ON THE BEGINNING OF THE FASTS, AND ON FASTING
A The spiritual spring of fasting has dawned for us today, beloved, and the meadows of temperance have been opened to the merchants of piety. The sailors of the Church now call us to the heavenly trade and prepare for us the voyage of justice, spreading out for us the prophetic parchments and taking up the rudders of the Law. They hoist the mast of the venerable Cross and tighten the anchor of faith. The Holy Spirit proclaims this vernal season, and the Creator of all oversees it. Come, therefore, let us also today, beloved, receive with joy the purity of fasting as it stands before our doors, and let us cry out to it with soul-felt embraces: "Come, O mother of goods and virtues, fill us with heavenly fragrance; open to us the paradise of evangelical conduct, that we may enjoy the spiritual fruits of temperance. Purify us with the diadem of chastity, grant us a life unclouded, heal the wounds of our souls caused by luxury, extinguish the burning fires of drunkenness, and the feverish, diseased thoughts caused by despondency. Shut tight the theaters of the devil, take away his madness, restrain the workshop of inhumanity that nurtures wild beasts. Rebuke the winds of the wicked spirits. Transform those who are fasting into the conduct of the bodiless ones. Show the venerable gray hair of the elder—draw him with the plow of temperance. Make radiant those men who spend their days in debauchery. Adorn the women who traverse the stadium of modesty. Transform the youth toward the angelic life. Let those who are weary from their sins breathe from their vain labors, and let them cast off the filth of the whole year during these forty days of fasting. For you fill not only the earth, but now also paradise itself."
For now the super-celestial powers rejoice, the hosts of angels keep festival spiritually; Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, and Powers rejoice at the salvation of men. Only the devil, having fallen from the heavens, laments and says: "Where is my boasting now against those who were turned headlong by gluttony? Where is my soul-destroying device against men through food? Where is now for me the tasting of the wood, through which I deceived Adam along with Eve and stripped him naked? My devices of wickedness are gone now that fasting has appeared. Whence has this fasting, as it is called, appeared to me? Who has now campaigned with it against me? No longer is Adam, having been deceived with Eve, stripped of God; no longer does he obey soul-destroying counsel; no longer is he gluttonous; no longer is he held by the noose of gluttony. Again through fasting Adam is in paradise, again he boasts, again he is adorned by the divine image, again he is led back to the archetypal beauty. And what is more terrible than this: having lost paradise through transgression, he has leaped into the heavens on the chariot of fasting. I was cast out from those places, and the man who was cast out once again rides upon the celestial powers. I have become a laughingstock, defeated by men, overthrown by the fasting, driven out by human nature." B Let the wicked one sing a dirge for these failures of his as he is buffeted. But we, having snatched a well-aimed dart from the apostolic quiver for the present occasion, let us pierce the pleasures of his avarice, crying out with Paul the things of Paul: "We brought nothing into this world; it is evident that we cannot carry anything out." But would that our entry mimicked our departure! Would that a person left naked and free of punishment; would that he were poor in nature and unaccused in soul; would that he were destitute and blameless; would that he were without resources and without pain! But the most terrible thing of all is this: that a person leaves behind here what he gathered, carrying away the sin from those things, and is deprived of the profit while not being alienated from the condemnation caused by them. Instead, another person succeeds to the enjoyment of his things, while he alone endures the punishment. And he who did not acquire them revels in having them, while he who did acquire them is tormented for having nothing—only one thing gained from his wealth: the duty to pay the penalty.
Recover from the worldly sea, O man, and divide your wealth willingly among the poor; do not leave it to your enemies. Anticipate the mouths of those who are gaping for it; do not become prey to those tracking down the possessions of others. Are you a father of children? Count their soul as a sister; assign a portion of your wealth to her as well. Are you fond of children? Become also fond of God, through whom you acquired the fondness for children. But have you suffered the illness of childlessness? Do not fall into [possessing] sons whom nature did not give you; by doing good to yourself, let yourself be inherited. Do not be seen by the Judge naked of almsgiving. Flee the threatened fire; prepare yourself for the common departure of the race; contemplate that last day of your life. When the angels passing by stand over you all at once to take your soul, what will you do, being dragged by the thief Death? When you are about to lose heart from the danger encompassing you; when your voice is faint and indistinct; when you breathe weakly and rapidly; when the fire from within presses upon you, warring against your soul; when no ally stands by as the terrible moment presses; when a brother does not redeem—can a man redeem? C When money flows away, when the soul is driven into that fearful judgment seat, when you are no longer the master of your own self, when you repent of what you have done with no room for repentance left, when the door of repentance is shut and the entrance to paradise is walled off, when you sigh from the depth of your heart and find no one to rescue you—will you not then come to such an extremity of hopelessness in your reasoning?
