Saint Pimen

His profound wisdom and high holiness were evident both in his counsel and in the guidance of religious. No one was more devoted than he to the practices of the interior life, and more careful to distance himself from everything that could give rise to distractions and the memory of a world he had abandoned, and for which he had only contempt. His mother herself, having come to visit him, received this reply: "Which do you prefer, to see me for a moment now, or to be eternally with me in the world to come? You will enjoy the happiness of heaven if you resist your desire now." The mother, hearing this speech from her son through the door, which he had not even opened for her, withdrew, saying: "I renounce the pleasure of seeing you on earth to ensure the happiness of enjoying your company in heaven."

A person from Syria, drawn by the reputation of his merit, having come to consult him regarding the hardening of the heart, Saint Poeme saint Pémen Abbot in the desert of Scetis, a major figure among the Desert Fathers. n replied: "Water is soft and stone is hard. Yet water, falling from a vessel drop by drop upon the stone, pierces it little by little. It is the same with the word of God. Although it is in some way soft by its sweetness, and our heart is hard by its insensitivity, if one takes care to listen often to this divine word, it finally opens the heart, despite its hardness, to let the salutary fear of God enter therein."

He regarded humility, as did all the othe humilité A virtue favored by Poemen, considered the foundation of all virtues. r Saints, as the foundation and proof of all virtues. "It is," he said, "as necessary to the soul as breathing is necessary to the body. Men carry their wickedness behind them," he also said. Finally, he asserted that this virtue was the source of the peace of the soul. One day a brother said to him: "How is it, my Father, that I can avoid speaking of my neighbor?" And he answered him: "It is if you are humble enough to reproach yourself for your faults. Imagine for this that you and your neighbor are like two paintings. If, in considering the one that represents yourself, you find only faults, you will undoubtedly find that that of your neighbor is respectable and admirable in comparison to your own. If, on the contrary, yours seems good to you, you will find that of your neighbor ugly. Thus, you will take great care not to detract from anyone, if you think rather of correcting yourself."

He regarded obedience and the renunciation of one's own will as the most effective instrument for the soul to arrive at perfection, and he said: "One advances in virtue according to how one distrusts oneself, how one resorts to God in trouble with deep humility, and how one casts one's own will behind oneself; for," he added, "our own will is like a wall of brass that we place between God and us, or like a stone that pushes us away from Him. Let us abandon our own will, and we shall be able to say with the Prophet: The wall will not stop me; I will leap over it to go to God."

Here are the rules he gave for silence. He was asked if it was better to speak than to be silent. "He who speaks for the love of God does well," he replied, "and he who is silent for the love of God does well also." — "If you put a bridle on your tongue," he said to another, "you will be at rest everywhere." — "Whatever trouble may befall you, if you know how to be silent, you have conquered it." A brother said to him: "When I see something, should I report it first?" He answered him: "You know what the Scripture says: He who answers before he has listened is a fool and makes himself despised. Thus, when you are questioned, answer, by all means; otherwise keep silence."

Poeme Pémen Abbot in the desert of Scetis, a major figure among the Desert Fathers. n was several times obliged to change deserts because of the frequent incursions of the Barbarians. Thus, in 395, after terrible ravages committed at Sc Scété Egyptian desert famous for its monastic communities. etis by the Mazices, he had to withdraw with his brothers to Terenuthis, near an ancient temple of idols, and remain there for several years. But the danger that still existed in remaining there, because of the incessant attacks to which they were subjected, led him, very much against his will, to reach the desert near the city of Diolcos, which was populated by solitaries and where there were several monasteries. Finally, as soon as c Scété Egyptian desert famous for its monastic communities. alm was restored, he returned to Scetis, where he gave himself up more than ever to the delights of contemplation. As his end approached, his ardent love for God increased, the treasure of his merits was filled; his body, exhausted by vigils and prayers, detached itself; his soul, entirely seraphic, rose in continual ecstasies, until, ripe for heaven, he launched himself radiant into the bosom of his God, in the year 451, around his eightieth year.

Excerpt from The Spirit of the Saint s, by Abbé Grime M. l'abbé Grimes Author of the work 'L'Esprit des Saints'. s.