You continue writing about your hardships, present and awaiting you in the future. What can I say to that? The answer is there in the Gospel. The God-Man ended his sorrowful life on the Cross after having endured all sorts of mockery and beating. The prudent thief after prison also ended his life on the cross. He is an image of sinful and repenting people. The other thief, who also ended his earthly life on the cross, moved into a life of everlasting tortures. This is an image of humankind as a whole.
There are spiritual laws in the moral world, just as they are in the visible world. The basic law declares: “We must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God,” and “Whoever want to be my disciple, must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.” See? Those who want to follow Christ into the Kingdom of God, must bear long and tormenting pains to suppress all naughty and wicked habits of the “old man” inside themselves and endure all kinds of tribulations and diseases. By His boundless wisdom, God gives each man – for his recovery, cleaning and salvation – his own individual cross to carry that is corresponding to his character, capacities and potentials. If we succeed in carrying our cross without grumbling, by repenting our sins and not justifying ourselves, we will, like the prudent thief enter the Kingdom of God.
If we complain, abuse other people and God, we will perish, like the angry thief, experiencing much greater pain with no hope, alleviating sufferings, for salvation. The choice is ours. We must also be prudent. Cross is inevitable for all to carry. Let us make it lighter by our faith in God, by the struggle against sin, by repentance and by forgiving our neighbors, by obedient bearing sorrows, and by offering our prayers to God. Out of His love, God wants our salvation and does not allow us to have troubles unless they are absolutely necessary; nor does He allow more troubles than we are able to cope with to befall us. Sorrows are necessary, but man is able to understand this only after a thorough cleaning himself by repentance and abstention from sins and by reading the Gospel.
Forgive me. May the Lord strengthen you, grant his blessing and protect you from evil.
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