“And You, O God whom I do not know: Let me know You!” was the prayer of an infidel robber, fornicator, murderer and drunkard; let it be our prayer also, for to the robber were given the Divine graces of discipline and repentance. By seeking the mysteries of Esidorous and Macarius, Moses the Strong obtained the favor of the Lord and the fruits of the Spirit; he became Holy and Venerable Moses the Black, a Desert Father against whom the devil could not prevail. May the Venerable Abba Moses pray for us that by our own discipline and repentance we may obtain similar grace and knowledge.
Too easy is it for us who have received certain instruction or certain protection that permits us to act so easily in accord with the laws of God and man to stand in judgment against others when they yield to the evil one; having known the ways of evil, Venerable Moses was an advocate for such as these. When the sanctified brothers perceived an obligation to judge the sins of their disciples, Moses poured out sand from a bag or basket on his back and said, “See, how my sins pour out behind me.”
Because every sinner has a future, and every saint has a past. How many, might we suppose, have come to redemption because of the forgiveness modeled by the forgiven: Holy and Venerable Moses the Black?
Those with ears to listen, let them hear. Amen.
