Working in the Waters

Οἱ καταβαίνοντες εἰς θάλασσαν ἐν πλοίοις, ποιοῦντες ἐργασίαν ἐν ὕδασι πολλοῖς, οἱ τοῦ Κυρίου τυγχάνουσι θεοφόροι ἀποστολοι, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ προτέρου τοῦτο ὄντες ἐπιτηδεύματος, καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἐν τῷ βιῷ ζωγρευτικῆς ἐργασίας. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὡς κυμάτων ἐπανάστασις φλεγμαίνει καὶ κατευνάζεται τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὰ πράγματα, εἰκότως θάλασσαν τὴν τούτων ἀνωμαλίαν οἱ θεῖοι καλοῠσι χρησμοί. Οἱ δὲ ταύτην γαληνεύσαντες, ἐν ὕδασι πολλοῖς πεποιῆσθαι τὴν ἐργασίαν εῥῥήθησαν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΠΓ', Ἡρακλειδῃ Ἐπισκοπῳ

Those who go down into the sea in ships, doing work in the many waters,1 are as the God bearing Apostles of the Lord, those who were the first found fit for this office, being taken up from their work in the world. For since the affairs of men are like the rolling waves' rising and falling, so the Divine oracle employs the unpredictable sea as an image. And those who would make this tranquil are said to have done in the many waters a work. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 183, to the Bishop Heracleides 1 Ps 106.23

Enemies Without and Within

Vos autem, carissimi qui hanc fidem habetis vel qui nunc novam habere coepistis, nutriatur et crescat in vobis. Sicut enim venerunt temporalia tanto ante praedicta, venient et sempiterna promissa. Nec vos decipiant vel vani Pagani, vel falsi Iudaei, vel fallaces haeretici, nec non in ipsa Catholica mali Christiani, tanto nocentiores, quanto interiores inimici. Quia et hinc ne perturbarentur infirmi, prophetia divina non tacuit, ubi loquens in Cantico canticorum sponsus ad sponsam, id est, Christus Dominus ad Ecclesiam: Sicut lilium, inquit, in medio spinarum, ita proxima mea in medio filiarum. Non dixit, in medio extranearum; sed: In medio filiarum. Qui habet aures audiendi, audiat; et dum sagena quae missa est in mare, et congregat omnia genera piscium, sicut sanctum loquitur Evangelium, trahitur ad litus, id est, ad saeculi finem secernat se a piscibus malis, corde, non corpore; mores malos mutando, non retia sancta rumpendo: ne qui nunc probati reprobis videntur esse permixti, non vitam, sed poenam reperiant sempiternam, cum coeperint in littore separari. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, De Fide Rerum Quæ Non Videntur

But you, beloved, who have this faith, or who have begun now newly to have it, let it be nourished and grow in you. For as things temporal have come about which were long foretold, so will come things eternal which have been promised. Nor let them deceive you, either the vain pagans, or the false Jews, or the deceitful heretics, or, within the Catholic Church itself, evil Christians, who are much  more hurtful insofar as they are closer enemies. And lest because of this the weak should be troubled, Divine Prophecy has not been silent, for in the Song of Songs the Bridegroom speaking to the Bride, that is, Christ the Lord to the Church, says, 'As a lily in the midst of thorns, so is my dearest in the midst of the daughters.'1 He did not say, 'in the midst of those who are without', but, 'in the midst of daughters.' 'Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.'2 And while the net which is cast into the sea, and gathers together all types of fish, as the holy Gospel says, is being drawn to the shore, that is, to the end of the world, let him separate himself from the evil fishes, in heart, not in body, by changing evil ways, not by breaking sacred nets, lest they who now seem approved mixed with the reprobate, meet with, not life, but punishment everlasting, when they begin to be separated on the shore. Saint Augustine of Hippo,Concerning Faith of Things Not Seen 1 Song 2.2 2 Mt  11.15

Seeking a Capable Pilot

Ὅταν μὲν πρὸς τὰ πράγματα ἀποβλέψωμεν καὶ τὰς δυσκολίας κατίδωμεν, ὑφ̓ ὧν πᾶσα ἀγαθὴ ἐνέργεια οἷον ὑπό τινος δεσμοῦ ἐμποδιζομένη κατέχεται, εἰς ἀπόγνωσιν ἑαυτῶν ἐρχόμεθα παντελῆ: ὅταν δὲ πάλιν πρὸς τὴν σὴν ἀπίδωμεν σεμνοπρέπειαν, καὶ λογισώμεθα, ὅτι σὲ ἰατρὸν τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις ἀρρωστημάτων ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἐταμιεύσατο, ἀναλαμβάνομεν ἑαυτῶν τοὺς λογισμούς, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἀπόγνωσιν πτώματος πρὸς τὴν ἐλπίδα τῶν χρηστοτέρων διανιστάμεθα. Λέλυται πᾶσα Ἐκκλησία, ὡς οὐδὲ ἡ σὴ φρόνησις ἀγνοεῖ, καὶ ὁρᾷς πάντως τὰ ἑκασταχοῦ, οἷον ἀφ̓ ὑψηλῆς τινὸς σκοπιᾶς τῆς τοῦ νοῦ θεωρίας: ὅπως, καθάπερ ἐν πελάγει, πολλῶν ὁμοῦ συμπλεόντων, ὑπὸ τῆς βίας τοῦ κλύδωνος πάντες ὁμοῦ ἀλλήλοις προσρήγνυνται: καὶ γίνεται τὸ ναυάγιον, πῆ μὲν ἐκ τῆς ἔξωθεν αἰτίας βιαίως κινούσης τὴν θάλατταν, πῆ δὲ ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἐμπλεόντων ταραχῆς ἀντιβαινόντων ἀλλήλοις καὶ διωθουμένων. ἀρκεῖ ἐπὶ τῆς εἰκόνος ἐᾶσαι τὸν λόγον, οὔτε τῆς σῆς σοφίας ἐπιτρεπούσης τι πλέον, οὔτε τῆς καταστάσεως ἐπιτρεπούσης ἡμῖν τὴν παρρησίαν. καὶ πρὸς ταῦτα τίς ἱκανὸς κυβερνήτης; τίς ἀξιόπιστος διαναστῆσαι τὸν Κύριον ἐπιτιμῆσαι τῷ ἀνέμῳ καὶ τῇ θαλάσσῃ; Ἅγιος Βασίλειος Καισαρείας, Ἐπιστολή Ἀθανασίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ Ἀλεξανδρείας

When I look upon the affairs of the world and the difficulties by which, as if bound in feet fettering chains, every good work is hindered, I come to a state of utter despair. But when I turn toward your reverence, I consider that our Lord has appointed you to be physician of the diseases in the Churches, and recovering my thoughts, I rise from the pit of despair to hope of better things. The whole Church is undone, as will not have escaped your attention, you who see everything in all directions like some watchman looking from a high point, and it is as when at sea many ships sailing together are all smashed against one another by the violence of the waves, and there are shipwrecks, caused on hand from the sea being furiously agitated from without, and on the other from the excessive disorder of sailors hindering and crowding one another. The meaning of this image is sufficient, nor does your wisdom require more, nor does the present state of affairs allow me frank speech. What capable pilot can be found in such a situation? Who is so trustworthy that he might rouse the Lord to rebuke the wind and the sea? Saint Basil of Caesarea, Letter to Saint Athanasius

Rushing Into Danger

Dominus autem misit ventum magnum in mare, et facta est tempastas magna in mari et navis periclitabatur conteri. LXX: Et Dominus suscitavit spiritum magnum in mare, et facta est tempestas magna in mari, et navis periclitabatus conteri.   Potest fuga propetae et ad hominis referri in communi personam, qui Dei praecepta contemnens recessit a facie ejus, et se mundo tradidit, ubi postea malorum tempestate, et totius mundi contra se saeviente naufragio, compulsus est sentire Deum, et reverti ad eum quem fugerat. Unde intelligimus etiam ea quae sibi homines aestimant salutaria, Deo nolente, verti in perniciem et non solum non prodesse auxilium his, quibus praebetur, sed et ipsos qui praebent, pariter conteri. Sicut legimus victam ab Assyriis Aegyptum, quia opitulabatur Israeli contra Domini voluntatem. Periclitatur navis quae periclitantem susceperat: vento maria concitantur, in tranquillitate tempestas oritur, nihil, Deo adversante, securum est. Sanctus Hieronimus, Commentarius In Jonam Prophetem, Lib I, Cap I

'The Lord sent a great wind upon the sea and made a great storm in the sea and the ship was in danger of being destroyed.' The Septuagint has: 'And the Lord caused to rise a great spirit in the sea and there a great storm in the sea and the ship was in danger of being destroyed.' 1 One is able to refer the flight of the prophet to the person of the common man, he who, spurning the commands of God, withdraws from His face and gives himself to the world, and after a storm of evil, with all the world wildly against him and making his shipwreck, he is compelled to attend to God and return to Him whom he fled. Whence we may understand that even when men judge themselves to be safe, if God is unwilling, a man is thrown into ruin and not only does the help of those who offer it not avail, but even those who would assist are buffeted with him. So we read of the defeat of Egypt by the Assyrians, because it was aiding Israel against the will of the Lord. The ship imperiled is the one overtaken by danger, where the sea is troubled by the wind, where a storm arises in peace, where nothing, with God unwilling, is secure.  Saint Jerome, Commentary on Jonah, Book 1, Chapter 1 1 Jonah 1.4

The Rejection Of Gifts

Ἡ ἀχάριστος ἡμῶν καὶ φαύλη διάθεσις, πᾶσαν Θεοῦ δερεὰν ἀναξίως ἐδέξατο. Πνεῦμα εἰλήφαμεν ἅγιον, καὶ πράξεσιν αὐτὸ φαύλαις ὠθήσαμεν. Θαυμάτων ἐδεξάμεθα χάρισμα, καὶ ἀπιστίαις αὐτὸ παρωσάμεθα. Διδασκαλίαν καὶ σοφίαν ὁ δοτὴρ τῶν τοιούτων ἐνέπνευσε, καὶ βλασφημίαις αὐτὰς ἀπωσάμεθα· Ἰερωσύνην τὴν οὐράνιον ἐπιστεύθημεν, καὶ κρίσει αὐτὴν σφαλερᾷ διεφθείραμεν. Ὁ δεῖνα ἐλαβε βιαίως ἐπισκοπὴν, καὶ γένει φορτίζει τὰ πράγματα. Ὁ δεῖνα οἰκονομεῖ, καὶ οἰκέταις ὀχλεῖ τὸ θυσιαστήριον. Οὖτος ἐκείνῳ ᾠκείωται, καὶ τὰ πτωχικὰ σφετερίζεται. Ἔκεῖνος τούτῳ εὐνοεῖ, καὶ ἐντομίας καὶ θηλυδρίας ἀνδράποδα εὔωνα ἐπεισφέρει τοῖς ἀνεκτόροις. Βαβαὶ, πόσαις κηλῖσι τὸ Θεῖον χραίνεται Βῆμα! Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΝ’, Εὐσεβιῳ Ἐπισκοπῳ Source: Migne PG 78.333c

Our repulsive and base disposition unworthily receives every gift of God. We received the Holy Spirit and we drove Him off by vile acts. We received the gift of miracles and by faithlessness we rejected it. The Giver inspired us with wise teaching and by blasphemy we cast it away. We believed in the heavenly priesthood and by degenerate judgements we ruined it. That man takes the office of bishop by violence and he loads its expenses on the people. That man arranges things so that he makes the saving sacrifice amid a crowd of house slaves. This man joins him and plunders the collections of the poor. That man thinks well of him and he brings into the temple worthless, slavish eunuchs and effeminates. Father, with how much filth we have defiled the Divine altar! Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 250, to The Bishop Eusebius

The Giving Of Gifts

Aut si piscem petierit, nunquid serpentem porriget ei? Pisces sunt fides invisibilium, vel propter aquam baptismi, vel quia de invisibilibus capitur, seu quod hujus mundi fluctibus non frangitur: cui contrarium posuit serpentem propter venena fallaciae, quae primo homini praeseminavit. Quod autem in Evangelio secundum Lucam haec duo subsequitur ovi et scorpionis comparatio, in ovo indicatur spes, in quo nondum perfectus fetus est, sed fovendo speratur; vel quod spei contrarium est retro respicere, quae se in ea quae ante sunt extendit. Et ideo huic contrarium posuit scorpionem, cujus aculeus venenatus retro timendus est, quia mortifera desperatio in fine est formidanda. Sanctus Beda, In Matthaei Evangelium Expositio, Lib I, Cap VII

'Or if he sought a fish, who would give a serpent?' 1 Fish are the faith of things unseen, whether on account of the water of baptism, or because it is taken from things unseen, or because it is not wearied by the waves of this world.  For its contrary is given the serpent on account of it's venom of deceit which it sowed in the first man. In the Gospel of Luke these two are followed by the comparison of the egg and the scorpion, hope being indicated by the egg in which the offspring is not yet perfected but with hope it is kept warm; that which is contrary to hope is that which from behind extends into things which are before it, and so the contrary is given as the scorpion, of which the venomous sting it bears behind it is to be feared, because death bearing despair in the end is indeed to be dreaded. Saint Bede, from the Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Book 1, Chapter 7 1 Mt 7.10

Prayer and Vengeance

Εἰπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Νεῖλος· Ὅσα ἄν ποιῇς εἰς ἅμυναν ἀδελφοῦ ἠδικηκότος σε, ἄπαντα εἰς καρδίαν σοι γενήσεται ἐν καιρῷ προσευχῆς Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

Father Neilos said, Whenever you would have vengeance upon a brother who has treated you unjustly, let the time for prayer rise into your whole heart. Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Obstacles to Prayer

Επιθυμῶν προσεύξασθι ὡς δεῖ, μὴ λυπήσῃς ψυχὴν, ει δὲ μήγε, εἰς μάτην τρέχεις. Ἄφες σου τὸ δῶρον φησὶν ἐμπροσθεν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου καὶ ἀπελθὼν πρότερον διαλλάγηθι τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου, καὶ τότε προσεύξῃ ἀτάράχως. Ἡ γὰρ μνησικακία ἀμαυροῖ τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν τοῦ προσευχομένου καὶ σκοτίζει τούτου τὰς προσευχάς. Οἱ λύπας καὶ μνησικακίας ἑαυτοῖς σωρεύοντες, καὶ προσεύχεσθαι δοκοῦντες, ὅμοιοί εἰσι τοῖς ὕδωρ ἀντλοῦσι, καὶ εἰς τετρημένον πίθον βάλλουσιν. Ἐὰν ὑπομονητικὸς ᾖς, ἀεὶ μετἀ χαρᾶς προσεύξῃ. Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Περι προσευχῆς

Desiring to pray as you should, do not grieve any soul lest you run in vain.  Leave your gift, it says, before the altar, and first go away and be reconciled to your brother, and then pray without disturbance. For the memory of evil blinds the leading faculty of him who prays, and darkens his prayers. Those who heap up sorrow and memory of evil within themselves, and expect to pray, are like people who draw water and pour it into a wine jar that has holes in it. If you are able to endure, you will always pray with joy. Evagrius Ponticus, On Prayer

An Angel On The Earth

Ἐποίησέ ποτε ὁ ἀββᾶς Μακάριος τετράμηνον, παραβὰλλων τινὶ ἀδελφῷ ἡμερούσιον· καὶ οὐχ εὖρεν αὐτὸν εὐκαιροῦντα ἀπο τῆς προσευχῆς οὐδὲ ἄπαξ· καὶ θαυμάσας ἔλεγεν· Ἰδοὐ ἐπίγειος ἄγγελος. ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

