Barlaam and Ioasaph 1 part 17/18

and thus he was exposed to the open sky, being burned together with the heat and frozen with the cold, and unceasingly seeking, as though some precious treasure, that most honored elder.

He endured many temptations and battles of the evil spirits, and he bore many toils from the lack of herbs, which he used for food, because the desert, being dry, produced even these but sparsely.

But that adamantine and unconquerable soul, burning with desire for the Master, bore these grievous things more easily than others bear pleasures.

Therefore he did not fail to obtain aid from above, but according to the multitude of his pains and toils, the consolations coming from Christ, whom he desired, both in sleep and in waking, gladdened his soul.

And as the two years were being completed, Ioasaph went about unceasingly seeking the one he desired, and he entreated God, pouring forth tears from his eyes like a river, and crying out, 'Show me, Master, show me the one who became for me the cause of the knowledge of you, and the procurer of so many good things for me;'

and do not, because of the multitude of my transgressions, deprive me of so great a good.

But grant me both to see him, and to set myself the same contest of ascetic labor as his.

And by God's grace he found a cave, having tracked the path of those who journeyed there.

And he met a certain monk who was pursuing the eremitic life.

And embracing him most warmly and greeting him, he asked to find the dwelling of Barlaam, and he related his own affairs, making them plain to the man.

Having thus been instructed by him of the place of dwelling of the one he was seeking, he reached it most swiftly, as when a most experienced hunter comes upon the tracks of his quarry.

And having arrived at certain signs which had been taught to him by the other elder, he journeyed on rejoicing and strengthened by hope, like an infant hoping, after a long time, to behold his father.

For when desire according to God breaks into the soul, it shows itself to be much warmer and more forceful than the natural desire.

He therefore stood at the door of the cave, and knocking, said, 'Bless me, Father, bless me.'

But when Barlaam, hearing the voice, came out of the cave, he recognized in spirit the one who, by outward appearance at least, could not easily be recognized, on account of that wondrous change and alteration by which he had been altered and transformed from that former countenance and beautifully blossoming youth — being blackened by the burning of the sun, long-haired, his cheeks wasted away, his eyes sunk somewhere deep within, and his eyelids inflamed from the streams of tears and from the great hardship of want.

And Ioasaph also recognized his spiritual father, who especially retained the same features of countenance.

Standing immediately therefore toward the east, the elder sent up a prayer of thanksgiving to God.

And after the prayer, having said 'Amen,' they embraced,

and embracing, exchanged with each other the warmest embraces, insatiably taking their fill of a long-standing desire.

And when they had sufficiently embraced and greeted one another, they sat down and conversed.

And Barlaam, beginning the discourse, said, 'Welcome, beloved child, child of God and heir of the heavenly kingdom through our Lord Jesus Christ, whom you loved, whom you rightly desired above things temporal and corruptible;'

and, as a prudent and wise merchant, having sold all things, you bought for yourself the priceless pearl; and having found the inviolable treasure hidden in the field of the Lord's commandments, you gave up everything, sparing nothing of those things that are so soon passing away, that you might purchase that field for yourself.

May the Lord grant you, in place of things temporal, the eternal; in place of things corruptible, the incorruptible and unfading.

Tell me then, dearest one, how you came here, what happened concerning you after my departure, and whether your father has come to know God, or whether even still, carried along by his former folly, he is held captive by the deceit of the demons.

When Barlaam had asked these things, Ioasaph took up the discourse, and related in detail everything that had happened to him after that man's departure, and all that the Lord had prospered until their reunion.

And the elder, listening with pleasure and wonder, weeping warmly, said:

Glory to you, our God, who ever stand by and help those who love you.

Glory to you, Christ, King of all and all-good God, that you were well pleased for the seed which I sowed in the soul of your servant Ioasaph to bear fruit a hundredfold, worthy of you the husbandman and Master of our souls.

Glory to you, good Paraclete, all-holy Spirit, that of the grace which you gave to your holy apostles, you deemed this man worthy to partake, and through him you freed multitudinous crowds of people from the superstitious error, and illumined them with the true knowledge of God.

Thus God was given thanks by both of them.

And as they conversed on such matters and rejoiced in the grace of God, evening overtook them.

And rising for prayer, they performed their customary services.

Then, remembering food also, Barlaam set forth a lavish table, filled with spiritual seasoning, but partaking least of all in any sensory comfort.

