Schema-Archimandrite Seraphim (Romanstov) and Hieroschemamonk Macary (Eremenko), elders from Glinsk Hermitage, who spiritually guided Fr. John during his Riazan years.
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| Schema-Archimandrite Seraphim (Romanstov) and Hieroschemamonk Macary (Eremenko), elders from Glinsk Hermitage, who spiritually guided Fr. John during his Riazan years. |
Be the salt of the earth
Pray to the Holy Martyr Tryphon, and through his intercessions you will always have work. Go to church to pray, and help whomever you can, but your main work should be your occupation in the world.
Believers should be the salt of the earth, and not close themselves up to people. Preach not so much with words as with your life, your patience and love towards suffering and lost people.
Do not look too far ahead, and if you will live every day with God and with prayer, the Lord will draw your little boat through life and direct it toward salvation.
May the Lord preserve you and make you wise!
Do your work with prayer
Dear in the Lord A.!
Live at home and labor to the glory of God in the field that the Lord has given you. It is our business to do our work with prayer, and the result will come from God. You see that the question of an apartment is resolved—a confirmation that you need to remain at home.
May God give you wisdom!
Masseurs are needed everywhere. And the sick woman died because her time had come; God called her.
Look into your heart
Dear A.!
I will not refuse to pray for you, but neither I, nor your mother, nor your father confessor can make your choice for you. Only look thoughtfully and with prayer into your own heart. Do not rush.
Nowadays, when people have lost the fear of God, they often dare to break their vows: marital, monastic, and priestly —this is a sign of the times. Every man is therefore answerable before God and man for what he has chosen.
Read the works of St. John Climacus about family and marriage, acquaint yourself with the podvigs[1] of monastic life from the works of the Fathers, and think deeply about one and the other. Those who try to talk you out of monastic life do not know its joys and sorrows, and make a one-sided judgment based only upon what they themselves know. Do not rush, but at the same time do not put off gaining a theoretical knowledge about both [marriage and monasticism].
We will pray for you!
[1]The Russian word podvig cannot be directly translated into English. It implies an ascetic labor, struggle, or accomplishment [trans.].
