THEODORE OF ENATON — Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Alphabetical Collection

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1. Abba Theodore of Enaton said, 'When I was young, I lived in the desert. One day I went to the bakery to make two loaves, and there I found a brother also wanting to make bread, but there was no-one to help him. So I put mine on one side, to lend him a hand. When the work was done, another brother came, and again I lent him a hand in cooking his food. Then a third came, and I did the same; and similarly one after the other, I baked for each of those who came. I made six batches. Later I made my own two loaves, since no-one else came.'

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2. It was said of Abba Theodore and Abba Lucius of Enaton that they spent fifty years mocking their temptations by saying, 'After this winter, we will leave here.' When the summer came, they said, 'After this summer, we will go away from here.' They passed all their lives in this way, these Fathers whose memory we should always preserve.

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3. Abba Theodore of Enaton said, 'If God reproaches us for carelessness in our prayers and infidelities in our psalmody, we cannot be saved.'

Translated by Benedicta Ward, SLG. Edition opa.patristics.desert-fathers.sayings-alphabetical-collection.en.