In the holy elders of Optina, God gave the peoples of the Russian Empire a sign of his ongoing care and direction. Even as the society of the empire became increasingly worldly, with many falling away from the Church, the Lord still spoke his word of comfort and guidance to those who had ears to hear, and the Optina elders were messengers of that word. Today, the gentle and frank counsels of the holy elders continue to speak to us amid our own circumstances. We cannot match the sanctity and zeal of Christians from ages past, and the venerable Optina fathers articulate a path of humble, moderate asceticism of the heart that befits our own generation’s weakness and fragility. Through their prayers may we all carry out our small struggles in humility, putting the Lord’s grace, love, and mercy first in all things, achieving whatever small degree of holiness of which we may be capable, with God’s goodness making up for all our shortcomings, now and in the age to come.
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