Faith And Life

Accepimus ab Apostolo habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus nostris. Unde videtur non incongrue intelligi posse, tandiu Christum in nobis vivere, quandiu vivit fides. At postquam fides nostra mortua est, quodam modo Christus mortuus est in nobis. Porro fidei vitam opera attestantur, sicut scriptum est: Opera, quae dedit mihi Pater, ipsa testimonium perhibent de me. Nec discrepare videtur ab hac sententia, qui fidem sine operibus mortuam asserit in semetipso. Sicut enim corporis hujus vitam ex motu suo dignoscimus, ita et fidei vitam ex operibus bonis. Itaque vita quidem corporis est anima, per quam movetur et sentit; vita vero fidei charitas est, quia per illam operatur, sicut in Apostolo legis: Fides quae per dilectionem operatur. Unde et refrigescente charitate fides moritur, sicut corpus anima recedente. Tu ergo si videris hominem in bonis operibus strenuum, et fervore conversationis hilarem; vivere in eo fidem non dubites, indubitata tenens vitae illius argumenta. Sed sunt nonnulli, qui, cum spiritu coeperint, heu! carne postea consummantur. Scimus autem quia jam tunc non permaneat in eis spiritus vitae, quia scriptum est: Non permanebit spiritus meus in homine in aeternum, quia caro est. Quod si non permanet spiritus, haud dubium quin excidat charitas, quae nimirum diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spiritum sanctum qui datus est nobis. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In Tempore Resurrectionis, ad Abbates Source: Migne PL 183.283c-284c

We receive from the Apostle that Christ dwells in our hearts through faith. 1 Whence it seems not unreasonable to understand that Christ lives in us while faith lives. But after our faith is dead then in a way Christ is dead in us. However the life of faith is attested by works, as it is written, 'The works which my Father gave to me, they give witness of me,' 2 Nor does this seem to clash with this meaning that he who asserts faith without works has a dead faith in himself. 3 For as we discern life in this body by movement, so the life of faith is discerned by works. Thus as the life of the body is the soul by which it is moved and feels, so the life of faith is love, because faith works through love, as you read in the Apostle, 'Faith which works through love.' 4 Whence when love cools faith is dead, as the body is when the soul withdraws. You, therefore, if you see a man diligent in good works, and joyful in the fervour of his life, do not doubt that faith lives in him and that he holds the indisputable proofs of that life. But there are not a few, who begin with the spirit and, alas, later end with the flesh. 5 And then we know that the spirit of life shall not remain in them, because it is written, 'My spirit shall not remain in man forever, because he is flesh.' 6 And if the spirit does not remain, there is no doubt that love is cut off, which is diffused in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 7 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons For The Year, During The Resurrection, To The Abbots 1 Ephes 3.17 2 Jn 5.36 3 James 2.20 4 Gala 5.6 5 Galat 3.3 6 Genes 6.3 7 Rom 5.5

Following The Good

Rogamus vero vos, fratres, corripite inquietos, consolamini pusillanimes, opitulamini infirmis, patientes estote ad omnes. Videte ne quis malum pro malo alicui reddat: sed semper quod bonum est sectamini et in invicem, et in omnes. Semper gaudete in Domino, sine intermissione orate, in omnibus gratias agite. Haec est enim voluntas Dei in Christo Jesu in omnibus vobis. Quoniam necesse est quosdam in plebe esse immodestos, quosdam autem pusillanimes, hoc est, timidos, quosdam vero fide infirmos; ideoque hos qui moderati sunt et magnanimes, et fide fundati, hortatur cum prece, ut his consulant, ut possint proficere, sufferentes eos; ne si retributio fit malorum, pejores se fiant. Idcirco nihil aliud quam bonum sectandum hortatur non solum in causa fratrum, sed et in omnium. Possunt enim bonis operibus attrahi infideles ad credulitatem, ex qua semper gaudeatur in Domino, hoc est, in bonum. Orandum autem sine intermissione; sedulae enim preces provocant animum judicis ad dandam misericordiam. In omnibus vero actibus bonis Deo gratias agendas, qui hanc tribuit doctrinam in Christo Jesu Domino nostro. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Thessalonicenses Primam, Caput V Source: Migne PL 17.425b-c

And we beseech you, brothers, correct the disorderly, comfort the faint hearted, support the weak, be patient with everyone. Take care that no one returns evil for evil to anyone, but always follow that which is good for each other, and for all. Always rejoice. Pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for all of you. 1 Because it is necessary that some among the people will be troublesome and some faint hearted, that is timid, and some weak in faith, therefore with a prayer he exhorts those who are self controlled and magnanimous and firm in faith, that they should care for those mentioned, so that they may be able to profit from bearing with them, lest if there be a reward for evils, theirs be worse. Therefore he exhorts that they should seek nothing else but the good, and not only for the sake of their brothers, but for all men. For with good works they can attract the faithless to belief, because of which there is always rejoicing in the Lord, that is, in the good. But there must be prayer without ceasing, for sedulous prayer inclines the soul of the judge to turn to mercy. And in every good act give thanks to God, who gives this teaching in Jesus Christ our Lord. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Thessalonians, Chapter 5 1 1 Thes 5.14-17

Achieving Goodness

᾿Ασφάλισαι λόγον ἀπὸ καυχήσεως, καὶ λογισμὸν ἀπὸ οἰήσεως, ἵνα μὴ παραχωρηθεὶς πράξῃς τὰ ἐναντία. Οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ἀνθρώπου μόνον τελεσιουργεΐται τὸ ἀγαθὸν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ παντεπόπτου Θεοῦ. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.957b

Keep the tongue secure from boasting, and keep thought from mere opinion, lest after you act quite differently. For the good is not achieved by man alone, but by the all seeing God. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works

Spiritual Sacrifices

Et ipsi tamquam lapides vivi superaedificamini, domus spiritualis, sacerdotium sanctum, offerre spirituales hostias, acceptabiles Deo per Jesum Christum Spirituales autem hostias opera nostra, eleemosynas et preces dicit, ad distinctionem carnalium in lege victimarum. Quod autem in conclusione dicit, per Jesum Christum, ad cuncta quae praemiserat pertintet, quia per ipsius gratiam et superaedificamur in illo per architectos sapientes, hoc est ministros Novi Testamenti, et domus spirituales efficimur per Spiritum ejus, contra pluvias, ventos, fulmina tentationum muniti. Et sacaerdotio sancto participare, et boni aliqui acceptabile Deo gerere, non nisi per ipsum valemus. Sicut enim palmites non possunt ferre fructum a semetipsis, nisi permanserint in vite; sic vos nisi in me manseritis Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput II Source: Migne PL 93.49c-d

Be as living stones built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 He speaks of these spiritual sacrifices as our works, almsgiving and prayers, in distinction to the carnal sacrifices of the law. That he concludes with 'through Jesus Christ,' pertains to everything that he has mentioned, because through His grace we are built up and in Him through wise architects, that is, the servants of the New Testament, we made into spiritual houses through His Spirit, walled against the trials of rain and winds and floods. 2 And we cannot participate in the sacred priesthood and bring good things acceptable to God unless through Him. For as branches are not able to bear fruit from themselves unless they remain on the vine, so you unless you remain in me. 3 Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chapter 2 1 1 Pet 2.5 2 Mt 7.24-25 3 Jn 15.1-5

