State super vias et videte et interrogate de semitis antiquis quae sit via bona et ambulate in ea et invenietis refrigerium animabus vestris

24 Nov 2015

Thinking Of The Dead

Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Εὐάγριος· Καθεζόμενος ἐν τῷ κελλίω, συνάγαγέ σου τὸν λογισμόν· μνήσθητι ἡμέρας θανάτου· ἴδε τότε τοῦ σώματος τὴν νέκρωσιν· ἐννόει τὴν συμφοράν· λαβὲ τὸν πόνον· κατάγνωσθι τῆς ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ματαιότητος· ὅπως δυνηθῇς διαπαντὸς μένειν ἐν τῇ προθέσει τῆς ἡσυχίας, καὶ μὴ ἀσθενήσῃς. Μνήσθητι δὲ καὶ τῆς ἐν τῳ ᾅδῃ νῦν καταστάσεως· λογίζου τὸ πῶς εἰσιν ἐκεϊ αἱ ψυχαὶ, ἐν ποίᾳ δεινοτάτῃ σιωπῇ, ἐν ποίῳ πικροτάτῳ στεναγμῷ, καὶ πηλίκῳ φόβῳ καὶ ἀγῶνι καὶ προσδοκίᾳ· τὴν ἄπαυστον ὀδύνην, τὸ ψυχικὸν καὶ ἀπέραντον δάκρυον. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡμέρας ἀναστάσεως μνήσθητι, καὶ παραστάσεως τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· φαντάζου τὸ φρικῶδες καὶ φοβερὸν ἐκεῖνο κρῖμα. Ἅγε εἰς μέσον τὰ ἀποκείμενα τοῖς ἀμαρτάνουσιν, αἰσχύνην τὴν κατ' ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἀγγέλων καὶ ἀρχαγγέλων καὶ πάντων ἀνθρώπων, τουτέστι κολαστήρια, πῦρ αἰώνιον, σκώληκα τὸν ἀκοίμητον, τὸν τάρταρον, τὸ σκότος, τὸν τῶν ὀδόντων Βρυγμὸν, τοὺς φόβους καὶ τὰς Βασάνους. Ἄγε δὴ καὶ τὰ τοῖς δικαίοις ἀποκείμενα ἀγαθὰ, παῥῥησίαν τὴν μετὰ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ Χριστοῠ αὐτοῦ, ἀγγέλων καὶ ἀρχαγγέλων, καὶ παντὸς δήμου τῶν ἀγίων, Βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν, καὶ τὰ ταύτης δωρήματα τὴν χαρὰν καὶ τὴν ταύτης ἀπόλαυσιν. Ἐκατέρων τούτων τὴν μνήμην ἄγε σεαυτῷ· καὶ ἐπὶ μὲν τῇ τῶν ἀμαρτωλῶν κρίσει δάκρυσον, πένθησον, φοβούμενος μὴ καὶ σὺ αὐτὸς ἐν τούοις γένῃ· ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς ἀποκειμένοις τοῖς δικαίοις, χαῖρε καὶ εὐφραίνου. Καὶ τούτων μὲν σπούδασον ἐν ἀπολαύσει γενέσθα, καὶ ἀλλοτριοῦσθαι ἐκείνων. Ὄρα νὴ ἐπιλάθῃ ποτὲ, κἂν ἔνδον τοῦ κελλίου σου τυγχάνῃς, κἂν ἔξω που, τῆς ἐκ τούτων μνήμης, ὅπως κἂν διὰ τούτων, τοὺς ῥυπαροὺς καὶ βλαβεροὺς διαφεύξῃ λογισμούς.

᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

Father Evagrius said, ' Sitting in your cell, gather up your thoughts and think of the day of death, then ponder the dissolution of the body; know that calamity; and so to your toil, condemn the vanity of the world, insofar as you are able to remain in a place of quiet and not weaken. Be mindful of those now in hell, think of how those souls fare there, in what terrible silence, amid what bitter groaning, in such grave fear, struggles and foreboding; think of griefs never fading, the endless tears of the soul. But then bring to your mind the day of resurrection and the coming before God, imagine the horror and terror of the judgement. Put yourself in the midst of those who died sinners, their disgrace in the presence of God and the angels and the archangels and all humanity.  Suffering, eternal fire, the worm that does not sleep, the darkness, the grinding of teeth, the terrors, the torments. Compare this with the good rest of the righteous, faith with God the Father and Christ and the angels and archangels and the gathering of the saints, the kingdom of heaven and its gifts, its joy and it pleasure. Both these things place in your mind and for the judgement of the sinner weep, groan, lest you also be numbered among them; and concerning the rest of the just rejoice and be glad. Exert yourself to obtain the fruits of the latter, that the former be foreign to you. Take care lest anyone, whether within your cell residing, or outside it, causes this mindfulness to slip away, but rather flee sordid and harmful thoughts.'

Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

No comments:

Post a Comment