Bad Fathers

Ubi tentaverunt me patres vestri; probaverunt me, et viderunt opera mea. Ubi, sicut superius dixit, significat in deserto; illic enim fragilitas humana Deum tentavit; sed statim virtus Divinitatis apparuit, quando esca venit ex aere, potus ex lapide. Sed petra produxit aquas; corda vero infidelium duruerunt in lapideam siccitatem. Sed quae dementia est adhuc sequi pravitates illorum in quibus tam vehementer cognoscitur vindicatum? Nam cum dicit, patres vestri, et eos quoque significat obstinatos, quia illum unusquisque habet patrem quem cognoscitur imitari, sicut Iudaeis in Evangelio ipse Dominus dicit: Vos ex patre diabolo estis. Sequitur, probaverunt me, et viderunt opera mea. Probaverunt utique, quando manna esurientibus pluit, quando illis coturnicum tributa est multitudo, quando irriguae aquae de saxorum siccitate fluxerunt. Nam quod addidit, et viderunt opera mea, infidelitas eorum arguitur, qui carnalibus oculis intuiti sunt, quod cordis lumine minime crediderunt; et ideo viderunt dixit, non, crediderunt. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XCIV Source: Migne PL 70.674d-675

'When your fathers tested me, they tried me and they saw my deeds.' 1 'When,' as said above, is in the desert, for there human fragility tested God, and immediately the power of God appeared, when it sent food from the air, water from stone. But though the rock produced water, the hearts of the faithless remained as dry as stone. And what madness is it to still follow their depravities for which there is known to be such vehement punishment? For when it says here, 'your fathers' it also signifies those who are obstinate, because each of us has a father whom he is known to imitate, as the Lord Himself said to the Jews in the Gospel: 'You are from your father the devil.' 2 It follows, 'They tried me and they saw my deeds.' So they tried Him and He rained down manna for eating, and a multitude of quails were given to them, and water flowed forth from stone to wet the dust. For when is added, 'and they saw my deeds,' their unfaithfulness is reproved, which saw with carnal eyes, because they could not believe with the light of the heart. And therefore it says 'they saw' and not 'they believed.' Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 94 1 Ps 94.8 2 Jn 8.44

Knowledge And The Tree

Et scire justitiam et virtutem tuam, radix est immortalitatis. Radix, id est arboris spiritualis, id est vitae iusti qui est sicut lignum plantatum secus decursus aquarum etc. Radix est fides, ut hic dicitur. Pes, humilitas, sicut e contrario pes impiorum est superbia, secundum illud Psalmi: Non veniat mihi pes superbiae. Stipes, in altum se erigens, est spes; ad Colossenses tertio: Quae sursum sunt quaerite. Humor interior et viriditas huius arboris est gratiainternae devotionis; lob octavo: Nunquid potest virere scirpus absque humore? Calor dirigens est virtus caritatis; Lucae duodecimo: Ignem veni mittere in terram etc. Exterior irrigatio, doctrina spiritualis; unde Sapientia dicit Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto: Rigabo hortum plantationum mearum. Rami, multiplicatio bonae operationis; Ezechielis trigesimo sexto: Montes Israel, ramos vestros expandite. Flores , mores honestae conversationis ; unde Canticorum secundo: Flores apparuerunt in terra nostra. Folia, verba discretae locutionis, secundum illud Psalmi: Et folium eius non defluet. Fructus, merces aeternae retributionis; supra tertio: Bonorum laborum gloriosus est fructus. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Caput XV Source: Here, 411d-412a

And to know your righteousness and virtue is the root of immortality... 1 'The root,' that is, of the spiritual tree, that is, of the life of the righteous man, who is like 'a tree planted beside flowing waters,' etc, 2 and the root is faith, as it says here. The base of the tree is humility, just as, on the contrary, the foot of the impious is pride, according to the Psalm: 'May the foot of the proud not be mine.' 3 The trunk is what rises up to the heights, which is hope. In the third chapter of Colossians: 'Seek the things which are above.' 4 The interior sap and greeness of this tree is the grace of internal devotion. In the eighth chapter of Job: 'Can a reed live without moisture?' 5 The heat which fuels growth is the power of love. In the twelfth chapter of Luke: 'I have come to place fire on the earth.' 6 Exterior watering is spiritual teaching, whence Wisdom says in the twenty fourth chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'I shall water the garden of my plantings.' 7 The branches are the multiplication of good works. In the thirty six chapter of Ezekiel: 'Mountains of Israel, put forth your branches.' 8 Blossom is the way of upright living, whence in the second chapter of the Song of Songs: 'The blossom appears in our land.' 9 Leaves are the words of wise speech, according to the Psalm: 'And its leaves shall not wither.' 10 The fruit is the giving of the eternal reward, concerning which above in the third chapter it says: 'Glorious is the fruit of good works.' 11 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Chapter 15 1 Wisdom 6.24 2 Ps 1.3 3 Ps 35.12 4 Col 3.1 5 Job 8.11 6 Lk 12.49 7 Sirach 24.42 8 Ezek 36.8 9 Song 2.12 10 Ps 1.3 11 Wisdom 3.15

