The New Theology

Ἦν ὅτε ἤκμαζε τὰ ἡμέτερα, καὶ καλῶς εἶχεν, ἡνίκα τὸ μὲν περιττὸν τοῦτο, καὶ κατεγλωττισμένον τῆς θεολογίας καὶ ἔντεχνον, οὐδὲ πάροδον εἶχεν εἰς τὰς θείας αὐλὰς, ἀλλὰ ταυτὸν ἦν ψήφοις τε παίζειν, τὴν ὄψιν κλεπτούσαις τῷ τάχει τῆς μεταθέ σεως, ἢ κατορχεῖσθαι τῶν θεατῶν παντοίοις καὶ ἀνδρογύνοις λυγίσμασι, καὶ περὶ Θεοῦ λέγειν τι καὶ ἀκούειν καινότερον καὶ περίεργον· τὸ δὲ ἁπλοῦν τε καὶ εὐγενὲς τοῦ λόγου, εὐσέβεια ἐνομίζετο. Ἀφ' οὗ δὲ Σέξτοι, καὶ Πύῤῥωνες, καὶ ἡ ἀντίθετος γλῶσσα, ὥσπερ τι νόσημα δεινὸν καὶ κακόηθες, ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις ἡμῶν εἰσεφθάρη· καὶ ἡ φλυαρία παίδευσις ἔδοξε, καὶ, ὅ φησι περὶ Ἀθηναίων ἡ βίβλος τῶν Πράξεων, εἰς οὐδὲν ἄλλο εὐκαιροῦμεν, ἢ λέγειν τι καὶ ἀκούειν καινότερον. Ὢ τίς Ἱερεμίας ὀδυρεῖται τὴν ἡμετέραν σύγχυσιν καὶ σκοτόμαιναν, ὁ μόνος εἰδὼς ἐξισοῦν θρήνους πάθεσι! Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Λόγος ΚΑ'

When our affairs flourished and all was well, when this over elaborate and indeed obscene treatment of theology had not made its way into the Divine halls, but to play with pebbles which deceive the eye by the swiftness of their changes, or to dance before spectators with varied and effeminate contortions, was looked down upon in the same way as speaking or hearing of God in a manner novel or frivolous, only simple and noble speech was thought holy. But since then the Sextuses and Pyrrhos, 1 and the antithetic style, like a fearful and malignant disease, have infected our churches, and puerile chattering is esteemed, and we, as the book of the Acts says of the Athenians, spend our time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear something new. 1 O what Jeremiah  will bewail our confusion and dark madness? Only he could utter lamentations equal to our sufferings. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, Oration 21 1 Skeptic philosophers 2 Acts 17:21

Scarlet Fire

Videamus ergo qua ratione coccum dixerit duplicatum. Color iste, ut diximus, ignis indicat elementum. Ignis autem duplicem habet virtutem, unam qua illuminat, aliam qua incendit. Haec est historiae ratio. Veniamus et ad intellectualia. Etiam in ipsis ignis duplex est. Est ignis quidam in hoc saeculo, est et in futuro. Dominus Jesus dicit, 'Ignem veni mittere in terram.' Ignis iste illuminat. Item rursus Dominus dicet in futuro operariis iniquitatis: ' Ite in ignem aeternum, quem praeparavit Pater meus diabolo et angelis ejus.' Ille ignis incendit. Verumtamen iste ignis, quem venit mittere Jesus, illuminat quidem omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum, habet tamen aliquid quod et incendat, sicut confitenetur illi qui dicunt, 'Nonne cor nostrum ardens erat infra nos, cum adaperiret nobis Scripturas?' Simul ergo et incendebat et illuminabat, adaperiens Scripturas. Nescio autem si et ille ignis in futuro saeculo qui incendit, habeat aliquid quod et illuminet. Est ergo, ut ostendimus, natura ignis duplex, et ideo jubetur offerri occus duplicatus. Quomodo ergo nos offerre possumus ignem istem duplicatum ad aedificium tabernaculi, videamus. Si doctor es, exstruis tabernaculi aedificans Ecclesiam Dei; dicit ergo et ad te Deus quod et ad Jeremiam dixit: 'Ecce dedi verba mea in os tuum,' id est ignem. Si ergo docens et aedificans Ecclesiam Dei, increpes tantomodo et arguas et castiges, et peccata populi exprobes, nihil autem consolationis proferas de Scripturis divinis, obscurum nihil explanes, nihil scientiae profundioris attingas, nec aliquid intelligentiae sacratiores a aperies, obtulisti quidem coccum, sed non duplicatum. Ignis enim tuus incendit tantummodo, et no illuminat. Et rursum si docens mysteria legis aperias, secretorum arcana discutias, peccantem vero non arhuas, negligentem non corripias, severitatem disciplinae non teneas, obtulisti quidem coccum, sed non duplicatum. Ignis enim tuus tantum illuminat, non accendit. Qui ergo recte offert, et recete dividit, coccum offert duplicatum, ut cum scientiae lumine igniculum serveritatis admisceat. Origenes, In Exodum Homilia XIII, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense

Let us see, therefore, for what reason Moses said 'scarlet doubled.'1 This colour, as we have said, indicates the element of fire. Fire, however, has a double power: one which enlightens, another which burns. This is the historical reason. Let us come also to the spiritual reason. Even in this fire is double. There is a certain fire in this age and in the future. The Lord Jesus says, 'I came to cast fire on the earth.' 2 That fire enlightens. Again the same Lord says in the future to the workers of iniquity: 'Go into the eternal  fire my Father has prepared for the devil and his angels.'3 That fire burns. Nevertheless, that fire which Jesus came to cast enlightens, indeed, 'every man coming into this world.'4 But it has something also which burns, as those acknowledge who say, 'Was not our heart burning within us when he opened to us the Scriptures?'5 Therefore, by opening the Scriptures he both burned and enlightened at the same time. I do not know, however, whether that fire in the world to come which burns also has power to enlighten. The nature of fire, therefore, as we have shown is double and, for that reason, it is ordered that 'scarlet doubled' be offered. Let us see, therefore, how we can offer that doubled fire for the building of the tabernacle. If you are a teacher you are erecting a tabernacle when you edify the church of God. God, therefore, says to you also what he said to Jeremiah: 'Behold I have made my words in your mouth as fire.' 6 If, therefore,when you teach and edify the Church of God, you rebuke only and reprove and censure and upbraid the sins of the people, but you offer no consolation from the Sacred Scriptures, you explain nothing obscure, you touch nothing of more profound knowledge, you do not open any more sacred understanding, you have offered scarlet, indeed, but not doubled. For your fire burns only and does not enlighten. And again, if, when you teach, you open the mysteries of the Law, you discuss hidden secrets, but you do not reprove the sinner nor correct the negligent, nor hold to severity of discipline, you have offered scarlet, to be sure, but not doubled. For your fire enlightens only; it does not burn. He, therefore, who offers rightly and divides rightly offers scarlet doubled, so that he mixes the small flame of severity with the light of knowledge Origen, Twelfth Homily on Exodus, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Ex 35.5 2 Lk 12.49 3 Mt 25.41 4 Jn 1.9 5 Lk 24.32 6 Jer 1.9

