Homily on the Sufferings and Death of our Lord (Eusebius of Emesa)

By Eusebius of Emesa

Brethren, we cannot hold our peace on the sufferings of Christ; we must speak of them; for both the time and place constrain us to do so. For, since He died for us, shall we not tell of His Passion? Yea, rather, we will dwell on it, and proclaim it aloud. He is on the Cross, for thy sake, O sinner; and thou, be at His feet, for thy own sake also. Thou darest not think or say nothing of thy Lord's sufferings; for where He suffered, there Satan died.

Quotes of Orthodox Saints on Thanksgiving

"Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

- St. Paul the Apostle

A Homily on the Holy Eucharist and on Not Judging Others or Remembering Wrongs

By the Holy Hieromartyr Anastasios II, 

Patriarch of Antioch (599-610)

The grace of the Holy Spirit always urges us, throughout Holy Writ, to fulfill the Divine commandments. This is especially true of the admonitions of the Prophet David that are chanted daily in our psalmody. For, the Book of Psalms instructs us in piety, sets forth ordinances concerning faith, teaches temperance, leads us to the fear of God, and speaks about punishment, compunction, continence, repentance, compassion, the love of God, the patience of God, chastity, long-suffering, fasting, and beneficence. Now, assiduity and attentiveness in prayer and in reading the Divine Scriptures are the mother of all the virtues. It is by prayer that we obtain every request and gift from God; as Scripture says: “Praise god in the congregations” (Psalm 67:26, LXX), and “in the midst of the church will I sing praise to thee” (Psalm 21:22, LXX). Hence, the Prophet, in the person of God, quite naturally suggests that we practice unceasing assiduity and attentiveness towards God, saying: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 45:11, LXX). Thus, without great attentiveness and diligence in prayer and the reading of Divine Scripture it is impossible either to receive what one requests from God or truly to know God.

"On Pascha" by Melito of Sardis (a 2nd century text)

On Pascha

By Melito of Sardis (c. 190 A.D.)

1. First of all, the Scripture about the Hebrew Exodus has been read and the words of the mystery have been explained as to how the sheep was sacrificed and the people were saved.

2. Therefore, understand this, O beloved: The mystery of the passover is new and old, eternal and temporal, corruptible and incorruptible, mortal and immortal in this fashion:

3. It is old insofar as it concerns the law, but new insofar as it concerns the gospel; temporal insofar as it concerns the type, eternal because of grace; corruptible because of the sacrifice of the sheep, incorruptible because of the life of the Lord; mortal because of his burial in the earth, immortal because of his resurrection from the dead.

St. Gregory of Nyssa's Two Homilies on the Forty Holy Martyrs

Holy Forty Martyrs (Feast Day - March 9)

By St. Gregory of Nyssa

The First Homily Concerning the Forty Martyrs

I believe that persons who have undergone many harsh experiences can give us encouragement because the sufferings which they and others have endured are a source of special joy. A shepherd rejoices when he sees his abundant flock gathered together; although his pen is large, he expands it to accommodate a large number of sheep. Similarly, Peter saw a throng gathered about the Lord and exclaimed, "Master, the crowd surrounds you and presses upon you" (Lk. 8.45). While the divine Apostle says that the crowd is pressing him, the people are not crushed. How can this example illustrate my reflections? Who will give me a clear trumpet's voice that this multitude may cry out even louder and reach the ears of those assembled here? What can I gain from these words, and how can I make them useful for you who are now gathered together? Job gives us many illustrations of fortitude, while the author of Proverbs presents them in the form of riddles. What can we say about the holy Apostle [Paul]? Although his enigmatic words transcend human reason, his epistle to the Ephesians reveals the ineffable mystery of the cross. The Psalms contain these and other mysteries as indicated by their commemoration and inscriptions, and a reading of them gives us an opportunity to understand their hidden secrets. However, I feel that we should not discuss their significance which applies to another time; instead, I prefer to wait for an appropriate occasion to reveal their meaning.

