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A Homily of His Eminence Metropolitan Kyrillos of Milan of blessed memory delivered during the Revival services held during the Fast of the Virgin Mary. Year unknown.
[In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy] Spirit: One God. Amen.
From the Epistle of our teacher Saint Paul to the Corinthians, may his blessings be upon us all. Amen.
“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.”[1]
Glory be to the Holy Trinity: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
From our mother, the Virgin Mary, I ask that she might pray for us all, [] that we might complete the time of our estrangement on earth with one characteristic, or one virtue, from the virtues in her.
In the life of the Virgin Mary, [there is] much speech and also much silence. Speech in the life of the Virgin Mary [is] a sermon and a benefit for all. And silence in the life of the Virgin Mary [is] an opportunity for prayer and contemplation.
We say to the Virgin Mary in the praises: “the select incense of your virginity […] is greater than the incense of the seraphim and the cherubim, O Mary the Virgin.”[2] The incense of the Virgin Mary — the incense of the purity in her and her chastity — is better than the seraphim and the cherubim who sit around the fiery cherubic throne praising the Lord.
And we also say to her in the praises: “Hail to the second heaven whom the Father has made a place of rest for His only Son.”[3] A second heaven. And David the Prophet says: “glorious things have been spoken of you, O city of God.”[4] Meaning they likened the Virgin Mary to the second heaven, or they likened her to the city of God. She has reached this exalted spiritual level because of the purity that dwells in her and because of her complete virginity.
For this reason, we deal with the Virgin Mary out of love and the desire to possess purity and holiness [], and we open our hearts to God that He might appear embodied in our inward parts and our actions and our behavior, just as she opened her heart to God so Christ appeared incarnate in her inward parts.
What is the incense that is found in the Virgin Mary, and why is the incense that is found in the Virgin greater than the incense of the cherubim and seraphim?
The natural incense that we see in the church is a mixture of myrrh and oud and cinnamon.[5] A mixture that produces for us the beautiful fragrance. In the world of the saints, there is also a mixture that produces a precious fragrance — a mixture of love with a mixture of humility, with some tenderness, with some patience, with some endurance, with some difficulties and trials produces the precious fragrance.
And the fragrance that was in the Virgin Mary was quite powerful, to the point that Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist, by merely inhaling this fragrance, found rest, and John also found rest in the womb of Elizabeth. The Book tells us that Elizabeth told the Virgin Mary: “as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.”[6] Meaning inside, John rejoices by merely inhaling the fragrance, and she felt the peace in her ears from the fragrance of the Virgin — the precious fragrance that is obtained from the highest through purity.
And as they say to Abba Antony in the praises: “the incense of his virtues gladdened our souls.”[7] If one would like to gladden another on earth, he does not gladden him with material things or by outward dealings, but rather gladdens him with the virtue that is in him. “The incense of his virtues gladdened our souls, like the fragrance of blossoming amber emanating from Paradise.”[8] And the fragrance of Abba Antony was just like the fragrance of the Virgin — they [both] had from the pure fragrance of Christ. His fragrance emanated and spread and [] was able to penetrate the emptiness and enter into the whole world and captivate the world, and all the people were able to smell the fragrance of Christ through Abba Antony and through the account of his life. And despite the sweet fragrance that was in Abba Antony an apparent fragrance, there are those who have the sweet fragrance which [only] our Lord knows well.
We in the world can exude various fragrances and capture the people’s attention through our fragrances. And a person may have a fragrance which from without appears to be ecclesial, but “God cannot be mocked”[9] and “God does not tempt anyone.”[10] May God inhale this fragrance and identify this fragrance.
In the days of Abba Antony, Abba Antony thought that there was no one with his fragrance — that no one ever had a similar fragrance. So the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him: “O Antony, you have not attained what a tailor in Alexandria has attained.” A tailor found in Alexandria who pursued his craft and lived in the world, but who had a distinct fragrance — every morning he would say “I am the only sinner in the world,” and would only think of his own sins and evils, yet in the sight of God he was preferable to Abba Antony.[11]
We have a fragrance which we have all received in the font of baptism. No one has entered the font of baptism without receiving the fragrance about which our teacher Paul the Apostle says that “we are the sweet fragrance of Christ,”[12] but the putrid aroma in us is caused by our mingling with the world and the world’s entry and invasion into our souls. [It] has come to rule over the heart and the feelings, emotions, and senses. [It] has come to rule over the entire being. And so the person is found to limp between two teams. Therefore, the sweet fragrance has been lost.
Where is the fragrance the child received in the font of baptism? See the image of victory — when the child emerges from the font of baptism and the angels encircle the church — the earthly angels encircling the church — with joy and victory, and [the child] wears the red ribbon as evidence of victory and is crowned with heavenly crowns on earth. All of this is gone! Gone! Because we have mingled with the world.
Our teacher Saint Paul says: “I am the temple of the holy God.” “The temple of the holy God” means that God has come to dwell in us from within. God, who is seated upon the fiery cherubic throne, emptied Himself for the sake of dwelling in every soul. He also tells us: “you are the temple of the holy God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you.”[13] How can the Spirit of God dwell in us, and how can we be the temple of the holy God, and then become divested of the sweet fragrance of Christ?
Where is the fragrance of Christ in us? Where is the fragrance — the precious fragrance, where has it gone?
In the Old Testament, the lamp-stand of the Holies was always lit — night and day — testifying that the word of God is light. And at the altar of the sacrifice — the golden altar — the incense was placed night and day to declare the persistence of petitions. And I, as a human — the temple of the holy God — must find within me these two requirements: the lamp-stand of the Holies — the word of God — as a light within me, and the second thing is that I, with continuous prayers offered at all times, obtain the divine goodwill and preserve [my] purity. As one of the holy fathers says: “blessed is the one who sleeps with Your Holy Name in his mouth. The devils will flee from approaching him, and will not find in him an entry point or a dwelling place.” “Blessed is the one who sleeps” — despite his sleep, the lamp-stand is functioning, operational [], and lit. A hidden prayer. Asleep but with a watchful heart. Speaking to God while he sleeps.
And even if a person works and sweats and comes to know the sweat of the toil of the flesh, with God [this is] preferred to the fragrance of incense and perfumes if it is done for God’s sake. As one of our fathers the saints told us: “the fragrance of the toil of the flesh is preferred to incense and perfumes.” If I become tired for God’s sake, if I exert effort for God’s sake in order to preserve the purity and cleanness of this divine temple, with God this is an exalted status — a pure status.
“You are the temple of the holy God.” The revival we are experiencing now must be within us. Always. Feeling that I am a temple of the holy God. “Temple of the holy God” means my actions, my words, my deeds, and my inner life. The curriculum of my life. My behavior during the day and in the middle of the night — in secret and apparent. My intentional and unintentional behavior — complete [], mature, witnessing that I am a temple for Him. A dwelling place for God.
If a person lives in this manner always, his appearance can sermonize others without words. See the chaplet, when someone brings it and places it in the light. Once the chaplet is removed from the light, it still has the features of light. While you are the temple of the holy God, and God dwells in you, the evil people inhale the sweet fragrance of Christ through you. They see dominion in you, and power. They see that you are elevated above every person bound with the bonds of sin.
You are the temple of the holy God, meaning the angels surround you — the cherubim and seraphim, the dominions and powers. God in His fullness is within you. The temple of the holy God, we transform into the temple of evil. It is impossible for Satan to possess the temple of God except with our permission []. We are the ones who allow Satan to enter and to [make himself comfortable] and to administer his kingdom from within the soul. For this reason, one of the fathers who is experienced in the spiritual life tells us: “Satan is a rope-slitter. You provide to him the bonds and he [weaves them].” A rope-slitter. He is sitting [comfortably]. You provide to him the thread and he works and [weaves]. He makes you a covering, [or] a carpet, he covers you, he puts you to sleep, he swindles you of your spirituality, but only with your permission.