Every day for four whole months father Macarius looked in on a certain brother, and he did not ever find him when he was not praying, not even once, and amazed he said, 'Behold, an angel on the earth.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Peace and Forgiveness

Ἐπίστασθε γάρ καὶ καλῶς ἐπίσταθε τὰς ἱερὰς γραφάς, ἀγαπητοί, καὶ ἐγκεκύφατε εἰς τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ. πρὸς ἀνάμνησιν οὖν ταῦτα γράφομεν. Μωϋσέως γὰρ ἀναβάντος εἰς τὸ ὄρος καὶ ποιήσαντος τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ τεσσαράκοντα νύκτας ἐν νηστείᾳ καὶ ταπεινώσει, εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ θεός· Κατάβηθι τὸ τάχος ἐντεῦθεν, ὅτι ἠνόμησεν ὁ λαός σου, οὓς εξήγαες ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου· παρέβησαν ταχὺ ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ ἧς ἐντείλω αὐτοῖς, ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς χωνεύματα. καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἑώρακα τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον, καὶ ἰδού ἐστιν σκληροτράχηλος· ἔασόν με ἐξολεθρεῦσαι αυτούς, καὶ ἐξαλείψω τὸ ὄνομα αὐτῶν ὑποκάτωθεν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ποιήσω σε εἰς ἔθνος μέγα καὶ θαυμαστὸν καὶ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἢ τοῦτο. καὶ εἶπεν Μωϋσῆς· Μηδαμῶς, κύριε· ἄφες τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ ἢ κἀμὲ ἐξάλειψον ἐκ βίβλου ζώτων. ὢ μεγάλης ἀγάπης, ὢ τελειότητος ἀνυπερβλήτου. παρρησιάζεται θεράπων πρὸς κύριον, αἰτεῖται ἄφεσιν τῷ πλήθει, ἢ καὶ ἑαυτὸν ἐξαλειφθῆναι μετ’ αὐτῶν ἀξιοῖ.  Τίς οὖν ἐν ὑμῖν γενναῖοσ, τίς εὔσπλαγχνος, τίς πεπληροφορημένος ἀγάπης; εἰπάτω· Εἰ δι’ ἐμὲ στάσις καὶ ἔρις καὶ σχίσματα, ἐκχωρῶ, ἄπειμι, οὗ ἐὰν βούλησθε, καὶ ποιῶ τὰ ποίμνιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰρηνευέτω μετὰ τῶν καθεσταμένων πρεσβυτέρων. τοῦτο ὁ ποιήσας ἑαυτῷ μέγα κλέος ἐν Χριστῷ περιποιήσεται, καὶ πᾶς τόπος δέξεται αὐτόν, τοῦ γὰρ κυρίου ἡ γῆ καὶ τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτῆς. ταῦτα οἱ πολιτευόμενοι τὴν ἀμεταμέλητον πολιτείαν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐποίησαν καὶ ποιήσουσιν.  Ἵνα δὲ καὶ ὑποδείγματα ἐθνῶν ἐνέγκωμεν. πολλοὶ βασιλεῖς καὶ ἡγούμενοι, λοιμικοῦ τινος ἑαυτοὺς εἰς θάνατον, ἵνα ῥύσωνται διὰ τοῦ ἑαυτῶν αἵματος τοὺς πολίτας· πολλοὶ ἐξεχώρησαν ἰδίων πόλεων, ἵνα μὴ στασιάζωσιν ἐπὶ πλεῖον.  ἐπιστάμεθα πολλοὺς ἐν ἡμῖν παραδεδωκότας ἑαυτοὺς εἰς δεσμά, ὅπως ἑτέρους λυτρώσονται· πολλοὶ ἑαυτοὺς παρέδωκαν εἰς δουλείαν, καὶ λαβόντες τὰς τιμὰς αὐτῶν ἑτέρους ἐψώμισαν. Ἐπιστολή πρὸς Κορινθίους, Ἅγιος Κλήμης Ῥώμης

You know well the Sacred Scriptures, beloved, and you have studied the words of God. We write, then, to remind you. For Moses having gone up the mountain and having spent forty days and forty nights in fasting and humility, God said to him: 'Go down quickly from here, for your own people have broken the law, those whom you brought out of Egypt, they have quickly left the way I commanded them and they have made for themselves idols.'1 And then the Lord said to him, ' I have seen this people and they are stiff necked, allow me to destroy them and I will wipe out their name from beneath heaven and make you into a great nation and a wonder, for more than they are.'2 And Moses said, ' Let it not be, Lord. Forgive the people the sin or else wipe me also from the book of the living.'3 O great love, O peerless perfection. A servant speaking boldly to his Lord and asking for forgiveness for many, or else that he be destroyed along with those worthy to be. Is there then a noble man among you, one who is compassionate, one who is overflowing with love? Let him say, 'If on account of me there is discord and strife and division, I shall withdraw, I will go away anywhere you wish, and I will do what makes peace among the little flock of Christ and their appointed elders.' He who does this gains great fame in Christ and he will be received in every place, for the earth is the Lord's and everything in it. This is to maintain citizenship of God which is not to repented, and it has been done and is being done. Even among the gentiles we may recall tales of it. Many kings and leaders in times of plague have given themselves up to death that they might save their people by the shedding of their own blood, many have imposed exile on themselves that they quell civil strife. And we know that many among us have handed themselves over to be bound in chains that others be free, and many have given themselves to slavery and given to others the money thereby gained  that they may eat. Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Clement of Rome  1 Ex  32.7 2 Ex 32.9  3 Ex 32.12

