Collection of virtues

Written by Macarius of Scete

Egyptian Literature Mysticism

As their content indicates, this collection contains apophthegms written at different dates. Thus some are from the time of Macarius of Scété while others date for example from two centuries later.

The Philokalia of the Neptic Fathers contains a good part of the Spiritual Homilies which is the most famous collection of Macarius of Scété and whose impact on Christian mysticism is important . There is a French version translated by Jacques Touraille in the 1990s.

Text and translation: from Coptic to French, Emile Amélineau in Annales du Musée Guimet ( T° 25): History of the monasteries of Lower Egypt , 1894.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 1.

It is said of Abba Macarius that when he was established in virtue, while he was living in the desert, giving thanks with perseverance, the Lord of glory sent to him a cherub to this mountain. The cherub having placed his hands as a measure on his chest, Abba Macarius said to him: "What are you doing?" The cherub said to him: "I measure your chest." Abba Macarius said to him: "What is the meaning of this word?" The cherub said to him: "This mountain which Christ has given you as an inheritance will be called by the name of your heart; but it will ask you for its fruits." Abba Macarius said to him: "What fruits?" The cherub said to him: "Spiritual fruits which are the commandments and the virtues, and Christ our God will make you on this earth the father of a numerous people. Those who listen to, keep, and observe your commandments will be a royal crown on your head, in the presence of Christ the King." When the cherub had said this, he crucified him on the earth, he said to him: "You will crucify yourself with Christ and you will join yourself with him on the Cross in the ornaments of virtues and their perfume; your asceticisms will go to the four ends of the earth, and they will excite a crowd of people, sunk in the mud of sin; they will be fighters and soldiers in the frames of Christ." And Abba Macarius crucified his body and carefully accomplished all that the cherub had told him.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 2.

One day, when Abba Macarius was going from the wadi to his cell, carrying palms, the devil met him on the road with a scythe which he tried to bring down on him. Not being able to do so, he said to him: "O violence! You, Macarius, I can do nothing against you; for behold, what you do, I also do: you fast and I never eat, you stay awake and I do not sleep at all; there is only one thing in which you surpass me." Abba Macarius said to him: "What is this thing?" He said to him: "It is your humility: because of your humility I can do nothing against you." And when the saint had spread out his hands, the demon disappeared and the saint walked, giving glory to God.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 3.

It is related of Abba Macarius that Agathonicus, the eparch of Antioch, heard from him that he worked many virtues and graces of healing through our Lord Jesus Christ. He sent to him his daughter, in whom was an unclean spirit, that Macarius might pray over her. And by the grace of God which was in him, when he had prayed over her, she was healed immediately, and he sent her back in peace to her parents. When her father and mother saw the healing which the Lord had worked in their daughter through the orations and prayers of the holy Abba Macarius, they gave thanks, giving glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 4.

Abba Macarius said: "I was passing one day in the desert, the devil approached me with a miserable and greatly fearful air, he said to me: "O violence! You, Macarius, your voice resounds in the East and the West like that of the great Anthony, the worthy leader of the solitary monks, and you have taken his likeness, as Elisha took the likeness of Elijah. For, certainly, for you too Anthony was a master: it was he who gave you the habit; and you struck me by your humility, by humbly taking advice from Abba Anthony, and you considered him as if he had been a god by the love of your true humility. And when I aim at you with the arrows of the passions, immediately you say in the depths of your heart with firm faith: Here is my physician and my doctor on the mountain and on the river." And Abba Macarius added: I also said to him: "I am blessed, because the Lord, in spite of you, has made you forgetful, strengthening my heart and my trust in my master; for the remedies of my lord and father Abba Anthony are not carnal; but the power of the Holy Spirit operates in his prayers: spiritual remedies are pleasing to God like a perfume." - And when he heard this, the devil became like smoke, he vanished, and I went on giving glory to Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 5.

Abba Macarius said: "The snares of the enemy are what has been called night and darkness, as Paul says: "We do not belong to the night or to the darkness, but we belong to the day" because, in truth, the Son of God is the day, and the devil is the night. But if the heart passes through a part of these combats, again the demons return full of hatred to the combatant and then begin to impose on him the combats of fornication and childish pleasure. And in these combats the heart is weak, so that it is impossible for man to maintain purity; for the demons have on their side the length of time, the sufferings of virtue and the excitement of life, and this is great suffering with a weak heart. But if the heart becomes truly weak, if it dissolves in the suffering of the combats, if it casts away the evil heart from itself, and if it cries out to God through the groaning of his soul, then the good and merciful God for his creature sends him a holy virtue which takes hold of his heart, makes him weep, rejoice and be relieved, so that he becomes stronger than his enemy and can no longer be defeated, because the enemy is filled with fear before the virtue that has come to him, as the apostle Paul says: "Fight, that you may receive virtue." It is of this virtue that Peter speaks, saying: "There is an inheritance immortal, incorruptible, reserved for us, on whom the virtue of God watches through faith."

But when the good God sees the heart that begins to regain the upper hand over the enemy, then he begins to take away virtue from it, seeing its choice and with fear he allows the enemy to engage in combat with it in filth, in the pleasure of the eyes, in vain glory and in pride, like a boat without a rudder that is tossed to and fro by the waves. If the heart becomes very weak as a result of the efforts of the enemy, then the good and merciful God for his creature sends it holy virtue: it takes the soul, the heart and the body, as well as the rest of the members, it places them under the yoke of the Comforter, as our Lord Jesus Christ says: "Take my yoke and learn from me that I am meek and humble of heart." Then the good God begins to open the eyes of his heart, to teach him to give honor to God with humility and contrition of heart, as David says: "A contrite and humble heart is a sacrifice to God" because, through the sufferings of this war, humility and contrition are in the heart. Then virtue reveals heavenly things to the mind and heart, the songs and the glory that will be to those who endure them; and also that if man endures many sufferings, it is little compared with the honors that God will give him, as the apostle says again: "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed to us." Then the heart is shown the punishments and those who are punished, and other things that I cannot say; and the Paraclete strengthens the resolutions of the heart, that is, purity of soul and of the rest of the body, as well as great humility, watchfulness, a mind on guard, placing oneself lower than all creatures, despising evil whoever may do it, purity of eyes, guarding the tongue, purity of feet, righteousness of hands, perseverance in prayer, enduring bodily pains and watchfulness for God. These things are ordered to him with moderation and counsel, not in trouble, but with constancy. If the mind despises these commandments of God, then virtue withdraws and wars take place in the heart, as well as troubles, the passions of the body disturb it by the emotions and attacks of the enemy; but if the spirit is converted and keeps the spiritual commandments, then it is protected, and man knows that constancy in God is his rest, as David said: "Lord, since I cried to you, I have found rest according to my purpose."

I say that unless a man suffers much in his heart with humility, and in his body, considering himself in all things as nothing, patiently enduring insults, doing violence to himself in all things, contemplating death daily, renouncing material things and renouncing carnal things, it is not possible for him to keep the commandments of the Holy Spirit."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 6.
Someone came to Abba Macarius and said to him, "Tell me how I shall be saved?" The old man said to him, "Go to the tombs where the dead are and throw stones at them." The brother went and insulted them and threw stones at them. And when he came to the old man, the old man said to him, "Did they not tell you anything?" He said to him, "No, father." The old man said to him, "Go tomorrow and praise them, saying, 'You are apostles, you are saints and righteous.'" And he came to the old man and said, "I have praised them." The old man said to him, "Did they not tell you anything?" He said to him, "No." The old man said to him: "You see how you have reviled them and they have said nothing to you, and how you have glorified them and they have said nothing to you; so you too, if you wish to be saved, go, play dead, not caring more for the contempt of men than for their honors, in imitation of the dead, and you can be saved."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 7.
A brother questioned Abba Macarius, saying: "Teach me what it is to live under submission." Abba Macarius said to him: "Just as a stone, if it turns over wheat, removes all the husks, and the wheat becomes pure bread; so you, my son, the stone is your father; you are the wheat: if you listen to him, he will pray to God for you; he will remove from you all the husks of Satan, and, instead of pure bread, you become a divine son."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 8.
Abba Poemen said: "One day when I went to Abba Macarius, I said to him: "Father, how do you want me to be with the brothers, for when I speak to them, and they do not listen?" He said to me: "Perhaps it is because of the impulse of another that they do not listen." - I said to him: "What is the impulse?" Abba Macarius said to me: "Perhaps their intention comes from another, for it is written: "The cord of three strands is not quickly broken"; that is to say, if you find brothers perfect in faith, charity and obedience full of humility towards their fathers, they do not break, because their heart is strengthened.

And know this also: If a faithful man finds a faithful woman and they both keep the purity of marriage, they spend the time in peace with each other, being in beautiful rest, so that their relatives and neighbors envy their wisdom; but if the enemy attacks them, if the man or the woman looks out of the windows of their houses and the man fixes his eyes on the beauty of a young girl, likewise the woman; if the man or the woman takes a strange leaven, there is no peace between them, indeed, until they separate from each other. So brothers, if they forsake the counsel of their fathers, if they take counsel with others, that of their fathers not being acceptable to them, but also reproaching them, they continue in murmuring within and without until they separate from their fathers."

