The Hand that Reveals

'Aperiente autem te manum tuam, universa implebuntur bonitate.' Quid est, O Domine, quod aperis manum tuam? Manus tua Christus est. Et brachium Domini cui revelatum est? Cui revelalur, illa aperitur : revelatio enim, apertio est. Aperiente autem te manum tuam, universa implebuntur bonitate. Revelante te Christum tuum, universa implibuntur bonitate. Non autem habent a se bonitatem;nam aliquando probatur illis: Avertente autem te faciem tuam, turbabuntur Multi repleti bonitate, sibi tribuerunt quod habebant, et voluerunt gloriari quasi in iustificalionibus suis, et dixerunt sibi, iustus sum, magnus sum; et facti sunt sibi placentes. Et sonuit eis Apostolus: Quid enim habes quod non accepisti? Volens autem probare Deus homini quod ab illo habeat quidquid habet, ut cum bonitate habeat et humilitatem, aliquando cum perturbat; avertit ab illo faciem suam, et decidit tentationem; et ostendit illi quia quod justus erat, et recte ambulabat,ipso regente fiebat.  Enarratio in Psalmum CIII, Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis

'With the opening of Your hand, they shall all be filled with good.' What is it, O Lord, that You open Your hand? Christ is Your hand. 'To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?' To whom it is revealed, to him it is opened: revelation is opening. 'With the opening of Your hand, they shall all be filled with good.' With the revelation of Your Christ, 'they shall all be filled with good.' But they do not have good from themselves; and this is often proved to them. 'When You hide Your face, they are troubled' Many filled with goodness have attributed to themselves what they had, and have wished to boast of their own righteousness; they have said to themselves, 'I am righteous; I am great,' and they have become self-complacent. To these the Apostle speaks: 'What have you, that you did not receive?' So God, wishing to prove to man that whatever he has he has from Him, that with good he may gain humility, sometimes troubles him; He turns away His face from him, and man falls into temptation; thus He shows him that his righteousness, and his walking aright, was only under His rule. Commentary on Psalm 103, Saint Augustine of Hippo

The Generation Gap

Εἶπε πὰλιν, ὅτι ὁ θεος οὐκ ἀφίει τοὺς πολέμους ἐπι τὴν γενεὰν ταύτην, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀρχαίων. Οἶδε γὰρ ὅτι ἀσθενεῖς εἰσι καὶ οὐ βαστάζουσιν.  ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος Source: Migne PG 65 84

Again Father Anthony said, 'God does not allow such combats to fall on this generation as he did those of old. He knows that this generation is weak and would not be able to endure.' Sayings of the Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

A Holy Fool Comes to Town

Διατρίψας τὰς τρεῖς ἡμερας ἐν τοῖς ἀγιος τόποις καταλαμβάνει τὴν Ἐμεσηνῶν πολιν. Ὁ δὲ τρόπος τῆς ἐν τῇ πόλει εἰσόδου αὐτοῦ ὑπῆρχεν οὔτως. Εὐρὼν ὁ ἀοιδιμος ἐπι τῆς κοπρίας τῆς ἔξω τῆς πόλεως, κύνα νεκρὸν, λύσας. ὅ ἐφόρει, ζωναριον ἐκ σχοινίου, καὶ δήσας τὸν πόδα αὐτοῦ, ἔσυρεν αὐτὸν τρεχων, καὶ εἰσερχόμενος διὰ τῆς πόρτης, ὅπου πλησίον ἐστὶν τὸ σχολίον τῶν παιδίων. Ὡς τοῦτον οὖν ἐθεάσαντο όι παιδες, ἣρξαντο κραζειν· Ἐ ἀββᾶς μωρός· καὶ ἐβαλλον τρέχειν ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ καὶ κοσσίζειν αὐτόν. Τῇ οὖν ἐπαύπριον, Κυριακῆ οὔσης. ἔλαβεν κάρυα, καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ έν τῇ ἀρχῇ τῆς λειτουργίας καρυδίζων, καὶ σβέσων τὰς κανδήλας, Ὡς οὖν τοῦτον ἐξενέγκαι κατέτρεχον, ἀνέρχεται εἰς τὸν ἅμβωνα, και ἐκεὶθεν ἐλίθαζεν τὰς γυναῖκας τοίς καρυδίοις. Πολλῷ οὖν κόπῳ ἐξενεγκαντων αὐτὸν, ἐν τῷ ἐξέρχεσθαι, ἔστρεψεν τὰ ταβλία τῶν πλακουνταριων, οἱ καὶ ἔδωκαν αὐτῷ πληγὰς εὶς θάνατον.  ὁ βιος του Συμεών, Λεόντιος Νεαπόλις

