БЕСПРИСТРАСТИЕ К ВЕЩЕСТВЕННОМУ

What examples of impartiality to material things did the Holy Fathers show in their lives? One day Abba Agathon was walking along the road with his disciples. One of them found a small bunch of small green peas on the road and said to the old man: Father! if you bless me, I will take it. The elder looked at him carefully and, as if surprised, asked: did you put this bundle here? The brother answered: no. The elder said: how do you want to take what you didn’t put in? Abba Ammon was ill for several years. They brought him a lot of things like he was sick. What was brought was placed in the inner cell. He lay on his bed and never allowed his thoughts to look into the inner cell to see what was there. When his disciple, John, entered and left this cell, the abba closed his eyes so as not to see what the student was doing in the inner cell, knowing that John was a true monk! The brethren told about Abba Gelasius: He had a parchment-bound book in which the entire New and Old Testament was written, which cost eighteen gold coins. The book was placed in the church so that all the brethren, whoever of them wished, could read it. A certain strange brother came to visit the elder and, seeing the book, was seduced by it - he stole it and left. The elder, although he learned about what had happened, did not follow him to stop him and take what was stolen from him. The brother came to the city and was looking for someone to sell the book to; Having found a buyer, he set a price for her of sixteen gold coins. The buyer, wanting to make sure the book was correct, told him: first give it to me; I’ll show it to someone who knows, and then I’ll give you the money. My brother gave me the book. The buyer took it and took it to Abba Gelasius so that he could examine whether the book was good and worth the price set for it. At the same time, he also spoke about the amount of money required by the seller. The elder answered: buy it: the book is good and worth the money asked for it. The buyer, returning to the seller, conveyed these words to him differently than as the elder said. So, the buyer said, I showed the book to Abba Gelasius, and he told me that the book is expensive and not worth the price you set. Hearing this, the brother asked: did the elder tell you anything else? Nothing, the buyer answered. Then his brother told him: I don’t want to sell this book anymore. Touched by his heart, he went to the elder and asked him to take the book back, repenting of his action and asking for forgiveness; but the elder did not want to accept the books. Then the brother said to him: if you do not accept the book, then I will not find peace of conscience throughout my life. To this the elder answered: if you cannot calm down otherwise than when I take the book, then I take it. The brother, blessed by the patience of the elder, remained with him until his death. Once Abba Euprenius was robbed: he helped the thieves take out of the cell what was in it. The thieves took everything out and, taking what they carried, left. Only the elder’s staff remained in the cell. The elder, seeing this, was saddened. Taking the rod, he went after the thieves and gave them the rod, but they did not want to accept it on suspicion of some kind of intent against them in the elder’s action. The elder, having met with some people walking along the same road, begged them to take the rod and give it to the thieves. One of the elders told about Abba John the Persian that, due to the abundance of Divine grace in him, he achieved perfect kindness. He lived in Egyptian Arabia. One day he borrowed a gold coin from his brother and used it to buy flax for his needlework. After this, another brother came to him and began to ask him, saying: give me, Abba, some flax: I will make myself some leviton. Abba happily gave it to him. Then another brother came to him and also asked him: give me some linen for a towel. The elder gave this too. And he gave to many others who asked him with joy: because he was extremely simple in heart. The one who lent him the gold coin finally came to him, wanting to get it back. The elder told him: I will go and bring it to you. Not finding anyone to borrow a coin from, he went to Abba Jacob, who was in charge of the distribution of alms, in order to ask him for a gold coin to return to his brother. Going to Abba Jacob, he saw a piece of gold lying on the road. Abba John did not touch him, but, having prayed, returned to his cell. The brother came again, asking for the debt to be returned. “I take care of this,” the elder answered, and again he went to Abba Jacob. On the road, he saw a golden plant in the same place where it had been before: having made a prayer, the elder returned to his cell. The brother came a third time, asking for the gold coin back. The elder answered him: I will certainly go and bring it to you. He went to the place where he had previously found the coin: it lay there. Having made the prayer, he took it, brought it to Abba Jacob and said to him: Abba! on my way to you, I found this piece of gold on the road: show me some love and inform the surrounding area to see if anyone has lost it? If you find someone who has lost it, give it to him. Abba Jacob walked for three days and announced the gold coin he had found; but there was no one who lost the gold coin. Then the elder said to Abba Jacob: if no one has lost this gold coin, then give it to such and such a brother: I owe him. I went to you to beg for alms to repay a debt, and I found this gold coin. Abba Jacob was surprised that the elder, being in debt and having found the coin, did not immediately take it and did not pay off the debt. The following was also worthy of surprise in Abba John: if anyone came to him to borrow something, he did not give it from his own hands to the one who asked, but said to him: go, take what you need. When the one who took it brought what he had taken, the elder said: put it in your place from where you took it. If someone did not repay the debt, then the elder did not remind him of it. One day, robbers came to the elder’s monastery and told him: we want to take away everything that you have in your cell. He answered: if you want a child, then take it. They took everything they found and left; but they didn’t think to take the bag that was hidden. The elder, taking the bag, hurriedly followed the robbers, called them and said to them: children! take what you forgot in your cell. They, surprised by the patience of the elder, brought all his property back to the cell, brought repentance and spoke to each other about the elder: he is a true man of God.