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But these things, my brothers, it is not possible for them to happen in one day, nor in one week, but in much (194) time and labor and toil, according to the measure of each one’s intention and purpose, and still more according to the measure of faith and of the contempt for things seen and things conceived, and not only this, but also according to the fervor of unceasing repentance and of the everlasting work itself in the secret chamber of the soul, they are achieved more quickly or more slowly by the gift and grace of God, but without fasting none of these nor the other virtues could ever be achieved by anyone; for fasting is the beginning and foundation of every spiritual work. Whatever, therefore, you build upon this foundation, becomes unfallen and indestructible, as having been built upon solid rock; but when you take away this foundation and put under it satiety of the belly and unseemly desires, these things are swept away like sand by evil thoughts and by the river of the passions, and it destroys the entire building of the virtues. In order, then, that this may not happen to us, let us stand with great joy upon the solid foundation of fasting, let us stand, my brothers, well, let us stand willingly; for he who is forced against his will to ascend the rock of fasting, being dragged from there by desire, certainly casts himself down into gluttony, and while eating he himself becomes, as it seems, food for the evil one; for it is a divine law, and the devil, like an executioner, takes those who dare to transgress it and scourges them, even if not immediately, nor at once, as God is long-suffering towards us and awaits our repentance, but nevertheless we will by no means escape his hands either (195) here or in the age to come, if we persist unrepentantly in sin, since, being in this state, we will receive condemnation with him and by the just judgment of God be condemned to be punished eternally by him and with him. For even if we escape the notice of our superiors, we cannot escape the notice of the Master and God of our superiors.

Let us be on guard therefore, brothers, not only from secret eating, but also from satiety with the foods set before us on the table. Yes, I beseech you and I will not cease beseeching you, remember the past holy week. Consider the benefit, as I said, from fasting and vigil, prayer and psalmody, but also the somberness, but also the reverence, but also the silence. For the monastery seemed to me then to be uninhabited by men, dwelt in only by angels, because I heard no worldly word at all, but only the doxology sent up by you to God, which is also the work of angels. And I believe that, just as you perform the work of angels, so also the angels invisibly spent their time with you and sang psalms with you. Do not wish, then, to be separated from the choir with them through much talking and idle talk, nor cause them to depart from you and the demons to approach you, as before, with disorderly voices or immoderate shouts, but let each one pay attention to himself and diligently carry out his handiwork and his service, as serving God and not men. For it is written: “Cursed (196) is every man who does the works of the Lord carelessly.”

In the divine readings of the synaxes, do not fail, O brothers, to stir one another to listen. For just as at the material table we both urge and exhort our neighbors to eat, and those whom we love more than others, we compel to eat, so also at this soul-nourishing table we ought to pay attention and exhort our neighbors, lest we be condemned as not loving one another and lose our status as disciples of Christ. For He says: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Therefore, he who at the material table has not compelled his friend

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Ταῦτα δέ, ἀδελφοί μου, οὐκ ἐν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ, οὐδέ ἐν μιᾷ ἑβδομάδι γενέσθαι δυνατόν, ἀλλά ἐν πολλῷ (194) χρόνῳ καί πόνῳ καί κόπῳ κατά τό ἀναλογίαν τῆς ἑκάστου προθέσεώς τε καί προαιρέσεως, ἔτι δέ καί κατά τό μέτρον τῆς πίστεως καί τῆς τῶν ὁρωμένων καί νοουμένων πραγμάτων καταφρονήσεως, οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλά καί κατά τήν θέρμην τῆς ἀδιαλείπτου μετανοίας καί αὐτῆς τῆς ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ τῆς ψυχῆς ταμείῳ ἀεννάου ἐργασίας ἤ συντομώτερον ἤ βραδύτερον Θεοῦ δωρεᾷ τε καί χάριτι κατορθοῦνται, ἄνευ δέ νηστείας οὐδέν οὔτε τούτων οὔτε τῶν ἄλλων ἀρετῶν κατορθωθῆναί ποτε παρά τινος ἠδυνήθη· νηστεία γάρ πάσης ἐργασίας πνευματικῆς ἀρχή καί θεμέλιος. Ὅσα τοιγαροῦν οἰκοδομήσεις ἐπί τόν θεμέλιον τοῦτον, ἄπτωτα καί ἀκατάλυτα, ὡς ἐπί στερεάν πέτραν κτισθέντα, γίνεται· ἐπάν δέ τοῦτον τόν θεμέλιον ἄρῃς καί ἀντ᾿ αὐτοῦ γαστρός κόρον καί ἐπιθυμίας ἀτόπους ὑποθῇ, ὥσπερ ψάμμος ὑπό τῶν πονηρῶν ταῦτα λογισμῶν καί τοῦ ποταμοῦ τῶν παθῶν ὑποσύρεται καί πᾶσαν τήν οἰκοδομήν τῶν ἀρετῶν καταστρέφει. Ἵν᾿ οὖν μή καί ἐφ᾿ ἡμῶν τοῦτο γένηται, στῶμεν περιχαρῶς ἐπί τόν στερεόν θεμέλιον τῆς νηστείας, στῶμεν, ἀδελφοί μου, καλῶς, στῶμεν αὐτοθελῶς· ὁ βάρ ἀβουλήτως ἐπί τήν τῆς νηστείας πέτραν ἀναβαίνειν ἀναγκαζόμενος, ἑαυτόν πάντως ἐκεῖθεν ὑπό τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ὑποσυρείς πρός καθροφαγίαν κατακρημνίζει, καί βιβρώσκων αὐτός τοῦ πονηροῦ, ὡς δοκεῖ, κατάβρωμα γίνεται· νόμος γάρ θεῖός ἐστι καί τούς παραβαίνειν τολμῶντας ὥσπερ δήμιος ὁ διάβολος παραλαμβάνων μαστίζει, εἰ καί μή εὐθύς, μηδέ παραχρῆμα, τοῦ Θεοῦ μακροθυμοῦντος ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς καί τήν μετάνοιαν ἡμῶν ἀπεκδεχομένου, ἀλλ᾿ ὅμως οὐκ ἐκφευξόμεθα τάς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ πάντως ἤ (195) ἐνταῦθα ἤ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι, ἀμετανοήτως ἐπιμένοντες τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, ἐπειδή τήν μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ καταδίκην οὕτως ἔχοντες ἀποληψόμεθα καί ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ καί σύν αὐτῷ ἀθάνατα κολασθῆναι κρίσει δικαίᾳ Θεοῦ κατακριθῶμεν. Εἰ γάρ καί τούς προεστῶτας ἡμῶν λανθάνομεν, ἀλλά γε τόν τῶν προεστώτων ∆εσπότην ὁμοῦ καί Θεόν λαθεῖν οὐ δυνάμεθα.

