Keeping The Spies

Haec quae prius idolis prostituta fuit meretrix impia, suscipens exploratores Jesu, facta est fidelis et casta: quos custodiens a persequentibus inimicis, non in inferioribus depositos obruit, sed in solario domus suae levatos latenter abscondit. Solarium vere propterea dicitur, eo quod solis lumine perfundatur. Quis est autem sol humani cordis, nisi ille de quo dictum est per prophetam: Timentibus autem nomen meum orietur sol justitiae, et sanitas in pennis ejus . De ispo sole oriente Zacharias in Evangelio sic prophetat: Quia visitavit nos oriens ex alto, illuminare his qui in tenebris et in umbra mortis sedent. Nam et Abacuc prophet Christi ascensionem et ordinis ecclesiastici firmitatem sub nomine solis lunaeque sic praedicat: Elevatus est sol, et luna stetit in ordine suo.  Cor ego uniuscujusque fidelis non incongrue spiritale solarium dicitur, quod solis illius superni radiis salubriter illustratur. Raab itaque meretrix quos exploratores Jesu in solario suae domus abscondit, utique in superioribus, hoc est spiritali scientia illuminati cordis intima dilectione continuit, ut propheticum illud eloquium operis veritate cantaret: In corde meo abscondi eloquia tua, ut non peccem tibi. Vera itaque fides, quae divinis eloquiis intimatur, tunc persequentibis non traditur, tunc in corde fidelium inviolata et incolumis custoditur, si non terrenis, et caducis, atque carnalibus, sed coelestibus et spiritalibus promissis animus perserveret affixus, nec contempletur quae videntur, sed quae non videntur: Quae enim videntur temporalia sunt, sicut ait Apostolus: quae autem non videntur, aeterna sunt. Caeterum quisquis propterea Christianam fidem tenet, ut res terrenas et transitorias acquirat, iste exploratores Jesu, non in superioribus domus suae, sed in inferioribus collocat; ubi cum fuerint positi, facilius et inveriri possunt ab inimicis et perimi. Omnis enim persecutor et inimicus Ecclesiae illos spiritaliter interimit, et ipsis ingerit aeternae mortis interitum, quorum cor invenerit terrenis et caducis rebus innexum. Sanctus Fulgentius Ruspensis, De Remissione Peccatorum, Lib I, Cap XXI Source: Migne 65 544d-545b

This woman who was an impious prostitute among idols, taking in the spies of Joshua, was made faithful and chaste, guarding them from the enemy who sought them, not driving them down into a room below, but sending them up to a high chamber of her house to hide them there. 1And indeed such a place is named a solarium because it is lit by the light of the sun. And what is the sun of the human heart, unless that concerning which it is said through the Prophet: 'On those who fear my name the sun of righteousness shall rise and healing is in its wings.'  2 And concerning the same rising sun Zachariah makes prophecy in the Gospel: 'For he has visited us rising from the height, to illuminate those who are sat in darkness and in the shadow of death.' 3 And the prophet Habakkuk speaks of the Ascension of Christ and the firmness of the ecclesiastical order under the name of the sun and moon: 'Elevated is the sun and the moon stands in its circuit.' 4 Thus it is not unreasonable to speak of the heart of one faithful as being spiritually lit by the sun, enlightened with the wholesome rays of the supernal sun. The whore Rahab thus hid the spies of Joshua in the sun room of her house, that is, in the high place, that is, the chambers of her heart were with spiritual illumination continually lit, that she might in truth have sung that prophetical verse: 'In my heart I have hidden your words, that I might not sin against you.' 5 Thus true faith, which the inspired speech intimates, is not then given over to persecutors, but is guarded in the heart of the faithful inviolate and unharmed, if the soul is firmly fastened not to worldly things, to fallen things, to flesh, but to heavenly and spiritual promises, not contemplating what is seen, but what is not seen, for what is seen is transient, says the Apostle, and what is not is eternal. 6 Whoever therefore holding the Christian faith, would acquire things worldly and transient, he sends the spies of Joshua not into the heights of his house but into the depths, where being placed, they are easily found by the enemy and seized. For every persecutor of the Church seeks to kill them spiritually, and to bring them into eternal death, which is found in the heart bound to worldly and fallen things. Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, On the Forgiveness of Sins, Book 1, Chap 21 1 Joshua 2. 1-6 2 Malac 4.2 3 Luc 1.78-79 4 Habac 3.11 LXX 5 Ps 118.11 6 2 Cor 4.18

Grief And Blessings

Ἐκάθισεν Ἰερεμίας κλαίων. Τὸν ἐξ ἀγάπης κλαυθμὸν μακαριζόμενον. Τοῦ γὰρ ἀγίου ἐστὶ, κλααιειν μετὰ κλαιόντων, καὶ χαίρειν μετὰ χαιρόντων. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ  Ἐγγίζων τῇ Ἱερουσαλὴμ ὁ Κύριος ἔκλαυσε καὶ εἴπεν·  Ἰερουσαλὴμ Ἰερουσαλήμ ἡ ἀποκτείνουσα τοὺς προφήτας καὶ λιθοβολοῦσα τοὺς ἀπεσταλμένους πρὸς αὐτήν, ποσάκις ἠθέλησα ἐπισυναγαγεῖν τὰ τέκνα σου, ὃν τρόπον ὄρνις ἐπισυνάγει τὰ νοσσία αὐτῆς ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας, καὶ οὐκ ἠθελήσατε. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ.  Εἰ τοίνυν μακάριοι οἱ κλαίοντες, ὅτι γελάσετε, ἔδει Ἰερεμίαν τὸν μυστικὸν τοῦτον κλαῦσαι κλαυθμὸν, καὶ κατὰ τὸ Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, πενθῆσαι τοὺς τοῦ πενθεῖσθαι ἀξίους. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαι Εἰς Θρηνους Source: Migne PG 13 608c-d

Jeremiah sat and wept. 1 He who grieves on account of love is blessed. It is of the holy man to weep when others weep, to rejoice when they rejoice. 2 On the same:  Nearing Jerusalem the Lord wept and said, 'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, still murdering the prophets, and stoning those sent out to her, how often have I wished to gather your children, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings; and you did not wish it.' 3 If they are blessed who grieve because they will laugh, 4 thus it befits Jeremiah to bring forth this holy weeping, and according to 'Blessed are those who weep,' so it is to lament those things worth lamenting. Origen, Commentary On Lamentations, Fragment 1 Lam 1.Prologue 2 Rom 12.13 3 Mt 23. 37 4 Lk 6.21

Belief And Judgement

Dicit enim Scriptura per Esaiam: Omnis qui credit in illum, non confundetur. Dum enim examen coeperit fieri omnium rerum in die judicii, et omnia falsa commenta vel dogmata in confusionem deduci; tunc in Christum credentes tripudiabunt, videntes omnibus manifestari quia quod crediderunt, verum est: et prudens, quod stulum putabatur. Aspicient enim inter caeteros se solos gloriosos et prudentes, qui aestimati fuerant contemptibiles et stulti. Illic est enim vera approbatio, ubi remuneratio et condemnatio. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Caput X Source: Migne PL 17 144a-b

