Feast Day: April 29th
& October 11th – Synaxis of the Elders of Optina Monastery
The Life of Saint Nektary: Now he almost never left his Cell, and for eleven years he even covered the windows of his Cell with blue paper. He used to say that for a Monk there are only two exits from his Cell – into the Church and into the grave…
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Prayers
Saint Nektary Pray to God for us.
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“Orthodoxy is life, one must not talk about it, one must live it.”
“You ask: ‘By what path do I go to God?’ Go on the path of humility! By humbly bearing the difficult circumstances of life, by humbly enduring sicknesses sent by the Lord, by the humble hope that you will not be abandoned by the Lord, the quick Helper and Heavenly Father overflowing in love, by humble Prayer for help from on High to dispel despondency and feelings of helplessness by which the enemy of Salvation tries to bring us to despair, which is so perilous for man, depriving him of Divine Grace and removing from him the Mercy of God.”
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“When you will say, ‘All Saints, Pray to God for me!’ – then all of the Saints in Heaven will cry out, ‘Lord have mercy!’ – and you will have what you desire.”
“At all times, whatever you may be doing: whether you are sitting, or walking, or working, say with the heart, ‘Lord have mercy.'”
“Just pray: ‘Lord, grant me Thy grace!’ For when there is a cloud of griefs over you and you Pray: ‘Lord, grant me Thy Grace’ the Lord will carry you past the storm.”
“As soon as condemnation comes into your head, immediately say with attention: ‘Lord grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother.'”
“Drive away the enemy and those who bring temptations of evil thoughts with Prayer: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ This Prayer can be said during all activities.”
“We must Pray. By Prayer and the Word of God every filth is cleansed. The Soul cannot be reconciled with life and is consoled only through Prayer. Without Prayer the Soul is dead to Grace.”
Concerning Prayer, the Elder said to one of his Spiritual sons: “I will light your lamp, but you must take care of the wick yourself.”
“The Six Psalms must not be read like kathismas, but like prayers. The meaning of the Six Psalms is very deep; it is the Prayer of the Son to God the Father.”
“This is an order for you: when you prepare for Holy Communion, less wordiness and more Prayerfulness.”
“When irritation comes upon you, only repeat: ‘Lord, have mercy!’ Seek strength in Prayer and consolation in work.”
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“The details of the confession are not important, but the compunction of the heart. ‘The Lord sees the heart.'”
“Saint Gerasim was a great Elder, and he had a lion. We are lesser, so we have cats”.
“For a hundred years Noah called people to him, but only the dumb animals came.”
“The story of Job is an example for every person, for as a long as a man is rich, famous, and content, God pays him no mind. When a man, on the other hand, is on a dung heap, rejected by everyone, then God appears and converses with him, and the man in return cries out, ‘Lord have mercy!'”
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“In the last days, the world will be encircled by paper and iron. Noah’s time is a figure of our own. The flood was approaching. Noah knew about it and told the people, but they did not believe him. He hired workers to build the ark, and they, while building the ark, did not believe, and so they only received the agreed pay for their work, but were not saved. Those days are a prefiguring of ours. The ark is the Church, only those who are in it will be saved.”
“A hard time is coming. The number six has passed in the world, and the number seven has begun. Now begins the age of silence. Be silent, silent. And now his Majesty is not his own man, he is suffering such humiliation for his mistakes. 1918 will be still worse. His Majesty and all his family will be killed, tortured. And our Tsar will stand before the Throne of God wearing the Crown of a Great-Martyr. Yes, this Tsar will be a Great-Martyr.”
An Icon