Feasts And Fruits

Καταβήτω ὁ ἀδελφιδός μου εἰς κῆπον αὐτοῦ καὶ φαγέτω καρπὸν ἀκροδρύων αὐτοῦ. Ὦ πεπαρρησιασμένης φωνῆς. Ὦ φιλοτίμου τε καὶ μεγαλοδώρου ψυχῆς πᾶσαν ὑπερβολὴν μεγαλοφροσύνης νικώσης. Tίνα δεξιοῦται πρὸς εὐωχίαν τοῖς ἰδίοις καρποῖς; Tίνι παρασκευάζει διὰ τῶν ἰδίων ἀγαθῶν τὴν πανδαισίαν; Tίνα καλεῖ πρὸς τὴν τῶν παρεσκευασμένων ἑστίασιν; Tὸν ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ δι’ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἐν ᾧ τὰ πάντα, τὸν διδόντα τοῖς πᾶσι τροφὴν ἐν εὐκαιρίᾳ, τὸν ἀνοίγοντα τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ καὶ πληροῦντα πᾶν ζῷον εὐδοκίας, τὸν ἄρτον τὸν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβαίνοντα καὶ ζωὴν διδόντα τῷ κόσμῳ, τὸν πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι τὴν ζωὴν ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας πηγῆς ἐπιρρέοντα· τούτῳ ἡ νύμφη προτίθησι τράπεζαν. Kῆπος δέ ἐστιν ἡ τράπεζα ὁ διὰ τῶν ἐμψύχων δένδρων πεφυτευμένος, ἡμεῖς δὲ τὰ δένδρα, εἴπερ δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς, οἱ τροφὴν αὐτῷ προτιθέντες τὴν τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν σωτηρίαν οὕτως εἰπόντος τοῦ τὴν ἡμετέραν εὐωχουμένου ζωὴν ὅτι Ἐμὸν βρῶμά ἐστιν, ἵνα ποιῶ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Πατρός μου. Δῆλος δὲ ὁ σκοπὸς τοῦ θείου θελήματος, Ὃς πάντας ἀνθρώπους θέλει σωθῆναι καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν. Αὕτη οὖν ἐστιν ἡ ἑτοιμασθεῖσα βρῶσις αὐτῷ τὸ σωθῆναι ἡμᾶς. Kαρπὸς δὲ ἡμῶν ἡ προαίρεσις γίνεται ἡ τῷ δρεπομένῳ ἡμᾶς θεῷ δι’ ἑαυτῆς ὡς διά τινος ἀκρεμόνος τὴν ψυχὴν ἐγχειρίζουσα. Χρὴ δὲ διὰ τούτων ἰδεῖν ὅτι πρότερον ἡ νύμφη τῷ καρπῷ τοῦ μήλου καταγλυκαίνεται εἰποῦσα· Καὶ ὁ καρπὸς αὐτοῦ γλυκὺς ἐν τῷ λάρυγγί μου· καὶ τότε καρπὸς καὶ αὐτὴ γίνεται ὡραῖός τε καὶ γλυκάζων καὶ τῷ γεωργῷ πρὸς εὐφροσύνην προκείμενος. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων Ὁμιλία Ι’ Source: Migne PG 44.985b-d

Let my beloved come down into his garden, and let him eat the fruit of his fruit trees. 1 Such freedom of speech. Such a generous and munificent soul that has triumphed over all proud extravagance. Whom does she welcome to a feast of her own fruits? For whom has she prepared a banquet of her own good things? Whom does she call to the meal that has been made ready? Him from whom and through whom and in whom are all things, 1 who gives to everything its food at the appropriate time and fills every living thing to satisfaction with the opening of His hand, 3 who comes down as the bread from heaven and gives life to the world, 4 who from his own spring pours life into every being. For Him the Bride lays her table. And the table is a garden planted with the trees of souls, and we are the trees, if indeed we are, who place before Him the food that is the salvation of our souls, because the one who feasts on our life says, 'My food is to do the will of my Father.' 5 And manifest is the aim of the Divine will, He who wishes all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth. 6 This, then, is the food made ready for Him, our salvation. And our fruit is our choosing to be plucked by God, through which, as from a branch, the soul is taken in hand. And concerning these things, one should note that previously the Bride is filled with sweetness by the fruit of the apple tree, with her saying: 'And his fruit is sweet in my throat.' 7 And that is when she herself becomes a fruit at once beautiful and sweet and available for the joy of the farmer. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 10 1 Song 4.16 2 Rom 11.6 3 Ps 144.15-16 4 Jn 6.33 5 Jn 4.34 6 1 Tim 2.4 7 Song 2.3

Between Two Tables

Unum tamen dico, ut occasionem vobis dedisse videar, et caetera quoque similiter advertatis. Nonne velut inter duas mensas positi, epulantes hinc inde spectamus jejuni? Sic sumus omnino, sic sumus. Unde ergo sic positis risus, unde jocus, unde levitas, unde superbia, unde extollentia oculorum? An forte non agnoscimus mensas, non consideramus epulas, delicias non videmus? Hinc mihi sunt, quos video deliciose viventes in omnibus bonis sensibilis hujus mundi, inde contemplor alios, quibus disposuit Christus regnum, ut edant et bibant super mensam ejus in regno Patris sui. Utrobique video similes mei homines, fratres meos; et, heu me! ad neutram licet extendere manum. Ab utraque mensa prohibeor: ab hac quidem professionis, ab illa corporis vinculo; ut nec ad inferiorem audeam, nec ad superiorem accedere possim. Quid inter haec restat, nisi comedere panem doloris, ut sint mihi lacrymae meae panes die ac nocte, si quis forte coelestium convivarum misericordia motus, in os latrantis sub mensa catelli vel exigua aliqua deliciarum illarum fragmenta demittat? Nam inferior quidem consideratio, qua nobis ipsis compatimur, eorum respectu, quos novimus deliciose viventes in hoc saeculo, infirmae adhuc animae est, nec omnino talis mihi placet affectio in anima spirituali. Longius enim positus est a judicio veritatis, qui beatificat quos velut miserrimos lugere debuerat, qui peccant et non agunt poenitentiam: et se miserum reputat non sane consensu judicii, sed affectionis sensu, quod non sit sicut illi, qui id magis optare debuerant, ut omnes essent sicut ipse. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Diversis, Sermo XXXIX, In labore messis: De duabus mensis, seu de superiori et inferiori irriguo. Source: Migne PL 183.646a-646c

I will say one thing to you however, so that I shall appear to have given you an example , and other things likewise I will advert to. Is it not that we are as placed between two tables, seeing feasting here and fasting there? So we are indeed, so we are. And being so placed how can there be smiles, laughter, levity, pride and a raising up of the eyes? But perhaps we do not know the tables, we do not look on those who feast, we do not see the joys? Here to me they are who I see living happily on all the material goods of this world, and there I contemplate others, to whom Christ has given the kingdom, that they eat and drink at His table in the kingdom of His Father. 1 And on both sides I see men like me, my brothers, and alas for me, for I cannot stretch my hand to either side. I am forbidden both tables, the former because of my vows, the latter because of the chains of the body, and so I do not dare seek the lower, nor can I draw near the higher. And what is it to be between these two tables, unless to eat the bread of grief, so that my tears are my bread night and day, 2 though perhaps someone among the heavenly feasters, moved by compassion, might drop down beneath the table some small crumb of their joys into the whining mouth of a pup? For certainly that lower consideration, that we suffer with them, in their sight, whom we know are living pleasurably in this world, is yet for the weak soul, and such affection does not please my spiritual soul. For he is placed far from the judgement of truth who deems them blessed who he should weep over as most wretched, they who sin and do not become pentinent, and he does not deem himself wretched with an accurate judgement but by a sense of affection, because he should not be as they are, they who rather should desire what is greater, that all should be like him. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Various Sermons, from Sermon 39, On the labour of the harvest: Of the two tables and concerning the supplying of the higher and lower 1 Lk 22.29 2 Ps 41.4

Feasting And Fasting

Cum autem quadem die filii et filiae ejus comederent et biberent vinum... Opportunissimum tentationis tempus elegit, cum scilicet filios Job comedentes et bibentes invenit. Adhuc, inquit escae eorum erant in ore ipsorum, et ira Dei ascendit super eos. Quia commessationes sine peccato vix esse possunt, comessationibus libenter se ingerit inimicus: orationem vero et jejunium semper odit, quia genus est etiam daemoniorum, quod non nisi oratione et jejunio expellitur. Et notandum quod non cibum sumere, sed in cibo delectari peccatum est. Quandoque enim aliquis non minus gulosus est in vilissimis cibis quam alius in epulis delicatis. Legitur Jonathas peccasse in gusto mellis, Esau in edulio lentis, Sodomitae in saturitate panis. Ergo, teste Hieromymo, non cibus, sed appetitus in culpa est. Considerantur autem in cibo sumendo tria, tempus, modus, et qualitas. Tempus, ut non praeveniatur hora; modus, ut summatur cibus cum moderatione inculpata; qualitas, ut non sint cibi nimium exquisiti, aut nimium sumptuosi. Comedere post saturitatem est superfluum, ante esuriem otiosum, in esurie licitum, post esuriem meritorium. Certe non credo in homine incolumi jejuniam alicujus esse meriti, quod esuries non praecedit. Jejunare, et jejunio non affligi, non habet vim, aut meritum jejunandi. Si instant apostolorum vigiliae, aut alia tempora, quae necessitatem jejunandi indicant, praecedenti die implemus et ingurgitamus nos varietatibus ferculorum, atque in fraudem futuri jejunii tantum nostris ventribus inculcamus, quo sufficienter possit sustentari tridouo sobrius dispensator. Non est hoc, dicit Dominus per prophetam, jejunium quod elegi. Sunt enim jejunia, quae reprobavit Deus, et sunt jejunia, quae elegit. Jejunant alia propter naturae impotentiam, alii propter avaritiam, alii ad apparentiam, aliis ad vitam aeternam, alii ad corporis sanitatem. Jejunat aegrotus ut convaleseat, hypocrita ut appareat, fastiditus ut appetat, avarus ut parcat. In omnibus intentio tua operi tuo nomen imponit. In omnibus discretio servanda est, auriga virtutum et operum, atque cogitationum optima moderatrix. Petrus Blenensis, Compendium In Job: Ad Henericum II Illustrissimum Anglorum Regem, Caput I Source: Migne PL 207.808a-809a

When, on a certain day, his sons and daughters ate and drank wine... 1 The devil choses the most opportune time for temptation, when he finds the sons of Job eating and drinking. 'While yet the food was in their mouths, the anger of God rose up over them,' it says. Because there can scarcely be revelry without sin, and among revellers the enemy eagerly comes. It is prayer and fasting he hates, because there is a class of demons that only prayer and fasting can expel. 2 And it should be noted that the sin is not in partaking of food but for the pleasure of it. And a man may be no less gluttonous with the cheapest bread than with any choice delicacy of a banquet. We read that Jonathan sinned by tasting honey, Esau for a bowl of lentils, the Sodomites by an abundance of bread. 3 Therefore, by the testimony of Jerome, it is not the bread but the desire that is the fault. 4 Let the taking of food be considered in three ways, by time, manner and quality. By time, that it is not brought before the hour, in manner, that one partakes of food with faultless modesty, by quality, that one's food is not excessively exquiste, nor too luxurious. To eat beyond satiety is unnecessary, before one is hungry pointless. In hunger there is permission, after hunger merit. Certainly I do not believe that an untroubled man gains any merit in fasting, because hunger does not precede it. To fast and have no struggle in fasting, has no value, nor merit. If the Vigil of the Apostles draws near, or some other time, which declares the need for fasting, if on the day before we fill ourselves and gobble down a variety of dishes, and in deceit make the coming fast, then it is only our stomachs we impress, in which the more sensible arranger is prefectly able to endure the three days. 'This is not the fast that I have chosen,' says the Lord. 5 For there are fasts which God abhors and fasts that He approves. Some fast because of an infirmity of nature, some because of avarice, some for the sake of appearance, others for eternal life, others for the body's health. The sick man fasts that he might become well, the hypocrite for appearance's sake, the picky fellow for his appetite, the miser that he might save money. In everything your intention stamps the name on your work. In everything prudence must be guarded, for moderation is the best chariot of virtue and works, and also thoughts. Peter of Blois, Compendium On Job, To Henry II Most Illustrious King Of The English, Chapter 1 1 Job 1.13 2 Mt 17.20 3 1 King 14.24-46, Gen 25.29-34, Ezek 16.49 4 Jerome, Against Jovinianus 2.11 5 Isaiah 58.5-11

Prudent Feasting

Et dixit ad eam Holofernes: Bibe inde et accumbe in jucunditate, quoniam gratiam invenisti coram me. Et dixit Judith: Bibam, Domine, quoniam magnificata est anima mea hodie prae omnibus diebus meis. Et accepit et manducavit, et bibit coram ipso omnia quae paraverat illi ancilla ejus. Nota quod Judith apud Holofernem conversans, non coinquinata est cibis vel potu gentilium, sed ea manducavit et bibit quae sibi praeparaverat ancilla ejus: quia Ecclesia inter gentes habitans nullo modo polluitur idololatria aut superstitione gentilitatis, sed his utitur quae victui suo judicat esse condigna, quae devotio fidelium per obedientiam et exercitium boni operis sibi praeparat. De quo cibo ipsa Veritas in Evangelio ait: Operamini cibum, non qui perit, sed qui permanet in vitam aeternam. Et alibi discipulis rogantibus eum, ut manducaret, respondit. Ego cibum habeo manducare, quem vos nescitis; meus enim cibus est ut faciam voluntatem ejus qui misit me et perficiam opus ejus. Rabanus Maurus, Expositio in Librum Judith, Caput XII Source: Migne PL 109.572a-b

