Instructions of Hieromonk Hilarion (continued)

I apologize to my readers for not having posted anything for such a long time; again, as I may have said before, at certain times responsibilities can be a lot and all one can do is keep up with the priorities. Forgive me.

On Meekness

The Lord Himself taught us about these heavenly virtuous qualities – meekness and humility, saying, “…learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” [Matt. 11:29].  “Learn not from the Angels, nor from men, but from Me”. In other words, learn from the higher Wisdom.  May each of you display external meekness in the following ways: may you walk, and sit, and look, and speak meekly. May you do all of these things, since they speak of a true Christian. Even a man’s clothes, his laughter, and the way he walks proclaim that he is a Christian.

Spiritual meekness is found in the inner person – it is found in the restriction of anger, the taming of wrath. It is seen when a person – having been offended by someone and having the opportunity to seek revenge, does not. On the contrary, having been offended he chooses not to pay back. Meekness is seen when one strives not offend anyone in word, deed, or request; but aims instead to be pleasant to everyone according to the word of the Lord, “And to whom will I look but to the one who is humble and quiet” [Is. 66:2].  Furthermore, according to the words of the Prophet, the Lord “will guide the meek in judgment (toward wisdom) and will teach the meek His way” [Psa. 24:9]. “The Lord taketh pleasure in His people; He shall exalt the meek with salvation” [Psa. 149:4]. “The meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” [Psa. 36:11]. St.  John Chrysostom writes about what kind of person receives peace and rest saying, “There is nothing firmer than meekness, nothing is stronger; it keeps our soul in constant quietness, as if trying to lead it to a sanctuary.  It is the cause of all kinds of joy; nothing else brings a soul to great stillness and peace like meekness and wisdom of humility.  It is the greatest of all virtues for him, who has acquired the virtues; it is more profitable than all sorts of merits and glory.”   Elsewhere he writes, “The righteous soul is a friend of humility, but the evil one is the slave of anger; the souls of the meek become filled with knowledge; the mind of an angry soul is covered by the darkness of ignorance.  A meek soul accepts the words of wisdom.”   From Syrach we hear, “There are many, who are prominent and famous, but the mysteries are revealed to the meek” (Sir. 3:19).  Abba Dorotheos writes, “He who hates his offenders hates meekness; he who runs away from offenders, runs away from the peace of Christ.” Thus from these fathers we see that God dwells in the meek hearts but a restless soul is the abode of the devil; a meek soul is the throne of simpleheartedness, but a wrathful mind is a slave of evil.

On Humility

Above all we should strive to acquire humility.  Humility is the true knowledge of one’s own worthlessness. When someone knows his own weaknesses, sinfulness and worthlessness, he does not exalt himself in his own mind, but considers himself to be the worst of all, the most sinful and the last of all – then that person has acquired some humility.   Even if  a humble person performs an act of virtue, he attributes it not to his own strength, but to God; according to the words of Jesus Christ, ‘So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, “We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’” [Luke 17:10]. And, “For without me”, says the Lord, “you can do nothing.” [John 15:5]. Humility is when one thinks nothing of oneself.  Meekness together with a humble spirit and constant watchfulness can serve best for avoiding temptations.

Great is the height of humility. According to the word of Venerable Macarius, it is a noble merit and the honesty of the wisdom of humbleness. No one is better than a humble person, none greater than the one who considers himself the worst before Christ. There is no better way leading to heaven, to life eternal, than humility according to the testimony of Truth.

“Darkness covers everything where there is no light, all of our deeds are vile before God where there is no wisdom of humility”, says St. John of the Ladder. God dwells in the humble and departs from the proud. The glory of God shines where humility is present. “Pride is hostile to Christ; humility is pleasant to Him” – these are words of St. Demetrius of Rostov.  St.  John Chrysostom goes even further by saying that even if someone should perform countless good deeds and various acts of virtue,  and if he then thinks highly of himself, he is the most destitute and damnable person of all .

The true wellbeing of a person in this life, according to St. Ambrose, is in humility, and not in one’s exaltation. Nothing works better to create a contrite heart and a humble soul than seclusion in one’s mind and silence.  Humility is the foundation of Christianity. However, listen attentively to this as well: if you start following this instruction earnestly to guard yourself, then the envious demon will raise up against you temptations from your superior.  This will test your humility and firmness, or he will send the liars and the negligent against you.  They will start rebuking you, scold you and may even hit you, despise you and bring much sorrow upon you in this manner.  Yet, in this case, hold on to silence and humility even harder.  Keep constant the Jesus prayer on your lips and in the depth of your heart in order not to condemn them even a bit for their deeds, and not to be embittered at all.  Accept everything with gratitude, think in this manner – how can I, a wretch,  be angry with my brother for no reason?  Remember your own sins constantly, since if you did not hit, then you reproached, slandered, wounded your neighbor with backbiting and rose against Jesus Christ and hurt Him by offending your neighbor. It is for that reason that you ought, with all your heart, to acknowledge yourself to deserve suffering, no matter how much you do suffer.  Remember the words Jesus the Savior spoke about doing good to your neighbor – words which should equally refer to every offensive word and deed against your neighbor as well – that whatever you do to  your neighbor, you do it to Me [cf. Matt. 25:40]. At the same time, remember His suffering even unto death, His exceeding goodness and His love towards us, which endures our iniquities.  And consider, is it really that difficult to suffer small afflictions for His sake while having His sure help at the same time, if you desire it?  If you reason in this manner and with love suffer all temptations, you will soon acquire the help and consolation from Jesus the Savior.