25 July 2007

Patristic Quote of the Day

In honor of the day of St. James, the Apostle:

If we are sheep, we conquer; if we become wolves we are overcome. So long as we continue to behave as sheep, we are victorious. Even if ten thousand wolves surround us, we conquer and are victorious. But the moment we become wolves, we are conquered, for we lose the Shepherd. He is the Shepherd of sheep, not of wolves. If he leaves you and goes away, it is because you do not allow him to show his power. - St. John Chrysostom (FATS IV, p. 1328, Homily 33)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great sermon! Just that paragraph! Where can I find the full sermon? (I don't know what FATS stands for. And sorry to hang the preposition.) I have the 38-volume Schaff series of the church fathers, and I have the Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers set. Will I find this sermon somewhere in there? Thanks!

And a blessed St. James' Day to you!

William Weedon said...

Pastor Gernander,

You can find the whole sermon here:

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/200133.htm

FATS is the rather unsavory acronym of For All the Saints - the 4 volume daily prayer book published by the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau.