One unknown philosopher said that humility is the ability to "step on one's throat." Is this skill necessary in modern realities? The gospel tells us that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. From which it can be assumed that these two traits of a human character are opposite to each other.
In church traditions there are a great many stories about saints and holy fools, who cannot be called either humble or meek in relation to those around them. For example, St. Basil often threw stones, once broke the icon of the Mother of God. What is humility, patience and meekness? Whether these qualities are needed today and how to find them, read about this in the article.
Pattern of humility
Seraphim of Sarov said:
Take the spirit together and thousands around you will be saved.
An old man living alone in a forest was attacked by robbers. Grandfather was severely beaten, although he did not repair any obstacles to the robbers and did not even swear. They took the most valuable thing - a small icon of the Virgin in a silver setting. The battered master was left to die. But the Lord did not leave the victim of the robbers: after recovering a little from the beatings, the old man managed to reach the monastery. It was the famous Sarov miracle worker Seraphim.
The elder entered the temple during the liturgy. The brotherhood of the monastery was horrified by his sight. His head was broken, his ribs were broken, his torn clothes were smeared with dirt and blood stains. The abbot sent to the city for doctors, but no one hoped for a miracle; it seemed that the near death of Seraphim was inevitable.
The Apparition of the Virgin
For a week the old man could not eat and sleep, suffering terribly from pain. On the eighth day, the saint was honored with the appearance of the Mother of God with the apostles. After a vision, he quickly recovered, but the consequences of the beating remained for life.
The hooligans were soon caught, but the saint did not make claims against them and asked not to punish, seeing in this attack the will of God. The abbot was against such generosity and demanded to deal with the robbers to the fullest extent of the law, but the elder threatened to leave the monastery and move to another monastery.
The abbot had to reconcile himself, although he believed that the robbers, feeling impunity, would go into all seriousness. But the Lord put everything in its place. The robbers' huts soon burned down, they understood everything correctly and came to the old man to beg forgiveness. The meek Seraphim blessed and forgave them. By this act, the elder undoubtedly saved not only their bodies, but also their souls from punishment.
Seraphim of Sarov is a role model, he is revered by the people. The elder taught meekness to him. Prayers for humility and patience to Seraphim of Sarov:
Oh, great servant of God, our holy and holy God is our seraphim! Look from the glory of glory upon us, humble and feeble, burdened with sins by many, yours asking for help and comfort. Come to us with your mercy and help us to keep the commandments of the Lord immaculately preserved, faithfully hold the Orthodox faith, repentance to our sins diligently bring to God, prosper in the piety of Christians and gracefully be worthy of your prayerful prayer for God.
To her, holier of God, hear us praying to you with faith and love, and do not despise us, demanding your intercession: now and at the hour of our death, help us and fill us with your prayers from the evil slander of the devil, may we not have the strength, but let us be able to with your help to inherit the bliss of the monastery of Paradise.
We are now placing our hope in the hope of the gracious Father: bless us with a travel guide and bring us to the unlit light of Eternal Life by your benevolent representation at the Throne of the Most Holy Trinity, let us glorify and sing with all the saints the venerated name of the Father and the Son of Holy Father centuries. Amen.
In addition, the saint taught to endure all hardships and sorrows with joy. Human life flies by unnoticed, and eternity follows it. And what we expect below the line depends on how we live our days. The Lord allows trials to make people stronger in spirit, to teach compassion and mutual assistance. The apostle spoke of this in the letter to the Galatians (6: 2): "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." To learn to accept everything sent from above, with joy, you need to read prayers for humility, patience and meekness.
Sorrow and grumble
When unpleasant events, illnesses, lack of money or losses happen in a person’s life, you need to understand that all this is sent from above to save the soul. It sounds strange, but it is. If you accept all events with gratitude, learn from them and strive to correct your life, any sorrow will not be so deep.
How important it is to read prayers for humility and patience, says Archpriest Alexander Berezovsky in the video.
But when a person begins to murmur, blame others or God for all his troubles, his salvation is postponed indefinitely. Resentment, rejection of one's cross is one of the manifestations of the mortal sin of pride. Any trial endured makes no sense as soon as a murmur begins. The opposite quality is patience. It is not easy to master it, but everything is possible for God, so you need to turn to him.
Prayer for Humility and Patience:
Father of mercy and God of all comfort! I appeal to you in the name of Jesus Christ to give me true Christian patience. Arm me against all sorrow, so that I can be patient in it, for it is very precious. Make me ready to lift up the cross of Christ, patiently bear it and stay firmly under it until the end. Take away from me all the grumbling and all the annoyance of the flesh on the weight of the cross and its length of time. Come, O beloved Jesus, with Your patience under the cross and on the cross, appear before my eyes and my heart, that in contemplation of You I will be encouraged and strengthened to the constant transfer of everything. Do, O patient Savior, that I may not tire in my spirit, but in patience, let me go through suffering and sorrow into the Kingdom of God. I need to have patience in order to fulfill the will of God to receive the promise. I ask him from you, it is good to fulfill my petition!
The parable of the two angels
Two angels asked to spend the night in a rich house. The owners, contemptuously pursing their lips, let them into the cold basement, not even offering dinner. One angel settled down on a cold earthen floor, and the other began to close up a hole in the brickwork.
The next night they were allowed to spend the night in a poor hut, standing on the outskirts of the village. The hosts treated the angels to a modest dinner and laid them closer to the stove. In the morning, the owners barely restrained sobs: at night, their only nurse, a dairy cow, poured into their stable.
The younger inexperienced angel asked the older one: “Why is the world so unfairly arranged? For those who treated us badly, you closed a hole in the wall, and these poor peasants lost everything that they had valuable, and you did not help them? "
To which the second angel replied: “A cast iron with gold coins is hidden in the old basement. Sooner or later, the wall will collapse completely, and the miser will increase his wealth. And Death came to the peasants at night, wanted to take the owner’s wife. I persuaded her to take a cow instead of a woman” .
The meaning of the story is that most people are not aware of the true state of things. When worrying about the loss of property, you need to thank God for the fact that loved ones are alive and well. It is difficult to overpower yourself and learn not to grieve over the lost, but prayers for humility and patience addressed to the Most Holy Theotokos will help in this:
Satisfy the disease of my souls that have been soaking up many times, which has quenched every tear from the face of the earth: You will drive away people from sickness and sinful sorrows, You will need hope and affirmation with all the banner, Blessed Mother Mato Devo! Represent all, Blagaya, who have come to faith in your sovereign protection: otherwise there are no imams of sin to God in troubles and grief, deliverance, burdened with many sins, Mother of God the Almighty! With the same Ti we fall: deliver from all the circumstances of Your servant! Come to you no one is ashamed of you coming out, the pure Virgin Virgin: but asks for grace and accepts the gift for useful petition. Fulfill, Pure, joy my heart, Your imperishable giving joy, joy Born Guilty! Fill my heart with joy, Virgo, who accepted the fulfillment of joy, consuming sinful sorrow!
Family life and service to others
Such qualities as humility, patience, meekness and the ability to forgive, are indispensable in marriage. The family is a cross, service to the spouse, children and elderly parents. Pride and temper poison the life of marriage, and sometimes lead to irreversible consequences. Any conflict in the family should be resolved calmly, with a cold head, without scandals and assault. However, it is not always possible to restrain.
A prayer for humility and patience in the family of St. John of Kronstadt will help:
O meek and humble heart Creator, Life-giver, Redeemer, Litter and Guardian of our Lord Jesus! Teach us to love, meekness and humility by Your Holy Spirit and strengthen us in these virtuous virtues of You, may your rich gifts not humble our hearts, and we may not care what we feed, content and support anyone: You are the common breadwinner - you eat, you are content and keep; all under Your wings of goodness, generosity and humanity are content and rest, and not under ours, for we ourselves have a need to hide in the shadow of Your wings - every moment of our life. Our eyes are fixed on You, our God, just like the eyes of a slave in the hand of the Lord, the eyes of a slave in the hand of our mistress, who have kept us. Amen.
Patience is the salvation of the soul
Not everyone is able to endure difficulties, getting up after every blow of fate. The Lord knows well the weak human nature, therefore, helps us, if asked. Below is another prayer for humility and patience of the spirit:
Praise be to you, Father of mercy and God of all comfort, that you never leave your sufferers without a visit and comfort. To punish - You punish them, but you do not betray them to death; although You are often a sacred God to them, but You are their Savior to all. This is the consolation of impressions, O Lord, in my heart and manifest it true over me, when the calamity is near, and there is no helper. Be my light when I sit in darkness; make sure that knowing my sins and what they deserve brings me true humility and patience. Strengthen, when disaster strikes, faith in me, as in Jacob, so that I fight and do not let you go until you bless me. Make sure that in suffering I do not flee from You, O My Shepherd, but that my vigor increases, and I become more zealous in prayer and Your praise. Open me the mind so that I can understand the Scriptures, learn from it your ways, and in true silence of the heart completely and completely surrender to you, through Jesus Christ, your Son our Lord! Amen.
The first Christians during the periods of persecution suffered terrible torture and did not give up. In our time, there is no such cruelty towards believers, but there are a lot of temptations. Confronting the world is incredibly difficult, our life is like a carousel: home, work, children. Short holidays by the sea or in front of the TV. An endless stream of information makes a person incapable of prayer, thinking about the meaning of life. Today, saving your souls is much more difficult than in the first centuries after the birth of Christ. Therefore, you need to stop, even for a minute, to read a prayer for humility and patience. The Lord will certainly help.