Homily Two on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily Two on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian

"Bestow on Your Servant Instead a Spirit of Chastity, Humility, Patience and Love"

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1962)

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

In our previous conversation, dear brothers and sisters, we paused to reflect on the prayer of the Venerable Ephraim the Syrian and noted that this profoundly meaningful prayer is filled with a spirit of repentance and humility, and that each of its words resonates within our souls and helps us to recognize our passions, vices, and to desire virtue, without which no one can draw near to God. Last time, we discussed the first four petitions in which the Venerable Ephraim the Syrian asks the Lord not to grant him the spirit of idleness, despondency, lust for power and idle talking. And now we will continue our conversation.

In the fifth petition, the Venerable One asks the Lord to give him the spirit of chastity. By chastity in its general sense we must understand the general blessed unspoiled state of a person: his honesty, truthfulness, purity of heart and mind, the good direction of his will, etc. The whole life of a chaste person is completely chaste, he is alien to wickedness, duplicity and hesitation, coarse pleasures and secret desires. The basis of such a life is in a strong and uninterrupted life in God.

In a narrower and more commonly used sense, this word signifies the pure, virginal state of a person's soul, when he keeps himself not only from carnal sin, but also from every sensual thought and desire. Nothing makes us so pleasing and dear to God as chastity, and nothing adorns a person at any age as the pure, chaste state of his soul. As a fresh, pure flower smells of its tenderness and is pleasant to everyone, so a chaste person is whole, fresh and pure.

Meanwhile, the word of God reveals to us that corruption through lust reigns in the world (see: 2 Pet. 1:4), that people’s very concerns about the flesh are transformed into lusts (see: Rom. 13:14), and therefore it admonishes us to avoid fleshly lusts (see: 1 Pet. 2:11) and to put to death evil lust in ourselves (see: Col. 3:5).

The word of God also reveals to us that a fornicator is not only a person who actually fornicates, but also one who looks at a woman with lust. Therefore, let us protect the chastity, purity and virginity of our souls and hearts. Let us remember that chastity is a treasure, moreover, it is our sanctuary, as Saint John Chrysostom says about this.

How to do this? People are naturally modest. Preserve and cultivate it. In it lies the natural foundation of our chastity, the virginity of our souls and bodies. One must avoid admiring one's own body, for it is a source of secret pleasures and desires. There is no need to gaze at the faces and figures of passing individuals. There is no need to read anything seductive or immoral. Finally, it is essential to suppress and eradicate lascivious thoughts and desires within oneself and, moreover, to hate them as the spawn of the lower elements of our nature. One should often gaze upon the image of the eternal and perfect purity of the Ever-Virgin Mary and seek her in prayerful communion – the root of virginity and the unfading flower of purity, and most importantly to address the Lord in prayer: "Lord and Master of my life, bestow on Your servant... the spirit... of chastity."

In the sixth petition, Venerable Ephraim asks the Lord to give him the spirit of humility. Humility is understood to mean such a deep awareness by a person of his spiritual poverty that he considers himself worse than everyone and lower than everyone else, while he considers others higher and better than himself, and therefore never condemns anyone or slanders anyone, speaks quietly, calmly, rarely, does not put himself beyond measure in anything, does not argue about anything, is submissive and disdains his own will, never talks idly or empty talk, does not deceive, joyfully endures insults and humiliation, loves work, does not upset anyone and does not wound anyone's conscience. Such are the signs of true humility.

Without humility there is no salvation, because only then do all our virtues have value in the eyes of God when they are based on humility. The more a humble person receives, the more grateful he is to God and the more aware he is of his own poverty. Only through humility do all the gifts of grace increase, and only the humble-minded person does not fall, because he holds himself lower than everyone else and has no place to fall.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matt. 5:3), says the Savior. The Lord Himself, having begun to accomplish our salvation, took the form of a servant, humbled Himself and became of no account, and therefore calls us to learn meekness and humility from Him: "Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matt. 11:29). The basis of humility is in self-abasement for the sake of Christ, in the rejection of one’s pride and self-exaltation. The Apostle Peter teaches: "All of you… submit yourselves to one another and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble" (1 Pet. 5:5). But for us, dear ones, it is very difficult to submit to each other and to consider others higher than ourselves, it is difficult because we all openly or secretly place ourselves higher than others, and therefore it is very difficult for us to sincerely, from the depths of our souls, admit that we are worse and more sinful, weaker, more insignificant, more guilty than everyone else. That is why our pride keeps us in self-delusion, forces us to give our qualities a higher assessment.

Meanwhile, nothing brings down the grace of God upon us like humility. Humility elevates a person, while pride, on the contrary, humiliates him and makes him disgusting to everyone around him.

The Venerable Isaac the Syrian writes that as soon as a person humbles himself, he is immediately surrounded by the mercy of God, his heart feels Divine help. "But on this one will I look," says the Lord to the Prophet, "only to him who is meek and silent and trembles at My words" (Is. 66:2). To be humble is a great blessing, therefore we must ask the Lord: "Lord and Master of my life, bestow on Your servant... the spirit... of humility."

In the seventh petition, the Saint asks the Lord to grant him the spirit of patience. Patience is necessary for us to receive eternal salvation, because only "he who endures to the end," says the Lord, "will be saved" (cf. Matt. 10:22). Only he who endures all the misfortunes of earthly life with faith in God and His mercy will receive salvation. “We need to have patience,” says the Holy Apostle Paul (Heb. 10:36), because we must go by the narrow path to the Kingdom of Heaven (see: Matt. 7:13–14).

And it, like every virtue and every gift, must be asked of God, praying to Him diligently with hope for His mercy: “Lord, grant me patience not to please people and passions, but to please You, Who endured immeasurable sorrows and sufferings for me. When the needs and sorrows of life arise against me, when I meet strong insults from untruth or human envy, when I bear losses that are bitter to my heart, then strengthen me, the weak, and protect me from grumbling against people and against You Yourself. When illnesses exhaust my body or internal confusion my spirit, when the soul weakens in serving You and the darkness of despondency covers my soul, then especially send me, the exhausted, Your strength, and grant me patience with hope, and save me from despair...."

In the eighth petition, Venerable Ephraim the Syrian asks to grant him the spirit of love. Nothing is so akin to our nature as the virtue of love, because the Creator has implanted in our nature the desire for goodwill, the desire to love one another. God Himself in His Being is the Most Perfect Love, and nothing brings us closer to Him and makes us like Him as the virtue of love.

Love is the root and the summit, the beginning and the crown of all virtues, the union of perfection (see: Col. 3:14). Love is the source of life and life itself, for without it human life would have died out long ago. Our heart cannot live and develop without love. Outside of it, it languishes, yearns, and spiritually dies. And on the contrary, it is alive with love and attracts the grace of God and cleanses itself from a multitude of sins (see: 1 Pet. 4:8).

Christian love suffers long, is merciful, does not envy, does not boast, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (cf. 1 Cor. 13:4–7). A lofty example of such love is shown to us in the person of the Only Begotten Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, being nailed to the Cross, prayed for His crucifiers. He is long-suffering to our sins, He sends us His mercies. Pride and rudeness, irritation and all evil are repugnant to Him. He alone is the Truth, He loves everyone and always. Therefore, each of us is called to imitate our Lord and Teacher.

Love God, brothers and sisters, for His mercy towards us; love His Holy Mother for Her intercession for us sinners; love all the saints for their prayers for us who are unworthy; love the fathers and mothers who gave birth to you; love all your neighbors, even your enemies, and pray to God for them, firmly remembering that the commandment to love God and neighbor consists of all the law and the prophets (Matt. 7:12). Love everyone, and you will be with God, and God will be in you. And therefore, let us never cease to pray to the Lord that He will grant us the spirit of love.

My dears, time flies quickly, months and years fly by, bringing us closer to that outcome, to that end, when our fate will be decided forever. A good life will justify us, a bad, careless one will condemn us. Therefore, let us ask the Lord with tenderness: "Lord and Master of my life, bestow on Your servant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love." Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.