Fruit of the Vine

Moses said, "One who avoids others is like a ripe grape. One who stays in company is like a sour grape."

~~Sour Grapes by Sally Minker

Three Things

Joseph of Thebes said, "Three things are seen to be honorable by God. The first is when temptations come on someone who is weak, and are accepted thankfully. The second is when every action is pure before God, mixed with no human motive. The third is when a disciple remains obedient to a spiritual father, and gives up his self-will."

The Devil's Wiles

Macarius wanted to encourage the brothers so he said, "A little while ago a mother came here with her son who was vexed by a devil, and he said to his mother, 'Get up, let us go away from here.' But she said, 'My feet are so bad that I can't walk away.' So her son said to her, 'I will carry you.' I am amazed at the cleverness of the devil, how much he wanted them to flee from this place."

~~ Mother and Son by Georges Mazilu

Forgive Our Debtors

Hyperichius said, "Snatch your neighbor from his sins, so far as you can, and refrain from condemning him, for God does not reject those who turn to him. Let no evil word about your brother stay in your mind, so that you can say, 'Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.' (Matthew 7:12)."

The Solution is Silence

Poemen said, "Whatever hardship comes upon you, it can be overcome by silence."

Remain in Community

Syncletica said, "We ought to behave always with discretion: and remain in the community, not following our own will, nor seeking our own good. Like exiles we have been separated from things of the world and have given ourselves in faith to the one Father. We need nothing of what we have left behind. There we had a reputation and plenty to eat; here we have little to eat and not much of anything else."

For Whom the Tree Bows Down

They said there was a man in Syria who lived near the way into the desert, and it was his work faithfully to refresh every monk who came from the desert, and whatever time he came. One day a hermit arrived and he offered him food. But the hermit refused, saying, "I am fasting."

The man was saddened, and said, "Please do not pass over your servant, do not scorn me. Let us pray together. Look, here is a tree; let us obey him for whom the tree bows down when he kneels and prays."

So, the hermit knelt and prayed, but nothing happened. Then the man knelt down, and at once the tree bent its trunk. They rejoiced at the sight, and gave thanks to God who is always doing wonders.

Pray Without Ceasing

Some monks called Euchites, or "men of prayer," once came to Lucius in the ninth region of Alexandria. He asked them, "What manual work do you do?"

They said, "We do not work with our hands. We obey St. Paul's command and pray without ceasing." (I Thessalonians 5:17).

He said to them, "Don't you eat?"

They said, "Yes, we do."

He said to them, "When you are eating who prays for you?" Then he asked them, "Don't you sleep?."

They said, "Yes, we do."

He said, "Who prays for you while you are asleep?" and they could not answer him. Then he said to them, "I may be wrong, brothers, but it seems to me you don't do what you say. I will show you how I pray without ceasing although I work with my hands. With God's help, I sit down with a few palm leaves, and plait them, and say, 'Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great mercy: and according to the multitude of thy mercies do away with mine iniquity.' (Psalm 51:1)

He asked them, "Is that prayer, or not?"

They said, "It's prayer, all right."

He said, "When I spend all day working and praying in my heart, I make about sixteen pence. Two of these I put outside the door, and with the rest I buy food. Whoever finds the two pennies outside the door prays for me while I am eating and sleeping: and so by God's grace I fulfil the text, "Pray without ceasing." (I Thessalonians 5:17).

Sing Without Distraction

Evagrius said, "It is a great thing to pray without distraction. It is even greater to sing psalms without distraction."

Offering

Daniel said, "When Arsenius was dying, he gave us this instruction: Do not make any offering for me. If I have made any offering for myself during my life, I shall find it."

~~Tatematsuru (Offering) by Sheary Clough Suiter

Judge Not

A hermit said, "Do not judge an adulterer if you are chaste or you will break the law of God just as much as he does. For, he who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, "Do not judge.'"

