Homily for the Third Sunday of the Holy and Great Fast - The Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross (St. Cleopa of Sihastria)

 

Homily for the Third Sunday of the Holy and Great Fast 

The Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross 

On the Value of the Soul

By St. Cleopa of Sihastria

“What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his own soul?
Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37)

Beloved faithful,

In today’s sermon on the Holy Gospel, we will speak, as much as the Most Good God enlightens us, about the honor of man and the value of the human soul. Behold what the Savior says: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). Then He says: “Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:37). Hear, my brothers, how great and immeasurable the value of our soul is, and to what honor and esteem our Savior Jesus Christ Himself has raised it. And if this is so, who could ever resist this truth?

Holy Scripture often calls man a “soul.” Behold what it says in Genesis: “The souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, that came out of his loins, were sixty-six souls, besides the women of his sons” (Genesis 46:26). See, Holy Scripture calls man a “soul.” And why does Scripture call man a “soul”? The answer is this: because of the great value the soul has in comparison with the body. But can one call the soul “man”? No. A human can be called a soul, but the soul alone cannot be called man. For the soul has an invisible nature, and the body has a visible and tangible nature, and only when these unite in a single hypostasis is it called man. But the soul is not called man without the body, nor is the body called man without the soul. For man is a hypostasis united from two natures, soul and body.

What is man? Man is a seed and a center of the whole world that God has created in heaven and on earth. Man is a being that maintains a connection with the four kinds of worlds God made in the Universe. He communicates with all of creation: with the mineral kingdom, with the plant world, with the animal world, and with the unseen world of angels, that is, the noetic world. Therefore, man is the center of the visible and invisible world, which is why the Holy and Divine Scripture calls man “great” (Sirach 3:18). And elsewhere it says: “Great is man, and honored is the merciful man.”

But why is he called great? Because in man all the worlds created by God converge, and above all, he is the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). Because man unites within himself the four worlds on a small scale, man is called a “microcosm,” that is, a small world. According to Saint Gregory the Theologian and other Holy Fathers of the Church of Christ, man is also called a macrocosm, because he is greater than all visible creatures. Man is a great world within a small one, because he unites within himself not only the visible and tangible world, but also the invisible world of angels, and above all, he is the only creation made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27).

Let us see in what way man participates in angelic qualities. Angels are called servants of God, as it is written: “Who makest Thy angels spirits, and Thy ministers a flame of fire” (Psalm 103:4-5). Angels are those who help us in troubles, in grief, and in temptations. They rejoice continually at those who grow in virtue and grieve at those who fall into sin, helping them to rise again through repentance. Angels serve in the salvation of human souls and never leave us until we depart from this life. Angels form the host closest to us; they have been given the earth for guardianship and serve most closely in the salvation of human souls. This is why Saint Paul said: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14).

The human soul also has from God a work similar to that of the angels. It has faith and love for God and serves Him with fear and trembling. The human soul also has the power to serve, to help its brothers, to console them in affliction, to strengthen them with words, and to come always to their aid. For this reason, man is a kind of angel mixed from two natures, as Saint John Damascene calls him (Dogmatics, ch. 12, Bucharest, 1938).

Saint Gregory of Nyssa, the great spiritual philosopher, also says: “Man is a brother of the angel according to his rational power. What the mind of man is, that the angel is with a body” (Commentary on the Life of Moses, p. 813). We must know that only God is completely incorporeal; all angels have their bodies. But their bodies are very thin, made of heavenly fire, and are called “incorporeal” in ecclesiastical writings.

Our soul is not alien even to the work of the archangels. It has memory given by God, remembers all things, and its mind, if illuminated by the Holy Spirit, shares and proclaims the Gospel, in which is the Word of God, and all teachings that save the soul.

Man, like the authorities, governs cities, lands, and regions, gives laws, and leads souls, as God said: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28).

Imitating the angelic hosts who rule over the devils in the air, the pure human soul, enlightened by God’s gift, also rules over the devils, burning them with prayer and humility. The pure soul does not wish to do their will, and above all, it is not overcome by the passions of the body and soul, for it has within it the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 10:8; Mark 3:15; Luke 9:1).

Man, like the angelic dominions, has from God the gift to perform great powers and miracles, and instead of governing the winds and changes of times, he governs the members of his body, rules virtues, drives away the storms of thoughts and the passions of the soul, putting everything in order for the service and glory of God.

And the human soul closely resembles the angelic dominions. By God’s gift, it comes to rule over the senses, and over the passions of the body and soul.

The human soul also has from God the gift of the holy thrones, being able, to a degree, to receive and rest the Most Holy Trinity in its mind and heart, through purification from passions, through love and humility.

Man also participates to a small degree in the work of the cherubim, according to the measure of God’s gift, by which he can be wise and watchful over passions, with mind and heart full of divine knowledge, and can also pour forth spiritual wisdom by preaching the Word of God for the salvation of thousands of souls who love Christ.

But the human soul, imitating the seraphim, when it reaches perfection, is filled with divine warmth and fire and has such burning love for the Most Good God that it rightly may be called “a seraph in the body, an earthly seraph.”

Man is smaller than angels in knowledge, and with the gift, he knows fewer divine mysteries than they. This is how we must understand the words of the Savior about Saint John the Baptist: “Among those born of women, there has not risen a greater than John; yet the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he” (Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28). But because of all creation, only man is made in the image and likeness of God, man is greater than the angels.

The human soul surpasses the angels in three qualities, according to Saint Basil the Great, namely: in mind, in word, and in self-governing will, that is, freedom. By the mind, the human soul resembles especially the Father and the Son, and by its free, self-governing will — which is the root of all goodness — the soul resembles the Holy Spirit. Thus man is the image of the Most Holy Trinity through these three qualities.

Beloved faithful,

Do you see how great the value of the human soul is? Do you see to what honor and glory it is raised? And all this because man is the king of creation, the only being created in the image and likeness of God. That is why the Savior says in today’s Holy Gospel: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:35-37).

This is precisely why the Church reminds us of the words of the Savior, who calls us to care for our salvation, especially now in Great Lent, when every faithful Christian turns attention to the soul. This is why the Son of God became incarnate and suffered for humanity — to free our souls, so precious, from the bondage of passions and from the depths of hell, where they were cast by the murderous devils.

This is why this Gospel is read in the middle of Great Lent: so that we have time until Holy Pascha to repent, to confess, to reconcile with God and with people, and to worthily receive Holy Communion, which is the greatest gift the Savior gives us on earth. Let us therefore take heed of how we live, how we correct our lives, what we have done so far for our souls, and what we still need to do in order to obtain salvation and be freed from condemnation.

Let us remember that this is why the devil fights us so fiercely through his servants, to steal from us what is most precious from God. Not wealth, not honor, not friends, not the body, not this earthly life, but the soul that God has given us, which is more precious than all the pearls of the world. For it, we endure so many bodily trials; for it, we struggle a lifetime with devils, with the weaknesses of our nature, with evil people, and with the soul-destroying passions that attack us from all sides.

Having seen what the soul is and how great its value is, let us now see how we must keep our soul pure from sins, or, if we are dominated by passions — which form the cancer of the soul — how we can free ourselves from their bondage and from eternal condemnation.

The soul of a child after baptism is pure like an angel. That is why a child who dies immediately after baptism, being without sins, is surely saved and counted among the host of saints. This is also why the Savior took a child into His holy arms, saying: “Let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for of such is the Kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). The baptized child is, therefore, the prototype of the angel, of the soul, of the perfect human being — not dominated by any sin, by any impure thought. On earth, the child is the most fitting icon of holiness, of the saved soul.

How can we purify our soul, conscience, heart, and body from the sins that burden us? The first thing to do during the fast is confession with repentance and tears, and Holy Communion. Then comes holy prayer. We need more prayer, my brothers, more devotion and patience in prayer, regular attendance at church. Then read daily from the Psalter, one or two kathismas, for the Psalms, even from a stone heart, draw tears, says Saint Basil the Great. Also read in the evening or morning an Akathist, the Paraklesis to the Mother of God, the daily prayers from the prayer book, and add metanias (prostrations) and bows with the Prayer of Christ, according to one’s strength.

A third good deed that greatly helps prayer is fasting. Great is the power of prayer united with fasting. Both together perform true miracles; they whiten the soul darkened by sins and evil thoughts. Each person should fast according to their ability, as long as they fast. That is, to eat fasting foods, and on Wednesdays and Fridays to fast strictly at least until noon.

Another great good deed that greatly helps the salvation of the soul is almsgiving. Show mercy as much as you can, help with love and a good heart anyone who asks.

Almsgiving of the soul has great power. Encourage one another in church, in prayer, in confession, in repentance. Visit the sick, help those in sorrow with words of consolation, with holy books to read, and read especially the New Testament. And the crown of all virtues is Christian love. Love spiritually all people, ask forgiveness from all, and rejoice in Christ, for God is love. This is the best path for the purification and salvation of our souls.

Beloved faithful,

Three weeks have passed in the Holy and Great Fast of Pascha. During this time, some Christians have prayed more, have come to church, fasted, reconciled with people and with God, have confessed and received Communion. They have taken proper care of their souls. But many still have not come, although Christ calls and waits for them.

Today, on the Third Sunday of Great Lent, called the “Sunday of the Holy Cross,” as you see, the Holy Cross is placed with great devotion in the center of the church. Why is the Cross placed for veneration in the church at mid-Lent, where it remains for a week? It is placed so that we may be strengthened and encouraged in the struggle of fasting, so that we can complete it profitably. For by looking at the Holy Cross and meditating on the Lord’s sufferings, we forget the troubles of life and receive strength on the path of salvation.

My brothers, this is the power of Christ’s Cross in the world! The Cross brought us salvation and reconciliation with God. The Cross shattered the gates of hades through the Resurrection. The Cross opened paradise to us and conquered death. The Cross crushes devils and drives them away from us. The Cross is the ladder of salvation for the world that lifts us to heaven. Let us ascend to God on the ladder of the Cross. Let us reconcile and love one another through the sacrifice of the Holy Cross. Let us strive to carry each of our crosses with humility, patience, and hope of salvation. Let us not despair in illness, suffering, or the multitude of life’s troubles. Let us remember that all our fathers, ancestors, and saints suffered and carried their cross with patience and joy to the end.

So let us also strengthen ourselves, my brothers, in the struggle of Lent. Before us goes Christ the Savior of the world with the Cross on His back. Let us follow Him with faith and courage, working day and night for the salvation of our souls. And reaching Holy Pascha with joy, let us kneel before the Cross and together sing: “We venerate Your Cross, O Christ, and we praise and glorify Your Holy Resurrection!” Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.