Desire, Hope And Ruin

Tελευτήσαντος ἀνδρὸς δικαίου οὐκ ὄλλυται ἐλπίς τὸ δὲ καύχημα τῶν ἀσεβῶν ὄλλυται. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι οὐ τὸ ἐπιθυμεῖν πονηρὸν, ἀλλὰ τὸ τοιῶσδε ἐπιθυμεῖν, πονηρόν; Τῶν δὲ ἀσεδῶν kαὶ ἐλπίδες πονηραί’ πᾶν γὰρ ὃ ἐλπίσει, ἀπὠλεια. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Παροιμιας, Κεφ' IA’ Source: Migne PG 39.1633b

The death of the righteous man does not destroy hope, but the pride of the godless is ruined. 1 Do you see that it is not desire that is wicked, but the type of desire? And the hope of the godless is wicked, for everything they hope for is ruinous. Didymus the Blind, Commentary On Proverbs, Chapter 11 1 Prov 11.7 LXX

Sin And Sickness

'Et ecce quidam de scribis dixerunt intra se: Hic blasphemat.' Quid dicunt esse blasphemiam, Marcus consequenter exponit, dicens: Quis, inquiunt, potest dimittere peccata, nisi solus Deus?' Haec commemorantes, qui eum tantum hominem putabant, licet nescientes verum, dicebant: Quia nemo potest dimittere peccata, nisi solus Deus,' et quibus ipse dat potestam dimittendi; et ideo Christus probatur esse verus Deus, dimittens peccata quasi Deus. 'Et cum vidisset Jesus cogitationes eorum,' etc. Et quodam loco ostendit se Deum, qui potest occulta cordis cognoscere, modo tacens loquitur: Dum vestras cogitationes intueor, ex vobis intelligite quid paralyticus consequatur. Quid est facilius dicere: Dimittuntur tibi peccata, aut dicere: Surge et ambula?' utrum sint paralutico peccata dimissa, solus noverat, qui dimittebat. Surge autem et ambula, tam ille qui surgebat quam hi qui videbant approbare poterant; et ideo fit signum carnale, ut probetur spiritale, ei datur intelligi quia ob peccata corporum in debilitates veniunt; idcirco primo dimittuntur peccata, ut sanitas restituatur. Quinque siquidem sunt differentiae causarum, pro quibus in hac vita corporalibus molestiis affligimur: aut augenda merita per patientiam, ut beatus Job; aut ob custodiam virtutum, sicut apostolo Paulo datus est stimulus carnis suae, angelus Satanae colaphizans, ne magnitudine revelationum extolleretur; aut ad corrigenda peccata, sic ut Maria soror Aaron, propter temeritatis verba lepra percussa est; aut ad gloriam Dei, sicut infirmitas Lazari non ad mortem, sed pro gloria Dei fuit; aut ad inchoationem aeternae damnationis, quod reproborum est proprium, sicut Antiochus et Herodes praesenti miseria cunctis ostendebunt quod passuri perpetuo erant in gehenna. Unde dicitur: Duplici contritione contere eos. Sanctus Beda, In Matthaei Evangelium Expositio, Liber II, Caput IX Source: Migne PL 92.45c-46b

And behold some of the scribes said among themselves, 'This man blasphemes.' 1 Why they speak of blasphemy, Mark consequently explains, saying, 'Who, they said, 'is able to forgive sins but God alone?' Aware of this, those who thought Him but a man, not knowing the truth, said, 'Because no one is able to forgive sins, but only God,' 2 and to those whom He gives power to forgive, and therefore Christ is proved to be true God, forgiving sins like God. ' And when Jesus saw their thoughts...' And here He shows himself to be God, who is able to know the hidden things of the heart, as if He silently said, 'While I gaze on the thoughts within you, you yourselves shall understand what is achieved with the paralytic.' 'What is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or 'Rise and walk?' Whether the sins of the paralytic were forgiven only He knew who forgives them. But 'Rise and walk,' so that those who see the one who rises are able to confirm it. So it is that a corporeal sign proves a spiritual one, being given to the mind through the defects of the body; thus first sins are forgiven and then health is restored. There are five different reasons why we are afflicted by troubles in this life: either to augment our merit by endurance, like the blessed Job; or on account of guarding virtue, as the apostle Paul was given a goad of the flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet him lest he become puffed up by the magnitude of revelation; or for correction of sin, like Miriam the sister of Aaron who on account of her bold words was struck down by leprosy; or for the glory of God, as the sickness of Lazarus, which was not to death but for the glory of God; or even as a prelude to eternal damnation, which is fitting for the reprobate, as it was with Antiochus and Herod who by their present misery showed what they would suffer in Hell. 3 Whence it is said by Jeremiah, 'A twofold affliction shall crush them.' 4 Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Book 2, Chapter 9 1 Mt 9.3 2 Mk 2.6-7 3 2 Cor 12.7, Numb 12.10, Jn 11.1-4, Acts 12.21-23, 2 Macc 9.1-28 4 Jerem 17.18

Faith And The End

Κριτής τις ἦν τὸν Θεὸν μὴ φοβούμενος... Ἐπισυνάπτει γοῦν καὶ παραβολὴν τὴν περὶ τοῦ κριτοῦ τῆς ἀδικίας, πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι καὶ μὴ ἐκκακεῖν. Τὸ δὲ εἰπεῖν· Ἆρα ἐλθὼν ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εὑρήσει τὴν πίστιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς; ἔκλειψιν δηλοῖ τῆς πίστεως, ὡς μηδένα πιστὸν εὑρεθήσεσθαι, ἢ εἴ που ἄρα σπάνιόν τινα κατὰ τὸν τῆς δευτέρας αὐτοῦ θεοφανείας χρόνον. Ὅπερ μέγα τεκμήριον τυγχάνει τοῦ καιροῦ τῆς ἀποστασίας, ἐν ᾧ σπάνιος ἔσται ὁ εὑρεθησόμενος πιστός· τάχα δὲ οὐδὲ εἷς ἔσται, διὰ τὸ τοὺς μὲν παραληφθήσεσθαι, τοὺς δὲ καταλειφθήσεσθαι τοῖς ἀετοῖς παραδοθησομένους· οὕτω τε ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἐκλειπούσης τῆς πίστεως, αὐτὸς λοιπὸν ἐπιστήσεται τὴν ἐκδίκησιν ποιησόμενος τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ τῶν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνῃρημένων. Ἐν τάχει δὲ ποιήσει τὴν ἐκδίκησιν, διὰ τὸ βοᾷν πρὸς αὐτὸν νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας· βοᾷν δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐδίδαξε διὰ τῆς παραβολῆς τοῦ κριτοῦ τῆς ἀδικίας. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν Ἐπαγγελιον, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 24.588c-d

There was a certain judge who did not fear God...1 He adds the parable of the wicked judge, that one should always pray and never cease on account of weariness. And when He says, 'When the Son of Man comes shall he find faith on earth?' 2 He reveals the future lack of faith, so that there is no one who is faithful, or that such a man will be very rare around the time of His second coming. Thus this shall be a great sign of the time of apostacy, when it is rare to find one who has faith. However perhaps there will not be one, because some shall have been taken up and some shall have been left behind, and indeed handed over to the eagles. 3 Therefore when there is no more faith among men, He shall come and His holy ones who have been separated from the ruin of the wicked will be vindicated. In a moment He shall be avenged, for which the former cry out to him day and the night. And that we should cry out to Him He teaches in the parable of the wicked judge. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary On the Gospel of Saint Luke, Fragment 1 Lk 18.2 2 Lk 18.8 3 Lk 17.34-37

Mindfulness

Ὥσπερ ἀδιαλείπτωσ ἀναπνέομεν τὸν ἀέρα, οὕτως ἀδιαλείπτως ὀφείλομεν τὸν Κύριον αἰνεῖν τε καὶ ὑμνεῖν, κἂν ἑν μέσῳ πραγμάτων στρεφώμεθα. Δύναται γὰρ ὁ φρόνιμος, καὶ θεοφιλὴς νοῠς δηκενῶς μνήμην σώζειν τοῦ Κτίσαντος. Ἐμνήσθην γὰρ, φησὶν ὁ Δαυϊδ, τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ηὐφράνθην. Εἰ τοίνυν ἡ τοῦ Δεσπότου μνήμη εὐφροσύνην ἐμποιεῖ ταῖς ἡμετέραις ψυχαῖς, μὴ κατοκνήσωμεν ἀπολαύειν τῆς μνήμης τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΣΛΘ’ Σοσανρῳ Πριμασκρινιῳ Source: Migne PG 79.169d

As we continuously breathe air, so we should continuously sing and hymn the Lord, even when we are embroiled in worldly affairs. For it is possible for the prudent and pious mind to be continuously mindful of its Creator, as David says, 'I was mindful of God and I rejoiced.' 1 Thus if the memory of the Lord brings joy to our souls, let us not neglect to take joy in the remembrance of God. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 239, To Sosandros the Primiscrinius 1 Ps 76.4

Prayer And Righteousness

Quod sine intermissione mentionem vestri faciam in omnibus orationibus meis. Dicit Apostolus: Semper gaudete, sine intermissione orate. Quis autem postest ita semper orare, et sine defectu vel intermissione precibus insistere, ut nec alimentis sumendis, aut dormiendi tempus habeat? Aut ergo dicendum est, eum semper orare et non deficere, qui canonicis orationibus quotidie juxta ritum ecclesiasticae traditionis, psalmodiis, precibusque consuetis Dominum laudare et rogare non desistit. Et hoc est quod Psalmista dicebat: Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore, semper laus ejus in ore meo. Aut certe omnia quae justus secundum Deum gerit et dicit, ad orationem esse reputanda: qui eim justus est, sine intemissione quae justa sunt agit, per hoc sine intermissione justus orabit, nec unquam ab oratione cessabit, sive justus esse desistet. Sedulius Scotus, Collectanea in omnes B. Pauli epistolas, In Epistolam ad Romanos, Caput Primam Source: Migne PL 103.16 b-c

Without ceasing I remember you in all my prayers... 1 The Apostle says, 'Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.' 2 But who can always pray and without fault or intermission take to prayer, so that he neither takes food or has time to sleep? Therefore it must be said that to pray always and not to stop is of him who keeps the canonical ours every day according to the rite of the Church which has been handed down, and with Psalms and the accustomed prayers does not cease to praise and entreat God. And this is what the Psalmist said, 'I shall bless the Lord at all times, His praise always in my mouth.' 3 Or certainly it may be that everything which the righteous man does and says is according to God and should be reputed to him as prayer, for he who is righteous does what is righteous without interruption, and by this the righteous man shall pray without intermission, not at any time ceasing from prayer, or from being righteous. Sedulius Scotus, Commentary On The Letters of Saint Paul, On the Letter to the Romans, Chapter 1 1 Rom 1.9 2 1 Thes 5.16-17 3 Ps 33.2

Steps To The Heights

Sponsionis nostrae et itineris ordo compellit ut abbatis Nesterotis praeclari in omnibus summaeque scientiae viri institutio subsequatur. Qui cum sacrarum Scripturarum nos aliqua memoriae commendasse et eorum intelligentiam desiderare sensisset, talibus nos adorsus est verbis: Multa quidem scientiarum in hoc mundo sunt genera, tanta siquidem earum quanta et artium disciplinarumque varietas est. Sed cum omnes aut omnino inutiles sint, aut praesentis tantum vitae commodis prosint, nulla est tamen quae non habeat proprium doctrinae suae ordinem atque rationem, per quam ab expetentibus possit attingi. Si ergo illae artes ad insinuationem sui certis ac propriis lineis diriguntur, quanto magis religionis nostrae disciplina atque professio, quae ad contemplanda invisibilium sacramentorum tendit arcana, nec praesentis quaestus, sed aeternorum retributionem expetit praemiorum, certo ordine ac ratione subsistit! Cujus quidem duplex est scientia. Prima practice, id est, actualis, quae emendatione morum et vitiorum purgatione perficitur; altera theorice, id est, quae in contemplatione divinarum rerum et sacratissimorum sensuum cognitione consistit. Quisquis igitur ad theoreticen voluerit pervenire, necesse est ut omni studio atque virtute actualem primum scientiam consequatur. Nam haec practice absque theoretica possideri potest, theoretice vero sine actuali omnimodis apprehendi non potest. Gradus enim quidam ita ordinati atque distincti sunt, ut humana humilitas possit ad sublime conscendere: qui si invicem sibi ea qua diximus ratione succedant, potest ad altitudinem perveniri, ad quam sublato primo gradu non potest transvolari. Frustra igitur ad conspectum Dei tendit, qui vitiorum contagia non declinat: Spiritus namque Dei effugiet fictum, nec habitabit in corpore subdito peccatis Sanctus Ioannes Cassianus, Collationes, Collatio XIV, De Spirtiali Scientia Source: Migne PL 49.953b-955b

The order of our promise and course demands that the instruction of the Abbot Nesteros should follow, a man of excellence in all points and of the greatest knowledge. When he had seen that we had committed some parts of Holy Scripture to memory and desired understanding of them, he addressed us in these words. 'There are indeed many different kinds of knowledge in this world, certainly as great a variety as there is of the arts and sciences. But though all are either utterly useless or useful only for the goods of this present life, there is yet not one that does not have its own system and method for learning it, by which it can be grasped by those who seek it. If then those arts are guided by certain specific rules for the understanding of themselves, how much more does the system and expression of our religion, which tends to the contemplation of the secrets of invisible mysteries and seeks nothing of the present but only the gain of eternal rewards, depend on a fixed order and scheme? The knowledge of this is twofold: first, practical, which is brought about by an improvement of morals and purification from faults; second, theoretical, which consists in the contemplation of Divine things and the knowledge of most sacred thoughts. Whoever then would arrive at theoretical knowledge must first pursue practical knowledge with all his resolve and might. For this practical knowledge can be acquired without the theoretical, but the theoretical cannot possibly be gained without the practical. For there are certain stages, ordered and distinct, by which human humility is able to rise to the heights, and if these follow each other in turn in the way as we have said, man can attain to a height to which he could not fly if the first step were removed. Vainly, therefore, does one who does not refuse the pollution of the vices strive for the vision of God, 'For the spirit of God hates deception and dwells not in a body subject to sins.' 1 Saint John Cassian, Conferences, Conference 14, On Spiritual Knowledge 1 Wisdom 1.4-5

