“A young man crossed the desert and finally came to the monastery of Scete. There, he asked to hear one of the abbot’s lectures – and was granted permission. That afternoon, the abbot’s discourse was about the importance of work in the field. After the lecture, the young man said to one of the monks: “That was amazing. I thought I would hear a fine sermon about virtues and sins, and the abbot spoke only of tomatoes, irrigation and so forth. Where I come from, all believe that God is merciful: all one must do is pray.” The monk smiled and replied: “Here we believe that God has already done His part; now it is up to us to continue the process.””