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do not forget, have mercy on the weary, take care of those who are afflicted and mourning, be compassionate, gentle, good, mild, a peacemaker; be long-suffering, merciful, not remembering wrongs, peaceable, devout, so that God may accept your fast, and grant you the profit of repentance with a great increase. For nothing, brother, can help us on that fearful day of judgment, like repentance and almsgiving. These things I exhort, brothers, that we may keep them safely, and receive a reward from God; so that we may hear that blessed voice saying: Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and sick and naked and in prison, and you ministered to me. May we all be deemed worthy to attain this voice, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belongs glory, honor, and worship, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

On fasting. Sermon 4. Again a time of fasting, again an occasion for delight, again a sight of contests, again the trumpet of Christ proclaiming the good contest, has gathered the combatants to the arena; again the yearly coming of Christ is proclaimed. Let us all cleanse ourselves, so that we may receive him. For if the proclaimed coming of a mortal king compels those who are about to receive him to prepare their houses with fear and trembling, so that they may make the dwellings worthy of him who is about to inhabit them; how much more ought we who are about to receive the true king to prepare ourselves to be worthy of him who is about to dwell in us? Let Jeremiah the prophet come before us today, who was sent from the Lord, having heard: Behold, I have this day set you as a prophet to the nations, to root out and to plant, to pull down and to build up. Let us obey him; he is the one who prepares the temples of the great king. Let us root out pleasures, and plant self-control; let us pull down wickedness, and build up virtues; let us drive out falsehood, and reap truth; let us cast away pride, let us take up repentance; let us cut off anger, and receive gentleness. For Christ says: On whom shall I rest? On the gentle and quiet one, and him who trembles at my words. Do not prepare a house of stones; For the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands. Prepare a spiritual temple; adorn it with virtues; the present season helps you. Concerning this Paul says: Behold, the time is short; so that both those who have wives should be as though they had none; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; and those who use this world, as not misusing it; for the fashion of this world is passing away. He does not need gold or silver, he does not need precious stones or great buildings, but he needs a soul made bright, unadulterated repentance. The forerunners of the earthly king who announce his coming bear nothing heavenly, but all things earthly; one a shield, another a breastplate, another golden dragons, another garments woven with gold; but the king himself bears the authority over all things in himself, the purple and the diadem. But the forerunners of the heavenly king bear nothing earthly, but all things worthy of the king: Moses proclaiming the royal law, Isaiah fasting, Jeremiah prayer, John the baptism of repentance; but the king himself bears

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ἐπιλάθῃς, καταπονουμένους ἐλέησον, θλιβομένων καὶ ὀδυρομένων ἐπιμελήθητι, γενοῦ εὔσπλαγχνος, πρᾶος, ἀγαθὸς, ἥμερος, εἰρηνοποιός· γενοῦ μακρόθυμος, ἐλεήμων, ἀμνησίκακος, ἄμαχος, εὐλαβὴς, ἵνα ὁ Θεὸς τὴν νηστείαν σου ἀποδέξηται, καὶ τῆς μετανοίας τὸ κέρδος μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς προσθήκης παράσχῃ σοι. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀδελφὸς δύναται βοηθῆσαι ἡμῖν ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ φοβερᾷ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως, ὡς ἡ μετάνοια καὶ ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη. Ταῦτα παρακαλῶ, ἀδελφοὶ, ἵνα ἀσφαλῶς τηρήσωμεν, καὶ μισθὸν κομισώμεθα παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἵν' ἀκούσωμεν τῆς μακαρίας φωνῆς ἐκείνης τῆς λεγούσης· ∆εῦτε, οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ Πατρός μου, κληρονομήσατε τὴν ἡτοιμασμένην ὑμῖν βασιλείαν ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου· ἐπείνασα γὰρ, καὶ ἐδώκατέ μοι φαγεῖν· ἐδίψησα, καὶ ἐποτίσατέ με· ξένος ἤμην, καὶ ἀσθενὴς καὶ γυμνὸς καὶ ἐν φυλακῇ, καὶ διηκονήσατέ μοι. Ἧς τῆς φωνῆς ἀξιωθείημεν πάντες ἐπιτυχεῖν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ πρέπει δόξα, τιμὴ καὶ προσκύνησις, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

Περὶ νηστείας. Λόγος ʹ. Πάλιν νηστείας καιρὸς, πάλιν τρυφῆς ἀφορμὴ, πάλιν ἀγώνων ὄψις, πάλιν ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ σάλπιγξ τὸν ἀγῶνα τὸν καλὸν κηρύσσουσα, τοὺς ἀγωνιστὰς ἐπὶ τὸ σκάμμα συνεκρότησε· πάλιν ἡ ἐνιαύσιος τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσία κηρύττεται. Πάντες ἑαυτοὺς καθάρωμεν, ἵνα αὐτὸν ὑποδεξώμεθα. Εἰ γὰρ παρουσία βασιλέως θνητοῦ κηρυττομένη, τοὺς μέλλοντας ὑποδέχεσθαι ἀναγκάζει μετὰ φόβου καὶ τρόμου τὰς οἰκίας εὐτρεπίζειν, ὅπως ἄξια κατασκευάσωσι τὰ οἰκήματα τοῦ μέλλοντος ἐνοικεῖν· πόσῳ μᾶλλον οἱ τὸν ἀληθινὸν βασιλέα ὑποδέχεσθαι μέλλοντες ὀφείλομεν ἑαυτοὺς ἀξίους παρασκευάζειν τοῦ μέλλοντος ἐν ἡμῖν οἰκεῖν; Παρίτω σήμερον ἡμῖν Ἱερεμίας ὁ προφήτης, ὃς ἀπεστάλη παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, ἀκούσας· Ἰδοὺ τέθεικά σε σήμερον προφήτην εἰς τὰ ἔθνη, ἐκριζοῦν καὶ καταφυτεύειν, κατασκάπτειν καὶ ἀνοικοδομεῖν. Ὑπακούσωμεν τοῦτον· αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ παρασκευάζων τοὺς ναοὺς τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως. Ἐκριζώσωμεν ἡδονὰς, καὶ καταφυτεύσωμεν ἐγκράτειαν· κατασκάψωμεν κακίαν, καὶ ἀνοικοδομήσωμεν ἀρετάς· ἀποδιώξωμεν ψεῦδος, καὶ καρπωσώμεθα ἀλήθειαν· ῥίψωμεν ὑπερηφανίαν, ἀναλάβωμεν μετάνοιαν· ἐκκόψωμεν ὀργὴν, καὶ δεξώμεθα πραότητα. Φησὶ γὰρ ὁ Χριστός· Ἐπὶ τίνα ἀναπαύσομαι; Ἐπὶ τὸν πρᾶον καὶ ἡσύχιον καὶ τρέμοντά μου τοὺς λόγους. Μὴ εὐτρεπίσῃς ἐκ λίθων οἰκίαν· Οὐ γὰρ ὁ Ὕψιστος ἐν χειροποιήτοις κατοικεῖ. Εὐτρέπισον ναὸν λογικόν· κόσμησον αὐτὸν ἀρεταῖς· συμβάλλεταί σοι ὁ παρὼν καιρός. Περὶ τούτου Παῦλος λέγει· Ἰδοὺ ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν· ἵνα καὶ οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας, ὡς μὴ ἔχοντες ὦσι· καὶ οἱ ἀγοράζοντες, ὡς μὴ κατέχοντες, καὶ οἱ χρώμενοι τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ, ὡς μὴ καταχρώμενοι· παράγει γὰρ τὸ σχῆμα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου. Οὐ χρῄζει χρυσοῦ οὔτε ἀργύρου, οὐ χρῄζει λίθων πολυτελῶν οὔτε οἰκοδομιῶν μεγάλων, ἀλλὰ χρῄζει ψυχῆς φαιδρυνομένης, μετανοίας ἀνοθεύτου. Οἱ τοῦ ἐπιγείου βασιλέως πρόδρομοι οἱ ἀπαγγέλλοντες τὴν τούτου παρουσίαν, οὐδὲν οὐράνιον βαστάζουσιν, ἀλλὰ πάντα ἐπίγεια· ὃς μὲν ἀσπίδα, ἄλλος θώρακα, ἄλλος χρυσοῦς δράκοντας, ἄλλος ἱμάτια διάχρυσα· αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς φέρει τὴν τῶν πάντων ἐξουσίαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, τὴν πορφύραν καὶ τὸ διάδημα. Οἱ δὲ πρόδρομοι τοῦ ἐπουρανίου βασιλέως οὐδὲν γήϊνον φέρουσιν, ἀλλὰ πάντα ἄξια τοῦ βασιλέως· Μωϋσῆς νόμον τὸν βασιλικὸν ἀπαγγέλλων, Ἡσαΐας νηστείαν, Ἱερεμίας προσευχὴν, Ἰωάννης βάπτισμα μετανοίας· αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς φέρει