May: Day 24: Venerable Symeon of the Wondrous Mountain

May: Day 24:
Venerable Symeon of the Wondrous Mountain
 
(It Is Necessary To Remember About Death and Prepare For It)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Venerable Symeon, whose memory is celebrated today, was born in the year 521 in Antioch. Even in his infancy he was distinguished by strict abstinence, avoiding milk and meat. In the fifth year of his life he lost his father, who perished during an earthquake that took place in Antioch; two years later his mother also died. A few days before her death, Symeon’s mother, pondering the fate of her son, had a miraculous vision. It seemed to her that wings had grown on her, with the help of which she flew up to the heights, holding her son in her arms, and said to the Lord: “I give you my child as a gift, and you let me go in peace.” Soon after the death of his mother, Symeon also had a vision. The Lord appeared to him, surrounded by a multitude of angels and the righteous. The Lord judged people, and paradise was visible in the east, and hell in the west; and the voice of the Lord came to Symeon: “You see what is prepared for those who love virtue, and what is intended for the wicked; please God, so that you may receive the blessings which He has prepared for those who love Him." This vision had a strong effect on young Symeon, and he, always remembering death and the afterlife, was completely imbued with the desire to serve God and receive a reward with the righteous.

Symeon's monastic exploits were strict and severe. While struggling on the pillar, he observed the strictest abstinence in food, eating only bread and drinking water, and not every day. He prayed constantly. Then he sang from 50 to 80 psalms every night, and sometimes he spent the whole night like this without sleep. Several years passed, and the rumor of Symeon's exploits began to spread throughout the surrounding areas. Symeon performed many miracles during his stay on the pillar: he helped those in trouble on land and at sea, healed the blind and lepers; resurrected the dead and foretold the future. But, burdened by the multitude of visitors and seeking complete solitude, Symeon left the pillar and moved to a neighboring deserted mountain, later called "Wondrous", whence the name of the great ascetic "of the Wondrous Mountain". On this mountain Symeon, ordained a priest by the Bishop of Seleucia Dionysios, founded a monastery, and for himself he erected a new pillar, on which he labored until his death, which occurred in 596, at the age of 76. His life was described by Nikephoros, the ruler of Antioch (7th century).

II. And so, brethren, the active remembrance of death and the eternal afterlife that will follow it – which is blessed for the righteous and tormenting for the sinners – this is what first of all prompted Venerable Symeon the Stylite to renounce the world and choose that narrow and sorrowful path of salvation which he followed from childhood until his death.

We all need to remember about death and prepare for it.

a) Meanwhile, we think very little about our death: for show me a man who would devote even a few minutes every day to this; meanwhile, death can come to us not only on any day, but even at any minute. We prepare for death even less: for, point out where and in what this preparation is? Is it preparation for death that we hunger for reward after reward, build buildings after buildings, pass from pleasure and amusement to new pleasures and amusements? You have lived, for example, already more than half a century, you yourself feel that it is long past midday, evening is not far off, night is in sight: tell me, then, what have you prepared for your underground lodging? And such inattention to death is seen in the oldest people. What can I say about people of manhood? What can I say about young men? You would bring a smile to their lips, reminding them of the need to prepare for death: meanwhile, how many young men descend into the grave every year!

b) After this, one might think that we consider any preparation for death to be completely unnecessary. But how should one consider this? Setting out on a short journey, we worry about what to take with us, where to land, what to do: but entering the gates of eternity, to imagine that it makes no difference how we enter them, what we take with us, how we dispose ourselves - can there be a greater inattention to ourselves and our eternal fate?!

c) It is not difficult, however, to guess what makes us forget our death and does not allow us to prepare for it. We are too devoted to carnal life and its vanities; and the nature of worldly vanities is such that they, like dust on the path, blind the eyes and do not allow us to see what is ahead of us. Finding ourselves in the midst of this cloud, and sometimes a whirlwind of dust, we are not able to extend our gaze to the future; we look only around ourselves and are carried away by the present.

When, for example, is a 'man of ambition' able to think about death, when vanity has blinded him to the extent that all his thoughts and soul are directed towards a certain reward and distinction? It is sufficient for him to ponder and reconsider how to outpace others on his path, how to belittle his rival, to measure up to the great, to demonstrate his worth, to conceal his shortcomings, and to ingratiate himself with powerful superiors.

When contemplating death for the 'rich man' or someone beginning to amass wealth: his mind is already occupied with calculations and accounts; goods are dispatched from one place while expected in another; there is a malfunctioning clerk over there, and business is poor here; thoughts of how to sustain or improve credit, whether there is an opportunity to lend or borrow money: there is simply not enough time, not only during the days but even during the nights, to reconsider all of this.

When contemplating death, a 'scholar' may think that he has not yet learned everything, has not doubted everything; there are still discoveries to be made, suspicions to be raised, predecessors to be surpassed, contemporary attention to be garnered, to become a luminary of his era, and to immortalize his name.

III. Death, brethren, is inevitable. Let us therefore always remember it; remembering it, let us prepare ourselves for it; preparing ourselves, let us not allow ourselves to be blinded by temporary blessings and amusements.  

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