From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
August 27th - Saint Pimen the Great
( Also known as Poemen)
He went to one of the Egyptian monasteries with his two brothers,
Anoub and Paisius, and all three received monastic tonsure.
Born about the year 340 in Egypt. The brothers were such strict
ascetics that when their mother came to the monastery to see her
children, they did not come out to her from their cells. The mother
stood there for a long time and wept. Then St. Pimen said to her
through the closed door of the cell, "Do you wish to see us now, or in
the future life?" St. Pimen promised that if she would endure the
sorrow of not seeing her children in this life, then surely she would
see them in the next. The mother was humbled and returned home.
Fame of St. Pimen's deeds and virtues spread throughout the land.
Once, the governor of the district wanted to see him. St. Pimen,
shunning fame, thought to himself, "If dignitaries start coming to me
and show me respect, then many other people will also start coming to
me and disturb my quiet, and I shall be deprived of the grace of
humility, which I have acquired only with the help of God." So he
refused to see the governor, asking him not to come.
For many of the monks, St. Pimen was a spiritual guide and instructor.
They wrote down his answers to serve for the edification of others
besides themselves. A certain monk asked, "If I see my brother
sinning, should I conceal his fault?" The Elder answered, "If we
reproach the sins of brothers, then God will reproach our sins. If you
see a brother sinning, do not believe your eyes. Know that your own
sin is like a beam of wood, but the sin of your brother is like a
splinter (Mt. 7:3-5), and then you will not enter into distress or
temptation."
Another monk said to the saint, "I have sinned grievously and I want
to spend three years at repentance. Is that enough time?" The Elder
replied, "That is a long time." The monk continued to ask how long the
saint wished him to repent. Perhaps only a year? St. Pimen said, "That
is a long time." The other brethren asked, "Should he repent for forty
days?" The Elder answered, "I think that if a man repents from the
depths of his heart and has a firm intention not to return to the sin,
then God will accept three days of repentance."
When asked how to get rid of persistent evil thoughts, the saint replied,
"This is like a man who has fire on his left side, and a vessel full
of water on his right side. If he starts burning from the fire, he
takes water from the vessel and extinguishes the fire. The fire
represents the evil thoughts placed in the heart of man by the Enemy
of our salvation, which can enkindle sinful desires within man like a
spark in a hut. The water is the force of prayer which impels a man
toward God."
St. Pimen was strict in his fasting and sometimes would not partake of
food for a week or more.
=C2 He advised others to eat every day, but without eating their fill.
Abba Pimen heard of a certain monk who went for a week without eating,
but had lost his temper. The saint lamented that the monk was able to
fast for an entire week, but was unable to abstain from anger for even
a single day.
To the question of whether it is better to speak or be silent, the Elder sa= id,
"Whoever speaks on account of God, does well, and whoever is silent on
account of God, that one also does well."
He also said, "If man seems to be silent, but his heart condemns
others, then he is always speaking. There may be a man who talks all
day long, but he is actually silent, because he says nothing
unprofitable."
The saint said, "It is useful to observe three things: to fear God, to
pray often, and to do good for one's neighbor."
"Wickedness never eradicates wickedness. If someone does evil to you,
do good to them, and your goodness will conquer their wickedness."
Once, after St. Pimen and his disciples arrived at the monastery of
Scetis, he learned that the Elder living there was annoyed at his
arrival and was also jealous of him, because monks were leaving the
Elder to see Abba Pimen.
In order to console the hermit, the saint went to him with his
brethren, taking food with them as a present. The Elder refused to
receive them, however. Then St. Pimen said, "We shall not depart from
here until we are permitted to see the holy Elder." He remained
standing at the door of the cell in the heat. Seeing St. Pimen's
humility and patience, the Elder received him graciously and said,
"Not only is what I have heard about you true, but I see that your
works are a hundred times greater."
He possessed such great humility that he often sighed and said, "I
shall be cast down to that place where Satan was cast down!"
Once, a monk from another country came to the saint to receive his
guidance. He began to speak about sublime matters difficult to grasp.
The saint turned away from him and was silent. They explained to the
bewildered monk that the saint did not like to speak of lofty matters.
Then the monk began to ask him about the struggle with passions of
soul. The saint turned to him with a joyful face, "Now you have spoken
well, and I will answer." For a long while he provided instruction on
how one ought to struggle with the passions and conquer them.
St. Pimen died at age 110, about the year 450. Soon after his death,
he was acknowledged as a saint pleasing to God. He was called "the
Great" as a sign of his great humility, uprightness, ascetic
struggles, and self-denying service to God.
Saint Quote:
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.
--Abba Pimen (an early Desert Father)
Bible Quote:
Give in to God: resist the devil, and he will run away from you. The
nearer you go to God, the nearer he will come to you. Humble
yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up.=C2 (James 4:7-8,10 )
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Meditation:
=C2 Make it a daily practice to review your character. Take your
character in relation to your daily life, to your dear ones, your
friends, your acquaintances, and your work. Each day try to see where
God wants you to change. Plan how best each fault can be eradicated or
each mistake be corrected. Never be satisfied with a comparison with
those around you. Strive toward a better life as your ultimate goal.
God is your helper through weakness to power, through danger to
security, through fear and worry to peace and serenity.
--From Twenty-Four Hours a Day
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)