Descent And Virtue

Σπέρματος γένος, καὶ αἴματος κόμπος, ὦ ἄριστε, ποιντῶν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀρετὴ, ἀλλ' ἀκούσιός τις διαδοχὴ ἐκ σωμάτων καταγομένη καὶ ῥέουσα. Ἀρετὴ δὲ, φρόνησις ἐστι, δικαιοσύην τε καὶ ἀνδρεία, καὶ σωφροσύνη. Ὅς ἄν οὖν ἔχηται τούτων, καὶ πάγκαλός ἐστι, καὶ περίβλεπτος, καὶ οὐδενὸς πρὸς εὐζωῖεν λειπόμενος. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Ἐπιστολή Ὠφελιῳ Γραμματικῳ

Family lineage and boasts of blood, excellent fellow, are not workers of virtue, for that which comes down from bodies falls and flows away. But virtue is prudence, righteousness, fortitude and temperance. He who has these is most fair and resplendent and he lacks nothing of the good life. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Letter to Ophelius the Scholar

Permanence and Impermanence

Ἀλλ' ἡ μὲν ἡδονὴ βραχεῖα καὶ πρόσκαιρος, ἡ δὲ ὀδύνη διηνεκὴς, καὶ πέρας οὐκ ἔχουσα. Καὶ ταῦτα, φησὶ, διὰ τῆς πείρας μαθόντες, Ὥς ἐστῶτα ὅλα ἐλογίσαντο καὶ μένοντα, καὶ οὐχ ὡς φεύγοντα, τοῦτ' ἔστιν, ἀφιπτάμενα, καὶ οὐδὲ τὸ τυχὸν παραμένοντα. Τοιαῦτα γὰρ ἄπαντα τὰ ἀνθρώπινα καὶ τὰ σαρκικὰ· οὔπω παρεγένοντο, καὶ ἀπέπτη· τοιοῦτον ἡ τρυφὴ, τοιοῦτον ἡ δόξα ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη καὶ ἡ δυναστεία, τοιοῦτον ὁ πλοῦτος, τοιοῦτον ἡ εὐημερία πᾶσα τοῦ παρόντος βίου, οὐδὲν βέβαιον ἔχουσα; οὐδὲν στάσιμον, οὐδὲν πάγιον, ἀλλὰ ποταμίων ῥευμάτων μᾶλλον παρατρέχει, καὶ ἐρήμους καὶ γυμνοὺς καταλιμπάνει τοὺς περὶ ταῦτα ἐπτοημένους. Ἀλλὰ τὰ μνευματικὰ οὐ τοιαῦτα,  ἀλλ' ἀπεναντίας τούτοις, βιβαια καὶ ακίνητα, μεταβολὴν, οὐκ ἐπιδεχόμενα, παντὶ τῷ αἰωνι παρεκτεινόμενα. Πόσης οὖν οὐκ ἄν εἴη παραφροσύνης τῶν ἀκινήτων τὰ σαλευόμενα ἀνταλλάττεσθαι, τῶν διαιωνιζόντων τὰ πρόσκαιρα, τῶν ἀφιπταμένων τὰ διηνεκῶς μένοντα, τῶν πολλὴν ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι αίῶνι τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν προξενούντων τὰ πολλὴν τὴν κόλασιν ἡμῖν ἐκεῖ κατασκευάζοντα; Ὁμῖλία Α'  Εἰς Την Γενεσιν, Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος

But pleasure is certainly brief and temporary and grief is relentless and without end, and these things Amos says by experience he has learned, ' They judged everything stable and persistent and not as things that pass away,' that is, transient, not for a moment persisting. And such things are human and corporeal, they have but come and they fly away. And of these things are delights and glory and power, of these are riches and the prosperous life; which have nothing firm about them, nothing permanent, nothing fixed, but swifter than a river they flow away, and those who clung to them are left naked and alone. But things spiritual are not like this, they have a different way of being, they are things which are firm and immobile and not subject to vicissitude, stretching through every age. Most foolish, then, are those who confuse the transient and the permanent, temporal things with the things that persist through the ages, perpetual things with those that fly away; and these transient things, will they not bring us heavy punishment, when they carry away the future age's height of happiness? First Homily on Genesis, Saint John Chrysostom

Real Communion

Unde nec illi in perditis et damnabilibus moribus debent esse securi, qui usque in finem quidem velut in communione Ecclesiae catholicae perseverant, intuentes quod dictum est: 'Qui perseveraverit usque in finem, hic salvus erit', et per vitae iniquitatem ipsam vitae iustitiam, quod eis Christus est, deserunt, sive fornicando sive alias immunditias flagitiorum, quas nec exprimere Apostolus voluit, in suo corpore perpetrando, sive turpitudine luxuriae diffluendo sive aliquid aliud eorum agendo, de quibus ait: 'Quoniam qui talia agunt, regnum Dei non possidebunt'; ac per hoc, quicumque agunt talia, nisi in sempiterno supplicio non erunt, quia in Dei regno esse non poterunt. In his enim perseverando usque in huius vitae finem non utique dicendi sunt in Christo perseverasse usque in finem, quia in Christo perseverare est in eius fide perseverare; quae fides, ut eam definit idem Apostolus, 'per dilectionem operatur'; 'dilectio' autem, sicut ipse alibi dicit, 'malum non operatur'. Nec isti ergo dicendi sunt manducare corpus Christi, quoniam nec in membris computandi sunt Christi. Ut enim alia taceam, non possunt simul esse et membra Christi et membra meretricis. Denique ipse dicit: 'Qui manducat carnem meam et bibit sanguinem meum, in me manet, et ego in eo.' Ostendit quid sit non sacramento tenus, sed re vera corpus Christi manducare et eius sanguinem bibere; hoc est enim in Christo manere, ut in illo maneat et Christus. Sic enim hoc dixit, tamquam diceret: 'Qui non in me manet, et in quo non maneo, non se dicat aut existimet manducare corpus meum aut bibere sanguinem meum'. Non itaque manent in Christo, qui non sunt membra eius. Non sunt autem membra Christi, qui se faciunt membra meretricis, nisi malum illud paenitendo esse destiterint et ad hoc bonum reconciliatione redierint. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, De Civitate Dei, Lib. XXI