For Scripture says by Isaiah: 'All who believe in Him, shall not be confounded.' 1 For when the examination of all things has begun on the day of judgement, and all false works and false teaching have been led off in confusion, then those who believe in Christ shall rejoice, when all things are made clear they will see that what they believed is true, and that he is wise who was thought foolish. For they shall see among the others with them only the glorious and wise, they who were once judged to be contemptible and stupid. For there is true approval, where there is reward and damnation. Ambrosiaster, from the Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 10 1 Isaiah 18.26, Rom 10.11

Great And Fearful

Ὁ θεὸς ἐνδοξαζόμενος ἐν βουλῇ ἁγίων μέγας καὶ φοβερὸς ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς περικύκλῳ αὐτοῦ... Και τοὶς ἐναντίοις δὲ κολάσεις ἐπιφέρων, ἔστι φοβερός. Πελάζων γάρ τις αὐτῶν διὰ τοῦ τὴν θείαν δέδεκται διδασκαλίαν, τῷ ἁμαρτάνειν ἐγγὺς γίνεται τοῦ πυρός. Διό φησιν ὁ Σωτήρ· Ὁ ἐγγὺς μου, ἐγγὺς τοῦ πυρός· ὁ δὲ μακρὰν ἀπ' ἐμοῦ μακρὰν ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλείας. Καὶ νῦν οὖν φησὶ τοῖς περικύκλῳ τῶν ἐντολῶν αὐτοῦ παρακούσουσι, φοβερὸς μέγας ὄντως τοῖς δι' ἀρετὴν ἀντεχομένοις αὐτοῦ. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΠΗ' Migne PG 39.1488

God is glorified in the council of the holy, great and fearful to all who stand around him...1 And to those opposed, to whom shall come punishment, He is fearful. For if they are near to Him who are instructed in the Divine disciplines, then he who sins is near the fire. For which reason the Saviour said: 'He who is near me is near the fire; he who is far from me is far from the kingdom.' 2 And now then this speaks to those who in the circuit of His commandments are negligent, for truly 'great and fearful' He is to those who are adversaries to virtue. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 88 1 Ps 88.8 2 Pseudo-Gospel of Thomas 88

Correcting The Fallen

Praeterea monachorum quosdam atque monacharum, abjecto proposito sanctitatis, in tantam potestatis demersos esse lasciviam, ut prius clanculo, velut sub monasteriorum praetextu, illicita ac sacrilega se contagione miscuerint, postea vero in abruptum conscientiae desperatione perducti de illicitis complexibus libere filios procrearint, quod et publicae leges, et ecclesiastica jura condemnant: has igitur impudicas detestabilesque personas a monasteriorum coetu, ecclesiarumque conventibus eliminandas esse mandamus, quatenus retrusae in suis ergastulis tantum facinus continua lamentatione deflentes, purificatorio possint poenitudinis igne decoquere, ut eis vel ad mortem saltem, solius misericordiae intuitu per communionis gratiam possit indulgentia  subvenire. Pape Siricius Epistola Decretalis Papae Siricii Himerio Episcopo Tarraconensi Source: Migne PL 13.1137b-c

Moreover those certain monks and nuns, who having cast off the way of holiness, plunged into such great wantonness that first in secret, as it were under the veil of the monasteries, they embroiled themselves in forbidden and sacrilegious affairs, but later, led on swiftly by abandonment of conscience, they freely produced children by illicit intercourse, which both civil laws and ecclesiastical rules condemn, these shameless and detestable persons, therefore, we command should be banished from the community of monasteries and the congregations of churches, so that having been thrust away into their imprisonment, bewailing with constant lamentation their crimes, they can roast in the purifying fire of repentance, that at least at death, out of consideration of mercy alone, forgiveness through the grace of communion can come to their aid. Pope Siricius, from the Letter to Bishop Himerius of Tarragona

Blessings of the Living And The Dead

Beati satis qui, ex vobis per haec gloriarum vestigia commeantes, jam de saeculo recesserunt, confectoque itinere virtutis ac fidei, ad complexum et osculum Domini, Domino ipso gaudente, venerunt. Sed et vestra non minor gloria, qui adhuc in certamine constituti et comitum glorias secuturi, pugnam diu geritis, immotaque et inconcussa fide stabiles quotidie spectaculum Deo vestris virtutibus exhibetis. Quo longior vestra pugna, hoc corona sublimior. Agon unus, sed multiplici praeliroum numerositate congestus. Famem vincitis et sitim spernitis, et squalorem carceris ac receptaculi poenalis horrorem roboris vigore calcatis. Poena illic subigitur, cruciatus obteritur, nec mors metuitur, sed optatur; quae scilicet immortalitatis praemio vincitur, ut vitae aeternitate qui vicerit coronetur. Qui nunc in vobis animus, quam sublime, quam capax pectus, ubi talia et tanta volvuntur, ubi non nisi Dei praecepta et Christi praemia cogitantur. Voluntas est illic tantum Dei; et in carne adhuc licet vobis positis, vita jam vivitur non praesentis saeculi, sed futuri. Sanctus Cyprianus, Epistola XV, Ad Moysen et Maximum et Caeteros Confessores Source: Migne PL 4.267a-268a

Abundantly blessed are they who, from you, passing along these footprints of glory, have already departed the world, and have completed the journey of virtue and faith unto the embrace and the kiss of the Lord, to the joy of the Lord Himself. But your glory is not less, who are yet engaged in the struggle, and, about to follow the glories of your friends, are long engaged in battle, and standing firm in an unmoved and unshaken faith, daily exhibit your virtues as a spectacle to God. The longer your combat, the greater the crown. The contest is one, but it is crowded with a multitude of trials. You conquer hunger and you despise thirst, and the squalor of prison and the horror of the place of punishment you tread under foot by the vigour of your courage. Punishment is there subdued, torture is crushed, nor is death feared but desired, since it is conquered by the reward of immortality, so that he who has conquered is crowned with eternal life. What now must be in your soul, how elevated, how large the heart, when such and so great things are considered, when nothing but the precepts of God and the rewards of Christ are meditated. Only there is the will God's will, and though you remain placed in the flesh, now you do not live the life of the present world, but of the future. Saint Cyprian of Carthage, from Letter 15, To Moses, Maximus and other Confessors

Virtue And Heaven

Ἡ τῶν ἀρετῶν μέθοδος τὴν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς μακαριότητα προξενεῖ, τὴν οὔτε λόγῳ ῥητὴν, οὕτε νῷ ληπτὴν, οὔτε ἐννοίᾳ χωρητήν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΟΖ' Λιμενιῳ Μονακῳ Source: Migne PG 79.152b

The right disposition of the virtues is that which supplies beatitude in heaven, which neither speech can express, nor the mind comprehend, nor is thought able to grasp it. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 177, to Limenius the Monk

Sharing In Gifts

Ὡς μακάρια καὶ θαυμαστὰ τὰ δῶρα τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀγαπητοί.  Ζωὴ ἐν ἀθανασίᾳ, λαμπρότης ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, ἀλήθεια ἐν παρρησίᾳ, πίστις ἐν πεποιθήσει, ἐγκράτεια ἐν ἁγιασμῷ· καὶ ταῦτα ὑπέπιπτεν πάντα ὑπὸ τὴν διάνοιαν ἡμῶν. Τίνα οὖν ἄρα ἐστὶν τὰ ἑτοιμαζόμενα τοῖς ὑπομένουσιν; Ὁ δημιουργὸς καὶ πατὴρ τῶν αἰώνων ὁ πανάγιος αὐτὸς γινώσκει τὴν ποσότητα καὶ τὴν καλλονὴν αὐτῶν. Ἡμεῖς οὖν ἀγωνισώμεθα εὑρεθῆναι ἐν τῷ ἀριθμῷ τῶν ὑπομενόντων, ὅπως μεταλάβωμεν τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων δωρεῶν. Πῶς δὲ ἔσται τοῦτο, ἀγαπητοί; Ἐὰν ἐστηριγμένη ᾖ ἡ διάνοια ἡμῶν πιστῶς πρὸς τὸν θεόν, ἐὰν ἐκζητῶμεν τὰ εὐάρεστα καὶ εὐπρόσδεκτα αὐτῷ, ἐὰν ἐπιτελέσωμεν τὰ ἀνήκοντα τῇ ἀμώμῳ βουλήσει αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀκολουθήσωμεν τῇ ὁδῷ τῆς ἀληθείας, ἀπορρίψαντες ἀφ’ ἑαυτῶν πᾶσαν ἀδικίαν καὶ πονηρίαν, πλεονεξίαν, ἔρεις, κακοηθείας τε καὶ δόλους, ψιθυρισμούς τε καὶ καταλαλιάς, θεοστυγίαν, ὑπερηφανίαν τε καὶ ἀλαζονείαν, κενοδοξίαν τε καὶ ἀφιλοξενίαν. Ταῦτα γὰρ οἱ πράσσοντες στυγητοὶ τῷ θεῷ ὑπάρχουσιν· οὐ μόνον δὲ οἱ πράσσοντες αὐτά, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ συνευδοκοῦντες αὐτοῖς. Λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφή· Τῷ δὲ ἁμαρτωλῷ εἶπεν ὁ θεός· Ἱνατί σὺ διηγῇ τὰ δικαιώματά μου, καὶ ἀναλαμβάνεις τὴν διαθήκην μου ἐπὶ στόματός σου;  Σὺ δὲ ἐμίσησας παιδείαν καὶ ἐξέβαλες τοὺς λόγους μου εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω. εἰ ἐθεώρεις κλέπτην, συνέτρεχες αὐτῷ, καὶ μετὰ μοιχῶν τὴν μερίδα σου ἐτίθεις. Τὸ στόμα σου ἐπλεόνασεν κακίαν, καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα σου περιέπλεκεν δολιότητα. Καθήμενος κατὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου κατελάλεις, καὶ κατὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς μητρός σου ἐτίθεις σκάνδαλον. Ταῦτα ἐποίησας, καὶ ἐσίγησα· ὑπέλαβες, ἄνομε, ὅτι ἔσομαί σοι ὅμοιος. Ἐλέγξω σε καὶ παραστήσω σε κατὰ προσωπόν σου. Σύνετε δὴ ταῦτα, οἱ ἐπιλανθανόμενοι τοῦ θεοῦ, μήποτε ἁρπάσῃ ὡς λέων, καὶ μὴ ᾖ ὁ ῥυόμενος.  θυσία αἰνέσεως δοξάσει με, καὶ ἐκεῖ ὁδός, ᾗ δείξω αὐτῷ τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ θεοῦ. Αὕτη ἡ ὁδός, ἀγαπητοί, ἐν ᾗ εὕρομεν τὸ σωτήριον ἡμῶν, Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, τὸν ἀρχιερέα τῶν προσφορῶν ἡμῶν, τὸν προστάτην καὶ βοηθὸν τῆς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν. Διὰ τούτου ἀτενίζομεν εἰς τὰ ὕψη τῶν οὐρανῶν, διὰ τούτου ἐνοπτριζόμεθα τὴν ἄμωμον καὶ ὑπερτάτην ὄψιν αὐτοῦ, διὰ τούτου ἠνεῴχθησαν ἡμῶν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τῆς καρδίας, διὰ τούτου ἡ ἀσύνετος καὶ ἐσκοτωμένη διάνοια ἡμῶν ἀναθάλλει εἰς τὸ φῶς Ἅγιος Κλήμης Ῥώμης, Ἐπιστολή πρὸς Κορινθίους, Source: Migne PG 1 277a-281a

How blessed and wonderful are the gifts of God, beloved. Life in immortality, splendour in righteousness, truth in openness, faith in assurance, self-command in holiness, and all these things fall under our awareness. What then of those things prepared for those who endure? The Creator and Father of all worlds, the Most Holy, He alone knows their amount and beauty. Let us therefore strive to be found among the number of those who endure, that we may be partakers in the gifts promised. But how will this be, beloved? If our understanding is fixed in faith toward God; if we seek out the things which are pleasing and acceptable to Him; if we fulfill the things which are in harmony with His blameless will and follow the way of truth, casting off from us all unrighteousness and wickedness, overreaching, strife, both evil conduct and deceit, both gossiping and backbiting, all hatred of God, pride and boasting, vainglory and ambition. For they who do these things are hateful to God; and not only those who do them, but also those who approve of them. For Scripture says, 'But to the sinner God said: Why do you declare my statutes, and take my covenant into your mouth? You hated instruction, and you cast my words behind you. If you saw a thief, you ran along with him, and you placed your portion with adulterers. Your mouth has abounded with wickedness, and your tongue has contrived deceit. Seated you spoke evil against your brother; you slandered your own mother's son. These things you have done, and I was silent; you thought, lawless one, that I should be like you. But I will reprove you, and set yourself before your face. Consider  these things, you who forget God, lest He rend you like a lion and there be no one to deliver you. A sacrifice of praise will glorify Me, and there is the way by which I will show to him the salvation of God.' 1 This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Saviour, Jesus Christ, the High Priest of all our offerings, the defender and helper of our weakness. By Him we gaze up at the heights of heaven; by Him we see, as in a mirror, His immaculate and perfect face; by Him the eyes of our hearts are opened; by Him our foolish and darkened understanding shoots up afresh toward the light. Saint Clement of Rome, from the Letter to the Corinthians 1 Ps 49.16-23

Hell And Destruction

Ἡ Γραφή φησίν· Ἄδης καὶ ἀπώλεια φανερὰ παρὰ Κυρίῳ. Ταυτα δε περὶ καρδιακῆς ἀγνοίας και λήθης λέγει. Ἄδης ἐστὶν ἄγνοια· ἀπώλεια δὲ ἐστι λήθη. Ἀμφότερα δέ ἐστιν ἀφάνερα· διότι ἐξ ὑπαρχόντων ἀπώλοντο. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ  Source: Migne PG 65 913a

Scripture says, 'Hell and destruction are manifest to the Lord.' 1 And these things are said of ignorance of the heart and forgetfulness. Hell is ignorance and destruction is forgetfulness. And both are unseen, whence comes ruin. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law. 1 Prov 15.11

