Vigils Reading

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Vigils Reading

October 20, 2022

 

From the writings of St. Gregory of Nyssa  [1]

 

There is one way to guard and care for our souls, and that is to remember God with longing and to cling without fail to good thought. Our zeal must therefore continue at all times, whether we are eating, drinking, resting, working or conversing, so that whatever we do may be done for the glory of God and not for our own, and so that our lives may suffer no stain or pollution from the snares of the devil.

 

But all the same, for those who love God, to practice his commandments is an easy and enjoyable task, since our love for him lightens the struggle and makes it welcome. It is for that reason that the devil strives by every means to drive out the fear of the Lord from our souls, and to destroy our love for him with unlawful pleasure and treacherous delights. It is why he does his best to catch our soul off guard and without its spiritual armor, and so to destroy our labors, offering us earthly in place of heavenly glory, and confusing our vision of true beauty with its deceptive image. For if he finds the guards careless, he is quick to seize the opportunity to appear to the field of virtue, and amidst the growing corn to sow his own weeds, that is, slander, arrogance, vainglory, desire for honor, quarreling, and all the other products of evil. Therefore we must be vigilant and keep watch for our enemy on all sides, so that whatever shameless device he uses against us we may drive him off before he lays hands on our souls.

 

You must often remember that story of how Abel and Cain offered sacrifice to the Lord, Abel with some of his firstborn sheep and their fat, Cain with fruits of the earth, but no first fruits. And God observed Abel’s sacrifice, as Scripture tells us, but the gifts of Cain he ignored. What then is the moral of the story? It teaches us that God accepts whatever we offer him in fear and faith, but has no use for the costliest gift offered without love. The very reason why Abraham received Melchizedek’s blessing is that he offered the priest of God the first fruits and the richest spoils. Now the richest spoils and the first fruits that we ourselves possess are our souls and our minds; and thus we are commanded to make no trivial sacrifice of praise and prayer to God, nor to offer the Lord any chance gift but what is best in our souls, or rather to dedicate to God our entire souls with all possible love and desire. So continuously nourished by the grace of the Spirit and taking to ourselves the power that comes from Christ, we shall run with ease the race of salvation and make the struggle for righteousness carefree and joyous. For God himself with help us to toil with zeal, and will accomplish his righteous works through us.

[1]  A Word in Season – vol. VIII – Augustinian Press – 1999 – pg 166f

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October 20, 2022
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