And I cannot be silent about the story of Hesychius the Horebite. He passed his life in complete negligence, without paying the least attention to his soul. Then he became extremely ill, and for an hour he left his body. And when he came to himself he begged us all to leave him immediately. And he built up the door of his cell, and he stayed in it for twelve years without ever uttering a word to anyone, and without eating anything but bread and water. And, always remaining motionless, he was so wrapt in spirit in what he had seen in his ecstasy that he never changed his place but was always as if out of his mind, and silently shed hot tears.
But when he was about to die, we broke open the door and went in, and after many questions this alone was all we heard from him:
‘Forgive me! No one who has acquired the remembrance of death will ever be able to sin.’
We were amazed to see that one who had before been so negligent was so suddenly transfigured by this blessed change and transformation. We reverently buried him in the cemetery near the fort and after some days we looked for his holy relics, but did not find them. So by his true and praiseworthy repentance the Lord showed us that even after long negligence He accepts those who desire to amend.
- The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 6: On the Remembrance of Death
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Our posters are made in the USA with environmentally-friendly manufacturing processes, and are printed on 176 gsm (65 lb) white cardstock.
