Saturday, May 18, 2019

The hidden spiritual joy.
Abbot Nikon.


Abbot Nikon was born in Russia in 1894. He began to pursue his higher education in the field of medicine-psychiatry, but he became convinced that: true knowledge of man was possible only through knowledge of God. Discontinuing his studies, he began to lead a secluded life, devoting himself to the study of the Gos­pels and the Holy Fathers. Here at last he discovered the "one thing needful."
In 1931 he gave monastic vows, and within a year he was ordained hieromonk. A year later he was sentenced to four years in the Siberian camps. Towards the end of the war, with the re­opening of many churches, Fr. Nikon was assigned first to one parish then to another. Finally he was sent, as though exiled, to the small town of Gzhatsk, where he remained until his death in 1963.

Abbot Nikon.
How are you feeling?! Are you depressed?! We should not fall victim to despondency, grumbling about our illnesses and sor­rows, for God has established a law firmer than heaven and earth, that only through many trials is it possible to enter the Kingdom of God.
We have now come to such a period in the history of humanity when one is saved exclusively through enduring sor­rows without a murmur, with faith in God and hope in His mercy. Today there are no other paths by which to attain salvation. For our times one path alone is left to us: the patient endurance of sorrows. “Saint Isaac the Syrian” writes: "More precious to God than any prayer and sacrifice are sorrows endured because of Him and for His sake.
" We should accept every affliction without argument, with the thought of the wise thief that we receive these sorrows justly for our sins, for the cleansing and salvation of our souls. With this attitude every sorrow takes on the quality of sor­row for the Lord's sake, and our personal cross is transformed into the Cross of Christ, and through it we find salvation. If we suffer with Christ, we shall also reign with Him (II Tim. 2:12), says the Apostle Paul.
In moments of sorrow and despondency it is useful to re­member the advice of Saint Isaac the Syrian: "Always keep in re­membrance the most grievous sufferings endured by those in cruel circumstances of life (for example, in prisons, in exile, etc.), so that you can offer thanksgiving to God as is due for the small and insignificant sorrows which you find within yourself, and thereby be in a condition to bear them with joy."
I will sing the Lord’s great love forever,
  I will make your faithfulness
 known through all generations.(Ps89: 1)
In sorrows born with gladness and with thanks to the Lord, Who saves us through suffering, there is hidden a spiritual joy, the joy of rising from strength to strength in our spiritual life.
The more a person labors to cleanse himself of all sin by the purification of thoughts, feelings, sinful and even empty desires, the more he forces himself to constant, pure, mindful, heartfelt and reverent prayer, the weaker the sorrows become and the more easily he is able to endure them. This is because the purpose for which sorrows are sent and are needed is fulfilled in a differ­ent way, by a different path: the path of one's own effort, forcing oneself to follow the commandments with constant contrition of heart for not being able to fulfill them adequately. This "pain" of heart and the compelling of oneself to do good can take the place of afflictions and other means [to achieve salvation].
It is especial­ly important to watch yourself to see that you are gentle, kind to your neighbors. "Our salvation is with our neighbor," said Saint Poemen the Great. This means that if a person has the right atti­tude towards his neighbor (i.e., follows the holy commandment: Love thy neighbor as thyself), through this he will definitely find the strength to follow all the other commandments, including the most important one of all-the commandment of love towards God. One cannot love God if one has unkind feelings for even a single human being.
This is altogether understandable. Love and antipathy cannot abide together in one soul; it must be one or the other. If there is love for one's neighbor, it will give birth to love for God. Both are a mystery and are far from what we see in every day human relationships of fallen man. Only experience can show a man the depth of the commandments, to the extent that his soul is renewed through his fulfillment of them.
Strive toward salvation, do not despair, do not grumble, do not offend anyone with a harsh word.
Pray, and always try to keep before you the image of God.


Reference:
Letters to Spiritual Children. Abbot Nikon.(1997)