Looking for a Desert Father saying...

I remember reading of one desert father who gave away the Scriptures (or maybe it was some spiritual text). Maybe I'm making stuff up, misremembering, or combining stories, but I think it went something like this.

Abba A went to Abba B and asked him what to do to be saved. Abba B told him, "you have the riches of the poor on your window sill." Abba A returned to his hut and saw the spiritual texts, and gave the money to the poor, saying, "that book which I have sold contains the saying of the one whom I worship (Christ), to 'sell all that you have and give to the poor.'"

I'm definitely butchering the exact telling of the story... but does this ring a bell for anybody else? Anyone know who it would be or a more "official" version?

Found these two. They're close, but not quite what I was thinking of.

These are the same spirit and sentiment of the one I'm thinking of, but I think there's another one that specifically mentions the Gospels... Going to keep looking!

Aha! Here it is. This is the one I was thinking of, although I see now that I was combining all 3 of these stories into one.

One source is listed as De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V

icxn said:

The brother in question was probably Saint Serapion:

Serapion once gave his cloak to a poor man and as he walked on and met another who was shivering, he gave that one his tunic, and then sat down naked, holding the holy Gospel, and on being asked, "Who has taken your clothes, father?" he pointed to the Gospel and said, "This is the robber." Another time he sold the Gospel to give alms, and when a disciple said to him, "Father, where is your Gospel?" he replied, "Son, believe me, it was the Gospel which said to me, "Sell all you have and give to the poor", so I sold it and gave to the poor, that on the day of judgment we may have freer access to God.​

Click to expand...

Thanks! St Serapion, pray for us.