ADDITIONAL TEXTS

Fleeing Glory and the Praises of Men

This excerpt is from the life of Abba Cronius who was born about 285 AD. Although he lived in a monastery at first, he left it to live with St. Anthony the Great in the Red Sea Desert of Egypt where he acted as St. Anthony's interpreter. Later, he moved to Nitria (near present-day Alexandria) where he was ordained priest. He had many disciples and died around 386 AD.

Abba Cronius said that Abba Joseph of Pelusia told him the following story, "When I was living in Sinai, there was a brother who was good, ascetic and handsome. He came to church for the Synaxis (the liturgical office said by monks in common, usually on Saturday or Sunday) dressed in an old robe darned all over. Once when I saw him coming to the Synaxis, I said to him, 'Brother, do you not see the brothers, looking like angels for the Synaxis in church? How can you always come here in that garb?' He said to me, 'Forgive me, abba, but I have nothing else.' So I took him in to my cell and gave him a tunic and whatever else he needed. After that he wore them like the other brethren and was like an angel to look at.

Now once it was necessary for the Fathers to send ten brethren to the emperor about something or other and he was chosen as one of the group to go. When he heard this, he made a prostration before his Father saying, 'In the Lord's name, excuse me, for I am the slave of a great man down there and if he recognizes me, he will deprive me of my habit and force me to serve him again.' The brothers were convinced and left him behind. But later, they learned from someone who had known him well when he was in the world that he had been head of the administration and that he had spoken as he did as a ruse, so that no one should know this or bother him about it. So great, amongst the Fathers, was their concern to flee from glory and the peace of this world!"

from "The Desert Christian," by Sr. Benedicta Ward, (New York: Macmillan, 1975), p. 116

Satan's Worst Enemy

One of the old men of the Thebaid used to tell the following story: "I was the son of a pagan priest. When I was small I would sit and watch my father who often went to sacrifice to the idol. Once, going in behind him in secret, I saw Satan and all his army standing beside him; and behold one of the chief devils came to bow before him. Satan said, 'Where have you come from?' He answered, 'I was in a certain place and made much blood flow, and I have come to tell you about it.' Satan asked, 'How long did it take you to do this?' He replied, 'Thirty days.' Then Satan commanded him to be flogged, saying, 'In so long a time have you done only that?'

And behold, another demon came to bow before him. Satan asked him, 'And you, where have you come from?' The demon replied, 'I was on the sea, and I made the waves rise, and small craft foundered, and I have killed many people, and I have come to inform you of it.' He said to him, 'How long did it take you to do this?' and the demon said, 'Twenty days.' Satan commanded that he also should be flogged, saying, 'That is because in such a long time you have only done this.'

Now, a third demon came to bow before him. he asked, 'And where have you come from?' The demon replied, 'There was a marriage in a certain village, and I stirred up a riot, and I have made much blood flow, killing the4 bride and bridegroom, and I have come to inform you.' He asked him, 'How long have you taken to do this?' and he replied, 'Ten days.' Satan commanded that he also should be flogged because he had taken too long.

After this, another demon came to bow before him. He asked, 'And where have you come from?' He said, 'I was in the desert forty years fighting against a monk, and this night I made him fall into fornication.' When he heard this, Satan arose, embraced him, and put the crown he was wearing on his head and made him sit on his throne, saying, 'You have been able to do a very great deed!'

The old man said, 'Seeing this, I said to myself, "Truly it is a great contest, this contest of the monks," and with God assisting me for my salvation, I went away and became a monk.'"

from "The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers," by Benedicta Ward, (Oxford: SLG Press, 1986)

Prayer and Meditation

A brother asked one of the Fathers, "What shall I do? My thoughts are always turned to lust without allowing me an hour's respite, and my soul is tormented by it." He said to him, "Every time the demons suggest these thoughts to you, do not argue with them. For the activity of demons always is to suggest, and suggestions are not sins, for they cannot compel; but it rests with you to welcome them, or not to welcome them. Do you know what the Midianites did? They adorned their daughters and presented them to the Israelites. They did not compel anyone, but those who consented, sinned with them, while the others were enraged and put them to death. It is the same with thoughts."

The brother answered the old man, "What shall I do, then, for I am weak and passion overcomes me?" He said to him, "Watch your thoughts, and every time they begin to say something to you, do not answer them but rise and pray; kneel down, saying, 'Son of God, have mercy on me.'"

Then the brother said to him, "Look, Abba, I meditate, and there is no compunction in my heart because I do not understand the meaning of the words." The other said to him, "Be content to meditate. Indeed, I have learned that Abba Poemen and many other Fathers uttered the following saying, 'The magician does not understand the meaning of the words which he pronounces, but the wild animal who hears it understands, submits, and bows to it. So it is with us also; even if we do not understand the meaning of the words we are saying, when the demons hear them, they take fright and go away.'"

from "The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers," by Benedicta Ward, (Oxford: SLG Press, 1986), pp. 16-17

The Virtue of Obedience

They used to say that Abba Sylvanus had in Scete a disciple whose name was Mark, and that he possessed to a great degree the faculty of obedience; he was a scribe, and the old man loved him greatly for his obedience. Now Sylvanus had eleven other disciples, and they were disturbed because they saw that the old man loved Mark more than them, and when the old men who were in Scete heard of this they were also troubled about it.

One day when they came to him to reprove him about this, Sylvanus took them, and went forth, and passing by the cells of the brethren, he knocked at the door of each cell, and said, "O brother, come forth, for I have need of thee." And he passed by all their cells, and not one of the obeyed him quickly.

But when they went to the cell of Mark, he knocked at the door and said, "Brother Mark," and as soon as Mark heard the voice of the old man, he jumped up straightway and came out and Sylvanus sent him off on some business.

Then Sylvanus said to the old men, "My fathers, where are the other brethren?" And they went into Mark's cell, and looked at the quire of the book which he was writing, and they saw that he had begun to write one side of the Greek letter "omega" (o) and that as soon as he heard the voice of his master, he ran out and did not stay to complete the other side of the letter. Now when the old men perceived these things, they answered and said unto Sylvanus, "Verily, old man, we also love the brother whom thou lovest, for God also loveth him."

from "Paradise of the Fathers," vol. II, p. 53, translated by E. A. Wallis Budge, (Seattle: St. Nectarios Press, 1984)

Why Silence? Why the Desert?

This story is from Abba Arsenius who was born in Rome circa 360. He was well-educated, of senatorial rank, and served as a tutor to the sons of Emperor Theodosius I. At the age of 34, Arsenius sailed secretly from Rome to Alexandria and from there to Scetis where he became a monk under Abba John the Dwarf. Abba Arsenius went to the Lord in 449.

The brethren said, "What is the meaning of the words which one of the old men spake, saying, 'He who dwelleth with men, because of the commotion of worldly affairs is unable to see his sins; but if he dwell in the silent repose of the desert he will be able to see God in a pure manner?'"

The old man (Abba Arsenius) said, "The excellences which are cultivated in the world, and to which our Lord, speaking in the Gospel, ascribed blessing, are lovingkindness, peace-making and the other commandments which are like unto them, and it is quite possible for such virtues to be cultivated in the world by certain strenuous persons.

"But the purity of heart which seeth God, and to which our Lord ascribed blessing, saying, 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,' cannot be acquired without dwelling in the desert and solitary and silent contemplation. The monk must acquire it in the following way. First of all a man must go forth from the world, and dwell in a monastery, and after his training in a monastery and having gone into his cell, he must die through contemplation in silence, and through the other labors of his body, and through striving against the passions, and through conflict with devils.

"Then through the tranquillity of mind (which he will acquire) in silent contemplation, he will remember his sins, and when he hateth his passions, and hath petitioned for the remission of his sins, and hath suppressed his thoughts, and hath become constant in pure prayer, and hath cleansed his heart from odious thoughts, then shall he be worthy to see in his heart, even as in a polished mirror, the light of the revelation of our Lord (shining) upon it, even as the Fathers say.

"Well, then, did that holy man say to those brethren, 'Visit the sick, reconcile the men of wrath,' for he who cultivateth spiritual excellences in the world cannot, by reason of the commotion of the affairs thereof, see his sins; but if he continue in silent contemplation and prayer he shall see God."

from E. A. Wallis Budge, "The Paradise of the Holy Fathers, vol. II," (Seattle: St. Nectarios Press, 1984), pp. 319-320

Judge Not Others

On one occasion Abba Ammon went to Abba Anthony, and he lost his way, and sat down for a little and fell asleep; and he rose up from his slumber, and prayed unto God, and said, "I beg Thee, O Lord God, not to destroy that which Thou hast fashioned." Then he lifted up his eyes, and behold, there was the form of a man's hand above him in the heavens, and it showed him the way until he came and stood above the cave of Abba Anthony; and when he had gone into the cave of the old man, Abba Anthony prophesied unto him, saying, "You shall increase in the fear of God." Then he took him outside the cave, and showing him a stone, said, "Curse this stone, and strike it," and he did so. Abba Anthony said unto him, "It is thus that you shall arrive at this state, for you shall bear heaviness, and great abuse;" and this actually happened to Abba Ammon.

Now, through his abundant goodness, Abba Ammon knew not wickedness. And after he had become a bishop, through his spiritual excellence they brought unto him a young girl who had conceived, and they said unto him, "So-and-so has done this deed; let them receive correction." But he made the sign of the Cross over her stomach and ordered them to give her six pair of linen cloths, and he said, "When she delivers, either she or the child will die, and if either dies let them be buried." Then those who were with him said unto him, "What is this that you have done? Give the command that they receive correction." And he said unto them, "See, my brothers, she is nigh unto death; what can I do?" Then he dismissed her.

And the old man never ventured to judge anyone, for he was full of loving kindness and endless goodness to all the children of men.

from E. A. Wallis Budge, "The Paradise of the Holy Fathers," (Seattle: St. Nectarios Press, 1984), p. 106

Which is Better? The Way of Mary
or the Way of Martha?

This thought is from an anonymous Desert Father who was questioned about whether it is better to live the solitary life of contemplation and poverty or to devote one’s life to helping others and providing material support to the needy. His answer goes to the heart of the debate whether it is better to follow the way of Mary or that of Martha.

The brethren said, "There were two brothers who were the sons of a merchant and their father died and they divided their inheritance between themselves. Unto each one, there came five thousand dinars. One of the brothers divided his inheritance among the churches, and the monasteries, and the poor, and he himself became a monk, and he chose for himself a life of continual silence, and fasting, and prayer. Now the other one built a monastery for himself, and gathered brethren to him, and he took care of the strangers, and the poor, and the sick, whom he received and relieved.

"When the two brothers were dead, there was questioning among the brethren about them, and they went to Abba Pambo and asked him, ‘Which manner of life and conduct was the more excellent and exalted?’ And having learned from God, he said unto them, ‘They were both perfect, and in my sight they appear to be of equal merit.’ Explain to us now the old man’s words, for how can the man who is destitute, and the man who hath possessions be equal in merit?’ The old man said, ‘Since the whole conduct of these brethren was to God, and since whatsoever they did they did it for God, with an upright aim, and since the aim of each was the same, they appeared to be in the old man’s opinion of equal merit before God.’"

from "The Paradise of the Holy Fathers," trans. by E. A. Wallis Budge, (Seattle: St. Nectarios Press, 1984), p. 283

Being Blessed by Giving Charitably

A monk had a brother living in the world who was poor, and so he supplied him with all he received from his work. But the more the monk supplied, the poorer the brother became. So the monk went to tell an old man about it. The old man said to him, "If you want my advice, do not give him anything more, but say to him, 'Brother, when I had something I supplied you; now bring me what you get from your work.' Take all he brings you, and whenever you see a stranger or a poor man, give him some of it, begging him to pray for him."
The monk went away and did this. When his secular brother came, he spoke to him as the old man had said, and the brother went sadly away. The first day, taking some vegetables from his field, he brought them to the monk. The monk took them and gave them to the old men, begging them to pray for his brother, and after the blessing he returned home. In the same way, another time, the brother brought the monk some vegetables and three loaves, which he took, doing as on the first occasion, and having received the blessing he went away.
And the secular brother came a third time bringing many provisions, some bread, and fish. Seeing this, the monk was full of wonder, and he invited the poor so as to give them refreshment. The he said to his brother, "Do you not need a little bread?" The other said to him, "No, for when I used to receive something from you, it was like fire coming into my house and burning it, but now that I receive nothing from you, God blesses me."
Then the monk went to tell the old man all that had happened, and the old man said to him, "Do you not know that the work of the monk is of fire, and where it enters, it burns? It helps your brother more to do alms with what he reaps from his field, and to receive the prayers of the saints and thus to be blessed."

from "The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers," by Sr. Benedicta Ward, (Oxford: SLG Press, 1986), pp. 43-44