Finding A Place Of Rest

Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς: αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσιν κ.τ.λ Δικαίως τοῦτον ἀπεπέμψατο· ἐρχῆν γὰρ αὐτὸν λαβεῖν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ σταυρὸν, ἤγουν ἀποτάξασθαι τοῖς ματαίοις τοῦ βίου τούτου περιπασμοῖς. Ἡ γὰρ φιλία τοῦ κόσμου ἐχθρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστι. Τοιοῦτον ὄντα τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐλέγχει πλαγίως, οὐκ ὀνειδίζων μᾶλλον, ἁλλ' ἐπανορθῶν· διὰ τοῦτό φησιν·  αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσιν καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις, ὁ δὲ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃ. Καὶ  ἡ μὲν ἀπλουστέρα διάνοια αὕτη. Ἔοικε δὲ κατὰ τὴν βαθυτέραν ἔνοιαν ἀλώπεκας καὶ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὰς πανούργους καὶ δολερὰς τῶν δαιμόνων ἀγέλας ἀποκαλεῖν· οὕτω γὰρ πολλαχοῦ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς κέκληνται.  Πιάσατε ἡμῖν ἀλώπεκας μικροὺς ἀφανίζοντας ἀμπελῶντας. Καὶ αὐτος δὲ  ὁ Κύριος τὸν Ἡρώδην ἀλώπεκα προσεῖπε. Καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ γῇ καταβληθέντων σπερμάτων φησὶ, ὅτι τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατέφαγειν αὐτὰ, περὶ τῶν πονηρῶν πνευμάτων λέγων. Ὅτε τοίνυν αἱ τοιαῦται ἀλώπεκες καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ φωλεοὺς καὶ καταδύσεις ἔχουσιν ἐν ἡμῖν, πῶς ἔλωη Χριστός; Ποῦ δὲ ἀναπαύσεται; Τίς κοινωνία φωτὶ πρὸς σκότος; Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λούκαν Εὐάγγελιον, Κεφ. Θ'

'And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have their holes...' etc 1 Rightly he was sent away, whom from the opportunity to take up his cross the vain cares of life called away. For 'Friendship with the world is enmity with God.' 2 So this man was obliquely reprehended, not so much condemned but more corrected, on account of which He said, 'Foxes have their holes and the birds of heaven have their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.'  And there is more than a simple meaning here. It seems that with deeper thought the foxes and birds of heaven are flocks of wicked and deceitful demons, for frequently in Divine Scripture they are named so: 'Seize the little foxes that have ravaged the vineyards.' 3 And the Lord names Herod a fox. 4 And concerning those seeds thrown down onto the earth He says that the birds of heaven ate them up, indicating wicked spirits. 5 Therefore we are warned lest such foxes and birds have their place in us; for how then will Christ? Where will He rest? What fellowship will light have with darkness? 6 Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9 1 Lk 9.58 2 Jam 4.4 3 Song 2.15 4 Lk 13.32 5 Mt 13.4 6 2 Cor 6.14

Faith and Following

Et accedens unus scriba, ait illi: Magister, sequar te, quocumque ieris. Et dicit ei Jesus: Vulpes foveas habent, et volucres cæli nidos; Filius autem hominis non habet ubi caput reclinet.  Iste scriba qui est unus ex doctoribus legis, an sit secuturus interrogat, quasi lege non contineretur hunc esse quem utiliter sequatur. Igitur infidelitatis affectum sub diffidentia interrogationis expressit: quia fidei assumptio non interroganda est, sed sequenda. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap VII

And one of the scribes came to him, and said, 'Master, I will follow you wherever you are going.' But Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes and the birds of the air their resting places, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.' 1  This Scribe, who is one of the doctors of the Law, asks if he shall follow Him, as though it were not contained in the Law that this is He whom it profits to follow. Therefore He expresses the feeling of unbelief under the diffidence of his enquiry. For the taking up of the faith is not by questioning but by following.  Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7 1 Mt 8.19

Letter And Spirit

Et accedens unus scriba, ait illi: Magister, sequar te, quocumque ieris. Et dicit ei Jesus: Vulpes foveas habent, et volucres cæli nidos; Filius autem hominis non habet ubi caput reclinet.  Scriba iste legis, qui tantum litteram noverat occidentem, si dixisset: domine, sequar te quocumque ieris, non fuisset repulsus a domino; sed quia magistrum unum de pluribus aestimat, et litterator erat, quod significantius Graece dicitur γραματεύς, et non spiritalis auditor, ideo non habet locum in quo possit Iesus reclinare caput suum. Sanctus Hieronymus, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Lib I, Cap IX

And one of the scribes came to him, and said, 'Master, I will follow you wherever you are going.' But Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes and the birds of the air their resting places, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.' 1  This Scribe of the Law who knew only the perishing letter, if he had said, 'Lord, I will follow you wherever you are going,' would not have been repulsed. But because he judged Him as one of many masters, and was a 'man of the letter', which is better expressed by the Greek grammateus,  and not a spiritual hearer, therefore he had no place where Jesus was able to lay His head.    Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Book 1, Chapter 9 1 Mt 8.19-20

Nowhere Here To Rest

Ἐγένετο δὲ πορευομένων αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ εἶπέν τις πρὸς αὐτόν, ἀκολουθήσω σοι ὅπου ἐὰν ἀπέρχῃ. καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς: αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσιν καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις, ὁ δὲ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃ. Εἰ μὲν οὖν ἔτοιμος εἶ αὐτὸς ὁμοίως ἐμοὶ οὐκ ἔχοντι ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλῖναι, αἱρήσῃ διὰ τὴν ἐμὴν διδακαλίαν τὸ ἀκατάστατον ἐνταῦθα ἐλπίδι τῆς τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείας, ἐπ' οὐδενὶ τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν ἐνταῦθα μὴ προσδοκῶν, ἀλλ' ἐν  τῷ μέλλοντι. Οἱ γὰρ ἐμοὶ μαθηταὶ, δικαιοσύνην ἀσκοῦντες, ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ θλίψιν ἔξουσι· πονηροὶ δὲ καὶ γόητες, ἀλώπεξι καὶ πετεινοῖς οὐρανοῦ παραβαλλόμενοι, ἐν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ προκόψουσι πλανῶντες καὶ πλανώμενοι. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Το Κατα Λουκαν Εὐαγγελιον, Κεφ Θ'

And it was that when they were going on their way on the road a man said to Him, 'I will follow you wherever you are going.' And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have their holes and the birds of heaven have their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.' 1 That is, if then you are ready, if you are like me, not having anywhere to rest the head, you should seize on by my unshakeable teachings here hope in the kingdom of heaven, not expecting rest in things here, but in the future age. For my disciples are those who exerting themselves in righteousness shall have affliction in this world. And wicked men and beguilers are compared to foxes and the birds of heaven, in this life profiting, deceiving and being deceived. Origen, Commentary On the Gospel of St Luke, Chap 9, Fragment 1 Lk 9.57-58

Wolves And Men

Εγὼ οὐκ ἂν λοιδωρήσαιμι τὸν λύκον ἀρπάζοντα, κατὰ φύσιν γὰρ ἔνεστι τῷ λύκῳ τὸ ἀρπακτικὸν, σκώπτω δ' ἄνθρωπον κεκτημένον λυκώδη παρὰ φύσιν τὴν γνώμην.  Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΛ  Κλεαρχῳ Νουμεραριῳ

I do not denounce a wolf for seizing prey, for it is according to the nature of the wolf to do this, but I do mock a man who does so, who should not possess the nature of the wolf. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 130 To Clearchus the Numerarius

The Foolish Man

Καὶ πᾶς ὁ ἀκούων μου τοὺς λόγους τούτους, καὶ μὴ ποιῶν αὐτοὺς, ὁμοιωθήσεται ἀνδρὶ μωρῷ, ὅστις ᾦκοδόμησε τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν ἄμμον.   Ὁ ἀκροατὴς μόνος τοῦ λόγου, οὐ μὴν καὶ ποιητὴς, οἴκῳ ἀπεικάζεται ἐπὶ τῆς ψάμμου οἰκοδομηθέντι, ὅς ἐν καιρῷ πειρασμοῦ καταπίπτει, καὶ χώνυται, τῶν πατέρων τῆς πονηρίας ἐπιπνευσάντων, τῶν ταρατομένων ὑδάτων ἔως ψυχῆς εἰσελθόντων, καὶ τοῦ θολεροῦ χειμάῥῥου τῆς ἀνομίας αὐτὸν ἐκταράξαντος, καὶ τὸν περὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων ἐπισείσαντος κίνδυνον. Καλῶς δὲ ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ φρονίμου, Ὁμοιώσω αὐτὸν, εἴπεν· ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ μωροῦ Ὁμοιωθήσεται. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐργάτης πάντα ἰσχύει ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦνται αὐτὸν Χριστῷ, παρ' οὖ παρ' ἀνθρώποις τὸ κατορθούμενον, παρ' οὖ  σοφία καὶ σύνεσις καὶ πρὸς ὁ ἀγαθὸν ἐξομοίωσις. Ὁ δε φαῦλος οὐχὶ Θεὸν ἔχει τῆς ἑαυτοῦ κακίας καὶ ἀφροσύνης αἴτιον, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ὁμοιοῦται τῷ ἄφρονι τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν ἀποστὰς, καὶ ἐν τῷ παρὰ φύσιν γενόμενος. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον

'And everyone who hears my words and does not do them, he shall be like a foolish man who built his house on the sands.'  1 He who is a mere hearer of the word, and not a doer, is compared to one who built a house on the sands, which in the time of trial falls, and he is overturned by the breath of the father of iniquity, and the foaming waters pour into his very soul, 2 and by the turbid tempests of iniquity he is thrown about and swept away into extreme peril. And rightly He said concerning the wise man, 'I shall liken him,' and concerning the foolish man 'he shall be like,' because the worker of virtue is able to do everything by Him who strengthens him, 3 that is, Christ, by whom men act rightly, and by whom is wisdom and understanding and every similar good thing. The wretched man, not having God, is the cause of his own vice and madness, for he is like a demented man who has been separated from his own nature, and so he does those things which do not accord with his nature. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Matthew, Fragment 1 Mt  7.26 2 cf Ps 68.2 3 cf Philipp 4.13

Prayer And Restraint

Atqui cum modestia et humilitate adorantes magis  commendabimus Deo preces nostras, ne ipsis quidem manibus sublimius elatis, sed temperate ac probe elatis, ne vultu quidem  in audaciam erecto. Nam et ille publicanus, qui non tantum  prece, sed et vultu humiliatus atque deiectus orabat, iustificatior  pharisaeo procacissimo discessit. Sono etiam vocis subiectos  esse oportet, aut quantis arteriis opus est, si pro sono audiamur!  Deus autem non vocis, sed cordis auditor est, sicut conspector. Daemonium oraculi Pythii Et mutum, inquit, intelligo et non loquentem exaudio. Dei aures sonum expectant? Quomodo ergo oratio Ionae de imo ventre ceti per tantae bestiae viscera ab ipsis  abyssis per tantam aequoris molem ad caelum potuit evadere? Quid amplius referent isti qui clarius adorant nisi quod  proximis obstrepunt? Immo prodendo petitiones suas quid minus faciunt quam si in publico orent? Tertullianus, De Oratione

But when we pray with modesty and humility we more commend our prayers to God, with not even our hands lifted too high, but elevated temperately and fittingly, with not even our face boldly raised. For that tax collector prayed not only with his petition but with his face humble and cast down, and he went away more justified than the impudent Pharisee. 1 Even the sound of our voice should be subdued, else what large windpipes we would need if we were heard for the noise we make. But God is the hearer not of the voice, but of the heart, just as He is its examiner. The Pythian oracle says: 'And I understand the mute and hear the speechless one.' 2  Do the ears of God wait for sound? How, then, could Jonah's prayer, from the depth of the whale's belly, through the entrails of such a beast, from the very abysses, through such a mass of sea, find its way out to heaven? And what do they gain who pray more loudly, except that their roaring is heard by their neighbours? Why, by shouting their petitions, what do they do less than if they were to pray on the street? 3 Tertullian, from On Prayer 1 Lk 18:9-14 2 Herodotus 1.47.3 3 cf Mt 6.5

