It is time that I should begin the journey to which the law of our
order compels me, desire incites me, and affection calls me. But
how, even for so short a time, can I be separated from my beloved
ones? Separated, I say, in body, and not in spirit; and I know that
in affection and spirit I shall be so much the more present by how
much in body I am the more absent. I speak after the manner of men
because of the infirmity of my flesh; my wish is, that I may lay
down among you the tabernacle of my flesh, that I may breathe forth
my spirit in your hands, that ye may close the eyes of your father,
and that all my bones should be buried in your sight! Pray,
therefore, O my beloved ones, that the Lord may grant me the desire
of my soul. Call to mind, dearest brethren, that it is written of
the Lord Jesus, when he was about to remove his presence from his
Disciples, that he, being assembled together with them, commanded
them that they should not depart from Jerusalem. Following,
therefore, his example, since, after our sweet banquet, we have now
risen from the table, I, who in a little while am about to go away,
command you, beseech you, warn you, not to depart from Jerusalem.
For Jerusalem signifies peace. Therefore, we commend peace to you,
we enjoin peace to you. Now, Christ himself, our Peace, who hath
united us, keep you in the unity of the spirit and in the bond of
peace; to whose protection and consolation I commend you under the
wings of the Holy Ghost; that he may return you to me, and me to you
in peace and with safety. Approach now, dearest sons, and in sign of
the peace and love which I have commended to you, kiss your father;
and let us all pray together that the Lord may make our way
prosperous, and grant us when we return to find you in the same
peace, who liveth and reigneth one God, through all ages of ages.
Amen.