Feast Day: September 18th
The Life of Saint Hilarion: Saint Hilarion possessed the Gift of Prayer to so act on a person, that he, feeling the invisible presence of the Almighty Lord, would Confess to the Elder with all openness the most hidden movements of his heart…
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Prayers
Troparion: Divine healer of passions, tried and tested helmsman of faith, you received the gift of healing from the Lord, and glorious victories over demons, O wondrous Father Hilarion, all that was hidden has been revealed, and heretical ideas destroyed. Therefore, Pray to Christ God to deliver us from the delusion of the devil, and to save our Souls.
Troparion: Despising all the good things of this world, you received Spiritual peace in your heart, and by abhoring Earthly pleasures, you were enriched with Heavenly gifts. Therefore, you protected Christ’s flock by driving away the darkness of schism. Save us by your Prayers, O Divinely-enlightened Elder Hilarion.
Kontakion: Fellow participant in the Spiritual Mysteries of the Optina Elders, and co-inheritor of the land of the Sovereign Lady, you blossomed like a prolific tree in the garden of the wilderness and, like a good shepherd, you strengthened the flock of Christ. Now entreat Christ God to preserve us in Orthodoxy and in piety, and to strengthen all who revere you with love.
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“During conversation with others it is no hindrance to be cautious in speech, and at the same time one can retain the Jesus Prayer in the mind.”
“One must strive to have a good opinion of everyone. Only God is the Knower of hearts. We cannot infallibly judge people.”
“If you feel that you cannot control your anger, remain silent, and for the time being, simply say nothing, until, through continuous Prayer and self-reproach, your heart has become calm.”
“In case of a fall of some kind in deed, word, or thought, you should immediately repent and, acknowledging your infirmity, humble yourself and force yourself to see your sins, but not your corrections. From examining his sins, a person comes to humility and acquires a heart that is broken and humble, which God does not despise.”
“We must not attribute Miracle-working power to our Prayer; we must not think that what we ask of the Lord is always fulfilled. This thought comes from pride and leads to deception.”
“When having thoughts of self-praise, we must look at our sins and remember that without the help of God we can do nothing good and beneficial, we have only sins and infirmities.”
“Pay no attention to praise and fear it; remember what one of the Holy Fathers says: ‘If someone praises you, expect reproaches from him too.'”
“If you reconcile your own heart towards someone who is angry at you, the Lord will tell his heart to reconcile with you.”
“By desiring to live or die in this place, but not that one, we establish our own will, we desire to fulfill our own desires, which we must not do. Do not Pray to the Lord for any such thing, but pray that His Holy Will may be fulfilled in us.”
“Let us endure for a little while and we will receive Eternal blessedness. Let us consign to oblivion all earthly pleasures and joys – they are not for us. It has been said: Where our treasure is, there our heart will be (cf. Luke 12:34), and our treasure is in Heaven; therefore let us strive with all our heart for the Heavenly Fatherland. There all our sorrows will be turned to joy; abuse and disparagement – to glory; sorrows, tears and sighs – to consolation; sicknesses and toil – to everlasting peace without pain.”
“When sorrow comes to us, we must await consolations, but after the consolation, we must again await sorrows.”
“We cannot live in such a way that no one grieves or offends us, for the Apostle Luke writes: we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22), and bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). Let us therefore ask that we may bear sorrows with self-reproach and humility and not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good, and with the Prophet say: With them that hate peace I was peaceable (Ps. 119:6).”
“You are bored because you think too much about yourself and you censure those who are weak.”
“In the pure writings of the Holy Fathers, we see that he who desires to cleanse his heart of the passions must call on the Lord for help – this is so. We cannot say the Jesus Prayer without our thoughts being plundered. With beginners, God does not demand undistracted Prayer: it is acquired with much time and labor. As the writings of the Holy Fathers say: ‘God gives Prayer to him who Prays,” thus we must nevertheless continue to Pray, orally, and with the mind.'”
“For us the Church is Heaven on Earth, where God Himself is invisibly present and watches over those whose stand before Him there. For this reason, one must stand in Church in an orderly manner, with great reverence. Let us love the Church, and let us be zealous therein, for it is a delight and consolation for us amid both sorrows and joys.”