Forgiving your enemies
The abbot asked his favorite pupil how his spiritual progress was coming along. The pupil answered that he was managing to dedicate to God each and every moment of the day.
“Then all that’s left now is to forgive your enemies.”
The young man was shocked:
“But I’m not angry at my enemies!”
“Do you think God is angry at you?”
“Of course not!”
“And even so you ask Him to forgive you, don’t you? Do the same with your enemies, even though you don’t feel hatred for them. Those who practice forgiveness wash and perfume their own hearts.”
Why leave man to the sixth day
A group of wise men gathered to discuss the work of God; they wanted to know why he had left it to the sixth day to create man.
“He thought about first organizing the Universe well, so that we could have all the marvels available to us,” said one of them.
“First of all He wanted to run some tests on animals, so that He would not make the same mistakes with us,” argued another.
One wise Jew showed up at the meeting. They told him the theme of the discussion: “in your opinion, why did God leave it to the last day to create man?”
“Very simple,” commented the wise man. “So that when we were moved by pride, we would remember that even a simple mosquito enjoyed priority in the work of the Divine.”
The kingdom of this world
An old hermit was once invited to visit the court of the most powerful king of the day.
“I envy a holy man, who is content with so little,” commented the sovereign.
“I envy Your Majesty, who is content with less than I. I have the music of the celestial spheres, I have the rivers and mountains of the whole wide world, I have the moon and the sun, because I have God in my soul. Your Majesty, however, has only this kingdom.”
Which way is best
When they asked Abbot Antonio if the path of sacrifice led to heaven, he answered:
- There are two paths of sacrifice. The first is taken by the man who mortifies the flesh and pays penance because he believes that we are condemned. The man who follows this path feels guilty and judges himself unworthy of living happily.
- The second path is taken by the man who, even though he knows that the world is not as perfect as we would like, prays, does penance and offers up his time and toil to improve the world around him. So he understands that the word sacrifice comes from sacro ofício, holy work. In this case the Divine Presence helps him all the time and he obtains results in heaven.”
Farm work
The young man crossed the desert and finally reached the Sceta monastery. There he asked – and was given permission – to attend one of the abbot’s talks.
That afternoon the abbot spoke about the importance of farm work.
When the talk came to an end, the young man commented to one of the monks:
“That really impressed me. I thought that I was going to hear an illuminated sermon on virtues and sins, but the abbot only spoke about tomatoes, irrigation and things like that. Where I come from, everyone believes that God is mercy: all you need to do is pray.”
The monk smiled and answered:
“Here we believe that God has already done His part; now it’s up to us to continue the process.”
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
i want to live with others that i love and not with everyone. i hate it when people affect me with their decisions especially when they’re not in my “circle”. i put up walls to somehow prevent them, but they manage to find ways to penetrate through my brick walls and just ruin everything.
how can I accept those people? How can I accept their judgment, opinion and everything?
It is important to remember humility. We sometimes lose ourselves in the ‘righteousness’ of our own path, and forget the paths of others and how we affect them.
Having a body is, like everything else, dualistic. It is positive, because we can move around, bless others, and use our hands to invest in the world around us, but then it can be negative in that it makes us feel seperate from everyone and everything else. I believe it is necessary for everyone to, from time to time, if not consistently, become quiet, rest the mind, and hear what your heart is saying. Most likely it has never stopped singing its praises to the Oneness and the holiness of All That Is.
How amazing if you can live your life constantly immersed in that song!
Thank you Paulo!!!!!!!!!!
Building understanding, forgiveness, humility, focus on what really matters, then being a prayer in motion each day.
Praxis : )
Much Love To All, Jane : ) xo
cool! :)
Again, so timely. I like the part where the abbot said to forgive your enemies even though you do not feel hatred towards them. I’ve never thought of that.
Thank you.
Dear Paulo Sir,
Ur stories have inspired me to bring positivity in my life…
thanks a lot
1st story I don’t quite understand. But I do hope the gentlemen does not walk off. He might do a mistake.
2nd story. The anger isn’t to deep. (There is not hate.) Forgiveness is possible.
3rd story. This one I have to think about.
4th story. I love this one. There is a lot of truth in this story. Once you have felt the power, the material world is of little value.
5th story. The second way is best, no doubt. But please, don’t ask me to be perfect. I have never been, and I never will be. But I’m convinced God is satisfied with me, all in all….
6th story. I really like this one… :-)
Cohabiting Couple?Everything can become the centre of the world-Acceptance,or the centre of the world can be found nowhere-Rebellion.