In illud Vidua eligatur

On the passage "Let a widow be enrolled, having been not less than sixty years old," and concerning the rearing of children, and concerning almsgiving. 1. The grace of the Spirit arranged it well that this portion of the apostolic letter which you heard today should be read at this time; for it has a certain kinship and great continuity with what was said before, not in the words, but in the thoughts. For what was read before was this: "But concerning those who have fallen asleep, I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers"; and many things were said then about the resurrection, namely, to bear such sufferings nobly, and to give thanks to God who takes to himself those who are ours. Today what was read is this: "Let a widow be enrolled, having been not less than sixty years old." Since, then, widowhood comes from death, and this is especially what intensifies the pain and stirs up mourning, remembering what was said before—the things we said when exhorting those who mourn—receive these things too with all eagerness, and store them up together with those in the treasuries of your mind. For the name of widowhood seems to be a name of misfortune, but it is not; rather, it is a dignity, and an honor, and the greatest glory; not a reproach, but a crown. For even if the widow does not have a husband living with her, she has Christ living with her, who drives back all the evils that assail her. For in the assaults that come upon the widow, it is enough for her to enter in and bend the knee, and groan bitterly, and pour out tears, and repel the whole plot of those who maltreat her; for such are the weapons of the widow—tears, and groans, and unceasing prayers.

Through these things she is able to repel not only human assault but also demonic attacks. The widow has been released from worldly affairs and now journeys toward heaven; and the zeal and care she showed toward her husband she will be able to spend on spiritual matters. But if you say that in ancient times this condition was a calamity, I would reply that death too was a curse; but it has become an honor and a dignity for those who bear it bravely when it comes. Thus, at any rate, the martyrs are crowned; in the same way the widow also passes over to a great dignity. 2. Do you wish to learn how great a thing a widow is? How precious she is to God, and beloved and a mighty advocate, and those who have been condemned, and those given up for lost, and those who have no boldness of speech, and those who have been made enemies of God and stripped of every defense—she, appearing, snatches them away and reconciles them, and not only brings them forgiveness, nor merely release from punishment, but makes them full of boldness and splendor, and purer than the rays of the sun, even if they are more defiled than all men? Hear God himself speaking to the Jews: When you stretch out your hands, I will turn my eyes away from you; though you multiply your prayer, I will not listen to you; for your hands are full of blood. Yet nevertheless to these polluted ones, these murderers, these who have no boldness of speech, these dishonored ones, he promises to be reconciled, if they will help widows who are being wronged. For after saying, I will turn my eyes away, and I will not listen, he says: Judge for the orphan, and do justice to the widow.

And come, and let us reason together; and though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow. Do you see how great a power the widow has? Where does she display her protection? Not before a ruler and king of those on earth, but before the very King of the heavens? How much wrath can she dissolve, how greatly can she reconcile the Master to those who are incurably sick, snatch them from unbearable punishment, wash out the stain from a soul dyed with the filth of sins, and lead it to the utmost purity? Let us not, then, despise a widow woman, but let us show all care for her. She who is truly a widow is our protectress. But it is worth standing by and seeing of what sort of widow he speaks here. For those women are also called widows who have fallen into the utmost poverty, and are enrolled, and are fed from the funds of the church, just as indeed in the time of the apostles. For there arose, it says, a murmuring among the Hellenists, because their widows were overlooked in the daily ministry. But not only these are called widows, but also those who need nothing, but enjoy abundance, and preside over households, and have only lost their husband. Let us see, then, of what sort of widow he speaks here when he says: Let a widow be enrolled, not less than sixty years old. Is it about the one who needs help and has need to be fed from the funds of the church, or about the one who is without need and lives in abundance? It is clear that it is about this one. For when he speaks of that other one, the one destroyed by famine, he does not set a time, nor does he demand exactness of manners.

But simply, "If any believing man or believing woman has widows," he says, "let them assist them, and let not the Church be burdened." He did not say, "When she has reached sixty years"; he did not say, "If she has shown hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints"—and very reasonably. For where the need is to remedy poverty, he does not wait for a time. For what if, being fifty years old, she should perish from famine? What if in her youth she should happen to be disabled in body? Does she sleep away the time waiting for her sixtieth year? But that would be the utmost inhumanity. Therefore, when the need is to relieve famine, he does not inquire precisely about times and the virtue of the soul; but when the matter is not to remedy poverty but to bestow honor according to worth, he reasonably makes such an examination of her manner of life. For just as there are companies of virgins, so also in old times there were companies of widows, and it was not permitted for them simply to be enrolled among the widows. He is not speaking, then, about her who lives in poverty and needs help, but about her who has chosen widowhood. And for what reason does he require time in her case too? He knows that youth is a kind of fire, and a sea full of waves and having many upheavals. When, therefore, they are about to have exemption from their age, and to dwell as in a harbor in old age, their desires having been quenched, he brings them with safety into this company. What then, he says, did not many, having begun even after their twentieth year, shine forth until the end, and bear the yoke, and display an apostolic life? Shall we then hinder those, tell me, and compel those who wish to live in widowhood to consort in second marriages? And where is this worthy of an apostolic judgment?

What then is it that is said? Pay close attention, beloved, to the very meaning of the word. For he did not say, "Let her become a widow not less than sixty years old," but, "Let her be enrolled as a widow"; and again he did not say, "Let younger widows not be enrolled," but, "But refuse the younger widows"; for he is speaking these things to Timothy. For since many men are easily caught in slander, and have sharpened their tongues against the leaders of the Church, wishing to snatch the ruler away from accusations, he lays down these laws and says: You refuse, and you do not enroll. If she herself wishes from home and of her own accord to choose these things, let her do it; do you, however, not receive her yet, so that they may not say, "A certain one compelled her, being younger and wishing to marry, to take charge of a household; for this reason she fell and was tripped up." Do not enroll her, so that, even if she falls, you may be free of accusations; and even if she does not fall, you may enroll her with greater safety at the proper time. But if he says, "I wish younger widows to marry, to bear children," hear what sort of younger widows he means: those who, after growing wanton against Christ, wish to marry, the gossipy, the meddlesome, those who go about the

of houses, those who speak what they ought not, those who have turned aside after Satan. For he did not simply say, "I desire younger women to marry," and then fall silent, but he also says what sort of younger women, and he recounts their falls. What falls? "When they grow wanton against Christ," he says, "they desire to marry, and they learn to be idle, and busybodies, going about houses, speaking what they ought not, and they have turned aside." After whom? After Satan. Since, then, after choosing widowhood and enduring all that shamefulness, they wish to marry again, it is better to come to this before being held fast and trampling on their covenants with Christ; so that if there is no such woman, he does not impose the necessity of a second marriage. 4. And that this is true is clear from that. For if he had laid this down as a law for all women—to marry and manage a household—he would have been demanding those things superfluously: if she raised children, if she washed the feet of the saints, if she relieved the afflicted, if she followed every good work; superfluously he also says that, "having been the wife of one man." For if you command all the younger women to marry, how will anyone be able to be the wife of one man? So his word is directed to those women. He does the same also in the case of marital intercourse. For having said, "Do not deprive one another, except by agreement for a time, that you may devote yourselves to fasting and prayer, and come together again"—lest you think the matter is a law, he adds the reason afterward, saying, "lest Satan tempt you." "But this I say by way of concession, not command, because of your lack of self-control.

Just as, then, he does not speak these things to everyone there, but to the more incontinent and easily caught among men, so also here he exhorts and advises those women who are easy to handle and unable to endure the life of widowhood with strictness, to bring in a second bridegroom. For widowhood is a twofold thing. What is this twofold thing? A display of good works, and a preeminence of the greatest honor. Just as rule also is a twofold thing—for it has both works and dignity; the dignity of rule is authority, and the attendance of the many, and the very fact of being a ruler; but the works of rule are to help the wronged, to hinder those who do wrong, to preside over cities, to spend the night in common cares for affairs, and countless other things—so also widowhood is both a dignity and a work. It is a dignity: the very fact of being a widow, which is the greatest thing, as we demonstrated earlier. It is a work: not to bring in a second husband, but to be content with the first; to raise children; to show hospitality; to wash the feet of the saints; to provide for the afflicted; to follow after every good work. Paul, then, when speaking about them, allows her to perform all the works of a widow; but into the dignity of a widow, and the choir, and the order, he does not allow her to enter until the sixtieth year has passed, almost saying: Let her do the works of a widow, but let her be deemed worthy of the honor then, when, having displayed all things, she has henceforth both the security that comes from time and the proof that comes from works and the testimony from without. Let no one think that this word is suitable for women only.

For it is also useful for men, so that they too may love their own wives even after they have departed, and not live with lionesses alongside their little children, bringing in stepmothers and overturning all their own security. 5. We say these things not as legislating that a second marriage is to be shunned, but as exhorting and advising that one be content with the first with chastity. It is one thing to exhort and advise, another to legislate. For the one who exhorts and advises leaves the hearer free to choose what is advised; but the one who legislates sets aside this authority of theirs. But the Church does not legislate these things, but only exhorts; for Paul also permitted a second marriage, saying thus: A woman is bound by law for as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord; but she is more blessed if she remains so. Just as, then, marriage is good, but virginity is better, so also a second marriage is good, but the first and only one is better than it. We do not, therefore, cast out second marriage, nor do we legislate these things, but we advise, if anyone can be chaste, to remain with the first. And we exhort and advise also for the very security of the household; for a second marriage has often become the beginning and pretext of strife and daily wars. Often, at any rate, a man sitting at table, reminded of his first wife in the presence of the second, wept quietly; and she immediately grew savage and leaped upon him like a wild beast, exacting from him justice for his affection toward that one.

