Why did God not make the path to the Kingdom of Heaven light and pleasant? Only
God knows. Who would question His divine wisdom? He saw that the narrow path is
what we need! We who are below see only bits and pieces, but He, Who is above all
creation, sees our lives from the standpoint of eternity. However, though not
completely understanding the plans of our Creator, let us consider the following:

1. The Kingdom of Heaven is the highest beatitude and inexhaustible wealth. If great
efforts are necessary to obtain meager and temporary earthly advantages, then how
can it be possible to obtain such a great and eternal treasure without any effort?

2. The Kingdom of Heaven is the most coveted reward. Where else are rewards given
freely and for nothing? If we struggle to get temporary benefits, so much more should
we struggle to obtain the eternal reward.

3. We must bear our cross because we want to be with Christ and to participate in His
glory. If Jesus Christ, our Master and Teacher, gained heavenly glory through
suffering, would it not be shameful for us to share His glory when we faintheartedly
shun any trials or sorrows?

4. Besides, lifelong crosses are not the lot of Christians alone. Everyone carries their
own cross, both Christians and non-Christians, believers and pagans. The difference is
that for some, their crosses serve as a means of attaining the Kingdom of Heaven,
while for the others they bring no such value. For the Christian, the cross gradually
becomes lighter and more joyful, while for the nonbeliever it becomes heavier and
more burdensome. Why is this so? Because where the one carries their cross with
faith and devotion to God, the other carries it with grumbling and anger.

Therefore, Christian, do not shun your lifelong cross, but, on the contrary, thank Jesus
Christ that He honored you to follow and imitate Him. If Christ had not suffered and
died, then none of us, no matter how much we suffered and struggled, would enter the
Kingdom of Heaven, for then we would have had to suffer as slaves, and slaves
deserve no rewards. Now, however, we suffer as sons for our own salvation. O
merciful Lord! How great is Thy love for us. How great are Thy benefits to us. Thou
bendest evil itself for our benefit and salvation!
Christian! Gratitude alone to Jesus Christ, your benefactor, obliges you to follow
Him. Christ came down to earth for you. Can it be possible that you would prefer
some worldly thing to Him? For you Jesus drank the cup full of suffering; can it be
that you would refuse to suffer a little for Him?

5. Jesus Christ redeemed us by His death, and, therefore, by the right of redemption
we belong to Him and must do all that He wills. Christ wills only one thing: that we
should attain eternal bliss.

6. Finally, we cannot avoid the narrow path into the Kingdom of Heaven, since every
man has sins and sin in itself is an ulcer that cannot be cured without strong medicine.
Suffering is the medicine with which God cures our souls. When somebody is ill,
then, regardless of his surroundings even though he is in the most magnificent of
palaces he will still suffer. Such is the fate of every sinner; no matter where he settles,
even in Paradise itself, he will suffer because the elements of hell reside within him.

Similarly, a righteous person can be as happy in a shack as in a palace. When our
heart is filled with the Holy Spirit, wherever we may find ourselves, there we will
always feel joy, since Paradise is within us.

And so, brethren, if you wish to attain the Kingdom of Heaven, you cannot bypass the
path taken by Jesus Christ. Indeed, all the prophets, the Apostles, the martyrs, the
saints and countless other righteous ones walked along this path. There is no other.
Some might object, saying, how can we who are sinful and weak be like Jesus Christ
or the saints! We live in the secular world and have families and many
responsibilities. Oh, brethren! This is a cunning excuse and an insult to our Creator.
To justify our carelessness by such reasoning means to accuse our Maker of being
unable to create us properly. After all, the saints, like us, were not sinless at first but
participated in worldly affairs, labored and had various obligations and families to
care about. Surely they were not perfect in everything. They had their share of
temptations and low moments. Notwithstanding this, living in circumstances similar
to ours and having their ups and downs, they steered toward the main objective of
their life: the Kingdom of Heaven. Undoubtedly, we also, if we truly desire to, can be
good citizens, faithful spouses, loving parents, and simultaneously good Christians.
Our faith will not be an obstacle but, on the contrary, will aid all our good
undertakings. The essence of Christianity is pure and selfless love, which is inspired
by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, brethren, if you wish to attain the Kingdom of Heaven, follow the path
which Jesus Christ took, and He, the all-merciful one, will help you every step of the
way.

How Jesus Christ Helps Us
While walking the path of Christ, you should not rely only on yourself. If Jesus
Christ, our Great Benefactor, had not given us help every step of the way, no one
could have reached salvation. Even the Apostles, when left to themselves, were
unable to follow Jesus and faintheartedly dispersed. But when on Pentecost they
received help from above, they joyfully followed His path, and then neither dangers
nor difficulties nor death itself could discourage them.
What is this help given by Jesus Christ to Christians? This help is the Grace of the
Holy Spirit. Gods grace surrounds us, and with it the Lord draws us to Himself. All
who wish can receive this help and become filled with it.

The Holy Spirit, being God, equal to the Father and the Son, is the source of life and
strength. He gives to believers wisdom, inner peace and inspiration, not according to
their merits but for Jesus Christs sake. How the Holy Spirit helps us, what are His
gifts, and how one should attract His Grace will now be explained in accordance with
the Holy Scriptures.

1. When descending upon a Christian, the Holy Spirit gives him faith and light. No
one can have a true living faith without the Holy Spirit. Even a person most learned in
Scriptures is totally blind without His enlightenment. On the other hand, the Holy
Spirit can make even the lowest simpleton wise and disclose Gods mysteries to them.

2. Descending upon a Christian, the Holy Spirit brings true love which warms his
heart. This love inspires a person to do good deeds, so that for him there is nothing
impossible or terrifying anymore. Gods commandments, which appeared to be
difficult before, now become easy. Faith and love, gifts from the Holy Spirit, are such
powerful means that the person possessing them can easily and joyfully follow the
path of Jesus Christ.

3. The Holy Spirit corrects a worldly outlook and attitude, so that a Christian is no
longer overwhelmed by the temptations of this passing world. Gratefully using what
God has bestowed, a true Christian does not become attached to anything temporary
but considers himself a stranger in this world and wishes most of all to be in contact
with God. On the other hand, a person without the grace of the Holy Spirit, despite all
his learning and capabilities, always remains a worshiper of the world and a slave of
the flesh.

4. The Holy Spirit gives a Christian wisdom. This is illustrated very obviously in the
case of the Holy Apostles. Because of their low social position, they were the most
simple and unlearned of men. However, after the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them
on the day of Pentecost, they received such wisdom and power of speech that even
philosophers and orators could not stand up to them. The Holy Spirit always teaches
Christians what they must do, and when and how they should act. Thus guided by the
Holy Spirit, they will always find the time and the means for the salvation of their
soul. Amid all the turmoils of the world and in spite of being busy, they will be able to
collect their inner self to be with and pray to God. A non-spiritual person, on the other
hand, cannot focus or pray sincerely, even in church.

5. The Holy Spirit gives Christians true joy and undisturbable peace. They feel this
peace and joy even during external difficulties and in times of trial. People, on the
other hand, who do not have the Holy Spirit, can never truly rejoice or attain inner
peace. When they enjoy themselves, they find their joy is transient, frivolous and
pitiful, and on occasion even sinful. After their revelry, a boredom greater than ever
before fills their heart. Similarly, when a non-spiritual person feels tranquillity, this is
not a true spiritual peace but a sort of dozing or apathy. Woe to the people who do not
awaken in time and do not start being concerned with the salvation of their soul! They
will remain spiritually dead even while alive physically.

6. The Holy Spirit gives true humility. Even the most intelligent people, if they do not
possess the Holy Spirit, cannot know themselves well enough, because their internal
illness and spiritual poverty are hidden from them. When they do something good or
act honestly, they become haughty, look down on others, and even judge those who in
their opinion are inferior to them. Through their own blindness, many self-satisfied
falsely righteous ones did not ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and strengthening, and
consequently, perished. The Holy Spirit always comes to those who ask for
enlightenment and help. As a bright ray of sun penetrates the darkness, enhancing the
smallest details found within, so does the Holy Spirit, having descended upon people,
disclose to them all the weakness and wretchedness of their soul. Enlightened by the
Heavenly light, Christians can no longer boast about their good works, because they
realize their soul needs healing and complete renewal. This realization makes them
more humble, and they begin to repent and decide to live more carefully. They stop
relying on themselves and ask God for guidance and help.

7. The Holy Spirit grants true fervent prayer. Until they receive the Holy Spirit,
people cannot pray in a manner truly pleasing to God because they cannot control
their scattered thoughts and feelings. Christians in whom the Holy Spirit resides,
however, vividly feel the presence of God; their prayer flows evenly, and they know
how and for what to ask God. In this inspired state, they can beseech God for
anything, even the seemingly impossible.

This is a short list of the most needed gifts of the Holy Spirit.
In summary, it is impossible to enter the Kingdom of Heaven or even come close to it
without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we should implore the Holy
Spirit with all earnestness to come dwell in us and help us, just as He helped the Holy
Apostles. In order for the Holy Spirit to be kind toward us, to descend and reside
within us, it is important to know what draws Him to us and what pushes Him away.
Jesus Christ said that the Holy Spirit blows where it wills and you hear the sound of it,
but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes (Jn. 3:8). This means that a
person cannot force the Holy Spirit to come to him or predict the time when He may
decide to do so. You can only feel His touch when this happens. Indeed, the book of
Acts states that when the Holy Apostles and other Christians received the gifts of the
Holy Spirit, it was always unexpectedly. He seldom descends immediately on those
beseeching Him but does so when it suits Him, as God, to do so. No one should
attempt to foretell when or what gifts, if any, he will receive or to consider himself
worthy of His descent! The Grace of the Holy Spirit is a gift of His endless mercy.
And gifts by definition are given when it suits the giver, and only those deemed
suitable by the giver.

It is the Holy Spirit Himself Who established within the Church the means of
distributing His blessings to the faithful: the Holy Mysteries and other liturgical
services. Non-Orthodox Christians are sadly mistaken when they assert that they can
always, whenever it suits them, receive the Holy Spirit through well-known means
(which are unfortunately also used during spiritual seances and pagan mysteries).
Those who dare to orchestrate these means will not only remain empty of the divine
gifts but also commit a terrible sin against the Holy Spirit.

Anyone who considers asking the Holy Spirit for beneficial gifts must know that these
gifts are meant only for those who possess true faith. Indeed, the Lord first of all
enlightened the Apostles with the true doctrine and then bestowed upon them the
Holy Spirit. Similarly, the Apostles did not bestow beneficial gifts upon newly
baptized Christians immediately, but only after a certain period of testing and
affirmation in the true faith. That is why the Lord called the Holy Spirit the Spirit of
Truth, and His Church, the beatified community of the faithful, is called in Scripture
the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15).

Therefore, when a Christian, humbly and obediently, has accepted Christs faith in all
its purity, without any corrections or misinterpretations, then the following are the
requirements to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit:

• Purity of heart and chastity

• Humility

• Listening to the voice of God

• Prayer

• Self-denial

• Reading the Holy Scriptures

• Sacraments of the Church, especially Holy Communion

To receive gifts from the Holy Spirit, you must, first of all, cleanse your heart of sin,
self-love, and pride. The Holy Spirit always surrounds us and wishes to fill us, but the
evil nesting within us, like a wall, impedes His path. Any sin keeps the Holy Spirit
away from us, but carnal impurity and pride are especially offensive to Him. So, if we
do not want the Holy Spirit, Whom we received in Baptism, to depart from us, or if
we have pushed Him away through our sinful life and now want Him to return, here is
what we must do:

1. Cleanse yourself with repentance and sincere confession. Then shun all sinful
thoughts and wishes. In view of the terrible lewdness of contemporary society, a
Christian must protect himself from all that may pollute his soul and keep his flesh
from lustfulness. Indeed, our body was designed to be the temple of the Holy Spirit.
When a person is clean internally and externally, the Holy Spirit settles within him. In
the presence of chastity, the only obstacle for the Holy Spirit is your pride in your
righteousness and your regard of His gifts as your just reward. If you have
unfortunately defiled yourself, then stop sinning and repent. With a contrite heart
regret that you have offended God, your most loving Father, and strive to live with
greater vigilance. Then even you will be able to receive the Holy Spirit.

2. One of the surest ways of attracting the Holy Spirit is by humility. Even if you are
an honest, just, good, and merciful man, in a word, even though you may have
achieved much goodness, keep considering yourself as an unworthy servant of God.
Indeed, if we examine our good works more closely, we will see that none of them are
completely beyond reproach. For example, if we give alms or help someone, how
often do we add conceited, regretful, self-interested, judgmental, or other such unkind
thoughts to our alms or help. Of course, every good deed always remains good, even
when it is imperfect. It can be likened to gold which has value even before it is
purified. But as gold becomes more precious when an experienced craftsman purifies
and works it, so let us entrust our good deeds to the Heavenly Master that He will
make them even more valuable.

Thus, if you wish your good deeds to please God, do not boast about them. You are
not the master but only an apprentice. As craftsmanship gives value to gold, so a pure
and unselfish Christian love, which stems from the Holy Spirit, gives value to our
good deeds. Everything that is done without Christian love, i.e., without the Holy
Spirit, is not yet a fully valued good deed. Without the Holy Spirit a person remains
poor and pitiful.

But humility consists not only of realizing your unworthiness but also of bearing the
various sorrows and adversities of life with patience and without grumbling,
considering them as sent or allowed by God for our benefit. Do not say, "How
unfortunate I am!" But say, "I deserve a still greater punishment for my sins!" And
ask God not so much to deliver you from adversities as to give you patience and
courage to bear them.

3. The Holy Spirit can also be received by listening attentively to the voice of God.
God speaks to us by means of the internal voice of our conscience and through
external circumstances. It is very important to develop sensitivity in order to hear
more clearly what God suggests to us. He, as a most loving Father, cares for you.
Daily He calls you to Himself, warns you and enlightens you. For instance, are you
unhappy, has someone offended you, has misfortune befallen you, or are you ill? In
these you can hear the voice of God, calling you to repent and improve. In time of
sorrow, instead of seeking help from others or consoling yourself by frivolous
distractions and amusements, turn to God and seek guidance and help from Him
alone.

Or suppose that you are prospering and living well and that everything flows
smoothly. Consider this also to be the voice of God. Here God teaches you to be as
merciful to those in need as He is merciful to you. It is dangerous and sinful to ignore
the voice of God, to remain unrepentant and unimproved during times of hardship, to
fail to thank God, or not to help others when you have plenty. Even more ruinous is to
do the opposite of that to which God is leading us: to grumble and become embittered
in difficult circumstances or to forget God and live only for pleasure in fortunate
surroundings. What might then result is that God, after repeated teachings, will turn
away from you as from a stubborn child and will abandon you to your own desires.
Then passions will easily overcome you, your intellect and conscience will become
dulled, and you might reach a point at which you will justify even your vilest crimes
as natural and common human weakness. In order to avoid such a fall, it is necessary
to become sensitive to the voice of God in the Holy Spirit and to follow His
admonitions.

4. The Holy Spirit can be received through prayer. Prayer is the simplest, surest, and
most available means to receive the Holy Spirit. Because we are composed of body
and soul, they both should participate in prayer. The primary elements of prayer are
concentration and sincerity, which are attained by inner effort. Nevertheless, the body
should not remain uninvolved; it can and must assist the soul in prayer by standing in
reverence, making prostrations, making the sign of the cross, raising the hands, and
reading the prayers aloud. Other favorable external conditions also help in prayer:
solitude, silence, ikons with burning lampadas before them, incense, and when in
church, church art and architecture along with soft and harmonious singing, beautiful
ceremonies, etc.

But to achieve concentration and warmth during prayer is not easy. Here, first of all, it
is important to establish a regular time for prayer (for instance, mornings and
evenings), and to develop stability and patience. You should constantly overcome
haste, distraction, indifference and insincerity. In addition, you must strive to warm
your heart with love for God. Only a sincere prayer brings comfort and peace to the
heart. Much effort is necessary in order to learn to pray properly, and, as we well know, all the righteous ones strove throughout their lives to learn the art of prayer.

Nevertheless, your personal effort is not enough. It is the Holy Spirit who makes our
prayer to be fervent and to come from the bottom of our heart. This was well known
to the saints who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, stood day and night in prayer in sweet
rapture, failing the while to notice the time fleeting away.

Pray even though at first your prayer may be weak and imperfect because of your
sinfulness and estrangement from God. Pray with diligence and fervor; train yourself
to be sincere in your conversation with God. Thus, little by little you will learn to pray
and will start to feel a sweet comfort. The Holy Spirit will have mercy on you and will
come and reside in you if you show faithfulness in your efforts at prayer.
The Holy Scripture teaches: Pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). How is this
possible for people living in a secular world? If you are to pray all the time, how then
are you to perform your other duties? The advice of perpetual prayer is directed not
toward outward but toward inner prayer. If desired, you can turn to God internally
whether you are alone or with others. Only he who does not want to pray will not find
time for prayer.

5. Fasting and works of mercy aid prayer. The Fathers of the Church recommend: If
you want your prayer to fly up to God, then give it two wings, fasting and almsgiving.
What is fasting and why is it necessary? Fasting is a voluntary self-restriction in food,
drink, and pleasure. The purpose of fasting is to quiet or calm and lighten the body
and to make it obedient to the soul. Overfilled flesh demands comfort and rest,
disposing us to laziness, which hinders prayer and meditation. In the manner of an
unbridled servant, the well-fed body rises up against its master, the soul, and wants to
rule over it. While fasting, you should limit not only the type of food (dairy and meat
products) but also its amount, restricting yourself to the minimal needs of the body.
Then your fasting will become useful.

While fasting outwardly you should also fast internally, restraining your tongue from
sinful, idle chatter and moderating your desires and your anger while driving off
unkind thoughts and impure fantasies. Experience shows that there is nothing harder
than to stop the wandering of thoughts and to direct your mind to thoughts of God and
prayer. This may be likened to the taming of wild horses who have long been
stubborn and unruly.

Non-spiritual people do not even suspect how difficult it is to control the wandering
of thoughts. Being occupied with worldly affairs, they consider their thoughts to be
busy with worthwhile concerns. Only when they begin to strive toward a spiritual life
and try to reflect on spiritual topics, do they begin to notice that their thoughts are
murky. This is somewhat like the waters of a shallow lake. As long as its surface
remains undisturbed, it looks clear; but when it is stirred, the silt from its bottom
darkens the water, making it appear murky. Likewise, in the depths of our heart there
lay various passions. Like silt, they rise and darken the soul when a Christian attempts
to expose and struggle with them. As the Holy Fathers have explained, when people
turn to God, the devil strives to darken their soul with bad thoughts and feelings in
order to confuse them and distract them from their good intentions. But do not yield to
his snares, and do not stray from the path of salvation. Remember that no one can simultaneously think about two subjects. If you occupy your mind with good thoughts
(reading spiritual books or studying some worthwhile subject), the bad ones will not
be able to linger in your mind.

Love reveals itself in works of mercy. Among such works are to feed the hungry, to
give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to visit and help the sick and the
imprisoned, to give refuge to the homeless, and to be concerned about orphans. All
this should be done with sincere and unselfish love, without any boasting or
expectations of gratitude. The Savior teaches regarding this: Do not let your left hand
know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and
your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly (Matt. 6:3-4).

6. The Holy Spirit may be received by piously reading and listening to the Holy
Scriptures. Being the Word of God, they hold a great treasury of spiritual
enlightenment and wisdom. The Holy Scriptures are one of Gods greatest blessings,
which can be used by anyone wishing to do so. In them, the divine wisdom is
presented in such an easy, approachable manner that even the simplest and most
uneducated person can understand it. Many cases are recorded throughout Church
history and in the lives of the saints, in which the simplest of people, while studying
Holy Scripture, were enlightened, became pious, and received abundant gifts of the
Holy Spirit even while some scholars and intelligentsia read the Holy Scripture and
became confused and fell into heresy. The difference was that while the first read it
with simplicity of heart, seeking in it spiritual direction, the second approached it with
criticism, attempting to uncover inconsistencies. Considering themselves wise and all-
knowing, these last succumbed to pride and even became false teachers. Be aware that
our small and imperfect intellect cannot encompass Gods wisdom. God enlightens
those who with a pure and kind heart turn to Him in search of enlightenment.
Therefore, in reading the Holy Scriptures, lay aside all worldly wisdom and
inquisitiveness. Submit to the word and the will of Him who speaks to you through
Holy Scripture, and beseech Jesus Christ to enlighten you and show you the path to
salvation.

There are many other books besides Holy Scripture that are beneficial for reading: the
works of the Holy Fathers, the lives of the saints, inspirational stories, sermons, and
other praiseworthy writings of Orthodox authors. From the books available to you,
read those that are based on Holy Scripture and are in accord with the teaching of the
Orthodox Church. Beware of those poisoned by heresies and non-Christian ideas.

7. Communion is another source for receiving the Holy Spirit. Regarding it, Jesus
Christ said: He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood, abides in Me, and I in him.
(He) has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day (Jn. 6:54-56). When
Christians partake of Holy Communion they unite inexplicably with Jesus Christ and
start partaking of His divine life. Therefore, you must go to Communion with faith,
having cleansed your soul by repentance, with a realization of your unworthiness, and
with the hope of Gods mercy. Since God is one and indivisible, when Christians
accept Jesus Christ into their heart, they accept the Holy Spirit and the Heavenly
Father at the same time and thus become a living temple of God.
As witnessed in the Acts of the Apostles and other ancient Christian writings, the
faithful of the first centuries took Communion every Sunday, which then was called the Lords day. Undoubtedly, because of this constant communion with Jesus Christ, they were as "of one heart and one soul" (Acts 4:32). My God, what a difference there is between them and us. How many among us seldom partake of Holy Communion, sometimes avoiding it for years!
Those who neglect to take Holy Communion do not love Jesus Christ and will not
receive the Holy Spirit, and consequently will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. So,
for the sake of your salvation, partake of Communion as often as possible. The Body
and Blood of Christ is a true cure for many spiritual and bodily infirmities. And who
among us is perfectly healthy? Who would not want to receive helpful relief? The
Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is the nourishment which sustains us on the
path to the Kingdom of Heaven. Is it possible to complete a long and difficult journey
without sustenance? The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is the holiness bestowed on
us by Jesus Christ Himself for our sanctification. Who would refuse to be a partaker
of such holiness? Therefore, do not be lazy in stepping up to the Chalice of Life, but
approach it with faith and fear of God.

In summary, these are the means of receiving the Holy Spirit: purity of heart, chastity,
humility, listening to the voice of God, prayer accompanied by fasting and charity,
reading Holy Scripture, meditation, and partaking of Holy Communion. Of course,
each of these individually is effective for receiving the Holy Spirit, but it is best to
resort to all of them for our salvation.

To this it is necessary to add that if we somehow fall into sin and thereby distance
ourselves from the Holy Spirit, we should not despair and think that we have
irrevocably lost all blessings, but let us quickly prostrate ourselves before God with
deep repentance and prayer, and the All-merciful Holy Spirit will again return to us.

Conclusion
Without faith in Jesus Christ no one can return to God and enter the Kingdom of
Heaven. No one, even though he believe in Jesus Christ, can regard himself to be His
disciple and share His glory in Heaven if he does not act as Jesus Christ did. And no
one is able to follow Jesus Christ if he does not receive help from the Holy Spirit.
To receive the Holy Spirit, we must use the means granted us by God.

We should remember that the path into the Kingdom of Heaven that has been opened
to us by Jesus Christ is the only one, and there never was and never will be another
path that leads to salvation. At times this path may appear difficult, but, again, you
should remind yourself that this is the only one that leads toward your objective. At
other times the Christian will encounter such consolations and delights on this path as
cannot be found in any worldly thing. The Lord Jesus Christ assists us on this path.
He gives us the Holy Spirit, He sends His angel to protect us, He provides instructors
and leaders, and even He Himself takes us by the hand and leads us to salvation.
If the path into the Kingdom of Heaven seems difficult, then consider how
incomparably more dreadful are the eternal torments in fiery Gehenna. If the path
toward heavenly bliss seems difficult, compare it with the path toward earthly
happiness, and you will see that the path toward earthly happiness is not really easier at all. Just observe how much people toil to amass earthly things, how many disappointments, fights, sleepless nights and deprivations they bear. Or remind yourself of how much effort and expenses it takes to achieve some meaningless and fleeting pleasure! And for what? Instead of the expected happiness, you are left with disappointment and weariness. When you carefully examine the heart of the matter, it becomes evident that people stay away from the Heavenly Kingdom not because the path to it is more difficult than the other paths of this world, but because it appears that way to them. Besides, the devil, an experienced and crafty deceiver, misleads people into believing that the path to salvation is difficult and the paths to perdition are easy, and he often succeeds in this.

So, my brethren, in order to avoid eternal perdition, let us definitely concern ourselves
with our future. We know that beyond the grave there awaits one of the following two
outcomes: either the Heavenly Kingdom or everlasting perdition in hell. There is no
middle state, only everlasting bliss or everlasting torment. As there exist only two
conditions past the grave, so there exist only two paths in this life. The one that seems
wide and easy is taken by the majority. The other that seems narrow and thorny is
taken by few. Those who follow the narrow path will be a hundredfold more happy
than those who do not.

Brethren, if any of you who walk the wide path should suddenly die, what will happen
to you? To whom shall you turn? To the Lord? You refuse to listen to Him now, so
you must expect He will refuse to listen to you then. Now He is your merciful Father;
then He will be your righteous judge. Who will defend you against His righteous
rage? Ah! How frightful it is to fall into the hands of the living God! Therefore,
concern yourselves now with the salvation of your soul while you still have time!
Work for your salvation while it is still daylight, for the night will come in which
there will be no chance to change anything. Strive for the Heavenly Kingdom while
you can still walk. Walk even a little bit, even if by crawling, but do it in the right
direction. Then in eternity you will truly rejoice for every step you have taken!

May the All-merciful Lord help us all in this! Glory and thanksgiving be to Him
throughout the ages of ages. Amen.