Quotes from the Desert Fathers

[Shin]

I like how: "After repeating this scene many times, he finally sat down."

So if it were written a different way it would perhaps be:

"Oh my God, have mercy on me."

Thereupon he replied to himself: "If you want Me to be merciful to you, let go of what you are carrying, and I will show you mercy."

And once again he said: "O my God, have mercy on me."

Again, he replied to himself: "I told you, let go of what you are carrying, and I will have mercy on you."

And once again he said: "O my God, have mercy on me."

Again, he replied to himself: "I told you, let go of what you are carrying, and I will have mercy on you."

And once again he said: "O my God, have mercy on me."

Again, he replied to himself: "I told you, let go of what you are carrying, and I will have mercy on you."

And once again he said: "O my God, have mercy on me."

Again, he replied to himself: "I told you, let go of what you are carrying, and I will have mercy on you."

...

[whiterockdove]

It reminds me of a quote I heard somewhere, I think it goes like;
"The good is the enemy of the better and the better is the enemy of the best."
Don't know if I'm even in the ballpark,
I just hadn't thought of that quote in years.

Time to go pray!

[odhiambo]

Was he agonizing over some spiritual load he had and did the pillow represent  this "load" he appeared loath to let go of?
He sat down with the pillow still on his back.

[Shin]

Sounds like this, whiterockdove:

'Every time that these three come before thee, good, better, and best, if it be possible to thee, attach thyself always to the best. If thou canst not have the best, see that thou dost attach thyself then to the better before the good. This is what God doth wish that we should do, and this alone, in order that we may all become virtuous men.'

St. Bernardine of Siena

[Shin]

I will finish the story now!

The Elder replied to them: “The cushion which I carried on my shoulders symbolizes my will; I besought God to have mercy on me while I was carrying my will; and God said to me, ‘Let go of what you are carrying, that is, your will, and I will have mercy on you.’ And we” -- the Elder concluded -- , “if we want God to have mercy on us, let us forsake our own desires -- then we will obtain God’s mercy.”

[whiterockdove]

Aha!
 Thy will, Lord, not mine, be done!
Amen.

The pillow image is fitting for me;
I sure hold onto my pillow some days
And put a second pillow over the alarm clock

[Shin]

On one occasion, I was sitting with the Blessed Abbot Sergios from the Jordan Plain. While I was reading the Book of Proverbs, I came to the verse that says:

"With much wood, fire increaseth; but where there is not a contentious man, strife ceaseth." [Prov. 26:20]

And I asked the Blessed Sergios to explain it to me.

He said in reply:

"Just as wood causes a fire to flare up and, if we do not throw enough of it on the fire, it goes out, so also does it happen with the passions; that is, there are certain causes which, if cut off, no longer activate the passions.

For example, the causes of anger are giving and taking, wanting to do one's own will, taking delight in teaching and showing off to other people, and thinking oneself to be intelligent and wise."

[George]

I will finish the story now!

The Elder replied to them: “The cushion which I carried on my shoulders symbolizes my will; I besought God to have mercy on me while I was carrying my will; and God said to me, ‘Let go of what you are carrying, that is, your will, and I will have mercy on you.’ And we” -- the Elder concluded -- , “if we want God to have mercy on us, let us forsake our own desires -- then we will obtain God’s mercy.”

Ahh! Thank you Shin, more wisdom from the desert fathers.

[Shin]

A certain brother asked an old man, saying, "Why is it that I feel disgusted when sitting in my cell, and why am I sluggish in respect of works of spiritual excellence?" And the old man answered and said unto him, "Because thou dost not keep in mind the rest which  those who labour expecl:, and the torments which are laid up for the lazy. For if, in very truth, thou wert seeing these things, thou wouldst be watchful and strenuous in thy labour."

. . .

Whilst Abba Sylvanus was living on Mount Sinai brother Zechariah went to the work of the service [i.e., singing and prayer]; and when he had gone the old man said unto him, "Open out the water [courses] and water the garden."

Then he went forth straightway, and covered his face with his cloak, and he could see only his feet; and during the time when he was watering [the garden], a brother came to him, and he perceived what he was doing, and he went in to him, and made an apology, and entreated him, saying, "Tell me, O father, why thou didst cover thy face with thy cloak and didst in this manner water the garden?" The old man said unto him, "My son, that mine eyes might not look upon the trees, and that my mind might not be distracted in its work, and become buried in the trees."

[Shin]

Abba Isidore of Pelusia said, "To live without speaking is better than to speak without living. For the former who lives rightly does good even by his silence but the latter does no good even when he speaks."

He also said, "Many desire virtue but fear to go forward in the way that leads to it, while others consider that virtue does not even exist. So it is necessary to persuade the former to give up their sloth, and teach the others what virtue really is."

Abba Isaac said, "When I was younger, I lived with Abba Chronius. He would never tell me to do any work, although he was old and tremulous; but he himself got up and offered food to me and to everyone. Then I lived with Abba Theodore of Pherme and he did not tell me to do anything either, but he himself set the table and said to me, "Brother, if you want to, come and eat." I replied, "I have come to you to help you, why do you never tell me to do anything?" But the old man gave me no reply whatever. So I went to tell the old men. They came and said to him, "Abba, the brother has come to your holiness in order to help you. Why do you never tell  him to do anything?" The old man said to them, "Am I a cenobite, that I should give him orders? As far as I am concerned, I do not tell him anything, but if he wishes he can do what he sees me doing." From that moment I took the initiative and did what the old man was about to do. As for him, what he did, he did in silence, and so he taught me to work in silence."

[Shin]

'Have no dealings with heretics, guard your tongue and your stomach, and wherever you go say constantly: "I am a stranger and a pilgrim."'

St. Olympius

[Shin]

There was a certain man who was a slave and he became a monk, and he persisted in a life of self-abnegation for five and forty years, and bread, and water, and salt, were sufficient for his food; now after some time the man who had been his master repented, and he also made himself to be remote from the world. And when the time came for him to depart from this world, he said unto his slave, who was now his Rabba, I see the hosts of wickedness surrounding me, but through thy prayer they are going back from me." And when the call came for that slave one stood on his right hand, and the other on his left, and he heard them saying unto him, "Dost thou wish to come, O father, or shall we go and leave thee?" And he said, "I desire not to remain, take my soul"; and thus he ended [his life].

[Shin]

Abba Anthony besought God to inform him why young children died whilst so many old men lived, and why upright men were poor whilst the wicked were rich, and why some were blind and others had their sight, and why the righteous suffered from illness whilst the wicked were healthy, and a voice came, which said, "Anthony, take care of thine own self, for these matters are the judgements of God."

[Shin]

An Admonition of the Holy Fathers.

Be thou an enemy unto all folly and sin. Dejection driveth away the fear of God, captivity [to sin] driveth away the virtues from the soul. There are three excellences which illumine the mind always; a man must not see the vices of his neighbours, and he must do good unto those who do evil to him, and he must bear with gladness all the trials which come upon him. And these produce three other excellences, namely, a man must not look upon the vices of his brother, and this excellence produceth love; and he must bear the trials that come upon him, and this excellence produceth self-denial. There are three excellences of which the mind hath need, and a man should observe them always: He should lean away from follies, and he should not be lax in his service, and he should make strong his heart. There are three excellences, the which if a man see them with him he knoweth within himself that he is delivered from devils, namely, knowledge whereby he will be able to understand and to discern between thoughts, and the sight of everything before it cometh to pass, and the power of not becoming entangled with evil thoughts of any kind.

There are three things which gain dominion over the soul until it arriveth at great weakness, captivity [to sin], and dejection, and sickness, and these contend against every man's soul, and from them are produced evil thoughts, and when a man buildeth up they overthrow [what he hath built]. There are three excellences which benefit and strengthen the soul: mercy, the absence of lust and long-suffering, and besides these three excellences the mind hath need to pray without ceasing continually, and a man must fall down and cry out before God, and hate all evil passions.

[Shin]

An Egyptian brother came to see Abba Zeno in Syria, and accused himself to the old man about his temptations. Filled with admiration, Zeno said, 'The Egyptians hide the virtues they possess and ceaselessly accuse themselves of faults they do not have, while the Syrians and Greeks pretend to have virtues they do not have, and hide the faults of which they are guilty.'

In a village there was said to be a man who fasted to such a degree that he was called 'the Faster'. Abba Zeno had heard of him, and he sent for him. The other came gladly. They prayed and sat down. The old man began to work in silence. Since he could not succeed in talking to him the Faster began to get bored. So he said to the old man 'Pray for me, Abba, for I want to go.' The old man said to him. 'Why?' The other replied, 'Because my heart is as if it were on fire and I do not know what is the matter with it. For truly, this when I was in the village and I fasted until the evening, nothing like this happened to me.' The old man said, 'In the village you fed yourself through your ears. But go away and from now on eat at the ninth hour and whatever you do, do it secretly.' As soon as he had begun to act on this advice, the Faster found it difficult to wait until the ninth hour. And those who knew him said, 'The Faster is possessed by the devil.' So he went to tell this to the old man who said to him, 'This way is according to God.'

[Shin]

One of the old men used to say, "The Prophets compiled the Scriptures, and the Fathers have copied them, and the men who came after them learned to repeat them by heart; then hath come this generation and [its children] have placed them in cupboards as useless things."