So those of depraved and damnable behaviour should not be secure, though they persevere to the end in the communion of the Catholic Church, and to comfort themselves say, 'He that endures to the end shall be saved.'1 for by the iniquity of their life they have deserted that very righteousness of life which Christ is to them, whether it be by fornication, or by perpetrating in their body the other uncleanness which the Apostle would not mention, or by a dissolute luxury, or by doing any one of those things of which he says, 'They who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.'2 They who do such things shall not exist anywhere but in eternal punishment, since they cannot be in the kingdom of God. While they persevere in doing such things to the very end of their lives, they cannot be said to persevere in Christ to the end, for to persevere in Him is to persevere in the faith of Him. And this faith, as the Apostle's definition of it is: 'though love worked.'3 And 'love,' as he elsewhere says, 'does not work evil.'4  Nor can these be said to eat the body of Christ, for they cannot even be numbered among the members of Christ. Even passing over other things, they cannot be at once the members of Christ and the members of a whore. He Himself, when He says, 'He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood, remains in me, and I in him,'5 shows what it is in reality, and not sacramentally, to eat His body and drink His blood; for this is to remain in Christ, that He also in us might remain. So that it is as if He had said: He who does not remain in me and in whom I do not remain, let him not say or think that he eats my body or drinks my blood.' Therefore, they who are not Christ's members do not remain in Him. And they are not members of Christ who have made themselves members of a whore, unless they have penitently abandoned that evil, and have returned to this good to be reconciled to it. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from The City of God, Book 21 1 Mt 24.13 2. Gal 5.21  3. Gal 5.6  4 Rom 13.10  5 Jo. 6.57

The Real Presence

Διηγήσατο ὁ ἀββᾶς Δανιὴλ ὁ Φαρανίτης, ὅτι εἶπεν ὁ Πατὴρ ἡμῶν ἀββᾶς Ἀρσένιος περί τινος Σκητιώτου, ὅτι ἧν πρακτικὸς μέγας, ἀφελὴς δὲ εἰς τὴν πίστιν· καὶ ἐσφὰλλετο διὰ ἰδιωτείαν· καὶ ἔλεγεν· Οὐκ ἔστι φύσει ὁ ἄρτος ὄν λαμβάνομεν σῶμα Χριστοῦ, ἀλλ' ἀντίτυπον. Καὶ ἤκουσαν δύο γέροντες ὅτι λέγει τὸν λόγον τοῦτον, καὶ γινώσκοντες μέγαν αὐτὸν ὄντα τῷ Βιῳ, ἐλογίσαντο ὅτι ἐν ἀκακίᾳ καὶ ἀφελότητι λέγει, καὶ ἦλθον πρὸς αὐτὸν, καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῳ· Ἀββᾶ, λόγον ἠκούσαμεν περὶ τινὸς ἄπιστον, ὅτι λέγει ὅτι ὁ ἄρτος ὄν μεταλαμβάνομεν, οὐκ ἔστι φύσει σῶμα Χριστοῦ, ἀλλ' ἀντίτυπόν ἐστι. Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ τοῦτο λέγων. Οἱ δὲ παρεκάλουν αὐτὸν λέγοντες· Μὴ οὕτως κρατήσῃς, ἀββᾶ, ἀλλ' ὡς παρέδωκεν ἡ καθολικὴ Ἐκκλησία. Ἡμεῖς γὰρ πιστεύομεν, ὅτι αὐτὸς ὁ ἄρτος σῶμα ἐστι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τὸ ποτήριον αὐτό ἐστι τὸ αἶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, κατὰ ἀλήθειαν, καὶ οὐ κατ' ἀντίτυπον. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐν ἀρχῇ χοῦν λαβὼν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἔπλασε τὸν ἀνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐδεὶς δύναται εἰπεῖν ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν εἰκὼν Θεοῦ, εἰ καὶ ἀκατάληπτος· οὕτως πιστεύομεν ὅτι κατὰ ἀλήθειαν σῶμα ἐστι Χριστοῦ. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἔφη· Ἐὰν μὴ πεισθῶ ἀπὸ πράγματος, οὐ πληροφοροῦμαι. Οἱ δὲ εἴπον πρὸς αὐτόν· Δεηθῶμεν τοῠ Θεοῦ τὴν ἑβδομαδα ταύτην περὶ τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου, καὶ πιστεύομεν ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ἀποκαλύπτει ἡμῖν. Ὁ δὲ γέρων μετὰ χαρᾶς ἐδέξατο τὸν λόγον· καὶ ἐδέετο τοῦ Θεοῦ, λέγων· Κύριε, σὺ γινώσκεις ὅτι οὐ κατὰ κακίαν ἀπιστῶ· ἀλλ' ὅπως μὴ ἐν ἀγνωσίᾳ πλανηθῶ, ἀποκάλυψόν μοι, Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστὲ. Ἀπελθόντεσς δὲ οἱ γέροντες εἰς τὰ κελλία ἑαυτῶν, παρεκάλουν τὸν Θεὸν καὶ αὐτοὶ, λέγοντες· Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστὲ, ἀποκάλυψον τῷ γέροντι τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο, ἵνα πιστεύσῃ, καὶ μὴ ἀπολέσῃ τὸν κόπον αὐτοῦ. Καὶ εἰσήκουσεν ὁ Θεὸς ἀμφοτέρων. Καὶ πληρωθείσης τῆς ἑβδομάδος, ἦλθον τῇ Κυριακῇ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ ἔστησαν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ οἱ τρεῖς μόνοις ὡς παιδίον. Καὶ ὡς ἐξέτεινεν ὁ πρεσβύτερος τὴν χεῖρα κλάσαι τὸν ἄρτον, ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος Κυρίου κατῆλθεν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἔχων μάχαιραν, καὶ ἔθυσε τὸ παιδίον, καὶ ἐκένωσε  τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ ποτήριον. Ὡς δὲ ἔκλασεν ὁ πρεσβύτερος εἰς μικρὰ μέρη τὸν ἄρτον, καὶ ὁ ἀγγελος ἔκοπτεν ἐκ τοῦ παιδίου μικρὰ μέρη. Καὶ ὡς προσῆλθον λαβεῖν ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων, ἐδόθη τῷ γέροντι μόνῳ κρέας ἡματωμένον· καὶ ἔκραξε λέγων· Πιστεύω, Κύριε, ὁτι ὁ ἄρτος σῶμα σού ἐστι, καὶ τὸ ποτήριον αἷμά σού ἐστι. Καὶ εὐθέως ἐγένετο τὸ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ κρέας, ἄρτος κατὰ τὸ μυστήριον· καὶ μετέλαβεν εὐχαριστῶν τῷ Θεῷ. Καὶ λέγουσιν αύτῷ οἱ γέροντες· Ὁ Θεὸς οἶδε τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν, ὅτι οὐ δύναται φαγεῖν κρέα ὠμὰ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μετεποίησε τὸ σῶμα εἰς ἄρτον, καὶ τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ εἰς οἶνον, τοῖς πίστει δεχομένοις. Καὶ ηὐχαρίστησαν τῷ Θεῷ περὶ τοῦ γεροντος, ὅτι οὐκ ἀφῆκεν ἀπολέσθαι τοὺς κόπους αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀπῆλθον οἱ τρεῖς μετὰ χαρᾶς εἰς τὰ κελλία αὐτῶν. ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

Father Daniel the Pharanite said, 'Our Father Arsenius told us of a man of Scetis, one of great deeds and simple faith, and yet on account of his naivete he was deceived, for he said, 'The bread is not really the body of Christ, but a symbol.’ Two elders hearing he had said this and aware that he was upright in his way of life reasoned that he had not spoken this through malice but through simplicity, and they came to him and said to him, 'Father, we have heard a faithless proposition from someone who says that the bread which we receive is not really the body of Christ, but a symbol.' The old man said, 'It is I who said that.' And the old men exhorted him saying, 'Do not hold to this, Father, but rather to what the Catholic Church hands down. We believe that the bread itself is the body of Christ and that the cup itself is the blood of Christ, that is it real and not a symbol. For as in the beginning He took dust from the earth and formed man in His image, no one being able to say that it is not the image of God, even if it is incomprehensible, thus we believe the bread is really the body of Christ.' The old man said, 'If i am not been persuaded by the deed, I shall not be fully assured.' So they said to him, 'Let us pray to God about this mystery throughout the whole of this week and we believe that God will reveal it to us.' The old man received this saying with joy and he prayed to God saying, 'Lord, you know that this is not on account of malice, so that I may not err through ignorance, reveal it to me, Lord Jesus Christ.' The old men went away to their own cells and they also called on God, saying, 'Lord Jesus Christ, reveal the mystery to the old man, that he may believe and not lose his labours.' And God heard the prayers of both. At the end of the week, on Sunday, they came to church and they there appeared to these three alone, as it were, a little child. And when the priest stretched out his hand to break the bread, behold an angel of the Lord came down from heaven with a sword and pierced the child and poured the child’s blood into the chalice. And when the priest broke the bread into small pieces, the angel also cut the little child into pieces. When they approached to receive the sacraments, to the old man only was given the bloody flesh, and he cried out saying, ' I believe, Lord, that this bread is your body and this cup is your blood.' Immediately the flesh which was in his hand became bread, according to the mystery, and he took it, giving thanks to God. The old men said to him, 'God knows human nature, that man cannot eat raw flesh and that is why he has changed his body into bread and his blood into wine, for those who receive it in faith.' And they gave thanks to God for the old man, because he had not been allowed to lose his labours, and the three went away with joy to their own cells.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Flesh and Blood

Non est humano aut saeculi sensu in Dei rebus loquendum, neque per violentam atque imprudentem praedictionem; coelestium dictorum sanitati, alienae atque impiae intelligentiae extorquenda perversitas est. Quae scripta sunt legamus, et quae legerimus intelligamus: et tum perfectae fidei officio fungemur. De naturali enim in nobis Christi veritate quae dicimus, nisi ab eo didicimus, stulte atque impie dicimus. Ipse enim ait, Caro mea vere est esca, et sanguis meus vere est potus. Qui edit carnem meam et bibet sanguinem meum, in me manet, et ego in eo. De veritate carnis et sanguinis non relictus est ambigendi locus. Nunc enim et ipsius Domini professione, et fide nostra vere caro est, et vere sanguis est. Et haec accepta atque hausta id efficiunt, ut et nos in Christo, et Christus in nobis sit. Anne hoc veritas non est? Contingat plane his verum non esse, qui Christum Jesum verum esse Deum denegant. Est ergo in nobis ipse per carnem, et summus in eo: dum secum hoc, quod nos sumus, in Deo est. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, De Trinitate, Liber VIII

Not in a human or worldly sense must we speak of  the things of God, nor must violent and unwise preaching extort from the soundness of celestial words perversites of impious understanding. Let us read what has been written, let us understand what we have read, and so let us fulfill the office of perfect faith. For concerning what we say of the reality of Christ's nature within us, unless we have been taught by Him, we speak foolishly and impiously. For He says, 'My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.'1 Concerning the truth of the flesh and blood there is no room for ambiguity. For now from both the declaration of the Lord Himself and our own faith, it is true flesh and true blood. And these, eaten and drunk, make it so that both we are in Christ and Christ in us. Is not this true? Certainly it may strike them not to be  true who deny that Christ Jesus is truly God. He therefore Himself is in us through the flesh and we in Him, while together with Him our own selves are in God. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, On The Trinity, Book 8 1 Jn 6.56

Blood and Spirit

Φυσικὸν μὲν οὖν καὶ νηφάλιον ποτὸν ἀναγκαῖον διψῶσιν ἐστιν ὕδωρ. Τοῦτο ἐκ τῆς ἀκροτόμου πέτρας κατειβόμενον τοῖς παλαιοῖς τῶν Ἑβραίων, μονότροπον σωφροσύνης ὁ Κύριος ἐχορήγει ποτόν· νηφειν δὲ μάλιστα ἐχρῆν τοὺς ἐπιπλανωμένους. Ἔπειτα ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἁγία τὸν βότρυν ἐβάλστησε τὸν προφητικόν. Τοὺτο συμεῖον τοῖς εἰς ἀνάπαυσιν ἐκ τῆς πλάνης πεπαιδαγωγημένοις, ὁ μέγας βότρυς, ὁ Λόγος ὁ ὑπὲρ ἡμων θλινεὶς, τοῦ αἵματος τῆς σταφυλῆς ὕδατι κίρνασθαι ἐθελήσαντος τοῦ Λόγου, ὡς καὶ τὸ αἵμα αὐτοῦ σωτηρίᾳ κίρναται. Διττὸν δὲ τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Κυρίου· τὸ μὲν γάρ ἐστιν αὐτοῦ σαρκικὸν, ᾦ τῆς φθορᾶς λελυτρώμεθα· τὸ δὲ πνευματικὸν, τοτέστιν ᾦ κεχρίσμεθα. Καὶ τοῦτ' ἔστι πιεῖν τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ τῆς κυρικακῆς μεταλαβεὶν ἀφθαρσίας· ἰσχὺς δὲ τοῦ Λόγου τὸ Πνεῦμα, ὡς αἱμα σαρκός. Ἀναλόγως τοίνυν κίρναται, ὁ οἶνος τῷ ὕδατι, τῷ δὲ ἀνθρώπῳ τὸ Πνεῠμα· · καὶ τὸ μὲν εἰς πίστιν εὐωχεῖ, τὸ δὲ εἰς ἀφθαρσίαν ὁδηγεῖ, τὸ Πνεῦμα ἡ δὲ ἀμφοῖν αὖθις κρᾶσις, ποτοῦ τε καὶ Λόγου, εὐχαριστία κέκληται, χάρις ἐπαινουμένη καὶ καλή· ἥς οἱ κατὰ πίστιν μεταλαμβάνοντες ἁγιάζονται καὶ σῶμα καὶ ψυχήν· τὸ Θεῖον κρᾶμα, τὸν ἄνθρωπον, τοῦ Πατρικοῦ Βουλήματος Πνεύματι καὶ Λόγῳ συγκίρναντος μυστικῶς. Κλημεντος του Αλεξανδρεως, Παιδαγωγος, Λογος Δευτερος

