Feast Day: November 9th
The Life of Saint John the Short: Without hesitation or doubt, John watered this stick daily for three whole years until by the power of God, it grew green sprouts and brought forth fruit…
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Prayers
John hid in a small place of the Earth, and although small in body, in works he was great.
“Some brethren came one day to test him to see whether he would let his thoughts get dissipated and speak of the things of this world. They said to him ‘We give thanks to God that this year there has been much rain and the palm trees have been able to drink, and their shoots have grown, and the brethren have found manual work.’ Abba John said to them, ‘So it is when the Holy Spirit descends into the hearts of men; they are renewed and they put forth leaves in the fear of God.'”
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“Abba John the Dwarf said, “If a king wanted to take possession of his enemy’s city, he would begin by cutting off the water and the food and so his enemies, dying of hunger, would submit to him. It is the same with the passions of the flesh; if a man goes about fasting and hungry the enemies of his Soul grow weak.””
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“It was said of Abba John the Dwarf that he withdrew and lived in the desert at Scetis with an old man of Thebes. His abba, taking a piece of dry wood, planted it and said to him, “Water it every day with a bottle of water, until it bears fruit.” Now the water was so far away that he had to leave in the evening and return the following morning. At the end of three years the wood came to life and bore fruit. The old man took some of the fruit and carried it to the Church saying to the brethren, “Take and eat the fruit of obedience.””
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“An old man came to Abba John’s cell and found him asleep with an Angel standing above him, fanning him. Seeing this, he withdrew. When Abba John got up, he said to his disciple, ‘Did anyone come in while I was asleep?’ The disciple said, ‘Yes, an old man.’ Then Abba John knew that this old man was his equal, and that he had seen the Angel.”
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“Abba Poemen said of Abba John the Dwarf that he had Prayed God to take his passions away from him so that he might become free from care. He went and told an old man this; ‘I find myself in peace, without an enemy,’ he said. The old man said to him, ‘Go beseech God to stir up warfare so that you may regain the affliction and humility that you used to have, for it is by warfare that the Soul makes progress.’ So he besought God and when warfare came, he no longer Prayed that it might be taken away, but said, ‘Lord, give me strength for the fight.'”
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Sayings by Abba John the Short
Instructing the brethren in Scetis, John used this story of a repentant human Soul: ‘In one town there lived a beautiful woman, a harlot who had many lovers. A certain prince told her that he would take her as his wife if she promised that she would live honourably and faithfully in marriage. She promised this and the prince took her to his court and married her. However, her former lovers decided to turn her back to her former ways, and reclaim her for themselves. They dared not face the prince, so they went around the back of the palace and began to whistle. The woman heard the whistling, recognized it, and quickly stopped her ears. She hid in an inner chamber of the palace and locked the door behind her. Thus, she was delivered from new temptations.’ Abba John explained this story in the following manner: ‘The harlot is the Soul; her lovers are the passions; the prince is Christ; the inner chamber is the Heavenly habitation; and the lovers who whistle and entice are the demons. If the Soul would constantly turn from its passions and flee to God, then the passions and the demons would be frightened and flee from it.’
After a long separation from his companion Paisios, John the Dwarf visited him. Each asked the other what virtue he had attained in the time they were apart. Paisios said: ‘The sun has never seen me eat.’ John the Dwarf said: ‘And it has never seen me angry.’
Abba John said: ‘I think it is best that a man should have a little bit of all the virtues. Therefore, get up early every day and acquire the beginning of every virtue and every commandment of God. Use great patience, with fear and long-suffering, in the love of God, with all the fervour of your Soul and body. Exercise great humility, bear with interior distress; be vigilant and Pray often with reverence, with purity of speech and control of your eyes. When you are despised do not get angry; be at peace, and do not render evil for evil. Do not pay attention to the faults of others, and do not try to compare yourself with others, knowing you are less than every created thing. Renounce everything material and that which is of the flesh. Live by the cross, in warfare, in poverty of spirit, in voluntary Spiritual asceticism, in fasting, penitence and tears, in discernment, in purity of Soul, taking hold of that which is good. Do your work in peace. Persevere in keeping vigil, in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, and in sufferings. Shut yourself in a tomb as though you were already dead, so that at all times you will think death is near.’
It was said of Abba John the Dwarf, that one day he said to his elder brother, ‘I should like to be free of all care, like the Angels, who do not work, but ceaselessly offer Worship to God.’ So he took off his cloak and went away into the desert. After a week he came back to his brother. When he knocked on the door, he heard his brother say, before he opened it ‘Who are you?’ He said, ‘I am John, your brother.’ But he replied, ‘John has become an angel, and henceforth he is no longer among men.’ Then the other begged him saying. ‘It is I.’ However, his brother did not let him in, but left him there in distress until morning. Then, opening the door, he said to him, ‘You are a man and you must once again work in order to eat.’ Then John made a prostration before him, saying, ‘Forgive me.’
