Orthodox Truth

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V Lent Wednesday – Proverbs 15:20 – 16:9 

20 A wise son gladdens his father; but a foolish son sneers at his mother. 21 The ways of a foolish man are void of sense; but a wise man proceeds on his way aright. 22 They that honour not councils put off deliberation; but counsel abides in the hearts of counsellors. 23 A bad man will by no means attend to counsel; neither will he say anything seasonable, or good for the common weal. 24 The thoughts of the wise are ways of life, that he may turn aside and e scape from hell. 25 The Lord pulls down the houses of scorners; but he establishes the border of the widow. 26 An unrighteous thought is abomination to the Lord; but the sayings of the pure are held in honour. 27 A receiver of bribes destroys himself; but he that hates the receiving of bribes is safe. [By alms and by faithful dealings sins are purged away;] but by the fear of the Lord every one departs from evil. 28 The hearts of the righteous meditate faithfulness; but the mouth of the ungodly answers evil things. The ways of righteous men are acceptable with the Lord; and through them even enemies become friends. 29 God is far from the ungodly; but he hearkens to the prayers of the righteous. Better are small receipts with righteousness, than abundant fruits with unrighteousness. 16:1 Let the heart of a man think justly, that his steps may be rightly ordered of God. The eye that sees rightly rejoices the heart; and a good report fattens the bones. 31 32 He that rejects instruction hates himself; but he that minds reproofs loves his soul. 33 The fear of the Lord is instruction and wisdom; and the highest honour will correspond therewith. All the works of the humble man are manifest with God; but the ungodly shall perish in an evil day. 5 Every one that is proud in heart is unclean before God, and he that unjustly strikes hands with hand shall not be held guiltless. The beginning of a good way is to do justly; and it is more acceptable with God than to offer sacrifices. He that seeks the Lord shall find knowledge with righteousness: and they that rightly seek him shall find peace. All of the works of the Lord are done with righteousness; and the ungodly man is kept for the evil day. 

In chapter sixteen, verse five, we read, “Everyone that is proud in heart is unclean before God.”   Usually we think of uncleanness – impurity – as being an attribute of carnal sins such as fornication and adultery.   But in fact the most unclean sins are not these bodily sins; the most unclean sin is the most refined sin of the soul, the sin we have in common with the demons, who are bodiless yet most unclean.  The most unclean sin is pride.   St. John Chrysostom says this about it:  

Nothing so estranges us from the mercy of God and gives over to the fire of hell as the tyranny of pride. If we possess this within us, all our life becomes impure, even if we practice chastity, virginity, fasting, prayer, almsgiving, or any virtue whatsoever. “Every proud man,” Scripture says, “ is an abomination to the Lord.”  Therefore, let us check this puffing up of the soul, and let us cut out this tumor, if we wish to be pure and be rid of the punishment prepared for the devil.   – Commentary on the Gospel according to St. John 

 God does not need our prayer, almsgiving, and fasting.  He gives us these exercises in virtue to help us fulfill the commandment to love God and our neighbor, and to show true charity towards ourselves.    By prayer we fulfill the commandment to love God.  By almsgiving we fulfill the commandment to love our neighbor.  By fasting, we show true charity towards ourselves by submitting that which is lower, the needs of the body, to that which is higher, the needs of the soul, thereby bringing our psychosomatic organism into right order, that order directed towards our true good, which is our eternal salvation. 

All of these beautiful exercises, however, St. John says, will not do us any good, if we are proud, because by pride all of life becomes impure, no matter how virtuous our outward behavior may be.  In saying this, of course, the saint is simply repeating the teaching of the Lord Himself in the Gospel, that He gave to us several Sundays ago when we began the Triodion by listening to His parable of the Publican and the Pharisee. This does not mean that we should stop doing these good works, but rather that we should ask the Lord to show us their true purpose, which is not to fortify our false opinion of ourselves but rather to reveal our weakness and utter dependence on the grace of God.  If we really took our Lord’s words seriously, that we must be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, then we would realize that the greatest deeds of the greatest saints fall short of that perfection to which He commands us to aspire.  St. Ignaty Brianchaninov puts it this way, in The Arena:

Never cease studying the Gospel till the end of your life. Do not think you know it enough, even if you know it by heart. The Lord’s commandments are “exceedingly broad” (Ps. 118:96), even though they are expressed in a few words. The Lord’s commandment is infinite, just as the Lord Who uttered it is infinite. The practice of the commandments and progress in them is unlimited. The most perfect Christians, brought to a state of perfection by divine grace, remain imperfect in regard to the commandments of the Gospel.  – The Arena, chapter six

When we read such words, we have a choice to make:  We can either cling to our pride and fall into despair over our salvation, or we can choose the path of humility, abide in the constant awareness of our imperfection, and trust completely in the Lord to save us, while persisting in the works of virtue, though we fall short many times a day,  in order to please God and do His holy will, and out of concern for our neighbor, and not because we imagine that our poor virtues make us something special.  There is no plateau at which we aim to arrive, at which point we can imagine ourselves better than we used to be.  There is only the life of repentance, which means unceasing pilgrimage until death. This does not make us despondent, because our joy is from the Lord and not from ourselves.  

O long-suffering Lord, Who in Thy sacred Passions didst descend to the utmost humility for our salvation, relieve us, by Thy grace, of this terrible burden of our prideful illusions, that we may take up the light yoke of Thy commandments in humility, in order to please Thee and do Thy holy will. Amen. 

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Lent V Tuesday – Proverbs 15: 7-19 

7 The lips of the wise are bound by discretion: but the hearts of the foolish are not safe. 8 The sacrifices of the ungodly are an abomination to the Lord; but the prayers of them that walk honestly are acceptable with him. 9 The ways of an ungodly man are an abomination to the Lord; but he loves those that follow after righteousness. 10 The instruction of the simple is known by them that pass by; but they that hate reproofs die disgracefully.  11 Hell and destruction are manifest to the Lord; how shall not also be the hearts of men? 12 An uninstructed person will not love those that reprove him; neither will he associate with the wise. 13 When the heart rejoices the countenance is cheerful; but when it is in sorrow, the countenance is sad. 14 An upright heart seeks discretion; but the mouth of the uninstructed will experience evils. 15 The eyes of the wicked are always looking for evil things; but the good are always quiet. 16 Better is a small portion with the fear of the Lord, than great treasures without the fear of the Lord. 17 Better is an entertainment of herbs with friendliness and kindness, than a feast of calves, with enmity. 18 A passionate man stirs up strife; but he that is slow to anger appeases even a rising one. A man slow to anger will extinguish quarrels; but an ungodly man rather stirs them up. 19 The ways of sluggards are strewn with thorns; but those of the diligent are made smooth. 

 “Hell and destruction are manifest to the Lord; how shall not also be the hearts of men?”  God is everywhere, and He knows everything at every moment, from the heights of heaven to the depths of hell, and to the depths of the mind and thoughts of every rational creature:  angels, demons, and men.  He knows my thoughts immeasurably better than I know them myself. 

St. John Chrysostom says the following: 

“Hell and destruction are manifest to the Lord,” to whom everything is apparent.  “How shall not also be the hearts of men?” People in olden times, you see, were right in this respect in particular, placing the eye of providence over their thoughts and deeds done in secret, placing a judge and examiner. 

It should console us that God has placed His providence over our innermost thoughts and hidden deeds.   Ultimately He is in control and not we ourselves.   As we become more attentive to the inner life, the unexpected wildness and depravity of our thoughts will frequently shock us and perhaps even tempt us to despair over our amendment.  Our vanity, the incomprehensible blindness of our fallen nature, has up to a certain point hidden from our awareness the mind’s capacity for evil.  But now we are striving to pray more, to lead a more attentive life, to pay attention to ourselves, and at a time when God in His providence knows best, His grace brings before the mind’s eye how bad we really are, right down to our innermost being, to the core of who we are, to the heart.  We begin to understand by experience the verse in Genesis that explains why God is going to drown all but eight of  the human race in the Flood, because they have become hopeless of amendment:  “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5).” 

We, however, do not live before the Flood.  We live after the coming of Christ, Who descended into the nethermost depths of hell on that first Great and Holy Saturday, destroying the power of the devil, death, and hell over man’s nature.   As He then destroyed hell’s power over man’s nature in general, He now destroys that power over each of us in particular when, by the grace of Holy Baptism, He descends into the hell of our hearts and destroys the power that evil thoughts exercise over the soul, transforming the heart from a little hell into a little Paradise, where by the continual remembrance and repetition of His holy name, the name of Jesus, we can enjoy a foretaste of the sweetness of the age to come.  What a marvelous exchange:  Purity instead of filth, light instead of darkness, peace instead of turmoil, life instead of death.   And all by His grace and free gift, if only we would pay attention to ourselves, acknowledge in humility how bad we really are, and allow Him to activate the grace of Baptism that already lives in our hearts, that grace which, if we have remained in the Church, has never been lost. 

To face ourselves in this way, really to see ourselves, requires the cardinal virtue of Courage, completed and perfected by the theological virtue of Hope.  Dante had Vergil show him all of hell, right to the bottom.   We do not need Vergil; Christ Himself takes us by the hand and shows us every sin, every passion, every perversion lying in the hell of our hearts, right to the bottom.  If only we shall have been courageous to cast aside our vanity, defensiveness, and fear, and have allowed Him to be our guide, protector, judge, teacher, and physician in this journey through the hell of our hearts in this life, we will, in the next life,  have invincible hope of His mercy at the judgment.   

O Thou Who alone knowest the secrets of the heart, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen. 

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Lent V Monday – Proverbs 14:27 – 15:4

27 The commandment of the Lord is a fountain of life; and it causes men to turn aside from the snare of death. 28 In a populous nation is the glory of a king: but in the failure of people is the ruin of a prince. 29 A man slow to wrath abounds in wisdom: but a man of impatient spirit is very foolish. 30 A meek-spirited man is a healer of the heart: but a sensual heart is a corruption of the bones. 31 He that oppresses the needy provokes his Maker: but he that honours him has pity upon the poor. 32 The ungodly shall be driven away in his wickedness: but he who is secure in his own holiness is just. 33 There is wisdom in the good heart of a man: but in the heart of fools it is not discerned. 34 Righteousness exalts a nation: but sins diminish tribes. 35 An understanding servant is acceptable to a king; and by his good behaviour he removes disgrace. 15:1 Anger slays even wise men; yet a humble answer turns away wrath: but a grievous word stirs up anger. 2 The tongue of the wise knows what is good: but the mouth of the foolish tells out evil things. 3 The eyes of the Lord behold both the evil and the good in every place. 4 The wholesome tongue is a tree of life, and he that keeps it shall be filled with understanding. 

Throughout our reading of Proverbs, we notice that the sacred author often admonishes his reader to acquire wisdom.  Therefore, it is only natural that we should ask, “How?  How does one acquire wisdom?”  Of course, we should always ask the Lord for this gift.  He wants to give us those truly good things that make for salvation, and we need to ask for them.   In addition to our prayerful request, however, we also acquire wisdom by various of our own actions, such as study of the sacred Scriptures and the lives of the Saints, by which we can observe the behavior of the truly wise men of history.  And, if we are so fortunate as to know such people, we can learn from wise men of our own acquaintance, such as wise parents, teachers, and friends.

Today, however, in chapter fourteen, verse 29, the sacred author offers another method to get wisdom, a method readily available to everyone every day:  “A man slow to wrath abounds in wisdom, but a man of impatient spirit is very foolish.” St. John Chrysostom remarks as follows:  

Do you not see the athletes, how they exercise when they have filled bags with sand?  But there is not need for you to practice this.  Life is full of things that exercise you and make you strong…For it is said, “A man slow to wrath abounds in wisdom, but a man of impatient spirit is very foolish.”   

In other words, the saint is saying, daily life presents us with countless opportunities to practice patience, and each little triumph over impatience adds wisdom.  By checking our impatience, we may forego some temporal thing or advantage we want at that moment, but in return we acquire something more important and more permanent:  a deeper understanding of others and of ourselves.  We get wisdom. 

The Greek word translated here as “impatient spirit” – oligopsychos – means literally “small of soul,” the opposite of being magnanimous, great of soul.   The great-souled man sees the big picture, and he sees the other man’s point of view.   The small-souled man has tunnel vision, seeing only the present anxious moment, and he is trapped inside his own mind with its obsessions and delusions. 

When tempted by one of the countless daily annoyances offered by his neighbor, the great-souled man says to himself, “It is not worth it to lose my peace of heart over such a small thing, and, besides, I am beset by my own limitations and passions, as likewise this poor fellow before me. Today he is behaving badly, but tomorrow perhaps I shall do the same.”  By exercising himself in the small daily temptations, he prepares his heart to endure those greater trials that lie in store for every Christian who will find salvation. 

In commenting on verse 30, “A meek man is a healer of the heart,” St. Ambrose identifies gentleness of spirit as an essential characteristic for a pastor of souls:  

While all our actions should be free from hidden malevolence, this is particularly the case in the selection of a bishop, whose life is a pattern for all his flock.  Calm and pacific judgment is called for if you are to prefer to all his fellows a man who will be elected by all and who will heal all dissensions…In the gospel the Lord declared Himself the physician of the heart when he said, “They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. – Letter 63 

St. Ambrose, of course, does not mean that there are never times when a bishop or priest must roar like a lion rather than to be meek as a lamb.  He himself, on several occasions, courageously opposed powerful men who transgressed the law of God, at the risk of losing his office or even his life.  True meekness and true courage go hand in hand:  The good shepherd is calm at all times, whether he has to reconcile or to fight.  He is gentle to those who are suffering and desire the healing of their hearts, and he is strong to oppose those who persist in evil without repentance, especially if they are harming others. 

We all know that today the Church suffers from a dearth of good bishops and priests, and we often complain about it.  But how often do we pray the Lord to send workers to His harvest, and how often do we encourage our boys and young men to take up the cross of the clerical or monastic state?   Let us pray daily for the Lord to raise up good shepherds for His flock, who will manifest the humility of wisdom that characterizes the peacemakers whom the Lord names as sons of God, and let us encourage our young men to aspire not to only to obtain these sacred offices, but to grow in the wisdom needed to fulfill their demands.   If we desire to have loving pastors who will be patient with us, let us practice patience with one another. After all, people get the leaders they deserve. 

O Christ our Lord, Good Shepherd of Thy sheep, Who gave us the supreme example of patience and meekness in Thy suffering for our salvation, grant us the greatness of soul needed to surmount our impatience, that we may more justly merit the grace of being granted long-suffering pastors who are men after Thine own heart.  Amen. 

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Lent IV Friday – Proverbs 14: 15-26

15 The simple believes every word: but the prudent man betakes himself to after-thought. 16 A wise man fears, and departs from evil; but the fool trusts in himself, and joins himself with the transgressor. 17 A passionate man acts inconsiderately; but a sensible man bears up under many things. 18 Fools shall have mischief for their portion; but the prudent shall take fast hold of understanding. 19 Evil men shall fall before the good; and the ungodly shall attend at the gates of the righteous. 20 Friends will hate poor friends; but the friends of the rich are many. 21 He that dishonours the needy sins: but he that has pity on the poor is most blessed. 22 They that go astray devise evils: but the good devise mercy and truth. The framers of evil do not understand mercy and truth: but compassion and faithfulness are with the framers of good. 23 With every one who is careful there is abundance: but the pleasure-taking and indolent shall be in want. 24 A prudent man is the crown of the wise: but the occupation of fools is evil. 25 A faithful witness shall deliver a soul from evil: but a deceitful man kindles falsehoods. 26 In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and he leaves his children a support. 

The word “simple” in verse fifteen does not refer to the holy simplicity of the saint who believes in God without doubting and receives the Kingdom of God into his heart with the childlike innocence praised by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel. Here, rather, by a “simple” man the sacred author means a simpleton, a fool.  St. John Chrysostom, commenting on this verse, says briefly, “Surely it is typical of folly to believe everything.”  It is well said that someone who stops believing in the true God will believe anything else, no matter how ridiculous. Naïveté and credulity are not small sins in a grown man, for he is responsible for seeking the truth earnestly and praying for wisdom daily, in order to carry out with prudence the tasks assigned him in life by God. People today have forgotten – or have never been told – that they will answer to God for their culpable ignorance.   Those who refuse to undertake serious study about the most serious things – how to attain eternal happiness in the next life and  how to carry out the duties imposed on them by God in this life – will answer to God for the waste of the minds He gave them and the perversion of their wills that logically followed upon their ignorance. 

In order to have time and energy to study the sacred truths of our Faith, as well as serious works on secular topics, we have to stop wasting time distracting ourselves with silly things like sports, video entertainment, mindless chatter on social media, and all the nonsense on the Internet and television about current events.   Remember, the so-called news is not serious; it is theater cynically manufactured to retard your intellectual and moral development by trapping you in ignorance and gratifying your passions.  The pronouncements of high government officials and media “experts” are not even meant to be taken seriously:  they are theater scripts written by nihilists – that is, products of our universities – who do not believe in God and who believe themselves both wise and virtuous for denying the existence of the real, objectively knowable, and permanent essences of created things.  Thus nothing they say means anything, because they are unable to intend to say anything that means anything. The first step to wisdom would therefore be to refuse to discuss the Thing that everyone else began discussing instantly today when they were informed by such blind and hopeless idiots that This Thing is now the One Important Thing rather than That other One Important Thing they were discussing yesterday. 

Orthodox Christian, know your dignity!   Almighty God your Creator has given you a mind to use for the study of His truth, both His truth directly revealed in the Scriptures and the Tradition of the Church, and His truth indirectly revealed through the created order of existing things that are the legitimate subjects of the arts and sciences.  Do not lower yourself by occupying your hours with the false, the trivial, the superficial, and the absurd. Our Lord Himself told us to be wise as serpents as well as innocent as doves.   St. Paul writes,  “Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men (I Corinthians 14:20).” 

O Christ our Lord, Thou Eternal Wisdom of the Father, enlighten our minds with Thy truth, govern our wills according to Thy goodness, and direct our desires to the love of all those good things that are pleasing to Thine Eternal Father, Who is glorified with Thee and Thine All-Holy Spirit unto the ages.  Amen. 

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Lent IV Wednesday – Proverbs 12:23 – 13:9

23 An understanding man is a throne of wisdom; but the heart of fools shall meet with curses. 24 The hand of chosen men shall easily obtain rule; but the deceitful shall be for a prey. 25 A troubling word will disturb a righteous man’s heart, while a kindly statement will bring him joy. 26 A just arbitrator shall be his own friend; but mischief shall pursue sinners; and the way of ungodly men shall lead them astray. 27 A deceitful man shall catch no game; but a blameless man is a precious possession. 28 In the ways of righteousness is life; but the ways of those that remember injuries lead to death. 13:1 A wise son is obedient to his father: but a disobedient son will be destroyed. 2 A good man shall eat of the fruits of righteousness: but the lives of transgressors shall perish before their time. 3 He that keeps his own mouth keeps his own life: but he that is hasty with his lips shall bring terror upon himself. 4 Every slothful man desires, but the hands of the active are diligent. 5 A righteous man hates an unjust word: but an ungodly man is ashamed, and will have no confidence. 6 7 There are some who, having nothing, enrich themselves: and there are some who bring themselves down in the midst of much wealth.  8 A man’s own wealth is the ransom of his life: but the poor endures not threatening. 9 The righteous always have light: but the light of the ungodly is quenched. Crafty souls go astray in sins: but just men pity, and are merciful. 

St. John Chrysostom relates verse 25 to the joy that a righteous man feels at another’s good fortune, contrasting it with the envy of the wicked.  

“A troubling word will disturb a righteous man’s heart, while a kindly statement will bring him joy.”  Note something useful in both cases: if he hears something good about his neighbors, he is not envious but happy; if something bad about them, he contains himself.   His distress and his joy are within bounds. In the case of the impious, however, there is the opposite effect: where they should be distressed at “troubling words,” they are scornful, and where they should rejoice at good news, they go pale, experiencing the opposite response.

The passion of envy makes a man like the devil himself, since it was envy of man’s blessedness in Paradise that drove Satan to tempt our First Parents and bring our race to destruction.   Envy makes a man like those who performed the greatest crime in all history, when they murdered the God-Man, for it was envy of the goodness of Christ that drove the wicked Sanhedrin to accuse Him before Pilate in order to condemn Him to death.  Envy unchecked eats the souls of those subject to it; they can never rest until they have witnessed or even actively brought about the unhappiness of their brother.   And even then they cannot rest, for their souls forever burn with the torment of dissatisfaction with the life that God has given them.   Envy makes a man like the devil himself. 

The root of envy is the sin of ingratitude for the life that one has received from the hand of God, and the root of ingratitude is pride: “God has chosen to give me this, but I know better than God:  I really need that,” that other thing one imagines that one cannot live without.  When one sees that one’s neighbor has that other thing – or seems to – the malice one bears towards God is extended to man as well.   Instead of wishing well to one’s neighbor, one wishes him ill and even perhaps actively tries to destroy the other man’s happiness.   This is demonic. 

Blinded by pride and ingratitude, we can lose sight of the purpose of our life, which is eternal happiness in the next world, and we mistakenly think that our true happiness lies in the temporary goods that this world offers. When these temporary goods fall short of what we demand from life, we are tempted to resent the good fortune of those around us.  If, on the other hand, we firmly believed that all the good things and all the bad things that come our way are used by God for our salvation, we would perpetually thank and praise Him. And we would be happy, even in this world, enjoying a firm hope of salvation in the next. 

This blessed grace of gratitude enables man to acquire and to manifest greatness of soul – megalopsychia, magnanimitas – a fundamentally generous, compassionate, and understanding attitude towards all of life around him, and especially his fellow man.   Such a person is supremely patient, unmoved by adversity, and this patience enables him always to rise above the exigencies of the moment with its fears and hope, to see the big picture of life, and to embrace the people and the circumstances that surround him.   Since his happiness is not limited to the narrow confines of his own psychosomatic weaknesses of fear and desire, but rather, being the gift of grace, overflows from within him, like a living fountain, into all creation, he does not see his brother’s happiness as robbing him by decreasing the limited fund of happiness available in the world, for the source of that happiness is inexhaustible.  His life is not a zero sum game in the Darwinian struggle for survival, but rather the continuously joyful experience of all as gift.   This joy calls up the ancestral memory of the first Paradise to the heart, and it presages the Paradise to come.  

Let us this day, this moment, thank and glorify our Creator for the life He has given us, rejoice in our brother’s happiness, and pray always for the gift of that greatness of soul that marks the life of any noble mind, much less that of a saint. 

O our Creator, Provider, and Savior, glory be to Thee for all things.  Amen. 

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Lent IV Tuesday – Proverbs 12: 8-22

8 The mouth of an understanding man is praised by a man; but he that is dull of heart is had in derision. 9 Better is a man in dishonour serving himself, than one honouring himself and wanting bread. 10 A righteous man has pity for the lives of his cattle; but the bowels of the ungodly are unmerciful. 11 He that tills his own land shall be satisfied with bread; but they that pursue vanities are void of understanding. He that enjoys himself in banquets of wine, shall leave dishonour in his own strong holds. 12 The desires of the ungodly are evil; but the roots of the godly are firmly set. 13 For the sin of his lips a sinner falls into snare; but a righteous man escapes from them. He whose looks are gentle shall be pitied, but he that contends in the gates will afflict souls. 14 The soul of a man shall be filled with good from the fruits of his mouth; and the recompence of his lips shall be given to him. 15 The ways of fools are right in their own eyes; but a wise man hearkens to counsels. 16 A fool declares his wrath the same day; but a prudent man hides his own disgrace. 17 A righteous man declares the open truth; but an unjust witness is deceitful. 18 Some wound as they speak, like swords; but the tongues of the wise heal. 19 True lips establish testimony; but a hasty witness has an unjust tongue. 20 There is deceit in the heart of him that imagines evil; but they that love peace shall rejoice. 21 No injustice will please a just man; but the ungodly will be filled with mischief. 22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord; but he that deals faithfully is accepted with him. 

Verse nine could cause some confusion if not explained.   By “honor” the sacred author means the honor of rank that a traditional society assigns to a man who has slaves or paid servants under him to do the work that provides for his family’s material needs, while he is free to exercise the moral duties of an aristocracy, such as the priestly duties of conducting worship, governing the civil or ecclesiastical society, intellectual or artistic pursuits, or service as an officer in the military.  In English, we called such a man a “gentleman,” which originally meant not someone with good manners but rather someone who was freed from the need to do manual labor by owning inalienable wealth, especially in the form of productive property worked by others. The problem that this proverb addresses occurs when a gentleman becomes so poor that he must do some kind of work beneath his inherited station in order to support himself, but he refuses to do so out of a false sense of honor.  What the verse means is that there is no dishonor in honest work of any kind, and  that it is better to support yourself by honest work, no matter how humble, than to pretend to be something that you are not. For us Americans, with our emphases on self-sufficiency and the work ethic, this is obvious, but it would not have been so to the original audience of the sacred author.  (Now and then some of our quintessentially American ideas do coincide with divine revelation, though not as often as the delusion of American exceptionalism would lead us to believe.)

Verse ten reads, “A righteous man has pity for the lives of his cattle; but the bowels of the ungodly are unmerciful.”  St. John Chrysostom has this to say:  

…It is an exercise of human charity when someone, by means of his animals, becomes accustomed to show mercy upon his fellow human beings.  Indeed he who has pity upon animals tends to have much more pity upon his brothers…Do the righteous have pity upon the souls of their animals? Absolutely.  Certainly it is necessary to convey benevolence toward them, so that there may be a greater exercise of benevolence toward fellow human beings.  Indeed with good reason God ordered that we carry hurt animals and take back those that stray, and not to muzzle the mouth of an ox.  He absolutely wants us to preserve the health of animals: in the first place for our sake, second, in order that they may provide us with their menial service.  

The divine wisdom here should be to us as obvious as it is beautiful.  We ascend to the love of that which is higher by means of learning how to love that which is lower. It is well known that by caring for animals children begin to learn the self-denial, compassion, and discipline that will later enable them to love other people and, ultimately, to love God.  At each step the lower and easier task prepares them for the higher and more difficult. Today, of course, we see a lot of delusional and absurd thinking about animals, which raises them to the level of personhood or even exalts them above human beings.  But these recent and disordered obsessions do not invalidate the age-old truth that God made us the stewards of His creation and that caring properly for dumb beasts is essential to a man’s maintaining his station in the hierarchy of being, primarily that he may acquire virtue and secondarily because the animals provide for his material needs.  

How wonderful are Thy works, O Lord, in wisdom hast Thou made them all! Give us compassion, O gracious Creator, and the prudence we need, to work hard, to steward Thy creation, and to love our brother according to Thy will and wisdom, and not our own.  Amen. 

III Lent Friday – Proverbs 10:31 – 11:12

31 The mouth of the righteous drops wisdom: but the tongue of the unjust shall perish. 32 The lips of just men drop grace: but the mouth of the ungodly is perverse. 11:1 False balances are an abomination before the Lord: but a just weight is acceptable unto him. 2 Wherever pride enters, there will be also disgrace: but the mouth of the lowly meditates wisdom. 3 When a just man dies he leaves regret: but the destruction of the ungodly is speedy, and causes joy. 4 5 Righteousness traces out blameless paths: but ungodliness encounters unjust dealing. 12 The righteousness of upright men delivers them: but transgressors are caught in their own destruction. 7 At the death of a just man his hope does not perish: but the boast of the ungodly perishes. 8 A righteous man escapes from a snare, and the ungodly man is delivered up in his place. 9 In the mouth of ungodly men is a snare to citizens: but the understanding of righteous men is prosperous. 10 In the prosperity of righteous men a city prospers: 11 but by the mouth of ungodly men it is overthrown. 12 A man void of understanding sneers at his fellow citizens: but a sensible man is quiet. 13 A double-tongued man discloses the secret counsels of an assembly: but he that is faithful in spirit conceals matters. 14 They that have no guidance fall like leaves: but in much counsel there is safety. 

The sacred writer condemns “false balances” as an abomination before the Lord; the literal meaning of “balances”  is, of course, the scales used to measure metal coin or other commodities as payment for goods or services rendered, or to measure out the commodity being sold.  St. Ambrose of Milan, however, gives it a figurative meaning:  The “false balances” are also the lies we tell with our tongues, not only in business dealings but in all the other activities of our lives as well:  

Let each one weigh his words without fraud or deceit:  “A deceitful balance is an abomination before the Lord.” I do not mean that balance which weighs out another’s pay… Before God that balance of words is detestable which simulates the weight of sober gravity while practicing at the same time cunning fraud.  God condemns especially the man who deceives his neighbor with treacherous injustice.  He will have no gain from his clever skill.  For what does it profit a man if he gains the wealth of the whole world but defrauds his own soul of the payment of eternal life? – Letter 15 

Most of us are not engaged in predatory business practices that include lying and cheating on a daily basis.  Most of us, however, on the other hand, have probably concealed the truth sometimes to acquire some thing or some advantage, or to avoid the just penalty of our own imprudence, and these are sins we should confess and make restitution for.   

The best way to prevent these sins in future is to acquire a sober, honest, and simple state of mind, in which truthfulness becomes second nature and deceitfulness not simply consciously unthinkable but even constitutionally impossible.  Those who live this way suffer in the short term sometimes, but in the long run not only are they blessed by God but also beloved of men, or at least the men whose love a Christian should prefer. So how does one acquire a constant state of sobriety and honesty in mind and speech? 

The lesson we learned yesterday about maintaining silence is a great help on the way to sobriety of mind:  A quiet person usually avoids verbal snares more easily than a talkative person. 

Another and great struggle we must engage in to acquire sobriety is the struggle to be freed of our vanity, which is the ensemble of delusions we have about ourselves: our fake self, our ego.  To a greater or lesser extent – unless one is in a state of theoria freed of all the passions – we are all pretending to be something we are not.    Let us cry out constantly with the prayer beloved of St. Gregory Palamas:  “Lord, enlighten my darkness!”   Freedom from vanity, accurate self-knowledge, is a spiritual grace of the highest order, and God wants us to ask for it.  God wants to give it. If we get it, we will see not only the falsehoods about ourselves that we present to others, but also those that we are constantly presenting to ourselves; we will abhor all such thoughts and words, and flee them like fire.

O Lord, enlighten our darkness!  Grant us the grace to see ourselves as we really are, to be simple, straightforward, and honest in all our thoughts and our speech, in order better to love Thee and to love our neighbor.  Amen. 

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III Lent Thursday – Proverbs 10: 1-22

1 A wise son makes his father glad: but a foolish son is a grief to his mother. 2 Treasures shall not profit the lawless: but righteousness shall deliver from death. 3 The Lord will not famish a righteous soul: but he will overthrow the life of the ungodly. 4 Poverty brings a man low: but the hands of the vigorous make rich. A son who is instructed shall be wise, and shall use the fool for a servant. 5 A wise son is saved from heat: but a lawless son is blighted of the winds in harvest. 6 The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the just: but untimely grief shall cover the mouth of the ungodly. 7 The memory of the just is praised; but the name of the ungodly man is extinguished. 8 A wise man in heart will receive commandments; but he that is unguarded in his lips shall be overthrown in his perverseness. 9 He that walks simply, walks confidently; but he that perverts his ways shall be known. 10 He that winks with his eyes deceitfully, procures griefs for men; but he that reproves boldly is a peacemaker. 11 There is a fountain of life in the hand of a righteous man; but destruction shall cover the mouth of the ungodly. 12 Hatred stirs up strife; but affection covers all that do not love strife. 13 He that brings forth wisdom from his lips smites the fool with a rod. 14 The wise will hide discretion; but the mouth of the hasty draws near to ruin. 15 The wealth of rich men is a strong city; but poverty is the ruin of the ungodly. 16 The works of the righteous produce life; but the fruits of the ungodly produce sins. 17 Instruction keeps the right ways of life; but instruction unchastened goes astray. 18 Righteous lips cover enmity; but they that utter railings are most foolish. 19 By a multitude of words thou shalt not escape sin; but if thou refrain thy lips thou wilt be prudent. 20 The tongue of the just is tried silver; but the heart of the ungodly shall fail. 21 The lips of the righteous know sublime truths: but the foolish die in want. 22 The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the righteous; it enriches him, and grief of heart shall not be added to it. 

In this passage, the sacred author touches on various subjects, including  parental discipline, the right use of wealth, leaving behind a good name after one’s decease by having led a righteous life, simplicity of life, charity versus hatred, and discretion in speech.  An embarrassment of riches!   Since we do not have all the day to speak and to listen – alas! –  let us choose two topics:  the upbringing of children and cultivating discretion in our speech.   

St. John Chrysostom contrasts the distinct roles of father and mother in the upbringing of children:  

“A wise son makes his father glad: but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.” What do you mean? That the former is responsible for upbringing and is unmoved, whereas the latter is in the habit only of grieving. Often a man reaps the compliments, whereas the troubles fall on her – hence his saying, “brings grief to his mother,” since it is they in particular who rear the children with greater latitude.  Hence he imposed a penalty on them to encourage them to develop the fear that is due to the father.  Mother, even if you love the child, do not turn the affection for the child into a vice.

Here the saint assumes the classical paradigm for the differing roles of father and mother in the rearing of children:  The father represents justice and inspires fear, while the mother represents mercy and inspires affection.   And this, in fact, is what God intends by His creating the man and woman with distinct and complementary characters.   What we see often, however, is that the man is either not involved and leaves all the discipline to the mother, or that his behavior is distorted by his having become effeminate, either due to a defect of character or – as is often the case in our present age of feminism – because of cultural influence, and though he attempts to rule his children, it is by affection only without inspiring reverential fear.  Thus the burden falls upon the mother to be the enforcer, the bad guy so to speak, and this unnatural role unnaturally hardens her feminine softness, making her despondent and overburdening her by forcing her to be both father and mother to the children.  

Or, conversely, we also see cases in which the father does strive to exert paternal authority, and the mother sabotages his rule over the family by contradicting him before the children or by abrogating his decisions behind his back, due to an excess of affection not tempered by prudence and by wifely obedience to her husband.    

Dear fathers, rule your wife and children with calm authority tempered by affection and informed by prayer, good reading, and good counsel!     Do not lay the entire burden of discipline on your wives, thus darkening their days with anxiety and grief.   Dear mothers, do not make an idol of your children:  if you have a strong husband, rejoice in his strength, respecting his authority and letting him use the rod when needed – either literally or figuratively – so as not to spoil the children.   Dear married couples, always pray together and take counsel with one another, so that under the guidance of the All-Holy Spirit, Who gives grace in abundance to those who ask, you will confidently guide the little ark of your family over the sea of life to the calm haven of salvation.  

Let us now turn to a topic of interest to all Christians whether married or unmarried, in the world or in the monastic life:  Silence and discretion in speech!   “By a multitude of words, thou shalt not escape sin; but if thou refrain thy lips thou shalt be prudent.”   In chapter six of his Rule, St. Benedict says the following:  

Let us act in accordance with that saying of the Prophet; “I have said: I will keep my ways, that I offend not with my tongue.  I have been watchful over my mouth: I held my peace and humbled myself, and was silent from speaking even good things.”  If, therefore, according to this saying of the Prophet we are at times to abstain, even from good talk, how much more ought we to refrain from evil words, on account of the guilt and penalty of sin!  Therefore, because of the importance of silence, let leave to speak be seldom given, even to perfect disciples, although their words be of good and holy matters, tending unto edification; because it is written: “In much speaking, thou shalt not escape sin.”  And in another place: “Death and life are in the hands of the tongue.”  

As is usual with the Holy Fathers, St. Benedict has set the bar high:   Even perfect disciples should be given permission to speak rarely, even upon edifying topics!   (One trembles to think how much fear this should inspire in an imperfect disciple dashing off a daily blog post!).  We all know how imperfect we are, and how many needless words we speak and hear all day long.  Where do we even start to deal with this?   

Try this:  Absolutely refuse, for one full day, to speak about the latest sensation being peddled by our world-rulers’ propaganda machine as the only permissible topic du jour. As we write in the spring of 2022, the thing they want everyone to talk about and think about at all times is this war they have engineered in the Ukraine.  Last year and the year before that it was some disease they had manufactured.   Next year, who knows?   Alien invasion?   The discovery that not only are men really women and women really men, but also that human beings are really turnips?  Anything is possible, or, rather, if there is no God, all things are permitted. 

So, turn off all the media input and go through your day in prayer.   Thank God for the little tasks and the limited duties imposed by your actual station in life.  Look around you and rejoice in the beauty of God’s creation.   Do something extra to make someone you love happy, without being asked and without speaking a word about it. Do not say a word about anything, unless demanded by the duty of the moment.  If anyone tries to draw you into needless conversation, especially about The Hot Topic of the Day, ask to be excused, pleading even illness if needed, for you are sick, sick of talking.  And be at peace. 

St. Isaac the Syrian famously said that stillness is the mystery of the age to come.  We little ones have the power from God to bring the joy of the age to come into this life, simply by being quiet and repeating His holy name on our lips, in our minds, and in our hearts.   What an infinite gift!   Let us choose this gift today over the glittering false good of vain speech.   

O Christ, Wisdom and Word and Power of God, grant us the grace to be still and to know that Thou art God.  Amen. 

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II Lent Friday – Proverbs 6:20 – 7:1 

20 My son, keep the laws of thy father, and reject not the ordinances of thy mother: 21 but bind them upon thy soul continually, and hang them as a chain about thy neck. 22 Whensoever thou walkest, lead this along and let it be with thee; that it may talk with thee when thou wakest. 23 For the commandment of the law is a lamp and a light; a way of life; reproof also and correction: 24 to keep thee continually from a married woman, and from the calumny of a strange tongue. 25 Let not the desire of beauty overcome thee, neither be thou caught by thine eyes, neither be captivated with her eyelids. 26 For the value of a harlot is as much as of one loaf; and a woman hunts for the precious souls of men. 27 Shall any one bind fire in his bosom, and not burn his garments? 28 or will any one walk on coals of fire, and not burn his feet? 29 So is he that goes in to a married woman; he shall not be held guiltless, neither any one that touches her. 30 It is not to be wondered at if one should be taken stealing, for he steals that when hungry he may satisfy his soul: 31 but if he should be taken, he shall repay sevenfold, and shall deliver himself by giving all his goods. 32 But the adulterer through want of sense procures destruction to his soul. 33 He endures both pain and disgrace, and his reproach shall never be wiped off. 34 For the soul of her husband is full of jealousy: he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35 He will not forego his enmity for any ransom: neither will he be reconciled for many gifts. 7:1 My son, keep my words, and hide with thee my commandments. 

Most of this passage – twelve out of seventeen verses – repeats an oft-repeated warning to the author’s son:   Do not commit adultery!   We know that in the early Church, adultery, along with murder and apostasy, was one of the three sins concerning which there was a long and involved debate over the question of whether they could ever be forgiven, and though eventually the answer was “Yes,” many sincere and learned churchmen did offer plausible arguments for the contrary.  And even when the Church decided that an adulterer could be re-admitted to Holy Communion, the penances She gave were severe.  St. John the Faster, in his thirteenth canon, says that a repentant adulterer may receive Holy Communion after three years, but only if he does 250 prostrations daily and eats only fasting food without oil once a day after the ninth hour for that entire period.   Otherwise, he says, “…let him wait for the end of the term appointed by the Fathers,” e.g., by St. Basil the Great, who excludes the adulterer from Holy Communion for fifteen years, or by St. Gregory of Nyssa – eighteen years.  This sin almost incurs the finality of spiritual suicide: it leaves such a wound on the psychosomatic organism that only very aggressive spiritual surgery can heal it. 

We know that today, of course, spiritual fathers give much lighter penances than prescribed by the ancients, because of our weakness and negligence.  But we must constantly recur to the study of the actual prescriptions of the Fathers, lest we forget the Church’s pristine and lofty standards for Christian behavior, so that we can humble ourselves and in our acknowledged spiritual poverty cry to God for His undeserved mercy day and night, for ourselves and for the sinful race of man.  

We should not, however, dwell on this sin or any sin.  We should exert ourselves first of all on avoiding them!   St. John Chrysostom, commenting on verses 20 through 23, exhorts us to meditate on God’s law day and night as the best preventive medicine.  He says this about verses 20 through the first half of 22: 

“My son, keep the laws of thy father, and reject not the ordinances of thy mother: 21 but bind them upon thy soul continually, and hang them as a chain about thy neck. Whensoever thou walkest, lead this along and let it be with thee…”   [The sacred author] is a good companion…recommending constant meditation on God’s sayings, especially when we walk about in public; that is the time we have particular need of these weapons, when the eye inflicts wounds as a result of all that is to be seen and…anger is catching and there is lust for possessions, then need for them is greater. 

When the Fathers speak of “meditation,” they do not mean extended thought about a spiritual topic, but rather simple reading, memorization, and repetition of sacred texts.  So here St. John Chrysostom is saying something very plain:  Memorize Scripture verses – especially verses from the Psalms – that help you, and say them throughout the day as you go about your business.   We also use the Jesus Prayer in the same way.   There are countless temptations to various sins throughout the day, and we cannot analyze them all or even recognize them all as they assault our senses and thoughts.   Instead we shield our thoughts and feelings with the sure protection of God’s name and God’s word, by simply and literally saying them over and over again, out loud when possible, or, as is more often the case during the working day, within ourselves.  

In commenting on the second half of verse 22, “…that it may talk with thee when thou wakest,” Chrysostom remarks, “…may it speak on rising, and may it guard you in your sleep. …Let it not be far from you even at the moment of waking; instead, on awaking, so let it welcome and accompany you in person.”   So just as we should repeat prayer and sacred texts through the day, so should we be doing as we go to sleep and immediately upon rising.  Temptations to impurity, especially, attack us at night, and this practice will be a mighty help against them.  

In commenting on verse 23, the saint reminds us that, outside of the Christian revelation, all is darkness and delusion, and that we need God’s commandments as a lamp to light our way in the midst of this darkness:  

“For the commandment of the law is a lamp and a light; a way of life…” What are you saying – “ a lamp?” Yes, he says:  impenetrable darkness covers the world.  This is what Paul also says, “The night is far advanced (Romans 13:12),” we now need a lamp; in the present life we are all seated in the depth of night, as it were, whispering, imagining, dreaming.  Since imaginary things are not real, we light the lamp and have oil with us…”.  

Of course, St. Chrysostom does not mean that the created world is not real, but rather that our perception of reality, damaged as we are by sin, is inherently a state of delusion, apart from revealed truth accepted by faith and explained to us by holy men and the inner enlightenment of grace.  Today, when the graceless mass of men around us has gone fatally mad with countless demonic delusions about what is happening right in front of their eyes, it is a matter of spiritual life and death that we mortify our deadly fascination with the insane chatter swirling about our us, keep our heads down, and our minds and hearts centered on God’s holy wisdom, which cannot lie, and which cannot fail. 

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II Lent Thursday – Proverbs 6: 3-20

My son, do what I command thee, and deliver thyself; for on thy friend’s account thou art come into the power of evil men: faint not, but stir up even thy friend for whom thou art become surety. 4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber with thine eyelids; 5 that thou mayest deliver thyself as a doe out of the toils, and as a bird out of a snare. 6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; and see, and emulate his ways, and become wiser than he. 7 For whereas he has no husbandry, nor any one to compel him, and is under no master, 8 he prepares food for himself in the summer, and lays by abundant store in harvest. Or go to the bee, and learn how diligent she is, and how earnestly she is engaged in her work; whose labours kings and private men use for health, and she is desired and respected by all: though weak in body, she is advanced by honouring wisdom. 9 How long wilt thou lie, O sluggard? and when wilt thou awake out of sleep? 10 Thou sleepest a little, and thou restest a little, and thou slumberest a short time, and thou foldest thine arms over thy breast a little. 11 Then poverty comes upon thee as an evil traveller, and want as a swift courier: but if thou be diligent, thine harvest shall arrive as a fountain, and poverty shall flee away as a bad courier. 12 A foolish man and a transgressor goes in ways that are not good. 13 And the same winks with the eye, and makes a sign with his foot, and teaches with the beckonings of his fingers. 14 His perverse heart devises evils: at all times such a one causes troubles to a city. 15 Therefore his destruction shall come suddenly; overthrow and irretrievable ruin. 16 For he rejoices in all things which God hates, and he is ruined by reason of impurity of soul. 17 The eye of the haughty, a tongue unjust, hands shedding the blood of the just; 18 and a heart devising evil thoughts, and feet hastening to do evil, —are hateful to God. 19 An unjust witness kindles falsehoods, and brings on quarrels between brethren. 20 My son, keep the laws of thy father, and reject not the ordinances of thy mother: 

When our children were little, we used read to them a charming picture book called Ant and Bee, designed to teach a child the alphabet.   Today the sacred author uses the image of the ant and the bee to teach us the letter L, which is the first letter of “labor.”   The motto for the healthy spiritual life, both for one’s interior life and one’s life in community, is ora et labora, pray and work!  Sermons and religious writings tend to say more about the ora half of the formula than the labora, but you really cannot have one without the other.   Interpreting the meaning of God’s command to our First Parents to “till and keep” the Garden of Paradise, the Holy Fathers comment that the command has two sides, one interior and one exterior.  The interior meaning of the command is to till and keep the mind through prayer.  The exterior meaning is to till and to keep the beautiful creation that God has given us.  God’s command contains both meanings, and therefore we must do both.  For our prayer to be beneficial, it must be accompanied by labor, and for our work to have meaning, it must be accompanied by prayer. 

Our Holy Father John Chrysostom says that the inspired author chose the example of the humblest creatures in order to humble us:  We are not as good as they!  

“Go to the ant, you sluggard.”  (Verse six).  It is a severe indictment when a human being has recourse to an irrational creature to be instructed in virtue, the rational by the irrational, the master by the slave. He could have chosen a bigger animal, of course, if he had wanted, but his intention was to shame them by the lowliness of the example…Notice what feature of theirs he bids them imitate:  their efforts, their hard work…”   

Animals, of course, do not make moral choices.  They do not have to struggle against the passions, and they do everything according to their nature,  according to God’s design.   But the Scriptures and Fathers frequently point to their instinctive obedience to God’s will in order to shame us, for, unlike the animals, we often do not act according to our true nature, but according to our passions.   

After the saints have attained freedom from the passions, they act consistently according to our true nature, and therefore all of creation obeys them:  they work miracles of healing, they live in harmony with the most ferocious beasts, they can live for days on tiny servings of the simplest of foods, and so forth.  But this does not happen overnight:  They have to force themselves for many years to struggle against their passions; they fulfill the dictum “Give blood and receive spirit.”  And not only in prayer:  They also work and provide for others, always looking for a way to exert themselves for the benefit of their brethren.  

St. John Chrysostom goes on to comment on the bee as one who does work that provides real benefit to others: 

“Or go to the bee and learn how diligent she is.”  (Verse eight). She is not treated badly by strangers like that other creature, nor concerned [only] for her own house like the ant.  Instead, while she undergoes work and hardship, profit from her goes to others.  The Christian should be like this; Paul ran his course in this way so that others might rest, his words being to this effect, “I do this for the sake of the elect, so that they may attain eternal life.” What is required is not only to work, but also to have a valuable effect… 

The Fathers identify the worker bee – a female that does not mate, a virgin – as a symbol of the virgin life of monks and nuns, whose spiritual labors produce the honey of spiritual graces for the whole Church.   And for all of us, the humble honeybee provides inspiration and example:  Let us strive always that our labors may have, as St. John Chrysostom says, “a valuable effect” for others in all that we do! 

Living as we do, however, in a technological society where the work we do to support ourselves is often impersonal and abstract, and it is difficult to discern its immediate benefit to others – or, perhaps, in fact, there is none! – our work appears often simply as a necessary evil, not an inherent good. This is why many gifted young adults are now fleeing the white collar world and seeking ways to support their families through farming, skilled trades, crafts, and operating small businesses that sell locally made products of integrity, usefulness, and beauty. Their work may be hard, and they may have less money, but the work is delightful, and they see the benefit to others all the time.  We should pray for this trend to continue, and for the Lord to provide the circumstances in which it is possible, in the face of so much opposition from the global elite.  But if you are stuck in a job that seems meaningless, increase your efforts for interior prayer throughout the day, remember that simply supporting your family is, in itself, a blessed labor, and ask the Lord to open a door, so that you can both support those for whom you are responsible, and do work that has integrity, nobility, and intrinsic meaning. 

O Lord, how wonderful are Thy works, in wisdom hast Thou made them all!   Grant that we may benefit from the example of the ant and the bee and be diligent in all that we do for Thee and for our brother. Give us the grace to overcome the passion of sloth, and console us by the delight of sharing in Thy work of care for Thy creation.  Amen.