A provincial priest went to visit an anchorite to offer the Eucharist for him. Now someone went to the anchorite and spoke against the priest, so when the latter came according to custom to give him communion, the anchorite, who had been shocked, did not let him in, and the priest went away. Then, behold, a voice came to the anchorite, saying, “Men have taken jugdment away from me.” The anchorite was as though in ecstasy, and he saw a well of gold and a rope of gold and a jug of gold and much water of surpassing quality. Then he saw a leper draw the water and pour it out, and he would gladly have drunk but could not because he who drew the water was leprous. Again a voice came to him saying, “Why do you not drink the water? What does it matter if he who draws it is leperous? he only draws it and pours it out.” Returning to himself and perceiving the meaning of the vision, the anchorite sent for the priest and let him give him communion as usual.
Every day you provide your bodies with good to keep them from failing. In the same way your good works should be the daily nourishment of your hearts. Your bodies are fed with food and your spirits with good works. You aren’t to deny your soul, which is going to live forever, what you grant to your body, which is going to die.
Originally posted 2006-04-17 19:49:57.
Was it upon the twelve that it [the Holy Spirit] came? Not so; but upon the hundred and twenty. For Peter would not have quoted to no purpose the testimony of the prophet, saying, '
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith the Lord God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams' (Joel 2:28). 'And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.' For, that the effect may not be to frighten only, therefore it is both 'with the Holy Spirit, and with fire. And began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance' (Mt. 3:11).
Originally posted 2006-06-11 08:29:28.
There was an old man in the Thebaid who lived in a cave and who had an experienced disciple. Now it was the old man’s custom to give him some advice for his benefit every evening and then to say a prayer and send him to bed. One day, knowing the old man’s great ascesis, some devout seculars went to see him and he edified them. When they had gone, the old man sat down again in the evening, according to custom, and admonished the brother, but while he was speaking to him, he fell asleep. The brother waited for the old man to wake up and say the prayer. Having sat for a long time, when the old man did not awaken, he was troubled by the thought of going to rest without being sent, but he did violence to himself, resisted the thought, and remained. Later the same thought assailed him, but he did not go away, and thus he resisted this temptation seven times. After this, the night being well advanced, the old man awoke and found him sitting beside him. He said to him, “Haven’t you gone yet?” He said, “No, abba, for you haven’t sent me.” And the old man aid, “Why did you not wake me up?” He siad “I did not dare to wake you, so as not to disturb you.” They arose and recited the dawn prayers, and after the synaxis the old man dismissed the brother and sat down alone. At that time he was rapt in ecstasy, and someone showed him a wonderful place where there was a throne and on the throne seven crowns. He asked him who was showing, “Whose is that?” He said to him, “It is your disciple’s; God has granted this place and the throne to him because os his obedience; as for the seven crowns, he wore them this night.” When he heard this the old man was filled with wonder, and in his astonishment he called the brother and said to him, “Tell me what you have done this night.” The other said, “Forgive, abba, I have done nothing.” Thinking that through humility he did not want to say anything, the old man said to him, “I will not let you go till you have told me what you have done and what you have thought this night.” The brother, who thought he had not done anything, did not know what to say. So he said to his father, “Abba, I have done nothing except this: Seven times I was oppressed by the thought of going away before you had dismissed me, and I did not go.” When he heard this the old man understood that God had crowned him as many times as he had resisted the temptation. He said nothing to the brother, but he related it to the spiritual Fathers for their benefit, so that we may know that God grants us crowns even for small things. Truly it is good to constrain oneself for God’s sake. In truth the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take possession of it. (Matt 11:12)
Originally posted 2009-02-12 12:49:44.
The three denials
What difference does it make that the maid is the first to give Peter away? The men could have recognized him instead. Perhaps this happened so that we may see that the female gender also sinned by killing the Lord, so that His passion should also redeem womankind. A woman therefore was the first to receive the mystery of the Resurrection and to obey the commands (John 20:11-18), so that she abolished the old error of her sin.
Originally posted 2006-04-20 18:21:11.
An old man said, “The prophets wrote books, then came our Fathers who put them into practice. Those who came after them learnt them by heart. Then came the present generation, who have written them out and put them into their window seats without using them.”
Originally posted 2009-11-03 21:29:11.
The Holy Eucharist is the first, most important, and greatest miracle of Christ. All the other Gospel miracles are secondary. How could we not call the greatest miracle the fact that simple bread and wine were once transformed by the Lord into His very Body and His very Blood, and then have continued to be transformed for nearly two thousand years by the prayers of priests, who are but simple human beings? And what is more, this mystery has continued to effect a miraculous change in those people who communicate of the Divine Mysteries with faith and humility.
Originally posted 2006-04-17 19:55:45.
