The sun and the moon shed light on our bodies; in the same way Christ and the Church shed light on our minds. At least they enlighten them if we are not spiritually blind people. Just as the sun and the moon do not fail to shed their light on the blind who are unable to benefit by the light, so does Christ send his light into our minds; be we shall not receive any enlightenment if we meet it with blindness. If that is so, let the blind first follow Christ crying out: “Son of David, have pity on us.” Then once they have recovered their sight, thanks to his favor, they will be able to benefit by the radiation of the splendor of the light.

Again, all who see are not equally illumined by Christ, but all are enlightened according to their capacity to receive the light. The more we go up and rise Christward and expose ourselves to the splendor of his light, the more wonderfully and brilliantly we too shall be flooded with his brightness. Finally, if we can ascend with him to the top of the mountain, like Peter, James, and John, not only do we receive the enlightenment from Christ, but we hear the very voice of the Father.

—Origen, Homily 1 on Genesis 5-7