The priestly robe symbolizes their capacity to guide others to divine and mystical visions and the consecration of their whole life. And the belt symbolizes the guard over their productive powers and their habit of gathering together, being drawn around by an unbroken identity in a well-ordered circle.… The spears and the axes denote the power of discriminating among unlike things, and the sharp, energetic and effectual power of discernment.

Thus [the devil] suffers and is dishonored; and although he still ventures with shameless confidence to disguise himself, yet now, wretched spirit, he is detected rather by those who bear the sign on their foreheads; and he is even rejected by them, and is humbled and put to shame. For even if, now that he is a creeping serpent, he shall transform himself into an angel of light, yet his deception will not profit him; for we have been taught that though an angel from heaven preach to us any other gospel than that we have received, he is anathema.^[1]

But maybe that person wasn’t yet a Christian. We at least, brothers and sisters, should listen; we to whom as believers the gospel is chanted, we by whom the one who said all this is worshiped, whose sign is worn by us on our foreheads and held in our hearts. It makes a great deal of difference, you see, where a person keeps the sign of Christ, whether on the forehead or both on the forehead and in the heart. You heard, when the holy prophet Ezekiel was speaking, how before God sent an exterminator of a wicked people, he first sent a marker and said to him, Go and mark with a sign the foreheads of those who groan and grieve over the sins of my people, which are committed among them. Yet for all that they groan and grieve; and this is why they have been marked with a sign on the forehead— the forehead of the inner self, not the outer one. There is a forehead of the face, you see, and a forehead of the conscience. In fact, sometimes the inner forehead gets a knock, and the outer one blushes; it either blushes for shame or turns pale with fright.

I have heard many, after such experience, blame themselves and say, What advantage is it that I have grieved? I have not recovered my money, and I have injured myself. But if you have grieved on account of sin, you have blotted it out and reaped the greatest pleasure. If you have grieved for your brothers who have fallen, you have both encouraged and comforted yourself and have also restored them; and even if you were not to profit them, you have an abundant recompense. And that you may learn that grieving for those who have fallen, though we should not at all benefit them, still brings us a large reward, hear what Ezekiel says, or rather, what God speaks through him. For when he had sent certain messengers to overturn the city and to consume all the dwellings with sword and fire, along with their inhabitants, God charges one of them, Set a mark on the forehead of those that groan and are in anguish. And after charging the others and saying, Begin from my holy ones, he goes on to add, but do not touch whoever has the sign on him.

God says that only those can escape who have been reborn and signed with the sign of Christ; when sending his angels to lay waste the world and to destroy the human race he threatens more seriously than the last time…. This sign pertains to the passion and blood of Christ and that he is kept safe and unharmed whoever is found in this sign.

At the beginning of our prayers let us sign ourselves with the seal of baptism. Let us make the sign of the cross on our foreheads, as on the day of our baptism, as it is written in Ezekiel. Let us not first lower our hand to our mouth or to our beard, but let us raise it to our forehead, sing in our heart, We have signed ourselves with the seal. This is not like the seal of baptism, but the sign of the cross was traced on the forehead of each of us on the day of our baptism.

In Ezekiel the prophet, when the angel who had been sent had slain everyone and the slaughter had begun at the holy places, only those whom he had signed with the letter tau—that is, with the mark of the cross— remained unharmed.

You have given a sign, the blood itself of a lamb without blemish, slain for the sin of the world. And Ezekiel says that a sign was given on the foreheads of the persons.

This means priests who went to the temple and adored idols, or those who were called holy among the people because of their status as priests. It is time for judgment to begin on them from the house of God.

So there is a forehead of the inner self. That is where those people were marked, to save them from being wiped out. Because even if they did not put right the sins that were committed among them, at least they were pained by them, and by their very pain they set themselves apart; while set apart for God, they were mixed together in the eyes of people. They are marked with a sign in secret; they escape harm in public. The destroyer is sent next and is told, Go, destroy, do not spare young, old, male, female; but do not go near those who have the sign on their foreheads. What a sure guarantee has been given you, my brothers and sisters, you among this people who are groaning and grieving over the wicked deeds committed in your midst and are not committing them!

You see, even if it is the wicked who perish, nevertheless the souls of good people are likely to show compassion when they see people being punished; and you will find each of the good people and the inspired writers making earnest supplication for them.

It is, after all, the practice of the prophets and the just to grieve not only for themselves but for the rest of humanity. If you are inclined to check that, you will find them all giving evidence of this compassion—for example, you can listen to Isaiah’s words, Don’t put yourself out to comfort me for the destruction of the daughter of my people;^[1] or Jeremiah,… Who will pour water on my head and provide a fountain of tears for my eyes?^[2] or Ezekiel, Alas, Lord, will you destroy what remains of Israel?

The cause of so many crimes is this: The people thought that there was no such thing as providence on earth and that God did not look after mortal things at all…. They either thought that there was no providence, or if there had once been any, it had forsaken its own people. Therefore, not even the eye of the Lord will spare them, nor will he have mercy.