Wise thoughts and quotes of St. Ambrose of Optina

The Monk Ambrose of Optina is a high ascetic, one of the most prominent representatives of the elders, and since 1860 he has been the chief confessor of the Optina Hermitage. He is considered the prototype of Elder Zosima in Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov. Simple wise thoughts and instructions of Ambrose of Optina have become quotes that are relevant to this day. Source - Esoterics. Living Knowledge

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Instructions of Ambrose of Optina

1. Sins are like walnuts: you can crack the shell, but it’s difficult to pick out the grain.
2. ri degrees for salvation, as said by St. John Chrysostom: a) do not sin, b) having sinned, repent, c) whoever repents poorly must endure the sorrows that come.
3. Everywhere there is war, everywhere there is struggle; and only those who strive spiritually, guided by the law of God, receive peace.
4. Humble yourself, and all your affairs will go well. Humility is about giving in to others and considering yourself inferior to everyone else. It will be much more peaceful.
5. Where it’s simple, there are a hundred angels, and where it’s tricky, there’s not a single one. Where there is no simplicity, there is only emptiness.
6. Why is a person bad? Because he forgets that God is above him.
7. Vanity does not give rest, inciting jealousy and envy, which trouble a person, arousing a storm of thoughts in the soul.
8. He who gives in gains more.
9. To speak well is to scatter silver, and prudent silence is gold.
10. Dejection means the same laziness, only worse. From despondency you weaken both in body and spirit. You don’t want to work or pray, you go to church with neglect; and the whole person becomes weak.
11. The Apostle Peter gave the net and received the Kingdom of Heaven; the widow gave two mites; whoever has millions, let him give them away; and whoever has nothing, let him give freely.
12. You don’t have to believe signs, and they won’t come true.
13. The fear of God is the beginning of the cleansing of conscience.
14. When you go to bed, baptize your bed and cell with the prayer “may God rise again.”
15. Don’t want to see anything in your dream, otherwise you’ll see it with horns. Bad dreams come from three things: from condemnation, from vanity and from overeating.

SELECTED SAYINGS OF ELDER AMBROSY,

Read the “Our Father”, but do not lie: “Forgive us our debts, just as we forgive...”

(Matt. 6:12).

“Christ is risen” - read when it is prescribed by the Church, otherwise it should not.”

We must pray and resort to the Queen of Heaven: help, save and have mercy.

“To the Virgin Mary” should be read at least with bows from the waist. The Mother of God herself spoke about this, appearing in a dream to one nun, adding that this was for her own good.

Read the prayer in the cell with your lips: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Or “God, cleanse me, a sinner.” And in church: “Lord, have mercy.” And listen more to what they read. And if you don’t hear, then read the entire prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

You should not say that you pray (or will pray) for others. O. Anthony, and he says: “I undertake to pray.”

In all matters, a person needs God’s help, and therefore always and in everything ask for God’s help, i.e. earnest prayer is necessary.

Since prayer is the most powerful weapon against the invisible enemy, he tries in every possible way to distract a person from it. Father said: “One monk on Mount Athos had a starling, which he loved very much, and became so attached to it that it often distracted him from prayer with his conversations. As soon as the monk begins to fulfill his rule, the starling starts talking. On Bright Resurrection, the monk approached the cage and said: “Skvorushka, Christ is risen!” And the starling suddenly answers him: “That’s the trouble, he’s risen,” and immediately died. Then the monk realized his mistake and repented.”

Read morning prayers and do nothing during this time. And go to every service. Anthony the Great saw an angel who showed him (how a monk should live); then pray, then work. And while working, read “Lord, have mercy.”

When there is a vigil, evening prayers must be read about eight minutes before.

When you go to bed, baptize your bed and cell with the prayer May God rise again.”

When you wake up, first cross yourself. The state you are in in the morning will be the same for the rest of the day. At St. John Climacus writes about this.

First of all, you need to ask God for mercy and pray: “Beholden by fate, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

In the morning, when you wake up, say: “Glory to You, God.” Father o. Macarius always said this. And one should not remember what happened and dreams.

One told the priest: “When I am angry, I pray absent-mindedly.” And the priest replied: “Whoever is angry is deprived of the protection of God. You need to pray without rancor.”

Addressing the nuns, the priest said: “Be patient, give thanks for everything, rejoice in everything, praying for everyone without ceasing

(Cf.: 1 Thess. 5:14-16) - and if you don’t do any of this, then what will come out is not prayer, but nonsense.”

When the priest was asked to pray in order to improve, he answered: “You yourself need to help yourself. The prophet Nathan prayed for King David, and he wet the bed with tears, and prayed for Saul, and he was faster and snoring.”

