No. 1. On earthly life and humility
I tell you sincerely—you are happy because you are walking the path to salvation, because you have come to understand that man must seek his happiness not in the temporal and earthly, but in the Divine and eternal. What is man on earth? A traveler. What is death? The era from which our real life begins. Wandering long in this darkness of night, amidst weaknesses and temptations, guided by the light of true faith, we finally reach the boundary that separates light from darkness. Happy is the man who has become a true Christian.Dmitry
No. 2. About prayer
You, mentioning my prayers, struck me like a thunderbolt. Of course, we must pray for one another not only as Christians, but also as blood relatives... my sinful prayer cannot even be called prayer; for what is prayer? Prayer is a conversation between man and God. I confess to you with sorrowful frankness that almost always my tongue merely utters sloppy words of supplication, without any participation of mind or heart. So, do I pray? No, I sin more than I pray; however, I trust in the All-Merciful Lord that He will help me one day taste the power of prayer.
Dmitry.
1830.
No. 3. On patience, on God's providence and other subjects
Your endeavor has failed completely—thank God! God knows what He's doing. No one is forgotten by God, and His unsleeping eye watches over each person, orchestrating everything for their benefit. So, trust in God and abandon the superfluous desires the enemy brings to confuse you.
I know things are difficult, very difficult, for you. But what can you do? There is no other remedy but patience and gratitude to God, Who watches over us intently. Why then do you become angry during your activities? "Consider," says the Great Barsanuphius, "that all earthly occupations will pass, but the patience you show during these occupations will remain with you, will go beyond the grave, and will justify or condemn you before God. Be careful not to waste this daily bread (that is, patience), which you will need for the journey from earth to heaven." You will certainly need it! You write that you are now completely deprived of inner joy. Sometimes God's grace comforts a person, and sometimes it hides itself, and it does all this according to its wisest discretion. Therefore, all such events and changes must be endured with patience and consider yourself unworthy of joy or spiritual consolation. In due time, you will feel joy again.
Nor should a person despair, no matter how great his sins: for a person is saved not by his good deeds, but by faith alone in Christ the Savior; but only by his deeds should he prove his faith. Consider that "even that great Peter wept bitterly."
There is no means of changing your place of residence in sight now (unless the Lord acts in an unforeseen way), and therefore you must strengthen yourself with all possible patience and good hope. Why are you despairing? Or do you consider God unmerciful? How could you! He is the very best. Trust in Him and be strong. Don't forget the prayer: " Lord! Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me ." This prayer can be said during all activities; moreover, it drives away evil thoughts and fills us with joy. Forgive!
April 26, 1838
No. 4. On widowhood
It pleased God to free you from marriage. Your freedom should be a means for you to serve the Lord. Sacrifice this freedom to Him and do not fetter it with carnal bonds. You have a child, to whom, having given substantial existence, you must also give spiritual life, that is, teach him to believe in Christ and to fulfill His holy commandments, in which lies love. He who keeps the commandments of Christ loves Christ; he who does not keep the commandments is alien to love. May the Lord bless both mother and child.
Archimandrite I.
May 10, 1838
No. 5. On blasphemous thoughts and sorrows
I offer you my most sincere gratitude for remembering me, a sinner and ailing, on this greatest Christian holiday! May God bless you for this kind remembrance! May He comfort you in your sorrows! May He grant you the strength to endure them with generosity and patience! For both comfort and the strength to endure are bestowed upon us by God's mercy alone, by God's grace alone!
Do not be troubled by incoming thoughts of unbelief and blasphemy. This is an obvious demonic battle, which befell many saints and lasted for a very long time. Saint Niphon was tormented by such a battle for four years. See his life in the Chetyi Menaion, December 23. In such battles, one should not be troubled in any way, nor should one despair, but rather throw oneself before the all-seeing and omnipotent God and, committing one's soul to His will, ask His mercy. Confusion and despair strengthen the enemy's battle against us, but if we regard this battle with magnanimity, saying to ourselves, " So what? The Lord sees this battle and allows it — this means this is His holy will, and it is for my spiritual benefit "; then the battle weakens and diminishes.
Be patient and you will see God's mercy! Throughout your life, from infancy, you have been permitted to suffer sorrows. This, as the Holy Fathers affirm, is a sign of God's special Providence. God desires to make you a partaker of eternal bliss and offers you the saving cup of sorrows. Be calm and pray. May God's blessing rest upon you and your child.
A. I.
No. 6. About sorrows
May God strengthen you in your sorrows! Accept also my sinful and inadequate word of consolation, which I send you in these lines, that I may console you with God, as the Prophet David said: "My soul refused to be comforted; I remembered God and was glad." First, every Christian must believe that he is under the unceasing Providence of God. The Gospel teaches us this. The Savior Himself says: "Even the hairs of your head are numbered." Therefore, a Christian, when sorrows are permitted him, must unquestioningly believe that these sorrows are permitted him by the all-good and all-wise God Himself, Who foretold to His beloved: " In the world ye shall have tribulations ." Therefore, one should not consider it strange to see oneself in sorrows, nor should one give in to despondency; on the contrary, one should thank God for sorrows, as a sign of one's election to a blessed eternity. Thanksgiving not only blunts the fierce sting of sorrow but also infuses the heart of the one giving thanks with heavenly, spiritual consolation. One can express gratitude with the words of righteous Job.
Secondly, we are all sinners before God. A sinner should not consider it strange when punishment is sent to him. No! He must open himself before God, recognize himself as worthy of the sorrow sent upon him, and rejoice that in earthly life he accepts punishment for his sins, both knowingly and unknowingly, and is thus delivered from eternal torment. With such reflection, it is useful to say with the holy thief: " I will receive the due reward of my deeds; remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom ."
Christ completed His earthly course in ceaseless suffering. He was barely born when people rushed to kill Him. He invites His disciples to suffer, and to those who do not want to suffer, He says: " Whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me ." Consider the lives of all the Apostles: they all spent their lives and ended in suffering. Consider the lives of the martyrs: they bought heaven for themselves with blood and countless torments. Consider the lives of the saints: was not their entire life a prolonged, invisible martyrdom? " Wandering in deserts, in caves and abysses of the earth, deprived, grieving, bitter, " in the words of the Apostle, " by much blood and death ," in the words of the Book of Needs, they inherited blessed eternity. " No one ascended to heaven with weakness ," says the great Saint Isaac of Syria. " On the contrary, a person under God's special Providence is recognized when he is sent unceasing sorrows ." So, give thanks, humble yourself, believe, surrender to God's will, and pray for those whose hearts are not at peace. Only in this can you find consolation and healing. A.I.
October 16, 1846.
No. 7. On immeasurable sorrow, on sins and other subjects
I received your letter of October 2nd. May the merciful Lord not abandon you! He allows us sorrow to cleanse us of sins; He also sends us consolation, so that we do not become completely exhausted under the burden of sorrow.
Immeasurable sorrow over sins, even to the point of despair, is rejected according to the teachings of the Holy Fathers. This sorrow must be dissolved with hope in God's mercy; we must simultaneously grieve and hope: grieve because we anger God with our sins and distance ourselves from Him; and hope because we have an all-powerful Healer for our sins, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed His blood for us.
When blasphemous thoughts of unbelief, doubt, and the like arise, according to the teachings of the Holy Fathers, we should not be disturbed by them, but rather know that these thoughts do not belong to our soul, but to our enemy, the devil. We should not be disturbed by them, nor should we accept them and become obstinate in them.
A sick person benefits from frequent, but brief prayer. It's good to pray several times a day for short periods of time. Beautiful prayers include: " God, cleanse me, a sinner, " and " Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us." They should be said slowly, capturing the mind in the words of the prayer, as St. John Climacus says . May the merciful Lord help you and bless you and your daughter! A.I.
January 8, 1846.
