The visitor’s daughter forgave and pardoned the ray of hope. Captain's daughter

Oh you girl, you red girl!
Don’t go, girl, you’re young to get married;
You ask, girl, father, mother,
Father, mother, clan-tribe;
Save up your mind, girl,
Mind-blowing, dowry.
Folk song

If you find me better, you will forget me,
If you find me worse, you will remember.
Same

When I woke up, I could not come to my senses for some time and did not understand what had happened to me. I lay on the bed, in an unfamiliar room, and felt very weak. Savelich stood in front of me with a candle in his hands. Someone carefully developed the slings with which my chest and shoulder were tied. Little by little my thoughts became clearer. I remembered my fight and guessed that I was wounded. At that moment the door creaked open. "What? What?" – said a voice in a whisper, which made me tremble. “Everyone is in the same position,” Savelich answered with a sigh, “everyone is without memory, this is already the fifth day.” I wanted to turn around, but I couldn’t. "Where I am? Who is there?" – I said with effort. Marya Ivanovna came up to my bed and leaned towards me. "What? How are you feeling?" - she said. “Thank God,” I answered in a weak voice. - Is it you, Marya Ivanovna? tell me...” I was unable to continue and fell silent. Savelich gasped. Joy appeared on his face. “I came to my senses! I came to my senses! - he repeated. - Glory to you, lord! Well, Father Pyotr Andreich! you scared me! Is it easy? fifth day!..” Marya Ivanovna interrupted his speech. “Don’t talk to him much, Savelich,” she said. “He’s still weak.” She went out and quietly closed the door. My thoughts were worried. So, I was in the commandant’s house, Marya Ivanovna came in to see me. I wanted to ask Savelich some questions, but the old man shook his head and covered his ears. I closed my eyes in annoyance and soon fell asleep.

When I woke up, I called Savelich and instead of him I saw Marya Ivanovna in front of me; her angelic voice greeted me. I cannot express the sweet feeling that took possession of me at that moment. I grabbed her hand and clung to it, shedding tears of tenderness. Masha didn’t tear her away... and suddenly her lips touched my cheek, and I felt their hot and fresh kiss. Fire ran through me. “Dear, kind Marya Ivanovna,” I told her, “be my wife, agree to my happiness.” - She came to her senses. “For God’s sake, calm down,” she said, taking her hand away from me. “You are still in danger: the wound may open.” Save yourself at least for me." With that word she left, leaving me in a rapture of delight. Happiness resurrected me. She will be mine! she loves Me! This thought filled my entire existence.

From then on, I got better hour by hour. I was treated by the regimental barber, for there was no other doctor in the fortress, and, thank God, he did not act clever. Youth and nature hastened my recovery. The entire family of the commandant looked after me. Marya Ivanovna did not leave my side. Of course, at the first opportunity, I began the interrupted explanation, and Marya Ivanovna listened to me more patiently. Without any affectation, she confessed to me her heartfelt inclination and said that her parents, of course, would be glad of her happiness. “But think carefully,” she added, “will there be any obstacles from your relatives?”

I thought about it. I had no doubt about my mother’s tenderness; but, knowing my father’s character and way of thinking, I felt that my love would not touch him too much and that he would look at it as a whim of a young man. I sincerely admitted this to Marya Ivanovna and decided, however, to write to my father as eloquently as possible, asking for my parent’s blessing. I showed the letter to Marya Ivanovna, who found it so convincing and touching that she had no doubt about its success and surrendered to the feelings of her tender heart with all the trustfulness of youth and love.

A. S. Pushkin. Captain's daughter. Audiobook

I made peace with Shvabrin in the first days of my recovery. Ivan Kuzmich, reprimanding me for the fight, told me: “Eh, Pyotr Andreich! I should have put you under arrest, but you are already punished. And Alexey Ivanovich is still sitting in the bread store under guard, and Vasilisa Yegorovna has his sword under lock and key. Let him come to his senses and repent.” I was too happy to keep a feeling of hostility in my heart. I began to plead for Shvabrin, and the good commandant, with the consent of his wife, decided to release him. Shvabrin came to me; he expressed deep regret for what happened between us; admitted that he was all to blame and asked me to forget about the past. Being by nature not vindictive, I sincerely forgave him both our quarrel and the wound I received from him. In his slander I saw the annoyance of offended pride and rejected love and generously excused my unfortunate rival.

I soon recovered and was able to move into my apartment. I eagerly awaited an answer to the letter sent, not daring to hope and trying to drown out sad forebodings. I have not yet explained to Vasilisa Egorovna and her husband; but my proposal should not have surprised them. Neither I nor Marya Ivanovna tried to hide our feelings from them, and we were already sure of their agreement in advance.

Finally, one morning Savelich came in to see me, holding a letter in his hands. I grabbed it with trepidation. The address was written by the priest's hand. This prepared me for something important, because my mother usually wrote letters to me, and he added a few lines at the end. For a long time I did not open the package and re-read the solemn inscription: “To my son Pyotr Andreevich Grinev, to the Orenburg province, to the Belogorsk fortress.” I tried to guess from the handwriting the mood in which the letter was written; I finally decided to print it out and from the first lines I saw that the whole thing had gone to hell. The contents of the letter were as follows:

“My son Peter! We received your letter, in which you ask us for our parental blessing and consent to marry Marya Ivanova, Mironova’s daughter, on the 15th of this month, and not only do I not intend to give you either my blessing or my consent, but I also intend to to get to you and for your pranks to teach you a lesson like a boy, despite your officer rank: for you have proven that you are still unworthy of wearing a sword, which was granted to you to defend the fatherland, and not for duels with the same brats as you yourself. I will immediately write to Andrei Karlovich, asking him to transfer you from the Belogorsk fortress somewhere further away, where your nonsense will go away. Your mother, having learned about your fight and that you were wounded, fell ill with grief and is now lying down. What will you become? I pray to God that you will improve, although I do not dare hope for his great mercy.

Your father A.G.”

Reading this letter aroused different feelings in me. The cruel expressions, which the priest did not skimp on, deeply offended me. The disdain with which he mentioned Marya Ivanovna seemed to me as obscene as it was unfair. The thought of my transfer from the Belogorsk fortress terrified me; But what saddened me most was the news of my mother’s illness. I was indignant at Savelich, having no doubt that my fight became known to my parents through him. Walking back and forth in my cramped room, I stopped in front of him and said, looking at him menacingly: “Apparently, you are not satisfied that, thanks to you, I was wounded and was on the edge of the grave for a whole month: you want to kill my mother too.” . Savelich was struck like thunder. “For mercy, sir,” he said, almost bursting into tears, “what do you want to say? I'm the reason you were hurt! God knows, I ran to shield you with my chest from Alexei Ivanovich’s sword! Damn old age got in the way. What did I do to your mother?” - "What did you do? - I answered. -Who asked you to write denunciations against me? Are you assigned to me as a spy? - "I? wrote denunciations against you? - Savelich answered with tears. - Lord, the king of heaven! So please read what the master writes to me: you will see how I denounced you.” Then he took a letter out of his pocket, and I read the following:

“Shame on you, old dog, that you, despite my strict orders, did not inform me about my son Pyotr Andreevich and that strangers are forced to notify me of his mischief. Is this how you fulfill your position and the will of your master? I love you, old dog! I will send pigs to graze for hiding the truth and conniving with the young man. Having received this, I order you to immediately write to me, what is his health now, about which they write to me that he has recovered; and where exactly was he wounded and whether he was well treated.”

It was obvious that Savelich was right in front of me and that I needlessly insulted him with reproach and suspicion. I asked him for forgiveness; but the old man was inconsolable. “This is what I have lived to see,” he repeated, “this is what favors I have received from my masters! I am an old dog and a swineherd, and am I also the cause of your wound? No, Father Pyotr Andreich! It’s not me, the damned monsieur, who is to blame for everything: he taught you to poke and stomp with iron skewers, as if by poking and stomping you can protect yourself from an evil person! It was necessary to hire a monsieur and spend extra money!”

But who took the trouble to notify my father about my behavior? General? But he didn't seem to care much about me; and Ivan Kuzmich did not consider it necessary to report on my fight. I was at a loss. My suspicions settled on Shvabrin. He alone had the benefit of denunciation, the consequence of which could have been my removal from the fortress and a break with the commandant’s family. I went to announce everything to Marya Ivanovna. She met me on the porch. “What happened to you? – she said when she saw me. “How pale you are!” - "Everything is over!" - I answered and gave her my father’s letter. She turned pale in turn. Having read it, she returned the letter to me with a trembling hand and said in a trembling voice: “Apparently, I am not destined... Your relatives do not want me into their family. Let the Lord's will be in everything! God knows better than we do what we need. There is nothing to do, Pyotr Andreich; At least be happy..." - "This won't happen! - I cried, grabbing her hand, - you love me; I'm ready for anything. Let's go, let's throw ourselves at the feet of your parents; they are simple people, not hard-hearted and proud... They will bless us; we will get married... and then, over time, I am sure, we will beg my father; mother will be for us; he will forgive me...” “No, Pyotr Andreich,” answered Masha, “I will not marry you without the blessing of your parents. Without their blessing you will not be happy. Let us submit to the will of God. If you find yourself a betrothed, if you fall in love with another, God be with you, Pyotr Andreich; and I am for both of you...” Then she began to cry and left me; I wanted to follow her into the room, but I felt that I was unable to control myself, and I returned home.

I was sitting immersed in deep thought, when suddenly Savelich interrupted my thoughts. “Here, sir,” he said, handing me a sheet of paper covered in writing, “see if I’m an informer on my master and if I’m trying to confuse my son with his father.” I took the paper from his hands: it was Savelich’s response to the letter he had received. Here it is word by word:

“Sovereign Andrei Petrovich,

our merciful father!

I received your gracious writing, in which you deign to be angry with me, your servant, that I am ashamed of not fulfilling the master’s orders, but I, not an old dog, but your faithful servant, obey the master’s orders and have always served you diligently and lived to see gray hair I didn’t write anything to you about Pyotr Andreich’s wound, so as not to scare you unnecessarily, and, I hear, the lady, our mother Avdotya Vasilyevna, already fell ill with fright, and I will pray to God for her health. And Pyotr Andreich was wounded under the right shoulder, in the chest right under the bone, one and a half inches deep, and he lay in the commandant’s house, where we brought him from the shore, and he was treated by the local barber Stepan Paramonov; and now Pyotr Andreich, thank God, is healthy, and there is nothing but good things to write about him. The commanders are heard to be pleased with him; and to Vasilisa Yegorovna he is like his own son. And the fact that such an accident happened to him is not a reproach for the fellow: the horse has four legs, but it stumbles. And you deign to write that you will send me to herd pigs, and that is your boyar will. For this I bow slavishly.

Your faithful servant

Arkhip Savelyev."

I couldn’t help but smile several times while reading the good old man’s letter. I was unable to answer the priest; and to calm my mother down, Savelich’s letter seemed sufficient to me.

