The Venerable Isaac the Syrian II (ca. 550) (Isaac the Syrian I is commemorated on January 28.)
St. Gregory the Dialogist writes about this Isaac. He came to Italy at the time of the Goths, and in the city of Spoleto he entered a church to pray. He asked the verger to allow him to remain locked in the church overnight. And so he spent the entire night in prayer, remaining in the same place. The same thing happened the next day and even the second night. The verger called him a hypocrite and struck him with his fist. Instantly, the verger went insane. Seeing that the verger was bitterly tormented, Isaac bent over him, and the evil spirit departed from him and the verger was restored to health. Upon hearing of this incident, the entire populace of the city thronged around this amazing foreigner. They offered him money and property, but he declined all, accepted nothing and withdrew into the forest, where he built a cell for himself, which rapidly grew into a large monastery. Isaac was known for working miracles and especially for his discernment. On one occasion he ordered the brethren to carry all the hoes into the vineyard and to leave them there. The next day Isaac, along with the brethren, went out into the vineyard and brought along lunch. The brethren were puzzled. Who was this lunch for, since there were no laborers? Upon arriving at the vineyard, there were as many men digging as there were hoes. This is what happened: these men came as thieves to steal the hoes, but by the power of God, they were kept there and made to dig all night. On another occasion, two half-naked men came to Isaac and sought clothing from him. Isaac sent a monk to a hollow tree along the road to retrieve what he would find there. The monk departed, found some clothing and brought it to the monastery. The abbot took these clothes and gave them to the beggars. The beggars were extremely ashamed when they recognized their own clothes, which they had hidden in that tree. Once a man sent two beehives to the monastery. A monk hid one along the way, and he brought the other to the monastery and turned it over to the abbot. The saint said to him: “Be careful upon your return. For a poisonous snake has slithered into the beehive that you left along the way. Be careful, therefore, that it does not bite you.”
