September: Day 18: Teaching 1:
Venerable Eumenios, Bishop of Gortyna
(Physical and Spiritual Works of Mercy)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
Venerable Eumenios, Bishop of Gortyna
(Physical and Spiritual Works of Mercy)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
I. Saint Eumenios, whose memory is celebrated today, was bishop of the city of Gortyna, on the island of Crete, and lived in the 7th century. He had a very kind heart, responded warmly to all the misfortunes of his neighbors and, even in his youth, gave away all his property to the poor; besides this, he was very peace-loving and did not tolerate hostility. For his strict and pious life, full of deeds of mercy, spiritual and physical, he was elevated to Bishop of Gortyna and was glorified by God for many miracles. For resisting the heresy of the Monothelites, who recognized in Jesus Christ only the Divine will, and rejected the human will (the Sixth Ecumenical Synod was against them), Saint Eumenios was exiled to the Thebaid, where he died. His body was buried in Gortyna.
II. Venerable Eumenios teaches us by the example of his own life to be merciful to our neighbors. To be merciful or compassionate to our neighbors means not only to wish them every good, but to try to do them all the good that we can, out of love for them. The Lord commands this virtue, saying: "Be merciful, as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36). The needs of a person are either for his body, others for his soul: therefore mercy is revealed in two ways - by deeds that satisfy bodily needs, and by deeds that satisfy spiritual needs.
a) Works of mercy that satisfy the needs of the body are the following:
The first work: to feed the hungry or the starving, i.e. to give food to the poor and the weak, who cannot earn their own food through their own labor or, for some reason, have a need for food assistance.
The second work: to give drink to a thirsty person or to someone who, due to weakness or other circumstances, has a need for this help, for example, a minor cannot get water, a traveler does not have water near the road in mind, and in similar cases. A disciple of Christ must be ready to provide all kinds of services to his neighbor, out of love for Christ, and no act of mercy or service done for the sake of the Lord remains without a reward, as the Savior said: "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you are Christ's, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward" (Mark 9:41).
The third work: to clothe the naked, or the one who lacks necessary and decent clothing, or to provide assistance for the purchase of necessary clothing.
The fourth work: to visit someone in prison. To help, both materially and with your advice, a prisoner locked up in prison for some grave offense, to make their peace with God and people and to take a better path in life, worthy of a true Christian. To console a prisoner, perhaps innocently imprisoned because of slander and human malice, or suffering for an actual crime committed under the influence of passion, for which true repentance has long been brought. To show all the necessity and salvation of earthly sorrows and the uncomplaining bearing of one's cross, and also to give material means to find a position upon release from prison. This is a matter of great Christian mercy - both spiritual and physical.
The fifth work: to visit the sick. As when visiting a prisoner in a dungeon, so when visiting a sick person, the duty of Christian love requires that one render to the one being visited such service as one can, to console in sorrow, to help in need, to give advice for the healing of body and soul, to try to prepare the seriously ill person for a Christian end, instilling in him sincere repentance for sins, hope in the boundless goodness and love of God for mankind, and to dispose him to the reverent acceptance of confession, communion and unction.
The sixth work of mercy: to receive a stranger into the house, and to do for his comfort everything that Christian love inspires, and that allows one to find his way.
The seventh work of mercy: to bury the dead who are in poverty, or to assist in this according to their condition, and it must always be remembered that the body of a deceased Christian, sealed by the Holy Mysteries of the Church, was once a temple of the Holy Spirit and, perhaps, will be destined for great glory after the general judgment and resurrection of the dead.
b) Works of mercy that satisfy the needs of the soul are the following:
The first work: to turn a sinner away from sin. As great is the misfortune of a man when he sins, so great is the virtue of the one who cares not only to save himself from sins, but also to remove others from this misfortune. The Holy Apostle James teaches: "Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:19, 20).
The second work: to teach the ignorant the truth and goodness. This duty obviously pertains to those who can instruct others according to their understanding. And one who knows a little can do this benefit to one who knows less or does not know what another and little-known person can nevertheless help him with.
The third work of spiritual mercy: to give one’s neighbor good and timely advice in a difficulty which he does not know how to overcome, or in a danger which he does not see, and which, meanwhile, threatens his honor, moral dignity, or even life.
The fourth work of spiritual mercy: to pray to God for one's neighbor. Often we cannot show other works of mercy to our neighbor, but we can pray for everyone. And having no other means of doing good to our neighbors, we can do good to them by offering warm prayers for them to the Almighty. "Pray for one another, that you may be healed" (James 5:26), teaches the apostle.
The fifth work of spiritual mercy: to comfort the sad. Sadness is a disease of the soul. Just as physical illness prevents the body from freely acting with its limbs, so sadness binds the activity of the spiritual powers. It is a good deed to free the sick from physical ailment; it is an even greater good to free a person from sadness and dispose him to God-pleasing activity, with unshakable trust in God's all-good care for us. Only sadness for God's sake is saving; "but the sorrow of the world," according to the word of the Apostle, "produces death" (2 Cor. 7:10). Therefore, the sad person must be inspired with the words of the Apostle Peter: "Cast all your sorrow on Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
The sixth work of spiritual mercy: not to take revenge for the evil that others have done to us; but to bear insults and offenses with good-natured patience, for Christ's sake. The Apostle Peter teaches us this virtue, saying: "If you do good and suffer, and endure it, this is acceptable in the sight of God. For to this end were you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow in His steps" (1 Peter 2:20, 21).
The seventh work of spiritual mercy: to forgive offenses from the heart, no matter how they were done to us, by words or by deeds. The Lord teaches this by word and example. "Forgive," He commands, "if you have anything against anyone: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses" (Mark 11:25). "When He was reviled," says the apostle, "He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously" (1 Peter 2:23). On the contrary, even from the cross He prayed to the heavenly Father for His crucifiers, crying out: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).
III. So fruitful is the virtue of mercy or compassion. It clearly reflects in man the quality of Divine goodness, extending his love to all those around him. It is pleasing to God and attracts His favor to the merciful. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." The merciful are promised mercy not only in this life - from the wrath of God and sorrows (Matt. 6:15; Ps. 40:2); but what is most important - in the future. The great mercy of God awaits the merciful at the Last Judgment. "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me’" (Matt. 25:34–36). "Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me" (v. 40). So, brethren, great is the virtue of mercy! So great is the promise which is received by the merciful! "Be therefore merciful, even as your Father which is in heaven is merciful."
Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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