Sayings of the Optina elders, quotes about love. Diocesan Monastery in the Name of St.

Orthodox faith lamps,
monasticism and unshakable pillars,
Russian lands of consolation,
venerable elders of Optinstia,
having acquired the love of Christ and the soul
who considered their own for their children...

If you ever show mercy to anyone, you will receive mercy for that.

The Pharisee prayed and fasted more than we do, but without humility all his work was nothing, and therefore be most jealous of the publican’s humility, which is usually born from obedience and is sufficient for you.
Moreover, it was noted by the holy fathers that when a person prepares to receive the Holy Mysteries or expects to celebrate some holiday, the devil tries with all his might to annoy the person and thereby confuse his soul, so that that day would be spent not in joy in the Lord, but in demonic sorrow . The reasons for his attack on us are different, but the most important one is the condemnation of our neighbors, which sin, and in addition to fornication and other temptations, defiles not just the body, but also our very soul.
Peace of mind is acquired from complete devotion to the will of God, without which nothing would happen to us. And if your husband really was not good, then ask yourself in conscience before God: “Am I, a sinner, worthy of a good and kind husband?” And your conscience will certainly say that you are absolutely not worth anything good, and then in humility of heart, with submission to the will of God, you will love him from your heart and find a lot of good things that you have not seen before.

One passion reproaches another: where there is self-love, there the love of money gives way, and vice versa happens. And we know that all vices sometimes leave a person, but one remains with him - pride, which is content to replace the others.
But we should not dare to accuse someone who insults us, even if the insult may seem wrong, but consider him an instrument of God’s Providence, sent to show us our dispensation.
And no one can offend us or annoy us, unless the Lord allows this to be for our benefit, or for punishment, or for testing and correction.

If you pacify your own heart towards someone who is angry with you, then the Lord will tell his heart to be reconciled with you.
Every task must begin by invoking the name of God for help.

If you want to have love, then do things of love, even without love at first.
We must live on earth the way a wheel turns: only one point touches the ground, and the rest constantly strives upward; And as soon as we lie down on the ground, we can’t get up.
Living simpler is best. Don't break your head. Pray to God. The Lord will arrange everything, just live easier. Don't torture yourself thinking about how and what to do. Let it be - as it happens: this is living easier.
The asked cross is difficult to bear, but it is better to simply surrender to the will of God.
Anyone who has a bad heart should not despair, because with God's help a person can correct his heart. You just need to carefully monitor yourself and not miss the opportunity to be useful to your neighbors, often open up to the elder and give alms within your power. This, of course, cannot be done suddenly, but the Lord is patient. He only ends a person’s life when he sees him ready for the transition to eternity or when he sees no hope for his correction.
Before the judgment of God, it is not the characters that matter, but the direction of the will. Know that characters matter only in human judgment and therefore are either praised or blamed; but at the judgment of God, characters, as natural properties, are neither approved nor condemned. The Lord looks at good intentions and compulsion to do good and values resistance to passions, even if a person is sometimes overcome by weakness. And again, there is only One who judges negligence in this regard, knowing the secret heart and conscience of a person, and his natural power for good, and the circumstances surrounding him.

If you see a mistake in your neighbor that you would like to correct, if it disturbs your peace of mind and irritates you, then you also sin and, therefore, you will not correct the mistake with an error - it is corrected with meekness.
And it is useful for us when we are pushed. The tree that is swayed more by the wind is strengthened by its roots, but the tree that is in silence immediately falls.
How circumstances have worked out is how we should live, because the circumstances around us are arranged not just by chance, as many of our modern, new-fangled wise men think, but everything is done to us by the Providence of God, constantly caring for our spiritual salvation.
We ourselves increase our sorrows when we begin to grumble.
Have what you need and need, but don’t collect what is superfluous, and if you don’t have and you grieve, then what’s the point? - Better stay in the middle.
What works most powerfully in a person is contradiction. At will, a person will sometimes do something difficult, but if you tell him something easy to do, he will immediately become upset. And we must obey.
Just as one should not seek honor, so those living in society should not renounce it for the benefit of others. The honor imposed is also from God.
To everyone, that act of his neighbor seems great, which exposes him to something.

Let us humble ourselves, and the Lord will cover us, and we will be holy. Until we humble ourselves and appease God, even if we break our foreheads on the floor with bows, our passions will not subside.
Be patient with everything - you will be peaceful yourself, and you will bring peace to others! And if you start to reckon with it, you will lose the world, and with it, salvation.
I’m telling you a secret, I’m telling you the best way to find humility. This is what it is: endure any pain that pricks a proud heart.
Without winter there would be no spring, without spring there would be no summer. So it is in spiritual life: a little consolation, and then a little sorrow - and so little by little the path of salvation is formed.
Let us accept everything from the hand of God. If it consoles us, we will thank you. And if it doesn’t console you, let us thank you.
Learn to be meek and silent, and you will be loved by everyone. And open feelings are the same as open gates: both the dog and the cat run there... and they shit.
We are obliged to love everyone, but we do not dare demand that they love us.

A sure sign of the death of the soul is avoidance of church services. A person who grows cold towards God first of all begins to avoid going to church, first tries to come to the service later, and then completely stops visiting the temple of God.
The Lord puts each soul in such a position, surrounds it with such an environment that is most conducive to its prosperity.
Our whole life is the great mystery of God. All circumstances of life, no matter how insignificant they may seem, are of great importance. We will fully understand the meaning of real life in the next century. How carefully we need to treat it, but we turn over our life, like a book, sheet by sheet, without realizing what is written there. There is no accident in life, everything happens according to the will of the Creator.
We must remember that the Lord loves everyone and cares about everyone, but if, humanly speaking, it is dangerous to give a beggar a million so as not to ruin him, and 100 rubles can more easily put him on his feet, then all the more the Omniscient Lord knows better who gets what for good.
The most difficult thing is prayer. Every virtue from practice turns into a habit, and in prayer you need compulsion until death. Our old man resists it, and the enemy especially rises up against the one who prays.
I hear complaints that we are now going through difficult times, that complete freedom has now been given to all heretical and godless teachings, that the Church is being attacked from all sides by enemies and it is becoming scary for it, that these muddy waves of unbelief and heresies will overcome it. I always answer: “Don't worry! Don't be afraid for the Church! She will not perish: the gates of hell will not prevail against her until the Last Judgment. Don’t be afraid for her, but you need to be afraid for yourself, and it’s true that our time is very difficult. From what? Yes, because now it is especially easy to fall away from Christ, and then - destruction.”

They say the temple is boring. Boring because they don't understand the service! Services need to be learned! Boring because they don't care about him. So he seems not one of us, but a stranger. At least they brought flowers or greenery for decoration, if they took part in the efforts of decorating the temple - it wouldn’t be boring.
Live simply, according to your conscience, always remember that the Lord sees, and don’t pay attention to the rest!

The main thing is to beware of judgment from loved ones. Whenever condemnation comes to mind, immediately pay attention: “Lord, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother.”
You cannot demand from a fly that it do the work of a bee - each person must be given according to his standards. It can't be the same for everyone.

There has never been, is not and never will be a carefree place on earth. A sad place can only be in the heart when the Lord is in it.
You should not seek human truth. Seek only God's truth.
Always remember the law of spiritual life: if you are embarrassed by any shortcoming of another person and condemn him, later you will suffer the same fate and you will suffer from the same shortcoming.
Do every task, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you, carefully, as if before the face of God. Remember that the Lord sees everything.

Our reverend fathers, the elders of Optina, pray to God for us!

In this article you will find advice from the Optina elders for Christians living in the world. For convenience, we have structured them point by point.

Try to pay more attention to yourself, and not to analyze the deeds, actions and appeals of others to you, but if you do not see love in them, then this is because you yourself do not have love in yourself.
Where there is humility, there is simplicity, and this branch of God does not experience the destinies of God.
God does not despise prayers, but sometimes He does not fulfill their desires solely in order to arrange everything better according to His Divine intention. What would happen if God, the Omniscient, completely fulfilled our desires? I think, although I do not claim, that all earthly creatures perished.
Those who live without attention to themselves will never receive a visit from grace.
When you don’t have peace of mind, know that you don’t have humility in yourself. The Lord revealed this in the following words, which at the same time show where to look for peace. He said: Learn from Me that I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:29).

If you ever show mercy to anyone, you will receive mercy for that.
If you suffer with the sufferer (not much, it seems) - you are counted among the martyrs.
If you forgive the offender, and for this not only will all your sins be forgiven, but you will become a daughter of the Heavenly Father.
If you pray from your heart for salvation, even if it’s a little, you will be saved.
If you reproach yourself, accuse and condemn yourself before God for the sins you feel in your conscience, then you will be justified.
If you confess your sins before God, for this you will be forgiven and rewarded.
If you grieve over your sins, or are touched, or shed a tear, or sigh, your sighing will not be hidden from Him: “It is not hidden from Him,” says St. Simeon, - a tear drop, there is a certain part below the drop.” And St. Chrysostom says: “If you complain about your sins, He will accept your salvation as guilt.”
Check yourself every day: what did you sow for the next century, wheat or thorns? Having tested yourself, be prepared to do better the next day and spend your whole life in this way. If the present day was spent poorly, so that you did not offer a decent prayer to God, nor were you contrite in heart even once, nor humbled in thought, nor gave alms or alms to anyone, nor forgave the guilty, nor endured insults, but on the contrary, did not abstain out of anger, did not abstain in words, food, drink, or immersed your mind in unclean thoughts, having considered all this according to your conscience, judge yourself and trust yourself the next day to be more attentive in good and more careful in evil.

To your question, what does a happy life consist of, in splendor, fame and wealth, or in a quiet, peaceful, family life, I will say that I agree with the latter, and will also add: a life lived with an impeccable conscience and humility brings world. peace and true happiness. But wealth, honor, glory and high dignity are often the cause of many sins, and this happiness is unreliable.
People for the most part desire and seek prosperity in this life, and try to avoid sorrow. And it seems that this is very good and pleasant, but constant prosperity and happiness harms a person. He falls into various passions and sins and angers the Lord, and those who go through a sorrowful life come closer to the Lord and more easily receive salvation, which is why the Lord called the joyful life a long path: the wide gate and the wide path lead to destruction and many are those who walk through it(Matthew 7:13), and called the sorrowful life: the narrow path and the strait gate lead into the eternal belly, and there are few of them who find it(Matt. 7:14). So, out of His love for us, the Lord, foreseeing possible benefit for those who are worthy of it, leads many from the long path, and places them on a narrow and regrettable path, so that through the patience of illnesses and sorrows they can arrange their salvation and grant them eternal life.
...You want not only to be good and have nothing bad, but also to see yourself as such. Desire is commendable, but to see one’s good qualities is already food for self-love. Yes, even if we did everything we did, we should all consider ourselves to be perfect slaves, but we, even though we are faulty in everything, do not think of ourselves as such, and therefore we are embarrassed, instead of reconciling ourselves. That is why God does not give us strength to fulfill, so that we would not be exalted, but would humble ourselves and acquire the guarantee of humility. And when we have it, then our virtues will be strong and it will not allow us to ascend.
We, weak-minded people, thinking of arranging our condition, become sad, fuss, deprive ourselves of peace, and fulfill the abandonment of the duty of faith behind vanities, in order to leave a good estate for our children. But do we know whether it will benefit them? Don’t we see children left with wealth, but wealth is of no help to a stupid son - and it only served as a reason for them to have bad morals. We must strive to leave our children a good example of our lives and raise them in the fear of God and in His commandments; this is their main wealth. When will we search the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, then what is here and everything we need will be added to us(Matt. 6:33). You will say: this cannot be done; Today the world demands not this, but something else! Fine; but did you give birth to children only for the light, and not for the hereafter? Comfort yourself with the word of God: If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before you(John 15, 18), and carnal wisdom - enmity against God: 6o does not submit to the law of God, lower than he can(Rom. 8:7). Do not want your children to be from the glorious people of the world, but to have good people, obedient children, and when God arranges it, good spouses, gentle parents, caring for those under their control, loving towards everyone and lenient towards their enemies.
...You have a desire to bring yourself closer to God and receive salvation. This is the entire duty of every Christian, but this is accomplished through the fulfillment of God’s commandments, which all consist of love for God and neighbor and extend to the falling in love of enemies. Read the Gospel, there you will find the way, the truth and life, preserve the Orthodox faith and the statutes of the Holy Church, study in the writings of church pastors and teachers and adapt your life to their teachings. But prayer rules alone cannot bring us any benefit... I advise you to try as much as possible to pay your attention to deeds of love for your neighbors: in relation to your mother, wife and children, taking care of raising them in the Orthodox faith and good morality, to the people subordinate to you and to everyone neighbors. St. Apostle Paul, counting different types of virtues and feats of self-sacrifice, says: “Even if I do this and that, I am not an imam of love, there is no benefit to me.”

Many painters depict Christ in icons, but few catch the resemblance. Thus, Christians are animated images of Christ, and whoever is meek, humble in heart and obedient is the one most like Christ.
One must beware of murmuring against God and fear it as if it were death, for the Lord is God. according to His great mercy. He patiently endures all our sins, but His mercy cannot bear our grumbling.
Do not impose any vows or rules on yourself without the approval of your spiritual father, with whose advice one bow will bring you more benefit than a thousand self-made bows.
The Pharisee prayed and fasted more than we do, but without humility all his work was nothing, and therefore be most jealous of the publican’s humility, which is usually born from obedience and is sufficient for you.
In any grief: in sickness, in poverty, in cramped conditions, in bewilderment, and in all troubles - it is better to think and talk less with oneself, and more often with prayer, albeit short, turn to Christ God and to His Most Pure Mother , through which the spirit of bitter despondency will flee, and the heart will be filled with hope in God and joy.
Meekness and humility of heart are virtues without which it is impossible not only to explore the Kingdom of Heaven, but also to be happy on earth or to feel peace of mind within oneself.
Let us learn to mentally reproach and condemn ourselves for everything, and not others, for the more humble, the more profitable; God loves the humble and pours out His grace on them.
Whatever grief befalls you, whatever trouble happens to you, say: “I will endure this for Jesus Christ!” Just say this and it will be easier for you. For the name of Jesus Christ is powerful. With him, all troubles subside, demons disappear. Your annoyance will also subside, your cowardice will also calm down when you repeat His sweetest name. Lord, let me see my sins; Lord, give me patience, generosity and meekness.

Do not be ashamed to bare your scabs to your spiritual mentor and be ready to accept shame and shame from him for your sins, so that through him you can avoid eternal shame..
The church is for us the earthly heaven, where God Himself is invisibly present and watches over those who are present, therefore in the church one should stand in order, with great reverence. Let us love the Church and be zealous for her; She is our joy and consolation in sorrows and joys.
To encourage the mourners, the elder often said: If the Lord is for us, who is for us?(Rom. 8:31).
Every task must be started by invoking the name of God for help.
The elder often spoke about maintaining conscience, about carefully observing one’s thoughts, actions and words, and about repenting for them.
He taught to bear the weaknesses and shortcomings of his subordinates complacently. “Make comments,” the elder instructed, “without giving food to your own pride, considering whether you yourself could bear what you demand from another.”
If you feel like anger has taken over you. remain silent and do not say anything until your heart is calmed by unceasing prayer and self-reproach.
It is more beneficial for the soul to recognize oneself as guilty of everything and the last of all, than to resort to self-justification, which comes from pride, and God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
The elder often cited the apostle’s saying: “True love is not irritated, does not think evil, and never falls away.”

