Homilia de virginitate

Homily on Virginity. Each of us, having received free will from God, as the holy Paul says in the first letter to the Corinthians, each has authority over his own will. And whoever has decided in his own heart to keep his own virgin, will do well, so that, he says, the one who marries does well, and the one who does not marry, he says, does better. And to speak more clearly, for these things have moved me, I will not hesitate to expound upon the good and the better, especially for those winged with heavenly and spiritual love for God. For chaste marriage is good, as being joined by God; but undefiled virginity is better, because of the superiority of the good, and neither is alien to the other. For just as fruits are found from plants, yet the sweet fruit turns away the axe; but the axe, our Savior says, lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down. For Paul accuses the woman of transgression according to the first-formed Eve, but promises salvation through childbearing. But he did not leave the saying unclear; for, he says, if they remain in faith and truth and love and sanctification and temperance. Hence it is already clear that if they do remain; but if they do not remain, they will be liable to a charge of transgression. Let a father persuade his son and a mother her daughter to be chaste for Christ; for the offspring is common. But if anyone wishes neither to flatter nor to persuade with zeal for God, let him not dare to hinder those who hasten to be chaste, whether it be a son or a daughter, whether a male or female slave.

For the one who desires to be chaste, do not hasten to prevent her, lest you sow enmity with the true bridegroom, Christ. Then, if nature brings forth a soul that, together with the body, blossoms purely toward the glory of Christ and turns to him, while the father together with the mother, nailed to the earth, does not labor with the child that has blossomed toward the glory of Christ, yet the child, nourished by the pure air of chastity and watered by the dew of the good promise, will appear before the Lord truly uncorrupted, pure, and undefiled; it will itself be glorified beyond honor, because a grape has come from thorns and briars, while those who gave it birth bring condemnation upon themselves instead of glory. Therefore, your daughter wishes to remain a virgin for Christ. You ought to rejoice; but do not consent immediately. Utter not what comes from the heart, but what comes from the lips. Do not be consumed by envy, but fear the fall; for this is what is sought purely from the beginning: do not be ashamed of the bridegroom. Then, if you see good tracks, orderly movements, a reverent eye, what the mind is, whether the desire is human or heavenly, what the strains of fasting and of all piety in Christ are, if you see a heavenly, guileless love stirring, then by all means shelter her for the son of the Lord God, the spotless and undefiled bridegroom. Let the father then guard the temple of God.

Be a priest of the most high God. Let nothing base approach the pure temple; do not despise because you have begotten, but because you hold a deposit from the master, you must not be careless. Fear for yourself, do not slumber, lest you lose the deposit of the heavenly king. Do not be negligent in guarding, lest you be grieved in losing; do not smile, lest you weep. Even if it pains, it is better to suffer for Christ. For neither does one who does not discipline the child teach the best things, not moved by anger, but by paternal affection and love of offspring. Do not despise because you have, but guard and fear, so that you may have. Do not bring every person into your house; for the snares of the devil are many. Do not show your deposit to every person; for envy is everywhere. Earnestly prevent conversation with men; for from conversation in Genesis the first-formed fell with Eve. Even if the conversation is virtuous, yet the worthless one mocks. For he is clever in wickedness; he does not immediately apply the drugs, but mixes the gall with honey and escapes notice. For just as one is ensnared by the lips of a harlot woman, so also from a licentious man the words at first anoint the throat like honey, but the end is more bitter than gall and sharper than a double-edged sword and more terrible. Even if the appearance is modest, even if the words are godly, do not trust, being fearful; for both parts grew from equal seeds, and it is impossible to uproot the plant of desire unless a chaste reason extinguishes it. Do not, under the pretext of a vigil, as if sending her off to church, send her away captive.

Do not, again, for the sake of keeping vigil with a lamp, extinguish the lamp of chastity. Do not, under the pretext of gatherings, be plundered by the gatherings and remain without the company of the saints. Do not, on account of some who have died, go out and yourself be found dead. Pay close attention to the inner bed, for the envious one is everywhere—and to laughter, and wrath, and anger, and oath, and idle talk, and the remaining passions of the flesh. Do not allow at all that any blemish be added to the unblemished one. Tend the green shoots, that you may gather the sheaves. Learn what you have, that you may know how to guard a sanctuary for God, a temple of Christ, a pure altar for the king, a holy spirit incarnate, pure members of Christ, a guardian of the law, a disciple of the Gospels, a solemn glory of the church of God, a correction of Eve's transgression, a recall from exile, a reconciliation with men, a bride of the heavenly king, a pledge of life. This deposit is the cause of so many deposits; do not, therefore, attend to it carelessly, that you may become a partner in the achievement. Subjoin from the divine scriptures: "Better childlessness with virtue," and what was said to the holy Mary by the angel: "Rejoice, O favored one, the Lord is with you." And culling from the seeds and benefits of the divine scriptures their kindred sayings, the commandments that glorify chastity, weaving a pure crown with words of chastity, add them, that desiring those things she may eagerly enter the undefiled bridal chamber of Christ, running together with the wise virgins, so that you, the parent, may harvest the bridal chamber of the kingdom, and she may receive the crown of incorruption.

