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as far as he is concerned, to partake of the mysteries? For these are the first fruit of repentance and, just as the abominable filth of the body and the, as it were, pleasurable union of the heart with every passion is offered by us as a kind of sacrifice to the devil, so the tears poured out from it in turn are offered as an acceptable sacrifice to the Master and they cleanse away the shame of that impassioned pleasure, and David, declaring this, said: "A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; a contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise." And rightly so; for when our soul is in such a state and is thus humbled every day, it never passes a single day without tears, according to what David said: "Every night I will wash my bed; I will drench my couch with my tears."

Therefore I entreat you also, my fathers and brothers, let each one diligently exercise his own soul in these and similar works, which, being filled with compunction and gradually transformed, becomes a spring gushing forth rivers of tears and compunction. But if we do not strive to become pure in this way, but wish to walk in carelessness and sloth and indolence, I for my part will say nothing burdensome, out of consideration for your love, (83) except this, that even if it should happen that someone partakes perhaps with tears, that is, to weep either before the liturgy or during the divine liturgy or even at the very moment of partaking of the divine gifts, but on the remaining days and nights is not eager to do this, there will be no benefit to him from weeping once. For it is not this alone that cleanses and immediately makes us worthy, but to mourn every day and unceasingly until death, as the Master Himself commanded us to do, saying, "Repent, ask and seek and knock." Until when? "Until you receive," He says, "and you find and it shall be opened to you." What? The kingdom of heaven, clearly.

For this repentance, which is accomplished, as we said, so unremittingly until death with toil and affliction, little by little makes us pour forth bitter tears, by which it wipes away and cleanses the filth and defilement of the soul; and after this it works in us a pure repentance and transforms the bitter tears into sweet ones and begets unceasing joy in our hearts and brings about the sight of the unapproachable light, which if we do not strive with all diligence to attain, spiritual fathers and brothers, we will not be completely delivered from all the passions, we will not acquire all the virtues, we will never be able to partake worthily or with tears according to God of the divine mysteries each day or to behold the divine light that is with them. But neither will we ever have a pure heart, nor will the Holy Spirit dwell knowably in us, nor will we be counted worthy to see God, as the saints do, neither while we are here (84) nor there, it seems to me, departing blind, but as Gregory the Theologian says, we shall fall away from the vision of Him "in proportion to our dimness of sight from here," insofar as we have willingly deprived ourselves of His light in the present life.

But may it be that we all, being purified and having been purified, will be counted worthy to behold Him. For those who depart this life outside of these two states have an uncertain end regarding the decision about them. And what is uncertain and unsure is without hope and without assurance; for he whose heart is not confirmed by grace will never, I think, acquire from any other source an unwavering hope that does not disappoint; and he who does not have this, by what other means will he be caught up in the air with the saints to meet the Lord? And by what means will our lamp then be lit, being extinguished from things here? Where is the oil and from where is it to be found and what of the fire, tell me

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ὅσον τό ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ, τῶν μυστηρίων μεταλαβεῖν; Καρπός γάρ τῆς μετανοίας πρῶτος ταῦτά εἰσι καί, ὥσπερ ἡ βδελυρά τοῦ σώματος ῥύσις καί ἡ τῆς καρδίας πρός πᾶν πάθος οἱονεί ἐνήδονος μίξις τῷ διαβόλῳ οἵα τις θυσία προσάγεται παρ᾿ ἡμῶν, οὕτω τά ἐξ αὐτῆς χεόμενα πάλιν δάκρυα θυσία εὐπρόσδεκτος τῷ ∆εσπότῃ προσφέρονται καί τῆς ἐμπαθοῦς ἐκείνης ἡδονῆς τό αἶσχος ἀποκαθαίρουσι, καί τοῦτο δηλῶν ὁ ∆αυίδ ἔλεγε· "Θυσία τῷ Θεῷ πνεῦμα συντετριμμένον, καρδίαν συντετριμμένην καί τεταπεινωμένην ὁ Θεός οὐκ ἐξουδενώσει". Καί εἰκότως· ἐν ἕξει γάρ τοιαύτῃ γενομένη ἡμῶν ἡ ψυχή καί οὕτω καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ταπεινουμένη, ἡμέραν μίαν οὐ διέρχεταί ποτε ἄνευ δακρύων κατά τόν εἰρηκότα ∆αυίδ· "Λούσω καθ᾿ ἑκάστην νύκτα τήν κλίνην μου, ἐν δάκρυσί μου τήν στρωμνήν μου βρέξω".

∆ιά τοῦτο οὖν παρακαλῶ καί ὑμᾶς, πατέρες καί ἀδελφοί μου, ἐν σπουδῇ ἕκαστος τήν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν ἐν τούτοις καί τοῖς τοιούτοις ἐγγυμνασάτω ἔργοις, ἥτις κατανυγεῖσα καί μεταποιηθεῖσα κατά μικρόν, πηγή γίνεται ποταμούς δακρύων καί κατανύξεως ἀναβλύζουσα. Εἰ δέ μή οὕτω καθαροί γεγονέναι σπουδάσομεν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν ἀμελείᾳ καί ῥᾳθυμίᾳ καί χαυνότητι πορεύεσθαι θελήσομεν, ἐγώ μέν οὐδέν ἐρῶ φορτικόν φειδοῖς τῆς ἀγάπης ὑμῶν, (83) πλήν τοῦτο, ἵτι κἄν συμβῇ ποτέ τινα μετά δακρύων ἴσως κοινωνῆσαι, ἤγουν ἤ πρό τῆς λειτουργίας ἤ ἐν τῇ θείᾳ λειτουργίᾳ ἤ καί ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ καιρῷ τῆς τῶν θείων μεταλήψεως κλαῦσαι, τάς δέ λοιπάς ἡμέρας τε καί νύκτας οὐ προθυμεῖται τοῦτο ποιεῖν, οὐδέν αὐτῷ ἐκ τοῦ πρός ἅπαξ κλαῦσαι τό ὄφελος ἔσται. Οὐ γάρ τοῦτο μόνον ἀξίους ἡμᾶς εὐθύς ἀποκαθαῖρον ποιεῖ, ἀλλά τό καθ᾿ ἑκάστην καί ἀδιαλείπτως μέχρι θανάτου πενθεῖν, ὡς αὐτός ἠμῖν ὁ ∆εσπότης ποιεῖν προσέταξε "Μετανοεῖτε, λέγων, αἰτεῖτε καί ζητεῖτε καί κρούετε". Ἕως πότε; "Ἕως οὗ λήψεσθε, φησί, καί εὑρήσετε καί ἀνοιγήσεται ὑμῖν". Τίς; Ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν, δηλονότι.

Αὕτη γάρ ἡ μετάνοια καί ἡ οὕτως ἀπαραλείπτως, ὡς εἴπομεν, μέχρι θανάτου μετά πόνου καί θλίψεως ἐπιτελουμένη, κατά μικρόν μικρόν δάκρυα προχέειν ἡμᾶς ποιεῖ πικρά, δι᾿ ὧν ἀποσμήχει καί ἀποκαθαίρει τόν τῆς ψυχῆς ῥύπον καί μολυσμόν· μετά ταῦτα δέ μετάνοιαν ἡμῖν ἐμποιεῖ καθαράν καί εἰς γλυκέα τά πικρά δάκρυα μεταβάλλει καί χαράν ἀένναον ἀπογεννᾷ ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν καί τό ἄδυτον φέγγος ἰδεῖν προξενεῖ, ὅ εἰ μή πάσῃ σπουδῇ καταλαβεῖν ἀγωνισόμεθα, πνευματικοί πατέρες καί ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἄν τῶν παθῶν ἁπάντων τελείως ἀπαλλαγῶμεν, οὐ ἄν τάς ἀρετάς κτησώμεθα πάσας, οὐκ ἄν ἀξίως ἤ μετά δακρύων τῶν κατά Θεόν ἰσχύσωμεν ποτε τῶν θείων μυστηρίων καθ᾿ ἑκάστην μεταλαμβάνειν ἤ τό συνόν αὐτοῖς θεάσασθαι θεῖον φῶς. Ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ τήν καρδίαν ἕξομέν ποτε καθαράν, οὐδέ τό Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα ἐνοικήσει γνωστῶς ἐν ἡμῖν, οὐδέ ἰδεῖν ἀξιωθησόμεθα, ὡς οἱ ἅγιοι, τόν Θεόν οὔτε ἐνταῦθα ὄντες (84) οὔτε ἐκεῖ μοί δοκεῖ, τυφλοί ἀπελθόντες, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ὁ Θεολόγος λέγει Γρηγόριος, τοσοῦτον τῆς ἐκείνου θέας ἐκπέσομεν "κατά τήν ἀναλογίαν τῆς ἑκάστου ἡμῶν ἀπεντεῦθεν ἀμβλυωπίας", καθ᾿ ὅσον τοῦ φωτός αὐτοῦ ἑκουσίως ἑαυτούς ὑστερήσαμεν ἐν τῇ παρούσῃ ζωῇ.

Ἀλλά γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς, καθαιρομένους τε καί καθαρθέντας, τοῦτον ἀξιωθήσεσθαι κατιδεῖν. Οἱ γάρ ἐκτός τῶν δύο τούτων τοῦ βίου ὑπεξερχόμενοι, ἄδηλον ἔχουσι τό πέρας τῆς περί αὐτούς ἀποφάσεως. Τό δέ ἄδηλον καί ἀβέβαιον, ἀνέλπιστον καί ἀπληροφόρητον· ὁ γάρ μή χάριτι τήν καρδίαν βεβαιούμενος ἐξ οὐδενός ἑτέρου τήν ἀκαταίσχυντον ἐλπίδα ἀδίστακτόν ποτε, οἶμαι, κτήσεται· ὁ δέ ταύτην μή ἔχων, διά τίνος ἄλλου εἰς ἀπάντησιν τοῦ Κυρίου εἰς ἀέρα συναρπαγήσεται τοῖς ἁγίοις; ∆ιά τίνος δέ καί ἡ λαμπάς ἡμῶν τότε ἐξαναφθήσεται, ἐσβεσμένη ἀπό τῶν ὧδε τυγχάνουσα; Ποῦ τοῦ ἐλαίου καί πόθεν εὑρισκομένου καί ποίου τοῦ πυρός, εἰπέ