Mateus 23
Desert Fathers
Mateus 23:2-3
Poemen also said, 'Teach your heart to follow what your tongue is saying to others.' He also said, 'Men try to appear excellent in preaching but they are less excellent in practising what they preach.' — The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks
Mateus 23:5
Three brothers once came to a hermit in Scetis. One of them said to him, 'Abba, I have memorized the Old and New Testaments.' But the hermit answered, 'And you have filled the air with words.' The second said to him, 'I have written out the Old and New Testaments with my own hand.' But the hermit said, 'And you have filled the window-ledge with manuscripts.' The third said, 'The grass is growing up my chimney.' But the hermit answered, 'And you have driven away hospitality.' — The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks
Mateus 23:12
A hermit said, 'He who is praised and honoured above what he deserves suffers grievous loss. He who receives no honour at all among men, shall be glorified hereafter.' — The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks
Mateus 23:23
A hermit was asked by a brother, 'How do I find God? With fasts, or labour, or vigils, or works of mercy?' He replied, 'You will find Him in all those, and also in discretion. I tell you many have been very stern with their bodies, but have gained nothing by it because they did it without discretion. Even if our mouths stink from fasting, and we have learnt all the Scriptures, and memorized the whole Psalter, we may still lack what God wants, humility and love.' — The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks
Mateus 23:27-28
The monks praised a brother to Antony. Antony went to him and tested him to see if he could endure being insulted. When he saw that he could not bear it, he said to him, 'You are like a house with a highly decorated outside, but burglars have stolen all the furniture by the back door.' — The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks