Teaching or learning?
A hermit said, “I would learn rather than teach.” He also said, “Do not teach too early, or you will have less understanding during the rest of your life.”
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
Month: December 2013
Ship of Salvation
Syncletica of blessed memory said, “A ship cannot be built without nails and no one can be saved without humility.”
– De Vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
Water & Stone
…Poemen said… “The nature of water is soft, the nature of stone is hard; but if a bottle is hung above a stone letting water drip down, it wears away the stone. It is like that with the word of God; it is soft and our heart is hard, but if a man hears the word of God often, it will break open his heart to the fear of God.”
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
Curing the faults of serious men
They said of a monk that the more bitterly anyone injured or assailed him, the more he was well disposed to that person, for he said, “People like this are a means to cure the faults of serious men. People who make them happy do their souls harm. For it is written, ‘They that call thee blessed, deceive thee'”
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
Missing Prayer
A brother asked one of the hermits, “If I happen to oversleep, and am late for the hour of prayer, I am ashamed that others will hear me praying so late, and so I become reluctant to keep the rule of prayer.” He said, “If ever you oversleep in the morning, get up when you wake, shut the door and the windows, and say your psalms. For it is written, “The day is thine and the night is thine” (Ps 74:16). God is glorified whatever time it is.
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
Useful and necessary
Cassian said, “We came from Palestine to Egypt, and visited one of the hermits. After he had welcomed us, we asked him, “When you receive guests, why don’t you fast? In Palestine they do.”
He answered, “Fasting is always possible but I cannot keep you here for ever. Fasting is useful and necessary, but we can choose to fast or not fast. God’s law demands from us perfect love. I receive Christ when I receive you, so I must do all I can to show you love. When I have said goodbye to you, I can take up my rule of fasting again. “The sons of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them; when he is taken from them, then they can fast” (Matt 9:15).”‘
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
Gossip
Cassian told a story of a hermit who was living in the desert…
He asked God to grant that he should never fall asleep when the conversation was edifying but that if anyone spoke with back-biting or hate, he should nod off at once so that he would not hear poisonous words. He said that the devil strives hard to make men speak idle words, and fights against letting anyone hear any spiritual teaching.
He gave the following example of this: Once when I was talking to some brothers for the good of their souls they became so drowsy that they could not even keep their eyelids open. I wanted to show them that this was the devil’s work, so I started gossiping, and at once they sat up and began to enjoy what I was saying. But I said saldy, “We were talking of heaven just now, and your eyes were closing in slumber: but the moment the talk became frivolous, you all began to listen eagerly. I beg you then, dear brothers, since you know that this is the work of the devil, be watchful and beware of falling asleep when you are hearing about spiritual things.”
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V