By no means; but you will sigh bitterly in your soul and say, voiceless: "Woe is me, woe is me, wretched one that I am! I am pushed toward the exit, the miserable one; I am dragged by force to finish my life; I am led as a prisoner from where there is no returning. Henceforth servants do not help, friends do not appear, flatterers have retreated, bodyguards do not stand by; my belt does not assist me, my gold does not contribute for me, my army does not rescue me, my money does not redeem me, those who are conspicuous do not save me. In vain did I build houses; I spent so much money at the wrong time; I heaped up talents. My glory falls away from me; I no longer command, and servants stand by; I do not order, and the army circles me; I do not decree, and all cities fulfill what is ordered. What shall I do, wretched one that I am? What shall I do with the inevitable things pressing upon me?" I will beg, I will entreat again the Death that drags me, even if it has no intent of mercy. "I implore you, O Death, grant me a small time of life as a gift. Do you not fear royal dignity? Did you not see my vehicle prepared before the doors? Respect royalty as it entreats you, show reverence for gray hair as it beseeches you, spare weeping youth. It is not total release, O Death, that I ask, but a small delay. I have left my house unfinished, I have not yet distributed to heirs as I ought, I have not reached my goal. Forgetfulness has made me not sober until the present, occupied with life's cares; I have left my mind's more vital affairs unprovided for. D Suddenly you drag me to judgment; what words shall I use when I am brought in? What success shall I call upon as a coworker? What good deed will plead for me when I am judged? By doing what shall I make my defense to the Judge? What shall I say, or what shall I utter, when I am forced to look downward under the weight of my offenses? Be patient with me a little, I beseech you. Where are you dragging me unprepared? Why are you in such a hurry to present me naked to the Judge? Permit me, I beseech you, to say something; I will reflect on my transgression; I will release a cry of confession; I will mourn a little; I will sigh briefly; I will weep for a short while; I will greet friends; I will embrace my wife—and I will cover my soul with even a single cloak of repentance. I will hire the poor as advocates from here; I will devise healing for my wounds before the end; I will give all the wealth I have for a small delay." And though you say things wiser than these, O man, you will not prevent the violence of the Death that stands by. For Death is a merciless executioner, Death is an unavoidable decree, Death is an impartial dispatcher of the race, Death is a heartless murderer, Death is the traveler of nature, Death enters and stands by kings without announcement, Death is a thief performing the same art of theft by day and by night, Death is one who snatches, a plunderer of justice, Death is desirable only to the just.
then dispense; decline from evil, then do good. Do not appear liberal with what you have stolen by harming fraternal love. When you have taken pity on those whom you made poor, then dispense of what was not stolen to others; when you have wiped away the tears of those you have harmed, then take pity on other weeping poor. Honor the Lord, says the Scripture, from your just labors (Prov. 3. 9). Do not be deceived, God is not mocked (Gal. 6. 7). He does not accept a gift while another groans; the Creator does not endure to divide with you what has been stolen. It is not possible for what is just to be neglected there, it is not possible for him who is convicted to escape; but if you are conscious of any transgression, O man, perform repentance. Have you fallen at some time, O man, into irrational appetites, induced by illicit necessity? Have you become a debtor of many iniquities? Do not so fear the Judge, nor despair of your salvation; mercy is accustomed to be entreated, it is appeased by alms given to the poor, as it accepts the consolation of the poor as gifts. Hear Him crying in the Gospels: Give alms, and all things are fulfilled. Give to me, cries He who enriches all: Give to me, says He who bestows upon all. He holds as accepted the two mites offered by the widow; He is not ashamed to incline Himself toward a cup of cold water. He is accustomed to accept the intention of a merciful pauper: for He Himself says: He who pities the poor lends to God (Prov. 19. 17): to whom is due glory and power everywhere, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
ON THE ADORATION OF THE VENERABLE CROSS
Let us sing a new song, O peoples, to the justice of the Lord the King, and let us confess to Him; or rather, let us sing hymns, let us glorify, let us praise, let us adore, and let us magnify the advent of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ; and in hymns let us adore and with encomiums celebrate the venerable and thrice-blessed wood of the Lord. Come, O beloved, performing dances in praise, and adoring in faith, let us say, chanting with the prophet David: The light of Thy countenance has been marked upon us, O Lord (Ps. 4. 7). What then is this light, if not the Cross of the Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, through whom the world was saved and we believers were liberated from the captivity of Belial, and the paper of our iniquities was torn? The countenance of the Father is Christ: He who has seen me, He says, has seen the Father (John 14. 9). But the light of the countenance of the Lord is the Cross; for in it, as a lamp on a lampstand, He illuminated the world, and He strengthened the earth shaken by movement, He split the rocks, He raised the dead; and having put the sun to flight, He clothed the heaven in sackcloth or darkness, in order to show to the ungrateful, to the wicked, to those denying God, that He who was crucified in the flesh is Lord and Creator.