A Revealing Change

Et facta est, dum oraret, species vultus ejus altera, et vestitus ejus, albus et refulgens. Dicit igitur: Et facta est, non quidem per transmutationem substantiae, vel circumpositionem qualitatis, vel figurae alienae, quia fingere non convenit veritati: sed potius per effulsionem claritatis internae mortalis habitus tunc non clausit quomodo ante. Et sic nihil assumpsit alienum, nihil amisit sibi et nobis proprium. ...species ejus... Hoc est,speciositas ejus 'altera' non alia. Et in hic solo altera,quia mortalis species exterior non clausit fulgorem deitatis interiorem: nec fulgor interior consumpsit mortalem speciem exterior, sed obtexit horam. Et in hoc solo species vultus ejus facta est altera. Quia cum ante in colore vultus humani esset speciosus forma pro filius hominum, nunc resplendens super solem in vultu divino humanato, speciosus factus est prae vultibus Angelorum: ostendens quam mirabilis est humanitatis nostrae futura glorificatio, quae in suo vultu praemonstrata omnium Angelorum excessit claritatem. Hanc videns in spiritu Psalmista ait, Psal. xliv: Specie tua et pulchritudine tua intende, prospere procede, et regna. Hoc figuraturn est, Exod. xxxiii ubi in monte ex consortio Domini resplenduit facies Moysi: ita ut dicat Apostolus, II ad Corinth. iii, quod non poterant intendere filii Israel in faciem Moysi propter gloriam vultus ejus, nisi velaretur. Sed veritas excedit umbram: quia incomparabiliter plus illuxit facies nostri Salvatoris ex consortio unitae sibi deitatis, quam facies Movsi ex consortio divini sermonis. Unde, Matth. xvii dicitur, quod resplenduit facies ejus sicut sol. Et impletum est Isaiee, lxii vaticinium: Egrediatur ut splendor Justus ejus, et Salvator ejus ut lampas accendatur . Sicut enim pellis lucernae retinendo omnia propria, emittit ex se splendorem luminis, et non tegit ipsum: et videtur candens in lumine in se clauso, et non in colore proprio, quem tamen vere habet: ita resplenduit unita carnis deitas in colore mortalis corporis. Et color corporis in candore splendoris videbatur, et non amittebatur. Est enim Dei Filius etiam in humana carne splendor gloriae Patris, et figura substantise ejus, sicut habetur, ad Hebr. i. Sapient. vii: Speculum sine macula Dei majestatis, et imago bonitatis illius. Et, ibidem dicitur, quod est candor lucis aeternae. Unde non mirum si vel semel candor ille immensus emicuit et refulsit, ut fides regni Dei in nobis confirmaretur. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput IX Source: Here p657-8

'And it happened that as He prayed His face and His vestments were changed, being made white and shining.' 1 'And it happened,' not through a transmutation of substance, nor an imposition of quality or some foreign form, because a pretence is not fitting for the truth, but rather it was by an effusion of internal brightness through the mortal covering which no longer hid as it did before. And so He took to Himself nothing that was not Himself, nor did He lose anything of Himself. ...His face... That is, His appearance changed but not into something else. And not into something else because his exterior mortal form no longer hid the blaze of Godhood within, and nor did this inner brightness consume the exterior mortal appearance, but it covered it for a time. In this only is the appearance of His face changed. Because before His face was human in hue and the form of His appearance was as a son of man, 2 but now the face is resplendent beyond the sun with Divine humanity, made fair before the faces of angels, showing how wonderful is the future glorification of our humanity, which in His face is foreshown to exceed the brightness of all the angels. Seeing this in the spirit the Psalmist said, 'With your appearance and fairness revealed, go forward prosperously and rule.' 3 This figure was given when the the face of Moses shone on the mountain from meeting the Lord, 4 and thus the Apostle says in the Second Letter to the Corinthians, 'The children of Israel could not look on the face of Moses unless it was veiled because of the glory of his face.' 5 But truth exceeds the shadow, for the face of our Saviour shone incomparably more from His association with the unity of the Deity than the face of Moses because of his association with the Divine speech. Whence in Matthew it is said, 'His face shone like the sun.' 6 And the prophecy in Isaiah is fulfilled, 'His righteous one shall go out as a splendour and His Saviour shall blaze up like a lamp.' 7 For as a covering on a lamp keeps in what is proper to it and it emits the splendour of its light when it is uncovered, but it is still blazing with light when it is covered and has not its proper colour which it truly has, thus shone the union of Godhood with flesh in the hue of the mortal body. And the hue of the body in the brightness of the splendour appeared and was not lost, for the son of God even in human flesh is 'the splendor of the glory of the Father and a figure of His substance,' as it says in Hebrews. 8 And Wisdom says, 'A mirror without flaw of the majesty of God and an image of His goodness.' And in the same place it is said, 'that is the brightness of eternal light.' 9 Whence one should not wonder if that immense brightness flashed forth and shone so that faith in the kingdom of God might be strengthened in us. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 9 1 Lk 9.29 2 Ps 44.3 3 Ps 44.5 4 Exod 33.9 5 2 Cor 3.7 6 Mt 17.2 7 Isaiah 62.1 8 Heb 1.3 9 Wisdom 7.26

The Five Steps

Sicut etiam sursum versus quinqueperita quadam distinctione mundus iste visibilis gradatur, terra, aqua, aere, aethere, sive firmamento, ipso quoque coelo supremo, quod empyreum dicitur: sic et animae in mundo sui corporis peregrinanti quinque sunt ad sapientiam progressus: sensus, imaginatio, ratio, intellectus, intelligentia. Sensu corpora percipit, imaginatione corporum similitudines, ratione corporum dimensiones,et similia, primum videlicet incorporeum: quod tamen ad subsistendum eget corpore, ac per hoc loco, et tempore. Intellectu super omne quod corpus est, vel corporis creatum spiritum, qui ad subsistendum non eget corpore, ac per hoc nec loco, sed sine tempore nequaquam possit, cum natura mutabilis sit. Intelligentia, quae utcunque,et quantum naturae creatae, super quam solus est Cretor, fas est,immediate cernit ipsum solum summe et pure incorporeum, quod nec corpore, ut sit, nec loco, ut alicubi, nec tempore, ut aliquando,eget. Mundanum est itaque cor, et ab omni terra et aqua longe recedendum ut in serenitatem rationis evadat. Propter primum incorporeum discernendum in intellectus soliditatem urgat,ob secundum incroporeitatis genus intuendum in intelligentiae ingem candorem ascendat, tamquam in montem Thabor, excelsum valde, ut tertium et invisibile videat incorporeum: sicque transfiguratum, sic glorificatum Jesum oculis cernat, vestimenta propter gloriam carnis, qualia non potest fullo facere super terram: faciem vero ob incomprehensibilitatis, incorporeitatis, invisibilitatis simplicem formam, in qua Patri manet aequalis, non sustineat, imo in faciem suam ratio, intellectus et intelligentia cadant: Petus, Jacobus, et Joannes Patrem audiant, non tamen videant; quod vero viderint vel audierint, descendentes nemini dicant. Multa enim, dilectissimi fratres, mira, suavia, jucunda, luce plenissima, vident, gustant, sentiunt, in oratione et contemplatione sua raptim, et quasi in excessu mentis, quae sibi redditi nullatenus dicere possunt, imo et vix meminisse, viri spirituales, et qui consuetudinem exercitatos habent sensus. Ecce a quibus, quateus, ad quid mundandum est cor, ut quod sine omni corpore subsistens, sine qualitate decorum, sine tumore magnum, sine loco ubique, sine tempore semper, intuere possit: alioqui Deum omino videre non poterit. Et ideo: Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt; hic per speculum et in aenigmate, ibi,ut est. Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, Sermo IV In Festo Omnium Sanctorum Source: Migne PL 194.1701d-1702d

As this visible world extends upwards by five distinct steps, earth, water, air, the ether or firmament, and finally the highest heaven which is called the empyrean, so also for the soul on its pilgrimage in the world of its body there are five steps to wisdom: sense perception, imagination, reason, intelligence and understanding. Through sense perception it perceives material objects, through imagination the likenesses of material things, through reason the dimensions of corporeal objects and the like, which is the first immaterial step, but it must subsist on a body and therefore in space and time. Through intelligence the soul perceives that which is above everything that is material and every created spirit in matter. It does not need a body to subsist and because of this it is not in need of space, but it cannot exist outside of time because its nature is mutable. Understanding, insofar as a created nature has it, is that which has nothing above it but the Creator, and rightly it has immediate sight of what is supremely and purely immaterial, that which has no need of a body, nor space to be somewhere, and no time to be at some time. Our heart, then, must be purified, so that leaving earth and water far behind, it may ascend into the serene state of reason. There it first discerns immaterial things and they urge it on to the firmament of intelligence, where the second order of the incorporeal comes into view, and from there it ascents into the fiery brightness of understanding, as to Mount Tabor, that exceedingly high mountain, and there to the third order of the immaterial, the unseen. There its eyes gaze upon Jesus, Jesus transfigured, glorified, the glory of His flesh making his very garments such as no fuller on earth could make them. 1 The face, however, because of incomprehensibility and incorporeity and invisibility, in which He remains always equal to the Father, cannot be endured, and reason, intellect and understanding fall on their faces. Peter, James and John may hear the Father, but they may not see Him, and then what they have seen and heard they may tell no one when they have come down from the mountain. For indeed, dearest brothers, spiritual men see and taste and feel many wonderful, fully radiant, and joyous things when they are caught up in prayer and contemplation, and they are as beside themselves so that they cannot at all tell such things to anyone when they have returned to themselves, and indeed they scarcely can remember, even though they have been trained by long practice. Behold, then, from what things and to what extent the heart must be purified so that it might be able to look on what exists without materiality, and on beauty without quality, and on greatness without extension, which is everywhere without place and always without time, and without which it shall not be able to look on God. Therefore, 'Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God,' 2 which here is as through a mirror, and there as He is. 3 Isaac of Stella, from the Fourth Sermon for the Feast of All Saints 1 Mk 9.2 2 Mt 5.8 3 1 Cor 13.12

