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November 9, 2023

Saint Nektarios and the Nun Who Was Noetically in Church (St. Ephraim of Katounakia)


Saint Ephraim of Katounakia said the following story about Saint Nektarios:

A young woman went to Saint Nektarios in Aegina to become a nun, let's say, she was a novice, and he said to her:

"My child, be a shepherd, for we have five to ten little sheep: graze them."

"Well, may it be blessed."

One day, two go by, and she said:

"Elder, thoughts have taken a hold of me, for I came to be a nun, I didn't come to be a shepherd."

"My child," he said to her, "when I do the censing I see you in the stall."

The nun, even though she was a shepherd, yet her thoughts were in the short prayer, in the single-phrased prayer "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me." She was inside the church with her thoughts, therefore the Saint saw her inside.

Source: Translation by John Sanidopoulos.