Many times over the course of our lives, each of us has seen how nature is bound and shackled by winter. We possess no power by which we might, through our own desire or will, free it from this imprisonment which binds it, as though with steel shackles . But then the winter months pass, spring approaches, and the sun begins to shine brighter, sending from the reaches of heaven far out of our grasp its vivifying rays, and the shackles of bondage begin steadily to fall away and life triumphs once more.
Each of us has also seen and experienced the bondage of our own soul, enslaved and enchained by a manner of steel ties and frozen over, when all of its strength is committed solely to supporting and preserving the physical life of the body, and when it cannot soar to the supernatural realms and experience those feelings of bliss and spiritual delight to which it is called by its very nature, instead being crushed by the oppression of earthly cares and despondency.
There is, however, an area of our lives in which our soul, not unlike nature (the only difference being that the soul must desire this with its own will), can be freed from its shackles and step into the world of light, warmth, and life. In the hymns of the divine services dedicated to the three great hierarchs of our Church – Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom, who are called, alongside the Apostles, pillars of the Church (their memory is celebrated on January 30) – we hear the following exhortation: "Come ye who desire to escape death, and find ye delight!" And on the day of Holy Pascha, the Church sings this triumphal hymn: "We celebrate the death of death, the destruction of Hades, the beginning of an everlasting life." On the feast of Holy Pentecost we read these words of prayer: "For there is no death, O Lord, to Thy departing servants who cast off their bodies and come unto Thee, O God, but a transition from sorrowful things to pleasant and benign, to repose and joy…"
Moreover, the words of these prayers mentioned here are not only pearls of liturgical poetry, but are a description of the experiences of the "servants of God," which so-called "church people" know well from their personal, although minor, spiritual experience, and know even better from the descriptions of the lives of the saints, whose spiritual experience was advanced to such a degree that physical death ceased for them to be death at all, and they continuously exulted and rejoiced, living true life.
To live such a life is the greatest blessing man can obtain on this earth. And everyone who 1) believes on God, 2) loves man, and 3) lives a life in the Church, can obtain this precious spiritual wealth. The entire order of church life, with its many prayers, Church rules and traditions, has as its practical goal the healing of our soul, the freeing of it from bondage, the granting to it of spiritual wings, the returning to it of its true nature, and its liberation, inspiration, and adornment. An especially favorable time for this is Great Lent, which the Church calls the "spiritual spring," that is, a period of growth for our spiritual strengths.
If one were to pay careful attention to that order of church life established during this time, he would be struck by its depth, variety, beauty, and expediency. It is truly like unto a miraculous spring, when the first warm rays of sunlight shine forth, steadily strengthening and calling to life deadened nature until the sun finally reaches its zenith.
The first law of spiritual life is gradual spiritual growth. No one living on earth can suddenly become holy, nor can one suddenly be dashed down into the abyss. Both of these takes place only in a slow, gradual ascent or descent. The key that opens the way to this ascent is that special internal spiritual virtue that the Savior Christ confirmed on earth and which is the basis of spiritual life – humility. Humility should not be confused with humbleness, which is a characteristic of one’s outward personality. Humility is an inward characteristic of the soul. In the majority of cases, inward humility is accompanied by outward humbleness. But this is not always the case. Sometimes a person is terribly proud inwardly and has absolutely no humility. In literature, we know of Leo Tolstoy’s Father Sergius, who during his time in the monastery joined within himself obedience and humbleness with terrible pride, which was what led to his downfall. We know not only from the stories of a brilliant writer, but also from the lives of the saints, instances such as these, when people were able to attain outward humbleness, yet never being able to attain humility.
The first hint and sign of humility is a sincere inward belief that I am the worst among sinners. The holy Apostle Paul expressed this thought in his epistle to his beloved disciple, the holy Apostle Timothy, to whom he wrote: "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief" (1Timothy 1:15). St. John Chrysostom, who very zealously honored the holy Apostle Paul and is called the "mouth of Paul," conveyed this thought in his prayer, always read by us before communing of the Holy Mysteries: "I believe, O Lord, and I confess that Thou art truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, Who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." It is, of course, doubtless that the author of this prayer, being a man of the utmost righteousness and genuineness, composed this prayer not only for us, but prayed it himself, as well, sincerely considering himself the greatest sinner among all sinners, although he became one of the greatest among the saints. This is that first and principal sign of humility. Everyone the Church counts among the saints over the course of Her two thousand-year history has been possessed of this trait.
The second sign of humility is a calm acceptance of even undeserved and unfair wrongs done to oneself. According to the teachings of the holy fathers, praying for humility means asking God that, should anyone unfairly insult us, we might have the strength to answer such an insult with kindness and preserve spiritual calm. By this trial, humility is fortified in the soul and becomes its inseparable characteristic; the soul obtains such great strength as to overcome destruction by any earthly sorrow, and which cannot be touched by the spirit of despondency, and which becomes capable of consuming the heavenly food, that is, of experiencing spiritual delights. And the Kingdom of God, according to the Gospel, is gradually established within it. For the Lord says, "Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it" (Luke 13:18-19).
Obtained these characteristics of the soul is very difficult. Obtaining them through one’s own human strengths isn’t possible at all, because every feeling man senses in the outward world runs counter to these spiritual characteristics. They are obtained only with the help of God, which is shown to us through the grace that works in the true Church and is manifested in the holy sacraments, church rites, prayers, and the order of life established by the Church.
Having opened the door to spiritual life through humility, the Holy Church gradually introduces our soul to a marvelous array of spiritual experiences, not unlike the panoply of spring flowers, united by love for God and people, and comprising one wondrous harmony.
Before Great Lent, the Church has established three preparatory Sundays: of the Publican and the Pharisee, of the Prodigal Son, and of the Last Judgment. On the first Sunday we are reminded of humility, as the key by which we open spiritual life; on the second, the Church calls the people to "return to themselves," remember the Heavenly Father and the true nature of our soul; and on the third, She reminds us of our inescapable responsibility for our life. If we ascend these three steps, then unto our spiritual sight will be opened the boundless sea of spiritual life, which we call ourselves to cross during Great Lent and, if we successfully cross it, then on the luminous and mysterious night of Holy Pascha, we will truly partake of the Paschal Lamb, will delight in eternal joy, and together with the Holy Church will sing the hymn with knowledge and conviction: "We celebrate the death of death, the destruction of Hades, the beginning of an everlasting life."
Miami, Florida 1949
