Abba Peter said that when Abba Macarius received all the brethren in simplicity, some of them asked him why he mixed with them like this. He replied, 'For twelve years I served the Lord, so that he might grant me this gift, and do you all advise me to give it up?'

If our life is poured out in useless words, we will never hear anything, will never become anything, and, in the end, because we have said everything before we had anything to say, we shall be left speechless.

When the holy Abba Anthony lived in the desert he was beset by accidie (spiritual sloth), and attached by many sinful thoughts. He said to God, 'Lord, I want to be saved but these thoughts do not leave me alone; what shall I do in my affliction? How can I be saved?' A short while afterwards, when he...

There is within us the very image of God: 'life and the kingdom...the treasures of grace.' If shame is part of our answer to the question, 'How do I feel about who I am?' this path reminds us that the truth of who I am is not found on the surface. Who I am is not to be mistaken for the 'garments of...

Once the order was given at Scetis, 'Fast this week.' Now it happened that some brothers came from Egypt to visit Abba Moses and he cooked something for them. Seeing some smoke, the neighbours said to the ministers, 'Look, Moses has broken the commandment and has cooked something in his cell.' The...