In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Christ is Risen!
St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), whose memory we celebrate today, was one of the spiritual writers in the nineteenth century, a special enlightener who called his contemporaries to discernment. In his writings and words, we find constant pain that monasticism and spiritual life had degraded so low and the tradition of true spiritual life had become distorted, losing its salt and power. He said this in the nineteenth century, but what state are we in now? What a deplorable state our spirit, our monastic life and Christian life in general are in?
Nevertheless, today there are plenty of opportunities to study theology and spiritual life; thousands, even hundreds of thousands of books have been published over the past few decades; there are various audio and video programs; and you don’t even need to read anything—you can just turn on your cellphone and listen to it all and learn something new. But we still cannot say that our spiritual life is in accordance with the high vocation of Christians.
And in his reflections—even in a vision, a spiritual insight—St. Ignatius says that the world is enveloped in a diabolical net, and the adversary has spun such artful webs that it is absolutely impossible for man to be saved, and this satanic web is becoming ever more insidious, stronger and wider as the history of mankind approaches its end. We don’t know which days will be the end times, but many things that are going on in this world certainly indicate that any year or even month may be the last in the life of mankind.
So, when the saint looked at what was happening to the world, he was horrified at how the evil one had wrapped all of humanity in his nets, and indeed, it was getting ever harder to be saved. And he wondered: “Who will be saved, O Lord? How can anyone be saved when such devilish snares only develop?” And even many people who think that they live in the Church and act according to the Gospel in fact are in a state of delusion, because they act according to their passions. They don’t consult with anyone, but just decide everything for themselves, keep pushing forward and coming up with something. They believe they are smarter than everyone else, finish different courses, study and read. They are rude with others and act out of their own will all the time.
Through the lips of an early ascetic, St. Ignatius answers this question: “Who can be saved even in these complicated circumstances? Only a humble, humble-minded person.” Lowliness of mind is the virtue that we all lack the most right now. People come to priests, ask them various questions, and generally try to get a lot of attention, but in fact there are very few people who ask clergy about any really important things in their lives.
There are very few people who ask about the right things at the right moments in their lives. The point is not that the priest must order them to do something or instruct them, but that Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in much counsels there is safety (Prov. 11: 14). People should seek counsel. But now we just live according to our desires. Even inside the Church we think that we are doing something good, but in reality we just invent different entertainments for ourselves out of pride, which then bring us to more terrible passions. It is very dangerous to act according to your own will.
Thus, St. Ignatius says that a person with a humble mind can be saved and avoid all these snares of the devil. The enemy will not be able to tempt him and gain the upper hand over him, because this person has humility and wisdom. How does this manifest itself? A person should understand that he himself or everything he has invented is not the ultimate truth, that he should consult with wise people, ask the opinions of these people when he makes important decisions in his life and even more so tries to live spiritually. Selfishness, which is very widespread in our days, is an awful disease.
But today, recalling the words of St. Ignatius, we still have some chance and hope that at least we will start seeking this lowliness of mind in our lives. And then the Lord will give us the most important knowledge that will bring us to salvation, which St. Ignatius preached. Amen.
