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(372) Instead of friends and rulers and kings, let all the saints who are venerated and honored by them celebrate and be in communion with you, as friends indeed. Let these be beloved by you and preferred above all, so that when you depart they may receive you into their eternal dwellings, as Abraham received Lazarus into his bosom, although this saying is also understood in another way. Instead of a table overflowing with an abundance of foods, let your only food be the living bread, not only the sensible and visible one, but the one in the sensible and through it made sensible and given to you, the very bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world, which those who eat are not only nourished, but are also given life and, being alive, they rise as from the dead. Let this be for you a delight and an insatiable and inexpensive food; and for wine, not this wine that is also seen, but that which appears as wine, but is understood to be the blood of God, ineffable light, unspeakable sweetness, eternal gladness; if you drink this worthily always, you will never thirst for eternity, only in the perception of the soul, in the preparation of the peace of its powers. And consider from this the power of what is being said. If in perception and knowledge, you partake of such things worthily; but if not so, you certainly eat and drink unworthily. If in pure contemplation you have partaken of that of which you have partaken, behold, you have become worthy of such a table; for if you do not become worthy, you will not be joined, you will in no way be united to God. Therefore, let not those who partake unworthily of the divine mysteries suppose that through them they are thus simply joined and united to the invisible God; for this will in no way happen to them, nor will it ever come to be. For only those who, through participation in the divine flesh of the Lord and by the intellectual touch (373) of the invisible divinity, are deemed worthy to see and eat the revelation with the intellectual eye and mouth, know that the Lord is good, who eat and drink not only sensible bread sensibly, but also God together with it intellectually, being nourished in a twofold perception, one visibly and the other invisibly, are united in both ways to Christ of two natures, becoming of one body with Him and partakers of His glory and divinity. For thus are they united to God who worthily and in the knowledge of contemplation of the mystery eat of this bread and drink from this cup with a sensitive soul and heart; but those who do this unworthily are empty of the gift of the Holy Spirit, nourishing only the body, and not their soul. But do not be disturbed, beloved, hearing the truth declared to you by us. For if you confess that the flesh of the Lord is the bread of life and gives life, and you know that His blood also gives life to those who partake and becomes in the one who drinks it like a spring of water welling up to eternal life, how, tell me, do you who partake of these things add nothing more spiritually, but even if you perhaps feel some small joy, after a little while you remain again as you were before, with no addition of life in you, or a gushing spring, or seeing any light whatsoever? For this bread sensibly appears as a morsel to those who have not gone beyond sense, but intellectually it is an uncontainable and unapproachable light; so also the wine is likewise light, life, fire, and living water. If, therefore, eating and drinking the divine bread and the wine of gladness, you are not aware if you have lived the imperishable life, if you have received the bread within you as luminous or fiery, as the prophet did, (374) if you have drunk the master's blood as leaping and speaking water, if you have experienced none of these things at all in contemplation and participation, how do you think you have become a partaker of life? And how do you suppose you have touched the unapproachable fire, or how do you imagine you have partaken wholly of the eternal light? Assuredly this has in no way happened to you, who are insensible concerning such things; but the light shines on you while you are blind, and the fire warms you but has not touched you, the life has overshadowed but has not been united to you, the living water has passed through your soul as through a channel, because it did not find it worthy of itself

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(372) Ἀντί φίλων καί ἀρχόντων καί βασιλέων, συνεορταζέτωσαν καί συγκοινωνείτωτάν σοι, οἷα δή φίλοι, οἱ προσκυνούμενοι καί τιμώμενοι παρ᾿ αὐτῶν πάντες ἅγιοι. Οὗτοι ἔστωσάν σοι φιλούμενοι καί ὑπέρ ἅπαντας προτιμώμενοι, ὡς ἄν ἐκλείποντά σε προσυποδέξωνται εἰς τάς αἰωνίους τούτων σκηνάς, ὡς τόν Λάζαρον ὁ Ἀβραάμ ἐν τοῖς κόλποις αὐτοῦ, εἰ καί θεωρεῖται τό εἰρημένον καί ἄλλως. Ἀντί πληθούσης τραπέζης τῇ ἀφθονίᾳ τῶν ἐδεσμάτων, ἔστω σοι μόνος ὁ ἄρτος ὁ ζῶν, οὐχ ὁ αἰσθητός καί φαινόμενος μόνον, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ ἐν τῷ αἰσθητῷ καί δι᾿ αὐτοῦ ὡς αἰσθητός σοι καί γενόμενος καί διδόμενος, αὐτός ὁ ἄρτος ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβαίνων καί διδούς τῷ κόσμῳ ζωήν, ὅν οἱ ἐσθίοντες οὐ τρέφονται μόνον, ἀλλά καί ζωοῦνται καί ζῶντες ὡς ἐκ νεκρῶν ἐξανίστανται. Τοῦτό σοι τρυφή καί βρῶσις ἔστω ἀκόρεστος καί ἀδάπανος οἶνος δέ, οὐχ ὁ οἶνος οὗτος ὁ καί ὁρώμενος, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ φαινόμενος μέν οἶνος, νοούμενος δέ αἷμα Θεοῦ, φῶς ἄφραστον, ἄρρητος γλυκασμός, εὐφροσύνη αἰώνιος τοῦτον εἰ πίνεις ἀξίως ἀεί, οὐ μή διψήσῃς εἰς τόν αἰῶνα, μόνον ἐν αἰσθήσει ψυχῆς, ἐν