Beloved Tamav Erini once told her spiritual daughters about St Abraam of Fayoum that “He has always had a special place in our family. We used to have a big picture of him which, at the time of this incident, was not yet hung on the wall, but rather stood on a table. Many neighbours and ladies from the church used to visit my mother. During their visits, she was keen on keeping away from the sin of gossiping.
Our town was so small that almost all the families knew one another. During one of those visits, a lady began to talk about one of the families and soon the other ladies joined in the conversation. My mother was so sensitive about people’s feelings that she did her best not to hurt them. Hence, she tried more than once in an indirect way to change the subject, but in vain.
Finally, she looked at the picture of Anba Abraam and deep inside her she asked for his help. Immediately, the ladies heard three knocks on the table where his picture stood. They looked everywhere but they saw no one. They resumed their gossiping and the same thing happened again; but this time they saw the picture materialize and the hand of the saint come out of it. He knocked strongly on the table as if warning them against what they were talking about. They were amazed and wondered what that meant. My mother told them, “To be honest with you, we are gossiping about people, a totally inappropriate thing to do. We are supposed to pray for all people.”
Ref: Tamav Erene – The Jewel of Heaven and the beacon of monasticism (book 1), p. 48-49
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