"For us let it be enough to know ourselves to
be in the place where God wants us, and carry on our work, even though it be no
more than the work of an ant, infinitesimally small, and with unforeseeable
results."
-- Abbé Monchanin
God in heaven, I thank Thee that Thou hast not required it of man that he should comprehend Christianity; for if that were required, I should be of all men the most miserable. The more I seek to comprehend it, the more incomprehensible it appears to me, and the more I discover merely the possibility of offense. Therefore, I thank Thee that Thou dost only require faith, and I pray Thee to increase it more and more.
Amen.
-- Soren Kierkegaard.
She [Amma Syncletica] also said, 'Just as it is impossible to be at the same moment both a plant and a seed, so it is impossible for us to be surrounded by worldly honour and at the same time to bear heavenly fruit.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers [and mothers ;-) ]
Abba Sarmatas said, 'I prefer a sinful man who knows he has sinned and repents, to a man who has not sinned and considers himself to be righteous.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
He [Abba Silvanus] also said, 'Unhappy is the man whose reputation is greater than his work.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
He [Abba Poemen] also said, 'If a man understands something and does not practise it, how can he teach it to his neighbour?'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
He [Abba Poemen] also said, 'If Moses had not led his sheep to Midian he would not have see[n] him who was in the bush.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
He [Abba Poemen] also said, 'Wickedness does not do away with wickedness; but if someone does you wrong, do good to him, so that by your action you destroy his wickedness.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
A brother asked Abba Poemen, 'How can a man avoid speaking ill of his neighbour?' The old man said to him, 'We and our brothers are two images; when a man is watchful about himself, and has to reproach himself, in his heart he thinks his brother better than he; but when he appears to himself to be good, then he thinks his brother evil compared to himself.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
A brother questioned Abba Poemen saying, 'What does it mean to repent of a fault?' The old man said, 'Not to commit it again in the future. This is the reason the righteous were called blameless, fot they gave up their faults and became righteous.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
A brother said to Abba Poemen, 'Give me a word,' and he said to him, 'As long as the pot is on the fire, no fly nor any other animal can get near it, but as soon as it is cold, these creatures get inside. So it is for the monk; as long as he lives in spiritual activities, the enemy cannot find a means of overthrowing him.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
Some old men came to see Abba Poemen and said to him, 'When we see brothers who are dozing at the synaxis, shall we rouse them so that they will be watchful?' He said to them, 'For my part when I see a brother who is dozing, I put his head on my knees and let him rest.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
A brother questioned Abba Poemen saying, 'If I see a brother whom I have heard is a sinner, I do not want to take him into my cell, but when I see a good brother I am happy to be with him.' The old man said, 'If you do a little good to the good brother, do twice as much for the other. For he is sick. Now, there was an anchorite called Timothy in a coenobium. The abbot, having heard of a brother who was being tempted, asked Timothy about him, and the anchorite advised him to drive the brother away. Then when he had been driven away, the brother's temptation fell upon Timothy to the point where he was in danger. Then Timothy stood up before God and said, "I have sinned. Forgive me." Then a voice came which said to him, "Timothy, the only reason I have done this to you is because you despised your brother in the time of his temptation."
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
Abba Poemen said, 'God has given this way of life to Israel: to abstain from everything which is contrary to nature, that is to say, anger, fits of passion, jealousy, hatred and slandering the brethren; in short, everything that is characteristic of the old man.
-- Saying of the Desert Fathers
He [Abba Poemen] also said, 'Men speak to perfection but they do precious little about it.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
A brother asked Abba Poemen, 'How should a man behave?' The old man said to him, 'Look at Daniel: no-one found anything in him to complain about except for his prayers to the Lord his God.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
He [Abba Poemen] also said, 'If man remembered that it is written: "By your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned," (Matt. 12.37) he would choose to remain silent.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
He [Abba Poemen] also said, 'The victory over all the afflictions that befall you, is, to keep silence.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
A brother asked Abba Poemen, 'An inheritance has been left to me, what ought I to do?' The old man said to him, 'Go, come back in three days and I will tell you.' So he returned as it had been decided. Then the old man said, 'What shall I say to you, brother? If I tell you to give it to the church, they will make banquets with it; if I tell you to give it to your relations, you will not receive any profit from it; if I tell you to give it to the poor, you will not do it. Do as you like, it is none of my business.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
He [Abba Poemen] also said, 'A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart is condemning others he is babbling ceaselessly. but there may be another who talks from morning till night and yet he is truly silent; that is, he says nothing that is not profitable.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
Abba Isaiah questioned Abba Poemen on the subject of impure thoughts. Abba Poemen said to him, 'It is like having a chest full of clothes, if one leaves them in disorder they are spoiled in the course of time. It is the same with thoughts. If we do not do anything about them, in time they are spoiled, that is to say, they disintegrate.'
-- Sayings of the Desert Fathers
