PART 3

http://www.4shared.com/document/oyU-FZ_Y/Life_of_humility_July_23_2000.html

LIFE OF HUMILITY
AND
MEEKNESS
3

BY HIS HOLINESS AMBA SHENOUDA III,
POPE AND PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA
AND
THE APOSTOLIC SEE OF ALL THE PREDICATION OF
SAINT MARK

Translated from "WATANY" newspaper, July 23, 2000

SAINT FATHERS'
BLESSING
OF
HUMILITY


Once Saint John the Short said to the brothers:
"Who sold the just Joseph?" They said to him: "His brothers." Then he said: "It is not that his brothers sold him, because it is his humility which sold him. For he was able to say to that man who bought him, that he was their brother, but he kept silent, and he was sold by his humility, and he became governor over the kingdom of Egypt."
Saint Barsenophius said:
"The three following virtues are very venerable; and he who possesses them can inhabit amid people and in deserts and anywhere he likes. They are: that a man blames himself, renounces his passions, and becomes under the creatures."
He also said : "The humble man is in a lower place, and he who is in a lower place, does not fall. But it is the proud man who swiftly falls down . "
Saint Isaac said:
"Dignity will run away from him who runs after it; and it will follow him who knowingly runs away from it."
"He also said: "The humble man will have as much dignity in the eyes of all the creatures, as much as he despises himself, and rejects himself."
"Nobody hates the humble man, nobody makes him sad by a word, and nobody despises him; because his Master made him beloved by everybody. All love him, and look at him as they look at an angel of God, and discern him with dignity, wherever he is.
The wise man, or the philosopher speaks, and they shut his mouth, and give the opportunity to speak, to the humble man. Everybody's ears listen to the words of his mouth. They are extremely delighted from the meaning of his comprehension. His words are sweet in the ears of the wise men, and are more desirable than honey in the palate of him who eats it.
If humility elevates the condition of the illiterate and of the ignorant, how much dignity, do you think, humility will cause to the reverend and exemplar?!"
Saint John of Assiout (of Lycopolis) was asked:
"What man is perfect in knowledge?"
He replied: "It is him who counts all people better than himself".
He also said: "If we treat ourselves as sinners, se shall not be judged as sinners".
A father said: [If somebody says to his comrade: "Forgive me", while he is humble in his heart, demons will burn.]
Saint Augustin said:
"As much as a construction is huge, as much deep must be the foundations which are dug downwards. The foundations must be cast down as much as the building is elevated. If the top is very high, that is the vision of God, his kingdom, and his heavens, we must then make the foundation deep, and go downwards through humility. In that manner, you will first see the construction down, before it is up. The top will not be elevated unless humility comes first."
He also said: "Humility is the virtue which is specially considered in the city of God, because it was a special distintive characteristic of Christ, its king. He has recommended it to the inhabitants of the city of God, during their present abode as foreigners on earth.
Likewise, pride which is the opposite vice to this virtue, and which is specially dominating Satan who resists Christ, pride is the special distinctive characteristic of the city of Satan."
Palladius said about the faith of one of the priests of idols:
[He departed and became a monk; and he strongly held humility, from the beginning of his life. He used to say: "Humility can destroy all the power of the rebel, as I have heard from the devils who said: "Each time we provoke the monks, they turn to humility, and apologize to each other, and in that manner, they destroy all our power."]
The "spiritual old man" (saint John Saba) said:
"The treasure of the humble man is inside himself, that is the Lord."
He also said: "Who does not love you, o humble good man, except the proud and the self-centered, of whose work you are a stranger? Consider those, our giant fathers, how they prepared the way for us, for they wore humility which is the robe of Christ, and rejected Satan and bound him with the chains of darkness!"
Amba Tadra who used to bind the devils outside his cell, with the chains of his prayers, made himself the last of all people, and used to run away from the honorable service.
God's abode truly is the soul of the humble man, as saint Evagrius said: "The humble man inclines his head with a contrite spirit, and becomes an abode of the Holy Trinity."
Saint Simeon the Stylist said: "Humility is the dwelling place of the Spirit, and the place of his rest."
Saint Ephrem said: "Humility is a great success and a glorious honor. There is no fault in it."
Saint Isaac said: "Humility precedes grace, and greatness precedes correction."
As regards his first expression, it is in accordance with the word of the apostle saint James: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). That is because the hearts of the humble do not become uplifted when they succeed, if grace acts in them; but each of them says with the apostle saint Paul: ".......yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Cor. 15:10). They always remember the word of the Lord: "for without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). The proud on the contrary, attributes to himself the deeds which grace works in him, and then he becomes more proud!
As regards the word of saint Isaac: "greatness precedes correction", he probably leaned on what was said in the Book of Proverbs:
"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Pro. 16:18).
That is because when the heart of the proud becomes exalted, grace abandons him, and then he falls down, in order that he may feel his weekness and humiliate himself, and will not anymore attribute every success to his power, ability, and intelligence........forgetting the work of God in him! This proud man also falls down, because "God resists the proud" as the apostle said: (James 4:6), and because the proud have not God in front of them, and do not give glory to God, as king Herod did, and "immediately an angel of the Lord struck him...............And he was eaten by worms and died" (Acts 12:23). Such will be the end of the proud.
Saint Augustin meditated on some psalms which concern humility, such as:
"The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit" (Ps. 34:18).
and also: "Though the Lord is on high, yet He regards the lowly" (Ps. 138:6).
and: "Who is like the Lord our God, who dwells on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth? He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the ash heap, that He may sit him with princes, with the princes of his people" (Ps. 113:5-8).
So, saint Augustin said: "This is a great mystery, my brothers: God is above all. When you raise yourself, you do not touch Him. But when you humble yourself, He comes down to you........
God abides on high, in heaven. Do you want Him to come near to you? Humble yourself. Because as much as you exalt yourself, so much He will raise himself above you. You know that God is high. So, if you make yourself high like Him, He will keep at a distance from you........
God is high and regards humble things in heaven and on earth. Are these things that he regards, his high abode itself? Because he thus lifts up the humble. That is why he dwells in those whom he lifts up, and makes them a heaven for himself........He is the high Lord who dwells in his saints.
Since the Lord regards humble things in heaven, which are different from those which he regards on earth, I guess that in heaven, he regards the humble whom he has called and in whom he dwells, and on earth, he regards those whom he calls in order to dwell in them."
Saint Dorotheus said:
"He who builds a house, must necessarily put some mortar on every stone; becaue if he puts a stone on another stone without mortar, the stones will fall down, and the house will collapse. If the stones in the building of the soul, are the virtues, the mortar will be humility, since it is taken out of the earth, and is under the feet of everybody.......Any virtue which is practised without humility, is not a virtue."
Saint Dorotheus said it truly, because the fathers said:
"Any virtue which man practises without humility, will be food for the devil of vain glory."
Saint Isaac also said in this respect:
"Such as salt is good for all food, so also humility is good for all virtues; because without it, all actions and all virtues are vain."
Saint Basilius the Great said:
"Humility is the treasure which keeps all virtues".
Saint Evagrius said:
"Humility is a gift from the Holy Trinity. It is the road of angels. It is fire for the devils. It is richness which cannot be stolen."
Saint Isaac agrees with saint Evagrius that humility is a gift from God. He says:
"Humility is a majestic gift. Is it possible for a man to be so rejected in his own eyes?! Can temperament so change itself ?! For this reason, do not doubt that humility is a secret power in which man resorts to subterfuge to become like that, without forcing himself, and with all his heart."
Saint Augustin said:
"Let us hold on humility. If we do not yet possess it till now, let us learn it. And if we possess it, let us not loose it. Let us accept the commandment of humility in this word, so that we may be worthy to accept the exaltation which was promised to the humble, in the other world."
Saint Evagrius said:
"Humility is a hedge that guards the ascender.......So you, when you are elevated to the height of virtues, you need great circumspection; because he who is on earth, if he falls, he will swiftly raise up, but he who falls down from a high place, will suffer to death."
Saint Ephrem the Syrian said:
"Let him who sweeps his house, educate you, because he very carefully inclines to the floor in order to clean it. How much more, man needs to incline with great care and to become humble, in order to clean the soul, and to leave in it nothing which God hates."
He also said: "The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, dwell in the humble soul.......The murderer dwells in pride. "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High" (Isaiah 14: 13-14)."
Saint Isaac said:
"He who speaks about humility with contempt and mockery, is not counted amongst the living, but as a man who has raised his tongue against God."
He also said: "Even the devils, with all their malice and the pride of their hearts, when they come near the humble, they become like dust, and all their wickedness, all their subterfuges and all their actions become futile."
He also said: "Who is not ashamed from the sight of the humble?! Before the appearance of the glory of humility, his aspect was despised by everybody. But now that the magnificence of humility has been shown into the whole world, everybody reveres and honors this resemblance."