A brother overcome by lust went to see a great old man and besought him, saying, 'Be so good as to pray for me, for I am overcome by lust.' And the old man prayed to God for him. A second time he went to the old man and said the same thing, and once more the old man did not omit to beseech God for him, saying, 'Lord, reveal to me the manner of life of this brother and whence comes this action of the devil, for I have already besought you and he has not found peace'. Then God revealed this to him about the brother: he saw him sitting with the spirit of lust beside him and an angel, sent to his aid, was standing beside him and becoming angry with him because he did not fall down before God but, taking pleasure in his thoughts, delivered up his spirit completely to the action of the devil. So the old man knew that the cause came from the brother, and he told him, 'It is you who are consenting to your thoughts.' Then he taught him how to resist thoughts, and the brother, restored by the old man's prayer and teaching, found rest.
Originally posted 2006-04-30 13:23:03.
What is the hen and how does it relate?
I came as a hen to protect them, but they received Me in hatred and betrayel, I came as a mother, and they assumed I came to kill them, so they killed Me.
Originally posted 2006-04-17 22:28:30.
Let us consider, beloved, how the Lord continually proves to us that there shall be a future resurrection, of which He has rendered the Lord Jesus Christ the first-fruits by raising Him from the dead. Let us contemplate, beloved, the resurrection which is at all times taking place. Day and night declare to us a resurrection. The night sinks to sleep, and the day arises; the day [again] departs, and the night comes on. Let us behold the fruits [of the earth], how the sowing of grain takes place. The sower goes forth, and casts it into the ground; and the seed being thus scattered, though dry and naked when it fell upon the earth, is gradually dissolved. Then out of its dissolution the mighty power of the providence of the Lord raises it up again, and from one seed many arise and bring forth fruit.
Taken from Chap. XXIV. of the first epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. From "The Early Church Fathers and Other Works" originally published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. in English in Edinburgh, Scotland beginning in 1867. (ANF 1, Roberts and Donaldson). The digital version is by The Electronic Bible Society, P.O. Box 701356, Dallas, TX 75370, 214-407-WORD.
Originally posted 2006-04-24 10:26:04.
Abba Evagrius said, "Sit in your cell, collecting your thoughts. Remembering the day of your death. See then what the death of your body will be; let your spirit be heavy, take pains, condemn the vanity of the world, so as to be able to live always in the peace you have in view without weakening. Remember also what happens in hell and think about the state of the souls down there, their painful silence, their most bitter groanings, their fear, their strife, their waiting. Think of their grief without end and the tears their souls shed eternally.
"But keep the day of resurrection and of presentation to God in remembrance also. Imagine the fearful and terrible judgment. Consider the fate kept for sinners, their shame before the face of God and the angels and archangels and all men, that is to say, the punishments, the eternal fire, worms that rest not, the darkness, gnashing of teeth, fear and supplications. Consider also the good things in store for the righteous: confidence in the face of God the Father and His Son, the angels and archangels and all the people of the saints, the kingdom of heaven, and the gifts of that realm, joy and beatitude.
"Keep in mind the remembrance of these two realities. Weep for the judgment of sinners, afflict yourself for fear lest you too feel those pains. But rejoice and be glad at the lot of the righteous. Strive to obtain those joys but be a stranger to those pains. Whether you be inside or outside your cell, be careful that the remembrance of these things never leaves you, so that, thanks to their remembrance, you may at least flee wrong and harmful thoughts."
from "The Desert Christian," by Sr. Benedicta Ward, (New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1975), pp. 63-64
Originally posted 2006-04-23 10:19:08.
Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but let them be in subjection, as also saith the law.
Having abated the disturbance both from the tongues and from the prophesyings; and having made a law to prevent confusion, that they who speak with tongues should do this in turn, and that they who prophesy should be silent when another begins; he next in course proceeds to the disorder which arose from the women, cutting off their unseasonable boldness of speech: and that very opportunely. For if to them that have the gifts it is not permitted to speak inconsiderately, nor when they will, and this, though they be moved by the Spirit; much less to those women who prate idly and to no purpose.
Originally posted 2006-05-02 12:12:19.
An old man was asked, “What is the straight and narrow way?” He replied, “The straight way is this, to do violence to one’s thoughts and to cut off one’s own will. That is what this means: “Behold we have left all and followed thee.” (Mark 10:28)
Originally posted 2009-11-18 14:37:05.
Avva Evagrius was a monk in Scetis. He was born in the middle of the fourth century, the son of a priest. Because of his background and obvious capabilities, he caught the attention of such notable contemporaries as St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Gregory the Theologian. St. Basil anointed him reader, St. Gregory of Nyssa ordained him as deacon, and then took him to Constantinople. He eventually left there to escape temptation and went to Jerusalem where he took monastic vows. Shortly after that, he went to Egypt where he settled in Nitria for two years and finally in Scetis where he apparently spent the rest of his life. He died in 399.
The active life of a monk by Avva Evagrius
- Our holy and most experienced teacher used to say: a monk should be attuned in himself, as if he had to die tomorrow; and he should deal with his body as though he had to live many years. For, as he said, the first stops despondent thoughts and makes a monk more zealous, and the second keeps the body healthy and makes it always preserve an even temperance.
– It is necessary to distinguish the differences between demons and to note their times. From thoughts we learn which demons are rare but grievous, which are constant but lighter, which jump on one suddenly and entice the mind to blasphemy. It is also important to observe when thoughts begin to bring forward their objects, so that, before quitting our usual state, we may have time to say something against them and to notice who is in them. For in this way we shall succeed with God’s help and shall force them to turn away from us with vexation, marveling at us.