On the Destruction of the Eight Passions

By St. John of Damascus

You should also learn to distinguish the impassioned thoughts that promote every sin. The thoughts that encompass all evil are eight in number: those of gluttony, unchastity, avarice, anger, dejection, listlessness, self-esteem and pride. It does not lie within our power to decide whether or not these eight thoughts are going to arise and disturb us. But to dwell on them or not to dwell on them, to excite the passions or not to excite them, does lie within our power.

In this connection, we should distinguish between seven different terms: provocation, coupling, passion, wrestling, captivity, assent (which comes very close to performance), and actualization. Provocation is simply a suggestion coming from the enemy, like "do this" or "do that," such as our Lord himself experienced when he heard the words, "Command that these stones become bread." Coupling is the acceptance of the thought suggested by the enemy. It means dwelling on the thought and choosing deliberately to dally with it in a pleasurable manner. Passion is the state resulting from coupling ... it means letting the imagination brood on the thought continually. Wrestling is the resistance offered to the impassioned thought.... Captivity is the forcible and compulsive abduction of the heart already dominated by prepossession and long habit. Assent is giving approval to the passion inherent in the thought. Actualization is the putting the impassioned thought into effect once it has received our assent. If we can confront the first of these things, the provocation, in a dispassionate way, or firmly rebut it at the outset, we thereby cut off at once everything that comes after.

These eight passions should be destroyed as follows:

gluttony by self-control;

unchastity by the desire for God and longing for the blessings held in store;

avarice by compassion for the poor;

anger by goodwill and love for all men;

worldly dejection by spiritual joy;

listlessness by patience, perseverance, and offering thanks to God;

self-esteem by doing good in secret and by praying with a contrite heart;

and pride by not judging or despising anyone in the manner of the boastful Pharisee, and by considering oneself the least of all men.

When the nous has been freed in this way from the passions we have described and been raised to God, it will henceforth lead the life of blessedness, receiving the pledge of the Holy Spirit. And when it departs this life, dispassionate and full of true knowledge, it will stand before the light of the Holy Trinity and with the divine angels will shine in glory through all eternity.

From On Virtues and Vices.

Basil the Great on Unceasing Prayer

By St. Basil the Great

Ought we to pray without ceasing? Is it possible to obey such a command? These are questions which I see you are ready to ask. I will endeavor, to the best of my ability, to defend the charge.

Prayer is a petition for good addressed by the pious to God. But we do not rigidly confine our petition to words. Nor yet do we imagine that God requires to be reminded by speech. He knows our needs even though we ask Him not. What do I say then? I say that we must not think to make our prayer complete by syllables. The strength of prayer lies rather in the purpose of our soul and in deeds of virtue reaching every part and moment of our life. "Whether you eat," it is said, "or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

As you take your seat at table, pray. As you lift the loaf, offer thanks to the Giver. When you sustain your bodily weakness with wine, remember Him Who supplies you with this gift, to make your heart glad and to comfort your infirmity. Has your need for taking food passed away? Let not the thought of your Benefactor pass away too.

As you are putting on your tunic, thank the Giver of it. As you wrap your cloak around yourself, feel yet greater love to God, Who alike in summer and in winter has given us coverings convenient for us, at once to preserve our life, and to cover what is unseemly.

Is the day done? Give thanks to Him Who has given us the sun for our daily work, and has provided for us a fire to light up the night, and to serve the rest of the needs of life.

Let night give the other occasions of prayer. When you look up to heaven and gaze at the beauty of the stars, pray to the Lord of the visible world; pray to God the Arch-artificer of the universe, Who in wisdom has made them all.

When you see all nature sunk in sleep, then again worship Him Who gives us even against our wills release from the continuous strain of toil, and by a short refreshment restores us once again to the vigor of our strength. Let not night herself be all, as it were, the special and peculiar property of sleep. Let not half your life be useless through the senselessness of slumber. Divide the time of night between sleep and prayer. Yes, let your slumbers be themselves experiences in piety; for it is only natural that our sleeping dreams should be for the most part echoes of the anxieties of the day. As have been our conduct and pursuits, so will inevitably be our dreams.

Thus will thought pray without ceasing; if thought prays not only in words, but unites itself to God through all the course of life and so your life be made one ceaseless and uninterrupted prayer.

From Basil's Homily on the Martyr Julitta.

Panegyric to St. Athanasius the Great by St. Gregory the Theologian

"To praise Athanasius is to praise virtue... To speak of and admire him fully, would perhaps be too long a task for the present purpose of my discourse, and would take the form of a history rather than of a panegyric: a history which it has been the object of my desires to commit to writing for the pleasure and instruction of posterity, as he himself wrote the life of the divine Anthony, and set forth, in the form of a narrative, the laws of the monastic life. Accordingly, after entering into a few of the many details of his history, such as memory suggests at the moment as most noteworthy, in order both to satisfy my own longing and fulfil the duty which befits the festival, we will leave the many others to those who know them. For indeed, it is neither pious nor safe, while the lives of the ungodly are honoured by recollection, to pass by in silence those who have lived piously, especially in a city which could hardly be saved by many examples of virtue, making sport, as it does, of Divine things, no less than of the horse-race and the theatre."

- St. Gregory the Theologian on St. Athanasius the Great

Read the entire Panegyric to St. Athanasius here.

Discourse on the Holy Theophany (St. Hippolytus of Rome)

By St. Hippolytus of Rome

1. Good, yea, very good, are all the works of our God and Saviour— all of them that eye sees and mind perceives, all that reason interprets and hand handles, all that intellect comprehends and human nature understands. For what richer beauty can there be than that of the circle of heaven? And what form of more blooming fairness than that of earth's surface? And what is there swifter in the course than the chariot of the sun? And what more graceful car than the lunar orb? And what work more wonderful than the compact mosaic of the stars? And what more productive of supplies than the seasonable winds? And what more spotless mirror than the light of day? And what creature more excellent than man? Very good, then, are all the works of our God and Saviour. And what more requisite gift, again, is there than the element of water? For with water all things are washed and nourished, and cleansed and bedewed. Water bears the earth, water produces the dew, water exhilarates the vine; water matures the grain in the ear, water ripens the grapecluster, water softens the olive, water sweetens the palm-date, water reddens the rose and decks the violet, water makes the lily bloom with its brilliant cups. And why should I speak at length? Without the element of water, none of the present order of things can subsist. So necessary is the element of water; for the other elements took their places beneath the highest vault of the heavens, but the nature of water obtained a seat also above the heavens. And to this the prophet himself is a witness, when he exclaims, "Praise the Lord, you heavens of heavens, and the water that is above the heavens."

2. Nor is this the only thing that proves the dignity of the water. But there is also that which is more honourable than all— the fact that Christ, the Maker of all, came down as the rain, and was known as a spring, and diffused Himself as a river, and was baptized in the Jordan. For you have just heard how Jesus came to John, and was baptized by him in the Jordan. Oh things strange beyond compare! How should the boundless River that makes glad the city of God have been dipped in a little water! The illimitable Spring that bears life to all men, and has no end, was covered by poor and temporary waters! He who is present everywhere, and absent nowhere— who is incomprehensible to angels and invisible to men— comes to the baptism according to His own good pleasure. When you hear these things, beloved, take them not as if spoken literally, but accept them as presented in a figure. Whence also the Lord was not unnoticed by the watery element in what He did in secret, in the kindness of His condescension to man. "For the waters saw Him, and were afraid." They wellnigh broke from their place, and burst away from their boundary. Hence the prophet, having this in his view many generations ago, puts the question, "What ails you, O sea, that you reddest; and you, Jordan, that you were driven back?" And they in reply said, We have seen the Creator of all things in the "form of a servant", and being ignorant of the mystery of the economy, we were lashed with fear.

