Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 6

Glossa Ordinaria: Christ, having now fulfilled the Law regarding its commandments, begins to fulfill it regarding its promises, so that we may obey God's commandments for a heavenly reward, not for the earthly one the Law offered.¹

All earthly things can be reduced to two main categories: human glory and an abundance of earthly goods, both of which seem to be promised in the Law. Regarding the first, it is spoken in Deuteronomy: The Lord shall make thee higher than all the nations who dwell on the face of the earth (Deuteronomy 28:1). And in the same place, it adds concerning earthly wealth, The Lord shall make thee abound in all good things. Therefore, the Lord now forbids believers to focus on these two things: glory and wealth.

St. John Chrysostom: Yet, it should be known that the desire for fame is closely related to virtue.²

Pseudo-Chrysostom: For when anything truly glorious is done, that is when ostentation finds its most ready occasion; so the Lord first excludes any intention of seeking glory, as He knows that this is the most dangerous of all fleshly vices to humanity. The servants of the Devil are tormented by all kinds of vices, but it is the desire for empty glory that torments the servants of the Lord more than the servants of the Devil.

St. Augustine of Hippo: No one feels how great the strength of the love for human glory is, except for the one who has declared war against it. For while it is easy for anyone not to desire praise when it is denied, it is difficult not to be pleased with it when it is offered.³

St. John Chrysostom: Observe how He has begun, as it were, by describing some beast that is hard to discern and ready to steal upon anyone who is not greatly on guard against it; it enters secretly and imperceptibly carries off everything within.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: And therefore, He commands this to be avoided more carefully: Take heed that you do not your righteousness before men. It is our heart we must watch, for we have to guard against an invisible serpent that secretly enters and seduces. If the heart into which the enemy has succeeded in entering is pure, the righteous person soon feels that he is prompted by a foreign spirit.

But if his heart were full of wickedness, he does not readily perceive the Devil's suggestion. Therefore, He first taught us, Be not angry, and Lust not, because the one who is under the yoke of these evils cannot pay attention to his own heart.

But how can we avoid doing our alms before others? For if a poor person comes before us in the presence of anyone, how can we give him alms in secret? If we lead him aside, it will be obvious that we are going to give him something. Observe, then, that He did not say simply, Do not before men, but added, to be seen of them. Therefore, the one who does righteousness not from this motive is not to be condemned, even if he does it before the eyes of men. For whoever does anything for God's sake sees nothing in his heart but God, for whose sake he does it, just as a workman always has his employer before his eyes.

St. Gregory the Great: If, then, we seek fame for our giving, we make even our public deeds hidden in His sight. For if in this we seek our own glory, then they are already cast out of His sight, even if there are many people by whom they are still unknown. It belongs only to the thoroughly perfect to allow their deeds to be seen and to receive praise for doing them in such a way that they are not lifted up with any secret exultation; whereas the weak, because they cannot attain this perfect contempt for their own fame, must necessarily hide the good deeds they do.⁴

St. Augustine of Hippo: In saying only, That you be seen of men, without any addition, He seems to have forbidden us from making that the goal of our actions. For the Apostle who declared, If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10), says in another place, I please all men in all things (1 Corinthians 10:33). He did this not so that he might please men, but God, to whose love he desires to turn the hearts of men by pleasing them. This is just as we would not think someone spoke absurdly who said, "In this effort of mine to find a ship, it is not the ship I seek, but my country."⁵

He says this—that you be seen of men—because there are some who do their righteousness before men in such a way that they themselves are not seen, but that the works themselves may be seen, and their Father who is in heaven may be glorified. For they do not consider it their own righteousness, but His, in whose faith they live.⁶

His addition, Otherwise you shall not have your reward before your Father who is in heaven, signifies nothing more than that we ought to take heed not to seek the praise of men as a reward for our works.⁷

Pseudo-Chrysostom: What will you receive from God, when you have given God nothing? What is done for God's sake is given to God and received by Him, but what is done for the sake of men is cast to the winds. What wisdom is it to bestow our goods only to reap empty words, and to have despised the reward of God? No, you deceive the very person whose good opinion you seek, for he thinks you do it for God's sake; otherwise, he would rather reproach than commend you.

Yet we must consider that a person has done his work for the sake of men only when his whole will and intention are governed by the thought of them. But if an idle thought of seeking to be seen by others arises in someone's heart but is resisted by his discerning spirit, he is not to be condemned for man-pleasing on that account. For the thought that came to him was a passion of the flesh; what he chose was the judgment of his soul.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Above, the Lord had spoken of righteousness in general. He now pursues it through its different parts.¹

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He opposes three chief virtues—alms, prayer, and fasting—to three evil things against which the Lord undertook the war of temptation. For He fought for us in the wilderness against gluttony, against covetousness on the mountain, and against false glory on the temple. Alms scatters, opposing the covetousness which heaps up; fasting opposes gluttony, which is its contrary; and prayer opposes false glory. Since all other evil things come from evil, this one alone comes from good; therefore, it is not overthrown but is actually nourished by good, and has no remedy that can prevail against it but prayer alone.²

Pseudo-Ambrose: The sum of all Christian discipline is contained in mercy and piety, for which reason He begins with almsgiving.³

Pseudo-Chrysostom: The trumpet stands for every act or word that is intended to display our works. For instance, giving alms only if we know that someone else is watching, or at the request of another, or to a person in a position to repay us; and, unless these conditions are met, not giving at all.

Indeed, even if alms are given in a secret place with the intention of being considered praiseworthy, then the trumpet is sounded.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Thus, what He says, Do not sound a trumpet before you, refers to what He had said above, Take heed that you do not your righteousness before men.

St. Jerome: He who sounds a trumpet before him when he gives alms is a hypocrite. For this reason, He adds, as the hypocrites do.

Isidore of Seville: The name "hypocrite" is derived from the appearance of those on stage who are disguised in masks, variously colored according to the character they represent—sometimes male, sometimes female—to deceive the spectators while they perform in the plays.⁴

St. Augustine of Hippo: Just as the hypocrites (a word meaning "one who feigns"), by impersonating the characters of other men, act parts that are not naturally their own—for he who impersonates Agamemnon is not really Agamemnon, but feigns to be so—similarly in the Churches, whoever in his whole conduct desires to seem what he is not, is a hypocrite. He feigns himself to be righteous but is not really so, since his only motive is the praise of men.

Glossa Ordinaria: In the words, in the streets and villages, He points out the public places they selected; and in the words, that they may receive honor of men, He points out their motive.⁵

St. Gregory the Great: It should be known that there are some who wear the dress of sanctity but are not able to attain the merit of perfection. Yet they must in no way be numbered among the hypocrites, because it is one thing to sin from weakness and another to sin from deceitful pretense.⁶

St. Augustine of Hippo: And such sinners receive from God, the Searcher of hearts, no other reward than the punishment for their deceitfulness. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.⁷

St. Jerome: A reward not from God, but from themselves, for they receive the praise of men, which was the very reason they practiced their virtues.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This refers to what He had said above, Otherwise you shall have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. He goes on to show them that they should not give their alms as the hypocrites do, but teaches them how they should do them.

St. John Chrysostom: Let not your left hand know what your right hand does, is said as an extreme expression, as if to say, "If it were possible for you not to know it yourself, and for your very hands to be hidden from your sight, that is what you should strive for most."

Pseudo-Chrysostom: The Apostles, in the book of the Constitutions, interpret it this way: The right hand is the Christian people who are at Christ's right hand; the left hand is all the people who are on His left hand. He means, then, that when a Christian gives alms, the unbeliever should not see it.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But according to this interpretation, it would be no fault to seek to please the faithful; and yet we are forbidden to set as the goal of any good work the pleasing of any kind of person. Yet if you want people to imitate your actions that may be pleasing to them, they must be done before unbelievers as well as believers.

If, according to another interpretation, we take the left hand to mean our enemy, and that our enemy should not know when we give our alms, why did the Lord Himself mercifully heal men when the Jews were standing around Him? And how then must we deal with our enemy himself according to that precept, If your enemy is hungry, feed him (Proverbs 25:21)?

A third interpretation is ridiculous: that the left hand signifies the wife. It suggests that because women are accustomed to be more frugal with the family purse, the husband's charitable giving should be kept secret from his wife to avoid domestic strife.

