“Do not refuse yourself the good things of each day, do not let your share of what is lawfully desired pass you by.“
Ecclesiasticus (Jesus ben Sirach) 14: 14
Saint John Cassian about Abba Serenus
“Abba Serenus was a man of great holiness and self-discipline, who lived up to his name; we admired him very much more than the others, and would like to commend him to the attention of the studious. (…) It was during Lent that we asked to see him, inspired by a great longing for his conversation and teaching.“
John Cassian, Abbot of Marseilles: The Collations. Being a Collection of Twenty-Four Conferences Divided into Three Parts, translated by a Father of the Oxford Oratory, Gracewing 2015, p. 143-144
Abba Serenus recommends the frequent, even daily reception of Holy Communion, especially in times of trial
Holy Communion is “for the healing and guarding of body and soul“ (ibid., p. 164), teaches the Desert Father Abba Serenus in his conversation with Saint John Cassian and his friend Germanus. Those going through trials or plagued by evil spirits should not refrain from ingesting this medicine:
“When a man receives Holy Communion, any spirit that lurks hidden within his limbs flees away as if from a burning fire. That is the way we saw Abba Andronicus being cured recently, among others. The enemy pressed harder and harder on him whenever he saw that he was deprived of the heavenly remedy, and the longer he was away from the healing sacraments, the more fiercely and frequently he was assailed.“
John Cassian, Abbot of Marseilles: The Collations. Being a Collection of Twenty-Four Conferences Divided into Three Parts, translated by a Father of the Oxford Oratory, Gracewing 2015, p. 164
Abba Isaac comments on “Give us this day our super-substantial bread“ from the Our Father
While explaining the Our Father prayer to the two zealous students Cassian and Germanus, Abba Isaac hints at the constant need of the soul to be nourished by receiving Holy Communion:
“Next comes, ‘Give us this day our epiousion bread‘, that is to say super-substantial (Matt. 6: 11). The other evangelist has ‘daily bread‘ (Luke 11: 3). The first reading refers to the sublimity of this Bread, and the quality of its nature, being above all substance, sublime, magnificent and holy above all creation; the second refers to its appropriate use and the benefit it confers. When it says ‘daily‘, it shows us that without that Bread there is no day when we are capable of living the spiritual life. When it says ‘today‘, it shows us that we should receive that Bread every day, and that having received it yesterday is not enough, but that it should be administered to us today as well. That daily necessity reminds us that we should say this prayer at all times, for no day passes when we do not have need of receiving this nourishment, to strengthen the heart of our inner self.“
John Cassian, Abbot of Marseilles: The Collations. Being a Collection of Twenty-Four Conferences Divided into Three Parts, translated by a Father of the Oxford Oratory, Gracewing 2015, p. 208-209
Saint John Cassian, pray for us!