Dwelling In The Desert

Hoc igitur eremi habitaculum dicam non immerito quamdam fidei sedem, virtutis arcam, charitatis sacrarium, pietatis thesaurura , justitiae promptuarium. Nam sicut in magna domo pretiosa quaeque claustris obsignata in remotis habentur, ita magnificentia illa sanctorum abditorum eremo, quam difficultatibus suis natura obseravit, deponitur intra quoddam conclave deserti, ne conversationis humanae usu abolescat. Apteque a mundi Domino haec pretiosa divitiarum supellex, in illa mundanae domus parte non solum conditur, verum etiam, cum usus est, ex reconditis promitur. Fuit olim erga eremum cura divinae Providentia: summa et maxima, sed ne nunc quidem parva est. Nam et nunc cum eremi incolis victus divinitus insperata supervenit largitate, quid aliud quam e coelo lapsus defluit? Habent et isti in hac munificentia suum manna, nec minus his Dominus brachii sui opere secreto alimoniam spargit ex abdito. Et cum silicibus perfossis tandem divino munere respondentes e saxis aquae profluunt, quid aliud quam velut Moysi virgae ictu percussa rupe emergunt? Vestimentorum perinde habitus in eremi vastitate degentibus, nunc quoque ecce non deficit, qui dum jugiter gratuito divina provisione succedit, utique succedendo manet. Aluit Dominus in deserto suos quondam, sed et nunc alit; et illos quadraginta annis hos vero quousque anni erunt. Sanctus Eucherius Lugdunensis, De Laude Eremi Source: Migne PL 50.707c-708a

Therefore I say that this little dwelling place of the desert is not without merit the seat of faith and the ark of virtue and the chest of charity and the treasury of piety and the storeroom of righteousness. For as in a great house what is precious is placed in remote and sealed quarters, so it is with the magnificence of the holy dwellings in the desert, which with its difficulties given by nature is arranged as a safe room of the wilderness, lest human conduct ruin it by use. Rightly, then, this precious supply of riches from the Lord which has been withdrawn from the world has not been established in some common part of the house, but when it is needed it is sent forth from its private place. Once by Divine Providence there was great and excellent care for the desert, but even now it is not unknown. Even now when the inhabitants of the desert are overwhelmed with an unhoped for bounty, is it not like something fallen from heaven? Even they by this munificence have their own manna, and the arm of the Lord does not work less in secret to supply them from His sanctuary. And when at last what is hard cracks in response to the Divine gift and water flows out, is it not it emerges as for Moses with the blow of his staff on the rock? 1 Just as those who once dwelt in the vastness of the desert did not lack for garments, so now also there is no lack for the one who continually receives the freely given Divine provision, and remains in receipt of it. The Lord once fed a certain people in the desert, and even now He gives food. Once He provided food for forty years, and now He feeds for as long as they have years. 2 Saint Eucherius of Lyon, In Praise of the Desert 1 Exod 17.1-7 2 Deut 29.5-6

Wheat And Reward

Ἔλεγον περι τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἠσαιου, ὅτι ποτὲ ἕλαβε θαλλιον, και ἀπῆλθεν εις τὴν ἅλωνα, και λέγει τῷ γεούχῳ· Δος μοι σἶτον. Και λέγει αὐτῷ· Και σὺ ἐθερισας, ἀββᾶ; Λέγει· Οὐχι. Και λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γεούχος· Πῶς οὖν θέλεις σἶτον λαβειν, μὴ θερισῃ; Και λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Οὐκοῦν ἐὰν μή τις θερισῃ, οὐ λαμβάνει μισθον; Λέγει ὁ γεοῦχος· Οὐχι. Και οὔτως ἀνεχώρησεν ὁ γέρων. Ὁι δ' ἀδελφοι, ιδόντες τι ἐποιησεν, ἔβαλον αὐτῶ μετάνοιαν, παρακαλοῦντες μαθειν τι τοῦτο ἐποιησε. Λέγει ἀυτοις ὁ γέρων· Ὑπόδειγμα αὐτὸ ἐποιησα, ὅτι ἐὰν μή τις ἐργάσηται, οὺ λαμβάνει μισθὸν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ.  Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.181b

It was said of father Isaiah that he once took a small branch and went out to the threshing floor and said to the farmer, 'Give me some wheat.' The farmer replied, 'Have you harvested it, father?' He said, 'No.' And so the farmer said to him, 'How, then, do you wish to have wheat if you do not harvest it?' The elder said to him. 'If I will not harvest, I will not have the reward?' The farmer said, 'You will not.' And thus the elder went away. The brothers, learning of what he had done, were puzzled and they came to him and asked him why he had acted in such a way. He said to them, 'To give an example, that if you do not labour, you will not gain any reward from God.' Sayings of the Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

A Hard Diet

Αἱ ἀκρίδες, αἷς Ἰωάννης ἐτρέφετο, αὐ ζῶα εἰσιν ὧς τινες οἴονται ἀμαθῶς, κανθάροις ἀπεοικότα. Μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλ' ἀκρέμονες βοτανῶν ἢ φυτῶν. Οὔτε δὲ πόα τίς ἐστι πάλιν τὸ μέλι ἄγριον. Ἀλλὰ μέλι ὄρειον ὑπὸ μελισσῶν ἀγρίων γινόμενον, πικρότατον ὄν, καὶ πάσῃ γεύσει πολέμιον. Δι' ὦν τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν κάκωσιν ἐπεδείκνυτο Ἰωάννης, οὐκ ἐνδείᾳ μόνῃ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τραχύτητι πὰσαν ὅρεξιν πικραίνων τοῦ σώματος. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΛΒ' Τιμοθεῳ Ἀναγωστῃ Source: Migne PG 78.269c

The locusts which John fed on are not creatures somewhat like beetles, as some unlearned folk think. May it not be, but grass or plants from the heights. Nor again is wild honey a herb. But it is honey of the mountains made by wild bees, and it is most bitter and inimical to everyone's taste. By which things John wondrously shows how he afflicted himself, not only by not eating, but by treating roughly and with bitterness the desires of the body Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 132, To Timotheus the Lector

The Desert And The Temple of God

Eremum ergo recte incircumscriptum Dei nostri templum dixerim; etenim quem certum est habitare in silentio, credendum est gaudere secreto. Saepius se illic videndum sanctis suis praebuit et conciliante loco congressum non est aspernatus humanum; in deserto quippe Moyses glorificato vulta Deum conspicit, in deserto Helias vultum pavens, ne Deum conspiciat, obvolvit; et quamvis omnia ipse tamquam sua revisitet neque uspiam desit, tamen, ut aestimare licet peculiarius visitationem dignatur eremi et caeli secretum. Sanctus Eucherius Lugdunensis, De Laude Eremi Source: Migne PL 50.702d-703a

Therefore I would rightly say that the boundless temple of our God is the desert. Indeed as it is certain one dwells there in silence, so it must be believed that there one rejoices in secret. More often it must be seen there that He provides for His holy ones and that they are gathered together in a place where there is no opposition of men. In the desert Moses with glorified face saw God, in the desert Elijah was struck with fear and covered his face, lest he look on God. 1 And so though the Lord may visit every single place and there is nowhere where He is absent, it is permissible to think that He especially dignifies the desert with His visitations and with the mysteries of heaven. Saint Eucherius of Lyon, In Praise of the Desert 1 Exod 34.29-35, 3 Kings 19.13

Joy And Feasts

Οὐκ ἔστι καταδίκοις ἐν φυλακῇ χαρμονή, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι μοναχοῖς ἀληθινοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς ἑορτή. Καὶ ἴσως διὰ τοῦτο ἐκεῖνος ὁ καλλίπενθος στενάζων ἔλεγεν· Ἐξάγαγε ἐκ φυλακῆς τὴν ψυχήν μου, τοῦ ἀγαλλιασθῆναι λοιπὸν ἐν τῷ ἀῥῥήτῳ φωτί σου. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος, ἡ Κλίμαξ, Λογος Ζ’ Source: Migne PG 88.808d

There is no joy for the condemned in prison, and no feast for true monks on the earth. And perhaps because of this that excellent mourner, sighing, said: 'Lead my soul from prison, that it may then rejoice in your ineffable light.' 1 Saint John Climacus, The Ladder, from Step 7 1 Ps 141.10

A Failed Flight

Εἶπε πάλιν ἡ Ἀμμᾶς Θεοδώρα, ὅτι Ἥν τις μοναχός· καὶ ἀπὸ πλήθους τῶν πειρασμῶν λέγει· Ὑπάγω ἔνθεν. Καὶ ὡς ἔβαλεν ἑαυτοῦ τὰ σανδάλια, ὁρᾷ ἄνθρωπον ἂλλον βάλλοντα καὶ αὐτὸν τὰ σανδάλια αὐτοῦ, καὶ λέγοντα αὐτῷ· Οὐ δι' ἐμὲ ἐξέρχῃ; ἰδοὺ ἐγώ προάγω ὅπου ἐὰν ἀπέρχῃ. Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.204b

Again Mother Theodora said, 'There was a monk, who, because of the great number of his trials said, 'I will go away from here.' As he put on his sandals, he saw another man who was also putting on his sandals, and this other man said to him, 'Are you leaving because of me? But see, I go before you wherever you may go.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

