examination of the heart 246 O sweetest voice of the Lord: “let it be to me according to [Y]our word” (Lk 1:38)! 3. “he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber” (Jn 10:1). Consider who the thieves and robbers are who do not enter through the gate and do not come from the Holy Spirit. To be precise, they are all the incentives to sin and to the more serious imperfections: all evil and carnal desires, [f.61r] vindictiveness, infliction of damage, malicious accusation, injuring others, and persecuting one’s neighbor (under the pretext of a just accusation or some kind of a zeal); renouncing virtue, breaking good resolutions, and abandoning the way of the Lord; and finally, hatred, rancor, envy, pride, and defiance. Since these things do not enter through the gate, Christ designates them by the name of thieves and criminals, for they steal from souls the Kingdom of God, and they kill them, like criminals. Indeed, the soul of any mortal is close to death whenever by desire it is close to committing a sin, and it is already dying when it is stained with a mortal offense. As for you, try to avoid these thieves and criminals, namely, by overcoming your passions by the restraint of reason, lest they should overcome you. Indeed, Christ, whom you have received, will bring you help. TRINITY SUNDAY Before Holy Communion 1. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to [M]e” (Mt 28:18). Consider that the Lord speaks here about Himself as a man, not God, since, according to His divinity, He is equal in power to the Father from all eternity, and that He did not receive this power from anyone, but that He always had it from Himself, as
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