Questioning Paternity

Et dicebant: Nonne hic est filius Joseph? Ecce hic secundum Chrysostomum tangitur effectus Verbi Dei in indevotis Scribis et Pharisaeis. Omnes enim de populo sanctificabant eum, et testimonium illi dabant. Soli autem Scribae et Pharisaei, ut dicit Chrysostomus, similes sunt terrae arenosae, quae quanto plus pluit, tanto magis aret. Et ideo maledicti sunt: sicut dicit Apostolus, ad Hebr. VI: Terra saepe venientem super se bibens imbrem, et generans herbam opportunam illis a quibus colitur, accipit benedictionem a Deo: proferens autem spinas ac tribulos, reproba est, et maledictioni proxima: cujus consummatio in combustionem ignis. Dividitur autem haec pars in tres partes: in quarum prima Scribarum et Pharisaeorum in paucis verbis innuit contemptum: in secunda autem Christus excludit ipsorum tacitam objectionem quam fecerunt, populum a fide concepta volentes avertere: in tertia autem aperta eorum ponitur malignitas, ad quam induxerunt populum, et quam volebant Domino violenter inferre. Primum horum est valde parvum, sed praegnans magna malignitate: Et dicebant, Supple, Scribae et Pharisaei ad populum qui jam fidem et devotionem conceperat, Nonne hic est. Despectionis nota est demonslratio ejus, quem nominare non sunt dignati. Sapient. ii: Gravis est nobis etiam ad videndum. Psal. xv: Nec memor ero nominum eorum per labia mea. Filius Joseph? Minus hic dicit Evangelista quod tam Matthaeo quam a Marco plenius sciverat esse positum. Matth.xiii, Nonne hic est fabri filius? Nonne mater ejus dicitur Maria, et fratres ejus, Jacobus, et Joseph, et Simon, et Judas: et sorores ejus, nonne omnes apud nos sunt? Marc vi: Nonne hic est faber, filius Mariae, frater Jacobi, et Joseph, et Judae, et Simonis? Haec omnia despective dicta sunt. Faber enim lignarius dicitur fuisse Joseph, arte et usu manuum victum quaerens, et non in otio et deliciis panem manducans, sicut Scribae et Pharisaei fecerunt. Maria etiam quam objiciunt ei quaestuaria fuit, ut dicit Hieronymus, colo et consilio manuum victum quaerens. Fratres autem vocant hic consobrinos ejus, filios sororis Beatae Virginis ex Cleopha patre, tres Apostolos Simonem, et Judam, et Jacobum minorem. Quartus autem Joseph fuit qui justus cognominabatur: qui cum Matthia sortes habuit quis eorum in locum Judse substitueretur. Et est sensus: Hic despectae et pauperrimae nativitatis faber lignarius vocatione, non potest esse Christus Dominus quem unxit Deus. Et ideo sibi non est credendum tam rusticano et tam vili. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput IV Source: Here p331-332

And they said, 'Is this not the son of Joseph?' 1 Observe that according to Chrysostom this touches upon the effect the Word of God had on the disbelieving Scribes and Pharisees. 'For all the people blessed Him and bore witness to Him.' 1 Only the Scribes and the Pharisees, as Chrysostom says, are like the dust of the earth, so that the more it rains, the more they thirst. And therefore they are cursed, as the Apostle says in the sixth chapter of the letter to the Hebrews, 'The earth which drinks down the rain which comes upon it and gives birth to plants in their seasons for those who till it, receives a blessing from God, but that which brings from forth thorns and thistles is reprobate and near to a curse, whose end is to be burnt with fire.' 2 This may be divided into three parts, in which first is made known in few words the contempt of the Scribes and Pharisees, in the second part Christ rejects the tacit objection they make, choosing to point to a people conceived by faith, and in in the third part is set down their malignity, to which they had led the people, and what they wished to bring violently on the Lord. The first part is very brief but bears much wickedness, 'And they said,' Understand that the Scribes and Pharisees said 'Is this not?' to the people who had just laid hold of faith and devotion, which demonstrates their scorn of Him whom they are not worthy to name. In the second chapter of Wisdom, 'The sight of Him is burdensome to us.' In the fifteenth Psalm, 'I shall not remember their names on my lips.' 3 'The son of Joseph?' Here the Evangelist says less than Matthew who wrote more extensively about what Mark set down. In the twelfth chapter of Matthew 'Is this man not the son of a carpenter? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers, Jacob and Joseph and Simon and Judas, and do not his sisters dwell among us?' In the sixth chapter of Mark, 'Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of Jacob and Joseph and Judas and Simon?' 4 This is all said disrespectfully. Is it said that Joseph was a carpenter, seeking his living with the work of his hands, and not in leisure and pleasure eating his bread, as the Scribes and Pharisees did. Mary they object to as a woman for hire, as Jerome says, who with her spinning and counsel made her living. Those called his brothers here are his cousins, the sons of the sister of the Blessed Virgin, who had Cleophas for a father, the three Apostles Simon, Judas and James the less. Joseph, the fourth one, was surnamed the Just, who with Matthias had the lots cast for the replacement of Judas. 5 This is the sense of what they said, that the occupation of carpenter entails a base and impoverished birth and it is not possible for Him to be the Lord Christ whom God anointed, and therefore one should not believe in one so rustic and common. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 4 1 Lk 4.22 2 Heb 6.7-8 3 Wisd 2.15, Ps 15.4 4 Mt 13.55-56, Mk 6.3 5 Acts 1.23-26

