Judgment In Our Hands

The presbyter of a church used to come to a hermit to consecrate the Eucharist for him so that he could receive it. But someone else visited the hermit and said evil things about that presbyter.

The next time the presbyter came to consecrate as usual, the hermit was horrified and would not let him in. The presbyter saw it and went away.

Then the hermit heard a voice saying, "Men have taken my judgment into their own hands."

He saw a vision of a well of gold and a bucket of gold, and a rope of gold, and plenty of drinking water. He saw a leper emptying and refilling the bucket and wanted to drink but did not because it was a leper who had poured the water out.

Then a voice came and second time to him and said, "Why don't you drink this water? What does it matter who draws it? For, he only draws it and pours it out again."

Then the hermit came to himself, and understood what the vision had meant. He called the presbyter and made him consecrate the offering as before.

No Reputation is a Good Reputation

A brother asked Mathois, "If I go to live in such-and-such a place, what do you suggest I do there?"

He said, "If you live there, don't try to make a reputation for yourself on some pretext, like saying either 'I will not join other monks' or 'I will not eat this and that.' This is the sort of thing that creates a bubble of reputation, and afterwards you will suffer from crowds. When people hear that sort of thing they flock there."

The Tale of Milidus

They said of Milidus, that while he was living on the frontiers of Persia with two disciples, two sons of the emperor came on their usual hunting expedition, and put nets around an area of forty miles, and speared whatever they trapped.

They found the monk and his disciples within this area. When they saw his hairy and forbidding face, they were astonished and said, "Are you a man or a demon?"

He said, "I am a sinful man, and I have come out here to repent of my sins. I worship Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God."

They said to him, "There is no god but sun, fire and water. Worship them and sacrifice to them."

He replied, "You are wrong, they are only creatures. I beg you, be converted and recognize the true God who made these and everything else."

But they mocked him and said, "Are you saying that the true God is a condemned and crucified man?"

"Yes," said Milidus, "I say that the true God is He who crucified sin and killed death."

So, they tortured Milidus and the two monks to force them to sacrifice. After many tortures they beheaded the two monks but they went on torturing Milidus day after day. Then, they fastened him in one place and fired arrows into him, one in front and one behind, so that he looked like a signpost.

He said to them, "Because you have conspired to shed innocent blood, tomorrow, at this very moment of the day, your mother shall lose her children and your care for her, and you will spill each other's blood with your own arrows."

They thought his words were nonsense and the next day went out again to hunt. It happened tht a stag escaped from their net, and they mounted their horses and chased him. Each fired an arrow which hit the heart of the other, and so they died as Milidus had forseen.

Monk's Treasure

Hyperichius said, "To accept poverty freely is the monk's treasure. Therefore, my brother, lay up treasure in heaven, where there will be endless time for rest."

Barley Bread and Lentil Soup

They said of Dioscorus of Namisias made his bread out of barley, and his soup out of lentils. Every year he made one particular resolution: either not to meet anyone for a year, or not to speak, or not to taste cooked food, or not to eat any fruit, or not to eat vegetables. This was his system in everything. He made himself master of one thing, and then started on another, and so on each year.

Buying Quiet

A hermit said, "A monk should buy himself quiet and therefore be able to despise any bodily expense that may occur."

A Legacy for Perfection

Cassian told this story about John, who was the father of a community because he was great in his way of life. When he was dying, he was cheerful, and his mind was set upon the Lord; his brothers stood around him and asked for a sentence that would sum up the way to salvation, which he could give them as a legacy by which they might rise to the perfection that is in Christ.

With a sigh, he said, "I have never obeyed my own will, and I never taught anyone to do anything which I did not do myself first."

~~Aquarian Awakening- The Perfection by Jack Haas