When Abba Poemen heard this from Abba Macarius, he admired the discernment of his mind and understanding. Abba Poemen said to him: "Truly, it is so, my father." After this, he prayed and departed, having received profit, giving glory to our Lord Jesus Christ and to his servant Abba Macarius.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 9.
Abba Macarius said: "If you look at a mirror, it informs you of your beauty or your ugliness; for you cannot hide anything from it and it cannot lie to you in the least; but it draws you and it sends back to you your image, it characterizes all your features and the form that you have; even your smile, you see of what kind it is, and it teaches you that your black hair is black and that your white hair is white, and it makes known to you to yourself of what kind you are in its image. Thus it will be with the God of justice from whom one cannot flee, for it is not a question of mirrors made by hands, but of actions which manifest themselves, of images which show the traces of sins, and you cannot flee from them, because they stand before you, reproaching you without there being need of a witness; and you, you are like a piece of wood among them, you are poor, you cannot speak; the mirror of sins shows them to you makes them all known and impresses them on your heart like a sculptor's chisel, reproaching you and showing you each of the actions that you have done, at what time, what season you did this one, at what hour you did that other. In a word, they are all for you a shame, a reproach, in the presence of both worlds, of the inhabitants of heaven and of those of the earth, whose universal judgment is terrible. For all the saints and the heavenly hosts are in mourning and groaning over you, seeing the great fall that you have made because of the shameful actions that you have committed; Nevertheless pity and mercy belong to our Lord Jesus Christ, for there is neither repentance nor mercy for you, nor anyone who hears you, except in the compassionate one, the one with the manifold treasures of mercies and mercies, He who is able to kill and to make alive, to descend to the grave or to raise up, that is, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of our souls and bodies, who does not desire the death of the sinner as much as his conversion and life. Let us seek him, O brethren, and be wise from now on, seeing his love for men, as formerly when he wept over Lazarus in the kindness of his Father, while Mary and Martha, the sisters of the dead, shed tears; and after four days he raised him from the dead. Let us approach him with prayers and holy tears, that he may have mercy on us, raise our souls from the death of sin, and that we may live by his mercy."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 10.
A brother questioned Abba Macarius, saying: "Teach me what it is to throw oneself into God." Abba Macarius said to him: "It is written that he did not speak to them without a parable. For just as a wild and unreasoning animal, if it throws itself upon a tame animal, and with great cruelty overwhelms it, so that the one under it is in great weakness in comparison with it, all its strength and all its hope rests on its master and it cries out with a loud voice to give a sign to its master; if its master hears it, then it hastens to pity it, and runs to help it and save it from the destruction of this wild beast. Since the master of this unreasoning animal has pity on it and hastens to save it from this wild beast, how much more will we, who are the sheep endowed with reason of the flock of Christ, if we put our hope in it, not allow the enemy to do us violence and send us his angel to save us from the devil. So then, my Son, that to cast oneself upon God is that man does not place his trust in his own strength alone, but that he hopes in the help of God; for, certainly, it is he who saves us."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 11.
He asked him again, "Father, how can a man be free from passions and be renewed in the spirit?" The old man said to him, "I will tell you a riddle. Just as a tunic, if it is rent, is put into it a piece, and it becomes new again. For the tunic is compared to the body, the rent to sin and pleasure, the piece to the repentance that our Lord Jesus Christ gives us."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 12.
The same brother questioned him again, saying: "Father, guide me to what is sweet and what is salty." Abba Macarius said to him: "They say of a little child that, if his mother puts him down, she gives him something sweet in his hand, so that he may enjoy himself and not cause his mother trouble. Trouble is compared to sin and pleasure: the sweet thing is our Lord Jesus Christ, the blessed name, the true precious pearl; for it is written in the Gospel that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking good pearls. When he has found a precious pearl, it is our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 13.
Abba Poemen relates: "I was sitting once, with some brothers, near Abba Macarius; I said to him: "My father, what work will a man do to obtain life?" The old man said to me: "I know that, in my childhood, when I was in my father's house, I observed that old women and young girls kept mastic in their mouths, to chew it, so that it sweetened their saliva in their throats and the bad smell of their mouths; and did good to their liver and all their entrails. Since this corporeal thing thus gives sweetness to those who chew and break it, how much more the food of joy, the fountain of salvation, the source of the waters of life, the sweetness of all sweetness, our Lord Jesus Christ, he whose glorious name the demons, hearing from our mouths, vanish like smoke: this blessed name, if we are diligent in it and ruminate on it, it reveals to us the spirit, the guide of the soul and the body, it drives away every evil thought from the immortal soul, it reveals to it heavenly things, especially Him who is in heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings, the Lord of all lords, who is the heavenly prize of those who seek him with all their heart." When Abba Poemen heard this from him about whom Christ had given testimony when he said: "Macarius the just has come this day before my judgment seat," they fell at his feet with tears, and when he had prayed over them, he dismissed them, giving glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 14.
Abba Macarius said, when he was with the brothers: "It happened to me once while I was in the wadi gathering palms, that a gazelle came to me tearing out its hair, weeping as if it had been a goat, and its tears flowed to the ground. When it had thrown itself at my feet, it wet them with its tears. When I had sat down, I touched it and caressed it with my hands; I shared its tears, while it looked at my face with astonishment. Then, after that, it bit my tunic, it pulled me; and, when I had followed it in the strength of my Lord Jesus Christ and it had led me to the place where it lived, I found three little ones lying there. And when I had sat down, it took them one by one with its teeth, it threw them into my lap and, after feeling them, I found that they were deformed: their chin was on their cloak. And taking pity on them and on the tears of their mother, I groaned over them, saying: "You who care for all, our Lord Jesus Christ, you who have treasures of many mercies, have pity on the creature you have created." When I had said these words with tears in the presence of my Lord Jesus Christ and had stretched out my hand, I made on them the salutary sign of the cross which healed them. When I had placed them on the ground, immediately she gave attention to them; they went under her belly. They suckled, and she, sweet to them, rejoiced with them, looking at my face, being in great joy. And I was in admiration before the goodness and humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ concerning his mercies; for, even the beasts themselves, he takes care of them. And I arose and walked, giving glory to the great goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the multitude of his mercies toward every creature that he has created."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 15.
Abba Macarius told the brothers about the devastation of Scété, when they questioned him, he said to them: "If you see cells built in the wadi, if you see trees growing near the doors, if you see many children, take your skins and flee."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 16.
Some elders questioned Abba Macarius, saying: "What is the use of Scetis?" He said to them: "It resembles the refuge which were the four cities which the Lord separated for the children of Israel, so that if any fornicator or murderer fled into one of them, he would be saved, provided he remained there."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 17.
Again he said to them: "There are cities whose foundations the King of kings, the Lord of lords, our God, has laid and established; from the four winds of the earth he has gathered spiritual soldiers and made them dwell there, giving them laws and precepts, and he said to them: "Do this, and I will make the kings of the earth subject to you." And when they heard it, they did as they were commanded. And so it will be until the first destruction of Scete after forty years, because they will have given way to their passions. Again the king Christ will have mercy on them, he will bring them back a second time, he will give them these laws and commandments, saying: "Do this; as I did to your fathers, so will I do to you." And they obeyed, but they carried out the commandments only halfway; and this will be until the second destruction of Scetis, because of the comfort they granted themselves. And again the King Christ, the one to whom the universal service of the Church is addressed, will remember their fathers, he will bring them back a third time and will also give them these laws and commandments, and they will say to him: "It is not possible for us to keep them", and the King, Christ, will not want to destroy the cities; he will say to them: "Stay only in the cities and I will do with you as I did with your fathers, I will visit you, and if I come and find myself dwelling among you and you also in me, then I, with my Father full of goodness and the Holy Spirit Paraclete, will make a dwelling in you to take glory for us until the ages that have no end."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 18.
Abba Evagrius questioned Abba Macarius, while Abba Poemen was sitting near him with Abba Paphnuti – the just and true disciple – about the free and pure choice. Abba Macarius said to them: "The free and pure choice is that for which a man will give a thousand pieces of silver to have what he desires, what he has chosen, and these thousand pieces will be in his eyes as a tiny coin. If on the other hand violence is done to his choice even to the value of only a coin, he will be ready to give a thousand pieces of gold because of the violence done to his choice." They said to him: "What is the meaning of this gibberish?" Abba Macarius said to them: "Search and see, consider carefully these words." And when they had searched, they found that the word was true. And when they had repented, he prayed over them, he sent them away giving glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 19.
Abba Macarius said: "When you rise in the morning each day, consider that you are just beginning to be a monk, and set before you every virtue, every commandment of God, great patience, longsuffering filled with fear, love of God and men with humility of heart, humility of body with mourning and fear of prison, with prayers, intercessions, groaning, purity of tongue, guarding of the eyes, enduring insults, without anger, in peace and without returning evil, without judging inferiors, not considering yourself as anything and placing yourself below every creature in a contempt of material things and carnal things, a fight of the cross, a spiritual poverty, a good choice, an asceticism of the body in fasting, a repentance and tears in the fight of war, in a return from captivity, a resolution of purity, the taste of good sweetness in tranquilities of noonday, labors manuals, vigils, numerous prayers, hunger, thirst, cold, destitution, pain, the proximity of the tomb as if you were ready to throw yourself into it, considering your death near you day after day, lost in the deserts, the mountains and the holes of the earth."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 20.
Again, our father Macarius, said: "It is written: By your fear, Lord, we have become pregnant, we have labored and have brought forth a spirit of salvation. Take heed that you do not grasp the word and bring forth. Truly, my brothers, these are the wedding garments, these are the talents of those who have worked well; these are those who have built their house on the solid rock, mercy and faith; let us not cause fear and violence to cease from you, humility and mourning. Take these; be sound in the Lord, you who desire to live in peace. Amen."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 21.
Some brethren, sitting round Abba Macarius, and having obtained permission, questioned him concerning the mustard seed, saying: "What is his explanation about?" And he said to them: "The mustard seed has been compared to the mind; for if the knowledge of Our Lord Jesus Christ is in man, he is said to have a fine mind; so also the mustard seed is small and tasty, so the master is said to be excellent and his understanding is fine."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 22.
The brothers said to him: "What is growth and what are vegetables?" Abba Macarius said to them: "The growth is the spiritual virtues; the vegetables are the untimely, the pure and the simple. And it happens with a tree that the birds of the air come and dwell in its branches: that it happens also that we are found heavenly men. The tree itself is the master who teaches; the instructions and the words of strength which it gives are the branches; for there is but one heart ascending in the grain of mustard seed. And let us also, my brethren, be of one heart in our Lord Jesus Christ and in virtue, that we may receive the leaven, that is, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that we may hide it in the three measures which are the soul, the body and the spirit. The three measures are one perfect man, completing a measure of the growth of the fullness of our Lord Jesus Christ. All this our Lord Jesus Christ has spoken to the multitudes in parables, and without parables he did not speak to them." When the brothers heard this, they admired the keenness of his mind and the keenness of his understanding, and their hearts were renewed among themselves, so that what was written was fulfilled in them: "In my meditation a fire will be kindled!"

Virtues of Abba Macarius 23.
Abba Macarius said: "Let us not abandon our hearts and be without hope; indeed, as long as we breathe, the Lord Jesus Christ grants us the possibility of repentance."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 24.
He also says: "It is like the blacksmith's anvil: if one strikes it daily, it remains clean; so if a man feels his need, is submissive, and is instructed daily, receiving for himself and keeping what is given him, he is pure from the hidden snares of the evil one."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 25.
He also says: "Let us not let the fountain [of our mouth] throw in all directions this foul mixture which forms in the depths of the heart, but on the contrary let it continually throw towards the heights what is sweet at all times, that is to say our Lord Jesus Christ."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 26.
A brother questioned Abba Macarius, saying: "Father, I have fallen into a fault." Abba Macarius said to him: "It is written, my son: I do not desire the death of the sinner, but his conversion and his life. Repent, my son; you will see a man full of meekness, our Lord Jesus Christ, his face full of joy for you, like a nurse whose face is full of joy for her son: if he raises his hands and his face to her; although he is full of filth, she is not bothered by the stench or the excrement, but she has pity on him, she presses him to her breast with a face full of joy, and everything that has happened is sweet to her. If then this creature is full of attention and compassion for her child, how much more the love of the Creator, our Lord Jesus Christ, for us?"

