The spiritual world is
gained by sorrows. The scriptures say: "We went through fire and through
water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place" (Psalms 66:12).
For those who desire to serve God the path lies through many
sorrows. How can we praise the holy martyrs for the sufferings which
they bore for God, when we cannot even bear a fever?
Nothing so aids the acquiring of
internal peace as silence, and as much as is possible, continual
discussion with oneself and rarely with others.
A sign of spiritual life is the
immersion of a person within himself and the hidden workings within his
heart.
This peace, as some priceless
treasure, did our Lord Jesus Christ leave his followers before His
death, saying, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not
as the world giveth, give I unto you" (John 14:27).
The apostle also
spoke this about it: "And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus"
(Philemon 04:07);
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which
no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
In this way, we must direct all
our thoughts, desires and actions toward obtaining God’s peace, and
always cry out with the Church: "Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us"
(Isaiah 26:12).
It is necessary by all means to
try to keep one’s spiritual peace, and not to become provoked by insults
from others. To do this, it is necessary always to restrain oneself from
anger, and by careful watch to guard the mind and heart from unclean
waverings.
Insults from others must be borne
without disturbance; one must train oneself to be of such a nature, that
one can react to insults as if they did not refer to oneself. Such an
exercise can bring serenity to our heart and make it a dwelling of God
Himself.
We see an example of such a lack
of malice in the life of Saint Gregory the Miracle-Worker. A certain
immoral woman demanded payment from him, purportedly for a sin committed
with her. He, not in the least angry with her, humbly said to one of his
friends: pay her the price which she demands, quickly. The woman became
possessed as soon as she accepted the unrighteous payment. The bishop
then prayed and exorcised the evil spirit from her.
If it is impossible not to become
indignant, then at least restrain your tongue according to the words of
the Psalmist: "I am so troubled that I cannot speak" (Psalms 77:4).
In this instance we can take as
examples for ourselves
The first bore an insult when he entered the palace by the
demand of the Greek emperor: one of the servants present in the
emperor’s chamber, taking him for a beggar, laughed at him, did not
allow him to enter the chamber and even struck him on the cheek. St.
Spyridon, being without malice, turned the other cheek to him, according
the word of the Lord (see Mt. 5:39). The Blessed Ephraim, living in the
desert, was once deprived of food in the following fashion. His pupil,
carrying the food, accidentally broke the vessel on the way. Blessed
Ephraim, seeing the pupil downcast, said to him: "Do not grieve,
brother. If the food did not want to come to us, then we will go to it."
And so the monk went, sat next to the broken vessel, and, gathering the
food together, ate it. He was thus without malice!
In order to keep spiritual peace,
it is necessary to chase dejection away from oneself, and to try to have
a joyful spirit, according to the words of the most wise Sirach:
"Sorrow has killed many, but there is no good in it" (Sirach 30:25).
In order to keep spiritual peace
it is also necessary to avoid judging others in any way. Condescension
towards your neighbor and silence protect spiritual peace. When a person
is in such an state, then he receives Godly revelations.
In order not to lapse into
judgment of others, it is necessary to be mindful of oneself, to refuse
to receive any bad information from anyone and to be as if dead to
others.
For the protection of spiritual
peace it is necessary to enter into oneself more often and ask: Where am
I? In addition, it is necessary to watch that the physical senses,
especially sight, serve the inner person, not diverting the soul with
mortal items, because the gifts of grace are received only by those who
have inner workings and keep watch over their souls.
