 | Table of Contents (each subject contains a saying then a story)
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Foreword:
--------
The following are excerpts from what is widely known in the Coptic
Church as "bustan al-rohbaan" (The Monks' Garden), also
referred to in English as the "
--Copt-Net Editorial Board
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In the desert of the
heart, let the healing fountain start;
In the prison of his days,
teach the free man how to praise.
-- W. H. Auden
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------------------------
Lord Jesus Christ, whose will all things
obey: pardon what I have done and grant
that I, a sinner, may sin no more. Lord,
I believe that though I do not deserve
it, you can cleanse me from all my sins.
face, but you see the heart. Send your
spirit into my inmost being, to take
possession of my soul and body. Without
you I cannot be saved; with you to
protect me, I long for your salvation.
And now I ask you for your salvation.
And now I ask you for wisdom, deign of
your great goodness to help and defend
me. Guide my heart, almighty God, that I
may remember your presence day and night.
++ Amen ++
INTRODUCTION
-------------
In the fourth century, an intensive experiment in Christian
living began to
flourish in
experience, uniting the ancient forms of monastic life with
the Gospel. In
Egypt the movement was soon so popular that both the civil authorities and the
monks themselves became anxious: the officials of the Empire
because so many
were following a way of life that excluded both
military service and the
payment of taxes, and the monks because the number of
interested tourists
threatened their solitude.
The first Christian monks tried every kind of experiment with
the way they
lived and prayed, but there were three main forms of monastic life:
in Lower
Egypt there were hermits who lived alone; in Upper Egypt there were monks
and
nuns living in communities; and in Nitria and Scetis
there were those who
lived solitary lives but in groups of three or four, often as
disciples of a
master. For the most part they were simple men, peasants from the
villages by
the
Visitors who were impressed and moved by the life of the monks imitated
their
way of life as far as they could, and
also provided a literature that
explained and analyzed this way of life for those outside
it. However, the
primary written accounts of the monks of
their words and actions by their close disciples.
Often, the first thing that struck those who heard about the
Desert Fathers
was the negative aspect of their lives. They were people who did without:
not
much sleep, no baths, poor food, little company, ragged clothes, hard work, no
leisure, absolutely no sex, and even, in some places,
no church either - a
dramatic contrast of immediate interest to those who lived
out the Gospel
differently.
But to read their own writings is to form a rather
different opinion. The
literature produced among the monks themselves is not very
sophisticated; it
comes from the desert, from the place where the amenities of civilization were
at their lowest point anyway, where there was nothing to mark
a contrast in
lifestyles; and the emphasis is less on what was lacking and more on what
was
present. The outsider saw the negations; disciples who encountered
the monks
through their own words and actions found indeed great austerity and
poverty,
but it was neither unbelievable nor complicated. These were simple,
practical
men, not given either to mysticism or to theology, living by the Word of
God,
the love of the brethren and of all creation, waiting for the
coming of the
Kingdom with eager expectation, using each moment
as a step in their
pilgrimage of the heart towards Christ.
It was because of this positive desire for the Kingdom of heaven which came to
dominate their whole lives that they went without things: they kept
silence,
for instance, not because of a proud and austere preference for aloneness
but
because they were learning to listen to something more
interesting than the
talk of men, that is, the Word of God. These men were
rebels, the ones who
broke the rules of the world which say that property and goods are
essential
for life, that the one who accepts the direction of another is not free,
that
no one can be fully human without sex and domesticity.
Their name itself,
anchorite, means rule-breaker, the one who does not fulfill his public duties.
In the solitude of the desert they found themselves able to live in a way that
was hard but simple, as children of God.
The literature they have left behind is full of a good,
perceptive wisdom,
from a clear, unassuming angle. They did not write much; most of them remained
illiterate; but they asked each other for a "word", that is, to
say something
in which they would recognize the Word of God, which gives life to
the soul.
It is not a literature of words that analyze and sort out personal
worries or
solve theological problems; nor is it a mystical
literature concerned to
present prayers and praise to God in a direct line of vision;
rather, it is
oblique, unformed, occasional, like sunlight glancing off a rare oasis in
the
sands.
These life-giving "words" were collected
and eventually written down by
disciples of the first monks, and grouped together in various ways, sometimes
under the names of the monks with whom they were connected
sometimes under
headings which were themes of special
interest, such as "solitude and
stability", "obedience", or "warfare that lust
arouses in us". Mixed in with
these sayings were short stories about the actions of the
monks, since what
they did was often as revealing as what
they said. These collections of
"apophthegmata" were not meant as a dead archaism,
full of nostalgia for a
lost past, but as a direct transmission of practical wisdom and experience for
the use of the reader. Thus it is as part
of tradition that this small
selection has been made from some of the
famous collections of desert
material, most of which have been translated and published in full
elsewhere.
They are placed in pairs, so that a "word" faces a story
and illustrates its
central, though not its only meaning. Each
saying-and-story pair has been
given a heading; these are arranged in two series, the first part relating
to
the commandment to love one's neighbour, the second to the commandment to love
God.
This material first appeared among uneducated laymen; it is not
"churchy" or
specifically religious. It has its roots in that life
in Christ which is
common to all the baptized, some of whom lived this out as monks,
others who
did not. There is common a universal appeal in these sayings, in spite of much
which is at first strange. I have not tried to eliminate all the
strangeness
of the material, but to present a very small part
of it as it is, in the
belief that the words and deeds of these men can still make
the fountain of
life spring up in the arid deserts of lives in the twentieth
century as they
did in the fourth. "Fear not this goodness", said
abba
impossible, nor the pursuit of it as something alien, set a great way
off; it
hangs on our own choice. For the sake of Greek learning, men go overseas.
But
the City of
mind."
--Benedicta Ward
Oxford
Note:
----
The editor has retained the words "abba" and
"amma" which are used in these
texts for addressing and describing certain men and
women of the desert;
"abba" is a term of respect, and to
translate it by "abbot" would be
misleading.
NOT TO JUDGE
Sayings:
-------
The old men used to say, "there is nothing worse than passing
judgement."
They said of abba Macarius that he became as it is written a god
upon earth,
because just as God protects the world, so abba
Macarius would cover the
faults that he saw as though he did not see them, and those which he heard
as
though he did not hear them.
Abba Pastor said, "Judge not him who is guilty of
fornication, if you are
chaste, or you will break the law like him. For He who
said "do not commit
fornication" said also "Do not judge"."
A brother asked abba Poemen, "If I see my brother
sin, is it right to say
nothing about it?" The old man replied, "whenever we cover our
brother's sin,
God will cover ours; whenever we tell people about our brother's
guilt, God
will do the same about ours."
Stories:
-------
A brother in Scetis committed a fault. A council
was called to which abba
Moses was invited, but he refused to go to it. Then the priest sent someone to
him, saying, "Come, for everyone is waiting for you". So he
got up and went.
He took a leaking jug and filled it with water and carried it
with him. The
others came out to meet him and said, " what is
this, father?" The old man
said to them, "My sins run out behind me, and I do not see
them, and today I
am coming to judge the errors of another." When they heard that,
they said no
more to the brother but forgave him.
A brother sinned and the priest ordered him to go out
of the church; abba
Bessarion got up and went out with him, saying, "I, too, am a
sinner."
TRUE PEACE
Sayings:
-------
One of the brothers asked abba Isidore, a priest
of scetis, "Why are the
demons so terrified of you?" And the old man said, "Ever since I
became a monk
I have tried never to let anger rise as far as my mouth."
Abba Joseph asked abba Nisteros, "What should I do about
my tongue, for I
cannot control it?" The old man said to him,
"When you speak, do you find
peace?" He replied, "No." The old man said to him, "If you
do not find peace,
why do you speak? Be silent, and when a conversation takes
place, prefer to
listen rather to talk."
Stories:
-------
Two old men had lived together for many years and they had never
fought with
one another. The first said to the other, "Let us also have a fight like
other
men." The other replied, "I do not know how to fight." The
first said to him,
"Look, I will put a brick between us and I will say: it is mine; and
you will
reply: no, it is mine; and so the fight will
begin." So they put a brick
between them and the first said, "No, it is mine", and the other
said, "No, it
is mine." And the first replied, "If it is yours, take
it and go." So they
gave it up without being able to find a cause for an argument.
A brother asked abba Poemen, "How should I behave in my
cell in the place
where I am living?" He replied, "Behave
as if you were a stranger, and
wherever you are, do not expect your words to have an influence and
you will
be at peace."
OBEDIENCE
Sayings:
-------
The holy Syncletia said, "I think that for those living in community
obedience
is a greater virtue than chasity, however perfect. Chastity carries
within it
the danger of pride, but obedience has within it the promise
of humility."
The old men used to say, "If someone has faith in
another and hands himself
over to him in complete submission, he does not need to pay attention to God's
commandments but he can entrust his whole will to his father. He
will suffer
no reproach from God, for God looks for nothing
from beginners so much as
renunciation through obedience."
Abba Mios of Belos said, "Obedience responds to obedience. When
someone obeys
God, then God obeys his request."
Story:
-----
They said that abba Sylvanus had a disciple in
Scetis, named Mark, who
possessed in great measure the virtue of obedience. He was a
copyist of old
manuscripts, and the old man loved him for his obedience. He had eleven
other
disciples who were aggrieved that he loved more than them.
When the old men nearby heard that he loved Mark above the others,
they took
it ill. One day they visited him and abba Sylvanus took
them with him and,
going out of his cell, began to knock on the door of each of
his disciples,
saying, "Brother, come out, I have work for you." And not one of them
appeared
immediately.
Then he came to Mark's cell and knocked, saying, "Mark".
And as soon as Mark
heard the voice of the old man he came outside and the old
man sent him on
some errand.
So abba Sylvanus said to the old men, "Where are the other
brothers?", and he
went into Mark's cell and found the book in which he had been
writing and he
was making the letter O; and when he heard the old
man's voice, he had not
finished the line of the O. And the old men said, "Truly,
abba, we also love
the one whom you love; for God loves him, too."
HOW TO
BECOME A DISCIPLE
Sayings:
-------
Some old men said, "If you see a young man climbing up to the
heavens by his
own will, catch him by the foot and throw him down to the
earth; it is not
good for him."
At first abba Ammoe said to abba Isaiah, "What do you think of me?"
He said to
him, "You are an angel, father." Later on he said to
him, "and now, what do
you think of me?" He replied, "You are like Satan. Even
when you say a good
word to me, it is like steel."
Abba Moses asked abba Sylvanus, "Can a man lay a new
foundation every day?"
The old man said, "If he works hard, he can lay a
new foundation at every
moments."
Stories:
-------
It was said of abba John the Dwarf that one day he said to his elder
brother,
"I should like to be free of all care, like the angels who
do not work, but
ceaselessly offer worship to God." So he took leave of
his brother and went
away into the desert. After a week he came back
to his brother. When he
knocked on the door he heard his brother say, "Who are you?"
before he opened
it. He said, "I am John, your brother." But he
replied, "John has become an
angel and henceforth he is no longer among
men." Then John besought him,
saying, "It is I." However, his brother did not let him in but
left him there
in distress until morning. Then, opening the door, he said to him,
"You are a
man and you must once again work in order
to eat." Then John made a
prostration before him, saying, "Forgive me."
Abba John said, "A monk is toil. The monk toils in all he does. That is
what a
monk is."
HUMILITY
Sayings:
-------
An old man was asked, "What is humility?" and he said in reply,
"Humility is a
great work, and a work of God. The way of humility is
to undertake bodily
labour and believe yourself a sinner and make yourself subject to all."
Then a
brother said, "What does it mean, to be subject to all?" The old man
answered,
"To be subject to all is not to give your attention to the sins of
others but
always to give your attention to your own sins and to pray without
ceasing to
God."
An old man said, "Every time a thought of
superiority or vanity moves you,
examine your conscience to see if you have kept all the commandments,
whether
you love your enemies, whether you consider yourself to
be an unprofitable
servant and the greatest sinner of all. Even so,
do not pretend to great
ideas as though you were perfectly
right, for that thought destroys
everything."
Stories:
-------
As abba Macarius was returning to
his cell from the marsh carrying
palm-leaves, the devil met him with a sharp sickle and would have
struck him
but he could not. He cried out, "Great is the violence
I suffer from you,
Macarius, for when I want to hurt you, I cannot. But whatever you do, I do and
more also. You fast now and then, but I am never refreshed by
any food; you
often keep vigil, but I never fall asleep. Only in one thing
are you better
than I am and I acknowledge that." Macarius said to him,
"What is that?" and
he replied, "It is because of your humility alone that I cannot overcome
you."
