The faith of the cave hermits

Dr. Michel E. Abs

Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches

Those concerned with the history of our nation stand amazed by the conditions in which lived hermits who have withstood storms of all kinds, preserving their faith and its treasures for generations that have not yet been born.

The strength of belief, the power of faith and self-denial, imprinted believers and hermits of our wounded Levant.

The hermits and believers of Christianity have written epics of heroism and devotion, the most majestic in history.

They dug the rocks, partook in the hardship of life, were exposed to all kinds of hazards, endured torment, and when the martyrdom was due, they submitted without fear to the predators in the arenas of the emperors, and they did not give up their faith.

They were the eye that resists the awl and embodied the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount and his march on the path of Calvary.

The spirituality, values ​​and norms of behavior they left to us fundamentally contributed to building human civilization.

Humanity today is far from the culture of asceticism and austerity, and the consumer society has done with it has done. It has transformed people, for the most part, into selfishness, running breathless throughout their day in search of what fills their greed for consumption and enjoyment of the pleasures of life.

The concept of asceticism and austerity has receded to the extent that it threatens the fate of humanity as a whole, despite the presence of many movements of change that are fighting this tendency.

In his poem "The Blind," Charles Baudelaire says:

"While around us the world sings, laughs and screams,

 Taking pleasure to the point of horror, "

This applies to our lives in modern societies.

What will this community leave for generations not yet born?

Nobody can answer.

In short we can only say: How ashamed we are in front of the hermits of the caves! What did we do with the talents that they bestowed upon us?