N. Klimova. St. Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
There is one or another podvig in which every saint has labored especially hard. Of course, all those whom we venerate as saints strove to fulfill every commandment of God, and this is necessary for any Christian. But at the same time, some succeeded more in fasting, others—in prayer, and others—in some other spiritual labor.
Today we are commemorating Great-Martyr Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds. In addition to the fact that she endured torments and suffering for Christ, one of her main feats was compassion. Before she was taken into custody, tortured and then martyred for confessing the Lord Jesus Christ, she would very often visit prisons and try in every possible way to alleviate the suffering of prisoners who were imprisoned for being Christians. She washed their wounds, helped, supported, and comforted them, encouraging them not to be afraid of continuing their confession of the name of Christ. And it was for this virtue that the Lord raised her to such a height, blessed her to endure all the torments and receive the crown of martyrdom.
The holy Great-Martyr Anastasia teaches us compassion.1 But compassion is not just willingness to help your neighbors and make life easier for them. First and foremost, it is about suffering together with the one who suffers, feeling of the pain of the person who is next to you as your own pain. This was precisely the compassion that Great-Martyr Anastasia possessed It gave her the strength to carry out her service, and it later gave her the strength to become a martyr of Christ.
St. Silouan of Mt. Athos said these amazing words: “The greater your love, the greater your suffering.” And many of us know this from our personal experience, especially parents. When our children go astray and do not live according to God’s commandments, it is constant distress for their parents.
Every person gets sick at heart worrying about those he really loves. Priests feel this especially keenly. When someone who attended church and led a Christian life later leaves the Church, becoming an atheist or a pagan, this is also a terrible pain for a priest, and indeed for anyone who loves. A loving heart always suffers, and in order not to suffer you have to go into your own shell, making your heart cold. And then (it would seem) everything will be fine in your life and you won’t worry about anything. But the most amazing thing is that there is a foretaste of eternal life, a foretaste of the Heavenly Kingdom in this suffering and agony, which are naturally caused by love.
Hieromonk Athanasius (Deryugin)
The Apostle Paul says, I die daily (1 Cor. 15:31). Here we are talking about the compassion that he possessed in the full sense. But it is through this daily dying, through this suffering that eternal life is life with God felt. And, to the contrary, if a person shuts himself off and does not suffer with anyone, then he seemingly has no problems, but already in this life he begins to feel the breath of hell, which after his death will swallow him up. And there is joy, there is bliss, there is happiness in the highest sense of the word in this suffering.
May God grant us all to be compassionate. May God grant us all to experience this pain, which leads us to the knowledge of Christ, to love, to eternal life with God, and to the Heavenly Kingdom. Amen.