The Monk and the Ass

Ἐρωτηθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἀββᾶς Νισθερῶος παρὰ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ποιμένος, πόθεν ἐκτήσατο τὴν ἀρετὴν ταύτην, ὅτι ὅτε δήποτε συνέβη θλὶψις εἰς τὸ κοινόβιον, οὐκ ἐλάλει, οὐδὲ ἐμέσαζεν, ἀπεκρίνατο· Συγχώρησόν μοι, ἀββᾶ· ὁτε εἰσῆλθον ἀρχὴν εἰς τὸ κοινόβιον, εἶπον τῷ λογισμῷ μου, ὅτι Σὺ καὶ ὁ ὅνος ἕν ἐστε. Ὥσπερ ὁ ὅνος δέρεται καὶ οὐ λαλεῖ, ὑβριζεται καὶ οὐδὲν ἀποκρίνεται, οὕτως καὶ σύ· καθὼς ὁ ψαλλμὸς λέγει· Κτηνώδης ἐγενήθην παρὰ σοὶ, κὰγὼ διαπαντὸς μετὰ σοῦ. ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

Father Nistheroos asked Father Poimen how he had acquired this virtue, that when he came upon difficulties in the monastery he said nothing nor did he impose himself in the midst of them. He answered, 'Forgive me father, on coming into the monastery, I say to my soul, 'You are the one ass here. Like an ass is struck and says nothing, and is outraged and does not respond, so even you. As the Psalm says, 'I am become a beast beside you and always I am with you.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Various Forms

'Et circuibat,' inquit, 'Jesus castella in circuitu docens.' Audistis, quemadmodum circuit, quemadmodum te et propter te ubique pietas indefessa perquirit. Et ille qui capit ipse omnia, nec ab ulla capitur ipse creatura, intrat, et tuo angustatur in corpore, tuis in habitaculis se coaretat. Et ille eujus majestatem vox fidelium quotidiana testatur clamans: Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua, tuis propter te circuit, apparet, videtur, et tenetur in locis. Quo se movet immobilis plenitudo: quo accedit, vel unde recedit, quo sunt plena omnia? Et tamen vadit, reddit, descendit, ascendit, et totum te, et propter te homo Deus patitur, quia te nimis diligit, nimis amat. Habitas suscepit, formas variat, commutat officia: et nunc igneus tibi resplendet in rubo, ut perfidia te frigidum fidei calore succendat; nunc elucescit coelesti flammeus in columna, ut remotis ignorantiae tuae tenebris, per solitudines mundi hujus, viam possis scientiae percurrere salutaris; nunc idem tibi nubis vertitur columnam, ut ardentes tuorum temperet aestus animorum: nunc te ut aquila protegit pennis sapientiae, et coelestem provocet ad volatum, dicente Moyse: 'Sicut aquila protegit nidum suum, et super pullos suos confidit, extendens alas sua acceptit eos, et suscepit eos super scapulas suas. Dominus solus lucebat eos et non erat cum eis Deus alienus.' Nunc sicut gallina educit, ducit, vocat, recipit, protegit, portat, fovet, ambit, amplectitur, et sui volatus oblita, suae temporaliter immemor liberatatis, tuis in penetralibus, tuo versatur in pulvere, ut te vernaculis, familiaribus, domesticis alat, erudiat, instituat nutrimentis, nunc ut pastor bonus altissimis errantem solus requirit in montibus, solus invenit, solus suis humeris imponit, et ne amplius in terrenis pascuis luporum morsibus pervadaris, coelestes evehit et perducit ad caulas. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CLXX

'And Jesus went around,' he says, 'teaching in the villages.' You have heard that he went around, that  on account of weariless piety he sought you everywhere. He who holds all things, and whom no created thing holds, enters into your body, narrowing himself , compressing himself into your little dwelling. That majesty which the voice of the faithful daily cries out: 'Full are heaven and earth of your glory', on account of you went around your places. He appeared, he was seen, he was held to stay. To where does his immovable plenitude move? Where does he approach or withdraw from, all things being full of him? He goes, he returns, he descends, he ascends and the whole you, and on account of you, man, God suffers, because he values you so, because he loves you so. He has taken up a condition, he has varied form, he has changed offices. Now he blazes for you a fire in the bush, that your cold distrust be warmed with the heat of faith; now he glows a fire in a column of heaven that the darkness of your ignorance be removed, that through the desert of the world you are able to pursue the way of knowledge of your salvation; now for you he turns into a pillar of cloud that he temper the sweltering heat of your souls; now like an eagle he guards you with the wings of wisdom, and calls you to heavenly flight, with Moses saying, 'As the eagle guards its nest and is confident over its young, and extending its wings it takes them up and places them on its shoulders. The Lord alone shone on them and there was no strange God with them.' Now like a hen he draws out, he leads, he calls, he receives, he protects, he carries, he favours, he surrounds, he embraces, and his flight forgotten, not mindful of his own temporal liberty, into your innermost heart, into your dust, he wanders, that you with domestic familiar native setting he fledge, he instructs,  he institutes a regimen, now he is the good shepherd alone seeking the wanderer in the high mountains, alone he finds, alone he places on his shoulders, and that no more you wander through earthly fields prey to the jaws of wolves, he carries you away and leads you to the sheepfold. Saint Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 170