If we abandon our desires and understandings and strive to fulfill the desires and understandings of God, then we will be saved in every place and in every state. And if we adhere to our desires and understandings, then no place, no state will help us. Even in paradise, Eve transgressed the commandment of God, and for the unfortunate Judas, life under the Savior himself did not bring any benefit. Everywhere patience and compulsion to a pious life are needed, as we read in the Holy Gospel.
... In vain we will accuse that those who live with us and those around us interfere and hinder our salvation or spiritual perfection ... our mental and spiritual unsatisfactoriness comes from ourselves, from our lack of art and from an incorrectly formed opinion, which we do not want to part with. And it is this that brings upon us confusion, doubt, and various bewilderments; and all this torments us and burdens us, and leads us to a desolate state. It would be good if we could understand the simple patristic word: If we reconcile ourselves, then we will find peace in every place, without bypassing with our minds many other places where the same, if not worse, may happen to us.
The main means to salvation is to endure many different sorrows, whichever is suitable for whom, according to what was said in the “Acts of the Apostles”: “Through many sorrows it is fitting for us to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven”...
Anyone who wants to be saved must remember and not forget the apostolic commandment: “bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the Law of Christ.” There are many other commandments, but not a single one has such an addition, that is, “so fulfill the Law of Christ.” This commandment is of great importance, and before others we must take care of its fulfillment.
...Many wish for a good spiritual life in the simplest form, but only a few and rare actually fulfill their good wishes - namely those who firmly adhere to the words of the Holy Scriptures, that “through many tribulations it is fitting for us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven,” and, calling God's help, they try to meekly endure the sorrows and illnesses and various inconveniences that befall them, always keeping in mind the words of the Lord Himself: “If you want to be taken into your stomach, keep the commandments.”
And the main commandments of the Lord: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, lest you be condemned; release and it will be forgiven to you.” In addition, those who wish to be saved should always keep in mind the words of St. Peter of Damascus, that creation is accomplished between fear and hope.
The work of our salvation requires, in every place, wherever a person lives, the fulfillment of God’s commandments and submission to the will of God. This is the only way to gain peace of mind, and nothing else, as it is said in the psalms: “There is peace for many who love Your law, and there is no temptation for them.” And you are still looking for inner peace and peace of mind from external circumstances. Everything seems to you that you live in the wrong place, that you have settled with the wrong people, that you yourself have made the wrong decisions, and that others seem to have acted in the wrong way. The Holy Scripture says: “His dominion is in every place,” that is, God’s, and that for God the salvation of one Christian soul is more valuable than all the things of the whole world.
The Lord is ready to help a person acquire humility, as in all good things, but it is necessary for the person himself to take care of himself. Said by St. Fathers: “Give blood and receive spirit.” This means - work until blood is shed and you will receive a spiritual gift. And you are looking for spiritual gifts and asking, but you are sorry to shed blood, that is, you want everything so that no one touches you, does not bother you. Is it possible to acquire humility in a quiet life? After all, humility consists in when a person sees himself as the worst of all, not only people, but also dumb animals and even the spirits of evil themselves. And so, when people disturb you, you see that you cannot tolerate this and are angry with people, then you will inevitably consider yourself bad... If at the same time you regret your badness and reproach yourself for the malfunction, and sincerely repent of this before God and the spiritual father, then you are already on the path of humility... And if no one touched you, and you remained alone, how could you recognize your thinness? How could you see your vices?.. If they try to humiliate you, it means they want to humble you; and you yourself ask God for humility. Why then grieve for people?
To the question: “How to pay attention to yourself, where to start?”, the following answer followed: “You must first write down: how you go to church, how you stand, how you look, how proud you are, how vain you are, how angry you are, etc.”
Anyone who has a bad heart should not despair, because with God's help a person can correct his heart. You just need to carefully monitor yourself and not miss the opportunity to be useful to your neighbors, often open up to the elder and give alms within your power. This, of course, cannot be done suddenly, but the Lord endures for a long time. He only ends a person’s life when he sees him ready for the transition to eternity or when he sees no hope for his correction.
Teaching that in spiritual life one cannot neglect even unimportant circumstances, the elder sometimes said: “Moscow burned down from a penny candle.”
Regarding judging and noticing other people’s sins and shortcomings, the priest said: “You need to pay attention to your inner life so as not to notice what is happening around you. Then you won’t judge.”
Pointing out that a person has nothing to be proud of, the elder added: “And why should a person really be proud here? The ragged, plucked man asks for alms: have mercy, have mercy! But whether mercy will come, who knows.”
When pride attacks, tell yourself: “There’s a weirdo walking around.”
They asked the priest: “So-and-so doesn’t die for a long time, she always imagines cats and so on. Why is that?" Answer: “Every sin, no matter how small, must be written down as soon as you remember it, and then repented. That’s why some people don’t die for a long time, because some unrepentant sin is holding them back, but as soon as they repent, they are relieved... You definitely need to write down your sins as soon as you remember, otherwise we put it off: sometimes the sin is small, then it’s a shame to say it, or I’ll say it later, but we’ll come to repent and there’s nothing to do say".
Three rings cling to each other: hatred from anger, anger from pride.
“Why do people sin?” - the elder sometimes asked a question and answered it himself: “Or because they don’t know what to do and what to avoid; or, if they know, they forget; if they don’t forget, then they become lazy and despondent... These are three giants - despondency or laziness, oblivion and ignorance - from which the entire human race is bound by insoluble ties. And then comes negligence with all its host of evil passions. That is why we pray to the Queen of Heaven: “My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, with Your holy and all-powerful prayers, drive away from me, Your humble and accursed servant, despondency, oblivion, foolishness, negligence and all the nasty, evil and blasphemous thoughts.”
Don’t be like a bothersome fly, which sometimes flies around uselessly, and sometimes bites, and annoys both of them; and be like the wise bee, which in the spring diligently began its work and by autumn finished the honeycomb, which is as good as correctly written notes. One is sweet, and the other is pleasant.
When they wrote to the elder that it was hard in the world, he replied: “That is why it (the earth) is called the vale of tears; but some people cry, and others jump, but the latter will not feel well.”
To the question: “What does it mean to live according to your heart?”, the priest answered: “Do not interfere in other people’s affairs and see all the good in others.”
Father said: “We must live on earth as a wheel turns, only just one point touches the ground, and the rest constantly strives upward; but we, as soon as we lie down on the ground, cannot get up.”
To the question: “How to live?”, the priest answered: “To live is not to bother, not to judge anyone, not to annoy anyone, and my respect to everyone.”
We need to live unhypocritically and behave exemplarily, then our cause will be true, otherwise it will turn out badly.
You need to force yourself, albeit against your will, to do some good to your enemies; and most importantly, do not take revenge on them and be careful not to somehow offend them with the appearance of contempt and humiliation.
So that people would not remain careless and would not place their hope in outside prayerful help, the elder repeated the usual folk saying: “God help me, and the man himself does not lie.” And he added: “Remember, the twelve apostles asked the Savior for a Canaanite wife, but He did not hear them; and she began to ask and begged.”
Father taught that salvation has three degrees. Said by St. John Chrysostom:

