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Three old men once came to Abba Sisoes because they had heard that he was a great man. And the first one said unto him, 'Father, how can I escape from the river of fire?' And Abba Sisoes answered him never a word. Then the second old man said to him, 'Father, how can I escape from the gnashing of teeth, and from the worm which never dies?' And Abba Sisoes answered him never a word. Then the third old man said to him, 'Father, what will I do? For the remembrance of the outer darkness troubles me.' And Abba Sisoes answered and said to them, 'I never think on any of these things, but I believe that God is Merciful, and that He will show mercy to me'; then the old men went away grieved at the answer which Abba Sisoes had spoken to them. Now because he did not wish to send them away sorrowful, he brought them back, and said to them, 'Blessed are ye, O my brothers, for I have been jealous of you'; and they said to him, 'In what matter have you been jealous of us?' And he said, 'The first one of you spake about a river of fire; and the second spake about the gnashing of teeth and the worm which dies not; and the third spake about the outer darkness; if remembrances of this kind have dominion over your minds it is impossible for you to commit sin. What can I do who am stubborn of heart? For hardness of heart will not allow me to perceive even that there a punishment for men existeth, and because of this I sin every hour.' And when the old men had heard these words, they made excuses to him, and said, 'In very truth according to what we have heard, even so have we seen.'
Q: "What does one learn in the
desert?"
Father Mina: "To have
an authentic sincere Love towards Christ"
Q: "What experience of God do we make here?"
Father Mina: "We make
the experience of the personal intimate friendship
with the person of the Lord Jesus-Christ... The
interior real lived sentiment of the intimacy with the
Lord: I Am with you."
Q: "Thank you"
Father Mina was
the first companion of Father Matta El-Maskine, one of
the first 7 hermits of the Saint Macarius Monastery. He
lives here in the manner of the first monks of the
desert.
La
lumière du désert 
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