no rightousness by works 2

21.Christ is Master by virtue of His own essence and Master by virtue of His incarnate life. For He creates man from nothing, and through His own Blood redeems him when dead in sin; and to those who believe in Him

He has given His grace.

22.When Scripture says 'He will reward every man according to his works' (Matt. 16: 27), do not imagine that works in them­selves merit either hell or the kingdom. On the contrary, Christ rewards each man according to whether his works are done with faith or without faith in Himself; and He is not a dealer bound by contract, but God our Creator and Redeemer.

23.We who have received baptism offer good works, not by way of repayment, but to preserve the purity given to us.

24.Every good work which we perform through our own natural powers causes us to refrain from the corresponding sin; but without grace it cannot contribute to our sanctification.

25. The self-controlled refrain from gluttony; those who have renounced possessions, from greed; the tranquil, from loquacity; the pure, from self-indulgence; the modest, from unchastity; the self-dependent, from avarice; the gentle, from agitation; the humble, from self-esteem; the obedient, from quarrelling; the self-critical, from hypocrisy. Similarly, those who pray are protected from despair; the poor, from having many possessions; confessors of the faith, from its denial; martyrs, from idolatry. Do you see how every virtue that is performed even to the point of death is nothing other than refraining from sin? Now to refrain from sin is a work within our own natural powers, but not something that buys us the kingdom.

26.While man can scarcely keep what belongs to him by nature, Christ gives the grace of sonship through the Cross.

27.Certain commandments are specific, and others are com­prehensive. Thus Christ enjoins us specifically to 'share with him who has none' (Luke 3:11); and He gives us a comprehensive com­mand to forsake all that we have (cf. Luke 14: 33).

28.There is an energy of grace not understood by beginners, and there is also an energy of evil which resembles the truth. It is advisable not to scrutinize these energies too closely, because one may be led astray, and not to condemn them out of hand, because they may contain some truth; but we should lay everything before God in hope, for He knows what is of value in both of them.

29.He who wants to cross the spiritual sea is long-suffering, humble, vigilant and self-controlled. If he impetuously embarks on it without these four virtues, he agitates his heart, but cannot cross.

30.Stillness helps us by making evil inoperative. If it also takes to itself these four virtues in prayer, it is the most direct support in attaining dispassion.

31The intellect cannot be still unless the body is still also; and the wall between them cannot be demolished without stillness and prayer.

32.The flesh with its desire is opposed to the spirit, and the spirit opposed to the flesh, and those who live in the spirit will not carry out the desire of the flesh (cf. Gal. c: ic-17).

33. There is no perfect prayer unless the intellect invokes God; and when our thought cries aloud without distraction, the Lord will listen.

34. When the intellect prays without distraction it afflicts the heart; and 'a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise’ (Ps. 51 : 17).

35. Prayer is called a virtue, but in reality it is the mother of the virtues: for it gives birth to them through union with Christ.

36.Whatever we do without prayer and without hope in God turns out afterwards to be harmful and defective.

37.Christ's words that the 'first will be last, and the last will be first' (Matt. 19 : 30) refer to those who participate in the virtues and those who participate in love. For love is the last of the virtues to be born in the heart, but it is the first in value, so that those born before it turn out to be 'the last'.

38.If you are listless when you pray or afflicted by various forms of evil, call to mind your death and the torments of hell. But it is better to cleave to God through hope and prayer than to think about external things, even though such thoughts may be help­ful.

39.No single virtue by itself opens the door of our nature; but all the virtues must be linked together in the correct sequence.

40.He whose mind teems with thoughts lacks self-control; and even when they are beneficial, hope is more so.

ST MARK THE ASCETIC

On Those who Think that

They are Made Righteous by Works:

Two Hundred and Twenty-Six Texts