On March 3, 2009, after a service at the Zachatievsky stauropegial convent in Moscow, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, addressed the worshipers with a word of edification.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

Fasting is a means by which a person can really influence the state of his soul. Because through abstinence from food, from entertainment, from various kinds of temptations, we cultivate our will, we elevate our feelings. But another special way of influencing the human soul and a means of uplifting the soul is prayer. Saint Theophan the Recluse, speaking of prayer, said: “The whole meaning of prayer is in two words: “Lord have mercy.” When we mention these words, it seems to us that we are asking the Lord not to punish us, but the word "have mercy" has a much greater meaning and wider meaning than just asking for mercy.

Of course, turning to God with a request for mercy, we also ask for forgiveness of our sins, our iniquities, our uncleanness. But in the word “have mercy” there is also a call to pour out Your mercy on us. God is not only able to punish us for our sins, but out of His love He bestows His mercy, His grace, His strength.

If a person prays, then he is a truly religious person. If he calls himself a believer and is even convinced of the existence of God as a Higher Power, but if he does not turn to God with a prayer, then such a believer is a non-religious person. Sometimes it even happens that people who are quite ecclesiastical stop praying. They become so accustomed to their churchness that living prayer as a connection with God disappears from life. It happens that even some clergymen, performing divine services, knowing prayers by heart, do not pray with their hearts. If a person stops praying, he stops living a religious life. If we turn to God, then we feel His presence in our lives, like the ancient prophets, about whom it is said that they walked before the face of God.

What does it mean to walk before the face of God? It means to feel God's presence, to realize that God is near. And if God is near, then how can one offend God, how can one do what is contrary to God? If God is near, then a person not only constantly turns to Him, but tries to build his life in such a way that the Divine eyes, looking at Him, are always filled with mercy and love.

But how can those who do not know how to pray learn to pray? Today, many people come to churches, turn to God, but not everyone knows how to pray. There are circumstances in which even people of little faith pray - when we find ourselves in difficult life circumstances. As the participants in the war say, even the atheists went on the attack with a prayer. When despair arises and the realization of the impossibility of overcoming difficulties on their own, then a person turns the words of prayer to God with ease. This also happens when, suddenly turning to a doctor, a person hears the terrible words of an incurable diagnosis. That's when people pray and find words and no one needs to be taught to pray. But it is worth overcoming difficulties, receiving healing, and communication with God and prayer are again cut off.

The skill of prayer is one of the most important ascetic deeds. You need to pray with the words of prayers, if you know them, as well as with your simple words, pray not only in the morning and evening, you need to pray many times during the day, turning to the Lord at least for a moment. Going out into the street, you need to make the sign of the cross, because modern streets are not safe for human life. You can meet an evil person and face difficult circumstances. And when, taking the first steps at the beginning of the day, we turn to God with a prayer, we invoke His blessing.

There was a monastic tradition to consecrate every third hour with prayer. Hence the church charter of hours - the third, sixth, ninth and other services. In the conditions of modern life, it is impossible to attend divine services every two or three hours. But regularly asking for God's help, sighing to the Lord, thanking Him for the gifts received, simply remembering God - this means feeling God's presence in your life.

Temple prayer is a special school of prayer. Today we stood for a long service, heard a lot of psalms and hymns, but the human consciousness is arranged in such a way that it is impossible to constantly follow the words of a prayer. You need to educate yourself to strive to understand what is said in the temple. But even if by thought we depart from prayer due to our weakness, then all the same, being in the temple, in the fertile atmosphere of the prayer of other people, we are under the constant influence of Divine grace. That is why prayer in the temple has a special meaning, meaning and power, “for where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Fasting and prayer are great means of uplifting the soul, overcoming sins, and changing the inner state of a person. In Great Lent, it is especially appropriate for us to use these means to help ourselves, to change our inner world in order to be closer to God. Amen.

At the end of the service, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church delivered the words of a sermon, in which he emphasized: “Fasting, as abstaining from fast food, helps us influence our feelings and our will, and is of great importance for the formation of a person’s spiritual life.”

“Prayer is no less important, because it is through it that we feel God's presence in our lives,” said His Holiness. “There is no prayer, and there is no God. Even if a person calls himself a believer, but prayer is not present in his life - informal, sincere, heartfelt - then there is no God for him. That is why fasting and prayer are a great means of educating the soul and bringing a person closer to God.”

But there is another very important means - mercy, says His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. “When we use this word, we most often mean compassion towards people who need it. The Greek word έλεος, which we translate as mercy, has, however, a much greater meaning. Έλεος is not only compassion, but also faith, fidelity, devotion. So, mercy is associated with fidelity and devotion,” His Holiness Vladyka noted and turned to the history of the Old Testament, which contains many examples of God’s mercy to people and entire nations.

“This mercy has always been associated with fidelity,” continued the Primate of the Russian Church. – God remained faithful to that Covenant – the Union, which he concluded with Abraham. And although then the people of Israel repeatedly turned away from their Creator, betrayed Him, worshiped false gods, showed cowardice, as was the case when they left Egypt during forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the Lord never changed loyalty and devotion to the Covenant for the rejection of this Covenant and even the fallen called to communion with Himself.

“Sometimes the closest people break up, the husband and wife get divorced, the children become strangers in relation to their parents, and at some point the parents stop caring about their children. The separation takes place between the closest people, who often become distant and even hostile to each other. Why is this happening? But because from human relations, even from the relations of people close by blood, mercy often leaves. And along with it, loyalty and devotion,” said His Holiness the Patriarch and recalled the gospel parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-38).

A certain man was walking from Jerusalem to Jericho and was caught by robbers, who took off his clothes, wounded him and left, leaving him barely alive. A priest and a Levite passed by the suffering indifferently, and the Samaritan foreigner, with whom the Jews were at enmity, showed mercy and did a good deed. It turns out that the neighbor in relation to the one who was attacked by the robbers was not his relatives in the flesh, not even his co-religionists, but the one who showed mercy to him, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church noted.

“When we show mercy to each other, then fidelity, devotion, intimacy arise in our relations,” His Holiness continued, emphasizing that all those to whom a person does good remain in memory for life, become truly close , and without mercy, neighbors become distant or even enemies.

“It is not easy to do works of mercy: mercy requires time, effort, expenditure of internal energy, and sometimes material costs,” His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said further. – It is very difficult to engage in mercy, it is difficult to do selfless good deeds. But we must remember that it is mercy, like nothing else, that connects us with other people. If we want the family to be strong, so that the husband never parted from his wife, and the wife from her husband, if we want to always have good, cordial relations between parents and children, we need to do works of mercy towards each other. If we want relations in our society to change, so that we realize ourselves as a single people, so that no temptations and temptations destroy our national unity, we must learn to do good to each other, so that through this good deed we become closer to each other.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia emphasized that the parish community should become a school of good deeds and mercy: “Here we often stand next to each other, but we do not feel unity and closeness. Orthodox parishes should become the place where we would become accustomed to mercy, learn to do good to each other. Then the unity of the Church will be strong, because each will recognize his neighbor in the other – in his brother or sister.”

“Fasting, prayer and mercy are three ways, three weapons that must be used in order for the soul to rise; that we draw near to God; so that our life will not be in vain; so that the true purpose and value of being does not disappear from our field of vision; so that we feel the presence of God in our hearts and through it acquire the divine gift of grace,” the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church noted in conclusion.

Kindness is in short supply these days. But without it, the world may perish.

Therefore, we need to learn how to become kinder and how our actions can reveal this good quality. As you know, "wisdom" begins with oneself, and does not wait for changes from others.

Henry James made an interesting conclusion that human life should contain three main things. And all three are called "kindness."

Since 1998, Japan has proposed to celebrate World Kindness Day. Now this day is celebrated annually on November 13th.

Why is kindness needed?

Does it make sense to promote and practice good deeds? Why do people need them?

• Kindness and its manifestations can make the atmosphere around a kind person cleaner and better. The life of the person himself becomes kinder, filled with positive events.
• By showing kindness to others, the giver himself becomes happier.
• The law "As you sow, so shall you reap" returns either good or evil.

What can be done to change society? Start by changing your life, share with people the kindest thing that is in your heart. It is from this step that you will begin to change not only your life, but the whole world around you for the better.

Kindness Privilege

A kind person has a number of advantages over the life of an embittered person:

1. Psychological tests show that a positive approach makes it easier to cope with crisis and stressful situations.

2. If you are a nice, kind person, your self-esteem will be healthy.

3. The world around such people can become comfortable, attractive, in which you want to be. Therefore, kind people always have enough friends and loved ones in their environment.

Kindness is a manifestation of love. Every person has this need to love and be loved by someone.

Both love and kindness satisfy the person himself, if he is able to share it with others. This is the main secret of how to become kinder and find love.

Become the source of what you want! Do you want to be treated well? Be kind to others. Do you want to be loved? Experience love and share it with those around you: family, friends, the world. A happy person attracts worthy members of the opposite sex like a magnet!

Testaments of Virtue

Take a little test to see how kind you are. In this test, you do not need to count points, questions and answers already contain recommendations on what to do in order to become kinder.

• Do you wake up every morning grateful for the new day? If feeling gratitude is still difficult, start celebrating and appreciating the help of others.

Sometimes you can simply not see or take for granted the support from loved ones.

If you want to show your kindness, you need to train yourself to see the good deeds of others and give thanks for them.

Gratitude is brought up in the same way as muscles are pumped up with regular training.

• Do you say thank you? Good must be visible. Don't be afraid to say "thank you" or do something nice in return. This makes kinder and softer those to whom they are addressed. A sweet smile and a good mood will be the reward for your appreciation.

• Do you like to criticize and judge others? Criticism does not go with a kind person. Grouchiness and dissatisfied remarks will disperse everyone who was nearby.

Criticism must be constructive. Not destructive, but creative, encouraging change. If you reject something in another person, offer something in return, as an alternative.

You can conduct a simple test: if you maintain a good-natured tone while correcting a person, you will see that your words will only benefit him. What is more important is not what you convey to him, but in what tone. Humiliation of the interlocutor at the time of remarks is unacceptable.

• How often do you get into arguments? The conflict of character cannot bring peace, love and kindness around. Undoubtedly, conflicts are common in people's lives. But you can learn to deal with them with dignity.

Useless conflicts will help to avoid the following wisdom: you should not force someone to accept your opinion. No two people are the same, and there can be no identical opinions. Everyone has their own opinion on a controversial issue.

What will change you for the better?

How to become kinder and establish positive relationships with the world and people? There are some practical tips you can start applying today!

1. The ability to compliment others has a positive impact on others.. It is useful to develop the ability not to point out to people their shortcomings, but to see even the little things for which a person can be noted or complimented.

This, like magic, transforms both. Do not be afraid that a person will become proud: sincere words of admiration will draw his attention only to the positive aspects of his character.

2. Do not be lazy to do at least small good deeds. Pick up a glove dropped by someone, let someone in a hurry forward, tell someone a shorter way, or just give a passing grandmother a sweet smile. This will spread kindness in your area of ​​influence and cheer you up and those around you.

3. You need to come to terms with the truth that there will always be people who disagree with you. If you take this into account in relationships, anger and hatred will pass by.

4. Friendliness, complacency, no doubt, will make any atmosphere kind and sweet around you. And, sooner or later, they will boomerang back.

5. Do charity work. It reflects the deeds of goodness and love. Share your love and attention with those who need our help and support.

Visit an orphanage or visit a lonely grandmother, take a dog or a cat from a shelter - this is how you save someone's life. Being kind is easier than you think!

The best defense against evil

Good relations should be preserved as much as possible. If you easily pick up someone's irritation and anger, it is better to limit your communication with such people.

If, by the will of circumstances, you have to be surrounded by such a category of people, you need to learn to get along with them, abstracting from their negativity, defending yourself with a sweet smile in response.

Here's a test for you to check: try to give a smile in response to resentment or irritation. You can make a friend in the person of a seeming enemy.

You need to be able to forgive quickly. Life is short, don't waste it on resentment and anger. In addition, forgiveness protects a person's health and saves many aggravated relationships.

Forgiveness should become a daily discipline. We are able to control our emotions by replacing anger with mercy.

Positive attitudes in life will enrich your life and the presence of people around you. For example:

• I am grateful to the Universe for my happy life.
• I release those close to me from my expectations.
• Nobody owes me anything.
• I will become a happy person, and I will not wait for someone to do it for me.

The easiest way to do good is not under duress, but of your own free will. Therefore, it is better to do it first, and not wait for the first step from someone else. Kindness does not happen at the wrong time, it cannot be much, it is impossible to get tired of it, it enriches and elevates.

Kindness has always been highly valued, without being left without attention and worthy rewards. The Universe does not forget about a single good deed, therefore, for any such deed, it necessarily rewards those who help others disinterestedly and with pleasure. Some envy the lucky ones, but few people think that "gifts of fate" are not given just like that. After all, if a person has no desire to make the people living next to him at least a little happier, the world has nothing to thank him for.

What is the power of goodness and good deeds?

Many believe that good deeds must be done only for those who will certainly appreciate, remember and respond in kind. However, such an opinion is a common expression of selfishness. Therefore, being in some unpleasant situation, the attitude towards them will be the same. Of course, this kind of goodness has the right to life, but true good deeds are done from the heart and without expecting any answer in the future.

An example is those people who help those in need incognito - they do not want to attract the attention of society, but are simply glad that they have the opportunity to help those in need. What motivates people to do good deeds? There are many answers to this question:

1. The desire to calm the soul, because a good deed will help another person solve some problem. Basically, the “boomerang effect” is turned on, which means that a person after doing a good deed will receive much more good.
2. The ability to imagine yourself in a difficult situation, when you can’t solve it yourself, and someone’s help is required. Therefore, you should treat others as you would like to be treated.
3. When doing good deeds, a person feels happy.
4. Unfortunately, there is a lot of evil on our planet. Its number could be significantly reduced if everyone did at least a few good deeds.
5. When at a certain period of time a person feels himself unnecessary to anyone, he just needs to do some kind deed, and this feeling will disappear very quickly.
6. The good that a person brought to people, even secretly, will surely correct his fate, and make him more successful and happy.

If a black streak has come in life, and troubles have been constantly haunting you for a long time, you can solve problems by contacting folk healer. At the same time, it is very important that he be a professional in his field. Therefore, you should first read with reviews people whom he had previously helped in solving similar problems.

How to learn to do good deeds?

Before starting any business, you should analyze the upcoming work and assess your own readiness for work. The essence of good deeds is that they go from the heart, and not according to the instructions of someone. Kindness should not be expected in return for such an attitude. A person's actions must be disinterested, otherwise he may be disappointed in people.

It is important to understand that good deeds include an attentive and polite attitude towards people. In order for relatives and others to make a good opinion about a person and consider him humane and decent, it is not necessary to perform feats every day. It is enough to take care of relatives and, if possible, help those in need.

Any, even the smallest and most insignificant good deed has great power. A person who received help during a difficult period of his life remembers this for many years. However, the most valuable thing about goodness is its contagiousness. The more pleasant things, the better the mood of the surrounding people and the higher their desire to also do good deeds. About what else is needed in order to find female happiness, the fair sex can learn from the article on our website.

What good deeds can be done daily? There are a huge number of examples:

• skip a person who is in a hurry, without a queue;
• feed a homeless puppy or kitten;
• give valuable advice to the person who needs it;
• send a message to a friend with warm words;
• give someone a seat in the transport;
• give your friend a small anonymous gift;
• intercede for an unjustly offended person, even a stranger;
• help an elderly person carry a heavy bag home;
• leave an interesting newspaper or magazine you have already read in the train car;
• help the old woman cross the road.

All these actions will not take much time or money, but will bring a lot of joy not only to those who receive help, but also to those who provide it.

Good deeds and indifference

Indifference and kindness are two opposite and incompatible concepts, unless, of course, we are talking about bright thoughts and actions that come from the heart, and are not performed for selfish purposes. What is evil? We are told about it daily on radio and TV, telling about the facts of committed hooligan, violent or military actions.

But evil people are not only rapists, robbers or murderers. One can also call evil a person who is indifferent and indifferent to the grief of his neighbor. People need to learn to respond in a timely manner to the manifestation of anger and try to resist it by all means. Whether a person will be able to ignore the one who stretches out his hand, asking for help, depends on what his channel of good deeds is - whether it is clogged with evil.

A kind person will certainly help the one who asks, realizing that perhaps this is the only way to his salvation, and the evil one will pass by indifferently. Moreover, all people have different views on good and evil, so not everyone understands that indifference is evil. By visiting our website, you can learn how to protect yourself and your loved ones from evil and negativity, as well as find out interesting information about superstitions , reincarnation and much more.

Hurry up to do good deeds

This call does not mean that you need to be kind to everyone and try to please absolutely everyone. This refers to the spiritual kindness that comes from a pure heart and determines the quality of the human soul. In our time, there are more and more ambitious, tenacious, selfish people who strive for leadership and do not tolerate rivalry. All these traits are valued by teachers, employers and allies.

Developing them in oneself, a person involuntarily brings himself to a stressful state. Such a consumerist attitude to life leads to the fact that few people remember selflessness and kindness. But, having done a good deed, many understand how pleasant it is. In addition, no one has canceled the law of attraction, so what a person gives will definitely return to him doubly. After all, by doing good deeds, people attract the good forces of the Universe. Accordingly, the evil done to someone will return with destructive force. Everything is very simple:

• give love - receive love;
• give banknotes - receive welfare;
• give positive energy - receive healthy energy.

Good thoughts and deeds have a healing and life-giving effect on the human body. His face and voice become more noble, and his appearance is much more attractive. It is this miraculous power that good has. It is necessary to hasten to do good deeds in order to restore and strengthen your body. But anger and hatred have a negative effect on the body.

Each person can choose for himself the life he wants. But if you live in love for everything, for the world around you and people, then you can attract positive energy to yourself. And anger and hatred attract negative energy, which constantly creates difficult life situations. What is happening to a person now is a consequence of his thoughts and actions from the recent past. By doing good deeds, people become the creators of their destinies. And for the bearers of the light of love and grace, there are no obstacles!