And Holofernes said to her, 'Drink and recline as you will, because you have found favour before me.' Judith said, 'I shall drink, lord, because my soul is exalted today above all my days.' And she took and ate and drank before him all that her handmaid had provided for her. 1 Note that while Judith conversed with Holofernes she was not defiled by the food and drink of Gentiles, but she ate and drank what was prepared for her by her handmaid, because the Church dwelling among the nations is in no way is polluted by pagan idolatry or superstition, but it makes use of what victuals it judges to be most appropriate, which the devotion of the faithful through obedience and exertion in good works prepares for her. Concerning this food the Truth says in the Gospel: 'Do not work for the bread which perishes but that which remains in eternal life.' And in another place He replies to His disciples who were asking Him to eat, 'I have my own food to eat, which you do not know. For my food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to fulfill His work.' 2 Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Judith, Chap 12 1 Judith 12.17-19 2 Jn 6.27, Jn 4.32-34

Foolish Feasting

Baltassar rex fecit grande convivium optimatibus suis mille: et unusquisque secundum suam bibebat ætatem. Præcepit ergo jam temulentus ut afferrentur vasa aurea et argentea, quæ asportaverat Nabuchodonosor pater ejus de templo, quod fuit in Ierusalem, ut biberent in eis rex, et optimates ejus, uxoresque ejus, et concubinæ. Bibebant vinum, et laudabant deos suos aureos, et argenteos, et aereos, ferreos, ligneosque et lapideos. Quanta stultitia! in aureis vasis bibentes, deos ligneos laudabant et lapideos. Quamdiu vasa fuerunt in idolio Babylonis, non est iratus Dominus: videbantur enim rem Dei secundum pravam quidem opinionem, tamen divino cultui consecrasse: postquam autem humanis usibus divina contaminant, statim poena sequitur post sacrilegium. Laudant autem deos suos, insultantes Deo Judaeorum; quod illis victoriam tribuentibus, bibebant in vasis ejus. Juxta tropologiam, hoc dicendum est: quod omnes haeretici, et doctrina contraria veritati, quae assumit verba prophetarum; et testimoniis divinae Scripturae abutitur ad sensum suum; et dat bibere his quos decipit, et cum quibus fornicata est: tollat vasa templi Dei, et inebrietur in eis: et non Deum cujus vasa sunt, sed deos laudet aureos et argenteos, et aeneos, et ferreos, ligneosque et lapideos. Aurei mihi videntur hi qui saeculari ratione compositi sunt. Argentei, qui habent eloquii venustatem, et rhetorica arte constructi sunt. Qui autem inferunt fabulas poetarum, et vetustis utuntur traditionibus, habentes inter se multam vel elegantiae vel stultitiae differentiam, isti vocantur aenei et ferrei. Qui autem penitus inepta proponunt, lignei appellantur et lapidei. Quos omnes in duas partes Deuteronomium dividit, scribens: Maledictus qui facit sculptile, et conflatile, opus manuum artificis, et ponit illud in abscondito. Abscondunt enim omnes haeretici, et operiunt mendaciorum suorum dogmata, ut sagittent in obscuro rectos corde. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Daniel, Caput V Source: Migne PL 25.519b-d

King Baltassar made a great feast for a thousand of his best men, and each one drank according to his rank. Then being drunk, he commanded that the vessels of gold and silver which had been taken by his father Nebuchadnezzar from the temple of Jerusalem be brought so that the king might drink from them, and his best men, and his wives and concubines. They drank wine and praised their gods of gold and silver and iron and wood and stone. 1 How great their foolishess, drinking from gold vessels and praising their gods of wood and stone. While the vases were in the idol temple of Babylon, the Lord was not angered, for according to depraved opinion they seemed to be something belonging to God, and still consecrated to the Divine cult, but after they had defiled Divine things with human use, punishment immediately followed sacrilege. Then praising their gods, they insulted the God of the Jews, because with victory given to them, they drank from His vessels. According to the tropological understanding this must be said: that all heretics, and all teaching that opposes truth, which takes up the words of the prophets and twists the Divine testimonies of Scripture to their own sense, and gives this to drink to those whom they deceive, and fornicates with them, this is to take the vessels from the temple of God and use them for drunkeness. And they do not praise God whose vessels they are, but gods of gold and silver and bronze and iron and wood and stone. The golden ones seem to me to be those put together by the reasoning of the world, the silver ones are those who have the charms of eloquence and are fashioned by the art of rhetoric. But they who bring forth the fables of poets and make use of ancient traditions, they have among themselves a great difference, for they do this either skilfully or poorly, and these are called the gods of bronze and iron. But those who propose things utterly ineptly, these are the gods of wood and stone. Whom all Deuteronomy divides into two parts, saying: 'Cursed is he who makes a statue and molten thing, the work of an artisan's hands, and he sets it somewhere in secret.' 2 For all heretics are hidden away, and they veil the teachings of their lies, that they might shoot from concealment at the righteous in heart. 3 Saint Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 5 1 Dan 5.1-4 2 Deut 27.15 3 Ps 10.3

