Leaves from St. John Chrysostom

by Saint John Chrysostom

This Body He gave to us to take and eat, which was an act of exceeding love.[24] For it often happens that we bite those whom we love. Thus, when Job pointed out the affection of his household for himself, he quoted those who loved him specially as often saying, Who will give us to be filled with his flesh? So it is that Christ has given us to be filled with His Flesh, drawing us to greater love. Let us, therefore, approach Him with fervour and burning love, that we may not encounter the harder chastisement. For the more we are benefitted, the greater will be our punishment whenever we show ourselves unworthy of His generosity. This Body, even lying in the manger, the Magi reverenced: untutored and uncivilised men, leaving their country and their home, undertook a long journey, they came and adored, full of awe and fear. Let us, citizens of heaven, emulate even uncivilised men, if necessary. They, seeing Him in a manger, and in a hut, and not seeing Him as you see Him, approached Him with deep reverence: you see Him not in the crib, but on the altar: you see Him not held by a woman, but the priest standing there, and the Spirit hovering with abundant blessings over what is lying there. Nor do you merely see this Body as they did: you know His power and all the economy of His providence, nor are you ignorant of anything accomplished through Him, initiated as you are into all His mysteries. Let us therefore rouse ourselves, and tremble, and show forth so much the greater reverence than those men from afar, in order that we may not approach Him heedlessly or casually, and so heap coals of fire upon our heads. This I say, not that we may not approach Him, but that we may not approach Him carelessly. For just as going to Him in a chance way is a danger, so the non-participation in that mystical Banquet is hunger and death. This Feast is the sinew of our soul, the bond of intellect, the basis of fortitude; it is hope, salvation, light, life. With this sacrifice, at our departure from this world to the next, we shall pass through those sacred portals in great fearlessness, as if encompassed with an armour of gold. And why do I speak of the future? Even here this mystery makes the earth a heaven for you. At least unfold the gates of heaven and look through them, or rather not only the gates of heaven, but of the heaven of heavens, and then you will see what I say. For that which is the most precious of all things there, is what I will show you lying on earth. Just as in royal palaces it is not the walls which strike men with the most awe, nor the golden ceilings, but the person of the king sitting on his throne, so in heaven is it the King’s Body. Yet this is what you may now see on earth. I am showing you not angels, nor archangels, nor the heavens, nor the heaven of heavens, but the Lord of all these Himself. Do you understand how it is that you see the most precious thing of all upon earth? And not only do you see it, but you also touch it? And not only touch it, but you eat it, and, receiving it, you take it away with you? Cleanse, therefore, your soul; prepare your mind for the reception of these mysteries. If, now, you were judged worthy to carry a royal child in state, with his kingly robes and his diadem, you would give up everything on earth for it. And, here, receiving not a royal child of man, but the very only begotten Son of God, tell me, do you not tremble, and renounce the love of all earthly things, and adorn yourself only for that world to come, or have you still your eyes fixed on the earth, do you still love money, and anxiously crave for gold? What pardon could you look for, or what excuse would you have? Know you not how Our Lord turns His back upon all worldly luxury? Was not this His reason for being born and laid in a manger, and for choosing a mother who was poor? Was it not for this that He said to the man who looked to worldly traffic: The Son of man has not whereon to lay His head? And what of His disciples? Did not they carry out the same law, lodging at the houses of the poor, one going to a tanner’s, another to a tent-maker’s, another to the woman selling purple? They did not seek for illustrious houses, but for upright minds. Let us then emulate their example; looking beyond the beauty of pillars and marbles, seeking only for the mansions above, let us trample under foot all vanities here below, together with the lust for money, and take up a lofty mind. For if we be sober and watchful, the world itself will not be worthy of us, much less the Stoic portico or the Peripatetic walk. Therefore, I repeat, let us adorn our souls, let us prepare this dwelling-place, which we shall take with us when we depart, so that we may possess the eternal tents through the grace and love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Remembrance of the Dead.
(Homilies on Epistle to the Philippians, iv., vol. v., p. 36.)