Therefore, O beloved, I seek and desire to offer you to the Cross, and to celebrate it worthily; but I am afraid, although I am unworthy, for my flesh trembles, my tongue grows numb, my lips harden, and my mind within imposes silence. How then, base as I am, shall I be able to speak worthily concerning the power of the venerable and life-giving Cross? Yet I shall speak in part, through the grace of God, that which I comprehend; for not even the angels can worthily celebrate its power. For this sign of the Cross, which we see, the angels adore, not because of the form of the Cross, but because of Christ who of His own will was crucified upon it in the flesh. Adam was condemned because he ate from the wood; and the new Adam, Christ our God, strengthened us through the wood of the Cross. And the word of the prophet saying: Thou hast given a token to them that fear Thee, that they may flee from before the bow (Ps. 59. 6). The sign is the Cross on the forehead and hand of the faithful; the bow is error, the archer is the devil, the arrows are shameful thoughts, the wounds are sins. Come, O faithful, let us enjoy the adoration of the venerable and immaculate Cross. For a stupor seized every living creature, seeing Christ affixed to the wood, the founder and governor of the universe pierced by a lance in His sacred side, and blood and water flowing from the perennial fountain, bearing a crown of thorns, drinking vinegar mixed with gall; the ministers of darkness and friends of gloom casting lots with blood-stained hands, so that each might receive a fitting portion. The orders of the incorporeal angels shuddered; the heaven was sad and mournful, the light and splendor of the stars was extinguished; that great giant, the sun, withdrew its lamps, darkness occupied the ether; the day was turned into thick evening; the beautiful veil of the temple was torn, the earth was agitated with quaking, and of a sudden the dead were coming forth from the tombs, loosed from their bonds. The thief dwells in paradise through faith and word: the smitten Judas perished by a noose: Peter, terrified, swears he does not know the Lord, who had saved him from error, until the cock crowing refuted him; but when he had wept bitterly, he washed away his sin. Beholding these things, the infernal dragon, lamenting, groaned, saying: O my ministers and powers, princes of darkness, who drove the nail into my heart? A wooden lance has pierced me, and I am destroyed; I am tormented in my vitals, my heart pains me, my senses are corrupted, my spirit boils. Would that Judas had not been established in the number of the disciples! Would that the wood of the Cross had not been driven against me! For by Him whom I thought I held in my hands, I am now held as a captive, and all those whom I held from the first man, I am forced to vomit forth. Come, O beloved, let us be covered under the wings of the venerable and life-giving Cross. For the Cross, which is terminated by four extremities, signifies that the crucified is God who pervades all things, and comprehends all boundaries. Christ God was exalted upon it, so that He might put to flight the demons who willingly dwell in the air, and might prepare for us a free and easy journey into heaven, as He Himself, our Savior, said: When I shall be exalted, I will draw all men to myself (John 12. 32). And what need is there to say many things to you? Hear the prophet saying: The Lord shall send the rod of power out of Sion (Ps. 109. 2): because the rod is Christ, as Isaias said: A rod shall go out of the root of Jesse (Isai. 11. 1). Holding it, Moses divided the Red Sea, he split the water and again joined it together: he split it, so that the people of the Lord might pass through; he joined it, so that the Egyptian people might be enfolded in the depth of the sea. Another prophet says: Blessed is the wood, by which salvation was made in the midst of the earth. Consider the stars of heaven, and daily you will see among them the sign of the Cross, formed from the stars. Wherefore I, before I exalt the life-giving Cross, shall happily offer some few things in praise, and when I have exalted it, I shall adore. Hail, Cross, principle of salvation, and protection of the kingdom: hail, Cross, which sends forth the apostles, the preaching of the prophets: hail, Cross, glory of martyrs, and preaching of the saints: hail, Cross, tranquility of the tossed, and liberation of those in captivity: hail, Cross, exultation of the just and holy: hail, Cross, adornment of bishops, and honor of presbyters: hail, Cross, splendor of deacons, and joy of readers: hail, Cross, glory of monks, and consolation of those who mourn: hail, Cross, guardian of churches, and governess of cities: hail, Cross, father of orphans, and patroness of widows: hail, Cross, salvation of those who are attacked, and guide of the way for those who wander: hail, Cross, protector of those who are harmed, and avenger of those who harm: hail, Cross, consolation of those who suffer and are in peril: hail, Cross, corrector of evil habits, and helper of better things: hail, Cross, of those against whom war is waged, the invincible weapon, and the raising up of those who fall: hail, Cross, strength of the weak, and staff of the powerless: hail, Cross, crown of virgins, and continence of widows: hail, Cross, garment of those newly enlightened, and guardian of infants: hail, Cross, freedom of servants, and burial of the dead: hail, Cross, of souls: