Thus, if this is all that the Church says about Reality (that all nature is not only sanctified but – deified, resurrected, already the Resurrected Body of Christ, which “sits,” resides in the Glory of the Holy Spirit at the right hand of the Father), then what absurdity it is to perform Sacraments without proclamation, without teaching (“go teach all nations…”), and after teaching, when they, having renounced the devil and his servants and renounced the illusory world in which they lived, are ready to enter into Reality – baptize them into the Life of the Holy Trinity…), without proper preparation, only by tradition, because it is fitting, such a custom (everyone is baptized, so I baptize myself and my children – they will not be unbaptized, and they say they will not be sick and everything in this world will be good for them… – and other absurd motives, which have nothing to do with baptism if they are its absolute opposite:
“They persecuted Me, they will persecute you too”, “All this (troubles and sorrows – V.A.) they will do to you for My Name’s sake”… Christ offers something completely different from what the unfortunate baptized or those who bring a child to be baptized think (if they think?! If they hope for anything?!) or, what is even more absurd, – “to manage in time!” (especially when the question arises of baptizing an infant who is at the point of death). Every Sacrament is a revelation, a manifestation of what already is (our deification in Christ), not adding anything – nothing can be added to the Work of Salvation accomplished by Christ, it is not possible! It is no longer possible not to manage in time! But it depends on us how we prepare (and prepare! – this concerns priests, who often become criminals, performing the acts of the Sacraments without proclamation, preparation of the one over whom the Sacrament is performed; to perform (irresponsibly allow participation in the Sacraments) a Sacrament over an unprepared person – it is a great crime (often irreparable in its consequences) against this person and the Church) – whether it will be for us a manifestation (Epiphany), a revelation of the True Reality, or will further affirm the veracity of our illusory world, paganism, or sow distrust of the Church and Its Gospel and Sacraments as communion of the Proclaimed Reality.
Irresponsible performance of the Sacraments – a crime against all humanity and especially for the participants of the Sacrament, sometimes irreparable in its consequences. And who cares about this?! – “The main thing is to baptize”, “the main thing is to wed”, “the main thing is to commune”… whether there is trust (which is only possible after comprehensive proclamation) or not, whether there is understanding (even partial – everyone in their measure) of what is happening in the Sacrament and why it is needed, and what responsibility lies on the participant of the Sacrament of the Church (= to be a child of God!) – nobody (almost nobody) cares about that, nobody is interested. And almost no one hears the warnings of the Church: “Whoever takes part in the sacraments unworthily, irresponsibly – takes them to judgment and condemnation upon themselves, does themselves harm… Many are sick, and some die due to negligence and irresponsible attitude towards the Sanctuary”. “God is merciful – will forgive!” – say the irresponsible dreamers! As we saw and learned from the Proclamation – He has already forgiven! And we, as we were miserable, so we remain (oh! Even more despair befalls us). It is time to shift the responsibility from God (by the way – He is always responsible for all His acts and words!) onto ourselves. To become more responsible and not do anything (especially in spiritual life, concerning Eternity) gropingly, not knowing the outcome: if it works out – good, if not – well, so be it!? That is not Christian!
The acts of the Sacraments can only be performed over the proclaimed (and infants can only be baptized if their parents are believers and live a Church Eucharistic (in a specific community, having specific duties, “functions” in the Body) life; and to baptize all other children, whose parents are not proclaimed, – it is a great crime against those children and not only!..)! First, you need to prepare the mind (to convey at least some understanding), prepare the heart (to help generate at least some humility, reverence before the Sanctuary) and then show (manifest) reality. For example, bring an unprepared person to an art gallery and show them classics – masterpieces of art. If they are not prepared, not educated in symbolic language (not proclaimed) – not only will they see and understand nothing, but something worse might happen – they will start to blaspheme and mock… and thus block their path to high art, to nobility (because if they blaspheme and mock – why would they need it?!). Similarly, in the Sacraments – the unprepared not only will not receive the Holy Spirit, but will blaspheme the Sacraments (saying, “I did everything they told me, – but it doesn’t work, doesn’t give the result I expected… – and I paid money for the blessing, baptism, confession… and no result, only worse… ah, those priests-traders, deceivers, and they said before performing the ‘order’ that ‘all will be well’! Either the client, the buyer did not understand what good the priest was talking about, or, as is the case most of the time, the priest does not know what he is talking about, and from what that “pill” or those “spiritual services”, which he sells, sorry, I got carried away: provides… And from such a bazaar comes one evil worse than another! But whom am I telling this, those who read these pages already know about it, and those who need to hear it, you can’t reach them, they are “the fortress of Orthodoxy”, and all the accusers of their evil are accused of modernism (innovation) and heresy!