– When the demons become exhausted in their struggle with monks, they withdraw a little and watch which virtue will be neglected during that interval; then, suddenly attacking this side they pillage the poor soul.
– With laymen the demons fight rather by means of actual things, but with monks mostly by means of thoughts; for in the wilderness they have no things. But as it is easier and quicker to sin in thought then in deed, so mental warfare is more arduous than that waged by means of things. The mind is something extremely mobile and unrestrainable, susceptible to sinful fantasies.
– We are not commanded to work, keep vigil and fast unceasingly; but we are commanded to pray without ceasing. For the former efforts, directed towards healing the lustful part of the soul, have need of the body for their action; and the body cannot exist in constant work and privations without support. Prayer, however, purifies and renders strong in battle the mind, which is created to pray even without this body, and to fight the demons for the protection of all the powers of the soul.
– Let us discern the signs of passionlessness during daytime by means of thoughts, and at night by means of dreams. Let us call passionlessness the health of the soul, and knowledge its food; because it alone unites us with the holy powers, since union with the incorporeal beings is possible only when our state corresponds to theirs.
– There are two peaceable states of the soul: one comes of the weakening and drying up of natural juices, the other is due to withdrawal of the demons. The first is accompanied by humility with contrition of heart — tears and a measureless desire of the Divine; the second is followed by vainglory and pride, which take possession of a monk when other demons have withdrawn. He who protects the realm of the first state can more easily discern the attacks and wiles of the demons.
– The demon of vainglory is opposed to the demon of fornication; it is not feasible for the two to attack the soul together, for one promises honors and the other casts into dishonor. Therefore if one of them approaches and begins to disturb you, bring to your mind the thoughts of the opposing demon. If you succeed, as the saying goes, in driving out one nail with another, know that you are close to the realm of passionless; for your mind has proved able to drive away the demon’s suggestions by human thoughts. But of course, to banish the thought of vainglory by humility, or the thought of fornication by chastity, would be a sign of the deepest passionlessness. Try to act thus in relation to all demons and their opposites. Doing this you will also learn what passion was filling you. Yet beg God with all your strength to teach you and help you to drive away the enemies by the second method.
– The further the soul progresses, the more powerful are the enemies who attack it. I do not think that the demons who surround it are always the same. This is known best to those who watch sharply the temptations which attack them, and see that their customary passionlessness is being shaken more violently than before by new demons, successors of the old.
– Perfect passionlessness comes to the soul when all the demons who oppose active life are overcome. Passionlessness is called imperfect when the soul still wages war as much as it can with the demon who attacks it, without, however, giving ground.
– The mind will not pass through, will not complete safely this passionate way (of trials) and will not enter the realm of the incorporeal, unless it sets right what is within. Domestic disorder is bound to turn it back to things it has left behind.
– Both virtues and vices make the mind blind: with the first it does not see vices, and with the second, virtues.
from E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer (trans), “Early Fathers From the Philokalia,” (London: Faber and Faber, 1981), pp. 106 – 108
Originally posted 2006-04-17 13:00:37.
1. O Lord, deprive me not of Thy heavenly blessings;
2. O Lord, deliver me from eternal torment;
3. O Lord, if I have sinned in my mind or thought, in word deed, forgive me.
4. O Lord, deliver me from every ignorance and heedlessness, from pettiness of the soul and stony hardness of heart;
5. O Lord, deliver me from every temptation;
6. O Lord, enlighten my heart darkened by evil desires;
7. O Lord, I, being a human being, have sinned; do Thou, being God, forgive me in Thy lovingkindness, for Thou knowest the weakness of my soul.
8. O Lord, send down Thy grace to help me, that I may glorify Thy holy Name;
9. O Lord Jesus Christ, inscribe me, Thy servant, in the Book of Life, and grant me a blessed end;
10. O Lord my God, even if I have done nothing good in Thy sight, yet grant me, according to Thy grace, that I may make a start in doing good.
11. O Lord, sprinkle on my heart the dew of Thy grace;
12. O Lord of heaven and earth, remember me, Thy sinful servant, cold of heart and impure, in Thy Kingdom.
13. O Lord, receive me in repentance;
14. O Lord, leave me not;
15. O Lord, save me from temptation;
16. O Lord, grant me pure thoughts;
17. O Lord, grant me tears of repentance, remembrance of death, and the sense of peace;
18. O Lord, grant me mindfulness to confess my sins;
19. O Lord, grant me humility, charity, and obedience;
20. O Lord, grant me tolerance, magnanimity, and gentleness;
21. O Lord, implant in me the root of all blessings: the fear of Thee in my heart;
22. O Lord, vouchsafe that I may love Thee with all my heart and soul, and that I may obey in all things Thy will;
23. O Lord, shield me from evil persons and devils and passions and all other lawless matters;
24. O Lord, Who knowest Thy creation and that which Thou hast willed for it; may Thy will also be fulfilled in me, a sinner, for Thou art blessed forevermore. Amen.
Originally posted 2009-02-23 04:04:47.