Spiritual Admonitions

and by the warfare of the devil, and that having crushed the war, he might award peace to the world, as one of them ^A giving thanks said: *Blessed be the Lord who teacheth my hands to battle, and my fingers to war* (Ps. CXLIII, 1). And these having been defeated, have turned their backs, crying out to You, calling upon You as their helper, saying: *Lord, bow Thy heavens, and come down* (Ps. CXLIII, 5). And having bowed the heavens, and come down to save the race of men in peace, You say: *I am not come to send peace, but a sword* (Matt. X, 34). Why then do You call the peacemakers blessed, *for they shall be called the children of God* (Matt. V, 9)? Why then, You who teach others to make peace, why do You say concerning Yourself, *I am not come to send peace, but a sword*? Because of our sins the Lord has become our enemy; we had need of a mediator who would dissolve the enmity between us, and award sweet peace. And our father Job prayed concerning the mediator, saying: *I would that there were a mediator between us to reprove*. And having come to mediate and to dissolve the enmity, You say the contrary, *I am not come to send peace, but a sword*. And in what then shall we expect the hope of peace? But also, *I am come to send fire upon the earth* (Luke XII, 49), which is trampled beneath your feet. Since the devil has sown thorns and thistles of sins in the hearts of men, *I am come to send fire upon the earth*, for the consumption of the thorns. For this reason *I am come to send fire upon the earth, and what will I, if it be already kindled*, to cleanse My earth? I must consume by fire the bitter-bearing and harmful shoots of the devil, that I may sow the heavenly seed in a clean soul. For this reason *I am come to send fire upon the earth*. Having fashioned man from the beginning out of the earth, I placed a divine spark of fire in the midst of his heart, that by fire he might be held by the love of God. Since therefore it was impossible for him to extinguish this divine spark of fire and this heat, that they might have the bright kindling of the Holy Spirit (for the devil had deadened the souls of men with the frost of impiety), I must cast fire upon the earth; that having loosened and slackened the winter of unbelief brought upon the souls by the devil, and having established their mind as calm and serene, I may cause it to put forth and flourish. He enters therefore into His fold, concealing the shepherd in the lamb of the body, not bearing a staff, not a rod threatening the former error, lest the sheep, having become cowardly and terrified, should flee again from its own shepherd. But He enters into the house of the Pharisee, not as God, not as King, not as the Sun of justice, but as ^B man to man, as lamb to lamb, He dwells with him, feeds with him, flourishes with him, enters, sits down with him who had already fallen under sin, that in sitting down with him, He might raise up with Himself him who had already fallen. And having entered, He was not baptized according to the custom of the Pharisees. And this He did in two ways, that He might give the sheep an occasion to speak to the shepherd, and further also to dissolve a Jewish dogma, and to confirm a spiritual one. For, he says, the Pharisee saw, and marveled, that He was not first baptized. He marveled, not praising the Master, but wondering at what was happening; not praising, but judging. And it was possible to see, beloved, the Life-shaper being judged by the creature, and the potter being corrected by the clay. And the Pharisee said this, not seeing with the hidden eyes of the heart the one who is within the commander of the angels and of the Seraphim and Cherubim. For if you had seen this One, you would have fallen at His knees, and with your tears you would have washed His feet, and said: *Be propitious to me, a sinner*; for you would have said: You are He who brought all things from nothing into being; by Your word the heavens were established, and by the spirit of Your mouth all their power; gathering the waters of the sea as in a bottle; You put the abysses in the treasuries; from You all the earth fears, from You all the whole world is shaken. But having neither understood nor said any of these things, he judged the Master. But the Lord, having given an occasion, just as also to that Samaritan woman by asking water of her, He gave her a time to ask of Him the living water; the Lord begins therefore gently to turn the sheep, and to lead it by the hand from error to the truth. *Now do you Pharisees wash the outside of the cup and the platter; but the inside is full of extortion and iniquity* (Luke XI, 39). That is, you now adorn the body, but you make the souls wretched. And how will it please, even if the cup be golden, when it holds a deadly draught within? Are not harlots such? Making their faces bloom with colors, they bring their souls to nothing. For do they not, while reddening their faces with rouge, work with their own fingers an image of the flame that is to receive them, whereas they ought to be sprinkling their hearts with the blood of Jesus, and whitening their souls with the Spirit, that the flower of the soul might be shining, just as in a lily mingled with it? Now, however, they are wiping away their faces, that they might drag the hearts of the young into madness. Now you, O Pharisees, wash the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inside is full of 815 extortion and wickedness. John was saying: Why do you wash the body with water, but do not wash your transgressions with the Spirit? For I dare to say, beloved, that a man will be helped in nothing, even if he wash the body and the spirit, if he does not have almsgiving as a fellow-worker and attendant companion. And