771 non-solicitous, omnipotent, all-seeing. Neither is the Holy Spirit merely all-seeing, but He also makes men bishops, or overseers, as Paul bears witness to me in the Acts, saying: *Attend to yourselves and to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops* (Acts 20:28). The Father sent prophets, the Son sent prophets, and the Holy Spirit also sent them, as the least of the prophets, Isaiah, says: *And now the Lord, the Lord has sent me, and his Spirit* (Isa. 48:16). By the Son the apostles were sent: *Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves* (Matt. 10:16); they were sent also by the Holy Spirit, as in the Acts: *Those therefore who were sent by the Holy Spirit went down to Seleucia* (Acts 13:4). The Father called the apostles, the Son called the apostles, and the Holy Spirit likewise called the apostles: *As they were ministering to the Lord* (Acts 13:2). To whom? To the apostles. The Holy Spirit says: *Separate for me Barnabas and Paul for the work to which I have called them* (Ibid.). Separate yourselves, separate for me Barnabas and Paul. I speak as Lord; obey as servants. *And as they were fasting and ministering to the Lord.* Observe: *And ministering.* Where are they who say the Holy Spirit is a minister? If the Holy Spirit is a minister, He is one of the angels or of the holy apostles: *for he makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire* (Ps. 103:4). But the Holy Spirit is not a minister; rather, it is ministered unto Him: *And as they were ministering, he says, the Holy Spirit said: Separate for me.* But it is the Lord’s voice: *Separate for me Barnabas and Paul for the work to which I have called them.* Now you, separate for me Paul and Barnabas; for I have separated them from their mother’s womb. And because Paul was called by the Holy Spirit, he was separated by the apostles for the gospel, as he says in the first Epistle: *A servant, called an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God* (Rom. 1:1). But as to this, beloved, they have devised it—those who devote themselves to blasphemy, when they ought to devote themselves to divine Scripture, and to know the Lord and that saying: *Be still and know that I am God* (Ps. 45:11). Now they have found another blasphemous question, and they ask us: Does the Father have a throne? We answer: Yes; *The Lord is upon his holy throne.* Does the Son have a throne? We answer: Yes; for it is written of the Son: *Your throne, O God, is for the age of the age* (Ps. 44:7). But when you hear of the throne of God, it must be pondered as befits God; a throne, that is, power, kingdom, dominion: for Scripture speaks to us as to men. For where is it written that the Holy Spirit also has a throne, that from the throne, understanding equality of honor, we might grant him dominion? Certainly, it would be appropriate for us not to respond to such a question. For if servants born from the earth—the apostles, I mean—were judged worthy to sit upon thrones: *Behold, you twelve shall sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel* (Matt. 19:28); much more the Holy Spirit. To this they ask: Where is the glory of the Holy Spirit? The Father is glorified, the Son is glorified; where is the Holy Spirit? ask the unbelievers. Let the faithful speak, and let Isaiah bear witness: *I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up* (Isa. 6:1); he speaks of the Spirit, as will be demonstrated a little later; *and the house was filled with his glory. And the Seraphim were standing in his circuit; each one had six wings, and each one had six wings.* And they cried: *Holy, Holy, Holy Lord Sabaoth, the heaven and the earth is full of his glory.* Here attend, and see both the throne and the glory. *And the Lord said to me, Whom shall I send, and who shall go to this people of the Jews? And he shall say there, With the hearing you shall hear and shall not understand; for the heart of this people has been made gross, and they have heard heavily with their ears,* etc. (Ibid. 8-10). Paul came after many periods of years from the given prophecy to Rome, he came and set forth to the Jews, so he might lead them into the faith of the Only-begotten; but they would turn away and did not believe. Then he recalls this prophecy, which was already being fulfilled. And what does he say to them: *Well did the Holy Spirit speak concerning you through Isaiah the prophet: With the hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand,* etc. (Acts 28:25). To sit upon a high throne, and to be glorified by the angels, Paul says belongs to the Holy Spirit. Who after this will be such a fool as to doubt that both the Lord and God and Spirit is to be worshipped? To whom be glory for the ages of ages. Amen.
