Saint Paphnutius

Since the happy end of this pious penitent, Paphnutius had been stirred by a holy emulation to advance more than ever in the path of perfection; and in order to better know what God asked of him, he prayed to Him a second time to let him know to whom he could be compared. It was answered to him that he resembled the principal inhabitant of the neighboring town. He went there immediately, and had no trouble finding him, for the latter came to meet him, led him into his house, washed his feet, and invited him to a magnificently served table.

During the meal, Paphnutius inquired of him what his way of life was; but he found him more inclined to declare his faults than to display the good he did, and he would have learned nothing of his virtues if he had not let him know that it was God who had sent him to learn from his own mouth what he did for His service, and that He had even found him worthy to spend the rest of his life among the solitaries. "Assuredly," this man then said to him, "I know of no good that I have done; but since you assure me that God has revealed to you what concerns me, I cannot hide myself before Him to whom all things are known. I will therefore tell you how I am accustomed to conduct myself toward those with whom I find myself.

"I have never refused hospitality to anyone, and I have never suffered anyone to anticipate me in going to meet strangers and receiving them into my home. I have never let any guest leave without giving him the means to complete the rest of his journey. For thirty years, I have lived with my wife as a brother with his sister. I have not despised any poor person, nor failed to assist him in his need. When it came to justice and equity, I would not have favored my own son to the prejudice of my neighbor. The fruit of another's labor has never entered my house. When I have known that some people were in dispute, I have always tried to reconcile them. I have not suffered my children to give anyone cause to complain of them, nor my flocks to cause damage to the property of others. I have not prevented others from sowing in my lands, and I have been content to sow the fields they left free for me. I have tried, as much as I could, to support the weak against the unjust oppression of the powerful. I have taken care never to offend anyone; and when I have presided over any judgment, I have done my best to reconcile the parties, rather than to condemn any of them. This is, by the mercy of God, how I have lived until now."

A conduct so charitable dazzled Paphnutius; he could not help but embrace him with tenderness, and understanding that he could be one of the richest ornaments of the solitude, he told him that, since he had accomplished all these things, he only lacked adding to them the real renunciation of all the goods of this world, to carry the cross of Jesus Christ and walk with more perfection in the footsteps of this divine Master.

He found his heart fully disposed to follow this advice; thus they went together without delay into the desert, where the Saint lodged him in the cell that the musician had occupied; he gave him, moreover, the necessary advice to help him enter into the designs of mercy that God had for him; and this second disciple walked so faithfully in the footsteps of the first, that he filled in a short time the measure of his holiness, and went at last to receive the crown of glory in eternity amidst the acclamations of the angels, just as God revealed it to the Saint.

This new example served once more as a goad to Paphnutius to make him advance more rapidly in the perfection of his state. "For," he said to himself, "if those who are in the world perform excellent works, how much more am I obliged, being a solitary, to strive to surpass them in the exercises of a penitent life?" Thus he added to his previous austerities, and persevered more than ever in holy prayer.

He desired a third time that God might make known to him the state of his soul, and he heard again the voice from heaven, which told him that he was like a merchant who was coming to see him, and that he should hasten to go and meet him. He descended at once from the mountain and met on his path this merchant, who had come down the Nile from the Upper Thebaid, fro Nil River in Egypt used by the merchant for transport. m where he had brought several ships loaded with merchandise that he distributed to the poor; and he was coming to his monastery with some servants loaded with vegetables that he wished to present to him.

No sooner had Paphnutius seen him than he said to him: "O soul precious in the eyes of God, why do you occupy yourself with the things of the earth, being destined to occupy yourself only with those of heaven? Leave it to those who have thoughts only of the earth to occupy themselves with them as much as they wish; but as for you, have no other object than to make yourself a merchant of the kingdom of God, and follow faithfully Jesus Christ who calls you to serve Him alone."

These words had the same effect upon him as they had upon the others. The merchant ordered his servants to give to the poor all that remained of his goods, followed the Saint to the cell where the other two had lived successively, and had died in the peace of the Lord, became there the imitator of their holy life, and in a short time completed his course in equal sanctity.

God thus used his servant Paphnutius in the admirable works of His mercy, and they turned no less to the spiritual advantage of this holy Solitary than to that of others. But it may be said that the most precious fruit of his mission, and that in which the magnificence of God's goodness shone forth the most, was the conversion of Thaïs, even mo re fa Thaïs Former Egyptian courtesan converted by Paphnutius, famous for her penance. mous in the Church for her penance than she had been in the world for her disorders.

It is not said what was the homeland of Thaïs, nor the city that served as the theater for her disorders: it is only known that it was in Egypt. She had the misfortune to be born of a mother as wicked as she herself became; for, far from watching over the preservation of her innocence, she gave her only lessons to lose it, and this domestic seduction, fortified by a beauty that one might call murderous to souls, caused her to fall into the greatest faults.

It was necessary that the scandal be great, since the report of it spread even into the solitudes; but it was not without a disposition of Providence, which made use of the zeal of Paphnutius to bring this sheep back into the fold of the sovereign Shepherd of souls.

The means that this servant of God took to succeed in this shows clearly enough that it had come to him from above, for the very reason that it succeeded against the rules of ordinary prudence. Paphnutius left his solitary habit, took a worldly one, provided himself with a sum of money, and in this attire came to present himself before Thaïs as if to increase the number of her courtiers.

The first principles of religion were not completely erased from the soul of Thaïs. She believed in God, and was convinced that there is another life, where He rewards the good and punishes the wicked; but these truths were stifled in her soul by the love of pleasures and riches, and her faith served only to make her more guilty by the crimes with which she dishonored it.

It was precisely these truths that Paphnutius used to make her return to the good. He asked her first to introduce him into a place where he could hide not only from the eyes of creatures, but from the eyes of God Himself; as she had answered him that the thing was impossible, God being present everywhere, he took the occasion to represent to her how horrible it was to dare to sin under the eyes of God, and what a terrible account she would have to render at His tribunal for the loss of so many souls that her conduct led every day into the abyss of sin.

At these words, Thaïs recognizing that he who spoke to her was nothing less than what she had believed, and God acting in the depths of her heart by His grace, she threw herself at the feet of Paphnutius and said to him, melting into tears, these few words: "My father, order me such penance as you please; for I hope that God will show me mercy through your prayers; I only ask you for three hours of time, after which I will go where you think best, and I will execute everything that you prescribe for me."

The delay she asked for was only to prove in a more striking manner how sincere her change was. She gathered everything she had acquired by her sins, of furniture and precious effects; she had it all carried to the public square, set fire to it in the presence of all the people, and, raising her voice in order to be heard by the accomplices of her crimes, she invited them to imitate her conversion.

After this sacrifice, she went to the place where Paphnutius awaited her, who led her to a convent of women and locked her in a private cell, the door of which he sealed with lead so that no one would have the temerity to open it without his permission. He left her only a small, strong window through which food could be given to her, and instructed the sisters to bring her only a little bread and water each day.

Thais, thus confined, without being able to leave for any reason whatsoever, begged Paphnutius to tell her, as he was about to leave, how she should pray to God. He replied that she was not worthy to pronounce His holy name, nor to raise toward heaven her hands soiled by so many crimes; but that she should content herself with turning toward the East and repeating often these words: You who formed me, have pity on me. She humbly submitted to this penance and practiced it very faithfully.

Three years later, Paphnutius had compassion on her. He went to find Saint Anthony to learn from him if God had forgiv en her sins. saint Antoine Father of monasticism, consulted by Paphnutius regarding Thais. He did not, however, tell him the reason for which he had come to consult him, hoping that God would make it known to him.

Saint Anthony, having assembled his disciples, ordered them to spend the night each separately in prayer, to see if God would reveal to any of them the cause of Paphnutius's arrival.

Saint Paul the Simple, one of Saint Anthony's discipl es, was the one to w Saint Paul le Simple Disciple of Saint Anthony, favored with a vision regarding the glory of Thais. hom God manifested it. He showed him in heaven a magnificent bed guarded by three virgins, and told him that it was reserved for Thais. The next day, Paul gave an account of this vision to his blessed father Anthony; Paphnutius, having known by this that God had forgiven Thais, came to the place where he had locked her and opened the door for her.

The sublime penitent expressed the desire to end her days there; she told her spiritual father that she had done nothing since entering the cell but to place her sins as if in a heap before her eyes, to contemplate them ceaselessly, and to weep while considering them. Paphnutius replied to her: It is for this reason, and not for the rigor of your penance, that God has forgiven them for you.

Thais did not survive long after her release from this kind of prison: fifteen days later, her soul was delivered from that of her body and went to enjoy the felicity that God had prepared for her. It is thought that this was in the year 350 of our redemption. The Greeks honor her memory on October 8.

For Paphnutius, the precise time of his death is unknown: it is only known that God had called him to Himself when Rufinus, his h istor Rufin Ecclesiastical historian whose work serves as a source (erroneously mentioned as 'Enfin'). ian, visited the monastery of Hiraché in 390. — He persevered until the end in the most austere penance. On the eve of his death, an angel appeared to him and invited him to follow him into the eternal tabernacles where the prophets were preparing to receive him.

Some Latins commemorate Saint Paphnutius on March 3; others on November 29. His name is not found in the Greek Ritual.

In the images that have been made of Saint Paphnutius, an angel shows him an instrument player.

Saint Thais is represented with a banner bearing these words, which were her only prayer for three years: « Qui plasmasti me, miserere mei; You who formed me, have mercy on me ». She is also recognized by a mirror that the artist has thrown at her feet along with various feminine toiletry items: necklaces, perfume boxes, etc.

Vies des Pères des déserts d'Orient, by Father Michel-Ange-Marin; Caractéristiques des S Père Michel-Ange-Marin Author of a work on the Desert Fathers. aints, by Father Cahier, p. 7.