SAINT OF THE DAY

WEDNESDAY, 27 MARCH, 2024

SAINT JOHN OF EGYPT

HERMIT

(304 - 394)

A man who desired to be alone with God was to become one of the most famous hermits of his time. St. John of Egypt was born in the year 304. Not much is known about his childhood except that he learned the carpenter's trade. John was noted for performing seemingly absurd acts at the bidding of the Holy Spirit, such as rolling rocks from place to place and cultivating dead trees. 

He avoided seeing women, in particular, to avoid temptation, but he avoided all people for the last fifty years of his life. Saint Augustine wrote that John was tempted by devils and performed miraculous cures. He cured a woman, according to Augustine, of blindness and then appeared to her in a vision to avoid seeing her in person. He possessed the spiritual gift of prophecy and spoke through a window to people twice a week, often predicting the future and knowing the details of persons he had never met. 

When he was twenty-five, John decided to leave the world for good to spend his life in prayer and sacrifice for God. He was one of the famous desert hermits of that time.

For ten years he was the disciple of an elderly, seasoned hermit. This holy man taught him the spiritual life. St. John called him his "spiritual father." After the older monk's death, St. John spent four or five years in various monasteries. He wanted to become familiar with the way monks pray and live. Finally, John found a cave high in the rocks. The area was quiet and protected from the desert sun and winds. He divided the cave into three parts: a living room, a work room and a little chapel. People in the area brought him food and other necessities. Many also came to seek his advice about important matters. Even Emperor Theodosius I asked his advice twice, in 388 and in 392. He predicted future victories to the Emperor Theodosius the Great.

Such well-known saints as Augustine and Jerome wrote about the holiness of St. John. When so many people came to visit him, some men became his disciples. They stayed in the area and built a hospice. They took care of the hospice so that more people could come to benefit from the wisdom of this hermit. St. John was able to prophesy future events. He could look into the souls of those who came to him. He could read their thoughts. When he applied blessed oil on those who had a physical illness, they were often cured.

Even when John became famous, he kept humble and did not lead an easy life. He never ate before sunset. When he did eat, his food was dried fruit and vegetables. He never ate meat or cooked or warm food. St. John believed that his self-sacrificing life would help him keep close to God. John prayed incessantly, and he spent the last three days of his life without food or drink or any interactions but prayer. He was discovered in his cell, with his body in a position of prayer. He died peacefully in 394 at the age of ninety.

PATRON: Hermits.

PRAYER: Dear God, I pray that I discover the special gifts you have given me, and that I learn how to use them in all the circumstances of my life and to help others grow closer to you.  Teach me, Holy Spirit, to accept and grow in the gifts you've bestowed upon me, and favor me with more as I grow in holiness.  Amen.