3. But we, who know the economy, adore His mercy, because He has come to save and not to judge the world. Wherefore John, the forerunner of the Lord, who before knew not this mystery, on learning that He is Lord in truth, cried out, and spoke to those who came to be baptized of him, "O generation of vipers, why do you look so earnestly at me? I am not the Christ; I am the servant, and not the lord; I am the subject, and not the king; I am the sheep, and not the shepherd; I am a man, and not God. By my birth I loosed the barrenness of my mother; I did not make virginity barren. I was brought up from beneath; I did not come down from above. I bound the tongue of my father; I did not unfold divine grace. I was known by my mother, and I was not announced by a star. I am worthless, and the least; but after me there comes One who is before me — after me, indeed, in time, but before me by reason of the inaccessible and unutterable light of divinity. There comes One mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. I am subject to authority, but He has authority in Himself. I am bound by sins, but He is the Remover of sins. apply the law, but He brings grace to light. teach as a slave, but He judges as the Master. I have the earth as my couch, but He possesses heaven. I baptize with the baptism of repentance, but He confers the gift of adoption: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. Why do you give attention to me? I am not the Christ."

4. As John says these things to the multitude, and as the people watch in eager expectation of seeing some strange spectacle with their bodily eyes, and the devil is struck with amazement at such a testimony from John, lo, the Lord appears, plain, solitary, uncovered, without escort, having on Him the body of man like a garment, and hiding the dignity of the Divinity, that He may elude the snares of the dragon. And not only did He approach John as Lord without royal retinue; but even like a mere man, and one involved in sin, He bent His head to be baptized by John. Wherefore John, on seeing so great a humbling of Himself, was struck with astonishment at the affair, and began to prevent Him, saying, as you have just heard, "I have need to be baptized by You, and You come to me? What are you doing, O Lord? You teach things not according to rule. I have preached one thing (regarding You), and You perform another; the devil has heard one thing, and perceives another. Baptize me with the fire of Divinity; why do you wait for water? Enlighten me with the Spirit; why do You attend upon a creature? Baptize me, the Baptist, that Your pre-eminence may be known. I, O Lord, baptize with the baptism of repentance, and I cannot baptize those who come to me unless they first confess fully their sins. Be it so then that I baptize You, what have You to confess? You are the Remover of sins, and will You be baptized with the baptism of repentance? Though I should venture to baptize You, the Jordan dares not to come near You. I have need to be baptized by You, and You come to me?"

5. And what says the Lord to him? "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness. Suffer it to be so now, John; you are not wiser than I. You see as man; I foreknow as God. It becomes me to do this first, and thus to teach. I engage in nothing unbecoming, for I am invested with honour. Do you marvel, O John, that I am not come in my dignity? The purple robe of kings suits not one in private station, but military splendour suits a king: am I come to a prince, and not to a friend? Suffer it to be so now for thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness: I am the Fulfiller of the law; I seek to leave nothing wanting to its whole fulfilment, that so after me Paul may exclaim, Christ is the fulfilling of the law for righteousness to every one that believes. Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness. Baptize me, John, in order that no one may despise baptism. I am baptized by you, the servant, that no one among kings or dignitaries may scorn to be baptized by the hand of a poor priest. Allow me to go down into the Jordan, in order that they may hear my Father's testimony, and recognise the power of the Son. Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness." Then at length John suffers Him. "And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and the heavens were opened unto Him; and, lo, the Spirit of God descended like a dove, and rested upon Him. And a voice (came) from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

6. Do you see, beloved, how many and how great blessings we would have lost, if the Lord had yielded to the exhortation of John, and declined baptism? For the heavens were shut before this; the region above was inaccessible. We would in that case descend to the lower parts, but we would not ascend to the upper. But was it only that the Lord was baptized? He also renewed the old man, and committed to him again the sceptre of adoption. For straightway "the heavens were opened to Him". A reconciliation took place of the visible with the invisible; the celestial orders were filled with joy; the diseases of earth were healed; secret things were made known; those at enmity were restored to amity. For you have heard the word of the evangelist, saying, The heavens were opened to Him, on account of three wonders. For when Christ the Bridegroom was baptized, it was meet that the bridal-chamber of heaven should open its brilliant gates. And in like manner also, when the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and the Father's voice spread everywhere, it was meet that the gates of heaven should be lifted up. And, lo, the heavens were opened to Him; and a voice was heard, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

