Miraculous words: the prayer of Simeon the new theologian in full description from all the sources we found.

Commemoration: 12 / 25 March

St. Simeon the New Theologian is perhaps the most prominent mystic of Orthodoxy, one of the three Fathers whom the Church called "theologians". In his "Hymns of Love" these, truly love poems, he captured the craving of the human soul for God. In addition to them, this book includes many other of his creations.

Prayer Six, St. Simeon the New Theologian (Following to Holy Communion)

Prayer before confession

Simeon the New Theologian, reverend

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Prayer of Simeon the New Theologian

IN EVERY TROUBLE AND SITUATION

Prayer of St. Simeon the New Theologian

Prayer to the holy martyrs Vera, Nadezhda, Love and their mother Sophia

Prayers before the icons of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”

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Prayer 6, Saint Simeon the New Theologian.

“From bad lips, from a vile heart, from an unclean tongue, from a defiled soul, accept prayer, my Christ, and rejecting neither my words, nor my temper, nor shamelessness, let me freely say what I want, my Christ, but better and teach me what I should do and say. I have sinned more than a harlot who, knowing where You are, having bought peace, dared to come and anoint Your feet, Christ my Lord and my God.

As you did not reject her, who came from a pure heart, do not disdain me, Word! Allow me to hold and kiss Your feet, and with a stream of tears, how boldly to anoint them with precious ointment.

Wash me with my tears, cleanse me with them, Word!

Let go of my sins and grant me forgiveness. You know many vices, you know my wounds, and you see my ulcers, but you also know my faith, and you see zeal, and you hear groans. Not hidden from You, my God, my Creator, my Redeemer, not a drop of tears, not a drop of some part.

Thy eyes have noticed what I have not completed, and in Thy book even what has not yet been done is written with You. Look at my humility, look at my suffering, and forgive me all sins, O God of the universe, so that with a pure heart, a trembling thought and a contrite soul, I partake of Your most pure and all-holy Mysteries, by which everyone who eats You and drinks with pure heart. After all, You, my Lord, said: "Everyone who eats My Flesh, as well as drinks My Blood, he abides in Me, and I am in him." Absolutely true is the word of the Lord and my God. For partaking of the divine and deifying Gifts, I am in fact not alone, but with Thee, my Christ, the Light, bright as three suns, enlightening the world. Therefore, in order not to remain alone, separated from You, the life of the Giver, my breath, my life, my joy, the salvation of the world, I came to You, as You see, with tears and a contrite soul, begging to receive me the atonement of my sins and Your life-giving and immaculate Sacraments to partake not in condemnation; so that you remain, as you said, with me, thrice unhappy; so that the deceiver, finding me deprived of Your grace, does not steal me treacherously and, having deceived, does not lead me away from Your deifying words.

Therefore, I fall down at Your feet and fervently cry out to You: as You accepted the prodigal son and the harlot who came to You, so accept, Merciful, me, the prodigal and filthy, with a contrite soul now coming to You. I know, Savior, that no one else has sinned against You as I have, and has not done the deeds that I have done. But I also know that neither the severity of sins, nor the multitude of sins, exceeds my God, much longsuffering and the greatest love of mankind, but with merciful compassion You both purify and enlighten those who ardently repent, and join in the light, generously making them partakers of Your Divinity; and - which is wonderful both to the angels and to human thoughts - you talk with them many times, as with your true friends. It gives me courage, it inspires me, my Christ! And, boldly trusting in Your rich blessings to us, rejoicing and trembling together, I, the grass, partake of fire, and - a wondrous miracle - we inexplicably irrigate, like in ancient times a bush of thorns, burning without burning. So, with a grateful thought and a grateful heart, with all my grateful feelings, my soul and my body, I worship, and magnify, and glorify You, my God, as blessed both now and forever.

Prayer of repentance in verse translation

From a broken heart

From the soul, mired in filth,

From a language that is vile

Accept, Christ, prayer,

And, graciously accepting,

Not rejecting the appeal,

And forgive me this insolence,

Let me say without hesitation

what I want to say, my Christ,

Or tell me yourself

What to say and what to do.

I'm sinful like that harlot

That, knowing where you live,

Bringing peace with you

And fall at your feet,

Boldly smeared them,

Oh my God and my Master!

But you didn't reject her.

Coming from the heart

So don't piss me off

But let me take your steps

Kissing, holding hands

And abundant tears

Like a precious world

To anoint them boldly.

But with my own tears

And cleanse me, Word,

Let go of my sins

And grant forgiveness of sins.

My evils You know the abyss

And you know my wounds

Scabs of my countless ulcers.

But you also see faith

And diligent determination

And you hear my groans.

It won't hide from you

My Creator and Redeemer,

not a single tear

Or part of a small tear.

What I couldn't do

God's eyes see clearly

And another in the eternal book -

What I haven't done yet

Already written from the century.

See how I humble myself

Look how hard my work is,

Let go of my sins

My God, Creator of the universe!

So that I can with a pure heart

And quivering thought

And a broken soul

Communion of those Most Pure

All-Holy Immortal Mysteries,

What is for each source

Life and deification

Who comes with a pure heart.

For You said, Lord:

"He who eats my flesh,

He who receives my blood,

He stays with me

I myself live in it.”

And yours, Lord, word,

can't be true

And Your idolizing

I am not alone, my Christ,

But I am with you

Three-solar light, this whole world

And so that I do not appear

outside of You, O Life-giver,

my breath, life,

The world of our salvation -

That's why I start

As You see, with tears

And with a broken soul,

begging to give me.

So that I can life-giving

Your Immaculate Mysteries

Become a worthy partner.

So that with me, the cursed one,

You have stayed as you promised me.

So that the crafty tempter

Having found me outside of You,

Didn't trick me insidiously

And didn't let me evade

From the words of those who worship.

And I fall to You

Now with warm prayer:

How erring you received

And the harlot who came

So accept, O Merciful One,

And with a broken heart

I know, oh my Savior

That none of all living

Don't commit crimes

My fall is equal.

But even then I know for sure

That there is no such thing as a fall

Sins so great

What could fill

Your patience bowl

And exceed your mercy.

You are the oil of compassion

Those who repent with all their hearts

And partakers of the world

And divinity, Savior,

you do them generously.

And not only to people

But the angels wonder

You are talking to them

Like true friends.

It gives me courage

and filled with hope

I am to Your abundant gifts.

Feeling joy and awe

I, the grass, accept the flame,

Communion, and - oh, a miracle! -

Kupina is like an ancient one,

That burned without burning.

Now a grateful heart

All my mind is grateful

Even the members are grateful

Everything is my soul and body.

I fall all over to You

And I praise You, my God,

now as well as forever.

In memory of His Eminence Pitirim, Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and Yuryevsk

The text was translated by Alexandrova Tatyana Lvovna, Candidate of Philology, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Ancient Languages ​​and Ancient Christian Writing of the Orthodox St. Tikhon Humanitarian University

Prayers

Prayer 6, St. Simeon the New Theologian

(Following Holy Communion)

Prayer before confession

God and Lord of all! Every breath, and the power of the soul, the only one who can heal me, hear the prayer of me, the accursed one, and the snake that nests in me by the influx of the All-Holy and Life-giving Spirit, having killed it. And me, poor and naked of all virtues existing, at the feet of my holy father (spiritual) with tears, vouchsafe, and his holy soul to mercy, to have mercy on me, attract. And give, Lord, in my heart humility and good thoughts, befitting a sinner who agreed to repent of You, and may not in the end leave a single soul that was united with You and confessed You, and instead of the world chose and preferred You: we know, Lord, as I want to be saved, even if my crafty custom is an obstacle: but it is possible for You, Master, the essence of everything, the spruce is impossible, the essence is from a person. Amen.

Prayer of St. Simeon the New Theologian for finding a spiritual mentor

Lord, do not want the death of a sinner, but even turn and live to be him, descended to this on earth, but raise up those lying and mortified by sin and see you, the true light, as it is possible for a person to see, vouchsafe them, send me a man who leads you, yes , like you, having worked for him and obeying him with all my strength, and do your will in that will, I will please you, the only God, and I will be honored and I, a sinner, of your kingdom.

Prayer of repentance, who repents with a contrite and humble spirit to God

You see everything, Lord, and there is nothing that You do not see. Although I am the work of Your hands, I did not do things according to Your commandments, but because of my great foolishness I did every evil thing, not thinking that You, my Creator and God, are just as good as good. Now, having brought this to mind, I trembled and do not know what to do. I feel Your condemnation, and I do not find a word of justification in my mouth. I do not have any virtue and have not done any deed of repentance worthy of being forgiven for me at least one idle word of my mouth. Moreover, whoever has virtues and does all sorts of good deeds, does it like a slave and debtor, but for his sin he will not find any replacement in all this: here Your only mercy precedes. Sin is death, and who among those who die through it can rise of its own accord? Truly no one. You alone died and rose again, because you did not commit sin and did not find flattery in your mouth. So, Lord Almighty, having done many evil deeds, I repent, but repentance alone cannot justify me.

Prayer for deliverance from temptations

Do not let me, O Lord, temptation, or sorrow, or sickness beyond my strength, but deliver them from them, or grant me the strength to endure them with thanksgiving.

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Venerable SIMEON THE NEW THEOLOGIST - On Prayer

Just as the sun has no need for a person and does not require any service or favor from him, but more than that, he serves all people in general and lends them all by spreading light over the face of the earth, warming the fruits and helping them to ripen, supporting the life of people and everything that is born on earth, while no one has ever said, can not now and will not be able to ever say that he has served or is serving the sun in some way - in the same way God does not want any service and need not has someone to serve him. And as long as anyone thinks that he is serving God in some way, know that he has not yet begun his entry into the path of salvation. Such, let him fast, spend nights without sleep and bear other hardships, let him fast and pray, let him do alms and other good deeds, let him preach the word of God and teach the truth, he will never have part with God. For whoever does such good deeds must do them in order to gain mercy from God, and not in order to serve God ... And yet it is absolutely necessary to ask, seek, push, so that whoever does not ask, does not seek , does not push, he, by the definition of the Almighty Christ, will not find and receive the grace of God, and the door of God's mercy will not be opened to him.

Venerable SIMEON THE NEW THEologian

Praying to God is a very good deed and brings great benefit to the one who prays. If great is the benefit of conversing with an earthly king, how great must be the conversing with the King of Heaven through prayer? Just as no one dares to approach the one who converses with the king of the earth, and stop the conversation that he is having, so the demons do not dare to approach the one who converses with God. On the contrary, great harm happens if someone does not pray to God, for such a soul is left deprived of God's enlightenment, Divine strength and peace from demonic temptations, and the demons incessantly arouse obscene movements in it: unclean lust, urges for fornication, untruth, vanity, pride, conceit.

1. The one who has learned to pray properly does not so much need reading, because his soul is filled with Divine light and Divinely changed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. But the one who prefers to sit more at reading than to learn to pray as one should, is in delusion and distances himself from salvation, it is better to say that he is insensible, although he says that he has read all the Scripture and always has it on his tongue. It is impossible for the fruit of the earth to ripen without the warmth of the sun. Let the seed vegetate during the winter and germinate in the spring and give a stem, but if it is cloudy and cold all the time, then its fruit will never ripen. It will be a growth that is good for nothing and useless, it would be better if it did not germinate at all. In the same way, one who is not warmed by the warmth of the intelligent Sun - Christ the Lord through prayer, as it should be performed, cannot receive a ripe spiritual fruit, that is, sweetness and benefit from his reading.

1. It takes a lot of time and labor, more mental than bodily, to first learn how to pray as one should, and then, having learned, continue to pray. Why does the apostle command us to sing and sing to God always with the heart, and not with the mouth alone (see: Eph. 5, 19). Since the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart, then it is necessary to arrange it in such a way that the prayer that is uttered by the mouth is also uttered from the abundance of the heart. And this happens when a pure heart is built up in us, the right Divine spirit is renewed and the joy of God’s salvation is received, which joy is born from communion and communion with Christ, and is then affirmed by the grace of the Sovereign Spirit ... When the soul is able to pray in the way shown, then it is possible that From the mysterious rays of Divine enlightenment, descending into the one who prays during prayer and for the sake of prayer, that which he reads and understands ripened, that is, it was sweetly acceptable and beneficial. He who does not do this does not understand anything from what he reads properly, does not feel sweetness from it, and does not receive any benefit.

1. It is not proper to pray to God without fear and reverence. Whoever does not have fear and reverence, let him first of all ask for the light of the fear of God, let him know before what a terrible God he will stand and pray in order to be worthy to receive what he asks for. For whoever recognizes how terrible God is, he will be filled with the fear of God, and the fear of God will teach him proper prayer. Whoever does not know this, he is in darkness and does not know how to pray as he should.

1. While the sun has not yet risen and darkness covers the earth, who can see things well? And [even if] one who has gone through grammar, rhetoric and philosophy and has been enriched with the knowledge of all things, cannot read books containing such teachings without light, [then] a novice who has just begun such a teaching that he can see without light Or what can you learn? Nothing. In the same way, every soul needs the hidden light of Divine knowledge, so that it sees and cognizes and comprehends the power and meaning of the Divine words of the Psalms.

1. For this sacred light of Divine knowledge is a certain powerful mental force that surrounds and gathers the mobile mind, which usually runs back and forth at the time when it listens or reads the Divine words, and keeps it in itself, but listens to what it reads or listens to. . If this Divine light does not enter into anyone, then he will pronounce or read a prayer with his lips and listen with his ears, and his mind will remain fruitless. And not only that, but he will not stand on one thing, but will circle here and there, and think about what is not appropriate, while keeping the thought that it is urgently necessary for him to think over what he thinks about, and take care of that. , in which he is seduced, not realizing that at this time he is a slave of a mental tyrant - the devil, and he mentally drags him here and there.

1. Prayer and the singing of Divine psalms is nothing else than a conversation with God, in which we either implore Him to grant us what is in accordance with God to give to people, or we glorify Him for all the creations created by Him, or we sing of His miracles, which from the ages at times He worked for His glory, for the salvation of people and for the retribution and punishment of the unrighteous and evil, or we proclaim His providential actions, which, according to His dispensation, He performs mysteriously and secretly ... If now the one who should in his prayer talk to God about everything the above, turning it around in his mind day and night, if, let’s say, he pronounces all this for a long time only with his tongue, but does not know what he is saying with his mind, then is he not meaningless? But it is clear in every possible way that he has not yet become faithful, has not yet entered into fellowship with God. For the faithful is called and is the one to whom he is entrusted and who has the grace of the Holy Spirit, but this grace enlightens the mind, gathers it into itself and concentrates it, so that it understands to whom it talks and what it talks about. Therefore, whoever does not act in prayer in this way does not have the grace of the Holy Spirit, remains unfaithful and far from God.

1. Just as the body needs air to breathe, so the soul needs unceasing remembrance of God, that is, prayer. But again, if someone prays to God simply, randomly, as if in passing, without fear, which one should have who stands before God, before Whom the Cherubim tremble, not only does this not bring any benefit ... but [he] suffers an incomparably most pernicious harm is the wrath of God, the disgust of God, the exile of God. For just as the king’s bodyguards immediately take away from the face of the king and drive out the one who stands before the king carelessly, without fear and propriety, and the king does not forbid them to do this, so the Angels of God tear away from the face of God and from His gaze and drive out the mind of him, who stands before God and prays to Him carelessly, as if with contempt, without reverence and well-being, and then the demons immediately seize him with insolence and violence and circle him wherever they want, in shameful and unclean places, or in evil deeds, or in vain things and useless ... Therefore, it would be much better for such a person if he did not pray at all, because demons do not take possession of the soul with such tyranny for any sins as for contempt of God. And the earthly king endures his debtors and those who sin before him in some way, but for those who despise him, he is a grave and terrible avenger. Why is there no greater sin than to pray to God with contemptible neglect.

1. There is no greater sin than to pray without the fear of God, without attention and reverence. Whoever prays or sings psalms simply, at random, with carelessness and contempt, he clearly does not know what God is - he does not know and is careless. Why does God, from Whom comes the remission of sins and every good thing, would like to have mercy on him too, but cannot, and is even more angry. It is better not to pray at all than to pray like this, that is, with your mouth only.

1. Many Christians think that they bring great benefit to the soul when they read the psalms of David with troparia and perform other prescribed prayers, thereby reading them, even just as it happened, and believing that they are glorifying God in this way, but they don’t know that that they also anger God at this, and do not receive any benefit for themselves, but, on the contrary, they sin with a great sin. Whoever only prays with his tongue, God does not hear him, and if he does not hear, he will not give what he asks. What is the use of many of your prayer words? If a hungry and thirsty person comes to someone who can give him drink and food, but, turning to him with a petition, only utters indistinct words, then he will not only not satisfy his petition, but will drive him away with anger because he bothers, but doesn't know what. It is the same with prayers. Only those prayers are intelligible to God, which, when the praying one pronounces [them], understands what he is saying and feeling. Prayer, only spoken with the tongue, without thought or feeling, only angers God.

1. When people talk to each other, they know what they are talking about: those who speak know what they are saying, and those who listen understand what they hear. And it would be obvious unreason not to have due attention when one is talking to another. But if, standing before God, talking to Him and praying, we do not heed what we say, then what hope of salvation can we have even when someone spends a long time in his prayer and glorifies God day and night with such unreasonable inattention and thinks he prays and praises God as he should? For at least such attention should we pay when we talk with God, what we have, when we talk with people about worldly and vain things. From what has been said, anyone can understand what it means that the devil mentally circles the mind of a person suffering from this difficult illness. Therefore, it is necessary for such a person to first of all bring all diligence about his soul, trying to deliver spiritual healing and healing to it, so that Jesus Christ, the only physician of souls and bodies, seeing his diligence and labor, healed his great infirmity. And if he does not do so, then in vain and uselessly he sings psalms and reads prayers to God. Therefore, whoever prays inattentively, let him groan and weep that he does so, and correct himself, and forget to think that he ever prayed. If, however, he does not mourn and grieve over his inattention, then what hope of salvation does he have?

1. Here is the first and greatest of all mental illnesses, for the healing of which, as the first, worst and strongest of any other mental illness, we must strive to shed blood. For it prevents us from praying as we should and does not allow our prayer to ascend directly to God, it is a great and strong wall that prevents our mind from approaching God, Who is everywhere, Who is and Who fulfills everything. This darkening of the soul is the beginning of the pitch darkness of hell, and if Christ does not drive it away in everyone striving for his salvation, then no one will see the Lord ... If this darkness is not dispelled and expelled from the soul before any other evil, then the faith of any such Christian is in vain, in vain is he called by the name of a believer, in vain are his fasts and vigils, in vain he labors, crying out in his psalms.

1. Just as bats fly during the night, looking for food for themselves, so the demons, together with their pervak, the head of darkness, the devil, during the present life, corrupted and darkened, prowl both on the earth and in the air, and in all places that exist under heaven. , in an instant being transported from place to place, for demons by nature are mental creatures. Anyone can understand this, judging by how our own human mind operates, which, when he saw that once, whether it be far away or spread over a large space, mentally runs around it in an instant with all that is bound by flesh. That is why it is impossible for a true Christian to raise his mind to God, to meditate on the Divine, to converse with the All-Good Lord, and through such holy memory and intelligent prayer to receive enlightenment and radiance from God, if he is not sealed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. As soon as the devil sees that the mind (spirit) of a Christian does not have the seal of the grace of God and is naked from it, but meanwhile he wants to pass mentally through the air and ascend to the Most High God, in order to converse with Him through prayer and pray to Him for his sins - without fear stands opposite him on the road along which he ascends, and, as it were, says to him: “Where are you going, unfortunate one? How dare you pass through places that are in my power? I am the ruler of darkness, I received the name of the ruler of the world and I am the head of those who think about the worldly and philosophize in a worldly way ... You have not yet left my power ... Why, as my subject, you must think about mine and seek mine. Mine is this: carnal lust, unrighteousness, malice. Before, I showed you all this and proved how good it is, and you saw that it was like that, tasted it, experienced it and enjoyed it. Now where are you going? Where are you going to heaven? Stay here - down, in worldly impurities and sins. That is why it is written: No one can call Jesus Lord, except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3).

1. A Christian should not pray and glorify God, unless his mind is imprinted in advance and sanctified by Divine grace, so as not to turn out to be outwardly standing before God, but mentally doing the deeds of the devil as his servant, for which reason he becomes more unclean and for what deed more rape his enemy begins, leading him to much evil, now through anger, then through carnal lust, to which he rushes with greater irresistibility. If someone, entering a medical clinic to receive healing, due to his foolishness makes his wounds worse and more dangerous there, then, of course, it would be much better for him not to enter it at all. But, again, how can you stay without prayer? Closely from both. Take diligence, take upon yourself the feat in advance to correct and heal your mind, so as not to be in danger of falling into the worst, if you sing, praise God and pray, without being corrected and without being healed in advance. For it is impossible for an impure mind to stand before God, although it is clear that another stands before Him with the body and prays with the mouth. And in general, there is no way to truly glorify God from oneself, but the grace of Christ that dwells in us, it glorifies and hymns God and prays in us.

1. If the sun, being warm, naturally warms the one who sits under its rays, how could God, who is holy, not sanctify those who converse with Him through prayer? And yet, it does not happen, and why? Because those who sit in the sun know that they then sat down to warm themselves, and therefore adjust themselves in such a way as to feel its warmth, while those who pray without attention do not themselves know what they are praying for and what they are asking, then there are not standing up to God properly, which is why God does not give them anything and will not give them, even if they pray this way for a hundred years.

1. If someone prays for himself and asks, for example, for deliverance from corruption and death, let him listen in advance and find out what corruption is and what life is, and then he already asks God for deliverance from corruption and death ... For whoever asks for something , he must know what he asks, and clearly imagine that, so that when he receives, he will thank the Giver and always be grateful to Him. If, however, when someone prays, he himself does not know what he is asking for, how will he know that he has received what he asked for, and, consequently, how will he begin to thank God, who gave it to him? And having not given thanks, he will be guilty of condemnation, as an ungrateful one.

1. And not only this [attention] is necessary for the success of prayer, but also that, in order to prepare to receive what is asked, and, for our part, use everything in our power to acquire it. So, whoever says to God in prayer: “Thy Kingdom come,” and does not know how this Kingdom comes, without knowing, does not prepare to receive it and does nothing that is required of him to receive it, is it possible, for this Kingdom to come to him? What is the use, therefore, that he says in prayer: “Thy kingdom come”? ... Again, those who say to God in prayer: “Deliver us from the evil one,” but do not know who the evil one is and how they are possessed and possessed by this evil one, what are his bonds and the power that he has over those whom he has prevailed, such as it is possible that they were delivered by God from the evil one? For, not knowing this, they do not know what they ask of God, and not knowing this, they cannot receive what they ask, no matter how much they say: "Deliver us from the evil one."

1. Whoever says, "Release me," is obviously in captivity and is in bondage, and whoever says, "Deliver me," of course, is in prison and bound. But if those who speak such words speak them so-so, simply, at random, according to custom (therefore cold and indifferent), not realizing the misfortune in which they are, and not feeling tightness, slavery, dungeon and bonds, then who will listen? Likewise, those who cry day and night to God: “Lord, save me! Lord, deliver me! Lord, save me!” But they don’t know the misfortune they are in—they don’t feel the bitterness of slavery, or the gloom of the dungeon, or the burden of bonds, they don’t even realize that they are in extreme trouble, they bear the yoke of slavery, they are imprisoned, they are shackled. in iron - such have never been, do not exist and will not be heard by God.

1. Therefore, it is necessary for us to hear in advance about all this, to learn this and to know that from those who know that, and then to pray to God about it. If it is inconvenient to find such knowledgeable people…let us turn to God with a prayer, so that He Himself invisibly shows us the misfortune, and captivity, and slavery, and the bonds in which we are; and when we know how great evil is in all this, then we will begin to cry out to Him with tears, with a great voice, so that He will take pity on us and show His mercy to us, unworthy of any mercy, and save us, free and deliver. And it is impossible for God to have mercy on us in any other way or way. For even a person who has the opportunity to show mercy cannot show it to a person who is the only begotten with him, if he does not know what he needs and what he is looking for. God, of course, can do everything, but He cannot lie, nor deny Himself, why He cannot pardon the one who does not repent, nor give to the one who does not ask, nor direct the one who does not seek to find, nor open the doors of mercy the one who does not strike them ... So, it is necessary that a person surely know what God can do for him, and then ask that of Him, that he will receive it.

1. The fact that others do not know themselves, what they ask of God, there are two reasons: either ignorance, or insensitivity. The unarticulated and unlearned does not understand what he is saying, and the insensible does not feel what he is looking for. And what kind of wealthy person gives alms to that person who, asking for it, does not know what he is muttering, and treats him contemptuously, and has already proved more than once that he does not feel at all the mercy shown to him? So God does not show mercy to those who, in their prayers, are ringing brass and ringing cymbals. And from this, the kingdom of the devil grows stronger and his dominion over Christians expands, as a result of which we see among Christians many liars, slanderers, slanderers, perjurers, envious people, misers, predators, drunkards, fornicators, arrogant people and the like; There are also many who, hiding their vices, hypocritically magnify themselves by the fact that they are Christians, while in their hearts they are a crafty, insensitive, ungrateful, unreconciling, man-hating, other-hating, brother-hating, price-hating, child-hating generation, for which everything is hated by God himself. Woe to such, when they also sing psalms to God! Woe to them when they pray! Woe when they worship God! Woe when they do charity! Woe when they bring gifts to God! For the song of the wicked is an abomination before God, the prayer of the angry and vindictive is a foul stench, the alms of the proud is the sacrifice of a dog, the good deed of a lecher and a fornicator is the reward of a harlot, the gift of a covetous person is an unclean sacrifice and the blood of a pig.

1. Who will ask: what to do as such? Here's what to do. Coming to his senses and knowing his unworthiness and wretchedness, let each of them repent with all his soul for all his sins and, having flowed to the spiritual father, confess to him in everything, seek from him an announcement with the word of truth and instruction, which every Christian must know and do and then he will live the life that every true Christian should live. Let him seek instructions from him about everything, as well as regarding prayers.

1. Regarding prayers, let him ask what each word means, so that when he begins to pray those prayers, he understands with his mind and feels with his heart what the lips say. So, it is sung in the doxology: “Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men” - ask and find out that the glory of God, that peace and goodwill towards men. You hear: “God is the Lord and appear to us” - ask and find out what kind of phenomenon it is. So about everything else, ask and find out.

1. Since those who sing and make prayers labor in vain, having not been sanctified in advance by the grace of God, it is necessary for them to go to reverent teachers and experienced confessors and learn from them how to pray and what to ask for in prayers. If they do not want to learn this and do not learn, then, be they wise, be ignorant, they will end their lives unclean and defiled. God does not listen to those who do not know what they are asking. Why, lest we also suffer in the same way and remain unclean forever, let us take care from this hour to learn how to pray and what to ask of God, so that our prayer will be acceptable to God, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1. It should be borne in mind that if you give something to a person at the wrong time, then such a gift will not be in favor, but to the detriment. But if a carnal father cannot give his child the deadly food that he asks for, all the more God does not give anything like that to a man, Who says: Will a woman forget her suckling child? ... But if she also forgot, then I will not forget you ( Isaiah 49:15) ... So, since He considers people to be His sons and daughters, how is it possible for Him to give them anything deadly, even if they themselves asked for it from Him for a long time, with sighs and tears?