The natural, temperate and necessary drink for the thirsty is water. This flowed out of the split rock to the ancient Hebrews, the solitary drink of sobriety being supplied by the Lord, for temperance was most necessary in their wanderings. Later the sacred vine sent forth the prophetic cluster. This was a sign to them who had been schooled in their wandering to rest, the great cluster, the Word bruised for us, for the blood of the grape, which is the Word, wished to be blended with water, as His blood is mingled with salvation. The Blood of the Lord is twofold; there is His corporeal blood by which we are redeemed from corruption, and His spiritual blood by which we are anointed. And so it is that to drink the blood of Jesus is to share in His immortality, and the strength of the Word is the Spirit, just as the blood of the body. Likewise as wine is blended with water so is the Spirit with man, and the one nourishes in faith, and the other, the Spirit, leads us on to immortality, the union of both the drink and of the Word being called the Eucharist, a praiseworthy and excellent gift. Those who partake of it in faith are sanctified in body and in soul, a Divine blending by the will of the Father of man mystically united to the Spirit and to the Word. Clement of Alexandria, The Teacher, Book 2

The Trinity And Division

Simplices enim quique, ne dixerim imprudentes et idiotae, quae maior semper credentium pars est, quoniam et ipsa regula fidei a pluribus diis saeculi ad unicum et verum deum transfert, non intellegentes unicum quidem sed cum sua oeconomia esse credendum, expavescunt ad oeconomiam. Numerum et dispositionem trinitatis divisionem praesumunt unitatis, quando unitas ex semetipsa derivans trinitatem non destruatur ab illa sed administretur. Itaque duos et tres iam iactitant a nobis praedicari, se vero unius dei cultores praesumunt, quasi non et unitas irrationaliter collecta haeresim faciat et trinitas rationaliter expensa veritatem constituat. Monarchiam, inquiunt, tenemus et ita sonum ipsum vocaliter exprimunt etiam Latini, et tam opifice ut putes illos tam bene intellegere monarchiam quam enuntiant; sed monarchiam sonare student Latini, oi0konomian  intellegere nolunt etiam Graeci. At ego, si quid utriusque linguae praecerpsi, monarchiam nihil aliud significare scio quam singulare et unicum imperium: non tamen praescribere monarchiam ideo quia unius sit eum cuius sit aut filium non habere aut ipsum se sibi filium fecisse aut monarchiam suam non per quos velit administrare. Atquin nullam dico dominationem ita unius sui esse, ita singularem, ita monarchiam, ut non etiam per alias proximas personas administretur quas ipsa prospexerit officiales sibi:  si vero et filius fuerit ei cuius monarchia sit, non statim dividi eam et monarchiam esse desinere si particeps eius adsumatur et filius, sed proinde illius esse principaliter a quo communicatur in filium, et dum illius est proinde monarchiam esse quae a duobus tam unitis continetur.  Igitur si et monarchia divina per tot legiones et exercitus angelorum administratur sicut scriptum est, Milies centies centena milia adsistebant ei et milies centena milia apparebant ei, nec ideo unius esse desiit, ut desinat monarchia esse quia per tanta milia virtutum procuratur,  quale est ut deus divisionem et dispersionem pati videatur in filio et in spiritu sancto secundum et tertium sortitis locum, tam consortibus substantiae patris, quas non patitur in tot angelorum numero et quidem tam alienorum a substantia Patris? membra et pignora et instrumenta et ipsam vim ac totum censum monarchiae eversionem deputas eius? non recte. Tertullianus, Adversus Praxeam

Certainly the simple, who I will not call unwise and unlearned, who always constitute the majority of the faithful, because the very rule of faith withdraws them from the world's plurality of gods to the one and true God, not understanding that though He is the One He must be believed in with His own economy, are troubled at this arrangement. The number and distribution of the Trinity they assume to be a division of unity when the unity which derives the Trinity out of its own self is not destroyed but actually supported by it. Thus they throw against us that two and three gods are preached by us while they believe themselves to be the true worshipers of the One God, as if the unity itself held irrationally was not productive of heresy, and the Trinity rationally contemplated constituted the truth. They say that we maintain the Monarchy, and as far as the sound is expressed, even Latins pronounce it in such a way that you would think their understanding of the Monarchy was as complete as their pronunciation, but while Latins take care to pronounce the Monarchy, Greeks are unwilling to understand the arrangement. But I, if I have grasped anything of either language, am sure that Monarchy means nothing other than single and individual rule; but even so, this monarchy does not prescribe, because it is of One, Him whose it is, either from having a Son, or from having made for Himself a Son, or from administering His monarchy by as He will. And further I say that no dominion belongs to one only, as his own, or is in such a sense singular, or is in such a sense a monarchy, as not also to be administered through others closely associated with it, and whom it has itself appointed as officials to itself, and if indeed there is a Son to Him whose monarchy it is, it does not instantly divide and cease to be a monarchy if the Son also be taken as a participant in it, but it is equally His by whom it is communicated to the Son, and being His it is quite as much a monarchy, since it is held together by two who are in unity. Therefore as the Divine Monarchy also is administered by so many legions and hosts of angels, as it is written: 'Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him," 1 and since it has not because of this ceased to be of One so as no longer to be a monarchy because it is maintained by so many thousands of powers, how is it that God should seem to suffer division in the Son and in the Holy Spirit, who have the second and the third places assigned to them, partaking of the substance of the Father, when He does not so in the multitude of so many angels who are not of his substance? And do you consider that the actual members and the pledges and instruments of His might and the entire system of His monarchy, are the overthrow and of it? That is not right.  Tertullian, from Against Praxeas 1 Dan 7.10

Prayers of the Wicked and the Wise

Τοῖς μοχθηροῖς τοίνυν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἡ εὐχὴ οὐ μόνον εἰς τοὺς ἄλλους, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς σφᾶς αὐτοὺς βλαβερωτάτη. Εἰ οῦν καὶ ἄ φασιν εὐτυχήματα αἰτησάμενοι λάβοιεν, βλάπτει λαβόντας αὐτοὺς, ἀνεπιστήμονας τῆς χρήσεως αὐτῶν ὑπάρχοντας. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ, ἅ οὐκ ἔχουσιν, εὔχονται κτήσασθαι, καὶ τὰ δοκοῦντα ἀγαθὰ, οὐ τὰ ὄντα, αἰτοῦνται· ὁ γνωστικὸς δὲ, ὦν μὲν κέκτηται, παραμονὴν, ἐπιτηδειότητα δὲ εἰς ἂ μέλλει ὑπερβαίνειν, καὶ ἀῖδιότητα ὦν οὐ λήψεται αἰτήσεται· τὰ δὲ ὄντως ἀγαθὰ τὰ περὶ ψυχὴν, εὔχεται εἶναι τε αὐτῷ καὶ παραμεῖναι· ταύτῃ οὐδὲ ὀρεγεταί τινος τῶν ἀπόντων, ἀρκούμενος τοῖς παροῦσιν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐλλειπὴς τῶν οἰκείων ἀγαθῶν, ἰκανὸς ὦν ἥδη αὐτῳ ἐκ τῆς θείας χάριτος τε καὶ γνώσεως· ἀλλὰ αὐτάρκης μὲν γενόμενος, ἀνενδεὴς δὲ τῶν ἄλλων· τὸ παντοκρατορικὸν δὲ βούλημα ἐγνωκὼς, καὶ ἔχων ἄμα καὶ εὐχόμενος, προσεχὴς τῇ πανσθενεῖ δυνάμει γενόμενος, πνευματικὸς εἴναι σπουδάσας διὰ τῆς ἀορίστου ἀγάπης, ἥνωται τῷ Πνεύματι. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Στρωματεων, Λόγος Ἐπτὰ, Κεφ Ζ'

In the case of wicked men prayer is, not to others alone, but to themselves also, most harmful. If, then, they ask for and receive what they call good fortune, these things harm them after they have received them, for they are ignorant of how to use them well. They pray to possess that which they do not have and they ask for things which seem but are not truly good, but the wise man prays for the permanence of the things he has, fitness for what shall come to be, and the eternity of those things which he shall receive, and he prays that the things which are really good and concern the soul may be his and remain with him, and he does not desire anything which is absent, being content with what is present. For he does not lack in the good things which are dwelling with him, being already sufficient for himself through Divine grace and knowledge, but having become sufficient in himself, he stands in no want of other things, but knowing the will of the Almighty, and possessing it as soon as he prays, he attends to the all powerful, and eager to be spiritual, through boundless love, he is united to the Spirit. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, Book 7, Ch 7.

Preparing For The Spirit

Legimus Dominum discipulis praecepiise ut turbas per contubernia discumbere fecissent, quinquagenos et quinquagenos; quos omnes unius panis soliditate refici volebat. Quinquagenarius numerus, in quo lex data est, ipse Spiritus Paraclitus a Patre et Filio missus, qui in centum viginti nomina descendit, remissionem peccatorum significat: quam omnes fideles in ipsius sancti Spiritus gratia accipiunt, primo in sacramento baptismatis; secundo in poenitentiae lacrymis, quibus anima peccatrix abluta ad visionem Dei Salvatoris pervenire merebitur dicente ipsa Veritate: Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. Ecce nunc tempus acceptabile, ecce nunc dies salutis. Mundemus nos ab omni inquinamento carnis et spiritus, perficientes salutem animarum nostrarum.' Haec vero scientes et optime intelligentes, charissimi fratres, nil sordidum in vestra remaneat conscientia, sive de carnis fragilitate contractum, sive de spiritus inquietudine infectum, ut dignam in cordibus vestris Spirits sanctus sibi inveniat habitationem. Nullam malignus hostis in vestra bona conversatione inveniat suae malitiae partem, nec aditum quem quaerit, reperiat vestris in cordibus; sed omni custodia animas vestras confirmate in charitatis munimine, in tutela obedientiae, in muro humilitatis, in castitatis observatione, in sanctae pacis conjunctione. Viriliter pugnate contra antiquum hostem, et communibus manibus debellate eum, qui 'rugiens circuit, quarens quem devorat. Portate in frontibus vexillum crucis, et in cordibus charitatis munimenta, et catholicae fidei firmamentum. Spe firma vosmetipsos erigite ad Deum, et nihil contra vestram valet unanimitatem illius insidiosa calliditas. Alcuinus, Epistola CXI, Ad Fratres in Gothia Source: Migne PL 100.335a-c

We read that the Lord commanded the disciples to make the troubled crowds sit down in groups of fifty when He wished to refresh them all with the one firm bread. 1 Fifty was the number on which the Law was given, 2 the same when the Spirit and Paraclete was sent by the Father and the Son, He who descended on one hundred and twenty, 3 signifying the remission of sins, by which all the faithful receive grace by the same Holy Spirit, first in the sacrament of baptism and secondly in tearful penance by which the sinful soul is cleansed so that it might merit to come to the vision of God, as the Truth says 'Blessed are the Pure in heart, for they shall see God.' 4 'Behold now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation.' 'Let us cleanse ourselves of every defilement of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting the salvation of our souls.' 5 These things truly knowing and well understanding, dearest brothers, let nothing sordid remain in your souls, let no weakness of flesh press upon you, let no unquiet temper infect you, so that the Holy Spirit may discover in your hearts a worthy habitation. Let not the malignant enemy discover in your speech any part of wickedness, nor find any way in which he may enter into your hearts, but strengthen your hearts so that your souls are guarded with powerful love and protective obedience, with the wall of humility and the observance of chastity, all in conjunction with sacred peace. Fight manfully against the old enemy and with shared hands conquer him who 'goes around roaring, looking for someone to devour.' 6 Bear on your brows the banner of the cross and in your hearts the bulwark of charity and the strength of the Catholic Faith. With firm hope build yourself up to God and let no insidious cunning prevail against your unity. Alcuin of York, from Letter 111, To The Brothers in Gothia 1 Lk 9.14 2 According to rabbinic tradition the Law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai fifty days after Passover, celebrated at the feast of Shavuot 3 Acts 1.15 4 Mt 5.8 5 2 Cor 6.2,7.1 6 1 Pet 5.8

The Indwelling of the Spirit

Οἰκείωσις δὲ Πνεύματος πρὸς ψυχὴν οὐχ ὁ διὰ τόπου προσεγγισμός. Πῶς γὰρ ἄν πλησιάσαις τῷ ἀσωμάτῳ σωματικῶς; Ἀλλὸ ὁ χωρισμὸς τῶν παθῶν, ἄπερ, ἀπὸ τῆς πρὸς τὴν σάρκα φιλίας ὕστερον ἐπιγινόμενα τῇ ψυχῇ, τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῠ οἰκειότητος ἠλλοτρίωσε. Καθαρθεντα δὴ οὖν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀἴσχους, ὅ ἀνεμαξατο διὰ τῆς κακίας, καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἐκ φύσεως κάλλαος ἐπανελθόντα, καὶ οἰον εἰκόνι βασιλικῇ τὴν ἀρχαίαν μορφον διὰ καθαροτητος ἀποδόντα, οὕτως ἐστι μόνως προσεγγίσαι τῷ Παρακλήτῳ. Ὁ δ', ὥσπερ ἥλιος, κεκαθαρμένον ὅμμα παραλαβὼν, δείξει σοι ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἀοράτου. Ἐν δὲ τῷ μακαρίῳ τῆς εἰκονος θεάματι τὸ ἄῥῥητον ὄψει τοῦ ἀρχετύπου κάλλος. Διὰ τούτου καρδιῶν ἀνάβασις, χειραγωγία τῶν ἀσθενούτων, τῶν προκοπτόντων τελείωσις. Τοῦτο, τοῖς ἀπὸ πάσης κηλίδος κεκαθαρμένοις ἐλλάμπον, τῃ πρὸς ἑαυτὸ κοινωνίᾳ πνευματικοὺς ἀποδεικνυσι. Καὶ ὥσπερ τὰ λαμπρὰ καὶ διαφανῆ τῶν σωμάτων, ἀκτῖνος αὐτοῖς ἐμπεσούσης, αὐτά τε γίνεται περιλαμπῆ, καὶ ἑτέραν αὐγὴν ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν ἀποστίλβει· οὕτως αἱ πνευματοφοροι ψυχαὶ ἐλλαμφθεῖσαι παρὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος, αὐταί τε ἀποτελοῦνται μνευματικαὶ, καὶ εἰς ἑτέρους τὴν χάραιν ἐξαποστελλουσιν. Ἐντεῦθεν μελλὸντων πρόγνωσις, μυστηρίων σύνεσις, κεκρυμμένων κατάληψις, χαρισμάτων διανομαι, τὸ οὐράνιον πολίτευμα, ἡ μετὰ ἀγέλλων χορεία, ἡ ἀτελεύτητος εὐφροσύνη, ἡ ἐν Θεῷ διαμονὴ, ἡ πρὸς Θεὸν ὁμοίωσις, τὸ ἀκρότατον τῶν ὀρεκτῶν, Θεὸν γενέσθαι. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Περὶ τοῦ Ἅγιου Πνευματος, Κεφ. Θ

But the indwelling of the Spirit with the soul is not by proximity in space. For how indeed could there be a corporeal approach to the incorporeal? Rather it is from withdrawal from the passions which, coming afterwards gradually on the soul from its friendship to the flesh, have estranged it from its amity with God. Only then after a man is cleansed of the shame whose stain he incurred through wickedness and has returned to his natural beauty, and as it were wiping clean the Royal Image and restoring its original form, only thus may he approach the Paraclete. And He, like the sun, by the means of your purified eye, will show to you in Himself the image of the invisible. And in the blessed vision of the image you shall behold the unspeakable beauty of the archetype. Through Him is the elevation of hearts, the leading of the weak by the hand, the perfection of those who are advancing. He shines upon those that are cleansed from every spot, He by fellowship with Himself makes them spiritual. And as when a ray of sun falls on bright and transparent bodies and they themselves shine and send forth brightness from themselves, so those souls bearing the Spirit, illuminated by the Spirit, themselves become spiritual, and send forth their grace to others. Thus comes knowledge of the future, understanding of mysteries, apprehension of things hidden, distribution of graces, heavenly citizenship, a place among the angels, joy without end, abidance in God, likeness to God, and, highest of all things to be desired, to be God. Saint Basil of Caesarea, On The Holy Spirit, Ch. 9

The Spirit of Knowledge

Ait enim, ut jam superius ostendimus, Apostulus: Nos autem non spiritum hujus mundi accepimus, sed spiritum qui ex Deo est, ut sciamus quae a Deo donata sunt nobis.' Accipitur ergo ob scientiam. Ut enim natura humani corporis cessantibus officii sui causis erit otiosa; nam oculis, nisi lumen aut dies sit, nullus ministerii erit usus; ut aures, nisi vox sonusve reddatur, munus suum non recognoscent; ut nares, nisi odor fragraverit, in quo officio erunt nescient; non quod his deficiet natura per causam, sed usus habetur ex causa: ita et animus humanus nisi per fidem donum Spiritus hauserit, habebit quidem naturam Deum intelligendi, sed lumen scientiae non habebit. Munus autem quod in Christo est, omne omnibus patet unum: et quod ubique non deest, in tantum datur in quantum quis volet sumere; in tantum residet, in quantum quis volet promereri. Hoc usque in consummationem saeculi nobsicum, hoc exspectationis nostrae solatium, hoc, in donorum operationibus futurae spei pignus est hoc mentium lumen, hic splendor animorum est. Hic ergo Spiritus Sanctus expetendus est, promerendus est, et deinceps praeceptorum fide atque observatione retinendus Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, De Trinitate, Liber Secundus,

The Apostle says, as I have already shown above, 'But we have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we may know the things that are given to us by God.'1 We receive Him, then, for the sake of knowing. The faculties of the human body, lacking the cause of use become useless, for the eye cannot perform its function unless by a light or the day; the ear unless it receive voice or sound will be ignorant of its function; the nostrils unless some scent be encountered will not know their purpose, it being not that the nature is lacking for the cause but rather the use is never caused, and thus it is with the human soul, which unless through faith it has experienced the gift of the Spirit, will have that nature to apprehend God, but it will not have the light of knowledge. That Gift which is in Christ, is available to all, is lacking nowhere, and it is given to each according to the wish for it and insofar as he who wishes is worthy. This gift is with us unto the end of the world, it is the comfort of our waiting, it is the pledge of future hope by the favours which are worked, it is the light of minds, it is the splendor of souls. This Holy Spirit must be sought, it must be earned, and then retained by faith and obedience to the commands of God. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, On The Trinity, Book 2 1 1 Cor 2.12

Giving Glory to God

Δότε οὖν Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν δόξαν.   Πῶς διδόαμεν Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν δόξαν; Οὐκ ἐν φωναῖς καὶ λεξειδίοις ζητῶ τὸ διδόναι Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν δόξαν, ἀλλ' ἐν πράξεσιν· ὁ διδοὺς δόξαν Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ  δίδωσι δόξαν αὐτῷ ἐν σωφροσύνῃ δοξάζων τὸν Θεὸν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, ἐν εὐποιίᾳ, δοξάζων τὸν Θεὸν· δὸς δόξαν τῷ Θεῷ ἐν ἀνδρείᾳ καὶ ὑπομονῇ· δὸς δόξαν τῷ Θεῷ ἐν εὐποιία καὶ ὁσιότητι, καὶ ταῖς λοιπαῖς ἀρεταῖς.   Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ἱερεμίαν, Ὁμιλια ΙΒ'

'Give then glory to the Lord your God. '1 How do we give glory to the Lord our God? It is not to be found only in our giving glory to the Lord our God by voice and words, but it is also in deeds. He gives glory to God who gives glory to him in prudence, he gives glory to God who gives it in righteousness, he gives glory to God who gives it in good deeds. Give glory to God then in fortitude and patience, give glory to God in benefactions and piety and all the other virtues. Origen, Twelfth Homily on Jeremiah 1 Jer 13.16

A Useful Infidel

Πᾶσαι αἱ θεῖαι Βίβλοι τῆς Παλαιᾶς Διαθήκης τῇ Ἐβραίων γλώττῃ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἧσαν συντεθειμέναι, καὶ τοῦτο πάντες ἄν ἡμῖν συνομολογήσαιεν. Οὐ πρὸ πολλῶν δὲ ἐτῶν τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας βασιλεύς τις Πτολεμαῖος περὶ τὴν τῶν βιβλίων συναγωγὴν πολλήν τινα σπουδὴν ποινσάμενος, καὶ ταύτας τὰς βίβλους συναγαγεῖν. Μεταπεμψάμενος οὖν τινας τῶν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις Ἰουδαίωμ, μεταβαλεῖν εἰς τὴν Ἡλλάδα γλῶτταν προσέταξε· καὶ δὴ τοῦτο εἰς ἔργον αὐτῷ ἐξενήνεχται. Ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ τοῦτο τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκονομίας ἔργον, ὥστε μὴ μόνον τοὺς τὴν Ἑβραίων γλῶτταν ἠσκημένους, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντας τοὺς τὴν οἰκουμένην οἰκοῦντας τὴν ἐξ αὐτῶν ὠφέλειαν καρπώσασθαι. καὶ τὸ δὴ θαυμαστὸν καὶ παράδοξον, ὁτι οὐ τῶν τὰ Ἰουδαῖκὰ φρονούντων τις τὴν σπουδὴν ταύτην ἐποιήσατο, ἀλλ' ἀνὴρ τοῖς εἰδώλοις προστετηκὼ, καὶ ἀπεναντίας τῇ θρησκείᾳ διακείμενος. Τοιαῦτα γάρ ἐστιν ἄπαντα τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ Δεσπότου τοῦ ἡμετέρου οἰκονομούμενα· αἐὶ διὰ τῶν ἐναντίων αὔξει τὰ τῆς ἀληθείας προστὰγματα. Ὁμῖλία Δ'  Εἰς Την Γενεσιν, Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος

All the Divine Books of the Old Testament were from the beginning composed in the Hebrew tongue, and to this everyone agrees. Now not many years before advent of Christ a certain King Ptolemy was an eager collector of books, having many diverse volumes and he thought that these books also were worthy collecting. And so he sent to the Jews of Jerusalem that they translate them into the Greek tongue and it was done and completed. And this is a work of the Divine Dispensation, that not only those skilled in the Hebrew tongue but even all the inhabitants of the earth may read these texts. And how wonderful and glorious it is that he who did so was not of the religion of the Jews but a follower of the cult of the idols and opposed to them in thought. But all things have been disposed by our Lord so that even through opposition the teaching of truth grows. From The Fourth Homily on Genesis, Saint John Chrysostom

Look to Yourself

Πρόσεχε οὖν σεαυτῷ· τουτέστι, Μήτε τοῖς σοῖς μήτε τοῖς περὶ σὲ, ἀλλὰ σεαυτῷ μόνῳ πρόσεχε. Ἄλλο γάρ ἐσμωεν ἡμεῖς αὐτοὶ, καὶ ἀλλο τὰ ἡμετερα, καὶ ἄλλο τὰ περὶ ἡμᾶς. ᾙμεωῖς μὲν οὖν ἐσμεν ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ ὁ νοῦς, καθὸ κατ' εἰκόνα του κτίσαντος γεγενήμεθα· ἡμέτερον δὲ τὸ σῶμα καὶ αἱ δι' αὐτοῦ αἰσθήσεις· περὶ ἡμᾶς δὲ, χρήματα, τέχναι καὶ ἡ λοιπὴ τοῦ βίου κατασκευή. Τί οὖν φησιν ὁ λόγος; Μὴ τῇ σαρκὶ πρὸσεχε, μηδὲ τὸ ταύτης ἀγαθὸν ἐκ παντὸς τρόπου δίωκε· ὑγείαν καὶ κάλλος καὶ ἡδονῶν ἀπολαύσεις, καὶ μακροβίωσιν· μηδὲ χρήματα καὶ δόξαν, καὶ δυναστείαν θαύμαζε· μηδὲ ὅσα σοι τῆς προσκαίρον ζωῆς τὴν ὑπηρεσίαν πληροῖ, ταῦτα μεγάλα νομίσας, τῇ περὶ ταῦτα σπουδῇ τῆς προηγουμένης σεατοῦ ζωῆς καταμέλει· ἀλλὰ πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ· τουτέστι, τῇ ψυχῇ σου. Ταύτην κατακόσμει, καὶ ταύτης ἐπιμελοῦ, ὥστε πάντα μὲν τὸν ἐκ τῆς πονηρίας ἐπιγινόμενον αὐτῇ ῥύπον ἀποικονομεῖσθαι διὰ τῆς προσοχῆς, πᾶν δὲ τὸ ἀπὸ κακίας αἶσχος ἀποκαθαίρεσθαι, παντὶ δὲ τῷ ἐξ ἀρετῆς κάλλει κατακοσμεῖν αὐτὴν καὶ φαιδρύνειν. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Το, Πρόσεχε Σεαυτῷ

'Look to yourself,' that is, not to your own, nor those things around you, but to yourself alone attend. Something we are ourselves, some things are ours, some things are around us. We are soul and mind insofar as we are made to the image of the Creator. Ours is our body and through it the senses, around us is wealth and the products of craft, and the other things of life. What then says the Word? Do not concern yourself with the flesh nor chase after its goods: be done with health, beauty, pleasure and long life, nor admire glory or wealth or power, nor exert yourself for any of the transient goods of this life, because as great or small as they might be, for these you neglect the primary study of your life. Rather attend to yourself, that is, to your soul. Adorn it and look to its care, that by your looking you remove from it everything sordid springing from evil deeds, thus expurgating the ugliness of vice from your soul and with the beauty of virtue decorating and brightening it. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homily on 'Look to Yourself'

Enemies And Good Deeds

Παρὰ μὲν ἀνθρώποις ἵσον εἶναι δοκεῖ τὸ εὐεργέτας μὴ ἀμείβεσθαι, καὶ ἐχθροὺς μὴ ἀμύνεσθαι. Παρὰ δὲ τῇ Θείᾳ φιλοσοφίᾳ τὸ μὲν ἀμείβεσθαι τοὺς εὐεργέτας κρατεῖ· τὸ δὲ ἀμύνεσθαι τοὺς ἐχθροὺς οὐχί· ἀλλὰ παντὶ μὲν τρόπῳ τὸ ἀνεξικακεῖν, εἰ δ' οἶόν τε, καὶ εὐεργετεῖν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Ἐπιστολὴ, Θεοδοσιῳ Πρεσβυτερῳ

Among men its seems that equally good deeds are not returned and enemies not forgotten. But as for the Divine Philosophy good deeds are diligently returned and there is no remembrance of enemies, for in every place it endures evil and, if possible, does good. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Letter to Theodosius the Presbyter

The Fall and One's Neighbour

Καὶ ἔθετο αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ.  Οἱ ἀναγενώμενοι διὰ τοῦ Θείου βαπτίσματος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τίθενται, τουέστιν ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ ἔνδον ὅντα ἔργα πνευματικά· καὶ ἐντολὴν λαμβάνουσι πάντας ἀγαπᾷν τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς, καὶ τὸν ἐρχόμενον καρπὸν δι' ὑπομνῆς ἐσθίειν, κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· Ἀπὸ παντὸς ξύλου τοῦ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ βρώσει φαγῇ. Παραβαίνει δέ τις τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ ἀναγεννήσαντος ὁ τοῖς ὅφεως λογισμοῖς χρησάμενος, καὶ ἀγαπῶν τοὺς μὲν ὡς χρηστοὺς, τοὺς δὲ ὡς πονηροὺς μισῶν· ὅπερ ἐστὶ τὸ ξύλον τοῦ γινώσκειν καλόν· οὖ ὁ ἀπογευσάμενος κατ' ἅδειαν ἀποθνήσκει· οὐχὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν θάνατον ποιήσαντος, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸν πλησίον μισήσαντος. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Την Γενεσιν