Levi's Feast

Et fecit ei convivium magnum Levi in domo sua... Qui domicilio Christum recipit interno, maximis delectationibus exsuperantium pascitur voluptatum. Itaque Dominus libenter ingreditur, et in ejus qui crediderit recumbit affectum, et hoc est bonorum operum spiritale convivium, quo dives populus eget, pauper epulatur. Et erat turba multa pubilicanorum et aliorum qui cum illis erant discumbtentes... Viderant publicanum a peccatis ad meliora conversum, locum invenisse poenitentiae, et ob id etiam ipsi non desperant salutem. Et murmurabant pharisaei et scribae eorum dicentes ad discipulos ejus: Quare cum publicanis et peccatoribus manducatis et bibitis? Convivantibus cum Domino publicanis, pharisaei murmantes de jejunio gloriantur. Ubi primo legis et gratiae quanta sit distantia declaratur uia qui legem sequuntur, ieiunae mentis famem patiantur aeternam; qui vero verbum in interioribus animae receperunt alimenti coelestis, et fontis ubertate recreati, esurire et sitire non possint. Deinde retributionis futurae species praefiguratur, quando epulantibus cum Christo electis, perfidia superborum ieiuna torquebitur, quibus dicitur: Meretrices et publicani praecedent vos in regnum Dei. Quod sit per Matthaei electionem fides gentium, quae prius mundi lucris inhiabant, sed nunc corpus Christi sedula devotione reficiuntur, exprimitur, profecto supercilium Pharisaeorum, Iudaeorum invidiam, qua degentium salute torquentur, insinuat. Et respondens Iesus, dixit ad illos: Non egent qui sani sunt medico, sed qui male habent. Non veni vocare iustos, sed peccatores in poenitentiam. Suggillat Scribas et Pharisaeos, qui iustos se putantes, peccatorum consortia declinabant. Seipsum namque medicum dicit, qui miro medicandi genere vulneratus est propter iniquitates nostras, et livore eius sanati sumus. Sanos autem et iustos appellat eos qui ignorantes Dei iustitiam, et suam volentes constituere, iustitiae Dei non sunt subiecti, qui ex lege praesumentes Evangelii gratiam non quaerunt. Porro male habentes, et peccatores vocat eos, qui suae fragilitatis conscientia devicti, nec per legem iustificari posse videntes, Christi se gratiae poenitendo submittunt. Ubi simul ostenditur quod non in pristinis vitiis permanentes, ut Scribae et Pharisaei murmurabant, sed poenitentiam agentes Publicani venerint ad Iesum; et ipse quoque Iesus convivia peccatorum, ut occasionem haberet docendi, et spiritales invitatoribus suis praeberet cibos, adire dignatus sit. Denique cum frequenter pergere ad convivium describatur, nihil refertur aliud nisi quid ibi fecerit, quid docuerit, et ut humilitas Domini eundo ad peccatores, et potentia doctrinae eius in poenitentium conversione, monstretur. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber II, Caput V Source: Migne PL 92.389c-390b

And Levi made a great feast for Him in his house... 1 He who receives Christ in his internal abode, feasts with the greatest delight on the most excellent joys. Thus the Lord gladly enters, and He reclines in the affection of him who believes, and this is the spiritual feast of good works, where the rich lack and the poor man feasts. And there was a great crowd of tax collectors and others who sat with them... They had seen that the tax collector had turned from sins to better things and had found the place of penitence, and because of it they did not despair of salvation. And the Pharisees and their Scribes murmured, saying to His disciples: 'Why does He eat and drink wih tax collectors and sinners?' While the Lord dines with tax collectors, the murmuring Pharisees glory in fasting. Here the great difference between the Law and Grace is first declared. Because they who follow the Law, they suffer the eternal hunger of the fasting mind. But it is not possible for him who receives the Word in the interior of the soul and is renewed from the fount of bounty to hunger and thirst. Finally the type of future reward is prefigured here, when the elect feast with Christ and the treachery of the proud is tormented with fasting. To these it is said: 'Whores and tax collectors go before you into the kingdom of God.' 2 For by the election of Matthew is expressed the faith of the Gentiles who previously lusted for the wealth of the world, but now restore their bodies with the careful attention of Christ, and certainly it suggests the arrogance of the Pharisees and the envy of the Jews, which is tormented by the salvation of the Gentiles. And Jesus answered, saying to them: 'They who are healthy have no need of a physician, but they who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to pentience.' He reproves the Scribes and Pharisees who think themselves righteous men and refuse to associate with sinners. For He calls Himself a physican, who with a wondrous type of medicine 'was wounded for our wickedness and His bruises healed us.' 3 He calls them healthy who are righteous, and ignorant of the righteousness of God, and imposing their own wills, will not be subject to the righteousness of God, 4 those who are presumptuous because of the Law and do not seek the grace of the Gospel. But He calls them sick and sinners who conquered by their awareness of their fragility, seeing that they are not able to be justified through the Law, submit themselves in penance to the grace of Christ. Where at the same time it is shown that they did not remain in their old faults, because of which the Phariesses and Scribes murmured, but the tax collectors came in penitence to Jesus. And because of this Jesus Himself is made worthy to come to the feasts of sinners, so that He might have an occasion for teaching, and prepare spiritual food for those invited. Finally when it is said that a crowd comes to the feast, this refers to nothing else but what shall be done there and what taught, and it reveals the humility of the Lord in His coming to sinners, and the power of His teaching in converting to penance. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 2, Chapter 5 1 Lk 5.14 2 Mt 21.31 3 Isaiah 53.5 4 Rom 10.3

Feasts And Invites

Iesus dixit iterum in parabolis eis dicens, simile factum est regnum caelorum homini regi qui fecit nuptias filio suo. Et misit servos suos vocare invitatos ad nuptias et nolebant venire. Iterum misit alios servos dicens dicite invitatis ecce prandium meum paravi tauri mei et altilia occisa et omnia parata, venite ad nuptias. Tauri mei, et altilia occisa, et omnia parata, id est exempla patrum Veteris et Novi Testamenti sunt apposita. Tauri sunt patres Veteris Testamenti, qui dum ex permissione legis acceperant, ut suos adversarios odio retributionis percuterent, quid aliud quam tauri erant, qui inimicos suos corporeae virtutis cornu feriebant? Altilia vero sunt patres Novi Testamenti, qui, dum gratiam internae pinguedinis percipiunt, sublevantur ad sublimia, contemplationis suae penna. Et non sufficit eos amicos tantum diligere, sed etiam fervent inimicorum suorum dilectione. Quod autem dicuntur occisa tauri et altilia, intelligendum est vel ab eo quod fuerant occisa, vel jam per mortem carnis in requie posita. Et notandum quod in priori invitatione nihil de tauris et altilibus dicitur. In secunda autem tauri et altilia jam mactata memorantur, quia omnipotens Deus, cum verba ejus audire nolumus, sicut nec illi in priori invitatione, adjungit exempla, ut quod impossibile credimus, per exempla ad credendum fiat facilius. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput XXII Source: Migne PL 162.1435d-1436a

And Jesus answering, spoke again in parables to them, saying: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a king who made a marriage for his son. And he sent his servants to summon those invited to the marriage, and they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying: 'Tell those invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner, my bulls and fatted calves are slain, and everything is prepared, come to the marriage.' 1 'My bulls and fatted claves are slain, and everything is prepared,' that is, the example of the fathers of the Old and New Testaments have been served up. The bulls are the fathers of the Old Testament, who while they received permission from the Lord to strike their enemies with the hatred of retribution, were like bulls that gore their enemies with the bodily horns of their strength. The fatted calves, however, are the fathers of the New Testament, who while they receive the fattness of grace within, are lifted up to the heights, on the wings of contemplation. And it is not enough for them to love their friends alone, but they must even be fervent in the love of their enemies. Because the oxen and the fatted claves are said to have been slain, it must be understood why they were slain, even that through the death of the flesh that they have been placed at rest. And let it be noted than in the first invitation, nothing is said of the bulls and the fatted calves. But in the second invitation the sacrifice of the bulls and fatted calves is mentioned, because almighty God, when we are unwilling to hear His words, so adds the examples which were not present in the first invitation, so that which we believe to be impossible, is easier to believe by examples. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 22 1 Mt 22.1-4

