78 – Hegumen Nikon Read in Minutes of Despondency

Temporal

 

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Letters to his spiritual children

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Translated from Russian
/click for Russian/

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78. 

 

78 – Hegumen Nikon 

 

... , Keep this letter and read in minutes of despondency. 

 

My dear ...! 

 

          I've received your letter, and I deeply sympathize with you. I have lots to tell you in response to your doubts and sorrows, but I'm not good at writing. You have chosen for yourself a path of life that is extremely difficult for our time, and if you endure to the end – it would not suffice to say that all your sorrows will be rewarded million times – you will simply (I’ll not say forget them) you’ll regret that these sorrows have been too small [few]. This may seem strange to you [now] but it is like this. I am deeply convinced that also the great ancient martyrs – they, too, were sorry they suffered little and therefore they could not respond to God with such love as that they ought to feel for the Lord. 

 

          Love even for a man seeks to find expression by doing things that are pleasing to the beloved one, whatever sacrifices this may take. The stronger a love is, the greater the desire to prove [demonstrate] it; and an unselfish love can be proved only by sacrifice and since true love knows no boundaries, so thirst for sacrifice as an act of love knows no boundaries, either. He who loves God, he would also want to suffer for God, and along with the growing up of love willingness to endure anything will also grow up, for no other reason than to not have the Lord walk away from us, with the sole purpose of being closer to Him. It is impossible to not love the Lord if we get close to Him, more precisely [put], if He comes close to us.