Four Types Of Tears

Beati qui lugent, quoniam ipsi consolabuntur. Notandum autem quod quattor modis fit planctus sanctorum, cum priora peccata deplorant cum in infernum cadentes plangunt, cum in peccatis viventes, cum pro desiderio regni coelestis admodum tristes fiunt, et quatuor species lacrymarum natura continet. Sunt quidem lacrymae humidae, ut abluant sordes peccatorum, et restituant perditum baptismum; sunt salsae et amarae, ut restringant carnis fluxum, et terent dulcedinem voluptatum; sunt calidae, ut praevaleant contra infidelitatis frigus. Sunt purae, ut a pristinis erroribus mundatos, in pura constituant conversatione. Hae ergo pro amissis charis saepius fiunt, ut nos admoneant quatenus amissa bona opera reparemus, et ad desertam a nobis propter praevaricationem paradisi patriam per mandatorum Dei custodiam redeamus. Semper enim luctus inter duas laetitias consistit, id est, inter mundi praecedentem, et coelestis regni appropinquantem, et beatus cui temporalis tristitia aeternam parturiet laetitiam. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Matthaeum, Liber II, Cap V Source: Migne PL 107.796a-b

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 1 It should be noted that there are four ways of weeping for those who are holy, first when they deplore sins once committed, then when they weep over the descent to hell, then when there is living in sin, and then when they are made tearful because of longing for the kingdom of heaven. And these four types of tears are found in nature. There are tears of water, so that the filth of sins may be washed away and the ruin of baptism restored. There are salty and bitter tears that restrain the urges of the body and wear away the sweetness of pleasures, There are warm tears that prevail against the frigidity of faithlessness. And there are pure ones that cleanse from old errors and establish one in a wholesome way of living. And all these most frequently come from a lack of love and admonish us to look to the repair of a lack of good deeds, that from the waste made by us because of sin we may return to the fatherland of paradise by the keeping of the commandments of God. For grief is always found between two joys, between the preceding things of the world and the approaching things of the kingdom of heaven, and blessed is he who in temporal sorrow gives birth to eternal joy. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 2, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.5

Peter Remembers

Et recordatus est Petrus verbi quod dixerat ei Jesus: Priusquam gallus cantet bis, ter me negabis. Et coepit flere. Quia tunc tempus fuit de misericordia Petrum respicere, et ideo dicitur quod conversus Dominus respexit Petrum respectu suae misericordiae. Miserere nostri Deus omnium et respice nos, et ostende nobis lucem miserationum tuarum. Et ad respectum divinae misericordiae, recordatus est Petrus, haec enim recordatio veritatis significatur. Evasi ego solus ut nuntiarem tibi. Verbi quod dixerat ei Iesus futurorum praescius. Deus qui in malis sic praescit et praedicit: ut non causet malum quod scit, sed admonitio est ad cavendum. Admones ut relicta malitia credant in te Domine. Prius quam gallus cantet bis hoc enim verbum fuit ad refraenandam praesumptionem Petri. Ter me negabis. Et non erit eius populus qui eum negaturus est. Et coepit flere, ut flendo dilueret maculas quas negando contraxit. Lacrymis meis stratum meum rigabo. Egressus foras flevit amare. Ut amaritudo referatur ad cordis compunctionem: fletus autem ad commissi delicti verecundam recognitionem: et egressus ad operis mali et pravae societatis derelictionem. Luctum unigeniti fac tibi planctum amarum. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput XIV Source: Here p117

And Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: 'Before the cock crows twice you shall deny me three times.' And he began to weep. 1 Because then was the time to look on Peter with mercy, therefore it is said that 'the Lord turned and looked down on Peter,' 2 and with the look of pity. 'Be merciful to us, Lord of all things, and look down on us and show to us the light of your mercies.' 3 And with the look of Divine pity 'Peter remembered', and this signifies the remembrance of the truth. 'I alone have escaped to tell you.' 4 The word Jesus had spoken to him was prescient of the future. God who foreknows and foretells evils, does not cause the evil He knows, but it is a warning to be wary. 'You warn them to forsake wickedness and trust in you, O Lord.' 5 'Before the cock crows twice.' This was the word to bridle the presumption of Peter. 'You will deny me three times.' 'The people will deny Him and not be His.' 6 'And he began to weep,' that with weeping he might wash away the stains which his denials had contracted. 'With my tears I watered my bed.' 7 'Going outside he wept.' 8 The bitterness indicates compunction of heart, the tears the shameful recognition of the evil committed, and the going outside his abandonment of the evil deed and depraved company. 'Make lament for an only son with a bitter cry.' 9 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 14 1 Mk 14.72 2 Lk 22.61 3 Sirach 36.1 4 Job 1.15 5 Wisd 12.2 6 Dan 9.26 7 Ps 6.7 8 Lk 22.62 9 Jerem 6.26

Tears Of Men, Pleasures of Beasts

Εἰ δέ τις καὶ τὰς περὶ τὸ σῶμα συμφορὰς ἀναλογίζοιτο, τὰς τῇ φύσει ἡμῶν συμπεπλεγμένας τε καὶ συστρεφομένας, τὰς ποικίλας λέγω καὶ πολυτρόπους τῶν νοσημάτων ἰδέας, ὧν πάντων τὸ κατ' ἀρχὰς ἀπείρατον ἦν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, πολὺ μᾶλλον πλεονάσει τὸ δάκρυον, ἐκ παραλλήλου θεωρῶν ἀντὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν τὰ λυπηρὰ, καὶ ἀντιπαρατιθεὶς τὰ κακὰ τοῖς βελτίοσιν.Τοῦτο οὖν ἔοικεν ἐν ἀποῤῥήτῳ διδάσκειν ὁ μακαρίζων τὸ πένθος, τὸ πρὸς τὸ ἀληθινὸν ἀγαθὸν τὴν ψυχὴν βλέπειν, μηδὲ τῇ παρούσῃ ἀπάτῃ τοῦ βίου καταβαπτίζεσθαι· οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν οὔτε ἀδακρυτὶ ζῇν τὸν ἐπεσκεμμένον δι' ἀκριβείας τὰ πράγματα, οὔτε ἐν λυπηροῖς εἶναι νομίζειν τὸν ταῖς βιωτικαῖς ἡδοναῖς ἐμβαθύνοντα· καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀλόγων τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔστιν ἰδεῖν· οἷς ἐλεεινὴ μὲν ἡ τῆς φύσεώς ἐστι κατασκευή· (τί γὰρ ἐλεεινότερον τῆς τοῦ λόγου στερήσεως;) αἴσθησις δὲ τῆς συμφορᾶς αὐτοῖς οὐδε μία, ἀλλὰ κατά τινα ἡδονὴν κἀκείνοις ἡ ζωὴ διεξάγεται· καὶ ὁ ἵππος γαυριᾷ, καὶ ὁ ταῦρος κονίζεται· καὶ ὁ σὺς φρίσσει τὴν λοφιάν· καὶ οἱ σκύλακες παίζουσι, καὶ διασκιρτῶσιν οἱ μόσχοι, καὶ ἕκαστον τῶν ζώων ἔστιν ἰδεῖν διά τινων τεκμηρίων τὴν ἡδονὴν ἐνδεικνύμενον, οἷς εἴ τις κατανόησις ἦν τῆς τοῦ λόγου χάριτος, οὐκ ἂν τὸν κωφὸν αὐτῶν καὶ ταλαίπωρον βίον ἐν ἡδονῇ διετίθεντο. Οὕτως καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οἷς οὐδεμία τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐστι γνῶσις, ὧν ἡ φύσις ἡμῶν ἀπεστέρηται, τούτοις καθ' ἡδονὴν ἡ τῆς παρούσης ζωῆς διαγωγή. Ἀκολουθεῖ δὲ τῷ τοῖς παροῦσιν ἥδεσθαι, τὸ μὴ ζητεῖν τὰ βελτίω. Ὁ δὲ μὴ ζητῶν, οὐκ ἂν εὕροι τὸ μόνοις ζητοῦσι παραγενόμενον. Οὐκοῦν διὰ τοῦτο ὁ Λόγος μακαρίζει τὸ πένθος, οὐ δι' ἑαυτὸ κρίνων εἶναι μακάριον, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ἐξ ἐκείνου παραγενόμενον. Δείκνυσι δὲ τοῦ λόγου ἡ συζυγία, ὅτι τῆς πρὸς τὴν παράκλη σινἀναφορᾶς τὸ πενθεῖν αὐτοῖς ἐστι μακάριον. Μακάριοι γὰρ, φησὶν, οἱ πενθοῦντες καὶ οὐκ ἔστησεν ἐν τούτῳ τὸν λόγον, ἀλλὰ προσέθηκεν, Ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Logos Γ', Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται Source: Migne PG 44.1228c-1229a

