To Arrange as He Knows Best

Dear Parish Faithful,

Great Lent: The Twenty Sixth Day

From Evagrius of Pontus (+399)

I have often prayed and asked God
for what seemed good in my own estimation.

Like a fool, I kept on at God to grant me this;
I would not leave it to him
to arrange as he knows best for me.

Then, having obtained the thing
I had prayed for so stubbornly,
I have often been sorry
that I did not leave it to the will of God,
for the reality often turned out very different
from the way I had imagined.

If I may be permitted a note on this particular saying, I would encourage everyone to read it and ponder/meditate on these words very carefully. Evagrius is touching on something very deep here.

Fr. Steven