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continually mourns, nor does it become perfectly meek, nor does it thirst for God, nor is it cleansed from the passions, nor does it become like a clean mirror. But if these things do not happen, it will never see purely the face of the Master in itself; but the one that has become such sees God completely and is reconciled to Him, and peace comes to be between our Maker and God and the soul that was formerly His enemy, and then (403) as a peacemaker it is called blessed by God: "For blessed,” He says, “are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God,” those who have knowingly reconciled themselves to the One who came to give peace to those who are near and to those who are far, to the One who came to reconcile us, being enemies, to His own Father and to unite the divided things into one, that is, to impart to us the Holy Spirit and for Him to take our flesh. Therefore, those who have seen Him, it is quite clear that they have also been truly reconciled to Him, having brought about the sought-after peace and having become sons of God. "But it is God who justifies, who is he that condemns? But if you do not love your brother, whom you have seen, how can you love God, whom you have not seen? But if we are not able to love Him, or rather to say we are not willing, it is clear that we have not been reconciled to Him. But let us strive to see and be reconciled and love Him, brothers, as He Himself commanded, with all our soul.

Then again he hears Him saying: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake," and he reflects, examining himself, whether he was persecuted for the sake of a commandment of God, since "all who desire to live in Christ will be persecuted," as the apostle says. Wherefore, adding, He says: "Blessed are you, when they revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven." For what reason, then, did He place last those who are persecuted and reviled, and commands with authority, exclaiming to them, “Rejoice and be glad”? (404) Because the one who has shown repentance worthy of his own transgressions and from this has become humble – so that I might repeat the same things to you again –, is also deemed worthy to mourn each day and becomes meek and from his soul hungers and thirsts for the sun of righteousness and is rendered merciful and compassionate, as one who makes his own the passions of all and the tribulations and the weaknesses, and weeping and being purified he sees God and is reconciled to Him and becomes in reality a peacemaker and is deemed worthy to be called a son of God Himself. Such a one, therefore, is able, even when being persecuted and struck and reviled, and being slandered and insulted and hearing every evil word spoken against him, to endure with joy and inexpressible gladness, and knowing this, the Master God has said with finality: "Rejoice and be glad." But one who has not become such, nor has richly acquired the substantial joy within himself, how then will he be able to bear all these things without holding a grudge? In no way!

Therefore, my fathers and brothers, with all diligence let us never cease to examine and search ourselves daily and hourly, if it is possible, but going through all the commandments, as we said, and in each one of them examining and observing ourselves, let us see. and if we are found to have fulfilled it, let us give thanks to the Master God and for the future let us securely keep it; but if we have not yet remembered it or have not done it, let us run, I beseech you, until we grasp it and become masters of it, so that (405) by despising it, we might not be called least in the kingdom of heaven. For thus, one by one, little by little, ascending as if on the rungs of a ladder, I know well, we shall arrive at the very city of heaven, in which, as we have said above, our Master stands peering out, saying to us all: "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," and having arrived there and having seen Him as is possible for a human being and having received from Him the kingdom of heaven, which is

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ἀεννάως πενθεῖ, οὔτε πραεῖα τελείως γίνεται, οὔτε διψᾷ τόν Θεόν, οὔτε τῶν παθῶν καθαίρεται, οὔτε ὡς ἔσοπτρον καθαρόν γίνεται. Εἰ δέ μή ταῦτα γένηται, οὐδέ καθαρῶς τό πρόσωπον ἐν ἑαυτῇ ποτε τοῦ ∆εσπότου θεάσεται· ἡ δέ γενομένη τοιαύτῃ ὁρᾷ τόν Θεόν ἐκ παντός καί καταλάσσεται αὐτῷ, καί γίνεται εἰρήνη ἀναμεταξύ τοῦ Ποιητοῦ ἡμῶν καί Θεοῦ καί τῆς πρῴην ἐχθρᾶς οὔσης αὐτῷ ψυχῆς, καί τηνικαῦτα (403) ὡς εἰρηνοποιός παρά τοῦ Θεοῦ μακαρίζεται· "Μακάριοι γάρ, φησίν, οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί, ὅτι αὐτοί υἱοί Θεοῦ κληθήσονται", οἱ τῷ ἐλθόντι δοῦναι εἰρήνην τοῖς ἐγγύς καί τοῖς μακράν ἑαυτούς γνωστῶς καταλλάξαντες, τῷ καταλλάξαι ἡμᾶς ἐχθρούς ὄντας τῷ ἰδίῳ Πατρί καί ἑνῶσαι ἐλθόντι τά διεστῶτα εἰς ἕν, τουτέστι μεταδοῦναι ἡμῖν Πνεύματος Ἁγίου καί λαβεῖν αὐτόν σάρκα τήν ἡμετέραν. Οἱ τοίνυν ἰδόντες αὐτόν, εὔδηλον ὅτι καί αὐτῷ ἀληθῶς κατηλλάγησαν, τήν ζητουμένην εἰρήνην ἀποτελέσαντες καί υἱοί Θεοῦ γεγονότες. "Θεός δέ ὁ δικαιῶν, τίς ὁ κατακρίνων; Εἰ δέ τόν ἀδελφόν σου σύ, οὐκ ἀγαπᾷς, τόν Θεόν, ὅν οὐχ ἐώρακας, πῶς δύνασι ἀγαπᾶν; Εἰ δέ ἀγαπᾶν αὐτόν οὐ δυνάμεθα ἤ μᾶλλον εἰπεῖν οὐ βουλόμεθα, δῆλον ὅτι οὐδέ κατηλλάγημεν αὐτῷ. Ἀλλά σπουδάσωμεν ἰδεῖν καί καταλλαγῆναι καί ἀγαπῆσαι αὐτόν, ἀδελφοί, ὡς αὐτός ἐνετείλατο, ἐξ ὅλης ψυχῆς.

Εἶτα πάλιν ἀκούει λέγοντος· "Μακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης", καί καταστοχάζεται ἐρευνῶν ἑαυτόν, εἰ ἕνεκεν ἐντολῆς ἐδιώχθη Θεοῦ, ἐπειδή "πάντες ὅσοι ἐν Χριστῷ θέλουσι ζῆν διωχθήσονται", καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος. ∆ιό καί ἐπιφέρων φησί· "Μακάριοί ἐστε, ὅταν ὀνειδίσωσιν ὑμᾶς καί διώξωσι καί εἴπωσι πᾶν πονηρόν ῥῆμα καθ᾿ ὑμῶν ψευδόμενοι ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ. Χαίρετε καί ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὅτι ὁ μισθός ὑμῶν πολύς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς". Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν ἔσχατον τέθηκε τούς δεδιωγμένους καί ὀνειδιζομένους, καί προστάσσει μετ᾿ ἐξουσίας ἐπιφωνῶν αὐτοῖς τό "Χαίρετε καί ἀγαλλιᾶσθε"; (404) Ἐπειδή ὁ μετάνοιαν ἀξίαν τῶν ἑαυτοῦ πλημμελημάτων ἐπιδειξάμενος καί ταπεινός ἐντεῦθεν γενόμενος ἵνα σοι πάλιν δευτερῶν τά αὐτά εἴποιμι , καί πενθεῖν καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ἀξιοῦται καί πρᾷος γίνεται καί τόν ἥλιον τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἀπό ψυχῆς πεινᾷ καί διψᾷ καί ἐλεήμων ἀποτελεῖται καί συμπαθής, ὡς τά πάθη πάντων καί τάς θλίψεις καί τάς ἀσθενείας ἑαυτῷ οἰκειούμενος, κλαίων τε καί καθαιρόμενος βλέπει τόν Θεόν καί αὐτῷ καταλλάσεται καί γίνεται τῷ ὄντι εἰρηνοποιός καί υἱός αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ κληθῆναι καταξιοῦται. Ὁ γοῦν τοιοῦτος δύναται καί διωκόμενος καί τυπτόμενος καί ὀνειδιζόμενος, λοιδορούμενός τε καί ὑβριζόμενος καί πᾶν πονηρόν ῥῆμα κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ λεγόμενον ἀκούων, ὑπομένειν μετά χαρᾶς καί ἀφράστου ἀγαλλιάσεως, καί τοῦτο εἰδώς ὁ ∆εσπότης Θεός μετά ἀποφάσεως εἴρηκε· "Χαίρετε καί ἀγαλλιᾶσθε". Ὁ δέ μή τοιοῦτος γεγονώς μηδέ τήν ἐνυπόστατον χαράν ἐντός αὐτοῦ πλουσίως κτησάμενος, πῶς ἀμνησικάκως ἄρα ταῦτα πάντα ὑπενεγκεῖν δυνήσεται; Οὐδαμῶς!

∆ιό οὖν, πατέρες καί ἀδελφοί μου, πάσῃ σπουδῇ ἑαυτούς ἡμᾶς καθ᾿ ἡμέραν καί καθ᾿ ὥραν, εἰ οἷόν τε, ἀνακρίνειν καί διερευνᾶσθαι μηδέποτε παυσώμεθα, ἀλλά πάσας, ὡς εἴπομεν, τάς ἐντολάς διερχόμενοι καί ἐν μιᾷ ἑκάστῃ αὐτῶν ἑαυτούς ἡμᾶς ἐξετάζοντες καί κατασκοποῦντες ὁρῶμεν. καί εἰ μέν εὑρεθῶμεν αὐτήν ἐκπληρώσαντες, εὐχαριστήσωμεν τῷ ∆εσπότῃ Θεῷ καί εἰς τό ἑξῆς ἀσφαλῶς ταύτην φυλάξωμεν· εἰ δέ μήπω ταύτης ἐμνήσθημεν ἤ αὐτήν πεποιήκαμεν, δράμωμεν, παρακαλῶ, ἕως ταύτης δραξώμεθα καί γενώμεθα αὐτῆς ἐγκρατεῖς, ἵνα μή (405) καταφρονήσαντες αὐτῆς, ἐλάχιστοι κληθῶμεν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν. Οὕτω γάρ μίαν μίαν κατά μικρόν ὡς βαθμίδα κλίμακος ἀνερχόμενοι, εὖ οἶδα, φθάσομεν εἰς αὐτήν τήν πόλιν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ἐν ᾗ, ὡς προειρήκαμεν ἄνωθεν, ἵσταται διακύπτων ὁ ∆εσπότης ἡμῶν λέγων πᾶσιν ἡμῖν· "∆εῦτε πρός με πάντες οἱ κοπιῶντες καί πεφορτισμένοι, κἀγώ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς", κἀκεῖσε γενόμενοι καί αὐτόν ὡς δυνατόν ἀνθρώπῳ ἰδόντες καί τήν βασιλείαν παρ᾿ ἐκείνου λαβόντες τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἥτις ἐστί