Since then my position has changed. Marya Ivanovna hardly spoke to me and tried in every possible way to avoid me. The commandant's house became hateful to me. Little by little I learned to sit alone at home. At first Vasilisa Egorovna blamed me for this; but, seeing my stubbornness, she left me alone. I saw Ivan Kuzmich only when the service required it. I met Shvabrin rarely and reluctantly, especially since I noticed in him a hidden hostility towards myself, which confirmed my suspicions. My life has become unbearable to me. I fell into a gloomy reverie, fueled by loneliness and inaction. My love flared up in solitude and hour by hour it became more painful for me. I lost the desire for reading and literature. My spirit fell. I was afraid of either going crazy or falling into debauchery. Unexpected events that had an important impact on my whole life suddenly gave my soul a strong and beneficial shock.

My children are caroling in heaven.

This news then raised people all over the world to prayer. From Kyiv to Jerusalem, from Greece to Canada, an astonished “Lord, have mercy!” rushed to the sky. Two little girls, the daughters of a young priest, died in a fire on Christmas Eve, and his house burned to the ground.

“Praise Christ!” - with these words the heart of Father Vasily responded to grief. “I cannot hold back my father’s tears for my children, but I know that they, under the protection of the Mother of God, sing carols for the Newborn God-Infant in heaven. And the awareness of this heals a huge wound in my heart, turning sorrow into joy...” A day after the tragedy, the priest published these lines on his website, which became a real anthem of life for all of us. Archpriest Vasily Romanyuk tells the readers of “The Youth” where he found the strength to endure such a loss, how he explains what happened to himself and with what feeling he continues to live.

From the official message: “On January 4, 2014 at 15:02, the 101 service received a call about a fire in the village of Shpanov, Rivne region. When rescuers arrived, the wooden residential building was completely engulfed in fire. At 15:40 the fire was localized and then extinguished. Two dead children of the owner of the house were found in one of the rooms: girls born in 2006 and 2009. Two more children were able to escape..."

I remember that day very well... My mother and I literally jumped out for half an hour and went to get some cake.
The fact is that our children fast with us. We don’t eat vegetable oil during the week, only on weekends; if it’s a fish, then on Annunciation and Palm Sunday, on Lazarus Saturday - caviar. And all our posts are so strict. And when you fast, in the end you look forward to the holiday not only with your soul, but also with your body. Anyone who has not fasted will not understand this...
So it is here. The Nativity Fast was ending, and we were slowly preparing for the holiday: we bought sausages, and Mother baked some meat delicacies. We also ordered a cake. The woman who baked it for us called and asked to pick it up. We almost never left the children alone, but here we decided to go quickly while our eldest, Ulyanka, looked after the girls.

As soon as we left and arrived at the parking lot, she called and said that a fire had jumped out of the stove. But I checked before leaving: everything had already burned out, only ashes and one oak log remained, which I deliberately pushed further into the depths...
While we were flying home, it felt as if life had stopped and time had stood still. We were racing at such a speed that I don’t know how we didn’t crash - I jumped through intersections when they turned red, drove into oncoming traffic, and it still seemed like I was going slowly. When suddenly they saw a huge black column of smoke in front of them...

My mother and I cried, prayed, and hoped that the eldest girl brought everyone out. We arrived - Ulyanka is in tears: “Sofia and Veronichka are in the house...”. The eldest, who was twelve at that time, brought out the youngest girl, two-year-old Ustinka. She says that our other two daughters also followed her at first, but then they got scared and ran to another room to hide in the closet. And as soon as she jumped out, the fire became a wall and didn’t let anyone in there.
I asked the firefighters to pour water on me so that I could enter, but it didn’t work. They knocked out a window where the daughters could hide, but the flames were so strong that they made it impossible to get inside.
By the way, “miracles” also happened to firefighters. It took a very long time to get there, all the taps were closed, and the water flowed out along the way. We went to get water to the pond - the car got stuck on dry frozen ground...

And my mother and I no longer had any tears to cry. We walked around and prayed, and asked, and believed that the Lord would miraculously protect our children and keep them alive. But the house continued to burn, and it became clear that nothing could be done. Then I began to ask: “Lord, let ME suffer for my children - so that they don’t feel pain, so that instead of them I feel everything...”. The doctors offered to give me an injection with a sedative, but I did not agree - I wanted to be fully conscious in order to fully experience everything that my children experienced. And, you know, I was either hot or cold. The body was burning with fire: while I was looking for at least a sip of water to drink, at that time frost was already creeping across my skin. All this long time, while the house was burning, I had the feeling that I myself was on fire there.

I believed and had no doubt at all that the Lord and the Mother of God would accept my children. That the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker covered their daughters with their prayers and helped them endure - I felt an unshakable hope for this. But when the firefighters gave up and said that they could not do anything: the fire was so strong that the molten metal flowed like water, and they had to wait for it to burn out - despair and fear set in.
Our house stood next to the church where I serve - in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara. I turned around and slowly walked into the church grounds. After walking about thirty meters, he stopped. There is a fire behind me, to the left is our temple, to the right is the stadium, the road... I raised my head, looked into the sky and suddenly felt hatred enveloping me outside. This feeling was not inside, but it seemed to come from all sides - such inhuman hatred, such hatred does not exist among people.

And it’s as if an old friend comes up from the left and tenderly says: “Well, what are you going to do now?” I am silent, looking at the sky. And then this thought: “You had four daughters, and now you don’t have two. There were two beautiful girls with eyes as blue as the sky. And so they died. What will you do?". I was confused, and this hatred turned to me again: “Two girls are beautiful, like stars in the sky. They are no longer there. But what after death? Nothing, darkness...” I feel overwhelmed by fear, but I don’t understand what to do, I remain silent and only hear: “Your heart is already half dead. But you still have two daughters left, which means the other half of your heart is still alive. So what will you do? Will you continue to love God and serve people?” After these words, I understood what was happening: the enemy was tempting me.

All my thoughts then rushed to the sky and began to ask out loud: “Lord, do not leave my children!” After all, demons have no power over pure souls, and we believe that if a baptized baby dies, the Lord takes him straight to heaven. Likewise, the devil was not able to take my children, but I realized that he could frighten them. I began to pray to the Lord to protect my children and not allow the enemy to cause them any harm.
People look at me talking out loud to myself, they probably thought that the priest had gone crazy from grief... But I feel that I am not worthy to ask the Lord, because I am a very sinner, and then I begin to pray to the Mother of God: “Most Holy Theotokos, we We love you very much, we always pray to You, and my children love You, they never leave You in supplication and praise, and You do not leave them either!”

But I understand that I am not worthy to ask the Mother of God, I begin to call on all the saints: “Take care of my children so that the enemy cannot cause them any harm, protect them with your prayer!” And I know, I feel that I don’t even dare to ask the saints, then I turn to the departed: “My deceased ones, whom I buried, buried - I led more than three hundred of you into eternal life, I pray for everyone at every liturgy. Don’t leave me, don’t leave my children either!”
Apparently, the enemy was trying to sow in my mind the idea that after death there is nothing - darkness, emptiness. He tempted me to start grumbling and reproaching the Lord. However, the Lord enlightened me, I began to pray, and this cloud of hatred around me burst like a bubble. But the devil could tempt both my mother and my eldest daughter, so I immediately ran to them. The two of them sat on a bench, crying. He came up, hugged them and said: “Girls, just don’t complain. No matter how the enemy tempts you, ask the Lord for forgiveness for our sins, pray that He will preserve the souls of Sophia and Veronica. Praise the Lord!
From that moment on, the fire lost strength and began to fade. Just when water was brought in, the rescuers were able to extinguish the fire. Then we began to clear up the fire...

“No one can take away your joy...”
My mother and I had such pain and suffering that we cannot express it. But we accepted everything with faith, did not grumble, just prayed.
The next morning I had to serve the liturgy. It was Sunday, January 5th. I began to prepare and prayed virtually all night. Our neighbors took us in... In the morning I came - the temple was full of people. He stood before the throne, served very hard, cried throughout the service. Fellow priests arrived and everyone supported us very much. My friend, Father Peter, gave me his cassock and cross - after all, absolutely everything was burned.
After the service, they took the girls from the morgue, bought coffins, and brought them to the temple. We served a memorial service and began to read the Psalter. My children were in church all day. A lot of people came: almost all the priests came to support, our locals, all denominations. I only asked that they not bring artificial flowers: “The Lord lives, and my children are alive with the Lord...”. And people brought only fresh flowers.

At night, one priest, my friend, says: “Lie down, maybe you’ll fall asleep.” I lay down on the floor right in the altar, but could not sleep, I got up and went on to serve the litia between kathismas. Mother and I needed to prepare for Communion, but neither she nor I had the strength to pray.
Then I went out onto the sole and knelt in front of the icon of the Mother of God in the iconostasis. I look in front of me and see the Royal Doors. And suddenly a terrible darkness appears before my eyes. This probably happens to a person because of his sins - nothing on earth can frighten as much as this darkness. And as soon as fear began to overcome me, I suddenly felt that I was moving away from the darkness, rising mentally upward. It wasn’t scary, on the contrary, it felt like someone close to me. Probably my Guardian Angel.

I see the sky, the red sun, and above all this is a flower arch. In the distance, a light flickers and suddenly begins to approach me, grows, becomes like a candle flame. I looked: “Yes, this is the Mother of God!” In a fiery radiance, as in the Pochaevskaya icon, She is depicted, the beautiful Most Holy Theotokos stands and holds my girls’ hands: with her right hand - Sophia, with her left - Veronica. They both smiled at me and seemed to be jumping up and down near the Mother of God, so joyful, so beautiful! I look at them, and it feels so easy and good...
And they turned their backs to me and went back to the arch decorated with flowers. The Mother of God again became like a light, and such a bright light poured from the arch that it illuminated everything around...
I believe that it was the Lord who allowed my girls to say goodbye to me, and showed that the enemy had no power over my children, did not frighten them, because the Mother of God Herself led them through, and the Lord accepted them into His Heavenly Abodes.

...After this I felt such a surge of energy that my strength was completely renewed. He entered the altar, kissed the throne, began to pray and praise God. When he came out, he crossed himself and told about everything he had just seen. And I was not the only one who accepted this grace - and my mother felt heavenly joy.
The two of us stood near the children, prayed, and read all the canons for Communion in one breath. And then I went into the altar and wrote a Christmas message to our Rivne youth. Thoughts came to mind on their own, these were not my words - the Lord gave them. The fact that the flesh of my children is now going into the ground, because it was taken from the ground, and the spirit is sent to the Newborn, and they will sing to the Lord already in Heaven. But we learned new carols for Christmas - a whole program!

...When the priests, my brothers, went to the funeral, they did not know how to console us. But I had such joy in my soul that I consoled everyone myself. Although, when the burial was performed, I could not hold back my tears, I cried a lot, but the joy that the children were with the Lord did not leave me for a minute.
It so happened that my children have two graves. They were buried in the cemetery outside the village. And then... In the house where they were found, there remained the ashes of burnt arms and legs. I realized that it was not good to leave it like that. Therefore, we collected everything and buried it on the territory of our temple. I always wanted to erect some kind of monument on the hill near the church - in honor of the Mother of God or the Lord's feast day. But it turned out that here now my daughters are in the ground, and above them is a monument...
***
We loved life very much, the whole family constantly went into the forest for a walk, to bake meat or fish kebab, to play, to run with the children, to lie in the grass. Now our family is divided, but the task of those who remain is to come to the Lord, to live in such a way as to have a crown - the Kingdom of God.
I remember there was a moment when I prayed at the throne: “Lord, don’t leave me here, take me to my girls! I will protect them, they won’t be afraid with me.” Suddenly my heart caught fire, beat quickly, and I heard the answer: “Those two are with the Lord in paradise, and all the saints are with them. And who will you leave these to?” And I realized that this was God’s will, and I accepted everything as it was.

Worldly rumor -
Sea wave.

Proverb.

This work has entered the public domain. The work was written by an author who died more than seventy years ago, and was published during his lifetime or posthumously, but more than seventy years have also passed since publication. It may be freely used by anyone without anyone's consent or permission and without payment of royalties.

I. Gospel reading. Conception (62): Matthew 15:21–28

21 And Jesus departed from there and departed into the countries of Tire and Sidon.

22 And behold, a Canaanite woman came out of those places and cried out to Him: Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David, my daughter is cruelly raging.

23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came up and asked Him: let her go, because she is screaming after us.

24 And he answered and said, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

25 And she came up and bowed to Him and said: Lord! help me.

26 He answered and said, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

27 She said: Yes, Lord! but the dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.

28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman! great is your faith; may it be for you

to your desire. And her daughter was healed at that hour

The story of this Gospel about the Canaanite wife has many similarities with Jacob’s Theology; both there and here, on the one hand, intense and humble prayer is depicted, and on the other, unshakable boldness. What did Jacob say when he said: I won’t let you go until you bless me"(Gen. 32:26), this is what the Canaanite wife expresses in all her relationships with Jesus Christ. In both of these cases, the weakest gains, through faith and prayer, victory over the stronger. Thus, we will not be mistaken if we say that the main idea of ​​the day's Gospel is - the struggle of the worshiper with God.

l. Start This struggle is depicted in the following terms:

a) The person with whom the worshiper wrestles (v. 22) ( Lord, son of David);

b) the reason for the struggle, which lies in the greatness of the needs and the consciousness of one’s own powerlessness to eliminate them (v. 22) ( have mercy on me)

c) the deepest basis of this struggle is complete confidence in the omnipotence and goodness of Jesus Christ.

2. Continuation this struggle is revealed in:

a) that the one who prays does not stop praying, although Jesus Christ, apparently, does not heed the prayer (v. 23) ( didn't answer her a word), although He, despite the intercession of others, refuses help (v. 24);

b) that prayer constantly intensifies, with new boldness (v. 25);

c) that the one who prays, with deep humility and awareness of his insignificance, does not cease to hope that his prayer will be heard (vv. 26–27).

3. Exodus this fight:

a) the faith of the one who prays earnestly is glorified (v. 28) ( great is your faith) And

b) receives what he asks for (v. 28).

As for the particular truths instilled in the daily Gospel, they can be expressed as follows:

(Article 22); Need leads to God. An example of a worthy mother. What does the thought that most of us were the subject of the vigilant and bitter care of our parents remind us of? How criminal and dangerous it is to turn to God in need and forget Him in joy! About family trials. The School of the Cross is the best school.

Art. 23): Why does the Lord not always listen to our prayers? About some cases where we, following the example of Jesus Christ, can hide our true intentions for some time.

(Vv. 24–25): We must not weaken in prayer, despite seeming refusal.

(Art. 26): About prejudices.

(v. 27): Instructive reflections on the animal kingdom, or on the important truths revealed by comparing the animal world with the human world.

(V. 28): About the properties of great faith, etc.

Canaanite wife as an example of noble femininity

« And behold, a Canaanite woman came out of those places and shouted to Him:"(v.22).

1. The main features of this sample.

It reveals:

A) Selfless motherly love. It is rightly said when they assert that love is manifested in the best, purest and most noble way in maternal aspirations. If we think about how early this love begins, how much it does, how many sacrifices it makes, and how long it lasts, then we cannot but agree on the truth of this statement.

The proof of this is the pagan mother in today's Gospel.

Neither the crowd of people nor the fear of being rejected prevents her from approaching Jesus Christ and asking Him: “ »

Thus, the Canaanite woman represents an example of the most sincere maternal love.

b) Wise attitude during maternal suffering.

Probably needed immediate help ( my daughter is cruelly raging) or, more likely, the disease was of a type that, according to ordinary experiments, belonged to the incurable, but which Jesus Christ healed in other places. In both cases, the pagan mother takes advantage of the appropriate moment and convenient circumstance.

Perhaps the Savior will only remain for a short time in a foreign country; therefore, we must rush to Him with a prayer for help.

He is the One who has already healed similar bodily ailments many times, if they rely on Him. He loves to do charity so much.

Both thoughts could occupy the mother’s anxious heart, and both were aimed at seizing a convenient moment to turn to where help was the only possible place.

V) Modesty and subtlety in the face of apparent refusal of help.

As the sorrowful mother earnestly asks, but Jesus Christ does not answer her a word (v. 23).

The disciples themselves ask for the unfortunate woman, but they also hear the answer: (v.24).

Not afraid of such cruelty, she bows to the Savior and once again in her maternal grief calls out: “ God! help me!"(v.25). And when now the Lord continued His cruel answer in the spirit of Jewish concepts, when He said: “ It's not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs"(v. 26) - with what subtlety and wit she turns these words to her advantage! " She said: yes, Lord! but dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table« (Art. 27).

If we now imagine that all this happened in a moment of extreme need, that this modesty, this courage and this subtlety were exclusively a matter of maternal love, then in what high dignity the act of a grieving wife will then appear to us!

2.For whom is this example of noble femininity represented by the Canaanite woman particularly instructive?

a) For you, husbands, to convince you that a woman, especially in family suffering, often displays much more courage and firmness than a man.

The all-wise and all-kind Creator has designated for husbands all those activities that require the highest degree of exertion of mental and physical strength, where it is necessary to resist all kinds of dangers.

But the wife is also given her own task in life, where she can develop her high qualities. The quiet home circle is the arena for her great virtues, often unattainable to such a degree and firmness for a man!

Mother in today's Gospel.

May this serve as a lesson for those who often do not give fair merit to the female sex, may husbands who have such life partners have high respect and love for them.

b) For you who bear the venerable name of mothers. The pagan wife in today's Gospel presents you with a wonderful example of caring for a sick child.

But the sacred responsibilities of motherhood extend much further. Both physical and initial moral education of children mostly depend on mothers.

How much a mother can do if she faithfully performs her duties in the home circle! What virtues can she teach her children!

Test yourself, mothers, to see if you are like that in your circle, and rejoice if your conscience does not reproach you for violating your maternal responsibilities.

V) For those caring for sick family members.

The caring mother in today's Gospel did everything that was necessary and desirable in this case.

Heartfelt participation, possible immediate and complete help, tireless patience - personal sacrifice of every kind.

Let us also demonstrate such virtues where the Lord visits us with family illnesses!

Jesus Christ clothed with the ghost of evil

« But He didn't answer her a word "(v.23).

Everywhere, in all the stories of the gospel history, we see Jesus Christ meek, merciful, full of love and compassion. But the current Gospel is completely different.

He, who was always compassionate, seems cruel; He, who acted with wisdom everywhere, now speaks in the spirit of Jewish prejudices and generally appears in an alien, special form, with the specter of evil.

1. How does this show up?

A) The fact that He apparently does not pay the slightest attention to the request of the unfortunate mother.

If anyone is able to ask convincingly, then this is, of course, a true mother. Her love is not usually afraid of any sacrifices. In her appearance, as well as in the tone of her speech, one can always hear something very touching, tearing apart. Therefore, a wise and sensitive person can rarely resist the request of noble maternal love.

The Canaanite wife, according to the story of the day's Gospel, was indeed in such a state (v. 22).

And yet, how strange the action of Jesus Christ seems in the text! The evangelist briefly notes that the Lord did not pay any attention to the mother’s request: “ But He didn't answer her a word"(v.23).

Is this not some specter of evil in the relation of Jesus Christ to the Canaanite wife?

b) The fact that He, despite the intercession of His disciples, remains, apparently, indifferent and adamant.

What a stranger is often unable to achieve, what we deny him personally, perhaps for important reasons, he sometimes manages to achieve through the friendly intercession of our friends and acquaintances.

We often yield to their requests, and through this our certain severity is softened.

We see something similar in the day’s Gospel, because it directly says: “ and His disciples came and asked Him", etc. (v. 23).

But this did not move Jesus Christ to compassion; He remains implacable.

V) The fact that in this case He intentionally expresses himself in the spirit of Jewish concepts and prejudices.

Everywhere we see in Jesus Christ love that embraces the entire human race, without distinction between tribes and nations, and now we hear from His lips: “ I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel"(Article 24); Now He himself, apparently, shares with His compatriots the concepts of Jewish pride, calling people who do not belong to the Israeli people dogs (v. 26).

Thus, the entire story of this Gospel depicts Jesus Christ to us in a special, alien form, and if verse 28 had not given us a clear conclusion about His actions, then we would not have been able to remove from him some shadow of evil, etc.

2. What can we learn from this attitude of Jesus Christ? A lot:

A) Never unnecessarily give a deceptive appearance to your actions, but only then if it is impossible otherwise to achieve something truly good and noble.

The example of Jesus Christ obliges us to do this. Only on rare occasions do we see that He tried to hide His true intentions, that He took on a deceptive appearance. In the present case, He makes an exception only because everything here came together so favorably in order to thus destroy the harmful prejudice in His disciples.

Having once crossed the narrow borders of His fatherland, He was among the pagans, whom the Jews looked at with contempt, the grief-stricken mother approaches Him, Jewish cruelty and unmercifulness towards foreigners should have expressed itself here. How auspiciously everything came together here to make His disciples feel the reprehensible blindness of their compatriots!

In such isolated rare cases, we can sometimes allow ourselves to have a deceptive attitude towards others, etc.

b) Do not condemn with indignation the harsh or strange actions of wise and kind people.

Of course, true wisdom and virtue have unchangeable reasons on which they operate. But higher responsibilities sometimes force one to show the other side of oneself.

How often are government officials forced, in order to preserve the generally beneficial order, to appear cruel and inflexible towards individuals!

How often must a prudent teacher take apparently drastic measures if he wishes to achieve his goal among the youth entrusted to him! etc

But such a course of action of wise and noble people is often subjected to false rumors, and their entire activity is assessed on the basis of individual, supposedly strange actions.

Let us refrain from such judgments, let us not stigmatize the seemingly strange actions of people known for their wisdom and virtues. We would unjustly condemn Jesus Christ in the present Gospel if we stopped only at his apparent cruelty, without delving into the purpose of His actions and without paying attention to the touching end of the story.

V) Learn from Jesus Christ that knowledge of men which always uses the proper means to influence others for good..

Jesus Christ quickly surveys the circumstances among which He had to act here. He stepped onto a piece of pagan land, which, perhaps, seemed strange to His disciples themselves. He hears his mother’s cry and immediately decides: here is a decent place, here the most favorable circumstances have come together to destroy such a harmful popular prejudice, shared by His disciples.

Such presence of mind, such instant application of an opportunity to a good deed, is often necessary for us if we wish to achieve good among our fellows. We can learn both if we use our own and others’ experiences of the past, if we carefully observe people in general and those around us in particular, and if we are imbued with true love for the good of humanity.

What should be our feelings and dispositions before, during and after prayer?

« "(v.22).

This prayer is short, but it comes from the heart. We say many words in prayer, but our words, for the most part, are just sounds. They pray out of habit, according to routine, without thinking about what they do or what they say: hence it happens that we rarely receive what we ask for (James 4:3).

There are three shortcomings as a result of which our prayers become not only useless, but also criminal before God: They pray without preparation, they do not want what they ask for, they tell God one thing and do another. Therefore, let us consider: - What should be our feelings and dispositions before, during and after prayer?

1. Before prayer.

Preliminary preparation for prayer is necessary (Sir. 18:23). The farmer does not entrust grain to unprepared soil; and when they introduce themselves to any noble person, they think in advance about what and how to speak to him. So it is in prayer.

The person praying must first ask himself three questions: Who am I? Where I am? and what do I want to do?

A) Who am I? The poor creature, which in itself has nothing, which in itself cannot do anything, which in itself is nothing, is a miserable sinner, worthy of eternal punishment, etc.

b) Where am I now? In the face of my Creator and Master, in the presence of Him Whom the cherubim tremble, Who with one word and in an instant can turn me into dust and so on..

V) What do I want to do? To talk with God, to glorify the All-Perfect, to thank the All-Good, to ask the Almighty - to pray, but not in my name, but in the name of Jesus Christ, His Son, Who, in the words of Saint Ambrose: “is our mouth through which we speak with God, “Consequently, pray not only for yourself, but also for all believers who make up the body of Christ, etc.

2. During prayer.

It is necessary that our feelings be consistent with our words so that we really want what we ask for.

But are these really our prayers? For example, let's take the Lord's Prayer, which we say more often than others, and see: are our feelings really consistent with our words?

A) Do we desire with all our hearts that the name of God may be sanctified? for the kingdom of God to come, etc.?

Asking that the will of God be as it is on heaven and on earth, do we not ourselves have a will that is contrary to the will of God, etc.?

When we ask for our daily bread, do we not limit our desires only to the needs of the body, without thinking about the needs of the soul, which we must feed with more care than the body?

Do we speak sincerely when we pray to God to forgive us our sins, just as we forgive others?

When we ask God not to lead us into temptation, do we not ourselves intend to be subjected to it? Do we not keep a secret attachment to evil when we pray to God to deliver us from the evil one?

Examine your conscience on all these issues: does your heart contradict your words when you say: Our Father!

b) " During our prayers we are like pitiful beggars before the gates of the great Father of the family. Look at a beggar when he asks for alms: his gaze, his gestures, the tone of his voice, the touching movements with which he expresses his needs, his grief, his pity - all this expresses his desire to receive what he asks. When you turn to someone for help in difficult circumstances, aren’t you completely preoccupied with what to say to him and what he will answer you? You fix your gaze on him; you speak to him respectfully and sedately; you don't think about anything else then. If you are refused, you are soliciting; and the more painful your needs, the stronger your request. Oh, if only you prayed to God the way you pray to people when you need their help.”

V) There are, however, cases when we pray sincerely and earnestly, - this is when we are in danger of losing property or life; when we, having no other refuge than Providence, turn to Him with a cry for salvation, etc. Why is our prayer so ardent in these cases? Because it comes from the heart, that the heart sincerely desires what the lips ask for. Meanwhile, when it comes to the needs of our soul, we pray for one thing and desire another.

3. After prayer.

It is necessary that we ourselves seek in action what we asked God for in prayers.

If we judge our feelings and actions by the words we say in prayer, then we can be considered perfect Christians. But is it really so?

a) You pray that Hallowed be the name of God, His kingdom come, His will was done: What could be more beautiful than this? But instead of hallowing this most holy Name, you yourself blaspheme it and give others a reason to blaspheme.

Instead of giving place in our hearts to the kingdom of Christ, you give it up to the kingdom of the world.

You say: “Father, Thy will be done!” while you want thousands of things that He does not want, or even you do not want anything that He does want.

b) You ask for your daily bread, and you yourself abuse the benefits sent to you by Providence: you spend in one day what your family could survive on for a whole week. Your granaries are full, while the poor at your gates are dying of hunger. You do not work, you live in idleness, although you are obliged, like others, to acquire bread by the sweat of your brow. You ask for your daily bread, meanwhile, according to the Word of God, “ If someone doesn't want to work, don't eat"(2 Thess. 3:10).

V) You continue further:“forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” but you hate your enemies, “do not lead us into temptation,” but you seek it and succumb to it, “deliver us from the evil one,” but keep calmly the evil of sin in your heart.

Thus, your actions are completely contrary to your prayer requests.

G) I believe, you say, in one God the Father, the Almighty, - in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, - in the Holy Spirit, - in the Holy Apostolic Church, etc. A wonderful confession of faith!

But if you believe in God, then why do you often think and act as if He did not exist at all? If He is your God, where is the honor you should give Him? If He is your Father, then where is your love that you owe to Him?

If you believe in Jesus Christ, then why would you rather follow the teachings of the world than the Gospel?

You believe in the Holy Spirit and in the Church - why do you listen to the fables of ignorance and false learning, instead of listening to the Church, which teaches you through the mouth of the shepherds?

And in the evening and in the morning you say: I believe, I believe: but what good does your faith serve if you live like an unbeliever?

Conclusion.

Just as it is impossible to live well without true prayer, because we cannot do anything without grace, so it is impossible to truly pray when one does not lead and does not want to lead a Christian life. We live badly because we pray badly; and on the other hand, we pray poorly because we live poorly.

Apologies and reservations against prayer in general and especially prayer of supplication

« And so, a Canaanite woman, coming out of those places, shouted to Him: have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David! "(v.22)!

The illness of her daughter prompts the unfortunate mother to turn to the Lord with a prayer of supplication.

We must do this too.

But many do not pray or ask God at all. What do they think and say about it? What excuses and justifications are there for this?

1. " I can't pray, I don’t understand this!” Many people think and say and express themselves like this:

A) " I don't need anything. I cannot complain about my health unless I am sick; nor for the lack of bread, if I already have it,” etc.

Much can be said against this. If we really do not have any bodily needs, then we always have spiritual needs: we need grace, etc. " Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness"(Matt. 6:33) and so on.

We are always in danger of sin.

If you do not have any material needs of your own, then others have them, and we are obliged to pray for each other. “Give it to us” and so on.

b) " I don’t know what or how to express in my petitionary prayer «.

Do this like children or beggars, who in difficult circumstances are always resourceful if they need anything. In addition, you already have prayers ready.

There is no need for long prayers: it is enough to briefly express to God the need of your soul.

V) " I am a sinner.»

It is absolutely true that God does not hear a sinner’s prayer, or a sinful prayer. If we ask God for something that interferes with the salvation of the soul, then He does not give it. But a sinner can and dares to ask and pray, otherwise no one would dare to do this. We must acknowledge our sinfulness and repent. Even among us, the offended often comes to the aid of the offender. Zacchaeus, Magdalene, and the thief were also sinners, but their prayer was not rejected.

2. " I don’t know how to pray, it doesn’t make me happy!“Some say and confirm this with the following reasons:

a) “I don’t know how to avoid distraction in prayer.”

Of course, it is regrettable that we are often distracted in prayer, but for this reason prayer should not be abandoned. Other works often also fail and encounter many obstacles, but one must continue to work and overcome obstacles. If they are in serious need and strengthened by the grace of God, they can avoid distraction in prayer.

We would be too happy if every request we made was easily granted.

A) " My heart is not warm.»

Of course, we should feel joy in our hearts if we pray. There is not a single feeling on earth more gratifying and pleasant for the human heart than fiery prayer.

But, however, prayer should not be primarily work. Labor often has no joy in itself, but little by little it gives us joy and joy.

V) " I find no consolation, no strengthening, no help.»

Of course, but that’s why you need to pray fervently and persistently, and, finally, they will find what they were looking for. Can a farmer or artisan give up his work if he works for a certain time without seeing the final result?

We often complain unfairly. " You ask and do not receive, because you ask not for good, but to use it for your lusts."(James 4:3).

3. " I should not and do not dare to ask and pray, this is unnecessary and impossible,"- and the following excuses are given in support of this:

A) " God Himself knows our needs." Fair. Jesus Christ Himself taught us this, but He also commanded us to ask and pray (John 16:24). Not for God's sake, but for our own sake, we ask and pray. We ourselves must recognize our powerlessness and needs, in order to value the gifts of God we have received all the more. “God wants to be asked; He is overcome by persistent prayer.”

b) " God also blesses those who do not pray. Here are my neighbors, and there are rich people who never go to church, and yet God blesses them,” etc., you say.

But do you know that they do not pray and never pray? Is it impossible for God to bless them for the sake of the prayers of others? Do they not have some good in themselves that God wants to reward here in order to deprive them of the reward in another life? And isn’t it better when God blesses us if we pray to Him, than when He throws His benefits to the unworthy and blesses us as enemies?

V) " I have a lot of worries.»

The more work and occupation we have, the more we need God’s help and grace, so that our labors do not remain fruitless; and for this you need to pray. Prayer is the duty of Christians and the first duty that they must fulfill.

If you don’t have enough time for prayer, then know that one breath of prayer to God is already prayer.

Patience in Prayer

« And she, coming up, bowed to Him and said: Lord! help me "(v.25).

The Canaanite woman provides a wonderful example of constancy and patience in prayer. Despite the lack of attention to her prayer cry (v. 23), even despite the decisive, at first glance, refusal (v. 24–26), she does not stop praying (v. 25) - and her prayerful patience was rewarded: she received, what she desired (v. 28). Following her example and the instructions of the Word of God (Col. 4:2), we too will learn not to weaken in spirit in the sorrowful circumstances of life and acquire patience in prayer.

This is required:

1. The good we ask God to receive.

If the gifts of grace and salvation were always given without our intense search and prayer, then a weak person would become so accustomed to them and would value and cherish them so little, just as he values ​​the air, which he nevertheless breathes, and the water, without which cannot live.

“What is bestowed more slowly is received more pleasantly; soon what was asked for loses its value. Ask, seek, persist in asking, grow in seeking. God preserves for you everything that He does not want to give you soon, so that you learn to highly value great things.”

2. The perfection of prayer, which, as it persists, becomes firmer, purer and more perfect.

Just like gold, which the longer it stays in the fire, the better it purifies and shines, so prayer, as you remain patient in it, receives the highest dignity, for then the opportunity is especially open for us to show our faith, devotion, humility, and zeal.

“Our prayerful voice is often more perfect because it goes unheard for a long time; and while our petitions remain unfulfilled, our prayers rise higher from the root of our thoughts, just as the slower the seeds rise to the surface of the earth, the more fruitful they become.”

3. A Necessary Condition for Successful Prayer.

We see this from the example of the Canaanite wife and from two parables of Jesus Christ (Luke 11:5-10; 18:1-8), in which the main condition for the success of our prayers is unrelenting patience in them.

