Jars And Water And Wine

Et die tertio nuptiae factae sunt in Cana Galilaeae... Moraliter Nuptiae istae sunt Dei et Animae ipsa reconciliatone animae ad Deum. Oseae secundo: Sponsabo te mihi in fide, et scies, quia ego Dominus. Ad has nuptias faciendas venit Dominus Jesus, sed invitatus. Apocal tertio: Ecce ego sto ad ostium, et pulso, si quis audierit vocem meam, et aperuerit mihi januam, introibo ad illum, et coenabo cum illo. Vinum in his nuptiis defecit. Hoc vinum est interna devotio, de quo in Psal Vinum laetificat cor hominis. Et Matth nono: Nemo mittit vinum novum in utres veteres. Istud vinum deficit, cum homo efficitur aridus et indevotus, sicut dicit anima sancta in Psal Anima mea, sicut terra sine aqua, tibi. Sed ad preces Virginis, quae compatitur miseris, Dominus implet hydrias aqua compunctionis, quae convertitur in dulcedinem devotionis. Unde Exodo quinto decimo dicitur, quod aquae Marath in dulcedinem conversae sunt. Nota igitur, quod hyrdria, in qua hauritur aqua, est consideratio. Hydria vacua est consideratio defectus, et vacuitatis, quam incurrit homo per peccatum. Ista hydria impletur aqua, cum homo ex consideratione tali lacrymis perfunditur. Est igitur hydria prima consideratio defectus cognitionis; Tob quinto: Quale gaudium mihi erit, qui in tenebris sedeo, etc Secunda hydria consideratio defectus circumspectus circa hostem, secundae ad Cor. undecimo: Timeo autem, ne sicut serpens seduxit Hevam asturia sua, ita corrumpantur sensus vestri, et excidant a simplicitate, quae est in Christo. Tertia est consideratio defectus internae consolationis. Jer secundo: Vide quia malum, et amarum est, te reliquisse Dominum Deum tuum. Quarta est consideratio defectus virtutis ad resistendum; Psal Dereliquit me virtus mea, et lumen oculorum, et ipsum non est mecum. Quinta est consideratio defectus stabilitatis; Gen octavo: Sensus et cogitatio humani cordis in malum prona sunt ab adolescentia sua. Sexta est consideratio defectus securitatis ad proemium expectandum; Ecclesiastici nono: Nescit homo, utrum amore, an odio dignus fit. Tunc implentur istae hydriae aqua usque ad summum, quando anima poenitens lavat per singulas noctes ex his considerationibus, lectum suum. Et ex aqua vinum fit optimum devotionis, de quo Zach nono: Quid bonum ejus, et quid pulchrum ejus, nisi frumentum electorum, et vinum germinans virgines? In hoc converitur aqua compunctionis, unde sancta anima in Psal Convertisti planctum meum in gaudium mihi. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput II Source: Here, p507

On the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee... 1 Morally these nuptials are of God and the soul, in the reconciliation of the soul to God. In the second chapter of Hosea: 'I shall espouse you to me in faith, and you shall know I am the Lord.' 2 For the performance of these nuptials comes the Lord Jesus, even uninvited. In the third chapter of the Apocalypse: 'Behold I stand and the door and I knock, if someone hears my voice and opens the door to me, I shall enter and feast with him.' 3 The wine at the wedding ran out. This wine is internal devotion, concerning which in the Psalm: 'Wine which delights the heart of a man,' 4 and in the ninth chapter of Matthew: 'No one puts new wine in old wineskins.' 5 This wine runs out when a man is made arid and undevout, as the holy soul says in the Psalm, 'As a land without water to you,' 6 but to the prayers of the Virgin, who has compassion on your misery, the Lord fills the jars with the water of compunction, which are then turned into the sweetness of devotion. Whence in the fifteenth chapter of Exodus it is said that the waters of Mara turned sweet. 7 Therefore note that the jars from which the water is drawn is consideration. An empty jar is defective consideration and it holds nothing, and because of it a man hurries to sin. But this jar is filled with water when a man in such consideration is drenched with tears. Thus the first jar is consideration of defective knowledge. In the fifth chapter of Tobit, 'What joy shall there be for me who sit in darkness?' 8 The consideration of the second jar concerns the defect of wariness regarding the enemy. In the eleventh chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians: 'But I fear lest as the serpent seduced Eve with its cleverness, so your minds are corrupted and you are cut off from the simplicity which is in Christ.' 9 The third jar is the consideration of the defect of internal consolation. In the second chapter of Jeremiah: 'See that it is wicked and bitter that you have forsaken the Lord your God.' 10 The fourth consideration is the defect of virtue for resisting. In the Psalm: 'My virtue has gone from me, and the light of my eyes is not with me.' 11 The fifth consideration is of the defect of stability. In the eighth chapter of Genesis: 'The mind and thought of the human heart is inclined to wickedness from its youth.' 12 The sixth consideration is a defect in hope for the expected reward. In the ninth chapter of Ecclesiastes: 'A man does not know if he is worthy of love or hate.' 13 And then the jars are filled even to the brim when the penitent soul washes itself with these considerations each night on its own bed. And from this water is made the best wine of devotion, concerning which it is said in the ninth chapter of Zachariah: 'What is His good, and what is His beauty, unless the wheat of the elect and wine bringing forth virgins?' 14 One is changed into this by the water of compunction, whence the holy soul says in the Psalm: 'You turned my weeping into joy.' 5 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 2 1 Jn 2.1 2 Hosea 2.19 3 Apoc 3.10 4 Ps 103.15 5 Mt 9.17 6Ps 142.6 7 Exod 15.23 8 Tob 5.12 9 2 Cor 11.3 10 Jerem 2.19 11 Ps 37.11 12 Gen 8.21 13 Eccl 9.1 14 Zach 9.17 15 Ps 29.12

Help And Fear

Kύριος ἐμοὶ βοηθός οὐ φοβηθήσομαι τί ποιήσει μοι ἄνθρωπος... Ἔτι διδάσκεται ὁ Χρσιτοῠ λαὸς προσδοκᾷν μὲν ἐπιβουλὰς ἀνθρώπων, μὴ πτήσσειν δὲ αὐτὰς, μηδ' ἀγωνιᾷν, ἀλλὰ λέγειν· Κύριος ἐμοὶ βοηθὸς, καὶ τὰ ἐξῆς. Τοὺς δι' οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἐχθροὺς γενομένους τῷ λαῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἤ διὰ τὴν εὐσεβῆ γνῶσιν, καὶ τὴν κατὰ Θεὸν πολιτείαν. Ἐχροὺς δὲ λεκτέον ἀνθρώπους αἰσθητούς τε καὶ νοητοὺς, ἀσεβεῖς τε καὶ δαίμονας πονηρούς. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος ΡΙΖ´ Source: Migne PG 39.1157a

The Lord is my helper, I shall not fear what a man may do to me. 1 The people of Christ are taught to expect the plots of men, and that they should not be frightened of them, or incline to despair, but say, 'The Lord is my helper,' and the rest. For no other reason is there hostility to the people of God but because of their pious knowledge and fellowship with God. And one should call men enemies who in their senses and in their thoughts are impious and wicked demons. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 117 1 Ps 117.6

Entering The House

Ἐγὼ δὲ ἐν τῷ πλήθει τοῦ ἐλέους σου εἰσελεύσομαι εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου· προσκυνήσω πρὸς ναὸν ἅγιόν σου ἐν φόβῳ σου... Τῶν πονηρευομένων καὶ παρανόμων οὐ παροικούντων σοι, οὐδὲ διαμενόντων ὑπὸ τὴν θεωρίαν σου, ἐγὼ ἐλέῳ τῷ σῷ εἰσελεύσομαι εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ εἰπεῖν δυνήσομαι· Τὸ πρωῒ παραστήσομαί σοι, καὶ ἐπόψει με. Καὶ ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἄλλως ἢ ἐλέῳ τῷ σῷ εἰσελεύσομαι εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου, σὺν εὐλαβείᾳ πολλῇ ὀνομα ζομένῃ φόβῳ σου προσκυνήσω σοι πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ, ἐλθὼν πρὸς τὸν ἅγιόν σου ναόν. Ναὸς δὲ καὶ οἶκος Θεοῦ ἡ ἁγία καὶ ἐνάρετος κατάστασις, ἣν οἱ ἔχοντες μετὰ παῤῥησίας φασίν. Χριστὸς δὲ ὡς υἱὸς ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον αὑτοῦ, οὗ οἶκός ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς. Ἀλλὰ καὶ προσφωνοῦσιν ἑτέροις πιστοῖς γράφοντες· Ναὸς ἅγιός ἐστε, καὶ τὰ σώματα ὑμῶν ναὸς τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματός ἐστιν, οὗ ἔχετε ὑπὸ Θεοῦ. Πῶς γὰρ οὐκ οἶκος καὶ ναὸς Θεοῦ ὁ τηρῶν τὸν Ἰησοῦ λόγον, πρὸς ὃν ὁ Υἱὸς καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ μονὴν ποιοῦνται; Δυνατὸν καὶ τὴν ἐκκλησιαστικὴν γνώμην καὶ διδασκαλίαν οἶκον Κυρίου φάναι καὶ ναὸν αὐτοῦ. Δηλοῦται τοῦτο ἐκ τῶν γραφομένων Τιμοθέῳ· Ἵνα εἰδῇς πῶς δεῖ σε ἐν οἴκῳ Κυρίου ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ἥτις ἐστὶν Ἐκκλησία Θεοῦ ζῶντος. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμοὺς, Ψαλμός E' Source: Migne PG 12.1169c-1172a

For in the abundance of your mercy I shall enter into your house. I shall adore in your holy temple, in awe of you... 1 Since the wicked and inquitious do not dwell with you, nor do they remain in your sight, it is in your mercy that I shall enter into your house. For thus I shall be able to say: 'In the dawn I shall stand with you and you shall see me.' 2 Because I shall not enter into your house but by your mercy, and then with that great piety that is called 'awe of you,' I shall adore in spirit and truth, having entered into your holy temple. And the temple of God is holiness and the endowment of virtue, which he who has may speak with confidence. But Christ as the Son comes to the house and we are His house. So other faithful folk are told in the epistle: 'You are a holy temple and your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, which you have from God.' 3 For how is he not the house and temple of God, who keeps the word of Jesus and with whom the Father and the Son make their dwelling? 4 And then it is possible to call the law of the Church and its teaching the house of the Lord and His temple. This is made manifest from what is written to Timothy: 'That you know how you should conduct yourself in the Church of the living God.' 5 Origen, Selecta On the Psalms, from Psalm 5 1 Ps 5.8-9 2 Ps 5.5-6 3 1 Cor 6.19 4 Jn 14.23 5 2 Tim 3.15

Bringing Glory And Honour

Ἐνέγκατε τῷ Κύρίῳ δόξαν καὶ τιμήν... Ἐνέγκατε τῷ Κύρίῳ, φησὶ, δόξαν καὶ τιμήν. Πῶς οὖν ἡμεῖς, ἡ γῆ καὶ σποδὸς, τᾧ μεγαλῷ Κύρίῳ δόξαν προσφέρομεν; πῶς δὲ καὶ τιμήν; Δόξαν μὲν διὰ τῶν ἀγὰθῶν ἔργων, ὅταν λάμπῃ τὰ ἔργα ἡμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὥστε ἰδόντες τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τὰ ἔργα ἡμῶν δοξάσαι τὸν Πατέρα ἡμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Καὶ διὰ σωφροσύνης καὶ τοῦ ἐπιβάλλοντος τοῖς τὴν εὐσέβειαν ἐπαγγελομένοις ἁγιασμοῦ δοξάσαι δυνατόν ἐστι τὸν Θεὸν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Παύλου παραίνεσιν, λέγοντος· Δοξάσατε δὴ τὸν Θεὸν ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ὑμῶν. Ταύτην καὶ ἀπειτεῖ παρὰ τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν πιστευόντων καὶ τῷ χαρίσματι τῆς υἱοθεσίας τετιμημένων τὴν δόξαν ὁ Κύριος. Υἱὸς γὰρ φησὶν, δοξὰζει πατέρα· καὶ Εἰ πατήρ εἰμι ἐγὼ, ποῦ ἔστιν ἡ δόξα μου; Τιμὴν δὲ φέρει τῷ Θεῷ ὁ κατὰ τὴν Παροιμίαν τιμῶν τὸν Θεὸν ἀπὸ τῶν δικαίων ἑαυτοῦ πόνων, καὶ ἀπαρχόμενος αὐτῷ ἀπὸ καρπῶν αὐτοῦ δικαιοσύνης. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον Ψαλμον ΚΗ´ Source: Migne PG 29.283b-c

