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Pastimes : Ask God -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cyprian who wrote (39235)	5/2/2006 1:52:52 AM
From: Cyprian	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 39621

THE ASCETICISM OF ST. JOHN Living amidst the world in so exalted a rank, the blessed one nonetheless never abandoned his initial monastic struggles, and the time he had free from ecclesiastical matters he spent either in prayer or in the reading of divine books, sequestered in his solitary cell. Ever keeping strict fast and temperance in everything, he ate only bread made out of barley and drank only water, slept very little, and even then not on a bed, but standing. He never went to banquets or sumptuous feasts. VISION OF ST. PAUL He devoted his entire mind to the understanding of the divine Scriptures, continuing to occupy himself with composing exegeses on the epistles of the Apostle Paul, whose icon he had in his cell; at this time he expounded to the people the Epistle of the Apostle to the Colossians, and, somewhat later, to the Philippians, Thessalonians, and Hebrews. While he was writing down his interpretation of these epistles, the holy John began to wonder thus: “Who knoweth if this is pleasing to God? Have I understood the power of this Holy Scripture, or not?” And he began to pray that God inform him concerning this. God hearkened to the prayer of His servant and gave him the following sign. Once, at night, shut in his cell, St. John was writing his interpretation by the light of a burning candle; at the time, Proclus, his attendant, at the request of a certain person who was requesting assistance, wanted to go in to the patriarch; but beforehand he looked through a hole in the door, in order to ascertain what the Patriarch was doing. He saw him sitting and writing, and some venerable old man was standing behind him, bending down towards the ear of the Patriarch and speaking softly to him. This man resembled in every way the depiction of St. Paul on the icon which hung before St. John on the wall of his cell. Proclus decided to wait until the man left, but when it came time to ring for Matins the man had vanished. Proclus observed this again during the two following nights. Finally, he dared to ask the Patriarch himself: “Master, who hath been conversing with thee at night?” John answered: “No one hath been with me!” Then Proclus told him in detail how through the hole he had seen a venerable old man whispering in the Patriarch’s ear while he was writing; moreover, Proclus also described the appearance of that man who had appeared. Listening to what Proclus was saying, John was puzzled. Meanwhile, Proclus, glancing at the depiction of St. Paul on the icon, said: “He whom I saw was like the one depicted on this icon!” Then John understood that Proclus had seen the holy Apostle Paul himself, and was assured that his work was pleasing to the Lord. He fell to the ground and prayed for a long time, giving thanks to God. Thenceforth he took to the writing of divine books with yet greater zeal, and these he left behind him for the Church as a priceless treasure.