John Chrysostom: A Third Branch of General Revelation: Parents

Along with these two [Creation and Conscience], however, the sermon showed you also a third teacher given in addition by the providence of God, no longer voiceless like the former ones; instead, by word, exhortation and advice it controls our free will. What is this? The parents assigned to each of us: God caused us to be loved by our parents for this reason, that we might have mentors in virtue. You see, he does not make fathers only for having children but also for instructing them properly, nor cause mothers to give birth to children but to nourish them properly.

- John Chrysostom (around A.D. 347 to around A.D. 407), Homilies on Hannah, Homily 1, in St. John Chrysostom, Old Testament Homilies, Volume 1, p. 71 (2003), Robert C. Hill translator.

John Chrysostom: General Revelation in Creation and Conscience

So one way to knowledge of God is through the whole of creation; another, not inferior, is the way of conscience, which we on that occasion developed at great length, showing how the knowledge of things that are good and things that are not is acquired by us automatically, and how conscience inspires us with this interiorly. These two, in fact, have been our teachers from the beginning -- creation and conscience: without either of them uttering a word, they taught human beings in silence, creation making an impression on the observer through vision and leading the observer of everything to the marvel of its maker, conscience inspiring us within and suggesting all that has to be done, so that through the visible aspect we grasp his power and the verdict he delivers. That is to say, whenever it accuses sin on the inside, it suffuses the countenance outside, and fills us with deep regret. Again, it renders us pale and timid when we are caught in something shameful; and while we do not hear a word, we perceive the irritation happening within from the external aspect.

- John Chrysostom (around A.D. 347 to around A.D. 407), Homilies on Hannah, Homily 1, in St. John Chrysostom, Old Testament Homilies, Volume 1, pp. 70-71 (2003), Robert C. Hill translator.

John Chrysostom: General Revelation in Creation in Providence

So what was our theme? We studied the question as to how from the beginning God showed providence for our race, and how he gave us useful lessons, without there being any writing or any gift of the Scriptures; and we brought out the fact that he guided us to knowledge of him through discernment of creation.

- John Chrysostom (around A.D. 347 to around A.D. 407), Homilies on Hannah, Homily 1, in St. John Chrysostom, Old Testament Homilies, Volume 1, p. 68 (2003), Robert C. Hill translator.

John Chrysostom: Love Fasting Like a Good Wife

Calling all this to mind, recall those days [of peace and fasting] we long for. If you are on the point of laying the table, take the food while remembering this, and you will never be in a position to fall into drunkenness; instead, just as a man with a wife who is steady, self-controlled and a free spirit, with whom he is on fire with love, would not even in her absence be attracted to an immoral and corrupt woman, desire for his wife preoccupying his mind and not allowing a different love to gain entrance, just so is it the case both with fasting and drunkenness. If, then, we were to remember the free and self-controlled woman, on the one hand, we would on the other elude with great ease the common prostitute, mother of all indecency - I refer to drunkenness - the desire for fasting repelling her shamelessness more sharply than any hand.

- John Chrysostom (around A.D. 347 to around A.D. 407), Homilies on Hannah, Homily 1, in St. John Chrysostom, Old Testament Homilies, Volume 1, pp. 66-67 (2003), Robert C. Hill translator.

John Chrysostom: Fasting not Obligatory and Scheduled Fasting

I say this, not to oblige you to fast, but to persuade you not to give way to luxurious living nor behave like most human beings -- if in fact one ought to give the name human beings to those living in such a mean-spirited way, who like people released from their bonds and freed from some harsh prison say to one another, We have finally come to the end of the awful ocean of fasting. Others with less gumption than these are even in dread of the Lent to come. This comes about from giving themselves up to luxurious living all the remaining time, to prodigality and drunkenness. If on the contrary we too care to live a steady and modest life all the other days of the year, we would long for fasting when it had gone, and with deep satisfaction would welcome it when it was due to come around.

- John Chrysostom (around A.D. 347 to around A.D. 407), Homilies on Hannah, Homily 1, in St. John Chrysostom, Old Testament Homilies, Volume 1, pp. 65-66 (2003), Robert C. Hill translator.

John Chrysostom: Scriptures Remove All Doubt that Confession to God is Sufficient

I mean, if your enemy reproaches you for a sin which your conscience acknowledges, and you sigh bitterly and beseech God, you have immediately set all sin aside. Surely there is nothing more blessed than that? what easier way is there for achieving freedom from sins? In case, however, you think we are simply leading you on, I shall provide testimony on this from the divine Scriptures for you to be no longer in any doubt.

- John Chrysostom (around A.D. 347 to around A.D. 407), Homilies on David and Saul, Homily 3, in St. John Chrysostom, Old Testament Homilies, Volume 1, pp. 46-47 (2003), Robert C. Hill translator.

John Chrysostom: Man's Free Will Tamable

For you to learn also from what happens in our day, however, that it is possible, if we are willing, to reconcile every person bearing hostility to us, what could be fiercer than a lion? Yet people tame it, skill gets the better of nature, and the beast that is more ferocious and more kingly than all others becomes milder than any sheep and moves through the marketplace causing terror to no one. So what excuse do we have, what pretext, for taming wild beasts but claiming people cannot be placated or brought to be well disposed to us? Actually, ferocity belongs to the beast by nature; so when we prevail over nature, what excuse will we have for claiming free will cannot be corrected?

- John Chrysostom (around A.D. 347 to around A.D. 407), Homilies on David and Saul, Homily 3, in St. John Chrysostom, Old Testament Homilies, Volume 1, p. 44 (2003), Robert C. Hill translator.