If she does not wish to remain thus, no one compels her, no one blames her. But she will blame herself when her labors stand before her and the temporary [pleasures] slip away, when birth pangs come upon her, when she makes lamentation like that of serpents and mourning like that of the daughters of the sirens. For she has drawn upon herself the Lord's pronouncement, which he spoke to Eve in Genesis: "I will multiply, multiply your labors and your birth pangs," and: "In pains you will bear children." For the "Hail, full of grace" she has overlooked. And even if she holds in her hands the temporary husband to whom she fled, his help is far from her. She will blame herself when her daughter dies and her son is ill, when another mourning threatens her preceding grief and her groan is succeeded by a groan. She will blame herself when her husband is abroad and her sorrows are at home, and the necessities are not at hand, when her husband is delayed in his absence and her sorrows take root, when after she has watched many roads, the tears flow like a stream, when a messenger of her beloved husband's death becomes a messenger of her own death.

she anticipates, when she runs one path after another, mourning-voiced and with loosened hair, even if delicate, even if barefoot, even if rivers meet her—the urgency of her grief disregards these things—when she tears out her locks and beats her own breast, when she intertwines her fingers and places them on her knees and falls to the ground, when her breath falters as she weeps and the light of her eyes is opened wide, when she curses the day and measures the dust upon her head, when she defiles her crowned head, once sprinkled with fruits and lilies, by besmearing it with ash from the hearth. And she will blame herself when the bridal garment is succeeded by a mourning one. And perhaps a second mourning will be betrothed to her grief, for the sake of a second marriage. Even if this passes, the turbid and much-lamenting spirit of widowhood will suffice for her and more. Then, having completed everything, the wretched woman—or rather, having been completed before all else—departs from this life, which is full of pain. And there, perhaps, other pains and second groans will meet her: when she sees holy virgins clothed in garments of incorruption, holding in their hands the psaltery inscribed in their hearts, singing the victory hymn of virginity, wearing crowns of incorruption on their temples, in place of the human groans they left behind here, dancing before Christ, with angels in joy, producing delight. When Christ the bridegroom shows his affection, when he groans with a groan, then again she will blame herself, then she will greatly repent, and her repentance will be useless.

But let not only the female sex be persuaded to practice chastity, but also let men not be negligent in being persuaded to sanctify their own bodies, thus from the divine scriptures chanting: "Blessed is the man whose hope is the name of the Lord," and "Blessed are the blameless," and "The unmarried man cares for the things of the Lord," and "Blessed are the self-controlled, because God will speak to them," and that "corruption will not inherit incorruption," and that "he who sows into the spirit will reap eternal life," and that "those who are in the flesh cannot please God," and that "it is seemly," and that "it is well-attended to the Lord without distraction," and that "it is good for a man to be thus," and what was said by the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah, that "Do not take a wife, and no son nor daughter will be born to you in this place," and what was said in the prophet Isaiah by the Lord saying, that "Let the eunuch not say, 'I am a dry tree.'" For these things, he says, the Lord says to the eunuchs: "As many as choose what I wish, to keep their hands from doing injustice, and do not conceive evil thoughts against the Lord, I will give them," he says, "a notable place in my house and in the fortification better than sons and daughters." These things and those in the Gospels again proclaimed by the same Lord, that "there are eunuchs who have castrated themselves for the sake of the kingdom of heaven." So then, let the soul of the young man be strengthened chiefly from the holy scriptures.

If, by recounting the hardships of marriage to them for the purpose of turning them away from the passions of the flesh, they thus overcome the transient and frenzied desire of the flesh, which passes like the flower of grass, by wrestling it down with the heavenly desire, and extinguish the bitterness of its sweetness, conquering it with chaste reasoning. Thus let a father speak to his son so as to soften the youth's prime; then, if you see his faith unbroken, with nothing shaken or soft, nor the form blooming licentiously in disorderly flesh, but faith active in divine fear, imitate the patriarch, become a new Abraham offering a new Isaac: leave the donkey and the servants, that is, the transient labor of this world, and place upon him the wood, that is, the cross. According to that image, you yourself also lead your own young Isaac to the mountain, offering a living sacrifice to the living God, so that you too may become a priest of the Most High God, offering praise to God; for with such sacrifices God is pleased, such priests serve God. And if you bind his feet, if you do not give him food readily available, so that his flesh, not fattened, may not kick out, lest, nourished by excessive food and drink, which are corrupting, he gain bodily strength and not that of the soul, and leaping up kick out and not receive the wood of the cross, or ever scatter the altar, so that you may have, besides one hope, other hopes, and be both father and priest of the Most High; and if you offer prayers concerning him, you will show your affection.

This is what Job, the servant of God, did, whom you hear about concerning the intention regarding his sons, sacrificing a calf each year, saying, "Lest my sons ever conceive evil thoughts toward God." And if a mother makes tunics for her son, let her not be vexed; for Anna made double cloaks each year for the holy Samuel as for a son, serving God, as is written in the first book of Kings. And certainly the king will not fail to repay those who have honored his soldiers. That parents also store up treasure for their children, Paul taught. What is the treasure? To rear them in discipline and admonition of the Lord. For thus indeed is the good treasure, proper to its possessor, which no thief approaches, nor moth destroys, nor the transient wealth of the world—a pastime for men, and a distraction, and a war. For often the possessor has even lost his life because of it, as we have often both heard and seen with our own eyes that these things are so. Thus, then, let parents also store up treasure for their own children, equipping them with things pleasing to God. And if someone else should be zealous to do this for God's sake alone, in the name of a disciple, even if someone should draw a cup of cold water and offer it to the disciple of Christ, he will be an heir of the divine kingdom. Let all who love Christ, therefore, hasten to provide what is useful. And let nothing be considered more useful than the salvation of the soul by those who are right-minded. Many are the things that procure salvation for the soul, for even up to two lepta and up to a good word are more valuable than a gift.

This is because the sincere choice from a true mind is acceptable to the philanthropic God, rather than the blood of sacrifices. For often what was testified by the all-wise God to David in the first place through the holy Samuel has been taught to us: that men are in the face, but God is in hearts, especially those lifted up by the wing of perfect heavenly desire. Let the virgins come, then; for there is need of them in the kingdom, but there is need of wise ones. For it is not without reason that he excluded those whom you hear of as virgins, but because they had no oil due to their own negligence, they were unable to enter and greet the good, nor did they strive for the better in keeping watch; and because of this they did not hear the name "brides," they did not reach the incorruptible bridal chamber, they did not spread their bridal canopy, and because of this they did not receive the crown of the kingdom of heaven, and they did not converse with the immortal bridegroom; for they did not reach him. Because of this he said: there is need of wise ones. If you are a virgin for Christ, do not do as you wish, but as the one to whom you are a virgin wishes. Do not desire the same things as those who think worldly thoughts. For how will one who has mortified the members on earth that are of sin be among those who have not yielded to the truth? Why do you, who have been crucified to the world, seek to be with those who take pleasure in worldly and worldly things? No one, he says, who is enlisted becomes entangled in the affairs of life in order to please the one who enlisted him, and no one is crowned unless he contends lawfully. You were buried with Christ in baptism; why do you give opinions as if living in the world? You crossed the Jordan; do not turn back to Egypt.

That is: you have departed from the world in your mind; do not again darken with earthly things your mind, which has already been illumined as far as heaven. Do not let your habit be that of Jerusalem while your ways are those of Egypt. See that you do not cover the inner wolf with a sheep's skin, nor crown the thornbush with rose blossoms. The garment is removed; the character of the sheep is sought. The leaves fall; the grape cluster is sought. The external flowers wither; the character appears; for the nature of the thornbush reveals itself. So with virgins, it is not the body that is needed, but guileless ways are needed. So the farmer is not nourished by the leaves, but the fruit delights him. So understand me in all things; for it is not necessary to discuss these things subtly. For the minds of the wise, leaping toward the intellect, consider subtlety of words a burden. Therefore I urge that no mere appearance be adopted, but that the work of the appearance come first, lest, while the works are otherwise seemly, some be found unseemly in their deeds. Often, then, when a daughter desires to hasten toward better things, a mother, caring for the young or deceived by transient beauty as it is thought, or perhaps even consumed by envy, hastens to make her daughter a child of this age and not to be wedded to God. But everything that is thought to be terrible lies in ambush; but do not lose heart, O child; keep your eye upward, where the Beloved is; follow the tracks of that one who went before, whom you hear of as Thecla.

Even if what is said is a digression—whether Theocleia is disturbed, whether Thamyris mourns, whether Alexander succeeds, whether the judge threatens—let the love not be extinguished. For it is beneficial for the young to be crucified with Jesus Christ. Who will separate those who love him from the love of Christ? Neither affliction, nor distress, nor judges, nor orators, nor a sword, nor any other creature will be able to separate them from the love of Christ. But even if you become bereft of parents, you are not bereft of God. Even if you forget your father's house, the king will desire your beauty. Come then, whether you are very wealthy, whether you are ill-favored, whether you are poor, whether you are a laborer. Take courage, come; for the bridegroom Jesus Christ does not love fading beauty, nor does he turn away from poverty. For the same grace summons both small and great, but it tests the intentions, and thus it accepts those armed with virtue by chaste reasoning. These things also apply to a son hastening to present his body: the father raises enmity against his own child, unable to recognize such an achievement. He considers it folly, according to the divine scripture, what is wise before God. But do not falter, O young man; do not prefer a mortal father or mother or anyone else. He declared worthy of himself, as it is written in the Gospel, those whom Jesus called: leave the boat, leave your father and the nets for the catch, even if the hopes of life are many, even if Zebedee is disturbed. Prefer nothing at all to God, rather to your own salvation, so that you may be with John, bearing the honor of his same throne.

For thus God promised that those who leave behind father or mother or brothers or fields or houses will be seated upon twelve thrones in the kingdom of the heavens. These things he said to virgins, these things he said to those who hear; for he himself enclosed all, and all are to run together into him. And not only did he command these things to those who are virgins, but also: whoever has left behind wife and children and the rest will inherit manifold things and eternal life. He did not speak by way of separation, but to those who have, that they might not be as though having because the time is constrained, not dissolving the bond, but sowing temperance, that he might stifle incontinence. And since we do not bear the stigmata of Christ and we do not turn away from the dissolutions, except in word, perhaps some of us gather in vain in the church. And this I will not leave without witness. Come, I will set it forth from the Gospel. He compared his own kingdom to a net cast down in the world and gathering very many from every multitude. When you come to the shore, he says, you pick out the good ones, and you cast the rotten ones away. He himself says: Many are called, but few are chosen, not because the chosen are few, but because chosen ones are not found. For just as in the threshing floor many are gathered together, but in the storehouse few are brought in, so in the Church many of us are gathered together, but in the kingdom few will be brought in. For the ship of the kingdom holds and steers toward those who are light, and the north winds are not trifled with. Neither does the ship begrudge, but the light thing is carried away. Let no one therefore be light, lest like chaff they become things separated outside.

For no one is found to escape notice. For the winnowing fan in the hand of God, who cleans the threshing floor, mixes the fruit with the fruitful; the chaff is separated by the discernment of the wind, and, as you hear, is delivered to the fire. And in another way we used to learn the exactness of our investigation in the Gospel. For the king entered, it says, to see those reclining and found the one who seemed to escape notice. The king spoke. He suffered, as he heard; for what was said to him was grim. I hesitate even to utter with my tongue, and for this reason I will not convey it in speech. For those who love learning know the terrible word spoken to that one and to those who became like him. It is not the feast that fails, but the one reclining was unworthy of the feast. The king is not grudging, but the one who entered did not prepare himself worthy, since he was wicked and reclined. Let no one therefore suffer this, let no one be wicked, so that he may not be muzzled. Thus muzzle the desires of the flesh, you who wish to live piously. For Paul cries out to flee youthful desires. I did not wish to speak thus, but I was compelled to speak so, that you, hearing the grim thing, may flee the terrible thing. And when must you flee? Now is the day of salvation. What sort you wish to be before Christ, you know that a time comes when no one can work. Night comes when each receives through the body what he has done. A day comes when no one can put off until tomorrow. For in death there is no one who remembers you, and in Hades who will confess for you?

If, therefore, the definition is such, brothers, and we are not able to pass by, nor is it possible to escape notice when we have passed by, let us anticipate his face in confession. Let us anticipate, so that we may not be anticipated. Let us conquer the evils by the good, so that we may not be found among the evils. Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, so that, appearing pure to the pure, we may obtain a pure crown through Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom glory is to the Father for the ages of ages. Amen.