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at all, having decided to eat once a day, you will find no ordinary benefit in the performance of your evening service and in your nighttime prayer and vigil; but if not, be content with one rusk and one cup of water without weakness and feebleness of your stomach. And after offering up the evening prayers to God together with your brothers, making a prostration at the feet of the superior as if at the very feet of Christ, and having received a blessing from him and having venerated the holy forms of the saints, enter your cell in silence, speaking to no one at all, and having closed the doors first take up your book, (338) and having read about three pages from it attentively, stand for prayer, quietly chanting and praying to God as if heard by no one. Stand then courageously, gathering your thoughts and not allowing them to wander elsewhere, clasp your hands, join your feet together, unmoving on one base, and close your eyes so as not to look at anything else and have your mind scattered, but lift up your mind itself and your whole heart to heaven and to God, from there with tears and groans calling forth mercy. And let psalms be appointed for you by your spiritual father, as many as bear words of repentance and compunction and as many as are sufficient for your strength and your purpose. For you must measure by your strength and courage the chanting of the psalms and the number of prostrations and the duration of standing, so that you do not have your conscience rebuking you, saying: "You still had the strength to stand and to praise and to confess to God". In addition to these, let there also be prayers for you, and these appointed for morning and evening, having confession to God. And having completed the prayer, read a little again, then take up your handiwork as well, and until the first watch, that is, keep vigil until the third hour of the night. Then thus rising and having said the Amomos, lie down, having sealed your whole body, on your mat, and having taken sleep until midnight you will then do in order, as was sketched out for you above.

But indeed also the thoughts of your heart confess to your spiritual father every hour, if possible; but if not, at least do not let evening pass, beloved, but also after Matins, all the things that happen to you, (339) examining yourself, confess. And have untaught faith toward him, even if the whole world reviles and slanders him, even if you yourself see him with your own eyes fornicating, do not be scandalized, nor diminish your faith in him, obeying the One who said: "Judge not, and you will not be judged."

And as you do this every day and struggle in this way, God will not delay to visit you from on high, but will send you help from His holy dwelling place, and the grace of His all-holy Spirit will overshadow you. And little by little, progressing in your work, you will increase in spiritual age and will grow up into a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, being enlightened and enlightening with the light of knowledge, like the sun, all who approach you and meet with you, and glorifying God both in life and in word, who gave you the gift of His holy and life-creating Spirit, to whom is due glory unto the ages. Amen.

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καθόλου, ἅπαξ κεκρικώς τήν ἡμέραν ἐσθίειν, εὑρήσεις οὐ τήν τυχοῦσαν ὠφέλειαν ἐν τῇ παραστάσει τῆς ἑσπερινῆς σου ἀκολουθίας καί ἐν τῇ νυκτερινῇ δεήσει καί ἀγρυπνίᾳ· εἰ δ᾿ οὖν ἀλλ᾿ ἑνί παξαματίῳ ἀρκέσθητι καί ἑνί ποτηρίῳ ὕδατος ἄνευ ἀσθενείας καί ἀτονίας στομάχου σου. Καί μετά τό συνάμα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς σου ἀποδοῦναι τάς ἑσπερινάς εὐχάς τῷ Θεῷ, βαλών μετάνοιαν εἰς τούς πόδας τοῦ προεστῶτος ὡς εἰς αὐτούς τούς πόδας τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καί εὐχήν ἐκεῖθεν λαβών καί ἀσπασάμενος τάς ἁγίας μορφάς τῶν ἁγίων, εἴσελθε σιωπῶν μηδενί μηδαμῶς ὁμιλῶν εἰς τό κελλίον σου, καί κλείσας τάς θύρας ἐπιλαβοῦ πρῶτον τοῦ βιβλίου, (338) καί ἀναγνούς ὡσεί τρία φύλλα προσεχῶς ἐν αὐτῷ στῆθι εἰς προσευχήν, ἡσύχως ψάλλων καί προσευχόμενος τῷ Θεῷ ὡς παρά μηδενός ἀκουόμενος. Στῆθι δέ γενναίως ἐπισυνάγων σου τούς λογισμούς καί μή ἐῶν ῥέμβεσθαι αὐτούς ἀλλαχοῦ, σφίγξον σου τάς χεῖρας, ἕνωσόν σου τούς πόδας ἐπίσης ἀσαλεύτους ἐν βάσει μιᾷ, καί τούς μέν ὀφθαλμούς μῦσον τοῦ μή πρός ἄλλο τι βλέπειν καί τόν νοῦν διασκίδνασθαι, τόν δέ νοῦν αὐτόν καί ὅλην τήν καρδίαν ἆρον εἰς οὐρανούς καί Θεόν, ἐκεῖθεν μετά δακρύων καί στεναγμῶν τόν ἔλεον ἐκκαλούμενος. Ἔστωσάν σοι δέ ψαλμοί τεταγμένοι παρά τοῦ πνευματικοῦ σου πατρός, ὅσοι ῥήματα μετανοίας καί κατανύξεως φέρουσι καί ὅσοι τῇ δυνάμει ἐξικανοῦσι καί τῇ προθέσει σου. ∆εῖ γάρ σε μετρεῖν τῇ τε ἰσχύϊ και τῇ ἀνδρείᾳ σου τήν τε τῶν ψαλμῶν ὑμνῳδίαν καί τό πλῆθος τῆς γονυκλισίας καί τόν χρόνον τῆς στάσεως, ἵνα μή τήν συνείδησιν ἕξῃς εἰς ἔλεγχόν σου λέγουσαν· "Ἔτι ἦν σοι δύναμις τοῦ στῆναι καί ὑμνῆσαι καί Θεῷ ἐξομολογήσασθαι". Πρός τούτοις ἔστωσάν σοι καί εὐχαί καί αὗται τεταγμέναι πρωΐας καί ἑσπέρας, ἐξομολόγησιν ἔχουσαι πρός Θεόν. Καί τήν εὐχήν συντελέσας ἀνάγνωθι πάλιν μικρόν, εἶτα ἐπιλαβοῦ καί τοῦ ἐργοχείρου σου, καί ἕως πρώτης φυλακῆς, ἤγουν ἕως τρίτης ὥρας διανυκτέρευσον τῆς νυκτός. Εἶθ᾿ οὕτως ἀναστάς καί ποιήσας τόν ἄμωμον, ἀνακλίθητι σφραγισάμενος ὅλον σου τό σῶμα ἐπί τό ψιάθιον, μεταλαβών δέ ὕπνου μέχρι τοῦ μεσονυκτίου καθεξῆς ποιήσεις, ὡς ὑπετυπώθη σοι ἄνωθεν.

Ἀλλά γάρ καί τούς λογισμούς τῆς καρδίας σου τῷ πνευματικῷ σου πατρί καθ᾿ ὥραν, εἰ δυνατόν, ἐξαγόρευε· εἰ δέ μή, τέως ἑσπέραν μή παρέλθῃς, ἀγαπητέ, ἀλλά καί μετά τόν ὄρθρον τά συμβαίνοντά σοι πάντα, (339) σεαυτόν ἀνακρίνων, ἐξαγόρευε. Καί πίστιν ἀδίδακτον ἔχε πρός αὐτόν, κἄν ὁ κόσμος ἅπας αὐτόν λοιδορῇ καί διασύρῃ, κἄν αὐτός σύ τοῦτον τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς σου θεάσῃ πορνεύοντα, μή σκανδαλισθῇς, μηδέ τήν πίστιν σου ἐλαττώσῃς τήν πρός αὐτόν, πειθαρχῶν τῷ εἰπόντι· "Μή κρίνετε καί οὐ μή κριθῆτε".

Οὕτω δέ ποιοῦντός σου καθ᾿ ἑκάστην καί οὕτως ἀγωνιζομένου σου, οὐ βραδύνει ὁ Θεός τοῦ ἐπισκέψασθαί σε ἄνωθεν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐξαποστελεῖ σοι βοήθειαν ἐξ ἁγίου αὐτοῦ κατοικητηρίου, καί ἡ χάρις τοῦ Παναγίου αὐτοῦ Πνεύματος ἐπισκιάσει σοι. Καί κατά βραχύ προκόπτων ἐπί τό ἔργον σου τήν πνευματικήν ἡλικίαν αὐξήσεις καί εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον ἀναδράμῃς, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, φωτιζόμενος καί φωτίζων φῶς γνώσεως, δίκην ἡλίου, πάντας τούς πλησιάζοντάς σοι καί ἐντυγχάνοντας, καί δοξάζων Θεόν καί βίῳ καί λόγῳ, τόν δόντα σοι τήν δωρεάν τοῦ Ἁγίου αὐτοῦ καί ζωοποιοῦ Πνεύματος, ᾧ πρέπει δόξα εἰς τούς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν.