What is humility?
A hermit was asked, “What is humility?” He said, “It is if you forgive a brother who has wronged you before he is sorry.”
-De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
Category: Quotation
Temptation and Weakness
The hermits said, “We become more humbled when we are tempted, because God, knowing our weakness, protects us. But if we boast of our own strength, he takes away his protection, and we are lost.”
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
Desert Fathers: Brotherly Support
Two brothers went to a town to sell what they had made. In the town they separated, and one of them fell into fornication.
Afterwards the other brother said, “Let us go back to our cell, brother.” But he replied, “I’m not coming.” The other asked him, “Why, brother?” He replied, “Because when you left me, I was tempted, and was guilty of fornication.” The other, wanting to help him, said, “The same thing happened to me; after I left you, I also fell into fornication. Let us go together, and do penance with all our might, and God will pardon us sinners.”
When they returned to their cell, they told the brothers what had happened to them, and were told what penance they should do. But the one did penance not for himself, but for the other, as though himself had sinned. God, seeing his earnestness and his charity, revealed to one of the elders, a few days later, that he had forgiven the fornicator because of the charity of the brother who had not sinned.
Truly, this was to lay down his soul for his brother.
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
Desert Fathers: Keeping the Word of God
One of the hermits said, “… Adam, even though he was in Paradise, disobeyed God’s command while Job, who was living on a dung hill, kept it. It seems that God requires from us a good intention, that is, that we should fear him always”
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
Desert Fathers: Passing Judgement
When Isaac of Thebaid visited a community, he saw that one of the brothers was sinful, and passed sentence on him.
But when he was returning to his cell in the desert, the angel of the Lord came and stood in front of the door of his cell, and said, “I will not let you go in.” He asked, “Why not?” The angel of the Lord replied, “God sent me to ask you, ‘Where do you tell me to send that sinful brother whom you sentenced?'”
At once Isaac repented, saying, “I have sinned, forgive me.” The angel said, “Get up, God has forgiven you. In future take care to judge no man before God has judged him.”
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
Desert Fathers: Walking the walk
Poemen also said, “Teach your heart to follow what your tongue is saying to others.”
He also said, “Men try to appear excellent in preaching but they are less excellent in practising what they preach.”
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
Desert Fathers: Restoring the sinner
Once a brother in the community of Elias fell when he was tempted. He was expelled from the community, and went to the mountain to Antony.
When he had been with him for some time, Anthony sent him back to his community, but when they saw him, they sent him away again. So he went back to Anthony and said, “They won’t have me, abba.” So anthony sent a message to them saying, “A ship was wrecked in the ocean and lost its cargo, and with great difficulty the empty ship was brought to land. Do you want to run the ship that has been rescued onto the the rocks and sink it?”
They realized that Antony had sent him back, and at once accepted him.
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V