The Worse State

Sed transeamus ad Lazarum, et quaeramus quid est quod dicit: Et Lazarus similiter recepit mala. Et id sufficiat ad meritum, abundet ad gloriam, si non fecit bona, sed recepit mala. Plane beatus est, fratres, qui se a Deo accipere bona, mala recipere fideliter credit. Beatus qui Deo semper reddit debita: certe si non potest, vel dimitti sibi debita tota humilitate deposcat, ipse Domino sic docente: Dicitie: Dimitte nobis debita nostra. Beatus qui Deo debita, et cum non intelliget se contraxisse persolvit, altius propheta instituente cum dicit: Quae non rapui tunc exsolvebam. Beatus qui se apud Deum semper ut excuset, accusat, Scriptura taliter admonente: Justus in primordio sermonis sui accusator existit. Et si justus, quare se justus accusat? quia non justificabitur in conspectu tuo omnis vivens. Homo coram homine de justitia, de innocentia, de merito forsitan glorietur; coram Deo qui se de innocentia jactat, de sua justitia gloriatur homo non est. Hinc est, quod ille Pharisaeus cum non orat, sed justitias suas computat, imputat, ructat, injustus et publicano deterior abscedit. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CXXIII, De Divite Et Lazaro Source: Migne PL 52 537c-538b

But let us consider Lazarus and let us ponder why it is said, 'And likewise Lazarus received evil.' 1 And that it may be enough for reward and abound to glory if he did not do good, but received evil. Clearly he is blessed, brothers, who faithfully believes in receiving goods from God while he receives bad things. Blessed is he who always returns his debts to God, and certainly if he is not able to do so, let him ask in all humility that his debts be forgiven, as the Lord taught:'Forgive us our debts.' 2 Blessed is he who returns his debts to God, for even when he does not understand, he is released from that which binds him, of which the Prophet speaks of more sublimely: 'That which I could not grasp, I set free.' 3 Blessed is he who before God, that he be excused, accuses himself, as Scripture admonishes: 'The righteous man in the beginning of his speech is his own accuser.' 4 And if a man is righteous, why does he accuse himself? Because in God's sight nothing living is justified. 5 A man before men may perhaps glory in his righteousness and innocence and merit; he who boasts of his innocence and glories in his righteousness before God is no man. So it was that the Pharisee, who when not praying was calculating his righteousness and measuring it and belching it forth, was in a worse state than the publican. 6 Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 123, On The Rich Man and Lazarus 1 Lk 16.25 2 Mt 6.12 3 Ps 68.5 4 Prov 18.17 LXX 5 Ps 142.2 6 Lk 18.10-14

Prayer And Restraint

Atqui cum modestia et humilitate adorantes magis  commendabimus Deo preces nostras, ne ipsis quidem manibus sublimius elatis, sed temperate ac probe elatis, ne vultu quidem  in audaciam erecto. Nam et ille publicanus, qui non tantum  prece, sed et vultu humiliatus atque deiectus orabat, iustificatior  pharisaeo procacissimo discessit. Sono etiam vocis subiectos  esse oportet, aut quantis arteriis opus est, si pro sono audiamur!  Deus autem non vocis, sed cordis auditor est, sicut conspector. Daemonium oraculi Pythii Et mutum, inquit, intelligo et non loquentem exaudio. Dei aures sonum expectant? Quomodo ergo oratio Ionae de imo ventre ceti per tantae bestiae viscera ab ipsis  abyssis per tantam aequoris molem ad caelum potuit evadere? Quid amplius referent isti qui clarius adorant nisi quod  proximis obstrepunt? Immo prodendo petitiones suas quid minus faciunt quam si in publico orent? Tertullianus, De Oratione

