From the Prologue of Saint Nikolai Velimirovich

November 8
Reflection for the Gospel about the Woman with the Issue of Blood:
Matter is not evil of itself, as certain Christian heretics (i.e., the Manicheans) and other philosophers have taught. Not only is matter not evil, but matter is not the sole conduit of evil. In the same way that matter is a conduit of evil, so also is the spirit. Every material thing is miserable and even fearful because of man’s sins, but matter is not evil. Matter is corruptible, weak and insignificant in comparison with the immortal spirit, but it is not evil of itself. If it were evil, would our Lord Christ have instituted Holy Communion of bread and wine and would He call the bread and the wine His Body and His Blood? If matter of itself were evil, how then could men be baptized with water? How could the Apostle James have commanded that the sick be anointed with oil? How could holy water remain fresh and have miracle-working properties? How could the Cross of Christ have power? How could the garment of Christ transmit the Savior’s healing power, by which the woman with the issue of blood was healed? How could icons and the relics of the saints have performed so many miracles and conveyed to people so much good from the Kingdom of grace? How then could good come to man through evil? No, no: matter is never evil of itself alone.