Meditate on the Lives of the Saints Who Loved Him
How to Love God (5)
By Meditating on the Lives of the Saints Who Loved Him
If you contemplate the lives of the saints who loved God, surely you too will love Him as they did—especially if you meditate on the amazing intimacy they had with God, how the Lord granted them a high place and regarded them as friends. God even entrusted them with His secrets.
The lives of the saints lift the reader to a high spiritual level—
A level above material things and the world, higher than the flesh and sin. They cast the world out of the heart so that God may dwell within. They are spiritual nourishment for the soul, as St. Isaac said: “The stories of the saints are delightful, like water for new plants.”
The lives of the saints influence the soul and invite imitation of them.
The life of Saint Anthony the Great, written by Saint Athanasius for the people of Rome, left a profound impact—so deep that many renounced the world and desired to live in solitude with God. That same biography had a wonderful effect on Saint Augustine’s life—it led him to repentance and asceticism, transforming him into a great saint who loved God deeply, and whose meditations have been passed down through generations.
Likewise, the accounts of the Desert Fathers, written by pilgrims who visited the Egyptian monks in the 4th and early 5th centuries, had a tremendous influence—leading tens of thousands to monastic life, devoting themselves to converse with God in their prayers, living in the desert without companion or comfort, satisfied only with the spiritual joy of God’s presence and love.
Consider also what is said about the saints: “Of whom the world was not worthy” (Hebrews 11:38). It was said that the earth was not worthy even to be trodden by their feet, and that for their prayers, God sent rain upon the earth. They were the image of God on earth, having returned to the divine likeness in which man was first created. Whoever saw them desired to remain with them to enjoy their pure souls that revealed the life of God within them (Galatians 2:20).
These saints were granted open eyes that could see the unseen—
As the Lord Jesus blessed His disciples saying: “Blessed are your eyes for they see” (Matthew 13:16). Thus, the prophet Elisha saw what his servant could not see, and prayed that the Lord would open the young man’s eyes so that he might see the heavenly hosts surrounding the city to save it (2 Kings 6:17).
Truly wonderful were the eyes of Saint John the Beloved, who saw all that he recorded in the Book of Revelation: “After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven” (Revelation 4:1). Then he said: “Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne” (Revelation 4:2). He described what he saw of the heavenly powers—their relationship with God, their praise, appearance, and honor.
And what shall we say of Saint Paul the Apostle’s ascent to the third heaven, where he heard inexpressible things (2 Corinthians 12:2,4)? Or of the visions seen by God’s saints through the ages—those recorded in Scripture, such as Daniel and Ezekiel, or those known through Church history—through which the Lord revealed His will, unveiled future events, strengthened, and comforted His beloved ones.
Ask about this, dear reader: Saint Anthony the Great, Saint Pishoy, Saint Paul the Simple, and many others.
When you read about all this, do you not long for God to reveal Himself to you as He did to them? And how would He reveal Himself unless you love Him and live in purity of heart? Then you would not only see visions, but, as the Lord said in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).
To see God—what a great glory, O Lord, we do not deserve! Grant us, therefore, this purity of heart as You granted it to Your beloved ones.
John the Beloved beheld the Lord in some of His glory. Saint Pishoy saw Him and washed His feet. Many saw Him in visions or dreams and heard His voice. And we need not speak now of the saints of the Old Testament who saw Him and received from Him messages to deliver to mankind.
These saints had boldness before God.
He regarded them as friends, revealing His plans and will to them, taking their counsel, and allowing them to converse with Him freely—
As with our father Abraham before the destruction of Sodom, when God said: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?” (Genesis 18:17). He revealed to him His plan, and Abraham spoke with Him, even saying in holy boldness: “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Far be it from You to do such a thing… Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:23–25). He continued speaking until God said that if ten righteous men were found in the city, He would spare it (Genesis 18:32).
Similarly, with Moses the prophet, when the Lord was about to destroy the people for worshipping the golden calf, He first told Moses, saying: “Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.” (Exodus 32:9–10). But Moses, in loving boldness, said: “Why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people?… Turn from Your fierce wrath and relent from this harm… Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore…” and the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do (Exodus 32:11–14).
When you read all this, does your heart not long for such intimacy with God—to have that mutual love between you and Him?
These saints maintained favor with God even after their deaths.
God did not punish Solomon in his lifetime, but delayed it to his son’s days, saying: “For the sake of David My servant” (1 Kings 11:13). The Lord continued to honor His servant David, as the psalmist prayed: “For Your servant David’s sake, do not turn away the face of Your Anointed” (Psalm 132:10), and “Remember, O Lord, David and all his afflictions” (Psalm 132:1).
Even more wondrously, the Lord called Himself by the names of His beloved ones, saying to Moses from the burning bush: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). The Lord used this same verse in His response to the Sadducees regarding the resurrection (Matthew 22:32).
Though the Law was God’s own, yet He attributed it to Moses: “Remember the Law of Moses My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel” (Malachi 4:4). And it is written, “According to the Law of Moses” (Luke 2:22), and repeatedly elsewhere (1 Kings 2:3; Nehemiah 8:1; Daniel 9:11). Likewise, the Scriptures bear the names of His beloved ones—Samuel, Nehemiah, Esther. All this honor God bestows upon His children—does it not move you to live with Him and seek His blessing?
He also gave His children the keys of heaven and earth (Matthew 16:19):
“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18), and “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:23). What authority is this! Likewise in giving gifts and performing miracles, the Lord said a most astonishing thing: “He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do” (John 14:12).
To such a degree, O Lord? Who then would not love You?
The Lord entrusted His children with His treasures—they give as they wish, for their will is one with His.
How beautiful are the Lord’s words about Moses: “My servant Moses is faithful in all My house… I speak with him face to face… and he sees the form of the Lord” (Numbers 12:7–8).
And the Lord’s words to the prodigal’s brother: “Son, you are always with Me, and all that I have is yours” (Luke 15:31).
And of His disciples to the Father: “The glory which You gave Me I have given them” (John 17:22).
I stand in awe and wonder before these three phrases: “Faithful in all My house,” “All that I have is yours,” and “The glory You gave Me I have given them.”
Truly, how deep is God’s love—beyond description! How marvelous His generosity and goodness when He gives! Not only to His children and disciples but even to the ungrateful son in Luke 15. Shall we not then love Him from the depths of our hearts, He who loves and gives so abundantly?
Let us therefore contemplate the lives of those saints and see how they loved Him.
For His sake, Daniel preferred to be thrown into the lions’ den rather than deny Him—and thus entered a wondrous experience: “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths” (Daniel 6:22).
For His sake, the three young men preferred to be cast into the blazing furnace rather than deny Him—and they enjoyed two marvelous things: the Son of God walking with them in the fire, and the fire did them no harm (Daniel 3:24–28).
Our father Abraham, through his faith and obedience, raised the knife to offer his only son as a burnt offering to the Lord—for his love for God was immeasurably greater than the love of his only son. Therefore he received the Lord’s blessing and the promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea, “and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 22:16–18).
Time would fail us to tell of the martyrs, confessors, evangelists, and all who loved the Lord, and of the miracles, appearances, and intercessions the Lord granted them in life and after death.
It is beautiful to recall how many of these saints departed this transient world and what followed afterward.
Let us set aside for now Elijah’s ascent to heaven (2 Kings 2:11), Enoch’s translation (Genesis 5:24), and the Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin Mary—all rare cases of the highest spiritual levels. Let us instead recall the Scripture: “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his!” (Numbers 23:10).
Consider Saint Amoun, whose soul Saint Anthony saw being carried joyfully by the angels. Or Saint Karas the Hermit, whose soul was welcomed by saints while King David sang: “Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you” (Psalm 116:7). Or Saint Stephen, the first deacon, who at his martyrdom saw “the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55–56), and “they saw his face as the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15).
And what of those who departed in our own days, when their rooms at death seemed filled with light, and a fragrance of incense was sensed? Some saw comforting visions at their departure, resting with smiles upon their faces and joy in their hearts.
All these loved God, and He made the hour of their repose an hour of joy.
Some were even told by the Lord the time of their departure, such as certain hermits like Saint Onuphrius and Saint Sidarous the solitary, and Saint Mary the Copt.
Many have also appeared after death to others—like Saint Ignatius of Antioch, who, after being thrown to the hungry lions, appeared to his fellow believers in prison to comfort and encourage them. The appearances of saints are countless, and many miracles occurred during their tortures or martyrdoms, leading unbelievers to faith—as in the story of Saint George. In other cases, attempts to kill them failed, as with Saint John the Beloved, Saint Polycarp, and Saint George when poison did not harm him.
Meditating on the beautiful virtues of the saints makes us love them, love their virtues, and love the God who dwells in them.
Do you not agree that the subject is vast if we continue?
Therefore, what I have written is but an example—I leave the rest to your own meditation.
An Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III
Published in Watani Newspaper on March 29, 2009
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