In The Desert

Sed cur idem tentandus ad desertum ducatur non abs re quaeritur, praesertim cum omnis mundus laqueorum tentamentis sit ubique plenus, nisi forte, quod ubi serviendi Deo major est quietudo, ibi major exhibeatur necesse est virium colluctatio, quia et ibi nusquam deerit fraudulenta oblectamentorum persuasio. Per desertum quippe a mundi pressuris et tumultibus remotior vita significatur; ut omnes discant quietem appetere, et soli Deo vacare, etiamsi inter homines videantur versari. Alioquin in Canticis non quaereret de Ecclesia: Quae est ista quae ascendit per desertum, quasi aurora consugurgens, pulchra ut luna, et electa ut sol, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata? Quae nimirum idcirco ut castrorum acies contra hostes ordinata narratur ascendere, quia illi viam ad coelum eundi obsident, ut in nullo frangatur conamine. Porro per desertum hujus mundi ideo sustollitur, quia etsi inter tumultus hominum versatur, ipsa mundi fragoribus segregata, secum ubique solitudinem cum Deo habet. In cujus nimirum figura, exercitus ille Dei ex Aegypto per desertum ascendisse creditur ut solius ducatu cum Deo gradiens ad partiam remearet. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Lib III, Cap IV Source: Migne PL 120.184d-185a

But why He had to be led out to the desert for trial 1 is not an irrelevant question, when certainly the whole world is replete with an abundance of snares, unless perhaps, that there where greater is the quiet for the service of God, there is greater need to show that there is yet the speech of men, because even there there is never an absence of the persuasions of deceitful pleasures. The desert certainly signifies removal from the pressures of the world and the tumults life, so that all learn to seek quiet, and to give space to God alone, even though they appear to live among men. In the Song of Songs it is not said concerning the Church: 'Who is she who ascends through the desert, like the dawn rising, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army ordered for battle?' 2 She, then, is said to ascend as an army ordered for battle, so that she will not be broken by any assault, because for her the way that leads to heaven is besieged. Moreover she is lifted up through the desert of this world because even if she goes among the tumults of men, she has been separated from the clamour of the world, and wherever she is, she dwells in the desert with God. In which certainly is the figure of that army of God, which is said to have gone up through the desert from Egypt, which marching out, led by God alone, returned to the fatherland. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 3 Chap 4 1 Mt 4.1 2 Song 3.6, 6.10

Forgetfulness And Fasting

Si quis igitur secretis eremi delectatus, oblivioni tradere potuit humana consortia, ac secundum Ieremiam dicere: Et diem hominis non desideravi, tu scis; ego quoque id, Domino sua gratia largiente, vel assecutum vel certe assequi annisum fuisse me fateor. Itaque pio Domini nostri munere memini me in huiusmodi raptum frequenter excessum, ut obliviscerer me sarcina corporeae fragilitatis indutum, mentemque meam ita omnes exteriores sensus subito respuisse, et a cunctis materialibus rebus omnimodis exsulasse, ut neque oculi neque aures meae proprio fungerentur officio; et ita divinis meditationibus ac spiritalibus theoriis animus replebatur, ut saepe ad vesperam cibum me percepisse nescirem, ac sequente die de hesterna absolutione ieiunii penitus dubitarem. Ob quam etiam causam septem dierum cibus, hoc est, septem paximaciorum paria sequestratim in procherio, id est, amanuensi sporta die sabbati reponuntur, ut refectio praetermissa non lateat. Qua consuetudine illius quoque oblivionis error excluditur, ut expletum hebdomadae cursum, ac solemnitatem diei ipsius revolutam, finitus panum indicet numerus, festivitasque diei sacrae et congregationis solemnitas solitarium latere non possit. Quod si etiam hunc ordinem ille quem praediximus mentis excessus forte turbaverit, nihilominus quotidiani operis modus dierum numerum signans, arcet errorem. Sanctus Ioannes Cassianus, Collationes, Collatio XIX, Caput IV, De Fine Coenobitae et Eremitae Source: Migne PL 49.1130b-1131a

Therefore if someone delights in the remote places of the desert and would forget human association and with Jeremiah say: 'You know that I have not desired the day of man,' 1 I confess that I also, by the blessing of God's grace, achieved this or certainly tried to achieve it. And thus by the pious gift of the Lord I remember that I was often caught up into such rapture that I forgot I was endowed with the burden of a weak body, and my mind suddenly rejected all external senses and entirely severed itself off from all material objects, so that neither my eyes nor my ears performed their proper functions, and my soul was so filled with Divine meditations and spiritual contemplations that often at evening I did not know whether I had taken any food, and on the following day I was extremely doubtful whether I had broken my fast yesterday. Because of which, a supply of food for seven days, that is, seven sets of small cakes, were set apart in a hand-basket, and laid by on Saturday, that there might be no doubt when a meal had been overlooked. By which custom another error of forgetfulness was excluded, for when the number of cakes was exhausted, it showed that the course of the week was over, and that the services of the same day had come round, and so the festival and holy day and services of the congregation could not be hidden from the solitary. Because even if that rapture of mind spoken of should perhaps interfere with this arrangement, yet still the method of the days' work would show the number of the days and prevent error. Saint John Cassian, Conferences, from Conference 19, Chapter 4, On The Aim of the Coenobite and the Hermit 1 Jerem 17.16

Three Thoughts

Ἠρώτησεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Λογγῖνος τὸν ἀββᾶν Λούκιόν ποτε τρεϊς λογιμσοὺς, λεγων· Θέλω ξενιτεῦσαι. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν μὴ κρατήσῃς τῆς γλώσσης σου, οὐκ εἶ ξένος, ὅπου ἐὰν ἀπέλθῃς. Καὶ ὧδε οὖν κράτησον τῆς γλὼσσης σου, καὶ ξένος εἶ. Λέγει αὐτῷ πάλιν· Θέλω νηστεῦσαι. Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Εἶπεν Ἠσαῗας ὁ προφήτης· Ἐὰν κάμψῃς ὠς λοιὸν καὶ κρικον τὸν τράχηλόν σου, οὐδὲ οὕτως κληθήσεται νηστεία δεκτή· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον κράτησον τῶν πονηρῶν λογισμῶν. Λέγει αὐτῷ τὸ τρίτον· Θέλω φυγεῖν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν μὴ πρῶτον κατορθώσῃς μετὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὐδὲ καταμόνας δύνασαι κατορθῶσαι. Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.256c

One time father Longinus asked father Lucius about three thoughts saying, 'I wish be an exile.' The elder said to him, 'If you do not control your tongue, you will not be an exile anywhere you would go. Control your tongue here and you will be an exile.' Again he said to him: 'I wish to fast,' the elder replied, 'Isaiah the prophet said: 'If you bend your neck like a rope or a bulrush, that shall not be called an acceptable fast.' 1 Rather control your wicked thoughts.' A third time he said to him: 'I wish to flee men.' The elder replied: 'If you have not first lived rightly among men, you will not be able to live rightly alone.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia 1 Isaiah 58.5

Trouble And Endurance

Ἀλγεῖς ἀπολειφθέντων ἡμῶν, ὡς εἰκός· ἡμεῖς δὲ πλέον ἐπὶ τῷ χωρισμῷ τῆς σῆς εὐλαβείας. Πλὴν εὐχαριστοῦμεν τῷ Θεῷ μέχρι σοῦ φθάσαντες, καὶ οὐκ μεμψάμεθα τῷ κόπῳ. Εἴδομεν γάρ σου τὸ στερέωμα τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν πίστεως καὶ τὴν ἐπαινετὴν ἐρημίαν καὶ τὸν φιλόσοφον ἰδιασμόν, ὅτι πάντων χωρισθεῖσα τῶν τοῦ κόσμου τερπνῶν Θεῷ μόνῳ συνέκλεισας ἑαυτὴν καὶ τοῖς ἁγίοις μάρτυσιν, οἷς παροικεῖς, καὶ προσήγαγες τῷ Θεῷ καὶ προσάγεις μετὰ τῶν ἀγαπητῶν σου τέκνων θυσίαν ζῶσαν, εὐάρεστον. Ταῦτα οὖν ἔστω σοι καὶ παρα μυθία τῶν λυπηρῶν, ἐπεὶ καὶ Δαυῒδ ὁ μέγας ἐγκρύπτει τοῖς ἐκεῖθεν ἀγαθοῖς, εἰς ἃ πέμπει τοὺς λογισμούς, τὰ ἐντεῦθεν ὀδυνηρά, ὅταν λέγη· Ὅτι ἔκρυψέ με ἐν σκηνῇ αὐτοῦ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κακῶν· καὶ οὐκ ἀποτίθεται μόνον τὸ ἀλγεινὸν ὅταν μνησθῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ εὐφραίνεται· Ἐμνήσθην γάρ, φησι, τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ εὐφράνθην. Ἀλγοῦσι καὶ οἱ τῷ κόσμῳ προστετη κότες καὶ πολὺ πλείονα τῶν τῷ Θεῷ δουλευόντων· ἀλλ' ἄμισθον αὐτοῖς τὸ ἀλγεῖν· ἡμῖν δὲ καὶ τὸ πάσχειν ἔμμισθον, ὅταν διὰ τὸν Θεὸν καρτερῶμεν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Ἐπιστολή ΣΚΓ´ Θεκλῃ Source: Migne PG 37.364c-365a

We expect you grieve at our parting, but we do more so because we have been separated from your piety. We give thanks to God, however, that we came to you, and we did not object to the labour of it. For we know you have a firm faith in Christ and the praiseworthy desert and the philosophy of the recluse, so that separated from every worldly pleasure, you may gather yourself to God alone, and to the holy martyrs, enclosing yourself with God, along with your beloved children, a living sacrifice, well pleasing. 1 Let these things, then, be a comfort to you in your troubles. Since even the great David by means of future goods on which he set his thoughts covered the bitter things of this world, when he said: 'Because He hides me in His tabernacle on the day of evil.' 2 Yet when he meditates in his soul and memory on God, he does not dispose of griefs and troubles only, but indeed he is moved by joy: 'I was mindful of God,' he says, 'and I delighted.' 3 They grieve who are bound to the world, and most of all when in the service of God, and to grieve is their reward, since for us to suffer enriches when we endure through God. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, from Letter 223, To Thecla 1 Peter 3.4 2 Ps 26.5 3 Ps 76.4

Three Refuges

Tria refugia Domini habebant, id est, in monte, in deserto, et in mari. Exemplum nobis ad altiorem justitiam ascendere tamquam in monte; contemplativa sectari, tanquam in deserto; fugere, tanquam in mare. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, De Veteri et Novo Testamento Quaestiones, Quaestio XXXVI Source: Migne PL 83.206b

The Lord had three refuges, that is, on the mountain, in the desert, and on the sea. This is an example to us to ascend to the height of righteousness, as to the mountain; to follow the contemplative life as, in the desert; to flee, as on the sea. Saint Isidore of Seville, Questions on the Old and New Testaments, from Question 36

A Place Of Prayer

Idem quoque Dominus Jesus, ut scribitur, in desertum locum ibat, ibique orabat? Locus ergo ille jam vocetur orationis locus, quem exorando Deum, idoneum Deus auctor ostendit, docuitque unde facilius nubes humiliantis se oratio penetraret, adjuta loco, quia honorata secreto: atque ipse illic orando cum peteret, demonstravit ubi orare nos vellet, cum peteretur. Quid nunc ergo Joannem, Macariumque commemorem, aliosque complures, quorum conversatio dum in desertis est, in caelis facta est? Appropinquaverunt illi tantum Domino quantum appropinquare Deo hominem fas sinebat, admissique sunt in divinarum opera rerum quantum carne circumdatos licebat admitti. Fixam in superna mentem coelestibus inseruerunt secretis, hic comitantem gratiam aut revelationibus tacitis, aut clamantibus signis protulerunt et suffragante secreto usque in id provecti sunt, ut terram tunc quidem corpore contingerent, coelum vero spiritu jam possiderent. Sanctus Eucherius Lugdunensis, Epistola De Laude Eremi Source: Migne PL 50.707a-c

Also, is it not written, that the same Lord Jesus, went to a desert place and there prayed? 1 Therefore He names this place a place of prayer, which for praying to God, God the creator showed most suitable, and taught that there most easily prayer might pierce the clouds of humility, in a helpful place, which being withdrawn is honoured, and as He sought to pray there so He showed where we should wish to pray when we seek to do so. Was it not that John, and Macarius, 2 and many others whom I may recall, had their lives made heavenly in the desert? They drew near to the Lord, as much as it given here a man to do so, and were admitted into the works of Divine things, as much as one surrounded by the flesh can be. Fixed on the heavens, heavenly secrets were poured into their minds, with fortifying grace or silent revelations, or they brought forth loud crying signs, with secret support even until their departing, when, though touching the earth which the body, with the spirit they obtained the heavens. Saint Eucherius of Lyon, In Praise of the Desert 1 Lk 5.16 2 John The Baptist, Macarius of Egypt

Guarding Thoughts

Τὰ νοήματα τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ὁ Κύριος καθάπερ πρόβατά τινα τῷ ἀγαθῷ ποιμένι τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ παρέδωκε· ̧ Κὰι γὰρ, φησί, σὺν τὸν αἰῶνα ἔδωκεν ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀυτοῦ,  συζεύξας αὐτῷ θυμὸν κὰι επιθυμίαν πρὸς βοήθειαν, ἵνα, διὰ μὲν τοῦ θυμου, φευγαδεύῃ τὰ τῶν λύκων νοήματα, διὰ δε τῆς ἐπιθυμίας στέργῃ τὰ πρόβατα, καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ὑετῶν καὶ ἀνέμων πολλάκις βαλλόμενος· ἔδωκε πρὸς τούτοις καὶ νομὸν, ὅπως ποιμαίνῃ τὰ πρόβατα, καὶ τόπον χλόης, καὶ ὕδωρ ἀναπαύσεως καὶ ψαλτήριον καὶ κιθάραν καὶ ῥάβδον καὶ βακτηρίαν, ἵν' ἐκ ταύτης τῆς ποίμνης καὶ τραφῇ καὶ ἐνδύσηται καὶ χόρτον ὀρεινὸν συναγάγῃ· Τίς γὰρ, φησὶ, ποιμαίνει ποίμνην, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ γάλακτος τῆς ποίμνης οὐκ ἐσθίεις; Δεῖ οὖν τὸν ἀναχωροῦντα φυλάττειν νύκτωρ, καὶ μεθ´ ἡμέραν τοῦτο τὸ ποίμνιον, μήτι τῶν νοημάτων γένηται θηριάλωτον, ἢ λῃσταῖς περιπέσῃ, εἰ δὲ ἄρα τι τοιοῦτο συμβαίη κατὰ τὴν νάπην, εὐθέως ἐξαρπάζειν ἐκ τοῦ στόματος τοῦ λέοντος ἢ τῆς ἄρκτου. Γίνεται δὲ τὸ νόημα τὸ περὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ θηριάλωτον, εἰ μετὰ μίσους νέμοι τὸ ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ τὸ περὶ τῆς γυναικὸς, εἰ μετ' αἰσχρᾶς ἐπιθυμίας στρέφοιτο παρ' ἡμῖν, καὶ τὸ τοῦ ἀργυρίου, καὶ τοῦ χρυσίου, εἰ μετὰ πλεονεξίας αὐλίζοιτο. Καὶ τὰ νοήματα τῶν ἁγίων χαρισμάτων, εἰ μετὰ κενοδοξίας κατὰ διάνοιαν βόσκοιτο· καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων δὲ νοημάτων ὡσαύτως συμβήσεται, κλεπτομένων τοῖς πάθεσιν.  Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Περὶ διαφόρων πονηρῶν λογισμῶν Source: Migne PG 79 1220

