An Interpretation of the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian: On Humility (7)

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

"Lord and Master of my life, bestow on Your servant a spirit of humility."

 

Remember that the commandment of humility is the first commandment of the beatitudes, and if the first, then the most important. Have you ever heard the word of God, proclaimed by the Prophet Isaiah: “Thus says the High and Exalted One, who lives forever — His name is Holy. I live on high in heaven and in the sanctuary, with the contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and revive the hearts of the contrite” (Is. 57:15).

Homily Two on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee (St. Luke of Simferopol)

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on February 18, 1951)

"The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and human pride brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled), for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan, for all the towering mountains and all the high hills, for every lofty tower and every fortified wall, for every trading ship and every stately vessel. The arrogance of man will be brought low and human pride humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day” (Is. 2:11–17).

Oh, how contrary to God is everything that is arrogant, everything that is proud!

In the amazingly powerful speech of the Prophet Isaiah, even the mountains are high, even the cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan, high, exalted, lofty, although they have no soul and cannot be exalted, nevertheless they are hated by God, as a symbol of everything high and exalted.

“For this is what the high and exalted One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: 'I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite'" (Is. 57:15).

Oh Lord, Lord! You live at the height of heaven and at the same time in the hearts of the humble and contrite. They are dear to You, You love them, You consider them Your children. You send Your grace to them in immeasurable abundance, for thus You say: “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word” (Is. 66:2).

He looks only at them, but God opposes the proud, and only gives grace to the humble. He opposes those, says the Prophet, who have not humbled themselves before His immeasurable greatness, who reject His protection, His Providence, who say: we are not children, we ourselves will find the ways of life. Let us not bow before anyone, for we are not slaves.

Not slaves? Oh no! These are slaves, miserable slaves: slaves of pride and vanity, slaves of the lusts of the flesh, slaves of the passions.

There is no God with them, for He lives only with the contrite and humble, and only to them gives His grace.

But the proud, arrogant, the Lord never hears, never, no matter how much they pray to Him; He does not hear, just as He did not hear the proud Pharisee, whose whole prayer consisted only in listing his virtues and merits before God. Do you yourself boast before God, are you proud of your merits, your righteousness? O you are unfortunate!

Learn from the great apostle Paul, who says about himself: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (1 Cor. 15:10).

All his labors, all his immeasurable and greatest merits, he attributes not to himself, but only to God's grace.

O ye unfortunate ones who boast of themselves before God, don’t you remember the words of our Savior Himself: “Even so, when you have done everything commanded to you, say: 'We are worthless servants, because we have done what was our duty” (Lk. 17:10).

How many people say this? How many are so humble? Oh no, there are more proud people than humble ones.

What are they proud of? They are proud of their mind, strength and power, forgetting about their sins, considering them as nothing. Let them remember the words of the righteous Job: "No one is righteous and no one is clean for one day of his life."

All are impure, all are guilty, all must be humble in the consciousness of their impurity.

Let them also remember other words of the righteous Job: “Behold, He does not trust His servants, and He sees shortcomings in His angels.”

In angels, in angels He sees shortcomings, but what about us, accursed ones, who are full of sinful impurity, full of arrogance and pride.

After all, all the saints, the great saints, considered themselves sinners and unworthy before God - they sincerely, truly considered themselves to be such. For they constantly examined their hearts and saw in it with their keen eyes every, even the smallest impurity, and were horrified if they found such impurity. They searched and humbled themselves before God sincerely and considered themselves sinners and unworthy.

Who was more holy, more exalted by God, who was the greatest saint, if not our blessed father John Chrysostom? And every evening we read in his amazing prayer these words: “Remember me, Thy sinful servant, cold and unclean, in Thy Kingdom.”

He called himself cold and unclean, who for us is a model of all holiness, a model for the fulfillment of the entire law of Christ - he calls himself cold and unclean.

Why does the Lord require humility above all from us?

Why did he command humility: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”?

Why is this holy commandment placed first in a series of nine beatitudes? Because without the fulfillment of this commandment, the fulfillment of the rest of the law is worth nothing. All our good deeds are little pleasing to God if they are not imbued with holy humility.

Why is it necessary to be humble, why does our great God require this in the first place? Because He requires us to tremble with contrite and humble hearts at His word.

We must be imbued with such immeasurable respect and admiration for the majesty of God that we must think of Him with trembling—with trembling, and not with pride, with humility, with a contrite heart.

And only then will He hear our prayers, as He heard the humble prayer of the unfortunate, despised publican, who stood at the entrance to the temple, beat his chest and kept repeating the words: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

He was sinful, he was hated by all the people because he collected taxes wrongly, for the sake of his own benefit he collected too much.

But even this sinner, who with trembling, with the fear of God, beating his chest, repeated the same words: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” the Lord justified much more than the self-righteous Pharisee, who only exalted himself by his dignity, his virtues.

Therefore let us all be humble and tremble at the word of God. May there never be in our prayers a trace of any exaltation before God, any praise of our virtues.

May we always, always, at every prayer, in our hearts, in our thoughts, not only once, but always, remember our sins, of which everyone has countless, which are so vile before God.

If at every prayer we always remember our sins, and if, saying the great Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” we will immediately, right away remember and steadily keep in mind all our sins, and especially the most grave, the most vile sins, if we steadily remember our sins, then little by little tears of repentance will begin to drip from our eyes. And when the Lord gives these tears, then holy humility will come, the queen of all virtues.

If only we don’t forget, don’t leave thoughts about our sins, if only we don’t think that it’s enough to go to confession and reveal sins to the confessor, and then immediately forget them, as very many do. If only they would not forget, if only they would always remember, if only they would know the words of God proclaimed through the Prophet Isaiah and another great prophet, Jeremiah. Here is what the Prophet Isaiah says: “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more” (Is. 43:25).

He will not remember, He has forgiven, but you should remember, always remember, always ask for forgiveness. Remember this: "You remember."

Remember also the words of the great Jeremiah: “Turn to me, daughter of Israel... and I will not turn away my face forever, nor be aware of your iniquity either” (Jer. 3:12-13).

Know, always know your iniquities, remember your iniquities, even though the Lord does not turn away His face, even though He has mercy on you.

That is why our Lord Jesus Christ, in the short and amazingly powerful Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, teaches us that our prayers should be prayers of humbleness and repentance. Never forget this holy parable. Do not forget those words of the Psalm of David that you hear every day at the Six Psalms: “A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit. A contrite and humble heart God will not despise."

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

 

The Extreme Humility of the Incarnation of the Lord (Archimandrite George Kapasanis)

By Archimandrite George Kapsanis

With the Panagia Theotokos, Saint Joseph the Betrothed, the angels, the shepherds and the Magi from the east, we worship, thank, praise and glorify our incarnate Lord, who for our salvation was born in the cave, lay in the manger and was baptized in the Jordan.

His extreme humility is not only seen in His death on the Cross, but also in His Nativity in the cave of Bethlehem and His Baptism in the Jordan River.

With this humility He defeated the devil, who thought that with his pride he would reign in the world.

Great Thursday - Imitating the Lord's Humility (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

 

By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin (1807-1869)

"If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet" (John 13:14).

Not only God, but we also love humble people; such is the quality of humility - it involuntarily attracts everyone. We love humble people, pious listeners, but we ourselves do not love to humble ourselves before others; we are afraid so as not to humiliate ourselves with humility, we are afraid that we will be considered weak, cowardly people, when we humble ourselves before others.

The Grass of the Grandmother

By St. George Karslides

 

A church was being built in a village and everyone was helping as much as they could.

Whoever had an animal had them carry stones and those who were strong worked.

There was also a very poor grandmother in the village, who had nothing to give for the church. Her soul ached for this and as the animals carrying the stones passed by, she would pick up grass and throw them so they could eat to gain strength.

When the church was finished, they consecrated it and wrote the name of the Bishop on an inscription.

When Archimandrite Pavel Gruzdev Was Taught a Lesson in Humility

The famous elder and confessor, Archimandrite Pavel Gruzdev (+ 1996), told the following story about himself.

Once he, already old and half-blind, went to a big city with a Metropolitan in order to serve with him.

The Metropolitan gave Father Pavel money for the return journey, and they parted. There was time before the arrival of the train, so Father Pavel decided to have lunch.

He entered a cafe, and the girl behind the counter said to him:

"Old man, you better leave, you are poorly dressed."

Sermon for the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee (Monk Agapios Landos)

 

 By Monk Agapios Landos of Crete

The Holy Fathers of the Church have commanded us to sing and read today about the case and parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, in order that we might prepare for the spiritual struggles and warfare of Holy Lent, which is approaching. This is why they called this week a ‘warning order’, because it forewarns and reminds us of the time of fasting and repentance which is almost upon us, so that we may prepare accordingly, to fight bravely and fairly, and not be defeated by any passion and lose the kingdom of heaven. Let each of us then examine which sin defeats us, so that we conquer it boldly in these holy days; so that we may shame the wicked devil, who fights day and night to defeat us, because he hates the human race.

Humility, the Most Beautiful of All the Virtues (St. Syncletike of Alexandria)

 

 

By St. Syncletike of Alexandria

Therefore it is clear that arrogance is the greatest among the evils. And from this its opposite, humility, shows itself. It is difficult to acquire humility. For if one is not far from all glory, one will not be able to value this treasure. Humility is so great that the devil seems to imitate all the virtues but does not know this one at all. Knowing its security and steadfastness, the apostle commands us to be clothed in it, and to be surrounded by it, all doing useful things. For if you fast, and if you give alms, or if you teach, if you are wise and intelligent, it will furnish you again with an impregnable fort. Let humility, the most beautiful of all virtues, reinforce and keep your virtues from dispersing. Look at the canticle of the three holy children, how not mentioning at all other virtues, they included the humble ones with the singers, not mentioning the wise or the poor. For just as it is impossible for a ship to be built without nails, just so it is impossible to be saved without humility.

On the Dangerous Vice of Pride (St. Varnava Nastic)

 

 

“In this article, one can sense ... the humble spirit and modesty that adorned the ancient spiritual giants of old Egypt, Sinai and the Holy Mountain. As if the author were outside of time and space. Not a single temptation of the twentieth century touched him and failed to separate him from the holy people of the early Christian centuries,"- this is how St. Nikolai Velimirovich reacted to the article "Something About Pride", written by the then student of the Theological Faculty in Belgrade, Vojislav Nastic, who today the Serbian Orthodox Church honors as Saint Varnava, Bishop of Khvostansky, commemorated on the 12th of November. Below is a translation of the article on Pride he wrote as a student of theology:

 

A "Deceiving" Photo With Saint Gabriel the Confessor

 

 

At times an ascetic would come to Samtavro Monastery to see Saint Gabriel, Staretz Basil Svetsi, from the Pskov-Pechory Monastery, who stood out for his great kindness and humility. It was a pleasure to see these two great ascetics and saints together. So I captured them with my camera. When Father Basil saw the photo, he said with a smile:

"You defeated me Gabriel! In this photo it looks like I am the saint and you are the sinner!"

From the book by Nana Merkviladze, Saint Gabriel the Fool for Christ and Confessor. Translation by John Sanidopoulos.

 

 

"When I Start Thinking of Myself as Being Better Than Others..." (St. Gabriel of Georgia)

 

 

"When I start thinking of myself as being better than others, then I put a diadem on my head and go outside without shoes. People stare at me and laugh, but I see how insignificant I am."

- St. Gabriel (Urgebadze) of Georgia

The Increasing Humility of the Apostle Paul

A clear indication of maturing in Christ is increasing humility. The closer we draw to Him the more He becomes the center of our lives; the closer we draw to Him the more we grasp His holiness and our sinfulness.

Notice the progression of increasing humility in the apostle Paul’s life.

Homily on Humility (St. Basil the Great)

Homily on Humility

By St. Basil the Great

Would that man had abided in the glory which he possessed with God he would have genuine instead of fictitious dignity. For he would be ennobled by the power of God, illumined with divine wisdom, and made joyful in the possession of eternal life and its blessings. But, because he ceased to desire divine glory in expectation of a better prize, and strove for the unattainable, he lost the good which it was in his power to possess. The surest salvation for him, the remedy of his ills, and the means of restoration to his original state is in practicing humility and not pretending that he may lay claim to any glory through his own efforts but seeking it from God. Thus will he make amends for his error, thus will he be cured of his malady, thus will he return to the observance of the holy precept which he has abandoned. For the Devil, having caused man’s ruin by holding out to him the hope of false glory, ceases not to tempt him still by the same allurements and he devises innumerable schemes to this end. For instance, he represents a large fortune to him as a great good, so that man will regard it as a cause for boasting and expend effort to obtain it. Wealth, however, leads not to glory but to great peril. To build a fortune is to lay the foundation for avarice and the acquisition of money bears no relation to excellence of character. Rather, it blinds a man to no purpose, arouses vain conceit, and produces in his soul an effect something like an inflamed swelling. Now, a tumour combined with inflammation is neither healthful nor beneficial to the body, but unwholesome, injurious, a source of danger, and a cause of death.

On Conceit and Humble Mindedness: A Sermon for the Sunday of the Blind Man (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov)

By St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Beloved brethren! After our Lord Jesus Christ healed the man born blind — about which we have heard today in the Holy Gos­pel — He said, "For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind" (John 9:39). The proud sages and righteous men of the world, such as the Jewish Pharisees, could not listen to these words of the Lord indiffer­ently. Due to their self-love and high opinion of themselves they considered themselves to have been insulted. They replied to the Lord's words with a question expressing, simultaneously, their indignation, conceit, mockery, and hatred for the Lord, combined with contempt for Him. "Are we blind also?" they asked. In reply to the Pharisees' ques­tion the Lord showed them their state of soul, which was the initial reason for this question. "If ye were blind," He told them, "ye should have no sin: but now ye say, 'We see;' therefore your sin remaineth."

The One Who Wrongs Us Is Our Benefactor (St. Paisios the Athonite)

- Elder, how should we consider someone who treats us in an unfair way?

- How should we consider him? We must treat him like a great benefactor who makes deposits on our behalf in God's Savings Bank. He is making us eternally wealthy. This is not a matter of minor importance. Are we not sup­posed to love our benefactors? Shouldn't we express our gratitude to them? In the same way, we must love and feel grateful to the person who has treated us unjustly, because he benefits us eternally. The unjust receive etern­al injury, whereas those who accept injustice with joy will be justified eternally.

Who Sold Joseph? (Abba John the Dwarf)

Abba John asked, ‘Who sold Joseph?’ A brother replied saying, ‘It was his brethren.’ The old man said to him, ‘No, it was his humility which sold him, because he could have said, “I am their brother” and have objected, but, because he kept silence, he sold himself by his humility. It is also his humility which set him up as chief in Egypt.'

Abba John the Dwarf
(Sayings of the Desert Fathers)

Saint Silvanos of Tabennisi, the Former Actor Who Had the Gift of Tears

St. Silvanos of Tabennisi (Feast Day - May 15);
Rothschild Canticles (f. 3v): Silvanus watering the garden. C. 1300
Description: A bearded and hooded hermit carries a basket over his left arm
as he covers his eyes with his left hand and waters
the leafy foliage at his feet with a bowl of water.
Interpretation: The image illustrates the virtue of sobriety.
Asked by his disciple to water the gardens,
Silvanus does so with his eyes covered to avoid distractions.

Paralipomena

From the Life of Holy Pachomios

Ch. 2

Once there was a brother called Silvanos, who had been wearing the monastic habit for twenty years. He was originally an actor. In the beginning of his renunciation he was extremely vigilant about his soul, spending all his time in fasting and frequent prayers and in all humility. But after a long time had elapsed, he began so to disregard his own salvation that he wanted to live softly and enjoy himself, and even fearlessly declaimed among the brothers improper quips from the theater.

Considering Ourselves the Last of All (St. John Chrysostom)

By St. John Chrysostom

(From A Homily on Lowliness of Mind)

When lately we made mention of the Pharisee and the Publican, and hypothetically yoked two chariots out of virtue and vice; we pointed out each truth, how great is the gain of humbleness of mind, and how great the damage of pride. For this, even when conjoined with righteousness and fastings and tithes, fell behind; while that, even when yoked with sin, out-stripped the Pharisee's pair, even though the charioteer it had was a poor one. For what was worse than the Publican? But all the same since he made his soul contrite, and called himself a sinner; which indeed he was. He surpassed the Pharisee, who had both fastings to tell of and tithes; and was removed from any vice. On account of what, and through what? Because even if he was removed from greed of gain and robbery, he had rooted over his soul the mother of all evils — vain-glory and pride. On this account Paul also exhorts and says: "Let each one prove his own work," and then he will have his ground of boasting for himself, and not for the other. He publicly came forward as an accuser of the whole world; and said that he himself was better than all living men. And yet even if he had set himself before ten only, or if five, or if two, or if one, not even was this endurable; but as it was, he not only set himself before the whole world, but also accused all men. On this account he fell behind in the running. And just as a ship, after having run through innumerable surges, and having escaped many storms, then in the very mouth of the harbor having been dashed against some rock, loses the whole treasure which is stowed away in her — so truly did this Pharisee, after having undergone the labors of the fasting, and of all the rest of his virtue, since he did not master his tongue, in the very harbor underwent shipwreck of his cargo. For the going home from prayer, whence he ought to have derived gain, having rather been so greatly damaged, is nothing else than undergoing shipwreck in the harbor.

Saint Antiochus Pandektos

St. Antiochus Pandektos (Feast Day - December 24);
photo depicts the Lavra of Saint Savvas

Verses

Your life Antiochus was tumultuous with detestable things,
And after a full life, you passed pleasantly.

Saint Antiochus was from Ancyra in Galatia and lived during the reign of Emperor Heraclius (610-641). He became a solitary, then entered the Lavra of Saint Savvas in Palestine, where he became renowned for his virtue and holiness. He witnessed the Persian invasion of Palestine in 614, and the massacre of forty-four of his fellow monastics by the Bedouins. Like another Prophet Jeremiah, he recorded his lamentation of the fall of the Holy Land, the destruction of the Lavra, and the seizure of the Holy Cross which was carried away into Persia.

Sayings of Holy Abba Betimius

Holy Abba Betimius (Feast Day - December 24)

Verses

You stripped yourself of your corruptible skin Betimius,
And will receive it incorruptible at the resurrection.

Abba Betimius lived a venerable life, and reposed in peace. In the Lausiac History, the following is written about him:

1. Abba Betimius said: "When I went down to Scete they gave me some apples to take to the brethren, and when I had knocked at the door of Abba Achilla, he said to me when he saw me, 'If these apples had been of gold I would not have wished you to knock at my door; and moreover, do not knock at the door of any other brother;' so I returned and placed the apples in the church and departed."