His Beatitude speaks about the main condition keeping a monk in a monastery

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and All Ukraine. Photo: Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

On the day of the Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers of the Near Caves, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy spoke in his sermon about the ascetic feats of the saints and the significance of monasticism, as reported by the press service of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

“When we look at monastic life, we do not see the inner struggle, we only see the external behavior of a person, which we may not always interpret correctly,” he said. “We think that a particular person is behaving incorrectly. To understand whether it is right or not, one needs to come to the monastery and live according to the monastic rule.”

His Beatitude noted that there are different degrees of zeal for God, but each person accomplishes as much as the Lord has given them the strength and ability to achieve.

“If it seems that someone in the monastery is not striving spiritually, such a person simply would not be able to live there,” the Primate emphasized. “A monastery is a kind of organism that retains only those who are striving in one way or another. If a person does not struggle with themselves, they cannot live in a monastery, and the devil will inevitably drive them out.”

Metropolitan Onufriy wished the faithful God's help in self-improvement efforts and continual spiritual growth.

“Through the prayers of the Venerable Fathers of the Caves, may God bless us with peace, and may He protect us from the weapons that afflict our land and people. May the Lord help us to live in such a way that we too may be worthy of eternal salvation in Heaven through Christ Jesus, our Lord!” he concluded.

As reported earlier, the Primate of the UOC officiated Vespers at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

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