Our life is short - this dust, ashes, sleep, and soon we die. Today you have health, and tomorrow you lose it. Today your face is cheerful, and soon you are already gloomy. Eyes shed tears from great joy and love, and soon - from pain and sorrow. Today - prosperity, tomorrow - collapse. Today - joyful news, and tomorrow sad news comes to replace them.
We toss and turn in vain; life is a shadow and a dream.
Where are our parents, our brothers and sisters, our grandparents? The coffin has received them all, worms and decay have destroyed them all. Death and decay await us too!
Let us pray that the holy God may save us, granting us complete repentance and works worthy of repentance, works of mercy and love, the spirit of repentance with true humility, so that we may incline the Judge to have mercy on us, so that in the terrible hour of death the soul may say with boldness: “I trust in God that He will deal mercifully with my insignificance.” Amen.
Vanity of vanities
With tears a man comes into the world; with tears and sorrows he lives; with tears and suffering he leaves the world. Oh, vanity of vanities! The dream passes, and a man wakes up in the reality of real, genuine life. No one notices how the vain life flows. The years fly, the months run, the hours slip away, the seconds melt away unnoticed, and without any warning a telegram arrives: command your house, for you will die and not live.
Then the deception is revealed, and the person realizes how great was the influence that the world had on him. The person repents, he is overcome with anxiety, he searches for the past time, he is ready to give all his wealth to buy at least one day for repentance and communion of the Holy Mysteries. But, alas, now there is no leniency for him. Leniency was shown to him before for many years, but he wasted the time in bazaars, taverns, cinemas and in all sorts of shameful lusts.
The years pass, replacing each other. Day by day, each of us gets closer and closer to the end of our lives.
Precious time is running out before our eyes, and we don’t even notice it.
Now, while the sun shines and the day gives its sweet light, let us quickly go along the path of correction, until the future night overtakes us, when we will no longer be able to continue our march. Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation, - say the immortal words of the Apostle Paul.
Oh, how strong must be the memory of death in the soul of a Christian! If he believes in true existence, it is impossible to avoid thoughts of death. Every soul expects a telegram from heaven at any moment, in order to sever all ties with the earthly, close the marketplace and give an exact account of the spiritual purchase, in order to receive an eternal lot either in heaven or in the abyss.
O all-generous God, be merciful to my wretched soul: unpreparedness, indifference, and nothing more. My mind freezes before this saving teaching. Be awake, be ready! – Jesus cries. Blessed are those who have ears, listen and prepare, for they will be worthy of eternal happiness. Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he comes, will find ready. They will rejoice forever.
Let us endure the sorrows of life in order to be worthy of eternal joy. “For in vain doth every earthly being vexed; when we have gained the world, then shall we dwell in the grave.” As long as there is light, let us march toward our great goal, because the hour is coming when darkness will come, and we will no longer be able to labor for our soul.
Eternity
What a terrible word this is – eternity!
To understand a little what eternity means, I will give you one example.
Imagine that the whole earth is one huge rock made of granite, hard stone, and every thousand years a bird comes to sharpen its beak on the stones. And when this rock is worn down, then we will get some faint idea of what eternity is.
But even this is not eternity, not immortality, not life without end!
And so, our life on earth, like a game of roulette, plays out our eternity: either heaven or hell!
How careful we need to be!
You endured so many years, and they passed like a dream.
Even if we live a thousand years, they will pass like a dream.
Oh, what vanity is all that belongs to this vain world!
Every life is followed by death.
Death is the transition of people from this world to another world – immortal and eternal!
There is nothing great about losing your life here.
One way or another, we will all die someday.
The whole point is not to lose immortal life, life without end.
Endless life in hell – oh, what a terrible thing! My God, save us all.
When God illuminates the earth with dawn, let us think that this is our last day and that with the setting of the sun we will go to the Judgment Seat of God!
How should we spend our last day? In silence, in prayer, in obedience, with tears and repentance, begging God to be merciful!
In the same way, at night we will imagine that this is our last night. Our bed is our coffin!
So, we must think about this and many other things every day and every night, as if it were the last day and the last night! Because we do not know when the telegram will arrive from the center of God, from the capital, from the Heavenly Jerusalem.
See, my child, that time does not pass in vain, without the perfection of your soul, for death comes like a thief.
Woe if she finds us in a state of negligence and inaction.
I know that we must fight terrible enemies, and the work is great.
But next to God, that is, before the power of God, everything retreats when both the will and the life of man himself cooperate with it.
The constant remembrance of death, like other pious reflections, should not leave us. They bring sobriety to the soul.
What will be the hour of death for us!
Alas, alas, say the fathers, what will follow? What awaits us?
And we run from the battle, remain indifferent, doze, fall into a lethargic sleep!
The world is far from the truth: people work, sleep, travel the seas, not knowing what will happen after death!
Deep darkness covers the truth just as deep darkness hides the light of the sun.
There are two different ways of thinking: worldly people think about what will happen before the grave, and we think about what will happen after the grave!
Let us always have the memory of death.
The Holy Fathers say that negligence did not find them in their cells, because day and night they were in mortal memory. Negligence found no place in them.
The fathers thought: "If today or tomorrow is the last day, what should I do?" Thus the memory of death kept the mind in the fear of God, and the fear of God illuminated the conscience with light, indicating how to compel oneself.
Of course, these thoughts do not initially produce feelings in a person; the soul, as we have said, is dead, motionless. But gradually it begins to move, comes to life, and in time begins to work as it should.
Human
Man, a chosen and unique creation of God, dual in nature, is born on this planet, on Earth, and after some time dies physically, being completely powerless to keep himself alive.
False ideas inflate him like a balloon, which dies and disappears from just one illness.
He has no power over himself; without realizing it, he is controlled by another will and another power, carried along against his will, completely unable to resist.
But what are you, O man, that you boast and are proud, thinking too much of yourself?
Behold, an invisible microbe attacks you, you immediately become ill, feel unwell and descend into the grave.
Mortal dreamer, you see that death is coming, that you will go to an unknown land, and you submit without any argument. Do you have the strength to renounce, to resist, to avoid what is happening in this terrible hour? No! You are completely powerless. Why do you boast then, clay man, weak, pitiful and worthless! What do you possess that God has not given you ? Doesn’t He take it from you whenever He wishes? Yes. Then bow your neck, humble yourself and thus you will be saved.
Be vigilant and strive
Righteous Lot, being among depraved and vicious people, was tormented day and night. He suffered, seeing their shameful deeds, but he himself did not judge anyone, which is why he was honored with a Divine appearance and was delivered from the destruction of the wicked during the Divine destruction of the lawless cities.
Is there not more Sodom and Gomorrah here? Is not fire and the wrath of God expected? Therefore, the example of Lot is worthy of attention, so that we too may not perish. And not temporarily, as of old, but forever and ever!
Let us be vigilant, for we do not know at what hour the thief – death – will come. Let us be sober in order to preserve the wealth of the Orthodox faith and the grace that we have been granted by being baptized in the holy font.
What do we expect that would be more certain than death? It is the most inevitable thing that every person will encounter. We must continually experience death within ourselves, so that with the help of this most saving memory we can avoid the death of the soul, which is nothing other than complete separation from God.
Strive, says the Lord in His Gospel word, for you do not know when the Bridegroom of the soul will visit you, and woe to him whom He finds in negligence and carelessness about his salvation.
Force yourself
Do, even with great difficulty, the works of salvation.
Everything will be attributed to the struggle, the feat and the resistance to the devil, and the reward will be given to you without delay.
Force yourself, remember your outcome, death.
Unfortunately, my child, the evil devil takes away from us all the saving memories so that we do not receive benefit, and brings all the evil ones in order to defile our soul.
The deceiver devil, unnoticeably for us, robs us with the help of various tricks, and precious time passes in negligence and inaction.
Knowing about his nets, let us force ourselves both to the most holy prayer and to spiritual teachings in useful contemplations, so that our soul continuously receives benefit and is purified.
The value of this life is limitless, for through it we will either gain God or lose Him.
Oh, how precious is the present time, how valuable is every second!
However, this sound truth is forgotten by us, and so time passes, and we are unable to return it.