Invitations And Refusals

Ἤρξαντο ἀπὸ μιᾶς παραιτεῖσθαι πάντες... Ἐπὶ τὸ λογικὸν συμπόσιον οὐκ ἀπήντησαν, φιλήδονοι μᾶλλον ὄντες ἢ φιλόθεοι, καὶ τῆς ὕλης ἢ τοῦ Θεοῦ· φιληδονίας μὲν γὰρ δεῖγμα γυνή· ἀγρὸς δὲ καὶ ζεύγη τῆς φιλοχρημοσύνης. Πολλοὺς μὲν οὖν κεκλῆσθαί φησι ἐπὶ τὸ μέγα δεῖπνον καὶ τὸ καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης λογικὸν συμπόσιον τῶν ἱερῶν καὶ θείων Γραφῶν, μὴ μὴν τοὺς πάντας τῆς χάριτος ἐπιτυγχάνειν· ἀποστερεῖσθαι γὰρ αὐτῆς τῶν κεκλημένων τοὺς περὶ ἕτερα ἠσχολημένους. Περισπᾷν γὰρ καὶ ἀφέλκειν τῆς κλήσεως τὰς τοῦ βίου φροντίδας διδάσκει· ταύτας δ' εἶναι διαφόρους ἢ γὰρ περὶ τὰ κτήματα καὶ ἀγροὺς ἀσχολούμενοι, ταῦτα τῆς κλήσεως προτετιμήκασιν, ὡς παραιτήσασθαι τολμῆσαι διὰ ταῦτα τὴν κλῆσιν· ἢ περὶ τὰς τοῦ βίου πραγματείας κατατριβόμενοι· ἢ δεσμῷ γάμων καὶ παίδων ἐμπεπλεγμένοι· ἤ τισιν ἄλλοις τοιούτοις φροντίσμασιν ἠσχολημένοι. Ταῦτα γὰρ καὶ τοιαῦτα ἐπάγειν καὶ περιέλκειν εἴωθε τοὺς διὰ ταῦτα τὴν χάριν παραιτεῖσθαι τολμῶντας, καὶ τὸν κλήτορα, καὶ τὸ τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης συμπόσιον, καὶ τὴν λογικὴν τροφήν· ὧν ἁπάντων ἐστέρησαν ἑαυτοὺς, κατὰ μὲν τὴν ἀποδοθεῖσαν ἑρμηνείαν, οἱ προτιμήσαντες τῆς οὐρανίου κλήσεως τὰ ἡδέα τοῦ παρόντος βίου, πλοῦτον δηλαδὴ καὶ πραγματείας καὶ γάμον, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα τὴν χάριν παραιτησάμενοι· κατὰ δ' ἑτέραν ἐκδοχὴν οἱ πρῶτοι τῆς κλήσεως ἠξιωμένοι, οὗτοι δ' ἦσαν οἱ ἐκ περιτομῆς, οἳ δὴ προφάσει τῆς περὶ τὸ κρεῖττον ἀσχολίας τὴν κλῆσιν ὕβρισαν. Ὡς γὰρ ἔχοντες ἀγροὺς τὰ παρ' αὐτοῖς ἀμφιλαφῆ ἀναγνώσματα, καὶ ὡς βόας ἀροτῆρας κεκτημένοι τοὺς παρ' αὐτοῖς προφήτας, καὶ ὡς ἂν σοφίᾳ τινὶ οἷα δὴ γυναικὶ συμβιοῦντες, τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν ἐξευτέλισαν χάριν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἦσαν οὕτω παχεῖς τὴν καρδίαν, ἐξυφαίνει παραβολὴν ἀποχρώντως ἔχουσαν εἰς παράδειξιν τῆς ἐπ' αὐτοῖς ἐσομένης οἰκονομίας· πρὸς γὰρ τὸ μακάριος ἔσῃ ἀποβλέπων, καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἀνταποδοθήσεταί σοι ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τῶν δικαίων, ὁ συνανακείμενος μακαρίζει τὸν μέλλοντα καταξιοῦσθαι τοῦ ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ ἄρτου. Οὗτος δὲ ἦν ὁ κατ' ἀνταπόδοσιν τῆς εἰς τοὺς πτωχοὺς φιλανθρωπίας, ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τῶν δικαίων ἀποδοθησόμενος τῷ μακαριζομένῳ, τῆς ἀναστάσεως καὶ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ βασιλείας μιᾶς καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς νοουμένης. Πρὸς οὖν τὸν εἰρηκότα, Μακάριος ὅστις φάγεται ἄρτον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τίς ἂν γένοιτο οὗτος ὁ μακάριος, διὰ τῆς παραβολῆς ὁ Σωτὴρ παρίστησιν. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν Ἐπαγγελιον, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 24.577a-d

And all alike they began to excuse themselves...1 They did not come to the rational feast, because they were lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. For the wife is a figure for the love of pleasure and the field and the cattle of avarice. Thus He says that many are called to the great feast which is the rational feast of the Divine Scriptures throughout the whole world, but not all are touched by grace, for they turn away from it when they are called and concern themselves with other things. Indeed He teaches that care for the things of the world draws off and drags one away from the calling, and these things are various, for busied with possessions and fields, these things are preferred to the invitation, and so they dare excuse themselves from being called. Or they are worn out by the affairs of life, or wrapped up in the chains of marriage and children, or bound by other similar cares. These things and things like them are accustomed to lead off and drag away and make them venture to turn down grace, and so the invitation, and the feast of the New Testament and the food of reason. All of which they lose, who according to this understanding, prefer the delights of this present life to the Divine calling, certainly wealth and business and marriage, the cause being the rejection of grace. But according to another interpretation those worthy to be the first ones to be invited, that is the people of the circumcison, were those who about their affairs scorned the call to a better seat. For having as fields the wealth of their Scriptures, and as oxen at the plough the prophets, and living with their wisdom as a wife, they scorn the grace of the Gospel. And since they were so dull of heart, they contrive to have this parable as pointing to the future arrangement of rational things. For with those words previously said, 'You shall be blessed,' and 'it shall be returned to you in the resurrection of the righteous,' 2 they see the feaster and name him blessed who shall be worthy to eat bread in the kingdom. But this was about the reward of those who love the poor, who in the resurrection of the righteous shall be given to be so blessed, for the resurrection is understood to be the kingdom of God. Therefore, to the one who had said, 'Blessed is he who eats bread in the kingdom of God,' who this blessed man may be, the Saviour suggests through the parable. 2 and the riches in God, which are a treasure of every good. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary On the Gospel of Saint Luke, Fragment 1 Lk 14.18 2 Lk 14.14

Joy And Feasts

Οὐκ ἔστι καταδίκοις ἐν φυλακῇ χαρμονή, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι μοναχοῖς ἀληθινοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς ἑορτή. Καὶ ἴσως διὰ τοῦτο ἐκεῖνος ὁ καλλίπενθος στενάζων ἔλεγεν· Ἐξάγαγε ἐκ φυλακῆς τὴν ψυχήν μου, τοῦ ἀγαλλιασθῆναι λοιπὸν ἐν τῷ ἀῥῥήτῳ φωτί σου. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος, ἡ Κλίμαξ, Λογος Ζ’ Source: Migne PG 88.808d

There is no joy for the condemned in prison, and no feast for true monks on the earth. And perhaps because of this that excellent mourner, sighing, said: 'Lead my soul from prison, that it may then rejoice in your ineffable light.' 1 Saint John Climacus, The Ladder, from Step 7 1 Ps 141.10

Endurance And Refreshment

Misereor super turbam, quia jam triduo sustinent me, nec habent quod manducent. Evangelium, fratres, ob hoc scriptum est, ut legatur; nec ob aliud legitur, quam ut rationabilem consolationem vel desolationem exinde capiamus. Est enim saecularibus consolatio vana de terrenarum affluentia rerum, vana nihilominus de earum penuria desolatio. At Evangelium, speculum veritatis, nemini blanditur, nullum seducit. Talem in eo se quisque reperiet, qualis fuerit: ut nec ibi timore trepidet, ubi non est timor; nec laetetur cum male fecerit. Sed quid dicit Scriptura? Si quis auditor est verbi, et non factor, hic comparabitur viro consideranti vultum nativitatis suae in speculo. Consideravit enim se, et abiit, et statim oblitus est qualis fuerit. Nos autem, fratres, non sic, obsecro, non sic; sed consideremus nosmetipsos in ipsa, quam audivimus, sacri Evangelii lectione, ut proficiamus ex ea, et corrigamus secundum eam, si qua in nobis deprehendamus corrigenda. Propter hoc enim optat Propheta dirigi vias suas, ad custodiendas justificationes Domini: Tunc, inquiens, non confundar, cum perspexero in omnibus mandatis tuis. Et ego quidem non confundor, sed glorior pro vobis, fratres mei, quoniam Salvatorem in deserto secuti, securi existis ad eum extra castra; sed vereor ne quis forte in triduana exspectatione pusillanimis inveniatur, et in Aegyptum saeculi hujus nequam vel corde, vel etiam et corpore revertatur. Merito proinde clamat divina Scriptura et dicit: Exspecta Dominum, viriliter age, et confortetur cor tuum, et sustine Dominum. Sed quandiu necesse est sustinere? Prorsus donec misereatur tui. Quaeris quando? Misereor, inquit, super turbam, quia jam triduo sustinent me. Viam enim trium dierum eas necesse est in deserto, si gratum Deo tuo offerre volueris sacrificium; et triduo sustineas Salvatorem, si miraculi panibus desideras satiari. Prima est dies timoris; dies, inquam, declarans et illuminans tenebras tuas, interiores scilicet, et horrendum gehennae supplicium demonstrans, in quo sunt tenebrae exteriores. Hujuscemodi siquidem cogitatio, sicut ipsi nostis, nostrae solet exercere primordia conversionis. Secunda est pietatis dies, qua respiramus in luce miserationum Dei. Tertia dies est rationis, in qua veritas innotescit, ut tanquam ex debito quodam naturae sine aliqua contradictione Creatori subjecta sit creatura, servus serviat Redemptori. Exhinc jubemur jam discumbere, ut charitas ordinetur in nobis; exhinc aperit Dominus manum suam, et implet omne animal benedictione. Verum quoniam apostolis dicitur: Facite homines discumbere; quorum nos, licet ad confusionem nostram, habetis vicarios qualescunque, discumbere vos admonemus, fratres charissimi, ut refecti pane benedictionis subsistere possitis in via; ne forte misera necessitate compulsi descendatis et vos in Aegyptum, et incipiant vobis illudere, qui necdum vobis cum in deserto secuti sunt Salvatorem. Miseri sane et ipsi, qui non exiere cum exeuntibus; sed plane miserabiliores omnibus hominibus, qui profecti quidem cum aliis, sed non cum aliis sunt refecti. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, Dominica VI Post Pentecosten, Sermo I, De evangelica lectione, ubi turba triduo sustinens Dominum septem panibus reficitur Source: Migne PL 183.337a-338b

'I have pity for the crowd, because they have been with me three days, and they do not have anything to eat.' 1 Let the Gospel be read, brothers, because of what is written, and let it not be read but that we might seize on reasonable consolation or desolation. For among worldly folk there is vain consolation in an abundance of worldly things, and among not a few a vain desolation because of the lack of them. But the Gospel, the mirror of truth, charms no one, nor does it seduce anyone. What is in it anyone may find as it is, so that there no one should fear where there is no fear, 2 nor rejoice when evil is done. But what does Scripture say? If someone is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man considering his natural face in a mirror. For he considers himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets how he was. 3 Let us not be like that, brothers, let us not, I beg, but let us consider ourselves in this mirror, in what we have heard in the reading of the holy Gospel, that we might benefit from it, and correct ourselves according to it, if we grasp something is in us that is in need of correction. Because of which the prophet desired that his ways be directed to the guarding of the justifications of the Lord, saying, 'Then I shall not be confounded when I look into all your commandments.' 4 And I am not confounded, but I glory in you, my brothers, because having followed the Saviour into the desert, you have confidently gone out to follow him outside the camp. 5 But I do fear lest perhaps someone finds himself weak of soul during the three days, and he turns his heart or even his body to the wicked Egypt of this world. Whence rightly Holy Scripture cries out and says: 'Hope in the Lord, act bravely, and strengthen your heart, and bear with the Lord.' 6 But how long must we endure? Certainly until He has pity on us. You ask when? 'I have pity for the crowd, for they have been with me for three days.' On the way of three days one must be in the desert, if you wish to offer a sacrifice of thanks to God, and for three days to bear with the Saviour, if you wish to be filled with the miraculous bread. First is the day of fear, a day, I say that declares and illuminates your darkness, obviously of the interior, and reveals the horrid punishments of hell, in which there is the exterior darkness. The thought of this, as you know, is accustomed to exercise us in our first conversation. The second day is of piety, in which we breathe the mercy of God in the light. The third day is of reason, in which the truth becomes known, that as a debt of nature, without any dispute, the creature is subject to the Creator, and the servant attends the Redeemer. Whence we are commanded to sit, that love might be ordered among us, for then the Lord opens his hand, and fills every animal with a blessing. 7 Truly He said to the Apostles, 'Make the men sit,' and we are of them, and possibly to our confusion you have neighbours, which we admonish you to make sit, dear brothers, that refreshed with the bread of blessing you are able to endure on the way, lest perhaps some wretched necessity drives even you back into Egypt, and they begin to mock you, who did not follow the Saviour into the desert with you. Certainly they are  wretched who did not go out with those who did go out, but more wretched are they among all men who have advanced with others, but have not been refreshed with others. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for the Year, The Sixth Sunday After Pentecost, from Sermon One, On The Reading from the Gospel when the crowd had been with the Lord for three days and He refreshed them with seven loaves. 1 Mk 8.2 2 Ps 13.5, 52.5 3 Jam 1.23-24 4 Ps 118.5-6 5 Heb 13.12 6 Ps 26.14 7 Ps 144.16

Feasting And Fulfilment

Φάγονται πένητες καὶ ἐμπλησθήσονται, καὶ αἰνέσουσιν κύριον οἱ ἐκζητοῦντες αὐτόν... Οὐ πάντες, οὐδε γὰρ πάντες ὑπήκουσαν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ, ἀλλ' οἱ τὸν θεῖον εἰσδεξάμενοι πόθον· τούτους ἅτε δὴ πεινῶντας καὶ διψῶντας, κορεσθήσεσθαι ἔφῃ τῆς ἀθανάτου τροφῆς ἀπολαύσαντας· τὴν δὲ θείαν τροφὴν, καὶ τὴν πνευματικὴν ἴσμεν διδασκαλίαν, καὶ τὴν μυστικὴν καὶ ἀθάνατον εὐωχίαν, ἤν οἱ μεμυημένοι γινώσκουσι. Ζήσονται αἱ καρδίαι αὐτῶν εἰς αἰῶνα αἰῶνος. Καὶ γὰρ ἔτι φθαρτὸν περικείμενοι σῶμα, τῇ ἐλπίδι τῆς ἀναστάσεως ψυχαγωγούμενοι, προσμένουσι τὴν ζωὴν αἰώνιον. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΚΑ’ Source: Migne PG 80.1021b-c

The poor shall eat and be filled, and they shall praise the Lord who seek Him... 1 Yet not everyone, since not everyone is obedient to the Gospel, but only those who admit the Divine love in themselves. These as feasters and drinkers, he says, shall be filled abundantly with immortal food. And we understand the Divine food to be spiritual teaching, and those who are initiated know what the spiritual and immortal banquet is. 'Their hearts shall live forever.' 1 For even yet bound in the mortal body, with the hope of the resurrection leading their souls onwards, they await eternal life. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 21 1 Ps 21.27

Receiving The Eucharist

Ἡμεῖς δὲ μετὰ τὸ οὕτως λοῦσαι τὸν πεπεισμένον καὶ συγκατατεθειμένον ἐπὶ τοὺς λεγομένους ἀδελφοὺς ἄγομεν, ἔνθα συνηγμένοι εἰσί, κοινὰς εὐχὰς ποιησόμενοι ὑπέρ τε ἑαυτῶν καὶ τοῦ φωτισθέντος καὶ ἄλλων πανταχοῦ πάντων εὐτόνως, ὅπως καταξιωθῶμεν τὰ ἀληθῆ μαθόντες καὶ δι’ ἔργων ἀγαθοὶ πολιτευταὶ καὶ φύλακες τῶν ἐντεταλμένων εὑρεθῆναι, ὅπως τὴν αἰώνιον σωτηρίαν σωθῶμεν. Ἀλλήλους φιλήματι ἀσπαζόμεθα παυσάμενοι τῶν εὐχῶν. Ἔπειτα προσφέρεται τῷ προεστῶτι τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἄρτος καὶ ποτήριον ὕδατος καὶ κράματος, καὶ οὗτος λαβὼν αἶνον καὶ δόξαν τῷ Πατρὶ τῶν ὅλων διὰ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ Ἁγίου ἀναπέμπει καὶ εὐχαριστίαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ κατηξιῶσθαι τούτων παρ’ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πολὺ ποιεῖται· οὗ συντελέσαντος τὰς εὐχὰς καὶ τὴν εὐχαριστίαν πᾶς ὁ παρὼν λαὸς ἐπευφημεῖ λέγων· Ἀμήν. Tὸ δὲ Ἀμὴν τῇ Ἑβραΐδι φωνῇ τὸ Γένοιτο σημαίνει. Eὐχαριστήσαντος δὲ τοῦ προεστῶτος καὶ ἐπευφημήσαντος παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ οἱ καλούμενοι παρ’ ἡμῖν διάκονοι διδόασιν ἑκάστῳ τῶν παρόντων μεταλαβεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐχαριστηθέντος ἄρτου καὶ οἴνου καὶ ὕδατος καὶ τοῖς οὐ παροῦσιν ἀποφέρουσι. Καὶ ἡ τροφὴ αὕτη καλεῖται παρ’ ἡμῖν εὐχαριστία, ἧς οὐδενὶ ἄλλῳ μετασχεῖν ἐξόν ἐστιν ἢ τῷ πιστεύοντι ἀληθῆ εἶναι τὰ δεδιδαγμένα ὑφ’ ἡμῶν, καὶ λουσαμένῳ τὸ ὑπὲρ ἀφέσεως ἁμαρτιῶν καὶ εἰς ἀναγέννησιν λουτρόν, καὶ οