Orthodox Christians can often hear requests for the grace of the Holy Spirit, but not many of those who hear this know what the grace of the Holy Spirit is.

WHAT IS GRACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - DESCRIPTION

To answer the question of what the grace of the Holy Spirit is, you first need to understand what the Holy Spirit is. The Holy Spirit is one of the parts of the Holy Trinity. You have probably heard this phrase: "In the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

And so, what is the grace of the Holy Spirit, and grace is the Divine power that condescends to the Orthodox Christian and helps in solving his everyday needs. Speaking in Orthodox language, the grace of the Holy Spirit is nothing more than the spiritual power of the Lord God, which purifies, sanctifies and revives the soul of an Orthodox person walking the Orthodox righteous path. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with

Now let's turn to the history of the Orthodox world in order to better understand what the grace of the Holy Spirit is. Remember the holy scriptures when Jesus Christ, with the help of the power of his Father, that is, God, performed miracles. He healed seriously ill Orthodox people, made wine out of water, and with one piece of bread he could feed and satisfy thousands of people, as it is written in the Holy Scripture, he fed five thousand people. When asked how he does it, Jesus replied that he does it with the help of the power of his Father and his grace. So, the grace of the Holy Spirit is the holy power of the Lord God, with the help of which he can help an Orthodox Christian in solving his various problems and everyday situations.

If you try to remember your Orthodox life, for sure, you will be able to notice in your life such moments when it would seem that your everyday situation will never be resolved, and then suddenly once, and everything turned out the way you wanted it. Do you remember having such situations in your life? This is precisely the grace of the Holy Spirit, which was given to you when you really truly needed it.

HOW TO RECEIVE THE GRACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

First of all, it is not necessary always and in everyone to ask the Lord God to send you the grace of the Holy Spirit, because a person must make his own efforts, endure hardships and hardships, that is, a person must try to get out of the situation himself. God must see your efforts to achieve the goal to which you are going. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with

If you sit, do nothing and just ask God to send you the grace of the Holy Spirit, then you will never receive it. To receive grace, it is not even necessary to ask God about it, he sees everything and knows everything, and when he sees that you need to send the grace of the Holy Spirit to you, he will do it. If you do not receive grace, then God is sending you trials and punishment, but for what exactly, you must understand yourself, and when you understand, repent and confess, the chance of descent will be greater.

Happy Holidays, dear brothers and sisters!

We are already at the close of the wonderful period of Holy Pentecost, which in a sense corresponds to the time of Great Lent. There is a seven-week fast and there is a seven-week Pentecost. It is no coincidence that even divine services at this time are performed according to special books: during fasting and the preparatory weeks for the Lenten Triodion, and during Holy Pentecost and the next week before Peter's Lent - according to the Color Triodion, and these books are one of the most remarkable and ancient in our church. everyday life. They are often much deeper and more interesting than what we read in the Menaion, where divine services dedicated to certain saints and church events are scheduled for every day.

The Trinity is always both some kind of completion and a beginning. It is always some kind of mystery, always something mystical, deep, requiring an inspired look at what the church tradition invites us here to remember, which Mystery to delve into.

On the one hand, you and I know very well that Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. The Holy Spirit descends on the meeting of Christ's disciples, on the initial church meeting, because the New Testament could not open and come into effect only because Christ accomplished salvation. Something else was needed that would completely change the very heart of people who believe in Christ. Christ on the Cross and in the Resurrection, of course, concludes a New Testament with God the Father, but he still cannot act in people who have not received the gift of the Spirit and have not acquired the wisdom corresponding to this gift. In the Old Testament, there was also a touch to the Spirit, there were also revelations of the Spirit and also had its own wisdom, which we know quite well thanks to the Scriptures of the Old Testament. However, we see what a huge step forward was taken with the entry into force of the New Testament.

On the day of Holy Pentecost, in the troparion of the feast, you and I have just sang:

You have made the fishermen wise,
sending them down the Holy Spirit,
and through them he caught all the nations.
O man-loving one, glory to Thee!

The sending of the Spirit meant the manifestation of a new power - people in a new way recognized God as Spirit. In a new way, although they were previously in one way or another, especially through the prophets, they were attached to the same Spirit. But people did not know the revelation of the Spirit that was given to us in the New Testament.

However, this is not enough. If the power of the Spirit appears, then a person becomes wise, he acquires a new meaning in life.

Blessed are You, Christ our God,
You have made the fishermen wise (!)
sending them down the Holy Spirit,
and through them caught the universe.

In order to “capture the universe”, in order to fulfill the great commission of Christ to make all nations his disciples (Matt 28:19), one must have this wisdom. And you can't get it automatically. It is not enough just to wish for it, or even to express this wish in prayer. Many prayed for the receipt of the Spirit and its gifts, and some were even willing to pay a hefty sum for this, but this only angered God. And the point is not only whether this gift is paid or free of charge given to people, but with what heart and why they ask for the Spirit for themselves. Now, if they want to gain wisdom in order to “grasp the universe”, even if they are simple fishermen, or peasants, or people of the urban class, ordinary bourgeois, then this pleases God, and God in return pleases us with this gift of wisdom in the Holy Spirit. All our other impulses are vain. When we just want ourselves health, prosperity, peace - this is not the basis for receiving the Spirit, and such a person will not acquire wisdom.

Today there was a baptism here, and we only baptized children - this happens very rarely with us: usually we baptize children together with adults, as if adding them to adults. But today three nine-year-old children were baptized and one more was anointed. And it was a gracious, good baptism. It, of course, had to be done in some other way, not like in the case of adults, because it is difficult for children to understand what is said in the prayers. Often they do not understand anything - even nine-year-olds, let alone those who are younger in age - it is very difficult for them to get into what is happening. But when the sacraments are already beginning to be performed - repentance, baptism, chrismation, and they are ready to go to the liturgy in a new way, to receive communion, to give thanks - something always happens here, and the children, a little distracted, a little bored (because they do not understand anything) , turn on, they seem to be ready to fulfill what was said, although they do not understand what is said. Their hearts open, they have some new trust, a new attitude appears, their faces, as always in such cases, change (although we can remember something similar even in the case of babies, and what can we say about such big children).

But they still cannot fulfill the will of God. They cannot yet go and enlighten all nations, make them disciples of Christ. Well, where will the nine-year-old go, I wonder? He can go to school, but what do they do at school? In the normal case, they study. It doesn't always work out, but it does work sometimes.

So, people already somehow partake of grace - this can be seen, it can be testified, and it is joyful, and everyone who was present at the baptism today, I think, will confirm this. But they still cannot fulfill the will of God. Why? Because they do not have this wisdom to receive after receiving the Spirit. They are still “accumulating”, and they must continue to be taught until they can learn, catechizing and entering the fullness of church life - in brotherhood, in community, as it should be according to the apostolic tradition of our Orthodox Church.

And when this wonderful baptism took place, I thought: what to do? The Church has always hesitated whether to baptize children or not. Because they can also gain faith and learn unbaptized - they, of course, must be publicized, must be partaken of grace, but is baptism necessary for this? This question remained a question for me, despite the fact that it was possible to testify once again that the baptism of children was grace-filled. Here in churches they often baptize in such a way that it is impossible to testify of this, that is, one can testify directly to the opposite, that this is not baptism, but an outrage against the sacrament. And there are plenty of such cases, we know many who were formally baptized. They are not baptized in any way, no need to be deceived about this. But in this case, it was possible to say for sure that baptism took place and that grace touched all these children, although they were all prepared in different ways and of a completely different nature (you know what a difficult modern situation among children of this age in spiritually, mentally and physically ). The only answer that I found, and even said about it in the sermon, is that there is a great commission of Christ, but they will need to fulfill it later. For this, they will need both grace and wisdom.

But what children! We often have the same trouble with adults: people somehow receive grace, but they have little wisdom. What to do here? With children it is clear: how they went to school, how their parents taught, so this will continue until their more or less adult state, until the possibility of their announcement, and so on. What about adults? The answer is at least understandable if they are not made public. Although we know how many people will refuse to go to the announcement. They will say: "I am baptized, I take communion, what do you want from me, generally leave you alone with your Gospel." We know how they sometimes react even to ordinary members of our brotherhood, say, members of their families, who often consider themselves believers, but at the same time are categorically against their loved ones going anywhere, reading something, especially where- then they studied, because it takes them away from home, but you need to sit at home. Stay home! In fact, these are two Christianities. In fact, these are two churches - one of Christ, and the other - I don’t know whose ... As if “home” - but at home in such cases there is little joy, and, to put it mildly, little grace, and at work the same. How to be?

We celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity and should know very well what the church tradition conveys to us on this day. She gives a strict task to us ourselves and to all our neighbors: to gain the Spirit and preserve it, having gained Wisdom - the Wisdom of God, and not only human. Human wisdom in such cases "does not benefit at all." With human wisdom, you can defend yourself, become a doctor of sciences, even an academician, or be a good businessman, or something else like that, be some kind of very active figure, including culture, art, and so on, without any grace. Can! In our time, grace is not needed for this, it is even "harmful". But to fulfill the will of God, to fulfill the word of Christ without divine Wisdom - the one that was revealed to us at Pentecost, and not only the one that was known in the Old Testament or in the pagan world - is impossible. These things cannot be confused.

It is no coincidence that Christ gives us a new revelation, He forms His Church out of people who have gained both the Spirit and the Meaning, have gained both the Spirit and the divine Wisdom through His Love and through faith in Christ. And this Church is always a small flock, it is not billions and in many cases not even millions. There are few such people. We can see this very well when we study the history of the 20th century: to whom the Spirit descended, to whom the secret of divine Wisdom through Christ was revealed, and to whom not. Sometimes people who did not receive the Spirit and Wisdom could suffer, because they could also, as belonging to a church organization, be repressed. God is the Judge, we are not talking about their eternal fate, we are talking about how they lived on earth.

Some receive grace, others do not. Some embody it in this Wisdom, in a new life, in the center of which stands only Christ and nothing and no one else, while others do not. Someone more important is his health, or his dacha, or material well-being, or public opinion, and a lot more: children, family, grandchildren, artistic fame - whatever you want. If something like this is in the center, then it is very doubtful that people, even once having received grace, will keep it. It is very likely that they will lose it and remain empty, their hearts will grow cold and darken, and God knows if it is possible for such a heart to find grace again. Some people think that it is impossible, other saints think that it is possible. Probably, you have to try, let alone come what may.

You cannot lose the Spirit. It is impossible to lose the Wisdom of God. We must always grow spiritually and strengthen ourselves, we must go forward and upward every day of our Christian life, not exchanging it for trifles, remaining the light of the world and the salt of the earth. This is the whole point of the holiday of the Trinity. This is not a "holiday of the Russian birch tree", this is something completely different. You and I must not only know and remember this, we must calmly, peacefully and with dignity, but confidently testify about it. The Holy Trinity is revealed when a person is ready to accept this Wisdom with his heart and mind. The Mystery of the Holy Trinity is the Mystery of Christ's Love. This is not only the Mystery of Christ Himself, it is the Mystery of God. And you and I are Christians insofar as we are attached precisely to this Mystery of Christ's Love and to this Mystery of the Holy Trinity. When we are ready to live in the Holy Spirit, ready to live in Christ, ready to live in our God, Heavenly Father, then the Kingdom of God comes close to us, then the powers that are so lacking in many of our contemporaries are gained.

Venerable Anthony the Great:

The grace of the Spirit of God is predominantly given to those who from the bottom of their hearts enter into exploit and from the very beginning determine themselves to stand and not yield to the enemy in anything. However, the Holy Spirit who called them, first makes everything easy for them in order to encourage and comfort those who enter the podvig of repentance, and then shows them all the difficulty of the virtuous path. Helping them in everything, He teaches them how to bear the labors of repentance, and gives them limits and an image both in relation to the body and in relation to the soul, until He leads them to a perfect conversion to God.

Venerable Macarius the Great:

As a bee unnoticed by people builds honeycombs in a hive, so grace secretly creates its love in a person's heart, changing bitterness into sweetness, and a cruel heart into kind. And as a master of silver, making a carving on a dish, gradually covers it with patterns, and only after finishing his work does he show his work in all its glory. Likewise, the true Artist, the Lord, adorns our hearts with carvings and mysteriously renews them until we move from our body, and then the beauty of our soul will be revealed.

Venerable Mark the Ascetic:

A person who wants to feel the action of the Holy Spirit in himself before fulfilling the commandments is like a bought slave who — as soon as he was bought — wants freedom to be signed for him along with the payment of money.

Rev. Cassian the Roman:

Both the grace of God and our free will participate in the work of our salvation. A person, although he can sometimes desire virtue (strive for perfection), but in order to fulfill this desire, always needs God's help. One should not think that human nature is capable of only one evil, the Creator sowed the seeds of all virtues into our souls, but for their growth it is necessary to influence from God, so, however, that in a person there is always free will to accept or not to accept these beneficial influences.

Just as the beginning of good disposition is laid in us by a special inspiration from God, so He also gives us help to accomplish virtues. It depends on us with more or less readiness to submit to the suggestion of God and to accept His help. We deserve a reward or a worthy punishment, judging by whether we are not happy or with reverent obedience we try to live in accordance with the providence of God, which His benevolent favor has extended to us. This was clearly revealed, for example, during the healing of the blind Jericho. The fact that the Lord passed them by is a matter of Divine indulgence. But what they called out: “ Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David "(Matt. 20:31), it is a matter of their faith and hope. The very insight of the blind is again a matter of God's mercy.

The grace of God always directs our will in a good direction, so, however, that it requires or expects appropriate efforts from us. In order not to give her gifts to the careless, she seeks out cases with which she encourages us from cold carelessness, so that the generous communication of her gifts does not seem unreasonable, she reports them after our desire and work. With all this, however, grace is always given free, because for our small efforts it rewards with immeasurable generosity. Therefore, no matter how much human labor is, all of them cannot make grace not surrendered. The apostle of tongues, although he says that "Toiled more than all the apostles," however adds that "These labors do not belong to him, but to the grace of God, which is with him"(1 Cor. 15:10). Thus, in a word: "with me" shows that grace helped him, not in idleness and carelessness to the one who is abiding, but when he worked.

