Epistula Magna

 are possible with the God who has promised for the passions of sin later came upon the soul and the body because of the transgression of the first-fo

 gives himself to all the well-pleasingness of the commandments, to that extent he also acquires the participation of the spirit for the spiritual incr

 [as] one who, as a bride of Christ, longs to be joined to the heavenly king who is pure and undefiled. For the soul that longs to be joined to him and

 the worse work of destruction, numbering hidden and manifest sins as one, he says: And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up

 to have fellowship and to be united, but only with the Spirit of God, 247 being united and clinging to it, he commanded the soul to bear the sacred of

 But in another epistle, teaching about the same things and showing the disciples the abundance of spiritual wealth and exhorting them to hasten to att

 he sets forth the goal. And because we are not sufficient for the struggle against the principalities and the powers and the spiritual forces of wicke

 let us have affliction and struggle and a ceaseless race, daily stretching forward always to the things that are before and forgetting the things that

 and having entered with exultation, since indeed he has become the agent of great salvation for himself, if with long-suffering and patience he remain

 he who humbles himself will be exalted and again: Whoever wishes to be first among you, let him be the last of all and the servant of all just as th

 the adversary always hinders the mind in good things, from loving the things above by the memory of good things, but rather, by enticing the will thro

 occupying ourselves with love always. and thus we shall be able to receive daily increase and progress towards divine love, being helped by the divine

 the soul's love is stretched out toward God and therefore if someone wishes to persevere unceasingly in prayers and to be at leisure for fasting acco

 surrendering the mind to such things and by reason of a lack of discernment being fully convinced by the bodily kneeling, while the mind is in a state

 a lack, his own work and toil, should he think the fruits of the spirit to be, he possesses much vain conceit and falls from great spiritual goods, no

 the future hope of the resurrection 279 immortal and it is possible to take up the sufferings of Christ readily and easily. Let those who have not ye

 being done That, he says, they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. And the apostles, having legislated through the Spir

 the need of those who serve and give rest, and again the surplus of those who serve and work for the need of those who devote themselves to prayers. F

 we are deemed worthy of Christ, let us have communion with one another in all good things for the edification and benefit both of ourselves and of our

 of practices will it be to attain unless through what we have said before, setting forth through many things at the same time also the scriptural test

 believe in truths, that it is necessary for the one who has truly come to serve God to arrive at the measures of impassibility and freedom. Since ther

 workers or certain slaves are told by their master to reap three plethra each day, and one worker, having received such a command from his master, giv

 is promised to those who have consecrated themselves. For those who consider it impossible for this accomplishment to happen in men through the Spirit

 to those who obey the spirit, that it is necessary for the one who has approached God in truth, believing in his promises with a whole heart and striv

the soul's love is stretched out toward God; and therefore if someone wishes to persevere unceasingly in prayers and to be at leisure for fasting according to the saying of Paul: Pray without ceasing, and Persevere in prayer, and that which was said by the Lord: How much more will God bring about justice for those who cry to him night and day. He spoke, it says, also a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to lose heart. And as to the putting on of the heavenly armor, as was said before, in what manner those who desire and believe they will obtain it will be counted worthy, the apostle clearly indicated, saying: Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication, and to that end keeping alert with all perseverance and supplication. If then any of the brethren, loving the heavenly goods, longs to undertake the struggle through faith and prayer 271 and repentance, this one is to be accepted and is very praiseworthy both to men and to God; therefore let such a one be allowed and helped by the brotherhood of his fellow-members with joy to persevere in prayer, so that they themselves may also have their reward from God for their good accord and cooperation with their brother; only let the one who prays carry out the examination of conscience with all watchfulness and have unceasing care and a ceaseless struggle, always opposing all the material of wickedness from many and superfluous thoughts and always forcing his mind toward the Lord in longing and expecting from him the help of grace, so that in this way the fruits of his persistence and perseverance may daily become manifest to all for their edification. For the one who has a certain wound of love and a divine longing in prayer, or even if he does not yet have it, but compels himself and struggles and forces his will, giving himself over to such a labor and seeking to acquire from God heavenly love and true and spiritual prayer according to what has been said: He who gives prayer to the one who prays; let him be allowed by the brethren with joy and let them rather cooperate with him and encourage him as helpers, considering the brother's progress 272 toward better things their own gain, and let them do nothing out of rivalry or jealousy, being carried away by evil, nor let them hinder and frustrate his good impulse toward God and the beginning of the struggle of his good zeal, so that God, seeing the incitement of love for one another, may grant to all their requests, assuring each one because of their upright and good disposition toward one another. You, especially the leaders of the brethren, ought to do these things zealously with much discretion and to equip both yourselves and the brethren with you with such a mindset, so that no one may receive a hindrance in the struggle he chooses to strive. Just as, therefore, the one persevering in prayer has undertaken a more principal work, so also he ought to take up an extraordinary struggle and much labor and unceasing zeal because there are many hindrances of evil in the perseverance of prayer: sleep, despondency, heaviness of body, wandering of thoughts, instability of mind, negligence, impatience, exhaustion and the other workings of evil; then affliction and assault of the evil spirits themselves, warring and contending unto blood against the soul that in truth unceasingly seeks God, hindering it 273 from approaching God. Therefore, with all watchfulness and all zeal and every struggle, bodily and spiritual, and with all patience, the one persevering in prayer ought to act manfully; and as one truly bearing the cross, let him go unceasingly in struggle and much labor and mourning and affliction for the sake of the kingdom; not being puffed up and giving himself over to the wandering of evil thoughts or confusion of sleep or despondency or exhaustion, using disturbing and unseemly voices or any

πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἔρως τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπεκτείνεται· καὶ λοιπὸν εἴ τις βούλεται ἀδιαλείπτως ταῖς προσευχαῖς προσκαρτερεῖν καὶ ταῖς νηστείαις σχολάζειν κατὰ τὸ λόγιον Παύλου· Ἀδιαλείπτως προσεύχεσθε, καὶ Τῇ εὐχῇ προσκαρτερεῖτε, καὶ τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ κυρίου δὲ εἰρημένον· Πόσῳ μᾶλλον ποιήσει ἐκδίκησιν ὁ θεὸς τῶν βοώντων πρὸς αὐτὸν νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας. Ἔλεγε δέ φησι καὶ παραβολὴν πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι καὶ μὴ ἐκκακεῖν. τῶν δὲ ἐπουρανίων ὅπλων τὴν ἔνδυσιν, ὡς προείρηται, δι' ὁποίου τρόπου καταξιωθήσονται οἱ ἐπιθυμοῦντες καὶ πιστεύοντες τυχεῖν, ὁ ἀπόστολος ἀκριβῶς ἐσήμανεν εἰπών· ∆ιὰ πάσης προσευχῆς καὶ δεήσεως προσευχόμενοι ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ ἐν πνεύματι καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ ἀγρυπνοῦντες ἐν πάσῃ προσκαρτερήσει καὶ δεήσει. Εἴ τις τοίνυν τῶν ἀδελφῶν τὸν διὰ πίστεως καὶ προσευχῆς 271 καὶ μετανοίας ἀγῶνα ἀναδέξασθαι ἐπιποθεῖ ἐρῶν τῶν ἐπουρανίων ἀγαθῶν, ἀποδεκτέος καὶ πάνυ ἐπαινετὸς οὗτος καὶ ἀνθρώποις καὶ θεῷ· διὸ ἐάσθω καὶ βοηθείσθω ὑπὸ τῆς ἀδελφότητος τῶν συμμέλων ἀδελφῶν μετὰ χαρᾶς ὁ τοιοῦτος τῇ εὐχῇ προσκαρτερεῖν, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ τὸν μισθὸν διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν σύμπνευσιν καὶ συνεργίαν ἀγαθὴν ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἔχωσι· μόνον ἵνα μετὰ πάσης νήψεως τὴν κατὰ συνείδησιν ἔρευναν ποιῆται καὶ ἀδιάλειπτον μέριμναν καὶ ἄπαυστον ἀγῶνα ὁ εὐχόμενος ἔχῃ, πάντοτε ἐναντιούμενος πάσῃ τῇ τῆς κακίας τῶν πολλῶν καὶ περισσῶν λογισμῶν ὕλῃ καὶ πρὸς τὸν κύριον πάντοτε τὸν νοῦν ἐκβιαζόμενος ἐν ἐπιποθήσει καὶ παρ' αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀντίληψιν τῆς χάριτος ἐκδεχόμενος, ἵν' οὕτως οἱ καρποὶ τῆς παραμονῆς καὶ προσκαρτερήσεως εἰς οἰκοδομὴν ὁσημέραι πᾶσι φανεροὶ γίνωνται. ὁ γὰρ ἔχων ἀγάπης τρῶσίν τινα καὶ ἔρωτα θεῖον ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ, ἢ κἂν μηδέπω ἔχῃ, βιάζηται δὲ καὶ ἀγωνίζηται καὶ τὴν προαίρεσιν ἀναγκάζῃ, εἰς τὸν τοιοῦτον κάματον ἔκδοτον διδοὺς ἑαυτὸν καὶ παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν οὐράνιον ἔρωτα καὶ τὴν ἀληθινὴν καὶ πνευματικὴν εὐχὴν ἐπιζητῶν κτήσασθαι κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· Ὁ διδοὺς εὐχὴν τῷ εὐχομένῳ· μετὰ χαρᾶς ὑπὸ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐάσθω καὶ ὡς βοηθοὶ αὐτῷ μᾶλλον συνεργείτωσαν καὶ προτρεπέσθωσαν, ἴδιον κέρδος ἡγούμενοι τὴν ἐπὶ τὰ κρείττονα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ 272 προκοπήν, καὶ μηδὲν κατ' ἐρίθειαν ἢ ζῆλον ποιείτωσαν ὑπὸ τῆς κακίας ὑποφερόμενοι μηδὲ ἐμποδιζέτωσαν καὶ ἐγκοπτέτωσαν τὴν ἀγαθὴν αὐτοῦ πρὸς θεὸν ὁρμὴν καὶ τοῦ ἀγῶνος τῆς καλῆς σπουδῆς τὴν ἀρχήν, ἵνα ὁ θεὸς ὁρῶν τὸν πρὸς ἀλλήλους τῆς ἀγάπης παροξυσμὸν ἀνταποδώσει πᾶσι τὰ αἰτήματα, πληροφορῶν ἕκαστον διὰ τὴν εὐθεῖαν καὶ ἀγαθὴν πρὸς ἀλλήλους προαίρεσιν. Ταῦτα δὲ σπουδαίως ποιεῖν ἐν πολλῇ διακρίσει μάλιστα οἱ προεστῶτες τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὀφείλετε καὶ ἑαυτοὺς καὶ τοὺς σὺν ὑμῖν ἀδελφοὺς τοιούτῳ φρονήματι καταρτίζειν, ἵνα μηδεὶς ἐγκοπὴν λαμβάνῃ εἰς ὃν προαιρεῖται ἀγωνίζεσθαι ἀγῶνα. ὥσπερ οὖν κεφαλαιωδέστερον ὁ τῇ εὐχῇ προσκαρτερῶν ἐπεβάλετο ἔργον, οὕτως καὶ ἀγῶνα περισσὸν καὶ πόνον πολὺν καὶ σπουδὴν ἀδιάλειπτον ἀναλαβεῖν ὀφείλει διὰ τὸ πολλὰ ἐν τῇ προσκαρτερήσει τῆς εὐχῆς εἶναι τῆς κακίας ἐμπόδια· ὕπνον, ἀκηδίαν, βάρησιν σώματος, λογισμῶν ῥεμβασμόν, νοὸς ἀκαταστασίαν, ὀλιγωρίαν, ἀνυπομονησίαν, ἔκλυσιν καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῆς κακίας ἐνεργήματα· εἶτα θλῖψις καὶ ἐπανάστασις αὐτῶν τῶν πονηρῶν πνευμάτων πολεμούντων καὶ ἀνταγωνιζομένων μέχρις αἵματος τῇ κατ' ἀλήθειαν τὸν θεὸν ἀδιαλείπτως ἐπιζητούσῃ ψυχῇ κωλυόντων αὐτὴν 273 προσεγγίζειν θεῷ. πάσῃ οὖν νήψει καὶ πάσῃ σπουδῇ καὶ παντὶ ἀγῶνι σωματικῷ καὶ ψυχικῷ καὶ πάσῃ ὑπομονῇ ὁ τῇ εὐχῇ προσκαρτερῶν ἀνδρίζεσθαι ὀφείλει· καὶ ὡς τὸν σταυρὸν ὄντως βαστάζων ἐν ἀγῶνι καὶ πόνῳ πολλῷ καὶ πένθει καὶ θλίψει διὰ τὴν βασιλείαν ἀδιαλείπτως ἤτω· μὴ κεχαυνωμένος καὶ συνεπιδιδοὺς ἑαυτὸν τῷ τῆς κακίας τῶν λογισμῶν ῥεμβασμῷ ἢ συγχύσει ὕπνου ἢ ἀκηδίᾳ ἢ ἐκλύσει, ταραχώδεσι καὶ ἀπρεπέσι φωναῖς χρώμενος ἤ τισι