A Self Punishing People

Infixae sunt gentes in interitu quem fecerunt. Hoc est, in malis operibus quae fecerunt , ibi infixae sunt, de quibus judicandae sunt. In laqueo isto quem absconderunt, etc. Quia unusquisque laqueum quem alteri parat ad cadendum, ipse prius in eo cadet. Cognescetur Dominus judicia faciens.  Cognoscetur, hoc est, ad judicium.  In operibus manuum suarum comprehensus est peccator.  Quia unusquisque peccator ipse sibi secum portat et funes, et vincula, et tormenta, unde sustineat mala. Nam ab aliis non est necesse praeparari unde torqueatur, cum ipse sibi praeparet quae ad poenam pertinent.  Sanctus Hieronymous, Breviarum In Psalmos, Psalm IX Source: Migne PL 26.842b

The peoples are caught up in the death which they fashioned. 1 That is, in the evil works which they have done, there they are snared, from which comes their judgement.  'In the trap which they left...'  Because he who prepares a trap for another to fall into, he first falls into it. The Lord shall know, making judgement. He shall know, that is, for the making of judgement.  'In the works of his own hands the sinner is caught.'  Because whoever is a sinner bears bonds for himself, and chains and torments, whence he suffers evil. For it is not necessary that others prepare that by which a man shall be tormented when he himself has prepared for himself what pertains to punishment. Saint Jerome, Breviarum on the Psalms, from Psalm 9 1 Ps 9.16

They Who Hate Me Love Death

οἱ δὲ εἰς ἐμὲ ἁμαρτάνοντες ἀσεβοῦσιν τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχάς καὶ οἱ μισοῦντές με ἀγαπῶσιν θάνατον   Ἀσέβεια μέν ἐστιν ἡ εἰς Θεὸν ἁμαρτία· ἀσεβεῖ δὲ καὶ εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν ὁ σωρεύων κόλασιν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῇ, τὴν τοῖς ἀσεβέσιν ἡτοιμασμένην· ἀκόλουθον δὲ καὶ τὸ ἀγαπᾷν θάνατον τοὺς σοφίαν μισοῦντες, εἴπερ ἡ σοφία ζωή. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογή Εἰς Παροιμίας, Κεφ Η' Source: Migne PG 17.185a

They who sin against me are impious to their own souls, and they who hate me love death. 1 Impiety is the sin against God. By impiety one is set against one's own soul, heaping up punishment for the soul, with impieties preparing it. Consequently they love death who hate wisdom, since wisdom is life. Origen, On Proverbs,  Chap 8, Fragment 1 Prov 8.36

The Immortal Soul

Qui enim bono adhaeret, assumit inde quod bonum est; quia scriptum est: Cum sancto sanctus eris et cum electo electus eris, et cum perverso perversus eris, et cum innocente innocens eris: assiduitate enim atque imitatione quaedam similitudinis imago formatur. Ideoque addidit: Quoniam tu illuminas lucernam meam, Domine. Etenim qui appropinquat lumini, citius illuminatur, et plus in eo splendor aeterni luminis refulget e proximo. Ergo anima quae adhaeret illi invisibili bono Deo, atque immortali, et ipsa corporea haec fugit, et terrena, et mortalia derelinquit, fitque illius similis quod desiderat, in quo vivit et pascitur; et quia immortali intendit, non est ipsa mortalis. Quae enim peccat, moritur; non utique aliqua sui dissolutione, sed merito moritur Deo, quia vivit peccato. Ergo quae non peccat, non moritur; quia manet in substantia sui, manet in virtute et gloria. Nam quomodo substantia ejus interire potest, cum utique anima sit quae vitam infundit? Et cui anima infunditur, vita infunditur: a quo anima discedit, vita discedit. Anima ergo vita est. Quomodo enim potest mortem recipere, cum sit contraria? Sicut enim nix calorem non recipit, nam statim solvitur: et lux non recipit tenebras, nam statim discutit (infuso enim lumine, tenebrarum horror aufertur, sicut admoto igne, nivium rigor desinit), ita et anima quae vitam creat, mortem non recipit, et non moritur: anima autem mortem non recipit; anima ergo non moritur. Habemus ergo rationem, sed haec humana: illuddivinum, quod ait Dominus: Potestatem habeo ponendi animam meam; et potestatem habeo iterum sumendi eam. Vides igitur quia non moritur cum corpore, quae et ponitur et resumitur, et in manus Dei Patris commendatur. Sed forte dicas speciale esse quod Christi est, et quamvis ille quae sunt hominis susceperit, tamen quia alterius est causae et istud astruere, ne tempus teramus, audi dicentem: Quid scis an nocte hac a te tua anima reposcatur? Numquid dixit: Moriatur in te anima tua? Non; sed, reposcatur a te. Quae data est, reposcitur, vel repetunt a te. Repetitur enim anima, non interimitur. Quae repetitur, manet: quae interimitur, non manet. Quomodo enim interimitur, de qua dixit Sapientia Dei, non timendum quemquam qui potest corpus occidere, animam autem non potest? De qua dicit propheta: Anima mea in manibus tuis semper. Semper, inquit, non in tempore. Et tu commenda animam tuam in manus Domini: non solum cum recedit e corpore, sed etiam cum est in corpore, est in manibus Domini; quia non vides eam unde veniat, aut quo vadat. Est enim in te, et est cum Deo. Denique cor regis in manu Domini, et ab eo regitur et gubernatur. Cor repletur mente, quia mens animae principale est, et virtus animae. Non eam virtutem dico quae in lacertis, sed quae in consiliis, temperantia, pietate, atque justitia est. Si cor hominis in manu Domini, multo magis anima. Si anima in manu Dei est, non utique anima nostra sepulcro simul cum corpore includitur, nec busto tenetur: sed quiete pia fungitur. Et ideo homines frustra pretiosa struunt sepulcra, quasi eae animae, et non solius corporis receptacula sint. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Bono Mortis, Cap IX-X Source: Migne PL 14.559a-560b

