Orthodoxy why children suffer illness. Why does the child get sick so often? - And if there is no medicine at all

He died after a long and protracted illness. In memory of the newly deceased father Leonid, we publish today his story about how his family lives with their son, who has Down syndrome.

Why sick babies are born

When we found out that we would have a child with Down syndrome, it was very difficult for us. All the time we heard only: “Hand over”, “Hand over, hand over ...” And where to hand over? There was no kindergarten, and in a boarding school they die by the age of 16.

And that was the main reason why I ended up in Germany. Here the situation is completely different. They treat the situation differently when a sick child is born.

In Germany, the disease is considered as a consequence of the social situation. After all, the causes of such diseases are known to everyone. At what age did you get married first? Eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Today they get married after thirty years, and also take into account the prodigal life, the state of “freundshaft” in which 90% of young people are, if they finish their education by the age of 27.

So we see these genetic diseases.

When a sick child is born, society takes care of him. In every smallest town there are specialized schools where such children are brought up completely free of charge. A bus picks up the baby near the house and takes it to school.

There, in Kyiv, everything was absolutely terrible. I had to hold my son tightly by the hand, and if he pulled out, he turned on the “fourth speed”, and it was possible to catch up with him only with the police.

It could only be kept at home, or in the summer at the dacha (but if the dacha was "barricaded").

A child with Down syndrome requires colossal inner work from all family members: after all, this is a living person, and he must be accepted somehow.

Specialists took care of our baby, and a year later we saw the result: he began to walk by the hand, he began to go into the store, he began to try to communicate.

And when we received an invitation to a birthday from another such boy, we just burst into tears. It turns out that he is a member of society, he can communicate.

My son has a severe disability, but there are different degrees of illness, and in Germany there is an opportunity to work for people with Down syndrome. There they are members of society, they work at some factory, in the same way they put him on a bus, bring him to work, take him home. The society finances it.

We were offered a hostel for our son, saying: “You are not eternal, you will pick him up for the weekend. Besides, it won't be that hard for him."

And here already the choice arose before the members of the family. My third son said, “No, no, no. Dad, don't worry, no hostel, I'll take him to me. As long as I live, so long he will live with me.

He is our guiding star. He is a kind, smart boy. Yes, he is not like everyone else. Yes, he will not get an education. But he is human. And this is the most important thing. And on what basis to kill him, I do not understand. Just because he's not?

Another good doctor had a son with cerebral palsy. And then, when we met many years later, we sat at the table and talked, and his wife said: “Our Mishenka is the happiness of our family. Happiness! He made our souls softer for all of us. He softened our soul, its bitterness, formalism.

It's not easy for sick children to be born. The simplest thing is to tell them: “And we are all healthy. And we're fine."

This applies not only to my family - the whole society should perceive the illnesses of such children as the result of their own sinfulness, as the consequences of the evil in which the world lies, and by nursing such children, try to overcome this evil and sinfulness.

At the same time, if you take the easy path, as they do, in particular, in France, this will lead to an increase in anger in society, and the consequences will be tragic.

In connection with the technical in the field of medicine, Russia will soon have the same questions.

With the blessing of the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga VLADIMIR

St. Petersburg priest, Archpriest Viktor Grozovsky - the head of a large family and an experienced shepherd - talks about the spiritual side of children's illness. His story reveals the spiritual methods of healing, which not only do not interfere with conventional treatment, but also contribute to it.

ISB N5-7373-0294-6
© Priest V. Grozovsky, text, 2006
© "Satis" Publishing House, 2006

PRELIMINARY WORD

Is any of you sick, let him call for the elders of the Church, let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

It is not by chance that we took as an epigraph the words from the sending of St. Apostle James, because they are our first guide to action. The point is that the first thing to do when a child falls ill is prayer.

Leaving behind all fuss and confusion (let's add - absent-mindedness), the parents of a sick child should first of all turn to Almighty God, for Whom nothing is impossible, stand up for prayer. An important point: prayer (an appeal to God) is pronounced in a state of complete trust in Him, rejecting any doubt that God's action will be saving for the human soul, since He Himself says: I do not want the death of a sinner. Unlike the enemy of the human race, who wants the destruction of our souls, the Lord wants our salvation.

The author of the brochure is not a professional doctor, but, having raised nine children whom God sent (for which he thanks Him from the bottom of his heart), he has some medical and spiritual experience in communicating with his children, both adults and those who are still unformed bodily and spiritually. .

Of course, this experience does not come with the first and even with the second child born into the world, but at the birth of the ninth, you already begin to understand something.

I

The illness of children indicates that the spiritual and moral life of the parents themselves is almost always not at the proper level, which prevents the penetration of God's grace into the souls and, conversely, contributes to the spread of sin. This means that it is time to repent and raise the bar of spiritual life, dear parents. But we will talk about this topic a little lower.

It is clear that the suffering parent of a sick child who falls into the hands of this pamphlet will, first of all, look in it not for the author’s theological arguments on spiritual and moral topics, but “grab” practical advice: how to pray to God so that the child recovers soon; what specific saints who received healing grace from God. Many believers know that in case of various ailments and illnesses, one can turn not only directly to the Lord, but also to the Mother of God and other saints of God. Here are some essential prayers.

1. Prayer for the healing of the sick:

Master, Almighty, holy King, punish and do not kill, affirm those who fall and raise up the overthrown, bodily people of sorrow correct, we pray to You. Our God, Thy servant (name) is weak, visit Thy mercy, forgive him every sin, voluntary and involuntary. To her, Lord, send down Your healing power from heaven, touch the body, extinguish the flame, tame the passion and all the infirmity that is hidden, be the doctor of Your servant (name), raise him up from the sickbed and from the bed of embitterment whole and perfect Grant it to Your Church, pleasing and doing Your will. Yours is, hedgehog to have mercy and save us, our God, and we send glory to You, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.

1. Prayer before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, called the "Healer":

Accept, O All-Blessed and Almighty Lady Mistress Virgin Mother of God, these prayers, with tears to Thee now brought from us, Thy unworthy servants, to Thy whole-bearing Image, the singing of those who send with tenderness, as if You yourself exist here and listen to our prayer.

By any request, fulfill the fulfillment, alleviate sorrows, grant health to the weak, heal the weak and sick, drive away the demons from the demons, deliver the offended from insults, cleanse the lepers and small children, have mercy: also, to the Lady Mistress Theotokos, and from bonds and dungeons you free and heal all kinds of various passions: all things are possible through your intercession to your Son, Christ our God.

O All-Singing Mother, Holy Mother of God! Do not stop praying for us Thy unworthy servants, glorifying Thee and honoring Thee, and worshiping Thy Most Pure Image with tenderness, and having irrevocable hope and undoubted faith in Thee, the Most Glorious and Immaculate Ever-Virgin, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

You can also pray for children and in front of the icons of the Mother of God "Unexpected Joy" and "Quick Hearing". The Lady Mother of God Herself announced that She would show mercy and fulfillment of petitions to those flowing to Her image of the “quick listener”.

1. The great saint of God, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, was glorified by God with the gift of miracles, including healing, for example, from eye disease.

Troparion, ch. 4th

The rule of faith and the image of meekness, the abstinence of the teacher reveal the truth to your flock even more things; for this sake, you acquired high humility, rich in poverty, father hierarch Nicholas, pray to Christ God that our souls be saved.

Kondak, ch. 3rd

In Mirech, holy, the clergyman appeared to you: Christ, reverend, having fulfilled the Gospel, lay down your soul about your people, and saved the innocent from death; for this sake you were sanctified, like a great secret place of God's grace.

1. In illnesses of infants and children, they often turn to St. Julian. He healed and even resurrected children. According to an ancient legend, they pray to him for children (his memory is July 13/26).
2. In the records of the new miracles of St. John the Russian there are amazing cases: this is the salvation of the hopelessly sick, possessed. But it has long been noticed that St. John has a special love for children. Of the miracles performed through the prayers of the saint, the most striking and rejoicing are the numerous cases of grace-filled help to sick children: healing from leukemia, paralyzed, possessed, as well as the return of drug addicted children to a healthy life. (Memory to him May 27 / June 9).
3. With a toothache, we turn to the Hieromartyr Antipas, Bishop of Pergamum of Asia (Comm. 11/24 April). This is the Antype mentioned in the Apocalypse (2, 13). When he was thrown by his tormentors into the belly of a red-hot copper bull, he asked God to give him the grace to treat people in "an inconsolable toothache."
4. With a headache, they pray to John the Forerunner and the Baptist of our Lord Jesus Christ (January 7/20, July 24/7).
5. In case of stomach illness, you can pray to the Great Martyr Artemy (Comm. 20 October / 2 November) and the Monk Theodore the Studite (11/24 November).
6. In case of leg disease - to the righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye (September 12/25) and the Monk Seraphim of Sarov (January 2/15 and August 19/1).
7. They also pray for the healing of children to the martyr Paraskeva Pyatnitsa (October 28 / November 10) and the righteous Simeon the God-Receiver (February 3/16), who is also their patron.
8. Let us cite another saint who is resorted to with prayer in case of a sore throat or in danger of being strangled by a bone - this is the Hieromartyr Blaise of Sebaste (February 11/24).
9. Finally, it is necessary to indicate the name of the great martyr and healer Panteleimon (July 27 / August 9), who, even during his lifetime, had the gift of healing from various and many ailments to the highest degree.

We have given here the names of only a few saints who should be addressed to parents of both adults and small children.

II

Now that the first measures have been taken (prayers were said with faith in the omnipotence of God), the crisis has passed, parents should think carefully about why the child fell ill, whether because of their sins? And if he is still a sinless baby and has not acquired these same sins? So why does he, the poor man, suffer?

It is quite possible that today he is rushing about in a fever for the sins of his parents, impotently uttering a barely audible groan.

Child and suffering. How to comprehend this, how to bear the burden of the unknown?

People often ask the question: why do children suffer? Okay, we sinners...

From the point of view of human justice, this question is insoluble. The answer to it is given only in the perspective of eternity, in the destinies of God. For Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, by the way, this is one of the main questions. Let's remember The Brothers Karamazov... And the answer was revealed to the writer only after the death of his own son, when he went to Optina Pustyn for consolation and talked with Elder Ambrose. Finally, he comprehended the spiritual meaning of innocent suffering only before his own death.

We often hear murmurings: if, they say, God is just, then how does He allow children to suffer?

Yes, God is just. He does not teach us to sin. He says: Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect ().

Sick children, as it were, take upon themselves the feat of martyrdom and foolishness so that the Lord is not completely angry with this world, and we, perhaps thanks to them, still have time to repent. But we, due to our impenitence, due to our habit not to think about our sins, but to blame someone else for them, do not feel this.

It would not be difficult for us to ask why children suffer, if in this, as in everything, we looked to Christ the Savior, measured our whole life with Him. What are the children suffering for? Why did the Savior Himself suffer? After all, he is sinless. Every child born into the world bears the stamp of original sin. A 10

The Lord didn't even have that. He - purer than any child - suffered, and how! ..

Here is the answer to the question: why do children suffer? For our sins. For our carelessness about the salvation of their souls, also about our own salvation. The task of parents is to educate their children spiritually, open the way to God for them and not limit themselves only to ensuring physical existence and satisfying ever-increasing material needs. Constant concern for the earthly, and not the spiritual, can become an obstacle for a child on the path to Christ, on the path of soul salvation. That is why the Lord edifies us: Do not prevent them from coming to Me ().

If we don’t bring a baby to church, don’t teach him to pray, if we don’t have an icon, the Gospel at home, if we don’t try to live piously, then we are preventing the child from going to Christ. And this is our most important sin, which also falls on our children.

That is why children suffer for our sins, even if they are not to blame.

The family is a single organism, a single body. The spiritual burden that it bears is often unevenly distributed among its members. Children often pay with their health for the sins and mistakes of their parents. Sin, therefore, is the greatest evil, because the innocent suffer from it. But the sins of others are atoned for. But He was wounded for our sins and tormented for our iniquities; the punishment of our world was on Him, and by His stripes we were healed (), - said the greatest prophet of the Old Testament about our Lord Jesus Christ, who opened the doors of salvation to us.

Dads and moms, we all need to learn the immutable truth that before the justice of God the whole world lies in evil. And if so, then all people transgress the commandments of God, sin before our Creator, who shed His Most Pure Blood for our salvation. Seeing our sinfulness, we will begin to complain, lament, “heartache” - as the Athonite elder Arseny (Minin) said - ask the Heavenly Father for forgiveness; let us try to have tears of repentance, for they quench fiery hell. Here, dear brothers and sisters, the holy fathers offer us this Gospel path to the salvation of the soul, care for which should be above all else: What is the use of a person if he gains the whole world, but damages his soul? ().

Salvation of the soul is the main goal of human existence on our sinful earth. And one of the greatest means on the way to this goal is the Sacrament of Penance. Do not delay, go to Him, Who is calling us: Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest (). But for some reason we hesitate, we are not in a hurry, we are not in a hurry, as if it is warm and comfortable for us to stay in a sinful swamp. And the Lord is waiting and waiting for us and is not in a hurry to punish us, therefore He is Many-merciful, but long-suffering for us, not wanting anyone to perish, but for everyone to come to repentance ().

Comments?.. It should simply be added that regular confession to a priest of parents, and children (over seven years old) - will serve as a good barrier against the penetration of a sinful virus of a particular disease into the body (into the soul and body) of a person. We repeat, only regular confession (at least once a month) can serve as a good (necessary) prophylactic.

If for some reason you do not follow the prayer rule (do not pray in the morning, in the evening and throughout the day), then you are making a mistake, you must fulfill it (the rule). The Bible, icons with glowing lamps, holy water, prosphora are essential in every Orthodox family.

Honor the holidays, love children, children - parents, live in peace, and the God of the world will grant us bodily and spiritual health, and most importantly - change your whole life, turn your face to our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ, rely entirely on His Divine will, do not retreat from Him, do not be deceived by the promises of the enemy of the human race, do not build illusions and paradise on earth - the place of our temporary stay, but strive to the House of the Heavenly Father, Who has many abodes and Eternal Life.

III

Of course, we have been told more than once by the Lord Himself, the Mother of God, the apostles and holy fathers, how one can reach the Kingdom of Heaven. But we, lazy and sinful people, are constantly striving for earthly happiness, which eludes us. It would seem that a person in this world has already achieved everything: business is going on, and royal chambers have been built, and country palaces-dachas, and a beautiful wife, and there are plenty of caressing friends around. Yes, God does not give heirs, or the only one, and he is on the verge of extinction of life - what kind of happiness is there?

A pious and Orthodox parent (parent) knows that the modern worldly concept of “happiness” has a completely earthly origin and consists of the possession of very specific material “values” that are constantly changing and growing. And this “pursuit” of happiness is somewhat reminiscent of a runner trying to reach the horizon line. Therefore, a Christian strives for that state of soul, which is called bliss.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God ().

How can one see Him if a person constantly hides from Him: does not pray to Him, does not go to Church and does not fulfill His commandments? Such a “believer” remains an unchurched and religiously ignorant person. The priest will give him a holy prosphora or some other sacred thing - he does not know what to do with it.

Therefore, an Orthodox family can only be called one that is enlightened by the light of the Gospel truth and does not remain in darkness, but lives according to the commandments of God and knows the “Law of God” (a textbook for schools and families) at least at an elementary level.

And for Orthodox parents who consider themselves to be such only on the principle of confessional choice, we will try in this brochure to give answers to some of their questions.

The Holy Church constantly prays and cares for the health of the people she flocks to; about not being deprived of Divine grace, about their being in peace and unanimity, about striving for good works, etc. - the salvation of our souls.

The Church also prays for the repose of the souls of her departed children, so that the All-Merciful Lord will instill them in the place where the righteous dwell.

These prayers (for the health and repose of the children of God) have the greatest power during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, which begins with the proskomedia.

Proskomidia (Greek - "bringing") - this is the name of that part of the Divine Liturgy, which consists in the preparation of the substance for the Sacrament of the Eucharist, i.e. in the preparation of bread and wine, which are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ during the Liturgy. The name proskomidia (offering) comes from the custom to bring from one's houses to the church things needed for worship; thus, they brought bread, wine, oil, incense. This act of offering was called proskomidia, and the very gift that was brought was called "prosphora" (Greek - "offering"). Of the offerings, which were always plentiful and exceeded the need, the best for the Eucharist (Greek - “thanksgiving”) were chosen, and from the rest, parts were taken out in memory of those who brought them.

Thus, on the proskomedia, particles are taken out from one prosphora for the health of living people, and from the other - for the repose of the dead. In both cases, the particles are taken out only in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit - for the Orthodox. Further, these particles, taken out of the prosphora, rely on the diskos, which remains on the Throne during the Eucharistic canon, and then are washed with the Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who is also on the Throne in the Holy Chalice.

However, it seems to us that these few information about what prosphora is is enough; about its purpose and use for every Orthodox Christian. Both healthy and sick people can eat this shrine. Healthy people can use it by drinking holy water (but certainly on an empty stomach), while sick people (especially children) may not comply with this condition.

We mentioned holy water, which, like prosphora, is a church shrine.

In Greek, this shrine is called Agiasma. It can be Great and Small, because is the result of the Great and Small consecration of water. The small is performed several times during the year, and the Great - only on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. It is best to store holy water next to the home iconostasis (but not in the refrigerator!). A reverent attitude towards the shrine allows the believer to use it in various cases: to wash, drink a little water, sprinkle the dwelling, eat as spiritual consolation to people excommunicated from Communion by penance.

Offering prosphora and holy water to the healthy and sick, we also attach here a prayer for eating them:

“Lord my God, may Your holy gift be: prosphora and Your holy water for the remission of my sins, the enlightenment of my mind, for the strengthening of my spiritual and bodily strength, for the health of my soul and body, for the subjugation of my passions and infirmities according to the boundless Thy mercy, by the prayers of Thy Most Pure Mother and all Thy saints. Amen".

I would also like to mention another church shrine - Artos. Artos in Greek means "leavened bread", in contrast to Jewish unleavened bread. This bread is consecrated by a special prayer on the day of Holy Pascha. It is kept in the temple on a lectern in front of the iconostasis for the entire Bright Week, and on Easter Saturday it is distributed to believers as a shrine. Artos reminds us of the presence of the resurrected Savior with us.

As for such a shrine as oil, which is in a glowing lamp in front of the holy image of the Savior, the Mother of God, Nicholas the Pleasant and other saints who pleased God, various parts of the patient’s body can be anointed with it. And here is an example.

One believer had a sore skin on his leg for a long time. It was covered with fish scales, bursting, bleeding. The patient experienced constant itching, no ointments and rubbing helped. But one day the Lord vouchsafed him to visit the Holy Trinity Convent, which is located in the city of Simferopol, and venerate the relics of St. Luke.

Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) was a famous scientist and surgeon of world renown. During the war of 1941-45, being engaged in purulent surgery, he saved the lives of many soldiers of our Fatherland. Vladyka spent several years in camps for the faith of Christ... (Now he has been canonized.) Having anointed his sore leg with oil taken from the holy relics of St. Luke, the pilgrim from St. Petersburg was miraculously healed.

In the memory of the people of God, over the centuries-old history of the Church, an innumerable number of cases of visits by Divine grace, who do not heal, are kept.

IV

The Apostle Paul says that if one member of the body suffers, the others will also suffer. If a hand hurts, the other hand feels it.

The family is a single body, a single organism. A large family is a blessing; It's good to have a lot of kids in it. Then they sensitively react to the illness of one of their brothers or sisters, as if going through the necessary school of Christian mercy and prayerful standing before the Lord of our life. A sense of complicity in the treatment of a brother (sister) appears in them. Children begin to act not only spiritually (prayer for the sick), but also provide physical assistance to the sick (serve juice or fruit drink, wash dishes after him, etc.). It is necessary to make it clear to the children that the illness of one of them should evoke a spiritual response in all; so that the whole family lives in prayer and there is no indifference to the sick person among those who arrange noisy games in the next room.

It will be good for children who take over (while a brother or sister is sick) the usual housework. They become responsible, attentive and tactful. “How do you feel? - the brother asks the sick sister. "Do you want something?" And this is evidence not of cold curiosity on the part of the questioner (questioner), but a sincere desire for a speedy recovery. And, most importantly, the children begin to pray for the sick, and he, feeling their support, is strengthened in spirit. This is how a family is truly built, as a single whole, as one soul, as a small Church.

And then it turns out that illness is not just a nuisance, but a spiritual school for everyone, a visit from God that concerns the whole family. The Lord visits her and lays one on a bed of illness, and teaches others compassion, humility, love. This is both a school of education and a school of mutual compliance. Everything is here. This is the whole world. And in this world, people suddenly begin to change. Everyone gets some benefit. Parents - as trustees of the spiritual and physical condition of the child. Children acquire the skill of caring for their neighbor, sympathy, subordinating some of their desires to what is happening in the family. From an early age, the child himself learns to subordinate the bodily manifestations of the life of the spirit, which should be in the first place for a person, tries to pray.

Of course, the participation of the family in the victory over the illness of one of its members does not exclude the call of a doctor to the sick person's house, as well as a priest. But all this must be done not in fuss and not in a state of helpless striving to seize on this or that means, but with understanding. Experienced parents know that a child’s high temperature causes severe health (to convulsions), and even before the doctor arrives, they can get him out of this state: take one part of warm water, the same amount of vodka and vinegar, mix and smear the baby’s body with this composition. You can also apply gauze bandages soaked in a similar composition to your wrists and ankles. Of course, all measures taken should be accompanied by a prayer appeal to God, to the Mother of God, to saints.

An excited mother, running to the temple (or by phone), asks the priest to visit the sick child. Of course, this measure is extreme, because, without having certain (concrete) knowledge in the field of medicine, the priest cannot always ensure a positive result with his visit. Not every pastor possesses that degree of Divine grace (as, for example, the presbyter and miracle worker, Father John of Kronstadt), which in the twinkling of an eye can reveal the miraculous help of the Holy Spirit.

Then, calling a priest to a sick baby is one thing, but to a seven-year-old boy (maiden) is another. If a child can be confessed and communed (with spare Gifts), then how can all this be done over a sick baby who only a couple of days ago uttered the word “mother”? True, from my pastoral practice I know that venerable archpriests communed the baby at home; but only by Blood, and with certain precautions. The Blood of the Lord (as well as the Body saturated with It) is in the Chalice on the Holy Throne. So the priest pours this Blood into a hermetically sealed small bowl (it is made, like a small spoon, exclusively, as they say now) and carries it on his chest to a sick baby and partakes him of this Blood.

The lad must be confessed before communion and partake of the reserve Gifts (that is, the Body drenched in the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ).

But since such a method of communion of an infant at home is not always possible (due to the lack of necessary vessels that are not produced in Sofrino), the arrival of a priest is unlikely.

This information directly concerns unchurched parents.

Now the question is when to invite a priest to a sick child to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ? This should be done when the patient is in the mind, and not rushing about in a fever, losing a sense of the reality of what is happening. This must be done on the condition that the child recognizes God as the only source of healing. “Without faith, all the Sacraments are ineffective for a person,” writes the elder Archimandrite John (Krestyankin). Pray, mothers of sick children, and in your own words: “God! You know everything, and Your love is perfect, take the life of my child (name) in Your hand and do what I long to do, but I cannot. Amen".

V

Our illnesses are a consequence of a sinful life, and treatment must begin with repentance and unction - this is for the soul. And after the unction, one must also turn to doctors so that, with God's help, they can help the aching body.

Prayer, done in patience, is the best means for acquiring peace of mind and mental sobriety. It is necessary to know one immutable truth, which is given specifically for our time. Now, with the impoverishment of spiritual leaders and the weakening of the faith of believers, the Lord gave people an impartial leader who heals, teaches, and admonishes - these are the hardships of life: sorrows and illnesses. The human mind is tricky, the heart has become crafty, and therefore it is extremely difficult to control our actions, and the Lord, knowing this, gave us a bitter cure for mental ailments - physical illnesses. It is useful for all of us, young and old, to understand the main thing: not in words, but really to entrust ourselves to the will of God, which will send us liberation from the fetters of sin and show the path of spiritual salvation.

Above, we mentioned a very important Sacrament taught in the Orthodox Church - the Sacrament of the Consecration of the Unction (in church practice called Unction). There is not so much superstition and prejudice associated with any sacrament as with Unction. What can you not hear from elderly parishioners who think they are experts in the Church Charter! They say that after the Unction one should not bathe, eat meat, one must fast on Mondays; and most importantly, that only the dying can receive this sacrament. All this is not true.

The Sacrament of the Unction, or the Consecration of the Unction, as it is called in the liturgical books, was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of Mark we read how the apostles, preaching throughout Palestine, anointed the sick with oil and healed them. The essence of this Sacrament is most fully revealed by the Apostle James in his Catholic Epistle (pay attention to the epigraph to this brochure).

It can be said that the Consecration of the Sick is the sacrament of healing. The Orthodox writer of the 19th century E. Poselyanin wrote: “It is not at all said that the disease must be fatal or that a person is in a helpless state. We must not forget that in Christianity spiritual suffering is also recognized as a disease... So. If I suffer in spirit from the death of loved ones, from grief, in order to gather my strength and remove the fetters of despair, I can resort to Unction.”

But even in bodily illness, a person needs to turn to God with prayer, not relying only on a doctor, who himself is an instrument of God's Providence.

Usually Unction takes place at home, at the bedside of the sick, but during Great Lent it happens in churches. During the Sacrament, which is performed by several priests (“council”), oil (vegetable oil mixed with wine) is consecrated, 7 Apostles and Gospels are read, as many lengthy prayers. After each reading, the priests anoint certain parts of the believer's body with oil.

Oil is an image of God's mercy, love and compassion (remember the parable of the Good Samaritan).

In addition to healing from illnesses, the Unction (unction) grants us the forgiveness of forgotten sins (but not consciously hidden). Due to the weakness of memory, each person cannot confess all his sins, therefore it is not even worth saying how great is the value of Unction. Physically healthy people can resort to this Sacrament with the blessing of the priest. (This Sacrament is not performed on infants.) The oil left over from Unction can be eaten little by little and anointed with it, as is done during the Sacrament of Unction.

VI

The question of communion of a sick child may be related to such a concept as fasting.

A few words about him.

Fasting is abstinence. From what? From all kinds of excesses, carnal (bodily) and spiritual (spiritual). If a person leads an immoderate lifestyle, does not restrain himself in food and drink, in entertainment (sinful), in the endless satisfaction of his constantly growing material needs, then he can be compared with an unbridled horse that can expose its rider to mortal danger.

Fasting is a bit in the mouth of a hot horse, and an experienced rider who knows how to use them is in less danger to his life than any other ignorant would-be rider.

The Church of Christ decreed for her children to fast and indicated for this purpose certain periods of the year and even days.

Weekly fast days (with the exception of "solid" weeks) are Wednesday and Friday. On Wednesday, the fast was established in remembrance of the betrayal of Christ by Judas, and on Friday - for the sake of suffering on the cross and the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. On these days it is forbidden to eat meat and dairy foods, eggs and other foods of animal origin, and on the days of strict fasts one should abstain from fish.

There are four multi-day fasts in a year. The most important and strict is Great Lent, which lasts seven weeks (40 days plus the so-called Holy Week) - 49 days before Easter. The strictest of them are the First, Fourth and Passion. This fast is established in memory of the forty-day fast of the Savior in the wilderness.

In its severity, Assumption is close to Great Lent (from August 1/14 to August 14/27). With this fast, the holy Church venerates the Most Holy Theotokos, who stands before God and constantly prays for us. During these strict fasts, fish can only be eaten on the feasts of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos (March 25/April 7), the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (seven days before Easter) and the Transfiguration (August 6/19). The Advent fast lasts 40 days (from November 15/28 to December 24/January 6). It is allowed to eat fish during this fast, except for Monday, Wednesday and Friday. After the holiday in honor of St. Nicholas (C / December 19), fish can only be eaten on Saturdays and Sundays, and the days from January 2 to January 6 must be spent in full severity.

The fourth of the year is the fast established by the Church in honor of the chief apostles Peter and Paul, the so-called Peter's fast. It begins with All Saints' Week and ends on June 29/July 12, the Feast of the Apostles. In this fast, as in the Christmas one (in its first period before the feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker), the charter about eating food is the same.

The days of strict fasting are Epiphany Christmas Eve (January 5/18), the feasts of the Beheading of John the Baptist (September 14/27). It is allowed to loosen fasting for sick, pregnant and lactating women, as well as for people engaged in heavy physical labor. This must be done so that fasting does not cause a sharp decline in strength and does not lead to an inability to work (work physically) and fulfill the prayer rule.

We should not think that fasting is abstinence from fast food, carnal pleasures. Fasting is mainly the curbing and humility of pride, the liberation of the soul from sinful thoughts and actions, it is the ascension of the mind to God in a saving prayer feat.

“Whoever believes that fasting is only abstaining from food is mistaken! True fasting, - teaches St. John Chrysostom, - is the removal from evil, the curbing of the tongue, the laying off of anger, the taming of lusts, the cessation of slander, lies and perjury.

The body of a fasting person, without being burdened with food, becomes light, strengthened to receive grace-filled gifts. By fasting we tame the flesh, soften our temper, suppress anger, restrain impulses of the heart; our mind becomes vigorous, the soul finds calmness, while the senses - abstinence. As St. Basil the Great says, by fasting with an auspicious fast and avoiding every sin committed by all the senses, we fulfill the pious duty of an Orthodox Christian.

“Whoever rejects fasting takes away weapons from himself and others against the devil, he is not a warrior of Christ, for he throws down his weapons and voluntarily surrenders himself into the captivity of his voluptuary and sin-loving flesh; he, finally, is blind and does not see the relationship between the causes and consequences of deeds,” writes the holy righteous John of Kronstadt in his book “My Life in Christ”.

Fasting is a healing remedy for the soul and body of a person, a medicine for a believer who is sick in body and relaxed in spirit. Any medicine should be taken with understanding and according to the doctor's prescription. Probably, you should not give a child a laxative when his eyes hurt, or wash his stomach with a sore throat. Everything has its own structure and order.

Therefore, fasting or not fasting a child during an illness is an ambiguous question (especially in case of a short-term illness). For example, a child is poisoned by canned fish, or dairy products, or something else. Such a patient (if it is not a baby) can also be assigned a fast, and not regaled with various sweets and delicious dishes.

In the case of a breakdown and severe overwork, on the contrary, it is necessary to cancel every fast (even during Great Lent). We add that it is good to take the parents and the blessing from the priest.

It happens that a priest, before going to give communion to a sick child, will ask his parents (with their consent, of course) not to feed him anything until communion (we are not talking about babies).

In conclusion of this topic, let us say once again about fasting in general, as a grace-filled and healing remedy for a Christian.

Fasting is pleasing to God, the commandment to fast is a reasonable commandment. And if anyone were to tell you that it is unreasonable to deny yourself good food and that there can be nothing pleasing to God in this, and if you hear such speeches, know that whoever speaks like this, he blasphemously says about the Savior Himself that He committed unreasonable actions. … For Christ Himself showed us the example of fasting; and whoever imitates Him does not agree with those "theologians" who think that a person lives in order to eat and drink, and not vice versa - he eats and drinks in order to live.

Some who tempt a pious Christian can cite the words of the Gospel: Not what enters the mouth defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth defiles a person (). It would seem that a direct prohibition (abolition) of posts. Such a questioner can be answered: “And drunkenness that enters the mouth, too, then, does not defile a person?! If what enters the mouth does not defile a person, then how could the first person be defiled by the heavenly forbidden under?!” And to add more: “Yes, food does not defile a person, otherwise the Holy Church would not allow it to be eaten on other days. But if countless lust, or intemperance, or disobedience, and even a direct violation of the blessing of God, is added to food, then food defiles a person, but it defiles not by its very essence, but by those moral deeds with which intemperance is associated.

In order to properly understand the words of the Savior given in the Gospel (), you need to know that they were spoken by Him in denunciation of the Pharisees, who, although they observed the Jewish commandments about fasting, were in many other respects at the lowest level of the moral and ethical level of piety. Naturally, the Divine Teacher did not recognize such a Pharisaic fast, because without piety the strictest fast is useless.

Thus, the violators of the commandment to fast have no basis for their justification. Rebelling against the orders of the Church about fasting, they rebel against Christ Himself, Who, by His example, sanctified fasting, showed its godliness, saying that the teaching! He will be fasted. Are we not learning! His?

You can also hear such arguments that, they say, you can eat meat on a fast day, if moderately (strictly), and fasting will be observed, or you can get enough (immoderately) of lean gourmet dishes, and fasting will be broken. The boasting disgraced defiant disobedient simply does not understand that he takes one drop of poison, but enough to die.

The main thing that we all need to learn is that non-fulfilment of church institutions is disobedience to the Mother Church, about which the Lord Himself said that She is His creation, and that the gates of hell will not overcome Her. We should be good children of our Mother, the Orthodox Church, and not offend her with our disobedience. If you do not turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven ().

VII

We have already said that parental prayer for children has special power; especially during periods of illness of our children, we must turn in an intense way to our Healer, to Whom everything is subject, and even death itself!

Praying in the Holy Spirit (), we expect mercy from our Lord Jesus Christ to inherit eternal life. “Prayer is the lifting of the mind to God” (Metropolitan Filaret), contemplation of Him, the bold conversation of the creature with the Creator, the reverent standing of the soul before Him, the sanctification of the soul, strengthening it and the body, vigor and courage in all the sorrows and temptations of life, the affirmation of faith, hope, love. Prayer is the correction of life, the mother of heartbreak and tears, the safety of life, the destruction of the fear of death ... Prayer is living water, with which the soul quenches its thirst.

We repeat, prayer should always be sincere and completely free, and not involuntary, forced by custom or extreme circumstances, it should be a free and fully conscious outpouring of the soul before God, Who, like a loving mother, wants to embrace us, His wild and disobedient children. His love, to deliver us from the snare of the catcher, from the fatal ulcer, and to show us the salvation of our souls ().

Prayer requires intentional, deliberate, extreme humility. This is especially necessary during the reading of the Lord's Prayer "Our Father".

They say: there is no desire, so do not pray, - carnal, crafty wisdom, pushing to forget about the need for communication with God; if you don’t just start praying, you will completely forget about Him; the flesh wants it. The kingdom of heaven needs (); if you do not force yourself to do good, you will not be saved.

We must carefully listen to our heart so that it does not lie, so that every word comes out of its depths, as it is said: From the depths I cried to You, Lord (), i.e. one must take extreme care of that sincerity that makes all the words of prayer composed by others as its own, considers true every word of prayer uttered without a doubt, in the simplicity of the heart, and then prayer will nourish you with imperishable food, give you drink with grace-filled dew, warm your heart with Divine warmth.

Prayer is that golden key that opens the treasures of God's mercy and forgiveness. This is a spiritual weapon with which - according to the word of the Lord Savior - the invisible enemy of the human race is defeated. Prayer helps us free ourselves from the shackles with which earthly thoughts entangle us. Prayer brings down on us from the height of heaven an innumerable manifestation of God's love for us. We always need prayer, for every day of our life; without prayer there can be no life with Christ.

Prayer does not only consist in standing and bowing with the body before God and reading written prayers; it is possible without this at any time and in any place to pray with the mind and spirit. You can turn your mind and heart to God on the way, while eating, lying down or doing business, in front of people or in solitude, and so ask Him for mercy and help. God is everywhere and in any place, and the doors to Him are always open and the approach to Him is simple, not like to a person; and always and everywhere, in His philanthropy, He is ready to listen to us and help us. Everywhere and always, at any time, in any need and case, we can approach Him with faith and prayer, we can everywhere say to Him with our mind: “Lord, have mercy!”, “Lord, help!”

Everything that has been said (very briefly) about the importance of prayer in the life of a Christian must be learned by both the parents themselves and their children. And you never have to wait until the “thunder strikes” in order to turn to God for help in sorrow, illness, misfortune, but always be inseparable with Him until the end of your days.

Now a few words about whether to tell the child that illnesses are allowed by God, and whether to recommend the patient to pray himself. Of course, we need to talk about all this, we need to teach prayer too. But do it piously, with love, in order to evoke in the child himself a repentant feeling of his unworthiness and a desire to ask God for forgiveness of sins, from which not only the soul, but also the body suffers.

We repeat, everything is done with understanding and on time, and not at the moment of the critical state of the sick person.

The Christian attitude to illness lies in the humble acceptance of the will of God, in the awareness of one's sinfulness and those sins for which the illness was allowed, in repentance, in changing one's life.

The Lord makes it clear to us that earthly life is a short moment, behind which is eternity, and what it will be for everyone depends on his life on earth. The disease humbles us, being that protective barrier that makes us cleanse ourselves of our own passions and vices, and possibly does not allow us to commit evil and disastrous deeds.

Very often the Lord pulls us out of the ordinary course of life with a disease, saving us from a serious misfortune, saving us from a larger one with a small nuisance.

Parents should be aware of all this. Does a child need to know that diseases are allowed by God? We think it certainly is. He needs to know that illness is the result of a person's sinful behavior, which defiles not only the soul, but also causes physical (body) suffering. The disease causes in the soul a feeling of regret about those deeds and actions that are committed out of disobedience and arbitrariness.

After all, if a sick daughter (or son) has to say a thousand times: “Do not walk barefoot on the cold floor,” and she does not obey, then this turns into an aggravation of sin and all sorts of complications of the disease.

Let this naive example cause the reader to smile (this is not the main thing), but know, parents, sin breeds disease.

Youths and maidens (our children) should know about this and have a clear idea. Our (parents) task is to give them the knowledge of all this.

Disobedience is not only the cause of disease, but also of all disorder. Children should not be allowed to go out of obedience. Obedience is the foundation of any successful good undertaking.

Little is told in the Gospel about the childhood and adolescence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but this little is very important and instructive. About the 12-year-old Jesus, the Evangelist Luke recorded the following: Jesus went and came with Joseph and Mary, His Mother, to Nazareth and was in obedience to them (). The same thing that St. the apostle Luke delivers in praise to the child Jesus, i.e. obedience, the same St. the apostle Paul glorifies in Jesus, who has reached male age, obedience to His Heavenly Father: He was obedient even to death, and death on the cross (). The apostle goes even further: just as sin came from the disobedience of Adam alone, so justification came from the obedience of Christ alone ().

The lives of the saints are replete with examples of unconditional obedience to one's parents, senior mentors, spiritual fathers, and so on.

Let's see what is said in the life of the abbot of the Russian land Sergius of Radonezh. Let's take an example of filial obedience. Bartholomew (that was the name of the future Saint Sergius in his adolescence) was not like the children of his age, who did not always subjugate their will to the will of their parents: he knew the dignity of what he desired (monasticism), but he agreed to languish for the time being with an unfulfilled desire in order to maintain obedience to his parents and through then inherit their blessing.

And here is what we read in the life of St. Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow: “Hegumen, Elder Alexy, received him favorably and appointed him a novice. Meekly and diligently, Fedor (the name of the saint in his youth) began to fulfill the duties assigned to him: he carried water, chopped wood, worked in the kitchen, in the garden and at the mill; he served everyone with meekness, sometimes he endured insults, even beatings, but he endured everything patiently. Probably, such a life was not easy for the son of a rich boyar, brought up in luxury.

What can we say about the obedience of the saints of God, when the Mother of God the Virgin Mary herself set an example of the greatest obedience to her parents, when in infancy she was given up by them for education in the Jerusalem temple. Through obedience to God, She became the Chosen Vessel of God, capable of containing the Uncontainable.

It is good when a child is obedient to a parent, but at the same time it is very important that he learns to hear God, turn to Him with requests and give thanks for the mercy shown. He can do all this both with the help of his artless simple words, and in the prayers that he has been taught, such as “Our Father”, “Virgin Mother of God”, “To the King of Heaven”, “It is worthy to eat ...”, etc. In difficult situations we remember God more often than in the period of complacency. Sickness can also be a reminder of His presence. A child may have a desire to seek help from God, the Mother of God or saints for healing from an illness. Parents should definitely help him in this. But do not just point to the prayer book - and pray, but make it clear that everything is in the hands of God and "His mercy is on those who fear Him." And if the Lord delays in healing, then this is not because He desires the death of the sinner, but in His Wisdom humbles us, teaching patience and trust in His philanthropy.

VIII

Which of us, dear reader, has not observed the following picture: at the bedside of a sick child, a swarm of household members is buzzing. Mom advises to go immediately for the right medicine and give it to the sick, dad - to call a doctor, aunt - to contact a healer who uses unconventional methods, grandmother - to run to church to light a candle - in a word, how many people - so many opinions. But what about the patient? And he doesn’t care, as long as he stops throwing him into a fever and his head stops hurting.

Such a variety of offers of help is not accidental, because. connected with the skeptical attitude of people towards a man in a white coat, whose work, however, was blessed by the Lord Himself.

We know the names of many saints for whom medicine was a professional affiliation in their service to God and people. Here are just a few names: St. Apostle Luke, St. Great Martyr Panteleimon, Saints Cosmas and Damian, Cyrus and John, Saint Luke (Voyno-Yasenetsky) and others. Their lives and chronicles testify that they were bearers of the grace-filled gift of healing promised by the Savior (; ).

It is useful to listen to the ascetics of piety that they did not consider the treatment of the sick with medical means not pleasing to God. “Doctors and medicines are from God, and it is necessary to turn to them and follow the advice of professional doctors.

But any appeal to them must be preceded by an appeal to the Lord in the Sacraments of Unction and Communion. And this should be done not only on the child, but also on the parents. Now children very often suffer for the iniquities of their parents.

It is necessary that everyone be baptized, the marriage should be crowned, and that the family should go to church and live the life of the Church,” Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) advises believers in his letters.

Many diseases arise from the action of unclean spirits. At the same time, the symptoms of demonic attacks are very similar to a natural disease. From the Gospel it is clear that the crouched woman healed by the Lord () was not possessed, but the cause of her illness was the action of an unclean spirit. In such cases, medical art is powerless, and healing is possible only by the power of God, which casts out the spirit of malice.

So how should we treat doctors, whose task is not to harm, but to help a sick person? Yes, as it was said above - with attention, as if they had received a gift from the Lord. We also should not instill in our children a different attitude towards a medical worker who works hard for the benefit of our health and does not always receive a worthy reward for his work.

It is clear that healing is performed by God Himself by His mighty power, through people pleasing to Him.

Diseases do not always bring only sorrows to a person, but necessarily spiritual benefits. Here is how Elder Paisius Svyatogorets testifies to this: “Illness always brings great benefits. Sickness helps people who do not have virtues to propitiate God. Health is a big deal, but the good that illness brings to a person cannot be given by health! Illness brings spiritual good to a person. Sickness is a great, great blessing. It cleanses a person from sin, and sometimes "guarantees" him a (heavenly) reward. The human soul is like gold, and disease is like fire, which purifies this gold. Look, after all, Christ also said to the Apostle Paul: My strength is made perfect in weakness (). The more a person suffers from the disease, the more pure and holy he becomes - if only he endures and accepts the disease with joy.

The only thing needed in some illnesses is a little patience. God allows disease so that a person receives a small reward, and through this disease

God cleanses a person from his shortcomings. After all, physical illness helps in the healing of mental illness. A bodily illness brings a person humility and thus neutralizes his mental illness. God makes use of everything for the good of man! Everything He allows is of spiritual benefit to us. He knows what is necessary for each of us, and in accordance with this gives us a disease either so that we accept a reward for it, or so that we pay for some sins ”(Words. Published by the house“ Holy Mountain ". Moscow, 2004. S. 232-233). Let's face it, not everyone likes this view of the disease, but it is very true. It is difficult to humble yourself, but it is necessary: ​​God opposes the proud, gives grace to the humble, says St. Apostle James. And we, believers, strive to be under the grace-filled protection of our Lord Jesus Christ, Whom we breathe and live.

IX

And how can we not thank God for His mercy and philanthropy towards sinful people? To somewhat paraphrase the words of the Apostle Paul, let's say: if we get sick - we get sick for God, if we are healed - we are healed for God, - everything is for God and in God. And for everything we must thank Him, the All-Powerful.

But then thunderclouds swept over us, the illness passed, the child is back at school among noisy classmates, the family lives in the same mode: work, TV in the evening, work again in the morning, in the evening ... etc. And they do not always remember the One Who returned them peace of mind and stability. In the hustle and bustle of life, they forgot to thank God for His mercy.

St. Apostle Paul in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, verse 18, says: In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us.

Thanksgiving can take many forms. These are prayers of thanksgiving offered in the home Church (in the family), these are custom-made thanksgiving prayers in the temple, these are various kinds of alms and sacrifices, this is human charitable activity (and not only of a one-time nature), etc. etc.

There are cases when, in gratitude to God for the healing of a child, parents brought large sums of money to the temple (to the monastery) for the construction or restoration of these.

Most importantly, a feeling of sincere gratitude to the Lover of Humanity should arise in the soul of a person.

Epilogue

As for sorrows and illnesses, they were, are and will be with us.

All short-term earthly life with its calamities and sorrows is given to man so that he can use it for his own salvation, that is, for his return from death to life. Salvation, or quickening by the Holy Spirit, takes place through the mediation of the Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, we give an ancient teaching: “By alms, get mercy from God, humility - eternal glory, purity and chastity - a crown, meekness - entry into paradise, prayer - life with the Angels. Acquire for yourself labor - peace, prayerful vigil - communion with God, fasting and thirst - enjoyment of eternal blessings. Have a spiritual reasoning: raise your mind to God, but bring it down and down, thinking that sooner or later we will all return to the earth. Attention to the reading of Divine books, repent of sins, speak one truth, open your mouth more often to prayer, open your hands to give alms to those in need, keep your heart from anger, keep cleanliness in your body, abstinence in food, bend your knees to worship God. If you keep this, then you will be a child of Light and a son of the Kingdom of Heaven - you will save your soul.

And today, when you are in full health and are not lying on your sickbed yourself, pray for a sick child (baby, boy or girl), for whom you are asked to pray by his parents, people close or familiar (or maybe unfamiliar) to you. Take a breath. If the healthy do not pray a little for the sick, it is very likely that Christ will very soon say to them: “Have you been well and did not pray for those who were suffering? Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”

Many probably desire an attentive (good) attitude towards themselves from the people around them, but few remember the words of the Lord that you yourself should treat others accordingly: ... as you want people to do to you, so do you with them, for this is the law and the prophets ().

What should be our behavior in this earthly life - we learn all this for certain from the Holy Gospel, the reading of which should become daily spiritual food, without which not a single Christ-loving soul can do, looking forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the future age. Amen.

References:

1. Paisios the Holy Mountain. "Family life". T. IV. Moscow, 2004.
2. “Wake up, soul…” Ed. "The ark". M., 2005.
3. "Invisible Curse". M., 1912. Translated. from Greek ep. Feofan.
4. E. Poselyanin. "Soul Before God" St. Petersburg, 1909.
5. "The Basics of Orthodoxy". "Satis", 1996.
6. The Saints. Ed. "Prometheus". M., 1996.
7. Prot. I. Kronstadtsky. "My life in Christ." Ed. Moscow Patriarchy, 1920.
8. "About the most important thing." St. Petersburg, 1994.
9. Holy Alexy Grachev. "When Children Get Sick" Moscow, Trim, 1993.
10. Bishop Tikhon. "Instruction". Greece, 1997.
11. "Why aren't you in Church?" Pochaev Lavra.
12. Archbishop Luka (Voyno-Yasenetsky). M., 1997.
13. Archimandrite John (Krestyankin). Letters.
14. Ep. Irenaeus. Teachings.
15. Table book of the clergyman. T. 8. Mosk. Patriarchy, 1988.

Answering the question of many parents, "Why does a child get sick very often?", the clergy of the Orthodox Church pay attention to the correct approach to helping their child.

Father and mother, in endless worries about the health of their baby, are ready to use all possible methods. It comes down to turning to God. Oddly enough, this does not happen in the first place. But fleeting trips to church for some reason do not bring the desired result. For what reason?

It is necessary to turn to Jesus Christ with faith and understanding of the answers to the questions:

why did you come to the Lord;

where did the problem of poor health of the child come from.

About this - in the article.

Why is a small child often sick?

As Archpriest Andrey Tkachev says in one of his sermons, "the saint is not born from a sinner; children are a continuation of the family of mortal parents, smitten with sin."

The kid is completely physically and even morally dependent on his parents. It hasn't formed yet:

consciousness;

active attitude to life;

moral choice.

What mom and dad lay in him as an example of personal behavior, he will absorb. And will continue to live with these attitudes. First of all, this concerns such aspects:

whether he was born desired and how he is perceived by the closest people;

How is mom behaving?

how dad treats her, and whether he is in the family;

what mom does, drinks, eats; smoke or not.

All these features of the behavior of the older generation will be reflected in the child. Including his state of health.

The common opinion of the ministers of the Orthodox Church: until the parents heal their heads, no strongest prayer for the health of their children will help them. Due to the lack of faith in the father and mother, the younger generation is forced to suffer from various illnesses. Although mom and dad make a sincere petition to God for the healing of their child.

And believing is not just talking about it. It means daily keeping the commandments of God. "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:20).

In today's world, children are not infrequently household gods. But God crushes any idols. In relation to the younger generation, this can be expressed in their early illnesses.

To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to form your correct attitude towards children. The warmth of parental love for the baby should not develop into a demonstration of his exclusivity.

For more details on the principles of a healthy approach to one's existence and resistance to childhood illnesses, in a conversation with Archpriest Andrei Tkachev.

Lack of faith is the reason not only for the fact that the child gets sick very often. But also all our other misfortunes. It is in this that the Lord calls us to reform. And He draws our attention to the need to take concrete steps in this direction, including through the illnesses of children.

A world of breakups and loss. What more will you hurt us? Who else will you take? Not enough for you who died in Beslan, tormented and torn to pieces, who found a concentration camp instead of a school, instead of the joy of life - the torment of death. It is not enough for you the ship "Bulgaria" and night rafting on rafts on Syamozero, which carried away the bewildered children into the abyss of death. No, you break into our lives again and again, take away children when we hoped to give them joy and comfort. Abandoned by everyone, locked up, suffocated and burned in the Winter Cherry, suffering in all other catastrophes - they baffle us, show us all our impotence.

If you put all the suffering of the world together, then they will not reach the measure of the suffering of innocent children.

If you put all the suffering of the world together, then they will not reach the measure of the suffering of innocent children. But even more so, they will not reach the measure of grief of parents who have lost children. Humanly, such grief cannot be filled. Words are empty and deeds are not enough. You can rebuild a burned-out house, restore a destroyed school, assemble a new plane, but it is impossible to return a dead child. And even if our tears make up the world ocean, then even then we will not make up for the grief of mothers and fathers who have lost their children. Killed in terrorist attacks, crashed in plane crashes, disappeared in fires and floods, they are a denunciation of our helplessness and our sins, and also a denunciation of the imperfection and ruthlessness of this world.

Why, Lord, do you allow this? Why do atrocities, accidents, incurable diseases and deaths strike at what is dearest to us - our children, tearing our hearts out of our chests, making life empty and bleak?

The suffering of innocent children holds a secret. Her cover is impenetrable. Neither a curious eye nor an indignant heart can penetrate this veil. Only he who humbly walks towards the Mystery of the Innocent Cross will comprehend this mystery with a pure, meek heart.

Killing the Innocent - That's How Death Entered the People Beyond the Gates of Eden

It opens the veil of mystery to us in simple, but surprisingly clear evidence. What was the very first death in human history? What does the Old Testament tell us? It turns out that the first to part with the body was not Adam and not Eve, not their eldest son, the evil Cain, but the innocent and meek, pure in heart Abel. The killing of the innocent - that's how death entered the boundaries of people beyond the gates of Eden! One can imagine all the horror of our forefathers - they were created immortal in Paradise, called to eternity, but lost the blessings of Paradise, and now they see their son lifeless. They turn to Abel, but he does not answer, they tease him, they try to raise him, but he does not respond - his beloved son is dead.

Let's open the pages of the New Testament. What was the first death here? “The ruthless beating of innocent babies. The torment of mothers cannot be conveyed. A child torn from your hands, deprived of life before your eyes - grief is unthinkable, indescribable, inconsolable. So Holy Scripture tells us directly that the suffering of the innocent is an obvious and inevitable fact of our lives.

The suffering of innocent children is the highest form of injustice and the extreme manifestation of evil on earth. But let us think: how can evil be just? Evil is the trampling of everything most holy and valuable, trampling on good aspirations, reasonable meaning, the complete opposite of love and truth. Evil always brings injustice. They are inseparable from each other, like a scorpion and its poisonous tail. And evil invaded the world through human sin.

If you yourself brought fire to a haystack, will you be surprised that the haystack burned down? If you yourself stretched out your hand to a poisonous snake, will you be surprised that it stung, and the poison poisons you? The death of innocent children in our world reveals the whole horror of the fall, the whole depth of the injustice and fatality of the evil that invaded people's lives.

This is the price of trusting the devil, who promised that people would become "like gods" - the collapse of ordinary human happiness and helplessness in relation to the most dear and beloved. Having lost God, we do not just lose Paradise - we lose what God has given for our simple human life.

But even in the midst of all this hell, You, Lord, did not leave us. Because You love us more than we could ever imagine. We broke down the doors of Paradise in order to enjoy false freedom in the abyss of passions, literally broke everything in our lives, but You, God, never left us and restore what seemed to be completely destroyed. You turned the poison of the serpent against itself, arranged the fire of the furnace to purify gold, and caused the suffering of people to save them. Neither Abel, nor - none of the innocently killed did not become the prey of death. Because they are with You, our only Consolation and Joy. We are experiencing and suffering here, and they are Your inheritance, Your election, because they are like You in their innocent suffering.

Some time ago, a man who held a high position in the Investigative Committee was dying. He was an ideological communist and once upon a time had a hand in exile and even executions of people who professed faith in God. Before his death, being in a serious illness, he unexpectedly asked those around him: "Call the priest." “You are a communist. What's happened?" – the people nearby asked in bewilderment. He said that on the verge of death, he saw the people persecuted by him in Heaven, how they are filled with Paradise blessings and pray with compassion for his salvation. Only now did he clearly realize that the people he was persecuting were happier than he, that his whole struggle with faith in God had been a terrible mistake. Life without God turned out to be a pitiful illusion, and the most terrible thing that can be imagined is death in opposition to God and unrepentant sins. The priest was invited, and the former communist had time to confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. The realities of spiritual life are such that the fate of those who suffer is much higher than those who cause suffering. The fate of those who patiently carry their cross is high, because these people follow the path of Christ Himself.

If you collect the wealth of the whole universe, the beauty of distant stars and all the treasures of gold mines, then they will not make up for the loss of one smile of your own child. But not one such smile and not one tear is forgotten by God.

The Most Innocent One came to torment and death for us, and in Him the suffering of any innocent is justified.

They say that the highest degree of love is to take on the fate of a loved one, to stand next to the one who suffers and share his pain. For the sake of all who suffer, He came Who Himself, by His Divine nature, should not suffer. And in order to suffer for us, He became just like us, a man. The Most Innocent One came to torment and death for us, and in Him the death and suffering of any innocent is justified. He not only shared our pain, He took upon Himself all the pain of all people in order to free people from pain forever in eternity.

To give us life, Christ went to death. To give us heavenly blessings, He experienced hellish torments. And the very pinnacle of suffering on the Cross was the cry of the Savior as a man: My God, My God, why did you leave me?(Mark 15:34) He experienced the torment of God-forsakenness in order to save us from it forever.

If you part with your beloved for a while, and then find him forever, then even now, with a temporary separation, this gives consolation. The world of parting and loss will continue to hurt us, but there is One Who is higher than this world, Who conquered sin and death, and therefore in Him we find true freedom. And therefore there is no death, but only a temporary separation.

Who will understand the grief of a mother who has lost a child? The one who lost himself will understand. And all the more will the Mother of God, who stood at the Cross of her painfully dying Son, understand. The unjust loss of innocent children brings the sufferers closer to the Mother of God, but She herself becomes close to those who suffered it.

With all the hopelessness of earthly sorrows, God gives us consolation, for sorrows are temporary, and God is eternal.

The Fatherland tells how Abba Isaac once found him in prayerful contemplation, and after that he asked where he was at that time. “Forced to reveal his secret, he said: “My mind was at the Cross of the Savior in those moments when Our Lady Mary stood there and wept.” None of us will feel and understand the grief of the Mother of God, but even more so, no one will understand the meaning of Her humble cry, which expressed here, on Golgotha, all the same meek: Behold, the servant of the Lord, let it be unto me according to thy word(Luke 1:38). Loyalty to God, humility and love even when the highest peak of injustice and innocent suffering comes - this is the spiritual mystery that transforms and transforms, separates a person from the sinful world and brings him closer to God Himself. And that is why the Monk Pimen concluded his speech on contemplating the weeping of the Mother of God with a humble confession: “I would like to weep like this forever.”

With all the hopelessness of earthly sorrows, God gives us consolation, for sorrows are temporary, and God is eternal, and He gives eternal blessed life. After the twilight of the night dawn comes, after the sorrow of Calvary - the light of the Resurrection, after the death of innocent children - immortality and life, like an angel. And God will wipe away every tear. Embraces of eternal Love accept everyone who suffers innocently.

10 years ago I met a beautiful woman and wondered why she was so unlucky in life. This year I received a letter from her, where she complained about the misfortunes that befell her lot. And I wrote her a letter.

Hello John!

We met with you twice. When I saw you, such a charming woman, 10 years ago, I could not understand then why your husband, whom you helped defend his dissertation, and with whom you lived in perfect harmony for seven years, suddenly went over to another woman, much older than him, and at the same time even turned away from his daughter.

You got married for the second time and felt loved and happy. The long-awaited child was born, but new suffering began. The son fell ill, and the doctors offered to take him to a psycho-neurological boarding school. The husband, instead of supporting you, harbors a grudge against you and demands the destruction of his son. Let's try to figure out why so much suffering has fallen on you.

Because you don't go to church, don't pray, and have weak faith, you can be easily influenced by evil people. Now there are a lot of divorced witches and sorcerers, especially in Ukraine. If the son is not baptized, then you urgently baptize him and baptize yourself if you were not baptized as a child. Try to go with him to the Elders in some monastery. In Kyiv, in the Lavra, there are Elders who make reprimands (casting demons out of people). Then your son, if not completely cured, will be more capable (learn to read, count, and acquire labor skills). But the main cause of illnesses is unrepentant sins, violation of the commandments of the Lord and rebellion. There are sins that can be corrected, and there are sins that we can only atone for by suffering. Sin remains sin until we repent before the Lord in the Church of Christ.

Repentance is the realization of one's sins and the desire not to repeat them in the future. We go to the bathhouse to keep the body clean. Repentance is a bath for the soul. Go to repentance more often. Having soiled a white blouse, you wash it. Plant the stain and wash again. They committed sin and washed away with confession.

If you have had abortions, then repent of the sin of infanticide and the sin of adultery. Fornication is even called life with a husband, but without a wedding. If you carefully look at the 10 commandments of the Lord, you will understand what a sinful life we ​​live.

In the collection of poems by A. Stepanova (About time and about myself), one of them is called "Repentance".

While I trample this earth,

As long as my soul is with me,

As long as I listen to her impulses,

I will pray for this:

Lord God, send us a Savior,

Turn Russia away from sin!

We have forgotten the precepts of the Teacher,

Turned back the centuries:

Churches are abandoned, faith is destroyed,

In the souls - one lighthouse,

Bitten like a mad dog,

We have turned away from faith in Christ.

We believed false prophets for seventy years,

Those who settled in the Kremlin,

They measured their life with a false measure,

They built heaven on earth.

I will try to help you and for this purpose I will tell a few stories, and you draw your own conclusions.

I went to two blessed ones: to the old woman Lyuboviya and the nun Varvara. Both of them had already died, but were spiritual children of St. Seraphim of Vyritsky, and also knew a certain mother. God gave her the gift of clairvoyance to serve people, and John himself, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, blessed her. But Vladyka did not bless her to publicly open it, and therefore I am silent about her name.

VISION IS RECOVERED

My colleague at work asked my mother how to help her friend Elena, whose son is ill, goes blind, and at the age of five he is already going to have a complicated operation the other day. Mother said that Lena had offended her mother, that she needed to repent of this sin, and that she should take her son to Church for communion more often, wash his eyes with Holy water. The operation will not be necessary and her eyesight will be restored if she goes to the Church with sincere repentance. Indeed, it turned out that Lena did not comply with her mother's request. Before her death, she left money for her funeral, for the purchase and installation of a monument. Lena bought the monument, but could not install it, as she spent the money on buying herself a coat. Mother was with us on Friday, and already on Saturday Lena ran to the Church for repentance and promised to erect a monument in the cemetery as soon as the frosts ended. On Monday, there was a round of doctors at the hospital and the boy was discharged from the hospital instead of doing an operation. Now the son is healthy, his eyes see well. He and his mother always go to Church.

WHERE WAS THE CHILD BAPTIZED?

Schema-nun Varvara was in the hospital of St. Xenia the Blessed in 1997, and my friend and I visited her. She immediately asked us: “Which of you had an abortion?”. My friend confessed to her that she was, but that she had already confessed for this sin of infanticide. The nun Varvara asked me to bring a baby dress and a cross tomorrow morning, saying that she would send it to Jerusalem. She gave me and my friend an order to marry our husbands.

My husband was in the hospital at the time. He underwent surgery to remove a hernia, and heart complications began. Varvara prayed for him, and the very next morning the question of an incipient myocardial infarction was dropped and he was discharged two days later. Unfortunately, as soon as the troubles receded from the spouse, he forgot about everything.

My friend brought her husband and his friend to Varvara. A friend’s daughter was constantly ill, and when Victor entered the ward to Schema-nun Varvara, she said from the doorway: “What have you and your wife done? You and your spouse are Orthodox Christians. How was your daughter baptized? Victor replied: “In a Catholic church. An aunt from Estonia came and christened our daughter.” Varvara replied: “This is the reason for your daughter’s illness, baptize her in an Orthodox Church, get married yourself. And all diseases will end. And so it was.

And the friend and her husband were told: “Get married if you don’t want your son to become a drug addict.” And they soon got married. And the children recovered.

WHY ARE CHILDREN MISSING?

And I'll tell you one more story. It was on Christmas Day, five years ago. We went to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. There they prayed at the grave of Metropolitan John of Ladoga and St. Petersburg. Leaving the cemetery, matushka and the priest from Diveyevo began to pray in front of the wall where the monks were shot in 1918. I was waiting for them. At that time, a man came up to me and said that his son had disappeared seven months ago. I asked my mother to help this man. She told him: "Nikolai, your son Grigory is alive, but it is very difficult for him, since he is in the hands of the mafia." Then she continued: “Nicholas! You didn't know what you were doing. He often came home drunk and sent his son to... You didn't want to have children and sent your wife for an abortion four times. You watched sessions of Kashpirovsky and other false healers and astrologers on TV, visited psychics and sorcerers to find out where and how your son disappeared. And the first Psalm of David is: "Do not go to the meetings of the wicked." If you want your son to return, go to repentance tomorrow with your wife. Pray for your son and for yourself too. When the son returns home, go to the Temple with a bouquet of flowers, and place the bouquet in front of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God. It is She who will return your son to you.” Nikolai stood at a loss and asked me: “How does she know everything about me?”. I replied, “Today is Christmas. Do everything that Mother told you. Her clairvoyant gift was given by the Lord, as she has great love for God and neighbors.

When I got to work, I told my colleagues about it. Galina asked Matushka to find out where her friend Antonina's son had disappeared a year ago. Mother, when I began to ask her about this, told me: “It’s so hard, you drive so much demonic power on me. Antonina herself killed her son. She completed courses of some kind of magic and thereby killed her son. Do not sword pearls in front of pigs, she will not hear you. After a little hesitation, the mother continued: “Perhaps tell her that her daughter is growing up, and if she does not give up her studies in magic, she will lose her daughter too.” I came to Galina and asked: “What, is your friend a psychic? And does she have a daughter? Galina answered: “Yes, Antonina graduated from white magic courses and now works in Pushkin, in a clinic, as a psychic and bioenergetics.” I don't know if she quit her studies. Is her daughter still alive? I give facts about how, through the prayers and advice of mothers and elders, God helps people.

THE FRUITS OF ATHEISM AND OCCULTISM

John, I don’t want to scare you, but I want to remind you that the fight against God turns into fight against man, and that spiritual fornication, as well as depravity, usually leads the person himself or his child to mental disorders. And diseases such as epilepsy, schizophrenia, Down's disease in children can probably be the result of unrepentant sins of his parents.

St. John of Kronstadt in his book “The Living Ear from the Spiritual Field” in 1909 wrote: “It is especially necessary for future spouses to abstain from passions, because passions are communicated to them at birth and for their children, so that children become miserable heirs of the passions of their parents, as well as their diseases (for example, scrofula). Oh legacy of sin, legacy of lamentation! ".

As a rule, if someone in the family was engaged in witchcraft, or someone committed suicide, the children suffer. Often unreasonable parents turn to grandmas to speak a hernia, remove damage, evil eye, curse. And since any conspiracy is the fruit of the joint creativity of a person with demons, one demon is changed for a dozen others, and new diseases become more insidious. I met such sick children. By the age of 10-12, they mooed, bleated and became crazy, although they were born healthy babies.

Hypnotists, astrologers, magic healers, psychics - these are all people who are in the charm of demons. We all watched demonic sessions of various magicians and hypnotists on television, and only a few repented of the sin of communicating with dark satanic forces. My friend had a postoperative suture at the Kashpirovsky session, but soon her daughter began premature birth, and the long-awaited child died during childbirth.

I used to live in a shared apartment. A family lived in the apartment above. Andrei's mother, in protest against his marriage, threw herself under a train. Andrei had a son, but he and his wife lived poorly. Andrei began to drink and walk. My son, in his second year, ended up in a psychiatric hospital and spent 20 years there, occasionally appearing at home. Andrei drank himself and died after his son. However, if Andrei or his son had come to God for help and fulfilled His commandments, the tragedy might not have happened.

In the Bible, the Lord said to the prophet Ezekiel: “Why do you use this proverb in the land of Israel, saying: “The fathers ate sour grapes, but the children’s teeth are set on edge?” ... For behold, all souls are Mine: as the soul of the father, so the soul of the son is Mine: the soul that sins, that shall die. You say “why does the son not bear the guilt of his father?...Because the son acts lawfully and righteously, keeps all My statutes and fulfills them, and he will live...And the lawless one, if he turns from all his sins, which he did and he will keep all my statutes and do what is lawful and righteous, he will live, he will not die.” Cast away from yourselves all your sins with which you have sinned, and create for yourself a new heart and a new spirit; and why should you die? For I do not want the death of a dying man, says the Lord God, but turn and live!” (Ezek.18: 2,4,19-21,31,32).

Somehow, during our meeting, I told you about my first marriage, but only now it became clear to me why it ended in tragedy. We were both atheists. We arranged the wedding on Good Friday, the eve of Easter. We lived very friendly. We were jokingly called "Sherochka with Masherochka". My husband was a talented scientist, and after a brilliant defense of his Ph.D. thesis, he was to be sent to America for a year. He probably began to cooperate with the security authorities. In those years, a new wave of persecution against the Church began, for N.S. Khrushchev promised to remove the last priest. In Moscow, a swimming pool was built on the site of the Temple of the Savior, in Leningrad (in Strelna), several Temples were blown up on the territory of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, and a parade ground for a police school was arranged at the burial site. For your information, here was the Necropolis, the fourth largest in the world, and the families of the great commanders Suvorov and Kutuzov were buried there. Under L.I. Brezhnev, although not so harshly, the Leninist policy of combating priests and religion continued.

My husband did not like priests and monks very much, he condemned and laughed at them. And in 1967, on Easter, we stood in St. Nicholas Cathedral. The husband was nervous, young people constantly approached him. When the Procession came out, the turmoil began. It turned out that a group of young people, outrageous, knocked down several priests, trying to disrupt the procession. The young people, among whom I recognized my husband's acquaintances, were taken to a police van. My husband calmed down, and we went home. Probably two teams were formed, but the main team got the job done. Shortly after Easter, an acquaintance of his, a doctor, ended up in a psychiatric hospital with persecution mania. And a year later, in April 1968, my husband went crazy too. Hallucinations, persecution mania began. On April 24, in the evening, he ran away from home. We went to the Dzerzhinsky garden. There he looked around wildly, and I got the impression that he was about to drown himself. I asked about his intentions. He pushed me away and ran along the Neva towards TsPKO.

The river Karpovka blocked his way. And he, dressed, rushed into the water, trying to swim across the river. The time was later, around 12 at night, drizzling rain mixed with snow. I ran after him, trying to stop him, but he did not hear. The place was deserted, since at that time construction began there. Ice was floating on the Neva, and suddenly I saw a kayak. There were 8 rowers in it. I started screaming and asking for help. But the boat passed by. I decided that since they saw me, they would help. I took off my coat and entered the water. My husband began to drive me to the shore. My shoes prevented me from swimming, and I threw them into the water. The kayak swam up to us. I grabbed the prow of the boat with one hand and my husband's collar with the other. I interfered with him, and he began to drown my head. I started to choke. I remember that the thought flashed through that my grandmother raised me, since my mother died when I was 13 years old, and now she will have to raise my daughter. The second thought was naive: I collected membership dues, but did not have time to turn them in and hid them in a book at work. And I was worried that no one knew where the money was.

I don’t know how many minutes this struggle went on, but when I surfaced, I saw a boat in front of me. The guys from the boat station came to us. Grabbing the husband by the collar, they transported him to the other side. And the kayak brought me back to the shore. And silently, 8 rowers retired downstream. I still can’t understand where the kayak came from at night, in cold weather. Just some magic! Then the boat came for me. We were taken to a booth, where a policeman first came, and then an ambulance arrived. My wife was taken to a psychiatric hospital, and I went home.

“The Russian man is strong in hindsight,” says folk wisdom. If in those years I would have been a believer, then the tragedy would not have happened. Then demons entered the spouse, and they tormented him and pushed him to commit suicide. After a psychiatric hospital, where he went through all the circles of hell (they took cerebrospinal fluid, administered sulfuric injections, injected insulin for two months, putting him in a coma), he developed a fear of doctors. His mind has changed. He could sit in a corner for hours, pulling a hair out of his head. Once he sold good books, telling me that the money would be needed for the funeral. He began to prepare food for himself, fearing that he would be poisoned. I couldn't resist and left him. He is alive. But the demons still torment him. When I start talking to him about the Church, he starts blaspheming. He does not want to be baptized, saying that if he joins religion, then either Krishnaites or Buddhists. It is difficult to help him, since his mother is also an unbeliever. Once I visited them, and, asking permission from him, I began to sprinkle the apartment with holy water. He cringed all over, waved his arms, and his mother (a very kind woman) was ready to hit me. I knew that it was not them, but the demons were indignant. I pray that the Lord will lead them to faith.

SAVE WITH REPENTANCE AND PRAYER!

John, only by repentance and churching you will save not only your soul. No wonder it says: “Save yourself! Thousands around you will be saved." Remember the story of Saints Justinia and Cyprian. The Holy Hieromartyr Cyprian was at first a pagan priest and a skilled sorcerer, but he could not do anything against the Christian girl Justina. The Holy Martyr Justina prayed, and all the demonic machinations could not strike her. Then Cyprian, realizing the perniciousness of his path and his sinful activities, renounced them and became a zealous Christian. Having believed in Christ, Cyprian was consecrated Bishop of Antioch. Both of them were later beheaded after suffering for Christ, in 268. Now, when demonic forces attack us, we ask St. Cyprian to protect us. I am sending you a prayer to the Holy Hieromartyr. Cyprian, but you get the blessing of the Father to read this prayer. BURN all books on astrology, magic, parapsychology, extrasensory perception, and other witchcraft advice, if these books are in the house. Call the priest to light your house. Make an iconostasis, read prayers for your children (I send them to you too).

Elena Kudryashova from Yaroslavl came to St. Seraphim of Vyritsky because of the illness of her sister, who had suffered from bone tuberculosis for many years. To the remark about the incurability of this disease, Seraphim Vyritsky replied: “For the Lord, there are no incurable diseases! You have to pray!" And through the prayers of the Saint, the sister was healed and lived for more than 20 years.

HEALING FROM EPILEPSY

The Lord loves us and He is merciful, now there are many healings of incurable sick people. For example, in our city there lives a girl who suffered from the most severe attacks of epilepsy from three to six years old. The girl was asked to be taken to the hospital. Matushka prayed for this girl and blessed her to go to the Pskov-Caves Monastery and Diveevo. In Diveevo, the girl had to be led along the groove dug by Seraphim of Sarov, as the Mother of God passed there. The girl lived in the Monastery for three weeks. There, all the psychotropic drugs that, on the advice of a psychiatrist, the mother gave her daughter every day, were asked to throw it away, and the girl was given goat's milk to drink. The elder said that the girl would no longer get sick if the mother and daughter often visited the Temple. Now the girl is studying in the eighth grade at a regular school. And she fell ill after an aunt from Ukraine visited them and wanted to bring her father home. Father began to drink and walk. Mom had to divorce him. On nervous grounds, my mother ended up in the hospital.

At this time, the “healer” Stephanie came to our city. Grandmother and granddaughter went to her, Lana left the hospital and then the whole family went to Stephanie. She promised to return her husband. The husband arrived, but instead of reconciliation, they had a fight, in front of their daughter. Soon, the daughter begins mild epileptic seizures. They go to another sorceress - "healer" Baba Anna. The epilepsy attacks ended for a month, and then the disability of the first group, and the doctors suggested that the girl be taken to a psychiatric hospital.

The witchcraft of an aunt from Ukraine had an impact on this family, since then they were atheists. In addition, my mother had an abortion at 17, and her father hanged himself. He was once "bewitched" by an ungodly woman, and such men begin to rush between their former family and a new mistress, and many die tragically. Lana and I went to the Theological Seminary to get permission for an absentee funeral service for my father.

Lana not only repented of the sin of infanticide, but ordered prayers "On health" for herself and all her relatives. She dedicated the first prayer service to Saint Barbara the Great Martyr - a Saint who protects people from sudden death (for a murdered child there was a sudden death). The second prayer service was dedicated to Anastasia the Patterner. This Saint helps a woman give birth and prisoners.

Unfortunately, our generation has lost many Christian knowledge, and therefore we give birth with great complications. Previously, women often went to Church and they knew that when they became pregnant, they should pray before the icon of the Fedorov Mother of God and ask the Queen of Heaven for help in carrying a child in the womb. And on the eve of the birth, she herself or her relatives ordered a prayer service for Anastasia the Solver. So our great-grandmothers gave birth in the field and without complications. And then, in order to have milk, they prayed in front of the icon of the Mother of God of the Mammal. And there was no need to transfer children to artificial nutrition. And the latter is not only the cause of bad teeth, but also allergies and dysbacteriosis in children.

Lana ordered the third prayer service to John the Baptist with a request to baptize the murdered child. During this prayer service, Lana was called from above the name of the child - John. And then Lana ordered a prayer service to Simeon the God-Receiver (He took Jesus Christ in his arms) and Anna the Prophetess. Then the children killed by us, as it were, cease to be offended by us, and pray before the eyes of the Lord for us, lost sheep. Lana, cleansing her soul from the sins she had committed and the soul of her late father, was able to snatch her daughter from the captivity of Satan.

THE SIN OF ABORTION IS THE CAUSE OF TROUBLES AND DISCONSTRUCTION IN RUSSIA

After the assassination of the Royal Family, Lenin issued a law on free family planning. Infanticide continues to thrive today. That is why our society is degrading, and civilization is destroying itself. The elder of Athos, hieroschemamonk Raphael, says that children killed in the womb should be baptized in the tears of their mothers who pray for them. He calls on the priests to take to the squares with the rule given by the Most Pure Theotokos to Schema-nun Anthony in 1931 (exactly when our country legalized infanticide for the first time in the world), and to convey this rule to everyone.

I received advice on how to beg for babies killed in the womb from a certain Lyubushka, whom I met on the steps of the Kazan Cathedral on August 19, 1993, but this is a special conversation. With the Lord, nothing happens by accident! And in my hands I have a piece of paper in which is given “The rule for begging for babies killed in the womb, given by our Lord Jesus Christ to schema nun Sergius” and “The rule given to mother, schema nun Anthony the Mother of God in 1931, read in contrition of heart by those who wish to beg babies and receive Forgiveness from the Lord.”

Schema-nun Sergius was given the following order: “A woman should pray 30 prostrations for 40 days with a prayer: “Lord, forgive me, a child-killer, a servant of God (name)!”. On Wednesday and Friday let him eat nothing until 8 o'clock in the evening. When a woman fulfills a forty-day prayer, then on the 41st day let her put a children's rite in the temple, laid down for the baptism of a child. When she remains in prayer and vigil, she should move away from relatives and friends, from worldly conversations and remain more in prayer and silence. Then the woman is freed from sins, and her soul is freed from suffering.

Schema-nun Anthony was given the rule by the Theotokos. On this sheet there is an image of the icon of the Mother of God "The Burning Bush" and a list of prayers is given: Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee! Heavenly King ...., Trisagion, Most Holy Trinity ..., Our Father ..., I believe ..., Baptized in Christ, clothed in Christ, Hallelujah (3 times) ”(you will find these prayers in any prayer book). Then, to the baby killed as a result of an abortion, give a male name from the relatives of the deceased and pray further:

John the Baptist, baptize my baby (name) in the womb of the languishing, in the dungeon sitting, Great Martyr Barbara, partake of my baby (name), in the womb of the languishing, in the dungeon sitting, Simeon the God-bearer, how did you receive Christ in your arms, receive my baby ( name), in the womb of the languishing, in the dungeon sitting, Anna the Prophetess, accept my baby (name), as the mother of the godmother, in the womb of the languishing, in the dungeon sitting.

For each baby, put 160 bows. Read 48 times the King of Heaven, 48 times Our Father, 48 times Mercy open the door to us..., 48 times Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

How many abortions - so many repeat these prayers. Buy a shirt, a hat or a scarf, a cross for each and take it to the Church, and give it to poor children. After that, every day until death, read a prayer: “Lord, have mercy on my children who died in my womb, Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for the sake of Your mercy, for my faith and my tears, baptize them in the sea of ​​Your bounties and do not deprive them of Your Light Divine (3 times during the day)."

In the autumn of 1999, novice P., a child of mother Antonia, asked the far-sighted father Nikolai from Zalit Island about her rule of begging for babies. “Pray!” was the answer.

BE ABLE TO DIFFERENTIATE THE SPIRITS!

We must become soldiers of Christ and be able, with God's help, to repel demonic attacks. And demons are surprisingly inventive and seduce some people with extrasensory perception, others with cards, witchcraft, hypnosis, visiting various sects, yoga, Dianetics, and so on. Know how to distinguish spirits.

John, do not forget to order prayers (for health, and who died for peace) not only to your relatives, but also to your relatives. Children often get sick, like the Lambs of God who suffer for the sins of their parents. It is not for nothing that one of the prayers for your children sounds like this: “Righteous Judge, punishing children for the sins of their parents up to the 3rd and 4th generation, turn away such punishment from my children, do not punish them for my sins; but sprinkle them with the dew of Thy grace.”

THE PSYCHIATRIST IS NOT REQUIRED!

I will tell you another story related to my family. My daughter lives in another city. Having come to faith, I probably began to importunately propagate Orthodoxy, and this caused a negative reaction from my daughter and son-in-law. Arriving at the old apartment to pick up the painting and other things, my daughter told me that she had nothing to talk about with me, and therefore she could give me 15 minutes and no more. I realized that the evil one wants to quarrel us. She wrote a note to her, in which she pointed to the 5th commandment, “Honor thy father and thy mother, may it be good, and may you be long on earth,” and also reproached her for behaving like “Ivan, who does not remember kinship." In addition, I wrote in the note that I still love her, but, having arrived in her city, I will not go to her until she herself invites me. They went home, and every morning and evening I read a mother's prayer for my child and asked the Lord and the Mother of God to reason with my daughter. A month later, the phone rang, and my daughter asked me to come urgently.

And I already had a ticket in my hands, since in the evening I went on a business trip. Having entered their house, I put a small gift to my granddaughter in the crib, and handed the icon of the Kazan Mother of God to my daughter. The granddaughter entered the kitchen in her nightgown and, snatching the icon, threw it on the floor and demanded to give it a hammer to break it. She was only three and a half years old at the time. She sobbed, gnawed at the icon, and her mother could not do anything with her. I began to pray and the granddaughter became silent. The daughter told me that the girl became unmanageable within three weeks after she was given a puppy. It turned out that it was given by a woman who really liked her daughter's husband. The granddaughter began to imitate the puppy and bit her mother, father and grandmothers at the dacha. I confused the day with the night, constant whims, tantrums, tears, and my mother was forced to seek help from a neurologist, and then they were sent to a psychiatrist, but the doctors were unable to help them. In addition to this misfortune, the husband got into a car accident, but thank God, he escaped with a slight fright.

I went to the Temple. There I ordered a prayer service for my relatives, a magpie for my daughter and granddaughter, my son-in-law at that time was unbaptized, and you could only pray for him yourself. I took holy water and candles from the Church. In the evening, my daughter and granddaughter sat on the sofa and peacefully read a book. I sprinkled the whole apartment with holy water and with a prayer, sprinkling the cross with holy water, added a few drops of holy water to the carafe of drinking water and to the bath. After 10 minutes, the granddaughter wanted to drink. Mom brought her a mug of water, but the granddaughter slammed her hand on the mug with a cry: “Mom, pour out this water, grandmother poured something into it!”. My daughter went to the kitchen and I followed. “Mom, did you pour something into the decanter?” my daughter asked me. “Yes, I poured holy water. And the imps that have moved into it are afraid of holy water and demand to pour it out. Pretend that you poured out this water, and let her drink it, ”I replied. When, entering the bath, the granddaughter began to demand to pour out this water, my daughter had already ceased to be surprised.

The next morning, my daughter was going to go to Church for the sacrament of communion, but she started having a migraine attack. I suggested that my daughter open the collection of Akathists and ask for help from St. Barbara the Great Martyr, or from John the Baptist. And help came to her immediately. And when they came to the Church, the priest took my granddaughter in his arms and told my mother that she shouldn’t go to see a psychiatrist, but that the girl should be brought to God’s Temple more often. My granddaughter has become a calm and cheerful child again. The Pope soon also went to the Church, and he was baptized. God works in mysterious ways!

GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS!

When trouble comes to the house, it is important for the Lord how we meet it. If we begin to feel sorry for ourselves, fall into despondency, or begin to accuse and curse someone, become angry and take revenge, then we move further away from God and quickly fall into the devil's net. In adversity, we must ask the Lord to save us from trouble and come to terms with the idea that nothing in our life happens without God's permission. Consider trouble as a test sent by the Lord. I experienced it all myself. When we met on New Year's Eve, in 1991, I was also an atheist. Soon my husband met a woman whose mother was a witch. The husband lost his head and became the aggressor in the house. He kicked me out of the house, wished for my death, and even his son got it from him.

His mother could not stand this hell and left us for her daughter. He began to accuse me of allegedly kicking her out of the house. My kind husband has been turned into an angry and bilious man. Everything happened, as in Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen". I started getting sick. And on August 28, 1992, when I was walking past the Church of Peter and Paul, I heard the name of my mistress. I looked around and saw three women in white cloaks. One of them explained to the other that this was the woman who had a friend Olga from Lomonosov. The three women headed towards the Temple and I ran after them. When I entered the Church, I lost sight of them. There was no one in the Church, since the service ended. And only the nun sat on a chair near the entrance. I approached her with the words: “I am an atheist, a materialist, I don’t believe in anything supernatural, but something unusual has been happening to me lately.” The nun looked at me and said: “Honey, I came here because I buried my husband and son. "Your" comes here and lights candles for the rest of your soul. Come to your father."

I approached the priest, emphasizing that I was a materialist. Batiushka smiled, and I heard: “Okay, materialist. Is everyone baptized in the house? What is happening in your house is very simply explained: demons are sitting in your husband, and Satan is in his woman. And Satan controls his demons." To my question, how can one be saved, the priest answered: “Read the Gospel, the writings of the Holy Fathers and go to Church.” He told me about the sacraments of Confession and Communion, but I remembered then that, due to my weakness, I could not fast for three days, but only one. It was Thursday, and I promised to come on Saturday. Batiushka shook his head and noticed that the demons would still twist me. I walked down the street and wondered who would not let me into the Church and what did some fairy-tale characters - demons have to do with it. But it turned out that the priest was right, and for three weeks I could not come to Church. Like a sleepwalker, I went out into the kitchen at night to eat or drink something. Only after 3 or 4 weeks I was able to confess my sins, and after the unction during Great Lent, the Lord heals me of cancer.

God works in mysterious ways! And if there are any troubles, I understand that the Lord wants to reason with me and direct me on the right path.

Sin always brings with it certain unpleasant consequences. And you need to have the courage to take full responsibility for yourself and admit that you yourself are to blame for this trouble. Confess your sins and repent of them in the Church of Christ. Pay no attention to the personality of the father. You come to the Church to God. And no matter what kind of father there is in the world, no matter what shortcomings he has, this does not concern you. Never judge anyone, especially priests. Once on the radio, the singer Zhanna Bichevskaya said that if we, mere mortal people, cannot cope with 2-3 demons, then a hundred demons attack priests, and more than a thousand monks, and it can be difficult for them to deal with some kind of demon. cope. In the Orthodox Church there is the Sacrament of ordination, where, starting from the Apostles, Jesus Christ gave the priests the right to forgive our sins. Any priest will forgive your sins, if you meet a spiritual father on your way, then you will be lucky.

John, forgive me for taking up so much of your time with such a long letter, and for pouring out my soul to you as well.

With best regards!

December 15, 2000