from the Teachings of St. Nektarios
By St. Nektarios of Pentapolis
Seek the Lord everyday; but do so within your heart and not outside of it. And when you find Him, stand with fear and trembling as the Cherubim and Seraphim, because your heart has become a throne of God.
But in order to find the Lord, humble yourself down to the dust, because the Lord abhors the proud ones, and loves and visits the humble in heart. For this reason he says: “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word” (Is. 66:2).
Fight the good fight and God will strengthen you. In the fight we identify our weaknesses, our deficiencies and our defects. [The fight] is the mirror of our spiritual state. He who has not struggled, does not know himself.
Take heed even of the small trespasses. If a sin occurs in you out of carelessness, do not lose hope, but get up quickly, and fall before God who has the power to rehabilitate you. Great sorrow hides within it pride.
Exaggerated sorrow and despair are harmful and dangerous, and many times are exacerbated by the devil in order to hinder the progress of the struggler.
Within us we have deep-rooted weaknesses, passions and faults: they are many in number and are inherited. None of them can be cut off with a spastic motion, neither with impatience, anxiety or intense sorrow, but with patience and perseverance, with patient endurance, with care and attention.
The road that leads to perfection is long. Pray to God to strengthen you. Face your falls with patience, and after you get up quickly, run and do not stand, like children, in the place where you fell, crying and wailing inconsolably.
Be vigilant and pray in order not to enter into temptation. Do not give up hope if you fall continuously into the same sins. Many of these are by nature strong and out of habit. With the passing of time, however, and with diligence they are conquered. Nothing should drive you to despair.
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