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Look up to heaven, say in your mind: Have mercy on me, O God, and your prayer is perfected. For he who said, "Have mercy," showed forth confession, and acknowledged his own sins; for it is for those who have sinned to be shown mercy. He who said, "Have mercy on me," received forgiveness for his transgressions; for he who is shown mercy is not punished. He who said, "Have mercy on me," has obtained the kingdom of heaven; for whom God will have mercy, He not only delivers from punishment, but also deems worthy of the good things to come. Let us not, then, make excuses, saying that a house of prayer is not nearby; for grace has made us, if we are watchful, temples of the Spirit of God, so that our ease is great from every side. For our worship is not such as it formerly was among the Jews, having much that is tangible, and requiring much effort. For there, the one who prayed had to both go up to the temple, and buy a turtledove, and handle wood and fire, and take a knife, and stand by the altar, and carry out many other commands; but here there is nothing of the sort, but wherever you may be, you have the sacrificial altar with you, and the knife, and the victim, you yourself being both priest, and sacrificial altar, and victim. For wherever you may be, you are able to set up the altar, by only showing forth a sober purpose, and place does not hinder, nor does time impede, but even if you do not bend your knees, even if you do not strike your breast, and raise your hands to heaven, but 54.668 only show a fervent mind, you have perfected the whole of the prayer. It is possible also for a woman holding a distaff, and weaving, to look up to heaven in her mind, and to call upon God with fervor; it is possible also for a man entering the marketplace, and walking by himself to make earnest prayers; and for another sitting in his workshop and sewing hides, to raise his soul to the Lord; it is possible for a servant, and one who is shopping, and one going up and down, and one standing in the kitchen, when it is not possible to come to church, to make an earnest and wakeful prayer. God is not ashamed of a place; He seeks one thing only, a fervent mind, and a temperate soul. And that you may learn, that there is no need of posture and places and times at all, but of a noble and wakeful spirit, Paul lying on his back in the prison, and not standing upright for the stocks in which his feet were bound did not permit it, because while lying down he prayed with eagerness, he shook the prison, and moved the foundations, and bound the jailer, and after these things led him by the hand to the sacred initiation. Again Hezekiah, not standing upright, nor bending his knees, but lying on his back on his bed because of his illness, having turned himself to the wall, because he called upon God fervently and with a temperate soul, he both recalled the sentence that had been brought forth, and drew down great favor, and returned to his former health. And not only in the case of holy and great men, but one might also see this happening in the case of the wicked. For the thief, not standing in a house of prayer, nor bending his knees, but stretched out on the cross, from a few words obtained the kingdom of heaven; another in mire and a pit, another in a pit and with wild beasts, another in the very belly of the sea-monster, having called upon God, they dissolved all that lay upon them, and drew down favor from above. And in saying these things, I exhort you to frequent the churches continually, and to pray at home with much quiet, and at leisure bending your knees, and raising your hands; but if we should be caught either by time or by place among many other things, do not for this reason abandon your customary prayers, but in this manner, which I have spoken to your charity, pray and beseech God, as you will have nothing less from this prayer. I have said these things, not that you might applaud and marvel, but that you might show them forth through your deeds, interspersing the time of the night and the time of the day, and the time of work with prayers and supplications. If we thus manage our own affairs, and the

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ἀνάβλεψον εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, εἰπὲ κατὰ διάνοιαν· Ἐλέησόν με, ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ ἀπήρτισταί σου ἡ εὐχή. Ὁ γὰρ εἰπὼν, Ἐλέησον, ἐξομολόγησιν ἐπεδείξατο, καὶ τῶν οἰκείων ἁμαρτημάτων ἐπέγνω· τῶν γὰρ ἡμαρτηκότων ἐστὶ τὸ ἐλεεῖσθαι. Ὁ εἰπὼν, Ἐλέησόν με, συγχώρησιν ἔλαβε τῶν πεπλημμελημένων· ὁ γὰρ ἐλεηθεὶς οὐ κολάζεται. Ὁ εἰπὼν, Ἐλέησόν με, βασιλείας ἔτυχεν οὐρανῶν· ὃν γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ἐλεήσει, οὐ κολάσεως ἀπαλλάττει μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν ἀξιοῖ. Μὴ τοίνυν προφασιζώμεθα λέγοντες, ὡς οὐκ ἔστι πλησίον εὐκτήριος οἶκος· ἡμᾶς γὰρ αὐτοὺς, ἐὰν νήφωμεν, ναοὺς ἐποίησε τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡ χάρις, ὥστε πολλὴ πάντοθεν ἡμῖν ἡ εὐκολία. Καὶ γὰρ οὐ τοιαύτη ἡμῶν ἡ λατρεία, οἵα παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις τὸ πρότερον ἦν, πολὺ τὸ αἰσθητὸν ἔχουσα, καὶ πολλῆς δεομένη πραγματείας. Ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ τὸν εὐχόμενον καὶ εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν ἀναβῆναι ἔδει, καὶ τρυγόνα πρίασθαι, καὶ ξύλα καὶ πῦρ μεταχειρίσαι, καὶ μάχαιραν λαβεῖν, καὶ τῷ βωμῷ παραστῆναι, καὶ πολλὰ ἕτερα διανύσαι ἐπιτάγματα· ἐνταῦθα δὲ οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον, ἀλλ' ὅπουπερ ἂν ᾖς, τὸ θυσιαστήριον ἔχεις μετὰ σαυτοῦ, καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν, καὶ τὸ ἱερεῖον, αὐτὸς ὢν σὺ καὶ ἱερεὺς, καὶ θυσιαστήριον, καὶ ἱερεῖον. Ὅπου γὰρ ἂν ᾖς, δύνασαι στῆσαι τὸν βωμὸν, προαίρεσιν νήφουσαν ἐπιδειξάμενος μόνον, καὶ οὐδὲν κωλύει τόπος, οὐδὲ ἐμποδίζει καιρὸς, ἀλλὰ κἂν γόνατα μὴ κλίνῃς, κἂν μὴ στῆθος τύψῃ, καὶ τὰς χεῖρας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνατείνῃς, διά 54.668 νοιαν δὲ μόνον ἐπιδείξῃς θερμὴν, τὸ πᾶν ἀπήρτισας τῆς εὐχῆς. Ἔξεστι καὶ γυναῖκα ἠλακάτην κατέχουσαν, καὶ ἱστουργοῦσαν ἀναβλέψαι εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν τῇ διανοίᾳ, καὶ καλέσαι μετὰ θερμότητος τὸν Θεόν· ἔξεστι καὶ ἄνθρωπον εἰς ἀγορὰν ἐμβάλλοντα, καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὸν βαδίζοντα εὐχὰς ποιεῖσθαι ἐκτενεῖς· καὶ ἕτερον ἐπ' ἐργαστηρίου καθήμενον καὶ δέρματα ῥάπτοντα, τὴν ψυχὴν ἀναθεῖναι πρὸς τὸν ∆εσπότην· ἔξεστιν οἰκέτῃ, καὶ ὠνουμένῳ, καὶ ἀναβαίνοντι καὶ καταβαίνοντι, καὶ μαγειρείῳ παρεστῶτι, ὅταν μὴ δυνατὸν εἰς ἐκκλησίαν ἐλθεῖν, εὐχὴν ποιεῖσθαι ἐκτενῆ καὶ διεγηγερμένην. Οὐκ ἐπαισχύνεται τόπον ὁ Θεός· ἓν ζητεῖ μόνον, διάνοιαν θερμὴν, καὶ ψυχὴν σωφρονοῦσαν. Καὶ ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι οὐ σχήματος χρεία καὶ τόπων πάντως καὶ καιρῶν, ἀλλὰ φρονήματος γενναίου καὶ διεγηγερμένου, ὁ Παῦλος ὕπτιος ἐπὶ τοῦ δεσμωτηρίου κείμενος, καὶ οὐκ ὀρθὸς ἑστὼς οὐ γὰρ ἠφίει τὸ ξύλον, ᾧ τοὺς πόδας ἐδέδετο, ἐπειδὴ μετὰ προθυμίας ηὔξατο κείμενος, τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἔσεισε, καὶ τὰ θεμέλια διεσάλευσε, καὶ τὸν δεσμοφύλακα ἔδησε, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἱερὰν μετὰ ταῦτα μυσταγωγίαν ἐχειραγώγησε. Πάλιν ὁ Ἐζεκίας οὐκ ὀρθὸς ἑστὼς, οὐδὲ γόνατα κλίνας, ἀλλ' ὕπτιος ἐπὶ τῆς κλίνης κείμενος διὰ τὴν ἀῤῥωστίαν, στρέψας ἑαυτὸν ἐπὶ τὸν τοῖχον, ἐπειδὴ τὸν Θεὸν θερμῶς ἐκάλεσε καὶ μετὰ ψυχῆς σωφρονούσης, καὶ ἀπόφασιν ἐξενεχθεῖσαν ἀνεκαλέσατο, καὶ πολλὴν ἐπεσπάσατο τὴν εὔνοιαν, καὶ πρὸς τὴν προτέραν ἐπανῆλθε ὑγείαν. Οὐκ ἐπ' ἀνδρῶν δὲ ἁγίων καὶ μεγάλων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ πονηρῶν τοῦτο ἴδοι τις ἂν συμβαῖνον. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ λῃστὴς, οὐκ ἐν οἴκῳ στὰς εὐκτηρίῳ, οὐδὲ γόνατα κλίνας, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ τεταμένος, ἀπὸ ῥημάτων ὀλίγων τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐπέτυχεν· ἄλλος ἐν βορβόρῳ καὶ λάκκῳ, ἄλλος ἐν λάκκῳ καὶ θηρίοις, ἕτερος ἐν αὐτῇ τοῦ κήτους τῇ νηδύϊ, τὸν Θεὸν παρακαλέσαντες, τὰ ἐπικείμενα ἅπαντα διέλυσαν, καὶ τὴν ἄνωθεν εὔνοιαν ἐπεσπάσαντο. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν λέγων, παραινῶ συνεχῶς ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις ἐπιχωριάζειν, καὶ ἐν οἰκίᾳ μετὰ πολλῆς ἡσυχίας εὔχεσθαι, καὶ κατὰ σχολὴν γόνατα κλίνοντας, καὶ τὰς χεῖρας ἀνατείνοντας· εἰ δὲ ἢ διὰ καιρὸν, ἢ διὰ τόπον ἀποληφθείημεν μεταξὺ πολλῶν ἑτέρων, μὴ διὰ τοῦτο τὰς συνήθεις ἀπολιμπάνειν εὐχὰς, ἀλλὰ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον, ὅνπερ εἶπον πρὸς τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀγάπην, εὔχεσθε καὶ παρακαλεῖτε τὸν Θεὸν, ὡς οὐδὲν ἔλαττον παρὰ ταύτην ἕξοντες τὴν εὐχήν. Ταῦτα εἶπον, οὐχ ἵνα κροτήσητε καὶ θαυμάσητε, ἀλλ' ἵνα διὰ τῶν ἔργων αὐτὰ ἐπιδείξησθε, καὶ τὸν καιρὸν τὸν τῆς νυκτὸς καὶ τὸν τῆς ἡμέρας, καὶ τὸν τῆς ἐργασίας καιρὸν ἐν εὐχαῖς καὶ δεήσεσι διαλαμβάνοντες. Ἂν οὕτω τὰ καθ' ἑαυτοὺς οἰκονομῶμεν, καὶ τὸν