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have, into my palace the heartless does not enter, to the heavenly chamber the merciless is not deemed worthy, in the mansions above the ungenerous does not dwell; but only the merciful, only the compassionate, the hospitable, the nourishers of orphans, the visitors of widows and the powerless, the helpers of those who are weary, the protectors of the afflicted, the companions of the tempest-tossed, the providers for the needy, the comforters of the despaired, the servants of the sick, the attendants of those who suffer evil, the consolers of the mourning, the encouragers of the faint-hearted, the fathers of those in bitter bondage, the helpers of those in distress, the zealous for those in need, those who are bound with the bound, the guides of the wandering, the coverers of the naked, the payers for the indebted; and to speak briefly, the stewards for all who are in need and who ask, such are the inhabitants of my palace, and heirs of eternal good things. Of such is the dwelling place of the city above; concerning such I besought my Father, that "I will, Father, that where I am, they may be also, that they may behold my glory"; to such I said, and always say: "You are my friends." But to you, what then shall I say? Shall I have mercy? But I do not see in you the fruit of mercy. Shall I have pity? But I do not see in you bowels of compassion. Shall I forgive? But the transgression is greater than the forgiveness. For not only did you shut up your bowels when I asked for bread, but you also seized the rags I was wearing and stripped me; and the bread, which another merciful person gave me, you snatched from my mouth. How many times did I come to your door, and saw a table filled to abundance, and a mass of foods, and many dogs being fed, and reclining on couches; and you closed the doors on me and sent me away dishonored, and did not even deem me worthy of a crumb of bread like one of the little dogs? How many times did you drive me from the hut when frost was upon me, and housed your horses, and did not remember that it was not for dogs and horses that I was crucified and shed my blood? You take hold of the cattle, you care for the dogs, you tend to the horses, and seeing my members, the poor and the powerless, perishing from hunger and thirst and frost, you laugh and abominate them, and turn away your faces, and especially those lying down with the sacred disease? whose members before death are given over to the earth, whose bodies are considered dark and abominable by many; but their soul will shine forth like the sun.

But you have lived in luxury, you have been wanton, on the earth you have received your good things in your lifetime. Now what shall I say to you? Have you not heard that judgment is prepared to come for those who have not shown mercy? Yes, you have not been merciful, but you have served heartlessness. Why did you also seize what the poor man had? So if the unmerciful is punished because he did not share, what will he suffer who oppresses and seizes the things of others? What shall I say to your inhuman choice? For I see the transgression is greater than the forgiveness; the wound has been made beyond all healing; your failure has no consolation, your shipwreck is beyond repair, the blow is incurable, the disease is unhealable, your transgressions are from now on unforgivable. For no longer is there repentance, no longer does exhortation have power, no longer is there benefit from tears for sins. From now on you have not remembered me; you did not listen to the apostles, you loathed my holy Scriptures, you had no mercy on me when I was hungry; hear, therefore, the painful and fitting voice, which your heartlessness has brought forth: Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire.

4. Did you see a harsh and painful decision? Did you see a failure having absolutely no consolation? Did you see a loss beyond all loss, did you hear the terrible