Virtues of Abba Macarius 27.
A brother questioned Abba Macarius, saying: "Teach me the meaning of repentance." Abba Macarius said to him: "Repentance does not consist only in making metanies, imitating the wood of the shaduf, which gives water by rising and falling; but in being like a skilled goldsmith who wishes to make a chain, whether it be of gold or silver, or even of iron or even of lead, link by link he lengthens the chain in order to complete it; it is thus with repentance: all the virtues depend on it."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 28.
Some brothers asked Abba Macarius the Great, saying: "Does compassion prevail over the practices of asceticism?" He answered them: "Yes." They said to him: "Convince us of it." When Abba Macarius saw them irresolute and unwilling, wanting to encourage them he said to them: "Look at the merchant who sells to his customer. If he says to him: I have made a profit on your back; the other becomes very sad; but if he gives him back a little money, the other goes away joyful.; so with regard to actions, if one presents himself sad before the God who gives goods, the true judge, our Lord Jesus Christ, his infinitely merciful bowels move him, and the practices of asceticism procure joy, gladness and ardor." When the brothers heard this, they took courage, and when Abba Macarius saw them full of ardor, he came to their aid, he said to them with joy: "A little oil makes a man's face joyful in the presence of the kings of this world; so a little virtue makes the soul joyful in the presence of the King of the inhabitants of heaven and of the inhabitants of the earth, the one of the manifold treasures of mercies, our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is written: "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven is taken by violence, and those who take it by violence take it by force." Therefore let us also do violence to ourselves a little in exchange for the kingdom of heaven, and we will steal for ourselves the eternal king, our Lord Jesus Christ." When the brothers heard this, they made a metania to him, and then they departed from him joyful, giving glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 29.
A brother asked Abba Macarius, saying: "Teach me what is the power of the work of mercy?" Abba Macarius said to him: "Imagine men whom the king has exiled to a foreign and distant country. One of them, having taken wisdom and advice from high-ranking persons, did violence to himself and sent presents to this king while the others did nothing like this. After a long time, the king sent for these men to bring them back to their city. Will not the one who sent presents rejoice more, because they will intercede for him, and will he not find greater favor than those who sent nothing at all? Indeed, as a commander-in-chief has favor with a king of this world: so is mercy with the great King Christ, it has great favor with him, it justifies him against everyone who accuses him."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 30.
The same brother questioned him about this word: "That my youth may be renewed like that of the eagle." Abba Macarius said to him: "As gold, if melted in the fire, is renewed; so the soul, if it has virtue, if it purifies itself from its defilements and its pettiness, it will be renewed to the point of rising to the heights."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 31.
The brother also asked him: "What does it mean to fly to the heights, O my father?" Abba Macarius said to him: "The eagle, if it rises into the air, has nothing to fear from the nets of the hunter; but if it lands on the ground, it can be caught in these nets: thus if the soul is negligent and if it descends from the heights of virtue, it is caught in the nets of the spiritual hunter."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 32.
The brother questioned him again, saying: "Teach me constancy for God, my father." Abba Macarius said to him: "The bee that is in the field among the nourishing plants gathers until it has filled its hive with honey, and unless it is made bitter, no one can take away its sweetness." The brother said to him: "What is bitterness and what is sweetness, my father?" The old man said to him: "Fornications, defilements, impurities, filth, envy, hatred, pride and other pleasures, these are bitterness; foods are virtues; the bee is the monk; the hive is the heart; sweetness is our Lord Jesus Christ. He who perseveres for him will fill his soul with all virtue and all purity; this is being constant for God. And now, go, my son."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 33.
A brother questioned Abba Macarius, saying: "My thoughts reproach me, saying: Be the first in church." Abba Macarius said to him: "You speak of the gate of heaven and of the mother of all living. I tell you, my son, this is the favorable time, this is the day to go to salvation to leave behind us the diabolical works; for there will come a time when a crowd will be prevented from entering the church and will become strangers to the mysteries for fear of the power of that time which will be strong: those whose mouth will be open like the sardine which is in the sea, those who gather much money, like the ant which gathers in the days of summer. I tell you, my son, that fornication, avarice, every work is in these two things; although fornication is particularly bad, it lasts only a moment and the man stops his nose after it, spits on it because of its bad smell; but avarice, when you have just gathered, it comes from what is sweet to you, because it is insatiable. It is why it is necessary that even the doors of the church of the desert and the doors of the tombs be shut, because of the fear of the powers of this time; for there will come those who will search and strip what is left of those who have fallen asleep, forgetting that it is written: Wealth, if it comes, do not set your heart on it. It is of this that the Apostle speaks when he says: Avarice is the root of all evil. Now therefore, my son, fight in all action; for Abba Anthony said: It is necessary that everyone become a church in this time, that is, that man put all his strength into purifying his soul, a church of God, so that with a calm voice we may send up Trinitarian hymns to our Lord God by the firm confession of the orthodox faith."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 34.
It has been said of our holy father Abba Macarius the Great that, when he had progressed in virtue, he received a consoling virtue from our Lord Jesus Christ, so that adverse spirits were troubled and trembled before him, because of the consoling virtue which was in him.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 35.
It happened at the time that the wise Cyril invited the holy Abba Schenoudi to the holy synod that met at Ephesus about the impious man-worshipper Nestorius, when Our Lord Jesus Christ came to their aid, so that they would subscribe to his impure exile; it happened then, after this fight of the holy Cyril and the holy synod of bishops, that they wanted to return to their own dioceses according to the order of the pious King Theodosius. And after that the holy Abba Schenoudi was carried away on a cloud. When the cloud passed over the holy place of our righteous father, the great Abba Macarius of Scete, he about whom a voice of the Holy Spirit was heard, saying: "You are a God on earth," and who saw in a vision the holy prayers of his children ascending, like the smoke of incense, to the throne of the Almighty, the old Archimandrite Abba Schenoudi marveled within himself, saying: "When my Lord Jesus Christ shall have laid me in my monastery, I will come to this place to see the work and those who are therein, in order to know in what manner they work." So when he had embraced the brethren in his monastery, he took with him some other old men and went to Scete, to the holy place of Abba Macarius, and the abbot of that time received him with joy and loving manners of consolation; and the holy Abba Schenoudi was thinking to himself, saying: "This does not correspond to the vision I saw when I was on the cloud." While he was still thinking thus to himself, God revealed to the abbot the thoughts of the holy Abba Schenoudi, and as they were walking together and the elders were receiving his blessing, the abbot led him, since he wanted to find profit in visiting the monastery, to the kitchen where there was a small feast that day, on account of a believer. In a pot, meat was boiling vigorously and the abbot said to the brother who was tending the fire: "Put your hand in, my son, and take out the meat." And the brother did so: he put his arm in the pot and took out the meal. And when Abba Schenoudi saw, astonishingly, that the brother had not been harmed in any way, he said frankly: Truly, it is not a name without works that can distinguish a group, for works raised Tabitha; so also faith, through the pure actions of Abba Macarius, raises the dead. And what shall I say of my sons? Their eyes have shed tears and they are powerless because of the desire for food, for until now they have done no work of this kind." And so he returned to his monastery, having found profit in that place, giving glory to our Lord Jesus Christ and to his servant Abba Macarius the righteous.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 36.
A brother asked Abba Macarius, saying: "What is this saying that Sisoe said: There is one who has received ten by giving one?" He answered and said to him: "Since the devil does not cease to aim at the fighter and the abstinent ascetic, neither day nor night, if he resists the devil in any way, with tears, throwing himself into the goodness and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, he who is good and a lover of men and our true God, he rejoices over every blow of man, so as to make ten of the devil useless; for man being only flesh and blood, when he gives a blow, he surpasses those of the incorporeal; and it is indeed thus that the devil falls under humility, with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, he who covers us with his holy grace."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 37.
The brother asked him again, saying: "What is the work most pleasing to God for the ascetic and the abstinent?" He answered him: "Blessed is he who is found persevering in the blessed name of our Lord Jesus Christ, without ceasing and with contrition of heart; for certainly there is, in all the practices of asceticism, nothing that is as pleasant as this blessed food. It is as if you were chewing the cud: the sheep, when it chews the cud, brings up the food and tastes the sweetness of chewing the cud, until it comes back down into it, bringing a sweetness and a nourishment that does it good; and do you not see the beauty of its cheeks full of the sweetness of what it has chewed? If you like it May it happen to us that our Lord Jesus Christ be gracious to us in his sweet and nourishing name."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 38.
A brother questioned Abba Macarius, saying: "Teach me the explanation of this word: The meditation of my heart is in your presence." The old man said to him: "There is no meditation so good as this salutary and blessed name of our Lord Jesus Christ dwelling unceasingly in you, as it is written: Like a swallow I will cry and like a turtledove I will meditate. This is what the pious man does who is constant in the salutary name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 39.
It is said of Abba Macarius that it happened to him one day when he was at the harvest with some brothers that a wolf began to howl, uttering a long howl with his eyes turned (upwards) towards the Lord. The saint stood there smiling and shedding tears. The brothers, seeing him, were astonished and, making a metania, said to him: "We pray you, our father, teach us why you look like this, in tears." And while he was still looking in tears, his face shone like fire, like the rays of the sun, because of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ which was in him. He said to them: "You others, have you not heard what the wolf cries?" They answered him: "What, our father?" He said to them, "He cries out to the beneficent, the only merciful, the master of the treasures of infinite mercies, our Lord Jesus Christ, saying: "Since you care for me, give me my food, for what is this suffering, since you also created us?" Indeed, if the wild beasts which also have a sense cry out to the goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ, and he feeds them all; how would he not care for us other reasonable humans in his infinite mercy?" And while this bright star was saying these things to the brothers, the wolf stood astonished. Then the beast went away to the place where God had prepared his food for him, and all the brothers made a metania, prostrating themselves at the holy feet of our righteous father, the great Abba Macarius, the pneumatophore, giving glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 40.
It is said of Abba Macarius that an old man came to him with a brother. They said to him: "We wish to live together, one with the other, our father." Abba Macarius said to the old man: "Begin first by imitating the shepherd; if a gadfly inoculates a sheep with worms, he cares for it until he has killed the worms; if it becomes moth-eaten, he washes it until the moth is removed." The old man said to him: "Give me the explanation of this saying." Abba Macarius said to him: "The gadfly is compared to the devil and the sheep to the brother who is with you. The worms are the passions and pleasures of the demons that dwell in the soul, that swarm in the heart, like the worms that are in the wounds of the body; the remedy that washes away the moth is progress, abstinence and the salutary teaching of God. These are the things that purify the soul, make it free from all passion, from all evil of the wicked enemies, the demons." He also said to the brother: "Take for yourself, my son, the likeness of Isaac who obeyed his father to the point of letting himself be offered in sacrifice as a victim acceptable in the presence of God, and who has become a model in the Church until the end of this age, with the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 41.
Abba Macarius also says: "When the potter sits down to work the clay, he first takes care to fashion vessels adorned with paintings and designs so that they may be in honor at the suppers and dinners of kings, and even used in the celebrations of the Church, then he then fashions other vile and inferior ones, even chamber pots and seats for newborns that are without malice. Finally, he lights the fire in order to bake them. Truly, I say to you, he prays in exactly the same way for those that are precious and adorned, and for those of common use and inferior, all of which are the work of his hands. Thus our Lord Jesus Christ, the master of the treasures of infinite mercies the only merciful with his father full of goodness and the Holy Spirit, just as he rejoices over him who is pure and adorned with the purity of progress in virtue and abstinence, he also rejoices in the conversion of the "inferior" one, that is, the sinner, according to what is written: "There will be joy in heaven in the presence of the angels of God over a sinner, if he repents." He also says: "I do not desire the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live;" for, when he took this flesh, he voluntarily took these sufferings: it is for such that our Lord Jesus Christ spoke thus: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 42.
Abba Evagrius said: "Having come to Abba Macarius, I said to him: Speak to me a word, that I may live by it." He answered: "If I speak it to you, will you hear it and do it?" I said to him: "My faith and my charity are not hidden." Abba Macarius said to me: "Truly, as regards the adornment of virtue, we are poor; yet you are good; therefore if you cast away from you the glory of the rhetoric of this world and if you clothe yourself with the humility of the publican, you will live. When he had said this to me, all my thoughts vanished, and when I had repented, he prayed over me, he sent me away. And I went accusing myself within myself and saying: "My thoughts are not hidden from Abba Macarius, the man of God; and whenever I come near him, I must tremble because of the power that I have heard from him." And this humbled me.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 43.
It is related of Abba Macarius that, once crossing Egypt with the brothers, he heard someone lamenting, saying: "A building of stones has fallen on me, I am not dead; a hut of reeds has fallen on me, I am dead." The old man was astonished at this speech, and when the brothers saw him astonished, they threw themselves at his feet, praying to him, saying: "Tell us, our father, the interpretation of this saying?" And he said to them: "There is a great mystery in this saying, my children. The stone is compared to our Lord Jesus Christ according to the way in which it is written about him: "The stone which the impious Jews rejected, it has become the cornerstone; This is the true precious stone for which the merchant sold all his desires, and he bought this stone and put it in the chambers of his heart, and found it sweeter than honeycombs: this is our Lord Jesus Christ. For the man who keeps this stone in his heart will receive a great inheritance in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ in the kingdom of heaven forever.

For our Lord Jesus Christ made his face like an unshakable stone, according to the word of the Apostle who said: "The stone was Christ." He gave his back to the whips and his cheeks to the slaps, he did not turn his face away from the shame of spitting for the salvation of us men, and if our Lord Jesus Christ weighs down on us with diseases because of his great love for us, the soul is in immortality because of the purity of its impassive state which is in the interior of the heart. The devil, although powerless as the reed; if he falls upon a man, he places him under a great tyranny; if the man is not attentive to cry out to the goodness of God, but falls into the passions of the devil, the Spirit of God withdraws from him; then the soul dies, because it is in the body, because of the intoxication of the passions and their stench."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 44.
Abba Macarius the Great said: "Let us pay attention to this name of "Lord Jesus Christ". When, in contrition of heart, you make it spring from your lips, and when, without deceit, you bring it to your mind, then be attentive to the words of your prayer: "Our Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me"; and in peace you will see his divinity resting in you, he will chase away the darkness of the passions which are in you, he will purify the inner man making him like Adam when he was in Paradise, this blessed name which John the Evangelist invoked when he said: "Light of the world", sweetness which one is not satisfied with and "True bread of life"!

Virtues of Abba Macarius 45.
Abba Evagrius said: "I went to Abba Macarius, tormented by thoughts and passions of the body. I said to him: "Father, say a word, that I may live by it." Abba Macarius said to me: "Attach the rope of the anchor to the stone, and by the grace of God the boat will cross the diabolical waves, the floods of this disappointing sea and the whirlwind of darkness of this vain world." I said to him: "What is the boat, what is the rope, what is the stone?" Abba Macarius said to me: "The boat is your heart: guard it; the rope is your spirit: attach it to our Lord Jesus Christ: he is the stone that has power over all the waves and diabolical waves that fight against the saints. For it is not difficult to say with every breath, "Our Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me; I bless you, my Lord Jesus, help me," and like the fish that is already caught in the net without realizing it while it is still struggling against the wave, we too will be established in this saving name of our Lord Jesus Christ. As for the devil, he will be hooked through the nostrils because of what he has done to us; but we who are weak will know that there is help in our Lord Christ."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 46.
One day Abba Macarius related this, when the brothers had questioned him about mercy: "In a city where a pitiless magistrate was sitting, there was a year of famine, so great that men were starving to death. A man, pressed by hunger, went to the magistrate to ask him. Finding this impudent, this pitiless magistrate addressed many reproaches to him and had him beaten until he bled, but finally gave him bread. Now it was the day on which she died who gave birth to our Lord Jesus Christ for us and for the world, Mary the holy Mother of God. That night, while the pitiless magistrate was asleep, his soul was taken from his body and dragged away to be thrown into cruel torments and there to suffer. While it was being dragged, a word came from the Master of the treasuries of mercies, from the only pitiful One, from our true God, from Him who takes away sins and forgives iniquities, saying : "Bring this soul back to his body, for the bread which he gave to him who was tormented by hunger, and especially for the day on which she who gave birth to me, Mary the Virgin, fell asleep." And it happened that, having awakened from death, he remembered the word which he had heard, when they were dragging him to torments, and he said: "Since for one loaf which I gave in anger and even shedding blood, Our Lord Jesus Christ has saved me from cruel torments, how much more, if I had distributed all my wealth, in what way could I have profited more?" And so he distributed with everything, even going so far as to work manually in order to give the price to the poor and the infirm. Having seen this, the archbishop called him to serve the Church, so that he became worthy of the episcopate and performed the liturgy giving glory to Our Lord Jesus Christ."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 47.
Abba Macarius said: "One day I visited an old man who was sick and bedridden. This old man frequently repeated the salutary and blessed name of our Lord Jesus Christ. When I questioned him about his salvation, he said to me with joy: As I am constant in taking this sweet food of life, the holy name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I was as if carried away during my sleep and, I saw in a vision the King, the Christ in the manner of a Nazarene, and he said to me up to three times: See, see that it is I, and no other than I. And then I awoke with a start in great joy, so much so that I forgot the pain."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 48.
Abba Macarius said: "He who fills his heart with bread and water gives the key of his house to thieves."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 49.
It is reported that a monk once stole some vases from the steward of the monastery and, having put them in a bag, placed them in the cell of a close brother. The latter did not know that they were stolen objects, thinking that they belonged to the monk. Shortly afterwards, it was discovered that the vases had disappeared and they were searched for in each of the brothers' cells. When they entered the cell where they had been placed, they were searched for and found. Immediately the brother threw himself to the ground, prostrating himself and saying: "I have been mocked; I have sinned, forgive me." For his part, the monk who had stolen the vases and hidden them insulted the brother in whose cell they had been found very much, he struck him in the face, wanting to have him driven out of the monastery. Again the brother did not protest, but before him he also humbled himself again, saying: "I have sinned, forgive me." And the brother was taken in dislike by the abbot and by all the brothers who lived in the monastery, and in particular the monk who had stolen the vessels hated him, reproached him at all hours, calling him a thief in the presence of the brothers. And when he had spent two years in that monastery, enduring all this contempt, God revealed the matter to Abba Macarius at Scetea. So Abba Macarius went to Egypt in order to meet the brother. When he was near the monastery, all the brothers gathered with branches, in order to go to meet Abba Macarius.

But the brother said: "How shall I take a branch to meet the elder, I whom you see burdened with shame?" And when the brothers had gone out to meet Abba Macarius, he embraced them one by one, and when he did not see the brother, he asked where he was. The brothers informed him why, out of shame, he had not gone to meet him. And when Abba Macarius heard this, he smiled and entered the monastery. The brother came to meet him with humility and made a metania before the elder. Likewise Abba Macarius made a metania before the brother, and then they took each other by the hand. Then Abba Macarius said to the brothers: "Neither I nor you are honorable like this one; for, not only has he borne great humiliation, but in addition, he has taken upon himself the sin of his brother." And Abba Macarius had him return to his place. As for the monk who had stolen, having taken his cloak, he left the monastery and never returned.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 50.
Abba Macarius said: "Since reproach has been to you as honor, poverty as wealth, loss as gain, anguish as joy, the things of the flesh as foreign things, well, you will not die, but you will live; keep your conscience with your neighbor and keep yourself apart from him who is proud."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 51.
Abba Macarius the Great said: "I beg you, my brothers, you who earnestly desire your salvation and the salvation of your souls, do not put off from day to day [applying yourselves to it], lest by delay you become strangers to the blessings of God."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 52.
Abba Macarius said: "The way that leads to hell, fasting leads to it, meditation leads to it, pity leads to it, asceticism leads to it." The brothers said to him: "Does humility also lead to it, our father?" But he answered them: "True humility does not consist only in saying 'Forgive me'. The way of God is a heart that has cut off its desire from everything that leads it. Moreover, let us not make negligent the one who thinks of preparing himself before the doors of the public square where one can neither buy nor sell are closed. Indeed, it was not said: 'Open the door to the foolish virgins who cry out and weep and knock', to whom it had been closed because of their negligence. Therefore watch with all vigilance, whether you sit in your cell or whether you are among men."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 53.
He also says: "Let half the night suffice for your prayers; in the other half give rest to your body."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 54.
He also said: "The proper fast is to fast until the ninth hour: whoever does more will receive more pay."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 55.
Our righteous father, the great Abba Macarius, also says: "The works of each of us are all written, whether a service, or a prayer that each one will do in addition, or an additional prostration, even an additional tear, or an additional fast or a good word that someone will say to his brother, or even a very small work that someone will do for God, even manual work, everything is written for us every day. No, my children, Our Savior will not deprive you of anything; all these things that will have cost you, you will be instructed at the moment when you leave the body. Fight, my children, do not look at the crowd that eats, that drinks, that sleeps, that does not repent; do not say "And if it were the same thing for those who toil and for those who do nothing?" No, my children, strengthen yourselves in the faith that is here; for even a small work of virtue that someone will do, or if he makes himself restricted in food, or all that we "Whatever we have done more and which has cost us, we will find it manifested for us in the future century. Run therefore towards the effort my children, love it, let it be sweet to us with great humility."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 56.
Abba Macarius the Great, once passing through a village with the brethren, heard a little child say to his mother: "Mother, a rich man loves me, he cherishes me, and I hate him; a poor man hates me, and I cherish him." Having heard this, the holy Abba Macarius was extremely astonished, and the brethren said to him: "Why, our father, does this saying astonish you so?" And the old man beat his breast, saying: "What a great mystery in this saying!" And they prayed to him, saying: "Teach us!" And he said to them: "Truly, my children, the Lord is the rich man; he cherishes us and we do not want to listen to him; but our enemy, the devil, is poor, he hates us and we love his impurities, his filth, his vain desires and the rest of his pleasures."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 57.
Abba Macarius the Great said: "He who has renounced the world and entered the monastic life must remember the words of the holy Apostle who counted all the branches of wickedness and said to blame those who fell into them: "By departing from the path of virtue and forgetting the grace of the Holy Spirit, they have become contemptible, filled with all malice and violence, filled with hatred, murder, love of lawsuits…" and the continuation of what is in this passage; he repeats the same word, saying thus: "Those who do things of this sort are worthy of death." Therefore, I beg you, O my beloved children in God, watch over your tongue because of slander and every thought that makes us strangers to the King Christ and thus makes the devil and demons your companions; for he also rejoices, my children, over those who will fall into his hands; but I have faith that the God's protection will keep you from his snares."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 58.
Abba Macarius the Great said: "What is required for a monk who remains seated in his cell is that he gathers his intelligence within himself, far from all worldly care, that he does not let it waver in the vanities of this world, but that he has one goal only, namely to set his thought in God alone at every moment, constant in Him at all times, without distraction, and that he does not let any earthly thing enter tumultuously into his heart, neither the memory of his family, nor care for his parents, nor the consolation of his brothers and sisters, but that in his mind and in all his senses he is as if he were standing in the presence of God, so that he may fulfill in this the word of the Apostle saying: "That the virgin may be entirely constant in the Lord beautifully, without distraction."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 59.
Abba Macarius also said: "The order of the monk is like that of the angels. Nothing earthly can prevent the angels from standing, at all times, in the presence of God; it must be the same for the monk, throughout his life. By acting thus, he will fulfill the word of our Savior who commanded that each one renounce himself, take up his cross and follow him. So, you too, do violence to yourselves a little, O my beloved children, that you may acquire virtue alone, for it is written: The kingdom of heaven belongs to those who do violence to themselves."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 60.
Abba Macarius the Great also says: "What is required of the monk is that he be pure from all passion of the flesh and from all defilement, that he absolutely do not let his reasoning enter into dispute with his evil thoughts; but that at all times he be fervent in the Spirit."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 61.
Abba Macarius also says: "It is a foreign thing for a monk to become angry; it is also a foreign thing for him to grieve his brother in any way."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 62.
Abba Macarius the Great said: "A time is coming when immense suffering will seize those who work at the practical life, so that they will forget abstinence, and the powerful king of that time will dominate them." The brothers said to him: "The powerful king of that time, what is he like?" Abba Macarius said to them: "He is a descendant of the Ishmaelites and his descendants are like Esau; our king is our Lord Jesus Christ and what he requires of us is purity of soul with purity of body; the king of the earth holds his power from our heavenly king, Christ, the true God. Moreover, the king of the earth loves gold, loves silver and loves pleasures, like horses that desire females, he loves luxury, he serves women and horses as gods, he loves power in all his actions, he aims and hopes for earthly things, he thinks of earthly things to possess them again in the future age because of the multitude of pleasures attached to them, he will put his power to possess the whole earth with pride, behaving like a tyrant in the midst of the earth, he will press the earth with chains of iron, in many sufferings, in prisons, and not without the king Christ." The brothers said to him, "What will happen to the fathers at that time?" Abba Macarius answered them: "They will be greatly pressed, so that some will weaken and forget the angelic life for the love of money. Our Lord Jesus Christ will have patience with them in view of their situation; the places where they will gather will flourish through much manual work; commercial exchanges will multiply among them, as among worldly people; and because they will have to pay taxes they will seek material things and forget peace of mind. Those among the fathers of that time who will remain sober in eating and drinking, who will keep their bodies from the fornications of the world and from the love of money, and who will not judge those who have fallen among the brothers because of the abundance of laxity, these will be blessed near the King of glory Christ: they are children of the promise and heirs of eternal life: they will appear before the King Christ with great frankness."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 63.
Abba Macarius said: "What is fitting for the monk is not a bodily habit or to pray aloud, but that kneeling does not prevent him from praying; but, in praying, let him be attentive to the opening of his mind, considering that when God comes he will visit his soul with all its accesses and senses. And so, at the time we can remain silent in prayer or pray aloud, provided that the mind is vigilant and looks towards God at all times."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 64.
Abba Macarius also says: "Woe to the soul that has not prayed and implored the Lord to rest in it, to purify it from all fault and defilement, to keep it free from "beasts" and "reptiles", that is, from evil spirits, becoming like gnats and other insects that fly during the night: if they see a light or a burning lamp in the distance, they come and go of their own accord to the flame, and they burn themselves there; thus the monk, who conducts himself in all these things by his own will and choice alone, often finds himself in the eternal fire."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 65.
Abba Macarius also said: "As Aaron's rod, which in a single night bore buds and produced fruit; so the soul of the monk, by the coming of the Lord into it, bears within it the spiritual buds of Christ, and the fruits of the Holy Spirit to give them to Him who created it, to Christ, its king of goodness, the true blessed God."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 66.
Abba Macarius the Great also says: "If man undertakes to know himself and to seek God, if he repents of what he has done in the time of his negligence, God places in his heart a sorrow over what he has done; then, by his mercy, he grants him bodily pains by fasting, prayers, numerous vigils, the renunciation of material things, opprobrium, the refusal of bodily rest, the love of tears more than of laughter, the renunciation of parents."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 67.
It is said of Abba Macarius that, passing one day in Egypt, he came upon a threshing floor: the ditch had been cleared and the owner was giving the workers their wages. And the old man, wishing to test the ploughman, wishing to get out of his mouth a word on "practical life" said to him: "Sir, give me a little wheat out of charity." The peasant said to him: "If you have worked, I will give you a wage; for to the one who works is given his wage." The old man replied: "So, it is the one who works who receives a wage?" The ploughman said: "Yes, that is right: the one who works receives a wage." The old man said to him: "I wanted to hear this word from your mouth." And when he had gone away, he struck his face with both hands as he went, saying: "Woe to you, Macarius! for you have been rejected from receiving a reward in the material labors of this world; for it is written: Make haste to arise as a laborer who has not to be ashamed of the labor he has done for the work of his Lord.

Woe to you, Macarius, who did not obtain this kindness from the owner of the vineyard, saying: Call the workers, give them a wage, to the first and to the last, to each a penny; and again: to him who works his wages are not counted as a grace." And so the blessed old man walked, bereaved in tears and groans.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 68.
Abba Macarius said: "As the carpenter planes what is crooked, and rounds what is straight, so is the penance which our Lord Jesus Christ gives us: it straightens what was crooked, and what had wallowed in the mud of sin, it makes it pure as virgins, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ: if one is converted to do penance, one receives through purity the angelic habit which is in heaven."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 69.
Abba Macarius the Great also said: "If there is not found, as it were, the imprint of the hand of the master and hegumen engraved with great patience and without murmuring on the cheek of the one who is subject to him, it is not possible for the disciple to receive the crown and the wages of the perfect son, nor the honor of the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ; for he who teaches does so according to the image and figure of the true shepherd, the true master, he who allowed the points of the nails and the lance to enter his body, as a testimony and a curse against the Jews; and this he endured of his own will with great meekness. Likewise, those who are a refuge and who are superior to those who are subject to them, if they are not in this meekness and this sweetness, it is not possible that they thus engender spiritual sons in the manner of Elisha who engendered Elisha, in the manner of Paul who engendered Timothy and Onesimus."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 70.
Abba Paphnutius, the true disciple of Abba Macarius, says: "It was revealed one day to the old man concerning a ferryman that the latter had a virtue in him, but because of the veil of darkness spread over his heart and the activity which occupied him all day, he did not know it and did not understand it. So the old man having risen, he went to the river and saw there a ferryman who was working with great courage, but without thinking at all of God, and seeing him thus, Macarius was astonished and he began to reflect on his poverty. When the day was over, the ferryman went to his house. As for me, said Macarius, I followed him, and when we joined his wife, we sat down and I looked around me, but recognized nothing of what God had revealed to me, except the seven children who entered. Then I questioned him about virtue and his work, and he said to me: "Virtue is a song?" Therefore God had hidden the matter from him for his own good. And when I saw that he understood nothing, I prayed to God to open his heart, and the Lord answered me promptly; he opened the eyes of the man and his understanding, and he was in fear, and sighed, and his tears flowed down to the earth, and I was astonished at the consolation in which he was found. He said to me: The Lord has opened my heart and my understanding, that I may know what I have been in all this time, what God has hidden from me for the good of my soul and my body. This is our story, me and my wife: when God had married me to her according to the world, while I was still on the bed with her, we made a covenant between us, with God and with each other, to keep our purity until our death. And since that day I do not know my wife's bed and she does not know mine either. As for these children, I do not know who the father is, or how she bore them, but, with the grace of God, I have never reproached her for them. And behold, I have endured the cold and the wind, nursing these eight souls, while being ignorant of the grace that my Lord Jesus Christ has shown me. And when he had said this to me, I threw myself on his neck to kiss him, and then left him, giving glory to our Lord Jesus Christ for the many graces he gives to men for the salvation of their souls, so that in every opportunity we may obtain the eternal life of the kingdom of heaven by his many mercies."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 71.
Abba Macarius the Great said: "If you approach prayer, pay close attention to yourself, so as not to deliver your vessels into the hands of the enemies: for they desire to take away your vessels, that is, the thoughts of the soul. These are glorious vessels with which you will serve God; for God does not seek from you that you give Him glory with your lips only, while your wavering thoughts are scattered throughout the world; but that the soul and all its thoughts stand without distraction and look to the Lord. But let us pray to Him - the great physician who heals souls and bodies, our Lord Jesus Christ - to heal the diseases of our souls and to enlighten our thoughts, as well as the senses of our heart, so that day by day we may understand His great love for men, the descent He made to the world towards us and the benefits He does to us who are unworthy of it, for He is our Master and our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 72.
A brother asked Abba Macarius about the life of a hermit. The old man said to him: "If you desire the life of a hermit, endure it in all things proper. Do not be a "hermit" every other day, but endure this life, and God, by his grace, will dwell in you. Do not worry about what men think and do not let any pretext make you leave solitude even for a day, except for a poor brother or someone who is in need or suffering. But if God has dispensed to him what he needed through the brothers, you, go to your home and endure your poverty, so that the sweetness of the solitary life may be continual in you. Do not tarry outside, lest a storm arise against you, and your sufferings be renewed and you find yourself groaning and weeping; but remain seated in your home, endure poverty, and consolation will come to you, with the joy and exultation of the Lord. Do not make friends with anyone if this is with your poor brothers, do not seek the company of anyone, even if he has done you good, but seek the company of God alone and serve him: it is he who serves you with the bowels of sons. As for you, beware of the friendship of men, let all your friendship be only between you and God. Do not seek any man to enjoy the rest of his friendship, do not take liberty in his house, and do not dwell with him without orders, lest you be troubled. My son, if you desire to be at rest all your life and that your thoughts be united with God at all times; beware of the companionship of men. And even if your own brother according to the flesh comes to you [to become a monk] and you do not want to reject him, receive him, then entrust him to another brother who has the confidence of the brothers because he is faithful, and you, remain in poverty so as not to lose all your wealth.

Four men in the Old Testament were masters in four works: first there is Abraham whose door was open to every man, he was the servant of every image of God, he served strangers, he washed the feet of his Lord and his Angels, and God gave him a choice at the hour he appeared to him, he made his covenant with him, and his work appeared capital in the Church to lead to God; then there is Moses who led the people in the desert, God spoke to him face to face, and his work is also important; then there is Lazarus, sick and yet grateful in his sickness, patient in his suffering and anguish, seeing those who ate and drank before him among all the goods of this life, the rich of this world who did not have pity on him for a single day, he gave thanks in his simplicity, his innocence and his submission - for our Lord bears witness that he was perfect in his work and that he was capital in it - and finally, there was Elijah in his destitution when he was in the desert without disturbance and God served him, he too is capital in his work. Now therefore, my brother, since you also desire to be in this beautiful way of renunciation and poverty, [know this:] he who is poor and humble has his concerns turned towards God, he is attached to his home, enduring his poverty, purifying his thoughts with regard to every image of God. I do not tell you his glory, for God knows the glory of this virtue; However, mercy belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ who will grant it to us because of his great meekness."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 73.
It is reported of Abba Macarius that a brother came to him one day and said to him: "My father, my thoughts tell me: Go out, visit the sick; for, they say, it is a great commandment." Abba Macarius said to him with a prophetic word: "With a mouth without lying, our Lord Jesus Christ said: I was sick, you visited me. He took the flesh of humanity, he united it to himself, and he took humanity in all things except sin only; but to you, my son, I say to you: to sit in your cell is better than to go to visit. For, in the future, there will come a time when those who remain seated in the cell will be mocked and the word of Abba Anthony will be fulfilled: If anyone is seen who is not a libertine, they will rise up against him saying: "You fool!" because he is not like them. I tell you, my son, if Moses had not climbed [the Mountain] to the cloud, he would not have received the Tablets of the Law written by the hand of God, for glory…"

Virtues of Abba Macarius 74.
Abba Pambo said: "I had resolved in my heart to receive the blessing of Abba Macarius the pneumatophore, once more, while he was alive. When I arrived at the cell of Abba Moses, I found Abba Poemen, Abba Evagrius the learned, Abba Cronius and two other brothers with us, and each had in him the same thought that I had and that had made me set out on the road. And when the sun had set, there were lightnings and thunders, a whirlwind of storm and strong gusts of wind so that we were prevented from going to receive the blessing of the holy pneumatophore, the great Abba Macarius. One of us said: "The Holy Spirit the Comforter who is in Abba Macarius will work a miracle for us and will lead us in peace to his dwelling." Having gone out all seven of us, we began to pray and there was a sign on the front of the rock of Abba Macarius, and we saw that a A pillar of fire, bright and resplendent, raised up to the sky, stood over him. As we walked, the pillar gradually lowered, and when we came to the rock of Saint Macarius, it disappeared and we saw in his dwelling as it were a kindled fire. After we knocked at the door, the saint came out and seeing the brightness of his face, we fell to the ground and embraced his holy feet. He, having raised us up, embraced us. After praying, having sat down, we spoke of the glory of progress according to God and also of the good conduct, of the steadfastness of the life of the monks of Scete. Then Abba Macarius spoke and said: "My brothers, one of you seven will die in a martyr's fight and seven other brothers with him will also die in the same way." Abba Moses spoke and said: "Remember me, O my father, that the word of the Savior may be fulfilled for me, who said: Whoever takes the sword shall perish by the sword; this is my hope." Then we threw ourselves at his feet to receive his blessing and the holy elder prayed over us. Then he dismissed us, and as we walked, we gave glory to God over the words that had been given and over what we had seen, and we were full of desire concerning the excellent graces that God grants to his saints."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 75.
A brother fell into a transgression and he went in tears to Abba Macarius, saying: "Pray for me, my father, for I am in the sickness of Sodom, and I have fallen as you have just learned." Abba Macarius said to him: "Take courage, my son, take hold of him who has no time, who has no beginning, who abides to eternity, who has no end, the help of those who have no hope except in him alone, the name sweet to everyone's mouth, the only sweetness, the perfect life, the master of the manifold treasures of mercies, our Lord Jesus Christ, our true God. May he be your strength, your help, may he forgive you. My son, I tell you, if a virgin falls into a transgression even if she keeps a good appearance, I tell you, because of her shame and the injuries done to her, she rejoices and Christ rejoices over her as over a virgin. So you too, my son, since you have made your shame known, as the Holy Scripture has said: Confess your sins to one another, so that forgiveness may be given to you and you may be saved, for Peter said to the Lord: How often shall I forgive my brother, up to seven times? The good God said to him: I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 76.
Abba Macarius said: "As someone, if he goes to a bath, if he does not strip himself of all his clothes he cannot bathe, nor wash away all his filth: it is the same for one who undertakes to be a monk; if he does not strip himself of all care of this world and of all his desires filled with vain pleasures, he cannot progress in virtue, nor overcome all the arrows of the enemy, which are the defilements."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 77.
Abba Macarius the Great said: "Just as the pilot who holds the helm is concerned for the boat and its cargo until he has brought it to port, so a spiritual father who has children is concerned for their salvation. For the pilot is never without concern for the boat, but he examines the planks of the hull to see which are weak, or if there are any cracks, until he has completely stopped them up, lest the boat sink into the waters and be lost. So also he who is a father to the brothers must examine all the passions and evil thoughts of the demons that are in them to see who are those who are in those passions that cause this water to enter into them that is harmful to their souls, lest if he does not keep himself concerned for these carnal matters he himself be accused before God, because he has neglected to train the brothers who are with him, until that they may be bold in the waves or in the sea of ​​the snares of the demon who is the enemy of renunciation and abstinence."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 78.
It is reported of Abba Macarius that a cherub remained near him from the day he began to progress, strengthening him, giving him strength for abstinence, and he progressed every day, advancing in the ornament of virtue, so that his good reputation covered the whole of Romania and the places of the East; for, certainly, he drew everyone to him for the evangelical practice because of the perfume of his high asceticisms, so that he snatched a multitude of men from the mouth of death to eternal life. Our Lord Jesus Christ granted him the grace to see the sins of men like oil which is found in a glass vase, and he discovered them all, taking the likeness of God.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 79.
Abba Paphnutius, the true disciple of Abba Macarius, says: "The old man had a revelation about a workman who worked without complaining, being in great patience, hoping for eternal life. Then he rose up promptly, and said to me: "Rise, follow me." After walking, we came to a deserted place near the river. Having sat down quietly, the old man was caught up in a vision. Then I said to him frankly, as one who had been strengthened and knew that by the grace of God nothing was impossible for him: "Father, will you allow me to say a word?" He said to me: "What then, my son?" And I answered him: "Say a prayer, that we may cross." With a face full of joy and a mouth full of grace, he said to me: "My son, shall we imitate our Lord Jesus Christ and take the virtue of Peter, the chief of the Apostles? Shall we escape the vain glory of men, and how long will men praise us?" But when he had said this, behold, a water beast appeared. The holy Abba Macarius said to him: "Is it then the will of our Lord Jesus Christ that you should take us across the river?" Scarcely had he said this when immediately the beast came to the shore, and when we had mounted it, it carried us to the other side where we jumped onto the shore. Immediately, my father Abba Macarius said to him: "Make an effort, plunge your head and our Lord Jesus Christ will give you your wages." When it had plunged, immediately it came up with a large fish; and when I saw this great wonder, I threw myself at its feet, being in great fear. But he lifted me up and we resumed our journey, giving glory to our Lord Jesus Christ. When we came near the village, we sat down and while my father, the Just Abba Macarius looked at those who passed by, behold he saw the worker who came clothed with the grace of endurance.

He said, "Here is a vessel of election and honor." And he stood up before him, embraced him, and said to him, "Peace to you, worker of the eleventh hour." He answered and said, "According to the will of my Lord Jesus Christ." Our father Abba Macarius said to him: How do you work and from whom do you receive your wages? The laborer said to him: I work for a prince of the earth, and the King who is in heaven gives me my wages. My father Abba Macarius said to him: Are you then certain that this is so? The laborer said: I am certain of the word of the Lord of the vineyard. My father Abba Macarius said to him: What do you mean? The laborer said to him: He said: Call the laborers and give them their wages. After having spoken these words, we bent our knees and prayed, and then we rose up and went on our way. Our father Abba Macarius was sad, saying: Woe to you, Macarius! for behold, I am not certain, like this laborer who lives in the world, that my work has pleased my Lord Jesus Christ, or even that I am worthy of an earthly wage, especially one from heaven. After this, when we came to the river, My holy father, Abba Macarius, said to me: "My son, let us also do as any human being does." And having taken the ferry, he set us down on the western bank. And after walking for some time, my father Abba Macarius said to me: "My son, let us sit down a little." And having sat down, we were carried away and I did not notice anything until we were near the cave. I said to him: "Here we are very quickly, my father." He said to me: "Let us give glory to our Lord Jesus Christ, for he who carried away Habakkuk and Philip, it is he who has led us."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 80.
Abba Macarius said: "As I was sitting once in the cave, I heard a voice crying, like the voice of a hawk; and when I had gone out, I saw a great dragon. When he saw me, he bent his neck, laying his head on the ground, then raising it he turned his face towards me; and as I looked at him attentively, I saw that there was a speck in his right eye. Covering myself with the mercies of our Lord Jesus Christ and the invincible power of the cross, I seized him, I touched his face, saying: My Lord Jesus Christ, who opened the eyes of the man born blind, have pity on the infirmity of this animal, heal him. And when I had said this, the speck fell from his eye; then, when he had bent his neck three times, he laid his head on my feet; and as I dismissed him, he went away. So I give glory to our Lord Jesus Christ for his many mercies, for he takes care even of wild beasts."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 81.
Abba Evagrius asked Abba Macarius, while he was still sitting near him with other brothers: "How does Satan find these evil thoughts to throw them at the brothers?" Abba Macarius said to him: "He who heats the furnace seizes a great quantity of brushwood and does not hesitate to throw it into it; in the same way also, the devil is a heater and does not neglect to throw into each one's heart all his evil brushwood, that is to say, his defilements. We also see that water extinguishes and overcomes the force of fire; so the help of our shelter, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the invincible virtue of the cross, if we throw our weaknesses at their feet, extinguish all the artifices of Satan's wickedness far from us, they make our heart ardent and boiling in the spirit, in the heavenly faith filled with exultation."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 82.
Abba Evagrius also says: "I went to Abba Macarius at the hour when the heat is strongest. I was burning with thirst, and I said to him: "I am very thirsty, my father." He said to me: "Let the shade be enough for you: there are so many who walk at this hour, who burn and have no shade." And then I discoursed with him on virtue. He said to me: "Truly, my son, I have spent twenty years without being satisfied with bread, water, or sleep; at best I have leaned against the wall until I have caught a little sleep."
Virtues of Abba Macarius 83.
Abba Macarius the Great said: "Since your heart rejoices at the voice of the Lord, listen to it not only to hear it, but to receive instruction and to do it; for he who hears the word of God with all his strength, it teaches him to do it. Indeed, many are those who hear the word of God, but do not hear it with the virtue of God and joy; this is why they do not progress. It is to this kind of men that our Lord Jesus Christ addresses himself, when he cries: He who has ears to hear, let him hear; for if all had listened diligently, he would not have said this word: He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Our Lord Jesus Christ knows the nature of the devil, who fights against souls so as not to let them hear the word of God and be saved, therefore he said: He who has ears to hear, let him hear; for if they hear, they advance and they triumph over all the passions of the soul and body. If the devil prevents the soul from listening to the word of God with force, it does not advance and finds no way to combat the passions of the body, because the word of God is not with it. If the enemy gains power over it, it finds absolutely no way to cast out anything of the evil passions. But the soul in which the word is is able to drive away the passions far from it, and it drives Satan far away, who flees covered with shame; for thus it is written in the Apostle: "The word of God strikes more than any two-edged sword and penetrates even to the divisions of the soul, to the joints and to the marrow." We see then that, if man is allowed to listen to the word of God, he drives away the passions; but, if he is not allowed to listen, the soul remains leaden and does not drive out any of the evil passions. This is why the devil despises those who are of this kind; for if those who are of this kind spend the whole time of their lives in monasticism and virginity, they advance in nothing, they do not know the sweetness of God which is sweeter than honey in the comb, they do not know the strength of God which is stronger than all things, which strengthens the soul day after day, which fills it with valour as it is written: "The heart of the righteous is braver than that of lions." Do you see, my children, how the heart of the righteous is brave? Why is it brave? Because they put it on a diet of spiritual food, which is the word of God. This is why his soul is valiant like a man who is allowed to take the food of the body, for he finds strength from day to day; if he were not allowed to take food, his body would become weak; and, if his enemies came to fight him, they would quickly overcome him. Now, O my beloved, prepare yourselves to eat spiritual food,that they may be of good courage and overcome your enemies. Why are some kept from eating this food? Because their heart is not right, because they do not fight against the desire of their hearts, because their heart is defiled and they have not the least knowledge of God. Therefore the demons do not let them eat the holy food, so that they do not strengthen their souls. Therefore they spend their whole life in fear, in hardness of heart, in affliction, accusing themselves and their companions all their life. Beware therefore of this evil fruit, my beloved, that you may live and be counted as God's possessions in Christ Jesus our Savior."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 84.
Abba Macarius the Great said: "One day when I was passing through Egypt, I came to a sheepfold, and outside the fold I saw a sheep that had given birth. A wolf came and took her young away, and she wept, saying: Woe is me! if I had not been outside the fold, the wolf would not have found me to take away my young!" And as he admired the word of the sheep, the brothers who were with him questioned him about the interpretation of this word; He answered them, saying: "A time will come when the monks will abandon the deserts to gather together and make numerous peoples; if anyone separates from them, the spiritual wolf will carry off his cub, that is to say, his spirit, and he becomes more insensible than the stone and as unintelligent as the animals without reason; for, certainly, he who seeks it in vain glory and imprudence will not obtain it, as among the brothers."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 85.
It is related of Abba Macarius that, one day, he was going up from Scete towards Egypt, carrying baskets. When he was tired, he sat down, raised his eyes to heaven, and said: "Lord! You see my weariness!" And when he had said this, he found himself at the bank of the river with the baskets.

Virtues of Abba Macarius 86.
Abba Evagrius said: "Once, sitting with some brothers near Abba Macarius, he was speaking to us about the meaning of the Holy Scriptures and I questioned the old man saying: "What is this word that is in the Gospel: Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the future?" The old man said to me: "This is evident for every lack connected with sin that comes to man, if he is not strengthened in hope and in a sure faith, as our Lord said in the Gospel: If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you would say to this mountain: Move hence to yonder place, it would move, there would be nothing impossible for you. But let us suppose a man who, from his earliest youth until his end is in sin; and if such a one begins to say in his heart: "Even if I turn to God now, he will not forgive me and he will not receive me in his righteousness", that man has blasphemed against the virtue of the Holy Trinity and he has given place within himself to Satan, and his sin is unpardonable unless he is converted and repents with all his heart. So again someone who is in a spiritual disease, if he does not hope in help from above, like Job and the paralytic, in truth, he blasphemes against the virtue of the Holy Trinity, he has given place within himself to Satan and his sin is unpardonable; his judgment will cast him into Tartarus eternally, into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Yet there is no difficulty for the merciful bowels of the master of the treasures of mercy, our Lord Jesus Christ, to receive the repentance of all these." When the holy Abba Macarius had said this, we found ourselves with great courage and spiritual joy, it was as if we had seen the King Christ placed in our midst, encouraging us. After all these words full of life and healing for our souls that the great Abba Macarius had spoken to us, like the mouth of the Paraclete who was in him, prostrating ourselves, we kissed his holy feet; he prayed over us; then we departed with thanksgiving and giving glory to our Lord Jesus Christ."

Virtues of Abba Macarius 87.
Abba Poemen says: "Whenever we met Abba Macarius, we did not speak a word without his knowledge, for he was a pneumatophore and a prophetic spirit dwelt in him, as in Elijah and all the other prophets, for he was clothed with humility, as with a thick mantle by the power of the Paraclete who was in him. And even just seeing him filled with the grace of God shining on his face, the consolation of the Holy Spirit Paraclete who was in him came upon all those who sat near him. And when we were filled with exultation, joy and gladness from his life-giving and grace-filled discourses, we returned to our home, giving glory to God and to his servant Abba Macarius.

For the glory of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
now and at all times,
unto the ages
of all ages.
Amen."