Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 28

If it is not right to trample on those who are chastised by God but to grieve with them, much more is it the case with those who have sinned against us. For this is love’s sign; God prefers love to all things. For as in making the royal purple, the flowers and dyes that make up the color of the robe are considered the most precious, so here too, those virtues are the most precious that preserve love. But nothing maintains love so much as when we do not remember those who have sinned against us. But why? Did he not guard the other side as well? Why? Did he not drive the one that has done the wrong to the person who is wronged? Does he not send him from the altar to go and meet the other person, and after the reconciliation then invite him to the table? But do not, therefore, wait for the other to come, since if you do so, you have lost everything. For to this intent most especially does he appoint to you an unspeakable reward, that you be the first to act before the other, since, if you are reconciled by his entreaties, the love is no longer the result of the divine command but of the other party’s diligence. This is why you go away uncrowned while he receives the rewards.What are you saying? Do you have an enemy and you are not ashamed? Why, isn’t the devil enough of an enemy for us that we have to bring on ourselves those of our own race as well? Would that not even he had been minded to wage war against us! Would that not even he were a devil! Don’t you know how great the pleasure is after reconciliation? For it does not appear great at all when we are at enmity. But it is sweeter to love someone who does us wrong than to hate him. That is what we learn after the enmity is done away with. Why then do we imitate the mad, devouring one another, warring against our own flesh? Hear even under the Old Testament how great regard there was for this: “The ways of vengeful people lead to death.” One person keeps his anger against another, and does he seek the healing of God? And yet God allowed an “eye for an eye” and a “tooth for a tooth,” so how then does he find fault?” Because he allowed even those things, not that we should do them to one another, but so that through the fear of suffering we might abstain from the commission of a crime. And besides, those acts are the fruits of a short-lived anger, but to remember injuries is the part of a soul that exercises itself in evil. But have you suffered evil? And yet, it was nothing so great as you will do to yourself by remembering injuries.

Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 79:4-5

If one reminds himself that his soul is mortal and therefore strives to do good, is this not a voluntary gain? It is good to remind oneself of death, for thus one recognizes his own mortality and comes to realize that mortals will not live forever. For someone who is not eternal must surely abandon this world, even if by force. Therefore by continually remembering one’s mortality the individual learns to do good according to his own free will. Thus, when one sees mortality before his eyes and does what is good, this is not the same as the one who is continually meditating on it and chooses to do good; rather, if it is out of impending fear of death, then what one does is out of necessity.

Book of Letters 639

If we consider what a good peace is, it is easy to understand the evil of discord. If, in fact, “blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God,” there is no doubt that the contentious are evil and children of the devil, since, giving birth to enmities, they sow discord among those who are at peace. Principal among these are the heretics and schismatics who, defending their pernicious sects, are not afraid to provoke arguments and scandals. For this reason the apostle Paul exhorted Timothy with these words: “Avoid vain discussions, which are good for nothing but the destruction of those who listen.” And, “Avoid foolish and ignorant debates, knowing that they breed quarrels. A servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome but meek toward all, apt to teach, patient, gentle in reproof of those who oppose the truth.”

On Ecclesiasticus 6:8

The tongue, by nature restless, does no small amount of harm among mortals so that either it squanders an opportunity by saying too much or wreaks havoc by not saying anything for long periods of silence. But when do quarrels ignite, if the tongue is checked? Or what space is there for enmities where the poison of words has ceased? Indeed, the malicious tongue always acts in this way: it sows quarrels, incites hatreds and leads to death, as Solomon says on the matter: “The tongue has upset the peace of many. It has destroyed cities and ruined families.” They certainly are mistaken who think that there is nothing stronger than iron, or more deadly than poison: although these things by their nature would have a particular inclination to cause death, they nonetheless give way when compared with words. Indeed, nothing that is within one’s power is more harmful or malicious than the tongue, once it is aroused.

