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appellation of God. But this will especially exist when "God becomes all in all," when, after pain and grief and groaning have fled, eternal joy takes hold. 5 I sought the Lord, and he heard me. He did not simply say "I sought," but "I have done this intently." "and he heard me." It shows that the seeking now spoken of happens through prayer; for this is added: "and he heard me." And if one who wishes to know God seeks him, as far as is possible, still it has no end. To be heard is perhaps to find, to be perfected. I sought the Lord, and he was found by me. Thus indeed it is written in Wisdom: "He is found by those who do not distrust him, he manifests himself to those who seek him." And again: "Seek the Lord, when he may be near you." Here, therefore, "he heard" says this, that the seeking happened through prayers. Praying without ceasing, he seeks God and had him as one who listens, having found what was sought.

5 And from all my tribulations he rescued me. We have often spoken about these things, that for God to rescue from tribulation does not mean to be outside of tribulation; for if the apostles speak truly, saying: "we are afflicted in every way"; and again: "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God," one must never be outside of being afflicted. But if one did not take this "to rescue" in this way, 193 the saints would never have been heard; always being afflicted, being in need, they continued their life until their last breath.

6 Come to him and be enlightened, and your faces will not be ashamed. Having stated the disposition he has toward God, and having stated the benefits that come from God to those who seek and are heard, he exhorts either all or many and says: "Come to him and be enlightened." He does not say "come" to those already enlightened and able to say: "The light of your face has been signed upon us, O Lord"; for those who have already come are light. For example, the apostles who had come heard: "You are the light of the world." And they enlighten others. "Come" therefore, you who are far off, "to him and be enlightened," and from your being enlightened comes the state of being unashamed. But "your faces will not be ashamed"; for they become enlightened, as those who give thanks have said: "The light of your face has been signed upon us." When this is fulfilled: "the Lord will be to you an everlasting light," all shame will vanish. If before sin there was no shame, "both Adam and Eve were naked, and they were not ashamed." They were naked of all evil, they had no garment covering the rational part, the word was not being hidden by irrational passions. But when sin came to be, and then both thought and life were subject to passions, shame also existed. If, therefore, we come to the light, which we left by sinning, our faces are not ashamed, we have great boldness; for he says: "if our heart does not condemn us, we have boldness toward God." If one sees oneself as uncondemned by heart and conscience, one has very great boldness toward God, so as to say: "As the Lord lives, before whom I have stood." The voice of one who spoke boldly is also: "In the morning I will present myself to you and I will look upon you." I have seen many things, but I will observe still more... I will see things to be observed. "and your faces will not be ashamed." We were saying that when there is sin, the face of the soul is covered by shame so that its beauty and the proportion of its members are no longer seen. But when enlightenment occurs, then "with unveiled face it reflects the glory of the Lord." No one with a veiled face reflects the glory of God, but only one who has cast off the coverings that were added. So those who have become aware of what evils they have brought upon themselves say: "dishonor has covered our face." Dishonor has become a covering for us, shame, for our face.

7 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him.

