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Five orations on the Lord's Prayer

OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS GREGORY BISHOP OF NYSSA, FIVE HOMILIES ON PRAYER.

HOMILY I.

The divine word guides us to the teaching of prayer, through which it suggests to his worthy disciples, who eagerly seek the knowledge of prayer, how it is fitting to make the divine ear favorable through the words of prayer. But I, taking the liberty, would add a little something to what has been written: that this present assembly should be taught not how one ought to pray, but that one must pray at all, which perhaps the hearing of the many has not yet accepted; for this sacred and divine work, prayer, has been neglected in life and overlooked by the many. Therefore, concerning this it seems good to me first, as much as is possible, to testify in word that one must by all means persevere in prayer, as the apostle says, and then so to hear the divine voice which suggests to us the manner in which one should offer supplication to the Lord. For I see that everything else is eagerly pursued in the present life, with each person's soul turned to some other thing, but the good of 204 prayer is not a matter of zeal for men. The merchant rises early for his business, striving to show his own goods to the buyers before his fellow craftsmen, so that he might anticipate the need of the one who is wanting, getting ahead of the others, and sell his own wares. Likewise the buyer, having before his eyes not to miss out on what he needs by being anticipated by another, runs not to the house of prayer, but to the marketplace, and since all have an equal desire for gain, and strive to get ahead of their neighbor, the hour of prayer has been stolen away by these pursuits, having been transferred to commerce. So the craftsman, so the one occupied with words, so the one on trial, so the one appointed to judge, each one wholly inclined with zeal to the things at hand, has forgotten the work of prayer, judging the occupation with God to be a loss in relation to what lies before him. For the one who practices a trade thinks that the divine alliance is an idle and ineffectual thing for the matter at hand; therefore, having left prayer, he places his hopes in his hands, unmindful of the one who gave him hands. Likewise also he who perfects speech for himself through diligence does not consider the giver of speech, but as if he brought himself into this nature, he looks to himself and applies himself to zealous studies, thinking that none of the good things will come to him from the cooperation of God, he makes his zeal more honorable than prayer. In the same way also the rest of the occupations drive out the soul’s concern for greater and heavenly things by the care for things bodily and earthly. For this reason sin is great throughout life, always growing greater with additions, entangled in all human pursuits, because forgetfulness of God overcomes all things, and the good of prayer is not included among the things pursued by men. With commerce, greed enters in; and greed 206 is idolatry. Thus the farmer does not measure his farming by necessary needs, but, always extending his zeal for more, he gives much entrance to sin against his occupation, by expanding into the boundaries of others. Whence spring up hard-to-cure contentions, when those held by the same disease of greed rise up against one another concerning the boundaries of the land. From this, angers and impulses toward evil and

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De oratione dominica orationes v

ΤΟΥ ΕΝ ΑΓΙΟΙΣ ΠΑΤΡΟΣ ΗΜΩΝ ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΥ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΝΥΣΣΗΣ ΕΙΣ ΤΗΝ ΠΡΟΣΕΥΧΗΝ ΛΟΓΟΙ εʹ.

ΛΟΓΟΣ αʹ.

Προς ευχῆς ἡμῖν διδασκαλίαν ὁ θεῖος ὑφηγεῖται λόγος, δι' ἧς τοῖς ἀξίοις αὐτοῦ μαθηταῖς, τοῖς ἐν σπουδῇ τὴν γνῶσιν τῆς προςευχῆς ἐπιζητοῦσιν, ὅπως οἰκειοῦσθαι προςήκει τὴν θείαν ἀκοὴν διὰ τῶν ῥημάτων τῆς προς ευχῆς ὑποτίθεται. Ἐγὼ δὲ τολμήσας μικρὸν ἄν τι προς θείην τοῖς γεγραμμένοις, ὅτι οὐ τὸ πῶς δεῖ προσεύχεσθαι τὸν παρόντα σύλλογον διδάσκεσθαι χρὴ, ἀλλ' ὅ τι δεῖ πάντως προσεύχεσθαι, ὅπερ οὔπω τάχα δέδεκται ἡ τῶν πολλῶν ἀκοή· ἠμέληται γὰρ ἐν τῷ βίῳ καὶ παρεώραται τοῖς πολλοῖς τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦτο καὶ ἔνθεον ἔργον, ἡ προςευχή. Περὶ τούτου τοίνυν δοκεῖ μοι καλῶς ἔχειν πρῶτον ὡς ἔστι δυνατὸν λόγῳ διαμαρτύρασθαι τὸ δεῖν πάντως τῇ προςευχῇ προςκαρτερεῖν, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος, εἶθ' οὕτως ἀκοῦσαι τῆς θείας φωνῆς τῆς ὑποτιθεμένης ἡμῖν τὸν τρόπον ὅπως χρὴ προςάγειν τῷ κυρίῳ τὴν δέησιν· ὁρῶ γὰρ ὅτι πάντα μᾶλλον ἐν τῷ παρόντι σπουδάζεται βίῳ, ἄλλου πρὸς ἄλλο τι τῇ ψυχῇ τετραμμένου, τὸ δὲ τῆς 204 εὐχῆς ἀγαθὸν διὰ σπουδῆς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις οὐκ ἔστιν. Ἐπορθρίζει ταῖς ἐμπορίαις ὁ κάπηλος, πρὸ τῶν ὁμοτέχνων τὸ οἰκεῖον ἐπιδεῖξαι τοῖς ὠνουμένοις φιλονεικῶν, ὡς ἂν προ λάβοι τοῦ δεομένου τὴν χρείαν, ὑποφθάσας τοὺς ἄλλους, καὶ τὸ οἰκεῖον ἀπεμπολήσειεν. Ὡςαύτως καὶ ὁ ὠνούμενος τὸ μὴ διαμαρτεῖν τοῦ πρὸς τὴν χρείαν ἐν τῷ προληφθῆναι παρ' ἑτέρου πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἔχων οὐκ ἐπὶ τὸ εὐκτήριον, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὸ πρατήριον τρέχει, καὶ πάντων τὴν ἴσην πρὸς τὸ κέρδος ἐχόντων ἐπιθυμίαν, καὶ φθάσαι τὸν πέλας φιλο νεικούντων, ἐξεκλάπη διὰ τῶν σπουδαζομένων ἡ τῆς προς ευχῆς ὥρα, εἰς τὴν ἐμπορίαν μετατεθεῖσα. Οὕτως ὁ χει ροτέχνης, οὕτως ὁ περὶ λόγους ἠσχολημένος, οὕτως ὁ δικαζόμενος, οὕτως ὁ δικάζειν λαχὼν, περὶ τὰ ἐν χερσὶν ἕκαστος ὅλος τῇ σπουδῇ ῥέπων, ἐκλέλησται τῆς κατὰ τὴν εὐχὴν ἐργασίας, ζημίαν κρίνων πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον ἑαυ τῷ τὴν περὶ τὸν θεὸν ἀσχολίαν. Οἴεται γὰρ ὁ μὲν τὴν τέχνην μετιὼν ἀργόν τι χρῆμα καὶ ἄπρακτον εἶναι τὴν θείαν πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον συμμαχίαν· διὸ καταλιπὼν τὴν εὐχὴν ἐν ταῖς χερσὶ τὰς ἐλπίδας τίθεται, ἀμνημονῶν τοῦ δεδωκότος τὰς χεῖρας. Ὡςαύτως καὶ ὁ τὸν λόγον δι' ἐπιμελείας κατορθῶν ἑαυτῷ οὐ λογίζεται τὸν δεδωκότα τὸν λόγον, ἀλλ' ὡς ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὴν φύσιν ταύτην παραγα γὼν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν βλέπει καὶ ταῖς τῶν μαθημάτων προς ανέχει σπουδαῖς, οὐδὲν ἐκ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ συνεργίας αὐτῷ γενήσεσθαι τῶν ἀγαθῶν νομίζων προτιμοτέραν ποιεῖται τῆς προςευχῆς τὴν σπουδήν. Τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἐκκρούει τὴν περὶ τὰ μείζω καὶ οὐράνια τῆς ψυχῆς ἀσχολίαν τῇ τῶν σωματικῶν τε καὶ γηΐνων φροντίδι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο πολλὴ κατὰ τὸν βίον ἡ ἁμαρτία, ἀεὶ ταῖς προςθήκαις ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖζον αὔξουσα, πάσαις ταῖς ἀνθρωπίναις σπουδαῖς ἐμπεπλεγμένη, διότι λήθη τοῦ θεοῦ κατακρατεῖ τῶν πάντων, καὶ τὸ τῆς εὐ χῆς ἀγαθὸν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τῶν σπουδαζομένων οὐ συνε φάπτεται. Τῇ ἐμπορίᾳ συνειςέρχεται ἡ πλεονεξία· πλεον 206 εξία δέ ἐστιν εἰδωλολατρεία. Οὕτως ὁ γεωργὸς οὐ ταῖς ἀναγκαίαις χρείαις συμμετρεῖ τὴν γεωπονίαν, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ πρὸς τὰ πλείω τὴν σπουδὴν ἐπεκτείνων πολλὴν δίδωσι τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ κατὰ τοῦ ἐπιτηδεύματος εἴςοδον, τοῖς ἀλ λοτρίοις ὅροις ἐμπλατυνόμενος. Ὅθεν αἱ δυσθεράπευτοι φύονται φιλονεικίαι, περὶ τῶν τῆς γῆς ὅρων ἀντεγει ρομένων ἀλλήλοις τῶν τῇ ὁμοίᾳ νόσῳ τῆς πλεονεξίας κεκρατημένων. Ἐντεῦθεν οἱ θυμοὶ καὶ αἱ πρὸς τὸ κακὸν ὁρμαὶ καὶ αἱ