Jean Cassien
vers 360-vers 435 4th century Feast day: July 23
Careful transmission of hard-won wisdom, patience with the restless mind, a bridge built between traditions so nothing of value would be lost.
Who was Jean Cassien?
Formed in the monasteries of Egypt in the late 4th century, he later carried what he had learned there to the West, founding communities near Marseille and writing down, in careful detail, the practices and sayings of the desert fathers he had lived among. His books became the bridge between Egyptian monasticism and the Latin monastic tradition that would follow, read for centuries as a manual for anyone trying to tame the restless mind in silence.
In their own words
The end of our profession is the kingdom of God; but the immediate aim is purity of heart, without which none can reach that end.