One day when he was sitting in front of the Church, the brethren were consulting him about their thoughts. One of the old men who saw it became a prey to jealousy and said to him, ‘John, your vessel is full of poison.’ Abba John said to him, ‘That is very true, Abba; and you have said that when you only see the outside, but if you were able to see the inside, too, what would you say then?’
It was said of him (Abba John the Dwarf) that one day he was weaving rope for two baskets, but he made it into one without noticing, until it had reached the wall, because his spirit was occupied in contemplation.
Abba John said, ‘I am like a man sitting under a great tree, who sees wild beasts and snakes coming against him in great numbers. When he cannot withstand them any longer, he runs to climb the tree and is saved. It is just the same with me; I sit in my cell and I am aware of evil thoughts coming against me, and when I have no more strength against them, I take refuge in God by Prayer and I am saved from the enemy.’
Abba John said, ‘We have put the light burden on one side, that is to say, self-accusation, and we have loaded ourselves with a heavy one, that is to say, self-justification.’
He also said, ‘Humility and the fear of God are above all virtues.’
Abba John gave this advice, ‘Watching means to sit in the cell and be always mindful of God. This is what is meant by, “I was on the watch and God came to me.” (Matt. 25:36)
One of the Fathers said of him, ‘Who is this John, who by his humility has all Scetis hanging from his little finger?’
Abba John the Dwarf said, ‘There was a Spiritual old man who lived a secluded life. He was held in high estimation in the city and enjoyed a great reputation. He was told that a certain old man, at the point of death, was calling for him, to embrace him before he fell asleep. He thought to himself, if I go by day, men will run after me, giving me great honour, and I shall not be at peace in all that. So I will go in the evening in the darkness and I shall escape everyone’s notice. But lo, two Angels were sent by God with lamps to give him light. Then the whole city came out to see his glory. The more he wished to flee from glory, the more he was glorified. In this was accomplished that which is written: “He who humbles himself will be exalted.” ‘ (Luke 14:11)
Abba John the Dwarf said, ‘a house is not built by beginning at the top and working down. You must begin with the foundations in order to reach the top. They said to him, ‘What does this saying mean?’ He said, ‘The foundation is our neighbour, whom we must win, and that is the place to begin. For all the Commandments of Christ depend on this one.’
Abba Poemen said that Abba John said that the Saints are like a group of trees, each bearing different fruit, but watered from the same source. The practices of one Saint differ from those of another, but it is the same Spirit that works in all of them.
Abba John said to his brother, ‘Even if we are entirely despised in the eyes of men, let us rejoice that we are honoured in the sight of God.’
The old man (Abba John the Dwarf) said, ‘You know that the first blow the devil gave to Job was through his possessions; and he saw that he had not grieved him nor separated him from God. With the second blow, he touched his flesh, but the brave athlete did not sin by any word that came out of his mouth in that either. In fact, he had within his heart that which is of God, and he drew on that source unceasingly.’
Some old men were entertaining themselves at Scetis by having a meal together; amongst them was Abba John. A venerable Priest got up to offer drink, but nobody accepted any from him, except John the Dwarf. They were surprised and said to him, “How is that you, the youngest, dared to let yourself be served by the Priest?” Then he said to them, “When I get up to offer drink, I am glad when everyone accepts it, since I am receiving my reward; that is the reason, then, that I accepted it, so that he also might gain his reward and not be grieved by seeing that no one would accept anything from him.” When they heard this, they were all filled with wonder and edification at his discretion.
The brethren used to tell how the brethren were sitting one day at an agape and one brother at table began to laugh. When he saw that, Abba John began to weep, saying, “What does this brother have in his heart, that he should laugh, when he ought to weep, because he is eating at an agape?”
One day when Abba John was going up to Scetis with some other brothers, their guide lost his way for it was night time. So the brothers said to Abba John, “What shall we do, Abba, in order not to die wandering about, for the brother has lost the way?” The old man said to them, “If we speak to him, he will be filled with grief and shame. But look here, I will pretend to be ill and say I cannot walk any more; then we can stay here till the dawn.” This he did. The others said, “We will not go on either, but we will stay with you.” They sat there until the dawn, and in this way they did not upset the brother.
Abba John said, ‘Who sold Joseph?’ A brother replied saying, ‘It was his brethren.’ The old man said to him, ‘No, it was his humility which sold him, because he could have said, “I am their brother” and have objected, but, because he kept silence, he sold himself by his humility. It is also his humility which set him up as chief in Egypt.’