Service And Wealth

Εἰ τῷ Χριστοῦ διακονεῖς θυσιαστηρίω, μετὰ τῶν αὐτοῦ νόμων μετέρχῃ την λειτουργίαν σου, πρᾶος καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ φαινόμενος. Οὐ γὰρ πολιτικήν τινα χειρίζεις ἡγεμονίαν, τύφῳ καὶ κόμπῳ φλεγμαίνουσαν· ἀλλὰ διακονίαν εἰρηνικὴν καὶ ἀτάραχον. Εἰ δὲ πλοῦτος ἄδικος συναχθεὶς ὑπεραίρει σε, αὐτὸς μὲν θᾶττον ἐξεμεθήσεται, ρευστὴν ἔχων τὴν φύσιν καὶ ἄστατον· σὺ δὲ πολὺν ὀφλήσεις τὸν γέλωτα, τοῖς παρατρέχουσιν ὡς ἑστῶσι προσθέμενος Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΝΖ' Πανσοφιῳ Ἀρχιδιακονῳ Source: Migne PG 78.288c

If you serve at the altar of Christ, you should attend to the laws of its service, and exhibit meekness and humility in your heart. You are not some grasping worldly ruler bloated with conceit and pomp and, but yours should be a peaceful and untroubled service. But if you have wickedly gathered wealth to exalt yourself, you should quickly vomit it forth as something naturally slippery and unstable, lest you become a laughing stock who has seized on passing things as something stable. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 157, To Pansophios the Archdeacon 1 1 Pet 2.2

Prayer And The Body

Εὔχονται πολλάκις τινὲς ἀπαλλαγῆναι τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος, ὡς πρὸς τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν τὴν ψυχὴν συνελαύνοντος . Ἐχρῆν δὲ αὐτοὺς μᾶλλον εὔχεσθαι ἀπαλλαγῆναι τοῦ ἑαυτῶν μοχθηροῦ τρόπου, καὶ τῆς ἐμπαθοῦς, καὶ φιλορύπου γνώμης. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤΚΖ' Ἱππονικῳ Σκρινιαριῳ Source: Migne PG 79.201a

It very often happens that not a few pour out their prayers so that they may be freed from their own body, as if it were that the soul is driven to sin by it. Rather they should pray to be delivered from their own vicious habits and sordid minds and confused desires. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 327, To Hipponicus The Scrinarius

Brightening The Eyes

Praeceptum Domini lucidum, illuminans oculos Revera lucidum, quia sincere purun el immaculatum, quale a Patre luminum prodire docet. Hoc iliuminat oculos, non istos carnales quos et pecora nobiscum possunt habere communes, sed illos utique interiores qui divino munere spiritualiter clarificantur. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XVIII Source: Migne PL 70.141a

The commandment of the Lord is bright, illuminating the eyes. 1 Truly bright, he teaches, because perfectly pure and immaculate, as from the Father of lights. 2 This illuminates the eyes, but not the carnal eyes, not those which animals have in common with us, but those interior ones which are spiritually brightened by the Divine gift. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 18 1 Ps 18.9 2 James 1.17

Receiving Sinners

Dominus noster hodie spem peccatorum promovit ad veniam, et superborum murmur piissimo compressit exemplo. Erant, inquit, appropinquantes Domino publicani et peccatores, ut auditent illum: et murmurabant Pharisaei et Scribae dicentes, quia hic peccatores recipit et manducat cum illis. Non minus invidi quam superbi malitiam de Dominica bonitate capiebant: de pietate Dei impii reddebantur, fiebant de Christi miseratione crudeles, sumebant de coelesti curatione languorem, et poenitentium veniam vertebant judicis in reatum. Peccatores recipit, et manducat cum illis. Sic videt invidus, sic superbus sentit: avarus sic sapit, intelligit sic malignus. Peccatores recipit. Non dicunt suscepit. Quid amiserat, qui recipit? Donat culpas, iram vertit in gaudium, dolorem mutat in gratiam, quicumque invenit quod amisit. Peccatores recipit. Recipit peccatores Deus, sed Deus peccatores esse non sinit, quos recipit; peccator Deum non violat appropinquans, Deus peccatorem sanctificat cum proquinquat. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CLXVIII, De Parabola centum ovium Source: Migne PL 52.639b-640a

Today our Lord inspired sinners to hope for forgiveness, and He silenced the murmuring of the proud with a most pious example. 'Tax collectors and sinners,' it says, 'drew near to the Lord to listen to Him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured 'This man receives sinners and eats with them.' 1 They were no less envious than they were proud in that they bore malice because of the Lord's kindness, and they were shown to be without pity because of the pity of God. They became cruel because of the mercy of Christ, they became sick because of heavenly healing, and they turned the forgiveness of sinners into an accusation against the Judge. 'He receives sinners and eats with them.' This is how the envious man sees, this is how the proud man perceives, this is how the covetous man understands, this is how the wicked man thinks. 'He receives sinners,' They do not say He takes them up. Who shall receive what was lost? Whoever finds what he has lost dismisses fault, turns anger into joy, and transforms grief to thanks. 'He receives sinners.' God receives sinners, but God does not allow those whom He receives to remain sinners. The approach of a sinner does no harm to God. God sanctifies the sinful man when he draws near. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 168, On The Parable of the Hundred Sheep 1 Mt 8.14

Reasons For Rejoicing

Μὴ χαίρε ὅταν εὖ ποιήσῃς τινὶ, ἀλλ' ὅταν ἀμνησικάκως ὑπομείνῃς τὴν παρεπομένην ἐναντιότητα. Ὂν γὰρ τρόπον αἰ νύκτες τὰς ἡμέρας, οὕτω αἱ κακίαι τὰς ἀρετὰς διαδέχονται. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.949a

Do not rejoice when you do good to someone, but rather when you endure the assaults of adversity and are unmindful of injury. For this is the way, night and day, that vices are supplanted by virtues. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works

Our Own Faults

Manifestissime comprobatur, non semper nobis aliorum vitio commotionum stimulos excitari; sed potius nostro, qui reconditas in nobismetipsis habemus offensionum causas ac seminaria vitiorum; quae, cum mentem nostram tentationum imber alluerit, in germina confestim fructusque prorumpunt. Numquam enim quis alterius vitio lacessitus peccare compellitur, si repositam materiem delictorum in suo corde non habeat. Nec tunc subito quispiam deceptus esse credendus est, cum conspecta mulieris forma in barathrum concupiscentiae turpis inciderit, sed potius occultos ac latentes medullitus morbos occasione visus in superficiem tunc fuisse productos. Ideoque creator omnium Deus opificii sui curationem prae omnibus noscens, et quia non in aliis, sed in nobismetipsis offensionum radices causaeque consisterent, non deserenda praecepit fratrum consortia, nec vitari eos quos laesos a nobis, vel a quibus nos arbitramur offensos, sed deliniri jubet, sciens perfectionem cordis non tam separatione hominum quam patientiae virtute conquiri. Quae firme possessa, sicut potest nos etiam cum his qui oderunt pacem, pacificos conservare; ita si parata non fuerit, ab his quoque qui perfecti ac meliores nobis sunt, facit jugiter dissidere; occasiones enim commotionum, ob quas eos quibus jungimur deserere festinamus, in conversatione humana deesse non poterunt, et idcirco tristitiae causas. Sanctus Ioannes Cassianus, De Coenobiorum Institutis, Liber IX, De Spiritu Tristitiae Source: Migne PL 49.355c-356c

It is quite clearly proved that the pains of disturbances are not always caused in us by the faults of other people, but rather by our own fault, as much as in ourselves we have stored up the causes of offense and the seeds of vices, which at once burst forth into shoots and fruits when a shower of temptation waters our soul. For no one is ever driven to sin by being provoked through another's fault unless he has the fuel of wickedness heaped up in his own heart. Nor should we believe that a man has been suddenly struck when he has looked on a woman and fallen into the abyss of vile lust, but rather that because of the opportunity of looking at her the hidden and lurking sickness has been brought to the surface. And so God, the creator of all things, having care above everything for His own, and because the roots and causes of our falls are found in ourselves and not in others, commands us not to forsake association with our brethren, nor avoid those who we think have been hurt by us, or by whom we have been offended, but He exhorts us to placate them, knowing that perfection of heart is not so much gained by separation from men as by the virtue of patience. With this firmly possessed it can keep us at peace even with those who hate peace, so that if it has not been acquired, it makes us quite different from those who are perfect and better than we are, and brings forth occasions for disturbance, because of which we hurry away from those with whom we are connected, which is not always possible in human life and therefore shall be a cause of dejection. Saint John Cassian, The Institutes of the Coenobia, Book 9, Chapters 5-7, On the Spirit of Dejection

