State super vias et videte et interrogate de semitis antiquis quae sit via bona et ambulate in ea et invenietis refrigerium animabus vestris

28 Feb 2021

Guarding Against Vainglory

Εἰ δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς κενοδοξίας καὶ τοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπαίνου δεινῶς τυραννῇ, ὀφείλεις μηδὲν πρὸς ἐπίδειξιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ποιεῖν, ἀλλὰ πᾶσαν τὴν ἐργασίαν σου ποιεῖν ἐν κρυπτῷ, μηδενὸς ἄλλου εἰδότος, ἢ του Θεοῦ μόνου· καὶ μὴ ἀγάπα τοὺς ἐπαίνους, μηδὲ τὰς τιμὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, μηδὲ τὰ καλὰ ἱμάτια, μηδὲ τὴν προτίμησιν, καὶ τὴν πρωτοκαθεδρίαν· μάλλον δὲ ἀγάπα ἵνα σε ψέγωσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, καὶ κατηγορῶσι καὶ ἀτιμάζωσι ψευδόμενοι· καὶ ἔχε ἑαυτὸν παντὸς ἁμαρτωλοῦ ἁμαρτωλότερον.

Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Δαμασκηνός, Περι Των Ὀκτώ Τῆς Πονηρίας Πνευμάτων

Source: Migne PG 95 82c-d
If glorying in vanities and the praises of men rules heavily over you, never should you do anything before men, but let all the works that you do be done in secret, known to no one but God alone; 1 and guarding against love of the praises and honours of men, refuse fine vestments, first portions and first seats, but rather love that men insult you, and accuse and dishonour you by their lies, and hold yourself as the most sinful of sinners.

Saint John of Damascus, On The Eight Wicked Spirits


1 cf Mt 6.1-6

27 Feb 2021

Ways Of Confession


Qui confitebitur me coram hominibus, confitebor et ego eum coram Patre meo. Qui autem negaverit me coram hominibus, negabo et ego eum coram Patre meo, qui in cælis est. 

Ac si diceret, quales mihi testes eritis coram hominibus, ut vita, moribus, confessione me indefessi praedicetis in terris, tali vos, apud Patrem, cujus et filii estis, testimonio in coelis commendabo. Ad hoc quippe totum valet quod praemiserat, ut in hoc testimonia fidei permanentes usque ad palmam martyrii fortiter decertarent. Quatuor siquidem modis in divinis litteris confessio dicitur, et duobus locis. Est itaque confessio laudis, est et gratiarum actio, quae semper fit in coelis; tertia vero confessio peccatorum, quae nunquam proficue fit nisi in terris: quarta est, de qua hic agitur, in martyrio coram hominibus, in tempore; et unusquisque eam recipiat coram Patre et coram sanctis angelis in aeternitate. Quae negatio vel confessio, non tantum verbis accipienda est, quam et in omnibus bonis operibus et puritate cordis. Unde e contrario Christus electis: Venite, inquit, benediciti Patris mei, et reprobis: Discedite a me, operarii iniquitatis, quia nescio vos.

Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber VI

Source: Migne PL 120.430c-d
He who confesses me before men, I shall confess before my Father. But he who denies me before men, I shall deny him before my Father in heaven. ' 1 

As if He said: As you are witnesses to me before men, that by your life, by your conduct, so you preach a ceaseless confession of me on earth, so I will commend you with testimony in the heavens to my Father, whose sons you are. And for this He makes them entirely capable, as He has said, that even to the palm of martyrdom they may strive strongly persisting in the witness of faith. There are four ways in which the Divine Scriptures speak of confession, and in two places. There is the confession of praise and the action of thanksgiving, which shall always be in heaven; then the third is the confession of sins, which cannot happen unless on earth, and the fourth is what we have already mentioned, martydom before men in the world. And each one is received in the presence of the Father and the holy angels in eternity. Thus denial or confession is not only to be understood as a matter of words, but as every good deed and purity of heart. So alternately Christ said to the elect: 'Come, blessed of my Father,' and to the wicked: 'Begone from me, workers of iniquity, I do not know you.' 2


Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 6

1 Mt 10.32-33
2 Mt 25.3

26 Feb 2021

Ease And Difficulty


Τὸ μὲν πόνῳ κτηθῶὲν, μᾶλλον κρατεῖσθαι πέφυκεν, τὸ δὲ ῥᾳδίως κτηθὲν, καὶ ἀποπτύεσθαι τάχιστα, ὡς πάλιν ληφθῆναι δυνάμενον, ὥστε μᾰλλον εὐεργεσίᾳ κρατίστῃ, καὶ βεβαίᾳ καθίσταται τὸ μὴ πρόχειρον τῆς εὐεργεσίας.

Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΜΗ, Δοσιθεῳ


Source: Migne PG 79.104c
That which is acquired with toil is firmly established, that which is easily acquired is quickly cast away, as if it could easily be regained, and so it is with greatest goods, that they are firmly established by not being simple benefactions.

Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 48, to Dositheus

25 Feb 2021

Questioning Security


 Ὅταν τινὲς τῶν ἀκαθαρτων λογισμῶν ταχέως φυγαδευθῶσιν, ζητήσωμεν τὴν αἰτίαν πόθεν τοῦτο συμβέβηκε· πότερον διὰ τὴν σπάνιν τοῦ πράγματος, τοῦ δυσπόριστον εἰναι τὴν προσοῦσαν ἡμῖν ἀπάθειαν οὐκ ἰσχυσαν καθ' ἡμῶν οἱ ἐχθροί; Οἷον, εἴ τις τῶν ἀναχωρούντων ἐνθυμηθείη ὑπὸ δαίμονος, τῆς πρώτης πόλεως πνευματικὴν κυβέρνησιν πιστευθῆναι, οὗτος δῆλον, ὅτι οὐ χρονίσει λογισμὸν τοῦτον φανταζόμενος, καὶ ἡ αἰτία ἐκ τῶν λεγομένων γίνεται γνώριμος· εἰ δέ τις πόλεως, καὶ τῆς τυχούσης γίνεται, καὶ ὁμοίως λογίζεται, οὗτος μακάριος τῆς ἀπαθείας ἐστίν. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων λογισμῶν εὑρωθήσεται ὁ τοιοῦτός τρόπος ἐξεταζόμενος. Ταῦτα δὲ ἀναγκαῖον εἰδέναι πρὸς τὴν ἡμετέραν προθυμίαν, καὶ δύναμιν, ἵνα εἴδωμεν, πότερον ῆ̀ τὸν Ἰορδάνην παρήλθομεν, καὶ ἐγγύς ἐσμεν τῆς πόλεως τῶν Φοινίκων, ἢ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ διάγομεν, καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων τυπτόμεθα. 

Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Περὶ διαφόρων πονηρῶν λογισμῶν, Κεφαλ Κβ'


Source: Migne PG 79 1224d-1225a 
When unclean thoughts have been driven away quickly, we should seek the cause of how this has happened. Was it because of the impossibility of the thought as action or because of our state of dispassion, that enemies failed to overcome us? For example, if a solitary, by the prompting of demons, imagines himself entrusted with the spiritual rule of a great city, he will not dwell on this thought for long because he knows the cause of why it has come to him. But if a man does become the spiritual guide of a city and he thinks in the same manner, he is blessed with dispassion. A similar measure shall be found applicable to other thoughts. And we should be aware of these things in order to estimate our commitment and strength, that we know whether we have crossed the Jordan and are near the palm trees, or are still in the wilderness and are assaulted by the enemy.

Evagrius Ponticus, On Various Wicked Thoughts, Chap 22

24 Feb 2021

Removal And Reward


Octava utilitas tribulationis est, quod Deus excludendo terrena solatia quae sunt inferius, cogit quaerere coelestia, quae sunt superius. Sicut terrenus dominus, qui vult vendere vinum suum, prohibet ne aliquis audeat tabernam suam aperire, donec vendiderit vinum suum; sic Deus aliquando excludit solatia terrena, ut conferat coelestia, quae sunt sua. Hoc signficatum est in Joele, ubi dicitur: Bestiae agri quasi area sitiens suspexerunt te: quoniam excaecati sunt fontes aquarum. Bestias agri appellat affectiones et desideria carnalia. Fontes aquarum vocat mundana solatia ; quando ergo siccantur fontes aquarum, id est, quando deficiunt solatia mundana in adversitatibus, tunc cogitur cor respicere superius et quaerere largitorem solatiorum et praemiorum coelestium; unde tanto est Dominus corde benignior, quanto cor in exterioribus majores reperit amaritudines. Sed posses dicere, de hoc non contristor, quia taberna solatiorum mundanorum non est mihi aperta, sed de hoc quod taberna solatiorum supernorum est mihi clausa, quia nec inferius nec superius invenio solatium. Ad hoc respondetur, quod per hoc, quod solatia mundana interdicta tibi sunt, non habebis coelestia, nisi prius redieris ad cor tuum desiderando et quaerendo Deum et superna. Vult enim Deus hoc, quia majus meritum consistit in desiderando et quaerendo Dominum, quam delectando totaliter in ipso et propter ipsum. Similiter quanto ferventius eum desideraveris et quaesieris, tanto majus solatium tibi conferetur, et majorem in eo invenies dulcedinem. Sicut famelico sapit aliquid melius quam non famelico: Et scies quod non diu differentur caelestia solatia, si per tribulationem fuerint exclusa terrena, si ardentei petieris et quaesieris, licet videntur differri, sicut dicit Salomon, desiderium suum justo dabit.

Petrus Blenensis, De Utilitate Tribulationum

Source:  Migne PL 207.1001c-1002b
The eighth usefulness of tribulation is that when God removes all comforts of worldly things, which are below, He compels one to seek heavenly things, which are above. As a lord of the world who wishes to sell his wine, prohibits anyone from opening his tavern, until he has sold his wine, so sometimes God removes all worldly comforts from us, that it bring us to heavenly things, which are His own. And this has been signified in Joel, when it is said: 'The beasts of the field, like a thirsty land, look up to you, because the springs of water are all dry.' 1 The carnal desires and affections he names the beasts of the field. The springs of water are worldly comforts. When, therefore, the springs of water are dry, that is, when worldly comforts perish in adversities, then the heart is forced to look to higher things and to seek greater comforts and the heavenly rewards, whence as much as the Lord is more kindly in heart, the more the heart finds exterior things bitter. You may say: 'I do not grieve because of this, that a tavern of mundane comforts is not open to me, but because the tavern of supernal comforts is closed to me; I find no comfort in things below or above.' To this I answer: that because of this, that worldly comforts are prohibited to you, nor shall you have heavenly things, unless first you shall turn your heart to desiring and seeking God and greater things. For God wishes this: that there be greater merit in desiring and seeking the Lord, than in the delight in Him and through Him. Similarly the more fevently you desire and seek Him, so much greater shall be the comfort bestowed, and you shall have greater sweetness in it. So a hungry man knows something better than a man who is not hungry. And you shall know that heavenly comforts are not delayed for long, when by tribulation worldly things are excluded, if ardently you seek and search, though there may seem to be delay, for as Soloman says: 'He shall give the righteous man his desire.' 2

Peter of Blois, On The Usefulness of Tribulations

1 Joel 1.20
2 Prov 10.24

23 Feb 2021

True Freedom


Sed non ille solum liber, qui dominum licitatorem non pertulit, aut tollentem digitum non vidit, sed ille magis liber, qui intra se liber est, qui legibus naturae liber est, legem sciens naturae praescriptam esse moribus, non conditionibus; et mensuram officiorum consentaneam non hominis arbitrio, sed naturae disciplinis. Utrum igitur iste liber tibi tantummodo, an quidam censor videtur, et praefectus moribus? Unde vere ait Scriptura quia pauperes divitum praepositi erunt, et privati utique administrantium. An tibi liber videtur, qui pecunia suffragium sibi emit? qui plausum populi magis, quam iudicium requirit prudentium? Ille ergo liber est, qui popularibus auris movetur; ille qui reformidat sibilum vulgi? Sed non ista libertas, quam manumissus accipit, et palma lictoris donatus acquirit. Non enim munificentiam, sed virtutem libertatem esse arbitror: quae non suffragiis defertur alienis, sed magnanimitate propria vindicatur ac possidetur. Sapiens enim semper liber est, semper honoratus, semper is qui praesit legibus. Denique iusto non est posita lex, sed iniusto; iustus enim ipse sibi lex est, non habens necesse longius sibi accersere formam virtutis, quam corde inclusam gerat, scriptum habens opus legis in tabulis cordis sui, cui dictum sit: Bibe aquam de tuis vasis, et de puteorum tuorum fontibus. Quid enim nobis tam proximum, quam Dei verbum? Hoc est verbum in corde nostro, et in ore nostro, quod non videmus et tenemus. 

Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Epistola XXXVII, Ad Simplicianum

Source: Migne PL 16.1088b-c
But it is not that he alone is free who has never suffered an auctioneer as a master, nor seen him raising his finger, but he is more free who within himself is free, who is free by the laws of nature, knowing that the law of nature has a moral not merely an arbitrary sanction, and that the measure of its duties is not in accordance with the will of man but with the discipline of nature. Does such a person therefore seem to you to be merely free, or does he not rather appear to you as a censor and director of morals? Hence Scripture says truly that the poor shall be set over the rich, and private men over those who hold office. 1 Does it seem to you that he is free who buys votes with money, who prefers the applause of the people to requests for prudent judgement? Is that man free who is swayed by the popular breath, who dreads the hisses of the populace? But this is not liberty which he who is manumitted receives, which he acquires as a gift from the blow of the lictor's palm. For it is not munificence but virtue that I judge to be liberty, which is not bestowed by the suffrages of others, but which is won and possessed by one's own greatness of soul. For a wise man is always free, he is always honoured, he is always the one who presides over the laws. For the law is not made for the righteous but for the unrighteous, 2 since the just man is a law to himself, having no need to fetch for himself from afar the form of virtue because he bears it in his own heart, having the works of the law written on the tablets of his heart, to whom it is said: 'Drink waters out of your own vessls out of your own wells.' 3 For what is so near to us as the Word of God? This word is in our hearts, and in our mouth; we see it not, and yet we possess it. 4

Saint Ambrose, from Letter 37, To Simplician

1Prov 22.7
2 1 Tim 1.9
3 Prov 5.15
4 Deut 30.14, Rom 10.8

22 Feb 2021

Captivity And Liberation


Dum avertit Dominus captivitatem plebis suae.

Captivitas proprie gentium est, qui in corde suo dixerant Non est Deus; qui trepidaverunt ubi non erat timor, qui spem inopis confuderant et illuserant, quia Dominus spes ejus est; qui in generatione justa Dominum habitaturum negaverant, capti religionibus daemonum, superstitionibus temporum, officiis creaturae. Haec captivitas apellitur, hoc servitium adimitur. Sed Israel erit ille qui credit, Israel erit ille qui Deum oculis cordis adspiciet: quia Israel Deum videns est, qui post captivitatem aversam hoc Dei salutare cognoscit. Laetatur Jacob, laetatur et Israel captivitate aversa, libertate concessa, Deo contemplato, Abraham et Jacob patribus per adoptionem familiae nuncupatis. In his ergo laetemur, et in his exsultemus, scientes per nostram redemptionem ob unius poenitentis salutem esse in coelis gaudia angelorum; et cum coelestis laetitia pro nobis sit, oportet in Christo gaudia nostra esse perpetua, qui est benedictus in saecula saeculorum.



Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum XIII

Source: Migne PL 9.298a-c
When the Lord averts the the captivity of His people. 1

The true captivity is of the Gentiles, who say in their hearts: 'There is no God,' who fear where there is no fear, who confound and mock the hope of the poor, because the Lord is the poor man's hope, who refuse to dwell among the generation of the righteous with the Lord, 2 who are snared by the religion of demons, the superstitions of the times, the service of created things. This is named captivity, this is called servitude. But Israel shall be the one who believes, Israel shall be the one who sees God with the eyes of the heart, because Israel sees God, who after the removal of captivity knows the salvation of God. Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel rejoice, captivity is removed, liberty is given, 3 God is contemplated, with the fathers Abraham and Jacob being called to adoption into His family. In these things then let us rejoice, and in these let us exult, knowing by our redemption that the repentance of just one for salvation is the joy of angels in heaven, 4 and when there is heavenly joy for us, in Christ our joy should be eternal, He who is blessed in eternity.

Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 13


1 Ps 13.7
2 Ps 13.5-6
3 Ps 13.7
4 Lk 15.7

21 Feb 2021

Two Peoples

In eo quod Dominus respondit Rebeccae: Duae gentes in utero tuo sunt, et duo populi de ventre tuo separabuntur, et populus populum superabit, et major serviet minori, spirituali intelligentia carnales in populo Dei significantur per majorem filium, et spirituales per minorem: quia sicut dicit Apostolus, Non prius quod spirituale, sed quod animale; postea, spirituale. Solet et sic intelligi hoc quod dictum est, ut in Esau figuratus sit major populus Dei, hoc est Israeliticus secundum carnem: per Jacob autem figuratus sit ipse Jacob secundum spiritualem progeniem.

Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Quaestionum In Heptateuchum, Liber Primus

Source: Migne PL 34.567
When the Lord gave answer to Rebecca: 'Two nations are in your womb, and two people will come out from it, and a people shall overcome a people, and the elder will serve the younger,' 1 in the spiritual understanding the carnal folk among the people of God are signified by the elder son, and the spirtual by the younger, as the Apostle says: 'The spiritual was not first, but the animal, after came the spiritual. ' 2 It is customary to understand what was said, that in Esau is the figure of the elder people of God, that is, Israel according to the flesh, and in Jacob is the figure of the spiritual offspring.


Saint Augustine of Hippo, Questions on The Heptateuch, Book 1

1 Gen 25.23
2 1 Cor 15.46

20 Feb 2021

Jacob And Esau

Τῆς πτέρνης Ἠσαῦ ὁ Ἰακὼβ ἐπείληπτο ἐν τῷ τίκτεσθαι, τοῦτο σημαίνων διὰ τοῦ σχήματος, ὅτι ὁ νοῦς ὁ βλέπων Θεὸν καθαρότητι, τοῦτο φὰρ Ἰσραὴλ ἑρμηνεύεται, πτερνίζει τὰ πάθη τὰ γαστρίμαργα· ὅπερ ἐπ' αὐτῶν ἐκείνων τετέλεστο, ἡνίκα τὴν ἀκαρτέρητον λύτταν ὁ Ἐδὼμ ἐπεδείξατο, καὶ τῆς πρεσβυγενείας τὴν τιμὴν οἰκέτιν ἐποίσε βρώσεως.

Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή Ρϟβ' Λαμπετιῳ

Source:  Migne PG 78.306b-c
Jacob held on to the heel of Esau at their birth, 1 which figure signifies the mind which in purity discerns God, for that is what Israel means translated, supplanting the appetite of the stomach. Which image was then fulfilled, being displayed in the unbridled hunger of Edom and the honour of the first born made a slave for food.

Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 192, to Lampetius


Gen 25.25

19 Feb 2021

The Body's Rule


Ὅτι μετὰ τῆς πτώσεως ἡμῶν περιπατοῦμεν, καὶ ἐν μέσῳ παγίων διαβαίνομεν, διορατικοὺς ἡμᾶς ποιῶν ὁ Κύριος, ἀπεφήνατο προσέχειν ἀπὸ τῆς ζύμης καὶ τῶν σκανδάλων, καὶ εὐνοεῖν τῷ ἀντιδίκῳ ταχὺ, ἕως ὅτου ὦμεν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ματ' αὐτοῦ. Ἀντίδικον, τὴν τοῦ σώματος ὅρεχιν πρὸς τὸ πνεῦμα θεοπρεπῶς ὀρισάμενος. Ὁδὸν μὲν, τὸν βίον καλῶν, ὑπὸ τοῦ γένους ἡμῶν ἀστάτως ὀδευόμενον. Εὔνοιοαν δὲ πρὸς τὸ σῶμα τὴν συναίσθησιν τῆς ἐπαναστάσεως αὐτοῦ προσαγορεύων, ὀξέως παρ' ἡμῶν θεωρεῖσθαι ὀφείλουσαν μήποτε τοῖς αὐτῆς προστάγμασιν ὑποκύψαντες, καὶ ἀνάξια τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως πράξαντες, παραδοθῶμεν ὑπ' ἐκείνων τῷ Κριτῇ, ὅτε τὰ ἔργα ἡμῶν καὶ τοὺς λόγους συναγαγεῖν παραγίνεται, καὶ ἀποδοῦναι ἐκάστω κατὰ τὸ ἴδιον ἔργον.

Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή Π' Νειλῳ Μονακῳ

Source:  Migne PG 78.237b-c
Because we walk with our ruin, and in the midst of snares we go, so the Lord, that He might make us more keen sighted, tells us to keep ourselves from the leaven 1 and from scandal, 2 and to come to an understanding with our adversary quickly while we are on the way, 3 the tribulation of the body which keeps us from the Divine spirit. The way, then, He calls this life, which by our nature, we travel without any stability. And coming to an understanding with the body, He calls the perception of its rebelliousness, which quickly should be known by us, lest otherwise, if we succumb to its rule, we are handed over to the judge, when He comes to reckon up our deeds and words, and He returns to each one according to his work.

Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 80, Nilus the Monk


1 Mk 8.15
2 Mt 18.6
3 Mt 5.25

18 Feb 2021

Days Of Fasting


Ductus est Jesus in desertum a spiritu, ut tentaretur a diabolo.

