The monk and the mouse

Once upon a time a monk, decided to leave the monastery and the blessed obedience and he went at the desert to become quieter. He wanted to devote all day and night in study and theory of the name of Christ and in the mystery of the Trinity of the God. In that way he thought that he could unite himself with God, in the wilderness and tranquility of peace, without cares and without worries. After two-three days - no one can stand it for more, however,while he was surrendered to his sacred meditations, he felt near him the presence of someone. What was it? A little mouse...

The mouse has climbed on his patched and pierced slipper, and smelled his big toe. This distracted the monk who became unable to keep his mind unmoved, in the remembrance of God and his prayer. He saw and said to himself, "I have left everything to interact with the God freely and properly and now a mouse comes and breaks down everything. Well, this is too much”, and in angry manner said loudly to the mouse:-"Why, nasty mouse, do you interrupt my prayer?" - "Because I am hungry", said the mouse.

And the quieter retorted with indignation, without wondering how the mouse spoke with human voice, - "Get out of here,I am trying with a thousand pains (ways)to see how I am going to join God, and you came to ask me how to deal with your belly?" and immediately he shook his leg and threw the mouse in the opposite corner of his cave. Then the mouse returned calm and after looking him straight to hiseyes, replied:

"Learn this once and forever, Father, if you can’t live with your fellow ascetics and with the old man Habbakum, who is baked in the fever and starves in a cave beside you, but with every Habbakum, and I mean everyone that is next to you and is suffering, starving and is thirsty and naked and lies wounded, and (if) you don’t feel compassion for him, and don’t help him to overcome his problems, then, never, never you are going to be able to be united with the God of love and mercy."Having said that, the mouse left the place…