The old men used to say, "When we do not experience warfare, we
ought so much
the more to humiliate ourselves. For God seeing our
weakness, protects us;
when we glorify ourselves, he withdraws his
protection and we are lost."
TRUE POVERTY
Sayings:
-------
Abba Theodore, surnamed Pherme, had three good books. He went to abba Macarius
and said to him, "I have three good books, and I am
helped by reading them;
other monks also want to read them and they are helped by them. Tell me,
what
am I to do?" The old man said, "Reading books is good but
possessing nothing
is more than all.' When he heard this, he went away and
sold the books and
gave the money to the poor.
Someone asked amma Syncletica of blessed memory, "Is absolute
poverty perfect
goodness?" She replied, "It is a great good
for those capable of it; even
those who are not capable of it find rest for their
souls in it though it
causes them anxiety. As tough cloth is laundered pure white by
stretched and
trampled underfoot, so a tough soul is stretched by freely accepting
poverty."
Stories:
-------
When abba Macarius was in
cell and he was steeling his possessions. He went up to the thief as though he
were a traveller who did not live there and helped him to load the
beast and
led him on his way in peace, saying to himself, "We brought nothing
into this
world; but the Lord gave; as he willed, so is it done; blessed be the
Lord in
all things."
Someone brought money to an old man and said, "Take this and spend
it for you
are old and ill", for he was a leper. The old man replied,
"Are you going to
take me away from the one who has cared for me for sixty years?
I have been
ill all that time and I have not needed anything
because God has cared for
me." And he would not accept it.
Once abba Arsenius fell ill in Scetis and in this state
he needed just one
coin. He could not find one so he accepted one as a gift from
someone else,
and he said, "I thank you, God, that for your name's sake you
have made me
worthy to come to this pass, that I should have to beg."
LIFE TOGETHER
Sayings:
-------
Amma Syncletica said, "We ought to govern our
souls with discretion and to
remain in the community, neither following our own will nor
seeking our own
good. We are like exiles: we have been separated from the things of this world
and have given ourselves in one faith to the one Father. We
need nothing of
what we have left behind. There we had reputation and plenty to
eat; here we
have little to eat and little of everything else."
Abba Antony said, "Our life and our death are with our
neighbour. If we gain
our brother, we have gained our God; but if we scandalize our brother, we have
sinned against Christ."
A brother asked, "I have found a place where my peace is not
disturbed by the
brethren; do you advise me to live there?" Abba Poemen replied, "The
place for
you is where you will not harm the brothers."
Stories:
-------
There was an anchorite who was gazing with the antelopes and
who prayed to
God, saying, "Lord, teach me something more." And a voice came to
him, saying,
"Go into this monastery and do whatever they tell you."
He went there and
remained in the monastery, but he did not know the work of the
brothers. The
young monks began to teach him how to work and they
would say to him, "Do
this, you idiot," and "Do that, you fool." When he had
borne it, he prayed to
God, saying, "Lord, I do not know the work
of men; send me back to the
antelopes." And having been freed by God, he went back
into the country to
graze with the antelopes.
A beginner who goes from one monastery to another is like a wild animal who
jumps this way and that for fear of the halter.
SILENCE
Sayings:
-------
Having withdrawn from the palace to the solitary life, abba
Arsenius prayed
and heard a voice saying to him, "Arsenius, flee, be silent, pray
always, for
these are the source of sinlessness."
A brother in scetis went to ask for a word from abba
Moses and the old man
said to him, "Go and sit
in your cell and your cell will teach you
everything."
Abba Nilus said, "The arrows of
the enemy cannot touch one who loves
quietness; but he who moves about in a crowd will often be wounded."
Stories:
-------
Theophilus of holy memory, bishop of
brethren coming together said to abba Pambo, "Say a word or two to the
bishop,
that his soul may be edified in this place." The old man
replied, "If he is
not edified by my silence, there is no hope that he
will be edified by my
words."