If You Would Be Truly Humble

Cassian said that a brother came to Serapion and the hermit asked him in the usual way to offer prayer. But he refused, saying that he was a sinner, and unworthy of a monk's habit. Serapion wanted to wash his feet but he would not allow it, using the same words.

Serapion gave him a meal, and then began to talk to him gently, saying, "Son, if you want to make progress, stay in your cell, keep a watch upon yourself and attend to the work of your hands. Nothing is more profitable to you than staying your cell."

But, when the brother heard this, he was furious, and the hermit could not help seeing his face change. So, Serapion said to him, "Just now you were saying 'I am a sinner' and accusing yourself of being an unworthy monk. Then why were you angry when I gave you some loving advice?If you would be truly humble, learn to carry the burdens that others lay upon you bravely, and don't just shower terms of abuse over yourself."

When the brother heard this, he did penance before Serapion, and went away much helped.

~~ Hatsuhana doing penance under the Tonozawa waterfall by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1798 - 1861

A Little Rope

Macarius the Great came to Antony on the mountain. When he knocked on the door, Antony went out and said, "Who are you?"

He said, "I am Macarius."

Antony went in and shut the door, and left Macarius outside. Afterwards, when he saw how patiently he waited, he opened the door to him and welcomed him saying, "I have heard of you, and for a long time I have wanted to see you." He was hospitable and refreshed him, for Macarius was tired with his hard work.

In the evening, Antony put out a few palm leaves for himself. Macarius said to him, "Give me some, so that I may work at them."

Antony said, "I only have these." So he made a pile of what he had, and they sat late, talking to the good of their souls, and made a plaited rope, and the rope hung out of the window in the cave. At dawn, Antony went out and saw the plait Macarius had made, and he marveled and kissed his hand, saying, "There is great virtue in those plaits."

~~Fractal, Rope, by Sven Geier

Renounce Everything

Cassian said that Syncleticus renounced the world, and divided his property among the poor. But he kept some for his own use, and so he showed that he was unwilling to accept either the poverty of those who renounce everything or the normal rule of the monasteries. Basil of blessed memory said to him, "You have stopped being a senator, but you have not become a monk."

When Wretched With Lust . . .

A brother came to Poemen and said to him, "What am I to do, abba? I am wretched with lust. I went to see Hybistion and he told me: 'You must not let this passion live in you any longer.'"

Poemen said to him, "Hybistion lives like the angels in heaven, and he does not know about these things. But you and I are full of lust. If a monk controls his stomach and his tongue, and stays in solitude, he can trust that he is not yet lost."

The Grievance

Once a hermit came to see Achillas, and saw blood dripping from his mouth so he asked him, "What is the matter, abba?"

Achillas said, "A brother came and said something that upset me, and I have been brooding over that grievance. I prayed God that he would take it away, and the word turned into blood in my mouth. Look, I have spat it out, and I am now at peace, and have forgotten my grievance."

~~The Grievance by Mark Townsend, 2000

Weeping Spends the Night

Once some monks of Mount Nitria sent a message to Scetis to ask Macarius the Great to come to see them. They said if he could not come to them, the whole crowd of them would go to him, since they wanted to see him before he passed on to the Lord.

When Macarius arrived in Nitria, the whole congregation gathered in his presence. The elders asked him to speak a word to the brothers. But he shed tears, and said, "Let us pray and weep, my brothers, before we go hence to the place where our tears consume our bodies."

They all wept; and fell on their faces, saying, "Abba, pray for us."

~~Weeping statue at Pere Lachaise, Paris

Go To Your Cell

In Scetis a brother went to Moses to ask for advice. He said to him, "Go and sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything."

Progress in Perfection

Joseph of Thebes said, "Three things are seen to be honorable by God. The first is when temptations come on someone, who is weak, and are accepted thankfully. The second is when every action is pure before God, mixed with no human motive. The third is when a disciple remains obedient to a spiritual father, and gives up all his self will.