The thoughts of this world the Lord gave to man as sheep to a good shepherd, for it is written, 'He has placed the world in his heart;' 1 yoking to him indignation and desire for aid, so that with the first he may drive away the thoughts of the wolves, and with desire he may care for the sheep, even though he is often buffeted by rain and winds. God also gave him pasture so that he may shepherd the sheep, as well as a verdant place and refreshing water, 2 and a harp and a lyre, and a rod and a staff, so that from these sheep he is fed and clothed and supplied with food on the mountain. For it is written, 'Does anyone feed a flock and not drink its milk?' 3 It is therefore necessary for the one who has withdrawn that he be on his guard night and day over his flock so that thoughts are neither caught by wild beasts nor fall to thieves; and if such a thing happen, in the wooded valley he must immediately snatch them from the mouth of the lion or the bear. 4 So it is that the thought of a brother becomes of the beast if it pastures what is within us in hatred; as regards a woman, if we turn away from ourselves to shameful desire; and as regards gold and silver, if we take up our dwelling with avarice. And the thoughts of the holy gifts are likewise seized if we mentally graze on vainglory, and the same happens in the case of other thoughts if they are stolen away by the passions. Evagrius Ponticus, On Various Evil Thoughts 1 Eccl. 3.11 2 Ps 23. 2  3 1 Cor. 9.7  4 1 Kings 7.35

Counsel For Youth

Μάθε σὺ ὁ μονάζων καὶ πιστὸς ἄνθρωπος, καὶ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐργάτης, καὶ διδάχθητι εὐαγγελικὴν πολιτείαν, σώματος δουλαγωγίαν, φρόνημα ταπεινόν, ἐννοίας καθαρότητα, ὀργῆς ἀφανισμόν. ἀγγαρευόμενος, προστίθει διὰ τὸν Κύριον: ἀποστερούμενος, μὴ δικάζου: μισούμενος, ἀγάπα: διωκόμενος, ἀνέχου: βλασφημούμενος, παρακάλει. νεκρώθητι τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, σταυρώθητι τῷ Θεῷ: ὅλην τὴν μέριμναν μετάθες ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον, ἵνα εὑρεθῇς ὅπου ἀγγέλων μυριάδες, πρωτοτόκων πανηγύρεις, ἀποστόλων θρόνοι, προφητῶν προεδρίαι, σκῆπτρα πατριαρχῶν, μαρτύρων στέφανοι, δικαίων ἔπαινοι. ἐκείνοις σεαυτὸν τοῖς δικαίοις ἐπιθύμησον συναριθμηθῆναι, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν. αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. ἀμήν. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Επιστολή ΜΓ', Νουθεσία πρὸς τοὺς νέους Source: Migne PG 32. 360b-c

Learn, you who live in solitude and are a faithful man and a practitioner of holiness, the teaching of the evangelic constitution: mastery of the body, humble thought, purity of mind, destruction of pride. Being pressed into service, add to it through the Lord: robbed, do not go to law; being hated, love; persecuted, endure; slandered, pray. Be dead to sin, be crucified to God. Cast all your care on the Lord, that you may be found where are tens of thousands of angels, assemblies of the first-born, thrones of Prophets, sceptres of Patriarchs, crowns of Martyrs, praises of righteous men. Desire to be numbered among these righteous ones, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory forever. Amen. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Letter 43, Admonition to Young Men

A New People

Et in Osee dicit: Vocabo non plebem meam plebem meam et non misericordiam consecutam misericordiam consecutam et erit in loco ubi dictum est: Non plebs mea vos, ibi vocabuntur filii Dei vivi. Unde autem Hiberione qui numquam notitiam Dei habuerunt nisi idola et inmunda usque nunc semper coluerunt quomodo nuper facta est plebs Domini et filii Dei nuncupantur, filii Scottorum et filiae regulorum monachi et virgines Christi esse videntur? Et etiam una benedicta Scotta genetiva nobilis pulcherrima adulta erat, quam ego baptizavi; et post paucos dies una causa venit ad nos, insinuavit nobis responsum accepisse a nuntio Dei et monuit eam ut esset virgo Christi et ipsa Deo proximaret: Deo gratias, sexta ab hac die optime et avidissime arripuit illud quod etiam omnes virgines Dei ita hoc faciunt, non sponte patrum earum, sed et persecutiones patiuntur et improperia falsa a parentibus suis et nihilominus plus augetur numerus, et de genere nostro qui ibi nati sunt nescimus numerum eorum, praeter viduas et continentes. Sed ex illis maxime laborant quae servitio detinentur: usque ad terrores et minas assidue perferunt; sed Dominus gratiam dedit multis ex ancillis suis, nam etsi vetantur tamen fortiter imitantur. Sanctus Patricius Hibernorum Apostolus, Confessio Source: Migne PL 53.810a-b

Hosea says: 'I will call a people not mine my people; and she who has not obtained mercy, will obtain mercy, and in the place where it was said: You are not my people, there they will be called children of the living God.' 1 Whence how in Ireland which never had knowledge of God but to serve idols and unclean things always up to now, have they recently become the people of the Lord, and are called children of God, and the sons and daughters of the leaders of the Irish are seen to be monks and virgins of Christ? There was a blessed Irish lady of noble birth, a most beautiful woman, whom I baptised, and after a few days she came to me for one reason: she told me that she had received word from a messenger of God, who admonished her that she should become a virgin of Christ and that she should come near to God. Thanks be to God, six days later, enthusiastically and well, she took up that way which all the virgins of God do. And not by their fathers' will do they do this, for they suffer persecution from them and false accusations from their parents, and nevertheless the number of them grows, and we do not know the number of our people who were born there. Besides which, there are the widows and the celibates. But of all these, those held in slavery toil most, constantly enduring terror and threats, but the Lord gives grace to so many of His handmaids who serve him, for even if they are forbidden, they bravely follow. Saint Patrick Apostle of the Irish, from The Confessio 1 Hosea 2.23-24; 1.10

Fasting And Orthodoxy

Οὐδὲν ὀνίνησι νηστεία τοὺς ὑγιέσι μὴ προσέχοντας ὅροις· ὅσῳ γὰρ τοῦ σώματος ἡ ψυχὴ προτερεύει, τοσοῦτον πολιτείας δόγματα προκρίνεται εὐσεβείας.  Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΜΔ', Ἡρμινῳ Κομητι Source: Migne PG 78.332b

Fasting is to no profit at all if one does not take care to keep oneself within healthy limits; for as much as the soul is superior to the body, so holy doctrine is superior to the state of life. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 244, to Count Herminos

Silence And Fasting

Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Δουλᾶς· Ἐὰν ὁ ἐχθρὸς  βιάζηται ἡμᾶς καταλιπεῖν τὴν ἡσυχιαν, μὴ ἀκούσωμεν αὐτοῦ· οὐδὲν γὰρ ὅμοιον αὐτῆς, καὶ τῆς ἀσιτίας. Συγκρίνεται εἰς συμμαχίαν κατ' αὐτοῦ· ὀξυδορκίαν γὰρ παρέχουσι τοῖς ἔνδον ὅμμασιν. Ἀποφθέγματα Ἅγίων Γερόντων, Παλλαδιος Source: Migne PG 65.161b-c

Father Doulas said, 'If the enemy presses on us to abandon silence, let us not listen to him, for nothing is equal to it but fasting. These two join together to fight against him, for they sharpen the inner vision. Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

A Reader Questioned

Ἡδέως ἂν ἐροίμην σε Γραφικῶς τὸν Αἰθίοπα τὴν γνώμην· Ἆρα γε γίνώσκεις ἂ ἀναγινώσκεις; Ὥς τινες γάρ φασι, ρήμάτων μνημονεύεις τινῶν τοῦ θεοπνεύστον Πατρὸς ἡμῶν Βασιλείου, οὗ τῶν πραγμάτων κατ' οὐδὲν μνημονεύεις. Εἰ δὲ ἀληθὴς εἶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐραστὴς, ἔογοις τοὺς ἐκείνου λόγους ἐπίδειξαι, δι' ὦν τὰ ἤθη κανόνι φιλοσοφίας ἐῥῥύθμισεν. Εἰ γὰρ τὴν κατὰ μεθυόντων τοῦ ἀνδρὸς μετεχειρίσω πυκτίδα, σαυτὸν εὑρήσεις ἐκεῖ, τὸν μυρίον ἐσμὸν τῶν αἰσχυνῶν ὑπομένοντα. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, ΞΑ' Ζωσιμῳ Source:  Migne PG 78. 221, 224