He who adheres to the good takes up from there what is good, because it is written: 'With the holy you shall be holy and with the elect you shall be elect, and with the perverse you shall be perverse and with the innocent you shall be innocent.' 1 for the image is formed by a certain persistent imitation of likeness. Therefore it continues: 'Because you enlighten my lamp, O Lord.' 2 For he who comes near the light is swiftly enlightened and the splendor of the eternal light shines more in him who is nearer. Therefore the soul which adheres to the invisible and good and immortal God, flees things material and earthly, and forsakes mortality, becoming a likeness of what it desires, in which it lives and has sustenance, and because it is directed to immortality, it is not itself mortal. For that which sins dies, not that it dissolves itself but rightly it dies to God, because it lives in sin. Therefore that which does not sin, does not die, because it remains in His substance, standing in virtue and glory. For how is this substance able to perish, when the soul is that which bestows life and to whom the soul enters life enters, and from whom the soul departs, life departs. Thus the soul is life. For how is that able to entertain death which is its opposite? For as snow does not receive heat but instantly dissolves and light does not receive darkness but immediately expels it, since infused with light the terror of darkness is driven away, as by the activity of fire, the coldness of snow disappears, thus even the soul which creates life, does not receive death and does not die, and the soul not receiving death is a soul that does not die. Thus we have reason but it is human, this is Divine, which the Lord said: 'I have power to place down my soul and I have the power to take it up again.'3 You see, then, that that does not die with the body which He places down and takes up, and into the hand of God the Father he commends it. But perhaps you say this is a special thing of Christ, and He only may take up that which is of men, however the truth is otherwise and to confirm it, that time does not destroy it, hear it said: 'Who knows whether this night your soul shall be demanded from you? 4 Did he say, 'Your soul shall die in you? No, but that it shall be demanded from you. That which has been given may be demanded back or recalled. For the soul is called back, it is not destroyed. That which is called back persists, that which is destroyed does not. And how shall it be destroyed, concerning which the wisdom of God says that one should not fear him who is able to kill the body and not the soul? 5 Concerning which the Prophet says, 'My soul is in your hands always.' 6 Always, he says, not for a certain time. And you should commend your soul into the hands of the Lord, not only when it departs from the body, for even when it is in the body it is in the hands of the Lord, because you do not see whence is comes nor where it goes. It is in you and it is with God. Therefore 'the heart of the king is in the hands of the Lord,' 7 and by him it is ruled and directed. The heart is full with the mind because the mind is the principle of the soul, and the power of the soul. I do not speak of the power which is in the muscles but that virtue which is in counsel and temperance and piety and righteousness. If the heart of a man is in the hands of the Lord, much more is the soul. If the soul is the hands of God, it is not enclosed in the tomb with the body, nor held by coffin, but with simple piety it is discharged. And therefore in vain men raise precious tombs, as if they are resting places not only of the body but of the soul. Saint Ambrose, On the Good of Death, Chap. 9-10 1 Ps 17.26-27 2 Ps 17.29 3 Jn 10.18 4 Lk 12.20 5 Mt 10.28 6 Ps 118.109 7 Prov 21.1

The Soul Immortal and Mortal

Etenim, fratres, anima immortalis perhibetur, et est immortalis secundum quemdam modum suum: quia est quaedam vita, quae potest praesentia sua carnem vivificare. Per animam quippe caro vivit. Haec vita mori non potest: et ideo anima immortalis est. Quare ergo dixi, Secundum suum modum? Audite quare. Quoniam est quaedam immortalitas vera, immortalitas quae est omnimodo incommutabilitas: de qua dicit Apostolus loquens de Deo, Qui solus habet immortalitatem, et lucem habitat inaccessibilem; quem nemo hominum vidit, sed nec videre potest: cui est honor et gloria in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Si ergo Deus solus habet immortalitatem, certe anima mortalis est. Ecce quare dixi immortalem esse animam secundum modum summ. Nam potest et mori. Intelligat caritas vestra, et nulla quaestio remanebit. Audeo dicere, anima potest mori, potest occidi. Certe immortalis est. Ecce audeo dicere, et immortalis est, et potest occidi: et ideo dixi quoniam est quaedam immortalitas, hoc est, omnimoda incommutabilitas, quam solus Deus habet, de quo dictum est, 'Qui solus habet immortalitatem.' Nam si anima non potest occidi, quomodo dixit ipse Dominus cum terreret nos, 'Eum timete, qui potestatem habet et corpus et animam occidere in gehenna?' Adhuc confirmavi, non solvi quaestionem. Probavi quia potest anima occidi. Contradici Evangelio non potest, nisi ab anima impia. Ecce mihi occurrit et hic, et venit in mentem quod dicam. Contradici non potest vitae, nisi ab anima mortua. Evangelium vita est, impietas et infidelitas mors animae est. Ecce potest mori et immortalis est. Quomodo moritur? Non ut non sit via, sed amittendo vitam. Etenim anima et vita est alciui rei, et habet etiam ipsa vitam suam. Ordinem attende creaturarum. Vita corporis anima est: vita animae Deus est. Sicut adest vita corpori, id est, anima, ne moriatur corpus: sic debet adesse vita animae, hoc est, Deus, ne moriatur anima. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, Sermones ad Populum, Sermones De Scripturis Veteris et Novi Testamenti, Sermo LXV, Caput III-IV Source: Migne PL 38.428

Indeed, brothers, the soul is immortal, but it is immortal according to a certain manner, since it is a certain life which by its presence is able to give life to the flesh. Certainly the flesh lives by the soul. This life is not able to die and thus the soul is immortal. Why then did I say that it was immortal according to a certain manner? Hear why. Because there is a certain true immortality, an immortality which is unchangeable, according to which the Apostle says concerning God: 'He who alone has immortality and dwells in light inaccessible, whom no man has seen, nor is he able to see, to whom is honour and glory forever. Amen.' 1 If then God alone has immortality, certainly the soul is mortal. Thus see why I said that the soul was immortal in a certain manner. For it is able to die. Let your charity understand and no question shall remain. I venture to say, the soul can die, it can be killed. Yet it is immortal. Behold I dare to say it is immortal and that it can be killed, and therefore I have said that it has a certain immortality, that is, not at all that changeless one which God alone has, concerning which it has been said, 'He who alone has immortality.' For if the soul is not able to be killed, how then did the Lord say, when he admonished us, 'Fear him who has the power to destroy both the body and soul in hell.'? 2 Yet I have pressed not answered the question. I have asserted that the soul is able to be killed. The Gospel cannot not be contradicted unless by an impious soul. Behold, it occurs to me here, and it comes to my mind that I say: Life is not able to contradicted but by a dead soul. The Gospel is life, impiety and faithlessness is the death of the soul. Behold, the soul can die and it is immortal. How does it die? There is no way but by the loss of life. Indeed the soul is the life of something else, and it has its own life. Attend to the order of created things. The life of the body is the soul, the life of the soul is God. As life comes to the body, that is, by the soul, lest it perish, so God should be with the soul, lest the soul die. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Sermons on the Old and New Testament, from Sermon 65, Chap 3-4 1 Tim 6.16  2 Mt 10.28

Love And Death

Qui non diligit, manet in morte. Mortem animae dicit. Anima enim quae peccaverit, ipsa morietur. Vita quippe carnis anima, vita animae Deus est. Mors corporis amittere spiritum, mors est animae amittere Deum. Unde constat, quod in anima mortui omnes in hanc lucem nascimur, trahentes ex Adam originale peccatum, sed Christi gratia fidelibus regenerando agitur, ita in anima vivere possint. Verum baptismatis et fidei mysterium illis solummodo prodest, illos de morte attrahit ad vitam qui sincera mente diligunt fratres. Atque ideo notandum quod non ait: Qui non diligit venturus est in mortem, quasi de poena perpetua loqueretur, quae restat peccatoribus in futurum, sed qui non diligit, inquit, manet in morte. In illa utique morte, de qua etiam in hac vita, si fratres perfecte amaret, exsurgere posset. Hinc etenim dicitur in Apocalypsi Beatus et sanctus qui habet partem in resurrectione prima; in his secunda mors non habet potestatem. Sanctus Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Joannis Source: Migne PL 93 102d

He who does not love, remains in death. 1 He speaks of the death of the soul. For the soul which sins, dies. Certainly the life of the flesh is the soul, and the life of the soul is God. The death of the body gives up the soul, the death of the soul gives up God. Whence it follows, that all are dead in the soul who are born into this light, taking from Adam original sin, but by the work of the grace of Christ they are regenerated to faithfulness that they might live in the soul. The true mystery of baptism and faith profits those alone who are drawn from death to life by sincere love of their brothers. And thus it should be noted that he did not say, 'He who does not love is going to death,' as if speaking of the eternal punishment which awaits sinners in the future, but he says that he who does not love remains in death. In that death, then, from which in this life, if he loves his brothers perfectly, he is able to rise. Whence it is said in the Apocalypse: 'Blessed and holy is he who has a part in the first resurrection, against these the second death has no power.' 2 Saint Bede, from the Commentary On The First Letter of Saint John 1 1 Jn 3.14 2 Apoc 20.6

Death And Salvation

Οἱ ἐξ ὅλης διανοίας τὸν παντέφορον ἐπιβοώμενοι Κύριον, κἂν εἰς τὸ ἔσχατον τῶν κινδύνων ἀφίκοντο, πάντως τεύξονται τῆς ἄνωθεν ἀρωγῇς· ἐπήκοος γὰρ ὁ Δεσπότης γενόμενος ἐξ αὐτῆς μέσης ἐξαρπάσας τῆς ἀπωλείας πρὸς ζωὴν αἰώνιον, καὶ χαρὰν ἀναφέρει. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΛΘ' Στεφανῳ Διακονῳ  Source: Migne PG 79.141a

They who with all their mind invoke the all seeing Lord, even being brought to the last point of perils, nevertheless may partake of aid from on high. For the Lord hearkening to them in the midst of their ruin brings them to eternal life and transports them to eternal joy. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 139 to Stephen the Deacon

Death Of Rich And Poor

ἐγένετο δὲ ἀποθανεῖν τὸν πτωχὸν κ.τ.λ ἀπέθανεν δὲ καὶ ὁ πλούσιος καὶ ἐτάφη κ.τ.λ Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ Λάζαρος οὗτος, ἀλλὰ μετὰ πάσης ἀπήει δορυφορίας, καὶ τῶν χρηστοτέρων ἐλπίδων· τοῖς γὰρ ἐλπίδας ἔχουσι τὰς παρὰ Θεῷ, μετάστασις ἂν εἴη ἐξ ἀνίας καὶ πόνων, ἡ ἐκ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἀποδημία· καὶ τι τοιοῦτον ὁ Σολομῶν ἐδίδαξεν εἰπών· Ἔδοξαν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἀφρόνων τεθνάναι, καὶ ἐλογίσθη κάκωσις ἡ ἔξοδος αὐτῶν, καὶ ἡ ἀφ' ἡμῶν πορεία, σύντριμμα· οἱ δὲ εἰσὶν ἐν εἰρήνῃ, καὶ ἡ ἐλπὶς αὐτῶν ἀθανασίας πλήρης. Δίδοται γὰρ αῡτοῖς ἰσοπαλὲς τοῖς πόνοις, τὸ τῆς παρακλήσεως μέτρον· ἢ τάχα που καὶ πλείους τῶν πόνων αἱ ἀμοιβαί· ἔφη γὰρ Χριστὸς, ὅτι Μέτρον καλὸν πεπιεσμένον, σεσαλευμένον, ὑπερεκχυνόμενον, δώσουσιν εἰς τὸν κόλπον ὑμῶν. Οὐκοῦν ὁ μὲν Λάζαρος διὰ τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων ἀπενήνεκται, φησὶν, εἰς κόλπους Ἀβραάμ· ὁ δὲ πλούσιος ἀπέθανε, φησὶ καὶ ἐτάφη· θάνατος γὰρ αὐτῷ σκληρῷ γεγονότι καὶ ἀφιλοικτείρμονι, τὸ ἀπαλλαγῆναι σώματος· ἄπεισι γὰρ ἐκ τρυφῆς εἰς κόλασιν· ἐκ δόξης εἰς ἀτιμίαν· ἐκ φωτὸς εἰς σκότος. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λούκαν Εὐάγγελιον, Κεφα. ΙϚ Source: Migne PG 72. 828

And the poor man died... And the rich man died and was buried... 1 But not so that Lazarus who departed with a great guard and the best of hopes. For he who has hope in God is taken from grief and toil when he is cut off from us here. Solomon taught the same, saying, 'They have seemed to have died in the eyes of the unwise and their departing is reckoned an evil, and to be cut off from us annihilation; but they are at peace and their hope is full of immortality.' 2 For to them is given a measure of reward for their labours. Or the reward is even greater than the labour. For Christ says, 'A good measure, pressed down and shaken and overflowing shall be given into your lap.' 3 Therefore it says that Lazarus was taken by the holy angels into the lap of Abraham, but that when the rich man died that he was buried. For death to the heartless man is merciless, when he is separated from the body. He goes from luxury to punishment, from glory to disgrace, from light to darkness. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke, from Chapter 16 1 Lk 16.22 2 Wis 3. 2-4 3 Lk 6.38

Not Knowing The Way Of Peace

Et viam pacis non cognoverunt. Via pacis lenis est et inturbata; omnis enim bona vita tranquilla est et actus modesti ipsi sunt pacifici, et per istos itur ad Deum. Illi ergo nolentes haec scire, elegerunt viam tribulationum, per quam itur in gehennam. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Caput III Source: Migne PL 17 77

They have not known the way of peace. 1 The way of peace is easy and untroubled, for every good life is tranquil and the deeds of the humble are peaceful, and by them is the way to God. They, then, who do not wish to know this, they have chosen the way of tribulation, by which is the way to hell. Ambrosiaster, from the Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 3 1 Rom 3.13

After Death

Quae enim vita vestra? Vapor est ad modicum apparens et deinceps exterminabitur.    Non ait quae est vita nostra, sed quae, inquit, vita vestra? Quia justi tunc verius vivere incipiunt, cum ad hjus vitae finem pervenerunt. Inimici autem Domini mox cum honorificati et exaltati fuerint, deficientes ut fumus deficient. Non autem putandam est hanc eadem sententiam esse quam apud se impii in libro Sapientiae dixisse perhibentur: Quia ex nihilo nati sumus, et post haec erimus tanquam non fuerimus. Quoniam fumus afflatus in naribus et sermo scintillae ad commovendum cor nostrum. Qua exstincta cinis erit corpus, et spiritus diffundetur tanquam mollis aer. Haec enim illis ratiocinabatur, qui nullam vitam, nisi istam esse credebant, dicentes cum Epicuro: Post mortem nihil est, et mors ipsa nihil est. Illud autem beatus Jacobus intulit, ut doceat quia vita pravorum bravis est praesenti, quam tamen in futuro mors sequitur aeterna, juxta illud beati Job: Ducunt in bonis dies suos, et in puncto ad inferna descendunt. Sanctus Beda, Super Divi Jacobi Epistolam, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 93 35b-c

What is your life? It is a mist appearing for a moment and in the next disappearing. 1 He does not say 'our life' but 'what is your life'. Because the righteous truly begin to live when they come to the end of this life. 'The enemies of the Lord were quickly honoured and exalted and they passed away like smoke passes away.' 2 It should not be thought that this has the same meaning as what the impious say concerning themselves in the book of Wisdom: 'Because from nothing we are born, and after we shall be as if we were not. Because smoke is blown out our nostrils and reason is a spark caused by the beating of the heart, which ceasing the body becomes ash and the spirit passes away into the air. 3 These things indeed they think to themselves, who believe that they have no life but this one, saying with Epicurus: 'After death there is nothing and death itself is nothing.' Which the blessed James brings forth that he teach that the life of the depraved is brief in the present, which yet in the future shall receive eternal death, according to which the blessed Job says, 'They spent their days among good things, and in a moment they fell into hell.' 4 Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the Letter of Saint James, Chapter 4   1Jam 4.14 2 Ps 36.20 3 Wis 2.3,2 4 Job 21.13