For there were raw vegetables, of which the elder was himself the tiller and farmer, and a few dates found in that same desert, and wild herbs.

Having therefore given thanks, and partaken of what was set before them, and having drunk water from the spring that happened to be nearby, they again gave thanks to God who opens his hand and satisfies every living creature.

And rising again, and completing their nocturnal prayers, after the prayer they again engaged in spiritual conversation, going through words of salvation filled with heavenly philosophy throughout the whole night, until dawn made them again mindful of their customary prayers.

And Ioasaph remained with Barlaam a considerable time thus, pursuing this wondrous and superhuman way of life, and accompanying this man as father and teacher with such great submission and humility, being trained in every form of virtue, and being most excellently instructed in the wrestling against the wicked and invisible spirits.

From this he mortified all the passions;

and he so subjected the mindset of the flesh to the spirit, as a slave to a master, utterly forgetting luxury and rest, and giving orders to sleep as to a bad servant.

And, simply put, so great was his contest of asceticism, that even Barlaam himself, who had passed many years in it, marveled, and was overcome by his steadfast perseverance.

For he partook of that harsh and unconsoling food only so much as merely to keep him alive, so that he might not die violently and thereby lose the rewards for his good deeds.

And he so subjected his nature to keeping vigil, as though he were some fleshless and bodiless being.

The work of prayer and of the noetic labor was for him unceasing, and the whole time of his life was spent on spiritual and heavenly contemplations, so that he lost not a single hour, not a single moment at all, from the time he had dwelt in this desert.

For this is the work of the monastic order, never to be found idle from spiritual labor;

which indeed that noble and well-disciplined runner of the heavenly race accomplished well.

And he kept his fervor unquenched from beginning to end, ever setting ascents in his heart, and passing from strength to a higher strength, continually adding desire to desire and zeal to zeal, until he arrived at the hoped-for and longed-for blessedness.

Thus then, Barlaam and Ioasaph being together with one another, and contending in the good contest, being outside all care and all worldly disturbance, possessing a mind unclouded and unmixed with any confusion — after their many labors on behalf of piety, on one of the days, having summoned his spiritual son, whom he had begotten through the Gospel, he began a discourse and spiritual conversation, saying, 'Long ago, dearest Ioasaph, it was fitting for you to dwell in this desert;'

and this Christ promised me, as I prayed concerning you, that I would see it before the end of my life.

I saw you, torn away from the world and the things in the world, but joined to Christ with an undoubting mind, and having come to the measure of the perfection of his fullness.

Now therefore, since for me the hour of departure stands at the door, and the desire, my companion and coeval, to be with Christ continually is now being fulfilled, you must cover my body with earth and give back dust to dust, but remain henceforth in this place, holding fast to the spiritual manner of life and making mention of my lowliness.

For I fear lest the gloomy multitude of demons stand in the way of my soul because of the multitude of my sins committed in ignorance.

You therefore, child, do not make light of the toilsomeness of the ascetic discipline, nor fear the length of time and the plots of the demons;

but boldly mock at their weakness, being strengthened by the grace of Christ; and toward the harshness of the labors and the span of time, be thus disposed: as one expecting daily one's departure from here, and as though the very same day were for you both the beginning of the discipline and its end.

thus always forgetting the things behind, and stretching forward to the things before, press on toward the goal, for the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus, just as the divine Apostle exhorts, saying, 'Let us not lose heart':

'but even though our outward man is being destroyed, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day;'

'for our momentary lightness of affliction is working for us, beyond all measure, an eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen;'

'for the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal.'

Considering these things, beloved, be manly and be strong, and as a good soldier be eager to please him who enlisted you.

And if the evil one brings you thoughts of negligence and hastens to slacken the tension of your resolve, do not fear his plots, bearing in mind the Lord's command, as he says, 'In the world you will have tribulation':

therefore rejoice in the Lord always, because he chose you and set you apart from the world, and placed you as it were before his own face.

And he himself, who called you with a holy calling, is always near.

'But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.'

'I will never let you go, nor will I ever forsake you.'

In this way then, amid the harshness of the manner of life and the toilsomeness of the discipline, when you gain such thoughts, rejoice, being mindful of the Lord our God:

'For I remembered God,' it says, 'and I was glad.'

But when again the adversary devises against you another manner of warfare, putting forward proud thoughts, and displaying the glory of the kingdom of the world which you have forsaken, and the rest of the things that are in the world, then put forward the saving word as a shield, the word that says:

'When you have done all the things commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have only done what we ought to have done.'

But indeed, who among us is able to pay off the debt which we owe to the Master, in return for that for which he, being rich, became poor for our sake, that we might become rich by his poverty, and the Impassible One suffered, that he might free us from the passions? For what grace is it for a servant to suffer the like of his Master? Yet we fall far short even of his sufferings.

Keep these things in mind, purifying your thoughts and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ;

'and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.'

When these things had been spoken by the blessed Barlaam, the flow of Ioasaph's tears had no measure, but, as though gushing from an abundant spring, it drenched him entirely and the ground on which he sat.

And lamenting the separation, he begged most fervently that he might become his fellow-traveler on that final journey, and remain in this life no longer after his departure, saying, 'Why, O Father, do you seek only your own good, and not also that of your neighbor? And how do you thereby fulfill perfect love, according to him who said, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," while you yourself depart to rest and life, but leave me behind to affliction and misery, and, before I have been well trained in the contests of the discipline and have learned the manifold assaults of the enemies, you thrust me forward into single combat against their battle-line? What else can result from this, but that I be cast down by their evil devices, and die, alas, that death which is truly of the soul, and eternal — a thing that is wont to befall inexperienced and cowardly monks.'

'But entreat the Lord, I implore you, that I too may be taken as your fellow-traveler out of this life.'

'Yes, by that very hope you have of receiving the reward of your labor, entreat him that I may not sojourn even a single day in this life after your departure, nor wander upon the sea of this wilderness.'

As Ioasaph said these things with tears, the old man, gently and calmly restraining him, said, 'We ought not, child, to resist the unattainable judgments of God.'

'For I, having entreated much concerning this, and having pressed the unconstrainable Master that we should not be separated from one another, was taught by his goodness that it is not expedient for you now to lay aside the burden of the flesh;'

'but you must remain in the discipline, until you weave for yourself a more radiant crown.'

'For you have not yet contended sufficiently for the recompense that has been prepared for you;'

'but you must labor yet a little, that you may enter with joy into the joy of your Lord.'

'For I myself am now nearly a hundred years old, having already spent seventy-five years in this wilderness;'

'but for you, even though your time will not be extended so far, yet you must draw near to it, as the Lord commands, that you may be shown to be a match for them, and in no way inferior to those who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.'

'Receive therefore, O beloved, gladly the things that have been decreed by God.'

'For who among men is able to frustrate what he himself has determined? Endure therefore, kept safe by his grace.'

'Be ever watchful against opposing thoughts, and guard the purity of your mind inviolate, as a most precious treasure, advancing yourself toward a higher work and contemplation,'

day by day, that there may be fulfilled in you what the Savior promised to his friends, saying, 'If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him.'

Having said these things — and much more, worthy of his sanctified soul and his theologian's tongue — the old man consoled the grieving soul of Ioasaph.

Then he sent him to certain brothers who dwelt at a great distance, to bring the things fitting for the sacred sacrifice.

And Ioasaph, having girded himself, fulfilled the errand most swiftly;

for he feared lest, in his absence, Barlaam might pay the debt owed to nature, and, having committed his spirit to the Lord, bring upon him the grievous loss of receiving from him neither words, nor parting utterances, nor prayers, nor blessings.

Now when he had thus most manfully traversed that long road and brought back the things for the sacred sacrifice, the most divine Barlaam offered to God the bloodless sacrifice;

and having himself received communion, and having also given to Ioasaph a share of the undefiled mysteries of Christ, he exulted in the Spirit.

And having partaken of their customary food, he once more nourished the soul of Ioasaph with words profitable to the soul, saying, 'No longer, dearest son, will this life bring us together at one hearth and table;'

'for I am now going the last journey of my fathers.'

'You must therefore show your love toward me by keeping the commandments of God, and by endurance in this place unto the end, living as you have learned and been taught, and remembering always my lowly and slothful soul.'

'Rejoice therefore with great joy, and be glad with gladness in Christ, because you have exchanged the earthly and corruptible things for the eternal and incorruptible, and because the reward for your works draws near, and the rewarder is already at hand, who will come to see the vineyard which you have tilled, and will richly grant you the reward of your husbandry.'

