Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: November 6

The Month of November  

Day 6

68. The Saints of God Deliver Those Who Love and Venerate Them Not Only from Calamities, but Even from Death

(From the Life of Venerable Barlaam of Khutyn)

It is well known that in our Orthodox Russia hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Christians, out of love for the saints of God and faith in their effective intercession before God, set out to pray at their monasteries, especially those in which their holy relics repose. There they ask the saints of God to help them in one need or another, to deliver them from every visible or invisible evil, and to heal their spiritual or bodily illnesses. What do you think, brethren? Is there any benefit for those who love the saints of God in praying to them and visiting their monasteries, or is there not? Know that there is indeed a benefit, and a great one; for the saints of God not only help those who come to them in their needs, not only often deliver them from one evil or another, and not only heal one illness or another, but, do not forget, sometimes even deliver them from death. You may say: Can even this really happen? Yes, brethren, it can, and we shall now convince you of this.

A certain man who had great love for Venerable Barlaam of Khutyn came with his wife to the monastery where his holy relics repose. He made a donation for the benefit of the monks, set a meal before them, and, after praying fervently, boarded a boat and set out for home by water. On the way, a misfortune befell him: the boat accidentally capsized, and everyone aboard fell into the water, including the aforementioned man, who had venerated the Venerable with particular love. After much effort, all those who had fallen into the water were rescued, but this man sank to the bottom. Those on the shore who saw him drown were unable to render him any assistance, so they ran to the nearest settlement to summon fishermen with a seine net to pull the drowned man from the water. The net was brought, and the drowned man was pulled from the water, but, alas, there was no sign of life in him. The wife of the deceased wept bitterly over her husband's body and said: “Is this how you have rewarded us, O Saint of God, we who came to venerate your tomb! We hoped, through your prayers, to be granted a long life, but unexpected death has overtaken my husband! It would have been better if we had not come to you; then this terrible misfortune would not have happened to us!” As his wife cried out in this way, her husband suddenly gave a deep sigh and, with it, expelled a large quantity of water from his mouth. After this, he rose from the ground in good health and, glorifying the Venerable for returning him from the gates of death to life, returned to his home.

Here is another incident. Gregory, the bedchamber attendant of Grand Prince Vasily Vasilyevich, fell seriously ill and was at the point of death. Having no hope of receiving help from physicians, he ordered that he be taken to the monastery of the same Venerable Barlaam, in whom he had great faith, and said to those transporting him: “Even if I die along the way, take me to the Venerable all the same, even if I am dead.” And just as Gregory had said, so it happened: he died on the way and was taken to the monastery already dead. But when the people accompanying him approached Barlaam's monastery with his body, Gregory, to everyone's astonishment, came back to life, got up without anyone's assistance, and went to venerate the tomb of the Venerable.

Thus, it is beyond doubt that the saints of God deliver even from death those who venerate them, love them, and pray to them. What, then, follows from this? First, that those Christians who go to venerate the saints of God at their monasteries and pray fervently to them there are indeed doing well. Second, that we, too, will do well if we imitate such people. Third, it follows that the saints, as is evident from the examples given, have the grace to pray for us; they can hear our prayers and see our needs, and that “the fervent prayer of a righteous person has great power” (James 5:16). Finally, it also follows that, in view of all that has been said, we ought to have recourse to the saints in prayer, asking them to instruct and guide us along the path of salvation, to turn us away from evil and always direct us toward good, to help us in difficult circumstances, comfort us in our sorrows, strengthen our hope and trust in God, and continually call and draw everyone toward our Heavenly Homeland, so that we may all inherit eternal life in the dwellings of our Heavenly Father. Amen.

Questions for Discussion 68:

1. For what two reasons do hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Christians set out to pray at the monasteries of the saints of God?

2. For what did a certain man glorify Venerable Barlaam of Khutyn before returning to his home?

3. Whom did Gregory, the bedchamber attendant of Prince Vasily Vasilyevich, venerate when he came back to life near Barlaam's monastery?

4. What grace do the saints of God possess?

5. According to the word of God, what can the fervent prayer of a righteous person accomplish?

 

Source: The Cheti-Minei: Homilies for Every Day of the Year (Book 1: September, October, November) by Archpriest Viktor Guryev. Publication of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos, 1896. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.