206- I Didn’t See Anyone

 The Abbot summoned a monk and asked him to travel to Alexandria to meet Pope Athanasius the Apostolic and transfer a certain message to him. On his way back, he met another monk in the wilderness, who asked him,

 “Did you see Pope Athanasius?”

 “I saw him and gave him the message.”

 “What did you see in Alexandria?”

 “I didn’t see anyone or anything.”

 “Were the streets so vacant of people?”

 “No, but all my thoughts and looks were directed towards my Christ. Nothing drew my attention except for my dialogue with Him.”

This story reminds me of what happened once with one of the princes, although the motive was completely different.

The prince was upset because of a furious young man who was always mutinous. The prince gave him a lot of chances to stop his fury and aggression but it was useless, so he decided to cut off his head.

The prince called this youth and gave him a pot full of oil, which he asked to carry, and ordered him to walk between two executioners, one on the left and the other on the right. He asked him to walk in the city roads and come back. He ordered to cut off the youth's head instantly if any oil was dropped on the road.

 The prince was expecting the death of the youth but after some hours, he came back with the two executioners.

 The prince asked the youth, “What did you see on the road?”

 “I didn’t see anyone or anything”, answered the man.

 “What did you hear?”

 “I didn’t hear anything.”

 “How come? This is the market day of the city”, exclaimed the prince

“Because I concentrated all my senses on the pot of oil lest one drop of it fall.”

→ English translation of the story here at St-Takla.org: لم أرَ أحدًا!

God, allow me not to see or hear anything.

Not because of my fear of perishing but because of my love for You.

God, allow me to see and hear Your voice so as to fill my soul with Your peace.

The Brave Soldier

Short Stories (Stories for the Youth) Books by Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty

From the Clinic to the Zoo