What is it like to live in mercy? Holy mercy

M Congratulations to you, dear followers of the Orthodox website “Family and Faith”!

M Almsgiving is worth a Christian's head of rice! Because through honesty the Lord wins the hearts of people. How good we are to those who are absent, to our poor brothers, how good we are to us and our Heavenly Father.

A Archbishop Luke (Vino-Yasenetsky) delivered a brilliant sermon about the importance of creative mercy, which we present below for initial reading.

About alms

U sent to the Corinthians, Nina Read, St. The Apostle Paul exhorts the Corinthians to do great mercy. They should put them at the butt of the Macedonians, who were deeply poor, were married, and who, no less, contributed their help to the Christians, who would demand Palestine.

And it seems like St. Apostle to the Corinthians: “Whoever harvests it sparingly, the one who is stingily reaps; and whoever sows generously will reap generously” (2 Cor. 9:6).

It’s not about the harvest, not about the shine of bread, but about the shine of mercy. “He who sows sparingly, reaps the miser.”

So it happens in the right of God, but in the right of the earth it happens differently: it happens that the farmer sows little, sparingly, but God Himself sent a high harvest, and the one who sowed will reap little more.

It turns out that he who is generous, who has sowed, does not reap generously: the city conquers the sows, and the farmer does not reap anything.

And in the right of God we cannot do this: always and always to the one who sows sparingly, reaps sparingly, and whoever sows generously, reaps generously.

The holy apostle commands us to sit richly. Before mercy, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself called to us more than once, and listen, how great significance He gave to mercy - all the same significance. In his promo, which denies the scribes and Pharisees, who valued the washing of cups, kitchens and shops with great importance, He said: “Give more charity than you have, so that everything will be clean for you” (Luke 11, 41). ).

It is not only the scribes and Pharisees who complain about these words, but the guilty ones bring them to themselves. If we give alms, then, according to the word of Christ, everything will be pure for us.

About the scribes and Pharisees, he said that their insides are completely robbery and wickedness, and if they give mercy, then their insides, other than robbery and wickedness, will become cleansed.

So we can think about ourselves. And our insides, our hearts are often unclean, even unclean, even lawless. We need, we need to cleanse our insides, our hearts, and the Lord commands an extremely simple task: just give mercy, and then everything will be clean, your whole inside will be clean.

Remember this, remember that the power of mercy is immeasurably great.

St. John Chrysostom calls mercy the queen of all honors. It seems that mercy opens up the heavens for us. It seems that by the power of the given mercy we can irrevocably and without hesitation on any superstitions, without fail, ascend to the very throne of God. He tells us about the centurion Cornelius, a pagan, who was very merciful, doing a lot of mercy and constantly praying. And God sent His angel, who said to Cornelius: “Thy prayers and thy mercies have become a riddle before God” (Acts 10:4). They have come to God.

Do you feel that you are going straight to God, descending to the throne of God, passing through the heavens flawlessly, passing by all the heavenly lights, the swarming angelic regiments, the swarm of seraphim and cherubim, and, without hesitation, our benefactors will graciously and swiftly rise to God himself.

You know, I have told you more than once about this, for which our Lord Jesus Christ will judge humanity when the day of the Last Judgment comes. Doesn’t it nourish any of us, if you went to farewell, or if you worshiped in My Jerusalem trune? Chi buv ti unborrowed? Who doesn’t sleep, only sleeps alone: why do you do alms? Have you done mercy?

And with this I will say the wondrous words: “Truly I say to you, the fragments you have given to one of the least of my brothers, you have given to me” (Matt. 25:40).

All the good that we strive for for our poor, unfortunate brothers is accepted by those who strive for Himself. Whatever mercy we drop into the hand of the poor, He Himself accepts into His hands.

O Lord, our Lord! How great is this: You yourself accept our mercy. We may give mercy to You, our God. And the word of God is true and immutable, and be it the mercy that is given to our unfortunate, ill-fated brothers, the mercy that is given to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Oh, how great this is, and how we need to think about the words of the Apostle about those who cannot do charity sparingly, for if we are sparing, we will reap God’s grace for it.

You need to create this immediately, spontaneously, and every hour. You need to earn mercy with your constant companion, you need to bind your heart to mercy.

