Theodoret of Cyrrhus→deaconesses, daughters of Terentius|c. 440 AD|theodoret cyrrhus
grief deathillness
To the Deaconess Casiana.
Had I thought only of the greatness of your sorrow, I would have waited a little before writing, making time my ally in the attempt to heal it. But I know the good sense of your piety — and so I venture to offer you some words of consolation, drawn partly from our human situation and partly from divine Scripture.
Our nature is frail, and life is full of these calamities. The universal Governor and Ruler — the Lord who wisely orders our affairs — has in his divine words provided us with consolation of every kind, and the writings of the holy evangelists and the divine utterances of the blessed prophets are full of it. But I know it would be unnecessary for me to gather those passages and offer them to your piety, nurtured as you have been from the beginning in the inspired word, living by it, and needing no teaching from outside it.
What I beg you to do is to hold in your mind those words that charge us to master our passions, and that promise us eternal life and proclaim the destruction of death and announce the resurrection of us all. And before everything else, I ask you to reflect on this: that the one who commands these things is the Lord himself — a Lord who is all-wise and all-good, who knows precisely what is best for us and guides our lives to that end. Sometimes death is better than life, and what seems painful is in reality sweeter than imagined pleasures.
Accept the consolation that my poor capacity is offering you, that you may serve the Lord of all by bearing your pain with nobility, and by giving all who see you — men and women alike — an example of genuine wisdom.
Letter 17
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To the Deaconess Casiana.
Had I only considered the greatness of your sorrow, I should have put off writing a little while, that I might make time my ally in my attempt to cure it, but I know the good sense of your piety, and so I make bold to offer you some words of consolation suggested partly by human nature, and partly by divine Scripture. For our nature is frail, and all life is full of such calamities, and the universal Governor and Ruler of the World — the Lord who wisely orders our concerns — gives us by means of His divine oracles consolation of various kinds, of which the writings of the holy Evangelists and the divine utterances of the blessed prophets are full. But I am sure it is needless to cull these passages, and suggest them to your piety, nurtured as you have been from the beginning in the inspired word, ruling your life in accordance with them, and needing no other teaching. But I do implore you to remember those words that charge us to master our feelings, and promise us eternal life, proclaim the destruction of death, and announce the common resurrection of us all. Besides all this, nay, before all this, I ask you to reflect that He who has bidden these things so be is the Lord, that He is a Lord all wise and all good, Who knows exactly what is best for us, and to this end guides all our life. Sometimes death is better than life, and what seems distressing is really pleasanter than fancied joys. I beg your piety to accept the consolation offered by my humility, that you may serve the Lord of all by nobly bearing your pain, and affording to men as well as women an example of true wisdom. For all will admire the strength of mind which has bravely borne the attack of grief and broken the force of its violent assault by the magnanimity of its resolution. And we are not without great comfort in the living likenesses of your departed son; for he has left behind him offspring worthy of deep affection, who may be able to stay the excess of our sorrow.
Lastly I implore you to remember in your grief what your bodily infirmity can endure, and to avoid increasing your sufferings by mourning overmuch; and I implore our Lord of His infinite resources to give you ground of consolation.
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To the Deaconess Casiana.
Had I thought only of the greatness of your sorrow, I would have waited a little before writing, making time my ally in the attempt to heal it. But I know the good sense of your piety — and so I venture to offer you some words of consolation, drawn partly from our human situation and partly from divine Scripture.
Our nature is frail, and life is full of these calamities. The universal Governor and Ruler — the Lord who wisely orders our affairs — has in his divine words provided us with consolation of every kind, and the writings of the holy evangelists and the divine utterances of the blessed prophets are full of it. But I know it would be unnecessary for me to gather those passages and offer them to your piety, nurtured as you have been from the beginning in the inspired word, living by it, and needing no teaching from outside it.
What I beg you to do is to hold in your mind those words that charge us to master our passions, and that promise us eternal life and proclaim the destruction of death and announce the resurrection of us all. And before everything else, I ask you to reflect on this: that the one who commands these things is the Lord himself — a Lord who is all-wise and all-good, who knows precisely what is best for us and guides our lives to that end. Sometimes death is better than life, and what seems painful is in reality sweeter than imagined pleasures.
Accept the consolation that my poor capacity is offering you, that you may serve the Lord of all by bearing your pain with nobility, and by giving all who see you — men and women alike — an example of genuine wisdom.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.