Guilty Of Death

Aliter admonendi sunt qui cum praedicare digne valeant, prae nimia humilitate formidant; atque aliter admonendi sunt quos a praedicatione imperfectio vel aetas prohibet, et tamen praecipitatio impellit. Admonendi namque sunt qui cum praedicare utiliter possunt, immoderata tamen humilitate refugiunt; ut ex minori consideratione colligant quantum in majoribus rebus derelinquant. Si enim indigentibus proximis ipsi quas haberent pecunias absconderent, adjutores proculdubio calamitatis exstitissent. Quo ergo reatu constringantur aspiciant, qui dum peccantibus fratribus verbum praedicationis subtrahant, morientibus mentibus vitae remedia abscondunt. Unde et bene quidam sapiens dicit: Sapientia abscondita et thesaurus invisus, quae utilitas in utrisque? Si populos fames attereret, et occulta frumenta ipsi servarent, auctores procul dubio mortis existerent. Qua itaque plectendi sunt poena considerent, qui cum fame  verbi animae pereant, ipsi panem perceptae gratiae non ministrant. Unde et bene per Salomonem dicitur: Qui asbscondit frumenta, maledicetur in populis. Frumenta quippe abscondere, et praedicationis sanctae apud se verba retinere. In populis autem talis quisque maledicitur, quia in solius culpa silentii pro multorum quos corrigere potuit poena damnatur. Si medicinalis artis minime ignari secandum vulnus cernerent, et tamen secare recusarent, profecto peccatum fraternae mortis ex solo torpore committerent. Quanta ergo culpa involvantur aspiciant, qui dum cognoscunt vulnera mentium, curare ea negligunt sectione verborum. Unde et bene per prophetam dicitur: Maledictus qui prohibet gladium suum a sanguine. Gladium quippe a sanguine prohibere, est praedictionis verbum a carnalis vitae interfectione retinere. De quo rursum gladio dicitur: Et gladius meus manducabit carnes. Hi itaque cum apud se sermonem praedicationis occultant, divinas contra se sententias terribiliter audiant, quatenus ab eorum cordibus timorem timor expellat. Audiant quod talentum qui erogare noluit, cum sententia damnationis amisit. Audiant quod Paulus eo se a proximorum sanguine mundum credidit, quo feriendis eorum vitiis non pepercit, dicens, Contestor vos hodierna die, quia mundus sum a sanguine omnium: non enim subterfugi quominus annuntiarem omne consilium Dei vobis. Audiant quod voce angelica Joannes admonetur, cum dicitur: Qui audit, dicat: Veni. Ut nimirum cui se vox interna insinuat, illuc etiam clamando alios quo ipse rapitur trahat; ne clausas fores etiam vocatus inveniat, si vocanti vacuus appropinquat. Gregorius Papa I, Regulae Pastoralis Liber, Pars Tertia, Caput XXV Source: Migne PL 77.95a-d

To be admonished in a different manner are those who when they are able to preach worthily, fear to do so on account of excessive humility, and those whom inability or age prohibits and yet rashness impels. For they are to be admonished, who though able to preach usefully by an immoderate humility withdraw, by consideration of a lesser matter, from which they will grasp how they err in a greater one. For if they were to conceal from poor neighbours money which they possessed, they would undoubtedly stand forth as promoters of their ruin. Let them thus see in what guilt they are implicated who, withdrawing the word of preaching from the sinful, conceal the remedies of life from dying souls. Whence also a certain wise man says well, 'Wisdom hidden, and treasure unseen, what good in either?' 1 If the people were wasted by famine, and they had kept grain hidden from them, undoubtedly they would stand forth as the authors of death. Let them therefore consider what punishment will strike when souls are perishing from a famine of the word and they do not supply the bread of grace which they have themselves received. Whence also it is well said by Solomon, 'He that hides grain shall be cursed among the people.'2 For to hide grain is to keep within oneself the words of sacred preaching. And any such fellow is cursed among the people because by his fault of silence only he is condemned in the punishment of the many whom he might have corrected. If they who are by no means ignorant of the medicinal art were to see a wound that required cutting, and yet refused to do it, certainly by their neglect alone they would commit the crime of a brother's death. Let them see, then, in how great guilt they are embroiled who knowing the wounds of souls, neglect to cure them with the cutting of words. Whence also it is well said through the Prophet: 'Cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.' 3 Since to keep back the sword from blood is to hold back the word of preaching from the slaying of the carnal life. Of which sword it is said again, 'And my sword shall devour flesh.' 4 Let these, then, when they hide in themselves the word of preaching, let them hear with terror the Divine sentences against them, so that from their hearts fear may expel fear. Let them hear how he that would not use his talent lost it with a sentence of condemnation. 5 Let them hear how Paul believed himself to be pure from the blood of his neighbours in this, that their vices which needed to be struck he did not spare, saying, 'This day I call you to witness that I am pure from the blood of all, for I have not avoided declaring to you all the counsel of God.' 6 Let them hear how John is admonished by the angelic voice, when it is said, 'Let him that hears say, Come' 7; doubtless that he into whose heart the internal voice has come might cry out to draw others to that place to which he himself is carried, lest, even though called, he should find the doors shut, if empty he approaches Him who calls. Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Pastoral Rule, Part 3, Chapter 25 1 Sir 20.32 2 Prov 11.26 3 Jer 48.10 4 Deut 32.42 5 Mt 25.24 6 Acts 20.26-27 7 Apoc 22.17

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

Lost Sheep

Invidetur mihi. Quid faciam, Domine? Valde despicior. Ecce oves tuae circa me laniantur atque depraedantur, et supradictis latrunculis, iubente Corotico hostili mente. Longe est a caritate Dei traditor Christianorum in manus Scottorum atque Pictorum. Lupi rapaces deglutierunt gregem Domini, qui utique Hiberione cum summa diligentia optime crescebat, et filii Scottorum et filiae regulorum monachi et virgines Christi enumerare nequeo. Quam ob rem iniuria iustorum non te placeat; etiam usque ad inferos non placebit. Quis sanctorum non horreat iocundare vel conviuium fruere cum talibus? De spoliis defunctorum Christianorum repleuerunt domos suas, de rapinis vivunt. Nesciunt miseri venenum letale cibum porrigunt ad amicos et filios suos, sicut Eva non intellexit quod utique mortem tradidit viro suo. Sic sunt omnes qui male agunt: mortem perennem poenam operantur. Consuetudo Romanorum Gallorum Christianorum: mittunt viros sanctos idoneos ad Francos et ceteras gentes cum tot milia solidorum ad redimendos captivos baptizatos. Tu potius interficis et vendis illos genti exterae ignoranti Deum; quasi in lupanar tradis membra Christi. Qualem spem habes in Deum, vel qui te consentit aut qui te communicat verbis adulationis? Deus iudicabit. Scriptum est enim: Non solum facientes mala sed etiam consentientes damnandi sunt. Sanctus Patricius Hibernorum Apostolus, Epistola Ad Coroticum  Migne PL 53. 816-817

They watch me with malice. What am I to do, O Lord? I am greatly despised. Behold, your sheep around me are torn and preyed upon, and by the thieves that I have spoken of, at the command of the hostile minded Coroticus. Far he is from the love of God who gives Christians into the hands of Scots and Picts. Rapacious wolves have devoured the flock of the Lord, 1 which under the greatest care was growing greatly in Ireland; I cannot count the number of sons of Scots and daughters of kings who are now monks and virgins of Christ. Thus the injuries of the righteous will not please you, even in the very depths it will not please. 2 Who among the holy would not be horrified to take pleasure or to enjoy a feast with such folk? With the spoil of dead Christians they have filled their houses, they live on plunder. These wretches do not know that they offer deadly poison as food to their friends and children, like Eve who did not understand that it was death that she gave to her man. 3 So it is with those who do evil, they work death as eternal punishment. It is the custom of the Christians of Roman Gaul to send holy and capable men to the Franks and to other pagans with so many thousands of coins to redeem the baptised who have been taken captive. You, however, kill and sell them to foreign people who are ignorant of God; as if into a brothel you hand over the members of Christ. 4 What hope have you in God, or who approves of you, or who sends you words of praise? God will judge. For it is written: 'Not only those who do evil, but also those who consent to it, will be damned.' 5 Saint Patrick Apostle of the Irish, Letter to Coroticus 1 Acts 20.29 2 Sirach 9.17 3 Gen 3.6 41 Cor 6.15 5 Rom 1.32

Seeking the Crown

Ἐπειδὴ ποθεινῶς τὰς σεπτὰς ἀναγινώσκεις Γραφὰς, οἶσθά που τὴν προστάτοουσαν καὶ διακελευομένην τοῖς πᾶσιν νομοθεσίαν, δεῖν στεφάνην κατασκευάζειν ἐπὶ τοῦ δώματος τῆς νοητῆς οἰκίας, δηλαδὴ τοῦ κατὰ Θεὸν πολιτεύματος. Χρὴ γὰρ μὴ μόνον ἐνάρξασθαι τῆς ἀρετῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ κορωνίδα καὶ τέλος ἐπιτιθέναι, ἵνα  μὴ καταγνωσθῶμεν, ὥσπερ ὁ ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις τὸν πύργον ἀτελῆ καταλείψας. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ Ξ' , Μελετιῳ Καγκελλαριῳ

Since you desire the august knowledge of the Scriptures, learn that the commanding precept which exhorts everyone is that a crown is prepared for them in the house of intellectual dwelling, clearly according to God established. For it is necessary not only to work virtue but even to have it as a crown and end, lest we be condemned, as in the Gospel happened with the one who left the tower unfinished. 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 60, To Meletios 1 Lk 14.30

Wisdom's Call

Τὴν μὲν τοῦ νότου βασίλισσαν ἀκοὴ σοφίας ἐκ τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς ἐκτεῖναι πρὸς Σολομῶντα παρώτρυνε. Σὲ δὲ Κύριος καθ' ἡμέραν ἐβοῶν, νῆψαι καὶ βλέψαι πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον οὐκ ἔπεισε. Πρόσεχε τοίνυν μὴ ὑπ' ἐκείνης κριθῇς ὅτι τὴν μὲν φῆμαι καὶ λόγοι ἐπτέρωσαν· σὲ δὲ καὶ ὄψις καὶ πρᾶξις τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐνεργειῶν οὐδαμῶς ἐβελτίωσαν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, ΡΞϚ', Μαρτιανῳ

The Queen of the south hearing of wisdom from the ends of the earth exerted herself to reach Solomon. 1 And the Lord everyday is crying out to you to be sober and look to your advancement, but He has not persuaded you. Take care then less you are condemned, for words and speeches have flown forth and you for sight and deeds of Christ have not exerted yourself to what is better.  Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 166, To Martianus 1 3 Kings 10.1

The Impious And Judgement

Διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀναστήσονται ἀσεβεῖς ἐν κρίσει. Διὰ τοῦτο μὲν, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ῥίζαν, ἀλλ' ὁμοίους εἶναι χοϊ γῆς ὑπὸ ἀνέμου ῥιπιζομένῳ· ἄνεμον δὲ νοήσεις τὴν πειλὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν λέγουσαν· Πορεύεσθε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, οἱ κατηραμένοι, εἰς πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον. Οἱ τὴν αὐτὴν ἀκούσαντες φωνὴν καταπεσοῦνται δικαίως· οὐ γὰρ ἐστήκασιν εἰς Χριστὸν, ὅς ἐστι πιστευόντων στήριγμα καὶ θεμέλιος· τὸ γὰρ εἰς κρίσι φησὶν, οὐκ εἰς ἐρώτησιν. Ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ δικαίων, λέγει· ἀφορίζει γὰρ τοὺς δικαίους ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶ. Ψευδό Ἀθανάσιος, Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος Α'

'Therefore the impious will not rise in judgement.' 1 Because of this: they have no root, but like dust from the earth they are swept away, and you should understand the warning of God who says, 'Begone from me, you accursed ones, to everlasting fire.' 2 And having heard this, it is rightly said that they fall away, for they have not stood with Christ, who is the foundation and support of the faithful. In judgement he has spoken and not as a question. 'In the council of the the righteous,' it says. For the righteous shall be separated from sinners. Pseudo Athanasius, Expositions of the Psalms, from Psalm 1 1 Ps 1.5 2 Mt 15.41

The Fruit of The Impious

Οὐχ οὕτως οἱ ἀσεβεῖς, οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλ' ἢ ὡσεὶ χοῦς, ὃν ἐκρίπτει ὁ ἄνεμος ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς.   Ὁ μὲν μακάριος τοιοῦτος οἷον ὁ λόγος διέγραψεν· σπάνιος δὲ οὗτος καὶ ἐν ὀλίγοις εὑρισκόμενος. Πολλοὶ δὲ οἱ ἀσεβεῖς, οἵτινες ὡς μηδὲν ἔχοντες τῷ μακαρίῳ διαβέβληνται. Καρπὸν γὰρ πρόσκαιρον καὶ σκεδαστὸν, καὶ ἀπολλύμενον κτησάμενοι, γεγόνασιν ὡς ὁ χοῦς ὃν ἐκρίπτει ὁ ἄνεμος ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς. Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους. ψαλμος Α' Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος

Not so with the impious, not so, but they are as dust with the wind blows forth from the face of the earth. 1 The type of the blessed man has been described, and indeed men like this are few and rare. But the impious are numerous, who, having nothing of what is blessed, are condemned. Their fruit is only for a moment and scattered and being born it is destroyed, and they are as the dust which the wind drives forth from the face of the earth. Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 1, Eusebius of Caesarea 1 Ps 1.4

A Book Collector Chastised

Βίβλους ἐκτήσω πλείστας, ὡς ἔμαθον, καὶ οἰήσει πλουτεῖς, ἀγνοῶν τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν, ταυτὸν τοιῶν τοῖς τὸν σῖτον κατέχουσι, καὶ τοὺς σῆτας τρέφουσι. Καὶ αὐταὶ μὲν γὰρ σντῶν μητέρες καὶ τροφοὶ, ὅταν δέδενται, γίνονται. Ἣ κέχρησο τοίνυν τῷ κτήματι, ἢ μὴ βλάπτε τὴν παίδευσιν, πολλὴν κἀνταῦθα κωμῳδίαν συνάγων, βιβλιοφόρος ἢ βιβλιοτάφος, καὶ σητοτρόφος καλούμενος· καὶ ἐπὶ Θεοῦ κατηγορίαν ἀθροίζων, ὡς μέγα τάλαντον ὠφελείας ἀποκρυψάμενος, ὅ ἄλλοις μὲν ἐπιστεύθη, καὶ σοφῶς ἐπειργάσθη, παρὰ σοῦ δὲ ἰταμῶς κατωρύχθη. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΚΖ', Σιμπλικιῳ

I have learned that you have procured for yourself many books and you think yourself enriched ignorant of the reading of them, like those who hoard food and the worms eat it, for books are the mothers and nurses of worms when shut up. Make use, then, of what you have acquired, lest you hinder learning, much comedy there gathering, being called 'book devourer,' 'book tomb', 'worm feeder', and in the presence of God amassing condemnation, as one who hides the great talent of gain, which others receiving wisely put to work, but by you was precipitately buried. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1 Letter 127, to Simplicius