The Knowledge Of The Father And The Son

De die autem illa et hora nemo scit neque angeli in coelo, neque Filius, nisi Pater solus. Sed quaerendum est quare ille dicat Filium nescire ista, et solum Patrem scire, cum ipse dicat: Omnia tradita sunt a Patre meo, et item: Omnia quae habet Pater mea sunt, et illud: Ego et Pater unum sumus. Si enim ipse et Pater unum sunt, quomodo nescit Filius quod scit Pater? Sed ut locus iste sobrie intelligatur videndum est quod sit scire, vel quod nescire. Scire Dei est approbare, unde ait Moysi: Novi te ex nomine, id est approbavit. Aliter scire Dei est alios scientes facere, unde Moyses dixit filiis Israel: Tentat vos Dominus Deus vester ut sciat si diligitis eum, quod non ita accipiendum est quasi ait aliquid quod Deus nesciat; sed sciat dicit, id est scire vos faciat quantum in ejus dilectione profeceritis, quod aliter cognosci non poterat, nisi tentationibus probaretur. Si ergo scire Dei est approbare, nescire illius reprobare est, unde in fine saeculi dicturus est impiis: Nescio vos, id est in doctrina et disciplina mea non vos invenio, non vos approbo. Rursus si scire Dei est alios scientes facere, nescire illius est alios utiliter nescientes facere. Et ideo beatus Marcus dicit Filium nescire, quia ipse utiliter facit alios nescire diem judicii, quod non prodest illis scire; si enim homo diem judicii, vel diem mortis cognosceret, aliud tempus deputaret volupataibus, et aliud poenitentiae; voluit quippe Dominus diem judicii omnibus esse occultum, quatenus semper sit suspectus; voluit esse ignotum, ut omnes sint parati et pervigiles. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Homilia I Source: Migne PL 131.870b-d

Regarding that day and hour no one knows, not the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 1 But it must be asked why He says the the Son does not know this and the Father alone knows, when He says: 'Everything has been given to me by the Father,' and 'Everything which the Father has is mine,' and 'The Father and I are one.' 2 For if He and the Father are one, how does the Son not know what the Father knows? But that this line may be understood correctly it is necessary to look into what 'to know' and  what 'not to know' means. God's knowing is approval, whence He says to Moses 'I know you by name,' 3 that is, I approve of you. Along with this God's knowing is to make others know, whence Moses said to the sons of Israel: 'The Lord your God is testing you that He might know if you love Him.' 4 Which must not be understood as if he speaks of something that God does not understand, but saying 'He might know' is a making you know how much you have advanced in the love of Him, which otherwise would not be known, for such a thing is proved by trials. If then God's knowing is approval, His not knowing is reproval, whence at the end of the world it is said to the wicked: 'I do not know you,' 5 that is, 'I do not find you in my teaching and discipline. I do not approve of you.' Again if God's knowing is to make others know, His not knowing is the useful making of the not knowing of others. And therefore the blessed Mark says the Son does not know, because He usefully makes others not know the day of judgement, for that would be of no benefit to them. If a man knew the day of judgement or the day of his death, he could give a part of his time to indulgence, and another part to penitence. But since the Lord wishes that the day of judgement should be hidden to all, to that extent it must always be expected. Thus He wished it to be unknown so that everyone would be prepared and watchful. Remigius of Auxerre, from Homily 1 1 Mt 24.36 2 Mt 11.27, Lk 10.22, Jn 16.15, Jn 10.30 3 Exod 33.12 4 Deut 13.3 5 Mt 25.12, Lk 13.25

The Trinity And Virtue

Perfectio namque hujus vitae non alia est quam per fidem, spem et charitatem, perfecte quae retro sunt oblivisci, et in ea extendi quae ante sunt. Nam et Apostolus hoc dicit: Quotquot, inquit, perfecti sumus, hoc sapiamus. Quicunque ergo vere quaerunt Deum Trinitatem, trium virtutum harum affectent in semetipsis habere trinitatem, et conformare se studeant ad earum disciplinam. Conscientia earum paradisus voluptatis est, pollens affluentia gratiarum, et castis sanctarum deliciis virtutum; ubi homo incola paradisi ipsius cum Deo conversatur; et saepe eum videt, semper ab eo videtur, saepe cum eo loquitur. Tres autem cardinales istae virtutes ubi sunt, ad aliquam similudinem Trinitatis Dei sic sibi invicem connexae sunt et conjunctae, ut sint singulae in omnibus, et omnes in singulis; ut quod, et quantum, et quomodo, quid credit; hoc etiam, et tantum, et eo modo speret et amet: sic etiam speret, quod credit et amat; et amet, quod credit et sperat. Fides enim nomen virtutis est, et magnae et eximiae virtutis. Sed fides quae spem et charitatem non habet, virtus est. Sic enim et daemones credunt, et homines, qui sicut daemones credunt, nisi quod pejores esse videntur ipsis daemonibus homines quidam, in eo quod homines nec timent, ubi daemones contremiscunt. Certamque esse fidem oportet, ut certa sit spes, certa charitatis. Sicut enim recte credi non potest sine spe, nec sperari nisi praecedente fide, sic nec alterius formae spes esse potest quam fides. Creditum quipper bonum suum spei format appetitum, cum credita bonitas crediti dat fiduciam sperandi. Ad similitudinem ergo summae Trinitatis sicut fides spem gignit, sic charitatis ab utroque, hoc est a fide et spe procedit, cum non potest non amari quod creditur et speratur; et eodem utique modo amari, quo creditur et speratur. Sicut enim ibi tres personae coaeternae sibi sunt et consubstantiales, ita et hic fides, spes, charitas, non tempore alia prior, alia posterior est, quantum ad virtutis substantiam quodammmodo consubstantiales licet videantur habere secundum formam differentis affectius, quasi differentias quasdam personales. Guillelmus S Theodorici Abbas, Speculum Fidei Source: Migne PG 180.367b-368a

The perfection of this life is nothing other than by faith, hope and charity, the things behind being completely forgotten in reaching for those things ahead. For as the Apostle says, 'However many of us are perfect, this we shall know. ' 1 Whoever, then, seeks the Divine Trinity desires to have in himself this trinity of virtues, and he is eager to conform himself to their discipline. The awareness of them is the paradise of joys, strong with the abundance of grace and with the chaste delights of the holy virtues, where man placed in paradise dwelt with God, and often he sees Him, and he is always seen by Him, and he often speaks to Him. Now as the three cardinal virtues have a certain similitude to the divine Trinity, so it is that they are in themselves connected and joined, each one being in all, and all in each, so that as much and how someone believes, with this and only with this, is the way he hopes and loves. For faith is the name of a virtue, and it is a great and wonderful virtue, but the faith which does not have hope and charity is no virtue. As demons believe, so even men who are like demons believe, unless they seem to be worse than demons and thus are men who have no fear, whereas demons tremble. 1 It is necessary that faith be certain, that hope be certain, and love be certain. For as one cannot believe rightly without hope, nor can one hope unless faith precedes, and so there is no other way for there to be hope but with faith. Certainly a believed good forms the appetite of hope, for the good that is believed gives confidence to hope in the believing. In the likeness, then, of the Holy Trinity faith begets hope, and love comes from both, that is, it proceeds from faith and hope, since it is impossible not to love what we believe in and hope for, whence in the same way one loves what is believed in and is hoped for. So as there are three coeternal and consubstantial persons, so it is with faith and hope and charity, one is not earlier or later in time, but as much as the substance of the virtue is consubstantial yet they have a difference of form, just as it is with the differences of the Divine persons. William of St Thierry, The Mirror of Faith 1 1 Cor 13.13, Phil 3.13-15 2 James 2.19

The Trinity And Plato

Πορφύριος γάρ φησι, Πλάτωνος ἐκτιθέμενος δόξαν, ἄχρι τριῶν ὑποστάσεων τὴν τοῦ θείου προελθεῖν οὐσίαν, εἶναι δὲ τὸν μὲν ἀνωτάτω θεὸν τἀγαθόν, μετ' αὐτὸν δὲ καὶ δεύτερον τὸν δημιουργόν, τρίτον δὲ καὶ τὴν τοῦ κόσμου ψυχήν· ἄχρι γὰρ ψυχῆς τὴν θειότητα προελθεῖν. Ἰδοὺ δὴ σαφῶς ἐν τούτοις ἄχρι τριῶν ὑποστάσεων τὴν τοῦ θείου προελθεῖν οὐσίαν ἰσχυρίζεται· εἷς μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεός, κατευρύνεται δὲ ὥσπερ ἡ περὶ αὐτοῦ γνῶσις εἰς ἁγίαν τε καὶ ὁμοούσιον Τριάδα, εἴς τε Πατέρα φημὶ καὶ Υἱὸν καὶ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, ὃ καὶ ψυχὴν τοῦ κόσμου φησὶν ὁ Πλάτων· ζωοποιεῖ δὲ τὸ Πνεῦμα, καὶ πρόεισιν ἐκ ζῶντος Πατρὸς δι' Υἱοῦ, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ζῶμεν καὶ κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμέν. Ἀληθεύει γὰρ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός· Τὸ Πνεῦμά ἐστι τὸ ζωοποιοῦν. Καὶ πάλιν ὁ αὐτὸς Πορφύριος περὶ Πλάτωνος· ∆ιὸ ἐν ἀπορρήτοις περὶ τούτων αἰνιττόμενός φησι· Περὶ τὸν βασιλέα πάντα ἐστί, καὶ ἐκείνου ἕνεκα πάντα, καὶ ἐκεῖνο αἴτιον πάντων καλῶν, δεύτερον δὲ περὶ τὰ δεύτερα, καὶ τρίτον περὶ τὰ τρίτα. Ὡς γὰρ πάντων μὲν περὶ τοὺς τρεῖς ὄντων θεούς, ἀλλ' ἤδη πρώτως μὲν περὶ τὸν πάντων βασιλέα, δευτέρως δὲ περὶ τὸν ἀπ' ἐκείνου θεόν, καὶ τρίτως περὶ τὸν ἀπὸ τούτου. ∆εδήλωκε δὲ ἐμφαίνων καὶ τὴν ἐξ ἀλλήλων ὑπόστασιν, ἀρχομένην ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ τὴν ὑπόβασιν καὶ ὕφεσιν τῶν μετὰ τὸν πρῶτον, διὰ τοῦ πρώτως καὶ δευτέρως καὶ τρίτως εἰπεῖν, καὶ ὅτι ἐξ ἑνὸς τὰ πάντα καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ σῴζεται. Τεθεώρηκε μὲν οὖν οὐχ ὑγιῶς εἰσάπαν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς τὰ Ἀρείου πεφρονηκόσιν ἐν ἴσῳ, διαιρεῖ καὶ ὑφίστησιν, ὑποκαθημένας τε ἀλλήλαις τὰς ὑποστάσεις εἰσφέρει, καὶ τρεῖς οἴεται θεοὺς εἶναι διῃρημένως τὴν ἁγίαν καὶ ὁμοούσιον Τριάδα. Πλὴν οὐκ ἠγνόηκεν ὁλοτρόπως τὸ ἀληθές, οἶμαι δὲ ὅτι κἂν ὑγιῶς ἔφη τε καὶ πεφρόνηκεν, ἐξήνεγκε δὲ καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἄλλους ἅπαντας τῆς περὶ Θεοῦ δόξης τὸ ἀρτίως ἔχον, εἰ μὴ τάχα που τὴν Ἀνύτου καὶ Μελήτου γραφὴν ἐδεδίει καὶ τὸ Σωκράτους κώνειον. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Προς Τα Του Ἐν Ἀθεοις Ιὀυλιανου, Λογος B' Source: Migne PG 76.556a

Expounding an opinion of Plato, Porphyry says, 'The divine substance extends even to three persons, the highest and best God, and after Him there is a second maker, and the third is the soul of the universe, for divinity extends even to soul.' And behold in these things it is manifest that he contends that the three Divine hypostases proceed from the Divine substance, since certainly the God of all things is one, but extended, according to his own understanding, into the holy and consubstantial Trinity, into the Father, I say, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, whom Plato calls the soul of the world, for the Spirit gives life and proceeds from the living Father through the Son, and 'in Him we live and move and have our being.' 1 For our truthful Lord, Jesus Christ, says 'The Spirit is He who gives life,' 2 And again the same Porphyry says of Plato: 'Where secretly intimating these things and speaking obscurely and in a mystery, he says: 'To the king everything is related, and all things are caused by him, and he is the cause of all beautiful things, and related to the second are second things, and third things are related to the third, 3 so that everything exists in relation to three gods, but firstly to the king of all things, and secondly to the god from him, and thirdly to the one who is from that one.' He declares here what the hypostases have from themselves, and that it begins from the king, and there is a declension and descent of things after the first, through the first and the second and the third, he says, for everything is from one, and through him they are preserved. Certainly not everything was seen correctly here, for thinking of these things in the same way of Arius, he divides and imposes inferiority, and he introduces subordination among those subsisting, and he thinks the holy and consubstantial Trinity is three distinct gods. But I think Plato was not ignorant of the whole truth, and would have thought of it and spoken of it rightly, and also published the real and genuine truths about God publicly and openly, but he perhaps feared the accusations of Anytus and Melitus and the hemlock of Socrates. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Against Julian, Book 2 1 Acts 17.28 2 Jn 6.63 3 Plato Letter 2 312e

The Good One

Et ecce unus accedens, ait illi: Magister bone, quid boni faciam ut habeam vitam æternam? Qui dixit ei: Quid me dicis bonum? Nemo bonus nisi unus Deus. Arguta responsio: non quod non esset bonus ipse, cum esset Filius Dei, et ipse Deus. Sed ita Judaeos revocat per istum, ut intelligant et ipsum Deum, cum sit ipse Deus, boni Dei Filius, et nihil aliud quam bonus Deus. Quia bonus Deus Pater, bonus Deus Filius, bonus Deus et Spiritus Sanctus. Et non tres dii, sed unus bonus Deus. Ac per hoc non dixit, nemo bonus nisi solus Pater, sed nemo bonus , nisi solus Deus; et quod istae tres personae non sunt nisi unus Deus. Verumtamen Judaicus populus unius Dei habens cognitionem, nec Filium Dei, nec Deum trinum in personis, unquam intelligere voluit. Hac ratione Christus laudem sibi oblatam ab eo repulit, quia non quasi Deum bonum veneratus est, sed quasi hominem, bonum eum dicebat. Unde quantum ad Judaeos spectat, qui unum Deum coeli colebant, et Christum Dei Filium non cognoscebant, nemo erat bonus nisi unus Deus. Apud fideles autem sicut unus Deus Pater est bonus, sic et Unigenitus Deus bonus, atque Spiritus sanctus unus Deus bonus, non tres siquidem boni, sed unus Deus bonus, sanctus et justus, et omnia illa quae de Deo essentialiter dicuntur. Idcirco non a deitatis se natura exclusit, sed ipsam naturam bonam Dei utique laudavit. Bonitas ergo in natura est, et non in vitio mendacii; quia omnis homo mendax. Natura vero Dei ipse Filius est, quia ex Deo Patre natus est, et hoc est quod Pater. Et ideo quod ille non credebat adolescens, Christus adjunxit, ut se Dei Filium, non solum bonum ex parte Magistrum, verum etiam Dominum bonum crederet ex toto. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Lib IX, Cap XIX Source: Migne PL 120.659a-d

And behold a man came to Him and said, 'Good teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life? He said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.' 1 A wise answer, and not because He is not God, when He is the Son of God and He is God. But He speaks to the Jews through this, that they might understand that He is God when He is God, the Son of the good God and nothing else than the good God. Because God the Father is good, and God the Son is good, and God the Holy Spirit is good, and there are not three gods, but the good God is one. And here He did not say, 'No one is good but the Father alone,' but 'No one is good but God alone.'  And there are not three persons unless they are one God. However though the Jewish people had the knowledge of the one God, they were never willing to understand the Son of God, nor the persons of the triune God. For this reason Christ rejects the praise that is offered by the man, because when he called Him good he did not honour Him as the good God but as a man. Whence that no one was good unless the one God very much refers to the the Jews who worshipped the one God of heaven and did not know Christ the Son of God. But with the faithful, just as the one God the Father is good, so even the Only Begotten is good, and the Holy Spirit is the one good God, not as if there are three gods, but it is the one God who is good, holy and righteous, and everything which it is proper to say about God. Therefore He did not exclude Himself from the nature of the Deity here but He praised that same good nature of God. Therefore goodness is in His nature, and not in the defect of a lie, because 'every man is a liar.' 2 But the nature of God is the Son, because He is born from God the Father, and this is what the Father is. Therefore what the young man did not believe, Christ added, that He is the Son of God, so that he should not think Him good by the office of teaching only, but that he should deem Him the good Lord in full. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 9, Chapter 19 1 Mt 19.16-17 2 Ps 115.11

Waiting For Joy

Sed quando ad hoc perveniemus? Quando adimplebis me, Domine, laetitia cum vultu tuo? Gaudemus in te, quoniam visitasti nos oriens ex alto; iterum gaudemus, exspectantes beatam spem in adventu secundo. Sed quando veniet plenitudo laetitiae, non de memoria, sed de praesentia; de exhibitione, non de exspectatione? Modestia vestra, ait Apostolus, nota sit omnibus hominibus; Dominus prope est. Dignum est enim ut modestia nostra nota sit, sicut Domini Dei nostri modestia cunctis innotuit. Quid enim magis incongruum, quam ut immoderate agat homo, conscius propriae infirmitatis, quandoquidem apparuit inter homines modestus Dominus majestatis? Discite, inquit, a me quia mitis sum et humilis corde, ut possit etiam modestia vestra innotescere caeteris. Jam quod sequitur, Dominus prope est, de dextera debet intelligi. Nam de sinistra ipse loquitur: Ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi. Prope est Dominus, fratres mei, nihil solliciti sitis: in proximo est, et citius apparebit. Nolite deficere, nolite lassari: quaerite eum dum inveniri potest, invocate eum dum prope est. Prope est Dominus his qui tribulato sunt corde: prope est exspectantibus eum, exspectantibus eum in veritate. Denique vis nosse quam prope est? Audi sponsam de sponso canentem: Quoniam ecce stat post parietem. Parietem istum, corpus tuum intellige, quod obstaculum impedit, ut eum qui prope est, nondum valeas intueri. Propterea Paulus ipse dissolvi cupit, et cum Christo esse, et exclamans miserabilius: Infelix, inquit, ego homo, quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus? Sic et propheta in Psalmo: Educ, inquit, de carcere animam meam, ad confitendum nomini tuo. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In Vigilia Nativitatis Domini, Sermo IV Source: Migne PL 183.105a-c

But when shall we come to this. 'When shall you fill me, O Lord, with the joy of your face?' 1 We rejoice in you, because you have visited us, rising from the height, and again we rejoice because in blessed hope we wait for your second coming. But when shall come that fullness of joy that is not in the memory but present, that is revealed and not expected? The Apostle says, 'May your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is near.' 2 For our modesty merits to be made known, as the modesty of our Lord God was made known to everyone. What indeed is more incongruous than a man should act immoderately, conscious of his own infirmity, when the majestic Lord appeared modest among men? 'Learn from me,' he said, 'because I am meek and humble in heart.' 3 So may your modesty be known to all others. And know what follows, 'The Lord is near,' should be understood as the right hand. For concerning the left hand it is said, 'Behold I am with you every day until the end of the age.' 4 The Lord is near, my brothers, and you should not fret. He is near and very soon He will appear. Do not grow weary, do not slacken, seek Him while he can be found, call on Him while He is near. 'The Lord is near to those who are troubled in their hearts,' 5 He is near to those who wait for Him, to those who hope for Him in truth. Do you wish to know how near He is? Hear the bride singing to the bridegroom: 'Behold, he stands behind the wall.' 6 This wall is to be understood as your body because it is an obstacle which prevents you from being able to see Him who is near. Because of which Paul desires to be dissolved and to be with Christ. 7 and cries out most miserably, 'I am an unhappy man, who shall free me from this body of death?' And the prophet in the Psalm says, 'Lead my soul from prison, to take joy in your name.' 8 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons For The Year, On the Vigil of the Nativity of the Lord, from Sermon 4 1 Ps 15.10 2 Phil 4.5 3 Mt 11.29 4 Mt 28.20 5 Ps 33.19 6 Song 2.9 7 Phil 1.23 8 Rom 7.24, Ps 141.8

The Word And Men

Sermo Domini vivus est et multiplex, quia loquitur per homines, loquitur et per se: per homines multos, per se unum. Videamus magnum sacramentum. Verbum Dei humana carne vestitum semel visibile apparuit: quotidie idipsum, iterata voce, conditum ad nos venit. Humanitatem Christi mali non solum videre, sed etiam occidere potuerunt. Quotidie sermonem Dei mali audiunt et contemnunt. Quemadmodum autem illi non occidissent, si cognovissent; ita isti nequaquam verba Dei audita contemnerent, si virtutem eorum interno sapore gustarent. Sermo Dei vivus est, quia in eo vita est et cor vivificat. Quod foris est transit, quod intus mutabilitatem non recipit. Vivus est ergo, quia non mutatur; efficax, quia non deficit. Non fallitur judicio promissio ejus, oblivione non moritur, nec intentione mutatur. Operatio ejus difficultate non vincitur, judicium ambiguitate non fallitur. Veraciter permittit, fortiter facit, subtiliter discernit. Vivus est ut credas; efficax ut speres. Penetrabliis in judiciis; vivus in praeceptis et prohibitionibus: efficax in promissis et comminationibus.  Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber VI, Tit XVII De Verbi Dei efficacia Source: Migne PL 177.820b-821a

The word of the Lord is living and manifold since it is spoken through men and through Himself, through many man and through Himself alone. Let us consider this great mystery. The word of God appeared visible, vested in human flesh, and every day by the repeated voice He becomes established in us. The wicked not only saw the humanity of Christ, but they were even able to kill it, just as every day the wicked hear the word of God and scorn it. But as they would not have killed Him if they had known Him, so men would never scorn the words of God they hear if they tasted the power of their inner flavour. The word of God is living, because in Him is life and by Him the heart is brought to life. What is outside passes away, what is within does not change. It is living, therefore, because it does not change, effective, because it does not fail. Its promise does not deceive judgement, nor does it perish in forgetfulness, nor does its meaning alter. Its work is not undone by difficulty, nor is its teaching obscured by ambiguity. It enters in truthfully, acts powerfully, judges with discernment. It is living so that you might believe, effective so that you might hope. It is penetrating for judging, alive for commanding and prohibiting, effective in promises and in warning. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 6, from Chapter 7, On The Effective Word of God

