Today is the feast of many minor saints, but due to my positive prejudice toward the Desert Fathers, we are going to go with one of those: the somewhat obscure St. Dioscorus. He was an interesting guy. He really lit into his fellow monks about the responsibility of keeping from sin . . . how much worse for the clergy and monks if "after having worn this habit for so long, we are found in the hour of need not having put on the wedding garment (Matt. 22:13)." But just because he was hard on the Catholic men of the cloth doesn't mean he was easy on himself. His disciple found him crying one day and asked him what was wrong. "I am weeping over my sins." "But you do not have any sins, Father!" he exclaimed. The old man replied, "Truly, my child, if I were allowed to see my sins, three or four men would not be enough to weep for them."
All of which points out that we should be hesitant to minimize other's people's consciences. We all do it, however. "Oh, that's okay." . . . "That's not a sin." . . . "God understands." You never know! Keep your eyes on your own papers, people!
And the last story of Dioscorus was that he, one of the so-called "Four Tall Brothers," was a courageous soul when it came to asceticism. He'd give himself a task he would carry out for a whole year, hard as it might be. "I will not meet anyone this year." or "I will not speak," or "I will not eat fruit or vegetables." And whatever he resolved, he carried it out.
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