Φυλαξώμεθα τοιγαροῦν, ἀδελφοί, μή ἀπό λαθροφαγίας μόνον, ἀλλά καί ἀπό κόρου τῶν ἐπί τῆς τραπέζης παρατιθεμένων βρωμάτων ἡμῖν. Ναί, παρακαλῶ καί παρακαλῶν οὐ παύσομαι, μνήσθητε τῆς παρελθούσης ἁγίας ἑβδομάδος. Ἀναλογίσασθε τήν ἐκ τῆς νηστείας καί ἀγρυπνίας, εὐχῆς τε καί ψαλμῳδίας, ὡς ἔφην, ὠφέλειαν, ἀλλά τήν κατήφειαν, ἀλλά τήν εὐλάβειαν, ἀλλά τήν σιωπήν. Ὥσπερ γάρ ἀοίκητόν μοι ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἐδόκει τότε εἶναι τό μοναστήριον, ὑπό ἀγγέλων μόνων ἐγκατοικούμενον, διά τό μή ὅλως ἕτερόν με ἀκοῦσαί τι ῥῆμα βιωτικόν, ἀλλ᾿ ἤ μόνην τήν ὑφ᾿ ὑμῶν πρός Θεόν ἀναπεμπομένην δοξολογίαν, ἤ καί ἀγγέλων ἔργον ἐστί. Πιστεύω δέ ὅτι, ὥσπερ ὑμεῖς ἐπιτελεῖτε τό τῶν ἀγγέλων ἔργον, οὕτω καί οἱ ἄγγελοι ἀοράτως συνδιῆγον ὑμῖν καί συνέψαλλον. Μή οὖν χωρισθῆναι τῆς μετ᾿ ἐκείνων συναυλίας διά τῆς πολυλογίας καί ἀργολογίας θελήσητε, μηδέ φωναῖς ἀτάκτοις ἤ κραυγαῖς ἀμέτροις αὐτούς μέν ἀφ᾿ ὑμῶν, τούς δέ δαίμονας πλησιάσαι ὑμῖν, ὡς τό πρίν, ποιήσητε, ἀλλά προσεχέτω ἕκαστος ἑαυτῷ καί τό ἐργόχειρον αὐτοῦ καί τήν διακονίαν αὐτοῦ, ὡς τῷ Θεῷ δουλεύων καί οὐκ ἀνθρώποις, ἐπιμελῶς ἐκτελείτω. Γέγραπται γάρ· "Ἐπικατάρατος (196) πᾶς ἄνθρωπος, ὁ ποιῶν τά ἔργα Κυρίου ἀμελῶς".

Ἐν ταῖς θείαις τῶν συνάξεων ἀναγνώσεσιν ἀλλήλους πρός ἀκρόασιν διεγείρειν, ὦ ἀδελφοί, μή ἐλίπητε. Καί γάρ ὥσπερ ἐπί τῆς αἰσθητῆς τραπέζης ἐσθίειν προτρεπόμεθά τε καί παρακελευόμεθα τοῖς πλησίον, καί οὕς ἄν τῶν ἄλλων πλεῖον ἀγαπῶμεν, παραβιαζόμεθα ἐπί τό φαγεῖν, οὕτω δή καί ἐπί τῆς ψυχοτρόφου ταύτης τραπέζης προσέχειν καί προτρέπεσθαι τοῖς πλησίον χρεωστοῦμεν, ἵνα μή ὡς μή ἀγαπῶντες ἀλλήλους κατακριθῶμεν καί τό μαθηταί εἶναι Χριστοῦ ἀπολέσωμεν. Λέγει γάρ· "Ἐν τούτῳ γνώσονται πάντες, ὅτι ἐμοί μαθηταί ἐστε, ἐάν ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους". Ὁ οὖν ἐπί τῆς αἰσθητῆς τραπέζης τόν ἑαυτοῦ φίλον μή παραβιασάμενος