Vigils Reading – Office for Vocations

WHEN PRAYER PROCEEDS FROM PURE GRIEF FOR SOMEONE

From a reflection by St Silouan the Athonite3 ◊◊◊

The Lord would save all men, and in His goodness He summons all the world to salvation. The Lord does not take a man’s will away from him but by His grace urges him towards goodness and draws him to His love. And when the Lord would have mercy on a man, He inspires others with the desire to pray for him, and helps them in their prayer. Therefore we must know that when we feel a wish to pray for someone, it means that the Lord Himself wants to shew mercy on that soul and will graciously hear our prayers…

When prayer proceeds from pure grief for someone, whether among the living or the dead, it holds no element of morbid attachment in it. The soul in her prayer grieves for the man and prays fervently, and this is a sign of God’s mercy… Therefore, if it befalls you to sorrow over anyone, you must pray for that person, because the Lord for your sake would be gracious unto him…

When a mother knows that her children are in distress, she suffers grievously and may even fall mortally ill. And I have myself experienced something of the kind. A tree that was being felled and stripped of its branches started crashing down on the man below. I saw what was happening but my distress was so great that it prevented me from shouting to him to get out of the way. My heart felt sick and it wept, and the tree stopped in its course. I did not know the man but had it been my own flesh and blood, I think I should have died…

An old priest-monk who dwelt on the upper slopes of Mt. Athos used to see the prayers of the monks rising to heaven, and this does not surprise me. The same staretz, when he was a little boy and saw his father’s distress over a serious drought which threatened the whole harvest, went to the kitchen-garden where hemp was growing, and started praying: ‘O Lord, Thou art merciful, Thou didst create us, Thou dost feed and clothe all men. Thou seest, O Lord, how my father mourns because there is no rain. Do Thou send rain upon the earth.’ And the clouds gathered, and the rain fell and drenched the earth.

And another old monk, who lived by the sea, near the harbour, told me:
‘It was a dark night. The harbour was full of fishing-vessels. A storm blew up and quickly gathered force. The boats began to bump one against the other. The fishermen tried to tie them up but it was impossible in the darkness and the storm. Confusion reigned. The fishermen began to shout for all they were worth, and it was dreadful to hear the shouts of the terrified men. I grieved for the people and prayed with tears: “Lord, hush the storm, and still the waves. Have pity and save Thine afflicted people.” ‘And soon the storm ceased, the sea grew calm, and the people, their fears lifted, gave thanks to God.’…

In their inexperience many people declare that such-and- such a saint performed a miracle, but I know that it is the Holy Spirit living in man Who performs the miracles. The Lord would have all men find salvation and dwell eternally with Him, and so He gives ear to the sinner’s prayer, either for the good of others or for the good of him who prays