"Save me, God!" - about the traditions of communication. – Gratitude is a commandment
For many people, even churchgoers, spiritual life is often consumerist and represents a huge list of requests to the Lord. In most cases, people in the bustle of worldly life do not notice that the Almighty constantly sends us many mercies and we are in great debt to Him.
Why is a prayer of thanksgiving necessary?
A prayer of gratitude to God for everything is those grateful words that each of us is obliged to offer to Heaven for help, support, consolation, joy, and even for the diseases and troubles sent.
You can give thanks through prayers, but it is also not prohibited in your own words. The soul of a person is alive, and it is alive as long as faith glows in it. And it is necessary to nourish the life of the soul with daily prayers, giving mercy to those in need, and making feasible donations to the temple.
Ingratitude is unbelief. Ungrateful people are unworthy of salvation; they do not see the good paths that the Lord shows them. It seems to such people that everything that happens in their fate is accidental, and sometimes they are visited by thoughts about the meaninglessness of life.
Advice! The Orthodox prayer of gratitude to God for everything is the praise to the Almighty that must be offered constantly.
Our heavenly mentors teach us to thank God for everything. What does the concept of “thank God” include? This means completely, completely trusting Him with yourself and your life, knowing that the Savior will never leave His faithful children in trouble and will definitely help.
More about prayers of thanksgiving:
This faith in the help of the Almighty helps us, Orthodox Christians, to find those true words of gratitude to the caring and loving Heavenly Father for everything, both for earthly sorrows and for joys.
Prayerful thanks to God
Prayer 1
My many-merciful and all-merciful God, Lord Jesus Christ, for the sake of love you came down and became incarnate, so that you would save everyone. And again, Savior, save me by grace, I pray to You; Even if you save me from works, there is no grace and a gift, but more than a duty. He who is abundant in generosity and unspeakable in mercy! Believe in Me, O my Christ, you will live and will not see death forever. And I also have faith, I am in You, saves the desperate, behold, I believe, save me, For You are my God and Creator. Let faith instead of works be imputed to me, O my God, for you will not find works to justify me. But let that faith of mine prevail in place of all, that let it answer, that let it justify me, that let it show me to be a partaker of Thy eternal glory. Let Satan not kidnap me, and boast to the Word that he has torn me from Your hand and fence; But either I want, save me, or I don’t want, O Christ my Savior, I will soon foresee, I will soon perish: For you are my God from my mother’s womb. Grant me, Lord, now to love You, as I have sometimes loved that very sin; And again I worked for You without laziness, I worked for the skin first of the flattering Satan. Most of all, I will serve You, my Lord and God Jesus Christ, all the days of my life, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer 2
We thank Thee, Lord our God, for all Thy good deeds, even from the first age to the present, in us, Thy unworthy servants (names), who were, known and unknown, about those revealed and unmanifested, even those who were in deed and in word: who loved us as and You deigned to give Your Only Begotten Son for us, making us worthy to be worthy of Your love. Grant with Your word wisdom and with Your fear inhale strength from Your power, and whether we have sinned, whether willingly or unwillingly, forgive and not impute, and keep our soul holy, and present it to Thy Throne, having a clear conscience, and the end is worthy of Thy love for mankind; and remember, O Lord, all who call upon Thy name in truth, remember all who desire good or evil against us: for all are men, and every man is in vain; We also pray to You, Lord, grant us Your great mercy.
Prayer 3
The Cathedral of Saints Angel and Archangel, with all the heavenly powers, sings to Thee and says: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, heaven and earth are filled with Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. Save me, Who art thou King on high, save me and sanctify me, Source of sanctification; For from You all creation is strengthened, To You countless warriors sing the Trisagion hymn. Unworthy of You, who sits in the unapproachable light, of whom all things are terrified, I pray: enlighten my mind, cleanse my heart, and open my lips, so that I may worthily sing to You: Holy, Holy, Holy art thou, Lord, always, now, and ever and to endless ages of ages. Amen.
4 Song of praise to St. Ambrose of Milan
We praise God to you, we confess the Lord to you, the whole earth magnifies the eternal Father to you. To You all the angels, to You the heavens and all the powers, to You the unceasing voices of the cherubim and seraphim cry: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts, the heavens and earth are full of the majesty of Your glory. To you is the glorious apostolic face, to you the prophetic number of praise, to you is praised by the bright martyr’s army, to you throughout the entire universe the Holy Church confesses, the Father of incomprehensible majesty, the worship of your true and only begotten Son, and the Holy Comforter of the Spirit. You, the King of Glory Christ, You are the ever-present Son of the Father: You, having received man for the deliverance, did not disdain the Virgin’s womb. Having overcome the sting of death, you have opened the Kingdom of Heaven to believers. You sit at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father, the Judge is confident to come. We therefore ask you: help your servants, whom you have redeemed with your honest blood. Make it worthy to reign with Your saints in Your eternal glory. Save Thy people, O Lord, and bless Thy inheritance, I will correct and exalt them forever: we will bless Thee all the days, and we will praise Thy name forever and ever. Grant, Lord, that on this day we may be preserved without sin. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us: may Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we trust in Thee: in Thee, O Lord, do we trust, that we may not be ashamed forever. Amen.
