Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Fourth Sunday in Advent

Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:39–45)

Not yet born, already John prophesies and, while still in the enclosure of his mother’s womb, confesses the coming of Christ with movements of joy since he could not do so with his voice. For Elizabeth says to holy Mary: As soon as you greeted me, the child in my womb exulted for joy. John exults, then, before he is born, and before his eyes can see what the world looks like he can recognize the Lord of the world with his spirit. In this regard I think that the prophetic phrase is apropos which says: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came forth from the womb I sanctified you. Thus we ought not to marvel that, after he was put in prison by Herod, from his confinement he continued to announce Christ to his disciples, when even confined in the womb he preached the same Lord by his movements.

Maximus of Turin, Sermon 5.4

Believe what says the angel who was sent
From the Father's throne, or if your stolid ear
Catch not the voice from heaven, be wise and hear
The cry of aged woman, now with child.
O wondrous faith! The babe in senile womb
Greets through his mother's lips the Virgin's Son,
Our Lord; the child unborn makes known the cry
Of the Child bestowed on us, for speechless yet,
He caused that mouth to herald Christ as God.

Prudentius, The Divinity of Christ 585–93.

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Third Sunday in Advent

Rejoice, O daughter of Zion!
        Make a proclamation, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Rejoice and enjoy yourself from your whole heart,
    O daughter of Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away your injustices;
        he has ransomed you from the hand of your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst,
        you shall not see evil any longer.
In that time the Lord will say to Jerusalem,
“Take courage, Zion!
        Do not let your hands get weak.
The Lord your God is among you;
        the Mighty One will save you.
And he will bring upon you the festivity
        and renew you in his affection,
and he will rejoice because of you in delight
        as in a day of festival.
And I will gather together those who are crushed.
        Alas, who took up a reproach against her?
Behold, I will act among you for your sake
        in that time,” says the Lord.
“And I will save the oppressed one
        and the rejected one.
I will gather them for glory,
        and they will be renowned in all the earth.
And they will be ashamed in that time,
        when I do well for you,
and in the time when I will gather you,
        because I will give you renowned ones,
and for glory among all the peoples of the earth,
        when I return your captives before you,” says the Lord.

(Zephaniah 3:14–20 LXX)

As far as the factual account goes, he clearly promises them peace after the return from Babylon, when their former faults are forgotten and God promises to accompany and protect them. On the other hand, as far as the deeper meaning goes, he necessarily ordered them to rejoice exceedingly, and as well to be glad with their whole heart at the removal of their sins—through Christ, obviously. That is to say, the spiritual and holy Zion, that is, the Church or vast company of the believers, has been justified by Christ and by Him alone; we have been saved through Him and by Him, escaping harm from the unseen foe, with Him as our mediator appearing in a form like ours as God and King of all, the Word of God the Father. Because of Him, we shall witness troubles no longer, that is, we shall be liberated from everyone able to do harm; after all, He is the instrument of benevolence, He is peace, the wall, the provider of immortality, the dispenser of crowns, who repels war waged by the spiritual Assyrians and annuls the schemes of the demons.

Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Zephaniah 3.14

I am aware that some commentators understood this of the return from Babylon and the renovation of Jerusalem, and I do not contradict their words: the prophecy applies also to what happened at that time. But you can find a more exact outcome after the Incarnation of our Savior: then it was that He healed the oppressed in heart in the washing of regeneration, then it was that He renewed human nature, loving us so much as to give His life for us. After all, “greater love than this no one can show than for one to lay down one's life for one's friend,” and again, “God so loved the world as to give his only-begotten Son so that everyone believing in Him might not be lost but have eternal life.” … The salvation of human beings rests with divine lovingkindness alone: we do not earn it as the wages of righteousness; rather, it is a gift of divine goodness. Hence the Lord says, “on your behalf I shall save and welcome” and make My own what has become another's, render it conspicuous, make it more famous than all others, free it from its former shame, and from being captives and slaves I shall make them free people and My own. Now, as I have said, this He both made a gift of to those returning from Babylon at that time and also granted to all people later: we who were once in thrall to the devil, but are now freed from that harsh captivity and unmindful of the error of polytheism, have become God's own, being famous beyond pagans and barbarians, according to the prophecy, and we who were once far off have become near, according to the divine apostle.

Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on Zephaniah 3.16–20

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Second Sunday in Advent

St John the Baptist Preaching in the Desert, Claes Corneliszoon Moeyaert

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will observe the way before my face. And immediately, the Lord, whom you seek, will come into his own temple. And the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes,” says the Lord Almighty. “But who will endure the day of his entrance, or who will stand in his appearance? Because he enters as a fire of a furnace and as a kind of cleansing. He will sit, smeltering and cleansing, as if it were silver and as if it were gold; and he will purify the children of Levi and pour them out just like gold and like silver, and they will become those who bring to the Lord a sacrifice in righteousness. And the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord, just as in the days of old and just as the previous years. And I will approach you with justice, and I will become a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulteresses and against the ones who swear oaths in my name, against liars and against the ones who withhold wages of workers and the ones who oppress the widow and the ones who maltreat orphans and the ones who pervert justice of the resident alien and the ones who do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. “Because I am the Lord, your God, and I do not change. (Malachi 3:1–6 LXX)

And so, that we might not inquire of what God the Word became flesh, He Himself teaches further, There was a man, one sent from God, whose name was John. He for testimony, to bear witness to the light … he was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light. By what God, then, was John sent—the forerunner who bore witness concerning the light? It was indeed by that God of whom Gabriel is the messenger, who also announced the good news of His birth. By the God who also promised through His prophets that He would send His messenger before the face of His Son, and He would prepare His way, that is, bear witness concerning the light in the spirit and power of Elias. And Elias, in turn, of what God was he servant and prophet? Of Him who made heaven and earth, as he himself acknowledges. Therefore, if John was sent by the Creator and Maker of this world, how could he bear witness concerning that light which descended from the beings that are unnameable and invisible? For all the heretics have given out as certain that Demiurge is ignorant of the power that is above him, of which John is recognized to be the witness and the revealer. On this account the Lord said He considered him more than a prophet. For all the other prophets announced the coming of the Father’s light; moreover, they desired to be worthy of seeing Him whom they prophesied. But John both foretold Him, just as the others had, and saw and pointed Him out when He came, and persuaded many to believe in Him, so that he held the office of both prophet and apostle. In this he is more than a prophet, because first are apostles, then prophets. But all things come from one and the same God.

Irenaeus of Lyons, Against the Heresies, 3.11.4

Of these two comings the Prophet Malachi says: “And suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek”; that is one coming. Of the second coming he says: “And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye. He will sit refining and purifying.” In what immediately follows the Savior Himself says: “I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers.” It was with this in view that Paul says in due warning: “But if anyone builds upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—the work of each will be made manifest, for the day of the Lord will declare it, since the day is to be revealed in fire.” Paul indicates these two comings also in writing to Titus in these words: “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, instructing us, in order that, rejecting ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live temperately and justly and piously in this world; looking for the blessed hope and glorious coming of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Do you see how he speaks of a first coming, for which he gives thanks, and of a second we are to look for? We find the same lesson in the wording of the Creed we profess, as delivered to us, that is, to believe in Him who “ascended into heaven and sat down on the right of the Father, and is to come in glory to judge living and dead, of whose kingdom there will be no end.”

Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 15.2

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the First Sunday in Advent

For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God, night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith? Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:9–13)

Paul says that there is nothing so valuable that it can be enough to compensate for the salvation which the Gentiles have obtained. Since they had advanced by the perseverance of their faith and the practice of a better life, he wanted to see them all the more in order to be able to teach them what they needed to go on to perfection, the sacraments, as it were, of spiritual things which cannot easily be proclaimed, so that they might discover who and how great was the judge whom they were waiting for. It is one thing to accept the faith and another to accept its exposition. The debate about the nature of the Father and the Son is different from that about their persons. The Father is unbegotten but the Son is begotten. The persons appear to be different but the nature is one and indivisible. The unity is not in person but in substance. The Holy Spirit is not to be regarded as inferior merely because He is placed third. Whatever is clear about the second person applies to the third as well.

Paul prays that his journey will be properly organized, by God the Father first of all, because all things come from Him. He wants the power and foresight of the Father and the Son to protect his coming, so that he will be accepted by those who hear him, and the hindrances of the devil may be removed so that he can make his way to them.

In order that the joy with which he rejoices in them may be increased, Paul prays that they may grow in all good things, so that when he comes to them he may find in them even more praiseworthy things than what he had heard from Timothy. He wants them to be found blameless with the saints in the love of God the Father and at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, when the cross-examination starts and tests each one before His judgment seat. Paul calls Him God because of the terror of his majesty, but Father because of the kindness by which he has been pleased to adopt those who believe in Him as His children, something which will be made clear when the Lord returns.

Ambrosiaster, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 3

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Last Sunday of the Church Year

Listen to me, listen to me, my people, and you kings, give ear to me, because the law will go forth from me, and my judgment as a light to the nations. My righteousness approaches quickly, and even my salvation will go forth as a light, and nations will hope in my strength. Islands will wait for me and will hope in my strength. Lift your eyes up to the sky and look at the earth below, for the sky will become solid like smoke, and the earth will grow old like a garment, and those who inhabit it will die just like these things, but my salvation will endure forever, and my righteousness surely shall not cease. (Isaiah 51:4–6 LXX)

But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven. Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mark 13:24–37)

From the sky and the earth, from the things on high and those below, learn of My power. I produced these elements with great ease and, conversely, I can make them disappear. “But My salvation shall be for eternity, and My righteousness shall not fail.” This is what the Lord has likewise said in the holy Gospels: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on Isaiah 16.51.6

How well, indeed, you philosophers teach us, and how usefully you advise us, that after death rewards and punishments fall with lighter weight! Whereas, if any judgment awaits souls at all, it ought rather to be supposed that it will be heavier at the conclusion of life than in the conduct thereof, since nothing is more complete than that which comes at the very last—nothing, moreover, is more complete than that which is especially divine. Accordingly, God’s judgment will be more full and complete, because it will be pronounced at the very last, in an eternal irrevocable sentence, both of punishment and of consolation. Then souls are not to transmigrate into beasts, but are to return into their own proper bodies. And all this once for all, and on “that day, too, of which the Father only knows” in order that by her trembling expectation faith may make full trial of her anxious sincerity, keeping her gaze ever fixed on that day, in her perpetual ignorance of it, daily trembling that for which she yet daily hopes.

Tertullian, On the Soul 33

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Les Disciples Admirent les Constructions du Temple by James Tissot

Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?” And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. (Mark 13:1–13)

There is no discrepancy in the Gospels as to facts, although one tells one detail which another passes over or describes differently; rather, they supplement each other when compared, and thus give direction to the mind of the reader. But it would take too long to discuss them all now. To their questions the Lord replied by telling what was to happen from that time on, whether of the destruction of Jerusalem, which had given rise to their inquiry, or of His coming in the Church in which He does not cease to come until the end—for He is recognized when He comes to His own, while His members are daily born, and of this coming He said: “Hereafter you shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds,” of which clouds the Prophet said: “I will command my clouds not to rain upon it”—or, finally, of the end itself at which He will appear “to judge the living and the dead.”

Augustine of Hippo, Letter 199, To Hesychius 25

Everything tends to its end, not in order that it may not be, but that it may remain in that toward which it tends. Everything is for the sake of its end; furthermore, the end does not concern itself with anything else. But, since the end is everything, it remains completely for itself. And since it does not reach out beyond itself and since it brings gain for itself rather than for any other time or thing, the object of all its hope is ever directed toward the end itself. For this reason the Lord thus exhorts us to a steadfastness in the devout faith that continues to the end: “Blessed is he who shall persevere to the end,” and certainly not as if dissolution were a blessing and non-existence a gain, and as if the reward of faith were to be found in the destruction of everyone, because the end is the unequaled measure of the blessedness that has been offered to us, and thus they are blessed who persevere to the end of the perfect happiness, since the expectation of faithful hope does not extend beyond this.

Hilary of Poitiers, On the Trinity 11.28

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.” Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” (Mark 12:38–44)

But now, what it is necessary for me to say on the subject of him inner and the outer man, may be expressed in the words of the Savior to those who swallow a camel, and wear the outward garb of the hypocrite, begirt with blandishments and flatteries. It is to them that Jesus addresses Himself when He says: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of uncleanness. Or know you not, that He that made that which is without, made that which is within also?” Now why did He speak of the cup and of the platter? Was He who uttered these words a glass-worker, or a potter who made vessels of clay? Did He not speak most manifestly of the body and the soul? For the Pharisees truly looked to the “tithing of anise and cumin, and left undone the weightier matters of the law;” and while devoting great care to the things which were external, they overlooked those which bore upon the salvation of the soul. For they also had respect to “greetings in the market-place,” and “to the uppermost seats at feasts:” and to them the Lord Jesus, knowing their perdition, made this declaration, that they attended to those things only which were without, and despised as strange things those which were within, and understood not that He who made the body made also the soul.

I perceive that Jesus also looks on willingly at the gifts of the rich men, when they are put into the treasury. All too little, at the same time, is it if gifts are cast into the treasury by the rich alone; and so there are the two mites of the poor widow which are also received with gladness; and in that offering verily something is exhibited that goes beyond what Moses prescribed on the subject of the receipt of moneys. For he received gifts from those who had; but Jesus receives them even from those who have not.

Hegemonius, The Disputation with Manes 21, 42

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to All Saints' Sunday

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:1–3)

Paul also says, For you have died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God, died, namely, by snuffing out your former life which was in sins, and having a new life in Christ through faith, whose depth has not yet visibly appeared to us. And Paul also explains this in other words, saying, When Christ, your life, appears, they you also will appear with him in glory. We shall be like him, he says, because when we shall enjoy with attentive regard his unchangeable and eternal divinity, we also shall be immortal and like him indeed, because we shall be happy. And yet, we shall not be like our Creator, because we are creatures. For, Who among the children of God shall be like God? Although this can also seem to be said about the immortality of the body and in this we shall indeed be like God, but only like the Son who alone among the persons of the Trinity received a body, in which he died, rose and brought it to the heavenly heights.

Many say that they have hope of the heavenly life in Christ but they make this confession ineffective by living carelessly. He who is eager to strive vigorously to perform good actions gives clear evidence in his case of his hope from on high, being convinced that no one will arrive at the likeness of God in the future except by making himself holy with the holiness of God in the present, that is, unless he imitate by rejecting wickedness and worldly desires, however, and by living soberly and righteously and faithfully. For thus are we ordered to imitate the purity of divine holiness in accord with the capacity of our nature, as we are admonished to hope for the glory of the divine likeness in accord with our own, that is, created, measure.… But he who has hope in the Lord makes himself holy, as far as he can, by striving himself and in everything requiring the grace of Him who says, Without me you can do nothing, and by saying to him, Be my helper, do not forsake me.

Venerable Bede, Commentary on 1 John 3.2–3

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to Reformation Sunday

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:31–36)

Oh, pitiable slavery! Very often when men are afflicted with wicked masters, they request to have themselves put up for sale, not seeking to not have a master, but simply to change. But the slave of sin, what can he do? To whom can he appeal? Before whom can he appeal? Before whom can he request to have himself put up for sale? Then too, the slave of a man sometimes, when exhausted by his master’s harsh orders, finds rest in flight. Where does the slave of sin flee? He drags himself with himself wherever he flees.… Let us all flee to Christ. Against sin let us appeal to God, the giver of freedom. Let us request to have ourselves put up for sale that we may be redeemed by his blood. For the Lord says, “You were sold for nothing, and without money you shall be redeemed.” Without payment, without your payment, because by mine. The Lord says this; for He gave the payment himself, not silver, but His own blood. For we had remained both slaves and in need.

The Lord alone, then, sets free from this slavery; He, who did not have it, Himself sets free from it. Indeed, He alone came in this flesh without sin. For little children whom you see being carried in their mothers’ hands do not yet walk and they have already been shackled; for they have contracted from Adam what is to be broken by Christ. This grace which the Lord promises also pertains to them when they are baptized; for He alone can set free from sin, who came without sin and became a sacrifice for sin.

Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on the Gospel of John 4–5

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.” So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Mark 10:23–31)

The wealthy and legally correct man, not understanding these things figuratively, nor how the same man can be both poor and rich, and have wealth and not have it, and use the world and not use it, went away sad and downcast, leaving the state of life, which he was able merely to desire but not to attain, making for himself the difficult impossible. For it was difficult for the soul not to be seduced and ruined by the luxuries and flowery enchantments that beset remarkable wealth; but it was not impossible, even surrounded with it, for one to lay hold of salvation, provided he withdrew himself from material wealth,—to that which is grasped by the mind and taught by God, and learned to use things indifferent rightly and properly, and so as to strive after eternal life. And the disciples even themselves were at first alarmed and amazed. Why were they so on hearing this? Was it that they themselves possessed much wealth? Nay, they had long ago left their very nets, and hooks, and rowing boats, which were their sole possessions. Why then do they say in consternation, “Who can be saved?” They had heard well and like disciples what was spoken in parable and obscurely by the Lord, and perceived the depth of the words. For they were sanguine of salvation on the ground of their want of wealth. But when they became conscious of not having yet wholly renounced the passions (for they were neophytes and recently selected by the Savior), they were excessively astonished, and despaired of themselves no less than that rich man who clung so terribly to the wealth which he preferred to eternal life. It was therefore a fit subject for all fear on the disciples’ part; if both he that possesses wealth and he that is teeming with passions were the rich, and these alike shall be expelled from the heavens. For salvation is the privilege of pure and passionless souls.

But the Lord replies, “Because what is impossible with men is possible with God.” This again is full of great wisdom. For a man by himself working and toiling at freedom from passion achieves nothing. But if he plainly shows himself very desirous and earnest about this, he attains it by the addition of the power of God. For God conspires with willing souls.

Clement of Alexandria, Salvation of the Rich Man 20–21