December: Day 1: Teaching 1: Holy Righteous Philaret the Merciful

December: Day 1: Teaching 1:
Holy Righteous Philaret the Merciful
 
(On the Distribution of Alms)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Righteous Philaret, whose memory is celebrated today, called "the Merciful" for his special mercy to the poor, lived in the Asia Minor region of Paphlagonia, in the village of Amnia, during the reign of Emperor Constantine and his mother Irene, in the 8th century. He was married and had children. Saint Philaret came from noble and pious parents and was very rich, but did not enjoy wealth. Constantly thinking about the future life, he loved the poor and needy and gave them generous alms. And in general, no matter what anyone asked of him, no one was refused. It pleased the Lord to test Saint Philaret in patience, as he once did Righteous Job. A wild people, the Arabs, attacked Paphlagonia, robbed the inhabitants, and Saint Philaret was left with only two oxen, one cow and the house where he lived. The Saint did not grieve over his loss, but, like Job, surrendered himself to the will of God and did not cease to help the poor with his last goods. Thus, he gave first one, and then another of his oxen to the villagers whose oxen had fallen in the field; he also gave away a cow, even with a calf, so as not to separate the calf from its mother; he gave away his last clothes and bread. His wife and children grumbled at the Saint, but he consoled them, saying prophetically: "I have so many treasures in one place that if you live another hundred years, everything will be enough for you." And indeed, the Lord returned Philaret's wealth.

Empress Irene, wishing to marry her son Constantine, ordered that noble and beautiful maidens be gathered from all over the empire in order to choose a bride for Constantine. Among the brides, one of Philaret's granddaughters, Maria, was presented to the palace. The emperor liked her more than anyone else, and she became empress. Saint Philaret rose and became rich again, and then his hope in the Lord came true. His wife and children confessed to the insults they had done to him and asked for forgiveness. Saint Philaret, even having risen, did not cease to be humble and kind. Once he ordered his household to prepare a dinner for the emperor and nobles, but he brought the poor and crippled to the dinner and treated them himself, sitting with them. Before his death, he bequeathed to his children to live as he had lived - to be pious and kind to the poor and needy. Many tears were shed at the grave of Saint Philaret: all the poor and wretched cried and sobbed. Many miracles occurred at his coffin. Soon after his death, one of Saint Philaret's relatives saw him in a dream sitting on a golden throne and surrounded by saints.

II. The life of the Holy Righteous Philaret the Merciful gives us a lesson in Christian mercy, and teaches us how we should give alms. Our Christian mercy to the poor is expressed for the most part in the distribution of alms.

In order for almsgiving to be Christian, one must observe the following rules: give where needed; give as much as needed; give as needed; give when needed, i.e. keep in mind the person to whom you are giving, and the measure, and the manner of giving, and the time.

a) Give where it is needed. The Jews sacrificed their treasures twice in the desert: the first time they collected women's jewelry in order to cast the golden calf from them; the second time they carried away their gold, silver, and copper things, precious stones, and fabrics for the construction and decoration of the tabernacle (a mobile temple). In the first case they gave their treasures to the devil, and therefore not where it was needed; in the second, they dedicated them to God, that is, they gave them where it was needed. So, when you give, bestow, spend, squander your property on your whims, which for you are the same as idols - for example, on games, on clothes, on drunkenness and indecent revels: then know that you give it where it is not needed, for you bring it as a gift to the devil. And when you donate to the church, to help some poor family, to provide a dowry for a poor girl, to feed an orphan, then know that you are giving exactly where it is needed: you are bringing all this as a gift to the Lord God.

b) Give as much as is necessary, that is, according to the person and his needs. For a beggar who wanders through the world, two coins are enough to buy his daily bread; but these two coins are not enough for a respectable man who, through some unfortunate circumstances, has fallen into poverty and not enough for a poor girl's dowry. When the earth is dry, you cannot water it with a few drops of water: it needs abundant rain. As the need, such should be the help. Likewise: as the condition of the giver, such should be the alms. The rich give more, the poor can give less. And from the Lord both will receive an equal reward. Why? Because, of course, the Lord looks not at the alms, but at the good will. A poor widow put two copper mites into the temple treasury, where the rich put gold and silver, but Jesus Christ praised her offering more than others: "All," He said, "put in from their abundance, but this woman from her privation put in all that she had, her whole substance." A door can be unlocked with a gold, an iron, or even a wooden key, as long as it fits the lock; so also is the door of paradise - a rich man can unlock it with a gold coin, and a poor man with a copper coin.

c) Give as is due, and first of all, give with a welcoming look from a kind heart, and not with regret and as if involuntarily: “Not out of grief, nor out of need, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). Is he who gives and scolds, gives alms and shames worth a reward? Beloved brethren, if you only knew who is really asking you for a piece of bread, for a pittance of help! After all, it is God Himself in the form of a beggar! This is what Saint Chrysostom says about this: “God Himself is hidden under the cover of poverty: the beggar stretches out his hand, and God accepts. He who gives alms to the poor, borrows from God Himself: “He who has mercy on the poor lends to God” (Prov. 19:17). So, think with what joy you should give alms!

Secondly, give generously, for just as a sower does not throw seeds one grain at a time, but a whole handful, so in the matter of alms follow the word of King David: “He scattered them abroad, and gave to the poor,” therefore “His righteousness endures forever and ever” (Ps. 111:9). As you sow, so you will reap: sow generously, and you will reap much; sow sparingly, and you will reap little. “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; and he who sows with a blessing will also reap a blessing” (2 Cor. 9:6). How to give alms? Christ Himself teaches: “But when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matt. 6:3). This means: let your alms be secret, so that not only people do not know about it, but so that you yourself do not consider your good: when one hand gives, the other does not need to know about it. Let them both give - that is, generously and abundantly.

d) Finally, give when needed. This is most necessary for both the poor and yourself. Alms are precious in times of poverty. Help when you can still help, give while it is not too late, while the poor have not fallen into despair, have not given in to theft and other vices, while he has not died of hunger and cold. Help a helpless orphan girl to get married before she loses herself, so that you too will not have to answer to God for her. Finally, give while you yourself are alive in this world, not awaiting the hour of death. At death you will be involuntarily merciful, because you can take nothing with you to the grave; while you are alive, do good, so that it comes from a good heart, from good will, and then you will have a perfect reward from the Lord. Alms are good even at the end of this life, but they are much better during life. Oh, how great is the reward of the Lord for it! What comfort will it bring to your conscience! Oh, what joy to the heart to be consoled while still alive by the well-being of that orphan whom you brought into society, to see the happiness of that poor girl whom you got married to, to see the joy of that poor man who with your help got out of trouble!

III. Through the prayers of Saint Philaret the Merciful, may the Lord help us to be merciful to the poor and wise in the distribution of alms. Amen.

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.