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Let the one who hungers be holy. If, therefore, he is holy, but is not in need, do not give; for this is not a gain; for Christ did not command it, or rather, that one who is in abundance and takes is not even holy. Do you see that these things have not been said to us for the sake of sordid gain, but for what is profitable to you? Feed the hungry, so that you do not feed the fire of Gehenna; he, eating from your things, also sanctifies the leftovers. Consider how the widow fed Elijah; she did not so much feed, as she was fed; she did not so much give, as she received. This also happens now, and in a much greater way. For not a jar of flour, nor a cruse 62.189 of oil, but what? a hundredfold, and eternal life is the reward for such people. The mercy of God, the spiritual food becomes, a pure leaven. She was a widow, a famine was at hand, and none of these things hindered her; she had children, and not even so was she impeded. This woman has become equal to the one who cast in the two mites. She did not say to herself, What shall I receive from this? he himself is in need of me; if he had any strength, he would not have been hungry, he would have ended the drought, he would not have been subject to the same things; perhaps he himself also has offended God. She considered none of these things. Do you see how good it is to do good with simplicity, and not be overly inquisitive about the one who receives the benefit? If she had wanted to be meddlesome, she would have hesitated, she would not have believed. So also Abraham, if he had wanted to be meddlesome, would not have received angels. For it is not possible, it is not possible for the one who is scrupulous in these matters ever to happen upon a holy person, but such a person especially falls in with impostors. And how, I say: The devout man does not want to appear devout, and does not put on an appearance for himself, even if he is about to be 62.190 spat upon; but the impostor, since he makes a craft of the matter, puts on a great and hard-to-detect piety. So that he who does good even to those who seem impious will fall in with the pious; but he who seeks out those reputed to be pious will often fall in with the impious. Therefore, I beseech you, let us do all things in simplicity. For let us suppose that the one approaching is even an impostor; you were not commanded to be inquisitive about these things. For, he says, 'Give to everyone who asks you'; and, 'Do not spare to ransom one being slain'; and yet most of those who are executed undergo this having been caught in evil deeds, but, 'Do not spare,' it says. For thus we shall be like God, thus we shall be admired, and we shall attain the immortal good things; of which may it be that we all attain, and what follows.

HOMILY II. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all perception. That you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and

praise of God. 1. Not as one who is disbelieved does he call God as a witness, but he does this out of a great disposition, and from being strongly persuaded and confident. For since he said that they had fellowship with him, lest they might think that he longs for them for this reason, and not simply for their own sakes, for this reason he added, that 'In the bowels of Christ.' What is this? Instead of, According to Christ; since you are faithful, since you love Christ, because of the love which is according to Christ. And he did not say love, but what was warmer, the bowels of Christ; as if saying this, of Him who has become like a father to you through the kinship which is according to Christ. For this is bowels to us

