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tears washed away the sin. Weep, therefore, you also for your sin; but not simply, nor for show, but weep bitterly, like Peter; from the very depths bring forth the springs of tears, so that the Master, having compassion, may forgive you your trespass; for he is a lover of mankind; for he himself said: I do not desire the death of the sinner, as that he should turn, and repent, and live. He wants a little labor from you, and he himself provides great things; he seeks a pretext from you, that he may give you a treasure of salvation. Offer tears, and he gives you forgiveness; offer repentance, 49.299 and he grants you remission of sins; you bring forward a small pretext, so that you may have a plausible defense; for some things are from him, and others are from us; if we contribute what is from us, he in turn also provides what is from himself. Now, therefore, he has already provided what is from himself: sun, moon, he established the varied choir of stars, he poured out the air, he spread out the earth, he walled in the sea, he gave mountains, glens, hills, springs, lakes, rivers, the myriad kinds of plants, paradises, all the other things; you, in turn, contribute a little, so that thus he may also grant you the things above. Let us not, therefore, neglect ourselves, nor abandon our salvation, having such an ocean of love for mankind from the Master of all, who repents over our sins. The kingdom of heaven is set before us, and paradise, and the good things which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and have not entered into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those who love him; and ought we not to do everything, so that we may contribute something, in order not to fall away from these things? Or do you not know what Paul says, who labored much, and set up myriad trophies against the devil, who traversed the world on foot in the body, who ran about land and sea and air, who went around the world 49.300 as if with wings, who was stoned, who was murdered, who was beaten, who suffered all things for the name of God, who was called from above by a heavenly voice; see what this man says, what a cry he uttered; We have received grace, he says, from God, but I also labored, and contributed; And his grace which was in me was not in vain; but I also labored and contributed more abundantly than them all. We know, he says, we know the greatness of the grace which we received, but it did not find me idle; the things contributed by me are manifest. So, therefore, let us also teach our hands toward almsgiving, so that we may contribute some little thing; let us weep for our sin, let us lament for our lawlessness, so that we may seem to contribute some little thing, since the things to be given to us are great and surpass our power; for it is paradise, and the kingdom of heaven; of which may it be that we all attain, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CONCERNING REPENTANCE AND PRAYER. Homily 4. 1. Wherever shepherds see that the grass is deeper, they continually lead their sheep, and do not move them from there sooner, until the flocks have grazed it all down. And we, imitating them, for this fourth day now, are feeding this flock in the way of repentance, and not yet even today are we preparing to move on; for we see that there is still a great abundance of pasture, and much delight together with benefit. For not even so does the foliage of the trees, becoming a shelter for the sheep at midday, give rest to the sheep, both desired and

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δάκρυα ἐξήλειψε τὸ ἁμάρτημα. Κλαῦσον οὖν καὶ σὺ ἐπὶ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ σου· ἀλλ' οὐχ ἁπλῶς, οὐδὲ μετὰ σχήματος, ἀλλὰ κλαῦσον πικρῶς, ὡς ὁ Πέτρος· ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ βάθους προσάγαγε τὰς πηγὰς τῶν δακρύων, ἵνα οὕτως σπλαγχνισθεὶς ὁ ∆εσπότης συγχωρήσῃ σοι τὸ πλημμέλημα· φιλάνθρωπος γάρ ἐστιν· αὐτὸς γὰρ εἶπεν· Οὐ θέλω τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ, ὡς τὸ ἐπιστρέψαι, καὶ μετανοῆσαι, καὶ ζῇν αὐτόν. Μικρὸν θέλει παρὰ σοῦ πόνον, καὶ αὐτὸς παρέχει τὰ μεγάλα· πρόφασιν ζητεῖ παρὰ σοῦ, ἵνα σοι δῷ θησαυρὸν σωτηρίας. Πρόβαλε δάκρυα, καὶ αὐτός σοι δίδωσι συγχώρησιν· πρόβαλε μετάνοιαν, 49.299 καὶ αὐτός σοι παρέχει ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν· πρόφασιν μικρὰν σὺ εἰσένεγκε, ἵνα εὐπρόσωπον ἔχῃς τὴν ἀπολογίαν· τὰ μὲν γὰρ παρ' αὐτοῦ ἐστι, τὰ δὲ παρ' ἡμῶν· τὰ παρ' ἡμῶν ἐὰν εἰσενέγκωμεν, πάλιν καὶ αὐτὸς παρέχει τὰ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ. Ἤδη μὲν οὖν τὰ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ αὐτὸς παρέσχεν, ἥλιον, σελήνην, ποικίλον χορὸν ἀστέρων ἐθεμελίωσεν, ἀέρα ἐξέχεε, γῆν ἥπλωσε, θάλασσαν ἐτείχισεν, ἔδωκεν ὄρη, νάπας, βουνοὺς, πηγὰς, λίμνας, ποταμοὺς, τὰ μυρία γένη τῶν φυτῶν, παραδείσους, τὰ ἄλλα πάντα· πάλιν σὺ συνεισένεγκε μικρὸν, ἵνα οὕτω καὶ τὰ ἄνω σοι χαρίσηται. Μὴ οὖν ἀμελήσωμεν ἑαυτῶν, μηδὲ ἀποστῶμεν τῆς ἡμετέρας σωτηρίας, τοσοῦτον πέλαγος φιλανθρωπίας ἔχοντες τοῦ πάντων ∆εσπότου, καὶ μετανοοῦντος ἐπὶ ταῖς ἡμετέραις ἁμαρτίαις. Βασιλεία οὐρανῶν πρόκειται καὶ παράδεισος, καὶ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδε, καὶ οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε, καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη, ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν· καὶ οὐκ ὀφείλομεν ἅπαντα ποιῆσαι, ἵνα τι συνεισενέγκωμεν, ὥστε τούτων μὴ ἐκπεσεῖν; Ἢ οὐκ οἶδας Παῦλος τί λέγει, ὁ πολλὰ κοπιάσας, καὶ μυρία τρόπαια κατὰ τοῦ διαβόλου στήσας, ὁ ἐν σώματι τὴν οἰκουμένην πεζεύσας, ὁ γῆν καὶ θάλατταν καὶ ἀέρα περιδραμὼν, ὁ καθάπερ ὑπόπτερός τις τὴν οἰκου49.300 μένην περιελθὼν, ὁ λιθασθεὶς, ὁ φονευθεὶς, ὁ τυπτηθεὶς, ὁ πάντα διὰ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Θεοῦ παθὼν, ὁ οὐρανίᾳ φωνῇ κληθεὶς ἄνωθεν· ὅρα, οὗτος τί λέγει, ποίαν φωνὴν ἔῤῥηξεν· Ἐλάβομεν χάριν, φησὶν, ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ κἀγὼ ἐκοπίασα, καὶ συνεισήνεγκα· Καὶ ἡ χάρις αὐτοῦ ἡ εἰς ἐμὲ κενὴ οὐκ ἐγενήθη· ἀλλὰ καὶ περισσότερον αὐτῶν πάντων ἐκοπίασα καὶ συνεισήνεγκα. Οἴδαμεν, φησὶν, οἴδαμεν τῆς χάριτος τὸ μέγεθος, ὃ ἐλάβομεν, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀργόν με εὗρε· φανερὰ τὰ παρ' ἐμοῦ εἰσενεχθέντα. Οὕτως οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς τὰς χεῖρας πρὸς ἐλεημοσύνην διδάξωμεν, ἵνα συνεισενέγκωμεν μικρόν τι· κλαύσωμεν ἐπὶ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, θρηνήσωμεν ἐπὶ τῇ ἀνομίᾳ, ἵνα δόξωμεν μικρόν τι συνεισφέρειν, ἐπειδὴ καὶ μεγάλα τὰ μέλλοντα δίδοσθαι ἡμῖν, καὶ ὑπερβαίνει τὴν ἡμετέραν δύναμιν· παράδεισος γάρ ἐστι, καὶ βασιλεία οὐρανῶν· ἧς γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπιτυχεῖν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, δόξα, κράτος, τιμὴ, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

ΠΕΡΙ ΜΕΤΑΝΟΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΥΧΗΣ. Ὁμιλία δʹ. αʹ. Οἱ ποιμένες τὰ πρόβατα ἔνθα ἂν ἴδωσι βαθυτέραν οὖσαν τὴν πόαν, συνεχῶς ἄγουσι, καὶ οὐ πρότερον ἐκεῖθεν ἐγείρουσιν, ἕως ἂν αὐτὴν πᾶσαν ἀποκείρῃ τὰ ποίμνια. Τούτους δὲ καὶ ἡμεῖς μιμούμενοι, τετάρτην ταύτην ἤδη ἡμέραν εἰς τὸν τῆς μετανοίας τρόπον βόσκομεν τοῦτο τὸ ποίμνιον, καὶ οὐδέπω καὶ σήμερον ἀναστῆσαι παρασκευαζόμεθα· ὁρῶμεν γὰρ πολλὴν οὖσαν ἔτι νομῆς εὐπορίαν, καὶ πολλὴν τέρψιν ὁμοῦ καὶ ὠφέλειαν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ οὕτως αἱ κόμαι τῶν δένδρων ἀντὶ στέγης τοῖς προβάτοις γινόμεναι κατὰ τὸ μεσημβρινὸν τῆς ἡμέρας ἀναπαύουσι τὰ πρόβατα, ποθεινήν τε καὶ