A Lean or Prosperous Soul?

Daniel said, "If the body is strong, the soul weakens. If the body weakens, the soul is strong."

He also said, "If the body is prosperous, the soul grows lean; if the body is lean, the soul grows prosperous."

Turn The Other Cheek

Daniel said that in Babylon there was a nobleman's daughter, who was possessed by a devil. Her father asked a monk for help. The monk said to him, "No one can cure your daughter except some hermits I know: and if you go to them, they will refuse to do it from motives of humility. Let us do it this way: when they come to the city bringing their produce for sale, tell them that you want to buy what they have. When they come into the house to receive the money, we will ask them to pray, and I believe that your daughter will be cured."

So they went into the street, and they found a disciple of a hermit who was sitting there trying to sell his baskets. They took him back with them to the house, as if to give him money for his wares. When the monk came into the house, the girl who was troubled with the demon went up to him and slapped him. He followed the Lord's commandment and turned the other cheek.

The demon was forced out, and began to cry: "Violence! The commandment of Jesus Christ is driving me out;" the girl was healed at that moment.

When they came back to the hermit, they told him what had happened, and he glorified God saying, "The pride of devils must fall before humble obedience to the commandments of Jesus Christ.

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

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."

The Benefits of Odor

Daniel said that Arsenius only changed the water for his palm leaves once a year, otherwise he just added to it. He would make a plait of palm leaves and weave it until noon. The elders asked him why he would not change the water for the palm leaves, which was stinking.

He said to them, "When I was in the world I used incense and sweet-smelling ointments, so now I profit by this stink."

King of Righteousness

Daniel told the story of a hermit who used to live in the lower parts of Egypt, and who said in his simplicity that Melchizedek was the Son of God. Now, when the blessed man, Theophilus, the archbishop of Alexandria, heard of it, he sent a message asking that the monks bring this hermit to see him.

When Theophilus saw him, he realized this hermit was a man of vision and that everything that he asked for God had given him, and that he had only said this out of his simplicity.

The archbishop dealt with him wisely, in the following manner, saying, "Abba, pray to God for me, because I have begun to think that Melchizedek was the Son of God. And, it cannot be true, for the high priest of God was a man. But, because I had doubts in my mind about this, I sent for you to pray to God for me that he may reveal the truth of the matter to you."

Then, because the hermit had confidence in the power of prayer, he said firmly to the archbishop, "Wait three days, and I will ask God about this and then I shall be able to tell you who Melchizedek was."

So, the hermit went away and after three days, returned, and said to the blessed Archbishop Theophilus, Melchizedek was a man."

The Archbishop said to him, "How do you know that, abba?"

The hermit said, "God showed me all the Patriarchs, one by one, and they passed before me one after the other, from Adam to Melchizedek, and an angel said to me, 'This is Melchizedek.' That is indeed how the truth of this matter appeared to me."

The hermit went away and he, himself, proclaimed that Melchizedek was a man, and the blessed Theophilus rejoiced greatly.

"Melchizedek blesses Abraham" from The Story of the Bible by Charles Foster (Illustrations by F.B. Schell and others). Melchizedek is derived from the Hebrew Melech or king and Tzadiq or righteous.

Sharing

Daniel said of Aresenius, "All the years he lived near us, we gave him the minimum amount of food to last each year, and every time we went to visit him, he shared it with us."

~~photo by Frank Logue

The Body of Christ

Daniel the disciple of Arsenius used to talk about a hermit is Skete, saying that he was a great man but simple in faith, and in his ignorance he thought and said that the bread which we receive is not in very truth the Body of Christ, but a symbol of His Body.

Two of the monks heard what he said but because of his sublime works and labors, they imagined that he said it in innocence and simple-mindedness; and so they came to him and said unto him, "Abba, someone told us something that we do not believe; he said that this bread that we receive is not in very truth the Body of Christ, but a mere symbol."

He said to them, " I said that."

They begged him, saying, "You mustn't say that, abba; according to what the Catholic Church has handed down to us, even so do we believe, that is to say, this bread is the Body of Christ in very truth, and is not a mere symbol. It is the same as when God took dust from the earth, and made man in His image; just as no one can say that he is not the image of God, so also with the bread of which He said, 'This is My Body' is not to be regarded as a merely commemorative thing; we believe that it is indeed the Body of Christ."

The hermit said, "Unless I can be convinced by the thing itself I will not listen to this."

Then the monks said to him, "Let us pray to God all week about this mystery, and we believe He will reveal the truth to us."

The hermit agreed to this with great joy, and each went to his cell. Then the hermit prayed, saying, "O Lord, you know that it is not out of wickedness that I do not believe, so in order that I may not go astray through ignorance, reveal to me, Lord Jesus Christ, the truth of this mystery."

The other two brothers prayed to God and said, "Lord Jesus Christ, give this hermit understanding about this mystery, and we believe that he will not be lost." God heard the prayer of the two monks.

When the week was over they came to the church and the three of them sat down by themselves on one seat, the hermit between the other two. The eyes of their understanding were opened, and when the time of the mysteries arrived, and the bread was laid upon the holy table, there appeared to the three of them as it were a child on the table.

Then the priest stretched out his hand to break the bread, and behold the angel of the Lord came down from heaven with a knife in his hand, and he killed the child and pressed out his blood into the cup. When the priest broke off from the bread small pieces, the hermit went forward to receive communion and a piece of living flesh smeared and dripping with blood was given to him.

Now when he saw this he was afraid and he cried out loudly, saying "Lord, I believe the bread is Your Body, and that the cup is Your Blood."

At once, the flesh that was in his hand became bread, and he took it and gave thanks to God.

The brothers said to him, "God knows the nature of men, and that we are unable to eat living flesh, and so He turneth His Body into bread, and His Blood into wine for those who receive Him in faith."

Then they gave thanks to God for the hermit, because He had not let Satan destroy him, and the three of them went back to their cells joyfully.

Lest We Toil in Vain

Daniel used to say that Arsenius told him a story, as if he were speaking of some other man, and it went like this: Whilst a certain hermit was sitting in his cell, a voice came to him which said, "Come here, and I will show you the works of the children onf men."

So, he got up and went out. The voice led him out and showed him a man cutting wood; he made up a large bundle and wanted to take it away, but he could not do so. Then, instead of making the bundle smaller, he went and cut down some more wood, and added it to the first, and this he did many times.

When he had gone on a little further, the voice showed him a man who was standing by a pit drawing up water; he poured it out into a certain hollowed out place, and when he had poured the water into it, it ran back into the pit.

Again the voice said to him, "Come, and I will show you other things."

Then he looked, and, behold, there was a temple, and two men on horseback were carrying a piece of wood as wide as the temple between them. They wanted to go in through the door, but the width of the wood did not let them do so, and they would not humble themselves to go in one after his companion to bring it in end-wise, and so they remained outside the door.

Now these are the men who bear the yoke of righteousness with boasting, and they will not be humble enough to correct themselves and go in by the humble way of Christ, and therefore they remain outside the kingdom of God.

The man who was cutting wood is the man who labors at many sins, and who, instead of repenting and diminishing his sins, adds other wickednesses to them.

Now he who was drawing water is the man who does good works, but because other things are mingled in his good works they are lost.

It is right for us to be watchful in all we do, lest we toil in vain.

~~The Wood Cutter by Kasimir Malevich (1878-1935).

Night Vigil

Daniel said about Arsenius that he used to keep vigil all night. He would stay awake all night, and about dawn when nature seemed to force him to sleep, he would say to sleep, "Come, you bad servant," and he would snatch a little sleep sitting down, but very soon he would get up again.

~~image by Ryan Bliss, 2006

Possessing Nothing

Daniel told this story about Arsenius. An official once came to bring him the will of a kinsman who was a senator and had left Arsenius a large bequest. Arsenius took the will in his hands and wanted to tear it up. But the official fell at his feet, and said, "Please do not tear it up; they will blame me." Arsenius said to him, "I died before he did. Now that he is dead, how can he make me his heir?" He gave back the will, and would accept nothing.

~~photo by Frank Logue