But this command is addressed to women as well as to men. What, then, is the left hand from which women are told to conceal their alms? Is the husband also the left hand of the wife? Since they are commanded to enrich each other with good works, it is clear they ought not to hide their good deeds from one another. Nor should one commit theft in order to serve God.

Even if, in some cases, something must be done secretly out of consideration for the weakness of another person—though it is not unlawful—it is clear from the context of the entire passage that the wife cannot be what is meant by the "left hand" here.

Rather, what is condemned in hypocrites is that they seek the praise of men, and this is what you are forbidden to do. The "left hand," therefore, seems to signify the desire for human praise, while the "right hand" denotes the intention of fulfilling God's commands.

Therefore, whenever a desire to gain honor from people mixes with the conscience of one who is giving alms, that is the "left hand" knowing what the "right hand"—the pure conscience—is doing. So, Let not your left hand know what your right hand does means, "Do not let the desire for human praise mix with your conscience."

Our Lord forbids the "left hand" (the desire for praise) from acting alone even more strongly than He forbids it from mixing with the works of the "right hand." The purpose of all this is shown when He adds, that your alms may be in secret. This means your good conscience alone—which no human eye can see nor words can describe, though many false things are said about many people—is what matters.

Your good conscience is enough for you to deserve your reward, if you seek that reward from Him who alone can see your conscience. This is why He adds, And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Many Latin copies add the word "openly."ⁱ

Pseudo-Chrysostom: For it is impossible that God should leave any good work of man in obscurity; instead, He makes it known in this world and glorifies it in the next, because it is the glory of God. Just as the Devil, likewise, makes evil manifest, in which is shown the strength of his great wickedness.

But God truly makes every good deed public only in that world where the blessings are not common to the righteous and the wicked. Therefore, for whomever God shows favor there, it will be clear that it was as a reward for his righteousness. But the reward of virtue is not made manifest in this world, where both the bad and the good share similar fortunes.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But in the Greek copies, which are earlier, we do not have the word "openly."

St. John Chrysostom: If, therefore, you desire spectators for your good deeds, behold, you have not merely Angels and Archangels, but the God of the universe.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Solomon says, "Before prayer, prepare your soul." The person who comes to prayer giving alms does this, for good works stir up the faith of the heart and give the soul confidence in praying to God. Alms, then, are a preparation for prayer, and therefore the Lord, after speaking of alms, proceeds to instruct us about prayer.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He does not now command us to pray, but instructs us how we should pray, just as above He did not command us to give alms, but showed the manner of doing so.¹

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Prayer is, as it were, a spiritual tribute which the soul offers from its own depths. Therefore, the more glorious it is, the more watchfully we ought to guard it from being debased by being done just to be seen by men.

St. John Chrysostom: He calls them hypocrites because, while pretending to pray to God, they are looking around at men. And He adds, "they love to pray in the synagogues."

Pseudo-Chrysostom: But I suppose that it is not the place the Lord refers to here, but the motive of the one who prays. For it is praiseworthy to pray in the congregation of the faithful, as it is said, "in your Churches bless God" (Psalm 68:26).

Whoever, then, prays so as to be seen by men does not look to God but to man, and as far as his purpose is concerned, he prays in the synagogue. But the one whose mind in prayer is wholly fixed on God, though he prays in the synagogue, still seems to pray by himself in secret.

They pray "in the corners of the streets," namely, so that they may seem to be praying in seclusion and thus earn a twofold praise: both that they pray, and that they pray in private.

Glossa Ordinaria: Or, "the corners of the streets" are the places where one road crosses another, making four crossroads.²

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He forbids us to pray in an assembly with the intent of being seen by that assembly, as He adds, "that they may be seen by men." The one who prays, therefore, should do nothing unusual that might attract notice, such as crying out, striking his breast, or stretching out his hands.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is not that merely being seen by men is an impiety, but doing this in order to be seen by men.

St. John Chrysostom: It is a good thing to be drawn away from the thought of empty glory, but especially in prayer. For our thoughts are prone to wander on their own; if, then, we approach prayer with this disease upon us, how can we understand what we are saying?

