Gifts And Wickedness

Εἰ οὖν ὑμεῖς πονηροὶ ὄντες οἴδατε δόματα ἀγαθὰ διδόναι τοῖς τέκνοις ὑμῶν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς δώσει ἀγαθὰ τοῖς αἰτοῦσιν αὐτόν.  Δόματα ἀγαθὰ καλεῖ τὰς πνευματικὰς δωρεάς· ὁ δὲ Λουκᾶς Πνευμα ἅγιον εἶπεν ἀντὶ τοῦ εἰπεῖν, ἀγαθά· καὶ οὐδὲν τὸ διάφορον· τὸ γὰρ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, αὐτὸ ἐστι τὸ φύσει ἀγαθόν· διὸ καὶ τοῖς μετόχοις αὐτοῦ δίδωσιν ἀγαθά· τοὶς δὲ ἅγαν πονηροῖς, διὰ τὸ ανενδότως ἁμαρτάνειν, τρόπον τινὰ φύσις αὐτοῖς ἡ κακία γίνεται· οἶός ἐστιν ὁ Σατανᾶς καὶ οἱ δαίμονες· δονατὸν γὰρ καὶ τούτους φύσει κακοὺς εἰπεῖν, καίπερ μὴ φύσει κακοὺς δημιουργηθέντας, ἀλλ' ἐξ αὐτοπροαιρέτου κακίας ἀπεσκληκότας. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον

'If then you who are wicked know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?' 1 By good gifts He speaks of spiritual gifts. And like Luke 2 he speaks of the Holy Spirit when he uses the word 'good', and without confusion, for the Holy Spirit is in his own nature good and thus to those who participate in Him he confers good gifts. But to those who are wicked, that is, unbridled in their sins, wicked things befit them on account of their nature, as it is with Satan and the demons. For one may attribute to these an evil nature, but not that they were created wicked, but rather that by their own wills they passed into wickedness. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Matthew, Fragment 1 Mt 7.11 2 Lk 11.13

Witch Spirits

Puellam quamdam habentur, spiritum pythonem. Quid pythonica divinatio gerat artis, in libro Regum inveniemus, ubi, rogante Saul, pythonissa vel  animam Sameulis, vel pro ea potius spiritum immundum evocavit ab inferis. Quod magicae  phantasiae genus ab Apolline Pythio repertum, atque ab ejus cognomine sic dicunt esse vocatum.  Sed et Hebraeum nomen congruit, qui Pythona os abyssi dicunt. Isti homines servi Dei excelsi sunt. Non voluntatis ista confessio est, quam praemium sequitur confitendi; sed timore Spiritus sancti  cogente, vera spiritus mendax loquitur, non ausus luce praesente suas ultra celare tenebras.  Peccatori autem dicit Deus: 'Quare tu enarras justitias meas?' Ne corrumpamur amari Melle doli, si vera canat, qui falsa ministrat ut Arator ait. Praecipio tibi in nomine Jesu Christi exire ab ea Barjesum qui fidei impugnator erat, et artis infirmitate, et oculorum amissione caecavit. Hanc vero,  quae perversa licet mente, vera tamen loquebatur, arte soulmmodo nefaria privare curavit. Quia  enim indignum erat ut verbum Evangelii spirtus immundus annuntiaret, abscedere hunc et silere praecepit, quia daemonia cum tremore debent Dominum confiteri, non autem laudare cum gaudio. Sanctus Beda, Super Acta Apostolorum Expositio, Caput XVI

'A certain girl having a pythonic spirit' 1 What this art of pythonic divination that she had might be, we find in the book of Kings, when for Saul's questioning, the witch called up the spirit of Samuel, or rather an unclean spirit, from Hell. 2 Which magical phantasy is found to be of the skill of the Pythian Apollo, and by his title it is named. But even the Hebrew name is appropriate, who name the mouth of the abyss Pythona. 'These men are servants of the most high God.' This confession is not of the will from which reward follows to the confessor, but it is forced by fear of the Holy Spirit, and so the lying spirit speaks truth, not daring anymore to conceal its darkness with the light present. For God says to the sinner, 'Why do you speak of my righteousness?' 3    'That we not be corrupted with the honey of bitter cunning, as if he may sing truth, who serves lies.' as Arator said. 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out from her.' That Bar Jesus who fought against the faith with the weakness of his art, the Apostle blinded with the taking away of his vision. 4 But this girl, who had a perverse mind, yet spoke the truth, he cured with the taking away of the evil, for indignant that an unclean spirit should announce the word of the Gospel, he commanded it to be silent and come out of her, since the demons should confess God in fear, not praise him joyfully. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 1 Acts 16.16 2 1 Kings 1.28 3 Psalm 49.16  4 Acts 13.8-11

Slaves Of Satan

Affligit Pharao filios Israel luto et latere. Israel similitudo est populi nostri. Pharao autem est diaboli, qui imposuit jugum gravissimum servitutis ex luto et latere operari; id est, terrenis et lutulentis operibus incubare, admistis etiam paleis, hoc est, levibus et irrationabilibus factis, ut his vitiroum actibus populum Dei comprimere, et pectora omnium muro incredulitatis posset occludere, ut nemo esset, qui regnum ejus aut disperderet, aut vinceret. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Exodum, Caput III Source: Migne PL 83.287a-b

The Pharaoh afflicts the sons of Israel with mud and bricks. Israel is a figure for our people, Pharaoh of the devil, he who imposes a heavy yoke of servitude with the labour of mud and bricks, that is, he oppresses with worldly and defiling work, sending us even to straw, that is, fatuous and irrational deeds, that with these deeds of vice he oppress the people of God and enclose their hearts within a wall of disbelief, that there be none who might destroy or conquer his kingdom. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Exodus, Chap 3

A Fearful Fame

Πολλοὺς ἔγωγε οἴδα μὴ δυνηθέντας γνωσθῆναι διὰ κατορθωμάτων, διὰ φαυλότητος μᾶλλον καὶ ἄκρας πονηρίας ἐπισήμους δειχθέντας καὶ φοβερούς. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΛΓ' Θεοδοσιῳ

I at least have known many who, not being capable of understanding correction, are rather through depravity and the depths of wickedness famed and feared. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 133, To Theodosius

Forbidden Knowledge

Si sapientiam et doctrinam Babyloniorum peccatum est discere, cur Danihel didicit quod non licebat? Si Danihel sciret sapientiam Chaldaeorum esse peccatum, nunquam acquiesceret discere quod non licebat sicut nolebat comedere de mensa regis, neque bibere de vino ejus ne pollueretur. Nam et Moyses omnem sapientiam Aegyptiorum didicerat. Petrus Archidiaconus  Liber De Diversis Quaestiunculis  Migne 96 1348

If it is a sin to learn the wisdom and teaching of the Babylonians, why did Daniel learn what was not permitted? 1 If Daniel had known the Chaldean wisdom to be a sin, he would never have agreed to learn what was not permitted, just as he was unwilling to eat from the table of the king and to drink his wine lest he be defiled. 2 For even Moses learned all the wisdom of the Egyptians. 3 Peter of Pisa, The Book of Diverse Questions 1 Dan 1.4 2 Dan 1.8  3 Acts 7.22

Opposing The Righteous

Transmigra in montes sicut passer. Vult iustum ad desertum migrare, ut ibi eum facilius elidat. Ut sagittent in obscuro rectos corde. Numquam enim in luce pugnant, sed semper in tenebris. Quapropter iustus aiebat: Lucerna pedibus meis verbum tuum, Domine. Iustus autem fecit? Id est, nihil dignum fecit, ut mereatur interfici.  Sanctus Hieronymous, Commentarioli Psalms, Psalm X

Flee to the mountains like a sparrow. 1 He wishes that the righteous man go to the wilds, that there he might more easily destroy him. That they shoot in shadows at the righteous in heart. 2 For never in the light do they fight, but always in the darkness. For which reason the righteous man said, 'Your word is a light for my feet, O Lord.' 3 What has the righteous man done? 4 That is, he has done nothing that he deserve to be slain. Saint Jerome, Commentarioli on the Psalms, Psalm 10 1 Ps 10.2 2 Ps 10.3 3 Ps 118.105 4 Ps 10.4

