rather be zealous that there should not be any malice in you. God is glorified by nothing so much as by the" charity that beareth all things," and is dishonoured and offended by nothing so much as by malice, under whatever fair appearance it may hide itself. It was under the mask of caring for the poor that Judas, hiding his malice against his Lord, sold Him for thirty pieces of silver. Remember that the enemy unwearyingly seeks your destruction, and attacks you at the time when you least expect it. His malice is infinite. Do not bind yourself by self-love and sensuality, lest they take you an easy prisoner.

God is inexhaustible in his gifts to men. During already 7403 years He abundantly feeds all creatures. Everywhere we see plenty and joy; only the greedy rich lay their hands on and keep in their treasuries too many of God's gifts, which might plentifully nourish hundreds and thousands of poor. Man! believe firmly in God's inexhaustibility in His gifts, and willingly "deal thy bread to the hungry;" the more you give, the more shall God send you. Such is God's law: "with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

Learn always to remember and to pronounce the name of God with great faith, reverence, love, and a grateful heart. Never pronounce it heedlessly.

Speak and do everything right undoubtingly, boldly, firmly, and decidedly. Avoid doubts, timidity, languor, and indecision. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love." Our Lord is the Lord of powers.

Breathe by faith (by certitude in God's truth), by trust in God, and by love for God and your neighbour. And how can you help yourself in this? By unbelief in the durability of everything earthly; by not putting your trust in earthly blessings, such as food, drink, money, riches, and earthly ties; by not caring for, by being indifferent to everything earthly and perishable. Do not let your heart cling to anything, do not attach yourself to anything. "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."

God is love, and I am an image of God; therefore I ought to be all love. God is the most perfect good, free from the least shadow of evil; I am an image of God; therefore I ought also to be perfectly good, without even a shadow of evil. If the enemy will tempt you by food or drink, say to him, "My food and drink are the Body and Blood of my Lord; they cannot be taken from me. As long as I am a priest, I can communicate of them every week and for the greater part several times a week. Besides this, if I seek in myself the kingdom of God, by putting my trust in Him, my Lord, then everything earthly that is needful for me shall be added to me, in accordance with the Scripture." "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." My God is faithful. Inculcate these words into your heart deeply, by meditation.

Do not let yourself be angered by anything; conquer everything by love—all caprices and offences, all kinds of family unpleasantnesses. Know nothing but love. Always sincerely blame yourself, acknowledge yourself as the cause of any unpleasantness. Say, "It is my fault; I am the sinner." remember, that as you are infirm, so also is your neighbour, and one infirmity is annulled by the other; therefore it is useless to blame the infirm and sinful, if they acknowledge their infirmity. We must blame the Devil, who is so powerful in evil.

The heavenly Father so greatly cares for me, for my life, my salvation, that He did not spare even His only-begotten Son, but sent Him into the world to suffer and die, and feeds me with His Body and Blood. Is it possible, then, that He should not care for me in less important things, and should deprive me and mine of sufficient means of subsistence? This has not happened until now, and shall not be. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." "The very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore."

My life is the infinite Lord, Which Is, the Almighty; I am wholly absorbed in this life. " Who is above all, and through all, and in you all." I am ever before the face of God; I am ever in God, and He in me. Shall I put my trust in food, drink, or money, or in any man? Should I not then be blind? In truth, God is my hope. He is everything to me.

We must strive to remember oftener the words of the Saviour, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven" and the words of the Apostle. "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby " (by it) to salvation (not flattering, not deceitful, unfeigned, true).

Be especially meek and patient in sickness and in other various unfavourable circumstances; for, spoiled by health, plenty, happiness, and peace, we are then particularly apt to become irritable. Happy are those of us who do not passionately attach themselves to anything, for they are not bound by avarice.

When praying, always remember that you are conversing with God, the Father of bounties and of every consolation, unchangeable, never wearied by our requests; with the Father Who is ever infinitely merciful, wise, all-powerful; for Whom, by His infinite mercy, wisdom, and omnipotence, it is as easy always to fulfil your requests as it is for you to think of them, to desire them; as easy as it is for you to pronounce the words of these requests, and even infinitely easier. Remember this, and never despond during prayer.

"My servant Job shall pray for you; Abraham shall pray for thee . . . Moses. . . Samuel . . . Elijah." The prayers of the Saints for us are pleasing unto the Lord, as coming from His faithful servants. The Devil continually lies against God in our hearts, especially in respect to God's omnipresence, saying, "God hath forgotten: He hideth away His face;" also, in respect to His justice, "God careth not for it;" also even, in respect to His existence, "There is no God."

