Good morning, digital neighbors! Yesterday I shared this over on Humbuggery, and I thought I would share it here instead of something new this morning. Call me lazy, or efficient. YMMV. It’s drawn from yesterday’s morning prayers and the subsequent post. Happy Wednesday, dear neighbors! This line always remains with me throughout the day after reflecting on it: "Our life is stamped with the beauty of his thought. The inner and the outer man are harmonized in a kind of music. "

A little excerpt from the Office of Readings today—one of my favorite saints, St. Gregory of Nyssa. But before we drink of his wisdom, here’s a little background on the man himself, provided by Grok.

Born around 335 in Cappadocia (present-day Turkey) into a prominent Christian family, Gregory was one of ten children. His family was deeply religious—his parents (Basil the Elder and Emmelia) and several siblings (including St. Macrina the Younger and St. Peter of Sebaste) are also venerated as saints. He was influenced heavily by his brother Basil and his sister Macrina.

Originally more inclined toward rhetoric and scholarship than church administration, Gregory married (his wife is sometimes identified as Theosebia) and may have taught rhetoric before entering fuller church service. Around 372, Basil appointed him bishop of the small see of Nyssa. He faced significant challenges, including exile due to conflicts with Arian-leaning authorities, but returned after the death of Emperor Valens in 378. He participated actively in the First Council of Constantinople (381), which affirmed the Nicene Creed and helped solidify Trinitarian orthodoxy against Arianism. He died around 394.

I encountered his thought early in seminary and took readily to his style and insight. Of the three great Cappadocians, I’ve always liked him best, followed by Gregory of Nazianzen and then Basil. All three are well worth the time and interest. Their love of the Lord is evident and deeply relatable.

From a treatise on Christian Perfection by Saint Gregory of Nyssa, bishop.

Christ should be manifest in our whole life

The life of the Christian has three distinguishing aspects: deeds, words and thought. Thought comes first, then words, since our words express openly the interior conclusions of the mind. Finally, after thoughts and words, comes action, for our deeds carry out what the mind has conceived. So when one of these results in our acting or speaking or thinking, we must make sure that all our thoughts, words and deeds are controlled by the divine ideal, the revelation of Christ. For then our thoughts, words and deeds will not fall short of the nobility of their implications.

What then must we do, we who have been found worthy of the name of Christ? Each of us must examine his thoughts, words and deeds, to see whether they are directed toward Christ or are turned away from him. This examination is carried out in various ways. Our deeds or our thoughts or our words are not in harmony with Christ if they issue from passion. They then bear the mark of the enemy who smears the pearl of the heart with the slime of passion, dimming and even destroying the luster of the precious stone.

On the other hand, if they are free from and untainted by every passionate inclination, they are directed toward Christ, the author and source of peace. He is like a pure, untainted stream. If you draw from him the thoughts in your mind and the inclinations of your heart, you will show a likeness to Christ, your source and origin, as the gleaming water in a jar resembles the flowing water from which it was obtained.

For the purity of Christ and the purity that is manifest in our hearts are identical. Christ’s purity, however, is the fountainhead; ours has its source in him and flows out of him. Our life is stamped with the beauty of his thought. The inner and the outer man are harmonized in a kind of music. The mind of Christ is the controlling influence that inspires us to moderation and goodness in our behavior. As I see it, Christian perfection consists in this: sharing the titles which express the meaning of Christ’s name, we bring out this meaning in our minds, our prayers and our way of life.