5 Prayer of thanksgiving for all God’s blessings, St. John of Kronstadt
God! What will I bring to You, how will I thank You for Your constant, greatest mercies to me and to the rest of Your people? For behold, every moment I am enlivened by Your Holy Spirit, every moment I breathe the air You have diffused, light, pleasant, healthy, strengthening, I am enlightened by Your joyful and life-giving light - spiritual and material; I feed on sweet and life-giving spiritual food and the same drink, the holy Mysteries of Your Body and Blood and material sweet food and drinks; You dress me with a bright, beautiful royal robe - with Yourself and material clothes, you cleanse my sins, heal and cleanse my many and fierce sinful passions; You take away my spiritual corruption in the power of Your immeasurable goodness, wisdom and strength, and fill me with Your Holy Spirit - the Spirit of holiness, grace; You give my soul truth, peace and joy, space, strength, boldness, courage, strength, and you endow my body with precious health; You teach my hands to fight and my fingers to fight with the invisible enemies of my salvation and bliss, with the enemies of the holiness and power of Your glory, with the spirits of wickedness in high places; You crown with success my deeds done in Your name... For all this I thank, glorify and bless Your all-good, fatherly, all-powerful power, O God, our Savior, our Benefactor. But be known by Your other people as You appeared to me, O Lover of Mankind, so that they may know You, the Father of all, Your goodness, Your providence, Your wisdom and power, and glorify You, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer 6
I thank Thee, Lord my God, for giving me existence, for giving me birth in the Christian faith, for the Most Pure Virgin Mary, Intercessor for the salvation of our race, for Thy saints praying for us, for the Guardian Angel, for public worship that supports us faith and virtue, for the Holy Scriptures, for the Holy Sacraments, and especially Your Body and Blood, for the mysterious grace-filled consolations, for the hope of receiving the Kingdom of Heaven and for all the blessings You have given me.
Prayer 7
Glory to Thee Savior, Almighty Power! Glory to Thee Savior, Omnipresent Power! Glory to Thee, most merciful Womb! Glory to Thee, ever-opening Hearing to hear the prayer of the accursed me, to have mercy on me and save me from my sins! Glory to Thee, brightest Eyes, I will look upon me with kindness and insight into all my secrets! Glory to Thee, glory to Thee, glory to Thee, Sweetest Jesus, my Savior!
Thanksgiving prayers
In every Orthodox church, at the end of the Divine Liturgy, the clergy serve thanksgiving prayers - during their reading, the priest says special prayers to the Lord. Dates of services can be found in each church shop or on cathedral websites.
How to order a prayer service correctly:
Icon of Jesus Christ
- At the temple you need to order a thanksgiving service and write a note. It is necessary to indicate the names of the thankers (in the genitive case, i.e. “from whom?”), writing them down in a column.
- It is allowed to add “statuses” next to names: bol. - means “sick”, mld. - infant (child up to 7 years old), neg. - youth, cont. - not idle, pregnant.
- There is no need to indicate the reason for gratitude; Heavenly Father already knows everything.
- People who order a thanksgiving prayer must be baptized in the Orthodox faith.
- Before starting the prayer service, it is advisable to purchase a church candle and place it in a candlestick in front of the icon of Christ.
- If the candles in the candlestick are not lit, there is no need to act without permission and light them. This will be done by a candle maker - a servant who has obedience in the temple.
Prayers of thanksgiving should be offered in church. Relief is given only to those who, due to weakness, illness, old age and other valid reasons, cannot visit the holy monastery of God. You can pray to them and thank Christ at home. The main thing is that words of gratitude must come from the depths of the heart.
Jesus Christ the Great Bishop
- Sit in silence and think about what good and kind things have happened in your life.
Many people do not attach much importance to what they have in life. Some complain that their house is too small, but they want a big one, not realizing that they have the benefit of a roof over their heads, which is the only dream for those who do not have their own shelter. Others are not happy that there is food in the refrigerator, but they want something more refined, more tasty. At this time, they do not think that there are people who eat “empty” pasta every day or even go hungry. - If you don’t know special prayers of gratitude, thank the Heavenly Father in a simple way, from the heart, and then apply the Sign of the Cross three times. And if you are in a public place, then simply quietly say “Thank you, Lord.”
- Orthodox people are commanded to thank the Lord for everything that happens in their lives, good and bad.
Churched Christians believe that nothing happens to them just like that, and the Lord sends all trials to them to repent of their sins and guide them on the right, true path. - Read the Psalter, a book included in the Bible. It contains many songs (psalms) that are read about health for the deceased, many of them are dedicated to thanking the Lord.
- Come to an Orthodox church, buy a candle in a church shop and place it near the Face of the Savior.
- Place some money in the donation box (usually located in the parish store or worship hall), even if it is a very small amount.
What else you need to know about Orthodoxy:
Important! Remember that the size of the candle has no effect on the “quality and size” of gratitude. The icon of Christ is usually located in front of the church altar on the right side. If you don’t know the text of the prayer by heart, then buy a prayer book - a book that contains basic prayers for different occasions.This money will be used to restore the church, purchase icons and church utensils. A monetary sacrifice to the temple - the house of God - is also gratitude to the Lord.
Do any good deeds, give alms - this is the best gratitude to Heaven!
Video about how to thank God and the saints for blessings.
Any conversation usually begins with a greeting - this is a generally accepted requirement of politeness in society. When people meet, they wish each other goodness and prosperity, success in work, good morning, afternoon or evening. When meeting people, you can greet them with any words, the main thing is that the greeting is cordial and sincere. Even in the usual greeting “Hello!” or “Good afternoon!” contains a completely Orthodox attitude towards man. However, there are greetings that are accepted only in the Orthodox environment.
Orthodox Christians often use the form of thanksgiving “Save, Lord!” when communicating in almost all cases: when meeting, when parting, and even when making a positive mention of a third person (“Save him, Lord!”) Although the tradition of spiritual communication is much richer and more diverse. In Central Ukraine, for example, they still greet each other in churches with a joyful: “Glory to God!” - “Glory to God forever!” Over two thousand years, Christians around the world have developed special forms of greeting. In ancient times, they greeted each other with the exclamation: “Christ is in our midst!”, Hearing in response: “And there is, and there will be.” Nowadays priests greet each other this way, but laymen should also remember this ancient tradition.
On the first day of Easter, as well as during Bright Week and until Easter is celebrated, a solemn greeting sounds: “Christ is Risen!” - “Truly he is risen!” This greeting is repeated many times during the Easter service, and the tradition itself dates back to apostolic times. Greeting with the words “Christ is risen!” expresses joy similar to the joy of the apostles who learned about the resurrection of Christ. The Venerable Seraphim of Sarov said precisely: “Christ is Risen!” welcomed those who came to him all year round. On Sundays and holidays, it is customary for Orthodox Christians to greet each other with mutual congratulations: “Happy holiday!”, and on the eve of the holiday - “Happy evening.” And on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, Orthodox Christians greet each other with the words: “Christ is born!”; “We praise Him!” - sounds in response.
From the monasteries the tradition came into everyday life of asking permission to enter a room with the following words: “Through the prayers of the saints, our fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.” At the same time, the person in the room, if allowed to enter, must answer: “Amen.” Of course, such a tradition is possible only among Orthodox monks; it is hardly applicable to lay people.
Children leaving home to study can be greeted with the words “Guardian Angel!” by crossing them. You can also wish a Guardian Angel to someone setting off on a journey, or say: “God bless you!”, or “God help you!” Orthodox Christians say the same words to each other when saying goodbye, or: “With God!”, “God’s help,” “I ask for your holy prayers,” and the like.
In the ancient Russian code “Domostroy,” a rule is given on how to greet someone when they come to visit: first bow to the icons, then to the owners with the words “Peace to this house.” Having caught your neighbors at a meal, it is customary to wish them: “An angel at the meal!” For everything, it is customary to warmly and sincerely thank your neighbors: “Save, Lord!”, “Save, Christ!”, or “Save you, God!”, to which the answer is supposed to be: “For the glory of God.” But if you think that people will not understand you, it is not necessary to thank you in this way. It’s better to say: “Thank you!”, or “I am grateful to you from the bottom of my heart.”
According to tradition, when two people meet, the youngest (by age or in the church hierarchy) should say the greeting first, and the elder should answer him. For example, usually when a layman meets a priest, the first one says: “Christ is risen! (Bless (those), father/honest father),” and the second replies: “Truly he is risen! (God bless).” Let us remind you that in Orthodoxy it is not customary to address a priest with the words “holy father”; they say: “honest father” (for example: “Pray for me, honest father”).
It is not customary to address a priest by his first name or patronymic; he is called by his full name with the addition of the word “father”: “Father Alexy”, or “father”. The deacon may also be addressed by his name, which must be preceded by the word “father.” You are not supposed to take a blessing from a deacon.
Having met a priest in vestments (in a cassock with a cross or in liturgical vestments with an epitrachelion and armbands), ask him for a blessing, this will be your greeting. Approach the priest, bend over a little, fold your right hand over your left, palms up, and say: “Father, bless.”
Father, making the sign of the cross over you, says: “God bless,” or “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” - and places his right, blessing hand on your palms. At this moment, the lay person receiving the blessing kisses the priest's hand. It happens that kissing the hand confuses some beginners. We should not be embarrassed - we are not kissing the priest’s hand, but Christ himself, who at this moment is invisibly standing and blessing us. You just shouldn’t make the sign of the cross before taking a blessing from the priest. If the priest puts his hand on your head, then you do not need to kiss it.
If several priests are present, led by a bishop, approach only him for a blessing. If you have taken a blessing from one priest, and several more are standing nearby, turn to them with the words: “Bless, honest fathers,” and bow. If you are in a group of believers, the men in seniority come up first for the blessing (church ministers first, as if setting an example), then the women come, and the children come last. This rule also applies to the family: the husband comes first, the wife, then the children. When saying goodbye, ask the priest for a blessing again with the words “Forgive me, father, and bless me.”
In the Orthodox Church, on official occasions, it is customary to address a priest as “Your Reverence,” and to address a rector or vicar of a monastery, if he is an abbot or archimandrite, as “Your Reverence,” and if the vicar is a hieromonk, “Your Reverence.” The bishop is addressed as “Your Eminence,” and the archbishops and metropolitans as “Your Eminence.” In a conversation, you can address a bishop, archbishop and metropolitan less formally - “Vladyka”, and the abbot of a monastery - “father vicar” or “father abbot”. It is customary to address His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir, Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as “Your Beatitude,” and to His Holiness the Patriarch as “Your Holiness.” All these appeals, naturally, do not mean the holiness of this or that particular person - a priest or Patriarch; they express respect for the sacred rank of confessors and hierarchs.
We praise You, we bless You,
We thank You great for Your glory
Today we will talk about the magic word, or more precisely, about the feeling that is expressed by this word. As children, we were taught to be good boys and girls and to say the magic word “thank you.” Now we have grown up, and we need to learn to live like a Christian, filling our whole lives with gratitude. How to move from magic words to spiritual deeds? We are talking about this with Archpriest Evgeniy Popichenko.
– Gratitude is taught from childhood, it is expected, sometimes even demanded. So what is gratitude?
– There are two words that sound almost the same - “gratitude” and “grace”. Grace is a gift that is given to a person. And gratitude is a response to a gift. The Lord gave man the whole world - in fact, the world was created for the joyful and grace-filled life of man in close communion with the Creator. Possessing the whole world and the possibility of unity with God, a person can only give thanks in response, thereby expressing his love for God, his attention to Him and the joy that the Lord exists.
Just as relationships with other people begin only when a person notices someone other than himself, notices care coming from outside and expresses this in gratitude, so does a relationship with God begin. It is no coincidence that the English writer Gilbert Chesterton once noted that the religious education of a child begins not when the father begins to talk about God, but when the mother teaches him to say “thank you” for a deliciously baked pie.
Only a grateful soul can find God. Saint John Chrysostom emphasizes: “Faith is the destiny of grateful souls.” The Lord has taught man gratitude throughout history.
– Gratitude towards people is understandable: we tell them: “Thank you! God save us!”, that is, we wish for the salvation of the soul in response to some kindness on their part. How can you respond to God, how can you express your gratitude to Him?
– The first people, Adam and Eve, after the Fall, expressed their gratitude to God simply and clearly - in sacrifices and praises. Moreover, both sacrifices and glorifying prayers were not needed by God Himself. Rather, people needed them. But even these actions do not fully express gratitude to God. There is something more important - to give thanks with your whole life: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”(Matt. 5:16).
Gratitude is an expression of love. How can we express our love for God - or at least the desire for such love? Its expression will be life according to the commandments. After all, Christ says: “Whoever loves Me will keep My word”(John 14:23). Therefore, first of all, gratitude is not words, but deeds!
The Apostle Paul writes: “Admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak, be patient with everyone... always seek the good of each other and everyone. Always be happy. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”(1 Thess. 5:14-19). And Saint Ambrose of Optina adds that you need to start with the last thing, that is, with gratitude, only then can you fulfill what is written above.
"THANK YOU"
The origin of this word varies from country to country. The etymology of the Russian “thank you” is an established abbreviation of the phrase “God bless,” to which gratitude was expressed in Rus'. That is why in the first years of Soviet power there was a struggle against the use of this form of gratitude; you were supposed to say: “Thank you, comrade!” So “thank you” is a word hardened in struggle. And, at the same time, it is a kind, “magic” word that should be spoken as often as possible, with full awareness of its deep meaning. World THANK YOU Day is celebrated on January 11th.
– How and when to learn gratitude?
– Both faith and gratitude need to be taught and learned from childhood. A person who has not learned to give thanks will never understand that there is One in his life to whom he owes his very life, happiness, love, the fact that he has a family, friends, the ability to breathe and walk, see the sun and feel the rain on his face . He will perceive all these gifts as a kind of natural given: “I have all this in my life because I am a good person, everyone respects me, I deserve happiness,” and so on. Not only that, he will consume all these benefits, and even express complaints: “The sun is too hot, the rain is too wet, my friends are kind of boring...”. He will not understand that he is unworthy of any of his friends. After all, it was the Lord who touched the hearts of people who for some reason begin to love and tolerate us and serve us. Knowing our real face, seeing the ulcers of our soul and not having love for us, they would run from us as if scalded.
All this remains hidden for the person we are describing. He perceives misfortune as something undeserved and, as a result, suffers and complains about everyone and everything. And first of all to God: “Why do I need all this?!”
There is an amazing akathist “Glory to God for everything,” written in the 20s of the 20th century by Metropolitan Tryphon (Turkestanov). Bishop Tryphon survived revolutions and wars, dying in 1934, when persecution was at its height. But when you read the lines of this akathist, you get a feeling of a very joyful, peaceful dispensation of the soul of its author. You understand how pure, chaste, holy the person who did this was. It also becomes clear that external difficult living conditions are not a hindrance, but a necessity for the formation of these qualities:
“The storms of life are not terrible for those who have
the lamp of Your fire shines in the heart.
There is bad weather and darkness all around,
horror and howling wind,
And in his soul there is silence and light:
Christ is there!
And the heart sings: Hallelujah!
When a person trusts God, when their relationship is truly very close, then he, despite the external sorrows that fill his life, can sincerely exclaim with Job: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord!”(Job 1:21).
– What state should a person’s soul be in if it blesses God for everything? And how to mature to such a state?
– We need to think about the words of the Apostle Paul that precede the words about gratitude. It says: “...pray without ceasing”. If a person really wants to restore a living and unceasing connection with God, then he learns to pray, studies for years and decades. At the same time, a person constantly remembers that the Lord, as a loving Father, will never do anything to him that will harm his soul. In this case, it is easy for a person to trust God and accept everything from Him. This is a state of righteousness, holiness, but we are all called to this. This is not just an abstract ideal, because this is exactly how we are designed by God. The ability to “always give thanks” arises from the constant remembrance of God and communication with Him. We need to study and study.
– Let’s say I decided to learn to be grateful for everything. The easiest way is to give thanks for some blessings: here you just need to remember the One who sent you such mercies and gifts, and also remember that you are not worthy of these mercies at all. I remembered and thanked her with all my heart.
But learning to thank with all your heart for sorrows is much more difficult. You can remember that in my life I am not worthy of such sorrows, and thank you. But the heart of this gratitude resists. That is, with my mind I understand the situation and thank you, but my heart responds with protest. Wouldn’t it be hypocrisy on my part if I said: “Glory to Thee, God!” – and protest against this with all your heart?
– Rather, this is not hypocrisy, but a necessary therapy for our soul, which has become hardened due to the sins it has committed. Let's say a person injured his leg. At first, standing on your sore leg will be very painful. But if a person does not try to walk and develop his leg, then he will eventually lose the ability to move. That’s why he walks himself and endures the pain when a specialist massages his sore leg, and then thanks him for the procedure. So it is here: the Lord sends us sorrows, in order to heal us, we are required to endure and give thanks. At first, thank only with your mind, and then your heart will begin to respond. Or maybe there will even be joy in the sorrows being sent.
It is impossible to rejoice formally. Joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, a certain result of life. Likewise, gratitude is the result of life and comprehension of it. There is a wonderful parable in the Gospel that we read at every thanksgiving service: “And when He entered a certain village, ten lepers met Him, who stopped at a distance and said in a loud voice: Jesus the Mentor! have mercy on us. When He saw them, He said to them: Go, show yourself to the priests.
And as they walked, they purified themselves. One of them, seeing that he was healed, returned, glorifying God with a loud voice, and fell prostrate at His feet, thanking Him; and it was a Samaritan. Then Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed?” Where is nine? How did they not return to give glory to God except this foreigner? And he said to him: get up, go; your faith has saved you"(Luke 17:12-19).
Look how interesting it is: the Samaritan was in the same company with the Jews; due to illness, the Jews did not pay attention to this, although according to Jewish ideas it was impossible to communicate with the Samaritans and touch them. Apparently, the disease has humbled people and erased all boundaries.
It is also surprising that they trusted Christ and, having not yet received healing, went according to His word to the priest, and only on the way were they cleansed of leprosy. But only to the Samaritan does the Lord say: “Your faith has saved you,” because faith and humility gave rise to gratitude in this man. And this is another example of the mysterious connection between true faith and gratitude, leading to salvation!
Venerable Ambrose of Optina:
“We are sad and forgetful, and because of despondency and forgetfulness we often stop being grateful to God. Gratitude in a Christian is such a great thing that, together with love, it will follow him into the future life, where he will celebrate eternal Easter.”
- Let's start with the most primitive worship... lighting a candle bought in a church shop. For many people, this is a whole event for which they prepare, and then they are proud of it, telling their friends about how they “went into the temple and lit a candle.” It seems to be central to their relationship with God. So why is this small sacred rite performed? What could be the point of this string with paraffin? A candle is a symbol of material sacrifice, the “great-granddaughter” of the sacrifices of the first people.
Remember how Cain and Abel made sacrifices? If the lighting of a candle is not accompanied by a prayer to God (even if short, but sincere), if after this, leaving the temple, a person begins to condemn the “church people” for the “prices of candles” - this is Cain’s sacrifice, it is formal, there is no love in it, no gratitude. This is what Cain did, whose sacrifice the Lord rejected. Whereas Abel brought the best - out of the abundance of his heart, out of love, with gratitude. Cain's sacrifice paralyzes the soul even more; Avel's sacrifice brings it closer to God.
You can make a lyrical digression and give the following similar example. A young man gives a girl a bouquet of flowers, thereby expressing his love for her and simply the joy that she exists. The girl is not a cow to rejoice at a bunch of grass, but she rejoices because she sees love behind the bouquet. But a bouquet can be given without love, “on occasion,” that is, formally, it will not bring either the giver or the recipient any joy, and may even cool the relationship.
And even the pinnacle of liturgical life is called the word “thanksgiving” - in Greek “Eucharist”. The center of the Divine Liturgy is the Eucharistic, that is, the canon of thanksgiving. The priest exclaims: “We thank the Lord!” - and in secret prayer he thanks the Lord for creating heaven and earth, for sending His Only Begotten Son to save people. And people, for whose sake the world was created and for whom Christ suffered, strive to participate in the Eucharist in gratitude: only by uniting with God, accepting Him as the dearest guest in his heart, can a person express effective and true love towards Him.
– It turns out that gratitude is based on the joy that God exists, and on love as a desire for the One who exists. This is typical for any interpersonal relationship: be it a relationship with God or relationships between people. Any Christian strives for God and prepares for Communion through repentance. What if I don’t feel joy from the fact that I live and have the opportunity to receive communion? What joy is there if I am overcome by passions, thoughts, if I pray absent-mindedly...
– Here you need to clarify the concept of joy, otherwise you may get the feeling that joy is some kind of strong feeling, similar to stormy rejoicing. Do you remember how the prophet Elijah experienced the appearance of the Lord? “And behold, the Lord will pass by, and a great and strong wind will rend the mountains and break in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord will not be in the wind; after the wind there is an earthquake, but the Lord is not in the earthquake;
after the earthquake there is fire, but the Lord is not in the fire; after the fire the breath of a quiet wind, and there is the Lord"(3 Kings 19, 11-12). Elijah “met” God not in a strong wind that destroys mountains and crushes rocks, not in an earthquake, not in fire, but in a quiet breath of wind.
The Apostle Paul, speaking about the Kingdom of God, says that it is not “food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”(Rom. 14:17). How to describe the Kingdom of Heaven? How to express joy in the Holy Spirit? It is very difficult to do this in human categories, therefore for us, ordinary people, the feeling of the presence of God or the feeling of true joy remains, as it were, hidden. But we understand worldly joy well: for one it is expressed in laughter and smiles, for another in the sound of an accordion, for a third joy becomes synonymous with contentment. But this has nothing to do with true joy. Therefore, you should not strive to experience joy in a worldly sense when you are trying to live a spiritual life. You shouldn't jump with delight when you go to the Holy Chalice. On the contrary, such feelings can be symptoms of serious mistakes made in the spiritual life. Striving for irrepressible joy and other stormy feelings, you will most likely achieve them, but this will be a false, charming state.
On the other hand, if a person does not experience joy from Communion, this means that his soul is still burdened with some sins and has not been freed from passions. After all, it is natural for a healthy soul to strive for God and rejoice when we manage to unite with Him. If you don’t rejoice, it means that you are still seriously spiritually ill (like most of us). In this case, you must go to Communion out of obedience. After all, a child is also taught to say “thank you” when he receives some benefit. He is not yet ready to thank consciously, independently, joyfully, but he is taught - and, in the end, he says “thank you” with all his heart.
Likewise, Communion is recommended to us for the healing of the soul, for educational purposes. But this is not a simple recommendation: the Lord offers His Body and Honest Blood to the believers at every Liturgy. This is why we should thank Him first of all when receiving communion. It is by taking communion, and not just thinking on the way home from church: “Oh, how good it is that we Orthodox have this,” and not taking communion.
– Is gratitude a commandment?
- Of course, a commandment. After all, gratitude is the norm of life. This is a commandment both towards God and towards people. Gratitude normalizes our lives. The Apostle Paul wrote: “For all things are for your sake, so that the abundance of grace may produce greater gratitude among many to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart; but if our outer man is decaying, then our inner man is being renewed day by day.”(2 Cor. 4:15-16). That is, the Lord arranges for us a life that is saving for us, and He helps us walk through this life, bearing our cross. Let this cross be so heavy that, purely outwardly, we get tired. But this saves our soul, renews and revives it.
Interviewed by Ksenia Kabanova
INSTEAD OF AN EPILOGUE
Saint Theophan the Recluse:
“One cannot help but notice that many often remain ungrateful before God. This usually occurs from forgetting the benefits of God, from a false opinion about one’s own merits, from an unreasonable comparison of one’s state with the happiest state of others, and from rashness in considering either oneself or those who were only instruments of God’s goodness to be the culprit of happiness.
True gratitude requires us to:
1) so that we try to reveal and improve the powers and abilities given by God, in order to act with them for the glory of God;
2) so that we try to correct and improve our lives;
3) to help, in whatever way we can, our needy and distressed brethren, for in their person the Lord Himself is pleased to accept our gifts, as if we were doing good to Himself: since you have created one lesser brotherhood, you have created one for Me (cf. Matt. 25:40 )".
From the essay “A Brief Teaching on Worship of God”
We pay little attention to the words that we get used to in everyday expressions, and some of these words are thank you and thank you, so what is the difference? In the Russian language, all words have their own deep and sacred meaning, which we rarely pay attention to, and many words and expressions become habits, which then imperceptibly work against us. This applies to a greater extent especially to the most common words, one of which is THANK YOU.
Let’s take it apart piece by piece and what happens? Thank you means - God bless!
People reasonably asked the question: what to save from, and why on earth. That’s why people used to respond to thanks with “nothing,” that is, “I didn’t do anything bad to you to save me,” or, please, give me a hundred rubles. That is, “thank you” is equivalent to the situation - for example, you took the goods in a store, and at the place of payment you say - God will pay for me.
Well-mannered people said and say - “THANK YOU.” That is, you share part of your benefit. You, personally, and not someone else, are responsible for good for good. That is why in Rus', when meeting, they said “Hello,” and this came from you personally, your personal wish. And the Western one is “good morning”, a simple statement of the state of the weather, and not a wish for health in everything else.
Think about the very meaning of this word (thank you - God save) and its application. If we are talking about God, then according to all the canons, no mortal has the right to tell Him who to save. Or maybe there are those among you who are ready to work only so that at the end of the month, instead of a salary, the boss pats you on the shoulder and says: “God will provide (pay).” Is this right for you?
Read at least something from Russian literature. Up until the 20th century, you would hardly find an artificially imposed, cold “thank you” from almost anyone. Just - thank you! Indeed - an ethical, beautiful word - Thank you, now we will not always hear in response to kindness. And we don’t always teach children the rules of good behavior.
This word, like many words with the first part good (grace, prosperity, benefactor, complacency, etc.), came from the Old Church Slavonic language, which had the parts “good, good” and “to give, to present.”
Thank you, sir, I will refresh myself a little for your health.
(N. Gogol. Overcoat).
In M. Lermontov and other Russian writers we find a parallel plural form: thank you.
Maxim Maksimych, would you like some tea? - I shouted to him out the window.
- Thank you; I don't want something.
(M. Lermontov. Maxim Maksimych).
Oh, thank you, gentlemen! Oh, how you revived, how you resurrected me in an instant.
(F. Dostoevsky. The Brothers Karamazov).
Thank you, it arose as a result of the fusion of the combination God forbid; the reduced ъ and the final r disappeared in it: God save > thank you > thank you. In Ukrainian, thank you.
Have you ever paid attention to how often people thank each other and for what? It is noticed that they tend to say thank you more than to say simple positive thanks. Sad but true!
The costs of our hectic life, filled to the brim with what comes from TV screens and other sources of information.
Saying “thank you” means expressing approval to a person. So, do good. Approval is a powerful motivator for growth. To give thanks is to give a blessing!
Gratitude gets people's attention. You will be remembered long and warmly. Don’t let “thank you” get lost in the hustle and bustle of the busy day. Take time in any situation, stop and remember who you haven’t said “thank you” to.
“Thank you” is an unpleasant little thing. It's like a small nail in the cogs of a relationship. From this nail, the mechanism of human relationships can become fragile and shaky. What if we “tighten everything up” with words of thanksgiving? Imagine how great it will be!
People are surprised when they are given thanks. They catch themselves thinking that they are pleased, they are great, they are happy!
You are worthy of thanksgiving, you are worthy of being told “thank you.” Always be grateful! Be grateful for what you have and you will receive more. Say “thank you” for everything in your life. Show your gratitude around you by setting a contagious example for others.
“Thank you” - this very word is a gift for us, a gift. When we have nothing to give, we always have a “Thank you”, and this in itself raises the giver in the eyes of others. And in the future it encourages even greater generosity. Share your joy with others, give them your love, peace and... “Thank you.”
The word “thank you” began to be introduced into the Russian language in the 17th century, but such “gratitude” did not take root on Russian soil for a long time. In literature up to the twentieth century, artificially imposed “thank you” practically does not occur, only “Thank you.”
The first meaning is the one we were taught. The word “thank you” expresses gratitude, the wish that a person will be protected by God. If this were so, then other words “store” or “daribo” could appear, but they do not. It is the word thank you that has been introduced into our language. The second meaning lies at the root basis and operates at the subconscious level. There is such a concept - psycholinguistic programming - words act not so much on a conscious, but on a subconscious level, determining behavior and fate. Such words include the word thank you.
The root of thank you is the word PASI, which has a very specific meaning associated with sheep and a shepherd. Some may say that the root is SPAS, but not everything is so simple here; you have to imagine where the word came from and who was the first to use it. Each word contains a very specific image and was used in a certain group of people, as a reflection of the professional activity of saving A (O) Thread (to save) - this word is a professional term used by the merchants. KHRONYA – a wooden barrel in which goods were stored and transported.
SAVE – get rid of the influence of BER. BER was the name given to the elemental Spirit, which manifested itself in an awakened bear (rod bear). BERLOGA – BERALOGOVO. Professional term for Magi and Priests.
PROTECT – hide someone BEHIND A SHIELD, a professional term for warriors.
SPASTI is a professional term for shepherds. It means to finish grazing in an open space, to drive the herd into a stable (to save it from predators).
Knowing the meaning of words, the imagination draws a visual image that reflects their true meaning. For example, the Christian call “Save and preserve.” Free people walk, live according to their Conscience, and suddenly someone hits them over the head with ideology (Judeology) and they begin to call on someone unknown - “Save and preserve.” A whip appears that drives people into a certain room (SAVES). After this, a shovel appears, which digs a hole, pushes people into it and throws earth on top (SAVES) until better times.
But everything is not so hopeless. It turns out that the Russian people long ago found an antidote to this wish. Feeling a threat in such “gratitude,” people began to respond with “nothing,” thereby destroying the image embedded in “thank you.” But the element of vampirism remains.
THANK YOU and THANK YOU
People united by common interests can agree among themselves to use other words of gratitude instead of the word thank you, especially since there are such words in the Russian language. For example, I thank and thank. You just need to know in what case what word is used.
When one person transfers something to another, he must confirm that there is no evil eye or slander on the thing being transferred, i.e. a thing is given for the benefit of a person. It is in this case that it is necessary to say thank you (I give thanks), confirming the absence of slander and evil eye on the gift. When a thing is accepted, it is necessary to say thank you (I return the good gift). The ending “stvu” is similar to the ending “I greet” - “I am directing you.”
In the Russian language, these two words are like PASSWORD - ANSWER, by which you can recognize your one. One THANKS, and the other THANKS in return (replenishes the energy of the giver). If a thing is given by a stranger who does not know the “password” and the person is not sure that there is no evil eye or slander on the thing, then he should say THANK YOU (pass the gift with goodness). Thus, if there is a curse on an object, it is destroyed.
Give Goodness and Goodness Give for Health.
