CATECHESIS -
NO. 1
See to it that no man
deceive you by man-made philosophy and vain deceit, made according
to the elements of the world and not according to the commands of
Christ.
Vice imitates virtue as cockle
imitates wheat which it resembles. But a discriminating palate will
immediately notice the difference.
So the devil disguises himself as
an angel of light to deceive with blinding mist and poisonous air of
doubt those seeking holiness.
Many a wolf goes about in sheep's
clothing to beguile the innocent with their deadly poison of
impiety.
We therefore need grace, a sober
mind and clear eyes lest, eating cockle for wheat, we hurt ourselves
through ignorance, or, mistaking the wolf for a sheep, we become
prey.
This is the reason for the present
instruction--that we may not fall prey to the devouring lion who
goes about seeking whom he may devour.
St. Cyril of Alexandria, 349 A.D.
(His Catechesis is the most celebrated catechism that has come down
to us from the early Church.)
(01-29-03)
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