Exultation and the Righteous

Ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, δίκαιοι, ἐν Κυρίῳ· τοῖς εὐθέσι πρέπει αἴνεσις Συνήθης τῇ Γραφῇ τῆς ἀγαλλιάσεως ἡ φωνὴ, φαιδροτάτην τινὰ καὶ περιχαρῆ κατάστασιν τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀξίοις εὐθυμίας ἐμφαίνουσα.  Ἀγαλλιᾶσθε οὐν, δίκαιοι, ἐν Κυρίῳ· μὴ ὅταν ὑμῖν εὐθηνῆται τὰ κατὰ τὸν οἶκον, μὴ ὅταν εὐεκτῆτε τῷ σώματι, μὴ ὅταν αἱ ἄρουραι πληθύνωσι καρπῶν παντοδαπῶν· ἀλλ' ὅτι Κύριον ἔχετε, τοιοῦτον μὲν τὸ κάλλος, τοιοῦτον δὲ τὴν ἀγαθότητα, τὴν σοφίαν τοιοῦτον. Ἀρκείτω ὑμῖν ἡ ἐπ' αὐτῷ εὐφροσύνη. Καὶ ἔοικεν ὁ μετ' εὐφροσύνης καὶ χαρᾶς ἐπαγαλλόμενος τινι τῶν περισπουδάστων, οὕτως ἀγαλλιᾷν ἐπ' αὐτῷ. Διὸ τοὺς δικαίους παρορμᾷ ὁ λόγος αἰσθάνεσθαι μετὰ τοῦ ἀξιώματος, ὅτι τοιούτου Δεσπότου δοῦλοι εἶναι κατηξιώθησαν, καὶ ἐπαγάλλεσθαι αὐτοῦ τῇ δουλείᾳ μετὰ χαρᾶς ἀμυθήτου καὶ σκιρτημάτων, τῆς καρδίας οἱονεὶ πηδώσης τῷ ἐνθουσιασμῷ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Εἴ ποτέ σου τῇ καρδίᾳ οἱονεὶ φῶς ἐμπεσὸν ἀθρόαν Θεοῦ ἔννοιαν ἐνεποίησε, καὶ περιέλαμψε σου τὴν ψυχὴν, ὥστε ἀγαπῆσαι μὲν τὸν Θεὸν, καταφρονῆσαι δὲ κόσμου καὶ τῶν σωματικῶν πάντων, ἐκ τῆς ἀμυδρᾶς ἐκείνης καὶ βραχείας εἰκόνος γνώρισον τὴν ὅλην τῶν δικαίων κατάστασιν, ὁμαλῶς καὶ ἀδιακόπως τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ Θεῷ εὐφροσύνην κατορθούντων. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΛΒ' Ψαλμον

Exult, O righteous, in the Lord, praise befits the upright. 1 Common to the Scriptures is the voice of exultation, which shows by hilarity and happiness the state of the soul in those worthy of joy. Exalt, then, do the righteous in the Lord. And may we not exult when it happens to us that the things of our house prosper, nor when we have the goods of the body, nor when the fields are full of every kind of fruit, but because we have the Lord, with such beauty, such goodness, such wisdom. And may the joy of it be pleasing to you. And as a man who abounds in something appears with joy and cheer rejoicing, so rejoice in this. And may these words encourage the righteous, that they regard they own worth, and that they exult to be worthy of being servants of such a Master, in that service exulting with unspeakable joy and excitement, with the heart jumping from the infusion of the love of the good. If ever on your heart this light falls and you are suddenly given the knowledge of God, and your soul is enlightened, that you love God and disdain the world and all worldly things, from that faint and brief similitude, understand the whole state of the righteous, who uniformly and immovably delight in God. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 32 1 Ps 32.1

The Word Transfigured

Καὶ οὐ μόνον αὐτὸς μεταμορφοῦται ἔμπροσθεν τῶν τοιούτων μαθητῶν, οὐδὲ προστίθησι μόνον τῇ μεταμορφώσει τὸ λάμψαι τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος· ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ τοῖς ἀναχθεῖσιν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ ὑψηλὸν ὄρος κατ' ἰδίαν φαίνεται λευκὰ ὡς τὸ φῶς · ἱμάτια δὲ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ αἱ λέξεις καὶ ἂ ἐνεδύσατο τῶν Εὐαγγελίων γράμματα. Οἴμαι δ' ὅτι καὶ τὰ παρὰ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις δηλοῠντα τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ, ἱμάτιά ἐστιν Ἰνσοῦ, γινόμενα τοῖς ἀναβαίνουσιν εἰς τὸ ὑψηλὸν ὃρος μετὰ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ λευκά. Ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ καὶ λευκῶν εἰσι διαφοραὶ, τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ γίνονται λευκὰ ὡς τὸ πάντων λευκὸν λαμπρότατον καὶ καθαρώτατον· τοῦτο δέ ἐστι τὸ φῶς. Ἐπὰν οὖν ἴδῃς τινὰ οὐ μόνον τὴν περὶ Ἰησοῦ θεολογίαν ἀκριβοῦντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν λέξιν τῶν Εὐαγγελίων πᾶσαν σαφηνίζοντα, μὴ ὄκνει τῷ τοιούτῳ φάσκειν γεγονέναι τὰ ἱμάτια τοῦ Ἰησοῦ λευκὰ ὡς τὸ φῶς. Ἐπὰν δὲ οὕτω νοηθῇ καὶ θεωρηθῇ μεταμορφωθεὶς ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ εἶναι ἥλιον, καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ λευκὰ ὡς τὸ φῶς, εὐθέως ὀφθεῖεν ἂν τῷ τοιοῦτον ἰδόντι τὸν Ἰησοῦν Μωσῆς ὁ νόμος, καὶ ὁ Ἠλίας συνεκδοχικῶς, οὐχ εἰς μόνος, ἀλλὰ πάντες οἱ προφῆται κοινολογούμενοι πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν· τοιοῠτον γάρ ἐστι τὸ δηλούμενον· Μετ' αὐτοῦ συλλαλοῦντες· κατὰ δὲ τὸν Λουκᾶν· Μωσῆς καὶ Ἠλίας ὀφθέντες ἐν δοξῃ, καὶ τὰ ἐξῆς, ἕως τοῦ, ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ. Εἴ τις δὲ εἶδε Μωσέως τὴν δόξαν, νοήσας τὸν πνευματικὸν νόμον, ὡς ἕνα πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν λόγον, καὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖς προφήταις ἐν μυστηρίῳ ἀποκεκρυμμένην σοφίαν, εἴδε Μωσῆν καὶ Ἠλἰαν ἐν δόξῃ, ὅτε εἶδε αὐτοὺς μετὰ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ. Εἶτα, ἐπεὶ κατὰ τὸν Μάρκον δεήσει διηγήσασθαι τό· Καὶ ἐν τῷ προσεύχεσθαι αὐτὸν μετεμορφώθη ἔμπροσωεν αὐτῶν, λεκτέον, ὅτι μήποτε μάλιστά ἐστιν ἰδεῖν τὸν Λόγον ἔμπροσθεν ἡμῶν μεταμορφούμενον, ἐὰν τὰ προειρημένα ποιήσωμεν, καὶ ἀναβῶμεν εἰς τὸ ὅρος, καὶ ἴδωμεν τὸν Αὐρολόγον κοινολογούμενον πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ εὐχόμενον αὐτῷ ὑπὲρ ὦν εὔξαιτ' ἄν ἀληθινὸς ἀρχιερεὺς ἀληθινῷ μόνῳ Θεῷ. Ἵνα δὲ οὕτω Θεῷ ὁμιλῇ, καὶ προσεύξηται τῷ Πατρὶ, ἀναβαίνει εἰς τὸ ὅρος· τότε δὲ κατὰ Μάρκον Γίνονται τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ λευκὰ καὶ στίλβοντα ὡς τὸ φῶς, οἴα γναφεὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς οὐ δύναται οὕτως λευκάναι. Καὶ τάχα οἱ μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς γναφεῖς οἱ ἐπιμελούμενοι εἰσι σοφοὶ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου λέξεως ἥς νομίζουσι λαμπρᾰς καὶ καθαρᾶς, ὡς κοσμεῖσθαι δοκεὶν καὶ τὰ αἰσχρὰ νοήματα, καὶ τὰ ψευδῆ δόγματα ὑπὸ τῆς, ἵν' οὕτως ὀνομάσθ, γναφικῆς αὐτῶν· ὁ δὲ στίλβοντα τοῖς ἐπαναβεβηκόσον ἐπιδεικνὺς τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ, καὶ λαμπρότερα ὦν δύναται ποιεῖν ἡ ἐκείνων γναφικὴ, ὁ Λόγος ἐστὶ, παριστὰς ἐν ταῖς ὑπὸ πολλῶν καταφρονουμέναις λέξεσι τῶν Γραφῶν τὴν τῶν νοημάτων στίλψιν, ὁτε ὁ ἱματισμὸς τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, κατὰ τὸν Λουκᾶν, λευκὸς καὶ ἐξαστράπτων γίνεται. Ὠριγένης, Κατὰ Ματθαιον Ἐξηγητικων, Τομος ΙΒ'

And not only is He transfigured before such disciples, nor does He only add to the transfiguration his face shining like the sun, for even his garments appear white as the light to those who were led up by Him into the high mountain, 1 and the garments of Jesus are the expressions and letters of the Gospels with which He invested Himself. For I think that the words in the Apostles which indicate the truths concerning Him are the garments of Jesus, which become white to those who go up into the high mountain along with Jesus. But since there are differences of white things, it is said His garments become white as the brightest and purest of all white things, and that is light. When then you note someone not only having an accurate theology concerning Jesus, but also one who is able to make clear every expression of the Gospels, do not hesitate to say that to him the garments of Jesus have become white as the light. And when the Son of God in His transfiguration is so understood and beheld, His face like the sun, and His garments white like light, immediately there will appear to him who beholds Jesus in such a way Moses, the law, and Elijah, in the way of synecdoche, not one prophet only, but all the prophets, holding converse with Jesus, for such is clear from: 'they were talking with Him,' 2  and, according to Luke, 'Moses and Elijah appeared in glory,' down to the words, 'in Jerusalem.' 3  But if any one sees the glory of Moses, having understood the spiritual law as one with the teaching of Jesus, and the wisdom in the prophets which is hidden in a mystery, 4 he sees Moses and Elijah in glory when he sees them with Jesus. Then, since one must speak on the passage as given in Mark, ' And as He was praying He was transfigured before them,' 5 let it be said that one may certainly see the Word transfigured before us if we have done the things we have spoken of, and gone up the mountain, and seen the absolute Word holding converse with the Father, and praying to Him for such things as the true High Priest might pray for to the only true God. But that He might thus associate with God and pray to the Father, He goes up the mountain, and then, according to Mark, 'His garments became white and glistening as the light, as no fuller on earth can whiten them.' 6 And perhaps the fullers on the earth are the wise of this age who have great care over speech which they consider to be bright and pure, so that even their ugly thoughts and deceitful teachings seem to be beautified by their fulling, so to speak, but He who shows His own garments glistening and brighter than their fulling can make them to those who have ascended is the Word, who gives in the expressions of the Scriptures, which are despised by many, the glistening of His thoughts, when the garments of Jesus, according to Luke, became white and dazzling. 7 Origen, from the Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Book 12 1 Mt 17:2 2 Mt 17:3 3 Lk 9:30-31 4 1 Cor 2:7 5 Lk 9.28 ! 6 Mk 9:3 7 Lk 9:29

The Eighth Day

In diebus octo assumpsit, et duxit in montem. Quid est quod iste dicit: In diebus octo post haec verba. Ne forte quia is qui verna Christi audit et credit, resurrectionis tempore gloriam Christi videbit; octava enim die facta est resurrectio; unde et plerique psalmi in octavam inscribuntur. Aut forte ut ostenderet nobis quia dixerat quod is qui propter Dei verbum perdiderit animam suam, salvam faciet eam; quoniam promissa sua in resurrectione restituat. Sed Matthaeus et Marcus post dies sex assumptos hos esse memorarunt  De quo possemus dicere, post sex millia annorum, Mille enim anni in conspectu Dei tamquam dies una: sed plures quam sex millia computantur anni: et malumus sex dies per symbolum intelligere, quod sex diebus mundi opera sunt creata; ut per tempus opera, per opera mundum intelligamus. Et ideo mundi temporibus impletis, resurrectio futura monstratur: aut quia is qui supra mundum ascenderit, et hujus saeculi momenta transcenderit, velut in sublimi locatus, futurae resurrectionis expectabit aeternum. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Evangelii secundum Lucam, Liber VII

On the eighth day he took them up and led them on to the mountain. 1 What is the meaning of him saying, 'On the eighth day after these words' unless perhaps that he who is a servant of Christ, who hears and believes, shall see in time the glory of the resurrection of Christ. For the eighth day is the resurrection, whence many Psalms are written in eight sections. 2 Or perhaps that it might be shown to us that he said that he who for the word of God gives his own soul, that he will save it, because His promise will restore in the resurrection. But Matthew and Mark recall that he took them up on the sixth day. 3 Concerning which we are able to say, after six thousand years, 'For a thousand years are as a day in the sight of God ' 4 but more than six thousand years are reckoned, and we prefer to understand the six days as a figure, that in six days the things of the world were created, that through time the works were done, and through the works we might understand the world. And therefore with the fullness of the time of the earth, the future resurrection will be shown. Or because this is of the one who has risen above the world, and this age transcended, and as in sublime place, is expecting the eternity of the future resurrection. Saint Ambrose, On The Gospel of Luke, Book 7 1 Lk 9.28 2 cf Ps 6 and 11 3 Mt 17.1 , Mk 9.1 4 Ps 89.4

The Great Lights

Et fecit Deus duo luminaria magna: luminare majus in principatum diei, et luminare minus in pincipatum noctis, et stella. Et posuit ea Deus in firmamento caeli, ut luceant super terram et potestatem habeant diei et noctis, et dividant inter medium lucis et inter medium tenebrarum. Et vidit quia bonum est: et factum est vespere et factum est mane dies quarta.   Sicut sol et luna magna luminaria dicta sunt esse in firmamento coeli; ita et in nobis Christus et Ecclesia. Sed quoniam etiam stellas in firmamento posuit Deus, videamus quae sunt etiam in nobis stellae, id est, in cordis nostri coelo. Moyses stella est in nobis, quae lucet et illuminat nos aetibus suis. Et Abraham, Isaac et Jacob et Isaias, et Jeremias, et Ezechiel, et David, et Daniel: et omnes quibus Scriptura sancta testimonium dedit, quia placuerint Deo. Sicut enim 'stella ab stella differt in claritate ita et a Christo atque Ecclesia illuminatur mentes nostrae. Ita tamen illuminamur, si non simus mentibus caeci. Nam sicut sol et luna corporalibus oculis caecos quamvis illustrent, illi tamen recipere lumen non possunt; ita et Christus lucem suam praestat mentibus nostris, sed ita demum nos illuminabit, si nequaquam caecitas mentis impediat. Quod etiam si accidat primo, oportet eos qui caeci sunt sequi Christum, dicentes et clamantes: Misere nobis, fili David,'  ut etiam visum ab ipso recipientes, possint deinceps et lucis ejus splendore radiari. Verum non aequaliter omnes qui vident illuminantur a Christo, sed singuli secundum eam mensuram illuminantur, qua vim luminis recipere valent. Et sicut non aequaliter oculi corporis nostri illuminantur a sole, sed quanto quis in loca altiora conscenderit, et ortum ejus editioris speculae intuitione fuerit contemplatus, tanto amplius et splendoris ejus vim percipiet et caloris: ita etiam mens nostra quanto altius et excelsius appropinquaverit Christo, ac se viciniorem splendori lucis ejus objecerit, tanto magnificentius et clarius ejus lumine radiabitur, sicut et ipse ait per prophetam; Approprinquate mihi et appropinquabo vobis dicit Dominus. Et iterum dicit, Deus approximans ego sum, et non Deus de longe' Non similiter tamen venimus ad eum omnes sed unusquisue secundum propriam suam virtutem. Aut enim cum turbis venimus ad eum, et per parabolas nos reficit, ad hoc tantummodo ne multis jejuniis deficiamus in via: aut certe semper et indesinenter ejus pedibus assidemus, vacantes ad hoc solum ut audiamus verbum ejus, nequaquam perturbati erga multum ministerium, sed optimam partem eligentes, quae non auferetur a nobis. Et utique qui sic accedunt ad eum, multo amplius ex ejus lumine consequuntur. Si vero sicut apostoli nusquam omnino moveamur ab eo, sed semper cum eo permaneamus in omnibus tribulationibus ejus, tunc nobis secreto ea, quae ad turbas locutus fuerat, exponit, atque dissolvit, et multo clarius illuminat nos. Si vero etiam talis quis fuerit, ut possit et in montem ascendere cum eo sicut Petrus et jacobus et Joannes, iste non solum Christi lumine, sed etiam Patris ipsius illuminabitur voce. Origenes, Homilia I In Genesim, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense

'And God made two great lights, the great light to rule the day and a lesser light to rule the night, and the stars. And God placed them in the firmament of Heaven that they shine on all the earth and that they have power over the day and the night, and they divided between the middle of the light and between the middle of the darkness. And He saw that it was good and there was an evening and a morning, the fourth day .' 1 Like the sun and moon  there are said to be great lights in the firmament of heaven, that is, in us Christ and the Church. But because God placed stars in heaven, we see that there are also stars in us, that is, in our heavenly heart. Moses is a star in us, which shines and illuminates us with his age. And Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and David and Daniel, and all of whom Scripture testifies as being holy, because they were pleasing to God. For as star and star differs in brightness, 2 so even by Christ and the Church our minds are illuminated. That is, we are illuminated if we are not blind in our minds. For as the sun and moon are to our corporeal eyes, that though they shine we may not able to see their light, so even Christ offers his light to our eyes, but we are only illuminated if we have no blindness of mind. And if that blindness should happen, first we should follow those blind men who followed Christ, crying out, ' Be merciful to us, son of David' 3 that receiving sight  from Him, we may then be able to be lit up by the splendour of his light. Certainly all are not equal who receive light from Christ, but each is illuminated according to his measure, that is, by the power of the light that he is able to receive. And as our corporeal eyes are not lit equally by the sun, but much more is he  who has risen to a higher place where he may contemplate His rising by thought on the mirror which shows Him, and there so much more shall a man perceive His splendour and heat to be. So even our minds the more they rise and are higher, having neared Christ, being closer as He throws down the splendour of his light, so much more magnificently and brightly are they lit up by His light, as even He says through the Prophet, Draw near to me and I shall draw near to you, says the Lord 4. And again He says, 'I am God who is near not a God who is far off.' 5 Not in identical fashion do we come to Him, but everyone comes according to his own virtue. For either we come with the crowds to Him, and by parables he refreshes us, lest by being little used to fasting we weary on the way. Or we sit at length near His feet, attending only to this: that we hear His word, not all disturbed by many distractions, but choosing the better part, which will not be taken from us. 6 And he who approaches Him in this way obtains much more of His light. Truly if we be as the Apostles and never move away from Him, but always remain with him in His troubles, then to us is expounded the mystery of what he has spoken to the crowd who have been dismissed. And yet with much more light He may illuminate us. And if indeed someone would have that, let him be able to climb up the mountain like Peter and James and John, 7 there not only to be illuminated by Christ, but even to be illuminated by the voice of the Father. Origen, First Homily on Genesis, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Gen 1.16 2 2 Cor 15.41 3 Mt 9.27  4 Zach 1.3  5 Jer 23.23  6 Lk 10. 39-42  7 Lk 9.28

The Living Sacrifice

'Obsecro itaque vos, fratres, per misericordiam Dei, ut exhibeatis corpora vestra hostiam viventiam, sanctam, Deo placentem, rationabile, obsequium vestrum. Et nolite confimari huic saeculo: sed reformamini rennovatione sensus vestri: ut probetis quae sit voluntas Dei, quod bonum, et beneplacitum, et perfectum Quoniam, inquit, ostendimus a sacrificiis carnalibus recedendum, secundum quod et Propheta dicit: Hostias et oblationem noluisti, nec placita sunt tibi : nunc, ait, doceo vos quibus hostiis delectetur Deus: et haec doceo non quasi imperans, nihil enim proficit legis imperium, sed quasi qui officium susceperim reconciliandi vos Deo, osbsecro vos, fratres; et obsecro non per potentiam, sed per misericordiam Dei. Quia enim, sicut supra ostendi omnes conclusi sunt sub peccato,  nunc iam non in meritis, sed in misericordia Dei salus humana consistit. Quid autem est quod vos obsecro? Ut exhibeatis corpora vestra hostiam viventem, santam, Deo placentem, ut sit rationabile obsequium vestrum. Obsequium hic cultum Dei dicit. Qui cultus quoniam dudum in pecudum mutorum corporibus consistebat, nunc, inquit, in corpore rationabilis hominis offeratur, et corpora magis vestra quam  pecudum fiant sacrificiorum quae in Levitico lata est secundum spiritalem intelligiam complent. Verbi causa, ut ibi offerebant vitulum primo loco, vel secundo arietem, aut tertio hircum, aut quarto turtures, vel etiam pullos columbarum, ut in his uniuscujusque anima purificaretur pro qualitate gestorum; haec nunc in suo corpore unusquisque purificans, et spiritali sensu discernens, rationabili obsequio viventem hostiam offert Deo. De quibus singulis, cum in librum Levitici aliqua diceremus, pro viribus explanare tentavimus quomodo unusquisque rationabili obsequio cultus Dei, si superbiam corporis sui vincat, immolet vitulum; si iracunduam superet, arietem jugulet; si libidinem vincat, holocaustum offerat hircum; si vagos et lubricos cogitationum resecet volatus, columbas et turtures immolet. Origenes, Commentarium in Epistolam Ad Romanos, Liber IX, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense

'I beg you, brothers, through the mercy of God, that you show your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy , pleasing to God, and a reasonable offering. And do not conform to this age: but be remade in  the renewal of your mind that you might discover what is the will of God, what is good, and pleasing, and perfect.'1   Because, he said, we are shown that we must withdraw from carnal sacrifice, when the Prophet says 'Sacrifices and oblations You did not want nor are they pleasing to You,' 2 now, he says, I shall teach you what sacrifices delight God: and I teach not like one who commands, for the rule of the law profits not, but as one who has taken up this office for reconciliation with God, and I beseech not through power, but through the mercy of God. Because indeed, as we have said before, everyone has been bound up within sin, 3 and so man's salvation is brought about not by his own merit but by the mercy of God. And what is this I ask? That you show your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, a reasonable offering. Here he speaks of worship as being an offering to God. That worship then which a little time ago consisted in the changeable bodies of cattle, now, he says, shall be offered with reason by the body of man, and so let your body, not beasts, be brought to sacrifice, that one may have a spiritual understanding of Leviticus. By the word, we offer there in first place flesh, or as second a ram, or third a goat, or fourth turtle doves, or even doves, that the soul may be purified by the quality of deeds, these things now purifying the body, discerned with spiritual sense, offered humbly as a reasonable sacrifice to God. Concerning these things we have mentioned from the book of Leviticus we shall try to explain how each one may be a rational offering for the worship of God. If  a man would conquer pride of body he sacrifices flesh; if anger he would overcome, he chooses a ram, if lust he would defeat he offers a holocaust of goats, if he would fly from wandering and slippery thoughts, he sacrifices doves and turtle doves. Origen, Commentary on Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans, Book 9, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia 1 Rom 12 -1-2 2 Ps 39.7 3 Rom 11.32

Bad Sacrifices, Bad Prayers

Si offeratis caecum ad immolandum, nonne malum est? Et si offeratis claudum et languidum, nonne malum est? offer illud duci tuo, si placuerit ei, aut si susceperit faciem tuam, dicit Dominus exercitum. LXX: Quia si offeratis caecum in sacrificium, nonne malum est? Et si offeratis claudum et languidum, nonne malum est? offer illud duci tuo, si susceperit te, si acceperit faciem tuam, dicit Dominus omnipotens. De diversitate victimarum, et quae vel offerri debeant, vel non offerri, in Levitico plenius discimus. Reversi itaque de Babylone sacerdotes et Levitae, janitores atque cantores, et Nathinnaei servique Salomonis, quorum Ezras scribit katalogon, illicitas Deo victimas offerebant, caecas videlicet et claudas, ac varia debilitate confectas; hoc est enim quod dicit languidum, uno cuncta sermone comprehendens. Si istius modi, inquit, duci tuo offeres munera, nonne respueret? nonne sibi factam putaret injuriam? et hoc audetis offerre Deo, quod dare hominibus non audetis? Longum est nunc omnium victimarum aperire mysteria: de his tantum loquar quae praesenti capitulo continentur. Caeca est animae victima, quae non illustratur Christi lumine, nec habet oculum de Evangelio contuentem. Clauda est rogantis oratio, quae duplici mente accedit ad precandum, et audit eum populo Judaeorum: 'Usquequo claudicatis utroque pede? Et languida, et omni infirmitate cooperta, quae non habet Christi Dei virtutem, Deique sapientiam. Istius modi preces, quae sine lumine veritatis sunt, et non habent sapientiae firma vestigia, et debilitatibus variis contabescunt, si offerantur Ecclesiarum principi, aut cuilibet erudite sapientique doctori, nonne repudiabuntur, et in contumeliam ejus recident, qui talia est ausus offerre? Sanctus Hieronymous,Commentarium In Malachiam Prophetam Source: Migne PL 25.1549a-c

If you offer something blind for sacrifice, is it not an evil? And if you offer something lame and weak, is it not an evil? Offer that to your leader, if it would be pleasing to him, or if he would lift up your face, says the Lord of Hosts. The Septuagint has: Because if you offer something blind as sacrifice, is it not an evil? And is you offer something lame and weak, is it not an evil? Offer that to your leader, if he would take you up, if he would lift up your face, says the Lord Almighty. 1 Concerning the diversity of victims, and what should be offered and not offered we learn much in Leviticus. 2 Coming back from Babylon the priests and levites, the doorkeepers and singers, and the Nathinaeans 3 and servants of Solomon, whom Ezra catalogues, 4 offered illicit things to God, that is, things blind and lame and oppressed by many infirmities, 5 for this what is meant by weak, one word containing everything. If such things, he says, you offer, as your best, will it not be spurned? Will he not think it a harmful deed? And this you offer to God which you would not dare offer to man? A long thing it is to reveal the mystery of every victim, so I shall speak now only of things here mentioned. Blind is the victim of the soul which is not enlightened with the light of Christ, which does not have its eye cleansed by the Gospel. 6 Lame is the prayer of the petitioner which comes forth from a duplicitous mind, and he hears with the people of the Jews, 'How long will you hobble with both feet lame?' 7 And weak is that which is overwhelmed with every infirmity, that which does not have the virtue of the Divine Christ and the wisdom of God. The prayers of these, which do not have the light of truth, and lack the firm way of wisdom, and are withered by various debilities, if they are offered by the leaders of the Churches, or by whatever learned and wise teacher, will they not be rejected and thrown back to the disgrace of those who dare offer such things? Saint Jerome, Commentary on The Prophet Malachi  1 Mal 1.8  2 Lev 21, 22  3 Ezra 8.20  4 Ezra 2.70  5 1ez 2  6 Mt 6.22  7 3 Kings 18.21

Turning Weeping Into Joy

Ἤκουσε Κύριος, καὶ ἠλέησέ με· Κύριος ἐγένήθη βοηθός μου. Μετὰ τὸ διηγήσασθαι τίνα ἧν ἂ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἐκέκραξεν, εὐθὺς αἰσθόμενος τῆς ἀντιλήψεως τοῦ Θεοῦ, παρομῶν ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὁμοίων αἴτησιν, Ἤκουσε, φησὶ, Κὺριος, καὶ ἠλέησέ με· Κύριος ἐγένήθη βοηθός μου. Εὐχώμεθα οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς, καὶ κράζωμεν τὴν πνευματικὴν βοὴν, αἰτούμενοι τὰ μεγάλα, μὴ ἀντιποιούμενοι τῆς σαρκὸς, Οἱ γὰρ ἐν σαρκὶ ὄντες, Θεῷ ἀρέσαι ού δύνανται, ἵνα καὶ ἡμῶν ἐπακούσῃ ὁ Κύριος, ἐλεήσας ἡμῶν τὸ ἀσθενὲς, καὶ της θείας βοηθείας ἀπολαύσαντες καὶ ἡμεῖς εἴπωμεν· Ἔστρεψας τὸν κοπετόν μου εἰς χαρὰν ἐμοι. Οὐ τῇ τυχούσῃ ψυχῇ ἡ ἀπὸ Θεοῦ χαρὰ ἐγγίνεται, ἀλλ' εἴ τις πολλὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀπεκλαύσατο, ἰσχυροϊς ὀδυρμοϊς καὶ θρήνοις διηνεκέσιν, ὡς ἐπὶ τεθνεῶτι ἑαυτῷ κοπετὸν ἐποιήσατο, τοῦ τοιούτου ὁ κοπετὸς εἰς χαρὰν στρέφεται. Ὅτι δέ ἐστιν ἐπαινετῶς κόψασθαι, δηλοῦσιν οἱ ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς καθήμενοι παῖδες, οἱ λέγοντες· Ἐθρηνήσαμεν ὑμῖν, καὶ οὐκ έκόψασθε· ηὐλήσαμεν ὐμῖν, καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε. Ἔστι δὲ ὁ αὐλὸς ὄργανον μουσικὸν πνεύματι συνεργῷ πρὸς τὴν μελῳδίαν χρώμενον. Διόπερ οἶμαο πάντα ἅγιον προφήτην αὐλὸν τροπικῶς ὀνομάζεσθαι διὰ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος κίνησιν. Διόπερ, φησὶν, ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν, καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε. Οἱ γὰρ προφητικοὶ λόγοι προτρέπονται ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τὴν εὔρύθμον τῆς ἁγίας προφητείας ἐνέργειαν, ἤτις εἴρηται ὄρχησις. Ἀλλὰ καὶ θρηνοῦιν ἡμῖν οἱ προφῆται, εἰς κοπετὸν ἡμᾶς προκαλούμενοι, ἵνα, εἰς συναίσθησιν ἐλθόντες ἐκ τῶν προφητικῶν λόγων ἐπὶ τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ἁμαρτήμασι, καταπενθήσωμεν ἡμῶν τὴν ἀπώλειαν, ἐν κόποις καὶ μόχθοις τὴν σάρκα ἡμῶν καταπιέσαντες. Τῷ τοιούτῳ τοίνυν περιῥῥήγνυται μὲν τὸ μενθικὸν ἕνδυμα, ὅ καταπενθῶν ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ἁναρτίαν περιεβάλετο. Περιτίθεται δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ χιτὼν τῆς εὐφροσύνης, καὶ τὸ ἱμάτιον τοῦ σωτηρίου, τὰ φαιδρὰ ταῦτα καὶ γαμικὰ ἐνδύματα, οἶς ὁ κεκοσμημένος ἐκ τοῦ νυμφῶνος οὐκ ἐκβληθήσεται. Διέῥῥηξας τὸν σάκκον μου, καὶ περιέζωσας με εὐφροσύνην. Συνεργὸς εἰς μετάνοιαν ὁ σάκκος, ταπεινώσεως ὑπάρχων σύμβολον· Πάλαι γὰρ ἂν ἐν σάκκῳ, φησὶ, καὶ σποδῷ καθήμενοι μετενόησαν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ Απόστολος ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν αὐτὴν εἰκόνα μεταμορφοῦται ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν, τὴν δοθεῖσαν αὐτῷ χάριν ἀπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου ἰδίαν λέγει δόξα. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΚΘ' Ψαλμον

The Lord heard and He was merciful to me; the Lord was my help. 1 After telling of things he had cried out to the Lord, immediately sensing the help of God, he exhorts us to do the same. 'The Lord heard,' he said,' and He was merciful to me; and the Lord was my help.' Let us pray then that we cry out with spiritual clamour, seeking not base things, nor caring for the flesh, for those who are in the flesh are not able to be pleasing to God, 2 that God hear us, having mercy on our weakness, and that with gift of divine help we might say, 'You have turned my weeping into joy.'  3 The joy of God does not inhere in just any soul but if a man lament his sin vehemently with groans and with heavy sighs, as if he himself we mourning himself dead, this is the grief which is turned into joy. And that it is even praiseworthy grief,  the children sitting in the marketplace show, saying, ' We lamented to you and you did not weep, we sang with flutes and you did not dance.' 4 The musical instrument of the flute is made to work with breath for the production of melody, and therefore I think that every holy prophecy is the playing of the flute through the movement of the Holy Spirit and that when it says that we played to you and you did not dance, we have the prophetic words exhorting us to motion pleasing to sacred prophecy. And for our sake the prophets lamented, exhorting us to our own grief, that through prophetic words we become conscious of our sins, that we weep our deaths, laboring and groaning in the castigation of the flesh. And from such men is the mourning garb cut off, that which in grief for his sin he had put on. Then he is surrounded with a tunic of joy and a cloak of salvation and the splendid garb of the wedding guest, which if he does not wear will have him expelled from the nuptial chambers. 5 'You cut off my sackcloth and surrounded me with joy.' 6 The sackcloth is help to penance, and a sign of humility. For he says 'Sitting in sackcloth and ash they made penance' 7 And then the Apostle says: With face revealed, to the same image transformed, from glory into glory 8,' the grace given to him by the Lord he names glory. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 29 1 Ps 29.11 2 Rom 8.8 3 Ps 29.12  4 Lk 7.32 5 Mt 22.11-13 6 Ps 29.12 7 Lk 10.13 8 2 Cor 3.18

Praying Without Ceasing

Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις δυνάμεως πεπληρωμένους νομίζω τοὺς λόγους τῆς τῶν ἁγίων εὐχῆς, μάλιστα ὅτε προσευχόμενοι, πνεύματι προσεύχονται καὶ τῷ νοὶ, φωτὶ ἀνατέλλοντι ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ εὐχομένου διανοίας καὶ προϊόνται ἐκ στόματος αὐτοῦ, ὑπεκλύειν δυνάμει Θεοῦ τὸν ἐνιέμενον νουητὸν ἰὸν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀντικειμένων δυνάμεων τῷ ἡγεμονικῷ τῶν ἀμελούντων τοῦ εὔχεσθαι, καὶ τὸ, Ἀδιαλείπτωη προσεύχεσθω, ἀκολούθως ταῖς τοῦ Ἰυσοῦ προτροπαῖς εἰρημένον παρὰ τῷ Παυλῳ μὴ φυλαττόντων. Ὡωπερ γὰρ βέλος ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ εὐχομένου ψυχῆς τῇ γνώσει καὶ τῷ λόγῳ ἢ τῇ πίστει πρόεισι ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου, τιτρῶσκον ἐπὶ καθαιρέσει καὶ καταλύσει τὰ ἐχθρὰ τῷ Θεῷ πνεύματα, τοῖς τῆς ἁμαρτίας δεσμοῖς περιβαλεῖν ἡμᾶς θέλοντα. Ἀδιαλείπτως δὲ προσεύχεται, καὶ τῶν ἔργων τῆς ἀρετῆς, ἢ τῶν ἐντολῶν τῶν ἐπιτελουμένων εἰς εὐχῆς ἀναλαμβανομένων μέρος, ὁ συνάπτων τοῖς δέουσιν ἔργοις τὴν εὐχὴν, καὶ τῇ εὐχῇ τὰς πρεπούσας πράξεις· οὕτω γὰρ μόνως τὸ, ἀδιαλείπτως προσεύχεσθε, ἐκδέξασθαι δυνάμεθα ὡς δυνατὸν ὂν εἰρημένον, εἰ πάντα τὸν βίον τοῦ ἁγιου μίαν συναπτομένην μεγάλην εἴποιμεν εὐχήν· ἧς εὐχῆς μέρος ἐστὶ καὶ ἡ συνήθως ὀνονμαζομένη εὐχὴ, οὐκ ἔλλατον τοῦ τρίς ἑκάστης ἡμέρας ἐπιτελεῖσθαι ὀφεἰλουσιν ὅπερ δῆλοὶ ἐστιν ἐκ τῶν κατὰ τὸν Δανιὴλ, τηλικούτου ἑπηρτημένου αὐτῷ κινδύνου, εὐχόμενον, τρὶς τῆς ἡμέρας. Καὶ ὁ Πέτρος δὲ ἀναβαίνων εἰς τὸ δῶμα τὴν ἕκτην προσεύξασθαι, ὅτε καὶ ὥρα τὸ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καθιέμενον σκεῦος τέτρασιν ἀρχαῖς καθιέμενον,' παρίστησι τὴν μέσην τῶν τριῶν εύχὴν τὴν πρὸ αὐτοῦ καὶ παρὰ τοῦ Δαυὶδ λεγομένην· Τὸ πρωεϊσακούσῃ τῆς προσευχῆς μου· τὸ πρωϊ παραστήσομαι σοι καὶ ἐπόψομαι· καὶ τῆς τελευταίας δηλουμένης διὰ τοῦ· Ἔπαρσις τῶν χειρῶν μου Θυσία ἐσμερινή. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τὸν τῆς νυκτὸς καιρὸν χωρις ταύτης τῆς εὐχῆς καθηκόντως διανύσομεν, τοῦ μὲν Δαυὶδ λεγοντος· ' Μεσονύκτιον ἐξεγειρόμην τοῦ ἐξομολογεῖσθαι σοι ἐπὶ τὰ κρίματα τῆς δικαιοσύνης σου· τοῦ δε Παύλου, ὡς ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι τῶν ἀποστόλων εἴρηται, κατὰ τὸ μεσονύκτιον ἄμα τῷ Σίλᾳ ἐν Φιλίπποις προσευχομένου καὶ ὑμνοῦντος τὸν Θεὸν, ὥστε ἐπακροάσθαι αὐτων καὶ τοὺς δεσμίους. Ὠριγένης, Περὶ Εὐχὴς