When Christ descended to earth, He could not tolerate the Temple that was built with stones because it was transformed into “a den of thieves.” His dwelling was transformed into a den of thieves. What is our position if Christ enters now into each of our souls? If He enters His holy temple, which is you? What will He do? If you permit Him to enter, He will overturn the tables and drive away the merchants, and will change the order, and will utter the painful saying: “My house is called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.”[14]
“A den of thieves” because I steal God’s right and God’s glory and God’s honor [from Him]. Many of us steal God’s right and His glory. Hear the Book of Revelation saying to us: “and the twenty-four elders who sit on the throne fall down . . . and cast their crowns before the One who is seated on the throne” — their crowns are not theirs, but God had granted them to them — “and cast their crowns before the One who is seated . . . saying: ‘You are worthy . . . To receive glory and honor and power.’”[15] The glory in us is Yours. The honor in us is Yours. The power we have is rightfully Yours alone.
“A den of thieves.” The temple of the holy God becomes transformed into a den of thieves.
As a temple of the holy God, remember the graces and blessings God will grant to you if you preserve this temple. And remember also the pains and tribulations and sufferings you will receive if you transform this body, and transform yourself, from the temple of the holy God into a throne for Satan. So God sent a message to the angel of the Church of Pergamos and said to him: “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith...”[16]. A beautiful message.
There is a demon near to you who is fighting to transform the temple of the holy God, which is you, into a throne for himself. He is always striving. You sleep but he does not. You might despair in your prayers to God, but he does not despair in what he desires of you. He does not know despair. The plan of Satan is clear before him and dwells in him. He seeks to destroy in any way possible. You are the temple of the holy God, but you can also become the throne of Satan.
If you desire to change your life — if you feel that you have been transformed from the temple of the holy God into the throne of Satan — if you wish to return to your original condition, you must begin with yourself. The beginning is not from without. It cannot come from a book or as someone who receives an injection in a vein or a solution. The beginning is from you, through God alone.
If an entry point brings you sin, you must insist to shut it as you know how. If a magazine causes you to stumble, rip it up. If a door opens up sin to you, refuse the sin, refuse the door, and seal this door. If a friend in whom you were misled — if a friend in whose friendship and acquaintance you are rendered poor — causes you spiritual harm, and turns the temple of the holy God in you into the throne of Satan, sacrifice and forego this friendship and know that this is not friendship. Begin with yourself.
The Satanic throne works in the soul in the negative direction, to the point that it has the ability to tranquillize the soul and put the person to sleep, and to evict from him all that is alive. To suck his life. And when the person begins to regain his consciousness, he realizes that he has lost many of his faculties — he has lost his sight, [] his hearing, [] the sweetness of the life with God, [] his purity, he has become impure, he has gone astray, he only knows the judgment of others, is obsessed with the faults of others, knows an abundance of worldly things, and Satan governs this soul. And so [] the legs are quick to run to evil, and the hands to the shedding of blood,[17] and the whole soul is absent-minded.
Let us begin through the gentle mother. The gentle mother is repentance. [] Know that there is something called repentance. Repentance is the mother of life and power to the one who is born of her. [] When we go back to see when repentance was born, we find that the beginning of repentance on earth was the moment of Adam’s fall. It was born on the day of the fall. It has breasts, and all who nurse from them will not die. It is impossible for one who has nursed from repentance to die, if he has nursed truly.
The Spiritual Elder [John Saba] tells us about [repentance] that it has made the adulterers virgins. It has transformed people from the state of adultery to the state of virginity. Freely, without charge, gratuitously. [] It has transferred the soul to a better life. A purer life for man in the heavenly things.
Let us begin through repentance. And hear the holy Bible describe the once deviant soul that was the throne of Satan and has returned to God. It says about her: “Who is this coming up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved…”[18]. See the image of the person emerging from sincere confession! Luminous, leaning on Christ! His tears were wiped away by Christ [in confession]. The state of despair has been transformed into a state of hope. Death to life. Darkness to light.
“Who is this coming up from the wilderness?” It is the soul that was filled with rust. For this reason, they say about repentance that it is “a boiling pot that clarifies all who touch it” — all who are afflicted with rust. Like a piece of copper that is full of rust, when they put it in the pot and the man begins to massage it until he returns to it the original state of purity and restores it to its [original] condition.
I have rusted in the world. I rejected Christ many times on several occasions, and many times Christ came and knocked on the door of my heart, saying to me: “open up for Me. Open up for Me, My beloved. Open! I have been awake all night in order to come inside with you! To give you the precious fragrance!” And many times man refuses.
“A boiling pot that clarifies all who are afflicted with rust.”