Victory And Defeat

Ista palo Sisaram hostem interficit, id est, ligni crucis virtute diabolum interimit, quod Barac, id est, prior populus per legis praecepta facere non potuit; sola enim ista per lignum, in quo spiritualibus sacramentis credentium salus est, fidei hostem affigit; quem deinde mortuum pellibus obtegit, id est, inclusum in carnalium cordibus derelinquit. Non enim latent mortifera ipsius, nisi in corruptibilitate vitae viventibus, et peccata mortalia perpetrantibus, qui, dum prave viventes, segregantur a corpore Christi, efficuntur membra diaboli. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Librum Judicum, Cap II

And this woman Jael kills the enemy Sisara with a peg, 1 that is, with the power of the wood of the cross she slays the devil, which Barac, that is, the prior people, were not able to do through the commands of the Law, for only through this wood, in which is the salvation of the faithful with spiritual sacraments, is the enemy of the faith defeated. And she then wraps the dead man in pelts, that is, he perishes closed up in the carnal thoughts of the heart. For the death bearing nature of this is not hidden, unless to those living corrupt lives, and those committing mortal sins, those who while living in a depraved way, separated from the body of Christ, are made into members of the devil. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On The Book of Judges, Chap 2 1 Judg 4.17-21

Raphael And The Wedding

Assumens Raphael quatuor ex servus Raguelis, et duos camelos, in Rages Medorum perrexit, et indicans ei cuncta de Tobia, recepit pecuniam, cumque secum ad nuptias fecit venire. Servi Raguel et cameli praedictores sunt de gentibus electi, per quos Dominus et alios colligit. Servi, quia serviunt necessitati eorum quibus evangelizant. Cameli, quia et onera infirmitatis eorum fraternae subjectione charitatis portant. Quare autem quatuor servi et cameli sint duo, supra monstratum est, ubi vaccae duae, et quatuor occiduntur arietes. [Sunt duae vaccae occisae, quia quicunque pro Christo, vel ipsi corpus suum sponte mortificant, ut hostia viva fiant, vel in manus infidelium tradunt occidendum: tales nimirum per arma justitiae, a dextris et sinistris, id est, in prosperis et adversis, contra hostem stare didicerunt. Sunt quatuor aristes occisi, quia sancti doctores et martyres quatuor libros sancti Evangelii fide et operatione conservant, quia quatuor virtutibus primis, prudentia, fortitudine, temperantia, justitia, muniuntur.] Tales adjuvante Raphael producunt Gabelum ad nuptias Tobiae, cum in unitatem Ecclesiae Christi novos populos, ipso divinitus opitulante, sancti praedictores aggregant. Sanctus Beda, In Librum Beati Partis Tobiae Allegorica Interpretatio

Raphael, taking four servants from Raguel and two camels, travelled to Rages in Media and telling him everything concerning Tobias, he received the money and brought him back with him to the wedding. 1 The servants and camels of Raguel are the preachers which are chosen from the nations, by which the Lord gathers others. And they are servants because they serve the needs of those whom they evangelize. And they are camels because they bear their weaknesses in the service of fraternal charity. 2 And why there are four servants and two camels we have shown above in the sacrifice of the two cows and the four rams. 3 That is, the two cows are those who for Christ either readily mortify their bodies that they be a living sacrifice, or give them into the hands of the infidels to be killed. And such folk certainly, by the arms of righteousness, in the right and left hand, that is, in prosperity and adversity, have been taught to stand against the enemy. And four rams are slain because the holy teachers and martyrs cherished four books for the working of faith, because with the four cardinal virtues, prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice, they are fortified. Such was the help that Raphael gave for the wedding of Tobias, that is, when the holy preachers with the Divine wealth gather a new people into the unity of the Church of Christ. Saint Bede, from An Allegorical Interpretation of the Book of Tobit 1 Tobit 9.6 2 cf Gal 6.2 3 Tobit 8.22

Work And Progress

Τοὺς πήχεις αὐτῆς ἐκτείνει ἐπὶ τὰ συμφέροντα τὰς δὲ χεῖρας αὐτῆς ἐρείδει εἰς ἄτρακτον. Ἄτρακτός ἐστι νοῦς καθαρὸς, συμπλέκων ἀρετὴν ἐπ' ἀρετῇ, καὶ δόγματι δόγμα· ἢ λόγος προφορικὸς, ἔλκων ἀπὸ τοῦ νοῦ πνευματικὴν θεωρίαν. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Παροιμίας

She stretches out her arms to the things brought before her, her hands clutch the spindle. 1 The spindle is the pure mind, gathering up virtue on virtue, and teaching on teaching. The word is the weft passing to and fro, by which the mind is led to spiritual insight. Origen, On Proverbs, Fragment 1 Prov 31.19

Boat And Church

Ascendit in naviculam, et transfretavit et venit in civitatem suam. Ascendit, inquit, in naviculam, Christus Ecclesiae suae navem, saeculi fluctus semper mitigaturus ascendit, ut credentes in se ad coelestem patriam tranquilla navigatione perducat, et municipes civitatis suae faciat quos humanitiatis suae fecit esse consortes. Non ergo Christus indiget navi, sed navis indiget Christo, quia sine coelesti gubernatione navis Ecclesiae per mundanum pelagus, tali et tanto discrimine ad coelestem portum non valet pervenire. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Homilia L, De Paralytico Curato, Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis Homilia CVIII Source: Migne PL 52.340b, PL 57.503b-c

He went into the boat and passed across and came to his own city. 1 He went, it says, into the boat, that is, Christ went into the ship of his own Church, ever subduing the waves of the age, that those faithful to Him may be led with calm navigation to the celestial fatherland, and he may make them citizens of His own city whom He has made coheirs of His own flesh. Christ, therefore, does not need the boat, but the boat needs Christ, because without heavenly guidance the ship of the Church passing through the waters of the world, lacking such and so much discrimination would not be able to come to the celestial harbour. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Homily 50, On The Curing of the Paralytic, and Saint Maximus of Turin from Sermon 118 1 Mt 9.1

Seeking The Lord

Ζητήσατε τὸν Κύριον καὶ κραταιώθητε· ζητήσατε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ διαπαντός. Τί ἐστι τὸ ζητεῖν τὸν Κύριον; τὸ τὰ ἐκείνου φρονεῖν, τὸ ἀεὶ αὐτὸν λογίζεσθαι, τὸ ἀεὶ ἐν διανοίᾳ ἔχειν, τὸ μηδέποτε παύεσθαι ὁμιλοῦντα αὐτῷ διὰ τῆς προσευχῆς καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν πράξεων. Ἄμαχοι δὲ οἱ ζητοῦντες ἔσονται καὶ ἀήττητοι. Παρορμήσας μέντοι ὁ λόγος τοὺς τῶν ἐθνῶν κήρυκας ἐπὶ τὸ προθύμως ἐκζητῆσαι τὸν Κύριον, ἔτι μᾶλλον αὐτοὺς ἐπιῥῥώννυσι λέγων, Κραταιώθητε, τουτέστι, Μὴ χαυνοῦσθε εἰς τὸ ζητεῖν αὐτον. Τοῦτο δὲ προσφωνεῖ αὐτοῖς, ὡς δεομένοις κράτους καὶ δυνάμεως εἰς τὸ ἰσχῦσαι τὸ προστεταγμένον ποιῆσαι· ὅπερ ἧν τὸ ἔθνεσι κηρύξαι, Ἔλλησί τε καὶ βαρβάποις, κατὰ τὸ, Κύριος δώσει ῥῆμα τοῖς εὐαγγελιζομένοις δυνὰμει πολλῇ. Διδάσκων δὲ πῶς δεῖ τὸ ζητεῖν ποιεῖν, καὶ ὅτι οὐχ ἅπαξ ἢ δὶς, ἀλλὰ παρὰ πάντα τὸν βίον τὴν ἄνωθεν ἐπικουρίαν προσήκει ζητεῖν καὶ τὴν ὠφέλειαν καρποῦσθαι, ἐπήγαγε· ζητήσατε τὸ πρόσθπον αὐτοῦ διαπαντός· οὐ τρίτον τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ, κατὰ τὸν ὑπὸ Μωῦσέως δοθέντα νόμον ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ φαινόμενοι, ἀλλὰ παρὰ πάντα τὸν βίον. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους. ψαλμος ΡΔ'

