“Never acquire for yourself anything that you might hesitate to give to your brother if he ask you for it, for thus you might be found a transgressor of God’s command. If anyone asks, give to him, and if anyone wants to borrow from you, do not turn away from him.” (cf. Luke 6:30)
Abbot Agatho as recounted by Thomas Merton in The Wisdom of the Desert (New York: New Directions, 1970) 47.