About the post. Word 3

A worker of piety is also rich in Christ - he who has prayer and fasting and almsgiving. Otherwise, what is the use, brothers, of fasting with the body and killing with the deed? What is the benefit of avoiding food and becoming defiled by fornication? For example, you don’t eat meat, but do you bite your brother’s flesh? What is the use of finding consolation not in wine, but in money? Not eating bread, but getting drunk with anger? What is the benefit of becoming exhausted from fasting and slandering your neighbor? What is the use of abstaining from food and stealing what belongs to others? What is the need to exhaust your body and not feed the hungry? What is the use of depressing your body and not having compassion for the widows and orphans? If you want to fast, hate the love of money: the love of money is a great evil. Are you fasting? Leave fornication, leave adultery, avoid slander, slander, lies, enmity, blasphemy and all excess. Are you fasting? Flee greed, robbery, quarrels and soul-destroying envy. Are you fasting? Flee gluttony, which gives rise to all the vices in us, removes us from God himself and lowers us into the abyss of destruction. If you fast for God, avoid every deed that God hates, and He will accept your repentance as He is merciful and loving of mankind. Let us hasten, brothers, let us hasten to repentance. Now is the time for confession of sins, crying and contrition, and not carelessness and negligence. Repentance opens us to the Kingdom of Heaven, leads us into paradise and gives us the enjoyment of eternal blessings. If you fast, beloved, show compassion to the poor, clothe the naked, wipe away the tears of a widow, comfort the crying orphans. If you have wealth, help; if you don’t have it, then at least don’t steal someone else’s. Are you fasting? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from flattery and deceit: this is enough for your salvation. If you fast, do not seek profit from converting money into growth. Are you fasting? Show mercy to the one you have offended, never envy your brother, never hate anyone. Are you fasting? Don't be vain. Are you fasting? Flee fornication, which removes us from God and His saints, plunging us into eternal and unquenchable fire. Are you fasting? Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick, do not forget those in prison, have pity on the tormented, comfort the mourning and crying; be merciful, meek, kind, quiet, long-suffering, compassionate, unforgiving, reverent, undisputed, true, godly, so that God will accept your fasting and grant you the fruits of repentance in abundance. If you are fasting, beloved, then fast as Christ commanded, so that it does not happen to you that you will endure hard work and not deserve a reward. I beg you about this, brothers, so that we can fulfill everything exactly, and receive a reward from God, and hear this Divine voice calling: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). Nothing, brothers, will help us more on that terrible day of judgment, when this voice is heard, than repentance and alms. Just as bread is more necessary than any other food, so the memory of death is more important than all matters. Let the thought of eternal fire accompany you to your bed every evening and relentlessly pursue you upon awakening - in this case, despondency will never take possession of you during psalmody. Just as darkness is removed when light comes, so humility drives out all anger and bitterness. Let anger be bound, like a tyrant, by the bonds of meekness. Never accept slander against your neighbor, but stop the slanderer with these words: leave it, brother, every day I sin even greater grave sins; How can we condemn him? A lie is the destruction of love, and perjury is the denial of God; he who has retained the fear of God pursues lies, having a judge in his own conscience. Using affection, you can often tame a lion. Anyone who pleases his belly and at the same time wants to overcome lustful thoughts is like a person who wants to put out a fire with oil. The tongue is suppressed by rich food. Serve the Lord from the weakness of your nature, remembering your powerlessness in everything. In prayer, do not use words inspired by false wisdom, but pray with all your soul and a humble heart - first of all, say: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak” (Psalm 6:3). Our faith is firm, and love for God lifts us above the worries of life, and the memory of death tames the body. A small fire sometimes destroys a large supply of substance; Thus, one virtue drives away all passions. If you want to draw closer to God with your heart, be unshakable in prayer, like a pillar, not being distracted by any everyday worries. If anyone wants to appear before Christ with an undefiled body and a pure heart, let him preserve himself without anger and in abstinence. Without these virtues, anyone who wants to present Christ with a pure soul or body and is worried about worldly worries is like someone who, having tightly tied his feet, would try to walk quickly in Christ Jesus the Lord. Amen. Creations attributed to St. John Chrysostom and classified in the Minya edition as Spuria.