N. Klimova. St. Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
Every saint has a unique podvig that they have particularly excelled in. Certainly, all those whom we honor as saints endeavored to uphold every commandment of God, which is essential for any Christian. However, some excelled in fasting, others in prayer, and others in various forms of spiritual labor.
Today we honor Great-Martyr Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds. Beyond enduring torment and suffering for Christ, one of her most significant virtues was her compassion. Before her arrest, torture, and martyrdom for confessing her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, she frequently visited prisons, striving to alleviate the pain of Christian prisoners. She cared for their wounds, offered support, comforted them, and encouraged them to remain steadfast in their faith. It is for this compassion that the Lord elevated her, empowering her to endure arduous trials and ultimately receive the crown of martyrdom.
The holy Great-Martyr Anastasia serves as a profound teacher of compassion.1 True compassion goes beyond merely wishing to help others; it involves sharing in the suffering of others and experiencing their pain as one’s own. This was the essence of compassion that Great-Martyr Anastasia embodied. It was her strength in service and ultimately her strength in achieving martyrdom for Christ.
St. Silouan of Mt. Athos once stated, “The greater your love, the greater your suffering.” Many of us can attest to this from personal experience, particularly parents. When our children stray from God’s commandments, the distress for their parents is constant.
Those who love deeply inevitably suffer as they worry for their beloved. This is particularly keenly felt by priests. When someone who participated in church life and embodied Christian values turns away, becoming an atheist or a pagan, it brings immense heartache, not just to the priest but to anyone who truly cares. A loving heart is always vulnerable to suffering; to avoid it, one might retreat into emotional isolation, hardening one’s heart. This can create the illusion of a trouble-free life, yet astonishingly, there lies a prelude to eternal life and a taste of the Heavenly Kingdom within the suffering that stems from love.
Hieromonk Athanasius (Deryugin)
The Apostle Paul expressed, I die daily (1 Cor. 15:31). This speaks to the depth of compassion he embraced. It is through this daily dying and shared suffering that one experiences the eternal life with God. Conversely, a person who isolates themselves from the suffering of others may appear untroubled, but they begin to sense the echoes of hell in this life, which will ultimately consume them after death. Yet within this suffering lies joy, bliss, and profound happiness in the truest sense.
May God grant us all the grace to be truly compassionate. May we all learn to embrace this pain, guiding us towards the knowledge of Christ, a profound love, eternal life with God, and the promise of the Heavenly Kingdom. Amen.
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