One day, less than six months after (St. Theodore’s) entry among the brothers, he came to our abba Pachomius shedding copious tears. Abba Pachomius said to him, ‘Why are you weeping?’ For he had often been astonished at seeing this propensity to tears in him, although he was so new. He answered, ‘I would like you, father, to declare to me that I shall see God; if not, what is the profit for me to have been brought into the world?’ Abba Pachomius said to him, ‘Do you wish to see him in this age or in the age to come?’ He answered, ‘I wish to see him in the age that lasts for all eternity.’ Abba Pachomius said to him, ‘Make haste to bring forth the fruit the Gospel speaks of, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. And if an impure thought enters your mind, be it hatred or wickedness, jealousy, envy, contempt for your brother, or human vainglory, remember at once and say, “If I consent to any one of those things, I shall not see the Lord.”’ When Theodore had heard these words from abba Pachomius, he made up his mind to walk with humility and purity, so that the Lord might satisfy his desire to see Him in the age which changes not.
