Once in the old times some man lived. His holiness was so great that even the angels wondered and descended from heaven just to see how possible it is, by living on earth, to put on such holiness. Once the angels said to God:
LORD, give this man a gift of miraculousness!
I will give it to him, replied the Lord. Just ask him whether he wants it.
The Angels asked the saint:
Do you want to bestow health with just one touch of your hand?
No, the saint replied. It is better for the Lord to do it.
-And do you want to have such a gift of eloquence, with the power to convert the sinners to repentance?
No, it’s in God’s hands, not in the hands of a weak man. I pray for addressing sinners but I do not convert any.
-Do you maybe want to attract to yourself the light of the benefactors and thus to glorify God?
No, attracting to oneself, drags people away from God.
Well, what do you want? asked the angels.
-What more do I want? May God not deprive me of His mercy! And with it I will have everything.
But the Angels continued to insist.
Good, replied the saint. I want to do good, so that I do not know about it myself.
The angels were confused, but then they decided: “Let the shadow of this man, which he does not see, heals the sick and eases sorrow and grief.”
Since then it was like that. Wherever this saint appeared, his shadow covered the trampled paths with greenery, it returned the water in the streams that have dried up, beneath it the flowers flourished and dried up human tears. And the saint simply walked on the earth, spreading around him good, like the flower which spreads fragrance, not knowing about it.
Source: Вистина, Гласник на Преспанско-пелагониската епархија, 84, 2014