'And He placed him in paradise.'  Those who are reborn through baptism are placed in paradise which is the Church that they work within it spiritual works, and they receive the commandment that they love all their brothers, and the fruit which comes forth from patience they eat and so it is said, 'From every tree which is in paradise you may eat the fruit.' But he who transgresses the commandment employs the thought of the serpent, he who loves another because he is lovable and hates others because they are wicked, this is the fair tree of knowledge by which taste a man dies, for death was not made by God but is the work of the hatred of man for his neighbour. Origen, On Genesis

Hatred of Wickedness

Ἀδελφὸς παρέβαλε τῷ ἀββᾷ Ποιμένι· καὶ συγκαθεζομένων τινῶν, ἐπήνεσέ τινα ἀδελφὸν ὡς ὅτι μισοπόνηρός ἐστι. Λέγει ὁ ἀββᾶς Ποιμὴν τῷ λαλήσαντι· Καὶ τί ἐστι μισοπονηρία; Ἐξέστη δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς, καὶ οὐχ εὗρεν ἀποκριθῆναι· ἀναστὰς δὲ μετενόησε τῷ γέροντι, λεγων· Εἰπὲ μοι τί ἐστι μισοπονηρία; Ἔφη ὁ γέρων· Μισοπονηρία αὔτη ἐστὶν, εἴ τις τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ ἐμίσησε, καὶ τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ ἐδικαίωσεν. ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

A brother came to Father Poimen and there were others brothers sitting with him, and he praised a certain brother as a hater of wickedness. Father Poimen said to him, 'What is it to hate wickedness?' And the brother was shaken and could find no answer and standing up he confessed to the elder, saying, ' Tell me what it is to hate wickedness.' The elder said, 'This is hatred of wickedness: to hate one's own sin and to treat one's neighbour justly.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Giving Thanks Always

Gratias agentes semper pro omnibus, in nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi Deo et Patri. Huic quid simile et in Epistola ad Thessalonicenses prima scriptum est: Semper gaudete, sine intermissione orate, in omnibus gratias agite. Quod praeceptum ille solus custodire potest, qui providentia Dei novit etiam quinque passeres, qui venduntur dipondio, gubernari: quorum unus non cadit in laqueum sine Patris voluntate. Quod autem ait: 'Gratias agentes, et semper, et pro omnibus,' dupliciter intuendum, ut et in omni tempore, et pro omnibus quae nobis accidunt, Deo gratias referamus: ut tantum pro his quae bona putamus, sed etiam quae nos coarctant, et contra nostram veniunt voluntatem, in Dei praeconium mens laeta prorumpat, et dicamus: 'Nudus exivi de utero matris meae, nudus et redeam: sicut placuit Domino, ita factum est: sit nomen Domini benedictum. Haec actio gratiarum apud prudentes viros, et generaliter et specialiter observatur. Generaliter, ut gratias agamus Deo, quod nobis sol oritur, dies currit, nox mutantur in requiem, splendore lunae tenebrae temperantur, et ortu occasuque stellarum tempora mutantur et redeunt: quod nobis serviunt pluviae, terra parturit, elementa famulantur: quod tantae animalium varietates, vel ad vehendum, vel ad operandum, vel ad vescendum, vel ad tegmen, vel ad exemplum, vel ad miraculum datae sunt: et ad extremum, quod nati sumus, quod subsistimus, quod in mundo quasi in quadam domo potentissimi patrisfamilias procurationem gerimus, et totum quidquid in mundo est, nostri causa intelligimus procreatum. Specialiter vero, quando in Dei beneficiis quae nobis accedunt, gratulamur. Sed hoc et gentilis facit, et Judaeus, et publicanus, et ethnicus. Christianorum propria virtus est, etiam in his quae advsera putantur, referre gratias Creatori. Si domus corruerit, si amantissima uxor et filii vel captivitate, vel veneno, vel naufragio intercepti sint, si divitias proscriptione perdidimus, si sanitatem innumerabiles morbi, et semper exspectanda miseris podagrae debilitas fregerit. Qui sibi santiores videntur, solent Deo referre gratias quod de periculis, vel de miseriis liberati sunt. Sed juxta Apostolum haec virtus est maxima, ut in ipsis periculis atque miseriis, Deo gratiae referantur, et semper dicamus: Bendictus Deus, minora me scio sustinere quam mereor: haec ad mea peccata parva sunt: nihil mihi dignum redditur. Hic animus Christiani est, hic curcem suam tollens, sequitur Salvatorem, quem nec orbitas, nec damna debilitant. Quem, ut Flaccus in lyrico carmine ait: 'Si fractus illabatur orbis, Impavidum ferient ruinae.' Sanctus Hieronimus, Commentarius In Epistolam Ad Ephesios, Lib III, Cap V Source: Migne PL 26.529-530

Giving thanks always for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Something very much like this is written in the first letter to the Thessalonians: ' Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in all things give thanks.' 2 Which precept he alone is able to guard who knows that by the providence of God even five sparrows that are sold for two coins are guided that not one of them falls into the trap without the will of the Father. So he says 'Give thanks always and for everything.' Two things must now be considered, the reference to every time and the reference to everything which befalls us, that we must direct thanks to God not only for those things we think good but even those which try us and come against our will, that the happy mind must break forth into a cry to God and that we should say with Job, ' Naked I came out of the womb of my mother, naked I shall return, so it has pleased the Lord, so it is done, blessed be the name of the Lord.' 3 This act of thanks is of the prudent man and in both general and specific matters it is observed. In general matters we should give thanks to God that the sun rises on us, that the day passes, that night brings rest, that the darkness is tempered by the glow of the moon, that the rising and the settings of the stars in time change and return, that the rains serves us, that the earth brings forth things which are useful to us, including varieties of the animals that may bear burdens, or do work, or be food, or by used for coverings, or provide examples, or be admired, and further that we are born, that we exist, that in this world we are as the ruling agent of a powerful head of a household, and all things in the world that provide for our subsistence. In specific affairs when benefactions come to us by God we rejoice, but even the pagans do this and the Jews and the tax collectors and barbarians. It is a special virtue of the Christian to render thanks to the Creator even in things they think averse, If one's house falls down, if one's most beloved wife and children are taken off by captivity, or poisoning, or shipwreck, if wealth is lost by law, if health is exhausted by countless ailments, if the miseries of gout are to be born. They may seem more saintly who are accustomed to give thanks to God because they have been freed from danger or misery but contrary to this is the great virtue of the Apostle which would have it that in every danger and misery we should offer thanks to God and always say, 'Blessed be God, I know that he sustains my littleness more than I am worth, and this is little for my sins, nothing worthy of what could be returned.' This is the soul of a Christian, this picks up the cross, this follows the Saviour who neither grief nor loss weakened. So Horace in his lyric poems said, ' If the whole world falls apart, It would strike him unmoved.' 4 Saint Jerome, Commentary on The Letter to the Ephesians, Book 3, Chapter 5 1 Ephes 5.20 2 1 Thes 5 16-18 3 Job 1.21 4 Horace Odes 3.3.7-8