And if we do not be stingy, but generously give charity, then we will reap great grace, for the Lord Jesus Christ Himself says so: “Give, and it will be given to you: good peace, spent, crushed and resurfaced, I will bring you into your bosom” (Luke 6 38).

Bachite, for a piece of bread, for a cup of cold water, which we serve to the evil one, the Lord will give us the supernatural peace, the good peace, the infected, the bitter one, to give immeasurably more than what was given to Yom in the special marriages of our brothers c.

And so many of us are like that, they serve it with a side dish, with a dish, or with a Primus stove. And how infinitely far from the spiritual state in which great merciful people lived, such as Saint Ivan, Patriarch of Alexandria.

We live in the isolation of mercy. Exerting all the strength of your mind to help everyone and everywhere. Having ascended the patriarchal throne, he ordered his comrades in the service to go around the entire majestic place of Alexandria and record all its benefactors.

Out of wonder they asked him: “Vladiko, what kind of benefactors can we rewrite?” He said: “Zhbrakiv, zhbrakiv, hungry, cold, limp.”

I wrote down these thousand people, who lived in their days, and who wore the clothes of Saint Ivan.

That day, which passed without certificates of mercy, mourned with bitter tears and celebrated the bitter day of life. Having done charity “without disguise or with a primus stove,” he has become a kindly servant whom God loves.

Without even thinking about those who could kill his cats, he recklessly handed out all his cards. And the Apostle Paul said: “God is mighty to enrich you with all grace, so that you, always in sight of all prosperity, may be rich in every good thing.”

And how many times, many times these words have been true for kind, merciful, holy people.

And as we often read in the lives of saints, hundreds of mandrevniks gave away the stench without excess of everything that was in the monastery for food, and came as the housekeeper of the monastery, and said to the holy abbot: What is there to be done? Everything has been distributed, all the bins are empty, the brothers have nothing.

If only the saints did not give up, they put all their hope in God, and God did not deprive them: always in such episodes the monastery comori arose, and in another wondrous, indefatigable manner they were given what they demanded.

So it was with our reverend father Sergius of Radonez, so it was with Euthymius the Great, with St. Savior and with many other saints.

The Lord did not deprive anyone and always helped them, who was completely merciful.

“As it is written: he gave away, he distributed to the whelps; the truth lasts forever."

Having dispensed everything, distributed everything to the husbands, it was given, nothing was lost in anything else, but the truth was lost, the truth that endures forever to rise to the throne of God.

“He who gives this day to the one who sows, and the bread of the earth, will give great abundance to what you sow and multiply the fruits of your righteousness.”

We sow the guilty, we sow mercy, we sow truth, and what we sow grows with God Himself, sometimes growing thirty times, sometimes sixty times, and sometimes a hundred.

“So that you may all have abundance for all generosity, just as God works through us” (2 Cor. 9:11).

It is extremely important how we give mercy, how we fulfill mercy, because since we fulfill the needs of the unfortunate with our deep love, we do another great justice: we instill in our hearts the mercy of God. Mercy has such power that we can turn the hearts of whelps to God, even if we live without God, because that’s what it is.

Mercy has great, infinite power, and its effects: from the beginning of the 4th century to the beginning of the 5th century Bishop Pavich the Merciful is alive in Italy. He came from a very noble, high family; The twentieth century was appointed senator, then consul - all great, important estates - and then governor of the most important Roman region of Campania.

And having acquired all the wines, having lost everything, distributing the cards to those in need, and becoming a Chen. You have tried a lot of abuse, coercion, mockery in front of too many of your servants, but not benefiting from anything. Having become a bishop, he began to generously distribute church mainno to foals.

At this hour there was an attack on Italy by Vandals, a savage and cruel people. The Vandals subjugated the Romans and led the people into complete anarchy, and Bishop Pavich, with as many pennies as he could spare, bought the troops. A poor widow came, crying and begging, to buy back her only son, captured by the Vandals. He said: “My dear, I haven’t lost any more pennies, but let’s break it: take me to the camp of vandals, don’t let me take your son’s place, and let him go.” I myself fell into the hands of vandals.

The Vandal prince, this wild, cruel man, was hostile to the laziness and nobility of his new slave: he kept watch over him and marveled at how the heart beat in the chests of Peacock. I suddenly discovered that he was a bishop. After the enmity, we became so reverent towards this noble people that we not only released ourselves, but also released all the captive Romans with her.

Thus, Saint Pavich himself redeemed from the crowd a lot of unfortunate captive Romans. This is how the axis of Pavlov’s words came into being - “so that all of us may be rich in the generosity of God through us.”

Our mercy reveals the great mercy of God in people far away from Him.

How can you be strong for mercy? Obviously nothing.

The Lord Jesus Christ has placed this honesty above all honesty; The apostle of the Corinthians called to this honor.

To this extent, I also appeal to you, I appeal to you so that you are constant and diligent in mercy, so that you understand the immeasurable power in it.

Show mercy to your skin according to your own strength. It is not necessary that you give everything, but only what is required is that you give your neighbors a piece of yours, no matter how meager.

And in the words of Christ about the widow who put into the treasury only two mites - two pennies - it is said that she put in richly more than those who put silver and gold in the bag, because she gave away everything that was small, all her living.

The Lord is a people-loving Lord, the Lord does not strive for supermundane feats.

To tell the parable of the sowing man, that if his good word, the word of preaching, falls on good earth, then it will grow in fruit either thirty times, or sixty times, or a hundred times.

Today I will help my neighbors talk about kindness more and more often, otherwise the food will not stop. Not a person is ready to spend all his free time at doctors and booths for people of old age, but someone else periodically gives a penny to the foals on the street or to the legless “veterans” near the metro.

How can one not commit mischief when doing charity, and why is every sacrifice made for gain?

For the cob, it’s a simple fact. The “Peredannya” Foundation, in which I work, has contributed to its beneficial activity, and we have issued a number of business cards about those who can contact us for help. And they began handing them out near the metro and on the streets to foals with signs saying “The Child is Dying,” like carrying destructive photographs and filthy photocopies in train cars. We handed out hundreds of cards. As a result, about ten people phoned us, and only one of them really needed help with what was written on the cardboard - she knew exactly at that moment that they realized that they didn’t take pennies into their hands.

They themselves yearn for endless tearful stories about “they stole documents, give me some pennies for the journey home.” We have a special program of Terminal Assistance - just for periods when the amount needed is very small, and there is no time or effort to raise a special collection of funds. I’m tired of picking up unfortunate repatriates on the streets, so she doesn’t even bother to quickly save her mind and get pennies into her hands. It happened when one of them was put on a passing car that turned up, and then again, they asked to stop around the nearest turn.

Tim no less, people ask, but the commandment “give to the rogue in you” without squeezing anyone.

And in the soul of a believing person - well, as far as I can imagine - a real dilemma arises: what is more important - the actual result of the action or the purity of motives. With my heart, I give our hearts to the mercy of the Lord for the sake of the mafia, which sponsors alcoholics and neglects child killers?

The tendency to be more important in the purity of the soul has deep and even serious roots in Orthodoxy. For the sake of clarity, we turn to quotes - be it a religion, it may be christened by a number of authorities, it inevitably revolves around quotes, which give a clear picture: “You, God, ask you for help - give to the one who asks you, and that’s all here. And if the money is wasted, then this sin and its responsibility, you bear for yourself.” Saint John Chrysostom seems borderline straightforward: “God punishes or will not crown our justice itself, but rather the world.”

Or another, more widespread quotation from the work of the same saint: “As your Lord, do not be amazed at those who worship Him with ungodly words, fornicate, steal, rob, dig up graves and repent of harmless evil, do not attribute your own to all the blessings yyan, ale , for his love of mankind, we all force the sunny trade, before the fruits of the earth, - so labor and you, and if there is an hour for the mercy and love of mankind, relieve poverty, relieve hunger, reduce sorrow, and nothing else is a joke y.

As soon as we become aware of the way of life (what we require), then we will not lose the mercy of every human being, but through such incomprehensible supplementation we become barren, we will not give help to anyone, and we will work without any cost or gift. but... “Therefore, I ask you, having deprived yourself of this incomprehensible kindness, give (alms) to all those in need, and work with great generosity, so that we ourselves may be worthy of that day (the coming judgment) of great mercy and mercy from God.”

In another place, it’s like, “...if you do charity, don’t empathize with the life of the poor and don’t take any advantage of someone else’s reputation. It is called mercy, so that we give to the unworthy. She who is kind to the wrongdoer, but who is kind to the sinner; a year of praise and crowns, and a sinner of mercy and indulgence. Such a rank, in which we are inherited by God, is given to the vicious.”

And Saint Ivan the Merciful has already clearly stated: “As you are righteous servants of Christ, then give as Christ commanded, not marveling at the accusations and not drinking about the lives of those to whom you give.”

Tim is more interested in the effectiveness of his goodness, coming out of the secular world’s “mercy”, and the singer’s senses began to burn incorrectly. As St. Ignatius Bryanchaninov writes: “There is no goodness between the good of the Gospel and the good of sunk human beings.

The good of our sunless nature is mixed with evil, and that very good has become evil, just as we are afraid to eat the raw, tasty and healthy hedgehog if we mix it with the raw material. Beware of spoiling the goodness of the sunburnt creature! Robbies are good, you will overcome your downfall, you will develop your thoughtfulness and pride, you will achieve the closest resemblance to demons.”

However, the picture is not entirely complete, and other authoritative views

Yakshcho I want a do -it -mowing dopomogty, dear to the izhvaliadam - then think, Yakiy I Choma Zbir Koshtiv with an ethnic - walk on the Social Military Metro with a stroke of the abundance of people, the yaki turned the pre -all post -person busy. If you would like to effectively help orphans, homeless people, the elderly, or rich children, we kindly ask you to visit volunteer sites.

I know that the trail is not for everyone. If you remember that the only thing you can give to someone in need is just a few pennies, then try not to act according to the principle of “anything”.

In a simple situation, if those who pick up medicine on the road, sell the rest of the people simply do not know that in the world there is a specialized relief fund for those who are sick with this diagnosis, there are three of them, five of them. A piece of clay and a paper with the required telephone number will be in hand mercy, not relief. for three coins gamanets.

Paisya Svyatorets said to Korisna and wisely: “There is no more good in that situation, since the one who is afraid of him sacrifices his own: sleep, peace, etc. Only by sacrificing, people are in conflict with Christ, because Christ is the sacrifice.”

To make your victim understandable and real: explain the essence of the problem, check that you are not being deceived, go around friends with a hat, or catch yourself once from a small buyer - and give it up, having already been sung by your friend and vice versa. When I give for someone, I settle the sum. Not sure about yourself, you are afraid of destroying other people’s cordons and becoming a victim of manipulation - that is, funds that will earn this work for you.

In the near future, I will try to learn about how to recognize and identify shahrais on the Internet and in real life.

Nothing can bring the heart closer to God than almsgiving. When you give mercy, give with generosity, with kindness in appearance, and provide more without asking.
At. Isaac Sirin

By serving to the one lying on the ground, we are serving to the one sitting in Heaven.
St. Grigory Dvoeslov

Not giving to the poor what is missing from your needs means stealing someone else's goods.
Blzh. Augustine

No one can extinguish passion like charity.
Avva Evagriy

Good is less good in the situation when someone sacrifices his own - sleep, peace of mind, etc.
St. Feofan the Recluse

As we are to our neighbors, so will God be good to us.
St. John Chrysostom

The Friend of Christ's Coming will have all our sins written down; And only our mercy can blot out our faults written in these books.
St. Efrem Sirin

With God, mercy is considered mercy. By the grace of God, show yourself mercy to your neighbors.
St. Gregory the Theologian

There is nothing in the same way that makes a person more like God than he is beneficent.
Avva Evagriy

As if a person has kindly followed the spiritual self-interest and inner triumph, as one sees in one’s life and the form of one small blessing given to one’s neighbor, then one’s asking one’s neighbor to accept this benefit activity, and tell you for the sake of it.
Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets

Yakos Abba Agathon ishov has a place for selling small vessels and finding a leper at the age of death. Leprosy feeds yogo: “Where are you going?” Abba Agathon tells you: “At the place, sell the vessels.” The leper said to you: Have mercy, take me there! The elder picked him up and brought him to the place. The ailment said: “Put me there, judge the children for sale.” The old man began to think like this. When she sold one vessel, the leper asked: “How much did you sell it for?” - “For the money,” said the old man. The sick man said: “Buy me a pie.” The old man bought it. Then I sold the other vessel. The sick man said again: “How much for this?” “For what it’s worth,” Agathon confirmed. The sick man said: “Buy me the same pie.” Abba Agathon bought. You will find out if the elder has sold all his ships and wants to go back, asking the lepers: Are you going? “-“ Yes,” the old man confirmed. The sick man said to you: Have mercy, bring me there again, where I took it. The elder saw him and came to his great place. And every time he says: “Blessed are you, Agathon, from the sight of the Lord in Heaven and on earth!” Agathon looked, but had no longer seen anyone, for this was the Angel of the Lord who had come to try him.
Ancient Patericon

Bishop of Chita and Transbaikal Evstafiy

BLESSED MERCY

Charity is one of the main honors of a Christian. The Lord says in the Sermon on Nagir: Blessed ones are merciful, for they will have mercy(Mt 5.7). Tobto. To lie before our mercy, that we, sinners, will be pardoned by God. The concept of mercy includes material speech, and it is felt, the mood, the attitude from which a person gives mercy.

When talking about the size of charity, it is best to remember the Gospel story about the death of a widow. The Lord was at the Jerusalem temple and stood guard over the treasury where the donations were going. Rich people came up and deposited large sums of pennies. A poor widow came and donated only two mites. And the Lord said to the disciples: This poor widow put in more for everything that was put in the treasury, because they all put in extra of her own, but because of her wretchedness, she put in everything that was small, all of her own.(Mk 12.43-44).

The Church sees two types of charity - material and spiritual. Moreover, spiritual mercy is very important.

At the heart of both material and spiritual mercy lies love and compassion for people. Because with such feelings we give mercy, without thinking about those who will need it in Vikoristan, we will immediately serve the benefit of both the people, what they require, and ourselves.

Charity is material to everyone in sight. Every Christian has a duty to the world of his ability, and, most importantly, to the world of his faith, to materially help people whatever they need.

SPIRITUAL ALMS

Another type of almsgiving is spiritual almsgiving. Now, unfortunately, the mensch is wide. What's next for her? First of all, a prayer for the people. For example, if a person comes to you with such a misfortune, with such a problem, you realize that you cannot give her the necessary material assistance. It is no less true that people express their love and compassion through prayer. God knows who will require what. It is not obligatory for a prayer to call it a specific prokhannya. You just need to pray for the people, so that the Lord will have mercy on them. The mercy of God will appear in whatever we require today.

Pleased, given in an instant, is itself spiritual grace. If a person shares his knowledge of how to live correctly, how to earn money correctly, this will result in spiritual mercy.

More mercy can be expressed in a kind word. The ever-memorable Archimandrite Pavlo (Gruzdev) loved to repeat: “A kind word will sparkle in the cold.”

When a person is in a difficult situation, she will especially require affection and respect. And whenever we say a kind word to our beloved heart, it gives a positive spiritual charge, an impulse that breathes and strengthens us, which accompanies the joy and spiritual gifts.

Singing and singing is a type of spiritual mercy, if there is any trouble in a person, perhaps she has lost her way, a kohan of a person, or is suffering from an illness.

Prayer for the deceased is also spiritual mercy.

The Church recommends praying for the dead with the following words: “Rest in peace, Lord, the souls of Your dead servants, our family and friends, and forgive their sins freely and mercifully, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.”

TWO LEPTI

I would like to go back to the parable about the poor widow once again. Rich people, like the Lord Himself, gave in excess, but the poor woman gave only two mites. The Lord should not marvel so much at the strength of the faithful, but at his sweetness, or rather, those who, with such sensibility, with such kindness, were given a sacrifice. Who today has the opportunity to give charity in the amount of thousands, and from this there is no way to spare a thousand, but for people who demand, even ten rubles is a daily sacrifice.

If people show mercy, they don’t have to look up to anyone. Golovne, the mercy may be received with almost Christian love and help to the bajans.

It is often claimed today that rich people give large sums of money as charity or sacrifice to the temple. But this sacrifice is unspiritual, since it does not have any support, which is called love, spivchuttyam. It’s even worse when the donated pennies are added to the path of deception. These pennies, in essence, are not to be kept by one’s ruler - he is illegally profiting from them. Such mercy is not accepted by the Lord.

And another regularity: the richer the person, the more stingy, because the passion for money and love craves the person's drinks, so that she is afraid to spend a penny, regardless of what she has in the bank, perhaps millions of dollars.

The meal about charity, brothers and sisters, is not that simple. Alms can be small, but acceptable to God and to people. There you may be in a great world of penny, but not acceptable to God, not to people. It all means that people give mercy to those who are sensitive and generous.

***

- Can you tell me, the more a Christian does charity, the better it is to work for himself and his loved ones - living and dead?

So. I was already pointing the butt, like one woman, conducting the Christian march that was leaving Vladivostok, donated a decent amount of pennies to the participants in this march. “I don’t eat anything, but I gave it to myself,” she said later. In truth, she herself took away more, she gave even more, and even mercy covers the blindness of sins.

***

- I would like to supply food to the drive of spiritual mercy. For a long time I encouraged my friend at an important moment in her life, but gradually noted that I myself was experiencing peace of mind. Since I had lost all the strength to help her, I began submitting notes to the church about her health. However, life has become even more important. How can you explain?

If it became important for you to encourage your friend, it was necessary to talk about it with a priest or with a person who has been proven in life. As an aside, I will say that your friend, most likely, has chosen not Christian values as her guide. Anyone who has a problem just needs to get help so as not to harm themselves. When you are ready, and light has settled in your soul, then you will firmly evaluate those that are awaiting you, and make the right decision.

***

- I was named after my grandfather, who died in the Great German War, fighting against the Nazis. I often submit notes for the repose of my soul in the church, but I don’t know who will be baptized. Is it right to do it this way?

If you don’t know whether your grandfather was baptized, you need to spend as much time as possible to find out whether he was baptized. If you don’t know for sure, you can guess it from your home prayers. I can imagine such an outburst. Saint Macarius the Great, growing empty, touched the skull of a dead person. "Who are you?" - having drunk wine. Skull of the Virgos: “I am a priest of such an idol. I feel really bad, I’m already in the oven. If you, Christians, pray, it is a joy and a relief for us.” Respect, Macarius the Great did not pray for whose sacrifice, but his words testified that the birth and death of all people will come, even the dead, if Christians pray.
You can remember at a church service only that person who has solemnly received Holy Baptism and has become a member of the Church. This gives the opportunity to pray for someone close to you, as well as other members of the Church. At divine services, you can almost feel the priest’s call to prayerfully tell other people: “I of all Orthodox Christians.” Moreover, the Church predicts both the living and the dead, therefore church prayer is even more important.
If you cannot find out whether your grandfather was baptized, then remember him in your home prayer and be sure to spend your life well. Both your prayer and your righteousness will be positively reflected in the afterlife of the people dear to you.
More than enough, the prayer of the righteous, - Like the Lord Himself.

***

- I read that alms given to a women’s monastery are worth 100 times more than a simple donation at the temple. Why so?

These numbers are not entirely objective. It’s true that the monastery is the heart of the Church. And this is the Holy Father’s Wislaw: “The heart of the world is the Church, and the heart of the Church is the monastery.” If you give mercy to the monastery, there is a great value in it, even if people go there not for just one hour, but for the rest of their lives, in order to accomplish feats of fasting, prayer, and prayer for the whole world. Then, by giving a sacrifice to the monastery, you are helping him, and you yourself are entrusting the prayers of the inhabitants of the monastery.
Ale does not mean that the temple does not require donations.
Holy Father, it seems that mercy covers the blindness of sins, the one who perceives in his soul some kind of sinful burden is guilty of refusing to do mercy - not only material, but spiritual.

***

- What do you need to do to make your heart understand the need for mercy?

It is necessary to pray. Reading morning and evening prayers, the Gospel, the Psalter - the obligations of every Christian. Here we cleanse our soul, and it becomes sensitive to the manifestation of spiritual light.
Having prayed, a person’s skin feels that a bright mood has appeared in it, and they want to do good and good work. However, when a person does something bad, he immediately loses light in his soul and realizes: his heart has become dark, and the center has collapsed. And here we also need to resort to ritual means - prayer. There will be light again, and again there will be light in the soul, and we will know the right path.

Published by: Five Evenings with Vladika // Orthodox Transbaikalia. – November 27, 2007. – No. 21(217).

Saint John Zolotoust.

Mercy and compassion will make us like God.

Memorial service of the Venerable Abbi Dorotheos.

“It is not skinny for anyone to rob what is good, to rob what is pleasing to God. If anyone gives mercy not through human spontaneity, but for the sake of the good itself, from one’s heart, then it is God’s favor. Well, the Will of God is complete, if one does charity not with stinginess, not with laziness, not with sauerkraut, but with all his strength and all his will, giving so, neither accepts it himself, and so benefits, nor receives the blessing himself : Then the Will of God is thoroughly understood . Let us know the very goodness of mercy, the very grace itself is so great that you can forgive your sins: “Your sins have been redeemed by your mercies” (Dan. 4:24). And the Lord Himself said: “Be merciful, just as your Father in heaven is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Without saying: Fast as your Heavenly Father fasts. Without saying: Be unhappy, like your Heavenly Father is unhappy. So what?

Read also: Our dads are getting old. And die with the stench?

- “Be merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful,” because this honor especially inherits from God and makes him like a man. And so always be amazed at the value and do good wisely: and there is a difference in mercy. The other gives mercy so that his field is blessed, and God blesses his field, and he reaches his goal. The other gives mercy so that his ship is hidden, and God protects his ship. The other gives it for his children, and God promises to take care of his children. The other serves it in order to become glorified, and God glorifies him. God does not throw anyone away, but rather gives each person what he wants, so as not to harm his soul. But all the stinks were taken away from their city, and God is not to blame for anything, because the stinks did not look for anything in Him, and the metastasis that was in them had no small bearing on their spiritual core.

The other gives mercy in order to overcome the possible torment - he gives it for his soul, for the sake of God. However, he is not what God wants, because he is still in the slave’s camp, and the slave does not voluntarily submit to the will of his master, lest he be afraid of being punished. In the same way, he gives mercy in order to overcome torment, and God honors him among them. The other gives alms in order to benefit the city. He is the first one, but he is not what God wants him to be, because he is not yet in his son’s camp, but the Naiman is victorious against the will of his lord in order to withhold his payment and income.

In three images, like Basil the Great, we can work for good: we work hard for good, fearing torment, and then we are in the camp of a slave; but in order to get away from the city, and then we are in the camp of the Naimanian, but we are willing to do good for the sake of good itself, and then we are on the stage of the son: because the son obeys the will of his father not out of fear and not because he wants to get away from the city, but le Trying to wait for you, help and calm him down. So we are obliged to give mercy for the sake of the good itself, singing one to another, as to our members, and to do the same to others, as we ourselves would have accepted servants for them. Serve it in such a way that we can avoid it ourselves. The first axis is reasonable mercy. No one can say: “I am a married woman, I have no reason to give alms.” Since you cannot give as many riches as you have contributed to the treasury, then give two mites, like a poor widow, and God will accept you better than the riches’ gifts. If you don’t do that, but you do have power, then you can give mercy to the servants of the German brother. Can't you do that? Then you can comfort your brother with your words. Show me mercy in a word, and feel what is said: “A word is better than a gift.” If you can’t help with a word, then you can, if your brother is embarrassed at you, give him mercy so that they can recognize him in the hour of poverty. If you are trying to kill him in front of a sleeping enemy, then instead of saying a word and thereby making him more profitable, you can say: here you will show mercy to him, extorting his soul from the enemy. You can also, if your brother sins before you, have mercy on him and forgive him for his sin, so that you can also withhold forgiveness from God. And, in this manner, without hesitating mercy to the body, you have mercy on his soul. And what kind of mercy is greater for the pardon of a soul? And just as the soul is given in exchange for the body, so is the mercy given to the soul, and more for mercy is given to the body. And we cannot say to anyone that we cannot give mercy, because we can show mercy according to our own strength and according to our spiritual structure. Let only those who try to work well, work wisely, like the master artist who would love to create his home on stone.