Rev. Isaac the Syrian:

The extent to which a person approaches God by his intention, to such a degree God approaches him by His gifts.

Blessed Diadochus:

Grace at first usually illumines the soul with its light with a strong sensation, and when successes in spiritual Christian life move forward, then, for the most part, unknown to the God-loving soul, it performs its sacraments in it; so that after that (after the pacification of the soul) lead us in joy on the path of divine contemplation, as if we were only called out of ignorance into knowledge, in the midst of exploits (pacification of the soul from passions) to keep our thought unconceivable. It befits us to moderately be cast into sorrow, as if we were forsaken by grace, so that we may be more humbled and learn to obey the Lord's determinations about us; and then enter in good time into joy, be inspired by hope; for as immeasurable sorrow leads the soul into hopelessness, so too much joy leads to conceit and arrogance. I'm talking about babies still in life and mind. Between the enlightenment of grace and abandonment, the middle is temptation; and between sadness and joy, the middle is hope. For it says: "I trusted in the Lord, and He bowed down to me"(Ps. 39: 2) and again: “ With the multiplication of my sorrows in my heart, Your consolations delight my soul ”(Ps. 93:19).

Grace works through the mind, and Satan through carnal feelings and impulses. By holy Baptism, Satan is ejected from the soul, but he is allowed to act on it through the body. The grace of God is infused into the very depths of the soul, that is, into the mind. For, as they say: All the glory of the king's daughter is within, invisible to demons (Ps. 44:14). Therefore, when we remember God with warmth, we feel that love, as it were, flows in a stream from the very depths of our heart. Evil spirits attack bodily feelings and nest in them, conveniently acting through the flesh at their disposal on those who are still infants in soul. Thus, our minds, according to the Apostle Paul, always delight in the law of the Spirit, while the feelings of the flesh are easily carried away by voluptuous inclinations (Rom. 7:18). Therefore, in those who zealously succeed in knowledge, grace through the senses of the mind and the body itself rejoices in inexpressible joy. When we carelessly and carelessly follow the path of piety, the demons of the murderer, finding us like that, captivate our soul through bodily feelings, forcibly dragging it to what it does not want.

Those who say that two persons, that is, the Spirit of grace and the spirit of sin, abide together in the hearts of believers, in confirmation of this opinion, cite the words of Scripture: “ The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not embrace it "(John 1: 5) and deduce that the divine lordship is not in the least defiled from coexistence with the evil one, even though the Divine light in no way approached the demonic darkness. But the same Gospel word denounces those that they philosophize not in accordance with Holy Scripture: “There was a true Light that illuminates every person who comes into the world. He was in the world, and the world began to be through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. And to those who received Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the authority to be children of God ”(John 1: 9-12).

So, the Evangelist does not say about Satan, that he did not know the true light, because he was alien to it from the beginning, but with this word he worthily condemns people who, hearing about the powers and miracles of God, do not, however, want to approach the light of His knowledge, because because of the darkening of their hearts. The Lord teaches us in St. His Gospel, that when Satan, returning, finds his house swept and empty, he finds seven spirits more evil than him, enters it and nests there, making the last state of a person even worse than the first (Luke 11:25). Hence, it is necessary to understand that while the Holy Spirit dwells in us, until then Satan cannot enter into the depths of the soul and dwell there. According to the Apostle (Rom. 7:25), the devil attacks souls carrying Christ the Lord in themselves with arrows of fire, and if he cannot, as before, nest in the minds of those who strive because of the presence of grace in him (the mind), then as nesting in the body, leans on lustful phlegm in order to seduce the soul with its attraction. Why should the body be drained, so that the mind, carried away by lust, does not slip on the lure of lust and does not fall.

Venerable Isaac of Syria:

Grace is preceded by humility, and punishment is preceded by conceit.

Reverend Nikita Stifat:

Any ascetic abandonment of grace is usually for the following guilt: 1) for vanity, 2) for condemning a neighbor, and 3) arrogance of virtues. Why, as soon as any of this is found to have entered the souls of the ascetics, this causes them to be forsaken from God and they cannot escape their righteous condemnation for this during their falls, until, having rejected what was previously the cause of abandonment, they hasten to become humble.

Venerable Gregory the Sinaite:

Those who lose grace suffer this for unbelief and negligence; but those who receive it again are vouchsafed it for faith and diligence. These latter move forward and forward; and those opposite to them completely reverse. Those who receive grace are as conceived and not idle by the Spirit; but it happens that they sweep away the divine seed either through a fall, or because they are widowed by God because of their communion with the enemy hiding within them. The abandonment of grace is an act for the sake of passions (for the sake of delighting passionate movements) and its complete deprivation for the sake of committing sins. For the voluptuous and sin-loving soul is deprived of grace, and through this it becomes a dwelling place for passions.

We affirm that there are eight main objects of contemplation: 1 - God, invisible and formless, beginningless and not created, the cause of all that exists, the Triple One and the Most Substantial Deity; 2 - rank and standing of smart forces; 3 - drawing up visible things; 4 - the house-building descent of the Word; 5 - general resurrection; 6 - the terrible second Coming of Christ; 7 - eternal torment and 8 - the Kingdom of Heaven. The first four are past and accomplished, and the last four are future and not yet manifested, clearly contemplated, however, and recognized as having acquired by grace the complete purity of the mind. He who approaches this without the light of grace, let him know that he builds fantasies, and not contemplation, that he is entangled with fantasies and the dreamer with a dreamy spirit.

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt:

The grace of the holy spirit is the property of every Christian soul and, at the same time, is an absolutely necessary help from above for a truly Christian life. Left to our own strength, we cannot do anything truly good, according to the word of the Lord: “ You cannot do anything without Me ”(John 15: 5).

Without grace-filled help, you cannot overcome any of your passions. Therefore, always ask for help from Christ, your Savior. That is why He came into the world, for this he suffered, died and rose again, in order to help you in everything, to save you from the violence of passions and to cleanse your sins, in order to give you the power to do good by the Holy Spirit, in order to enlighten and pacify you. You ask: "How can one be saved when there is temptation at every step and sinning every minute?" The answer to this is simple: “At every step and every minute, call on the Savior. This way you will save yourself and others. "

What is grace? The good power of God, given to a person who believes and was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ or the Holy Trinity, cleansing, enlightening, helping in doing good and removing from evil, consoling and encouraging in adversity, sorrow and disease, co-operating in receiving the eternal blessings prepared by God in heaven his chosen ones. Whether anyone was proud, proud, angry, envious, but became meek and humble, selfless, for the glory of God and the good of one's neighbor, benevolent to everyone, condescending, yielding without connivance - he has become such a force of grace. Whether anyone was an unbeliever, but has become a believer and a diligent follower of the precepts of faith, - he has become such a power of grace. Whether someone was in love with money, selfish, unjust, hard-hearted towards the poor, but having changed in the depths of his soul, he became non-covetous, truthful, generous, compassionate - he owes this to the power of the grace of Christ. Whether anyone was a glutton, a longing and drunken man, but became temperate, fasting, not because of illness or because of the consciousness of harm to the body of intemperance, but from the consciousness of a moral, higher goal - he became such by the power of grace. Was anyone a hater and vindictive, vindictive, but suddenly became human-loving, loving the enemies themselves, their ill-wishers and their scolders, not remembering any grievances: he became such by the regenerating, transforming and renewing power of grace. Was anyone cold to God, to the church, to worship, to prayer, generally to the mysteries of faith that cleanse and strengthen our souls and bodies, and suddenly, having changed in soul, he became ardent towards God, towards worship, towards prayer, reverent towards the mysteries , he became so by the action of the saving grace of God.

