Today April 11

Today is the feast of St. Barsanuphius, also known as "the Great Old Man." He was a Desert Father who lived in Gaza in the early 6th century and died about the year 550. He was an Egyptian by birth and was both a remarkable ascetic and remarkably discreet. He advised all to eat, drink, sleep and clothe themselves sufficiently. He wrote many letters of advice and spiritual direction and was gifted with great discernment. His advice was rooted in Scripture and straightforward:
To a bishop: "Do not accept gifts from anyone; do not waver in your judgment; do not be ashamed in the presence of any ruler in order to find the guilty innocent and condemn the innocent. Keep avarice far from you; for it is the root of all evils. Indeed, this is said to be -- and is -- a second kind of idolatry. Do not be arrogant, so that you may learn from the Apostle, who says: 'Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly' (Rom 12:16). Do not try to please people; after all, you know what happens to those who do this. They are estranged from the service of Christ; for the Apostle says: 'If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ' (Gal 1:10)."
He could see into the future, he believed in sharing all he had with others, he comforted the penitents by forgiving their sins and even assumed upon himself the sins of others. I guess that makes him a so-called "victim soul," but he was neither self-righteous nor insufferable about it. He was eminently approachable, but he chose generally not to see anyone and to write all his letters through his abbot, Seridos. He valued his solitude. When Eustochius the patriarch of Jerusalem ordered his cell wall to be broken down, a mysterious fire blazed out, causing all the workers to flee. Later he showed emissaries of the patriarch where he lived, how he lived, and he even washed their feet!

400 letters of his are extant, containing a wealth of peaceful advice.

" 'In everything give thanks' (1 Thess 5:18), and let us not neglect to render thanks to God and remember the one about whom you once told the parable that he used to go and pray in church in order that food might be secured for him. Then he met someone who said: 'Have breakfast with me today, and then go pray,' but he replied: 'I am not going to come; for that is what I was going to ask from God in prayer.' "
Now, I'm not sure, but I think that's ironic. Kind of like the story of the man in the flood who when the water started getting deep was met by a rescue worker in a truck, whom he waved away, saying "God will save me." Then later when the water was higher still, a boat was sent, but he replied, "God will save me." Finally, he had to retreat to the roof. A helicopter came and the man still insisted "God will save me." Finally, the man drowned. When he reached the other world, he asked God, "Why didn't you save me?" God looked at him and said, "What do you mean? I sent you a truck, a boat and a helicopter!" :) Don't bother me with breakfast, I'm praying for food!