These days, the Church reminds us of the mystery of deification: how it is possible for a created being to unite with the Uncreated. This enlightenment begins here, with the ascetics of piety, and continues to a greater degree in the future life. Saint Seraphim of Sarov, in a conversation with Motovilov, was granted the grace of God; his face shone like the sun. Through the prayers of the holy elder, Motovilov felt such warmth in the midst of winter, such a fragrance of flowers, and such love for all people that he could not describe or explain. This is what God's grace does to people.

"Remember my parents" St. Seraphim of Sarov

Agafya Fotievna, the mother of St. Seraphim of Sarov departed to the Lord on February 29, 1800. We know her maiden name and that she was the daughter of an old Kursk posadsky Fatey Zavozgryaev.
After the early death of her husband from 1760 to 1778 Agafya Fotievna continued the building contract on the Sergiev-Kazan Cathedral, alone raised her children. Few episodes represent her life, mostly they are connected with her worries for her youngest son - his fall from the temple under construction, his illness and miraculous recovery, his call to monastic life. And in all cases their spiritual unity is evident. The mother with a sensitive heart realized that her son was waiting for a special path. And when he came to her to ask permission to go to the monastery, she lovingly blessed him.
The farewell of mother and son was touching. Together they prayed to God, and Agafya Fotievna gave her son a large copper cross. This cross St. Seraphim wore on his chest for the rest of his life.
"Remember my parents," was a request that the Monk Seraphim of Sarov often made to the people who came to him.

St. Seraphim of Sarov

Father Seraphim became famous for the many miracles that he performed through the prayers of the people in him! The Holy Wonderworker always answers the prayers of those who ask!

The soul must be supplied with the word of God.

The soul must be supplied with the word of God: for the word of God, as Gregory the Theologian says, is the bread of the angels, on which souls that hunger for God feed. All the more should be practiced in reading the New Testament and the Psalter, which should be done by the worthy one. From this comes enlightenment in the mind, which is changed by the Divine change.
One must educate oneself in such a way that the mind, as it were, swims in the law of the Lord, by which, being guided, one must also arrange one's life.
It is very useful to study the word of God in solitude and to read the entire Bible intelligently. For one such exercise, apart from other good deeds, the Lord will not leave a person with His mercy, but will fill him with the gift of understanding.
When a person supplies his soul with the word of God, then he is filled with the understanding of what is good and what is evil.
The reading of the word of God must be done in solitude, so that the whole mind of the reader is deepened into the truths of the Holy Scriptures and receives warmth from this into himself, which in solitude produces tears; From these, a person warms up all over and is filled with spiritual gifts that delight the mind and heart more than any word. - St. Seraphim of Sarov

The way for those who seek to please God is through many tribulations. - St. Seraphim of Sarov

St. Seraphim of Sarov

"According to the teachings of of the Holy fathers, with each person there are two angels: one is good, the other is evil. The angel of the good is quiet, meek and silent. When he enters the heart of a person, he talks to him about truth, purity, honesty, peace, about every good deed and about all virtue. When you feel it in your heart, obviously, there is an Angel of Truth in you. "

"Silence brings man closer to God and makes him a kind of earthly angel."

"A soul full of love for God, and during his exodus from the body, will not fear the prince of the air, but with the Angels he will fly, as if from a foreign country to his homeland."

St. Seraphim of Sarov

St. Seraphim of Sarov

True fasting consists not only in the exhaustion of the flesh, but also in the fact that the part of the bread that you yourself would like to eat is given to the hungry. - St. Seraphim of Sarov

Fill my heart with joy

Turning to the Blessed Mary, St. Seraphim of Sarov would say: “Fill my heart with joy, for You have received joy and can heal all sorrow.” And this joy is much deeper than all the trials of the world.

Cell near St. Seraphim of Sarov. The first photo of a cell in a distant desert.

St Seraphim of Sarov

Along with the prayer St. Seraphim of Sarov was constantly reading the Bible. "You must nourish," he said, "the soul with the word of God, for the word of God is the 'bread of angels'. The soul must be fed who passionately love God."

Spiritual Instruction of St. Seraphim of Sarov

St. Barsanuphius teaches: while the ship is at sea, it suffers misfortunes and the imitation of the winds, and when it reaches the haven of quiet and peaceful, it is no longer afraid of misfortunes and afflictions and wind blows, but remains in silence. So you, monk, as long as you stay with people, expect sorrows and troubles and a simulation of mental winds; and when you enter into silence, you have nothing to fear.

St. Serpahim of Sarov, Spiritual Instructions

Diveevo 1903

Holy Tsar Nicholas II and his entourage carry the reliquary with the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov.

Diveevo, 1903

Remembrance of St. Seraphim of Sarov

"Christ is Risen, my joy!" - so St. Seraphim of Sarov met all those who came to him. 

Holy Father Seraphim, pray to God for us!