Monday. [Rom. 7:1-13; Matt. 9:36-10:8]

   Sending the holy apostles to preach, the Lord commanded them to call everyone, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, that is the Kingdom has come—go to it. What ought we to preach? We should cry to all, “sons of the kingdom! Do not run from the kingdom into bondage and slavery,” because they are running. Some are captivated by freedom of mind. They say, “we don’t want the bonds of faith and oppression of authority, even Divine authority; we will figure things out and make up our minds for ourselves.” So they made up their minds. They built fables in which there is more childishness than in the mythology of the Greeks—and they magnify themselves… Others are enticed by the broad path of the passions. They say, “we don’t want to know positive commandments, nor the demands of conscience—this is all abstract: we need tangible naturalness.” And they have gone after it. What has come of it? They have bowed down before dumb beasts. Has not the theory that man originated from animals arisen from this moral fall? This is where they have gone! And everyone runs from the Lord, everyone runs…