Feast Day: June 25th
The Life of Saint Nikon: When people came to him for advice, he always quoted the words of the Optina Elders…
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Prayers
Saint Nikon Pray to God for us.
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“If you are a layperson, live among laypeople and do their works…” This should be understood like this: Every form of Christian life has its own virtues and occupations. The works of those whose manner of life differs from ours are inaccessible to us. For example, a mother with nursing infants cannot go to Church every day to all the Services or read long Prayers at home. Doing so would only cause confusion, and even sin, if for example while the mother is gone the child is left to itself and injures itself or makes mischief as it grows. She cannot completely divest herself of personal property for the sake of her own podvig, because she is obligated to support and feed the children. She has a duty to please God by the deeds that are natural to her: patient endurance of the burdens of family life, Prayer and almsgiving according to her strength, teaching and raising her children, keeping the fasts, going to church on feast days, abstaining from murmuring, gossip, etc.”
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“By talents we mean not only wealth, education, or fame. Talents are good conditions for Salvation of the Soul. Each of us has his own given talents. Poverty, sickness, various sorrows – these are all talents. From the worldly point of view, talents mean scholarly, musical, or artistic abilities. They are not sinful; it is good when such abilities are combined with a Christian life, and when they are dedicated to God. If an ability prevents us from living in a godly manner and saving our Souls, then it should be abandoned. It is better to be a little stupider and simpler, but to be saved. What benefit is it to you if you gain the whole world but destroy your Soul?”
“No matter how insignificant it may seem to you, do everything well, as in the presence of God. Remember that the Lord sees everything.”
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Saint Nikon and his younger brother loved Christ and decided to go live in a Monastery, but did not know which one to choose. They listed the names of Russian monasteries on a scroll, which they then cut into strips, and after Praying drew one of the strips, on which was written “The Kozelsk Optina Hermitage of the Entry [of the Mother of God into the Temple].” After receiving a Blessing from their parents, Saint Barsonophius received them both with love into the Monastery.
“If you wait for only agreeable conditions for Salvation, then you will never begin a God-pleasing life.”
“Perform everything attentively, as if it is being done before the face of God. Remember that the Lord sees everything.”
“Only the Lord Himself can teach the ways of the Lord, but He does not teach all people, but only the meek, because he who humbleth himself from his heart makes his Soul capable of accepting Divine teaching. Only such teaches the Lord.”
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“All the time, no matter what you do, whether you are sitting, walking, or working, say with your heart, “Lord have mercy!”
“Love of God is expressed most of all by keeping the Commandments of God.”
“On our own, without Divine help, we are not even capable of Praying. We can not Pray as needed, and we do not know how to Pray or what to Pray for.”
“Everything is gained by Prayer. You are only approaching the first step, you haven’t yet ascended it, only approach it and you still have to enter the door, but you can’t go in by any effort if God’s mercy is not there. That is why you first of all need to ask, “Open unto me the doors of Thy compassion, O Lord!”
“Try not to skip your Prayer Rule, morning or evening. But if you skip it sometime for some reason, especially if it is due to circumstances beyond your control, do not be upset, but humbly reproach yourself for your weakness; for self-reproach is an unseen ascent, while getting upset, in the words of Elder Ambrose, is not listed anywhere in the virtues.”
“Do not forget Prayer it is the life of the Soul.”
“Pray like a child, in simplicity of heart, concerning all your needs and sorrows, and entrust yourself to God’s Will, for the Lord arranges our Salvation.”
“Silence prepares the Soul for Prayer. Silence – how beneficial it is to the Soul!”
“Before doing anything, Pray and think: Would this be wise and pleasing to God?”
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“A Spiritual Father, like a signpost, merely indicates the way; but you yourself must follow the path.”
“If you say something evil about your brother or sister, even if it is true, your Soul suffers an unhealable wound. You can reveal the sins of another only when the sole intention in your heart is the benefit of the Soul of the sinner.”
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“We should not be despondent. In the sorrows we experience is concealed the Mercy of God. How the Lord arranges our life is incomprehensible for us.”
“If we will be with Christ and in Christ, then no kind of sorrow will confuse us; but joy will fill our hearts, so that – even in times of sorrow and temptations – we will rejoice.”
“A life without sorrows is a sign of God’s disapproval. We should not envy those who live without sorrows, for the end of their sorrowlessness is grievious.”
“We must not boldly throw ourselves into the abyss of sorrows; this would be prideful self-reliance. But when sorrows come of their own accord do not be afraid of them; do not think that they came by accident or circumstance. No, they are allowed by God’s unfathomable Providence.”
“The fruit of sorrows is in the purification of the Soul and its Spiritual state. It must be preserved.”
“There never was, and never will be a place on Earth free from sorrows. The only sorrow-less place possible is the heart, when the Lord is present there.”
“When you are in sorrows or despondency and heavy temptation has found you, keep repeating this: “O Lord spare, save, and have mercy on Thy slave!” and the sorrow will be eased.”
“In grief and temptation, the Lord helps us, but does not take them away from us, but gives us the strength to bear them and even not to notice them.”
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In the photos below you can see Saint Nikon’s half open mouth – he is Praying the Jesus Prayer.
“A place cannot save you. There is no place where you can flee from yourself.”
“Victory over the passions is accomplished through God’s power. Our feeble powers are not enough for this. We need to be humbly aware of this and with humility attract God’s mercy and help to ourselves.”
“Only one who guards himself from all sin can have sincere and fervent faith. Faith is only preserved in the presence of good morals.”
“Most of our sins happen because we forget the Commandments of God.”
“We must consider all evil things, even the passions which war against us, to be not our own, but of our enemy the devil. This is very important. You can only conquer a passion when you do not consider it as part of you.”
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“Patience is continuous good humour.”
“We shouldn’t be vainglorious about health, or beauty, or any other gifts of God… All that is Earthly is inconstant – both beauty and health. We have to thank the Lord – thank Him with humility, recognizing our unworthiness, and not be vainglorious about anything.”
“When you feel an aversion for people, or anger, or irritation against them, you have to Pray for them, regardless of whether they are guilty or not. Pray in the simplicity of your heart, as the Holy Fathers counsel: “Save O Lord and have mercy on Thy servant (name), and help me, a sinner, through his/her Holy Prayers!” The heart will become peaceful from this Prayer, although not always right away.”
“Do not give vent to your feelings. We must force ourselves to be friendly with those that we don’t like.”
“It is a mistake to seek after human truth – seek only God’s Truth.”
“I solemnly command you to live piously, in order that you might preserve your Orthodox Faith – in order that no one and nothing – under any circumstance, or any kind of sorrow – can turn you away from it. To achieve this, you absolutely must Pray – seeking God’s help to keep your Faith pure.”
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“Thank God! Thank God! Thank God for everything! From these wonderful, Holy words retreat gloomy thoughts, a burden. Peace, comfort, joy come to the Soul of a person. Thy Will be done, Lord! Thank God for everything!”
One day, Father Nikon saw Saint Macarius of Optina in a vision and told Sister Irene to pull up a chair for him. She was slow to obey him so he said, “Forgive her, Father, for she is not very experienced.”
