CONVERSATION ONE
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!The Lord said to His disciples: “Enter ye through the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are there that go in through it: because narrow is the gate, and hard is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few are there that find it” ( Matthew 7:13–14 ).
When the disciples were horrified by the difficulty of the path to salvation and asked the Lord, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God” ( Mark 10:26–27 ).
I am afraid that reading St. John's Ladder will cause this fear, this confusion, "Who can climb this Ladder?" - my spiritual children will think.
“For men this is impossible, but not for God, for all things are possible for God . ”
One can embark on the path of spiritual life only by trusting in these words, and not in one's own strength. The Lord demands of us efforts within the limits of our human strength, within the limits of our human understanding—the rest is given to us by Divine grace, by God's help.
That's why, when we begin reading St. John's Ladder, let us not dare set ourselves the task of ascending to an unattainable height. The task of the ascetic is to labor for the Lord throughout his life. And whatever fruits he bears depends on God's grace.
The first step of the Ladder demands of us a proper attitude toward the "world." We must set ourselves against it. Draw a line. Renounce it. St. John's first word is "On Renunciation of the World," and the next, the second step, is "On Impartiality."
St. John encourages those who are afraid to take this inner step with the following words:
“At the very beginning of renunciation, without a doubt, we perform virtues with difficulty, compulsion and sorrow; but having succeeded, we cease to feel sorrow in them, or we feel it, but little; and when our carnal wisdom is conquered and captivated by zeal, then we perform them with all joy and zeal, with desire and Divine flame.”
"We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God ," says the Apostle Paul ( Acts 14:22 ). Those who embark on the path of spiritual life also face their own tribulations. The power of worldly life over us is too strong for us to sever the inner chains that bind us to the world without pain, without anguish, without sorrow. But the great experience of ascetics instills in us a joyful courage. It speaks to us of what lies ahead. Of what awaits us when we do not stop halfway, when, having "progressed" and conquered "carnal wisdom," we rise somewhat above worldly life. Then this feat of renunciation will instill joy in us. A divine flame will engulf us...
“Those who truly desire to serve Christ should first of all make an effort, with the help of spiritual fathers and their own judgment, to choose for themselves suitable places and ways of life, paths and teachings: for community life is not beneficial for everyone, because of lust, and not everyone is capable of silence, because of anger; but each one should consider which path corresponds to his qualities.”
This instruction from St. John applies not only to those pursuing monasticism; it also applies to us, laypeople. Those who follow the path of spiritual life in the world, who inwardly renounce it, and who do not retreat to monasteries, deserts, or seclusion, must nevertheless inevitably change their lives outwardly, even within the context of worldly life. A certain external regimen is necessary, which should be established "by one's own judgment," but with the knowledge, advice, and consent of a spiritual father.
“Whoever truly loves the Lord, who truly desires and seeks the future kingdom, who has true sorrow for his sins, who has truly acquired the memory of eternal torment and the terrible judgment, who truly fears his departure from this life, he will no longer love anything temporary.”
And how could he love? That heavenly Jerusalem, that eternal Kingdom—if revealed to his inner eyes—will immediately illuminate worldly life with a special light. Man will see how insignificant and illusory the temptations of the world are. How vain are cares. The temporary and transitory will become like a dream to him. How terrible will sins against the Lord appear to him! What great justice will he see in eternal torment for the souls who loved the temporary and rejected Christ! For the eternal, immortal human soul, choosing the temporary and corruptible, plunges itself into the power of eternal death.
"If anyone has come to hate the world, he has escaped sorrow. But if anyone has an attachment to something visible, he has not yet been freed from it; for how can one not be saddened by the loss of a loved thing?"
At first, it seems to a person that renouncing the world means choosing a path devoid of joy. Worldly joy seems to be the only joy in life. But this is self-deception. It is a demonic delusion. This apparent worldly joy devastates the soul and is the source of despondency, disappointment, and unaccountable melancholy. For the momentary glimpse of this phantom, a person pays with long and grievous sorrows. Do not trust this phantom, says St. John. Not joy, but sorrow awaits you in the world, for worldly life is a constant deprivation of "beloved things." Hate the world. Hate these things—and then you will escape sorrow.