Bring to the Lord glory and honour... 1 'Bring to the Lord,' he says 'glory and honour.' And how do we, who are earth and ash, bring glory to the Lord on High? How do we bring Him honour? It is by  glory through good works, when our deeds shine before men, so that they who know our works give glory to our Father in heaven. 2 And similarly by temperance and holiness, to those who profess piety, it is possible that there shall come praise to God, according to the exhortation of Paul, who says, 'Glorify God in your members.' 3 Indeed this is the glory that God requires from those who believe in Him, and who are worthy of the gift of adoption. 'For a son,' it is said, 'glorifies the father.' And 'If I am a father where is my glory?' 4 He who brings glory to God, according to Proverbs, is he who honours God by his righteous labours and gives to Him the first fruits of his righteousness. 5 Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 28 1 Ps 28.2 2 Mt 5.16 3 1 Cor 5.20 4 Malachi 2.6 5 Prov 3.9

The Crowds Below

Et descendente eo de monte, sequutae sunt eum turbae multae... Vide quia super montem discipuli tantum dicuntur ascendisse ad Jesum: descendente autem eo de monte, sequntae sunt eum turbae, et merito multae turbae: quia mons est virtutis fastigum, cacumen Ecclesiae, in quo appropinquare Christo non possunt turbae, vel peccatis gravatae, vel curis mundialibus oneratae. Nec possunt imitari Christum, nec sublimes audire sermones, qui dicuntur in monte: sed soli dicipuli, qui a passionibus vitiorum liberi sunt, qui curis mundialibus onerati non sunt. Propterea, quasi leves et expediti, ad Christum accedere possunt, facti imitatores ejus in omnibus, ut sublimiores sermones ipsius possint audire. Et tamen cum descenderet ad humilia de altitudine pietatis propter infirmitatem hominum sequi eum non potentium super montem, tunc sequuntur eum turbae multae. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXI Source: Migne PG 56.747

And when He came down from the mountain great crowds followed him... 1 Observe that only the disciples are said to have gone up to Jesus, but when He came down from the mountain, crowds followed Him, and rightly 'great crowds,' because the mountain is the height of virtue, the summit of the Church, where the crowds cannot approach Christ, because they are weighed down by sins, or burdened with the cares of the world. They cannot imitate Christ, nor hear the sublime words which are spoken on the mountain, but only the disciples can, who have been freed from the passions of the vices, who are not burdened with mundane concerns. Because of which, being light and unencumbered, they can come near to Christ, having been made imitators of Him in all things, so that they can listen to His sublime words. And yet when He goes down to the lowly from the heights of piety, because of the weakness of men who are unable to follow him on the mountain, then great crowds follow Him. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 21 1 Mt 8.1

A Beast Before You

Kτηνώδης ἐγενόμην παρὰ σοί, καὶ ἐγὼ διὰ παντὸς μετὰ σοῦ... ̓Οὐκ ἁπλῶς δὲ, Κτηνώδης, εἶπεν, ἐγενήθην, ἀλλα παρὰ σοι. Ὡς γὰρ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα τῆς σοφίας καὶ Θεὸν της γνώσεως πᾶν ἀγνοεῖ γενητὸν, καὶ Μωῦσης γὰρ ἰδῶν τὸν Θεὸν ἔφη· Ἐγὼ ἄλογός εἰμι ἰκανὸς πρὸ χθὲς καὶ τρίτης ἀφ' οὖ ἦρξας λαλεῖν τῷ θεραποντί σου ἰσχνόφωνος καὶ βραδύγλωσσος ἐγώ εἰμι, οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς εἶπεν λογίωτατος, ἀλλ' ἀφ' οὗ ἦρξας λαλεῖν τῷ θεράποντί σου. Πρὶν γὰρ ἀκοῦσαι θείας φωνῆς δοκεῖ τις λόγοις ὀξύς τε καὶ μεγαλόφωνος εἶναι. Καὶ Ἀβραὰμ ἔλεγε πρὸς τὸν Κτίστην· Ἐπεὶ ἠρξάμην λαλεῖν πρὸς τὸν Κύριον, ἐγὼ δέ εἰμι γῆ καὶ σποδὸς, ὅπερ ἠγνόει πρὶν λαλῆσαι Θεῷ. Τοιοῦτος καὶ ὁ κτηνώδης παρ' αὐτῷ, μὴ γιγνώσκων ὀμοίως τὸ προνοοῦντι Θεῷ. Διαπαντὸς δὲ μετ' αὐτοῦ, ὁ διαπαντὸς κατορθῶν ἀρετὴν καὶ πᾶσαν εὐσέβειαν ἄνευ τινὸς περὶ ταύτης ἀνωμαλίας ἐν διαλείμμασιν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος ΟΒ' Source: Migne PG 39.1470c-d

I am made a beast before you, and I am always with you. 1 He does not say only, 'I am made a beast,' but also, 'before you.' For before the Father of wisdom and the God of knowledge every created thing is ignorant. Moses beholding God says, 'I am not eloquent, either before or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am clumsy of speech and tongue.' 2 Not absolutely does this most eloquent man speak, but 'since you have spoken to your servant,' For before he heard the Divine voice he judged himself to be skilled and celebrated in eloquence. Abraham also said to the Creator: 'Since I have begun to speak to my Lord, I am but earth and ash.' 3 which he did not know before he spoke to God. Such is the beast before Him, not having understanding like the providence of God. 'I am always with you.' He is always with Him who guards virtue and all piety, without any alteration in persistence in this. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 72 1 Ps 72.23 2 Exod 4.10 3 Genes 18.17

Saints And Damnation

Quomodo fugietis a judicio gehennae? Numquid sepulcra sanctorum aedificantes, an potius a malitia corda vestra mundates; numquid sic judicat Deus, quomodo judicat homo? Homo hominem judicat in opere, Deus autem in corde. Quae est autem ista justitia sanctos colere, et contemnere sanctitatem? Primus gradus est pietatis sanctitaem diligere, deinde sanctos, quia non sancti ante sanctitatem fuerunt, sed sanctitas ante sanctos. Sine causa ergo justos honorat, qui justitiam spernit. Quomodo fugietis? Nunquid liberabunt vos sancti, quorum monumenta ornatis? Non possunt sancti amici esse illorum, quibus Deus est inimicus Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Matthaeum, Liber VII Source: Migne PL 107.1073b-c

How shall you escape from being sentenced to hell? 1 Are you builders of the tombs of the holy rather than cleansers of your hearts of wickedness? Does God judge as man judges? A man judges a man by his work, God judges the heart. Where is the righteousness in revering the saints and scorning sanctity? The first step of piety is to love holiness, then the saints, because they are no saints before sanctity, but sanctity comes before the saints. Without sense, then, do you honour the righteous, you who scorn righteousness. How shall you escape? Shall the saints free you because you adorn their tombs? Those who are  holy cannot be a friend of those to whom God is an enemy. 2 Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 7 1 Mt 23.33 2 cf Opus Imperfectum, Hom xlv Migne PG 56.889

The Church Of Rome

Vultis scire, o Paula et Eustochium, quomodo Apostolus unamquamque provinciam suis proprietatibus denotarit? Usque hodie eadem vel virtutum vestigia permanent, vel errorum. Romanae plebis laudatur fides. Ubi alibi tanto studio et frequentia, ad Ecclesias et ad Martyrum sepulcra concurritur? ubi sic ad similitudinem coelestis tonitrui Amen reboat, et vacua idolorum templa quatiuntur? Non quod aliam habeant Romani fidem, nisi hanc quam omnes Christi Ecclesiae: sed quod devotio in eis major sit, et simplicitas ad credendum. Rursum facilitatis et superbiae arguuntur. Facilitatis, ut ibi: Rogo vos, fratres, ut observetis eos qui dissensiones et offendicula, praeter doctrinam quam vos didicistis, faciunt; et declinate ab illis: hujusmodi enim Christo Domino non serviunt, sed suo ventri; et per dulces sermones et benedictiones seducunt corda innocentium. Vestra enim obedientia in omnem locum pervulgata est. Gaudeo igitur in vobis: et volo vos sapientes esse in bono, et simplices in malo. Superbiae vero: Noli altum sapere, sed time. Et: Nolo vos ignorare, fratres, mysterium hoc, ut non sitis ipsi vobis sapientes. Et in sequentibus: Dico enim per gratiam quae data est mihi, omnibus qui sunt inter vos: non plus sapere quam oportet sapere; sed sapere ad sobrietatem. Et apertius: Gaudere cum gaudentibus, flere cum flentibus. Idipsum invicem sentientes. Non alta sapientes; sed humilibus consentientes. Nolite esse prudentes apud vosmetipsos. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Epistolam ad Galatas, Liber II Source: Migne PL 26.355b-356a

Do you wish to know, O Paula and Eustochium how the Apostle describes each province according to its own characteristic? Even until today remain the same traces of virtues, or errors. The faith of the Roman people is praised. 1 Where else do they hurry to the Churches and tombs of the Martyrs with such zeal and so often? Where else does Amen resound like a thunderclap in the sky, and where else are the empty temples of idols shaken? Not that the Romans have a different faith to that which all Christ's Churches have, but their devotion is greater and also their simplicity in belief. Yet they are rebuked for their pliability and pride. For pliability, where Paul says: 'I ask you, brothers, that you watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstructions contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them; such folk do not serve the Lord Christ but their own appetites. By charming talk and flattery they seduce the hearts of the innocent. Your obedience is known everywhere. Therefore I rejoice over you and wish you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil.' 2 And for pride where he says: 'Do not have high minds, but fear.' 3 And: 'I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be wise to yourselves.' And later on: 'By the grace which has been given to me, I say to every one of you: do not know more than you should know, think soberly.' 4 And more openly: 'Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise to yourselves.' 5 Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Letter to the Galatians, Book 2 1 Rom 1.8 2 Rom 16.17-19 3 Rom 2.20, 25 4 Rom 12.3 5 Rom 12.15-16

Various Services

Vos autem curam omnem inferentes, ministrate in fide vestra virtutem. Virtutem hoc loco non pro fortitudine ne ac miraculis, sed pro conversatione bona posuit; quae fidei recte jungenda est, ne sine operibus otiosa sit et mortua: in quo recte omnem curam subinferri praecepit, quia qui mollis et dissolutus est in opere suo, frater est sua opera destruentis. In virtute autem scientia. Juxta illud Isaiae: Discite bene facere quaerite judicium. In scientia autem abstinentiam. Ut cum bona facere didicerint, mox a malis abstineant, ne in vaccum scientia coelestium cadat, si se ab illecebris terrestribus quis continere neglexerit. In abstinentia autem patientiam. Abstinentiam necesse est semper, ut patientia comitetur, ut quicunque a voluptatibus mundi se continere didicit, ejus quoque adversa corde firmo sustineat, a dextris videlicet et a sinistris per arma justitiae munitus In pietate autem amorem fraternitatis Ut non alterius rei intuitu pietatis opera suis quisque adversaris impendat, nisi fraternae tantum dilectionis. Hoc, videlicet, tota in tentatione procurans, ut quos docendo solum vel redarguendo nequit, ad affectum pietatis orando vel bene faciendo convertat. In amore autem fraternitatis, charitatem. Charitatem hoc loco appellat specialiter eam qua Conditorem diligimus, quae, proficientibus virtutum gradibus, merito amori fraternitatis adjungitur, quia nec Deus sine proximo, nec sine Deo proximus perfecte valet amari. Et quidem Dei amor excellentior est amore proximorum, quia illos sicut nos, Deum vero ex toto corde, tota anima, tota virtute diligere jubemur sed tamen consuetudine amoris fraterni oportet nos ad amorem Conditoris ascendere. 'Qui enim non diligit fratrem suum quem videt, Deum quem non videt quomodo potest diligere? Sanctus Beda, In Secundam Epistolam Petri Source: Migne PL 93.70