Cheerfully I might inquire of you who have an Ethiopian mind, 'Do you understand what you read?' 1 For some say that you remember some of the words of our divinely inspired father Basil but have no mind to practice the deeds. If truly you would be a lover of that man, then show his words in deeds, by whom was composed a wisdom loving rule for the direction of life. For if the writings of the man opposed to the drunkenness of men you merely hold in your hands you shall find there but myriad reasons for the tribulations of disgrace. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 61, To Zosimus 1 Act 8.27

Garments Of Earth And Heaven

Ὅτι βλακεία, καὶ λεπτότης, καὶ εὔχροια ἱματίων οὐ σώζει τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν ἀσκήσεως τὸν κανόνα, ἐρώτησον Ἰωάννην τὸν Θεολόγον τὸν τοῦ Κυρίου διαγράφοντα χιτῶνα· καὶ φράσει σοι· Ὁ δὲ χιτὼν αὐτοῦ ἤν ἄῥῥαφος, ἐκ τῶν ἄνωθεν ὑφαντὸς δι' ὅλου. Τίς δὲ ἀγνοεῖ τὴν εὐτέλειαν τῆς ἐσθῆτος ἐκείνης, ᾖπερ οἱ πτωχοὶ κέχρηνται τῶν Γαλιλαίων, καθ' οὔς καὶ μάλιστα τὸ τοιοῦτο φιλεῖ γίνεσθαι ἱμάτιον, τέχνῃ τινὶ, ὡς αἱ στηθοδεσμίδες, ἀνακρουστὸν ὑφαινόμενον; Μάθε δὲ καὶ παρὰ τοῦ θείου Ματθαίου, Ἰωάννην τὸν βαπτιστὴν ἀπαγγέλλοντος, καὶ ἐρεῖ σοι· Αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Ἰωάννης εἶχε τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τριχῶν καμήλου. Βλέπε καὶ τὸν μεγαλόφρονα καὶ θεοφόρον Λουκᾶν τὸν Ἡρώδου τῦφον ἱστοροῦντα, καὶ ἤν ἡμπίσχετο ἐσθητᾶ διεβάλλοντα, καὶ τοὺς τὰ μαλακὰ δὲ φοροῦντας, ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις τῶν βασιλέων τρίβεσθαι λέγοντα. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἄξια τοῦ νοεροῦ νυμφῶνος ἀστράπτονος τὰ ἐνδύματα. Εἰ οὖν τούτου ἐπιθυμεῖς, τὴν Ἰησου τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν εὐτελῆ ἐσθῆτα μιμοῦ. Ἡ γὰρ θρύψις τῆς ἐνταῦθα τυγχάνει βλακείας, οὐ τῆς ἄνω φωτοφορίας. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΟΔ' Κρατωνι Μονακῳ Source: Migne PG 78. 234 B-C

That flimsy and light and well colored garments gain no salvation with God according to the ascetic rules, ask the theologian John, who describing the garment of the Lord, will say to you, 'His tunic was without seam, woven from the top throughout.' 1 And who would neglect to note that the lowness of this garment, which was used by the poor of Galilee, according to which he loved greatly to wear it, was with a certain art, as chest bindings, fashioned to restrain? And attend to Matthew's words announcing John the Baptist, and he shall say to you, 'John had a garment of camel hair.' 2 And observe the high minded and God bearing Luke, in narrating the old age of Herod, denounce the softness of his garments, 3 he who tells us that those who wear delicate garments idle away in the palaces of kings. 4 For those clothed in glittering vestments are not worthy of the chamber of the spiritual bridegroom. If, then, you have some desire in this, let it be to imitate the clothing of our Lord Jesus. The weakness of softness here has no part of heavenly splendor. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 74 to Craton the Monk 1 Jn 19.23 2 Mt 3.4 3 Act 12. 21 4 Lk 7.25

Jacob And The Monks

Τὸ λέγειν τὸν Ἰακώβ· Ἐὰν δῷ μοι Κύριος ἄρτον φαγεῖν, καὶ ἱμάτιον περιβαλέσθαι, τὴν τῶν μοναχῶν διαγορεύει ζωήν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΟΘ'  Λιμενιῳ Μονακῳ Source: Migne PG 79 152

When Jacob says, 'If the Lord give to me bread for the eating and a garment to wear,' 1 he clearly declares the life of monks. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 179 to Limenius the Monk 1 Gen 28.20