Blessed are those who have the eyes of their souls open and prepare supplies for the great journey.
And woe to me that the two great evils of humanity - oblivion and negligence - stole these supplies from me!
Always remember death; let this teaching become the rule of your life. What torment the soul experiences when it is separated from the body! How it sighs, how it cries, but it has no other help except good deeds! Therefore, now strive in good, in useful things, while there is still the breath of life, for the hour is coming when the members of the body will cease to perform the work of salvation!
Weep bitterly if you wish to find consolation in the sorrowful hour of death. Remember the Last Judgment. Oh, terrible is that hour when the poor soul hears the verdict of its eternal fate!
The great Anthony wept as he approached death, and his saddened disciples said: - And you, father, are you afraid of death? - Ah, children, since I became a monk, the memory of death has not left me! And the saints feared this hour, and even more so we! What can I say about me, the miserable one! I sigh bitterly, remembering this. Do the same and you will gain great benefit.
The truth of God, like a loud trumpet, trumpets and proclaims: Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?
Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Remember your last and you will never sin again.
Riches do not remain, glory does not follow a man, for death , having come, abolished all these things.
Here is the truth that powerfully and loudly destroys lies!
In every devilish trap and thought there is a disguised lie that misleads a person.
Therefore, let us pray that God will enlighten us with the light of truth, so that the darkness will go away.
Who will protect a person at the Judgment? Parents, brothers, sisters? A vain hope! Only God and life according to God.
Think about the heavenly, love the heavenly, and nothing earthly will occupy you.
Mortal memory is the best way
The memory of death is the best way to understand the truth of things.
What do you collect, what are you proud of, what do you boast about, O youth, O health, O learning! When I come, says death, I will repay you your price! When you are laid in a dark grave, then you will know the benefit of earthly goods!
We, my children, are leaving for another world, not subject to the senses, we do not remain in this one, full of bitterness, oppression, sin and torment. There, in true life, the Lord God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of the saved, and there will be no illness, no sorrow, no sighing, but an unevening day, life without end and death! Let us desire that life, my children, with all our souls, with all our fervor, so that with God's help we may acquire it and be delivered from terrible torment.
Everything in this vain world will pass away.
The world and earthly life are a fair where every person buys eternal life for the gold of his life.
How wise will he be who uses the gold of life wisely, buying only that which will benefit him at the hour of death and the Judgment of God - confession, humility, patience, complete purity from carnal sins, love for God.
The mundane will be scattered to the wind
Always think about death, as if every day were your last day, and as soon as dawn breaks, say: "Behold, my soul, today is your last day. Let us strive to at least spend it in feat and repentance. And I believe we will find mercy when at night we kneel before the Dread Judgment, before our terrible Judge and God.
“Be brave, my soul, be silent, pray, reflect, love, cry with pain about your many sins, for the end has come, and at least at sunset let us appease the God who has grieved us.”
For the rest of our time we will strive, for this is all that remains for us.
Everything else - worldly - will be scattered to the wind.
End of show
Vanity of vanities, all vanity, my child, in this world. Thus proclaimed the wise Solomon, when he had tasted all sensual pleasures in abundance. His heart had experienced all pleasures, but their end is decay and destruction.
On the contrary, he who labors for God is not deprived of what is necessary for life, and, on the other hand, feels genuine joy and the peace of God.
Wealth does not last forever, glory does not remain; beauty fades, youth passes, and old age comes; health deteriorates, then illness follows, and the grave destroys everything and reduces it to nothing.
When we think of our last abode, then we shall see with our own eyes all the vanity of man, just as Abba Sisoes, when he saw the tomb of Alexander the Great, exclaimed: - Alas, alas, death! You, Alexander, the whole world could not contain you, and how could two spans of land contain you? There, in the tomb, dreams of vain pleasures cease; there is trampled upon everything that many people loved and for which they made sacrifices; there, in the tomb, those souls who understood its flattery triumph over the deceitfulness of the world.
My child, be careful of the theater called the world, for the ragamuffins and commoners on its stage dress in the clothes of kings and rulers. Some seem to be truly so and deceive the imagination of the spectators. When the performance is over, the masks are removed, and then all are revealed as they really are.