Our Human Body & the Four Elements
From a Sermon by St Anthony
Our
human body is made up of the four elements, Fire, Air, Water and Earth:
Fire is in the eyes, Air is in the mouth, Water is in the loins and
Earth is in the hands and feet. In the sinner's body, since he
is a slave to sin, Fire flourishes in the eyes by curiosity, Air in the
mouth by talkativeness, Water in the loins by lust and Earth in the
hands and feet by cruelty.
The Son of God veiled His face (on which the angels long to gaze) to restrain the curiosity of
our eyes. He was dumb before not just His shearer but His murderer and,
when He was ill-treated, He did not open His mouth, so as to check your
talkativeness.
His side was opened by the lance, so that He might draw out of you the misfortune of lust. His hands and feet were fastened with nails, to drive cruelty from your hands and feet. Take your son, then, your mirth, your flesh, and offer it completely as
a holocaust, so that you may be wholly on fire with Charity that covers
a multitude of sins.
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