Home » Misc » Can grief make you tired

Can grief make you tired


SAMHSA’s National Helpline | SAMHSA

Your browser is not supported

Switch to Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari

Main page content

  • SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.

    Also visit the online treatment locator.

SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357) (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service), or TTY: 1-800-487-4889 is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations.

Also visit the online treatment locator, or send your zip code via text message: 435748 (HELP4U) to find help near you. Read more about the HELP4U text messaging service.

The service is open 24/7, 365 days a year.

English and Spanish are available if you select the option to speak with a national representative. Currently, the 435748 (HELP4U) text messaging service is only available in English.

In 2020, the Helpline received 833,598 calls. This is a 27 percent increase from 2019, when the Helpline received a total of 656,953 calls for the year.

The referral service is free of charge. If you have no insurance or are underinsured, we will refer you to your state office, which is responsible for state-funded treatment programs. In addition, we can often refer you to facilities that charge on a sliding fee scale or accept Medicare or Medicaid. If you have health insurance, you are encouraged to contact your insurer for a list of participating health care providers and facilities.

The service is confidential. We will not ask you for any personal information. We may ask for your zip code or other pertinent geographic information in order to track calls being routed to other offices or to accurately identify the local resources appropriate to your needs.

No, we do not provide counseling. Trained information specialists answer calls, transfer callers to state services or other appropriate intake centers in their states, and connect them with local assistance and support.

  • Suggested Resources

    What Is Substance Abuse Treatment? A Booklet for Families
    Created for family members of people with alcohol abuse or drug abuse problems. Answers questions about substance abuse, its symptoms, different types of treatment, and recovery. Addresses concerns of children of parents with substance use/abuse problems.

    It's Not Your Fault (NACoA) (PDF | 12 KB)
    Assures teens with parents who abuse alcohol or drugs that, "It's not your fault!" and that they are not alone. Encourages teens to seek emotional support from other adults, school counselors, and youth support groups such as Alateen, and provides a resource list.

    After an Attempt: A Guide for Taking Care of Your Family Member After Treatment in the Emergency Department
    Aids family members in coping with the aftermath of a relative's suicide attempt. Describes the emergency department treatment process, lists questions to ask about follow-up treatment, and describes how to reduce risk and ensure safety at home.

    Family Therapy Can Help: For People in Recovery From Mental Illness or Addiction
    Explores the role of family therapy in recovery from mental illness or substance abuse. Explains how family therapy sessions are run and who conducts them, describes a typical session, and provides information on its effectiveness in recovery.

    For additional resources, please visit the SAMHSA Store.

Last Updated: 08/30/2022

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs

Your browser is not supported

Switch to Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari

Misusing alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs can have both immediate and long-term health effects.

The misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, and prescription medications affect the health and well-being of millions of Americans. NSDUH estimates allow researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and the general public to better understand and improve the nation’s behavioral health. These reports and detailed tables present estimates from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).

Alcohol

Data:

  • Among the 133.1 million current alcohol users aged 12 or older in 2021, 60.0 million people (or 45.1%) were past month binge drinkers. The percentage of people who were past month binge drinkers was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (29.2% or 9.8 million people), followed by adults aged 26 or older (22.4% or 49.3 million people), then by adolescents aged 12 to 17 (3.8% or 995,000 people). (2021 NSDUH)
  • Among people aged 12 to 20 in 2021, 15.1% (or 5.9 million people) were past month alcohol users. Estimates of binge alcohol use and heavy alcohol use in the past month among underage people were 8.3% (or 3.2 million people) and 1.6% (or 613,000 people), respectively. (2021 NSDUH)
  • In 2020, 50.0% of people aged 12 or older (or 138.5 million people) used alcohol in the past month (i.e., current alcohol users) (2020 NSDUH)
  • Among the 138.5 million people who were current alcohol users, 61.6 million people (or 44. 4%) were classified as binge drinkers and 17.7 million people (28.8% of current binge drinkers and 12.8% of current alcohol users) were classified as heavy drinkers (2020 NSDUH)
  • The percentage of people who were past month binge alcohol users was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (31.4%) compared with 22.9% of adults aged 26 or older and 4.1% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 (2020 NSDUH)
  • Excessive alcohol use can increase a person’s risk of stroke, liver cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis, cancer, and other serious health conditions
  • Excessive alcohol use can also lead to risk-taking behavior, including driving while impaired. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 29 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver daily

Programs/Initiatives:

  • STOP Underage Drinking interagency portal - Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking
  • Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking
  • Talk. They Hear You.
  • Underage Drinking: Myths vs. Facts
  • Talking with your College-Bound Young Adult About Alcohol

Relevant links:

  • National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors
  • Department of Transportation Office of Drug & Alcohol Policy & Compliance
  • Alcohol Policy Information Systems Database (APIS)
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Tobacco

Data:

  • In 2020, 20.7% of people aged 12 or older (or 57.3 million people) used nicotine products (i.e., used tobacco products or vaped nicotine) in the past month (2020 NSDUH)
  • Among past month users of nicotine products, nearly two thirds of adolescents aged 12 to 17 (63.1%) vaped nicotine but did not use tobacco products. In contrast, 88.9% of past month nicotine product users aged 26 or older used only tobacco products (2020 NSDUH)
  • Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death, often leading to lung cancer, respiratory disorders, heart disease, stroke, and other serious illnesses. The CDC reports that cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States
  • The CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health reports that more than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking cigarettes

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use data:

  • In 2021, 13.2 million people aged 12 or older (or 4.7%) used an e-cigarette or other vaping device to vape nicotine in the past month. The percentage of people who vaped nicotine was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (14.1% or 4.7 million people), followed by adolescents aged 12 to 17 (5.2% or 1.4 million people), then by adults aged 26 or older (3.2% or 7.1 million people).
  • Among people aged 12 to 20 in 2021, 11.0% (or 4.3 million people) used tobacco products or used an e-cigarette or other vaping device to vape nicotine in the past month. Among people in this age group, 8.1% (or 3.1 million people) vaped nicotine, 5.4% (or 2.1 million people) used tobacco products, and 3. 4% (or 1.3 million people) smoked cigarettes in the past month. (2021 NSDUH)
  • Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Among both middle and high school students, current use of e-cigarettes declined from 2019 to 2020, reversing previous trends and returning current e-cigarette use to levels similar to those observed in 2018
  • E-cigarettes are not safe for youth, young adults, or pregnant women, especially because they contain nicotine and other chemicals

Resources:

  • Tips for Teens: Tobacco
  • Tips for Teens: E-cigarettes
  • Implementing Tobacco Cessation Programs in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Settings
  • Synar Amendment Program

Links:

  • Truth Initiative
  • FDA Center for Tobacco Products
  • CDC Office on Smoking and Health
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: Tobacco, Nicotine, and E-Cigarettes
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: E-Cigarettes

Opioids

Data:

  • Among people aged 12 or older in 2021, 3. 3% (or 9.2 million people) misused opioids (heroin or prescription pain relievers) in the past year. Among the 9.2 million people who misused opioids in the past year, 8.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers compared with 1.1 million people who used heroin. These numbers include 574,000 people who both misused prescription pain relievers and used heroin in the past year. (2021 NSDUH)
  • Among people aged 12 or older in 2020, 3.4% (or 9.5 million people) misused opioids in the past year. Among the 9.5 million people who misused opioids in the past year, 9.3 million people misused prescription pain relievers and 902,000 people used heroin (2020 NSDUH)
  • According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Understanding the Epidemic, an average of 128 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose

Resources:

  • Medication-Assisted Treatment
  • Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit
  • TIP 63: Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
  • Use of Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in Criminal Justice Settings
  • Opioid Use Disorder and Pregnancy
  • Clinical Guidance for Treating Pregnant and Parenting Women With Opioid Use Disorder and Their Infants
  • The Facts about Buprenorphine for Treatment of Opioid Addiction
  • Pregnancy Planning for Women Being Treated for Opioid Use Disorder
  • Tips for Teens: Opioids
  • Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Grants
  • Tribal Opioid Response Grants
  • Provider’s Clinical Support System - Medication Assisted Treatment Grant Program

Links:

  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: Opioids
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: Heroin
  • HHS Prevent Opioid Abuse
  • Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
  • Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network
  • Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Network

Marijuana

Data:

  • In 2021, marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug, with 18. 7% of people aged 12 or older (or 52.5 million people) using it in the past year. The percentage was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (35.4% or 11.8 million people), followed by adults aged 26 or older (17.2% or 37.9 million people), then by adolescents aged 12 to 17 (10.5% or 2.7 million people).
  • The percentage of people who used marijuana in the past year was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (34.5%) compared with 16.3% of adults aged 26 or older and 10.1% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 (2020 NSDUH)
  • Marijuana can impair judgment and distort perception in the short term and can lead to memory impairment in the long term
  • Marijuana can have significant health effects on youth and pregnant women.

Resources:

  • Know the Risks of Marijuana
  • Marijuana and Pregnancy
  • Tips for Teens: Marijuana

Relevant links:

  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: Marijuana
  • Addiction Technology Transfer Centers on Marijuana
  • CDC Marijuana and Public Health

Emerging Trends in Substance Misuse:

  • Methamphetamine—In 2019, NSDUH data show that approximately 2 million people used methamphetamine in the past year. Approximately 1 million people had a methamphetamine use disorder, which was higher than the percentage in 2016, but similar to the percentages in 2015 and 2018. The National Institute on Drug Abuse Data shows that overdose death rates involving methamphetamine have quadrupled from 2011 to 2017. Frequent meth use is associated with mood disturbances, hallucinations, and paranoia.
  • Cocaine—In 2019, NSDUH data show an estimated 5.5 million people aged 12 or older were past users of cocaine, including about 778,000 users of crack. The CDC reports that overdose deaths involving have increased by one-third from 2016 to 2017. In the short term, cocaine use can result in increased blood pressure, restlessness, and irritability. In the long term, severe medical complications of cocaine use include heart attacks, seizures, and abdominal pain.
  • Kratom—In 2019, NSDUH data show that about 825,000 people had used Kratom in the past month. Kratom is a tropical plant that grows naturally in Southeast Asia with leaves that can have psychotropic effects by affecting opioid brain receptors. It is currently unregulated and has risk of abuse and dependence. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that health effects of Kratom can include nausea, itching, seizures, and hallucinations.

Resources:

  • Tips for Teens: Methamphetamine
  • Tips for Teens: Cocaine
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse

More SAMHSA publications on substance use prevention and treatment.

Last Updated: 01/05/2023

God keeps us, not we Him / OrthoChristian.Ru

Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you;
cleanse your hands, sinners, correct your hearts, double-minded (James 4:8).

Who are the doubles? We are all double-minded. What does "double"? This is the one who wants at the same time two opposite things. We want God, but at the same time we want another life.

You will object to me: “We do not want another life!” Okay, in theory we don't want her. In practice, however, our deeds tell a different story. They show that we captured.

Doubleness is a sin, because that a two-minded person suffers from spiritual schizophrenia and wants one thing and does another. One thing is his thoughts, and the other - actions, and we are all like that. Myself The holy apostle Paul says: “I am an unfortunate man, because I decide one thing and do another. I want one and I create something else." “Poor man I am! who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24). Who will deliver me from this misfortune that I carry within me? I decide pray, keep temperance, fast, a lot of things. How many good decisions do we make every day? However we do not fulfill them, we are captured, we wander like sheep on rope, and we are led in the other direction.

How many times even our own i resists and tells us: "What are you going to do? No need! Stop!” Our own I protest, and we seem to be hypnotized and drunk - we go there and cannot understand what happening. Because we are captivated, because this is captivity from satan. We do not have time to take over our own i , and passions take possession of us, because the devil - a dictator, he is a terrible tyrant who does not want our freedom, does not want us to have our own face. This and there is double-mindedness - to have like two souls, two opinions, two decisions, two people, be a dual person, who lives the life of the Church and at the same time makes a thousand other deeds denying it.

I remember these words of the old man Paisia: “There lived a man who went to church, prayed, cried, bowed and was all in tenderness. This man made an impression on me. This a person - or rather this category of people, since he is not the only one - at the moment when he cries, weeps and prays, can draw a knife against you, enough to provoke him with something. It's terrible schizophrenia. About Peter the Great, who killed people and God knows what else he did, it is said that he every day attended the Holy Liturgy.

This is duplicity. You can not do it this way. It means something is coming not this way. How is this split possible - is it in you left no trace of this Liturgy, this gospel, life in the church?

Okay, you'll tell me, "Who's not?" TO unfortunately, we are all like that, and therefore the holy apostle James says further:

“Grieve, weep and wail; your laugh yes turns to weeping, and joy to sorrow.
Humble yourself before God, and he will exalt you” (James 4: 9-10).

The words of the holy apostle are harsh. Like a counter to everything this torment of man, our and , our The apostle advises double-mindedness to endure suffering, to weep and sob.

How does a Christian bear suffering? What suffering? Okay, fasting is such suffering. Many people say: "Ah-ah-ah, I'm hungry all the time during fasting! But that's what we fast for. to feel hungry, not to be full. This and makes fasting fast - we feel hungry. What do I have legs shaking? Nothing, let them shake.

I'm not saying that you need to exhaust and ruin yourself, but not such suffering must be feared. Isn't it true, here you go all-night vigil, and the legs give way - but this is valuable. Be ready to die, as they say, but stand there.

Spiritual things cannot be done in the midst of comfort. A Christian must be an ascetic, be an ascetic in spirit, and to be an ascetic means to endure. Have you seen ever an athlete who became an athlete sitting in chair? This is impossible. You have to constantly train exercise, exhaust yourself. This is how you will succeed. Constantly gotta stay awake.

Someone once said:

- Geronda, your words touched me and made me cry! They crushed me!

But that's why I said them! To hurt you, me and said it! To crush you! To make you cry said it! Why else did I tell you this? To you laughed? Why did I insult you in front of others? For what dishonored you? On purpose! I didn't do it out of ignorance! No! I did it on purpose to crush you. To break through your selfishness. To make you cry. Of course, to cry. Why don't you cry? What, so what: so that I told you, didn't you cry?

We need to labor in spiritual exploits: when I fast, I I do this in order to endure deprivation; when I'm awake, I I do this to endure suffering; when I submit alms, I do it to lose something, I don't give alms without understanding what I'm doing. When I do something I do it to exhaust myself, to feel it, feel.

How does this characterize us: that we are masochists, that we like to bully yourself? No! But sin, unfortunately, identified with lust. There is pleasure in sin there is a pleasant feeling, not only sinful pleasure, but from any point of view - both spiritual, emotional, and at all. The heart leads us to sin because of its voluptuousness, because he finds pleasure in it.

First in virtue there is no spiritual pleasure, there is pain, labor, suffering, there must be hard work. The opposite of voluptuousness is industriousness - it means: to love work and do things, feel tired. Gotta exhaust myself. "I'm tired!" you say. But gotta get tired. Why don't you get tired?

It is bitter if you performed spiritual feats and were not tired. This what does it mean? What are these feats then? What a feat is a feat if it doesn't tire you? It was not would be a feat.

Of course, there is a secret in this - that diligence for the sake of God in spiritual struggle contains much joy and present spiritual pleasure, while joy from sinful pleasure is temporary, but its bitterness and evil fruits are permanent.

It is a fact that at first a person who wishes to strive spiritually, must indulge in diligence, he must work hard, tire yourself out, make both spiritual and bodily labor. For example, when another scolds me, and I I don’t answer, isn’t it work? Am I inside myself? I turn into a beast and do not want to tear it to pieces? However, I I restrain myself and don't do it. This is work. And when the other annoying and I want to throw him out, but I I restrain myself so as not to offend him, so as not to get along with him bad? Somebody comes and wants something from me absurd, and in spite of this I endure it, I listen - it tires me, of course, but it's valuable.

They say that in marriage, in the family you get tired! But she is also valuable. - this fatigue, this everyday death in the family confrontation - for example, you can have a full family, where there is a husband, and a wife, and children, and, despite it, to be alone, to feel that you are not understood, not accept - not because they are badly treated, but because everyone lives in their own world. This great labor, great struggle, great suffering.

Do you know that mental labor is harder than physical labor? Strive bodily, stay awake, get tired, fast and so on - this includes joy, has, so say, the immediate result, but mental labor is something much more difficult. To be in a certain place and feel bitter every day, disappointment, rejection, living in the same house with her husband, and so that he rejects you every day, so that his wife rejects you you, the children did not accept you, did not consider you, so that they were not interested in whether you are or not, so that they do not acknowledged none of what you do. Well, isn't that asceticism? This is asceticism. It is much more difficult than other things. Better go dig on field all day long than for another to reject you and eat you go with your tongue. A thousand times better break rocks than have another break your heart quarrels and exhausted the nerves.