Through repentance and through continuous prayer, I will return to my original state. The precious fragrance will be restored to me once more. They will see my fragrance and glorify the heavenly Father. David the prophet tells us: “May my prayer be set before You as incense…”[19]. So prayer is a measure of incense. The one who has been trained to pray, whose tongue reflects the state of his heart, his fragrance is truly a heavenly fragrance. “May my prayer be set before You as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.”[20]
Through prayer [we express] a persistent desire for our Lord to enter. A desire for our Lord to restore us to our original constitution. To restore my integrity. To replace my unlatched door. To grant me life.
What is behind repentance and continuous prayer is your knowledge of the value of this mystery — the mystery of the Eucharist. Your knowledge of the mystery of the Eucharist. I tell you truly, if any one of us recognized the value of this mystery, it is impossible for him to forego this place. The greatest comparison is if one of you has a particular problem, and found an opportunity to speak to one who is a president or governor or mayor — a heavyweight who can solve the issue. He would spend the entire night awake thinking, pondering, and mulling over what words he will say, what he will wear, how to win from the meeting the heart of the person [with whom he will speak].
We here before the fiery cherubic throne address God who is above every presidency and every authority and every power and every government and every name, not only in this age, but also in the age to come, as the Cyrillian Liturgy says. If you knew the value of this mystery, you would not arrive after the gospel, or at the very end in order to receive the blessing of communion and leave. You would not forego this place.
You are ready to speak to God in a matter that concerns you. A fateful issue. But no material issue is fateful. If the material could profit a man, then God would tell you: “give Me an account of your material things.” But the material profits nothing. Material things might support a king or a president, or support the rich and bring them in through the narrow door, but the material must be placed under the narrow door and they must enter through it.
While you are inside, beside the fiery cherubic throne, recognize your value. The present living sacrifice that is inside, it is for your sake. The one who is sacrificed tells you: “come and draw near to Me that you may be justified of your sins.” While you are entering absent-minded, not knowing whether the liturgy is to your liking or not, whether the priest took too long or finished too early, or whether you have work or not. These are not the emotions with which you enter near God in order to meet Him.
Do you want your fragrance to be changed? Be watchful all night [and] while you are walking in the street to enter inside, and tell our Lord: “I heard in the Song of Songs a saying about You that says: ‘While the Lord is at His table, my spikenard sends forth its fragrance’[21].”
My fragrance is despicable. I don’t want words. Within me is the language of the world. As for Your fragrance, O Lord, You are entirely pure, entirely holy, and holy entirely. When my despicable fragrance enters into Your fragrance, whose fragrance will appear? The fragrance that is full of purity will appear! [As for] the fragrance of defilement, the fragrance of lust, the fragrance of materialism in me, it will dissipate, disappear, and fade away. God will overcome it by His fragrance.
So as I enter, I am willing that God work. Not entering while thinking of other things outside. Think about your own case. Think about how God inhales the fragrance of a person, and through his fragrance He accepts him in Paradise. “You have the sweet fragrance of Christ.” Where has the fragrance of Christ gone [in you]? If God did not deal with us according to His wide and [loving] heart, then the person could be lost. But the love of God and His wide heart gave us Himself on the altar. Arrange yourself.
[End of recording]
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[1] 2 Corinthians 2:14-17
[2] The Morning Doxology
[3] Ibid.
[4] Psalm 87:3
[5] See Proverbs 7:17
[6] Luke 1:44
[7] Coptic Doxology of Abba Antony
[8] Ibid.
[9] Galatians 6:7a
[10] James 1:13b
[11] See E.A. Wallis Budge (translator), The Paradise of the Holy Fathers, Volume II, Book 2.1.2
[12] 2 Corinthians 2:15
[13] 1 Corinthians 3:16
[14] Matthew 21:13
[15] See Revelation 4:10-11
[16] Revelation 2:13
[17] See Proverbs 1:16
[18] Song of Solomon 8:5a
[19] Psalm 141:2a
[20] Psalm 141:2
[21] Song of Solomon 1:12
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Please find the full sermon at the following link:
Cover Image: A drawing of the Virgin Mary, by His Eminence Metropolitan Kyrillos of Milan of blessed memory.
