John Chrysostom, On entering holy Lent

In ingressum sanctorum jejuniorum

On the entrance of the holy fasts.

62.727 Today has dawned for us, beloved, the bright spring of the holy fasts, and

it eagerly prepares us to run together into this God-befitting paradise, so as to harvest the fruits of self-control, and having plucked the delightful flowers of purity, to weave the crown of sober-mindedness. Again the angelic life calls us to the ancient delight, and opens gates for us to that divine and blessed enjoyment. Voluntary fasting provides great boldness toward God, purifying our bodies through continence, and sanctifying the soul through boldness toward God, causing it to forget all earthly things, and preparing it to desire heavenly things.

Fasting, leading its lovers up to heaven, makes them stand beside Christ, and have fellowship with the saints. The father of fasting, beloved, is the law of God; its mother is self-control, patience, virtue; its daughters are ascetic practice, purity, sober-mindedness; its true sons are Moses, Elijah, Daniel, John the Baptist, and the rest of the choir of saints, especially the anchorites and ascetics in the deserts; its friends are faith, hope, and love; its companions are peace, meekness, concord; its handmaidens are doxology, continuous psalmody, pure prayer; its spouse is the fear of God; and the fruits of their life together are holiness, incorruption, boldness toward God, the heavenly kingdom, eternal life. Therefore, beloved, the lovers of fasting, having the law of God in their heart, fast sincerely, but the lawless do not fast. And the just fast continually, being pious, and meditating on and fulfilling the law of God, loving 62.728 purity, and embracing sober-mindedness, being free from drunkenness, and clinging to Christ; but the lawless not only do not fast, but are also filled with all malice and satanic energy; all debauchery and impiety and lawlessness is traded among them; among them are shameful words, unrestrained laughter, and diabolical posturing; among them gluttony and drunkenness and disorder will be shattered.

For truly many are the evils from drunkenness. For those who are drunk with wine, their minds are afflicted with vertigo, like those who are delirious and out of their minds, and are carried about here and there, dashed from one wall to another, and unseemly shaking at those they meet, and falling disgracefully to the ground. Therefore, beloved, let us flee such shame, and let us fast eagerly with fear of God, being confirmed by faith, supported by law, adorned with sober-mindedness, beautified by purity, making the eye temperate, sanctifying the mind, praying with much patience and a pure heart, getting rid of temporal things, and gaining eternal things in their place. For if anyone fasts sincerely, he imitates Christ, while on earth he becomes like the angels, emulates the prophets, has fellowship with the apostles, and having completely changed his nature through fasting, becomes righteous from being unrighteous, good from being wicked, pious from being impious, and thus inherits Christ, the treasure of life; which may we all be counted worthy to obtain, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion with the unoriginate Father and the life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

In ingressum sanctorum jejuniorum

Εἰς τὴν εἴσοδον τῶν ἁγίων νηστειῶν.

62.727 Ἀνέτειλεν ἡμῖν σήμερον, ἀγαπητοὶ, τὸ φαιδρὸν ἔαρ τῶν ἁγίων νηστειῶν, καὶ

προθύμως παρασκευάζει συντρέχειν εἰς τὸν θεοπρεπῆ τοῦτον παράδεισον, ὥστε τοὺς τῆς ἐγκρατείας ἀποτρυγῆσαι καρποὺς, καὶ τὰ τερπνὰ τῆς ἁγνείας δρεψαμένους ἄνθη, πλέξαι τὸν τῆς σωφροσύνης στέφανον. Πάλιν ἡμᾶς καλεῖ ὁ ἀγγελικὸς βίος ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχαίαν τρυφὴν, καὶ πρὸς τὴν θείαν ἐκείνην καὶ μακαρίαν ἀπόλαυσιν ἡμῖν ἐπανοίγει πύλας. Μεγάλην πρὸς Θεὸν παρέχει παῤῥησίαν ἡ ἑκούσιος νηστεία, καθαίρουσα μὲν τὰ σώματα διὰ τῆς ἐγκρατείας, ἁγιάζουσα δὲ τὴν ψυχὴν διὰ τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν παῤῥησίας, καὶ τῶν μὲν γηΐνων ἁπάντων ἐπιλανθάνεσθαι ποιοῦσα, τῶν δὲ οὐρανίων ἐπιθυμεῖν παρασκευάζουσα.

Νηστεία τοὺς ἑαυτῆς ἐραστὰς εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀνάγουσα, τῷ Χριστῷ παρεστάναι ποιεῖ, καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων ἔχειν τὴν κοινωνίαν. Ὁ πατὴρ τῆς νηστείας, ἀγαπητοὶ, ἐστὶν ὁ νόμος τοῦ Θεοῦ· μήτηρ δὲ αὐτῆς ἐγκράτεια, ὑπομονὴ, ἀρετή· θυγατέρες αὐτῆς ἄσκησις, ἁγνεία, σωφροσύνη· υἱοὶ δὲ γνήσιοι Μωϋσῆς, Ἠλίας, ∆ανιὴλ, Ἰωάννης ὁ Βαπτιστὴς, καὶ ὁ λοιπὸς τῶν ἁγίων χορὸς, μάλιστα τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἐρήμοις ἀναχωρησάντων καὶ ἀσκητῶν· φίλαι δὲ αὐτῆς εἰσι πίστις, ἐλπὶς καὶ ἀγάπη· συνόμιλοι δὲ εἰρήνη, πραότης, ὁμόνοια· θεραπαινίδες δὲ αὐτῆς δοξολογία, ψαλμῳδία διηνεκὴς, εὐχὴ καθαρά· σύμβιος δὲ αὐτῆς ὁ φόβος τοῦ Θεοῦ· οἱ δὲ καρποὶ τῆς τούτων συμβιώσεώς εἰσιν ἁγιότης, ἀφθαρσία, παῤῥησία πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, βασιλεία οὐράνιος, ζωὴ αἰώνιος. ∆ιὸ, ἀγαπητοὶ, οἱ μὲν ἐρασταὶ τῆς νηστείας, τὸν νόμον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔχοντες ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῶν, νηστεύουσιν εἰλικρινῶς, ἄνομοι δὲ οὐ νηστεύουσι. Καὶ οἱ μὲν δίκαιοι νηστεύουσι διαπαντὸς εὐσεβοῦντες, καὶ τὸν νόμον Θεοῦ μελετῶντες καὶ πληροῦντες, τήν τε 62.728 ἁγνείαν ἀγαπῶντες, καὶ τὴν σωφροσύνην περιπτυσσόμενοι, μέθης ἐλευθερούμενοι, καὶ τῷ Χριστῷ προσκολλώμενοι· οἱ δὲ ἄνομοι οὐχὶ νηστεύουσι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάσης κακίας καὶ σατανικῆς ἐνεργείας πεπληρωμένοι τυγχάνουσι· πᾶσα ἀσωτία καὶ ἀσέβεια καὶ παρανομία παρ' αὐτοῖς ἐμπορεύεται· παρ' αὐτοῖς λόγοι αἰσχροὶ, γέλωτες ἀκρατεῖς, καὶ σχήματα διαβολικά· παρ' αὐτοῖς γαστριμαργία καὶ μέθη καὶ ἀκαταστασία συντριβήσεται.

Πολλὰ γὰρ ὄντως τὰ ἐκ τῆς μέθης κακά. Οἱ γὰρ καταμεθυσθέντες τῷ οἴνῳ, τὰς φρένας σκοτοδινιῶσιν, ὥσπερ οἱ παραπαίοντες καὶ τῶν φρενῶν ἐξιστάμενοι, καὶ ὧδε κἀκεῖσε περιφερόμενοι, τοίχῳ τε ἀπὸ τοίχου προσαρασσόμενοι, ἀπρεπῶς τε ἐνσειόμενοι τοῖς ἀπαντῶσι, καὶ ἀσχημόνως φερόμενοι κατὰ γῆς. ∆ιὸ, ἀγαπητοὶ, φύγωμεν τὴν τοιαύτην αἰσχύνην, καὶ προθύμως νηστεύσωμεν μετὰ φόβου τοῦ Θεοῦ, πίστει βεβαιούμενοι, νόμῳ στηριζόμενοι, σωφροσύνῃ κοσμούμενοι, ἁγνείᾳ καλλωπιζόμενοι, ὄμμα σωφρονίζοντες, λογισμὸν ἁγιάζοντες, ἐν ὑπομονῇ πολλῇ καὶ καθαρᾷ καρδίᾳ προσευχόμενοι, τὰ πρόσκαιρα ἀποκτώμενοι, καὶ τὰ αἰώνια ἀντικτώμενοι. Εἴ τις γὰρ εἰλικρινῶς νηστεύει, Χριστὸν μιμεῖται, γενόμενος ἐπὶ γῆς ἀγγέλοις ὁμοιοῦται, προφήτας ζηλοῖ, ἀποστόλοις κοινωνεῖ, καὶ ὅλως ἐναλλαγεὶς τὴν φύσιν διὰ τῆς νηστείας γίνεται δίκαιος ἐξ ἀδίκου, ἀγαθὸς ἐκ πονηροῦ, ἐξ ἀσεβοῦς εὐσεβὴ, καὶ οὕτω Χριστὸν κληρονομεῖ, τὸν θησαυρὸν τῆς ζωῆς· ἧς γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπιτυχεῖν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος σὺν τῷ ἀνάρχῳ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ ζωοποιῷ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.