If someone were to consider the state of the flesh, the things which buffet and bind our nature, the various, I say, and manifold types of sickness, concerning which all, man had no experience of at the beginning, he would pour forth abundant tears, while instead of goods he thought on such grieveous things, setting evils against things which are better. This then seems difficult to teach, that he who weeps is blessed, which is the soul looking on the true good, and not sunk in the delusion of present life, for it is not possible that one might live without tears, if one carefully considers the matter, or not think him wrapped up in griefs and bitterness who plunges into the pleasures of this life, which one can see in beasts and animals that lack reason, who because of the miserable constitution of their nature -for what is more wretched that to be deprived of reason?- have no awareness of their state, but in a certain pleasure pass their lives. The horse exults, the bull stamps up the dust, the boar raises up its bristles, pups play, cattle cavort, and in each animal it is possible to see certain signs of pleasure, in which pleasure, if they had in some way the gift of knowing by reason, they would not pass a foolish and wretched life. Which is the state of men who have no knowledge of their goods, of those which our nature has been deprived, and so because of this they pass the present life in pleasure. It follows, then, that those who enjoy present things are not able to desire and seek what is better. For he who does not seek, does not find that which is obtained only by those who do seek. This, then, is the reason why the Word says that he who weeps is blessed, not that he judges that weeping blessed in itself, but because of that which comes from it. The arrangement of the speech shows, by its relation to consolation, how weeping may be a blessing to men. 'Blessed,' he says, ' those who weep,' and He does not stop and end the statement there, but He adds, 'because they shall be consoled.' Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Third Oration, on 'Blessed are they who weep for they shall be comforted.'

Peter's Tears

Petrus prorupit ad lacrimas, nihil voce precatur. Invenio quod fleverit, non invenio quid dixerit. Lacrimas eius lego, satisfactionem non lego. Recte plane Petrus flevit et tacuit, quia quod defleri solet, non solet excusari, et quod defendi non potest, ablui potest. Lavant enim lacrimae delictum quod voce pudor est confiteri. Lacrimae ergo verecundiae consulunt pariter et saluti, nec erubescunt in petendo, et impetrant in rogando: lacrymae, inquam, tacitae quodammodo preces sunt, veniam non postulant, et merentur. Causam non dicunt, et misericordiam consequuntur; nisi quod utiliores lacrymarum preces sunt quam sermonum; quai sermo in precando forte fallit, lacryma omnino non fallit; sermo interdum non totum profert negotium. Lacrimae semper totum produnt affectum. Et ideo Petrus iam non utitur sermone, quo fefellerat, quo peccaverat, quo fidem amiserat, ne per id ei non credatur ad confitendum quo usus fuerat ad negandum; ac per hoic mavult et cuasam suam flere, quam dicere, et quod voce negaverat, lacrymis confiteri. Invenio et aliud cur tacuerit Petrus, ne tam cito veniae postulatio per impudentiam plus offenderet quam impetraret. Solet enim citius mereri indulgentiam quia verecundius deprecatur. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LIII De poenitentia Petri et ostiaria ancilla Source: Migne PL 57.351a-352a

