Sermo 15

A discourse on how the monk ought to be. You have heard, my brothers beloved by the Lord, the Lord saying: Whoever has left father and mother, brothers or sisters or wife or children, for the sake of my name, and follows after me, this one will receive a hundredfold blessing and will inherit eternal life. And again: Whoever has not left father and mother, brothers and sisters, and has not taken up the cross and followed me, is not worthy of me. And again: Whoever does not hate father and mother, brothers, wife, children, and his own soul, cannot be my disciple. And again: He who loves his soul will lose it, and he who has lost his soul will find it. And again: Unless you turn and become as children, you will not enter the kingdom of the heavens. And again, taking hold of a child, he said: Unless you become as this child, you cannot be saved; whoever becomes as this child, this one is greater than you in the kingdom of the heavens. Whoever wishes to be first among you, let him become a servant and slave of all; but many first will be last, and the last first. And again he said: Many are called, but few are chosen, and few are those who are saved; many attempt, but few accomplish. And again he says: From the Forerunner and Baptist until today, the kingdom of the heavens is snatched away, and violent men snatch it. And again he spoke his own mysteries: I must be spat upon and struck with fists and slapped and mocked, and on the third day rise.

And Peter, first of the apostles, said to him: Lord, mercy on you. And the Lord says to Peter: Get behind me, Satan, you do not perceive the things of God, but the things of men. Whoever wishes to live piously in Christ will be persecuted. When Peter saw the end of the commandment, he says: Lord, a man ought not to take a wife. And the Lord says to him: Not all can contain this word; but there are eunuchs from their mother's womb, and others are made eunuchs by men, and others are so for the sake of the kingdom of heaven; he who is able to contain, let him contain. Therefore, my beloved brothers and children of the apostles, we have been able to contain according to his desirable voice; let us now hold fast to the heavenly hope, and let us care for eternal life. Behold, as the Lord commanded us, we hastened, leaving behind father and mother, brothers, sisters, wife, sons, fields, vineyards, houses, and we followed the savior Christ; we abandoned all worldly things, and taking up the cross we followed the savior Christ, as the apostles did; and we wish to please and serve the savior Christ. Brother, if in your absence it happens that you are reviled by someone, and another comes and reports to you that such and such a brother reviled you, you, as a prudent man, recognize whose machination it is. And do not be embittered against your brother. But say also to the one who came and reported to you thus: Even if my brother happens to have insulted me, yet he did not do this of himself; the evil one prepared this, in order to cast strife between us.

The Lord will put an end to the evil one, and will have mercy on my brother, and may he not abandon us.