I thank these hands, because through them I go to the Kingdom of Heaven!


The Fathers said about a brother who lived near a great elder, that, entering the elder's cell, he stole. And the elder saw and did not rebuke him, but worked harder, saying that perhaps the brother was in need. And the elder had much hardship, hardly earning his bread.

When the elder was about to die, the brothers surrounded him and, seeing the one who stole from him, he said to him:

- Come near to me.

And he kissed his hands, saying:

- I thank these hands, for through them I go to the Kingdom of Heaven!

And that one, humbling himself and repenting, also became a skilled monk, from the deeds he saw in that great elder.

Extract from the Egyptian Patericon.

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