Church Fathers V3 - Fr George Grube - Saint Mina Coptic Orthodox ...
Church Fathers V3 - Fr George Grube - Saint Mina Coptic Orthodox ...
Church Fathers V3 - Fr George Grube - Saint Mina Coptic Orthodox ...
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day”, signified the rest of our nature from the course of this life, since the grave<br />
is also of a bodily nature and belongs to this world. Six days are accomplished<br />
in the maintenance of life by means of keeping the commandments; the seventh<br />
is spent entirely in the grave, and the eighth is the departure from it.<br />
- St. Isaac the Syrian.<br />
+ It is better for me to die on behalf of Jesus Christ, than to reign over all the<br />
ends of the earth.<br />
- St. Ignatius of Antioch<br />
+ A hermit who was living the ascetic life in the desert, had not been tempted by<br />
the Devil for many years. This emboldened him to say that the Devil would only<br />
tempt the lazy and negligent, not those who were “strugglers” in piety. Once the<br />
Devil appeared to him and said, “What have I done to you that you play me<br />
down so? Did I ever tempt you?”<br />
“Get out of here, evil spirit”, the hermit yelled, picking up a staff to strike the<br />
Devil. “You have no right to bother the servants of Christ. Go to those who invite<br />
you with their inattentiveness.”<br />
“So that is what you think?” the Devil replied maliciously. “Do you think I will not<br />
find an opportunity, in the forty years you still have to live, to prove you wrong?”<br />
Sure, now that all the bait had succeeded, the Devil became invisible, leaving<br />
a bone- chilling laugh in the air. <strong>Fr</strong>om that time on, the hermit’s thoughts were<br />
confused.<br />
“Forty more years of life, oh that is an awfully long time!” he said to himself<br />
continually. Then, after a while he said , “Should I go into the world to seek<br />
my relatives?, Should I give my tormented body a rest?, When I return, I will<br />
continue my ascetic life. I have years before me - forty years, in fact.”<br />
He came to a decision and one morning, with staff in hand, he set out for the<br />
city. But God, in His infinite mercy, regretting the possible loss of so many years<br />
of labor, sent an angel to stop him.<br />
“Where are you going, Abba?” the angel asked, stopping him on the road.<br />
“To the city”, the hermit replied.<br />
“Dear man, you are now at the end of your life. You let the Devil deceive you.<br />
He is the Father of Lies, so return to your hut and bemoan your foolishness,<br />
before it is too late for you.”<br />
Embarrassed by the setback, the old hermit returned to his cell and died three<br />
days later.<br />
- <strong>Fr</strong>om the Desert <strong>Fathers</strong><br />
- 63-