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Let us, then, not simply grieve for the dead, nor simply rejoice in the living. Then what shall we do? Let us grieve for sinners not when dead alone, but when living also; and let us be glad over the just not in their lifetime only, but when they have departed hence. Sinners even living are dead, whilst the just, who are dead, live: sinners are an object of pity to all men even here because they have quarrelled with God, so are the just blessed in that place, since they have gone to Christ. Sinners, wherever they are, are far from the King, and therefore deserve tears, but the just, whether here or there, are with the King; there they are more with Him and nearer to Him, not by their going in, nor by faith, but face to face. Let us, then, not weep simply for the dead but for those in sin: these call for tears, for lamentation and weeping. For, tell me, what hope is there of those who depart in sins to that place where sins are not put off? As long as they were here, the probability was great that they might be converted and become better. But if they go to the other world, there is nothing to be gained from contrition. In hell, he says, who shall give praise to Thee? Let us weep for those who thus depart. I do not forbid it, only not in an unseemly fashion, not plucking out our hair, nor baring our arms, nor tearing our face, nor wearing black, but only in shedding a bitter tear according to the spirit in secret. Without these accompaniments we may weep bitterly, and not be contented with a show, for what some people have done differs in nothing from a show. For instance, those who beat themselves at the market-place do it not from sympathy, but for display and for self-seeking and vainglory, and many women so treat themselves as a business speculation. Weep bitterly, groan at home when no one is looking: this is sympathy, and this will be helpful to you also. For, in grieving for another, you will be all the more zealous never to fall in the same way, and you will tremble at sin ever afterwards. Weep for unbelievers, for those who are not different from unbelievers, who depart hence without baptism, without being signed with the seal: these should have tears and wailings, they are outside the royal palace with those awaiting judgment and with the condemned. Amen, I say to you, unless a man be born of water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Weep for those who have died in riches, and have devised no comfort for their own souls out of their wealth, who have received power to wash away their sins, and have not willed to do it. Weep all of you for these both in secret and in public, but with decorum and reverence, not making a show of yourselves. Let us shed tears over these not for one day, nor two, but during our whole life. This is no foolish weeping, but the weeping of affection; the other is senseless, and therefore it soon spends itself. Grief which is born of the fear of God endures for ever. Let us weep for these and help them as much as we can. Let us devise some succour for them; it may be a slight thing, but let us somehow do it. How and in what manner? By praying and inviting others to pray for them, by constantly giving alms to the poor for them. This deed has its consolation. Listen to God’s words: I will protect this city for Myself and for David, My servant. If the mere remembrance of a just man could do so much, what will works done for him not be able to accomplish? Not in vain was it ordained by the Apostles that the dead should be commemorated at the tremendous mysteries: they knew what a great gain and benefit it would be to the dead. For when a whole people stands with uplifted hands in full and sacred assembly, and the awful sacrifice is lying before us, how shall we not reach God in our prayer for them? But this applies to those who have died in the faith. With regard to catechumens they are not deemed worthy of this consolation; they lack all such succour, save in one particular. What is this? We may give alms for them to the poor, and the action brings them a certain refreshment, because God wills us to be of use to each other. For why did He command us to pray for the peace and well-being of the world, or, again, for all men? Although there are thieves, and tomb-despoilers, and plunderers, and men full of every sort of evil amongst the whole number, yet we still pray for them all. Perhaps there may be a conversion of some. Now, as we pray for the living who do not differ from the dead, so we may pray for the departed. Job offered sacrifices for his children, and freed them from their sins. Lest perhaps, he said, they have sinned in their hearts. Thus is a man provident for his children. He did not say, as the multitude of men do say, ‘I will leave them possessions,’ nor a fine name, nor, ‘I will buy an office,’ nor fields, but what, Lest perhaps they have sinned in their hearts. For what is the profit of those things? None, of things that remain here below. I will make, he says, the King of all propitious to them: and then nothing is wanting to them. The Lord is my Shepherd, and I shall lack for nothing. Here are great riches, here are treasures. If we have the fear of God we want nothing, but without it, even if we have a kingdom, we are the poorest of men. A God-fearing man has no equal. The fear of the Lord exceeds all things. This let us possess, and let us do all things unto this end: even if we have to give up our life, or our body to be cut in pieces, let us not fear: let us do all our actions in order to gain this fear. Thus shall we become richer than all, and arrive at the goods to come in Christ Jesus Our Lord, to Whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be honour, power, and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

The Departed at the Sacred Mysteries.
(Homilies on First Epistle to Corinthians, xli., vol. ii., p. 524.)

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Since, then, we are to enjoy goods so great, let us join ourselves to that company which is as bright as the sun, and let us not weep for those who depart hence, but for those who make a bad end. For, as the husbandman does not grieve over his seed dissolved, but is in fear and anxiety as long as it remains solid, so he rejoices when he sees that it is dissolved. For dissolution is the beginning of the future generating. So let us also rejoice when the corruptible habitation perishes, and man is generated. And wonder not if Paul called the burying a generating, for this is the better generating of the two. Death, labours, dangers, cares, succeed the one; whilst for the other, if we have lived righteously, we receive crowns and rewards: corruption and death succeed the one; incorruption, immortality, and a thousand goods succeed the other. In the one generating there is embracing, pleasure, sleep; in the other there is only the voice coming down from heaven, and all things accomplished in the twinkling of an eye. And he who rises is no more driven to a laborious life, but he will be where pain and sorrow and lamentation have fled away. If, however, you are seeking for a protector, and weep over the man on this account, fly for refuge to God, the common Protector, and Saviour, and Benefactor of all: to the almighty Friend, to the never-failing Succour, to the lasting Shelter, Who is everywhere and always holding us up. ‘But,’ you say, ‘the intercourse was pleasant and fascinating.’ I know it was. Still, if you meet your suffering with your reason, and consider in yourself who it is that has taken him, and that if you bear it bravely, you offer up your wish as a sacrifice to God, you will be borne aloft even over this wave, and Christian principle will effect what the action of time does; but if you are pusillanimous, time will weaken your passion without bringing you a reward. Together with these recollections, ponder on the examples offered both in this present life and in Holy Scripture. Consider how Abraham slaughtered his own son, neither shedding tears nor uttering a bitter word. ‘But he was Abraham,’ you say. Yet you are called to greater conflicts. Job, indeed, showed sorrow as a loving father would who mourns over those departing from him. Now we show the grief of foes and enemies. For if a man were summoned to a palace and crowned, and you were to beat your breast and be in sorrow at it, I should say you were not a friend to the man crowned, but a determined adversary and hater. ‘I am not weeping for him,’ you say, ‘but for myself.’ Neither is this the part of a lover—the wishing him to be still in conflict on your account, to be left in uncertainty as to the future, instead of being crowned, or to be tossing on the sea when he might be resting in harbour. ‘But,’ you say, ‘I know not where he has gone.’ How is it that you do not know? This will be evident from the fact of his having lived righteously or the reverse. ‘And as he departed in sin, this is the very reason why I am tormented.’ What you say is a mere pretext. If this is why you mourn over a dead man, you should have taken pains with the living one and set him right. You are throughout thinking of your own interests, not of his. If, indeed, he departed hence in sin, you should rejoice that his sins were stopped and that he did not continue in evil, and you should help him by those means which are in your power: not by tears, but by prayers, and supplications, and alms-giving, and offerings. It is not by chance that these things have been ordered, nor is it due to haphazard that we commemorate the dead at the sacred mysteries, and that we succour them by supplication to the Lamb, Who is lying there, Who takes away the sins of the world, but that they may derive hence some consolation. Nor is it without reason that he who is standing by the altar, as the sacred mysteries are performed, utters this cry: for all those who have fallen asleep in Christ, and for those who make commemoration in their behalf. For if commemoration were not made for them, this would not be said. Our mysteries are no theatrical display. God forbid! These things take place by the disposition of the Spirit. Therefore, let us help them, and make commemoration in their behalf. For if Job’s sacrifice purified his children, why do you doubt that the departed receive comfort when we too offer sacrifice for them? God is wont to give graces to some on behalf of others. And this Paul also showed, saying that for this gift obtained for us, by the means of many persons, thanks may be given by many in our behalf. Let us not weary of helping the departed, both by offering sacrifice and claiming intercession for them. For the sacrifice which saves the whole world is before us. Therefore we pray confidently at it for what concerns the world, and we name them with martyrs, and confessors, and pontiffs. For we are all one body, even if certain members be more resplendent than others; and everywhere we may be gaining forgiveness for them, by prayers, by offerings made for them, by those who are named with them. Why, then, do you grieve and weep, when you are able to apply so great a forgiveness to him who has departed? Is it because you have become lonely, and have lost your protector? But you ought never to say this, because you have not lost God. As long as you possess Him, He will be more to you than any man, be he father, child, or near relation; for even when these were living, it was He in reality Who did everything.

The Tombs of the Martyrs.
(Homily on the Martyrs, Benedictine Edition, t. ii., p. 667.)

The feasts of the martyrs are not according to the course of days only, but they are reckoned also by the disposition of those who celebrate them. For instance, have you imitated a martyr, have you emulated his goodness, have you pressed on in the footsteps of his ascetic life? Then, though it is not a martyr’s day, you have celebrated a martyr’s feast. For to honour a martyr is to imitate him. Just as evil-doers are feastless in the midst of feasts, so the righteous, even if there be no solemnity, have carried out one. The feast is characterised by purity of conscience. This Paul expressed clearly: Therefore, let us keep the feast not in the old leaven of evil and wickedness, but in the unleavened bread of purity and truth. There is, then, unleavened bread amongst the Jews, and so there is amongst us; but with them it consists of wheaten flour, with us in a pure life and in remaining spotless. Thus, he who wards off every stain keeps a feast every day, is ever celebrating a solemnity not only on the feast of the martyr or at his shrine, but also sitting at home. Every man can keep the martyr’s feast by himself. In saying this I do not mean that we should not go to the tombs of the martyrs. I mean that, being there, we should frequent these places with befitting devotion, not only on their days, but that we should show the same piety out of their days. Who would not revere this gathering of ours to-day, this splendid sight, the fervent charity and glowing spirit, the boundless love, which are here manifested? Nearly all the city has been eager to come; fear of his master has not withheld the servant; no straits of poverty, no feebleness of age, have kept the poor or the old away; no tenderness of sex in women, no extreme of luxury has hindered the rich, no folly of power the ruler. But a longing for the martyrs vanquishing all such disparity, both the weakness of nature and the stress of poverty hold together by one bond the vast multitude gathered here, who are moved by the wings of this desire to live the life of the heavenly citizens. For, treading under foot all allurements to excess and wickedness, you are consumed with longing for the martyrs. As with the dawn of day wild animals flee away and take shelter in their own holes, so when the light of the martyrs bursts upon our minds all diseases are put to flight and the bright flame of mortification is enkindled. And let us keep this fire alive not now only, but always, when this spiritual spectacle has been broken up; let us retire to our own homes with the same fervour, not giving ourselves up to taverns, or dissoluteness, or drunkenness, or feastings. You have made night into day through these sacred vigils: do not again make day into night through inebriation, and gluttony, and meretricious songs. You have honoured the martyrs by your presence, your attention, and your fervour: honour them by going modestly home, lest anyone seeing you taking your ease in a low place should say that you came not on account of the martyrs, but to increase your passion and to incite your bad desires. This I say, prohibiting not feasting but sin, prohibiting not wine but drunkenness. It is not the wine which is evil, it is intemperance. Wine is the gift of God, intemperance is the devil’s invention.... Intemperance is ever an evil, beloved brethren, and most of all on the feast day of the martyrs. Together with the sin, it is a most open contempt and folly and putting aside of the divine words; hence the chastisement would be double. If, therefore, you have come to the martyrs and mean afterwards to drink, you had better remain at home and not shame nor insult the martyrs’ feast, nor scandalise your neighbour, nor distort your understanding, nor add to your sins. You came to look upon men who were racked with torments, covered with blood, and adorned with wounds, who gave up this present life and took their flight to the life above. Show yourself worthy of those wrestlers. They despised life, do you despise luxury; they renounced their life in this world, do you renounce the craving for drink. Do you wish for feasting? Remain by the martyr’s tomb, weep there a fountain of tears, grieve in your mind, take a blessing from that tomb. Let it assist you in your prayers; make the account of his fight your constant reading; embrace the coffin; nail yourself to the shrine. Not only the bones of the martyrs, but their tombs also and their coffins, produce an abundant blessing. Take holy oil and sign your whole body with it, your tongue, your lips, your throat and eyes, and you will avoid the abyss of drunkenness.

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