And you, attentive with all care, serve your faith with virtue. 1 Virtue here does not mean fortitude or miracles, but it is given as a turning to goods, which is rightly joined with faith, for without works faith is useless and dead, 2 to which he rightly commands all care be given, because he who is weak and dissolute in his works, so his works are the brother of destruction. 'And virtue with knowledge.' As according to Isaiah: 'Learn to do well, seek judgement.' 3 'And knowledge with abstinence.' That when we have learned to do good deeds, so we will abstain from evil ones. Heavenly knowledge will fall into emptiness if a man neglects to withdraw from worldly depravity. 'And abstinence with endurance.' With abstinence it is always necessary to associate endurance, that anyone who has learned to withdraw from the pleasures of the world also strengthen his heart against adversities, on the right and the left being equipped with the arms of righteousness. 4 'And piety with fraternal love.' That the works of piety be done to enemies and not for any other thing but only on account of fraternal love. Indeed this is to be looked to in all trials, so that those a man is unable to refute with teaching alone, he convert by the affection of piety in prayer or good deeds. 'And fraternal love with charity.' Here he names charity, especially that by which we love the Creator, by which, advancing up the steps of virtue, by merit is joined to fraternal love, for neither God without neighbour, nor neighbour without God is able to be perfectly loved. And certainly the love of God is more excellent than the love of neighbours because they, like ourselves, are commanded to love God with the whole heart and the whole soul, 5 but the habit of fraternal love should lead up to the love of the Creator. 'For he who does not love his brother whom he sees, how shall he love God whom he does not see?' 6 Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the Second Letter of St Peter 1 2 Pet 1.5 2 James 2.14-17 3 Isaiah 1.17 4 Ephes 6.10-17 5 Mk 12.30 6 1 Jn 4.20

A Good Father

Εἴπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ψενθαῖσιος καὶ ὁ ἀββὰς Σοῦρος καὶ Ψώῖος, ὅτι Ἀκούοντες τῶν λόγων τοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν τοῦ ἀββᾶ Παχωμίου μεγάλως ὠφελούμεθα, εἰς ζῆλον ἀγαθῶν ἔργων διεγειρόμενοι. Ὁρῶντες δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ σιωπῶντος τὴν πρᾶξιν λόγον οὖσαν, ἐθαυμάζομεν, πρὸς ἀλλήλους λέγοντες, ὅτι Ἐνομίζομεν πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους οὕτως πεποιεῐσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς αὐτῶν ἁγίους καὶ ἀτρέπτους, καὶ οὐχὶ αὐτεξουσίους· καὶ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς μὴ δυναμένους ζῆν εὐσεβῶς, διὰ τὸ οὕτως κτισθῆναι αὐτούς. Ἄτρι δὲ βλέπομεν τὴν ἀγαθότητα τοῦ Θεοῦ φανερῶς ἐπὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν τούτο· ὅτι ἐξ Ἑλλήνων γονέων ὤν, τοσοῦτον θεοσεβὴς γέγονε, καὶ πάσας τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐνδεδυμένος ἐστὶν. Οὐκοῦν καὶ ἡμεῖς δυνάμεθα καὶ πάντες ἀκολουθῆναι αὐτῷ, ἀνθ' ὤν ἀκολουθεῖ τοῖς ἁγίοις· Ἅρα τὸ γεγραμμένον τοῦτό ἐστι· Δεῦτε πρὸς μὲ, πάντες οἱ κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι, κἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς. Συναποθάνωμεν οὖν καὶ συζήσωμεν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τούτῳ, ὅτι ὀρθῶς ὁδηγεῖ ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν. Ἄποφθέγματα των Αγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Ελενουπόλεως Source: Migne PG 65.436d-437a

Abba Psenthaisius, Abba Suras and Abba Psoius said: 'By listening to the words of our Father, Abba Pachomius, we were greatly helped and roused to zeal for good works. And seeing that even the act of his silence was a lesson, we were amazed and said to one other: 'We thought that all the holy ones were created so by God and never changed from the womb of their mother, not by their own will, and that sinners could not live devoutly, because they had been made so. But now we see the goodness of God manifest in our father, for he is of pagan parents and he has become so pious, and he is endowed with all the commandments of God. Thus even we can follow him as he followed the holy ones. Truly it is written: 'Come to me, all you who labour and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.' 1 Let us die and let us live with this man, then, because he has led us to God in the right way.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia 1 Matt. 11.28

Love And Suffering

Πᾶσα θλῖψις κατὰ Θεὸν, ἔργον ἐστὶν εὐσεβείας ἐνυπόστατον· ἡ γὰρ ἀληθινὴ ἀγάπη δι' ἐναντίων δοκιμάζεται. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ  Source: Migne PG 65 913b

All suffering for the sake of God is certainly a most pious work, for true love is proved in adversity. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law.

Anna The Widow

Docuit igitur Scriptura quantam collatio conferat gratiam, quantum etiam sit munus divinae benedictionis in viduis. Quibus quoniam honorificentia a Deo tanta confertur, est advertere qualis debeat vita competere; docet enim Anna quales deceat esse viduas, quae immaturo mariti obitu destituta, maturae tamen adoream laudis invenit: non minus religionis officio, quam studio castitatis intenta. Vidua, inquit, octoginta et quator annorum, vidua quae non discederet de templo, vidua quae jejuniis et obsecrationibus die ac nocte serviret. Vides qualis vidua praedicetur, unius viri uxor, aetatis quoque jam probata processu, vivida religioni, et effeta jam corpore: cui diversorium in templo, colloquium in prece, vita in jejunio: quae dierum noctiumque temporibus indefessae devotionis obsequio, cum corporis agnosceret senectutuem, pietatis tamen nesciret aetatem. Sic instituitur a juventute vidua, sic praedicatur in senectute veterana: quae viduitatem non occasione temporis, non imbecillitate corporis, sed virtutis magnanimitate servaverit. Etenim cum dicit septem annis eam cum viro fuisse a virginitate sua, ad adolescentiae utique studiis inchoata predicat subsidia senectutis. Docemur itaque triplicem castitatis esse virtutem: unam conjugalem, aliam viduitatis, tertiam virginitatis; non enim aliam sic praedicamus, ut excludamus alias. Suis quibusque professionibus ista conducunt. In hoc Ecclesiae est opulens disciplina, quod quos praeferat, habet: quos rejiciat, non habet; atque utinam habere numquam possit. Ita igitur virginitatem praedicavimus ut viduas non rejiceremus: ita viduas honoramus, ut suus honos conjugio reservetur. Non nostra hoc praecepta, sed divina testimonia docent. Reminsicamur itaque quemadmodum Maria, quemadmodum Anna, quemadmodum Susanna laudentur. Sed quoniam non laudes earum tantummodo praedicandae sunt, sed disciplinae etiam sunt sequendae, reminiscamur ubi Susanna, ubi Anna, ubi Maria, sint repertae: et advertamus quemadmodum singulae aptis laudibus praedicentur, ut ubinam commorentur: nupta in paradiso, vidua in templo, virgo in secreto. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Viduis, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 16. 241b-242b

Scripture therefore teaches how much grace is given by unity, and how great is the gift of divine blessing in widows. And since such honour is given to them by God, we should observe what sort of life they pursue. Now Anna shows what widows ought to be, she who was left destitute by the early loss of her husband and yet found the reward of full praise, intent not less on the duties of religion than on the care for chastity. A widow, it says, of eighty four years, a widow who did not depart from the temple, a widow who served night and day with fasting and with prayers. 1 You see how a widow is spoken of: the wife of one man, tried also by the advance of age, vigorous in religion even though worn out in body, whose station is the temple, whose conversation is prayer, whose life is fasting, she who through the hours of day and night by a service of unwearied devotion, though the body admit old age, yet she knows no age in piety. So is a widow trained from her youth, so she is spoken of in her old age, she who has guarded her widowhood not by the chance of time, nor by weakness of body, but by magnanimity in virtue. For when it is said that she was seven years from her virginity with her man, it shows us that the things which are the support of her old age began in the zeal of her youth. And so we are taught that the virtue of chastity is threefold, one kind is the married life, the second widowhood, and the third virginity, for we do not exhort one to exclude the others. Each with its own profession leads onward together.  In this the discipline of the Church is rich, that it has those whom it may set before others, but has none whom it rejects, and that it were that it never had any. Thus we have spoken of virginity so that we do not reject widowhood, thus we reverence widows so that we reserve wedlock its own honour. It is not our commands but the Divine sayings which teach this. Let us remember how Mary, how Anna, and how Susanna are praised. But since we must not only tell their praises but also follow their discipline, let us remember where Susanna, 2 and where Anna, 3 and where Mary 4 are found, and note how each is spoken of with her special commendation, and in which place each is mentioned, she that is married in the garden, the widow in the temple, the virgin in her secret chamber Saint Ambrose, On Widows, Chap 4 1 Lk 2.36-37 2 Dan 13.7 3 Lk 2.38 4 Lk 1.28

Priests And Bridges

Cur igitur Pontifices dicemus, qui se caeteris pontes non faciunt ? Pontifex vero dicitur, qui supra mare hujus mundi factus est pons, usque ad Deum et proximum pertingens. Usque ad Deum pertingit, ex fiducia qua non suam sed illius gloriam quaerit. Usque ad proximum, ex pietate qua ipsi non soli sibi prodesse desiderat. Sed numquid tales isti? Quis insensatus dicit pontem, quem nullae juvant bases, quem mare cadentem recipit, et se profundius involvit.  Petrus Blenensis, Tractatus Quales Sunt, Caput XIV Source:  Migne PL 207.1014a

Why, therefore, shall we call them priests (pontifices) who do not make themselves bridges (pontes) for others? Truly he is a 'Pontifex' who over the sea of this world builds a bridge, stretching to God and to his neighbour. He reaches to God by the faith which does not seek its own glory but God's. He reaches to his neighbour by the piety which does not desire to profit itself alone. But are there such men? Who is so foolish to name something a bridge, the foundations of which offer no support, which the sea receives in its falling, and drags it down into its depths? Peter of Blois, Tractate On What Sort of Things They Are, Chapter 14

Nearing The Lord

Appropinquate Deo et appropinquabit vobis. Appropinquate Domino per humilitatem ejus vestigia sectando, et appropinquabit vobis per misericordiam, vos de angustia liberando. Non enim regionibus longe est quisque a Deo, sed affectibus. Namque uno commorantes terrae loco, is qui virtutibus studet, et is qui defluit sordibus vitiorum, longe est a Deo, alius proximum habet Deum. Unde et Psalmista dicit: Prope est Deus omnibus invocantibus eum in veritate. Rursumque: Longe est a peccatoribus salus. Illa utique salus cui canimus: Dominus illuminatio mea et salus mea, quem timebo? Et ipse Dominus, cum nos sibi appropinquare suaderet dicens: Venite ad me, omnes qui laboratis et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos, continuo quia non hoc pedibus, sed actibus esset implendum demonstravit, cum subdidit: Tollite jugum meum super vos, et discite a me quia mitis sum, et humilis corde. Emundate manus, peccatores, et purificate corda, duplices animo. Hoc est veraciter Domino nos appropinquare, operis videlicet munditiam, et cordis simplicitatem habere. Innocens, inquit, manibus et mundo corde, hic accipiet benedictionem a Domino, et misericordiam. Et hoc est veraciter Dominum appropinquare nobis, suae nobis dona pietatis simpliciter quaerentibus dare. Sanctus enim Spiritus disciplinae effugiet fictum, et auferet se a cognitionibus quae sunt sine intellectu. Sanctus Beda, Super Divi Jacobi Epistolam, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 93 34

Draw near to God and He shall draw near to you. 1 Draw near to the Lord by the humility that adheres to His way, and He shall draw near to you by mercy, liberating you from distress. God is not far from anyone in respect of space, but by condition. For remaining in one place in the earth, one man exerts himself in virtues and one man tumbles into filthy vices, and one is far from God and the other is near God. Whence the Psalmist says, 'God is near to all those who invoke him in truth.' 2 And again, 'Salvation is far from sinners.' 3 That salvation concerning which we sing, 'The Lord my enlightenment and my salvation, whom shall I fear?' 4 And the Lord Himself has encouraged us to draw near to Him, saying, 'Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I shall give you rest.' and immediately, to show that this is fulfilled with deeds and not feet, He adds, 'Take my yoke on you, and learn from me, because I am meek and humble in heart.' 5 Clean your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, deceitful in soul. This is truly to come near the Lord, to have cleanliness in works and simplicity of heart. It says, 'He who has innocent hands and a clean heart, he shall receive a blessing from God and mercy. 6 And this is truly to bring the Lord near to us, that He give to us who seek sincerely the gifts of His own piety. 'For the Holy Spirit flees the fiction of discipline and He takes himself away from the thoughts of those who are without understanding.' 7 Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the Letter of Saint James, Chapter 4  1 Jam 4.8 2 Ps 144.18 3 Ps 118.155 4 Ps 26.1 5 Mt 11.28-29 6 Ps 25.11? 7 Wis 1.5

Piety And Works

Ὅταν ὁ νοῦς τοῦ τῆς εὐσεβείας σκοποῦ ἐπιλάθηται, τότε τὸ προφανὲς ἔργον τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀνόνητον γίνεται. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source:  Migne PG 65 937

When the mind neglects to give attention to piety then evidently the work of virtue becomes worthless. Saint Mark The Ascetic, from On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works.

Destruction And Protection

Minitatus est praeterea quod deleret hominem: Ab homine, inquit, usque ad pecus, et a reptilibus usque ad volatilia coeli delebo. Quid laeserant irrationabilia? Sed quia propter hominem illa facta erant, eo utique deleto propter quem facta sunt, consequens erat ut etiam illa delerentur; quia non erat qui his uteretur. Sensu autem altiore illud manifestatur, quia homo mens est quae est rationis capax; homo enim definitur animal vivum, mortale, rationale. Principali igitur exstincto, etiam sensus omnis exstinguitur; eo quod nihil reliqui ad salutem supersit, cum salutis fundamentum virtus defecerit. Ad condemnationem autem caeterorum, et ad expressionem pietatis divinae dicitur Noe apud Deum gratiam invenisse. Simul ostenditur quod hominem justum non obumbret aliorum offensio, quando ipse ad totius generis reservatur seminarium, qui non generationis nobilitate, sed justitiae et perfectionis merito laudatur. Probati enim viri genus virtutis prosapia est; quia sicut hominum genus homines, ita animarum genus virtutes sunt. Etenim familiae hominum splendore generis nobilitantur: animarum autem clarificatur gratia splendore virtutis. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Noe et Arca, Caput IV

God threatened more than to destroy man, for He said, 'From man even to cattle and from reptiles unto the birds of heaven I shall make an end. ' 1 But why harm irrational things? Because all these things were made for man and because of the destruction of that for which they were made, it follows that even they shall be destroyed because he would not be who would make use of them. And yet this manifests a higher sense, because man is mind which is capable of reason, and man is defined as a living animal, mortal and rational. So with his first part destroyed even all his senses are destroyed, by which nothing remains that can be saved, that is, when virtue the foundation of salvation has perished. For while others received condemnation, Noah, on account of piety, is said to had found grace with God. At the same time it is shown the righteous man is not blotted out by the offense of others, for he is reserved for the reseeding of the generations, a man who was not of noble lineage, but is praised with the merit of accomplished righteousness. Approved men are of the family of virtue, because  as men are of the family of man, so the family of souls is virtue. The families of men are ennobled by the splendour of their line, the grace of souls shine with the splendour of the virtues. Saint Ambrose, On Noah and the Ark, Chap 4 1 Gen 6.7

Words And Deeds

Ὁ Κύριος ἀπεφήνατο, ὅτι Τοῖς λέγουσί μοι ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, γνωρίζεσθαι ὑπ' ἐμοῦ, ἀποκρινοῦμαι, ὅτι Οὐκ οἴδα ὑμᾶς· διότι λόγῳ μὲν τὴν εὐσεβειαν ἐτιμᾶτε, ἔργῳ δὲ τὰ φαῦλα μετήρχεσθε. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΛϚ', Σεραπιωνι Πρεσβυτερῳ

The Lord declared: 'To those who say to me on that day that they are known by me, I shall reply, I do not know you,' 1 that is, to those who honour piety in words alone but partake of depraved deeds. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 136, To the Priest Serapion 1 Mt 7.22-23

Avoiding Snares

Multi enim laquei quacumque progredimur. Laquei in corpore, laquei in Lege, laquei in pinnis templorum, in crepidinibus pariteum tenduntur a diabolo. Laquei in philosophis, laquei in cupiditatibus; oculus enim meretricis laqueus est peccatoris: laqueus in pecunia, laqueus in religione, laqueus in studio castitatis. Exiguis enim momentis mens inclinatur humana, et huc atque illuc per versutias suadentis frequenter impellitur. Videt aliquem diabolus religiosum virum, Deo venerabiliter deferentem, et quod sacrosanctum est aestimantem, nullius capacem injuriae; in ipsa eum religione supplantat, ut faciat non credere quod Dei Filius vere hanc nostram susceperit carnem, hoc nostrum corpus, hanc nostrorum membrorum fragilitatem; cum utique passio corporis fuerit, divinitas exsors injuriae manserit. Ita de religione fit culpa; omnis enim qui negat Jesum Christum in carne venisse, de Deo non est. Videt integrum et illibatae castimoniae virum, suadet ut nuptias damnet; quo ejiciatur ab ecclesia, et studio castitatis a casto corpore separetur. Audivit alius quia Unus Deus ... ex quo omnia, adorat, atque veneratur. Insidiatur ei diabolus, claudit aures ne audiat, quia Unus Deus per quem omnia: ita nimia pietate impium esse compellit; ut dum Patrem a Filio separat, Patrem Filiumque confundat, et personam unam putet esse, non potestatem. Itaque dum mensuram fidei nescit, perfidiae incurrit aerumnam. Quomodo igitur hos laqueos evitabimus; ut possimus et nos dicere: Anima nostra sicut passer erepta est de laqueo venantium: laqueus contritus est, et nos liberati sumus? Non dicit: Ego contrivi laquem: non ausus est hoc dicere,  David sed: Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini; ut ostenderet unde laqueus solveretur. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Evangelii secundum Lucam, Liber IV

Many are the snares which we pass through. Snares of the body, of the Law, of the parapet of the temple, of the foundation of the walls, set by the devil. Snares in philosophy, snares in desires, for the eye of the harlot is a trap for the sinner, a snare in money, a snare in piety, a snare in zeal for chastity. For every moment the mind of man shifts, and from one thing to another by cunning persuasion he is often driven. Sometimes the devil sees the religious man, one who thinks respectfully of God, one who judges Him to be inviolable and having no capacity for injury, and in his faith he trips him, that he makes him doubt that the Son of God truly took up our flesh, our body, our fragile members, and undergoing the passions of the body the Divine part remained uninjured. So from faith he makes fault, for everyone who denies that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is not of God. 1 Then he sees the upright and immovable man of chastity and he persuades him to condemn marriage, by which he is cast out of the Church and by zeal for chastity he is separated from the chaste body. Another hears that there is one God from whom are all things, and he adores and venerates, and the devil laying in wait blocks his ears lest he then hear that there is one God through whom is all things, 2 and thus by excessive piety to impiety he is driven, for separating the Father from the Son, the Father and the Son he confuses, and he thinks there is but one person, not power. Thus while he does not grasp the measure of faith, he runs into the wretchedness of treachery. How then shall we avoid these snares, that we can say, 'Our soul like a sparrow was seized from the trap of the hunter; He broke the trap and freed us?  3 He does not say, 'I broke the trap,' he does not dare say this, but David says, 'Our help is in the name of the Lord,' 4 that he show how the trap may be destroyed. Saint Ambrose, On The Gospel of Luke, Book 7  1 2 Jn 7  2 1 Cor 8.6  3 Ps 123.7  4 Ps 123.8

Suffering and Reward

Τίς ἐστιν ἄνθωπος ὁ φοβούμενος τὸν Κύριον; νομοθετήσει αὐτῷ ἐν ὁδῷ ἦ ἠρετίσατο. Ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ ἐν ἀγαθοῖς αὐλισθήσεται, καὶ τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ κληρονομήσει γῆν.  Ἀκουέτω, φησὶ πᾶς ὁ φοβούμενος τὸν Κύριον, μίαν τε ὁδὸν ἤν ἄν ἒλοιτο διαπορευόμενος, τί αὐτὸν περιμένει. Νῦν μὲν κακοπαθήσει, οἴα εἰκὸς, ἐγγυμναζόμενος τοῖς τῆς θεοσεβείας ἄθλοις· ἔσται δὲ καιρὸς ὁπηνίκα ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ ἐν ἀγαθοῖς αὐλισθήσεται· ποίοις δὲ ἀγαθοῖς ἤ περὶ ὦν εἴρηται· Ἄ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἴδε, καὶ τὰ ἐξῆς; Τό γε μὲν σπέρμα, ὅπερ κατεβάλετο ἐν τῇ γῇ καθ' ὄν ἐπολιτεύετο ἐπὶ γῆς χρόνον, πολλοὺς κληρονομήσει, σωτηρίας αἴτιον γινόμενον πολλοῖς. Σπερμα δὲ τί ἂν εἴποις ἢ τὴν διδασκαλίαν καὶ τοὺς λόγους καὶ τὰ συγγράμματα, ἤ τοὺς κατὰ Θεὸν αὐτῷ γεννηθέντας καὶ μαθητευθέντας ἄνδρας; δι' ὦν καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐν ἀγαθοῖς ἀναπαυσιν αῡτοῦ μυρίοι τῆς παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ κληρονομίας τεύξονται, ἅτε ἀγαθῶν σπερμάτων τυχόντες καὶ ὠφελημένοι τὴν ἔνθεον καρποφορίαν. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους. ψαλμος ΚΔ'

Who is the man that fears the Lord? He shall establish the law in him in the way which he has chosen. His soul in good things shall dwell, and his seed shall inherit the earth. 1  Let him hear, he says, who fears the Lord, that there is one way which he has chosen for entry that these things shall come to be. And now indeed it seems he suffers troubles who is nearing the rewards of piety, but the time will come when his soul dwells in good things. And what may these good things be unless concerning which it is said, 'Which the eye has not seen,' and so on? 2 And the seed, which is thrown down on the earth during his time of struggle in the world, shall inherit much, for it will be a cause of salvation for many. And what would you say the seed is, unless teaching and words and writings by which men are born and educated according to God? Countless numbers established to inherit from God, after he achieves rest in good things, since from good seed rises the reward of those who bear Divine fruit. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 24 1 Ps 24.12-13 2 1 Cor 2.9

Works and Knowledge

Ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος θεοῦ σύνεσις δὲ ἀγαθὴ πᾶσι τοῖς ποιοῦσιν αὐτήν εὐσέβεια δὲ εἰς θεὸν ἀρχὴ αἰσθήσεως σοφίαν δὲ καὶ παιδείαν ἀσεβεῖς ἐξουθενήσουσιν. Ἀληθὴς γὰρ φόβος, ἡ κατὰ σεβὰσμον εὐλαβεια· σύνεσις δὲ, ἀγαθή. Εἰς τόδε ὑποστικτέον. Οὐκ ἀρκεί γὰρ εἰς μακαριότητα τὸ εἰδῆναι τὸ αγαθὸν εἰ μὴ καὶ πράττοι τις αὐτό· εὐσέβεια δὲ εἰς Θεὸν, ἀρχὴ συνέσεως. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Παροιμιας

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God and there is good understanding to all that practice it, and piety toward God is the beginning of discernment, but the ungodly will reject wisdom and instruction. 1 For true fear in religion is reverence, and good is the understanding. Here one must pause. For one does not rise to blessedness by the knowledge of goodness if one does not practice it. So reverence to God is the beginning of knowledge. Didymus the Blind, On Proverbs, fragment 1 Proverbs 1.7