Saints' Discussion Forums

Ah, I did not think I would find it, since there are thousands of pages. Well, let us thank God, Deo Gratias et Mariae semper Virgin, and to the angels and archangels and saints.

Now let me see.. how shall I type this..

Here..

In a certain monastery there lived a young monk by the name of Evphrosynos. He served the brotherhood as a cook in the kitchen. Since he was kept continually unkempt by ashes and smoke, most everyone paid him no heed at all; i8n this way, he was successful in concealing his bright virtue. For since he was constantly covered by ashes and blackened by smoke, the more indolent brothers ridiculed and made fun of him and heaped insults, injury and mockery on him. His abject clothing, his quiet countenance, his silence, and his tolerant attitude they took as an excuse for this, and thus, without fear, they made fun of him, humiliated him, and even struck him.

Now, the Abbot of this monastery, who conducted all things in a God-pleasing way and had, int his manner, achieved great boldness before God, was once beset by the following thought: namely, he desired to know precisely who, from his monastery or from among his spiritual flock, was greater in virtue than the other brothers and who was unlike unto all the others in the fulfillment of the commandments of God.

And since he was continually beset by this thought, he besought God persistently to bring his desire to fruition and to reveal to him the one who was first in virtue among the brothers.

So, as he was praying alone one night, he fell into ecstacy and was carried off to a place of indescribable charm and which evoked great delight; that is, it was filled with a wonderous fragrance and was adorned with every kind of tree. The fruit of these trees was dissimilar to the fruit of any known tree and was completely different both in its beauty and size, being superior beyond description. Below these trees there ran pure water, and the sight and beauty of the place were truly splendid.

The Abbot, gazing on all of this, thanked God, the Cause of all good things, and considered himself blessed to have been made worthy of such a great honour. Then, wanting these wondrous fruits, he ran to pick some of them; however, he could not, since the fruit, along with the branches were too far up. Having tried several times to fulfill his wish, eh saw the young brother who bore the name of joy, "Evphrosynos" ["joyous" in Greek], walking before him in the midst of this most gracious Paradise, enjoying bountifully all that was to be found there, the tree branches leaning down to him and offering up their fruit, so that he could cut if off and eat whatever he wished.

Surprised by this strange sight, he said: "My child, Evphrosynos, who brought you to this place and gave you permission to stay here?"

And he, with a smiling face, replied, "Father, the only lover of man, God, entrusted to me these good things that you see, to enjoy them and have them under my authority."
Again the Abbot said: "And can you now give me some of that fruit?"

"You can take as much as you like, Father." Evphrosynos answered.

"No, I cannot my child," the Abbot said, "for as many times as I tried, I could not."

Then Evphrosynos, boldly approaching a tree, took with his hand fruit therefrom -- they were apples and were truly splendid to behold and to smell -- and gave three of them to the Elder.
The Elder, receiving them with great joy, immediately awoke from his vision, and, indeed, found these three apples in his hand. Wholly filled with fear and trembling, he ordered immediately that the talanton be sounded; but he did not at that time, while saying the morning service with the brothers, make any comment about all that he had seen. However, as soon as the appointed hour for the Divine Liturgy came, all of the brothers having been gathered in the Church, he liturgized himself, celebrating before the Holy Table, he once more took up his Priestly vestments, ordering that the brother Evphrosynos be summoned.

Several of the brothers, therefore, ran to the kitchen and quickly got him, leading him to the Abbot just as they had found him -- his face and clothes all soiled with ashes and smoke from the kitchen.

The Abbot then asked him: "My child, where were you last night?"

The brother lowered his head towards the ground and gave no answer at all.
But since the Abbot insistently repeated his question and pressured him to answer, the young man, his eyes filled with tears, answered him in a serene and humble voice: "Do you not know, Father, where both of us were?"

Then the Abbot, overcome with awe, forthwith produced the three apples and asked the brother: "Perhaps you recognize these?"

"Yes, Father," Evphrosynos replied. "As you know, I gave them to you, as you directed."

"Evphrosynos, my child, you are blessed, for you have been made worthy to enjoy such spiritual riches; thus, I ask taht you become the protector of my own wretched soul." Continuing, he related to the brothers those things which he had seen in his vision.

The Abbot then fell at Evphrosynos' feet, while the latter became very upset with this, feeling ill at ease, crying with sighs at this extreme show of homage and completely undone by lamentation and tears.

Afterwards, the Abbot took him by the hand and let him into the Altar. There, having cut up these three apples into small portions into a sacred vessel he gave to each of the brothers from these portions.

The young man, in that he was unable to accept the honors and laudations shown him by everyone, secretly fled from the monastery and disappeared; for he considered the praises of men as assaults and greatly destructive to his soul. Thus, he most prudently preferred to remove himself far from these honours, so as to succeed in saving his soul.

Illuminating :)

Shin, thank you for posting this. The Desert Fathers are a great source of inspiration.

Thats a lot of typing. Time for a coffee break ?

Thank you Shin!
I really enjoyed reading this.