After Six Days

Καὶ μεθ᾽ ἡμέρας ἓξ, παραλαμβάνει ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὸν Πέτρον καὶ τὸν Ἰάκωβον καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην, καὶ·ἀναφερει αὐτοὺς εἰς ὅρος ὑψηλὸν κατ᾿ ἰδίαν μόνους, καὶ μετεμορφώθη ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν, καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια͵ αὐτοῦ ἐγένοντο στίλβοντα, λευκά λίαν ὡς χιὼν, οἷα κναφεὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς οὐ δύναται λευκᾶναι. Λουκᾶς δὲ, μετὰ ὀκτὼ ἡμέρας, φησὶν, οὐκ ἐναντιούμενο; τούτῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα συνάδων. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ, καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν ἡμέραν καθ᾽ ἣν ἐφθέγξατο, κἀκείνην καθ' ἣν ἀνήγαγεν, εἶπεν· ὁ δὲ Μάρκος τὰς μεταξὺ τούτων μόνας. Λαβὼν τοίνυν τοὺς κορυφαίους, ἀναφέρει αὐτοὺς εἰς ὅρος ὑψηλόν· Πέτρον μὲν, ὡς ὁμολογήσαντα καὶ ὡς ἀγαπῶντα· Ἰωάννην δὲ, ὡς ἀγαπώμενον· καὶ Ἰάκωβον, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸν μεγαλοφωνότατον καὶ θεολογικώτατον. Οὕτω γὰρ ἦν βαρὺς τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, ὥστε καὶ Ἡρώδης ἀρέσαι βουλόμενος τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτόν. Εἰς ὄρος δὲ ὑψηλὸν ἀναφέρει, ἵνα μᾶλλον ἐνδοξότερον εἴη τὸ θαῦμα. Καὶ κατ' ἰδίαν· μυστήριον γὰρ ἔμελλεν ὑποδείξαι. Τὴν μεταμόρφωσιν δὲ νόει, οὐχὶ τοῦ χαρακτῆρος ἐξαλλαγὴν, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι μένοντος τοῦ χαρακτῆρος οἷος καὶ πρώην ἦν, φωτὸς προσθήκη ἀρρήτου ἐπεγένετο. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Μάρκον, Κεφαλὴ Θ' Source: Migne PG 123.580a-b

And after six days Jesus took Peter and James and John and led them to a high mountain, and He was transformed before them, and His vestments were made a splendid white, more than any fuller on earth could make them. 1 Luke says it was after eight days, but he is not disagreeing with Mark, he is in harmony with him, for Luke speaks of that day when He spoke and the day when He went up, but Mark speaks only of the days in between. Therefore He led certain disciples to a high mountain, Peter because of his confession and his love, John because he was loved, and James because he was the most vocal theologian, for he was to be a burden to the Jews so that Herod would kill him on account of a wish to please them. 2 He led them to a high mountain, then, where there was to be a glorious miracle, and it was done above because it was a mystery to be demonstrated above. Do not think of a change of appearance and clothes with the Transfiguration but an emanation of the character that was there already, an increase of the ineffable light already present. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Mark, Chapter 9 1 Mk 9.1-2 2 Acts 12.1-3

Walking To God

Non omnes uniformiter gradiuntur ad Deum. Quidam lento passu, sicut ii qui terrenorum curis impliciti vix aliquando respirant ut Dei recordentur; quidam modesto incessu, sicut ii qui Domini servitio mancipati Deo quidem serviunt, et tamen erga seipsos indulgeniores existunt; alii veloci, id est, rapido cursu, sicut ii qu super carnem suam intuentes, et sic transitoria contemnentes, celeriter proficiscuntur ad Deum: hoc solummodo cupientes in pace quiescere in idipsum. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber VI, Tit CX, De Inaequalitae gradientium ad Deum Source: Migne PL 177.859d-860a

Not all walk to God at the same pace. Some do so with slow steps, as those who are bound up in worldly cares and scarcely have any time to breathe so that they may be mindful of God. Some walk at a moderate step, as those who are free to serve the Lord and do so and yet they also give way to indulging themselves. And others are swift, that is, their steps are rapid, as those who watching over the flesh and so scorning all transitory things, quickly advance to God, and this alone is to desire to rest in peace immediately. 1 Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 6, Chapter 110, On the Different ways of walking to God 1 Ps 4.9

Foreseeing Sins And Penance

Quaeris enim, Quare dixerit Dominus, nimirum praescius futurorum, Elegi David secundum cor meum; cum talia tantaque ipse homo commiserit. Quod quidem, si de ipso David, qui reprobato Saüle et exstincto fuit rex Israël, dictum intelligamus; magis quia Deus praescius futurorum est, praevidit in eo tantam pietatem tamque veracem poenitentiam, ut esset in eorum numero de quibus ipse dicit: Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates, et quorum tecta sunt peccata. Beatus vir, cui non imputavit Dominus peccatum. Cum ergo praesciret eum Deus peccaturum, et peccata sua pia humilitate et sincera poenitentia deleturum, cur non diceret, Inveni David secundum cor meum; cui non erat imputaturus peccatum tam multa bona facienti, et cum tanta pietate viventi, et ipsa pietate pro peccatis suis sacrificium contriti spiritus offerenti? Propter haec omnia verissime dictum est, Inveni David secundum cor meum. Quia licet secundum cor Dei non esset, quod ille peccavit; tamen secundum cor Dei fuit, quod pro peccatis suis congrua poenitentia satisfecit. Hoc solum ergo in illo secundum cor Dei non fuit, quod illi Deus non imputavit. Hoc itaque ablato, id est non imputato, quid remansit, nisi unde verissime diceretur, Inveni David secundum cor meum? Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Ad Dulcitium De Octo Quaestionibus Source: Migne PL 40.168

You ask why the Lord, who certainly can foresee the future, said, 'I have chosen David, a man according to my heart,' 1 when he would go on to commit such enormities. Because we should understand that which was said of David, who with Saul rejected and dead was king of Israel, was said more because the Lord who foresees the future foresaw in him such great piety and such true penitence that he was of the number of those of whom it is said, 'Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin.' 2 Therefore when the Lord foresaw him sinning and then his sins being wiped away with pious humility and sincere penitence, why should He not have said, 'I have chosen David, a man according to my heart,' that man to whom sin shall not be imputed so much as many good works, and who living with such great piety, with that same piety offered the sacrifice of a contrite spirit for his sins? 3 On account of this everything was spoken most truly with, 'I have chosen David, a man according to my heart.' He was according to the heart of the Lord not because he sinned, but he was according to the heart of God in that he offered the satisfaction of appropriate penance for his sins. Sin alone, therefore, was not in him according to the heart of God, and thus God did not impute it to him. Thus with sin washed away, that is, not to be imputed, what remained unless what was said most truly, 'I have chosen David, a man according to my heart?' Saint Augustine of Hippo, Concerning Eight Questions, To Dulcitius 1 1 Kings 13.14, Acts 13.22 2 Ps 31.1-2 3 Ps 50.19

Wounds And Healing

Qui sanat contritos corde, qui alligat contritiones eorum. Mirabile genus curationis edicitur, ut si restaurari volumus, nosmetipsos vivacissime conteramus. Sed ista contritio ad redintegrationem pertinet, ad soliditatem deducit; et quod supra omne bonum est, illum medicum introducit, qui aeternam tribuit sospitatem. Sequitur, qui alligat contritiones eorum. Metaphora ab artificibus medendi, qui ossa fracta atque contrita quando solidare cupiunt, linteorum illigatione constringunt, ut in soliditatem pristinam ad locum suum redeuntia membra coalescant. Sic coelestis medicus poenitentium corda gravi afflictione contrita, quasi quadam fascia pietatis suae superducta constringit atque consolidat, et ad firmissimam spem sanitatis adducit, sicut et in quinquagesimo psalmo dictum est: Cor contritum et humiliatum Deus non spernit. Nam et ille publicanus qui pectus suum assidua percussione tundebat, ipsam in se contritionem probatus est effecisse, quam reo pectori non desinebat ingerere. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus CXLII Source: Migne PL 70.1034d-1035a

He who heals the contrite of heart, who binds up their wounds. 1 He speaks of a wondrous type of healing, which will have us bruise ourselves if we wish to be healed. But this bruising is for our renewal, and leads to perfection, and because it is above every good, he introduces that physician who gives eternal preservation. It follows, 'He who binds up their wounds.' The metaphor is derived for the arts of healing, from those who when they desire to restore broken and damaged bones bind them with linen bandages so that they may heal members back to their state of original firmness. So with the strips of piety does the heavenly physician bind up and strengthen the heart gravely afflicted with the bruises of penance, even to bring it to the firm hope of healing, as it is has been said in the fiftieth Psalm, 'God does not spurn the contrite and humble heart.' 2 For even that tax collector who struck his own chest with sharp blows, did it to himself to prove himself contrite, rather than by neglect to be burdened with a guilty heart. 3 Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 146 1 Ps 146.3 2 Ps 50.19 3 Lk 18.13

Praise And Humility

In omnibus ergo in quibus adulationum nimietas etiam terminos hominis competentes excessit illud Davidicum recordaveris documentum, in quo ille venena adulationum devitans ait: Corripiet me iustus in misericordia et arguet me, oleum vero peccatoris non impinguat caput meum. Oleum namque peccatoris adulatio est, quae leni quadam et suavi unctione caput interioris hominis, quod est cor, quasi ungendo dinitidat. Melius ergo sibi esse dixit propheta David ab homine iusto argui vel moneri quam a quovis adulatore laudari. Recte autem adulatorem peccatoris nomine denotavit, cuius id maximum ante oculos Dei et detestabile est peccatum, aliud corde tenere, aliud ore proferre. De talibus enim et in alio Psalmo dicit: Mollierunt sermones suos super oleum, et ipsi sunt iacula. De iusto autem dicit: Loquitatur veritatem in corde suo et non egit dolum in lingua sua. Ut autem in his rebus quaevis hominum subtilitas, nullo umquam laudationis titillamento, credulitatem mentis tuae attrahat in consensu, ad ipsius domini nostri Iesu Christi evangelica illa gesta convertere, et invenies illum dominantium Dominum magnum nobis dedisse inter humanas laudes sanctae humilitatis exemplum. Hanc ergo excole, hanc magistram habeto, hanc tibi inter laudationum illecebras arbitram pone. Haec tibi si volueris dicit quota portio ex his quae homines adlaudando tribuunt, vel quanto tempore tua sit. Haec te non permittit placidis auribus audire quae ficta sunt. Sanctus Martinus Bracarensis, Exhortatio Humilitatis, III Source: Migne PL 72.39d-40b

In everything, then, in which there is excessive adulation exceeding even the limits that are set for men, you should remember that composition of David, in which he speaks of avoiding adulation like poison: 'May the righteous man correct me in his mercy and dispute with me, let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head.' 1 Adulation is the oil of the sinner, which is like some light and sweet unction on the head of the interior man, that is, the heart. Better for himself, then, David says, that the righteous man should dispute with him and admonish him, rather than that he should be praised by an adulator. And rightly is the adulator denoted by the name of sinner, for before the eyes of God it is a grave and revolting sin, that is, to have something in the heart and to bring something else out of the mouth. Concerning this it says in another Psalm: 'Their words were softer than oil, and they were blades.' 2 But he says of the righteous man: 'He speaks truth in his heart and does not work deceit with his tongue.' 3 And so that it might be that these things which are most subtle among men, even the pleasure of adulation, shall never draw the belief of your mind to consent, turn to the deeds of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel and you will find that the Lord of lords 4 has given us a great example amid human praise. This, then, honour. Have this for a teacher. Set this beside you as a judge amid the allurements of praise. Have this, if you should choose, he says, for your portion among the things that men praise, and indeed for as long as you shall live. This shall not permit you to hear with eager ears those things which are lies. Saint Martin of Braga, Exhortation to Humility, 3 1 Ps 140.5 2 Ps 54.22 3 Ps 14.3 4 Apoc 19.16

Achieving Goodness

᾿Ασφάλισαι λόγον ἀπὸ καυχήσεως, καὶ λογισμὸν ἀπὸ οἰήσεως, ἵνα μὴ παραχωρηθεὶς πράξῃς τὰ ἐναντία. Οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ἀνθρώπου μόνον τελεσιουργεΐται τὸ ἀγαθὸν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ παντεπόπτου Θεοῦ. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.957b

Keep the tongue secure from boasting, and keep thought from mere opinion, lest after you act quite differently. For the good is not achieved by man alone, but by the all seeing God. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works

Bringing Into Being

Εἰ τα μὴ ὄντα ποιεῖ γενέσθαι Θεὸς, καὶ τοῖς μηδαμοῦ μηδαμῶς φαινομένοις χαρίζεται τὸ εἴναι, πολλῷ μᾰλλον τὰ ὄντα ἀνορθώσασθαι δύναται. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΣΛϚ’ Σοφιανῳ Σκολαριῳ Source: Migne PG 79.169c

If God brings into being what is not, 1 and grants being to those things which appear to be nothing at all, how much more is He able to raise up the things which are? Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 236 to Sophianus the Scholarius 1 Rom 4.17