If we truly think of Christ as our source of holiness, we shall refrain from anything wicked or impure in thought or act and thus show ourselves to be worthy bearers of his name. For the quality of holiness is shown not by what we say but by what we do in life.
Interpretation
True holiness stems from our actions, not just our words, reflecting our beliefs in Christ.
In this quote, Gregory of Nyssa emphasizes that holiness is not solely a matter of professing faith but is demonstrated through our thoughts and actions. To truly embody the teachings of Christ, one must avoid wickedness and impurity, acting not just as followers in name but as genuine representatives of His values in daily life.
In practice
During a sermon to emphasize the importance of living a life aligned with faith.
... where Solomon says that 'Wisdom has built herself a house' (Prov. 9:1), he refers darkly in these words to the preparation of the flesh of the Lord: for the true Wisdom did not dwell in another's building, but built for Itself that dwelling-place from the body of the Virgin.
Now there have been delivered to us in the Gospel three Persons and names through whom the generation or birth of believers takes place, and he who is begotten by this Trinity is equally begotten of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost —for thus does the Gospel speak of the Spirit, that “that which is born of Spirit is spirit,” and it is “in Christ “that Paul begets, and the Father is the “Father of all”.
Peace is defined as harmony among those who are divided. When, therefore, we end the civil war within our nature and cultivate peace within ourselves, we become at peace.
May we never risk the life of our souls by being resentful or by bearing grudges.
Just as at sea those who are carried away from the direction of the harbor bring themselves back on course by a clear sign, on seeing a tall beacon light or some mountain peak coming into view, so Scripture may guide those adrift on the sea of the life back into the harbor of the divine will.
Concepts create idols; only wonder comprehends anything. People kill one another over idols. Wonder makes us fall to our knees.
A very great part of the mischiefs that vex the world arises from words.
You are a slave of what you need in your soul.
Perhaps we all lose our sense of reality to the precise degree to which we are engrossed in our own work, and perhaps that is why we see in the increasing complexity of our mental constructs a means for greater understanding, even while intuitively we know that we shall never be able to fathom the imponderables that govern our course through life.
Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.
It wasn't until I got to Cambridge that I discovered active discrimination against women.
I was very, very religious. And of course I wrote about it in 'Night.' I questioned God's silence. So I questioned. I don't have an answer for that. Does it mean that I stopped having faith? No. I have faith, but I question it.
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