Of Hope
All men by nature are industrious, because they possess by their nature judgment and reason. For each one of these gives himself to agriculture, or a journey, or a craft, supported by some hope. For all undertake labors, sweats, dangers, and tribulations eagerly for the expectation of future goods. The farmer, with the tension of his sinews, the bending of his limbs and back, with both hands armed with a staff and plow, willingly endures the cold of winter, the injuries of the clods and thorns, lightening his labors by the expectation of fruits. The traveler, on arduous and steep paths, with the hard ground hurting his feet, with sweat flowing abundantly from the top of his head to his soles, strenuously tolerates heat, thirst, and hunger, supported by the hope of future gain from the journey. Physicians also, in the cutting of swollen wounds, endure the stench, receiving in their hands the discharges of the belly and the flow of humors: they do not shrink, for the sake of the healing of the sick, and for the hope of an ample reward offered to them by those who are cured. Sailors also, having left the land, and furrowing the salty sea and the blue ridges, withstand the force and tumult of the adverse wind, the numerous extensions of the ropes, the strident and horrible sounds of the sails and yards, and receiving the terrors of the huge waves with their very eyes, tolerate all these things, in the hope of profit together with salvation. They all, and many others, bear labors and dangers for the sake of the hope of good things to come shortly afterward. Much more does the religious race of Christians, I speak of men and of women (for not only the male wars before God, but also the female), not by the strength of the body but by the fortitude of soul, endure persecutions, hunger, fasting, vigils, sleeping on the ground, and other inenarrable tribulations—both sexes eagerly—for the sake of the immortal and blessed hope in the heavens. Everyone, therefore, let him stand in his own work, and be fortified in hope; let the farmer cast into the spiritual field the plow of doctrine, into that place of the mind where it can be received. Then, with the seeds of the heretics having been cast in, pull up also the germ of the Jewish and gentile sophistries, so that the soul being purged, you may cast in the seeds of sacred faith, and also the exultation of hope and the sweetness of charity. For He gave power not only to Jeremiah to pull up the worse and plant the better, but also to you, when He said: *Behold I have given my words in your mouth; behold, I have set you today over nations and kingdoms, to uproot and to destroy, and to lose, and to rebuild and to plant* (Jer. 1:10). Uproot, therefore, the wild motions of lasciviousness, and plant the holy imitations of chastity; destroy the planting of the malignant, and plant the life-discipline of Christ; lose the disciplines that are to be fled, and set up upright opinions. You who build, pull down those things which had been badly structured in the souls of men by the machinations of the devil, and build the temple of God, and place as a foundation the Son Christ, the cornerstone, upon whom beautiful works of justice are constructed. Doing these things, even if you are afflicted, persevere; even if you suffer persecution, do not faint; even if you hunger, do not shrink, but bear all things bravely, for the sake of that pleasure of paradise which you hope for. You are a traveler according to Him who says: *Perfect my footsteps in your paths, that they may not be moved*[GREEK COLUMN] A footsteps (Ps. 16. 5). Flee from the broad and spacious way, which leads to destruction: take up the staff of the Spirit, which effects these things, and kills the serpentine dragon that lies in wait on the path, and sustains you when you are faint and falling in temptations. If you are pressed by thirst, hasten to the immortal fountain, Christ; if you hunger, seek the living bread, that you may not faint, nor yield, softened by pleasures, but take strength, seeing the end of the road, hoping in the kingdom of heaven for a life equal to the angels. B Physician of souls, cut away with the sword of the Spirit the swelling and ulcerated passions of pride; wash away the mire of pleasures with the water of teaching; heal the wounds inflicted by sin upon the souls of men, using wine and oil according to the Lord: with wine astringe, that the soul may no longer, growing flaccid, yield to desires; but with oil, soothe the pains of the soul, and promise them swift forgiveness for their former transgressions. Do not, looking at monetary gains, neglect the poor, nor, again, because of despised wealth, neglect the rich, but exhort both poor and rich alike to be sober. C Let no one despair, not even the great sinner, lest we cast them completely into the abyss of sin; but reach out a hand to the fallen, saying: The Lord did not come to save the righteous, but sinners: that becoming eager, having turned away from evil, they may do good and be saved. Do all things for the health of the infirm, nourished by the hope of those who are saved, and by the exultation hoped for with God. As an athlete, strive lawfully: No one is crowned, unless he strives lawfully (2 Tim. 2. 5). The struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against principalities, against authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual things of wickedness in heavenly places (Ephes. 6. 12). Embrace ascetic labors; flee the devilish snares. See Paul running, fighting, and wrestling. I so run, he says, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one beating the air; but I buffet my body, lest, having preached to others, I myself should become rejected (1 Cor. 9. 26, 27). Run therefore that you may attain; fight and wrestle, that you may overcome the enemy; be anointed with the oil of piety: you have the wrestling matches left to you by the holy fathers; take the long-suffering of Moses, the chastity of Joseph, the gentleness of David, the virginity of Elias, the fasting of Elisha, the poverty of Isaiah, the faith of Paul and Peter, the love of Christ, that having struggled well in all things, you may receive the prizes of victory from the hand of God. Are you a shepherd of the rational sheep of Christ? Shepherd the sheep, turn back the straying, bind up the broken, heal the wolf-bitten, drive away the wolves, call the dogs for the defense of the fold: for it is not fitting to have sleepy ones, but those who bark and keep watch over the Master's flock; drive out such ones. D Display the ever-blooming herb that sprang from Mary, signify the immortal fountain of baptism, cleanse the soiled sheep with the water of tears; endure every toil and labor, that, when the chief shepherd Christ appears, you may receive the unfading crown of glory. Are you a sheep? Obey your shepherd, do not flee the fold, but cherish the faith, do not decline from the shepherd's rod: for he does not strike you that he may kill, but that he may turn you back from error. Feed without judgment upon the flower that sprouted from the root of Jesse, drink from the immortal fountain springing up like a ripple from the rock; so that from there [you may go] into the fold of delight; do not hoard wealth, or rather, do not love wealth; flee the care of riches, do not collect coins; do not gather wealth, through which crimes grow, but sow abundantly food for the poor, hoping to reap a heavy and infinite sheaf of the soul. Poor man, do not be faint-hearted, do not despair of life, do not blaspheme, but give thanks, endure the short-lived trial of poverty, look to your exemplar Lazarus, and be strengthened in hope: for you shall also attain to the bosom of Abraham's rest; where the Master God of all will deem us worthy ourselves in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.
On Charity
No discourse can worthily express charity, because it is not earthly, but heavenly. I think that even the tongue of angels would be at a loss to explore this with precision, since it proceeds incessantly from the very greatness of God's mind. Since, therefore, neither the tongue of men is sufficient for its most precise explanation, shall we ourselves despair? By no means; since with God even the offerings of those who possess much are acceptable, but also those of the sincere with a cheerful mind, even if they be very small, just as the offering of that widow who cast the two mites into the treasury was preferred to the offering of those who deposited much gold. And we, placing our hope in the Lord as helper and corrector of what is said, with a ready heart let us cast the two denarii of charity into the treasury of your mind. For I think these are those two denarii, the two commandments, on which the whole law and the prophets hang (Matt. 22. 39, 40). For it has been said by the Lord in the Gospels: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself. In these two commandments is the law and the prophets. Love toward God, and love toward the neighbor, two commandments linked to one another: he who has one of these, but has not the other, does not possess even the one he seems to have. For just as a soul without a body is not called a man, nor again a body without a soul; so neither does love toward God, if it does not have following it also love toward the neighbor, count as love; nor again does love toward the neighbor, if it does not have [love] toward God, count as love. Therefore it is rare to find perfect charity. The Greeks are ignorant of this, even if they seem to have love for one another; but as they are ignorant of God, they are strangers to this. The Jews, even if they have love toward one another, imitating the Lord of the law who says, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, they, instead of [the…