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.
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| 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."
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| 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)