But when we pray with modesty and humility we more commend our prayers to God, with not even our hands lifted too high, but elevated temperately and fittingly, with not even our face boldly raised. For that tax collector prayed not only with his petition but with his face humble and cast down, and he went away more justified than the impudent Pharisee. 1 Even the sound of our voice should be subdued, else what large windpipes we would need if we were heard for the noise we make. But God is the hearer not of the voice, but of the heart, just as He is its examiner. The Pythian oracle says: 'And I understand the mute and hear the speechless one.' 2  Do the ears of God wait for sound? How, then, could Jonah's prayer, from the depth of the whale's belly, through the entrails of such a beast, from the very abysses, through such a mass of sea, find its way out to heaven? And what do they gain who pray more loudly, except that their roaring is heard by their neighbours? Why, by shouting their petitions, what do they do less than if they were to pray on the street? 3 Tertullian, from On Prayer 1 Lk 18:9-14 2 Herodotus 1.47.3 3 cf Mt 6.5

Confidence And Despair

Οὔτε θαῥῥεῖν ἀναγκαῖον ἐπὶ τῳ πλήθει τῶν ἀνδραγαθημάτων, οὔτ' ἀπογινώσκειν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐπταισμένοις. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Φαρισαϊος θαῥῥήσας ἐπ' ἐργασίᾳ χρηστῇ, ἐξ αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀρετῆς κατηνέχθη τοῦ ὕψους, καὶ ὁ τελώνης μὴ ἀπογνοὺς τοσοῦτον ἀνωρθώθη, ὡς καὶ τὸν ἐνάρετον Φαρισαϊον ὑπερνῆναι τῇ ψήφω τοῦ κρείττονος Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΛ' Ζεφψριανῳ Source: Migne PG 79.168b

Do not be confident in the abundance of your good deeds among men, nor let the soul despair because of errors. For the Pharisee who was confident in his good works fell from the height of virtue, and the tax collector who did not despair in so much was raised up, even to be lifted above the virtuous Pharisee in the judgement of who was better. 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 230, To Zephyrianus 1 Lk 18. 9-14

Righteousness and Error

Justitia justi non liberabit eum in quacumque die peccaverit: et iniquitas iniqui non nocebit ei, quacumque die conversus fuerit.   Unumquemque judicat Deus sicut invenerit. Nec praeterita considerat, sed praesentia: si tamen vetera crimina, novella conversione mutentur. Septies cadit justus, et resurgit. Si cadit, quomodo justus, si justus quomodo cadit? Sed justi vocabulum non amittit, qui per poenitentiam semper resurgit. Et non solum septies, sed septuagies septies delinquenti, si convertatur ad poenitentiam, peccata donantur. Cui plus dimittitur, plus diligit. Meretrix lacrymis pedes Salvatoris lavat, et crine detergit: et in typum Ecclesiae de gentibus congregatae meretur audire: Dimittuntur tibi peccata tua Pharisaei justitia perit superbia, et publicani humilitas confessione salvatur. Sanctus Hieronymus, ex Epistula CXXII Ad Rusticum

'The righteousness of the righteous will not free him on the day that he sins and the wickedness of the wicked will not harm him on the day he is converted.' 1 The Lord judges every man as He finds him. He does not consider the past but the present. If there are old crimes, new conversion removes them. 'A righteous man falls seven times and rises.' 2 If he falls, how is he righteous? If righteous, how does he fall? He does not lose the name of righteous who always rises by penance. And not only seven times, but seventy times seven for the one who errs, if he turns to penance. 3 To whom much is forgiven, he loves the more. 4 The harlot washed the Saviour's feet with tears and wiped them with her hair, and this type of the Church gathered from the Gentiles was made worthy to hear, 'Your sins are forgiven.' 5 The righteousness of the Pharisee perished in pride, and the humility of the publican in confession gained salvation. 6 St Jerome, from Letter 122, To Rusticus 1 Ezek 33.2 2 Prov 24.16 3 Mt 18, 21-22 4 Lk 7.47 5 Luke 7:48 6 Lk 18.14

Keeping Watch

Sed sciendum nobis est quia saepe, dum aliis rebus intendimus, fit ut alias negligamus; et ubi negligimus, ibi procul dubio oculum non habemus. Nam Pharisaeus ille qui ascenderat in templum orare, testante Evangelio, quid dixit agnovimus. Ait enim: Deus, gratias ago tibi. Recte autem gratias Deo agebat, a quo acceperat bona quae fecerat. Qui etiam subjungit: Quia non sum sicut caeteri hominum, raptores, injusti, adulteri, velut etiam hic Publicanus; jejuno bis in Sabbato, decimas do omnium quae possideo. Ecce ad exhibendam abstinentiam, ad impendendam misericordiam, ad referendas Deo gratias oculum Pharisaeus habuerat, sed ad humilitatis custodiam oculum non habebat. Et quid prodest quod contra hostium insidias pene tota civitas caute custoditur, si unum foramen apertum relinquitur, unde ab hostibus intretur? Quid ergo prodest custodia quae pene ubique circumponitur, quando inimicis tota civitas per neglectum loci unius aperitur? Pharisaeus autem qui jejunium exhibuit, decimas dedit, Deo gratias retulit, quasi pene per circuitum in suae civitatis custodia vigilavit. Sed quia unum in se foramen superbiae non attendit, ibi hostem pertulit, ubi per negligentiam oculum clausit. Quia ergo sanctorum mentes undique se circumspicientes invigilant, atque in omni suo opere pavoris et sollicitudinis oculum circumducunt, ne aut prava agant, aut recta quae praecepta sunt non agant, aut bonis actibus expletis, in suis cogitationibus intumescant, et tanto gravius offendant quanto justi videntur foris et occultius peccant, recte dicitur: Totum corpus eorum plenum oculis in circuitu. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia VII

But it should be known to us that often while we intend one thing we neglect another, and where we neglect there we do not have our eye. For that Pharisee who ascended to the temple to pray, we know what he said by Gospel's witness. He said, 'God, I give thanks to you.'  1 Rightly indeed did he give thanks to God from whom he received the goods he did. Then he said 'I am not like other men, thieves, unjust, adulterers, like even this tax collector, twice I fast on the Sabbath, I give tenth of all I possess.' Behold, an exhibition of abstinence and a presentation of mercy, to which the Pharisee had an eye to give thanks to God, but he did not attend to the guarding of humility. How does it benefit to carefully guard a city against all the assaults of the enemy, if one door overlooked is left open, through which the enemy may enter? How does it benefit to place a guard almost everywhere when all the city is open to the enemy because of one place neglected? The Pharisee displayed his fasting, he gave his tenth, he returned thanks to God, he watched almost the whole circuit of the city. But because there was one opening of pride to which he did not attend, there the enemy came in, there where the eye was closed by negligence. Therefore the minds of the saints keep watch everywhere, and in every work of theirs fear and care keeps the eye watchful, lest they act wickedly, or they do not act in accordance with right laws, or having done good deeds they become puffed up with their own thoughts, and so much more gravely they offend who seem righteous and are blind to their sins. Well it is said, 'Their bodies, all around, were full of eyes.' 2 Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, Homily 7 1 Lk 18.11 2 Ezek 1.18

Achieving Humility

Εἰ γὰρ Παῦλος οὐκ ἐπῃσχύνθη καὶ τέκνον καλέσαι, καὶ σπλάγχνον, καὶ ἀδελφὸν, καὶ ἀγαπητὸν, πῶς ἂν ἡμεῖς ἐπαισχυνθῶμεν; Καὶ τί λέγω, Παῦλος; ὁ Παύλου Δεσπότης οὐκ ἐπαισχύνεται τοὺς ἡμετέρους δούλους ἀδελφοὺς αὑτοῦ καλεῖν, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐπαισχυνούμεθα; Ὅρα, πῶς ἡμᾶς τιμᾷ· ἀδελφοὺς ἑαυτοῦ καλεῖ τοὺς ἡμετέρους δούλους, καὶ φίλους, καὶ συγκληρονόμους. Ἰδοὺ ποῦ κατέβη. Τί οὖν ποιήσαντες ἡμεῖς, τὸ πᾶν ἠνυκότες ἐσόμεθα; Οὐδὲν ὅλως δυνησόμεθα, ἀλλ' ὅπου δ' ἂν ταπεινοφροσύνης ἔλθωμεν, τὸ πλέον αὐτῆς ὑπολέλειπται. Σκόπει γάρ· Ὅπερ ἂν ποιήσῃς σὺ, περὶ τὸν ὁμόδουλον ποιεῖς, ὁ δὲ σὸυ δεσπότης περὶ τοὺς σοὺς δούλους πεποίηκεν. Ἄκουσον, καὶ φρίξον· Μηδέποτε ἐπαρθῇς ἐπὶ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ. Τάχα γελᾶτε τὸ λεχθὲν, εἰ ταπεινοφροσύνη ἐπαίρει· ἀλλὰ μὴ θαυμάσητε· ἐπαίρει, ὅταν μὴ γνησία ᾖ. Πῶς καὶ τίνι τρόπῳ; Ὅταν διὰ τὸ ἀποδέξασθαι ἀνθρώπους γένηται, καὶ οὐχὶ Θεὸν, ὅταν πρὸς τὸ ἐπαινεῖσθαι καὶ μεγαλοφρονεῖν· καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο διαβολικόν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ πολλοὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ κενοδοξεῖν κενοδοξοῦσιν· οὕτω καὶ διὰ τὸ ταπεινοῦσθαι ἐπαίρονται διὰ τὸ μέγα φρονεῖν. Εἰ μνημονεύει τῆς παραγγελίας τοῦ Χριστοῦ τῆς λεγούσης· Ὅταν πάντα ποιήσητε, λέγετε, ὅτι Ἀχρεῖοι δοῦλοί ἐσμεν· καὶ πάλιν τοῦ Διδασκάλου τῆς οἰκουμένης λέγοντος· Ἐγὼ ἐμαυτὸν οὐ λογίζομαι κατειληφέναι. Ὁ πείσας ἑαυτὸν, ὅτι οὐδὲν μέγα κατώρθωσεν, ὅσα ἂν ποιήσῃ, οὗτος μόνος ταπεινοφρονεῖν δύναται, ὁ μὴ πρὸς τὸ τέλος ἥκειν νομίζων. Πολλοὶ ἀπὸ ταπεινοφροσύνης ἐπήρθησαν. Ἀλλὰ μὴ ἡμεῖς τοῦτο πάθωμεν. Ἐποίησάς τι ταπεινόν; μὴ φρονήσῃς μέγα, ἐπεὶ τὸ πᾶν ἀπώλεσας. Τοιοῦτος ἦν ὁ Φαρισαῖος· ἐπήρθη, ἐπειδὴ ἐδίδου τοῖς πένησι τὰς δεκάτας, καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἀπώλεσεν. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ τελώνης οὕτως. Ἄκουε Παύλου πάλιν λέγοντος· Οὐδὲν ἐμαυτῷ σύνοιδα, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν τούτῳ δεδικαίωμαι. Ὁρᾷς, ὅτι οὐκ ἐπῆρεν αὐτὸν, ἀλλὰ παντοίως συνέστελλε καὶ ἐταπείνου, καὶ ταῦτα εἰς τὴν ἄκραν κορυφὴν ἀνεληλυθώς; Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Ὑπομηνα Ἐις Την Προς Φιλημονα Ἐπιστολην, Ὀμιλια Β'

For if Paul was not ashamed to call a slave his son, his heart, his brother, his beloved, surely we ought not to be ashamed. And why do I say Paul? The Master of Paul is not ashamed to call our servants His brethren; and are we ashamed? See how He honors us. He calls our servants His own brethren, and friends, and fellow heirs. See how far he has descended. What, then, having done, shall we have accomplished our whole duty? We are not able to do it, but to whatever point of humility we have come, the greater part of it is left behind. For see that whatever you do, you do to a fellow servant, but your Master has done it to your servants. Hear and shudder! Never be exulted on account of humility! Perhaps you laugh at the expression, as if humility could puff up? But do not wonder, it does puff up when it is not genuine. How and in what way? When it is done to gain the favor of men, and not of God, when it is done for praised and pride, and this is diabolical. As many by not being vainglorious are vainglorious, so by humbling themselves they are elated by thinking highly of themselves. For instance, a brother has come, or even a servant, and you have received him, you have washed his feet, and immediately you think highly of yourself. 'I have done,' you say, 'what no other has done. I have achieved humility!' How then may one continue in humility? If one remembers the command of Christ, which says, 'When you shall have done all things, say, We are unprofitable servants.' 1 And again the teacher of the world, says, 'I count not myself to have apprehended.' 2 He who has persuaded himself that he has done no great thing, however much he may have done, he alone is able to be humble, he who does not think that he has achieved perfection. Many are elated on account of their humility, but let not us be so affected. Have you done something humble? Think not highly of it, otherwise all will be lost. Such was the Pharisee, he was puffed up because he gave his tenth to the poor, and so he lost it all. 3 But not so the publican. Hear Paul again saying, 'I know nothing by myself, but I am not by that justified.' 4 Do you see that he does not exalt himself, but by every means abases and humbles himself, and that when he had arrived at the very summit? Saint John Chrysostom, Second Homily on Philemon 1 Lk 17:10 2 Philip 3:13   3 Lk 18:12  4 1 Cor 4:4

Pleasing Men And God

Reprehenditur justitia Scribarum et Pharisaeorum, quia non fidem promissionis divinae, sed humanam laudem et saeculi gloriam quaerebant, sicuti habemus exemplum de illo Pharisaeo superbo et elato; qui ut sibi videbatur, justitiae suae merita praeferens, impudenter se, elato animo ac superbis vocibus, in conspectu Dei jactabat. Retinebant ergo speciem justitam Scribae et Pharisaei, non ut Deo placerent, sed ut famam humanae gloriam quaererent, ut lucra terrena et temporalia commoda mercarentur. Et ideo horatatur Dominus, ut hanc famosam justitiam laudis humanae, operibus justitiae coelestis ac fidei meritis praecedamus, per Christum Dominum nostrum.  Sanctus Chromatius Aquileiensis, Tactatus VI in Evangelium Sancti Matthaei

The righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees is rebuked because they seek not the faith of the Divine promise but human praise and the glory of the age, for which we have as example the proud and elated Pharisee, who, so it seemed to him, exhibited the rewards of his righteousness, impudently, with elated soul and proud voice, boasting in the sight of God. 1 The Scribes and Pharisees hold onto an appearance of justice, not one that pleases God, but they seek glory and fame among men that they be rewarded with earthly wealth and temporal comforts. Thus the Lord exhorts that this reputed righteousness of human praise be passed over for the works of the righteousness of heaven and for the merits of faith, through Christ our Lord.   Saint Chromatius of Aquileia, from Tractate 6 On The Gospel of Saint Matthew 1. Lk 18.11

The Feast Of A Pentitent Woman

Phariseus ad manducandum vocat Christum: quid ibi quaerit mulier non vocata? Claustra domus non prorumpit extraneus, convivii secretum non praesumit non invitatus intrare, cibos paratos relaxandis mentibus post laborem perturbare non audet arbiter luxuriosus; et quid est qoud haec mulier ignota, immo male nota, onusta luctibus, plena lacrymis, clamosa planctu, nescio janitore, nullo conscio, ipso ignorante pastore, domus aditus percurrit omnes, transit totas ministerorum catervas, ipsum convivii pervolat ad secretum, et facit domum laetitiae domum lamentationis et planctus? Fratres, non rogata venit illa, sed jussa; intravit exhibita, non praesumens: ipse sic fecit eam sisti sibi, qui illam coelesti sententia jussit absolvi. Denique dum Pharisaeus veste clarus, primus in sigmate, in ipsis oculis Christi lumens, epulis homini, non Deo placiturus, festivus infunditur, venit mulier, et venit retro, quia reus animus post tergum stat ad veniam, quia per culpam novit se vultus fiduciam perdidisse; venit satisfacura Deo, non homini placitura cum venit; venit pietatis illa, non voluptatis exhibitura convivium. Denique et paenitentiae ponit mensam, fercula compuncitonis apponit, panem doloris infert; potum lacrymis temperat in mensura, et ad delicias deitatis totas pulsat cordis sui et corporis symphoniam.  Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo XCIII Source Migne PL 52.461b-462a

The Pharisee called Christ to dine; what did the woman who was not called seek there? A stranger does not burst into a closed house, one uninvited does not presume to enter into inner rooms, some self indulgent observer does not dare disturb food prepared to relax minds after labour; why then does this unknown women, or rather this woman of ill repute, weighed down with grief, full of tears, crying aloud, with the doorkeeper unaware, with no one knowing, even the shepherd himself, why does she run through the doors of the house, pass through the groups of servants, fly to the inner room itself, and make of a joyful house one of lamentation and groaning? Brethren, she did not come unasked, she was ordered. She did not enter to be presented by presumption. And he who made her present to himself is he who ordered her to be forgiven by heavenly judgement. While the Pharisee in bright clothes reclined in the first seat, shining in the very eyes of Christ, taking his pleasure in the feast of men and not God, utterly absorbed in it, the woman came, and she came behind, because a guilty soul stands behind for pardon because by guilt it knows it has lost the confidence to stand before the face, and when she came she came to make satisfaction to God. She did not come to please men, she came on account of piety, and not to serve a meal of pleasure. Thus she set a table of repentance, served dishes of compunction, watered drinks with tears in right measure, and to the full delight of God struck music from her own heart and body. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 93

Bearing Suffering

Ἀλλὰ μὴ νόμιζέ σοι τοῦτο ἀπολογίαν εἶναι εἰς τὸ καὶ αὐτῆς ἐπιθυμεῖν τελευτῆς, εἰ ἐκεῖνος ἐπεθύμει θανάτου, τὰς ὀδύνας οὐ φέρων. Ἐννόησον γὰρ πότε ἐκεῖνος ἐπεθύμει, καὶ πῶς τῶν πραγμάτων διακειμένων, οὐ νόμου δοθέντος, οὐ προφητῶν φανέντων, οὐ τῆς χάριτος οὕτως ἐκχυθείσης, οὐδὲ ἄλλης φιλοσοφίας μετασχών. Ὅτι γὰρ ἡμεις τῶν τότε πολιτευομένων πλείονα ἀπαιτούμεθα, καὶ μείζονα ἡμιν κεῖτα τὰ σκάμματα ἄκουσον τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγοντος· Ἐὰν μὴ περισσεύσῃ ἡ δικαιοσύην ἡμῶν πλέον τῶν γραμματέων καὶ Φαρισαίων, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐπανῶν. Μὴ τοίνυν τὸ εὐχεσθαι νῦν τὴν τελευετὴν, ἀπηλλάχθαι ἐγκλήματος νόμιζε, ἀλλ' ἄκουε τῆς τοῦ Παύλου φωνῆς τῆς λεγούσης· Τὸ ἀναλῦσαι καὶ σὺν Χριστῳ εἶναι πολλῷ μᾶλλον κρεῖσσον, τὸ δὲ ἐπιμεῖναι τῇ σαρκὶ ἀναγκαιότερον δι' ὑμᾶς. Ὅσῳ γὰρ ἄν ἐπιτείνηται τὰ τῆς θλίψεως, τοσσούτῳ πλεονάζει καὶ τὰ τῶν στεφάνων· ὅσῳ ἂν πυρωθῇ τὸ χρυσίον, τοσούτῳ καθαρότερον γίνεται· ὅσῳ μακρότερον ἂν πλεύσῃ πέλαγος ἔμπορος, τοσούτῳ πλείονα συνάγει τὰ φορτία. Μὴ τοίνυν νομίσῃς μικρόν σοι προκεῖσθαι νῦν ἆθλον, ἀλλὰ πάντων ὦν ὑπομεμένηκς τὸν ὑψηλότερον, τὸν ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ σώματος ἀῥῥωστίᾳ λέγω.  Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομο, Ἐπιστολὴ Δ' Ὀλυμπιάδι

But do not think to yourself that this is an excuse for desiring death, since Job desired it, not being able to bear his sufferings. For consider the period when that man desired it, and the manner of his circumstances, the law not being given, the Prophets having not appeared, grace yet to flow forth, nor had he partaken of any philosophy. For that more is asked of us living in freedom now, and harder tasks are set before us, listen to Christ saying, 'Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven.'1 Do not think then that to pray for death now is accounted blameless, but hear the voice of Paul saying 'To depart and to be with Christ is far better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.' 2 For as affliction is increased so are the crowns multiplied, as the fire is fiercer so is the gold more pure, as the voyage of the merchant is longer so the greater the goods he brings home. Do not then think that the labour now allotted to you is trivial, but rather that this affliction of the body is higher than all you have suffered. Saint John Chrysostom, from the Fourth Letter to Olympias 1 Mt 5. 20 2 Phil 1.23