Consequently, asceticism is multifaceted and covers everything person. Asceticism for us, living mainly in the world, consists not so much in bodily affairs - our torment not so much bodily, because we cannot do very much do in the world. Well okay, we'll fast, let's go on All-night vigil, let us pray in the evening, even if we are tired. Fine. But we can't do more than that, we don't have the strength. But every day we endure ... What here to tell the person?

It's scary how tired a person can be. You know, there are such people who can bore you, talk five minutes and break you down and it will take you all day to recover. And the other will talk to you all day, but won't tire you. I don't know if it's a human thing? He will say you just a couple of words, and you are broken, while the holy people calm you down.

Or here's another situation: work, our colleagues or the environment in which we live. You had better went alone to the mountains than to be with heavy people. Yes it torment - endure for the love of Christ and remain there. This is indeed a feat, a torment.

What happens, however? Through this torment, sorrow and crying the consolation of God is born. The person who does not suffer is comforted by God. This is the law. Do you want God to consoled? If you find solace in human things God will not comfort you. If you find solace in everything around you, do not expect consolation from God. God comfort people who really suffered, were offended, despised, rejected.

You will tell me: "Okay, but if I'm not like that and that's it I'm fine, what should I do?" If you have everything order and you do not need to make efforts and labors, you need to do them at will. If regardless of you life is going well, look for your own work. Lead extra fight. Yes, because the person is saved or voluntary work, when you infringe on your will fasting, prayers, by all sorts of feats, as we have just said, or labors forced.

I am not saying that the husband swears every day - he and so does it. Your torment is forced labor, you if you don't want him, you're not the reason for him, but he is. well, like this put to good use what is, turn it to good spiritually, for your own good. Or do you have some disease some problem, the cause of which is not in you, she appeared on her own. This is a convenient opportunity, this is a feat, which you can pick up and turn to your advantage.

Therefore, if you have forced labor, you you need to use them. God will comfort you. If you don't have forced labor and everything is fine with you, then you should to bear voluntary labors, to impose upon oneself a spiritual asceticism.

Do you remember what God said to the rich man? "Child, remember that you have already enjoyed in your life [1] . When you were alive everything was Fine; what you wanted, you had everything; not with anything you have never lacked, no one has ever said nothing against you. You have already enjoyed the benefits of your life. And now there is nothing.” Whereas the other, Lazarus, experienced evil, so he was comforted.

Indeed, a person who has tasted God's consolation, understands that it is not comparable to human consolation. Neither which is incomparable. With absolutely nothing.

One woman was a very spiritual person, she had truly spiritual life, and not just emotions and fake feelings. And her husband really was a tyrant, villain. You can't imagine what anguish he is caused her. For many years she took everything from him. swearing, screams, blasphemy, that only your mind can imagine. AND worst of all, the children rose up against her, and although she every day she sacrificed herself for them, every day she drank the bitter cup of ingratitude, barbarism. her children became bad, but they had a holy mother.

Be that as it may, but one day this woman reached the limit of her strength and said:

"God, I can't take it anymore!"

She was stricken with a very serious illness, and her husband paid no attention to her at all. What happened next? Since she was a spiritual person, she had such comfort from God that constantly prayed in the heart, and God consoled her exceptionally much. Among the terrible torments and difficulties, she felt great comfort from God. IN case with her, we are really talking about the measure of the saints, and not about something ordinary. However, one day she as a person - or by God's permission - said:

- I can not anymore! I can't stand it! God, I can't!

Her husband humiliated her both physically and mentally: he did not let her walk to church, to take communion, was like a demon.

Having reached the limit of patience, one night she prayed - and her husband kicked her out of the room that day for telling him that she wanted to go to church:

- Do you want to go to church? Then get out!

Then she heard the voice of God in herself: “Well, I I will take away this temptation so that you may have peace.”

From the next day, her husband gradually began to get kinder and through fifteen days he became like a lamb. And what happened? Prayer she gradually subsided, and she lost it. Husband spoke to her:

- Do you want to go to church? Okay, go! Want buy this and that, give alms? Take and distribute!

She said:

- God bless! What I was waiting for came, albeit through 25 years!

Yes, it did, but she lost God's comfort. God did not comfort her as before. She lost her prayer the warmth that she used to have, there was no flame, which she had. "Oh, what is this happening!" – and the opposite took hold of her: despair. And now? What will happen now? In other words, if there is consolation from my husband, will I lose consolation from God? So she began to pray:

“Oh my god, what do we do now?

But what should she say? "Make my husband beast? She can't say that. And what to say? Whatever it was, she prayed, prayed, after that other temptations came and so forth, and she rediscovered myself.

The saints did the same. Why did they choose remote places where there is no human comfort? Because that they knew from experience that the more you human comfort, the less comfort from God.

Father Zacharias told me about Elder Sophronius [2] that he used to say:

– When I lived in the desert and I had one package milk for my needs, I said to myself: "One packet I have enough milk for three or four days, for one week. What need to do to get another package? go buy". Is this not simple logic? And the logic of the desert says something else: “Would you like to purchase two packages milk? Give the package you have and they will come two". In other words, so that I have two packages milk, I gave one, and God sent me two. gave away two, and God sent me four. Why? Because there isn't human help, you're out of the world.

I will never forget how I lived in Kapsala in my youth, on Saint Woe - there is a desert, there are snows - especially in winter, we all found ourselves blocked: it was impossible to go and see another. In the mountains, in thickets, for 10-15 days you could not go to see a neighbor. When I say neighbor, I I mean some brother living on a huge distance from you. He is, however, your neighbour, since you see him from afar.

One day we took some things and took them to one an old man who lived below us. He lived alone. This humanly - take something to him: a little vegetable oil, other things.

– Geronda, we brought you something!

- Thank you very much! Convey gratitude your elder!

He sets aside some of what he has brought.

- Yes, this is all for you!

- No no! That's enough for today!

- Okay, what about tomorrow?

- Well, tomorrow! God knows! No need for tomorrow!

And where did he live? Not in the city, next to the grocery, but in desert. There was nowhere for him to have tomorrow. But since he had no human help, he really was God's help.

That's right - from my little experience I tell you, – that as soon as humanly something is impossible, then God intervenes. However, the fact that this is happening when a person reaches the extreme limit of his strength, to the point where he can no longer. When you get there, there God.

However, one must reach there, endure the path to the extreme limit, do not fall into cowardice and do not say: “No! Enough!" - and step back. Gotta get there one must have this power, wait and believe that God is there. And if If you start doing something else, then you will lose the consolation of God.

Did you know that a person can lose the comfort of God and because of the most ordinary things on which he lays hope? .. Because God says that the love of money - it's a sin that a lot of everything else is a sin. What essence? The bottom line is that it robs our heart. Have money is not a sin - if I had money, if if we were millionaires ... And I tell you what I wanted to become a millionaire, it is not something bad to have money, but it should not steal your heart.

If you can stay free and manage right them, then you will easily enter Paradise. This is the key that opens heaven, but the same key opens hell. If not be careful, with the same key you will enter the next door. The question is that the heart of man should not be stolen, no matter what: a person, money, human fame, position and everything else. Let it not robs your heart so that it stays with God.

Again, an example from monastic life. On the Holy Mountain various thieves who robbed, robbed the monks and even bullied them. We had similar stories. So on Holy Mountain was told that there are thieves. What do we do? The easiest way to rob a monk: he is alone, in the mountains.

And so a certain monk took it and hung a good lock on the door my cell... But first, let me tell you another history.

There was one elder, the heir of Hadji-George [3] . They came to rob him. Him there were ancient icons in the cell. They tied his hands, feet, mouth so as not to scream. And he told them:

“Please, before you tie me up, take me me to church, and there bind me.

- For what?

- To be in the temple. And open the book for me when tie me up so that I read the service until the morning, do not miss her!

They tied him up and he read like that. Then the neighbors found him:

- It's OK! Though I was tied up, but I serve read! They just took their things and left.

But back to my example. Our neighbor went and bought padlock:

- Don't open it! Let them come: they have nothing it will work!

Yes, but when he began to pray in the evening, God was not with him. He lost his prayer. Why? God told him:

“Your trust is in the castle or in Me?” Who is here guarding your dwelling? Castle or Me?

He felt so betrayed that he removed the lock and made it a rule for 40 days to sleep with unlocked doors. Although, of course, he was frightened by the slightest noise and jumped from the bed.

The icon of the Most Holy Theotokos came to the Iversky Monastery sea, and the Monk Gabriel of Iberia, walking also on the sea, went and took the icon, took it to the monastery, the fathers put her in the cathedral church, but in the morning they found it in the monastery gate. Lord have mercy! Who took it? Okay again carried her to the temple, but the next morning she was again in gate. Again they placed it in the temple, and again they found it in gate. The temple was closed. Then the Holy Mother of God appeared abbot and said:

- Geronda, I will protect you, not you Me!

Since then, the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos has stood at the monastery gate. Of course, out of reverence, the monks closed those gates, put others side by side and erected a chapel, where there is an icon, which is why it is called the Goalkeeper, that is, the Holy Mother of God standing at the gate. Because It is God who guards us, not we His...

Where there is no human: human comforts, human strength, God is there.

God is our goal. When we're all right and have many blessings, we must thank God for what we have eat, praise Him for all the blessings we have, but do not forget about diligence, voluntary diligence in asceticism - both bodily and spiritual, any austerity leading to industriousness in us, because it will free us from the passions and sin. ..

Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Kashira

Answers

to the main objections

against

true faith.

------------

Edition

Korablev and Siryakov.

St. Petersburg.

Printed by Eduard Weimar.

1860

Print allowed,

so that after printing it would be submitted to the Censorship Committee authorized number of copies.

St. Petersburg December 14, 1859.

Censor Archimandrite Macarius.

you will be deceived by philosophy and vain flattery according to human tradition, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ” Kolos. 11.8. - “Let us not be who are babies, blowing and wandering with every wind of doctrine, in the lies of mankind, in deceit wiles of flattery" Ephesians 4:14. – “Therefore, brethren, stand and keep the traditions, like learn either by our word or by our epistle.” 2 Thess. 11.15.

Russian language.

To the reader.

This little book has been compiled especially for you, my dear! Take care of it, especially if you don't like it at first sight: it will a sign that you need it.

They say that a good book is a good friend. I sincerely wish bring you such a friend. Accept cordially the gift that I offer from the pure hearts.

Although this book will teach about important subjects, I think that it will not bore you: I gave her orders not to preach, but simply to talk to you; and when you read to the last page, you will tell me: did she do her job?

You will notice, of course, that the prejudices which I refute, of three kinds: some come from unbelief - these are the worst, and from them I start; others from ignorance; others, finally, from a lack of courage. - If you, as I hope, are alien to these prejudices, then my answers may serve you warning. Anyway, I ask God that they do you good. and found access to your heart.

Knowing from experience that true happiness consists in loving God and serve Him, I fervently desire that this happiness be your lot.

You may find that some important questions have been investigated me too briefly; but that's because, my friend, I was afraid to tire you. Woe the book that can get boring! As for mine, I assure you read it a little at a time, discussing and weighing the arguments presented to you. IN I will forgive you especially, to seek the truth sincerely, not resting against it, when it touches your conscience. If the heart is right and sincere, then enlightenment mind will not slow down. So:

God bless!

Answers

First objection - Not I want to hear about Religion!

Second objection - There is no God!

Third objection - When they die, it's all over!

Fourth objection - Chance governs everything: otherwise there would not be so much disorder on earth and so much evil. It is clear that God is not concerned with us.

Objection five - Rather than talk so much about future bliss, it would be better if religion took care to eliminate poverty and all disasters in this life

Objection six - Religion is suitable only for the common people.

Objection seven - It is enough to be an honest man: that is the best religion and that is enough.

Objection Eight - There are many intelligent and learned people who do not believe in the Christian religion.

Objection 9 - I only believe what I understand; how to believe the sacraments of religion?

Tenth Objection - I would like to have faith, but I cannot.

Eleventh objection - All beliefs are good.

Objection twelfth - Was not Jesus Christ only a great benefactor of mankind? Is He really God?

Objection thirteenth - I want to follow the Gospel alone, and stick only to primitive Christianity.

Learn more