And I think that the words of the prayer of the saints to be full of power, especially when praying they pray with the spirit and understanding, with a light rising from the mind of he who prays and proceeding from his mouth to gradually weaken by the power of God the mental venom injected by the adverse powers into the leading faculty of those who are careless for prayer and who fail to keep that saying of Paul's, 'Pray without ceasing.' 1' in accordance with the exhortations of Jesus. For it is like a shaft from the suppliant's soul, sped by knowledge and reason or by faith, that goes forth from the saint and wounds to ruin and dissolution the spiritual enemies of God who are eager to cast around us the bonds of sin. And who he prays without ceasing, since deeds of virtue or of the commandments is also a constituent part of prayer, combines prayer with right actions, and befitting deeds with prayer. For the when it is said 'pray without ceasing' it can only be accepted as something possible by us if we may speak of the whole life of a saint as being one great continuous prayer. Of such a prayer what is customarily named prayer is a part, and should be performed no less than three times a day, as is clear from Daniel who, despite the great danger that threatened him, prayed three times daily. 2 And Peter when he goes up to the housetop about the sixth hour to pray, on that occasion when he saw the vessel which descended from heaven let down by four corners, presents to us the middle prayer of the three 3 The first is spoken of by David: 'In the morning shall you hear my prayer; in the morning will I present myself to you and keep watch.' 4 The last is indicated in the words: 'the lifting up of my hands in evening sacrifice.' 5 But we shall not end this matter correctly without attending to the prayer of the night, of which David  says 'In the middle of the night I rose to make acknowledgment to you for your righteous judgments' 6 and of Paul it is said in the Acts of the Apostles that 'around midnight' 7 with Silas in Phillipi he prayed and offered songs to God, which was heard by the others in bondage there.  Origen, On Prayer 1 Thes 5.17 2 Dan 6.13  3 Acts 10.9-11  4 Ps 5.4  5 Ps 140.2  6 Ps 118.62  7 Acts 16.25

An Enlargement of Heart

Cum invocarem, exaudivit me Deus iustitiae meae: cum invocarem, exaudivit me Deus, inquit, a quo est iustitia mea. In tribulatione dilatasti mihi: ab angustiis tristitiae, in latitudinem gaudiorum me duxisti; tribulatio enim et angustia in omnem animam hominis operantis malum. Qui autem dicit: Gaudemus in tribulationibus, scientes quoniam tribulatio patientiam operatur, usque ad illud ubi ait: Quoniam caritas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spiritum sanctum, qui datus est nobis, non habet cordis angustias, quamvis extrinsecus a persequentibus ingerantur. Mutatio autem personae, quod a tertia, ubi ait, exaudivit, statim transiit ad secundam, ubi ait, dilatasti mihi, si non varietatis ac suavitatis causa facta est, mirum cur primum tamquam indicare voluit hominibus exauditum se esse, et postea compellare exauditorem suum. Nisi forte cum indicasset quemadmodum exauditus sit in ipsa dilatatione cordis, maluit cum Deo loqui; ut etiam hoc modo ostenderet quid sit corde dilatari, id est, iam cordi habere infusum Deum, cum quo intrinsecus colloquatur. Quod in persona eius qui credens in Christum illuminatus est, recte accipitur. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Enarratio in Psalmum IV

'When I called, the God of my righteousness heard me'  1 When I called, God heard me, he says, from whom is my righteousness. 'In tribulation You have enlarged me.' From the narrow ways of sorrow into the broad ways of joy You have led me. For, 'tribulation and narrowness is on every soul of man who is a worker of evil.' 2 But he who says, 'We rejoice in tribulations, knowing that tribulation works patience;' up to that place where he says, 'Because the love of God is spread about in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which is given to us,' 3 has no narrowness of heart, although from without persecutors heap up trouble upon him. There is a change of person here, from the third person, where he says, 'He heard,' he passes at once to the second person, where he says, 'You have enlarged me,' which if it be not done for the sake of variety and style, makes one wonder why he first wishes to tell men that he had been heard, and afterwards address Him who heard him. Unless perhaps when he had declared how he was heard, in this enlargement of heart, he preferred to speak with God, that even in this way he might show what it is to be enlarged in heart, that is, to have God already infused in the heart, with Whom he might speak to within. Which is rightly to be understood as the person of him who, believing in Christ, has been enlightened. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Expositions on the Psalms, Psalm 4 1 Ps 4.1 2 Rom 2.9   3 Rom 5.3-5

The Place Of Prayer

Clauso quoque cubiculi ostio jubemur orare, atque in omni loco precem fundere edocemur: et sanctorum oratio inter feras, caceres, flammas, et de profoundo maris ac bestiae ventre suscepta est. Ergo non occulta domus, sed cordis nostri cubiculum ingredi, et clauso mentis nostrae secreto orare ad Deum, non multiloquio, sed conscientia admonemur, quia dictorum verbis opus omne praecellat. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap V

We are commanded to pray with the door of the inner room closed, 1 and yet we are also taught that prayer has been made in every place, for the prayers of holy men has been made amid wild animals, in prison, in flames, and even in the depths of the sea and the belly of the monster. Therefore this inner room is not a hidden place in the house but it is an entry into the inner room of our heart, and so in the closed privacy of our mind we pray to God, and not in many words, but we are admonished to do so with understanding, because every deed excels the words of speech. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, from the Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 6.6

