Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Health Vailankanni

A brother who had sinned was turned out of the church by the priest ; Abba Bessarion got up and went with him, saying : « I too am a sinner »… A brother at Scetis committed a fault. A council was called to which Abba Moses was invited, but he refused to go to it. Then the priest sent someone to say to him: “Come, for everyone is waiting for you.” So he got up and went along with a basket that had holes in it, which he filled with sand and carried on his back. The others came out to meet him and said to him: “What is this, Father?” The old man said to them: “My sins run out behind me and I do not see them, and today I am coming to judge the sins of another.” When they heard that they said no more to the brother but forgave him. Abba Joseph questioned Abba Poemen saying: “Tell me how to become a monk.” The old man said: “If you want to find peace here below and in the world to come, say at all times: Who am I? And judge no one.” A brother questioned Abba Poemen saying: “If I see my brother committing a sin, is it right to conceal it?” The old man said to him: “At the very moment when we hide our brother’s fault, God hides our own. And at the moment we reveal our brother’s fault, God reveals ours too.”

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"Woe to you! You impose on people burdens hard to carry"

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