The Acceptable Sacrifice

Γέγραπας δηλωθῆναι σοι, δι' ἥν αἰτίαν ὁ δεῖνα παραγινόμενος τοὺς πτωχοὺς εὖ ποιῆσαι, κίνδυνον ἀργαλέον ὑπέμεινε, καὶ οὐκ ἐξείλετο αὐτὸν τῶν συμπτωμάτων ἡ πρόθεσις. Ἐπειδὴ, φημὶ, οὐ χαίρει Θεὸς ἐξ ἀδικίας θυσίαις, καὶ οὐ προσίεται κίβδηλα δῶρα. Οὐ γὰρ πᾶς ὁ βουλόμενος εὖ ποιεῖ, ἀλλ' ὁ ἀξίως Θεοῦ καὶ κτησάμενος, καὶ ἐπαγγειλάμενος τὴν θυσίαν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΚΘ', Ἡρμινῳ Κομητι Source: Migne PG 78.325a

You have written to have it made clear to you how it is that he who would do well to the poor should be embroiled in tribulations and suffer grave trials, and his disposition does not save him from such occurrences. I say that God does not rejoice in an unrighteous sacrifice and does not accept base offerings. It is not everyone who wishes it that does good, but worthy of God is he who makes the promised sacrifice. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 229, to Count Herminos

Faith And Works

Cui respondeo ex libro meo, qui inscribitur de fide et operibus, ubi de hac re ita locutus sum: Iacobus autem tam vehementer infestus est eis qui sapiunt fidem sine operibus ualere ad salutem, ut illos etiam daemonibus comparet dicens, Tu credis, quoniam unus est Deus; bene facis, et daemones credunt et contremiscunt. Quid verius, brevius, uehementius dici potuit? Cum et in euangelio legamus hoc dixisse daemonia, cum Christum filium Dei confiterentur et ab illo corriperentur, quod in Petri confessione laudatum est. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Ad Dulcitium De Octo Quaestionibus Source: Migne PL 40.149

To which question I responded in my book entitled Of Faith And Works, where concerning this matter I said: James was so vehemently hostile to those who thought faith without works profited for salvation, that he compared them to demons, saying, 'You believe that God is one? You have done well, for the demons believe and tremble.' 1 How more truly, more concisely, more vehemently, could he have expressed it? And then in the Gospel we read that it says that the demons were chastised by Christ when they confessed Him to be the Son of God, 2 for which confession Peter was worthy of praise. 3 Saint Augustine of Hippo, Concerning Eight Questions, To Dulcitius 1 Jam 2.19 2 Mt 8.28-32 3 Mt 16.16-17

Crying Out

Sciote quoniam magnificavit Dominus sanctunm suum; Dominus exaudiet me cum clamavero ad eum. Permanet in increpatione salutari, ut ad verae religionis affectum, corda dementium explosa pravitate convertat: pronuntians illis veritatis arcanum, ut incarnationem sanctum venerabiliter suscipere non recusent. Sanctum suum, dicit Dominum Christum; sicut et alibi de seipsa Veritas profitetur: Custodi animam meam, quoniam sanctus sum. Adjecit: Dominus exaudiet me cum clamavero ad eum. Merito se exaudiri confidebat, quoniam Dominum sanctum magnificandum populis praedicabat. Cum clamavero, dicit, id est, cum bonis operibus divinitati supplicavero. Ipse enim clamor est qui tacitus ad Deum pervenit, et exaudiri facit eos qui bonis operibus constanter insistunt. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalm IV Source: Migne PL 49a-b

Know that the Lord has magnified His holy one; the Lord will hear me when I cry out to Him. 1 He persists in crying out for salvation, that he might convert to the love of the true religion the hearts driven off by depravity, announcing to them the secret of the truth, so that they might not refuse to receive the incarnation of the holy one reverently. 'His holy one,' speaks of the Lord Christ, as elsewhere the Truth says about Himself, 'Guard my soul because I am holy.' 2 He then adds, 'The Lord will hear me when I cry out to Him.' He is rightly confident that he will be heard, because he has preached that the holy Lord should be magnified by the people. 'When I cry out,' he says, that is, when I supplicate the Deity with good works. For this is the cry which comes silently to the Lord and He hears those who constantly cry out with good works. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 4 1 Ps 4.3 2 Ps 85.2

The Lamp And Good Deeds

Lucerna corporis tui est oculus tuus. Si oculus tuus fuerit simplex, totum corpus tuum lucidum erit. Si autem oculus tuus fuerit nequam, totum corpus tuum tenebrosum erit. Si ergo lumen, quod in te est, tenebræ sunt: ipsae tenebræ quantae erunt? Lucerna, etc. Superius insinuavit, quod nulla bona mala intentione debent fieri, et hoc in proximo ubi dixit: Ubi est thesaurus tuus, ibi est cor tuum. Quod ita probatur. Ideo pura intentione omnia debetis facere, quia oculus tuus, id est, bona intentio, est lucerna, id est illuminatio corporis tui, id est congeriei bonarum actionum. Si enim oculus tuus, etc. Determinat quomodo oculus est lucerna, scilicet si simplex est intentio, id est pura, non duplex, id est partim propter temporalia, partim propter coelestia, totum corpus lucidum est, id est, tota actio erit bona. Non tamen intelligendum est de malis, si bona intentione fiant, quod, ideo bona sint. Nullum enim per se malum bonum potest esse, etiamsi bona intentione fiat. Furtum enim facere, ut darem pauperibus, non esset bonum. Sed quaedam sunt quae indifferentia existunt, quae possunt flecti ad bona per intentionem, et ad mala. Sicut levare lapidem ut ponam in aedificio templi, et levare lapidem ut feriam hominem, et si dum bonum facio bona intentione, malum tamen inde contingat alicui, non est imputandum mihi pro peccato, sicut si dum levo lapidem in aedificium ecclesiae, lapis super hominem caderet et eum interficeret. Sed bona, si mala intentione fiant, mala sunt: sicut si jejuno propter laudem. Unde sequitur. Si oculus, id est, intentio, est nequam, id est, prava, et totum corpus, id est, tota actio est mala. Si ergo, etc. Et quandoquidem propter malam intentionem bona fiunt mala, ergo mala, per se facta mala intentione quanta erunt? Et hoc est: Ergo si lumen, id est intentio quae debet esse lumen operum, quod in te est, id est, in tua manu, tenebrae sunt, id est, prava et mala per se mala intentione facta, tenebrae quantae erunt, postquam malae intentioni unitae erunt? Vel aliter: Lumen est intentio dicta, quia nota est illi qui intendit. Exitus vero rei, quia incertus est, tenebrae dicitur. Ille enim qui intendit, licet cognoscat quid intendat, nescit tamen quid de facto eveniat, sive bonum sive malum. Ut cum alicui aliquid do vel ago, nescio utrum bono cedat illi an malo. Dicit ergo: Si intentio qua facis quae tibi nota est, appetitu temporalium sordidatur, quanto magis ipsum factum, cujus exitus dubius est? Quod etsi bene cedat alicui, quod non bona intentione facis, nihil tibi prodest, quia quomodo feceris tibi imputatur, non quomodo illi evenit. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput VI Source: Migne PL 162.1311a-1311d