A Prayer Request

Θοῦ, Κύριε, φυλακὴν  τῷ στόματί μου. Παρακαλέσας τὸν Δεσπότην ἀκουσθῆναι αὐτοῦ τὴν εὐχὴ καὶ εὐπρόσδεκτον γενέσθαι, ὄρα ποίαν προσάγει πρώτην αἴτησιν, ποίαν ἰκετηρίαν. Οὐ γὰρ εἴπε, Δός μοι χρήματα, δός μοι τιμὰς παρὰ ἀνθρώποις, δός μοι κραῆσαι τῶν εχθρῶν, δός μοι παιδία· οὐδὲν τούτων, ἀλλὰ πάντα ἀφεὶς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐῥῥῖφθαι, αἰτεῖ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ταῦτα ἂ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ αἰτεῖν δίκαιον. Τί οὖν; οὐ δεῖ, φησὶν, αἰσθητὰ αἰτεῖν; Δεῖ μὲν μετὰ μέτρου δὲ ὡς ὁ Ἰακὼβ λέγων· Ἐαν δῷ μοι Κύριος ἄρτον φαγεῖν, καὶ ἱμάτιον περιβαλέσθαι· ὡς ὁ Χριστὸς ἐκέλευσεν εὔχεσθαι λέγοντας· Τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον· πρὸ δὲ πάντων τὰ πνευματικά. Ὅ καὶ αὐτὸς ποιεῖ λέγων· Θοῦ, Κύριε, φυλακὴν τῷ στόματί μου. Εἶδες σύνεσιν; εἶδες φιλοσοφίαν; πόθεν ἄρχεται τῆς αἰτήσεως; Ἀπὸ τοῦ μεγίστου τῶν κατορθωμάτων, καὶ ὅ πάντῶν αἶτιόν ἐστι τῶν κακῶν ἀμελούμενον· ὥσπερ τῶν ἀγαθῶν, σπουδαζόμενον. Τὰ γὰρ μυρία κακὰ τῆς γλώττης ἡ εὐκολία ἐργάζεται, ὥσπερ οὖν τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἡ ἀσφάλεια. Ὥσωπερ οὖν οὐδεν ὄφελος οἰκίας, οὐ πόλεως, οὐ τειχῶν, οὐ πυλῶν, οὐ θυρῶν, ἂν μὴ ὦσιν οἱ φυλάττοντες, καὶ εἰδότες πότε μὲν δεῖ κλείειν, πότε δὲ ἀνοίγειν· οὕτως οὐδὲ γλώττης ὄφελος, οὐδὲ στόματος, ἂν μὴ λογισμὸς ᾗ τὴν κλεῖσιν καὶ τὴν ἄνοιξιν μετὰ ἀκριβείας καὶ πολλῆς τῆς ἐπιστήμης ἐπιτετραμμένος, καὶ εἰδὼς τίνα μὲν ἐκφέρειν δεῖ, τίνα δὲ ἔνδον κατέχειν. Οὐ τοσοῦτοι γὰρ, φησὶν, ἔπεσον ἀπὸ μαχαίρας, ὅσοι ἀπὸ γλώττης. Καὶ πάλιν ὁ Χριστός· Οὐ τὰ εἰσερχόμενα εἰς τὸ στόμα κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐκπορευόμενα ἀπὸ τοῦ στόματος. Καὶ πάλιν ἕτερος· Ποίησον τῷ στόματί σου θύραν καὶ μοχλόν. Οὕτος δὲ ἐπειδὴ σφόδρα δύσκολον ὄν οἴδε τὸ πρᾶγμα, καὶ εὐχὰς προστίθησι, καὶ τὸν θεὸν εἰς τὴν συμμαχίαν ταύτην καλεῖ. Μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἐκεῖνος τὸ αὐτο τοῦτο αἰνίττεται, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· Τίς δώσει ἐπὶ τῶν χειλέων μου σφραγίδα πανοῦργον; Δεῖ μὲν γὰρ καὶ τὰ παρ' ἡμῶν εἰσφέρειν· διὸ δὴ καὶ ἐν τάξει προστάγματος αὐτὸ τέθεικε λέγων· Ποίησον θύραν καὶ μοχλόν. Δεῖ δὲ καὶ τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ συμμαχίαν καλεῖν, ἵνα καὶ ἡ ἡμετέρα σπουδὴ εἰς ἔργον γένηται. Φυλάττωμεν τοίνυν τὸ στόμα διηνεκῶς ᾗ κεκλεισμένον, ἀλλ' ἵνα κατὰ καιρὸν ἀνοιγηται τὸν προσήκοντα.  Ἔστι γὰρ ὅτε ἡ σιγὴ μᾶλλον ὠφέλησε λαλιᾶς, ὥσπερ καὶ λαλιὰ μᾶλλον σιγῆς. Διὰ δὴ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ σοφωτατος ἐκεῖνος ἔλεγε· Καιρὸς τοῦ σιγῆσαι, καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ λαλῆσαι. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς Τον ΡΜ' Ψαλμον

'Place, Lord, a guard on my mouth.' 1 When he has asked the Lord to hear his prayer and that it might be received, observe that first he makes a request, a certain supplication. For he does not say: 'Give me wealth, give me honour among men, give me victory over my enemies, give me children,' none of these things he says, but leaving all these things cast down on the earth, he asks from God that which it is right to ask. What then? Should one then not seek material things? Certainly but in moderation, as Jacob says, 'If the Lord gives to me bread for eating and clothes for wearing,' 2  for so Christ commanded us to pray, saying. 'Give us today our heavenly bread.' 3 Spiritual things are before everything. And to it he attends, saying, 'Give, Lord, a guard to my mouth.' Do you perceive the prudence of it? Do you see the wisdom from whence he asks? From this comes great correction and it is the cause of every evil if neglected, but the cause of goods if for it you have care and diligence. The easy ways of the tongue give birth to innumerable evils, as again with caution and care it gives birth to goods. As, then, a house does not benefit, nor the city, nor the walls, nor the gate, unless there are those who guard, and who know when to open and when to close, so with the mouth and the tongue there is no profit, unless reason knows accurately and with prudence what things to close to and open to, what things to let go forth and what things to retain. For there are not as many swords, it says, as the number of tongues that speak. 4 And Christ says, 'It is not what goes in through the mouth that defiles a man, but that which goes forth from the mouth' 5 And again another says: 'Make for your mouth a gate and and a bar.' 6 And because he knows that this is truly difficult he adds a prayer, and calls on God to bring aid. For truly this is meant when he says, 'Who shall give to my lips a cunning seal?' 7  And we should join in this and hold to the same teaching, saying 'Make a gate and bar.' We must call on God for aid, that our zeal become an effective work. Therefore let us perpetually guard our mouth that it not always be closed, but opened at the right time. For not always should silence be preferred to speech, nor speech to silence. Thus that most wise man said, 'There is a time to be silent and a time to speak.' 8 Saint John Chrysostom, Exposition of the Psalms, from Psalm 140 1 Ps 140.3 2 Gen 28.20 3 Mt 6.11 4 Sirach 28.22 5 Mt 15.11 6 Sirach 28.28 7 Sirach 22.33 8 Eccl 3.7

Prayers And Thanks

Et factum est, post dies obtulit Cain ex fructibus terrae munus Domino. Duplex culpa: una quod post dies obtulit, altera quod ex fructibus, non ex primis fructibus. Sacrificium autem et celeritate commendatur et gratia. Unde praeceptum est: Si voveris votum, non faciasmoram reddere illud. Melius est enim non vovere votum, quam vovere, et non reddere. Cum enim moram facis, non reddis. Votum est autem postulatio bonorum a Deo cum solvendi muneris promissione. Et ideo cum impetraveris quod petisti, ingrati est tardare promissum. Sed interdum aut negligentibus irrepit oblivio impetratorum, aut tumidis et elatis. Arrogare eventus sibi hebetis cordis est, et bonum quod agit vel quod a Deo consequitur, propriis virtutibus vindicare, nec auctoris deputare gratiae, sed ipsum se suorum bonorum auctorem ducere. Tertium genus est peccati quidem minoris, sed supparis arrogantiae eorum scilicet qui datorem bonorum Deum non negant: sed quae acciderint, ea sibi propter prudentiam suam, caeterarumque merita virtutum jure delata arbitrantur. Propterea etiam divina dignos habitos gratia, quod nequaquam viderentur indigni quibus talia divinis beneficiis provenirent. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Cain et Abel, Liber I, Caput VII

And it was that after some days Cain brought from the fruits of the earth as a gift for the Lord. 1   A double fault: one, that he brought after some days, the another that it is was from fruits and not the first fruits. A sacrifice and thanks is commendable when quickly given, whence the command says, 'If you make a vow, do not delay to make it good. Better it is not to make a vow at all, than to make a vow and not to make it good.' 2 For when you delay you do not do. A vow is a request of goods from God with the promise of the performance of a gift. And therefore when you have asked for what you seek, ungrateful it is to be tardy in what you promised. But sometimes either forgetfulness inclines the one who has asked to negligence, or it comes about by pride and elation. But to claim success for oneself is of the foolish heart, when the good which happens, which comes from God, a man claims is through his own strength, not giving thanks to the author of it but accounting himself the author of his own goods. The third class is a lesser sin, it is the arrogance of those who do not deny that God is a giver of good things, but that things have happened on account of his own prudence, and among other things the merit of virtues they judge to be nothing. Because the Divine grace which the worthy have, never appears in the unworthy, by which grace such things from the Divine good are provided. Saint Ambrose, Cain and Abel, Book 1, Chap 7 1 Gen 4.3 2 Eccl 5 3-4

Prayer And Sacrifice

Ἡμεῖς δὲ, φησὶν ὁ ἅγιος Μωῦσης, οῦκ οἶδαμεν τί θύσωμεν Κυρίῳ, ἕως τοῦ πορευθῆναι ἡμὰς ὁδὸν ἡμερῶν τριῶν εἰς τὴν ἔρημος. Παρ' ἡμῖν θυσία ἡ προσευχὴ νοεῖται, ἔρημος δὲ κατάστασίς τίς ἐστιν ἐστερημένη παθῶν ἀλόγων, ὅπερ τελειότητα ὀριζόμεθα εἴναι. Τοιοῦτον ἂν εἴη, φησὶν, ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, ὁ Ἀπόστολος· τὸ γὰρ, Τί προσευξώμεθα καθ' ὅ δεῖ, οὐκ οἴδαμεν μέχρι καταστάσεως τῆς ἀπαθοῦς τε καὶ καθαρᾶς. Οὐ γὰρ πάντως καὶ τότε τοιαύτας εὐχὰς, ἢ ἐννοίας ἔξομεν, οἴας νῦν δεοχλούμενοι ὑπὸ τῶν ἐναντίων.   Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΖ' Σωσιμιανῳ Μονακῳ

'We do not know what we will sacrifice to the Lord,' said the holy Moses, 'until we have gone three days into the desert.' 1 For us our sacrifice is prayer and the desert state is the waste made by our irrational passions which we strive to bring to perfection. Thus it is with us, says the Apostle, 2  that we do not know what we should pray for until the state of the passions in us has been corrected, for by no means do we have such prayers having our present minds which are now troubled by things opposed to us. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 107, To Sosimianus the Monk 1 Exod 5.3 2 Rom 8.26

