“It all
started with my throat and a runny nose.”
Igor K.
I got sick
with a bad cold. As usual, it all started with my throat and a runny nose. Then
the virus began to descend to the bronchi and chest, causing a wet cough.
Usually in such a situation a week or two of bed rest is prescribed. It turned
out that I had oil on hand, blessed on the relics of Fr. Ambrose. It was a gift
from a brother, a novice of Kazan Monastery, after his pilgrimage to Optina.
I read the
evening prayer rule and prayed to Fr. Ambrose and rubbed the oil on my sore
throat and chest.
In the
morning I didn’t feel even the slightest discomfort!
Glory to God
for his saints! Venerable Fr. Ambrose, pray to God for us!
* * *
“My coworkers
hated me.”
P. B. Anna
A few years
ago, in January 2007, I was hit by a series of troubles at work. At that time I
worked on a pretty young team: the oldest person in our department was 37, the
rest (only women) weren’t even 30.
One of these
girls concocted some gossip about me which everyone believed. They accused me
behind my back of some terrible sins—tattling, slandering—as if I go to the
boss and report who does what, or rather as if I tell him that everyone is
lazy. I never got all the details of the gossip, but all my coworkers together
agreed to hate me.
I can feel
this old offense even now, after so many years! I couldn’t understand what
caused this silent, icy contempt, but when I found out, I was in shock! I tried
to explain something and prove that I was innocent, but they wouldn’t even
listen to me. They just ignored me—a boycott. I would cry at home in the
morning, not wanting to go to work. I had only one desire—to quit! But I
couldn’t quit, for material reasons.
And so, in
complete desperation, I went to church for solace. It was the church of the
Ascension on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, not far from my work at that time. I
went inside. There was no service. I prayed, lit some candles and went to the
look at the books being sold. I bought one of them. It was a paperback of St.
Ambrose of Optina: Life, The Science of Salvation, A Spiritual Alphabet. I
should say that at that point I didn’t know much about Batiushka Ambrose. I
don’t know why I bought the book.
But when I
began to read it, I saw every word from several of Elder Ambrose’s sayings as
if they were addressed to me and my situation. I can’t even describe how light
and good I began to feel. Little by little I calmed down. Every day I would
read this book, mentally addressing Fr. Ambrose. And what happened? Gradually
this situation, that had me so depressed, faded away, and my coworkers even
apologized!
But even
before that I already didn’t care—I had such peace of soul!
* * *
“Let’s go to
Optina to pray. They’re waiting for us.”
Natalia
Kiselyova, Moscow
Two weeks…!
For two whole weeks I kept hearing around me the word “Optina” from friends and
relatives. I should say that I really have a lot of Orthodox friends who love
to visit Optina Pustyn. The last straw was when my friend called me at night
and asked: “And what happened with Optina?” Half asleep, I didn’t understand,
“what happened with Optina,” and asked: “And what could happen?”
The next day
I was given a book, again about Optina.
I was in that
beautiful place once. It was a wonderful, unforgettable trip! I’ll keep the
memory of it in my heart and mind, it seems to me, forever. In Optina Pustyn I
felt like time stops, and you feel eternity. But that’s a separate, lengthy
story.
And now all
around me I was hearing about Optina almost every day, and it seemed to me not
unintentionally.
In our church
we have an icon and shrine with relics of the venerable elders, and not long
ago our church was a podvoriye of Optina Pustyn. I went up to the icon of
Venerable Ambrose and the Optina elders and started prayerfully beseeching:
“Why is everyone talking about Optina all around me? Maybe I’m supposed to go
there? If so, then please direct this trip for me yourselves!”
That evening
the phone rang in my apartment. “My dear Natalia”—it was a good friend, a
friend of the family—“Some organization has ordered several cars for us
tomorrow, and booked some space in Optina Pustyn. I’ll wait for you in the
morning; we’ll go to Optina for prayer and some time in piety. They’re waiting
for us.”
I couldn’t
utter even a word for a few minutes from surprise.
They heard
me! With what speed they fulfilled my petition! Truly, that which we ask for
can come true! And we should be ready in full armor to receive it.
How quickly
St. Ambrose and the Optina elders extraordinarily and surprisingly fulfilled
and directed my prayerful petition!
