Death Of Rich And Poor

ἐγένετο δὲ ἀποθανεῖν τὸν πτωχὸν κ.τ.λ ἀπέθανεν δὲ καὶ ὁ πλούσιος καὶ ἐτάφη κ.τ.λ Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ Λάζαρος οὗτος, ἀλλὰ μετὰ πάσης ἀπήει δορυφορίας, καὶ τῶν χρηστοτέρων ἐλπίδων· τοῖς γὰρ ἐλπίδας ἔχουσι τὰς παρὰ Θεῷ, μετάστασις ἂν εἴη ἐξ ἀνίας καὶ πόνων, ἡ ἐκ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἀποδημία· καὶ τι τοιοῦτον ὁ Σολομῶν ἐδίδαξεν εἰπών· Ἔδοξαν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἀφρόνων τεθνάναι, καὶ ἐλογίσθη κάκωσις ἡ ἔξοδος αὐτῶν, καὶ ἡ ἀφ' ἡμῶν πορεία, σύντριμμα· οἱ δὲ εἰσὶν ἐν εἰρήνῃ, καὶ ἡ ἐλπὶς αὐτῶν ἀθανασίας πλήρης. Δίδοται γὰρ αῡτοῖς ἰσοπαλὲς τοῖς πόνοις, τὸ τῆς παρακλήσεως μέτρον· ἢ τάχα που καὶ πλείους τῶν πόνων αἱ ἀμοιβαί· ἔφη γὰρ Χριστὸς, ὅτι Μέτρον καλὸν πεπιεσμένον, σεσαλευμένον, ὑπερεκχυνόμενον, δώσουσιν εἰς τὸν κόλπον ὑμῶν. Οὐκοῦν ὁ μὲν Λάζαρος διὰ τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων ἀπενήνεκται, φησὶν, εἰς κόλπους Ἀβραάμ· ὁ δὲ πλούσιος ἀπέθανε, φησὶ καὶ ἐτάφη· θάνατος γὰρ αὐτῷ σκληρῷ γεγονότι καὶ ἀφιλοικτείρμονι, τὸ ἀπαλλαγῆναι σώματος· ἄπεισι γὰρ ἐκ τρυφῆς εἰς κόλασιν· ἐκ δόξης εἰς ἀτιμίαν· ἐκ φωτὸς εἰς σκότος. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λούκαν Εὐάγγελιον, Κεφα. ΙϚ Source: Migne PG 72. 828

And the poor man died... And the rich man died and was buried... 1 But not so that Lazarus who departed with a great guard and the best of hopes. For he who has hope in God is taken from grief and toil when he is cut off from us here. Solomon taught the same, saying, 'They have seemed to have died in the eyes of the unwise and their departing is reckoned an evil, and to be cut off from us annihilation; but they are at peace and their hope is full of immortality.' 2 For to them is given a measure of reward for their labours. Or the reward is even greater than the labour. For Christ says, 'A good measure, pressed down and shaken and overflowing shall be given into your lap.' 3 Therefore it says that Lazarus was taken by the holy angels into the lap of Abraham, but that when the rich man died that he was buried. For death to the heartless man is merciless, when he is separated from the body. He goes from luxury to punishment, from glory to disgrace, from light to darkness. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke, from Chapter 16 1 Lk 16.22 2 Wis 3. 2-4 3 Lk 6.38

Not Knowing The Way Of Peace

Et viam pacis non cognoverunt. Via pacis lenis est et inturbata; omnis enim bona vita tranquilla est et actus modesti ipsi sunt pacifici, et per istos itur ad Deum. Illi ergo nolentes haec scire, elegerunt viam tribulationum, per quam itur in gehennam. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Caput III Source: Migne PL 17 77

They have not known the way of peace. 1 The way of peace is easy and untroubled, for every good life is tranquil and the deeds of the humble are peaceful, and by them is the way to God. They, then, who do not wish to know this, they have chosen the way of tribulation, by which is the way to hell. Ambrosiaster, from the Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 3 1 Rom 3.13

After Death

Quae enim vita vestra? Vapor est ad modicum apparens et deinceps exterminabitur.    Non ait quae est vita nostra, sed quae, inquit, vita vestra? Quia justi tunc verius vivere incipiunt, cum ad hjus vitae finem pervenerunt. Inimici autem Domini mox cum honorificati et exaltati fuerint, deficientes ut fumus deficient. Non autem putandam est hanc eadem sententiam esse quam apud se impii in libro Sapientiae dixisse perhibentur: Quia ex nihilo nati sumus, et post haec erimus tanquam non fuerimus. Quoniam fumus afflatus in naribus et sermo scintillae ad commovendum cor nostrum. Qua exstincta cinis erit corpus, et spiritus diffundetur tanquam mollis aer. Haec enim illis ratiocinabatur, qui nullam vitam, nisi istam esse credebant, dicentes cum Epicuro: Post mortem nihil est, et mors ipsa nihil est. Illud autem beatus Jacobus intulit, ut doceat quia vita pravorum bravis est praesenti, quam tamen in futuro mors sequitur aeterna, juxta illud beati Job: Ducunt in bonis dies suos, et in puncto ad inferna descendunt. Sanctus Beda, Super Divi Jacobi Epistolam, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 93 35b-c

What is your life? It is a mist appearing for a moment and in the next disappearing. 1 He does not say here 'our life' but 'what is your life,' because the righteous truly begin to live when they come to the end of this life. 'The enemies of the Lord were quickly honoured and exalted and they passed away like smoke passes away.' 2 It should not be thought that this has the same meaning as what the impious say concerning themselves in the book of Wisdom: 'Because we are born from nothing, and after we shall be as if we were not. Because smoke is blown out our nostrils and reason is a spark caused by the beating of the heart, and when it stops the body becomes ash and the spirit passes away into the air. 3 They indeed think these things to themselves, believing that they have no life but this one, and saying with Epicurus: 'There is nothing after death and death itself is nothing.' Which the blessed James brings forth so that he might teach that the life of the depraved is brief in the present, which yet in the future shall receive eternal death, according to which the blessed Job says, 'They spent their days among good things, and in a moment they fell into hell.' 4 Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the Letter of Saint James, Chapter 4   1Jam 4.14 2 Ps 36.20 3 Wis 2.3,2 4 Job 21.13

Mercy And Judgment

Ἀγαπᾷ ἐλεημοσύνην καὶ κρίσιν ὁ Κύριος· τοῦ ἐλέους Κυρίου πλήρης ἡ γῆ. Εἰ καθ' ἑαυτὴν ὑπῆρχεν ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ κρίσις, ἀποτόμως ἡμῖν κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν ἡμῶν ἀποδιδόντος πρὸς ἂ ἐποιήσαμεν, ποία ἦν ἐλπίς; τίς ἂν ἐσώθη τῶν πάντῶν; Νῦν δὲ Ἀγαπᾷ ἐλεημοσνύν καὶ κρίσιν. Οἰονεὶ πάρεδρον ἑαυτῷ τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην ποιησάμενος, καὶ προβληθεῖσαν τῷ βασιλκῷ τῆς κρίσεως θρόνῳ, οὕτω παράγει εἰς κρίσιν ἔκαστον. Ἐὰν ἀνομίας παρατηρήσῃς, Κύριε, Κύριε, τίς ὑποστήσεται; Οὔτε ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη ἄκριτος, οὔτε ἡ κρίσις ἀνελεήμων. Πρὸ τῆς κρίσεως οὖν ἀγαπᾷ ἐλεημοσύνην, καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην ἔρχεται ἐπὶ τὴν κρίσιν. Ταῦτα δὲ ἀλλήλοις συνέζευκται, ὁ ἔλεος μετὰ τῆς κρίσεως· ἵνα μήτε ὁ ἔλεος μόνος χαυνότητα ἐμποιήσῃ, μήτε μόνη ἡ κρίσις ἀπογνωσιν ἐνεργάσηται. Βούλεται σε ἐλεῆσαι, καὶ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ οἰκτιρμῶν μεταδοῦναι ὁ κριτής· ἀλλ' ἐὰν εὕρῃ σε μετὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταπεινὸν, συντετριμμένον, πολλὰ μετακλαύσαντα ἐπὶ τοῖς πονηροῖς ἔργοῖς, τὰ γενόμενα κρυφῆ ἀνεπαισχύντως δημοσιεύσαντα, δεηθέντα ἀδελφῶν συγκαμεῖν σοι πρὸς τὴν ἴασιν, ὅλως ἐλεεινόν σε γενόμενον ἐὰν ἴδῃ, ἄφθονόν σοι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐλεημοσύνην ἐπιχορηγεῖ· ἐὰν δὲ καρδίαν ἀμετανόητον, φρόνημα ὑπερήφανον, ἀπιστίαν τοῦ αἰῶνος τοῦ μέλλοντος, ἀφοβίαν τῆς κρίσεως, τότε ἀγαπᾷ ἐπὶ σοὶ τὴν κρίσιν. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΛΒ' Ψαλμον Source: Migne PG 29 329d-332b

'The Lord loves mercy and judgement, the earth is full of the Lord's mercy.' 1 If the judgement of God were measured by Himself and He strictly repaid us for what we had merited for what we had done, what hope would we have? Who out of all us would be saved? But now: 'The Lord loves mercy and judgement.' For it is if mercy has been set beside the throne of royal judgement, that it introduce each one of us to judgement. 'If you observed iniquity, O Lord, O Lord, who could bear it?' 2 There is neither mercy without judgement, nor judgement without mercy. Before judgement, therefore, He loves mercy, and after mercy comes judgement. And these are joined to one another, mercy with judgement, lest mercy alone make one lax, or judgement alone drive to desperation. The judge wishes to be merciful to you, and to make you a participant in His own mercy, for if after sin you find yourself humble, contrite, deploring every depraved work, bringing to light those things which secretly shame, beseeching your brothers that they they might aid you for a cure, observing this He will be completely merciful to you, and give to you an abundance of mercy. However if you have an impenitent heart, a proud mind, a soul that does believe in the future age, with no fear of judgement, then against you He will prefer judgement. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 32 1 Ps 32.5 2 Ps 129.3

Preaching, Salvation And Damnation

Et scient quia propheta fuerit in medio eorum. Malis scire bonos, aut ad adjutorium salutis proficere, aut ad testimonium damnationis solet. Sciant ergo quia in medio eorum propheta fuerit, ut audita praedicatione aut adjuventur ut surgant, aut sic damnentur ut excusatione careant. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia IX Source: Migne PL 76.874c

And they shall know that there was a Prophet among them. 1 That is, to know the good among the wicked, either as help for salvation or as witness of damnation. Let them know, therefore, that there was a Prophet in the midst of them, that either by the hearing of preaching they are helped to rise up, or that they are damned and have no excuse. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 9 1 Ezek 2.5

The Unworldly

Nemo tam sanctum est ut non sanctior, nemo tam devotus ut non debeat esse devotior. Quis enim in hujus vitae constitutus incerto, aut immunis a tentatione, aut liber inveniatur a culpa? Quis est qui nihil virtutis sibi adjici, aut qui nihil vitii sibi optet auferri? cum et adversa neceant et secunda corrumpant, nec minoris sit perienti carere desideratis quam abundare concessis. Insidiae sunt in divitiarum amplitudine, insidiae in pauperiatis angustiis. Illae elevant ad superbiam, hae incitant ad querelam. Tentat sanitas, tentat infirmitas, dum et illa materia est negligentiae, et haec cause tristitiae. Laqueus est in securitate, laquens est in timore; nec interest utrum animus, qui terreno tenetir affecti, gaudiis occupetur an curis, cum per morbus sit vel sub vana delectatione languescere, vel sub anxia sollicitduine laborare. Impletur itaque per omnia sententia Veritatis qua discimus angustam esse et arduam viam quae ducit ad vitam; et cum latitudo itineris ad mortem trahentis multis frequentetur agminibus, in salutis semitis paucorum intrantium sunt rara vestigia. Unde autem populosior est via laeva quam dextera, nisi quia ad mundana gaudia et corporalia bona multitudo proclivis est? Et quamvis caducum incertumque sit quod cupitur, libentius tamen suscipitur labour pro desiderio voluptatis quam pro amore virtutis. Ita cum innumeri sint qui visibilia concupiscant, vix inveniuntur qui temporalibus aeterna praeponant. Et ideo, dicente beato apostolo Paulo: Quae videntur temporalia sunt, quae autem non videntur aeterna sunt; latet quodammodo et in abscondito est virtutum via, quoniam spe salvi facti summus, et fides vera id super omnia diligit, quod nullo sensu carnis attingit. Magni est ergo operis et laboris mobilitatem cordis ab omnibus continere peccatis, et cum undique innumerae voluptatum illecebrae blandiantur, ad nulla contagia vigorem animi relaxare. Quis picem tangit, et non inquinatur ab ea? Quis non infirmatur in carne? Quis non sordescit in pulvere? Quis postremo est tantae puritatis, ut iis non polluatur sine quibus vita non ducitur? Jubet enim per Apostolum doctrina divina, ut qui habent uxores, tamquam non habentes sint: et qui flent, tamquam non flentes; et qui gaudent, tamquam non gaudentes; et qui emunt, tamquam non possidentes; et qui utuntur hoc mundo, tamquam non utantur: praeterit enim figura mundi hujus. Beata igitur mens quae peregrinationis suae tempora casta sobrietate transcurrit, et in iis per quae necesse est eam ambulare non remanent, ut hospita magis quam domina terrenorum, nec affectibus desit humanis, et promissionibus sit innixa divinis. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XLIX Source: Migne PL 54.301c- 303a

No one is so holy that he might not to be holier, no one so devout that he might not be more devout. Who is there set in the uncertainty of this life who can be found immune to temptation, or free from fault? Who would not wish for any addition to his virtue, or that from his vices anything be taken away? Since adversity does us harm and success corrupts us, and it is not less perilous to lack what we want then to have it in abundance. There is a trap in the fullness of riches, a trap in the straits of poverty. The one lifts us up in pride, the other incites us to complain. Health tries us, sickness tries us, one being the cause of negligence the other of grief. There is a trap in security, a trap in fear, and it matters not whether the soul given over to earthly thoughts is occupied with pleasures or cares, for it is equally unhealthy to languish amid vain delights, as to labour under the worries of anxiety. And thus is fulfilled in every sense that judgement of the Truth by which we learn that it is the narrow and difficult way that leads to life, 1 and that while the wide way that leads to death is filled with many crowds, the steps are few of those who walk on the way of safety. And why is the left road more populated than the right, save that the multitude is inclined to worldly joys and corporeal goods? And although that which is desired is transient and uncertain, yet men more willingly take up toil for the desire for pleasure than for love of virtue. Thus while those who desire things visible are innumerable, those who prefer the eternal to the temporal are scarcely found. And, therefore, with the blessed Apostle Paul saying, 'the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal,' 2 the path of virtue is in a manner hidden and secret because 'by hope we were saved,' 3 and true faith loves above all things that which it attains to without any knowledge of the flesh. A great work and toil it is then to keep our shifting heart from all sin, and, with the numberless allurements of pleasure to lure it away everywhere, not to let the strength of the soul give way to any influence. Who 'touches pitch, and is not defiled thereby?' 4 Who is not weakened by the flesh? Who is not dirtied by dust? Who, finally, is so pure as not to be polluted by those things without which one cannot live? For the Divine teaching commands by the Apostle that 'they who have wives should be as though they had none, and those who weep should be as though they do not weep, and those that rejoice should be as though they do not rejoice, and those that buy should be as though they do not possess, and those that make use of this world should be as though they do not; for the fashion of this world passes away.' 5 Blessed, therefore, is the mind that passes the time of its pilgrimage in chaste sobriety and tarries not among the things through which it must walk, so that, as a guest rather than the owner of its earthly abode, it may not lack human affections and yet rest on Divine promises.' Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 49 1 Mt 7.14 2 2 Cor 4.18 3 Rom 8.24 4 Sirach 13.1  5 1 Cor 7.29-31

Tears And Healing

Si ad unius viduae lacrymas temporales sic motus est Christus, ut occurreret in via, ut ex oculis stillantia dolorum fluenta restingueret, ut recuteret mortem, reduceret hominem, ut resuscitaret corpus, vitam reduceret, planctum verteret in gaudium, et exsequias lugubres in festivitatem natalitiam commutaret, et feretro datum matri vivum redderet ex morte; quid modo faciet quando inardescet viribus suis ad Ecclesiae suae lacrymas diuturnas, ad sponsae suae sanguineos sudores? Nam per supplicantem Ecclesiam lacrymas fundit juges, per martyres sacrum sanguinem sudat, donec unicum suum, hoc est populum Christianum, quem tot ad mortem ferunt tempora, occurrens Christus de mortali feretro perpetuae vitae reddat in supernae matris gaudium sempiternum. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CIII, De Filio Viduae Excitato a Mortuis, deque Corporum Resurrectione Source: Migne PL 52 col 489a-b

If Christ was so moved by the tears one widow shed at a certain time that He came to meet her on the road, 1 that He dried the streams of grief flowing from her eyes, that He beat back death, that He brought back a man, that He revived a body, that He restored life, that he turned mourning into joy, and that he transformed funereal grief into a celebration of birth and He returned living from the dead one given to the bier to a mother; what will He do now when will he is inflamed for men at constant tears of his Church, at the blood and sweat of his Bride? For by supplication the Church pours forth continual tears and through her martyrs she sweats sacred blood, until her only one, that is the Christian people, whom the many ages bear off to death, with Christ's coming, is taken from the mortal bier to everlasting life amid the eternal joy of this heavenly mother. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 103, On The Son of the Widow Raised from the Dead and the Resurrection of the Body 1 Lk 7.11-17

Peace And Death

Esto consentiens adversario tuo cito dum es in via cum eo : ne forte tradat te adversarius judici... Quia nullum tempus vacuum affectu placabilitatis Dominus esse permittit, cito in vitae nostrae via reconciliari nos adversario praecepit, ne in mortis tempus non initia pace transeamus; et ideo dicit esto consentiens adversario tuo cito dum es cum eo in via, ne forte tradat te adversarius iudici. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap IV  Source: Migne PL 19.938b

'Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver you to the judge... 1 Because the Lord allows us no time to be wanting in mildness of temper, He bids us be quickly reconciled with our adversary on the way of our life, lest we pass into the time of death before peace begins, and so he He says, 'Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver you to the judge.' Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4 1 Mt 5.25

Consideration Of Past And Future

Ἐμίσησας πάντας τοὺς ἐργαζομένους τὴν ἀνομίαν, ἀπολεῖς πάντας τοὺς λαλοῦντας τὸ ψεῦδος. Τοὺς μὲν ἐν τῇ πολιτείᾳ πταίοντας ἐργαζομένους τὴν ἀνομίαν ὠνόμασεν· τούτους δὲ μισεῖ ὁ Θεός τοὺς ἀποπεσόντας τῆς ἀληθείας. Ἑτεροδόξους λαλοῦντας ψεῦδος εἶπεν, οὓς ἀπολεῖ ὁ Θεός. Καὶ τήρει διαφορὰν τοῦ, ἐμίσησας, καὶ, ἀπολεῖς. Πρῶτον μὲν εἰ χεῖρον τὸ, ἀπολεῖς, τοῦ, ἐμίσησας· δεύτερον δὲ διὰ τί τὸ μὲν εἰς παρεληλυθότα ἔκλινε χρόνον, τὸ δὲ εἰς μέλλοντα. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμός Ε' Source: Migne PG 69.741c

'You have hated all those who work iniquity, you shall destroy all those who speak lies.' 1 Those who sin in public are named workers of iniquity, and God hates those who have fallen from truth. And he calls heretics the speakers of lies, whom God shall destroy. And consider the difference of the words 'You have hated' and 'You shall destroy,' first if the worst be found in 'you shall destroy' or 'you have hated,' then secondly note that one indicates a time that has passed and the latter the future. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 5 1 Ps 5.7

Sin And The Sorrow Of Death

Περιέσχον με ὠδῖνες θανάτου καὶ χείμαρροι ἀνομίας ἐξετάραξάν με. Ἥ καὶ χείμαρροι ἀνομίας διὰ τὸ εις ἀνομίαν ἔρχεσθαι τοὺς μὴ γενναίως ὑφισταμένους πειρατήρια· καὶ μὴν ὠδῖνες θανάτου καὶ ᾅδου τὰ πρὸς θάνατον ἁμαρτήματα· οὐκοῦν καὶ χείμαρροι ἀνομίας ἐρεῖς τὰ ῥεύματα τῆς κακίας· καὶ θανάτου κακίας, τὰς πρακτικὰς ἁμαρτίας. Δυδυμος του Αλεξανδρεως, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΙΖ' Source: Migne PG 39.1213b

'The sorrows of death and the floods of iniquity came over me.'1 The torrents of iniquity on account of those who turn to iniquity because they are not able to endure trials; and the sorrows of death and hell are the mortal sins. And indeed one may say that the torrents of iniquity are floods of evil and the evil of death is the practice of sin. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 17 1 Ps 17.5

Increased Rewards And Punishments

Valde insensates ostendebant presbyteri eos, qui ex his quae acciderunt his, qui olim Deo obtemperabant, tentant alterum Patrem introducere; e contrario opponentes, quanta Dominus ad salvandos eos, qui receperunt eum, veniens fecisset, miserans eorum; tacentes autem de judicio ejus, et quaecunque provenient his, qui audierunt sermones ejus, et non fecerunt, et quoniam expediebat eis, si non essent nati, et quoniam tolerabilius Sodmae et Gomorrhae erit in judicio, quam civitati illi quae non recepit sermones discipulorum ejus. Quemadmodum enim in novo testamento, fides hominum aucta est, additamentum accipiens Filium Dei, ut et homo fieret particeps Dei; ita et diligentia conversationis aucta est, cum non solum a malis operibus abstinere jubemur, sed ab ipsis cogitationibus, et otiosis dictionibus et sermonibus vacuis, et verbis scurrilibus: sic et poena eorum, qui non credunt Verbo Dei, et contemnunt ejus adventum, et convertuntur retrorsum, adampliata est; non solum temporalis, sed et aeterna facta. Quibuscunque enim dixerit Dominus: Discedite a me, maledicti, in ignem perpetuum; isti erunt semper damnati; et quibuscunque dixerit: Venite, benedicti Patris mei, percipite haereditatem regni, quod praeparatum est vobis in sempiternum; hi semper percipiunt regnum, et proficiunt. Sanctus Irenaeus Lugdunensis, Adversus Haereses, Liber IV, Caput XXVIII Source: Migne PG 7.1061c-1062b

As men utterly lacking in sense the elders showed those who from what befell those who once obeyed God attempt to introduce another Father, opposing them with the many things the Lord did to save those who received Him, having mercy on them, all while they are silent about His judgment and those things which will come to those who have heard His words but not done them, and that it were better for them if they had not been born, 1 and that it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in judgment than those of that city which did not receive the words of His disciples. 2 For as in the New Testament the faith of men is increased, receiving in addition the Son of God, that man too might be a partaker of God, so also our way of life is increased in diligence, whence we are commanded not only to abstain from evil deeds but even from such thoughts, and from idle speech, and empty talk, and scurrilous words; and so also the punishment of those who do not believe the Word of God and despise His coming and are turned away backwards is increased, being not merely temporal but made eternal. For to whoever the Lord shall say, 'Depart from me, cursed ones, into everlasting fire,' 3 they shall be damned for ever; and to whomever He shall say, 'Come, blessed ones of my Father, receive the inheritance of the kingdom prepared for you into eternity,' 4 these shall receive the kingdom forever and advance in it.   Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 4, Chapter 28 1 Mt 26.24 2 Mt 10.15 3 Mt 25.41 4 Mt 25.34

Denying Future Judgement

Nec eos audiamus, qui negant diem iudicii futurum, et commemorant quod in Evangelio scriptum est, eum qui credit in Christum, non iudicari; qui autem non credit in illum, iam iudicatum esse. Dicunt enim: Si et ille qui credit, non veniet in iudicium, et ille qui non credit, iam iudicatus est; ubi sunt quos iudicaturus est in die iudicii? Non intellegunt sic loqui Scripturas, ut praeteritum tempus pro futuro tempore insinuent: sicut supra diximus, quod Apostolus dixit de nobis, quod simul nos sedere fecit in coelestibus, nondum factum est; sed quia certissime est futurum, ita dictum est quasi iam factum sit. Sicut et ipse Dominus discipulis dixit: Omnia quae audivi a Patre meo, nota feci vobis; et paulo post dicit: Multa habeo vobis dicere; sed non potestis illa portare modo. Quomodo ergo dixerat: Omnia quae audivi a Patre meo, nota feci vobis, nisi quia illud quod per Spiritum sanctum certissime facturus erat, quasi iam fecisset, locutus est? Sic ergo cum audimus: Qui credit in Christum, non veniet in iudicium; intellegamus quia non veniet ad damnationem. Dicitur enim iudicium pro damnatione, sicut dicit Apostolus: Qui non manducat, manducantem non iudicet; id est, non de illo male existimet. Et Dominus dicit: Nolite iudicare, ne iudicetur de vobis. Non enim tollit nobis intellegentiam iudicandi, cum et propheta dicat: Si vere iustitiam diligitis, recta iudicate, filii hominum; et ipse Dominus dicat: Nolite iudicare personaliter, sed iustum iudicium iudicate. Sed illo loco ubi vetat iudicare, illud admonet, ne damnemus aliquem, cuius vel cogitatio nobis non est aperta, vel nescimus qualis postea sit futurus. Sic ergo cum dixit, ad iudicium non veniet; hoc dixit, quia non veniet ad damnationem. Qui autem non credit, iam iudicatus est; hoc dixit, quia iam damnatus est praescientia Dei, qui novit quid immineat non credentibus. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, De Agone Christiano Source: Migne PL 40 305

Nor should we listen to those who deny the future judgement, when they recall that it is written in the Gospel that he who believes in Christ shall not be judged and that he who does not believe in Him will be judged. 1 For they say, 'If he who believes does not come to judgement and he who does not believe is already judged, where are those who shall be judged on the day of judgement?' They do not understand that it is so spoken in the Scriptures that a previous time is used for a future time, as we said above, when the Apostle spoke concerning us, that already He makes us sit in the heavens, 2 but it is not yet so, but because the future is most certain, he speaks as if it were so. And likewise the Lord said to His disciples, 'Everything I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you.' 3 And then a little after, 'Many things I have to say to you, but you are not able to bear them yet.' 4 How then does He say, 'Everything which I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you,' unless He means that which will be done by the Holy Spirit, speaking of it as if He had already done it? So when we hear, 'He who believes in Christ shall not come to judgement,' we understand that he will not come to damnation. For judgement is spoken for damnation, as the Apostle says, 'He who does not eat, let him not judge him who does eat,' 5 that is, that he not judge him to be wicked. And the Lord says, 'Do not judge, lest you are judged.' 6 But He does not take away from us the understanding of judgement, for the Prophet says, 'If truly you love righteousness, judge rightly, sons of men.' 7 And the Lord Himself says, 'Do not judge by appearance but with righteous judgement judge.' 8 But in that place where He prohibits judgement, He gives warning lest we damn someone whose thoughts are not clear to us, or we do not know what his future will be. So therefore when it is said, 'He shall not come to judgement,' it was meant that He will not come to damnation. For he who does not believe, he is already judged, it says, because he is damned in the foresight of God, He who knows what awaits the faithless.   Saint Augustine of Hippo, On The Christian Struggle 1 Jn 3.18  2 Ephes 2.6 3 Jn 15.15 4 Jn 16.12  5 Rom 14.3  6 Mt 7.1 7 Ps 57.2  8 Jn 7.24

Light And Fire

Ἵνα ᾗ Θεὸς πάντα ἐν πᾶσι φῶς μὲν τοῖς ἀξίοις τοῦ φωτὸς, πῦρ δὲ κολαστήριον τοῖς ἀξίοις τῆς αἰωνίου κολάσεως. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΜΖ' Δοσιθεῳ Source: Migne PG 79 104c

That God be everything to everyone, He is indeed light to those worthy of light but a punishing fire to those worthy of eternal punishment. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 48 To Dositheus

Righteous Before The Lord

Proper quod, charissimi, haec exspectantes, satagite immaculati... Ilae sunt vigiliae sanctae, de quibus Dominus ait: Beati servi illi quos, cum venerit dominus, invenerit vigilantes. Vigilat namque qui se a sordibus vitiorum immunem custodit, qui, quantum in se est, cum omnibus hominibus pacem habet, qui, in seipso pace felicissima utens, omnes carnis illecebras spiritus regimini subdit. Et bene cum diceret: Satagite immaculati et inviolati inveniri, addidit ei, id est, Domino, quia ille solum perfecte mundus est, qui divino judicio mundus est. Unde in laude bonorum conjugum dicitur: Erant autem justi ambo ante Deum. Bene ante Deum, quia humana saepe judicia fallunt. Sancta Beda,  In II Epistolam Sancti Petri  Source:  Migne PL 93 83

On account of which, beloved, hoping for these things, do all to be immaculate... 1 These are the holy and vigilant ones of whom the Lord said, 'Blessed are those servants whom when the Lord comes are found vigilant.' 2 For he is vigilant who guards his cleanliness from the filth of vice, who, as much as it is in him, is at peace with every man, who in himself is in happy tranquility, all urges of the flesh subdued beneath the reign of the spirit. And when he says 'Do all to be immaculate and to be found inviolate,' he then adds, 'by Him' that is, by the Lord, because He alone is perfectly pure who in the Divine judgement is pure. Whence in praise of those joined in goodness it is said, 'They were both righteous before the Lord.' 3 And well it is said, 'Before the Lord,' because human judgement often deceives. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the Second Letter of Peter 1 2 Pet 3.14 2 Lk 12.37 3 Lk 1.6

A Communion Of Saints

Hoc itaque omnipotens Deus agit in cordibus hominum, quod facit in regionibus terrarum. Poterat namque unicuilibet regioni fructus omnes tribuere; sed si una quaelibet regio alterius regionis fructibus non indigeret, communionem cum altera non habuisset. Unde fit ut huic vini, alii vero olei abundantiam tribuat; hanc multitudine pecudum, illam vero ubertate abundare faciat frugum, ut cum illa defert quod ista non habet, et ista reddit quod illa non detulit, per communionem gratiae sibi simul etiam divisae terrae conjunctae sint. Sicut ergo regiones terrarum, ita sunt mentes sanctorum, quae dum vicissim sibi conferunt quod acceperunt, quasi fructus suos regiones regionibus impendunt ut in una omnes charitate jungantur. Sanctus Gregorius Papa I, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia X Source: Migne PL 76 890c-d

This is how God works in all the hearts of men, as it is done in the different regions of the world. For any land can produce some fruit, but if one region were not to require the fruits of any other, it would have no communion with them. Whence it is that this land produces wine and this one gives an abundance of olives and this one has a multitude of cattle, and another one a plenitude of crops, that when one brings what another lacks, it returns what the other does not have, and by a communion of thanks each of the different areas of the world are joined to one another. And as it is in the world, so it is with the hearts of the saints, that while they bring to one another what they have received, they are as the lands which offer up their fruits to other lands, that all might be joined in one love. Pope Saint Gregory the Great, on Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 10