Homilies and A Prayer

A kind heart needs no instruction,
and is itself the source of all instruction.

Tenderness unlatches the door to gratitude.

Humility lays down its weapons, and lays itself down, in the field of peace.

Put on the spectacles of prayer, if you would read scripture clearly.

A man who worships a vengeful God will surely suffer vengeance in his turn,

just as a man who worships a loving God will find comfort in the presence of his Lord.

Only when the eyes of the body become clouded with tears,

do the eyes of the spirit perceive clearly the tenderness of God.

Scripture is interpreted by each man according to the quality of his understanding. A fool lacks discrimination, but the considerations of a wise man are careful and carry weight. It is well for him to reject some things while retaining others. Do not believe the fools who say you must accept everything or nothing. Must he who enjoys the flesh of the date swallow the pit as well? Must an orange be eaten along with its rind?

A proud mind clings to itself, interprets all things according to its own proclivities, and is biased in its own favor; but a humble mind is attentive to the thoughts of God.

Pride lays like scales upon the eyes. It is delusion. A proud man is as one lost in a dream, or caught under the spell of an evil sorcerer; everything he perceives is twisted out of proportion. Only the eyes of humility see things as they are, independent of the self.

We are lost, shipwrecked, broken, desolate, captive in a land of all evils. And the worst of it is that we believe we are home; that we are good; that all is well, and we will go to heaven; despite the fact that we spend our hours in bickering, brooding, apathy, and frivolity. We haven't the will to confront the reality of our condition, and to despair as we should, -- let alone the will to overcome such desperate circumstances. How shall we pray? We are not humble enough to lower our eyes, nor reverent enough to lift them. Depression would be more dignified, and only ecstasy would suit us, but we are weak, sickly, sinful, lukewarm creatures.

O Lord, may I persist in prayer, though I feel like a fraud on account of my insincerity and unworthiness. However often I may turn away from Thee, and squander Thy graces, which in the abundance of Thy charity Thou hast bestowed, yet suffer me to come again unto Thee, and receive me, as is Thy way, eternally and without condition. Purge me of my sins, I beseech Thee! Many as they are, yet are they as nothing compared with Thy great power to heal and make new. I beg Thee, with whatever humility I can muster, to take from me all lesser desires and fix in my heart an unwavering, unconquerable trust in Thee. Grant me the fortitude which is the hallmark of Thy blessed saints, who love Thee without ceasing.