7. The beloved generates love, and the light immaterial the light inaccessible. This is my beloved Son, He who, being manifested on earth and yet unseparated from the Father's bosom, was manifested, and yet did not appear. For the appearing is a different thing, since in appearance the baptizer here is superior to the baptized. For this reason did the Father send down the Holy Spirit from heaven upon Him who was baptized. For as in the ark of Noah the love of God toward man is signified by the dove, so also now the Spirit, descending in the form of a dove, bearing as it were the fruit of the olive, rested on Him to whom the witness was borne. For what reason? That the faithfulness of the Father's voice might be made known, and that the prophetic utterance of a long time past might be ratified. And what utterance is this? "The voice of the Lord (is) on the waters, the God of glory thundered; the Lord (is) upon many waters." And what voice? "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." This is He who is named the son of Joseph, and (who is) according to the divine essence my Only-begotten. "This is my beloved Son"— He who is hungry, and yet maintains myriads; who is weary, and yet gives rest to the weary; who has not where to lay His head, and yet bears up all things in His hand; who suffers, and yet heals sufferings; who is smitten, and yet confers liberty on the world; who is pierced in the side, and yet repairs the side of Adam.

8. But give me now your best attention, I pray you, for I wish to go back to the fountain of life, and to view the fountain that gushes with healing. The Father of immortality sent the immortal Son and Word into the world, who came to man in order to wash him with water and the Spirit; and He, begetting us again to incorruption of soul and body, breathed into us the breath (spirit) of life, and endued us with an incorruptible panoply. If, therefore, man has become immortal, he will also be God. And if he is made God by water and the Holy Spirit after the regeneration of the layer he is found to be also joint-heir with Christ after the resurrection from the dead. Wherefore I preach to this effect: Come, all you kindreds of the nations, to the immortality of the baptism. I bring good tidings of life to you who tarry in the darkness of ignorance. Come into liberty from slavery, into a kingdom from tyranny, into incorruption from corruption. And how, says one, shall we come? How? By water and the Holy Ghost. This is the water in conjunction with the Spirit, by which paradise is watered, by which the earth is enriched, by which plants grow, by which animals multiply, and (to sum up the whole in a single word) by which man is begotten again and endued with life, in which also Christ was baptized, and in which the Spirit descended in the form of a dove.

9. This is the Spirit that at the beginning "moved upon the waters"; by whom the world moves; by whom creation consists, and all things have life; who also wrought mightily in the prophets, and descended in flight upon Christ. This is the Spirit that was given to the apostles in the form of fiery tongues. This is the Spirit that David sought when he said, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Of this Spirit Gabriel also spoke to the Virgin, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you." By this Spirit Peter spoke that blessed word, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." By this Spirit the rock of the Church was established. This is the Spirit, the Comforter, that is sent because of you, that He may show you to be the Son of God.

10. Come then, be begotten again, O man, into the adoption of God. And how? Says one. If you practise adultery no more, and commit not murder, and serve not idols; if you are not overmastered by pleasure; if you do not suffer the feeling of pride to rule you; if you clean off the filthiness of impurity, and put off the burden of sin; if you cast off the armour of the devil, and put on the breastplate of faith, even as Isaiah says, "Wash, and seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, and plead for the widow. And come and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, I shall make them white as snow; and though they be like crimson, I shall make them white as wool. And if you be willing, and hear my voice, you shall eat the good of the land." Do you see, beloved, how the prophet spoke beforetime of the purifying power of baptism? For he who comes down in faith to the layer of regeneration, and renounces the devil, and joins himself to Christ; who denies the enemy, and makes the confession that Christ is God; who puts off the bondage, and puts on the adoption,— he comes up from the baptism brilliant as the sun, flashing forth the beams of righteousness, and, which is indeed the chief thing, he returns a son of God and joint-heir with Christ. To Him be the glory and the power, together with His most holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all the ages of the ages. Amen.

Source

15 Hymns For the Feast of Epiphany (St. Ephraim the Syrian)

15 Hymns For the Feast of Epiphany By St. Ephraim the Syrian

On St. John the Evangelist and Theologian (St. Gregory Palamas)

By St. Gregory Palamas

Today we celebrate the feast of one of Christ's chosen apostles, and extol him as the father of all those called by Christ's name, and in particular as patriarch of those "which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13).

...

But even this John has in common with Peter and James, Christ's foremost disciples, just as he shares his role of evangelist with his fellow writers of the Holy Gospel, the words of eternal life, though he far surpassed them in his eloquence and sublime theology.

...

Christ was the beloved Son, John was the beloved disciple. Christ was in the bosom of the Father, John leant on Jesus' breast. Christ was a virgin, and by His grace, so was John. Christ was the Son of the Virgin, and so was John. "The Lord thundered from the heavens" (Ps. 18:13), and John was thunder, for he, more than the others, was called thunder and the son of thunder (c.f. Mark 3:17), a most theological thunder which resounds to the ends of the earth declaring the divine truth that in the beginning was the Word from the Father, and the Word was with God, and was God, and in Him was life and the true light, which lights every man coming into the world, by Whom in the beginning all things were made.

...

The beloved disciple was sent by our Savior Jesus Christ, who loved him, to teach us the whole truth, raise us up from these dead works, and urge us towards works of light. He made perfectly clear that love for God and our neighbor was the culmination of these works, and capable of bringing salvation. How can we fail to love and honor him as the one who disclosed to us the truth in its entirety? So let us not, brethren, do the opposite of what he has told us. And let us not show love and faith in our speech and gestures, while disobeying him in our actions, as John himself forbade, saying, "Brethren, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18).

From "Homily On St. John the Evangelist and Theologian" in On The Saints: Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas (Mount Thabor Publishing).

Fourth Century Texts Reveal True Bride of Christ

The Catechesis of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, an early fourth century Archbishop of Jerusalem, says the following concerning the Church as the Bride of Christ:

“The Church is called ‘Catholic’: such is the proper name of the holy Church which is the mother of us all. She is also the Bride of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God (for it is written in the Scripture, ‘Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her,’ and so on). Moreover she fulfills the type and carries out the pattern of the Jerusalem which is from above, which is free and the mother of us all. Though she was at first childless, she is now the parent of a mighty family."

In the early Church, the brides of Christ were specifically those women who dedicated their entire life to a life of purity for the sake of Christ, and in one of his poems St. Gregory the Theologian, a fourth century Archbishop of Constantinople, specifically addresses these virgins as the brides of Christ:

O bride of Christ on high,

Thy Bridegroom glorify!

Always thyself keep pure,

In word and wisdom sure,

That bright with Him all-bright

Thou e'er mayst dwell in light.

Far better spouse is He

Than earthly spouse could be:

Thy union happier far

Than mortal unions are.

In bodily estate

Thou yet didst imitate

The intellectual powers,

Giving to Him thy hours:

And didst acquire on earth

The angels' right of birth.

'Tis 'bind and loose' below,

Bodies from bodies grow:

Above each stands alone,

Nor loosing there is known.

Of pure existence, they

First bear the ethereal ray,

Spirit and fire: none rests,

Doing great God's behests.

But now wild matter found--

All nature flowing round

With unresisted force--

A mingled intercourse;

But God the flood restrained,

And marriage laws ordained.

But thou hast hence escaped,

And upward thy course shaped;

From matter's base alloy

To spirit's holy joy.

Mind harmonized with mind,

Doth truest pleasure find:

Such harmony is thine,

A harmony divine.

With flesh thou war dost wage,

And helpest God's image:

For thou art God's own breath,

With body yoked till death:

That out of wrestling sore,

At length the battle o'er,

And earth well beaten down,

Thou mayst receive the crown.

To marriage also raise,

But only second praise.

That is for passion given,

This is bright light of heaven:

That founds a pure offspring,

This is self-offering.

This honoured was, we hold,

At seasons marked of old.

To this in Paradise

Lo! Adam testifies:

For this on Sinai's peak

Doth Moses also speak;

And Zachary the priest,

Of God's true saints not least,

And whom we hail the rather

As the Forerunner's father.

But marriage hath its need:

Hence springs a holy seed:

And hence the Virgin bride

Honoured at God's own side.

Yet of the flesh it is, and earth,

All earthly from its birth.

When law and shadows ruled,

And we were sometime schooled,

Marriage held sceptre mild,

Yet like a little child.

But when the letter died,

The Spirit was supplied:

For Christ had come and borne

In flesh our woes and scorn:

Had brought Redemption nigh,

And then ascended high:

Christ, sprung from Virgin's womb,

Christ, Conqueror o'er the tomb.

Then continence did rise,

And this base world despise,

Which should its course have mended,

And high with Christ ascended.

Thou journey'st well! but haste!

Behind is fiery waste:

Take to thy steps good heed,

And to the mountain speed.

Cast not one backward glance

On Sodom, lest perchance

Thou, fixed upon the ground,

A pile of salt be found.

In battling with the flesh

Take ever courage fresh,

Neither by terror bent,

Nor over-confident.

Faint not, for He is nigh

Who will all strength supply.

A spark may kindle hell:

Water the flame cloth quell.

Full means to thee are lent

For good self-government.

Let thou the fear of God

Freeze the rebellious blood:

Fasting the flesh control:

Keep watches o'er thy soul,

And pour it forth in prayer:

Such thy true weapons are.

Add tears: and lowly bed,

With reeds or rushes spread:

One constant flame of love

Rising to God above,

And lulling all desire

Which doth not up aspire.

The fallen rise by thee!

The shipwrecked pitied be!

Thyself live out the gale,

Expanding Hope's bright sail.

They fall not who ne'er rise,

But they who try the skies.

Few mount on pinion wings:

Straight course to humbler things.

Fell Lucifer through pride

Angels in heaven reside.

One, traitor, sunk in night:

The eleven are stars of light.

Be pure, be wholly pure,

Of this make ever sure,

Lest thou, by heeding not,

Christ's spotless robe shouldst spot.

Let modest be thine eye:

Thy tongue speak maidenly:

Thy mind not pandering,

Thy foot not wandering:

Nor loud laugh marking thee,

As one we blush to see.

Thy poor and tarnished wear,

Thy unadornèd hair,

I honour more than pearls,

Or silken dress, or curls.

Fair flower is modest face,

And paleness is true grace:

And virtues plentiful

Are braid most beautiful.

With paints let others dress

The living God's likeness;

Live tablet they of sin,

And all that's base within.

Whate'er thou hast of beauty,

Die let it all to duty:

But beauty of the soul--

'Tis God's--it keep thou whole.

Of men, though good they be,

The sight 'twere best thou flee.

Some cheat might thee entrance,

Or be entranced perchance:

Eye now with eye bespangling,

And word with word entangling,

Then cheek with cheek o'erglowing,

And mutual passion flowing.

'Tis well: but not for thee:

Not thine the accursed tree:

The tree of Life thy care;

The serpent's guile beware!

O maiden, hear my word,

Have thou no other lord;

Thy Bridegroom reigns above

And bids thee faithful prove.

Thou from the flesh hast fled,

And it to thee is dead,

Why turn to it again,

And make thy work all vain?

That singleness of thine

Is a rare gift divine:

Few they whom it adorns,

As rose among the thorns.

Such grace'tis thine to know:

High o'er the snares below,

By which the wicked fall,

Thou safely passest all.

Lo! one no sooner builds,

And bridal chamber gilds,

Than she with mournful gloom

Forth bears him to the tomb.

Felt one a father's pride?

At once the loved child died.

And oh! the mother's pain

Of travailing in vain!

And jealousy, ah me!