Seek the Lord and be strengthened, seek His face always. 1 What is it to seek the Lord? To think the things of Him, to think of Him always, to always have Him in one's mind, never ceasing to associate with Him in prayer and good works. And they who seek Him shall be unconquerable and invincible. When, therefore, the word of the preacher of the peoples exhorts that the Lord be sought with zeal, as encouragement, he says, 'Be strengthened', that is, do not weary in your deed of seeking. And He also speaks to those who are lacking in strength and virtue, that He shall strengthen those to whom it is commanded to do this, as it was preached to the Gentiles, Greek and Barbarian, according to which, 'The Lord shall give a word of much virtue to the evangelized.' 2 And he teaches in what manner one should seek Him, that it should not be only once or twice, but through one's whole life one's work to seek the supernal help, and to seize on profit there. The line then reads, 'Seek his face always.' Not that three times a year, as is relayed in the law of Moses, one should come into His sight, 3 but all through one's life.  Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 104 1 Ps 104.4 2 Ps 67.12 3 Exod 34.23, Deut 16.16

The Value Of Examination

Quoniam probasti nos Deus, igne nos examinasti sicut examinatur argentum. Sed quae tandem comparationis similitudo est, examinatos eos igni, sicut examinatur argentum? Est, ut arbitror, examinandi argenti illa sola ratio est, ut sordes  quae ex prima terrae materie adhaeserint decoquantur, ut quae fraudulenter ex alterius metalli natura admixta fuerint purgentur. Deus itaque credentes in se no tamquam fidei eorum ignarus examinat: sed quia etiam secundum Apostolum tentatio probationem affert, examinantur credentes no ad cognitionem Dei, sed ad sui probationem: ut igne purgati, et ab admixtione vitiorum carnalium defaecati, splendeant examinatae innocentiae claritate. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum LXV

'You tested us, O God, with fire you examined us as silver is examined.' 1  But what is this likeness of comparison that He examines them with fire as silver is examined? It is, so I judge it, that silver is examined in such a manner for one reason only, that the baseness which remains in it from the earth might be burnt away, that which has been deceitfully mixed into it of some other metal might be purged. Thus God does not examine the faithful as if He were ignorant of their faith, but because, as the Apostle says, testing leads to approval, 2 and so the faithful are not examined for the sake of God's knowledge, but for their own approval, that purged with fire and stripped of the admixture of carnal vices those examined might shine with the light of innocence. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 65 1 Ps 65.10 2 Rom 5.4

Treasure And Earthen Vessels

Ἔχομεν δὲ τὸν θησαυρὸν τοῦτον ἐν ὀστρακίνοις σκεύεσιν, ἵνα ἡ ὑπερβολὴ τῆς δυνάμεως ᾖ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ μὴ ἐξ ἡμῶν. Ὀστράκινα λέγει σκεύη τὰς εὐτελεῖς λέξεις καὶ τὸ ἄπλαστον τῆς ἑρμηνείας. εἰ γὰρ οἱ κήρυκες τοῦ εὐαγγελίου κατ' ἀνθρωπίνην φιλοσοφίαν ἐπρέσβευον τῆς ἀληθείας, ὑπωπτεύθη ἂν ἐξ ἀνθρωπίνης τέχνης καὶ μὴ ἐκ δυνάμεως θεοῦ κεκρατῆσθαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῇ σωτηριώδει παιδεύσει· ἀγραμμάτων δὲ καὶ ἰδιωτῶν ὄντων τῶν διακονουμένων ἡ ὑπερβολὴ τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ κατὰ τὴν γνῶσιν θησαυροῦ, ἐκ θεοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἐκ θνητῶν ὑποληφθήσεται. τούτῳ συνᾴδει τὸ εἰ καὶ ἰδιώτης τῷ λόγῳ ἀλλ' οὐ τῇ γνώσει, καὶ τὸ ὁ λόγος μου καὶ τὸ κήρυγμά μου οὐκ ἐν πειθοῖς σοφίας λόγοις· εἶχεν γὰρ τὸν θησαυρὸν τῆς γνώσεως οὐκ ὢν κατ' αὐτὴν ἰδιώτης, ἐν ὀστρακίνοις σκεύεσιν ἰδιώτης ὢν τῷ λόγῳ. Δυδύμος του Ἀλεξανδρέως, Εἰς Την Δευτεραν Ἐπιστολήν Προς Κορινθίους, Ἐκλογή

We have this treasure in earthen vessels, whence the greatness of its power is by God and not by us. 1 An earthen vessel he calls his common manner of speech and his simple diction. For if the preachers of the Gospel had announced the truth according to human philosophy, there would have been a suspicion that it was a matter of mere human artifice rather than the virtue of God by which men were brought to the teaching of salvation. But when unlettered and simple are the servants, the greatness of the power, according to the treasury of knowledge, is judged to be from God and not from mortal men. And this is consonant with: 'Even if unskilled in speech, not so in knowledge,' 2 and 'My speech and my preaching was not by the persuasion of clever words.' 3 For he had the treasury of knowledge, according to which he was not unskilled, and it was in earthen vessels, as much as his speech was unskilled. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on Second Letter to the Corinthians, Fragment 1 2 Cor 4.7 2 2 Cor 11.6 3 1 Cor 2.4

The Rise of a Scholar

Velut lampade quamdam divina luce fulgentem Didymum Dominus accednit. De cujus vita, atque institutis, quoniam ad Ecclesiae gloriam Dei munere concessus creditur, licet in transcursu, necessario tamen commemoranda nobis pauca videntur. Is namque in parva aetate, cum adhuc etiam prima litterarum ignoraret elementa, luminibus orbatus, majore desiderio scientiae veri luminis inflammatur: nec desperationem cupita adipiscedni passus est, cum audisset scriptum in Evangelio: Quod apud homines impossiblie est, possibile est apud Deum.  Hac igitur  divina  pollicitatione confisus indesinenter Dominum deprecabatur, non ut oculorum carnalium visum, sed ut illuminationem cordis acciperet. Miscebat tamen precibus studi ac laborem, et juges continuatasque vigilas, non ad legendum, sed ad audiendum adhibebat, ut quod aliis visus, hoc illi conferret auditus. Cum vero post lucubrationis laborem, somnus, ut fieri solet, legentibus advenisset, Didymus silentium illud non ad quietem, vel otium datum ducens, tanquam animal ruminans cibum, quem ceperat, ex integro revocabat, et ea quae dudum, percurrentibus aliis, ex librorum lectione cognoverat, memoria et animo retexebat, ut non tam audisse quae lecta fuerant, quam descripsisse ea mentis suae paginis videretur. Ita brevi, Deo docente, in tantam divinarum humanarumque rerum eruditionem ac scientiam venit, ut scholae ecclesiasticae, doctor exsisteret, Athanasio episcopo, caeterisque sapientibus in Ecclesia viris Dei admodum probatus. Rufinus Aquileiensis, Historia Ecclesiasticae, Lib II, Cap VII

The Lord kindled Didymus as a lamp shining with Divine light. Of his life and character, since it is believed that he was given by God for the glory of the Church, it seems necessary to us make brief mention. When he was of few years, while he was yet ignorant of the elements of letters, he was deprived of light, yet he was inflamed by a greater desire for the true light of knowledge, nor was he afflicted with despair of gaining what he desired, since he had heard that it was written in the Gospel, 'What is impossible for men is possible for God.' 1 Trusting in this Divine promise, he prayed to the Lord unceasingly, not that he might receive sight in his physical eyes, but that he might have illumination of heart. He combined labour with prayers and study and took to the toil of continuous vigils, not for reading but listening, that what sight gave to others hearing might give to him. But when after their work as usual sleep had come over the readers, Didymus, deeming that silence was given neither for rest nor idleness, like a clean animal chewing the cud, 2 what he had taken in, he would recall entire, and these things which others had raced through in their reading of books, in his mind and memory he would turn over and over, so that he seemed not so much to have heard what was read as to have written it out on the pages of his mind. Thus in a short time, with God teaching, he arrived at such erudition of Divine and human things that he became a teacher of the ecclesiastical school, having won the approval of bishop Athanasius and other wise men in the church of God. Rufinus of Aquileia, Ecclesiastical History, Book 2, Chap 7 1 Lk 18.27 2 Lev 11.3

A Martyr's Company

Τί δὲ καὶ ἑαυτὸν ἔκδοτον δέδωκα τῷ θανάτῳ, πρὸς πῦρ, πρὸς μάχαιραν, πρὸς θηρία; ἀλλ’ ἐγγυς μαχαίρας ἐγγὺς θεοῦ, μεταξὺ θηρίων μεταξὺ Θεοῦ· μόνον ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς τὸ συμπαθεῖν αὐτῷ πάντα ὑπομένω, αὐτοῦ με ἐνδυναμοῦντος τοῦ τελείου ἀνθρώπου.   Ἅγιος Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιοχείας, Ἐπιστολή Προς Σμύρναιοις

And why have I also given myself over to death, to fire, to the sword, to wild beasts? To be near the sword is to be near to God; he who is in the company of wild beasts is in company with God; provided only I undergo all this in the name of Jesus Christ that I may suffer  with Him, 1 He the perfect man strengthening me. 2 Saint Ignatius of Antioch, from the Letter to the Smyrneans 1 Rom 8:17 2 Phil 4:13

The Child And The Image

Vulpes foveas habent, et volucres coeli nidos, ubi requiescant, nam Filius hominis non habet ubi caput suum reclinet. Non videtur convenire ratione, ut simplicem fidelemque istum arbitremur, qui Domini dignatione respuitur; cum indefessi famulatus obsequium spondisset: sed Dominus non obsequiorum speciem, sed puritatem quaerit affectus. Denqiue supra ait: Quicumque receperit puerem istum in nomine meo. Quo loco Dominus simplicitatem sine arrogantia docet, charitatem sine invidia, devotionem sine iracundia esse debere: nam et pueri mens provectionis affectu recipienda suadetur, quia dum puer nihil sibi vindicat, formam virtutis exsequitur: et si rationem nescit, culpam ignorat. Tamen quia plerisque non virtus, sed infirmitas videtur sine ratione simplicitas; ut tu veram recipias admoneris, id est, ut exsequaris industria munus naturae. Et ideo ait: Quicumque receperit pueram istum in nomine meo, me recepit. Et qui me recipit, recipit eum qui me misit. Qui enim imitatorem Christi recipit, Christum recipit: et qui imaginem Dei receperit, recipit Deum. Sed quia imaginem Dei non poteramus videre, facta est ad nos per incarnationem Verbi praesentia ut reconciliaretur nobis quae supra nos est divinitas. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Evangelii secundum Lucam, Liber VII

'Foxes have their holes, and the birds of heaven their nests, where they may rest, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.' 1 And it does not seem in harmony with reason that we judge this is a simple and faithful fellow, who is rejected from the esteem of the Lord, when He has approved the service of the tireless serving boy, but the Lord does not care for the splendour of one's service but He seeks the purity of one's affection. Whence he said above, 'Whoever receives this child in my name.' 2 In which place the Lord teaches simplicity should be without arrogance, charity without envy, devotion without anger, for the mind of the boy He would persuade be taken up than the state of the elder, because while the boy vaunts himself in nothing, the way of virtue he follows, and if he does not know reason he is free from blame. However because virtue is not of many it seems that weakness without reason is simplicity, whence you are admonished to receive the truth, that is, that you seek with diligence the gift of nature. And therefore he says, 'Whoever receives this child in my name receives me; and he who receives me, receives the one who sent me.' 2 For he who receives an imitator of Christ, receives Christ, and he who receives an image of God, receives God. For because we were not able to see the image of God, by the incarnation was made for us the presence of the Word that the Divinity beyond us might be reconciled with us. Saint Ambrose, On The Gospel of Luke, from Book 7 1 Lk 9. 58 2 Lk 9. 48

Finding A Place Of Rest

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

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

Faith and Following

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

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

Letter And Spirit

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

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

Nowhere Here To Rest

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

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

Wolves And Men

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

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

The Foolish Man

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

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

Prayer And Restraint

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

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

A Prayer Request

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

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

Prayers And Thanks

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

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

Prayer And Sacrifice

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

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

A Lady's Marriages

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

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

Acceptable Sacrifices

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

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

Men and Angels

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

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

Angels And Guardianship

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

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

Acting Like Angels

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

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