Where We Are
We should probably pause,
and discover where we stand and if
we at least stand facing
the most likely direction.
Have we yet left our
fallen city, have we so much
as exited the gate? Have we
cleared the city’s spanning
wreck only to languish
among the rubbish heaps?
Have we made a little
progress, or something more?
Have we progressed
so much as halfway
on our journey,
or just a mile or two?
Have you, like me,
advanced, say, several
miles, and then retraced
the same distance in reverse?
Have we come so far
as the Holy City itself,
the City of Peace?
Have we entered its open
gate, or do we stand
cowering outside, unable
to enter into it?
Dorotheos of Gaza from Discourses and Sayings
Dorotheos of Gaza (505-565) was a Christian monk and abbot. He came to the monastery Abba Serid near Gaza through the influence of the elders Barsanuphius and John. Around 540 he founded his own monastery and became abbot there. He wrote numerous instructions for monks. Many of these have been captured in his Discourses and Sayings.