ON SAINT BASIL

136.1     First Point

            Brought up in piety by his grandfather, the saint received instructions from this saintly old man that made such an impression on his mind that he renounced the world entirely and withdrew to a place of solitude where he built a monastery. He gave very wise rules to the religious who came there to place themselves under his direction. There he himself took on a life of such privation that by the end of his days, his body fell into a very great exhaustion brought on by the austerities which he continually practiced. It was by these two means, solitude and fasting, that this saint prepared himself to do great good in the Church.

            If you want to do much good for souls through the exercise of your ministry, nothing will help you more than separation from the world and the practice of temperance. Temperance helps a great deal to preserve purity, and separation from the world draws down on a soul the grace of God in abundance, not only for oneself but also for others.

136.2     Second Point

The spirit of religion which this saint had acquired in solitude enabled him as bishop to inspire such good behavior and piety in those who were in his presence in church, that when the emperor came there he was highly edified by the reserve and silence of his  clergy and all the Catholics, who seemed to be angels singing God's praises on earth, and by the good order in the ceremonies and in the chanting of the Psalms.  He went away marveling, and sent rich presents to the church.

               That is how it ought to be with you. Filled with the spirit of piety as a result of having applied yourselves thoroughly to prayer and to recollection, you should inspire this spirit in your disciples so well that those who see them will admire their good behavior and self-control in church. Whereas, you should fear that their lack of self-control would reflect on you and arouse the anger of heaven against you as being the cause by the lack of recollection you yourselves show in the holy place, where you have to keep watch over them.

136.3     Third Point

When this saint was a bishop, he also had such great zeal to uphold and defend the Church that he was one of its most notable champions against the Arians. He strove with all possible care to unite the minds of the people in one faith and their hearts in the same spirit of charity and religion.

            All his efforts for the peace of the Church caused him to be persecuted by the heretics and even by the emperor, who, urged and importuned by their demands, decided to send Saint Basil into exile. But when this prince was about to sign the edict of condemnation, his hand could not write a single word. This is how God protects those who defend his cause.