St. Augustine of Hippo: We should shun the notice of other people to the extent that it leads us to do anything with the intention of seeking the reward of their applause.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: "Truly I say to you, they have received their reward," for where a person sows, there they also reap. Therefore, those who pray for the sake of men, and not for the sake of God, receive praise from men, not from God.

St. John Chrysostom: He says they "have received" their reward because God was ready to give them the reward that comes from Himself, but they instead preferred the one that comes from men. He then goes on to teach how we should pray.

St. Jerome: If taken in its plain sense, this teaches the hearer to shun all desire for vain honor in prayer.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: No one should be present except the one who is praying, for a witness impedes rather than helps prayer.

St. Cyprian of Carthage: The Lord has commanded us in His instructions to pray secretly in remote and secluded places, as is best suited to faith. In this way, we may be assured that God, who is present everywhere, hears and sees all, and in the fullness of His Majesty penetrates even the most hidden places.³

Pseudo-Chrysostom: We may also understand "the door of the chamber" to be the mouth of the body, meaning we should pray to God not with a loud voice but with a silent heart, for three reasons. First, because God is not won over by loud cries but by a right conscience, since He is a hearer of the heart. Second, because no one but you and God should be aware of your secret prayers. Third, because if you pray aloud, you hinder anyone else from praying near you.

John Cassian: We should also observe strict silence in our prayers so that our enemies, who are always most watchful to ensnare us at that time, may not know the purport of our petition.⁴

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, by our chambers we are to understand our hearts, of which it is spoken in the fourth Psalm: "What things you utter in your hearts, and with which you are pricked in your chambers" (Psalm 4:4).

"The door" represents the bodily senses. Outside are all worldly things, which enter our thoughts through the senses, along with the crowd of vain imaginings that assails us in prayer.

St. Cyprian of Carthage: What insensibility it is to be carried away by trivial and profane thoughts when you are presenting your plea to the Lord, as if there were anything else you should consider rather than the fact that you are conversing with God! How can you ask God to attend to you when you do not attend to yourself?⁵

This is to make no provision against the enemy whatsoever; this is, when praying to God, to offend God's majesty by the neglect of your prayer.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The door, then, must be shut; that is, we must resist the bodily senses so that we may address our Father in the kind of spiritual prayer that is made in the innermost spirit, where we pray to Him truly in secret.

Remigius of Auxerre: Let it be enough for you that He alone knows your petitions, for He knows the secrets of all hearts. He Who sees all things will Himself listen to you.

St. John Chrysostom: He did not say, "will freely give you," but, "will reward you;" thus He makes Himself your debtor.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Just as the hypocrites are accustomed to positioning themselves so they can be seen when they pray, whose reward is human approval, so the Gentiles are accustomed to thinking that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore, He adds, "When you pray, do not use many words."

John Cassian: We should indeed pray often, but briefly, lest if we are long in our prayers, the enemy who lies in wait for us might plant some suggestion in our thoughts.¹

St. Augustine of Hippo: Yet to continue long in prayer is not, as some think, what is meant here by "using many words." For many words are one thing, and an enduring fervor is another. It is written of the Lord Himself that He spent a whole night in prayer and prayed at great length, setting an example for us.

The brethren in Egypt are said to offer frequent prayers, but they are very short, like hasty ejaculations. This is so that the fervor of spirit, which is most beneficial for us in prayer, is not abruptly cut short by continuing too long.²

In this, they themselves show clearly that just as this fervor of spirit should not be forced if it cannot last, neither should it be abruptly cut short if it does last. Let prayer, then, be without many words, but not without much entreaty, if this fervent spirit can be sustained.

For using many words in prayer means using more words than are necessary for an essential matter. To entreat much, however, is to appeal with enduring warmth to the heart of Him to whom our plea is made. Indeed, this is often accomplished more by groans than by words, more by weeping than by speech.

St. John Chrysostom: By this, He dissuades us from empty speaking in prayer; for example, when we ask God for improper things, such as dominions, fame, the defeat of our enemies, or an abundance of wealth. He commands, then, that our prayers should not be long—long not in time, but in the number of words. For it is right that those who ask should persevere in asking, being instant in prayer, as the Apostle instructs. But this does not command us to compose a prayer of ten thousand verses and recite it all, which is what He secretly hints at when He says, "Do not use many words."

