I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. Genesis, III. 15 The fool hath said in his heart: 'There is no God', they are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways: there is none that doth good, no not one. The Lord hath looked down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good, no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre: with their tongues they acted deceitfully; the poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and unhappiness in their ways: and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes. Shall not all they know that work iniquity, who devour my people as they eat bread? They have not called upon the Lord: there have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear. For the Lord is in the just generation: you have confounded the counsel of the poor man, but the Lord is his hope. Who shall give out of Sion the salvation of Israel? when the Lord shall have turned away the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad. Psalm XIII O God my God, look upon me: why hast Thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my sins. O my God, I shall cry by day, and Thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me. But Thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel. In Thee have our fathers hoped: they have hoped, and Thou hast delivered them. They cried to Thee, and they were saved: they trusted in Thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people. All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken with the lips, and wagged the head. He hoped in the Lord, let Him deliver him: let Him save him, seeing He delighteth in him. For Thou art He that hast drawn me out of the womb: my hope from the breasts of my mother. I was cast upon Thee from the womb. From my mother's womb Thou art my God, depart not from me. For tribulation is very near: for there is none to help me. Many calves have surrounded me: fat bulls have besieged me. They have opened their mouths against me, as a lion ravening and roaring. I am poured out like water; and all my bones are scattered. My heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue hath cleaved to my jaws: and Thou hast brought me down into the dust of death. For many dogs have encompassed me: the council of the malignant hath besieged me. They have dug my hands and feet. They have numbered all my bones and they have looked and stared upon me. They parted my garments amongst them; and upon my vesture they cast lots. But Thou, O Lord, remove not Thy help to a distance from me; look towards my defence. Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword: my only one from the hand of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth; and my lowness from the horns of the unicorns. I will declare Thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the Church will I praise Thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him: all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify Him. Let all the seed of Israel fear Him: because He hath not slighted nor despised the supplication of the poor man. Neither hath He turned away His face from me: and when I cried to Him He heard me. With Thee is my praise in a great Church: I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear Him. The poor shall eat and shall be filled: and they shall praise the Lord that seek Him: their hearts shall live for ever and ever. All the ends of the earth shall remember, and shall be converted to the Lord: and all the kindreds of the Gentiles shall adore in His sight. For the kingdom is the Lord's; and He shall have dominion over the nations. All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and have adored: all they that go down to the earth shall fall before Him. And to Him my soul shall live: and my seed shall serve Him. There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come: and the heavens shall shew forth His justice to a people that shall be born, which the Lord hath made. Psalm XXI Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy : deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man. For Thou art God my strength : why hast Thou cast me off? and why do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me? Send forth Thy light and Thy truth : they have conducted me, and brought me unto Thy holy hill, and into Thy tabernacles. And I will go in to the altar of God : to God Who giveth joy to my youth. To Thee, O God my God, I will give praise upon the harp : why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me? Hope in God, for I will still give praise to Him : the salvation of my countenance, and my God. Psalm XLII Thou hast deceived me, O Lord, and I am deceived: Thou hast been stronger than I, and Thou hast prevailed. I am become a laughing-stock all the day, all scoff at me. For I am speaking now this long time, crying out against iniquity, and I often proclaim devistation: and the word of the Lord is made a reproach to me, and a derision all the day. Then I said: I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name: and there came in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was wearied, not being able to bear it. For I heard the reproaches of many, and terror on every side: Persecute him, and let us persecute him: from all the men that were my familiars, and continued at my side: if by any means he may be deceived, and we may prevail against him, and be revenged on him. But the Lord is with me as a strong warrior: therefore they that persecute me shall fall, and shall be weak: they shall be greatly confounded, because they have not understood the everlasting reproach, which never shall be effaced. And Thou, O Lord of hosts, prover of the just, Who seest the reins and the heart: let me see, I beseech Thee, Thy vengeance on them: for to Thee I have laid open my cause. Sing ye to the Lord, praise the Lord: because He hath delivered the soul of the poor out of the hand of the wicked. Jeremias, XX. 7-13 To came to pass also, that seven brethren, together with their mother, were apprehended, and compelled by the king to eat swine's flesh against the law, for which end they were tormented with whips and scourges. But one of them, who was the eldest, said thus: 'What wouldst thou ask, or learn of us? we are ready to die rather than to transgress the laws of God, received from our fathers.' Then the king being angry commanded fryingpans, and brazen caldrons to be made hot: which forthwith being heated, he commanded to cut out the tongue of him that had spoken first: and the skin of his head being drawn off, to chop off also the extremities of his hands and feet, the rest of his brethren, and his mother, looking on. And when he was now maimed in all parts, he commanded him, being yet alive, to be brought to the Are, and to be fried in the fryingpan: and while he was suffering therein long torments, the rest, together with the mother, exhorted one another to die manfully, saying: 'The Lord God will look upon the truth, and will take pleasure in us, as Moses declared in the profession of the canticle: and in His servants He will take pleasure.' So when the first was dead after this manner, they brought the next to make him a mocking stock: and when they had pulled off the skin of his head with the hair, they asked him if he would eat, before he were punished throughout the whole body in every limb. But he answered in his own language, and said: 'I will not do it'. Wherefore Ire also in the next place, received the torments of the first: and when he was at the last gasp, he said thus: 'Thou indeed, O most wicked man, destroyest us out of this present life: but the King of the world will raise