ἑτοιμασίᾳ τῆς εἰρήνης τῶν ταύτης δυνάμεων. Καί σκόπει μοι ἐντεῦθεν τῶν λεγομένων τήν δύναμιν. Εἰ ἐν αἰσθήσει καί γνώσει, τῶν τοιούτων μετέχεις ἀξίως εἰ δέ μή οὕτως, ἀναξίως πάντως ἐσθίεις καί πίνεις. Εἰ ἐν θεωρίᾳ καθαρᾷ μετείληφας οὗ μετείληφας, ἰδού δή ἄξιος γέγονας τῆς τοιαύτης τραπέζης εἰ γάρ μή ἄξιος γένῃ, οὐ κολληθήσῃ, οὐδαμῶς ἐνωθήσῃ Θεῷ. Μή τοίνυν οἰέσθωσαν οἱ τῶν θείων μυστηρίων ἀναξίως μετέχοντες ὅτι δι᾿ αὐτῶν ἁπλῶς οὕτω κολλῶνται καί ἑνοῦνται Θεῷ τῷ ἀοράτῳ τοῦτο γάρ οὐκ ἔσται αὐτοῖς οὐδαμῶς, οὐδ᾿ οὐ μή γενήσεταί ποτε. Μόνοι γάρ οἱ τῇ μετουσίᾳ τῆς θείας τοῦ Κυρίου σαρκός καί τήν ἀποκάλυψιν τῇ νοερᾷ προσψαύσει (373) τῆς ἀοράτου θεότητος ἐν τῷ νοερῷ ὄμματι καί στόματι καταξιούμενοι ἰδεῖν καί φαγεῖν γινώσκουσιν ὅτι χρηστός ὁ Κύριος, οἵ οὐκ ἄρτον μόνον αἰσθητόν αἰσθητῶς, ἀλλά καί Θεόν ὁμοῦ ἐν ταὐτῷ νοητῶς ἐσθίοντες ἅμα καί πίνοντες, ἐν αἰσθήσει διτταῖς ὡσαύτως τόν μέν ὁρατῶς τόν δέ ἀοράτως τρεφόμενοι, ἑνοῦνται κατ᾿ ἄμφω τῷ διττῷ τάς φύσεις Χριστῷ, σύσσωμοι αὐτῷ γινόμενοι καί συγκοινωνοί τῆς δόξης καί τῆς θεότητος. Οὕτω γάρ ἑνοῦνται Θεῷ οἱ ἀξίως καί ἐν γνώσει θεωρίᾳ τοῦ μυστηρίου ἐκ τοῦ ἄρτου ἐσθίοντες τούτου καί ἐκ τούτου τοῦ ποτηρίου πίνοντες εὐαισθήτῳ ψυχῇ καί καρδίᾳ οἱ δ᾿ ἀναξίως τοῦτο ποιοῦντες κενοί τῆς δωρεᾶς εἰσι τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ Ἁγίου, τρέφοντες μόνον τό σῶμα, οὐχί δέ καί τήν ψυχήν ἑαυτῶν. Ἀλλά μή θορυβηθῇς τήν ἀλήθειαν ἀκούων, ἀγαπητέ, δηλουμένην σοι παρ᾿ ἡμῶν. Εἰ γάρ ἄρτον ζωῆς καί διδόντα ζωήν αὐτόν τήν σάρκα εἶναι ὁμολογεῖς τοῦ Κυρίου καί τό αἷμα αὐτοῦ οἶδας καί διδοῦν ζωήν τοῖς μετέχουσι καί γινόμενον ἐν τῷ πίνοντι ὡς πηγή ὕδατος ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωήν αἰώνιον, πῶς, εἰπέ, σύ τούτων μετέχων οὐδέν πλέον ψυχικῶς προστίθης, ἀλλ᾿ εἰ καί μικράν τινα ἴσως ἐπαισθανθήσῃ χαράν, μένεις πάλιν μετά μικρόν οἷος ἦς καί τό πρότερον, μηδεμίαν προσθήκην ζωῆς ἐν σοί, ἤ πηγήν βλυστάνουσαν, ἤ βλέπων τό οἱονοῦν φῶς; Ὁ γάρ ἄρτος οὗτος αἰσθητῶς μέν ψωμός φαίνεται τοῖς μή ὑπέρ τήν αἴσθησιν γενομένοις, νοερῶς δέ φῶς ἀχώρητόν ἐστι καί ἀπρόσιτον οὕτω καί ὁ οἶνος φῶς καί αὐτός ὁμοίως, ζωή, πῦρ καί ὕδωρ ἐστί ζῶν. Εἰ οὖν, τρώγων καί πίνων τόν θεῖον ἄρτον καί τόν τῆς εὐφροσύνης οἶνον, οὐκ ἔσῃ γινώσκων εἰ ζωήν ἔζησας τήν ἀνώλεθρον, εἰ φωτοειδῆ τόν ἄρτον, ἤ πύρινον αὐτόν, ὡς ὁ προφήτης ἐδέξω ἐντός σου, (374) εἰ ὡς ὕδωρ ἁλλόμενον καί λαλοῦν τό δεσποτικόν ἔπιες αἷμα, εἰ οὐδέν οὐδαμῶς τούτων ἐν θεωρίᾳ καί μεθέξει ἐγένου, πῶς οἴει τῆς ζωῆς κοινωνός γεγονέναι; Πῶς δέ νομίζεις ἅψασθαι τοῦ ἀπροσίτου πυρός, ἤ πῶς ὅλος μεταλαβεῖν ὑπολαμβάνεις τοῦ ἀϊδίου φωτός; Οὔμενουν οὐδαμῶς τοῦτό σοι γέγονε, τῷ περί τά τοιαῦτα ἀνεπαισθήτως ἔχοντι ἀλλά τό φῶς σε καταλάμπει ὄντα τυφλόν, θερμαίνει δέ σε τό πῦρ, οὐχ ἥψατο δέ, ἡ ζωή ἐπεσκίασεν, οὐχ ἡνώθη σοι δέ, τό ζῶν ὕδωρ διῆλθεν ὡς διά ῥύακος τῆς σῆς ψυχῆς, ἐπειδή ἀξίαν ἑαυτοῦ οὐχ εὗρεν