Glossa Ordinaria: What He condemns is using many words in prayer that come from a lack of faith, "as the Gentiles do." For a multitude of words was necessary for the Gentiles, since the demons could not know what they were petitioning for until instructed by them; they think they shall be heard for their much speaking.³

St. Augustine of Hippo: And truly, all this excess of words has come from the Gentiles, who labor more to practice their tongues than to cleanse their hearts, and who introduce this art of rhetoric into the very matter in which they need to persuade God.

St. Gregory the Great: True prayer consists more in the bitter groans of repentance than in the repetition of set forms of words.⁴

St. Augustine of Hippo: We use many words when we have to instruct someone who is ignorant. What need is there for them when speaking to Him who is the Creator of all things? Your heavenly Father knows what you have need of before you ask Him.

St. Jerome: From this, a heresy arises from certain philosophersⁱ who taught the mistaken doctrine that if God knows what we will pray for, and knows what we need before we ask, our prayer is made needlessly to one who has such knowledge.

To these we briefly reply that in our prayers we do not instruct, but entreat. It is one thing to inform the ignorant and another to beg from one who understands. The first would be to teach; the latter is to perform a service of duty.

St. John Chrysostom: You do not, then, pray to teach God your needs, but to move Him, so that you may become His friend by the persistence of your appeals to Him, be humbled, and be reminded of your sins.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Nor should we use words when seeking to obtain from God what we desire, but rather, we should seek with intense and fervent concentration of mind, with pure love, and a supplicant spirit.

But we ought to pray to God with words at certain times, so that by these outward signs we may remind ourselves, know what progress we have made in our desire for Him, and stir ourselves to increase this desire more actively.

This is so that after the desire has begun to grow warm, it may not be chilled and utterly frozen by various worldly cares if we do not continually take care to keep it alive.⁵

Words, therefore, are necessary for us so that we might be moved by them and understand clearly what it is we are asking—not so that we might think the Lord is instructed or persuaded by them.

Still, it may be asked, what is the use of prayer at all—whether made with words or in meditation—if God already knows what is necessary for us? The mental posture of prayer calms and purifies the soul and increases its capacity to receive the divine gifts that are poured into it.

For God does not hear us because of the compelling force of our pleas. He is always ready to give us His light, but we are not ready to receive it, as we are prone to other things.⁶

In prayer, then, there is a turning of the body to God and a cleansing of the inward eye, while those worldly things we once desired are shut out. This is so that the eye of the mind, made single, might be able to bear the single light and to abide in it with that joy by which a happy life is perfected.

Glossa Ordinaria: Among His other saving instructions and divine lessons, with which He counsels believers, He has set forth for us a form of prayer in a few words. He thus gives us confidence that what we ask for so concisely will be quickly granted.

St. Cyprian of Carthage: He who gave us life also taught us to pray, so that when we speak to the Father using the prayer the Son has taught, we may receive a more ready hearing. It is to pray as friends and family when we offer to God what is His own. Let the Father recognize the Son's words when we offer our prayer. Since we have Him as an Advocate with the Father when we sin, let us, as sinners, put forth the words of our Advocate when we petition for our offenses.¹

Glossa Ordinaria: Yet we do not confine ourselves completely to these words, but also use others conceived in the same spirit, with which our hearts are kindled.²

St. Augustine of Hippo: In every petition, we must first win the favor of the One we are petitioning, and after that, state what we are asking for. We commonly do this by saying something in praise of the One we petition, placing it at the beginning of our prayer. In this case, however, the Lord instructs us to say nothing more than, "Our Father who is in Heaven."³

Many things were said in praise of God, yet we never find the children of Israel being taught to address God as "Our Father." Instead, He is presented to them as a Lord over slaves. But concerning Christ's people, the Apostle says, We have received the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry, Abba, Father (Romans 8:15), and this is not by our own merits, but by grace. We express this in the prayer when we say, "Father," a name that also stirs up love. For what can be dearer to a father than his children? It also inspires a humble spirit, that we should say to God, "Our Father," and a certain confidence that we will obtain what we ask. For what will He not give to His children when they ask, since He has already granted them the status of being His children?

Finally, what great concern should possess a person's mind, that having called God his Father, he should not prove unworthy of such a Father. By this, the rich and the noble are admonished, when they become Christians, not to be haughty toward the poor or lowly born, who, like them, can address God as "Our Father." Therefore, they cannot say this truly or piously unless they acknowledge these others as their brothers.

St. John Chrysostom: For what harm is there in such kinship with those beneath us, when we are all equally related to the One above us? For whoever calls God "Father," in that one title, at once confesses the forgiveness of sins, adoption, the inheritance, the brotherhood he shares with the Only-Begotten, and the gift of the Spirit. No one can call God Father except one who has obtained all these blessings. In a twofold manner, therefore, this moves the hearts of those who pray: both by the dignity of the One being prayed to and by the greatness of the benefits we gain through prayer.

St. Cyprian of Carthage: We do not say "My Father," but "Our Father," for the teacher of peace and master of unity did not want people to pray individually and separately. When anyone prays, he is not to pray for himself alone. Our prayer is communal and for everyone; when we pray, we pray not for one person, but for all of us, because we all are one. So also, He willed that one should pray for all, just as He Himself, in one body, bore us all.⁴

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Our own necessity compels us to pray for ourselves; brotherly love prompts us to pray for others.

Glossa Ordinaria: Also, because He is the common Father of all, we say, "Our Father," not "My Father," which is appropriate to Christ alone, who is His Son by nature.⁵

Pseudo-Chrysostom: The phrase "who is in heaven" is added so that we may know we have a heavenly Father, and may be ashamed to immerse ourselves completely in earthly things when we have a Father in heaven.

John Cassian: And so that we should hasten with strong desire toward that place where our Father dwells.⁶

St. John Chrysostom: "In heaven" does not confine God's presence there, but rather draws the petitioner's thoughts away from the earth and fixes them on things above.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, "in heaven" can mean among the saints and the righteous, for God is not contained in space. The heavens are literally the upper parts of the universe, and if God is thought to be in them, then birds are more worthy than humans, since their dwelling is nearer to God. But it is not said that God is near to those of lofty stature or to the inhabitants of mountaintops, but rather, to the broken in heart (compare to Psalm 34:18).⁷

Just as the sinner is called "earth"—as in, earth you are, and to earth you shall return (Genesis 3:19)—so, on the other hand, the righteous might be called "heaven." In this sense, it is rightly said, "who is in heaven," for there seems to be as much difference spiritually between the righteous and sinners as there is physically between heaven and earth.

To signify this, we turn our faces to the east in prayer, not as if God were only there, having deserted all other parts of the world, but so that the mind may be reminded to turn to a more excellent nature—that is, to God—while the body, which is of the earth, is turned toward that more excellent body, which is of heaven. It is desirable that everyone, both small and great, should have right conceptions of God. Therefore, for those who cannot fix their thoughts on spiritual natures, it is better that they think of God as being in heaven rather than on earth.

Having named the One to whom our prayer is made and where He dwells, let us now see what we ought to pray for. The first of all the petitions is, "Hallowed be your name." This does not imply that the name of God is not already holy, but that it may be held as sacred by people; that is, that God may be so known that nothing is esteemed more holy.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, He instructs us to beg in our prayer that God may be glorified in our life, as if to say, "Make us live so that all things may glorify You through us." For "hallowed" means the same as "glorified." It is a petition worthy for a person to make to God: to ask for nothing before the Father's glory, but to subordinate all things to His praise.

St. Cyprian of Carthage: Alternatively, we say this not because we wish for God to be made holy by our prayers, but because we are asking Him that His name be kept holy in us. For since He Himself has said, Be holy, for I am holy (Leviticus 20:7), we ask and request that we who have been sanctified in Baptism may persevere as we have begun.⁸

St. Augustine of Hippo: But why is this perseverance asked of God if, as the Pelagians say, it is not given by God? Is it not a mocking petition to ask God for what we know is not given by Him, but is in a person's own power to attain?⁹

St. Cyprian of Carthage: For this we petition daily, since we need a daily sanctification, so that we who sin day by day may cleanse our offenses anew through a continual sanctification.