Priest: (bending) “Holy art Thou, O God the Father, Omnipotent, Maker and Creator of every creature — Invisible and visible, and sensible; Holy art Thou, O God, the Only-begotten Son, Power and Wisdom of the Father, Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ; Holy art Thou, O God, the Holy Spirit, Perfector and Sanctifier of Saints. Triad, Holy and undivided: — co-essential and of equal glory, Whose compassion towards our race is most effusive. Thou art holy, and making all things holy. Who didst not leave that, our very race, in exile from Paradise, although in the meantime involved in every kind of sin, but wast manifested to it by the Word, Who, in the presence of the world, suffered extreme poverty; it in very truth, He, the Word, took, being made like to it in all things, sin excepted, that it might make Him prepared beforehand unto holiness, and disposed for this life-giving feast. (Raising his voice) Who being conceived, formed and configured by the Holy Spirit, and from virgin blood of the Virgin Mary, holy genitrix of God, was born indeed Man, and from the pure and most holy body of the same, and receiving Deity in Flesh, whilst the law and properties of nature were preserved, but in a manner beyond nature, and was acknowledged God in the Spirit, and Man in the flesh; and inasmuch as the Word existed before the ages, from Thee, as was worthy of God, was born, and by power and miracles, such as became the Maker of all, was testified that He was such, from the very fact that He has freely imparted a complete healing and a perfect salvation to the whole human race.

Likewise, in the end and consummation of His dispensation on our behalf, and before His saving Cross, He took bread into His pure and holy hands, and looked to Thee, O God the Father; giving thanks, He blessed, sanctified, brake and gave to His disciples, the holy Apostles, saying, ‘Take and eat from it and believe that it is my body, that same, which for you and for many is broken and given, for the expiation of faults, the remission of sins, and eternal life.'”
People: “Amen.”

Priest: “Likewise, in the same manner, over the cup also, which He mingled with wine and water, He gave thanks, blessed, sanctified, and gave to the same disciples and holy apostles, saying, ‘Take, drink from it, all of you, and believe that this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed and given for you and for many, for the expiation of faults, remission of sins, and eternal life.'”
People: “Amen.”

Priest: “Himself also, through the same holy Apostles, gave a precept to the whole company and congregation of the faithful, saying, ‘This do to the memory of Me, and as oft as ye shall eat this bread and drink the commixture which is in this cup, and shall celebrate this feast, ye shall perform a commemoration of My death until I come.'”
People: “Of Thy death, O Lord, we perform a memorial.”

Priest: “Obeying, then, Thy sovereign precept, and celebrating a commemoration of Thy death and resurrection, through this sacrifice in perpetual mystery, we await also Thy second coming, the renovation of our race, and the vivification of our mortality. For, not simply, but with glory worthy of God, in Spirit ineffable, Thou wilt terribly come, and seated upon the lofty throne of Thy majesty, Thou wilt exact the acknowledgment of Thy royal power, from all things created and made: and justly, Thou wilt take vengeance for Thy image upon those who have corrupted it through evil passions. This sacrifice, here celebrated, we commemorate to Thee, O Lord, and the sufferings which Thou didst endure on the Cross for us. Be propitious, O Good, and Lover of men, in that hour full, of fear and trembling, to this congregation of those adoring Thee, and to all sons of the holy Church, bought by Thy precious blood. May coals of fire be kept from those who are tinged with Thy blood, and sealed by Thy sacraments in Thy holy Name, as formerly the Babylonian flame from the youths of the house of Hanania; for neither do we know others beside Thee, O God, nor in other have we hope of attaining salvation, since indeed Thou art the Helper and Saviour of our race; and on this account, our wise Church, through all our lips and tongues, implores Thee, and through Thee, and with Thee, Thy Father, saying”

People: “Have mercy.”
Priest: “We also.”
Deacon: “How tremendous is this hour.” — Anaphora (Institution narrative)

Deacon: “Let us stand becomingly.”
People: “The Mercies of God &tc.”
Priest: “Charity &tc.”
People: “And with thy spirit.”
Priest: “Lift up your hearts.”
People: “We lift them to the Lord.”
Priest: “Let us give thanks to the Lord.”
People: “It is meet and right.”