How frightful 'tis to see,

When each the other taunts,

Where stolen friendship haunts!

What wormwood and what gall,

Worst recompence of all,

To rear up family,

And then dishonoured be!

One care is thine, one call,

To look to God in all!

But little thou dost need:

That little God will speed.

Shelter and barley cake

Sufficient wealth will make:

Nor shall dire need impart

Keen edge to tempter's dart,

As when Christ, hard bestead,

He bade turn stones to bread.

By thee, however tried,

Be all base gain denied:

Fowls of the air God feeds,

Sure then His saints He heeds.

Of oil, if faith prevail,

Thy cruse shall never fail.

By Cherith's desert brook

At the great Prophet look!

To feed him ravens sped:

So too shalt thou be fed!

How Thecla from the flame,

And lions, unscathed came,

Thou know'st: and how great Paul,

Preacher of truth to all,

Bore hunger, thirst, and cold,

Through death's worst forms still bold;

That thou might'st look, O maid,

To God alone for aid,

Who in the wilderness

With food can myriads bless.

Lo! beauty fadeth fast,

Nor will earth's glories last:

Wealth is a failing stream,

And power an empty dream.

But thou, faith's sail unfurled,

Hast fled this erring world,

Steering thy course on high

To realms beyond the sky.

There in the holy shrine

Thou shalt for ever shine:

And there with angels raise

The song of endless praise!

A better portion far

Than sons and daughters are!

But maidens, be ye wise,

And watch with longing eyes,

That when Christ shall return

Your lamps may brightly burn:

That with the Bridegroom ye

May enter in, and see

The beauty and the grace

Of His own dwelling place,

And share in truth and love

The mysteries above.

Sermon for the Third Wednesday of Great Lent

CATECHESIS 60: On Our Sudden Departure From Here and Teaching About Keeping Safe Watch Over our Senses and our Mind from Unseemly Desires.

By St. Theodore the Studite

Given on Wednesday of the 3rd Week.

Brethren and fathers, in the presence of our holy father and teacher we have no need to discourse; but nevertheless because of our custom let us say just a little. Day by day our life, as you see, is passing and we are getting nearer to death, and we must be removed hence and be joined to our brothers and fathers; so  there is need of much vigilance and attention and preparation of heart. We hear the story of the Flood being read, and the Lord in the Gospels saying: "As in the days of Noah they were eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling and suddenly the flood came, so too it will be at the coming of the Son of Man" [Cf. Mt. 24:37-39; Lk. 17:26]. And perhaps we wonder in this case how insensibly they were disposed, and were not rather trembling and terrified. Let us be on the watch then lest we find ourselves without realizing it in the same state of which we accuse them. Already it is not the ark which is being got ready, which was being filled up during one hundred years, but every day the tomb is seen filled, into which we are about to crawl. Already each day death is at work [Cf. 2 Cor. 4:12], when each one of our brothers departs. Things here are more fearful than those there; and so we should be on our guard. I don’t say: we shouldn’t eat, drink, or clothe ourselves. I don’t say that; "but whether we eat, or drink, or whatever we do, let us do everything to the glory of God" [1 Cor. 10:31-32], giving no offence to Jews or Greeks or to the Church of God, as the Apostle teaches.

Yes, I exhort, yes, I implore, my brothers, "make my joy complete", as the Apostle again says, "be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or vainglory; but in humility think of others as better than yourselves" [Phil. 2:2-3]. Let us secure our senses, sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, for through them death enters. Let us bridle our mind to not be carried off to things it should not, not to step into the pitfall of unseemly things, not to picture to ourselves evil images nor to conceive sinful desires, from which we gain no profit or pleasure; on the contrary we are pained and crushed accomplishing nothing useful. There is one repose then and one pleasure, to cleanse the soul and to look towards dispassion. And let us not grow despondent [akedia] when called to repose and the joy of dispassion, but let us hasten and press forward intently with diligence to right every defect; and God is our helper; for the Lord is near those who wait for him. And by living thus may we reach the kingdom of heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and might with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

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