Patristic Quote of the Day

For whereas man sinned, and is fallen,
and by his fall all things are in confusion:

death prevailed from Adam to Moses cf.Romans 5:14,
the earth was cursed,
Hades was opened,
Paradise shut,
Heaven offended,
man, lastly, corrupted and brutalised cf.Psalm 49:12,
while the devil was exulting against us—
then God, in His loving-kindness,
not willing man made in His own image to perish,
said, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go?' Isaiah 6:8.
But while all held their peace,
the Son said, 'Here am I, send Me.'
And then it was that, saying 'Go Thou,'
He 'delivered' to Him man,
that the Word Himself might be made Flesh,
and by taking the Flesh, restore it wholly.
For to Him, as to a physician,
man 'was delivered' to heal the bite of the serpent;
as to life, to raise what was dead;
as to light, to illumine the darkness;
and, because He was Word, to renew the rational nature.

-- St. Athanasius, On Luke 10:22