I have a Holy envy of both of you. I read nearly all of your posts, and can only tell you that I've learned a lot from both of you, and hope to continue to do so.
St. Moses the Black of Ethiopia He was a slave, but was cast out by his master due to his evil life. He then became the leader of a murderous band of robbers in Egypt. He came to repentance and took up monastic life in the desert under St Isidore of Sketis. For many years he struggled tirelessly, through prayer, fasting and vigils, with lustful and violent thoughts; he was finally freed of them through the prayers of St Isidore. He wa revered by all the brethren for his ascetical life, his wisdom, and his deep humility. Once a brother committed some sin and the monks gathered to judge him. Moses at first refused to go at all, but when they insisted, he filled an old, leaky basket with sand and carried it into the assembly on his back. When the brethren asked him what his action meant, he said "My sins run out behind me, and I do not even see them, and I have come to judge my brother." The monk was forgiven. In time the fame of this humblest of monks spread so far that kings and bishops travelled into the desert to seek his wisdom and his blessing. In his old age, he was warned that a band of brigands was coming to attack the Skete. He refused to leave saying, "It is written: he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword." So, mindful that he had slain others by the sword, he willingly awaited his own murder. Six other monks who remained with him were also slain.
Love that story! Here is one in return:
A young and spiritually immature monk went to live in a certain monastery. He thought that there he would find paradisiacal manners and that everyone would love and respect him as a most dear brother. What was his disappointment when after a while he noticed that eight of the brothers loved him and two did not! He could not put up with the dislike of these two, so he left that monastery and went to search for another where everyone would like him. In the second monastery, all brothers welcomed him kindly and treated him very well in the beginning. However, that did not last very long. Soon the likes and dislikes toward the newcomer surfaced, and, unfortunately, this time only four loved him and four others hated him and were worse than those in the first monastery: they annoyed him, judged him, sneered at him, and did not miss an occasion to hurt him. The unhappy monk could not put up with that, so he left this monastery too. In the third monastery where he settled, he quickly found out that almost nobody liked him. His reputation for being quarrelsome and lacking perseverance preceded him to this monastery, and the brothers there met him with distrust. The young monk, realizing that he had come from bad to worse, began wondering if it was not his fault that he could not win the love of the others and decided to remain in this last monastery amid the cold and hostile attitudes of the brothers until he could win their love with God's help. When he appraised his own behavior, he found that he was to blame for his quarrels with the brothers because he did not endure their teasing with patience. A fortunate thought occured to him, and he wrote on a piece of paper: "I will endure everything for Jesus Christ's sake" and put it in his belt. Every time when someone insulted him or sneered at him, he took the piece of paper out of his belt, read it, remembered the promise of endurance which he had made to God, and calmed down. Some of the brothers wondered at his patience and began to love him. Others, in their malice, said: "He is doing some kind of magic to calm himself. Whenever we annoy him, he takes a piece of paper out of his belt, and when he looks at it, his anger passes away. This business is not good. He must be a magician..." With such suspicions in their hearts the spiteful monks went to the abbot and slandered the young brother before him. The abbot investigated the matter, found out the innocence of the brother, and for his justification and as a lesson to all, he summoned all monks to himself. When the accusations against the young brother were repeated, the abbot ordered him to show the piece of paper before everyone. The young monk obeyed, took out the paper, and read the writing: "I will endure everything for Jesus Christ's sake." Then the accusers were ashamed and silenced, and the brother, acquitted and praised, lived peacefully with the respect and love of the monks.
That's from a book [two, really] on my nightstand entitled "The Meaning of Suffering and Strife & Reconciliation" by Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev. Highly recommended.