After spending three days in the Holy Places he came to the city of Edessa. The manner of the entry into the city was as follows: he found a dead dog on a dunghill outside the city, loosened the rope belt he was wearing and tied it to the dog's foot. Then he dragged the dog as he ran and entered the gate. There was a boy's school nearby and when the boys saw him they began to cry, ' Ha, Father is mad! ' And they ran after him and struck him. The next day, a Sunday, he took some nuts and entering the church at the beginning of the liturgy, he threw the nuts around and put out the candles. When the men rushed after him, he hurried up to the pulpit and from there pelted the women below with nuts. With greater effort the men chased after him and running outside he turned over the tables of the pastry sellers. There they seized him and beat him near to death. The Life of Symeon the Holy Fool, Leontius of Neapolis,

Asceticism And Discernment

Εἶπε πάλιν, ὅτι Εἰσι τινες κατατριψαντες τὰ ἑαυτῶν σώματα ἐν ἀσκήσει, και διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔσχηκέναι αὐτοὺς διάκρισιν, μακρὰν τοῦ Θεοῦ γεγόνασιν. ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος Source: Migne PG 65.77b

Again Father Anthony said, 'They are some who wear out the body in asceticism and have not discernment; and they are far from God.' Sayings of the Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

The Stag And The Hedgehog

Montes excelsi cervis, petra refugium erinaciis. Montes altissimi cervis. Cervi, magni, spirituales, transcendentes in cursu omnia spinosa veprium atque silvarum. Qui perficit, inquit, pedes meos sicut cervi, et super excelsa statuet me. Teneant montes altos, alta praecepta Dei; sublimia cogitent, teneant ea quae multum eminent in Scripturus, iustifictentur in summis: cervis enim sunt illi montes altissimi. Quid de humilibus bestiis? quid de lepore? quid de ericio? Lepus minutum animal et infirmum, ericius etiam spinosum: illud animal timidum, illud animal spinis coopertum. Spinae quid significant, nisi peccato. res? qui peccat quotidie, etiamsi non magna peccata, minutissimis spinis coopertus est. In eo quod timet, lepus est; in eo quod minutissimus peccatis operitur, ericius est: et non potest tenere excelsa illa et perfecta praecepta. Illi enim montes altissimi cervis. Quid ergo? isti percunt? Non. Sic enim montes altissimi cervis, ut et his videas quid sequatur: Petra refugium ericiis et leporibus. Quia factus est Dominus refugium pauperi.   Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, Enarratio in Psalmum CIII,

The high mountains are for the stags, the stone is a refuge for the hedgehog. 1 The highest peaks are for stags. Stags are mighty, spiritual, passing in their way over all the thorns of thickets and woods. He who, it is said, makes my feet like harts' feet and on the heights sets me. Let them hold to the high peaks, the high precepts of God; let them think on sublime things, let them hold those many things eminent in the Scriptures, let them be justified in the highest: for the stags are the high peaks. What of humble creatures? What of the hare? What of the hedgehog? The hare is a small and weak animal, the hedgehog is also prickly; the one is a timid animal, the other is covered with prickles. What do the prickles signify, except sin? Meaning? He who sins daily, although they are not great sins, is covered over with tiny prickles. Thus he is timid as a hare; thus being covered with tiny sins, he is a hedgehog; and so he cannot hold those lofty and perfect commandments. The highest peaks are for the stags. What then? Do the others perish? No. The highest peaks are for the stags and then you will see it follows: The rock is the refuge for the hedgehogs and the hares. Because the Lord is a refuge for the poor. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Commentary on Psalm 103 1 Ps 103.18