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The Sayings of the Fathers
Hi,
There are thousands of sayings of our desert fathers that help us grow spiritually. Often ,we read them, we find them cool but then that is it; we forget them . Out of these thousands of saying, for example, I remember and try to apply in my life only two sayings of the desert fathers every now and then.
1) From St Macarious the great
Should I care what people say of me?
A brother came to see Avva Macarius the Egyptian, and said to him, "Abba, give me a word, that I may be saved." So the old man said, "Go to the cemetery and abuse the dead." The brother went there, abused them and threw stones at them; then he returned and told the old man about it.
The latter said to him, "Didn't they say anything to you?" He replied, "No." The old man said, "Go back tomorrow and praise them." So the brother went away and praised them, calling them, "Apostles, saints, and righteous men." He returned to the old man and said to him, "Did they not answer you?" The brother said, "No."
The old man said to him, "You know how you insulted them and they did not reply, and how you praised them and they did not speak; so you too, if you wish to be saved, must do the same and become a dead man. Like the dead, take no account of either the scorn of men or their praises, and you can be saved."
From St Arsenious
In all situations St. Arsanious chose silence.His famous saying is:
"I have always something to repent for after having talked, but have never been sorry for having been silent" OR "Many time I spoke and regretted what I said, but about silence I will never have any regret".
I always remember this saying whenever I go wrong. I do regret my actions and I believe, this advise is helping me.
If there is anyone who makes use of the saying of the desert fathers in their lives,please share them.
There are thousands of sayings of our desert fathers that help us grow spiritually. Often ,we read them, we find them cool but then that is it; we forget them . Out of these thousands of saying, for example, I remember and try to apply in my life only two sayings of the desert fathers every now and then.
1) From St Macarious the great
Should I care what people say of me?
A brother came to see Avva Macarius the Egyptian, and said to him, "Abba, give me a word, that I may be saved." So the old man said, "Go to the cemetery and abuse the dead." The brother went there, abused them and threw stones at them; then he returned and told the old man about it.
The latter said to him, "Didn't they say anything to you?" He replied, "No." The old man said, "Go back tomorrow and praise them." So the brother went away and praised them, calling them, "Apostles, saints, and righteous men." He returned to the old man and said to him, "Did they not answer you?" The brother said, "No."
The old man said to him, "You know how you insulted them and they did not reply, and how you praised them and they did not speak; so you too, if you wish to be saved, must do the same and become a dead man. Like the dead, take no account of either the scorn of men or their praises, and you can be saved."
From St Arsenious
In all situations St. Arsanious chose silence.His famous saying is:
"I have always something to repent for after having talked, but have never been sorry for having been silent" OR "Many time I spoke and regretted what I said, but about silence I will never have any regret".
I always remember this saying whenever I go wrong. I do regret my actions and I believe, this advise is helping me.
If there is anyone who makes use of the saying of the desert fathers in their lives,please share them.
Comments
There is no real peace but with the true King of Peace, so when you find yourself troubled and worried about the future, when you are constantly plagued by evil thoughts of all kinds, know that you have forgotten the power of God and the peace and rest He gives His children.
I remember this saying when I'm in any kind of distress and it helps shift my focus on God in Whom my heart can find rest...
great topic Hezekiel, hopefully more members will share...
Happy Nayrouz to you all!
Also from St Augustine,
"God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,courage to change the things we can,
and wisdom to know the difference"
I subsitute the 'we',by 'I'.
"The time is coming when people will be insane, and when they see someone who is not insane, they will attack that person saying: You are insane because you are not like us."
I also love the story from the paradise of the fathers about the few grapes that came out not in season and the monk went and gave it to Abba Macarius and Abba Macarius did not eat it but gave it to another monk and this monk did not eat it either but also passed it on and it kept going and going until it came back to Abba Macarius. It is a perfect application of Jesus' command "love your neighbour as yourself". Also you may know the beautiful song about this in Arabic called "can fee 3an2ook 3enab"
God Bless and pray for me