Ὁμιλία Γʹ

The Harmony of the Common Life

Brothers should live in mutual love and support, viewing their diverse spiritual practices as a single, unified body.

The brothers ought to live with one another in deep love, whether they are praying, reading the Scriptures, or doing some work, so that they may have the foundation of love toward one another. In this way, goodwill can rest on those different callings, and those who pray, those who read, and those who work can all be helped as they live with one another in integrity and simplicity.¹ For what is written? Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven—so that just as the angels in heaven dwell with one another in deep harmony, living in love and peace, and there is no arrogance or envy there, but they are with one another in love and sincerity, so also may the brothers be with one another.^✦ It happens that some thirty live under one head.² They cannot keep at one practice the whole day and night; rather, some of them devote themselves to prayer for six hours and also want to read, others serve eagerly, and others among them do some work.³ So, whatever the brothers are doing, they ought to be with one another in love and joy. The one who works should say of the one who prays, 'The treasure my brother is gaining is shared, so I have it too.' The one who prays should say of the one who reads, 'Whatever benefit he gains from his reading advances as my gain as well.' And the one who works should say, 'The service I am doing is a common benefit.'⁴ Just as the members of the body, though many, are one body and help one another—each carrying out its own work, yet the eye seeing for the whole body, the hand working for all the members, the foot walking for all, and each sharing in the suffering—so too should the brothers be with one another.^✦⁵

Unity in Purpose and Prayer

Members of a community must avoid judging one another's spiritual practices, focusing instead on the interior treasure of the Holy Spirit.

The one who is praying must not judge the one who is working—"Why isn't he praying?"—nor must the one who is working judge the one who is praying—"He stays at prayer while I work"—nor must the one who is serving judge the other. Instead, whatever each person does, let it be for the glory of God.^✦ The one who is reading should hold the one who is praying in love and joy, thinking, "He's praying for me." And the one who is praying should think this about the one who is working: "What he does, he does for the common good." In this way, deep harmony, peace, and agreement can hold them together in the bond of peace, and they can live with one another in integrity, simplicity, and the good pleasure of God.^✦⁶ But the most essential thing of all is clearly perseverance in prayer.^✦ Still, one thing is sought: that a person have treasure in the soul and the life—which is the Lord—in the mind; whether working, praying, or reading, so that he may possess that lasting treasure that does not pass away, which is the Holy Spirit.^✦^✦^✦⁷ Some say that the Lord requires only outward fruits from people, while God himself sets the hidden things right.⁸ But that is not how things are. Just as a person takes care of his outer self, he must also fight and wage war in his thoughts.^✦

The Interior Struggle

While divine grace is required to uproot sin, the believer must actively engage in the struggle against evil thoughts.

The Lord requires this of you: that you get angry with yourself and wage war within your mind, neither agreeing with nor taking pleasure in evil thoughts. As for uprooting sin and the evil that dwells with it, only divine power can accomplish that.⁹ It is neither permitted nor possible for a human being to uproot sin by his own power. To wrestle, to fight back, to strike and to be struck—that is your part; but to uproot is God's.¹⁰ For if you were able to do this, what need would there be of the Lord's coming? Just as the eye cannot see without light, or speak without a tongue, or hear without ears, or walk without feet, or work without hands, so no one can be saved without Jesus or enter the kingdom of heaven.^✦ But if you say, 'In what shows on the outside I don't commit fornication, I don't commit adultery, I'm not greedy for money—so I'm righteous,' you've been deceived in this, thinking you've finished everything.^✦ There aren't only three forms of sin against which a person must stand guard, but countless ones: fearlessness toward God, arrogance, unbelief, hatred, envy, deceit, hypocrisy—where does it come from? Don't you have to keep the wrestling and the contest against these in what is hidden, in the thoughts? Just as when there's a robber in the house he keeps pressing on you and won't let you rest free of care, and you too begin to strike back at him—you hit, you're hit—so the soul must also push back, fight back, and resist.¹¹¹² So the will, fighting back and bearing pain and affliction, begins to rise higher. It falls, it gets up; sin throws it down again. In ten or twenty contests, sin may defeat the soul and throw it down, but over time, in a single engagement, the soul defeats sin.¹³

Perseverance and the Justice of God

The soul must persist in the contest against sin, trusting that the mind is empowered to resist evil, thereby vindicating God's justice.

Again, if the soul holds firm and doesn't go slack, little by little it begins to grow stronger, to discern, and to carry off the prizes of victory against sin. But even when it is put to the test in these things, sin still overthrows the person until he comes to full maturity—to the measure of stature—and completely conquers death. For it is written: "The last enemy to be destroyed is death."^✦^✦¹⁴ In this way, they become the stronger ones and conquerors of the devil. But if, as we said before, someone says, "I don't fornicate, I don't commit adultery, I'm not greedy for money—that's enough for me," that person has struggled in three areas, and in the other twenty that sin holds against the soul he has not struggled at all, but has been defeated. So he ought to struggle and contend in every area. For the mind, as we've often said, is a wrestling opponent and has equal power against sin—power to contradict and resist the thoughts.¹⁵ But if you say the opposing power is stronger and that evil wholly reigns over the human being, you make God unjust for condemning humanity—for obeying Satan when he is stronger and subjects people by some force of compulsion. You've made him greater and stronger than the soul, and yet you command me, "Do not obey"? It's as if a young man were wrestling a little child, and when the child is beaten, the child is condemned—why did he lose?¹⁶ That would be a great injustice. That's why we say the mind is a wrestling opponent and evenly matched. A soul like that, when it keeps seeking, obtains help and support and is counted worthy of deliverance. For the struggle and the contest rest on equal power. We glorify the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.

Read the original Latin

Οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ὀφείλουσιν ἐν ἀγάπῃ πολλῇ συνεῖναι ἀλλήλοις, εἴτε εὔχονται εἴτε ἀναγινώσκουσι τὰς γραφὰς εἴτε ἔργον τι ποιοῦσιν, ἵνα ἔχωσι τὸν θεμέλιον τῆς ἀγάπης πρὸς ἀλλήλους. καὶ οὕτως δύναται εὐδοκία γενέσθαι εἰς ἐκείνας τὰς προαιρέσεις, καὶ οἱ εὐχόμενοι καὶ οἱ ἀναγινώσκοντες καὶ οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι πάντες δύνανται ἐν ἀκεραιότητι καὶ ἁπλότητι διάγοντες μετ' ἀλλήλων ὠφεληθῆναι. τί γὰρ γέγραπται; γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἵνα ὃν τρόπον οἱ ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἄγγελοι σύνεισιν ἀλλήλοις ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ πολλῇ, ἐν ἀγάπῃ καὶ εἰρήνῃ διάγοντες, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκεῖ ἔπαρσις ἢ φθόνος, ἀλλ' ἐν ἀγάπῃ καὶ εἰλικρινείᾳ μετ' ἀλλήλων εἰσίν, οὕτως καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ὦσι μετ' ἀλλήλων. Συμβαίνει τινὰς εἶναι τριάκοντα ὑπὸ τὸ ἕν. ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν καὶ τὴν νύκτα οὐ δύνανται προσκαρτερεῖν, ἀλλά τινες μὲν αὐτῶν σχολάζουσι τῇ εὐχῇ ὥρας ἓξ καὶ βούλονται ἀναγνῶναι, ἄλλοι δὲ προθύμως διακονοῦσιν, ἄλλοι ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐργάζονταί τι ἔργον. ὀφείλουσιν οὖν οἱ ἀδελφοί, εἴ τι ποιοῦσιν, ἐν ἀγάπῃ καὶ χαρᾷ εἶναι μετ' ἀλλήλων. καὶ ὁ ἐργαζόμενος περὶ τοῦ εὐχομένου οὕτω λεγέτω ὅτι ὃν ὁ ἀδελφός μου κτᾶται θησαυρόν, ἐπεὶ κοινός ἐστι, κἀγὼ ἔχω· καὶ ὁ εὐχόμενος περὶ τοῦ ἀναγινώσκοντος οὕτω λεγέτω ὅτι ὃ ἐκεῖνος ὠφελεῖται εἰς τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν, εἰς ἐμὸν κέρδος προχωρεῖ· καὶ ὁ ἐργαζόμενος αὖθις τοῦτο λεγέτω ὅτι τὴν διακονίαν ἣν ποιῶ, κοινή ἐστιν ὠφέλεια. ὥσπερ γὰρ τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος πολλὰ ὄντα ἕν ἐστι σῶμα, καὶ βοηθοῦσιν ἀλλήλοις καὶ ἕκαστον ἴδιον ἔργον ἐκτελεῖ, πλὴν ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς ὑπὲρ ὅλου τοῦ σώματος βλέπει καὶ ἡ χεὶρ ὑπὲρ ὅλων τῶν μελῶν ἐργάζεται καὶ ὁ ποὺς περιπατεῖ ὅλα τὰ μέλη ἐπιφερόμενος, καὶ ἄλλο συμπάσχει, οὕτω καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ μετ' ἀλλήλων ἤτωσαν.

καὶ μήτε ὁ εὐχόμενος κρινέτω τὸν ἐργαζόμενον· διὰ τί οὐκ εὔχεται· μήτε ὁ ἐργαζόμενος κρινέτω τὸν εὐχόμενον ὅτι ἐκεῖνος παραμένει κἀγὼ ἐργάζομαι, μήτε ὁ διακονῶν κρινέτω τὸν ἕτερον. ἀλλ' ἕκαστος εἴ τι ποιεῖ, εἰς δόξαν θεοῦ. ὁ ἀναγινώσκων τὸν εὐχόμενον ἔχει ἐν ἀγάπῃ καὶ χαρᾷ τοῦτο λογιζόμενος ὅτι ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ εὔχεται, καὶ ὁ εὐχόμενος περὶ τοῦ ἐργαζομένου τοῦτο λογιζέσθω ὅτι ὃ ποιεῖ, εἰς κοινὴν ὠφέλειαν ποιεῖ. καὶ οὕτω δύναται ὁμοφωνία πολλὴ καὶ εἰρήνη καὶ συμφωνία ἐν τῷ συνδέσμῳ τῆς εἰρήνης κρατεῖν ἀλλήλους, καὶ συνδιάγειν μετ' ἀλλήλων ἐν ἀκεραιότητι καὶ ἀφελότητι καὶ εὐδοκίᾳ θεοῦ. τὸ δὲ κεφαλαιωδέστερον πάντων δηλονότι ἡ προσκαρτέρησίς ἐστι τῆς εὐχῆς. πλὴν δὲ ἓν ζητεῖται, ἵνα ἔχῃ τις θησαυρὸν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ καὶ τὴν ζωήν, ἥτις ἐστὶν ὁ κύριος, ἐν τῷ νῷ· εἴτε ἐργάζεται εἴτε εὔχεται εἴτε ἀναγινώσκει, ἵνα ἔχῃ ἐκεῖνο τὸ κτῆμα τὸ μὴ παρερχόμενον, ὅ ἐστι τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα. Εἰσὶ δέ τινες τοῦτο λέγοντες ὅτι ὁ κύριος μόνους φανεροὺς καρποὺς ἀπαιτεῖ παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, τὰ δὲ κρυπτὰ ὁ θεὸς κατορθοῖ. οὐχ οὕτως δέ εἰσι τὰ πράγματα, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ εἰς τὸν ἔξω ἄνθρωπον ἀσφαλίζεται, οὕτως ὀφείλει καὶ ἐν τοῖς λογισμοῖς ποιεῖν ἀγῶνα καὶ πόλεμον.

ἀπαιτεῖ σε γὰρ ὁ κύριος, ἵνα ὀργισθῇς σεαυτῷ καὶ μάχην ποιήσῃς μετὰ τοῦ νοός σου, μήτε συμφωνήσῃς μήτε συνηδυνθῇς τοῖς λογισμοῖς τῆς κακίας. λοιπὸν τὸ ἐκριζῶσαι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ τὸ συνὸν κακόν, τοῦτο τῇ θείᾳ δυνάμει μόνον δυνατόν ἐστι κατορθῶσαι. οὐκ ἔξεστι γὰρ οὔτε δυνατὸν ἀνθρώπῳ ἐξ ἰδίας δυνάμεως ἐκριζῶσαι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. τὸ ἀντιπαλαῖσαι, ἀντιμαχεσθῆναι, δεῖραι, δαρῆναι σόν ἐστιν· ἐκριζῶσαι δὲ θεοῦ ἐστιν. εἰ γὰρ σὺ ἠδύνου τοῦτο ποιῆσαι, τίς χρεία τῆς ἐλεύσεως τοῦ κυρίου; ὡς γὰρ οὐκ ἔστι τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν ἄνευ φωτὸς βλέπειν ἢ λαλεῖν ἄνευ γλώττης ἢ ἀκούειν ἄνευ ὤτων ἢ περιπατεῖν ἄνευ ποδῶν ἢ ἐργάζεσθαι ἄνευ χειρῶν, οὕτως οὐ δύναταί τις ἄνευ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ σωθῆναι ἢ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν. Εἰ δὲ λέγεις ὅτι ἐν τοῖς φαινομένοις οὐ πορνεύω, οὐ μοιχεύω, οὔκ εἰμι φιλάργυρος, λοιπὸν δίκαιός εἰμι, πεπλάνησαι ἐν τούτῳ νομίσας ὅτι πάντα ἐξετέλεσας. οὔκ εἰσι μόνον τρία μέρη τῆς ἁμαρτίας, εἰς ἃ ὀφείλει τις ἀσφαλίσασθαι, ἀλλὰ μυρία· ἡ ἀφοβία, ἡ τύφωσις, ἡ ἀπιστία, τὸ μῖσος, ὁ φθόνος, ἡ δολιότης, ἡ ὑπόκρισιςπόθεν ἐστίν; οὐκ ὀφείλεις πρὸς ταῦτα ἔχειν τὴν πάλην καὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐν τοῖς λεληθόσιν, ἐν τοῖς λογισμοῖς; ὥσπερ ἐὰν ᾖ λῃστὴς ἐν οἰκίᾳ, τὸ λοιπὸν ὑποθλίβει σε καὶ οὐκ ἐᾷ σε ἀμεριμνεῖν, ἄρχῃ δὲ καὶ σὺ ἀντιτύπτειν αὐτόν, δέρεις, δέρῃ, οὕτως ὀφείλει καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ ἀντιπίπτειν καὶ ἀντιμάχεσθαι καὶ ἀντικρούειν. λοιπὸν ἡ προαίρεσις ἀντιμαχομένη καὶ ἔχουσα πόνον καὶ θλῖψιν ἄρχεται ἀνωτέρα γίγνεσθαι· πίπτει, ἐγείρεται, πάλιν ῥίπτει ἡ ἁμαρτία, εἰς δέκα ἢ εἰς εἴκοσιν ἀγῶνας νικᾷ τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ ῥίπτει, καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ διὰ χρόνου εἰς μίαν ἀγωγὴν νικᾷ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν.

πάλιν ἐὰν ὑπομείνῃ ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ μὴ χαυνωθῇ, κατὰ μέρος ἄρχεται πλεονάζειν καὶ διακρίνειν καὶ ἀποφέρεσθαι τὰ νικητήρια κατὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας. ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ ἐν τούτοις ἐξετάζεται, ἀκμὴν ἡ ἁμαρτία καταστρέφει τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἕως οὗ ἔλθῃ εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας καὶ τελείως νικήσῃ τὸν θάνατον· γέγραπται γάρ· ἔσχατος ἐχθρὸς καταργεῖται ὁ θάνατος. καὶ οὕτως ἀνώτεροι γίγνονται καὶ νικηταὶ τοῦ διαβόλου. εἰ δέ, καθὼς προείπομεν, λέγει τις· οὐ πορνεύω, οὐ μοιχεύω, οὐ φιλαργυρῶ, ἀρκεῖ μοι, οὗτος εἰς τρία μέρη ἠγωνίσατο, καὶ εἰς ἄλλα εἴκοσιν, ἅπερ ἔχει ἡ ἁμαρτία κατὰ τῆς ψυχῆς, οὐκ ἠγωνίσατο, ἀλλ' ἡττήθη. ὀφείλει οὖν εἰς πάντα ἀγωνίζεσθαι καὶ ἀθλεῖν· ὁ γὰρ νοῦς, καθὼς πολλάκις εἴπομεν, ἀντίπαλός ἐστι καὶ ἔχει ἰσόρροπον δύναμιν πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ ἀντιλέγειν καὶ ἐναντιοῦσθαι τοῖς λογισμοῖς. Εἰ δὲ λέγεις ἰσχυροτέραν εἶναι τὴν ἐναντίαν δύναμιν καὶ βασιλεύειν τὸ ὅλον τὴν κακίαν κατὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἄδικον ποιεῖς τὸν θεὸν κατακρίνοντα τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα· διότι ὑπήκουσε τῷ σατανᾷ, ὁπότε ἰσχυρότερός ἐστι καὶ ἀναγκαστικῇ τινι δυνάμει ὑποτάσσει· μειζότερον καὶ ἰσχυρότερον αὐτὸν ἐποίησας τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ ἐντέλλῃ μοι· μὴ ὑπακούσῃς; ὥσπερ ἐὰν ᾖ νεανίσκος καὶ ἔχῃ πάλην πρὸς παιδίον, καὶ ἐὰν ἡττηθῇ τὸ παιδίον, κατακρίνεται, διὰ τί ἡττήθη. τοῦτο πολλῆς ἀδικίας ἐστίν. ὅθεν ἡμεῖς λέγομεν ἀντίπαλον εἶναι τὸν νοῦν καὶ ἰσόρροπον, καὶ ἡ τοιαύτη ψυχὴ ἐπιζητοῦσα τυγχάνει βοηθείας καὶ ἀντιλήψεως καὶ καταξιοῦται τῆς λυτρώσεως.

ἡ γὰρ πάλη καὶ ὁ ἀγὼν ἐπὶ τῇ ἰσοδυναμίᾳ κεῖται. δοξάζομεν πατέρα καὶ υἱὸν καὶ ἅγιον πνεῦμα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. ἀμήν.

Scripture echoes

↩Matt.6.10;Luke.11.2 — Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Luke.11.2 — He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come."
↩1Cor.12.12-1Cor.12.26;Rom.12.4-Rom.12.5;1Cor.12.26 — For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so also is Christ. 1Cor.12.13 — For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 1Cor.12.14 — For the body is not one member, but many. 1Cor.12.15 — If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. 1Cor.12.16 — And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. 1Cor.12.17 — If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 1Cor.12.18 — But now God has placed each one of the members in the body just as he desired. 1Cor.12.19 — If they were all one member, where would the body be? 1Cor.12.20 — Now there are many parts, but one body. 1Cor.12.21 — The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." 1Cor.12.22 — On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are in fact indispensable. 1Cor.12.23 — and the parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we clothe with greater honor; and our unpresentable parts receive greater propriety, 1Cor.12.24 — but our presentable parts have no such need. Rather, God has composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 1Cor.12.25 — so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 1Cor.12.26 — And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Rom.12.4 — For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, Rom.12.5 — So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 1Cor.12.26 — And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
↩1Cor.10.31 — So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
↩Eph.4.3 — Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
↩Acts.1.14;Rom.12.12;Col.4.2 — All these were devoting themselves with one accord to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Rom.12.12 — Rejoice in hope; endure in affliction; persevere in prayer. Col.4.2 — Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
↩Matt.6.20;Luke.12.33 — But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal. Luke.12.33 — Sell your possessions and give alms. Make for yourselves purses that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in the heavens, where no thief draws near and no moth destroys.
↩John.14.6;Col.3.4;Phil.1.21 — Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' Col.3.4 — When Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. Phil.1.21 — For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
↩Eph.1.13-Eph.1.14;2Cor.1.22;Acts.2.38 — In him you also, having heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—in him, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Eph.1.14 — who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory. 2Cor.1.22 — who also sealed us and gave the guarantee of the Spirit in our hearts Acts.2.38 — Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’
↩2Cor.4.16;Eph.3.16 — Therefore we do not lose heart; even though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. Eph.3.16 — that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person
↩Acts.4.12;John.14.6;Matt.7.21 — And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. John.14.6 — Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' Matt.7.21 — Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
↩Luke.18.11;Gal.5.19-Gal.5.21;1Cor.6.9-1Cor.6.10 — The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed these things toward himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.' Gal.5.19 — Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, Gal.5.20 — idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, factions Gal.5.21 — envies, drunkennesses, revelries, and the like — which things I forewarn you, just as I have already said, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 1Cor.6.9 — Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1Cor.6.10 — Neither thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
↩Eph.4.13 — until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ
↩1Cor.15.26 — The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Notes

1 ↩εὐδοκία: rendered 'goodwill' (divine favor / mutual good pleasure); προαιρέσεις: 'callings' for the brothers' chosen ways of life (prayer, reading, work), not mere whims.
2 ↩ὑπὸ τὸ ἕν is terse Macarian idiom: 'under the one'—likely one community/rule/superior. Neighboring sentences describe a mixed-work monastic household; rendered 'under one head' rather than abstract 'as a unity' alone.
3 ↩προσκαρτερεῖν has no explicit object; context implies continuous perseverance in a single occupation (especially unbroken prayer). Rendered 'keep at one practice'.
4 ↩αὖθις rendered 'again' for the worker's second speech; it may also mean 'in turn.' The third speaker remains ὁ ἐργαζόμενος in the source, though the content concerns διακονία (service).
5 ↩καὶ ἄλλο συμπάσχει: 'and another shares the suffering'—likely another body-member (echoing 1 Cor 12:26). πλὴν here introduces examples of differentiated service for the whole, not a hard exception.
6 ↩ἀκεραιότης rendered "integrity" (wholeness/innocence); ἀφελότης rendered "simplicity" (guilelessness), matching the prior section's ἁπλότης register.
7 ↩κτῆμα rendered "lasting treasure/possession" to keep both the economic sense of acquired property and the spiritual force of an imperishable gift.
8 ↩κατορθοῖ rendered "puts... right / accomplishes" — God as the one who sets hidden interior things in order, not merely overlooks them.
9 ↩τὸ συνὸν κακόν: the evil that is present with / coexists with (the person or with sin); rendered as 'the evil that dwells with it.'
10 ↩δεῖραι, δαρῆναι: active and passive of striking/beating—both giving and receiving blows in the contest; kept concrete rather than softened.
11 ↩Source runs ἡ ὑπόκρισιςπόθεν without break; read as ἡ ὑπόκρισις· πόθεν ἐστίν; ('hypocrisy—where does it come from?').
12 ↩ἀφοβία rendered as 'fearlessness toward God' (lack of godly fear), not mere boldness; τύφωσις as 'arrogance' (delusional pride/clouding).
13 ↩προαίρεσις rendered as 'will' (moral choice/intention); ἀγωγή as 'engagement' (a bout or course of contest), not 'conduct' in the abstract.
14 ↩εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας echoes Eph 4:13; the explicit citation is 1 Cor 15:26.
15 ↩ἀντίπαλος / ἰσόρροπος: athletic wrestling language — the mind is an opposing contender with balanced, matched strength against sin, not absolute superiority.
16 ↩ἐντέλλῃ μοι· μὴ ὑπακούσῃς is a rhetorical reductio: if Satan is irresistibly stronger, God's command not to obey becomes absurd and condemning the defeated becomes unjust (as in the unequal wrestling analogy).

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