Haec Quadragesima, dilectissimi, Domini ac Salvatoris nostri Quadragesimis Moysi et Eliae prophetata, vel etiam totidem annorum peregrinatione patrum in deserto, nequaquam a mysterio et salutari aliquo sacramento jejuna ac sterilis credi debet. Verum, fratres, difficile est, et nostrae parvitatis sensum excedit, tot gradibus rationabilis abstinentiae profectum distinguere, et ascendenti de Aegypto ad terram promissionis, id est ed hoc mundo ad Patrem, tot in sui spiritus olim deserto, dum carnem inhabitaret iste ascensor, virtutum mansiones assignare, quibus elongetur carni, ut appropinquet Deo, sicut scriptum est: Ascensiones disposuit in corde suo in valle lacrymarum in loco quem posuit. In quadragenario tamen quoniam decuplatur quaternarius, aut quadruplicatur denarius, ex illis modo nobis intimatur, ut quandiu temporales hic sumus, et in corpore quod corrumpitur et aggravat animam aggravati, peregrinamur a mensa ac delectabili refectione Domini, corpora nostra castigemus, ac subjiciamus servituti legis Dei, ac tempora induciarum ad emendationem indulta nequaquam perdamus negligentia, aut iis abutamur in superbia; sed expendamus tempus, et exerceamus copus in observantia et obedientia mandatorum Dei, corde autem in lege ejius meditantes die ac nocte. Ubi autem advesatur ipsa concupiscentiis nostris, concordemus cum ea, dum adhuc sumus in via, ne posse viam tradat nos tanquam rebelles Judici, Judex tortori. Torqueamus ergo nos ipsos, dilectissimi, in lege, ne torqueamur a lege. Abstineamus ab his quae adversantur legi, ac jejunemus, ne adversariam sentiamus legem, praesertim quando judicabit, cui nunc adversamur, dum consulit. Hoc est enim jejunium, quod elegit Dominus, abstinere ab omni malo, non solum foris ab opere, sed intus a perversa voluntate. Foris quidam alii, intus sibi. Nemo enim non prius sibi quam alteri nocet. Alterius per tunicam corpus perforas. Plus tibi mater cupiditas nocet, quam alteri quae de illa nascitur filia rapina vel furtum; plus tibi mali affert invidia, quam boni aufert derogatio tua, cui per invidiam detrahis. Perfectum etenim, et quale Deus elegit, jejunium est, non affligere hominem animam suam per diem, et torquere quasi circulum caput suum, et omnes debitores suos avare repetere, et ad litem et contentionem jejunare, sed abstinere ab omni malo, ac insistere omni bono; non facere malum alteri quod sibi noli fieri; et id facere boni quod sibi cupit, quasi denarium legis quadruplicare per Evangelium, et quaternarium Evangelii decuplare per legem. In lege enim perfectio Evangelii olim delitescebat, sicut nunc legis imperfectio in Evangelio patescit. Lex autem operis, Evangelium malae voluntatis jejunium indicit, gustum punit. Hinc concionator noster in Evangelio: Audistis, inquit, quia dictum est antiquis: Non occides. Ego autem dico vobis, non irasci, et caetera secundum hunc modum. Sequitur: Et cum jejunasset quadraginta diebus et quadraginata noctibus. Non enim coram et in luce jejunabat, et clam edebat in tenebris; sed qualis in aperto, talis in abscondito; qualis in facie, talis in corde.


Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, Sermo XXXI In Dominca I Quadragesimae II

Source: Migne PL 194.1790c-1791c
And Jesus was lead by the spirit into the desert, that He be tested by the devil... 1

This forty days period, most beloved, of our Lord and Saviour was prophesised by the forty of Moses and Elijah, or indeed by the same amount of years of wandering of the fathers in the desert, and not at all should it be thought that this fast is sterile of the mystery and sacrament of salvation. Truly, brothers, it is difficult, it exceeds the understanding of our littleness, to distinguish all the steps of the progess of rational abstinence and the ascent from Egypt to the Promised Land, that is, from the world to the Father, the whole spirit being in the desert while he who would ascend dwells in the flesh, and to assign the stations of virtue by which a man withdraws from the flesh that he may come near to God. As it is written: 'He has disposed ascents in his heart, in the valley of tears in which He has placed him.' 2 However because forty may be divided up into fours, and tens multiplied by four, and by these things it is intimated to us that while we are here in temporal state, in the body which corrupts and troubles the soul with its tribulations, we wander from the table and delightful refreshment of the Lord, let us discipline the body and let us be subject to the service of the law of God, and in the preparatory time given for improvement, let us not be ruined by negligence, or by misdeeds in pride, but let us use the time in exerting the body in observance and in obedience to the commands of God, meditating on His law in our heart night and day. 3 When it is opposed to our desires, let us bring ourselves into harmony with it, while yet we are on the way, lest we are handed over as criminals to the judge, and by the judge to torment. 4 Let us give ourselves to trial in the law, most beloved, lest we are tormented by it. Let us abstain from things which oppose the law, and let us fast, lest we suffer an adverse law, certainly when He whom we now oppose judges us when He considers us. For this is the fast the Lord chose, to abstain from every evil, not only from works without, but from the perverse will within. Outside for another, inside for onself. For no one harms anyone before himself when he harms another. You pierce the body of another through the tunic. More harmful to you is the mother cupidity than the daughter born of her, pillage or theft from another; more evil does envy bring to you than your denunciation snatch away goods, which by envy you bear off. Indeed perfect is the fast, as the Lord choses, that does not trouble a man's soul through the day, and twist his head in circles, as he seeks out all his debotors on account of avarice, but is a fast from courts and quarrels, to abstain from every evil, and to perservere in every good, not to do the evil that one would not wish done to onself; to do, then, the good one wishes done to oneself, as the ten of the law is quadrupled through the Gospel, and the fourfold Gospel is multiplied by by the law. For in the law the perfection of the Gospel was once hidden, as now the imperfection of the law in the Gospel is revealed. The law ordains fasting from evil works, the Gospel from an evil will, punishing the mere taste. Hence our preacher says in the Gospel: 'You have heard it said of old: Do not kill. But I say to you: do not be angry;' 5 and the rest of things there. It follows: 'And when He had fasted forty days and nights.' 6 For He did not fast openly in the light and then secretly eat at night, but as in the open, so when hidden, as in the face, so in the heart.


Isaac of Stella, from Sermon 31, The first Sunday of Lent.

1 Mt 4.1
2 Ps 83.6
3 Ps 1.2
4 Mt 5.25
5 Mt 5.21-22
6 Mt 4.2

17 Feb 2021

Stations And Fasting

Intellexisse vos credo, fratres, cur haec nostra jejunia illis mansionibus comparaverim, in quibus populus Israel tanquam in procinctu quodam positus, Pharaonem regem quotidiano labore superavit, et ab inimicis suis quasi quibusdam castris mansionum sese statione defenderit; ita ut quicumque ex illo comitantium numero diurnae stationis spatia non confecit, aut Pharao illum occupaverit, aut solitduo pervaserit. Sic ergo et nos propositum nobis quadraginta dierum iter debemus omni labore conficere, et quibusdam quasi castris nos jejuniorum devotione munire. Castra enim nobis sunt nostra jejunia, quae nos a diabolica oppugnatione defendunt. Denique stationes vocantur, quod stantes et commorantes in eis inimicos insidiantes repellamus. Castra plane sunt jejunia Christianis, a quibus si quis aberraverit, a spirituali Pharaone invaditur, aut peccatorum solitudine devoratur. Peccatorum autem solitudinem patitur, qui deseritur societate sanctorum. Murus igitur quidam est Christiano jejunium, inexpugnabilis diabolo, intransgressibilis inimico. Quis enim unquam Christianorum jejunavit, et captus est? Quis sobrius mansit et victus? Temulentum aggreditur diabolus, luxuriosum oppugnat inimicus. Ubi autem jejunium viderit, inedia, infirmitate prosternitur: prosternitur, inquam, infirmitate, quia Christiana infirmitas fortitudo est. Unde ait Apostolus: Cum infirmor, tunc fortior sum. Sed requirit aliquis, quemadmodum sit fortis infirmitas? Tunc est fortis infirmitas, quando caro tabescit jejuniis; anima puritate pinguescit. Quantum enim illi ciborum succus subtrahiter; tantum huic justitiae virtus augetur. Tunc igitur homo imbecillis quidem est ad saecularia, sed fortis est ad divina opera. Tunc enim magis de Deo cogitat, tunc judicium metuit, tunc voncit inimicum.

Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia XL

Source: Migne PL 57.313b-314b
I believe you have understood, brothers, why I have compared our fast to the stations which the people of Israel established to be ready for battle, 1 they who the Pharaoh strove to overcome every day, and stopping at the stationary camps they made defence against their enemy, and whoever of their number did not take a place in that daily camping, either the Pharoah seized him, or he was devoured by the desert. So, then, even we should make the vow of our way of the forty days with every labour, and wall the camps of our fasting with devotion. For to us the fast is our camp, which defends us from the assaults of the devil. And they are called a station, because standing and watching in them we repel the plots of the enemy. So the camps are the fasting of Christians, from which if we wander, we are seized by the spiritual Pharaoh, or the wasteland of sin devours us. He suffers the wasteland of sin, who forsakes the society of the holy. The fast, then, is a wall for the Christian, insurmountable by the devil, impassable to the enemy. For who of the Christians who has fasted, has been seized? Who remains sober and is conquered? Drunkeness summons the devil, the enemy attacks amid luxury. But when he sees fasting, the absence of eating, he is prostrated by weakness. He is prostrated, I say, by weakness, because Christian weakness is strength. So the Apostle says, 'When I am weak, then I am strong.' 2 But someone may ask: how is strength weakness? Weakness is strong when the flesh withers in fasting and the soul strengthens in purity. As much as the taste of bread is withdrawn, so much does the virtue of righteousness grow. Thus a man is made weak by worldly things, but strong by Divine works. Then indeed the more he thinks of God, then the more he fears judgement, and then the more he tramples down the enemy.

Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 40


1 Numbers 33
2 1 Cor 12.10

16 Feb 2021

Useful Things


Obsecro te, pro meo filio, quem genui in vinculis, Onesimo quondam tibi inutili, nunc vero tibi mihique perutili, quem remisi ad te. Tu autem illum sicut mea viscera suscipe: quem ego volueram apud me ipsum retinere, ut pro te mihi ministraret in vinculis Evangelii: sed citra tuum consilium nihil volui facere; ut non velut ex necessitate bonum tuum esset, sed voluntarium.

Non magnum est humilem inclinare se, laudabile vero sublimem virum humiliare se; ideo Apostolus rogat eum, cui imperandi habet potestatem, ut in omnibus forma sit ad profectum meritorum. Onesimum ergo profugum recurrentem ad divinum auxilium, cum esset in custodia urbis Romae, baptizavit Apostolus, videns in illo utilitatis spem. Quem sic commendat, ut suum animum in illo significet idoneum ex inutili factum tam saecularibus, quam divinis obsequiis.


Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Philomenem



Source: Migne PL 17.505c-d


'I beg you, for my son, whom I bore in chains, for Onesimus who was once useless to you, now however most useful to you and to me, whom I return to you. Receive him as my own heart, he whom I wished to keep with me, that as he served me in chains for the Gospel, so he do you, but without your consent I would do nothing, for not from necessity is your good, but from freedom.' 1 

It is no great thing for a humble man to bow, but it is praiseworthy for a great man to humble himself; therefore the Apostle asks him, a man who has the power to command, that in everything he conduct himself for the increase of his merits. Thus the fugitive Onesimus' return is for Divine aid, he whom the Apostle baptized when he was in prison in Rome, seeing in him hope of usefulness. Whom he commends as his own soul, signifying that he has been made useful from uselessness, as being brought from worldly things into Divine service.

Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To Philemon

1 Philemon 10-14

15 Feb 2021

Love And Suffering


Πᾶσα θλῖψις κατὰ Θεὸν, ἔργον ἐστὶν εὐσεβείας ἐνυπόστατον· ἡ γὰρ ἀληθινὴ ἀγάπη δι' ἐναντίων δοκιμάζεται.

Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ 

Source: Migne PG 65 913b
All suffering for the sake of God is certainly a most pious work, for true love is proved in adversity.

Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law.

14 Feb 2021

A Superior Love


Si diligitis eos qui vos diligunt, quam mercedem habetitis? Nonne et publicani hoc faciunt? Et si salutaveritis fratres vestros tantum: quid amplius facitis? Nonne et ethnici hoc faciunt? Estote ergo vos perfecti, sicut et Pater vester, qui in coelis est, perfectus est.

Ostendit Dominus meritum nos perfectae dilectionis habere non posse, si eos tantum diligamus a quibus vicem nobis rependi dilectionis mutum noverimus, cum hujusmodi dilectionem etiam gentibus ac peccatoribus sciamus esse communem. Unde vult nos Dominus communem legem dilectionis humanae lege dilectionis evangelicae superare; ut non solum circa eos qui nos diligunt, sed etiam circa inimicos et odientes amoris nostri ostendamus affectum, ut verae pietatis ac bonitatis paternae in hoc imitemur exemplum.


Sanctus Chromatius Aquileiensis, In Evangelium Sancti Matthaei, Tractatus XII

Source: Migne PL 20.356b-c


If you love those who love you, what reward shall you have? Do the tax collectors not do this? And if you greet your brothers only, what great thing do you do? Do the pagans not do this? Be perfect as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.' 1 

The Lord shows that we are not able to have the merit of perfect love, if we love only those from whom we know we shall receive a return of the love we give, when this same type of love we know to be common to pagans and sinners. Thus the Lord wishes that the Gospel's law of love surpass the common law of human love, that not only do we love those who love us, but even that we show affection to those who are enemies, and to those who hate us, that in this we imitate the example of the true piety and benevolence of the Father.

Saint Chromatius of Aquileia, Commentary on the Gospel of St Matthew, from Tractate 12


1 Mt 5.46

13 Feb 2021

Real Kissing

Salutate invicem in osculo sancto...

Osculo sancto, osculo vero, osculo pacifico, osculo columbino, non subdolo, non polluto, quali usus est Joab ad occidendum Amasam, quali Judas ad tradendum Salvatorem, quali utuntur hi qui loquuntur pacem cum proximo suo, mala autem sunt in cordibus eorum. Illi ergo osculo sancto salutant invicem, qui non dliigunt verbo neque lingua, sed opere et veritate.

Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput V

Source: Migne PL 93.68a-b
Greet one another with a sacred kiss... 1

With a holy kiss, a true kiss, a kiss of peace, a dovelike kiss, not deceitful, not defiled, as Joab gave for the murder of Amasa, 2 as Judas gave for the betrayal of the Saviour, as they give who speak peace in their hearts to their neighbour and have evil in their hearts. 3 They, then, who greet one another with a sacred kiss, do not love merely in word and speech, but in deed and truth.

Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chap 5

1 1 Pet 5.14
2 2 Kings 20.9-10
3 Ps 27.3

12 Feb 2021

Knowledge And Love


Melius est ergo et utilius, idiotas et parum scientes exsistere, et per charitatem proximum fieri Deo quam putare multum scire, et multa expertos in suum Deum blasphemos inveniri, alterum Deum Patrem fabricantes. Et ideo Paulus clamavit: Scientia inflat, charitas autem aedificat; non quia veram scientiam de Deo culparet, alioquin seipsum primum accusaret; sed quia sciebat quosdam sub occasione scientiae elatos ecidere a dilectione Dei, et ob hoc opinare seipsos esse perfectos, imperfectum autem Demiurgum introducentes, abscidens eorum ob hujusmodi scientiam supercilium, ait: Scientia inflat, charitas autem aedificat. Major autem hac non est alia inflatio, quam ut opinetur quis se meliorem et perfectiorem esse eo, qui fecerit, et plsamaverit, et spiramen vitae dederit, et hoc ipsum esse praestiterit. Melius itaque est, sictui praedixi, nihil omnino scientem quempiam, ne quidem unam causam cujuslibet eorum quae facta sunt, cur factim sit, credere Deo, et perseverare eos in dilectione, aut per hujusmodi scientiam inflatos excidere a dilectione, quae hominem vivificat: nec aliud inquirere ad scientiam, nisi Jesum Christum Filium Dei, qui pro nobis crucifixus est, aut per quaestionum subtilitates et minutiloquium in impietatem cadere.

Sanctus Ireneaus Lugdunensis, Adversus Haereses, Liber II Cap XXVI

Source: Migne PG 7.800a-c
Better it is, therefore, and more profitable, to be one who knows a little and is simple and by means of love comes near to God, than, by thinking one knows much and that one is in many things adept, to be found among those blasphemous against their own God, fabricating another God as Father. And so Paul exclaimed, 'Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.' 1 Not that he denounced a true knowledge of God, otherwise he would have accused himself first, but because he knew that some inflated by the opportunity of knowledge fall away from the love of God, and because they deem themselves to be perfect, introducing an imperfect Demiurge, he cuts off their overweening knowledge, saying, 'Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.' For there is no greater conceit than this, that any one should think he is better and more perfect than He who made and fashioned him, and gave to him the breath of life, and established him in existence. Thus it is better, as I have said, that one should have no knowledge at all of any reason why anything that is has been made, but that one should believe in God, and persevere in His love, rather than, being puffed up by knowledge like this, one should fall away from the love which gives life to man; and that one should seek no other knowledge except Jesus Christ the Son of God, who was crucified for us, than by subtle questioning and hair-splitting one should fall into impiety.

Saint Ireneaus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 2, Chapter 26

1 1 Cor 8.1

11 Feb 2021

Love And Victory



Diligite inimicos vestros. Forte illi quem recens pulsat injuria, videantur ista non convenire rationi. Sed respiciat, quicumque est, ad vitae suae quietem; et intelliget quia inimicum dilexisse, vicisse est. Infinitum autem est, quantum periculi homini incumbat, cum duos aemulo furore consimiles ad pugnam ille diabolus magister litis armaverit, cujus est consuetudinis ad instiganta odia amoras portare ac reportare sermones. Quando est autem ut ille diem sine tribulatione transigat, vel quando est ut ab illo nox sine impia cogitatione discedat, quem ira indignatione stimulat? Numquam profecto sine suspicione vitam ducet, cui est semper necesse cogitare et timere quem laeserit. Summa itaque cura sunt dolores asperi blando verborum medicamine temperandi, quatenus et duritia cordis pacis studio castigata mollescat. In quo loco beatos illos judico, qui verba labiorum suorum tacito ore custodiunt, et memores coelestium mandatorum alienae vocis contumeliam non requirunt. Cessant enim odia, ubi non reputatur injuria; nec habet ullam virtutem iracundia, si desit unius in contentione persona. Ita duplex patientiam manet victoria: hominem vicisse proprios animorum motis, et temperasse mores alienos.

Sanctus Valerianus Cemeliensis, Homilia XII De Bono Conservandae Pacis


Source: Migne PL 52.729c-d
'Love your enemies.' 1 Perhaps to one recently struck by injury these words seem little in harmony with reason. But let him, whoever he is, look again to the peace of his own life and he will understand that to have loved an enemy is to have gained a victory. Unlimited peril looms over a man when the devil, the master of strife, has armed to fight two men who match each other in their fury, he whose custom it is, in order to kindle hatred, to carry bitter words back and forth. When does a man pass a day without distress, or when does night run its course without wicked thoughts, if wrath is provoking him to indignation? He shall never live a life without anxiety who always finds it necessary to think about and fear someone he has harmed. With the greatest care harsh pains should be soothed by the gentle medicine of words, so that even hardness of heart may soften corrected by the desire for peace. With which thought, I deem them blessed who with silent mouth guard the words of their lips, and mindful of the heavenly precepts, do not draw forth insults in the voice of another. For hatred ends when injury is not pondered; anger has no power if the voice of one person is absent in a quarrel. Thus a double victory awaits patience: a man has gained victory over his own impulses and he has restrained the conduct of another.

Saint Valerian of Cimelium, from Homily 12, On The Good of The Preservation of Peace

1 Mt 5.44

10 Feb 2021

Bearing With One Another


Sufferentes invicem in charitate.

Si quis intelligit quid sit, sufferentes invicem in charitate, non putabit in sanctos viros hoc convenire mandatum: verum in eos qui sunt in virtutum initiis? constituti. Sancti quippe non habebunt quod inter se invicem sufferant: sed hi qui quasi homines aliqua adhuc passione seperantur. Nec mirum si Ephesi haec audiant, cum in multitudine credentium sint aliqui qui adhuc invicem sufferre se debeant. Hoc ipsum mihi videtur significare et ? quod ad Galatas scribitur: 'Alterutrum onera vestra portate.' Possumus ergo utrumque testimonium et aliter interpretari: ut vel alterutrum onera portate, vel sufferre invicem in charitate, et eos complere dicamus, qui divites sunt, et inopiam pauperum sublevant. Si quis aegrotanti fratri praebet obsequium, suffert eum in charitate. Si quis in coelibatu beatam transigens vitam, alium qui et uxorem habet et liberos, et seipsum vix potest pascere, adjuverit, et utcumque ? potest, fuerit consolatus, alienum onus portasse laudabitur. Est qui matrem vel sororem viduam cernens egestate tabescere, non potest adjuvare: huic si quis porrexerit manum, sustinuit eum in charitate. Sive autem superiorem sensum, sive posteriorem sequamur: nec peccantem fratrem, nec inopem consolatur, qui non habet charitatem, et contemnit verba Apostoli commonentis: Debemus autem nos, qui fortiores sumus, infirmitates imbecillorum portate, et non nobismetipsis placere.


Sanctus Hieronymus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber II, Cap IV


Source: Migne PL 26.494a-c
Bearing with one another in love. 1

If someone would understand what this may be: 'Bearing with one another in love,' he should not think this is a command that befits one who is among holy men, those who are established on the foundations of virtue; for the holy do not have among themselves anything to endure, but rather this is for those who are yet separated by passion. Do not wonder if the Ephesians hear these things, when amid the multitude of the faithful they are some whom they should yet endure. This to me seems to intend what was written to the Galatians: 'Bear one another's burdens.' 2 We are able therefore to understand both testimonies in this way: Either you bear the burdens of others, or suffer one another in love. And we should say that they fulfill this who being rich relieve the poverty of the poor. And if someone offers service to a sick brother, he endures with him in love. If someone passing a blessed life in celibacy helps him who has a wife and children who he is barely able to support, and, as he is able, he comforts him, he shall be praised as bearing the burdens of others. Is there someone who has a widowed mother or sister withering in need, who he is not able to help? If someone offers him a hand, he sustains him in love. Either the first or second sense let us follow. He who does not console an erring brother, nor a poor man, does not have love, and he spurns the words of the Apostle, which we recall: 'We who are stronger should bear the infirmities of the weak and not please ourselves.' 3

Saint Jerome, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book 2, Chap 4

1 Ephes 4.2
2 Galat 6.2
3 Rom 15.1

9 Feb 2021

Peace And Enemies


Μακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί...

Εἰρηνοποιοί εἰσι καὶ οἱ τοὺς ἀπίστους μεταπείθοντες πιστεῦσαι, ὡς τοὺς πάλαι ἐχθροὺς τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰρηνοποιουντες αὐτῷ.


Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον

Source:  Migne PG 72.373c
Blessed are the peacemakers... 1
 

The peacemakers are those who win over the faithless to faith, making peace between the old enemies of God and Him.

Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Fragment

1 Mt 5.9

8 Feb 2021

Mercy And Prayer

Remedia propitiando Deo ipsius Dei verbis data sunt, quid deberent facere peccantes magisteria divina docuerunt, operationibus iustis Deo satisfieri, misericordiae meritis peccata purgari. Et apud Salomonem legimus: Conclude eleemosynam in corde pauperis , et haec pro te exorabit ab omni malo. Et iterum: Qui obturat aures ne audiat imbecillum, et ipse invocabit Deum, et non erit qui exaudiat eum. Neque enim promereri misericordiam Domini poterit qui misericors ipse non fuerit, aut impetrabit de divina pietate aliquid in precibus qui ad precem pauperis non fuerit humanus. Quod item in Psalmis Spiritus sanctus declarat et probat dicens: Beatus qui intelligit super egenum et pauperem, in die mala liberabit eum Dominus. Quorum praeceptorum memor Daniel, cum rex Nabuchodonosor adverso somnio territus aestuaret, pro avertendis malis ad divinam opem impetrandam remedium dedit dicens: Propterea, rex, consilium meum placeat tibi, et peccata tua eleemosynis redime et iniustitias tuas miserationibus pauperum, et erit Deus parcens peccatis tuis. Cui rex non obtemperans, adversa quae viderat et infesta perpessus est: quae evadere et vitare potuisset, si peccata sua eleemosynis redemisset. Raphael quoque angelus paria testatur, et ut eleemosyna libenter ac largiter fiat hortatur dicens: Bona est oratio cum ieiunio et eleemosyna: quia eleemosyna a morte liberat, et ipsa purgat peccata. Ostendit orationes nostras ac ieiunia minus posse nisi eleemosynis adiuventur, deprecationes solas parum ad impetrandum valere, nisi factorum et operum accessione satientur. Revelat Angelus et manifestat et firmat eleemosynis petitiones nostras efficaces fieri, eleemosynis vitam de periculis redimi, eleemosynis animas a morte liberari.

Sanctus Cyprianus, De Opere et Eleemosynis

Source:Migne PL 4.605c-606b
The remedies for propitiating God are given in the words of God Himself; the Divine instructions teaching what sinners should do, that God is satisfied by righteous works, that sins are cleansed with the merits of mercy. In Solomon we read: 'Close up alms in the heart of the poor and these shall intercede for you from all evil.' 1 And again: 'He who blocks up his ears that he not hear the weak, he also shall call on God and there will be no one to hear him.' 2 For he shall not be worthy of the mercy of the Lord, who has not been merciful, nor shall he acquire anything from the Divine piety in his prayers who has not been humane to the prayer of the poor. Which same thing the Holy Spirit declares and proves in the Psalms, saying: 'Blessed is he who has understanding of the poor and needy; the Lord will deliver him on the day of evil.' 3 Mindful of which precepts, Daniel, when king Nebuchodonosor was troubled by an adverse dream, gave, for the averting of evils, a remedy to obtain the Divine aid, saying, 'On account of which, O king, let my counsel be pleasing to you, and redeem your sins by alms, and your unrighteousness by mercy to the poor, and God will pardon your sins.' 4 And as the king did not attend to him, he was afflicted with the misfortunes and adversities he had seen and which he would have escaped and avoided had he redeemed his sins by alms. The angel Raphael also witnesses the like and exhorts that alms should be gladly and liberally given, saying: 'Prayer is good with fasting and alms; because alms deliver from death and wash away sins.' 5 He shows that our prayers and fasting are diminished unless with the aid of alms, that petitions alone have little strength to gain what they entreat unless supported by the addition of deeds and works. The angel reveals and manifests and confirms that our petitions become effective by alms, that by alms life is redeemed from dangers, that by alms souls are delivered from death.

Saint Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise On Works And Alms.

1 Sirach 22.12
2 Proverbs 21.13
3 Ps 40.2
4 Dan 4.27
5 Tobit 12.8-9

7 Feb 2021

Considering The Wretched


Aiunt igitur a Deo omnia praetermitti, quia nec coerceat malos nec tueatur bonos, et ideo in hoc saeculo deteriorem admodum statum esse meliorum; bonos quippe esse in paupertate, malos in abundantia; bonos in infirmitate, malos in fortitudine; bonos semper in luctu, malos semper in gaudio, bonos in miseria et abjectione, malos in prosperitate et dignitate. Primum igitur ab iis qui hoc ita esse vel dolent vel accusant, illud requiro, de sanctis hoc, id est, de veris ac fidelibus Christianis, an de falsis et impostoribus doleant. Si de falsis; superfluus dolor, qui malos doleat non beatos esse; cum utique quicumque mali sunt, successu rerum deteriores fiant, gaudentes sibi nequitiae studium bene cedere; et ideo vel ob hoc ipsum miserrimi esse debent ut mali esse desistant, vindicantes improbissimus quaestionibus nomen religionis, et praeferentes ad sordidissimas negotiationes titulum sanctitatis: quorum scilicet nequitiis si miseriae comparentur, minus sunt miseri quam merentur: quai in quibuslibet miseriis constituti, non sunt tamen tam miseri quam sunt mali. Nequaquam ergo pro his dolendum quod non sunt divites ac beati; multo autem pro sanctis minus: quia quamlibet videantur ignorantibus esse miseri, non possunt tamen esse aliud quam beati. Superfluum autem est ut eos quispiam vel infirmitate vel paupertate vel aliis istiusmodi rebus existimet esse miseros, quibus se illi confidunt esse felices. Nemo enim aliorum sensu miser est, sed suo. Et ideo non possunt cujusquam falso judicio esse miseri, qui sunt vere sua conscientia beati. Nulli enim, ut opinor, beatiores sunt quam qui ex sententia sua atque ex voto agunt. Humiles sunt religiosi, hoc volunt: pauperes sunt, pauperie delectantur: sine ambitone sunt, ambitum respuunt, inhonori sunt, honorem fugiunt, lugent lugere gestiunt, infirmitate laetantur. Cum enim, inquit Apostolus, infirmor, tunc potens sum. Nec immeriot sic arbitratur, ad quem Deus ipse sic loquitur: Sufficit tibi gratia mea: nam virtus in infirmitate perficitur. Nequaquam ergo nobis dolenda est haec afflictio infirmitatum, quam intelligimus matrem esse virtutum. Itaque quidquid illud fuerit, quicumque vere religiosi sunt, beati esse dicendi sunt: quia inter quamlibet dura, quamlibet aspera, nulli beatiores sunt quam qui hoc sunt quod volunt. Soleant quamvis esse nonulli ui turpia atque obscena sectantes, etsi juxta opinionem suum beati sunt, quia adipiscuntur quod volunt; re tamen ipsa beati non sunt, quia quod volunt, nolle debuerant. Religiosi autem hunc cunctis beatiores sunt, quia et habent quae volant, et meliora quam quae habent omnino habere non possunt. Labor itaque, et jejunium, et paupertas, et humilitas, et infirmitas non omnibus sunt onerosa tolerantibus, sed tolerare nolentibus. Sive enim gravia haec, sive levia, animus tolerantis facit. Nam sicut nihil est tam leve quod ei non grave sit qui invitus facit, sic nihil est tam grave quod non ei qui id libenter exsequitur, leve esse videatur. Nisi forte antiquis illis priscae virtutis viris, Fabiis, Fabriciis, Cincinnatis, grave fuisse existimamus quod pauperes erant, qui divites esse nolebant; cum omnia scilicet studia, omnes conatus suos ad communia emolumenta conferrent, et crescentes reipublicae vires privata paupertate ditarent. Numquid parcam illam tunc agrestemque vitam cum gemitu et dolore tolerabant, cum viles ac rusticos cibos ante ipsos quibus coxerant focos sumerent, eosque ipsos capere nisi ad vesperam non liceret? Numquid aegre ferebant quod avara ac divite conscientia auri talenta non premerent, cum etiam argenti usum legibus coercerent? Numquid illecebrae et cupiditatis poenam putabant quod distenta aureis nummis marsupia non haberent, cum patricium hominem, quod usque ad decem argenti libras dives esse voluisset, indignum curia judicarent? Non despiciebant tunc, puto, pauperes cultus, cum vestem hirtam ac brevem sumerent, cum ab aratro arcesserentur ad fasces, et illustrandi habitu consulari, illis fortasse ipsis quas assumpturi erant imperialibus togis madidum sudore pulverem detergerent. Itaque tunc illi pauperes magistratus opulentam rempublicam habebant; nunc autem dives potestas pauperem facit esse rempublicam. Et quae, rogo, insania est, aut quae caecitas, ut egestuosa et mendicante republica divitias posse cedant stare privatas? Tales ergo tunc veteres Romani erant; et sic illi tunc contemnebant divitias, nescientes Deum sicut nunc spernunt sequentes Dominum.

Slavian De Gubernatione Dei

Source:  Migne PL 53.30c-33b
They say, then, that everything is neglected by God, since He neither restrains the wicked nor protects the good, and therefore in this world the state of better men is much worse, certainly with the good in poverty and the wicked in abundance, the good weak and the wicked strong, the good ever in grief and the wicked always joyful, the good in misery and abjection and the wicked prosperous and honoured. Firstly I wish to ask this of those who lament or denounce these things: do they grieve for the saints, that is, the true and faithful Christians, or for the false impostors? If for the false, needless is the grief that bewails the unhappiness of the wicked, since all evil folk are made worse by success in their affairs, who rejoice at some fortunate outcome of their iniquity; yet they should be the most wretched in order that they may cease to be wicked, that they stop vindicating their evil advances under the name of religion and giving the title of sanctity to their most sordid deeds; indeed, if one were to compare their crimes with the misfortunes of sinners they would be shown to be less wretched than they deserve, for in whatever misfortunes they are placed they are not so wretched as they are wicked. Thus one must never grieve because they are not rich and happy, and much less so for the saints, for however wretched they may seem to be to those who are ignorant, they are not able to be anything else but happy. Indeed it is superfluous to think them wretched because of sickness, or poverty, or some similar thing, in which they confess themselves happy. No one is wretched because of the opinion of another, but only in his own mind. And therefore they are not able to be wretched by the incorrect judgement of another who are in their own consciences truly happy. For none, I think, are happier than those who live and act according to their own resolution and vows. The religious are lowly and they choose to be so; they are poor and they delight in poverty; they lack ambition, reviling ambition; they are without honour, fleeing honour; they weep and exult in weeping; they rejoice in weakness. 'For when,' says the Apostle,' I am weak, I am strong.' 1 And not without reason is it so judged by him to whom God Himself said: 'Let my grace suffice for you; virtue is perfected in weakness.' 2 Never then should this affliction of weakness be a cause of sorrow to us, for we understand it to be the mother of the virtues. Therefore, whatever may have befallen, those who are truly religious should be called happy, since amid any hardships or difficulties none are happier than those who are what they wish. Although it is usual that a few pursue things vile and obscene, even if according to their own opinion they are happy when they gain what they wish, yet in truth they are not happy, because what they want they should not. And in this the religious are happier than all others, because they have what they wish and indeed cannot have anything better than they have. So toil, fasting, poverty, humility and infirmity are not burdens to all who bear them, but to those who are unwilling to bear them. Whether something is heavy or light the mind of the one who bears it makes it so. For just as no task is so light that it is not a burden to the one who performs it unwillingly, so none is so heavy that to the one who it does it glady it does not seem light. Unless perhaps to those ancient men of old virtue, the Fabii, Fabricii and Cincinnati, we think that it was a burden that they were poor who did not wish to be rich, when all their cares, all their efforts, were for the common good, and by their private poverty they enriched the growth of the state. Was it, then, with groans and grief that they bore that lean and rustic life, when they ate cheap country foods before the very fire on which they had cooked it, and did not permit themselves to take of it it until evening? Was it that they bore it ill that they were not driven to talents of gold by an avarious and grasping mind, when their laws restricted the use even of silver? Was it that they thought it a punishment according to enticing desire that they did not have purses stuffed with gold, when they judged a patrician unworthy of the senate because he had wished to increase his wealth to the sum of ten pounds? Then, I think, they did not despise the way of the poor who wore only one short and shaggy garment, who from the plow were summoned to the fasces, and, about to be made illustrious in consular robes, perhaps wiped off the dusty mositure of sweat with the imperial togas that they were about to put on. Then the magistrates were poor, but the nation rich; now the wealth of those in power makes the state poor. And what madness is it, I ask, or what blindness, to think that amid the poverty and beggary of the state private fortunes will stand fast? Such, then, were the ancient Romans; so they in their day scorned riches, not knowing God, just as now the followers of the Lord scorn them.

Salvian, On The Providence of God

1 1 2 Cor 12.10
2 2 Cor 12.9

6 Feb 2021

The Treatment Of Others


Neminem blasphemare, non litigiosos esse; sed modestos, ostendentes omnem mansuetudinem ad omnes homines.

Christianos omnibus hominibus humiles vult videri; sic enim possunt perfidi ad futuram spem vocari.

Nam eramus quondam et nos inconsulti, inobsequentes, errantes, servientes desideriis et voluptatibus variis, in malitia, et invidia agentes, odibilies, odio nos invicem habentes.

Haec bona quae incredulitas non habet, christianis data memorat; ut in omni justitia lucentes, manifesti fiant quod Dei cultores sint. Cum enim quondam inconsulti, nunc videntur per omnia sani esse consilii, laudatur in his Deus.

Cum autem benignitas et humanitas apparuit Salvatoris nostri Dei, non ex operibus justitiæ, quæ fecimus nos, sed secundum suam misericordiam salvos nos fecit per lavacrum regenerationis et renovationis Spiritus Sancti, quem effudit in nos abunde per Jesum Christum Salvatorem nostrum:  ut justificati gratia ipsius, hæredes simus secundum spem vitæ aeternae.

Hoc bonum quod in christianis florere videtur, de radice pietatis divinae oritur; Deus enim misericordia sua salvos nos fecit per Christum, cujus gratia renati, Spiritum sanctum accepimus abunde; ut bonis operibus inniti possimus, ipso nos in omnibus adjuvante, ut per haec haereditatem regni coelorum assequi possimus. Quamobrem omni devotione huic obsequi debemus, et praeceptis ejus parere; quia quidquid in nobis pulchrum est, spiritualibus lineamentis ipse depingit


Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Titum, Caput III

Source: Migne PL 17.502c-503a


Speak not injuriously, be not quarrelsome, but be modest, showing every peacefulness before all men.  1

He wishes that Christians appear humble to all men, for so they are able to call the faithless to future hope.

For we were once reckless, disobedient, embroiled in error, enslaved to various desires and pleasures, about our deeds in wickedness and envy, hateful and hating one another. 2

These goods which faithlessness lacks, he recalls have been given to Christians; that shining in all righteousness they are made manifest as worshippers of God, For once thoughtless and now seeming in all things to be wise counsellors, in these things God is praised.

When the benevolence and kindess of the Saviour, our God, appeared, not from works of righteousness which we did, but according to His mercy, He saved us, through the waters of regeneration and renewel of the Holy Spirit, which is poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that justified by grace we be heirs with hope of eternal life. 3

This good which is seen to flourish in Christians arises from the root of Divine piety. For God by His mercy saves us through Christ and reborn by His grace we abundantly receive His Holy Spirit, that we are able to be established on good works, being helped by Him in everything, by which we obtain the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. Likewise we should with all devotion be obedient and attend to His precepts, because He paints the spiritual features of whatever is beautiful in us.


Ambrosiaster, from the Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To Titus, Chap 3

1 Titus 3.2
2 Titus 3.3
3 Titus 3.4-7