And even if she wishes to praise the one who has departed, the subject of her eulogies becomes a pretext for war and battle. And with enemies who have departed we make peace, and along with their lives we also dissolve our enmity toward them; but in the case of wives, everything is the opposite. For the woman he did not see, whose voice he never heard, from whom he suffered nothing terrible, this one he hates and turns away from, and not even death extinguishes the hatred. Who has seen, who has heard of dust being made an object of jealousy, and ashes being warred against? 6. But the evil does not stop there; but even if children are born from the second wife, and even if they are not, there is war again and battle. For when they are not born, she grieves more greatly, and for this reason she looks upon the children of the former wife as enemies and as those who have done her the greatest wrong, since through their life she receives a clearer perception of her own childlessness. But if they are born, again the evil is no less. For the husband, often disposed affectionately toward the one who has departed, clings to these children, loving them and at the same time pitying them for their orphanhood; but she wants her own children preferred everywhere, and she wants these to be not even in the rank of brothers but of cast-out slaves; all of which could overturn a household and make life unlivable for the married man. For these reasons we advise, if possible, to be self-controlled, to be content with the first marriage, and that neither husbands bring in wives nor wives bring in husbands, so that the whole household not be overturned. But for what reason, when discoursing about widowhood, was he not satisfied with the first alone, with saying, A woman of one husband?

So that you may learn that it is not simply the not marrying a second time that makes a widow, but her being adorned in good works, in almsgiving and love for humanity, and in the care of strangers. For if virginity profited those virgins nothing (and yet virginity is far greater than widowhood), but they departed, their lamps' fire extinguished, put to shame, since they had no fruit of love for humanity and almsgiving to show, how much more so widows. At any rate, Paul, having heard that parable and fearing for these, makes great exactness concerning the matter, so that those trusting in monogamy might not neglect the rest of virtue. For this reason he says, well attested in good works. For just as virginity is good, but without the rest it has proved fruitless and shut them out of the bridal chamber, so widowhood is good, but without the rest of virtue it is vain and superfluous. For this reason Paul did not stop his exhortation at not bringing in a second husband, but he also demands many far greater and more important things from the widow. And just as those who enlist soldiers seek bodily fitness, so too he, enlisting her into the army of Christ, sought fitness and vigor of soul and zeal in all good works, saying thus: if she raised children, if she showed hospitality, if she washed the feet of the saints, if she relieved the afflicted, if she followed every good work. For each of these seems to be a bare word, but it contains much life in itself. 7. And if it seems good, let us first examine what he himself placed first: if she raised children.

For here he calls "nourishment" not this bare thing that is commonly supposed, namely, not to overlook one's children perishing with hunger; for not even nature's own necessity ever allows this to be neglected; and hence there is no need of commands and laws about this, that widows should feed their offspring. But he means here the care of righteousness, the rearing of children with piety; since those who do not rear them in this way are child-murderers rather than mothers. I say this not only to women but also to men. For often many fathers do and contrive everything so that a fine horse may be had for their son, and a splendid house, and a costly field; but that a beautiful soul and a pious disposition may be had for him, they take no account. And this is what overturns the whole world, that we neglect our own children, and care for their possessions but despise their souls, enduring a thing of the utmost folly. For possessions, even if they be many and costly, when there is no one of good character able to manage them with virtue, will all be lost and perish with him, and bring the utmost harm to the one who possesses them; but if the soul be noble and philosophic, even if nothing be stored up within, it will be able to hold fast all things with security. It is necessary, then, to consider not how we may make them rich in silver and gold and such things, but how they may become more abundantly supplied than all in piety and philosophy and the possession of virtue.

so that they may not be in need of many things, so that they may not be frantic about the necessities of life and youthful desires. And it is necessary to scrutinize with precision their comings in and their goings out, their pastimes, their associations, knowing that if these things are neglected, we shall have no forgiveness from God. For if we are held to account for the provision of others (for "let each one not seek his own," he says, "but that of his neighbor"), how much more for that of children? "Did I not," he says, "place him with you from the beginning? Did I not set you over him as teacher and protector and guardian and ruler? Did I not put all his authority into your hands? I commanded you to mold and to shape him while he was tender; what forgiveness could you have, if you overlooked him when he ran away? For what would you say? That he is hard to rein and rough? But from the beginning you ought to have foreseen these things, when he was easy to rein and very young, to bridle him with precision, to accustom him to what is fitting, to shape him, to punish the diseases of his soul. When the work was easier, then you ought to have cut out the thorns, when, the age being more tender, they were more easily pulled up, and the passions, if neglected and growing, would not have become hard to deal with. Therefore he says, "Bend his neck from youth," when the training would be easier. And he does not only command, but he himself also takes hold with you of the work. And how, and in what way? "He who speaks evil of father or mother," he says, "let him end in death." Do you see how great a fear he set over them? How great an agony he built up as a wall around them? How he made your authority powerful?

What defense, then, could we offer, when he himself, whenever we are insulted, does not even spare their lives; but we, when God is insulted by them, do not even endure to be indignant with them? "I," he says, "do not even refuse to kill the one who insults you; but you," he says, "do not even bear to grieve him with a word—the one who tramples on my laws." And where are these things worthy of forgiveness? You see him insulting the one who made him, and you are not vexed, tell me, nor do you fear and rebuke him—and this, knowing that God himself also forbade this, not because any harm comes to the one insulted (for the Divine is indestructible), but for the sake of that man's salvation? For the one who has become senseless and insensible concerning God will be able far more to rage against the one who begot him, and against his own soul. 8. Let us not, then, be negligent, knowing that for those who are well disposed in the things pertaining to God, they will also be distinguished and illustrious in the present life. For everyone reveres and honors the one who lives with virtue and equity, even if he is poorer than all, just as, in turn, everyone turns away from and hates the wicked and perverse man, even if he has acquired great wealth. And not only to others

He will be respected by men, but he will also be more dear to you who begot him; yet besides nature, he has another ground for being loved, no less than nature—namely, virtue. And he will not only be more dear, but also more useful to you, serving you, waiting on you, caring for you in your old age. For just as those who are ungrateful toward God also despise those who begot them, so those who serve the one who made them hold those who begot them also in great honor. Therefore, so that he may be well esteemed both before God and before men, and may make your life pleasant, and may deliver you from the punishment to come, show all diligence concerning him. For that those who neglect their children, even if in other respects they are gentle and moderate, will undergo the last penalty for this sin, I will tell you a certain ancient story. There was a certain priest among the Jews, gentle in other respects and moderate, by the name of Eli. This Eli had two sons who had been driven to the utmost of wickedness; he did not restrain them, nor did he hinder them—or rather, he did restrain and hinder them, but not with the fitting strictness and vehemence. For when he ought to have scourged them, cast them out of his paternal house, and shown every manner of correction, he only exhorted and advised them, saying thus: "No, children, no, do not do so; for the report is not good which I hear about you." What are you saying? They insulted the Master, and you call them children? They did not know the one who made them, and do you acknowledge their kinship? This is why he says, "because he did not rebuke them.

For admonition is not simply a matter of our giving advice, but of our applying a blow as severe and sharp as the corruption of the wound demands. It is not enough, then, to speak, nor merely to exhort; one must also build up a great fear, so as to cut off the recklessness of youth. Since, then, he gave advice but not as he ought, he handed them over to the enemies, and when battle was joined, they fell in the line of battle; and he, unable to bear the report, fell and was crushed, and he too died. Do you see that I spoke rightly when I said that fathers are also child-killers—those who do not deal severely with their reckless children, nor require of them the fear of God? In this way, at any rate, Eli became a child-killer. For even if the enemies slaughtered his sons, he was the cause of the slaughter, since through his recklessness toward them he caused the help of God to depart, and left them naked and deserted to those who wished to destroy them. And not only them, but he destroyed himself as well. 9. This is exactly what many fathers today also suffer: unwilling to flog, unwilling to rebuke with words, unwilling to grieve their own sons who live disorderly and lawlessly, they have often seen them caught in the worst crimes, dragged into court, cut down by executioners. For when you do not discipline, when you do not bring them to their senses, having mixed yourself with foul and corrupt men and shared in their wickedness, they are led under the common laws and punished while all look on.

And along with the calamity the shame becomes greater, when all point the finger at the father after that man's death and make the marketplace inaccessible to him. For with what eyes will he be able to look back at those who meet him after such disgrace and calamity of his child? Therefore I beg and implore you to take great forethought for your own children, and everywhere to seek the salvation of their soul. You are the teacher of the whole household, and God continually entrusts to you both your wife and your sons. And now Paul says concerning women: If they wish to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; and now concerning children: Bring them up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. Consider that you have golden statues in your house—your little children; each day set them in order and examine them with precision, and in every way adorn and mold their soul; imitate the blessed Job, who even for their offenses in thought

Fearing, he offered sacrifices on their behalf and took great forethought for them. Imitate Abraham; for he too was not zealous for money and possessions, but for the divine laws, so as to entrust their careful observance to his descendants. And God bears witness to this virtue of his, saying thus: "For I knew that Abraham will command his children to keep my judgments and my statutes." And David also, when he was dying, calling his own son, instead of a great inheritance, gave these charges and said continually: "If you wish, my child, to live according to the laws of God, nothing unexpected will befall you, but all things will come to you smoothly, and you will enjoy great security; but if you fall away from that help, your kingdom and this great power will profit you nothing." These and such things he said, even if not in these very words. 10. Let us also speak these and such things to our own children, both while we live and when we are about to die, and let us persuade them that the fear of God is great wealth, an unfailing inheritance, and an inviolable treasure; and let us strive not to leave them money that perishes, but piety that remains and is not spent. For when piety is absent, even the money that exists is lost amid dangers and the utmost shame; but when it is present, even what does not exist is added. If you raise your child well, so will he raise his own son, and this one his son;

And just as a kind of chain and sequence of the best conduct will proceed forever, receiving its beginning and root from you, and bringing you the fruits of care for your descendants. If fathers educated their own children with precision, there would be no need of laws, no need of courts, no need of punishments and penalties and public executions. For, he says, the law is not laid down for a righteous man. But since we neglect them, for this reason we surround them with greater evils, and deliver them into the hands of the executioners, and constantly push them into the pits. For he who spoils his own son, he says, will bind up his wounds. What is "he who spoils"? He who pities, who flatters, who indulges beyond measure. For this one needs severity and care and fears. I say these things not so that we may be too harsh with our children, but so that we may not appear contemptible to them. For if a wife ought to fear her husband, much more should the child fear the father. And do not tell me that it is impossible to overcome youth. For if Paul requires this forethought of a widow woman, much more of men; if it were impossible, he would not have commanded it. But all wickedness comes from our own negligence, and from not leading them to reverence from the beginning, nor from their earliest age. But that they may share in external education, and be enrolled for military service, we are eager, and we pay out money, and we petition friends, and we make many rounds; but that they may be well spoken of before the King of the angels, we make no account.

And we continually allow them to go up to spectacles, but we never compel them to go to church; yet even if the child attends once or twice, he comes here casually and at random and in vain and for the sake of entertainment. But it ought not to be so; rather, just as when we send them to a school we demand an account of their lessons, so also when we send them to church—or rather, when we lead them. For we ought not to entrust them to others, but keeping them ourselves, we should bring them in here, and we should demand from them an account of the hearing and teaching here. For thus, thus the correction of our children would become easier and more manageable for us; for if they were always hearing you at home discoursing about philosophy and advising them on what they ought to do, and if the things here were added to those, they would quickly show us a noble fruit of these good seeds. But we do none of these things; rather, the necessary things are to us a side matter; and if anyone gives advice about these things, it is immediately laughter.

And this is why everything has been turned upside down, and those whom the parents do not educate, the laws outside educate. 11. Are you not ashamed and do you not blush, tell me, when the judge punishes your son and makes him more self-controlled, and he needs correction from outside, after he has lived with you so long a time from the beginning? Do you not cover yourself and sink down? And do you dare, tell me, to be called a father at all, having so betrayed your son, and not having brought to him the necessary nurture, but having overlooked him as he was corrupted by every vice? And if you see some runaway slave slapping your child, you are indignant and angry and displeased, leaping upon the face of the one who struck him more fiercely than a wild beast; but when you see the devil slapping him every day, and demons leading him into sins, do you sleep and are you not indignant, nor do you snatch your son from the most savage beast? Again, if he is afflicted by a demon, you run to all the saints, and you trouble those on the peaks of the mountains, so that they may free him from that madness; but when sin, which is more grievous than any demon, afflicts him continually, do you do nothing more? And to be afflicted by a demon is nothing grievous; for the demon cannot by all means cast one into Gehenna, but if we are sober, this trial will bring us bright and illustrious crowns, when we bear such assaults thankfully; but for one who lives with sin it is impossible ever to be saved, but he must by all means be both disgraceful here, and when he departs there be punished again with deathless punishment.

But nevertheless, knowing these things, we take great pains over lesser matters, while over greater ones we are not even willing to bestir ourselves. And when we see someone possessed by a demon we lament, but when we see someone sinning we do not even notice it—though then we ought to be cut to the heart and to wail, or rather not merely to wail but also to restrain and bridle him, to counsel, to exhort, to frighten, to rebuke, and by every manner of cure to drive out that sickness, and to imitate that widow of whom Paul says: "If she has brought up children." For he extends this word not to her alone but to all, and he exhorts all, saying, "Bring up your children in the discipline of the Lord." For this is the first and greatest of good things, which indeed he also required first from the widow; then after this he says, "If she has shown hospitality." What do you say, tell me? Do you require hospitality of a widow? Is it not enough that she has raised children? No, he says; but this too must be present, and after the care of one's own, one must also have forethought for strangers, and open one's house to guests. Her husband has departed; spend all the zeal you had for him on strangers. What then, he says, if she is poor? She is not poorer than that widow who, with a little flour and a measure of oil, received the great prophet Elijah. For there too were children present; but neither the scarcity of what she had, nor the tyranny of the famine, nor the death she expected, nor care for her children, nor her widowhood, nor anything else became a hindrance to that hospitable woman. 12. Thus everywhere it is not the measure of one's substance but the measure of one's mind that is sought.