Pray to God
for us, St. Ambrose and all the Optina elders!
* * *
“Fr. Ambrose
has returned.”
Ekaterina,
Moscow
Fr. Ambrose
helped me this summer, but I stupidly and proudly didn’t accept this help (I
didn’t realize it was from him, I wasn’t expecting it so quickly, and I had no
brains, I must confess), and I’m still repenting for it.
At that time
I had just lost my job, and they fired me quite awfully and unfairly at that,
after I had already passed my probation period and literally the day before we
had talked about raising my pay. Fortunately, I had my spiritual father’s
blessing to settle into work at a particular place, but I was stalling—I
considered myself “intellectually unprepared.”
Then the July
Church feasts began one after another, including the day of St. Ambrose of
Optina. I was at church and asked his help with work, given that I had a blessing
to do something I wasn’t ready for.
Suddenly that
evening I saw in my email a letter from my academic advisor, then I missed a
call from him on the phone. He wore himself out looking for me, although he
doesn’t usually call or write me—I contact him first. It turns out that the
company where his friend works suddenly needed a journalist-redactor for their
site. I looked into the job with skepticism—it seemed to me they were offering
very little money while demanding a lot of work. And there was a probation
period of two months with all kinds of tasks and demands for the potential
employee. Besides all that there was something I didn’t know.
I wrinkled my
nose and said it’s some kind of “scam.” Although later I realized I should have
snatched that job up to have something to hold me over at least for the two
months of the probation period. My academic advisor laughed: “Well, as you
know. It’s only a question, apparently, of being afraid to cope.” I really was
afraid that they would fire me again after the probation period. I was afraid I
couldn’t endure another such humiliation.
I had only
just turned it down (the time was already late), when suddenly I remembered
that in the morning I had been at the service and prayed before the icon of St.
Ambrose, kissed his relics and besought him during the service, telling him
about my problems. And what? The next day the icon of Fr. Ambrose in the church
disappeared somewhere! Maybe they took it for restoration or to another church
for a while…
All these
months (I wasn’t able to find work after this for a long time—a whole four
months, and I missed out on the blessing also, having dragged this out), no
matter how much I begged and prayed and went to monasteries, no matter how many
feast day services I stood through—nothing worked! And all these months I
realized that that work, had I not turned it down, would have kept me afloat
for a couple of months, and I wouldn’t have lost so much money and wouldn’t
have crawled into debt and other difficult circumstances.
Whenever I
went to church all these months I always went to the reliquary with a piece of
the relics of Fr. Ambrose (we had a big reliquary with numerous small relics
from various saints, including the Optina elders), asking forgiveness and
looking with sadness at the corner where his icon used to be. Of course, Fr.
Ambrose already knew a few months ago what would happen to me in the near
future and how I would behave. He helped me, and I should have accepted this
lesson-examination, if that’s how it turned out!
In the end,
only recently I found work. Rather, the Lord send it to me, completely
unexpectedly. Moreover, it happened that I agreed with the employer about work
on a Friday, and on the next Sunday, as usual, I went to the Resurrection
service and suddenly, at the end of the service, I saw an altar server carrying
the icon of Venerable Ambrose, and he placed it on some wooden stand (I don’t
know what it’s properly called) that had been empty this whole time.
I saw that
Fr. Ambrose had returned! I rushed to him at full speed to beg forgiveness. I
should say that during these months, when his icon was gone, I grew somehow
especially close to batiushka through my guilty feelings and worries… He became
a saint very close to me, and this icon which I waited for for so long, became
very dear to me. I have no doubts about his speedy-speedy-speedy help! Fr.
Ambrose, pray to God for us!
* * *
“I found my
way in life and to my wife—a true friend.”
Alexei
Grishkin
By the
prayerful help of Fr. Ambrose and all the Optina elders I found my way in life
and to my wife—a true friend.”
And why is
that such a big deal? I can call that period in my life, of a relatively young
age, nothing other than “emptiness.” Like in the old song: “Loneliness is
dearer than emptiness when you live and think about death.” All my peers lived
happy lives, dated, broke up, drank, and went for walks without thinking too
much about it.