Many live outside of grace, not realizing its importance and need for themselves and not seeking it, according to the word of the Lord: “ Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness "(Matthew 6:33). Many live in all abundance and contentment, enjoy flourishing health, enjoy eating, drinking, walking, amusing themselves, composing, working in various branches of human activity, but they do not have the grace of God in their hearts, this priceless Christian treasure, without which a Christian cannot be a true Christian and heir to the kingdom of heaven.

For a long time I did not know in all clarity how necessary the strengthening of our souls from the Holy Spirit. And now the Most Merciful has let me know how it is necessary. Yes, it is necessary every minute of our being, as breathing is necessary in prayer and throughout life; without strengthening Him, our soul is constantly inclined to all sin and, therefore, to spiritual death. It weakens, completely weakens from the evil entering the heart and becomes weak for good. Without strengthening from the Holy Spirit, you feel how your heart is washed away from various evils and is ready to sink into its abyss every minute. Here it is necessary that our heart should stand on stone. And the stone is the Holy Spirit: He strengthens our strength and, if a person prays, He strengthens his heart in faith and hope to receive what is asked; He inflames his soul with love for God, He casts light, good thoughts on the soul, strengthening the mind and heart; if a person does various things, He strengthens his heart with the consciousness of the importance and necessity of his work and with indestructible patience, which overcomes all difficulties. When dealing with people of various states and of both sexes, he breathes into him respect for the face of a person who is equal - the image of God, whoever he is, redeemed by the blood of Christ God, and distracts his heart and attention from his sometimes very unseemly the appearance of the body and clothing, its rudeness in speech and treatment. He unites us all with love, as a child of the Heavenly Father, and in Christ Jesus teaches us to pray: "Our Father, Who art in heaven."

With the greatest care you must keep in your meager vessel, in your heart, the treasure of the Spirit, in your womb - rivers of water are alive th (John 7:38); you need to be vigilant over your heart, be meek, refrain from irritability and movements of pride, attachment to the earthly, from human carnal uprisings; otherwise, the invaluable treasure of the Spirit will instantly leave us; peace and joy will suddenly disappear from the heart - this is the feeling of an extraordinary, angelic-spiritual lightness of the soul, soaring in the freedom of heart and thought; these rivers of living water, which before had just flowed and plentifully fed the reins of the soul, will also disappear; the soul will be filled with an alien fire, painfully scorching the insides, depriving it of peace and joy and filling it with a feeling of grief and crampedness and inciting irritability and blasphemy.

Distinguish in yourself the Life-giving Spirit and the deadly spirit that kills your soul. When in your soul thoughts are good, it is good for you, it is easy; when there is calmness and joy in your heart, then you have a good Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and when you have unkind thoughts, or unkind heart movements, then it is bad, hard; when you are inwardly confused, then there is an evil spirit in you, an evil spirit. When we have a wicked spirit in us, then with our hearts' tightness and confusion, we usually feel the difficulty of reaching the Lord with our hearts, because the evil spirit binds the soul and does not allow it to ascend to God. The wicked spirit is the spirit of doubt, unbelief, passions, tightness, sorrow, confusion; and the Good Spirit is the Spirit of undoubted faith, the Spirit of virtues, the Spirit of spiritual freedom and breadth, the Spirit of peace and joy.

So clearly, so sharply, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the enemy, the kingdom of life and the kingdom of death are marked and replaced in us. The Christian sees this with his inner eyes and is amazed at God's truth and holiness, is amazed at the intransigence of the enemy, always “ like a lion seeking someone to devour "(1 Peter 5: 8).

By these signs, know when the Spirit of God is in you and when the spirit is evil, and as often as possible ascend with a grateful heart to the All-Holy Spirit that revives you, and with all your might, flee doubts, unbelief and passions with which a spiritual serpent, a thief, creeps into our souls. and the killer of our souls.

But the Holy Spirit is as easy for a believer to draw to himself as the air; like air, He fills everything and penetrates everything. Execute everything and everywhere. He who prays earnestly attracts the Holy Spirit to himself and prays with the Holy Spirit.

Holy Soul, we are all Christians - Your breath, Your birth after baptism, and by the first energetic breath in the face of the first person, we all, all the tribes of the earth - Your breath, Your birth. Have mercy and build up all of us, Holy Soul! With your breath drive away the stench of our sins and passions, eradicate the stench of all sinful inclinations.

Living in the Church of Christ means feeling the closeness of God and, at the same time, the closeness of the Heavenly Church. - Closeness not only in the sense of historical memories or church inheritance, but as a genuine, real prayer contact with the apostles, martyrs, saints, saints and all the righteous who are in it. Living in the Church means getting in touch with the spiritual world, opening your heart more and more to the entry of God's grace into it. The communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, the sacraments of the Church and public prayer are the means that God has given us for the ascent from earthly to heavenly.

Elder Nectarios of Optina:

The outer belongs to us, and the inner belongs to the grace of God. Therefore, do the external, and when it is in working order, then the internal will be formed. No need to desire or seek miracles. We have one miracle - the Divine Liturgy. She is the greatest miracle to which you need to cuddle with all your soul.

Elder Silouan the Athonite:

Every day we nourish our body and breathe air to keep it alive. And the soul needs the Lord and the grace of the Holy Spirit, without which the soul is dead. As the sun warms and lives flowers of the field, and they are attracted to it, so a soul that loves God is attracted to Him and is blissful in Him - and from much joy it wants all people to be blissful as well. The Lord created us for this, so that we can be forever in heaven with Him in love.

Praise the Lord and His mercy: He loved us so much that He gave us the Holy Spirit, who teaches us all good things and gives us the strength to overcome sin. The Lord, out of His much mercy, gives us grace, and we must keep it tight so as not to lose it, for without grace a person is spiritually blind. Blind is he who collects wealth in this world; this means that his soul does not know the Holy Spirit, does not know how sweet He is, and therefore is captivated by the earth. And whoever has cognized the sweetness of the Holy Spirit knows that it is incomparable with anything, and can no longer be captivated by anything on earth, but is captivated only by the love of the Lord, and he is at rest in God, and rejoices, and cries for people that they did not know Gentlemen, and pity them.

When the soul is in the Holy Spirit, then it is content and does not miss the heavenly, for the Kingdom of God is within us; for the Lord came and dwelt in us. But when the soul loses grace; then she misses the heavenly and tearfully seeks the Lord.

A person lives up to grace and thinks that everything in his soul is good and prosperous; but when grace visits him and is with him, then he sees himself completely differently, and when later he loses grace again, then only he will know what great trouble he is in.

Man himself is powerless to fulfill the commandments of God, therefore it is said: “Ask, and it will be given.” And if we do not ask, then we ourselves torment and deprive ourselves of the grace of the Holy Spirit; but without grace the soul is in many ways confused, because it does not understand the will of God.

To have grace, a person must be abstinent in everything: in movement, in word, in looking, in thoughts, in food. And every continence is helped by teaching in the word of God. It is said: "Man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

Observe the grace of God: it is easy to live with it; everything is done well according to God, everything is sweet and joyful, the soul is at peace in God and walks, as it were, in some kind of beautiful garden in which the Lord and the Mother of God live. Without grace, a person is a sinful earth, but with the grace of God, a person is like an angel in his mind. Angels serve God with their minds and love Him, and so does man, like an angel in mind.

Blessed are those who care day and night - how to please the Lord in order to become worthy of His love: they experience and tangibly know the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Grace does not come so that the soul does not know it, and when grace is lost, the soul misses it greatly and tearfully searches for it. If the parents lost their beloved child, then they would look for him everywhere. But a soul that loves God seeks the Lord with greater longing and strength, so that it cannot remember about relatives and dear people.

If we all partaken of the Spirit, how we should partake, then we would see both Heaven and our future state there. (45, 17) .

The grace of the Spirit, when it enters the soul and is established in it, flows stronger than any source, does not stop, does not deplete and does not stop (42, 335) .

Grace not only accompanies you in labors and dangers, but also helps you in the easiest, according to external impressions, deeds and in everything it helps. St. John Chrysostom (43, 668).

Grace blooming with the Spirit occurs only in those who have mortified themselves to sin. Saint Gregory of Nyssa (17, 326).

Surrender yourself to the tender love of grace, because it is the beginning of all acquisition. Until you see her love, just like babies sucking milk do not know about mother's care. Be patient, leave yourself to her will and then you will see her blessings. Monk Ephraim the Syrian (26, 635).

The immaterial and Divine fire illuminates souls and tempts them like genuine gold in a furnace, and vices burn like thorns and straw (33, 190) .

The fire of grace drives away demons, destroys sin, it is the power of resurrection, the effectiveness of immortality (33, 190) .

What is of grace, in that is peace, joy, love, truth (33, 65) .

Descending grace, purifying the inner man and the mind, completely removes the veil of Satan, imposed on people by listening, and frees the soul from all filth and all unclean thoughts, so that the soul becomes pure and, having taken on its own (primordial) nature, gazed freely and with clear eyes at glory true Light (33, 412) .

When grace takes possession of the pastures of the heart, then it reigns over all members and thoughts. For the heart owns the mind and all the thoughts and aspirations of the soul (33, 120) .

In whom grace dwells, in that it becomes, as it were, natural and inalienable: being one, it in various ways, as it pleases, perfects a person for his own benefit. (33, 424) .

Each will need the fruits of virtues in proportion to the benefits God has shown him - natural or granted by God's grace. Venerable Macarius of Egypt (33, 228).

The grace of God not only cuts off the branches of evil, but also plucks out the roots of a corrupted will. Venerable John Cassian the Roman (53, 563).

Grace becomes a wall and a strengthening for a person and separates him from this world for the life of the Future Age (25, 111) .

Grace knows what is good for us, and our nature is known to it; she knows the measure of each and gives according to this measure (26, 639) .

Waves of grace warm the mind and soul. The manifestation of grace brings delight, silence and contrition (25, 364) .

Waves of grace and illumination of the Holy Spirit become pleasant in the heart, and the soul suddenly forgets earthly and fleshly passions (25, 364) .

With grace (a person) succeeds in all virtue and, enlightened by it, will be able to cognize the infinity and bliss of the Future Age (25, 111) .

Not everyone, having matured, honors his mother - so rare honor and grace, although she nourished many. Not everyone remembers the illnesses of the childbirth and the labors of educators. Likewise, not many of us are grateful for the gifts of grace. Monk Ephraim the Syrian (26, 638).

By the power of faith, before any other virtue, the grace of God comes, as the foundation of all virtue. And already with the help of the grace of God, every virtue is established in the heart and is effective. So any virtue that does not come from the grace of God is not imputed by God into a real virtue, because such a virtue is not of God. It happens that demons teach people to seem chaste, merciful, meek and because of this keep them in conceit and pride.

So, you should know that the grace of the All-Holy Spirit comes to everyone who believes in Christ, not for good deeds, which he did before (if she came for good deeds, then there would not be grace, but payment for deeds). But it comes from God for faith, comes before any good deeds, and already on it, as on a solid foundation, good deeds are built, which only with the help of grace and become perfect. So, the deeds that happen without the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, God does not impute for anything, no matter how they are not at all. is no longer good if it is not created on a good basis, but it is impossible for good to be created on a good basis without the grace of Christ. If this were possible, God would not have come to earth to become a man ... And blessed is the man who has learned that only with the help of the grace of Christ all good can be perfect ... (60, 168–169) .

When the Divine fire shines and chases away the swarm of passions, and cleans the house of your soul, then He mixes with it without mixing and unites indescribably, essentially - with its essence, All with everything perfectly. And little by little it illuminates it, makes it with fire, enlightens how? - and I can't say. Then the two - the soul and the Creator - become one. And the Creator dwells in the soul, One with her alone, all the One who with His hand contains the universe. Do not doubt that He is all contained in one soul with the Father and the Spirit, and He embraces this soul within Himself. Saint Simeon the New Theologian (59, 18).

The soul revived by God's grace by faith sees God, by faith perceives, hears Him speaking to her, tastes and smells Him with love, and tries to do things pleasing to Him. This is how it befits a penitent to start a new life after repentance and, as it were, be born again, feed, grow and come into a perfect husband (104, 58). The sons of this world have their treasure; Christians also have their own treasure. For the sons of this age, this wealth is perishable, gold, silver, but for Christians, it is God's grace. This is a heavenly, spiritual treasure that dwells in their hearts, as the apostle wrote: “We carry this treasure in earthen vessels, so that excess power may be attributed to God, and not to us” (). People who have a perishable treasure, due to this, make up for their needs and shortcomings: if they do not have bread, they will buy bread for themselves, if they do not have clothes, they take out clothes. Thus, God's grace, a heavenly treasure that lives in Christian hearts, meets all their needs and spiritual shortcomings. (104, 60–61) .

All spiritual treasures in a person by the grace of God (104, 27) .

By grace, a man from the old becomes new (104, 28) .

Freely, by grace alone, the faithful receive life (104, 63) .

The grace of God descends like a quiet rain, irrigates the heart to fruition (104, 63) .

The action of grace is joy (104, 66) .

Humility is the fruit of the action of grace (104, 66) .

True Repentance Is From Grace (104, 67) .

Grace teaches prayer (104, 67) .

Grace teaches the fear of God (104, 67) .

The one enlightened by grace considers material goods to be rubbish (104, 67) .

The grace of God enlightens the human heart, kindles in it the fire of God's love. Feeling this love in his heart, a person responds with words of love: "I will love You, Lord, my strength!" () ... A truly loving God neither on earth nor in heaven desires anything but God ... To be like this in hell with God is paradise; without God - and torment in the sky (104, 66) .

Such a person does not want to offend anyone, either in deed or in a word, but tries to love everyone unhypocritically, and wants every good both for himself and for anyone. He wants salvation for everyone, as well as for himself, and prays for him. With every person it is not deceitful, not deceitful, but simply treats; what he says in a word, he has in his heart and therefore does not want to lie and deceive anyone (104, 66) .

He takes care of every sin and strives against every sin. And just as it was easy for him to sin before, so already in this state it is hard for him to sin even in small things, to irritate God and disturb his conscience. He knows that every sin makes God angry, and the one who sins is deprived of His mercy. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (104, 67).

“Where did He get this? what wisdom was given to him? " (). Thus spoke of the Lord those who knew His former, ignoble life. It is the same with all who truly follow the Lord. Whoever strictly adheres to the path of the Lord, after the work, when he overcomes everything that is wrong in himself, everything changes, in all his composition: his gaze, gait, speech, and behavior all bear the stamp of special harmony and dignity, even if he had become so before of the lowest origin and not at all educated. And we have to hear: "Where did he get this from?" If the corporeal and visible are so transformed, then what about the inner and the soul, which is more immediate and closer to the action of transforming grace and in relation to which the outer serves only as expression and consequence? How bright are all thoughts, precise and definite! How true is the judgment about the existence and the transient! His views on everything are above philosophical. What about intentions and actions? Everything is pure, sacredly reflects the heavenly light. This is truly a new person! He was not educated, did not listen to lectures at the academies and had no education, but is well-mannered and wise. Attention to oneself, work on oneself, and approaching God have all been altered by the grace of God, but how? - no one sees this. That is why the question: "Where did he get this?" Saint Theophan the Recluse (107, 279,280).

Feat is necessary for a Christian. But it is not feat that frees him from the dominion of the passions: the right hand of the Most High frees him, the grace of the Holy Spirit frees him (108, 525) .

Divine grace, which overshadowed the soul, teaches it a spiritual sensation, and passions, these sensations and inclinations of the flesh and sinful, remain idle (108, 526) .

Uncleanness is an integral part of the fallen nature, and purity is a gift of God's grace (108, 531) .

When sorrow surrounds you, you need to increase your prayers in order to attract to yourself the special grace of God. Only with the help of special grace can we trample all temporary disasters (108, 549) .

When grace-filled consolation acts in the presence of the mysterious knowledge of Christ and His will, the Christian does not condemn either Jew, Gentile, or outright wicked, but flames to everyone with quiet, immaculate love. (109, 140) .

The heart, overshadowed by Divine grace, resurrects into spiritual life, acquires a spiritual sensation, unknown to him in a state of fall, in which the rational sensations of the human heart are mortified by mixing with animal-like sensations (110, 62) .

Let us acquire the Grace of the Holy Spirit - this seal, this is a sign of election and salvation; it is necessary for free marching through the air and for obtaining the entrance to the heavenly gates and abodes (110, 182,183) .

A monk should not doubt receiving the gift of Divine grace ... just as a son does not doubt receiving an inheritance from his father ... At the same time, Saint Isaac the Syrian considers a petition in prayer to send an explicit action of grace deserving of blame ... (108, 282) .

Blindness of the mind is resolved by the action of grace (112, 48) .

When grace acts in a person, it does not show anything ordinary or sensual, but secretly teaches something that it has never seen or imagined before. (112, 65) .

The attention that fully observes prayer from entertainment or from extraneous thoughts and dreams is a gift of God's grace (112, 98) .

Connecting the mind with the heart during prayer accomplishes God's grace in due time, determined by God (112, 114) .

It is natural for Divine grace ... - to reunite the mind not only with the heart and soul, but also with the body, to give them one correct striving for God (112, 115) .

Before the consolation provided by Divine grace, all the joys, all the pleasures of the world are insignificant ... (111, 179) .

The grace of God, overshadowing the penitent, destroys the kingdom of sin in him, establishes the kingdom of God ... Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) (112, 440).

GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

It happens that the soul, having dedicated itself to every feat of virtue, with a strong love for God, constantly retains His imprinted image in itself, and God, as it were, dwells in it. Then, having become inspired from a strong striving and ineffable love for God, she becomes worthy of the prophetic gift. And God gives Divine power and opens the eyes of the soul to understand the visions that He is pleased to communicate. Saint Basil the Great (5, 8).

"They also do not pour young wine into old wineskins" (). Those who decayed from old age and rejected new grace, the Lord called them “old wineskins,” as if breaking through and shedding the new teaching of the Kingdom. This is how Caiaphas showed himself, for when he heard from the Lord that He was the Son of God, he tore his clothes. But Peter, having accepted the law of the Spirit of life, not only, being taught, did not deny, but, being asked, confessed (Jesus - the Son of God), revealing the knowledge of truth implanted in him. Venerable Isidore Pelusiot (115, 480).

“And tongues of fire appeared to them, as it were, and rested, one on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance ”(). Everyone knows how the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles - how abundantly, how wonderful and with what success. The Evangelist Luke writes that this miracle happened almost at the gathering of the whole world. It was amazing to hear then this noise, unexpectedly coming from the sky, delighting the ears of the disciples, while frightening everyone else. This is the breath of the wind, touching the soul with a pleasantness. Divided into flaming particles, the fire played on the heads of the apostles, and its power gave them the ability to glorify the greatness of God in different languages. This power penetrated the mind and enlightened it with Divine light. It penetrated into the heart, and this fire immediately kindled the fire of love, the fire of peace, the fire of spiritual joy!

This miraculous descent of the Holy Spirit was evidence that we too will receive the Holy Spirit, His miraculous actions and gifts, if we have an apostolic soul. Do not think that these fiery tongues, which have rested on the heads of the apostles, cannot be sent to anyone else. No, the grace of God is abundant and generous to all. What do these fiery tongues mean? Oratorical gift, eloquence. But what is meant here is not human eloquence, consisting in the selection of words, a beautiful syllable, in a strong and hot expression. No, such wisdom is often considered insane by God. He was pleased to save us not by the wisdom of words, but by the "foolishness of preaching" (). Yes, and His great preacher frankly admits: “And when I came to you, brothers, I came to proclaim to you the testimony of God not in the superiority of word or wisdom” (). "And my word and my sermon are not in convincing words of human wisdom, but in the manifestation of spirit and power, so that your faith may not be based on human wisdom, but on the power of God" ().

So, the tongues of fire that descended on the apostles meant the gift of the word, but not bodily, but spiritual, not earthly, but heavenly. God speaks with a soul that loves Him simply, sincerely and frankly. For even among people between sincere friends, the conversation is simpler and frank, not adorned with sweet speech. And flowery colored and cunningly woven is more used where there is no sincerity, or they try to attract another to their side, or they want to show their mind and thereby shame and humiliate the simple and uneducated. But God is just talking with a soul that loves Him. And He has no need for conversation either: He speaks not to the ears, but to the heart. Plato, Metropolitan of Moscow (106, 338-341).

Since the power of Christ is omnipotent, then with its nature

according to the fact that she works miracles through the saints when it pleases the Lord, as she once worked miracles through the headbands and kerchiefs that were on the holy Apostle Paul and took his sweat into herself (), and even through one overshadowing of the holy Apostle Peter () ... What a wondrous reward for piety, that by it not only the human spirit is elevated to the grace-filled communion with Christ, but the very body, with which we perform these small feats of fasting, becomes involved in the grace-filled power of Christ, life-giving and miraculous! And if it is still on earth, then what kind of life, what power, what glory awaits the pious in Heaven.

Meanwhile, it can be noted that not all the pious, and not even all the saints, participate in this first, so to speak, resurrection (), which consists in the miraculous incorruption of their sanctified bodies on earth, just as in the initial appearance of this first resurrection many the bodies of the departed saints, but not all. What does it mean? Is it not just God toward His saints, with some increasing the measure of grace, and with others decreasing, bringing some immortality closer, and alienating others, glorifying some and hiding others? No doubt no one who knows God can conceive of this. So what does the apparent inequality of the apparent reward bestowed upon the saints mean? Perhaps it in some way corresponds to the degrees of their inner sanctification, according to which - say, in the words of the apostle - as “star differs from star in glory. So it is with the resurrection of the dead "() ..? But from the inequality of this preliminary reward to the saints, it can be concluded with greater solidity that it is given not so much as a reward to them, as for another purpose, consistent with the wisdom and goodness of God. Indeed, for those who do not seek human glory, who are confident that they will forever reign in the glory of God with Christ, is it important to have or not to have temporary beginnings of glory on earth? But with the Resurrection of Christ, many bodies of the departed saints rose up to enter the holy city and appear to many living - to certify them of the revealed power of the resurrection. So now the bodies of the departed saints appear in incorruption, with miraculous and life-giving power, to certify us, who live in Christ's resurrection and in our future resurrection, to strengthen the weak in the exploits of sin and death, to excite the inattentive and careless to the exploits of piety. (114, 213–214) .

We must look at the descent of the Holy Spirit not only as a miracle that glorified the Apostolic Church, but also as an event substantially associated with the work of our salvation. The Feast of Pentecost is not a simple remembrance of the past, but a continuation of the apostolic preparation for receiving this Spirit, constantly breathing wherever it wants. The Apostles, as the book of Acts narrates, after unanimous and constant prayer, were filled with the Holy Spirit; and not only the apostles, but, according to the explanation of Chrysostom, and the disciples who were with Him, about one hundred and twenty people (). What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? What the Holy Spirit is in His initial gifts, he himself explains by His fiery tongues. He is an insubstantial fire that acts with two forces: light and warmth - the light of faith, the warmth of love. This heavenly light, in the words of Solomon, comes and enlightens “until a full day” (), “dispels the darkness of ignorance and doubt; reveals the deception of ghosts ", which the mind, steeped in sensuality, often takes for the truth. This light allows a person to see himself in the nakedness of corrupted nature, to know the world in relation to the soul and to feel the presence of God as a source of light; communicates "fulfillment of the expected and confidence in the invisible" (). To the extent that the light from the Sun of righteousness intensifies in the mind, the heart warms up and ignites. Divine love drives out self-love from him, scorches the thorns of carnal desires, purifies, liberates him and attracts new light into the soul. The fusion of these initial spiritual gifts forms a fiery tongue that utters the law of God the Word in the heart of man (), depicting Christ in it (), making a rebirth into spiritual life. A person filled with the Holy Spirit shows an image of perfection to an eye not darkened by prejudices, before which, like a shadow, everything that the world calls beautiful and lofty disappears. The apostle appreciated him when he said about some ascetics of the faith that the whole world was not worthy of them (). Grace turns into a priceless treasure everything that it touches in a person devoted to it. A spirit of wisdom shines in his mind - not the one that distinguishes the sons of this world, in the words of the Savior, “in their own kind” (), that is, which teaches them to be inventive in ways and dexterous in cases of gaining favorable times, teaches them to multiply the dignity of not as much in oneself as in the opinion of others, but wisdom, spiritually judging everything (), in order to turn everything into means for the one eternal good of the soul. His will is driven by the spirit of freedom: for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus freed him from the law of sin and death, which gives his slaves as many heavy rulers as there are needs and whims, passions and habits. In the depths of his heart - the peace of God "above all mind" (), which gives to His disciples, "not as the world gives" (). The peace given by Christ is established on unshakable confidence in reconciliation with God, so that a Christian does not despair of temptations, sorrows and dangers, even to death he is peacefully given over to death, in the confidence that "our short-term light suffering produces eternal glory in immeasurable abundance" ( ). The spirit of greatness dwells in him - not blind courage, not pride covered with splendor, not the brilliance of natural virtues, impure in their source, but the true sublimity of thoughts occupied by God, the vastness of contemplation, limited only by eternity, the nobility of feelings born and brought up by the word of God. A spirit of humility dwells in him, which, among the riches of God's grace, sees in itself only poverty and unworthiness, in order to exalt the Lord all the more, while those who have not been regenerated by the Spirit of God in their very shortcomings try to find something great, by their very humiliation to ask for reverence for themselves, grovel to suppress others. A spirit of power operates in him, with which a Christian is not a powerless captive of his own feelings, from all sides open to the attacks of the enemy, defeated before the battle and in order to pacify one passion, obeying another, but a good warrior, clothed in the whole armor of God ( Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow (114, 118–120).

After the death of his elder, Abba John fasted for forty days. And he had a heavenly vision in which he heard a voice: "Whatever sick person you lay your hands on, he will be healed." And in the morning, by the providence of God, a man came to him, brought his suffering wife and began to ask Abba John to heal her. Abba called himself a sinner unworthy of such a deed. But her husband prayed relentlessly for mercy. Then Abba John, laying his hand on the woman, overshadowed her (with the sign of the cross), and she was immediately healed. Since that time, God showed through him many other signs, not only during his life, but also after death. Blessed John Moschus (75, 73).

One monk of Thebes received from God the grace of service, according to which he delivered what was needed to all those in need. It happened one day that he made a supper of love for the poor. And now a woman in the most shabby clothes comes to him for alms. The monk, seeing her in such rags, put his hand into the bag to give her a lot. But his hand clenched and he took out a little. Another well-dressed one also came to him; looking at her clothes, the monk lowered his hand with the intention of giving a little. But the hand opened up and grabbed a lot. He inquired about the women and learned that the one who was in a good dress belonged to the number of honorable persons and fell into poverty, and was dressed well thanks to her relatives. The other, however, put on rags to lure out a great deal of alms. Swelling (82, 508).

Once the desert dweller Mark asked the Monk Seraphim: "Who is the highest in our monastery before the Face of God?" The elder, without hesitation, said: "A cook, one of the former soldiers." And he explained that the character of the cook is by nature fiery, he is ready to kill a person in passion, but his incessant internal struggle attracts the great favor of God. For this struggle, he is given the grace-filled power of the Holy Spirit. God's promise is immutable: to him who overcomes (myself) I will give a place to sit with myself and clothe him in white garments. And vice versa, if a person does not fight with himself, then he comes to a terrible bitterness, which leads the soul to certain death and despair. Trinity flowers (91, 81).

Vladyka, in ordination, each priest is given a special grace. Tell me, how does this happen, what kind of grace does the shepherd receive?

