I. The Lenten Fast an Opportunity for Restoring Our Purely.
II. Lent Must Be Used For Removing All Our Defilements, and of Good
Works
There Must Be No Stint.
III. As with the Saviour, So with Us, the Devil Tries to Make Our Very
Piety Its Own Snare.
IV. The Perverse Turn Even Their Fasting into Sin.
V. Be Reasonable and Seasonable in Your Fasting.
VI. Make Your Fasting a Reality by Amendment in Your Lives.
I. The Lenten Fast an Opportunity for Restoring Our Purely.
In proposing to preach this most holy and important fast to you, dearly
beloved, how shall I begin more fitly than by quoting the words of the
Apostle, in whom Christ Himself was speaking, and by reminding you of what
we have read1 : "behold, now is the acceptable time, behold now is the
day of salvation." For though there are no seasons which are not full of
Divine blessings, and though access is ever open to us to God's mercy through
His grace, yet now all men's minds should be moved with greater zeal to
spiritual progress, and animated by larger confidence, when the return
of the day, on which we were redeemed, invites us to all the duties of
godliness: that we may keep the super-excellent mystery of the Lord's passion
with bodies and hearts purified. These great mysteries do indeed require
from us such unflagging devotion and unwearied reverence that we should
remain in God's sight always the same, as we ought to be found on the Easter
feast itself. But because few have this constancy, and, because so long
as the stricter observance is relaxed in consideration of the frailty of
the flesh, and so long as one's interests extend over all the various actions
of this life, even pious hearts must get some soils from the dust of the
world, the Divine Providence has with great beneficence taken care that
the discipline of the forty days should heal us and restore the purity
of our minds, during which the faults of other times might be redeemed
by pious acts and removed by chaste fasting.
II. Lent Must Be Used Far Removing All Our Defilements, and of Good
Works There Must Be No Stint.
As we are therefore, dearly-beloved, about to enter on those mystic
days which are dedicated to the benefits of fasting, let us take care to
obey the Apostle's precepts, cleansing "ourselves from every defilement
of flesh and spirit2 :" that by controlling the struggles that go on between
our two natures, the spirit which, if it is under the guidance of God,
should be the governor of the body, may uphold the dignity of its rule:
so that we may give no offence to any, nor be subject to the chidings of
reprovers. For we shall be rightly attacked with rebukes, and through our
fault ungodly tongues will arm themselves to do harm to religion, if the
conduct of those that fast is at variance with the standard of perfect
purity. For our fast does not consist chiefly of mere abstinence from food,
nor are dainties withdrawn from our bodily appetites with profit, unless
the mind is recalled from wrong-doing and the tongue restrained from slandering.
This is a time of gentleness and long-suffering, of peace and tranquillity:
when all the pollutions of vice are to be eradicated and continuance of
virtue is to be attained by us. Now let godly minds boldly accustom themselves
to forgive faults, to pass over insults, and to forget wrongs. Now let
the faithful spirit train himself with the armour of righteousness on the
fight hand and on the left, that through honour and dishonour, through
ill repute and good repute, the conscience may be undisturbed in unwavering
uprightness, not puffed up by praise and not wearied out by revilings.
The self-restraint of the religious should not be gloomy, but sincere;
no murmurs of complaint should be heard from those who are never without
the consolation of holy joys. The decrease of worldly means should not
be feared in the practice of works of mercy. Christian poverty is always
rich, because what it has is more than what it has not. Nor does the poor
man fear to labour in this world, to whom it is given to possess all things
in the Lord of all things. Therefore those who do the things which are
good must have no manner of fear lest the power of doing should fail them;
since in the gospel the widow's devotion is extolled in the case of her
two mites, and voluntary bounty gets its reward for a cup of cold water3
. For the measure of our charitableness is fixed by the sincerity of our
feelings, and he that shows mercy on others will never want for mercy himself.
The holy widow of Sarepta discovered this, who offered the blessed Elias
in the time of famine one day's food, which was all she had, and putting
the prophet's hunger before her own needs, ungrudgingly gave up a handful
of corn and a little oil4 . But she did not lose what she gave in all faith,
and in the vessels emptied by her godly bounty a source of new plenty arose,
that the fulness of her substance might not be diminished by the holy purpose
to which she had put it, because she had never dreaded being brought to
want.
III. As with the Saviour, So with Us, the Devil Tries to Make Our
Very Piety Its Own Snare.
But, dearly-beloved, doubt not that the devil, who is the opponent of
all virtues, is jealous of these good desires, to which we are confident
you are prompted of your own selves, and that to this end he is arming
the force of his malice in order to make your very piety its own snare,
and endeavouring to overcome by boastfulness those whom he could not defeat
by distrustfulness. For the vice of pride is a near neighbour to good deeds,
and arrogance ever lies in wait hard by virtue: because it is hard for
him that lives praise-worthily not to be caught by man's praise unless,
as it is written, "he that glorieth, glorieth in the Lord5 ." Whose intentions
would that most naughty enemy not dare to attack? whose fasting would he
not seek to break down? seeing that, as has been shown in the reading of
the Gospel6 , he did not restrain his wiles even against the Saviour of
the world Himself. For being exceedingly afraid of His fast, which lasted
40 days and nights, he wished most cunningly to discover whether this power
of abstinence was given Him or His very own: for he need not fear the defeat
of all his treacherous designs, if Christ were throughout subject to the
same conditions as He is in body7 . And so he first craftily examined whether
He were Himself the Creator of all things, such that He could change the
natures of material things as He pleased: secondly, whether under the form
of human flesh the Godhead lay concealed, to Whom it was easy to make the
air His chariot, and convey His earthly limbs through space. But when the
Lord preferred to resist him by the uprightness of His true Manhood, than
to display the power of His Godhead, to this he turns the craftiness of
his third design, that he might tempt by the lust of empire Him in Whom
the signs of Divine power had failed, and entice Him to the worship of
himself by promising the kingdoms of the world. But the devil's cleverness
was rendered foolish by God's wisdom, so that the proud foe was bound by
that which he had formerly bound, and did not fear to assail Him Whom it
behoved to be slain for the world.
IV. The Perverse Turn Even Their Fasting into Sin.
This adversary's wiles then let us beware of, not only in the enticements
of the palate, but also in our purpose of abstinence. For he who knew how
to bring death upon mankind by means of food, knows also how to harm us
through our very fasting, and using the Manichaeans as his tools, as he
once drove men to take what was forbidden, so in the opposite direction
he prompts them to avoid what is allowed. It is indeed a helpful observance,
which accustoms one to scanty diet, and checks the appetite for dainties:
but woe to the dogmatizing of those whose very fasting is turned to sin.
For they condemn the creature's nature to the Creator's injury, and maintain
that they are defiled by eating those things of which they contend the
devil, not God, is the author: although absolutely nothing that exists
is evil, nor is anything in nature included in the actually bad. For the
good Creator made all things good and the Maker of the universe is one,
"Who made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that is in them8 ."
Of which whatever is granted to man for food and drink,' is holy and clean
after its kind. But if it is taken with immoderate greed, it is the excess
that disgraces the eaters and drinkers, not the nature of the food or drink
that defiles them. "For all things," as the Apostle says, "are clean to
the clean. But to the defiled and unbelieving nothing is clean, but their
mind and conscience is defiled9 ."
V. Be Reasonable and Seasonable in Your Fasting.
But ye, dearly-beloved, the holy offspring of the catholic Mother, who
have been taught in the school of Truth by God's Spirit, moderate your
liberty with due reasonableness, knowing that it is good to abstain even
from things lawful, and at seasons of greater strictness to distinguish
one food from another with a view to giving up the use of some kinds, not
to condemning their nature. And so be not infected with the error of those
who are corrupted merely by their own ordinances, "serving the creature
rather than the Creator10 ," and offering a foolish abstinence to the service
of the lights of heaven: seeing that they have chosen to fast on the first
and second days of the week in honour of the sun and moon, proving themselves
in this one instance of their perverseness twice disloyal to God, twice
blasphemous, by setting up their fast not only in worship of the stars
but also in contempt of the Lord's Resurrection. For they reject the mystery
of man's salvation and refuse to believe that Christ our Lord in the true
flesh of our nature was truly born, truly suffered, was truly buried and
was truly raised. And in consequence, condemn the day of our rejoicing
by the gloom of their fasting. And since to conceal their infidelity they
dare to be present at our meetings, at the Communion of the Mysteries11
they bring themselves sometimes, in order to ensure their concealment,
to receive Christ's Body with unworthy lips, though they altogether refuse
to drink the Blood of our Redemption. And this we make known to you, holy
brethren, that men of this sort may be detected by you by these signs,
and that they whose impious pretences have been discovered may be driven
from the society of the saints by priestly authority. For of such the blessed
Apostle Paul in his foresight warns God's Church, saying: "but we beseech
you, brethren, that ye observe those who make discussions and offences
contrary to the doctrine which ye learnt and turn away from them. For such
persons serve not Christ the Lord but their own belly, and by sweet words
and fair speeches beguile the hearts of the innocent12 ."
VI. Make Your Fasting a Reality by Amendment in Your Lives.
Being therefore, dearly-beloved, fully instructed by these admonitions
of ours, which we have often repeated in your ears in protest against abominable
error, enter upon the holy days of Lent with Godly devoutness, and prepare
yourselves to win God's mercy by your own works of mercy. Quench your anger,
wipe out enmities, cherish unity, and vie with one another in the offices
of true humility. Rule your slaves and those who are put under you with
fairness, let none of them be tortured by imprisonment or chains. Forego
vengeance, forgive offences: exchange severity for gentleness, indignation
for meekness, discord for peace. Let all men find us self-restrained, peaceable,
kind: that our fastings may be acceptable to God. For in a word to Him
we offer the sacrifice of true abstinence and true Godliness, when we keep
ourselves from all evil: the Almighty God helping us through all, to Whom
with the Son and Holy Spirit belongs one Godhead and one Majesty, for ever
and ever. Amen:
1 Cf. Serm. XL. chap. ii. n. 5.
2 2 Cor. vii. 1
3 The reffs. are obviously to S. Luke xxi. 2-4, and S.
Matt. x. 42 (q.v.)
4 Cf. 1 Kings xvii. 11 and foll.
5 1 Cor. x. 17.
6 Cf. Serm. XXXVI. chap. i., note 7.
7 Si Christus eius esset conditionis cuius est corporis,
an obscurely expressed but intrinsically clear statement.
8 Ps. cxlvi. 6.
9 Titus i. 15.
10 Rom. ix. 26.
11 In sacramentorum communione.
12 Rom. xvi. 17, 18.
