True Repentance and the Prayer of the Righteous for a Sinner Work Miracles
January 2
(On How our Holy Father Basil the Great Delivered a Deceived Youth from Demons Through his Prayers)
By Archpriest Victor Guryev
January 2
(On How our Holy Father Basil the Great Delivered a Deceived Youth from Demons Through his Prayers)
By Archpriest Victor Guryev
In the lives of saints, we sometimes encounter miraculous, terrifying, and astounding events. To convince you of this truth, today we present to you one such event, recorded in the life of Saint Basil the Great.
In Constantinople, there lived a nobleman who had an only daughter, whom he wanted to dedicate to the service of God. The devil, unable to tolerate the nobleman's desires, aroused in one of his servants a passion for the girl. This servant, determined to marry her at any cost, went to a sorcerer to seek advice and assistance in his matter. The sorcerer referred the young servant to Satan, who asked him, "Do you believe in me?" "I believe," the youth replied. Satan continued, "Yes, you all believe in me when you need my help; and when I help you, you return to your Christ. Write to me in your own hand that you renounce Him forever, and then I will fulfill your desire." The youth granted Satan's desire, and Satan granted the youth's desire. Driven by demons, the nobleman's daughter, in turn, felt an irresistible passion for her father's servant and began begging him to give her in marriage. No matter how much her father objected, how much he cried, how much he begged her to abandon her intention, the daughter remained adamant and declared to her father that she would commit suicide if she did not marry the servant. The father then relented and gave his daughter to the young man.
At first, all went well; but then some of the neighbors began to notice that the young man did not make the sign of the cross, did not attend church, and did not receive Holy Communion. They told the nobleman's daughter about this, and she realized the full horror of her situation; but, fortunately, after the initial bouts of despair, she came to her senses. She brought her husband to Saint Basil the Great, and he, having received from the youth a full confession of everything and complete repentance, withdrew him to one of the cells and commanded for him prayer and fasting, and at the same time began to pray for him himself. Several days passed. Saint Basil came to the youth and asked him: "How are you feeling, my son?" "I am in great trouble, father," answered the youth, "for the demons give me no peace at all." The Saint said: "Do not be afraid, child, only believe!" and, protecting the youth with the sign of the cross, left him. Coming to him a few more days later, Basil again asked: "How are you feeling?" "Nothing, father," answered the youth, "now I only hear the cries of the demons from afar, but they themselves do not torment me." But forty days passed after the confinement, and Basil again came to the youth and again asked: "Well, how are you feeling, brother?" "Now - glory to God, Father: last night I saw you struggling with the devil and overcoming him."
After this, the Saint gathered the entire church clergy and a multitude of Christians and spent the entire night with them in prayer for the youth. The next day, singing psalms, he brought the youth to the church. Then the devil attacked him with terrible force, so that the youth began to cry out, "Holy One of God, help me!" Basil said to the devil, "Isn't your own destruction enough for you? Why do you torment others?" The devil replied, "Are you offending me, Basil? It wasn't I who came to him, but he to me, and I will show his writing, which I hold in my hand, to the Almighty Judge at the Judgment." The Saint said, "Blessed be the Lord my God! These people will not bring down their hands, stretched out to heaven, until you return the youth's handwriting to me." And turning to the people, he exclaimed: "Raise your hands to the heights of heaven, all of you, crying out with tears: 'Lord, have mercy!'" And everyone stood in prayer, their hands raised to heaven. During the prayer, to everyone's amazement, the youth's handwriting flew through the air from the top of the church dome and was taken up by the hands of the Holy Hierarch of God. Everyone was filled with extraordinary joy and glorified and praised God. And Basil, showing the handwriting to the youth, asked him: "Do you know, brother, whose signature this is?" "Yes, Holy Hierarch of God, it was written by my hand," the youth replied. And then, in full view of everyone, the hierarch tore up the handwriting, led the youth into the church, and granted him Holy Communion. The youth and his wife then left the church, loudly praising and thanking God.
Having heard this story, you will surely agree with us, brethren, that in the lives of the saints we can truly encounter stories that are wondrous, terrifying, astounding, and at the same time instructive. Yes, this story from the life of Basil the Great is wondrous, for it shows how deeply sin has become ingrained in human nature; it is terrifying in the consequences to which sin leads man; it is astounding in the audacity of the devil and the power of his wiles; and, finally, it is instructive in that it shows that no sin can overcome God's mercy, that it is boundless for those who truly repent, and that the prayer of the righteous has great power in the eyes of God. Let us take all this to heart, brethren, and let us constantly remember that we are here on earth as warriors set to battle, that we must constantly fight against the flesh, the world, and the devil, and that we must constantly have ready those spiritual weapons that are indicated to us in the word of God against the enemies of our salvation. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
