Temptations

Unde Christus post baptismum permisit se tentari, non ante, ut tentationes baptizatis doceret immitti. Diabolus enim ante baptismum, dum eos suos esse putat, non eos ita acriter aggreditur. Filii Israel post maris transitum, id est baptismum, morantur in deserto, donec venirent ad terram promissionis, nec est dignus aliquis comedere manna, id est corpus Domini, nisi in deserto moretur, id est nisi tumultus hujus saeculi et concupiscentias, si non corpore, saltem mente deserat. Et quia tunc imminent tentationes, accingantur ad pugnam. Vide ergo ordinem: Tria sunt genera tentationum, quae dicitur tentatio oculorum, in superbia vitae. Omnia autem alia mala ex his proveniunt, sive ira, sive invidia, sive contentio, sive odium, sive homicidium, sive furtum, sive alia genera. Ex gula, luxuria, dormitionis delectatio, et voluptates aliae. De concupiscentia carnis sunt divitiae, honores, et similia. Concupiscentia est exteriorum. Superbia vitae, est vana gloria de bonis operibus. Naturaliter autem prius tentat diabolus in concupiscentia carnis, quae est homini vicinior et quasi naturalis. Postea in exterioribus. Concupiscentia vero carnis solet incipere a gula, quia satur venter luxuriam appetit, et caeteras voluptates. Et ideo debet fidelis prius gulam domare, quae est porta et initium caeterarum voluptatum; et quia contra gulam primitus insurgit, a jejunio, quod est fraenum gulae, incipit. Et cum jejunasset quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus... Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 162.1270c-1271a

Christ allowed Himself to be tempted after baptism, 1 and not before, so that He might teach the dismissal of temptations. Before baptism the devil does not assail so bitterly because he judges men to be his own. The sons of Israel, after they crossed the sea, which is baptism, dwelt in the desert until they came to the promised land, nor was anyone worthy to eat manna, that is, the body of the Lord, unless they were in the desert, that is, unless they had withdrawn from the tumults and desires of this world, and if not in the body then in the mind, and because trials threatened them then, so were they girded up to fight. See, then, the order of the temptations in the desert, that there are three types of temptation, which is to say the temptation of the eyes in the pride of life. For every other evil comes forth from these, whether it is anger or envy or contention or hate, or murder, or theft, or any other type. From gluttony comes luxury, and delight in idleness, and other pleasures. From the desire of the flesh comes riches, honours and similar things. Desire is for exterior things. The pride of life is vainglory in good works. And naturally the devil first tempts with the desire of the flesh, which is closer to man according to his nature. Later he turns to exterior things. The desire of the flesh is accustomed to begin with gluttony because the stomach demands pampering and other pleasures. Therefore the faithful man should first rule over gluttony, which is the gate and beginning of the other pleasures, and so because he first rises up against gluttony he begins with fasting which is the withering of gluttony. 'And when He had fasted forty days and nights...' 2 Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 4 1 Mt 4.1 2 Mt 4.2

Fasting And The Devil

Καὶ προσελθών αὐτῷ ὁ πειράζων, εἶπεν· Εἰ Υἰὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ , εἰπὲ ἵνα οἱ λίθοι οὗτοι ἄρτοι γένωνται. Ἤκουσε τῆς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ φωνῆς ὁ λῃστής. Πάλιν εἶδὲν αὐτὸν πεινῶντα, καὶ ἀμφέβαλλε λοιπὸν, πῶς ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ πεινᾷ· διὰ τοῦτο τοίνυν πειράζει αὐτὸν, ἵνα μάθῃ. Κολακεύει δὲ αὐτὸν, νομίζων ὑποκλέψαι, ἐν τῷ λέγειν· Εἰ Υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ. 'Αλλ' ἐρωτᾷς· Καὶ τί ἁμάρτημα ἦν τὸ ποιῆσαι τοῦς λίθους ἄρτους; ῎Ἄκουε οὖν, ὅτι τὸ ἀκούειν τοῦ διαβόλου κατά τι, ἁμάρτημά ἐστιν. ῎Αλλως τε ἴδε· οὐκ εἶπεν, ἕνα ὁ λίθος οἱ τος γένηται ἄρτος, ἀλλ᾽ Οἱ λίθοι, θέλων ῥίψαι τὸν Χριστὸν εἰς περιττότητα. Τῷ γὰρ πεινῶντι εἷς ἄρτος ἀρκεῖ πάντως· διὰ τοῦτο ὁ Χριστὸς οὐκ ἤκουσεν αὐτοῦ. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ Δ' Source: Migne PG 123.180c-d

And coming near Him, he tempted Him saying, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.' 1 This criminal heard the heavenly voice, 2 and then he saw Him hunger, and he doubted that the son of God would hunger, and therefore he tested Him that he might learn. And he flattered himself in thinking to trick him by saying, 'If you are the son of God.' But if you ask what is sinful in turning stones into bread, hear that to listen to the devil in anything is a sin. Then see that he did not say, 'Turn this stone into bread,' but 'stones,' wishing to encourage Christ to superfluity, for one loaf is enough for a hungry man. Because of this Christ did not listen to him. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 4 1 Mt 4.3 2 Mt 3.16-17

Fasts And Feasts

Tu autem cum jejunas, unge caput tuum, et faciem tuam lava... Idioma sanctarum scripturarum est, ut sic uni quasi omnibus, et sic omniubs quasi uni loquatur; idcirco singulari numero, tu autem, dixit, cum jejunas, ut unusquisque specialter sibi intelligat hoc dictum. Caeterum notandus est locus, quod non omnia etiam Novi Testamenti praecepta juxta litteram sunt servanda. Alias autem fugientes in jejuniis hominum conscientiam, et vanae laudis jactantiam, uncti capitibus magis ostendimur jejunare, et ridiculi erimus olei pinguedine delibuti. Verumtamen more Palestinae provinciae loquitur, ubi diebus festis solent ungere capita sua solemnia celebrants. Ex quo liquet jejunantes nos festivos esse debere, et in diebus abstinentiae laetitia spiritali pinguescere Est namque interior homo noster, in quo sicuti a capite omnia membra corporis reguntur, ita a mente illlius participantur partes, propter quod saepe caput pro mente ponitur. Quam oportet denique in diebus jejuniorum sacro perungi unguento, illo videlicet de quo sponsa in Canticis ad Sponsum loquitur: Unguentum effusum nomen tuum, ideo adolescentulae diligunt te. Quo nimirum unguento mens nostra peruncta, recte diligit eum, cujus amore interius perfusa, fragrat odorem, et virtutum odoramenta passim bonis operibus decorata respergit. At vero hypocritarum caput unguento ungitur adulationis, de quo Psalmista canens: Oleum autem peccatoris non impinguet caput meum. Christus itaque factus est nobis unguentum, quod effusum per passionem mortis, totam domum, sanctam videlicet Ecclesiam, suo replevit odore. Idcirco non alterius causa jejunare convenit: sed illius spiritu profusi, debemus per abstinentiam macerare carnem, ut ejus passionibus particimur. Alioquin nisi ejus ungamur spiritu amoris, jejunia nostra vana erunt. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber IV, Caput VI Source: Migne PL 120.302b-303a

When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face... 1 It is the idiom of the Holy Scriptures that as one is spoken for many, so many is for one, therefore when He speaks with the singular 'you' about fasting everyone should understand that it has been spoken to him especially. Besides, let it be noted in this place, that not every commandment of the New Testament should be taken literally. Otherwise in fasts, fleeing from the good conscience of men, even as a boast for vain praise, we would exhibit our heads anointed, and be ridiculous doused in ointments. However it is said of the custom of the province of Palestine that they are accustomed on their feast days to celebrate their solemnities with their heads anointed. From which it is clear our fasts should be feasts, and in the days of abstinence we should anoint ourselves with spiritual joy. For it is our interior man with which as a head all the members of the body are ruled, thus by the mind they are made participant parts, on account of which the head is often set down for the mind. Therefore in the days of fasting one should be anointed with the sacred unguent which the bride speaks of to the groom in the Song of Songs, 'Your name is oil poured out, therefore the young maidens love you.' 2 Whence certainly with our mind anointed, rightly it loves Him whose love is diffused through the interior, a fragrant odor, and the fragrances of virtue waft forth from the adornment of good works. However the heads of hypocrites are anointed with the oil of adulation, concerning which the Psalmist says, 'Let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head.' 3 Thus with the passion of His death Christ was made an ointment for us, which was poured out through the whole house, which is filled with His scent, that is, the Church. Therefore no other cause befits fasting, but that with His spirit diffused in us, we should emaciate the flesh with abstinence so that it participates in His sufferings. Besides, unless we are anointed with the spirit of His love, our fasting shall be in vain. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 4, Chapter 6 1 Mt 6.17 2 Song 1.3 3 Ps 140.5

The Pentecostal Fast

Hodiernam, dilectissimi, festivitatem descensione sancti Spiritus consecratam sequitur, ut nostis, solemne jejunium, quod animis corporibusque curandis salubriter institutum, devota nobis est observantia celebrandum. Repletis namque apostolis virtute promissa, et in corda eorum Spiritu veritatis ingresso, non ambigimus inter caetera coelestis sacramenta doctrinae, hanc spiritalis continentiae disciplinam de Paracleti magisterio primitus fuisse conceptam: ut sanctificatae jejunio mentes conferendis sibi charismatibus fierent aptiores. Aderat quidem Christi discipulis protectio omnipotentis auxilii, et principibus nascentis Ecclesiae tota Patris Filiique Divinitas in praesentia sancti Spiritus praesidebat. Sed contra instantes impetus persequentium, contra minaces fremitus impiorum, non corporis fortitudine, nec carnis erat saturitate certandum; cum hoc maxime hominis interiora corrumpat, quod exteriora delectat; et tanto fiat rationalis anima purgatior, quanto fuerit substantia carnis afflictior. Hi itaque doctores, qui exemplis et traditionibus suis omnes Ecclesiae filios imbuerunt, tirocinium militiae christianae sanctis inchoavere jejuniis: ut contra spiritales nequitias pugnaturi, abstinentiae arma caperent, quibus vitiorum incentiva truncarent. Invisibiles enim adversarii et incorporales hostes non erunt contra nos validi, si nullis carnalibus desideriis fuerimus immersi. Cupiditas quidem nocendi in tentatore perpetua est, sed inermis atque inefficax erit, si nihil in nobis unde contra nos pugnet invenerit. Quis autem hac fragili carne circumdatus, et in isto mortis corpore constitutus, etiam qui multum valideque profecerit, ita jam de sua salute securus sit, ut ab omnium se illecebrarum periculo credat alienum? Donet licet sanctis suis quotidianam gratia divina victoriam, non aufert tamen dimicandi materiam: quia et hoc ipsum de misericordia protegentis est, qui naturae mutabili, ne de confecto praelio superbiret, semper voluit superesse quod vinceret. Igitur post sanctae laetitiae dies, quos in honorem Domini a mortuis resurgentis, ac deinde in coelos ascendentis, exegimus, postque perceptum sancti Spiritus donum, salubriter et necessarie consuetudo est ordinata jejunii: ut si quid forte inter ipsa festivitatum gaudia negligens libertas et licentia inordinata praesumpsit, hoc religiosae abstinentiae censura castiget: quae ob hoc quoque studiosius exsequenda est, ut illa in nobis quae hac die Ecclesiae divinitus sunt collata permaneant. Templum enim facti Spiritus sancti, et majore quam umquam copia divini fluminis irrigati, nullis debemus concupiscentiis vinci, nullis vitiis possideri, ut virtutis habitaculum nulla sit contaminatione pollutum. Quod utique regente atque adjuvante Domino omnibus obtinere possibile est, si per jejunii purificationem, ac per misericordiae largitatem studeamus et peccatorum sordibus liberari, et charitatis fructibus esse fecundi. Quidquid enim in cibos pauperum, in curationes debilium, in pretia captivorum, et in quaelibet opera pietatis impenditur, non minuitur, sed augetur, nec umquam apud Deum perire poterit quod fidelis benignitas erogarit, dum quodcumque tribuit ad subsidium, id sibi recondit ad praemium. Beati enim misericordes, quoniam ipsorum miserebitur Deus; neque delictorum memoria erit ubi testimonium pietatis affuerit. Quarta igitur et sexta feria jejunemus; sabbato autem apud beatissimum Petrum apostolum vigilias celebremus, cujus nos orationibus et a spiritalibus inimicis et a corporeis hostibus confidimus liberari. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo LXXVIII, De Jejunio Pentecostes I Source: Migne PL 54.415b-418a

Today's feast, dearly-beloved, consecrated by the descent of the Holy Spirit, is followed, as you know, by a solemn fast, which being a salutary institution for the healing of soul and body, we should attend to with devout observance. For when the Apostles had been filled with the promised power and the Spirit of Truth had entered into their hearts, we do not doubt that among the rest of the mysteries of heavenly teachings this discipline of spiritual continence was first thought of at the prompting of the Paraclete so that minds sanctified by fasting might be more fit for the chrism which was to be bestowed on them. The disciples of Christ had the protection of Almighty aid, and the princes of the infant Church were watched over by the whole Godhead of the Father and the Son by the presence of the Holy Spirit. But against the threatened assaults of persecutors, and against the terrifying cries of the impious, they could not struggle with bodily strength or with pampered flesh, since that which delights the outer man gravely corrupts the inner man, and the more one's fleshly substance is afflicted the more the rational soul is purified. Thus these teachers, who have imbued all the sons of the Church with their example and their traditions, established the rudiments of Christian warfare with holy fasts, so that having to fight against spiritual wickedness men might take up the armour of abstinence to cut off the incentives to vice. Invisible adversaries and incorporeal enemies will have no power over us if we are not entangled in any of the desires of the flesh. Certainly the tempter always desires to hurt us, but he will be disarmed and powerless if he can find nothing in us by which he might attack us. But encompassed with this frail flesh and established in this body of death, even if a man has made evident progress, who can be so certain of his safety so that he thinks himself far from the peril of all allurements? Although Divine Grace gives daily victory to its holy ones, it does not remove the need for struggle, because even this is part of His protecting mercy, He who, lest we become proud over a battle ended, has always designed for our changeable nature that they should be something to win. Therefore, after the days of holy joy which we have devoted to the honour of the Lord rising from the dead and then ascending into heaven, and after the reception of the gift of the Holy Spirit, a fast is ordained as a wholesome and needful practice so that if through neglect or disorder amid the joys of the feast any undue license has come about it may be corrected by the censures of holy abstinence, which must be most scrupulously carried out so that what was on this day Divinely bestowed on the Church may remain in us. For having been made the temple of the Holy Spirit and watered with a greater supply than ever of the Divine Stream, we should not be conquered by any desires, nor possessed by any vices, by which the habitation of virtue is defiled with pollution. And it is possible for everyone to obtain this with the Lord's aid and guidance, if by the purification of fasting and by merciful liberality we strive to be freed from the filth of sins and to be rich in the fruits of love. For whatever is spent on feeding the poor, on caring for the sick, on ransoming prisoners, or on any other deed of piety, is not diminished but increased, nor will what the kindness of one of the faithful has expended ever be lost to God, since whatever a man gives for relief he lays up for his own reward. For 'Blessed are the merciful, since God shall have mercy on them.' 1 Nor will errors be remembered where the witness of piety is present. On the fourth and and sixth days, therefore, let us fast, and on Saturday let us keep vigil in the presence of the most blessed Apostle, Peter, by whose prayers we surely trust to be set free both from spiritual foes and bodily enemies, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. Pope Leo the Great, Sermon 78, On The Pentecostal Fast 1 Mt 5.7

A Hard Diet

Αἱ ἀκρίδες, αἷς Ἰωάννης ἐτρέφετο, αὐ ζῶα εἰσιν ὧς τινες οἴονται ἀμαθῶς, κανθάροις ἀπεοικότα. Μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλ' ἀκρέμονες βοτανῶν ἢ φυτῶν. Οὔτε δὲ πόα τίς ἐστι πάλιν τὸ μέλι ἄγριον. Ἀλλὰ μέλι ὄρειον ὑπὸ μελισσῶν ἀγρίων γινόμενον, πικρότατον ὄν, καὶ πάσῃ γεύσει πολέμιον. Δι' ὦν τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν κάκωσιν ἐπεδείκνυτο Ἰωάννης, οὐκ ἐνδείᾳ μόνῃ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τραχύτητι πὰσαν ὅρεξιν πικραίνων τοῦ σώματος. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΛΒ' Τιμοθεῳ Ἀναγωστῃ Source: Migne PG 78.269c

The locusts which John fed on are not creatures somewhat like beetles, as some unlearned folk think. May it not be, but grass or plants from the heights. Nor again is wild honey a herb. But it is honey of the mountains made by wild bees, and it is most bitter and inimical to everyone's taste. By which things John wondrously shows how he afflicted himself, not only by not eating, but by treating roughly and with bitterness the desires of the body Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 132, To Timotheus the Lector

Feasting And Fasting

Cum autem quadem die filii et filiae ejus comederent et biberent vinum... Opportunissimum tentationis tempus elegit, cum scilicet filios Job comedentes et bibentes invenit. Adhuc, inquit escae eorum erant in ore ipsorum, et ira Dei ascendit super eos. Quia commessationes sine peccato vix esse possunt, comessationibus libenter se ingerit inimicus: orationem vero et jejunium semper odit, quia genus est etiam daemoniorum, quod non nisi oratione et jejunio expellitur. Et notandum quod non cibum sumere, sed in cibo delectari peccatum est. Quandoque enim aliquis non minus gulosus est in vilissimis cibis quam alius in epulis delicatis. Legitur Jonathas peccasse in gusto mellis, Esau in edulio lentis, Sodomitae in saturitate panis. Ergo, teste Hieromymo, non cibus, sed appetitus in culpa est. Considerantur autem in cibo sumendo tria, tempus, modus, et qualitas. Tempus, ut non praeveniatur hora; modus, ut summatur cibus cum moderatione inculpata; qualitas, ut non sint cibi nimium exquisiti, aut nimium sumptuosi. Comedere post saturitatem est superfluum, ante esuriem otiosum, in esurie licitum, post esuriem meritorium. Certe non credo in homine incolumi jejuniam alicujus esse meriti, quod esuries non praecedit. Jejunare, et jejunio non affligi, non habet vim, aut meritum jejunandi. Si instant apostolorum vigiliae, aut alia tempora, quae necessitatem jejunandi indicant, praecedenti die implemus et ingurgitamus nos varietatibus ferculorum, atque in fraudem futuri jejunii tantum nostris ventribus inculcamus, quo sufficienter possit sustentari tridouo sobrius dispensator. Non est hoc, dicit Dominus per prophetam, jejunium quod elegi. Sunt enim jejunia, quae reprobavit Deus, et sunt jejunia, quae elegit. Jejunant alia propter naturae impotentiam, alii propter avaritiam, alii ad apparentiam, aliis ad vitam aeternam, alii ad corporis sanitatem. Jejunat aegrotus ut convaleseat, hypocrita ut appareat, fastiditus ut appetat, avarus ut parcat. In omnibus intentio tua operi tuo nomen imponit. In omnibus discretio servanda est, auriga virtutum et operum, atque cogitationum optima moderatrix. Petrus Blenensis, Compendium In Job: Ad Henericum II Illustrissimum Anglorum Regem, Caput I Source: Migne PL 207.808a-809a

When, on a certain day, his sons and daughters ate and drank wine... 1 The devil choses the most opportune time for temptation, when he finds the sons of Job eating and drinking. 'While yet the food was in their mouths, the anger of God rose up over them,' it says. Because there can scarcely be revelry without sin, and among revellers the enemy eagerly comes. It is prayer and fasting he hates, because there is a class of demons that only prayer and fasting can expel. 2 And it should be noted that the sin is not in partaking of food but for the pleasure of it. And a man may be no less gluttonous with the cheapest bread than with any choice delicacy of a banquet. We read that Jonathan sinned by tasting honey, Esau for a bowl of lentils, the Sodomites by an abundance of bread. 3 Therefore, by the testimony of Jerome, it is not the bread but the desire that is the fault. 4 Let the taking of food be considered in three ways, by time, manner and quality. By time, that it is not brought before the hour, in manner, that one partakes of food with faultless modesty, by quality, that one's food is not excessively exquiste, nor too luxurious. To eat beyond satiety is unnecessary, before one is hungry pointless. In hunger there is permission, after hunger merit. Certainly I do not believe that an untroubled man gains any merit in fasting, because hunger does not precede it. To fast and have no struggle in fasting, has no value, nor merit. If the Vigil of the Apostles draws near, or some other time, which declares the need for fasting, if on the day before we fill ourselves and gobble down a variety of dishes, and in deceit make the coming fast, then it is only our stomachs we impress, in which the more sensible arranger is prefectly able to endure the three days. 'This is not the fast that I have chosen,' says the Lord. 5 For there are fasts which God abhors and fasts that He approves. Some fast because of an infirmity of nature, some because of avarice, some for the sake of appearance, others for eternal life, others for the body's health. The sick man fasts that he might become well, the hypocrite for appearance's sake, the picky fellow for his appetite, the miser that he might save money. In everything your intention stamps the name on your work. In everything prudence must be guarded, for moderation is the best chariot of virtue and works, and also thoughts. Peter of Blois, Compendium On Job, To Henry II Most Illustrious King Of The English, Chapter 1 1 Job 1.13 2 Mt 17.20 3 1 King 14.24-46, Gen 25.29-34, Ezek 16.49 4 Jerome, Against Jovinianus 2.11 5 Isaiah 58.5-11

Levi's Feast

Et fecit ei convivium magnum Levi in domo sua... Qui domicilio Christum recipit interno, maximis delectationibus exsuperantium pascitur voluptatum. Itaque Dominus libenter ingreditur, et in ejus qui crediderit recumbit affectum, et hoc est bonorum operum spiritale convivium, quo dives populus eget, pauper epulatur. Et erat turba multa pubilicanorum et aliorum qui cum illis erant discumbtentes... Viderant publicanum a peccatis ad meliora conversum, locum invenisse poenitentiae, et ob id etiam ipsi non desperant salutem. Et murmurabant pharisaei et scribae eorum dicentes ad discipulos ejus: Quare cum publicanis et peccatoribus manducatis et bibitis? Convivantibus cum Domino publicanis, pharisaei murmantes de jejunio gloriantur. Ubi primo legis et gratiae quanta sit distantia declaratur uia qui legem sequuntur, ieiunae mentis famem patiantur aeternam; qui vero verbum in interioribus animae receperunt alimenti coelestis, et fontis ubertate recreati, esurire et sitire non possint. Deinde retributionis futurae species praefiguratur, quando epulantibus cum Christo electis, perfidia superborum ieiuna torquebitur, quibus dicitur: Meretrices et publicani praecedent vos in regnum Dei. Quod sit per Matthaei electionem fides gentium, quae prius mundi lucris inhiabant, sed nunc corpus Christi sedula devotione reficiuntur, exprimitur, profecto supercilium Pharisaeorum, Iudaeorum invidiam, qua degentium salute torquentur, insinuat. Et respondens Iesus, dixit ad illos: Non egent qui sani sunt medico, sed qui male habent. Non veni vocare iustos, sed peccatores in poenitentiam. Suggillat Scribas et Pharisaeos, qui iustos se putantes, peccatorum consortia declinabant. Seipsum namque medicum dicit, qui miro medicandi genere vulneratus est propter iniquitates nostras, et livore eius sanati sumus. Sanos autem et iustos appellat eos qui ignorantes Dei iustitiam, et suam volentes constituere, iustitiae Dei non sunt subiecti, qui ex lege praesumentes Evangelii gratiam non quaerunt. Porro male habentes, et peccatores vocat eos, qui suae fragilitatis conscientia devicti, nec per legem iustificari posse videntes, Christi se gratiae poenitendo submittunt. Ubi simul ostenditur quod non in pristinis vitiis permanentes, ut Scribae et Pharisaei murmurabant, sed poenitentiam agentes Publicani venerint ad Iesum; et ipse quoque Iesus convivia peccatorum, ut occasionem haberet docendi, et spiritales invitatoribus suis praeberet cibos, adire dignatus sit. Denique cum frequenter pergere ad convivium describatur, nihil refertur aliud nisi quid ibi fecerit, quid docuerit, et ut humilitas Domini eundo ad peccatores, et potentia doctrinae eius in poenitentium conversione, monstretur. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber II, Caput V Source: Migne PL 92.389c-390b

And Levi made a great feast for Him in his house... 1 He who receives Christ in his internal abode, feasts with the greatest delight on the most excellent joys. Thus the Lord gladly enters, and He reclines in the affection of him who believes, and this is the spiritual feast of good works, where the rich lack and the poor man feasts. And there was a great crowd of tax collectors and others who sat with them... They had seen that the tax collector had turned from sins to better things and had found the place of penitence, and because of it they did not despair of salvation. And the Pharisees and their Scribes murmured, saying to His disciples: 'Why does He eat and drink wih tax collectors and sinners?' While the Lord dines with tax collectors, the murmuring Pharisees glory in fasting. Here the great difference between the Law and Grace is first declared. Because they who follow the Law, they suffer the eternal hunger of the fasting mind. But it is not possible for him who receives the Word in the interior of the soul and is renewed from the fount of bounty to hunger and thirst. Finally the type of future reward is prefigured here, when the elect feast with Christ and the treachery of the proud is tormented with fasting. To these it is said: 'Whores and tax collectors go before you into the kingdom of God.' 2 For by the election of Matthew is expressed the faith of the Gentiles who previously lusted for the wealth of the world, but now restore their bodies with the careful attention of Christ, and certainly it suggests the arrogance of the Pharisees and the envy of the Jews, which is tormented by the salvation of the Gentiles. And Jesus answered, saying to them: 'They who are healthy have no need of a physician, but they who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to pentience.' He reproves the Scribes and Pharisees who think themselves righteous men and refuse to associate with sinners. For He calls Himself a physican, who with a wondrous type of medicine 'was wounded for our wickedness and His bruises healed us.' 3 He calls them healthy who are righteous, and ignorant of the righteousness of God, and imposing their own wills, will not be subject to the righteousness of God, 4 those who are presumptuous because of the Law and do not seek the grace of the Gospel. But He calls them sick and sinners who conquered by their awareness of their fragility, seeing that they are not able to be justified through the Law, submit themselves in penance to the grace of Christ. Where at the same time it is shown that they did not remain in their old faults, because of which the Phariesses and Scribes murmured, but the tax collectors came in penitence to Jesus. And because of this Jesus Himself is made worthy to come to the feasts of sinners, so that He might have an occasion for teaching, and prepare spiritual food for those invited. Finally when it is said that a crowd comes to the feast, this refers to nothing else but what shall be done there and what taught, and it reveals the humility of the Lord in His coming to sinners, and the power of His teaching in converting to penance. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 2, Chapter 5 1 Lk 5.14 2 Mt 21.31 3 Isaiah 53.5 4 Rom 10.3

Various Fasts

...et humiliabam in ieiunio animam meam et oratio mea in sinu meo convertebatur. Jejunium Domini fuit, quando nefanda obstinatione duratos non inveniebat, quos in epulas spirituales assumeret. Haec enim fuit sterilitas animae ipsius, quod et ieiunium. Ieiunium enim dictum est quasi inedium, quod abstinentes diutius ad inediam usque perducat. Ieiunavit ergo Dominus, quia se ei incredula turba subtraxerat. Potest etiam et ieiunium corporale Domino convenire, quoniam quadraginta diebus et noctibus ieiunavit in monte; sed illo perfecto ieiunio de quo Isaias dicit: Solve omne vinculum iniquitatis, dissolve obligationes vehementium commutationum, dimitte afflictos in remissione, et omnem retributionem iniquam disrumpe; frange esurienti panem tuum, et pauperes sine tecto induc in domum tuam. Si videris nudum, cooperi, et domesticos seminis tui non despicies. Tunc erumpet matutinum lumen tuum, et sanitas tua cito orietur. Et praecedet ante te iustitia tua, et maiestas Domini circumdabit te. Et tunc clamabis, et Deus exaudiet te, adhuc te loquente dicet: Ecce adsum, et caetera, quae textus ille mirabilis coelesti munere pollicetur. Ita Magister bonus, quod prophetarum praedixerat libris, humanitus evidentibus monstravit exemplis. Addidit quoque secretiorem causam quae bene evangelica similitudine reseratur. Dicit enim Dominus discipulis suis: Intrantes autem in domum salutate eam dicentes: Pax huic domui. Et si quidem fuerit domus illa digna, veniet pax vestra super eam; sin autem non fuerit digna, pax vestra ad vos revertetur. Talis est et ista oratio quae fundebatur a Domino. Nam dum eam detestabiles Iudaei minime suscipere mererentur, in sinu eius, id est in secreto pectoris, unde fuerat egressa, remeabat. Si enim in pectoribus fuisset operata, non conversa utique, sed diceretur effusa. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XXXIV Source: Migne PL 70.246a-d

...And I humbled my soul in fasting, and I turned over my prayer in my lap. 1 It was a fast of the Lord when He did not find among those hardened in obstinacy those He could take up to spiritual feasts. This was the barrenness of His soul which is even a fast, for a fast is spoken of as a matter of not eating, and He endured long without eating. Therefore the Lord fasted because He withdrew Himself from the incredulous crowd. But it is possible that a corporeal fast befits the Lord, because He fasted for forty days and nights, 2 yet Isaiah speaks of the perfect fast when he says: 'Break all the bonds of iniquity, dissolve all the burdens that gravely oppress, allow the afflicted rest, and cast away every wicked debt. Break bread with the hungry and lead into your house the poor man who has no shelter. If you see someone in rags, clothe him, and do not sneer at servants as you walk. Then your morning light shall blaze forth, and your healing shall swiftly arise. Your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall surround you. Then you shall cry out and the Lord shall hear you, and while you speak He shall say to you: Here I am,' 3 and the rest, which speech promises heavenly reward. So the good teacher, who is foretold in the books of the Prophets, shows His benevolence by evident examples. Also He adds a more secret reason which is revealed in a parable of the Gospel. 'The Lord said to His disciples, When you enter a house, greet it, saying, 'Peace to this house.' And if the house seems worthy, let your peace be upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 4 Such is the prayer that is turned over in the lap by the Lord. Because when the opposing Jews hardly merited being taken up, in His lap, that is, in the secret place of the heart, what went out, returned. For if it had begun to work in their hearts, it would not have been 'turned over' in such a way, but it would have been said to have been 'poured out.' Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 34 1 Ps 34.13 2 Mt 4.2 3 Isaiah 58.6-9 4 Mt 10.12-13

Fasting And Conflict

Neque cautos, vigilantes, sobrios, diabolus perturbare suis superventionibus praevalebit; certe neque nos taliter armatos publico conflictu provocare audebit: dolis appetere non praesumet. Animus in coelesti speculo perseveret; diaboli fraudulentas et occultas deprimat et declinet insidias. Est quidem diabolus per se nequam, fit tamen nequior provocatus. Audi Apostolum dicentem: Diabolus sicut leo rugiens circuit, quaerens quem devoret. Jejunantibus nobis, diabolus esurit, qui nostris semper saturatur ex culpis. Ille cibum nostrum deducit in crapulam: potum nostrum in ebrietatem diffundit, ut mentem faciat amentem, carnem luteam reddat, corpus animi domicilium, animae vas, murum spiritus, virtutum scholam, Dei templum, in scenam criminum, in vitiorum pompam, voluptatem redigat in theatrum. Capit ille satietatem, voluptatem percipit, expletur epulis, quando nos luxus solvit, libido stimulat, pompa rapit, impellit ambitio, urget ira, furor implet, succendit invidia, cupiditas inflammat, curae sollicitant, lites vexant, lucra capiunt, usurae vinciunt, chirographa ligant, premunt sacculi, elidit aurum. Quando moriuntur virtutes, vivunt vitia, voluptas effluit, honestas perit, misericordia deficit, abundat avaritia, regnat confusio, succumbit ordo, prosternitur disciplina. Ista militant adversum militem Christi; istae sunt satanae cohortes, istae diaboli legiones, ista sunt quae mundum sepulcris obsederunt, debellaverunt populos, vastarunt gentes, orbem totum duxere captivum. Ista sunt quibus nullus per se potuit obviare mortalis: et ideo ad vincenda ista Deus venit ipse, coeli rex ipse descendit, ipse victor singularis advenit, jejunium quadragesimae statuens in procinctu, ut quaterna decade jejunii quadraturam mundi totam muro inexpugnabili communiret. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo XII, De Jejunio Et Tentationibus Christi Source: Migne PL 52.223b-224c

With the trouble of his coming, the devil shall not overthrow the cautious or the vigilant or the sober. Certainly he does not dare provoke us who are so armed to open conflict, but rather he seeks to seize us with trickery. Let the mind persevere in looking to heaven and it shall crush down the hidden deceits of the devil and undo his plots. Certainly the devil is wicked on his own but he is more wicked when he is summoned. Hear the Apostle saying: 'The devil is like a roaring lion that goes about in search of someone to devour.' 1 While we fast, the devil hungers, he who is always filled by our sins. He brings our eating to excess and extends our drinking to drunkenness, so that he might make the mind mindless, and fashion the flesh as good for nothing, and reduce the body, the house of the soul and its vessel, the walls of our spirit, the school of the virtues, the temple of God, to a stage of crimes, a spectacle of vice, a theatre of pleasure. He is filled to satiety when he receives pleasure, gorged with a feast when luxury undoes us, and lust excites, and extravagance seizes, and ambition drives, and anger compels, and fury possesses, and envy incenses, and desire inflames, and cares trouble, and disputes vex, and profits take hold, and usury conquers, and contracts bind, and money burdens, and gold crushes. When the virtues die, the vices live, pleasure bursts forth, uprightness perishes, mercy withers, avarice abounds, confusion reigns, order collapses, discipline is cast down. These war against the soldier of Christ, these are the companies of Satan, the legions of the devil, these have laid siege to the world with tombs, have destroyed peoples, lay waste nations, have led the whole world into captivity. Against these no mortal can stand on his own, and therefore God Himself came to conquer them, the king of heaven descended, the only conqueror approached, establishing the forty day fast as a preparation for battle, that the four decades of the days of fasting might fortify with an impregnable wall the four corners of the world. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 12, On Fasting And The Temptations of Christ 1 1 Pet 5.8

Fasting And Trials

Jejunavit autem ideo quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus, ut indicaret nos ab illicitis debere jejunare, sive in tempore prosperitatis, quod per dies designatur, sive in tempore adversitatis, quod per noctes notatur. Et accedens tentator. Visa esurie, accessit tentator, quia non putabat Deum, quem fragilem videbat. Viderat stellas, viderat magos, audierat Joannem clamantem: Hic est Agnus Dei. Audierat forsitan de coelo vocem Patris, sed putavit eum vocari filium adoptivum, sicut et alios sanctos. Audierat prophetas, sciebat Christum venturum. Sed quum omnia ista vidisset signa, non tamen credidit esse Deum, et hoc faciebat ejus superbia. Credidit enim, quod sicut ipse nunquam voluit pati infirmitatem, sed voluit etiam super omnia exaltari, sic non credidit Deum velle ullam pati infirmitatem, judicans eum ex animo suo; et ideo visa infirmitate in Christo, eum esse Deum nullo modo credidit, et tamen explorat, quum dicit: Si Filius Dei es. Et tentat, cum dicit: Dic ut lapides isti panes fiant. Volebat enim per panem visum gulam incitare. Qui enim esurit, viso cibo plus cupit. Volebat enim per mutationem tentare potentiam, et tamen si miraculum videret, non ideo crederet quia etiam prophetas viderat majora fecisse, sed hominem per panem illudere volebat. Satis convenienter lapides offert, qui durus est et impoenitens; et quia scriptum audierat: Ipse dixit, et facta sunt, quasi per potentiam blanditur, dicens: Dic solummodo et fiet, si Filius Dei es. Qui respondens dixit. Docet nos contra tentationem clypeum Scripturarum opponere. Non utitur divina potestate, cum posset tamen eum, ut Deus fugare, quia veritatem suae divinae potentiae noluit ostendere, ut qui incertus venerat, incertus rediret. Non in solo pane. Ista auctoritas sumpta est de Deuteronomio; Moyses enim videns quod homo de gemina substantia factus est, videlicet corpore et anima, et neutrum sine sustentamento posse subsistere; corpus enim petit terreno cibo sustentari; anima vero, quae est substantia spiritualis, pane coelesti; ait: Non in solo pane vivit homo, etc. Deus est panis angelorum, sed homo Deum non potest comedere, nisi factum lac, ideo per figuras ei ostenditur, id est per verba, et per alias ostensiones quae omnia verba dicuntur, et ideo dicit, quod homo vivit, in omni verbo, id est in omni genere locutionum, Dei, id est in quibus Deus ostenditur. Quaeritur quomodo haec responsio tentationi supradictae repugnet? Solutio: Hoc sonat quasi diceret, persuasio tua patet, quia tentantis est. De cibo enim corporis agis, qui communis est cum pecoribus, non de cibo mentis, qui est nobis communis cum angelis. Si enim amice ageres, de meliori cibo prius me admoneres, sine quo nemo vere vivere potest: Non enim in solo pane, etc. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 162.1272a-d

Therefore He fasted forty days and forty nights to indicate that we should fast from what is forbidden, either in times of prosperity, which the days signify, or in times of adversity which the nights declare. 'And the tempter approached.' 1 He saw Him hunger, and the tempter approached, because he did not think that he could be God whom he saw was fragile. He had seen the star, the wise men, he heard John crying out, 'Behold the Lamb of God,' perhaps he heard the voice of the Father from heaven, but he thought Him called a son by adoption, like the other saints. He had heard the prophets, he knew Christ was to come, but he who had seen all these signs did not believe that He was God. And this was the work of his pride, for he believed that just as he was never willing to suffer weakness, but wished to be exalted over all things, so God would not be willing to suffer infirmity, measuring him by his own mind. Therefore seeing infirmity in Christ, he in no way believed Him to be God, and so he tested Him, saying to Him, 'If you are the Son of God.' And he tempted Him when he said, 'Tell these stones to become bread.' For by the sight of bread he wished to incite greed. He who hungers does so more by the sight of food. And by this transformation he wished to test His power, and yet if he had seen a miracle, he would have not thus believed, because he had seen the prophets do greater things, but he wished to trick man through bread. Very appropriately he who was hard and impenitent brought forth stones. And because he had heard it was written: 'He spoke and it was done,' 2 and as coaxing out his power, he says, 'Just speak and it shall be so, if you are the Son of God.' And in response He spoke, and that to teach us to oppose temptation with the shield of the Scripture. He does not use His divine power, though it was possible, as if fleeing from Godhood, because He did not wish to show the truth of His Divine power, so that he who came in uncertainty should also depart in it. 'Not on bread alone.' He takes up this authority from Deuteronomy, for Moses, seeing that man was made from two substances, obviously body and soul, and that neither are able to exist without sustenance, and that the body sustains itself from the earth, but the soul from spiritual substance which is the bread of heaven, says, 'Man does not live on bread alone.' 3 God is the bread of angels, but man is not able to receive Him, unless he is made milk, and therefore God is shown to him through figures, that is, through words, and through other revelations which are told with every word, and therefore he says that a man lives by every word, that is, in every type of speaking about God in which God is revealed. Is it asked how this answer repulsed the aforementioned temptation? Here is the solution: He speaks as if He said, 'Your persuasion is obvious, because it is a test. For you ask for the bread of the body, which is common to beasts, not the bread of the mind, which we have in common with angels. If you were a friend, you would first admonish me concerning the better food, without which one cannot truly live. 'Not on bread alone.' Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 4 1 Mt 4.3 2 Ps 32.9 3 Deut 8.3

Fasting And Power

Et dixit illis, hoc genus in nullo potest exire, nisi in oratione et ieiunio. Ad hoc dicendum sicut saepe diximus quod Domini potestas in eiiciendo Daemones non fuit operans, sicut per claves, sed sicut absoluta et libera potestas, cui nihil obstat: et ideo in sua operatione non fuit opus iniunctione orationis et ieiuni. Sed hac postestatem discupulis non dedit: quia haec est potestas excellentiae et divina: sed potius dedit discipulis potestate clavium, ut per ministrerium instrumenti orationis et ieiunis, et exorcismorum contra malitiam daemonis operatentur, et ideo: Das potestaem ligandi et absolvendi, praemittit potestatem ligandi, dicens, quodcunque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et caelis. Et subiungit potestatem solvendi, dicens: et quodcunque solvris super terram, erit solutum et in caelis: ac si dicat, Si vis ut non erret clavis, liga prius ad opera satisfactionis: et tun solve a vinculis daemonum, quibus ligati sunt peccatores: tunc portae, hoc est, malitiae daemonum tibi praevalebunt. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput IX Source: Here p101

And He said to them, this type is not able to be driven out unless by prayer and fasting... 1 Concerning this it must be said, as we have often said, that the power of the Lord in casting out demons was not done as through keys, but by a perfect and free power, which nothing may resist, and therefore in His work there was no need for the addition of prayer and fasting. But this power was not given to the disciples, because such power belongs to the Divine excellence, but rather He gave to the disciples the power of the keys, that by the ministry of the instruments of prayer and fasting, they might perform exorcisms against the wickedness of demons, and therefore, giving the power of binding and loosing, He first set forth the power of binding, saying, 'whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,' and then He added the power of loosing, 'and whatever you loose on earth, it shall be loosed in heaven.' 2 As if He said, 'If you wish not to err in the use of the keys, be bound first to the works of satisfaction, and then loose the bonds of demons by which sinners are bound. So the gates, that is the wickedness of demons, shall not prevail against you.' 3 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 9 1 Mk 9.28 2 Mt 16.19 3 Mt 16.18

The Carnal And The Spiritual Fast

Cum ergo universa vitia per continentiam destruantur, et quidquid avaritia sitit, quidquid superbia ambit, quidquid luxuria concupiscit, hujus virtutis soliditate superetur; quis non intelligat quantum nobis praesidii per jejunia conferatur? In quibus indicitur, ut non solum a cibis, sed etiam ab omnibus carnalibus desideriis temperetur. Alioqui superfluum est suscipere esuriem, et iniquam non deponere voluntatem; reciso affligi cibo, et a concepto non resilire peccato. Carnale est, non spiritale jejunium, ubi soli corpori non parcitur, et in iis quae omnibus deliciis nocentiora sunt, permanetur. Quid prodest animae foris agere quasi dominam, et intus servire captivam, membris propriis imperare, et jus propriae libertatis amittere? Et merito plerumque patitur famulam rebellantem, quae non reddit Domino debitam servitutem. Jejunante ergo corpore ab escis, mens jejunet a vitiis, et curas cupiditatesque terrenas regis sui lege dijudicet. Meminerit primam dilectionem Deo, secundam deberi proximo, omnesque affectus suos hac regula dirigendos, ut nec a cultu recedat Domini, nec ab utilitate conservi. Quomodo autem Deus colitur, nisi ut quod ipsi placet, placeat et nobis; nec ab ejus imperio noster umquam resultet affectus? Quoniam si hoc quod ille vult volumus, ab illo sumet infirmitas nostra virtutem, a quo ipsam accepimus voluntatem: Deus est enim, sicut ait Apostolus, qui operatur in nobis et velle et perficere pro bona voluntate. Nec superbia itaque homo inflabitur, nec desperatione frangetur, si bonis divinitus datis in gloriam dantis utatur, et ab iis desideria sua revocet quae sibi nocitura cognoscit. Abstinens enim ab invidiae malignitate, a luxuriae dissolutione, a perturbatione iracundiae, a cupiditate vindictae, purificabitur veri sanctificatione jejunii, et incorruptibilium deliciarum voluptate pascetur, ut per usum spiritalem etiam terrenas copias in coelestem noverit transferre substantiam, non sibi condendo quae acceperit, sed magis magisque multiplicando quod dederit. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XIX, De Jejunio Source: Migne PL 54.187a-188b

Since therefore all vices are destroyed by continence, and whatever avarice thirsts for, and whatever pride strives for, and whatever luxury lusts after, is overcome by the firmness of this virtue, who does not understand how much protection may be given to us by fasting? In which is signified not only restraint from food, but from all carnal desires. Otherwise it is pointless to take up hunger and yet not cast out an iniquitous will, to be afflicted by cutting off food and yet not to shrink from sinful thought. That is a carnal, not a spiritual fast, where the body alone is restrained and those things persisted in are more harmful than all delights. What profit to the soul to act outwardly as mistress of the house and within to be a captive and a slave, to command the limbs and to lose the right to her own liberty? Rightly does she for the most part suffer rebellion from her servant who does not pay to God the service due. Therefore when the body fasts from food, let the mind fast from vices, and give judgment on all worldly cares and desires by the law of its king. Be mindful that love is firstly for God, secondly for our neighbour, and that all our affections should be directed by that rule which never draws one away from the worship of God, nor from being helpful to a fellow servant. 1 And how shall we worship God unless that which is pleasing to Him is also pleasing to us? For if what He wills we will, our weakness will take up strength from Him, from whom we received the will. As the Apostle says: 'For it is God who works in us, both to will and to act for His good pleasure.' 2 So neither will pride puff up a man, nor will he be crushed by despair, if he uses the goods God has given to His glory, and withholds his desires from those things which he knows will harm him. For in abstaining from the wickedness of envy, and from the dissolution of luxury, and from the perturbations of anger, and from the lust for vengeance, he will be purified to sanctification by true fasting, and will be fed with the joy of incorruptible delights, so that he will know how to transform worldly riches by spiritual use into heavenly substance, not by hoarding up for himself what he has received, but by multiplying it more and more by what he gives. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 19, On Fasting 1 cf Mk 12.30-31 2 Philip. 2.13

Three Thoughts

Ἠρώτησεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Λογγῖνος τὸν ἀββᾶν Λούκιόν ποτε τρεϊς λογιμσοὺς, λεγων· Θέλω ξενιτεῦσαι. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν μὴ κρατήσῃς τῆς γλώσσης σου, οὐκ εἶ ξένος, ὅπου ἐὰν ἀπέλθῃς. Καὶ ὧδε οὖν κράτησον τῆς γλὼσσης σου, καὶ ξένος εἶ. Λέγει αὐτῷ πάλιν· Θέλω νηστεῦσαι. Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Εἶπεν Ἠσαῗας ὁ προφήτης· Ἐὰν κάμψῃς ὠς λοιὸν καὶ κρικον τὸν τράχηλόν σου, οὐδὲ οὕτως κληθήσεται νηστεία δεκτή· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον κράτησον τῶν πονηρῶν λογισμῶν. Λέγει αὐτῷ τὸ τρίτον· Θέλω φυγεῖν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν μὴ πρῶτον κατορθώσῃς μετὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὐδὲ καταμόνας δύνασαι κατορθῶσαι. Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.256c

One time father Longinus asked father Lucius about three thoughts saying, 'I wish be an exile.' The elder said to him, 'If you do not control your tongue, you will not be an exile anywhere you would go. Control your tongue here and you will be an exile.' Again he said to him: 'I wish to fast,' the elder replied, 'Isaiah the prophet said: 'If you bend your neck like a rope or a bulrush, that shall not be called an acceptable fast.' 1 Rather control your wicked thoughts.' A third time he said to him: 'I wish to flee men.' The elder replied: 'If you have not first lived rightly among men, you will not be able to live rightly alone.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia 1 Isaiah 58.5

Fasting And Silence

Τῆς σαρκὸς τὸ σκίρτημα, καὶ τὴν αἰσχρὰν ἔφεσιν, τῷ τῆς νηστείας ἰμάντι μαστιξαντες, καὶ τῷ λόγῳ πείσωμεν ἡσυχάζειν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΞΗ´, Σωφρονι Τριβουνῳ Source: Migne PG 79.149b

The exaltation of the flesh and the shameful urge is disciplined with the whip of fasting, even by this use of reason we persuade it to enter into silence. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 168 to Sophronius the Tribune

Sanctifying The Fast

Quid autem est aliud sanctificare jejunium, nisi jejunii causa sancta velle, justa facere, iniqua vitare? Sanctificat ille jejunium, cujus cor adulatio potentum amicorum parentumque gratia, clientum etiam parva magnaque munuscula a recti tramite non avertunt. Sanctificat jejunium suum, cujus justitia cor non vilescit. Sanctificat ille jejunium, qui flammas saevientis iracundiae mansuetae mentis placabiliate restinguit. Sanctificat jejunium, qui lascivientes oculos turpi ab aspectu habenis castitatis avertit. Sanctificat jejunium, qui conviciorum jacula, scuto patientiae repercussa dispergit. Sanctificat jejunium, qui litigantium tumultus pacifici sanitate sermonis, et linguae prudentioris arte compescit. Sanctificat jejunium, qui consurgentes in semetipso vanarum cogitationum spinas evangelico sulcante vomere, velut quidam pectoris sui arator excidit. Sanctificat jejunium, qui inopias egenorum pro quantitate substantiae suae miseratis manus humanitate solatur. Apprime sanctificat ille jejunium, qui praeceptis divinae legis intentus, diabolica a corde suo respuit tentamenta. Et ideo, fratres carissimi, si volumus Deo placita exhibere jejunia, simus in corde fortes, in judiciis justi, in amicitia fideles, in injuriis patientes, in contentionibus moderati, refugimaus turpiloquia, adversus iniqua constantes, in conviviis sobrii, in caritate simplices, intter subdolos cauti, condolentes tristibus, contumacibus resistentes, in suspicionibus paci, inter maliloquos taciti, inter humiles coaequales. Si hujusmodi virtutibus nostra voluerimus sanctificare jejunia, tribuente Domino, ad festivitatem paschalis gratiae, et ad gaudia coelestium promissionum, indubitata fiducia et conscientia laetiore veniemus. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia XXXVII De Jejunio, Quadragesimae I Source: Migne PL 57.307a-308b

For what else is it to sanctify the fast, but to desire a holy cause for the fast, the doing of what is right, and the avoidance of wickedness? He sanctifies the fast whose heart is not turned from the right path by the praise of powerful friends and the favour of parents, and even the small and great gifts of dependents. He sanctifies the fast whose heart is not averse to righteousness. He sanctifies the fast who extinguishes the flames of savage anger with the appeasing meekness of the mind. He sanctifies the fast who turns lascivious eyes from foul sights for the sake of chastity. He sanctifies the fast who wards off the shafts of abuse with the protective shield of patience. He sanctifies the fast who stills the storms of disputes with the good sense of peaceful words and a prudent tongue. He sanctifies the fast who rips up the thorns of vain thoughts rising up in himself with the plough of the Gospel, as a ploughman of his own heart. He sanctifies the fast whose hand from the resources of his own substance kindly gives comfort to the poverty of the wretched. Above all he sanctifies the fast, who intent on the commands of the Divine law, spits out every temptation of the devil from his heart. And therefore, dear brothers, if we would exhibit a pleasing fast to God, let us be strong in our hearts, righteous in judgement, faithful in friendship, patient amid suffering, composed amid disputes. Let us fly vile speech, stand against wickedness, be sober among guests, innocent in love, cautious among the deceitful, a comfort to those who weep, an opponent of those who are contumacious, forgiving to those who suspect us, silent amid ill speaking, equals among the lowly. If we have sanctified our fast with such virtues, offering it to God, so we will come to the feast of Paschal grace, and even to the joy of the promises of heaven, with a secure confidence and a more joyful conscience. Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 37, On Fasting, For the First Sunday of Lent

Considering Rewards

Ἀδύνατον δέ τινα τῶν παθῶν τούτων περιγενέσθαι, μὴ παντελῶς βρωμάτων καὶ χρημάτων, καὶ δόξης ὑπεριδόντα, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος διὰ τοὺς ῥαπίζειν αὐτὸ πολλάκις ἐπιχειροῦντας· Πᾶσα οὖν ἀνάγκη μιμεῖσθαι τοὺς κινδυνεύοτας εν θαλάττη, καὶ τῶν σκευῶν ἐκβολὴν ποιουμένους διὰ τὴν βίαν τῶν ἀνεμων καὶ τῶν ἐπανισταμένων κυμάτων. Ἀλλ' ἐνταῦθα προσεκτέον ἀκριβῶς, μή πως ἐκβολὴν ποιούμενοι τῶν σκευῶν, πρὸς τὸ θεαθεῖναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ποίσωμεν· ἐπεὶ ἀπέχομεν τὸν μισθὸν ἡμῶν, καὶ ἄλλο τοῦ προτέρου χαλεπώτερον διδέξεται ἡμᾶς ναυάγιον, τοῦ τῆς κενοδοξίας ἡμῖν ἀντιπνεύσαντος δαίμονος. Διὸ καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις, τὸν κυβερνήτην νοῦν παιδεύων, προσέχετε, φασὶν, τὴν ἐλημοσύνην ἡμῶν μὴ ποιεῖν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων πρὸς τὸ θεαθεῖναι αὐτοῖς, εἰ δὲ μήγε μισθ̀ον οὐκ ἔχετε παρὰ τῷ Πατρὶ ὑμῶν τῷ ἐν τοὶς οὐρανοῖς. Καὶ πάλιν· Ὅταν προσεύχησθε, φησὶν, οὐκ ἔσεσθε ὥσπερ οἱ ὑποκριταὶ, ὅτι φιλοῦσιν ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς, καὶ ἐν ταῖς γωνίαις τῶν πλατειῶν ἑστῶτες προσεύχεσθαι, ὅπως φανῶσι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι ἀπέχουσι τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. Καὶ πάλιν λέγει· Ὅταν νηστεύητε, μὴ γίνεσθε, ὥσπερ οἱ ὑποκριταὶ σκυθρωποὶ· ἀφανίζουσι γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν, ὅπως φανῶσι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύοντες· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. Ἀλλὰ προσεκτέον ἐνταῦθα τῷ ἰατρῷ τῶν ψυχῶν, πῶς διὰ μὲν τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης τὸν θυμὸν θεραπεύει, διὰ δὲ τῆς προσευχῆς τὸν νοῦν καθαρίζει, καὶ πάλιν διὰ τῆς νηστείας τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν καταμαραίνει, ἐξ ὧν συνίσταται ὁ νέος ἄνθρωπος, ὁ ἀνακαινούμενος κατ̓ εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος αὐτὸν, ἐν ᾧ οὐκ ἔστι διὰ τὴν ἀγίαν ἀπάθειαν ἄρσεν, καὶ θῆλυ, οὐδὲ διὰ τὴν μίαν πίστιν, καὶ ἀγάπην, Ἕλλην, καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομὴ, καὶ ἀκροβυστία, Βάρβαρος, Σκύθης, δοῦλος, καὶ ἐλεύθερος, ἀλλὰ τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσι Χριστός. Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Περὶ διαφόρων πονηρῶν λογισμῶν, Κεφαλ Γ' Source: Migne PG 79 1224d-1225a

It is impossible to overcome the passions unless we can rise above attachment to food and possessions and honour, and even to our own body, by which the demons often assault us. There is every need, then, to imitate people who are in danger at sea and who throw things overboard because of the violence of the winds and the height of the waves. But here we must be very careful lest we throw things away that we may be seen to be doing so by men, since we shall receive our reward for that, but then we shall suffer another shipwreck, worse than the first, blown off our course by the demon of vainglory. That is why our Lord in the Gospels, teaching the helmsman's mind, says, 'Take care that you do not give alms in front of others that you be seen by them, lest you  have no reward from your Father in heaven.' Again He says: 'When you pray, you must not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in synagogues and at street corners, so they be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. Moreover when you fast, do not put on a gloomy face, like the hypocrites; for they disfigure their faces so that they may be seen by men to be  fasting. Truly I say to you, they receive their reward.' 1 But observe the physician of souls here, how by mercy He treats our irascibility; how by prayer He purges the mind, and again how by fasting He causes desire to wither, and by this the new man is fashioned, renewed according to the image of his Creator, in whom, on account of holy apatheia, there is neither male nor female, nor is there, by one faith and love, Greek or Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all in all. Evagrius Ponticus, On Various Wicked Thoughts, Chapter 3 1 Mt 6.1-5

Hypocrisy And Fasting

Ubi Deus Dominum mutavit in patrem voluit charitate magis quam potestate regnare et amari maluit quam timeri: unde paterno monuit affectu, ne quid nobus de labore justissimo deperiret. Evangelista sic ait: Cum autem jejunatis, nolite fieri sicut hypocritæ, tristes; exterminant enim facies suas, ut videantur hominibus jejunantes. Amen dico vobis, quia perceperunt mercedem suam. Hypocrisis subtile malum, secretum virus, venenum latens, virtutum fucus, tinea sanctitatis. Adversa omnia nituntur viribus suis, armis suis pugnant, impugnant palam: unde et caventur tam facile quam videntur. Hypocrisis secura simulat, fallit prospera, curiosa mentitur, et crudeli arte virtutes truncat mucrone virtutum: jejunium jejunio perimit, oratione orationum evacuat, misericordiam miseratione prosternit. Hypocrisis cognata febri frigido poculo propinat ardorem. Quod corporibus est hydrops, hypocrisis animabus, hoc est: hydrops bibendo sitit, hypocrisis inebriata sitit. Exterminant enim facies suas, ut videantur hominibus jejunantes. Hypocrisis dum cupit captivare oculos, oculis fit ipsa captiva. Exterminant enim facies suas. Et si facies exterminant, ornamentum corporis quod manebit? Vere sicut Dominus dixit: Si lumen quod in te est, tenebrae sunt, ipsae tenebrae quantae erunt? Hypocrita, sit licet tibi facies inculta, neglecta cutis, tristis vultus, exterminatus aspectus, nec ab hominibus invenisti laudem et apud Deum fructum jejunii perdidisti. Hypocrita, elaborasti jejuniis ut labor tibi jejunii non prodesset. Hypocrita, abstinentiae fluctus intrasti, continentiae conscendisti undas, enatasti jejunii pelagus, et in ipso portu jejunii naufragasti: quia non comparasti lucrum, sed mercatus es vanitatem, qui de Dei credito humanum negotium perfecisti. Hinc est quod Deo redditurus es rationem, qui ab hominibus percepisti miserae laudis usuram. Fratres fugiendum est virus, pestilentia cavenada, quae de remediis creat morbos, conficit de medicina languorem, sanctitatem vertit in crimen, placationem facit reatum, generat de propitiatione discrimen. Fugiamnus hypocrisim, fugiamus, fratres: sit nostrum de simplicitate jejunium, de innocentiae sit sanctum, de puritate purum, de sinceritate sincerum, sit hominibus occultum, ignotum diabolo, Deo notum. Thesaurum qui non abscondit, prodit; virtutes proditae non manebunt. Virtutes sicut proditores suos deserunt: sic suos instant custodire custodes. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo VII, De Hypocrisi Et Eleemosyna Source: Migne PL 52.205a-206b

When God changed from Lord to Father, He wished to reign more by love than power, and preferred to be loved than feared, whence He gave us warning with paternal affection, lest something be lost to us in a most righteous labour. Thus the Evangelist says: 'When you fast do not be like the wretched hypocrites, who mar their faces that they seem to men to be fasting. Truly, I say to you that they have received their reward.' 1 Hypocrisy is a subtle evil, a secret poison, a hidden venom, a mask of the virtues, a worm of sanctity. All things adverse strive with their strength and fight with their own arms, they assail openly and are easily guarded against when seen. Hypocrisy simulates safety, feigns prosperity, lies with diligence, and with cruel art it cuts away the virtues with the sword of the virtues. It destroys fasting with fasting, empties prayer with prayer, casts down mercy with mercy. Hypocrisy is known to approach with a hot drink in a cold cup. What dropsy is to the body, hypocrisy is to the soul, that is, dropsy thirsts in drinking, hypocrisy in having drunk to drunkenness. 'They mar their faces, that they seem to men to be fasting.' Hypocrisy when it desires to captivate the eye, is made captive by the eye. 'They mar their faces.' And if they mar their faces what ornament of the body will remain? Truly as the Lord said, 'If the light in you is darkness, how great the darkness will be?' 2 Hypocrites, let your faces be dirty, your flesh neglected, your appearance wretched, your demeanor marred, you shall not have praise from men unless you have destroyed the fruit of fasting with God. Hypocrite, you exert yourself in fasting so that you gain nothing from fasting. Hypocrite, you enter into the waters of abstinence, you set off over the waves of continence, you pass through the sea of fasting, and you are shipwrecked in the port of fasting, because you do not acquire profit but have bought vanity, which from the credit of God you brought to an end in human affairs. So you shall return your account to God, you who have practiced usury on men with your vile fraud. Brothers, one must flee this poison, one must be wary of this plague which creates disease from medicine, concocts sickness from balms, turns holiness into crime, makes what is pleasing vile, and brings forth division from reconciliation. Let us flee hypocrisy, let us flee it, brothers; let our fast be from simplicity, from innocence let it be holy, from purity pure, from honesty honest, from men hidden, from the devil concealed, known to God. A treasury which is not hidden is betrayed, virtues betrayed perish. As virtues desert their betrayers, so they guard those who guard them. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 7 On Hypocrisy And Alms 1 Mt 6.16 2 Mt 6.5

Wishes And Vanity

Ὁ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σάρκα βουληθεὶς πολεμῆσαι, ἤ νικῆσαι ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ, εἰς μάτην τρέχει. Ἐαν γὰρ μὴ Κύριος καταλύσῃ οἶκον σαρκὸς, καὶ οἰκοδομήσῃ οἶκον ψυχῆς, εἰς μάτην ἠγρύπνησε, καὶ ἐνήστευσεν ὁ καταλύων. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος, Λόγος ΙΕ', ἡ Κλίμαξ Source: Migne PG 88.883b

He who wishes to fight against his flesh and conquer it by himself runs in vain. For unless the Lord destroys the house of the flesh and builds up the house of the soul, in vain he watches and fasts who would destroy it. Saint John Climacus, from Step 15, The Ladder

Virtues And Snares

Antiquus vero inimicus castitatem in nobis, si sine charitate fuerit, non timet, quia ipse nec carne premitur, ut in ejus luxuria dissolvatur. Abstinentiam non timet, quia ipse cibo non utitur, qui necessitate corporis non urgetur. Distributionem terrenarum rerum non timet, si eidem operi charitas desit, quia divitiarum subsidiis nec ipse eget. Valde autem in nobis charitatem veram, id est amorem humilem quem nobis vicissim impendimus timet, et nimis concordiae nostrae invidet, quia hanc nos tenemus in terra, quam ipse tenere nolens amisit in coelo. Bene ergo dicitur: Terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata, quia electorum multitudinem eo maligni spiritus pertimescunt, quo eos per charitatis concordiam unitos contra se et conglobatos aspiciunt. Quanta autem sit concordiae virtus ostenditur, cum sine illa virtutes reliquae, virtutes non esse monstrantur. Magna enim est virtus abstinentiae; sed si quis ita ab alimentis abstineat, ut caeteros in cibo dijudicet, et alimenta eadem quae Deus creavit ad percipiendum cum gratiarum actione fidelibus etiam damnet, quid huic virtus abstinentiae facta est nisi laqueus culpae? Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia VIII Source: Migne PL 76.857-858a

The old enemy does not fear our chastity if it is without love, because he does not need to afflict the flesh when he might bring ruin in luxury. He does not fear abstinence because he does not need to make use of bread whom the necessity of the body does not drive. He does not fear the distribution of things of the earth, if that work lacks love, because he does not need the support of riches. However, true love, that is, humble love, which we give to one another, he fears greatly, and he envies our harmony, which we hold to on earth and he was unwilling to hold to in heaven. Well, then, it is said: 'Fearsome like a camp established,' 1 because by the multitude of the elect the wicked spirits are terrified, those whom they see united and gathered in love set against them. How great is the virtue of harmony is shown when without it the other virtues are shown not to be virtues. Great indeed is the virtue of abstinence, but if someone eschews food, that he might condemn others who take food, and he denounces that same food which God created for the taking up with the action of grace for the faithful, 2 what is this virtue to him but a snare of fault? Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 8 1 Song 6.9 2 Rom 14.3,6

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