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<\/a>Satan, St. Paul tells us, disguises himself \u00a0as an angel of light, and his <\/em>min<\/em>isters will call themselves apostles of Christ. How will we know the genuine <\/em>article? St. Cyril of Alexandria repeats <\/em>Christ\u2019s <\/em>advice: examine the <\/em>fr<\/em>uit.<\/em><\/p>\nAgain, Christ somewhere says, \u201cBeware of those who come to you in sheep\u2019s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves\u201d (Matt. 7:15). See again, Christ commands that those who come to us must be distinguished not by their cloth- ing, but by what they really are. \u201cFor the tree is known by its fruit,\u201d he says (Matt. 12:33); and just as it is ignorance and folly for us to expect to find our favorite kinds of fruits on thorns, like grapes or figs, so it is ridiculous for us to imagine that we can find anything admirable\u2014I mean the nobleness of virtue\u2014in hypocrites and the profane.<\/p>\n
Would you like to see how true this is? Would you like to see who the wolves are that clothe themselves in the sheep\u2019s skin? Look at the writings of the holy Apostles: hear what they say of certain men: \u201cFor such men are false apostles, de- ceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is not strange if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness\u201d (2 Cor. 11:13-15).<\/p>\n
We may well call these people thorns and briers. There is no particle of sweetness in them, but everything that is bitter and of an evil nature\u2014for the fig does not grow on thorns\u2014nor will one find anything pleasant in them, for grapes are not produced on briers. We must decide, then, the character of the teacher, not by appearances, but by the acts of each one\u2019s life. \u2013Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke<\/em>, Sermon 33<\/p>\n IN GOD\u2019S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .<\/p>\n I say I\u2019m a Christian, but in the sight of the angels, do I look more like grapes and figs, or thorns and briers?<\/p>\n CLOSING PRAYER<\/p>\n Guardian Angel, help me yield fruit thirty or a hundred times in <\/em>Christ\u2019s Ch<\/em>ur<\/em>c<\/em>h<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n __________________________________________________________________________________________
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