~~Fractal image, The Holder of Life, by Khold01

Wings of Fire

John said that a hermit saw in a rapture three monks standing on the edge of the sea and a voice came to them from the other side saying, "Take wings of fire and come to me." The first two did so and reached the other shore, but the third stayed where he was crying and weeping.

Later on, wings were given to him also, not of fire but weak and feeble so that he reached the other shore with great difficulty, sometimes in the water, sometimes over it.

So it is with the present generation: the wings they are give are not of fire, they are weak and feeble.

~~Photo Wings of Fire by Aike Voelker

Tend the Sick

A brother asked a hermit, "Suppose there are two monks: one stays quietly in his cell, fasting for six days at a time, laying many hardships on himself: the other ministers to the sick. Which of them is more pleasing to God?"

The hermit replied, "Even if the brother who fasts six days hung himself up by his nose, he wouldn't be the equal of him who ministers to the sick."

Already Dead

Paesius, the brother of Poemen, loved one of the monks and Poemen did not like it. So, he went and visited Ammonas, and said to him, "My brother Paesius loves someone else and I don't like it."

Ammonas said to him, "Poemen, are you still alive? Go and sit in your cell, and think to yourself that you have been in your grave a year already."

~~photo by Victoria Logue

The Sound of SIlence

Poemen said, "Whatever hardship comes upon you, it can be overcome by silence."

Let Me Be Your Servant

Four monks once came from Scetis to Pambo, wearing tunics of skin. Each described the goodness of one of the others, though not in his presence. One of them fasted much, one of the owned nothing, the third man was of great charity, and they said of the fourth that he lived in obedience to others for twenty-two years.

Pambo answered, "The latter has greater virtue than the others. Each of you others has to use his own will to keep what he has promised, but he roots out his self-will and makes himself the servant of another's will. People like that, if they persevere till death, are saints."

Thy Will Be Done

A hermit who was very holy lived near to a community of monks. Some visitors to the community happened to go to see him and made him eat, though it was not the proper time. Later, the monks of the community said to him, "Weren't you upset, abba?"

He answered, "I am upset when I do my own will."

Become All Flame

Lot went to Joseph and said, "Abba, as far as I can, I keep a moderate rule, with a little fasting, and prayer, and meditation, and quiet: and as far as I can I try to cleanse my heart of evil thoughts. What else should I do?"

Then Joseph stood up and spread out his hands to heaven, and his fingers shone like ten flames of fire, and he said, "If you will, you can become all flame."

God is Everywhere

Daniel and Ammoi once went on a journey together. Ammoi said, "Do you think we might rest for awhile in a cell, abba?"

Daniel said to him, "Who can separate us from God? God is in the cell, he is also outside in the world."

A Fierce Drought

Peter, the disciple of Lot, told this story: "I was once in the cell of Agatho, when a brother came to him and said, 'I want to live with the monks; tell me how to do so.'"

Agatho said, "From the first day you join them, remember you're a pilgrim all the days of your life, and do no be too confident."

Macarius said to him, "What does confidence do?"

He replied, "It is like a fierce drought. When it is dry everyone flees away from the land because it destroys even the fruit on the trees."

Macarius said, "Is it only false confidence that is like that?"

Agatho answered, "No passion is worse than confidence; it is the mother of all passion. It is best for the monk's progress that he should not be confident at all, even when he is alone in his cell."

Love All Creation

While Abba Macarius was praying in his cave in the desert, a hyena suddenly appeared and began to lick his feet and, taking him gentlyby 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 him her cubs which had been born blind. He prayed over them and returned them to the hyena, their sight healed. She in turn, by the way of a thank offering, brought the man the huge skin of a ram and laid it at his feet.

He smiled at her as if at a kind and sensitive person and taking the skin, spread it under him.

At Peace

A brother asked Poemen, "What am I to do for I become weak just sitting in my cell?"

Poemen said, "Despise no one, condemn no one, revile no one: and God will give you quietness, and you will sit at peace in your cell."