SAINT SERAPHIM OF SAROV

 

St. Seraphim was born in 1759 in Kursk. When he was about 10 years old, he became seriously ill. During his illness, he saw the Mother of God in his sleep, who promised to heal him. Several days later there was a religious procession in Kursk with the locally revered miracle-working icon of the Mother of God.  His mother lifted Seraphim up to the miracle-working image, and he recovered completely. 

Seraphim decided to become a monk when he was eighteen years old. His mother blessed him with a large copper crucifix, and he wore this crucifix over his clothing all of his life. 

From day one in the Sarov monastery, he ate only once a day, and very little. On Wednesdays and Fridays he ate nothing. After asking the blessing of his spiritual elder, he began to withdraw often into the forest for prayer and religious contemplation. He became severely ill again soon after, and was forced to spend most of the course of the next three years lying down. Once again he was healed miraculously. 

When he was 27 years old he took monastic vows.  He was then given the name Seraphim, which in Hebrew means "fiery," or "burning."  He justified his name by his extraordinarily burning desire for prayer. He spent all of his time, save for the very shortest of rests, in church. Through his long hours of prayer and the labors of his religious services, Seraphim became worthy to see angels, both serving and singing in church. During the liturgy on Holy Thursday, he saw the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, in the form of the Son of man, proceeding into the Church with the Heavenly host and blessing those praying. The saint could not speak for a long time after this vision.

St. Seraphim began to withdraw more and more into  the forest wilderness about five kilometers from the Sarov Monastery.  Wild animals — bears, rabbits, wolves, foxes and others — came to the hut where he lived. St. Seraphim often fed a great big brown bear that came to visit him.  He was often seen with the big brown bear walking peacefully next to him.

While living in this little hermitage of his, St. Seraphim once suffered greatly at the hands of robbers. Although he was physically very strong and was holding an axe at the time, St. Seraphim did not resist the robbers at all. In answer to their threats and their demands for money, he lay his axe down on the ground, crossed his arms on his chest and obediently gave himself up to them. They began to beat him on the head with the handle of his own axe. Blood began to pour out of his mouth and ears, and he fell unconscious. After that they began to hit him with a log, trampled him under foot, and dragged him along the ground. They stopped beating him only when they had decided that he was dead. The only treasure which the robbers found in his small cell was the icon of the Mother of God of Deep Emotion. When, after some time, the robbers were caught and brought to justice, he interceded on their behalf before the judge. After the beating, St. Seraphim remained hunched over and remained like that for the rest of his life.

Soon after this incident Saint Seraphim began praying on a rock at night. He prayed with his arms raised to heaven. He prayed for a thousand nights on this rock with his arms outstretched to heaven.

Many thousands of people from all walks of life and conditions began to visit the elder.  No matter who came to him, he always bowed to the ground before each and every person, and, in blessing, kissed their hands. He did not need the visitors to tell him anything about themselves, because he could see what each person's soul needed. 

"Oh, if you only knew" he once said to a monk, "what joy, what sweetness awaits a righteous soul in Heaven! You would decide in this mortal life to bear any sorrows, persecutions and slander with gratitude. 

He also said very frequently that it is necessary that the Holy Spirit enter our heart. Everything good that we do, that we do for Christ, is given to us by the Holy Spirit.  Most of all he said that the desire to pray is given to us by the Holy Spirit of God.