Someone asked a monk: “Who taught you to pray?” - He answered: “Demons.” - “Like the demons?!” - “Yes, so. They fought me with different thoughts, and I fought them off with prayer.

When there is insensibility, then it is most necessary to practice verbal prayer.

Father said: “One kept wanting to travel here and there – both to Kyiv and Zadonsk, and the elder alone said to her: “All this is not good for you, but sit at home in your cell and say the prayer to the publican.”

If you don’t want to pray, you need to force yourself; the holy fathers say that prayer with compulsion is higher than arbitrary prayer. You don’t want to, but force yourself: “We need the Kingdom of Heaven.”

(Matthew 11:12).

Read “Theotokos” 12 times or 24 times a day. She is our only Intercessor.

When you pray fervently, just be sure that there will be temptation. This happens to everyone.

“You should not pray for the sisters,” the elder wrote to one nun. - This is the enemy, under the guise of goodness; this is the work of the perfect. And you just cross yourself and say: “Lord, have mercy on us.”

When they strike “Worthy” (if you are in a cell), you need to stand up and make three bows to St. Trinity: “It is worthy and righteous to worship the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Ask for the intercession of the Queen of Heaven and read: “It is worthy to eat as truly...”, and if someone is a stranger (in the cell), then just cross yourself.

When the clock strikes, you should cross yourself with the prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”; as St. writes Dimitri Rostovsky: “For this reason, have mercy on me, because the hour has passed, it has become closer to death.” – You don’t have to be baptized in front of everyone, but depending on who you can or shouldn’t be with, you have to say the prayer in your mind.

The rosary is given in order not to forget to say prayer. During the service, one should listen to what is being read and finger the rosary with the prayer: “Lord have mercy”; and when you can’t hear (the reading) then: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

Father o. Ambrose advised to resort to the psalms of St. in case of human and enemy intrigues. the prophet David, which he prayed when he was persecuted by enemies, namely, read psalms: 3rd, 53rd, 58th and 142nd. Choose from these psalms verses appropriate to grief and read them more often, turning to God with faith and humility. And when despondency overcomes or an unaccountable sorrow torments the soul, read Psalms 101 and 36 ( "Do not be jealous of those who are evil; do not be jealous of those who create iniquity"

(Ps.36:1), then Psalm 26 (
“The Lord is my enlightenment”
(Ps.26:1) and Psalm 90 (
“Living in the help of the Most High”
(Ps.90:1). If in the name of the Holy Trinity regularly read these psalms three times daily with humility and zeal, surrendering oneself to the all-good Providence of God, then
“the Lord will bring forth your righteousness like a light and your destiny like the noonday, then submit to the Lord and pray to Him”
Ps. 36: 6-7).

When they complained to the elder that extraneous thoughts were interfering with prayer, he said: “A man was driving through the market, there was a crowd of people around him, talking, noise; and he keeps on his horse: but, but! but-but! - so little by little, little by little, I drove through the entire bazaar. So you too, no matter what your thoughts say, do all your work - pray!”

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; but she herself began to ask, and begged” (cf. Matthew 15:22–28).

Quotes for all occasions

1. Living simpler is best. Don't break your head. Pray to God. The Lord will arrange everything. Don't torture yourself thinking about how and what to do. Let it happen as it happens - this is living easier.
2. In this life we ​​need a sympathetic gaze, a kind word, we need the consciousness that we are loved and believed in, we need that in the world the rarest and greatest treasure is an attentive heart. What do you care what they say about you? If you listen to other people's speeches, you will have to put the donkey on your shoulders.
3. I advise you not to believe any premonition that makes you feel melancholy and a joyless state of mind; but to believe how God will arrange it. God always arranges for us what is useful and saving.
4. Never argue with anyone about faith. No need. Because you won’t prove anything to anyone, and you’ll only get upset. Do not argue.
5. The beginning of joy is to be content with your situation.
6. No matter how heavy the cross that a person bears, the tree from which it is made grew from the soil of his heart.
7. If you find that there is no love in you, but you want to have it, then do WORKS OF LOVE, although first without love. The Lord will see your desire and effort and PUT LOVE INTO YOUR HEART...
8. We must live as a wheel turns - just one point touches the ground, and the rest strive upward.
9. Why is a person bad? Because he forgets that God is above him!
10. Affection makes people have completely different eyes.
11. To live is not to bother, not to judge anyone, not to annoy anyone, and to everyone - my respect.
12. He who reproaches us gives us gifts. And whoever praises steals from us.
13. We need to live unhypocritically and behave exemplarily, then our cause will be true, otherwise it will turn out badly.
14. To the question: “What does it mean to live according to your heart?”, the Monk Ambrose of Optina answered: “Do not interfere in other people’s affairs and see all the good in others.”

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Read the section Beyond Currents on the esoteric portal naturalworld.guru.

Let us remember the wisest instructions of the Reverend

1. Sins are like walnuts - you can crack the shell, but it’s difficult to pick out the grain. 2. Three degrees for salvation, as stated by St. John Chrysostom: a) do not sin, b) having sinned, repent, c) whoever repents poorly must endure the sorrows that come. 3. Everywhere there is war, everywhere there is struggle; and only those who strive spiritually, guided by the law of God, receive peace. 4. Humble yourself, and all your deeds will go well. Humility is about giving in to others and considering yourself inferior to everyone else. It will be much more peaceful. 5. Where it is simple, there are a hundred angels, but where it is sophisticated, there are not a single one. Where there is no simplicity, there is only emptiness. 6. Why is a person bad? Because he forgets that God is above him. 7. Vanity does not give rest, inciting jealousy and envy, which trouble a person, arousing a storm of thoughts in the soul. 8. He who gives in gains more. 9. To speak well is to scatter silver, and prudent silence is gold. 10. Dejection means the same laziness, only worse. From despondency you weaken both in body and spirit. You don’t want to work or pray, you go to church with neglect; and the whole person becomes weak. 11. The Apostle Peter gave the net and received the Kingdom of Heaven; the widow gave two mites; whoever has millions, let him give them away; and whoever has nothing, let him give freely. 12. Don’t believe in signs, and they won’t come true. 13. The fear of God is the beginning of the cleansing of conscience. 14. When you go to bed, baptize your bed and cell with the prayer “may God rise again.” 15. Don’t want to see anything in a dream, otherwise you’ll see it with horns. Bad dreams come from three things: from condemnation, from vanity and from overeating.

The Monk Ambrose of Optina with his life showed an amazing example of how such a power of God can act in a physically weak person that many outwardly healthy and strong people would dream of having. And the life of Father Ambrose is the embodiment of his favorite phrase: “Where it is simple, there are a hundred angels.” The elder seemed to show that true wisdom and the truth of life are expressed not in pretentious words or in any sophisticated forms, but in simple things that are dissolved by God’s love. And if people could have just a little bit of the love that this great old man had, life would be different. The Monk Ambrose became the living embodiment of the words of Christ: “If you are not like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

***

My incomprehensible child, peace and God’s blessings to you and every affirmation in patience and long-suffering, the imams have a great need for it, and may we graciously endure everything that comes our way and everything that happens to us.

***

N thieves are tasty thieves, and they are not weak or ill, they climb not only over fences, but, like mice, they make their way through roofs. These thieves, or others, tore through the grain barn in two places, but did not have time to do anything and, probably out of grief, went and sang: “Don’t touch the monastery, so as not to be sent along the prisoner’s road.”

***

Those who endure everything graciously and gratefully are promised peace there. But which one? And it’s impossible to say; You just need to live carefully for this, and above all, live humbly, and not anxiously, and act as you should and as you should. To repent of mistakes and humble yourself, but not to be embarrassed.

***

N during Lent is in a church retreat, and I, both during Lent and not during Lent, am constantly at the council of people and the gathering and analysis of other people’s affairs.

***

N! Don’t be like a bothersome fly, which sometimes flies around uselessly, and sometimes bites and annoys both of them, but be like a wise bee, who diligently began her work in the spring and by autumn has finished the honeycomb, which is as good as correctly written notes . One is sweet, the other is pleasant...

***

You, N, drink tea, only understand spiritual matters.

***

Without humility it is impossible to have peace.

***

Don’t take your word for any nonsense indiscriminately - that you can be born from dust and that people were formerly monkeys. But it is true that many people began to imitate monkeys and humiliate themselves to the point of monkeys.

***

Strengthen yourself in the Lord and in the power of His strength! Let your soul rejoice in the Lord, for He has clothed us with the robe of salvation and clothed us with the robe of gladness; and speaks to us through the Apostle: always rejoice, give thanks in everything, for this is the will of God.

***

Be patient; maybe a treasure will be revealed to you from somewhere, then you can think about life in a different way; in the meantime, arm yourself with patience and humility, and hard work, and self-reproach.

***

You say that you do everything under compulsion; but in the Gospel compulsion is not only not rejected, but also approved. This means that one should not lose heart, but should trust in God, Who is able to bring everything to a beneficial end. Peace to you!

***

The Lord Himself does not force a person’s will, although He admonishes in many ways.

***

Infirmity, and weakness, and fatigue, and exhaustion, and to them also laziness and negligence - these are my companions! And my constant presence is with them.

***

Mother! It was said long ago not to lose heart, but to trust in the mercy and help of God! Listen to what they say, and eat what they serve.

***

Listen, sister! Don't be excited, don't be colorful! But be constant and meek - and you will be peaceful!

***

Don’t like to hear about the shortcomings of others, then you will have less of your own.

***

I kindly greet in the Lord N the many-prophecy and other sisters who live like voiceless fish, although occasionally they raise their feathers. But a feather is not a stick, and a sparrow is not a jackdaw, and a magpie is not a crow. However, everyone has their own defense. When you feel despondent, read this set of words, as a German said to a Russian: “What a fool you are!” I wanted to call him a cudgel, but I couldn’t.

***

More than once you will remember the simple Russian proverb: “Beat the sieve when the sieve doesn’t fit.” This proverb does not prevent you from noticing and remembering it, mother, when you have to fall behind in business, when we think about doing it this way, but it turns out differently. Then this proverb is especially suitable.

***

I greet N, who speaks many things, and N, who sings and sets the tone, and who is inquisitive... so that they do not allow much to come to their ears. Weak ears cannot bear much without harm.

***

Even though they say that things don’t change from year to year, things always go as usual. There is always one solid piece of advice: “Vanka, oh Vanka! Tastefully, the master knows and knows, but still he’s twerking.” This one with the master Ivan is an example for us too. Each one repeat his lesson and remember what the prophet says: blessed is he who does not follow the counsel of the wicked.

***

There was no sadness, but the crafty enemies pumped up, appearing either in the form of Ephraim or in the form of a toothy crocodile.

***

I hear about you, bossy mother, that you have not ceased to be despondent since you began to grieve when you received the news of your tonsure. Know that grief is like a sea: the more a person enters it, the more he sinks.

***

Peace to you and your dear goslings! Which are sometimes sweet, and sometimes rotten.

***

It would be nice, new mother...ina, if you had a pleasant and edifying face on the outside, while maintaining spiritual silence. Although it is not easy, and difficult, and not always convenient, it is useful for us and others.

* * * God grant that every unpleasant fire will be extinguished soon, so as not to give the village children a reason to repeat the old song: “Burn, burn hot, Zakharka is riding, himself on a horse, his wife on a cow, children on calves.” Apparently, this song is stupid, but it was composed not without a reason or reason. And I wrote this to you after spiritual consolation for simple laughter.

* * *

That’s why the death was good, because she lived well. How you live is how you die.

* * *

Why do people sin? Either because they don’t know what to do and what to avoid, or if they know, they forget, but if they don’t forget, they become lazy and despondent.

* * *

Go where they lead you; look at what they show, and keep saying: Thy will be done. Death is not far off, but behind us, and we can at least have a stake on our heads.

* * *

Hypocrisy is worse than unbelief.

* * *

You can live in the world, just not in the Jurassic, but live quietly.

And 15 more quotes and advice from the Reverend that will be useful to everyone

1. Living simpler is best. Don't break your head. Pray to God. The Lord will arrange everything. Don't torture yourself thinking about how and what to do. Let it happen as it happens - this is living easier. 2. In this life we ​​need a sympathetic gaze, a kind word, we need the consciousness that we are loved and believed in, we need that in the world the rarest and greatest treasure is an attentive heart. 3. What do you care what they say about you? If you listen to other people's speeches, you will have to put the donkey on your shoulders. 4. I advise you not to believe any premonition that makes you feel melancholy and a joyless state of mind; but to believe how God will arrange it. God always arranges for us what is useful and saving. 5. Never argue with anyone about faith. No need. Because you won’t prove anything to anyone, and you’ll only get upset. Do not argue. 6. The beginning of joy is to be content with your situation. 7. No matter how heavy the cross that a person bears, the tree from which it is made grew from the soil of his heart. 8. If you find that there is no love in you, but you want to have it, then do DEEDS OF LOVE, although first without love. The Lord will see your desire and effort and PUT LOVE INTO YOUR HEART... 9. We must live as a wheel turns - just one point touches the ground, and the rest strives upward. 10. Why is a person bad? Because he forgets that God is above him! 11. Affection causes people to have completely different eyes. 12. To live is not to bother, not to judge anyone, not to annoy anyone, and to everyone - my respect. 13. He who reproaches us gives us gifts. And whoever praises steals from us. 14. We need to live unhypocritically and behave exemplarily, then our cause will be true, otherwise it will turn out badly. 15. To the question: “What does it mean to live according to your heart?”, the Monk Ambrose of Optina answered: “Do not interfere in other people’s affairs and see all the good in others.”

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