Priest: (bending low), For truly the celebration of Thy benefits, O Lord, surpasses, the powers of mind, of speech, and of thought; neither is sufficient every mouth, mind and tongue, to glorify Thee worthily. For, by Thy word the heavens were made, and by the breath of Thy mouth all the celestial powers; all the lights in the firmament, sun and moon, sea and dry land, and whatever is in them. The voiceless, by their silence, the vocal, by their voices, words and hymns, perpetually bless Thee; because Thou art essentially good and beyond all praise, existing in Thy essence incomprehensibly. This visible and sensible creature praises Thee, and also that intellectual, placed above sensible perception. Heaven and earth glorify Thee. Sea and air proclaim Thee. The sun, in his course, praises Thee; the Moon, in her changes, venerates Thee. Troops of Archangels, and hosts of Angels; those virtues, more sublime than the world and mental faculty, send benedictions to Thine abode. Rays of light, eminent and hidden, send their Sanctus to Thy glory. Principalities and Orders praise Thee, with their Jubilate. Powers and dominions venerate Thee. Virtues, Thrones and Seats inaccessible exalt Thee. Splendors of light eternal — mirrors without flaw — holy essences — recipients of wisdom sublime — beyond all, investigators of the will hidden from all, in clearest modulations of inimitable tones, and by voices becoming a rational creature; many eyed Cherubim of most subtle movement, bless Thee. Seraphim, furnished with six wings intertwined, cry Sanctus unto Thee. Those very ones, who veil their faces with their wings, and cover their feet with wings, and flying on every side, and clapping with their wings, (that they may not be devoured by Thy devouring fire) sing one to another with equal harmony of all, sweet chants, pure from every thing material, rendering to Thee, eternal glory; crying with one hymn, worthy of God, and saying,”

People: “Holy, holy, holy &tc.” — Anaphora (Preface)

Having warned them therefore against this grievous pest, and amended them, He instructs also how they may escape it; by humility. Wherefore He adds also, “He that is greatest among you shall be your servant. For whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and whosoever shall abase himself shall be exalted.”

For nothing is equal to the practice of modesty, wherefore He is continually reminding them of this virtue, both when He brought the children into the midst, and now. And, when on the mount, beginning the beatitudes, He began from hence. And in this place, He plucks it up by the roots hereby, saying, “He that abases himself shall be exalted.”

Do you see how He draws off the hearer right over to the contrary thing. For not only does He forbid him to set his heart upon the first place, but requires him to follow after the last. For so shall you obtain your desire, He says. Wherefore he that pursues his desire for the first, must follow after the last place. “For he that abases himself shall be exalted.”

And where shall we find this humility? Will ye that we go again to the city of virtue, the tents of the holy men, the mountains, I mean, and the groves? For there too shall we see this height of humility.

For men, some illustrious from their rank in the world, some from their wealth, in every way put themselves down, by their vesture, by their dwelling, by those to whom they minister; and, as in written characters, they throughout all things inscribe humility.

And the things that are incentives of arrogance, as to dress well, and to build houses splendidly, and to have many servants, things which often drive men even against their will to arrogance; these are all taken away. For they themselves light their fire, they themselves cleave the logs, themselves cook, themselves minister to those that come there.

No one can be heard insulting there, nor seen insulted, nor commanded, nor giving commands; but all are devoted to those that are waited on, and every one washes the strangers’ feet, and there is much contention about this. And he does it, not inquiring who it is, neither if he be a slave, nor if he be free; but in the case of every one fulfills this service. No man there is great nor mean. What then? Is there confusion? Far from it, but the highest order. For if any one be mean, he that is great sees not this, but has accounted himself again to be inferior even to him, and so becomes great.