Patience And Cure

Ἔλεγον περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἰσιδώρου τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου τῆς Σκήτεως, ὅτι εἴ τις εἶχεν ἀδελφὸν ἀσθενῆς , ἡ ὀλίγωρον, ἢ ὑβριστὴν , καὶ ἤθελε βαλεῖν αὐτὸν ἔξω, ἔλεγε· Φέρε μoι αὐτὸν ὧδε . Καὶ ἐλάμβανεν αὐτὸν, καὶ διὰ τῆς μακροθυμίας αὐτοῦ ἔσωσεν αὐτον Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.220c

It was said of Father Isidore, a priest of Scetis, that when anyone had a brother who was sick, or careless, or irritable, and they wanted to drive him away, he would say, 'Bring him here to me.' Then he received him and cured him by his patience. Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

The Beginning Of Perfection

Εἰ καὶ τελείους ἡμᾶς εἶναι ὁ θεῖος βούλεται νόμος, ὁμώνυμε, ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἀνάβασιν καὶ προκοπὴν πρὸςτὴν τελείωσιν φθάσαντας, πρότερον γάλακτι ποτιζομένους, ὡς ἀρτιγένητα βρέφη, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ εἰς σωτηρίαν αὐξάνοντας. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΥΜA' Ἰσιδωρῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne 78.425a

Even if the Divine law wishes us to be perfect, my namesake, it is necessary that we come to it by ascent and advance, as little infants who are nourished by the drinking of milk and by it grow to salvation. 1 Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 441, To Isidore The Deacon 1 1 Pet 2.2

Judgement And Salvation

Οὔτε ἡ ἀρετὴ, οὔτε ἡ κακία μένει αμετάπτωτος, καὶ ἀκίνητος, ἐπειδὴ ἐθελότρεπτόν ἐστι ἀνθρώπινον γένος. Ὂνπερ τοίνυν ὑπολαμβάνεις τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἀμελέστατον εἶναι, ὅνπερ νομίζεις ἁμαρτωλὸν ὑπο ἄρχειν, οὐκ οἶδας, μήποτε καθ' ἑαυτὸν στενάξας, καὶ μεταβαλλόμενος ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον, παρὰ Θεῷ σώζεται. Σὺ δὲ ἀγονῶν εὐτελίζεις πολλάκις τὸν τοιοῦτον, καὶ λοιδορεῖς , καὶ πικρῶς κατακρίνεις τὸν ὑπὲρ σὲ σωζόμενον ἄνθρωπον. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Δεύτερον, ΡΚΔ' Εὑλυσιῳ Μοναχῳ Source: Migne PG 79.253b

Since the human race is changeable neither virtue nor wickedness remain constant and unchanging. He, then, whom you reckon to be the most negligent brother and whom you judge to be a sinner, you do not know that  sometimes he groans over himself and is changing into something better, being saved by God. And being ignorant you often think such a man is worthless and you abuse and bitterly scorn him who is being saved over you. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 2, Letter 124 to Eulysios the Monk

Testimonies

Testimonium Domini fidele, sapientiam praestans parvulis Hic de Patre dicit: quoniam omnia testimonia quae dedit populo Israelitico, fidelia iitique fucruni, quia plenissima veritate recognita sunt : et sapientiam parvulis praestiterunt, non utique superbis, nec tumida se elatione jactantibus, sed purvulis. Parvuli autem sunl humiles et innocentes, sicut Aposlolus monet: Nolite pueri effici sensibus, sed malitia parvuli estote. Testimonium quoque dat Filius, sicut ad Timotheum ait Apostolus: Praecipio tibi coram Deo , qui vivificat omnia, et Christo Jesu, qui testimonium reddidit syb Pontio Pilato. Idem de Spiritu Sancto dicit Apostolus: Nam et ipse Spiritus testimonum perhibet spiritui nostro. Vides in illa sancta Trinitate, quam nihil Scriptura divina velit minus majusvc sentiri, ut nec ipsa nomina patiatur esse divisa. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XVIII Source: Migne PL 70.140c-d

The testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones. 1 Here he speaks of the Father, because every testimony which He gave to the people of Israel was faithful, since they were understood as being full with truth, and they gave wisdom to little ones, but not to the proud and the puffed up and those elated with boasting, but to little ones. And these little ones are the humble and the innocent, as the Apostle admonishes, 'Do not be childish in your understanding, but be little ones in wickedness.' 2 The Son also gives testimony, as the Apostle says to Timothy, 'I command you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Jesus Christ, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate.' 3 The Apostle says the same about the Holy Spirit, 'For even the Spirit Himself gives testimony to our spirit.' 4 See the Holy Trinity in these things which nothing more or less Sacred Scripture wishes to be understood, so that it does not suffer it to be divided with these names. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 18 1 Ps 18.8 2 1 Cor 14.20 3 1 Tim 6.13 4 Rom 8.16

Trials And Prayers

Ὁ συνιὼν τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου Παύλου μυστικῶς εἰρημένον, τὴν πάλην ἡμῶν πρὸς τὰ μνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας φήσαντος, γνώσεται καὶ τὴν παραβολὴν τοῦ Κυρίου, πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι καὶ μὴ ἐκκακεῖν. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.949d

He who understands what is said by Saint Paul when he openly speaks of our wrestling with spirits of wickedness, 1 he also grasps the parable of the Lord which would have us praying always and not growing weary. 2 Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works 1 Ephes 6.12 2 Lk 18.1

The Law And The Gospel

Αὐτὸς ὁ μέγας Ἀπόστολος, ὁ πλεῖον πάντων κoπιάσας, ὁ τὸν νόμον ἀκριβῶς μετελθὼν, παιδευσάτω σε, νηπίαν εἶναι ἐν αὐτῷ γνῶσιν τῆς θείας παιδεύσεως , ὡς ἐν σκιᾷ κεκαλυμμένην, καὶ ἀμυδρώς δια ερωμένην . Σκιὰν εἶχεν ὁ νόμος τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, ἀποφαινόμενος, οὐκ αὐτὴν τὴν εἰκόνα τῶν πραγμάτων , ἣν ἐπιστεύθη τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον , πρὸς ἣν οἱ τύποι ἐπέβλεπον. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΥΜΔ' Ἰσιδωρῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne 78.425d

Let the great Apostle himself, who toiled more than anyone, 1 and diligently attended to the law, teach you that there was slight knowledge of Divine teaching there, as if it were covered with a veil, and hardly gave itself to be seen. For the law, he proclaims, is a shadow law of future things, 2 not an image of the things themselves, for which the Gospel was given, and to which it points as a figure. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 444, To Isidore The Deacon 1 1 Cor 15.10 2 Heb 10.1

The Child And The Man

Τό, Ως νήπιος ἐλάλουν, ὡς νήπιος ἐφρόνουν, εἰρημένον τῷ θεόφρονι Παύλῳ περὶ τῆς κατὰ νόμον ἀγωγῆς αὐτῷ γέγραπται, καθ ' ἣν ὡς νήπιος λαλῶν, ἐφύλαττε τὸν νόμον νηπίοις δεδομένον, ὡς νήπιος φρονῶν, ἐδίωκε τὸν λόγον , ἀμύνων τοῖς τοῦ νόμου. Οτε δὲ γέγονα, φησίν, ἀνήρ, τὰ τοῦ νηπίου κατάήργηκα, οὐδὲ τὸν νόμον ἀκυρῶν, καὶ τοῦ λόγου κατηχών. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΥΜΓ', Ἰσιδωρῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne 78.425c

That 'I spoke as a child, I thought as I child,' 1 spoken by the blessed Paul was written about the discipline of the law according to which he was speaking like a child and given to the service of the law like a child, so that thinking as a child he opposed the Word and defended the law. 'But come the man,' he says, 'and the things of the child pass away,' which is not to annul the law but to be instructed by the Word. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 443, To Isidore The Deacon 1 1 Cor 13.11

Peter, Paul And Stephen

Εἰ μὴ νυκτερινῆς ἄγρας ἀπέτυχεν ὁ Πέτρος, οὐκ ἂν τῆς ἡμερινῆς ἐπέτυχε, κaὶ εἰ μὴ αἰσθητῶς ἐτυφλοῦτο ὁ Παῦλος, οὐκ ἂν πνευματιχῶς ἀνέδλεψε, καὶ εἰ μὴ βλάσφημος ἐσυκοφαντεῖτο ὁ Στέφανος, οὐκ ἂν, τῶν οὐρανῶν αὐτῷ ἀνεῳχθέντων, τὸν Κύριον ἐθεάσατο. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.960b

If Peter had not failed in his nocturnal trial, he would have not have achieved so much in the light of day, and unless Paul had been corporeally blinded, he would not have received spiritual vision, and unless Stephen had been accused of blasphemy by informers, the heavens would not have opened for him and he would not have seen the Lord. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works

John And The Greatest

Διὰ τί μείζων ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν, ἔφης, Ιωάννης, καὶ εἰ προφήτης ὁ Ἰωάννης, τί ἦν ἐν αὐτῷ περισσότερον προφήτου; Ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο λέγει ὁ Κύριος. Ἄκους τοίνυν πλεῖστα ἐν ὀλίγοις· μείζων ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν ὁ Ἰωάννης, ἐπειδὴ ἐξ αὐτῆς νηδύος μητρικής προεφήτευσε, καὶ ἐν σκότει κρυπτόμενος,τὸ φῶς ἐλθὸν, οὐκ ἠγνόησε. Περισσότερον δὲ προφητῶν, τὸ καὶ αὐτὸν ἰδεῖν ἐν σαρκὶ τὸν προφητευόμενον, ὃν πάντες οἱ πατριάρχαι καὶ προφῆται, δι' ὀνείρωνμὲν ἢ ὀπτασιῶν ἐφαντάσθησαν, θεωρῆσαι δὲ αὐτοψει οὐκ ἐπέτυχον. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΛΓ’, Προυνιχιῳ Source: Migne 78.201d-204a

You ask why it was said that John was the greatest born of women, 1 and as he was a prophet, if had a a certain greater and more excellent dignity of prophecy, since this is what the Lord said. Hear, then, much in little. John was the greatest born among women because he made prophecy from out of the maternal womb and hidden in the darkness was not ignorant of the light that had come. 2 This is why he stands ahead of the other prophets and also because when he was preaching he saw Him in the flesh, which all the patriarchs and prophets had till  then been told about in dreams and visions, but they were not able to look upon Him themselves. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 33, To Prounichios 1 Mt 11.11 2 Lk 1.41

Sickness And Judgement

Ὥσπερ οἱ πυρέττοντες νομίζουσι πικρὸν εἶναι τὸ μέλι, τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς βεβλαμμένων γευστικῶν δυνάμεων, οὕτως καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς τις τὸ γευστικόν βλάπτεται. Καί φησιν ὁ προφήτης· Οὐαὶ τοῖς λέγουσι τὸ γλυκὺ πικρόν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡϟΔ' Ἀγλαιος Ἀντεκηνσορι Source: Migne PG 79.156c

As those afflicted by a fever have their faculty of taste corrupted and judge that honey is bitter, so it is with those whose soul's power of taste has been harmed, and thus the Prophet says, 'Woe to those who say that what is bitter is sweet.' 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 194, To Aglaios the Antecessor 1 Isaiah 5.20

Help And Redemption

Et erunt ut complaceant eloquia oris mei: et medilalio cordis mei in conspectu tuo semper. Domine, adiutor meus et redemptor meus. Dicit quando eloquia oris ejus Domino placere praevaleant: videlicet, si a viiiis quae supcrius dixit, reddatur alienus; propter illud quod dicitur peccatori: Quare tu enarras justitias meas? Quae est autem meditatio cordis, quae potest ad Dominum pervenire? Spes, charitas, et fides, quae utique digna sunt Deo. Illa enim merentur in conspectu ejus ascendere, quae ipse cognosciiur approbare. Adjutorem vero suum dicit in bonis, redemptorem a malis, ut nemo suis meritis applicet quod coelesti largitate susceperit. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XVIII Source: Migne PL 70.143c

And the speech of my mouth shall be pleasing, and the meditation of my heart shall be in your sight always. O Lord, my helper and my redeemer 1 When he says that the speech of his mouth shall be able to please the Lord, it is because he has been separated utterly from the vices of which he spoke of before, on account of which it is said to the sinner, 'Why do you speak of my righteousness?' 2 And what is the meditation of the heart that is able to come to the Lord? Hope, charity and faith, they are worthy of God, for that merits ascent into His sight which He is known to approve. And he calls Him his helper in good things, and his redeemer from evil things, because no one by the labour of his own merits shall take up the bounty of heaven. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 18 1 Ps 18.15 2 Ps 49.16

Trials And Aid

Δεξιὰ Κυρίου ἐποίησε δύναμιν, δεξιὰ Κυρίου ὕψωσέ με, δεξιὰ Κυρίου ἐποίησε δύναμιν. Οὐκ ἀποθανοῦμαι , ἀλλὰ ζήσομαι, καὶ διηγήσομαι τὰ ἔργα Κυρίου. Παιδεύων ἐπαίδευσέ με ὁ Κύριος, τῷ δὲ θανάτῳ οὐ παρέδωκέ με. Ὅτι μὴ εἰς ἄχρηστον οἱ διωγμοί, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ὠφελείᾳ καὶ δοκιμῇ τῶν πεπειρασμένων γεγόνασι, διδάσκει λέγων· Παιδεύων ἐπαίδευσέ με ὁ Κύριος. Ἔγνων γὰρ τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ ἀσθένειαν, καὶ τὴν ἐκ Θεοῦ μοι παρασχεθεῖσαν δύναμιν οὐκ ἠγνόησα. Ἐπαιδεύθην δὲ ὁποία τις ἦν ἡ δεξιὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, ἡ τοὺς πολεμίους ταπεινώσασα. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμὸς ΡΙΖ' Source: Migne PG 23.1364c

The right hand of the Lord makes virtue, the right hand of the Lord has exalted me, the right hand of the Lord makes virtue. I shall not die but live, and I shall speak of the works of the Lord. The Lord chastened me but he did not give me over to death. 1 With these words 'The Lord chastened me,' he teaches that persecutions are not without their value but they have their use for proving amid trials. 'For I knew my weakness and I was not ignorant of the strength supplied by God, and I learnt what the right hand of God might be, that it humbled my adversaries.' Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 117 1 Ps 117.16-18

Strong Souls

Στιβαρῶν καὶ στεῤῥῶν ὑπάρχει ψυχῶν, τὸ διὰ πολλῶν θλίψεων βαδίζειν τὴν τοῦ παρόντος αἰῶνος οδόν. Οὕτω γὰρ ὁ Κύριος κέχρηται τῇ εὐτονούσῃ. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ TB', Φιληκῃ Πρεσβυτερῳ Source: Migne PG 79.192d

Souls become robust and firm by walking on the way of the many trials of this present world. So the Lord has improved fortitude. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 302, to Felix the Priest

A Little Perseverence

Οταν δυνηθῇς δύο μῆνας εὐχῇ, καὶ τῇ ἡσυχία προσκαρτερῆσαι, τότε κἂν ὄνυχά πού τινα, ἢ φαντασίαν μικράν τινα ἐν νῷ λαβεῖν δυνήσῃ τῆς ἐπιπόνου τληπαθείας, καὶ τῆς πολυμόχθου διαγωγής, τῶν διὰ πάσης τῆς ζωῆς προσανεχόντων τῷ μονήρει κανόνι, καὶ τῇ ἀκτυπησία. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΠΑ' Ἱλαριος Πρεσβυτέρῳ Source: Migne PG 79.185a

When you are able to persevere two months in prayer and quiet, then you may have a certain sniff or a brief glimpse of the laborious toil and burdensome years of those who through their whole lives are bound to silence by the monastic rule. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 281, to Hilarius the Presbyter