When Abba John the Eunuch was younger, he asked an elder, “How were you able to do the work of God in rest, while we cannot do it even with toil?” The elder said, “We were able because we made the work of God our chief concern and bodily need the least. You make bodily need your chief concern and the work of God less necessary. That is why you grow weary. And this is why the Savior said to His disciples, ‘You of little faith, seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you.’”
Abba John said, “Our Father Abba Anthony said, ‘I never put my own advantage before the benefit of my brother.’”
Abba John the Cilician, superior of Raithou, said to the brothers, “My children, just as we fled from the world, let us also flee from the desires of the flesh.”
The same elder said, “Let us imitate our Fathers. See how much austerity and stillness they practiced here.”
The same elder said, “My children, let us not defile this place, which our Fathers cleansed from demons.”
The same elder said, “This is a place for ascetics, not for merchants.”