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He received many magicians, since he was a jailer; but never did any of them display such a work, he did not loosen bonds, he did not show such 55.524 care. For Paul chose to be bound, and not to flee, so as to deliver him from death. For he had rushed in, having a sword in his hands and a torch; for the devil wished through the slaughter to snatch him away from repentance, but with a more powerful voice Paul more swiftly gained the salvation of his soul. For he did not simply shout, but with a loud voice, saying: We are all here. The jailer marveled at the care, the one who was freed fell before the one who was bound, and what does he say? Sirs, what must I do to be saved? You bound them, and you are at a loss? you secured them in the stocks, and you seek a way of repentance and salvation? Do you see his fervor? Do you see his zeal? He did not delay, but when he was freed from fear, he was not freed from the good deed, but immediately rushes to the salvation of his own soul. It was night, and midnight. He did not say: Let us consider, let day come; but immediately ran to salvation. Who is this great man, he says, he surpasses human nature. I saw his miracle, I marveled at his love for mankind. Having suffered countless evils from me, being in the last extremities, taking me who bound him into his hands, being able to do away with me, not only did he do nothing, but he even prevented me when I was about to kill myself, and to thrust the sword through my throat. Rightly he says: Sirs, what must I do to be saved, For it was not only the miracles of the apostles that drew in the believers, but before the miracles, their life.

For this reason he says: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Do you see the fervor of the jailer? Behold also the fervor of Paul. He did not delay, he did not overlook it; but being in bonds, being in the stocks, being in stripes, he immediately initiated him, and with him his whole household, and after the spiritual washing, and after the spiritual table, he also set before him the carnal one. But for what reason did he shake the prison? He wished to rouse the jailer to the sight of what was happening; he loosened the physical bonds of his fellow prisoners, in order to loosen the spiritual bonds of the jailer. Christ did the opposite of these things. A paralyzed man came to him, having a certain double paralysis, one from his sins, the other from his body. First he loosed the paralysis from his sins, saying thus: Child, your sins are forgiven you. Then when they doubted, and blasphemed, and said, No one can forgive sins, except God alone, wishing to show them that he is truly God, wishing to judge them from their own mouth, so that he might say, Out of your own mouth I will judge you; you said that no one can forgive sins, except God alone; behold, he says, I forgive sins, and confess my divinity; from your own judgment I cast the vote. But there the spiritual was first, and the physical was later; but here the opposite, first the physical bonds, and then the spiritual were taken away. Do you see how great is the power of hymns? how much praise avails? how much prayer avails? Always, then, the power of prayer 55.525 is great; but for prayer to be with fasting, makes the soul more powerful. Now there is much sobriety of thoughts from us, now the mind is aroused, and the soul looks around at all things above. For this reason Scripture has always joined prayer with fasting. How and when? Do not deprive one another, it says, except by agreement for a time, that you may devote yourselves to fasting and prayer. And again elsewhere, This kind does not go out, except by prayer and fasting. Again elsewhere, Having prayed, it says, and fasted, they laid their hands on them.

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Πολλοὺς γόητας ἐδέξατο, ἐπεὶ δεσμοφύλαξ ἦν· ἀλλ' οὐδέποτε ἐκείνων οὐδεὶς τοιοῦτον ἐπεδείξατο ἔρ γον, οὐκ ἔλυσε δεσμὰ, οὐκ ἐπεδείξατο κηδεμονίαν 55.524 τοιαύτην. Καὶ γὰρ εἵλετο δεδέσθαι ὁ Παῦλος, καὶ μὴ φυγεῖν, ὥστε ἐκεῖνον ἀπαλλάξαι τῆς τελευτῆς. Εἰσ επήδησε γὰρ, ξίφος ἔχων ἐν ταῖς χερσὶ καὶ λαμπάδα· καὶ γὰρ ἐβούλετο ὁ διάβολος διὰ τῆς σφαγῆς προ εξαρπάσαι αὐτὸν τῆς μετανοίας, ἀλλ' εὐτονωτέρᾳ φωνῇ τὴν σωτηρίαν αὐτοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς ὀξύτερον ἐκέρ δανεν ὁ Παῦλος. Οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς ἐβόησεν, ἀλλὰ με γάλῃ φωνῇ, λέγων· Πάντες ἐσμὲν ἐνθάδε. Ἐθαύ μασε τὴν κηδεμονίαν ὁ δεσμοφύλαξ, προσέπεσε τῷ δεδεμένῳ ὁ λελυμένος, καὶ τί φησιν; Κύριοι, τί με δεῖ ποιεῖν, ἵνα σωθῶ; Σὺ ἔδησας, καὶ σὺ ἐν ἀπο ρίᾳ εἶ; σὺ ἠσφαλίσω τῷ ξύλῳ, καὶ σὺ ζητεῖς τρόπον μετανοίας καὶ σωτηρίας; Εἶδες θερμότητα; εἶδες σπουδήν; Οὐκ ἀνεβάλετο, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἀπελύθη τοῦ φόβου, οὐκ ἀπελύθη τῆς εὐεργεσίας, ἀλλὰ εὐθέως ἐπὶ τὴν σωτηρίαν τῆς ψυχῆς ὁρμᾷ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ. Νὺξ ἦν, καὶ μέση νύξ. Οὐκ εἶπε· Σκεψώμεθα, ἡμέρα γε νέσθω· ἀλλ' εὐθέως ἐπὶ τὴν σωτηρίαν ἔδραμε. Μέγας τίς ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ ἀνὴρ, φησὶν, ὑπερβαίνει τὴν φύσιν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην. Εἶδον αὐτοῦ τὸ θαῦμα, ἐθαύμασα τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν. Μυρία κακὰ ὑπ' ἐμοῦ παθὼν, ἐν τοῖς ἐσχάτοις ὢν, ἐμὲ τὸν δήσαντα εἰς χεῖρας λαβὼν, δυνάμενος διαχειρίσασθαι, οὐ μόνον οὐδὲν ἐποίησεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μέλλοντα σφάττειν ἑαυτὸν, καὶ τὸ ξίφος ὠθεῖν διὰ τοῦ λαιμοῦ, ἐκώλυσεν. Εἰ κότως φησί· Κύριοι, τί με δεῖ ποιεῖν ἵνα σωθῶ, Οὐ γὰρ δὴ τὰ θαύματα μόνον ἐπὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐπεσπάσατο τοὺς πιστεύοντας, ἀλλὰ πρὸ τῶν θαυ μάτων ὁ βίος.

∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησι· Λαμψάτω τὸ φῶς ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅπως ἴδωσι τὰ καλὰ ἔργα ὑμῶν, καὶ δοξάσωσι τὸν Πατέρα ὑμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Εἶδες θερμότητα τοῦ δεσμο φύλακος; Βλέπε καὶ τοῦ Παύλου θερμότητα. Οὐκ ἀνεβάλλετο, οὐχ ὑπερεῖδεν· ἀλλ' ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς ὢν, ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ ὢν, ἐν ταῖς πληγαῖς, εὐθέως αὐτὸν ἐμυ σταγώγησε, καὶ μετ' ἐκείνου τὴν οἰκίαν ἅπασαν, καὶ μετὰ τὸ πνευματικὸν λουτρὸν, καὶ μετὰ τὴν τράπεζαν τὴν πνευματικὴν, παρέθηκεν αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν σαρκικήν. Ἀλλὰ τίνος ἕνεκεν ἔσεισε τὸ δεσμω τήριον; ∆ιεγεῖραι τὸν δεσμοφύλακα ἐβούλετο πρὸς τὴν θέαν τῶν γινομένων· ἔλυσε τὰ αἰσθητὰ δεσμὰ τῶν συνδεσμωτῶν, ἵνα λύσῃ τὰ νοητὰ δεσμὰ τοῦ δεσμοφύλακος. Ἀπεναντίας τούτων ἐποίησεν ὁ Χρι στός. Προσῆλθεν αὐτῷ παραλελυμένος ἄνθρωπος δι πλῆν τινα πάρεσιν ἔχων, τὴν μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτη μάτων, τὴν δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος. Πρότερον τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων πάρεσιν ἔλυσεν, οὕτως εἰπών· Τέκνον, ἀφέωνταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι. Εἶτα ἐπειδὴ ἀμφέβαλλον ἐκεῖνοι, καὶ ἐβλασφήμουν, καὶ ἔλεγον, Οὐδεὶς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας, εἰ μὴ μόνος ὁ Θεὸς, βουλόμενος αὐτοῖς δεῖξαι, ὅτι Θεός ἐστιν ἀληθῶς, βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς κρῖναι ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτῶν, ἵνα μέλλῃ λέγειν, Ἐκ τοῦ στόματός σου κρινῶ σε· σὺ εἶπας, ὅτι οὐδεὶς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας, εἰ μὴ μόνος ὁ Θεός· ἰδοὺ ἀφίημι, φησὶν, ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ὁμολόγησόν μου τὴν θεότητα· ἀπὸ τῆς σῆς κρίσεως ἐκφέρω τὴν ψῆφον. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖ μὲν προτέρα ἡ νοητὴ, ὑστέρα δὲ ἡ αἰσθητή· ἐνταῦθα δὲ τὸ ἐναντίον, πρότερον τὰ αἰσθητὰ δεσμὰ, καὶ τότε τὰ νοητὰ ἀνῄρητο. Εἶδες πόση τῶν ὕμνων ἡ δύναμις; πόσον ἰσχύει αἶνος; πόσον ἰσχύει εὐχή; Ἀεὶ μὲν οὖν μεγάλη τῆς 55.525 εὐχῆς ἡ δύναμις· τὸ δὲ μετὰ νηστείας εἶναι εὐχὴν, δυνατωτέραν ποιεῖ τὴν ψυχήν. Νῦν σωφροσύνη λο γισμῶν παρ' ἡμῶν πολλὴ, νῦν διεγείρεται διάνοια, καὶ τὰ ἄνω περιβλέπει πάντα ἡ ψυχή. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἀεὶ τῇ νηστείᾳ τὴν προσευχὴν συνέζευξεν ἡ Γραφή. Πῶς καὶ πότε; Μὴ ἀποστερεῖτε ἀλλήλους, φησὶν, εἰ μή τι ἂν ἐκ συμφώνου, ἵνα σχολάζητε τῇ νη στείᾳ καὶ τῇ προσευχῇ. Καὶ πάλιν ἀλλαχοῦ, Τὸ γένος τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξέρχεται, εἰ μὴ ἐν προσευχῇ καὶ νηστείᾳ. Πάλιν δὲ ἀλλαχοῦ, Προσευξάμενοι, φησὶ, καὶ νηστεύσαντες, ἐπέθηκαν αὐτοῖς τὰς χεῖρας.