Macarius of Egypt, Homilies 7

Of various temptations, but when she gives birth, that is, is perfected, she rejoices continually with inexpressible joy, because a heavenly and new m

The birds of the sky flying in the air rest in it. likewise also is the life of souls, and the air of those having the wings of the spirit is above in

Prepares himself, is pained and distressed by not acting manfully such a one does not become a child of life, since he has not become an imitator and

Therefore, to always examine ourselves and to search our hearts, so that we may know our own faults, trusting in the deliverer of our souls, christ, t

Knowing that you do this not to a man but to god who said, he who hears you hears me, and in lying and withholding what you have brought to god do you

Of a greater judgment than the enumerated evils through such a renunciation, he would have freed the ascetic, together with the brotherhood, from labo

It is necessary to have unceasing remembrance of god and confidence, and so one will be able to wrestle against the evils that beset man, that is, the

For the intention sins when it comes to be with an evil purpose, and sometimes the deed also, when it is done corruptly, or not in the way it ought to

Of salt and if there is taste in empty words, not filled with the testimony of works? 54.9 of abandonments, then, one is for the sake of hidden virtu

I might bear away glory and honor. and paul says, if i do this willingly, i have no reward but if unwillingly, i am entrusted with a stewardship for

To him concerning us. for he only has need of our choice, since he is always ready to have mercy on us and enlighten us, if only we are willing to giv

Unspeakable, so that he weeps, and if the soul were able to leave the body, and to go to the lord. at other times again his soul rejoices within by th

He should bring his thoughts before god by night and day, and weep every hour in the presence of god, and being grieved he should reprove his own soul

not being able to conquer, then they earnestly seek a weapon from God; and thus having put on the panoply of the spirit, they become conquerors, and the enemy of souls falls under their feet. through which weapons the walls of sin that encircled the soul are destroyed, and souls shut up in darkness come out into light, and draw near to their heavenly Father, and put on a divine beauty of comeliness, and are girded with glory and power, and they learn all the devices of the evil spirit, as the apostle says, For we are not ignorant of his designs, and they are mingled with the Holy Spirit, and do the will of the Father in heaven. 51.3 Know therefore, beloved brothers, that whoever prepares their own souls to become ground for the heavenly seed, there the enemy hastens to sow his tares; wherefore you were also tempted by the enemy, and hearing of it we were greatly grieved. And know this also: that unless some seek the Lord with their whole heart, they are not tempted openly by Satan, but secretly and deceitfully through his own deception he destroys the souls of men, corrupting and alienating them from God; and now, brothers, be of good courage and do not be cowardly in anything, and do not be frightened by the phantoms of the stranger, and in prayer do not become confused with many and unseemly cries, but be waiting for the grace of the Lord in anguish of soul and hunger of mind; for not to you alone have such things happened, but here also similar things have happened to some; and these things happened in the first season; for when they began to persevere in prayers, they were tossed about by temptations because they were untrained, and because of their infancy they were confused. For the rest, brothers, be of good courage and be comforted and wait, caring for your souls, being eager to persevere in prayer, and may your mind not grow weary, for it is written, You have need of patience, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promises. And the Lord said, If two of you agree, truly I say to you, whatever they ask, they will receive; for as many as seek God in truth receive divine power in their souls, and such men, drawing near to the heavenly anointing, perceive in themselves the taste and sweetness of the age to come; such men are greater than all men who dwell upon the earth. The peace of the Lord which was with all the holy fathers and guarded them from every temptation, this shall be with you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; amen. 52. HOMILY II 52.1 The word of God seeks a work of truth. Then it is for man to speak, to hear, and to do; for for this reason one hears him who speaks, that he may accomplish the work of hearing. On this day the Lord was born, the life and the salvation of men; today there has been a reconciliation of divinity toward humanity and of humanity toward divinity; today all creation leaped; those from above sent to those below and those below to those above; today there has been the death of darkness and the life of man; today a way has been made for men to God and a way of God into the soul; for before the prophet said, The ways of Zion mourn because there are none who come to the feast, hinting at the desolation and destruction of the soul, for there was neither a way of God into a soul and a man's mind, nor did a soul walk toward God; today the fields and all that is in them rejoice, the earth of the soul receiving rain from heaven. The

μὴ δυνάμενοι νικῆσαι, τότε ζητοῦσιν ἐκ θεοῦ ὅπλον σπουδαίως· καὶ οὕτως ἐνδυσάμενοι τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ πνεύματος, γίγνονται νικηταί, καὶ πίπτει ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτῶν ὁ ἐχθρὸς τῶν ψυχῶν. δι' ὧν ὅπλων καταλύεται τὰ τείχη τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὰ κυκλώσαντα τὴν ψυχήν, καὶ ψυχαὶ αἱ ἐγκεκλεισμέναι εἰς σκότος εἰς φῶς ἐξέρχονται, καὶ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν τὸν οὐράνιον ἐγγίζουσι, καὶ κάλλος ὡραιό τητος θεϊκὸν ἐνδύονται, καὶ δόξαν καὶ δύναμιν περιζώννυνται, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα τοῦ πονηροῦ πνεύματος μανθάνουσιν, ὥς φησιν ὁ ἀπό στολος Οὐ γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὰ νοήματα ἀγνοοῦμεν, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου συμμίγνυνται, καὶ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς ποιοῦσι. 51.3 γινώσκετε οὖν, ἀδελφοὶ ἀγαπητοί, ὅτι ὅσοι ἑτοιμάζουσι τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχὰς γενέσθαι γῆν τοῦ οὐρανίου σπόρου, ἐκεῖ ὁ ἐχθρὸς σπεύδει σπεῖραι τὰ ζιζάνια αὐτοῦ· διὸ καὶ ἐπειράσθητε ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, καὶ ἀκηκοότες ἐλυπήθημεν ἐπὶ πολύ. καὶ τοῦτο δὲ ἴστε· ὡς εἰ μή τινες ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας ζητήσουσι τὸν Κύριον, οὐ πειράζονται ὑπὸ τοῦ Σατανᾶ φανερῶς, ἀλλὰ κρυπτῶς καὶ δολίως διὰ τῆς ἀπάτης αὐτοῦ ἐξαφανίζει τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, φθείρων καὶ ἀπαλλοτριῶν ἀπὸ θεοῦ· καὶ τὰ νῦν, ἀδελφοὶ, θαρσεῖτε καὶ μὴ δειλιάσητε ἐν μηδενί, καὶ μὴ πτύρεσθε ἐν ταῖς φαντασίαις τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου, καὶ ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ μὴ γίνεσθε συγκε χυμένοι ἐν πλείοσι καὶ ἀπρεπέσι κραυγαῖς, ἔσεσθε δὲ ἐκδεχόμενοι τὴν χάριν τοῦ Κυρίου ἐν πόνῳ ψυχῆς καὶ πείνῃ νοός· οὐ γὰρ πρὸς ὑμᾶς μόνον τοιαῦτα γεγόνασιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὅμοια γεγόνασι πρός τινας· ταῦτα δὲ συμβέβηκεν ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ καιρῷ· ὅτε γὰρ ἤρξαντο προσ καρτερεῖν ἐν προσευχαῖς, ἐν πειρασμοῖς ἐκλυδωνίσθησαν διὰ τὸ ἀγυ μνάστους αὐτοὺς εἶναι, καὶ διὰ τὴν νηπιότητα αὐτῶν συνεχύθησαν. τὸ λοιπὸν, ἀδελφοί, θαρσεῖτε καὶ παρακαλεῖσθε καὶ ἐκδέχεσθε, μεριμνῶντες ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν, σπουδάζοντες προσκαρτερεῖν τῇ προσευχῇ, καὶ μὴ ἐκκακήσῃ ὁ νοῦς ὑμῶν, γέγραπται γὰρ Ὑπομονῆς χρείαν ἔχετε, ἵνα ποιήσαντες τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ κομίσησθε τὰς ἐπαγγελίας. καὶ ὁ Κύριος εἶπεν Ἐὰν δύο ὑμῶν συμφωνήσωσιν, ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, πᾶν ὃ ἐὰν αἰτήσωνται, λήψονται· ὅσοι γὰρ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ τὸν θεὸν ζητοῦσι, δύναμιν θεϊκὴν δέχονται ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς, καὶ οἱ τοιοῦτοι τῷ οὐρανίῳ χρίσματι προσεγγίζοντες αἰσθάνονται ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τῆς γεύσεως καὶ γλυκύτητος τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος· οἱ τοιοῦτοι μείζονές εἰσι πάντων ἀνθρώπων τῶν κατοικούντων ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ Κυρίου ἡ γενομένη μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων καὶ φυλάξασα αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ παντὸς πειρασμοῦ, αὕτη ἔσται μεθ' ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος· ἀμήν. 52.τ ΟΜΙΛΙΑ Β 52.1 Ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ἔργον ἀληθείας ἐπιζητεῖ. εἶτά ἐστιν ἀνθρώπῳ τὸ λέγειν, τὸ ἀκούειν, καὶ τὸ ποιεῖν· διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ ἀκούει τις τοῦ λέγοντος, ἵνα τῆς ἀκοῆς τὸ ἔργον ἐκτελέσῃ. ταύτῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ὁ Κύριος ἐγεννήθη, ἡ ζωὴ καὶ ἡ σωτηρία τῶν ἀνθρώπων· σήμερον γέγονε καταλλαγὴ θεό τητος πρὸς ἀνθρωπότητα καὶ ἀνθρωπότητος πρὸς θεότητα· σήμερον ἐσκίρτησε πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις· οἱ ἄνωθεν ἀπέστειλαν πρὸς τοὺς κάτω καὶ οἱ κάτω πρὸς τοὺς ἄνω· σήμερον τοῦ σκότους θάνατος γέγονε καὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ζωή· σήμερον ὁδὸς γέγονε πρὸς θεὸν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις καὶ θεοῦ ὁδὸς εἰς τὴν ψυχήν· τὸ πρὶν γὰρ ἔλεγεν ὁ προφήτης Ὁδοὶ Σιὼν πεν θοῦσι παρὰ τὸ μὴ εἶναι ἐρχομένους εἰς ἑορτήν, τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν ἐρήμωσιν καὶ τὸν ἀφανισμὸν αἰνισσόμενος, οὔτε γὰρ ὁδὸς θεοῦ εἰς ψυχὴν καὶ ἀνθρώπου διάνοιαν ἦν οὔτε ψυχὴ εἰς θεὸν περιεπάτει· σήμερον ἀγαλλιᾶται τὰ πεδία καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς, ἡ γῆ τῆς ψυχῆς δεχομένη ὄμβρον ἐξ οὐρα νοῦ. Ὁ