St Silouan the Athonite-Humility leads to Perfect Rest in God

"Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart...
and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;
I am the Lord"
Brenton's Septuagint Leviticus 19:17-18, p.154

"Prayer is the best of all activities for the soul. Prayer is the path to God. Through prayer we obtain humility,patience and every good gift...

The Lord showed great pity on me and made me understand that I must weep all my life. Such is the way of the Lord. And so I write now out of pity for those who like me, are puffed up with pride, and therefore suffer. I write that they may learn humility and find rest in God...

Only to the humble does the Lord reveal Himself in the Holy Spirit, and if we do not humble ourselves we shall not see God. Humility is the light in which we may behold the Light which is God - in the words of the Psalmist:
'In thy light shall we see light' Psalm 36:9...

The humility of Christ dwells in the lowly ones - they are  glad to be the least of men. The Lord gave me understanding of this...

Be obedient, submit with a good conscience to those in  authority. Be content with all things, and your mind will be cleansed of vain thoughts. Remember that the Lord sees you, and be fearful lest anywise you offend your brother.
Neither dispraise nor grieve him, even by a glance, an expression on your face, and the Holy Spirit will love you and Himself be your help in all things...

If you have upbraided, or passed judgment on, or  vexed your brother, your peace is lost. If you have been boastful, or have exalted yourself above your fellow,you have lost grace. If you did not drive away forthwith (immediately) that wanton (merciless and capricious)  thought that came to you, your soul will lose love for God and boldness in prayer.

If you are fond of power, or money, you will never know the love of God. If you have followed your own will, then you are vanquished by the enemy and despondency will come upon your soul. If you detest your brother, it means that you have fallen away from God, and an evil spirit has taken possession of you...

The grace of God is not in the man who does not love his enemies...

There are people who desire the destruction, the torment in hell-fire of their enemies, or the enemies of the Church.
They think like this because they have not learnt divine love from the Holy Spirit, for he who has learned the love of God will shed tears for the whole world...

But if you will do good unto your brother, you will
gain quiet for your conscience. If you subdue your own will, your enemies will be driven off and you will receive peace in your soul. 

If you forgive your brother the affronts he puts upon you, and love your enemies, then you will  receive forgiveness for your sins and the Lord will give you to know the love of the Holy Spirit...
And when you have entirely humbled yourself, you will find perfect rest in God.

The Lord reveals His mysteries to the humble soul. But if the soul has not yet learned but is only learning humility, she will be subject to vicissitudes; at times she will find herself in  conflict with intrusive thoughts, and know no rest, while at others she is released from such thoughts, and can contemplate the Lord and perceive His love. Wherefore the  Lord said: 'Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls' Matthew 11:29...


Oh Lord. grant me Thy spirit of humility that I lose not Thy grace again, and weep for it as Adam wept for paradise and for God....

Therefore brethren, with all your might preserve the peace of God which is freely given to us, and when any man vexes us, if needs be let us constrain ourselves to love him, and the Lord, seeing our pains, will help us with His grace..."

With St Silouan, let us pray:

"O Lord in Thy manifold mercy bestow on us
a humble spirit, that our souls may find rest in Thee.

Most holy and gracious Mother of God, beseech God
to make us lowly in spirit.

All ye saints who dwell in heaven
and behold the glory of the Lord
and your spirits rejoice -
pray that we also may be with you,
for my soul, too, would fain see the Lord,
and yearns after Him humbly,
knowing herself unworthy of such blessing.

O merciful Lord, by Thy Holy Spirit
teach us Thy humility."

St. Silouan the Athonite in St Silouan the Athonite by
Archimandrite Sophrony, Selections from p.269-p.504,
St Vladimir Seminary Press 1991.

Saint Silouan The Athonite- On the Will of God and Freedom

It is a great good to give oneself up to the will of God.  Then the Lord alone is in the soul.  No other thought can enter in, and the soul feels God's love, even though the body be suffering.

When the soul is entirely given over to the will of God, the Lord Himself takes her in hand and the soul learns directly from God.   Whereas, before, she turned to teachers and to the Scriptures for instruction. But it rarely happens that the soul's teacher is the Lord Himself through the grace of the Holy Spirit, and few there are that know of this, save only those who live according to God's will.

The proud man does not want to live according to God's will: he likes to be his own master and does not see that man has not wisdom enough to guide himself without God.  And I, when I lived in the world, knew not the Lord and His Holy Spirit, nor how the Lord loves us-I relied on my own understanding; but when by the Holy Spirit I came to know our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, my soul submitted to God, and now I accept every affliction that befalls me, and say: "The Lord looks down on me. What is there to fear?" But before, I could not live in this manner.

Life is much easier for the man who is given over to the will of God, since in illness, in poverty, in persecution he reflects thus: "Such is God's pleasure, and I must endure on account of my sins."

Thus for many years have I suffered violent headaches, which are hard to bear but salutary because the soul is humbled through sickness.  My soul longs to pray and keep vigil, but sickness hinders me because of my body's demand for rest and quiet; and I besought the Lord to heal me, and the Lord hearkened not unto me.  So, therefore, it would not have been salutary for me to have been cured.

St. Silouan The Athonite-ON LOVE

“The soul cannot know peace unless she prays for her enemies. The soul that has learned of God’s grace to pray, feels love and compassion for every created thing, and in particular for mankind, for whom the Lord suffered on the Cross, and His soul was heavy for every one of us.

The Lord taught me to love my enemies. Without the grace of God we cannot love our enemies. Only the Holy Spirit teaches love, and then even devils arouse our pity because they have fallen from good, and lost humility in God.

I beseech you, put this to the test. When a man affronts you or brings dishonor on your head, or takes what is yours, or persecutes the Church, pray to the Lord, saying: “O Lord, we are all Thy creatures. Have pity on Thy servants and turn their hearts to repentance,” and you will be aware of grace in your soul. To begin with, constrain your heart to love enemies, and the Lord, seeing your good will, will help you in all things, and experience itself will shoe you the way. But the man who thinks with malice of his enemies has not God’s love within him, and does not know God.

If you will pray for your enemies, peace will come to you; but when you can love your enemies – know that a great measure of the grace of God dwells in you, though I do not say perfect grace as yet, but sufficient for salvation. Whereas if you revile your enemies, it means there is an evil spirit living in you and bringing evil thoughts into your heart, for, in the words of the Lord, out of the heart proceed evil thoughts – or good thoughts.

The good man thinks to himself in this wise: Every one who has strayed from the truth brings destruction on himself and is therefore to be pitied. But of course the man who has not learned the love of the Holy Spirit will not pray for his enemies. The man who has learned love from the Holy Spirit sorrows all his life over those who are not saved, and sheds abundant tears for the people, and the grace of God gives him strength to love his enemies.

Understand me. It is so simple. People who do not know God, or who go against Him, are to be pitied; the heart sorrows for them and the eye weeps. Both paradise and torment are clearly visible to us: We know this through the Holy Spirit. And did not the Lord Himself say, “The kingdom of God is within you”? Thus eternal life has its beginning here in this life; and it is here that we sow the seeds of eternal torment.

Where there is pride there cannot be grace, and if we lose grace we also lose both love of God and assurance in prayer. The soul is then tormented by evil thoughts and does not understand that she must humble herself and love her enemies, for there is no other way to please God.

What shall I render unto Thee, O Lord, for that Thou hast poured such great mercy on my soul? Grant, I beg Thee, that I may see my iniquities, and ever weep before Thee, for Thou art filled with love for humble souls, and dost give them the grace of the Holy Spirit.

O merciful God, forgive me. Thou seest how my soul is drawn to Thee, her Creator. Thou hast wounded my soul with Thy love, and she thirsts for Thee, and wearies without end, and day and night, insatiable, reaches toward Thee, and has no wish to look upon this world, though I do love it, but above all I love Thee, my Creator, and my soul longs after Thee.

O my Creator, why have I, Thy little creature, grieved Thee so often? Yet Thou hast not remembered my sins.

Glory be to the Lord God that He gave us His Only-begotten Son for the sake of our salvation. Glory be to the Only-begotten Son that He deigned to be born of the Most Holy Virgin, and suffered for our salvation, and gave us His Most Pure Body and Blood to eternal life, and sent His Holy Spirit on the earth.

O Lord, grant me tears to shed for myself, and for the whole universe, that the nations may know Thee and live eternally with Thee, O Lord, vouchsafe us the gift of Thy humble Holy Spirit, that we may apprehend Thy glory.”

On Preserving Peace Within Our Soul

                 By St. Silouan the Athonite

It is impossible for us to preserve peace of soul if we do not guard our mind. If someone wishes to have peace of soul, he must be abstemious, because peace is also expelled on account of our body. You must not be curious; avoid reading newspapers and worldly books, which desolate the soul and bring about listlessness and disturbance. Do not judge others, because it is often the case that people condemn a person without knowing him, while he is similar to the Angels in mind. Do not desire to know other people’s affairs, but only your own. Take care only to entrust yourself in the Elders, and then, on account of your obedience, the Lord will help you by His Grace.

The Grace of God in the coenobium primarily withdraws because we have not learned to love our brother according to the Lord’s commandment. If a brother affronts you, and at that moment you accept thoughts of anger and hatred against him, then you will feel that Grace has left you and your peace has been lost. For the sake of peace of soul, the soul should learn to love the person that has affronted it, and to pray immediately for him. It is not possible for the soul to have peace, if it does not ask the Lord with all its strength for the gift of loving all people. The Lord said: “Love your enemies,” and if we do not love our enemies, we will not have peace in our souls.

It is necessary to acquire obedience, humility, and love, or else all of our great ascetic feats and vigils will prove to be in vain. A certain Elder saw this vision: A person was pouring water into a basin with a perforated bottom. The man went to great efforts, but the water continuously ran out, and the basin remained empty. In a like manner, we live ascetically, but neglecting a certain virtue, the soul remains empty.

Source: Archimandrite Sophrony, St. Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938), The Writings of St. Silouan, 6th edition (Essex: Monastery of the Venerable Forerunner, 1995), pp. 518-519.