The eye is the lamp of the whole body. If your eye is clear, the whole of your body will be lit up. But if your eye is wicked, your whole body will be in darkness. If, therefore, the light which is in you is darkness, how great shall the darkness be? 1 'The lamp...' Previously He has said that no good should be done with evil intent, 2 and just before this passage He said, 'Where is your treasure, there is your heart.' 3 Which thus is demonstrated. Therefore you should do everything with pure intent, because your eye, that is, your intent, is the lamp, that is, the illumination of your body, that is, for the acquirement of good acts. 'If your eye...' He determines how the eye is a lamp, that is, if it is simple in intent, pure, not twofold, that is, if it does not have a part for temporal things, and a part for heavenly things, then the whole body is light, that is, all action will be good. Regarding evil it must not be thought that if things are done with good intent, that therefore they are good. For no evil can be good even if it is done with good intent. To become a thief so that you may give to the poor is not a good. But those things which are indifferent, these may be turned to good by intention, or to evil. Just as I may lift up a stone and place it in the building of a temple, and then lift up a stone to cast it at a man. And if I do good with good intent, but evil touches it, sin must not be imputed to me, just as if I were to raise up a stone for the building of a church, but the stone falls on a man and kills him. Yet if goods are done with evil intent they are evils, as if I fast for the sake of praise. Whence it follows, 'If your eye,' that is your intent, 'is wicked,' that is, depraved, 'the whole body', that is the total action, is evil. 'If, therefore...' And whenever on account of evil intent we make goods evil, then how greater are the evils which are done with evil intent? And this is: 'Therefore if the light,' that is your intent, which should be the light of works, 'which is in you,' that is, in your hand, 'is darkness,' that is, depraved and evil, made so by evil intent, 'how great shall the darkness be?' after, when it is united with the evil intent? Or otherwise, the light is spoken for intent because it is known to him who intends, but the outcome of the thing, because it is uncertain, is called darkness. For to him who intends it is possible to know what he intends, however he does not know how the matter will fall out, whether it will be good or bad. Then when I give something to someone or do something to someone, I do not know whether it will turn out good or bad for him. Therefore, He says, if the intention by which you act, which is known to you, is defiled with temporal desire, how much more what is done, of which the outcome is doubtful? Because even if it falls out well for someone, because you did not act with good intent, it profits you not at all, because how you acted is imputed to you, not how things turned out. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 6 1 Mt 6.22 2 Mt 6.1-18 3 Mt 6.21

Wisdom Amid Good And Evil

In duobus servitur Deo, faciendo bonum et patiendo malum. In confessoribus remuneratur bona actio, in martyribus passio Ad agendum bonum necessaria est sapientia; ad tolerandum malum necessaria patientia. Sapientia ut bonum bene fiat; patientia, ne malum patiens malus fiat. Qui enum bonum facit in bona materia operatur, sed si bonum bene non facit, per malam formam bona materia deformatur. Bona est forma, ubi nec plus nec minus justo est. Si plus justo sit, peccatum est, si minus justo sit, delictum. Igitur qui bonum bene facit, quasi bonae materiae bonam formam imprimit. Ad tolerantiam autem mali patientia necessaria est, quia qui malo per impatientiam cedit, a bono recedit. Sicut enim malum quod est culpa faciendum non est, sic malum quod est poena patiendum est. Poena autem dolor est, dolor vero aliud non est nisi cum amittitur quod amatur; vel in abrenuntiatione culpae, cum peccatum quod prius delectabat relinquitur vel in abrenuntiatione possessionis propriae, cum terrena substantia quae foris possidebatur, deseritur, vel in abrenuntatione delectionis mundanae cum carnalium sensuum lascivia mortificatur. In omnibus his labor est, nec sine dolore quidquam horum fieri potest. Haec igitur est patientia sanctorum. Qui sustinentiam deserunt, apostatunt. Post ultimam abrenuntiationem, primo per vanitatem, quia mundanam jucunditatem ad voluptatem repetunt. Post secundam, secundo per cupiditatem, quia postpositas divitias mundi ad superfinitatem ambiunt. Post primam, tertio per iniquitatem, qua anteacta peccata et dimissa iterare praesumunt. Itaque patientia ad tolerantiam necessaria est, ne habeat homo per vanitatem in consilio impiorum, nec stet per cupiditatem in via peccatorum, nec sedeat per iniquitatem in cathedra pestilentia. Job ad mundi jucunditatem minime respexerat qui dicebat: Si vidi solem cum fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare, ordine suo. Post divitias mundi apostatare David nos prohibet dicens: Noli aemulari in eo qui prosperatur in via sua. Post peccata dimissa apostatare ipse Dominus prohibet, dicens: Vade et amplius noli peccare. Et propheta: Observabo me ab iniquitate mea. Igitur homo accednes ad servitutem Dei stet in loco suo per patientiam, ut non cedat nec recedat. Operetur bonum pro adimplendo primo debito, patiatur malum pro expiando primo delicto. Nam ut faciat bonum? factus est homo, ut patiatur malum, fecit homo. Pro eo igitur quod factus est facit bonum, pro eo quod fecit patiur malum. Primus enim homo sic factus est ut proficeret de bone innocentiae, per bonum obedientiae, ad bonum gloriae. Sed mutans locum et innocentiam deserens, deficere coepit, et ire de malo iniquitatis per malum mortalitatis ad malum damnationis. Venit autem Salvator, et monstravit aliam viam, qua ad patriam revertatur homo, per bonum justitiae et malum poenae ad bonum gloriae. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I, Tit CVII, De sapientia in faciendo bono, et de patientia in tolerando malo Source: Migne PL 177.536c-537b

In two things there is service to God, the doing of good and the suffering of evil. In the good deed is reward for the faithful, in suffering for martyrs. Wisdom is necessary for the doing of good, patience for the endurance of evil. Wisdom so that the good may be done well, patience so that evil may not be suffered badly. He who does good works with good material but if he does not do good well he deforms the good material with bad form. The form is good when there is no more and no less than what is fitting. If there is too much it is an error, too little a fault. Therefore he who does good well, impresses a good form on good material. Now for the endurance of evil patience is necessary, because whoever falls into evil because of impatience, falls from the good. Thus as the evil which is culpable must not be done, so the evil which is a penalty must be endured. Punishment is sorrow, yet sorrow is nothing but the loss of what is loved, either in the renunciation of fault when the sin which once delighted is abandoned, or in the renunciation of one's possessions, when worldly substance, which was held exteriorly, is given up, or in the renunciation of worldly pleasure when the lust of corporeal sense is mortified. In all these there is toil, and they cannot be done without grief. This, then, is the patience of the saints, but he apostatizes who flees endurance. Now after this last renunciation mentioned first comes vanity, because a man again seeks worldly joys and pleasure. After the second renunciation, comes the desire for riches because the wealth of the world, opposing the infinite, surrounds one. After the first renunciation comes wickedness because of the thought of those sins formerly committed and a presumption of repeated forgiveness. Therefore patience for the sake of suffering is necessary, lest a man because of vanity receive the counsel of the wicked, and because of avarice stand in the way of sinners, and because of wickedness sit in the chair of pestilence. 1 Job hardly looked again to the joys of the world, saying, 'If I saw the sun when it blazed, and the moon when it shone...' 2 in their way. David prohibits us to apostatize after the wealth of the world when he says: 'Do not imitate him who prospers in his own way.' 3 The Lord prohibits apostasy after sin is forgiven when He says: 'Go and do not sin again.' 4 And the prophet says: 'I shall guard myself from my wickedness.' 5 Therefore let a man who comes to the service of God stand fast in his place by patience, so that he does not fall and turn away. Let him work good for the fulfilment of the first debt, and suffer evil for the expiation of the first sin. For man was made to do good, and that he suffers evil was the work of man. Therefore he does good because of Him who made him, and he suffers because of him who did evil. The first man was made to advance from the good of innocence in the good of obedience to the good of glory. But changing his place and losing innocence he began to fall, and to go from the evil of iniquity through the evil of mortality to the evil of damnation. But the Saviour came and showed another way, which returns a man to his fatherland through the good of righteousness and suffering the evil of the penalty to the good of glory. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chapter 107, On wisdom in doing good and in the suffering of evil. 1 Ps 1.1 2 Job 31.26 3 Ps 36.7 4 Jn 8.11 5 Ps 17.24

Advice To Those In The World

Ἤκουσά τινων ἐν κόσμῳ ἀμελῶς διακειμένων, εἰρηκότων πρός με· Πῶς δυνάμεθα ὁμοζύγῳ συζῶντες, καὶ δημοσίαις φροντίσι περικείμενοι τὸν μοναδικὸν βίον μετελθεῖν; Πρὸς οὔς ἀπεκρίθημεν. Πάντα ὅσα δύνασθε ποιεῖν ἀγαθὰ, ποιήσατε· μηδένα λοιδορήσητε· μηδένα κλέψητε· μηδενὶ ψεύσησθε· μνδενὸς κατεπερθῆτε· μηδένα μισήσητε· τῶν συνάξεων μὴ χωρίζησθε· τοῖς δεομένοις συμπαθήσατε· μηδένα σκανδαλίσητε· ἀλλοτρίᾳ μερίδι μὴ προσεγγίσητε· καὶ ἀρκεῖσθε τοῖς ὀψωνίοις τῶν γυναικῶν ὑμῶν. Ἐὰν οὗτως ποιήσατε, οὐ μακρὰν ἔσεσθε τῆς Βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος, ἡ Κλίμαξ, Λογος A’ Source: Migne PG 88.640c-641a

I have heard some who live happily in the world ask me: 'How can we lead the monastic life when we are married and beset with worldly cares?' I answered them: 'Do every good thing that you can. Do not speak ill of anyone. Do not steal from anyone. Do not lie to anyone. Do not scorn anyone. Do not hate anyone. Do not neglect to attend Church. Show compassion to those in need. Do not scandalise anyone. Do not attach yourself to another man's wife but be content with what your own wife gives you. If you act like this, you will not be far from the kingdom of Heaven.' Saint John Climacus, The Ladder, from Step 1

Peace And Peacemakers

Μακάροι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοὶ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ Θεοῦ κληθήσονται. Οὐ μόνον οἱ εἰρηνεύοντες αὐτοὶ πρὸς πάντας, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ ἑτέρους στασιάζοντας καταλλάσσοντες. Εἰρηνοποιοὶ δὲ εἰσι καὶ οἱ διὰ διδασκαλίας τοὺς ἐχθροὺς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπιστρέφοντες. Υἱοὶ δὲ Θεοῦ οἱ τοιοῦτοι. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ μονογενὴ; κατήλλαξεν ἡμᾶς τῷ Θεῷ. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ E' Source: Migne PG 123.189a

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 1 Not only those who are at peace with everyone, but also those who reconcile those who are hostile. Indeed peacemakers are those who convert enemies to the teaching of God. They are such sons of God. For even the Only Begotten reconciled us with God. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.9

Caring For Oneself

Aἰδεῖσθε δὲ πλέον ὑµᾶς αὐτοὺς, καὶ τὴν πιστευθεῖσαν εἰκόνα, καὶ τὸν πιστεύσαντα, καὶ τὰ Χριστοῦ πάθη, καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖθεν ἐλπίδας, πίστιν µὲν ἔχοντες ἣν παρειλήφα τε, καὶ ᾗ συνετράφητε, µεθ' ἧς καὶ σώζεσθε, καὶ σώζειν ἄλλους πιστεύεσθε· οὐ γὰρ πολλῶν, εὖ ἴστε, τὸ ὑµέτερον καύχηµα. Τὸ δὲ εὐσεβὲς µὴ ἐν τῷ πολλάκις περὶ Θεοῦ λαλεῖν, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ τὰ πλείω σιγᾷν εἶναι τιθέµενοι· γλῶσσα γὰρ ὄλισθος ἀνθρώποις µὴ λόγῳ κυβερνωµένη· καὶ ἀκινδυνοτέραν ἀκοὴν ἀεὶ λόγου νοµίζοντες, ὥστε τι µανθάνειν ἥδιον, ἢ διδάσκειν περὶ Θεοῦ· τὴν µὲν ἀκριβεστέραν τούτων ἐξέτασιν τοῖς οἰκονόµοις τοῦ λόγου παραχωροῦντες· αὐτοὶ δὲ λόγῳ µὲν εὐσεβοῦντες ὀλίγα, ἔργῳ δὲ πλείονα, καὶ τῇ τηρήσει τῶν νόµων µᾶλλον ἢ τῷ θαυµάζειν τὸν νοµοθέτην, τὸ περὶ αὐτὸν φίλτρον ἐπιδεικνύµενοι, φεύγοντες κακίαν, διώκοντες ἀρετὴν, πνεύµατι ζῶντες, πνεύµατι στοιχοῦντες, τούτῳ τὴν γνῶσιν ἕλκοντες, ἐποικοδοµοῦντες τῷ θε µελίῳ τῆς πίστεως, µὴ ξύλον, µηδὲ χόρτον, µηδὲ καλάµην, ὕλην ἀσθενῆ καὶ ῥᾳδίως δαπανωµένην, ἡνίκα ἂν πυρὶ κρίνηται τὰ ἡµέτερα, ἢ καθαίρηται· ἀλλὰ χρυσὸν, ἄργυρον, λίθους τιµίους, τὰ µένοντα καὶ ἱστάµενα. Ταῦτα πράσσοιτε, καὶ τούτοις ἡµᾶς δοξά ζοιτε εἴτε παρόντες εἴτε ἀπόντες, εἴτε µεταποιούµενοι τῶν ἡµετέρων λόγων, εἴτε ἄλλο τι προτιµότερον ἄγοντες· καὶ γίνοισθε τέκνα Θεοῦ καθαρὰ καὶ ἀµώµητα, ἐν µέσῳ γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραµµένης· καὶ µὴ περιπλέκοιτο ὑµῖν τὰ τῶν κύκλῳ περιπατούντων ἀσεβῶν σχοινία, µηδὲ σειραῖς τῶν οἰκείων ἁµαρτιῶν περισφίγγοισθε, µηδὲ ταῖς βιωτικαῖς µερίµναις συµπνίγοιτο ὑµῖν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ἄκαρποι γίνοισθε· ἀλλ' ὁδῷ πορεύοισθε βασιλικῇ, µὴ ἐκκλίνοντες εἰς δεξιὰ, µηδὲ εἰς ἀριστερὰ, καὶ διὰ τῆς στενῆς ὡς πλατείας ὑπὸ τοῦ Πνεύµατος ὁδηγούµενοι. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Λόγος Γʹ Source: Migne PG 35.524a-525a

Rather show perfect care for yourselves, and for the entrusted Image, 1 and Him who entrusted it, and the passion of Christ, and your hope from that, holding to the faith that you received, and in which you were nurtured and are being saved and which you trust to save others, for not many, be certain, have your boast. Do not account piety to be found in often speaking about God but for the larger part in silence, since the tongue is a dangerous thing to men if it is not governed by reason, 2 and think that listening is always less perilous than talking, just as learning about God is more pleasant than teaching. Leave the more painstaking enquiry into these things to those who are the stewards of the Word and yourselves worship a little in words but more by deeds, rather by keeping the Law than by wondering about the Lawgiver, showing your love for Him by fleeing from wickedness and pursuing virtue, and by living in the Spirit and walking in the Spirit, and drawing your knowledge from Him, and building on the foundation of the faith, not wood or hay or stubble, that are weak materials which will easily be spent when fire shall prove our works or destroy them, but gold and silver and precious stones, which will remain and endure. 3 May it be that you do these things and so give us glory, whether we are present or absent, whether you partake of our speeches or prefer to be doing something else, and may you be the children of God, pure and blameless in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, 4 and may you never be entangled in the snares of the wicked that go round about, or bound with the chain of your own sins. May the Word in you never be smothered with the cares of this life so that you become unfruitful, but may you walk in the King's Highway, turning aside neither to the right nor to the left, but led by the Spirit pass through the narrow gate. 5 Saint Gregory Nazianzus, from Oration 3 1 Gen1.27 2 James 3.1-12 3 1 Cor 3.12-15 4 Phil 2.15 5 Mark 4.19, Prov 4.27, Mt 7.13-14

Wrath And Treasure

Secundum duritiam autem tuam, et cor impoenitens, theasurizas tibi ipsi iram in die irae, et revelationis justi judicii Dei, qui reddet unicuique secundum opera ejus. Cor durum in Scripturis dici videtur, cum mens humana velut cera frigore iniquitais obstricta signaculum imaginis divinae non recipit. Hoc idem alibi cor crassum appellatur, sicut cum dicitur: Incrassatum est cor populi hujus. Contrarium vero est duro molle,quod in Scripturis cor carneum nominatur; et crasso subtile, vel tenue, quod Apostolus spiritalem hominem vocat eum qui examinat omnia. Igitur cum quis scit quae bona sunt,et non agit bona,per duritiam cordis contemptum omnium bonorum habere credendus est. Crassitudo vero cordis est, ubi subtilis et spiritalis intelligentiae non recipitur sensus; et ita  cor impoenitens effectum thesaurizat sibi ipsi iram in die irae, et revelationis justi judicii Dei, dum bonum opus non agitur per duritiam; intellectus vero bonus per crassitudinem is excluditur. De ira autem Dei et superius, quantum res pati voluit, et in aliis locis saepe dissertum est. Quod vero dicit, Thesaurus tibi ipsia iram in die irae, considerandum est. Thesaurus appelatur, quo diversi generis opes, et divitiae congregantur. Hujus in Scripturis significantiam triplicem legimus. Dicitur enim in Evangelio thesaurus esse quidam in terris, in quo prohibet Dominus thesaurizari: et alius thesaurus in coelo, in quo jubet fideles quosque opes suas recondere: et hic nunc Apostolus dicit irae thesauros. Omnes ergo homines per haec quae agunt in hoc mundo, in uno aliquo ex istis tribus congregant thesauros. Aut enim infidelis est quis et iniquus, et per duritiam cordis, et cor impoenitens in thesauro irae actus suos recondit. Aut terrenus est, et de terra sapit, ac de terra loquitur, et cum ei attulerit ager fructus uberes, destruit horrea sua, et majora aedificat, et theasaurizat in terra. Et ille quidem durus, hic autem stultus appellatur. Dicitur enim ad eum, Stulte, hac nocte repetent abs te animam tuam, et quae parasti, cujus erunt? Aut sapiens est, et in Deum dives, et in terris ambulans conversationem habet in coelis, atque omnia quae agit digna sunt regno coelorum: et iste talis divitiarum suarum thesauros condit in coelis. Ita igitur uniuscujusque thesauri possessor et conditor potest alius quidem carnalis, alius vero animalis homo, alius autem spiritualis appellatur. Origenes, Commentariorum In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Romanos, Liber II, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense Source: Migne PG 14.875a-876a

According to your hardness and an impenitent heart, you have heaped up the treasure of anger for yourself on the day of wrath and the revelation of the just judgement of God, who shall return to each one according to his works. 1 It seems that a hard heart is spoken of in the Scriptures when the human mind like wax inured by the frost of wickedness does not receive the impress of the Divine image. Elsewhere this same thing is called a dull heart, as when it is said, 'The heart of this people has become dull.' 2 On the contrary, however, hardness is softened when in the Scriptures the heart is named fleshly, and dullness becomes a light or tenuous weight, which the Apostle calls the spiritual man who examines all things. 3 Therefore when someone knows what good things are and does not do those goods things because of hardness of heart, he should be thought to have contempt for all goods. But dullness of heart is when the mind does not receive the subtle and spiritual understanding. And thus the impenitent heart heaps up for itself wrath on the day of wrath and the revelation of the just judgement of God while it does not perform good works because of hardness, but good understanding is prevented by dullness. Regarding the anger of God above, how great are the things ordained to be suffered has often been spoken of in other places, but what is said with 'a treasure of wrath for yourself on the day of wrath,' must be considered. What is named a treasure is something in which there are different types of wealth and a gathering of riches. We read a threefold meaning of this in the Scriptures. For it is said in the Gospel that there is a certain treasure on the earth that the Lord prohibits us to heap up, and another treasure in heaven, which He commands the faithful to store up, 4 and here the Apostle speaks of a treasure of anger. Therefore because of what they do in the world all men gather their treasure in one of these three ways. For either a man is faithless and wicked and through hardness and impenitence of heart he heaps up a treasure of wrath with his deeds. Or he is a worldly fellow and knows the things of the earth and speaks of the things of the earth, 5 and when he has gathered up the rich yield of his field he tears down his barns and makes bigger ones, and his treasure is on the earth, and that man is hardened, but he is called a dull fellow, for it is said to him, 'Fool, this night your soul is asked of you, and what you have prepared, whose shall it be?' 6 Now the wise man is rich in God, and walking on the earth he has his conversation with heaven, 7 and everything which he does is worthy of the kingdom of heaven, and he is the one who stores up the treasure of his riches in heaven. Thus one may call each one of these a possessor and founder of his treasure, and one is a carnal man, and one is an animal man, and one is a spiritual man. Origen, from the Commentary on the Letter of Paul to the Romans, Book 2, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Rom 2.5-6 2 Mt 13.15, Isaiah 6.10 3 Ezek 11.19, 36.26, 1 Cor 2.15 4 Mt 6.19-20 5 Jn 3.31 6 Lk 12.16-18 7 Phil 3.20

