3ed Sunday of Pascha - The Myrrhbrarers
Homily on the 3ed Sunday of PaschaAlso known as
The Sunday of the Myrrhbearers
Delivered in the year
A.D.1351
by
St Gregory Palamas
The resurrection of the Lord is the renewal of human nature. It is a new life and a new creation, and the return to the immortal life of the first Adam, who through sin swallowed death, and through death returned to the earth from which he was made.
Just as in the beginning, there was no one else to see Adam being made and receiving life, and later the first person to see him was a woman, likewise when the second Adam, who is the Lord, was rising from the dead, no man saw Him. For no one of His own was present, and the soldiers who guarded the tomb "had become as dead." But after the resurrection, the first person who saw Him was a woman, as we heard in Mark's gospel reading: "Now when Jesus was risen in the morning of the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene." (Mark 16:9)
Clearly, it would appear therefore that the Evangelist stated both the time of Christ's resurrection, that is, the morning, and that He appeared first to Mary Magdalene and at precisely the time of His arising. But that is not what it really says, as will be evident when we study the matter a little more closely, because the Evangelist previously said, in agreement with the other Evangelists, that this woman named Mary came to the tomb earlier, "very early in the morning" (v 16:2), with the other myrrhbearing women. And when they found the tomb empty they departed.
Therefore, the Lord had risen much earlier in the morning before she saw Him. In noting the hour, Mark did not simply say "morning," but "very early in the morning," that is to say, when the dim light across the horizon precedes the rising of the sun. And John refers to this when he says that, in the morning while "it was still dark," Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been removed from it. (John 20:1)
According to John, she did not come to the tomb at that time only, for she also left the tomb without seeing Him. So she runs to Peter and John and announces not that the Lord is risen, but that He has been taken from the tomb. Therefore, she did not yet know about the resurrection. So the Lord appeared to Mary [Magdalene] not merely in the morning, but in the full light of day.
Now, there is something mentioned by the Evangelists in a very shadowy way and I will reveal it to you. Indeed the good news of the Lord's resurrection, as is proper and fitting, was received from Him first by the Theotokos, prior to all other men. Also prior to all others, she saw Him and delighted in His divine speaking. And she not only saw Him with her own eyes and heard Him with her own ears, but she alone first touched His sacred feet with her own hands.
However, the Evangelists do not say these things openly, because they did not wish to present the testimony of His Mother so they would not be giving unbelievers an excuse for suspicion. But now, through the grace of Him who is risen, we can explain it to the faithful. And the meaning of this feast urgently requires that we clarify some things about the Myrrhbearers, for the reason given by Him Who said, "For nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest." (Luke 8:17)
So, the Myrrhbearers are the women who, with His Mother, followed the Lord, and remained with her during the time of the saving passion, and sought to anoint the body of the Lord. When a great stone was placed upon the entrance to the tomb, according to the Evangelist Mark, sitting and watching from across the way were Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary." By saying "the other Mary," he was most certainly alluding to the Mother of God because she was called "the mother of James and Joses," who were sons of Joseph the Betrothed. But they were not the only women who were watching the burial of the Lord, for there were others also, as Luke records, "And the women also, who came with Him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the tomb and the placing of the body in it...It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women." (Luke 23:55; 24:10)
They returned, as it says, and bought perfumes and ointments, because they did not fully understand that He is the very Fragrance of Life to those who come unto Him in faith, just as the smell of death, on the other hand, envelops those who remain in unbelief unto the end. And the fragrance of His garments, in other words, His own body, is superior to all perfumes. And His name means "myrrh poured forth," [see note below] through which the whole universe has been filled with divine fragrance. But they prepared the perfumes and ointments on the one hand, in order to honor the deceased, and, on the other hand, as a relief from the stench of a corpse when it is decomposing.
Although they prepared the ointments and perfumes, they rested on Saturday according to the commandment because they had not yet comprehended the true Sabbaths or correctly perceived that very day to be the super-blessed Sabbath that transfers their nature from the depths of Hades to the all-illuminated and divine and heavenly heights.
"Upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning," says Luke, "they came unto the tomb, bringing the perfumes which they had prepared." (24:1) And Matthew says, "At the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week," two women came. (28:1) And John says one woman, Mary Magdalene, "came early, when it was yet dark." (20:1) But Mark says three women came "very early in the morning of the first day of the week." (16:2)
It appears, of course, that the Evangelists disagree among them- selves regarding the hour as well as the number of women because, as I said, there were many Myrrhbearing women. And they came in groups to the tomb, not only once but two and three times, and not always the same ones, and all came during the morning but not exactly the same time.
Mary Magdalene, for example, returned again alone and stayed longer. So each Evangelist mentions one visit of a few and omits the others. I surmise and gather from all the Evangelists, therefore, that the Theotokos was the first person to come to the tomb of the Son of God, accompanied by Mary Magdalene. I conclude this mainly from the Evangelist Matthew, because he says, "...Mary Magdalene came and the other Mary" (28:1). who was most certainly the Mother of God, to see the tomb. "And behold there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and rolled back the stone from the entrance, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightening, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him, the keepers trembled and became as dead." (v.2-8)
All the other women, therefore, came after the earthquake and after the guards fled, and found the tomb open and the stone moved away. But the Mother of God arrived at the moment the earthquake was happening, the stone was being moved and the tomb was opened. The guards, although very shaken, were still present, and after the quake they rose up seeking to flee. But the Mother of God rejoiced beholding this scene. It seems to me that the life-bearing tomb was opened first of all for her, because through her all things were opened to us, all that is above in heaven and below on earth; and for her the angel so shone that, despite the darkness of the hour, she was able to see by the fullness of the angel's light not only the empty tomb but also the grave clothes neatly put aside and testifying to the resurrection of Him Who had been entombed.
Obviously, the evangelizing angel was Gabriel himself, because the moment he saw her rushing to the tomb, he, who in the beginning had said to her, "Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God" (Luke 1:30), hastens now and descends to tell the Ever-virgin the same thing again and to announce the resurrection from the dead of Him Who without seed was born from her, and to lift the stone and display the empty tomb and the grave clothes in order to confirm the good news.
The angel replied to the women, "Fear not. You seek Jesus Who was crucified? He is risen; behold the place where the Lord lay." He says, "Although you behold the guards shaking with fear, you must not fear. I know you seek Jesus Who was crucified. He is risen, He is not here. Because He is not only uncontainable by Hades and death and the locks and bars and seals of the tomb, He is also the Lord of our immortal and heavenly angels, and He alone is the Lord of the universe. Behold," he says, "where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead."
And they departed "with fear and great joy." Again, I believe that Mary Magdalene and the other women who were with her up to this point still had fear, because they did not comprehend the significance of the angel's words. Nor were they able to fully perceive the light in order to see and understand correctly. But the Mother of God, on the other hand, who was altogether pure and filled with grace, received great joy because she fully understood the angel's words and was wholly taken into the light. Because of these things she was able to know the truth and to trust in the archangel, and because many years earlier he appeared to her and by his words proved himself trustworthy.
Besides, since the godly wise Virgin was present at all these occurrences, would she not have understood what was happening? That is to say, she saw the earthquake, she saw an angel, and a great one at that, descending from heaven like a bolt of lightening; she saw the guards becoming "dead;" and she saw the moving of the stone, the emptiness of the tomb, and the miracle of the grave clothes [see note below] that were not unwound but remained intact, held together by the myrrh and aloe, and looking like the hollow shape of the body. Moreover, she received the joyous sight and announcement of the angel. After this announcement and their own departure, it was as if Mary Magdalene had not heard the angel at all, for she attested only to the empty tomb and made no mention of the grave clothes and ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, as John says.
Joseph of Arimathaea removed Christ's body from the Cross and "Nicodemus came with a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about one- hundred pounds...They wound the body in othonia [soaked] with the spices..." (John 19:39-40) It is known that, after several hours, this mixture becomes fairly hard, as would the cloth strips, of course. In addition, the hardening mixture would cement the strips together and to the body. So by the third day, the winding cloths and the one hundred pounds of the mixture would form a rather solid shell that not only conformed to the body of the Lord, but was cemented to it as well.
When St Peter and St John entered the empty tomb they found the "othonia" completely intact, as St Gregory Palamas, St John Chrysostom, and other Fathers tell us. The cloth strips were not unwound or disturbed in any way. Indeed, the risen Saviour's glorified Body had passed through this cloth shell, just as, in His birth, He passed through the birth canal of His Mother, and as He passed out of the closed tomb before the stone was moved, and as He passed through the locked door where the disciples were hiding - in each instance - without disturbing the "seals." The face cloth or sudarium was also found neatly folded and put aside.
The Mother of God, however, was returning again accompanied by other women, and behold, "Jesus met them, saying, Hail." (Matthew 28:9) Do you see that the Mother of God saw Him even before Mary Magdalene did? "And they approached and grasped His feet and worshipped Him." (28:9) When the Theotokos, with Mary Magdalene, had heard the good news of the resurrection from the angel, she alone understood the meaning of the words.
Likewise, with the other women, when she met her Son and God, she was the first to see and recognize the Risen One, and fell down and grasped His feet and became His apostle to the Apostles. The fact that Mary Magdalene was not with the Mother of God when the Lord appeared and spoke to her is taught by John, because he says of her. "Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord from the tomb, and we know not where they have laid Him." (20:2)
If she had seen Him and touched Him with her hands and heard Him speak, could she say that "they have taken Him away and we know not where?" However, after Peter and John visited the tomb and saw the grave clothes, and departed, "Mary stood before the tomb weeping." (20:11) Do you see that not only had she not yet seen Him, rather she had not even heard anything about Him. And when the angels appeared in the tomb and asked her, "Woman, why weepest thou" (20:13), she spoke again as if about a dead man. And as she turned and saw Jesus, even then she did not comprehend.
And when He asked her why she was weeping, she replies in the same way until He addresses her by her name and shows Himself to be alive. So then she too fell down wishing to kiss His feet but heard, "Touch Me not." We learn from this that when He previously appeared to His Mother and the women who were with her, He permitted her alone to touch His feet, even though Matthew presents this act as something all the women did, not wishing, as we said, to bring the Lord's Mother into question.
Since the Ever-virgin Mary was first to receive the message regarding the resurrection, many women then returned with her, and they saw the stone that was moved away and they heard the angels. With that sound and sight they left and went their separate ways. Some of them, Mark says, "fled from the tomb, for trembling and fear had seized them. Neither said they any- thing to any man for they were afraid." (16:8) Others followed the Mother of the Lord and they were able to see and hear the Master.
Mary Magdalene, on the other hand, went to Peter and John and returned with them to the tomb where she remained alone after they departed, and was blessed to see the Master. And she too is sent to the Apostles, and she comes to announce to all of them, as John says, "that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things unto her." (20:18) Mark says that this took place in the morning, that is, in full daylight, certainly after dawn, but not that this is the time that the resurrection took place or His first appearance.
Now we have ascertained all the events with regard to the Myrrh- bearers, and we have reconciled the four Evangelists. But the disciples did not believe, even though on the very day of the resurrection they learned from the Myrrhbearers and Peter, and from Luke and Cleopas that the Lord was alive and had been seen by them. That is why they were disturbed by Him when He appeared later where they were gathered. But later, when He showed them many times in many ways that He was alive, they not only believed, but proclaimed it everywhere.
"Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world" (Ps.18:4) and "the Lord [is] working with them and confirming the word with signs" (Mark 16:20), because the miracles were absolutely necessary until such time as the word would be preached throughout the world. For it is needful to have signs and great wonders in representation and confirmation of the truth of the preaching.
For signs are needed, though not great ones, for contemplation by those who have received the word, if they have believed, of course. And which signs? Those that come from works.
It is said, "Show me thy faith by thy works," and "Let him who has faith show his works by his manner of living." Can you believe that someone truly has a divine mind, a great and lofty mind -- one might even say heavenly, which is what goodness is -- if that person is given over to foul deeds and is attached to the earth and earthly things?
Let us present a manner of living that is appropriate to faith, that we may enter into the bridal chamber of incorruptible joy and live there eternally with the saints, in the abode of all who rejoice. Amen.
Just as in the beginning, there was no one else to see Adam being made and receiving life, and later the first person to see him was a woman, likewise when the second Adam, who is the Lord, was rising from the dead, no man saw Him. For no one of His own was present, and the soldiers who guarded the tomb "had become as dead." But after the resurrection, the first person who saw Him was a woman, as we heard in Mark's gospel reading: "Now when Jesus was risen in the morning of the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene." (Mark 16:9)
Clearly, it would appear therefore that the Evangelist stated both the time of Christ's resurrection, that is, the morning, and that He appeared first to Mary Magdalene and at precisely the time of His arising. But that is not what it really says, as will be evident when we study the matter a little more closely, because the Evangelist previously said, in agreement with the other Evangelists, that this woman named Mary came to the tomb earlier, "very early in the morning" (v 16:2), with the other myrrhbearing women. And when they found the tomb empty they departed.
Therefore, the Lord had risen much earlier in the morning before she saw Him. In noting the hour, Mark did not simply say "morning," but "very early in the morning," that is to say, when the dim light across the horizon precedes the rising of the sun. And John refers to this when he says that, in the morning while "it was still dark," Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been removed from it. (John 20:1)
According to John, she did not come to the tomb at that time only, for she also left the tomb without seeing Him. So she runs to Peter and John and announces not that the Lord is risen, but that He has been taken from the tomb. Therefore, she did not yet know about the resurrection. So the Lord appeared to Mary [Magdalene] not merely in the morning, but in the full light of day.
Now, there is something mentioned by the Evangelists in a very shadowy way and I will reveal it to you. Indeed the good news of the Lord's resurrection, as is proper and fitting, was received from Him first by the Theotokos, prior to all other men. Also prior to all others, she saw Him and delighted in His divine speaking. And she not only saw Him with her own eyes and heard Him with her own ears, but she alone first touched His sacred feet with her own hands.
However, the Evangelists do not say these things openly, because they did not wish to present the testimony of His Mother so they would not be giving unbelievers an excuse for suspicion. But now, through the grace of Him who is risen, we can explain it to the faithful. And the meaning of this feast urgently requires that we clarify some things about the Myrrhbearers, for the reason given by Him Who said, "For nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest." (Luke 8:17)
So, the Myrrhbearers are the women who, with His Mother, followed the Lord, and remained with her during the time of the saving passion, and sought to anoint the body of the Lord. When a great stone was placed upon the entrance to the tomb, according to the Evangelist Mark, sitting and watching from across the way were Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary." By saying "the other Mary," he was most certainly alluding to the Mother of God because she was called "the mother of James and Joses," who were sons of Joseph the Betrothed. But they were not the only women who were watching the burial of the Lord, for there were others also, as Luke records, "And the women also, who came with Him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the tomb and the placing of the body in it...It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women." (Luke 23:55; 24:10)
They returned, as it says, and bought perfumes and ointments, because they did not fully understand that He is the very Fragrance of Life to those who come unto Him in faith, just as the smell of death, on the other hand, envelops those who remain in unbelief unto the end. And the fragrance of His garments, in other words, His own body, is superior to all perfumes. And His name means "myrrh poured forth," [see note below] through which the whole universe has been filled with divine fragrance. But they prepared the perfumes and ointments on the one hand, in order to honor the deceased, and, on the other hand, as a relief from the stench of a corpse when it is decomposing.
Although they prepared the ointments and perfumes, they rested on Saturday according to the commandment because they had not yet comprehended the true Sabbaths or correctly perceived that very day to be the super-blessed Sabbath that transfers their nature from the depths of Hades to the all-illuminated and divine and heavenly heights.
"Upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning," says Luke, "they came unto the tomb, bringing the perfumes which they had prepared." (24:1) And Matthew says, "At the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week," two women came. (28:1) And John says one woman, Mary Magdalene, "came early, when it was yet dark." (20:1) But Mark says three women came "very early in the morning of the first day of the week." (16:2)
It appears, of course, that the Evangelists disagree among them- selves regarding the hour as well as the number of women because, as I said, there were many Myrrhbearing women. And they came in groups to the tomb, not only once but two and three times, and not always the same ones, and all came during the morning but not exactly the same time.
Mary Magdalene, for example, returned again alone and stayed longer. So each Evangelist mentions one visit of a few and omits the others. I surmise and gather from all the Evangelists, therefore, that the Theotokos was the first person to come to the tomb of the Son of God, accompanied by Mary Magdalene. I conclude this mainly from the Evangelist Matthew, because he says, "...Mary Magdalene came and the other Mary" (28:1). who was most certainly the Mother of God, to see the tomb. "And behold there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and rolled back the stone from the entrance, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightening, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him, the keepers trembled and became as dead." (v.2-8)
All the other women, therefore, came after the earthquake and after the guards fled, and found the tomb open and the stone moved away. But the Mother of God arrived at the moment the earthquake was happening, the stone was being moved and the tomb was opened. The guards, although very shaken, were still present, and after the quake they rose up seeking to flee. But the Mother of God rejoiced beholding this scene. It seems to me that the life-bearing tomb was opened first of all for her, because through her all things were opened to us, all that is above in heaven and below on earth; and for her the angel so shone that, despite the darkness of the hour, she was able to see by the fullness of the angel's light not only the empty tomb but also the grave clothes neatly put aside and testifying to the resurrection of Him Who had been entombed.
Obviously, the evangelizing angel was Gabriel himself, because the moment he saw her rushing to the tomb, he, who in the beginning had said to her, "Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God" (Luke 1:30), hastens now and descends to tell the Ever-virgin the same thing again and to announce the resurrection from the dead of Him Who without seed was born from her, and to lift the stone and display the empty tomb and the grave clothes in order to confirm the good news.
The angel replied to the women, "Fear not. You seek Jesus Who was crucified? He is risen; behold the place where the Lord lay." He says, "Although you behold the guards shaking with fear, you must not fear. I know you seek Jesus Who was crucified. He is risen, He is not here. Because He is not only uncontainable by Hades and death and the locks and bars and seals of the tomb, He is also the Lord of our immortal and heavenly angels, and He alone is the Lord of the universe. Behold," he says, "where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead."
And they departed "with fear and great joy." Again, I believe that Mary Magdalene and the other women who were with her up to this point still had fear, because they did not comprehend the significance of the angel's words. Nor were they able to fully perceive the light in order to see and understand correctly. But the Mother of God, on the other hand, who was altogether pure and filled with grace, received great joy because she fully understood the angel's words and was wholly taken into the light. Because of these things she was able to know the truth and to trust in the archangel, and because many years earlier he appeared to her and by his words proved himself trustworthy.
Besides, since the godly wise Virgin was present at all these occurrences, would she not have understood what was happening? That is to say, she saw the earthquake, she saw an angel, and a great one at that, descending from heaven like a bolt of lightening; she saw the guards becoming "dead;" and she saw the moving of the stone, the emptiness of the tomb, and the miracle of the grave clothes [see note below] that were not unwound but remained intact, held together by the myrrh and aloe, and looking like the hollow shape of the body. Moreover, she received the joyous sight and announcement of the angel. After this announcement and their own departure, it was as if Mary Magdalene had not heard the angel at all, for she attested only to the empty tomb and made no mention of the grave clothes and ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, as John says.
Joseph of Arimathaea removed Christ's body from the Cross and "Nicodemus came with a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about one- hundred pounds...They wound the body in othonia [soaked] with the spices..." (John 19:39-40) It is known that, after several hours, this mixture becomes fairly hard, as would the cloth strips, of course. In addition, the hardening mixture would cement the strips together and to the body. So by the third day, the winding cloths and the one hundred pounds of the mixture would form a rather solid shell that not only conformed to the body of the Lord, but was cemented to it as well.
When St Peter and St John entered the empty tomb they found the "othonia" completely intact, as St Gregory Palamas, St John Chrysostom, and other Fathers tell us. The cloth strips were not unwound or disturbed in any way. Indeed, the risen Saviour's glorified Body had passed through this cloth shell, just as, in His birth, He passed through the birth canal of His Mother, and as He passed out of the closed tomb before the stone was moved, and as He passed through the locked door where the disciples were hiding - in each instance - without disturbing the "seals." The face cloth or sudarium was also found neatly folded and put aside.
The Mother of God, however, was returning again accompanied by other women, and behold, "Jesus met them, saying, Hail." (Matthew 28:9) Do you see that the Mother of God saw Him even before Mary Magdalene did? "And they approached and grasped His feet and worshipped Him." (28:9) When the Theotokos, with Mary Magdalene, had heard the good news of the resurrection from the angel, she alone understood the meaning of the words.
Likewise, with the other women, when she met her Son and God, she was the first to see and recognize the Risen One, and fell down and grasped His feet and became His apostle to the Apostles. The fact that Mary Magdalene was not with the Mother of God when the Lord appeared and spoke to her is taught by John, because he says of her. "Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord from the tomb, and we know not where they have laid Him." (20:2)
If she had seen Him and touched Him with her hands and heard Him speak, could she say that "they have taken Him away and we know not where?" However, after Peter and John visited the tomb and saw the grave clothes, and departed, "Mary stood before the tomb weeping." (20:11) Do you see that not only had she not yet seen Him, rather she had not even heard anything about Him. And when the angels appeared in the tomb and asked her, "Woman, why weepest thou" (20:13), she spoke again as if about a dead man. And as she turned and saw Jesus, even then she did not comprehend.
And when He asked her why she was weeping, she replies in the same way until He addresses her by her name and shows Himself to be alive. So then she too fell down wishing to kiss His feet but heard, "Touch Me not." We learn from this that when He previously appeared to His Mother and the women who were with her, He permitted her alone to touch His feet, even though Matthew presents this act as something all the women did, not wishing, as we said, to bring the Lord's Mother into question.
Since the Ever-virgin Mary was first to receive the message regarding the resurrection, many women then returned with her, and they saw the stone that was moved away and they heard the angels. With that sound and sight they left and went their separate ways. Some of them, Mark says, "fled from the tomb, for trembling and fear had seized them. Neither said they any- thing to any man for they were afraid." (16:8) Others followed the Mother of the Lord and they were able to see and hear the Master.
Mary Magdalene, on the other hand, went to Peter and John and returned with them to the tomb where she remained alone after they departed, and was blessed to see the Master. And she too is sent to the Apostles, and she comes to announce to all of them, as John says, "that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things unto her." (20:18) Mark says that this took place in the morning, that is, in full daylight, certainly after dawn, but not that this is the time that the resurrection took place or His first appearance.
Now we have ascertained all the events with regard to the Myrrh- bearers, and we have reconciled the four Evangelists. But the disciples did not believe, even though on the very day of the resurrection they learned from the Myrrhbearers and Peter, and from Luke and Cleopas that the Lord was alive and had been seen by them. That is why they were disturbed by Him when He appeared later where they were gathered. But later, when He showed them many times in many ways that He was alive, they not only believed, but proclaimed it everywhere.
"Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world" (Ps.18:4) and "the Lord [is] working with them and confirming the word with signs" (Mark 16:20), because the miracles were absolutely necessary until such time as the word would be preached throughout the world. For it is needful to have signs and great wonders in representation and confirmation of the truth of the preaching.
For signs are needed, though not great ones, for contemplation by those who have received the word, if they have believed, of course. And which signs? Those that come from works.
It is said, "Show me thy faith by thy works," and "Let him who has faith show his works by his manner of living." Can you believe that someone truly has a divine mind, a great and lofty mind -- one might even say heavenly, which is what goodness is -- if that person is given over to foul deeds and is attached to the earth and earthly things?
Let us present a manner of living that is appropriate to faith, that we may enter into the bridal chamber of incorruptible joy and live there eternally with the saints, in the abode of all who rejoice. Amen.
posted by Father Lawrence | 7:12 AM
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