Thirtieth Sunday After Pentecost. Sunday of the Holy Forefathers

The holy Forefathers—here are truly great men! And if one were to generalize the thought that defines their greatness, it comes to this: truly great are only those who fall within the line of executors of God’s will for the human race—His direct will; for much happens only by God’s permission, and again there are powerful figures who act apart from God’s will and even contrary to it. These too may appear great, but not in themselves—only by reason of the great counter-measures that divine Providence raises up to undo the evil they have caused. God’s direct will concerning eternal salvation we know; but God’s plans for the temporal sojourn of people on earth are hidden from us. It is therefore difficult for us to determine who is acting most directly in accordance with God’s will. Only one negative criterion can be accepted as reliable: whoever acts contrary to God’s declared purpose of people’s eternal salvation cannot be counted as great, however striking his deeds may appear—for it is evident that he is moving against the manifest will of God. Though this known will concerns not the temporal but the eternal, it is nonetheless certain that one will of God cannot contradict another.