a) do not sin,
b) having sinned. repent,
c) whoever repents poorly must endure the sorrows that come.

Once we started talking about sorrows, one of them said: “Better illness than sorrow.” Father answered: “No. in sorrows, you will pray to God and they will go away, but you cannot fight off the disease with a stick.”
When the blues come, don’t forget to reproach yourself: remember how much you are guilty before the Lord and before yourself, and realize that you are unworthy of anything better, and you will immediately feel relief. It is said: “Many are the sorrows of the righteous,” and “Many are the wounds of sinners.” Such is our life here - all sorrows and sorrows; and it is through them that the Kingdom of Heaven is achieved. When you are restless, repeat more often: “Seek peace and get married.”
After communion, one must ask the Lord to preserve the gift with dignity and that the Lord will give help not to return back, that is, to previous sins.
When the priest was asked: “Why do you sometimes feel consolation after communion, and sometimes coldness?”, he answered: “He who seeks consolation from communion experiences coldness, but whoever considers himself unworthy, grace remains with him.”
Humility is about giving in to others and considering yourself inferior to everyone else. It will be much more peaceful.
“It’s always better to give in,” said the priest, “if you insist fairly, it’s the same as a ruble of banknotes, and if you give in, it’s a ruble in silver.”
To the question “How to acquire the fear of God?”, the priest answered: “You must always have God before you. I will foresee the Lord before me.”
When people annoy you, never ask “why” or “why.” This is not found anywhere in Scripture. It says on the contrary: “they will hit you on your right cheek, turn your left also,” and this is what it means: if they beat you for telling the truth, then do not complain and turn your left, that is, remember your wrong deeds and you will see that you are worthy of punishment. At the same time, the priest added: “I have endured the Lord, and have heeded me.”
“Father! teach me patience.” - said one sister. “Learn,” the elder answered, “and start with patience when you find and encounter troubles.” “I can’t understand how you can not be indignant at insults and injustices.” The elder’s answer: “Be fair yourself and do not offend anyone.”
Father used to say: “Moses endured, Elisha endured, Elijah endured, and I will endure.”
The elder often cited a proverb: “If you run from a wolf, you will attack a bear.” There is only one thing left to do - be patient and wait, paying attention to yourself and not judging others, and praying to the Lord and the Queen of Heaven, may He arrange for you what is beneficial, as They please.

WITH advice of St. Anatoly (Zertsalov)

It’s obvious that you are trying and want to be saved, but you just don’t know how, you don’t understand spiritual life. The whole secret here is to endure what God sends. And you will not see how you enter heaven.
Consider yourself worse than everyone else, and you will be better than everyone else.
...Your patience should not be unreasonable, that is, joyless, but patience with reason - that the Lord looks into all your deeds, into your very soul, as we look into the face of a loved one... He sees and tests: what kind of person will you find yourself in sorrows? If you endure, you will be His beloved. And if you do not endure and grumble, but repent, you will still be His beloved.
Every prayer to God is profitable. And which one exactly - we don’t know. He is the One righteous Judge, and we can recognize lies as truth. Pray and believe.
...I’ll tell you a secret, I’m telling you the best way to find humility. This is what it is: every pain that pricks a proud heart, be patient. And wait day and night for mercy from the All-Merciful Savior. Those who wait so much will certainly receive it.
Learn to be meek and silent, and you will be loved by everyone. And open feelings are the same as open gates: both the dog and the cat run there... and they shit.
We are obliged to love everyone but to be loved, we do not dare demand.

Sorrow is our path, we will go on until we reach our assigned fatherland of eternity, but only grief is that we care little about eternity and do not tolerate even the slightest reproach in a word. We ourselves increase our sorrows when we begin to grumble.
He who has conquered passions and acquired spiritual intelligence has access to everyone’s heart without external education.
An imposed rule is always difficult, but doing it with humility is even more difficult.
What is acquired through labor is useful.
If you see a mistake in your neighbor that you would like to correct, if it disturbs your peace of mind and irritates you, then you also sin and, therefore, you will not correct the mistake with an error - it is corrected with meekness.
A person's conscience is like an alarm clock. If the alarm clock rang, and knowing that you need to go to obedience, you get up right away, then you will always hear it afterwards, and if you don’t get up immediately for several days in a row, saying: “I’ll lie down a little more,” then eventually you will wake up from its ringing you will not.
What is easy for the body is not good for the soul, and what is good for the soul is difficult for the body.
You ask: “What can I do to consider myself as nothing?” Thoughts of arrogance come, and it is impossible for them not to come. But they must be countered with thoughts of humility. As you do, remembering your sins and various shortcomings. Continue to do so and always remember that our entire earthly life must be spent in the fight against evil. In addition to considering your shortcomings, you can also be humble in this way: “I have nothing good... My body is not mine, it was created by God in my mother’s womb. The soul was given to me from the Lord. Therefore, all mental and physical abilities are gifts of God. And my property is only my countless sins, with which I have daily angered and anger the Merciful Lord. What should I be vain and proud of after this? Nothing.” And with such reflections, prayerfully ask for mercy from the Lord. In all sinful endeavors there is only one cure - sincere repentance and humility.
There are many who cry, but not for what is needed, many who mourn, but not for sins, many who seem to be humble, but not truly. The example of the Lord Jesus Christ shows us with what meekness and patience we must endure human errors.

There are different paths to salvation. The Lord saves some in the monastery, others in the world. Saint Nicholas of Myra went into the desert to labor there in fasting and prayer, but the Lord ordered him to go into the world. “This is not the field in which you will bear fruit for Me,” said the Savior. Saints Taisia, Mary of Egypt, and Evdokia also did not live in monasteries. You can be saved everywhere, just don’t leave the Savior. Cling to the robe of Christ - and Christ will not leave you.
A sure sign of the death of the soul is avoidance of church services. A person who grows cold towards God first of all begins to avoid going to church, first tries to come to the service later, and then completely stops visiting the temple of God.
Those who seek Christ find Him, according to the true gospel word: “Press and it will be opened to you, seek and you will find,” “In the house of My Father are many mansions.”
And note that here the Lord speaks not only about heavenly, but also earthly abodes, and not only about internal, but also about external.
The Lord puts each soul in such a position, surrounds it with such an environment that is most conducive to its prosperity. This is the outer abode, but the inner abode that the Lord prepares for those who love and seek Him fills the soul with peace and joy.
Do not read godless books, remain faithful to Christ. If asked about faith, answer boldly. “You seem to go to church often?” - “Yes, because I find satisfaction in it.” - “Do you really want to be a saint?” - “Everyone wants this, but it does not depend on us, but on the Lord.” This way you will repel the enemy.
You cannot learn to fulfill God’s commandments without labor, and this labor is threefold - prayer, fasting and sobriety.
I hear complaints that we are now going through difficult times, that complete freedom has now been given to all heretical and godless teachings, that the Church is being attacked from all sides by enemies and it is becoming scary for it, that these muddy waves of unbelief and heresies will overcome it. I always answer: “Don't worry! Don't be afraid for the Church! She will not perish: the gates of hell will not prevail against her until the Last Judgment. Don’t be afraid for her, but you need to be afraid for yourself, and it’s true that our time is very difficult. From what? Yes, because now it is especially easy to fall away from Christ, and then - destruction.”
Something dark and terrible is coming into the world... A person remains, as it were, defenseless, he is so possessed by this evil force, and he does not realize what he is doing... Suicide is even suggested... Why is this happening? Because they don’t take up arms - they don’t have the name of Jesus and the sign of the cross with them.
Life is bliss... Life will become bliss for us when we learn to fulfill the commandments of Christ and love Christ. Then we will live joyfully, joyfully endure the sorrows that come our way, and ahead of us the Sun of Truth, the Lord, will shine with indescribable light... All the Gospel commandments begin with the words: Blessed - blessed are the meek, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the peacemakers... From this it follows as a truth that fulfilling the commandments brings people the highest happiness.
Our whole life is the great mystery of God. All circumstances of life, no matter how insignificant they may seem, are of great importance. We will fully understand the meaning of real life in the next century. How carefully we need to treat it, but we turn over our lives like a book - sheet by sheet, without realizing what is written there. There is no chance in life, everything happens according to the will of the Creator.
In order to become like God, we must fulfill His holy commandments, and if we look at it, it turns out that we have not truly fulfilled a single one. Let's go through them all, and it turns out that we barely touched on that commandment, another, perhaps, we also just began to fulfill a little, and, for example, we did not even begin to the commandment about love for enemies. What remains for us sinners to do? How to escape? The only way is through humility. “Lord, I am a sinner in everything, I have nothing good, I only hope for Your boundless mercy.” We are absolute bankrupts before the Lord, but He will not reject us for humility. And indeed, it is better, having sins, to consider oneself great sinners, than, having some good deeds, to be proud of them, considering oneself righteous. The Gospel depicts two such examples in the person of the Pharisee and the tax collector.
We live in terrible times. People who profess Jesus Christ and attend the temple of God are subjected to ridicule and condemnation. These ridicule will turn into open persecution, and do not think that this will happen in a thousand years, no, it will come soon. I won't live to see it, but some of you will see it. And torture and torment will begin again, but good for those who remain faithful to Christ God.

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble, and the grace of God is everything... There you have the greatest wisdom. So, humble yourself and say to yourself: “Although I am a grain of sand on the earth, the Lord also cares about me, and may God’s will be done to me.” Now, if you say this not only with your mind, but also with your heart, and really boldly, as befits a true Christian, you rely on the Lord, with the firm intention of meekly submitting to the will of God, whatever it may be, then the clouds will dissipate before you, and the sun will come out and will illuminate you and warm you, and you will know true joy from the Lord, and everything will seem clear and transparent to you, and you will stop tormenting, and your soul will feel at ease.”
So you are asking the fastest way to humility. Of course, first of all, we must recognize ourselves as the weakest worm, unable to do anything good without the gift of the Holy Spirit from our Lord Jesus Christ, given through the prayer of ours and our neighbors and by His mercy...
They say the temple is boring. Boring because they don't understand the service! Need to study! He's boring because they don't care about him. So he seems not one of us, but a stranger. At least they brought flowers or greenery for decoration, if they took part in the efforts of decorating the temple - it wouldn’t be boring.
Live simply, according to your conscience, always remember that the Lord sees, and don’t pay attention to the rest!

Prophecy about the fate of Russia

There will be a storm, and the Russian ship will be destroyed. Yes, it will happen, but people also save themselves on chips and debris. Not everyone, not everyone will perish... God will not forsake those who trust in Him. We must pray, we must all repent and pray fervently... And there will be calm (after the storm)... a great miracle of God will be revealed, yes. And all the chips and fragments, by the will of God and His power, will gather and unite, and the ship will be recreated in its beauty and will go on its course, intended by God. So it will be, a miracle revealed to everyone.

Job's position is a law for every person. While he is rich, noble, and prosperous. God doesn't respond. When a person is in the pit, rejected by everyone, then God appears and Himself talks with the person, and the person only listens and cries out: “Lord, have mercy!” Only the degree of humiliation is different.
The main thing is to beware of judgment from loved ones. Whenever condemnation comes to mind, immediately pay attention: “Lord, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother.”
He spoke about the high gradualism of the spiritual path, that “everything requires compulsion. Now, if dinner is served, and you want to eat and smell a delicious smell, the spoon itself will not bring you the food. You need to force yourself to get up, come over, take a spoon and then eat. And nothing is done right away - waiting and patience are required everywhere.”
Man is given life so that it serves him, not he, that is, man should not become a slave to his circumstances, should not sacrifice his inner to the outer. In serving life, a person loses proportionality, works without prudence and comes into very sad bewilderment; he doesn’t even know why he lives. This is a very harmful bewilderment and often happens: a person, like a horse, is lucky and lucky, and suddenly such ... spontaneous punctuation comes over him.”
He asks which way to go to God. Walk the path of humility! By humbly bearing the difficult circumstances of life, by humble patience with illnesses sent by the Lord; humble hope that you will not be abandoned by the Lord, the Quick Helper and loving Heavenly Father; a humble prayer for help from above, for driving away despondency and feelings of hopelessness, with which the enemy of salvation tries to lead to despair, disastrous for a person, depriving him of grace and removing God’s mercy from him.
The meaning of Christian life, according to the words of the holy Apostle Paul, who wrote to the Corinthians: “... glorify God both in your bodies and in your souls, which are God’s.” So, having inscribed these holy words in our souls and hearts, we should take care that our disposition and actions in life serve the glory of God and the edification of our neighbors.

Let the prayer rule be small, but fulfilled constantly and carefully...
Let us take as an example a saint suitable for our situation, and we will rely on his example. All the saints suffered because they followed the path of the Savior, Who suffered: was persecuted, mocked, slandered and crucified. And all who follow Him inevitably suffer. “You will be in a world of sorrow.” And everyone who wants to live piously will be persecuted. “When you begin to work for the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation.” In order to endure suffering more easily, one must have strong faith, ardent love for the Lord, not become attached to anything earthly, and completely surrender to the will of God.
Those who blaspheme must be looked at as sick people from whom we demand that they not cough or spit...
If it is not possible to fulfill the vow of obedience, there is no one to obey, one must be willing to do everything according to the will of God. There are two types of obedience: external and internal.
With external obedience, complete obedience is required, the execution of every task without reasoning. Inner obedience refers to the inner, spiritual life and requires the guidance of a spiritual father. But the advice of a spiritual father should be verified by the Holy Scriptures... True obedience, which brings great benefit to the soul, is when, for obedience, you do something that does not agree with your desire, despite yourself. Then the Lord Himself takes you in His arms...
The Lord created doctors and medicine. You can't refuse treatment.
When you are weak and tired, you can sit in church: “Son, give Me your heart.” “It is better to think about God while sitting than to think about your feet while standing,” said St. Philaret of Moscow.
There is no need to give vent to your feelings. We must force ourselves to be friendly with those we don’t like.
You shouldn't believe omens. There are no signs. The Lord controls us by His Providence, and I do not depend on any bird or day, or anything else. Whoever believes in prejudices has a heavy heart, and whoever considers himself dependent on the Providence of God, on the contrary, has a joyful soul.
The “Jesus Prayer” will replace the sign of the cross if for some reason it cannot be placed.
You cannot work on holidays unless absolutely necessary. The holiday should be cherished and honored. This day should be dedicated to God: be in church, pray at home and read the Holy Scriptures and the works of St. fathers, do good deeds.
We must love every person, seeing in him the image of God, despite his vices. You can’t push people away from you with coldness.
What is better: to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ rarely or often? - it’s hard to say. Zacchaeus joyfully accepted the dear Guest - the Lord - into his home, and did well. But the centurion, out of humility, realizing his own unworthiness, did not dare to accept, and also did well. Their actions, although opposite, have the same motivation. And they appeared before the Lord as equally worthy. The point is to adequately prepare yourself for the great Sacrament.
When they asked St. Seraphim why at present there are no such ascetics as there were before, he answered: “Because there is no determination to undergo great feats, but the grace is the same; Christ is the same forever.”
Persecution and oppression are useful to us, for they strengthen our faith.
We must consider everything bad, including the passions that fight us, not as our own, but as from the enemy - the devil. It is very important. Only then can you overcome passion when you don’t consider it yours...
If you want to get rid of sadness, do not attach your heart to anything or anyone. Sadness comes from attachment to visible things.
There has never been, is not and never will be a carefree place on earth. A sad place can only be in the heart when the Lord is in it.
The Lord helps us in sorrows and temptations. He does not free us from them, but gives us the strength to easily endure them, not even to notice them.
Silence prepares the soul for prayer. Silence, how beneficial it is to the soul!
We Orthodox Christians should not support heresy. Even if we had to suffer, we would not betray Orthodoxy.
You should not seek human truth. Seek only God's truth.
The spiritual father, like a pillar, only shows the way, but you have to go yourself. If the spiritual father points, and his disciple himself does not move, then he will not go anywhere, but will rot near this pillar.
When the priest, blessing, says the prayer: “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” then a mystery is accomplished: the grace of the Holy Spirit descends on the person being blessed. And when any person, even just with his lips, utters a renunciation of God, grace departs from him, all his concepts change, he becomes completely different.
Before asking the Lord for forgiveness, you must forgive yourself... This is what it says in the “Lord’s Prayer.”
Silence is good for the soul. When we speak, then it is difficult to resist. from idle talk and condemnation. But there is bad silence, it is when someone is angry and therefore remains silent.
Always remember the law of spiritual life: if you are embarrassed by any shortcoming of another person and condemn him, later you will suffer the same fate and you will suffer from the same shortcoming.
Do not apply your hearts to the vanity of this world. Especially during prayer, leave all thoughts about worldly things. After prayer, at home or in church, in order to maintain a prayerful, tender mood, silence is necessary. Sometimes even a simple, insignificant word can disrupt and frighten away tenderness from our soul.
Self-justification closes spiritual eyes, and then a person sees something that is not what really is.
If you say something bad about your brother or sister, even if it is true, then you will inflict an incurable wound on your soul. You can convey the mistakes of another only if the only intention in your heart is the benefit of the soul of the sinner.
Patience is uninterrupted complacency.
Your salvation and your destruction are in your neighbor. Your salvation depends on how you treat your neighbor. Do not forget to see the image of God in your neighbor.
Do every task, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you, carefully, as if before the face of God. Remember that the Lord sees everything.

Do not look for love in others for yourself, but look for it in yourself, not only for your neighbors, but also for your enemies (Reverend Macarius of Optina).

There is no higher virtue than love, and no worse vice and passion than hatred, which to those who do not pay attention seems unimportant, but in its spiritual significance is likened to murder (1 John 3:15)... Mercy and condescension towards others and forgiveness of their shortcomings there is the shortest path to salvation (Reverend Ambrose of Optina).

God sends mercy to those who work, and consolation to those who love (Reverend Ambrose of Optina).

If you love someone, then you humble yourself before him. Where there is love, there is humility, and where there is anger, there is pride. (and everyone must be loved, because every person is the image of God, even if he, that is, the image of God, is contaminated in a person, he can be washed and be clean again). I ask and wish that there be love between you (Reverend Nikon of Optina).

He who wants to acquire love must reject every evil and unpeaceful thought, not to mention deeds and words, must forgive everyone fair and unjust insults (Reverend Nikon of Optina).

Affection causes people to have completely different eyes (Reverend Ambrose of Optina).

The first Christians loved God, loved every person, because if you love the One who gave birth, then you love from Him, and every Christian was born from Him in the Sacrament of Baptism. The Holy Apostle said: Children, love one another (Cf. 1 John 3:18-19), humble yourself, humble yourself.

Love is not exactly greater than our prayer, but also above all sacrifices... (Reverend Anthony of Optina).

We must love every person, seeing in him the image of God, despite his vices. You cannot alienate people from yourself with coldness (Reverend Nikon of Optina).

Love covers everything. And if someone does good to his neighbors out of the desire of his heart, and not driven only by duty, then the devil cannot interfere with him, and where - only out of duty, there he still tries to interfere in one way or another (Venerable Ambrose of Optina).

If you accept people for God’s sake, then, believe me, everyone will be good to you (Reverend Ambrose of Optina).

Love, of course, is higher than everything. If you find that there is no love in you, but you want to have it, then do deeds of love, although at first without love. The Lord will see your desire and effort and put love in your heart. And most importantly, when you notice that you have sinned against love, immediately confess it to the elder. This can sometimes be from a bad heart, and sometimes from the enemy. You yourself cannot make out this, but when you confess, the enemy will leave (Reverend Ambrose of Optina).

If they don’t love you, you love them; the fact that they don’t love you does not depend on you, but loving them is your will and is your duty, for the Lord commanded: to love not those who love us, but our enemies (Matthew 5:44) , and when this is not in us, then how much more should we humble ourselves and drive away pride and pray to the Lord about this.

(Reverend Macarius of Optina).

Prayer of the Optina Elders

Lord, let me meet with peace of mind everything that the coming day will bring me.

Let me completely surrender to Your Holy will.

For every hour of this day, instruct and support me in everything.

Whatever news I receive during the day, teach me to accept it with a calm soul and a firm conviction that everything is Your holy will.

In all my words and deeds, guide my thoughts and feelings.

In all unforeseen cases, do not let me forget that everything was sent down by You.

Teach me to act directly and wisely with each member of my family, without confusing or upsetting anyone.

Lord, give me strength to endure the fatigue of the coming day and all the events during the day.

Guide my will and teach me to pray, believe, hope, endure, forgive and love.