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ἅγιος ὁ πεινῶν ᾖ. Ἂν τοίνυν ἅγιος μὲν ᾖ, μὴ δέηται δὲ, μὴ δῷς· οὐ γὰρ κέρδος τοῦτο· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐπέταξεν ὁ Χριστὸς, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ ἅγιος ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἐν ἀφθονίᾳ ὢν, καὶ λαμβάνων. Ὁρᾷς, ὅτι οὐκ αἰσχροκερδείας ἕνεκεν ἡμῖν ταῦτα λέλεκται, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ὑμῖν λυσιτελοῦντος; Θρέψον τὸν πεινῶντα, ἵνα μὴ θρέψῃς τὸ τῆς γεέννης πῦρ· ἐκεῖνος ἐσθίων ἀπὸ τῶν σῶν, καὶ λείψανα ἁγιάζει. Ἐννόησον πῶς ἔτρεφε τὸν Ἠλίαν ἡ χήρα· οὐκ ἔθρεψε μᾶλλον, ἢ ἐτράφη· οὐκ ἔδωκε μᾶλλον, ἢ ἔλαβε. Τοῦτο καὶ νῦν γίνεται καὶ πολλῷ μεῖζον. Οὐ γὰρ ὑδρία ἀλεύρου, οὐδὲ καμψάκης 62.189 ἐλαίου, ἀλλὰ τί; ἑκατονταπλασίονα, καὶ ζωὴ αἰώνιος τοῖς τοιούτοις ἡ ἀμοιβή. Ἔλεος ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἡ τροφὴ ἡ πνευματικὴ γίνῃ, ζύμη καθαρά. Χήρα ἦν ἐκείνη, λιμὸς ἐπέκειτο, καὶ οὐδὲν τούτων αὐτὴν ἐκώλυσε· παῖδες ἦσαν αὐτῇ, καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτως ἐνεποδίσθη. Αὕτη τῆς τὰ δύο καταβαλούσης λεπτὰ ἴση γέγονεν. Οὐκ εἶπε πρὸς ἑαυτὴν, Τί ἀπὸ τούτου λήψομαι; αὐτὸς ἐμοῦ δεῖται· εἴ τινα ἰσχὺν εἶχεν, οὐκ ἂν ἐλίμωξεν, ἔλυσεν ἂν τὸν αὐχμὸν, οὐκ ἂν ὑπεύθυνος ἦν τοῖς αὐτοῖς· προσκρούει ἴσως καὶ αὐτὸς τῷ Θεῷ. Οὐδὲν τούτων ἐνενόησεν. Ὁρᾷς πόσον ἀγαθόν ἐστι μετὰ ἁπλότητος εὖ ποιεῖν, καὶ μὴ σφόδρα περίεργον εἶναι περὶ τὸν εὖ πάσχοντα; Εἰ ἤθελε πολυπραγμονῆσαι, ἐδίστασεν ἂν, οὐκ ἂν ἐπίστευσεν. Οὕτω καὶ Ἀβραὰμ, εἰ ἤθελε πολυπραγμονῆσαι, οὐκ ἂν ἐδέξατο ἀγγέλους. Οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν, οὐκ ἔστι τὸν ἐν τούτοις ἀκριβολογούμενον ἐπιτυχεῖν ἁγίου ποτὲ, ἀλλ' ὁ τοιοῦτος μάλιστα ἐμπίπτει εἰς ἐπιθέτας. Καὶ πῶς, ἐγὼ λέγω· Ὁ εὐλαβὴς οὐ βούλεται φαίνεσθαι εὐλαβὴς, καὶ οὐ περιτίθησιν ἑαυτῷ σχῆμα, κἂν μέλλῃ δια 62.190 πτύεσθαι· ὁ δὲ ἐπιθέτης, ἅτε τέχνην τὸ πρᾶγμα ἔχων, πολλὴν εὐλάβειαν καὶ δυσφώρατον περιτίθεται. Ὥστε ὁ μὲν καὶ τοῖς δοκοῦσιν ἀνευλαβέσιν εὖ ποιῶν, τοῖς εὐλαβέσι περιπεσεῖται· ὁ δὲ τοὺς νομιζομένους εὐλαβεῖς ἐπιζητῶν, ἀνευλαβέσιν ἐμπεσεῖται πολλάκις. ∆ιὸ, παρακαλῶ, ἐν ἁπλότητι πάντα πράττωμεν. Θῶμεν γὰρ ὅτι καὶ ἐπιθέτης ἐστὶν ὁ προσιών· οὐκ ἐκελεύθης ταῦτα περιεργάζεσθαι. Παντὶ γὰρ, φησὶ, τῷ αἰτοῦντί σε δίδου· καὶ, Ἐκπριοῦν κτεινόμενον μὴ φείσῃ· καίτοι οἱ πλείους τῶν ἀναιρουμένων ἐπὶ κακοῖς ἁλισκόμενοι τοῦτο ὑπομένουσιν, ἀλλὰ, Μὴ φείσῃ, φησίν. Οὕτω γὰρ ὅμοιοι ἐσόμεθα τῷ Θεῷ, οὕτω θαυμασθησόμεθα, καὶ τῶν ἀθανάτων ἐπιτευξόμεθα ἀγαθῶν· ὧν γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπιτυχεῖν, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς.

ΟΜΙΛΙΑ Βʹ. Μάρτυς γάρ μοί ἐστιν ὁ Θεὸς, ὡς ἐπιποθῶ πάν τας ὑμᾶς ἐν σπλάγχνοις Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Καὶ τοῦτο προσεύχομαι, ἵνα ἡ ἀγάπη ὑμῶν ἔτι μᾶλλον καὶ μᾶλλον περισσεύῃ ἐν ἐπιγνώσει καὶ πάσῃ αἰσθήσει. Εἰς τὸ δοκιμάζειν ὑμᾶς τὰ διαφέροντα, ἵνα ἦτε εἰλικρινεῖς καὶ ἀπρόσ κοποι εἰς ἡμέραν Χριστοῦ, πεπληρωμένοι καρ πῶν δικαιοσύνης τῶν διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς δόξαν καὶ

ἔπαινον Θεοῦ. αʹ. Οὐχ ὡς ἀπιστούμενος μάρτυρα καλεῖ τὸν Θεὸν, ἀλλ' ἐκ πολλῆς διαθέσεως τοῦτο ποιεῖ, καὶ τῷ σφόδρα πεπεῖσθαι καὶ θαῤῥεῖν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἶπεν, ὅτι ἐκοινώνησαν αὐτῷ, ἵνα μὴ νομίσωσιν, ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο αὐτοὺς ποθεῖ, καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἐκείνων ἕνεκεν, διὰ τοῦτο ἐπήγαγεν, ὅτι Ἐν σπλάγχνοις Χριστοῦ. Τί ἐστι τοῦτο; Ἀντὶ τοῦ, Κατὰ Χριστόν· ἐπειδὴ πιστοί ἐστε, ἐπειδὴ φιλεῖτε τὸν Χριστὸν, διὰ τὴν κατὰ Χριστὸν ἀγάπην. Καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν ἀγάπην, ἀλλ' ὃ θερμότερον ἦν, σπλάγχνα Χριστοῦ· ὡσανεὶ τοῦτο λέγων, τοῦ ὡς πατὴρ ὑμῶν γεγονότος διὰ τὴν συγγένειαν τὴν κατὰ Χριστόν. Σπλάγχνα γὰρ ἡμῖν αὕτη