just as a cup washed outside and inside, but not having drink, will not heal the thirst of one who is thirsty, and likewise a platter washed inside and outside will not feed one who is hungry, unless it have food inside; so also a man, even if he be washed inside and outside, will not feed the Lord, unless he feeds his fellow-servant. Therefore the Lord adds and says: *But yet that which remains give alms; and behold, all things are clean unto you* (Luke XI, 41). *That which remains*, He says. For He is not so pleased by the contribution of the very rich, as by the guileless and unhypocritical offering. Do not therefore, O poor man, cry out that you do not have much gold and silver; cast into the treasury what you have; and two mites justify; remember that widow, for she was justified above the very rich. God does not know how to weigh money, but He tests the conscience. Almsgiving wipes away the stains of adulterers, and stores up good rewards; almsgiving whitens the souls, and weaves their tenderness. Almsgiving is life-giving for souls, a provision for the soul, a good generalship. Cast away gold, and receive Christ; give silver, and receive the Holy Spirit; scatter bronze, and the son of sin will depart together with it; bedew the oil, and extinguish the furnace; and give garments, that you may receive healings, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom is the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Spiritual Admonitions.

^B Strive and hasten, that it may be opened to you quickly. Remember that in a short time you will leave behind all visible things, heaven and earth, men, and affairs. Remember that you are nothing, whether in body or in soul. A small anxiety has troubled you, a small struggle strikes you, a small hardship has cast you down, a small labor has disturbed you, a light word has stung you. And why do you not hate this life? I truly tell you that you must migrate, and that you ought to fix your tabernacle upward at the gates of heaven, and that you ought to live there alone, and pray to God until death, that He may receive you peacefully and open to you quickly at the proper time. Down on the earth, let your body bend its knee to God, and let your soul upward always beg Him, falling upon its face; let them contend as to who labors more in prayer. According to you, therefore, the world is dead; according to you, the future judgment comes. As much as you can, cast this away and remember the future. It is better to remember the evils of future life than the good things of this; the former win for you the fear of God, while the latter, if present, snatch it away.

In spiritual matters, we are all orphans; we have none but God as a helper, and our own anxiety. Therefore, casting everything else aside, let us take care of ourselves. Remember yourself and the evils surrounding you. Remember your sins and your judgment to come. Remember that you are a man, mortal, infirm, wretched, filthy, and impure. Remember that you are a man living in a life full of hardships and dangers, a life that kills many, both good and bad, wise and foolish, rich and poor. Come, eat, drink, and you do not even have security for a morsel of bread. Remember that you are a man, bones humiliated from head to foot, and unable to endure the labor of a single day or the vigils of a single night. Remember how often you have offended God in works, words, and thoughts. Remember that you wrestle day and night with the lion and the dragon. Consider how many souls are in hell because they despised the fear of God, attempting to obtain a little rest, but not attaining it; rather, they are in the lowest parts of the earth, lamenting their fornications, negligence, delights, wickednesses, and quarrels. Remember that you must soon die and appear for judgment, and do not cease to repeat this in your soul. Write this little saying on your heart, bind it upon your neck; for it is better than a royal diadem. This leads to punishment; that produces eternal life. Meditate on these things, be in them always. If you are in these, you will never be found in their opposites. If you are not joined to these, in what will your heart be salted? (Matth. 5:13) Though the day of the Lord be near, let us fear and be still. He who wishes to be blameless in works, words, and thoughts, what else should he do but always be still, pray, and be silent, and despise all things that are on earth? For he who wishes to accomplish that makes himself like God on earth, according to Him who said: Be imitators of God (Ephes. 5:1). Behold, we have been enrolled as children by God; what is more just than that a son should imitate his father? If you are a genuine son, follow the paternal commands, especially since they are just and useful. He who has a battle with demons, what else should he do but pray unceasingly? He who is in danger daily in soul and body, what else ought he to do but struggle and pray to God? But you say, "The affections of the soul affect me tyrannically, and fear is a tyrant." A tyrant fights against a tyrant. He shakes the earth alone, and all tremble. Who does not fear the river of fire? One day of darkness is worse than all the evils of life. Therefore, despise the things of this world, since they bring no consolation. If someone has inflicted insults or blows, hope in the Lord, because He will provide you with a great reward for your patience. From hope comes faith, and from these comes charity. For on account of a small word or a small patience, the Lord bestows paradise upon you, crowning you as an athlete for a cup of cold water; for your faith is worthy of a great price. Make virtue your spouse, as well as temperance and chastity, living children who go before you into the kingdom of heaven.

^C Rising in the morning, let your soul approach God at dawn, and departing in the evening, let it rest in a spiritual bed, in pious thoughts, in hope toward God, in serenity and purity; for the commands of God are light and life and rest, blessing and justice; but the commands of Satan are death, punishment, sin, a curse. It is in your power to follow either these or those. If you follow the precepts of the Lord, all good things will come to you: light, life, rest, blessing, the crown of justice; if you obey the precepts of Satan, the opposite of these will happen to you. Who, therefore, would prefer shame, reproach with eternal punishments, over glory, praises, and immortal delights? Arise, hasten, run, be swift. The nuptials are prepared. The bulls are slaughtered, the fatted calves are ready awaiting you, and the guests, as it was said: "The just wait for me, until you repay me" (Ps. 141:8). Take care that you grasp it. Behold joy, behold rest, behold light, behold life, behold glory, behold delights, behold things true and eternal, behold things great and wonderful, behold all things as you wish, or rather more than you wish. Know only that God has glorified His saints, He has filled with glory those who fear Him, He has exalted those who love Him. Let us not envy ourselves when so many good things are proposed, and with such a hope. Others struggle for the sake of small gain, they fight, they cross the seas, they are in danger; why do we, who are about to inherit the new heavens and the new earth, faint, why do we doubt, why are we corrupted in this material world? All things that provoke the passions and stir up the body and soul, our delights have no peace. Sleep is unceasing, and all things are full of stumbling blocks. Who has lived just as he wished? What is there in this life that is not burdensome? ^D This flesh of ours grants us no rest; when it is healthy, it attacks; when it is sickly, it torments. Who has departed from this life without sorrow? Who has not tasted the salty waters of this bitter sea and its successive waves? Who has not groaned in them? How many great men has this life supplanted, and ensnared while they were running well! And nothing is surprising: for it is the demons who are at work, the devil who lies in wait. Knowing this, therefore, let us perform penance with our whole heart, lest our pleasures be turned into lamentation and tears. Let us bring aid to ourselves, let us tear our soul away from this world, and even from our own flesh; let it find for itself a cell in the extremities of the earth, so that it may cry out even to the Lord: "Have mercy on me, for I am alone; behold, I have left all things, and have followed you; behold, I have renounced all things for the sake of your fear." Let our contrition reach as far as the clouds, let our groans reach the heavens, may our prayers and alms come into the sight of God. Let us serve Him with all truth, with piety and fear; let us do all things so that we may not do penance there; let us endure all things, that we may enjoy the good things of God, that we may obtain greater confidence, that we may be accounted worthy of more precious goods, that we may not seem inferior to any of the saints. Our life is a great temptation, and no one knows it; it is a great storm, and no one understands. Let us give place to the operation of the passions, and to the sin inhabiting us according to the Apostle; let us give place to the wrath of men, let us give place to this flesh and its concupiscences, let us give place to this world and its difficulties, let us give place to all temptations, to all tribulations; let us hide ourselves from them; for we are vexed by them, and we are all sought out to be killed by demons, by affairs, and by men incited by Satan. Let us attend only to ourselves, and let us offer this body to God for those who wish to strike it; for it is worthy of many blows. Let us stretch our heart upward, pouring out our whole soul in the sight of God, that we may be saved, and may obtain mercy and live, exulting, delighting, and rejoicing, for ages of ages. Amen.