No. 8. On physical illness
Thank you for your letter. I heard about your illness. What should I do? There is no other place to find consolation than the patience born of humility. Humility consists in recognizing ourselves as worthy of the sorrows permitted to befall us by God's Providence. "We receive the due reward of our deeds," said the prudent thief, and for condemning himself, he was granted the highest understanding and perceptions, after which comes the Kingdom of Heaven. Sorrows have always been the lot of those seeking salvation, but they are especially characteristic of our present time, when people have weakened in the pursuit of virtue. So, do not be fainthearted, but with patience and humility surrender yourself to the will of God and thank His Holy Providence for all that He has sent you. May God's blessing be upon you and your child. The Lord be with you. A.I.
January 16, 1848
No. 9. On the duties of a sick mother in raising her daughter
I congratulate you on your daughter's placement at the Catherine Institute as a boarder for the Empress. Pray to God for the health and well-being of the Empress—kind as an angel. Be at peace: you have done everything in your power for your daughter. Entrust her to God! And in the quiet of your hermitage and pious pursuits, occupy yourself with improving your health. Peace can only improve it. Christ is with you. Pray for me. A.I.
April 13, 1848.
No. 10. Encouragement to endure illness
Christ is Risen!
May the Risen Christ ease your suffering, grant you patience and the good, saving thought to endure your temporary illness with magnanimous patience and courage, with gratitude to God, who through temporary sorrows creates our eternal joy. I thank you for your letter. May God grant you a recovery. Solitude will help you greatly: solitude combined with simple pursuits, inspired by love for others and piety. A.I.
May 3, 1848, Pokrovskoe village.
No. 11. Encouragement for patience
I thank you for your kind letter. Although I have not seen you here with my physical eyes, I see you with the eyes of my soul. May God strengthen you and grant you to bear your cross with patience and hope. We are all creatures—nothing less. Let us surrender ourselves into the hands of the Creator: may He do with us as He pleases. I wanted to visit you, but time is so short that I cannot. So, then, we will live in the deserts: I in the Sergievskaya Desert, and you in the Olivet Desert; let us seek the healing of our spiritual and physical ailments, surrendering ourselves to the will of God. Christ be with you.
A. I.
October 1, 1848
No. 12. Encouragement not to leave the villages
I received your wonderful letter of September 18th. What a beautiful hand it still is! How similar to your late mother's. May God strengthen you and comfort you! Please remain in Maslina until you recover: peace is essential for a nervous disorder—peace and distance from things that touch the heart. Otherwise, the illness could worsen and develop into something serious and irreparable. Accept my sincere advice.
A. I.
April 14, 1849
No. 13. On the struggle with passions
Truly Christ is Risen!
I thank you for your friendly letter and congratulations on the Feast of Feasts, the Resurrection of Christ, on which I likewise congratulate you, wishing you all true blessings. Christ, who by His death trampled the death of men and by His resurrection granted resurrection to all who believe in Him, has already won victory over all your sorrows, and with Christ you have also won this victory. Endure with forbearance the raging waves, endure with forbearance the onslaught of fierce winds, endure with the power of faith—and Christ will lead you, in due time, to His rest. Despite the many illnesses that beset you in this temporal life, great consolations await you in eternal life. Do not be troubled by rising passions; strive to resist them as much as possible. Man, while on earth and clothed in a mortal body, is subject to change: sometimes he feels peace of mind and tranquility, undisturbed by any passion, sometimes he is tormented by passions. Such changeability teaches us self-knowledge and humility; it teaches us to constantly resort to God's help, which, should it abandon us, even for a moment, causes us to fall and fearlessly commit iniquities. He who calls upon you the blessing of God.
A. I.
December 7, 1849
No. 14. On leaving the world
"Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," said the Lord. It will be well for you, burdened with many sorrows of soul and body, to heed this saving calling, leaving the world, whose cares you can no longer manage, and ascending to a quiet monastic refuge. I bless your intention—not to see your daughter during your earthly life: may God accept this essential sacrifice from you and guide you on His path, calling down His blessing upon you.
Source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Ignatij_Brjanchaninov/pisma-k-raznym-litsam/#0_1