Friday.

The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God (Wisdom 3:1). But in whose hand are the souls of sinners? The Saviour said to the apostles that satan seeks to sift them like wheat, that is, he seeks to knock them from the right path, to take them into his hands and do with them what he wants. That is why everyone turning away from the Lord is in the hands of satan, and he sifts them and casts them wherever he desires. Due to this the heads of sinners are constantly spinning, because the enemy, dragging them here and there, does not give them a chance to come to their senses. As soon as the enemy notices that someone is starting to have second thoughts, he starts to shake him even more strongly, so that his head again becomes clouded and his thoughts become scattered.

Saturday. [Heb. 6:9–12; Mark 7:31–37]

   Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (I Cor. 15:50). Consequently, to receive the kingdom it is necessary to become fleshless and bloodless—that is, to become steadfast in such a nature of life wherein blood and flesh literally do not exist. This is attained by a complete renunciation of deeds that come from flesh and blood. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like. Having listed all of these, the Apostle adds: I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19–21). He that has ears to hear, let him hear (cf. Matt. 11:15)!