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ἔχουσιν, εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν παλάτιον ἄσπλαγχνος οὐκ εἰσέρχεται, εἰς τὸν οὐράνιον παστὸν ἀνελεήμων οὐκ ἀξιοῦται, εἰς τὰς ἄνω μονὰς ἀμετάδοτος οὐ κατοικεῖ· ἀλλὰ μόνοι οἱ ἐλεήμονες, μόνοι οἱ εὔσπλαγχνοι, οἱ ξενοδόχοι, οἱ ὀρφανοτρόφοι, χηρῶν καὶ ἀδυνάτων οἱ ἐπισκεπτηταὶ, οἱ τῶν καταπονουμένων ἀντιλήπτορες, οἱ τῶν θλιβομένων προστάται, οἱ τῶν χειμαζομένων πάρεδροι, τῶν ἐνδεομένων οἱ εὔφοροι, τῶν ἀπηλπισμένων οἱ παρήγοροι, τῶν νοσούντων οἱ διάκονοι, τῶν κακοπαθούντων οἱ παραμονάριοι, τῶν πενθούντων οἱ παραμυθήτορες, τῶν ὀλιγοψύχων οἱ παρακλήτορες, οἱ τῶν ἐν πικραῖς δουλείαις πατέρες, οἱ τῶν ἐν περιστάσει βοηθοὶ, οἱ τῶν ἐν ἀνάγκαις πρόθυμοι, οἱ τῶν δεδεμένων συνδεδεμένοι, οἱ τῶν πλανωμένων ὁδηγοὶ, οἱ τῶν γυμνῶν σκεπασταὶ, οἱ τῶν χρεωστούντων πληρωταί· καὶ ἵνα συντόμως εἴπω, οἱ πάντων τῶν ἐνδεομένων καὶ αἰτούντων οἰκονόμοι, οἱ τοιοῦτοι τοῦ ἐμοῦ παλατίου οἰκήτορες, καὶ τῶν αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν κληρονόμοι. Τῶν τοιούτων ἐστὶν οἰκητήριον ἡ ἄνω πόλις· περὶ τῶν τοιούτων παρεκάλεσα τὸν Πατέρα μου, ὅτι Θέλω, Πάτερ, ἵνα, ὅπου εἰμὶ ἐγὼ, καὶ αὐτοί εἰσιν, ἵνα θεωρῶσι τὴν δόξαν μου· πρὸς τοὺς τοιούτους εἶπον, καὶ ἀεὶ λέγω· Ὑμεῖς φίλοι μού ἐστε. Πρὸς ὑμᾶς δὲ ἄρα τί εἴπω· ἆρα ἐλεήσω; Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁρῶ ἐν ὑμῖν καρπὸν ἐλέους. Ἆρα οἰκτειρήσω; Ἀλλ' οὐ βλέπω ἐν ὑμῖν σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμῶν. Ἆρα συγχωρήσω; Ἀλλὰ μεῖζον τῆς ἀφέσεως τὸ σφάλμα. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον τὰ σπλάγχνα ἐκλείσατε αἰτοῦντός μου ἄρτον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἃ περιεβαλόμην ῥάκη ἡρπάξατε καὶ ἐγυμνώσατέ με· καὶ τὸν ἄρτον, ὅν μοι ἄλλος ἐλεήμων ἔδωκεν, ἐκ τοῦ στόματός μου ἡρπάξατε. Ποσάκις ἦλθον εἰς τὴν θύραν σου, καὶ εἶδον τράπεζαν πεπληθυμμένην, καὶ ὄγκον βρωμάτων, καὶ κύνας πολλοὺς τρεφομένους, καὶ ἐπὶ κλινῶν ἀνακειμένους· καὶ ἐπ' ἐμοὶ τὰς θύρας ἀπεκλείσατε καὶ ἀπεπέμψατε ἄτιμον, καὶ οὐδὲ κἂν ὡς ἕνα τῶν κυναρίων, κλάσματος ἄρτου ἠξιώσατε; ποσάκις τοῦ καλυβίου με ἐξηλάσατε παγετοῦ ἐπικειμένου, καὶ τοὺς ἵππους ὑμῶν ἐνῳκίσατε, καὶ οὐκ ἐνεθυμήθητε, ὅτι οὐ διὰ κύνας καὶ ἵππους ἐγὼ ἐσταυρώθην, καὶ τὸ αἷμά μου ἐξέχεα; Τῶν κτηνῶν ἀντέχεσθε, τῶν κυνῶν φροντίζετε, τῶν ἵππων ἐπιμελεῖσθε, καὶ τὰ ἐμὰ μέλη, τοὺς πτωχοὺς καὶ ἀδυνάτους φθειρομένους λιμῷ καὶ δίψει καὶ παγετῷ ὁρῶντες, γελᾶτε καὶ βδελύσσεσθε, καὶ τὰς ὄψεις ἀποστρέφεσθε, καὶ μάλιστα τοὺς ὑπὸ τῆς ἱερᾶς νόσου κατακειμένους; ὧν τὰ μέλη πρὸ τοῦ θανάτου τῇ γῇ παραδίδοται, ὧν τὰ σώματα τοῖς πολλοῖς σκοτεινὰ καὶ βδελυκτὰ νομίζονται· ἀλλ' ἡ ψυχὴ ἐκλάμψει ὡς ὁ ἥλιος.

Ὑμεῖς δὲ ἐτρυφήσατε, ἐσπαταλήσατε, ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἀπελάβετε τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἐν τῇ ζωῇ ὑμῶν. Νῦν δὲ τί εἴπω πρὸς ὑμᾶς; ἆρα οὐκ ἠκούσατε, ὅτι κρίσις ἡτοίμασται ἡ μέλλουσα τοῖς μὴ ποιήσασιν ἔλεος; Ναὶ, οὐκ ἠλεήσατε, ἀλλὰ τῇ ἀσπλαγχνίᾳ ἐδουλεύσατε. ∆ιὰ τί καὶ ὅπερ εἶχεν ὁ πτωχὸς ἀφηρπάσατε; Ἄρα ὁ μὴ ἐλεῶν κολάζεται διότι οὐ μετέδωκεν· ὁ δὲ καταπονῶν καὶ ἁρπάζων τὰ ἄλλων, τί παθεῖται; Ἆρα τί εἴπω πρὸς τὴν ἀπάνθρωπον ὑμῶν προαίρεσιν; Ὁρῶ γὰρ μεῖζον τῆς ἀφέσεως τὸ σφάλμα· ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ἰατρείαν τὸ τραῦμα κατεσκεύασται· ἡ ἀποτυχία ὑμῶν παραμυθίαν οὐκ ἔχει, τὸ ναυάγιον ὑμῶν ἀδιόρθωτον, ἡ πληγὴ ἀθεράπευτος, ἡ νόσος ἀνίατος, τὰ παραπτώματα ὑμῶν ἀπάρτι ἀσυγχώρητα. Οὐκ ἔτι γὰρ μετάνοια, οὐκ ἔτι παράκλησις ἰσχύει, οὐκ ἔτι δακρύων ὄφελος ἐγκλημάτων ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἐμοῦ οὐκ ἐμνημονεύσατε· τῶν ἀποστόλων οὐκ ἠκούσατε, τὰς ἁγίας μου Γραφὰς ἐβδελύξασθε, πεινῶντά με οὐκ ἠλεήσατε· ἀκούσατε λοιπὸν τὴν ὀδυνηρὰν καὶ ἁρμόζουσαν φωνὴν, ἢν ὑμῶν ἡ ἀσπλαγχνία προεξένησε· Πορεύεσθε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, οἱ κατηραμένοι, εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον.

δʹ. Εἴδετε ἀπόφασιν χαλεπὴν καὶ ὀδυνηρᾶν; εἴδετε ἀποτυχίαν μὴ ἔχουσαν παντελῶς παραμυθίαν; εἴδετε ζημίαν τὴν ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ζημίαν, ἠκούσατε τὴν φρικτὴν