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A certain man who held the office of deacon in the church of the saint though he was quite unworthy of it) did not scruple to steal, among other things that had been offered to the church, a golden cross which the holy man used to carry with him on his travels. The brethren were distressed at this, and, though ignorant of the perpetrator of this sacrilege, they felt confident that through the prayers of the saint of God so heinous a crime could not long be concealed. They tried, nevertheless, in their brotherly kindness to bring the culprit to repentance, not wishing to encompass his downfall. But the man who had committed the crime hardened his heart and despised his own salvation, even as, according to Solomon, " the wicked man continues when he comes to the depths of his evil deeds ". The unhappy wretch thought that the deed, which had been committed in secret and unseen by [21] others, would remain undetected, but it could not be hidden from the eye of God, to whom all things lie open and who is often not slow to avenge the wrongs done to His servants. For the miserable wretch who had not scrupled to commit the offence was suddenly seized with sickness and died a miserable death, and in his dying moments confessed his guilt to some of the brethren and divulged the place where he had hidden the stolen objects. You see, brethren, what a fearful judgment was visited upon the man who presumed to desecrate the church of God's saint by stealing. I beseech you, therefore, to keep your manner of life pure in this house, so that in His mercy and through the intercession of the apostolic man St. Clement He may deign to hear your prayers when you make your petitions, just as we have already told you how he heard the prayers of the sick in this same church, enabling them to return home with the good health they had long yearned for. Nor need we doubt that just as he deigned visibly to heal their bodily diseases, so also through the intercession of the saint on our behalf, whose body rests here and whom we believe to be present in the spirit, listening to our prayers, he will continue daily to cure the hidden disorders of our souls, if with flrm faith and sincere confession we pour out our hearts with tears in that place before the merciful face of Him who in His mercy is quick to pardon if we are not slow to ask. Praise and glory be His for ever andl ever