“Let us be attentive to ourselves, lest, thinking to walk the narrow and cramped path, we actually wander along the spacious and wide one. The narrow path will be shown to you by the restriction of the belly, all-night vigil, moderate drinking of water, the scarcity of bread, the purifying drink of dishonor, the acceptance of reproaches, ridicule, abuse, the cutting off of one’s own will, patience with insults, the meek endurance of contempt and the burden of vexation; when you are offended, endure it courageously; when slandered, do not become indignant; when humiliated, do not become angry; when condemned, humble yourself. Blessed are those who walk in the paths of the path shown here, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” ( Matthew 5:3-12 ).
Here St. John warns us against deception. A person may feel they have chosen a narrow path, that they are not walking the broad, secular road trodden by the perishing majority. By distracting their inner attention, the dark force leads them away from the true, narrow path of salvation.
Pay attention to yourself, says St. John. Pay attention, lest you succumb to this deception. And here are the signs by which you can verify which path you are following: whether the narrow one to salvation, or whether you are wandering along the broad, open path to destruction. First, the external signs: if you afflict your stomach with fasting, if you are not lazy in getting up for night prayer, if you drink little water and don't think about clothing, if you are content to subsist on bread alone—you are walking the narrow path.
But here are the internal signs: if you have cut off your will and patiently and joyfully bear obedience, if you meekly bear dishonor, ridicule, and insults, if you are not indignant at slander and humble yourself when condemned, you are walking the narrow path. Difficult, truly difficult, this path. But blessed are those who follow it— "for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven ! "
"Some people, living carelessly in the world, asked me, saying: "How can we, living with wives and enmeshed in worldly cares, imitate the monastic life?" I answered them: "Do all the good that you can. Do not reproach anyone, do not steal, do not lie to anyone, do not arrogantly behave towards anyone, do not hate anyone, do not abandon church meetings, be merciful to those in need, do not tempt anyone, do not touch another's bed, and be content with your wives' dues. If you do this, you will not be far from the Kingdom of Heaven."
This answer of St. John Climacus has special significance in our days.
A hermit of our time told me how, once, while climbing a mountain after a discussion with the hermits about whether they should build their own monastery, he was granted a vision. An angel appeared to him and said, "This is not the time to build monasteries."
This was told to me several months before the German war.
"This is no time to build monasteries!" Truly so! But it is time to strive for the monastic life! The external monastic life is now accessible to only a few. And the spiritual life of Christians must now take place within the confines of secular life. They must create invisible, "spiritual" monasteries through their lives, especially through the struggle of prayer. Few can now live behind the stone monastery walls that separate the other, vain world from this, the Christian, God-given world. But does this mean that no walls can be erected between this and the other worlds?
Inner renunciation of the world is the foundation of this monastery. Through prayer, struggle with passions, purity of life, renunciation of your own evil will, ascetic labors and the work of the Lord, and with complete reliance on God's gracious help, erect the walls of this monastery, invisible to human eyes. Do not judge, do not lie, love people, quench the enmity in your hearts, be merciful and pure of heart—and your inner life will become a monastery for you. Build these invisible, spiritual monasteries. Retreat to them from the vanity of the world. The Lord's favorable year for this has arrived!
Amen .
CONVERSATION TWO
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
A person believes that all his misfortunes stem from external, worldly failures. If he has lost his property, he believes that his financial instability is the cause of his unhappiness. If he is ill, his illness seems to him the main source of his troubles. And he thinks: how happy I would be if my health returned to me. This person is unhappy because he lost his job. This person's loved one died. That person's husband is a drunkard and squanders his wealth.
All these misfortunes are so close, so understandable to us. But they are not what make us unhappy. They are merely external causes that reveal our spiritual unrest. The rich can be unhappy, and the poor happy; the healthy can die of melancholy, and the sick can rejoice with joy; those in service throw themselves under trains, and those without thank the Lord for life. Everything depends on the soul, which experiences this or that blessing in life. The same events will be experienced differently by different people of different spiritual dispositions. Significant in this regard is the response given by Basil the Great to a ruler who threatened him with ruin, exile, torture, and execution. St. Gregory the Theologian recounts this in his funeral oration for Basil the Great .
"If you can, threaten others; this doesn't bother us in the least," St. Basil responded to the threats. "How is this possible and why?" asked the governor. St. Basil replied: "Because one who has nothing cannot be described in his possessions. I know no exile, for I am not bound to any place. Everywhere is God's place, wherever I may be. Death is a blessing for me—it will send me more quickly to God, for Whom I live and labor, for Whom I have already died to the greater part of myself and to Whom I have long hastened."
Thus speaks a saint who possesses a truly constituted soul. And how many people would consider themselves most unfortunate if they were deprived of property, subjected to exile, or awaiting death!
The events of our outer life do not depend on us. And it is not this external order that we should focus our primary attention on. We must first and foremost bring our own soul into order. Reading the Holy Fathers is of great importance in fulfilling this task. It is for this purpose that we discuss the ascent of St. John's Ladder. For the sake of this order, as we saw in the first homily, we must ascend to the first step—"renunciation of the world"—and to the second—"impartiality." Now we must consider the third step, which is mentioned in the third word of the Ladder: "On pilgrimage."
"Wandering is the irrevocable abandonment of everything in the homeland that resists us in our pursuit of piety. Wandering is a timid disposition, unknown wisdom, undeclared knowledge, a hidden life, an invisible intention, an undetectable thought, a desire for humiliation, a craving for intimacy, a path to divine longing, an abundance of love, a renunciation of vanity, and the depth of silence."
One who renounces the world withdraws within. He feels unconnected to worldly life. He lives as a wanderer here on earth. He forever abandons what in the world hinders piety. His life is "hidden" from view; it flows within, in his spirit. He has no desire to boast of his knowledge, his stature, or his wisdom, for the world is nothing. Can worldly praise delight a wanderer?
"When you feel the flame, flee, for you do not know when it will go out and leave you in darkness."
If zeal for spiritual life has flared up within you, flee the world. Now, without delay, begin serving the Lord. Cherish this fire. Don't let it cool within you. If you don't warm your soul, it will fade, and darkness will descend upon your heart once again, and worldly vanity will enslave you once again.
“It is better to offend our parents than the Lord, because He created and saved us; but they often destroyed their loved ones and subjected them to eternal torment.”
Respect and love for parents are commanded by God. But a man's enemies are those of his own household. And if your spiritual life encounters an obstacle in the form of unbelieving parents, it is better to grieve them than the Lord. And if children, or loved ones, or anyone else hinders your pursuit of Christ, it is better to grieve them, to disobey them, than to grieve the Lord, whom you serve. And now this question often arises in families. What should believers do, whose souls yearn for the temple, for prayer, for observing the fasts, for church life, when their families often ridicule, rebel against, and hinder them? Should they obey them, lest they be upset by disobedience? No! Having done everything to preserve the peace, one must still go one's own way, remembering that it is better to offend parents, children, loved ones, or anyone else, than the Lord.
“When we, for the sake of the Lord, leaving our homes and relatives, devote ourselves to the hermit life out of love for God, then the demons try to disturb us with dreams, presenting to us our relatives either complaining, or being held in prison for us and suffering other misfortunes.”
And further: “Whoever believes in the demon, for them he often becomes a prophet; but whoever despises him always turns out to be a liar.”
We must speak more about demons. The Holy Fathers often mention them. This word confuses the layman. They are told that only the illiterate can believe in the existence of demons. That it is a sign of ignorance, that it is a simple superstition inherited by ignorant people from their ancestors, along with belief in brownies, mermaids, witches, and sorcerers.
This is the view of those for whom no other world exists except the one that surrounds us, the one we see and touch. For them, there is no God, no devil, no angels, no immortality of human souls, no hell, no heaven, no eternal life: for them, man is a part of this material world. He will die, he will rot, and that's all. For them, matter is a random combination of some "atoms," and life is therefore nothing more than a series of pleasant or unpleasant accidents. No one invisible, in their opinion, stands behind the visible world.
For us believers, even matter itself has an invisible spiritual basis. And the world is not a coincidence, but God's creation. And life is not a coincidence, but something possessing great meaning, for it is guided by God's Providence. For us, there is the Lord Almighty. For us, beyond this world, there is another world, which has its own existence and its own laws. For us, that other world contains hosts of Angels, some of whom have fallen away from the Lord and wage war with Him, seeking to tear human souls from salvation. That spiritual, invisible world is in some way in contact with the earthly world. Our inner life is influenced both by the Angels, our guardians, and by the dark demonic forces that drag us to destruction.
Demons are not an abstract concept, not a symbol, not an allegory, and certainly not a product of ignorance. They are an undeniable, active, and personal principle of the other world. This is how the Holy Church has always treated them , and this is how the Holy Fathers have always treated them.
The entire divine service is filled with this battle between the Holy Church and the dark forces of the devil and his servants. The baptismal invocations confront this enemy, as it were, face to face. All the prayers of the saints are filled with this fiery hostility toward the demonic powers. The prayers of the saints are a kind of internal war with the demonic hordes. And the lives of the saints? They are the history of the human soul's relentless battle with the devil , demons, and demonic forces.
The Lord gave the ability to see with the eyes of many saints who reached spiritual heights.
Our venerable and God-bearing father Seraphim of Sarov says that “their appearance is vile.”
How can one trust demonic slander? How can one listen to it? How can one obey it?
Don't believe them when they torment your soul, striving to embark on the path of spiritual life, with doubts. Don't believe them when, having taken over your sleep, they disturb you with "prophetic dreams." And, most importantly, don't believe them when they slander life, presenting it to you as a meaningless path to the grave.
We stand on the eve of the great triumph of True Life. On the eve of the bright day of Easter. Can demonic lies endure? Can the hordes of dark forces not dissipate like smoke? Can hell not tremble at the triumphant song of victory: Christ is risen!
Amen .
CONVERSATION THREE
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
The Word of God has the power to transform the human soul. And then everything on the right begins to seem on the left, and everything on the left begins to seem on the right. The language, the concepts, the feelings of the believer and the unbeliever are different. What is good according to God is bad according to the world, and vice versa: what is good according to the world is an abomination before the Lord. And so, when the seed of God's word falls on good soil, the worldly person begins to grieve, for he feels himself beginning to be torn away from ordinary worldly life, worldly interests, worldly concepts, but he cannot find a path along which to walk amidst the conditions of worldly life while at the same time fulfilling God's commandments .
This creates a certain discord, a certain confusion, in his soul. He has already lost the taste for what once so enticed him in worldly life, but he has not yet learned to fully devote himself to spiritual life, and he asks: how should he live? That is, how can he find, in our living conditions, ways that would enable him to live according to God's will even amidst the vanity of this world? He is troubled by the fact that our lives are structured completely differently from what Christ taught, and that it is even impossible to find a way to apply the kindled zeal for life in Christ to his life.
But it has always been this way. Even in the early centuries, Christians lived among pagans. And wouldn't a Christian living at the court of the Roman emperor, where debauchery, ambition, envy, and malice reigned, have faced the same question: how to preserve and practice Christian teachings in the midst of secular life?
Here the first task for every Christian is revealed—an internal task. The task of our inner structure. Outward life may remain unchanged, but this will be an entirely different person. Their attitude toward sorrow, failure, illness, malice, slander, and fame will be different; the meaning of human existence will be revealed in a different way.
And therefore, the first thing that must be pointed out to a person breaking away from worldly life, having already experienced the life of the Lord, is to point out to them the inner tasks that confront each one. When the human soul is properly aligned, the Lord will then enlighten it about the external path of life.
To devote oneself to spiritual life, one must have an inner resolve to surrender to it completely, entirely. This is what frightens many, what forces them to serve two masters, and what is the source of many sorrows. The Lord does not call us to give Him half our hearts, nor half our souls. He does not want us to serve Him only halfway. The Lord demands that we give Him our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole life. Only in this way does the Lord promise everything we remember so well when we ask of the Lord, but always forget when it comes to our duties to Him.
"Do not worry about tomorrow ," said the Lord. But He immediately added: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" ( Matthew 6:33–34 ).
You want the Lord to clothe you like a lily and feed you like a bird of the air – so seek first the Kingdom of God and then everything necessary for your earthly existence will be given to you.
You have remembered the words of the Lord: "Even your hairs... are all numbered ." But have you forgotten the other words spoken right there: "Whoever confesses Me before men, I will also confess before My Father in heaven" ( Matthew 10:30–32 ).
But can you, who desire such care from God for your life, can you in good conscience say that you confess the Lord before people?
Only he truly gives his life to the Lord who can say every hour, every minute of his life: “Thy will be done.”
How can one attain such a state of spirit? It is achieved through much labor. The holy ascetics teach that renunciation of one's own will is necessary above all else. Hence, the cornerstone of monasticism—obedience.
The fourth step of the Ladder reveals this path. In the fourth homily, St. John speaks: "On blessed and ever-memorable obedience." What is obedience?
"Obedience is a complete renunciation of one's soul, demonstrated by bodily actions. Obedience is... a voluntary death, a life devoid of curiosity, carelessness in adversity, an unprepared justification before God, fearlessness of death, a carefree voyage, a journey of the sleeping. Obedience is the grave of one's own will and the resurrection of humility. The obedient one, like one dead, does not contradict or reason about either the good or the supposedly bad; for he who piously mortified his soul must answer for everything. Obedience is the laying aside of reasoning even in the midst of a wealth of reasoning."
When we have much to object to in response to our spiritual father's commands, we must set aside all reasoning—for agreement is not obedience. Monastic obedience, or obedience to an elder, is obedience without motive, without reasoning, without objections.
Of course, a priest-spiritual father is not the same as an elder, but one must also show voluntary obedience to him, since any spiritual guidance includes an element of eldership.
“The beginning of the mortification of both the spiritual will and the members of the body is sorrowful; the middle is sometimes with sorrow, sometimes without sorrow, and the end is already without any feeling or arousal of sorrow.”
When a person embarks on the path of obedience, at first it is difficult to subordinate their will to another's. This leads to sorrow and confusion. The middle of the path varies. Some quickly acquire the habit of obedience, others with difficulty—hence, for them, this middle period is passed without sorrow, while for others, it is afflicted. But by the end, all people joyfully bear the feat of obedience.
Saint Athanasius the Great calls obedience "voluntary martyrdom." And the path of martyrdom is difficult at first. In the middle, it allows for hesitation. But towards the end, it is bright and joyful.
“The Fathers call psalmody a weapon, prayer a wall, immaculate tears a washbasin, and blessed obedience they called confession, without which none of the passionate will see the Lord.”
What does this mean? It means that we employ diverse means in the struggle for our salvation: psalmody is like a weapon in this battle against the dark forces; prayer builds a wall with which, like fortress walls, we protect ourselves from worldly vanity; our immaculate tears are the laver in which we wash away our sins. Psalmody, prayer, and tears are all of great significance. But they cannot replace obedience. Obedience is confession of the Lord. It is a testimony of dispassion. It is the path of self-denial, without which no one will see the Lord.
Obedience does not come immediately. The path to this achievement has its temptations.
“One who is in obedience, when he overcomes the next two deceptions of the enemies, already remains a slave of Christ and an eternal obedient one.”
About the first seduction:
"The devil sometimes tries to defile those in obedience with bodily impurities, making them hardened in heart and uncommonly anxious; sometimes he induces in them a certain dryness and sterility, laziness in prayer, drowsiness, and darkness, in order to suggest to them that not only have they received no benefit from their obedience, but that they are even going backwards, and thus to tear them away from the struggles of obedience. For he does not allow them to understand that often the providential deprivation of many of our spiritual blessings becomes for us the cause of the deepest humility."
How often does a spiritual father hear about such spiritual states during confession? These words of St. John Climacus were written almost fifteen hundred years ago, but the laws of spiritual life are the same for all times and peoples. Spiritual weaknesses and deceptions were the same then as they are now. Even today, those who are obedient and under the guidance of elders or simple spiritual fathers, embarking on the path of spiritual life, are subject to the same attacks of the enemy. They suddenly begin to experience an increase in passions or begin to feel a hardening of the heart. They are overcome by sudden anxiety, then dryness, then laziness, and the desire to pray almost completely disappears. The enemy instills in them the idea that before they fulfilled obedience, before they walked this path, they were better. They prayed better, were purer in heart, more spiritual, and served the Lord more zealously. But once they accepted this guidance, they lost everything.
Know this—this is a temptation. The enemy's slander, permitted providentially, for such a temporary deprivation of spiritual blessings becomes a cause for the deepest humility.
The second seduction is the opposite of the first:
"I saw novices filled with heartfelt tenderness, meek, self-controlled, zealous, free from the struggles of passions, and zealous in their work, who had become so through the protection of their father. The demons who approached them secretly implanted in them the idea that they were already strong in silence and could attain perfect dispassion through it. Enticed by this, they set out from the harbor to sea, but when a storm overtook them, they, lacking a helmsman, suffered disastrous shipwreck in that vile, salty sea."
This means that sometimes too-rapid success overwhelms the novice, and he begins to believe he's already reached a height where obedience is no longer required. From a quiet haven, he emerges into the boundless expanse of self-will. Here, demons watch over him, and the spiritual journey, begun so successfully under their guidance, ends in terrible shipwreck. Most often, it is here that a person falls into delusion, that is, into arrogant self-delusion.
But, as in everything, one should not be a double-minded person in obedience.
“Whoever sometimes listens to his father and sometimes does not listen to him is like a man who at one time applies healing ointment to his sore eye and at another time applies lime.”
To alternately obey and disobey one's spiritual father, and especially one's elder, is to either heal or clog one's soul's vision. Our spiritual vision cannot be clear if we alternately apply to our spiritual eyes the spiritual salve of obedience and the lime of self-will.
"We must believe in those who have taken upon themselves the Lord's care for us without any personal concern, even if their commands disagree with our opinion and seem contrary to our salvation, for then our faith in them is tested, as it were, in the crucible of humility. The sign of true faith is to obey those who command without question, even when we see that their commands are contrary to our expectations."
Here, with increasing clarity, the kind of obedience required by an ascetic becomes clear to us. Note that we are talking about monastic obedience, about the guidance of an elder, where obedience is a deliberate feat. A spiritual father in the world cannot assume such guidance, for he cannot guide the entire life of his spiritual son. But within the scope of his spiritual guidance, laypeople must nevertheless remain obedient, for without obedience to the father, there is no filial relationship and, therefore, no guidance.
That is why, at the end of his instruction on obedience, St. John speaks words that are fearful and daring, and by saying these words the holy ascetic warns that “we should not be terrified.”
“Do not be horrified or surprised when they tell you... that it is better to sin before God than before your father; for if we have angered God, then our teacher can reconcile Him with us; but when we have confused our teacher, then we no longer have anyone to intercede for us.”
This is the final stage of self-denial. Your spiritual father, to whom you entrusted your soul, will answer for you before the Lord, novice.
Do you doubt the great significance of obedience? Ask those who have had and lost this blessing.
“The benefit of obedience will be declared to you by those who have fallen away from it; for only then did they know in what heaven they stood.”
Truly so! After all, we only know how to appreciate what is taken from us. While our body is healthy, we neither notice nor appreciate this blessing. But when we fall seriously ill, we think we would be happy if we were cured.
To remain in obedience in the spiritual sense is like being in heaven. Those who fell from it lost this heaven, and only after they lost it did they understand how high they had stood and to what depths they had been cast.
We listen to St. John's words about blessed and ever-memorable obedience. And I imagine a question many of you are asking: "After all, we're talking about a monastery here, we're talking about an abbot, about an elder, but who should we obey in the world?"
The great sorrow is that this question is well-founded, the doubt is understandable, and that the fault in this is twofold – the fault of both the laity and the pastors.
A person sometimes lives for many, many years without looking back on their life. But then disaster strikes, and they look back and are horrified: "Where have I gone?" We experience something similar when, after all the upheavals in the Church, we look back on Church life: "Oh, God! Where have we gone?" I know of no book more terrifying to the conscience of each of us than the "Book of Rules of the Holy Apostles, the Holy Councils, Ecumenical and Local, and the Holy Fathers."
Reading this book, you see how we've strayed, what we've forgotten. This directly relates to the question of whom to listen to.
The spiritual father, the pastor, has become a performer of prayers. Laypeople confess once a year and consider it almost a sin to do so more often. But is it possible to guide the spiritual life of someone you see once a year? And how is obedience possible under such circumstances? How can a pastor take responsibility before the Lord for a human soul? And do laypeople turn to the pastor for "guidance"? Don't they only turn to him when it comes to baptisms, weddings, funerals, or when a prayer service or memorial service needs to be held? But is that really all there is to pastoral care? Of course, a pastor is not an elder, but the souls of the laity are entrusted to him. He must shepherd his flock, that is, lead them to salvation, and to do this, he must edify and watch over the souls of his spiritual children. Without this, there is no true pastoral care.
The guilt of both laity and pastors is not a matter of yesterday. It is a centuries-old guilt, deeply rooted in the life of the Church.
We must work together to overcome this sin . Then the question of whom to obey in the world will be clear. Let us, priests, become fathers. Let you, the laity, feel like children. Then you will easily find whom to obey: for children should obey their fathers.
Amen .