The Two Chambered Tomb

Abraham conjugem mortuam in spelunca duplici sepelivit... Quia viator animam suam a mundi actibus mortuam, sub bonae operationis et contemplationis regimine abscondit. Activa enim sepulcrum est, ut quae a pravis operibus mortuos sepelit, sed contemplativa perfectius tegit: quae a cunctis mundi desideriis, suspectos in intimis, funditus dividit, quales erant de quibus Paulus ait: Mortui estis, et vita vestra abscondita est cum Christo in gloria. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber IV, Tit XXVII Quid sit in spelunca duplici sepeliri Source: Migne PL 177.710b

Abraham buried his wife in a two chambered tomb... 1 Because the pilgrim has a soul dead to the acts of the world, he hides beneath the discipline of good works and contemplation. The active life is the tomb which buries the dead from all evil works, but the contemplative life covers it more completely, so that those taken deep within are utterly separated from every desire of the world, in which likeness they were, concerning whom Paul said: 'You are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in glory.' 2 Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 4, Chapter 27, On The Burial In The Two Chambered Tomb 1 Gen 23.17-19 2 Colos 3.3

The Time Of Sowing

Ergo, dum tempus habemus, operemur bonum ad omnes, maxime autem ad domesticos fidei. Tempus sementis, ut diximus, tempus est praesens, et quam currimus. In hac licet nobis quod volumus seminare; cum ista vita transierit operandi tempus aufertur. Unde et Salvator ait: Operamini dum dies est: veniet nox, quando jam nullus poterit operari. Ortus est nobis Dei sermo, sol verus, et congregatae sunt bestiae recedentes in cubilia sua: procedamus ut homines ad opus nostrum, et usque ad vesperam laboremus, sicut mystice cantatur in psalmo: Posuisti tenebras, et facta est nox. In ipsa pertransibunt bestiae silvae, catuli leonum rugientes, ut rapiant, et quaerant a Deo escam sibi. Ortus est sol, et congregatae sunt, et in cubilibus suis dormierunt. Egredietur homo ad opus suum, et ad operationem suam usque ad vesperam. Sive aegrotamus, sive sani sumus, humiles, vel potentes, pauperes, divites, ignobiles, honorati, esurientes, sive vescentes, omnia in nomine Domini cum patientia et aequanimitate faciamus, et implebitur in nobis illud quod scriptum est: Diligentibus autem Dominum, omnia cooperantur in bonum. Ira ipsa et libido, et injuria quae desiderat ultionem, si me refrenem: si propter Deum taceam: si per singulos commotionis aculeos, et incentiva vitiorum, Dei desuper me videntis recorder, fiunt mihi occasio triumphorum. Ne dicamus in largiendo: Ille est amicus, hunc nescio: hic debet accipere, iste contemni. Imitemur Patrem nostrum, qui solem suum oriri facit super bonos et malos, et pluit super justos et injustos. Fons bonitatis omnibus patet. Servus et liber, plebeius et rex, dives et pauper, ex eo similiter bibunt. Lucerna cum accensa fuerit in domo, omnibus lucet aequaliter. Quod si in cunctos indifferenter liberalitatis frena laxantur, quanto magis in domesticos fidei, et in Christianos, qui eumdem habent Patrem, ejusque magistri appellatione censentur! Videtur autem mihi locus iste posse et superioribus cohaerere, ut domesticos fidei, magistros nominet, quibus supra omnia quae putantur bona, ab auditoribus suis jusserat ministrari. Breve est vitae istius curriculum. Hoc ipsum quod loquor, quod dicto, quod scribo, quod emendo, quod relego, de tempore meo mihi aut crescit, aut deperit. Titus, filius Vespasiani, qui in ultionem Dominici sanguinis, subversis Jerosolymis, Romam victor ingressus est, tantae dicitur fuisse bonitatis, ut cum quadam nocte sero recordaretur, in coena, quod nihil boni die illa fecisset, dixerit amicis: Hodie diem perdidi. Nos putamus non perire nobis horam, diem, momenta, tempus, aetates, cum otiosum verbum loquimur, pro quo reddituri sumus rationem in die judicii? Quod si hoc ille sine Lege, sine Evangelio, sine Salvatoris, et apostolorum doctrina, naturaliter et dixit, et fecit: quid nos oportet facere, in quorum condemnationem habet et Juno univiras, et Vesta virgines, et alia idola continentes? Beatus Joannes evangelista cum Ephesi moraretur usque ad ultimam senectutem, et vix inter discipulorum manus ad ecclesiam deferretur, nec posset in plura vocem verba contexere, nihil aliud per singulas solebat proferre collectas, nisi hoc: Filioli, diligite alterutrum. Tandem discipuli et fratres qui aderant, taedio affecti, quod eadem semper audirent, dixerunt: Magister, quare semper hoc loqueris? Qui respondit dignam Joanne sententiam: Quia praeceptum Domini est, et si solum fiat, sufficit. Hoc propter praesens Apostoli mandatum: Operemur bonum ad omnes: maxime autem ad domesticos fidei. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Epistolam ad Galatas, Liber III, Cap VI Source: Migne PL 26.432b-433c

Therefore while we have time, let us do good to everyone, especially to the servants of the faith. 1 The time of sowing, as we have said, is the present time, in which we run. In this we are permitted to sow what we will, and when this life shall have passed by the time of such labouring is finished. Whence the Saviour says: 'Work while it is still day. The night shall come when no one will be able to work.' 2 The sun of the word of God has risen on us, the true sun, and the beasts have been gathered up and withdrawn into their lairs, and so let us as men go to our work, and even to the evening let us labour, as is spiritually sung in the Psalm: 'You set down darkness and it was night. In it pass all the beasts of the wood, the roaring of lion whelps, that they might seize, and they seek from God food for themselves. The sun has risen, and they have been gathered up and in their lairs they sleep. Man goes out to his work, and to his labour until the evening.' 3 Whether we are sick or healthy, humble or powerful, poor or rich, obscure or honoured, hungry or full, let us do everything in the name of the Lord in patience and contentment, and we shall fulfill in ourselves what has been written: 'But for the lovers of the Lord everything works together for goodness.' 4 If I restrain myself from anger and lust and the injury that seeks vengeance, if for the sake of God I am silent, if through every sharp disturbance and incentive for vice I remind myself that God watches from above, there shall be for me an occasion of triumph. Let us not say in plenty, 'That fellow is a friend, this one I do not know. This one should be received, that one scorned.' Let us imitate our Father who makes the sun rise over the good and the wicked, and makes it rain upon the righteous and the unrighteous. 5 He opens the fount of kindness to all and from that slave and free, commoner and king, rich and poor, all likewise drink. A lamp that has been lit in a house shines equally on everyone, 6 whence if the reign of generosity is loosed impartially for everyone, how much more for those who are servants of the faith and Christians, who have the same Father, and those who are reckoned to be His teachers? It seems to me that it is possible to join this passage with those before, so that from hearers he exhorts service of those he names servants of the faith and teachers, whom are thought as goods above all. Brief is the time of this life. This which I say, and dictate, and write, and correct, and review, grows or perishes in my time. Titus, the son of Vespasian, who in revenge for the blood of the Lord, overthrew Jerusalem, entered Rome as victor, and it is said that such was his benevolence, that when late one night at a feast he remembered that he had done no good that day, he said to his friends, 'Today I have wasted a day.' Shall we not think that we have wasted an hour, a day, a moment, a year, an age, when we speak worthless words, for which we shall have to give a reason on the day of judgement? 7 If this fellow without the Law, without the Gospel, without the Saviour and the teaching of the Apostles, naturally said this and acted so, what is needful for us to do, for the condemnation of whom he had Juno of one husband, and the Vestal Virgins, and a collection of other idols? Blessed John the Evangelist, while he remained in Ephesus until final old age, had to be carried to the church by the hands of his followers, and unable to compose his voice for many words, he was accustomed to offer nothing else to the congregation but this: 'Little children, love one another.' 8Then when his pupils and brothers drew near, and being troubled with the repetition of what they always heard, said, 'Master, why do you always say this?' John replied with a worthy statement: 'Because it is the teaching of the Lord, and if this alone is done, it is enough.' Hence the command of this Apostle: 'Let us do good to everyone, especially to the servants of the faith.' Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Letter to the Galatians, Book 3, Chapter 6 1 Galat 6.10 2 Jn 9.4 3 Ps 103.20-23 4 Rom 8.28 5 Mt 5.45 6 Mt 5.15 7 Mt 12.36 8 cf 1 Jn 3.18

Faith And Sin

Omne enim quod non est ex fide peccatum est... Non enim omnis actus tantum, sed omnis infidelium vita peccatum est. Ubi enim deest agnitio incommutabilis veritatis, falsa virtus est, etiam in optimis moribus. Nam, sicut jam dictur est, et saepe dicendum est et firmiter credendum est, optima opera fiunt ab homine, fides autem fit in homine, sine qua nulla bona opera fiunt ab ullo homine, quia peccatum est quidquid ex fide non est. Peccat ergo, qui non cum fide manducat, semetipsum vero ille judicat, cujus exemplo infirmus peccat. In suo enim genere curandum est quod ad melius interum perduci non potest. Guillelmus S Theodorici Abbas, Expositio In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Liber VII, Caput XIV Source: Migne PG 180.686a

Everything that is not from faith is sin. 1 And not even every act but the whole life of the faithless is sin. Where there is the lack of the immutable truth, virtue is false, even in the best conduct. For as has been said, and as must often be said and firmly believed, the best works come from a man, but faith is made in a man, without which no good works come from any man, because whatever is not from faith is sin. Therefore he sins who does not eat with faith, however he judges himself, by whose example the weak man sins. For his care must be for his own kind which meanwhile cannot lead to what is better. William of St Thierry, Commentary on Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans, Book 7, Chapter 14 1 Rom 14.10

Words And Silence

Ἐπειδὴ οὐ μικρὸν κακὸν, τοῖς εἰκῆ καὶ μάτην φλυαροῦσιν ὑπάρχει τῆς γλώττης ἡ ὀξύτης, τοῦτου χάριν ἀντὶ θύρας, καὶ μοχλοῦ τὴν σιωπὴν τίθησην ὁ ἅγιας Μωϋσης· διὰ γὰρ τοῦτο δύο εἰλήφαμεν ὤτα, μίαν δὲ γλῶσσαν, ἴνα πλείονα ἀκούωμεν πρὸς σωτηρίαν, ἤπερ λαλοῦμεν, διὰ πράξεων ἀγαθῶν μᾶλλον βοῶντες, καὶ θείων κατορθωμτων. Καλῶς οὖν αὐτός τε ο Μωϋσης, καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς, καὶ οἱ Λευῖται, παντὶ τῷ Ἰσραὴλ ἀπεστέλλοντο λέγοντες· Σιώπα, Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ ἄλουε τὰ λόγια Κυρίου. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΟΖ’, Ἡρακλειτῳ Σκολαστικῳ Source: Migne PG 79.184c

Since it is not a little evil, as a door and bar, Moses demands silence from those who recklessly and vainly talk nonsense with an eager tongue, for being in possession of two ears and one tongue, we should hear much more for our salvation than speak, 1 and rather have our crying out done through good works and Divine deeds. Rightly, therefore, Moses sent off the priests and Levites, and all Israel, saying, 'Be silent, Israel, and hear the words of God.' 2 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 277, to Heraclitus the Scholar 1 cf Diogenes Laertius 7.1.23, on Zeno of Citium 2 Deut 27.9

Healing The Hand

Καὶ εἰσῆλθεν πάλιν εἰς τὴν συναγωγήν, καὶ ἦν ἐκεῖ ἄνθρωπος ἐξηραμμένην ἔχων τὴν χεῖρα: καὶ παρετήρουν αὐτὸν εἰ τοῖς σάββασιν θεραπεύσει αὐτόν, ἵνα κατηγορήσωσιν αὐτοῦ. Kαὶ λέγει τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ τὴν ξηρὰν χεῖρα ἔχοντι: ἔγειρε εἰς τὸ μέσον. Kαὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς: ἔξεστιν τοῖς σάββασιν ἀγαθὸν ποιῆσαι ἢ κακοποιῆσαι, ψυχὴν σῶσαι ἢ ἀποκτεῖναι; οἱ δὲ ἐσιώπων. Kαὶ περιβλεψάμενος αὐτοὺς μετ' ὀργῆς, συλλυπούμενος ἐπὶ τῇ πωρώσει τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν, λέγει τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ: ἔκτεινον τὴν χεῖρα. καὶ ἐξέτεινεν, καὶ ἀπεκατεστάθη ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ ὑγιὴς, ὡς ἡ ἄλλη. Των μαθητῶν κατηγορηθέντων ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, διότι τῷ Σαββάτῳ τοὺς στάχυας ἔτιλλον, ὁ Κύριος ἐπεστόμισε μὲν τοὺς κατηγόρους, καὶ διὰ τοῦ κατὰ τὸν Δαβὶδ ὑποδείγματος. Ἐπιπλέον δὲ αὐτοὺς καὶ νῦν ἐντρέπων, θαυματουργεῖ, δεικνύων ὅτι, Τοσοῦτον οὐχ ἁμαρτάνουσιν οἱ μαθηταί μου, ὥστε καὶ αὐτὸς ἑγὼ ἐργάζομαι ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ Σαββάτου, θαῦμα ἐπιδεικνύμενος· ὥστε εἰ κακόν ἐστι τὸ θαυματουργεῖν, ἔστι κακὸν ἁπλῶς καὶ τὸ ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ ἀναγκαῖα ἐν τῷ Σαββάτῳ· ἀλλὰ μὴν τὸ θαυματουργεῖν, ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ ἀνθρώπου, θεῖόν ἐστιν, οὐκ ἄρα παρανομεῖ ὁ ἐν τῷ Σαββάτῳ μὴ κακόν τι ἐργὰζόμενος. Διὰ τοῦτο οὖν καὶ ἐρωτᾷ αὐτοὺς εἰ ἔξεστιν ἀγαθοποιῆσαι, ἐντρέπων αὐτοὺς ὡς κωλύοντας αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀγαθποιεῖν· ξηρὰν δὲ ἔχει τὴν χεῖρα τὴν δεξιὰν πᾶς ὁ μὴ πράττων τὰ τῆς δεξιᾶς μερίδος ἔργα. Πρὸς ὄν λέηει ὁ Χριστός· Ἐγηειρα, τουτέστιν, Ἀνάστα ἀπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ στῆθι εἰς τὸ μέσον, τουτέστιν, εἰς τὴν μεσότητα τῶν ἀρετῶν. Πᾶσα γὰρ ἀρετὴ, μεσότης ἐστὶν, οὔτε εἰς τὴν ἔλλειψιν, οὔτε εἰς τὴν ὑπερβολὴν ἐπινεύουσα· τότε τοίνυν ὅταν σταθῇ εἰς τὴν μεσότητα, ἀποκατασταθήσεται ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ ὑγιής. Ὅρα δὲ κὰι τὸ Ἀποκατεστάθη. Καὶ γὰρ ἦν ὅτε εἴχομεν ὑγιεῖς τὰς χεῖρας, τουτέστι, τὴν πρακτικὴν ἑνέργειαν, ὅτε οὔπω παράβασις· ἀφ' οὗ δὲ ἐξετάθη ἡ χεὶρ ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τὸν ἀπηγορευμένον καρπὸν, ἔκτοτε ἐξηράνθη πρὸς τὴν τοῦ καλοῦ ἐργασίαν. Πάλιν οὖν ἐν τῷ μέσῳ σταθῶμεν τῶν ἀρετῶν. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατά Μάρκον Εὐαγγέλιον, Κεφαλ. Γ’ Source: Migne PG 123.520d-521b

And He entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there with a withered hand. And they watched Him whether He would heal on the Sabbath days, so that they might accuse him. And He said to the man with the withered hand: 'Stand up in the midst.' And He said to them, 'Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days or to do evil? To save life or to destroy it?' But they were silent. And looking on them in anger,  and being grieved because of the blindness of their hearts, He said to the man, 'Hold out your hand.' And he held it out, and his hand was restored to him, as healthy as the other. 1 When the disciples were accused by the Jews because they plucked ears from the corn, the Lord refuted their accusers, and that with the example of David, but now He confuted them much more with the making of a miracle, showing by this turning to the work of the making of a miracle on the Sabbath that His disciples did not sin, because if it is wicked to perform a miracle on the Sabbath, certainly it is wicked to perform a needful deed. But to work a miracle for the saving of a man is Divine, therefore he does not sin who works what is not evil on the Sabbath. Thus He questions them, if it is permitted to do good, reproving them because they would prohibit goodness. And everyone has a withered right hand who does not perform the works which belong to the right side. To which Christ says, 'Stand up,' that is, 'Rise from sin', and stand 'in the midst,' that is, in the middle of virtue. For every virtue is middling when it is tending neither to defectiveness nor perfection. Thus when the man had stood in the middle, He restored His right hand to health. And note that it is said, 'It was restored.' For once we had healthy hands that were useful for the works of virtue, when we had not fallen. But when our right hand was extended to the forbidden fruit, then it began to dry up for good works. So let us stand again in the midst of virtue.  Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Mark, Chapter 3 1 Mk 3.1-5

Sabbath Works

Secundum autem modum videndi, legem implevit duobus modis. Primum exteriores quidem legis figuras solvens, interiores autem veritates ejus adimplens. Utputa, in lege praecepit omne opus servile in sabbato quemquam facere non debere, praeterquam quod fit omni animae, scilicet quod est necessarium vitae humanae: hoc figurale est, quia sic Deus in sabbato cessat ab opere. Spiritualiter secuncum Evangelii veritatem, opus servile peccatum est: Quoniam omnis qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati. Omne autem opus bonum non est servile, sed liberale, et pro animae fit libertate, licet videatur ipsum opus in prima facie corporale. Vides ergo quia Christus sabbatis operans adimplevit legem, non solvit: manifestavit, non occultavit? Item in lege fuerat scriptum, lepram tangere non oportere. Hoc figuratum est. Lepra enim intelligitur peccatum. Christus ergo tangens lepram, non solvit legem, sed adimplevit. Mundans enim leprosum, justitiam operatus est, non peccatum. Et per hoc justitiam tetigit, non peccatum, quod est vere lepra Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia X Source: Migne PG 56.687-688

According to the way of seeing, the Law can be fufilled in two ways. First with the exterior figures, which being set aside, then its interior truth is achieved. So in the Law it is commanded that one should do no servile work on the Sabbath, apart from that which is fit for every soul, that is, necessary for human life. 1 This is a figure, because God rested from his work on the Sabbath. 2 Spiritually, according to the truth of the Gospel, the servile work is sin, because everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin, 3 but no good work is slavish, but liberating, and so suitable for the free soul, which same work at first glance may seem corporeal. Do you see, then, that Christ's work on the Sabbath fulfilled the Law and did not flout it, that He revealed and did not obscure? In the Law it was written that one should not touch a leper. This is the figure. But understand leprosy as sin. Christ, therefore, in touching the leper did not flout the law but fulfilled it. For the cleansing of the leper was a righteous work, not a sinful one. And by this He touched on righteousness not sin, which is the true leper. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 10 1 Exod 12.16, Levit 23.7 2 Gen 2.2 3 Jn 8.54

Perserverance And Discipline

Perseverandum nobis est in arcto et in angusto itinere laudis et gloriae; et cum quies et humilitas et bonorum morum tranquillitas Christianis omnibus congruat, secundum Domini vocem, qui neminem alium respicit nisi humilem et quietum et trementem sermones suos, tum magis hoc observare et implere confessores oportet, qui exemplum facti estis caeteris fratribus, ad quorum mores omnium vita et actus debeat provocari. Nam, sicut Judaei a Deo alienati sunt, propter quos nomen Dei blasphematur in Gentibus, ita contra Deo chari sunt per quorum disciplinam nomen Domini laudabili testimonio praedicatur, sicut scriptum est, Domino praemonente et dicente: Luceat lumen vestrum coram hominibus, ut videant opera vestra bona, et clarificent Patrem vestrum qui in coelis est. Et Paulus apostolus dicit: Lucete sicut luminaria in mundo. Et Petrus similiter hortatur: Sicut hospites, inquit, et peregrini, abstinete vos a carnalibus desideriis, quae militant adversus animam, conversationem habentes inter gentiles bonam, ut, dum detractant de vobis quasi de malignis, bona opera vestra aspicientes de magnificent Dominum. Sanctus Cyprianus, Epistula VI, Ad Rogantium Presbyterum Et Caeteros Confessors Source: Migne PL 3.236b-237b

We must persevere in the straight and narrow road of praise and glory, and since peacefulness and humility and the tranquillity of good conduct befits all Christians, according to the word of the Lord, who looks on no one but the one who is humble and quiet and in awe of His words, 1 so it is more necessary that confessors observe and fulfil this, they who have been made as an example for the rest of the brethren, the behaviour of whom should call all to the imitation of such a life and deeds. For as the Jews were alienated from God, on account of those through whom 'the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles,' 2 so on the other hand they are precious to God through whose discipline the name of God is spoken of with a testimony of praise, as it has been written, with the Lord Himself forewarning and saying, 'Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.' 3 And Paul the Apostle says, 'Shine as lights in the world.' 4 Peter likewise exhorts: 'As strangers and pilgrims, abstain from the desires of the flesh which war against the soul, having an upright way of life among the Gentiles, so that though they defame you as if you were wicked folk, by the sight of your good works they may glorify the Lord.' 5 Saint Cyprian of Carthage, from Letter 6, to Rogantius the Priest and other Confessors 1 Isaiah 66.2 2 Rom 2.24 3 Mt 5.16 4 Philip 2.15 5 1 Pet 2.11-12