Silent Psalms

Ἔξεστι καὶ χωρὶς φωνῆς ψάλλειν, τὴς διανοίας ἔνδον ἠχούσης. Οὐ γὰρ ἀνθρώποις ψάλλομεν, ἀλλὰ Θεῷ τῷ δυναμένῳ καὶ καρδίας ἀκοῦσαι, καὶ εἰς τὰ ἀπόῥῥητα τῆς διανοίας ἡμῶν εἰσελθεῖν. Καὶ ταῦτα Παῦλος ἐνδεικνύμενος Βοᾷ, λέγων· 'Αὐτὸ τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐντυγχάνει ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν στεναγνοῖς ἀλαλήτοις. Ὁ δὲ ἐρευνῶν τὰς καρδίας, εἶδε τὶ τὸ φρόνημα τοῦ Πνεύματος, ὅτι κατὰ Θεὸν ἐντυγχάνει ὑπὲρ ἁγίων.' Τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγεν, οὐκ ἐπειδή τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐστέναζεν, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ οἱ πνευματικοὶ ἄνδρες, οἱ τὰ χαρίσματα τοῦ Πνεῦματος ἔχοντες, ὕπὲρ τῶν πλησίον εὐχόμενοι, καὶ τὰς ἱκετηρίας ἀνανφέροντες, μετα κατανύξεως καὶ στεναγμῶν τοῦτο ἐποίουν. Τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς ποιῶμεν, καὶ καθ' ἐκάστην ἡμέραν ἐντυγχάνωμεν τῷ Θεῷ διά τε ψαλμῶν καὶ εὐχῶν. Εἰς Τον ΜΑ' Ψαλμον, Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος

It is permitted to sing psalms without using the voice, when they resound within the mind. For we do not sing to men but God, He who is able to hear the heart and come in secret into our minds. This also Paul shows openly, saying ' The Spirit himself will speak for you with groans ineffable. He who scrutinises the heart knows the Spirit's intention, for according to God he asks for the saints.' 1 And it was said not that the Spirit groans, but that spiritual men, who have the gift of the Spirit, praying for others, and offering supplications, that they do this with compunction and groaning. This then we may do, even every day, in our calling on God with psalms and prayers. Exposition of the Psalms, Psalm 41, Saint John Chrysostom 1 Rom 8 26-27

The Psalms and the Nativity

Περὶ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐπιδημίας, καὶ ὅτι μὲν Θεὸς ὢν ἐπιδημήσει, οὕτως φησὶν ἐν μὲν τῷ τεσσαρακοστῷ ἐννάτῳ ψαλμῷ· Ὁ Κύριος ἐμφανῶς ἥξει, ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, καὶ οὐ παρασιωπήσεται· ἐν δὲ τῷ ἑκατοστῷ ἑπτακαιδεκάτῳ· Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου. Εὐλογήκαμεν ὑμᾶς ἐξ οἴκου Κυρίου· Θεὸς Κύριος, καὶ ἐπέφανεν ἡμῖν. Ὅτι δὲ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ Πατρὸς Λόγος, οὕτως ἐν τῷ ἑκατοστῷ ἕκτῳ ψάλλει· Ἀπέστειλε τὸν Λόγον αὐ τοῦ, καὶ ἰάσατο αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἐῤῥύσατο αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῶν διαφθορῶν αὐτῶν.  Ὁ γὰρ ἐρχόμενος Θεὸς αὐτός ἐστι καὶ Λόγος ἀποστελλόμενος. Τοῦτον δὲ τὸν Λόγον εἰδὼς ὄντα τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ᾄδει φωνὴν τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐν τῷ τεσσαρακοστῷ τετάρτῳ ψαλμῷ·  Ἐξηρεύξατο ἡ καρδία μου Λόγον ἀγαθόν· καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῷ ἑκα τοστῷ ἐννάτῳ· Ἐκ γαστρὸς πρὸ Ἑωσφόρου ἐξεγέννησά σε. Τί γὰρ ἂν ἄλλο τις εἴποι γέννημα τοῦ Πάτρος ἢ τὸν Λόγον καὶ τὴν Σοφίαν αὐτοῦ;  Τοῦτον εἰδυῖα ὄντα, ᾧ εἶπεν ὁ Πατήρ· Γενηθήτω φῶς, καὶ στερέωμα, καὶ τὰ πάντα, καὶ αὕτη ἡ βίβλος περιέχει λέγουσα· Τῷ Λόγῳ Κυρίου οἱ οὐρανοὶ ἐστερεώθησαν, καὶ τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ πᾶσα ἡ δύναμις αὐτῶν. Καὶ Χριστὸν δὲ αὐτὸν ἐρχόμενον οὐκ ἠγνόησεν· ἀλλὰ καὶ μάλιστα περὶ τούτου λέγει ἐν τῷ τεσσαρα κοστῷ τετάρτῳ ψαλμῷ· Ὁ θρόνος σου, ὁ Θεὸς, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος· ῥάβδος εὐθύτητος ἡ ῥάβδος τῆς βασιλείας σου. Ἠγάπησας δικαιοσύ νην, καὶ ἐμίσησας ἀδικίαν· διὰ τοῦτο ἔχρισέ σε ὁ Θεὸς ὁ Θεός σου ἔλαιον ἀγαλλιάσεως παρὰ τοὺς μετόχους σου. Καὶ ἵνα μὴ κατὰ φαντασίαν τις ἔρχεσθαι αὐτὸν νομίσῃ, σημαίνει αὐτὸν ἄνθρωπον γενησόμενον, καὶ τοῦτον εἶναι δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα γέγονε, λέγων ἐν τῷ ὀγδοηκοστῷ ἕκτῳ· Μήτηρ Σιὼν ἐρεῖ· Ἄνθρωπος, καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἐγεννήθη ἐν αὐ τῇ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐθεμελίωσεν αὐτὴν ὁ Ὕψιστος. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἴσον ἐστὶ τῷ εἰπεῖν· Καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος· πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ, ἐκ Παρθένου, γινώσκων οὐκ ἐσιώπησεν, ἀλλ' εὐθὺς ἔμφασίν τινα δίδωσιν ἐν τῷ τεσσαρακοστῷ τετάρτῳ ψαλμῷ, λέγων·  Ἄκου σον, θύγατερ, καὶ ἴδε, καὶ κλῖνον τὸ οὖς σου, καὶ ἐπιλάθου τοῦ λαοῦ σου καὶ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός σου, ὅτι ἐπεθύμησεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ κάλλους σου. Τοῦτο γὰρ πάλιν ὅμοιόν ἐστι τοῦ λεγομένου παρὰ τοῦ Γαβριήλ·  Χαῖρε, κεχαριτωμένη, ὁ Κύριος μετὰ σοῦ. Καὶ γὰρ εἰρηκὼς αὐτὸν Χριστὸν, εὐθὺς καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην γένεσιν ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου ἐδήλωσε, λέγων· Ἄκουσον, θύγατερ. Ἰδὲ ὁ μὲν Γαβριὴλ ἐξ ὀνόματος καλεῖ Μαρίαν, ξένος ὢν αὐτῆς κατὰ τὴν γένεσιν·ὁ δὲ Δαβὶδ ἐκ τοῦ σπέρματος αὑτοῦ τυγχάνουσαν αὐτὴν εἰκότως θυγατέρα προσφωνεῖ ταύτην. Ἅγιος Ἀθανάσιος Ἀλεξανδρείας, προς Μαρκελλινον Εις Την Ἑρμηνειαν Των Ψαλμων

Concerning the advent of the Saviour and that God should dwell among us, the Psalmist says in the forty ninth Psalm, 'The Lord shall come openly, our God, and He shall not be silent.'1 and in the hundred and seventeenth Psalm he says: 'Blessed is he that comes in the Name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the House of the Lord. God is the Lord, and He has shone upon us.'2 And that He who comes is Himself the Father's Word in the hundred and sixth Psalm he sings, 'He sent His Word and healed them, and rescued them out of all their distresses.'3 For the God who comes is this same Word sent, and of this Word whom he knows to be the Son of God, the voice of the Father, he sings again in the forty fourth Psalm, 'Comes forth from my heart a good Word.'4 And also in the hundred and ninth psalm: 'Out of the womb, before the down, have I begotten You.'5 Who else might be called offspring of the Father but His own Word and Wisdom? And he, who knows that it was through Him that the Father said, 'Let there be light and a firmament and all things,' says again 'By the Word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the breath of His mouth all the power of them.'6 And not being ignorant of the coming of Christ, he makes speaks of it foremost in the forty fourth psalm: 'Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever, a scepter of justice is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness, therefore God, even your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.'7 Further, lest any one should think His coming was in appearance only, in the eighty sixth Psalm he shows that He who was to come should be as man and at the same time be the one through whom all things were made: 'Mother Sion shall say, A man, a man indeed is born in her: and He himself, the Most Highest, founded her,'8  And this is the same as saying 'The Word was God, all things were made by Him, and the Word became flesh.' And of his knowledge knowing of the birth from a virgin, he is not silent, for he gives emphasis to it again in the forty fourth Psalm: 'Hear, O daughter, he says, and see and incline your ear, and forget your own people and the house of your father, for the King has desired your beauty.'9 Is not this like what was said by Gabriel, 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you?10  For having called Him Christ, immediately he declares His human birth from the Virgin, saying, 'Hear, O daughter, and see,' Gabriel addresses Mary by name, because he is of another race from her, but because she comes from his seed, David fitly calls her his own daughter. Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, To Marcellinus On the Interpretation of the Psalms 1 Ps 49.3   2 Ps 117. 26-27 3 Ps 107.20 4 Ps 44.2 5 Ps 109.3  6 Ps 32.6   7 Ps 44 7-8  8 Ps 86.5  9 Ps 44. 11-12  10 Lk 1:28