- The Lord left people with a great gift - the grace of the Holy Spirit - and a great commandment: So go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you(Matt. 28 , 19-20). Christ commanded that His disciples impart this gift: Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons; got it for nothing, give it for free(Matt. 10 , eight). Also, the Lord gave the apostles the power to knit and solve sins. To whom you forgive sins will be forgiven; on whom you leave, on who will remain(John. 20 , 23), - said Christ. It is this power, this very grace, in order to teach and minister, that future clergymen have received since ancient times in ordination or ordination - in the Sacrament of the Priesthood.

Each priest, who, above all, is the successor of the apostles, is not only endowed with a divine gift - grace, he has the power to pass it on to all believers. For example, in Baptism. Any Christian, layman in this sacrament through the priest receives the grace of God, becomes its heir. Moreover, the priest not only has the power to transfer grace, he is obliged to do it, he is obliged to share it with people, to give himself, to carry the Gospel teaching to the whole world. This is precisely the meaning of the priestly ministry. But at the same time, this is the task of any Christian, any layman - you must not only be saved yourself, but also become a preacher of salvation. As the apostle Peter said: be always ready to give an answer with meekness and reverence to anyone who requires you to account for your hope.(1 Pet. 3 , 15).

You cited as an example a line from the Gospel, where the Lord empowers the apostles to heal the sick, cast out demons and raise the dead. But modern priests cannot do any of this. Why does the grace given to the clergy not manifest itself in the form of miracles, prophecies, as was the case with the apostles and saints?

At every time the Lord gives those gifts, sends those righteous ones that are necessary in order to direct people to salvation. There was a period in the life of the Christian Church when the Lord gave many believers the gift of speech, the gift of speaking in different languages. The gift of understanding tongues is, by the way, one of the main gifts that the apostles received. The Book of Acts says this: and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance(Acts. 2 , 4). Then at Pentecost, everyone who was in Jerusalem, heard my own dialect in which I was born(cf .: Acts. 2 , eight). The gift of the understanding of tongues was necessary so that the apostles could go all over the world and preach the Gospel doctrine to all nations.

In ancient times, in the early years of the Church's existence, people also had a prophetic gift. Then little by little the Lord took him away. Why? It is likely because the need for it has passed. The church stopped needing him. Probably, if such a gift is needed again for the preaching of the faith of Christ, the Lord will send it. This will happen against our wishes: The spirit breathes where it wants(John. 3 , eight). We are all members of the Church, we all have a certain obedience, we serve in the Church, but it, like the whole world, is ruled by the Lord. He is the Master.

- It turns out that the Gifts that the Holy Spirit gives can be different, but there is one grace for everyone - what is for the saints, what is for priests, what is for the laity?

Yes, grace is a generalized concept. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are also grace, but they can be different. The Lord reveals himself to each person in his own way, in accordance with his worldview, upbringing. The Lord reveals himself to a simple man and a scientist with a sharp, lively mind in completely different things. Say: "There is a God, pray" - and the first one will immediately believe, and the second, perhaps, will read hundreds of books before he finds Christ. Or maybe so: he will read a lot, but still nothing will convince him. In other words, each has its own measure, each is given gifts in proportion to the work and depending on what the heart is disposed to. One is given the gift of prayer, the other is given the gift of serving others. Not everyone can work as a nurse, for example. To do this, you need to have disposition, ability, maybe even certain character traits. Someone is easily humbled, but someone cannot do this at all, and all because one is loving, and the other is harsh.

Can a priest lose the grace given to him in ordination? Can the Lord take her away? For example, if a priest leads an indecent life.

The sacrament of the priesthood, like the sacrament of baptism, like all church sacraments in general, is irrevocable. In the sacraments, a person is betrothed to God. In Baptism, he enters the Church; in ordination, he unites with the Church by marriage. Therefore, it is impossible to "baptize", it is impossible to "dethrone", it is impossible to lay off the dignity. Another thing is our unseemly, sinful actions, for which we lose grace. We do not just lose, but we deprive ourselves of it. The grace of the priesthood will not be taken away from a shepherd, who, like all people, may be wrong, may not be able to do something, may err in some way, sin and generally not be what others imagine him to be. All the sacraments that he performs will be effective and true, however, for his personal salvation, such a priest will lose a lot ... Therefore, there is no need to be afraid that the actions of an impious priest will harm the layman. A layman must first of all take care of himself, of his soul. A priest can make mistakes, fall, but for this the Lord will not leave his flock without grace.

- Is it possible to return grace? If so, how do you do it?

- Grace can be returned only through the correction of the situation in which a person has lost it. The Monk John of the Ladder also speaks of this. If you have lost grace, then remember when, at what moment it happened. What have you done, what have you sinned? Come back to it and fix what's in your power. In life, as it happens: we talk about difficulties, think about where they came from and how to overcome them. But sometimes it is enough to look closely at the circumstances under which they occurred, and immediately everything becomes clear - why it happened, who is to blame. If you are to blame, then correct yourself, reconsider your behavior, and then, perhaps, everything will start to improve. In the spiritual life, everything works the same way. I felt that grace was gone, and every person, I am convinced of this, if at least a little bit tries to live a spiritual life, he feels it, correct the mistake. Yes, it can be difficult, it can take a lot of time, but anyway, it is imperative to try to do it. This is the only way to achieve results and return grace.

- We know from the Gospel that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this century or in the future (see: Matthew 12, 32). Tell me, what is this sin and why is it not forgiven?

Hula is denial of the obvious. Hula is a deliberate violation of conscience. Now I'm not talking about those cases when a person does not want to sin, but still sins, no. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is something else. Here a person sees in his life the Providence of God, sees that the Lord cares about him, feels that God exists, and still denies it, rejects Him and His help. That is, a person deliberately commits the sin of Judah. After all, what is the betrayal? That Judas, understanding everything, renounces. He understands Who is in front of him, and, despite this, does not stop, does not try to correct the situation, but goes to the end. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the same. This is a mortal sin. The Apostle John says there is sin to death, is there sin not to death(cf .: 1 Jn. 5 , 16-17). Sin not to death - these are our everyday misdeeds, mistakes that we all, without exception, commit, but which we repent, which we overcome and move on. Sin to death is a sin that a person has accepted and is rooted in.

But any sin can be forgiven, provided that the person realizes that he is wrong, repents. What is repentance? Repentance is a renunciation of sin, it is an attempt to acquire virtues. If a person changes his spiritual disposition, sincerely regrets his sin, then, of course, the Lord will forgive him. And he will forgive the blasphemy, but only if the person realizes that he was wrong and in what exactly.

Vladyka, the last question was "born" in the temple. Not often, but it happens that during the "protracted" Cherubic parishioners say: "For so long because the Holy Spirit has not yet descended on the Gifts." Is it generally possible to determine at what moment the Spirit descends?

The Holy Spirit descends forever. It is not limited either by time or space. The Holy Spirit always descends during the Liturgy, if it is performed by a legally ordained priest, if he performs certain sacred rites, if he sincerely prays. But the Liturgy is a sacrament, which nevertheless depends on God, and not on man. The Lord says: where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them(Matt. 18 , 20). There, in the church, at the Liturgy, both the Lord and Divine grace are always present. Another question is how a person feels it. If he does not feel anything, it does not mean that nothing is happening.