Mercy And Judgment

Ἀγαπᾷ ἐλεημοσύνην καὶ κρίσιν ὁ Κύριος· τοῦ ἐλέους Κυρίου πλήρης ἡ γῆ. Εἰ καθ' ἑαυτὴν ὑπῆρχεν ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ κρίσις, ἀποτόμως ἡμῖν κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν ἡμῶν ἀποδιδόντος πρὸς ἂ ἐποιήσαμεν, ποία ἦν ἐλπίς; τίς ἂν ἐσώθη τῶν πάντῶν; Νῦν δὲ Ἀγαπᾷ ἐλεημοσνύν καὶ κρίσιν. Οἰονεὶ πάρεδρον ἑαυτῷ τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην ποιησάμενος, καὶ προβληθεῖσαν τῷ βασιλκῷ τῆς κρίσεως θρόνῳ, οὕτω παράγει εἰς κρίσιν ἔκαστον. Ἐὰν ἀνομίας παρατηρήσῃς, Κύριε, Κύριε, τίς ὑποστήσεται; Οὔτε ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη ἄκριτος, οὔτε ἡ κρίσις ἀνελεήμων. Πρὸ τῆς κρίσεως οὖν ἀγαπᾷ ἐλεημοσύνην, καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην ἔρχεται ἐπὶ τὴν κρίσιν. Ταῦτα δὲ ἀλλήλοις συνέζευκται, ὁ ἔλεος μετὰ τῆς κρίσεως· ἵνα μήτε ὁ ἔλεος μόνος χαυνότητα ἐμποιήσῃ, μήτε μόνη ἡ κρίσις ἀπογνωσιν ἐνεργάσηται. Βούλεται σε ἐλεῆσαι, καὶ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ οἰκτιρμῶν μεταδοῦναι ὁ κριτής· ἀλλ' ἐὰν εὕρῃ σε μετὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταπεινὸν, συντετριμμένον, πολλὰ μετακλαύσαντα ἐπὶ τοῖς πονηροῖς ἔργοῖς, τὰ γενόμενα κρυφῆ ἀνεπαισχύντως δημοσιεύσαντα, δεηθέντα ἀδελφῶν συγκαμεῖν σοι πρὸς τὴν ἴασιν, ὅλως ἐλεεινόν σε γενόμενον ἐὰν ἴδῃ, ἄφθονόν σοι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐλεημοσύνην ἐπιχορηγεῖ· ἐὰν δὲ καρδίαν ἀμετανόητον, φρόνημα ὑπερήφανον, ἀπιστίαν τοῦ αἰῶνος τοῦ μέλλοντος, ἀφοβίαν τῆς κρίσεως, τότε ἀγαπᾷ ἐπὶ σοὶ τὴν κρίσιν. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΛΒ' Ψαλμον  Source: Migne PG 29 329d-331b

'The Lord loves mercy and judgement, the earth is full of the Lord's mercy.' 1 If the judgement of God were measured by Himself and He strictly repaid us for what we had merited for what we had done, what hope would we have? Who of all us would be saved? But now: 'The Lord loves mercy and judgement.' For it is if mercy has been set beside the throne of royal judgement, that it introduce each one into judgement. 'If you observed iniquity Lord, O Lord, who would sustain it?' 2  There is neither mercy without judgement, nor judgement without mercy. Before judgement, therefore, He loves mercy, and after mercy comes judgement. And these are joined to one another, mercy with judgement, lest mercy alone make softness, or judgement alone drive to desperation. The judge wishes to be merciful to you, and to make you a participant in His own mercy, for if after sin you find yourself humble, contrite, deploring every depraved work, bringing to light those things which secretly shame, beseeching your brothers that they they aid you in a cure, seeing this He will be completely merciful to you, and give to you an abundance of mercy. However if you have an impenitent heart, a proud mind, a soul unbelieving in the future age, with no fear of judgement, then against you He will prefer judgement. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 32 1 Ps 32.5 2 Ps 129.3

Preaching, Salvation And Damnation

Et scient quia propheta fuerit in medio eorum. Malis scire bonos, aut ad adjutorium salutis proficere, aut ad testimonium damnationis solet. Sciant ergo quia in medio eorum propheta fuerit, ut audita praedicatione aut adjuventur ut surgant, aut sic damnentur ut excusatione careant. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia IX Source: Migne PL 76.874c

And they shall know that there was a Prophet among them. 1 That is, to know the good among the wicked, either as help for salvation or as witness of damnation. Let them know, therefore, that there was a Prophet in the midst of them, that either by the hearing of preaching they are helped to rise up, or that they are damned and have no excuse. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 9 1 Ezek 2.5

The Unworldly

Nemo tam sanctum est ut non sanctior, nemo tam devotus ut non debeat esse devotior. Quis enim in hujus vitae constitutus incerto, aut immunis a tentatione, aut liber inveniatur a culpa? Quis est qui nihil virtutis sibi adjici, aut qui nihil vitii sibi optet auferri? cum et adversa neceant et secunda corrumpant, nec minoris sit perienti carere desideratis quam abundare concessis. Insidiae sunt in divitiarum amplitudine, insidiae in pauperiatis angustiis. Illae elevant ad superbiam, hae incitant ad querelam. Tentat sanitas, tentat infirmitas, dum et illa materia est negligentiae, et haec cause tristitiae. Laqueus est in securitate, laquens est in timore; nec interest utrum animus, qui terreno tenetir affecti, gaudiis occupetur an curis, cum per morbus sit vel sub vana delectatione languescere, vel sub anxia sollicitduine laborare. Impletur itaque per omnia sententia Veritatis qua discimus angustam esse et arduam viam quae ducit ad vitam; et cum latitudo itineris ad mortem trahentis multis frequentetur agminibus, in salutis semitis paucorum intrantium sunt rara vestigia. Unde autem populosior est via laeva quam dextera, nisi quia ad mundana gaudia et corporalia bona multitudo proclivis est? Et quamvis caducum incertumque sit quod cupitur, libentius tamen suscipitur labour pro desiderio voluptatis quam pro amore virtutis. Ita cum innumeri sint qui visibilia concupiscant, vix inveniuntur qui temporalibus aeterna praeponant. Et ideo, dicente beato apostolo Paulo: Quae videntur temporalia sunt, quae autem non videntur aeterna sunt; latet quodammodo et in abscondito est virtutum via, quoniam spe salvi facti summus, et fides vera id super omnia diligit, quod nullo sensu carnis attingit. Magni est ergo operis et laboris mobilitatem cordis ab omnibus continere peccatis, et cum undique innumerae voluptatum illecebrae blandiantur, ad nulla contagia vigorem animi relaxare. Quis picem tangit, et non inquinatur ab ea? Quis non infirmatur in carne? Quis non sordescit in pulvere? Quis postremo est tantae puritatis, ut iis non polluatur sine quibus vita non ducitur? Jubet enim per Apostolum doctrina divina, ut qui habent uxores, tamquam non habentes sint: et qui flent, tamquam non flentes; et qui gaudent, tamquam non gaudentes; et qui emunt, tamquam non possidentes; et qui utuntur hoc mundo, tamquam non utantur: praeterit enim figura mundi hujus. Beata igitur mens quae peregrinationis suae tempora casta sobrietate transcurrit, et in iis per quae necesse est eam ambulare non remanent, ut hospita magis quam domina terrenorum, nec affectibus desit humanis, et promissionibus sit innixa divinis. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XLIX Source: Migne PL 54.301c- 303a

No one is so holy that he might not to be holier, no one so devout that he might not be more devout. Who is there set in the uncertainty of this life who can be found immune to temptation, or free from fault? Who would not wish for any addition to his virtue, or that from his vices anything be taken away? Since adversity does us harm and success corrupts us, and it is not less perilous to lack what we want then to have it in abundance. There is a trap in the fullness of riches, a trap in the straits of poverty. The one lifts us up in pride, the other incites us to complain. Health tries us, sickness tries us, one being the cause of negligence the other of grief. There is a trap in security, a trap in fear, and it matters not whether the soul given over to earthly thoughts is occupied with pleasures or cares, for it is equally unhealthy to languish amid vain delights, as to labour under the worries of anxiety. And thus is fulfilled in every sense that judgement of the Truth by which we learn that it is the narrow and difficult way that leads to life, 1 and that while the wide way that leads to death is filled with many crowds, the steps are few of those who walk on the way of safety. And why is the left road more populated than the right, save that the multitude is inclined to worldly joys and corporeal goods? And although that which is desired is transient and uncertain, yet men more willingly take up toil for the desire for pleasure than for love of virtue. Thus while those who desire things visible are innumerable, those who prefer the eternal to the temporal are scarcely found. And, therefore, with the blessed Apostle Paul saying, 'the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal,' 2 the path of virtue is in a manner hidden and secret because 'by hope we were saved,' 3 and true faith loves above all things that which it attains to without any knowledge of the flesh. A great work and toil it is then to keep our shifting heart from all sin, and, with the numberless allurements of pleasure to lure it away everywhere, not to let the strength of the soul give way to any influence. Who 'touches pitch, and is not defiled thereby?' 4 Who is not weakened by the flesh? Who is not dirtied by dust? Who, finally, is so pure as not to be polluted by those things without which one cannot live? For the Divine teaching commands by the Apostle that 'they who have wives should be as though they had none, and those who weep should be as though they do not weep, and those that rejoice should be as though they do not rejoice, and those that buy should be as though they do not possess, and those that make use of this world should be as though they do not; for the fashion of this world passes away.' 5 Blessed, therefore, is the mind that passes the time of its pilgrimage in chaste sobriety and tarries not among the things through which it must walk, so that, as a guest rather than the owner of its earthly abode, it may not lack human affections and yet rest on Divine promises.' Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 49 1 Mt 7.14 2 2 Cor 4.18 3 Rom 8.24 4 Sirach 13.1  5 1 Cor 7.29-31

Tears And Healing

Si ad unius viduae lacrymas temporales sic motus est Christus, ut occurreret in via, ut ex oculis stillantia dolorum fluenta restingueret, ut recuteret mortem, reduceret hominem, ut resuscitaret corpus, vitam reduceret, planctum verteret in gaudium, et exsequias lugubres in festivitatem natalitiam commutaret, et feretro datum matri vivum redderet ex morte; quid modo faciet quando inardescet viribus suis ad Ecclesiae suae lacrymas diuturnas, ad sponsae suae sanguineos sudores? Nam per supplicantem Ecclesiam lacrymas fundit juges, per martyres sacrum sanguinem sudat, donec unicum suum, hoc est populum Christianum, quem tot ad mortem ferunt tempora, occurrens Christus de mortali feretro perpetuae vitae reddat in supernae matris gaudium sempiternum. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CIII, De Filio Viduae Excitato a Mortuis, deque Corporum Resurrectione Source: Migne PL 52 col 489a-b

If Christ was so moved by the tears one widow shed at a certain time that He came to meet her on the road, 1 that He dried the streams of grief flowing from her eyes, that He beat back death, that He brought back a man, that He revived a body, that He restored life, that he turned mourning into joy, and that he transformed funereal grief into a celebration of birth and He returned living from the dead one given to the bier to a mother; what will He do now when will he is inflamed for men at constant tears of his Church, at the blood and sweat of his Bride? For by supplication the Church pours forth continual tears and through her martyrs she sweats sacred blood, until her only one, that is the Christian people, whom the many ages bear off to death, with Christ's coming, is taken from the mortal bier to everlasting life amid the eternal joy of this heavenly mother. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 103, On The Son of the Widow Raised from the Dead and the Resurrection of the Body 1 Lk 7.11-17

Peace And Death

Esto consentiens adversario tuo cito dum es in via cum eo : ne forte tradat te adversarius judici... Quia nullum tempus vacuum affectu placabilitatis Dominus esse permittit, cito in vitae nostrae via reconciliari nos adversario praecepit, ne in mortis tempus non initia pace transeamus; et ideo dicit esto consentiens adversario tuo cito dum es cum eo in via, ne forte tradat te adversarius iudici. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap IV  Source: Migne PL 19.938b

'Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver you to the judge... 1 Because the Lord allows us no time to be wanting in mildness of temper, He bids us be quickly reconciled with our adversary on the way of our life, lest we pass into the time of death before peace begins, and so he He says, 'Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver you to the judge.' Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4 1 Mt 5.25

Consideration Of Past And Future

Ἐμίσησας πάντας τοὺς ἐργαζομένους τὴν ἀνομίαν, ἀπολεῖς πάντας τοὺς λαλοῦντας τὸ ψεῦδος. Τοὺς μὲν ἐν τῇ πολιτείᾳ πταίοντας ἐργαζομένους τὴν ἀνομίαν ὠνόμασεν· τούτους δὲ μισεῖ ὁ Θεός τοὺς ἀποπεσόντας τῆς ἀληθείας. Ἑτεροδόξους λαλοῦντας ψεῦδος εἶπεν, οὓς ἀπολεῖ ὁ Θεός. Καὶ τήρει διαφορὰν τοῦ, ἐμίσησας, καὶ, ἀπολεῖς. Πρῶτον μὲν εἰ χεῖρον τὸ, ἀπολεῖς, τοῦ, ἐμίσησας· δεύτερον δὲ διὰ τί τὸ μὲν εἰς παρεληλυθότα ἔκλινε χρόνον, τὸ δὲ εἰς μέλλοντα. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμός Ε' Source: Migne PG 69.741c

'You have hated all those who work iniquity, you shall destroy all those who speak lies.' 1 Those who sin in public are named workers of iniquity, and God hates those who have fallen from truth. And he calls heretics the speakers of lies, whom God shall destroy. And consider the difference of the words 'You have hated' and 'You shall destroy,' first if the worst be found in 'you shall destroy' or 'you have hated,' then secondly note that one indicates a time that has passed and the latter the future. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 5 1 Ps 5.7