Letter 756

To Jordanes the Deacon. If Christ, the Master of all things, instructs us, wishing us to keep watch and to pray, when "he spent the night bodily in prayer" [cf. Luke 6:12], and if moreover "Paul and Silas at midnight were glorifying God" [Acts 16:25], and the Prophet says that "At midnight I rose to give thanks to you for the judgments of your righteousness" [Psalm 118:62 LXX], I am astonished how you, sleeping and snoring the whole night through, are not condemned by your conscience. Therefore even now resolve to shake off the death-bringing sleep, and to attend diligently to prayer and the singing of psalms.

Εἰ Χριστὸς ὁ Δεσπότης τῶν ὅλων διδάξει ἡμᾶς θέλων ἀγρυπνεῖν καὶ προσεύχεσθαι, «διενυκτέρευε σωματικῶς προσευχόμενος,» ἀλλὰ καὶ «Παῦλος καὶ Σίλας κατὰ τὸ μεσονύκτιον ἐδόξαζον τὸν Θεὸν,» καὶ ὁ Προφήτης φησὶν, ὅτι «Μεσονύκτιον ἐξηγειρόμην τοῦ ἐξομολογήσασθαι σοὶ ἐπὶ τὰ κρίματα τῆς δικαιοσύνης σου·» πῶς αὐτὸς πᾶσαν τὴν νύκτα κοιμώμενος καὶ ῥέγχων, οὐ κρίνῃ ἀπὸ τῆς συνειδήσεως, τεθαύμακα. Διὸ κἂν νῦν θέλησον ἐκτινάξασθαι τὸν νεκροποιὸν ὕπνον, καὶ προσέχειν φιλοπόνως προσευχῇ καὶ ψαλμῳδίᾳ.