A Good Father

Εἴπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ψενθαῖσιος καὶ ὁ ἀββὰς Σοῦρος καὶ Ψώῖος, ὅτι Ἀκούοντες τῶν λόγων τοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν τοῦ ἀββᾶ Παχωμίου μεγάλως ὠφελούμεθα, εἰς ζῆλον ἀγαθῶν ἔργων διεγειρόμενοι. Ὁρῶντες δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ σιωπῶντος τὴν πρᾶξιν λόγον οὖσαν, ἐθαυμάζομεν, πρὸς ἀλλήλους λέγοντες, ὅτι Ἐνομίζομεν πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους οὕτως πεποιεῐσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς αὐτῶν ἁγίους καὶ ἀτρέπτους, καὶ οὐχὶ αὐτεξουσίους· καὶ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς μὴ δυναμένους ζῆν εὐσεβῶς, διὰ τὸ οὕτως κτισθῆναι αὐτούς. Ἄτρι δὲ βλέπομεν τὴν ἀγαθότητα τοῦ Θεοῦ φανερῶς ἐπὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν τούτο· ὅτι ἐξ Ἑλλήνων γονέων ὤν, τοσοῦτον θεοσεβὴς γέγονε, καὶ πάσας τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐνδεδυμένος ἐστὶν. Οὐκοῦν καὶ ἡμεῖς δυνάμεθα καὶ πάντες ἀκολουθῆναι αὐτῷ, ἀνθ' ὤν ἀκολουθεῖ τοῖς ἁγίοις· Ἅρα τὸ γεγραμμένον τοῦτό ἐστι· Δεῦτε πρὸς μὲ, πάντες οἱ κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι, κἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς. Συναποθάνωμεν οὖν καὶ συζήσωμεν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τούτῳ, ὅτι ὀρθῶς ὁδηγεῖ ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν. Ἄποφθέγματα των Αγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Ελενουπόλεως Source: Migne PG 65.436d-437a

Abba Psenthaisius, Abba Suras and Abba Psoius said: 'By listening to the words of our Father, Abba Pachomius, we were greatly helped and roused to zeal for good works. And seeing that even the act of his silence was a lesson, we were amazed and said to one other: 'We thought that all the holy ones were created so by God and never changed from the womb of their mother, not by their own will, and that sinners could not live devoutly, because they had been made so. But now we see the goodness of God manifest in our father, for he is of pagan parents and he has become so pious, and he is endowed with all the commandments of God. Thus even we can follow him as he followed the holy ones. Truly it is written: 'Come to me, all you who labour and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.' 1 Let us die and let us live with this man, then, because he has led us to God in the right way.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia 1 Matt. 11.28