Wherefore the Lord also saith in the Gospel: He that heareth these my words and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock. The floods came and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.¹ Having given us these instructions, the Lord daily expects us to make our life correspond with his holy admonitions. And the days of our life are lengthened and a respite allowed us for this very reason, that we may amend our evil ways. For the Apostle saith: Knowest thou not that the patience of God leadeth thee to repentance?² For the merciful Lord saith: I will not the death of a sinner, but that he should be converted and live.³

¹Matt vii, 24, 25
²Rom ii, 4
³Ezech xxxiii, 11