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ST. BASIL
THE GREAT. . .
CHRISTIAN
PUNISHMENT
We do not
punish those who have done wrong on account of what has been done; for the
wrong has been done and nothing can be done to undo it. We punish
wrong-doers that they may be made better for the future, that they may not
repeat the wrong they have done.
St. Basil
* * *
CHARITY vs.
HATE
"For
where charity fails and disappears, beyond any doubt hate will take its
place. And if, as John says, God is love (1 John IV:16), it then must follow
that the devil is hate. He therefore who has charity within him has God
within him; so he who cherishes hate within him, cherishes the devil within
him."
St. Basil
* * *
UNBELIEF
Unbelief
among sins is as the plague among diseases -- the most dangerous; but when
it rises to despair, then it is as the plague with the tokens appearing that
bring the certain message of death with them. Unbelief is despair in the
bud; despair is unbelief at its full growth.
Let nothing
be to you an occasion of unbelief. If thou considerest the stones, even they
contain proof of the power of their maker; and so does the ant, the gnat,
the bee. In smallest things, the wisdom of the Creator is oft displayed. He
who stretched out the heavens and poured forth the mighty volume of the sea,
He it is who hollowed the minute sting of the bee to shed its virus through.
. . you must not say that anything was done by chance.
St. Basil
* * *
THE DEVICE
OF A BIRD
I once
observed the cunning device of a bird; when her young are easily captured by
reason of their tender age, she presents herself as an easy prey to the
fowlers, and, fluttering before them, she neither allows herself to be taken
nor deprives them of the hope of capturing her. Thus, she affords her
young the opportunity of escape, and then she herself flies away. Take heed
lest, in like manner, you lose the things which you can obtain by grasping
at those which you cannot. Transfer yourself wholly to the Lord; enroll
yourself in His Church.
St. Basil
the Great
* * *
THE HALCYON
DAYS
The halcyon
lays its eggs in the sand, hard by the sea, and hatches them in winter when
the waves beat hardest against the shore. But the winds all sleep, and the
waves are at rest for seven days, while the halcyon sits upon her eggs. And
when the young ones come to need their food, then the beneficent God allows
seven days more for the growth of this minute bird. And the sailors
are aware of this, and call these the halcyon days. And this care for brute
creatures is ordained by God that you may be encouraged to ask Him what you
need for your salvation.
St. Basil
the Great
* * *
SELF-RENUNCIATION
This is self-renunciation. .
.to unlock the chains of this early life which passeth away and to set
oneself free from the affairs of men, and thus to make ourselves fitter to
enter on that path that leads to God and to free our spirit to gain and use
those things which are far more precious than gold or precious stones.
St. Basil the Great
* * *
DISCIPLINE
Discipline must always be applied to the
wrongdoer after the manner of physicians, who are not angry with the
patient, but fights the disease...treat the disease, not the person.
Pride therefore will be corrected by
ordering the practice of humility, aimless talk by silence, immoderate sleep
by wakefulness in prayer, slothfulness by work, greediness by abstinence
from food, discontent by separation from the other brethren.
St. Basil the Great
* * *
ATTACHMENT TO MATERIAL THINGS
So avoid all sins; but if through the
devil's wiles evil has taken a foothold in your souls, toil in the way of
repentance. If sin is already weighing you down, if the dust of riches has
already settled on you, if your soul has been dragged right down by
attachment to materials things, then before you fall into utter ruin, get
rid of the heavy burden. Before the ship sinks, follow the example of
sailors and cast overboard the possessions that have made you become
attached to the things of the world.
St. Basil the Great (PG29, 224)
(10-08-03)
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