Word of Saint John of Kronstadt on the week of all Saints

What Thou are saying, O Lord: he, who wants, you say, to follow Thee, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Thee ? Everyone of us would like to be there, where Thou are, but not everyone wants to walk the path that Thou have walked, that is, the path which is narrow, sorrowful and full of sufferings; it is especially rare, oh so rare, that someone would resolve, for Thy sake, to deny himself, his sinful, corrupt will, his multi-passioned heart, or passions and lusts, even though we are fed up with them, even though they are pernicious to us, and still as though they are dear to us, still to part with them is difficult and painful. No: it is not after Thee that the sinner desires to come, but after his heart, after his pernicious attractions and after the world, which lies in evil.

 But the word of the Lord is true and firm. He, who wants to follow the Lord, that is, along the way of truth and righteousness, the way, which leads to the life eternal, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Him. But why is it that the Lord says: whosoever ? – because He does not force anybody to follow Him, but leaves it to the good will of each one to choose the way of salvation, each one is given a free will to choose good and evil, life and death. It is said: let him deny himself: what does that mean? That means to deny in oneself all which is malicious and evil, refuse any communion with sin, which has thoroughly pervaded our soul, our mind, our heart, our will, our body, all senses, all movements; declare a war against oneself, to unceasingly fight with oneself, with one’s sinful inclinations, passions, habits, injustices, hate one’s own soul for its constant transgressions of God’s Law, for its malices, for all its inner ungodly way of life, for all malicious thoughts of this visible life and for the rejection of care for the life of the age to come. The requirement is perfectly just. The soul of man is full of all kinds of iniquity: vanity, partiality, self-will, self-love, faithlessness, pride, envy, animosity, malice, schadenfreude, remembering of evil, blasphemy, grumbling, impatience, avarice, taking God’s name in vain, untruth, offence and oppressing of one’s neighbor, love of pleasure, incontinence and all kind of impurity. It is sometimes difficult to recognize in a man the soul which had been created in the image and likeness of God: that’s how it is distorted by sin! But it is by his own free will that a man disfigures himself, ruins himself. It is clear that it is by his own good will that he must also be saving himself, with God’s help: that’s why God also offers our salvation to our will. Whosoever, He says, will come after Me, let him deny himself, i.e. cast off the sin, acquire hatred for the sin, which you have chosen, have loved. But since it is difficult for you to wean yourself off sin, for it has come into your habit, became as a second nature to you, – and since the depraved people will persecute you if you keep yourself away from their society, and the devil will oppress you bitterly, – then you will have, by necessity, to bear the offences, annoyances, injustices, labors, feats, struggles, – and you will be as if being crucified on a cross. It is in that sense that the Lord said that whosoever wants to come after Him, let him take up his cross. Each one has his own cross; for who doesn’t have his own infirmity of soul or of the body? Who doesn’t have a sorrow or an illness or enemies, visible or unseen, secret or apparent? Pray, bear everything unpleasant, grievous, burdensome without grumbling. This is your cross; but, having taken up your cross, come after the Lord, that is, bear it patiently, without complaining, constantly, until the end; stand by the truth till the end and hate falsehood till the end, expose the untruth, fight for the truth till the end: and you shall be given the crown of truth from the righteous Judge.

Amen.