A Lady's Marriages

Interea neque hoc silendum arbitror quod mihi personarum gravium atque fidelium est relatione compertum. Gothorum namque temporibus Galla hujus urbis nobilissima puella Symmachi consulis ac patricii filia, intra adolescentiae tempora marito tradita, in unius anni spatio ejus est morte viduata. Quam dum, fervente mundi copia, ad iterandum thalamum et opes et aetas vocarent, elegit magis spiritalibus nuptiis copulari Deo, in quibus a luctu incipitur, sed ad gaudia aeterna pervenitur, quam carnalibus nuptiis subjici, quae a laetitia semper incipiunt, et ad finem cum luctu tendunt. Huic autem cum valde ignea conspersio corporis inesset, coeperunt medici dicere, quia nisi ad amplexus viriles rediret, calore nimio contra naturam barbas esset habitura, quod ita quoque post factum est. Sed sancta mulier nihil exterioris deformitatis timuit, quae interioris sponsi speciem amavit, nec verita est si hoc in illa foedaretur, quod a coelesti sponso in ea non amaretur. Mox ergo ut ejus maritus defunctus est, abjecto saeculari habitu, ad omnipotentis Dei servitium sese apud beati Petri apostoli ecclesiam monasterio tradidit, ibique multis annis simplicitati cordis atque orationi dedita, larga indigentibus eleemosynarum opera impendit. Cumque omnipotens Deus perennem jam mercedem reddere ejus laboribus decrevisset, cancri ulcere in mamilla percussa est. Nocturno autem tempore ante lectum ejus duo candelabra lucere consueverant, quia videlicet amica lucis, non solum spiritales, sed etiam corporales tenebras odio habebat. Quae dum nocte quadam ex hac eadem jaceret infirmitate fatigata, vidit beatum Petrum apostolum inter utraque candelabra ante suum lectum consistentem; nec perterrita timuit, sed ex amore sumens audaciam exsultavit, eique dixit: Quid est, Domine mi, dimissa sunt mihi peccata mea? Cui ille benignissimi ut est vultus, inclinato capite annuit, dicens: Dimissa; veni. Sed quia quamdam sanctimonialem feminam in eodem monasterio prae caeteris diligebat, illico Galla subjunxit: Rogo ut soror Benedicta mecum veniat. Cui ille respondit: Non, sed illa talis veniat tecum; haec vero quam petis, die erit trigesimo secutura. His itaque expletis, visio apostoli assistentis et colloquentis ei ablata est. At illa protinus cunctae congregationis accivit Matrem, eique quid viderit, quidve audierit, indicavit. Tertio autem die cum ea quae jussa fuerat sorore defuncta est; illa vero quam ipsa poposcerat die est trigesimo subsecuta. Quod factum nunc usque in eodem monasterio manet memorabile, sicque hoc a praecedentibus Matribus traditum narrare illic solent subtiliter juniores quae nunc sunt sanctimoniales virgines, ac si illo in tempore huic tam grandi miraculo et ipsae adfuissent. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Dialogi Liber IV, Caput XIII

Nor do I judge that I should be silent concerning that which I learned from the report of persons who are solemn and trustworthy. In the time of the Goths, a most noble young lady named Galla, daughter to Symmachus the Consul, during her adolescence was given in marriage, and in the space of a year death made her a widow. Yet though she did not lack for world's wealth and her riches and young years cried out for a second marriage, she chose rather to be joined to God in spiritual marriage, which begins in mourning but arrives at everlasting joy, than to become again subject to carnal matrimony, which always begins with delights and comes to its end in sorrow. Now since this lady had an extremely warm state of body, the physicians said that unless she took a husband again, on account of her heat, contrary to nature, she would grow a beard, and so it happened. But the holy woman feared not at all outward deformity, since inwardly she loved the beauty of her spouse; nor did she care if anything of her became foul, which her celestial spouse did not love. Therefore soon after the death of her husband, casting off her secular habit, she gave herself to the service of Almighty God at the monastery by the church of the blessed Apostle Saint Peter, where for many years she lived in simplicity of heart and prayer and gave alms plentifully to the needy. When almighty God determined to gave to her an everlasting reward for her labours, she was struck by a cancerous growth in one of her breasts. In the night she was accustomed to have two candles burning before her bed, for being a friend of the light, she hated not only spiritual but also corporal darkness. One night, lying afflicted with her infirmity, she saw Saint Peter standing between the two candlesticks before her bed, and not being afraid at all, but rather love giving her boldness, she said to him: 'How is it with me, my Lord? Are my sins forgiven me?' To whom he who had most kindly countenance inclined a little his head and said: 'They are forgiven; come.' But because there was a consecrated lady in the monastery whom she loved more than the rest, she said, 'I ask that sister Benedicta come with me.' To which he replied, 'No, but another will come with you, and the one whom you wish shall follow after thirty days.' And having said this, the vision of the Apostle standing near and his speech was taken from her. Immediately she called for the mother of the congregation and told her what she had seen and heard, and the third day following both she and the other nun died, and then thirty days later the one whom she had asked for also followed. The memory of this is kept until today in that monastery, so that the consecrated women who now live there, having it handed down to them by their predecessors, are accustomed to tell every detail of it, as if they had been there at that time when the great miracle occurred. Saint Gregory the Great, Dialogues, Book 4, Chap 13

Acceptable Sacrifices

Ut exhibeatis corpora vestra hostiam vivam, sanctam, placentem Deo, rationabile obsequiam vestrum.   Quia non homo ex eo quod vivit placet, sed placet ex eo bene vivet; nec ex eo fit homo hostia si se Deo offerat, sed si sancte offerat Deo. Quantum enim immaculata victima placat Deum, tantum Deum victima, si maculata fuerit, exacerbat. Audi dicentem Deum: Non offeras mihi claudum, non lusum, non mortis contagione pollutum, sed maturum sine macula. Hinc est quod Apostulus vivam Deo petit hostiam. Probat hoc Cain, qui cum Deo parva a quo totum perceperat ingratus pontifex sic divisit, ut quod erat pessimum, hoc adoleret altari; quod erat optimum, in suam reservaret offensam; denique cum sua suo male partitur cum auctore, se suosque posteros et a vita et ab humano genere perdivisit. Ergo Abel sequamur ad praemium, non Cain comitemur ad poenam. Abel agnum portans ad Dei sacrificium, sicut agnus assumitur: Cain gestans sibi stipulam, fomentum sibi, per quod exureretur, invenit. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CIX

'That you present your bodies as a sacrifice, living, holy, pleasing to God.' 1  Because man does not please by the fact that he lives, but that he lives well. He does not offer a sacrifice of himself to God unless he offers himself to God in a holy manner. As much as an unblemished victim pleases God, so a spotted victim makes God angry. Hear God saying, 'Do not offer me a lame thing, or something half blind, or polluted because it is intended for death, but something mature without blemish.' 2 Hence it is the Apostle seeks a living sacrifice for God. Cain gives proof of this; he who as an ungrateful priest shared so few of his possessions with God, from whom he had received everything, that he offered the worst of them upon the altar, since what was best he kept for himself, and so offended. Thus wickedly arranging this division with his Creator, he separated himself and his descendants from life and from the human race. Therefore let us follow Abel to reward and let us not accompany Cain to punishment. Abel bringing a lamb to sacrifice to God was accepted as a lamb; Cain, bearing his stubble, found it to be kindling for himself, by which he was to burn. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 109 1 Rom 12.1 2 Lev 22.20

Men and Angels

Quid est quod dicit: Et ecce stetit in conspectu meo quasi species viri? Non enim viri sunt angeli, sed in specie virorum videntur, sicut Abraham ad quercum Mambre tres visi sunt viri, qui utique viri non erant, e quibus unus adoratur ut Dominus, unde et Salvator loquitur in Evangelio: Abraham vidit diem meum et iactatus est.   Petrus Archidiaconus  Liber De Diversis Quaestiunculis  Migne 96 1356

What is this that is said: 'And behold he stood in my eyes like the form of a man? 1 For men are not angels, but they are seen in the form of men, like Abraham at the oaks of Mamre who saw them as men who were not men, and one of whom he adored like the Lord, 2 whence the Saviour says in the Gospel, 'Abraham saw my day and rejoiced.' 3 Peter of Pisa, The Book of Diverse Questions 1 Dan 8.15 2 Gen 18.1-3 3 John 8.56

Angels And Guardianship

Περὶ ἀγγέλων· ὅτι ἀγγέλους φύλακας ἡμῖν ἐπέστησεν ὁ Θεός. Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου, ἵνα φυλάξῃ σε ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, ὅπως εἰσαγάγῃ σε εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν ἡτοίμασά σοι. Πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ, καὶ εἰσάκουε αὐτοῦ, καὶ μὴ ἀπειθήσῃ αὐτῷ· οὐ γὰρ μὴ ὑποστελεῖταί σε. Τὸ γὰρ ὄνομά μού ἐστιν ἐν αὐτῷ. Ἔστησεν ὅρια ἐθνῶν κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων Θεοῦ. Ὁρᾶτε μὴ καταφρονήσητε ἑνὸς τῶν μικρῶν τούτων·λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν, ὅτι οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτῶν ἐν οὐρανοῖς βλέπουσι τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ Πατρός μου τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς. Ὥσπερ παιδαγωγούς τινας ἢ παιδονόμους ἐπιτεταγμένους τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τοὺς ἀγγέλους εἰδὼς ὁ Ἀπόστολος, εἰς μαρτυρίαν ἐκάλεσε. Τοὺς μὲν ἁγίους φωταγωγοὶ φυλάττουσιν ἄγγελοι, τοὺς δὲ φαύλους σκοτεινοί. Πλοῦτος γνώσεως καὶ σοφίας προστίθησιν ἡμῖν ἀγγέλους πολλούς· ὁ δὲ ἀκάθαρτος καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ δοθέντος αὐτῷ ἐκ παιδὸς ἀγγέλου χωρίζεται. Ἡ γὰρ πνευματικὴ φιλία ἔστιν ἀρετὴ καὶ γνῶσις Θεοῦ, δι' ὧν συναπτόμεθα πρὸς φιλίαν ταῖς ἁγίαις δυνάμεσιν, εἴ γε οἱ μετανοοῦντες ἄνθρωποι χαρᾶς αἴτιοι γίνονται τοῖς ἀγγέλοις. Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Δαμασκηνός, Τὰ Ιἐρα Παραλληλα, Στοικειον Α'  Τιτλ Ζʹ.

Concerning angels: that God has appointed angels to guard us. Behold, I send my angel before my face, that he guard you in the way, that he lead you into the land which I have prepared for you. Look to yourselves and hear his voice, and do not think to be unmoved by him, because he will not indulge you, for my name is in him 1 I have constituted the limits of my people according to the number of the angels of God. 2 See that you do not disregard any of these little ones. For I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 3 Because the Apostle knew that angels are to men as a teachers exhorting their pupils, so he called them to witness.  4   Holy men have angels of light guarding them, but evil men have angels of darkness. 5   Wealth of knowledge and wisdom binds many angels to us. But he who is unclean is stripped even of that angel given to him as a child. For spiritual friendship is founded on virtue and the knowledge of God, by which we are able to be bound in friendship with the holy. And those who repent are a cause of joy to the angels. 6   Saint John of Damascus, Sacred Parallels, Part 1, Chap 7 1 Exod 23. 20-21 2 Deut 33.8 3 Mt 18.10 4 1 Tim 5.21, Basil lib de sp 5 Didymus the Blind 6 Evagrios Ponticus, In Prov

Acting Like Angels

Qui uxorem suam diligit, seipsum diligit. Nemo enim unquam suam carnem odit, sed nutrit et fovet eam, sicut et Christus Ecclesiam. Dicamus quod illam carnem quae visura sit Salutare Dei anima diligat et nutriat, et foveat eam disciplinis erudiens, et coelesti saginans pane, et Christi sanguine irrigans, ut refecta et nitida possit libero cursu virum sequi, et nullo debilitatis pondere praegravari. Pulchre etiam in similitudinem Christi nutrientis et foventis Ecclesiam, et dicentis ad Jerusalem: Quoties volui congregare filios tuos, ut gallina congregat pullos suos sub alas suas, et noluisti? Animae quoque fovent corpora sua, ut corruptivum hoc induat incorruptionem et alarum levitate suspensum, in aerem facilius sublevetur. Foveamus igitur et viri uxores nostras, et animae nostrae corpora, ut et uxores in viros, et corpora redigantur in animas, et nequaquam sit sexum ulla diversitas: sed quomodo apud angelos non est vir et mulier, ita et nos, qui similes angelis futuri sumus, jam nunc incipiamus esse quod nobis in coelestibus repromissum est. Origenes, ex Libro Tertio In Epistolam Ad Ephesios

He who loves his own wife, loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but he nurtures and cherishes it,  like Christ the Church.  1 Let us say that this flesh that it might see the salvation of God the soul loves and nurtures, and cherishing it it instructs it with discipline and feasts it with celestial bread and waters it with the blood of Christ, that refreshed and shining it be able to follow unencumbered the course of men and not suffer from any infirmity weighing it down. Beautiful indeed is that likeness of Christ nourishing and caring for the Church, He who said to Jerusalem, 'How many times I wished to gather your sons, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, and you were unwilling?' 2 And souls also cherish the body that the corruptible put on incorruption 3 and suspended on wings in their lightness they are lifted easily into the air. Let us then be men cherishing our wives, as souls our bodies, that even wives be as husbands, as bodies are restored by souls, and let there be no difference of sex, but as among angels there is no male and female, so even with us, who shall be like angels, so let us begin now what is promised to us in heaven. Origen, Fragment from the Third Book on The Letter to the Ephesians 1 Ephes 5.28-29 2 Mt 23.37 3 1 Cor 15.53