St. Moses the Black

Who they were

Moses was an Ethiopian slave in Egypt, dismissed by his master for theft and violence, who became the leader of an armed robber band along the Nile: a huge, feared man whose raid on the desert monastery of Scetis ended in the conversion nobody planned. Taken in by the monks he had come to rob, disarmed by their peace, he stayed.

The desert sayings preserve him vividly. Summoned to a council judging a brother's fault, he came carrying a leaking jug of sand and said that his sins ran out behind him where he could not see them, and that he had come today to judge the errors of another. The council dissolved. Ordained a priest, which was rare for the desert, he was tested with a racial insult at his own ordination and answered it with a patience the tradition records as his crown. His end completed the conversion. Warned that raiders were coming, the old abbot refused to flee or fight, saying that all who take the sword will perish by the sword, sent away those who wished to leave, and was killed with seven companions who stayed.

Why people turn to St. Moses the Black

Anyone leaving a violent life: the gang member, the abuser in recovery, the veteran of harm. With St. Margaret of Cortona, he is the proof that the record does not close the door. Advocates of nonviolence. And everyone tempted to join the judging council.

How to ask their intercession

Before judging, borrow his jug: name three of your own sins first, out loud, and then see whether you still want to speak.