life.onnophrius.02 Chapter 1

But where shall those who are living in the desert, for God's sake, find a man if trouble come upon them?

If they are hungry where can they find food?

If they are thirsty where can they find water to drink?

When they begin to lead the life of the anchorite they rejoice exceedingly because of hunger, and thirst, and the excellence of their manner of life.

And the Adversary who fighteth with them to tempt them thereby doth not wish them to continue the life of the anchorite, for he knoweth that the reward is great which they will receive from God when they shall come forth from the body.

When they are preaching ascetic labours the compassion of God cometh upon them, and He maketh the angels to serve them in respect of their food, and He bringeth for them water out of the rock.

For it is written in Isaiah, Those who abide patiently in the Lord shall renew their strength.

They shall spread out their wings like the eagles in flight.

They shall fly away and shall not fall.

They shall journey and shall not suffer hunger.

He saith, Water shall be brought to them out of the rock.

When they suffer hunger He will make the grass which is in the field to be sweet to their mouths, even as honey is sweet.

If tribulation come upon them, or danger rise up against them, straightway they spread out their hands and they pray to the King Jesus until there cometh to them speedily His help which He sendeth forth, and straightway He strengtheneth them because of the integrity of their heart in respect to Him.

Hast thou never heard that which is written, The Lord will not forsake His people, and the patient endurance of the miserable man shall not fail utterly?

And again, the poor man crieth out,

and the Lord heareth him,

and delivereth him in all his tribulations.

The Lord giveth unto every man according to what he hath suffered.

Blessed is the man who shall do the will of God upon the earth!

I say unto thee that the angels shall serve him from the time when he entereth the body, and they shall comfort him at all times in his need.

And to me, your brother, when I had heard these things from these perfect men of God, they became like unto honey, which is sweet in my belly,

and a mighty ecstasy took place within me,

and I became like unto those whose minds are carried away into another world.

And I rose up straightway,

and I took a few bread cakes with me, sufficient for the four days' journey, so that I might eat of them until I arrived at the place which God should appoint for me.

``And when I had come forth from the monastery I looked,

and I saw a being of light before me,

and I was afraid,

and I thought in my mind that I would turn back to the place to which I came first of all, and remain there(?).

And when he knew that I was afraid, he said unto me, `Fear not,

for I am the angel that dwelleth with thee, and that hath travelled with thee from thy childhood;

this stewardship, which the Lord hath appointed to thee, thou shalt be able to fulfil.'

``And when I had come into the mountain, and I had journeyed in the desert for six or seven miles,

I saw a cave,

and I turned towards it, for I saw that there was a man inside it.

And a very great saint of God came out to me; now this form (or, behaviour) was goodly, and there was a fine graciousness over his countenance.

And when I had seen him, I made obeisance unto him.

And he raised me up,

and he saluted me,

and he said unto me, `Thou art Onnophrios, my fellow worker in the Lord;

Come in.

The Lord be with thee. Thou shalt succeed in the good work whereunto He hath invited thee.'

And I went inside,

and I sat down there with him for a few days,

and I learned the rules of the doctrine of God from him,

and he taught me the regulations which governed the life of the monk in the desert.

And when he saw that I was acquainted with the hidden and terrible fighting which existed in the desert, he said unto me, `Rise up, my son, and let me take thee to a desolate place in the inner desert, and thou shalt abide therein by thyself for God's sake.

Since God hath appointed thee to this work thou must dwell in the desert.

And straightway he rose up, and journeyed with me into the desert for a distance of four days' journey,

and at the end of the four days we came to a small hut,

And he said unto me, 'This is the place which the Lord hath appointed thee to live in.'

And he sat down with me for a month of days, until I understood the good work which it was meet for me to do.

And afterwards he departed from me,

and we never saw each other again until this year when I saw him once on the day whereon he laid down the body,

and I buried him inside the place wherein he was.''

And I (i.e. Papnoute) said unto him, ``My good and beloved father, at the beginning, when thou didst first come to this place, didst thou suffer from the weather?''

And the blessed old man said unto me, ``I suffered greatly on several occasions from hunger, and thirst, and the heat outside in the daytime, and the great cold by night,

and my flesh was wasted away by the dews of heaven.

And when God [saw] that I endured patiently in my good strife of fasting, and that I gave my heart to ascetic practices, He made holy angels serve me, and bring to me my daily food, and an angel gave it to me evening by evening, and he stood by my body.

And the palm-tree yielded unto me each year twelve bunches of dates, and I ate one bunch every month.

And, moreover, he made the herbs (or, grasses) which grow in the desert to be sweet to my mouth, even as honey.

For it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which cometh forth from the mouth of God doth man live.

If thou doest the will of God, He shall take care of thee in every place.

For He hath said in the Holy Gospel, Take no care for what ye shall eat, or for what ye shall drink, or with what raiment ye shall clothe yourselves, for your Father Who is in heaven knoweth of what things ye have need without your asking Him.

Seek ye His kingdom and His righteousness,

and these things shall be added unto you.

And when I had heard these things I marvelled exceedingly, and I said unto him, ``O my holy father, where dost thou partake of the Sacrament on the Sabbath Day and on the First Day of the week?''

And he said unto me, ``O my holy father, an angel cometh and administereth to me the Sacrament on the Sabbath Day and on the First Day of the week.

And the angel cometh and administereth the Sacrament to every one who is in the desert,

and he giveth unto them consolation.

And, moreover, when they desire to see any one, they are taken up into the heights of heaven, and they see all the saints, and they salute them, and thereby their hearts receive light, and they rejoice, and are glad with God in those good things.

And when they see them they receive consolation, and they forget that they have suffered in any way; and afterwards they return to their bodies, and they continue to feel comforted for a very long time.

And if they are transferred to another world through the joy which they have seen they do not even remember that the world existeth.''

And when I had heard these things I rejoiced exceedingly that I was held to be worthy to hear them from him.

And I forgot all the sufferings which I had endured when I was journeying in the desert,

and strength came to my body,

and renewed power came to my body and to my soul.

And I said unto him, ``Blessed am I that I am held to be worthy to see thy holy face, and to hear thy sweet words.''

Then he said unto me, ``Rise up, O my brother, and let us depart to the place wherein we are to be.''

And we rose up,

and we journeyed on, and we came to a hut.

And when we had entered into the hut he stood up and prayed with me.