Egypt’s Monks Work for the Hungry and the Imprisoned

Taught by these examples, the fathers in Egypt never allow monks, and especially the younger ones, to be idle. They judge the purpose of their hearts and their growth in patience and humility by their diligence in work. Not only do they forbid them to receive anything from anyone else to supply their own needs; they do more than refresh, by their labors, the pilgrims and brothers who come to visit them. They actually collect a huge store of provisions and food and distribute it in the parts of Libya that suffer from famine and barren land, and also in the cities, to those wasting away in the squalor of prison. For they believe that by such an offering of the fruit of their hands they offer a reasonable and true sacrifice to the Lord. [a]