Mount Zion Ryan

Yesterday was the day we remember Saint Moses the Black.

I have a particular fondness for St. Moses. If you are not familiar with his story, here is the short version:
He was born a servant in the household of a Roman Official in Egypt. The master released him because he was violent and murderous. He fell in with a band of robbers and, due to his prodigous size and strength and his violent nature, he was soon their leader. The band terrorized the countryside. Eventually he had a conversion experience and entered a monastery. All his life he strove to be Christ-like. Here are a couple of my favorite episodes from his biography.

One day robbers attacked him as he sat in his cell, not knowing who it was. They were four in number. He tied them all together and, putting them on his back like a truss of straw, brought them to the church of the brethren, saying: “Since I am not allowed to hurt anyone, what do you bid me do with these?” Then these robbers, having confessed their sins and recognized that it was Moses the erstwhile renowned and far-famed robber, themselves also glorified God and renounced the world because of his conversion, saying to themselves: “If he who was so great and powerful in brigandage has feared God, why should we defer our salvation?”
Once a brother had been caught in a particular sin, and the abbot asked St. Moses to come to the church and render judgment. He came reluctantly, carrying on his back a leaking bag of sand. When he arrived, the brothers asked him why he was carrying such a thing. He simply said, “This sand is my sins which are trailing out behind me, while I go to judge the sins of another.” At that reply, the brothers forgave the offender and returned to focusing on their own salvation rather than the sins of their brother.

I like saints that weren’t born that way. Many saints are holy and pious children, but some of my favorites are the ones with some dirt under their nails. Saint Moses is one of those saints. He was about as despicable character as one can be and still was given the grace of repentance. His story gives me some hope that I may someday overcome my own demons.

I have been long considering writing a book about Saint Moses. Using the scant information we have and filling in the details to make a fictional biography. Bev Cooke has done this from Macrina the Elder. Another idea I had was to use the life of Saint Mose as a narrative frame for the story of a completely fictional character. This second idea would entail a good deal of research, but I think I’d enjoy it.

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