Essentially you will be using it like a zen koan. You will be doing lectio divina - this time it will be with a short aphorism from the Apophthegmata (Sayings of the Fathers). Repeat it inside, over and over. Listen for what the Spirit has to teach you from these aphorisms.
We will work with these sayings for a few weeks. Be sure to journal what you hear. This will leave a path for you to follow later, when you want to see where you have been and how you have developed. On-line Journal at: http://my-diary.org/ Don't forget it has features to remind you daily to write. It can be made public or private, as well.
Here are some sayings from the Apophthegmata Patrium to read and contemplate for our daily practice of spiritual direction + spiritual formation.
Macarius the Great (the Egyptian), born c. AD 300, was a
former camel-driver, who traded in nitre. He was one of the
pioneers of Scetis. He was ordained priest and lived as an
anchorite in a village until be was falsely blamed for the
pregnancy of a girl there; when he was cleared, he went to
Scetis. Like many of the early monks, he travelled about
and was not fixed in any one place, as these stories show.
Cassian said of him, 'He was the first who found a way to
inhabit the desert of Scetis. 'He was much influenced by
Anthony the Great and visited him at least twice. He died in
A. D. 39o.
1. Abba Macarius said this about himself: 'When I was
young and was living in a cell in Egypt, they took me to
make me a cleric in the village. Because I did not wish to
receive this dignity, I fled to another place. Then a devout
layman joined me; he sold my manual work for me and
served me. Now it happened that a virgin in the village,
under the weight of temptation, committed sin. When she
became pregnant, they asked her who was to blame. She
said, "The anchorite." Then they came to seize me, led me to
the village and hung pots black with soot and various other
things round my neck and led me through the village in all
directions, beating me and saying, "This monk has defiled
our virgin, catch him, catch him and they beat me almost to
death. Then one of the old men came and said: "What are
you doing, how long w ' ill you go on beating this strange
monk?" The man who served me was walking behind me, full
of shame, for they covered him with insults too, saying,
"Look at this anchorite, for whom you stood surety; what
has he done?" The girl's parents said, "Do not let him go till
he has given a pledge that he will keep her." I spoke to my
servant and he vouched for me. Going to my cell, I gave him
all the baskets I had, saying, "Sell them, and give my wife
something to eat." Then I said to myself, "Macarius, you
have found yourself a wife; you must work a little more in
order to keep her." So I worked night and day and sent my
work to her. But when the time came for the wretch to give
birth, she remained in labour many days without bringing
forth, and they said to her, "What is the matter?" She said, "I
know what it is, it is because I slandered the anchorite, and
accused him unjustly; it is not he who is to blame, but such
and such a young man." Then the man who served me came
to me full of joy saying, "The virgin could not give birth until
she had said 'The anchorite had nothing to do with it, but I
have lied about him.' The whole village wants to come here
solemnly and do penance before you." But when I heard this,
for fear people would disturb me, I got up and fled here to
Scetis. That is the original reason why I came here.'
2. One day Macarius the Egyptian went from Scetis to
the mountain of Nitria for the offering of Abba Pambo. The
old men said to him, 'Father, say a word to the brethren.' He
said, 'I have not yet become a monk myself, but I have seen
monks. One day when I was sitting in my cell, my thoughts
were troubling me, suggesting that I should go to the desert
and see what I could see there. I remained for five years,
fighting against this thought, saying, perhaps it comes from
the demons. But since the thought persisted, I left for the
desert. There I found a sheet of water and an island in the
midst, and the animals of the desert came to drink there. In
the midst of these animals I saw two naked men, and my
body trembled, for I believed they were spirits. Seeing me
shaking, they said to me, "Do not be afraid, for we are men."
Then I said to them, "Where do you come from, and how did
you come to this desert?" They said, "We come from a
monastery and having agreed together, we came here forty
years ago. One of us is an Egyptian and the other a Libyan."
They questioned me and asked me, "How is the world? Is
the water rising in due time? Is the world enjoying
prosperity?" I replied it was, then I asked them, "How can I
become a monk?" They said to me, "If you do not give up all
that is in the world, you cannot become a monk." I said to
them, "But I am weak, and I cannot do as you do." So they
said to me: "If you cannot become like us, sit in your cell and
weep for your sins." I asked them, "When the winter comes
are you not frozen? And when the heat comes do not your
bodies bum?" They said, "It is God who has made this way
of life for us. We do not freeze in winter, and the summer
does us no harm." That is why I said that I have not yet
become a monk, but I have seen monks.'
Ciao!
+Tom
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