Man, flee quickly from sin and remember death at once. For it is written, “A wise man restrains sin, and the face of the ascetic will shine like the sun.” Remember Moses, who chose to suffer with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time. If you love the sufferings of the saints, they will become your companions and will minister for you before God. He will grant you every good thing you ask because you have taken up your cross and followed your Lord. Do not seek a seat of glory among people, so that God may shelter you from the blast of a storm you do not know and allot you a seat in his metropolis, the Jerusalem of heaven.
Test everything; hold fast to what is good. Likewise, do not despise the image of God. Guard your youth with every care so that you may also guard your old age with every care, lest you be put to shame and come to your end in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The whole creation of God will look upon you and reproach you, saying, “Every day we thought of you and believed you were a sheep, but here we find that you are a wolf. Go now into the pit of Amente; cast yourself into the heart of the earth.” What great shame! While you walked in the world, people honored you because they thought you were a virtuous person. But the moment you come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the place of judgment, you are found naked, and everyone sees your sins and your shame revealed before God and humanity.
Woe to you in that hour! Where will you turn your face? Even if you can open your mouth, what will you say? Your sins have sealed your soul, black as sackcloth. What will you do then? You will weep, but your weeping will not be accepted. You will plead, but your plea will not be accepted, because the beings into whose hands you are delivered have no mercy. Woe to you in the hour when you hear that terrible voice pronounce judgment: “Let sinners return to Amente.” And again, “Depart from me, you accursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.” And again, “Those who transgress and all who practice lawlessness I hate, and I will destroy them from the city of God.”
Therefore, my son, make use of this world while despising it, and walk through it as though it were of little account. Follow the Lord in everything, and you will find boldness in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Let the things of this world appear contemptible to you, and on the Day of Judgment you will find yourself clothed in glory. Do not entrust your heart to any person for the sake of the comfort of your soul. Cast your care upon the Lord, and he will sustain you. Consider Elijah, who settled beside the brook Cherith, and God fed him by ravens. Watch yourself with all diligence against fornication, which has overthrown many. Do not make yourself the intimate companion of a youth. Do not pursue a woman or the pleasures of the body, for such companionship can burn like fire.
Do not flee for refuge to any fleshly creature, for when stone strikes stone, fire bursts out and consumes much material. Flee to the Lord at every hour and sit in his shadow, for whoever dwells in the help of the Most High will remain under the shadow of the God of heaven and will not be moved. Remember the Lord and the Jerusalem of heaven; let their remembrance rise in your heart, and you will be under the blessing of heaven, and the glory of God will support you. Guard your body and your heart with the greatest care. Pursue peace and humility. If these are joined together in you, they will make you see God. Again, do not attach yourself possessively to anyone, for whoever is bound to his brother in this way becomes an enemy of God. But whoever is at peace with his brother is at peace with God. You know that there is no peace greater than for each person to love his brother. Even if you are free from every other sin, if you are at enmity with your brother, you are a stranger to God.
For it is written, “Pursue peace and purity,” for they are joined together. Again it is written, “Even if I have all faith, so that I can move a mountain, but have no love in my heart, I gain nothing. Love builds up.” There can be no purity in impurity. If hatred or enmity is in your heart, where is your purity? The Lord says in Jeremiah, “He speaks words of peace with his neighbor while enmity is in his heart. He speaks deceitfully with his neighbor while he meditates enmity in his heart. Shall I not be angry because of this, says the Lord? Shall not my soul take vengeance on such a nation?” Thus he says: the one who is at enmity with his brother is like a heathen, because the heathen walks in the darkness of death and does not know the light. In the same way, whoever hates his brother walks in darkness and does not know God, for the hatred of enmity has closed his eyes and he cannot see the image of God. The Lord commanded us, “Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who persecute you.” How great, then, is the danger of punishment if we hate one another—our neighbor who is yoked with us, the sons of God, the branches of the true Vine, the sheep of the spiritual fold gathered by the true Shepherd, the Only-begotten Son of God, who offered himself as a sacrifice for us and endured these sufferings himself. And you—do you hate your brother?
Man, why are you envious because of empty glory? Why do you love money or magnificence, things with which the Enemy binds you in chains and makes you a stranger to God? What defense will you be able to make before Christ when he says to you, “Because you hate your brother, it is me whom you hate. You will depart into everlasting punishment because you are an enemy of your brother, while your brother will go into everlasting life because he humbled himself before you for the sake of Jesus”? Let us therefore seek a remedy for the disease before we die.
My beloved, let us flee to the feet of the Gospel of the true law of God, Christ, and listen to him saying, “Do not condemn, so that you may not be condemned. Forgive, so that you may be forgiven.” If you do not forgive, you will not be forgiven. If you bind your brother, prepare yourself to answer for your own failures, transgressions, secret fornications, thefts, obscene words, evil thoughts, greed, and all the evil things you will have to explain before the throne of Christ. The whole creation of God will be looking at you. All the angels and all the hosts of heaven will stand there with drawn swords, compelling you to give an account and confess your sins. Your clothing will be stained with many colors; your mouth will be shut, and you will be so terrified that you will be unable to speak or explain yourself.
Miserable man, they will question you about all these things: your many acts of fornication, the sickness of your soul; the lusts of the eyes; the evil thoughts that afflict the spirit and grieve the soul; the sins of the mouth; the tongue that speaks boastful words and defiles the whole body; obscene and indecent speech; gossip born of envy and hatred; mockery and derisive words directed against the image of God; deliberate reviling, which deprives you of the good things of Paradise; secret passions too shameful to mention; evil thoughts against the image of God; anger, discord, shamelessness, arrogance, and wicked thoughts of the heart; lack of compassion and ambition. They will question you about all of these because you were at enmity with your brother and did not force yourself, through the love of God, to put that enmity away.
Have you not heard that “love covers a multitude of sins”? This is also what your Father in heaven does for you. If you do not forgive one another from your hearts, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins. You know, my beloved, that we have clothed ourselves with the good and loving Christ. Let us not strip ourselves of him through evil deeds. We have vowed ourselves to God in purity and to the monastic life. Let us therefore perform its works: fasting, unceasing prayer, purity of body, and purity of heart. Since we have vowed ourselves to God in purity, let us not join ourselves to the many forms of fornication, for he says, “They committed fornication in many ways.” My brothers, let us not be found in works that make us fall beneath every other person. We have also promised to become disciples of Christ. Let us therefore discipline ourselves, for sorrow brings impurity low.
Now that the contest has been set before us, let us not allow ourselves to be defeated and become slaves of sin. Lights have been placed in the world for our sake; let them not be offended because of us. Let us endure in silence, for many will be saved through our sobriety, brothers. Let us not keep accounts against one another, so that no account will be kept against us in the hour of punishment—whether you are virgins, people set apart for special service, or anchorites. Surely he will say to us, “Bring it here; this belongs to me, together with its increase.” And he will rebuke us: “Where is the garment of the bridal chamber? Where is the light of the lamps? If you are truly my son, where is the fear you should have toward me? If you hated me in the world, depart from me, for I do not know you. If you hate your brother, you are a stranger to my Kingdom. If you hold your brother bound and refuse to release him, they will bind your hands behind you and bind your feet and cast you into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. If you reject your brother, they will hand you over to merciless angels, and they will scourge you with whips of fire forever. You showed no compassion toward my image; you despised me, scorned me, and dishonored me. Therefore I will show you no compassion in your hour of danger and need.”
“If you do not make peace with your brother in this world, I will not be with you on the Day of the Great Judgment. If you despise the poor man, it is me whom you despise. If you reject the afflicted person, you become the companion of those who rejected me in my humility upon the cross. Did I demand anything from you while I was away from my home in the world? Did I not give you my Body and my Blood, the good gift of life? Did I not taste death for your sake until I redeemed you? Did I not make known to you the mystery of heaven and make you my brother and companion? Did I not give you power to tread upon vipers and scorpions and all the strength of the Enemy? Did I not give you many medicines of life with which to heal yourself? My powers, signs, and miracles, which I bore in the world like the armor of a soldier, I gave to you so that you might gird yourself with them and cast down Goliath—that is, the Devil. What do you lack now that makes you become a stranger to me? Your carelessness alone drives you into the pit of Amente.”
Therefore, my son, we will hear these things and things far more severe if we remain careless and refuse to obey the command to forgive one another. Let us be sober. We know the virtues God has given us: they will help us on the day of death, guide us in the midst of the cruel and terrifying battle, and raise our souls from death. First, faith and knowledge have been given to us so that we may drive unbelief out of ourselves. Next, wisdom and understanding have been given to us so that we may recognize the thoughts of the Devil, flee from him, and hate him. Fasting, prayer, and continence are preached to us, and these bring peace and quiet to the body troubled by passion.
Purity and abstinence have been given to us, and through them God will dwell in us. Patient endurance and long-suffering have also been given to us; if we guard these carefully, we will inherit the glory of God. Love and peace have been given to us, mighty warriors in battle, for the Enemy cannot approach the place where they dwell. We have been commanded concerning the joy in which there is no grief when we fight. We have also been instructed in generosity and in becoming Christlike. Holy prayer and long-suffering have been given to us, and they fill the soul with light. Innocence of heart and simplicity have been given to us, and they wipe away wickedness. We have been instructed not to judge anyone, and we must overcome the falsehood of this evil blemish in humanity; for if we do not judge, we will not be judged on the Day of Judgment. The power to suffer patiently and to bear violent attacks has been given to us so that sloth may not cast us down. Our fathers lived to the end in hunger and thirst and endured many tribulations until they brought forth purity in themselves. Above all, they fled from excessive drinking of wine, which carries many punishments. Disturbances in our members—the twitching and violent, disordered movements—come from too much wine. It is a madness that produces many sins, splits the head, and makes the joints of the hands and arms weak.
The pleasure of excessive drinking turns a person of understanding into a fool, makes the conscience shameless, and loosens the bridle of the tongue. The greatest joy of all is not to grieve the Holy Spirit; let us not be led astray by pleasure. For the priest spoke, and the prophet warned concerning wine: “Wine is insolent, and drunkenness is a disgrace; whoever devotes himself to these things will not remain free from sin.” Wine is good when we drink it in moderation. But if you fix your eyes on the wine bowls and drinking cups, you will walk naked like a dry stalk.
Therefore let everyone who has prepared himself to be a disciple of Jesus keep away from wine and drunkenness. Our fathers knew very well the danger that comes from wine, and they abstained from it; when they were sick, they drank only very small amounts. If only a little wine was permitted to the mighty worker Timothy, whose body was very weak, what shall I say about the man who is overflowing with wickedness, in the vigor of youth, and full of impure desires and passions? I am afraid to say it: let no one drink wine at all, lest he come to hate his own salvation and complain against me. These words will be hard for many in this time.
Nevertheless, my beloved, it is good to abstain, and self-restraint is beneficial. The person who practices self-restraint will bring his ship safely into the good and holy harbor of salvation, and he will drink from the good things of heaven. Greater than all these, however, something else has been placed in our hands: humility, which keeps watch over all the virtues. Humility is the great and holy power with which God clothed himself when he came into the world. It is the wall surrounding the virtues, the treasury of good deeds, the armor that saves, and the healer of every grief. When the fine linen garments, the gold vessels for the tabernacle, and all its ornaments had been made, they were covered with a garment of sackcloth.
Humility is among the least things in the sight of people, but it is chosen and greatly honored before God. If we acquire it, we will trample upon all the power of the Enemy. For he said, “Upon whom will I look, except upon the one who is humble and long-suffering?” Let us not relax our vigilance in a time of famine, for boasting and human wisdom have increased. Gluttony has increased; fornication reigns through the intoxication of the flesh; pride rules; the younger no longer listen to the elders, and the elders no longer concern themselves with the younger. Each person walks according to the desire of his own heart. This is the time when we must cry out with the prophet: “Woe to me, my soul, for the one who causes fear has perished from the earth, and the upright person among humanity no longer exists.” That is, he does not exist at all, and each person afflicts his neighbor.
Strive, my beloved, for the time has drawn near and the days have grown short. The father no longer instructs his son, and the son no longer listens to his father. The good virgins have come to an end. The holy fathers sleep everywhere; the mothers have been destroyed like widows, and we have become like orphans. The humble are trampled down, and blows fall upon the heads of the poor. Because of this, in a short time we have provoked God to anger. Let us therefore lament, for there is no one to comfort us. All these things have come upon us because we have not disciplined ourselves. Let us strive earnestly, my beloved, so that we may receive the crown that has been prepared. The throne is set, the door of the Kingdom is open: “To the one who overcomes I will give the manna that belongs to him.” If we strive earnestly, we will conquer our passions and reign forever and ever; but if they conquer us, we will weep bitterly.
Let us fight for our own salvation, for repentance is sufficient for us. Let us clothe ourselves with sorrow and renew ourselves in humility. Let us become lovers of humanity and companions of Christ, the Lover of humanity. Since we have vowed ourselves to God, let us live the monastic life in love. Virginity is not only virginity of the body; it is also keeping oneself from every sin. In the Gospel, some virgins were rejected because of careless sloth, while those who watched courageously entered the chamber of the Bridegroom. May it be granted that every one of us enter that place forever. Now concerning the love of money, through which warfare is waged against us:
If you desire to acquire for yourself these passing possessions—things that can be destroyed by fire—through great greed, trading, violence, evil schemes, or excessive manual labor, you are not free to serve God, certainly not in every respect. If you eagerly desire to gather gold or bronze for yourself, remember what he said in the Gospel: “Foolish man, this very night they will take your soul from you; then the things you prepared, whose will they be?” The words are similar: “He gathers, but does not know for whom he is gathering.”
Strive earnestly, my beloved, and fight against this passion. Say, “I will do as Abraham did. I will walk uprightly before God Most High, who made heaven and earth. I will not take anything that belongs to you, from a thread to a sandal strap.” A humble stranger is a great good, and the Lord loves the sojourner and gives him bread and clothing. Concerning the faintheartedness by which we are attacked, and the needs that press upon us, remember that it is written, “Your storehouses are accursed, and what is in them.” Concerning gold and bronze, James also said, “Their rust will testify against you, and the rust will consume your flesh like fire.” And it is said, “A righteous person who has no idol is chosen when he sees their affliction.” Purify yourself again from the curse before the Lord calls you, for you have set your hope on God. As it is written, “Let your hearts be purified and made perfect toward God.”
I ask you, my beloved in the Lord: if you have made God your helper, if you are beloved by him, and if you have set your heart to walk in the commandments of God, then God himself will bless you so greatly that your spring will become a river for you, and your river will become a sea. You are the chariot, and continence will be the charioteer. The lamp of God is lit above you, and you will shine with the light that belongs to the Spirit. You will govern your words with judgment.
May God graciously give you the skill of the saints in spiritual combat, so that you do not fall headlong before the phantom in your city. You will set your foot upon the neck of the prince of darkness. You will see the commander of the armies of the Lord standing at your right hand. You will drown Pharaoh and his multitude. You and your people will cross the salt sea—that is, this life. Amen.
Besides these things, I command you not to let go of your heart. It is the joy of the demons to make a person release his hold on his heart and then lead him into the snare before he realizes it. Therefore do not be careless in receiving the teaching of the fear of the Lord. You will grow like new plants, and you will please God like a young bull that pushes the sheep aside with its horns. Be a courageous person in both deed and word. Do not turn your face away like the hypocrites, lest you join them and be turned toward them. Do not waste even one day upon the earth. Know what you are giving to God day by day. Sit by yourself like a wise governor and judge your own thoughts, whether you are alone on a journey or in the midst of a crowd.
Pass judgment on yourself every day. It is far better for you to be one person among a crowd of a thousand and possess a little humility than to live proudly in the cave of a hyena. Remember Lot: he lived in the midst of Sodom and still remained a believer and a good man. But remember Cain as well: although there were only three other people with him on the earth, he became a sinner.
Now, then, the contest is prepared for you. Examine carefully those who come against you each day, for we must hide ourselves just as those who wage war against us hide themselves. The demons do not attack only from the right; they also appear on the left to every person. In my own case, they truly fought against me from the right side. They even brought the Devil to me, bound in the form of a wild ass, but the Lord helped me. I did not believe them, and I did not relax the vigilance of my heart against them. The works of the Devil from the right harmed me many times. He even dared to tempt the Lord, but the Lord destroyed him together with all his works.
Therefore, my son, clothe yourself with humility. Make Christ your counselor, together with his good Father. Make yourself a companion of God, a godly person in whose heart is the law of God. Make yourself like the poor man who carried his cross and became a companion of weeping. Become poor. Put a cloth upon your head, and let your dwelling place be like a tomb until God raises you up and gives you the crown of victory.
If at some time you become deeply distressed with a brother who has hurt you by his words, or if your heart is wounded by a brother and you say, “He is not worthy of this,” or if the Enemy works within you against someone and you say, “He is not worthy of these honors,” restrain your speech. Remember that it is the Devil of warfare who is magnifying himself in your thoughts. If you contend with your brother, you know that there is no balm in Gilead and no physician around you. Therefore give yourself to silence and to the awareness of God. Weep before yourself and Christ, and the Spirit of Jesus will speak with you in your thoughts. He will bring you to birth within the circle of the commandment. Why should you struggle by yourself? You have become like a wild animal while this venom remains within you.
Remember how many times you yourself have received benefit. Do you not hear Christ saying, “Forgive your brother seventy times seven”? Do you not yourself often weep when you pray, saying, “Forgive me the multitude of my sins”? And yet you hold a small thing against your brother. At once the Spirit of God will bring judgment before you, together with the fear of punishments. Remember the saints and how they were counted worthy to be treated with contempt. Remember Christ: how they despised him, treated him with contempt, and crucified him for your sake. Then your heart will be filled with compassion and fear. You will cast yourself down upon your face in tears and say, “Forgive me, my Lord, for I have caused suffering to your image.”
Then you will rise, receiving the consolation of repentance. You will run to the feet of your brother. Your heart will become like water, your face will be joyful, and your mouth will be filled with gladness. Peace will surround you as you plead with your brother. Your tears will be abundant, but through those tears you will have great joy. Peace will boast in your midst, and the Spirit of God himself will rejoice and cry out, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”
When the Enemy hears the sound of your weeping, he is put to shame. Let God be glorified, so that a great blessing may come upon you. Therefore, my brother, let us fight courageously. You know that conflict has arisen everywhere. The churches are filled with quarrelsome and angry people. Communities and gatherings of monks have become lovers of greatness; pride has become king. No one shows courage on behalf of his neighbor; instead, each person afflicts his neighbor. We have fallen into the midst of sufferings. There is neither prophet nor one who possesses spiritual knowledge. No one rebukes anyone, because hardness of heart has increased. The person who understands will keep silent, because the time is evil. Each person has made himself his own king, despising what is fitting. Therefore, my brother, make peace with your brother, and pray for me as well. I am unable to accomplish anything, but I humble myself because of my desires. As for you, be sober in everything. Suffer hardship; do the work of an evangelist; endure temptation patiently; complete the contest of the monastic life. Humble yourself and be long-suffering. Let your heart fear the words you have heard, and guard your virginity carefully. Hold yourself to your rule, and beware of strange voices concerning me. Do not place yourself outside the writings of the saints, but be firmly established in faith in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and to whom be glory, together with his good Father and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen. Bless us.