Peter broke down in tears, he spoke no prayer. We find, then, that he wept, we do not find what he said. I read about his tears, I do not read about his giving of satisfaction. Certainly Peter was right to be weep and be silent, because that which is accustomed to weep is not accustomed to make excuses, and because he is not able to offer defence, he is able to be cleansed. he washes away crime with tears because the voice is ashamed to confess. Therefore tears counsel modesty together with salvation, which do not blush in asking, and beseeching, and begging. Tears, I say, are as silent prayers, not demanding forgiveness, but meriting it. They who do not speak of excuse receive mercy. Tears are more useful prayers than speech because speech in prayer may lie, but tears do not deceive; sometimes speech is of no benefit to an affair. Tears always lead to affection. And therefore Peter does not employ speech, by which he lied, by which he sinned, by which he cast away faith, not by that does he trust to confess what he has done with his denial. And therefore he prefers to weep over his state than to speak of it, and to deny his voice so that his tears confess. And I find something else in Peter's silence, that he not be so quick in requesting forgiveness that by impudence he offend in what he sought. For he will more swiftly merit kindness because he pleads more modestly. Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 53, On The Penitence of Peter and The Maid Who Kept The Door

Lamenting The Dead

Τὸ καλῦσον ἐπὶ νεκρῷ, ὅτι ἐκλέλοιπε φῶς, οὐχὶ πάντας τοὺς τεθνεῶτας λέγει καταθρηνεῖσθαι· ἀλλὰ τὸν ἔργοις νεκρωθέντα, καὶ τὴν ζῶσαν ἀνὰστροφὴν μὴ μετελθόντα, κλαίεσθαι βούλεται, ὡς τοῦ μέλλαντος φωτὸς ἀποτυχόντα. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΤΛΔ' Ἑρμινῳ Κομητι Source:  Migne PG 78.376a-b

'Weep over the dead man because his light has perished,' 1 does not mean that one should lament all who have died but him who has perished in his works, who did not turn and live; him it bids be wept over as one has lost the light. Saint Isidore of Pelusium,  Book 1, Letter 334, to Count Herminus 1 Sirach 22.10

Tears And Comforts

Beati lugentes; quoniam ipsi consolabunter.  Lugentibus aeternae consolationis solatia repromittit. Non orbitates aut contumelias aut damna moerentibus, sed peccata vetera flentibus, et criminum quibus obsordescimus conscientia aerumnosis, haec sedula in coleo consolatio praeparatur. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap IV Source: Migne PG 9.932c

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted... 1  The comfort of eternal consolation is promised to those who mourn. Not to those lamenting over loss, or insults, or wounds, but to those weeping over old sins, by which awareness of the crimes that defile with wretchedness, this consolation is diligently prepared in heaven   Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4 1 Mt 5.4

A Prophetic Silence

Cum autem pertransissent septem dies, factum est verbum Domini ad me, dicens.   In eo quod septem diebus moerens sedit, et post diem septimum verba dominicae jussionis accepit ut loqui debuisset, aperte indicat quia eisdem diebus moerens tacuerat. Missus autem ad praedicandum fuerat, et tamen septem diebus sedens tacebat. Quid est hoc quod nobis propheta sanctus in hoc suo silentio innuit, nisi quia ille loqui veraciter novit, qui prius bene tacere didicerit? Quasi enim quoddam nutrimentum verbi, est censura silentii. Et recte per excrescentem quoque gratiam sermonem accipit, qui ordinate ante per humilitatem tacet. Hinc enim per Salomonem dicitur: Tempus tacendi, et tempus loquendi. Non enim ait, Tempus loquendi, et tempus tacendi, sed prius tacendi praemittit tempus, et postmodum subdit loquendi, quia non loquendo tacere, sed tacendo debemus loqui discere. Si ergo propheta sanctus qui missus ad loquendum fuerat diu prius tacuit, ut postmodum recte loqueretur, pensandum nobis est quanta ei culpa sit non tacere, quem nulla cogit necessitas loqui. Sanctus Gregorius Papa I, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia XI Migne PL 76 907

When seven days had passed the word of the Lord came to me saying...1 In which seven days he sat mourning and after the seventh day he received the word of the Lord's command that he should speak, openly indicating that he was silent during those days of mourning. He was sent to preach yet for seven days he sat silent. And what is this that the holy Prophet teaches us in his silence but that only he knows truly how to speak who before speaking has learned to be silent? For as a sort of nourishment of the word is the span of silence. And rightly by a growth of grace he receives the word, who before on account of humility is silent. Whence it is said by Solomon: 'A time for silence, and a time for speaking.' 2 It is not said, 'A time for speaking and a time for silence,' but first comes the time of silence and after comes the time of speaking, because it is not in speaking that we learn to be silent, but by silence that we learn to speak. If therefore the holy Prophet who was sent to speak was first silent that afterward he should speak correctly, we should think how much fault there may be to the one who is not silent, whom no necessity drives him to speak.   Pope Saint Gregory the Great, on Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 11 1 Ez 3.16 2 Eccl 3.7

Sin and Prayer

Ἀπόστητε ἀπ' ἐμου, πάντες οἱ ἐργὰζόμενοι τὴν ἀμονίαν, κ.τ.ἑ. Δαιμόνων τὸ διὰ παντὸς τὴν ἀνομίαν ἐργάζεσθαι· ἀνρθώπων τὸ μὴ διὰ παντές· ἀγγέλω τὸ μηδέποτε. Ὅτι εἰσήκουσε  Κύριος τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ κλαυθμοῦ μοῦ. Εἰσήκουσε Κύριος τῆς δεήσεώς μου, Κύριος τὴν προσευχήν μου προσεδέξατο, κ.τ.ἑ Ὁ τῶν κλαιόντων μακαρισμὸν συνιεὶς, καὶ κλαίων, ταῦτα ἐρεῖ πᾶσι τοῖς παροῦσιν αὐτῷ ἐργαζομένοις τὴν ἀνομίαν, ὀρατοῖς, ἀορατοις. Πρῶτον δὲ ὁ Θεὸς φωνῆς καὶ καλυθμοῦ ἀκουει, εἶτα δεήσεως, εἶτα τὴν προσευχὴν προσδέχεται. Αἰσχυνθείησαν καὶ ταραχθείησαν σφόδρα πάτες οἱ ἐχθροί μου, κ.τ.ἑ. Ἡ αἰσχύνη εἰς συναίσθησιν ἄγει τὸν ἁμαρτάνοντα. Παύσασθε, φησὶν, ἐμοὶ τὰ ὀνείδη προσφέροντες· τὰ οἰκεῐα δὲ κακὰ λογιζόμενοι, αἰσχύνης καὶ ταραχῆς ἀναπλήσθητε. Δίκαιον γὰρ καὶ φοβερὸν τὸ θεῖον κριτήριον. Ἐπιστρφείνσαν καὶ αἰσχυνθείησαν σφόδρα διὰ τάχους, κ.τ.ἑ. Ἐὰν νικήσωμεν, τὰ ἀντιπαλαίοντα καταισχύνονται, μάλιστα ὅτε τις ὁ ἄνθρωπος τούτων κρείττων εὑρίσκεται, καὶ συγχέων ταράσσει αὐτὰ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ σογιᾷ. Τάχα δὲ καὶ ἐπιστρέφει αὐτὰ αἰσχυνθέντα, καὶ ταχέως ὁ ἅγιος τοῦτο ποιεϊ. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ Νοήσεις ταῦτα λέγεσθαι καὶ πρὸς τοὺς τὴν κατασκευὴν αὐτῷ κατεργασαμένους ἀοράτους ἐχθροὺς διαφθονουμένους τῇ κατὰ Θεὸν αὐτοῦ προκοπῇ, καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐπιβαίνοντας, ἐν οἶς ἔλεγον, Οὐκ ἔστι σωτηρία αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ Θεῷ αὐτοῠ.   Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος Ϛ'

Begone from me, all you who work iniquity, etc. 1 Demons always work iniquity, men sometimes, angels never. For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. He has hearkened to my plea, he has taken up my prayer. He who understands the blessedness of those who weep, 2 and weeps, says this to everyone near who works iniquity, both seen and unseen. God first hears the voice and the weeping, then the plea, then he takes up the prayer. Let them be ashamed and let them be gravely troubled all my enemies, etc. Shame leads the sinner to sense. Stop, it says, and bring to me your reproach, and contemplating your own evils, with shame and distress be filled. For righteous is the Divine judgement. Let them be turned back and disgraced swiftly in flight, etc. If we are victorious over the things against us, they are confounded with shame, and certainly when a man is discovered better than them, his own wisdom confounds and distresses them. For quickly it happens that they are turned to disgrace when one who is holy stands against them. Concerning the same. Again you may think that these things spoken of are against unseen foes who in envy against the Divine progress, being assailed by their own sin, say among themselves, 'There is no salvation in God.' 3 Origen, On the Psalms, Psalm 6 1 Ps 6.9 2 Mt 5.5 3 Ps 3.3

Lamenting Judas

Σήμερον, ἀγαπητοὶ, ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς παρεδόθη·  τῇ γὰρ ἐπιούσῃ ἑσπέρᾳ ταύτῃ, λαβόντες αὐτὸν, ἀπῆλθον οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι.  Ἀλλὰ μὴ γένῃ κατηφὴς, ἀκούσας ὅτι Ἰησοῦς παρεδόθη· μᾶλλον δὲ γενοῦ κατηφὴς, καὶ κλαῦσον πικρῶς, ἀλλὰ μὴ ὑπὲρ τοῦ παραδοθέντος Ἰησοῦ, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ τοῦ προδότου Ἰούδα.  Ὁ μὲν γὰρ παραδοθεὶς τὴν οἰκουμένην ἔσωσεν, ὁ δὲ προδοὺς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν ἀπώλεσε· καὶ ὁ μὲν προδοθεὶς ἐν δεξιᾷ κάθηται τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ὁ δὲ παραδοὺς ἐν ᾅδου νῦν ἐστι, τὴν ἀπαραίτητον ἀναμένων κόλασιν.  Διὰ τοῦτον οὖν κλαῦσον καὶ στέναξον, διὰ τοῦτον πένθησον, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ὁ Δεσπότης ἡμῶν διὰ τοῦτον ἐδάκρυσεν. Ἰδὼν γὰρ αὐτὸν, φησὶν, ἐταράχθη καὶ εἶπεν·  Εἷς ἐξ ὑμῶν παραδώσει με. Ὢ πόση εὐσπλαγχνία τοῦ Δεσπότου. ὁ προδοθεὶς ὑπὲρ τοῦ προδόντος ἀλγεῖ.  Ἰδὼν γὰρ αὐτὸν, ἐταράχθη, φησὶ, καὶ εἶπεν·  Εἷς ἐξ ὑμῶν παραδώσει με. Τίνος ἕνεκεν ἠθύμησεν;  Ὁμοῦ καὶ τὴν φιλοστοργίαν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐπιδεικνύμενος, καὶ διδάσκων ἡμᾶς, ὅτι οὐ τὸν πάσχοντα κακῶς, ἀλλὰ τὸν ποιοῦντα κακῶς, τοῦτον θρηνεῖν πανταχοῦ δίκαιον.  Τοῦτο γὰρ ἐκείνου χεῖρον, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐκεῖνο μὲν οὐ κακὸν, τὸ κακῶς παθεῖν, κακὸν δὲ τὸ ποιῆσαι κακῶς.  Τὸ μὲν γὰρ κακῶς παθεῖν, τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν προξενεῖ, τὸ δὲ κακῶς ποιῆσαι αἴτιον ἡμῖν τῆς γεέννης καὶ τῆς κολάσεως γίνεται.  Μακάριοι γὰρ, φησὶν, οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς Την Προδοσιαν Του Ἱουδα

Today, beloved, our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed, for it was on this approaching evening that the Jews seizing him, took Him away. But do not be dejected hearing that Jesus was betrayed, but rather be dejected and weep bitterly, not over the betrayed Jesus, but over the traitor Judas. For He who was betrayed saved the whole world, while he who betrayed lost his soul. And He who was betrayed is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, and he who betrayed is now in hell, awaiting the inevitable punishment. So weep and groan for this, mourn for this, since even our Master wept for this. For beholding him, Jesus was troubled and said: 'One of you shall betray Me' 1. Oh, how great is our Master’s compassion! He who was betrayed grieved for him who betrayed. For beholding him, Jesus was troubled and said: 'One of you shall betray Me.' Why was He disheartened? Both to show His tender love and to teach us that to mourn, not for the one suffering evil, but for the one doing evil, is most righteous. The latter is worse than the former, or rather, to suffer evil is not evil, but to do evil is evil. For while suffering evil gains the Kingdom of Heaven, doing evil is the cause of  Gehenna and punishment for us. 'For Blessed,' says the Lord, 'are they who are persecuted on account of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.' 2 Saint John Chrysostom, On The Betrayal of Judas  1 John 13:21 2 Matt 5:10

Tears Here and There

Ἔλεγον δὲ ὅτι ὅλον τὸν χρόνον τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ, καθεζόμενος εἰς τὸ ἐργόχειρον αὐτοῦ, ῥάκκος εἶχεν ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ, χάριν τῶν δακρύων τῶν πιπτόντων ἀπὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ποιμὴν ὅτι ἐκοιμήθη, δακρύσας εἶπε· Μακαριος εἶ, ἀββᾶ Ἀρσένιε, ὅτι ἔκλαυσας ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὸν ὦδε, Ὁ γάρ μὴ κλαίων ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὸν ὧδε, αἰωνιως ἐκεὶ κλαύσεται. Εἴτε οὖν ὥδε ἑκὼν, εἴτε ἐκεῖ ἀπὸ βασάνων, ἀδύνατον μὴ κλαῦσαι.   ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

And they said of Father Arsenius that the whole of his life when he sat to work with his hands he had a rag in his lap for the sake of the tears that fell from his eyes. Hearing he had passed away, Father Poimen said weeping, ' Blessed are you, Father Arsenius, that you lamented here, for he who does not weep here shall lament in eternity. He who does not weep readily here, there, on account of the torments, shall not be able to refrain from lamenting.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Tears And Prayer

Πρότερον περὶ λήψεως δακρύων προσεύχου, ἵνα διὰ τοῦ πένθους μαλάξῃς τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ σου ἀγριότητα, καὶ ἐξαγορεύσας κατὰ σου τὴν ἀνομίαν σοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ, παρ' αὐτοῦ ἀφέσεως τεύξῃ. Κέχρησο τοῖς δάκρυσι πρὸς παντὸς αἰτήματος κατόρθωσιν· λίαν γὰρ χαίρει σου ὁ Δεσπότες ἐν δάκρυσι προσευχὴν δεχόμενος. ̓Εὰν πηγὰς δακρύων ἐκχέῃς ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ σου, μηδαμῶς ἐπαίρου ἐν σεαυτῷ ὡς ὑπὲρ τοὺς πολλοὺς ὤν· βοήθειαν γὰρ προσείληφεν ἡ προσευχή σου, ἵνα δυνηθῇς προθύμως ἐξαγορεύειν σου τὰς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ἐξευμενίσασθαι τὸν Δεσπότην διὰ τῶν δακρύων.  Μὴ οῦ̓ν εἰς πάθος τρέψῃ τὸ τῶν παθῶν ἀλέξημα, ἵνα μὴ πλέον παροργίσῃς τὸν δεδωκότα τὴν χάριν· πολλοὶ δακρύοντες ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν, επιλαθόμενοι τοῦ τῶν δακρύων σκοποῦ, μανέντες ἐξεπλάγησαν. Στῆθι ἐμπόνως, καὶ προσεύχου εὐτόνως, καὶ ἀποστρέφου τὰς τῶν φροντίδων καὶ διαλογισμῶν ἐπιτεύξεις· ταράττουσι γὰρ καὶ θορυβοῦσί σε, ἵνα ἐκλύσως τοῦ τόνου.   Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Περι προσευχῆς

First pray that you may receive tears, so that by means of sorrow you may be able to calm the state of your soul, and by confessing your lawlessness to the Lord, you may obtain forgiveness from him. With tears make every request effective, for it greatly delights your Master to receive prayer with tears. But even if you let flow fountains of tears in your prayer, never be exalted in yourself, as if you were superior to many, for your prayer has received aid so that you may be able to confess your sins easily and propitiate the Lord through tears. Do not, then, turn into a passion this guard against passions, lest you anger all the more He who gave you this grace. Many indeed who weep over their sins have forgotten why they are weeping; gazing elsewhere, they have madly wandered away. Stand fast in your labour and pray with strength, and repulse the schemes of cares and thoughts: they trouble and shout at you in order to undo your strength. Evagrius Ponticus, On Prayer

Children Good and Bad

Bethlehem, id est, Judaea, martyrum sanguine redundante. Herodis vero furor et infantium interfectio, populi Judaici in Christianos saevientis est forma: existimantis se beatorum Martyrum caede posse in omnium fide et professione Christi nomen exstinguere. Sed gloriosus per prophetam neci eorum honor redditur, dicentem, Vox in Rama audita est, ploratus et ululatus multus, rachel plorans filios suos: et noluit consolari, quia non sunt. Rachel Jacob uxor fuit diu sterilis; sed nullum ex his quos genuit amisit. Verum haec in Genesi Ecclesiam typum praetulit. Non igitur illius vox et ploratus auditur, quae nullum habuit amissorum filiorum dolorem, sed hujus Ecclesiae diu sterilis, nunc vero fecundae. Hujus ploratus ex filiis, non idcirco quia peremptos dolebat, auditur; sed quia ab his perimebantur, quos primum genitos filios retinere voluisset. Denique consolari se noluit quae dolebat. Non enim non erant ii, qui mortui putabantur: in aeternitatis enim profectum per martyrii gloriam efferebantur.   In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis

Bethlehem, that is, Judea, overflows with the blood of martyrs. Indeed the fury of Herod and the murder of infants is a form of the savagery of the Jews against the Christians, thinking that by the slaughter of blessed martyrs it is possible to extinguish the faith and the profession of Christ in everyone. But a glorious honour is given to the slain through the prophet, who says, 'A voice in Rama is heard, weeping and crying out greatly, Rachel weeping for her children, and she will not be comforted because they were not.' Rachel wife of Jacob was for a long time barren, but she did not lose those born. In Genesis she is brought forth as a type of Church. It is not therefore her voice and weeping that is heard, since she had no sorrow for lost children, but it is the voice of the Church, long barren, now in truth fertile. This weeping for her children was heard not because they were killed but because they were killed by those first born whom she wished to retain as sons. This is why she did not want to be comforted in her grief. And indeed it is not that the first mentioned should be thought not to have died, for from eternity they were marked to bring forth the glory of martyrdom Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Saint Hilary of Poitiers

Wings Of Fire

Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἰωάννης, ὅτι εἶδέ τις τῶν γερόντων ἐν ἐκστάσει· Καὶ ἰδοῦ τρεῖς μοναχοὶ ἒστηκαν πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης· καὶ ἐγενετο φωνὴ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐκ τοῦ ἄλλου πέραν, λέγουσα· Λάβετε πτερὰ πυρὸς, καὶ δεῦτε πρὸς μέ. Καὶ οἱ μέν δύο ἔλαβον, καὶ ἐπετάσθησαν εἰς τὸ ἄλλο πέραν· ὁ δὲ ἄλλος ἒμεινε, καὶ ἔκλαιε σφόδρα καὶ ἔκραζεν. Ὕστερον δὲ ἐδοθησαν καὶ αὐτῷ πτερὰ, οὐ μέντοι πυρὸς, ἀλλ' ἀσθενῆ καὶ ἀδύναμα· καὶ μετὰ καμάτου καταποντιζόμενος και ἀνιστάμενος, μετὰ θλίψεως πολλῆς ἦλθεν εἰς τὸ πέραν. Οὕτως καὶ ἡ γενεὰ αὔτη, εἰ καὶ λαμβάνει πτερά, οὐ μέντοι πυρὸς, ἀλλὰ μόλις ἀσθενῆ καὶ ἀδύναμα λαμβάνει.  ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

Father John said that he saw some of the elders in a vision. 'I saw monks on the shore of the sea and a voice called them to the other shore, saying, ' Take up wings of fire and come to me.' And two of them did so and flew to the other shore, but one remained and he wept profusely and cried out. Later wings were given to him, but not of fire, for these wings were weak and fragile, and after repeatedly tumbling down into the waves and bobbing up, after so much trouble and effort, he came to the other shore. Thus it is with this generation; even if it takes up its wings they are not of fire but ever so weak and fragile.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia