You Can Become A Saint! - Missionary Tract by Fr. Daniel Sysoev

A newly translated Missionary Tract written by Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev. We commemorate this great missionary’s martyrdom on Nov 7/20. -Find Fr. Daniel’s book for sale here: -Support the Rev. Daniel Sysoev Benevolent Fund that supports the widows and children of priests who die and leave their family in great need: -Watch an interview with Fr. Daniel’s Matushka, daughter, and two spiritual children at the Orthodoxy Christian Theology channel here: -Read a brief Life of the Hieromartyr here: -Watch myself and Patrick (Craig) Truglia discuss Fr. Daniel’s street mission tips followed by a Q&A: “Sometimes people say: “How can I possibly become a saint? Just avoiding hell is plenty! And anyway, it would be prideful of me to want to become like the holy apostles, martyrs, or monastic saints. This was meant for them, but probably not for me.” But Christ says: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father Which is in Heaven is perfect“ (Matthew 5:48). From the lives of the saints it is clear that each of them, by his own choice, wanted to attain a great reward in Heaven and to rid himself of the burden of sin as quickly as possible, since sin was preventing him from ascending from strength to strength on the path to holiness.“ “Let us not deceive ourselves: any pause in the spiritual life is a step backwards! If we try to grasp the secret of success in any earthly undertaking – be it sport, science, or art – we will see that the successful are those that continue to work until they have attained their goal, regardless of hardships or setbacks. The successful person never says: “I cannot” or “that is beyond me,” but firmly believes that he will attain his desired result, anticipating the thrill of victory.” “How can we live calmly when we know our neighbor is headed for perdition? For if we do not try to preach to him, this means we do not love him: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God Whom he hath not seen? (1 John 4:20).” “Methods of Missionary Work: The missionary has no right to conduct a dialogue on equal terms, as in: you have a right to your opinion, and we have a right to ours. The missionary does not have any opinions of his own. We should not have our own points of view; we should make do with the Lord God’s point of view. As St. Maximus the Confessor said, “God and I together are already a majority, and an overwhelming one at that.” Imagine a drug addict who felt he was entitled to heroin. Should we respect his opinion? But false religion is worse than heroin, for it kills people in the most literal and real sense of the word. Christ’s love for the perishing must be combined with an unsparing intolerance for their false opinions. Just as one should not spare himself in service to the perishing, so too should one not spare the false opinions of another, precisely because they will destroy his soul. The missionary works within the very depths of the human spirit. The word we bear must reach the very depth of the heart, dividing mind and feeling, soul and spirit, and trying the heart’s intentions. For if someone tries to speak his own word – even if it is very good, intelligent, and logical – rather than the Word of God, it will not penetrate the heart, but will remain on the surface. The head might even nod in agreement, but the heart will say: I do not want this. Our task is to sow precisely the Word of God – pure, holy, and unaltered – relying on the power of the Word of God itself.” “The Lord arranges for the missionary to learn through converts. The Lord elevates the missionary higher and higher. But there is a necessary condition: the missionary must pray. Of course, mission itself teaches this: if someone does not pray, he will begin to grow discouraged due to his lack of success. If someone tries to be the mouth of God the Father, but does not turn to God the Father, nothing will come of it. One does not play around with missionary work. That is why missionary work forces people to pray, especially when they find themselves in extraordinary circumstances (and the missionary always lives in such extraordinary circumstances, for he is living between three worlds). His life is utterly intense, utterly rich, and the missionary grows accustomed to relying constantly upon the Lord God.” Orthodox Wisdom is now on your favorite podcast platform! Go to the “About” tab at the top of the this channel to find links to: -Apple Podcasts -Spotify -Stitcher -and more… This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!