Salmos 94

Salmos 94:20

"Who cause toil by your law." No one receives a crown while he is asleep; no one is secure in his possession of the kingdom of heaven; no one with a full stomach is fit to discourse on fasting. You grasp now the force of the versicle: "who cause toil by your law." All the commandments of the Lord demand effort. Without labor and toil, we cannot possess the kingdom of heaven. Do you want to know why? "If you will be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and come, follow me." In other words, a person who desires to attain the kingdom of heaven, let him pray night and day; let him keep watch; let him fast; let him make his bed on rushes, not on down and silk. Penitence has no fellowship with soft luxuries. "For I eat ashes like bread and mingle my drink with tears." — HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 22