1. God will give a Christian, if he asks, the following great and high gifts, which no one can acquire by himself, namely: a contrite and humble heart, a sober and chaste, repentant and weeping; will give him the memory of death and the future judgment, the wisdom and understanding to understand the Divine Scriptures, the sense to fear God, the strength to pray with fear, reverence and thanksgiving; will give innocence, meekness, patience and complacency. Whoever receives all that has been said will receive both sanctification and the health of his soul, and the health of the soul is not to thirst for any sin and nothing of what the world craves, that is, neither money, nor the sweetness of the flesh, nor the glory and honor of man. And God cannot heal someone and give him health before he receives and has the gifts shown above (for this would not be the time).

1. So, first of all, it is necessary to become faithful and reconcile and make friends with God, asking Him for the remission of all previous sins committed in word, deed and thought. The soul, reconciled and made friends with God, is meek, humble and contrite. This is a sign of reconciliation and fellowship with God. For God usually gives these first gifts to believers, that is, meekness and humility. The demons no longer fight the meek and humble soul, as before, neither with voluptuousness, nor with the love of money, nor with the love of glory, and thus through these two gifts of Christ the soul finds peace and is not embarrassed by any alien and inappropriate thoughts. Such a soul prays as it should, that is, with fear, reverence and attention, and not with one mouth. And this is impossible for any person: neither for a layman, nor for a monk, nor for a hermit, nor for a clergyman, nor for a deacon, nor for a priest, nor for a bishop, unless the soul of each of them becomes a partaker of the Holy Spirit, according to the measure of faith them into Christ, for no one can call Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3).

1. Those who truly bow to God in the Spirit bow and pray in the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor. 3:17) - freedom from demons and from all the passions they instill in the soul, from hatred, sadness, embarrassment, cowardice, malevolence, malice, unbelief, anger and susceptibility to any self-pleasing , and those who possess them, let them be [even] fasters, silencers, long-singers of psalms, interpreters of the Divine Scriptures, exponents of right dogmas, teachers and church preachers, let them be called highly revered, learned and all-powerful, have no part with Christ, the True Light Who enlightens every person who comes from his evil will into the true world of virtues (John 1:9), for darkness has no communion with light.

1. Just as a good, fine and beautiful object attracts the eyes of people to look at it, and an ugly and disgusting object makes them turn their eyes in the other direction so as not to see it, so the praise, glorification and prayer of a sinner make God turn His eyes away from it so as not to see it. him, because he only prays with his lips, but with his mind and heart he converses with the objects of his sins and passions, which, as before, dominated him, and now hold him firmly in their hands. For it is impossible that, while praying to God, one should not think about the inappropriate and shameful, if he has not first made friends with God through repentance and confession. The fellowship of God with the soul is a secret visitation by God.

1. A sign that the grace of God has visited the soul is that it prays with fear and reverence, stands at the prayer with dignity and has great attention to what it prays for. For no one can call Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). Why are those who do not pray in this way still far from God, be they priests and confessors, be teachers of the people and their mediators before God.

1. So, whoever performs fasts, prayers and alms (for through these three Christians are saved), let him not look at the days of his fasting, nor at the work of vigil and prayer, nor at the amount of alms, do not look, that is, at how much he gave to alms, or how long he did not sleep and stood in prayer, or how many days he fasted, but he thinks about one thing, whether all this is accepted by God. If accepted, then Divine grace will be sent to him, and when he receives the grace of God, he will find himself contrite, humble, attentive to himself, moved and repenting of all the bad deeds that he had done before. And then, by means of such a dispensation within, he will know how great his infirmity is, and how indecent and shameful his sins are, realizing that they are peculiar only to unreasonable animals, but obscene to a rational soul and far from a person who has knowledge. Such is the first grace and the first enlightenment given to the soul from God! Having come to such a feeling and knowing that such are precisely her sins, the soul begins to hate them and turn away from them as from things worthy of all hatred and disgust. And this is the true way of salvation!

1. The soul that has made friends with God is meek and humble, and when it prays, it thinks that it stands before the face of God and does not allow itself to wander hither and thither, so that the soul, which is not in such a state, has not yet made friends with God, yet is under the power of the devil, although he sings and prays. So, it is necessary that the soul, during prayers and psalms, more and above all seek fellowship with God. If she is not in fellowship with God and does not seek such fellowship, then she cannot hope for herself in any other way of salvation. Those who sing psalms and pray, but are not united with God (and do not seek this and sing and pray for that), are in self-delusion and cry out into the air in vain, moving God to indignation and anger. For such, praying with their mouths to God, think with their minds about what belongs to the realm of His enemy, the devil, and for this God turns His face away from them.

1. Whoever does not know himself and does not feel in what a poor state he is (and does not look for it), the fasts and alms that he performs will be wasted in vain. For a sacrifice pleasing to God is only a broken spirit, and only for such a sacrifice is remission of sins given, just as for such a sacrifice there is fasting, and prayer, and almsgiving. This is the sacrament of the Christian life, and this is how every Christian should act! Fasting, prayer, almsgiving, arbitrary poverty, sleeping on bare ground, and everything else that a person does, he must do in order to make friends with God. If all this does not lead him to this fellowship, then what is the use of that?

1. So, fasting, prayers and alms alone do not give sanctification of the soul and its deliverance, but before these virtues their faith in God gives, when someone believes that only Christ the Lord can sanctify him and deliver him.

1. The soul of psalmody should be that the chanter be humbly wise and do everything that leads to humility of mind. But what is humility? That is, to know and realize their human weakness. But in order for someone to recognize and realize human weakness, this happens only from enlightenment sent from above by Christ the Lord to those who believe in Him. And there is no other way to know yourself and realize your weakness. Why do the holy fathers say that whoever is not baptized is also unenlightened. Just as the eye cannot see anything without light, so the soul cannot see its weakness unless it is mysteriously enlightened by Christ.

1. Since every penitent humbles himself, then for this reason God gives His grace to him, as if he is humble, so that he hates both lustful and evil deeds and always remembers his infirmity and, remembering it, sympathized with people who were obedient to himself and was indulgent towards their infirmities, not judging anyone in their sins, so that he be meek and patient and find peace in his soul. Having reached this point, he will already begin to sing a new song to the Lord, praise to our God, that is, he will begin to give thanks to God from a pure and contrite heart, because a pure heart is a contrite and humble heart. And any other psalmody, except this one, is in vain and useless. It is impossible for someone who does not sing in this way to converse with God through prayer, even if he works hard on this for a long time, but with his lips he will sing and say prayers, and with his mind he will think about what grieves God and moves Him to wrath.

1. A Christian who opposes God and enters into a struggle with Him through transgression of the commandments of the Gospel of Christ is an enemy of himself and of God, and it is impossible to have peace with God like that... What does he have to say to God when he enters the temple of God? Thanksgiving or supplication? If he began to utter thanksgiving, he would deceive himself, because he has nothing, received nothing, and his thanksgiving is in vain. If he began to utter a petition, what kind, when he does not know himself, nor trouble, in what kind is he? He is the same as non-Christ, infidel and atheist. He is dead because he has not yet received the power of Christ's resurrection. When he sings: “Seeing the Resurrection of Christ” and so on, he lies, because he is still in the dead and is not involved in the mental life-giving sprinkling of grace descending from God, which is a cure for spiritual death and a mental resurrection from the dead.

1. Whoever has not yet received and seen the resurrection of his soul is still dead and cannot properly worship the Lord Jesus along with those who have seen the resurrection of Christ ... He is dead, for he does not have in his soul God, who gives life to all, and has not been honored with the grace of fulfillment over him the promise uttered by the Lord: I and the Father by the Holy Spirit will come to him who loves me and keeps my commandments, and we will make our abode with him (John 14:23). Christ comes and by His coming resurrects a dead soul, and gives it life, and grants the grace to see how He Himself rises in her and resurrects her. Such is the law of the new life in Christ Jesus, that Christ the Lord, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, comes to us, and resurrects our mortified souls, and gives them life, and grants eyes to see Him Himself, immortal and incorruptible, living in us. Before the soul is united with God, before it sees, knows and feels that it is truly united with Him, it is completely dead, blind, insensible; but for all that she is dead, yet by nature she is immortal.

1. So, whoever sees that he is incited to evil deeds, and realizes that he is naked from Divine grace, let him take care of himself and the salvation of his soul, being convinced from the fact that he is outside the saving power of Christianity and that the name of Christ will not bring him any good, but that together with the devil he will go into the fire prepared for him. If any Christian does not know that for salvation it is necessary to be renewed and recreated, to enter into a deified state, by the grace-filled power and action of Christ the Savior, to become a new creature and a new man, for which both faith and holy baptism are dispensated, he is called a Christian in vain. For if such a change has not yet taken place in him, then everything else serves no purpose, his prayers are in vain, and his psalmody is also in vain. From what disaster may the Lord deliver us, to whom be glory forever!

1. The Lord said to the Samaritan woman: Believe me, that ... the time will come and has already come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth ... God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4, 21, 23-24) … So, what are true worshipers? Those who do not limit their service to God to any place, but serve and worship Him in spirit. When the Lord says that God is a spirit, then nothing else that this shows, but that He is incorporeal. So it behooves us, the Disembodied God, to render service with our own disembodied nature, that is, the soul. For the Disembodied God can please only the mind and pure thought. Since, according to the word of the Lord, the hour has already come and now is when God must be worshiped in spirit and truth, is it now possible to serve Him in reverence and truth otherwise than with mind and thought?

1. It is not natural for the soul to pray with the mouth, but with the mind, and the one who sings psalms and makes prayers, and his mind does not include himself in the prayer that he says, does a deed inconsistent, why he provokes the wrath of God, whom he prays. As the mind sees and the mind hears, so it is necessary that the mind also pray through the mouth. Whoever does not pray at all does not fulfill his duty and remains indebted to God, but someday he will come to his senses and can ask for remission of his debt from God, to whom he owes. The one who prays somehow, carelessly, incites to wrath the Debt-Determiner Himself - the God Whom he prays, for such a one prays to God with his mouth, and his mind is conversing with demons. From whom, after this, should he expect mercy?

1. God is incorporeal and invisible, which is why it is necessary to serve Him not only bodily and not only visibly. To serve God only bodily and apparently is an incongruous deed, as the prophet David also says: A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; the heart of the contrite and humble You will not despise, O God (Ps. 50, 19). Contrition of the heart happens in the mind and thought, but our mind and thoughts are invisible. So, being obliged to render unseen service to God the Invisible, we must serve Him with the mind and thought. This is the proper and appropriate service: to bring the invisible to the Invisible and the mental to the Mental. But then, and together with this, it is necessary to bring the visible - with the soul and the body, so that pleasing God from us will be the whole being.

1. So, it is necessary to pray to God and the mind with oral prayer. But since it is impossible for the mind to pray with the lips, if it does not first receive the enlightenment and influence of the Holy Spirit, then above all else, care must be taken to receive the enlightenment and grace of the Holy Spirit, so as not to pray with the lips only and through that not to be in danger, instead of receiving mercy from God, fall into His wrath. For there is no other sin that would anger God so much as the one when someone does His prayers with the mouth, but thinks inappropriate and shameful things with the mind.

1. Our mind and thought cannot properly worship God if they are not first cleansed by the power of faith in Christ the Savior, if the Lord Himself does not first heal them, heal them and lead them to freedom, so let [even] other people strive in good deeds. and they think that they do everything for the glory of God, but if their mind is not healed by Christ, not healed, not led to freedom mysteriously and mentally, everything that they do is in vain and useless - and fasting, and vigils, and prayers, and alms, and all ill-suffering, and even perfect non-possessiveness. They had not yet worshiped God in spirit, which worship is the only true one.

1. And so, those whose minds have not yet been healed, if they want to worship God in spirit, must first use ascetic struggle in order to acquire this great blessing, that is, Divine grace—a blessing for which Christ also lifted up crucifixion and death. And let them not deviate from labor, doing with zeal everything that can move the goodness of God to give such a gift. For this is the deliverance that God sent to His people through Jesus Christ the Lord. This is great mercy, this is purification, this is the destruction of the mediastinum of the great barrier. This is the resurrection of the soul, which happens before the general resurrection of the bodies. This is incorruption and eternal life, reconciliation and fellowship of God with people. This is the correction of the universe, which comes from God, which does not move. From this it happens that the other, the last of all and the slave of all, is the first. From this, there is another poor in spirit, that is, humble, - who is the Kingdom of Heaven, there is a pure heart - who will see God, there is a peacemaker - who will be called the son of God. What a marvelous and great good a Christian must take care to acquire by unhurried and tireless work!

1. Let us strive first of all to correct our mind, so that it stands (soberly in itself) when we pray, or when we read and study the Divine Scriptures. For if we do not correct the mind, everything else is in vain, and our soul will not accept any progress.

1. Attention should be connected and inseparable from prayer in the same way as the body is connected and inseparable from the soul. Attention should go ahead and guard the enemies, like a kind of guard, let it be the first to enter into the fight against sin and oppose the evil thoughts that enter the soul, and let prayer follow behind the attention, which immediately destroys and beats all those evil thoughts with which attention scolded, for it alone cannot beat them.

1. On this battle of attention and prayer (with thoughts) hangs the life and death of the soul. If we keep the prayer pure with attention, then we succeed, but if we do not pay attention to keep it pure, but leave it unguarded and it is defiled by evil thoughts, then we become indecent and unsuccessful.

1. There are three types of attention and prayer, by which the soul rises and prospers or falls and perishes. Whoever uses these three images in due time and properly, he succeeds, and whoever uses them unreasonably and at the wrong time, he is overthrown.

1. The distinctive properties of the first image are as follows: when someone, standing in prayer and raising his hands, and his eyes, and his mind to Heaven, keeps in his mind divine thoughts, imagines the blessings of heaven, the ranks of Angels and the abodes of saints and, briefly, everything heard in the Divine In the Scriptures, he collects in his mind, and talks about that ... during prayer, in vain to Heaven, and thereby moves his soul to the lust and love of God, and sometimes even draws tears and cries (this will be the first image of attention and prayer).

1. The second image is this: when someone brings his mind inside himself, distracting him from everything sensual, keeps his feelings, collects all his thoughts so that they do not wander through the vain things of this world, and then examines his thoughts, then delves into the words of the prayer being read, then he returns his thoughts back, if they, having been captivated by the devil, were carried away to something vain and evil, then with great difficulty and self-compulsion he strains to return to himself, if he was overcome and defeated by some passion. A distinctive feature of this case is that it takes place in the head: thoughts fight with thoughts.

1. The third image is truly wondrous and incomprehensible, and for those who do not know it experimentally, it is not only incomprehensible, but even seems incredible, and they do not believe that such a thing could actually happen. And indeed, in our times, this image of attention and prayer is found not among the many, but among very few ... This third, which happens along with obedience, the image of attention and prayer, all intrigues and cunning, no matter what the demons use to captivate his mind to many and varied thoughts, they are destroyed and scattered, because then the mind of such a person, being free from everything, has the good time to investigate the thoughts caused by demons without any interference and drive them away with great convenience and with a pure heart brings his prayers to God. This is the beginning of true life (spiritual)! And those who do not believe in such a beginning work in vain, not knowing it themselves.

1. Those who undertake to ascend these steps do not start from the upper ones in order to descend to the lower ones, but go from the lower ones to the upper ones: they step on the first, then on the second, then on the third and, finally, on the fourth. And this is how anyone who wishes can rise from the earth and ascend to Heaven: firstly, one must strive with the mind and tame the passions; naturally gives pleasure and sweetness even to the tongue and is imputed to be pleasing before God, thirdly, to pray wisely and, fourthly, to ascend into contemplation. The first is for beginners, the second for those who are successful, the third for those who approach the last stages of progress, and the fourth for those who are perfect.

1. Beloved, if you want to be saved, start your work in this way: after (establishing in your heart) perfect obedience, which, as we said, you should have to your spiritual father, and do all your other deeds with a clear conscience, as if you were in front of God, for without obedience it is impossible to have a clean conscience. You must keep your conscience pure in a threefold relationship: in relation to God, in relation to your spiritual father and in relation to other people, as well as to things and objects of the world (worldly). By acting in this way, you level the true and unforgotten path for yourself to the third way of attention and prayer, which is the following: let the mind guard the heart at the time when it prays, and let it turn inside it without leaving, and from there, from the depths of the heart, send up prayers to God… When at last the mind there, inside the heart, tastes and feels with feeling that the Lord is good, and delights in that, then it will no longer want to move away from the place of the heart… all the thoughts instilled by the devil. For those who have no knowledge of this matter and do not know it, for the most part it seems difficult and oppressive, but those who have tasted the sweetness that it has and delighted in it in the depths of their hearts, these cry out with the divine Paul and They say: Who will separate us from the love of God? and so on (Rom. 8:35).

1. So, the beginning is nothing else than the diminishing and taming of the passions, and they are diminished in the soul in no other way than by guarding the heart and paying attention ... When the passions, through the resistance of the heart to them, are completely subdued, then the mind comes to the desire of God and seeks to make friends with Him, for which he multiplies prayer and in it he spends most of his time. From this desire for God and prayer, the mind becomes strong and drives away all thoughts that revolve around in order to enter the heart, striking them with prayer.

1. So, whoever goes through all this according to order, each in its own time, can, after his heart has been cleansed of passions, completely and completely go into psalmody, and oppose thoughts, and look at Heaven with sensual eyes or contemplate it with the eyes of the soul of the intellect, and pray purely in truth, as it befits.

Preliminary preparation for confession can be quite short - for those who often confess, and quite long - for those people who do this for the first time or have not been to confession for a long time. You can prepare for confession both at home and in the church, immediately before it begins. Sometimes it can be helpful to start preparing for confession a few days in advance. Christian prayers read before confession need to prepare yourself for repentance. Only with full repentance is possible. It is necessary to remember all our sins, all violations of God's commandments, as well as all omissions, that is, those moments when we could do good, but did not do it.

Special prayer of St. Simeon the Theologian, read before confession

It should be understood that the essence of confession is not a conversation with the priest about his shortcomings, but a living movement of the soul and repentance of the heart. Therefore, if you feel that carefully writing down sins on a piece of paper is for you, they turn a sacred act into hypocrisy - it’s better not to follow the rules - it’s better for a priest to correct you at confession than to turn such a sacrament into a dry formality. For a formal confession for a "tick" is useless, fruitless, and in most cases offensive to God. In the holy scriptures there is the best prayer of Simeon the New Theologian, read before confession - it helps to purify one's soul with sincere repentance.

Orthodox prayers to the Lord read before confession

Unlike Holy Communion, preparing for confession does not require observing a special prayer rule or fasting - the main thing is sincere repentance. The best prayers read before confession can be Our Father, the Penitential Canon to the Lord, the Trisagion, Lord have mercy. You can just read the gospel. Confession is made before the liturgy, but it is also possible at evening services. It happens that with a large number of people, additional time is set for confession. In any case, you should find out in advance in your temple about the time of its holding.

The real text of the Orthodox prayer of Simeon the Theologian before confession

God and Lord of all! Whoever has the power of every breath and soul, One can heal me, hear the prayer of me, the accursed one, and the snake nesting in me by the influx of the All-Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, killing me: and I am poor and naked of all virtues, at the feet of my holy father (spiritual) with tears vouchsafe me, and his holy soul to mercy, hedgehog have mercy on me, attract. And give, Lord, in my heart humility and good thoughts, befitting a sinner who agreed to repent of You, and may not completely leave the soul alone, united with You and confessing You, and instead of the whole world choosing and preferring You: weigh more, Lord, as I want to be saved, even if my crafty custom is an obstacle: but it is possible for You, Master, the essence of everything, the fir tree is impossible, the essence is from a person. Amen. Amen. Amen.

“Holy righteous John of Kronstadt pointed out: “Into go through your sins in their multitude and in all their vileness is indeed a gift of God. Therefore, the work of repentance must begin with an intense fervent prayer that the Lord, by His grace, reveal to us our sins and the passions and addictions hidden in us. An excerpt from N.E. Pestov’s book “Modern Practice of Orthodox Piety”, Part 4, Chapter 21.

Confession of sins in the Sacrament of Penance requires serious preliminary preparation on the part of the penitent. It can be quite short (this is quite appropriate for those who are used to going to confession often), but it can also last for a very long time. You can prepare for Confession in the temple immediately before it begins or at home before leaving for the temple; sometimes it is useful to start preparing for it the day before or even a few days in advance.

In preparing for the Mystery of Repentance, it is obvious that the penitent first of all needs to pray to God: for without His miraculous help, deep repentance is impossible. At the same time, we all need to regret our sins and ask the Lord to grant the grace that helps to sincerely repent and gain the determination to leave the former sinful way of life. We can express this prayer in our own words, and use the prayers of the saints. Some of the prayers before Confession are presented below. It is important to note that in the current practice of the ROC, preparation for Confession does not imply the obligatory reading of prayers Therefore, the proposed prayers are advisory, but not mandatory.

Prayer of St. Simeon the New Theologian before Confession

God and Lord of all, who has power over every breath and soul, alone heal me! Hear the prayer of me, the accursed one, and the snake nesting in me, by the influx of the All-Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, consume it. And me, poor and naked of all virtues, at the feet of my holy father (spiritual) with tears, make me fall, and his holy soul to mercy, even have mercy on me, attract. And give, Lord, in my heart humility and thoughts of good, befitting a sinner who agreed to repent of You; and may not in the end leave the one soul that was united with Thee and confessed Thee, and instead of the world chose and preferred Thee. Weigh, Lord, as if I want to be saved, even if my crafty custom is an obstacle: but it is possible for You, Master, the essence of the whole, if it is impossible the essence of a man. Amen.

Prayer of Repentance Isaac the Syrian

What is important to remember in penitential prayers? Obviously, our sins, our present passions and negligence, and at the same time remember the saving sacrifice of Christ and His incomprehensible greatest sufferings for us. This is how the following prayer of St. Isaac the Syrian.

“Lord Jesus Christ, our God, who wept over Lazarus and shed tears of sorrow and compassion over him, accept the tears of my sorrow. Heal my passions through your suffering; Heal my wounds with Thy wounds. Purify my blood with Your blood, and dilute the fragrance of Your life-giving body with my body. The same bile that your enemies gave you to drink, may it sweeten my soul from the sorrow that the enemy gave me to drink; the sufferings of Thy Body, stretched out on the tree of the cross, may my mind be lifted up to Thee, carried away by the demons of the valley. Your head, bowed on the cross, may it lift up my head, hung by adversaries. Thy all-holy hands, nailed to the cross by the unfaithful, may they lead me up to Thee from the abyss of perdition, as Thy all-holy lips promised. May Thy face, which has taken upon itself the mutilations and spitting from the damned, may it illuminate my face, defiled by iniquities. Thy soul, which, being on the cross, You gave up to Thy Father, may it guide me to Thee by Thy grace. I have no sick heart to seek Thee; I have neither repentance nor contrition, by which children are introduced into their own inheritance. I have no comforting tears, Vladyka. My mind has been darkened by the affairs of life and does not have the strength to raise my gaze to You with pain. My heart has grown cold from many temptations and cannot be warmed by tears of love for You. But You, Lord Jesus Christ, God, the Treasury of good, grant me whole repentance and an untiring heart, so that with all my soul I can go out to seek You. For without Thee I shall be a stranger to all goodness. Therefore, grant me, O Good One, Thy grace. May the Father who leads You from His bowels without flight and eternally renew in me the features of Your image. I left you, but you don't leave me. I have departed from You - come to seek me and lead me into Your pasture, count me among the sheep of Your chosen flock, saturate me with the grain of Your Divine sacraments, together with those whose pure hearts are Your abode, and in it is visible the brilliance of Your revelations - this is a consolation and this joy for those who have labored for You in sorrows and various torments. May we be honored with this brilliance, according to Your grace and according to Your philanthropy, our Savior Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen".

Not everyone can carry the word of God to the people, be a preacher and teacher. One example of such a person is St. Simeon the New Theologian. The music of the divine texts written by him penetrates into our souls during the implementation of the most important sacraments of the Church. Prayer before the confession of St. Simeon the New Theologian helps to take the right attitude and say the right words in repentance.

Life of Saint Simeon

Saint Simeon came from an ancient family, in his youth he had a rank at the court of the emperor. Upon reaching the age of 25, he rushed to monasticism, becoming a novice of the monastery. He longed for solitude and the Holy Spirit, descending, hid the surrounding reality from his gaze.

After achieving spiritual enlightenment, Simeon served as abbot for 25 years. He transformed the monastic economy and ennobled the temple. The kindness of the rector was combined with exactingness in the fulfillment of the commandments of the Gospel. Not everyone was satisfied with the strict discipline; an attempt was made on Simeon. Instead of punishment, he granted forgiveness to the attackers with prayers and helped them in worldly existence.

Spiritual legacy of Simeon the New Theologian

At the age of 56, Simeon the New Theologian left the post of abbot and settled at the monastery. At this stage, he created his main theological works, in which he taught spiritual perfection, resistance to temptations. His pen inscribed "Hymns of Divine Love", filled with serious prayerful discourses.

The works of Simeon were perceived controversially, which contributed to the conflict with the patriarchs of the Church, and the exile to the Bosphorus, where the elder created the monastery of St. Marina and spent his last years there.

Prayers of Simeon the New Theologian

The monk paid much attention to the preparation for the sacraments. One of the significant prayers is the Prayer of Simeon the Theologian before confession. The text of the prayer sets the confessor to revelations before the Almighty. Words inspire faith in the mercy of God, in the purity of thoughts and souls. A person who reads the prayer of Simeon the Theologian seems to see the Divine light and purification ahead.

Prayer 6, St. Simeon the New Theologian

(Following Holy Communion)

From bad lips, from a vile heart, from an unclean tongue, from the soul defiled, accept prayer, my Christ, and do not despise my words, below images, below studiolessness. Give me boldness to speak, even if I want, my Christ, moreover, teach me what it is fitting for me to do and speak. I have sinned more than a harlot, even if I have taken away where you live, having bought peace, come boldly to anoint Your feet, my God, Lord and my Christ. As if he didn’t reject what came from the heart, disdain me below, Word: Give me your nose, and hold and kiss, and tearful streams, like a valuable world, this boldly anoint. Wash me with my tears, cleanse me with them, O Word. Leave my sins, and grant me forgiveness. Weigh many evils, weigh and scabs, and see my ulcers, but weigh faith, and see volition, and hear sighing. You are not hidden, my God, my Creator, my Redeemer, below a drop of tears, below a drop of a certain part. What I have not done is seen by Your eyes, but in Your book, and still not done, the essence is written to You. See my humility, see my work as a tree, and leave all sins, God of all: yes, with a pure heart, a trembling thought, and a contrite soul, I will partake of Your undefiled and most holy Mysteries, everyone who eats and drinks with a pure heart is enlivened and adored; Thou hast said, my Lord: everyone who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood, this one abides in Me, and I am in him. The word of every Lord and my God is true: partake of divine and idolizing graces; Yes, because I will not be alone except for You, the Giver of Life, my breath, my stomach, my joy, the salvation of the world. For this sake, I come to You, as if you are seeing, with tears, and with a contrite soul, I ask you to accept the deliverance of my sins, and to partake of Your life-giving and immaculate Sacraments without condemnation, but abide, as if you said, with me, trembling: yes, not only find me Your grace, the deceiver will delight me with flattering, and deceitful will lead away those who worship Your words. For this sake, I fall down to You, and I cry warmly to Ty: as if you accepted the prodigal, and the harlot who came, so accept me prodigal and filthy, Generous. With a contrite soul, now coming to You, we, Savior, like another, like I, do not sin against You, below the deed of the deed, even as the deeds. But we pack this, as it is not the majesty of sins, nor the multitude of sins that exceeds my God, much long-suffering, and extreme philanthropy; but by the mercy of compassion warmly repentant, and clean, and brighten, and create light, partakers, fellows of Your Divinity, making it unenviously, and strange both with an angel and with human thought, talk to them many times, as if your true friend. This audacity they do me, this one they hold me up, my Christ. And daring with Your rich beneficence to us, rejoicing together and trembling, fire and partake of this grass, and a strange miracle, we irrigate it without disgrace, as if the bush were burning in ancient times. Now, with a grateful thought, with a grateful heart, with grateful hands of mine, of my soul and body, I bow and magnify, and glorify Thee, my God, as a blessed being, now and forever.

Prayer before confession

God and Lord of all! Every breath, and the power of the soul, the only one who can heal me, hear the prayer of me, the accursed one, and the snake that nests in me by the influx of the All-Holy and Life-giving Spirit, having killed it. And me, poor and naked of all virtues existing, at the feet of my holy father (spiritual) with tears, vouchsafe, and his holy soul to mercy, to have mercy on me, attract. And give, Lord, in my heart humility and good thoughts, befitting a sinner who agreed to repent of You, and may not in the end leave a single soul that was united with You and confessed You, and instead of the world chose and preferred You: we know, Lord, as I want to be saved, even if my crafty custom is an obstacle: but it is possible for You, Master, the essence of everything, the spruce is impossible, the essence is from a person. Amen.

Prayer of St. Simeon the New Theologian for finding a spiritual mentor

Lord, do not want the death of a sinner, but even turn and live to be him, descended to this on earth, but raise up those lying and mortified by sin and see you, the true light, as it is possible for a person to see, vouchsafe them, send me a man who leads you, yes , like you, having worked for him and obeying him with all my strength, and do your will in that will, I will please you, the only God, and I will be honored and I, a sinner, of your kingdom.

Prayer of repentance, who repents with a contrite and humble spirit to God

You see everything, Lord, and there is nothing that You do not see. Although I am the work of Your hands, I did not do things according to Your commandments, but because of my great foolishness I did every evil thing, not thinking that You, my Creator and God, are just as good as good. Now, having brought this to mind, I trembled and do not know what to do. I feel Your condemnation, and I do not find a word of justification in my mouth. I do not have any virtue and have not done any deed of repentance worthy of being forgiven for me at least one idle word of my mouth. Moreover, whoever has virtues and does all sorts of good deeds, does it like a slave and debtor, but for his sin he will not find any replacement in all this: here Your only mercy precedes. Sin is death, and who among those who die through it can rise of its own accord? Truly no one. You alone died and rose again, because you did not commit sin and did not find flattery in your mouth. So, Lord Almighty, having done many evil deeds, I repent, but repentance alone cannot justify me.

God and Lord of all, having power of every breath and soul, He alone can heal me, hear the prayer of me, the accursed one, and the snake nesting in me with the influx of the All-Holy and Life-giving Spirit, having killed, consume; and I am poor and naked of all virtues, at the feet of my father (spiritual) with tears, vouchsafe, and his holy soul to Mercy, to have mercy on me, attract. And give, Lord, in my heart humility and good thoughts, befitting a sinner who agreed to repent of You, and may not completely leave a single soul, combining

I thank You and confessed You, and chose and preferred You instead of the whole world: weigh more, Lord, as if I want to be saved, even if my crafty custom is an obstacle: but it’s possible for You, Master, the essence of everything, the fir-tree is impossible, the essence is from a person. Amen. When St. Isaac the Syrian was asked about repentance, he answered: “If we are all sinners and not one of us has risen above temptations, then there is not a single virtue - the highest repentance. Doing it can never reach perfection ... and therefore repentance cannot be limited either by time or by deeds - until death ”(Word 71).

... From constant and thorough cleansing by repentance ... become clear for a person- the inexpressible Majesty of God, the insignificance of man and the severity of his fall ... If we say, as if the imams are not sin, we deceive ourselves - and there is no truth in us(1 John 1:8-10).

“... The Kingdom of Heaven and the King of Heaven are unspeakably close to us - incomparably closer than we think. Behold, I stand at the door of the human heart, - proclaims (our) King, - and I knock on them with My all-holy and all-powerful Word: If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and I will dine with him and the other with Me (Rev. 3, 20). The doors of the heart are being opened for the Heavenly King - repentance. Repent, draw near for the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen". (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov).

ON THE NEED AND POWER OF REPENTANCE

The Savior, healing the paralytic, said: Child, your sins are forgiven. The remission of sins is the source of health and salvation, the reward of repentance; and repentance is the medicine that destroys sin. It is a heavenly gift, a miraculous power, victorious by the grace of God, the power and severity of the laws of justice. It does not reject the fornicator, it does not drive away the fornicator, it does not turn away the drunkard, it does not abhor idolaters, it does not despise slander.

you, does not pursue either the slanderer or the proud: it re-creates everyone, for it is - a furnace for the purification of sins.

Wound and medicine - sin and repentance. There is rottenness in the wound, cleansing from rottenness in the medicine; stench in sin, dishonor in sin, ridicule in sin; in repentance there is hope, in repentance there is freedom, in repentance the cleansing of sin.

Don't tell me: "I have sinned a lot, and how can I be saved?" You cannot, but your Lord is able, and so is able, that he will blot out all your sins. Listen with attention to my word: your Lord so destroys sins that he leaves no spot from them, no trace, but with the return of health he will grant you good looks, with release from punishment - he communicates righteousness and makes the sinner equal to the one who has not sinned. For He destroys sin and produces it in such a way that there is no sin and never was, so He completely destroys it. There is no stain, no trace, no sight, no sign of sins (if you sincerely repent)...

We lived according to the flesh, but let us finally live according to the Spirit; lived in pleasures, let us decide to live - and in virtues; we lived in negligence, let us live now - and in repentance. What are you proud of, earth and ashes? What are you puffing up, oh man? Why do you lift your head high? What do you hope for the glory of the world, for your wealth? Let's go with you to the graves, I beg you, and see what the sacraments are. Let's see, our nature has crumbled, the bones are exposed, the bodies have rotted. If you are a wise man, understand; if a reasonable person, tell me, for God's sake, who is the king and who is the commoner, who is the noble and who is the slave, who is the wise man and who is the ignoramus. Where is the beauty of youth, where is the pleasant look, where are the pretty eyes, where is the graceful nose, where are the fiery lips, where are the beautiful cheeks, where is the bright forehead? Isn't it all ashes? Isn't it all dust? Isn't there only smoke left? Isn't it all worm and stench? Isn't everything a stench?

Let us think about this, brothers, let us imagine the last day, and while there is time, let us turn from the path on which hitherto we have wandered...

35 golden blue light

Prevent the outcome of your soul - by repentance and conversion, so that all the medicine of repentance will not remain useless for you when death comes. For repentance has power only on earth - in hell it is powerless (From the works of St. John Chrysostom).

SOUL BELONGING TO GOD

Your soul belongs to God, and we must always watch to whom we dedicate our souls. If we have caused some trouble, some sin, we do not try to correct ourselves by repentance, but everything is past, so we quietly sneak past our crimes or walk calmly: “What have I done?” But we save only one thought black cart. To whom do they belong, these thoughts? Actions come from thoughts. Christian real life - we have no idea about it. “Oh, what a good man, a true Christian!” But in fact, what should it be and what is it? You have to have glasses like that to see what you think you are doing. The Lord is Risen and Resurrected our souls. We must always keep this sacrament of the Resurrection of Christ.

GENERAL CONFESSION

Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna said: “It is immoral to console the dying with a false hope of recovery, it is better to help them pass into eternity in a Christian way.” Elisaveta Feodorovna wanted to educate the Sisters of Mercy, who would be able to provide spiritual assistance to those leaving for another world. Lead them to repentance and desire to partake of the holy Mysteries of Christ.

An acquaintance of Mother Nadezhda told her that she often lies in the hospital and constantly meets people on the verge of death. “How incredibly I want to help them repent. And to write down a separate confession for each is unbearable. And I wanted to write a general confession to use as a

cheat sheets in case of urgent need: if a person is no longer capable of a deeper confession. Mother, bless me to try to write a few leaves ... "" Try."

Forgive, Merciful Lord, my countless crimes. Sins against all your holy commandments.

Forgive lack of faith, superstition, acceptance of thoughts from the enemy planted against faith and the Holy Church. Forgive the rejection of God, non-attendance in the Church, disregard for the holidays. Forgive blasphemy (or silent presence in blasphemous conversations). I hope for myself and for people more than for God. I don’t pray (I pray a little), I don’t have a prayer book and the Holy Gospel. I do not observe fasting and fasting days (even in married life). I don't carry a cross. I stand reverently in church. I don't confess and I don't take communion. I call on the name of God without need - in vain. I casually make the sign of the cross on myself. Forgive being in the pioneers, the Komsomol, the party, faith in the ideas of Marxism-Leninism and work for their benefit. I'm sorry I succumbed to the terrible ideas of apostasy. Forgive me, Dear Lord.

The place of God (the first place) is occupied in my life by relatives, work, everyday vanity, pleasing the womb and flesh. Forgive, Merciful Lord, negligence for the salvation of your soul. Attachment to things, people, creatures.

Forgive envy, vanity, arrogance, pride, self-justification, self-praise and other things of pride. I don't consider myself worse than others. Forgive me, Dear Lord.

Forgive, Lord, my terrible crimes: I made ... abortions. Forgive, Lord, advice to this. Grant me to cry about my cruel sins - to death.

Forgive, Lord, fights, strikes, harm, especially injury, to another person. Forgive and have mercy, Lord.

Forgive ingratitude to God for all His inexpressible Mercies and also for sorrows and illnesses (since in prosperity we often completely forget God). Forgive impatience, murmuring, discontent, despondency, despair, thoughts of interrupting one's life, suicide attempts (a mortal sin). Forgive me, Dear Lord.

Forgive all quarrels, scandals, hatred, evil for evil retribution, anger, rage, screaming, insult, unforgiveness of insults. (Let's not forget that you can kill a person - with a word). Forgive condemnation, slander, irritation, rudeness, gossip, gossip, contempt, humiliation of others. Offended (a) animals. Forgive disrespect for parents, bosses, elders. Failure to educate children and grandchildren in the faith. Die our lives, Lord.

Forgive lies, perjury, deceit, laziness, dishonest performance of duty, flattery, hypocrisy, philanthropy.

Forgive all the words with which I offended you in life (a). Obscene words, swearing, swearing, mention of evil spirits, prodigal words, jokes, witticisms, anecdotes, indecent songs, laughter, dancing, wild feasts. Intemperance of words, feelings. Sinful and idle conversations. Forgive me all, O Merciful Lord.

Forgive all possible thefts. As a child, in someone else's garden, vegetable garden, parents have something tasty. Forgive any secret eating. Picked up something from work. He made (a) repairs, - got (a) building materials, paints, etc. "from the left", that is, he participated (a) in theft. Didn't pay debts. Applied (a) the wrong weight (measured (a), shortchanged (a)). Forgive any unrighteous acquisition, Merciful Lord.

Forgive any deceit, dishonesty, greed, self-interest. I do not share, as a Christian should, with those in need.

Forgive impure thoughts of all kinds.

Forgive any unchaste behavior: coquetry, flirting, impure view, touch, hugs, kisses, one-

repeated (repeated) fornication, adultery (betrayal of a spouse), voluptuousness, recollection of past sins, reading depraved books, looking at seductive pictures, obscene TV shows. Participation (and silent) in depraved conversations. Love for entertainment. Any seductive behavior. Unmarried marriages. Forgive and have mercy, Lord, grant purity of soul and body.

Forgive polyphagy, voluptuousness, excessive concern for food, drinking wine to the point of intoxication. Any unworthy Christian behavior while intoxicated. I don't pray before meals. Any kind of carnage. Forgive me, Dear Lord.

Forgive me, Lord, asking for help from grandmothers, sorcerers, fortune-tellers, astrologers, psychics and other false healers. I watched (a) programs with speeches by Kashpirovsky, Juna, Chumak ... Forgive me playing cards, divination, practicing spiritualism, yoga, extrasensory perception, occultism, going to sects, reading heretical books and other hobbies of demonic spirituality. Lord, forgive me, spare me from righteous retribution, free me from the increased influence of dark forces on me as a result of my mortal sins.

Forgive me, Lord, I didn’t give water (a), didn’t feed (a), didn’t clothe (a) the needy, didn’t visit (a) the sick and prisoners in prison. Forgive any mercilessness, hardness of heart, callousness, inattention, indifference. Any manifestation of soullessness and evil. He did not take advantage of even a small part of the opportunities for doing good.

Forgive the love of money, love of things, extravagance, stinginess, I have more clothes and things than I need. Forgive the servility to the spirit of the times, addiction to perishing material goods. The love of money is called the root of all evil. Passion for the material - opposes the spiritual aspirations of man. We brought nothing into this world - we will not take anything with us. Our only property is good deeds, if they are not done for glory and self-interest - for the sake of God, with God's help. Everything else will become our condemnation

will excommunicate from Good, Light, - God forever (nothing disappears: sin is small, but it is strong to take us - to the bottom of hell, if we do not erase it with deep church repentance). The gospel warns: Nothing unclean will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

I sinned (a) in deed, word, thought and all my senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch. Forgive not mentioned by oblivion.

Forgive the abyss of my sins, help me live like a Christian.

"God, be merciful to me, a sinner (mu)." *

No one goes to the doctor to boast of his health, but to show off his ulcers. No one goes to a confessor to boast of his righteousness, but to show a dangerous crack in his righteousness.(St. Nicholas Velemirovich).

FROM LIFE TO DEATH - ONE INSTANT

Mother, can repentance cover all sins, even terrible ones?

Yes, absolutely everything. To one old man came gravely sinning. And having confessed his sin, he asked to assign him some serious penance for several years. "That's too much," said the confessor. “Well, then, at least for a year,” the sufferer of pangs of conscience asked. "And that's a lot," came the reply. “But a month...” “That suffering that you are now experiencing with all your heart is enough for you.”

From the great to the ridiculous - one step. From high to low - one step. From happiness to disaster - one hour. From life to death - one moment. From man to cattle - one sin.

* Mother often advised to use Theodora's Ordeal, a wonderful text of the 10th century, as an aid to confession.

From earth to sky - one breath. From sin to salvation - one tear. From evil to good - one desire. From time to eternity - one life.

THE MERCY OF GOD - WITHOUT END AND LIMIT

One visitor complained about her difficult circumstances: she was overcome by despondency, a sense of hopelessness. Mother with great love told her: “If a spark falls into the sea, will it really survive? So are our sins in comparison with the Mercy of God. And even all of them are even more insignificant and smaller. The greatest sea has limits, but the Mercy of God, His Love for man, has no end or limit.

Do not be upset that you are in such a difficult state of mind. In this way the Lord wants to lead you to a more serious confession. One ascetic talked with the brothers about soul-saving things. A peasant approached them with a bow. "What do you need?" - asked the old man. "I want to confess" - "Then name your sins - in front of all of us." And this man, falling on his knees, with tears began to utter sins, among them - and very serious ones, which are shameful and speak. After this confession, the elder tonsured him into an angelic image. The monks were amazed: “For such sins - and no penance?!” The ascetic replied: “I saw an angel whose face shone like lightning, and the garments were white as snow; the penitent named the sin - and the Angel immediately erased the record of it in the parchment that he held in his hands. If God had such mercy on him, would I impose penance on him? So, my dear, the Lord gives the hard, so that later - deeper comfort. You just need to run to confession.”

After these words, mother was left alone with the woman, who spoke to her about something and wept bitterly. The next time she arrived, to our common joy, after confession and communion, completely unrecognizable.

This is true, know that not one human sin will not defeat God's love for mankind, only yours who will repent of the evil that he sinned before(Ancient Patericon).

(You are oppressed by despondency) it’s sad for you - look in your soul if there is any sin in it, sincerely repent of everything that you find evil behind you, abhor every sin, passion, every passion - then your soul will be at peace and rejoice(Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt).

ABOUT LOVE FOR ENEMIES

And if a person is offended in vain? ..

Well, in vain - this is a rarity. As our father taught: our highest confession before the most difficult trials: I receive worthy for my sins! But in vain - the saints endured - following the Lord ... So - in vain to receive something unsweetened - this is a great honor, crowns of Heaven. We can only congratulate you on this.

In general, knowing our weakness, the Lord pities all those who are hurt. Rather let us repent and be healed. And also - to ask for love for the offenders. I'll tell you a secret - the Lord gives grievances and all this bitterness in order to inspire us to make an effort to love those who do not love us. He can give us this unbearable for our nature. He wants to give us this great power - love for enemies - and this is the sweetest thing in the world.

Many years later I read, in confirmation of the then inaccessible words of my mother:

... All the evil that people do under Heaven is a confession of weakness and impotence(St. Nicholas of Serbia).

Whoever offends you either by word or deed, do not be angry with him, but forgive him from your heart and, leaving, pray for him, saying: Lord, leave him (or her)(St. Tikhon of Zadonsk).