Letters

^6. Now wicked men hunger for bread like this, for effeminate souls will hunger; but the righteous alone, being prepared, shall be satisfied, saying, 'I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when Your glory is seen by me. ' For he who partakes of divine bread always hungers with desire; and he who thus hungers has a never-failing gift, as Wisdom promises, saying, 'The Lord will not slay the righteous soul with famine.' He promises too in the Psalms, 'I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread.' We may also hear our Saviour saying, 'Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. ' Well then do the saints and those who love the life which is in Christ raise themselves to a longing after this food. And one earnestly implores, saying, 'As the hart pants after the fountains of waters, so pants my soul after You, O God! My soul thirsts for the living God, when shall I come and see the face of God.' And another; 'My God, my God, I seek You early; my soul thirsts for You; often does my flesh, in a dry and pathless land, and without water. So did I appear before You in holiness to see Your power and Your glory. '