The Teaching Of The Transfiguration

Nam post sex dies, Petrus, Jacobus et Johannes assumuntur seorsum, et in excelso monte consistunt. Ipsisque inspectantibus Dominus transfiguratur, et toto claritatis suae habitu circumsplendet. Et in hoc quidem facti genere, servatur et ratio et numerus, et exemplum. Nam post dies sex, gloriae dominicae habitus ostenditur: sex millium scilicet annorum temporibus evolutis, regni coelestis honor praefiguratur. Tribusque assumptis, de trium origine, Sem, Cham, et Japhet, futura electio populi ostenditur. Quod autem Moyses et ex omni sanctorum numero assistunt; medius inter legem et prophetas Christus in regno est; cum his enim Israel, quibus testibus praedictus est, judicabit: simulque ut et humanis corporibus decreta esse resurrectionis gloria doceretur, cum quando Moyses conspicabilis astitisset. Ipse autem Dominus fit nive ac sole candidior, supra opinionem scilicet nostram coelestis luminis splendore conspicuus. Petro autem, ut tria illic tabernacula fierent offerenti, nihil respondetur: nondum enim ut in hac gloria consisteretur erat tempus.  Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap XVII

After six days, Peter, James and John were taken up and stood together on a high mountain. With these looking on the Lord was transfigured and all his clothing was surrounded with brightness. And it was done in this way that it might serve reason, number and example. For after six days the Lord was shown in glory by his garments of the lordly state, the completion of six thousand years prefiguring the honor of the kingdom of heaven. And three were taken up to show, from the threefold origin of Shem, Ham and Japhet, the future election of the people. That Moses and another from all the number of the holy stood by, is Christ in his kingdom among the law and the prophets; and with these even Israel, whose testimonies spoke of him, shall be judged, and at the same time Moses openly standing by teaches the decree of the glory of the resurrection of human bodies. The Lord himself was made brighter than snow or sun, exceeding the splendor of our vision of the celestial lights. When Peter offered to make three tabernacles, there was no response; it was not yet time to establish this glory. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, from the Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Ch 17

Transfiguration and Resurrection

Ἡ ἐν τῷ ὅρει μεταμόρφωσις τοῦ Δεσπότου ὑμῶν καὶ Σωτῆρος, τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἐξανάστασιν ἡμῶν προεδήλου, ἦντινα καὶ φυλάττειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς οἱ θεατι προσετάτοντο μέχρι τῆς αὐτοῦ ἀναστάσεως, ὡς τότε πιστὴν φανησομένην, οἶα τῷ ἔργῳ ὁρωμένην. Ἡ δὲ Μωσέως καὶ Ἡλίου παρουσία, τὴν ζώτων καὶ νεκρῶν ἐμαρτύρησεν αὐτῷ δεσποτείαν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΣΛΘ', Αλφιῳ Πρεσβυτερῳ

The transfiguration of our Lord and Saviour on the mount is a foreshowing of our resurrection from the dead, which those who saw were to keep within themselves until his resurrection, so that the revelation of faith be in such a work seen. And the presence of Moses and Elijah bore witness to the Lord of the living and the dead. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 239, to the Priest Alphius

In Defence of Women

Scio me, Principia,in Christo filia, a plerisque reprehendi, quod interdum scribam ad mulieres, et fragiliorem sexum maribus praeferam. Et idcirco debeo primum obtrectatoribus meis respondere, et sic venire ad disputatiunculam, quam rogasti. Si viri de Scripturis quaererent, mulieribus non loquerer. Si Barae ire ad praelium voluisset, Debbora de victis nostibus non triumphasset. Jeremias carcere clauditur, et qui periturus Israel virum non receperat prophetantem, Olda eis mulier suscitatur. Sacerdotes et Pharisaei crucifigunt Filium Dei et Maria Magdalene plorat ad crucem, unguenta parat, quaerit in tumulo, hortulanum interrogat, Dominum recognoscit, pergit ad Apostolos, repertum nuntiat. Illi dubitant, ista confidit. Vere πυργίτης, vere turris candoris et Libani, quae prospicit faciem Damasci, sanguinem videlicit Salvatoris ad sacci poenitentiam provocantem. Defecerant Sarae muliebria, et ideo Abraham ei subjicitur, et dicitur ad eum: Omnia quae dicit tibi Sara, audi vocem ejus. Illi defecerant muliebria, tu numquam habuisti muliebria. Sexus devoratur a virgine, Christum portat in corpore. Jam possidet quod futura est. Rebecca pergit ad interrogandum Deum: et sua responsione condigna audit oracula: 'Duae gentes in utero tuo, et duo populi de vente tuo dividentur.' Illa duos generat dissidentes: tu unum quotidie concipis, paturis, generas, unione fecundum, majestate multiplicem, trinitate concordem. Maria soror Moysi, victorias Domini canit, et Rachel Bethleem nostram atque Ephratham stirpe nominis sui signat in posteros  Filiae Salphaad haereditatem inter fratres merentur accipere. Ruth et Esther et Judith tantae gloriae sunt, ut sacris voluminibus nomina indiderint. Anna prophetissa generat filium Levitam, Prophetam, Judicem, sacro crine venerabilem, et offert cum in tabernaculo Dei. Thecuites mulier, regem David interrogatione concludit, aenigmate docet, exemplo Dei mitigat. Legimus et aliam sapientem feminam, quae cum obsideretur civitas, et propter unum perduellem, dux exercitus Joab muros ariete quateret, locuta est ad populum in sapientia sua, et tantae multitudinis periculum, muliebri auctoritate sedavit. Quid loquar de regina Saba quae venit a finibus terrae audire sapientiam Salomonis, et testimonio Domini condemnatura est omnes viros Jerusalem? Elisabeth utero propheta et voce. Anna filia Phanuelis in templo, templum efficitur Dei, et quotidiano jejunio, coelestem invenit panem. Sequuntur mulieres Salvatorem, et ministrant ei de substania sua. Ille qui de quinque panibus, quinque millia hominum, exceptis mulieribus et parvulis, aluit, escas sanctarum mulierum non recusat accipere. Cum Samaritana loquitur ad puteum, et saturatus conversione credentis, cibos qui coempti fuerunt negligit. Apollo virum Apostilicum et in lege doctissimum, Aquila et Priscilla erudiunt, et instruunt eum de via Domini. Si doceri a femina non fuit turpe Apostolo, mihi quare turpe sit post viros docere et feminas? Sanctus Hieronymus, Epistula LXV, Ad Principiam Virginem

I know I am, Principia, daughter in Christ, reproved by many because I sometimes write to women and choose the weaker sex to husbands. I therefore should first respond to my detractors and then come to the matter about which you asked. If men had studied the Scriptures I would not talk to their wives. If Barac had wished to go to battle, Deborah would not have triumphed over the conquered. Jeremiah was shut up in prison and no man would receive the prophecy of Israel's coming destruction, but the woman Hulda took it to them. The Priests and Pharisees crucified the Son of God and Mary Magdalene wept at the cross, she prepared ointment, she sought the tomb, she questioned the gardener, she recognised the Lord, she went to the Apostles, she announced the discovery. They doubted, she was confident. Truly she was a tower of brightness and of Lebanon which looks down on the face of Damascus, the blood of the Saviour provoking penance in sackcloth. To the womanhood of Sarah they fell, and so Abraham was subject to her and it was said to him, 'Everything which Sarah says to you, listen to her voice.' They failed by womanhood, you never had it. Sex devoured by virginity you carry Christ in your body. Already it possesses what will be. Rebecca went to question God and by way of response she heard a worthy oracle: 'Two nations from your womb, and two peoples from your belly.' She bore two dissentiant, you conceive one every day, you carry, you give birth, fruitful in union,  increase in majesty, in harmony with the Trinity. Mariam sister of Moses sang the victory of God and Rachel our Bethlehem and Ephrata by naming of child signified to posterity. The daughter of Salphaad were worthy to receive the inheritance among brothers. Ruth and Esther and Judith had such glory that sacred volumes were named after them. Hannah the prophetess gave birth to a son, a priest, prophet, and venerable judge with sacred hair and offered when in the tabernacle of God. The woman from Thecua caught king David with a question and taught a mystery and softened him with an example of God. We read of another wise woman who when a city was besieged and on account of one enemy, Joab the leader of the army shook with a ram, she spoke to the people in their wisdom and such a multitude a danger calmed with womanly authority. Why should I speak of the Queen of Sheba who came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and by the testimony of the Lord condemned all the men of Jerusalem. Elizabeth had a prophetic voice in her womb. Anna the daughter of Phanuel dwelling in the temple, going about God's work, fasting daily, discovered the bread of heaven. Women followed the Saviour and ministered to him from their own substance. He who five thousand loaves, five thousand men, excepting woman and children,  fed, the food of the holy woman did not refuse. When he spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well she saturated with his words believed, food which they bought neglected. Apollo was an apostolic man and most learned in the law, Aquila and Priscilla educated and instructed him in the way of the Lord. If to be taught by a woman was not disgraceful for an Apostle, why should it disgrace me that after men I teach women? St Jerome, from Letter 65, To Principia

Vanity of Vanities

Vanitas vanitatum, dixit Ecclesiastes: Vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas.  Si cuncta quae fecit Deus, valde bona sunt, quomodo omnia vanitas, et non solum vanitas, verum etiam vanitas vanitatem? Ut sicut in Canticis canticorum inter omnia carmina, excellens carmen ostenditur: ita in vanitate vanitatum, vanitatis magnitudo monstretur. Tale quid in Psalmo scriptum est: 'Verumtamen universa vanitas, omnis homo vivens.' Si vivens homo vanitas est: ergo mortus vanitas vanitatum. Legimus in Exodo, glorificatum vultum Mousi in tantum, ut filii Isreal eum aspicere non possent. Quam gloriam Paulus apostolus ad comparationem evangelicae gloriae, dicit esse non gloriam: Nam nec glorificatum est, inquit, 'quod glorificatum fuit in hac parte, propter exellentem gloriam.' Possumus igitur et nos in hunc modum, caelum, terram, maria, et omnia quae in hoc circulo continentur, bona quidem per se dicere, sed ad Deum comparata, esse pro nihilo. Et quomodo, si igniculum lucernae videns, contentus essem ejus lumine, et postea, orto sole, non cernerem, quod lucebat, stellarum quoque lumina jubare viderem solis abscondi: ita aspiciens elementa et rerum multiplicem varietatem, admiror quidem operum magnitudinem; recogitans autem omnia pertransire, et mundum suo fine senescere, solumque Deum id semper esse quod fuerit, compellor dicere non semel, sed bis: Vanitas vanitatem et omnia vanitas. Sanctus Hieronimus, Commentarius in Ecclesiasten

'Vanity of vanities,' says Ecclesiastes, 'vanity of vanities and everything a vanity.' If everything which God made was very good, how is everything a vanity and not only a vanity but even a vanity of vanities? As by the title the Song of Songs is shown to be of all songs the most excellent so in the title vanity of vanities the greatness of the vanity is shown. So it is written in the Psalm: 'Truly everything is a vanity, every man alive,' and thus a dead man would be the vanity of vanities. We read in Exodus that the glorified face of Moses was such that the sons of Israel were not able to look on him. Which glory, the Apostle Paul said, when compared to the evangelical glory was no glory: 'For it was not glorious,' he said, 'that it was glorious in this way, on account of the greater excellence of glory.' Therefore we are able to say that the sky, earth, seas and everything this globe contains is a certain good but compared to God it is as nothing. It is as when the light of a small flame is seen and one is content with its light but afterward, with the sun rising, one does not see what shone. Or as the light of stars may be seen only when the radiance  of the sun has departed. Thus seeing the elements and the multiplicity of things I admire a certain greatness of the work yet recognising that all of it is transient and the world will come to its end and only God will always be, and so I am compelled to say not once but twice, 'Vanity of vanities and everything a vanity.' Saint Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes

Guarding Oneself

Καὶ τὰς ἀκοὰς δὲ ασφελῶς ἀποφράττωμεν, ὥστε μήτε ἀκοὴν ματαίαν παραδέχεσθαι, καθάπερ ὁ μακάριος Μωῦσῆς παρήγγειλε λέγων· Ἀκοὴν ματαίαν μὴ παραδέξῃ· καὶ πάλιν ὁ μακάριος Δαυῖδ ἔλεγε· Τὸν καταλαλοῦντα λάθρα τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ, τοῦτον ἐξεδίωκον. Εἰδες, ἀγαπητὲ, ὄσης ἡμῖν ἀγρυπνία χρεία, ὄσου πόνου πρὸς τὴν ἀρετήν; πῶς καὶ βραχὺ μέρος ἀμεληθὲν, ὁλόκληρον ἡμῖν ἐπάγει τὸν κίνδυνον; Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἑτέρωθι ἐβόα ὁ μακάριος εγκλαῶν τῷ τοῦτο ποιοῦντι· Καθήμενος κατὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου κατελάλεις, καὶ κατὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς μητρός σου ἐτίθεις σκάνδαλον. Ἐαν οὕτως ἡμῶν ἂπαντα τὰ μέλη τειχίσωμεν, δυνησόμεθα καὶ πρὸς τὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἔργα διεγερθῆναι, καὶ τὴν μὲν γλῶτταν πρὸς δοξολογίαν καὶ ὕμνους τοὺς εἰς τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεὸν ἀπασχολεῖν, τὴν δὲ ἀκοὴν πρὸς ἀκρόασιν καὶ μάθησιν τῶν θείων λογίων, καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν πρὸς τὴν κατανόησιν τῶν πνευματικῶν διδαγμάτων, καὶ τὰς χεῖρας μὴ πρὸς ἀρπαγὴν καὶ πλεονεξίαν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἐλεημοσύνην καὶ τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν πράξεων ἐργασίαν, καὶ τοὺς πόδας μὴ εἰς θέατρα καὶ ἱπποδρομίας, καὶ τὰς ἐπιβλαβεῖς θεωρίας, ἀλλ' εἰς ἐκκλησίαν καὶ εἰς εὐκτηρίους οἴκους, καὶ πρὸς τὰς τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων θήκας, ἴνα τὴν παρ' αὐτῶν εὐλογίαν καρπούμενοι, ἀχειρώτους ἑαυτοὺς καταστήσωμεν ταῖς τοῦ διαβόλου παγίσιν. Ὁμῖλία ΙΕ'  Εἰς Την Γενεσιν, Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος

And let us guard our ears lest we allow ourselves to hear vain speech, as the blessed Moses taught, saying, 'Do not receive vain speech.' And again blessed David said, 'The detractors of their neighbours in secret I shall pursue.' You see, dearest, how much work there is for us in the struggle, how much labour for the sake of virtue is expected of us? How it is that even a little part neglected that the whole is endangered? So even in another place the blessed David cries out, accusing those who do it, 'Sitting reviling your brother and against your son and mother placing scandal.' If we thus guard every part we should be able to perform the works of virtue and give the tongue time to sing hymns and praises to God, and the ear to the hearing of the high and edifying Divine words, and the mind to spiritual instruction, and hands to alms and the doing of good deeds, and not to theft and excessive taking, and turn the feet not to the theatre nor to the racetrack for harmful sights but to the church and to the houses of prayer and to the shrines of the Holy Martyrs there to hear fruitful speech and make ourselves unconquerable by the traps of the devil. Fifteenth Homily on Genesis, Saint John Chrysostom