Bad Reputation

Three monks came to Achillas, and one of them had a bad reputation. The first monk said, "Abba. make me a fishing net."

He said, "I won't."

The second said to him, "Will you give us a memento of yourself to keep in our community?"

He answered, "I don't have time."

Then the third, the one who had the bad reputation, said to him, "Make me a fishing-net, and so I shall have a blessing from your hands, abba."

At once he answered, "I will do that."

But the first two, whose requests he had refused, said privately to him, "Why did you refuse our requests and consent to his?"

Achillas answered, "I could tell you that I would not do it because I had no time, and you would not be vexed. But if I did not do it for this monk, he would say, 'The hermit has heard my reputation and for that reason has refused to make me a net.' So immediately I set to work with the string, to soothe his soul and prevent him from being sad."

Eating Soup in Scetis

Once Achillas came to the cell of Isaiah in Scetis, and found him eating. He had put salt and water in a dish. Seeing that he was hiding the dish behind the plaits of palm leaves, Achillas said, "Tell me what you were eating."

He answered, "I am sorry abba, but I was cutting palms and began to burn with thirst. So I dipped a piece of bread in salt, and put it in my mouth. But my mouth was parched, and I could not swallow the bread, so I was forced to pour a little water on the salt so that I could swallow it. Forgive me."

Achillas used to tease him, saying, "Come see Isaiah eating soup in Scetis. If you want to eat soup, go to Egypt."

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