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προσηγορ̣ία τοῦ θεοῦ. μάλιστα δὲ τοῦτο ὑπάρξεται, ὅταν "ὁ θεὸς πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν" γένηται, ὅταν ἀ ποδράσης ὀδύνης καὶ λύπης καὶ στεναγμοῦ αἰώνιος εὐφροσύνη καταλάβῃ. 5 ἐξεζήτησα τὸν κύριον, καὶ ἐπήκουσέν μου. οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἶπεν "ἐζήτησα", ἀλλ' ἐπιτεταμένως τοῦτο πεποίηκα. "καὶ ἐπήκουσέν μου". δείκνυσιν ὅτι ἡ νῦν λεγομένη ἐκζήτησις δι' εὐχῆς γίνεται· τοῦτο γὰρ ἐπενήνεκται· "καὶ ἐπήκουσέν̣ μου". εἰ δ̣ε`̣ καὶ ἐκζητεῖ ὁ βουλόμενος γνῶναι τὸν θεόν, ὡς οἷόν τέ ἐστιν, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔχει τέλος. τὸ ἐπακουσθῆναι τάχ̣α τὸ εὑρεῖν, τὸ τελειωθῆναι. ἐξεζήτησα τὸν κύριον, καὶ ηὑρέθη μοι. οὕτω γοῦν γέγραπται ἐν Σοφίᾳ· "εὑρίσκεται τοῖς μὴ ἀπιστοῦσιν αὐτῷ, ἐνφανίζεται τοῖς ζητοῦσιν αὐτόν". καὶ ἔτι· "ἐκζητήσατε τὸν κύριον· ἡνίκα δὲ ἐὰν ἐγγίζῃ ὑμῖν". ὧδε οὖν τὸ "ἐπήκουσεν" τοῦτο λέγει, ὅτι ἡ ἐκζήτησις δι' εὐχῶν γέγονεν. ἀδιαλείπτως προσευχόμενος ἐκζητεῖ τὸν θεὸν καὶ ἐ´̣σ̣χεν αὐτὸν ὑπήκοον εὑρὼν τὸ ζητούμενον. 5 καὶ ἐκ πασῶν τῶν θλίψεών μου ἐρύσατό με. πολλάκις περὶ τούτων εἰρήκαμεν, ὅτι τὸ ῥύεσθαι τὸν θεὸν ἐκ θλίψεως οὐ τὸ ἐ´̣ξω θλ̣ίψ̣εως γενέσθαι σημαίνει· εἰ γὰρ ἀληθεύουσιν οἱ ἀπόστολοι λέγοντες· "ἐν παντὶ θλιβόμεθα"· καὶ ἔτι· "διὰ πολλῶν θλίψεων δεῖ ἡμᾶς εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ", οὐδέποτε ἐκτὸς τοῦ θλίβεσθαι δεῖ γενέσθαι. εἰ δὲ τοῦτο μὴ οὕτω τις λάβοι τὸ ῥύεσθαι, 193 οὐδέποτε εἰσηκούσθησαν οἱ ἅγιοι· ἀεὶ θλιβόμενοι, ὑστερούμενοι διετέλεσαν τὸν βίον αὐτῶν μέχρις ἐσχάτης ἀναπνοῆς. 6 προσέλθατε πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ φωτίσθητε, καὶ τὰ πρόσωπα ὑμῶν οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ. εἰρηκὼς τὴν διάθεσιν ἣν ἔχει πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ εἰρηκὼς τὰ ὑπάρχοντα ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ὠφέλιμα τοῖς ἐκζητοῦσιν καὶ ἐπακουσθεῖσιν, προτρέπεται ἢ πάντας ἢ πολλοὺς καὶ λέγει· "προσέλθατε πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ φωτίσθητε". οὐ τοῖς ἤδη πεφωτισμένοις καὶ δυναμένοις εἰπεῖν· "ἐσημειώθη ἐφ' ἡμᾶς τὸ φῶς τοῦ προσώπου σου, κύριε", "προσέλθατε"· οἱ γὰρ ἤδ̣η προσελθόντες φῶς εἰσιν. αὐτίκα γοῦν οἱ ἀπόστολοι προσεληλυθότες ἤκουσαν· "ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου". καὶ ἄλ λους φωτίζουσιν. "προσέλθατε" οὖν οἱ μακρὰν "πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ φωτίσθητε", καὶ ἐκ τοῦ φωτισθῆναι ὑμᾶς π̣αραγι´̣ν̣εται τὸ ἀκαταίσχυντον. "τὰ πρόσωπα" δὲ "ὑμῶν οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ"· πεφωτισμένα γὰρ γίνεται, ὡς εἰρ̣ήκασιν οἱ εὐχαρίστως · "ἐσημειώθη ἐφ' ἡμᾶς τὸ φῶς τοῦ προσώπου σου". ὅταν πληρωθῇ τό· "ἔσται σοι κύριος φῶς αἰώνιον", πᾶσα αἰσχύνη ἀφανισθήσεται. ἐὰν πρὸ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ἦν αἰσχύνη, "γυμνοὶ ἦσαν ὅ τε Ἀδὰμ καὶ ἡ Εὕα, καὶ οὐκ ᾐσχύνοντο". γυμνοὶ ἦσαν πάσης κακίας, οὐκ εἶχον ἔνδυμα καλύπτον τὸ λογιστικόν, οὐκ ἦν ὁ λόγος ἐπικρυπτόμενος ὑπὸ παθῶν ἀλόγων. ὅτε δὲ ἁμαρτία γέγονεν, καὶ ἐνπαθὴς λοιπὸν καὶ νόησις καὶ ζωή, καὶ αἰσχύνη ὑπῆρκται. ἐὰν τοίνυν προσέλθωμεν τῷ φωτί, ᾧ κατελείψαμεν ἁμαρτάνοντες, τὰ πρόσωπα ἡμῶν οὐ καταισχύνεται, πολλὴν παρρησίαν ἔχομεν· λέγει γάρ· "ἐὰν μὴ καταγιγνώσκῃ ἡμῶν ἡ καρδία, παρρησίαν ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν θεόν". ἐὰν ἀκατάγνωστόν τις ἀπὸ καρδίας καὶ συνειδήσεως ἑαυτὸν ὁρᾷ, πάνυ παρρησίαν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἔχει ὡς λέγειν· "ζῇ κύριος, ᾧ παρέστην ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ". παρρησιασαμένου φωνὴ καί· "τὸ πρωὶ παραστήσομαί σοι καὶ ἐφόψομαι". εἶδον πολλά, ἀλλ' ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐπιθεωρήσω υ̣···· ἐφοπτικὰ θεωρήσω. "καὶ τὰ πρόσωπα ὑμῶν οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ". ἐλέγομεν ὅτι ἁμαρτίας οὔσης καλύπτεται τὸ πρ̣όσωπον τῆς ψυχῆς ὑπὸ αἰς̣χύνης ὡς μηκέτι τὸ κάλλος αὐτῆς καὶ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῶν μελω῀̣ν αὐτῆς θεωρεῖσθαι. ὅταν δὲ φωτισμὸς̣ γένηται, λοιπὸν "ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν δόξαν κυρίου καθοπτρίζεται". οὐδεὶς κεκαλυμμένον ἔχων πρόσωπον τὴν δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ καθοπτρίζεται, ἀλλ' εἴ τις ἀπέβ̣αλεν τὰ ἐπιγενόμενα καλύμματα. οἱ γοῦν αἴσθησιν λαβόντες, οἷ κακῶν̣ παρ' ἑαυτοὺς γεγόνασιν, λέγουσιν· "κατεκάλυψεν ἀτιμία τὸ πρόσωπον ἡμῶν". κάλυμμα ἡμῖν ἡ ἀτιμία γέγονεν, ἡ αἰσχύνη, τοῦ προσώπου ἡμῶν. 7 οὗτος ὁ πτωχὸς ἐκέκραξεν, καὶ ὁ κύριος εἰσήκουσεν αὐτοῦ.