'For faithful is the word, and worthy of all acceptance, as the divinely-inspired Paul cries out:'

'For if we died with him, we shall also live with him;'

'if we endure, we shall also reign together with him in the eternal and unending kingdom, illumined by the unapproachable light, and counted worthy of the radiance of the truly blessed and life-originating Trinity.'

Such were the things Barlaam spoke to Ioasaph until evening and throughout the whole night, as he wept with uncontainable tears and could not bear the separation.

But just as the day was beginning to dawn, having concluded his discourse with him, he lifted up to heaven both his hands and his eyes, and, having sent up thanksgiving to God, he said:

'Lord my God, who art present everywhere and fillest all things, I give thee thanks, that thou hast looked upon my lowliness, and, in thy orthodox confession and in the way of thy commandments, hast deemed me worthy to complete the course of my sojourn here;'

'and now, O Master who lovest goodness, all-compassionate one, receive me into thy eternal tabernacles, and remember not how much I have sinned against thee, both knowingly and in ignorance;'

'guard also this thy faithful servant, before whom thou hast deemed me, thine unprofitable servant, worthy to stand;'

'deliver him from all vanity and from the assault of the adversary, and make him rise above the manifold snares which the evil one has spread as a stumbling-block for all who wish to be saved;'

'blot out, O almighty one, all the power of the deceiver from before the face of thy servant, and grant him authority to trample upon the destruction-bearing head of the enemy of our souls;'

'send down from on high the grace of thy Holy Spirit;'

'and strengthen him against the unseen battle-lines, that he may be deemed worthy to receive from thee the crown of victory, and that thy name may be glorified in him — the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit — for to thee belongs glory and praise unto the ages.'

Having prayed these things, and having embraced Ioasaph in fatherly fashion, and having given him a greeting,

bestowed in a holy kiss, and having sealed himself with the sign of the cross, and having stretched out his feet, and having become greatly joyful, as though certain friends had come to visit him, he departed on that blessed journey, crossing over to pay there the toll owed by old age, an old man and full of days of the spirit.

Ioasaph, having flung himself upon his father with as much reverence and lamentation as one could describe, having bathed the relic with tears, and having wrapped it in the haircloth garment which he himself had once provided in the palace, recited the appointed psalms, chanting throughout the whole day and the entire night, all the while drenching the precious body of the blessed one with his tears.

And on the following day, having made a tomb adjoining the cave, and having most reverently borne up the sacred relic, the good and most honored son laid his spiritual father in the tomb.

And, being more fervently kindled in soul, and having stretched himself out toward more intense prayer, he said:

'Lord my God, hearken to my voice, with which I have cried out;'

'have mercy on me and hear me, for I seek thee with my whole heart.'

'Turn not thy face away from me, and turn not aside in wrath from thy servant.'

'Cast me not off, and forsake me not, O God my Savior, for my father and my mother have forsaken me;'

'but do thou, O Lord, take me up.'

'Instruct me, O Lord, in thy way, and guide me in a straight path, because of my enemies.'

Do not deliver me unto the souls of those who afflict me, for I was cast upon you from the womb; from my mother's belly you are my God.

Do not depart from me, for besides you there is none to help me.

For behold, I have set the hope of my soul upon the sea of your compassions.

Steer my life, O you who steer the whole creation by the ineffable providence of your wisdom, and make known to me the way in which I shall walk.

And save me, as a good and loving God, through the prayers and intercessions of your servant Barlaam, for you are my God, and I glorify you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages.

Having prayed these things, he sat down weeping near the tomb.

And he sees those fearsome men whom he had also seen before, coming to him, and leading him away to that vast and wondrous plain, and bringing him into that glorified and most radiant city.

And as he was entering the gate, others met him, resplendent with great light, holding in their hands crowns shining with ineffable beauty, such as mortal eyes had never beheld.

And when Ioasaph asked, "Whose are these most radiant crowns of glory that I see?" they said, "The one is yours, prepared for the many souls that you saved, and now adorned still more for the sake of the asceticism which you pursue, if indeed you shall bravely carry it through to the end."

"And the other is also yours;"

"but you must give this one to your father, who through you turned aside from the wicked way and genuinely repented before the Lord."

And Ioasaph seemed to be displeased;

and he said, "How is it possible that my father, for repentance alone, should obtain gifts equal to mine, who have toiled so greatly?" He said this, and immediately he seemed to see Barlaam, as it were, reproaching him and saying:

"These are my words, Ioasaph, which once I spoke to you, saying, 'When you grow exceedingly rich, you will not be generous in sharing.'"

"And you yourself were perplexed at that saying."

"But now, how is it that you were displeased at your father's equal honor, and were not rather gladdened in soul that your many entreaties on his behalf had been heard?" And Ioasaph, as he was always accustomed to say to him, said, "Forgive me, Father, forgive me."

"But tell me, where do you yourself dwell?"

"In this great and most beautiful city," he said;

"I was allotted to dwell in the very center of the"

"city's square, flashing with boundless light."

And Ioasaph seemed again to entreat Barlaam to lead him to his own dwelling and to host him kindly.

But he said that the time had not yet come for him to enter those dwellings, since he was still subject to the burden of the body.

"If, then, you endure bravely, just as I commanded you, you will come a little later, and you will be deemed worthy of these same dwellings, you will obtain the same joy and glory, and you will dwell with me forever."

And having awoken at these things, Ioasaph still had his soul filled with that light and ineffable glory, and with great wonder he sent up a hymn of thanksgiving to the Master.

And he remained to the end, truly leading an angelic way of life upon earth, and pursuing an even harsher asceticism after the passing of the elder;

In the twenty-fifth year of his age, having forsaken his earthly kingdom and taken up the ascetic contest, and having practiced asceticism in this utterly desolate wilderness for thirty-five years — a superhuman asceticism, as though he were without flesh — having earlier torn many souls of men away from the soul-destroying dragon and brought them saved to God, and having in this been deemed worthy of apostolic grace, and having become a martyr in resolve, and having with boldness confessed Christ before kings and tyrants, and having shown himself a most loud-voiced herald of his majesty, and having again wrestled down many spirits of wickedness in the desert, and having overcome all things by the power of Christ, and having richly partaken of gifts and grace from above — from this he had the eye of his soul purified from all earthly mist, so that he foresaw future things as though present, and Christ was to him in place of all things: he longed for Christ, he saw Christ as though present, he beheld the beauty of Christ reflected as in a mirror at all times, according to the Prophet who says:

"I foresaw the Lord before me always, for he is at my right hand, that I should not be moved."

"My soul has clung after you;"

"and your right hand has upheld me."

For truly his soul clung after Christ, being joined together with him in an unbreakable union.

He did not turn away from this wondrous labor, he did not alter the rule of his asceticism from beginning to end, keeping the same eagerness from his youth up to such an advanced age, but rather advancing daily to a loftier virtue and being deemed worthy of purer contemplation.

Indeed, having thus conducted his life, and having in this way rendered a work worthy of his calling to him who called him, having crucified the world to himself and himself to the world, he departs in peace to the God of peace, and journeys forth to the ever-longed-for Master, and appears immediately and purely before the face of the Lord; he is adorned with the crown of glory from that place, already made ready for him beforehand, and he is deemed worthy to see Christ, to be with Christ, and to rejoice forever in the beauty of Christ; and having entrusted his own soul into his hands, he passed over into the land of the living, where is the sound of those who keep festival, where is the dwelling of those who rejoice.

As for his precious body, a certain holy man, who had made his dwelling nearby, and who had once shown him the way to Barlaam, being instructed by a certain divine revelation, arrived at that very hour of his passing; and having honored him with sacred hymns, and having poured out tears as a token of his longing for him, and having performed all the other rites customary for Christians, he laid him in the tomb of the father Barlaam.

For it was fitting that the bodies should be together, whose souls were destined to dwell together forever with one another.

And having been persuaded by the command of a most fearsome figure who forcefully enjoined him in a dream, the hermit who had buried him went to the royal palace of the Indians, and approaching King Barachias, made all things clear to him concerning Barlaam and this blessed man.

And he, without any delay, went himself with a great multitude, and came to the cave, and beheld the tomb, and having wept most fervently over it, he lifted the covering.

And he sees both Barlaam and Ioasaph, their limbs lying in an orderly posture, and their bodies not at all altered from their former complexion, but whole and precisely sound, together with their garments.

These sacred tabernacles, then, of the holy souls, sending forth abundant fragrance and showing nothing unpleasant whatsoever, the king placed in precious caskets, and carried them off to his own homeland.

And as the event fell upon the ears of the people, a multitude beyond number flocked together from all the cities and the surrounding regions, for the veneration and viewing of those blessed bodies.