This place was called Cellia, because of the number of cells there,
scattered
about the desert. Those who have already begun their training there
[i.e. in
Nitria] and want to live a more remote life,
stripped of external things,
withdraw there. For this is the utter desert and the cells are
divided from
one another by so great a distance that no one can see his
neighbour nor can
any voice be heard. They live alone in
their cells and there is a huge
silence and a great quiet there. Only on Saturday and Sunday do
they meet in
church, and then they see each other face to face, as men restored to heaven.
THE KINGDOM WITHIN
Sayings:
-------
It was revealed to abba
who was his equal. He was a doctor by profession, and whatever he
had beyond
his needs he gave to the poor and every day he
sang the sanctus with the
angles.
Amma Matrona said, "There are many in the mountains who behave as if they
were
in the town, and they are wasting their time. It is better to have many people
around you and to live the solitary life in your will
than to be alone and
always longing to be with a crowd."
Abba Isidore said, "If you fast regularly, do not be inflated
with pride; if
you think highly of yourself because of it, then you had better eat
meat. It
is better for a man to eat meat than to be inflated with
pride and glorify
himself."
Story:
-----
When blessed Antony was praying in his cell, a voice spoke to
him, saying,
"Antony, you have not yet come to the measure of the
the tanner who is in
Alexandria." When he heard this, the old man arose
and took his stick and
hurried into the city. When he had found the tanner...he said to him,
"Tell me
about your work, for today I have left the desert and come here to see
you."
He replied, "I am not aware that I have done anything good.
When I get up in
the morning, before I sit down to work, I say that the
whole of this city,
small and great, will go into the Kingdom of God because of their good
deeds,
while I alone will go into eternal punishment because of my evil deeds.
Every
evening I repeat the same words and believe them in my heart."
When blessed
work well, and you have the peace of the
time in solitude with no distractions, and i have not come near the measure of
such words."
HOSPITALITY
Sayings:
-------
Once three brothers came to visit an old man in Scetis and one of them said to
him, "Abba, I have committed to memory the Old and New
Testaments." And the
old man answered, "You have filled the air with words." The second
one said to
him, "I have written out the Old and New Testaments with
my own hands." He
said, "And you have filled the window-ledge with manuscripts."
Then the third
said, "The grass is growing up my chimney." And the old man replied,
"You have
driven away hospitality."
Once two brothers came to a certain old man. It was his
custom not to eat
every day but when he saw them he received them joyfully and said, "A fast
has
its own reward, but he who eats for the sake of love fulfils two commandments:
he leaves his own will and he refreshes his brothers."
Stories:
-------
A brother came to see a certain hermit and, as he
was leaving, he said,
"Forgive me abba for preventing you
from keeping your rule." The hermit
replied, "My rule is to welcome you with hospitality and to
send you away in
peace."
It was said of an old man that he dwelt in
This was his work: whenever a monk
came from the desert, he gave him
refreshment with all his heart. Now one day a hermit came and he
offered him
refreshment. The other did not
want to accept it, saying
he was
fasting. Filled with sorrow, the old man said to him,
"Do not despise your
servant, I beg you, do not despise me, but let us pray together.
Look at the
tree which is here; we will follow the way of whichever
of us causes it to
bend when he kneels on the ground and prays." So the hermit knelt down to
pray
and nothing happened. Then the hospitable one knelt down and at once the
tree
bent towards him. Taught by this, they gave thanks to God.
GENTLENESS
Sayings:
-------
Abba Nilus said, "Prayer is the seed of gentleness and the absence of
anger."
We came from
us hospitality and we said, "Why do you not keep the fast when
visitors come
to see you? In
but I cannot always have you here. It is useful and necessary
to fastbut we
choose whether we will fast or not. What God
commands is perfect love. I
receive Christ in you and so I must do everything possible to serve
you with
love. When I have sent you on your way, then I
can continue my rule of
fasting. The sons of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom
is with
them; when he is taken away from them, then they will fast."
Stories:
-------
A hunter in the desert saw abba
he was shocked. Wanting to show him that it was necessary
sometimes to meet
the needs of the brothers, the old man said to him, "Put an arrow in
your bow
and shoot it." So he did. And the old man said, "Shoot
another," and he did
so. Then the old man ssaid, "Shoot yet again," and the
hunter replied, "If I
bend my bow so much, I will break it." Then the old man
said to him, "It is
the same with the work of God. If we stretch the brothers beyond measure, they
will soon break. Sometimes it is necessary to come down to meet their
needs."
Some monks came to see abba Poemen and said to
him, "When we see brothers
dozing in the church, should we rouse them so that they can be
watchful?" He
said, "For my part, when I see a brother dozing, I put
his head on my knees
and let him rest."
BEASTS AND SAINTS
Sayings:
-------
Abba Antony said, "Obedience with abstinence gives
men control over wild
beasts."
Abba Theon ate vegetables, but only those that did not need to be cooked. They
say that he used to go out of his cell at night and stay in the company of the
wild animals, giving them drink from the water he had. Certainly one could see
the tracks of antelopes and wild asses and gazelles and other animals near his
hermitage. These creatures always gave him pleasure.
Once when a hippopotamus was ravaging the neighbouring countryside the fathers
called on abba Bes to help them. He stood at the place and waited and
when he
saw the beast, which was of enormous size, he commanded it not to
ravage the
countryside any more, saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ, I order you
not to
ravage this countryside anymore." The hippopotamus vanished
completely from
that district as if driven away by an angel.
Abba Xanthios said, "A dog is better than I am, for he
has love and he does
not judge."
Stories:
-------
We came near to a tree, led by our kindly host, and there we
stumbled upon a
lion. At the sight of him my guide and I quaked, but the saintly old man
went
unfaltering on and we followed him. The wild beast - you would say
it was at
the command of God - modestly withdrew a little way and sat
down, while the
old man plucked the fruit from the lower branches. He held out his hand,
full
of dates; and up the creature ran and took them as frankly as any tame
animal
about the house; and when it had finished eating,
it went away. We stood
watching and trembling; reflecting as well we might what valour of
faith was
in him and what poverty of spirit in us.
While abba Macarius was praying in his cave in the desert, a
hyena suddenly
appeared and began to lick his feet and taking him gently by the
hem of his
tunic, she drew him towards her own cave. He followed her, saying,
"I wonder
what this animal wants me to do?" When she had led him to her
cave, she went
in and brought her cubs which had been born blind. He prayed
over them and
returned them to the hyena with their sight healed. She in
turn, by wayn of
thankoffering, brought the man the huge skin of a ram
and laid it at his
feet. He smiled at her as if at a kind person and taking the
skin spread it
under him.
JOY
Sayings:
-------
Amma Syncletica said, "In the beginning there are a great many
battles and a
good deal of suffering for those
who are advancing towards God and,
afterwards, ineffable joy. It is like those who wish to light a fire. At first
they are ckoked with smoke and cry, until they obtain what they seek. As it is
written, "Our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:24); so we also
must kindle
the divine fire in ourselves through tears and hard work."
Abba Hyperichius said, "Praise God continally with spiritual hymns
and always
remain in meditation and in this way you will be able to bear
the burden of
the temptations that come upon you. A traveller who is carrying a
heavy load
pauses from time to time and draws in deep
breaths; it makes the journey
easier and the burden lighter."
Story:
-----
When abba Apollo heard the sound of singing from the monks who welcomed us, he
greeted us according to the custom which all
monks folow... He first lay
prostrate on the ground, then got up and kissed us and having brought us in he
prayed for us; then, after washing our feet with his own hands, he
invited us
to partake of some refreshment...
One could see his monks were filled with joy and a bodily contentment
such as
one cannot see on earth. For nobody among them was gloomy or downcast.
If anyone did appear a little downcast, abba Apollo
at once asked him the
reason and told each one what was the secret recesses of his heart. He used to
say, "Those who are going to inherit the
Kingdom of heaven must not be
depondent about their salvation... we who have been considered
worthy of so
great a hope, how shall we not rejoice without ceasing,
since the Apostle
urges us always, "Pray without ceasing, in everything give
thanks"?"
LOVE
Sayings:
-------
Abba Poemen said, "There is no greater love than that a man lays down his
life
for his neighbour. When you hear someone complaining
and you struggle with
yourself and do not answer him back with complaints;
when you are hurt and
bear it patiently, not looking for revenge; then you are laying down your life
for your neighbour."
One of the beloved of Christ who had the gift of mercy used to say,
"The one
who is filled with mercy ought to offer it in the same manner in which he
has
received it, for such is the mercy of God."
Abba Antony said, "I no longer fear God, I love him; for love casts out
fear."
Stories:
-------
Abba Agathon said, "If I could meet a leper, give him my body and
take his, I
should be very happy." That is perfect charity. It was also
said of him that
when he came into the town one day to sell his goods, he met a sick
traveller
lying in the public place with no one to care for him. The
old man rented a
room and lived with him there, working with his hands
to pay the rent and
spending the rest on the sick man's needs. He stayed there four
months until
the sick man was well again. Then he went back to his cell in peace.
A soldier asked abba Mios if God accepted repentance. After
the old man had
taught him many things, he said, "Tell me, my dear, if your cloak is
torn, do
you throw it away?" He replied, "No, I mend it and use it
again." The old man
said to him, "If you are so careful about your cloak, will not god
be equally
careful about his creature?"
GOD
IS FOR ALL
Sayings:
-------
God is the life of all free beings. He is the salvation of all, of
believers
or unbelievers, of the just or the unjust, of the pious
or the impious, of
those freed from passions or those caught up in them, of monks or those living
in the world, of the educated and the illitrate, of the healthy and the
sick,
of the young or the old. He is like the outpouring of light,
the glimpse of
the sun, or the changes of the weather which are the same for everyone without
exception.
Abba Pambo said, "If you have a heart, you can be saved."
Story:
-----
There was an old man living in the desert who served God for so many years and
he said, "Lord, let me know if I have pleased you." He
saw an angel who said
to him, "You have not yet become like the gardener in
such and such place."
The old man marvelled and said, "I will go off to the city to see both him
and
what it is that he does that surpasses all my
work and toil of all these
years."...
So he went to the city and asked the gardener about his awy of
life.... When
they were getting ready to eat in the evening,
the old man heard people
singing in the streets, for the cell of the
gardener was in a public
place. Therefore the old man said to him, "Brother, wanting as you
do to live
according to God, how do you remain in this place and not be troubled when you
hear them singing these songs?"
The man said, "I tell you, abba, I have never been troubled or
scandalized."
When he heard this the old man said, "What, then, do you think
in your heart
when you hear these things?" And he replied, "That they are all going
into the
Kingdom." When he heard this, the old man marvelled and
said, "This is the
practice which surpasses my labour of all these years."
PRAYER
Sayings:
-------
They asked abba Macarius, "How should we
pray?" And the old man replied,
"There is no need to speak much in prayer; often stretch
out your hands and
say, "Lord, as you will and as you know, have mercy on
me." But if there is
war in your soul, add, "Help me!" and because he knows what we
need, he shows
mercy on us."
Abba Lot went to see abba Joseph and he said to him, "Abba, as far as I
can, I
say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I
live in peace
and as far as I can I purify my thoughts. What else can I
do?" Then the old
man stood up and streched his hands toward heaven; his fingers became like ten
lamps of fire and he said to him, "If you will, you can
become all flame."
Abba paul said, "Keep close to Jesus."
Story:
-----
Some monks came to see abba Lucius and they said to him, "We do not
work with
our hands; we obey Paul's command and pray
without ceasing." The old man
said, "Do you not eat or sleep?" They said, "Yes, we
do." He said, "Who prays
for you while you are asleep?... Excuse me, brothers, but you do not
practice
what you claim. I will show you how I pray without ceasing, though I work with
my hands."
"With God's help, I collect a few palm-leaves and
sit down and weave them,
saying, "Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodnes;
according to the
miltitude of thy mercies do away with mine offences." He
said to them, "Is
this prayer or not?" They said, "Yes, it is."
And he continued, "When I have worked and prayed in my heart all
day, I make
about sixteen pence. Two of these I put ouside my door and with the rest I buy
food. And he who finds the two coins outside the door prays for me while I eat
and sleep. And so by the help of God I pray without ceasing."
INTERCESSION
Sayings:
-------
It is clear to all who dwell in Egypt that it is through the
monks that the
world is kept in being and that through them also human life is preserved
and
honoured by God... There is no town or village in
by hermitages as if by walls, and all the people depend on the prayers of
the
monks as if on God himself.
Palladius said, "One day when I was suffering from
boredom I went to abba
Macarius and said, "What shall I do? My thoughts afflict me,
saying, you are
not making any progress, go away from here." He said to
me, "Tell them, for
Christ's sake, I am guarding the walls."
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