)It is impossible to spend the coming day in faith
if we do not think of it as the last day of our life.John Climacus (7th century)
(quoted in Roots of Christian Mysticism
Two men who wanted to see the sunrise would be foolish to argue about the place where it will appear and their means of looking at it, then to let their argument degenerate into a quarrel, from that to come to blows and in the heat of the conflict to gouge out each other’s eyes. There would no longer be any question then of contemplating the dawn …
Let us who wish to contemplate God purify our hearts by faith and heal them by means of peace; for the effort we make to love one another is already a gift from him to whom we raise our eyes.
Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
(quoted in Roots of Christian Mysticism
As is a grain of sand weighed against a large amount of gold, so, in God, is the demand for equitable judgement weighed against his compassion. As a handful of sand in the boundless ocean, so are the sins of the flesh in comparison with God’s providence and mercy. As a copious spring could not be stopped up with a handful of dust, so the Creator’s compassion cannot be conquered by the wickedness of creatures.
Isaac of Niniveh (7th century)
(quoted in Roots of Christian Mysticism
“Christ is the first-born of God, his Logos, in whom all people share. That is what we have learned and what we bear witness to … All who have lived in accordance with the Logos are Christians, even if they have been reckoned atheists, as amongst the Greeks Socrates, Heraclitus and the like.”
Justin (died 165) (quoted in Roots of Christian Mysticism
Just to preempt a misinterpretation of the above, I don’t believe the idea is akin to the dubious posthumous baptisms practiced by some groups – instead it is an acknowledgement of the universality of Jesus’ message and a recognition by Justin (Christians) of its practicing and adherence to by others. It is not an imposed labeling of ‘good’ atheists as Christians against their will but an affirmation that being Jesus’ follower is about following his words (feeding the hungry, quenching their thirst, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, visiting prisoners, … (Matthew 25:31-46)). In many ways St. Justin’s statement is echoed in Pope Benedict’s point made during the homily at Freiburg airport last October:
“[A]gnostics, who are constantly exercised by the question of God, those who long for a pure heart but suffer on account of our[, the Church’s,] sin, are closer to the Kingdom of God than believers whose life of faith is “routine” and who regard the Church merely as an institution, without letting their hearts be touched by faith.”
A brother who has sinned was expelled from the church by the priest. Whereupon Abba Bessarion rose and went with him, saying “I too am a sinner.”
Sayings of the Desert Fathers
(quoted in Roots of Christian Mysticism
He who created human beings in order to make them share in his own fullness so disposed their nature that it contains the principle of all that is good, and each of these dispositions draws them to desire the corresponding divine attribute. So God could not have deprived them of the best and most precious of his attributes: self-determination, freedom …
Gregory of Nyssa (330-395) quoted in Roots of Christian Mysticism
Amma Syncletica said,
“Many live in the mountains
and behave as if they were living amidst the uproar of the city,
and they are lost.
It is possible
while living amongst a crowd
to be inwardly solitary,
and while living alone
to be inwardly beset by the crowd.”Sayings of the Desert Fathers
One of my favorite books of all time is the superb Roots of Christian Mysticism
Some elders came to see Abba Poemen to ask him,
“If we see some brothers dozing in the congregation,
do you want us to reprove them so that they stay awake?”
He said to them, “For my part, when I see a brother dozing,
I lay his head on my lap and let him rest.”
🙂
eyebeleave 