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light, but at least perhaps they will depart with good hopes and will be in it, moderately indeed, but nevertheless they will be.

Blessed are they who always weep bitterly for their own sins, because the light will overtake them and will change the bitter tears into sweet ones.

Blessed are they who are illumined by the divine light and see their own (318) weakness and understand the ugliness of their soul's garment, because they will weep unceasingly and will be washed clean by the torrents of tears.

Blessed are they who have drawn near to the divine light and have entered within it and have become entirely light, having been mingled with it, because they have completely taken off the soiled garment and will no longer weep bitter tears.

Blessed are they who see their own garment shining forth like Christ, because they will be filled with inexpressible joy every hour and in amazement will weep sweetly, inferring that they have already become sons and partakers of the resurrection.

Blessed are they who have their spiritual eye perpetually open and in every prayer behold the light and speak with it mouth to mouth, because they have become and will be equal in honor to the angels, and if it is bold to say, even above the angels; for the latter sing hymns, but the former intercede. But if they have become and always are becoming such, while still remaining in this life and bound by the corruption of the flesh, what sort of beings will they be after the resurrection and after receiving that spiritual and incorruptible body? Surely not only equal to angels, but also like the master of the angels, as it is written: “But we know,” it says, “that when he is revealed, we shall be like him.”

Blessed is that monk who stands before God in prayer and sees him and is seen by him and perceives himself to have been outside the world, but to be in God alone, and is unable to know whether he is in the body or out of the body, because he will hear unutterable words which it is not lawful for a man to speak, and will see what (319) eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the fleshy heart of man.

Blessed is he who has seen the light of the world formed within himself, because he, having Christ as an embryo, will be considered his mother, as that one himself, the truthful one, promised; saying, “My mother and brothers and friends are these.” Who? “Those who hear the word of God and do it.” So that those who do not keep the commandments voluntarily deprive themselves of such grace, since the thing is possible and was and is and will be and has been and is and will be for all those who fulfill his commandments.

But lest we should be suspected of leaving this unattested, of saying something from ourselves and dogmatizing impossible things as possible, let us bring into your midst blessed Paul himself again, the mouth of Christ, who presents this clearly in saying: “My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.” So where or in what place and part of our body do you suppose he says this one will be formed, in the forehead, but in the face or the breast? Not at all, but within, in our heart. And have you not also supposed that he is formed bodily? Far from it, but he is formed, but incorporeally and as is fitting for God. Nevertheless, just as a woman knows clearly, when she is pregnant, that the infant leaps in her womb and she could never be ignorant that she has it within herself, so also he who has Christ formed within himself both knows his movements or illuminations and is not at all ignorant of his leapings or lightnings and beholds his formation within himself; like the light of a lamp from within in the

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φῶς, ἀλλ᾿ οὖν γε ἴσως ἐλπίσι χρησταῖς ἐκδημήσουσι καί ἐν αὐτῷ, μετρίως μέν, ὅμως γενήσονται.

Μακάριοι οἱ ἀεί πικρῶς διά τά αὐτῶν ἁμαρτήματα κλαίοντες, ὅτι αὐτούς τό φῶς καταλάβῃ καί τά πικρά δάκρυα εἰς γλυκέα μεταποιήσει.

Μακάριοι οἱ τῷ θείῳ φωτί αὐγαζόμενοι καί τήν ἑαυτῶν (318) ἀσθένειαν βλέποντες καί τό δυσειδές τῆς ψυχικῆς αὐτῶν στολῆς κατανοοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοί ἀενάως κλαύσονται καί τοῖς ὀχετοῖς τῶν δακρύων ἀποπλυνθήσονται.

Μακάριοι οἱ τῷ θείῳ φωτί πλησιάσαντες καί ἔνδον αὐτοῦ εἰσελθόντες καί φῶς ὅλοι γενόμενοι, συγκραθέντες αὐτῷ, ὅτο αὐτοί τήν ῥυπαράν τελείως στολήν ἀπεδύσαντο καί οὐκέτι πικρά δάκρυα κλαύσονται.

Μακάριοι οἱ τό ἑαυτῶν ἔνδυμα ὡς τόν Χριστόν ἐκλάμποντα βλέποντες, ὅτι αὐτοί ἀνεκφράστου χαρᾶς καθ᾿ ὥραν πλησθήσονται καί ἐν ἐκπλήξει γλυκέως δακρύσουσιν, υἱούς καί συμμετόχους ἑαυτούς ἤδη γεγονότας τῆς ἀναστάσεως τεκμαιρόμενοι.

Μακάριοι οἱ διηνεκῶς τό νοερόν ὄμμα ἀνεῳγμένον ἔχοντες καί ἐν πάσῃ εὐχῇ τό φῶς καθορῶντες καί στόμα πρός στόμα συλλαλοῦντες αὐτῷ, ὅτι αὐτοί ἰσότιμοι τῶν ἀγγέλων, εἰ τολμηρόν δέ εἰπεῖν, καί ὑπέρ ἀγγέλους ἐγένοντο καί γενήσονται· ἐκεῖνοι γάρ ὑμνοῦσιν, οὗτοι δέ ἐντυγχάνουσιν. Εἰ δέ τοιοῦτοι ἐγένοντο καί ἀεί γίνονται, ἔτι περιόντες τῷ βίῳ καί τῇ τῆς σαρκός φθορᾷ ἐμπεδούμενοι, ὁποῖοι ἄν μετά τήν ἀνάστασιν καί μετά τό ἀπολαβεῖν τό πνευματικόν ἐκεῖνο καί ἄφθαρτον σῶμα ἔσονται; Πάντως οὐκ ἀγγέλων μόνον ἴσοι, ἀλλά καί τοῦ τῶν ἀγγέλων δεσπότου ὅμοιοι, καθώς γέγραπται· «Οἴδαμεν δέ, φησίν, ὅτι, ὅταν ἀποκαλυφθῇ, ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα».

Μακάριος ὁ μοναχός ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἐν εὐχῇ τῷ Θεῷ παριστάμενος καί βλέπων αὐτόν καί βλεπόμενος παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ καί ἔξω τοῦ κόσμου γεγονότα ἑαυτόν αἰσθανόμενος, ὄντα δέ ἐν τῷ Θεῷ μόνῳ, καί μή δυνάμενος γνῶναι εἴτε ἐν σώματι εἴτε ἐκτός τυγχάνει σώματος, ὅτι αὐτός ἀκούσει ἄρρητα ῥήματα ἅ οὐκ ἐξόν ἄνθρώπῳ λαλῆσαι, καί ἴδῃ ἅ (319) ὀφθαλμός οὐκ εἶδεν, οὐδέ οὖς ἤκουσεν, οὐδέ ἐπί καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου σαρκίνην ἀνέβη.

Μακάριος ὁ τό φῶς τοῦ κόσμου ἐν ἑαυτῷ μορφωθέν θεασάμενος, ὅτι αὐτός ὡς ἔμβρυον ἔχων τόν Χριστόν, μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λογισθήσεται, καθώς αὐτός ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἀψευδής ἐπηγγείλατο· «Μήτηρ μου» λέγων «καί ἀδελφοί καί φίλοι οὗτοί εἰσι». Ποῖοι; «Οἱ ἀκούοντες τόν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ καί ποιοῦντες αὐτόν». Ὥστε οἱ μή τηροῦντες τάς ἐντολάς, ἑαυτούς τῆς τοιαύτης χάριτος ἑκουσίως ἀποστεροῦσιν, ἐπεί δυνατόν τό πρᾶγμα καί ἦν καί ἔστι καί ἔσεται καί ἐγένετο καί γίνεται και εἰς πάντας τούς τά προστάγματα αὐτοῦ ἐκπληροῦντας γενήσεται.

Ἵνα δέ μή καταλιπόντες τοῦτο ἀμάρτυρον, ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτῶν τι λέγειν καί τά ὄντα ἀδύνατα ὡς δυνατά δογματίζειν ὑποπτευθῶμεν, αὐτόν καί αὖθις τόν μακάριον Παῦλον, τό τοῦ Χριστοῦ στόμα, εἰς μέσον ὑμῖν παραγάγωμεν, τοῦτο παριστῶντα τρανῶς ἐν τῷ λέγειν· «Τεκνία, οὕς πάλιν ὠδίνω ἄχρις οὗ Χριστός μορφωθῇ ἐν ὑμῖν». Ἄρα ποῦ λέγων αὐτόν ἤ ἐν ποίῳ τόπῳ καί μέρει τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν μορφωθήσεσθαι, ἐν τῷ μετώπῳ, ἀλλά ἐν τῷ προσώπῳ ἤ τῷ στήθει τοῦτον λογίζεσθε; Οὔμενουν, ἀλλά ἔνδον, ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ ἡμῶν. Μή δέ καί σωματικῶς μορφοῦσθαι αὐτόν ὑπελάβετε; Ἄπαγε, ἀλλά μορφοῦται μέν, ἀσωμάτως δέ καί ὡς Θεῷ πρέπον ἐστί. Πλήν ὥσπερ γινώσκει ἡ γυνή σαφῶς, ὅταν ἔγγυός ἐστιν, ὅτι σκιρτᾷ τό βρέφος ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ αὐτῆς καί οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἀγνοήσῃ ὅτι αὐτό ἔνδον ἔχει ἐν ἑαυτῇ, οὕτω καί ὁ τόν Χριστόν ἔχων μεμορφωμένον ἐν ἑαυτῷ καί τάς κινήσεις ἤτοι ἐλάμψεις αὐτοῦ γινώσκει καί τά σκιρτήματα ἤτοι τάς ἀστραπάς αὐτοῦ ὅλως οὐκ ἀγνοεῖ καί τήν μόρφωσιν αὐτοῦ ἐν ἑαυτῷ καθορᾷ· οἷον τό φῶς τῆς λαμπάδος ἔνδοθεν ἐν τῷ