“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mt. 11:30)
St. Theophan the Recluse. Thoughts for every day of the year
(Translation from the Russian below)
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” O how divine, how loving, how sweet is Thy voice! Let us all follow in the footsteps of the Lord who calls us! But first, we must come to realize that which is very difficult to realize – namely, that we have many sins, and that those sins are very great. This feeling gives birth to the need to find relief for one’s self. Our faith then shows us that our only refuge is the Lord and Savior, and our steps direct themsleves toward Him. The soul which desires to be freed from sin knows to say to the Lord, “take from me this heavy burden of sin, and I will take up your easy yoke.” And thus it happens: the Lord forgives sins, and the soul begins to walk in His commandments. The commandments are a yoke, but sins are also a burden. But as it turns out, the soul learns that the yoke of the commandments is as light as a feather, while the burden of sins is as heavy as a mountain. Let us not fear, therefore, to willingly take on the Lord’s easy yoke and His light burden! In this way – and in this way only – we may find rest for our souls.
“??????? ?? ??? ??? ???????????? ? ????????????, ? ? ??????? ???; ???????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ? ????????? ?? ????, ??? ? ?????? ? ?????? ???????, ? ??????? ????? ????? ?????; ??? ??? ??? ?????, ? ????? ??? ?????.” (?? 11,30)
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(days.pravoslavie.ru)
(???. 11, 13-24; ??. 11, 27-30). “??????? ?? ???, ??? ???????????? ? ????????????, ? ? ??????? ???”. ?, ?????????????, ? ?????????, ? ??????????? ?????? ?????! ???????? ?? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ???????! ?? ??????? ???? ??????????????, ??? ??? ?????? ? ?????? ??????????????, ?? ????, ??? ? ??? ?????? ?????, ? ????? ??? ?????. ?? ????? ??????? ??????? ??????????? ?????? ???? ??????????. ???? ?????? ????? ??? ???????????? ????????? ? ??????? ?????????, ? ???? ???? ???? ????? ?????????? ? ????. ????, ??????????? ?????????? ?? ??????, ?????, ??? ??????? ???????: “?????? ????? ?? ???? ??????, ?????????, ? ? ?????? ??? ???? ??????”. ? ?????? ???: ??????? ??????? ?????, ? ???? ???????? ?????? ? ????????? ???. ? ???????? – ???, ? ????? – ?????. ?? ?????? ?? ? ??????, ???? ???????, ??? ??? ????????? ?????, ??? ????, ? ????? ?????? ??????, ??? ????. ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ???????? ?????? ? ????? ??? ??????! ??? ??????, ? ?? ?????, ????? ??????? ????? ????? ?????.