Chrysostom
Beloved of All
You give thanks for the peaceful nights and seizure-free months, and I rejoice with you in God’s faithfulness. Yet consider: John wrought no miracle, yet all Judea went out to him. Elias became admirable not first for wonders, but for boldness, zeal, poverty. Job amazed the devil with no sign, only a life of endurance. Miracles, if we are not sober, can harm; many have fallen through the pride or desire they breed. The truest wonder is a soul drawn to God without them, a life shining in patience and godliness.
You ask for external protection, healing, and the removal of every agitation. These are good to request, but remember that the war within is the deadliest: the body at variance with the soul, the passions arming against peace. If that war is stilled, no outward thing can truly harm. Pray for kings and all in authority so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. This is the peace which surpasses understanding, the peace Christ gives when the heart is calm and the mind fixed on Him.
He who wrought the great sign on the withered fig tree displayed His power, yet it was for His disciples’ sake, that they might marvel and believe. He often repeats the same works to strengthen faith. But the goal is not the miracle itself, but the knowledge of the truth and salvation of the soul. The Lord had compassion on the multitude and fed them before they asked. So He cares for your son. Trust that even when no visible wonder appears, His compassion is active, ordering all things for his good and your growth in virtue.
Let your prayer be for that inward quiet, for godliness and honesty. When you have this peace, nothing from without, no word curse, no agitation, can prevail. The tongue cannot be bound; the Preacher runs the more when in bonds. So your son’s spirit, guarded by Christ, can remain serene amid storms. Do not seek the sign as the first thing; seek the love of virtue. Then the peace you desire will follow, and the daily mercies, calm nights, contented meals, gentle words, will be not the end, but the fruit of a life hid with Christ in God.
You ask for external protection, healing, and the removal of every agitation. These are good to request, but remember that the war within is the deadliest: the body at variance with the soul, the passions arming against peace. If that war is stilled, no outward thing can truly harm. Pray for kings and all in authority so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. This is the peace which surpasses understanding, the peace Christ gives when the heart is calm and the mind fixed on Him.
He who wrought the great sign on the withered fig tree displayed His power, yet it was for His disciples’ sake, that they might marvel and believe. He often repeats the same works to strengthen faith. But the goal is not the miracle itself, but the knowledge of the truth and salvation of the soul. The Lord had compassion on the multitude and fed them before they asked. So He cares for your son. Trust that even when no visible wonder appears, His compassion is active, ordering all things for his good and your growth in virtue.
Let your prayer be for that inward quiet, for godliness and honesty. When you have this peace, nothing from without, no word curse, no agitation, can prevail. The tongue cannot be bound; the Preacher runs the more when in bonds. So your son’s spirit, guarded by Christ, can remain serene amid storms. Do not seek the sign as the first thing; seek the love of virtue. Then the peace you desire will follow, and the daily mercies, calm nights, contented meals, gentle words, will be not the end, but the fruit of a life hid with Christ in God.
