Sermones et Exhortationes ad Monachos

Sermons and Exhortations to Monks

Sermons and Exhortations to Monks, by Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim, later of Wurzburg. Of these sermons there are two books: the first is called the Book of Homilies, the second the Book of Sermons.

Ottomar Luscinius of Strasbourg, on the homilies of Johannes Trithemius to monks: a decastich

If for anyone it is not enough, Christ, to follow Your gentle laws of justice, unless he also recalls the monks: Serapion, Paul, and Anthony, who long ago explored the path, A path rough with countless hard places; How each strove to show, beneath a harsh cloak, a body tormented, And did not allow down to be in his bed; How fasts drive out the swollen pride of the soul, And brief, half-sleeping rest sustains the limbs: These men, silent, taught this by their deeds; but fitter than they is Trithemius, who is strong in tongue and hand.

With the grace and privilege of the Imperial Majesty.

Maximilian, by divine clemency favoring him elected Emperor of the Romans, ever Augustus, and king of Germany, Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia, etc., archduke of Austria, duke of Burgundy and Brabant, and count palatine, etc., to the honorable and devout man beloved by us, Johannes Trithemius, abbot of St. James the Greater at Wurzburg: imperial grace and every good thing.

Since you have humbly explained to us that you have composed various editions of both old and new authors, gathered, not without great labor, vigils, and diligence, and that you desired with all your mind that they be brought forth into the light; and since our beloved master Johannes Haselberg of Constance, beloved also of the Holy Roman Empire, has offered with a most ready mind to be the minister of this undertaking, and has therefore procured at great expense the forms by which he may print the aforesaid works: therefore, wishing provision to be made for the indemnity of the said Master Johannes and for the adornment of your honor, lest your works, composed by you with great labors and vigils, lie hidden as if covered with rust, but rather shine forth more and more from day to day, we have therefore given and granted, and by the tenor of the present letters do give and grant, to the aforesaid Master Johannes Haselberg of Constance full power and authority of every kind.

We decree that he may print, and sell after printing, wherever he pleases, whatever among the treatises and little works has been issued by you, the aforesaid Trithemius, abbot of St. James the Greater at Wurzburg, and has been reviewed and approved by the honorable and faithful man beloved by us, Conrad Peutinger, doctor and our counselor. And we forbid all and singular typographers and printers of books, of whatever condition, under the penalty written below, commanding most strictly that, for ten years after such works or similar ones have been published by the said Master Johannes, they not dare or presume to print, publish, or publish what has been printed by others, buy, or sell them throughout the whole Roman Empire and in our hereditary lands.

We further command all and singular our beloved faithful subjects and those of the Holy Roman Empire, of whatever status, condition, dignity, and office, whether ecclesiastical or secular, under penalty of our indignation and the gravest indignation of the Holy Roman Empire, and of ten marks of pure gold, to be applied, as often as the contrary has been done, one part to our treasury and the other part to the aforesaid Master Johannes Haselberg, that they assist the same Master Johannes of Constance with their favor and aid in their places and lands, and not permit the said works and treatises to be printed, or those printed elsewhere to be sold. Rather, they are immediately to declare in our name that all who presume to do anything against this our grace and prohibition have incurred the sentence of this indignation of ours and of the Holy Roman Empire, carrying out our express will in this matter.

In testimony whereof, by these letters furnished with the impression of our seal on the back. Given in our town of Innsbruck on the tenth day of the month of November, in the year of the Lord 1513, in the twenty-ninth year of our Roman reign and the twenty-fifth of our Hungarian reign.

By the king personally.

At the command of the lord emperor himself.

N. Ziegler, and the chancery, through Paul Oberstein.

Titles of the first book.

Letter. On the spiritual warfare of monks. On the progress of spiritual warfare. What the armor of spiritual warfare is. On reading and study of the divine Scriptures. On the daily renewal of a holy resolve. On the love of quiet and solitude. On the manual labor of monks. That one must pray without ceasing. On the guarding and origin of thoughts. On the daily struggle of temptation. On fleeing the company of the wicked. On monks directed into the way. On the daily expiation of sins. On the true repentance of monks. On the abstinence and fasting of monks. On the Lenten fast of monks. On the sleep and wakefulness of monks. On patience and gentleness. On the true humility of monks. On the true obedience of monks. On continence and true chastity. On the brotherly charity of monks. On the charity of the Lord toward God. On serenity of conscience. On continual preparation for death.

Homily 1, fol. 2. Homily 2, fol. 3. Homily 3, fol. 7. Homily 4, fol. 9. Homily 5, fol. 11. Homily 6, fol. 12. Homily 8, fol. 13. Homily 9, fol. 14. Homily 10, fol. 15. Homily 12, fol. 16. Homily 13, fol. 17. Homily 14, fol. 18. Homily 12, fol. 19. Homily 16, fol. 20. Homily 17, fol. 21. Homily 16, fol. 22. Homily 16, fol. 23. Homily 16, fol. 24. Homily 16, fol. 25. Homily 16, fol. 26. Homily 16, fol. 27. Homily 16, fol. 28. Homily 16, fol. 29. Homily 16, fol. 30.

[unclear] Letter

John Trithemius, called abbot of Sponheim, to the reverend father and his teacher, Lord John of Colenhausen, abbot of the monastery of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs, in Seligenstadt, and formerly my predecessor at Sponheim: reverence and honor.

I do not know, teacher ever venerable to me, under what unlucky star that monastery of Sponheim was built, for rarely does an abbot die in it; rather, almost all, overcome by weariness, have for nearly seventy years now, as I have found from the annals, resigned of their own accord. Nor are we entirely ignorant why you too, following the example of your predecessors, deserted us poor men before the proper time: we rightly blame both our poverty and the rebellious rashness of certain men. Now, alas, I myself experience the cause that moved your mind to leave the abbacy of Sponheim, altogether barren and unfruitful, over which you presided for thirteen years after the reform, not without continual anxiety of mind and infinite labors. I pass over the injuries of very many brothers that you endured; all these, indeed, are daily doubled upon me.

The book of my exhortations to the brothers, which you instructed me to send to your paternity, and which I recently composed by lamplight amid the raging occupations of worldly affairs, is unworthy of your reading; nevertheless, I was unwilling to resist the command of a father. Therefore I ask your gentleness kindly to apply the file of correction: if anything is lacking, add it; cut away what is superfluous; and what is unsuitable either hand over to the flames or at least set in order. Farewell, sweetest father, mindful of me. From Sponheim, the sixth day of the month of August, in the year of the Christians 1386.

It belongs to Christian warfare, brothers, and especially to that of monks, to be subject to the varied calamities of this world and, like gold in the furnace, to be continually exercised and tested by tribulations. For it is the task of monks, and of Christian soldiers, to transcend the common little rule by a higher manner of living, and to obey not only the Lord’s precepts but also his counsels. It is the task of monks utterly to despise riches, honors, and all the pleasures of the present world for love of God, and, having overcome carnal desires, to be constantly free for God alone. For a monk is so called as one solitary, from unity; even by the very word of his name he is admonished to contempt of the world. Therefore the office of a monk is to stand with himself in solitude, clean and purified of vices, and sweetly to love Christ above all things.

For the goal of monks, to which regular discipline is directed, is Christ; whoever refuses to imitate him is neither truly a monk nor a Christian. Therefore, my brothers, we ought to know that whoever does not follow our Lord and Savior in true patience and humility gains nothing for salvation from being called Christian or monk. For he himself says in the holy Gospel: “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter the kingdom of heaven.” And what the will of God is, the holy Apostle has disclosed, saying: “This is the will of God, your sanctification.” But since the necessary consummation of this sanctification commanded for us requires great endurance of evils in all things and humility, because no one is holy by his own powers, we must, my brothers, keep continual consideration of our calling within ourselves, so that we may never grow sluggish in idleness...

Homily 1, fol. II.

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here begins the first book of expositions to the monks, by Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim and afterward of Wurzburg: On the Spiritual Warfare of Monks.

First Homily.

Beloved brothers, Christian converts, and especially monks, must be subject to the various calamities of this world and, like gold in the furnace, be more fully refined and proved by tribulations. For monks belong to the Christian warfare, since they pass beyond the ordinary rule of living in a higher way, and obey not only the Lord’s precepts but also his counsels. It belongs to monks utterly to despise divine honors and all pleasures of the present world for love of God, and, having overcome carnal desires, to devote themselves continually to God alone. For “monk” is so called as though “solitary,” from oneness; and by the very title of his name he is admonished to contempt of the world. Therefore the office of monks is to be purified from all contagion in the solitude of the world, and to love Christ sweetly above all things.

For Christ is the goal of monks, toward which regular discipline is directed; whoever refuses to imitate him is not even a monk, nor indeed a Christian. Therefore, my brothers, we ought to know that whoever does not follow the Lord and Savior in true patience and humility gains nothing for salvation from being called Christian or monk. For he himself says in the holy Gospel: “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven: he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.” And how great the will of God is, the holy Apostle discloses, saying: “This is the will of God, your sanctification.” But since the necessary fulfillment of this precept of sanctification demands from us great tolerance of evils in all things and humility, and since no one is holy by his own strength, we must, my brothers, keep constant consideration of our vocation within ourselves, lest, growing numb through most destructive idleness, we be overcome in the soldier’s contest by the enemy, who, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking the incautious and languishing man whom he may devour.

For we are soldiers of God against the adversary, fighting a threefold battle: namely, against the flesh, the world, and the devil. The war is two-edged, and the struggle very hard against the one whom nature has made familiar by long endurance. Therefore, dearly beloved brothers, let us be armed with every kind of virtue, since he who is adorned with the splendor of good works is not easily conquered by the adversary. First let us arm ourselves with the most steadfast faith of the holy and undivided Trinity; its devout and sincere confession by mind and mouth drives far away all the wicked contrivances and deceits of demons, and, defeating the greatest enemy, overthrows him and utterly weakens him. Then let us take hold of the most fervent love of God and neighbor, which is fearful to demons above all things, especially if it has been rooted in true Christian humility. Let us not place confidence in ourselves, because he is called blessed who is always fearful; but he who is hard in mind will fall into evil.

Let us learn our leader, Christ, who says in the Gospel: “I am the way, the truth, and the life, because no one comes to the Father except through me.” Therefore, brothers, attend carefully to what we read in the holy Scriptures concerning our Savior, because whoever says that he remains in Christ, that is, in the way of truth, should strive to walk just as he walked. But it was necessary that he first suffer the reproach of the cross and so enter into his glory, by which we, his soldiers, unworthy though we are, are admonished that it is necessary for us to enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations. Therefore the Lord himself, who reigns, admonished us in the Gospel, saying: “Whoever wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Behold, Christ is set before us as the way to eternal life; although he is Lord of the heavenly and worldly powers, for our sake he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and in that form, willingly and not by compulsion, bearing our infirmities, he was obedient to the Father even unto death, death on a cross. And so, if it was necessary for the Lord of the whole universe first to suffer, it certainly cannot be that we, his imitators, wicked and most vile sinners, ought not to suffer many things.

...that you also carefully keep the monastic ordinances which you promised. “Make vows,” says Scripture, “and fulfill them.” And again another Scripture says: “If you have vowed anything to God, do not delay to fulfill it.” For an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases him, and it is much better not to vow than, after a vow, not to fulfill what was promised. And Saint Augustine admonishes us how necessary it is to fulfill promises made to God, saying: There are certain things which we owe to the Lord even without vowing them. But after we promise them to the Lord, we are necessarily constrained to fulfill them.

But now, my brothers, I ask you carefully to consider what you have vowed to the Lord your God, and diligently to weigh under what necessity of fulfilling your promises you have been placed. For you vowed to your God, not to a man, obedience and the conversion of your morals according to the Rule of our most holy lawgiver Benedict, and perpetual stability in this order of religion. The obedience which you promised to God you owe to his vicar, a man, whom from the Rule you profess you have learned to hold the place of Christ in the monastery. But what the conversion of morals ought to be according to the Rule is plainly seen in the fourth chapter, headed “On the Instruments of Good Works,” in which you do not fail to recognize the very pattern of all monastic perfection.

Indeed, all of you have heard what our divine father commanded to be done concerning novices, and you know that this was done in the case of each one of you at the beginning of his profession. For thus he says: “The one to be received, in the oratory before all, shall promise concerning his stability, the conversion of his morals, and obedience, before God and his saints, so that, if he should ever act otherwise, he may know that he is to be condemned by God, whom he mocks.” Consider now, therefore, brothers, under how great a necessity of regular observance you have been placed, since unless by deed you fulfill what you promised when you received the monastic habit, you will have to be judged before the almighty Lord not as servants of God, not as friends, not as monks, but as mockers.

Therefore always be mindful of the things which the Rule commands you, according to which you promised to form your morals; and labor like true soldiers of Jesus Christ, constantly keeping watch in the fear of the Lord, since, as Scripture says, “unless you hold yourselves steadfastly in the fear of the Lord, your house will quickly be overthrown.” Consider your vocation: because the Lord has called you not to idleness, not to the pleasures of this world, nor to pursuing the desires of the flesh, but rather to continual labor, to abstinence from all delights, and to the constant mortification of the flesh under the image of the Crucified, so that you may bear his marks in your hearts.

Certainly you have now put your hands to the plow of holy heavenly agriculture, in which you are commanded to sweat in continual labor, and not only never to look back, but, by always advancing from virtue to virtue, to pant toward the summit of highest perfection. For to live as a monk is nothing other than for a man to withdraw from fellowship and, in solitude, actually to please God alone through the desire of most fervent love. Hence Scripture says: “It is good for a man when he has borne the yoke of the Lord from his youth; he shall sit solitary and be silent, because he shall raise himself above himself.”

Therefore, if you wish to be perfect, you who by regular institution are bound to love perfection, begin from the way of life which Christ taught; and you who have already despised all things for love of him, do not neglect humbly to conquer, overcome, and despise even yourselves. The servant of Christ has nothing except Christ, loves nothing, cares for nothing, seeks nothing except Christ, so that he may be perfect and pleasing to the one whose soldiery he has voluntarily professed. But the monk who loves anything besides Christ cannot be perfect, since true love is not divided, nor is the mind truly nourished by diverse and contrary things.

For this reason the Lord says: “If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you have and give to the poor; and come, follow me.” You indeed, most beloved brothers, as I trust, have already left the world and whatever you had in the world; and not only all the worldly possessions which you owned and could have had, but you have also laid aside every desire of having. And you have come to this monastery of the divine bishop Martin, in which the poverty of temporal goods is great, and this alone has been given to us in place of riches: not to find occasions for avarice. But just as punishment does not make a martyr, but the cause does, so want does not make a poor man blessed, but voluntary poverty for the love of Christ

Homily I. Fol. III.

...that you keep the monastic ordinances which you have promised. “Vow,” says Scripture, “and render.” And again another Scripture says: “If you have vowed anything to God, do not delay to pay it. For an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases him, and it is much better not to vow than, after a vow, not to render what was promised.” And Saint Augustine warns us how necessary it is to render to God what has been promised, saying: “There are certain things which we owe the Lord even without vowing them, and there are certain things which we do not owe unless we have vowed them. But after we promise them to the Lord, we are necessarily constrained to render them.”

And now, my brothers, I ask you carefully to consider what you have vowed to the Lord your God, and diligently to weigh under what necessity of rendering what you promised you have been placed. For you have vowed to your God, not to man, obedience and the conversion of your conduct according to the Rule of our most holy lawgiver Benedict, and perpetual stability in this order of religion. The obedience which you promised to God you will show to the Lord’s vicar, whom you acknowledge, in the monastery and by the Rule which you profess, to bear the place of Christ. What sort of conversion of conduct ought to be according to the Rule, you see plainly set out in chapter four, “On the Instruments of Good Works,” where you find the summary of the whole of monastic perfection briefly comprised in a few words.

Indeed, all of you have heard what our blessed father commanded to be done concerning novices, and you know that it was done in each one of you at the beginning of your profession. For he says thus: “The one to be received, in the oratory before all, promises concerning his stability, the conversion of his conduct, and obedience, before God and his saints, so that if at any time he should act otherwise, he may know that he will be condemned by God, whom he mocks.” Consider now, therefore, brothers, under how great a necessity you have been placed for the observance of the Rule, since unless you fulfill in deed what you promised in receiving the monastic habit, you will be judged before the almighty Lord not as servants of God, not as friends, not as monks, but as mockers.

Therefore always be mindful of the things which the Rule commands you, according to which you promised to shape your conduct. Labor like true soldiers of Jesus Christ, always watching in fear of the Lord, since, as Scripture says, unless you hold yourselves steadfastly in fear of the Lord, your house will quickly be overthrown. Consider your calling, because God has not called you to idleness, nor to the pleasures of this world, nor to pursue the desires of the flesh, but rather to continual labor, to abstinence from all delights, and to the constant mortification of the flesh under the image of the Crucified, so that, as far as you are able, you may bear his signs marked in your hearts.

You have set your hands, therefore, to the plow of holy heavenly agriculture, in which you are commanded to sweat continually in labor, and not only never to look back, but always, by advancing from virtue to virtue, to strive toward the highest summit of perfection. For what else is it to live as a monk than to avoid the company of men, and in solitude to please God alone actively through the desire of most fervent love? Hence Scripture says: “It is good for a man when he has borne the yoke of the Lord from his youth. He will sit solitary and keep silence, because he has lifted himself above himself.”

Therefore, if you wish to be perfect, you who by regular institution are bound to love perfection, begin with the way of life which Christ taught; and since for love of him you have already renounced all other things, do not neglect humbly to conquer, overcome, and despise even yourselves. The servant of Christ has nothing besides Christ; he loves nothing, cares for nothing, seeks nothing except Christ, so that he may be perfect and please him whose justice he has chosen and professed. But the monk who has anything besides Christ cannot be perfect, since true love is not divided, nor is the mind truly united to diverse and contrary things.

Therefore the Lord says: “If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you have and give to the poor, and come, follow me.” You, indeed, most beloved brothers, as I trust, have now left the world and whatever you had in the world; and you have laid aside not only ownership of all the things which you possessed and could have possessed, but also every desire to possess. And you have come to this monastery of the blessed Martin, where the poverty of temporal goods is great, and this alone has been given to us in place of riches: not to find occasions for avarice. Yet just as punishment does not make a martyr, but the cause does, so want does not make a blessed poor man, but voluntary patience in that very poverty for love of Christ.

On the Progress of Spiritual Warfare.

in that poverty itself, patience. For the Lord in the Gospel did not proclaim every poor person blessed and to be granted the kingdom of heaven, but, as you know, he announced that only the poor in spirit are blessed. Contempt for riches is not sufficient for salvation, unless the one who renounces gold also strives with all his strength, through patience and humility, constantly to imitate the Savior. For it is easier to despise the world than to despise and deny oneself.

Therefore whoever wishes to imitate the Son of God and attain evangelical perfection must become a despiser not only of the world and temporal things, but also of his own self. For the Savior says in the holy Gospel: “Anyone who has not renounced all that he possesses cannot be my disciple.” And lest we should think this sufficient for perfection, he speaks again more openly concerning contempt of oneself, saying: “If anyone wishes to follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s will save it.” Christ was made obedient to the Father even unto death. If you wish to imitate him as you have promised, brothers, it is necessary that you deny yourselves to yourselves. For he cannot be a monk who has not in every respect renounced his own will entirely.

You who before God and all his saints have promised to live according to the monastic Rule may no longer claim your own will for yourselves, since what has once been consecrated to God must not afterwards be called back to human uses. For you serve as soldiers not for yourselves but for Christ the King; therefore neither to will nor not to will remains in your power. For you are dead, as holy Theophilus says, and your life is hidden with Christ in God; but when Christ, your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. If you desire to rejoice with him without end, you must now in this present time serve as vigorous soldiers for love of him. For no one will be crowned with Christ except the one who, striving lawfully, has persevered even to the end, since he cannot conquer who does not know how to persevere.

On the Progress of Spiritual Warfare: Second Homily

As often, most beloved brothers, as the memory of that event comes back to mind, when you appointed me, unworthy as I was, as abbot over you, though I protested and resisted, so often I am wholly shaken within myself by the bitterness of my heart, and even unwillingly I am compelled to shed undeserved tears. For whether this was done not because of my merits but because of yours, I do not know. May almighty God grant that this appointment of me was not made because of my demerits or yours. Why did you wish it so, brothers? You believed me, young, unlearned, and by no means fit for the soldiery which we profess, to be rich in God; so that now it is altogether necessary for me at the same time both to teach nothing and to learn, since neither perfection of life commends me as a teacher, nor does consideration of age yet grant authority to the necessity of my office.

In these three years I have sufficiently learned by experience in how many miseries I am entangled, while I myself alone am compelled to bear the weaknesses of you all, and I, unhappy man, am supported by no one. Who will deliver me from the multitude of these vanities into which I have been called back, I who entered the monastery in order to flee beneath all the care and anxiety even of the present life? Since, however, it is necessary to bear the burden placed upon my shoulders, I ask you, brothers, earnestly stretch out to me the helping hands of your prayers, so that in your midst, by the Lord’s gift, I may deserve to conduct myself in such a way that I do not depart from the condition of spiritual warfare which the Rule has prescribed for us.

For we are professors of the same warfare, nor does my office alter the vow by which, together with all the sheep, it has made me, as shepherd, bound by solemn profession in the enclosure of this life. Therefore, when I speak to you about the spiritual warfare which, by God’s mercy, we have professed, my intention is, as far as the Lord Jesus will deign to grant, to shake both myself out of the feathers of sloth and fear into the fervor of holy newness, and all of you, according to my strength, to stir up to the custody of the military order.

For we are frail and weak, and we do not long remain stable in holy readiness unless by daily exercises we continually renew the fervor of the spirit. For by reason of my office I am bound to set before you in common those things that can conduce to your salvation; it belongs to you to listen patiently in all things to me as I speak, as the shepherd of your souls. For although, as a young man, I am not fit to teach so great a multitude of elders, nevertheless, since you appointed me shepherd over you, I am compelled, under the necessity of salvation, to feed the flock which I have undertaken to govern.

What is mine to do I gladly do, and will do according to my strength as long as I live in this anxious care of pastoral charge: young as I am, I will teach you elders, and without interruption I will show how you ought to serve as soldiers for him into whose arms you have sworn. For the dreadful threat of our lawgiver does not escape me, when he says: “Let the abbot know that whatever lack of profit the father of the household may find in the sheep is laid upon the fault of the shepherd.” And what follows concerns you, my brothers, if, while I preach and admonish, contempt for the word of God arises. Again he says that the shepherd will be free only if every diligence has been bestowed on a disobedient flock, and every care has been applied to their diseased actions; then their shepherd, absolved in the judgment of the Lord, may say with the prophet to the Lord: “I have not hidden your justice in my heart; I have spoken your truth and your salvation. But they, despising, have spurned me.” And then at last, for the disobedient sheep entrusted to his care, death itself, prevailing over them, will be their punishment.

Here no covering of excuse is left; no place of escape is granted; rather, the danger of both parties is publicly described. For I, holding the place of abbot, if I have not announced to you the justice of God, if I have not corrected you when you sin according to the Rule, have denied my office, and whatever is found less than sanctified in you will be imputed wholly to me. It is mine, by reason of the pastoral office, to say what is expedient for the salvation of your souls; yours, however, is humbly to hear what I have pronounced in the name of the Savior, and, as far as each one is able, faithfully to fulfill it with a great heart.

You have heard my danger if I do not cry out; you have also heard yours if you despise me as I preach the word of God to you. Therefore, so that by the Savior’s mercy we may all come through safely, let each one of us diligently pursue what is prescribed for him in this spiritual warfare, taking the greatest care that we not, having become deaf hearers of the truth, lie to the Lord. Let us diligently remember the vow which we made, and let us preserve inviolate until death the holy order which we profess. Let us hear our king speaking in the Gospel to his soldiers: “If anyone serves me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also my servant will be.”

The ministers of the eternal king are priests and Levites, and all cloistered monks, bound by a double reason to great holiness, since we have at the same time received the order of clerics and profess the Rule of monastic purity. Therefore let us follow our commander, whom we serve, along the harsh road of all the virtues; and let us arm ourselves with right faith, firm hope, and the most fervent love of God and neighbor, in which the perfection of all holiness is comprehended. For whoever is girded with the defense of charity is never overcome by the adversary. For in charity the warfare of Christ truly grows sweet, and when its fervor has begun to burn in the soldier’s heart, he fears no adversities.

For charity, as the divine Gregory says, is never idle, but accomplishes great things if it is true; but if it refuses to work, it was not perfect charity. Therefore, cloistered soldiers, you who promised that you would serve the eternal king forever, cast away now the works of darkness, and put on charity toward God and neighbor, which is the strongest armor of salvation for all. If anyone has been clothed in it, he will fear no labors, however hard, and no opposition of this world. He will not fear hunger, thirst, persecutions by men, insults, mockeries, prisons, chains, or any hard and adverse things whatever; but everyone who has once perfectly tasted the charity of God will be unconquered against all things.

Second Homily.

Fol. V.

...and all of you, according to your strength, toward the keeping of the military order. For we are frail and weak, and we have not long stood firm in our holy purpose, unless by daily exercises we continually renew the fervor of the spirit. For by reason of my office I am constrained to set before you in common those things that can conduce to your salvation; it belongs to you to listen patiently in all things to me as I speak, as the shepherd of your souls. For although I, a young man, am not fit to teach so great a multitude of elders, nevertheless, because I call myself shepherd over you, who have been committed to me, I must under necessity feed the flock that I have undertaken to govern.

What is mine to do, I willingly both do and shall do according to my strength, so long as I remain vigorous in this solicitude of pastoral care. Though young, I shall teach you elders, and I shall show you without interruption how you ought to serve as soldiers for him in whose army you have sworn. For the dreadful warning of our lawgiver does not escape me, when he says: “Let the abbot know that whatever the father of the household finds lacking in usefulness among the sheep falls upon the shepherd’s fault.”

And what follows concerns you, if, while I preach and admonish, the word of God is treated with contempt. “Only then,” he says again, “will he be free, if all diligence has been applied by the shepherd to the restless or disobedient flock, and all care has been shown for their diseased actions; then their shepherd, absolved in the judgment of the Lord, may say with the prophet to the Lord: ‘I have not hidden your righteousness in my heart; I have spoken your truth and your salvation; but they, despising it, have scorned me.’ And then at last for the disobedient sheep under his care, death itself shall be their prevailing punishment.”

Here no veil of excuse is left; no place is offered for escape, but the danger of both parties is openly described. For if I, holding the place of abbot, do not announce to you the righteousness of God, if I do not correct you when you sin according to the Rule, I have denied my office, and it will be imputed to me as a crime whatever is found lacking in holiness among you. Therefore, by reason of the pastoral office, it is mine to say what is expedient for the salvation of your souls; yours, however, is humbly to receive what I have proclaimed in the name of the Savior, and faithfully to fulfill it with a great heart, each one as far as he is able.

You have heard my danger if I do not cry out; you have also heard yours if you despise me when I preach the word of God to you. Therefore, so that by the mercy of the Savior we may all escape safely, let each one of us earnestly pursue what is commanded him in this spiritual warfare, taking the utmost care that we do not become deaf hearers of the truth and be measured accordingly. Let us very carefully remember what we have vowed, and let us preserve inviolate until death the holy order that we profess.

Let us hear our king saying in the Gospel to his soldiers: “If anyone serves me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also my servant shall be.” We are servants of the eternal king, priests and enclosed monks, and by a twofold reason we are bound to great holiness, since we have at once received the order of clerics and profess the rule of monastic purity. Let us therefore follow our commander, for whom we serve, along the path of the openness of all virtues, arming ourselves with right faith, firm hope, and the most fervent love of God and neighbor, in which the perfection of all holiness is comprehended. For whoever is girded with the defense of charity is never overcome by the adversary. For in charity truly Christ’s sweet service consists; and when it begins to burn in the heart of his soldier, it fears no adversities. For charity, as Gregory says, is never idle; rather, if it is true, it does great works. But if it refuses to work, it was not perfect charity.

Therefore, enclosed soldiers, you who have promised that you will serve the eternal king forever, cast away now the works of darkness, and put on the charity of God and neighbor, which is the strongest armor of salvation for all. If anyone has been clothed in it, he will fear no labors, however hard, nor any contrary things of this world. He does not fear hunger, thirst, persecutions for the Lord, reproach, mockeries, prisons, chains, or whatever hard and adverse things may come; rather, everyone who has once perfectly tasted the charity of God will remain unconquered against whatever raging things of the world.

On the Progress of Spiritual Warfare

Whatever things there have been in the world pass away. The true lover of God rejoices in tribulations, is glad in adversities, and exults in persecutions for the sake of justice. He follows his king, seated in heaven; there he dwells by the desire of his soul, where he does not doubt that his Savior reigns.

Whatever pleasure and delights are perceived in the world, if you fervently burn in true charity for Christ, it begets in you, as though from very useful dung, a hatred of them; for he loves nothing earthly, nothing transitory, nothing perishable, but only him to whom he has devoted himself by the single intention of his mind. For the true soldier of Christ thinks nothing of the affairs of the world; he cares not for the flesh but for the mind, since he is not ignorant of what is written: “No one serving as a soldier for God entangles himself in secular affairs, so that he may please him to whom he has approved himself.” Indeed, whoever serves an earthly emperor always obeys his commands in all things; at once, without contradiction, they go at the order of their superior. All follow one leader, and whatever he commands in the king’s name, the whole army obeys without contradiction. You also, soldiers of the king of the ages, who in his place and by his command have appointed me your leader, hear the command of your emperor Jesus Christ through my mouth, and do what he commands us in the holy Gospel. Hear what he commands, and consider how you ought to serve as soldiers in the observance of regular discipline. “He who ministers to me,” he says, “let him follow me.”

Listen, cloistered monk, bearing the duties of military service; pay attention. Christ, to whom you serve as soldier, speaks to you; the heavenly emperor, whom you serve at the altar, addresses you. If you wish to be my minister, you must follow the virtue of patience and humility which you have learned from me also. “For I have given you an example, my soldiers, that just as I have done, you also should do likewise.” Charity, monk, compelled me to be born as a man of a virgin in the world; let that same charity keep you always lowly and humble in the cloister for love of me. The work of human salvation which the Father commanded me, I strove for your sake to accomplish always with unceasing meditation; and if you love me, take care to preserve inviolate, even to death, the holy order of monastic life which you have undertaken for your sins. I was always subject to my heavenly Father in all things according to his will, obedient even to the most bitter death of the cross; you also, if you wish to come to me, obey your abbot, appointed in my place, humbly in all things and always according to the Rule.

I never transgressed in anything the command that my Father gave me; and unless you keep inviolate, even to death, the three principal vows of the monastic institution, you are by no means to be counted among my ministers and servants. Though I was rich, for your salvation I became poor and needy; but unless you contemplate my loves and give up all things, you cannot be my disciple. For your sake I endured want, hunger, thirst, hardship, cold, and continual labors in the world; unless you follow me in these, according to your Rule, as far as you are able, patiently and voluntarily, you will certainly not be my minister, my soldier, or my monk. In your patience you shall possess your soul.

I desired nothing in this world, had nothing, loved nothing earthly, but as poor, humble, and wretched I always subjected myself in all things to the perfect will of my Father, receptive of injuries and blows. But you, cloistered monk, who profess the monastic Rule under an abbot or prior, if henceforth you follow the desires of your flesh, if you possess gold or silver of your own in the monastery, if you love anything besides me, if you despise the commands of your superior, if you do not serve me perseveringly in humility, know for certain that I shall not regard you as a soldier, nor count you a monk, a minister, or a disciple, but I shall judge you a fugitive, an apostate, faithless, lying, derisive, and wickedly unfaithful; and when, with my betrayer Judas and the angels sitting in judgment, I am the judge forever, I shall condemn you without mercy.

What your lips vowed to me is no longer yours but mine. If, however, you usurp for yourself what is mine, you do not wish to be my monk and faithful servant, but a thief and a wicked robber, impious and unjust; and do not doubt that when I come I shall judge you as such. But if you faithfully persevere in the holy purpose even to death; if, under the authority of my vicar whom I have appointed for you as father, you preserve inviolate the solemn will by which you consecrated yourself to me; if you observe obedience, poverty, and chastity with humility for love of my name until the end; if you always strive to please me alone in all your actions; if you take care to follow me without interruption along the arduous road of the virtues: then know, and know with undoubting certainty, that I shall have you as a most beloved friend made from a servant, as a soldier to be crowned with me in my kingdom. I shall love you; I shall cherish you; I shall set you forever glorious in the midst of my saints.

Now hear me, my servant, who out of reverence and honor for my name have enrolled yourself in the military service of monks: with a great and perfect heart, follow the footprints of my feet, just as that teacher of yours, once blessed and your friend, taught you and strove with all his efforts to imitate. Let not the enticements of the flesh deceive you, brave soldier; let not the vain and pernicious dealings of this world seduce your soul, which is dedicated to me. Never yield to the temptations of the unclean spirit, which no mortal has ever been able to escape. Let those last things which you must necessarily undergo always remain in your memory; and from their swift passage, and from the pleasure of the flesh which passes away, take up for yourself the necessary dread and contempt of the future things of this sojourn.

Just as a brief labor undertaken for me in the world with patience and charity prepares eternal happiness for my soldiers, so the desires and pleasures of the flesh, which pass away suddenly, plunge the soul of the sinful man into hell, to be tormented without end. Therefore let all your desires be directed to me, monk, you who minister to me and who undertake to follow me along the arduous road of regular observance. Give me your heart if you desire happiness; seek me alone if you love your own life and salvation. When you love God, you are tranquil and holy; when you have followed him, you are blessed and glorious without end.

What would you do, my brothers, if it happened that you heard these words which we have spoken from the mouth of our Savior and king as he spoke? What, I ask, would you do? I certainly believe there would be great compunction in your hearts if you heard Christ speaking personally in this way.

But we, bearing Christ’s place in the monastery, speak the words which he has given, and you do not attend. We testify to you about the necessary arena of salvation, and you show no signs of compunction. If you do not know why these things have been said, I now beg you to understand. I see that some of you, given over to vanities, shrink from sacred readings and care for nothing less than the perfection of spiritual warfare; their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Do you think, most worthless knaves, who have no taste for anything spiritual, that Christ will come again from heaven to speak to you those things which he committed to his preachers to say? Or have you not heard Paul saying: “Christ, rising from the dead, now dies no more; death shall no longer have dominion over him. For in that he died, he died to sin once; but in that he lives, he lives to God.”

Once Christ was seen on earth; once he appeared visibly among mortals; once he preached the way of eternal salvation; he will not add a second time. He established pastors and vicars over his household to teach the ignorant. Wishing to make their authority known, he said in the Gospel: “He who hears you hears me, and he who despises you despises me.” Therefore hear those whom Christ has set over you as rulers, to whom he has committed the distribution of spiritual wheat, as he said in the holy Gospel: “Who, do you think, is the faithful and prudent steward, whom the lord has appointed over his household, to give them wheat in due season?” Therefore, brothers, bear fruit worthy of repentance while it is granted to you at the opportune time, lest the time be cut off if you neglect to repent. For you know what divine Scripture says to us: “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” I beg you, beware of putting off the good, because none of you knows when he is going to die. Rather, attend to that true saying of the wanton poet Naso, when he gives this warning: “But hasten, and do not put yourself off to the hours that are to come; he who is not ready today will be less ready tomorrow.” No one [unclear].

if you have kept chastity with humility for love of my name until the end; if you have always striven to please me alone in all your actions; if you have taken care to follow me, without interruption, through the difficult path amid the virtues, then know, and know most certainly and without doubt, that as one made very dear to my soul and service I shall hold you as my soldier, to be crowned in my kingdom. I shall love you; I shall cherish you; in the midst of my saints I shall establish you glorious forever.

Hear me now, my servant, who for reverence and honor of my name have bound yourself in the strictest warfare of monks. With a great and perfect heart follow the footprints of my steps, as that blessed preceptor of yours, once my friend and yours, taught you, and strive with all your efforts to endure injuries. Let the enticements of the flesh not deceive you, O valiant soldier. Let the vain and destructive commerce of this world not seduce your mind, dedicated to me. Never yield to the exceedingly deceitful suggestions of unclean spirits, who rage with all their power for your ruin, but remember that your life in this world is most wretched and brief, and that death stands before the doors, which no mortal has ever been able to escape or outlive. Always keep in memory those last things which you must necessarily undergo; and because the pleasure of the flesh passes by in the swiftest flight, take up dread and contempt for this sojourn which must soon be ended.

Just as brief labor for me in the world, borne with patience and charity, prepares eternal happiness for my soldiers, so the desires and pleasures of the flesh, which suddenly pass away, sink the soul of the sinful master down to hell, to be tormented without end. Therefore, O monk who minister to me and follow me along the difficult path of regular observance, let all your desires be directed toward me. Give me your whole heart if you desire happiness. Seek me alone if you love your own life and salvation. When you have loved me, you are tranquil and holy; when you have followed me, you are blessed and glorious without end.

What, my brothers, would you do if it happened to you to hear these words which we have spoken with your own ears, as uttered by our king and savior? What, I ask, would you do? I certainly believe that great compunction would arise in your hearts if you heard Christ speaking in person. But we, who bear Christ’s place in the monastery, speak the words which he has given, and you do not attend. We proclaim to you the contest necessary for salvation, and you show no signs of compunction.

If you do not know what the cause is, I shall say something useful; now, I pray, understand. I see some of you shudder at sacred readings, devoted to vanities, and care for nothing less than the perfection of spiritual warfare. Their god is their belly, and their glory is in confusion. Do you think, vilest idlers, who savor nothing spiritual, that Christ will come again from heaven in order to speak to you the things which he entrusted to his preachers to say? Have you not heard Paul saying: Christ rising again from the dead now dies no more; death shall no longer have dominion over him. For in that he died, he died to sin once; but in that he lives, he lives to God.

Once Christ lived on earth; once he appeared visibly among mortals; once he preached the way of eternal salvation. He will not add a second time what he entrusted to faithful pastors and vicars over his household, who are to teach the ignorant. Wishing to make their authority clear, he said in the Gospel: He who hears you hears me, and he who despises you despises me. Therefore hear those whom Christ has appointed over you as rulers, to whom he has entrusted the administration of spiritual wheat. In the holy Gospel he said: Who, do you think, is the faithful and wise steward, whom the lord has set over his household, to give them their measure of wheat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his lord, when he comes, shall find so doing.

Therefore we exhort you, brothers, in the Lord Jesus, and with whatever diligence we can we beg you: do not consume your days in vanity, but consider the extreme brevity of this life, and bear fruits worthy of penance while the opportunity is granted to you, lest, if you neglect to repent, the time be cut off. For you know what divine Scripture says to us: The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. Do not, I pray, put off the good, because none of you knows when he is to die. Rather, attend to that true saying which has lately been put in verse: For this reason, do not postpone yourself to future hours; he who is not fit today will be less fit tomorrow.

Let no brother promise himself a long life, but rather let each one think that death is near at hand, and therefore let him live so prepared as if he were to depart from the body tomorrow. For the hope of a longer life has deceived many, and, holding them back from the fervor of their holy purpose, has suddenly sunk them down to hell. Therefore perfect your warfare, which after not much time must necessarily be ended, in such a way that you may not fear to appear before your king when he comes. Always be fearful, because you do not have here an abiding city, nor can you remain long in this mortal life; death will soon come and compel you to depart.

Whoever is a true monk and desires to be a faithful soldier of Christ despises all the delights of this world. He always thinks of his Lord as present to him, and, having cast aside all impediments and every little burden, he takes care above all how he may please him. He should not be anxious in seeking the necessities of life, since the providence of his pastor arranges all these things for those subject to him. Let the monk’s whole care be to keep himself clean from this world, so that, free and released from all things, he may seek nothing except God and think of nothing except Jesus crucified for us.

O happy soldier of Christ, to whom the kingdoms of heaven are promised, if he remains faithful, prudent, and watchful in the love of God to the end. Certainly nothing is happier than the good monk, to whom the Son of God promises himself as reward; yet nothing is more laborious than he who, placed in the contest of battle, daily risks his salvation. Nothing is stronger than the monk who conquers the world together with the devil; and nothing weaker than the one who is overcome by his own flesh.

Therefore, O monk, you must always keep watch against the hidden enemy of your salvation. He is never more easily conquered than when he is kept far from the entrance of the mind. Therefore, if you desire to escape victorious against him, do not allow him to move the devices of his deceit and fraud nearer to you. Guard your senses first of all, lest death enter through the windows; and beware especially the ambushes of your enemy when he has allowed you for a time to be secure in your devotion. Never forget the warning of the wise man, who says: Unless you hold yourself constantly in the fear of the Lord, your house, that is, your conscience, will quickly be overthrown. Therefore Solomon said in Proverbs: Blessed is the man who is always fearful; but he who is hard of mind will fall into evil.

For while the monk lives presumptuously in security, he is without doubt heading toward destruction. The soldier of Christ must therefore always be prepared against his adversaries, so that as long as he lives in this mortal body he may not trust that he has perfectly overcome them. For the flesh always desires against the spirit; and lest the soul ever be overcome, it is necessary to fight as long as life continues. Whenever you have conquered your invisible enemy, he rises up again and gathers greater forces against you, so that, if he cannot obtain victory by strength, he may at least bring on despair by persistence.

But you, most valiant soldier of Christ, take care not to fail in the contest of this very brief struggle. Take care not to lay down the arms of necessary defense before the battle is completed at the end. For the Savior says: He who perseveres to the end will be saved. Do not give rest to your soul as long as it has been granted to you to remain in this miserable pilgrimage, but always do some good, lest the devil ever find you idle. Always remember the warning of Scripture, which says: Whatever your hand can do, do it earnestly, because neither work nor reason nor wisdom nor knowledge will exist in hell, where you are hastening.

There is no one who will live forever, but we all die, and like waters we sink into the earth, which will not return again to their former state. Then there will no longer be time for doing good toward the merit of eternal happiness; but whatever a person has sown here and now in due season, that he will then receive as reward. Therefore holy Scripture says again: In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not let your hand cease. And Saint Paul, admonishing Timothy, says: Labor as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving God as a soldier entangles himself in secular affairs, so that he may please him to whom he has proved himself. For also, of those who compete in the contest, no one will be crowned unless he has competed lawfully. Everyone who contends in the contest abstains from all things. In another place the same lover of Christ says: I want you to be without anxiety.

You therefore, soldier of Christ, who contend in the contest of daily battle so that at last you may appear glorious forever before your God, take care to imitate the corruptible athlete who, competing in the contest for a corruptible crown,

On the Progress of Spiritual Warfare.

Let no one, brothers, promise himself a long life; rather, let each one think that death is impending, and let him live so prepared, as if he were to depart tomorrow. For hope of a longer life has deceived many, and by holding them back from the fervor of their holy purpose has suddenly plunged them down to hell. Therefore pass through this life of yours, which must necessarily end before long, in such a way that you do not fear to appear before your king when he comes. Always be mindful that you do not have here a lasting city, and that you cannot remain long in this mortal life; but soon the day will come which will compel you to emigrate.

Whoever is a true monk and desires to be a faithful soldier of Christ despises all the delights of this world, always thinks of the Lord as present to him, and, casting away from himself every impediment and burden, takes care above all how he may be able to please him. He ought not to be anxious in seeking the necessities of life, since the providence of the shepherd disposes all these things for those subject to him. Let the whole care of the monk be to keep himself clean from this age, so that, free and released from everything, he seeks nothing except God, thinks of nothing except Jesus crucified for us.

O happy soldier of Christ, to whom the kingdoms of heaven are promised, if, faithful, watchful, and vigilant in the love of God, he remains to the end. Certainly nothing is happier than the good monk, to whom the Son of God promises himself as a reward; nothing also more laborious, for, set in the arena of battle, he is in danger each day concerning his salvation; and nothing is stronger than the monk who conquers the world and the devil together; nothing also weaker than he who is overcome by his own flesh.

Therefore, O monk, you must always keep watch against the hidden enemy of your salvation, who is more easily overcome if he is kept far from the entrance of the mind. Hence, if you desire to come away victorious against him, you must learn beforehand the tricks of his deceit and fraud. Guard your senses at the first entrance, lest presently he enter through the windows; and beware especially the ambushes of your enemy, when he has allowed you for a time to be secure in your devotion. Never forget the admonition of the wise man, who says: Unless you hold yourself steadily in the fear of the Lord, your house will quickly be overthrown. Therefore Solomon said in Proverbs: Blessed is the man who is always fearful; but he who is hard of mind will fall into evil. For as soon as a monk has presumed upon security, without doubt he tends toward destruction.

Therefore the soldier of Christ must always be prepared against his adversaries, so that as long as he lives in this mortal body he does not trust that he has perfectly overcome them. For the flesh always lusts against the spirit; and lest the soul ever be overcome, so long as one happens to live, it is necessary to fight. As often as you overcome the invisible enemy, he rises again and contends with you with greater savagery, so that, if he cannot obtain victory by strength, he may at least bring on despair by persistence. But you, most valiant soldier of Christ, beware lest you fail in the arena of this very fierce contest; beware lest, before the battle is completed at the end, you lay down the arms of your necessary struggle. For the Savior says: He who perseveres to the end will be saved.

Do not give rest to your soul as long as it has been granted you to remain in this miserable pilgrimage, but always do some good thing, lest the devil ever find you idle. Always remember the admonition of Scripture, which says: Whatever your hand is able to do, do it earnestly, because there will be no work, nor reason, nor necessity, nor knowledge among the dead, where you are hastening. There is no one who lives forever, but we all die, and like water we shall flow down into the earth, and shall not return again to our former state. Then there will be no more time for working good toward the merit of eternal happiness; but whatever you, O man, have sown here now in time, that you will receive as your reward. Therefore holy Scripture again says: In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening let not your hand cease. And Saint Paul, admonishing Timothy, says this: Labor like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier for God entangles himself in secular business, so that he may please the one to whom he has approved himself. For also among those who compete in the arena, no one will be crowned unless he has competed lawfully. But everyone who contends in the arena abstains from all things. In another place, too, the same lover of Christ says: I want you to be without anxiety.

You therefore, soldier of Christ, who contend in the arena of daily battle so that at last you may appear glorious forever before your God, imitate the perishable gymnosophist, who, competing in the arena for a perishable crown, abstains from all things so that he may not be defeated and may run more swiftly, naked and free. And so, if you desire to walk the way of God in true purity, if you wish to conquer the enemy in the arena of battle, cast away from yourself all garments of carnal pleasures. For whoever, with hair and clothing cast off from himself, has learned to run naked, carries around nothing besides his unencumbered body by which he can be held by the adversary. For he who runs naked has stripped himself of every anxiety over the things clamoring around him, and thinks of nothing other than victory; nor meanwhile does he care what is being done at home with wife or children. Nothing present recalls him from the course; the agility of his companions does not deter him; among many he contends as if alone, hastening breathless to the prize as if certain.

Imitate him, soldier of Christ, in the spiritual contest; contemplate the naked Savior hanging naked on the cross, so that you may be able to lay low your adversary all the more easily the less he sees that you possess anything of the vanities of the world. Naked, therefore, light, and unencumbered, fight on every side; naked and released from all things, fly into heaven. Naked you came into this world; naked you will return to the earth. Thinking diligently on these things, my brothers, run in such a way that you may obtain eternal life with all the saints. Amen.

The homily ends.

What Is the Armor of Spiritual Warfare. Homily III.

Most dear brothers, today we have heard the holy Apostle writing in his epistle to the Ephesians: Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the snares of the devil; for our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of these darknesses, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavens. Therefore take up the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day, and in all things stand perfect. He then adds what the armor of God is: Stand, therefore, having girded your loins in truth, and having put on the breastplate of justice, and having shod your feet in preparation for the Gospel of peace; in all things taking up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the fiery darts of the wicked one; and take up the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying at every time in the Spirit through every prayer and supplication, and in the same keeping watch with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

To the Thessalonians likewise he says: But we who are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and charity, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. These are the arms, brothers, with which the soldiers of Christ, clothed, wage war against the savage adversary; these are the insignia of the virtues of monks, without which no one obtains victory over vices. The instruments of human warfare, which most mortals pursue with excessive zeal, are helmet, shield, breastplate, sword, dagger, cuirass, belt, lance, and many other things of this kind, with which men preparing to go to war are most carefully armed; and unless they have been most diligently equipped in their whole body, they are certainly judged less fit for fighting.

But the arms of our spiritual warfare are faith, hope, charity, patience, humility, obedience, chastity, together with the holy virtues of the soul enumerated one by one by our blessed teacher in the fourth chapter, where he makes beautiful mention of the instruments of good works. And would that, my brothers, we were as careful and diligent about these spiritual arms of our warfare as we see worldly men to be anxious about their corruptible armor. But now, what I say with too much grief, since we shamefully cast aside the arms of salvation with which we ought to fight down all our adversaries, what else remains except that we fall before our enemy in the contest?

But perhaps you will say: If Christian faith, as the Apostle testifies, belongs to the arms of spiritual warfare, we certainly intend to remain in it. But suppose this is so. What, however, does Saint James say in his epistle? What will it profit, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith, but does not have works? Will faith be able to save him? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead. Therefore, whenever Scripture speaks of faith, it must always be understood not as ordinary and dead faith, but as faith formed by good works and illumined by the sweetness of divine love. For no one will be saved by faith so for a crown, lest he be overcome, he abstains from everything, so that naked and free he may run the more readily. Therefore, if you desire to walk the way of God in true purity, if you wish to conquer the enemy in the arena of combat, cast away from yourself all the garments of cares; lay aside earthly hair and all that belongs to carnal pleasure. Whoever, with hair and clothing cast away from him, has learned to run naked brings nothing with him except his bare body by which he can be held by the adversary. For he who runs naked is stripped of every solicitude for things surrounding him, and thinks of nothing but victory; nor meanwhile does he care what is happening among wife or children. Nothing recalls him from his course; the swiftness of his companion does not frighten him away from winning the prize. If he contends among many, he hastens to the prize as though alone, panting as though he were certain.

Imitate him, soldier of Christ, in spiritual combat. Contemplate your Savior hanging naked on the cross, so that you may be able to overthrow your adversaries all the more easily, the less they see you possessing anything of worldly vanity. Therefore, naked, light, and unencumbered, fight on every side; naked and freed from all things, fly to heaven. Naked you came into this world; naked you will return to the earth. Thinking carefully on these things, my brothers, run in such a way that you may so obtain eternal things with all the saints. Amen. End of the homily.

What Is the Armor of Spiritual Warfare. Homily IV.

Most beloved brothers, today we have heard the holy Apostle writing in the epistle to the Ephesians: Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, because our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day, and, having been made perfect in all things, to stand.

He then adds what the armor of God is: Stand, therefore, with your loins girded in truth, and clothed in the breastplate of justice, and your feet shod in preparation for the gospel of peace. In all things taking up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at every time in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication, and in this very thing watching with all persistence and supplication for all the saints.

Likewise he says to the Thessalonians: But we who are of the day, let us be sober, clothed with the breastplate of faith and charity, and with the helmet, the hope of salvation. These are the arms, brothers, with which the soldiers of Christ, when clothed, defeat the fierce adversary. These are the badges of monastic virtue, without which no one attains victory over vices.

The equipment of human warfare, which most mortals pursue with excessive zeal, is the helmet, shield, breastplate, sword, dagger, cuirass, belt, lance, and many other things of this kind, with which men about to go forth to war are most carefully armed; and unless they have been most diligently protected over the whole body, they are certainly judged too unfit for battle. The arms of our spiritual warfare are faith, hope, charity, patience, humility, obedience, chastity, together with the holy virtues of the soul enumerated by our blessed father Benedict in the fourth chapter of the Rule, where he makes beautiful mention of the instruments of good works.

And would that, my brothers, we were as careful and diligent for these spiritual arms of our warfare as worldly men are seen to be solicitous for their corruptible armor. But this is what I say with too much sorrow: since we shamefully cast away the arms of salvation with which we ought to defeat all our adversaries, what remains except that we should fall before our enemy in the contest?

But perhaps you say: If Christian faith, as the Apostle testifies, belongs to the armor of spiritual warfare, we have certainly never cast it away. For we firmly believe whatever holy mother Church has set before us to be believed, and in that profession of faith we steadfastly intend to remain even to death. So be it. But what does Saint James say in his epistle? What will it profit, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but does not have works? Surely faith cannot save him? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead. Therefore, whenever Scripture speaks of faith, it must not be understood as common and dead faith, but as faith formed by good works and illumined by the sweetness of divine love. For no one will be saved through faith alone.

as James says in his epistle; but one must join to faith the works of Christian piety. You believe in one almighty God, creator of heaven and earth, Father and Son and Holy Spirit. You do well. The demons also believe, and tremble. What then? Where are the works by which your faith is shown to have been formed in Christ? Faith is idle and dead when it is not commended by holy and necessary works. We believe in Christ: that is good, if we follow Christ’s examples. For if we do not follow Christ in works of piety, we flatter ourselves in vain about faith alone. You, I say, believe; the demons believe. Your faith, most Christian beloved, is a faith of love, not the faith of the devil. You believe rightly, if you love God with your whole heart and with all your strength. But if you do not truly love God, you have an idle and dead faith. The proof of love, as Gregory bears witness, is the showing of work in deed. For thus the Lord speaks in the Gospel: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word.

This, then, is true faith: ordered according to Christ’s teaching by good and holy works. If, by faith and at the same time by work, you believe in the Lord Jesus, surely you hold the shield of salvation in your hands; with it, by the Lord’s own gift, you will easily overcome all adversaries. Of this armor it is written: The saints through faith conquered kingdoms, worked justice, and obtained the promise. John likewise says: Everything that is born of God conquers the world; and this is the victory that conquers the world: our faith. And Peter, the prince of the apostles, admonishes us thus, saying: Brothers, be sober and keep watch, because your adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour; resist him, strong in faith.

True faith and confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ is an invincible and most powerful armor, which none of the adversaries has ever been able to resist, as it is written in the book of Paralipomenon. King Jehoshaphat said to his army: Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be secure. In Ecclesiasticus also we read thus: You who fear the Lord, believe in him, and your reward will not be made void. And again: In your work believe from the faith of your soul, for this is the keeping of the commandments. Whoever believes God attends to the commandments; and whoever trusts in him will not be diminished.

Now therefore take care, dearest brothers, and with the highest zeal always strive that you may be able to hold in your hands this shield of faith, formed by holy works, against all assaults of your enemies, because one who is fortified by this impregnable shield is never conquered by the adversary. Confirming all this, Augustine too says from the words of the Lord: There are no greater riches, no treasures, no honors; no substance of this world is greater than the catholic faith. It saves sinful men, illumines the blind, heals the sick, baptizes catechumens, justifies the faithful, restores the penitent, increases the righteous, crowns martyrs, preserves virgins and widows and the married in chaste modesty, ordains clerics, consecrates priests, and places believers in the eternal inheritance with the holy angels.

Just as no appearance of beauty at all is visible in the root of a tree, and yet whatever beauty or grace there is in the tree proceeds from it, so too from the humility of faith whatever merit, whatever blessedness the soul is going to receive proceeds wholly from the foundation of faith. For, as the apostle says, whatever is not from faith is sin, because without faith it is impossible to please God. For the one who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is the rewarder of those who seek him. The more anyone loves, the more abundantly he advances in faith. This faith without charity is like a useless missile and a shield without a strap. O treasure more opulent than all things: faith, which, once formed in the mind of a human being, compares mortal things with immortal, conquers demons and all kingdoms, and bravely overcomes hard adversities.

Faith is the foundation of all virtues; without it no spiritual building stands. Faith gives light to the mind, and is the chief instrument of spiritual warfare. For without the shield of faith the devil is not conquered, nor is the impulse of wanton flesh overcome. Therefore let us consider, brothers, how necessary faith formed by charity is for our salvation, since in this warfare neither contest nor victory is granted to us, nor is confidence preserved, without it. For faith is the shield by which we most easily avert the hostile attacks on our salvation, standing beneath the yoke of divine love. For blessed Pope Gregory says: Then we are truly faithful if we fulfill in deeds what we promise in words. In this armor, then, faith is the shield of all good works, joining our acts to us.

and holiness to himself; patience to an enemy; mercy to the poor; brotherly charity in the Lord to all. Therefore holy Christophilus says: “Brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh so as to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live.” Therefore he fights rightly for the Lord who gives to each what is his.

Next, we are commanded to have our feet shod in preparation for the gospel of peace, so that the good which we ourselves have come to know by the Lord’s generosity we may also gladly share with others. For our law, brothers, according to which we are commanded to serve the Lord as soldiers, is the gospel of Jesus Christ; to it all the rules and constitutions of cloistered persons are ordered. For our monastic constitutions are not the gospel, but the statutes of monks were made on account of the gospel. A Christian can indeed be saved without being a monk, but a monk cannot be saved unless he has been a Christian.

Let certain excessively superstitious and foolish cloistered persons be ashamed, who value their rules and statutes more than the gospel of Christ; who observe the traditions of men even to prisons and chains, but do not heed the constitutions of God and of the holy universal Church. To these the words of our Savior, spoken to the Jews according to Matthew, properly apply: “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” The evangelical teaching must be preferred by far to all the constitutions of the whole world. After the gospel, however, the statutes of the universal Church hold the first place of authority; without them the constitutions or rules of monks are not compared in dignity. Let us take care to live according to evangelical purity, and we shall be perfect in the monastic way of life of the fathers.

Let our feet always be shod in preparation for the gospel of peace, so that we may mortify in ourselves the desires of the flesh and, through love of God and neighbor, have peace with all. For without peace and the concord of brotherhood, mortification of the flesh is of no benefit, as Saint Jerome says: Whoever afflicts the body but abandons concord does indeed praise God on the drum, but does not praise him in the choir. Hence Solomon says: Better is a dry morsel with joy than a house full of sacrifices with strife. And again he says: It is an honor for a man to separate himself from contentions, but all fools are mingled with insults.

Saint Christophilus also, lover of peace, admonishes us, saying: “Pursue peace with all, and holiness, without which no one will see God.” Hence also the prophet Zechariah says: “Love peace and truth, says the Lord almighty.” And our Savior says in the holy gospel according to Mark: “Have salt in yourselves, and have peace among yourselves.” “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.

But he is truly a soldier of Christ who has peace with God, with his neighbor, and in himself. A man is said to have peace with God when, moved by good will and turned toward him through the continual desire of love, despising transitory things, he directs the gaze of his mind to things above and most diligently keeps everything that the Lord has commanded. For when the Son of God was born in the flesh, the holy angels sang glory to the Lord, who sits above all things in the highest, and announced peace to people of good will. But wicked and unjust people cannot have this peace with God, because they have turned their wills away from the Lord.

He has peace with his neighbor who does injury to no one, who when injured does not return vengeance, but, overcoming evil with good, never abandons brotherly charity. If someone among his neighbors murmurs unjustly against such a person, the soldier of Christ has not for that reason abandoned peace, because perhaps another, without just cause, has begun unjust murmuring. A just man, who has peace with God and desires to harm none of his neighbors, will rightly be called peaceable, even if someone disturbed rises up unjustly against him. For the just man says: “With those who hated peace, I was peaceable; when I spoke to them, they attacked me without cause.”

Hence Saint Augustine says: Among true worshipers of God, even wars themselves are peaceful, because they are waged not from greed or cruelty but from zeal for peace, so that the evil may be restrained and the good relieved. He has peace in himself who, illumined by purity and holiness, lives secure in his own conscience without error, whom anxious conscience does not gnaw, nor does unjust or wicked thought disturb. Hence Augustine again says: Peace is serenity of mind, tranquillity of soul, simplicity of heart, the bond of love, the fellowship of charity. For it removes enmities and rivalries; it checks wars.

What constitutes the armor of spiritual soldiery.

To oneself he should render holiness; to his fellow monks, love; to the enemy, patience; to the poor, mercy; to all, brotherly charity in the Lord. Therefore the most chaste one says: “We are debtors, brothers, not to the flesh, that we should live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live.” Rightly, therefore, the learned soldier distributes the one thing that is his own.

After this we are commanded to have our feet shod in preparation for the gospel of peace, so that the good which we ourselves have come to know by the Lord’s gift we may also gladly communicate to others. For this warfare of ours, brothers, according to which we are commanded to serve the Lord as soldiers, is evangelical; under Christ all are enrolled.

Homily III. Fol. IX.

It restrains anger; it treads down the proud; it loves the humble; it calms those at odds; it reconciles enemies. It is gentle to all, burdensome to none, troublesome to none, oppressive to none. It does not know how to be exalted; it does not know how to be puffed up. Whoever has received it, let him hold it; whoever has lost it, let him seek it again; whoever has let it slip away, let him search for it, because whoever is not found in it is disowned by the Father, disinherited by the Son, and no less made alien from the Holy Spirit. He can never come to the inheritance of God who has refused to observe the testament of peace.

For the place of God is in peace, but the dwelling of the devil is in anger and disturbance. Therefore every person who does not have this threefold peace in his heart, who does not offer it in his speech, and who does not show it in his works, is not to be called either a monk or a Christian. Hence the Lord says in the Gospel: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” If those who make peace are called sons of God, beyond doubt those who throw peace into confusion are sons of Satan.

Therefore, my dearest brothers, have among yourselves that peace which the world cannot give, which is the peace of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, of which the prophet Isaiah said: “And the work of justice shall be peace; and the service of justice, silence and security forever.” For God is the Lord of peace and love, and so whoever violates peace and brotherly love shows that he is not a true lover of God. Let the true peace of Christ be in your hearts, and you will fear none of this world’s adversities. Let there also be true peace among you, not painted peace, because Christ desires peace not from the mouth but from the heart, and wants one’s neighbor to be greeted with affection rather than with lips. Therefore if any one of you has saddened his brother in anything, let him make satisfaction to him as soon as possible before sunset; and take care, all of you, that the sun not set upon your anger. For anger grown old begets hatred and strips the soul of every adornment of virtue. Therefore, monk, if you have sinned against your brother, do penance at once before him and, falling at his knees, beg forgiveness.

“And the sword,” he says, “of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” through every prayer and entreaty, we soldiers of Christ must always hold in our hands. The word of God, which is contained in the holy Scriptures, is a victorious defense against all attacks of demons, as we are warned by the example of our Savior, who, when tempted by the devil, with calm gentleness hurled in his face the testimonies of the divine Scriptures, saying: “It is written: Man lives not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

And you, monk, serving as a soldier for Christ, whenever you are tempted by the devil, immediately imprint on your forehead the sign of the holy cross, and say with Saint John Chrysostom in a certain homily: “I renounce you, Satan, with all your iniquities, and I join myself to you, Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, because it is written: The soul that has sinned, that one shall die.” This is the sword of the Spirit, sharpest on both sides; if you brandish it in your hands against the enemy from the very beginning of temptation, with God’s protection you will easily overcome all his devices and ambushes. For Scripture says: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

And so, rising early in the morning, at once make that protestation which I have described against the adversary of your salvation; and neither the devil nor any perverse person will be able to harm you by incantation or by malefice, whether that be spaticum [unclear] or something else. Do this same thing when you are about to sleep at night, and as often as you perceive any temptation of the malignant spirit rising up in your thought. Thus you will be safe in all your ways, and the devil will flee far from you and will not dare come nearer to you, unless your own sloth first overthrows you, so that either you cast away the sword or at once commit some mortal sin.

For Scripture says: “Those who do iniquity and sin are enemies of their own soul.” Solomon also says in Proverbs: “His own iniquities seize the impious man, and he is bound by the cords of his sins. He shall die because he did not have discipline, and in the multitude of his folly he shall be deceived.” Therefore, dearest brothers, if you wish to dwell securely under the protection of almighty God, flee sin, because sin separates us from the Lord’s help, just as purity and cleanness of conscience join us to God, as the prophet Isaiah says: “Behold, the hand of the Lord is not shortened, so that it cannot save; nor is his ear made heavy, so that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have divided between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he would not hear.” Jeremiah also says: “Our iniquities have turned these things away, and our sins have kept good from us.” For everyone who sins mortally opens the door of his heart to the devil and closes it to God; nor can he trust in the help of the Most High so long as he lies in crime without repentance.

Here ends Homily III.

On the reading and study of the divine Scriptures: Homily IV.

Since all Scripture, divinely inspired, as the holy Christ-lover says, is useful for teaching, for arguing, for correcting, and for instructing in justice, so that the man of God may be perfect, furnished for every good work, we ought gladly to turn our effort to the reading of the divine Scriptures, and to direct whatever study of secular literature we once sweated over to the sharp edge of this contemplation. For in the divine Scriptures whatever saving knowledge requires is found expressed most abundantly, so that what you do not find there is by no means necessary for salvation.

Indeed, the majesty of the divine Scriptures far surpasses all the knowledge and teaching of the whole world. The Holy Spirit infused it into men of God so that it might be written, and, so that it may be understood, he grants the grace of his illumination to devoted readers. My brothers, turn this Scripture over diligently with purity of mind and the fervor of twofold charity, because whoever truly loves God spends every time that he can find free for leisure in sacred reading.

Let the frenzied acts, so to speak, of fleshly lovers be incentives for you, I pray, toward the wholesome study of the Scriptures: when they receive letters and tokens from their mistresses, they do not cease to read them, and they read them again and again and kiss them; and, as a greater sign of love, they either hang them about their neck or place them on their breast, so that the cherished memory of the one they desire may never depart from their mind. Consider, brothers, the madness of fleshly people in love, and blush at your own lukewarmness concerning the love of God.

Which of you is affected toward the holy Scriptures of God with as much love of heart as a blind lover, mad with desire for the filthy and utterly vain love letters of one little prostitute, is inflamed with affection? He, because of love for the absent woman whom he desires, protects her letters and little gifts with frequent kisses; he examines each individual stroke again and again, scrutinizing it with excessive love; in everything he does he always thinks of the absent woman; anxiously he hastens to come into her sight.

O if we who are called Christian monks, who serve as soldiers for the supreme and immortal King, Christ Jesus, who are commanded to love our God above all things and are instructed to love nothing in this world besides him, if, I say, we pursued our Creator with as much love as fleshly-minded people honor and love their corruptible and mortal girlfriends. Holy Scripture, when read daily, makes God known to us; it reveals his will to us; it instructs us what we ought to do and discloses what we ought to avoid. Through it the Almighty speaks with us, and, forming us by an invisible teaching, consoles us, as the holy Apostle says: “Whatever things have been written were written for our instruction, so that through patience and the consolation of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Therefore the true soldier of Christ, and especially the cloistered man, who loves God with his whole heart and desires to please him alone, embraces the divine Scriptures, and especially the holy Gospel, with affection, and is constantly occupied in meditating on its reading. But whoever neglects the reading of the divine Scriptures plainly shows that he is not a true lover of God. For what does Scripture itself say? “Whoever turns his ear away so that he does not hear the laws, his prayer will be execrable.” But “blessed are those who search the testimonies of the Lord; with their whole heart they seek him.”

And so, my brothers, if you truly love the Lord Jesus with your whole heart, if as true soldiers you desire above all things to please him, if finally you wish to advance toward the perfection of monastic life, you ought always to occupy yourselves with fervent affection in the reading of the divine Scriptures. How useful the reading of the Scriptures is, blessed Jerome indicates when he says: “Love the knowledge of the Scriptures, and you will not love the vices of the flesh.” For after God nothing in this life is taken in more pleasantly, nothing is felt more sweetly, nothing separates the mind more powerfully from love of this world, nothing strengthens the soldier of Christ so much against all temptations of adversaries, nothing disposes and confirms the monk so greatly for every good work, as frequent reading and ardent study of the Scriptures.

Indeed, if the benefits of the Almighty which

For every person who sins mortally opens the door of his heart to the devil and closes it to God; nor can he trust in the help of the Most High if he persists in wickedness without repentance to the end of his life. Here ends Homily 3.

On the reading and study of the divine scriptures: Homily Four.

Since all scripture, divinely inspired, as Saint Chrysostom says, is useful for teaching or for arguing, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be perfect, instructed for every good work, we ought freely to devote ourselves to the reading of the divine scriptures, and to direct every pursuit of secular literature in which we have sweated at all toward the sharp point of this contemplation. For in the scriptures everything that saving knowledge requires is found set out in the greatest abundance, so that whatever you do not find there is in no way necessary for salvation. Indeed the majesty of the divine scriptures far surpasses all the knowledge and teaching of the whole world, which the Holy Spirit poured into the men of God so that it might be written, and which, so that it may be understood, he imparts by his most glorious grace to diligent readers.

Turn over this scripture, my brothers, with purity of mind and fervor of twin charity, for whoever truly loves God spends all the time he can find in sacred readings before his eyes. Let the frenzied conduct, so to speak, of carnal lovers move you to the wholesome study of the scriptures: when they receive letters and tokens from their mistresses, they do not cease to read them; they read them again and again, kiss them, and, as a greater sign of love, hang them either from the neck or over the breast, so that the dear memory of the one they desire may never depart from their mind. Consider, brothers, the madness of carnal lovers, and blush at your own sluggishness in the love of God.

Which of you is affected toward the holy scriptures of God with as great a love of heart as a blind lover is toward the love letters, foul and most empty, of one little prostitute? Mad with love for his infamous beloved, he follows with repeated kisses the letters and little gifts sent because of the absence of the one he desires. Out of excessive love he examines every single stroke again and again; in everything he does he always thinks of the absent woman; in his love he hastens to come into her sight. O if we, who are called Christian monks, who serve as soldiers for the supreme and immortal king, Christ Jesus, whom we are commanded to love above all things and are ordered to love nothing in this world except him, if, I say, we pursued our Creator with as great a love as carnally minded men cherish and love their corruptible and mortal mistresses!

Holy scripture, when read, makes known to us what God says, reveals his will to us, instructs us what we ought to do, and lays open what we must avoid. Through these writings the Almighty speaks with us, and, invisible, consoles us by informing us with his teaching, as the holy apostle says: Whatever things were written were written for our instruction, so that through patience and the consolation of the scriptures we might have hope. Hence the true soldier of Christ, and especially the cloistered monk, who loves God with his whole heart and strives to please him alone, embraces the divine scriptures, and above all the holy Gospel, with affection, and is continually occupied in meditating on its reading. But whoever neglects the readings of the divine scriptures plainly shows that he is not a true lover of God. For scripture itself says: He who turns away his ear so that he does not hear the laws, even his prayer will be detestable. Blessed, however, are those who keep the testimonies of the Lord; with their whole heart they seek him.

Therefore, my brothers, if you truly love the Lord Jesus with your whole heart, if as true soldiers you desire to please him above all things, if finally you desire to advance toward the perfection of the monastic life, you ought always to occupy yourselves with fervent affection in the reading of the divine scriptures. How useful the reading of the scriptures is, blessed Jerome shows when he says: Love knowledge of the scriptures, and you will not love the vices of the flesh. For after God nothing in this life is taken up more sweetly, nothing is felt more pleasantly, nothing separates the mind more powerfully from love of this world, nothing so strengthens the soldier of Christ against all the temptations of adversaries, nothing so disposes and confirms a monk for every good work, as frequent reading and ardent study of the scriptures.

Indeed, if through the whole breadth of scripture we read and with studious devotion recall to memory the benefits that the Almighty has bestowed on the human race, they will provide us the greatest matter and occasion by which, burning ever more in the love of God, we may make progress. For what else does the whole sequence of the divine scriptures contain than a certain right order of the good things that God either has already bestowed upon human beings or has promised that he will yet give? Or what is there that can so strengthen us for enduring evils and render us voluntarily patient as if we read in the Gospel that the Son of God suffered innocently for us, and after that read of the victories of the holy martyrs?

For sacred scripture contains the things necessary for us to saving knowledge, and it admonishes us what, as soldiers in this pilgrimage, we ought usefully to seek, and also what we ought to avoid. Hence Saint Jerome again says: Our riches are to meditate on the law of God day and night. Let us therefore prepare strength for ourselves; let us take up perfect vigor, so that amid the darkness of errors and the confusion of night the light of the knowledge of Christ may appear, and days and nights may have a protecting light, so that, with scripture as guide, we may be able to come to the holy land.

For what is better than this learning, what sweeter than this discipline? What is sweeter than our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the true salvation and sweetness of faithful souls? Let Christ be our banquet; let sacred reading be our food and drink. For what can be the life of a monk or priest without knowledge of the scriptures? We know Christ not by sight, not by hearing, not by touch, but by reading the scriptures; and the more we advance by reading toward true knowledge, the more we delight in the holy scriptures. For what is sweeter than to know God’s will and not to be ignorant of the rewards of his promises? For, as Jerome says, the field of the divine word is most rich: it has every delight within itself, and whatever you wish is born from it, just as the Jews hand down that when the manna was eaten in the desert, it tasted in the eater’s mouth according to his will and desire.

Therefore, my brothers, read the divine scriptures more often. Through them you can plainly know the will of God and arm yourselves most strongly against the snares of the devil. For if, according to the apostle Paul, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, then whoever does not know the scriptures does not know the power and wisdom of God; and how will he know Christ? Ignorance of the scriptures is ignorance of Christ; and whoever does not know Christ will not belong to his fellowship, as Saint Chrysostom says: For if anyone is ignorant, surely he too will be ignored. Moreover, the more constant a person has been in the study of the divine scriptures, the greater understanding and sweetness he draws from reading them.

But it especially befits you, brothers, to turn over the divine scriptures daily by reading and learning, since abundant time, free from occupations, is granted to you, and a place quite suitable by the rarity of those who come upon you is offered. Therefore I exhort and admonish you, if you love your salvation, always to have divine readings in your hands, so that all the time that, after the worship of prayer, is allowed you without labor may be spent on the study of sacred scripture. Let no day pass, my brothers, in which a monk serving Christ as a soldier does not read something from the sacred volumes that may make him better in his holy purpose. Rather, let him follow the counsel of Saint Jerome, who says: Let the divine scriptures always be in your hands, and let them be constantly turned over in your mind; nor should you think it enough to store God’s commandments in memory unless you also strive to fulfill them in works.

For God requires two things from us, my brothers. First, he wants us to know his most holy will; second, that once known we should do it. But we cannot know his commands if we are ignorant of the knowledge of the divine scriptures. Nor does a person do the will of God if he is ignorant of it; nor has he known it if he has not learned it. Learn, therefore, what the good and pleasing will of God is, so that you may do it; do it once known, so that you may understand it more fully. For no one understands the will of God better than the one who, once he has known it, does it out of love. And so, if you desire to become a most learned interpreter of the divine scriptures, learn to begin the study of knowledge not from words but in holy works. For then you will grasp the rich knowledge of sacred reading, if you keep your heart clean from every sin and, pierced in the love of God, constantly turn over holy scripture with compunction. For the knowledge of the divine scriptures is a high mountain on which Moses speaks with the Lord, to which the filth of vices [continues].

he has bestowed on the human race throughout the whole sacred Scripture, recalling them to memory by reading with studious devotion, they will furnish us the greatest material and occasion by which, burning more deeply in the love of God, we may make progress. For what else does the whole series of the divine Scriptures contain than a certain orderly text of good things, which God has either already bestowed on human beings or promised that he would give? Or what is there that can strengthen us for the endurance of evils and make us willingly patient, as when in the Gospel we read of the innocent one suffering for us, and afterward the victories of the holy martyrs? For sacred Scripture contains the things that are necessary and saving for our sufficiency, and it warns us what, as soldiers in this pilgrimage, we ought usefully to seek and also what to avoid.

Hence blessed Jerome again says: Our riches are to meditate on the law of God day and night. Therefore let us prepare solitude for ourselves; let us take up perfect strength, so that amid the darkness of errors and the confusions of night and day the light of Christ may appear, and so that nights may have light like a powerful lamp, that by Scripture as our guide we may be able to reach the holy land. What is better than this instruction? What is sweeter than this discipline? What is more pleasant than the dominion of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the true salvation and sweetness of faithful souls? Let Christ be our food; let sacred reading be our nourishment and drink.

For what can the life of a monk or priest be without knowledge of the Scriptures? And we come to know this not by hearing idle tales, but by reading the Scriptures; and the more we advance by reading toward true knowledge, the more we delight in the holy Scriptures. For what is sweeter than to know the will of God and not to be ignorant of the value of his promises? For, as Jerome says, the field of the divine word is most fertile: it has every delight within itself, and whatever you wish is born from it, just as the Jews hand down that when manna was eaten in the desert, it tasted in the mouth of the eater according to his will and desire.

Therefore, my brothers, read the Scriptures often; through them you can plainly know the will of God and arm yourselves most strongly against the snares of the devil. For if, according to the apostle Paul, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, whoever does not know the Scriptures does not know the power and wisdom of God; and how will he know Christ? For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ, and whoever does not know Christ will not belong to his fellowship, as the holy Christ-lover says, because if anyone is ignorant, he will surely be ignored.

Moreover, the more constant anyone has been in the study of the divine Scriptures, the greater understanding and sweetness he receives from reading them. But it is especially fitting for you, brothers, to turn over the divine Scriptures daily by reading and meditating upon them, since abundant time is granted you free from occupations, and a place sufficiently suitable is offered, with the rarity of those who come by. Therefore I exhort and admonish you, if you love your salvation, always to have divine readings in your hands, so that all the time permitted to you without labor after the service of prayer may be spent on the study of sacred Scripture. For this reason I think no brother of mine a monk, as a soldier of Christ, unless he reads something in the sacred volumes that may make him better in his holy purpose.

Rather, let him follow the counsel of blessed Jerome, who says: Let the divine Scriptures always be in your hands; let them be continually turned over in your mind. Nor should you think it sufficient to store the commandments of God in memory, unless you strive also to fulfill them in works. For God requires two things of us, my brothers. First, he wishes us to know his most holy will; second, that when we know it we should do it. But we cannot know his commandments if we are ignorant of the knowledge of the divine Scriptures. Nor does anyone do the will of God who is ignorant of it; nor will he know it who has not learned it. Learn, therefore, what the pleasing will of God is, so that you may do it; do what you have learned, so that you may understand more fully. For no one understands the will of God better than he who, knowing it, also does it out of love.

And so, if you desire to become most learned interpreters of the divine Scriptures, show the zeal for knowledge not in words but in holy works. For then you will grasp the fruitful knowledge of sacred reading, if you have kept the world of your heart from every sin and, groaning in the love of God, pricked by holy compunction, have continually turned over Scripture. For knowledge of the divine Scriptures is a high mountain on which Moses speaks with the Lord, and a person polluted by the filth of vices is forbidden to approach it.

On the reading and study of the divine Scriptures.

A man polluted by the filth of vices is forbidden to it. Thus, indeed, it is read in Exodus: “Let no one go up onto the mountain, nor let anyone touch its borders. Everyone who touches the mountain shall surely die. If a hand touches it, he shall be overwhelmed with stones. Whether it is beast or man, he shall not live.” A man touches the mountain and dies whenever someone, swollen with secular learning, takes offense at the simplicity of the divine Scriptures. A beast touches the mountain and is buried with stones whenever a carnal man, sunk in the frenzy of the passions and not purified in soul, advances to the study of sacred Scripture.

Therefore, if you wish to cultivate the readings of the divine Scriptures to your salvation, if by reading you desire to come to true knowledge, take care first to put away every swelling of pride and rashness of presumption; and then cleanse the chamber of your heart from every uncleanness of carnal pleasures. For God, as canonical Scripture says, resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. No one proud, puffed up, arrogant, and rash, no one carnal in soul, lustful or restless, is considered fit for the study of sacred Scripture, but only one humble in divine matters, devout in mind, meek, modest, chaste, and tranquil in body and mind.

Hence Prosper says in an epigram:

The commands of God cannot be kept unless the mind is at rest. For religious study to be carried on, the quarrels of the malicious must be cut away. Those who are at peace can write and read the law, if their hearts, free from the tumult of the world, are at leisure. Thus the mind, intent on pious studies, finds its battles; divine love conquers carnal love. By sacred knowledge this temple of the Lord grows, and silently a house is built that will not fall.

Therefore proceed to the study of the Scriptures with devoted minds and with a heart pierced in the love of God and humbled in true contrition, because the Lord will not enlighten you unless he has first made you clean from every iniquity. For, as Scripture itself says, perverse thoughts separate from God, and tested virtue corrects the foolish, since wisdom will not enter a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sins; for the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee deceit and will withdraw from thoughts that are without understanding. And so we must often pray to the Lord with holy David: “Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit within my inward parts.” For no one reads and understands the sacred Scriptures of God who does not turn to the Lord with his whole heart through repentance. And so, if you wish both to retain the divine utterances and to understand them to your salvation, take the greatest care first to keep yourselves, as far as you can, clean from every pollution of sin.

Do not let the mad folly of certain monks seduce you, who try to excuse their ignorance with a fine proverb, saying: “Why do we need knowledge of the Scriptures, since we have no office of preaching? Let us rather embrace the counsel of Wisdom, which says in the book of Proverbs: ‘He who walks simply walks confidently.’ It is enough for us to live simply, since the servant who knew the will of his lord and did not do it will be beaten with many blows, but he who did not know and did things worthy of blows will be beaten with few.”

O foolish and utterly ruined men, who despise saving knowledge and love ignorance of the divine Scriptures more than understanding. Will chosen ignorance make you liable to fewer blows? Or will you, when you sin before God, be innocent for this reason, that you are willingly ignorant of the commandments of God? You will have to be tormented with a double punishment: one, because you despise learning the commandments of God; the other, because you do not keep his word. What you plead is not simplicity, but impiety hidden under that name. And since, according to the prophet, “blessed are those who keep the testimonies of the Lord,” who can doubt that those are accursed who neither seek God nor attend to his Scriptures, but rather, with hardened mind, despise them?

Hear what Solomon says to you in Proverbs: “Where the soul is without knowledge, it is not good,” and “the foolishness of a man trips up his steps.” Of you also, O most foolish dwellers in darkness, that saying of Saint Jerome is to be understood: ignorance is no longer excusable where one knows what it is that one does not know. But you must take greater care lest you at last be counted with those who said to God: “Depart from us; we do not want the knowledge of your ways.”

You understand Solomon’s saying badly if you think that “simply” is said of ignorance. He who walks simply, without any deception of his neighbor, walks confidently in keeping the commandments of God; but he who corrupts his ways will not be able to lie hidden, but will be made manifest. Hence again he says: “The lips of the just instruct many.”

Homily III. Fol. XI.

...words; but those who are unlearned will die in poverty of heart. What is more pitiable than an unlearned priest, who, even if he does not have the office of preaching, is nevertheless bound by reason of the order he has received to knowledge of the Scriptures?

For God wills every person to fulfill his holy will; no one who is ignorant of it can do this. First, therefore, the Lord commands that you learn what is pleasing to him; second, that you do it. How, then, will you think ignorance of the law excusable, through which you have first become transgressors of the will of God?

Why do you think almighty God handed over to human beings the volumes of the Scriptures? Was it so that they might be read and understood by them, or so that people might despise reading them? Surely the Scriptures of God’s commandments were given to mortals first to be read, and afterward to be fulfilled in deed. But you, who with deliberate mind wish to be ignorant of the Scriptures: how can you do his will, which they disclose? Or how will you be able to be doers of the law, when you have not first been hearers? For it can happen that someone who knows the will of God either observes it or neglects it; but it cannot happen that someone who is ignorant of it fulfills it. Indeed, someone will more easily fail to do the good he knows than carry out in deed what he does not know. No one does the good he does not know.

Saint Augustine says of the ignorant in a certain place: Not everyone who is ignorant is free from fault. That ignorant person can be excused from punishment who did not find what he might learn. But those cannot be forgiven who, having persons from whom they might learn, did not apply themselves to instruction.

Saint Leo the pope also says this: If ignorance seems intolerable in laymen, how much more in those who are placed over others; nor is it worthy of excuse or pardon.

Therefore, brothers, ignorance of the divine Scriptures does not make you excused before God, but doubly guilty, since you wish to be wholly ignorant of the will of God so that it need not be done by you. For a person ought not be ignorant of the divine will, since he is placed in the world for this: that through illumination of understanding and purity of affection he may merit the eternal enjoyment of God’s vision. And so knowledge of God, and also of oneself, is necessary for every mortal unto salvation; no one will find it without knowledge of the Scriptures. For just as from knowledge of oneself there comes to human beings fear of God, and from knowledge of him love is born, so from ignorance of oneself comes pride, and from neglected knowledge of God come contempt and despair of salvation.

Nothing is more unhappy than an unlearned monk who either neglects or despises the study of the holy Scriptures, because he can never stand pure within himself in true tranquility of heart, but is compelled by his own restlessness, contrary to the integrity of monastic life, to occupy his mind with outward and worldly things. We see among you some who are ignorant of the Scriptures, unstable in mind, undisciplined and wandering; their ignorance is the more impure, the less they are inclined toward discipline. It is shameful indeed not to know what one is ordered to know; more shameful not to learn; but most shameful of all to despise it.

And there are among you some who do not know saving knowledge; there are also some who neglect to learn. What if I add that there are still others who utterly despise the knowledge of the divine Scriptures? And yet I am not lying: you know that what I say is true. For some of you have bitterly opposed my studies, even to the point of envy, quibbling that they would rather have a plowman than an orator as their superior. Have they not also tried to draw the visitators over to their opinion, wishing to lead me [unclear] into renunciation of the Scriptures, so that they might make me a little rustic and a keeper of pigs rather than of souls? But those who hinder the divine [unclear] strive in vain; at God’s urging I have resolved, as long as I live, to set all the honors and riches of the world after the study of the Scriptures.

I am your abbot for as long as he who called me wills it. If one of the two must be done, I would rather give up the abbacy than renounce the holy study of the Scriptures. For I know truly that nothing more wholesome can happen in this life to a cloistered man than if he begins truly to love the divine Scriptures. Whoever among you wishes to follow this instruction of mine will have me alike as guide and companion on the way. But whoever despises following me as I learn will nevertheless be compelled, even unwillingly, to hear me as I teach.

I have said these things against those who, savoring earthly and perishable things, cast away from themselves the fear of the Lord; who, ignorant of almost everything, despise learning. I know the face of my flock, and I believe I am not wholly ignorant of the several inclinations of your hearts. Therefore I will not cease to exhort you to the holy studies of the Scriptures, knowing that a lover of sacred reading cannot be a worker of carnal vices.

On the daily renewal of holy purpose

...the more studious a monk has been in learning the Scriptures, the less he is inflamed by the ardors of carnal pleasures. For although, according to the true opinion of Saint Jerome, a monk seems to have the office not of teaching but rather of lamenting, nevertheless, since he professes the military service of Christ, it is fitting, indeed necessary, that he know the well-pleasing will of almighty God, in whose words and arms he has sworn allegiance. But just as a soldier cannot know the will of his lord, who is far absent, except through messengers and letters, so a monk will not understand the commands of the eternal King except through sacred readings and sermons, the evangelical Scriptures.

The reading of the Scriptures opens the gate of salvation to those who do not know it; it leads the diligent reader by the straight path to the knowledge of God; it makes the lover of itself despise all worldly things and love nothing other than true wisdom. Nothing, however, is more shameful than for a monk in spiritual life to be unwilling to advance, and knowingly to wish to be ignorant of the wills of God. Let no one flatter himself on account of his weakness or ignorance, since he who is ignorant will be ignored, and he who hates saving knowledge is deservedly condemned.

When the Lord was about to send out his preachers into all lands, he admonished them beforehand, saying: “Be prudent as serpents and simple as doves,” so that through ignorance you should neither be craftily deceived by anyone nor wrongfully lay a snare for anyone by fraud. For there is little difference in fault between being able to deceive and being deceived. Therefore I beg you, dearest brothers, to attend to the Rule of our holy father Benedict, which admonishes you in very many places to sweat more frequently over the readings of the divine Scriptures. For in the Scriptures we are taught and instructed for all piety, how in this most wretched pilgrimage of our sojourning we ought to live, so that we may be able to please the Lord our God above all things.

For it belongs to monks to despise the world and the filthy pleasures of the present life for the love of God; usefully to restrain the unlawful habits of the flesh; to devote themselves also to prayer, reading, and meditation on the Scriptures; and continually to lift the mind from earthly things to heavenly things. Blessed is that monk who has not gone away in the counsel of the wicked, and has not stood in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the chair of pestilential men, but meditates on the law of the Lord day and night. He is shown wisdom in the Scriptures of God, the fruit of which, after the end of this pilgrimage, he will receive as eternal life.

On the Daily Renewal of Holy Purpose. Homily Five

We have heard, dearest brothers, the reading just recited to us from the book of holy Job, who laments the misery of the human race and the calamity of this life, and at the same time had said: “Man born of woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries; he comes forth like a flower and is crushed, and flees like a shadow, and never remains in the same state.” “Behold,” blessed Job says, “my years pass by, and I walk a path by which I shall not return.” “All flesh will fail together, and man will return to dust.”

What do you observe among these things, brothers, or what do you think? Is there any man among us who does not know that he is mortal, who can truthfully say that he will remain forever? God, my brothers, how blind we are, while holding our eyes open; how forgetful and sluggish travelers we are, who certainly discern and know that we are going to die, and yet we trust in the vanity of the present life as though we were not going to become mortal. But who is the man who will live and not see death, and who will rescue his soul from the hand of hell? Behold, Scripture says: “We are all dying, and like water we flow away upon the earth.”

Therefore remember, my brothers, that death does not delay, and all that passes by is short when reckoned; for, as the holy lover of Christ Paul says, “It is appointed for human beings to die once,” and no one will be able to flee or escape beneath this common law of necessity. O if only we set daily before the gaze of the mind that hour of coming death, which each one of us must necessarily undergo shortly, and arranged our life and conduct in such a way that we might always be found ready, how happy and secure our departure could become. The judge of the living and the dead, Christ himself our Lord, admonished us in the holy Gospel always to be ready for death, saying: “Therefore you also must be ready, because at the hour when you do not think it, the Son of Man will come.”

How much frequent meditation on death avails for purity of mind, the wise man in Ecclesiasticus admonished beforehand, saying: “In all your works remember your last things, and you will not sin forever.” The thought of future death induces fears; fear in turn necessarily subdues the mind, and like a nail driven by a hammer fastens the proud movements of the flesh to the wood of the cross. In consideration of this view many of the pagan philosophers used to say that the whole life of a wise man is a certain continual meditation on death.

Hence Saint Jerome says: “Nothing will benefit you as much for temperance in all things as frequent meditation on this brief and uncertain life, which fails like a leaf carried off by the wind, and when it is not feared falls into death.” Therefore keep in mind the remembrance of your death, which by no counsel can you avoid, and you will easily be able to overcome all the movements of the flesh. For the one who sometimes thinks that he is going to die despises present things and, unless he is wholly foolish, will prepare himself for future things.

For I know, and I confess that I have partly experienced it, that the will of the human mind cannot long remain uniform in the holy fervor of spiritual life. Therefore it has pleased me to recall the memory of death before your eyes more often, so that the mind, shaken by fear of future things, may daily be renewed in a holier purpose. The eternal human spirit, bound to the body by the exercise of itself, is slight, fluctuating, and unstable: now it is snatched toward this thing, now moved toward another.

For this reason the Wisdom of God says through Solomon in Proverbs: “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes keep my ways.” It is as though he said: Unless you have devoted the whole love of your heart to divine Wisdom, you will never be stable and confirmed in the keeping of the Lord’s commandments. For just as the heart is the first principle of movement in a human being, the greater is its guarding for the preservation of life, since if it is struck by an assault of diseases, the whole life of the body is already in danger. Hence it is written: “With all watchfulness keep your heart, because life proceeds from it.”

By the name of the heart, however, we understand the affection, whenever it inclines toward love of some thing and cleaves to it so strongly that it involves the whole will. Hence the psalmist says: “If riches abound, do not set your heart on them,” that is, do not love them with the desire of your will. What is more changeable than the human heart, which is altered by almost every single thought and can scarcely remain in the same purpose unless it restrains itself by a certain forceful intention? Saint David, not ignorant of this, said to the Lord: “But I said in my abundance: I shall not be moved forever. Lord, in your will you gave strength to my beauty. You turned your face away from me, and I was troubled.”

Therefore, my dearest brothers, if there is anyone among you who desires to serve our Lord and Savior in true purity of heart, if any man wishes to be a monk in deed as well as in name, let him learn first of all to trust not in himself but in God, and let him take care to renew the good purpose of holy life always by a new beginning, not only daily, but, as far as he can, at every hour and at every moment. For the fervor of spiritual life, to whose practical operation the institution of cloistered life is known to be wholly ordered, cannot long remain at the same point; because if it does not always advance toward what lies ahead, it necessarily runs back toward lower things and, what is worse, toward weaker ones.

In the wrestling-ground of spiritual exercise there is no stationary and lingering place of standing still, since it is the property of the human heart by its own natural motion always either to advance toward better things or to fall back again into what is evil. Hence if you do not advance in spiritual life, you necessarily fail; if you do not go forward toward holier things, you certainly go backward. Since experience has made this clear to us, I do not cease to admonish your charities to stretch out your desire in good life always toward what lies further ahead, lest you dangerously incur the peril of falling away there, where you did not know that the opportunity of becoming perfect lay open.

The fervor of spiritual purpose must be directed toward the love of God, and it cannot otherwise be preserved except in him. For the love of God is not absurdly compared to fire: just as fire, when the fuel of wood is withdrawn, is necessarily extinguished, so the love of God, if continual exercises of good works are lacking, is endangered as it dies away. Hence there is that saying of the Savior in the Gospel: “I came to cast fire upon the earth, and what do I wish except that it burn?” O monk, happy is that conscience in whose breast nothing burns except the love of Christ, which loves him above all things and despises all the studies of vanity. Now consider, brothers, your consciences with the greatest care, and examine exactly whether you love God above all things.

Fol. XII.

...for purity of mind, Wisdom admonishes us in Ecclesiasticus by frequent meditation on death, saying: “In all your works remember your last things, and you will never sin.” The thought of future death brings on fear; fear necessarily shakes the mind and, like a nail driven by a hammer, fastens all the motions of the flesh to the wood of the cross. In view of this consideration, many of the pagan philosophers used to say that the whole life of a wise man is a kind of continual meditation on death. Hence Saint Jerome also says: “Nothing profits you so much for temperance in all things as frequent meditation on this brief and uncertain life,” which, like a leaf snatched away by the wind, falls into death when it is not feared.

Therefore remember your death, which you cannot escape by any counsel, and you will easily be able to overcome all the motions of the flesh. For whoever thinks every day that he is going to die despises present things and wholly prepares himself in mind for future things. For I know, and in part confess that I have learned by experience, that the human mind and will cannot long remain in one state within the holy fervor of the spiritual life; and therefore I have resolved often to renew the memory of death before your eyes, so that, while the mind is struck by fear of future things, it may daily be renewed in the holy purpose.

For the human soul, bound to the body by its own exercises, is exceedingly fluid and unstable: now it is carried off to this thing, now it is moved to another. Therefore the Wisdom of God says through Solomon in Proverbs: “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes keep my ways.” It is as though he were saying: If you have handed over the whole love of your heart to divine wisdom, you will never be unstable or weakened in keeping the commandments of the Lord. For just as the heart is the first principle of motion in man, so the guarding of it is most important for the preservation of life; for if it is struck by an attack of diseases, the whole life of the body is already endangered. Hence it is written: “With all watchfulness keep your heart, because life proceeds from it.”

By the name of the heart, however, we understand the affection by which anyone inclines toward love of some thing, clinging to it so much that it entangles the whole will. Hence the Psalmist says: “If riches abound, do not set your heart upon them,” that is, do not love them by the desire of the will. Nothing is more changeable than the human heart: it is altered by almost every single thought, and it can scarcely remain in the same purpose unless it restrains itself by a certain forceful intention. Saint David, not ignorant of this, said to the Lord: “But I said in my abundance: I shall not be moved forever. Lord, in your will you gave strength to my beauty. You turned your face away from me, and I was troubled.”

Therefore, my dearest brothers, whoever among you desires to serve our Lord and Savior in true purity of heart, whoever wishes to be a monk both in deed and in name, let him learn first to take thought not for himself but for God; and let him take care always, by a fresh beginning, to renew the good purpose of holy conduct, not only daily, but as far as he can even at every hour and every moment. For the fervor of spiritual conduct, to the practical exercise of which the whole institution of the cloistered life is known to be ordered, cannot long remain at the same point; for if it does not always advance toward what lies ahead, it necessarily falls back to what is lower and, what is worse, weaker.

In the arena of spiritual exercise there is no fixed standing still without motion, because it is the property of the human heart, by its natural movement, always either to advance successfully toward better things or to fall back toward what is evil. Therefore, if you do not make progress in spiritual conduct, you necessarily fail; if you do not advance toward holier things, you certainly go backward. Since experience has made this clear to us, I do not cease to admonish your charity that in good conduct your desire should always be stretched out toward what is further, lest you fall into the destructive danger of failing precisely where you have not renewed your longing to advance.

The fervor of the spiritual purpose is directed toward love, and it is preserved only in love. For the love of God is not absurdly compared to fire: just as fire, when the fuel of wood is taken away, is necessarily extinguished, so the love of God is endangered if it lacks the continual nourishment of good works and the memory of eternal things. Hence that saying of the Savior in the Gospel: “I have come to send fire upon the earth, and what do I wish except that it burn?” O inexpressibly happy is that conscience in whose breast nothing burns except the love of God, which loves God above all things and despises all pursuits of vanity. And consider, my brothers, most diligently, your consciences, and [unclear] whether we love God above all things.

[b iiij] On the daily renewal of holy purpose.

If the fire of divine love is now burning in you, apply the necessary fuel, lest through your lukewarmness the little sparks of holy fervor should ever be felt to have been wholly extinguished. Believe me, brothers, for experience has taught me this: you will more easily preserve in yourselves the burning fire of divine fervor by exercise than kindle it again after it has been extinguished.

Therefore whoever has now received love into himself, whoever has received heavenly charity in his heart, should take the greatest care not to fall back into the negligences of his former life. Rather, he should apply the necessary fuel of spiritual exercises, so that, as he makes progress, he may preserve the fervor of God within himself. Let him beware not only of great sins but also of small negligences, and, as far as he can, of the smallest ones; for whoever despises small things falls little by little, and whoever does not always fear danger will soon suffer loss in spiritual fervor and purpose. Scripture says: “Unless you hold yourself steadily in the fear of the Lord, your house will quickly be overthrown.” Blessed, then, is the man who is always fearful, who does not presume upon the virtues he has received, who judges for certain that he is failing whenever he has not understood himself to have advanced at every moment toward higher things.

But truly, brothers, I also greatly fear, unless the appearance of certain works deceives me, that the fire of holy divine fervor is not present in you, since you seem to care little for the true pursuits of monks. Your conduct confirms this, as none of you can fail to know. Yet it remains for me to admonish those who seem to have made too little progress thus far, since the hand of the Lord has not been shortened so that it cannot save penitents. I trust in the mercy of the living God that, because of my charity toward you and the exercises of piety, he will at some time grant those among you who do not walk according to the purity of the rule to come to their senses and to love more ardently the pursuits of holy fervor.

What is this, brothers, that you do not live monastically in the monastery, and, though you have professed a spiritual manner of life, you walk according to the flesh? Do you not know how dangerous it is for a monk to live in a worldly way in a cenobium, and to violate by lukewarm conduct the vow of holy purity which we have all made? Know, I beg you, that the last things of all cloistered persons lie near the extremes: the good and zealous lovers of their own salvation receive in heaven the rewards not of ordinary men but of saints; and those who conduct themselves badly or lukewarmly in the monastic religious life are punished not with a moderate or common torment, but with the most grievous torment of demons. The higher the state in which someone sins, the heavier and more serious will be the punishment of the offender in it.

Therefore, if anyone among you has already learned to walk the way of divine love with fervor of spirit, he must go forward, so that he may make greater progress each day. But whoever still lies in the disgrace of sheer sloth should strive to rise again, since just as punishment is promised to those who lie fallen, so the crown of victory is denied to those who do not persevere. Beware, then, lest destructive lukewarmness overthrow the mind. It is exceedingly dangerous for cloistered persons, because it is most troublesome and full of sorrows, and plainly very near to hell. From its abyss a monk who has once fallen into it rarely rises again.

And alas, how many fainthearted cloistered persons are seen today, slack and idle, who frequently collapse under the burden of spiritual warfare and rarely rise again to the true fervor of spirit. Their condition is truly pitiable: they have the name of being alive, and yet they are dead. These are the ones whom neither the memory of death could bring to true compunction of heart, nor the recollection of Gehenna set before them could soften. As for monks of this kind, afterward, when they have remained thus sluggish in acedia, they are either overcome by bad habit and collapse, or they are in a certain sense in hell, so that they never fully come back to the light of the Lord’s mercies, nor reach the freedom of spirit which alone is nearest to the kingdom of heaven and makes the Lord’s yoke sweet and his burden light.

These evils befall them because their will has not yet been purified from carnal passions, nor do they will the good as they know it, being enticed and drawn away by their own desire. For they love the corrupt consolations of the flesh; and even if they sometimes interrupt them, they never entirely break them off. Hence it is that they very rarely direct their affections toward God; and if at times they are moved to compunction for an hour, they do not persevere long. Instead, wearied in spirit by laziness and inertia, they suddenly abandon, out of sadness and melancholy, the good they had begun. A mind tossed by these storms cannot be filled with the fervor of divine love.

On the Daily Renewal of the Holy Purpose

As rust consumes iron, and a garment is gnawed by worms, so idleness weakens the mind; and virtue of the soul, long interrupted, gradually flows away and is utterly uprooted. Therefore flee idleness, and overcome sloth.

But since we cannot remain firmly and without change of mind in one state of divine love, it is necessary for us, lest we entirely fall away, to renew the holy purpose every day. Thus, as often as through the negligence of human weakness we begin, however slightly, to grow torpid from spiritual fervor, so often, examining ourselves by the memory of future things and by contemplation of the Lord’s Passion, we should immediately recall our conscience to its former purpose of advancing.

But we must take the greatest care not to defer this holy effort of advancement until tomorrow, because it has often been harmful to put off a good that could have been done. Hence the wise man says in Ecclesiasticus: “Do not delay to be converted to the Lord, and do not put it off from day to day. For his wrath will come suddenly, and in the time of vengeance he will destroy you.” Augustine also says: “Why do you defer the good until tomorrow, saying, ‘Life will still be long’? For who knows whether it will be long? And if it is not good, what profit is there that it will be long?”

Without a good life, the conduct of a monk should be called death rather than life. Therefore the remedies of a more corrected life must not be deferred by any delays, lest the time of conversion perish through tardiness, when no delay for repentance is any longer granted. For he who promised pardon to the penitent did not promise tomorrow. No one who fears God delays being converted to repentance, nor extends today’s salvation into tomorrow.

But every person who knows that he is established in lukewarmness of mind, and who defers amendment of life from day to day, is deceived by hope of a longer life; for if he knew he would die tomorrow, he would without doubt change his purpose today. Hope of a longer life has miserably deceived many who, while they daily put off the amendment of their way of life, suddenly fall into the depth of death.

Who among you, brothers, does not resolve in his mind to assume the purpose of a more amended life before he dies? For I believe that each one of you intends to exercise still greater devotion toward God before he falls into the danger of death. And why do you wait so long for that day? Why do you defer from day to day? Behold, you who now live in health and do not give yourselves to the spiritual exercises of divine love when you are able, while the Lord patiently waits: the last day will come for each one of you, and it is already hastening, on which, when the angel of death presses hard, the power whose effect you have delayed so long is taken away from you.

Therefore again and again I ask you, brothers, and with all the diligence I can I admonish you: turn to the Lord our God with your whole heart while you live, sound and unharmed, and do not further defer your will, lest you lose even the power granted to you. Think and often think again that we are not citizens of this world, but strangers and pilgrims; nor do we have here an abiding city, but we seek the one to come, and we hasten daily toward death, even without knowing it.

On the Love of Quiet and Solitude.

Holy Scripture does not plainly reveal how many intellects were created from the beginning. But it is known from the Fathers that the work of the angels is the work of God, and it is counted among the works of the sixth day. There are, however, some who write that the angels were created long before this visible world; and just as we cannot prove this by the testimony of the divine Scriptures, so neither do we rashly attack it. For there are many weighty and holy men who have placed the creation of the angels long before the beginning of the world.

But the angelic intellect was made from the very beginning in the act of all knowable things, and it knew all that it could know; afterward it admitted nothing toward its perfection. For, created by the Lord in its perfection, it required no increase by which it might understand more. Since, without any intermediary, it is joined to God, it was made a pure intellect by nature, nor does it need exercise for understanding after our manner, since its being admits no corruption. And so, adhering to its object through the affection of love, it immediately and inwardly loves God, whom it understands to be the center of its blessedness.

with full movement he contemplates and loves it, and he is blessed and fears no alteration of himself. But the human intellect, which our teachers have called the soul, was indeed created at the beginning in complete ignorance, and knows none of those things which the angelic intellect understands by nature.

These two intellects differ as act and potency, light and darkness, knowledge and ignorance, habit and privation, beginning and end, simple and composite, substance and accident, nature and art, truth and likeness. For all things, as divine Scripture testifies, which belong to the angelic intellect by nature and from the beginning, the human intellect will attain in the end through arts, as the Lord Jesus says in the holy Gospel: “In the resurrection of the dead they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but will be like the angels of God in heaven.”

For the mind has been placed for a short time in the workshop of the body, so that it may be trained toward understanding through many labors, as though through arts. If there, turned toward God, it has duly completed its craft through love, then at last, when it departs from here, it becomes equal to an angel. But if, consenting to the motions of the flesh, it has not kept its proper order, then, disordered and wretched, like the fallen apostate spirits, it will leave the body to be tormented forever.

For since our mind or soul was created in ignorance and privation of all things, it must come to knowledge of things by continual action, movement, and art. The end, indeed, makes the human intellect equal to the angelic by changing its potency into act; it will make from privation a habit, from emptiness fullness, from imperfection perfection, from one deprived one possessing, from darkness light, from night day, from lunar solar, and from earthly heavenly.

This end, my dearest brothers, is the beginning of eternal salvation. No one can happily come to it who does not strive with all his powers toward the summit of perfection. But since it is difficult, amid crowds where a thousand occasions for sin are offered, always to keep unbroken this necessary striving for progress, the holy fathers, founders of the monastic order, taught us by word and example to flee the world and to avoid its crowd not only in mind but also in body.

Of those who were stronger in spirit, many hastened into the desert, so that they might become nearer to the Lord in mind the farther they withdrew in body from the world. Of them we read the words of the prophet Isaiah: “The wilderness will rejoice and blossom like the lily; it will bud forth abundantly, and will rejoice with gladness and praise.” Others, wishing to benefit many, established cenobia, in which they placed a multitude of monks, whose way of life would be separated from the peoples and nevertheless would be shared socially with one another.

For it is not fitting for everyone to sit in the desert, when for some it is more suitable to serve the Lord in the midst of brothers. For even our monasteries have their own solitude, so that whoever wishes to be solitary can do so in the midst of brothers, provided he keeps the privacy of the cell in which he dwells. For a monk, according to the interpretation of his name, is called solitary, because in mind and body he is separated from the many things of this world.

Therefore, as I am about to deliver today’s sermon to your charities, I wish to admonish you, since I desire your progress in spiritual life. I ask you, then, and exhort you in the bowels of brotherly charity, to love the quiet of the cell as the workshop of your salvation, in which there is great peace for those who love God, and great advantage for perfecting the intellect toward knowledge of the highest truth. For the prophet Isaiah says: “In silence and hope will be your strength.”

Whoever does not love the solitude of the cell and the quiet of silence by no means loves purity of mind; rather, wandering in body, he always drinks in new vanities in his soul. Hence blessed Jerome says: “Why do we desire the crowdedness of cities, we who are reckoned by our singularity? For to me a town is a prison; solitude is paradise.”

If the desert and solitude delighted us, brothers, this place would offer great convenience for our purpose, where, apart from poor peasants, a guest rarely appears. No one disturbs our quiet, no one troubles us, no one introduces spectacles or rumors of momentary novelty. But I see few among you who are lovers of inward quiet, and I grieve deeply, because I know very well that a monk cannot make progress in spiritual life if he is known not to love the quiet of the cell.

But one who knows how much good the privacy of solitude brings to the soul loves his cell and does not readily go outside, always fearing lest in tumult

immutably contemplates and loves him in whom it is blessed, and undergoes no alteration of its own. But the human intellect, which our preacher has called the hand of our soul, was indeed created in all ignorance from the beginning: it knows nothing coevally which the angelic intellect understands by nature. Those two intellects differ as act and potency, light and darkness, knowledge and ignorance, habit and privation, beginning and end, simple and composite, substance and accident, nature and art, truth and likeness. For, as all divine Scripture bears witness, all the things that are present in the angelic intellect by nature from the beginning, the human intellect will attain through art at the end, as the Lord Jesus says in the holy Gospel: “In the resurrection of the dead they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they will be like the angels of God in heaven.”

For as the mind is exercised toward understanding through many labors, as though through art, it has been placed for this time in the workshop of the body. If, turned toward God, it has duly completed its craft through love, then at last, departing from here, it becomes equal to an angel. But if, by the habits of the flesh and conscience, it has not kept its own order, it will depart from the body, like the troubled and wretched spirits, to be tormented forever. For since our mind, or soul, was created in ignorance and privation of all things, it must come to the art and knowledge of things by the movement of continual action. The end, indeed, makes the human intellect equal to the angelic, changing its potency into act; and from privation it makes habit, from empty full, from imperfect perfect, from deprived possessing, from dark luminous, from nocturnal diurnal, from lunar solar, from earthly heavenly.

This end, my dearly beloved brothers, is eternal salvation from its beginnings; no one can happily come to it who does not strive with all his strength toward the summit of perfection. But since in this troubled middle state it is difficult always to keep unbroken this necessary effort of making progress, where a thousand occasions for sinning are offered, the holy fathers, founders of the monastic order, taught us by word and example to flee the world, and often to withdraw from it not only in mind but also in body. And to those who were stronger in spirit they entrusted many things for the desert, so that they might become nearer to the Lord in mind the farther they withdrew from the world in body. Of these we read in the prophecy of Isaiah: “The wilderness will rejoice and blossom like the lily; budding, it will bud forth and exult, rejoicing and praising.” Others, wishing to be of use to many weaker men, founded cenobia, in which they placed a multitude of monks, so that their way of life would be separated from the people, yet they would nevertheless have fellowship with one another.

For it is not fitting for everyone to sit in the desert, for those for whom it is more suitable to serve the Lord in the midst of the brothers. For our monasteries have their own solitudes; and whoever wishes to be solitary can be so in the midst of the brothers, provided he has remained continually in the cell in which he dwells. Indeed a monk, according to the interpretation of his name, is called solitary because he is separated in mind and body from the tumult of this world. Therefore, since today’s sermon is addressed to your charity, I admonish you with fatherly concern, and I ask that I not have spoken these things in vain, since I seek nothing other than your good, and desire nothing more than your progress in spiritual conduct. I ask you, I say, and exhort you in the bowels of brotherly charity, to love the quiet of the cell as the workshop of your salvation. In it much is ready for those who love God, and there is great advantage for bringing the intellect to perfection in the knowledge of the highest truth. For the prophet Isaiah says: “In silence and in hope will be your strength.”

Whoever does not love the solitude of the cell and the quiet of silence in no way loves purity of mind; but, wandering in body, he always draws in new vanities in his soul. Hence Jerome says: “Why do we desire the bustle of the city, we who are counted by our singularity? For to me the town is a prison; solitude is paradise.” If, brothers, the desert and solitude were pleasing to us, that place would offer great advantage to our purpose, where, apart from poor peasants, a guest rarely appears; no one disturbs our quiet, no one troubles us, no one brings in spectacles or empty rumors to disturb monastic renewal. But among you I see few lovers of inward quiet, and I grieve deeply, because I know very well that a monk cannot persevere in equal conduct if it is clear that he does not love the quiet of the cell. But one who knows how much good the deeds of solitude confer upon the soul loves his cell and does not readily go outside, always fearing amid the tumult to lose what he has gathered with great labor in secret.

...the more one is accustomed to vary one’s study and to use alternate exercises against weariness. Hence Jerome again says: “Let prayer frequently interrupt reading, and let a pleasing alternation of holy action come to the soul that is continually intent.” A monk who does not love the privacy of the cell is not a true soldier of Christ, because he bears the name and habit of a monk without the works; and he who ought to have been solitary for the love of God has turned back in mind to the world and loves the pursuit of vanity. Hence the divine Pope Gregory says: “He who lives bodily removed from human beings, but plunges himself in thought into the tumults of human dealings through desire for earthly things, is not solitary, although he dwells in solitude. But if someone is bodily pressed by crowds of people, and yet suffers no tumults of worldly cares in his heart, he is not in the city, even if he lives in the midst of human beings.”

And this is what holy Jerome says against Jovinian: “The wise man,” he says, “can never be alone. For he has with him all who are and have been good; and with a free mind he brings forth whatever he wishes and transports himself wherever he wishes. What he cannot do in body, he embraces in mind; and if there is a lack of human beings, he speaks with God. Therefore a good man will never be alone.” And so, while remaining in your cell, always beware idleness, because nothing so enervates all the powers of the mind as idleness, after it has produced acedia from itself. If you love God ardently, you will never be idle, because true love of Christ does not allow sluggishness to arise in the soul, but always impels the lover toward the pleasure of the beloved friend. And just as a certain carnally minded person truly said, “Let him who does not wish to become idle love,” so experience has taught us in spiritual love that it does not permit the mind which it has begun to inhabit to grow sluggish with idleness and laziness. For divine love always impels one toward better things; and the more it advances by burning, the more it takes on increase of itself.

The workshop of this love is a clean conscience. If a monk desires to have it and to keep it clean, it is necessary first of all that he despise the vanities of the world and the business of temporal things. For it is not possible for twin loves to reside in one breast, nor can a person prevail in loving Christ who is unwilling to despise the world. For God, who in the Trinity of persons is one in the essence of substance, is either loved by us alone, or is not loved with a partner. Therefore, so that the conscience may remain clean in all purity, and so that the mind may be able to love God above all things, let the monk love the privacy of the cell and never withdraw from the exercise of inner sweetness. For in the cell of a good and wise monk there is the greatest tranquility; and if there is any earthly paradise in a monastery, it belongs to those who live according to the purity of the cenobitic institution. There are peace, piety, goodness, light, virtue, and honor. There are joy, purity, sweetness, and great tranquility of life, where the devout monk at prayer speaks with the Lord and the sweetness of the future heavenly kingdom is foretasted by the contemplative soldier.

O cell of monks truly serving God, paradise: you are surely the little garden of most honorable pleasure, in which the mind is joined to God through love and sweetly lifted up through desire. The monk who loves, venerates, and cultivates you is a true soldier of Christ and serves the Lord in the fullness of virtues. But he who abhors and deserts the privacy of the cell despises the workshop of his own salvation. Therefore, my dearest brothers, I beg you to begin to inhabit the privacy of the cell with desire of mind; without love for it no one will be able to attain the perfection of virtues in the cenobium.

On the Manual Labor of Monks. Homily VII.

“Because you will eat the labors of your hands,” says the prophet of the Lord, “blessed are you, and it will be well with you.” If all who live from the labor of their own hands are counted blessed, surely no one eats bread idly without guilt and crime. For almighty God imposed this penalty on Adam, the first-formed, for the transgression of the original commandment, declaring to him that in the sweat of his face he would obtain food from the earth by working with his hands. And since in Adam we have all sinned, we are necessarily subject to the same penalties to which he is known to have been subjected. He labored with his hands for the food by which he might live, and he did not eat bread idly. Hence our divine father [unclear]

Homily VI. Fol. XV.

...the more he is accustomed to vary his pursuits and to use alternation against weariness. Hence blessed Jerome also says: let action often be interrupted by prayer; then, in turn, after prayer has been made, let a pleasing alternation come to the soul. A monk who does not love the secrecy of the cell is not a true soldier of Christ, since he bears the name and habit of a monk without the works; and he who ought to have been solitary for the love of God, having in a sense returned to the world, loves the pursuit of vanity. Hence blessed Pope Gregory says: He who lives bodily removed from human beings, but through the disturbances of human intercourse plunges himself in thought into earthly desire, is not solitary, although he dwells in solitude. But if someone is bodily pressed by crowds of people, and yet suffers no disturbances of secular cares in his heart, he is not in the city, even if he lives in the midst of human beings.

And this is what Jerome says against the dreams of those who sleep: The wise man, he says, can never be alone. For he has with him all who are and who have been good; he has a free mind, and whatever he wishes he follows, and he carries himself wherever he wishes. For what he cannot do with the body he embraces with the mind; and if he lacks human company, he speaks with God. How, then, will a good man ever be alone?

And so, remain constant in your cell; let song always be in your mouth, since nothing so weakens all the powers of the mind as idleness, after it has produced acedia. If you love God ardently, you will never be idle, because the true love of Christ does not allow sluggishness to arise in the soul, but always drives the lover toward the will of the beloved. And just as a certain carnal-minded man truly said, “Let him love who does not wish to become idle,” so experience has taught us in spiritual love that, once it has begun to dwell in a mind, it does not permit that mind to grow torpid through idleness and sloth. For divine love always impels one toward better things, and the more it advances by burning, the greater increase it receives.

The companion of this love is a clean conscience; and if a monk desires both to have and to preserve it clean, it is necessary first of all that he cast off the vanity of the world and the business of temporal things. For it is not possible that twin loves should reside in one breast; nor can he prevail in loving Christ well who does not wish to despise the world. For God, though in the Trinity of persons he is one in the essence of substance, is either loved by us alone, or he is not loved with a partner. Therefore, so that conscience may remain clean in all purity, and so that the mind may be able to love God above all things, let the monk love the secrecy of the cell and never withdraw from the exercise of inward sweetness.

For in the cell of a good and wise monk there is the highest tranquility; there is, as it were, an earthly paradise in the monastery for those who are converted to the purity of the cenobitic institution. There are peace, piety, goodness, justice, virtue, and honor. There are joy, purity, sweetness, and great tranquility of life, where the devout monk speaks with the Lord in prayer, and the future sweetness of the heavenly kingdom is tasted beforehand by the contemplative soldier. O cell of monks truly serving God, paradise, indeed a little garden of most honorable delight, in which the mind is joined to God through love and sweetly raised up through desire. The monk who loves, venerates, and cherishes it is truly a soldier of Christ and serves the Lord in the fullness of virtues. But he who abhors and deserts the secrecy of the cell scorns the workshop of his own salvation. Therefore I beg you, my dearest brothers, begin to dwell in the secrecy of the cell with desire of mind; without love of it no one will be able to reach perfection of virtues in the cenobium.

On the Manual Labor of Monks. Homily VII.

“You shall eat the labor of your hands,” says the prophet of the Lord; “blessed are you, and it shall be well with you.” If all who live from the labor of their own hands are judged blessed, surely no one idle eats bread without guilt and fault. For almighty God imposed this upon Adam the first-formed as a penalty for the transgression of the original commandment, declaring to him that in the sweat of his face he would work food from the earth with his hands. Since, moreover, we all sinned in Adam, we are necessarily subjected to the same penalties to which it is clear that he was subjected. He labored for the food by which he might live, and he did not eat bread in idleness.

Hence our blessed father Benedict, detesting the idleness of monks, says in the Rule which he handed down to us: Idleness is the enemy of the soul, and therefore at certain times monks ought to be occupied in manual labor, and again at fixed hours in divine reading. For then they are truly monks, if they live by the labor of their hands, as our fathers and the apostles did. Hence also the holy apostle Paul says in the epistle: “He who does not labor shall not eat.”

In the beginning of the monastic state this was the custom of monks: that they admitted no one into their fellowship without labor, not so much for the necessities of food as for the salvation of the soul, lest through idleness an opportunity be given to destructive thoughts. At that time monks had no rents, no tithes, no revenues, no annual proceeds of any kind; rather, all living together in common procured food and clothing for themselves by their hands, burdening no one by demanding what was owed. The holy apostles of our Savior too, although they had the power to live from the preaching of the Gospel, preferred to labor with their hands, lest they seem to have burdened any of the faithful, and so that they might have not only the means by which they themselves lived, but also something with which they supplied necessities to the needy.

But after monks began to have rents and revenues, the former pursuits of simplicity soon failed, and little by little, along with wealth in temporal things, pride increased, to such a degree that in time monks refused all labors of the hands. As long as monks were poor and humble in birth, they worshiped God in truth; but after they began to abound in wealth, duplicity drove away simplicity, and the pride of nobles extinguished the humility of monks. Once the integrity of regular observance had been taken away, the wealth of temporal things soon also failed in many cenobia by the just judgment of God.

From their number was the present monastery of Sponheim, my brothers, neither the last nor the first, which for many years remained miserably desolate in both states, to such an extent that the five monks who alone lived there, leading a dissolute life, did not have the means from which they could obtain the necessities of life for themselves. Hence, at last, by the provision of God’s mercy, Frederick, duke of Transylvania, having called upon the counsel of the fathers of the reformed order, in the year of the Christians one thousand four hundred and sixty-nine, expelled the monks deformed in life, deposed the abbot, Otto by name, from Cologne, and placed in this monastery four others of the observance of Bursfeld, called from the cenobium of Schoenberg. Over them he set as abbot Johannes, from the noble family of Budisbach, which they commonly call “of the house of Carbonaria,” a man such as you have seen and heard, worthy of eternal memory. He found this place in extreme poverty, and, presiding over it for almost fourteen years in great patience, recalled it to the state in which we now live.

Therefore, since lack of temporal goods still presses us heavily, there would be need for continual labor, so that we might sustain ourselves with necessary food and free the house of God in which we dwell from debt. But what are your labors, or how much can they contribute to such great needs? We are few in number and unsuited to rustic labors; nor does the institution of the priestly order permit us to spend the whole day in the field turning stones with our hands and to interrupt divine service. We are wretched and weighed down by excessive poverty and lack of all necessities; and if we labor much, we gain little from it, yet if we work little, we certainly fail still more in spirit. For, as Scripture bears witness, man is born to labor as a bird is to flying.

Therefore, lest you eat your bread in idleness, you must always be bound to some honorable and useful labor, by which the mind may both be relieved from weariness with regular observance and our grievous poverty may at least in some small way be repaired. In the time of harvest, for hay, and in the days of autumn, for the vintage, we have been accustomed to employ you outside the monastery only when labor is clearly very necessary and the scarcity of hired workers increases the price and wage of servants. At other times we have decided to keep you in the cenobium, because your labors, compared with the expenses of the monastery, contribute little to its needs, and because, as it seems to us, very few of you willingly present yourselves voluntarily for rustic pursuits. There is also another consideration that stirs my mind, lest you be drawn away by external...

Blessed Father Benedict, detesting the idleness of monks, says in the Rule which he handed down to us: “Idleness is the enemy of the soul; therefore at fixed times the brothers ought to be occupied in manual labor, and again at fixed times in divine reading.” For then they are truly monks, if they live by the labor of their hands, as our fathers and the apostles did. Hence also Saint Paul says in the Epistle: “Whoever does not work should not eat.” In the first day of the monastic state this was the custom of monks: they admitted no one into their fellowship without labor, not so much because of the necessities of food as because of the soul’s salvation, lest through idleness an occasion be given to destructive thoughts.

At that time monks had no revenues, no tithes, no rents, no annual income from anyone; but all who lived together in common procured food and clothing for themselves by their hands, burdening no one by the exaction of what was owed. The holy apostles of our Savior too, although they had power to live from the preaching of the Gospel, labored with their hands, preferring not to seem to burden any of the faithful, so that they might have not only what they themselves could live on, but also what they might provide as necessities for the needy.

Again, afterward, when monks began to have estates and revenues, the first love of simplicity and study failed, and pride gradually increased with the wealth of temporal things, to such a degree that all withdrew from the labor of their hands, with time, after monks had become rich. As long as monks were poor and humble in birth, they worshiped God in truth; but afterward, when they began to abound in riches, duplicity drove out simplicity, and the arrogance of nobles uprooted the humility of monks. For the integrity of regular observance gave birth to an abundance of temporal things, but little by little the riches of monks uprooted the purity of the order from its foundations. But once the integrity of regular observance had been removed, in many cenobia even the riches of temporal things failed by the just judgment of God.

And among their number was this present monastery of Sponheim, the last among my brothers, and not the first, which for many years remained wretchedly desolate in each condition, to such a degree that five monks lived in it, leading a dissolute life, and did not have the necessities of life to support themselves. Therefore, by the mercy of God at last providing, Frederick, count palatine across the Rhine, having called upon the counsel of fathers of a reformed order, in the Christian year one thousand four hundred sixty-nine, expelled the monks deformed in life, deposed the abbot named Otto of Cologne, and placed four others in this monastery from the observance of Bursfeld and from the cenobium called Mount Speciosus. Over them he set as abbot Johannes, from the noble family of Buchenbach, which they commonly call “of the Carbonaria house,” a man such as you have seen and heard, worthy of eternal memory. He found this place in extreme poverty, and, presiding for almost fourteen years in great patience, restored it to the condition in which we now live.

Therefore, since lack of temporal goods still presses us heavily, there was need of continual labor, both that we might support ourselves with necessary food and that we might free the house of God in which we live from another’s debt. But what are your labors, or how much can they contribute for us toward such great needs? We are few in number, and our priestly order’s institution does not often permit us to spend the whole day in the field turning stones with our hands and to interrupt divine service. We are few, and extreme poverty necessarily weighs us down with lack of all things; and even if we have labored much, we accomplish little afterward; and even if we have been able to work only a little, surely we fail all the more in spirit. For man, as Scripture bears witness, is born for labor just as a bird is born for flying.

Therefore, lest you eat your bread idly, you will always have to be assigned to some honest and useful labor, by which both the weariness of regular observance may be relieved and grave poverty may at least in part be repaired. At certain times of the year, in old age, and in the days of autumn for the vintage, we have been accustomed to occupy you outside the monastery, that is, when labor is both very necessary and the cost and wage of hired workers increases the price of servants. At the remaining time we have decreed to keep you in the cenobium, partly because your labors contribute little to the monastery’s needs in comparison with its expenses, and because, as it seems to us, very few of you come gladly as volunteers to rustic tasks.

There is also another consideration which moves my mind not to occupy you easily, without reasonable cause and manifest necessity, in external works of the hands. For I have learned by experience that labors of this kind do not suit you in regular observance, but rather destroy the integrity of monastic discipline among you than advance it. I am ashamed to say it, and nevertheless I am compelled to utter it: your labors outside the monastery and the cell bring more destruction to the purity of the soul than salvation. For what do you labor at, and what are your pursuits in your labors? Is it not to wander about, to run here and there, to indulge in conversation and cups, and to spend the rest of the time in vain and useless talk?

You do not have in yourselves that fervor of the Holy Spirit of God by which, as we read, the ancient monks of our institution were once inflamed. For the common necessity they all and singly labored with their hands with such desire, such zeal, and such exertion that you would have thought the business of the whole monastery was placed in each one’s prudence. For each labored at that time with his hands as if he alone ought to nourish the whole congregation. Amid these things they paid the services of divine worship with such cheerfulness by day and night as if they had in no way been occupied in penitence by the labors of their hands.

Who among you, brother, is an imitator of such men, so that he reckons the whole of our common want as his own, or strives according to his strength to relieve it by laboring in the sweat of his brow? They, laboring with their hands, prayed to God with continual hearts; but you, intent on stories, satisfy neither the duty of the hands nor the minds of monks. Likewise, in the time of the regular fast, they either diligently kept the measure of abstinence appointed for them, or, if they could not because of the magnitude of their labors, they ate for this reason: that they might be made fit and able for labor. But you do not eat in order to labor; rather, you labor in order to eat, though by the Rule you ought to be fasting. You take occasion from labor to break your fasts.

As for the clothing which some of you treat foully and most disgracefully, what zealous lover of regular discipline could bear it with equanimity? These are, my brothers, things which are ruinously tended. Everything that belongs to the monasteries of the servants of God is the patrimony of Christ; the whole is dedicated to God, and no one may misuse the things of Christ, or turn them to some other use. Do you not know what our holy lawgiver Benedict says to you in the Rule: “If anyone treats the things of the monastery filthily or negligently, let him be corrected. But if he does not amend, let him be subject to regular discipline.” And in the chapter on the cellarer of the monastery: “Let him regard all the substance of the monastery as if it were the sacred vessels of the altar.”

Finally, I cannot and ought not be silent about how filthily and negligently many of you treat everything, as if either you were not seen by God, or no loss came to us from negligence in these matters. Know this, brothers, that I announce it to you beforehand: for these things, as also for your other sins, you will have to render account to the Lord God. For this reason I have reduced your labors outside the monastery, lest by acting badly you sin more gravely; and manual work is to be enjoined upon you: writing books, binding them, and things like these, which you can accomplish within the enclosures of the monastery with tranquillity of mind and body.

If only you would do at least these works of the hands, or of the pen, diligently for the love of God, so that you might not eat bread altogether idle. There is no manual work which, in my judgment, befits a monk more than writing books of sacred reading and preparing the necessary materials for others who write. It will very often be permitted to interrupt this holy labor with prayer, and, as food for the mind, it is no less watchful for the body. Necessity also compels us to apply ourselves diligently to writing books, if we wish to have at hand the means by which we can usefully occupy ourselves with one another in spiritual study. For you see that the whole library of this cenobium, which was once distinguished and large, was scattered, sold, and alienated by the deformed monks before us, and that no more than fourteen volumes were found here by us.

Indeed, the industry of the printing art, recently invented in our days at Mainz, daily brings many volumes into the light; but it is by no means possible for us to buy all new books, since this house is still oppressed by the greatest poverty. Therefore I admonish and exhort you: since you do not come gladly enough to external manual labors, at least labor diligently in writing volumes for the honor of God. For just as idleness is the enemy of the soul, so moderate labor is the spiritual preserver of life. Since a monk is a soldier of the eternal king, he must never be idle. For idleness produces acedia, and acedia introduces the soul into the want of destructive death. But the labors of monks are to be moderated so that [unclear].

Homily VII.

Fo. XVI.

works with your hands, you may easily occupy yourselves without reasonable cause and manifest necessity, having found by experience that labor in such work does not accord with regular observance among you, but destroys rather than promotes the integrity of monastic discipline among you. I blush to say it, and yet I am compelled to declare it: your labors outside the monastery and the cell bring more destruction to the purity of the soul than salvation. For what is your labor, and what are your pursuits in your labors? To wander about, run here and there, indulge in feasts and cups, and occupy the remaining time idly with vain and useless things.

You do not have in yourselves that fervor of the Holy Spirit with which we read that the monks of our former institution were once inflamed: that, from desire for the necessity of the community, with such zeal and such effort, all and each labored with their own hands, so that almost the whole business of the monastery was placed in the prudence of each one. For in this way each and all ought to have labored with their own hands for the support of the congregation. Amid these things, too, they performed the service of divine worship with such eagerness day and night that they seemed in no way at all to have been occupied in the labors of their hands.

Who among you, brothers, is an imitator of such men, so that he regards the needs of our whole community as his own, or wishes and strives by his own labor, according to his strength, to relieve them? They, while laboring with their hands, continually implored God with their hearts; but you, intent on subtleties, neither satisfy the office of the hands nor remember the monk. In the time of regular fasting, they either diligently kept the measure of abstinence appointed for them, or, if they could not because of the greatness of their labors, they ate for this reason: so that they might be rendered fit and suitable for labor. But you do not eat so that you may labor; rather you labor so that you may eat, as though according to the Rule one had to fast. You take occasion from labor to relax the fast.

Indeed, how foully and uselessly some of you handle your garments: what zealous lover of regular discipline could pass it over? For what is there, my brothers, that we consume wastefully? Everything that first comes to the monasteries as God’s servant is Christ’s patrimony, and the whole of it is dedicated to God; nor is it lawful for anyone to misuse the things of Christ or to turn them to another use. Do you not know what our legislator Benedict says plainly enough to you in the Rule? “If anyone treats the things of the monastery filthily or negligently, let him be corrected. If he does not amend, let him be subjected to regular discipline.” And in the chapter on the cellarer of the monastery he says: “Let him regard all the vessels of the monastery and all its substance as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar.”

Finally, I cannot and certainly ought not to keep silent about how filthily and negligently many of you handle everything, as if they were either not seen by God, or no one were causing loss to the goods of the monastery by equal sloth. Know, brothers, that I announce to you in warning that for these things also, just as for your other sins, you will have to render account to the Lord God. For this reason we have reduced your labors outside the monastery, lest by working badly you sin more gravely; and we have enjoined upon you manual work: to write books, bind them, and things similar to these, which you can carry out within the enclosures of the monastery with tranquility of mind and body. But in this too your hands are slow, though you would have enough leisure in the whole week to do it diligently for the love of God.

There is no manual work that, in my judgment, befits a monk more than writing books of sacred reading and preparing what is necessary for others who write. For this holy labor, although prayer often interrupts it, requires vigilance for the eye of the mind no less than for that of the body. Necessity also urges us to apply ourselves diligently to writing books, if we desire to have at hand the things from which we may be usefully occupied with one another in spiritual study. For although the library of this monastery, and all that belonged to it, was once distinguished and great, it was so scattered, sold, and alienated by the deformed monks before us that no more than fourteen volumes were found here by us.

Indeed, by the industry of the art of printing, recently invented in our days at Mainz, many volumes are brought to light every day; but it is by no means possible for us to buy them all, since we are still oppressed by the greatest poverty. Therefore I admonish and teach you that, since you do not come readily enough to external labors of the hands, you should labor as diligently as possible in writing volumes for the honor of God, because just as idleness is the enemy of the soul, so moderate labor is the preserver of the spiritual life. For the monk, because he is a soldier of the eternal king, must never be idle. Idleness begets acedia, and that brings upon the soul the ruinous poverty of death. But the labors of monks are to be moderated in such a way that never

or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning, lest, when he comes suddenly, he find you sleeping. Therefore watch at all times, praying that you may be accounted worthy to escape all the evils that are to come, and to stand with confidence before the sight of the Son of God, who judges all things. For, as the divinely inspired Christophilus bears witness, we shall all stand before the tribunal of Christ, so that each may receive what belongs to his own body, according to what he has done, whether good or evil.

Blessed is that monk whom the Lord finds watching in good works: who has prepared himself for the marriage-feast of the heavenly Lamb in true purity of heart; who will not fear to go forth to meet the Judge. Let that memorable saying of Saint Jerome on the Gospel according to Matthew always be in your hearts: “Whether I eat or drink, or do anything else, that voice always seems to sound in my ears: Rise, you dead, and come to judgment.” Whenever I think of that day of future examination, I tremble in my whole heart and body. Therefore, brothers, if there is any joy in the present life, it must be so practiced that the bitterness of that dreadful judgment never recedes from memory.

O that day, great, terrible, exceedingly dreadful, and very bitter, on which the sun and moon will be darkened, not by a lessening of their light but by comparison with his majesty; where every argument of excuse will cease; where all things will be manifest, and nothing will be able to lie hidden from the Judge. For he who knows the hidden thoughts of minds will then judge openly; he is not anticipated by favor, nor bent by mercy; he is not corrupted by offerings and gifts; he will not be softened by prayers, nor thereafter appeased by any satisfaction.

Placed in this life, therefore, brothers, let each one of you do as much as he can for his soul, because repentance for sins made here alone is useful and fruitful, so long as there is a place for pardon and the sentence of justice is still deferred. He who postpones doing good and practicing repentance until death is very near to damnation, because the good that a man neglects while healthy and sound he rarely restores when sick and already about to die. For Saint Pope Gregory says: Whoever does not fear to put off the fruit of repentance until the hour of death is himself a witness against himself that true repentance was never in his mind. Now, therefore, turn yourselves to our Lord with your whole heart, doing penance before him; and so live, I beg you, that when you must depart from here, you may not fear to appear before his face.

Fol. XVII.

That One Must Pray Without Intermission. Homily IX.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, brothers, wishing in the Gospel according to Luke that we be constant in prayers, admonished us in these words: “It is necessary always to pray and never to fail.” This counsel of the Lord befits monks above all mortals, and all who are cloistered in any religious order whatsoever, whose every action and whole life, indeed whatever they do, ought either to be prayer or at least conformed to prayer.

For all who profess the monastic soldiery are called spiritual, not without reason, so that by the very name they may be reminded to despise the pleasures of the flesh for love of God and to walk in the ardor of the spirit through true charity. For the holy apostle of Christ says: “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God,” and, “If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live.” Knowing, however, that without continual prayer the fervor of the spirit cannot long subsist in us, he again says to the Thessalonians: “Rejoice always; pray without intermission; in all things give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for all of you.”

The Savior taught us in the Gospel what the manner of praying is, saying: “But you, when you pray, enter into your chamber, and, having shut the door, pray to your Father in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.” And in another place he said to the Samaritan woman: “Woman, believe me, that the hour is coming. The Father seeks such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

It is clear and manifest from Christ’s teaching that prayer is of the heart rather than a lengthy speech of the mouth, because, since God is spirit, he must be worshiped in no other way than with the inward fervor of the spirit. For prayer of the heart in the fervor of the spirit has great power; but the multiplication of words without attention of the mind [unclear].

That one must pray without interruption.

...has no usefulness at all. Hence Saint Jerome says: God is to be prayed to not only in words, but with the heart. Therefore the chanting of five psalms with purity of heart, serenity, and spiritual gladness is better than the chanting of the whole Psalter with anxiety and sadness of heart. And the divine Pope Gregory says: True petition is not in the sounds of the mouth, but in the voices of the heart, that is, in holy thoughts. For words do not make stronger sounds in the ears of God, but desires do.

Therefore, apart from those prayers which we are bound to say either by decree of the Church or by the institution of the monastic order, complexity in the rest and multiplication of words contribute nothing, or little, to true inward devotion of mind; for where there is no fervent desire in the love of God, a superfluous extension of words is introduced. For holy Augustine says: Let much talking be absent from prayer, but let fervent intention persevere; for to speak much in prayer is to carry on a necessary matter with superfluous words. For prayer comprehends many things in few words, so that the simplicity of faith may quickly learn the sufficiency of its salvation, and the prudence of the more ingenious may be amazed at the depth of the mysteries.

But those who, because of hardness of heart, lack the compunction of inward fervor, when they prostrate themselves for prayer need longer speech, crying, and tears, so that by prolonged exercise of the mind they may at last strike out within themselves the burning fire of divine love, until they rise into the affection of holy prayer in the Spirit of God. But after the fervor of divine love and compunction has penetrated the mind, there is no longer need of the exercise of words; rather, the continuation of spiritual nourishment is required, lest the fervor of the spiritual fire be extinguished. To this end our most holy father wished prayer in community to be shortened, so that, if anyone wished to pray in the spirit, he could do so apart.

There are, however, some who are so hard of heart that in praying they find little or nothing of spiritual compunction; for them liberty brings ruin, and solitude often begets despair. Attend, I beg you, dearest brothers, to what I say to you, and consider how much you are bound to pray without interruption. It is not enough for a monk, striving toward perfection in the school of Christ the eternal king, to discharge the canonical prayers; nor is it sufficient for a man solemnly dedicated to God by vow to fulfill the common prayers of the order in community. For he who is commanded always to pray without interruption is bound beyond verbal prayers also to spiritual prayers. For prayers instituted by the Church or the order fall under the merit of obedience and under the law of necessity by reason of precept; but that manner of praying which is called spiritual is strengthened at all times for the monk as useful and necessary for perfection in the liberty of the spirit.

Hence it must be noted that for prayers which are of the precept of the Church or the order, the utterance of words is necessarily required, with the intention of satisfying the statute by which anyone is bound to pray. Let those who do not express the seven canonical prayers by utterance of words, but with closed mouth run through the sequence of prayers by thought alone, with the eyes assisting, see how they satisfy the command of the Church. But in those prayers which we undertake to say not by command but by our own will and from devotion alone, the fervor of the mind toward God suffices without the utterance of words; for God, as we have said, requires such worshipers as worship in spirit and truth. But we are bound to say the canonical prayers which they call the Hours, and not only to think them.

In both cases devotion of mind toward God is useful; without it no prayers are believed to be effective. And so, my brothers, when we stand for prayer, we ought with the greatest zeal to keep watch and attend to the prayers which we pour out, lest we pray without the fruit of inward compunction. Therefore let every thought of the flesh withdraw far away; let no occupation with household affairs impede the mind; and let the soul at that time think of nothing else whatever except this alone, which is being prayed. For this reason also the priest, after the customary preface has been given before the sacrifice, prepares the minds of the brothers, saying, “Lift up your hearts,” so that when the people answer, “We have lifted them to the Lord,” they may be warned that they ought to think of nothing other than the very God whom they invoke.

Let the breast, then, be closed against the adversary and lie open to the Lord alone; and in the time of holy prayer let it admit absolutely no concern of worldly occupation. Great indeed is the usefulness of pure prayer, which, like a faithful messenger, carries out the command of a fervent mind and, flying, ascends into heaven where the flesh does not reach. For prayer is sustained by two wings, that it may fly up into heaven: one of them is called fasting, and the other is named almsgiving. Hence Saint John Chrysostom says: Nothing is more powerful than a person praying, who prays with fasting...

That one must pray without ceasing.

There is no usefulness at all. Hence Saint Jerome says: God is to be prayed to not in words alone, but with the heart. Therefore the recitation of five psalms with purity of heart, serenity, and spiritual cheerfulness is better than the chanting of the whole Psalter with anxiety of heart and sadness.

And blessed Pope Gregory says: True petition is not in the sounds of the mouth, but in the voices of the heart, that is, in holy thoughts. For it is not words that make the stronger voices in the ears of God, but desires.

Therefore, except for those prayers which we are bound to say either by decree of the Church or by the institution of the monastic order, in the rest, prolixity and the multiplication of words contribute nothing, or very little, to true and inward devotion of mind. For where there is not fervent desire in the love of God, a suspicious lengthening of speech is introduced. For Saint Augustine says: Let much speaking be absent from prayer, but let fervent attention persevere; for to speak much in praying is to conduct a necessary matter with superfluous words.

Prayer, indeed, comprehends manifold matters in few words, so that it may quickly satisfy the simplicity of faith and what is sufficient for salvation, and by the depth of its mysteries may suffice for prudent and discerning minds. But for those who, because of the hardness of the inner heart, lack fervent compunction when they have given themselves to prayer, words are needed for gain, and cries with tears, so that by daily exercise of the mind they may at last kindle within themselves the burning fire of divine love, until in the affection of holy prayer their spirit rises together to God. But afterwards, when the fervor of divine love and compunction penetrates the mind, there is then no further need for the exercise of words; rather, the continuation of spiritual fuel is required, lest the fervor of the spiritual fire be extinguished.

For this purpose our most holy Father wished our prayers to be shortened in content, if anyone should wish to pray in the spirit. But there are some who are so hard of heart that they find little or no compunction while praying, and for them liberty often breeds ruin, and solitude often breeds despair.

Attend carefully, beloved brothers, to these things that I say to you, and consider how greatly you are bound to pray without ceasing. It is not enough for a monk, striving toward perfection in the school of Christ the eternal king, to gloss over the canonical prayers; nor is it sufficient for a man solemnly dedicated to God by vow to fulfill the common prayers of the order in community. For he who is commanded always to pray without ceasing is bound, beyond verbal prayers, also to spiritual prayers. For the prayers instituted by the Church or the order are under the merit of obedience and under the law of necessity by reason of precept; but that manner of praying which is called spiritual, useful and necessary at all times for a monk’s perfection, is strengthened in freedom of spirit.

Hence it must be noted that for prayers which are by precept of the Church or of the order, the verbal utterance of petitions is required by necessity, with the intention of satisfying the statute by which one is bound to pray. Let those see how they satisfy the Church who in certain churches do not express the seven canonical prayers by the utterance of words, but, with closed mouth, perform the solemn precept by thought alone, their eyes serving as ministers. But in those prayers which we undertake to say not by command, but by our own will and by devotion alone, the fervor of the mind in devotion is sufficient without the petition of words, because God seeks such worshipers, as we have said, who adore in spirit and truth. Yet the canonical prayers which we undertake to say at the hours we are bound to speak, and not merely to think. In both cases devotion of mind toward God is useful; without it no prayers are believed to be effective.

And so, my brothers, when we stand for prayer, we ought to watch with the utmost care and attend to the prayers that we say, lest we pray without the fruit of inward compunction. Therefore let every thought of the flesh withdraw far away; let no occupation with household affairs hinder the mind; nor let the soul think anything else within itself except this alone, what it prays. For this reason the priest too, in the prayer before the sacrifice, prepares the minds of the brothers by saying, Lift up your hearts, so that when the people answer, We have them lifted to the Lord, he admonishes them that they ought to think of nothing else than the very God whom they invoke.

Therefore let the breast be closed against the adversary and open to the Lord alone; nor in the time of holy prayer let it admit any worldly occupation at all. Great is the usefulness of pure prayer, which, like a faithful messenger, carries out the command of a fervent mind and, flying upward, ascends into heaven, where the flesh does not reach. For by what wings is prayer sustained, so that it may fly up into heaven? One of them is called fasting, and the other is named almsgiving. Hence Saint John Chrysostom says: Nothing is more powerful than a person who prays; he who prays with [unclear].

...with fasting, because it has two wings and neither strays nor grows sluggish. Let us therefore pray with the highest fervor of spirit, and let us live with as much purity of conscience as we can, since that prayer is perfect and pleasing to God in which both the cause and the tongue cry out, whose deed and speech agree with the petition, whose life and thought bring support to the prayers.

For without the justice of truth every prayer will be fruitless, since we know that God does not hear sinners, and that salvation is far from sinners, as Scripture says. Whoever turns his ears away so as not to hear the laws, his prayer will be abominable. The holy prophet also says in the psalm: If I have regarded iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. For just as no medicine is effective in a wound unless the iron is first drawn out, so the prayer of one in whose mind deceit still remains, or hatred in his breast, is of no effect.

But in order that God may hear your prayer, first of all conscience must be cleansed from every stain of mortal sin, and the mind must undertake a true purpose of amendment. To pray much and at the same time offend in many things: what is this other than to mock God? For prayer is hindered in two ways so that it is not heard by the Lord: one, when the person praying still commits evil by sinning; the other, if for God’s sake he does not forgive his debtor the debt.

You therefore, who desire to have the fruit of your prayers, who wish to come with the penitents to God’s mercy, take care that you do nothing evil against God’s will, and diligently see to it that you truly forgive from the heart everything committed against you by human beings. For you know that the Lord said: Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. But after you have cleansed your conscience from evil and forgiven every offense to your neighbor, you will then be fit to pray, if in the fervor of a right purpose you have been ordered toward God.

Now then approach the Lord confidently for prayer; prostrate yourself humbly in his sight, and pray with purity of heart and fervor of spirit. Do not cease from prayer as long as you live in the flesh. Let your prayer be pure, simple, clear, and plain; let it be full of seriousness, weight, and dignity, adorned with true humility. Do not ask for anything in prayer that is contrary to the salvation of the soul, nor should you beg too importunately for a temporal thing, since it is shameless to ask God for riches, which furnish the greatest occasion for pride and often defile Christian purity.

It is not shameless if you ask for daily bread, since it is one thing to ask for matter from which you may become proud, and another to ask for the necessary food by which you may live. Do not justify yourself while praying, lest, like the Pharisee, you go out condemned; nor ask anything from the Lord as though owed to your merits. Rather humble yourself in all things, so that you may deserve to receive grace. Remember the humility of the publican, and pray with such great humility that with him you may find forgiveness of sins and justification of the soul. For God’s grace is richer than the prayer of the suppliant, and he grants us more when we pray than we ask.

You will not pray with a loud cry of the voice to him who knows the hidden things of the heart, but in fervor of spirit and with the inward cry of the mind you will strike the ears of the divine majesty. Nor should you prolong the length of words before him who is Spirit, because God will be appeased not by much speaking but by the pure mind of the one praying. At the time of prayer cast away from yourself all malice and disturbance of heart, and, as we often say, forgive if you have anything against your neighbor. For unless for love of the Savior you forgive your neighbor every debt, you will obtain nothing from the Lord by your prayers.

There is said to be a certain kind of serpent which, when it wishes to go into the water to drink, first vomits out all its venom. You too, monk, imitate this serpent in this respect: vomit out all the venom of wrath and bitterness, forgiving your brother the hundred denarii, so that the Lord may forgive you the ten thousand talents. As you desire the Lord to be toward you, so you also should show yourself toward your fellow servant.

Call upon the Lord with your whole heart and you will find him. Let your prayer be burning and most pure, so that your mind may be joined to him in his most holy love. Strive for this throughout your whole life, that at all times you may offer pure prayer to the Lord God. Never cease from prayer, nor despair of God’s mercy. Even what he is going to grant, he sometimes delays; he does not take it away. He does not act with fickleness, nor is he easily moved in his sentence; what he has promised is fixed. If you pray insistently, you will see a miracle. Remember that you stand under the gaze of God, who understands all the secrets of hearts and knows the hidden things of the mind. Therefore stand watchfully in his sight, who has known all things, and pray with as much fervor of spirit as you can, That One Must Pray Without Interruption.

so that you may deserve to obtain mercy. For by holy prayer the conscience of the penitent is cleansed; and whoever raises his heart to the Lord in true purity, his prayer does not return empty. O, dearest brothers, if you knew how pleasing to God are the prayers of a pure mind, and how much usefulness they confer upon the soul, you would allow no time to pass without prayers.

For if our prayer is pure and burning in fervor of spirit, it is a most faithful messenger to God; it speaks to God on our behalf, and while it prays it obtains everything necessary for our salvation. Therefore I admonish you and exhort you in true charity to pray without interruption and never cease from the fervor of the Holy Spirit. Let there be no time empty for you, or idle in sluggishness of mind. In the fear of the Lord, I beg you, always be watchful and solicitous, so that you may be able bravely to conquer and overcome the temptations that threaten.

As soon as foul thoughts begin to strike the mind, run back to the practice of prayer, and they will be wholly unable to prevail against you. For prayer is a great fortification of the soul; in its presence all the schemes of the opposing side fail. Through the purest prayers all useful things are granted to us by God, and all adversities are driven far away. By pure prayers the mind is powerfully kindled in the love of God, and whatever slight stain comes upon it is cleansed by praying.

By holy and continual prayers the world is conquered; the plagues of the soul are healed by devout petitions; by tears and weeping the devil is overcome; and he for whom a thousand cohorts are not enough for battle is weakened by the prayer of a single poor man. Just as wax melts and dissolves before the face of fire, so at the fervor of pure prayer all the power of demons, crushed, is enfeebled.

If a foul thought has been sent into your mind by demons, immediately, with the sign of the cross impressed upon your forehead, say: Save me, Jesus Christ, mediator of God and human beings, and drive away from me all the wickedness of the ancient enemy through your most innocent passion. What can be shorter than this prayer, or what more powerful? For as soon as it has been uttered with fervor of mind against a demon, whether present or by suggestion, every scheme of iniquity withdraws.

For the power of pure prayer is very great, since it both penetrates heaven and by its steadfastness defeats the powers of the air. Prayer illumines the mind, purifies the affection, obtains forgiveness of sins, and strengthens the spirit in the love of God against all adversaries. Nothing so raises the mind from earthly things to the love of heavenly things; nothing so quickly and powerfully destroys the pleasures of the flesh; nothing so illumines the understanding; nothing, too, so greatly confounds the adversary of truth as pure prayer, which is poured out to God with the fervor of divine love and adorned by the testimony of a good conscience.

If you desire to be terrible to demons, if you wish to be a friend of God, keep your conscience pure and never interrupt spiritual prayer. For devout prayer can do all things if it is accompanied by uprightness of faith and purity of life. Prayer puts demons to flight, enfeebles the strength of malignant spirits, heals the soul languishing in tepidity, and confirms the weak and infirm spirit in the fear of God.

Pure prayer makes one near to God, and the one whom it had received as a servant it makes to be God’s friend. Pure prayer, fervent in the love of God, penetrates heaven and wonderfully illumines the understanding of the one praying; it closes hell, opens paradise, and leads in the souls of the faithful. For Truth does not lie, who in the holy Gospel promises, saying: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and whoever seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Who among you has ever turned to the Lord with his whole heart and prayed, and has not been heard? Or who has called upon the Lord, who cast down Amalek trusting in his own strength, not by fighting with iron but by praying with holy prayers? For the continual petition of the just person has great power, and the prayer of one who humbles himself penetrates the clouds. Elijah was a man subject to suffering like us, and he prayed in prayer that it might not rain upon the earth, and it did not rain for three years and six months. And again he prayed, and heaven gave rain, and the earth gave its fruit.

By prayer and tears King Hezekiah obtained fifteen years of longer life, and by his prayers changed the prophet’s sentence. By prayers holy men became renowned for miracles, and by supplicating the Lord they recalled the dead to life. All things also are subject to the purity of prayer, and there is nothing in us so difficult that devout and fervent prayer cannot equally

That one must pray without interruption.

...to deserve to obtain mercy. For by holy prayer the conscience is cleansed through penitence; and whoever raises his heart to the Lord in true purity, his prayer does not return empty. O dearest brothers, if you knew in secret how pleasing to God are the prayers of a pure mind, and how much benefit they confer upon the soul, you would let no time pass without prayer. For if our prayer is pure and burning in the fervor of the Spirit, it is a most faithful messenger to God; it speaks to God on our behalf and obtains all things that are necessary for our salvation.

Therefore I admonish you and exhort you in true charity to pray without interruption, and not to cease even for a moment from the fervor of the Holy Spirit. Let no time be wholly empty for you of mental prayers. In the fear of the Lord, I beg you, always be watchful and solicitous, so that you may be able bravely to conquer and overcome the temptations that threaten. But when foul thoughts begin to knock at the mind, run back to the practice of prayer, and they will have no power to prevail against you. For prayer is a great fortification of the soul; at its presence all the contrivances of the opposing side fail. Through very pure prayers all useful things are granted us by God, and all adversities are driven far away. Good men are kindled by pure prayers in the love of God, and whatever lighter stains meet them, they cleanse by praying.

By holy and continual prayers the world is conquered; deadly sins are healed by devout supplications; the devil is overcome by tears and weeping; and he whom a thousand cohorts are not enough to fight is overcome by the prayer of one poor man. As wax melts and is dissolved before the face of fire, so at the fervor of pure prayer every power of demons is broken and weakened. If a foul thought, sent by a demon, enters your mind, drive it away at once, making the sign of the cross on your forehead and saying: “Save me, Jesus Christ, mediator of God and men, and drive far from me all the wickedness of the ancient enemy by your most innocent passion.” What can be shorter than this prayer, or what more powerful? For as soon as it has been poured forth with fervor of mind against the presence or suggestion of demons, every contrivance of iniquity withdraws.

The power of pure prayer is very great, since it penetrates heaven and by its constancy overthrows the powers of the air. Prayer illuminates the mind, purifies the affection, obtains delightful pardons, and strengthens the spirit in the love of God against all adversaries. Nothing so strongly draws the mind away from earthly things and raises it to heavenly love; nothing so powerfully exterminates the pleasures of the flesh; nothing so illuminates the understanding; nothing likewise confounds the adversary by the insistence of truth, as pure prayer poured out to God with the fervor of divine love and adorned with the good testimony of conscience.

If you desire to be terrible to demons, if you desire to be a friend of God, keep your conscience pure and never interrupt spiritual prayers. For devout prayer can do very much, if it is offered with uprightness of faith and purity of life. Prayer puts demons to flight, weakens the power of evil spirits, heals souls languishing in tepidity, and strengthens the weak and infirm in the fear of the Spirit. Pure prayer brings a person near to God, and makes the servant whom God accepts to be his friend. Pure prayer, fervent in the love of God, penetrates heaven, wonderfully illuminates the understanding of the one praying, closes hell, opens paradise, and brings in the souls of the faithful.

Its truth is not measured out, for in the holy Gospel he promises, saying: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Which of you has ever prayed, converted to the Lord with his whole heart, and has not been heard? Or who has called upon the Lord, and the Lord has withdrawn himself from him? For Scripture says: “Know that the Lord will hear your prayers, if you remain and persevere in fasting and prayers in the sight of the Lord.”

Be mindful of Moses, the servant of the Lord, who brought down Amalek, proud in his strength, not by fighting with iron but by praying with holy supplications. For the constant prayer of a just man is very powerful, and the prayer of humility penetrates the clouds. Elijah was a man subject to suffering like us, and he prayed with prayer that it might not rain upon the earth, and it did not rain for three years and six months. And when he prayed again, heaven gave rain and the earth gave its fruit. By prayer and tears King Hezekiah obtained fifteen additional years of life, because the Lord changed the sentence by prayers. By prayers holy men shone with miracles, and by supplicating the Lord they called the dead back to life. All things are subject even to the purity of prayer, and there is nothing among us so difficult that devout prayer is not able equally to obtain it.

Homily VIII. Fol. XIX.

cannot obtain. Then, when we pray, we receive from the Lord confidence that we shall obtain what we ask, when no perversity of life contradicts our prayers. For the Lord is the hearer of a righteous prayer when integrity of life commends the prayer, and no guilt of conscience makes the one praying hesitate. Friendship will not stand between dissimilar persons, and there can be no communion between God and a sinner. If you wish to be heard when you pray, take care first that you do not disagree with the will of God. Live in spirit very like to God, and you will suffer no rejection in prayer.

Indeed, purity of conscience in the fervor of divine love makes a human being very like to God in understanding. Likeness causes love; love introduces familiarity; familiarity brings confidence; and confidence in petition readily obtains its request. For just as there is no union between things unlike, so prayer profits nothing between God and an evil man. Therefore whoever among you desires to gain the effect of his prayers should first cleanse the dwelling of his heart from every defilement through true repentance; then he should strive to inflame himself by the exercise of holy compunction; afterward he should continually feed his mind in the practice of the love of God, so that he may never thereafter interrupt the good that he has begun.

But after, with the desire of divine love always increasing in him, he has by long practice brought the exercise of holy purity into habit, and the mind has acquired the necessary firmness in a good purpose, then at last the likeness of divine communion is gradually introduced, and prayer is shaped into its proper state. For the more the mind, stirred in the love of God, advances, the sooner prayer will obtain from the Lord what it asks. For only the love of God makes prayer powerful; and the more fervently the mind burns in it, the more easily it will gain the effect of its petitions. For if you love much, you can do much. God is charity, and he who remains in charity remains in God, and God in him. But he in whom God remains has nothing stronger than himself, except God alone.

There are among you some weak and feeble in spirit who already consider themselves strong and perfect in the way of the Lord. Their devotion is rare and bound to the hour; they boast that they have approached the kingdom of heaven without the wedding garment, although they still lie far below. To these I say again what I have often said: no one suddenly becomes the highest; and unless a monk has subdued all his animal passions by mortifications of the flesh, he does not reach the lofty mountain of divine contemplation. For whoever, placed in a monastery under authority and obedience, follows his own will contrary to monastic institutions is not worthy to be heard by the Lord in his prayers.

Those of whom we speak are great and wise in their own eyes. Loving their own will, they murmur at everything, and whatever they themselves have not arranged they think badly done. They examine the actions of their brothers with curious inquiry, but neglect and despise the discernment of their own negligences. In their conduct they are loose and disorderly, in speech frivolous and noisy, unwilling for obedience, and always slow and full of sloth in good works. They neglect the common exercises of the order and give themselves to private ones according to their own will. And as long as they remain in their own rashness, they do not rise up to the true love of God.

Let monks who love their own will hear what the Lord says: ‘I have not come to do my own will, but the will of the Father who sent me.’ Brothers, attend to this teacher; unless you live in imitation of him, you will pray without fruit. For the Lord gladly hears the prayer of the one who keeps his commandments in truth. But the one who transgresses God’s commandment, and follows with desire the pleasures of the flesh and the comforts of the world, his prayer is not heard. For God, just and upright, is believed to hear your prayer gladly when mind and good life pray together. But if someone’s way of life displeases God, how will his prayer please him? For God is spirit, and the man who walks not in the spirit but in the flesh certainly does not draw near to God.

Therefore you, monk, who do not walk according to the purity of the Gospel and the Rule, who love your own will and not God’s, know that you will not feel the efficacy of your prayers unless you first amend your life. For unless the conduct of your life agrees with your prayer, you will not obtain what you ask. Thus you cry to the Lord with a loud voice when, even with the tongue silent, you cry out by good works. For good prayers and an evil way of life merit nothing good. Therefore do what a certain wise man advised: if you have sinned, do not add to it again, but pray also concerning your former sins, that they may be forgiven you. Prepare your soul before prayer, and do not be like a man who tempts God.

Let the mind be pure and burning in the love of the Lord; let the conscience be clean and strengthened in the purpose of holy conduct, and prayer will be pleasing to divine ears. If you pray otherwise, you will obtain nothing. He prays well who lives well, and he who prays with holy works obtains easily. Finally, prayer is made very efficacious and pleasing in the sight of God if at all times it is consonant with the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. For Christ is God and man, the mediator between God and us, through whom we have secure access to the Father, as he himself bears witness in the holy Gospel: ‘No one comes to the Father except through me.’

Therefore let no day pass on which, in prayer, you do not give thanks to Christ at least once: he healed the illnesses of your soul by the pain of his wounds; he poured out his blood for you; and by his most innocent death he redeemed you, wretched as you were, from the destruction of eternal death. A man is certainly most ungrateful and unworthy of the name Christian if he is so forgetful of such great benefits of Christ that he does not give him thanks daily, at least once. But the monk, who is commanded to be dead to the world and to live for God alone, should continually carry the memory of the Lord’s Passion in his breast, always giving thanks to his Redeemer, always blessing, always adoring, and daily, indeed as often as possible at every moment, turning over with tears and compassion the bitterness of Christ’s wounds.

Every day, after each of the regular prayers which the Greeks call canonical, with knees bent and mind lifted to heaven, let him say: I give you thanks, and blessing you I adore you, O mediator of God and men, Christ Jesus, sweetest God and man: for your most holy incarnation, for your birth from the Virgin, for your circumcision, for the flight into Egypt and the seven years in exile that you endured for us. I adore you, Lord Savior Jesus Christ, for your labors, for hunger and thirst, cold and nakedness; for your journeys, for your teaching and preaching, for your miracles, for the calling of the nations, and for the justification of sinners. I give you thanks, Lord, Son of the living God, for the pain of your wounds; I bless you for the outpouring of your most holy blood; I adore you for the death that you endured most innocently; and I beg you, through all your Passion, mercy, and clemency, have mercy on me now and in the hour of my death.

A devout monk should recite this very brief prayer at least seven times a day, and whenever he passes before an image of the Crucified, he should adore Christ in the same way, with fervor of mind. Whoever is a true lover of Christ always thinks of Christ, speaks of Christ, and venerates Christ; he does not doubt that Christ is everywhere present to him. The Passion of Christ is never absent from his memory, and because of the greatness of love he forgets himself and is wholly occupied in Christ in mind and desire. Whoever burns in spirit with the love of Christ despises earthly things, conquers the flesh, and desires only heavenly things. Awake, he always thinks of Christ with desire; asleep, he dreams of Christ; and sighing continually, he cries out with Saint Ignatius: ‘My love has been crucified.’ He joins sigh to sigh, and Jesus, whom he loves with his whole heart, he sees present not with the eyes but with the spirit.

When the desire of love presses upon him, as often as he looks upon the Crucified, he is at once dissolved into tears, and, burning with the fire of charity, cries aloud: O love stronger than all strengths, how sweetly he burns who is inflamed with desire for Christ. He spoke rightly who said, ‘Love is strong as death.’ For what can be stronger than the love of Christ, by whose ardor the holy martyrs, despising so many thousands of kinds of death, overcame them? O my crucified love, have mercy on me; grant me to feel that sweetness of your love of which I speak, so that I may always carry your most bitter Passion in my heart.

I know, my brothers, I know that there is no more efficacious manner of praying, nor one more useful for us who are still weak, than in the memory and power of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, since it is clear that without a mediator there is no ascent of the mind to God, every good work must be begun in the name of Christ, because then we pour out prayers to God profitably, when with a purified conscience we pray through his only-begotten Son.

On the guarding and origin of thoughts: Homily Nine.

Solomon, that once most wise king, in the book that he entitled Proverbs, his son...

That One Must Pray Without Interruption.

...that they may be forgiven you. Before prayer, prepare your soul, and do not be like a man who tempts God. Let your mind be pure and burn in the love of the Lord; let your conscience be clean and strengthened in the purpose of holy conduct, and your prayer will be pleasing to divine ears. If you pray otherwise, you will obtain nothing. He who lives well in his works prays well, and he who prays with holy works obtains easily. Finally, prayer is made very effective and pleasing in the sight of God if it is at all times in harmony with the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he is God and man, the mediator between God and us, through whom we have a safe access to the Father, as he himself bears witness in the holy Gospel: “No one,” he says, “comes to the Father except through me.”

Therefore let no day pass in which you do not, at least once, give thanks in prayer to Christ, who by the pain of his wounds willed the sicknesses of your soul to be healed, who poured out his blood for you, and by his most innocent death redeemed you, wretched as you were, from the destruction of eternal death. A man is certainly most ungrateful and unworthy of the Christian name if he has been so forgetful of Christ’s many benefits that he does not every day, at least once, return acts of thanksgiving to him. But the monk, who has died to the world and is commanded to live for God alone, should continually carry in his breast the memory of the Lord’s passion: always giving thanks to his Redeemer, always blessing him, always adoring him, and daily, indeed as far as possible at every moment, turning over in his mind with tears and compassion the bitterness of Christ’s wounds.

Every day, after each of the regular prayers which the Greeks call canonical, with knees bent and mind lifted up to heaven, let him say:

I give thanks to you, and blessing you I adore you, O mediator of God and men, most sweet Christ Jesus, God and man: for your most holy incarnation; for your birth from the Virgin; for your circumcision; for your flight into Egypt and the seven-year exile which you endured for us. I adore you, Lord Savior Jesus Christ, for your labors, for hunger and thirst, cold and nakedness; for your journeys; for your teaching and preaching; for your miracles; for the calling of the nations; and for the justification of sinners. I give thanks to you, Lord, Son of the living God, for the pain of your wounds. I bless you for the shedding of your most holy blood. I adore you for the death which you most innocently endured, and I ask you, through all your passion, pity, and mercy: have mercy on me now and in the hour of my death.

With this very brief prayer the devout monk should pray at least seven times in the day, and whenever he passes before an image of the Crucified, he should in the same way adore Christ with fervor of mind. Whoever is a true lover of Christ always thinks of Christ, speaks of Christ, and venerates Christ; he does not allow Christ to be absent from himself, but senses him present everywhere. The passion of Christ is never absent from his memory, and from the greatness of love he forgets himself, wholly occupied in Christ in mind and desire. Whoever burns in spirit with the love of Christ contemns earthly things, conquers the flesh, and desires only heavenly things. Such a man, waking, always thinks of God with desire; sleeping, he dreams of Christ; and, continually sighing, he cries out with blessed Ignatius: “My love has been crucified.” With continual sighs he sighs, and Jesus, whom he loves with his whole heart, he sees not with the eyes but with the spirit present to him.

When the desire of love presses upon him, as often as he gazes on the Crucified, he is at once dissolved in tears and, burning with the fire of charity, cries out: O love, stronger than all strengths, how sweetly he burns who is kindled with desire for Christ. Rightly did he speak who says: “Love is strong as death.” For what can be stronger than the love of Christ, in whose ardor so many thousands of martyrs overcame, despising every kind of death? O love of the crucified Jesus, have mercy on me. Grant me to feel that sweetness of your love of which I speak, so that I may always carry in my heart your most bitter passion. I know, my brothers, I know that there is no more effective manner of praying, nor any more useful for us who are still weak, than in the memory and power of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, since it is clear that without meditation there is no ascent of the mind to God, every good work must be begun in the name of Christ, because then we pour out prayers to God profitably when, with purified conscience, we pray through his only-begotten Son.

On the Guarding and Origin of Thoughts. Homily Nine.

Solomon, that once most wise king, in the book which he entitled Proverbs, exhorting his son to true wisdom, said among other things: “My son, attend to my wisdom, and incline your ear to my prudence, that you may guard your thoughts, and that your lips may preserve discipline.” For it is no small part of wisdom, dearly beloved brothers, if a monk knows how to discern his thoughts prudently and to guard their movements carefully at all times. It is a great thing to think nothing evil; but it belongs to no less prudence to be able to repel evil thoughts from their beginning. For the deep inward state of the human heart is always mobile, changeable, manifold, and unstable; to observe its beginnings and restrain its movements is the highest prudence and a great sign of wisdom.

If I have called the heart of man a mill driven by perpetual motion, I have not strayed from the truth, especially if someone wishes to examine its restlessness very closely. For what else is the human heart than a kind of mill, always grinding something in motion? The human heart is never idle; it never rests without motion, but is always doing something. And just as an empty mill consumes itself by its own motion, so the heart of man shamefully runs down from within itself when it is not held fast by thought of the good. It is always moved toward some object with the desire of its love; it is always grinding, always acting, always occupied about something delightful, whether it is good or evil. As the body is not moved without the soul, so the mind of man does not remain fixed in the good unless it is continually restrained by holy exercises.

For this reason the wise man said in Ecclesiasticus: “Gladness of heart is the life of man, and a treasure without defect is holiness, and the rejoicing of a man is length of days. Have mercy on your soul, pleasing God, and contain yourself; gather your heart in his holiness, and drive sadness far away from you.” What is the gathering of the heart, if not the diligent guarding of thought? For he gathers his heart in the holiness of the Lord who continually observes the movements of his thoughts in the fear of God. And therefore Scripture says: “With all custody guard your heart, for from it life proceeds.”

Thoughts take the beginnings of their movements from those things which are presented by the senses, and they wander the more dangerously the less they are considered from the beginning by the judgment of reason. Therefore whoever desires to be watchful over his thoughts, whoever longs to gather his heart in the holiness of the Lord, should first guard his exterior senses most diligently and place the bridle of prudence on each of them. Hence, concerning hearing and sight, Scripture commands thus: “Hedge your ears with thorns, and do not listen to a wicked tongue; make doors for your mouth, and bars for your ears.” “Blessed is the man who stops his ears lest he hear bloodshed, and closes his eyes lest he see evil.” Likewise in holy Job we read: “I made a covenant with my eyes, that I would not even think about a virgin.”

But against those who have fallen through the service of their senses into the pit of sins, the Lord bears witness through the prophet Jeremiah: “Death has climbed in through your windows; it has entered your houses to destroy the little children outside and the young men from the streets.” Death enters our houses through the windows whenever an iniquitous thought is admitted into the mind through the service of sight or hearing. For the house is the conscience, of which Scripture says: “Unless you hold yourself constantly in the fear of the Lord, your house will quickly be overturned.” Therefore the house of conscience must be fortified by the fear of the Lord, and the senses also must be restrained most diligently, because he does not sufficiently guard his thoughts who does not turn his ears and eyes away from the occasion of evil.

And so, if you wish to be a prudent guardian of your thoughts and a true gatherer of the heart in the holiness of the Lord, hedge your ears with the thorns of compunction and the fear of God, lest they hear evil, and turn your eyes away, lest through sight they introduce sin. What you are not permitted to desire, do not look upon with desire; and what it is not expedient to have, do not think upon. Many have perished through the service of the senses, and because they go on carelessly looking at outward things, they have very often shamefully lost their inward goods. He who does not fear danger is certainly already near destruction, and he who presumes on his own strength runs hastily toward the ruin of sin. He who darts his eye into the flash of lightning will be blinded for a time, and he who gazes at the beauty of women will not be free from danger.

I praise the prudence of that monk who is alone in the midst of crowds and sets a censor over his senses, lest they admit anything evil into the house. He stations guards beside the gate, who with sword and club drive back those who rush in disorderly. Fear...

...encouraging him to true wisdom, says among other things: “My son, attend to my wisdom, and incline your ear to my prudence, that you may guard your thoughts, and your lips may preserve discipline.” For it is no small part of wisdom, dearly beloved brothers, if a monk knows how to discern his thoughts prudently and to guard their movements carefully at all times. It is a great thing to think nothing evil; but it belongs to no lesser prudence to be able to repel evil thoughts from their very beginning. For, according to the profound judgment of the human heart, it is mobile, changeable, manifold, and always unstable; and to observe its beginnings and restrain its movements is the height of prudence and a great sign of wisdom. If I say that the heart of man is driven by perpetual motion, I shall not stray from the truth, especially if anyone wishes to examine its restlessness more particularly. For what else is the human heart than a kind of mill, always in motion, grinding something? The human heart is never idle; it never rests without motion, but is always doing something. And just as a mill, set in motion while empty, consumes itself, so the heart of man shamefully runs down from itself when thought of the good does not constrain it. It is always moved toward some object with the desire of its own love; it is always grinding, always acting, always occupied with something delightful, whether to its good or to its harm. Just as the body is not moved without the soul, so the mind of man does not remain in the good unless it has been continually restrained by holy exercises. Therefore the wise man said in Ecclesiasticus: “The joyfulness of the heart is the life of a man and a treasure without loss of holiness, and a man’s exultation is length of life. Have compassion on your soul, pleasing God, and restrain yourself; gather your heart in his holiness, and drive sadness far from you.” What is the gathering of the heart, if not the careful custody of thought? For he gathers his heart in the holiness of the Lord who continually observes the movements of his thoughts in the fear of God. And therefore Scripture says: “With all custody keep your heart, for from it life proceeds.”

Now thoughts take the beginnings of their movements from those things which are offered by the senses; and the more dangerously thought strays, the less carefully they are considered from the beginning by the judgment of reason. Therefore whoever desires to be watchful over his thoughts, whoever wishes to gather his heart in the holiness of the Lord, must first of all guard his outward senses most diligently and place the bridle of prudence upon each of them. Hence Scripture says about hearing and sight: “Hedge your ears with thorns, and do not listen to a wicked tongue; make doors and bars for your mouth, and bolts for your ears.” “Blessed is the man who stops his ears lest he hear bloodshed, and shuts his eyes lest he see evil.” In the book of Job, too, we read: “I made a covenant with my eyes, that I would not so much as think about a virgin.” But against those who have fallen into the pit of sinners by the ministry of the senses, the Lord protests thus through the prophet Jeremiah: “For death has climbed in through your windows; it has entered your houses, to destroy the little children outside and the young men from the streets.” Death enters our houses through the windows whenever an evil thought is admitted into the mind through the ministry of sight or hearing. For the house is the conscience, of which Scripture says: “If you do not constantly hold yourself in the fear of the Lord, your house will quickly be overthrown,” that is, your conscience. This house is very fragile and quickly collapses unless it is upheld by the continual exercise of the fear of God. Unless the Lord guards the house, in vain does the man keep watch who guards it.

Therefore the house of conscience must be upheld by the fear of the Lord, and the senses must also be most diligently restrained, because he is not sufficient to guard his thoughts who does not turn his ears and eyes away from the occasion of evil. And so, if you wish to be a prudent guardian of your thoughts and truly to gather your heart in the holiness of the Lord, hedge your ears with the thorns of compunction and the fear of God, so that they do not hear evil, and turn away your eyes, lest through sight they introduce destruction. What it is not lawful for you to covet, do not look upon with desire; what it is not expedient to have, do not think about. Many have perished through the ministry of the senses, and because they rashly go on looking at outward things, they have often shamefully lost their inward goods. He who does not fear danger is already certainly near destruction; and he who presumes upon his own strength runs hastily toward the ruin of sin. He who fixes his eye on the radiance of lightning will be blinded for the moment; and he who considers the beauty of a woman will not be free from danger. For this reason I praise the prudence of the monk who, in the midst of crowds, is alone, and sets a doorkeeper over his senses, lest he admit any evil thing to the mistress within. Guards are stationed by the gate, who with sword and shield repel assailants rushing in. For the holy fear of the Lord never deserts the mind of a wise man, but, like a strong champion always keeping watch, stands at the praise of his prince, and so guards the mistress of the heart. He turns his ears away from all scurrility of words and shuts his eyes so that they may not see evil. He always walks according to the twelfth degree of humility, with his gaze cast down to the ground, praying to the Lord with the prophet: “Turn my eyes away, lest they see vanity; give me life in your way, O Lord.”

Likewise I admonish you, brothers: direct your senses in the fear of the Lord, so that you may always be able to keep the dwelling of the heart clean and inviolate. Remember that Scripture says: “Be clean, you who carry the vessels of the Lord.” Consider, I ask, with how great a cleanness and purity of mind you ought to shine, who not only carry the vessels of the Lord by reason of the priestly order, but, what is more, you yourselves are the vessels of the Lord. For the holy lover of Christ, Paul, says: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” And again he says: “Do you not know that your members are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” And elsewhere: “For the temple of God is holy, which you are.” And concerning Paul himself, in the Acts of the Apostles, the Lord said to Ananias: “Go, for this man is a vessel of election for me.”

The monk who performs priestly office in the Church of God is bound by a twofold reason to the observance of most holy purity. For Christ’s soldier, because of the vow he made to God, must be pure, holy, and continually tireless in good works; and by reason of the priestly ministry he must be circumspect and most diligently watchful. For it is written: “Cursed is the man who does the work of God negligently.” You are ministers of almighty God, who daily offer his Son at the altar; his work is committed into your hands, and therefore great purity of mind and body is required in your way of life. Therefore, so that chaste purity of mind may remain, the instability of thought must be restrained. The senses must be guarded at all times, for through them the integrity of the mind is corrupted. For you are dead to the world and have already begun to live for Christ. It is not lawful for you to think except holy things, nor is it fitting for you, ministers of God, to love anything earthly. For he whom you serve, O monks, is God; he whom you minister to, my brothers, is almighty. Live pure, holy, and innocent, because it is not fitting for you to be occupied with worldly business, you who have been called to God’s service. Let the love of God and purity of heart grow in you with time, so that the longer you live in this world, the holier you may become. Always turn yourselves away from every evil, so that you may be able to remain without failing in good thoughts. Always lift up the eyes of your mind to heaven, and do not occupy the sight of the flesh with perishable things. Close your hearing also, and yours, to every useless, vain, and foolish speech; always think with fear about the future judgment of God. Do not pollute your hands with unlawful and shameful contact with any things whatsoever, so that you may be able to offer the Son of God with a clean body and a pure conscience.

In food and drink it is not for monks to distinguish flavors, nor is it fitting for soldiers of Christ to love bodily delights. Nature requires little, and rustic foods are enough to nourish it; but appetite, unless it is restrained by the command of reason, is carried off toward unlawful things, and through it the simplicity of nature is violated. Therefore flee excess in all things, and in your manner of life observe regular temperance. Let none of you patiently listen to one who disparages his brothers or speaks ill of his neighbor. Let each one of you restrain his tongue from useless speech, and let a good monk blush to speak ill of any Christian. Let that threat of the Lord in the holy Gospel never depart from your memory, where he says: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man from a good treasure brings forth good things, and an evil man from an evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that every idle word which men have spoken, they shall render an account of it on the day of judgment.” O sentence greatly to be feared! If an account is demanded for idle speech, what do detraction, scurrility, and foul speech deserve? Or if a useless word is judged liable to the reason of strict examination, what answer will he give who so readily speaks what is evil and destructive? An idle word is every utterance of human beings that is brought forth without just usefulness and lacks the reason of legitimate necessity. Therefore, brothers, consider your words, and let no one speak a word not pertaining to the matter either of just usefulness or of necessary reason.

On the Custody and Origin of Thoughts

The holy fear of the Lord never leaves the mind of a wise man; rather, like a strong and watchful fighter who always stands at the side of his prince, so it guards the mistress of the heart. It turns its ears away from every scurrility of words, and closes its eyes lest they see evil. It always walks according to the twelfth degree of humility, with its gaze fixed on the ground, praying to the Lord with the prophet: “Turn my eyes away, lest they see vanity; in your way give me life, O Lord.”

Thus I admonish you, brothers: direct your senses in the fear of the Lord, so that you may always be able to keep the dwelling of the heart clean and inviolate. Remember the saying of Scripture: “Be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord.” Consider, I pray, with what great cleanness and purity of mind you ought to shine, you who not only by reason of the priestly order bear the vessels of the Lord, but, what is more, are yourselves also vessels of the Lord. For the holy Christ-loving Paul says: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” And again he says: “Or do you not know that your members are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” And elsewhere: “For the temple of God is holy, which you are.” And concerning this same Paul, in the Acts of the Apostles the Lord said to Ananias: “Go, for this man is a vessel of election for me.”

The monk who exercises the priestly order in the Church of God is bound by a twofold reason to the observance of most holy purity. For Christ’s soldier must, because of the vow he has made to God, be pure, holy, and continually tireless in good works; and by reason of the priestly ministry, circumspect and most diligently watchful. For it is written: “Cursed is the man who does the work of God negligently.” You are ministers of almighty God, who daily sacrifice his Son at the altar; his work is entrusted to your hands, and therefore great purity of mind and body is required in your way of life.

Therefore, so that chaste purity of mind may remain, the instability of thought must be restrained. The senses, through which the integrity of the mind is corrupted, must be guarded at all times. For you are dead to the world and have now begun to live for Christ. It is not lawful for you to think anything except what is holy, nor is it fitting for you, as ministers of God, to love anything earthly. For he whom you serve, O monks, is God; he to whom you minister, my brothers, is almighty. Live pure, holy, and innocent lives, because it is not fitting for you to be occupied with the business of the world, you who have been called to the warfare of God. Let the love of God and purity of heart grow in you with time, so that the longer you live in this world, the holier you may become.

Always turn your sight away from every evil, so that you may be able to remain without failure in good thoughts. Always raise the eyes of your mind to heaven, and do not occupy the sight of the flesh with perishable things. Always close your hearing also against every useless, vain, and foolish word, and always think with dread upon the future judgment of God. Do not pollute your hands by unlawful and shameful contact with any things, so that you may be able to sacrifice the Son of God with a clean body and a pure conscience.

In food and drink it is not for monks to distinguish flavors, nor is it fitting for Christ’s soldiers to love bodily delights. Nature requires few things, and rustic foods by which it may be nourished; but appetite, unless it is restrained by the command of reason, is carried off toward unlawful things, by which the simplicity of nature is violated. Flee excess in all things, and preserve regular temperance in your manner of living.

Let none of you patiently listen to someone disparaging his brother or speaking ill of his neighbor. Let each one of you restrain his tongue from useless speech, and let a good monk blush to speak ill of Christian people. Let that threat of the Lord in the holy Gospel never depart from your memory, where he says: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man brings forth good things from a good treasure, and an evil man brings forth evil things from an evil treasure. But I say to you that every idle word that men have spoken, they will render an account of it on the day of judgment.”

O sentence greatly to be feared! If an account is demanded for idle speech, what do detraction, scurrility, and foul speech deserve? Or if a useless word is judged liable to the reckoning of a strict examination, what will he answer who so readily speaks what is evil and destructive? An idle word is every utterance of human beings that has been brought forth without just usefulness and lacks the reason of lawful necessity. Therefore, brothers, consider your words, and let no one speak a word that does not pertain to the matter, or that lacks just usefulness or necessary reason.

Homily IX. Fol. XXI.

...of necessity. You have heard in these words the dread sentence of the Lord, and you are not ignorant of the command of our holy lawgiver in the Rule: “As for scurrilities and idle words, or words that provoke laughter, we condemn them to perpetual exclusion in every place, and we do not permit the disciple to open his mouth for such speech.”

Here the holy father Benedict forbids monks three kinds of words, and shuts them out everywhere by perpetual exclusion: namely scurrilous words, idle words, and words that provoke laughter. What “scurrility” is, however, is made clear to us by grammatical interpretation. For scurrility is the opposite of urbanity and modesty; it is a kind of wanton jesting that provokes laughter, an immoderate amusement in words and gestures without reverence or propriety, not in accord with reason, nor befitting a virtuous and good man, nor becoming to the wise. It is called scurrility from the scurra, the buffoon, who frequents the houses of the wealthy and, by wanton and dishonorable words and gestures, provokes his hearers to laughter for a reward or small coin.

This kind of speech the holy father Benedict forbids to monks and has utterly condemned, because those who serve God ought in his sight always to abstain from shameful and dishonorable words. Between scurrility, idle speech, and much speaking there seems to be this distinction: the first sins by dishonorable jesting, the second by lack of usefulness, the third by excess. The first is shameful and dishonorable; the second is superfluous and without use. Foolish speech is rightly joined to these, since it is forbidden not only to monks but also to all Christians. Hence the holy apostle of Christ says: “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as befits saints; nor filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor scurrility, which has no purpose, but rather thanksgiving.”

Likewise every idle word is forbidden to all monks, because, as you have heard, it is prohibited by the Lord in the holy Gospel. Words that provoke laughter are also not becoming to Christian men, and much less do they befit cloistered monks. For the monk, who is dead to the world, is commanded always to think upon his last things; and for the love of God he is ordered everywhere to despise laughter and every insolence of the present life. Laughter is the outward loosening of the mouth that reveals an immoderate inward gladness of the mind. But nothing that exceeds modesty and temperance is permitted to monks, whose life and conversation does not follow flesh and blood, but is compared to angelic purity.

Untimely laughter, poured forth with immoderate levity, is a sign of an undisciplined mind and shows a man forgetful of moderate propriety and modesty. But the monk, who is commanded to imitate Christ and to renounce the world on the condition that he may live in greater purity, must beware of all things that overthrow the manly steadiness of the mind. He must despise all the vain joys of this world for desire of the heavenly homeland, and keep himself always unconquered in every maturity of mind and body. And just as immoderate laughter is forbidden to monks in every circumstance and place, so too they are forbidden to speak words that provoke laughter in their hearers.

Therefore now, dearest brothers, attend to yourselves, and carefully consider how you ought to restrain your tongues. Recall often to memory what the prophet says in the psalm: “I said, I will guard my ways, so that I may not sin with my tongue. I set a guard upon my mouth; I was mute and humbled, and kept silence even from good things.” Recognize that in every place you stand before the Lord God, who is present everywhere, who sees all things, hears all things, knows all things, understands all things, and from whose knowledge nothing is hidden; to whose exact examination all things are reserved. Live in his sight in such a way that you may be able to come securely to his judgment.

Whenever, with our permission or that of the prior, you come together for conversation, take the greatest care, according to the command of our lawgiver, to avoid scurrilous words, idle words, and words that stir up laughter. Let your speech be full of modesty: not loud, not frivolous, not rash, not contentious, lest exact accounts be demanded for them. Likewise flee much speaking, because it is not without sin and makes a monk wearisome to all people. Let the seniors speak, not just anything whatever, but words of saving instruction, by which they may instruct the minds of hearers for the seed of righteousness and kindle them more fully to the love of God. For our holy lawgiver says: “It befits the master to speak and teach, and the disciple to be silent and listen.” And therefore let the seniors speak useful things and teach; let the juniors, however, listen in silence and learn.

And if anything must be asked of the prior, let it be asked with all humility, reverence, and subjection, lest anyone seem to speak more than is fitting. A man is known from his words, and he who multiplies speeches in his mouth is foolish in heart. A man’s speech is the witness of his conscience; and whoever loves modesty and innocence of heart ought to have modest words, free from vanity. For you are ministers of the living God, my brothers. Let no vain, useless, or idle speech go out of your mouth, but only what is good for the edification of hearers, so that it may increase charity in their minds and enlighten the heart in the knowledge and love of the highest truth.

Precious is the tongue of a monk that says nothing at all except what is holy; and worthy of blessing is the mouth from which nothing proceeds except what is divine. Let each person keep his heart clean from every wicked thought, because one who is good in heart does not speak an evil word; and one who truly loves God does not utter idle speech. Apply all care and consideration to your thoughts, because evil must chiefly be watched there where it takes the beginning of its progress, so that as soon as it has begun to arise it may be cut off at the root. For there is no thought of evil so weak that it will not grow with time, if it is nourished by the consent of the thinker.

Therefore evil must be conquered immediately at the beginning, while it is still weak, because when delay intervenes, evil, however small it seemed in the beginning, gains strength. A great fire often arises from a small spark, and from a little thought a great sin sometimes rises up. When thought gives birth to delight, it soon tends to break out into consent, and afterward, if it can, to cast itself headlong even into deed. But when the will has given consent through delight to an evil thought for action, even if what the soul desires is not accomplished, the sin is already consummated before God. But what does Scripture say? “When sin has been consummated, it brings forth death.”

For almighty God looks upon the will of a human being, whether he wills good or evil. Therefore in the holy Gospel he says: “Whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” God counts the will as the deed whenever a person cannot bring into effect what he wished. Therefore again and again I admonish you, brothers, and with all the diligence I can I bear witness, that according to the holy apostle you should walk carefully, not as fools, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Watch most carefully for the snares of the evil demon, and resist evil and unclean thoughts immediately from the beginning, because remedy is considered much too late when the disease has grown strong through long duration.

Accustom yourselves at all times to dwell upon good and holy thoughts, and you will easily be able to overcome the insolence of evil ones. For just as vessels filled with good liquids admit no external corruption, so minds filled with good thoughts do not admit the intemperance of evil ones. For the eye of the heart is that by which God is seen, and through purity of conscience one comes to the glory of eternal blessedness. For the Lord says in the holy Gospel: “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.” A clean heart is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit; and where an evil thought is not admitted, God without doubt abides. A clean heart is the seat of wisdom; and where purity of mind is guarded, no dangers of adversity will do harm.

Be mindful of the Scripture which says: “Perverse thoughts separate from God, but proven virtue corrects fools. For wisdom will not enter a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sins. For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee deceit, and will withdraw from thoughts that are without understanding.” A perverse thought is any thought admitted contrary to evangelical purity; by contact with it, the mind of the one thinking is defiled whenever it delights in thinking over and turning over those things that are opposed to God. These perverse thoughts separate the thinker’s mind from God and little by little cast it down into the depth of evils. For an evil and perverse thought, once it has penetrated, first poisons by the venom of delight, then clouds reason, afterward draws the will into consenting to the evil suggestion, and finally consummates sin in deed. From then on, an evil once presumed is done more freely, and all shame or fear is removed by habit. Sin is joined to sin, and little by little the habit of doing evil is strengthened.

All things. IX. Fol. XXII.

...generates the necessity of sinning. Here is the hardest dominion of death; here is the utmost depth of evils. Whoever has once entered this abyss of sins rarely, indeed not easily, rises again to purity of heart without the special grace of God and the very great labor of repentance. By his own will the sinner has fallen into this pit of death; but without God’s mercy he will not be able to rise again. Most harsh is the yoke of evil habit: if anyone has once submitted his neck to it, he rarely recovers his former liberty of spirit.

All these things are worked by perverse thought when it is admitted into the mind, and through delight is changed into consent and action. For no thought is so small that it does not gradually grow if it is not driven from the mind. Blessed, therefore, is that monk who casts all his thought upon the Lord; who always and everywhere denies a place to depraved thoughts; who despises all the perishing riches of the world; who scorns all bodily comforts. He prepares the purity of his heart for his Lord; he loves nothing in this world except the Lord; he directs all his thoughts to the glory of the Savior, and observes his commandments most diligently.

What monk is happier than he who shows himself to the world not as a citizen, but as a pilgrim? He lives in the world as though he were not in the world; indeed, he is greater than the world, whose whole conversation is in heaven.

Consider now, therefore, dearest brothers, the brevity of this time, and always remember that you are mortal and will soon pass away. For here we have no abiding city, but we seek the one to come; and since we know that so many thousands of men have gone before us through death, let us consider how soon we too must necessarily die. Now indeed a short time, but a very acceptable one, is granted to us, in which we may work the fruits of eternal life. For now is the time for labor; now is the hour for sowing good, because after death each person will receive the reward of his labors, when no further opportunity for labor is granted.

Therefore, my brothers, anticipate this hour of death with holy works, and do not be willing now to fail in the sowing of labor, so that in eternal recompense you may be able to rejoice without end. Let no day pass in which each one of you has not become better, and has not added something new to the good works he has already set before him. Always think on the value of the future harvest, and no greatness of labor will terrify you.

On the Daily Struggle of Temptation: All things, tenth

In yesterday’s sermon, most beloved brothers, I admonished your charities to resist the beginnings of evil thoughts, and to prepare yourselves with all your strength, by good and holy works, for the prize of the future reward. But since, as Scripture bears witness, the life of man upon earth is a temptation, I have thought it necessary to discuss this very matter in your hearing, as much as the Lord grants, so that, having been forewarned, you may be able to fight more strongly against the invisible adversary.

You are not ignorant of the words of the wise man, who says in Ecclesiasticus: “Son, when you come to the service of God, stand in justice, and prepare your soul for temptation.” Let no one think himself free from temptation, brothers, as long as he walks in this mortal way of life; but the more anyone advances in the fear of God, the more cautiously he should know that he must live. For holy Pope Gregory says: “The more our enemy sees that rebellion is being made against him, the more fully he strives to attack. For he neglects to strike those whom he feels he possesses by undisturbed right.” The devil pursues the one fleeing from him, and tries to overthrow the one who rebels against his rule.

You, men, the more you advance in spiritual way of life, the more urgently you must keep watch against the adversary of your salvation. For, as Saint John Chrysostom says, our adversary never sleeps, but is always watchful for the destruction of the human race; and none of us can resist him except one who has learned to keep watch at all times in the fear of the Lord.

And Saint Leo, pope of the city of Rome, says in a certain sermon: “The ancient enemy does not cease to spread the snares of temptations everywhere, so that in whatever way he can, by corrupting the faith of believers, he may darken it. He knows to whom he should bring the enticements of the flesh; into whom he should pour the poison of envy; before whom he should set the incitements of lust. He knows whom he should disturb with grief, whom he should deceive with joy, whom he should oppress with fear, whom he should seduce with admiration.”

[unclear] let us recall all the words of him who says: “You who have been weaned from milk, you who have been drawn away from the breast, expect tribulation upon tribulation, hope upon hope, yet a little while, because of the malice of lips, because of the evil tongue.” Those weaned and drawn away from the breast are men advanced in age, whose part it is to take up tribulation upon tribulation for God, so that they may deserve to gain hope upon hope, as sacred Scripture says: “But we glory also in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience testing, and testing hope. And hope does not confound, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” For through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

For by temptations we become known to ourselves, and we learn whether we truly fear God. Hence the Lord speaks through Moses to the people, saying: “The Lord your God tests you, that he may know whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.” This world, dearest brothers, must be compared to a furnace, in which the fire of temptation and adversity continually burns, and through which we must necessarily pass. In this furnace of tribulation, straw is burned up, but gold and silver are cleansed from every stain. Straw is turned to ash; gold is reserved for the adornment and beauty of the royal palace.

The furnace, I say, is the world; the fire is temptation or tribulation; the gold is righteous people; the straw is the unrighteous and sinners; the craftsman who purifies the gold is almighty God himself, who favors our progress and cooperates by grace toward the merit of virtue. Therefore let us do what God wills; let us patiently bear for love of him what he lays upon us, because, as the holy lover of Christ says, “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us.”

Hence Saint Jerome says: “Who would not wish to be troubled? Who would not desire to be cursed, so that he might deserve to be praised by Christ’s voice and rewarded with a heavenly and abundant recompense? Would that, for the name and righteousness of my Lord, the whole crowd of unbelievers might persecute and trouble me. Would that this whole world might rise up to my reproach, provided only that I may deserve to be praised by Christ and to hasten toward the reward of his promise.”

And the wise man says in Ecclesiasticus: “The furnace tests the potter’s vessels, and the temptation of tribulation tests righteous men.” Therefore, whichever of you, my brothers, desires to reach the kingdom of heaven, whoever takes care above all things to please God, let him willingly learn to take up, for love of him, the tribulations of temptations, and joyfully endure whatever adversity may befall. For there is none of us who does not need daily purification, none who does not fail almost at every moment.

Therefore, if we love our own salvation, if we demand that our offenses be forgiven us and that we be cleansed from every stain of heart, let us patiently bear whatever adversity may happen to us, because the evils of tribulation, which the soul patiently tolerates for love of God, purify it more than the good works it now performs of its own accord in this world.

In this place a great matter for suffering has been left to us, whom want presses heavily, poverty weighs down, and the debt of borrowed money also constrains. What adversity do we not experience in this monastery? What squalls and storms do we not suffer, brothers? By what hardships are we not shaken? None of you can be ignorant how desolate all the goods of this monastery were when, fifteen years ago, regular observance was introduced. But the tribulation of common want rages more severely against me, since I must provide you with the necessities of life, and very often I do not sufficiently know from where I may repay.

Yet your patience consoles my spirit, and the hope that you have conceived in the Lord, the savior of the humble, so that I do not doubt that his mercy will come to our aid in time. And I hear him saying to me through Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have chosen you in the furnace of poverty.” I will gladly have patience in the poverty that, with God so ordering it, we now suffer, so that after death we may deserve to come to the riches of eternity. For the more, in this pilgrimage of ours, we have been afflicted by persecutions, poverty, want, labors, and tribulations, the greater rewards we shall obtain in the future recompense, with the rewarder of the righteous granting them.

Therefore, my brothers, endure patiently with me whatever almighty God has preordained that we suffer, because, as Saint Pope Gregory says, confidence in almighty God is then certain...

Homily 10. Fol. xxiii.

let us diligently recall, saying: You who have been weaned from milk, who have been drawn away from the breast, expect tribulation upon tribulation, hope upon hope, yet a little while because of the malice of lips, because of the malicious tongue. Those weaned and drawn away from the breasts are men advanced in age, whose part it is to undergo tribulation upon tribulation for God, so that they may deserve to receive hope upon hope, as sacred Scripture says: But we glory also in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience trial, and trial hope. And hope does not confound, because the charity of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God. Through temptations we become known to ourselves and discover whether we truly fear God. Hence the Lord speaks through Moses to the people, saying: The Lord your God tests you, so that it may be known whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.

This world, most beloved brothers, must be compared to a furnace, in which the fire of temptation and adversity continually burns, and through which we must necessarily pass. In this furnace of tribulation the chaff is burned, but gold and silver are cleansed from every stain; the chaff is turned to ashes, while the gold is reserved for the adornment and splendor of the royal palace. The world, I say, is the furnace; the fire is temptation or tribulation; the gold is the righteous man; the chaff is the useless and sinful man; and the artisan who purifies the gold is almighty God himself, who favors our progress and, through grace, cooperates toward the merit of virtue.

Therefore let us do what God wills; what he imposes, let us bear patiently for love of him, since the true lover of Christ says: The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that will be revealed in us. Hence Saint Jerome says: Who would not wish to be troubled? Who would not desire to be cursed, and to deserve to be praised by the voice of Christ and rewarded with an abundant heavenly recompense? Would that, for the Lord’s name and for justice, the whole crowd of unbelievers might persecute and trouble me. Would that this whole world might rise up to my reproach, provided only that I might deserve to be praised by Christ and hasten toward the reward he has promised. And the wise man says in Ecclesiasticus: The furnace tests the potter’s vessels, and the temptation of tribulation tests righteous men.

Therefore, whoever of you, O my brothers, desires to reach the kingdom of heaven, whoever above all things is concerned to please God, let him learn willingly to undergo the tribulations of temptations for love of him, and gladly to endure whatever adverse thing occurs. For there is none of us who does not need daily purification, none who does not often fail at every moment. Therefore, if we love our own salvation, if we ask that our offenses be forgiven us and beg to be cleansed from every stain of heart, let us patiently endure whatever adversity befalls us, since the evil of tribulation, when patiently endured for the love of God, purifies souls more than the good works that one now performs in this world by his own will.

Great material for suffering has been left to us in this place: lack presses us heavily, poverty weighs us down, and debt owed to others constrains us. What adversity do we not experience in this monastery? What storms and tempests do we not suffer, brothers? By what inconveniences are we not worn down? None of you can be ignorant how utterly desolate all the goods of this cenobium were when regular observance was introduced fifteen years ago. But the tribulation of want as a companion rages more severely against me, since I am obliged to provide you with the necessities of life, and often I do not sufficiently know from where I shall give them. Yet your patience consoles my spirit, and the hope that you have humbly conceived in the Lord Savior, so that we do not doubt that mercy will come in due time; and I hear him saying to me through Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have chosen you in the furnace of poverty.

Let us therefore gladly have patience in the poverty that we now suffer according to God’s ordinance, so that after death we may deserve to come to the riches of eternity. For the more we have been afflicted in this our pilgrimage with imperfections, poverty, want, labors, and tribulations, the greater rewards we shall obtain in the future recompense, when the just Lord bestows them. Learn, my brothers, to endure patiently whatever almighty God has foreordained for us, since Saint Pope Gregory says: Faith in almighty God is then certain when adversity is endured for a good work, and in this world the scourge of God is received with joy, so that a more beautiful reward may be preserved in the future recompense of the saints.

Again he also says: Those whom the adversity of temporal life humbles take joy from the hope of an everlasting inheritance; for divine dispensation would not restrain them, for their instruction, under the rule of discipline, if it did not perceive that they were to be saved forever. Afflicted, we lose earthly things; but by humbly sustaining affliction we multiply heavenly goods for ourselves. For the present life is a road by which we hasten toward our homeland, and therefore we are often touched in it by disturbances, lest we suppose our homeland to be here.

Therefore let the monk rejoice in his adversity; let the tempted man, to whom the world has been crucified, be glad. Let him trust that he belongs to the fellowship of God, who with a pure conscience always does good and receives the opposite in tribulation. For it is a very true sign of divine mercy if a Christian man is struck by various adversities in this world, while he serves God with a pure conscience. Some whom God sees to be able to sin greatly, he forestalls with bodily weakness so that they may not sin, and mercifully scourges them for their salvation, seeing that it is more useful for their souls to be broken by illnesses unto salvation than to live healthy unto damnation. He wills others to be poor, whom he has foreknown to be unable to use riches for salvation.

For many people have been cast down by the wealth and delights of this world; and that unexpected enemy has struck them more readily because, from long habit of ease, he found them negligent. Hence holy men, when they trust that they are making great progress by prosperity in virtues, rejoice also to be exercised by temptations through a certain moderation of heavenly dispensation, because they guard the glory of the virtues they have received all the more strongly when, shaken by the assault of temptation, they recognize their own weakness more humbly. The way of tribulation is the shortest road to Christ, and a person is found on it more quickly than in tranquility. For the holy bishop Ambrose says: Many seek Christ in leisure and do not find him; and there are those who seek him amid persecutions and quickly find him. In the dangers of his faithful ones he is present, as he speaks of the just man in the psalm, saying: I am with him in tribulation; I will rescue him and glorify him.

Let purity of conscience guard us in adversity; let the integrity of life always be preserved inviolate; and whatever adversity comes will undoubtedly be for us toward the merit of salvation. The ancient enemy, by fighting, can overthrow no one except the one whom he has first found to have fallen away from himself. He seeks those made sluggish by idleness; he undermines the unwary soldier; and he most easily casts down the one whom he finds stripped of arms.

Therefore, my brothers, always keep watch in holy prayers; always be intent on good works, so that whenever the tempter approaches, he may never find you idle. Remember the words of our Savior Jesus Christ, saying in the holy Gospel: Let your loins be girded and lamps burning in your hands, and you yourselves like men waiting for their lord to return from the wedding, so that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him at once. He keeps watch who, standing firm in the fear of the Lord, never dozes in mental sluggishness. He keeps watch who preserves his soul, by the tireless constancy of holy purpose, against any adversities of this world. He keeps watch who never ceases to advance daily in the love of the Lord.

He carries a lamp in his hands who adorns his holy purpose with fitting works. He also holds a lamp in his hands who, cleansed in mind and body, shines for his neighbor through works of holy devotion. Hence the holy lover of Christ, Paul, says in the epistle: I beseech you, dearly beloved, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. He who chastens his body through the pursuits of holy abstinence and brings it into servitude to the spirit has consecrated a living sacrifice to the Lord. But whoever has already learned to keep his heart clean and pure from every pollution of sin has undoubtedly offered a holy sacrifice to the Lord. And whoever perseveres in the purpose of holiness to the end has without doubt offered a pleasing sacrifice.

for when adversity is added to a good work, and in this world the scourge of God is received with joy, beautiful rewards of the saints are being stored up for the future recompense. Again he also says: “God’s dispensation often gives joy from temptation, when it humbles by the adversity of temporal life those whom it sees are to be saved forever, if it did not preserve them by correction under the rule of discipline.” When we are afflicted, we lose earthly goods; but by humbly enduring affliction we multiply heavenly goods for ourselves. For the present life is a road by which we are journeying toward our fatherland; and for this reason we are often touched in it by disturbances, lest we suppose that our fatherland is here.

Therefore let the monk rejoice in his adversity, if, as a tempered servant, to whom the world has been crucified, he trusts that he will attain the fellowship of God: he who, with a pure conscience, always does good, and receives its opposite in tribulation. For it is an evident sign of divine mercy if a Christian man passes through various adversities in this world, while serving God with a pure conscience and living in true humility without offense. For the merciful God frequently strikes in various ways in this world those whom he loves, for whom he has prepared eternal rewards in heaven. But those whom he has foreknown cannot be saved without sin, nor be overtaken by sin through weakness of the body, he mercifully scourges for their salvation, seeing that it is more useful for their souls to be broken by bonds unto salvation than to live unharmed unto condemnation. He wills others to be poor, whom he has foreknown could not come to salvation with riches. For the delights and wealth of this world would have furnished many with the cause of eternal damnation.

Hence Saint Pope Gregory again says: “Many have been laid low by their own previous good fortune; prolonged peace has rendered many conquered, and the unexpected enemy struck them down more grievously because he found them negligent through long use of quiet.” Therefore holy men, when they consider that they are making much progress through the prosperity of virtues, rejoice that, by a certain moderation of supernal dispensation, they are also exercised by temptations; for they guard the accepted glory of virtues the more robustly, the more, shaken by the impulse of temptation, they more humbly acknowledge their own weakness.

Thus the road of tribulation is a shorter path to Christ, and he is found in the heart more quickly than in tranquillity. Saint Bishop Ambrose says: “There are many who seek Christ in leisure and do not find him; and there are some who seek him amid persecutions and quickly find him.” In the dangers of his faithful he is present, just as he speaks of the righteous man in the Psalm, saying: “I am with him in tribulation; I will rescue him and glorify him.” Therefore let purity of conscience be guarded in adversities; let the inviolate integrity of life always be preserved, and whatever adversity comes will undoubtedly be for us unto the merit of salvation.

The ancient enemy cannot overcome anyone by fighting unless he finds that the man has first failed from within himself. He openly seeks to attack; he trips the soldier in the plain, and he casts down most easily the one whom he finds stripped of arms. Therefore, my brothers, always keep watch in holy prayers; always persist in good works, so that when the tempter approaches he may never find you idle. Remember the words of our Savior, who says in the holy Gospel: “Let your loins be girded and lamps burning in your hands, and be like men waiting for their lord when he returns from the wedding, so that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately.”

He keeps watch who, solidly established in the fear of the Lord, never sleeps in the torpor of the mind. He keeps watch who preserves his soul against every adversity of this world through the indefatigable constancy of a holy purpose. He keeps watch who does not cease to advance daily in love of the Lord. He carries a lamp in his hands who adorns his purpose of holiness with worthy works. Likewise he holds a lamp in his hands who, purified in mind and body, shines before his neighbor by works of holy devotion.

Hence Saint Paul, the lover of Christ, says in the epistle: “I beseech you, dearly beloved, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.” Whoever, chastising his body through the practices of holy abstinence, brings it into the service of the spirit, consecrates a living sacrifice to the Lord. Whoever preserves the heart clean and pure from every pollution of sin, has already without doubt offered a holy sacrifice to the Lord. And whoever perseveres in the purpose of holiness even to the end has without doubt offered a pleasing sacrifice. Lum/

Homily 10. Fol. XXIII.

We gird these, however, when we keep our bodies pure and unstained in mind from every form of lust. The virtue of holy chastity is of great merit before God, and, because of the greatness of the struggle, is to be endowed with a special reward in the appointed recompense, as the Lord says through Isaiah the prophet: Thus says the Lord to the eunuchs: Those who keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that I have willed, and hold fast my covenant, I will give them in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name, which shall not perish.

And concerning these the Lord says in the holy Gospel: For there are eunuchs who were so born from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made so by men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who can receive this, let him receive it.

But why did he say, He who can receive this, let him receive it? I think that this statement about eunuchs, who castrate themselves for love of the kingdom of heaven, should not be referred to the cutting away of the genital members, as many, in their exultation, have strayed from the truth of the Gospel, but rather to the mastery of the mind, by which chastity is preserved whole and conceived in chaste love. For they castrate themselves for the kingdom of God, who, for love of God, keep true chastity of mind and body inviolate. And just as no one is easily castrated bodily without the greatest torment of pain, so no one can attain the perfection of chastity without the greatest labor of zeal. And certainly no one is chaste by his own strength, no one modest by his own merits. It is God who gives the good will, and he also joins strength to the will so that it can prevail.

But because it does not belong to many to remain chaste, he leaves each person to his own judgment, saying: He who can receive this, let him receive it. Cutting off the members does not make the mind chaste, since the root of lust is within, and requires something more than the amputation of the shameful parts. But if the mind is chaste and whole, it will easily restrain the insolence of the members. For nothing is stronger than a mind ruling with a pure heart and sweetly loving above all things.

Think now, most beloved brothers, on the future beauty of the breast, and the labor of chastity will not burden you. For to the great height of the breast, to the surpassing joys, the infancy of labor leads. Therefore whoever flees the labor of the contest will never attain the height of honor. Now is the time in which, laboring, we resist the devil; but the eternal age will come very soon, in which, reigning without end, we shall rejoice with Christ.

Let the body be bound fast by discreet abstinence; let it submit to the command of the mind; and let the concupiscence of the flesh be broken by holy exercises, so that it may always obey the counsel of reason. If at any time it begins to swell with movements against salvation, let it also be restrained with blows, because it is better humbly to endure the bruises of wounds than, through the indulgence of the flesh, to cast the soul down into hell.

For it is said in Scripture: Whoever delicately nourishes his servant from childhood will afterward feel him stubborn. The flesh is the servant of the mind, and ought always to obey the command of reason. But if the flesh has been nourished too licentiously, already accustomed to pleasures, it will refuse to bear the rule of the spirit. For a servant is made insolent toward his master whenever he is delicately nourished by him through habit. And it is difficult to bring a rebellious and insolent servant back to humble obedience after he has long been accustomed to kick back.

For it is written: A servant cannot be instructed by words, because he understands what is said and scorns to answer. Therefore the wise man says in Ecclesiasticus: Fodder and rod and burden for the ass; bread and discipline and work for the servant. Put him to work under discipline and he seeks rest; slacken your hand with him, and he seeks freedom. Yoke and strap bend a stiff neck, and constant tasks bow a servant down.

If we begin to transfer these testimonies of the Scriptures from the literal to the moral sense, everything that is said about the servant and the ass we may rightly understand as applying to the sluggish and delicate flesh. For truly the flesh is the servant of the soul, and it always rises up against its master unless it is wearied every day by discipline and work. Whoever keeps it delicate at all times in idleness and pleasures will necessarily find it insolent against spiritual promptings, because, while the flesh is lifted up in pride, the spirit, languishing in idleness and grown lukewarm, is weakened. Therefore, unless you continually humble this servant of yours, namely the flesh, O brother monk, by work and abstinence; unless you place upon its unlawful habits the bridle of continence and sobriety, you will go wholly after it as it runs ahead into the abyss.

On the Daily Struggle with Temptation

Unless you impose upon its unlawful movements the yoke of continence and subjection, you will go wholly with it, as it leads the way, into the abyss. For we know, as the holy Apostle says, that the flesh lusts against the spirit; and unless by the spirit we mortify the works of the flesh, we shall die in its corruption. Nothing casts the soul more headlong into the pit of sin than the insolence of the flesh, which, when it is permitted to live by its own will, struggles back like a contumacious servant against every command. Unhappy flesh, which through the concupiscence of vanity casts the soul down, it will not pass unpunished for you if it has undertaken to suggest any evil to you, for God will judge both. You too will be punished when you have sinned with it, because when Adam, having transgressed the commandment, is driven from paradise, Eve, the instigator of evil, is necessarily joined with him in misery.

Be subject, O flesh, to the spirit, for the Apostle says: 'Those who are Christ's have crucified their flesh with its vices and concupiscences.' And you, O men and brothers, who profess the service of Christ, who have willingly sworn yourselves to the law of monastic life, who have promised to imitate the footsteps of the Savior: attend to your calling, that you may walk carefully, not as the unwise, but as true lovers of Jesus Christ, who by the spirit mortify the deeds of the flesh. You, I say, my most beloved fellow soldiers, always keep watch in good works, mortifying for Christ's love our bodies that are upon the earth, constant in fasts and prayers, and continually occupied in the meditation of the divine Scriptures. Always stretch yourselves toward what lies ahead; each day renew with fresh zeal the fervor of your holy purpose. Flee idleness and every sloth, and diligently consider how brief is the time of this life. Let the brief and moderate labor of a hard struggle not frighten you; let the enemy's importunity not make you fainthearted, since every labor is quickly overcome by willing persistence, and the devil, however fiercely he rages, is conquered as soon as you invoke Christ.

Remember the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who says in the holy Gospel: 'Whoever wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.' But what is our cross, my brothers, except a life full of temptations and adversities, and the burden of regular discipline under which we are wearied day and night? But let us gather our hearts, most dear brothers, and for the love of God gladly take up whatever he wishes us to endure, so that in his judgment we may deserve to say: 'We have passed through fire and water, and you have brought us into refreshment.' O how glorious a reward is laid up in the kingdom of heaven for the servants of God, who now struggle in this brief course and are wearied for his love. Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it ascended into the heart of man, the immensity of that good which almighty God has prepared for those who love him, to remain without end in eternal felicity.

The highest happiness of this good is acquired by humility and possessed by purity of heart and the fervor of divine love. Let us hasten there, most dear brothers; let us run there with all the devotion of mind that we can, where the spirit is joined to its Creator through the enjoyment of sweetness, where the intellect is perfected in the knowledge of the highest good, which is God. There is the joy of everlasting happiness, which does not diminish; there is gladness which does not end; there, after every labor, is perpetual rest; there is the glorious reward for tribulations and injuries borne for Christ. Whatever good we now do, there without doubt we shall find it stored up; whatever adversity we patiently endure for the love of Christ, there we shall receive it back, rewarded with a most abundant prize.

O monk, monk, who spend fruitlessly the time mercifully granted to you by the Lord God for doing good, what do you deserve, or what reward will you receive in that terrible hour, you who are now so sluggish and unwilling to sow? Have you not read in Scripture concerning the labors of the saints: 'Going, they went and wept, casting their seeds; but coming, they shall come with exultation, carrying their sheaves'? Now is the time, O monk, to work the field of your heart; now is the hour to sow good seed with the blessing of cheerfulness, because he who now sows sparingly will also reap sparingly in that future recompense of reward. We must labor now and never cease from good work, since whatever we have now done here, there without doubt we shall receive. Therefore, if there is among you any faithful monk, if anyone is a zealous lover of his own salvation, let him always think on the hour of future reward, which no one can escape; let him always prepare himself to render the account of his stewardship. Let no single day perish in which he has not done some particular good work to send ahead for future recompense.

Omnia XI. Fo. xxv.

Let him consider that he has spent uselessly any day on which he has not sent ahead some good work for which he expects to be rewarded. A good monk should strive at all times to cultivate the field of his heart, and, so far as he can, utterly root out all the thorns and briars of evil affections. Let him learn to love the Lord Jesus above all things with a pure mind, and to keep most diligently whatever he has commanded. Let him sow in the tears of devotion and constancy what he may reap with all the saints in exultation. Let the continual difficulty of laboring not deter the mind; let the hard struggle with the flesh not break the spirit, since he who labors little gathers little fruit at the harvest, and he who now sows much in tears for the love of Christ will bring back most abundant fruit on that day. For this, brothers, is the destination of our journey which we make in the present pilgrimage: that, purified by the continual exercise of labors and adversities, we may depart from here clean and pure for our fatherland.

On Fleeing the Company of the Wicked: Omnia, the Eleventh.

The company of the wicked has drawn many back from the way of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore, my most beloved brothers, we do not cease to admonish you to walk in the way of the Lord with the good and holy, so that by their instruction and example you may become better every day. For as the blessed Apostle of Christ says, imitating a verse of a certain Greek, Menander: 'Evil conversations corrupt good morals.' He does not truly desire to be good who delights in the way of life of the wicked. No one speaks wicked things unless he is first found corrupt and depraved in his heart against the purity of the evangelical tradition. As each person is, and as he goes over things by rumination and thought in the secret of his heart, so speech more often proceeds from his mouth. For the speech of the one speaking is the truest witness of the heart, as our Lord and Savior says in the holy Gospel: 'Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.' For a good man brings forth good things from the treasure of his heart, and an evil man likewise brings forth evil things.

Since, then, he who speaks evil is not good, we must beware of all who use wicked, scurrilous, and pernicious speech, in whose talk certain shameful things frequently resound, while words of holiness are heard either never or very rarely. Shameful speech is the sign of an immodest heart, even if deeds do not follow. Therefore, my dearest brothers, you who have promised, by profession both implicit and explicit, according to the rule and the ecclesiastical statutes of the holy fathers, not only to preserve chastity and every form of modesty in deed until death, but who also ought to be far removed from every unclean thought: flee the company of wicked men and the assemblies of the malicious, and at all times avoid those who speak unjust, shameful, or idle things.

Remember the Scripture saying: 'He who touches pitch will be defiled by it; and he who associates with the proud will put on pride.' Hence holy Pope Gregory says: 'The weak ought to avoid the society of the wicked, lest they delight in imitating the evils which they frequently see and are unable to correct.' And the blessed bishop John says: 'If a good man is joined to an evil one, either they are made equal, or they are quickly separated from each other. For friendships either seek equals or make them.' For the nature of things is such that, whenever a good man is joined to an evil one, the evil man is not made better by the good, but the good man is contaminated by the evil. For diversity of things can never have concord, and wicked society tempts many.

There are among you certain brothers, I say with grief, professed men very forgetful of regular discipline, for whom the cell is a prison, the choir a siege, prayer a nausea, silence a punishment, and the reading of Scripture a weariness. The love of God either never or only rarely lifts their hearts upward, for their whole way of life rests in lower things. Whenever I happen to be absent, they immediately gather among themselves, not to speak of Christ, nor of the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom, nor of the integrity of regular observance, but they produce a long discourse about the vain and useless affairs of this world; and by conversing they busy themselves with tales of kings and wars, matters about which a monk is not permitted to think. But whatever I say to these men, whatever I speak, whatever penance I impose, [unclear].

Homily XI. Fol. XXV.

Let him judge that he has spent uselessly any day on which he has not sent ahead some good work for which he may expect reward. A good monk should strive at all times to cultivate the field of his heart, and to root out completely, so far as he can, all the thorns and briars of evil affections. Let him learn to love the Lord Jesus above all things with a pure mind, and to keep with the greatest diligence whatever he has commanded. Let him sow in the tears of devotion and constancy what he may reap with all the saints in exultation. Let not the continual difficulty of labor frighten his mind; let not the harsh mortification of the flesh break his spirit, since he who labors little gathers little fruit at harvest, and he who now, for the love of Christ, sows much in tears will reap most abundant fruit on that day. Nor is it part of our delight, brothers, what we do in this present pilgrimage, but rather that, by the continual exercise of labors and adversities, we may be purified here and come clean and pure to our homeland.

On Fleeing the Company of the Wicked: Homily Eleven.

The company of the wicked has drawn many away from the way of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore, my most beloved brothers, we do not cease to admonish you to walk in the way of the Lord with the good and holy, so that by their instruction and example you may daily become better. For as the divine apostle of Christ says, imitating a certain Menander, a Greek writer: “Bad conversations corrupt good morals.” He does not truly desire to be good whom the companionship of the wicked delights. For no one speaks wicked things unless he is first found inwardly corrupted and depraved in his heart against the purity of evangelical tradition. As each person is, and as he turns over and thinks upon things in the secrets of his heart, so speech more often proceeds from his mouth. For speech is the most truthful witness of the heart, as our Lord and Savior says in the holy Gospel: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” For a good man brings forth good things from the treasure of his heart, and likewise an evil man brings forth evil things.

Since, therefore, he is not good who speaks evil, we must beware of all who use depraved, scurrilous, and destructive speech, in whose conversation certain shameful things frequently resound, while words of holiness are either never heard or very rarely. Shameful speech is the sign of an impure heart, even if deeds do not follow. Therefore you, my dearest brothers, who have promised according to the rules and statutes of the divine fathers of the Church not only to preserve chastity and every kind of modesty in deed, even to death, by an implicit as well as explicit profession, but also to be far removed from every unclean thought, must flee the company of wicked men; avoid at all times the assemblies of the malicious and those who speak wicked, shameful, or idle things.

Remember the Scripture saying: “He who touches pitch will be defiled by it, and he who associates with the proud will put on pride.” Hence holy Pope Gregory says: “The weak must avoid the fellowship of the wicked, lest they take delight in imitating the evils they often see and cannot correct.” And the divine bishop [unclear] says: “If a good man joins himself to an evil one, either both are quickly made equal, or they are quickly separated from each other. For friendships either seek equals or make them.” For the nature of things is such that whenever a good person is joined to an evil one, it is not that the evil is made better by the good, but that the good is corrupted by the evil. For the diversity of things can never have concord, and wicked fellowship troubles many.

There are among you certain brothers, I say with grief, professed men very forgetful of regular discipline, for whom the cell is a prison, the choir a siege, prayer nausea, silence a punishment, and the reading of Scripture disgust. The love of God never, or only rarely, lifts their hearts upward, since their whole way of life is fixed on lower things. Whenever I happen to be absent, they soon contend among themselves; not about Christ, nor about the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom, nor about the integrity of regular observance, but they draw out long speech about the vain and useless affairs of this world, and by talking together they involve themselves in tales and wars of kings, things about which it is not lawful for a monk even to think. But whatever I speak to these men, whatever I say, whatever I impose as penance, where

On fleeing the company of the wicked: Homily eleven.

...makes progress; those whom evil habit corrupts from the beginning of their training. Nothing, however, is worse than evil habit. He is the monk who neglects to find anything new in all the days of his life, and passes his time in sloth. For Scripture says: A young man walking according to his own way, even when he is old, will not depart from it. Therefore I say to you, venerable elders, I beseech you, I warn you, and with all the urgency I can, by the mercy of God, I ask you: from now on live in such a way, conduct yourselves in such a way, walk in such a way, that your manners may befit the years of old age, and that you, who have already advanced far into age, may offer an example of holiness for the training of the younger men. Without doubt whatever fault is found in the morals of the younger men is charged to you. For the younger men look to you; therefore you ought to go before them in word and deed; you ought to show yourselves to them as an example of complete perfection, so that, when the fullness of every perfect virtue is seen in you, they may be compelled, as though by a certain impulse of reverence, to imitate your holiness. For the conduct of elders gives the younger men an example of living, just as the proverb says: What the elders have sung, the young men have learned.

But you younger men, show reverence with humility to your elders, considering their gray hair; and those whom you know to be more observant in keeping regular discipline, rejoice to have them as teachers by keeping their company. Carefully avoid those who either walk restlessly or observe the purity of regular discipline too negligently. Not men who are called elders are more worthy of imitation by the young; years do not make a monk venerable, but good morals, together with prudence in the love of God, establish him as worthy of reverence. Therefore, whoever among you, dearest brothers, desires to be a true lover of God, whoever longs to make progress in holy monastic conduct, let him always flee the company of undisciplined brothers, as he has professed; and let him seek the companionship of those who support his purpose in the good. For this reason it says in the Psalm: With the holy you will be holy, and with the innocent man you will be innocent, and with the chosen you will be chosen, and with the perverse you will be perverted.

For evil company has harmed many, and one who delights to dwell with the reprobate will not be free from the contagion of sin. Indeed, everyone who lives among the wicked and reprobate must necessarily have the integrity of his life damaged, at least somewhat, by their perversity. For either he does not correct them and becomes like them and evil, or he will hate them and be an enemy to many, and for that reason iniquity necessarily follows. But if, overcome by the multitude of the wicked, he has once begun to delight in their company, he is already corrupted in three ways, and little by little he will be corrupted further. If, however, he detests the works of the wicked, he will suffer wearisome inconvenience, and his desire for progress toward the better will be slower in proportion as he is more troubled by the company of the perverse.

Yet I give thanks to almighty God for you, because even if not all of you are as fervent in the love of God as I would wish, nevertheless, as I trust, you all live far removed from the stain of sins and from the rashness of pride. And my exhortations and fatherly admonitions, which I make to you daily as I am bound to do, you receive willingly, although not all of you yet show them perfectly in deed. But I hope in the Lord Jesus that he will complete in you the good which he has begun, so that my joy may be fulfilled, and I may see you all burning with one purpose of zeal and one fire of holy fervor, delighting and being exercised in the workshop of divine love.

But since some have not yet taken up the fullness of the amendment I desire, I am compelled by just necessity to admonish those who are making progress, that, rising up with a manly spirit, they should flee the wicked societies of the sluggish. For as yet the fire of divine love is small in their hearts; as yet the fire of holy fervor burns new and weak, and unless it is nourished by daily kindling, it will easily suffer loss. Therefore again and again I warn you who have begun to receive the fervor of inward love: continue steadfastly with the spirit by which, inspired by the Lord, you are directed; and those whom you find opposed to you in this holy journey, whether by deed or speech, avoid as deadly poison. For just as water extinguishes the fire onto which it is poured, so the beginning of a holy purpose in novices is harmed by the examples of the lukewarm.

Beware of conversation with those men who, as I see, are negligent in observing the commandments of God and monastic purity, because, since they are stirred by carnal passions, out of the abundance of the heart they speak nothing but vain and carnal things. For wicked conversations corrupt the good morals of the young. All their pursuits are empty, and their words are useless, indeed pestiferous; being carnally minded, they do not know the exercises of divine love. For just as one diseased sheep gradually corrupts the whole flock, so one slothful and perverse monk in a congregation often becomes the cause of many transgressions. As, according to holy Christopher, a little leaven that remains corrupts the whole mass of flour with which it is mixed by its smell, so young and new monks who associate with lukewarm and slothful elders are imbued with their depraved morals and never thereafter are restored to the integrity of a holier way of life.

Therefore I say to you elders: be a pattern of living for the young by good works and chaste and always modest speech, so that whenever they are corrected for their faults, they may not defend themselves by the examples of their elders. For it is utterly shameful for elders to be culpable in those things for which the younger men are deservedly rebuked. I beseech you, elders, live in such a way that before you the younger men may presume to say or do nothing that seems reprehensible. Let the wicked fear you as judges, not as men acting in the place of patrons, because as many as sin by following your examples are reckoned to have perished through your instruction. Let there be among you no one lukewarm or slothful, because desires kill the lazy man, and vanity destroys every idle monk. Let there be among you no verbose man, no wanderer, no gadabout, no murmurer or restless man, because whoever delights in such things and pursuits destroys himself by evil action and kills his brother by his examples.

Let there be among you no mocker of the simple, no despiser of the humble, no rash and censorious man, because one who is ready to mock will be consumed in his own folly and will not be glorious. He opens his mouth against the humble, always seeking quarrels, and rejoices that he is talkative about the deeds of others. He will not prosper in his counsel; and if he is raised to some honor, he will quickly fall into the depths. His pride is hateful to God, because, though he is foolish and senseless, he boasts that he is learned and wise. Soon his foolishness will be laid bare, and grave punishment will seize him inwardly.

His mouth will meditate folly, and there is no equal around him. He will be hateful to those near him and to his neighbors, and no faithful man will pursue his friendship. Even if he takes on the hypocritical pretense of simulation, his foolishness will draw others into aversion. He hates peace, loves discord, and will be caught in the sloth of his mind; and there will be no one to grieve with him. He will be crushed by a double affliction, because he did not permit peace to those who had it. The devil has made a nest in his tongue, and Satan has had his dwelling in his mind. Therefore there is no love of the brothers in his heart, because he sows discord between the shepherd and the sheep. He boasts that he is a friend of God, and accepts no one as his equal in regular observance, but he does not understand the very great humility of the Canaanite monk. He does not open his mouth to words of spiritual edification, and from his heart nothing proceeds except vanity. All day long, dissolved in mind and wandering in body, he runs about in the monastery; he gives himself to useless and wholly idle talk; he thinks nothing of the salvation of his soul; he cares for his belly as his god. Guard your soul from his speech, and do not set your foot in the path of his words.

Whoever you are who desire to show yourself a monk and minister of the cross, whoever you are who truly love the Lord Jesus with your whole heart: be cautious and watchful in all your works, and always flee the company of those in whose life nothing is taught and nothing heavenly is seen. Be a companion and associate of humble monks who follow perfection; and gladly admit as preceptor and master the one whom you have known to be grounded in the fear of God. Walk gladly with those who love discipline and purity of mind, and do not be like a man who yields when shaken by every wind; but strengthen your soul in a good purpose, lest you be taken by the counsel of the wicked. For it is best to establish the heart by grace, and neither to be able to deceive nor to wish to deceive. Have as your friend a brother of discipline; and the one by whose word you can be corrected from evil and instructed toward good by example, love and venerate as a father. Have no commerce of familiarity with a restless brother, lest at some time, encouraged by his evil example, you fall into the rebellion of the proud.

Let not a wrathful monk, full of murmuring, be at your side when he stubbornly kicks back against his superiors, nor ever choose him as a friend. Whoever you see violating the canonical fast without the elder’s blessing, flee him as an enemy of salvation; and flee the one who, overcome by talkativeness, without any cause disturbs peace and stirs up quarrels. Flee a rebellious monk, disobedient to elders, as from the face of a snake, because he seethes full of the poison of malice and in arrogance of mind has lost his soul. He who does not obey the command of an elder is perverse; and he who, when corrected, is not humbled is an apostate. Let the one who detracts from and speaks against his brother not be in conversation with you, because he is far worse than a thief.

Whoever you see wholly solicitous in regular observance, love him as a father and venerate him as a most loving preceptor. Keep confidently to the familiarity of the one whose friendship always makes you better in the love of God. With all zeal imitate good men, and follow the manners of those who live in conformity with monastic perfection. Have as your friend a brother of good will, but turn your ears away from the one who is hard-hearted. Let the one who is light in mind and dissolved in conduct be to you like a man who scatters a hedge in a field. Do not be the companion of one who despises the rule and silence, who does not distinguish places or times, who without the prior’s blessing multiplies words everywhere.

Avoid the monk who is given to wine and drink, who too often exceeds the monastery’s canonical measure, as an encouragement of lust and a spring of all vices. The monk who, by the counsel of his own head, strives against the elder’s command is near perdition and hastens breathlessly into the danger of his soul. Do not share in the works of a stubborn monk, and do not have the friendship of one who, laughing at his own rashness, speaks against his superiors in deeds. Be continually in the midst of those who are disciplined, and let your soul gladly walk with the humble. For whoever joins himself to proud men will never be exalted.

He who raises his voice when speaking and cries aloud with a straying voice cannot hide the folly of his heart, and he will boast in his vanity. The friendship of good men is the firm salvation of the soul, and in the company of the wicked the innocence of the simple is corrupted. The company of those whose fear of God has confirmed the examples of good works is best. Nothing is more precious than a friend who fears God, and nothing more dangerous than a companion who has an evil will. A brother who fears God with his whole heart will be a wall of strength for his friend; and whoever is joined with such a man in soundness of mind is sanctified at all times by the blessing of the Spirit of God. He who walks among those who fear God is upheld, lest he fail, as though by a very strong wall around him.

From his words the servant of the Most High will be known, and works of holiness mark out the good monk. No shameful, scurrilous, or idle word comes from the mouth of one who fears the Lord; and he who is a true lover of Jesus does nothing that offends goodness. In the mouth of the monk who loves God Christ always resounds, and he who is a true worshiper of God demonstrates the word of justice both in his mouth and in his work. He who fears God is the best counselor, and he who walks according to the canon is a prudent judge of thoughts. An elder who fears God, and has been proved and tested for a long time in regular observance, is a director of young men; and one who has no stain on his garment is a good instructor of novices. Whoever is an understanding teacher and interpreter of the divine Scriptures, guarding his soul in humility, receive all the words of his mouth gladly as if they were golden, because they have the marrow and solidity of future eternal happiness. He who is truly learned has compassion on the weak; and he who loves Jesus exhorts the wavering soul to strength.

He who walks with a talkative man will not escape contention, and he who delights in lying will never be a friend of wisdom. He who is constantly occupied with external things will not make progress, and boasts without cause that he is a monk. The purpose of holiness is quickly corrupted when a monk more frequently wanders outside his cell with desire. He who leaves the secrecy of his cell without the elder’s command does not strive toward the perfection of a holy purpose. Beautiful is the company of good men and of those who fear God; and one who has grown accustomed to live with them will not feel confusion.

The heart of a young monk is a clean tablet, on which the conduct of elders is inscribed, never to be erased. The worst writer on a beautiful heart is an elder who either does or says shameful things before a young man. He who infects the minds of young men with rash speech is like the impious Herod who

On Avoiding the Company of the Depraved.

... he who by rash speech infects the minds of youths is like the impious Herod, who killed the boys. The evil that a young man receives from a foolish and negligent old man, even when he has become a priest, he will not correct. Every vessel that is filled with vinegar is spoiled; and a monk who is neglected in his novitiate is not corrected when he has grown old. Cursed is the old man by whose evil way of life youths perish, because he who has left evil tracks for those who follow him is like one who with his own hand has hurled a blind man into a pit. Before the inner Judge each person is worthy of as many deaths as the innocent people who have perished by his depraved example.

Young man, seek an old man as the moderator of your life: not one who has passed many years in a dissolute and lukewarm way of life, but one whom the fear of the Lord and knowledge of God’s Scriptures commend. Better is the company of a young monk who fears the Lord than the fellowship of an old teacher whose life lacks the light of divine love and the integrity of regular observance. An old man disordered in morals, lacking cleanness of mind and without discipline, is like one injured in the leg, led lame to the grave. An old and dissolute monk is like a foolish man who, not knowing the end, is taken among robbers at a drinking feast. An elder without maturity is like a little elder-pipe of sambucus, crushed under the feet of players.

He boasts vainly that he has been a monk for many days who has not perceived the beginning of the interior life. He who loves the cleanness of his heart guards himself at all times from the company of undisciplined brothers. Just as a spot of pitch clinging to the garments of dancers grieves virgins, so a good young man blushes at the shameful words of elders. Lascivious speech is not the speech of a man who fears God, because the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart; and he who brings forth shameful words is not clean before the Most High. If sinners begin to hate you because of the fear of God, do not be saddened, because unless you displease the wicked you will not attain the perfection of the good. For to displease the wicked on account of righteousness is praiseworthy, and is a clear sign of divine love. If you love your soul, flee the counsels of the undisciplined, and do not associate with mockers. Walk with the good, and let him who fears the Lord be your counselor.

On Monks Sent Out on the Road. Homily XII. Fo. xxvii.

It belongs to monks to flee the world, and, for love of solitude, to avoid the crowds of men as much as possible at all times. A monk is so called from solitude, just as one is named from unity. He cannot be a monk who follows after the frequenting of peoples; and he who delights in cities has not yet tasted monastic sweetness. If you are a monk of a cenobium, you ought not abandon its solitude without reasonable cause; and if you are bound to silence, you ought not be pleased by the conversations of worldly people. Whoever loves wandering excursions in the city has abandoned his conscience; and he who is often outside his monastery does not preserve the purity of inner progress. He who goes around the houses of relatives and delights in the feasts of neighbors does not consider himself a monk; and he who goes to the banquets of drinkers kills his own soul. He who sleeps in the house of his kinsman seeks comfort, and he who avoids the assemblies of the religious follows destructive liberty.

A monk in the house of his father and mother is like a lamb in the midst of wolves, and like a hare surrounded by hunters’ dogs. If you are a monk, if a servant and soldier of God, what are you doing in the house of your parents? Or what are you seeking in the midst of peoples? A monk remaining for a long time outside the cenobium among secular people is like a man who has buried his only-begotten son beneath the depths of the waters. For just as fish have no life on dry land, so monks have no salvation of soul in the world. Outside the river the fish dies, and the purity of a monk’s conscience is quickly violated outside the monastery. The life of monks is in the cenobium, and the death of souls is amid secular business.

It is a great virtue of the soul to flee the crowds of men, or, when it is altogether necessary to be among them, nevertheless to avoid them in mind. At times we are compelled by necessity to make a journey through the world; but the purity of conscience is polluted all the less by encounters with men, the less the desire of the mind is drawn away from the secrecy of the cell. Therefore every good monk must be warned that whenever, by the command of the elder, he is sent out on the road for the necessity of some matter, he should never wander outwardly in his mind. He who does not guard his senses is quickly corrupted when evil is set before him; and he who casts off the fear of the Lord necessarily returns impure to the monastery.

On monks sent on the road.

...will return to the monastery of necessity, and impure. When a stream flows out, by its muddiness it soils the beauty of the open meadows around it; and when a monk attends to the tales of secular people, he stains the purity of his conscience. Therefore, before you set your foot outside the monastery, arm yourself with holy prayers; and before you go out, do not fail to commend your road to the Lord with prayers. Then carry out what the lawgiver commanded, and entrust yourself for protection to the prayers both of the abbot and of all the brothers.

Prescribe for yourself the canon of strict regular observance, so that, holding it firmly in memory, you may guard your soul from every drift toward the vanities that meet you. Go nowhere out of the monastery without the abbot’s blessing, because, since you ought to be dead and buried to this world, nothing further will be lawful for you without the command of your superior. Recognize yourself as a soldier of King Jesus Christ: let your whole life be governed by command. For a monk who goes out of the monastery anywhere without the abbot’s permission is like a little sheep in the darkness, burned up in the fire of a house.

But a true monk of Christ, even when he is outside the monastery in body, remains in the cloister of the mind; and he is no less alone when with many than he is accustomed to be solitary in his cell. The lover of Christ thinks of Jesus even in the midst of a multitude; and he who is a true worker of virtues keeps his heart firm in the fear of God in every place. For even if he is not in the monastery in body, nevertheless by the strength of his spirit he always stands as firmly as if alone in the cloister. The spirit is not defiled by the body’s movement, when the solitude of the mind is guarded.

O monk, you must live with the same holiness on the road with which you are commanded to conduct yourself in the monastery, and you must walk with a certain greater caution, lest you scandalize anyone by a more lax example, where there seem to be as many judges of monks as there are onlookers present. The eyes of all secular people look toward monks, and in their works they seek the holiness they hear them profess. A monk gives more offense in one rash word than a man given to the world does in ten thousand. For however frivolous and scurrilous a worldly man may seem, he has nevertheless not learned to tolerate calmly the insolence of monks, because in rustic simplicity everyone believes cloistered men to be not as they are, but as they ought to be. Hence a bad word or deed among them is charged to a monk’s damnation, while it is imputed to pardon in a worldly man.

And not without reason. For a monk who has professed a holy and approved rule is bound to direct his whole effort toward perfection, and in every purity of mind and body to surpass by far the conduct of secular people in word and deed. For a light or idle word, which is granted to secular people for pardon, is reckoned to cloistered men for destruction. Gold is more precious than all metals and is more greatly desired by mortals; and in none is a stain or corruption of falsity more quickly charged. And the defect that is discerned in gold with judicial severity is overlooked in other metals because of the cheapness of their nature. Gold gladdens the eyes by its beauty, and by its virtue strengthens the heart of life. Gold, when fused in fire, is not diminished; and the true monk of God is not changed from the purpose of holiness in the tribulation of persecution.

A small stain on a golden vessel greatly displeases in the sight of a powerful man; if a clay vessel is crooked, no one detests it. When a monk offends in small matters, a great outcry of many arises against him, because his conduct is compared to gold. The canonical life of monks is a golden mirror. Gold in the midst of mud receives no stain upon its nature, but preserves all its beauty inviolate. So too the true monk and lover of Christ remains, when sent on the road among people, the same as he has learned to conduct himself in the privacy of his little cell, because he walks before the Lord pure in mind and body alike. For if he is a true monk, he is not stained by the dust of another’s conduct, nor is he changed from the rectitude of his holy purpose by anyone’s presence or conversation. Among the tumultuous conversations of worldly people he thinks of something else, and the lax conduct of others does not delight his mind. He who is firm in heart is not divided even in the midst of disturbances.

Therefore, monk, you who desire to be good, gather your mind back to yourself; and before you leave your cell for the journey, set your heart in order. Let the fear of the Lord always be the companion of your journey.

[unclear] will return. When it is green, by its muddiness it stains the beauty of the surrounding meadows; so, when a monk gives attention to the tales of secular people, he defiles the purity of his conscience. Therefore, before you set your foot out of the monastery, fortify yourself with holy prayers; and before you go out, do not neglect especially to commend the road to the Lord. Then carry out what the lawgiver commanded, and entrust yourself to be protected by the prayers both of the abbot and of all the brothers.

Prescribe for yourself the canon of the strictness of regular observance, under the steady remembrance of which you may guard your mind from every distraction of the vanities that meet you. Never go out of the monastery without the abbot’s blessing, because, since you ought to be dead and buried to this world in your conduct, it will not be lawful for you thereafter to do anything without the command of your superior. Recognize that you are a soldier of King Jesus Christ; you must follow the whole emperor, without whom there is no salvation. He, fastened to the cross, was taken down not by his own hands but by those of others; if you desire salvation, your will must necessarily be governed by the abbot’s command. For the monk who goes anywhere out of the monastery without the abbot’s permission is like a little sheep in darkness, which trembles when the house burns with fire.

But the true monk of Christ, even when he is outside the monastery in body, remains in the cloister of the mind; and he is no less alone when with many than he has been accustomed to be solitary in his cell. The lover of Christ thinks of Jesus even in the midst of a crowd; and he who is a true worker of virtue keeps his heart firm in the fear of God in every place. For even if in body he is not in the monastery, nevertheless, through the vigor of his mind, he always stands fixed and steadfast, as if alone in the cloister. The spirit is not polluted by the body’s motion, when the solitude of the mind is kept secure.

You must live on the road, O monk, with the same holiness with which you are commanded to conduct yourself in the monastery, and you must walk with a certain greater caution, lest you scandalize anyone by a more lax example, where there seem to be as many judges of monks as there are observers present. The eyes of all secular people look upon monks, and in their works they look for the holiness which they hear them profess. A monk gives more offense by one reckless word than a man given to the world does by ten thousand. For however frivolous and buffoonish a worldly man may seem, nevertheless he has not learned to tolerate calmly the insolence of monks, since with rustic simplicity he believes all cloistered men to be not as they are, but as they ought to be. Hence among them an evil word or deed is charged to a monk for condemnation, whereas it is imputed to a worldly man for pardon.

This is not undeserved. For a monk who has professed the holy and approved canon is bound to direct his whole effort toward perfection, and in word and deed to surpass by far the conduct of secular men in all purity of mind and body. For a light or idle word, which is granted to secular people for pardon, is judged for cloistered men to be destruction.

Gold is more precious than all metals and is more greatly desired by mortals; and in nothing is a stain or corruption of falsity more quickly detected. And a defect which is discerned in gold with judicial severity is overlooked in the other metals because of the baseness of their nature. Gold delights the eyes with its beauty, and by its virtue strengthens the innermost parts of life. Gold, tested in the fire, is not diminished; and a true monk of God is not changed from the purpose of holiness in the tribulation of persecution. A small stain on a golden vessel greatly displeases in the sight of a powerful man; if an earthen vessel is crooked, scarcely anyone detests it. When a monk offends in small matters, a great outcry of many is raised against him, because his way of life is compared to gold. The canonical life of monks is a golden mirror. Gold in the midst of mud receives no stain upon its nature, but preserves all its sweetness inviolate.

So too the true lover of Christ, such as he has learned to conduct himself in the secrecy of his little cell, such also he stands among men when sent onto the road, because he walks pure in mind as well as body before the Lord. For if he is a true monk, he is not polluted by the dust of another’s way of life, nor is he changed from the rectitude of his holy purpose by anyone’s presence or conversation. Amid the tumultuous talk of worldly people he thinks of other things, and the dissolute conduct of others does not delight his mind. He who is single in heart is not divided even in the midst of those making an uproar. Therefore, monk, you who desire to be good, gather your mind back to yourself, and before you leave your cell for the journey, dispose your heart. Let the fear of the Lord always be the companion of your road.

and let the keeping of monastic discipline never depart from your side. Fence your ears with the memory of the last things, lest hearing vain speech pollute the integrity of your mind. Let your eyes, humbly cast down to the earth, take care not to look at what it is unfitting for a servant of God to desire. Do not take part in the conversations of carnal men; if you cannot avoid their company, take care not to give them your mind. Even in the midst of ribald men, do not transgress your rule, and do not abandon your accustomed gravity. Do not fear the insults and reproaches of mockers, and let your heart not be troubled by the words of men of darkness. The preservation of monastic discipline is justice, and those who despise the simple persecute the innocent with laughter.

Keep your holy purpose in all things, and the Most High will avenge the injury. Do not say in your heart, “I suffer violence,” nor be ashamed at the words of those who deride you. The glory of a monk is to endure insult, and the crown of beauty is to rejoice in reproaches. He who is patient under injuries is stronger than Atlas, and he who is not saddened when mocked is greater than all. If you fix your desire in heaven, nothing on earth will trouble you; if you are a true monk, your heart will exult at injuries. There is a judge in heaven who knows all things, and he is the Most High God, who cares for all things. He is the just repayer of merits, and he will remember his poor. The more, now in this life, you cast your soul down into the depth of humility for love of him, the more in future glory you will be exalted above the rest. For by patience heaven is climbed, and by humility the kingdom is reached. For Christ himself also had to suffer, and so to enter into his glory.

A self-indulgent soldier is one who seeks delights while his emperor endures insults and mockeries, and while he hangs on the gibbet of the cross for his army, the soldier himself follows pleasures. A soldier who goes out naked to war without weapons, and a monk who disdains to embrace patience and humility amid insults: the destruction of both is swift. The monk who is a sincere lover of Christ is not angered by injuries, does not threaten those who bring insult, stands fixed in his holy purpose, and, however much the wicked provoke him, is not moved.

Just as timely rain increases hay in the meadows, so merit grows for the monk from the humble endurance of injuries. Humility is the sinew of all virtues, and constant patience under injuries for the love of God is the mine of good works. Therefore, when you are about to go out on the road from the monastery, prepare your heart for the endurance of injuries, and strengthen your mind against the insolences of mockers. When worthless men behind your back shout out, repeating the name “monk,” remember Christ mocked and spat upon before the governor, who did not answer a word, but in silence preserved patience. Imitate him as your leader, O monk; always listen to him as your teacher, who was meek and humble of heart. Do not answer a word to those who mock you; do not turn your face backward, but say with the prophet: “Those who sought evils for me spoke vanities, and all day long they meditated deceits. But I, like a deaf man, did not hear; and like a mute man not opening his mouth. And I became like a man who does not hear, and who has no reproofs in his mouth.”

Christ did this; Jesus taught this; the king of all commanded this. If you wish to be his disciple, you must always be ready for every injury. When set upon a journey, do not neglect to say your canonical prayers with what devotion you can, and always turn over something good with yourself in your mind, either by praying or by meditating. The Lord goes with you, and his holy angels accompany you as you walk. And therefore preserve a clean heart in all things, lest you offend the majesty of such great companions. The Lord is wholly eye and ear; from his knowledge nothing is hidden. Apply constant guard to your words, and let deliberation of the heart precede every word of the mouth, so that you speak nothing at all for which you could repent. The mouth of a monk will speak both few and reasonable things, and his lips never go beyond measure in speech. His whole conduct is set toward the edification of his neighbor, and he who teaches very many by his morals, even when silent, speaks useful things. He who is a true lover of God walks most humbly on the road, and he who fears the Most High restrains his mouth from loud laughter. In your whole life, think of yourself as mortal, and live as one dying, as one who is already breathing out his last breath. Happy is the kingdom, and rich before God the province, in which monks rise with the dawn, since where there is no fear of God the cloistered theaters are filled. The monk on the road

Concerning monks sent on the road.

As the man to whom the Lord speaks, when he wakes from sleep, remembers nothing of what he had dreamed, so too the monastic canon commands. Therefore no one should presume to report any other things he has seen or heard outside the monastery, for this is a very great distraction. If anyone presumes to do so, let him undergo regular punishment. The same applies to anyone who presumes to go out beyond the cloisters of the monastery, or to go anywhere, or to do anything, however small, without the abbot's command.

Since we have voluntarily undertaken this rule of life and have sworn by his words, it is not lawful for any of us to turn back or to attempt anything to the contrary. What he has seen or heard outside, let him leave outside when he returns from the road, and not bring novelty in among the brothers, lest he produce various distractions of mind. He who keeps the commands of the Lord's rule is a lover of discipline. The man who always multiplies words and walks on the road speaking vocabulary after vocabulary is [unclear]. But the humble brother, speaking with God in the hidden silence of the heart, likewise walks rejoicing in his simplicity. Whatever the father's ordinance has commanded, he considers most diligently; and wherever he is, he carefully preserves everything.

The monk who is sent on the road, if he is preserved pure and keeps himself from every stain of fault, returns joyful to the monastery, and, as though he had escaped the danger of the sea, hastens with longing to the harbor of rest. But he who has lost shame, having become insolent, returns sad and deserving punishment, as though to a prison.

The true monk of Christ the Lord neither seeks nor loves the friendship of secular people, but despises it; but those who multiply familiar relations with people unlike themselves gradually fall away from their purpose of holiness. Cursed is the cloistered man who puts his confidence in human beings and withdraws his heart from the Lord God. Do not seek friendships with men, but take care to obtain the fellowship of the invisible angels. Frequent friendships with mortals do not suit a monk; through them the vigor of the mind is loosened and empty occupations are introduced. For just as dripping water over a long time hollows out stone, however hard and solid, so too excessive familiarity with secular people gradually softens monastic rigor. Have charity toward all, but familiarity with few.

He who has God as his friend easily disdains human familiarity; and he who speaks with angels takes very little delight in the conversation of mortals. Whenever on the road you see a sign of the Lord's Passion or of the Crucified One, do not pass by unless you say: I give you thanks, Lord Jesus Christ, for the pain of your wounds, for the shedding of your most holy blood, and for your most innocent death, which you endured for us on the altar of the cross. I beseech you, by your bitter Passion, have mercy on me now and in the dreadful hour of my death. Repeat this most blessed prayer often as you go, and never pass an image of the Crucified One unless you have given thanks to the Savior.

Do not quarrel with the one who walks with you on the road, lest, when he has returned to the monastery, he remember some evil thing against you. He who provokes his companion on a journey to impatience is like one who drives a rabid dog to bark by striking it. The wicked man is overcome by gentleness, and the humble of heart calms one stirred up in mind. Among secular people do not pour out speech, lest perhaps they take occasion for mockery against you.

We permit good things to be spoken of [unclear] among young men; but let the one who is lower in rank listen to him. The weary ploughman hastens to rest; and the monk who is sound in mind returns with longing to his cell, hastening by a direct way. Let the word be weighed in the mouth until reason brings forth a judgment with equity; and speech that can instruct its hearers should not be hidden.

Do not trust the songs of flatterers, for [unclear] turns the innocent man away, and they soothe his ears with disordered speeches. A monk who is fed on contentions is like [unclear], and like a spasmodic man who stirs up quarrels under the name of religion. Do not presume to speak before the learned, lest perhaps, when you do not understand the parable, you be laughed at by those standing around. The monk who recognizes himself as such does not use profound speech; and the one who teaches little ones makes questions plain.

When you go to people unlike your profession, do not boast in anything; but if you are questioned, answer humbly in few words. When set on a journey, always think of God, and regard reverence for your senior as your companion. Do absolutely nothing that you would wish not to be known to him, for, as the holy [unclear] says, in whatever...

The servant of Christ is believed to act in Christ’s place in the monastery; therefore he is rightly honored by all. Live, then, as though you always had him present before your eyes, and whatever you would not presume to do or say while he was looking on, do not attempt in any way when he is absent. For it is foolish consolation, when conscience is gnawed by guilt, for sin to lie hidden from men, and for one who knows himself sick unto death to flee the judgment of his shepherd. A monk who does evil and wants it hidden from his prelate has violated the integrity of the monastic rule and has gravely sinned against the fifth degree of humility. For it commands thus: The fifth degree of humility is this: if, by humble confession, he has not concealed from his abbot all evil thoughts coming into his heart and evil deeds done by him in secret.

These are the admonitions of father Benedict; these are the holy teachings of monastic instruction. If you, monk, despise or neglect them, you are proved forgetful of your own salvation. It is a sure sign of humility if a monk has not refused to open his heart to his senior, and wants none of the evils he has committed to be hidden from his shepherd. He who confesses his offense with humility will be strengthened against the adversary of his salvation; and he who hides his thoughts will advance into evil. For there is no evil thought so small that it will not gradually grow if neglected, and no vice so slight that it will not gain strength if it is dissembled.

Therefore evil thoughts must be driven away at once, from the beginning, because when a depraved thought is not immediately extinguished, after delight it begets delight; delight, in turn, begets consent; consent plunges one into action. Then the action of evil, more often repeated, produces habit; habit, necessity; necessity brings on despair; despair, contempt; contempt, obstinacy; and that soon begets the eternal death of the soul. For Scripture says: When the wicked man has come into the depth of evils, he despises. Is not your abbot, O monk, the shepherd and physician of your soul? Am I not, my dearest brothers, after God, the one who feeds your mortal bodies with necessary nourishment? Am I not compelled to minister to you the word of salvation? If you, the sheep, flee the shepherd, what pastures of the spirit do you expect from us? The sick man who flees the physician despises his own salvation and willingly kills his own soul.

Fo. XXIX.

A monk, therefore, walking in the way of malice and turning aside from the paths of justice, is near to death; and he falls so much the more into the depth of vices as he is less brought back by the judgment of the one correcting him. But he is truly a monk who guards his soul from every iniquity and does nothing at all that he would wish his shepherd not to know. He who conceals his way is not pure, and he who flees the presence of judges increases suspicion. Like a sheep you walk in the desert, to be seized by the wolf, negligent and impure monk, who withdraws yourself from the knowledge of your shepherd and are devoured by demons. A diseased sheep running to destruction, and a monk hiding every sin: there is no salvation for them unless they return to the physician.

Monks returning from a journey should immediately, on that very day, according to the monastic rule, prostrate themselves before the brothers and in the sight of all, so that whatever has been committed on the way through negligence may be expiated by the common prayers. For the common prayer of many avails greatly for washing away sins, if it has been poured out to the Lord with the fervor of devotion.

Here ends Homily XII, On monks sent on a journey.

On the daily expiation of sins

Since we have been placed in this corruptible life, dearest brothers, we offend daily in many things; and however holily we may seem to conduct ourselves, we are not free from sin. For the body, which is corrupted, weighs down the soul, and the earthly dwelling depresses the mind that thinks many thoughts. For Scripture says: There is no just man on earth who does good and does not sin. Likewise the evangelist John says: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Indeed, the soul sins through commerce with the flesh, when it is too much delighted, and the strength of the spirit is lessened by despair. For the mind is deceived by the presentation of sensible things, and readiness to offend is strengthened by long habit. The weakness of the flesh weakens the fervor of the spirit, and the frailty of the will resists the holy purpose of the mind.

Hence Solomon, the wisest king, says in the book of Proverbs: Seven times in a day the just man will fall and rise again, but the wicked will fall into evil. By the witness of this sentence we are admonished not to grow lukewarm in the purpose of holiness, even if it should happen that we have fallen seven times in a day. As often, O monk, as you fall from the purpose of holiness through sin, so often rise again to penance, intending thereafter never to return. For however often men have fallen, they can always rise again to repentance, and by tears and prayers obtain the grace of God which they had lost by sinning. For the heart of man is flexible and can be moved in either direction, because no man in the flesh can become so evil, if he makes use of the grace of the Lord.

Since these things are so, my brothers, you must be admonished by today’s exhortation to walk carefully, so that anyone who, with conscience as witness, already walks in the paths of justice may persevere daily by making progress in that path; and anyone who understands himself to be guilty before the Lord may amend his life as quickly as possible. If human frailty daily drives you, or, to speak more properly, casts you down and makes you offend, let the love of God and of your own salvation also stir you daily to expiate your fault humbly through true contrition. For thus the just man falls seven times in a day and rises again, since even if he slips through human frailty, nevertheless, always persevering in the purpose of holiness, he is strengthened more and more in soul in the love of God.

For while he keeps his conscience immune from grave sins, he is unwillingly defiled by daily negligences; and when he sees that he cannot live without offenses, he groans the more deeply, humbly acknowledging his own weakness. But if he has also been overtaken by a graver offense, he soon rises again to amendment through penance. Therefore, considering the condition of human frailty, the ancient governors of monastic discipline established various kinds of expiation, by which monks of good will might daily make progress toward the better, and the wicked might be compelled to the observance of regular life.

For in the Rule the holy father Benedict commands thus, saying: With all solicitude the abbot should take care concerning delinquent brothers, because the physician is needed not by the healthy but by those who are ill. For this reason the first leaders in the observance of the rule established, with provident consideration, that every day after Prime an assembly of faults should be held in the appointed place; in it, with the abbot or prior presiding, the deeds of all the brothers should be brought into the open with equal examination.

This place, my brothers, bears the figure of the purgatory of souls, because here not only are past sins expiated, but we are also forearmed against future ones. For in this place, which we call the chapter house, whatever you have done wrong openly is corrected and expiated through salutary penance. Here every day, with the reader reciting it, you come to know your monastic law, according to whose integrity you have promised to live. Here on each day you hear the exhortatory word of salvation. Here you listen to brief recitations of the victories of Christ’s martyrs and their manifold sufferings for the orthodox faith. This is the school of monks, necessary for the consideration of regular discipline, in which everything commanded to cloistered men for observance is learned.

There are two things, my dearest brothers, which this place requires of you: one, that in correction you always be humble Homily XIII. Folio XXX.

that you always maintain humble patience in correction; the other, that you willingly receive our exhortation, such as it is. Desiring you to be prepared for the first of these, our holy lawgivers ordered the brave deeds of the martyrs, whose imitators you ought to become, to be read; and then, so that you might be teachable in spirit, they commanded you to submit your necks to the yoke of the Rules. And so, that you may be strong in imitation of the holy martyrs and patient under necessary rebukes, the account of their passion is read here in your ears, so that, with your minds prepared for salutary doctrine, the reading from the Rule which you profess may be recited to you at the same time. The holy martyrs of Christ strengthen you by their example toward patience; and the blessed Benedict admonishes you by his teaching that you too should be prepared for injury.

Therefore let none of you, most beloved brothers, refuse in this place humbly to receive penance each day for his negligences; let no one disdain it. This place is the public expiation of sin, in which the severity of judgment is so tempered that the mercy of discretion is not violated. For I wish to be the physician of your souls, not their destroyer. Therefore approach the examination of our judgment without fear, so that, when you are charged with negligences committed openly, you may humbly proclaim them. I do not wish to burden you beyond the Rule, so as to transfer the most secret offenses of conscience from sacramental confession to the public examination of faults, which we know some have done to the grave harm of the souls of their subjects. For our lawgiver Benedict speaks thus in the Rule: “But if the cause of the sin is hidden in the soul, let him disclose it only to the abbot or to spiritual elders, who know how to heal their own wounds and those of others, and not to reveal or make them public.”

There are two places in the monastery for the expiation of sin: one for those sins that are manifest, and the other for those that are hidden. For manifest sins are to be expiated publicly before all in the daily proclamation of faults; hidden sins, however, and those whose disclosure would scandalize the weak, are to be referred to confession. For when anyone’s sin is manifest, it must also be punished publicly; and one who has offended in secret must also be corrected in secret. There are certain rulers of cloistered communities who bring the hidden sins of their subjects to public examination Homily XIII. Fol. XXX.

...that you should preserve patience; the other, that you should willingly receive our exhortation, such as it is. For the first point, our holy lawgivers, wishing you to be prepared, prescribe that the brave deeds of the martyrs, whose imitators you ought to become, be read; and then, so that you may be teachable in mind, they commanded that you be subjected to the discipline of the Rule. Thus, so that in imitation of the holy martyrs you may be brave and patient under necessary corrections, the account of their passion is read here in your ears, in order that, your minds prepared for saving instruction, a reading from the Rule which you profess may be recited to you. The holy martyrs of Christ encourage you by their example to patience; blessed Benedict also admonishes you by his teaching that you be ready even for injury.

Therefore let none of you, most beloved brothers, refuse in this place humbly to receive penance each day for his negligences; let no one disdain it. This is the public place for expiating sin, in which the severity of judgment is so tempered that the kindness of discretion is not violated. For I wish to be the physician of your souls, not their destroyer. Therefore come securely to the examination of our judgment, so that, concerning negligences committed openly, you may humbly proclaim them in simplicity. I do not wish to burden you beyond the Rule by transferring the most secret offenses of conscience from sacramental confession to the public examination of faults, which we know certain persons have done, to the grave detriment of the souls of their subjects. For thus our lawgiver Benedict says in the Rule: “But if the cause of the sin has lain hidden in the soul, let him disclose it only to the abbot or to spiritual elders, who know how to heal their own wounds and those of others, and not to uncover or publish them.”

There are two places in the monastery for the expiation of sin: one for those sins that are manifest, and another for those that are hidden. Manifest sins are to be expiated publicly before all in the daily proclamation of faults; but hidden sins, and those whose manifestation would scandalize the weak, are to be referred to confession. For a sin that is manifest must also be punished publicly; and one who has offended in secret must also be corrected in secret. There are certain rulers of cloistered persons who do not fear to bring the hidden sins of their subjects to public examination; in my judgment they do not carry out the rights of their office with sufficient prudence, since they close off the way of salvation to their subjects and bind the free act of confession under the bond of ill will. How dangerous this is, no one with even moderate wisdom fails to understand. For the holy founder rebukes this rashness in dealing with the passions when he says to monks: “The abbot must exercise very great solicitude, and with all sagacity and industry take care not to lose any of the sheep entrusted to him. Let him know that he has undertaken the care of weak souls, not tyranny over healthy ones.”

We have appointed for you four spiritual counselors from among the elders, so that if any of you has been overtaken by some hidden temptation and has conceived shame before us, he may be able to have secure recourse to them for his consolation. Yet so far we have found no one in the whole congregation whom we have observed to have withdrawn trust from us, whether in confession or outside it. For all of you know and plainly see that I seek nothing more in you, desire nothing more, than your salvation and the daily increase of spiritual progress. You are my crown, you are my good, you are my joy, because I count myself happy when I know that you have made progress in the love of God.

You have obtained a worthy opportunity for progress, dearest brothers, since the place in which we serve the Lord is remote from every disturbance, and we do not cease to advance you toward better things by daily admonition. Whenever one of you falls into some sin through human frailty, he is not permitted to remain long in dejection of spirit, since one is proclaimed by another in true fraternal charity each day for his negligences. This is the workshop of salvation, in which the mind is fed by the food of heavenly teaching, and the soul, by public sanctification, is daily cleansed from the stains of offenses. This is a place of purgation on earth, in which the monk is discreetly corrected for his negligences; and by humble patience, for the love of Christ, he is daily offered in a long martyrdom. It is my part, brothers, in this arrangement of faults, to correct discreetly those who are proclaimed; it is yours to suffer all things most patiently.

On the daily expiation of sins

to make satisfaction. For we must make satisfaction for our sins; and if we neglect to do this in this life, in the life to come we shall necessarily do it under compulsion. There are some among you who take correction badly. To them we declare what we have often said: that those who refuse to endure small and light things here must necessarily endure very grievous things in the future. But I, considering their weakness and ignorance, am grievously tormented within myself, because I see their minds wounded and yet am afraid to apply the necessary medicines. For if I apply remedies suited to their diseases, I fear that, made fainthearted, they may fall into despair, or certainly, given over to a reprobate sense, may withdraw altogether from their holy purpose. Therefore I use as much discretion as I can, as all of you will bear me witness, preferring to send the weak, through patience with charity, to purgatory, rather than, through just severity, to have them descend in despair to hell.

For who in this mortal life has ever been able to make satisfaction for sins who has not applied, or does not now apply, the good will of penance? For good will alone commends the works of penitents. But since many are punished unwillingly, they are still far removed from perfect satisfaction. Believe me, my dearest brothers, that satisfaction for sins is commended more by suffering than by acting. For even our Lord himself and Savior of us all, Jesus Christ, expiated the sin of the whole world by suffering on the altar of the cross. Would that you knew what an effective medicine it is for a soul stained by sins to receive proclamations and corrections with humble patience, and also, for the increase of perfect satisfaction, to bear injuries and insults with equanimity. I am certain that humble patience in adversity far surpasses every kind of satisfaction; and the readier the mind has been to bear insults and injuries for the love of Christ, the more easily and quickly it obtains from the Lord pardon for all its sins and a fuller indulgence.

For this place in which we now speak is the workshop of purgation and expiation; in it zeal for regular discipline holds first place, discretion presides over the examination, and charity directs and completes all things. Therefore in this very place patience is very necessary for you, for without its presence no satisfaction will be completed. Whatever monk is a zealous lover of his salvation and comes to this place as to a workshop of expiation diligently never goes away from it without having been made better than he was. For this place is to be feared and dreaded by demons, but dear and greatly venerable to the holy angels of God; in it the fault of humble monks is washed away, and whatever is committed openly is also expiated publicly before all. But if some hidden fault has been committed by any of you, the secret confession of the penitent will likewise purge it away. In both cases pure confession with humility is required, and both here and there patience is declared necessary for you.

Therefore, whatever monk desires to be good, prepare your soul in all patience, so that both in adversity and in prosperity you may keep the tranquility of your mind most constant. When you have been proclaimed by some fellow-brother for your negligences, bear it patiently, brother, with all humility, faithfully bringing to mind how innocently the Son of God was accused for you. For if that just and innocent one, who committed no sin, suffered insults, why should you not patiently bear reproof from a senior, you who offend daily in many things? He most patiently endured innumerable injuries for your salvation; and why should you not, for your sins, humbly and patiently endure brief and few admonitions? For if, when you are justly proclaimed in judgment, you are blamed for fault, you must necessarily be patient, since you yourself have deserved what you suffer; and humble toleration in correction will be imputed to you as satisfaction for sins. But if you did not deserve the proclamation in judgment, nevertheless bear it patiently for the love of Christ; then it will be reckoned to you not only as satisfaction for preceding sins, but much more as justification. Therefore whether a monk is proclaimed justly or unjustly, he has no just cause for defense, because if he has sinned, he suffers deservedly; but if he is innocent, he is the more bound to patience. For no one who is not patient and humble will be able to imitate Christ. But since a monk of Christ is especially bound to be his disciple and imitator, it is especially fitting for him to be patient. Without to make satisfaction for his sins, and to expiate all his iniquities by the daily chastisement of his body in humility.

Know, my brothers, that there is no sin so small that the justice of almighty God lets it go unpunished. Therefore, since there is none of us who has not offended in many things, arm yourselves, I beg you, with patience and humility, so that as often as you are corrected for your sins, you may bear it with all gentleness. For in this time of free choice you can make satisfaction for many debts with comparatively slight expiation, whereas after death in purgatory the soul will be tormented for a long time and most severely even for small faults. Indeed, voluntary satisfaction has great value; what is done from necessity wins less favor. Altogether, brothers, it is fitting and necessary for souls to be cleansed of sin, if they are to reign in heaven and rejoice with Christ. But the soul that has neglected the purging of its sins in the present life will be punished more heavily in the life to come.

Let none of you say, my dearest brothers, what many ignorant people are accustomed to say: “It is enough for me if my soul undergoes the pains of purgatory.” Believe me, brothers: whoever has said this word from the heart does not consider what purgatory will be. For he does not know what he is asking who desires purgatory. Just as a man is foolish who, when he could pay his debt as a free man, scorns to do so and willingly goes to prison, so he deserves to be judged the most foolish of all men who, when he can make satisfaction to God for his sins in this life, puts it off to the future. The penance of this life is fruitful, and voluntary satisfaction is also greatly meritorious; after death, however, there will be no place for repentance, but each one will then receive according to what he has done in his body, whether good or evil.

Think on these things, brothers, while you live in health, lest, overtaken by the command of death, you finally grieve too late. Let not doubtful tomorrow await today’s salvation; and he who can pay his debt with grace while at liberty should not allow himself to be dragged to prison with torture. As much as each person can throughout his whole life, let him take care to make satisfaction for his sins, because the spirit returns secure to the Lord if, while still existing in the body, it is daily purified by the fire of divine love. You have here a place in which the daily expiation of public offenses is carried out; if you kept true and humble patience in your soul, you would undoubtedly obtain the certain remission of them all. As for secret and hidden sins, not only does the Rule admonish you what you ought to do, but daily sacramental confession also instructs you in all things.

For we are accustomed daily, each one devoutly, to offer the Son of God at the altar; and none of us approaches that most holy mystery unless he has first, according to custom, made confession, because the greatest purity is required where, through the Mass, the salvation of the whole world is renewed. In the midst of these things, most beloved brothers, who among us would not make daily progress in the love of God, unless he shamefully and entirely laid aside every desire for progress? For I dare to say that a monk who does not make progress in this holy congregation is plainly proved to have utterly forgotten his own salvation.

Believe me, brothers: God will save no one against his will. If you neglect your own progress, it will not be imputed to him, but to you. For God is the intellectual light that enlightens every man coming into this world, as the high-flying John says; but those who do not receive the light necessarily remain in darkness. He who turns his mind away from the faith that is in the Son of God remains in darkness; and if he does not do the works of light, faith will profit him nothing for salvation. Outside the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ there is no salvation, and whoever thinks otherwise is not a Christian. O man, do not let a foolish notion of piety seduce you into believing that anyone outside the Christian faith has salvation unto eternal life. For Christ, the only Son of God, is the sole Savior of the world; whoever does not believe in him, the wrath of God remains upon him, and he will be condemned with the devil.

But you, my brothers, who already believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, I beg you henceforth to live in such a way that, Christian in name and deed, you may be able to come to his fellowship, who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, throughout all ages.

On True Penitence

On the daily expiation of sins

[unclear], and humbly to expiate all their other iniquities by the daily chastisement of the body. Know, my brothers, that there is no sin so small that the justice of almighty God leaves it unpunished. Therefore, since there is none of us who does not offend in many things, arm yourselves, I beg you, with patience and humility, so that whenever you are corrected for sins in the body, you may endure it with all gentleness. For in this time of free choice you can make satisfaction for many debts with a small expiation, whereas after death in purgatory the soul will be tormented long and most grievously even for small sins.

Indeed, voluntary satisfaction is of great value; but what is done from necessity merits less toward grace. Altogether, brothers, it is fitting and necessary that the soul be purged of fault, if it is to reign in heaven and rejoice with Christ. But the soul that has neglected the purgation of its faults in the present life will be punished more heavily in the life to come. Let none of you say, my dearest brothers, what many ignorant people are accustomed to say: “It will be enough for me if my soul has reached the punishments of purgatory.” Believe me, brothers: whoever has said this word with his heart and mind does not weigh what purgatory will be. For he does not know what he asks who desires purgatory.

Just as he is foolish who, when he could pay his debt as a free man, scorns to do so and willingly goes to prison, so he must deservedly be judged the most foolish of all men who, when he can make satisfaction to God for his sins in this life, postpones it to the future. The repentance of this life is fruitful, and voluntary satisfaction is also very meritorious; but after death there will be no place for repentance. Then each one will receive according as he has done in his body, whether good or evil. Think on these things, brothers, while you live in health, lest, forestalled by the command of death, you at last grieve too late. Let today’s salvation not wait for a doubtful tomorrow; and he who can pay his debt with grace and in freedom should not prepare himself to be dragged to prison with torment.

As much as each person can throughout his whole life, so much let him take care to make satisfaction for sins, since the spirit returns securely to the Lord when, while still existing in the body, it is daily purged by the fire of divine love. Here you have a place in which the daily expiation of public offenses is carried out; if you hold true and humble patience in your mind, without doubt you will obtain certain remission of them all. As for secret and hidden faults, not only does the Rule admonish you what you ought to do, but daily sacramental confession also instructs you in all things. For at the altar we are each accustomed daily to offer devoutly the Son of God; and none of us approaches that most holy mystery unless he has first confessed according to custom, since the highest purity is required where the salvation of the whole world is renewed through the Mass.

Amid these things, most beloved brothers, who among us would not daily make progress in the love of God, unless he shamefully and utterly laid aside every desire for progress? For I dare say that the monk who does not make progress in this holy congregation is proved to have utterly forgotten his own salvation. Believe me, brothers: God will save no one unwillingly. If you neglect your own progress, it will be imputed not to him but to you. For God is the intellectual light that enlightens every man coming into this world, as John, soaring aloft, says; but those who do not receive the light necessarily remain in darkness. He who turns his mind away from the faith that is in the Son of God remains in darkness; and for him who does not do the works of light, faith will profit nothing toward salvation.

Outside the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ there is no salvation, and he who thinks otherwise is not a Christian. Do not let the consideration of foolish piety seduce you, O man, so that you believe that someone outside the faith of Christ, in any religion whatever, is to be saved, however innocently he may live or according to the law of nature; for just as outside Noah’s ark there was no life for men, so outside the Christian faith there is no salvation for anyone unto eternal life. For Christ, the only Son of God, is the sole Savior of the world; whoever has not believed in him, the wrath of God remains upon him, and he will be condemned with the devil. But you, my brothers, who now believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, I beg you, live hereafter in such a way that, Christians in name and deed, you may be able to come to his fellowship: he who lives and reigns with God the Father, God in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.

On true repentance.

all the joys of this world always and everywhere to despise for love of God, and to refuse to undergo no adversity or hardship for the honor of your Savior. For thus the canon admonishes you, thus the monastic institution commands, thus reason necessary for salvation dictates. You are commanded to be content with every vileness and extremity, and always to be fearful in all things.

But I see that many of you overturn the rule of salvation and live in the monastery otherwise than you ought. Monks now are not afraid to seek delights in monasteries, though they came from the world to conversion poor and beggarly. For the things they could not have outside, if they are now lacking in the monastery, they rebel against humility as if they had suffered the gravest insult. Woe to the monks whom not love of God but want has made cloistered men, whose god is the belly, and who think of nothing less than poverty.

It is not yours, O monks, henceforth to seek delights in the monastery, which the rule commands you wholly to renounce. It is fitting for you to despise all pleasures of the present life, and to love absolutely nothing in this world except God. For your whole way of life ought always to be bound to divine services, since you promised to live according to the spirit and not according to the flesh. He who is a true monk never lives without penance; rather, whoever truly longs for the feasts of eternal happiness daily mortifies his body through abstinence. For it cannot be that a monk should enjoy the delights of the present life and the eternal ones; but if he longs for those, he must despise these.

For the monk who professes the cenobitic canon is commanded to be a disciple of Christ the Savior. If he desires to please him in truth, he must become his imitator. Thus he says to him in the holy Gospel: Whoever wishes to be my disciple, let him follow me. And what it means to follow him the knowing apostle John teaches in a certain epistle, saying: He who says that he remains in Christ ought himself also to walk just as he walked. And the Lord himself again says in the Gospel: Whoever wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son or daughter above me is not worthy of me.

Your master has not spoken obscurely, O monk, nor has he wrapped his meaning in riddles; rather, he has uttered a plain discourse, in which you can offer no excuse. For Christ himself is the pattern and rule of good and perfect conduct for every Christian, and especially for the monk. The cloistered man who does not follow him with his whole heart in these things boasts in vain of his profession of faith. For just as a Christian is called from Christ, so a disciple is named from imitation of the master. Therefore imitate the master in conduct, so that you may prove yourself a true disciple of Christ.

For the Lord Jesus Christ, whose disciple you profess yourself to be, O monk, though he was rich, became poor for us; but you, though vile and needy, seek abundance of all things in the school of poverty. And though the preceptor commands you to despise all things for love of him, you again desire to possess all things in the monastery. Your Lord and master was obedient to the Father for us, even to death on a cross; but you, full of pride and impatience, either refuse to obey your superiors for love of him, or obey unwillingly and with indignation.

For your salvation he endured not only the words and reproaches of wicked men with the greatest patience throughout his whole life, but also lashes, livid blows, and horrible wounds for love of you. He also did not refuse to undergo a most shameful death, so that he might recall your soul from the error of death to the life of eternal light. From the day of his birth he lived in the world poor and humble, filled with many tribulations and reproaches, so that by teaching and benefits he might restore you, a most ruined man, to recognition and love. For what would we be, if the Son of God had not appeared as man, except most utterly lost? And what are we, if we do not imitate the master according to our strength, except ungrateful?

Woe to us ungrateful mortal monks, who disdain to follow humbly our Lord and Savior. Let us examine our way of life, brothers, and compare the disciples with the master whose name has been invoked over us; and we shall plainly understand how far we have withdrawn from the paths of our most kindly preceptor. But let us return again with our whole heart, I pray, and do penance, because we have withdrawn far from the way of salvation, serving the flesh rather than the spirit. Let no one deceive himself with the vanity of hope; let no one wait until the last hour of this life, when he can no longer sin, for penance, because neither the length of life has certainty.

Homily XIII. Folio XXXIII.

Nor does delaying repentance bring security. He who does not repent while he is healthy is foolish; and he who does not amend his faults when he can, by the just judgment of God loses the power he has deferred. Repentance is fruitful when it has been voluntary by freedom of choice; but when the danger of death is already pressing, it seems rather to be necessary than to have been taken up by repentance's own choice.

Let no one say in his heart, my brothers, let no one think that the labor of repenting is hard, and for that reason must be deferred until the last little portion of this life. That thought is exceedingly dangerous, since the fixed term of life, which divine providence has appointed for each person, just as he has willed it to be hidden from all, so he will not prolong it for anyone who deliberately defers repentance.

If we wish to be safe and secure in conscience, let us do penance while we are healthy, while we are able to sin, while no necessity of approaching death yet presses upon us. For it is a very doubtful thing to do penance when necessity already compels, and the nearness of death makes you no longer able to sin: when, that is, you have not dismissed your sins, but they, finding you powerless, have dismissed you.

O how many, deceived by the hope of a longer life, descend into the abyss of eternal damnation, who when healthy scorned to do penance. For the longer you defer repentance, the less disposed to repent you will always be found. Wickedness gains strength with the passage of time, and there is no sin so small that it does not grow by neglect. Therefore embrace repentance while you are healthy, and do not put it off from day to day, since you know what you can do today, but you do not know what tomorrow will be. For each day brings its own new troubles, and he who today is not disposed toward repentance will perhaps be less fit tomorrow.

But let none of you say, “What sin have I committed that repentance should seem necessary to me, when my whole life is nothing other than a certain hard and long necessity of repenting?” You have heard Scripture testify that there is no man on earth who does good and does not sin, since no one is clean before God. For even if he does not commit the great crimes of human wickedness, such as homicide, theft, adultery, fornications, and things like these, nevertheless, because you have been set in that calling in which you ought with all your strength to raise every effort toward the state of perfection, sins that are small for mortals living in the world are certainly imputed to you as more serious.

For all sins, so far as possible, must be avoided by cloistered men, not only those that impede salvation, but also those that stain the perfection enjoined upon them. And which of you lives with as much purity as monastic perfection requires? It is a great sin for a monk if he has set aside his effort toward perfection, if he has lived negligently in the monastery, if he has transgressed even one commandment of the canon and the Gospel. And who among you, brothers, loves the Lord God with such sincerity, such charity, and such fervor of love as a man is bound to love his maker and redeemer? Or whom will you give me from among all of you who does not at some time exceed, either in taking food or in drink, more than befits the integrity of monks? Which of you does not offend in word, or who is not sometimes disturbed by evil thoughts? Whom among you has acedia not struck, and whom has sad sloth not troubled? Who is there in this small congregation of yours whom elation does not touch, and whom impatience has not quite often made murmuring?

Let each one of you consider the paths of his way of life, and he will find that he fails in many things, even at any moment. For what if a monk has committed no evil? What if he has kept himself clean from this wicked age? He will not be able to be perfect unless he has both turned away from evil and done the good that his perfection requires. For one without the other does not suffice, but from both perfection rises up in a man.

Therefore, brothers, we must always keep watch with the highest zeal, so that we may satisfy the institution of the holy fathers, according to which by public profession we have solemnly bound ourselves to live, in order that we may direct our effort without interruption toward the perfection set before us. Let not the consideration of our own weakness draw us back from holy effort, because we are helped no less by the grace of the creator than we run by our own desire. Just as every day, by living rather negligently, we fail on many occasions in many things, so also at every moment, rising from the torpor of mind, let us renew holy effort in a good purpose. Let us join tears to holy prayers, and with devout supplications always call upon God's help.

Let us keep charity inviolable in all things, since it is charity that covers the multitude of sins. Each day the good soldier of Christ, who desires to be faithful to his Lord, should examine himself by discussion at least once, and should consider more diligently how much he has advanced or fallen back in holy desire on that day. Whenever he finds that he has failed in anything, let him immediately do penance, and with tears ask mercy from the Lord. Let him not wait doubtfully for tomorrow; salvation is today, and he who can quickly find pardon should in no way insert a delay. Let him at once grieve in heart that he has sinned against the Lord; let him also renew his holy purpose with new fervor, and let him judge that he has utterly lost that day on which he did not become better by advancing.

Prayer should always be on the monk's lips; constant compunction should be in his heart; tears of devotion should continually flow from his eyes; and the exercises of inward love should never recede from his memory. The most bitter remembrance of the Lord's passion should often be in the mind of the cloistered man; and all the prayers he makes to the Father should be offered to God in the power of the blood and wounds of our Lord, whether prayer is being extended to God or meditation on his words is being turned over in the mind. Let the devout monk turn away from evil and do the good he can, with cheerfulness and discretion of the Spirit of God, since, as has been said, for doing penance it is not enough to change one's morals for the better and withdraw from evil deeds, unless one also strives to adorn one's conscience with good works.

For true repentance, therefore, as you know, my brothers, four things are required. The first is true contrition for sins, which is a voluntary sorrow of the heart, undertaken in detestation of the evils one has committed. Of this Scripture says: “A contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise.” And again: “Those who sow in tears” [unclear]. Sorrow of contrition is greatly useful; the greater it is, the more fruitful repentance will be. For true contrition is that which both sorrow of mind commends and the continual cleansing of tears attests. Great is the usefulness of tears, because there is no sin so grave that contrition, accompanied by tears, does not destroy it.

Hence the holy teacher Augustine says: “O humble tear, how powerful and virtuous you are, for yours is the kingdom, yours is the power. You do not fear the gaze of the judge; you impose silence on accusing enemies; you alone enter to the king, but you do not return alone; you conquer the unconquerable and bind the omnipotent.” The same man also says: “The holier anyone is and the fuller of holy desire, the more abundant is his weeping in prayer.” True compunction has sorrow; sorrow, moreover, is shown by tears, and by these repentance is adorned as if with certain ornaments. True compunction makes the soul shudder at sin, and when it has begun from fear, increased by its own growth, it gradually rises up into love. Its virtue is great and its power truly wonderful, before which every enormity of sins soon gives way. For whomever true compunction of heart has made suppliant, the merciful Lord soon hears him.

O happy tears, O saving affliction and truly sweet bitterness, by which [unclear], through which the compunct soul rises up to the mercy of God. For, as the holy [unclear] says, [unclear] is renewed. The second thing that pertains to the truth of repentance is a firm purpose of amendment, since whoever has the word of confession on his lips and does not have the purpose of amendment in his heart is either deceitful or empty. But whoever has it in his heart and not on his lips is either proud or timid, and by no means fit for true repentance. For Scripture says: “With the heart one believes unto righteousness, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” This sentence, lovers of Christ, is especially true in the time when the statute of the Church has decreed confession necessary for salvation. The third, therefore, is confession of the mouth. For the truth of repentance, contrition of heart alone is not sufficient, especially from this point, nor is the purpose of future amendment alone sufficient. But what this saving confession ought to be, I know that none of you is unaware.

On the True Penitence of Monks

... let us invoke him with supplications. Let us preserve charity inviolate in all things, because it is charity that covers a multitude of sins. Each day the good soldier of Christ, who desires to be faithful to his Lord, should examine his conscience by discussion at least once, and consider more carefully how much on that day he has advanced or fallen back in holy desire. Whenever he finds that he has sinned in anything, let him at once do penance and with tears ask mercy from the Lord. Let him not wait for the doubtful morrow: salvation is for today. He who can immediately find pardon should by no means introduce delay. Let him at once grieve in his heart that he has sinned against the Lord; let him also renew his holy purpose with new fervor; and let him judge that he has utterly lost that day on which he has not become better by making progress.

Prayer should always be on the monk's lips; continual compunction should be in his heart; tears of devotion should continually flow from his eyes; and he should never withdraw from the inward exercises of love or from their remembrance. Let the very bitter remembrance of the Lord's Passion often be in the mind of the cloistered man; and let all the prayers that he makes to the Father be brought forward in the power of the blood and wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let there always be on his lips words that show the sign of a compunct mind: either let prayer be offered to God, or let meditation on his words be renewed. Let the devout monk turn away from evil and do the good that he can, with cheerfulness and with the discretion of the Spirit of God. For, as has been said, to do penance it is not enough to change one's conduct for the better and withdraw from evil action, unless one also strives to adorn his conscience with good works.

Therefore, my brothers, as you know, four things are required for true penitence. The first is true contrition for sins, which is sorrow of heart voluntarily assumed in detestation of the evils that one has committed. Of this Scripture says: “A contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” And again: “Those who sow in tears shall reap in exultation.” For every sorrow of penitence is sorrow of contrition; the greater it is, the more fruitful penitence will be. True contrition is that which both sorrow of mind commends and continual cleansing by tears attests. Great is the usefulness of tears, because there is no sin so grave that contrition, joined with tears, does not wipe it away.

Hence the holy doctor Augustine says: “O humble tear, how powerful and virtuous you are, because yours is the kingdom, yours is the power. You do not fear the gaze of the judge; you impose silence on accusing enemies. Alone you enter before the king, but alone you do not depart; you conquer the unconquerable; you bind the omnipotent.” He likewise says: “The holier anyone is, and the fuller of holy desire, the more abundant is his weeping in prayer.” True compunction has sorrow; sorrow is shown by tears; and penitence is adorned by these as by certain ornaments. True compunction makes the soul shudder at sins; and when it has begun from fear, increased by its own advances, it gradually rises into love. Great is its virtue and truly admirable its power; before it every enormity of sins soon yields. Whoever true compunction of heart has made to supplicate, the merciful Lord soon hears him.

O happy tears, saving affliction and truly sweet bitterness, which the devil fears, through which the compunct soul rises to the mercy of God. For, as the holy pope Gregory says, the more richly guilt falls away, the higher the knowledge of truth is attained, because, for seeing the inward light, the conscience stained by former fault is renewed when baptized with tears. The second thing that pertains to the truth of penitence is a firm purpose of amendment, because whoever has the word of confession in his mouth and does not have the purpose of amendment in his heart is either deceitful or vain. But whoever has it in his heart and not in his mouth is either proud or timid, and in no way fit for true penitence. For Scripture says: “With the heart one believes unto righteousness, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” This judgment, lovers of Christ, must be understood principally of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; nevertheless it seems applicable to true penitence. For without confession of the mouth, contrition of heart alone is not enough for penitence, especially from that time when the statutes of the Church decreed confession necessary for salvation. The third, therefore, is confession of the mouth, necessary for the truth of penitence; without it neither contrition nor the purpose of future amendment is enough. But what this saving confession ought to be, I know that none of you can be ignorant.

He disgracefully expelled our first parents from the kingdom of paradise and innocence, who did not devour a bird, a fish, a calf, or a pig, so that you might judge food to be the fault, but presumed against God’s commandment to take a very lowly apple, so that you may know that it is not the food but the appetite that is liable to the vice of sin. For it can often happen that a person takes more splendid foods without fault while he regulates his appetite, and that another takes meaner foods not without guilt of conscience, when he exceeds the measure of temperance through immoderation. Therefore let none of you consider himself safe from the vice of gluttony on the grounds that he eats neither lavish nor delicate foods, since not the food but the appetite for food is held at fault. For it is quite possible for one who eats beans and vegetables to contract the guilt of sin, and for another who takes the most delicate birds as food not to sin. Hence one of the holy fathers says: “A belly filled with any foods produces seedbeds of lust; nor can a mind, choked by the weight of foods, avail to govern the rudders of discretion.” For not only overindulgence in wine customarily makes the mind drunk, but also excess of every food makes it unsteady.

All things, chapter 15. Folio 35.

...and unsteady, and it wholly strips it of every contemplation of integrity and purity. Therefore great discretion is needed, so that only the food necessary for sustaining life is supplied to the body, and no excess of indulgence occurs.

Hence the holy pope Gregory says: “It is a great labor of discretion for the exactor of foods both to supply something to the body and to deny it something; by not giving, to restrain gluttony, and by giving, to nourish nature.” For through abstinence vices are to be extinguished, not the flesh; and through food the body is to be nourished, not sins.

Thus it is necessary for a monk to preserve the art of continence in his diet, so that he kills not the flesh but the vices. For often, while we pursue the enemy in the flesh, by immoderate abstinence we severely slay the spirit of devotion which we love. Very often also, while we spare the flesh, pitying it like a fellow citizen, we nourish an enemy for battle against ourselves. But when the vice of gluttony rules, men lose everything they have bravely accomplished, because when the belly is not restrained, all virtues are overthrown together. For one does not rise to the conflict of spiritual combat unless the enemy placed within us, namely the appetite of gluttony, is first subdued by us with God’s help; for unless we overcome the things that are nearer to us, we hasten in vain to fight against those set farther off. Indeed, war is waged in vain in the field against foreign enemies if a treacherous citizen is held within the city walls. We never overcome the assaults of demons unless we first overcome gluttony in ourselves.

Brothers, let no one seduce himself with empty persuasion, so as to believe that there is no sin among beans and vegetables, if the mind relaxes the appetite for receiving them with excessive pleasure. For in consumption appetite can be excessive anywhere, when it is extended beyond the norm of nature. See, we never eat meat, whether in the monastery or outside it; here in this country district we very rarely see fish; no one among us has ever seen more sumptuous foods; we neither can nor indeed ought to have delicate dishes. Our foods are barley, oats, beans, peas and vegetables, milk, cheese, and eggs. From these we receive the daily sustenance of our life, and hunger stirs appetite so that disgust at them may not arise. Outside the season of the Lenten fast, fish are so rare for us that scarcely once in a month a few, and very tiny ones, are brought from the river Nab. In the whole Bursfelde reform there is no monastery less provided for in the necessity of fish.

But surely for that reason we can still fall into the vice of gluttony, since we cannot find more luxurious foods? Indeed, since the fault is not in food, as has been said, but in appetite, the eater of peas or beans can sin no less in eating than one who is accustomed to eat the most sumptuous and exquisite foods. Poverty does not make us utterly free from fault, but marks out for us a simple and rustic diet, by which nature may somehow be sustained. This, my brothers, I beg us to take care over: that in the very thing which produces disgust at delicacies, our conscience may not be polluted by excess. Let us receive with patience and thanksgiving from what the Lord has given as much as necessity itself requires, and let us not think that the snares of the devil cannot harm us, for he overthrew the first men in paradise not with more luxurious food, but with a small and cheap apple. For the vice is not in the food but in the appetite, when we either desire things forbidden to us or, eagerly indulging in things permitted, use them otherwise than we ought.

Nor does abstinence befit anyone more than a monk, who, since he has been specially called to Christ’s military service, ought not by his profession to have leisure for any delicacies. Our poverty imposes on us a certain necessity of abstinence, because we can restrain ourselves to temperance so much the more easily when, the less we abound in foods, the more purely we fast in holiness of soul. For temperance is more easily preserved in poverty, while among riches it is certainly more quickly endangered.

What the food of monks ought to be, blessed Jerome makes clear, saying in a certain letter to Paulinus: “Let your food be cheap and taken in the evening: vegetables, namely, and legumes; and count it among the highest delights sometimes to eat a few little fish. One who longs for Christ and is fed by that heavenly bread does not greatly ask what dung he may make from costly foods. The lover of Christ loves abstinence; he cultivates fasting as the one remedy of soul and body; with the utmost zeal he takes care that his heart not be weighed down by drunkenness, and he takes no more food than nature, content with little, demands.”

But the monk who casts off fasting, who spurns abstinence, the nurse of virtues...

Homily XV. Folio XXXV.

and renders it wavering, and strips it entirely of every contemplation of integrity and purity. Therefore great discretion is needed, so that only the food necessary for the support of life is supplied to the body, and no excess of indulgence occurs. Hence the holy Pope Gregory says: “It is a great labor of discretion to give something to the body asking for food, and to deny it something: by not giving, to restrain gluttony, and by giving, to nourish nature.” For through abstinence vices are to be extinguished, not the flesh; and through food the body is to be nourished, not sins.

Thus, then, it is necessary that the monk maintain continence in his diet, so that he kills not the flesh, but vices. For often, while we pursue the enemy in the flesh, we cruelly slaughter, through immoderate abstinence, the spirit of devotion which we love. More often also, while we are too sympathetic to the flesh and spare it as though it were a fellow-citizen, we nourish a very evil enemy against ourselves. But when the vice of gluttony has mastery, men lose all the brave deeds they have done; for when the belly is not restrained, all virtues are overthrown together.

For a person does not rise up to the conflict of spiritual combat if the enemy placed very near within us, namely the appetite of gluttony, is not first subdued by us, with God’s help; for unless we overcome the things that are nearer to us, we hasten in vain to fight against those placed farther away. For war is waged in vain in the field against foreign enemies if within the city walls there is a citizen lying in ambush. We never overcome the assaults of demons unless we first overcome gluttony in ourselves.

Let no one, brothers, deceive himself by empty persuasion, so as to believe that there is no sin among beans and vegetables, if the mind seeks to take them with too much eager pleasure. For in taking food there can be excess everywhere, when appetite is extended beyond the rule of nature. See, we eat meat neither in the monastery nor outside it; here in this open countryside we see fish very rarely; no one among us has ever seen richer foods; delicacies we neither can nor ought to have. Our foods are barley, oats, beans, peas, and vegetables, also milk, cheese, and eggs. From these we receive the daily supports of our life, and hunger stirs appetite so that disgust for them may not arise. Outside the time of the Lenten fast, fish are so rare for us that scarcely once a month a few are brought from the river Nahe, and those are very small. In the whole Bursfelde reform there is no monastery less provided with the necessity of fish.

But can we therefore not fall into the vice of gluttony, because we cannot find rich foods? Indeed, since the vice is not in the food, as has already been said, but in the appetite, the eater of peas or beans can sin no less in eating than he who is accustomed to chew the richest and choicest foods. Poverty does not make us wholly safe from gluttony, although it diminishes the occasions for sinning for those who sin. We have, indeed, simple and rustic foods by which nature may somehow be sustained. This, my brothers, I pray that we take care of: that in that which disgust creates instead of delicacy, our conscience may not be polluted by excess. Let us take with patience and thanksgiving from what the Lord has given as much as necessity itself requires; and let us not think that the snares of the devil cannot harm us, since he overthrew the first human beings in paradise not by rich food, but by a small and common apple. For the vice is not in the food, but in the appetite, when either we desire things forbidden to us, or, eagerly gaping after permitted things, we use them otherwise than we ought.

Nor does abstinence befit anyone more than a monk, who, since he has been specially called to the warfare of Christ, ought by the content of his profession not to have leisure for any delicacies. Our poverty imposes upon us a certain necessity of abstinence; for we can restrain ourselves to temperance all the more easily, the less we find that by which we might overflow with delights. Let us therefore turn this most welcome necessity, I pray, into weapons of salvation, so that the less we are refreshed by rich foods, the more purely we may fast in holiness of mind. For temperance is more easily preserved in poverty, though in riches it is indeed quickly endangered.

What the food of monks ought to be, blessed Jerome makes clear, saying in a certain letter to Paulinus: “Let your food be cheap and taken in the evening: namely vegetables and legumes; and sometimes consider it the height of delicacy to eat a few little fish. He who desires Christ and feeds on that heavenly bread does not greatly seek what dung he may make from costly foods. The lover of Christ loves abstinence; he cultivates fasting as the one remedy of soul and body; he takes the greatest care that his heart not be weighed down by surfeiting, nor does he take more food than nature, content with little, demands.”

But the monk who rejects fasting, who hates abstinence, the nurse of virtues; who stuffs foods down with eagerness; who drinks wine or strong drink and whatever can intoxicate, to satiety: he is unworthy of the very name of monk, and cannot be a disciple of Christ.

Woe to our times, in which already very many clerics and monks have shamefully cast aside the virtue of abstinence. They ought to have shown the people of God the way of salvation no less by example than by word; but, given over to feasting and continual drinking and pleasures, and immersed contrary to all clerical honor, they hasten to precede them into the perdition of eternal death.

Scripture says: “The beginning of human life is bread and water.” But now our monks and cloistered men buy for themselves whatever is sold more dearly, whatever they find more lavish, at a great price; by swallowing it down they bury it in their bellies, and through intemperance they corrupt soul and body together. Amid banquets they debate fasting, and when they are drunk they praise temperance. There each one boasts that he is victor over vice, when he has already been overcome by gluttony and drunkenness.

Our Lord Jesus Christ says in the holy Gospel according to Luke: “Take heed that your hearts not be weighed down in surfeiting.” It does not befit a person dedicated to God to eat or drink to satiety, nor is it lawful for a monk to eat more than nature requires. Eating should settle hunger, not induce fullness. Let belches, which satiety is accustomed to produce in feasters, be far away; let vomiting and indigestion never be heard of among monks. All cloistered men must use great moderation of discretion, so that they nourish the body with foods and drinks in such a way that, serving the spirit, it can live; and not so that, fattened, it begins to grow wanton against the command of the mind. Let satiety always be far away, because nothing so inflames the body and excites the genital members as undigested food and a belly hot with wine or beer.

Hence the holy Jerome, admonishing Eustochium about temperance, the preserver of all virtues, says in a certain letter: “Let the bride of Christ flee wine as poison; for wine and youth itself are weapons against adolescence, which is more prone to gluttony. Avarice does not so shake adolescence, nor does pride puff it up, nor ambition delight it, as do those enticements of pleasure which seem innate in us.”

On abstinence and the fasting of monks.

[unclear]: he who gulps down foods greedily; who drinks wine, or beer, or whatever can intoxicate, to the point of satiety, is unworthy of the very name of monk and cannot be a disciple of Christ. Woe to our times, in which many clerics and monks have already shamefully fallen away from the virtue of abstinence, and those who ought to have shown the people of God the way of salvation no less by example than by word, given over to gluttonies and immersed in continual drinking and pleasures, contrary to every propriety of clerics, hasten to go before them into the perdition of eternal death.

Scripture says: The beginning of human life is bread and water. And now our monks and cloistered men buy for themselves, at the greatest expense, whatever is sold most dearly, whatever is found most luxurious; by gorging their bellies they bury it, and through their intemperance corrupt soul and body alike. Amid banquets they argue about fasting, and when they have become drunk they praise temperance. There each man boasts that he is the conqueror of vices, although he has already been overcome by gluttony and drunkenness.

Our Lord Jesus Christ says in the holy Gospel according to Luke: See that your hearts are not weighed down with excess. It does not befit a man dedicated to God to eat or drink to satiety, nor is it lawful for a monk to eat more than nature requires. Let eating satisfy hunger; let it not bring on repletion. Let belching be far away, which satiety is accustomed to produce at feasts; let vomiting and indigestion never be heard of among monks. It is necessary that all of us cloistered men use a great moderation of discretion, so that one may nourish the body with foods and drinks in such a way that, serving the spirit, it may be able to live, and not, grown fat, begin to grow wanton against the command of the mind.

Let satiety always be absent from drinking, for nothing so inflames the body and excites the genital members as undigested food and a belly heated by wine or beer. Hence Jerome, admonishing Eustochium concerning temperance, the preserver of all virtues, says in a certain letter: Let the bride of Christ flee wine as poison; for wine and youth itself are weapons against adolescence, already inclined to gluttony. Avarice does not shake adolescence so much, nor does pride puff it up, nor ambition delight it, as those vices of the flesh which seem to us to be bound up with pleasure. We shall easily lack the other vices if we keep watch, even moderately, in the fear of the Lord. But this enemy of ours is always shut up within us; wherever we go, we carry this adversary with us. Wine and youth: a double blaze of pleasure. Why do we add oil to the flame, or why do we administer fiery fuel to a little body already burning?

Excessive eating has laid low many who were walking chastely in the middle of the road, and those whom the devil could not conquer in their poverty he casts into the depths of luxury by excessive drinking of wine. For this reason the most holy founder of our way of life, Benedict, when enumerating the instruments of good works, placed among the chief ones: to chastise the body, to embrace hardships, to love fasting. For no one truly follows Christ who, nourishing his flesh delicately, lives in the monastery without daily abstinence.

Moderate abstinence, pleasing to God, works many good things in us if it is continued with religious intention to the end of life. For first of all it increases merit, and nourishes in us every kind of virtue. For what was the reason that almighty God forbade our first parents to eat the fruit under threat of death, except that he might offer them a cause of merit through the good of obedience? For, as Scripture bears witness, he created two intellects from the beginning, namely the angelic and the human, to which he would communicate himself by grace for the enjoyment of eternal happiness. Yet although he created each by the gift of his grace, he most rightly ordained that they should also be perpetually happy by their own merit, so that in them both mercy might have a place and conversion might obtain the merit necessary for salvation.

But the angelic intellect was at once divided in two: when some, falling of their own accord through pride, and others, humble and subject through love, clung to their beginning. Those, indeed, apostates from their beginning, withdrew in misery; these, however, were granted everlasting blessedness for the merit of their adhesion. The human intellect, however, was sent down into flesh; and, when the devil persuaded him, he transgressed the commandment of God and feasted on the food forbidden to him. From this there followed the destruction of the whole human race, which no one could remove except the Son of God, made man from a virgin for us.

Homily XV. Fol. XXXVI.

[unclear] For what condemned our first parents except the transgression of the commandment? For God’s concern was not with food, but with obedience. For if man had abstained, as almighty God had commanded him, then surely through this obedience he would have merited, in his innocence, the enjoyment of eternal happiness. For it is established by the tradition of the Scriptures that man cannot be saved without the merit of free will, since, although the grace of God works all things in all, nevertheless it will save no one without the cooperation of his own will, except infants baptized in the name of the divine Trinity, and those who cannot have the free use of reason.

For just as free will accomplishes nothing toward salvation without the grace of the Savior, so the grace of God will not save an adult without the merit of a good will. But the first man, placed in paradise, and having transgressed God’s commandment through intemperance, did not have the merit of obedience in a good will; therefore, wretched and unhappy, he was cast out. But the compassion of almighty God determined from eternity to restore him who had fallen through weakness, whom he knew to have been deceived by the envious suggestion of the serpent rather than by his own malice. He assigned this guilt to the passion and death of his only-begotten Son, born in time of the Virgin, so that he who had fallen by his own rashness might be restored to salvation through the obedience of the mediator. For it was impossible for the human race, lost through disobedience, to reach the mercy of the Creator except through the obedience of such a mediator, who would be God and man, in whom there would be both the strength of power and the innocence of nature. For we were blind through ignorance and mute through silence. The mediator of God and men, Christ Jesus, came, sent to enlighten every man coming into this world; he delivered the knowledge of God to mortals, and, by dying for the lost, sealed for the redeemed the greatest cause of love. He instructed the intellect through faith, by which we know God; he moved the affection through his passion, by which we rightly love him above all things.

And so, if we love our Lord and Redeemer with the whole integrity of sincere charity, it is plainly fitting that we chastise our body for love of him. For our abstinence will conduce to merit for us in two respects: namely, when by fasting, through obedience to the statutes of the fathers, we make satisfaction, and when by abstaining through the charity of God we show ourselves grateful to our Redeemer, who endured death for our sake. Abstinence increases merit; commends obedience; supplies wisdom and instruction; purges the affection; enlightens the intellect; grants victory against demons; perfects religion; obtains forgiveness of sins; tames the unlawful motions of the flesh; wins efficacy for prayers; and displays to one’s neighbor an example of virtue. Abstinence purifies the mind, adorns the soul with virtues, and heals the weak little body. He who loves abstinence is wise, and he who loves fasting is a strong ruler. A sober mind is the dwelling-place of wisdom; but he who pursues banquets will die in poverty of soul. It is difficult for a man to become wise who lives his life amid pleasures. Holy nature is content with little, and the health of life is preserved by modest things. Greediness long continued has harmed many, and more have perished by gluttony than by the sword. For habit seems to alter nature, and the longer it has prevailed, the more firmly rooted it will be in any matter.

There is among the Helvetians a man named Nicholas, whose abstinence turns the men of all Germany to admiration; and today, as you have heard, he is named in everyone’s mouth with the title of sanctity. Once a farmer in a certain village of the Helvetians, he was accustomed, in the manner of country people, to pronounce judgment among villagers in disputes. It happened at one time that he could not revoke a decision of his companions which he thought unjust; and, fearing danger to the salvation of his soul, he left his house, wife, children, friends, worldly affairs, and possessions, and withdrew alone into a nearby wood for the love of God. There he lives a solitary life. And behold, today is the twentieth year since he entered the solitude, without having taken human food. I speak of things known to all, nor do I think there is any man living in Germany who has not heard the report of this miracle. And lest perhaps in future anyone believe that we have been deceived by pretense, we cite as witnesses the Helvetians, together with the prelate of the church of Constance, who observe his ways and life with the greatest care.

May they so weaken the body that they do not lift the mind into pride, lest the exercise of humility become material for vices. Fasting detests idleness; it does not love verbosity; it cherishes secrecy; it devotes itself to prayers and tears. Fasting, as Saint Ambrose bears witness, is the death of guilt, the destruction of sins, the remedy of salvation, the root of grace, the foundation of chastity. By this step Moses, the just man, came to God; by this gift Elijah, before he died, ascended in a chariot into heaven.

Those who walk in the Spirit love fasting, and those who profess chastity must necessarily flee an abundance of delicacies. For hunger is a friend to virginity and an enemy to lust. Satiety, however, betrays chastity and nourishes lust. Fasting extinguishes the burning arrows of the devil; persistence in prayer restrains them; and the continuation of vigils in the love of Christ repels all the snares of demons.

Hence Saint Leo the pope says in a certain sermon: What can be more effective than fasting, by whose observance we draw near to God and, resisting the devil, overcome his enticing snares? For fasting has always been food for virtue, and abstinence the nourishment of holy chastity. From abstinence proceed chaste thoughts; it gives birth to reasonable desires and modest counsels; and through voluntary afflictions the flesh dies to its concupiscences, while the spirit is renewed in virtues.

Therefore, my brothers, let us love fasting for the love of virtue, because of him who did not refuse to undergo death for us; and let us abstain not only from unlawful things, but also, as far as can be done, from permitted things, so that we who have offended in many ways against the commandments of salvation may, in recompense of satisfaction, restrain ourselves henceforth from every pleasure. Let us fast from every sin; let us take no food of malice; let us devour no banquets of pleasure; nor let us become drunk with the wine of luxury. Let us fast from all depravity; let us abstain from evil works; let us not speak harmful things; and let us always beware of noxious and perverse thoughts that separate us from God.

Let us always keep watch most earnestly in prayers to God, knowing that he whom we call upon in our prayers is everywhere most present to us. Let his praise always be in our mouth; and when we cannot praise his magnificence in speech, let us adore him in the heart with the desires of a most chaste love. For then our fasts are pleasing to him, when they have been adorned with holy works and continual prayers. For the prayer of the just man, as sacred Scripture bears witness, pierces the heavens, and it becomes the more effective the more it is found adorned with charity and fasting. Let us join to it, as it were, two wings, fasting and charity, and it will obtain for us from the Lord whatever we ask that is conducive to salvation.

On the Lenten Fast of Monks. Homily XVI.

Because, by the bounty of our Lord Jesus Christ, most dear brothers, we have begun the Lenten fast, reason requires that we say something briefly about its observance. For although you have many writings of the holy fathers concerning this most sacred exercise of fasts, nevertheless, because I have found by experience that my sermons among you are not wholly fruitless, I gladly share with your edification what the Lord has granted.

For, as blessed Jerome bears witness, the action of the living voice has within it a certain hidden operation, which in the Greek tongue is more elegantly called energy; and instruction spoken from the teacher’s mouth is stronger for persuasion. But I, set apart among you in the name of pastor alone, confess that I am young, unlearned, and lacking the experience and discretion necessary for the governance of souls. Hence it happens that I speak with a certain blush and shame: a young man among elders, ignorant among the learned, a disciple among masters.

Therefore I beg that none of you despise the simplicity of my speech; let no one take it badly that I speak, since, even if I am not fit for speaking, nevertheless by reason of the pastoral care committed to me I confess before God that I am bound by the duty of admonishing you. Your charity gives me boldness to speak, and the more ready you show yourselves to listen, the more you provoke me to speak. Nor will the labor be heavy for me, however great it may seem, by which the salvation of your souls is advanced.

Assist me with your prayers, so that the Lord Jesus may speak in my mouth, and may grant strength to my little talent for bringing forth into the open whatever can produce in you an increase of holy fervor. For as much as I desire to profit your charity by my sermons, I cannot, because I am too greatly compelled to be occupied with the care of secular business. Hence [unclear] Homily XV. Fol. XXXVII.

which so weaken the body that they do not lift up the mind into pride, lest the exercise of humility become material for vices. Fasting detests idleness; it does not love loquacity; it cherishes secrecy; it devotes itself to prayers and tears. Fasting, as Saint Ambrose bears witness, is the death of fault, the destruction of sin, the remedy of salvation, the root of grace, the foundation of chastity. By this step righteous Moses came to God; by this gift Elijah, before he died, ascended into heaven in a chariot. Those who walk in the Spirit love fasting, and those who profess chastity necessarily flee an abundance of delights. For hunger is a friend to virginity, an enemy to wantonness. Fullness, however, betrays chastity and nourishes wantonness. For fasting extinguishes the burning arrows of the devil; the urgency of prayer repels them; and continual watching in the love of Christ drives away all the snares of demons. Hence Saint Leo the pope says in a certain sermon: What can be more effective than fasting, by whose observance we draw near to God and, resisting the devil, overcome the flattering vices? For fasting has always been food for virtue, and abstinence the nourishment of holy chastity. From abstinence, indeed, proceed chaste thoughts; it begets reasonable desires and modest counsels; and through voluntary afflictions the flesh dies to concupiscences, while the spirit is renewed in virtues. Let us therefore love fasting, my brothers, for love of virtue, on account of him who did not refuse to undergo death for us; and let us abstain not only from unlawful things but also, as far as can be done, from permitted ones, so that we who in many ways have offended against the commandments of salvation may, as recompense of satisfaction, henceforth restrain ourselves from every pleasure. Let us fast from every sin; let us take no food of malice; let us devour no banquets of pleasure, nor be made drunk with the wine of luxury. Let us fast from all perversities; let us abstain from evil works; let us not speak useless, vain, idle, buffoonish, and harmful words; and let us always beware of hurtful and perverse thoughts, which separate from God. Let us always keep most zealous watch in prayers to God, knowing that he whom we invoke with prayers is everywhere most present to us. Let his praise always be in our mouth; and since we cannot praise his magnificence in speech, let us adore him in the heart with the desires of a most chaste love. For then our fasts are pleasing to him, when they have been adorned with holy works and continual prayers. For the prayer of the righteous man, as sacred Scripture bears witness, penetrates the heavens, and it is the more effective, the more it is found adorned with charity and fasting. Let us join to it, as it were, two wings, fasting and charity, and it will obtain for us from the Lord whatever conducive to salvation we have asked.

On the Lenten Fast of Monks: Homily XVI.

Because, by the bounty of our Lord Jesus Christ, dearly beloved brothers, we have begun the Lenten fast, reason demands that we say something briefly about its observance. For although you have many writings of the holy fathers on this most sacred exercise of fasting, nevertheless, because I know by experience that my sermons among you are not wholly fruitless, I gladly impart to your edification what the Lord has granted. For, as blessed Jerome bears witness, the act of the living voice has within it a certain hidden operation, which in Greek he called more elegantly energia; and the discourse of a teacher, uttered by the mouth, is stronger for persuasion. But I, set apart in your midst only by the name of pastor, confess that I am a young man, unlearned and lacking both the experience and the discretion necessary for the governance of souls; whence it happens that I speak with a certain blush and shame, a young man among elders, an ignorant man among the learned, a disciple among masters. Therefore I beg that none of you despise the simplicity of my speech; let no one take it ill that I speak, because even if I am not fit for speaking, nevertheless by reason of the office of pastoral care entrusted to me I confess that before God I am bound to admonish you. Your charity gives me boldness to speak, and the readier you show yourselves to hear, the more you move me to speak. Nor will the labor be burdensome to me, however great it may seem, by which the salvation of your souls is perfected. Help me with your prayers, that the Lord Jesus may speak in my mouth, and may grant strength to my poor little talent to bring forth in your midst whatever, when preached among you, can produce an increase of holy fervor. For although I desire to benefit your charity by my sermons, I am unable to do so, because I am compelled to be too much occupied by the care of secular business. Whence

For laziness is the root of despair and the mother and nurse of all vices. For just as a garment both produces and nourishes the moth, so the most destructive plague of sloth both begets and fosters despair. This beast is accustomed to vex women more than monks, and especially those who lead a life withdrawn in solitude.

Therefore you must take the greatest care, O monks, against this enemy of the salvation of souls, and must fight not by fleeing but by resisting bravely. You must carefully consider that no one has attained the honor of holiness through sluggishness and laziness, nor has anyone earned the kingdom of eternal happiness without great and continuous labor. Therefore the mind must always be renewed by daily and fresh increases of the virtues; and this dangerous journey of life must be measured not by what has been traversed, but rather by what remains. Let no one promise himself security in this life, which is wholly called temptation, full of as many dangers as there are affections in the soul. Rather, let each person take care that he who could become better from worse does not become worse from better.

And especially in these holy days let us all take care, as much as we can, to become better, adding for ourselves, according to the counsel of our divine teacher, something to the usual measure of our service: namely special prayers, abstinence from food and drink, so that each one, beyond the measure appointed to him, may offer something to God of his own will with the joy of the Holy Spirit; that is, let him subtract from his body something of food, of drink, of sleep, of talkativeness, of ease, and with the joy of spiritual desire await holy Easter. For the monk who in these holy days is not found more religious, more fervent in the love of God, and more devout is shown to be only slightly religious at other times.

Hence the divine Pope Gregory says in a certain homily: “Lent must be observed with the greatest observance, so that the fast in it, because of the Lord’s days which are subtracted from abstinence, is by no means relaxed, unless infirmity prevents someone; for these days are themselves the tithe of the year which we are commanded to offer to the Lord.” Saint Ambrose also says: “He keeps Lent who by fasting and watching ascends to Easter. For just as fasting at the remaining time of the year is a reward, so in Lent not to fast is a sin. Those fasts are voluntary, but these are necessary; those come from choice, but these from law. To those we are invited; to these we are compelled.” And therefore he who passes over the appointed number by eating on one day is accused not as a violator of one day, but is charged as a transgressor of the whole of Lent.

In these sacred days all desires of the flesh must be restrained; the body must be chastised through abstinence, so that if perhaps at other times we have lived less temperately, we may in some way make compensation by this Lenten fast. Let us therefore follow the admonitions of our most holy father Benedict, dearest brothers, and with as much diligence as we can let us exercise ourselves in holy works, subtracting something each day from our body for the love of God in food and drink, so that we may prove ourselves true servants of God.

Next, our holy founder adds, saying: “Yet this very thing which each one offers, let him suggest to his abbot, and let it be done with his prayer and will; because what is done without the permission of the spiritual father will be reckoned as presumption and vainglory, not as reward. Therefore all things are to be done with the will of the abbot.”

The words of our holy lawgiver are clear, brothers, so that no one can have recourse to the covering of ignorance. For if all things are to be done with the will of the abbot, then without his permission absolutely nothing is to be done. Indeed, the more some good work is adorned by many virtues, the more there is no doubt that it will be of greater merit before God. Therefore when a monk, by the license and blessing of his abbot, subtracts something of food or drink from his body for the love of God, he will receive from the Lord not only the promised reward of eternal satisfaction for the abstinence itself, but also the kingdom for humility, and, for holy obedience, [unclear] On the Lenten fast of monks.

...to act against his command; let him omit or neglect nothing that has been enjoined upon him by him. Let him take the utmost care not to sadden or disturb his pastor by restless conduct, nor murmur against him, nor disparage him, nor say any evil whatever against him. Rather, let him revere him with the sincere affection of charity as Christ’s vicar, and let him not sadden his spirit by importunate or disorderly words or deeds. As far as he can, let him assist him in his labors, and intercede for him before God with continual prayers.

Monks sin greatly against God when they are not afraid to sadden their abbot with their importunate detractions and corrupt ways. Therefore whatever monk desires to be good, whoever truly wishes to be devout in the Lord, should always and everywhere venerate his abbot with pure love as the vicar of Jesus Christ in the monastery; he should humbly obey his commands in all things, and in no way depart from his direction.

The abbot, for his part, should strive to show himself in all things a worthy pastor to his monks, one who feeds the sheep of Christ entrusted to him by word and example alike, in all gentleness of charity. Let him not trouble the brothers without just and reasonable necessity; let him not be contemptuous of the holy community; let him recognize himself as the steward of the monastery’s goods, not their lord. Let him not be a mocker of his subjects, not turbulent, not importunate, not a tyrant, but their sincere lover: calm in speech, gentle and upright in conduct, holy in his way of life, clean in conscience, and always devout in mind toward God.

Let him at all times maintain solicitous care for the souls entrusted to him, and neglect nothing that seems able to contribute to their salvation. Let him not exalt himself on high because he has been placed as ruler of others, but let him remember that he must fear all the more, since he is certainly bound to render an account for all in the dread judgment of God. Let him correct the proud, rebellious, and obstinate as a lord; let him kindly cherish the humble, obedient, and governable as a most gentle father; and let him wisely distribute to each one his due without respect of persons.

Let him always consider himself the mother and nurse of the monks; and therefore those whom he can lead back to better things by gentleness he should not embitter with importunate words and harsh invectives. Let him always maintain solicitous care for the sick, and provide for all in such a way that they have no just cause for murmuring. In his own infirmities let him learn how he ought to have compassion on his subjects. For he cannot be a good pastor of souls who disdains to suffer with exact attention the needs of his infirm subjects.

But he can become a good abbot among monks who knows how to conform himself to the persons of the infirm in such a way that, whenever a brother asks something of him, he takes upon himself in his heart the condition of the one asking and says: “What would I wish to be done for me in this matter, according to the right judgment of reason, if I were in the person of the one asking?” Indeed, if the abbot imagines himself to be a subject, he will let no one go away from him saddened.

We have now said, brothers, what sort of men you ought to be toward us for love of God, so that, existing as good monks, you may please the Lord Jesus in truth. You have heard, nevertheless, what sort of pastor I ought to show myself to you; whether I do this or not, you yourselves will judge better than I. For we shall fast in vain and find no fruit of Lenten observance unless we all stand before God in true charity and in the concord of ecclesiastical unity. Or what good will it do to abstain from richer foods, and to defile the conscience with evil works or thoughts?

For the fasts we have begun to be pleasing to God, it is necessary that they be not only alien and remote from vices and sins, but also adorned with the full abundance of all virtues. For holy Ambrose says: “What good is it to fast in the belly and indulge in hunting, to abstain from foods and go astray in sins? Do you think, brothers, that the man is fasting who at first daybreak does not keep vigil at church, does not seek out the holy places of the blessed martyrs, but rising in the morning gathers his servants, sets out nets, brings forth dogs, and roams through groves and woods; who, I say, drags servants with him, perhaps more eager to hasten to church? For his own pleasures he piles up the sins of others, not knowing that he will be guilty both for his own fault and for the perdition of his servants.”

And Saint Pope Leo says: “The fast of our solemnity does not consist in abstinence from food alone...”

Book XVI.

For food is not fruitfully withdrawn from the body unless the mind is called back from every iniquity. The divine Jerome likewise says: What profit is it for the body to be made thin by abstinence, if the soul swells up with pride? What virtue is there in not drinking wine, and yet becoming drunk with anger, hatred, and the other poisonous cups of the soul?

Therefore let none of you promise himself holiness from abstinence from foods alone, since whatever is required for true penitence is also judged necessary for fasting. For fasts profit toward salvation for those who are contrite for their sins in a true purpose of amendment, and who fervently devote themselves to good and holy works. Hence all who fast from food and drink must also abstain from sins, so that the mind, adorned with the beauty of virtues, may sweetly grow warm in the love of Christ and not grow lukewarm in the progress of inner conversion. For the virtue of abstinence is nothing if it has not been adorned by works of charity.

Therefore hear my counsel, monk, if you wish to make your fast fruitful before God. First cleanse your conscience from every stain of sin, so that no desire for evil may intervene, so that the mind may become fervent in the exercise of divine love and be praiseworthily adorned with the other virtues. Through the remedy of contrition and confession wash away past sins, and by prayers, while standing with tears, strengthen your mind against all temptations with God’s help. Toward God, as much as you can, be fervent in the exercise of love; toward yourself, be at peace in a pure conscience; toward your brother, be rightly ordered in true charity. Always be outstanding in humility, firm in constancy and obedience, pure in chastity of mind and body, gentle in meekness, a monk in action, and continually kindled with desire for perfection. If you commend your abstinence with this kind of cleanness and purity, you will fast rightly.

Diligently exercise your mind in meditation on the passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so that no day passes on which, with thanksgiving, you do not at least once run through his life and death in devout meditation. A Christian is, I will not say ungrateful, but without devotion, who is so immersed either in temporal affairs or occupied with the pleasures of the flesh that he does not, at least once each day, remember with thanksgiving the most bitter passion of his Redeemer. But the monk who forgets the benefits of our Lord Jesus Christ, who does not once each day recall his passion with thanksgiving, who does not every day meditate on the law of the Lord or on the Gospel, is deservedly considered the most ungrateful of all men. Nothing is more powerful than that prayer which is offered to God the Father in the union and power of the Lord’s passion.

Exceedingly justly is that spirit to be condemned which, redeemed by the most precious blood of Christ, is led astray by the pleasures of its flesh, so that it does not remember God’s many benefits toward it. For there was no reason why the Son of God should become man except that he wished to justify us sinners: born in the world for us, suffering in the world for us, and cruelly dead on the wood for our crimes. He, the just one, came into the world to justify us who were sinners; the merciful one came to the ungodly, so that from him we might learn mercy, humility, and patience. The physician came to the sick, life to the dead, compassion to the despairing; it was not our merits that drew him down from heaven into the world, but our sins.

It is fitting, therefore, brothers, that we celebrate with all devotion this Lenten fast, dedicated to his most holy passion, since he first deigned to do such great things for our salvation, and, in order to snatch us from the destruction of death, did not hesitate to give himself over to death for us. Let us do, for the love of Christ, whatever good we can; let us endure, in view of his passion and death, every adversity that happens to us in this world, since the Lord Jesus, who willed from charity to suffer for us, has shown himself truly most worthy that we should love him with our whole heart. For if, brother, you acknowledge yourself a sinner, Christ saves you by his death. Contemplate him hanging on the cross as is fitting, and you will be healed from every bite of sin. For nothing is found in this world more effective for cleansing and healing the wounds of conscience than meditation on the wounds of Christ. For the most precious blood of the Lord, poured out, has become a sufficient medicine for sin.

Hence the holy bishop Augustine says: Brothers, that we may be healed, wounded by sin, let us look upon Christ crucified. For just as those who looked upon the bronze serpent in the desert did not perish from the bites of serpents, so those who...

Homily XVI. Fol. XXXIX.

For food will by no means be fruitfully withheld from the body unless the mind is called back from all iniquity. For Saint Jerome says: What does it profit for the body to be made thin by abstinence, if the soul swells with pride? What virtue is there in not drinking wine, yet being drunk with anger, hatred, and the other poisonous cups of the soul?

Therefore let none of you promise himself holiness from abstinence from food alone, since whatever is required for true penitence is also judged necessary for fasting. For fasts profit unto salvation for those who are contrite for their sins with a true purpose of amendment, and who fervently apply themselves to good and holy works. Hence all who fast from food and drink must also abstain from vice, so that the mind, adorned with the beauty of the virtues, may burn sweetly in the love of Christ and in no way grow sluggish from progress in inward conduct. For the virtue of abstinence is nothing unless it has been adorned with works of charity.

Therefore, monk, hear my counsel: if you wish to make your fast fruitful before God, first cleanse your conscience from every stain of sin, so that no desire for evil may remain in you, and so that the mind may grow fervent in the exercise of divine love and be laudably adorned with the holy virtues. By the remedy of contrition and confession wipe away past sins; and by persisting in prayers with tears, strengthen your mind against all temptations with God’s help. Toward God, as far as you can, be fervent in the exercise of love; toward yourself, maintain good tranquillity in a pure conscience; toward your brother, be rightly ordered in true charity. Always be foremost in humility, firm in constancy and obedience, pure in chastity of mind and body, pious in meekness, a monk in conduct, continually kindled with desire for perfection. If you commend your abstinence by this kind of cleanness and purity, you will fast rightly.

Diligently exercise your mind in meditation on the passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so that no day passes in which you do not at least once ponder his life and death with thanksgiving and tears. For crude and exceedingly hard, not to say ungrateful, is the Christian who is so submerged in temporal affairs or occupied with the pleasures of the flesh that he does not call to mind at least once each day, with thanksgiving, the most bitter passion of his Redeemer.

But the monk who forgets the benefits of our Lord Jesus Christ, who does not recall his passion even once each day with thanksgiving, who does not meditate every day on the Lord’s evangelical law, is rightly the most ungrateful of all men. Nothing is more powerful than that prayer which is offered to God the Father in union with, and in the power of, the Lord’s passion. Justly indeed is that spirit to be condemned which, though redeemed by the most precious blood of Christ, is enticed away by the pleasures of its flesh, so that it does not remember such great benefits of God toward itself.

For there was no reason that the Son of God should become man except that he wished to justify us sinners: born in the world for us, suffering in the world for us, cruelly dead upon the wood for our crimes. The just one came into the world to justify us who were sinners; the pious one came to the impious, so that we might learn piety, humility, and patience from him. The physician came to the sick, life to the dead, consolation to the despairing; it was not our merits that drew him from heaven into the world, but our sins.

It is fitting, therefore, my brothers, that with all devotion we celebrate this Lenten fast dedicated to his most holy passion, since he first deigned to do such great things for our salvation, and, in order to snatch us from the destruction of death, did not hesitate to give himself for us unto death. Let us do for love of Christ whatever good we can; in view of his passion and death, let us endure every adversity that happens to us in this world, since the Lord Jesus, who in charity willed to suffer for us, has truly shown himself most worthy that we love him with all our heart.

For if, brother, you recognize yourself as a sinner, Christ has saved you by his death. Contemplate him as it is fitting, hanging on the cross, and you will be healed from every bite of sin. Nothing is found in this world more effective for curing the wounds of conscience, nothing more powerful for purging the terrified eye of the mind, than constant meditation on the wounds of Christ. For the most precious blood of the Lord Jesus, poured out, has been made a sufficient medicine for sin. Hence the holy bishop Augustine says: Brothers, that we who are wounded by sin may be healed, let us look upon Christ crucified. For just as those who looked upon the bronze serpent in the desert did not perish from the bites of serpents, so those who with faith and devotion look upon the death of Jesus Christ are healed from the diseases of sins.

Page 085

On the Lenten fast of monks.

But if you trust that you have been justified from sin, so much the more, and more fervently, must you look upon Christ hanging on the cross, without the merit of whose passion no one is found just on earth. For outside faith in Christ there is no righteousness. However religiously a person may live, if he does not believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, he will by no means obtain eternal salvation; rather, the wrath of God remains upon him, and he will necessarily perish forever. The blood of Christ has opened the gate of salvation, through which no one can enter except one who faithfully believes in Christ. For this reason Christ humbly subjected himself to the condemnation of death, so that he might free believers from the yoke of perpetual condemnation.

O infinite charity, O piety without measure! Who, believing in you, eternal Majesty, would not marvel at such astonishing benefits granted to us? For your passion, Lord Jesus, is the price of our salvation, the refuge of sinners, the singular remedy for infirm minds, the fountain, origin, and end of all good things. Therefore now, dearest brothers, let us recollect and diligently call back to memory the bitterness of the Lord’s passion, so that, since we necessarily recognize that we are sinners, we may at last be justified through the merit of our Savior himself.

For meditation on the Lord’s passion surpasses all exercises of this kind, if it is continued for a long time with the fervor of inward devotion. That mind of a monk which, kindled by zeal for divine love, has been accustomed each day to keep the memory of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ with tears for at least a modest hour, does not easily lie open to the suggestions of demons. For the heart which the love of Jesus possesses always remains inaccessible and closed to all evil thoughts.

Happy indeed is that monk, and never to be named except with honor, who meditates day and night with loving zeal on the teaching and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ; who never forgets his Savior; who, whether he eats or drinks or does anything else, always beholds the Lord Jesus hanging on the cross with the eyes of the mind. No destructive thoughts are entertained in his heart; no evil or idle word proceeds from his mouth; he thinks of nothing except Jesus crucified for us, and whatever

On the Lenten Fast of Monks.

One who beholds the death of Jesus Christ with devotion is healed of the diseases of sins. But if you trust that you have been justified from sin, Christ hanging on the cross must be contemplated by you all the more and more fervently; without the merit of his passion no one lives righteous on earth. For outside faith in Christ there is no righteousness, and however religiously a person may live, if he does not believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, he will in no way attain eternal salvation; rather, the wrath of God remains upon him, and he will necessarily perish forever. The death of Christ opened the gate of salvation, through which no one can enter except one who faithfully believes in Christ. Therefore Christ humbly subjected himself to the condemnation of death, so that he might free believers from the yoke of perpetual damnation.

O infinite charity, O loving-kindness without measure: who among those who believe in you, O eternal majesty, would not marvel at such astonishing benefits granted to us? For your passion, Lord Jesus, is the price of our salvation, the final refuge of sinners, the singular remedy of infirm minds, the fountain, origin, and end of all good things. Therefore now, dearest brothers, let us recall and diligently bring back to memory the bitterness of the Lord’s passion, so that, since we necessarily acknowledge ourselves to be sinners, we may at last be justified through the merit of this same Savior of ours.

For meditation on the Lord’s passion surpasses all exercises of this kind, if it has been continued for a long time with the fervor of inward devotion. That mind of a monk which, kindled by zeal for divine love, has become accustomed every day, at least for a little hour, to keep the memory of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ with tears, does not easily lie open to the suggestions of demons. For that heart which the love of Jesus possesses always remains inaccessible and closed to all evil thoughts.

Truly blessed is that monk, and never to be named except with honor, who meditates day and night with loving zeal on the teaching and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ; who never forgets his Savior; who, whether he eats or drinks or does anything else, always beholds with the eyes of the mind the Lord Jesus hanging on the cross. No pernicious thoughts move about in his heart; no evil or idle word proceeds from his mouth; he thinks of nothing except Jesus crucified for us, and whatever he says sounds of Jesus or of righteousness.

Moreover, when he sees a painted image of Jesus crucified, he melts into tears, and, as if stunned by the excessive desire of his mind, he is filled with a most sweet bitterness. He can admit no consolations of the present life, because when he thinks of his Lord dwelling in heaven, he laments his own prolonged exile on earth. He loves nothing in this world except Jesus; he seeks nothing except the crucified one. If riches are at hand, he utterly refuses to set his heart on them; if they are not at hand, he by no means seeks to find them. For he is eager to recognize himself as a disciple of the poor Jesus, and he understands very well that the riches of this world are a great impediment to Christian perfection.

Having slender food and poor clothing for the body, he is content with his Lord, who became poor for us. That monk can truly be called blessed who can say with Theophorus: “My love has been crucified; therefore my heart receives no consolation of this world.” And that saying of Paul, the lover of Christ: “The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Therefore, my dearest brothers, hear this counsel of mine, and by continual remembrance of the Lord’s passion sanctify the fast you have begun.

For I tell you that among all the exercises of monks none can be holier, none more acceptable to God, none more salutary for you, than that which is practiced in daily meditation on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, with compunction of inward love. This exercise of the saving passion quickly makes a penitent out of a sinner; by wonderful compunction it makes the lukewarm and dry soul devout; it makes the impious person righteous. It overcomes the sweetness of sins, gives strength to the spirit against demons, sets an end to vices, and confers a strong increase on the holy virtues of the soul.

Devout and continued memory of the Lord’s passion purifies the conscience of the one meditating, enlightens the intellect in every knowledge of truth, and sweetly inflames the affection in the love of God. Devout meditation on Christ’s passion causes one to despise all the delights of this world and to fear nothing, however hard or adverse. It drives out lusts, tames luxury of both mind and body, puts envy to flight, restrains gluttony, calms avarice, mitigates sloth and anger, and uproots pride by the roots. Moreover, no passion for any carnal thing wearies the mind of a person whom the passion of Christ truly occupies.

O how sweetly burns the one whom the memory of Jesus’ passion sweetly inflames. O how blessed is the mind that embraces continual meditation on Christ’s death. O good Jesus, my crucified love, who are the salvation and health of faithful souls, grant us to keep continual memory of your passion; grant your servants always to commend the fasts begun with good works, because then our abstinence will be most pleasing to your uncircumscribable majesty, when it has been adorned with meditation on your precious blood; you who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for all ages of ages.

Here ends Homily XVII.

On the Sleep and Wakefulness of Monks. Homily XVII.

The monk who always thinks that he is going to die should allow no time to pass idly. For Scripture says: “Remember your last things, and you will not sin forever.” Against the forgetful and heedless, however, it is written: “They are a nation without counsel and without prudence. Would that they were wise and understood and provided for their last things.” The remembrance of death brings watchfulness into the soul and extinguishes every disordered thought of the mind. He who rightly fears death never grows sluggish in good work. For the wise man says: “Whatever your hand is able to do, do earnestly; for neither work, nor reason, nor wisdom, nor knowledge will be among the dead, to whom you are hastening.”

For the monk who is a true worshiper of God spends no moment of time uselessly, but by nights and days, in the exercise of good work, always performs the watchfulness of the mind with the highest devotion; and while sleeping in body, he steadfastly says in spirit to the messengers of God: “I sleep, and my heart keeps watch.” Sleep is the image of death and the binding of the bodily senses; but the one who is a true lover Homily XVII. Fol. XL.

[The remembrance of Christ's passion], when restrained, [unclear]; it mitigates filthy avarice and sloth that is about to inflame; it extirpates pride from the root. Moreover, the person whom the passion of Christ truly occupies is wearied by no passion of any carnal thing. How sweetly he burns whom the memory of Jesus' passion sweetly inflames; and how happily the mind glows that embraces continual meditation on the death of Christ. Good Jesus, my beloved crucified one, who are the salvation and savior of faithful souls, grant us to keep continual remembrance of your passion; grant your servants always to commend the fasts they have begun by good works, because then our abstinence will be most pleasing to your uncircumscribed majesty, when it has been adorned by meditation on your precious blood. You who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

Here ends Homily XVI.

On the sleep and wakefulness of monks. Homily XVII.

The monk who always thinks on the death of morals permits no time to pass in idleness. For Scripture says: “Remember your last things, and you will not sin forever.” Therefore concerning the forgetful and foolish it is written: “They are a nation without counsel and without prudence. Would that they were wise and understood and provided for their last things.” The memory of death brings watchfulness into the soul, and also every orderly thought of the mind. He who has rightly deserved death never grows sluggish in good work. For the wise man says: “Whatever your hand is able to do, work earnestly; for neither work, nor reason, nor wisdom, nor knowledge will be in the underworld, to which you are hastening.”

For the monk who is a true worshiper of God spends no moment of time uselessly, but night and day, always watchful in mind in the practice of good work, performs bodily duties with the greatest devotion and constantly says to God in his soul: “I sleep, but my heart keeps watch for the Lord.” Sleep is the image of death and a binding of the bodily senses. But he who is a true lover of Christ, even if he sleeps in body, keeps watch in mind, and praying without ceasing cries out to the Lord with an affection of love: “Before you is every desire of my mind and every thought, O Jesus crucified, my love.”

I blush, my brothers, and am deeply confounded to put forward a sermon on the watchfulness of monks, because when I recall to memory the customs of the preceding holy fathers in keeping vigil, I recognize how far our weakness differs from their perfection. They, for a long time, in successive love and in the praises of God, often spent whole nights without sleep; but to us scarcely the space of eight hours for sleeping seems at times sufficient, of which we do not cease to complain of five before matins and three afterward. For the true abstinence of monks consists not only in sparing use of food and drink, but also in the continuation of vigils for the praise of God, because the maceration of the flesh, by which the old man is restrained by them, is in vain, if the whole body is fattened through drowsiness. Indeed, not only is the body refreshed for its subsistence by food and drink, but it is also restored by the rest of sleep. What sort of monastic fast is that: to spare oneself by abstaining from foods and drinks, and to indulge oneself in sleep to satiety? It makes little difference whether you refresh the body by food or by sleep, since there is gluttony in both.

For this reason the old and first leaders of monks, guarding temperance no less in sleeping than in eating and drinking, endured as men most continent in both. Some of them, standing on their feet, others lying on the bare ground, granted to nature only the very smallest amount of sleep. We know that one of them, not least in the merit of sanctity, said: “One hour is enough for a monk to sleep, provided he has been a warrior and adversary of vices.” For sleep nourishes luxury no less than food and drink. Another of the saints thought that two or three hours for sleeping were enough for a monk, so that he might commend sparingness in food also by temperance in rest. But the recent reformers of our order, who under the name of the Bursfeld Union handed down to us throughout Germany a manner of life according to the purity of the Rule, considering the weakness of the human condition, ordered the arrangement of vigils very moderately.

For indeed they mercifully allowed monks in community a space of five hours before the night praises, and likewise added two, or two and a half, after matins for sleep. He for whom this time, namely seven hours, is not sufficient for rest shows himself a very sluggish and slothful monk. Hence we are admonished to keep watch not only in mind but also in body, since he who disdains to keep watch bodily in the service of God is scarcely able to preserve his heart in true purity.

Let us keep watch, therefore, most beloved brothers, especially in these holy days of Lent, in which we have declared war on vices and are firmly prepared to conquer and overcome the ancient enemy, the devil. For you have heard the holy prince of the apostles admonishing in these words: “Brothers, be sober and keep watch.” Why did he give this warning? Because, he says, “your adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour; resist him, strong in faith.” And so, my brothers, let us keep watch as long as we are set in battle, lest at any time, weighed down by drowsiness or idleness, we be overcome by the adversary of our salvation. For as long as we live in the flesh, it is necessary that by watchfulness and chastisement of our body we fight bravely against the enemy. Let the labor of the contest not frighten you, because although our adversary is troublesome, nevertheless he is so weak and feeble that he can overcome no one except one who is willing, and one who has utterly cast off all guard over himself.

But the Lord Jesus Christ is our strong helper and protector, who grants strength to those who fight eagerly and will bestow on the victors an unfading crown in heaven with all his saints. As dust is scattered by the wind, so our adversary the devil, confounded and terrified by the voice of those singing psalms with humble devotion, is driven away. Therefore let none of you, most beloved brothers, act negligently; let no one in the time of prayer grow dull through sluggishness of mind and drowsiness; let no one fear the contest with the devil with disordered fear. Stand manfully for the perpetual salvation of your souls, fighting against a weak adversary, and hold your own flesh no less suspect than demons. For you know, as not only Scripture testifies but also long experience teaches, that the flesh desires against the spirit; and therefore the monk who is not harmed by the wantonness of his own flesh is rarely overcome by demons in the contest. Walk, therefore, in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

Let him who is watchful and a strong fighter rouse the weaker brother, who is sluggish in devotion, and restore him as far as he can, both by words and by examples, to the holy fervor of the spirit. Let him who is spiritual among you not despise his disorderly brother, but rather bring him back through humble admonition to the pursuit of piety. For Scripture says: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.” For indeed, if, consenting together in brotherly love toward one another through faith in Jesus Christ, you have always been of one mind, without doubt you will easily conquer your adversary the devil. For where the true charity of Christ makes monks living in a monastery of one mind, there God is worshiped in all holiness; there the invisible presence of holy angels is believed to be present, through whom the rashness of malignant spirits is restrained. In such a congregation of saints God dwells, whom the army of the heavenly kingdom praises together with the voices of the monks singing psalms. A multitude of monks fervent in the love of God is the paradise of the delights of heavenly graces. A city adorned with a multitude of towers is a congregation of monks thinking the same thing in the Lord.

Keep watch, my brothers, I beseech you, keep watch in holy prayers, and especially at that time shake off drowsiness and dullness of mind when you stand in church before the Lord to sing psalms. For if, standing before God in psalmody, you are fervent in prayer, you will without doubt feel his grace present with you. For he is estranged in mind from the purpose of a monk who while praying thinks of something else, and offers his mind to be stirred not by divine things but by transient matters or occupations. For you know what our holy founder Benedict says in the Rule: “If,” he says, “we wish to suggest anything to powerful men, we do not presume to do so except with humility and reverence; how much more must supplication be made to the Lord God of all with all humility and devotion of purity; and let us know that we are heard not in much speaking, but in purity of heart and compunction of tears.” Since, however, for us singing psalms Homily XVII. Fol. XLI.

Since, when we sing psalms, we believe God to be present everywhere, great reverence is needed in prayer, so that our mind may agree in every respect with our voice. Let us therefore consider, brothers, before whom we stand, and to whom, in the sight of the angels, we recite the psalms in prayer; for the monk who, at the time of prayer, admits vain or even destructive thoughts into his mind is like one who, when matters very necessary to him are being discussed with the king, is summoned by his own servant, leaves the king, and turns aside to the servant’s vain and useless conversations. Truly, whoever did this would be judged foolish by everyone, and would rightly seem deserving of the gravest punishments.

But what does the monk deserve who, standing before the highest king of all and speaking with him about those things that concern the salvation of his body, admits harmful or even destructive thoughts into his mind? If one who mocks and despises an earthly king is punished by beheading, what does one deserve who despises the heavenly emperor? Therefore I admonish you, brothers, and with all the sincerity I can I ask that, having purified your hearts, especially at the time of prayer, from the stain of wicked thought, you receive in the mind only what you sing aloud with the mouth.

As the angels always stand before God with fear and the greatest reverence, singing an everlasting hymn of praise, so let us also take care, my brothers, to stand before him with a pure heart, a clean conscience, and most fervent devotion, so that we may sing praises to him much more in spirit than in body. Let us therefore separate our minds from all earthly affairs; let us cleanse our consciences of all enticements of the flesh; let us put on the fervor of the Holy Spirit; and let us drive all sluggishness and idleness far from us. For just as a heavy burden weighs down the back of a slothful man, so drowsiness at the time of psalmody is accustomed to oppress the minds of monks.

Nothing harms monks more than sloth, which little by little weakens all the powers of the mind and extinguishes the whole fervor of the spirit. For as soon as a monk has begun to fall away from the fervor of holy devotion, countless evil thoughts enter the mind; and he can repel them so much the less, the farther he is known to have withdrawn from his former fervor. Hence drowsiness arises in the performance of the prescribed services; the mind is burdened by sadness and melancholy, which the monk, growing lukewarm in spirit, strives with all zeal to relieve not by spiritual but by earthly and fleshly little consolations. And when he advances too long in this alienation of mind, he is hardened, now almost insensible, against the exercise of compunction; and the more he pants after the consolations of the flesh, the farther he wanders from the inward fervor of the spirit.

For what makes you drowsy at the time of psalmody except sloth? For the mind that has fallen into torpor soon makes the body doze. But again I admonish you, brothers, as I have often been accustomed to do, that you especially flee idleness and drowsiness at the time of prayer, since, just as drunkenness brings forgetfulness into the soul, so also drowsiness makes the mind unsound and foolish before God. Wash away this vice of drowsiness, O young men, by which we grieve that some of the elders have long been infected through long habit; among them dozing in choir is familiar, and compunction of mind toward God is exceedingly rare.

Beware, I say, this evil habit of sleeping, which, after it has once led a monk away captive, rarely allows him to be free. Therefore, at the beginning of conversion, young men especially must fight against this most pernicious enemy of religion, as someone said in verse: “Resist at the beginnings; medicine is prepared too late when evils have gained strength through long delays. But for that reason do not put yourself off to future hours; he who is not ready today will be less ready tomorrow.” For it is difficult to cure a sickness that has become old through long duration.

Let us see with how much diligence and attentiveness servants stand before earthly kings and princes, so that we may not be ignorant of how it befits us to stand in prayers before God, who alone is king of all and lord of the universe. The eyes of all look to the lord, and all and each hang most attentively upon his nod, lest anything commanded by him escape those standing by through negligence. From this, then, let us consider with how great purity we ought to stand before the Lord God in the assembly of prayer, day and night, from whom we desire to obtain the kingdom of eternal happiness. Not the voice, not the cry

On the sleep and wakefulness of monks.

Not shouting, but the intention of one fervent in the love of God, deserves to be heard. Therefore flee drowsiness and torpor of mind as a deadly poison, because sleep and idleness are the spring of all vices. A watchful eye is the servant of inward devotion, and the monk who truly loves Jesus Christ guards himself from every excess. He who is watchful sharpens the mind with understanding; but the monk who sleeps much shamefully blinds his soul. A monk watchful in prayer and fasting is fearsome to the devil; but one who is sated with food and sleep is not permitted to rest by the spirit of fornication. For wakefulness devoted to prayers breaks the madness of lust and powerfully extinguishes the fire of desire; it purifies the inmost heart, enlightens the mind, and inflames the affection toward the love of heavenly things. Wakefulness is the mother, nurse, and guardian of good thoughts, the sure victory over the temptations of the ancient enemy, the flight of phantasms, the death of vices, and the life and fountain of all virtues. Sleep, however, is for many the companion and fosterer of lust, the robber of human life, the image of death, the procurer of oblivion, the partner of sloth. Immoderate sleep corrupts the stomach, harms the brain, and dissolves both body and soul. A monk frequently given over to sleep despises wisdom, prostitutes chastity, neglects the salvation of the soul, loses precious time, kills the mind, and nourishes vices. Therefore, whichever of you, most beloved brothers, desires to come to the rest of heavenly felicity, let him forcefully repel from himself all torpor and sloth of mind; let him learn first to conquer himself, so that thereafter he may be able to overcome the devil, the enemy of his salvation. For unless you first exterminate the evil that is in you, when will you overcome that which comes from outside? Learn to command your passions, and with the Lord’s help you will easily overcome everything that happens outwardly. Cleanse your mind from every disordered desire, so that you may truly love Jesus alone above all things, with whom you hope to rejoice forever. But no one will reign with Christ in heaven who does not imitate him with holy conduct while living on earth, as sacred Scripture says: He who says that he remains in Christ ought himself also to walk just as he walked. For the Lord Jesus, who by his death freed us from the destruction of eternal damnation, himself voluntarily became mediator of God and men; he himself is the way by which the path of life must be continued for us; he himself is the norm and rule of saving conduct for Christians. No one comes to God except through Christ; no one will see the Father except through the Son. Therefore, if you wish to come to salvation, you must pass through the Savior. For he himself said in the holy Gospel: No one comes to the Father except through me. And that other saying: I am the door; if anyone enters through me, he will find the pasture of eternal life. And again: I am the way, the truth, and the life. Through this way, I pray you, my brothers, always walk by pious and holy conduct; fervently love this truth with a pure heart; hasten ardently toward this life, which alone is lasting. Let the teaching of Christ never depart from your hearts, but remain in memory at all times, since he refuses to become his true imitator who has not been exercised day and night in meditation on his words. Therefore, always watchful in prayers, live with such purity of mind that, when Jesus Christ our Lord calls you in the hour of death, you may deserve to hear him with joy: he who lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one almighty God, forever and ever. Amen.

On patience and meekness. Homily XVIII.

Among all professors of the Christian faith there is today no class of men for whom the virtue of patience seems more necessary than for the company of monks. For in these our days, as the charity of many grows cold, to use Paul’s expression, we have been made a spectacle to mortals, so that wherever a monk comes among worldly men, he is pointed out by the fingers of almost all who see him, to be mocked and derided. Why I have said this you know, you who are not unaware of what recently happened in the town of Bingen. A drunken crowd of young men and boys received a monk a certain monk passing along the public road, and, as though he had offered himself as a traveler on account of the rain, threw him into the mud. By treating the man with injury, he made him a pitiable spectacle of his own shamelessness. No one was present to restrain the insolent men. Yet the monk’s patience overcame the raging men, and, full of the love of Christ, while he was being badly treated, he answered nothing but, “Thanks be to God.” Thus the more he showed himself tranquil in mind and spirit, the more the scoundrels dragged the innocent man about, thinking him heated with wine, though the love of Christ had made him joyful and glad.

He left all monks a great lesson in patience: when he could have avenged himself, though wronged, he did not wish to do so. Would that, my brothers, for love of God and for our sins, we were as patient in the smallest things as that good man was in the greatest. There are among you certain men, I say it unwillingly, who are far too insolent and impatient: they are moved to anger by a word, even one not insulting, and when they are justly corrected for their negligences, they murmur unjustly, adding sin to sin through impatience.

But to what end do I set before them the patience of the man just mentioned, when they do not heed Jesus Christ, the most patient of all men? Indeed, whoever does not embrace patience and humility after the example of the King of heaven will be recalled to gentleness by the imitation of no man. For the Son of God is the highest and supreme example of patience and humility; whoever is not bent to endurance by the recollection of his passion is rightly judged hardened and a companion of demons.

No good Christian doubts that the words of our Lord Jesus Christ are true. Christ says in the holy Gospel: Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth. If the meek are to be called blessed, what prevents the resentful, wrathful, and unmeek from being named accursed? Certainly nothing. And if, as the Lord himself and our Savior Jesus Christ bears witness, we possess our souls in patience, there is no doubt that through impatience we lose them.

It is therefore especially fitting that monks be meek, gentle, and patient, since they have solemnly devoted themselves to the imitation of Christ and the apostles. But Christ, the meekest of all, commands his disciples and imitators in the Gospel, saying: Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Hence the holy bishop Augustine says: If you wish to reign with Christ in heaven, first learn from him to be meek, patient, humble, and gentle, for unless you have lived in this world in imitation of his life, you will by no means reign with him forever.

The divine Ambrose also says: When I have laid aside every sin, stripped off every malice, and, content with simplicity, have become poor in evils, it remains for me to temper my conduct. For what does it profit me to be free of crimes, unless I am meek and gentle? He is meek who yields to wickedness and does not resist in evil, but overcomes evil with good. And, as Chrysostom bears witness, he is gentle who, when provoked by injuries, neither thinks of doing evil nor does it.

Cassiodorus says: We call the gentle “accustomed to the hand,” that is, patient and meek, those who tolerate the iniquities of others and do not presume to burden anyone. Of such persons it is said in the psalm: My soul shall be praised in the Lord; let the gentle hear and rejoice. He did not say, let those learned in the law rejoice, nor those who fast, nor those who sing psalms, but the gentle, who, together with charity, have above all been accustomed to possess moderation in all things.

Those, however, are truly meek, gentle, and patient who harm no one, injure no one, offend absolutely no one, but, standing firm in their simple humility, always bear all injuries, insults, and mockeries with equanimity for the love of Christ, and are moved by no pain of spirit against those who harm them, just as we have already said that monk was whom the raging boys at Bingen treated with exceedingly insulting behavior.

But it is easy to be meek, patient, and gentle so long as nothing is done except according to the will and judgment of the patient person. Yet how far he is from true gentleness will become clear if even a slight occasion arises. It is a great virtue if you do not harm the one by whom you have been harmed; great strength of soul if, for the love of God, you forgive injury to the one who inflicts it; great glory if you observe the commandment of Christ and pour out prayers for those who injure you. No one has known the strength of his own soul whom a notable insult has not yet burned; let no one boast that he is meek or patient who has not been sated with reproaches. There is no patience without adversity, nor gentleness without insult, since if due [unclear].

On Patience and Gentleness

If you wish to keep the proper bounds of endurance, first of all there must be someone present who inflicts an insult. “If I had been,” says the lazy and fleshly monk, “in the days of the martyrs, I would have feared no kinds of punishments for the love of Christ; I would willingly have exposed my body to the torturers, so that I might carry away the crown of martyrdom.” Great is the rashness of folly. You have never been able to suffer a word patiently for the love of God, and do you promise the constancy of the holy martyrs? You fear a light correction, you who promise that you would give your body for Christ.

If martyrdom delights you, hear what the most blessed pope Gregory says. If, with Christ helping us, we strive to preserve the virtue of patience and live in the peace of the Church, we also hold the palm of martyrdom. For we can be martyrs without sword and flame, if we truly keep patience in the soul. To die at the hands of a persecutor is martyrdom in open deed; but to bear insults and love the one who hates you is martyrdom in hidden thought. Patience is to endure another’s evils with equanimity, and not to be bitten by any grief against the one who has brought the evil upon us.

What now will you say, lazy monk, who, unable to suffer the very slight martyrdom of words, boast so insolently of constancy in shedding blood? Learn, wretch, to have patience in light matters, and consider that Scripture says: he who is unfaithful in a little, who would entrust to him what is greater? You murmur at everything that happens in the monastery; when rebuked, however gently, for your grave offenses and negligences, you bear it most impatiently. In your eyes no one walks rightly in the monastery; no one except you, in your estimation, conducts himself religiously. You alone, as it seems to you, are holy in the monastery; you, most learned of all, allow that no one knows what you alone do not know. You think yourself worthy of all honors above all others, because you not only lack patience, but retain neither true humility nor obedience.

This is not the way by which one goes to the kingdom of heaven: when in the school of humility a monk is proud, and by his conduct a Christian lives contrary to Christ. A monk, however, the solemnly sworn servant of Jesus Christ, so that he may imitate his Lord, ought not to be proud but humble, obedient not rebellious, gentle not cruel, nor insolent but mild. But a monk who is proud, wrathful, contentious, and a lover of his own will, such as, alas, those appointed over temporal affairs often are, whom among us according to the Rule we call cellarers: their pride has made for many a road to destruction.

Grief compels me to speak, and shame forbids me, although you all know the fall by which the devil lately brought shame upon us in the case of a brother. Who in our whole congregation was prouder than he? Who went about filled with greater insolence? But because he seemed to have greater experience among us in temporal matters, on that account he considered himself superior to all. The Almighty permitted him to fall, so that he who, reputed wise, refused to recognize his own weakness, might at last, confounded not without the scandal of many, understand God to be the adversary of the proud.

I grieve vehemently, and more than can be said; the fault of the man who fell seems to me heavier, because by his fall we are all confounded. May God grant him to do true penance, so that those who had been scandalized by his fall may be edified by his satisfaction before God and men. Pride has always been destructive to monks; and the mind of a man which it has once invaded it sinks into the pit of all vices. Beware pride, my brothers, because it is the beginning of every sin; it is that which, through the envy of the devil, introduced death into the whole world. Pride is the death of all virtues, and the source and spring of all vices. Humility, however, the nurse of virtues, most befits monks, because it makes them both mild and gentle. For every proud man is impatient, and every arrogant man is an enemy of gentleness. He who is humble of heart has patience in adversities for the love of God; and he who is tranquil in soul in the face of injuries merits a double crown.

A patient man in adversities becomes close to God; but he who is proud and impatient gladdens his enemies. For Scripture says: Better is the patient man than the strong man, and he who rules his own soul than the conqueror of cities. Likewise the holy bishop Augustine says: The just and pious man ought to be ready to endure patiently the malice of those whom he desires to become good, so that the number of the good may rather increase, and not that by like malice anyone should add himself to the number of the evil. For patience is very necessary for us, brothers, so that, doing God’s holy will, we may receive in Christ All things. XVIII. Fol. XLIII. Promise.

Adversities are daily at hand for us, by which we may be exercised; therefore, just as the cause of endurance is never lacking, so I pray that necessary patience may always be present. We are oppressed by want and poverty of necessary things; we are burdened by commerce with weak flesh; moreover the world tempts us in order to entice us, and the devil tempts us in order to seduce us. Among so many adversaries of our salvation, brothers, it is necessary that we keep watch in all patience and humility, since in this pilgrimage, as long as we live, we are placed, so to speak, in the midst of evils. Our poverty ought to suffice us, because it does not belong to monastic religion to be exalted in temporal things, but rather to be brought low, so that monks, poor and imitating Christ, who was made poor for us, may deserve to glory with him forever in heaven.

What if we see certain wicked men and sinners in the world abounding in riches? If good and just men are rich in this world, God’s providence is caring not for their strength but for their weakness, so that by benefits they may be called to better things. “I was young,” says the prophet, “and have grown old, and I have not seen the just man forsaken, nor his seed begging.” “Cast,” he says, “your thought upon the Lord, and he himself will nourish you; he will not forever allow the just man to waver.” The Lord Jesus knows what is suitable for the salvation of each one of his servants, and therefore he dispenses the gifts of the present life unequally according to the capacity of individuals. For not all things are suitable for all; therefore among the just in this world, with respect to temporal goods, some are poor, while others are wealthy. Concerning the poor the Lord Jesus says in the holy Gospel: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And through the prophet he speaks, saying: “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have chosen you in the furnace of poverty.” For it does not conduce to eternal salvation for all to possess the riches of this world; rather, it is expedient for some to be poor and for others to be wealthy, according as the Lord of all has provided what is more useful for each.

Concerning just and good rich men. The blessing of the Lord makes men rich, and affliction will not be joined to it. But if the wicked and reprobate abound in riches in this age, this ought not move the good to indignation; rather, let them fear him who leaves no good unrewarded and no evil unpunished. For the wicked, whom he cannot reward in heaven because of their iniquity, he rewards in this life for their good deeds; and for the good, whom he nourishes here in poverty, he preserves eternal rewards in heaven for the merit of justice. But just as not all the poor in this world are just and good, so not all those rich in temporal goods in this life are wicked. The reward of the wicked on earth should rightly be borne without indignation, since not love of God but justice has willed it to be present. Hence, just as the wicked have nothing in heaven, so you who have professed monastic poverty ought to have nothing on earth; but in hope of that good toward which you strive, whatever adversity befalls you on the way, you ought to bear it most patiently. For, as Paul, the holy lover of Christ, says: “The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that will be revealed in us.” Let those who are rich in Christ join mercy to humility; but those who are poor, let them take up patience with innocence for the love of God. For the soldier of Christ is neither cast down by poverty nor lifted up by riches, but, standing firm in himself, serves the King of heaven with tranquil spirit and cares nothing for transitory things. Thus the true monk is neither exalted by praises nor broken by reproach; he is not swollen by an abundance of necessary things, nor contracted by poverty; he despises prosperity and adversity alike, because, as the prophet had said, “the sun shall not burn him by day, nor the moon by night.”

But we, dearest brothers, let us make virtue and good will out of necessity, and out of the disadvantage of poverty, which we must necessarily endure, let us acquire for ourselves a great and useful patrimony of goods. This can at last be done if, for the love of God, we bear this very want manfully and with tranquil spirit. The disordered conduct of our predecessors brought upon this monastery the poverty that we suffer; but the mercy of almighty God, if we keep his commandments with a perfect heart, will without doubt relieve it in time. For almost two hundred years back, as far as we can ascer-

we are able to infer from conjecture and from the preceding writings: the purity of monastic institution in this monastery of Spanheim, as also in nearly all the others, failed; and the disordering of the monks’ life utterly dissipated the whole substance of earthly goods.

Indeed, when, in the Christian year 1469, Frederick, count palatine and duke of Bavaria, a most Christian man who was residing in Simmern, held the corrupt life of the monks in his principality in very great hatred, he reformed three monasteries after expelling the deformed monks, and introduced men very well trained from other monasteries. And first he brought two monasteries of regular canons of Saint Augustine back to the observance of regular discipline: Ravengiersburg, namely, among the [unclear], and Schwabenheim among the [unclear], in the district of the Nahegau. Lastly, in the aforesaid year of the Lord, he also renewed this present monastery of ours, Spanheim, for the reform of the order; and, after removing the abbot together with five monks, he restored four others in their place by observance, setting over them my predecessor Johannes of Kölnhausen, now serving as abbot in Seligenstadt.

But they found the place oppressed by such poverty and burdened with another’s debt that there was no one who believed it could be restored, since all the annual revenues had either been sold or alienated under title of redemption; nor was anything at all left from which they might live. Our brother Heinrich, one of the first four reformers sent from Mainz, is present as reporter and witness of the things we say; from his mouth you will learn everything more fully. And behold, the seventeenth year is now passing since this place began to be restored under the chapter of the reformed union of Bursfelde, and still we are being tried by no small poverty.

I have said these things for this reason, brothers: that you may know that we do not bear alone the necessity we suffer, since those four men who first reformed the monastery endured heavier things; for beans and peas satisfied their bellies, and a thin drink of pear-cider furnished them drink by measure. The mercy of God called us to this place so that through patience we may overcome the adversary of our salvation; so that, according to the counsel of the divine apostle, having scant food and a garment with which to cover ourselves, content and giving thanks to the Lord, we may serve in cheerfulness of mind.

For we are not called to feasts of the flesh, nor to the delights of this world, not to pleasures nor to the comforts of the present life, but to serve as soldiers for the Lord and our emperor Jesus Christ in abstinence from all the delights of this age, in a pure conscience and humility of heart. Attend now, therefore, to your calling, monks, and do not corrupt the purpose of holiness, if you desire to come to the glory of God.

Woe to you, faithless monk, who, made a despiser of your calling and a transgressor of your vow, live in the monastery not monastically; you who were called to tolerate tribulation patiently for love of God, and inquire about refreshment. For your profession commands you to go humbly content in every vileness and extremity of clothing, and you do not fear to devote effort to fastidiousness about garments. You have been called to thirst, and you, despising drinking water, delight in drinking wine to satiety, against the monastic canon. You were made a monk to fight bravely against the adversary of your salvation, and you, having cast away from yourself the arms of the virtues, proceed lazy, idle, and naked; indeed, what is more serious, accompanied by a troop of vices. You were invited to keep watch in holy prayers, and you are dissolved by sluggish sleep and base idleness. You were called into the subjection of humble obedience, and you, swollen with pride, despise obeying the commands of the elders. You were called into charity, and you do not fear to carry hatred against your brother in your breast. You were called to weeping and tears, and you break out in deep laughter with disordered guffawing. The Lord called you to penitence in the monastery, and you, dissolved into wantonness, join sin to sin. You were called to meditate day and night on the law of our Lord Jesus Christ, and you walk after vanity, applying yourself to tales and perishable things. You were called to heaven, and you, loving the world, pursue earthly things. The Lord called you into the meekness of humility, and you proceed full of rancor and pride. You were called by the Lord to the perfection of the purest monastic way of life, and you, like beasts of burden, rot away in the dung of vanity and negligence. To the observance of manAll Things. XVIII. Folio XLIII.

You have been called to the observance of God’s commandments; and you, given over to the pleasures of the flesh, think of nothing less than Christ. You have been invited to love the Lord Jesus above all things, and you walk according to the evil desires of your heart, showing yourself ungrateful to your Redeemer. You, who ought to have lived by the spirit, savor earthly things, and, sunk in pride, despise all the holy exercises of spiritual conduct.

And what will you answer on that day of judgment to the Judge, who will say to you, most ungrateful one: I, who am Lord of all, humbled myself for your sake, taking the form of a servant and being found in appearance as a man; I poured out my blood for you; for you I endured scourges; and for you, by my own willing choice, I underwent a death exceedingly bitter. I, O monk, loved you with my whole heart; I redeemed you by my blood from perpetual death; I called you in love to the heavenly kingdom, if you had kept my commandments. But you lived in opposition to my precepts, and, what is worse, although you had been sworn upon my words, you were not afraid to show yourself an apostate and impious traitor against me, your Lord. Now therefore render an account of your stewardship.

What then will you answer, O lazy and idle monk, who now consume this acceptable time so fruitlessly, and despise living in true monastic purity according to the rule? What, I say, will you answer? Will you deny the works of depravity that you have committed, intending deceitfully to show good works that you now refuse to perform, so that by a lie you may circumvent the Judge and thus escape the punishment due to your demerits? But you must not be ignorant that all things you have done, said, or thought throughout your whole life, good and evil, are manifest in the sight of the Judge, and nothing can be hidden from him, who alone knows all things. For all things are written in the book of God, and your conscience will bear open testimony against you concerning all your evil deeds, so that not even the least thought will be able to remain hidden. For the scripture of the prophets says to God: “Because the thought of man shall confess to you.” You are before the tribunal of the Judge who knows all things, before whose terrible judgment every creature will stand with very great fear and trembling; there no excuse at all is admitted, but each shall receive the sentence due to his merits, with appeal set aside. Thousands of thousands and ten hundred thousand holy spirits will attend him; and do you trust that you can deceive the Judge by a lie?

But hear my counsel, and, rising from your ruinous sloth, at last, while there is time, return to righteousness. Do not put it off from day to day, because it is exceedingly dangerous for one remaining in sins to be confident, and to reject the remedy of salvation that is offered. Remember that you are going to die, and when you do not expect it you will be called to judgment. Consider, I beg you, how uncertain the time of life is, how it slips away, and how quickly all mortal things are corrupted. Nothing among human things is stable, nothing fixed, nothing firm; but all things that we see are corruptible and change with time.

Consider also where now our brothers Valentius, Martin, and John are, who in the present year, while living with us, were healthy, unharmed, and glad; they spoke with us, ate, drank, and labored together with us, thinking of nothing less than that they would die this year. Behold, when they did not expect it, death came and seized them, and set their souls before the tribunal of the fearful Judge, who rendered to each according to the works of his hands. Behold, learn now by the example of your brothers that you too are going to die, and perhaps you will pass from this world much sooner than you can estimate.

Come to your senses, wretched man, while you still can; do penance in the time of your health, when the Judge promises mercy, and do not put off today’s good into the uncertain tomorrow. Rise up, even now, late though it is, at last from the sloth of your too negligent past way of life, in which you have hitherto shamefully rotted; and cleanse your conscience from every stain of sin; wipe away with tears the evil that you have committed; and from now on live innocently, as befits a monk. Take up the perfect resolution of amendment, and understand that the kingdom of heaven is promised not to those who begin the good, but to those who persevere unto the end. Know also that heaven is not reached by sloth and torpor, but by great labor, by the very great effort of a will to make progress, and by unwearied zeal for spiritual exercise.

Therefore, wishing to serve the Lord and to please him in truth, always remain within yourself, fearful in dread, and prepare your soul for temptation. One must strongly resist disordered impulses and desires

Homily XVIII. Fol. XLIII.

You have been called by God: yet, given over to the pleasures of the flesh, you think of Christ less than anything. You have been invited to love the Lord Jesus above all things: yet you walk according to the evil desires of your heart. You show yourself ungrateful to your redeemer, to whom you were obliged to live; and, submerged in the torpor and all the holy exercises of spiritual discipline, you despise them in pride.

And what will you answer on that day of judgment to the judge, who will say to you, most ungrateful as you are: I, who am Lord of all things, for your sake humbled myself, taking the form of a servant, and was found in appearance as a man. For you I poured out my blood; for you I endured scourges; for you I underwent a death exceedingly bitter by my own free will. I, O monk, loved you with all my heart. I redeemed you from perpetual death by my blood. I called you to the heavenly kingdom and to love, if you had kept my commandments. But you have lived in opposition to my precepts; and what is more grievous, although you had been sworn to my words, you were not afraid to present yourself against me, your Lord, as an apostate and impious traitor. Now therefore render an account of your stewardship.

What then will you answer, O lazy and idle monk, who now spend this acceptable time so fruitlessly, and despise living in true monastic purity according to the rule? What, I ask, will you answer? Will you deny the works of depravity that you have committed, and falsely claim the good works you now scorn to do, so that by a lie you may circumvent the judge and thus escape the punishment due to your deserts? But you must not fail to know that all the things you have done, said, or thought throughout your whole life, good and evil, are manifest in the sight of the judge, and nothing can be hidden from him, who alone knows all things. For all things are written in the book of God, and your conscience, reading against you all the evil you have done, will give open testimony, so that not even the smallest thought will be able to lie hidden. For the Scripture of the prophets says to God: Since even human thought will confess to you.

You are to be judged before the tribunal of the all-knowing one, before whose terrible judgment every creature will stand with very great fear and trembling. There no excuse at all is admitted, but each person will receive, according to his deserts, a sentence without appeal. Tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of holy spirits will stand by, and do you think you can deceive the judge with a lie?

But hear my counsel: rise from your destructive idleness, wake up at last, and by true penitence return to the mercy of God and, while there is time, to justice. Do not put it off from day to day, because it is exceedingly dangerous to remain in sins and to refuse the remedy of salvation that is offered. Remember that you will die, and that when you do not expect it you will be called to judgment. Consider, I beg you, how uncertain is the length of time for living, how it slips away, and how quickly all mortal things are corrupted. Nothing among human things is stable, nothing secure, nothing firm; but all things that we perceive are corruptible and change with time.

Consider also where our brothers Valentine, Martin, and John now are, who in the present year were living with us, healthy, safe, and joyful; they were speaking with us, eating, drinking, and working, thinking less than anything that they would die this year. Behold, when they did not suppose it, death came and seized them, and brought their souls to the tribunal of the dread judgment, which rendered to each one according to the works of his hands. Behold, now learn by the example of your brothers that you too will die, and perhaps you will pass from this world much sooner than you can estimate.

Look to your own interest while you can. Do penance in the time of your health, when the judge promises mercy, and do not defer today’s good into the uncertainty of tomorrow. Rise up even now, late though it is, from the sloth of your negligent past way of life, in which until now you have shamefully rotted away, and cleanse your conscience from every stain of sin. Wipe away by labors the evil you have committed, and from now on live innocently, as befits a monk. Take up a perfect purpose of amendment, and understand that the kingdom of heaven is laid up not for those who begin the good, but for those who persevere to the end.

I know also that heaven is not reached by idleness and torpor, but by great labor, by the strongest voluntary effort to make progress, and by the tireless practice of spiritual exercise. Therefore take care to serve and please the Lord in truth. Always remain within yourself, fearful in awe, and prepare your soul for restoration. One must resist disordered movements and wicked desires of the flesh.

Homily XVIII. Fo. XLV.

patience is discerned. For the more learned each person has been in the law of the Lord and in knowledge of the ordinance of rational nature, the more patient he will be in adversities. What if I speak more boldly, as a lover of truth: adversities profit us more than prosperous things, if we are learned and not forgetful examiners of our own condition.

But the third degree of patience, certainly higher and more perfect than the rest, is rightly granted to those who not only, when there is need, endure contrary things with equanimity for the love of God and the benefit of the brothers, but also, more fervent and inflamed by the spirit of charity, thrust themselves forward of their own accord and hasten gladly to receive insults and injuries. And this kind of patience is divided in two ways, just as a twofold account of martyrdom is found. For some, although they could have lain hidden during the persecution of believers, with the charity of Christ burning in them, under no compulsion but by their own free will, presented themselves before the tribunals of the persecutors; publicly confessing him as the redeemer of the world, they received with joy the torments inflicted on them. Others, however, did not thrust themselves forward of their own accord, yet gladly received the martyrdom offered to them, always prepared to endure for the faith of Christ whatever the cruelty of tyrants could inflict.

To this degree hasten the most shining confessors, by merit very close to them; and if the cruelty of the impious, by persecuting them, did not take them away, still they in no way lost the glory of martyrdom. For, crucifying their flesh in this world for the name of Christ, they endured both a voluntary and a lasting martyrdom; through abstinence and humility they were made glorious, always remaining steadfast in spirit and most patient, and most ready to receive martyrdom bodily. Therefore take care, O monks, to be imitators of these according to your powers; and since enemies who kill the body for Christ are now lacking, by struggling against the desires of the flesh and by patiently enduring adversities for the love of God, show yourselves martyrs in mind and spirit. The best kind of martyrdom in the peace of the saints is to afflict the flesh for the name of God through abstinence, to desire nothing in this world, always to make progress in good works, and, if anything evil should befall, to bear it in all things gladly and patiently with cheerfulness of mind. Henceforth, dearest brothers, live according to this rule of patience, if you desire to reign eternally with Christ. Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ: let each person gladly bestow upon his brother what he desires to be done for himself.

On the True Humility of Monks: Nineteenth Homily

It is almost the opinion of all the learned, dearest brothers, that the highest and chief virtue of monks is none other than humility, because it is itself the mother and nurse of all virtues. For humility makes the monk; pride destroys and corrupts him. Hence the Lord says through Isaiah: To whom shall I look, if not to the poor little one and the contrite in spirit, and the one who trembles at my words? For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble, because pride is the beginning of every sin, and without true humility no one can obtain salvation.

Since this is so, I think it necessary for me, brothers, to exhort you without ceasing that, fleeing pride, you always preserve profound humility in all your works. Indeed no good work is believed to please the Lord God if it is presented without the seasoning of humility. For humility is the most healthful medicine of faithful souls, which provides for all, because it presses down the swollen ulcers of the spirit, restores what is wasting away, corrects what is depraved, and removes what is overgrown.

O humility, mother and parent of all virtues, you strengthen patience, stir up compunction, illuminate charity, adorn chastity, make prayer fruitful, and commend fasting and abstinence. O holy humility, truly beloved of God, you justify the impious through penance; you preserve the just man in the purpose of holiness; you powerfully open heaven to your lovers; you close hell to the penitent. O humility to be venerated, exceedingly pleasing to God, you compelled the Son of the eternal Father to descend from heaven into the womb of Mary, the most chaste ark, the perpetual virgin; you made him appear visible to us, and you laid him, wrapped in poor cloths, in the manger, so that he might adorn us with the ornaments of perpetual blessedness in heaven. You subjected the Son of God to circumcision of the flesh Homily XVIII. Folio XLV.

...is known as patience. By this, the more each person has been instructed in the law of the Lord and in the knowledge of the teaching of rational nature, the more patient he will be in adversities. What if I speak more boldly, lover of truth: adversities profit us more than prosperous things, if we are instructed and are not forgetful observers of our own condition.

The third degree of patience, certainly the highest and most perfect of the remaining ones, is deservedly granted to those who not only bear contrary things calmly, when need arises, for the love of God and the benefit of the brethren, but who, inflamed by a more fervent spirit of charity, even of their own accord offer themselves and hasten eagerly to receive insults and injuries. And this kind of patience is divided in two, just as a twofold account of the martyrdom of the saints is found. For some, although they could have remained hidden while persecution of believers was raging, because the charity of Christ burned in them, with no one compelling them but by their own free will, presented themselves before the tribunals of the persecutors, and publicly confessing Jesus Christ, the redeemer of the world, received those torments for themselves with joy. Others, though they did not present themselves of their own accord, nevertheless gladly received the martyrdom offered to them, always ready to endure for the faith of Christ whatever the cruelty of persecutors could have brought against them.

The most radiant confessors are rightly seen to hold this degree; and although the cruelty of the impious did not take them away by persecuting them, they in no way lost the glory of martyrdom. For those who crucified their flesh in this world for the name of Christ endured both a voluntary and a lasting martyrdom; through abstinence and humility they were made glorious, remaining constant in soul and most patient, and always most ready to receive bodily martyrdom.

Therefore, O monks, take care to be imitators of virtues, so that, since executioners who put the body to death for Christ are now lacking, by fighting against the desires of the flesh and by patiently enduring adversities for the love of God, you may show yourselves martyrs in mind and spirit. In time of peace the best kind of martyrdom among the saints is to afflict the flesh by abstinence for the name of God, to desire nothing in this world, always to advance in good works, and, if any evil happens, to bear it in all things gladly and patiently with cheerfulness of mind. Henceforth, dearest brothers, live by this rule of patience, if you desire to reign with Christ forever. Bear one another’s works, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ: whatever each person desires to be done for himself, let him also cheerfully bestow upon his brother.

On the True Humility of Monks. Homily Nineteen

The judgment of all the teachers, dearest brothers, is that the highest and chief virtue of monks is none other than humility, because it is itself the mother and nurse of all virtues. For humility makes the monk; pride destroys and corrupts him. Hence the Lord says through Isaiah: “To whom shall I look, except to the poor little one, contrite in spirit, who trembles at my words?” For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble; and the beginning of every sin is pride, and without true humility no one can obtain salvation.

Since this is so, it is necessary that I, a brother crucified to you, exhort you without interruption to flee pride and always preserve deep humility in all your works. For no good work is believed to please the Lord God if it is presented without the seasoning of humility. Humility is the most wholesome medicine of faithful souls, which restores all the swelling wounds of a spirit that fears compunction, corrects what is depraved, and removes what grows up excessively.

O humility, mother and parent of all virtues: you strengthen patience, stir up compunction, illumine charity, adorn chastity, make prayer fruitful, and commend fasting and abstinence. O holy humility, truly beloved of God: through penance you justify the impious; you preserve the one who has been set in the purpose of holiness; you powerfully open heaven to those who love you; you close hell to penitents. O venerable humility, exceedingly pleasing to God: you compelled the Son of the eternal Father to descend from heaven into the womb of Mary, the most chaste and perpetual Virgin; you made him appear visible to us in the world; you placed him, wrapped in poor cloths, in a manger, so that he might adorn us in heaven with the ornaments of perpetual happiness. You also impelled the Son to undergo circumcision of the flesh...

On the True Humility of Monks

We were impelled to undertake it so that, circumcised in mind, we might be able to enter into the promised inheritance of the saints. O great power of humility, which made the regent of heaven and earth withdraw from before the face of one most lowly little man, and dwell in exile for seven years in the land of Egypt. You caused Christ Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God, who deigned to take on a human body joined to himself for our salvation, also to undergo the most bitter passion and death by his own willing choice. Great is your dominion, O venerable sanctity of humility, since the kingdom of heaven is promised to you; to your devotees the gift of eternal blessedness is granted; and whoever keeps to your footsteps is raised up to the fellowship of the angels of heaven, as Christ says in the holy Gospel: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” He taught what he himself had imitated from heaven, when he says: “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

The most blessed mother too, the intact Virgin Mary, in her sweetest canticle of praise says to God: “He has put down the mighty from their seats and exalted the humble.” And the prophet says in the psalm: “The Lord has regarded the prayers of the humble and has not despised their petitions.” The prayer of one who humbles himself penetrates the clouds; until it draws near it will not be comforted, and it will not depart until the Most High looks upon it. A monk who is pure in his conscience, made humble to God, is most pleasing; and the more he has cast himself down by humbling himself for God’s honor, the more glorious he will appear in the kingdom. The monk who has truly humbled himself is made a participant in the grace of the Most High and will rejoice forever with the king of heaven, Jesus Christ.

He who truly desires to imitate Christ should also assume true humility; clothed and fortified with it as with a breastplate of strength, he may do great things, yet think nothing of himself except what is humble, and not incur the stain of vain glory. For this is the true perfection of monks: always humbly to recognize their own imperfection, and to ponder carefully what good is lacking to them rather than what they possess. For true humility is always stretched forward toward what lies ahead through the desire of charity; and, cautiously mindful of the things of the past, lest it lose through fear what it has already gained, and desiring to acquire through the zeal of devotion what it has not yet gained, it does not cease in the work of holiness. It considers most diligently in what things it is still deficient, and does not weigh in what things it has advanced.

Indeed, whoever thinks that he is already something still stands far away from true humility, since true humility does great things and thinks of itself as very little; and the more it has advanced, the more deeply it recognizes its own weakness. For Scripture commands, saying: “The greater you are, humble yourself in all things, and you will find grace before God.” And again it says: “Humble your spirit greatly, for the vengeance on the flesh of the wicked is fire and worm.”

Therefore, my brothers, assume true humility, not that which is sometimes displayed before men by pretenders in outward gesture and voice, but Christian humility, which they possess by the pure affection of the heart. For it is one thing to have the virtue of humility, and another to have the likeness of its image. True humility is always patient with a tranquil heart toward all injuries and insults; it is obedient without dispute to the commands not only of superiors but even of equals; in adversities it preserves constancy, in bodily necessity moderation, in conduct continence, in conversation honorableness. It is cheerful, not lax; serious, not melancholic; generous in acts of mercy, not wasteful; compassionate toward the weak, not remiss.

Christian humility is ceaselessly pierced with compunction in the love of God; fervent in the spirit of devotion, it is continually moistened with tears; it always desires to see its prince, Jesus Christ, and, following his admonitions in spirit, sighs from sorrow. For it grieves over its sin, and whoever embraces true humility groans that he cannot advance as much as he desires, whoever imitates the Son of God. Nothing is more excellent than Christian humility, nothing more splendid than self-knowledge; it is never lifted up in the height of pastoral office, and, being subject to all, it rules over all. For he who is small in his own eyes is made great before God; and he who considers himself to be something great in this world is judged of no account before God. Each person will be precious before the inner judge to the degree that, doing good and never ceasing, he has been more contemptible in his own estimation.

Humility is the stable foundation of all virtues, because every spiritual building that is raised up to the height of Christian perfection is sustained by the rock of humility alone. Indeed, if true humility is lacking, the whole gathering of the other virtues will be nothing other than a kind of ruin of a house built without a foundation on sand. For in the spiritual building humility lays a stable foundation; charity orders the breadth of that house; the wall is raised on high by the continuous joining of good works in the fervor of the spirit; in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the firm hope of the promise of eternal protection and blessedness, it is set straight at the summit; and its length is arranged in the most beautiful order in the long-suffering of patience.

Therefore, my brothers, again and again I admonish, adjure, and beseech you to take care to found the building of spiritual exercise in the depth of humility, because no good work is pleasing to God that has been offered outside true humility. Now there are many things that are accustomed to stir the servants of God to true humility. For the consideration of their own worthlessness humbles some within themselves before God, because, when they consider that they have already often experienced themselves to be wretched and weak, they place all their hope and confidence in God, humbled. Others, weighing the multitude of God’s benefits toward them, fear the judgment of ingratitude; and therefore in the sight of God, with great fear and reverence of gratitude, they always walk humbly.

And who among us, brothers, is there to whom the compassion of almighty God has not granted many benefits, even singular ones? If we wish to be grateful for them, above all we must be humble. Others, converted by divine mercy after a multitude of sins to penitence, diligently recall to memory how many evils they have committed against the law of the almighty; and for these, humbled in bitterness of spirit, they detest their own impieties with horror. But we offend in many things; hence it is necessary that we humble ourselves always in mind and heart, and even in body, so that grace may abound where sin previously abounded.

Often, moreover, the providence of divine mercy permits certain persons to sin enormously for a time, so that afterward, converted to penitence, they may learn to remain in true humility. A humble penitent is higher than one who has not sinned but is proud, because humility justifies penitents, while pride condemns the arrogant eternally, even if they have done nothing else evil than this alone, that they are proud.

Others, carrying in their heart by daily meditation the bitter passion of Christ Jesus, humble themselves so much the more, the more they know that they are very insufficient debtors for such great and wondrous benefits of their Redeemer. The Son of God humbled himself, being made man for us, and, filled with many reproaches, voluntarily underwent the most shameful death of the cross, to free us from the destruction of perpetual death. What Christian man, and especially what monk, will not greatly humble his soul before God when he has recalled to memory such great humility of his Creator and Redeemer? Indeed, the man whom Christ’s humility does not stir to meekness: no admonitions of men will profit in him. In vain are we called monks, unless according to our strength we have humbly followed Christ. For this reason he said in the holy Gospel that he is the way, so that we may imitate his humility, and the way of life of so great a master may become the spiritual form of the disciple.

And so, brothers, as much as we can, let us labor with all our strength, since for us he humbled himself into such great humility. Therefore the highest medicine for inducing true humility in the servant of God is this: if daily and very often he recalls to memory the most bitter passion of Christ Jesus. Tribulations, adversities, and illnesses, together with poverty or want, have also made many humble who perhaps in prosperous and favorable circumstances would have perished, puffed up. And we trust that the poverty which we often say conduces to our salvation does so, since we have a great cause of humility, but find no matter at all for elation and pride. Others, by continual exercise of virtues and by the memory of the death which they must necessarily suffer shortly, have come to great humility. Whom, even the proudest, would not the intent meditation of death humble? Or who is so fierce in spirit that he would not little by little lay aside his swelling pride, if he considered more diligently that he will die shortly? Therefore the conscience of a monk must by no remembrance drive from itself the thought of future death, so that he may remain both humble and sorrowful, so that, standing firm in humility, he may not [unclear].

Homily XIX. Fol. XLVI.

[unclear] is raised up; it is sustained by the rock of humility alone. Indeed, if true humility is lacking, the gathering together of the other virtues will be nothing other than a kind of ruin: to build a house without a foundation on sand.

For in the spiritual building humility lays the stable foundation; charity arranges the breadth of that house; the wall is raised upward by the continuation of good works in fervor of spirit; by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and by firm hope in the promised eternal perfection and blessedness, the straightness is set at the top; and the length is arranged in the long-suffering of patience with most beautiful order.

Therefore, my brothers, again and again I confess and admonish you to take care to found the building of your spiritual exercise on the foundation of humility, because no work, however good, pleases God if it has been offered apart from true humility.

There are many things that can provoke the servants of God to acquire true humility. Some, through consideration of their own vileness, humble themselves in the sight of God; while they know by their own experience that they are wretched and weak, they place all their hope and confidence humbly in God. Others, fearing the multitude of benefits shown to them and God’s particular judgment against ingratitude, always walk humbly in the sight of God with great fear and reverence of gratitude. And which of us is there, brothers, to whom the mercy of almighty God has not also granted many benefits individually? If we wish to be grateful for these, we must above all be humble.

Others, after a multitude of sins, converted to penance by divine kindness, diligently call to mind how many evils they have committed against the law of the Almighty, and because of these, in bitterness of spirit, they detest their own sins with horror and humility. But we have offended him in many things; therefore it is necessary that we humble ourselves always in mind and heart, and even in body, so that grace may abound where sin had formerly abounded.

Often, indeed, the providence of divine mercy permits certain people to fall grievously for a time, so that afterward, converted to penance, they may learn to remain in true humility. The humble penitent is better than the proud man who has not sinned, because humility justifies penitents, while pride condemns the arrogant forever, even if they have done nothing else evil except this alone, that they are proud.

Others, carrying the bitter passion of Jesus Christ in their hearts by daily meditation, humble themselves the more, the more they recognize the debt of such wondrous love from their redeemer and the greatness of his benefit, for which they are insufficient. For the sake of humility the Son of God himself, made man for us, mocked and bound, voluntarily underwent the most shameful death of the cross, to free us from the destruction of perpetual death. What Christian man, and especially what monk, would not greatly humble his soul before God when he calls to mind such great humility of his creator and redeemer? Truly, if Christ’s humility does not move a man to meekness, no admonitions of men avail in him. Monks are called so in vain unless, according to their strength, they have humbly followed Christ.

For this reason this way has been set forth for us in the holy Gospel, that we should imitate his humility, as the master’s conduct is the form of the spiritual disciple. Therefore, brothers, let us labor with all the strength we can, so that humility, conceived through meditation on the most bitter passion of Jesus Christ, may beat down, restore, and reform everything in us that swollen pride has made crooked.

How greatly it befits us to humble our souls, beloved brothers of Jesus Christ, when God himself, the creator of all things, made man, humbled himself so greatly for us. Therefore the highest medicine for bringing true humility to a servant of God is that he should daily and often call to mind the most bitter passion of Christ Jesus.

Many tribulations, adversities, and illnesses, together with poverty or want, have also made humble those who perhaps would have persisted proud in prosperous and favorable circumstances. And let us consider what we are often accustomed to say: that poverty conduces to our salvation, since we have a great cause for humility, but find no matter at all for exaltation and pride.

Others have come to great humility through the continual exercise of virtues and the meditation on death, which they must necessarily undergo. For whom would constant meditation on death not humble, even if he were most proud? Or who has so fierce a spirit that he would not gradually lay aside swelling pride if he thought more diligently that he must die in a short time? Therefore the conscience of a monk ought never to drive away from itself the memory of future death, so that he may remain humble and, confident in humility, may not become proud.

All things. 19. Fol. 47.

Follow humility at all times, with all your strength and as much as you can; flee all pride and ostentation, for unless you greatly humble your souls, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Always walk before Jesus in the simplicity of your heart, having a pure conscience in all things, lest your humility become bestial; for it contributes nothing to salvation for a sinner to acknowledge himself publicly and, while persevering in evil, not to amend his fault.

For the true servant of Christ sanctifies his humility by good works, and amends every guilt of his past life by continual penitence. Every day he recalls to memory the evil that he remembers having committed, and groans that he has gravely offended the Lord. He walks very cautiously and so laments past sins committed that he in no way commits further things that must be lamented.

The monk who is truly humble follows the Lord Jesus with a pure conscience, and fears nothing in this world more than offending the teacher whom he imitates. Whatever he does and wherever he goes, he always thinks of the Lord Jesus as present, and by continual meditation examines how he may please him alone. For this is true and Christian humility, and humble Christianity: to wash away sin in true compunction, and to preserve the conscience in all purity at all times, not only through fear, but rather through love of Christ.

The true humility of monks continually does whatever good it can for the honor of God, and thinks that it will do nothing which it knows displeases Christ. The true humility of monks neglects none of the things that God has commanded, and always flees as deadly the things that he has forbidden.

The penitent monk, humble in compunction of tears and serving the Lord in the fervor of charity, is a companion of the holy angels, a friend to the citizens of heaven, and very formidable to demons. For demons fear and flee nothing more than the humility of the servants of Jesus Christ, because, since they themselves are most proud by their vicious will, they are most violently tormented by the devotion of the humble. For where true humility is present, demons cannot remain; for as ice is dissolved by fire, so malignant spirits are scattered by the presence of a humble monk.

O venerable mother and preserver of all virtues, humility: yours is the kingdom, yours the power. You confer the kingdom on the humble; you bestow the glory of eternal felicity on the meek. Without your guidance no one comes to heaven; he who follows you does not fear hell. Whoever gathers works of virtue without you is like one who carries dust into the wind. You are the seasoning of all good works, for just as food in the mouth of the eater is not savory without salt, so without your companionship no one is established as a friend of God.

Humility made the Son of God man. Humility will make the servant of Christ equal to the holy angel. An angel, through pride in his own judgment, became a devil; and the Christian man through humility becomes an angel. Humility opens heaven to the meek servants of God, and pride plunges exalted men down to hell. Humility makes friends of God, and pride makes companions of demons. Humility illuminates the mind to true wisdom, and pride blinds the understanding of the one whom it has possessed. Humility purges the man whom it possesses of all disordered affections, and pride fills its worshiper with all crimes and filthiness.

Humility makes its lover a servant of God, but pride makes him a slave of the devil. Humility makes a man wise in the law of the Lord, but pride renders a man foolish in the knowledge of the Most High. Humility brings the poor man into fellowship with God, and pride makes the rich man a member of the devil. Humility is the mother and nurse of all virtues, and pride is the source of all vices. Humility, with charity mediating, covers a multitude of sins; but pride alone brings in the fullness of all vices.

Humility makes the good works of monks most pleasing to God, but pride renders the pursuits of the proud idle before the Creator. Humility receives from the Lord whatever it has asked; but God almighty resists the prayers of the proud. Humility always has, in the mercies of the Lord, a pious confidence with gladness of mind; but pride, by the sting of despair, generates disturbance in man. Humility always has joy of spirit in the love of Christ; but destructive fear always occupies pride. Humility, the fosterer of good works, neglects none of the spiritual exercises; but pride despises all pursuits of salvation. Humility justifies sinners; but pride condemns its followers. Humility makes one near to God; but pride makes one alien from the grace of God.

Homily XIX. Fol. XLVII.

At all times, with all your strength and as much as you can, flee all pride and display, because unless you greatly humble your souls, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Walk always before the Lord Jesus in the simplicity of your heart, having a pure conscience in all things, lest your humility become bestial; for it contributes nothing to salvation for sinners to acknowledge themselves publicly and, by persevering in evil, not to amend their fault. For the true servant of Christ sanctifies his humility with good works, and amends all the guilt of his past life through continual repentance. Daily he recalls to memory the evils he remembers having committed; he groans deeply that he has offended the Lord. He laments greatly, and so bewails his past offenses that he does not commit further things that must be lamented.

The monk who is truly humble follows the Lord Jesus with a pure conscience, and fears nothing in this world more than offending the teacher whom he imitates. Whatever he does and wherever he goes, he always thinks of the Lord Jesus as present, and by continual meditation considers how he may please him alone. For this is truly Christian humility and humble Christianity: to wash away sin in true compunction, and to preserve the conscience in all purity at all times, not only from fear of punishments but rather from love of Christ.

The true humility of monks continually does whatever good it can for the honor of God, and does not think of doing anything that it knows displeases Christ. The true humility of monks neglects none of the things God has commanded, and always flees as deadly the things he has forbidden. The penitent monk, humble in the compunction of tears and serving the Lord in the fervor of charity, is made a companion of the holy angels, a friend to the citizens of heaven, and very fearsome to demons. For demons fear and flee nothing more than the humility of the servants of Jesus Christ, because, since they themselves are most proud by their own vicious will, they are most violently tormented by humble devotion. Where true humility is present, demons cannot remain; for as ice is dissolved by fire, so malignant spirits are scattered by the presence of a humble monk.

O humility, venerable mother and preserver of all virtues: by your power the kingdom is conferred on the humble; by your glory eternal happiness is granted to the meek. Without your guidance no one comes to heaven; whoever follows you does not fear hell. Whoever gathers works of virtue without you is like one who carries dust into the wind. You are the seasoning of all good works, for just as food in the mouth of the eater is not savory without salt, so without your company no one will be established as a friend of God.

Humility made the Son of God man; humility will make the servants of Christ equal to the holy angels. An angel, through pride and by his own choice, was made a devil; and the Christian man, through humility, becomes an angel. Humility opens heaven to the meek servants of God, and pride plunges haughty men down to hell. Humility makes friends of God, and pride makes companions of demons. Humility enlightens the mind toward true wisdom, and pride blinds the understanding of the one it possesses. Humility purges the person it possesses from all disordered affections, and pride fills its worshipper with all crimes and filthiness.

Humility makes its lover a servant of God; pride, however, makes him a slave of the devil. Humility makes a man wise in the law of the Lord; pride, however, renders a man foolish, far from the knowledge of the Most High. Humility introduces the poor man into fellowship with God; pride makes those rich in their own minds belong to the devil. Humility is the mother and nurse of all virtues, and pride is the source of all vices. Humility, by means of charity, covers a multitude of sins; pride alone brings in the fullness of all vices.

Humility makes the good works of monks most pleasing to God; pride makes the efforts of the haughty useless to the Creator. Whatever humility asks from the Lord, it receives; but almighty God resists the prayers of the proud. Humility always has a devout confidence in the mercies of the Lord, with cheerfulness of mind; pride, however, with the goad of despair, generates disturbance in a person. Humility always has joy of spirit in the love of Christ; but destructive fear always occupies pride. Humility, strong in good works, neglects none of the spiritual exercises; pride despises all pursuits of salvation. Humility justifies sinners; pride condemns its followers. Humility makes a person most like God; pride makes him alien from the grace of God.

b iiij

On the true humility of monks

Humility obeys the commands of God with a willing and zealous heart; pride resists the precepts of the Most High. Humility accumulates the merits of everlasting happiness; pride, however, prepares for itself the very heavy torments of hell. Humility grants security at the moment of death; pride brings dreadful fears and calamities to the dying. Humility frees the souls of its servants from every anguish in the fearful judgment of God; pride, however, accuses before that same judge all the wretches whom it has deceived in the world. Humility will place God’s servants at the judge’s right hand; pride will set the damned on the left. Humility will plead the causes of its own and prevail in judgment; pride will hand over its guilty followers to the devil. Humility will repay its friends with the rewards of eternal happiness; pride will render to all its wretches the punishments of perpetual damnation. Humility will be crowned in heaven without end; pride will suffer inexpressible torment with the demons forever among those below. Humility, crowned with Christ, will reign in heaven; pride, condemned with the devil, will be tormented in punishments. Humility, joyful and glorious, will sit forever at the right hand of God; pride, sorrowful and disgraced, will lie without end in the torments of hell.

Then the humble will exult in glory; all the proud, under excessive pain, will cry out forever in punishment. The humble will stand in the sight of God and of all the saints in great joy and everlasting exultation, receiving for the voluntary poverty of this life unfading riches; for lowliness, a kingdom; for sorrow, joy; for the love of God, dominion; for contempt of the world and voluntary chastening of the flesh, heaven. But when the proud and arrogant, set in hell, see the great glory of the humble whom they despised in the world, they will marvel at the sudden change of the saints, and will be troubled with dreadful fear; groaning from the excessive anguish of spirit, the proud will say in their fury: “These are the poor and humble monks, once clothed in vile garments, cast aside by men, abstaining from meats and from every impurity of the flesh, whose habit we once held in derision and as a likeness of death, and whom we counted wretched, without reputation and without honor. Behold how they have been numbered among the sons of God, and their lot is among the saints. Therefore we have strayed from the way of truth; the light of justice has not shone upon us, and the sun of understanding has not risen for us. What now has pride profited us, by which we once despised the humble? And what has the boasting of divine things in the habit brought us in this world? All things have passed away, and because of our stubbornness we have been numbered among the demons, since we always hated humility in the habit, and now suffer inexpressible torments.”

But the humble will live forever; with God is their reward, and their thought is with the Most High. My dearest brothers, always think beforehand that these things will undoubtedly be true in the future; therefore take up humility of mind, flee every pride, and strive to preserve purity, so that you may merit to obtain eternal rewards. Amen.

On the true obedience of monks. Homily 11

If the humility of monks is true and perfect, it brings forth every fullness of the holy virtues. But if it lacks the splendor of virtue, true humility was never present in the mind. For first of all it brings forth true obedience, and profound subjection in all things for the love of God. For the monk who is truly humble while he journeys in the flesh strives to show himself in all things a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ; for love of him, content with every lowliness and extremity, obeying his abbot in all things, he rejoices to be subject. Humble obedience for the love of Christ is a great virtue: it will open heaven to the monk and by its strength close hell. For obedience restores the peace of paradise between God and man. True obedience in a monk is this: it is rendered to the commands of superiors not from slavish fear but from the inward affection of charity; not from fear of punishment but from love of justice, persevering even to death and working good in cheerfulness of mind. These are those most beautiful wings of the mind by which a monk flies from earth to heaven: one wing humility spreads, the other the obedience of subjection carries. A monk who has not been adorned with these wings has utterly lost the dignity of his name and merit. He should not be called a monk, but a lying and most deceitful apostate, who, living in the monastery with the others, is without the obedience of humble subjection.

For a monk without obedience is a monster of the devil; and he who resists the commands of his superiors will inherit the punishments of hell. From the beginning the disobedience of the first man destroyed the way of eternal happiness, which the obedience of Jesus Christ restored. For he was made obedient to the Father for us, even unto death, and by his most innocent passion he restored to us the happiness we had lost. Hence the way to salvation is humble obedience, as our holy lawgiver Benedict cries out in the Rule: “Listen, my son, to the precepts of the master, and incline the ear of your heart; willingly receive the admonition of a loving father and carry it out effectively, so that by the labor of obedience you may return to him from whom you had departed by the sloth of disobedience.”

Obedience is the tree of eternal salvation, which grows in the garden of monastic humility. Obedience is the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit and the quiet tomb of one’s own will. Obedience is the merit of heavenly happiness and the single lesson of monastic discipline. Obedience is the destruction of all arrogance and pride, and the pursuer of all vices. Obedience conquers every malice and extinguishes every disordered pleasure of the flesh. Obedience makes the conscience pure and clean, and preserves true humility in the mind. Obedience is the remedy for the soul’s wound and the foundation of all monastic observance. Obedience is the faithful guardian of all good works and the discipline of a sincere mind. Obedience is the beginning of mortification and the glorious ornament of monks. Obedience is the preserver of peace and concord, without which the vigor of monastic discipline perishes. Obedience always directs the keen edge of the mind toward God; and he who is truly mortified in spirit despises all the consolations of this world. Obedience makes the monk close to God and far removed from every defilement of soul. Obedience is the adornment of the soul and the garment of beauty; without it no one will come to the kingdom of eternal brightness. Obedience is the mother of victory; and whoever knows how, for the honor of God, to be subject in humility will obtain the crown of martyrdom in heaven. Obedience distinguishes the monk from the world; and he who follows it with his whole heart will be great before the Most High. Obedience is the consummation of Christian perfection; in its humble workshop, the more a monk advances, the holier he becomes. Obedience is sure security at the hour of death, for when a monk is about to depart from here, he will fly forth the more securely, the more ready he has been for obedience to commands. Obedience is the rewarder of the humble and the chief emblem of merits. Obedience is the rule of Christian gentleness and the strongest inner nourishment of charity. Obedience is the shelter of chastity and the ornament of most pure innocence. Obedience is the wisdom of monks; and to submit to the commands of prelates is the highest philosophy of cloistered men.

Obedience and humility are the wealth and riches of monks; and to possess continually in the mind the memory of the Lord’s passion is a sweetness greater than all the feasts of the world. Obedience and humility make the monk; but he who is rebellious and proud wears the monastic habit without cause. Obedience in the mind is the voluntary mortification of living members; its merit is of such dignity that a man has nothing greater that may be offered in honor of God. Let each one offer for the love of God what he can: without doubt, he has offered more than all who has slaughtered his own will for God through obedience. It is indeed a great good to distribute one’s resources for Christ’s love to the use of the poor, and to relieve by alms the poverty of the needy. But by as much as the whole outweighs the part, as free choice of the will is nobler than necessity, and as heaven stands apart from earth, by so much more has he offered who, for the love of God and by laying aside his will, has forever denied himself. For whatever temporal substance you have offered to God is not yours but another’s, and is of less value than what is proper to you, both in esteem and in reward. You have one thing proper to yourself which, offered to God, is pleasing above all things. What is this, if not free will, which the almighty Creator placed in your power? A good will is greater than all riches, for nothing richer can be offered to God, nothing will be judged more acceptable.

This most precious gift, my brothers, you once offered to God when, denying yourselves and all worldly things for Christ’s honor, you put on the monastic habit. I beseech you, be mindful of the prayers of your holy profession, and let that solemn promise never depart from memory, which each one of you made in the sight of God before us, saying: “I, brother Johannes, promise stability, conversion of my ways, and obedience according to the Rule of Saint Benedict, before God and his saints, in this monastery which was built in honor of blessed Martin, in the presence of lord Johannes, abbot.” Behold the bond by which we have voluntarily bound ourselves to obedience; behold

Homily XX. Fol. XLVII.

...the obedience of subjection. For a monk without obedience is a monster of the devil; and the man who resists the commands of his superiors will inherit the punishments of hell. The disobedience of the first man lost, in the beginning, the happiness of eternal life; the obedience of Jesus Christ restored it. For he was made obedient to the Father for us, even unto death; and by his most innocent passion he restored to us the happiness that had been lost.

Therefore humble obedience is said to belong to salvation, as our holy lawgiver Benedict cries out in the Rule: “Listen, O son, to the precepts of the master, and incline the ear of your heart; gladly receive the admonition of a loving father, and effectively embrace it, so that by the labor of obedience you may return to him from whom you had withdrawn by the sloth of disobedience.”

Obedience is the tree of eternal salvation, which grows in the garden of monastic humility. Obedience is the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit, and the tomb of every self-will. Obedience is the summit of simplicity and merit, and the one proof of monastic discipline. Obedience is the destruction and everlasting ruin of all pride, and the correction of every vicious sinner. Obedience conquers every malice and extinguishes every disordered pleasure of the flesh. Obedience makes conscience pure and clean, and preserves true humility in the mind. Obedience is the remedy for the wounded soul and the foundation of the whole of monastic observance.

Obedience is the faithful guardian of all good works and the discipline of a sincere mind. Obedience is the beginning of monastic life and the glorious ornament of the monk. Obedience is the conservatory of peace and concord; without it the strength of monastic discipline perishes. Obedience always directs the mind’s gaze toward God; and the man who is truly monastic in spirit despises all the consolations of this world. Obedience makes the monastic man near to God and far removed from every filth of the soul. Obedience is the adornment of the soul and the garment of beauty; without it no one comes to the eternal brightness of the kingdom.

Obedience is the mother of victory; and the man who has learned to be humbly subject for the honor of God will obtain the crown of martyrs in heaven. Obedience separates the monk from the world; and whoever follows it with his whole heart will be great before the Most High. Obedience is the consummation of Christian perfection; in its humble workshop, the more a monk advances, the holier he becomes. Obedience is certain security at the hour of death; for the more prepared a monk has been for obedience to the commandments, the more safely he will fly forth when he is about to depart from here.

Obedience is the reward of the humble and the special mark of merits. Obedience is the form of Christian gentleness and the strongest nourishment of inward charity. Obedience is the shadow of chastity and the ornament of innocent purity. Obedience is the wisdom of monks; and acquiescence in the commands of prelates is the highest philosophy of cloistered men. Let obedience and humility be the monk’s resources and riches; and to possess continually in the mind the memory of the Lord’s passion is the greatest sweetness, above all the feasts of the world.

Obedience and humility make the monk; but the man who is rebellious and proud bears the monastic habit without cause. Obedience is, in the mind, the living voluntary mortification of the members; its merit is of such great dignity that a human being has nothing greater which may be offered for the honor of God. Let each person offer for the love of God what he can; without doubt, the man who, through obedience, sacrifices his own will for God offers more than all.

It is indeed a great good to distribute one’s possessions openly for the love of Christ for the use of the poor, and to relieve the poverty of the needy with alms. Yet as much as the free choice of the will is nobler, in comparison with all necessity, than heaven is distant from earth, so much more does that man offer who, for the love of God, has of his own free will denied himself forever.

Whatever of external substance you offer to God is yours, yet it is not yours but another’s, and it is of lesser value both in estimation and in reward than your own self. You have one thing of your own which, offered to God, pleases him above all things. What is this, if not the free will which the almighty Creator placed in your power? But a good will is greater than all riches; whoever offers this to God is prepared to offer something unspeakably acceptable.

This most precious thing, my brothers, you once offered to God when, wishing to deny all worldly things for his honor, you put on the monastic habit. Remember the words of your holy profession, and let that solemn promise never depart from memory, which each one of you made in the sight of God before us, saying: “And I, brother Johannes, promise stability, conversion of my way of life, and obedience according to the Rule of Saint Benedict, before God and his saints, in this monastery which is built in honor of blessed Martin, in the presence of lord Johannes, abbot.” Behold, you see that we are bound to voluntary obedience; behold...

Homily XX. Fol. LIX.

O lover and student of your own salvation, consider the form of obedience which you are to follow. The abbot bears the office of Christ’s vicar in the monastery; whether he is good or bad, he deserves the obedience of all his subjects, not by his own merit but in the name of Christ. For we understand the saying, “He who hears you hears me, and he who despises you despises me,” not only of the apostles, but of any prelate in the Church of God who has been appointed guardian and ruler of souls.

Therefore, if you have an abbot who is good, suitable, and holy, hear his voice as the command of God, since he bears God’s place; and whatever he commands you, be obedient to him in all things. If his teaching is for you a rule of life, and his holy conduct an example of purer discipline, then he is a friend of God and the vicar of Jesus Christ: for the one reason he deserves that you love him, and for the other that you obey him in all things when he commands.

But if you have obtained a shepherd who is rude, unlearned, or certainly less suitable, take care not to sin by wishing rashly to examine his actions. Rather, consider that your sins deserve to have a useless shepherd. Consider him not according to what he is, but according to what he is called; honor the shepherd for love and reverence of him whose vicariate marks him out. Remember at all times that the obedience which you promised to God must be shown purely and simply to his vicar; for if the abbot is bad in his way of life, nevertheless he does not lose the vicariate of Christ unless he is deposed in fact. Nor does the shepherd’s wicked and blameworthy life absolve you from the obedience promised in religion.

The sense of our saying must be maintained: bad monks do not deserve to have a good abbot. Do not think, beloved brothers, that this example is being hurled at you. For I do not believe myself to be a bad shepherd, although I cannot deny that I am rude and unlearned; nor have we admitted any suspicion of evil about you, since indeed we seek nothing more than to nourish and enlarge brotherly charity in all things.

Frequently monks come to us, wandering either with reason or without cause, who for the most part turn the matter of their own instability back upon their abbots. But I, who desire you to be instructed in all things holy and useful, exhort and warn your charity in fatherly fashion that hereafter you should not lend your ears to these wanderers, who slander the characters of their own shepherds and strive to hide their own crimes by accusations against others. This is not the necessary integrity of monastic life: to turn the cause of the rebellion and disobedience of subjects back upon the head of the shepherd.

He who is a true monk does not rashly judge another’s affairs; and he who is a son of humble obedience does not investigate causes for rebellion. But he who grants consent to the passions of the flesh can never be at rest; and he who scrutinizes another’s life is a despiser of his own salvation. A monk founded in the love of God does not pass judgment on the command of his superior; and he who always beholds Christ as present venerates his own shepherd as an angel of God. Boldness makes a monk degenerate, and presumption has cast many into prison.

A wanton monk, too lascivious and insolent, has lost the purpose of holiness; and unless he is recalled to his senses by the hard chastisement of the flesh, he has already set his foot toward hell. He who examines the command of his superior with curious rashness is not obedient; and he who resists an order is not a true disciple of Christ. For true obedience does not murmur, does not hesitate, is not sad, does not seek a byway, does not delay, does not excuse itself, nor show the least sign of lack of resignation. At the superior’s command, for the love of Christ, it always rejoices; it runs to meet it gladly, and obeys cheerfully with haste.

For what else is a monk than a constant combatant, who, armed with the virtues of humility and obedience, always keeps watch in the arena of struggle, and, victorious under a threefold battle-line, fights more strongly against himself? Blessed is that monk who, doing violence to himself, has learned to overcome the will of the flesh, and by the continual practice of spiritual warfare climbs the steep mountain of true obedience. Truly blessed is that monk who, having despised all the consolations of the world, has placed his whole self in the love of Jesus Christ, and now desires nothing more among visible things. It is not for monks to seek riches, honors, and pleasures in this world, nor is it fitting for the soldier of Christ to think of anything except Christ. O monk three and four times blessed, who for the love of Christ mortifies his own will until the end of life, and perseveres humbly in true obedience.

How great a good humble obedience is before God, my brothers, no one can sufficiently declare, for divine testimony wished to prefer it to all sacrifices. It is obedience that reconciles the soul to God, and through the shedding of blood crowns the martyrs.

Homily XX. Folio XLIX.

For you who love your own salvation and are zealous for sound obedience, consider whom you are to follow. The abbot who governs the monastery as Christ’s vicar, whether he is good or bad, deserves the obedience of all his subjects not by his own merit, but in Christ’s name. For we understand the saying, “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me,” not only of the apostles, but of every prelate in God’s Church who is appointed guardian and ruler of souls.

Therefore, if you have an abbot who is good, suitable, and holy, listen to his voice as to the command of God’s representative, and be obedient in all things, whatever he commands you. But if his teaching is a rule of life for you, and his holy conduct an example of purer formation, he is God’s friend and the vicar of Jesus Christ: for the one reason he deserves to be loved, and for the other, to be obeyed in everything he commands.

But if your pastor is negligent, ignorant, or certainly less suitable, beware, I beg you, of wishing rashly to examine his actions. Rather, think that your sins deserve to have such a pastor over you. Consider not what he is, but what he is called, and honor the pastor for the love and reverence of him whose vicariate he bears. Remember at all times to show purely and simply to his vicar the obedience that you promised to God; for if the abbot is bad in his conduct, still he does not lose the vicariate of Christ unless he is removed from office. Nor does your pastor’s blameworthy life absolve you from the promised obedience of religion.

The saying of our word must be feared: reprobate monks do not deserve to have a good abbot. This example will not be turned against you, holy brothers in Christ; for I do not believe myself to be a bad pastor, though I cannot deny that I am negligent and ignorant. Nor have we ever admitted any evil suspicion about you, since we seek nothing more than to nourish and enlarge fraternal charity in all things.

Monks often come to us, wandering either with reason or without cause, who very often lay the grounds of their instability upon their abbots. But I, who desire you to be instructed in everything holy and useful, exhort your charity paternally and warn you in Christ not hereafter to lend your ears to those who detract from the character of their pastors and strive to hide their own crimes by denouncing others. It is not the necessary integrity of monastic discipline to turn against the head of the pastor a cause for rebellion and disobedience among subjects.

The true monk does not rashly judge another’s affairs; and one who is a son of humble obedience does not set forth causes of rebellion. But one who yields consent to the passions of the flesh can never be at rest; and one who scrutinizes another’s life has contempt for his own salvation. The monk founded in the love of God does not judge the command of his elder; and one who always beholds Christ as present venerates his pastor as an angel of God.

Audacity makes a monk degenerate, and presumption casts many into ruin. A pernicious and insolent monk has lost the purpose of holiness; and unless he is recalled to his senses by harsh chastisement of the flesh, he has already set his foot toward hell. One who discusses the elder’s command with curious rashness is not obedient; and one who is saddened by an order is not a true disciple of Christ. For true obedience does not murmur, does not delay, is not saddened, does not seek difficulties, does not tarry, does not make excuses, and does not consent to the least sign of irreverence. For love of Christ it always rejoices at the elder’s command, runs to meet it gladly, and obeys cheerfully with haste.

For what else is a monk but a constant combatant, armed with virtues, who always watches in the zealous contest of humility and obedience, and, under a triple battle-line, fights more bravely against himself after conquering? Blessed is that monk who, doing violence to himself, has learned to overcome the will of the flesh and, through continual practice of spiritual warfare, ascends the arduous mountain of true obedience.

Truly blessed is that monk who, despising all the consolations of the world, has placed his treasure in the love of Jesus Christ and desires nothing further among visible things. This is the divinity of monks: to despise honors and pleasures in this world, and to think of nothing else but Christ. O monk three and four times blessed, who, with his own will mortified from the beginning to the very end of life for the love of Christ, perseveres humbly in true obedience.

How great a gift humble obedience is before God, my brothers, no one can sufficiently express, since divine providence has willed to prefer it to all virtues. Obedience is what reconciles the soul to God and, through the shedding of blood, crowns martyrs.

On the true obedience of monks

For the monk who, for God's sake, of his own free will binds himself to perpetual obedience in religion, if he lives rightly according to his vow, certainly undertakes the next thing to martyrdom. Obedience, then, is martyrdom without the shedding of blood; and voluntarily to subject oneself to a man for God's sake is a great torment of the flesh. The soul that is firmly loved in humility and obedience will without doubt attain the crowns of martyrdom. It is a hard work and an exceedingly laborious contest for a free man to despise himself, and to resign himself wholly, and his own will, forever under the command and power of another. But let us look with faithful eyes upon the reward of this contest, and we shall reckon all the hard and rough things of this life to be like a certain childish game, which already is striving toward blessedness and afterwards will appear as nothing. For, as the apostle, lover of Christ, says: "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, which shall be revealed in us." Therefore the crown that once gave the saints martyrdom for Christ, true humble obedience will prepare today for the lovers of Christ.

For the monk who is truly humble and obedient for Christ dies in secret without fear, since one who has served faithfully under the command of his superior is freed from every demand of accounting. For he who lives at the nod of his superior and walks in all the commandments in humility can commit nothing that should be carried before the judge. He is defended by the testimony of the abbot, under whose direction he lived rightly without complaint.

Consider, brothers, the law of obedience according to which you promised to live, and know that what had been voluntary was made necessary when you solemnly consented in the profession of monastic consecration. It is no longer lawful for you to withdraw from your holy purpose, nor can you revoke the vow once uttered. If you do everything according to the holy Gospel of Christ and the rule of father Benedict that you vowed, let there be no doubt of your salvation: you will be blessed, and you will receive from the Lord the reward due to the saints. But if, forgetful of your promises, you violate the vow of holy purity made to God; if, after spiritual consecration, you live according to the flesh, then your condition is now such by your own law that you are most certainly to be condemned by the Lord, since no one under Christ the judge of all can mock God, to whom you consecrated yourselves.

For it is much better to promise nothing than to violate a vow. Therefore the loss of your salvation is set in this one thing: that what you once promised to God according to the rule of Saint Benedict, you should not persevere in until death in all purity of mind and body. For a Christian man who has not made the vow of monastic profession can be saved by living according to the Gospel; but one who has once become a monk will not be saved unless he has observed until death all the things required for monastic life.

Listen then, O monk, to the word of Benedict to the end. For if you live as a monk, O monk, you will be saved; but if you live otherwise, you will not be saved, but will receive your place among apostate spirits, because you have mockingly despised the God whose servant you are. Now therefore call yourself back to yourself; examine carefully the perfection of your whole life, how you have fulfilled the vows that you promised and assumed. For the third fearful sentence of first examination now constrains not only the conscience but also the judgments of others. Always think on that soul in which, for the sake of the outward monastery, the first entrance was made, so that whenever you find yourself growing sluggish from the fervor of holiness, you may be able to renew in your mind the purpose of your first beginning. And so you will be able to be a holy and good monk, if in all things and always everywhere you keep obedience and humility.

The monk's true obedience gathers all the virtues into itself, and humility preserves them gathered. Forget yourself, and be ready to obey the command of your superior; and however far you advance in the arena of holy struggle, do not lift up your soul in any estimate of perfection. For what are our righteousnesses before God, and what good can we do that he has not given? For God, who is all in all, is himself sufficient and alone the perfection of our goods; he has no need of ours, since he is the highest and unchangeable good. In comparison with him, all our justifications are less than nothing. Therefore the monk placed under an abbot, truly obedient in humility, walks securely; and if he perseveres to the end, fighting and conquering, he will be gloriously rewarded.

Your humility of obedience truly delights me, brothers, when you present yourselves as faithful to the almighty Lord; nor in this matter do I regard myself as set over you, but as your companion, and the humble, though unworthy, servant of you all. Therefore, in the things that are yours and pertain to your salvation, receive me as speaking and enjoining not my own private and personal precept, but rather the common precept of the Lord of all.

Homily XXI. Fol. L.

... for love of him, unworthy men have set me, an unworthy man, over you as abbot. For my part, I shall not be troublesome to you if you run well; but if anyone strays from the way of truth, I am compelled, even unwillingly, to oppose him with all my strength.

Let the monk always think about his entrance into the monastery, and never forget the first purpose of his profession. In all your works, O monk, always remember that you are not long-lived upon the earth, but will shortly depart from this life, and perhaps will die when you do not expect it. Therefore stand by the purposes of inviolate holiness, and always be watchful in good works, so that when the Lord comes and calls you, he may find you prepared. Remember that you are a pilgrim on earth and have here no lasting city; but just as a traveler hastens toward the end of his journey, so you hasten swiftly toward the thing to which you draw nearer every day without interruption. Therefore, while you are healthy, put your house and the confidence of your soul in order, so that soon you may not be afraid; for rarely does he die well who is not prepared as one who is to die each day. O how secure a monk departs from this life, who, keeping his conscience in all purity, has lived at all times, without rebuke, according to the integrity of the rule of our most holy lawgiver, even unto death.

Let your mind continually hold in memory our Lord Jesus Christ as if present, indeed as never absent; and let no hour pass in which you do not think with thanksgiving upon him suffering for you. Stand in humility and true obedience, and no adversities will ever prevail against you. Just as trees, deep-rooted and sending great roots into the earth, are not easily torn from their place, so the monk who possesses charity and obedience in humility, together with the other virtues, is by no means overcome by demons. Obedience, brothers, is a great virtue, which brings the other virtues into the mind and, through the humility of service, preserves them once brought in. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself, who for us became obedient unto the death of the cross, enlighten your hearts by his grace and sweetly incline your minds at all times to the observance of the regular life: he who lives and reigns with God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit, God, for all ages of ages. Amen.

On Continence and True Chastity: Homily XXI.

My very dear brothers, I have obtained from God a slender grace, by which, as your pastor, I may be found worthy and fit at once in life and in speech. For I know, nor does it escape me, how dangerous a thing the governance of souls is for a young man and beginner such as I am, when one who has not yet learned to direct and govern himself according to the norm of justice presumes to undertake the instruction of others. I blush to open my mouth among you for teaching, since in a short time and before maturity I am compelled to be a teacher of discipline. Yet since this has pleased you, and you wished to have me, a young man, as master, pardon me, for necessity compels me to fulfill, as best I can, the office committed to me. Help me with your prayers, I beg you, brothers, so that the mercy of God may supply the strength that the rashness of age denies.

For I desire you to walk before God in all purity of mind and body, so that you may please him to whom you handed yourselves over from the beginning. As leader of the journey you have undertaken toward heaven, find our Lord Jesus Christ, who, born of Mary ever most modest virgin, perpetually preserved the most perfect chastity of mind and body. Follow his commandments, in whose service you were consecrated, so that you may preserve not only in the body the continence commanded to you, but also in a mind brighter than sapphire and carbuncle guard perpetual chastity. For chastity is a most beautiful virtue, especially fitting for cloistered men; and when, under the yoke of reason, the impulse of every lust boils up, chastity is the ordered and conquered habit of the vices within the bodily fervors of honor. An incontinent and wanton monk, who is seduced by the spiritual lust of the flesh, is accounted to have withdrawn entirely from God and gone over to the demons.

There are also three things without whose observance no one should be reckoned firmly among the monks. The first gift is the obedience of humble and true subjection; the second, the renunciation of all property, as the Rule commands; the third, the unsullied keeping of perpetual purity and chastity. Whatever monk violates any of these has corrupted the apostasy of his order. A monk is lifted up by supports, strength, and spiritual work; and if one of these has been taken away, then, without doubt, he is blemished. Chastity adorns monks, indeed everyone, and leads them to the highest glory of the angels.

On Continence and True Chastity.

Nothing is more beautiful than chastity: it makes clean what was conceived from unclean seed; it also makes a member of the household out of an enemy, and an earthly human being into an angel. Chastity is the most beautiful of all virtues; when preserved worthily for love of Christ even unto death, it is rewarded with an inestimable prize. Chastity is nearest to the fellowship of angels, the highest medicine of the Christian mind. Chastity is the lovable household companion of Jesus Christ, the eternal king, a wondrous beginning of future incorruption. Chastity is the fullness of heavenly grace, through which every corruption of nature is restored and renewed. Chastity is the most powerful of all virtues; through it, in fragile flesh, nature conquers in a wondrous contest. Chastity imitates the angelic life, and even in the midst of mud is not touched by any sprinkling of stain. Blessed is the person who has deserved to receive the true gift of chastity from the Lord God, and to keep it inviolate unto death in Christian humility.

Chaste is the one who, for love of Jesus Christ, pure in mind and body, abstains from every defilement of the flesh; who, by the speech of the Holy Spirit, sweetly burns in the charity of God; who desires absolutely nothing in this world, but always longs to be and to live with Christ. Chaste is the one who, mindful of his profession of spiritual warfare, subdues the motions of the flesh by reason, and strongly restrains at once, from their beginning, all the little sparks of budding lust. Chaste is the one who, as soon as a carnal thought begins to knock at the mind, implores divine help with tears, and does not cease from prayers until he senses that the fire of burning desire has been utterly extinguished. Chaste is the one who flees every occasion and touch of lust; who makes a covenant with his eyes so that he does not even think of a woman; and who sets a guard over his senses, lest any foul or immodest things be thrust upon them. Chaste is the one who avoids the company of the wanton and always turns his eyes away, lest he behold vanities. Chaste is the one who detests the presence of all misery and who at all times holds his own frailty suspect, with fear and watchfulness. Truly chaste is the one who, in mind and body, imitates angelic nature and admits no corruption in holy conduct.

Chastity is a gift of grace, and not a work of nature or human industry. Chastity makes a humble monk most pleasing to God, since one who lives in mortal flesh without corruption is a companion of the angels. Whoever has attained chastity is always truly humble, and whoever understands its nature does not boast in himself over its possession, but in the Lord who gave it. For no one is chaste by his own strength, since fragile man is not sufficient to conquer nature unless he who created nature and all things grants it. As often, therefore, as nature is conquered through chastity, God manifestly works together with man. Chastity itself has, in those subject to it, a difficult beginning, until the movement of unlawful thought is brought into contempt. Chastity overcomes fornication by fleeing rather than by struggling against it, since lust is girded about with so many subtle weapons that it must be avoided before it gathers strength.

Therefore, whenever anyone’s mind is touched by the motions of lust, let divine help be invoked without delay. Let no deliberate space be given to unclean thought, but as soon as it begins to be felt, let it be brought into contempt by the remedy of forgetfulness. No conversations at all are to be held with the fraudulent enemy who is always laying snares; nor are counsels of the flesh to be discussed with unclean thoughts. For unless you crush the serpent’s head, it slips away; unless you at once break the motions of lust from the beginning, it is strengthened. Hence the holy apostle of Christ, Paul, teaches that one must fight against any vices, but commands fornication alone to be fled. We carry about with us the materials of victory against ourselves; therefore he wills that we flee the enemy.

Chastity is nourished by fasting; it is shipwrecked by gluttony. Therefore, if you love chastity, love fasting, so that it may have necessary nourishment. One who is chaste follows the industry of the bee; and one who is truly a monk, as though crowned with all flowers, is adorned with all virtues. Not everyone who is ignorant of lusts is chaste, but the one who, in pure and clean flesh, for the love of Christ alone, also strives for holiness of mind. Otherwise, what does purity of dwelling profit, if the inhabitant is foul and unclean? Blind paganism once had its virgins, sacrificing in their garments; but because they did not offer the modesty of the body to the true God, nor did they preserve right faith in the mind, they descended into the depths of hell with the demons whom they worshiped. For chaste is the one who, for love of the Creator, restrains the flesh from every lust, and, holy in mind through virtues, offers to God himself a soul adorned with all virtues.

Outside the faith of Jesus Christ today there is no true chastity, nor any that is meritorious for eternal salvation. Although you live chastely, O monk, pure and holy, and as long as the spirit remains in the body, do not presume to have confidence in chastity from clay. The food of chastity is fasting and abstinence, and, in every action, the support of wholesome continence. But when you have attained all things, do not trust in yourself, because the one whom we know to have eaten nothing fell from heaven. Mortification of the body is both very necessary and very useful for preserving the beauty of chastity; but however much you have advanced in either, do not trust in yourself. Instead, always watchful, hoping in the Lord’s help, be afraid. For unless you keep yourself continually and most earnestly in the fear of the Lord, the house of your conscience will quickly be overthrown. He runs in vain who presumes to guard chastity by his own strength. For unless the Lord causes the dwelling of chastity to be built, the one who builds the wall of abstinence labors in vain. And unless you become, with all your strength, a co-worker with divine grace, you will by no means obtain the beauty of chastity. For God will not make you chaste without your will, nor will you attain this great gift unless he, through his mercy, comes to the aid of your weakness.

Therefore it will be your part, O monk, to offer the desire for chastity with good will, and, in humble confidence, to await its sure increase from the Lord. Apply fasting, and the Lord’s help will not be lacking. Chastity is a gift of grace, not of nature; and to live in the flesh as though beyond the flesh belongs to angelic strength, not human. Nevertheless, it is not difficult for a person of good will to preserve chastity, especially one who is separated from the tumult of worldly people and lives solitary in the midst of monks. A monk, too, who enters a monastery of good reform while young and innocent, if he keeps his mind continually occupied in the fear of the Lord, is less assailed by lust. For the experience of lust is pernicious, since, as someone truly said, it seeks to conquer souls, not to satisfy the veins. But a monk who is a lover of chastity can easily extinguish the heat of lust if, fleeing idleness and fullness, he chooses to occupy himself continually in spiritual exercise. For among all vices none assaults chastity more greatly or more dangerously than fullness and idleness. If a monk overcomes these two evils, he will easily preserve chastity.

Hence the most holy princes of monks, wishing to cut away the causes of lust, established for us a spare and meager diet according to a fixed measure, by which the body is sustained for necessity and is not fattened for lust. They also decreed that scantiness of sleep was useful for monks, because immoderate rest stretches the flesh no less than gluttony. But they wished idleness, as the most pernicious plague of the soul, to be far from cloistered persons, dividing the time most wisely so that a monk would never be found idle. Hear these things, brothers, and grasp them in your mind, you who carry a great treasure in a fragile little body. Always flee idleness; always do something good, so that whenever the tempter, the devil, approaches, he may find you usefully occupied. For truly, one who is idle lies open to the snares of the tempter; but one who is occupied in good work has closed every entrance to snares. Therefore the mind must be occupied with continual exercise, so that it is never found idle. Blessed is that monk who occupies his mind at all times in good exercises and never sleeps in the sleep of torpor and sloth. Blessed is the spiritual soldier of Christ who always keeps watch in the fear of the Lord and immediately restrains, from the beginning, all the disordered motions of the flesh.

For it is not enough to guard true chastity unharmed if someone plays with unclean thoughts as though deliberating with them. It belongs to strong men to crush the first motions of wicked thoughts, because where delay creates danger, one must fight strongly at once. There must always be vigilance against the adversary of our salvation, who is never conquered more quickly than if he is choked off immediately from the beginning. Continual exercise is needed, brothers, because a mind always occupied in holy studies is like a very high tower of strength, in which the soldier of Jesus, set as a most watchful guard, fears no hostile snares. Therefore I beseech you, my dearest brothers, do not consume time in idleness, lest you increase in yourselves the material of vices, you who are not ignorant of the wiles of the malignant spirit. Preserve continence in all things, and apply temperance, the guide of virtues, to all your works. Always consider how you ought to conduct yourselves in all religious holiness before the Lord [unclear].

[unclear] Jesus Christ, a person's chastity is not true nor meritorious for eternal salvation. If you wish, O monk, to live chastely, purely, and [unclear], then as long as you remain in this body of clay, do not presume to have confidence in your chastity.

The nourishment of chastity is fasting and abstinence, and devout prayer is the firm support of salutary continence. But when you have done everything, do not look to yourself, for one fell from heaven who, as we know, ate nothing. Mortification of the body is very necessary and useful for preserving the beauty of chastity; but however much you have advanced in both, do not trust yourself, but always watch, hope in the Lord's help, and fear. For unless you keep yourself continually and most earnestly in the fear of the Lord, the house of your conscience will soon be overturned.

He runs in vain who presumes to guard chastity by his own strength. Unless the Lord builds the dwelling of chastity, he labors in vain who constructs the wall of abstinence. And unless you have cooperated with all your strength with divine grace, you will in no way obtain the beauty of chastity. For God does not make you chaste without your will, nor will you attain this great gift unless he comes to the aid of your weakness through his mercy.

Therefore, O monk, offer the desire for chastity with a good will, and with humble confidence await sure increase from the Lord. Apply effort, and the Lord's help will not be lacking. To live chastely in the flesh belongs to angelic strength, not human strength. Nevertheless, it is not difficult for a person of good will to preserve chastity, especially one who is separated from the useless company of secular people and lives among monks. A monk, too, who enters a monastery of good reform while young and innocent, if he continually occupies his mind in the fear of the Lord, is less attacked by lust.

For experience of lust is ruinous, since, as someone truly said, Venus wishes to conquer souls, not to satisfy them. But a monk who is a zealous lover of his own salvation can easily extinguish the heat of lust if, fleeing idleness and satiety, he wishes continually to occupy himself in spiritual exercise. Among all vices, nothing attacks chastity more dangerously than satiety and idleness. If a monk overcomes these two evils, he will easily guard chastity.

For this reason the most holy leaders of monks, wishing to cut off the causes of lust, established for us a frugal diet in fixed measure, so that the body might be sustained for necessity and not unchastely stirred to lust. They also decreed restraint in sleep as useful for monks, because excessive rest nourishes the flesh no less than gluttony. They wished idleness, as a most deadly plague of the soul, to be far from cloistered men, most wisely arranging the time so that a monk would never be found idle.

Hear these things, brothers, and grasp them in your mind, you who carry a great treasure in a fragile little body. Flee idleness; always do some good work, so that whenever the tempting devil approaches, he may find you usefully occupied. For the one who is idle lies open to the snares of temptation; but the one occupied in good work has closed every entrance to those snares. Therefore the soul must be occupied in continual exercise, so that it is never found idle.

Blessed is that monk who at all times occupies his mind in good exercises, and never dozes in the sleep of torpor and sloth. Blessed is the spiritual soldier of Christ who always keeps watch in the fear of the Lord and restrains every disordered movement of the flesh immediately at its beginning. For no one who knowingly plays with unclean thoughts is able to guard true chastity. The first movements of wicked thoughts must be resisted, because where delay creates danger, one must fight strongly at once.

One must always keep watch against the adversary of our salvation, who is never defeated more surely than when he is choked off immediately at the beginning. Continual exercise is needed, brothers, because the mind always occupied in holy studies is like a very high tower of strength; stationed there, the most watchful soldier of Jesus Christ fears no hostile ambushes.

Therefore I beseech you, my dearest brothers, do not spend time in idleness, lest you open within yourselves the materials of vices, which the crafty evil spirit knows well. In all your works apply temperance, the guardian in all things and the guide of virtues. Always consider how you ought to walk before the Lord in all religion and holiness.

All things, XXI. Folio LII.

For unless the mind has first been blinded, the will will not yield to the demon. The spirit of fornication first darkens the mind gravely; then, until it has hurled it into sin, it fights against one already blinded. But after it has cast the monk into the mire of unspeakable crime, it sets two obstacles in his way so that he may not rise again to penance. For either it subtly tries to lighten the gravity of the sin, so that he does not fear a great punishment, or it brings back to the fallen man’s memory the severity of judgment, so that he falls into the pit of despair. By these snares the sinful soul is caught; and the longer it lies in the depth of misery, the more hardened it becomes.

Flee idleness, O cloistered men, and above all avoid gluttony and the satiety of the belly, because the monk who fills his belly with food and drink provides material for the demon of fornication to do harm. Put on true contrition of heart, and restrain illicit movements of the flesh through tears of prayer. For no one is able rightly to conquer his body who has not first taken up the goad of contrition. But he cannot attain the grace of holy contrition who has despised perfectly to deny himself. Yet whoever has perfectly denied himself for the love of Christ, already overcoming the impulse of the flesh, will more easily obtain contrition. For one who is deadened in will desires nothing carnal, nothing base. But who among us, brothers, would dare to say that he has attained this grace of mortification? Who among us does not feel himself weak? We run in the stadium of spiritual warfare, and in daily combat we fight against vices. We have received no assurance of peace, even if at times we have peace. The more familiar to us the weakness of the flesh is, the harsher are the battles of chastity. Therefore we must keep greatest watchfulness when we carry about a familiar enemy and endure, as it were, a domestic instigator of evil.

Therefore as long as we live in this mortality, let us always fear the strongest enemies of chastity. Let us avoid everything that excites lust; let us flee as much as we can from sloth and idleness. For satiety of bread and idleness are truly the strongest enemies of chastity; unless they are driven far away by abstinence and by the work of salutary exercise, they threaten chastity with imminent shipwreck. Guard your hearts with watchful keeping, O dearest ones, and always keep watch in mind against your adversary. Arm yourselves with the breastplate of perfect faith in Jesus Christ, so that in work and belief you may be true Christians. Always be of one mind in brotherly charity, and in the observance of true regular discipline be concordant without pretense. Love fasting and continence; meditate without interruption. Flee idleness as a pernicious plague of the soul, and exercise yourselves continually in holy works. Love silence, and do not flee monastic solitude, if you desire to obtain true purity of mind and body. Keep continual guard over your eyes, ears, and speech, lest sin enter the soul through the windows of the body. Flee conversations with women, and avoid even the touch of holy women as you would a burning fire. No one safely looks willingly on what brings the sting of death to the covetous.

Always behold our Lord Jesus Christ dying for you with the faithful eyes of the mind through love; be occupied every day in his saving evangelical doctrine; give humble thanks for his passion and death alike. If you do these things with persevering continuance, in true simplicity of heart, until death, we trust that you will be rewarded in the company of the saints.

On the brotherly charity of monks. All things, XXII.

Let us hear, my dearest brothers, our Lord Jesus Christ commanding in the holy Gospel: Whatever you wish people to do to you, do the same also to them. This is indeed a brief but solid commendation of brotherly charity, without which no one can ascend to the love of God. For no one can love God who is convicted of not loving his fellow Christian. Hence the blessed apostle John says: Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. Therefore if anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For this reason Paul, the lover of Christ, exhorts us, saying: Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. And Peter, the prince of the apostles, admonished us in this way: Before all things, he says, have constant mutual charity among yourselves, because charity

Homily XXI. Fol. LI.

For unless the mind has first been blinded, the will does not yield to the demon. The spirit of fornication first gravely darkens the mind; afterward it fights until it has hurled it, blinded, into sin. But afterward, when it has cast the monk down into the mire of unspeakable crime, it obstructs him in two ways, lest he rise again to repentance. For either it subtly tries to make light of the gravity of the sin, so that he may not fear a great penalty, or it brings the severity of judgment back to the fallen man’s memory, so that he may fall into the pit of despair. By these snares the sinful soul is caught; and the longer it has lain in the depth of misery, the more hardened it becomes.

Flee idleness, O cloistered men, and avoid gluttony and the excess of the belly with the greatest care, because the monk who stuffs his belly with food and drink provides the demon of fornication with matter for doing harm. Put on true contrition of heart, and restrain the illicit motions of the flesh through tears of prayer. For no one is able rightly to conquer his body who has not first taken up the goad of contrition. But he cannot attain the grace of holy contrition who has not first learned perfectly to despise and deny himself. Whoever, however, has perfectly denied himself for the love of Christ, already overcoming the assaults of the flesh, will more easily obtain the grace of contrition. For he who has been mortified in will desires nothing carnal, nothing base.

But who among us, brothers, would dare say that he has reached this grace of mortification? Which of us does not know himself to be weak? We run in the arena of spiritual warfare, and in daily combat we fight against vices. We have received no assurance of peace, even if at times we have peace. The more familiar to us is the weakness of the flesh, the harder are the battles of chastity. Here we must be especially watchful, since we carry about a familiar enemy and endure, as it were, a domestic instigator of evil. Therefore, so long as we live in this mortality, let us always fear the corruptor of chastity. Let us beware of everything that arouses lust, and as much as we can, let us flee sloth and idleness. For fullness of bread and idleness are the strongest enemies of true chastity; unless they have been driven far away by abstinence and the labor of salutary exercise, they threaten immediate shipwreck to chastity.

Keep your hearts with every guard, O my dearest brothers, and always keep watch in spirit against your adversary, who never sleeps. Arm yourselves with the breastplate of perfect faith in Jesus Christ, so that in deed and belief you may be true Christians. Always be of one mind in brotherly charity, and be united without pretense in the true observance of regular discipline. Love fasting and continence; pray without ceasing. Flee idleness as the pernicious plague of the soul, and continually exercise yourselves in holy works. Love silence, and do not flee monastic solitude, if you desire to obtain true purity of mind and body. Keep continual guard over your eyes, ears, and speech, lest death enter the soul through the windows. Flee conversations with women, and avoid even the touch of holy women as the burning of fire. No one safely looks willingly upon what brings the sting of death to the desirous man. Always behold with faithful eyes of the mind, through love, our Lord Jesus Christ dying for you on the cross; occupy yourselves daily in a salutary way with his evangelical teaching; give humble thanks for his passion and likewise for his death. If you do these things with continued perseverance in true simplicity of heart until death, we trust that you will be rewarded with the fellowship of the saints.

On Brotherly Charity among Monks. Homily XXIII.

Let us hear, my dearest brothers, our Lord Jesus Christ commanding in the holy Gospel: Whatever you wish men to do to you, do the same also to them. This is indeed a brief but solid admonition of brotherly charity, without which no one can ascend to the love of God. For no one can love God who is shown not to love his fellow Christian. Hence the blessed apostle John says: Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that every murderer does not have eternal life abiding in him. Hence, if anyone has said, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. Therefore Paul, the holy lover of Christ, exhorts us, saying: Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. And Peter, prince of the apostles, admonished us thus: Before all things, he says, have continual mutual charity among yourselves, because charity covers a multitude of sins.

On the brotherly charity of monks.

What is immortal is what one is bound to love in another, and the regard of charity must be directed toward the soul rather than toward the body. Since by the use of reason and understanding we are distinguished from brute animals, let the gaze of our love be referred to the mind, by which we understand, not to the body, which we have in common with beasts. And let all affections of the flesh be far from holy monks, who are not ignorant of the mutual and sincere rule of charity. Let love toward one another be pure, upright, and conceived from the fear of God alone, so that no advantage of any corruptible thing may intervene, but the simple intention of charity may remain.

True charity, simple and pure, does not seek the byways of evil conspiracies, nor arm itself with the murmur of contention for plots of iniquity. Whoever possesses the true charity of brotherhood in his heart keeps peace in all things and raises no matter or causes of destructive dissension. Charity, rendering what is uniquely its own, does injury to no one, and whatever it does not wish done to itself, it transfers to no one else’s person.

Do not suppose that you have true brotherly charity when you love one another for the sake of the flesh or for the advantage of any temporal thing; for where the cause of love is not the Lord, the affection of the one who loves is always either partly or wholly vicious. But he will rightly love his brother who loves him for the love of God and because of the common sharing in the kingdom which we await.

Therefore, as Saint John the bishop says, we have been baptized into one body of the Church, so that we may not be dissolved from that harmony and friendship toward one another which belongs to one body, but may preserve charity and mutual agreement perpetually. Just as no one outside the unity of the catholic Church can obtain salvation, so it is believed that no one can be saved without brotherly charity.

Charity, then, is necessary for you before all things for salvation; without it the remaining works of the virtues are altogether fruitless. For there can be no good, no saving merit for life, that has not taken its origin from it. Charity is a certain road to the compendium of virtue; if anyone enters upon it by the straight path, he will need no guide to direct him. Pure, simple, and upright charity is not accustomed to injure a neighbor or to inflict evil on anyone.

Charity is accustomed to expend upon all the affection which it grants to its own interests, and whatever it hopes will conduce to its own salvation, it desires this to be common to all people in Christ Jesus. Charity performs the office of love without any disturbance, and although it loves all people most greatly, it is nevertheless provoked for no one into bitter zeal. It is always solid, always constant, always stable and firm, because it is neither touched by passions nor agitated by movements of unrest. It presents itself as common to all, and so bestows its love upon each that it seems to view its own things as belonging to all.

In those things that pertain to the reason of the mind and soul, charity does not neglect itself; but in those things that concern the advantage of the body, it often sets the causes of others before its own utilities. Great indeed is the command of true charity, which compels a person to make another’s misfortune his own.

And so you, my brothers, who have solemnly pledged yourselves to Christ’s service, who through the steep path of obedience pant after eternal life: if you do not wish to run in vain in the arena of so laborious a contest, take care before all things, we exhort you, always to preserve brotherly charity inviolate within yourselves. For unless you have sincere and perfect charity toward one another, you labor without fruit in regular observance. Abstinence from meats will confer nothing upon you for the salvation of souls; the renunciation of all private property will profit nothing toward obtaining eternal happiness, if brotherly love does not hold a place in your hearts.

Desiring, therefore, to be saved with Christ in truth, love one another mutually; and, as Christ loved you, so we beg you to love one another. Whatever each one of you desires to be done for himself, let him, without envy and for the love of God, always bestow that very thing upon his brother. Let divine love conquer among you all quarrels of the flesh and all contentious disputes, and let destructive dissension of the flesh find no place where the fullness of brotherly charity ought continually to dwell.

Unless all of you in the monastery are united according to the law of Christian institution, you must always necessarily abstain from injuring one another. But if through contentions and insults you wound one another mutually, you are certainly neither monks nor true Christians. For it is fitting that all cloistered men and monks be outstanding in the observance of charity, and be far removed from envy, hatred, and rancor. Therefore let the monk remain stable in the purpose of holiness unto death; let him be faithful in the service of God, so that also in love Omnia .xxiii. Fo. Liiii.

of the Creator he may sweetly burn, and never depart from purity of conscience. For whoever perfectly loves the Lord God with his whole heart, and preserves his conscience clean and pure from every pollution of sin, always shows sincere charity to his neighbor. But the one whom envy burns, or whom hatred stirs up against a brother, is plainly shown neither to love God truly nor to have a conscience pure from sin. Therefore everyone who pursues his brother with hatred and indignation is neither a true monk nor worthy of the name Christian, but by merit and way of life a minister and companion of demons.

Far, then, from this holy congregation of yours let hatreds depart. Let there be among you no destructive contests of contention. Let no zeal of bitterness be found here, and let no word of displeasing elation be heard. Let the concord of brotherly unity flourish here continually; let the innocence of Christian purity adorn the consciences of each, so that we may live in this brief time in such a way that after death we may glory with Christ in eternity.

Omnia .xxiiij.

Nothing is so just, nothing so holy, nothing in human actions can be so honorable, as always to love God above all things with the whole heart, the whole mind, and the whole strength, and for love of him to fear neither death nor any kinds of punishments. There is no greater cause for any action in us than divine love; for since God is the author of all things, nothing is more justly loved than he, and since he is the greatest of all goods, nothing is loved more fruitfully than he.

God first loved us: we were the lowest, he the greatest; we were little, he almighty; we were weak. Therefore, my brothers, let us love the Lord God with our whole heart, whole soul, and whole strength, by whom we are most sweetly loved, who not only made us in his image and likeness, but, what is the proof of the greatest love, mercifully called us to the kingdom of eternal happiness through the teaching and death of his only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

No bodily mother ever loved her only son so tenderly, sweetly, and strongly as almighty God loved us, who not only wished to become man for our instruction, but also deigned to undergo death in the flesh he had assumed for our salvation. No greater love ever existed, if we rightly consider who it was who endured such things for us. For love of us, he who was free from the debt of death dies voluntarily; and he who was always immune from every sin, innocent and just, is willingly condemned for our sins.

By the most just reasoning, then, we are commanded to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, who created us from his goodness alone when we did not exist, and mercifully delivered us when we had perished. The love of God is the greatest of all virtues, because whatever good, whatever virtue is done in this world, if it is not done from charity toward God, it is deprived of reward. Charity toward God purifies the conscience from every fault, since he who truly loves the Lord his God with his whole soul, his whole heart, and all his strength undoubtedly grants no place in his conscience to vices. For the heart which the love of God occupies is entered by no uncleanness of vices.

The love of God is an unfailing treasure: whoever possesses it is richer than all the wealthy of the world; whoever lacks it is more wretched than all the poor. Hence the holy apostle of Christ says: To those who love God, all things work together for good, because nothing harms those who love him.

Happy is the person in whose heart, besides the love of Christ, no bond of earthly affection dwells; who sighs after the remembrance of no human being; in whose conscience purity resides, and divine love always burns most ardently. Love him, my brothers, who for love of you descended into the womb of the Virgin. Always carry him in your hearts, who by his death opened heaven for you. Let the love of Christ, strong as death, be in you at all times, brothers, so that your life may be conformed to Christ's teaching, and, if ever it becomes necessary, you may not fear to die for love of him, just as he first deigned calmly and kindly to undergo death for us.

For the love of Christ makes the monk near to God, and whoever is always fervent in the charity of the Lord will obtain the fellowship of the angels. The love of Christ makes a person very strong against all assaults of demons, and no less in adversities than

On a Man’s Charity Toward God.

in prosperity, long-suffering and at the same time tranquil. The love of Christ teaches one truly to despise the world, and to reckon all its delights and all the consolations of the flesh as nothing. The love of Christ quickly suppresses the illicit motions of the flesh and brings the purest chastity into the mind. The love of Christ sweetly lifts the mind with desire toward heavenly things, and, separated from earthly things, preserves it in spiritual exercise.

The love of God lightens everything hard and rough, because where Christ is truly loved, tribulations and any adversities at all are counted as delights. The love of God is always diligent in good works and is never idle. The love of God despises present things and strongly raises the mind to eternal things. The love of God neither seeks honors nor pursues riches, but, joined to Christ by desire, covets absolutely nothing except him. The love of God covers a multitude of sins and remits all offenses to the penitent. The love of God at once justifies the impious; and the more love grows, the more perfectly, swiftly, and strongly perfection rises up.

The love of God is a tower of strength, which all ministers of diabolical wickedness cannot approach. The love of God is the consummation of all righteousness and the end of monastic discipline. The love of God perfects the monk and makes him consummate in all good works. The love of God is the sweet yoke of inward sweetness, by which every foulness of earthly corruption is driven from the mind. The love of God honors souls and makes them pure and immaculate from all stains. The love of God perfectly illumines the mind in every knowledge of heavenly honors, and purges its affection from all unclean vanities.

The love of God makes those who truly possess it most learned, and wonderfully instructed in every Scripture. The love of God renders the monk fearsome to all enemies, and grants angelic power to those who persevere. The love of God defends a man in dangers, because whoever truly loves God fears no hostile things. The love of God makes the one who possesses it secure and safe from demons at the hour of death, and joins the soul to the heavenly companies. The love of God leads its possessor back to the heavenly fatherland, and grants eternal glory to those who love God.

The love of God is the greatest of all honorable works and the one foundation of all virtues in the faith of Christ. The love of God is the best ointment, in which all wounds of languishing souls are healed. The love of God is an abundant remedy for poverty and want, and a consolation more effective than every possession of riches. The love of Christ far surpasses all teaching of this world, and instructs those who possess it most perfectly in every knowledge necessary for salvation. The love of God prepares a delightful dwelling in the heart of man for the Holy Spirit, and preserves those who persevere in all purity.

The love of God is the swiftest of all teachers, because what carnal persons learn over time and with much study, this the Holy Spirit gives in a moment to those who love God. The love of God gives knowledge to little ones and makes rustics more learned than the educated. The love of God is stronger than all things and by its power rules over all things. The love of God commands demons by a single word, and drives them by the sign of the cross from the bodies of the possessed. The love of God bestowed eternal blessedness on the holy spirits in heaven, whom the grace of the Creator confirmed in love.

The love of God beatifies honorable men baptized in the faith of Jesus Christ in eternal happiness, because no one could ever reach the fellowship of angels unless the persevering love of God were proved to have inflamed him. For the love of God alone makes works both good and meritorious, because God receives from us only that gift of a good work which the flame of charity has made worthy in his sight. Whatever is done outside charity is judged unworthy in God’s sight.

Now attend, my brothers, to our admonitions, and consider carefully how necessary it is for you to love God above all things, if you desire to reach his kingdom and to triumph happily with him forever. Let none of you deceive his soul with empty words, so that he believes he truly loves God while he either scorns or neglects to keep his commandments. You have heard the Lord Jesus saying in the holy Gospel: “Whoever loves me will keep my words.” And, as the blessed pope Gregory says, the performance of the commanded work is the proof of the love that has been enjoined. For then we truly love the Lord our God with our whole heart, when, having despised worldly pleasures, we perfectly keep all his commandments even unto death. Likewise, then we love him above all things, when for love of him, not according to the flesh but according to On a person’s charity toward God.

loved whenever, besides him, something is loved together with him. The love of God then proceeds rightly when nothing is mixed with it that could weaken it. Let each of you strive, as much as he can, to love the Lord his God above all things with the whole strength of his mind, because love in God alone is what will open for you the gate of paradise. For the more ardently you now love God, the greater the glory with which you will be received in the heavenly homeland.

Happy is that monk in whose conscience, besides the love of Christ, no image of any occupation resides; who, waking, thinks of nothing but Christ; sleeping, dreams of Christ; living and dying, sighs most steadfastly for Christ. O how well and securely he dies who has always been diligent in the exercise of divine love, and at all times zealous in observing the commandments of God. For only the love of God is admitted into the kingdom of heaven; and the more fervent the mind has been in loving, the more blessed it will become in glory. He who loves much receives much; and he who now loves less will then also receive less in glory. Therefore, as much as each one can, let him love with his whole heart, with his whole soul, and with his whole strength, because our God is not to be loved tepidly or sluggishly, but fervently, wisely, and sweetly.

Now the love of God grows and is increased by spiritual exercises, just as a burning fire spreads by the addition of wood. For if the wood is withdrawn, the fire is extinguished; and if spiritual exercises are interrupted, charity is soon shipwrecked. But true love of God is never idle; rather, at every time it is delightfully occupied in those things that nourish and preserve charity. For the lover of God never forgets his beloved, but always meditates on his presence and beauty; and, in his prayers, most devoutly marvels at Jesus speaking to him. The true lover of Christ meditates day and night on the law of the Lord, and does with the greatest diligence everything he understands to be pleasing to God.

O how sweetly he burns whom the love of God has truly inflamed; how pleasantly he glows, whose mind the flame of the Holy Spirit has set on fire. Blessed is that monk who, full of divine love, withdraws himself wholly from earthly vanities and rests in the shadow of heavenly desire. O if only we had a love toward God as strong, whole, and vehement as mad and foolish lovers have for their corruptible mistresses; out of desire for them, empty men often become disgracefully insane and fear no scandals of this world. But the love of God is stronger than all things, if it has truly been rooted in us.

Whoever truly loves the Lord God always keeps in his memory his most bitter passion, because nothing causes the love of God so perfectly in the human heart, nothing so induces true compunction, as the never-interrupted remembrance of God’s benefits. Therefore let the written sequence of Christ’s passion always be in your memory, and let this word never depart from your mouth: O crucified Jesus, my love, by the power of your most innocent death, have mercy on me, and make me your faithful servant.

On Serenity of Conscience.

With great solicitude, dearest brothers, we must keep watch, and with continual meditation take care that we always preserve our conscience, whose testimony we cannot escape, clean and unstained from every contagion of sin. For there is nothing more beautiful, nothing more pleasant, nothing finally more precious than a good conscience; when the mind has within itself a manifest testimony of rectitude, it suffers no gnawing of destructive unrest. An upright and good conscience is an incredible exultation of the mind and a sure consolation in every adversity. The monk who has obtained the testimony of a good conscience neither refuses to live nor fears the coming of future death.

A good conscience is always joyful, always glad, always fearless, and truly tranquil in the peace of Jesus Christ. In a good conscience there is always peace, piety, goodness, light, virtue, honor, joy, gladness, sweetness, and delight without dissipation. Conscience is the storehouse of the soul, since whatever is placed in it is reserved for the provision of the life to come. A good conscience is the best treasure; if anyone neglects to have it, he must be judged the most wretched and unhappy of all people. A good conscience is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and the earthly paradise of all graces. A good conscience does not fear the slanders of the wicked, and a mind conscious of rectitude despises the lies of rumor. A good conscience is always cheerful, and he who

On the charity of a person toward God.

[unclear] is loved whenever anything apart from him is loved together with him. Love of God then advances rightly when nothing is allowed into it that could weaken it. Let each of you, as much as he can, strive with the whole strength of his mind to love the Lord his God above all things, because love of God alone is what will open for you the gate of paradise. For the more ardently you now love God, the greater the glory in which you will be received in the heavenly homeland.

Happy is that monk in whose conscience, apart from the love of Christ, there remains no imagining of any other occupation; who, waking, thinks of nothing but Christ; sleeping, dreams of Christ; living and dying, sighs most steadfastly after Christ. O how well and securely he dies who has always been diligent in the exercise of divine love, and at all times zealous in observing the commandments of God. For love of God alone is admitted into the kingdom of heaven; and the more fervent the mind has been in loving, the greater its reward will be in the kingdom of heaven. He who loves much receives much; and he who now loves less will also then receive less in glory. Therefore let each person, as much as he can, love with his whole heart and with his whole soul and with all his strength, because our God is not to be loved lukewarmly or lightly, but fervently, wisely, and sweetly.

The love of God grows and is increased by spiritual exercises, just as a burning fire spreads when wood is supplied. For truly, if the wood is taken away, the fire is also extinguished; if spiritual exercises themselves are interrupted, charity is soon shipwrecked. True love of God is never idle, but at every time is delightfully occupied in those things that nourish and preserve charity. The lover of his beloved God never forgets him, but always meditates on his presence and beauty; and now, in most devout prayers, he speaks to Jesus; now, in the holy Scriptures, he marvels at him speaking to himself. The true lover of Christ meditates day and night on the law of the Lord, and does with the greatest diligence all the things that he understands to be pleasing to God.

O how sweetly he burns whom God has truly set aflame; how pleasantly he glows whose mind the flame of the Holy Spirit kindles. Blessed is that monk who, full of divine love, wholly withdraws himself from earthly vanities and rests in the unity of heavenly desire. O if only we had love toward God as strong, whole, and vehement as mad and foolish lovers have toward their corruptible mistresses, from desire for whom they are often shamefully driven mad, and fear no scandals of this world. But the love of God is stronger than all things, if it has truly been rooted in us. Whoever truly loves the Lord God always keeps his most bitter passion in his memory, because nothing so produces perfect love of the Lord God in the heart, nothing so truly brings on compunction, as the never-interrupted recollection of God’s benefits. Therefore let the written sequence of Christ’s passion always be in your memory, and let this word never depart from your mouth: O crucified Jesus, my love, by the power of your most innocent death have mercy on me and make me your faithful servant.

On Serenity of Conscience.

Homily 24.

Most beloved brothers, we must keep watch with great solicitude, and must take care with continual meditation that we always guard our conscience, whose testimony we cannot escape, clean from every contagion of sin and unstained by intimate custody. Nothing is more beautiful, nothing more pleasant, nothing finally more precious than a good conscience, when the mind has in itself a manifest testimony of rectitude; it suffers no remorse of destructive unrest. An upright and good conscience is an incredible exultation of the mind and a sure consolation in every adversity. The monk who has obtained the testimony of a good conscience neither refuses to live nor fears the coming of future death. A good conscience is always glad, always joyful, always fearless, and truly tranquil in the peace of Jesus Christ. In a good conscience there is always peace, piety, goodness, light, virtue, honor, joy, gladness, sweetness, and delight without dissipation. Conscience is the treasury of the soul, because whatever is placed in it is reserved as provision for the life to come. A good conscience is the best treasure; if anyone has neglected to have it, he must be judged the most wretched and unhappy of all men. A good conscience is the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit and the earthly paradise of all grace. A good conscience does not fear the detractions of the impious, and a mind conscious of rectitude scorns the lies of rumor. A good conscience is always cheerful, because On the Serenity of Conscience.

From this there is no doubt that many have erroneous consciences, because they love the pleasures of their own flesh too much. Every proud, lustful, unclean person, and everyone entangled in great or public crimes, clouds his own conscience with deliberate perversity; and how erroneously he thinks about the future repayment of merits he often makes clear both by words and by deeds. A malicious affection perverts the judgment of uprightness, and the disordered desire of the flesh clouds the understanding.

Sometimes, moreover, excessive and immoderate faintheartedness makes the conscience err; this evil is born partly from ignorance, and partly generated from one’s own sensuality. In such scrupulosity, however, the monk should follow the counsel either of the abbot or of some more experienced elder, and should not rashly defend the opinion of his own head. Excessive scrupulosity is dangerous, because it hurls the conscience into error and unhappily trips up many. For everything that is done against conscience is said to build toward hell.

Excessive perplexity of mind has also harmed many and has cast them headlong into various errors. But he who is truly a humble monk brings himself to the examination of his ruler. For whoever, in doubtful matters that arise, makes use of the counsel of his superior is not easily tripped up by the snares of demons. Indeed, the more the consciences of monks have been exposed to the examination of a wise prelate, the more secure they will be, and the more clearly they will shine.

Therefore, dearest brothers, care must be taken above all that you have consciences free from every error, then pure from all vice, and finally adorned with the holy works of all the virtues. Let the monk, then, who desires to advance in truth guard his heart with every vigilance, and as far as possible place a barrier before his senses, nor allow anything deadly to enter. But if, by any occasion, he recognizes that he has fallen into some sin, let him at once strive to erase it by true repentance, and not grant time to the wicked seed in which it may grow stronger for the worse. While the wound is small, let a remedy be applied, for if it is neglected it grows without measure.

Therefore, my brothers, resist strongly the first movements of demonic suggestion, and overcome the enemy while he is small and weak. But if the sensuality of the body has become altogether wanton, let it be brought back to obedience by harsh mortification, just as we know our holy father Benedict did, when he rooted out the slippery insolence of the flesh with the stings of nettles and brambles. Then, if you diligently call back to memory the dreadful future punishments of the wicked, you will easily overcome the illicit movements of the flesh. For there is no one who does not fear pain more than he loves pleasure.

You should also often recall to mind the joys of heavenly happiness, to which you desire to come; for if you think on them faithfully, you will strongly quench the fire of the flesh. Whatever delights in the world is corruptible and momentary; but the joys of eternal delight remain without end forever. It is foolish, therefore, and a matter of extreme madness, to choose a passing advantage and to despise that good which remains forever. He is judged foolish among men who prefers dung to gold; but before God he is held most foolish who puts temporal pleasure before everlasting goods.

He who loves a serene conscience should flee idleness, since, as Scripture says, every idle person is in desire, and idleness has taught much malice. The soul must be occupied with good exercises, and the fire of holy conduct, which burns with charity, must be nourished by continual practice. For the idle man lives neither for himself nor for his neighbor, but is always given over to his belly or to sleep; he opens his mind to vices, and keeps it closed and empty of virtues. Idleness, the kindler of lust, quickly extinguishes the fervor of spiritual devotion.

Abstinence also is especially necessary for the monk above all, so that his conscience may remain clean. For, as Saint Jerome says, a full belly easily foams into lust, and he who feeds his servant delicately will find him rebellious. The lover of serenity of conscience should be constant in holy prayers, since, as dogs flee a stone, so demons flee devout and continual prayer. Let him also diligently beware of acedia, together with sadness of mind; and as soon as he feels any temptation creeping in, let him have recourse to the consolation of the Scriptures. Truly, the mind that the word of God has filled, base thought will not enter.

Whatever we do, whatever we think, whatever we undertake, let us always know that the presence of God is there, and we shall easily overcome disordered delight. A good conscience never forgets the presence of God, but always meditates that its judge is present.

Hence there is no doubt that it comes about that many have erroneous consciences, because they love too much the pleasures of their own flesh. Every proud, lustful, and impure person, and anyone entangled in great or public crimes, clouds his conscience by deliberate perversity; and how erroneously he thinks about the future repayment of merits he frequently shows both by words and by deeds. A malicious affection perverts the judgment of rectitude, and the disordered concupiscence of the flesh clouds the understanding. Sometimes, moreover, excessive and immoderate faint-heartedness makes the conscience err; this evil is born partly from ignorance and partly from one’s own sensuality.

In this scrupulosity, however, let the monk follow the counsel either of the abbot or of some more experienced elder, and let him not rashly defend the opinion of his own head. Excessive scrupulosity is dangerous, because it casts the conscience into error and unhappily causes many to stumble. For everything that is done against conscience is said to build toward hell. Excessive perplexity of mind has also harmed many and driven them headlong into various errors. But he who is truly a monk submits himself in humility to the examination of his rector. For whoever, in doubts that arise, makes use of his superior’s counsel is not easily overthrown by the snares of demons. For the more the consciences of monks have been exposed to the examination of a wise prelate, the more secure and more brightly shining they will gleam.

Therefore, dearest brothers, care must be taken first of all that you have consciences free from every error; then pure from all vices; and finally adorned with the holy works of all the virtues. Therefore let the monk who desires to advance in truth guard his heart with every watchfulness; and, as far as can be done, let him place a barrier before his senses and not permit anything deadly to enter. But if by any occasion he recognizes that he has fallen into some sin, let him at once strive to wipe it away by true penance, and let him not grant time to the wicked seed in which it may grow stronger for the worse. While the wound is small, let a remedy be applied; for if it is neglected, it grows beyond measure.

Therefore, my brothers, strongly resist the first motions of demonic suggestion, and overcome the enemy while he is small and weak. But if the sensuality of the body has become altogether wanton, let it be brought back to obedience by harsh mortification, just as we know our holy father Benedict did when he rooted out the slippery wantonness of the flesh by the prickings of nettles and thorns. Then, too, if you diligently recall to memory the dreadful future punishments of the impious, you will easily overcome the unlawful motions of the flesh. For there is no one who does not fear pain more than he loves pleasure.

Also bring often to mind the joys of heavenly blessedness, to which you desire to come; for if you faithfully consider them, you will strongly lessen the fire of the flesh. Whatever delights in the world is corruptible and momentary; but the joys of eternal pleasure remain without end forever. It is therefore foolish, and a matter of extreme madness, to choose a passing advantage and to despise that good which remains eternally. He is judged foolish among men who prefers dross to gold; but he is held most senseless before God who sets temporal pleasure before everlasting goods.

He who loves a serene conscience should flee idleness, since, as Scripture says, every idle man is in desires, and idleness has taught much malice. The soul must be occupied with good exercises, and the fire of holy conduct, which burns with charity, must be nourished by continual use. For the idle man lives neither for himself nor for his neighbor, but is always given over to the belly or to sleep; he opens his mind to vice and keeps it closed and empty of virtues. Idleness, the kindler of lust, quickly extinguishes the fervors of spiritual devotion.

Abstinence also is especially necessary for a monk, so that his conscience may remain clean. For, as Saint Jerome says, a filled belly easily foams into lust; and he who nourishes his servant delicately will find him disobedient. The lover of serenity of conscience should be constant in holy prayers, since, as dogs flee a stone, so demons flee devout and continual prayer. Let him also carefully beware of acedia together with sadness of mind; and as soon as he senses some temptation creeping in, let him have recourse to the consolation of the Scriptures. Indeed, no foul thought will enter the mind which the word of God has filled. Whatever we do, whatever we think, whatever we perform, let us always know that the presence of God is at hand, and we shall easily overcome disordered delight. A good conscience never forgets the presence of God, but always meditates that its judge is present.

Homily XXV. Fol. LVII.

Act now, my brothers, so that you may have consciences pure from every crime; and if anyone feels himself burdened in some fault, let him return without delay through true penitence to necessary purity. For unless you have consciences clean and good at all times, you live as apostates, not as monks.

On Continual Preparation for Death. Homily XXV.

The highest philosophy for cloistered religious, my dearest brothers, is continual meditation on death. Hence a certain wise man, considering the usefulness of this philosophy, admonished every mortal, saying: “Remember your last things, and you will not sin forever.” Meditation on death draws people back from the pleasures of the flesh and brings contempt for all corruptible things. Meditation on death despises present things through voluntary poverty and drives the mind toward desire for future things. Meditation on death banishes pride far away and plants true humility in the heart of the one meditating. Meditation on death makes the monk solicitous about the observance of regular discipline and never permits him to be idle. Meditation on death cuts away all the vanities of the world and preserves the mind in the highest temperance. Meditation on death makes one despise the vain and transitory honors of the world and think of nothing except the future judgment of God. Meditation on death does not fear the poverty of this life, because it longs with its whole desire for everlasting riches. Meditation on death most patiently tolerates all the adversities of this world for the love of Christ, because it hopes for nothing except the heavenly reward. Meditation on death makes the monk humble and obedient in all the commandments of righteousness. Meditation on death makes the monk quiet and stable in the congregation, and well concordant with all in Christ. Meditation on death makes the monk quiet and peaceable, and tranquil without any disturbance of mind. Meditation on death drives out all dissoluteness and frivolity, and preserves the monk mature and wholesomely sorrowful in all things. Meditation on death makes the monk solitary and continually devout in holy prayers. Meditation on death hastens penitence and brings true compunction. Meditation on death withdraws desire from every vanity and keeps the conscience serene and most pure. Meditation on death makes a person despise all the consolations of this world and prepare daily for departure. Meditation on death teaches one to flee idleness and makes a person keep watch continually in the fear of the Lord. Meditation on death does injury to no one, because it always fears the strict accounting of judgment. Meditation on death softens anger and all disordered motions, because when a person thinks that he will soon die, nothing external disturbs the mind. Meditation on death makes the heart contrite and humble, because intent remembrance of future things permits no one to be proud. Continual meditation on death makes departure safe at the last, because it has long made the one who has meditated prepared and ready. Meditation on death especially befits cloistered religious and monks, whom renunciation of all earthly things and regular profession itself have already made dead and buried to the world. Meditation on death makes the monk run prudently in the course of spiritual warfare and daily renew the purpose of holy fervor. Continual meditation on death is very useful to cloistered religious, because it powerfully represses the vices of the flesh and grants no entrance to perverse thoughts of the mind. For the holy bishop Augustine says: Fear of future death necessarily shakes the mind and, like a nail of the flesh, fastens all the motions of pride to the wood of the cross. And the holy champion of the Church, Jerome, says: Nothing will benefit you so much for temperance in all things as frequent thought of the shortness of life; its end is certain, but nothing is more uncertain than its hour. Therefore meditation on death corrects all intemperance and sets in order the character of the one meditating, stable in beautiful variety. Meditation on death gives a person true wisdom and perfects the highest philosophy among cloistered religious. For Plato too held the opinion that the whole life of wise men is a meditation on death, because we are all born on this condition, that we should depart again from here through death. For Scripture says: We all die, and like waters we flow down into the earth, which do not return any more. And the holy apostle of Christ, Paul, says: It is appointed for men to die once

On continual preparation for death:

The continual meditation on necessary death makes a man never trust in earthly things, but await his own departure in every place and time with foresight. Meditation on death always expects, in every place, the end of life, because it is wholly ignorant of the moment of dying. Whoever meditates daily on the coming of future death disposes himself for dying, in every circumstance, with all the diligence he can. Nothing is more certain for us than death; all of us are ignorant of the hour of dying. Therefore, brothers, as earnestly as we can we admonish your charity that you always think upon death, and that with full foresight you diligently prepare yourselves for dying, so that when the hour of departure comes you may not fear.

Let no one promise himself a long life in this world, because nothing deceives mortals so much as hope of longer life. What does length of age accomplish in men except that it makes them liable for more offenses, and always less disposed for dying? The longer we live in this world, the more we fear death. Longer life accumulates greater debts of spiritual obligation, so that a man always fears the more to come before the sight of the strict judge, the more he recognizes himself bound before the Lord to render account in many matters. For the soul leaves its body uneasily when it is stirred there by the heavier stings of its conscience. But he who is pure from every evil of iniquity, and adorned for salvation with the necessary beauty of virtues, does not fear to die, because through death he goes to eternal life.

Therefore, O monk, live now as you wish to die, because death cannot be evil when the integrity of a good life has gone before. Whoever loves the Lord Jesus above all things, and despises all the goods of this world for love of him, and truly keeps his words, dies securely. He departs securely from this life who always lives in the love of God without stain of conscience. He dies securely whose life is defiled by none of the pleasures of this world. The death of such a one is a most sweet sleep, and a tranquil entrance into eternal life. But the death of sinners is very evil, for an evil life, contrary to the divine ordinances, has gone before. For one who lives in sins, contrary to God, death becomes a dreadful entrance into hell. He who has lived well does not die badly; rarely does he die well who is shown always to have lived badly.

He dies securely who loves God with a pure mind above all things, and keeps himself undefiled by this wicked world at all times. This hour is to be desired by all the upright in heart, because it brings an end to their distress and restores life in heaven. This hour is the abandonment of the body, the escape from a dark prison, and the laying down of a heavy burden. This hour is the end of present evils, the limit of sadness, and the grave of every earthly pleasure. A good life in the faith and charity of Jesus Christ makes this hour precious and most desirable to the servants of God. Now therefore, brothers, struggle to anticipate death with holy works, and by zeal for virtue make pleasant for yourselves what nature has willed to be necessary for all. Remember that we are all necessarily mortal, and that we shall pass from this world when we do not expect it. For, as a certain venerable bishop said: whether we wish it or not, all of us in the very midst of life are borne away, and we are drawn where life, when completed, calls us.

Therefore, brothers, while we have time, let us do whatever good we can, lest, overtaken by death, we grieve too late that we have been too negligent. Time alone is ours; all other things are another’s. The labor of our spiritual warfare, even if it seems somewhat hard to lukewarm minds, is nevertheless very brief, and with life it will quickly be ended; but the reward of good works that will be given to us remains forever. Let meditation on swiftly approaching death never desert you, but let the consideration of the strict judgment, which no one can escape, continually pierce your minds with compunction in the love of God.

Behold how many monks have gone before us in this monastery of Sponheim, living and dying, through almost four hundred years from its first foundation, of whom today no memory at all remains among us. Where then are the brothers who preceded us in this monastery? Just as there is now no memory of them among us, so too, after we have passed away, we shall be in everlasting oblivion among those who come after. Let us think on these things beforehand, dearest brothers, while we live, lest we fall into death unprepared. As we prepare daily for death, so daily, according to our strength, let us make ourselves ready; for he dies securely who in life is adorned with good and holy works.

Let not the hope of longer life deceive you, for the longer we live in this world, the shorter will be the life that remains. Behold, as we tend daily toward death, we die; daily one part of life is taken from us, and the longer our life advances, the shorter the remaining time of living becomes. All the time that we have lived is wholly lost when it has passed; what we live today we divide moment by moment with death; how much time for living remains to us in the future we do not know. Why then do we trust in the vanity of this life, when we are soon to die? Let us continually think, brothers, that we shall soon come to the place where all our elders have gone before us. We are all born under this law: that we may die soon.

Let death seem terrible to him whose whole life is polluted in the pleasure of the flesh and who stores up no good in heaven. But we who place all our hope in Christ Jesus our Savior, and who despise all the pleasures of the world for love of him, why should we fear death? Yet, since death is terrible, indeed most terrible of all terrors, we shall be able to drive out indiscreet fear of dying if we prepare ourselves daily as though we were to die. It is one thing to have fear of death, another to have trembling; for even the Lord Jesus himself felt the trembling of present death, to show that he had taken on the truth of both natures. Therefore continual meditation on death is altogether necessary for us weak ones, that a mind not yet perfected in the charity of Christ may be stirred, as if by a violent impulse, toward the grace of compunction.

For the memory of future death, like a nail driven into wood, pierces the mind with useful fear. The memory of death introduces difficult penitence and true sobriety of mind. The memory of death is necessary for beginners, whose conversion begins from servile fear, but is gradually lifted up through filial fear into charity. The memory of death and of the strict examination of God’s future judgment is especially necessary for those whom evil custom and long habit draw into sin. And if there are among you some who are too lukewarm and negligent in the spiritual warfare, we admonish and exhort them paternally to remember that they are mortal, and thereafter to live in such a way that they do not fear to die. For it is very dangerous to live in a state in which a man would fear to die.

One must live in such a way that we may await death securely; and this can happen only if, preserving ourselves in all purity of mind and body, we continually burn in the exercises of divine charity. Let us live, so far as can be done, innocently, according to the rule of our holy father Benedict, which we have professed, and we shall have good hope that almighty God will have mercy on us, for he does not allow a man of good will to perish. Let us always think of God as present to us everywhere: he sees all things, knows all things, understands all things, rewards all things. And let us live in that purity with which we promised to serve his most holy majesty.

The end of the twenty-fifth homily of Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim, to the monks.

Here ends the first book of exhortations to the monks, written with my own hand, Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim, on the day of the month of June, in the year of Christians 1486, in the fourth indiction, in the thirty-third year of my age. I dedicated this work to my predecessor, now abbot of Seligenstadt, most dear to me.

Letter.

Johannes Trithemius, abbot of the monastery of Sponheim, though unworthy, to the reverend father lord Johannes of Colenhausen, abbot of Seligenstadt and formerly of Sponheim, my very dear predecessor: with prayers, a mind prompt and ready to please.

I recently sent to you, venerable teacher, my first book of exhortations to monks, containing twenty-five homilies. After I learned that it had been approved by your examination, I judged that this second book also, which I now send, could confidently be inscribed to your name. In the former book I gathered, for the instruction of the brothers, twenty-five homilies that I had delivered before them; in this one I have arranged sermons in number according to the order in which they were spoken in their presence.

I do not fear to undergo the examination of your paternity, since I have always had you as a gentle teacher, and I have long found you to be a sincere lover of truth. For you flourish with an intellect both gentle and deep, able easily to discern between true and false, and, where necessity requires it, to correct everything sufficiently. Therefore I pray that, according to the gentleness innate in you, you patiently bear the rudeness of my intellect, for I am both a little child in knowledge of the Scriptures and a novice in the rank of prelates. Practice in the Scriptures will give me facility, as I trust, and continued solicitude will give progress. The management of household affairs and the poverty of the place often draw me back from salutary study and carry my mind elsewhere, contrary to the intention of my will.

Only on feast days and Sundays is leisure granted me for writing; on these, out of reverence for God, I customarily admit no cases involving the peasants. Sometimes also, after matins has been sung according to custom, I am accustomed to devote what remains of the night to the study of letters, and to compose something by lamplight, as far as I can, for the instruction of my brothers. For I desire in all things to follow in your footsteps, and to be diligent in the praiseworthy work of teaching.

I submit these sermons to your examination, and with humble supplication I request that the file of your mastery correct them. I have gathered a few out of many into order, since I did not commit them all to writing, nor did too great an extension of the book seem to me either necessary or useful. For on feast days, when we have respite from the tumult of worldly business, we devote ourselves to reading according to the rule of the Scriptures. And lest I seem to occupy the place of pastor in vain, what I have composed by lamplight at night I am accustomed to speak after None in place of the regular study, and to recite from a little paper before the brothers in chapter. For I consider that this solicitude of mine not only profits the brothers for edification, but also helps me toward skill in composition.

Farewell, venerable teacher, and pray for us. From Sponheim, on the twelfth day of the month of September, in the year of Christians 1486.

John Trithemius, abbot of the monastery of Sponheim, though unworthy, to the reverend father Lord Johannes de Colenhausen, abbot of Seligenstadt and formerly of Sponheim, my dearest predecessor: with prayers, a mind ready and prepared to please.

Recently, venerable teacher, I sent you the first book of my Exhortations to Monks, containing twenty-five homilies. After I learned that it had been approved by your examination, I judged that this second book also, which I now send, should confidently be inscribed to your name. In the former book I collected, for the instruction of the brothers, twenty-five homilies which I had delivered before them; in this one I have arranged seven sermons according to the order in which they were spoken in their presence.

I do not fear to undergo the examination of your paternity, since I have always had you as a gentle teacher, and long ago found you to be a sincere lover of truth. For you are vigorous in intellect, both gentle and profound, able easily to distinguish true from false and, where necessity requires, to amend everything sufficiently. Therefore I pray that, according to the gentleness innate in you, you may patiently bear the rudeness of my talent, since I am both a little child in knowledge of the Scriptures and a novice in the order of prelates. Exercise in the Scriptures, I trust, will give me practice, and continued concern for writing will give me progress.

The occupation of household business and the poverty of the place very often draw me back from salutary study and carry my mind elsewhere, against the purpose of my will. Leisure for writing is granted me only on feast days and Sundays; on these, out of reverence for God, I am accustomed to admit no cases of the country people. Sometimes also, after the customary chanting of matins, I am accustomed to spend what remains of the night on the study of letters, and, as far as I can, to work by lamplight on something for the instruction of my brothers.

For I desire in all things to follow your footsteps and, if I can, perpetually to observe the praiseworthy custom of teaching those subject to me which you introduced. I know that I am bound to this by my office; and although I am rude and unlearned, nevertheless I willingly wish, according to my powers, to be diligent both in learning and in teaching. I submit these sermons to your examination, and with humble supplication I ask that the file of your mastery may correct them. I have gathered a few out of many into order, since not all were to be entrusted to writing, nor did an excessive extension of the book seem to me either necessary or useful.

For on feast days, when we have respite from the tumult of worldly business, we devote ourselves to reading according to the rule of the Scriptures. And lest I should seem to occupy the place of shepherd in vain, what I am accustomed to work out by night I am accustomed, after none, in place of the regular study, to speak and to recite from a small sheet before the brothers in chapter. For I find that this concern of mine not only profits the brothers for edification, but also helps me toward practice in composition. Farewell, venerable teacher, and pray for us. From Sponheim, on the twelfth day of the month of September, in the year of the Christians 1486.

Sermon I. Folio LIX.

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ begins the second book of exhortations to monks, by Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim, afterwards of [unclear]. How cautiously monks must live: Sermon One.

Many indeed, most beloved brothers, are the things necessary for you to consider in this life, if you desire to arrive at the glory of eternal salvation. For Scripture bears witness that your adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour; and we know that he must be resisted with great vigilance in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ through works of charity. Therefore let no one presume upon his own strength or trust in vanity, for unless you humbly keep yourselves in the fear of the Lord, you will quickly fall into the snare of the devil. “The greater you are,” Scripture commands, “humble yourself in all things,” for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.

A monk ought to be humble toward God and a true despiser of this world. A monk must always be solicitous in the observance of regular discipline, and continually zealous in the fear of the Lord. A monk must be chaste and modest in mind and body alike, so that he may serve God, just as he promised, in all purity. A monk ought not to live according to his own will, but according to the Rule and according to the direction of his pastor, conformed to the norm of cenobitic institution. A monk ought to love busy and holy silence, and to occupy his mind usefully in the reading of the Scriptures. A monk must at all times, even unto death, be solicitous that he may be perfect in the observance of the commandments of God and of the Rule.

But so that you may know what things are necessary for you who live in holy religion, for perfection, I shall describe for you a certain path of virtues, by which one must direct the way to the kingdom of heaven. All the virtues, however, cohere with one another by the bond of kinship, so that he who possesses one perfectly seems to have them all, and he who lacks even one is said to possess none at all.

The first of all virtues necessary for salvation is the most holy Catholic faith, separated from every pollution of error and heresy, and originally rooted in the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ. For, as Scripture bears witness, without faith it is impossible to please God; and he who does not believe in the only-begotten Son of God is already judged, and the wrath of God remains upon him. Therefore faith is the origin of all virtues, from which all pursuits of salvation arise.

True and right faith in God begets fear of the Lord, for if we believe that God is just, we shall rightly confess that he is to be feared. Right faith brings forth hope and confidence, because when we believe God to be merciful, we hope that by his goodness we can attain salvation. Faith begets charity, because if we believe God to be the highest good, without doubt we love him. For who would not love what he does not doubt to be the supreme good? Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, and the single foundation of our salvation. Faith joins the soul to God, and through the mediation of charity makes it the friend of the eternal King.

For the most holy bishop Augustine says: There are no greater riches, no treasures, no honors, no substance of this world greater than the Catholic faith, which saves sinful men, enlightens the blind, cures the sick, baptizes catechumens, justifies the faithful, restores penitents, increases the just, crowns martyrs, preserves virgins, widows, and married persons in chaste modesty, ordains clerics, consecrates priests, and places believers with the holy angels in the eternal inheritance of the heavens.

But where sound faith is not, there justice cannot be, because the just man lives by faith; and he who lacks the merit of justice will have no portion with Christ. Faith is the beginning of human salvation, without which no one can reach the number of the children of God, nor possess any share in the kingdom of God. Faith is the foundation of all virtues; whatever is done outside faith is without doubt built for Gehenna. Christian faith is a most beautiful lamp illuminating the soul, and through the observance of the commandments leading it into eternal happiness.

Faith first brings the mind back to the knowledge of God; afterward it gives the precepts of living unto obedience; and when a man has kept the commandments of God, hope of attaining salvation follows; then charity is made firm in hearts. Faith gives knowledge to the soul; knowledge brings forth action in charity; and to these two beatitude is promised in eternity. One must take the greatest care that there be no error in knowledge, because when right faith is corrupted by the falsehood of heresy, no action brings one to the harbor of salvation. Therefore let there be rectitude and truth in faith, justice and sincerity in action, and no iniquity will have dominion.

For faith without works is dead, and merits nothing toward the salvation of eternal happiness. To have faith without the works of charity is to imitate the demons, who, although they are far removed from all charity, nevertheless believe that God is just and tremble. Hence, concerning believers who do not show the works of charity, the Lord speaks through the prophet Isaiah and afterward through himself in the holy Gospel, saying: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” He who praises Christ with his mouth but without works is like a man who doubts in faith. For if he truly believed, he would certainly fear God. Faith without works is dead, like a body without spirit, which, removed from the sight of the living, is hidden in a tomb. If you believe well and live badly, you slay yourself with your own sword, because for him who knows the good and does not do it, it is sin.

Beware, my brothers, lest you admit error in faith, and take the greatest care that there be no wickedness in action. Follow the faith which holy Church commends to us; live the life which the Gospel and the cenobitic norm command.

Then have hope in the manifestation of God at all times most certain, but never separated from fear of the Lord. Hope is the certain expectation of future goods through the grace of the merciful God, and the solicitude of meriting the crown of justice through the exercise of charity. Hope is the sure expectation of future beatitude, which the grace of God works in us, accompanied by the rectitude of a good will. Hope is that by which someone hopes to come to the life of eternal happiness which he desires, and, through the mediation of God’s grace, also composes and fits his own will to meet it.

Hope concerns goods that are difficult, future, and possible, of which no one hopes for the contrary. For no one hopes for evil, nor for what is easy, nor for what is present or past; nor do we fail to know that hope is not of impossible things. Hope is the moderator of all labors, and the one consolation in the midst of tribulations. For the hope of future goods brings rest in this life to those laboring for Christ, just as, for those contending in the arena, the expectation of the crown through continual victory lessens the pain of wounds. Hope strengthened the martyrs in torments, and made them, in the power of Christ, stronger than all their persecutors. Hope of eternal beatitude preserves the Church, and gave the holy confessors and virgins true charity in Christ. Hope powerfully raises up the soul cast down by grief; and the higher it has lifted itself through love, the less it feels the adversities of this world. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, because hope does not confound, as the holy apostle promised, by which we have been saved.

But so that hope may not be corrupted into presumption, fear of the Lord is necessary for our salvation, so that him whom we believe to be kind and merciful we may not doubt also to be just and upright. For the most blessed Pope Gregory says: Nothing is safer for us than to tremble humbly under hope, lest an incautious mind either cast itself into the depths of vices by despairing, or, by exalting itself, fall presumptuously from hope. For the more humbly it trembles in hope before the eyes of the strict judge, the more robustly it stands in him.

Fear of God corrects the mind and keeps it pure from all malice. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, because on the way of God one begins from fear, so that little by little one may arrive at the strength of charity. Fear of the Lord composes the monk, and makes him zealous in the observance of regular discipline. Fear of the Lord guards the Rule, and preserves true purity of mind and body. Fear of the Lord neglects none of the things that are commanded, but is solicitous for all. The commandments of God are walls. A city without the protection of walls is quickly captured by enemies, and a monk who does not have the fear of God is easily overcome by demons. For the fear of God alone is what corrects minds, drives away crimes, preserves the innocent, and makes the monk persevering in the purpose of holiness.

From fear, little by little, charity arises; and when, with God’s help, it has been truly rooted in the mind, overcoming servile fear, it now casts it out. The root of all good things is charity, since whatever good is done in this life is governed by charity alone, so that it may please God. Charity is the greatest of all virtues, without which all the deeds of mortals are nothing. For the most holy apostle of Christ says: “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have charity, I have become like sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so that…”

so that I might move mountains, but do not have charity, I am nothing. And if I distribute all my goods as food for the poor, and if I hand over my body so that I may burn, but do not have charity, it profits me nothing.

Consider yourselves diligently now, my brothers, and question your consciences, whether you have the true charity of God, without which all other things avail nothing for salvation. For you have heard the Apostle’s clear judgment, by which he says that charity is necessary for salvation. Let no one trust in the wisdom of this world; let no one vainly exalt himself over the natural gifts he has received; let no one presume upon bodily continence, since, if charity is lacking, the observance of the other things contributes nothing to salvation.

But lest anyone presume upon a false estimate of himself, the holy Apostle set forth certain signs and operations of charity, saying: Charity is patient, is kind. Charity does not envy, does not act perversely, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, and does not seek what is its own; it is not provoked, does not think evil, does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices together with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Charity never fails. Have the charity of God within you, my brothers; unless you keep it, you labor in vain by contending.

Humility, I have told you more often, is necessary for you above all: it is not only a great virtue, but also the nurse of the remaining virtues and the chief guardian of them all. For the great Pope Gregory says: Whoever gathers virtues without humility is like one carrying dust into the wind. For humility is the greatest virtue of monks, since they are bound to be humbler than others living in the world, the more they are obliged by profession to strive and tend toward greater perfection. Humility is the stable foundation of the virtues; whatever is built upon it will be overturned by no whirlwind of storm. Through pride the devil fell from heaven; through humility man ascends. We are called monks in vain if we have not been humble; for just as fire, if it lacks the fuel of wood, is extinguished, so a monk without humility is judged very unworthy of his name. By Christian humility the devil is conquered, and, as if struck by a nail, is overcome as he flees. No more splendid jewel is seen in the monastic adornment than humility; if a monk despises it, he has denied both his profession and the humble Christ.

Prudence succeeds humility. It always directs all things according to the rule of reason and does nothing except what is right, honorable, and praiseworthy. Prudence knows what it ought virtuously to seek, and it well knows what it ought to avoid according to the right judgment of reason. True and perfect prudence is that by which we seek that highest, unchangeable good, and order all things to their due and proper end. Prudence preserves the observance of regular discipline stable in its strength, and leads wandering monks back to the complete restoration of their lost purpose. Prudence directs a monk on the right way of salvation and does not allow him to decline to either side. Prudence preserves peace and concord among the brothers, and orders right action in each matter.

Prudence is very necessary for you, my brothers, so that you may know in every action what you should take up and what again should be avoided. True prudence, not of the flesh but of the spirit, teaches you to despise the world and to desire only those things that are future and eternal. Prudence teaches a man to stand firm within himself, and not to decline from the purpose of holiness either in prosperity or in adversity. Prudence teaches how to order present things well, recalls past things to memory for instruction, and foresees future things so that nothing may happen unexpectedly. Prudence usefully and fruitfully corrects those who offend, and composes everything that it either does, says, or thinks, according to the judgment of reason, toward its due end.

Therefore be prudent as serpents and simple as doves, because prudence without goodness is malice, and simplicity without rational prudence is called folly. For the most holy Paul, Apostle of Christ, says: The prudence of the flesh is death. Be prudent, lest you be deceived by the fraud of others, but simple, lest you deceive anyone. For this is the office of the prudent person: neither to be capable of being deceived, nor to wish to deceive anyone. Prudence acts by discerning virtues; for one is called prudent from providing beforehand.

Justice accompanies prudence, and it is the most splendid of all the virtues. For without justice all the remaining virtues are nothing. Justice is the preserver of religion, the mother of grace, the nurse of observance, the nourisher of truth, the begetter of peace, and the origin of piety.

Berno. I. Folio LX.

“... so that I might move mountains, but if I have not charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods as food for the poor, and if I should hand over my body so that it burns, but have not charity, it profits me nothing.” Consider carefully, now, my brothers, your own selves, and ask your consciences whether you have true charity; without it all other things avail nothing for salvation. For you have heard the clear judgment of the Apostle, by which he says that charity is necessary for salvation. Let no one trust in the wisdom of this world; let no one vainly exalt himself over the natural gifts he has received; let no one presume upon bodily continence, since, if charity is lacking, the observance of the other things contributes nothing to salvation. But lest anyone presume a false opinion of himself, the holy Apostle set forth certain signs and operations of charity, saying: “Charity is patient; it is kind. Charity does not envy, does not act perversely, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, does not seek what is its own, is not provoked, does not think evil, does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices together with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Charity never fails.” Have the charity of God in you, my brothers; unless you keep it, you labor in vain by striving.

Humility is very necessary for you, as we have often said; it is not only a great virtue, but also the nurse of the other virtues and the foremost guardian of them all. For Pope Gregory the Great says: “He who gathers virtues without humility carries dust into the wind.” Humility is indeed the great virtue of monks, since they are bound to be so much humbler than the rest who live their lives in the world, as by profession they are bound to strive and tend toward greater perfection. Humility is the stable foundation of the virtues; whatever is built upon it will be overturned by no whirlwind of tempest. Through pride the devil fell from heaven; through humility man ascends. In vain are we called monks if we have not been humble, for just as fire is extinguished if it lacks the fuel of wood, so a monk without humility shows himself very unworthy of his name. By Christian humility the devil is conquered, and, as if struck by a nail, he is overcome as he flees. No more splendid jewel is seen in monastic adornment than humility; if a monk has despised it, he has denied both his profession and the humble Christ.

Prudence follows upon humility; it always directs all things to the standard of reason and does nothing except what is right, honorable, and praiseworthy. Prudence knows what it ought virtuously to seek, and knows well that it ought to live according to the right judgment of reason. True and perfect prudence is that by which we seek that highest, unchangeable good, and order all things to their due and right end. Prudence preserves the observance of regular discipline stable in vigor, and brings observing monks back to the complete restoration of the purpose they had lost. Prudence directs the monk in the right way of salvation, and does not allow him to decline to either side. Prudence preserves peace and concord among brothers, and orders right action in each matter. Prudence, O my brothers, is very necessary for you; by it you will know in every action what things are to be undertaken by you, and what in turn are to be avoided. True prudence, not of the flesh but of the spirit, teaches you to despise the world, and to desire only those things that are future and eternal. Prudence teaches a man to stand firm in himself, and neither in prosperity nor in adversity to decline from the purpose of holiness. Prudence teaches how to order present things beautifully; it brings past things back to memory for instruction; and it foresees future things, lest anything happen unexpectedly. Prudence corrects offenders usefully and fruitfully, and composes all that it either does, says, or thinks, according to the judgment of reason, toward its due end. Therefore be prudent as serpents and simple as doves, because prudence without goodness is malice, and simplicity without rational prudence is called foolishness. For the most holy Paul, Apostle of Christ, says: “The prudence of the flesh is death.” Be prudent, lest you be circumvented by the deceit of others, but simple, lest you circumvent anyone. For this is the duty of the prudent man: neither to be capable of being deceived, nor to wish to deceive anyone. A prudent man does not abandon the judgment of reason, and does nothing about which he must afterward be ashamed. For from foreseeing one is called prudent.

Justice accompanies prudence; it is the most splendid of all the virtues. For without justice all the remaining virtues are nothing. Justice is the preserver of religion, the mother of grace, the nurse of observance, the nourisher of truth, the begetter of peace, and the origin of piety.

[unknown]

That monks must live cautiously.

Justice is the virtue which distributes and preserves for each person what is his own. It neglects private advantage in order to preserve common advantage and equity; without it no commonwealth can long subsist in peace. For the wise man says in Ecclesiasticus: “A kingdom is transferred from nation to nation because of injustices, injuries, insults, and various deceits.” The order of justice looks first to God, then to the fatherland, thereafter to parents, and afterwards to all people in common, according to the distinctions of ranks and the merits of dignity. To God, in the first place, justice dictates that we owe religion, faith, worship, devotion, acts of thanksgiving, and true love from the whole heart, under obedient submission. Then to ourselves we owe purity of mind and body, and continence with zeal for perfection, so that through obedience we may be permitted to return to him by whom we were created. In the third place, to the fatherland we owe advantage, honor, and defense, and, as far as we can, the procuring of its interests together with justice itself. Fourth, we are bound to our parents by honor and obedience, and in their need by care and every kind of support. Fifth, to our prelates and superiors we owe obedience and humble subjection for the love of Christ. Sixth, prelates owe teaching and nourishment to their subjects, and correction to those who offend. In the seventh place, however, we are bound to give honor to elders and princes, and blameless subjection for the love of God. Eighth, we owe reverence to venerable persons, and honor to priests. Consequently, we are bound to equals by friendship, to inferiors by condescension, to benefactors by reciprocation, to friends by fellowship, to enemies by patience, to the poor by mercy, to the wretched by consolation, and to all by charity. This, then, is true justice: by it we love God with the whole heart for his own sake, and our neighbor in God as ourselves, and enemies for God’s sake, distributing to each person what is owed to him by right and providing for the advantage of all.

But since excessive justice easily falls into sin, temperance is necessary for you in all things; it alone makes people perfect. Temperance is the virtue which, by reason, discerns and conquers the impulses of the soul and every lust, lest impulse in action exceed the equity of the law. Temperance is a most excellent virtue: it governs pleasures and preserves all things in due order. Apply temperance, and the discretion necessary to the virtues, to all your actions, words, and also thoughts. Whatever good you do with discretion, accept it under the name and merit of virtue; but what is done without discretion must be called vice. Discretion is the moderator of all virtues and the greatest ornament of prudence and justice. Discretion is necessary not only for prelates but also for subjects, since it gives order to virtues, grants moderation to affections, and bestows most beautiful grace and honorableness on all human counsels. Hence a certain wise man says: “There is a measure in things; there are, finally, fixed limits, beyond which and short of which the right cannot stand.”

For this, brothers, strength of soul is necessary for you, through which you may become not only steadfast in adversities but also prompt and cheerful in difficult things. For who, without the greatest strength of soul, could despise this world with its pleasures, and persevere in holy monastic religion under the laws of obedience even unto death? Strength of soul receives its powers from the charity of Christ, and stands constant in desire for virtue no less in adversities than in prosperity. Strength walks the way of uprightness without fear, and to enemies it seems terrible and fearsome with a certain holy pride. Strength of soul despises small injuries and easily overcomes all the pleasures of the flesh. Strength lies hidden in prosperity, is shown in adversity, and is openly declared through patience. Strong of soul is not the man who avenges injuries brought upon him, but the man who patiently tolerates them; if he has received his adversary into his power, he considers that he could have exacted vengeance. The strength of monks is to despise the world, to conquer the flesh, to spurn every honor and pleasure of the world, and to place all hope and confidence in God alone. The measure of strength is to be neither timid nor rash, since the one walking on the right way turns aside neither to the right nor to the left. That monk must be judged strong who is temperate in all things, moderate, and just. Hence the most holy pope Gregory says: “The strength of the just is to conquer the flesh, to oppose their own pleasures, to extinguish the delight of the present life, to love the hardships of this world for eternal rewards, to contemn the enticements of prosperity, and to overcome the fear of adversity in the heart.” The saints are made strong in battle, because they subdue the flesh, are strengthened by virtues, fortify the spirit, despise earthly things, and seek heavenly things. They can be killed, but they cannot be bent, nor can they endure falsehood. Through weakness they fear [unclear], nor, when harmed, do they ever withdraw from the truth.

Sermon I. Folio LXI.

The monk, therefore, who is strong with true virtue neither ventures rashly nor fears without counsel. For fortitude together with constancy is the royal road; from it the rash and obstinate man turns aside to the right, while the fearful, faint-hearted, and timid man turns aside to the left. The monk who is constant and strong in spirit never withdraws from the purpose of holiness, but is neither cast down by adversities nor lifted up by prosperity. Hence the most holy bishop Ambrose also says: “The fool is changed like the moon. But the wise man is not broken by fear, is not altered by power, is not puffed up by prosperity, and is not submerged by sorrows.” For where there are wisdom and virtue, there are constancy and fortitude of spirit. The wise man, therefore, is always the same in spirit; he is neither diminished nor increased by changes of affairs, nor does he waver like a little child, so as to be carried about by every wind of doctrine, but he remains perfect in Christ, founded in charity and rooted in the perfection of faith.

Lastly, my dearest brothers, perseverance is necessary for you in every good and virtuous work; without it no one ever comes to the crown of glory. For the Lord says in the holy Gospel: “He who has persevered to the end will be saved.” Take away perseverance, and virtue will have no prize, service no reward, nor will a benefit merit grace. For perseverance alone deserves to receive the crown of praise for good works; without it, it profits nothing to have begun the good. No virtue has merit to which perseverance has not given increase. The kingdom of eternal blessedness is not promised to those who begin the good, but to those who persevere in the good even unto death, because not in the morning, not at midday, but when evening had come, the denarius was paid to those laboring in the vineyard.

For it is not the man who began well who is to be praised, but the one who continued well to the end is to be honored. Therefore, my brothers, I am accustomed earnestly to admonish you, and I must never cease, that you diligently attend to your calling and walk cautiously in all religion and holiness, as befits sworn soldiers of Christ. For now is the time for doing good, because when the hour of death has arrived it will utterly cut off every capacity for working. And therefore, as long as you live sound and unharmed, do good; always consider the future recompense, and grow daily in spiritual progress. Seek the Lord while he can be found. Let the life of Christ the Savior be your imitation; you are bound, by the foundations of your institution, to follow him not by bodily steps, but by your powers, and by likeness of affections. Walk cautiously in all things; always place the fear of God before the gaze of your mind in true humility. For great purity is required of you who have consented, in mind and body, to the holy warfare of Christ. It now belongs to you, brothers, to despise the world and all things that are in the world for God’s sake with constant fortitude; to overcome all movements of fleshly pleasures; to flee sin; and to occupy yourselves continually in good and holy works. Your life also, so far as human weakness permits, ought to imitate angelic purity, and to flee and detest all depravity. The holy angels are never idle, but are always attentive, without weariness or tedium, to the praises of God. The holy angels love God above all things, and do not withdraw from his charity even for a moment. In imitation of them, the monk ought to be assiduous in the service of Christ, and always occupied in good works according to the Gospel and the Rule. The monk ought to have most fervent charity for God, and true, orderly, and sincere love of neighbor. For burning love toward God perfects the monk and does not allow him to be idle. For the four-times most holy pope Gregory says: “The love of God is never idle. For it works great things if it exists; but if it refuses to work, it was never true love of God.” For if the mad poet spoke truth concerning carnal love, saying, “let him love who does not wish to become idle,” how much more strongly does the most chaste love of God impel the mind it possesses toward arduous things. Love God, brothers, with the whole heart, as far as the strength of desire can extend itself, and you will most easily be able to observe all the things commanded you. For nothing is difficult to one who loves; rather, burning love makes all hard things, all grave and arduous things, easy.

What the ordering of a good monastic life is: Sermon Two.

We have said that the institution of our most holy father Benedict, which by the customary term we call religion or order, shone forth as most holy at the beginning of its foundation, and was very greatly and manifoldly spread throughout the whole church of the Latins. Hence for very many years in this same order many wise, learned, and most holy men flourished,

What the ordering of a good monastic life is.

who magnificently illuminated the whole Church. For there are those who write that from this monastic religion of ours fifteen thousand six hundred persons, men as well as nuns, have been enrolled in the catalogue of the saints. This multitude of saints in our order, brothers, is set before us for imitation, not for vain glory. How can their multitude conduce to our salvation, if we do not imitate the way of life in which they went before us? Whenever we wish usefully to praise the most holy streams of our order, let us hasten by holy conduct to come into their fellowship. Then indeed we shall glory fruitfully in the multitude of saints of our order, if, by living rightly, we earnestly strive to increase their number. For this reason we set before you so great a multitude of saints: so that, when you see before you in this very order many who have overcome the world and the flesh, you may at last rise up from your lukewarm way of life. The virtue that God’s mercy bestowed on them he will not deny to you, if you ask in true charity. They overcame the world because they loved Christ with complete devotion, despising all things for love of him. They despised all things, and the Lord Jesus provided for them whatever seemed necessary for the sustenance of life.

This fervor of devotion among monks endured for many years after the first institution of the order, with great constancy, and converted the souls of many thousands of people to the Lord. But nothing in human affairs is stable; nothing among perishable things is perpetual. Holy religion brought riches to monks, until in time the daughter suffocated the mother. For, as Scripture says, all who wish to become rich fall into the temptations of the devil. The beloved grew fat and kicked back; made gross and enlarged by earthly possessions, he abandoned the holy pursuits of his first institution and went after vanities and false madnesses. Abundance of temporal things made him poor and miserable in spiritual riches.

This pitiable deformity of our order began almost two hundred years after the passing of the divine father Benedict, and grew more and more with time, until at last the harmful poison spread through the whole order. Yet this deformity did not seize the order suddenly, but through the succession of many years it occupied almost the whole of it, although almighty God never left it wholly destitute of good men, but always kept for himself some who in no way bent their knees to Baal. For men of mercy arose, whose just deeds will never be handed over to oblivion; pitying the ruin of the order, they put their shoulder beneath the labor and, with the Lord bestowing his aid, restored it in many places. Many different partial reforms in the order indeed flourished very often at various times, but there was never any general reform that brought the whole order back to the integrity of regular observance. Finally, we now see almost all the partial restorations, which we have said were many, collapsed again.

Most recently, however, namely in the year 1420 of the Christians, when the general council was being celebrated at Constance, a certain new and up to that time latest partial reform took its beginning in Germany. From a certain monastery in the region of Saxony, then indeed the poorest of all, called Bursfelde, it receives the word of its name. The first author and prince of this most holy reform was Johannes Rode, abbot of the distinguished monastery of Saint Matthias at Trier. Having been appointed general visitor of the order by the aforesaid Council of Constance, lest he himself should be judged reprobate while preaching to others, he first displayed reform in himself. For he reformed both himself first of all and the monks of the said monastery; he issued constitutions conforming to the Rule, and obtained confirmation of the holy work from the Apostolic See. Among all the monasteries of the order, however, Bursfelde, a humble and rather poor monastery, first received this reform, which it afterwards spread to Reinhausen and to a few neighboring monasteries of Saxony.

At length, when Johannes Rode, abbot of Saint Matthias and prince of our reform, had died, and when no suitable successor for extending the business that had been begun was found in that same place, Johannes de Hagen, abbot of Bursfelde, who had already reformed certain monasteries, a holy man and very zealous for the order, was chosen at the insistence of Jakob, archbishop of Trier. Content with his poverty, he did not consent to leave Bursfelde, lest he seem to have preferred riches to poverty. He therefore remained in his own monastery, and another was appointed in the place of the first reformer. Since this man seemed comparable to his predecessor neither in learning nor in zeal, he was able to accomplish little for the continuation of the business that had been begun, nor to extend the reform among many. Meanwhile it happened that Nicolaus Cusanus, cardinal priest of the holy Roman Church,

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What the good ordering of monastic life is.

who magnificently illuminated the whole Church. For there are some who write that from this monastic religion of ours fifteen thousand seven hundred men and nuns have been entered into the catalogue of the saints. This multitude of saints in the order, brothers, is set before us for imitation, not for vain glory. What can their multitude contribute in the end to our salvation, if we do not imitate the way of life in which they went before us? Whenever we desire profitably to praise the most holy men of our order, let us hasten by holy conduct to come into their fellowship. For then we shall glory fruitfully in the multitude of the saints of our order, if, by living rightly, we strive to increase their number. Therefore we set before you so great a multitude of saints, so that, when you see that many before you in this very order conquered the world and the flesh, you may at last rise up from your lukewarm manner of life. The virtue that God’s mercy granted to them he will not deny to you, if you ask in true charity.

They conquered the world and loved Christ with total devotion, despising all things for love of him. They despised all passing things, and the Lord Jesus provided whatever seemed necessary to them for the support of life. This fervor of devotion among monks endured after the first institution of the order for many years in great constancy, and converted the souls of many thousands of people to the Lord. But nothing among human things is stable; nothing among perishable things is everlasting. Sacred religion brought riches upon the monks, until in time the daughter suffocated the mother. For, as Scripture says, all who wish to become rich fall into the temptations of the devil. The beloved grew fat and kicked; fattened and enlarged by earthly possessions, he abandoned the holy pursuits of the first institution, went after vanities and false follies, and an abundance of temporal things made him needy and wretched in spiritual riches.

This pitiable deformity of our order began almost two hundred years after the passing of the divine father Benedict, and with time it grew more and more, until at last the harmful poison spread through the whole order. Yet this deformity occupied the order not suddenly, but through the succession of many years, until it had almost wholly taken possession of it; although almighty God never left it wholly without good men, but always reserved for himself some who by no means bent their knees to Baal. For men, and women too, arose whose righteousness is never handed over to oblivion; pitying the ruin of the order, they put their shoulder under the labor, and, the Lord generously granting aid, restored it in many places.

Indeed, many varied particular reformations often flourished in the order at different times, but there was never any general one that brought the whole order back to the integrity of regular observance. Finally, we now see that the particular restorations, which we have said were many, have almost all collapsed again. Most recently, however, namely in the Christian year 1420, when the general council was being celebrated at Constance, a certain new and, up to now, last particular reformation took its beginning in Germany. It took the word used as its name from a certain monastery in the regions of Saxony, then indeed the poorest of all, which is called Bursfelde.

The first author and leader of this most holy reformation was Johannes Rode, abbot of the distinguished monastery of Saint Matthias at Trier. Having been appointed general visitor of the order by the aforesaid Council of Constance, lest, while preaching to others, he himself should be judged reprobate, he first displayed reformation in himself. For first of all he reformed both himself and the monks of the said monastery; he issued constitutions conforming to the Rule; and he obtained confirmation of the holy work from the apostolic see. But among all the monasteries of the order, Bursfelde, a humble and rather poor monastery, first received this reformation, which it afterwards extended to Reinhausen and to a few monasteries of Saxony neighboring it.

When at last Johannes Rode, abbot of Saint Matthias and leader of our reformation, had died, since in that place no suitable man was found for extending the undertaking begun, Johannes de Hagen, abbot of Bursfelde, who had already reformed certain monasteries, a holy man and very zealous for the order, was elected at the urging of Jacob, archbishop of Trier. Content with his poverty, he did not fully consent to leave Bursfelde, lest he seem to have preferred riches to poverty. He therefore remained in his own monastery, and another was appointed in the place of the first reformer. Since he seemed comparable to his predecessor neither in learning nor in zealous affection, he was able to accomplish little for the continuation of the undertaking begun, nor to enlarge the reformation among many. Meanwhile it happened that Nicholas of Cusa, presbyter cardinal of the holy Roman Church and legate of the apostolic see, came into Germany. Since he burned with great zeal for our order, he established and granted many things for its reformation. Hearing, moreover, the good fame of the aforesaid abbot in Bursfelde and his most fervent purpose for regular discipline, he called him to himself and appointed him general reformer of the order; and through his industry he nobly reformed many things.

On this occasion at last he instituted an annual chapter for the preservation of the reformation; he transferred the presidency from Saint Matthias to Bursfelde; and he commanded that all the things he had instituted for the good of the reformation be confirmed by the apostolic see. The first abbot of Bursfelde in the reformation was Johannes, a monk appointed from Reinhausen; the second was the aforesaid Johannes de Hagen; the third was Theodericus, whom we have seen; and the fourth is Johannes, who has recently been appointed and is now in office. Brothers most beloved, we briefly touch upon the origins of our reformation so that you may recognize with how much labor it began, and so that you may persevere constant unto death in the holy observance of the Rule.

Among all the reformations of our order that preceded it, none was more conformable and agreeable to the one Rule of the divine father Benedict, and none more alien to foreign aids. We have read the statutes of almost all other reformations, but we judge none more suited than ours to the Rule and to the purity of Benedict’s intention. This Bursfelde reformation is most holy in the order; it teaches true obedience and guards subjection in humility. In this holy religion monks live poor and without personal property; they live humbly; they live obediently; they live chastely. O venerable union of monks, in which twin charity rules, obedience serves, humility obeys, prayer keeps watch, perseverance fights, and joyful chastity triumphs. This is the school of regular discipline, the instruction of Christian humility, which directs conduct toward uprightness and restrains the vices of the flesh. In this arena of virtues no one is permitted to follow his own will against the Rule; no one is forbidden to do good. In this holy union men live according to the purity of the Rule, and if anyone begins to wander from the path of uprightness, the care of the elders soon calls him back to the observance of justice. The Rule of the most holy father Benedict is read publicly three times in the year, so that no one may try to excuse himself from observance under the shadow of ignorance.

There are two things that promise me great hope for the perseverance of this holy reformation: the annual chapter and the diligent biennial visitation of the monasteries. But if either of these is neglected, the reformation soon falls into danger. Therefore think now, most beloved brothers, and take the most diligent care you can, lest you occupy this monastery of the divine bishop Martin uselessly under the title of so venerable a reformation, since unless you live purely, holily, and blamelessly according to the Rule and the statutes of the order, you trust in the name in vain.

We shall speak to you a few true admonitions for salvation, through which the zealous observance of our Bursfelde reformation will possess both name and dignity by merit. First, before all else, direct all your efforts and all your desires toward monastic perfection; and whenever you sense yourselves growing lukewarm, renew them by attentive remembrance of the Lord’s passion and most innocent death. Although we are not bound to be perfect by necessity of salvation, nevertheless we are bound to strive for perfection with all our desires. For when a monk casts away the striving for perfection, he falls into the pit of defection. The second thing that the sacred custom of our reformation has instituted for you to keep strongly preserves the striving for perfection in the desire already conceived. Therefore, when you rise at the signal for Prime, do these things in secret. Examine and discuss the course of the coming day, considering prudently what must usefully be done. Set in your hearts how cautiously you wish to live for the whole day, and arm your souls with patience against all adversities that may occur. Whatever you do, complete it in the fervor of charity, and always order all words and deeds to the praise of God.

The third thing we judge useful and necessary for you is that with most devout prayers you always strive in all things to implore the help of God. And it seems very fitting to us, as we have often said and always admonish, that each of you should at least once a day keep remembrance of the Lord’s passion, and once give thanks to God for the many benefits received from him. So that this may be done uniformly by each one of you, listen to this brief form that we have ordained; if you wish, write it down for yourselves: I adore, praise, bless, and glorify you, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, savior and giver of life to the souls of all the faithful; and I give you thanks from the depth of my heart for your most holy incarnation and birth from the most pure virgin Mary; for your circumcision; for your flight into Egypt; for your seven years of exile there; and for [unclear].

What constitutes a good ordering of monastic life.

for your return afterward into the land of your temporal birth. I give thanks to you, most sweet Lord Jesus; I praise, bless, and adore you for all your labors, journeys, and weariness; for hunger, thirst, cold, nakedness, poverty, and want; and for the necessities, injuries, insults, mockeries, and slanders that you endured throughout your whole life for us, willingly and not under compulsion. And as often as you moved your hand to work, your foot to walk, or opened your mouth to speak, so often I bless, praise, glorify, and humbly adore you; and with all the powers of my heart I always give thanks to you, mediator of God and men, most sweet Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to you, Lord Jesus Christ, most merciful king of the heavens, for your most holy teaching, for the establishment of your faith and of the evangelical sacraments, for the calling of the nations, for the justification of sinners, and for all your wonderful works and powers, and for all your benefits, which you have bestowed either on me particularly or on all the rest together with me generally.

I give thanks to you, Lord Jesus Christ, most kind savior, for the charity that you had toward the human race, and for your whole most bitter passion and all the sufferings that you endured for us wretched sinners. I give thanks to you, Lord Jesus; I praise, bless, and adore you for the grief and sorrow of your most innocent heart, which you endured for us at the time of your impending passion, when you said to your disciples who followed you: “My soul is sorrowful even unto death.” I beseech you, by this sorrow of your heart, O God, have mercy on me now and at the hour of my death; and remove from me all melancholy and disordered grief, granting me at all times a salutary sorrow for my sins.

I give thanks to you for the sadness of your most holy heart, when, placed in agony, you prayed to the Father three times that he would take from you the chalice of the passion; and, having poured out sweat under wondrous anguish, you resigned yourself wholly to his will for us. I give thanks to you, O king of heaven and earth, for your captivity, for the insults, injuries, and mockeries that you endured throughout the whole time of your passion for the salvation of us all.

I give thanks to you, Lord Jesus; I praise, bless, and adore you bound to the column, for the very harsh scourging of your most tender body, for the outpouring of your most sacred blood, and for the immense pain of your wounds. I adore you, Lord Jesus Christ, crowned with thorns, and I give thanks to you for the piercings and pains of your most holy head, for the blows, spittle, and all the mockeries cruelly inflicted on your majesty by the impious. I adore you, Christ Jesus, Son of the living God, bearing the very heavy weight of your cross. I adore you stripped of your garments before the multitude. I adore you stretched out by your hands and feet with iron nails upon the cross, and fastened to it with exceeding cruelty.

I adore you, Jesus Christ, eternal king, hanging and dying on the cross for me; and I give thanks for the pains of your wounds; I give thanks for the shedding of your most precious blood; I give thanks for your most innocent death, which you voluntarily endured for our sins and the sins of the whole world. I give thanks to your boundless goodness because you called me, your servant, to the faith; because you caused me to be baptized in the name of the holy Trinity; and because from the vanity of the world you deigned to call me to serve you in true tranquility of mind in this holy congregation.

I beseech you by your most holy name, O most sweet Jesus, mediator of God and men; I beseech you by the pain of your wounds and by the merits of your most bitter passion; I beseech you by the shedding of your most holy blood and by the power of your most innocent death: grant me pardon for all my sins; pour into my heart the sweetness of your most fervent love; give me perseverance with the advancement of all virtues; and have mercy on me now and at the hour of my death, guarding me today and at all times, in your mercy, loving Jesus, from every sin and from danger of mind and body, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Which of you, brothers, is unable to say this brief prayer once each day, or a similar one if he has a better? This prayer is not long, nor wrapped in foreign expressions, but brief and plain, gathering together the life and passion of Christ in a concise summary. A Christian person, and especially one enclosed in the cloister, is exceedingly ungrateful to God if he does not at least once a day recall the Lord’s passion and devoutly render acts of thanksgiving. But if this prayer seems too long to any of you, in the eighth homily of our Exhortations, recently delivered to you, we gave a shorter one, to which anyone wearied may have recourse. Before all things, beloved, take care that you are not ungrateful for so many benefits of God. Let this be Let this act of thanksgiving be made after matins, because that is the most suitable time for prayer, and the silence of the night’s rest usually increases devotion. For I say what is attested as true: no prayers are more effective than those which are offered to God the Father with remembrance of the Lord’s passion and with gratitude.

Fourth, what we have judged necessary for you for regular observance is that you keep watch over the custody of the outward senses, because no one can sufficiently guard the city of his heart if he scorns to close its gates. Love silence, and flee every disturbance of this world. Apply holy prudence to everything you do, and love the secrecy of quiet. For a monk who loves public and wandering excursions has never been a true lover of observance.

Fifth, we admonish you to flee idleness, destructive to the soul, because this pestilential poison nourishes the gravest vices and always begets unclean thoughts. Therefore whoever, as a lover of virtues, loves his own salvation; whoever desires to reach eternal happiness: let him flee idleness as from the face of the devil, if he wishes to avoid sin.

Sixth, for purity of regular observance, by the necessity of salvation, it is required that the renunciation of property be kept inviolate by all until death. For a monk who has private property prepares for himself a road to hell. But whoever receives and spends money in the monastery should be a public minister; no private person should dare to presume this. The possession of riches is not fitting for monks, who are commanded to imitate the Lord Jesus in poverty of spirit. Let us hear the holy apostle of Christ saying: “Having food and clothing, with these let us be content.” By God’s mercy we provide you with necessities, not as much as the desire of disordered pleasure demands, but as much as nature, content with little, requires. Therefore, just as it is not lawful for you to possess anything without the abbot’s consent, so, since we supply everything, nothing is lacking that is necessary.

Seventh, what makes a monk is humble obedience to commands. For he cannot be a true monk who scorns obedience and refuses to his superiors the humble subjection which he promised. This disease of disobedience arises from elation and pride of mind, just as pus is produced from a bad ulcer. But what does Scripture say? “Pride is hateful before God and men,” and is the beginning of every transgression. The warfare of monks is the imitation of Christ, who obeyed the Father even unto death.

The eighth place is adorned by chastity, a most beautiful virtue; if it is scorned, it is now inevitable that the whole integrity of regular observance suffer shipwreck. For a monk, by necessity of his salvation, is commanded to live chastely until death and always to abstain from every venereal pollution. For these are the three principal vows of monastic life; to live contrary to their observance is certain damnation for monks. Indeed, the profession of monks, under sentence of eternal damnation, commands them to live without property, under obedience to a pastor, and in perpetual chastity. If one of these three is removed, monastic integrity is violated, and transgression condemns the one who scorns it.

In the ninth place, therefore, we admonish every person dedicated to God always to beware of his own will as of a venomous serpent, because unless he has it suspect at all times, he easily falls into the pit of damnation. Attend to the Rule, which does not permit monks power over either their own body or their own will. No one sins unwillingly. If you have perfectly submitted your will in all things to God and to your abbot, you will easily avoid sin.

The tenth thing that can preserve in you, my dearest brothers, the integrity of regular observance is that in all adversities and oppositions you have most steadfast patience for the love of God. For patience is a great virtue, which by another name we call endurance, without which no one will come forth the victor over his temptations. Therefore the Lord said in the holy Gospel: “In your patience you will possess your souls.” What is patience except to bear calmly both the injuries done by one’s own people and all other adversities, out of reverence and love for God? Believe me, brothers; I speak the judgment of the apostle: patience is very necessary for you, so that, doing the will of God, you may receive the promise. Let the Lord Jesus be for you the living example of patience, whom you should follow with all your strength.

Eleventh, my brothers, take care that your hearts not be weighed down with gluttony, because a monk should not eat and drink to satiety, but, for love of abstinence, should always stop with a certain appetite and hunger. For the wise man says: “He who loves feasts will be in poverty, and he who loves wine and fat things will not become rich.” Love fasting; cherish abstinence; preserve continence and frugality in all things. These are the weapons of cloistered persons; these are the insignia of the spiritual warfare of monks.

They do not overcome demons. An abundance of food is accompanied by useless talk, and a belly filled with wine stirs up unclean suggestions of the flesh and of lust. If you wish to be chaste, be abstinent. It is most shameful for a monk to serve his belly and gluttony, when for the love of God he has renounced all the pleasures of the world at once.

The twelfth thing that makes a monk useful and vigorous in regular observance is that he be most diligent in the service of God. For truly, whoever is a true servant of God, as all monks ought to be, is always fervent and diligent in the work of his Creator; and because he truly knows that God is present everywhere, he prepares himself with complete devotion for dutiful service to him. For it is written: Cursed is the man who does the work of God negligently. Therefore, dearest brothers, when you approach the service of the highest and unchangeable God, sing psalms sweetly, wisely, fervently, and cheerfully; and with as much devotion and purity of mind as you can, diligently praise your Creator and Savior. Let all sluggishness be far from the hearts of those who sing psalms; let no drowsiness be admitted while praising, because, since God is present in the midst of those who sing, it is altogether fitting that fervor of devotion be present in their souls. At every time of divine service let all things be clean, all things pure, all things filled most fully with the fervor of charity, so that improper thoughts may have no place, and all things may be done as they ought.

When the day has been completed and compline has been sung according to custom, as soon as a monk has reached the secrecy of his cell, let him examine his conscience as to what business he has occupied himself with. This is the excellent and praiseworthy custom of the brothers of the Bursfeld reform: that no one should presume to lay himself down on his bed after compline unless he has first taken the greatest care to examine his conscience concerning the faults or negligences committed during the day. But if, after making this examination, you find that you have offended in anything during the day, you know from long practice what must be done. Hidden faults must soon, on the next day, be wiped away by contrition and humble confession; public faults, however, must be referred to the chapter of faults, which is held daily. This is the custom of the reformed order; this is the institution of holy reform: that we never permit the faults of delinquent brothers to grow, but, as soon as they begin to arise, we take care to cut them away. The soul must be cleansed daily; the resolve of holiness must be renewed daily; for just as we cannot remain in the same state without change, so it is necessary for us, by continual exercise, to rouse the mind more frequently to the former fervor of charity.

What are the marks of true humility.

Let none of you, most beloved brothers, deceive himself by his own estimate of himself; let no one mislead his own heart by foolish and empty presumption. Not all who wish to appear humble are humble before God, nor are those who keep silence under injuries always truly patient. For the roots of true virtues are hidden in the secrecy of the heart, and not in the mere display of outward showing. For we discern some among you who desire rather to be considered humble than truly to be so, and who show many signs of pride, but either no signs of humility or certainly very few. We feel intense compassion, as we rightly should, for those who err so greatly: they desire to have the name of virtue, but they despise virtue itself. Whom, I ask, do you miserable men deceive? Are you not shamefully destroying yourselves by leading yourselves astray, you who, despising truth, love a lie? But so that you may know how proudly you live, we shall set out in order the marks and signs of true humility. Some of these remain hidden in the heart alone; others, breaking forth outwardly as well, ought to be manifest to all who behold them. Let this be for a monk the true mirror of perfect humility, in which, looking each day, he may examine himself.

The first mark of true humility, then, each person can recognize in himself when he can regard himself as lower and viler than all people, not with feigned speech, but by the humble judgment of the heart. This sign of deep humility is the greatest: that a monk, always advancing toward a better way of life, believe himself to be a useless and unworthy servant of God. True humility belongs to the heart, not to speech; it is a striving of the mind, not merely an outward bodily display. That monk is truly humble who loves God above all things, who always keeps himself pure in all things from every transgression of the commandments of God and of the Rule, who does great works of piety and justice, and concerning himself, in his own judgment, truly...

Sermon III. Fol. LXIII.

He bears continual contrition in his heart; and, always compunct in spirit, praying and groaning to the Lord with tears, he seeks pardon and mercy. Nor does he pray only for his own sins, but also for the sins of the whole world. The greatest remedy against exaltation of mind is the remembrance of one's own faults.

The third sign of humility is that he desires to keep all the good works he does privately with himself, and hides his own progress out of zeal for humility. For the man who is humble does not vaunt himself emptily, nor does he seek praise from men, since he hopes for the glory of eternal happiness. Whoever among you considers himself humble and a true monk should not despise, for God's sake, this sign of profound submission and abasement.

The fourth sign of true humility is that, voluntarily descending into the abyss of contempt for himself, he judges all his fellow brothers, even those openly sinning, better than himself before God. Mindful of his own evils and forgetful of his good deeds, he wisely considers them; but passing over others' evils in silence, he makes known at fitting times the good things they have done. This is the condition of true humility: always to admire and proclaim the good works of others, and prudently to depreciate and hide one's own for the avoidance of pride.

The fifth sign of humility is obtained by the man who is quiet in his own simplicity and does not speak of others' defects, unless he is compelled either by reason of office or by the command of charity. Yet prudent humility preserves moderation in correction, so that the man whom it cannot make better by correcting him more severely it strives to admonish gently and meekly. It also sometimes wisely passes over rebukes, and waits for and observes a more opportune time.

The sixth sign of humility is shown when a monk, out of love of humility, is slow and not ready to accuse and reprehend the sins of others. For he who is truly humble always considers his own weakness, and silently weighs in secret how many evils he himself has committed against God's justice. Hence he greatly fears to reprehend the deeds of others, because he recognizes that he is a sinner and therefore unworthy to judge others. We except the prelates and rulers of monks from this rule of humility, insofar as we know that they are obliged to correct those subject to them.

The seventh sign of true humility is that he gladly receives corrections and amendments for his faults and negligences, and is not embittered by any resentment against the one who reproves him. Whenever the humble man is corrected by anyone, he rejoices in spirit with the prophet, saying: Let the just man correct me in mercy, and he shall rebuke me; but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head. But Scripture says of the proud: They have hated the one who reproves in the gate. The man who is truly humble loves the one who corrects him, but flees the flatterer.

The eighth sign of true humility is clearly shown when, once corrected, he does not defend, deny, palliate, or excuse his fault, but confesses it with simple shamefastness. When a truly humble monk is corrected, he does not murmur; he does not protest that he has exceeded the measure of fairness; but immediately, falling to the ground before the judge, he cries out most meekly: I have sinned; I confess my fault; I beg pardon; I promise amendment.

The ninth sign of monastic humility makes those who have it gentle, sweet, and modest in speech, and not clamorous in voice. A monk whom you see clamorous and headlong in speaking you will judge not humble, but proud and rash. The humble man, however, speaks modestly and almost under silence, and is always found readier to listen than to speak before others. It is shameful for a monk to raise his voice too much while speaking, since, being crucified to the world, he is commanded to love silence.

The tenth sign of perfect humility is possessed by the man who is accustomed to interpret everything he hears about his neighbor in the better part. For our Savior says in the holy Gospel: Do not judge, and you will not be judged. And again: With what measure you have measured, it will be measured back to you. The holy apostle also says: Do not judge before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both illuminate the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of hearts. Who are you, who judge another's servant? To his own lord he stands or falls, and not to you.

The eleventh sign of holy humility is that he despises no man in his heart on account of any offenses whatever, but sets all before himself by the merit of holiness. He also considers all who sin publicly to be better than himself, and therefore condemns no one. He always thinks within his heart about what evil he himself has done, and humbly weighs that the good deeds of others outweigh his own. Therefore he spurns no one, depreciates no one, contemns no one, since he desires all to be saved in the Lord.

Sermon III. Folio LXIII.

he bears them continually in his heart; and, always contrite in spirit, praying and groaning to the Lord with tears, he seeks pardon and mercy. Nor does he pray only for his own sins, but also for those of the whole world. The chief remedy against the mind’s exaltation is the remembrance of one’s own offenses.

The third mark of humility is that he desires to keep hidden in secret all the good works he does, and conceals his own progress out of zeal for humility. He is not vainly proud, but humble; nor does he seek praise from men, because he hopes for the glory of eternal happiness. Whoever among you considers himself humble and a true monk should not, for God’s sake, disdain this sign of profound submission and abasement.

The fourth indication of true humility is that, voluntarily descending into the abyss of self-contempt, he considers all his brethren, even those openly sinning, better than himself before God; forgetting his own good deeds, he wisely considers his evils, while passing over the evils of others in silence and, when fitting, making known whatever good they have done. This is the condition of true humility: always to admire and proclaim the good works of others, and to make little of and hide one’s own, prudently and secretly, for the avoidance of pride.

The fifth sign of humility, once attained, is that he is quiet in his simplicity and does not speak about the defects of others unless compelled either by the reason of his office or by the command of charity. Yet prudent humility preserves moderation in correction, so that the one whom it cannot make better by correcting him more severely, it endeavors to admonish gently and meekly. It also sometimes wisely passes over rebukes, and waits for and observes a more opportune time.

The sixth sign of humility appears when a monk, out of love of humility, is found slow and not ready to accuse and rebuke the sins of others. For he who is truly humble always considers his own weakness, and silently weighs in secret how many evils he himself has committed against God’s justice. Hence he greatly fears to rebuke the deeds of others, because he recognizes himself as a sinner and therefore unworthy to judge others. From this norm of humility we except the prelates and rulers of monks, insofar as we know them to be bound to the correction of their subjects.

The seventh sign of true humility is that he gladly receives corrections and amendments for his faults and negligences, and is embittered by no grief against the one who rebukes him. Whenever the humble man is rebuked by someone, he rejoices with the prophet in spirit, saying: Let the just man correct me in mercy and rebuke me; but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head. Of the proud, however, Scripture says: They hated the one who rebuked in the gate. He who is truly humble loves the one who rebukes him, but flees the flatterer.

The eighth indication of true humility is clearly shown when, having been rebuked, he does not defend, deny, cloak, or excuse his fault, but confesses it with simple shamefacedness. The truly humble monk, when he is rebuked, does not murmur; he does not protest that the measure of fairness has been exceeded, but at once, falling to the ground before the judge, cries out most meekly: I have sinned; I confess the fault; I ask pardon; I promise amendment.

The ninth indication of monastic humility makes one mild, sweet, and modest in speech, and not loud in voice. The monk whom you see to be loud and hasty in speaking you will judge not humble, but proud and rash. The humble man speaks modestly and almost under silence, and is always found readier to listen than to speak before others. It is shameful for a monk to raise his voice too much when he speaks, since, crucified to the world, he is commanded to love silence.

He possesses the tenth indication of perfect humility who is accustomed to interpret everything he has heard about his neighbor in the better sense. For our Savior says in the holy Gospel: Do not judge, and you shall not be judged. And again: With what measure you have measured, it shall be measured back to you. The Apostle also says: Do not judge before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both illuminate the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of hearts. Who are you, who judge another’s servant? To his own lord he stands or falls, and not to you.

The eleventh indication of holy humility is that he despises no man in his heart on account of any excesses whatever, but places all before himself in the merit of sanctity. He also considers all who offend publicly to be better than himself, and for that reason condemns no one. He always thinks within himself, in his heart, what evil he himself has done, but humbly weighs the good deeds of others as surpassing his own. Hence he spurns no one, makes little of no one, despises no one, and desires all to be saved in the Lord.

The twelfth sign of perfect true humility is that he does not desire to be praised by men, but whenever he is commended by someone, he blushes and groans inwardly with sorrow of mind. But if he hears the praises of others recited in the convent, rejoicing with their praise and exulting, he becomes cheerful in spirit. He who is perfectly humble cannot hear his own praises without bitterness of heart, because he has placed his hope wholly in heaven and despises all the glory of this life.

The thirteenth indication of true humility is not only to despise praises and favors in the truth of the mind, but also prudently to avoid those by whom he sees himself being praised. Those who are truly humble flee their praisers, and whenever they are praised, they fall silent and answer nothing. Esteem for a great reputation is burdensome to the humble man, and he is confounded within himself all the more, the more he is proclaimed by men. For true humility, when blamed, makes progress; when praised, it incurs danger.

The fourteenth perfect sign of monastic humility is that, in corrections and detractions, if he suffers any, he conceives spiritual joy and a great increase of divine love. When he is wronged, he is pierced with compunction and is stirred all the more toward contempt of the world. Whenever he is reproved injuriously by someone, if he is humble, he judges himself justly corrected. For he does not consider his own innocence in the accusation, but humbly and contritely weighs how gravely he has offended God in other matters.

The fifteenth indication of perfect humility is that he never resists the one correcting him, but preserves silence in all tranquility of spirit. He does not throw back into his reprover’s face even the faults very well known to him, nor does he seek any grounds for argument. He does not complain that an insult is being done to him; he offers no rash excuse in opposition, nor is he accustomed to rebuke words with words, but, as though mute, to keep silence in all things.

The sixteenth sign of profound humility is that he despises all the consolations of the world and seeks no friendships of mortals. For true humility, which is undertaken for the love of Christ, delights nowhere except in Christ alone. But one cannot remain in the love of Christ unless he has learned to deny both his own will and the world with all its disordered pleasures. Thus the Lord says in the holy Gospel: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own soul, he cannot be my disciple.

The seventeenth sign of humility is that he does not divide himself among many things; he does not greatly seek the assistance and benefits of men, but humbly remains in his own moderation, or even in extremity. For benefits received from men he is not accustomed to applaud much, but shows himself grateful in few and simple words. Little gifts weaken the spirits of the infirm and often render the unwary useless and excessive in speech. Indeed, he who is truly humble does not delight in the conversations of givers, because they often impede the purpose of purity. The love of Christ does not love publicity.

The eighteenth sign of humility is that he sympathizes from the heart with all who suffer for the love of Christ, patiently bears the defects and weaknesses of others, and prays for the amendment of those who offend. For true humility shows the bowels of pity and compassion toward weak sinners; but false and simulated humility, because it is truly pride, swells against the fragile with harsh and indiscreet severity, and often becomes a cause of danger when in correcting it exceeds the rule of charity. But he who is truly humble always fears to exceed the due measure of correction, and therefore inclines more to mercy than to excessive severity.

The nineteenth indication of true humility perseveres with a mind free from all envy, and favors and prays for all men. He envies no one the gifts of divine kindness; he favors the grace of God in all and rejoices with the progress of others. He judges no one unworthy of God’s benefits; he thinks all better than himself. He considers the advantage of his neighbors his own, because he loves all as himself.

The twentieth sign of perfect humility recalls to memory, with bitterness of heart, the multitude of his sins, and therefore considers himself unworthy of every benefit and grace of God. Hence, seeking the depth of humility, he imitates the publican of the Gospel, who, having the memory of his offenses, did not wish to lift his eyes to heaven. For the monk who is truly humble for the love of Christ always bears in his heart the holy sorrow of compunction and penitence for the evils he has done.

The twenty-first indication of cenobitic humility is that he trusts the judgment of others more than his own, and totally subjects his own will, for Christ’s sake, to another’s command. Let those among you who follow the judgment of their own head consider whether they can or wish to apprehend this sign of monastic humility. For today we discern few observers of true monastic humility, though we see many monks professing it. O times, O morals, in which we all promise humility, and very few of us truly take care to preserve inviolate what has been promised.

The twenty-second sign of cenobitic humility is that he abominates and despises beautiful, new, and costly garments, and is content to have all clothing cast off by others.

Sermon M. Fol. LXV.

...he longs to put on. He willingly uses cheaper garments, and takes very great delight in those things which others despise. Beautiful and ornately arranged garments do not befit a monk, but the cheapest ones, by which he may merely defend the body from the harm of inclement weather. For all fastidiousness is forbidden to cloistered persons, who, by reason of the profession they have made before God, are bound to contempt of the world. Humility flees lofty things; it seeks what is lowly.

The twenty-third sign of monastic humility shows a monk voluntarily given over to servile duties and services for the brothers, and ready for all things whatsoever he has been ordered to do. For true humility obeys even inferiors with the readiest will, and is never indignant against one who commands. As much as he is able, he desires to serve all for the love of Christ, because he faithfully loves God with his whole heart. For whatever service he renders to the brothers, he firmly believes it all to have been shown to Christ.

The twenty-fourth sign of humility a monk then obtains in truth, when for the love of God he delights in taking care of the lower offices in the monastery, which the rest despise. We read that many once ascended to this grade of true humility, and we do not doubt that they were of great merit before God. For the Lord says in the holy Gospel: Everyone who humbles himself will be exalted; for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. The humble monk imitates Christ; the proud one, the devil.

The twenty-fifth sign of monastic humility is, in any gathering of people, always to seek the lower place for sitting, and not to prefer oneself to an equal or an inferior. It is not for monks to contend proudly over preeminence of place, nor does it befit a soldier of Christ to wish to surpass others in honor. For the true monk, who loves humility, is content with the lowest place and desires to excel no one.

The twenty-sixth sign of humility belongs especially to him who, though learned and educated, because of the humble abasement of himself, hides all doctrine and knowledge. For the monk who is truly humbled is always found readier to listen than to speak. For the divine priest Jerome says: The monk has the office not of one teaching but of one mourning, who either laments himself or the world, and fearfully awaits the coming of the Lord. The arrogance of monks is hateful both to God and to men, and is always liable to sin.

The twenty-seventh sign of humility is perfectly attained by the one who, out of love for regular discipline, delights more in being silent than in speaking. The humble lover of Christ loves silence, and, lest he offend in speech, is accustomed to speak very little. Humility is rarely found among the talkative, and he who is quick to speak casts down his own soul. A loquacious and garrulous monk is not free from pride, and the fool multiplies words. Whoever desires, in the spiritual contest, to overcome his adversary through humility must not neglect to restrain his tongue from much speaking and from every idle word. It is written in the book of Proverbs that in much speaking sin will not be lacking.

Whoever has obtained the twenty-eighth sign of perfect humility will avoid laughter and all disordered gestures of those who guffaw. Mourning, not laughter, especially befits a monk, as one who is dead to all the levities of the world. But the wise man says: The fool raises his voice in laughter; but the wise man will scarcely laugh silently.

The twenty-ninth sign of perfect humility takes its beginning from the fear of the Lord, for whose honor, as much as he is able, he flees and detests every sin. For everyone who does not fear to sin was not truly humble. But the monk who follows Christ according to his strength in true humility is accustomed to flee every sin, and, as much as he can, to exercise himself in the pursuit of virtues. Humility confesses its sin, and as often as it has offended even in the least things, it does not rest until it has amended everything through true penance. He who is truly humble is always found zealous to preserve cleanness of conscience. For the nourishment of humility is charity, which does not permit the one who has it to be idle.

The thirtieth sign of true humility shows a monk confirmed in the purpose of holiness, and makes him subject to all the brothers, even the younger ones. Whatever the pastor commands, he obeys simply; he never debates the commands of a senior, nor asks the reason why he orders it so. If impossible things are commanded, he is ready in spirit; for any hard and arduous things whatsoever, he is prepared without contradiction. He is directed by the counsel of his pastor: he believes him, trusts him, obeys him, and willingly is governed by his command.

You have now heard, my dearest brothers, the thirty signs of true humility. O good God, where are their works? Which of us will boast that he has true humility, so that he suffers no defect in these signs? These, alas for shame, are...

Sermon III. Fol. LXV.

he longs to put on with a surplice. He willingly uses other, meaner things, and takes very great delight in those things which others despise. Fine garments, beautifully and elegantly arranged, do not befit a monk, but rather the most useful ones, by which he may defend the body from the harmful inclemency of the air. All fastidiousness is forbidden to cloistered men, who, by reason of the profession they have made before God, are bound to contempt of the world. Humility flees high things; it seeks what is lowly.

The twenty-third sign of monastic humility shows the monk servant-like toward the brethren and willingly given to acts of service, and ready for all things whatsoever he has been commanded. For true humility obeys even inferiors with a most ready will, and is never indignant against the one who commands. As far as he can, he desires to serve all for the love of Christ, who faithfully loves God with his whole heart. Whatever service he has bestowed on the brethren, he firmly believes that it has all been shown to Christ.

The twenty-fourth sign of humility a monk then truly attains when, for the love of God, he delights to attend in the monastery to the meaner offices, which the others despise. We read that many once ascended to this degree of humility, and we do not doubt that they are of great merit before God. For the Lord says in the holy Gospel: Everyone who humbles himself shall be exalted; for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. The humble monk imitates Christ; the proud one imitates the devil.

The twenty-fifth sign of monastic humility is always to seek the lower place for sitting in the assembly of any persons whatever, and not to prefer oneself to either an equal or an inferior. It is not for monks to contend proudly about precedence of place, nor does it befit a soldier of Christ to wish to surpass others in honor. For the true monk who loves humility, content with the lowest place in every respect, does not desire to excel anyone.

The twenty-sixth indication of humility especially befits him who, although learned and educated, because of the abasement of his own humiliation hides all learning and knowledge. For the truly humble monk is always found readier to listen than to speak. For the divine priest Jerome says: The monk has the office not of teaching but of lamenting, who either mourns himself or the world, and fearfully awaits the coming of the Lord. The arrogance of monks is hateful both to God and to men, and always liable to sin.

The twenty-seventh sign of humility is perfectly attained by him who, for love of regular discipline, delights more in silence than in speech. The humble lover of Christ loves silence, and, lest he offend in speech, is accustomed to say very little. Humility is rarely found among the talkative; and he who is quick to speak casts down his own soul. A talkative and garrulous monk is not without pride, and the fool multiplies words. Whoever in the spiritual contest desires to overcome his adversary through humility must not neglect to restrain his tongue from much speaking and from every idle word. It is written in the book of Proverbs that in much speaking sin is not lacking.

Whoever has attained the twenty-eighth sign of perfect humility will avoid laughter and all the unruly gestures of those who guffaw. Lamentation most befits a monk, not laughter, since he is dead to all the levities of the world. And the wise man says: A fool raises his voice in laughter, but a wise man will scarcely laugh quietly.

The twenty-ninth indication of perfect humility takes its beginning from the fear of the Lord; for his honor, as far as he can, he flees and detests every sin. For everyone who does not fear to sin has not truly been humble. But the monk who, according to his strength, follows Christ in true humility is accustomed to flee every sin and, as far as he can, to exercise himself in the pursuit of virtues. Humility confesses its sin, and whenever it has offended even in the smallest matters, it does not rest until it has amended everything through true penance. He who is truly humble is always found zealous for preserving cleanness of conscience. For the nourishment of humility is charity, which does not allow the one who has it to be idle.

The thirtieth sign of true humility shows a monk confirmed in the purpose of holiness, and makes him subject to all the brethren, even the younger. Whatever the pastor has commanded, he obeys simply; he never debates the commands of his superior; he does not ask the reason why he commands thus. If impossibilities are commanded, he is ready in spirit; he is prepared without contradiction for whatever is hard and arduous. He is directed by the counsel of his pastor; he believes him, trusts him, obeys him, and willingly is governed by his command. You have now heard, my dearest brethren, the thirty indications of true humility. O good God, where are the works? Which of us will boast that he has true humility, so that he suffers no defect in these signs? Nor should one be ashamed

On the arduous way that leads to life.

...our own times, in which charity has grown very cold; the integrity of holy religion has perished; the devotion of almost all has breathed its last. Our monks seek holiness without the merit of virtues; they wish to have merit without the exercise of labor. Therefore a saint is not found today in the monastery. The fervor of holy compunction in many is either exceedingly rare or lukewarm; for where one lives for flesh and blood, he does not possess the fervor of inward charity. It is not enough for you, O monk, who boast of observance, to have nothing of your own, not to touch a woman, to remain in a monastery under obedience to a pastor, not to eat meat, and in the other external matters of regular discipline to live within the monastic institution, unless with the utmost diligence you also strive to crown your inward life with true charity toward God and neighbor. For charity is the end of regular observance, for the acquisition of which all the other things have chiefly been instituted. Therefore, without the charity of God all things profit you nothing; for it is itself the one and only thing that distinguishes between good and evil works. O monk, monk, whoever you are who live lukewarmly in the monastery without the fervor of charity, do you think that the outward apparatus of discipline can save you? Charity is what sanctifies the one who has it; charity commends the other virtues and all good works to God. Have charity, and all the works of piety that you do will be pleasing to God.

On the arduous way that leads to life. Sermon 4.

You have heard, dearly beloved brothers, our Lord Jesus Christ saying in today’s reading from the holy Gospel: “How narrow is the gate and strait the way that leads to life, and few are they who find it.” Is not Christ himself the way, who had said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”? And how does he now say that it is strait and narrow, when he himself is the one who had said: “Take my yoke upon you and learn, for I am meek and humble of heart. For my yoke is sweet, and my burden light”? What else is the yoke of Christ than the strait and narrow way to the kingdom of God? How, then, is it both light and narrow? Let your charity hear. The yoke of the Lord Jesus is sweet to the good, hard and unbearable to the reprobate. The way of Christ to life is broad and pleasant to the humble who are exercised in charity, but narrow and bitter to the proud. For nothing is so hard, nothing so terrible, nothing so arduous, that it is not easy and pleasant if God is loved. Again, nothing is so light, nothing so easy, nothing so small, that it is not heavy and burdensome if it is turned toward an evil will.

Therefore the Lord said: “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” If you wish to bear my yoke upon you, first learn the meekness and humility of my heart, since unless you are meek and humble, you will by no means be able to carry my burden, as though it were a heavy weight and an unbearable load. I am a humble way; I do not receive the proud. I am a narrow gate; I do not admit the swollen. Unless the soul has despised all worldly things, unless it has inflicted the necessary force upon the pleasures of the flesh, it cannot enter through me into the kingdom, like an animal burdened with sins. I am a humble and meek way, and I receive the humble; I am a strait doorway, and I admit the poor in spirit and the clean of heart.

To eternal life, brothers, we strive by the narrow way of truth; it is necessary that in time we provide for ourselves all things that are necessary for so arduous a journey. There are, moreover, four things especially necessary for travelers, without which the journey is dangerous and one rarely arrives at the goal. The first thing that we say is necessary for travelers we believe to be knowledge of the roads. For one who tries to walk far through trackless places without knowledge of the roads is sometimes entangled in dangerous errors. Therefore let the prudent traveler either first learn the road, or take to himself a companion skilled in the journey, lest he either fall into the hands of robbers or depart from the path of the right road.

Therefore, desiring to return to the homeland of the heavenly kingdom by a very narrow way known to few, we must have as guide and companion of the journey Jesus Christ himself, who called himself the way and the truth. Outside Christ there is no true knowledge; and whoever neglects to have Christ as the companion of his journey runs in vain and without fruit. Therefore let us learn the way of life, dearly beloved brothers, without knowledge of which no one reaches the homeland; no one reaches eternal life. Let us firmly believe that our Lord Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and men, true God and man, outside whose faith no one will be saved, however innocent he may seem to be in his way of life. For he himself says in the holy Gospel: “He who believes in the only-begotten Son of God has eternal life in...”

... remaining in himself. But he who does not believe in the Son: the wrath of God remains upon him. What does it mean that wrath remains upon him, except that the first, original sin is not removed from him? For after the establishment of the New Testament, original sin is removed from those who believe in him by faith in Christ alone. Circumcision was given to the fathers as a sign of future salvation; nevertheless none of them could enter the kingdom of heaven before Christ the Savior rose from the dead. Therefore outside faith in Christ there is no salvation, since, as he himself said, he who has not believed has been judged and will be condemned. We remain in Christ through faith and love, because he is the way of salvation, the truth without error, the life without death. If we have the Lord Jesus as the guide of our journey, we walk confidently.

Secondly, it is necessary for wayfarers to pass through the lands of their journey without injury to anyone; for if they commit theft or robbery, or any other similar sin against the commonwealth, in the end they will come to be punished with penalty and will not reach the intended destination of their journey. But we, brothers, set on the road by which there is return to the homeland of the heavenly kingdom, must take most diligent care that we commit nothing, in word, deed, or thought, contrary to the justice of God, but render to each one his right and due: to God first of all piety in worship and charity; to our neighbor love; and to ourselves the holiness of perfect purity. Indeed, if we live otherwise than Christ taught, do we remain on the straight way of salvation which leads to the kingdom? We shall remain on the way if we keep the commandments of God; we shall walk in the truth if we love the Lord our God himself with all the strength of our mind; we shall come to life if, turning aside from evil, we continually persevere in the practice of good.

Thirdly, it is necessary to have provision for the journey, because if wayfarers lack travelling supplies, they will not be able to reach the place intended. But a prudent wayfarer, before he leaves his house, reckons within himself the time and length of the journey, and prepares travelling supplies and expenses according as necessity requires. A great and hard journey remains for us; we must prepare provisions for many years, lest we fail on this road on which we go. The travelling provision of this journey of ours to the supercelestial homeland is not gold, not silver, not the deceitful riches of the world, but faith in Christ and the love of God. The holy virtues are the unfailing travelling provision of the soul for the kingdom of heaven; strengthened by them, it walks on the way of God in gladness. The soul faithful to Christ and accompanied by the holy virtues gladly completes the hard road of this long pilgrimage. To love God above all things, to exercise oneself constantly in good works, to keep one's conscience in all purity, to do injury to no one: this provides the soul with true travelling provision for the everlasting homeland in heaven.

Fourthly, it is advised as necessary for wayfarers that they not forget their proposed purpose before they come to the end of the journey they have begun. For he must be called a foolish wayfarer who is called back from his journey by children's games and forgets where he was tending. And we, dearest brothers, who have taken up the way of monastic religion, must always think upon our end, since death hastens every day even when we do not notice it, and presents the unprepared as well as the prepared before judgment. Meanwhile let us do good while it is permitted, as much as we can, and let us not delay to be converted to the Lord with all our heart. Christ is the way by which we proceed to the kingdom of God; Christ is the truth in which, remaining, we do not err; Christ is the life for which we hope. Hear, brothers, what he himself says in the holy Gospel: Whoever wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. This is the way upon which you entered at the beginning of your monastic profession; if you wish to proceed on it rightly and laudably, you will have to love Christ above all things, living purely in regular observance. It is yours, brothers, to love nothing in this world and to chastise the flesh for the love of God. It belongs to monks to despise all the delights and pleasures of the present life and to desire nothing other than the everlasting feasts. It belongs to monks to imitate Christ according to their powers and to shape their life according to the evangelical pattern of purity. To imitate Christ is the highest perfection. The faithful minister of Christ follows his Lord, and where Christ is, there his minister also will be. Therefore whoever among you is a lover of his own salvation, desires to come after Christ to the kingdom of heaven, and wishes to keep and preserve until the end those things which he promised at his entrance into religion, let him keep these things. First, then, before all else, let the monk learn with faith and devotion [unclear].

[unclear] to know, and at all times to be piously and soberly occupied with the holy Scriptures. Whatever holy mother Church of the faithful has established as to be believed or observed, let him faithfully and firmly believe and keep, and let him in no way depart from her determination. All who remained outside the ark were once destroyed by the divine flood; Noah alone, with those who were in the ark, escaped safely. The ark prefigured the Church, and the event itself signified a mystery. Therefore there is no salvation for human beings outside the Church, which our Lord Jesus Christ built upon the most firm rock. Every unbeliever is not in the Church; therefore he will necessarily perish, just as those once did who were not in the ark. For all who do not believe in the Lord and Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, Jews, pagans, gentiles, Saracens, together with heretics and schismatics who have withdrawn themselves from the unity of the Catholic Church, have placed themselves outside the ark of salvation; if they persevere in error, without doubt they are to be damned forever with the demons.

Since, therefore, faith is the foundation of salvation, without which it is impossible to please God, the monk must know what he ought to believe, lest it happen that he err. Let him learn the Gospel and the constitutions of the Church; for it says, “He who does not know will not be known.” It is most shameful for a monk not to know the rules of the faith, and to be wholly ignorant of what he is bound to believe for salvation. We do not say that you ought to examine by curious argument the things proposed to you for belief, since, as Saint Pope Gregory says, faith has no merit where human reason supplies proof. But this we admonish: that the monk ought to be studious in the divine Scriptures, so that he may know what holy mother Church commands him to believe and may beware of positions and errors contrary to the faith. Therefore let every monk, as a soldier of Jesus Christ, be firm and stable in the Catholic faith, sober and studious in the Scriptures, and constant in good works.

The sixth thing that we believe necessary for a monk walking in the way of eternal salvation is that he should strive to know himself. For knowledge of oneself is the best of all branches of knowledge, and therefore it is rightly to be preferred to all the studies of mortals. Yet the beginning of this saving knowledge is exceedingly difficult, because very few are those who do not love the world. For no one who follows the world and loves the vanities that pass away can be a knower of himself. Nothing hinders a person more from knowledge of himself than the person himself. He who is fed by the pleasures of his flesh, who is lifted up into pride by the vain knowledge of this world, whether by riches or by honors, is not permitted to come to knowledge of himself. Indeed, to know many things and neglect oneself is not to be wise, but rather to be mad. It contributes to the accumulation of a graver damnation to learn many things and shamefully to be ignorant of oneself.

Let each of you, therefore, consider what he is, whence he is, and what he is going to be. A human being, in himself, is certainly nothing; whatever he is, he is from God and for God. What is a human being but a wayfarer and pilgrim, as it were for one day upon the earth, who today is alive in the world, but tomorrow, snatched away by death, is seen no more? Our whole life, every action, every day, every hour, shows how much we are nothing: by living we die, by acting we are corrupted; as time runs on, we fail and are changed. I compare our unstable, wretched, and weak race of human beings, how windy and vain it is in itself, with those who have gone before us to death. Truly he speaks rightly who compares us to the leaf of a tree. The wind seizes a leaf from the tree and casts it to the ground; in its place another new one afterward grows, subject to a similar fall and succeeding to the same fate. But what has fallen to the ground is dissolved into the ground and never afterward returns to the tree. Hence a certain wise man of the Greeks says: “As is the race of leaves, so too is the race of men.” The race of leaves is very like the race of human beings, for it flourishes for a time and is dissolved into the earth; neither the leaf returns to the tree nor the human being to life.

Now follows the third thing, which I think very necessary for a monk walking in the way of God. The person who understands himself to be a wayfarer in this life of very brief duration truly shows himself humble in all things. For why should earth and ashes be proud? He who truly knows himself cannot be exalted. My brothers, we have no cause at all for self-exaltation and pride, but much and continual cause for humility, since indeed we are earth and a certain compacting of dust, and after a few days are to return again into dust. But because true humility belongs to few, the way of salvation is therefore called narrow and is found by few. By humility one comes to the kingdom, as the Lord says in the holy Gospel: everyone who humbles himself for God’s sake will be exalted, and he who exalts himself will be humbled.

Sermon III. Fol. LXVII

Fourth, for the monk travelling toward heaven it is necessary that he be free from every defilement, since no one is admitted into the kingdom of God unless he is commended by the utmost purity of conscience. In holy virtues and good works conscience must be cleansed, for by them the gate of heaven is opened, and for the peace of God the love of the world is despised. Hence Peter, the most Christian chief apostle, says in his second epistle: “For this very reason, add virtue to your faith; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, abstinence; and to abstinence, patience; and to patience, piety; and to piety, love of the brethren; and to love of the brethren, charity. For if these things are present in you and abound, they will not leave you empty or without fruit in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Faith, adorned by works of true charity, is one strengthening force for virtue as it stands firm, and the way of the good, which leads souls withdrawn from the flesh not into the fabulous Elysian fields of the poets, but into the angelic choirs.

Fifth, the traveller on the arduous road of the heavenly kingdom must follow the will of God in all things by keeping his commandments. Whatever is said or done must be examined piously and carefully, to see whether it agrees with God and with the ordinances of the Church. But if it is found to be contrary either to God or to the Church, let him flee it at once, lest he fall into sin. It belongs to a wise man to commit nothing unexamined, and before he acts to consider everything carefully by prudent counsel. Whoever on a difficult road wishes to be safe and secure must, according to his strength, imitate the life and conduct of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the light for all toward eternal life.

Sixth, in our judgment it is necessary for the traveller to love salutary study of the scriptures, to be diligent in reading, and not to be given to vain superstitions, but simple, pure, and upright in mind. It is not fitting for monks to wander without discrimination among the writings of the Gentiles, nor to accommodate divine things shamefully to the fables of the poets. Whoever follows vanity will never be wise, and whoever seeks curiosities will quickly fall away. Let the monk flee every reading of vain superstition, because whatever does not lead to knowledge of the divine scriptures must at all times be avoided by our traveller.

Seventh, in our judgment it is very necessary for the traveller that he prudently direct his desires and thoughts and guard them from every disordered concupiscence. Our unruly little ass must be restrained by the bridle of discipline, lest the flesh draw the spirit headlong into a snare. Whoever thinks that he is walking in the sight of him who always sees all things preserves his conscience pure and watches over his conduct with the greatest diligence. He is always vigilant in the fear of God; he always chastises his little body with fasting and abstinence, for love of the heavenly homeland. The monk who recognizes himself as a pilgrim and stranger in this world never forgets the heavenly homeland, for he sees nothing on the road of the present life in which his soul may take delight. A prudent traveller considers none of the sights along the roads; nothing among passing things delights him in his pilgrimage, but at every time he sighs for the end of the journey. He always thinks sweetly of his homeland; he bears it grievously that his pilgrimage is prolonged or delayed; and therefore he desires to have nothing in this world except the Lord Jesus, in whose sight he earnestly hastens to appear.

Eighth, in our judgment, the perfection of divine charity is necessary for the traveller. For no one will be able to come to the heavenly homeland who departs from the path of charity. The charity of God is the way to God; if anyone neglects to keep it burning within himself, he has wandered miserably from the true road of the heavenly homeland. Scripture says: God is charity; and he who remains in charity remains in God, and God in him. But he who is not in charity has already withdrawn far from the way of salvation; and walking in the darkness of sins, he will never come to the kingdom.

How Sin Is to Be Fled

You have heard, my very dear brothers, what Saint John the Apostle says about sinners: “Whoever commits sin is from the devil, for the devil sins from the beginning.” A truly fearful and greatly dreaded sentence. If all who commit sin are from the devil, and we all offend in many things, how many shall we find immune from sin? Yet he says afterward: “Everyone who is born of God does not commit sin, because his seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” But he had said before: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” What does this apparent contradiction mean, that no one of the sons of God is without sin, and yet he who is born of God does not commit sin? There is no contradiction here, because both are true: no one is without sin, since no one is without the law of sin; and he who is born of God does not commit sin, because through the law of the mind, that is, through charity, which is the seed of God, he does not commit sin. For charity covers the multitude of sins; without it there is no good work, and it alone has power to destroy every sin. Hence the holy bishop Augustine says: No saint and no just man lacks sin; yet because of this he does not cease to be just or holy, if he holds holiness with affection. But those sins of the just are not to be thought mortal or enormous, but small and venial, without which life is scarcely lived; for every mortal sin must be far from the just man, if he is to retain the name of justice. Mortal sin separates a person from God, kills the soul, and damns it eternally with the demons. By God’s grace we can avoid this pernicious kind of mortal sin, and by uprightness of will we ought diligently to do so. For this reason, we monks have been made mindful of our deed, so that, living most cautiously under the command of saving obedience, we may not fall into the pit of mortal sin. Therefore the monk must always keep watch in good works, so that he may live free from mortal crime. But whoever on the way of God feels the flesh troublesome and contrary to him must make it subject and, as it were, obedient to the spirit by the remembrance of punishments and by fear.

First, therefore, the monk who loves his own salvation must flee the deceitful world and never permit himself to be caught by the flatteries of the flesh. For what is the world but a great, deep, and restless sea, in which there are as many crawling evils as there are evil desires of men not ordered toward the good? O world, deceitful, deceptive, and unclean, you shamefully deceive those who cling to you; you submerge all who follow you in the depth of hell. How happy are those who despise you for the love of Christ and, making a useful separation from your vanities, depart from you in time. Whatever we perceive in the world is vain, and every lover of the world is made vain and will shortly perish. Think that you will die soon, for nothing so draws people back from sin as frequent and intense meditation on death. For Scripture says: “Remember your last things, and you will not sin forever.” Thinking on the necessity of dying strikes the mind with fear and restrains it from vice.

Second, what persuades one to flee sin is fear of the future judgment, at which all people must be presented. No one can escape this dreadful judgment, but we must all appear there. Two judgments hang over us to be feared, and we shall be able to evade neither of them; necessity compels us to appear at both. One is called particular, in which immediately after death the soul is judged according to its merits, either to glory or to punishment. The other is called general, which will be at the end of the world, where we shall all be judged publicly by the only-begotten Son of God. Each judgment is exceedingly terrible and greatly to be feared by all mortals. Hence the prophet Joel says: “The day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who will endure it?” Likewise in Ecclesiastes King Solomon says: “All things that are done under the sun God will bring into judgment, for every error, whether it be good or evil.” Likewise in Isaiah it is read thus: “The Lord will come to judgment with the elders of his people and its princes.” And in the book of the prophet Amos it is written thus: “Woe to those who desire the day of the Lord. What is it to you? For that day of the Lord is darkness and not light.” Likewise Zephaniah, prophet of the Lord, foretelling the bitterness of the future judgment, said: “The voice of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the strong man will suffer tribulation. That day is a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and distress, a day of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and whirlwind. In the fire of the Lord’s zeal the whole earth will be devoured, because he will make a consummation with haste for all who dwell on the earth.” Keep always in memory, most dear brothers, this exceedingly terrible day, to be dreaded by all mortals, which you believe will certainly come. For the most holy bishop Ambrose says: Nothing is more profitable for an honorable life than to believe that he will be the future judge whom neither the secrets of minds deceive nor dishonorable things delight. For, as Saint Christopher says, we must all be made manifest before the tribunal of Christ, so that each one may receive the things proper to the body, according as he has done, whether good or evil. How greatly that day of the future and most terrible judgment is to be feared, the holy priest Jerome shows when he says: Whether I eat or drink, or do anything else, that voice always seems to sound in my ears: “Arise, you dead, and come to judgment.” Whenever I think of the day of judgment, I tremble in my whole heart and body. Therefore, if there is any joy in the present life, it must be conducted in such a way that the bitterness of the future judgment never withdraws from memory.

Sermon V. Folio LXVIII.

What shall we wretched people say on that day, or where shall we stand before the strict judge, if, as blessed Peter the apostle says, even the just man will scarcely be saved? If Jerome, a just and most holy man, feared the judgment to come, O good God, where will unhappy Trithemius, a sinner, appear? If the just man fears, where will the sinner stand? For what shall we say, or what shall we answer, when we are gravely accused on every side? All the elements will stand against us as testimony; earth and heaven alike will accuse us. Even if all these were silent, each person’s own conscience will be a grave accuser. He who knows all things is ignorant of nothing, for there all things to be judged will be made manifest.

There the evils we have done will be present, accusing us gravely; around us on every side there will stand countless demons as witnesses against us. We shall see open before us the dreadful abyss below; above us we shall behold the judge in wrath; and from every side the utmost danger will hang over us. My brothers, always turn over in the memory of your heart these dangers of the examination to come, and carefully consider how dreadful it is to fall under the future sentence of the judge. In that terrible hour pure hearts will avail more than the sharp words of rhetoricians; a clean conscience will profit a person more than the money of the whole world, for he who will judge all things is not deceived; indeed, he is moved neither by price nor by prayers.

O what incredible horror will invade all the wicked when they are about to hear that fearsome sentence: “Go, accursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” O worst of all evils, O deepest sorrow of all sorrows: to be separated from the fellowship of the saints and to be tortured forever with demons. Truly the day of judgment is dreadful and fearsome to all, because it is exceedingly bitter; there the remorse of conscience does not die like a worm; there one once damned to punishment is never freed.

Therefore the monk who desires to obtain everlasting salvation should always keep himself, as far as he can, clean from every sin, and that voice, “Go, accursed ones, into the eternal fire,” should never depart from his memory.

Hence the third thing that we consider very useful for turning away from sin is the careful thought of the bitterness of the punishments of eternal damnation. For there is no temptation of carnal pleasure so violent that it will not immediately be overcome and fail, if the one tempted recalls in diligent meditation what the damned suffer in hell. What do the riches once possessed now profit the damned? What do past pleasures contribute to the luxurious placed in hell? What do most empty honors contribute to the proud, or once-broad power to the arrogant? Consider, brothers, what those already damned now suffer in the lower world, and, lest similar things befall you, persevere continually in good and holy works.

If you fear hell, flee sin. For hell will harm no one if a person remains in the faith of Christ and free from sins; nor will he burn in punishment who had not first burned here in guilty desire. Hell is a place to be feared, in which there is no redemption, but whoever has once entered there damned will never again come out to salvation. The wretched cry out in torments and in anguish, placed in everlasting horror, saying: “What now does our pride profit us? What do riches, honors, dignities, luxury, gluttony, and all past carnal pleasures profit us, now that we are damned forever? Behold, all things have passed like a shadow, and all have vanished like the brief dream of a single night. But we have been assigned to these eternal torments, in which we know most certainly there is no redemption.”

In hell, as Augustine testifies, even if there will be the goad of penitence, nevertheless there will be in the damned no correction of the will; in them iniquity will be so blamed that the equity of justice can in no way be loved or desired by them. There the devouring flame of hell burns those whom carnal delight now pollutes, and each person is burned so much more in torments as he delights more here in the flesh against God. In the lower world, as Gregory bears witness, there will be intolerable cold, inextinguishable fire, the immortal worm of conscience, unbearable stench, palpable darkness, inestimable pains, scourges without interruption from those who strike, the dreadful sight of demons, confusion over crimes committed, and despair of all goods. But of all the punishments in hell, that one must be considered by far the gravest: that there the damned are forever deprived of the vision of eternal light.

Here the most blessed bishop John Chrysostom says: “Gehenna is an intolerable thing, and one that all people abhor. For who does not know that that punishment in hell is very horrible? But if someone were to posit a thousand, indeed ten thousand, Gehennas, all that he says is nothing compared with this: for the soul to be exposed to Christ, to be thrust away from the glory of the saints, and to hear that terrible voice from the mouth of the judge of all: ‘Depart from me, workers of iniquity, for I do not know you,’ and, ‘Go, accursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for you and for the devil.’”

Sermon V. Folio LXVIII.

What shall we wretched ones say on that day, or where shall we stand before the strict Judge, if, as the apostle Peter says, scarcely will the righteous be saved? If Jerome, a righteous and most holy man, feared the judgment to come, O good God, where will Trithemius, an unhappy sinner, appear? If the righteous man has reason to fear, where will the sinner stand? What, then, shall we say, or what shall we answer, when we are gravely accused on every side? All the elements will stand as testimony against us; earth and heaven together will accuse us. And even if all things were silent, each person’s own conscience will be a grave accuser. He who knows all things is ignorant of nothing, for there all things will be manifest to the Judge. The evils we have done will be there, gravely accusing us; innumerable demons will stand around us as witnesses against us. We shall see beneath us that dreadful chaos lying open, above us the Judge angry against us, and on every side eternal danger threatening us.

My brothers, keep these dangers of the future examination always revolving in the memory of your heart, and diligently consider how dreadful it will be to fall under the Judge’s future sentence. In that terrible hour, pure hearts will be worth more than the artful words of rhetoricians; a clean conscience will profit a person more than the money of the whole world, since he who is to judge all things is not deceived; indeed, he is moved neither by price nor by prayers. O what incredible horror will invade all the wicked when they are about to hear that fearful sentence: “Go, accursed ones, into eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.” O worst of all evils, O deepest sorrow of all sorrows: to be separated from the fellowship of the saints and to be tormented forever with demons. Truly the day of judgment is dreadful and fearful to all, because it is exceedingly bitter: there the synteresis of conscience dies by the worm that does not die; there one once consigned to punishment is never freed.

Therefore the monk who desires to attain eternal salvation should, so far as he can, always keep himself clean from every sin, and that voice, “Go, accursed ones, into eternal fire,” should never depart from his memory.

Hence the third thing which we judge very useful for turning away from sin is to think diligently on the bitterness of the punishments of eternal damnation. For there is no temptation of carnal pleasure so vehement that it will not at once be overcome and fail, if the tempted person carefully recalls what the damned now suffer in hell. What do riches once possessed now profit the damned? What do past pleasures confer on the lustful placed in hell? What do the world’s vainest honors confer? What does power once broad confer on the proud? Think, brothers, what those already damned now suffer below; and lest similar things happen to you, persevere continually in good and holy works. If you fear hell, flee sin. For hell will harm nothing if a person has remained in the faith of Christ, free from sins; nor will he burn in punishment who previously here had not burned in guilt.

Hell is a place to be feared, in which there is no redemption; but whoever, once damned, enters there will never again come out to salvation. The damned, wretched in torments, in anguish and everlasting horror, say: “What now does our pride profit us: riches, honors, dignities, luxury, gluttony, and all past carnal pleasures? What do they now profit us, damned forever? Behold, all things have passed away like a shadow, and everything has vanished like the brief dream of a single night. But we have been seized by these eternal torments, in which we know most certainly that there is no redemption.” In hell, as Augustine testifies, even if there will be the goad of penitence, nevertheless there will be no correction of the will in the damned; their iniquities will be blamed by them in such a way that the equity of justice can in no way be loved or desired by them.

There, then, the consuming flame of hell burns those whom carnal delight now pollutes; and each person is burned in torments so much the more as here in the flesh he takes greater delight against God. In the lower regions, as Gregory testifies, there will be intolerable cold, inextinguishable fire, the immortal worm of conscience, intolerable stench, palpable darkness, pains beyond measure, lashes without interruption, the dreadful sight of demons striking them, confusion over committed crimes, and despair of all good things. But of all the punishments in hell, that one must be judged by far the gravest: that the damned are deprived forever of the vision of eternal light.

Here the most blessed father John Chrysostom says: “Gehenna is an intolerable thing, and all people abhor it. For who does not know that punishment of hell to be very horrible? Yet if anyone should set down a thousand, indeed ten thousand gehennas, the whole of what he says is nothing compared with this: for the soul, exposed before Christ, to be driven away from the glory of the saints, and to hear that terrible voice from the mouth of the Judge of all: ‘Depart from me, workers of iniquity, for I do not know you’; and, ‘Go, accursed ones, into eternal fire, which has been prepared for you and for the devil.’”

How sin is to be avoided.

O voice by far the most terrible of all terrible things; O sentence to be feared and exceedingly dreaded by all mortals: to be hated by Christ for one’s deserts, to be reproached by the judge, to be separated from the fellowship of glory, and to retain no further hope of restoration. Consider now, brothers, the punishments of the impious, most certainly to come, and compare all the pains of this life, all the torments of this passing age, and all the imaginable tortures of this world with those everlasting punishments of the damned; and they will be as nothing compared with something, imagination compared with truth, a dream compared with waking. You will easily overcome the temptations of the flesh and the law of sin if you continually keep thoughts of these things in memory. O eternity, what an inconceivable time; being without end, an age without time. Blessed is he who now, in time, foresees how he may fare well in eternity after this very brief life.

The fourth thing that can draw a person back from sin is to have continual remembrance in the heart of future and everlasting happiness. Truly the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, which will be revealed in the saints, where there will be no discord, no dissonance at all, but the highest peace of all and the everlasting concord of the rejoicing saints. In the heavenly blessedness of the saints there is true joy without sadness, peace without discord, goodness without malice, knowledge without end, light without darkness, everlasting life without pain. There is sweetness without bitterness, rest without labor, praise without reproach, love without fault, brightness without cloud, satisfaction without weariness. Eternity remains without tedium; goodness abounds without defect; happiness continues without misery. For where God is all in all, perfect and full joy will be present to everyone.

There the soul, or holy mind, is joined to its first principle through love; the intellect is perfectly illuminated for the knowledge of the highest good; and from these two things the enjoyment of eternal happiness is poured into those who rejoice. To know and love God in the kingdom of eternity is to possess, by enjoyment, the very glory of happiness. For this was man created: that he should understand God his creator to be the highest good; that, understanding him, he should love him above all things; and that, loving him, he should enjoy and possess him forever. This is the end of the monastic institution; this is the destination of the Christian faith: so that God, whom we now know through faith and love with our whole heart through works of charity, we may then, in that life, understand perfectly and have as the perpetual object of our enjoyment. For the attainment of this everlasting happiness, dearest brothers, all good things must be done, even with the greatest labor; all adversities must be endured most patiently, since the very brief exercise of virtue brings forth for us an eternal reward. Hear what Saint John the bishop says on this matter: “If every day,” he says, “we had to endure torments; if, finally, we had to bear Gehenna itself for a little time, so that we might be able to see Christ reigning in eternal glory and be joined forever to the number of his saints, nothing sorrowful that could happen to us would, by any comparable reckoning, be worthy, if by it we might deserve to possess the glory of so great a good.”

But one does not arrive at the highest good except through the greatest labors, since, as truth itself says in the holy Gospel, “the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent seize it.” The fifth thing that can draw a person back from all sins is to consider the dignity of the human condition, which by the natural guidance of reason detests vice and loves virtue. Every human being who lives according to the command of reason is a lover of virtue; but he who has chosen to become filthy in the dung of vices lives like a beast, not like a human being. But for you, my brothers, vices must above all be detested and virtues loved, since for this reason you have despised the world, that you might live profitably in the monastery, a life estranged from sins and adorned with holy virtues. Therefore virtues must be cultivated by you, not images of virtues; I say cultivated not with incense, not with sacrifice, but with love and with the purpose of a most upright will. For to cultivate virtues is nothing other than to embrace them in the soul and, for the love of God, to keep them inviolate even unto death. For as Lactantius says, the whole duty of virtue is not to sin; and therefore there is no true virtue except that which, through faith in Christ, tends to that end where the highest good of man is, than which nothing can be better. But he is not virtuous who does not love God, since charity is the sum of all virtues. Therefore, if you love God with your whole heart above all things, you are truly virtuous. Virtue is the one way of the good, by which, through faith and love of Jesus Christ, one comes to the kingdom. He who truly loves God does not sin, out of love of virtue. Consider your dignity, my brothers, and flee sin, since everyone who is swollen with pride, who is defiled by lust, who is infected by the other plagues of the soul, does not live as a human being, but is confounded in himself and proceeds into the punishment of eternal death. For the more deeply anyone slips into sin, the farther he withdraws from God and the nearer he approaches to hell. But since all human beings naturally seek the good, it is most shameful to love sin, since every sinner abandons the good and turns himself toward evil.

Sixthly, it strongly draws the mind back from sin if, by habit, it always remains occupied in meditation on the Lord’s Passion. Who will be able to devote his efforts to the pleasures of the flesh, if he has considered Jesus Christ, the ruler of the world, hanging for him on the cross? The death of Christ freed the world from eternal death; whoever carries this benefit with him in memory will easily abstain from every wickedness of the vices. Finally, if anyone considers, with the whole attention of his mind, that God is present to him in every place, knowing and understanding all things, he will without doubt always abhor every sin. For God is everywhere with us, not only present, but truly most inward and most present; no secret escapes him, nothing remains hidden from him, but everything lies plainly manifest to him. He searches the hearts of all; he knows the most secret thoughts, since he alone has true knowledge of all things. For who among mortals, in the presence of so great a majesty, which he believes sees all things, would dare without the greatest shame, if he weighs who and how great he is who sees? Therefore, whenever some wicked thought troubles the mind, whenever the disordered motions of the flesh disturb the soul, think of the Lord God, who is the avenger of evils, as present; recall to memory the bitterness of the Passion of Jesus Christ; devoutly implore the aid of heavenly grace. He is harder than stone whom these things, diligently considered, have not been able to call back from the intention of sinning.

The seventh thing that calls the mind of the studious monk back from the desire of sinning is that, by continual reading, he should go through the passions of the holy martyrs. For indeed, whoever often recalls to memory the unconquered constancy of the holy martyrs of Christ cannot fail to become stronger and more robust in resisting sins. For this reason the brave deeds of the saints were committed to writing: so that, whenever we who are weak read such things, we may rise up to imitate those who have gone before. Do not look, brothers, to those who with proud rashness deny credence to the histories of the saints, and think that the glorious things narrated about the most blessed friends of Christ are fables. For the virtues and good qualities that they do not find in themselves, they scorn to believe that the saints of God possessed. For there are many, especially among those who think themselves great because of their learning, who reject the histories of the holy fathers far too rashly; and since they themselves cannot enter upon the arduous path of virtue, they invent with windy loquacity that no one, or only a few, could have done so. Whatever is read before them about the lives of the saints, whether lofty or great, they cry out that it is invented and fabulous; and, being themselves placed in the darkness of vices, they judge that those whose histories they mock went before them just as they themselves live. But the prudent and devout monk will not be moved by the sloth of the proud, since he well understands that an effective power of exhortation is present in the histories of the saints. For, to confess meanwhile what I feel about myself, I am moved more toward the devotion of inward fervor by the life of one saint than by many curious sermons, because, as the most holy pope Leo says, examples are more powerful than words, and it is more to teach by deed than by voice. But just as not all things please all people, so not all things are suited to all; we advise each person to read more frequently and more zealously that by whose reading his mind is stirred to greater perfection.

The eighth thing that most powerfully draws a man back from sin is charity, concerning which the holy apostle says: Charity is patient, is kind; it does not act perversely, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, does not seek the things that are its own, is not provoked, does not think evil, does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices together with the truth; it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Charity never falls away. He who loves God flees sin; but he who is a servant of crimes assuredly does not love God. A lover of God does not commit sin; and he who truly loves his Lord and always beholds him as present does not work iniquity. God is the highest and unchangeable good; for love of him sin must both be fled and detested, since one who fears to sin only from fear of punishments does not ascend to the heights of charity. For a slave does not sin through fear of the rod; but a son withdraws from evil out of love for his father, lest he offend his father’s heart. Let us avoid sin, my brothers, and live in the sight of the Lord with as much purity of soul as we can, since just as deadly poison, once taken, kills the body, so sin kills the soul of the offender. Hence the wise man admonishes us in Ecclesiasticus, saying: Flee sins as from the face of a serpent, because if you come near to them, they will receive you. The teeth of a lion are the teeth of sin, killing the souls of men. Like a two-edged sword is the iniquity of man; for its wound there is no healing. In Ezekiel also Sermon V. Folio LXIX.

Sixth, you will draw your mind back from sin very strongly if you keep it always occupied, as a matter of habit, in meditation on the Lord’s passion. For who will be able to devote himself to the pleasures and works of the flesh, if he considers that Jesus Christ, ruler of the world, suffered on the cross for him? Christ, by his cross, freed the world from perpetual death; whoever has fixed so great a benefit in his memory will easily abstain from every wicked deed. Finally, if anyone has understood and considered with his whole inner mind that God is present to him in every place, knowing and understanding all things, he will without doubt always abhor every sin. And indeed God is everywhere present to us, not only most present, but truly most intimate and most near; no secret is hidden from him, nothing remains concealed from him, but everything is present and manifest to him. He searches the depths of all things; he knows the most secret thoughts; he alone has true knowledge of all things. What mortal, in the presence of so great a majesty, which he believes sees all things, would dare without the greatest shame to be anything other than he judges that he ought to appear? Therefore, whenever some troublesome thought disturbs the mind, whenever disordered movement of the flesh unsettles the soul, think that the Lord God, who is the avenger of evils, is present everywhere; recall to memory the bitterness of the passion of Jesus Christ; fill your soul with the sweetness of heavenly grace. Harder than stone is the man whom these things, diligently considered, cannot call back from readiness to sin.

The seventh thing that recalls the mind of a holy monk from the desire of sin is the continual reading of the passions, deeds, and martyrdoms of the saints. For truly, whoever often calls to memory the unconquerable constancy of Christ’s holy martyrs cannot fail to become readier and stronger for resistance. Therefore the brave deeds of the saints were once committed to writing so that we, weak men, reading them, might rise up to imitate those who have gone before. Let the brethren not regard those who, with proud rashness, deny faith to the histories of the saints and think the glorious things narrated about Christ’s most blessed friends to be fables. For the virtues and good things that they do not find in themselves, they refuse to believe that God’s saints possessed. Indeed, many, and especially those among them who judge themselves great because of their learning, rashly reject the histories of the holy fathers; and since they themselves cannot enter upon the hard road of virtues, they claim with reckless loquacity that no one, or only very few, could do so. Whatever they read about the lives of the saints as arduous or great, they cry out that it is invented and fabulous. As they themselves live, placed in the darkness of vices, so they suppose those histories which they mock to have proceeded. But a prudent monk and lover of honor is not moved by the sloth of the proud, since he well understands how great an efficacy for exhorting holiness lies within history.

Meanwhile, it is clear enough that, if I may say so, I am moved by the devoted affection of holy fervor toward one thing: that, amid the many writings of the curious, the deeds of the saints should be read. For, as most holy Pope Leo says, examples are stronger than words, and it is more to teach by deed than by voice. But just as not all things please everyone, so not all things suit everyone. Each person should be advised frequently and diligently to read that by whose reading his mind is stirred to greater progress.

The eighth thing that most strongly draws a man back from sin is charity, concerning which the holy apostle says: Charity is patient, is kind; it does not act perversely; it is not puffed up; it is not ambitious; it does not seek what is its own; it is not provoked; it does not think evil; it does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices with the truth; it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Charity never fails. Whoever loves God flees sin; but whoever is a servant of crimes certainly does not love God. Love of God does not cause a man to sin; and whoever truly loves his Lord and always turns back to him in repentance does not work iniquity. For God is the highest and unchangeable good; for love of him sin is to be fled and detested. For whoever, through fear of long-lasting punishments, is afraid to sin, has not climbed to the summit of charity. A servant does not sin through fear of the blow, but a son withdraws from evil because of perfect love, lest he offend his father’s heart.

Let us flee the snares of sin, my brothers, and with as much purity of soul as we can let us live in the sight of the Lord, because just as literal venom, when taken, kills the body, so sin, when committed, kills the soul. Hence the wise man admonishes us in Ecclesiasticus, saying: Flee sin as from the face of a serpent, for if you come near it, it will seize you. The teeth of a lion are the teeth of sin, killing the souls of men. All iniquity is like a two-edged sword; there is no healing for its wound. In Ezekiel also it is said: The soul that has sinned, that soul shall die. With all solicitude we must always keep watch, lest by meditating on sin we be divided from God. For charity fixed in God is the form for overcoming every sin, because, as the most holy evangelist John says, everyone who is born of God does not commit sin; but whoever sins...

How Sin Is to Be Fled.

He does not imitate God, but the devil, the first author of sin. Let us love God, and sin will not have dominion in us; let us love Christ, and we shall do nothing contrary to our salvation. Nothing is better, nothing stronger against sin, nothing safer, than to love God, who first loved us and washed us from all sins in the blood of his only-begotten Son.

For we are bound to God, and we are obliged to love him with all the strength of our heart for many reasons. First, God is to be loved supremely by us for no other cause than for himself, who is the highest and only good; in him alone is rest and salvation for the soul, and without him there is no salvation, no rest, no blessedness, no happiness, either in heaven or on earth. For since God is the cause, maker, and beginning of all things, he alone is the object of the soul's blessedness; eternal enjoyment of him is reached by charity alone, and one comes to love of him by purity of mind alone. Therefore, since God is the soul's one and highest good, he is to be loved by us for his own sake with all our strength. Outside God there is nothing good, nothing holy, nothing by which the soul can be gladdened forever. For God alone is the center of the soul's blessedness.

Second, we are commanded to love the Lord our God because he deigns to show himself to us as a most loving father. For thus he taught us to pray: "Our Father, who are in heaven, hallowed be your name." Truly God is the father of us all: he created us all, nourishes us, feeds us, and preserves us in being lest we perish. There has never been any father on earth so indulgent that he loved his only-begotten son with as much charity as God almighty, our Father, loves, cherishes, directs, and attends us with fatherly affection. And therefore we are bound to love above all things, with a pure heart, him who gives us both being and life. For he is our Father; and Adam, who was created first of all human beings, did not know us.

Third, we ought to love God above all things because of the likeness: man was made in the image of God, following his Creator by a certain likeness in intellect. God, however, is perfect, infinite, and everlasting intellect; by participating in his goodness through grace, our intellect is made blessed in him who created all things. For although there is no comparison between God and man, nevertheless the rational soul itself has, from the nobility of its created condition, a likeness to its own principle that is of no contemptible dignity. For the prophet says: "I have said: you are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High." The Lord God also said in the beginning: "Let us make man in our image and likeness." Great is the condescension of divine kindness toward our race, and we ought to remember it at all times with a pure mind in the observance of charity.

Fourth, we ought to love our God above all things because of his inestimable munificence, when we recognize that he has bestowed so many benefits upon us, who did not deserve them. When we did not exist, he first established us in being by his goodness, and ordained us for a share in his glory, which will never end. Thus Scripture says of man's nobility: "You made him a little lower than the angels; with glory and honor you crowned him, and you set him over the works of your hands." Do you wish to know, brothers, in what respect man is less than an angel? Attend carefully to what we say.

There are two intellects created from the beginning, the angelic and the human. The angelic intellect, immediately from the beginning of its creation, was made full and perfect in the actuality of all knowable things, and it knew and comprehended by nature all that it ought to know. But the human intellect first exists in potency toward all knowable things, ignorant of all things; in the end, however, through many actions, it finally acquires knowledge of all things, like the angelic intellect. For the perfect consummation of nature which belongs to the angelic intellect from the beginning will be granted to the human intellect at the end. Hence between these two created intellects there is plainly only this difference: the angelic intellect is what it can be, while the human intellect is to receive, at the end, that is, after the death of the flesh, the likeness of angelic perfection.

For the angelic intellect, which was created first, was created without any action of its own, immovably, substantially, and by nature, full and perfect in knowledge of all things. Those angels who adhered by love to their principle, namely God, have been confirmed in eternal happiness; but those who, glorying in themselves, withdrew in affection from God are perpetually miserable and unhappy. The human intellect, therefore, because it was created at the beginning in ignorance and privation of all things, must necessarily come at last, by action, motion, and art, to the knowledge of things set before it.

As long as we are in the body and are pilgrims away from the Lord, our intellect, because of its excessive commerce with the body, is confused as though placed in the darkness of ignorance, and is by no means illumined to perfect knowledge of future things. But after the soul has been separated from the body, then the intellect will rejoice in angelic perfection. Therefore we are distant from the angels only in proportion as we share in bodily impurity.

Fifth, God is to be loved by us above all because he first loved us and washed us

Sermon VI. Folio LXX.

...from our sins in the blood of his only-begotten Son. The Creator most greatly loves his creature, which he brought forth from nothing; it is fitting that the creature itself should most greatly love its Creator, by whose goodness it was brought into being. God loves us with the greatest charity, than which none greater can be spoken or conceived; and he loves us so infinitely that he neither ought nor could love more, since in God all things are perfect, and in him there is no capacity for change or shadow of alteration. Consider now, my brothers, with how great a fervor of mind and with how great a desire of heart the devout person ought to love him, by whom he is loved even without measure in the highest degree of love. And let us give back our soul in love for him above all things, as much as we can: for he is worthy that we love him with all our strength. Yet however much we love him, we shall by no means come to that measure by which he himself loves us. For he loves us as worthily as possible; nor can his love toward us grow greater, since he already perfectly loves his creature. But however much we love him, we can always make further progress in loving, and love him more ardently even to the point of death.

O we weak and sluggish people, we who are committed to a prison of clay: what shall we repay to so great a lover, who has gone before us by so great a degree of love, when there can be no comparison of the creature with the Creator? The sixth thing that deservedly ought to stir us to the love of God is the consideration of his supreme kindness toward us: that, after so many thousands of men had been passed over and left in error, he mercifully called us in Europe, along with a few others, to the knowledge of the Christian faith. Of all benefits after the death of Christ, I judge this to be the chief: that he caused us to be Christians in the faith. For outside the faith of Christ no one will be saved. Christ is proclaimed here, but in many places he is utterly unknown. How many kingdoms there are today in Asia and Africa, how many peoples, how many islands of the sea, where there is no knowledge of Christ at all and no faith; where every religion is in error and without the merit of salvation, even if some outside Christianity seem to adore and worship one God. For Christ is the Savior of faithful souls; whoever has not believed in him has already been judged, and without doubt will be condemned. How shall we ever be able to offer God worthy thanks, because he established us, so to speak, to be born in the Catholic faith, and by the blood of his only-begotten Son freed us from the destruction of death? Therefore let us be mindful of so great a benefit, and let us take care to use it in such a way that we are not judged for ingratitude. Let us bless God the Father at every time, because he has poured out such great spiritual goods upon us, and has not permitted us to be born removed from the unity of the Catholic Church.

The seventh thing that is believed able to produce the love of God in our hearts is considered in the promise of eternal happiness. For if we consider how great are the goods in heaven which he has promised to give us, then love for him will deservedly burn sweetly in our hearts. He has promised us his whole self, he who alone is the highest and wholly unchangeable good. Since he is indivisible, he will grant himself to be enjoyed by all in such a way that nevertheless he will be possessed whole by each. He loves all by whom he is loved, and he loves each by whom he is held. The more we now love God with a pure mind, the more there we shall receive what was promised.

On the Knowledge of Spiritual Grace. Sermon Six

The holy apostle of Christ Paul teaches us that we cannot always believe every spirit, but that promptings must be diligently examined, whether they are from God, who is light, or whether something hostile rises up against us from the side of darkness. For since our adversary is very cunning, he never leaves anything untried, and devises all manner of ways by which he may catch us off guard. He attacks those who are already making progress in one way, and deals in another way with those who still live in the torpor of negligence. The more we have advanced in the commandments of God, the more necessary it is that we keep watch against the devil plotting against us. Indeed, he pursues those who flee temptations, and rages with envious malice against those who desire to please God. He is accustomed to assail secretly, under the appearance of good, those whom he knows he cannot overcome by open assault. He is accustomed to suggest many things to those making progress and still insufficiently grounded in the fear of God, by which he very often tries to trip up unguarded minds under the appearance of good. Against his snares the best remedy is this: that the monk submit all the thoughts of his heart to the examination of the elders. For the demons hate public light, and are ashamed that the thoughts which they suggest should come to the knowledge of spiritual elders. Therefore when any of you thinks that he stands firm in good, let him be anxious lest he be tripped up by the devil. If there is among you someone who in years and in habit...

On the knowledge of spiritual grace

Young men, both in years and in monastic conversion, who consent to their own sensual appetites more than is expedient, are mocked by demons in various ways, as if under the appearance of good. They seek sanctity without merit; they desire to have merit without the necessary exercise of virtues. They seem to themselves great and outstanding before God in devotion, yet in their animal passions they are not mortified.

You are in error, O wretched men, and you shamefully deceive yourselves, who think to build the tower of sanctity without the foundation of most humble subjection and obedience. First the disordered desires of sensuality must be mortified; the animal passions must be restrained: anger, murmuring, the spite of indignation, and all impatience. For as long as vices dominate you, whatever gifts of private singularity you offer are not pleasing to God. All things are empty where conscience is not pure.

The way of life of a young monk is suspect to us, however devout it may seem, if the humility of voluntary subjection does not commend it. For a monk without humility and obedience cannot be good, even if by fasting and prayer he hunts for sanctity every day. The devil deceives many in the secrecy of elation and pride, whom he permits continually to keep vigil, fast, and pray. For just as no works without humility and charity are pleasing to God, so the fasts, vigils, prayers, and studies of monks without these are not to be feared by the devil. This does not move the devil, because he is not tormented by it. He does not reckon much the vigils of the self-exalted, nor does he heed the fast of the swollen with pride, nor fear the prayers of the proud.

But if he finds you humble; if he finds you cheerfully obedient in all things to the commands of your elders; if he observes that you do great things and think humble things about yourself; if he weighs that charity toward God and neighbor burns in you, then certainly he is moved against you, because his envy is tormented by your virtues. He turns against you all the weapons of his cunning that he can, and with all his strength he tries to overturn your purpose of holiness. For nothing in a monk displeases demons more, nothing torments them more violently, than if for love of God he has truly humbled himself in all things and has always kept the service of monastic institution under the guard of obedience with a cheerful spirit.

You must beware the promptings of demons, you who think yourselves something great without the merit of true virtues. I see that you are unwilling toward the commands of your elders, impatient and murmuring under correction, quick to rebuke another's life, but exceedingly slow in considering your own defects. These are the surest signs of the promptings of demons, and manifest indications of necessary mortification despised and of self-will. You believe yourselves to be perfect and holy practitioners of great religion and inward devotion, yet you have neither brotherly charity nor true humility, which are necessary in you as monks. You seek sensible devotion in prayers, and with tearful eyes already think yourselves God's friends.

What then? Do tears in prayers make a person holy, when prayer is made with a certain elation of mind and without true humility? God gives tears; the soul struck by adversities gives them; the devil, deceiver of the self-exalted, also gives them. God makes the mind humbled in true charity fruitful, like a meadow, with sweet tears; nature moves one to weep in adversities; the devil pours little streams of waters upon the proud under the likeness of devotion.

Humility is the one virtue which, in the breadth of charity, makes human hearts truly devout. Nothing that you do in your private singularity profits you, O monk, if you do not have true humility together with the fervor of twofold charity. For to rise before others for the nocturnal lauds, to say long prayers in private beyond the custom of the order, to continue a fast beyond the rule's prescription while others are lawfully eating, to remain in seclusion while the rest go out to common labor: two things make such acts meritorious. If they are lacking, all will be altogether fruitless. Indeed, whatever work of a monk charity and humble obedience do not commend will be judged empty of merit before God and will lack reward.

But you who scorn the precepts of your elders with haughty brow, who do not do what they command but what pleases you by your own rashness, who set your own inventions before the common holy exercises of the order, are still far removed from the way of life of the saints. It is not permitted you to abandon by your own rashness the things that belong to monastic institution, and to prefer to necessary things the new and empty things that please you. Whatever work you do is ungrateful to God if you despise that to which you are bound.

The inspiration of divine grace teaches humility, persuades obedience, and follows true charity in all things. It keeps the commandment; it admits no pride; it despises no one, but pursues the perpetual integrity of regular discipline. But the prompting of the devil, under the appearance of good, craftily trips up the unwary monk and makes him subject in all things to his own judgment. For everything that pertains to the preservation of monastic integrity, he falsely says is badly instituted and contrary, and therefore to be set aside in favor of his own pursuits.

On the recognition of spiritual grace.

...they despise all the consolations of the present life. The soul that has God present within itself through love despises all comforts of the flesh; it desires to come to its Lord through hard and bitter things. It does not love the riches of this world; it spurns transitory honors and dignities; it resolutely contemns the pleasures of the flesh. It meditates always on the law of the Lord and never forgets the most bitter Passion of Jesus.

Who among you, brothers, is there who does these things, who detests all the little consolations of this age, who thinks of nothing else, seeks nothing, desires nothing, except the charity of God? Whoever has obtained this sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit, if he perseveres to the end of life, will be saved.

The eighth indication of a good course, and the true sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit, we receive when we humbly conform our wills in all things to the divine ordinances. This degree of spiritual progress separates the monk from all cares of the world and calls him wholly to inward things. For his will is peacefully subjected, by the affection of the mind, to the divine will, and is separated far from all desires that war against the spirit.

Whoever has received this gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit should first give thanks with humility, and should not vainly exalt himself because of the gift; rather, the more he has advanced, the more he should learn to humble himself in all things. Often, however, a man deserves to lose the grace of God because he neglects to preserve it in the vessel of true humility. Therefore almighty God sometimes withdraws for a short time from those making progress the grace of sensible devotion, so that humility may persevere in the mind and the fervor of desire may burn more strongly for seeking further. But since there are many causes in human beings for which the grace of God is sometimes withdrawn, it will be worthwhile for them to be stated in order.

First, then, the grace of God is withdrawn from a person because of sin, when the conscience is stained by the ugliness of vices. For our God, as Scripture says, is jealous: either he alone is loved, or he is not loved with any companion. Therefore, as often as the mind turns back in disordered desire either to itself or to anything else, it is alienated and removed from its source, which is God; and so it deserves to lose the grace it had, because by consenting to sin it was unwilling to keep that grace inviolate.

Hence the holy apostle of Christ, Paul, exhorts us not to receive the grace of God in vain. For it is then received fruitlessly and in vain when the mind of the recipient is made unworthy by the filth of vices. The little vessel into which we receive the grace of God is our conscience. When it is cleansed from vices and adorned with holy virtues, it becomes a worthy dwelling of the Holy Spirit and produces great progress in us. But if the vessel of our conscience has been defiled by the corruption of sin, immediately the Spirit of God withdraws with all the gifts of grace.

Is not our Lord Jesus Christ the lover and faithful bridegroom of the soul, which he purchased for himself by the outpouring of his own blood? With what face, with what rashness, then, can you, O man, despise so great a lover and savior of yours, and love anything else in this world? God, who is your creator, loves you supremely and by his death has freed you from everlasting destruction. What will you repay him, O mortal man, from whom you have received such great benefits? He asks nothing of you, seeks nothing, demands nothing, except gratitude, affection, and charity. Guard innocence and purity of conscience, lest you lose the impulse of grace.

The second cause, indeed, on account of which grace is withdrawn from a person is called the pride of ingratitude. God, as Scripture testifies, resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. By the just judgment of God, the grace of the Holy Spirit is lost whenever the one who has it is lifted up into pride. For everyone who humbles himself will be exalted, and he who exalts himself will be humbled. Hence almighty God again says: Upon whom will my Spirit rest, except upon the humble and quiet, and the one who trembles at my words? The more anyone has humbled himself in true purity of conscience for the love of Christ, the more fit he will be to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit. But as often as the mind is raised up in pride, the spirit of devotion is deservedly taken away, as from an unclean vessel.

Therefore, my brothers, let no one grow proud over the grace of the Holy Spirit that he has received; let no one vainly exalt himself, because unless we are humble we shall by no means be able to share in the mercies of the Lord. For, as the holy lover of Christ, Paul, says: he who thinks himself to be something when he is nothing deceives himself.

Third, the grace of devotion is withdrawn from a person because of sloth...

... they despise the comforts of the present life. The soul that has God present within itself through love despises all consolations of the flesh; it longs to come to its Lord through hard and bitter things. It does not love the riches of this world; it spurns passing honors and dignities; it firmly contemns the pleasures of the flesh. It always meditates on the law of the Lord and never forgets the most bitter passion of Jesus Christ. Who among you, brothers, does these things: who detests all the little consolations of this age; who thinks of nothing else, seeks nothing else, desires nothing else than the charity of God? Whoever has obtained this sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit, if he perseveres to the end of life, will be saved.

We receive the eighth indication of a good course, and the true sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit, when we humbly conform our wills in all things to the divine ordinances. This degree of spiritual progress separates the monk from all cares of the world and calls him wholly to inward things. For his will is subjected, by the affection of a peaceful mind, to the divine will, and it is far separated from all desires that war against the spirit. Whoever has received this gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit should first give thanks with humility, and should not vainly exalt himself because of the gift; rather, the more he has advanced, the more he should learn to humble himself in all things. For a man often deserves to lose the grace of God because he neglects to keep it in the box of true humility. Therefore almighty God sometimes withdraws the grace of sensible devotion from those making progress for a short time, so that humility may persevere in the mind and the fervor of desire may burn more ardently to seek more. But since there are many causes in people for which the grace of God is sometimes withdrawn, it will be worthwhile to state them in order.

First, the grace of God is withdrawn from a person because of sin, when the conscience is stained by the foulness of vices. For our God, as Scripture says, is jealous: either he is loved alone, or he is not loved with any companion. Therefore, whenever the mind turns back by desiring either itself or something else in a disordered way, it is removed, alienated from its source, which is God. Hence it deserves to lose the grace it had, because by consenting to sin it refused to keep it inviolate. Therefore the holy apostle of Christ, Paul, exhorts us not to receive the grace of God in vain; for it is indeed received fruitlessly and in vain when the mind of the recipient is stained by the filth of vices. The little vessel into which we receive the grace of God is our conscience; when it is purged of vices and adorned with holy virtues, it becomes a worthy dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit and generates great progress in us. But if the vessel of our conscience has been defiled by the rottenness of sin, immediately the Spirit of God departs with all the gifts of grace.

Is not our Lord Jesus Christ the lover and faithful spouse of the soul, which he purchased for himself by the pouring out of his own blood? With what face, with what rashness can you, O man, despise this lover and your savior, and love anything else in this world? God loves you supremely: he is your creator, and by his death he freed you from everlasting destruction. What will you repay him, O mortal man, from whom you have received such great benefits? He asks nothing from you, seeks nothing, demands nothing, except gratitude, affection, and charity. Keep innocence and purity of conscience, lest you lose the prompting of grace.

The second cause for which grace is withdrawn from a person is called the pride of ingratitude. For God, as Scripture testifies, resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. By the just judgment of God, the grace of the Holy Spirit is lost whenever one is lifted into pride by what he possesses. For everyone who humbles himself will be exalted, and whoever exalts himself will be humbled. Hence almighty God again says: “Upon whom shall my Spirit rest, if not upon the humble and quiet, and the one who trembles at my words?” The more anyone humbles himself for the love of Christ in true purity of conscience, the more fit he will be to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit. But whenever the mind rises into pride, spiritual devotion is deservedly taken away from the unclean vessel. Therefore first, my brothers, let no one grow proud of the grace of the Holy Spirit which he has received; let no one vainly exalt himself, because unless we have been humble, we will by no means be able to share in divine inspirations. As the holy Christ-loving Paul says: “He who thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, deceives himself.”

Third, the grace of devotion is withdrawn from a person because of laziness and acedia, when the mind is hardly exercised at all in good works. For, as Scripture says, idleness is the enemy of the soul, and everyone who follows idleness will be in want. The wise man also says: “Desires kill the lazy man; his hands have refused to work at anything.” Therefore, just as fire is extinguished without fuel, so the spirit of devotion grows weak without the continual exercise of charity. Let no one, then, presume upon his own powers in this life; let no one settle down securely in his former way of life, because, I say, as long as someone can be made better from worse, he can also be made worse from better. For our trial is swift...

On the Knowledge of Spiritual Grace

Third, if you do not wish to lose the grace of inward compunction, strive to love the quiet of solitude. For divine Scripture says: “Upon whom shall my spirit rest, unless upon the humble and quiet one?” And again in another place it says: “In silence and in hope shall your strength be.” For the grace of inward compunction is quickly lost when the secrecy of solitude is not loved. Therefore let the monk who wishes to possess the grace of God learn gladly to remain with himself in his cell.

Fourth, one must take the utmost care that you do not despise any person in your heart, however bad he may be, because the grace of compunction is withdrawn by the just judgment of God whenever a rash judgment concerning one’s neighbor is not avoided. For the Lord says in the holy Gospel: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.”

Fifth, the monk who does not wish to lose the grace of inward devotion should strive to exercise himself in the practice of all the virtues. Let him always keep watch in the fear of the Lord, always occupy himself in the exercise of divine love, be continually diligent in good works, and at all times, as much as he can, be devoted to the memory of the Lord’s passion. For attentive meditation on Christ’s passion strengthens a person against all vices and preserves the grace of compunction.

Sixth, be constant in holy prayers, because one who neglects the practice of prayer cannot sufficiently guard the grace of compunction. For the Savior says in the holy Gospel: “Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation.” The Lord’s help is ready for those who call upon him; but the person who neglects to pray loses grace. But if you have lost the grace of devotion in any way, you will quickly recover it by the following six remedies.

First, consider that without the grace of God you cannot make progress toward salvation, and that in all the good things you are going to do you have the greatest need of his mercy. Therefore recognize that you are unworthy of the grace of God for doing good, and know that, because of the multitude of your sins, you are unworthy. Call upon him, because he is near; and make every time that is granted to you as free from the common exercises of the brethren pass usefully and fruitfully. The grace of God is necessary for you to do good; it is acquired by the breadth of charity, guarded by humility, and recovered by the practice of saving penitence. The Lord is with you as long as you are with him in good will. But in order that you may be able to recover the lost grace of devotion, you must submit yourself to God in true humility.

Second, for the recovery of the lost grace of compunction it seems necessary that you do not in anything raise yourself against the Lord, but conform your will in all things to the divine ordinance. We say in the Lord’s Prayer, “Your will be done”; it is fitting that we always willingly agree with that prayer in mind and affection.

Third, whoever desires to recover the lost grace of devotion must strongly despise every pleasure of this world for the love of God. For it cannot happen that one recovers the spirit of inward compunction while he opens the dwelling place of his heart to earthly joys and pleasures. Therefore you must cast away every consolation of the present life, if you desire to have the divine spirit of love with his gifts.

Fourth, you are commanded to withdraw yourself from the vain cares and occupations of this world on account of your purpose, and at all times to occupy your mind delightfully in the service of God. For, as the Lord says, no one can serve God and mammon; but whoever desires to serve the Lord in truth of heart must despise all the occupations of the world.

Fifth, we advise that you remember always to occupy your heart in meditation on Christ’s passion, because there is no shorter way for recovering the delay of compunction, nor any manner of prayer more effective for obtaining from the Lord whatever we ask.

Sixth, strive daily to cleanse your conscience through true penitence; and whenever you have fallen into any fault, immediately recover yourself through contrition. If you take care to observe these things with good will, you will recover, by the Lord’s mercy, the lost grace of compunction.

On the Nine Degrees of Ascent

Beloved brothers, we describe for you the ladder of the nine degrees by which the human spirit ascends into heaven. And although one is higher than another, nevertheless all and each direct one to the kingdom of God, and they are distinguished from one another according to the merits of those who ascend. Therefore attend diligently to what we are about to say, and consider how much progress you have made in spiritual advancement. All who come to the kingdom of God have ascended by the degrees of this ladder. The more each person has advanced in the love of God, the higher he has already ascended.

The first degree is nearest to hell, and [unclear]

On the knowledge of spiritual grace

Third, if you do not wish to lose the grace of inward compunction, you must love the pursuit of solitude. For divine Scripture says: Upon whom will my spirit rest, except upon the humble and devout? And likewise it says elsewhere: In silence and in hope shall be your strength. For the grace of compunction is generally lost quickly when one does not love the leisure of solitude. Therefore let the monk remain gladly shut up in his cell with himself, if he wishes to possess the grace of God.

Fourth, one must take the greatest care not to despise in one’s heart any persons, however evil, because the grace of compunction is withdrawn by the just judgment of God whenever one does not guard against rash judgment of one’s neighbor. For the Lord says in the holy Gospel: Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.

Fifth, the monk who does not wish to lose the grace of inward devotion should see to it that he exercises himself in the cultivation of all the virtues. Let him always keep vigilant in the fear of God; let him occupy himself in the exercise of divine love; let him be constantly intent on good works; and let him remain devout in the memory of the Lord’s passion, so far as he can, at all times. For diligent meditation on Christ’s passion strengthens human beings against all the vices and preserves the grace of compunction.

Sixth, be constant in holy prayers, because it is not enough to keep the grace of compunction if one interrupts the practice of prayer. For the Savior says in the holy Gospel: Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation. Divine help is near in your calling upon him. Whoever neglects to pray loses grace.

But if you lose the grace of devotion in any way, you will quickly recover it by the following remedies. First, consider that without the grace of God you cannot make progress toward salvation. Know that in all good things you are about to do you most greatly need his mercy. Therefore recognize that you are unworthy of the grace of God for doing good, although you are unworthy because of the multitude of your lost years. Call upon him while he is near, and ask that every time which he grants you free from the crowd of exterior occupations may be spent usefully and fruitfully. The grace of God is necessary for you in doing good; it is acquired by breadth of charity, preserved by humility, and recovered by the practice of saving penance. It is with you when you have long been with him in good will. Therefore you will be able to recover the lost grace of devotion whenever you subject yourself to God in true humility.

Second, for the recovery of the lost grace of compunction, it seems necessary that you lift yourself inwardly against yourself and conform your will in all things to the divine ordering. Since we seek God’s will in the prayer of compunction, it is fitting that in that very prayer we should always be in agreement with him by the mind and affection of a willing heart.

Third, whoever desires to recover the lost grace of devotion must strongly condemn every pleasure of this world for love of God. For it cannot happen that he receives the spirit of inward compunction when he fills the dwelling of his heart with earthly joys and pleasures. Therefore you must cast aside every consolation of the present life if you wish to have the spirit of divine love and the charisms that follow it.

Fourth, you are commanded to withdraw yourself from the vain cares and occupations of this world, and to occupy your mind delightfully at all times in the service of God. For, as the Lord says, no one can serve God and mammon; and whoever truly desires the familiar presence of God in the truth of the heart must necessarily despise all occupations of the world.

Fifth, we advise that you remember always to occupy your heart in meditation on Christ’s passion, because there is no other preparation more suitable for recovering the grace of compunction, nor any manner of prayer more effective for hoping for whatever is sought from the Lord.

Sixth, you should strive to cleanse your conscience daily through true penance; and whenever you have fallen into any fault, you should soon repent with a contrite heart. If you take care to keep these things with a good will, then, with God taking pity, you will recover the lost grace of compunction.

On the nine degrees of ascent.

We shall hasten, very dear brothers, to set before you the nine degrees by which the ascent of human beings into heaven is made. And although one is higher than another, nevertheless each is directed toward the kingdom of heaven and distinguishes the merits of those who ascend according to their merit. Therefore attend most diligently to what is said here, and consider in which degree of spiritual progress you stand. All the saints, whoever have come to the sight of God, have ascended by the degrees of this ladder. The more anyone has advanced in the love of God, the higher he has already ascended. The greatest degree, because it is lowest, is the first, and it is more remote from the sublimity of the heavenly fatherland. Those placed in it are said to withdraw from vices and to begin to make progress in the fear of God; neglecting venial sins, they withdraw from mortal sins. Indeed, they flee the heavier sins, being raised to a certain exercise of the virtues; yet through the weakness of a bad habit they do not attend to the smaller sins. Hence they often fall, through frailty, into the pit of mortal sin, because they have not guarded against venial sins as occasions of graver ones.

...has not guarded against them. For no fault is so small to one making progress that it does not become greater if neglected. Although we cannot wholly avoid venial sins, nevertheless we ought to strive with all our strength that they not multiply in us. But the one who, by the Lord’s mercy, advances daily in this degree toward better things falls less often into danger; and whenever such persons have fallen, they rise again through penitence. Yet their condition is close to danger: just as a garment, often torn and mended, is at last made useless, so a person who falls more often by sin is frequently stifled by evil habit. If any depart this life from this degree through the Lord’s mercies, they will be saved, but not without the very grievous punishments of purgatory. Therefore one must hasten toward higher things, so that they may guard, as far as they can, not only against mortal sins but also against venial ones.

They are believed to ascend the second degree who strive, as far as they can, to avoid venial sins as well as mortal crimes. Yet because of the commerce of the weak body, they do not persevere in their purpose, but often fall into various negligences of this life, although they do not commit mortal sins. We lukewarm people think that we have somehow ascended to this degree, because, having been placed under the observance of regular discipline, we keep our minds, with the Lord’s help, from the graver sins. For we are all too lukewarm; many of us live negligently, and we are slow to perform the holy exercises of virtue.

Yet there are many set in the climate of this second degree whom servile fear possesses; and if that alone is present, it by no means brings one near to the kingdom of God. For to attain the felicity of heaven above, such servile fear without charity does not suffice, since he is a servant who does not sin through fear of punishment, and if he does not do evil, he does not do so from love of God. It is good, however, to begin from servile fear, provided that little by little one can come from good fear to filial fear. Yet to withdraw from evil out of fear of penalties is by no means sufficient for attaining the kingdom of God, though it prepares those who labor for filial fear. Thus the first degree of those making progress is not to commit wrong from fear of punishment, and not to sin lest they be condemned. For charity alone, discerning all merits, admits into the kingdom of God what is fit to enter, and judges whatever has been done outside it to be unworthy of the kingdom of God. Therefore, whoever has deserved to ascend this second degree, whoever has learned not to sin from fear of punishments, if you wish to press on to the joy of eternal felicity, take care in every way to hasten to higher things. Since, as Scripture bears witness, no one is suddenly made highest, begin from the lower things; yet we judge it dangerous to stand idle too long in the valley after you have set out. Therefore ascend daily as much as you can, and do not persist in the filth of beastly action; for if you do not advance, you fall back; if you do not ascend, you descend.

The third degree includes those who, persevering in a good purpose, keep themselves from every danger of mortal sin and withdraw, as far as they can, even from venial sins. They love purity of conscience and knowingly commit nothing base that could stain it. Yet in this one respect they are lower than those who follow, because they do not strive to withdraw from evil simply for love of God, but because they trust that they will receive the kingdom of God for their merits. Whoever serves God for reward is not in the state of perfection; with the weak he still remains far from the summit of the blessed, in lower things. Whoever truly loves God with a pure mind serves and obeys him neither from fear of penalties nor with an eye to reward, but only for love of him. And therefore all the degrees written above are set before beginners, through which, ascending little by little, they may at last reach perfection. It is good to withdraw from evil out of fear of penalties; it is good to do good out of love of reward; and although this is by no means sufficient for perfection, nevertheless it provides a beginning and a way for those who desire to make progress. For fear customarily leads to filial and chaste love, from whose root perfect charity flows. But afterward, once minds have reached it, they cast out all servile fear and fear of reward.

The fourth degree displays the way of perfection to those ascending, and it is rightly judged higher than the degrees described above. For whatever good is seen in them, those at this degree possess more perfectly. Those ascending this fourth degree, with all zeal, keep themselves not only from the plague of mortal sins, but also from venial sins as far as is possible for them; they eagerly engage in good and holy works, and above all desire to please God. In one respect they surpass those who precede them: they neither withdraw from evil through fear of punishment nor do good in hope of reward, but do all things for love of God alone, and seek nothing other than God’s honor. This is the way set before those striving for perfection; this is the life of holy justice in regular discipline: that we love God with a pure mind above all things, and do all our works for his honor. For the true lover of God neither fears punishment nor thinks of reward, but, walking in simplicity of heart, entrusts his will to the divine ordinance. For because God is the highest good, he must be loved not for the reward of the heavenly kingdom, nor for any other thing, but for his own sake; and he himself, as the chief good, must principally be held in one’s intention.

On the nine degrees of ascent.

Hasten, my dearest brothers, to climb these degrees of the spiritual ladder by which one ascends, so that you may be able at last to reach the summit of perfection. And unless you, who have been placed under the obedience of monastic perfection, have advanced to this fourth degree, you will scarcely ascend the five that follow. For those who are placed on the fourth degree do good works when commanded, from their own will, though they have not submitted themselves by vow or by monastic profession to its constitutions. And in this one respect they are inferior to those who follow: because a good work is the more acceptable to God, the more it is commended by the merit of obedience.

The fifth degree, then, is climbed by one who guards himself with all his strength from sins, and, being placed under obedience, always remains strong and constant in his purpose of holiness. Loving God above all things with a pure mind, such persons do good works principally for love of him; and in their intention they neither fear punishments nor seek rewards. They humbly obey their prelates for the love of God, and do not withdraw from the purity of regular observance in the practice of penance. And yet there are some whom the weakness of the flesh sometimes makes less stable, and somewhat inclined to waver in their opinions against obedience. At times they try to defend their own exercises and private observances against the determination of their prelates, and to judge themselves more prudent in spiritual examination than their own rectors. Flee this, O monk, because the devil lies hidden in ambush, and those whom he cannot overcome by open assault he attempts to defeat by secret contrivance. For the more learned and perfect a monk has been, the more readily he should obey his prelate without discussion. But if a perfect monk, in matters lawful and honorable, contemns obedience to his abbot, though imperfect, he certainly loses the name of perfection. Therefore each person should take care to apply himself to the pursuit of progress in such a way that he presumes to violate obedience in nothing. For Scripture says: “Obedience is better than sacrifices, and to listen is better than to offer the fat of rams.” Whatever you have offered is another’s; but, says our God [unclear].

The sixth degree, therefore, is especially fitting for those who, living in every purity of mind and body, love the Lord above all things and do every good work they undertake for God’s honor alone, and do not depart from the commands of their prelates. Great is the power of obedience, which doubles the deed of a good work and increases the merit of the one who performs it, as though trees were filled with fruit for God. Let not the words of the Lord concerning obedience trouble you, my dearest brothers, because he preferred the freedom of the will to the subjection of monks, and set a good work done in freedom before the merit of obedience. For this is the monk who obeys from the necessity of his profession: yet that will is good which, for love of God, bound itself to obedience, and this necessity commends it in many ways.

For there is one necessity by which a good person is compelled to do something, where the will has not consented but is always reluctant. This necessity diminishes the praises due to virtue, because the good work was never in the will. And there is another necessity, arising from an inward inclination of the mind, which increases rather than diminishes the praise of a good work, because it kindles the will intent upon the work itself. And there is a third necessity, which does not compel without regard to the will. For if you wish to cross a deep river, the fitting necessity requires an instrument. But the necessity by which a monk is compelled to obey his shepherd is not one of punitive coercion, nor of blind inclination, but rather of the third kind, which is ordered to its end from a preceding will. It is therefore necessary for a monk, on account of that end, to do what the abbot commands, so that he may be able to hope for the vow that he made for love of God. And since that end is most praiseworthy, by which the creature subjects himself to his Creator in obedience out of love, necessity in the monk does not diminish the praise of the good work, but makes it greater. O blessed necessity of monks, which draws from the treasure of a good will and orders it to the end which is God, the unchangeable good. It is an increase of praise, an excellence of merit, and an abundance of reward, to do a good work from obedience, rather than if it stood without vow and profession, in the freedom of one’s own will. For the monk has once committed himself wholly, and all his will, to God, reserving nothing at all for himself. Whatever good he has done under obedience he brings back to the end of the religious life he assumed, for love of keeping it; and no work is compared with this after martyrdom. One who is continent without a vow from the act of Venus performs one virtue, which is called chastity; but one who observes the same thing by reason of a vow proceeds otherwise, because the individual virtues are referred and ordered to the perfection of the whole religious life that he professed. The whole monastic religion is more than one particular virtue. For one who offers a good work that he has done without obedience offers only that, while the rest remains to himself, because he is still in his own will, with greater freedom of acting. But the monk who does anything by the vow of obedience merits more highly on account of God, since he offers both the act [text breaks off].

Sermon VII. Folio LXXIII

...to God and the power of acting. No one has offered more to God than the monk who has given himself. But some who ascend this sixth degree have hidden within themselves a certain defect of pride, because, while they look back incautiously upon themselves, they do not entrust themselves in all things to the divine will as they ought. This defect takes its beginning from a certain very subtle vanity, when the mind, trusting in its own purity, asks that some secret be revealed to it by the Lord. And in this one respect those who ascend the sixth rung differ from the seventh: those who are devoted to God flee signs of vanity. For signs were given not to believers but to unbelievers; hence the monk who asks a sign from the Lord shows that he has not yet perfectly subjected himself to the divine will.

Those ascend the seventh degree who most zealously keep all the prescribed things, and, subject to God in all things, live without the stain of vanity. They flee every sin, both venial and mortal, as far as they can; they do works of virtue for the love of God alone; they obey their pastors in all things; they seek no miracles of vanity. Whatever almighty God has ordained concerning them, they receive gratefully; they withdraw in no respect from the observance of monastic purity. Yet in one respect they are inferior to those who follow, because perhaps they suffer some defect unknown to them, by whose impulse they sometimes commit something through their own sensuality.

Whoever has deserved to ascend the eighth degree concedes nothing further to sensuality. Here is the mind’s sweetest rest; here is the perfect tranquillity of the soul. In this degree nothing vicious is left of beauty; nothing is found here that can sadden the soul. Here all things are clean, all things pure, all things burning most sweetly with the fervor of charity. O if we might strive to ascend to this degree; O if we might someday deserve to reach this harbor of tranquillity. The more one who stands on this holy rung begins to taste the sweetness of inward delight, the more, hastening toward what lies ahead, he desires still more. O desires of holy love always to be proclaimed; O venerable exercises of perfection, where the clean conscience of one loving God shines without sins, where the wicked battles of vices have ceased, and great tranquillity has followed.

Those ascend the ninth degree who, already consummated in the eighth, keep all the prescribed things purely and simply for the love of God, and desire nothing other than to praise, bless, and glorify God. Whoever has ascended to this degree of perfection, as though forgetful of himself, resigns himself wholly to God and humbly submits. He reckons himself unworthy of all God’s benefits; he cares nothing at all for himself, because he has already learned to entrust himself wholly to God and humbly to be subject in all things to his ordering. Hence he neither seeks miracles nor asks for any consolations in this life, but with the holy apostle of Christ truly cries: “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” “The world is crucified to me, and I to the world.”

For the true monk, as a lover of Christ, has offered himself wholly to God out of charity, and has despised the world with all its riches, honors, and vanities. Hence the world is said to be crucified to him, in which there is nothing that seems able to pierce his mind. Happy are those monks who serve the Lord God with a pure conscience in true charity; who run without offense under the rule of humility and obedience; who ascend to this last degree of perfection. These are true monks, who seek nothing other than the honor of God.

Indeed, my brothers, although monks are not bound by necessity of salvation to be perfect, otherwise very few would be saved, yet we are all bound with good will to strive toward perfection, and with all the powers we can to long for this ninth degree. For it is very contrary to the monastic profession to be unwilling to make progress, and it is a kind of apostasy, after the vow of perfection, to wish to remain in imperfection. For the vices that attack us are enemies of our salvation, and until they either conquer or are conquered, they do not cease to pursue us. Let us imitate the history of the ancient battle, when the sons of promise destroyed their enemies not in one day but successively. For it is difficult to conquer all things at once, unless the charity of God suddenly overshadows the mind. Let us wage war in every way against all the vices that attack us. Today let us conquer gluttony; when it has been rightly laid low, let us overcome sloth; and so let us deal with the rest, that at last we may come out victors over all. The Lord will be present to us as we fight, and God will give victory to his lovers. Amen.

End of the second book of exhortations to monks by Johannes Trithemius, abbot, on the first day of September, 1486.

These two books were printed at Strasbourg by Johann Knoblouch, printer, at the expense of Johann Haselberger of Reichenau, diocese of Constance, in the year of the Lord 1516, on the twenty-fifth day of the month of August.

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