Tag: compunction
The First Shall be Last
As Abba Silvanus was sitting with the brethren one day he was rapt in ecstasy and fell with his face to the ground. After a long time he got up and wept. The brethren besought him saying, ‘What is it, Father?’ But he remained silent and wept. When they insisted on his speaking he said,… Read More ›
Abba Gelasius and the Bible Thief
It was said of Abba Gelasius that he had a leather Bible worth eighteen pieces of silver. In fact it contained the whole of the Old and New Testaments. He had put it in the church so that any of the brethren who wished, could read it. A strange brother came to see the old… Read More ›
God has forgiven you
It was said of a certain Abba Apollo of Scetis, that he had been a shepherd and was very uncouth. He had seen a pregnant woman in the field one day and being urged by the devil, he had said, ‘I should like to see how the child lies in her womb.’ So he ripped… Read More ›
Compunction: the moment of awakening
In traditional monastic language the great means of ending our complacent slumbers was the sting of compunction. The Latin word compunctio means a piercing; it is like sticking a pin in somebody with the purpose of waking them up. Compunction, involves a moment of awakening, the first glimmer of enlightenment, the dawning of a new… Read More ›