God desires us that we should continually turn to Him in prayer, in order to draw to Himself His children, who have become hardened by sin and have withdrawn themselves from Him, in order to cleanse us and enfold us in the embrace of His love, in order to show us that He always has some blessing for us. Thus also do good parents act towards their evil-natured children.

When you hear that God speaks, then represent to yourself His word as deed, either already accomplished, or being accomplished, or about to be accomplished.

Prayer is the living water, by means of which the soul quenches its thirst. When you pray, represent to yourself as though God alone were before you, God in three Persons, and besides Him no one else. Represent to yourself that God is in the world as the soul is in the body, though He is infinitely higher than the world, and is not limited by it. Your body is small, and it is wholly penetrated by your small soul; the world is large, but God is infinitely great, and fills everything throughout the whole of creation—"Who is everywhere present, and filleth all things."

What is the meaning of the appearance of the three strangers to Abraham? It means that the Lord, in three Persons, as though continually, travels over the earth, and watches over everything that is done on it; and that He Himself comes to those of His servants who are watchful and attentive to themselves and their salvation, and who seek Him, staying with them and conversing with them as with His friends ("We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him"); whilst He sends fire upon the ungodly, as He did upon Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Lord is so merciful that He never disdains our prayer, but mercifully accepts it and corrects its imperfection, provided only that we turn to Him sincerely and do not entirely forget Him.

We preachers have only to assist the action of God upon the hearts of men, to seize their inclination for repentance and to strengthen it.

The word of God is the same as God Himself; therefore undoubtingly believe every word of the Lord. The word of God is deed, and your own word should be deed; therefore, also, during prayer our words ought to be deed and truth, and not falsehood, hypocrisy, and flattery. Apply this to your whole life.

Great is the dignity of man as the image of God. Why is a man who possesses lively faith capable of working all kinds of miracles, and of being in some respects a god for nature? Because he is the image of God; because, through faith, he is one spirit with the Lord. Why did God send His Son to be the Saviour of the world, and deliver Him unto death for the sins of men? Because men are the image of God. Why are such unspeakable promises and blessings given unto men, that "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him" All because they are the image of God. What respect we ought to have for men! What hope Christians ought to have! Friends of my God! "Set your affection on things above"!

"The Lord turned and looked upon Peter . . . and Peter went out, and wept bitterly." And even now, when the Lord looks upon us we weep bitterly over our sins. Yes, our tears during prayer mean that the Lord has looked upon us with His gaze, that gives life to everything and trieth the hearts and reins. Ah! the soul is sometimes entangled and ensnared by sins, like a bird in the net! We do not sometimes see any outlet from our sins, and they torment us; the heart sometimes feels terribly anxious and sorrowful on account of them; but "Jesus looks upon us, and streams of tears flow from our eyes, and with the tears all the tissue of evil in our soul vanishes; we weep and rejoice that such mercy has been suddenly and unexpectedly sent to us; what warmth we then feel in our heart, and what lightness, as though we could fly up to the Lord God Himself! I thank the Lord with all my heart for freely forgiving all my sin!

Jesus Christ, when distributing food, first looked up to heaven, gave thanks, blessed it, and only afterwards broke the bread and distributed it. The Apostle Paul did the same on board ship. So ought we also to thank God for our food and drink, as well as for all material blessings, but especially for all spiritual ones.

The Holy Ghost is the Treasury of all blessings or of spiritual riches. Look, with what wonderful riches the souls in which the Holy Ghost dwelt were endowed, with what light of knowledge, with what fragrance of virtues! The soul of a righteous man is a most rich spiritual treasury; such were, for instance, the souls of the Apostles Paul, Peter, John; of the prelates St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian. "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good." This is where the true treasure is. It is not what the world values.

If you wish to contemplate Christian hope in all its grandeur, read the Church prayers, follow closely the Christian Divine services, especially the Sunday and festival ones. There you will find the infinite riches of blessings promised to believers.

The spiritual man is absorbed both with mind and heart in the contemplation of God, and finds in Him a treasure of knowledge and wisdom, of " righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost," whilst the carnal man is engrossed in the adulterous and sinful world, or in material nature, not seeing God in it, and seeking in it food for his earthly, short-sighted intellect, for his self-love and pride. But "Blessed are the pure in heart." Cleanse your heart, and hope for union with God in the life everlasting.

When praying, strive, above all things, after fervour of spirit, after fervent, sincere repentence for your sins.—Ananias, Azarias, and Mishael, the prophet Daniel (before the appearance of the Archangel), the wise thief.

A priest is the servant of God, invested with His authority and power (in the sacrament of penitence); the blessing of the priest is the power of the Cross.

With sincere Christians prayer is continual, because we continually sin; gratitude is perpetual, because every day, every moment we receive fresh mercies from God, besides the old mercies which are numberless. Praise is also perpetual, because we perpetually see the glory of our God's works in ourselves and in the world, especially the glory of His infinite love to us.

The Lord is with us in the most sorrowful, inconsolable moments ("I am with him in trouble"), whilst we think that it is not so, that God has forsaken us. O, what unspeakable power our God has over our hearts! Even our mothers cannot entirely draw our hearts to their love, but the Lord draws them to Him by means of the Holy Mysteries and prayer.

There is a hope of reward for good deeds: "Great is your reward in heaven. . . . Let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap. . . . Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. . . . Let Thy merciful kindness, O Lord, be upon us; like as we do put our trust in Thee."

Respect yourself as the image of God; remember that this image is a spiritual one, and be zealous after the fulfilment of God's commandments, which re-establish God's likeness in you. Be most careful not to break the least of God's commandments; such a violation would destroy your likeness to God, and would bring you near to the likeness of the Devil. The more you transgress God's commandments, the more you will grow like unto the Devil.

Learn to subdue your heart, to stifle your passions, by the power of the name of the Lord, and by your own will, at the time when you chiefly suffer from the outburst of self-love, when you feel ready to strike everyone and break everything.

I have a Teacher, Who gives me life; every word of His is the word of life, and is, therefore, truth. I believe Him in everything, and all that is contrary to His word—either in my thoughts and heart, or in what I hear from other people—I do not believe, and look upon as falsehood and death to my soul.

The most holy Spirit, by the grace of the Father, gives life to the entire and earthly creation.

We see that everything material perishes, beginning with food and clothing; we also notice that sins corrupt both the soul and body. This ought to revive in us the hope of the incorruptible and unchangeable. You who feed yourself on dainties; you who are vain of dress, houses, riches—what are you doing ? You are playing with soap-bubbles.

Everything that breathes, breathes by air and cannot live without air; similarly all reasonable free creatures live by the Holy Ghost, as though by air, and cannot live without Him. "Every soul is quickened by the Holy Ghost." Recognise that the Holy Ghost stands in the same relation to your soul as air stands in relation to your body.

During the night our soul is free from worldly vanities, and therefore the spiritual world can act upon it more freely, and it-is free to receive spiritual impressions; so that if the man is a righteous one, his thoughts and the inclinations of his heart are the thoughts and inclinations of the Lord Himself, or of the Angels and Saints; whilst if he is an unrepentant sinner, they are the thoughts and inclinations of the Devil himself.

The wonder-working image of the Saviour is the Lord Himself depicted upon it. I weep bitterly, and as though involuntarily, by the grace abundantly poured upon me from it; I shed streams of tears, which cleanse my soul from sins, and bring peace and joy into my heart.

The Devil is in the habit of attacking us when we are in straitened circumstances.

If any thought is life to the heart, then it is truth; if, on the contrary, it is anguish and death to the heart, then it is a lie. Our Lord is peace and life, and He dwells in our hearts by peace and life.

Ought not the Christian who looks for eternal peace and joy in heaven to courageously and joyfully bear all sorrows, labour, sicknesses and injustices, all sufferings, all unpleasantnesses? In truth he ought. Otherwise, what would be the meaning of future rest and peace? What peace and rest shall there be for him who has already had peace and rest here, without enduring anything? Where would God's justice be? " We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."

The character of our earthly life is constant expectation of God's call from this life to the other. We are not our own; we are the servants of God, as the Church so rightly calls us; and servants ought to hourly await their Lord's call. He will knock, and you must go; "that they may open unto him immediately." But meanwhile how do we live! We have entirely forgotten that we are the servants of God; we think that we belong to ourselves, and order our lives not in accordance with God's commandments, but in accordance with our own will; we live as we like. And it is owing to this that our life is full of numberless sins. Look upon human life, and you will see that it is full of "vanity of vanities; all is vanity:" fashions, theatres, card-playing, dancing parties, masquerades, luxurious furniture, pictures, and so on. Everything for ourselves and nothing for our neighbour; he may go naked, or die from hunger and cold.

Contempt for creation touches the Creator; therefore do not dare to speak the following words or any similar to them, "I dislike that man's face, though he may, perhaps, be a good man;" for this is diabolical hatred of God's creature and odiousness. Remember that every man is an image of God, and that all his glory is within him, in his heart. Man looks upon the face, whilst God looks upon the heart.

Call to remembrance oftener that the evil lies in yourself and not in other people. By such a conviction, which is a perfectly true one, you will protect yourself from many sins and passions. Our greatest misfortune lies in the fact that we ascribe our own evil to another.

God's saints are great merchants, who have enriched themselves with all spiritual treasures, with all virtues: meekness, humility, abstinence, patience, great faith, hope, and love. This is why we ask their holy prayers, as poor men of rich, that they may help us in our spiritual poverty; that they may teach us how to pray and to progress in all Christian virtues; that they, having boldness before God, may pray for the remission of our past sins and protect us from fresh ones. We go to earthly merchants in their shops to buy their merchandise: shall we not have recourse to the heavenly merchants with fervent prayer, as though with silver and gold? Shall we not purchase of them their intercession for us before God for the forgiveness of sins and the bestowal of various Christian virtues? It seems very natural to do so.

Why should we thank God and good, charitable persons for everything ? Chiefly for our own profit, in order that the feelings of our soul should be more tender and finer; to cultivate the feeling of our dependence in all things from God and good men, and of grateful love towards them, as well as the feeling of our own nothingness without God and of our own impotency to live without the help of kind people.

When reprimanding your subordinates for their faults, care fully restrain yourself from anger, irritation, and disturbance, and be gentle, full of love, dignified and quiet. If the subordinate you have to correct takes offence, gently observe to him that you have no intention of offending and irritating him, that you sincerely wish him well, and that he should be orderly in his work, and that it is not him that you are annoyed with, but the disorder that he occasions. Do not offend his pride and dignity by exalting yourself in his eyes and lowering him. If you have this weakness (pride) yourself, better leave the correction of another and first cure yourself: "First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." In the opposite case you will only irritate your brother, and not do him any moral good. Be gentle and indulgent to others when you hear of their faults, remembering that you, too, have similar or greater faults. You reprove another, for instance, for drunkenness; but if you drink yourself, or even if you do not drink, but indulge yourself with dainties, are given to gluttony, surfeiting, then you sin as much as he does. Correct yourself of your gluttony, and then you will be able to speak strongly against drunkenness in others. You accuse another of negligence in his service, but perhaps you yourself are also negligent. " Physician, heal thyself."

Do not bear malice in your heart against anyone on account of anything; do not despise anyone for any reason. " Have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins."

If you meet with inattention or even disdain from strangers, do not be hurt or take offence at it, but say to yourself: "I am worthy of this. Glory to Thee, my Lord, that Thou hast granted unto me, an unworthy one, to receive dishonour from men like unto myself!" On your part always show love to all, especially to your relations, sincerely, zealously, heartily, loudly; not coldly and languidly, hypocritically, reluctantly, as if in a whisper.

Do not eat to satiety, do not sleep to excess; labour zealously, pray with your whole heart; be entirely obedient to your parents and superiors; wish everyone well, be satisfied with all, and you will be satisfied with yourself, healthy and happy.

The life of a Christian should be continual watchfulness over himself—that is, over his heart, because the invisible enemies are ready to devour us at every moment; every moment they boil with rage against us.

You who during this present life so avoid sufferings for your body and sorrows for your soul; you who so cherish your flesh and make happy your soul—why do you not strive to avoid the eternal fire that is a thousand times more terrible than the earthly element of fire? Why do you not strive to avoid eternal sorrows? Poor creatures, turn and be converted. Truly, that fire will be unbearable.

Is it only for the adornment of your dwelling, as a beautiful piece of furniture, as an ornament, that you hang up richly-painted icons in your house, without turning to them with the hearty faith, love, and reverence due to holy things? Ask your heart if it is so. Icons in houses or in the temple are not intended for show, but for prayer before them, for reverence, for instruction. The images of the saints ought to be our home and Church teachers. Read their lives, and engrave them upon your heart, and endeavour to bring your life into conformity with theirs.

"Thou shalt love Thy neighbour as thyself." We ought to have all things in common. As the sun, the air, fire, water and earth are common to us all, so ought also (in part) food and drink, money, books, and (in general) all the Lord's gifts to be shared in common; for they are given in common to all, and yet are easily divisible for distribution amongst many. For we have nothing of our own, but everything belongs to God. And it is not just for the rich to keep their superfluity in their treasuries when there are so many poor people in need of the means of existence, of necessary clothing and dwellings. However, it is just that the laborious should enjoy abundance, and that the idle should endure poverty and misery. Therefore, if we know that some are poor only through their own idleness and laziness, with such we are not obliged to share the abundance earned by our labour. "If any would not work," says the Apostle Paul, "neither should he eat." But the crying poverty arising from old age, exhaustion, from sickness, from fruitless and badly-paid labour, from really difficult conditions of life, from a numerous family, from bad harvests, we must always hasten to help, especially those of us who are rich. We must be guided by the history of the times of the Apostles, by the example of the early Church.