Prayer and Thanksgiving

Εύλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς, ὅτι εἰσήκουσε τῆς φωνῆς τῆς δεήσεώς μου. Κύριος βοηθός μου καὶ ὑπερασπιστής μου· ἐπ' αὐτῷ ἤλπισεν ἡ καρδία μοι καὶ ἐβοηθήθην. Καὶ ἀνέθαλεν ἡ σάρξ μου, καὶ ἐκ θελήματος μου ἐξομολογήσομαι αύτῷ.   Ὁ ἀψευδὴς Θεὸς, πιστούμενος ἑαυτοῦ τὰς ὑποσχέσεις, δι' ὦν ἐπήγγελται λέγων· Ἔτι λαλοῦντός σου ἐρῶ· Ἰδοὺ πὰρειμι· ὡς ἐγγυς ἐστὼς τῶν καθαρῶς αὐτὸν ἐπικαλουμένων, καὶ ὡς οὐ πόῥῥω τυγχάνων τοῦ τὰ πραχθέντα δεηθέντος, ἑπήκοον ἑαυτὸν παρέσνε ταῖς προλεχθείσαις ἰκετηρίαις. Εἶθ ὥσπερ σημεῖον δίδωσι διὰ τοῦ προφητικοῦ πνεύματος τῇ τοῦ δεηθέντος ψυχῇ, περὶ τοῦ εἰσηκοῦσθαι αὐτήν. Ἡ δὲ, συναισθομένη, μεταβάλλει μὲν τὰς ἱκετηρίους φωνὰς εἰς εὐχαριστίαν, ἐγνωκέναι δὲ ὁμολογεῖ τὴν γενομένην αὐτῇ εὐεργεσίαν· διό φησιν· Εύλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς, ὅτι εἰσήκουσε τῆς φωνῆς τῆς δεήσεώς μου. Κύριος βοηθός μου καὶ ὑπερασπιστής μου· ἐπ' αὐτῷ ἤλπισεν ἡ καρδία μοι καὶ ἐβοηθήθην. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους. ψαλμος ΚΖ'

Blessed is God, who heard the voice of my prayer. The Lord is my helper and protector, in Him my heart hoped and I was helped. My flesh reflourished and from my own will I confess it to you. 1  God is no deceiver, He is faithful to His promises, by which he has given promise, saying, 'Even while you are speaking I will say to you, Behold,  I am beside you.' 2 For near He is to everyone who calls with a pure heart and not far may He be from those who take to prayer, He himself listening that He be beside those who will call on Him in prayer. And then by sign given, through the prophetic spirit of the praying soul, he who prays knows that he is heard. And by this understanding the voice of the supplicant turns to thanks. As he says: Blessed is God, who heard the voice of my prayer. The Lord is my helper and protector, in Him my heart hoped and I was helped. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 27 1 Ps 27.1 2 Is 58.9

Praying For All

Orandum autem praecipue et pro populo doceris, hoc est, pro toto corpore, pro membris omnibus matris tuae, in quo mutuae charitatis est insigne. Si enim pro te roges tantum, solus pro te rogabis. Et si pro se tantum singuli orent, minor peccatoris quam intercedentis est gratia. Nunc autem quia singuli orant pro omnibus, etiam omnes orant pro singulis. Ergo ut concludamus, si pro te roges tantum, solus, ut diximus, pro te rogabis. Si autem pro omnibus roges, omnes pro te rogabunt. Siquidem et tu in omnibus es. Ita magna remuneratio est, ut orationibus singulorum acquirantur singulis totius plebis suffragia. In quo arrogantia nulla, sed humilitas major est, et fructus uberior. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Cain et Abel, Liber I, Caput IX

You are especially taught that you must pray for the people, 1 that is, for everybody, for all members of your mother, in which is a sign of mutual love. For if for yourself alone you make request, only for yourself you ask. And if for himself alone everyone were to ask, he would become less of a sinner than an intercessor for favors. Now indeed because each pray for all, everyone prays for each one. Therefore we may judge that if you pray only for yourself, you alone pray for yourself. If, however, you pray for everyone, everyone shall pray for you. For truly you are in that everyone. Thus by the prayers of each, each one of the whole people acquires a great reward. In this there is no presumption, but great humility and more abundant fruit. Saint Ambrose, Cain and Abel, Book 1, Chap 9 1 1 Tim 2.1

Prayer and Direction

Εἰ δὲ ἡ φωνὴ καὶ ἡ λεξις τῆς νοήσεως χάριν δέδονται ἡμϊν, πῶς οὐχὶ αὐτῆς τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τοῦ νοῦ ἐπακούει ὁ Θεὸς, ὅπου γε ἥδη ψυχὴ ψυχῆς, καὶ νοῦς νοὸς ἐπαῖει; Ὅθεν τὰς πολυφώνους γλώσσας οὐκ ἀναμένει ὁ Θεὸς, καθάπερ οἱ παρὰ ἀνθρώπων ἑρμηνεῖς, ἀλλ' ἀπαξαπλῶς ἀπάντων γνωρίζει τὰς νοήσεις· καὶ ὅπερ ἡμῖν ἡ φωνὴ συμαίνει, τοῦτο τῷ Θεῷ ἡ ἔννοια ἡμῶν λαλεῖ, ἥν καὶ πρὸ τῆς δημιουργίας εἰς νόησιν ἤξουσαν ἠπίστατο. Ἔξεστιν οὖν μηδὲ φωνῇ τὴν εὐχὴν παραπέμπειν, συντείνοντα, μόνον δ' ἔνδοθεν τὸ πνευματικὸν πᾶν εἰς φωνὴν τὴν νοητὴν, κατὰ τὴν ἀπερίσπαστον πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἐπιστροφήν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ γενεθλίου ἡμέρας εἰκὼν ἡ ἀνατολὴ, κὰκεῖθεν τὸ φῶς αὔξεται ἐκ σκότους λάμψαν τὸ πρῶτον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοϊς ἐν ἀγνοίᾳ καλινδουμένοις ἀνέτειλε γνώσεως ἀληθείας ἡμέρα κατὰ λόγον τοῦ ἡλίου, πρὸς τὴν ἑωθινὴν ἀνατολὴν αἱ εὐχαί. Ὅθεν καὶ τὰ παλαίτατα τῶν ἱερῶν πρὸς δύσιν ἔβλεπεν· ἵνα οἱ ἀπαντιπρόσωπον τῶν ἀγαλμάτων ἱστάμενοι πρὸς ἀνατολὴν τρέπεσθαι διδάσκωνται. Κατευθυνθήτω ἡ προσευχή μου ὡς θυμίαμα ἐνώπιόν σου· ἔπαρσις τῶν χειρῶν μου θυσια ἑσπερινὴ, οἱ Ψαλμοὶ λέγουσι. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Στρωματεων, Λόγος Ἑβδομος, Κεφ Ζ'

If voice and expression for the sake of understanding are given us, how can God not hear the soul itself, and the mind, since assuredly soul hears soul, and mind, mind? Whence God does not wait for loquacious tongues, as interpreters among men do, but He has knowledge of the thoughts of all, and what the voice intimates to us our thought speaks to God, which even before creation He knew would come into our mind. Prayer, then, may be sent forth without the voice, by focusing the whole spiritual nature within on the voice of the mind for undisturbed turning towards God. And since the dawn is an image of the day of birth, and from there the light which has shone at first from the darkness grows, there has also dawned on those wallowing in ignorance a day of the knowledge of truth, for by reason of the sun, prayers are made looking towards the dawn in the east. Whence also the most ancient temples' entrances looked towards the west, that people might be taught to turn to the east when facing the images. 'Let my prayer be directed before You as incense, the uplifting of my hands as the evening sacrifice,' say the Psalms. 1 Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, Book 7, Ch 7 1 Ps 140.2