I don’t know
what was the beginning of my Church life; now it’s hard to recall. As in war,
all the powers of hell take up arms against the weak man who has begun his
salvation, using any means proven by military experience and refined from the
time of the first fallen forefather.
At some
period of life there relentlessly arose in me the conviction to choose the
monastic path for my salvation. Having been in one monastery for a couple of
months, I understood that there I would more quickly perish. The state of
modern monasticism, with few exceptions, is known to all. I had to return to
the world. But, it turned out to be a dead end.
By chance (or
not?), having opened a book of Venerable Ambrose’s life, I stumbled upon the
words which he said to the Troekurovskoe hermit Hilarion: “Go to Optina. You’re
needed there.” Everything suddenly became clear for me—where I needed to go to
understand how to live. In Optina I saw the exception, the little flock which
walks towards salvation, and inflames others to go as well.
At first I
was inflamed, but monasticism is not for most people. Again doubts. Batiushka
Iliy resolved them by blessing me to live in the monastery for a year. Just to
live, not to think about anything, for a year. It was the hardest year of my
life. When you are just one-on-one with yourself—it’s scary. You don’t know who
will win. Every day I went to the relics of St. Ambrose and besought, pleaded,
and cried. Really, it was hard.
Through the
prayers of the elders the Lord taught me which path to choose: a girl came to
Optina, who I now call my wife and the mother of our two beautiful daughters.
In conclusion
I want to say that the Lord is nearer to us than it seems, and through people
and situations He always guides us through life by the prayers of our venerable
and God-bearing father Ambrose, elder of Optina, and of all the saints—of
course, for those who follow Christ.
* * *
“Deliverance
came in three days.”
Valentina K.
Serov
Having
despaired of escaping the man who had been torturing me for three years, I was
able to do so only after I read a prayer to Venerable Ambrose of Optina which I
found one time in his correspondence with his spiritual children. Deliverance
came in three days. These whole three days we walked as around a circle and
never once collided. Only the prayer of the great elder saved me from death.
By his
prayers after three years I stood at his holy relics with tears of gratitude.
And now I go up on the kliros to ask his blessing. I think, not without the
help of the saint, I was blessed to work for a few years at making prosphora
and in the trapeza.
May the Lord
save us all by the prayers of the holy Venerable Ambrose of Optina!
* * *
“My friend
had a completely ruined oven.”
Natalia V.
I just
learned about this little miracle a few hours ago. I don’t know if Batiushka
Ambrose helped by himself—probably all the Optina elders helped.
Two days ago
I was at my friend’s, who was getting ready to move to a house with a
completely ruined oven. My friend has very tight finances. We hung up flyers
with requests for help everywhere, not counting on it too much. After leaving
her, I stopped by the church in those parts and saw there a small icon with
particles of the relics of the Optina elders. I didn’t read which ones exactly.
I asked the elders to help her.
I called then
and found out that the next day—that is, yesterday—a woman called and offered
her some help. She said: “Measure the oven—I’ll buy you everything you need.”
The poor thing until then didn’t trust in such happiness.
May God grant
that everything would turn out well for this poor woman. Pray to God for us Fr.
Ambrose and all the Optina elders!
* * *
“I smoked a
lot.”
Ekaterina N.
At the
beginning of my Church life I wound up in Optina. Before my arrival at the
monastery I had a serious nicotine addiction.
I communed at
the monastery and didn’t smoke all day—quite a long time for me then. I prayed
to Venerable Ambrose to help me quit smoking. Within a few weeks I had quit
completely. I haven’t smoked for two years now. I believe the prayers of the
saint helped me.
* * *
“My husband
smoked for many years.”
Elena S.
Here is my
story. My husband smoked for many years. It, unfortunately, is a tradition in
his family. He wasn’t intending to quit, because he assumed he wasn’t able.
When I would try to speak with him about it, he got irritated. Then I asked our
teenage son to pray to Venerable Ambrose for his father to deliver him from
such a destructive passion.
A little
while later my husband got skin cancer, and after the operation decided himself
to quit smoking. He escaped from the passion of smoking only by the prayers of
the saint. Glory to God for all things!
Translated by
Jesse Dominick
Pravoslavie.ru
10/23/2016
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου