The Interior Mountain: Encountering God with the Desert Saints by Simon Peter Iredale

Author:Simon Peter Iredale [Iredale, Simon Peter]
Format: epub
Published: 2010-05-03T06:31:00.873000+00:00

Chapter 6--Simplicity

Simplicity

God sells righteousness at a very low price to those who wish to buy it: a little piece of bread, a cloak of no value, a cup of cold water, a small coin.1

Some thieves once came into an old man’s cell, and said to him, “Whatever you have in your cell, we have come to take away.” And he said, “Take whatever you see, my sons.” So they took whatever they could find in the cell, and went away. But they forgot a little bag that was hidden in the cell. So the old man, picking it up, followed after them, shouting and saying, “My sons, you forgot this: take it.”

But they, amazed at the old man’s patience, brought everything back to his cell, and they all asked for forgiveness, saying to each another, “This really is a man of God.”2

It was asked of Syncletica of blessed memory if to have nothing is a perfect good. And she said, “It is a great good for those who are able. For those who can endure it endure suffering in their bodies, but they have quiet of soul. Even as stout garments trodden underfoot and turned over in the washing are made clean and white, so is a strong soul made steadfast by voluntary poverty.”3

Someone brought an old man money, saying, “Spend this money on yourself, for you are old and sick.” He was indeed a leper. But the old man said, “Have you come to take away my Shepherd after sixty years? During the many years of my sickness I have not lacked anything; God has cared for me and fed me.” And he refused to take it.4

Abba Pambo asked Abba Antony, “What ought I to do?” and the old man said to him, “Do not trust in your own righteousness, do not worry about the past, but control your tongue and your stomach.”5

Abba Isaiah said that Abba Pambo used to say, “The monk should wear a garment of such a kind that he could throw it out of his cell for three days and noone would steal it.”6

A brother asked Abba Tithoes, “How should I guard my heart?” The old man said to him, “How can we guard our hearts when our mouths and our stomachs are open?”7

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.”8

Choose the meekness of Moses and you will find your heart which is a rock changed into a spring of water.9

Amma Syncletica

The more we use moderation in our lives, the more we are at peace, for we are not full of cares for many things—servants, hired laborers and acquisition of cattle. But when we cling to such things, we become liable to vexations arising from them and are led to murmur against God.

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