When I was in the monastic community I was tempted to figure out from the behavior of someone the disposition of the soul. Once a woman bearing a pitcher of water passed by where I was standing, praying and my thoughts were borne away, and I do not know how, but I was struck by the look she had in her eyes. My mind suggested to me that she was a prostitute. When this suspicion came to me, I was bothered and disclosed it to the old abba John. "Master", I said, "if, without desiring to, I see someones actions and my mind suggests to me the disposition of their soul, what should I do?" And the
...more
