My beloved son in God, born from the divine Spirit, I am glad if you are glad !
All the heavenly powers, thrones, dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels and angels, all apostles and prophets, martyrs and righteous and our most holy Theotokos, Empress and Lady of all rejoice.
Today you made my soul rejoice with those said by means of paper and ink. I will be so glad and rejoice if you will show till the end those you are writing about today because the war of the enemy begins after three-four years. Then the grace withdraws for trial and the torch is extinguished.
And the nice things from now – which are nice indeed – then you will see them ugly, black and dark. That’s why don’t take as temptations what is happening now to you since someone else protects you. And because you are asking for an advice from me, the humble, my beloved son, listen:
Do not clad yourself only in leaves but stretch your roots deep down to find the springs as the sycamores do so that you may always have water and always have the shoots sprouting. And when drought comes to you may you not suffer any change as long as you have found a special spring. And when the torch you have now is extinguished, you have another one lit by your deeds and you won’t suffer at all because of darkness. And the way you can gain these is the following:
First of all the absolute obedience towards all. Humility grows from it. And the sign of humility is shown by the plentiful tears which in three four years flow like a spring. From them it is born the ceaseless prayer, the so-called mental prayer which makes tears flow immediately after you say: My most sweet Jesus! Or when you say Theotokos! And you can’t control yourself anymore. Then from tears is born an absolute peace.
Once a brother wanted to refrain his tears, because they started to flow down and someone knocked at the door but he couldn’t stop them until they stopped by themselves. So much power they have.
Thus if you gain these, you won’t be afraid that you might suffer a change, because you become a man with a different nature.
But it is not the nature that changes, only its attributes are changed by Grace through the divine energies of God.
The so-called typical ways must comprise the essence as the leaves of the trees hide the fruits. The psalmody should be done humbly. The mind should pay attention to the meaning of the troparion. The thought should find delight in the meaning given by the mind and to raise itself to its contemplation. The reading should be attentively done as well. So by means of all these the soul evolves, grows. Thus the old man dies, is erased and it is renewed the new one. And it increases the love of Christ. And the earthly things don’t satisfy him anymore, he only longs after the heavenly ones.
In what regards the body, it must strive with all its might so that it may always be dominated by spirit. Don’t ever have compassion for it at all. And either if you work or eat, don’t ever stop your prayer.
In all your prayers the mind must follow and understand what you say in your prayer and what you speak. Because if you don’t understand what you say, how will you understand with God so that He may give you what you ask for?
If you take this into account i twill be good for you. You will free yourself forever and you will make me glad. And if you don’t listen because of your recklessness, you will upset many.
