of glory; let us discard the fleeting flower of this life like a garment easily washed away; let us run through the journey of this life with prayer that travels to heaven, we who are traversing the path of this world, and let us press on toward the prize of the upward call in Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILY VI. On Prayer.
BHaving previously discoursed to you about fasting, and having recounted its virtues to the best of our ability, and having again in the former discourse covered your desire to hear about baptism, we wish today to set forth for you also what prayer is, what its power is, and what benefit accrues to those who practice it. I exhort you, therefore, listen kindly and attentively, applying a straight hearing to what is said. It is truly the greatest and eldest thing, and the mother of all commandments, spawning all the mandates of the Lord.
For who, while praying, can neglect a neighbor who is destitute, so that his own devotion might be in vain? Or who can be so desirous of such wealth and abundance that he accepts for the body only useless labor, while his heart is wandering elsewhere? For the disease of greed resembles a certain malady that is difficult to heal and persistent, neither bringing death quickly nor providing perfect health, but little by little loosening the body from its own sinews, until, wasting away from ulcers risen within, and after countless pains, it consigns it to the common ruin of death.
And who, being a lover of prayer, will be able to neglect fasting, instructed by the Holy Scripture itself that "fasting and prayer deliver from death"? Moreover, it is not possible for one living in gluttony and drunkenness to call upon the Lord from the heart, just as the Lord instructed His own disciples in the Gospel: "Watch," he says, "lest your hearts be weighed down by dissipation and drunkenness." For the vapor from the multitude of foods entering in occupies the hollow parts of the brain and clouds the reasoning that is useful for it, disturbing the heart itself.
Thus, prayer is in truth a sort of starting point for all commandments, forcing them all to run along with their own world. Prayer is the greatest good and conversation with God; for it is communion and union with God. And just as the eyes of the body are enlightened by seeing light, so also the soul, when extended toward God, is enlightened by being illuminated by His ineffable light. Prayer, therefore, is not that which is performed in mere external form, but that which is accomplished from the heart; not that which is enclosed by times and intervals of hours, but that which has an unceasing work by night and by day. For it is not necessary only when one goes to prayer to quickly turn the mind toward God, but it is necessary that even when one is occupied with certain duties, whether with the care of the poor, or with other concerns, or with beneficial works of generosity, the desire...
and the memory of God should be mingled, so that, seasoned as it were with salt by the love of God, it may become a most sweet food to the Master of all. We are able to possess the benefit resulting from this as an inalienable treasure throughout our life, if we devote the greatest part of our time to it.
Prayer is the light of the soul, the true knowledge of God, the mediator between God and men, the medicine for passions, the remedy for the diseases of the soul, the calmer of the mind, the celestial guide; it does not turn about the earth, but proceeds to the vault of heaven itself. A It leaps over creatures, it cuts through the air intellectually, it journeys above the air, it passes the dances of the stars, it opens the gates of heaven, it becomes higher than the angels, it passes by the thrones and dominions, it makes its way through the Cherubim, and having become above every created nature, it arrives at the inaccessible Trinity itself. There it worships the Godhead; there it is accounted worthy to become a companion of the heavenly King. By means of it the soul, raised aloft to the heavens, embraces the Lord with ineffable embraces, crying out like an infant to its own mother with tears, longing for the divine milk; it asks for its own desires, and receives gifts greater than every visible nature.
B For prayer stands as a venerable messenger before God; it gladdens the soul, it rests the mind, it begets the fear of punishment, the desire for the kingdom of heaven; it teaches humility, it provides the knowledge of sin; in a word, it adorns man with all good things, while wrapping around the soul the whole nature of virtue like a certain variegated garment. This also bestowed Samuel upon Anna, and appointed him a prophet of the Lord; this also made Elias the zealot of the Lord, and became the guide for the descent of the heavenly fire upon the sacrifice. For when the priests of Baal had invoked their idol all day long, he lifted up his voice with a pure mind, and having cried out with heart and mouth, he brought down fire from heaven, a testimony to a just prayer. For like a certain eagle swooping down upon the altar, with the swiftness of his nature he consumed everything. This indeed the great servant of God, Elias the zealot, C achieved, leading us to spiritual things through the lessons of those times, that we too, crying out to God from the heart, may urge the ineffable fire of the Spirit to descend upon the altar of our heart, for this reason becoming a perfect whole burnt-offering to the Lord.
Prayer also made Moses the lawgiver a reconciler of God for Israel, and set up trophies against the adversaries for the Israelites. By prayer also Josue, the son of Nun, commanded the great and most brilliant star in the heavens, the sun—which was then dividing the mid-pole of the heaven—to stand still in that same place for the space of a day. So much did the Lord give it the primacy among all commandments, D that he would flee from cities and villages, and from his own disciples, and retreat into the deserts for the sake of prayer, so that, far from human tumults and disturbances, [he might remain alone with God].
and of his own disciples, fleeing to the deserts for the sake of prayer, so that, away from the tumults and disturbances of men, he might in that silence hold communion with great desire, teaching us at the same time that he who professes such a way of life must take up A in desert places, and do such things with undivided attention. By prayer it was that the great assembly of the apostles was deemed worthy to receive the Paraclete today; and for this reason I was compelled to speak to you of it today. Prayer, while the body lies upon the earth, carries the soul up to that heavenly fountain, and filling it with that draught, makes it within itself a fountain of water leaping up to eternal life. It gives true assurance of things to come, bestowing a knowledge of the goods there better than faith, opening hidden, invisible, dark treasures, showing you the adversary; it cuts through the arrays of the foreigners, destroys the opposing powers, and leads you to the King himself. When I say prayer, do not think it is mere words. It is desire toward God, an ineffable love, not worked by men, but operating by divine grace, concerning which even the Apostle says: "For what we should pray for as we ought we do not know, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." (Rom. viii, 26).
If the Lord grants such prayer to anyone, it is an inalienable wealth and a heavenly food that satisfies the soul; he who has tasted it possesses an eternal desire for the Lord, which, like some vehement fire, inflames his heart. When you perform this fundamentally, with gentleness and a humble heart, paint your house, brighten it with the light of justice; with good works, as with some choice plate, adorn your own house, and instead of walls and mosaics, decorate it with faith and magnanimity; and above all, place prayer upon it as a roof for the perfection of the house, so that you may prepare your own house perfect for the Master, and receive the Lord as in a royal and glorious house, as if possessing him already established as a statue in the temple of the soul through his grace, for to him be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILY VII.
On the text, “Every sin that a man does is outside the body.” (1 Cor. vi, 18).Terrible is the trumpet of the apostolic command, D which, while it clearly testifies to the camp of piety in many other things, most of all drives it away from the pits of disgrace, and indeed adds a military command at the end: “Flee,” he says, “fornication; every sin that a man does is outside the body.” For soldiers in wars of sensation, sometimes employing face-to-face conflict and sometimes flight, devise their battle lines. There is also a war for souls, conducted by resistance and flight; and Paul, knowing this, the leader of the tactics of piety,