SAINT THAIS, penitent
FEAST DAY: October 8th
CANONIZED A SAINT:
By Popular Acclaim and
confirmed by Saint Cyril I,
Patriarch of Alexandria,
Egypt
PATRONAGE: Penitents
and Lent
PRAYER
Lord God,
you kept the penitent, Saint Thais
faithful to Christ’s
pattern of poverty and humility.
May her prayers help us to live in
fidelity to our calling
and bring us to the perfection you
have shown us in your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
SCRIPTURE READING
A reading from the Book of Psalms
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offense.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
My offenses truly I know them;
my sin is always before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in your sight I have done.
Indeed you love truth in the heart;
then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
O purify me, then I shall be clean;
O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.
~Psalm 51: 3 – 6; 8 – 9
OUTLINE OF TEACHING
Thais, a Christian from birth, chose a life of prostitution in Alexandria, Egypt until
a monk, from a nearby monastery heard of her reputation and secretly went to see
her in order to bring about her conversion. In humility and obedience, Thais
agreed to the monk’s penance, which lasted a total of three years. Through a dream
of another monk, God confirmed that Thais had been purified through her new
found life of prayer, discipline and penance. This is a wonderful story to reflect
upon during the season of Lent concerning sin, repentance and conversion.
SAINT THAIS, PENITENT
INTRODUCTION
In the course of salvation history, God has always called His children to return to
Him. We are constantly called to repentance and conversion. This call to
repentance and conversion is most intensely felt during the most holy season of
Lent. On more than one occasion, God refers to Israel as a harlot, a prostitute, an
unfaithful lover. The Old Testament book of Hosea is the story of how God calls the
prophet, Hosea to take a harlot for a wife. Hosea or Osee (from the Greek) is called
the prophet of love. In the book of Hosea, a collection of oracles, it is revealed to us
that Hosea is a very sensitive, emotional man, who could go from extreme anger to
the deepest tenderness. The story pivots around Hosea’s difficult marriage to his
wife, Gomer, a prostitute. Time and time again, Hosea has to find and bring back to
his house his harlot wife. Just as Hosea can never leave his bride, so too does God
constantly seek out his unfaithful lover, Israel. The lesson is that we are the
unfaithful lover; we are the harlots of God. Yet God, very tenderly calls us back to
Himself. Another model of a harlot repenting and serving the Lord is Saint Mary
Magdalene, who is referred to in the Eastern Church as an “Equal to the Apostles.”
In this wonderful story of Saint Thais, we will see how God called back his
unfaithful lover from a life of harlotry to a life of sanctity. It is first important to
meet a monk by the name of Saint Paphnutius. Our story takes place in the Middle
East, in the desert, where God can speak to our hearts the best.
A HARLOT IN THE DESERT
In fourth century, Alexandria, Egypt, lived a very beautiful woman by the name
of Thais. Although a Christian, Thais had taken to a life of prostitution in
Alexandria. She lavished in the attention and material wealth that her life afforded.
Many men sold all that they had to be with her as well as fought over her. There
was one man, the Monk Paphnutius who did not fight over her, rather fought for
her. The battle that he waged was for her eternal soul.
THAIS’ REPUTATION
Abba (Father) Paphnutius had heard of Thais’ reputation as a harlot in his own
monastery. He decided that something must be done to save her eternal soul.
Paphnutius left his monastery not wearing his monastic habit, but rather dressed in
peasant clothing. He came to the house where Thais lived and “worked.” As he
came to Thais, he gave her some silver coins and was led by her to a back room.
Upon entering the room, the holy monk asked Thais if there was somewhere else
they could go. Thais responded by saying; “there is no one who will see us, save
God alone.” At that moment, the holy monk said to her; “so you know of God do
you?” “Of course,” responded Thais and then went on to explain to him all that she
knew of God. Now, up to this point, Thais had no idea that the strange man was
monk from the nearby monastery. Paphnutius went on to challenge Thais by
asking; “if you know that there is a God and you know of Him, how is that you have
chosen to live such a life of sin?” At that very moment, through the grace of the
Holy Spirit, Thais became aware that the man standing before her was indeed a
holy monk. “Father, please give me a penance, but first let me have three hours to
attend to some personal needs.” Paphnutius agreed to give her not only a penance,
but three hours to get her affairs in order.
A BLAZING FIRE
During the three hours, Thais gathered all of her belongings together and took
them to the square in the middle of Alexandria, while people gathered to watch.
Thais yelled out in a passionate proclamation; “Come here, all of you who have
sinned with me and see how I am burning whatever you have given me.” At that
moment, every material comfort that Thais had “worked” for and loved was set
ablaze for all to see. From that point on, Thais was ready and willing to place
herself at the mercy of God through whatever penance Abba Paphnutius would give
her.
A HARSH PENANCE
At the outset, it seems that the penance that Thais would receive was rather
harsh, yet the holy monk assured her of the Lord’s own words: “The road to hell is
wide and many follow the path. Yet narrow is the road that leads to heaven.” Thais
was taken by Paphnutius to a convent of monastic nuns not far from his own
monastery. She was placed in a cell. The door was locked and sealed with lead, so
that no one could enter and no one could depart. There was a small opening in the
door for Thais to receive food and water. Abba Paphnutius, concerned for the soul
of the young Thais told her what she would need to do while in the cell. “You are
not to mention the name of God, instead you are to face east (the direction of prayer
as the rising Sun is symbolic of the Resurrection of Jesus) and say the following:
‘You, who made me, have mercy upon me.’” Paphnutius told Thais that she
received a harsh penance because of the seriousness of her sins. Remember, this
holy monk knew what was best for the redemption of her soul and she agreed to do
whatever he gave her as a penance. After looking around her cell, Thais asked the
holy monk; “where am I to go to the bathroom?” Paphnutius responded; “in your
cell, where you deserve.”
THREE YEARS HAVE COME AND GONE
Paphnutius, himself a disciple of Saint Anthony the Great met with him and
some of his other disciples. They discussed Thais and the penance that Paphnutius
had placed upon her. One of Saint Anthony’s disciples had had a powerful dream
later that night about a beautiful bed with velvet coverings surrounded by flowers.
The monk went on to describe the incredible beauty of this dream. The monk
thought that the dream was about the impending death of Saint Anthony, who was
now well past the age of one hundred years. Saint Anthony relayed to Abba
Paphnutius that the dream was about Thais and that she had fulfilled her penance.
THE FREEDOM OF THAIS
Paphnutius went to Thais to release her from her cell and her penance. He
explained to her that she was forgiven for “you have always had the remembrance
of your sins in your soul.” To Paphnutius’ surprise, Thais did not want to leave.
She wanted to stay in her cell and continue to pray and do penance. The holy monk
forbade her to remain in her cell and continue her penance. In holy obedience,
Thais left her cell. She was, however, resolved to stay in the convent with the other
nuns and live a life of penance and prayer, for which she was allowed to do.
Mysteriously, Thais died only fifteen days later at a very young age. Paphnutius
received word of the death of Thais and was confident of God’s mercy over her life.
Thais, after three years of a most severe penance was indeed free from her sins as
well as the struggles of this life.