“Let us not become discouraged and weakened if we are not quickly heard; for the Lord, through slowness, wisely awakens in us constant vigilance, wanting to adorn us with the crown of patience and knowing the time when it is more desirable for us to get what we want.”

An example of a most worthy mother in today's Gospel

1. She cares with tenderness.

Her sick daughter is her only concern; she leaves everything, does everything just to save her.

What motherly love! (Isaiah 49:15).

Mothers, be such mothers!

Children, appreciate such maternal love!

2. She acts with wisdom.

She turns to the true Doctor and Savior, feels Him, reveals a subtle mind in her answers.

Mothers, try to imitate this mother here too!

3. She overcomes all obstacles with dedication.

She remains firm in her resolve, unshakable in her faith.

Mothers, be like her!

Take care of the welfare of your children, do not weaken in their upbringing, trust in God.

School of the Cross is the best school

In it they find:

1. The best teacher.

Teachers -

A) which does not leave not one of His disciples,

b) Who knows them all in detail.

V) Which clearly foresees that can come out of every student.

G) Who from the earliest years accepts His disciples under His supervision and releases them already independent and ready for the future life.

2. The best training.

The main learning lessons are:

A) whatever a man sows, that he will also reap;

b) if anyone suffers, let him pray; if he is in good spirits, let him sing!

V) " God! who should we go to? You have the verbs of eternal life!"(John 6:68).

G) " Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you! (Matthew 6:33).

3. The best education.

The upbringing of the god school does

A) the crazy are smart, and the smart are wise;

b) the proud are humble, and the humble are humble;

V) bad ones are good, and good ones are better,

G) the weak are strong, and the strong are invincible.

Why does God sometimes not listen to our prayers in times of need?

What we want here is:

1. Make sure Godthat's what he does with us.

As Jesus Christ did with the Canaanite wife, so the Heavenly Father often does with us. (Psalm 89:13; Jeremiah 15:18).

2. Understandtarget why does he do this.

a) He wants through this to bring us to a humble consciousness of our unworthiness (vv. 24-26);

b) test our faith;

V) finally, bring us all the more joy(v.28).

3. Capturetruths arising from such an attitude of God towards us:

A) Humble yourself in need before Him (Isaiah 66:2; Psalm 33:19; 50:19).

b) Do not weaken in prayer to Him(Luke 18:1; Matt. 7:7; John 16:23).

V) Don't stop hoping for help from Him (Psalm 39:2; Sir. 7:10).

Properties of Great Faith

They are expressed in the fact that it:

1. True, because he turns in prayer to the true Physician and Deliverer from all need and sorrow (vv. 21, 22).

2. Full of patience and hope, for she does not lose heart or despair, although the Lord is slow with his help (vv. 23, 24),

3. Humble, for a person with her considers himself the most insignificant creature who hopes only for the goodness of the Savior (v. 25).

4. And therefore worthy of grace for he receives help (v. 28).

II. Apostolic reading. Beginning (182): 2 Corinthians 6:16–18; 7:1

16 What is the relationship between the temple of God and idols? For you are the temple of the living God, as God said: I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.

17 Therefore come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

18 And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

1 Therefore, beloved, having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Practical outline of the content of ordinary reading

The Apostolic Reading for the Seventeenth Week offers:

1)incentives to holiness (v. 16–18) and

2) way to achieve it (7:1).

1. What motivates us to be holy?

A) God's Dwelling in Us, in which He lives, as in His temples: “ I will dwell in them and walk in them"(v. 16 cf. l Cor. 3:16; John 14:23). And if we are temples of the living God, then what kind of communication can there be between us and sin? (vv. 14–15).

b) Salvation and glory, which are prepared for the holy people of God: “And I will be God, and these will be My people” (v. 16) - shouldn’t this force us to come out from among unbelieving and corrupt people, and not to touch uncleanness? their thoughts and actions? (v. 17).

V) The Great Gift of Adoption to God: « And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."(v. 18): is this gift too small, so that for its sake you would not renounce the temporary sweetness of sin and live holy?

2. Why, the question now is, can we achieve holiness? The apostle responds to this with the words: “ "(7:1). Since a person consists of body and soul, his sins are carnal and spiritual. Fornication, gluttony, drunkenness and all other atrocities are sins of the flesh; unbelief, despair, pride, remembrance and every other evil thought are sins of the soul. If we sincerely desire to be holy, then we carefully remove ourselves from the sins that defile body and soul, then we create holiness (v. 1). This is the way by which, according to the teachings of the apostle, we become saints! But since some Christians avoid sins not out of fear of God, but out of fear of punishment or for the sake of human praise and glory, the apostle added - performing holiness in the fear of God, in order to show that those only become saints who do deeds of virtue for the fear of God.

Let us now move on to the particular moral truths offered by the day's reading.

Christians are the temple of the living God

« For you are the temple of the living God "(v. 16).

1. When do they become like this?

and they become such from the very baptismal font, when they accepted the betrothal of the Spirit into their hearts (2 Cor. 1:21–22) and when God dwelt in them by His grace (v. 16).

b) They are constantly remain such when they keep the Word of God (John 14:23), are guided by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14) and, using all graceful means, are built into a habitation of God by the Spirit (Eph. 2:22).

2. What obligations do they have from this?

A) To have no fellowship with non-believers, not to share their opinions and beliefs, which are contrary to the purity of faith and morality of Christians, as temples of the living God; for " what fellowship between righteousness and iniquity"and so on. (vv. 14–16).

b) In order not to share trusting friendship with corrupt people and not touch their uncleanness and vices (v. 17 cf. 1 Cor. 5:11; 2 Thess. 3:6).

“A godly man among the wicked is like an emerald in mud, like a precious stone in dung.”

“When a virtuous person comes together with a corrupt person, it is necessary that they either become similar to each other or separate from each other; for in friendship they either seek their equal, or make equal all those who were unequal.”

“Such is human weakness that a good person, having entered into the society of evil ones, becomes evil himself, while these rarely become good.”

Illness is always easier to communicate than health: and in moral terms. Diseases are often epidemic, but health never is.

“Whoever seeks the company of evil people shows enough of his own evil.”

V) To inwardly cleanse oneself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, practicing holiness in the fear of God(v. 1), as befits the temples of the living God, as becomes the sons and daughters of the heavenly Father (v. 18).

The vain hope of people given over to sin for the promises of Christianity

« Therefore, beloved, having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God“(Article 1).

The promises of Christianity are inexplicably great and glorious (vv. 16–18; cf. 1 John 3:2).

But they are given only to those who purify " yourself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit"(cf. Rev. 21:27), therefore, only to holy and virtuous people.

How, therefore, in vain is the hope of sin-lovers in the promises of Christianity!

1. Why is this hope in vain?

A) Because it is based on a false concept of God and the benefits He promises. For a correct concept of the promises of Christianity and for the proper application of them to ourselves, we must have a correct concept of God and the nature of the goods that He promises. God can only promise that which is in itself holy and godly - He can communicate His promises to people only to the extent that they deserve them. But how wrongly does a sin-loving person think about God and His promises in this regard!

A) Christianity promises people God's favor and adoption in Jesus Christ (v. 18). But a person given over to sin expects only earthly and material benefits that he could use for his own pleasure. Is his hope in vain?

b) Christianity promises remission of sins to all people. The sinner also harbors this hope. He thinks: God is good and merciful, long-suffering and abundant in mercy; He will forgive my sins and will not destroy me for their sake.

But what false concepts about God does a sin-lover have who harbors such hope without thinking about his repentance and correction?

V) Christianity promises eternal, blessed life. A person given over to sin also hopes for this promise. But he often forms a completely false concept of future bliss and the conditions under which it is granted to people. He drives away the fear of death with the thoughts that Christ died for him, purchased for him remission of sins and eternal bliss; that he himself now only has to begin confession and communion at the appointed time, so that he can die with the undoubted hope of future bliss.

But how unfounded is this hope of a sin-lover! What a deceptive idea of ​​the merits of Jesus Christ and the nature of the future life!

b) Because people given over to sin are frivolous and careless.

Each sin is associated with some frivolity, forgetfulness of duty and purpose, lack of self-knowledge and serious deepening into one’s moral state.

But sin also weakens the activity of the mind, willpower, and makes a person lazy and careless towards good, with which his sinful habits and inclinations are in conflict. Even if he sometimes realizes his errors and destruction, he does not have enough strength and spirit to resort to God-given means of correction and salvation.

He knows that the power of God is made perfect in weakness, he hopes for help from above, but for his part he does nothing to be worthy of this gracious help.

Isn’t self-delusion the hope of a person given over to sin? Because until the beginning of correction is made, until he himself tries to cleanse himself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, until then he cannot have any hope for God’s grace, for the forgiveness of sins, for a blessed eternity (Jer. 15:6 ).

2. What should this truth encourage us to do?

A) Towards self-examination. The most miserable state for a person is when he no longer has any hope, when everything is lost for him. Another lives in the dangerous confidence that he is pure, sinless and worthy of heaven, while the seed of evil has already taken deep roots in his heart and has revealed its harmful effects.

Therefore, let us often and seriously test whether any sinful desire has taken possession of our hearts, which can easily turn into an incorrigible vice if we do not resist it in time.

Let us carry out such moral self-examination with rigor and impartiality so as not to deceive ourselves with false hope in the promises of Christianity.

b) In order not to lose heart and not give in to despair, if self-examination reveals to us our sinful defilement of flesh and spirit. Of course, God is just and will reward everyone according to their deeds, but only an inveterate sinner cannot hope for the promises of Christianity.

But for the one who repents of his sins and promises correction, God is merciful and good. To save the lost, He sent His Son into the world.

Let us recognize our unworthiness, remember with a contrite heart our previous errors, but not despair of God’s mercy, but with childlike hope, hope for His fatherly love. He does not want the sinner to die.

V) To urgent correction and cleansing of oneself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. A serious determination to die to sin and live to righteousness is the only way to protect yourself from vain hope in the promises of Christianity! Don't hesitate with such determination. Do not deceive yourself any longer with false hope in the promises of Divine grace, but begin the work of correcting your thoughts and feelings! Cleanse yourself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and create holiness in the fear of God (v. 1).

The more firmly you decide to do this, the more you constantly progress in holiness, the more hope you will have in the promises of the Word of God.

False excuses of those who indulge in sensual desires

« Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, practicing holiness in the fear of God "(Article 1).

The Christian faith requires from its followers perfect purity of flesh and spirit, complete mastery over sensuality. Text (cf. Matt. 5:29–30; Rom. 8:12; Gal. 5:16, 24; 1 Pet. 2:11).

Even reason inspires us to overcome sensual inclinations, because this is required by the dignity, perfection and happiness of a person.

Many are aware of this, but, not having enough strength and spirit to counteract sensuality, they try to excuse themselves with various pretexts and reservations.

What kind of apology is this?

1. " Sensuality was given to me by God.»

“My body, with its natural inclinations, inclinations, and needs, is a creation of God. The Creator arranged my nature in such a way that I could desire and enjoy what pleases my senses, without the satisfaction of which I could not be healthy. He himself gave me the means to satisfy my sensual desires and impulses. Can what my nature leads me to be called sin?” etc.

This is what a sensualist, a glutton, a carnivore, etc. thinks and makes excuses for. But how are these apologies not justified?

A) Of course, God is the creator of our nature and gave us sensual desires, but not so that we would become their slaves, but so that, conquering them, we would ascend to perfection and rise to the freedom of glory as children of God.

b) If we were only sensual creatures, like animals: then such apologies would have grounds. But we are rational beings, gifted with an immortal spirit, for which the body serves only as a dwelling and weapon. Therefore we must walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. This is God's will.

V) Who indulges in sensuality and loses sight of his higher purpose towards virtue and holiness, he sins against himself and the will of God (Rom. 6:7–8).

2. You need to enjoy life.

This is what many say, who see the whole purpose of life and all activity in providing themselves with as many means as possible to satisfy their sensual lusts. They consider it permissible to enjoy every pleasure, to use every means to achieve it, as long as external well-being and honor do not suffer from this.

This is called enjoying life and they consider themselves entitled to sacrifice everything for this. But what blindness and self-delusion!

A) We are allowed, of course, to enjoy the pleasures of life. The kindest Creator did not forbid this to any of the people. He gives everyone various means and cases for this, in ourselves, in nature, in relations with people.

But a slave of sensuality cannot justify himself by this. He does not enjoy his life at all, because excess is not a pleasure, but a disease; causes grief and remorse, and dulls the capacity for true pleasure.

b) How a sensualist is deceived if he imagines himself happy in satisfying your immoderate desires! He does not know the highest and noblest joys and pleasures, which he is not capable of feeling, and therefore he closes to himself the source of the pleasure of life. He who indulges in sensuality makes himself pitiful and unhappy.

3. " I am too weak and unable to resist sensual attractions and inclinations.»

Others, unfortunately, are servile to passions to such an extent that they do not have the strength to free themselves from them. This happens partly as a result of bad upbringing, and partly from temptation and evil examples. Sensual impulses and inclinations in themselves already have great power over a person, but if they are reinforced by external circumstances, temptations, evil examples - how difficult it can be to resist them!

However, no slave of sensuality can or dares to justify himself by this.

A) Doesn't your mind tell you that you are dishonoring yourself?, if you indulge in sensual lusts and act contrary to your highest purpose? Does not the Word of God call to you: crucify your flesh with its passions and lusts? (Gal. 5:24; Sir. 18:30; 1 Pet. 2:11).

b) If you want, you can resist sensual attractions. Have only the spirit and firmly decide to deny yourself the satisfaction of lusts. Each victory over yourself will strengthen your strength, cleanse your heart, weaken the power of sensuality and make you more capable of fighting passions!

V) You have many examples of victory over sensuality among the saints. They could do it, so can you.

d) Imagine the glorious promises prepared for those who cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and you will conquer sensuality.

4. « At the same time, I have many good qualities and do some good.»

It sometimes happens that a lustful, voluptuous, gluttonous person, under certain circumstances, is merciful, charitable, helpful, compassionate, or displays other good qualities consistent with the moral law. But often such actions are the result of temperament or weakness of character and therefore cannot have moral merit.

Even if these were truly good qualities and virtues, then they should in no way justify real vices and passions. True virtue does not consist in individual commendable qualities, not in individual manifestations of kindness of heart, but in the fact that the spirit of Christ lives in us and controls us, that our whole life is spent in this spirit.

Conclusion.

Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, without justifying ourselves with any apologies!

On the means to protect oneself from the domination of sensual desires

« "(Article 1).

The power of sensuality over a person is great. The impure desires of the flesh and spirit awaken early, before the mind is strong enough to dominate them. Countless objects from outside excite them; many people seduce others by their example.

As a result, the strength of sensual inclinations is strengthened, and the strength of the mind and conscience is weakened, and the person is exposed to danger. Therefore the apostle commands: let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. But how to do that? How to protect yourself from the defilement of the flesh and spirit?

1. Think more often about the harmful consequences resulting from the predominance of sensuality.

How dangerous these consequences are, the apostle speaks about this (Rom. 8:6-13), this is confirmed by the result.

Of course, a sensual person does not always immediately feel the consequences of his disordered lusts. He tries to hide these consequences in order to calmly indulge in pleasures, imagines them as insignificant, hopes to avoid them, or in due time change his sensual lifestyle until he enjoys everything. But the longer he indulges in sensuality, the more dangerous it is for him.

Even if he manages to avoid bodily harm: health problems, illness, loss of property, loss of honor, incapacity for the affairs of his rank, he will in no way avoid the harm caused to the soul, which, due to the predominance of sensuality, becomes ignorant, rude, incapable of any virtue ( Gal. 5:19), unworthy of heavenly bliss.

If we often and diligently reflect on these sad fruits of sensuality, then we will try to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.

2. Practice from a young age in combating sensual desires.

Sensual attractions arise before we learn to correctly distinguish between good and evil. As soon as the mind begins to show its strength, sensuality is already strong; one must begin and persistently continue the struggle so as not to succumb to sensuality (Sir. 18:30–31).

Many parents, when raising their children initially, lay the foundation for burning, sensual desires that they must fight throughout their lives. Instead of strengthening children, accustoming them to hardship and self-control, they weaken their spirit, satisfy their whims, and do not deny them anything. The beneficial art of hardship and self-control is difficult, but it is made easier by frequent practice. Let us voluntarily deny ourselves the fulfillment of any desire, then it will be easy for us to refuse it, even if it is not contrary to duty.

3. Try to revive within yourself the consciousness of your Christian dignity.

« For you are the temple of the living God, as God said… I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty", etc. (vv. 16–18). What a great dignity!

All earthly greatness, power and honor mean nothing in comparison with the dignity of Christians - temples of the living God, sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father.

If the consciousness of such dignity is alive in us, then will we not turn away from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit? How can we then become defiled by low lusts and desires - indulge in intemperance, gluttony, fornication and other sinful impurities?

4. Practice often in reading the Word of God and in godly meditation.

The Word of God is the bread that came down from heaven and gives spiritual life to the world. “Whoever feeds his spirit with this food will not feel a strong need for perishable things that excite sensuality.” If we often read and meditate on the truths, teachings and promises of the gospel, and our hearts are thereby strengthened in faith, hope and love, then will we not feel a new strength in ourselves to overcome sensual inclinations, to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit? etc.

Strong urges to cleanse oneself from all carnal and spiritual defilement

« Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit "(Article 1).

1. You , the apostle tells us, temple of the living god (v. 16 cf. 1 Cor. 3:16).

2. And I will be their God and they will be My people (vv.16-17).

3. And I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters (v. 18).

Conclusion.

« Having such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit"(Art. 18)yu

The dangers of treating people of bad morals

« Come out from among them and separate yourself, and do not touch the unclean "(v. 17).

When dealing with bad people, we learn:

1. First to coolness in virtue.

2. Then to disregard for the dictates of conscience.

4. Finally, to the point that we ourselves begin to sin.

Samples of Church Sermon. Gospel about the Canaanite woman. (Matt. 15:21–28)

Jesus Christ once passed through the countries of Tire and Sidon. The Gospel does not say that the Lord taught in this pagan land, but from the Gospel story it is clear only that He passed through this country. What did He feel then, seeing entire villages covered in the darkness of paganism, He Who was ready to lay down His soul for the salvation of all mankind?

But the time had not yet come to do good to the pagans; there was still much left for the heavenly Messenger to do in Judea itself.

Meanwhile, as the Lord did not want anyone to recognize Him in this country (Mark 7:24), one woman, a Syrophoenician by birth, recognized Him and loudly screamed after Him: “ have mercy on me, Lord, son of David, my daughter is cruelly raging"(Matthew 15:22). It was not difficult for her, who lived near Judea, to know that, according to prophecies, the Messiah, the Savior of people, was once supposed to appear, but who assured her that the Prophet and Wonderworker who recently appeared in Judea was the same expected Messiah, the son of David? Why didn’t she share with many of the Jews other, erroneous opinions about the Savior?

It is clear from everything that the heart of this pagan woman was already like good soil, watered by the dew of heaven, that the seed of God’s grace was already active in it and acted in such a way that it grew in it faith, which the Lord Himself called great.

Let us pay attention to this exemplary faith, and let us not be ashamed to learn from a pagan believer.

The voice of a sorrowful mother, the voice of a believing pagan, strikes the ear of the all-merciful Lord: “ have mercy on me, Lord, son of David, my daughter is cruelly raging." The Omniscient One knew from which heart these words came, and the Savior of people could not help but feel at this time the inner joy that among the pagans there were souls thirsting for His kingdom, believing souls. But despite the fact, " He didn't answer her a word.»

What does this silence mean, this, at first glance, coldness of the merciful Lord, with which He listens to fiery prayer? The consequences show that the Lord was pleased to tempt the faith of the Canaanite woman. This test was necessary not for Him, the omniscient, but, firstly, for the Canaanite woman herself, in whom her faith was even more confirmed through temptation, and then for others, to whom the Savior wanted to set an example of her patient faith.

« And His disciples came up and asked Him: let her go, because she is screaming after us."(Matthew 15:23). The Lord's silence forced the wife to intensify her prayers. Her cry prompted the apostles to intercede before the Lord. New approval for the petitioner! But the temptation of her faith was not over yet. " He answered and said: I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.." I, says the Lord, came to preach and perform miracles among the people of Israel, and not among the pagans.

And indeed, the Savior preached only to the Jews; His word rarely met the pagans. Until now, it was necessary to give such an advantage to the Jews, who for several centuries alone directly benefited from both divinely inspired men and the miracles of God, as the chosen people. But the Savior’s words do not mean that He came to save the Jewish people alone. He came to suffer and die for all people, for Jews and pagans, but He did not preach to everyone, leaving His apostles to subsequently carry the Gospel to all nations. After His resurrection, He will tell them: “ go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature"(Mark 16:15); " go and teach all nations"(Matthew 28:19). So, the Lord once again refused the woman’s request, and, it seems, did not heed the petition of the apostles themselves. What does a strong and patient faith do? Rejecting, she draws even closer to the Lord. The wife falls at His very feet, as if blocking His path, and again prays: “ she approached, bowed to Him and said: Lord! help me!»

To such a fervent prayer from a sorrowful mother, the merciful Savior apparently gives an unmerciful answer. " He answered and said, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”“- the mother’s prayer is not only not accepted, but also rejected as unworthy. The pagan woman is compared to a dog in relation to the Jews, who are called children of God; she, according to the Lord, is as little worth God’s miraculous help as a dog of bread at a time when the owner’s children are hungry. How must the unhappy mother have felt at this? Was she offended by the comparison? No! Her faith is united with humility, and through this receives new strength, irresistible. " Yes, Lord!“, the woman answers. "Yes sir! I am an unworthy pagan, I am a great sinner, and I am not worth what belongs to children. But,” continues the wonderful woman, “ but dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." "God!" as the Canaanite woman would like to say, “the meal You have prepared for the people of God is so abundant, Your teaching and beneficent miracles in Judea are pouring out in such a river that it will not be a great and difficult thing for You to have mercy on the unfortunate pagan woman who comes running to You like a dog at a meal his master."

After this, the Lord could no longer restrain His mercy. For such humility, for such high faith, He generously rewards the woman and even praises her before the apostles: “ oh woman! great is your faith; let it be done to you as you wish. And her daughter was healed at that hour.»

The hand of the Most Kind and Almighty will not be closed in giving us His gifts, if they are necessary and useful to us, so long as our faith does not diminish or weaken, and so long as we do not become proud of our strengths or virtues. Awareness of his unworthiness and weakness is necessary for a believer when he asks for the mercy of the Almighty.

The power and victoriousness of faith

In the 17th week of Trinity, the Holy Church offers us during the Sunday Liturgy the last Gospel reading from the Gospel of the Holy Apostle Matthew. In it, the evangelist reveals to us one of the greatest secrets of God's economy, that salvation is by no means limited to one chosen people, even if its entire previous history was directed towards this, but is the property of all peoples, who are equally children of the Heavenly Father, and each a human person can have the boldness to resort to Him with a prayer for salvation, and will be heard, if only faith is strong in him, as a necessary condition for the effectiveness of prayer.

Christ had been preaching His gospel for the salvation of mankind for about two years now, and went out to all the cities and towns of his native country, doing good not only spiritually, but also physically. But by the end of this period, He came to the sad conviction that - alas - the chosen people were not yet ready to perceive the incarnate truth. Especially the leaders of the people - the hierarchs, scribes and Pharisees - every year became more and more bitter against the divine Preacher and, in furious blindness, sought to completely undermine the entire ministry of the Savior. Then Christ considered it timely to devote as much time as possible to the spiritual education of His closest followers, so that they would be able to worthily continue His work when He is no longer on earth. For this purpose, He decided to completely withdraw from the borders of his native land for a while, so that at the same time, having freed himself from the annoying interrogators and the masses of the people, he could find at least temporary peace for His indignant and tired spirit.

« And, leaving there, Jesus withdrew to the countries of Tire and Sidon." Starting from the shores of Lake Galilee, the road there led along rocky hills towards Safed, from which the snowy peaks of Lebanon could already be seen. Then, leaving Giskala on the right, the road passed through one of the many wooded plains of these hills, until, at a distance of two days' journey from the lake, it reached a slope, at the base of which the plains of Tyre began. The range of mountains was separated from the sea by a yellow strip of coastal sand, and in one place the land jutted out into the sea like a long tongue, and on this spit Tire was built. Here the apostles, as well as Christ Himself, probably for the first time had to see so closely the smoking chimneys of the glass factories of Sidon and the dyeing factories of Tyre. Phenicia at that time was living out its last historical glory, and there were still quite a few flourishing cities along its shores. It was the seat of idolatrous wickedness; the fatherland of Baal and Ashtoreth, who so often plunged Israel into the abyss of criminal temptation, a land of pagan darkness. Commercial and industrial life was in full swing, showing that the inhabitants of this country were completely devoted to Mammon. The long rows of trading houses were overflowing with goods from all over the world; the streets of the main cities shone with palaces, magnificent monuments, public buildings, temples, and the harbors were crowded with ships that came here from all over the then known world. Looking at this bustling industrial life, it was impossible not to see how capable a person is of becoming a slave to the vanity of life. Here was the complete kingdom of Mammon, and here it was that Beelzebub reigned, whose very name was borrowed by the Jews from here to designate the prince of the devils. But even here, in this land of pagan darkness, the light of truth should have shone at least with one ray. Christ felt endless pity for the people unknown and alien to Him, and the great sea that spread out before Him, on which, like the wings of monstrous seagulls, the white sails of the ships, opened before Him that distant future when these very ships, now carrying only merchants with their goods, They will transport His apostles to all countries of the surrounding world with the word of the gospel and truth.

The evangelists do not say exactly whether Christ really entered the borders of the pagan land. It is possible that He did not go further than the borders of this foreign country to Him. This entire country was more or less densely populated by Jews, attracted here by the benefits of trade, and also due to the fact that this area, in reality, during the distribution of the promised land among the tribes, was allocated to the tribe of Assir, although it never came into its actual possession . Since the time of the Judges, the population here has always been half-pagan, half-Jewish. Throughout their entire historical life, pushed away from the seashore, the Israelites, as a result, were completely unaccustomed to coastal life and therefore were content with simply settling among the industrial traders of Phenicia, without even trying to expel them from the land that legally belonged to them. It was here, in this remote area, that Christ wanted to find peace for His weary and indignant spirit.

During His earthly life, He repeatedly said that He appeared with His gospel of salvation only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; but that He did not limit His gospel to these narrow limits is evident from the fact that He traveled, that He passed through Samaria in His wanderings, and also from the prophetic joy that He expressed, foreseeing that many of the pagans of the world would enter the kingdom His. Even His sympathy for publicans and sinners and, in general, for that abandoned and morally mired in sins mass, whose ignorance of legalistic precepts made them damned before God in the eyes of the strict Pharisees, was in fact as clear a protest against Pharisaic exclusivity as a formal recognition could have been He gives the Gentiles as members of His kingdom. Didn’t He proclaim the great truth that God is the merciful Father of all mankind, and that all people living on earth are children of this Father and brothers among themselves? But compassion for His own people, the Israel of the Old Testament, prevented Him for some time from reaching out to other nations with an open call to the new kingdom. This would immediately alienate His own people from Him, because what was offered to the pagans would, as a result of this, be immediately rejected by the strict and scrupulous Jews in matters of religion.

But His hope of finding at least temporary peace for Himself even in this distant country was in vain. The glory of the Savior’s miracles had already penetrated into the borders of Phenicia before Him and there found a response in many believing hearts. There were also many who labored and were heavy laden, who longed to find rest for their souls in Him. When He approached the borders of this country, obviously many were already waiting for Him to turn to Him for help. Among others, one Syro-Phoenician woman, Greek by language, and Canaanite by nationality, perhaps a pagan, but in any case a woman with a sincere religious feeling, was eagerly awaiting Him. Her daughter was severely ill, and therefore, with purely maternal concern for alleviating her daughter’s suffering, she did not fail to turn to Christ with a tearful plea: “ have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David! my daughter is cruelly raging.»

Such an unexpected request at a time when Christ was trying to remain unknown entailed significant inconvenience, because it could reveal His very location to the enemies. For this or any other reason, Christ did not at first pay attention to the woman’s plea. But the woman did not let up and persistently followed Him with her tearful pleas, so that the apostles, with their characteristic Jewish prejudice towards the Canaanite race, not understanding the reason for the silence of their Teacher, were indignant at her persistence and asked Him to let her go and thereby stop it annoying screams. It was difficult for them to understand that a foreigner, and most importantly, a Canaanite woman, belonging to a family cursed by God, could also enjoy His mercy on an equal basis with the chosen people. Didn't the rabbis teach that this people built their houses in the name of their idols, so that evil spirits would come and dwell in them? And isn’t this people cursed, who recognized Beelzebub, the prince of demons, as their main god? This view of theirs, apparently, found sufficient confirmation from Christ Himself when He, in response to the persistent request of the Canaanite woman, said: “ I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.»

The disciples did not understand that He did not give His help to the crying woman only out of pity for His own people, since His mercy towards the hated unclean Canaanites would have hardened these people to their own destruction. But the woman did not lag behind. Having followed Him to the house, where He wanted to remain unknown, she threw herself at His feet and with new cries began to beg Him for mercy. In the eyes of the disciples, she was nothing more than a “dog,” just as the Jews generally looked at the pagans. Covering the tenderness of His heart with the outward coldness of the tongue, although undoubtedly softened by the sympathetic trembling of the voice and the loving gaze, Christ told her that it was necessary first to nourish the children, the Israelites as sons of God, " Not good“,” He added, “ take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.“Such an answer could have covered her soul with cold, and if the Savior had not foreseen that her soul was full of that rare faith and hope that can see mercy and acceptance of a request even in its apparent rejection, then He would not have answered her like that. But in the soul of the woman, although a pagan, such an ardent faith burned that she could not be cooled even by such an answer, apparently undermining all hope, and she, with amazing resourcefulness and bold confidence, answered: “ yes, Lord! but dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." And her faith triumphed. The Savior did not prolong the torment of her waiting a moment longer. " Oh woman!" He exclaimed: " great is your faith; may it be done to you as you wish." And immediately the wonderful word had its effect. " And when she arrived at her house, she found that the demon had gone out, and her daughter was lying on the bed.(perfectly healthy).” The disciples from here understood for the first time that even the pagans, these, in their opinion, unclean dogs, were not rejected by their divine Teacher, and that, on the contrary, they were also given a part in the kingdom of the Messiah.

By offering us this Gospel story, the Holy Church teaches us what great power and victoriousness prayer has, based on unshakable faith. And the faith of the Canaanite woman was truly amazing. She had to overcome a whole series of obstacles, before which any person who did not have strong faith would faint. She had, first of all, to overcome the difficulty of finding Christ, because the Savior wanted to be away from people, and she overcame this difficulty with the vigilance with which she waited for any favorable opportunity that could give her the opportunity to turn to the Prophet with a prayer, glory about the miracles of which has long reached the borders of Tire and Sidon. But, having seized this desired opportunity, the Canaanite woman had to overcome the second obstacle - that external indifference with which Jesus initially treated her; and she overcame this obstacle by the persistence with which she followed Christ, incessantly calling on Him for help. Her difficulty increased even more when she saw that even the students’ request in her favor was not heard. Having heard the harsh saying of Christ, how could she hope that her prayer would achieve its goal, when even the request of His closest followers was not fulfilled? She could only think that, obviously, all her prayers and tears were in vain, and she could only go back to her daughter and mourn the hopelessness of her situation with tears of despair. But she overcame this obstacle by never giving up hope.

Finally, she had to overcome another and, moreover, the greatest difficulty. After all, Christ Himself gave a decisive refusal to her prayers, after which, apparently, there was nothing left to do but end her prayers in despair. It is already difficult not to receive an answer to a request, it is more painful to receive a refusal, but even more painful to receive a refusal in which there is obvious disdain and even contempt, as was expressed in relation to her in comparing the Canaanites to dogs. But the Canaanite woman overcame this greatest obstacle with her greatest virtue, namely her extraordinary humility. She was not at all offended by the comparison made, Christ’s saying did not seem harsh to her, and on the contrary, with her heart inflamed with fervent prayer, she sensed something in Christ’s words that already sounded like mercy to her. Since Christ had no intention of rejecting her with contempt, but only wanted to fully evoke the treasure of humility and faith hidden in her heart in order to set it up as an example to people, He finally granted her request, while giving her well-deserved praise great, all-conquering faith.

From here we can understand how high the importance of unshakable faith is and how effective prayer based on it is. One should pray to God with unwavering persistence and deepest humility. And perseverance includes unshakable trust in God and a sincere desire to receive the subject of the petition, assuming, of course, that it is a true good. How can we hope to be heard when, with any occasional difficulty, we lose courage and trust in God, or when Are we asking for more than we are able or even worthy to receive? The Canaanite woman asked only for what could be given to her as a pitiful creature, just as crumbs and surpluses from people’s tables are thrown to dogs. Since we, for the most part, pray for the granting of benefits to us that we are unworthy of, therefore, every prayer should be offered with the greatest humility, with the consciousness of our deep unworthiness. But often unheard prayer is also the result of the fact that the very subject of prayer is of only fleeting interest to us. So, in a fit of repentance, a person prays, for example, for the granting of consciousness of his sins, for overcoming a bad habit, etc., and meanwhile this moment has passed, and the rebellious will, obviously not participating in the prayer, again receives an evil direction - and if the prayer turns out to be unheard, it is precisely for this last reason. Prayer must always be deeply sincere and not only the heart, but also the will must participate in it, as the main engine in life, and only then will it be strong and effective.

Finally, in the Gospel story about the pardon of the Canaanite daughter there is another instructive truth. The evangelist, as the saint noted, called her a Canaanite not without reason. Associated with this name was the concept of a people who trampled all divine and human laws, and if a woman who belonged to this people recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the son of David, and for this received mercy, then this should have served as a shame for those of the sons of Abraham who, through their pride and hypocrisy, rejected Him and thereby deprived themselves of His grace-filled powers.

Isn’t this pagan, who retained a pure, believing heart among all the abominations of paganism that surrounded her, a direct reproach for those of us who, having been born and raised among Christianity with its grace-filled gifts and powers, were taken into the spiritual mother’s womb by the Holy Church Having, therefore, at their disposal all the means to develop their spiritual and religious-moral qualities to the highest degree of perfection, they turn out to be unworthy of all these gifts and advantages, since they neglect them, are seduced from the path of religious and moral development indicated by them, and not only retain true faith and purity of heart, but also rebel against the Church itself, against Christianity itself and, finally, against Christ Himself, declaring Him not the Messiah and the son of David, but a simple enthusiast and dreamer?! May the Gospel read now serve as a well-deserved reproach for all such lost sons, and may their conscience awaken from its criminal slumber and expose their delusion, which is disastrous for them and criminal in itself.

Bibliographic index of words, conversations and teachings for the 17th Sunday of Trinity

Filareta, arch. Chernigovsky. Words and conversations. Part II, page 94.

Dimitri, Archbishop of Kherson. Complete collection of sermons, vol. III, ed. 1890

Eusevia, arch. Mogilevsky. Sunday Gospel Conversations.

Sergius, arch. Vladimirsky. Yearly Circle of Words, page 98.

Sergieva I., (Kronstadt) Prot. Complete collection of op. Volume II, pp. 499, 502.

Belotsvetova, prot. Circle of teachings.

Putyatina R., prot. Full collection of teachings, page 132.

Shumova, priest A collection of common understandings. teachings, pp.

Novgorodsky, Prolific seed, p. 218.

Kudritsky V., priest Non-liturgical services conversations, page 126.

Kremenetsky, priest The voice of a shepherd.

Dyachenko. Daily Teachings, page 270.

Be constant in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving.

St. Augustine; etm. 5 V. omin.

Saint ; moral. E 26 s. 16.

And he said to them: suppose that one of you, having a friend, comes to him at midnight and says to him: friend! lend me three loaves of bread... And I will tell you: ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you, for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

He also told them a parable about how one should always pray and not lose heart, saying: in one city there was a judge who did not fear God and was not ashamed of people... Will not God protect His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night, although He is slow to protect their? I tell you that he will give them protection soon. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with iniquity? What does light have in common with darkness? What agreement is there between Christ and Belial? Or what is the complicity of the faithful with the infidel? What is the relationship between the temple of God and idols? For you are the temple of the living God, as God said: I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.

And I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

What is the relationship between the temple of God and idols? For you are the temple of the living God, as God said: I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch the unclean; and I will receive you. And I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

Beloved! we are now children of God; but it has not yet been revealed what we will be. We only know that when it is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is.

And nothing unclean will enter into it, and no one devoted to abomination and lies, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

For the one who died was freed from sin. If we died with Christ, then we believe that we will live with Him.

But those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.

Do not follow your lusts and refrain from your desires.

Beloved! I ask you, as strangers and strangers, to abstain from carnal lusts that rebel against the soul.

To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for they do not obey the law of God, and indeed cannot. Therefore those who live according to the flesh cannot please God. But you do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So, brethren, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh; For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live. Court. 1:32: “And Assir dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for he did not drive them out.”

Matthew 8:11; Onion. 13:29.

So called because Phenicia at that time belonged to the Roman province of Syria. The Evangelist Mark calls her a “Greek woman” as a sign that she was a pagan (έλληνίς in the Vulgate translated gentilis - pagan).

This most popular Messianic title in the mouth of a Canaanite woman clearly showed how widely the rumor had already spread about Christ as the Messiah who was to give deliverance to His people from the yoke of the conqueror and usurpers that weighed on them.

Lightfoot, Nor. Haebr. 1, 230.

This comparison could be prompted by present reality. Both now and in ancient times, a traveler, entering any eastern city or village, immediately encounters entire packs of homeless sharp-nosed dogs that fill the air with their barking and howling, so that it is enough to sit down at the table for these hungry dogs to immediately surround those sitting behind him, greedily begging and grabbing what is thrown to them or what falls from the table.

Then Jesus entered the countries of Tire and Sidon. And so, a Canaanite woman, coming out of those places, shouted to Him: have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David, my daughter is cruelly raging. But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came up and asked Him: let her go, because she is screaming after us. He answered and said: I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And she, coming up, bowed to Him and said: Lord! help me. He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said: yes, Lord! but the dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said to her: O woman! great is your faith; let it be done to you as you wish. And her daughter was healed at that hour.

Today the Lord comforts us with the maternal faith of a woman who belonged to the Canaanites - an unholy race expelled by God from the Promised Land to make room for the Jews - the chosen people.

The Canaanite woman relentlessly follows the Lord, and the disciples say: “Let her go, because she is crying out after us.” And the Lord says that He came to save the children of God - those who believe in the true God, and not those who worship idols, live in wickedness and do not want to repent. The apostles beg that He would have mercy on this woman and let her go, not because they have such love for her, but because, on the contrary, they want her to leave them as quickly as possible and not bother them. The Lord does not intercede for this woman, does not answer either their or her prayers. He wants them to better understand what's going on.

He leads this woman from one understanding to another, even greater one. Her faith grew as she followed Him. First, for her, He is the Son of David, and then the Lord. From a call for help to a great man, she reaches God Himself, without understanding how this happens. “Lord,” she says, “even the dogs eat the grains that fall from the table of their masters!” She is humbled, she is filled with humility to the end, she begins to see everything in its true light. This humility, the acceptance of her cross, like the humility of the prudent thief, who says: “I accept what is worthy according to my deeds,” makes her capable of accepting the gift of God: “O woman, great is your faith, may it be done to you as you wish. And her daughter was healed at that hour.”

Let us note that this woman does not say “have mercy on my daughter,” but “have mercy on me, Lord.” Her daughter is tormented by demons, and she begs the Lord to have mercy on her. This cry of the Canaanite woman should today become the prayer of all mothers whose children are cruelly possessed. Blinded by sin, they do not realize the horror of their condition, as their parents realize it for them.

It is natural for normal parents to experience their children's troubles as if they were their own. Oh, if the Lord would have mercy on all the dissolute children of Russia and all the parents overwhelmed by grief because of them! In this terrible trouble, what mercy of the Lord can comfort their hearts if it is not shown in relation to their children? This sometimes happens to children that unfortunate mothers, coming to church, cannot talk or pray about anything except about their children.

A woman comes up to receive communion, and when the priest says: “The servant of God is taking communion,” she says: “Tatyana,” and then, suddenly, as if coming to her senses, she corrects herself: “Oh, no, Irina.” And to the bewildered look of the priest he answers: “Forgive me, it’s my daughter Tatyana who can’t get out of my head.” Perhaps this Canaanite woman is now asking the Lord to forgive her for failing to raise her daughter and for missing her. Or maybe she realizes that because of her sin, which she will never part with, this evil has come to her daughter. That’s why she says: “Have mercy on me.”

See how need makes a person pray. "God help me! If You, Lord, do not help, no one in the world will help me.” She visited all the doctors, all the psychics and healers, and all in vain. My daughter is still freaking out. But there is, there is one Doctor of all diseases, mental and physical. Let Him not answer and seem not to notice it, even after His companions ask Him for it. She runs ahead, falls on her knees before Him and shouts: “Lord, help me!”

The Lord hears her prayer, but He wants her to see incomparably more in her misfortune and in herself. To find out how terrible eternal death is and how merciful the Lord is. The Lord tells her: “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” And she answers: “Yes, Lord. But the dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” We know that the Jews abhorred the pagans, calling them dogs, because they abandoned faith in the true God and served demons, magic and debauchery. But the Lord wants to show His apostles, before He sends them after His Resurrection to preach to all nations, how great the faith can be for those who seem to have lost all hope of salvation.

Let us also learn from her the persistence of prayer for our children. Fathers and mothers come to the temple crying and asking what prayers they should pray for their dying daughters and sons. Whatever it is, all prayers are about them. But not in a way that “maybe it will help.” Not reading akathists and canons - but all our grief, all our soul should pour out into them. We cannot, we must not, we cannot be refused by the Lord. This is how Saint Righteous John of Kronstadt and Saint John of Shanghai prayed. This is how all mothers should pray with the entire Holy Church. Even though we are in the very midst of troubles, we have been given hope from the Lord that does not despair.

Let the devil be allowed to pervert the meaning of everything, so that they want to turn us into Canaanites and clear the space of Russia for more worthy peoples - God is with us, strict and infinitely merciful. With us - with every dying son and daughter - the prayer of a mother who will reach from the bottom of the sea.

The Lord said to the Canaanite woman: “O woman! Great is your faith; let it be done to you as you wish.” This pagan who becomes a Christian reveals many amazing things in her prayer - wisdom, humility, meekness, patience. But all this is the fruit of her faith. Of all its virtues, Christ singles out faith most of all. For faith brings you closer to God than anything else. Great is her faith. Every person's faith is precious, but not everyone has it equally strong. The greatness of faith lies in the determination to follow Christ, to be filled with complete trust in Him, even if it seems that we do not receive what we ask for. The Light of Christ is revealed to us as we walk in His ways. We, too, sometimes shout: “Help!”, but the Lord does not answer us. But as disciples, we persist until Christ reminds us of His ministry. And the Lord does not reject weak faith, but He expects great faith from us. He heals the woman’s daughter: “Let it be done to you as you wish.” He cannot deny her anything; He gives her what she came to Him for. Overcoming all obstacles, all difficulties, people of great faith can gain everything through their prayer. When our will agrees with the will of Christ’s commandments, His will will be one with the will of our desires. We can, like the Canaanite woman, ask the Lord for anything, and He will give us everything. But it won't be the way we think. It will be the way He wants it. It will be infinitely better. Our joy will be a sharing of the joy of the One who gives. Who wants to give us not part, but all, because He is God. God is God and He leads us beyond everything. We must let Him lead us, open up to Him, and ultimately become wounded by those nails and that spear that He will accept for the salvation of all. So that by His stripes we may be healed and recognize Him as He is. As the One who conquers with love, because God is love.