Trials And Endurance

Εἴτε οὖν βαρὺς ὁ πειρασμός, ἀδελφοί, ὑπομείνωμεν τὰ ἐπίπονα: οὐδεὶς γὰρ μὴ πληγεὶς ἐν ἀγῶσι, μηδὲ κονισάμενος, στεφανοῦται. Eἴτε κοῦφα ταῦτα τοῦ διαβόλου τὰ παίγνια, καὶ οἱ ἐπιπεμφθέντες ἡμῖν, ὀχληροὶ μέν, διότι τούτου εἰσὶν ὑπηρέται, εὐκαταφρόνητοι δέ, ὅτι τῇ πονηρίᾳ αὐτῶν ὁ Θεὸς ἀδυναμίαν συνῆψε, φυλαξώμεθα τὴν κατάγνωσιν, ὡς ἐπὶ μικροῖς παθήμασι μεγάλα ὀδυρόμενοι. Ἓν γάρ ἐστιν ὀδύνης ἄξιον, ἡ αὐτοῦ ἐκείνου ἀπώλεια, τοῦ τῆς προσκαίρου ἕνεκεν δόξης, ῾εἴπερ οὖν δόξαν χρὴ λέγειν τὸ δημοσίᾳ ἀσχημονεῖν̓ τῆς αἰωνίας τῶν δικαίων τιμῆς ἑαυτὸν ἀποστερήσαντος. Tέκνα ὁμολογητῶν, καὶ τέκνα μαρτύρων ἐστέ, τῶν μέχρις αἵματος ἀντικαταστάντων πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Tοῖς οἰκείοις ἕκαστος χρησάσθω ὑποδείγμασι πρὸς τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἔνστασιν. Oὐδεὶς ἡμῶν πληγαῖς κατεξάνθη, οὐδενὸς οἶκος ἐδημεύθη, οὐ τὴν ὑπερορίαν ᾠκήσαμεν, οὐ δεσμωτήριον ἐγνωρίσαμεν. τί πεπόνθαμεν δεινόν; εἰ μὴ τάχα τοῦτο λυπηρόν, ὅτι μηδὲν πεπόνθαμεν, μηδὲ ἐνομίσθημεν ἄξιοι τῶν ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ παθημάτων. Eἰ δὲ ὅτι ὁ δεῖνα τὸν οἶκον κατέχει τῆς προσευχῆς, ὑμεῖς δὲ ἐν τῷ ὑπαίθρῳ προσκυνεῖτε τὸν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς Δεσπότην, τοῦτο ὑμᾶς ἀνιᾷ, ἐνθυμήθητε, ὅτι οἱ μὲν ἕνδεκα μαθηταὶ ἐν τῷ ὑπερῴῳ ἦσαν ἀποκεκλεισμένοι, οἱ δὲ σταυρώσαντες τὸν Κύριον ἐν τῷ περιβοήτῳ ναῷ τὴν Ἰουδαϊκὴν λατρείαν ἐπλήρουν. Ἰούδας γὰρ τὸν δἰ ἀγχόνης θάνατον τοῦ μετ̓ αἰσχύνης ζῇν προτιμήσας, ἔδειξε τάχα τῶν νῦν ἀπερυθριασάντων πρὸς πᾶσαν ἀνθρώπων κατάγνωσιν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀναιδῶς πρὸς τὰ αἰσχρὰ διακειμένων, ἑαυτὸν αἱρετώτερον. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ἐπιστολή ΣΜ’, Νικοπολίταις πρεσβυτέροις Source: Migne PG 32.896b-897a

If, then, the trial is heavy, brethren, let us endure the toil. No one is crowned who is untouched by blows and dust in battle. Are these mockeries of the devil and those sent against us insignificant? They are troublesome because they are his servants, but easy to despise because in them God has mixed wickedness with infirmity, so let us beware of condemnation because of grave laments over a little pain. For one thing alone is worthy of lamentation, the loss of one's self, for the sake of the credit of the moment, if one one may call becoming a public disgrace credit, for there one defrauds one's self of the everlasting reward of the righteous. You are children of confessors, you are children of martyrs, you have stood fast against sin unto blood. Let each one make use of the examples of his own household to gain strength for piety. Not one of us has been cut by lashes. Not one of us has been deprived of property. We have not been driven into exile. We have not endured imprisonment. What great suffering have we undergone? Unless perhaps this grieves, that we have not suffered, that we have not been thought worthy of the sufferings of Christ. But if you are distressed because a wretch occupies the house of prayer and you worship the Lord of heaven and earth in the open air, recall that the eleven disciples were shut up in the upper room and those who had crucified the Lord were worshipping in the far famed temple of the Jews. Perhaps Judas, who preferred death by hanging to a shameful life, showed himself a better man than those who now meet universal condemnation and disgracefully preferring themselves wallow in shame. Saint Basil of Caesarea, from Letter 240, To The Church Of Nicopolis