Homily 5:1

If a wound is inflicted on the body or a bone is broken or a nerve center ruptured, wounds of this sort usually happen to bodies in the space of one hour and then are barely healed with great pain and suffering over a long period of time. For how much swelling and what great agony arises from the wounded spot? But now, if it happens that someone is repeatedly wounded in the same place or the same bone is broken more than once, by what tremendous pain and agony can this be healed and cured? And by what length of time is this brought to healing, if indeed it is even possible? And scarcely ever will one be cured in such a way that he avoids a physical infirmity or a nasty scar.Pass now from the example of the body to the wounds of the soul. However often the soul sins, just that often it is wounded. And lest you be in doubt that it is wounded by sins, as if by arrows and swords, listen to the apostle when he admonishes us to take up “the shield of faith by which,” he says, “you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” So you see that sins are the “arrows of the evil one,” which are aimed at the soul. But not only does the soul suffer the wounds of arrows, but it also experiences fractures of its feet when “snares are prepared for its feet” and when its “steps are made to trip.” So, by what length of time do you think that these wounds and others like them can be cured? O, if we could only see how with each sin our inner person is wounded, how bad words inflict a wound! Have you not read, they say, that “swords inflict wounds, but not as much as the tongue.” The soul is wounded, then, even by the tongue; it is also wounded by evil thoughts and desires; but it is fractured and shattered by the works of sin. If we could see all this and feel the scars of a soul that has been wounded, we would certainly resist sin to death. But now, just as those who are filled with a demon or the mentally insane do not perceive it when they are wounded, because they lack natural senses, so is it with us. Since we have become crazed by the desires of the world or intoxicated with vices, we cannot feel the extent of the wounds or the extent of the grief we are bringing on our soul by sinning. And therefore it is perfectly consistent that the reckoning of the punishment, that is, of the medical treatment and cure, is extended over time and that for each wound the length of healing be prolonged as well, according to the nature of the wound. So then, the justice and kindness of God will also become evident in those very penalties of the soul. Let the one who hears this and has committed sin come to his senses and sin no more. For conversion in the present life and a penance having been carried out fruitfully will bring swift medicine to wounds of this sort, since penance not only heals a past wound, but it does not allow the soul to be wounded further by sin.

Homilies on Numbers 8:1.6-8

If those who receive silver coins from the king conserve them with zeal and care, they will remain shiny and clean. If instead they neglect them, they will not only rust but also may soon be lost. For the wise man has said, “Lock up your gold and your silver.” And I am not only telling you to bind it with a firm faith but also to seal it with humility and the patience of perseverance by which the one who perseveres is saved. What I am saying to you, by God’s permission, is an audacious thing. For the great mediator Jesus, Son of the blessed Father, distributor of the holy and life-giving Spirit says to you through me, who am least of all, “Your many sins are forgiven you,” from birth up until this very minute. In receiving this great and inexpressible joy, you then love him with all your might, displaying fruit worthy of repentance, proclaiming with Saint Paul those melodious words, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress, or hunger, or persecution, or nakedness, or danger, or fear or the sword?” And again, “Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughterhouse. But in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. I am confident that neither death, nor life, neither angels, nor principalities, nor authorities, nor things present or things future, neither powers, nor height, nor depth nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Make sure you not only meditate on these things in what you say but also in what you do. For Jesus says, “By your patience your soul is acquired.” You have become worthy of a great dignity: perform great and worthy works of patience and thanksgiving through which come the expectation of perfection, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Think about these things continually and conscientiously, and you will taste their sweetness, as they become fragrant to your soul and the souls of those who are able to choose them.

Book of Letters 115

We are clearly taught by the Savior that when we read in Leviticus and in Deuteronomy concerning the precepts about clean and unclean meat—the carnal Jews and the Ebionites, who differ little from them, accuse us of disobeying these precepts—we are not to think that the scope of the Scripture is to be found in any superficial material understanding of them. If, in fact, it is not what enters the mouth that renders one unclean but what comes out of the mouth, especially when the Savior in the Gospel of Mark said that “he makes all food clean,” it is clear that we do not contaminate ourselves if we eat things that the Jews, wanting to be enslaved by the letter of the Law, say are impure. But it is clear that we do contaminate ourselves when, although our lips should be bound with intelligence and we ought to make for them what we call a balance and weight, we speak whatever comes to mind and talk about things that we should not discuss, which then become the source of sins.

Commentary on Matthew 11:12

All evil certainly issues from the heart. However harmful in itself, though, this can easily be tolerated if what has been fed by wicked counsel has not led to quarrels. In such a case one suffers silently or simply closes himself in his house and remains quiet. In fact, the infirmity of evil thoughts can be healed to the same degree that what is conceived in the heart is restrained by a taciturn mouth. But once the tongue is loosed and it bursts forth, it is useless to seek a doctor. Indeed, there is no remedy for a misdeed in words, because no amount of tears can eliminate an injury that has entered through the ears and had its effect. Listen to the Lord, who says, “Make gates and bolts for your mouths, and a balance to weigh your words.”

Homily 5:4