Before I offer beginning monks my small experience, it would be good to give them a few pieces of advice to help them while they are still, for one reason or another, in the world, because this little help may perhaps strengthen them throughout the whole of their monastic path.

While the beginner is still in the world, the most important question for him is how to find a monk-loving spiritual father, since most spiritual fathers of our time are opponents of monasticism and oppose the monastic life in every way, most often citing the great Basils with their basiliads, social activity, and so on.

I do not wish to speak about the life of Basil the Great before he began to found his basiliads, but I will simply express my thought as to what Basil the Great would do if he lived in our time. I think that he would once again find himself a cave and take up the prayer rope, seeing how the flame of love (from his basiliads and from the other holy fathers) has spread everywhere — not only among believers, but also among unbelievers, who together take part in the work of the Department of Social Welfare, which cares even for the members of Spiritual charitable associations (only upon a certificate of poverty). In short, the Department of Social Welfare daily cries out: «Holy fathers of our time, leave the works of philanthropy to us, the laity, because we cannot do anything else, while you occupy yourselves with something more spiritual».

However, alas, some clergy not only fail to do this, because they do not understand it, but they also hinder those who do understand it and wish to give themselves wholly to Christ, and who feel a persistent call to depart from the world. That is, it is not enough that the beginning monk hears much from the laity; he also hears a great deal from clergy who, through their thoughtlessness, even demand of monks that they leave the desert and come into the world to engage in social activity for the sake of philanthropy. It would be good to name some of the crowns they weave for them: «idlers», «individualists», «cowards», and so on — since they consider themselves heroes who struggle in a sinful society, and the monks cowards who withdraw merely to save their own soul. I do not understand how they fail to grasp the great mission of the monk?! The monk withdraws far from the world not because he hates the world, but because he loves the world and in this way can help it more by his prayer in matters that cannot be accomplished by human efforts, but only by divine intervention. Thus God saves the world. The monk
never says: «I will save the world», but prays for the salvation of the whole world just as he prays for his own. When the Good God hears his prayer and helps the world, again he does not say: «I saved the world», but — «God did».

And so, to put it briefly, monks are the radio operators of Mother Church, and therefore, if they withdraw far from the world, this too they do out of love, for they withdraw from the «radio interference» of the world in order to have a better connection and to help the world more and better.

The senseless demand which, as I said, some clergy put forward — namely, that monks go out into the world — is also voiced by certain foolish soldiers when their unit comes under threat; that is, that the radio operator should leave his radio set and enter the firefight, as though the situation would be saved if one more rifle were added to the two hundred others. When the radio operator cries out at the top of his voice in order to make contact: «Hello, hello, Soul!» and so on, the others think that he is shouting in vain. However, prudent radio operators do not listen when they are scolded, but with all their strength strive to make contact, and then ask for immediate help from the general staff (the Soul), and then great forces of the air force, the armored troops, and the navy arrive, and thus the situation is saved — not by the firefight of those soldiers. In the same way, through the monks the divine forces act by means of their prayer, and not their own worthless strength. And we in our time, when evil has grown to an extraordinary degree, have great need of God's intervention.

It is another matter if a monk for a time abides in the world, when necessity requires it — then he helps by the personal spiritual strength that God has granted him. But this work he considers secondary, while the chief thing for him is always prayer. Naturally, he does the same while abiding in his cell, where he uses handiwork as a secondary occupation, and if he sees that someone near him is suffering, he helps him with what he has. Likewise, if someone comes to him with his problems, he leaves everything and tries to help him, even by his human strength, in whatever way he can. That is, the aim of the monk is not diligent occupation with handiwork or the gathering of a large amount of money in order to help the poor, because for him this is a spiritual fall. A monk can help by the ton, and not by the kilogram (when, for example, a drought occurs, by his prayers he can fill all the storehouses of the world). Thus God «raiseth up the poor and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill» (1 Kings 2:8). Let us not forget what the prophet Elijah accomplished.

Monks do not leave the desert in order to go into the world and there help some poor person, or to visit some sick person in hospital and bring him an orange or some other comfort (what the laity usually do, a matter about which God will ask them). Monks pray for all the sick, that they may receive twofold health, and the Good God has mercy on His creation and helps them recover, so that they themselves may help others, laboring as good Christians.

Neither do monks visit prisoners, because they themselves are voluntary prisoners through the great zeal they have toward their Benefactor and Savior Christ; and Christ grants abundant love to His zealous children — the monks, and when they abide in «prison» (the monastery), the presence and love of Christ transform it into paradise. The monks pray and ask Christ that all that paradisal joy which they feel He may grant to all our imprisoned brethren who are in the prisons of the world. And the Good God is moved to mercy for the sake of the love of His good children, and pours out comfort into the souls of the prisoners, and often even sets them free.

Besides these prisoners, the monks also help others — prisoners held under greater severity and forever, and not for ten or twenty years, who also have greater need of help.
These are our departed condemned brethren, whom the monks visit in a special way and bring them many spiritual refreshing drinks. The Good God helps the departed and at the same time makes this known to the monks by means of a certain inexpressible joy, which He pours into their soul after their painful prayer for our departed brethren, as if saying: «Do not grieve, My children, I have helped the departed also».

Perhaps someone will say: «Is it really necessary to ask that God help?» Without doubt it is necessary to ask; and God is especially moved to mercy when we suffer together with our neighbor and ask Him to help, because then God intervenes without violence against freedom. Here too is seen the great spiritual nobility of God, Who tries not to give even the devil grounds for objection. Therefore God wants us to ask for His intervention, and wants to intervene at once, in order to help His creation. Naturally, if God wished, He could
even now drive the devil into hell; however, He leaves him to us — again for our own good, because by the blows of his malice which he inflicts upon us, he shakes off from us all the dust.

By all that I have said and that I will say below, I would like to emphasize the great mission of the monk, which is something more serious than the human works of philanthropy. For even before becoming a monk, he had already accomplished the very same work of philanthropy and had given away everything, as Christ said to the young man (See Mt. 19:21), and had also given his very self to Christ (his rich Father). Thus now, being already a child of God (as a monk who possesses nothing), he has a share in the inheritance of God, and whatever he wants he asks of his Merciful Father, and the Father generously grants him His mercies, if there is no danger that they will harm His poor children.

And so, the beginner hears much from certain clergy who try to turn him away from this great mission of monasticism, but also much from the laity. In addition, among other things that it is not customary to speak of (not customary, of course, among serious people), they say that a monk is a dead thing, because he has no children, and so on.

I do not wish to ask those who say this whether they have children, because it is precisely in this that the purpose of marriage consists, and only in such a case does their life have meaning, whereas the monk has another mission — virginity, «another life». But those who do have children, I would like to ask whether they have helped them to secure paradise for themselves, or have helped them only in material things? So what follows from this? Monks, who are concerned for the salvation of human souls, are more loving fathers than fathers according to the flesh, and have more children than the father with the most numerous offspring, because they consider all the creatures of God to be their children and brethren, and with compassion they pray that all people may attain their purpose — nearness to God.

Since it is not easy for some to understand the spiritual rebirth which monks accomplish in people, I will mention how they contribute even to bodily childbearing. Although they themselves are virgins even in their thoughts, nevertheless, if they have boldness before God, they loose the barrenness of many mothers, whether living or departed. Thus, monks give birth even when they are departed, if they are saints. Naturally, monks do not help people from the ambo by preaching the Gospel, so that great and small may be enlightened, because monks live by the Gospel. Thus the Gospel is preached in a more convincing way — by example, which the world craves, especially today's world, because in our time, to a greater or lesser degree, all are educated and can speak of great truths which they have read about and which, nevertheless, bear no connection to the majority of preachers, who constantly burden their conscience with deeds at the sight of which one can only sigh.

In short, monks are not merely little lanterns that shine on the streets of cities so that people do not stumble, but distant lighthouses upon the rocks that with their flashes guide the ships of the world, by which the ships find their way out of the depths of the sea and reach their destination.

Therefore parents should not hinder their children when God calls them to become monks (radio operators of the Church), because this mission is very great and higher than what they themselves bring to God by their own mission. The laity go to church on appointed days and promise God to light a candle, small or large, while the monk spends every night in vigil in the church and has promised his whole self to Christ and burns with His love, glorifies Him and thanks Him for himself and for the whole world.

I simply cannot understand the actions of certain clergy and laity who fight against monasticism! If even the army considers communications to be the arteries of the body of the army, and our Church likewise regards monasticism in the same way — these blessed people who fight against monasticism, I would like to know, to what church do they belong?