us up, who die for His laws, in the resurrection of eternal life'. After him the third was made a mocking stock, and when he was required, he quickly put forth his tongue, and courageously stretched out his hands: and said with confidence: 'These I have from Heaven, but for the laws of God I now despise them: because I hope to receive them again from Him'. So that the king, and they that were with him, wondered at the young man's courage, because he esteemed the torments as nothing. And after he was thus dead, they tormented the fourth in the like manner, and when he was now ready to die, he spoke thus: 'It is better, being put to death by men, to look for hope from God, to be raised up again by Him: for, as to thee thou shalt have no resurrection unto life'. And when they had brought the fifth, they tormented him. But he looking upon the king, said: 'Whereas thou hast power among men, though thou art corruptible, thou dost what thou wilt: but think not that our nation is forsaken by God. But stay patiently a while, and thou shalt see His great power, in what manner He will torment thee and thy seed'. After him they brought the sixth, and he being ready to die, spoke thus: 'Be not deceived without cause: for we suffer these things for ourselves, having sinned against our God, and things worthy of admiration are done to us: but do not think that thou hast escape unpunished, for that thou attempted to fight against God'. Now the mother was to be above measure, and worthy to be remembered by good men, who beheld seven sons slain in the space of one day, and bore it with a good courage, for the hope that she had in God: and she bravely exhorted every one of them in her own language, being filled with wisdom: and joining a man's heart to a woman's thought, she said to them: 'I know not how you were formed in my womb: for I neither gave you breath, nor soul, nor life, neither did I frame the limbs of every one of you. But the Creator of the world, that formed the nativity of man, and that found out the origin of all, He will re-store to you again in His mercy, both breath and life, as now you despise your-selves for the sake of His laws'. Now Antiochus, thinking himself despised, and withal despising the voice of the upbraider, when the youngest was yet alive, did not only exhort him by words, but also assured him with an oath, that he would make him a rich and a happy man, and, if he would turn from the laws of his fathers, would take him for a friend, and furnish him with things necessary. But when the young man was not moved with these things, the king called the mother, and counselled her to deal with the young man to save his life. And when he had exhorted her with many words, she promised that she would counsel her son. So bending herself towards him, mocking the cruel tyrant, she said in her own language: 'My son, have pity upon me, that bore thee nine months my womb, and save thee suck years, and nourished thee, and bring thee up unto this age. I beseech thee, my son, look upon Heaven and earth, and all that is in them: and consider that God made the out of nothing, and mankind also: so thou shalt not fear this tormentor, but being made a worthy partner with thy brethren, receive death, that in that mercy I may receive thee again with thy brethren'. While she was yet speaking these words, the young man said: 'For whom do you stay? I will not obey the commandment of the king, but the commandment of the law, which was given us by Moses. But thou that hast been the author of all mischief against the Hebrews, shalt not escape the hand of God. For we suffer thus for our sins. And though the Lord our God is angry with us a little while for our chastisement and correction: yet He will be reconciled again to His servants. But thou, O wicked and of all men most flagitious, be not lifted up without cause with vain hopes, whilst thou art raging against his servants. For thou hast not yet escaped the judgment of the almighty God, who beholdeth all things. For my brethren, having now undergone a short pain, are under the covenant of eternal life: but thou by the judgment of God shalt receive just punishment for thy pride. But I, like my brethren, offer up my life and my body for the laws of our fathers: calling upon God to be speedily merciful to our nation, and that thou by torments and stripes mayst confess that He alone is God. But in me and in my brethren the wrath of the Almighty, which hath justly been brought upon all our nation, shall cease.' Then the king being incensed with anger, raged against him more cruelly than all the rest, taking it grievously that he was mocked. So this man also died undefiled, wholly trusting in the Lord. And last of all after the sons the mother also was consumed. But now there is enough said of the sacrifices, and of the excessive cruelties. II Machabees, VII Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven: but he that doth the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Saint Matthew, VII. 21 In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God: and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him: and without Him was made nothing that was made. In Him was life: and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness: and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light. That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world: and the world was made by Him: and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own: and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, He gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in His name. Who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we saw His glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth. Saint John, I. 1-14 Amen, amen, I say unto you: He that believeth in Me hath everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the desert: and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven: that if any man eat of it, he may not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this man give us His flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say unto you: except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed: and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood abideth in me: and I in Him. Saint John, VI. 47-57 These things have I spoken to you things have I spoken to you that you may not be scandalised. They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth a service to God. And these things will they do to you; because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you of them. Saint John, XVI. 1-4 I Beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God. Romans, XII. 1-2 And every one that striveth for the mastery refraineth himself from all things. And they indeed that they may receive a corruptible crown: but we an incorruptible one. I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty: I so fight, not as one beating the air. But I chastise my body and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway. I Corinthians, IX. 25-27 What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but hath not works? Shall faith be able to save him? And if a brother or sister be naked and want daily food, and one of you say to them: Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; yet give them not those things that are necessary for the body, what shall it profit? So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself. But some man will say: Thou hast faith, and I have works. Shew me thy faith without works; and I will shew thee, by works, my faith. Thou believest that there is one God. Thou dost well, the devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Saint James, II. 14-20