Quote of the day - St. John Chrysostom. "The Law did help our nature very much—but only if it genuinely leads us to Christ; by the same token, if it does not do this, it has actually hurt us, by …More
Quote of the day - St. John Chrysostom.
"The Law did help our nature very much—but only if it genuinely leads us to Christ; by the same token, if it does not do this, it has actually hurt us, by depriving us of greater things through attention to smaller things, and by continuing to keep us confined in the countless wounds of our transgressions. Indeed, suppose there were two doctors, the one less powerful and the other more powerful; and the one, although he applied medicines to the patient's sores, was not able to free the afflicted person once and for all from the pain they caused, but only brought some slight relief, whereas when the other doctor, the more powerful one, arrived, taking all those medicines away and simply washing the sick person, he was able to purify him of his afflictions, leaving no further trace—not even the slightest mark. And then, suppose that the first doctor tried to prevent the patient from being treated by that [better doctor]. What help could he possibly provide by the application of his medicines, that would be as great as the damage he caused by preventing the patient from taking the brief way, the quickest way to health?"
"The Law did help our nature very much—but only if it genuinely leads us to Christ; by the same token, if it does not do this, it has actually hurt us, by depriving us of greater things through attention to smaller things, and by continuing to keep us confined in the countless wounds of our transgressions. Indeed, suppose there were two doctors, the one less powerful and the other more powerful; and the one, although he applied medicines to the patient's sores, was not able to free the afflicted person once and for all from the pain they caused, but only brought some slight relief, whereas when the other doctor, the more powerful one, arrived, taking all those medicines away and simply washing the sick person, he was able to purify him of his afflictions, leaving no further trace—not even the slightest mark. And then, suppose that the first doctor tried to prevent the patient from being treated by that [better doctor]. What help could he possibly provide by the application of his medicines, that would be as great as the damage he caused by preventing the patient from taking the brief way, the quickest way to health?"