May 9th - St. Pachomius
Pachomius was the son of pagan parents who was born about the year 292 in
Esneh, Egypt. He was forcibly drafted into the emperor's army. While being
trans****ted down the Nile under inhuman conditions, he and his fellow
draftees were treated with great kindness by the Christians at Esneh. He
was
greatly impressed by their free gift of compassionate help.
After the army was disbanded, Pachomius returned home and enrolled as a
catechumen in a nearby Christian church. After his baptism he sought a
deeper life with God. Hearing of an old hermit named Palaemon who served
God
in the desert at Schenesit, Pachomius sought him out. With Palaemon, he
lived a very austere life, eating only bread and salt and spending all his
time reciting the psalter and doing manual labor while praying interiorly.
Tradition tells us that he was visiting Tabennisi on the banks of the Nile
River. It was a vast uninhabited desert area, and he had a vision in which
he was told to build a monastery and how to live the religious life. He
shared his experience with Palaemon and together they went to Tabennisi
and
built a cell. This was about the year 318. Palaemon remained with
Pachomius
for awhile and then returned to his solitary life.
The first disciple to join Pachomius was his eldest brother John. Many
more
disciples came and in a short period of time the community numbered over
one
hundred. Thus was born the first cenobium or monastery which lived the
communal life. The cenobium was seen as an answer to the many dangers both
physically and spiritually which plagued the desert solitary. Following
the
example of the early Christian Church, the monks developed a system of
complete common owner****p of goods. They did manual labor so as to procure
the material needs of the monastery. Each monastery was organized under a
superior and the monks promised obedience to him. The monks met together
for
common prayer and meals.
Pachomius built six other monasteries in the Thebaid. After the year 336,
he
spent most of his time at the monastery at Pabau, near Thebes which was
considered the motherhouse and here he would meet twice a year, at Easter
and in August with the superiors of all his monasteries. Pachomius wrote a
rule of life for the monks which is still in existence today. Its focus
was
to provide a legislative guide for the common obligations of the monastery
as well as to leave the monk free to choose his own austere practices.
He built a church for the poor shepherds of the area and often acted as
lector, but he could never be induced to accept ordination to the
priesthood. He very strongly opposed the Arian heresy and for a period St.
Athanasius visited at his monastery. On the opposite side of the Nile he
built a convent for his sister, although he never did get to see her.
Pachomius died on May 15, 348, the victim of an epidemic which had already
killed several of his monks. At the time of his death there were over
three
thousand monks in the nine monasteries that he oversaw.
Several biographies of Pachomius, some of his instructions and letters of
his two successors, Horsiesi and Theodore are still in existence. These
give
us a greater understanding of Pachomius' ideal and it's development. We
can
see his effect on Basil of Caesarea, as well as the influence Pachomius'
Rule had in the West on Benedict of Nursia, Caesarius of Arles, Benedict
of
Aniane and others. He is considered the founder of cenobitism and one of
the
greatest of the Desert Fathers. His feast day is celebrated on May 14th in
the Coptic Church and on May 9th in the West.
Saint Quote:
"There is nothing which edifies others so much as charity and kindness, by
which, as by the oil in the lamp, the flame of good example is kept alive"
-St. Francis de Sales
We read of St. Francis Xavier that his brother Jesuits often visited him,
only to enjoy his admirable mildness.
(Taken from the book "A Year with the Saints". May - Meekness)
Bible Quote
5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion: Behold thy king cometh to thee, meek, and
sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of her that is used to the yoke.
(Matthew 21:5)
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Psalm 99
Enter the Temple with joy
Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth.
Exult in his presence and serve him with joy.
Know that the Lord is God.
He made us and we are his - his people,
the sheep of his flock.
Cry out his praises as you enter his gates,
fill his courtyards with songs.
Proclaim him and bless his name;
for the Lord is our delight. His mercy lasts for ever,
his faithfulness through all the ages.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
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