Martyrs and Witnesses

'Et vidimus, et testes.' Forte aliqui fratrum nesciunt, qui graece non norunt, quid sint testes graece: et usitatum nomen est omnibus et religiosum; quos enim testes latine dicimus, graece martyres sunt. Quis autem non audivit martyres, aut in cuius christiani ore non quotidie habitat nomen martyrum? Atque utinam sic habitet et in corde, ut passiones martyrum imitemur, non eos calcibus persequamur. Ergo hoc dixit: Vidimus, et testes sumus: Vidimus, et martyres sumus. Testimonium enim dicendo ex eo quod viderunt, et testimonium dicendo ex eo quod audierunt ab his qui viderunt, cum displiceret ipsum testimonium hominibus adversus quos dicebatur, passi sunt omnia quae passi sunt martyres. Testes Dei sunt martyres. Deus testes habere voluit homines, ut et homines habeant testem Deum. Vidimus, inquit, et testes sumus. Ubi viderunt? In manifestatione. Quid est, in manifestatione? In sole, id est in hac luce. Unde autem potuit videri in sole qui fecit solem, nisi quia in sole posuit tabernaculum suum, et ipse tamquam sponsus procedens de thalamo suo, exsultavit ut gigas ad currendam viam ? Ille ante solem qui fecit solem, ille ante luciferum, ante omnia sidera, ante omnes Angelos, verus creator - quia omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil -, ut videretur oculis carneis qui solem vident; ipsum tabernaculum suum in sole posuit, id est carnem suam in manifestatione huius lucis ostendit: et illius sponsi thalamus fuit uterus Virginis, quia in illo utero virginali coniuncti sunt duo, sponsus et sponsa, sponsus Verbum et sponsa caro; quia scriptum est: Et erunt duo in carne una; et Dominus dicit in Evangelio: Igitur iam non duo, sed una caro. Et Isaias optime meminit unum esse ipsos duos: loquitur enim ex persona Christi, et dicit: Sicut sponso imposuit mihi mitram, et sicut sponsam ornavit me ornamento. Unus videtur loqui, et sponsum se fecit et sponsam se fecit; quia non duo, sed una caro: quia Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis. Illi carni adiungitur Ecclesia, et fit Christus totus, caput et corpus. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, In Epistolam Ioannis ad Parthos, Tractatus I

'And we have seen and are witnesses.' 1  Perhaps some of the brethren who do not know Greek are not aware that the word witnesses is in Greek, and yet it is a term much used by all, and religious, for what in the Latin tongue we call witnesses, in Greek are martyrs. Where indeed is the man that has not heard of martyrs, or in which Christian mouth does not the name of martyrs daily dwell? And I would that it so dwelt in the heart also that we might imitate the sufferings of the martyrs and not distress them with our drinking! Well then, 'We have seen and are witnesses,' is as much as to say, We have seen and are martyrs. For it was for bearing witness of that which they had seen, and bearing witness of that which they had heard from them who had seen, that, while their testimony itself displeased the men against whom it was delivered, the martyrs suffered all that they suffered. The martyrs are God's witnesses. It pleased God to have men for His witnesses, that men also may have God to be their witness. 'We have seen,' he says, 'and are witnesses.' Where have they seen? In the manifestation. What does this mean, in the manifestation? In the sun, that is, in the light. And how should He be seen in the sun who made the sun, except as "in the sun He has set His tabernacle; and Himself as a bridegroom going forth from his chamber, exulted as a great one to run His course?" 2 He before the sun, who made the sun, He before the day-star, before all the stars, before all angels, the true Creator, 'for all things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made,'3 that He might be seen by the corporeal  eyes of which see the sun, set His very tabernacle in the sun, that is, showed His flesh in manifestation of this light of day, and that Bridegroom's chamber was the Virgin's womb, because in that virginal womb were joined the two, the Bridegroom and the bride, the Bridegroom the Word, and the bride the flesh, because it is written, 'And two shall be one flesh.'4 And the Lord says in the Gospel, Therefore they are no more two but one flesh.5 And Isaiah remembers well that one are two, for speaking in the person of Christ, he says, 'As upon a bridegroom He has set a mitre upon me, and adorned me with ornament like a bride.'6 One seems to speak, yet makes Himself  Bridegroom and Bride; because 'not two, but one flesh:' because "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."7 To that flesh the Church is joined, and so there is made the whole Christ, Head and body. Saint Augustine of Hippo, On The First Letter of John, First Homily 1 1 Jn 1:2 2 Ps 18.6  3 Jn 1.3  4 Gen 2:24  5 Mt 19:6  6 Is 61.10  7 Jn 1.14

Stephen and The Holy Spirit

Πῶς εἶδε τὴν ὑπερουράνιον δόξαν ὁ Στέφανος; τίς αὐτῷ τὰς πύλας τῶν οὐρανῶν διεπέτασεν; Ἄρ' ἀνθρωπίνης δυνάμεως ἥν τὸ κατόρθωμα; ἆρά τινος τῶν ἀγγέλων πρὸς τὸ ὕψος ἐκεῖνο τὴν κάτω κειμένην φύσιν ἀναβιβάσαντος; Οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα· οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἡ κατ' αὐτὸν ἱστορία φησὶν, ὅτι Στέφανος δὲ πολὺς κατὰ τὴν δύναμῖν ὤν, ἢ τῆς ἀγγελικῆς βοηθείας πλήρης γενόμενος, εἶδεν ἂ εἶδεν. Ἀλλὰ τί λέγει; 'Στέφανος δὲ. πλήρης ὤν Πνεύματος ἁγίου, εἰδε τὴν δόξαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὸν μονογενῆ τοῦ Θεοῦ Υιόν. Οὐ γὰρ ἔστι, καθώς φησιν ὁ Προφήτης. τὸ φως ὀφθῆναι, μὴ ἐν φωτὶ καθορώμενον.' Ἐν  γὰρ τῷ φωτί σου,' φησιν, 'ὀψόμεθα φῶς.' Εἰ οὖν οὖκ ἐνδέχεται μὴ ἐν τῷ φωτὶ γενέσθαι τὴν τοῦ φωτὸς θεωρίαν· πῶς γὰρ ἔστιν ἀπιδεῖν εἰς τὸν ἥλιον ἔξω τῶν ἀκτίνων γενόμενον; ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐν τῷ φωτὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς, τουτέστιν ἐν τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ τῷ ἐκεῖθεν ἐκπορευομένῳ, τὸ Μονογενὲς καθορᾶται φῶς· διὰ τοῦτο προκαταυγασθεὶς τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἐν περινοίᾳ τῆς τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Ὑιοῦ δόξης γίνεται. Ἐπεὶ, πῶς τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν ἀπόφασιν ἀληθεύειν φήσομεν, ὁτι 'Θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακε πώποτε; Πῶς δὲ τὸν Ἀπόστολον μὴ ἐναντία τοῖς ἱστορηθεῖσι Βοᾷν, ὅταν λεγει· Οὔτε τις εἶδεν αὐτὸν ἀνθρώπων, οὐτε ἰδεῖν δύναται; Εἰ γὰρ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει τε καὶ δυνάμει, ἡ τοῦ Πατρός τε καὶ του Ὑιοῦ δόξα χωρητὴ κατέστη· ψευδὴς πάντως, ὁ ἀχώρητον ἀνθρώποις ἀποφηνάμενος εἶναι τὸ θεῖον θέαμα. Ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐτε ἐκεῖνον ψεύδεσθαι, καὶ τὴν ἱστορίαν ἀληθεύειν ἐπάναγκες. Ἂρα φανερῶς ἡ κακουργία τῶν Πνευματομάχων πεφώραται, ὅτι τῷ ὁμοίῳ καθορᾶσθαι τὰ ὅμοια παρὰ τῆς Γραγῆς μεμαρτύρηται. Ὁ γὰρ Στέφανος οὐκ ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει τε καὶ δυνάμει μένων τὸ Θεῖον βλέπει· ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἀγίου Πνεύματος χάριν ἀνακραθεὶς, δι' ἐκείνου ὑψώθη πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ κατανόησιν. Οὐκοῦν εἰ χωρὶς τοῦ Πνεύματος  οὕτε Κύριον Ἰησοῦν ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, οὔτε τὴν Πατρικὴν δόξαν κατανοῆσαι· δέδεικται σαφῶς, ὅτι ὅπου τὸ Πνεῦμά ἐστιν, ἐκεῖ καὶ ὁ Ὑιὸς καθορᾶται, καὶ ἡ Πατρικὴ δόξα καταλαμβάνεται. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τον Ἁγιον Στεφανον Τον Προτομαρτυρα

How did Stephen see transcendent glory? Who revealed the gates of heaven to him? Was this wonder by the power of men? Which of the angels elevated a lower nature soar to that height? I do not speak of these things from his own telling, for Stephen was among many when he was filled with power coming from the angels by which he saw the things he saw. What is said? 'Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit and saw the glory of God and his Only-Begotten Son'1. For it is not, as the Prophet says, that light is seen unless one is brought into the light: 'In your light we shall see light,' 2 If observation of the light does not partake of the light, how can anyone deprived of the sun's rays see it?. Since the Father's light makes this possible, the Only Begotten's light emanates through the Holy Spirit which makes it visible. Therefore the Spirit's glory enables us to perceive the glory of both the Father and Son. But can we say that the Gospel is true which says that 'No man has ever seen God'? 3 How do the Apostle's words agree with the following, 'No man has seen nor can see '?4 If human nature and power is able to grasp the glory of the Father and Son, it must be an error that the sight of God is unachievable by man. But this is no lie and the record is true. The evil deed of the pneumatomachoi is indeed exposed because Scripture bears witness to similar sights. For Stephen does not see God by human nature and power but he is lifted up by the grace of the Holy Spirit that he might comprehend God. Therefore, apart from the Spirit one cannot say that Jesus is Lord, as the Apostle says. 5 And nor can one contemplate the Father's glory, for where the Spirit is the Son is seen and there the Father's glory is grasped . Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On the First Martyr Saint Stephen 1. Acts 7.55 2. Ps 35.10 3 Jn 1.18 4 1 Tm 6.16 5 cf. 1Tm 6.16, 1Cor 12.3

Understanding a Birth

Fratres, humani sensus non est virginei partus aperire mysterium: quod natura non habet, auctoris est, non naturae: est opus superni spiritus, quod sentire non potest caro: ubi non est humanitatis indicium, ibi deitatis est signum, dicente propheta: Ipse Dominus Deus dabit signum. Ecce virgo in utero accipiet. Ubi nil est terreni usus, est ibi coelestis ordinis totum: quod de mundo non est, mundano intellectui non potest subjacere. Conceptus qui virginem servat, partus virginem qui relinquit, divinum est quod generat, non humanum; Deus graditur, ubi vestigum nullatenus humani transitus invenitur; consuetudo deficit, miracula cum geruntur: consuetudines non respiciunt signa, singularitas non admittit exemplum. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CLIII

Brothers, it is not for the human mind to elucidate the mystery of the virgin birth, because that nature it does not have, it is an act of the Creator not of nature, it is a work of the heavenly Spirit which flesh is not able to know. Where there is no declaration of humanity, there is a sign of the Deity. As the Prophet says, 'God Himself shall give a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive in her womb.' 1 Where there is no earthly operation, there is the method of heaven, because it is not of the world, it is not subject to the mundane intellect. He who protected the virgin was conceived, He who was born left her a virgin, a thing Divine happened not something human, God walks where no trace of human passage is to be found, that which is normal perishes when a miracle is made, wondrous signs do not indicate what is customary, unique events do not admit of examples. Saint Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 153 1. Is 7.14

The Shepherds

Natus est Dominus meus Jesus, et angelus descendit de coelo annuntians nativitatem ejus. Videamus itaque quem quaesierit, ut ejus nuntiaret adventum. Non venit Jerosolymam, non quaesivit Scribas et Pharisaeos, non synagogam ingressus est Judaeorum, sed pastores reperit super greges suos vigilias excubantes, eisque loquitur: ' Natus est hodie Salvator, qui est Christus Dominus.' Putasne nihil aliud divinus Scripturarum sermo significat, sed tantum hoc quod ad pastores venerit angelus et eis locutus sit? Audite, pastores Ecclesiarum, pastores Dei, quod semper angelus ejus descendant e coelo, et annuntiet vobis quoniam natus est vobis hodie Salvator, qui est Christus Dominus. Etenim pastores Ecclesiarum, nisi ille pastor venerit, per se bene gregem servare non poterunt, infirma est eorum custodia, nisi Christus cum eis paverit atque servaverit. Dudum in Apostolo lectum est, Dei cooperatores sumus. Pastor bonus, qui imitatur pastorem bonum, cooperator est Dei et Christi. Et propterea pastor bonus est, qui habet secum pastorem optimum compascentem sibi. Origenes, Homiliae in Lucam, Homilia XII, Interprete Sancto Hieronymo

Born is my Lord Jesus and an angel has descended from heaven announcing his nativity. Let us see whom the angel sought to announce his coming. He did not come to Jerusalem, he did not seek out Scribes and Pharisees, he did not enter a Synagogue, but finding shepherds keeping watch over their flocks, he said to them, ' Today is born a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.'1 Do you think that the words of Scripture signify nothing more, but only that the angel came to the shepherds and spoke to them? Listen, shepherds of the Churches, shepherds of God, his angel always descends from heaven and announces to you that today is born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. For the shepherds of the Churches, unless that shepherd comes, will not be able to protect their flock well, their guard being weak unless Christ pastures and protects along with them . A little while ago the Apostle was read, saying, ' We are coworkers with God.'2 A good shepherd who imitates the good shepherd is a coworker with God and Christ. And he is a good shepherd because he has working with him the best shepherd. Origen, Homilies on Luke, Homily 12, Translated by Saint Jerome. 1 Lk 2. 8 2 1 Cor 3.9

A New Day

Ἀνατέλλοντος φωτὸς, ὁ ὄρθρος ὑποχωρεῖ. Ἡλίου ἄνίσχοντος λαμπρῶς, τὰ τῶν ἀστέρων ἀμαυροῦται χορεύματα. Ὅτε αἴθριος ἡμέρα ἐπιφανῇ, τὰ τῆς ἔω ἀπολήγει σκιάσματα. Ὅτε ἡ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου σοφία ἐξέλαμψεν, ἡ τοῦ νόμου παιδαγωγία ἐσχόλασεν. Οὕτω κωφεύει Ζαχαρίας, τὰ τοῦ νέου καὶ παραδόξου ἀσπασμοῦ ἀκηκοὼς εὐαγγέλια. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΣΝΖ' , Εὐλογιῳ

The rising light removes the daybreak. The bright sun rising dims the companies of the stars. When the clear day is present the shadows of dawn reach their end. When the wisdom of the Gospel shines forth the introductory law comes to its rest. Thus Zachariah was dumb hearing things new and joyful, and a wondrous salutation. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 257, to Eulogius

The Order of Ancestors

Gradum, quem Mattheaus in ordine regiae successionis ediderat, Lucas in sacerdotali origine computat. Quem dum uterque dinumerat, cognationem in Domino utriusque tribus uterque significat. Recteque generationis gradus ponitur: quia sacerdotalis et regiae tribus societas per Dvid ex conjugio inita, jam a Salathiel in Zorobabel confirmetur ex genere. Atque ita dum Matthaeus paternam originem, quae ex Juda proficiscebatur, recenset, Lucas vero acceptum per Natham ex tribu Levi genus edocet; suis quibusque partibus Domino nostro Jesu Christo, qui est aeternus et rex et sacerdos, etiam in carnali ortu utriusque generis gloriam probaverunt. Quod vero Joseph potiusquam Mariae nativitas recensetur, nihil refert: eadem enim est totius tribus atque una cognatio. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap I

The order which Matthew gives by the royal succession, Luke reckons according to the priestly origin. One reckons by the bloodline of the Lord and the other by His tribe. It is quite right to present the sequence of the Lord's generation in this way since the association of the priestly and royal ancestry begun by David in his marriage is thereafter confirmed through the lineage of Shealtiel to Zerubbabel. And so while Matthew attends to His paternal origin which stemmed from Judah, Luke speaks of the lineage proceeding through Nathan from the tribe of Levi. By both of these ways then is demonstrated the glory of the double genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is eternal king and priest, even in his corporeal birth. That his nativity is traced from Joseph rather than Mary does not matter, for there is one and the same bloodline for the entire ancestry. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 1

Receiving The Word

Ecce enim ut facta est vox salutationis tuae in auribus meis, exsultavit gaudio infans in utero meo: et beata quae credidisti.   Vides non dubitasse Mariam, sed credidisse; et ideo fructum fidei consecutam. Beata, inquit, quae credidisti. Sed et vos beati, qui audistis, et credidistis; quaecumque enim crediderit anima et concipit et generat Dei Verbum, et opera ejus agnoscit. Sit in singulis Mariae anima, ut magnificet Dominum: sit in singulis spiritus Mariae, ut exsultet in Deo. Si secundum carnem una mater est Christi; secundum fidem tamen omnium fructus est Christus. Omnis enim accipit Dei Verbum, si tamen immaculata et immunis a vitiis, intemerato castimoniam pudore custodiat. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Expositio Evangelii Secundum Lucam, Liber II

For behold the voice of your greeting in my ears, the child in my womb jumped for joy, and blessed you who have believed. 1 You see that Mary had not doubted but believed, and therefore the fruit of faith followed.  Blessed, she said,  you who have believed. But even you are blessed, you who have heard and have believed, for that soul which has believed conceives and generates the Word of God, and knows His works. May the soul of Mary be in each one of you so that it magnifies the Lord. May the spirit of Mary be in each one of you so that it exults in God. If according to the flesh one woman is the mother of Christ, Christ is the fruit of everyone according to faith. Everyone receives the word of God, if immaculate and cleansed from vice he guard his chastity undefiled from shame. Saint Ambrose, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Book 2 1 Lk. 1.44

He Came To His Own

'In propria venit,' id est, in sua venit: et sui eum non receperunt. Quae ergo spes est, nisi quia quotquot receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri? Si filii fiunt, nascuntur: si nascuntur, quomodo nascuntur? Non ex carne, non ex sanguinibus, non ex voluntate carnis, non ex voluntate viri; sed ex Deo nati sunt. Gaudeant ergo, quia ex Deo nati sunt; praesumant se pertinere ad Deum; accipiant documentum, quia ex Deo nati sunt: 'Et Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis.' Si Verbum non erubuit nasci de homine, erubescunt homines nasci de Deo? Hoc autem quia fecit, curavit: quia curavit, videmus. Hoc enim quod 'Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis,' medicamentum nobis factum est, ut quia terra e caecabamur, de terra sanaremur: et sanati quid videremus? Et vidimus, inquit, gloriam eius, gloriam tamquam Unigeniti a Patre, plenum gratia et veritate Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis,In Evangelium Ionannis, Tractatus III

'He came to His own,'1 that is to say, He came to what is his: 'and His own did not receive Him.'1 What, then, is the hope, unless that 'As many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God'?2 If they become sons, they are born; if born, how are they born? Not of flesh, 'nor of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man; but of God are they born.'3 Let them rejoice, therefore, that they are born of God; let them presume they are of God; let them receive the proof that they are born from God: 'And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.'4 If the Word was not ashamed to be born of man, are men ashamed to be born of God? And because He did this, He cured us; and because He cured us, we see. For this, that 'the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,'4 became a medicine unto us, so that as by earth we were blinded, by earth we might be healed. And being healed what might we see? 'And we saw,' he says, 'His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.'4 Saint Augustine of Hippo, On the Gospel of John, Tractate 3 1 Jn 1.11 2 Jn 1.12  3 Jn 1.13  4 Jn 1.14

Progressing To Good Judgement

Τούτῳ τῷ ἀββᾷ Ἀμμωνᾷ προεφήτευσεν ὁ ἀννᾶς Ἀντώνιος, λέγων, ὅτι Ἔχεις προκόψαι εἰς τὸν φόβον τοῠ Θεοῠ, καὶ ἐξήγαγεν αὐτὸν ἔξω τοῦ κελλίου, καὶ ἔδειχεν αὐτῷ λίθον, καὶ ἔιπεν αὐτῷ· Ὕβρισον τὸν λίθον τοῦτον καὶ τύψον αὐτόν. Ὁ δὲ ἐποίησεν οὕτως. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀντώνιος· Μὴ ἐλάλησεν ὁ λίθος; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Οὑχί. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀντώνιος· Οὕτω και σὺ καταλαβεῖν μέλλεις τοῦτο τὸ μέτρον. Ὅ καὶ ἐγένετο. Προέκοψε γὰρ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀμμωνᾶς οὕτως, ὡς ἀπὸ πολλῆς ἀγαθότητος μηκέτι εἰδέναι τὴν κακίαν. Ἐν οἶς γενομένου αὐτοῦ ἐπισκόπου, προσήνεςκαν αὐτῷ παρθένον λαβοῦσαν ἐν γαστρὶ, καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Ὁ δεῐνα ἐποίησε τοῠτο· δὸς αὐτοῖς ἐπιτιμίαν. Ὁ δὲ σφραγίσας αὐτῆς τὴν κοιλίαν, ἐκέλευσε δοθῆναι αὐτῇ ἔξ ζυγὰς σινδονίων, λέγων· Μήποτε ὡς ἀπέρχεται γεννῆσαι, ἀποθάνῃ ἢ αὐτὴ ἢ τὸ παιδίον, καὶ μὴ εὔρῃ κηδευθῆναι. Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ κατ' αὐτῆς ἐντυχόντες· Τί τοῦτο ἐποίησας; δὸς αὐτοῖς ἐπιτιμίαν. Ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· βλέπετε, ἀδελφοὶ, ὅτι ἐγγύς ἐστι τοῦ θανάτου· καὶ τί ἔχω ἐγὼ ποιῆσαι; Καὶ ἀπέλυσεν αὐτήν· καὶ οὐκ ἐτόλμησεν ὁ γέρων κατακρῖναί τινα. Ἀποφθέγματα Ἀγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.121b-c

Father Anthony spoke a prediction to Father Ammonas, saying that he would progress in the fear of God. He led him outside his cell, and showing a stone to him, said to him, 'Hurt this stone, and beat it.' And he did so. Then Anthony said to him, 'Has the stone said anything?' He replied, 'No.' Then Father Anthony said to him, 'You too will rise to the level of this stone.' And so it was. For Father Ammonas advanced to the point where his goodness was so great, he took no notice of wickedness. Thus, having become bishop, someone brought to him a young girl who was pregnant, saying, 'The wretched girl has done this; give her a punishment.' But he, having marked the young girl's womb with the sign of the cross, commanded that six pairs of fine linen sheets should be given her, saying, 'It is for fear that, when she comes to give birth, she may die, she or the child, and have nothing for the burial.' But her accusers resumed, 'Why did you do that? Give her a punishment.' But he said to them, 'Look, brothers, she is near death; and what shall I to do?' Then he sent her away, for the elder did not dare condemn anyone. Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

The Order of a Birth

Hinc est, fratres, hinc est, quod Christi talis est ordo nascentis: ad virginem diabolus venerat, venit angelus ad Mariam, ut quod malus dejecerat angelus, bonus angelus allevaret. Perfidiam suasit ille, hic fidem: suasori credidit illa, ista credit auctori. Nascitur Christus, ut nascendo corruptam redintegret naturam; infantiam suscepit ille, patitur nutrimenta, percurrit aetates, ut unam perfectam, manentem, quam ipse fecerat, instauret aetatem: portat hominem, ne jam cadere homo possit; quem terrenum feceret, fecit esse coelestem; animatum humano spiritu, spiritum vivificat in divinum: et sic eum totum tollit in Deum, ut in eo quod peccati, quod mortis, quod laboris, quod doloris, quod terrae est, nil relinquat. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CXLIIX

Hence, brothers, hence, such an order of events in the birth of Christ. To a virgin the devil came, to Mary an angel came, the evil angel to throw down, the good angel to lift up. The former persuaded treachery, the latter faith. The former believed the persuader, the latter her Creator. Christ is born that by being born he might restore our corrupted nature. He took up infancy, suffered to be nourished, he passed through his years, that he restore to one perfect abiding age that which He had made. He carries man that now he might not fall. He who had made him earthly made him heavenly. That animated by a human spirit, He enlivens with the Divine spirit, and so lifts up the whole to God, that what is of sin, what is of death, what is of toil, what is of grief, what is of the earth, be left behind. Saint Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 148

Some Peculiar Births

Εἰπὲ τῷ Ἰουδαίῳ τῷ πρὸς σὲ διενεχθέντι περὶ τῆς θείας σαρκώσεως, καὶ λέγοντι, ὅτι ἀδύνατόν ἐστι φύσει ἀνθρωπείᾳ δίχα συνουσίας καὶ σπέρματος τεκεῖν· ὅτι οὐδὲν ξένον, εἰ καὶ τοῦτο ἀγνοεῖς, μετὰ πάντων τῶν τοῦ νόμου μυστηρίων καὶ δογμάτων. Ὁ γὰρ εὐθέως τὰ προοίμια τοῦ νόμου καταμαθεῖν μὴ δυνηθεὶς, ἐπίδηλα ὅντα καὶ σαπῆ, πῶς δύνασαι εἰς τὸν ἀπόκρυφον αὐτοῦ διιδεῖν, ἢ διακύψαι βυθόν; Γεγραπται γὰρ, ὁτι ' Ἐπέβαλεν ὁ Θεὸς ἔκστασιν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀδὰμ, καὶ ὕπνωσε, καὶ ἔλαβε μίαν τῶν πλευρῶν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀνεπλήρωσε σάρκα ἀντ' αὐτῆς· καὶ ᾠκοδόμησε τὴν πλευρὰν ἥν ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ. Ἰδοὺ οὖν ὁ ἀνὴρ ἐκ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἡ γυην ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, καὶ ἀμφότεροι τῆς συνουσίας χωρίς. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐπώφειλεν ἡ γυνή χρέος τῷ ἀνδρὶ, ἐκ τῆς πλευρᾶς αὐτοῦ δίχα σπορᾶς ὑποστᾶσα, τοῦτο ἀπέτισε καὶ μήτηρ τοῦ Κυρίου, αὐτὸν δίχα σπέρματος ἀποδοῦσα σεσαρκωμένον. Οὐκ ἔστιν οὖν τῇ φύσει ἀδύνατον· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν πρωτοπλάστων ἤδη γεγένητο, ἐπὶ τῆς Δεσποτικῆς οἰκονομίας τετέλεστο· ἐι καὶ τὰ παράδοξα τῷ τόκῳ τούτῳ ὠφείλετο· ἀναγίνωσκε οὖν, ἵνα γινώσκῃς. Εἰ δὲ γινώσκειν οὐ βούλει, μὴ ἀναγίνωσκε, ἵνα μὴ καταγινώσκῃ ὡς ἀγνοῶν ἅ ἀναγινώσκεις. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΜΑ', Ἀδαμαντιῳ

Say to the Hebrew who is in dispute with you concerning the Divine incarnation, who says that it is impossible in human nature that seed come to birth lacking sexual union, that it is not strange at all if this is considered with every other mystery and teaching of the law. For who studying the opening parts of the law is not instantly able, it being clear and open, to gaze on that revealed and look into the depths? For it is written: 'God placed Adam in a trance and with him sleeping he took one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh, and He worked on the rib he took from Adam.' 1 Behold then we have man from earth, and woman from man, and both lacking union. Since then the woman was to be an aid to man, from his rib she was made, a different type of generation, and so it was with the mother of the Lord that by another type of generation flesh was formed. It is not impossible in nature, but as was the fashioning of the first ones, so it was in the manner of the Lord. And if these births should still be amazing, read then that you might know, and if you are unwilling to read, so you shall not understand being ignorant of things to be read. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 141,  to Adamantios 1 Gen 2.21

Birth, Suffering and Joy

Πληθύνων πληθυνῶ τὰς λύπας σου καὶ τὸν στεναγμόν σου· ἐν λύπαις τέξῃ τέκνα.  Τὰς ὠδῖνας ἐνταῦθα αἰνιττεται καὶ τὸν πολὺν κάματον ἐκεῖνον, ὄν ὑπομένειν ἀνάγκη, καθάπερ φορτίον ἐν μησὶ τοσούτοις τὸ βρέφος βαστάζουσαν, καὶ τὰς κατὰ μέρος φυομένας ἐνταῦθεν ἀλγηδόνας, καὶ τῶν μελων τὸν διασπασμὸν, καὶ τὰς ὀδύνας ἐκείνας τὰς ἀφορήτους, ἂς ἐκεῖναι μόναι ἴσασιν αἵ διὰ τῆς πείρας ἐλθοῦσαι. Ἀλλ' ὅμως τοσαύτην ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Θεὸς παρέσχε μετὰ τῶν λυπηρῶν τὴν παραμυθίαν, ὡς ἰσόῥῥοπον εἶναι τὴν διὰ τὸ τεχθὲν βρέφος εὐφροσύνην τῶν ὠδίνων ἐκείνων τῶν ἐν τοσούτοις μησὶ τὴν γαστέρα διακοπτουσῶν. Αἵ γὰρ τοσοῦτον πόνον ὑπομένουσαι, καὶ οὕτως ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλγηδόνων σπαραττόμεναι, καὶ ὡς εἰπεῖν πρὸς αὐτὴν τὴν ζωὴν ἀπαγορεύουσαι, μετὰ τὸ τεκεῖν καὶ τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν καμάτων εὐφροσύνης ἀπολαῦσαι, πάλιν ὥσπερ ἐπιλαθόμεναι τῶν γεγενημένων ἀπάντων ἑαυτὰς ἐκδιδόασι πρὸς τὴν τῶν τέκνων γονην, τοῦ φιλανθρώπου Θεοῦ οὕτως οἰκονομήσαντος πρὸς σύστασιν τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων σωτηρίας. Ἡ γὰρ ἐλπὶς ἀεὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν κούφως ποιεῖ φέρειν τὰ παρόντα λυπηρά. Καὶ τοῦτο ἴδοι τις ἂν καὶ τοὺς ἐμπόρους ὑπομένοντας, καὶ μακρὰ πελάγη διαπερῶντας, καὶ ναυαγίων ἀνεχομένους καὶ πειρατῶν, καὶ μετὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς κινδύνους ἐκείνους πολλάκις καὶ διαμαρτόντας τῆς προσδοκίας, καὶ μηεδὲ οὕτως ἀποστάντας, ἀλλὰ πάλιν τῶν αὐτῶν ἁπτομένους. Τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν γηπόνων ἔστιν εἰπεῖν· καὶ γὰρ καὶ οὗτοι ὅτε βαθεῖαν αὔλακα ἀνατέμωσι, καὶ πολλὴν τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν τῆς γῇς ἐπιδείξωνται, καὶ δαψιλῆ τὰ σπέρματα καταβάλωσι, πολλάκις αὐχμοῦ γενομένου ἢ ἐπομβρίας, ἢ πρὸς αὐτῷ τῷ τέλει τν δρᾶγμάτων ἐρυσίβης κατενεχθείσης, τῆς ἐλπίδος διήμαρτον· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ οὕτως ἀφίστανται, ἀλλὰ πάλιν τοῦ καιροῦ καταλαβόντος, ἅπτονται τῆς γεωργίας. Καὶ τοῦτο ἐφ' ἐκάστου εὕποι τιη ἂν ἐπιτηδεύματος γινόμενον. Τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον καὶ ἡ γυνὴ καὶ αὐτὴ πολλάκις μετὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς μῆνας ἐκείνους, μετὰ τὰς ὠδῖνας τὰς ἀφορήτους, μετὰ τὰς νύκτας τὰς αυπνους, μετὰ τὸν τῶν μελῶν διασπαμὸν, μικρᾶς τινος περιστάσεως γενομένης, πρὸ τοῦ προσήκοντος καιροῦ τὸ βρέφος ὠθήσασα ἀμόρφωτον καὶ ἀδιατύπωτον, ἢ καὶ νεκρὸν πολλάκις, μόλις τὸν κίνδυνον διέφυγε, καὶ ὅμως ὥσπερ ἐπιλαθομένη τούτων ἀπάντων, τῶν αὐτῶν ἀνέχεται, καὶ συναποθανεῖν τῷ τεχθένται συνέβη, καὶ οὐδὲ τοῦτο τὰς λοιπὰς ἐσωφρόνισε καὶ ἀνέπεισε φυγεῖν τὸ πρᾶγμα· τοσαύτην ὁ Θεὸς ἐγκατέσπειρε τοῖς λυπηροῖς τὴν ἡδονὴν ὁμοῦ καὶ τὴν εὐφροσύνην. Διὰ τοῦτο ἔλεγε, 'Πληθύνων πληθυνῶ τὰς λύπας σου καὶ τὸν στεναγμόν σου· ἐν λύπαις τέξῃ τέκνα. Τοῦτο τοινυν καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς διαλεγόμενος τοῖς μαθηταῖς καὶ δεικνὺς καὶ τῆς ὀδύνης τὸ μέγεθος καὶ τῆς εὐφροσύνης τὴν ὑπερβολὴν, ἔλεγεν· Ἡ γυνὴ ὅταν τίκτῃ λύπην ἔχει, ὅτι ἦλθεν ἡ ὥρα αὐτῆς· εἶτα παραστῆσαι ἡμῖν βουλόμενος ὅπως τὰ μὲν τῆς λύπης ἀθρόον ἐκποδὼν γίνεται, τὰ δὲ τῆς χαρᾶς καὶ τῆς εὐφροσύνης διαδέχεται, φησίν ' Ὅταν δὲ γεννήσῃ τὸ παιδίον, οὐκέτι μνημονεύει τῆς θλιψεως διὰ τὴν χαρὰν, ὅτι ἐγεννήθη ἄνθρωπος εἰς τὸν κόσμον.' Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Ὁμῖλία ΙΖ', Εἰς Την Γενεσιν

'I shall multiply your pains and your groans, in grief you shall birth children.'1  Here is meant the labours of birth and the many troubles which it is necessary to bear, all those months carrying the baby as if in a sack, and there the pains of swollen limbs and the rending cares and the intolerable griefs which only she will know, which only she by experience will suffer. But at the same time the benign God has given consolation with these griefs, compensating with the joy of the birth of the child all those months she suffered carrying it. For she who endures such labour and is wracked by such pains, that it is said that she almost despairs of her life, after she has given birth, all her griefs are dissipated for joy, and all her labours are forgotten by giving birth to a child, for such is the dispensation of the benign God for the preservation of the human race. For he always provides hope for future goods that present difficulties be lightened. And it is as merchants who take themselves aboard ship and who pass over great seas, braving the dangers of shipwreck and pirates, who come through many hazards by which hopes are often frustrated, and then they do not refrain from doing such a thing, but again they turn to it. And here also we may speak of farmers, for they cut their deep furrows and expend much care on the soil and throw down their bounty of seed, and often they suffer drought or excessive rains, and even collecting their sheaves a blight may fall and cut off their hope, and yet then neither do they desist, but again, when the appropriate time comes, they go to their labour. And this we see happening in every good work. So it is often with a woman who after many months, after grave pains, after sleepless nights, after the swelling of members, a little accident befalling, she delivers before the appropriate time an unformed child, and frequently it is lifeless, and scarcely will that peril be avoided, and yet as if she had forgotten all these things, she returns to her labour and she suffers that she might give birth again and it does not occur to her to fear it, nor is she inclined to avoid it, such pleasure and joy has God placed in these griefs. Thus he said: 'I shall multiply your pains and your groans, in grief you shall birth sons'. And Christ said to his disciples, openly referring to great pains and exceeding joy,'When a woman gives birth, she has grief, because her time has come.' 2 And then wishing to declare how all suffering is taken away to be succeeded by happiness and joy, He says, 'When she has given birth to a child, she no longer has memory of her affliction, on account of joy because she given birth to a man in the world.2   Saint John Chrysostom, On Genesis, from Homily 16  1 Gen 3.16 2. Jn 16.21

Numerous Parents

Duo parentes nos genuerunt ad mortem, duo parentes nos genuerunt ad vitam. Parentes qui nos genuerunt ad mortem, Adam est et Eva; parentes qui nos genuerunt ad vitam, Christus est et Ecclesia. Et pater meus qui me genuit ad mortem, Adam mihi fuit; et mater mea Eva mihi fuit. Nati sumus secundum istam progeniem carnis, ex munere quidem Dei; quia et istud munus non est alterius, sed Dei: et tamen, fratres, quomodo nati sumus. Verte ut moriamur. Pracessores genuerunt sibi successores: numquid genuerunt sibi cum quibus hic semper vivant? Sed tamquam decessuri, qui illis succederent, genuerunt sibi. Deus autem pater et mater ecclesia, non ad hoc generant: generant autem ad vitam aeternam, quia et ipsi aeterni sunt. Et habemus haereditatem promissam a Christo vitam aeternam. Secundum quod Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis, nutrius crevit, passus, mortuus et resuscitatus accepit haereditatem regnum coelorum. In ipso homine accepit resurrectionem et vitam aeternum, in ipso homine accepit: in Verbo autem non accepti; quia incommutabiliter manet ab aeterno in aeternum. Quia ergo accepit resurrectionem et vitam aeternam caro illa, quae resurrexit et vivificata ascendit in coelum, hoc nobis promissum est. Ipsam haereditatem exspectamus, vitam aeternam. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, Sermons ad Populum, Sermones De Scripturis Veteris et Novi Testamenti, Sermo XXII

Two parents birthed us into death, two parents birthed us into life. The parents who birthed us into death are Adam and Eve, the parents who birthed us into life are Christ and the Church. My father who birthed me into death was my Adam and my mother was my Eve. We were born according to the family of the flesh, certainly from the gift of God, because even this gift is not from another but from God, and yet, brethren, in this way being born truly we shall die. Predecessors give birth to their successors. Has there ever been born here those who will live always? But as they pass away, those who succeed them, they give birth. Yet God is also my father and my mother is the church, and not in the way mentioned do they give birth, for they give birth into eternal life, because they themselves are eternal. And we have the promise of the inheritance of eternal life from Christ. 'The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,'1 and nourished he grew and he suffered and he died and being resurrected he received the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. In his humanity he received the resurrection and life eternal, in his humanity he received it, for in the Word he did not receive it, because he remains immutable from eternity to eternity. Therefore because that flesh received resurrection and eternal life, which being resurrected and revivified ascended to heaven, this also is promised to us. This same inheritance we hope for, life eternal. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Sermons on the Old and New Testament, Sermon 22 1 Jn. 1.14

Zachariah's Doubts

Quod ubi Zacharias, fratres, audivit, tantum se meruisse suis precibus sacramentum, rei ipsis consideratione territus, sacramenti ipsius aestimatione turbatus, nec se mereri tantum credidit, et Deum dubitatvit ad haec talia et tanta descendere. Hinc est quod dicit: 'Unde hoc sciam? Ego enim senex sum, et uxor mea processit in diebus suis.' Hoc est dicere, quomodo me habere filium ratio non permittit humana, ista nasci et mori Deum majestas non sinit sempiterna. Cui angelus veniabiliter non credenti peonam signi tantum dedit, non perfidiae: cautelae est tarde de Deo humilia credere, de Deo tardius conumeliosa sentire. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo XC

But, brothers, when Zachariah heard that he had merited so great a mystery by his prayers, he was terrified when he considered the matter, he was troubled by the thought of this mystery, for he did not believe he merited something so great, and he doubted that God was coming down for such momentous things, which is why he says, ' How may I know this? I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her days.'1 Which is to say, as human nature does not allow me to have a son, so God's eternal majesty does not allow him to be born and die. This lack of belief being a venial matter, the angel gave him a punishment that was only a sign of doubt, not of faithlessness, of the caution of being slow to believe humble things of God, and to be slower to think dishonourably of God. Saint Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 90 1 Lk 1. 18

The Garden of the Soul

Hinc hortum illum sibi Plato composuit, quem Jovis hortum alibi, alibi hortum mentis appellavit. Jovem enim et deum et mentem totius mundi dixit. In hunc introisse animam, quam Venerem nuncupat, ut se abundantia et divitiis hujus horti repleret, in quo repletus potu jaceret porus, qui nectar effunderet. Hoc igitur ex libro Canticorum composuit, eo quod anima Deo adhaerens in hortum mentis ingressa sit, in quo esset abundantia diversarum virtutum, floresque sermonum. Quis autem ignorat quod ex paradiso illo, quem legimus in Genesi habentem lignum vitae, et lignum scientiae boni et mali , et ligna caetera, abundantiam virtutum putaverit transferendam, et in horto mentis esse plantandam? Quem in Canticis canticorum Salomon hortum animae significavit, vel ipsam animam. Sic enim scriptum est: 'Hortus clausus, soror mea sponsa, hortus clausus, fons signatus, transmissiones tuae paradisus.' Et infra ait anima: Exsurge, aquilo, et veni, auster, perfla hortum meum, et defluant unguenta mea. Descendat frater meus in hortum suum. Quanto hoc pulchrius quod anima ornata virtutum floribus hortus sit, vel in se paradisum habeat germinantem. In quem hortum invitat Verbum Dei descendere, ut anima illa Verbi imbre coelestis, et ejus copiis irrigata fructificet. Verbum autem Dei pascitur animae virtutibus,quoties obedientem sibi et opimam invenerit, et carpit fructus ejus, atque his delectatur. Cum autem descenderit in eam Dei Verbum, defluunt ex ea salubrium unguenta verborum, et diversarum flagrant longe lateque redolentia gratiarum spiramina. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Bono Mortis, Cap V

Hence that garden which Plato arranged, which elsewhere he named the garden of Zeus, or the garden of the mind. For Zeus he named both god and the mind of the whole world. Into this entered the soul, which he called Venus, that it take its fill of the abundance and riches of the garden, in which Plenty replete with drink lay, pouring forth nectar.1 This is derived from the book of the Song of Songs, by which the soul adhering to God enters into the garden of the mind, in which there are an abundance of diverse virtues and flowers of words. For who is ignorant that from that paradise, which we read in Genesis possessed the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,2 and other trees, Plato has thought to transfer the abundance of virtues and plant it in the garden of the mind, that which in the Song of Songs Solomon names the garden of the soul, meaning the soul itself? So it is written, 'An enclosed garden, my sister bride, an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed , going though your paradise.'3 And below the soul says, ' Rise up, north wind, and come, south wind, blow through my garden and let flow my scents. Let my brother come down into his own garden.'4 How much more beautiful a garden is a soul adorned with the flowers of virtue, or which in itself has planted paradise. In which garden he invites the Word of God to descend, that the soul with rain of the heavenly Word watered may bear rich fruit. The word of God feeds on the virtues of the soul, as many times as it finds it richly obedient, and he picks its fruit and with them he is delighted. When indeed the Word of God  descends into it, there flows from his salutary words perfumes and a diversity of redolent graces is breathed out far and wide. Saint Ambrose, On the Good of Death, Chap. 5 1 cf Plato, Symposium 203b 2 Gen. 2.8 3 Song 4.12 -13  4 Song 4. 16

The Land of the Living

'Πιστεύω τοῦ ἰδεῖν τὰ ἀγαθὰ Κυρίου ἐν γῇ ζώντων.' Οὐ γάρ φυμὶ τὸν Προφήτην, ταύτην ζώντων προειρήκέναι τὴν γῆν τὰ θνητὰ πάντα φύουσαν, καὶ εἰς ἑαυτὴν πάλιν πᾶν τὸ ἐξ αὐτῆς γένος ἀναλύουσαν· ἀλλ' οἰδε γὴν ζώντων, ἥς οὐκ ἐπέβη θάνατος· ἐν ᾗ ὁδὸς ἁμαρτωλῶν οὐκ ἐτριβη, ἤ κακίας ἴχνος ἐφ' ἑαυτῆς οὐκ ἐδέξατο, ἥν οὐκ ἀνέτεμε τῷ ἀρότρῳ τῆς πονηρίας ὁ τὰ ζιζάνια σπείρων, ἡ τριβόμων και ἀκανθῶν ἄγονος· ἐν ᾗ τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς ἀναπαύσεως, καὶ ὁ τῆς χλόης τόπος, καὶ ἡ τετραχῆ μεριζομένη πηγὴ, καὶ ἡ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων γεωργουμένη ἄμπελος, καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα δι' αἰνιγμάτων παρὰ τῆς θεοπνεύστου διδασκαλίας ἀκούομεν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους,

'I believe I shall see the goods things of the Lord in the land of the living.'1 I do not say that the Prophet names this earth the land of the living, that which produces everything mortal and again into itself is resolved everything generated, but he understands the land of the living to be a place untroubled by death, in which the way of the sinner is not trod, where the path of evil is not found, where the plough of wickedness does not cut for the sowing of the false seed which produces spine and thorns, where is the waters of rest, and the place of pasture, and the spring which divides into four, and the vine which by the God of all is tended, and whatever we hear through the mysteries of the Divine Spirit. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes 1 Ps 26.13

Creation and Male and Female

Οὐκοῦν ἐξεταστέον μετ' ἀκριβείας τὰ ῥήματα. Εὑρήσομεν γὰρ, ὅτι ἕτερον μέν τι τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα γενόμενον, ἕτερον δὲ τὸ νῦν ἐν ταλαιπωρίᾳ δεικνύμενον. «Ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς,» φησὶ, «τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν.».Τέλος ἔχει ἡ τοῦ κατ' εἰκόνα γεγενημένου κτίσις. Εἶτα ἐπανάληψιν ποιεῖται τοῦ κατὰ τὴν κατασκευὴν λόγου, καί φησιν. «Ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς.». Παντὶ γὰρ οἶμαι γνώριμον εἶναι, ὅτι ἔξω τοῦτο τοῦ πρωτοτύπου νοεῖται· «Ἐν γὰρ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ,» καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, «οὔτε ἄῤσεν οὔτε θῆλύ ἐστιν.». Ἀλλὰ μὴν εἰς ταῦτα διῃ ρῆσθαι ὁ λόγος φησὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Οὐκοῦν διπλῆ τίς ἐστιν ἡ τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν κατασκευὴ, ἤ τε πρὸς τὸ Θεῖον ὡμοιωμένη, ἥ τε πρὸς τὴν διαφορὰν ταύτην διῃρημένη. Τοιοῦτον γάρ τι ὁ λόγος ἐκ τῆς συν τάξεως τῶν γεγραμμένων αἰνίττεται, πρῶτον μὲν εἰπὼν, ὅτι «Ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν·» πάλιν δὲ τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἐπαγαγὼν, ὅτι «Ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποί ησεν αὐτοὺς,» ὅπερ ἀλλότριον τῶν περὶ Θεοῦ νοουμένων ἐστίν. Οἶμαι γὰρ ἐγὼ δόγμα τι μέγα καὶ ὑψηλὸν διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων ὑπὸ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς παραδίδοσθαι. Τὸ δὲ δόγμα τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· Δύο τινῶν κατὰ τὸ ἀκρότατον πρὸς ἄλληλα διεστη κότων, μέσον ἐστὶ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, τῆς τε θείας καὶ ἀσωμάτου φύσεως, καὶ τῆς ἀλόγου καὶ κτηνώδους ζωῆς. Ἔξεστι γὰρ ἑκατέρου τῶν εἰρημένων ἐν τῷ ἀνθρωπίνῳ συγκρίματι θεωρῆσαι τὴν μοῖραν; τοῦ μὲν θείου τὸ λογικόν τε καὶ διανοητικὸν, ὃ τὴν κατὰ τὸ ἄῤῥεν καὶ θῆλυ διαφορὰν οὐ προσίεται· τοῦ δὲ ἀλόγου τὴν σωματικὴν κατασκευὴν καὶ διάπλασιν εἰς ἄῤῥεν τε καὶ θῆλυ μεμερισμένην. Ἑκάτερον γὰρ τούτων ἐστὶ πάντως ἐν παντὶ τῷ μετέχοντι τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς. Ἀλλὰ προτερεύειν τὸ νοερὸν, καθὼς παρὰ τοῦ τὴν ἀνθρωπογονίαν ἐν τάξει διεξελθόντος ἐμάθομεν, ἐπιγεννηματικὴν δὲ εἶναι τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τὴν πρὸς τὸ ἄλογον κοινωνίαν τε καὶ συγγένειαν. Πρῶτον μὲν γάρ φησιν, ὅτι «Ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς κατ' εἰκόνα τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν ἄνθρωπον,» δεικνὺς διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ὅτι ἐν τῷ τοιούτῳ ἄῤῥεν καὶ θῆλυ οὐκ ἔστιν. Εἶτα ἐπάγει τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως τὰ ἰδιώματα, ὅτι «Ἄῤῥεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς.».   Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Περὶ Κατασκευής Ἀνθρωπου

