African Saints (from the Prologue of Ohrid)
There are no African, or African associated saints listed in the Prologue of Ohrid for the week. If anyone has a list from another source, please feel free to send the information.
A Word from the Fathers & Mothers
“An old man was sitting in his cell and a voice came to him which said, ‘Come and I will show you the works of men.’ He got up and followed. The voice led him to a certain place and showed him an Ethiopian cutting wood and making a great pile. He struggled to carry it in vain. But instead of taking some off, he cut more wood which he added to the pile. He did this for a long time. Going a little further, the old man was shown a man standing on the shore of a lake drawing up water and pouring it into a broken receptacle, so that the water ran back into the lake. Then the voice said to the old man, ‘Come and I will shew you something else.’ He saw a temple and two men on horseback, opposite one another carrying a piece of wood crosswise. The wanted to go in through the door but could not because they held their piece of wood crosswise. Neither of them would draw back before the other , so as to carry the wood straight; so they remained outside the door. The voice said to the old man, ;These men carry the yoke of righteousness with pride, and do not humble themselves so as to correct themselves and walk in the humble way of Christ. So they remain outside the Kingdom of God. The man cutting the wood is he who lives in many sins and instead of repenting he adds more faults to his sins. He who draws the water is he who does good deeds, but mixing bad ones with them, he spoils even his good works so everyone must be watchful of his actions, lest he labor in vain.’ Abba Arsenius, from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers
‘When we fall into bodily passions we must not put off repentance but weep over ourselves, before we are overtaken by weeping at the Judgement.’ Amah Pelagia, from the Matericon
Desert Fathers Dispatch 