May: Day 19: Teaching 2: Venerable Cornelius of Komel

 

May: Day 19: Teaching 2:
Venerable Cornelius of Komel
 
(We Are All Wanderers On Earth)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Venerable Cornelius, who we commemorate today, was born in 1445 in Rostov, from the wealthy Kryukov family, who served in the chambers of Maria, the wife of the Grand Prince Vasily the Dark. When Cornelius's parents died, he retired to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery and at the age of thirteen accepted obedience. The abbot appointed him to be in charge of the bakery, and Cornelius worked willingly. In his free time from this work and prayer, he copied books for the monastery. But Cornelius did not remain long in the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, but "wished to become a wandering monk." After spending some time in his homeland, in Rostov, he went to Novgorod and lived for some time with Archbishop Gennady. Seeing the high life of Cornelius, Gennady wanted to ordain him as a priest, but the Saint considered himself unworthy of this rank and settled in solitude near Novgorod. When word spread about the strict desert life of Cornelius, and people began to come to him from everywhere, the Saint withdrew first to the Savvatievskaya Hermitage (now Tver province), then to the Vologda Komelsky Monastery. Having chosen a remote place 45 versts from Vologda, Cornelius settled there and lived alone for some time; then monks began to flock to him there too. Then Cornelius received ordination as a priest from Metropolitan Symeon and built a wooden church in the name of the Entry of the Mother of God and several cells. Here he had to endure many griefs from robbers, who attacked him more than once, beat him and once almost took his life. The monk was also distressed by the displeasure of some of the monastery brethren, who were dissatisfied with the strictness of the rule that Cornelius had introduced (in its main features this rule was similar to the rule of Pachomios the Great); there were even attempts on the life of the monk, fortunately unsuccessful.

For his ascetic life, Saint Cornelius received the gift of miracle-working from God. He healed the wound on the hand of the monk Job through prayer; another monk, barely alive from the blows inflicted by robbers, he healed by the laying on of hands. Saint Cornelius passed away on May 19, 1537. His relics rest beneath the earth in the Komel Monastery.

II. The Venerable Cornelius, who chose the wandering way of life for the salvation of his soul, teaches us, brethren, the truth that our whole life is nothing more than a wandering.

a) Indeed, look deeper, brethren, into our life: what else, if not constant wandering, can it be called?

From the cradle to the grave we all strive, hurry somewhere; the various goods that we imagine beckon us further and further away; we chase after them, achieve them, but soon they cease to satisfy us. New goods rise before us, new desires draw us in pursuit of them. And again disappointment, and again the search for a new, greater blessing! How many sorrows, how many torments will one have to endure in this search for these constantly emerging blessings! The longer a man lives, the more and more he desires; until death says to him: "Enough! Your journey is over, you have come home!"

And blessed is the man, fortunate if throughout the entirety of his earthly journey, in his relentless quest for goodness, he constantly kept in mind a single goal – the attainment of the heavenly homeland; if no earthly temptations diverted him from this goal; if he did not forget that he is but a wayfarer and did not presume to consider his earthly lodgings as his permanent abode! Such a man will find rest in the heavenly homeland after all the labors of his earthly pilgrimage; there he will discover the goodness towards which his heart so earnestly strived during his sojourn on earth.

But what will happen to that traveler who has forgotten his homeland, so attached to his earthly lodging that he has dedicated his entire life solely to the arrangement of this house? Death will call him to his heavenly homeland... Yet he did not strive for that, nor was that his earthly path, and there is no place for him here! His journey was directed towards another homeland: the broad and inviting road of his life leads him, as the Lord said, to destruction (Matthew 7:13).

b) Thus, do you now see, brethren, that in our earthly pilgrimage we can choose two paths: one will lead to the heavenly homeland, the other – to ruin. Which shall we choose? I do not doubt that each one would unhesitatingly prefer the first path.

But why, in reality, do so few choose this path of life, while the majority go the other way? Because the first path is narrow and thorny, and the second is wide and smooth. The faint-hearted, who are frightened by even the most insignificant dangers, in their cowardice go along the wide and beaten road, which leads them to destruction.

The righteous men we honor did not act in this way, nor do today's courageous and holy men, of whom, unfortunately, our time is so poor, act in this way. Remembering that they are only wanderers and strangers on earth, that no matter how thorny and difficult the path of earthly life may be, it is still a temporary path and will ultimately lead to the heavenly fatherland, these holy men steadfastly strive for a single goal, not becoming attached to earthly things, not looking at any dangers, any troubles that they encounter along the way.

By choosing this path, steadily striving towards the heavenly homeland, these holy men follow in this case the natural desire of their soul.

Our soul, having come from God, sees its good in God alone, and strives for Him entirely. If only we do not burden our soul with earthly attachments, do not immerse it entirely in the mud of worldly cares, we will clearly hear the quiet voice of our soul, sighing for the heavenly homeland.

What, in fact, does this dissatisfaction, this search for something better, which we experience even when our life is going well and happily, mean? What else is it, if not that the immortal nature of our soul is not satisfied with the fulfillment of temporary earthly desires: it feels like a wanderer on this earth, seeking a heavenly homeland! Oh, what a pity that we deliberately stifle within ourselves this holy voice of our immortal soul!

Therefore, brethren, the constant remembrance that we are strangers and pilgrims on earth leads to the heavenly homeland and bears good fruits. What prevents us from accepting this beneficial remembrance as a constant companion of our life?

c) Believe me, if we constantly remember our pilgrim’s lot, many, many things that weigh so heavily and worry our souls here on earth will significantly lose their power.

Here you are, Christian, overcome by the passion for gain, the love of acquisition; it torments you, makes you offend your neighbors, goes against your conscience. Remember that you are only a wanderer on earth, that no matter how much treasure you collect, you will take nothing with you, and besides, it is inconvenient for a wanderer to overburden his travel bag - and peace will return to you, the passion for gain will cease to oppress your soul.

Are you being offended by your enemies, is your property being taken from you, are you being deprived of the due reward for your labor? Call to your aid the saving thought that in the heavenly fatherland, where you are striving, “there” is only the true treasure, “there” are the eternal rewards, and a wanderer has nothing to be especially sad about if his small property is taken from him on the way – remember all this and believe, beloved brethren, that all these losses and sorrows will not seem so heavy to you.

Have you lost a dear person, close to your heart? Are you burdened by sadness, does separation from your dear deceased relative not give your aching heart peace? But remember that it is not reasonable for a traveler during a journey to grieve and lament for someone who has reached his homeland before him, that sooner or later you will meet this person - remember this and your heart will become more joyful, separation will not be so burdensome for you.

Thus, the constant remembrance of our heavenly homeland and our sojourn on earth is indeed salvatory.

III. Enter then, Christian, without doubt and fear on the holy path leading to the heavenly fatherland; let nothing disturb you. You see before you a whole host of men who have walked this path. And they were people like us. They were not disturbed by the difficulty of the path, and eternal blessedness is their reward. Amen. 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.