And, moreover, O my beloved, in the Holy Scriptures are many things concerning the matter of faith, but these few out of many have I written to remind thy love that thou mayest know, and make known, and mayest believe and make thyself a believer. And when thou hast read and learned the works of faith thou shalt be like unto that tilled land upon which the good seed fell, and which brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold; and when thou shalt depart to thy Lord, He shall call thee “good, and excellent, and faithful servant“, who on account of his exceedingly great faith shall enter into “the kingdom of his Lord“. — Aphraates: On Faith.

And when a man hath become a house and a dwelling-place then he beginneth to take care for what is required by him that dwelleth in the building, just as if a king, or some honourable man who was called by the name of king were to tarry in a house; for then all the appurtenances of royalty would be required for the king, and all the ministration which is necessary for the honour thereof. For in a house which lacketh all good things a king will neither tarry nor dwell, nay, a king requireth all the furniture in a house with nothing whatsoever lacking; and if anything is lacking in the house in which the king abideth, the keeper of the house is delivered over unto death, because he did not make ready for the service of the king. Thus also let the man who becometh a house and a dwelling-place for Christ see what appertaineth unto the service [of the house] in which Christ dwelleth, and with these things let him make it fair. First of all let him build his building upon the Rock which is Christ, and upon the Rock let faith be founded, and upon faith all the building shall rise up. And for making the house habitable pure fasting which is established by faith is necessary; and he requireth the pure prayer which is accepted by faith ; and to him is useful the love which is compounded with faith; and he needeth the alms which are given in faith; and he must ask for the humility which is ornamented with faith ; and virginity which is beloved of faith must be chosen by him; and he must bring nigh unto him the holiness which is planted by faith ; and he must meditate upon the wisdom which is discovered by faith ; and he must seek after the hospitality which is increased by faith; and the simplicity which is mingled with faith is necessary for him; and he must seek after the patience which is perfected in faith; and his mind must abide in the long-suffering patience which is acquired by faith; and he must love the life of an anchorite which appeareth by faith; and he must seek after the purity which is preserved by faith; all these things the faith which is founded upon the true Rock, which is Christ, asketh, and these things are required by the King Christ Who dwelleth in the children of men who have been builded with these works. — Aphraates: On Faith.

Hear then, my beloved, and open unto me the internal eyes of thy heart and the spiritual perceptions of thy understanding to that which I will say unto thee. Now faith is built up of many things, and is crowned with many colours; it is like unto a building which is built up of many materials, and its fabric mounteth to the top. But know, O my beloved, that stones must be laid in the foundations thereof, and then the whole edifice goeth upwards until it is finished. And thus also must it be with our whole building; its foundation must be the true Rock, which is Jesus Christ our Lord, and upon [this] Rock is faith founded, and upon faith the whole building riseth until it is finished. [This] foundation is the beginning of the whole building, for when a man draweth nigh to faith, he is founded upon the Rock which is our Lord Jesus Christ. And his building will not be washed away by the waves, and it will not be injured by the winds, and it will not fall through storms, because his building riseth upon the rock of the true Rock. And in calling Christ the “Rock” I have not spoken according to my opinion, but the Prophets of old called Him “Rock”, and [this] I will prove to thee.

But for the present listen concerning the faith which is founded upon the Rock, and concerning the building which riseth upon the Rock. First of all a man must believe, and when he hath believed he will love, and when he loveth he will hope, and when he hopeth he will be justified, and when he is justified he will be perfect, and when he is perfect he will be completed; and when his whole building hath risen up, and hath been finished and perfected then will he become a temple for the dwelling-place of Christ, even as the prophet Jeremiah said, “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, ye are the temple of the Lord if ye make fair your ways and your deeds.” And again it saith in the prophet, “I will dwell in you, and I will walk in you.” And again the blessed Apostle spake thus, “Ye are the temple of God, and the spirit of Christ dwelleth in you.” And our Lord also thus spake to His disciples, “Ye are in Me, and I am in you.“. — Aphraates: On Faith.

“Then, while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.” He shows that the time intervening will not be short, leading His disciples away from the expectation that His kingdom was quite immediately to appear. For this indeed they hoped, therefore He is continually holding them back from this hope. And at the same time He intimates this too, that death is a sleep. For they slept, He says.

“And about midnight there was a cry made.” Either He was continuing the parable, or again He shows that the resurrection will be at night. But the cry Paul also indicates, saying, “With a shout, with a voice of an archangel, with the last trump, He shall come down from Heaven.” And what mean the trumpets, and what says the cry? “The bridegroom comes.” When therefore they had trimmed their lamps, the foolish say unto the wise, “Give us of your oil.” Again He calls them foolish, showing that nothing can be more foolish than they who are wealthy here, and depart naked thither, where most of all we have need of humanity, where we want much oil. But not in this respect only were they foolish, but also because they looked to receive it there, and sought it out of season; and yet nothing could be more humane than those virgins, who for this especially were approved. Neither do they seek for it all, for, “Give us,” they say, “of your oil;” and the urgency of their need is indicated; “for our lamps,” they say, “are going out.” But even so they failed, and neither the humanity of those whom they asked, nor the easiness of their request, nor their necessity and want, made them obtain.

But what now do we learn from hence? That no man can protect us there, if we are betrayed by our works, not because he will not, but because he cannot. For these too take refuge in the impossibility. This the blessed Abraham also indicated, saying, “Between us and you there is a great gulf,” so that not even when willing is it permitted them to pass it.

“But go to them that sell, and buy.” And who are they that sell? The poor. And where are these? Here, and then should they have sought them, not at that time.

Do you see what great profit arises to us from the poor? should you take them away, you would take away the great hope of our salvation. Wherefore here must we get together the oil, that it may be useful to us there, when the time calls us. For that is not the time of collecting it, but this. Spend not then your goods for naught in luxury and vainglory. For you will have need of much oil there.

Having heard these things, those virgins went their way; but they profited nothing. And this He says, either pursuing the parable, and working it up; or also by these things showing, that though we should become humane after our departure, we shall gain nothing from thence towards our escape. Therefore neither did their forwardness avail these virgins, because they went to them that sell not here, but there; nor the rich man, when he became so charitable, as even to be anxious about his relations. For he that was passing by him that was laid at the gate, is eager to rescue from perils and from hell them whom he did not so much as see, and entreats that some be sent to tell them these things. But nevertheless, he derived no benefit from thence, as neither did these virgins. For when they having heard these things went their way, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with Him, but the others were shut out. After their many labors, after their innumerable toils, and that intolerable fight, and those trophies which they had set up over the madness of natural appetite, disgraced, and with their lamps gone out, they withdrew, bending down their faces to the earth. For nothing is more sullied than virginity not having mercy; so that even the multitude are wont to call the unmerciful dark. Where then was the profit of virginity, when they saw not the bridegroom? And not even when they had knocked did they obtain, but they heard that fearful saying, “Depart, I know you not.” And when He has said this, nothing else but hell is left, and that intolerable punishment; or rather, this word is more grievous even than hell. This word He speaks to them also that work iniquity.

“Watch therefore, for you know not the day nor the hour.” Do you see how continually He adds this, showing how awful our ignorance concerning our departure hence? Where now are they, who throughout all their life are remiss, but when they are blamed by us, are saying, At the time of my death, I shall leave money to the poor. Let them listen to these words, and be amended. For indeed at that time many have failed of this, having been snatched away at once, and not permitted so much as to give charge to their relations touching what they wished to be done. — Homily on Matthew XXV.