Авва Иперхий

1. Abba Iperhiy said: “A sober monk spends the night and day, diligent in prayer, forcing his heart to shed tears and call on mercy from heaven” 540. 2. He said: “As a lion is terrible for wild donkeys, so a skilled monk is terrible for thoughts of lust” 541. 3. He also said: “Fasting is a monastic bridle for sin: he who rejects fasting becomes a horse raging for fornication” 542. 4. He said: “He who cannot control his tongue during anger will not be able to control his passions” 543. 5. He said: “It is better to eat meat and drink wine than to devour the brethren with slander” 544. 6. He said: “The monk’s body, dried up by fasting, extracts his soul from the abyss” 545. 7. He said: “A chaste monk will be honored on earth, and will be crowned in heaven before the Almighty” 546. 8. He said: “A monk who cannot control his tongue will never be able to curb his voluptuousness” 547. 9. He said: “Let not your lips utter evil words: the vine does not bear fruit from thorns” 548. 10. He said: “The serpent’s slander brought Eve out of paradise: such is slander about one’s neighbor. It destroys the soul of the listener, and destroys the soul of the speaker” 549. 11. He said: “Let your thought remain constantly in the Kingdom of Heaven and you will soon inherit it” 550. 12. Said: “The treasure of a monk is obedience. He who has acquired obedience will be heard by God and will boldly appear to Him who was crucified for us: because the Lord, who was crucified for us, “was obedient to death” (Phil. 2:8) 551. 13. Said: “The treasure of a monk is arbitrary poverty. Brother! hide your treasures in heaven: there the pleasure and words are endless” 552. 14. He said: “Let spiritual song and teaching constantly remain in the mouth of your soul, so that the burden of the adversities encountered will be eased by them. Take the example of a traveler working on the road: if he sings while walking, then this hides the difficulty of the journey” 553. Here, mental prayer is called teaching, and mental prayer, overshadowed and acted upon by the grace of God, is also called spiritual song. 15. He said: “We must prepare to endure adversity before the adversity comes, so that we may be skillful at the time when it comes” 554. 16. He said: “The truly wise is not the one who teaches in word, but the one who instructs in deed” 555. 17. He said: “The tree of life that grows to heaven is humility” 556. 18. He said: “Imitate the publican in humility, so as not to be condemned like the Pharisee; follow the meekness of Moses in order to get rid of the petrification of the heart and come to the sources of water" 557. 19. He said: “As much as you have the strength, work to deliver your neighbor from his sin, without reproaching him for his sin: and God does not turn away from those who turn to Him. Let malice and deceit not creep into your heart, so that you have the opportunity to say: “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” 558 . 20. He said: “Let a monk be like the Angels in his life: let him burn and destroy sin within himself” 559. This is accomplished with all sensitivity through mental prayer, the stay in which with all justice can be called angelic living. You might be interested in: