Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: September 16

The Month of September

Day 16

17. To the Lazy

(From the Life of Saint Dorotheos the Desert Hermit. Menaion, September 16.)

Lazy and pampered people ordinarily say: “Ah, how difficult things are for me! No one appreciates my labors! God alone sees them! I must endure,” and so forth. Yet when you look at such a person, you find that he does almost nothing, while at the same time he enjoys delicacies and, worst of all, gives neither himself nor others any peace. What can we say for the instruction of such people? How can we turn them away from their empty complaints and grumbling? First of all, we shall advise them to consider how the saints labored and worked, and under what conditions they did so; and, in order to turn the lazy away from their empty complaints and grumbling, we shall point out how the saints regarded their labors and how they viewed them.

Concerning Saint Dorotheos the desert hermit, whose memory the Holy Church commemorates on September 16, Palladius, Bishop of Helenopolis, relates the following: “Dorotheos spent sixty years in one cave, living the most arduous life. Being industrious, he went every day, in the heat of midday, to the seashore, gathered stones there, and used them to build cells for those of the brethren who were unable to build them themselves. Once,” Palladius continues, “I said to him: ‘Why, old man, now that you are advanced in years, do you torment your body so, working in the heat of midday?’ ‘I torment it for this reason,’ Dorotheos replied, ‘so that it will not torment me.’ He ate nothing but dry bread and a little greens, and drank only water. Never once did I see him lying down, even on a mat, nor did I see him sleeping. Throughout the nights he wove baskets from palm branches and earned his livelihood by selling them. One day the thought came to me: ‘Perhaps he lives such a harsh life only when I am present.’ So I asked his disciples about him, and they told me that he had lived this way from his youth and that he had never slept properly, but only occasionally dozed or fell asleep while actually working or while eating, so that even the bread would fall from his mouth. Once, when we began pleading with him to sleep on a mat, he answered us: ‘You would sooner make an angel fall asleep than me.’

On one occasion,” Palladius continues, “he sent someone to the well to bring water. When I came to him and bent down to draw some water, I saw an asp in the well. Terrified, I ran to the elder and cried out: ‘We are lost, Father! There is an asp in the well!’ The elder shook his head, smiled, and said: ‘Why are you afraid? What if the devil wanted to put reptiles into every well and every spring? Then you would die of thirst altogether.’ With these words he went to the well, drew water from it, made the sign of the Cross over it, and drank from it, saying: ‘Where there is the Cross, the demonic power does no harm whatsoever.’”

From this account, you who are lazy, can become convinced that the saints worked day and night, eating nothing but dry bread, and yet they did not grumble, did not offend anyone, maintained a good disposition of spirit, and approached everything with good cheer. Therefore, leave your complaints behind, and keep more often in mind the truth that you were called into this world not for holidays and feasting, but for labor and endurance. Do not forget what the Lord said: “In the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread. In the world you will have tribulation. Through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God.” When you remember this—and do not forget that the earth is not Paradise, but an exile from Paradise—then you too, taking up your work with all diligence and without grumbling, will become peaceful, and all will be well with you. Amen.

Questions for Discussion 17

1. According to Palladius, Bishop of Helenopolis, what did the Venerable Dorotheos do at the seashore?

2. According to Dorotheos, why did he torment his body in the heat of midday?

3. What did Dorotheos do at night?

4. What did Dorotheos say to Palladius after he made the sign of the Cross over the water from the well containing the asp?

5. If not for holidays and feasting, for what purpose have we been called into this world?

 

Source: The Cheti-Minei: Homilies for Every Day of the Year (Book 1: September, October, November) by Archpriest Viktor Guryev. Publication of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos, 1896. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.