The great-souled man and rich in mind, even if he is poorer in money than all men, will be able to surpass all in hospitality and almsgiving and in all the rest of kindly generosity. The petty-minded man and poor in mind, crawling on the ground, even if he is more well-off than all, is poorer and more resourceless than all; therefore he shrinks back and recoils from all such things. And just as poverty would be no hindrance to almsgiving in the case of the poor man, because of the wealth of his mind, so neither will abundance be able to cooperate toward kindly generosity in the case of the rich man, because of the poverty of his mind. And the examples are near at hand: for the widow received the prophet with a little flour; but Ahab, having acquired so great wealth, coveted even what belonged to others. Thus it is not wealth of money, but wealth of mind, that gives us readiness in almsgiving; since that widow also, by two mites alone, outdid ten thousand rich men, and poverty was no hindrance. This poverty, then, produced a greater almsgiving; which indeed Paul also says: Their poverty which was deep abounded unto the wealth of their simplicity. For one must not look at this, that she cast in two mites, but that, having only these, she did not spare them, but brought in her whole substance; she must be admired and crowned. Therefore we need not abundance but eagerness, when we receive strangers. For just as, when this is present, no harm could come from poverty, so, when it is absent, no benefit could come from abundance. What do you say?

Does the widow care for children and for this reason would not be able to serve strangers? For this very reason she will do this more easily, having her sons as partners in the service, assisting and joining with her in this noble enterprise. So the multitude of children will be not a hindrance but a help to hospitality, and the abundance of hands will provide great ease to the ministry. For do not tell me of an expensive table; if she receives the stranger into her house, if she sets before him what she has, if she shows great warmth of welcome, the whole fruit of hospitality is complete. For if a cup of cold water alone procures the kingdom of heaven, then to make him a housemate, and a sharer of one's table, and to give him rest—how much fruit will that bear, tell me? Consider, then, Paul's exactness. For he does not here demand hospitality in a simple way, but that which is with eagerness and a boiling soul and a fervent mind. For having said, If she has shown hospitality, he added, If she has washed the feet of the saints. She must not entrust the service of the stranger to maidservants while she sits in pride, but must become a worker herself, and snatch the fruit, and yield to no one this good treasure. And how, he says, could this happen? For if she is well-born and distinguished and illustrious and notable from her ancestors, will she herself wash the stranger's feet? And how is that not shameful? It is shameful, indeed, not to wash them, O man. For even if you extol her nobility and distinction and splendor ten thousand times, she shares the same nature as the one being washed, and is a fellow-servant of the one being served and of equal honor.

Consider who it was that washed the feet of his disciples, and stop talking to me about noble birth. The common Master of the world, the King of the angels, both washed feet and girded himself with a towel—and not only his disciples' feet, but even those of the traitor himself. Do you see how great the distance between the one washing and those being washed? Yet all that distance he descended, and the Master washed the servant, so that the female servant might not be ashamed to wash her fellow servant. For this reason he washed even the traitor's feet, so that you might not be inclined to say that the one who is to receive the service is worthless and contemptible. For even if he is worthless and contemptible, he is not yet like Judas, nor has he done such things to you as that man did to his Master, coming to betrayal after countless benefits. Yet foreseeing all these things, he washed, laying down laws for us: that even if we are higher than all, even if we are more brilliant and more distinguished than all, even if those who are to be brought down to us are worse than all, we should not for this reason flee from serving them, nor be ashamed of their lowliness. But you, O woman, if you see someone helping you in the affairs of life, or assisting you in court, or in any other such matter, you meet him and receive him with great goodwill, and kiss his hands, and pay out silver, and do the things of slave-girls; but if you see Christ entering, do you hesitate and sink down at the thought of serving him? If you do not receive the stranger as Christ, do not receive him; but if you receive him as Christ, do not be ashamed to wash Christ's feet. Do you not see how many of those who are wronged have fled to the feet of statues?

And yet the material is senseless, and the bronze is lifeless; but nevertheless, since they are images of kings, they expected to reap some benefit from those feet. But you—when you see not senseless feet, nor lifeless material, but an image having the King within, coming in to you—do you not run to meet it, tell me, and clasp the feet, and tend it in every way? And where are these things worthy of pardon? Of how much shame would this not be? Consider with whom you are in fellowship when you are puffed up, and lifted up to arrogance, and ashamed to tend the stranger. With the devil, clearly; for his is the disease of pride. But if you run forward, consider whom you imitate. Your own Master, and you do the work of Christ. What shame, then, or what reproach is it to be in fellowship with the Master, tell me? It is shame, rather, to be ashamed of these things, and to consider it a reproach—that very thing which Christ did. Great things can the feet of the saints accomplish when they enter a house: they sanctify the very floor, they bring in a treasure of countless good things, they set right a crippled nature, they loose famine, they bring in great abundance. Thus also the feet of Elijah, entering into the house of the widow, displayed a new and wondrous manner of plenty. He made the house of the widow a field, and the water-jar a threshing-floor. A new manner of sowing and reaping was happening then: he sowed into the mouth of the righteous man, and what was cast down he reaped from the water-jar with great abundance; he sowed meal, and he reaped meal.

He did not need oxen, or a yoke, or a plow, or a furrow, nor rain and air and a sickle, nor a threshing floor and sheaves, nor winds separating the chaff from the grain, nor a mill grinding them; but in a single turn of time he found the fulfillment of all these things at the water jar; and the voice of the prophet sent up two springs continually, one of flour and the other of oil. 14. Such are the gifts of the saints, and they possess both abundance and great ease. For the things harvested from the earth are consumed, but those springs, drawn from every day, were not emptied, but the contest of the inflow was evenly matched against the draining. Such things do the feet of the saints bestow, and indeed far more than these; and if I were not making my discourse long, I would have enumerated many such gifts. But just as, when honored, they bring such gifts, so when dishonored they bring great punishment and an inexorable fire. From where is this clear? Hear Christ himself saying to his disciples: Into whatever city or house you enter, ask who in it is worthy, and stay there, and as you enter say: Peace to this house. For so that you may not say, I am spending my money, I am consuming my substance, setting a table for strangers—he first prepares the one who enters to bring you gifts and presents surpassing all wealth. What then are these? The provision of peace. For nothing is equal to this. Do you see with how much abundance the saint enters the house? This word is bare, but it is the basis of countless good things. For what could be safer than a house enjoying peace?

The saints pray peace upon those who receive them—not only peace with one another, but also peace with ourselves. For often we have war among our thoughts, and though no one is troubling us, we are thrown into confusion, and evil desires rise up against us continually. That word of the saints, then, also quells this battle and brings great calm within. For as soon as that man spoke, every diabolical thought and every improper reasoning fled from our soul, so that you receive more than you give. And if they receive you, he says, let your peace come upon them; but if they do not receive you, shake off the dust of your feet. Truly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in that day than for that city. Do you see how much fire the feet of the saints bring upon those who dishonor them? For this reason he commands that they be washed, so that when they are cared for they may procure for us great boldness before God; and at the same time through this exhortation he teaches us to perform all the works of hospitality ourselves. Imitate Abraham, become his daughter—he who, having three hundred and eighteen household servants, himself together with his wife distributed the fruit of hospitality; and he brought a calf, while she kneaded flour. These also you

Be zealous; for not only does giving money have a great reward, but so does ministering to those in need. This is why the apostles appointed those seven men around Stephen to such ministry. And yet those men provided nothing to the poor from their own resources, but they administered well what was given by others; nevertheless they received a great reward, because they administered well and with all carefulness what was given by others. 15. Therefore you too be a good steward of what is your own, so that you may receive a double fruit—both for giving and for stewarding well. Do not be ashamed to serve the poor with your own hand. Christ is not ashamed to stretch out his hand and receive through the poor, and are you ashamed to stretch out your hand and give silver? How is this not the utmost folly? There is only one shameful thing: wickedness, cruelty, and inhumanity; but kindness, almsgiving, philanthropy, and ministering to those in need make us more illustrious. For the richer and more prosperous you are, the more all will praise you when you descend to the poor and lowly—not only men, but also angels, and the Master of the angels; and he will not only praise you but will also repay you with double gifts. For he will prepare for you many rewards not only for the almsgiving but also for the humility. Therefore let us not be ashamed of services to the poor, nor refuse to wash the feet of strangers; for our hands are sanctified through such ministry.

Even if you stretch out your hands in prayer on their behalf, because of that service God, seeing them, is more moved and grants the request. For to give money might belong to many; but to minister to those in need oneself, and to do this with zeal and love and brotherly affection, requires a great and noble and philosophic soul. And this is what Paul especially seeks above all, commanding those in affliction and poverty and distress to grieve with them in such a way as if they were in the same terrible circumstances. For to the prisoners, he says, as bound with them. Therefore he did not stop his discourse here only, but added another thing: If she relieved the afflicted, if she followed every good work. What is this: If she followed every good work? So as to enter even into prison, and to visit the bound, and to look after the sick, and to comfort the afflicted, and to encourage the sorrowing, and in every way to contribute everything according to one's ability, and to refuse nothing at all of the things that contribute to the salvation and rest of our brothers. But if he demands such great achievements of a widow woman, of what defense would we men be worthy, who do not do these things that Paul has ordained for widow women to do? But perhaps someone might say: And how does he demand such great strictness of a widow woman, when, writing about virginity, he said nothing of the kind? He demanded greater philosophy of them than these things. For when he says: The woman and the virgin are divided; and: The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, how she may please the Lord; and again:

I say this for the sake of what is honorable and for close attendance upon the Lord without distraction. By these words he hints at nothing else than that the virgin, having once for all torn herself away from all worldly affairs, must dedicate her whole soul to God and have nothing in common with the earth, nor be at leisure sometimes for these things and sometimes for those, but having renounced them altogether, must spend all her leisure on spiritual matters. And the parable of the ten virgins showed us this very thing. For this reason, then, they were shut out from the bridal chamber, because they had no oil. And the oil is nothing other than love for humanity and almsgiving and kindness and the protection of those who are wronged and the comforting of those in pain. Since those women did not have this, they departed and fell away from the bridal chamber. Knowing all these things, therefore—both women and men, both virgins and married women and widows—let us make great earnestness of almsgiving, and let us not say, "So-and-so is wicked and unworthy to be treated well; so-and-so is worthless; so-and-so is cast off." Do not look at the worthiness of the one who needs care, but only at his need. For even if he is worthless and cast off, even if he is contemptible, Christ reckons the reward to you as though he himself had been treated well through that man. For so that we should not look at the worthiness of those who are benefited, hear what he says: "I was hungry, and you fed me." Then, when they said, "When did we see you hungry and feed you?" he added, saying, "Inasmuch as you did it to one of these little ones, you did it to me"—so that no excuse at all is left to us.

For so that we may not say, "Where now can we find men like Elijah? Where like Elisha? Give me such men, and I will receive them with all eagerness, and I will not refuse to wash their feet and to serve them in every way"—so that we may not say these things, here is something far greater: the very Master of Elijah and Elisha and all the prophets has promised to come in to us through the poor, saying, "Inasmuch as you did it to one of these little ones, you did it to me." But do not pass over what has been said. For the words "I was hungry and you fed me" set before us four compelling reasons for almsgiving: the worthiness of the one who asks, because it is the Master who asks; the urgency of the need, because he is hungry; the ease of giving, because he seeks only to be fed and asks only for bread, not for luxury; the greatness of the gift, because in return for these small things he promises a kingdom. Are you inhuman and harsh and merciless? Be ashamed, he says, of the dignity of the one who asks. But does his dignity not move you? Be bent by his misfortune. But does neither his misfortune bend you to mercy? Give because of the ease of the request. Can neither his dignity, nor the urgency of his need, nor the ease of giving persuade you? Then because of the greatness of the good things promised, grant to the one in need. Do you see four reasons able to rouse even the stone itself, and the stingy man, and the puffed-up man, and the merciless man, and the laziest of all men? What excuse, then, will there be for those who, after so great an exhortation and counsel, overlook those in need? Let me also add another point besides these.

Let those who have been initiated hear. He himself, when it is needful to feed you, does not spare even his own flesh; when it is needful to give you drink, he does not spare even his blood, nor does he begrudge it; but do you not even share a loaf, not even a cup? And what excuse will you have, receiving such things and so precious, yet sparing the cheap things? See that you do not often, by sparing in order to give to Christ for gain, give to the devil for harm. For when we do not give to the poor, we give to informers; often thieves, or even wicked servants, have taken and gone off with it, or other circumstances of affairs. And even when we escape all these things, death comes and leads us away naked. So that these things may not happen, let us take the lead and give to Christ when he asks, and lay it up in the inviolable treasury, so that we may have confidence both for its guarding and for its increase. For he does not merely keep safe what he has received with exactness, but he gives it back to you with a greater addition again. Let us not, then, think that our substance is diminished when we provide alms. For it is not diminished but increased; it is not spent but multiplied, and what happens is a kind of business and sowing—or rather, more profitable and safer than both of these. For commerce is subject to winds and waves of the sea and to many shipwrecks, and seeds to droughts and floods and other irregularities of the air; but money deposited into the hand of Christ is above every plot. No one can snatch from the hand of the one who has received what has once been given.

but they remain, producing for us much and ineffable fruit, and bringing a rich harvest in due season. For "he who sows sparingly," it says, "will also reap sparingly; and he who sows in blessings will also reap in blessings." Let us therefore sow with abundance, so that we may also thus reap, and enjoy eternal life; which may we all attain, by the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father together with the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.