THEOSISJohn Chrysostom
If Paul, so great a man, who had heard the ineffable words that no one has heard even to this day, cried out concerning himself, "I die every day; I affirm it by your boasting," he was teaching us that he was so often exposed to dangers for piety that each day he was near death. What nature did not allow, since all of us are subject to only one death, the zeal of his will accomplished, though the man-loving God preserved him for a long time for the salvation of others.
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Therefore, if he, glorious in such struggles and appearing on earth like an angel, strove every day to acquire something, to take the field against dangers for the truth, to gather spiritual wealth for himself, and never to stop, what defense shall we have? We not only have accomplished no struggles, but are burdened by such faults that each one by itself can cast us into the abyss of perdition. Nor do we make any effort even to correct these faults.
If it often happens that the same man has not one fault only, but very many, and is irascible, unrestrained, avaricious, envious, and cruel, and still makes no effort either to correct these faults or to turn to works of virtue, what hope of salvation remains?
I say this and will not cease saying it, so that each listener, taking from our words the medicine suited to him, may strive to free himself from the passions that burden him, recover his health, and make himself capable of virtue.
The same happens with a sick body. If a physician applies medicine many times, but the patient refuses to wait for its action, grows angry, cannot endure the pain of the physician's treatment, tears it away, and receives no benefit from it, then no sensible person will blame the physician, who has done everything on his part.
So it is here. We have compounded a medicine from spiritual instruction and offer it to you. After this, it will be your task to endure the pain, to benefit from the medicine, and, being freed from disease, to return to true health. Then you yourselves will receive great benefit, and we will feel no small joy, seeing that those formerly sick have so quickly become healthy.
Therefore I implore each of you: if you did not wish to do so before, at least from this time strive to remove from your soul that passion which you know weighs on you more than the others. Acting by pious reflection as by a spiritual sword, free yourself from this passion. God has given us so much reason that by it, if we wish to be at all attentive, we can overcome every passion that arises in us.
For this reason the grace of the Spirit has described for us in divine Scripture the life and conduct of all the saints. Having learned how they, being of one nature with us, accomplished every virtue, we should not be slothful in struggling for it.
Was not blessed Paul of one nature with us? I burn with love for this man. Therefore I continually turn to him, and, looking at his soul as at a kind of prototype, I marvel in him at mastery over the passions, lofty courage, and burning love for God. I consider how one man, by his zeal, acquired the whole fullness of the virtues, while none of us wishes to do even a small good deed.
Who will save us from the inevitable punishment, when he was of the same nature as we, was not free from the same passions, and was placed in such difficult circumstances? Every day, so to speak, he was dragged, torn, and publicly tortured by the opponents of the Gospel preaching. They often regarded him as already dead, and only then finally left him, as though they had carried out their murderous intention.
Among us, weak and so negligent, will anyone be found who shows such greatness of virtue? But so that you may hear about the struggles of this blessed man, and about the courage he daily showed in the struggle for the preaching of piety, not from our lips, you must hear what he himself says (2 Cor 11).