The Strengthening Hand

Manus enim Domini erat mecum, confortans me. Ad bona quippe assurgere perfecte non possumus, nisi nos spiritus et praeveniendo elevet, et subsequendo confortet. Sed quaerendum est, cum superius de volumine quod acceperat scriptum sit: Et factum est in ore meo sicut mel dulce, qua ratione postmodum dicitur: Abii amarus in indignatione spiritus mei? Mirum quippe valde est si dulcedo simul et amaritudo conveniant. Sed juxta superiorem sensum sciendum est quia cui sermo Dei in ore cordis dulcis esse coeperit, hujus procul dubio contra semetipsum animus amarescit. Quo enim in illo subtiliter discit qualiter reprehendere se debeat, eo se durius per amaritudinem poenitentiae castigat, qui tanto sibi magis displicet, quanto in sacro volumine amplius de omnipotente Deo videt quod amet. Sed quia ad ista proficere sua virtute non valet homo, recte nunc dicitur: Manus Domini erat mecum, confortans me. Manus enim Domini in sacro eloquio aliquando etiam unigenitus Filius appellatur, quia omnia per ipsum facta sunt. Et de cujus ascensione per Moysen Pater omnipotens loquitur, dicens: Tollam in coelum manum meam. Haec manus quae electorum suorum corda confortat, discipulis dicebat: Sine me nihil potestis facere. In omne ergo quod cogitamus, in omne quod agimus, semper orandum est, ut et ipso aspirante cogitemus, et ipso adjuvante faciamus, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre inunitate Spiritus sancti Deus in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia X Source: Migne PL 76.903d

For the hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening me.. 1 And certainly we are not able to rise perfectly to good things, unless the Spirit coming beforehand lifts us up, and consequently strengthens us. But it must be asked that when it was previously written concerning the book: 'And in my mouth it was as sweet as honey,' for what reason it is then said: 'I went off bitter in the indignation of my spirit?' It is surely most wonderful if something is at the same time sweet and bitter. But against this understanding let it be known that the word of God which in his heart was first sweet, was also without doubt that by which his soul became bitter against itself. For by it he subtly learns in what manner he should correct himself, because the more heavily he castigates himself amid the bitterness of penitence, the more he displeases himself, and the more he sees clearly what he should love in the sacred book concerning almighty God. Yet because man is not able to advance by his own virtue, rightly it is said here, 'The hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening me.' In sacred speech the hand of the Lord sometimes expresses the Only Begotten Son, because 'through Him everything was made.' 2 And concerning His ascension the almighty Father says through Moses: 'I will take my hand into heaven.' 3 He speaks of this hand which strengthens His chosen ones to his disciples, saying, 'Without me you can do nothing' 4 In everything, therefore, which we think, and all we do, we must always pray, that we might think according to His inspiration and act with His aid, who lives and reigns with the Father in unity with the Holy Spirit forever. Amen. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 10 1 Ezek 3.14 2 Jn 1.3 3 Deut 32.40 4 Jn 15.5

Receiving And Persevering

Gratias agamus agricolae Patri, qui semini Filii per Spiritum sanctum fecit nos idoneus, ignem charitatis diffundens in cordibus nostris, quo spinis exustis terra nostra excocta tricenum, sexagenum, vel etiam centenum fructum fert in patientia. Obedientia enim veri semen suscipit, patientia fructificat, perseverantia metit. Et sicut de agonistis ait Apostolus: Omnes currunt, sed unus accipit bravium; sic et de virtutibus dicere est. Omnes ad regnum Dei currunt, paupertas, eleemosyna, abstinentia, obedientia, patientia: sola perseverantia coronatur. Nam qui perseveraverit usque in finem salvus erit. Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, Sermo XVIII Source: Migne PL 194.1752b-c

Let us give thanks to the Father, the heavenly farmer, who through the Holy Spirit has made us capable of bearing the seed of the Son, pouring into our hearts the fire of love that burns up the thorns, by which our earth has been cleansed so that we might patiently bring forth a harvest thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and even a hundredfold. 1 It is obedience that receives the seed of truth, patience that makes it fruitful, perseverance that reaps it. What the Apostle said of athletes, 'All run, but one receives the prize,' 2 can be said of the virtues. Poverty, almsgiving, abstinence, obedience, patience, all run to the kingdom of God, but only perseverance is crowned. For 'He who perseveres until the end shall be saved.' 3 Isaac of Stella, from Sermon 18 1 Mk 4.20 2 1 Cor 9.24 3 Mt 10.22

The Pentecostal Fast

Hodiernam, dilectissimi, festivitatem descensione sancti Spiritus consecratam sequitur, ut nostis, solemne jejunium, quod animis corporibusque curandis salubriter institutum, devota nobis est observantia celebrandum. Repletis namque apostolis virtute promissa, et in corda eorum Spiritu veritatis ingresso, non ambigimus inter caetera coelestis sacramenta doctrinae, hanc spiritalis continentiae disciplinam de Paracleti magisterio primitus fuisse conceptam: ut sanctificatae jejunio mentes conferendis sibi charismatibus fierent aptiores. Aderat quidem Christi discipulis protectio omnipotentis auxilii, et principibus nascentis Ecclesiae tota Patris Filiique Divinitas in praesentia sancti Spiritus praesidebat. Sed contra instantes impetus persequentium, contra minaces fremitus impiorum, non corporis fortitudine, nec carnis erat saturitate certandum; cum hoc maxime hominis interiora corrumpat, quod exteriora delectat; et tanto fiat rationalis anima purgatior, quanto fuerit substantia carnis afflictior. Hi itaque doctores, qui exemplis et traditionibus suis omnes Ecclesiae filios imbuerunt, tirocinium militiae christianae sanctis inchoavere jejuniis: ut contra spiritales nequitias pugnaturi, abstinentiae arma caperent, quibus vitiorum incentiva truncarent. Invisibiles enim adversarii et incorporales hostes non erunt contra nos validi, si nullis carnalibus desideriis fuerimus immersi. Cupiditas quidem nocendi in tentatore perpetua est, sed inermis atque inefficax erit, si nihil in nobis unde contra nos pugnet invenerit. Quis autem hac fragili carne circumdatus, et in isto mortis corpore constitutus, etiam qui multum valideque profecerit, ita jam de sua salute securus sit, ut ab omnium se illecebrarum periculo credat alienum? Donet licet sanctis suis quotidianam gratia divina victoriam, non aufert tamen dimicandi materiam: quia et hoc ipsum de misericordia protegentis est, qui naturae mutabili, ne de confecto praelio superbiret, semper voluit superesse quod vinceret. Igitur post sanctae laetitiae dies, quos in honorem Domini a mortuis resurgentis, ac deinde in coelos ascendentis, exegimus, postque perceptum sancti Spiritus donum, salubriter et necessarie consuetudo est ordinata jejunii: ut si quid forte inter ipsa festivitatum gaudia negligens libertas et licentia inordinata praesumpsit, hoc religiosae abstinentiae censura castiget: quae ob hoc quoque studiosius exsequenda est, ut illa in nobis quae hac die Ecclesiae divinitus sunt collata permaneant. Templum enim facti Spiritus sancti, et majore quam umquam copia divini fluminis irrigati, nullis debemus concupiscentiis vinci, nullis vitiis possideri, ut virtutis habitaculum nulla sit contaminatione pollutum. Quod utique regente atque adjuvante Domino omnibus obtinere possibile est, si per jejunii purificationem, ac per misericordiae largitatem studeamus et peccatorum sordibus liberari, et charitatis fructibus esse fecundi. Quidquid enim in cibos pauperum, in curationes debilium, in pretia captivorum, et in quaelibet opera pietatis impenditur, non minuitur, sed augetur, nec umquam apud Deum perire poterit quod fidelis benignitas erogarit, dum quodcumque tribuit ad subsidium, id sibi recondit ad praemium. Beati enim misericordes, quoniam ipsorum miserebitur Deus; neque delictorum memoria erit ubi testimonium pietatis affuerit. Quarta igitur et sexta feria jejunemus; sabbato autem apud beatissimum Petrum apostolum vigilias celebremus, cujus nos orationibus et a spiritalibus inimicis et a corporeis hostibus confidimus liberari. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo LXXVIII, De Jejunio Pentecostes I Source: Migne PL 54.415b-418a

Today's feast, dearly-beloved, consecrated by the descent of the Holy Spirit, is followed, as you know, by a solemn fast, which being a salutary institution for the healing of soul and body, we should attend to with devout observance. For when the Apostles had been filled with the promised power and the Spirit of Truth had entered into their hearts, we do not doubt that among the rest of the mysteries of heavenly teachings this discipline of spiritual continence was first thought of at the prompting of the Paraclete so that minds sanctified by fasting might be more fit for the chrism which was to be bestowed on them. The disciples of Christ had the protection of Almighty aid, and the princes of the infant Church were watched over by the whole Godhead of the Father and the Son by the presence of the Holy Spirit. But against the threatened assaults of persecutors, and against the terrifying cries of the impious, they could not struggle with bodily strength or with pampered flesh, since that which delights the outer man gravely corrupts the inner man, and the more one's fleshly substance is afflicted the more the rational soul is purified. Thus these teachers, who have imbued all the sons of the Church with their example and their traditions, established the rudiments of Christian warfare with holy fasts, so that having to fight against spiritual wickedness men might take up the armour of abstinence to cut off the incentives to vice. Invisible adversaries and incorporeal enemies will have no power over us if we are not entangled in any of the desires of the flesh. Certainly the tempter always desires to hurt us, but he will be disarmed and powerless if he can find nothing in us by which he might attack us. But encompassed with this frail flesh and established in this body of death, even if a man has made evident progress, who can be so certain of his safety so that he thinks himself far from the peril of all allurements? Although Divine Grace gives daily victory to its holy ones, it does not remove the need for struggle, because even this is part of His protecting mercy, He who, lest we become proud over a battle ended, has always designed for our changeable nature that they should be something to win. Therefore, after the days of holy joy which we have devoted to the honour of the Lord rising from the dead and then ascending into heaven, and after the reception of the gift of the Holy Spirit, a fast is ordained as a wholesome and needful practice so that if through neglect or disorder amid the joys of the feast any undue license has come about it may be corrected by the censures of holy abstinence, which must be most scrupulously carried out so that what was on this day Divinely bestowed on the Church may remain in us. For having been made the temple of the Holy Spirit and watered with a greater supply than ever of the Divine Stream, we should not be conquered by any desires, nor possessed by any vices, by which the habitation of virtue is defiled with pollution. And it is possible for everyone to obtain this with the Lord's aid and guidance, if by the purification of fasting and by merciful liberality we strive to be freed from the filth of sins and to be rich in the fruits of love. For whatever is spent on feeding the poor, on caring for the sick, on ransoming prisoners, or on any other deed of piety, is not diminished but increased, nor will what the kindness of one of the faithful has expended ever be lost to God, since whatever a man gives for relief he lays up for his own reward. For 'Blessed are the merciful, since God shall have mercy on them.' 1 Nor will errors be remembered where the witness of piety is present. On the fourth and and sixth days, therefore, let us fast, and on Saturday let us keep vigil in the presence of the most blessed Apostle, Peter, by whose prayers we surely trust to be set free both from spiritual foes and bodily enemies, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. Pope Leo the Great, Sermon 78, On The Pentecostal Fast 1 Mt 5.7

Many Spirits

Quicunque enim Spiritu Dei aguntur, hi filii sunt Dei... In quo utique ipsum Dei spiritum dicit. Et iterum in sequeti: Non enim acceptistis, inquit, spiritum servitutis iterum in timore. In hoc ostendit spiritum servitutum servituts alium esse quam illum quem supra dixit Spiritum Dei. Et propterea subjungit: Sed acceptistis spiritum adoptionis filiorum, in quo clamamus: Abba. In hoc spiritum adoptionis ostendit ipsum esse quem dixit supra Spiritum Dei, de quo et repetit: Ipse enim Spiritus testimonium reddit spiritui nostro, hoc est, ipse Spiritus Dei, in quo Patrem Deum clamamus, testimonium reddit spiritui nostro. Qui spiritus noster alius sine dubio est quam vel ille spiritus servitutis, qui datur in timore, vel hic qui ei de invocatione Patris testimonium reddit. Omnes ergo homines, ut videtur, aguntur aliquo spiritu, sicut ipse Paulus scripsit: Scitis autem et vos, cum essetis gentes, quomodo ad idola mutu agebamini. In hoc ostendit quia etiam gentes ad idola aguntur aliquo spiritu. Est ergo Spiritus Dei idem qui est et Spiritus Christi, idemque ipse et Spiritus sanctus est. Sed et spiritus adoptioinis idem dici videtur, sicut praesens apostolicus declarat sermo. David quoque qui dicit, Spiritum sanctum tuum ne auferas a me, et, Spiritu principali confirma me, de eodem dicere videtur: quemque principalem Spiritum propterea arbitror nominatum, ut ostenderetur esse quidem multos spiritus, sed in his principatum et dominationem hunc Spiritum sanctum, qui et principalis appellatur, tenere. Sicut enim multi sunt filii Dei, ut Scriptura dicit: Ego dixi Dii estis, et filii Excelsi omnes, unus tamen est natura Filius et Unigenitus de Patre, per quem omnes filii appellantur, ita et spiritus multi quidem sunt, sed unus est qui vere ex ipso Deo procedit, et caeteris omnibus vocabuli ac sanctifactionis suae gratiam donat. Quod autem plures sint spiritus declarat idem Apostolus ad Hebraeos scribens et dicens: Nonne omnes sunt ministeriales spiritus ad ministerium missi propter eos qui haereditatem capiunt salutis? Sed et David dicit: Qui facit angelos suos spiritus. Et Daniel nihilominus testatur, et dicit: Bendicite, spiritus et animae justorum, Dominum. Et in praesenti loco Pauls, Ipsa Spiritus, inquit, testimonium reddit spiritui nostro, et in aliis, Ut integer spiritus vester, et anima, et corpus in die Domini nostri Jesu Christi servetur. Quae omnia dubium non est quin de rationabilibus spiritibus dicta sint. Origenes, Commentariorum In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Romanos, Liber VII, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense Source: Migne PG 14.1103a-1104a

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God... 1 In which he is speaking of the same spirit of God. And again in what follows he says, 'For you have not received a spirit of slavery again unto fear,' and shows that the spirit of slavery is something different from Him whom above he called the Spirit of God. And because of this he adds, 'But you have received the spirit of adoption, by which we cry, Father.' In this he shows that the spirit of adoption is the same as Him whom above he called the Spirit of God, concerning whom he says again, 'The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit,' that is, the same Spirit of God by whom we cry out to God, 'Father' bears witness with our spirit. Which spirit of ours is without doubt different both from the spirit of slavery given unto fear, and from Him who gives testimony concerning the invocation of the Father. Therefore it seems that all men are led by some spirit, as Paul himself wrote. 'You yourselves know that when you were Gentiles you were being led to dumb idols.' 2 By that showing that even Gentiles are led to idols by some spirit. Thus the Spirit of God is the same as the Spirit of Christ who is Himself the same as the Holy Spirit. But even the spirit of adoption seems to be called the same Spirit, as the Apostle's present passage declares. David also, who says, 'Do not take your Holy Spirit from me,' and 'With the perfect spirit strengthen me,' 3 seems to be speaking of the same Spirit, which I judge was named the perfect spirit so that it might be shown that there are indeed many spirits, but among them it is the Holy Spirit who is named perfect, who holds sovereignty and dominion. For just as there are many sons of God, as Scripture says, 'I have said you are Gods and sons of the Most High,' 4 and yet there is only one who is by nature the Son and Only Begotten from the Father, through whom all sons are named, so there are many spirits, yet only one Spirit who truly proceeds from God Himself. It is He who gives the grace of His own name and sanctification to all the others. And that there are more spirits this same Paul also declares in writing to the Hebrews, saying, 'Are they not all ministering spirits sent to minister to those who seize on the inheritance of salvation?' 5 Moreover David says, 'He who makes his angels spirits.' And Daniel bears witness and says, 'Praise the Lord, you spirits and souls of the righteous...' And in the present passage Paul says, 'The Spirit Himself bears witness with your spirit,' and elsewhere, 'So that your whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.' 6 It is not a matter of doubt, then, that all these things had been said of rational spirits. Origen, from the Commentary on the Letter of Paul to the Romans, Book 7, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Rom 8.14 2 1 Cor 12.2 3 Ps 50.11-12 4 Ps 82.6 5 Heb 1.14 6 Ps 104.4, Dan 3.86 LXX, Rom 8.16

Giving The Spirit

Ego rogabo Patrem, et alium Paracletum dabit vobis. Paracletus dicitur consolator vel advocatus; alium dicit, in quo innuit se consolatorem et advocatum; primae loannis secundo: Advocatum habemus apud Patrem lesum Christum iustum. Alium advocatum promittit eis aeternum, quia ipse consolator in praesentia corporali non fuerat nisi ad tempus. Ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum; non sic in Saul , de quo primi Regum decimo sexto: Spiritus Domini recessit a Saul, etc. Et quis sit iste advocatus, subdit: Spiritum veritatis... Qui a Patre procedit, dabit, scilicet alium Paracletum Spiritum veritatis etc. Hunc Spiritum describit quantum ad effectum, unde vocat Spiritum veritalis , quia docet vera, sicut spiritus erroris falsa; infra decimo sexto: Cum venerit, docebit vos omnem veritatem. Describit etiam quantum ad hospitium, quia non in infidelibus, sed fidelibus, non in animalibus hominibus , sed spiritualibus; propter quod subdit: Quem mundus non potest accipere. Et ratio est, quia caecus est per infidelitatem; quia non videt eum, cognitione aperta, nec scit eum, quacumque intelligentia; Sapientiae primo: Spiritus sanctus disciplinae effugiet fictum et auferet se a cogitationibus, quae sunt absque intellectu; et primae ad Corinthios secundo: Animalis homo non percipit ea quae Dei sunt. Vos autem cognoscelii eum, quia apud vos manebit et in vobis erit; Apocalypsis secundo: Vincenti dabo manna absconditura, et dabo illi calculum candidum, et in calculonomen scriptum, quod nemo scit, nisi qui accipit. De hac notitia Sapientiae decimo quinto: Nosse te consummata iustitia est, et scire iustitiam et virtutem tuam radix est immorlalitatis. Et notandam quod dicit: Apud vos manebit et in vobis erit, significans duplicem gratiam Spiritus sancti: praevenientem et subsequentem; Psalmus: Misericordia eius praeveniet me; et in alio Psalmo: Et misericordia tua subsequetur me omnibus diebus vitae meae. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XIV Source: Here, p441

And I shall ask the Father and He shall give you another comforter... 1 It says 'Paraclete' here which means consoler or advocate, and He says 'another' to make it known that He is also a consoler and advocate. In the second chapter of the first letter of John, 'We have an advocate with the Father, the righteous Jesus Christ.' 2 And He promises them an advocate for eternity, because He was a consoler in the present body but only for a time. 'Who will remain with you always.' Not as it was with Saul, concerning whom it says in the sixteenth chapter of the First Book of Kings, 'The Spirit of the Lord withdrew from Saul.' 3 And who this advocate may be, He adds, The Spirit of truth... He will give Him who proceeds from the Father, that is, another consoler, the Spirit of Truth. He refers to this Spirit as it pertains to effect, whence he calls it the Spirit of truth, because He teaches true things, just as there is a spirit of error. Below in the sixteenth chapter. 'When He comes He shall teach you all truth.' 4 He describes it as it pertains to indwelling, because he does not come among the faithless nor among animal men but to those who are spiritual, on account of which He adds, 'Whom the world is not able to receive.' And the reason is that it is blind because of a lack of faith. 'Because it does not see Him,' with open awareness, 'nor does it know Him,' with any understanding. In the first chapter of the book of Wisdom, 'The Holy Spirit flees the fiction of discipline and He takes Himself away from thoughts that are without understanding.' 5 And in the second chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians, 'The animal man does not perceive the things of God.' 6 'But you know Him, because He shall remain with you, and in you.' In the second chapter of the Apocalypse, 'Him who triumphs I will feed him with hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, on which a new name has been written, which no one knows but only him who receives it.' 7 Concerning this awareness, in the fifteenth chapter of Wisdom, 'To know you is the perfection of righteousness, and to know your righteousness and virtue is the root of immortality.' 8 And let it be noted that when He says, 'He shall remain with you and in you,' it signifies a twofold grace of the Holy Spirit, the coming and what follows. In the Psalm: 'His mercy came before me.' And in another Psalm, 'And your mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.' 9 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 14 1 Jn 14.16 2 1 Jn 2.1 3 1 Kings 16.14 4 Jn 16.13 5 Wisdom 1.5 6 1 Cor 2.14 7 Apoc 2.17 8 Wisdom 15.3 9 Ps 58.11, Ps 22.6

Receiving The Spirit

Numquid poteris conjungere septem micantes Pleiades? Verba sunt Domini loquentis ad beatum Job, et quaerentis utrum possit sibi jungere et counire dona Spiritus septiformis, quae et septem pleiades designantur. Hunc spiritu Christus ab aeterno habuit, et homo factus eumdem sine mensura recepit, ipsumque aliis secundum mensuram donationis suae distribuit. Quod spiritum septiformem acceperit, ostenditur verbo Isaiae qui dicit: Apprehendent septem mulieres virum unum in die illa, etc. et ut nos declaratio sermonum ejus illuminet plenius et instruat apertius, de Christo loquens: Requiescet, inquit, super eum spiritus sapientiae et intellectus, spiritus consilii et fortitudinis, spiritus scientiae et pietatis; et replebit eum spiritus timoris Domini. Isti sunt septem oculi super lapidem unum; septemque lucernae in candelabro aureo, sicut Zacharias commemorat. Cum Filius sit a Patre, et Spiritus sanctus ab utroque procedat, postquam Filius officium suae legationis impleverat, decebat ut et Spiritus sanctus mitteretur. Prius siquidem dederat Christus apostolis Spiritum sanctum: quod patenter indicabat perfectio sanitatum. Sed hodie datus est ei Spiritus sanctus ad usum, ad auxilium, ad solatium, ad miraculum, ad acquisitionem gentium, ad salutem omnium populorum. Datur Spiritus sanctus, ad emundationem, ad innovationem, ad justiitiam, ad exsultationem. Cor mundum crea in me, Deus: ecce cordis mundatio. Spiritus rectum innova in visceribus meis: ecce animae sanctificatio. Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui: et spiritu principali confirma me: ecce cordis mundatio. Spiritus rectum innova in visceribus meis: ecce innovans rectitudo. Spiritum sanctum tuum ne aufera a me: ecce animae sanctificatio, quia templum Dei et templum daemoniorum simul esse non possumus. Mundatus et lotus postulat ut ambulet vias rectas, ne ad actus extraordinarios iterum revertatur. Innovatur corde per rectitudinem, operatur laetitia salutaris, confirmanda spiritu principali. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XXV, In Die Pentecostes Source: Migne PL 207.634c-635b

Are you able to join together the seven shining Pleiades? 1 The words of the Lord spoken to Job ask him whether he is able to join and unite the gifts of the sevenfold spirit, which are designated by the seven Pleiades. Christ had this spirit from eternity and being made man received the same without measure, and gave it to others according to the measure of His own gift. That He shall receive the sevenfold spirit is shown in the speech of Isaiah which says 'Seven women will seize one man on that day,' and so that the declaration of his speech might enlighten us more fully and instruct us more openly, speaking of Christ he says, 'There shall rest on him the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the awe of the Lord shall fill him.' 2 These are the seven eyes on the one stone, and the seven lamps on the golden candlestick, as Zachariah recalls. 3 When the Son is from the Father and the Holy Spirit proceeds from both, after the Son fulfilled his office of herald, it was befitting that the Holy Spirit should be sent. First Christ gave the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, which perfection evidently indicates soundness. But today the Holy Spirit is given for use, for aid and comfort and miracles and the conversion of nations and the salvation of all peoples. The Holy Spirit is given for cleansing and renewal and righteousness and exaltation. 'Fashion a clean heart in me, O God.' Behold the cleansing of the heart. 'Renew a right spirit within me.' Behold the sanctification of the soul. 'Return to me the joy of your salvation and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.' Behold the cleansing of the heart. 'Renew a right spirit within me.' Behold the renewal of rectitude. 'Do not take your Holy Spirit from me.' 4 Behold the sanctification of the soul, because we cannot be the temple of God and the temple of demons at the same time. Washed and cleansed he asks that he might walk on the ways that are right, lest he fall back again into erroneous deeds. With the heart renewed through rectitude, the joy of salvation is effective, strengthened by the perfect spirit. Peter of Blois, from Sermon 25, On The Day Of Pentecost 1 Job 38.31 2 Isaiah 4.1, 11.2 3 Zach 3.9 4 Ps 50.12,14

The Fellowship Of The Spirit

Οἰκείωσις δὲ Πνεύματος πρὸς ψυχὴν οὐχ ὁ διὰ τόπου προσεγγισμὸς, πῶς γὰρ ἄν πλησιάσαις τῷ ἀσωμάτῳ συματικῶς; ἀλλ' ὁ χωρισμὸς τῶν παθὼν, ἂπερ, ἀπὸ τῆς πρὸς τὴν σάπκα φιλίας ὕστερον ἐπιγινόμενα τῇ ψυχῇ, τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκειότητος ἠλλοτρίωσε. Καθαρθέντα δὴ οὖν ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴσχους, ὅ ἀνεμάξατο διὰ τῆς κακίας, καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἐκ φύσεως κάλλος ἐπανελθόντα, καὶ οἰον εἰκόνι βασιλικῇ τὴν ἀρχαίαν μορφὴν διὰ καθαρότητος ἀποδόντα, οὕτως ἐστι μόνως προσεγγίσαι τῷ Παρακλήτῳ. Ὁ δ', ὥσπερ ἡλιος, κεκαθαρμένον ὅμμα παραλαβὼν, δείξει σοι ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἀοράτου. Ἐν δὲ τῷ μακαρίῳ τῆς εἰκόνος θεάματι τὸ ἄῥῥητον ὅψει τοῦ ἀρχετύπου κάλλος. Διὰ τούτου καρδιῶν ἀνάβασις χειραγωγία τῶν ἀσθενούντων, τῶν προκοπτόντων τελείωσις. Τοῦτο, τοῖς ἀπὸ πάσης κηλίδος κεκαθαρμένοις ἐλλάμπον, τῇ πρὸς ἑαυτὸ κοινωνίᾳ πνευματικοὺς ἀποδείκνυσι. Καὶ ὥσπερ τὰ λαμπρα καὶ διαφανῆ τῶν σωμάτων, ἀκτῖνος αὐτοῖς ἐμπεσούσης, αὐτά τε γίνεται περιλαμπῆ, καὶ ἑτέραν αὐγὴν ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν ἀποστίλβει· οὕτως αἱ πνευματοφοροι ψυχαὶ, ἐλλαμφθεῖσαι παρὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος, αὐταί τε ἀποτελοῦνται πνευματικαὶ, καὶ εἰς ἑτέπρους τὴν χάριν ἐξαποστέλουσιν. Ἐντεῦθεν μελλόντων πρόγνωσις, μυστηρίων σύνεσις, κεκρυμμένων κατάληψις, χαρισμάτων διανομαὶ, τὸ οὐράνιον πολίτευμα, ἡ μετὰ ἀγγέλων χορεία, ἡ ἀτελεύτητος εὐφροσύνη, ἡ ἐν Θεῳ διαμονὴ, ἡ πρὸς Θεὸν ὁμοίωσις, τὸ ἀκρότατον τῶν ὀρεκτῶν, Θεὸν γενέσθαι. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Περὶ Του Ἅγιου Πνευματος, Κεφαλη Θ’ Source: Migne PG 32.109a-c

But the Spirit does not possess the soul by nearness in space, for how could there be a corporeal approach to the incorporeal? But the association comes from withdrawal from the passions, which passions coming gradually on the soul because of its friendship to the flesh have alienated it from its possession by God. Thus only after purification from disgrace, which pollution is acquired through wickedness, and returning again to natural beauty, and, as it were, cleansing the royal image and restoring it to its pristine form, only thus is it possible to draw near to the Paraclete. And He, like the sun, being grasped by the purified eye, will show you in Himself the image of the invisible, and in the blessed spectacle of the image shall be seen the unspeakable beauty of the archetype. Through Him weak hearts are taken by the hand and lifted up, and they who are advancing are perfected. Shining on those who have been cleansed of every blemish, He makes them spiritual by fellowship with Himself. Just as a sunbeam falls on bright and transparent bodies and they themselves blaze up and emit a fresh brightness from themselves, so do souls that bear the Spirit, being illuminated by the Spirit, become spiritual and send forth their grace to others. From which comes foreknowledge of the future, understanding of mysteries, discovery of things that are hidden, distribution of good gifts, heavenly citizenship, a place in the chorus of the angels, joy without end, abidance in God, being like God, and greatest of all these desirable things, being God. Saint Basil of Caesarea, On the Holy Spirit, Chapter 9

The Spirit's Inspiration

Post haec vidi et ecce ostium apertum in coelo. Ostium apertum in caelo, Novum Testamentum praedicatur. Et vox prima quam audivi tanquam tubae loquentis mecum, dicens: ascende huc. Quando apertum ostenditur , clatisum fuisse antea hominibus manifestum est. Satis autem et plene patefactum est, quando Christus cum corpore in coeios ad Patrem ascendit. Vox autem prior quam audierat, cum dicit illam secum esse locutam , sine contradictione arguit eos, qui aliuin in prophetiis , alium in Evangelio dicunt fuisse locutum, cum magis ipse qui venit, ipse sit qui in prophelis locutus est. Joannes enim ex circumcisione erat; et omnis ille populus qui VeterisTestamenti praedicatiouem audierat, illa voce aedificatus est. Illa eademque vox, inquit, quam audieram, illa mihi dixit: Ascende huc. Id est spiritus, quem paulo ante quam filium hominis inter candelabra aurea ambulantem se vidisse fatetur: et nunc exinde recolit, quae per legem in similitudinibus praenuntiata erant, et per hanc scripturam conjungit omnes priores, et aperit scripturas. Et quia postquam invitavit in coelum omnes credentes in nomine suo Dominus noster, statim Spiritum sanctum effudit qui ferturus ad coelum, ait: Statim fui in spiritu. Et cum aperiatur per Spiritum sanctum mens fidelium, et illud eis manifestetur, quid et prioribus est praedictum, significater ait. Victorinus Petavionensis, Scoli in Apocalypsin Beati Joannis Source: Migne PL 5.323c-324a

After that I saw a door open in heaven. 1 The door open in heaven speaks of the New Testament. And the first voice that I heard, speaking to me like a trumpet, said, 'Come up here.' When it is shown to have been opened, it is manifest that it was closed before to men. It was plainly thrown right open when Christ in the body ascended to the Father in the heavens. But the voice which he had previously heard, when he says that it spoke to him, without contradiction disputes with those who say that one thing was spoken in the prophets and another in the Gospel, when rather He who came is He who spoke through the prophets. For John was of the circumcision and all that people who heard the Old Testament preached were edified by that voice. 'That same voice,' he says, 'which I heard, that said to me, 'Come up here.' That is, the Spirit, whom a little before he says he had seen walking like a son of man in the midst of the golden candlesticks. And he now gathers from Him what had been foretold in similitudes by the Law, and through  Scripture joins up all that came before, and thus open up the Scriptures. And because after our Lord invited all who believe in His name into heaven, He then poured out the Holy Spirit which brings to heaven, he says: 'Immediately I was in the Spirit.' Since when the mind of the faithful is opened by the Holy Spirit, that is made manifest to them which was foretold to those who came before, he distinctly says. Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of St John 1 Apoc 4.1-2

Different Trials

Benignus est enim spiritus sapientiae, et non liberabit maledictum a labiis suis, quoniam renum illius testis est Dominus, et cordis ejus scrutator est verus, et linguae illus auditor. Haec sententia destruit errorem illorum, qui sicut bonas cogitatione a Deo nobis constat inspirari, ita etiam malas ipso instigante putant in nostra mente generari, cum nullo modo Deus, qui summe bonus est, et omnes homines vult salvari, atque ad agnitionem veritatis pervenier, necessitatem mali verbi aut pravi actus alicui imponet, per quem perire possit, sicut Jacobus apostolus ostendit, dicens: Nemo ergo cum tentatur, dicat: Quoniam a Deo tentor; Deus enim intentator malorum est, ipse enim neminem tentat; ac si diceret: Nemo cum rapinam, furtum, falsum testimonium, homicidium, stuprum, vel caetera hujusmodi commiserit, dicat, quoniam Dei cogente necesse habuerit haec patrare, et ideo nullatenus horum effectum potuerit declinare. Deus enim malorum intentator est, subauditur, tentamentorum; ipse enim neminem tentat, ea videlicet tentatione, quae decipit miseros ut peccent. Duplex est enim genus tentationis, unum quod decipit, aliud quod probat; secundum hoc quod decipit, Deus neminem tentat; secundum illud quod probat, Deus tentavit Abraham. De quo et Prophea postulat: Proba me, Domine, et tenta me. Unusquisque vero tentatur a concupiscentia sua abstractus est et illetus, scilicet abstractus a recto itinere, et illectus in malum quo tamen justo Dei judicio permittitur cadere qui Spiritui veritatis noluit obedire. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Librum Sapientiae Wisdom, Liber I, Caput II Source: Migne PL 109.674d-675b

The spirit of wisdom is benevolent and it does not overlook a curse from the lips, because the Lord observes a man's interior, and is a true watcher of his heart, and he hears his tongue. 1 This passage overthrows the error of those who think that just as good thoughts are constantly inspired by God, so at His instigation evil ones are generated in our minds, when in no way does God, who is the greatest good, and who wishes every man to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth, impose the necessity of an evil word or depraved act on anyone, through which they perish, as James the Apostle shows, saying, 'Let no one when he is tempted say, 'I am being tempted by God.' For God does not tempt with evils, He tempts no one.' 2 As if he said, Let no one when they plunder, or thieve, or give false witness, or murder or fornicate, or do anything like that, say that because of some overwhelming force of God they had to do it, and therefore they were in no way capable of refusing to do it. For God does not tempt with evils, that is, with temptations, for He tries no man, that is, with temptation, which deceives the wretched so that they sin. There are two types of trials, one that deceives and one that proves. According to that which deceives, God never makes trial, according to what proves, God tested Abraham. Concerning which the prophet asks: 'Prove me, O Lord, and test me.' 3 However, everyone seized and trapped by his own desire, certainly he is taken from the right path and snared in evil, into which he who did not wish to be obedient to the spirit of truth is permitted to fall by the just judgement of God. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on the Book of Wisdom, Book 1, Chapter 2 1 Wisdom 1.6 2 James 1.13 3 Ps 25.2

Clashing Concerns

Εἰ τῆς ἀνοχῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τῆς μακροθυμίας, ὦ τάλας, καταφρονεῖς, κἂν τὰ παρόντα αἰδέσθητι. Πολλοὶ γὰρ πρὸς τὰ μέλλοντα ἀβλεπτοῦντες, τὰς ἐνταῦθα ἐκκλίνουσι κωμῳδίας. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ταῦτα κάκεῖνα καταφρονεῖς, ἐνταῦθα γελασθήσῃ, κάκεῖ θρηνηθήσῃ. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΠΔ', Ζωσιμῳ Source: Migne PG 78.301c

If you scorn the patience and forbearance of God, O wretched man, then present things will be your concern. For many blind to future things turn to things here which please them. And if because of these things you scorn those other things, you shall laugh here, and weep there. 1 Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 184, to Zosimus 1 Lk 6.25

The Corrupted Mountain

Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ πρὸς σὲ τὸ ὄρος τὸ διεφθαρμένον τὸ διαφθεῖρον πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐκτενῶ τὴν χεῖρά μου ἐπὶ σὲ καὶ κατακυλιῶ σε ἀπὸ τῶν πετρῶν καὶ δώσω σε ὡς ὄρος ἐμπεπυρισμένον. Ὅρος τὴν Βαθυλῶνα διὰ τὸ τῆς βασιλείας ὕψος kαλεῖ' ὅπερ ἦν ἐξ εἰδωλολατρείας καὶ τῶν ἀδίχων ἔργων, δι᾿ ὧν διέφθειρε τοὺς ἄλλους διεφθαρμένον. Ἦν δὲ καὶ ἐφ᾽ ὕψους ἡ πόλις διὰ τὸν παραχεΐμενον ποταμὸν, ἐξ οὗ τινες ἀναδαθμοὶ πρὸς τὴν πόλιν ἀνέφερον, διμερῆ, τε οὖσαν καὶ ἐξ ἑχατέρας ὄχθης παραχειμένην τῷ ποταμῷ, πρὸς τῷ καὶ εἶναι τὰ τείχη τῆς πόλεως ὑψηλότατα. Χεῖρα δὲ τὴν τιμωρητιχὴν δύναμιν τὴν τῆς ἰδίας αὐτὴν ὡς ἐχ πετρῶν χαθαεροῦσαν ἀσφαλείας τε χαὶ φρουρᾶς εἰς ἄχρηστον δὲ χαὶ τοὺς λίθους αὐτῆς διὰ τὸ πῦρ ἀφανίζουσαν, ὡς μὴ συνίστασθαι λίθον πρὸς στεῤῥοϊέραν οἰχοδομίαν. ᾿Αναγωγῆς δὲ λόγῳ καὶ ὁ διάδολος ὄρος ὠνόμασται, ὡς ἐν τῷ Ζαχαρίᾳ' Τίς εἶ σὺ τὸ ὄρος τὸ μέγα, τὸ πρὸ προσὠπου Ζοροδάδε; Καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἔχοντος χωφὸν καὶ ἄλαλον δαιμόνιον ἔλεγεν ὁ Σωτήρ' Ἑὰν ἔχητε κίστιν ὡς χόχχον σιγάπεως, ἐρεῖτε τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ' Μετάδηθι, καὶ μεταδήσεται. Ὅρος οὖν ὁ διάδολος ἀπὸ τῆς ἰδίας διεφθαρμένον kαkίας, καὶ διαφθεῖρον τοὺς, ὅσοι φρονοῦσι τὰ γήϊνα. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαι Εἰς Ἱερεμαιν Source: Migne PG 13.603b-c

Behold I am against you, corrupted mountain that corrupts the whole earth, with my hand stretched out against you I shall tear you from your stones, and I shall make of you a burnt heap. 1 Babylon is called a mountain because of the eminence of its kingdom, which being corrupted with its idolatry and wicked works corrupted others. And the city itself was set on a high place because of the proximity of the river, from which steps rose up to the city, on two sides, even from both banks of the river. And besides this the city walls were very high. But the hand is the punishing power that tears it from its own security and fortifications, as from a stone foundation, and its stones will be of no more use because of the coming fire, and there shall not be one of them able to make firm its construction. And by reason of anagoge the devil is also called a mountain, as in Zachariah, 'Who are you, great mountain, who are before the face of Zorobabel?' 2 And concerning him who had a deaf and dumb demon, the Saviour said, 'If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mountain, Go, and it would go.' 3 Thus the mountain is the devil corrupted by his own depravity, and he corrupts those who know the things of the earth. Origen, Commentary On Jeremiah, Fragment 1 Jerem 51.25 2 Zach 4.7 3 Mt 17.19