There is one table for all, both for them that are served, and for them that serve; the same food, the same clothes, the same dwellings, the same manner of life. He is great there, who eagerly seizes the mean task. There is not mine and yours, but this expression is exterminated, that is a cause of countless wars. — Homily on Matthew XXIII

Priest: “Giver of Holiness, and distributor of every good, O Lord, Who sanctifiest every rational creature with sanctification, which is from Thee; sanctify, through Thy Holy Spirit, us Thy servants, who bow before Thee; free us from all servile passions of sin, from envy, treachery, deceit, hatred, enmities, and from him, who works the same, that we may be worthy, holily to complete the ministry of these life-giving Sacraments, through the heavenly Pontiff, Jesus Christ, Thine Only-begotten Son, through Whom, and with Whom, is due to Thee, glory and honour.”
People: “Amen.”

Priest: “Essentially existing, and from all ages; Whose nature is incomprehensible, Who art near and present to all, without any change of Thy sublimity; Whose goodness every existing thing longs for and desires; the intelligible indeed, and creatures endowed with intelligence, through intelligence; those endowed with sense, through their senses; Who, although Thou art One essentially, nevertheless art present with us, and amongst us, in this hour, in which Thou hast called and led us to these Thy holy mysteries; and hast made us worthy to stand before the sublime throne of Thy majesty, and to handle the sacred vessels of Thy ministry with our impure hands: take away from us, O Lord, the cloak of iniquity in which we are enfolded, as from Jesus, the son of Josedec the High Priest, Thou didst take away the filthy garments, and adorn us with piety and justice, as Thou didst adorn him with a vestment of glory; that clothed with Thee alone, as it were with a garment, and being like temples crowned with glory, we may see Thee unveiled with a mind divinely illuminated, and may feast, whilst we, by communicating therein, enjoy this sacrifice set before us; and render to Thee glory and praise.”
People: “Amen.” — Prayer of Reconciliation.

Priest: “O Lord God, Who art simplex, not compound, and hidden in essence sublime! God the Father, from Whom all paternity which is in heaven and earth is named, Source of Divinity, of those who participate in the Divine Nature, and Perfector of those who attain perfection; Good above all good, and Beautiful above all beautiful; Peaceful repose, Peace, Concord and Union of all souls; compose the dissensions which divide us from one another, and lead them back to an union with charity, which has a kind of similitude to Thy sublime essence: and as Thou art One above all, and we, one, through the unanimity of a good mind; that we may be found before Thee simplex and not divided, whilst celebrating this mystery; and that through the embraces of Charity and bonds of Love, we may be spiritually one, both with ourselves and with one another, through that Thy Peace pacifying all; through the Grace and Compassion and Love towards man of Thine Only-begotten Son; through Whom, and with Whom is due to Thee, glory, honour and dominion, with Thy most holy Spirit.”

People: “Amen.” — The Prayer before the Pax.

The examples given above are sufficient proof, therefore, that our God acts constantly as a most anxious watcher, a most tender ruler, and a most just judge. But perhaps one of my less enlightened readers is thinking: “If all things are now conducted by God as they were in those days, why is it that the evil prevail while the good are afflicted; and whereas in the past the evil felt God’s wrath, and the good his mercy, now by some strange reversal the good appear to experience his wrath and the evil his favor?” These questions I shall answer presently, but now since I have promised to prove three points, namely, God’s presence, his government and his judgment, by three methods, that is, by reason, by examples and by authority and since I have already given sufficient proof of them by reason and examples, it remains for me to verify them by authority. Yet the examples I have given should rank as authority, since that term is rightly applied to the means by which the truth of matters under discussion is established.

Which then of the above-mentioned points should first be proved by sacred authority — his presence, his government, or his judgment? His presence, I think, because he who is to rule or judge must surely be present, in order to be able to rule or judge anything whatever.

Speaking through the Sacred Books, the Divine Word says.: “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” Here you find God present, looking upon us, his eyes watching us wherever we may be. If the Divine Word assures us that God observes the good and the wicked, it is expressly to prove that nothing escapes his watchful scrutiny. For your fuller comprehension, hear the testimony of the Holy Spirit in another part of the Scriptures, when it says: “Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.” This is why God is said to watch over the just, that he may preserve and protect them. For the propitious oversight of his divinity is the safeguard, of our mortal life. Elsewhere the Holy Spirit speaks in the same fashion: “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears, are open unto their cry.”

See with what gentle kindness the Scripture says the Lord treats his people. For when it says the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, his watchful love is shown; when it says that his ears are always open to their prayers, his readiness to hear is indicated. That his ears are always open to the prayers of the righteous proves not merely God’s attention, but one might almost say his obedience. For how are the ears of the Lord open to the prayers of the righteous? How, save that he always hears, always hears clearly, always grants readily the pleas he has heard, bestows on men at once what he has clearly heard them ask? So the ears of our Lord are always ready to listen to the prayers of his saints, always attentive. How happy should we all be if we ourselves were as ready to hearken to God as he is to hear us!

But perhaps you say that the proof of God’s guardianship of the just is useless to our argument, since this is not a general watchfulness of the divine power but merely a special favor granted to the righteous. Note, however, that the Sacred Word testified above that the eyes of the Lord watch over both good and evil. If you still wish to argue the point, consider this, for it follows in the text: “Moreover the face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.”

You see that you have no ground for complaint that God does not look upon the unjust also, since you know that he watches all men, but with different effect because of the inequality of their merits. The good indeed are watched by him that they may be preserved, the evil that they may be destroyed. You yourself, who deny that God watches men, have your place with these last; know then that you are not only clearly seen by God, but are without doubt in imminent peril. For since the face of the Lord is upon them that do evil, to cut off remembrance of them from the earth, you, who wickedly say that the eyes of the Lord do not see you, must learn by your destruction the wrath of an all-seeing God. These arguments, then, are sufficient to prove the presence and watchfulness of God. — Book II.

God then puts far from himself, you say, all thought of mortal men. In that case what rational ground is there for our belief in his divinity? What reason is there for worshiping Christ, or what hope of winning his favor? For if God in this life neglects the human race, why do we daily stretch out our hands toward heaven? Why do we pray so often for the mercy of God? Why do we hasten to the churches? Why kneel in prayer before the altars? There is no reason for praying if the hope of an answer to prayer is taken from us. You see what vain folly lies in the urging of this idea; truly, if it is accepted, nothing at all remains of our religion. But perhaps you take refuge in the argument that we honor God in the fear of a future judgment, and perform all the ritual of our daily worship to gain absolution on the judgment day hereafter. In that case, what was the meaning of the daily preaching of Paul the apostle in the church, and his command that we offer constantly to God our prayers, our entreaties, our requests and our thanksgivings?

What is the purpose of all this? What else than, as he himself says, “that we may live a quiet and peaceable life in all chastity?” For our present needs, as we see, he orders us to pray and beseech the Lord. Surely he would not command this if he were not sure that God hearkens to prayer. How can any one suppose that the ears of God are open for the granting of boons at some future time, but deaf and blocked against immediate petitions? Or what leads us when praying in the church to ask God for present safety, if we think that he does not listen at all to our prayers? In that case we should make no vows for our safety and prosperity.

Perhaps, to the end that the modesty of the request may win favor for the voice of the petitioner, we should rather pray thus: “Lord, we do not seek prosperity in this life, nor beseech you for immediate favors, for we know that your ears are closed to such petitions and that you do not listen to such prayers, but we ask only for those favors that shall be granted us after our death.”

Granted that such a petition is not without value, on what rational basis does it rest? For if God is without interest in this life, and closes his ears to the prayers of his suppliants, then doubtless he who does not hear our present pleas is deaf also to our prayers for the future. Are we to believe that Christ listens or denies his attention according to the diverse nature of our prayers, that lie closes his ears when we ask for present boons, and opens them when we ask for blessings to come? But enough of this. The arguments are so stupid and frivolous that one needs to beware lest what is said for the honor of God seem injurious to him. For so great and terrible is the reverence due to his sacred majesty that we should not only shudder at the arguments of our opponents, but should also make our defense of religion with due fear and circumspection.

If, therefore, it is stupid and impious to believe that the divine love despises the care of human affairs, then God does not despise it; moreover, if he does not scorn it, he governs; if he governs, he judges by the very exercise of his government, since there can be no rule without the constant exercise of judgment on the part of the ruler. — Book I.

I have told you what men preeminent alike in philosophy and eloquence have thought of the majesty and government of the most high God. Moreover, I have cited the noblest masters of both these supreme arts expressly to facilitate my proof that all others have either agreed, or, if they have disagreed, have done so without any authority. And, in fact, I can find none who have differed from this judgment, except for the delirious ravings of the Epicureans and certain of their imitators. These last have associated God with carelessness and sloth, just as they have linked pleasure with virtue — so it appears that those who entertain this idea are likely to follow the vices of the Epicureans along with their opinion and doctrine.

I do not think that we need also use the divine word to prove so obvious a case, especially since the sacred writings furnish such abundant and open refutation of all the claims of ungodly men that, in meeting those of their vile charges which follow, we shall be able to refute more fully those already mentioned. They say that God neglects us entirely, since he neither restrains the wicked nor protects the good, and therefore in this world the condition of the better men is substantially the worse. They contrast the poverty of good men with the wealth of the wicked, their weakness with the strength of the wicked, their constant grief with the others’ perpetual joy, their misery and mean estate with the honors and prosperity of sinners.

I wish at the outset to ask those who mourn this state of affairs, or base their accusations on it, this one question: is their grief for the saints, that is, the true and faithful Christians, or for the false impostors? If for the false, it is a needless grief that mourns for the unhappiness of the wicked, since, to be sure, all evil men are made worse by success in their undertakings, and rejoice at the lucky turn of their folly. Yet they ought to be most wretched in order that they may cease to be wicked, that they may cease to apply the name of religion to their most evil gains and to bestow the title of sanctity on their sordid traffickings; in such a case, indeed, a comparison of the misfortunes of sinners with their misdeeds shows that they are less unfortunate than they deserve, for the utmost misfortunes they can suffer leave them still less wretched than they are wicked. It is foolish to grieve for their lack of wealth and happiness. Far less should we lament in the case of the saints, for however unhappy they may seem to men who do not understand their condition, it is impossible for them to be otherwise than happy. Moreover, it is superfluous to think them wretched because of sickness or poverty or any like misfortune, in the midst of which they count themselves happy; for no man is wretched because of other men’s judgment, but only in his own.

So those who are truly happy in their own estimation cannot be unhappy through the false conception of any man; for none, I think, are more fortunate than those who live and act according to their own determination and vows. Religious men are lowly — they wish to be so; poor — they delight in poverty; without ambition — they spurn it; unesteemed — they flee from honors; they mourn — but they seek out occasion for mourning; they are weak — nay, they rejoice in weakness. For the apostle said, “When I am weak, then am I strong.” Nor was this opinion held undeservedly by the man to whom God himself spoke thus: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” — Book I.

All the divine precepts are, therefore, referred back to love, of which the apostle says, “Now the end of the commandment is love, out of a pure heart, and a good conscience and a faith unfeigned.” Thus every commandment harks back to love. For whatever one does either in fear of punishment or from some carnal impulse, so that it does not measure up to the standard of love which the Holy Spirit sheds abroad in our hearts — whatever it is, it is not yet done as it should be, although it may seem to be. Love, in this context, of course includes both the love of God and the love of our neighbor and, indeed, “on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” — and, we may add, the gospel and the apostles, for from nowhere else comes the voice, “The end of the commandment is love,” and, “God is love.“