One must, then, examine the words carefully, for thus we find that that made 'in the image' is one thing, and that now manifested in wretchedness is another. 'God created man,' it says; 'in the image of God He created him,' 1 and there is the end of the creation of what was made 'in the image'. Then resuming the account of creation, it says, 'Male and female He created them.'1 I think that all are so knowledgeable that they are aware that this is a departure from the prototype: for 'in Christ Jesus,' as the Apostle says, 'there is neither male nor female.' 2 Yet the phrase declares that man is thus divided. Thus in a way twofold is the creation of our nature, one being like to God, one being divided according to this distinction, for something like this the passage obscurely tells by its arrangement, first saying that, 'God created man, in the image of God He created him,' and then, adding to what has been said, 'Male and female He created them,' a thing which is alien to the conception of God. I think that through these words Holy Scripture gives to us a certain great and lofty teaching. And the doctrine is this: two natures, the Divine and incorporeal nature, and the irrational life of brutes, are separated from each other as extremes, and human nature is the mean between them, for in man we may see a part of each of the natures mentioned, of the Divine, the rational and intelligent element, which does not permit the distinction of male and female, and of the irrational, our bodily form divided into male and female, for each of these elements is certainly found in all that partakes of human life. But that the intellectual part precedes the other, we learn from the order presented in the account of the making of man, and that the community and relationship with the irrational in man is for the purpose of reproduction. For he says first that 'God created man in the image of God', showing by these words, as the Apostle says, that in such there is no male or female 2, then are added the specific properties of human nature: 'Male and female He created them'1 Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Making of Man  1.Gen 1 . 27 2 Gal 3.28

Two Men in One

In principio verborum Moysi, ubi de mundi conditione conscribitur, duos invenimus homines creatas referri. Primum ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei factim, secundum e limo terrae factum. Hoc Paulus apostolus bene sciens, et ad liquidum in his eruditis, in suis litteris apertius et evidentius binos esse et per singulos, quosque homines scripsit. Sic enim dixit: 'Nam si is qui foris est homo noster corrumpitur, sed ille qui intus est, renovatur de die in diem'. Et iterum: 'Condelector enim legi Dei secundum interiorem hominem,' et his similia quanta conscribit?' Unde puto neminem jam debere dubitare quod Moyses de duorum hominum factura vel figmento scripserit in principio Genesis, eum videat Paulum qui malius utique quam nos intelligebat ea quae a Moyse scripta sunt, duos homines esse per singulos quosque dicentem. Quorum unum, id est interiorem, renovari per singulos dies memorat; alterum veri, id est exteriorem, in quibusdam sanctis et talibus qualis erat Paulus, corrumpi perhibet et infirmari. Origenes, In Canticum Canticorum, Prologus, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense

In the beginning of the words of Moses, when he writes about the creation of the world, we find reference to the creation of two men. The first is made to 'an image and likeness of God' and the second 'from the mud of the earth.' 1 Paul the Apostle knowing this well, clearly educated in these things, wrote in his letters most openly about these two men in each man. He says, ' For if our outer man is corrupted, yet the inward is renewed from day to day.' 2 And again, ' I am delighted with the law of God according to the inner man,' 3 And how many things does he write like this?  Thus I think that no one should now doubt what Moses wrote in the beginning of Genesis about the making and shaping of two men, but let him look to Paul, who understood what Moses wrote better than we do, saying that there are two men in each man. Of these the one man, that is the interior, he mentions as renewed from day to day, the other, that is the exterior, in all the saints, as it was in Paul, he regards as corrupted and infirm.  Origen, Commentary On the Song of Songs, Prologue, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia .  1 Gen 1.26, 2.7 2 2 Cor 4.16 3 Rom 7.22

Creation, Freedom and Virtue

Θεὸς τῇ ἑαυτοῦ φύσει πᾶν ὅτι περ ἔστι κατ' ἔννοιαν λαβεῖν ἀγαθὸν, ἐκεῖνό ἐστι· μᾶλλον δὲ παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ τοῦ νοουμένου τε καὶ καταλαμβανομένου ἐπέκεινα ὢν, οὐ δι' ἄλλο τι κτίζει τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ζωὴν, ἣ διὰ τὸ ἀγαθὸς εἶναι. Τοιοῦτος δὲ ὢν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς τὴν δημιουργίαν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως ὁρμήσας, οὐκ ἂν ἡμιτελῆ τὴν τῆς ἀγαθότητος ἐνεδείξατο δύνα μιν, τὸ μέν τι δοὺς ἐκ τῶν προσόντων αὐτῷ, τοῦ δὲ φθονήσας τῆς μετουσίας· ἀλλὰ τὸ τέλειον τῆς ἀγαθότητος εἶδος ἐν τούτῳ ἐστὶν, ἐκ τοῦ καὶ παραγαγεῖν τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς γένεσιν, καὶ ἀνεν δεῆ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀπεργάσασθαι. Ἐπεὶ δὲ πολὺς τῶν καθ' ἕκαστον ἀγαθῶν ὁ κατάλογος, οὐ μὲν οὖν ἔστιν ἀριθμῷ ῥᾳδίως τοῦτον διαλαβεῖν. Διὰ τοῦτο περι ληπτικῇ τῇ φωνῇ ἅπαντα συλλαβὼν ὁ λόγος ἐσήμα νεν, ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν, κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ γεγενῆσθαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον.Ἶσον γάρ ἐστι τοῦτο τῷ εἰπεῖν, ὅτι παν τὸῦ ἀγαθοῦ μέτοχον τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν ἐποίησεν. Εἰ γὰρ πλήρωμα μὲν ἀγαθῶν τὸ Θεῖον, ἐκείνου δὲ τοῦτο εἰκών· ἄρ' ἐν τῷ πλῆρες εἶναι παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ, πρὸς τὸ ἀρχέτυπον ἡ εἰκὼν ἔχει τὴν ὁμοιότητα. Οὐκοῦν ἐστιν ἐν ἡμῖν παντὸς μὲν καλοῦ ἰδέα, πᾶσα δὲ ἀρετὴ καὶ σοφία, καὶ πᾶν ὅτιπέρ ἐστι πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον νοούμενον.Ἓν δὲ τῶν πάντων καὶ τὸ ἐλεύθερον ἀνάγκης εἶναι, καὶ μὴ ὑπεζεῦχθαί τινι φυσικῇ δυναστείᾳ·ἀλλ' αὐτεξούσιον πρὸς τὸ δοκοῦν ἔχειν τὴν γνώμην. Ἀδέσποτον γάρ τι χρῆμα ἡ ἀρετὴ καὶ ἑκούσιον, τὸ δὲ κατηναγκασμένον καὶ βεβιασμένον ἀρετὴ εἶναι οὐ δύναται. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Περὶ Κατασκευής Ἀνθρωπου

God in His own nature is all which our mind can conceive of good, or rather, He transcends all the good that we can think of or grasp with the mind, and He creates man for no other reason than that He is good. And being so, and having this as His reason for the creation of our nature, He would not show the power of His goodness in an imperfect manner, giving our nature one thing from Himself, and refusing it another, but the perfect form of goodness is here by Him both bringing forth man from nothing in the beginning and completing him with the goods required, but since the catalogue of individual goods is long, it is not feasible to list them, and therefore the voice of Scripture expresses it concisely by an all encompassing phrase, in saying that man was made in the image of God.1 For this is the same as saying that He made human nature participant in all good, for if the Deity is the plenitude of goods, and man is His image, then in being filled with all good the image has its likeness to the archetype. Thus there is in us the idea of all excellence, all virtue and wisdom, and every conceivable higher thing. But above all this is the fact that we are free from necessity, and not enslaved to any natural power, but we have autonomy in matters of judgement, for virtue is voluntary and not subject to another; that which comes about by compulsion and force is not able to be virtuous. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Making of Man 1.Gen 1 . 27

Sin, Death, Freedom

Ἔξω μὲν εὐθὺς ἧν τοῦ παραδείσου, ἔξω δὲ τῆς μακαρίας ἐκείνης διαγωγῆς, οὐκ ἐξ ἀνάθκης κακός, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἀβουλίας, γενόμενος. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἥμαρτε μὲν διὰ μοχθηρὰν, προαίρεσιν, ἀπέθανε δὲ διὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν· Τὰ γὰρ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁματρίας θάνατος· Ὅσον γὰρ ἀφίστατο τῆς ζωῆς, τοσοῦτον προσήγγιζε τῷ θανάτῳ. Ζωὴ γὰρ ὁ Θεός· στέρησις δὲ τῆς ζωῆς θάνατος. Ὥστε ἑαυτῷ τὸν θάνατον ὁ Ἀδὰμ διὰ τῆς ἀναχωρήσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ κατεσκεύασε, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, ὅτι Ἰδοὺ οἱ μακρύνοντες ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ σοῦ, ἀπολοῦνται. Οὕτως οὐχὶ Θεὸς ἔκτισε θάνατον, ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς ἑαυτοῖς ἐκ πονηρᾶς γνώμης ἐπεσπασάμεθα. Οὐ μὴν οὐδε ἐκώλυσε τὴν διάλυσιν διά τὰς προειρημένας αἰτίας, ἴνα μὴ ἀθὰνατον ἡμῖν τὴν ἀῥῥωστίαν διατηρήσῃ. Ὥωπερ ἂν εἴ τος σκεῦος πήλινον διαῥῥυὲν μὴ καταδέχοιτο παραδοῦναι πυρὶ, ἕως ἂν τὸ ἐνυπάρχον αὐτῷ πάθος διὰ τῆς ἀναπλάσεως ἐξιάσαιτο. Ἀλλὰ διὰ τί οὐκ ἐν τῇ κατασκευῇ τὸ ἀναμάρτητον ἔσχομεν, φησὶν, ὥστε μηδὲ βουλομένοις ἡμῖν ὑπάρχειν τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν; Ὅτι καὶ σὺ τοὺς οἰκέτας, οὐχ ὅταν δεσμίους ἔχῃς, εὔνους ὑπολαμβάνεις, ἀλλ' ὅταν ἐκουσίως ἴδῃς ἀποπληροῦντας σοι τὰ καθήκοντα. Καὶ Θεῳ τοίνυν οὐ τὸ ἠναγκασμένον φιλον, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐξ ἀρετῆς κατορθούμενον. Ἀρετὴ δὲ ἐκ προαιρέσεως, καὶ οὐκ ἐξ ἀνάγκης γίνεται. Προαίρεσις δὲ τῶν ἐφ' ἡμῖν ἤρτηταὶ. Τὸ δὲ ἐγ' ἡμῖν ἐστι τὸ αὐτεξούσιον. Ὁ τοίνυν μεμφόμενος τὸν ποιητὴν ὡς μὴ φυσικῶς κατασκευάσαντα ἡμᾶς ἀναμαρτήτους, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἤ τὴν ἄλογον φύσιν τῆς λογικῆς προτιμᾷ, καὶ τὴν ἀκίνητον καὶ ἀνόρμητον τῆς προαιρετικῆς καὶ ἐμπράκτου. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ὁτι Οὐκ Ἐστιν Αἰτιος Των Κακων Ὁ Θεος.

Out from paradise and from that blessed state he was thrown immediately, and this evil was not from necessity but on account of thoughtlessness. On account of wretchedness he sinned, by choice, dying on account of sin, 'For the reward of sin is death.' 1 He withdrew from life as much as he neared to death. For God is life and death is the privation of life. So by withdrawing from God Adam established himself in death, according to what is written, 'Behold, those who distance themselves from you they perish.' 2 So God did not create death but we by wickedness of mind draw ourselves into it. Nor does He prevent destruction on account of the cause mentioned, lest in us an eternal sickness be preserved. Just as an earthen vessel by fire is unwilling to be melted, so the calamity of his defilement done consumes him. But, someone may say: why were we not fashioned that we be sinless, that we did not have the wish to sin? Because you are a servant, not one bound in chains, which you would think benevolent, but rather you are free to fulfill the things of your office. For to God one constrained cannot be pleasing, but it can only be so by the pursuit of virtue. And virtue is from the will and not from necessity. And the will is a thing which is ours. It is our freedom. Whence he who blames the Creator, that he did not establish sinlessness in us, does nothing by this but to prefer an irrational nature to an rational one and to desire an immobile mindlessness to the life of free will. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homily on God not Being a Cause of Evils. 1. Rom 6.23 2. Ps 72.27

Thanksgiving in Difficulties

Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν παντὶ μοι εὐχαριστεῖν διατέτακται. Εὐχαριστήσω στρεβλούμενος, αἰκιζόμενος, ἐπὶ τροχοῦ κατατεινόμενος, τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐκκοπτόμενος; Εὐχαριστήσω τυπόμενος τὴν ἄτιπμον πληγὴν παρὰ τοῦ μισοὺντος; πηγνύμενος ὑπὸ τοῠ κρύους, λιμῷ καταγχόμενος, ἐπὶ τοῦ ξύλου δεδεμένος, ἀτεκνωθεὶς ἀθρόως, ἤ καὶ τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτῆς ἐστερημένος; ἐκ ναυαγίων ἐξαίφνης ἐκπεσὼν εὐπορίας; πειραταῖς κατὰ θάλασσαν, ἢ λησταῖς κατ' ἢπειρον περιτυχών; τραύματα ἔχων, συκοφαντούμενος, ἀλητεύων, τὸ δεσμωτήριον οἰκῶν; Ταῦτα καὶ ἔτι πλείω τούτων, κατηγοροῦντες τοῦ νομοθέτου, συνειρουσιν, ἀπολογίαν τῶν ἁμαρτμάτων ἑαυτοῖς εὐτρεπίζειν ἡγούμενοι τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς διατεταγμένοις ἡμῖν, ὡς ἀδυνάτοις, διαβολήν. Τί οὖν φαμεν; Ὅτι πρὸς ἕτερα βλέποντος τοῦ Ἀποσλτόλου, καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν περιωμένου χαμόθεν πρὸς ὕψος μετεωριζειν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ οὐράνιον μετατιθέναι πολίτευρα, οἱ μὴ ἐφικνούμενοι τῆς μεγαλονοίας τοῦ νομοθέτου, περὶ γῆν καὶ σάρκας, ὡς περὶ τέλμα σκώληκες, ἰλυσπώμενοι εὐ τοῖς τοῦ σώματος πάθεσι, τὸ δυνατὸν τῶν ἀποστολικῶν διατάξεων ἀπαιτοῠσιν. Ὁ δὲ προκαλεῖται εἰς τὸ πάντοτε χαίρειν οὐχὶ τὸν τυχόντα, ἀλλὰ τὸν οἶος αὐτὸς ἥν, οὐκέτι ζῶν ἐν σαρκὶ, ἀλλὰ ζῶντα ἔχων ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸν Χριστὸν, ὡς τῆς πρὸς τὸ ἀκρότατον τῶν ἀγαθῶν συναφείας μηδαμῶς τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ὀχληρῶν τῆς σαρκὸς συμπάθειαν δεχομένης. Ἀλλὰ κἂν διακόπτηται ἡ σαρξ, ἡ τῆς συνεχείας διάλυσις ἐναπομένει τῷ πεπονθότι τοῦ σώματος μέρει, τῆς διαδόσεως τοῦ λυποῦντος οὐ δυναμένης διικνεῖσθαι πρὸς τὸ νοερὸν τῆς ψυχῆς. Εἰ γαρ ἐνεκρώσαμεν τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, κατὰ τὰς ὑποθήκας τοῦ Ἀποστόλου, καὶ τὴν νέκρωσιν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματι περιεφέρομεν ἀναγκαίως ἡ ἀπὸ τοῦ νενεκρωμένου σώματος πληγὴ πρὸς τὴν ἀπολελυμένην τῆς συναφέίας αὐτοῦ ψυχὴν οὐ χωρήσει. Ἀτιμία δὲ καὶ ζημίαι, καὶ οἰκείων θάνατοι οὐκ ἀναβήσονται πρὸς τὸν νοῦν, οὐδὲ καταστέψουσι τὸ ὑψηλὸν τῆς ψυχῆς πρὸς τὴν ὦδε συμπάθειαν. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος Καισαρείας, Περὶ Εύχαριστιας

But in everything I am ordered to give thanks. 1 Shall I give thanks tortured, beaten, stretched on a wheel, with eyes gouged out? Shall I give thanks struck by shameful blows by one who hates me? Shall I give thanks pierced by the cold, wracked by hunger, bound on wood, suddenly deprived of children, my wife violated, having lost all my property in a shipwreck? Shall I give thanks at sea beset by pirates, or on land attacked by bandits? Shall I give thanks wounded, suffering abuse, living a vagrant life, shut up in prison? In all these cases and more, the legislator directs us to be bound, and though our sins think to excuse us, while the precepts are given to us , if we are unable to fulfill them, they denounce us. What therefore do we say? That doubtless the Apostle saw this otherwise, and he tries to raise our souls from earth to heaven and to transport us to a certain celestial way of living. However this high sense of the legislator has not been understood, for the Apostolic commands should not be sought among earth and flesh, like worms in food, sunk in the desires of the body, but he calls to eternal joy not in worldly matters but as he was, no longer living in the flesh but having life in Christ himself, for to that conjunction with the highest good heavy and troublesome carnal affections are not admitted. Truly even if flesh is torn, in that part of the body afflicted, placing it in a state of continuous dissolution, it will not able to communicate its grief to the intelligent part of the soul. For if in accordance with the Apostolic teaching we mortify our members on the earth and in our bodies we bear around the mortification of Jesus, it will be that the blows on a mortified body, it being dissolved, do not reach the soul. For disgrace and loss and proximity to death shall not at all then rise to the mind, nor shall present troubles be admitted to the heavenly soul. Saint Basil of Caesarea, On Thanksgiving 1 1 Thes 5.18

Friendship and the Fear of Death

Vobis autem dico amicis meis, Ne terreamini ab his qui occidunt corpus, et post haec non habent amplius quid faciant. Ostendam autem vobis quem timeatis: timete eum qui postquam occiderit, habet potestam mittere in gehennam.  Vobis autem dico amicis meis, Ne terreamini: quia libertatem probat virtus, metus indicat servitutem; nam liber ad gloriam, servus natus est ad timorem; merito ergo ad Dei amicitias sublimatur, qui propter Deum humanas descipit mortes, nescit timores. Si amicos morum facit imitatio, morum similitudo conjuugit, convenienter eos amicos vocat Christus, quos imitatione sua mundi jacula, et ipsam mortis formideinem conscipit et praevidet calcaturos. Vobis autem dico. Id est, non omnibus, sed amicis Vobis autem dico. Quos mors absolvit ista, non finit Vobis dico. Quos corporis resolutio promovet ad melius, non transducit ad poenam. Vobis dico. Quibus morte vita inchoatur, non finitur. Vobis dico. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CI

'I say to you my friends, Do not be terrified of those who kill the body and after that have no more to do. I shall show to you what you should fear: fear him who after he has killed has the power to place you in hell.'1 'I say to you my friends, Do not be terrified'  because virtue demonstrates liberty and fear indicates slavery; for as a free man is born to glory, so a slave is to fear; by merit therefore let us be raised up to the friendship with God where on account of God we shall look down on human death, not knowing fear. If imitation of behaviour makes friends, similitude of conduct binding them together, fittingly these Christ calls friends: those who by imitation of him recognise and foresee the shafts of the world and the sting of the fear of death. 'To you I say'. That is, not to everyone but to friends. 'To you I say'. To those whom death delivers and does not extinguish. 'To you I say.' To those whom the dissolution of the flesh moves to what is better, not passing them on to punishment. 'To you I say.' To those who with death life begins, not ends. 'To you I say.'  Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 101 1 Lk 12. 4-5