Behold, the word of God is like this little leaven. Penetrating into human souls, God's word produces here a great and holy process, similar to that which takes place in dough. Everything changes, everything is permeated like bubbles of gas in the dough, by the graceful influence of God's Word. Everything changes so deeply in the soul, as in a dough. A person grows spiritually, rises like dough that sours.
You know that if you leave the dough in a cold place, the yeast will not work, the dough will not rise. It must be put in a warm place, only then this amazing process will begin in it. So it is in the human soul: only then does this amazing process of rebirth take place in a person, when the word of God is received by a warm, ardent heart, a heart full of love.
That's when this amazing process begins - the process of rebirth of the soul. When a seed is sown in the ground, labor is needed for it to grow. The cultivator or gardener takes on great cares: he must fertilize the soil in which the seed is sown, water the earth, dig in the sprouts when they appear. Many, many cares are needed to grow the seeds. Thus, we must put upon ourselves many and many labors, so that the word of God may grow in us. It is impossible to place all hopes on the grace of God, to hope that the Lord Himself will increase, He Himself will take care that the plant grown from the seed does not wither, that frost and cold do not destroy it, that under the influence of worldly life the thistles and thorns do not grow and drown out his.
St. Luke the Blessed Surgeon, Hurry to Follow Christ
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