A holy bishop was once preaching a sermon on one of Our Lord’s many wonderful promises. He spoke specifically of when Christ told us that He would give an hundred fold reward in Heaven to those who do good on earth. "Jesus answering, said: Amen I say to you, there is no man who has left house or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for my sake and for the gospel who shall not receive an hundred times as much." (St. Mark 10:30)

Afterwards, one of the men in the congregation went up to the bishop to talk to him. The man’s name was Evagrius, and he had been listening very intently to the sermon. He had been moved by the clear and stirring explanation of Jesus’ great promise. Offering sixty pounds of gold to the good bishop, Evagrius insisted that he accept it and distribute it among the poor. The bishop was very impressed with this sudden generosity and gratefully accepted the money. Then, in return for the alms, the bishop gave Evagrius a kind of receipt - a letter noting the money given and what was owed to the good man in return. With a smile, Evagrius saw how the bishop had written Jesus’ promise of an hundred fold reward.

Evagrius treasured this paper for the rest of his life and told his children that, when he was dead, he wished them to put this letter in his hands and bury it with him. And later, when the good man died, his children followed his wishes and placed the precious paper in his hands when they buried him.

It was three days after Evagrius’ death, that the holy bishop who had preached the sermon was suddenly visited by an apparition of the dead man. Evagrius had come with a mysterious favor to ask of the bishop. He told him to go to his fresh grave and take the paper back. Then, as unexpectedly as it had come, the vision disappeared. The bishop was puzzled by such a strange request of so good a man, who had personally come to ask it of him. Waiting until daylight, the bishop decided to fulfill what he believed to be the request of Evagrius.

The next morning, the bishop, together with his clergy, went to the grave. With due and proper respect, they carefully opened the casket of the recently buried Evagrius. There they could see the letter in the folded hands of the deceased. Following the instructions given to him by Evagrius, the bishop reached down and took it from the grave.

When the good bishop opened it, he was shocked to see that the letter was changed! Imagine his surprise and heartfelt joy when he read the letter’s following message: "Evagrius to the Bishop. I did not wish you to remain ignorant of what has happened to me. God has already given me a hundred fold reward for all the money I gave you. You do not owe me anything now."

For what this good man did with money, you can do with your sacrifices and prayers. Our Lord and His Saints have often reminded us that the life of the soul is of much more importance than that of the body. If God is so grateful for our generosity with mere earthly goods (which only aid our mortal life), how much will He reward our generous prayers and sacrifices offered for souls - lives that will last for all eternity?