Abba Poemen
IVᵉ-Vᵉ siècle Feast day: August 27
Patience that wears down hardness drop by drop, without any great gesture.
Who was Abba Poemen?
An Egyptian, one of seven brothers who went together into the desert of Scetis, he fled to Terenuthis after the monasteries were sacked. His mother came a long way to see him; he spoke to her through the closed door and did not open it. He wrote nothing, but his answers were written down: a quarter of the alphabetical collection of the fathers carries his name, which makes him the most quoted of them all. They called him the Shepherd, which is what his name means.
In their own words
A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart is condemning others he is talking without stopping. And another may talk from morning to night and be truly silent.
Water is soft, stone is hard; but hang a jar above the stone so the water falls drop by drop, and it will wear the stone through. So it is with the word of God: it is soft, our heart is hard, and the one who hears it often ends by opening.
Teach your mouth to say what is in your heart.
Watchfulness, attention to oneself and discernment: these are the guides of the soul.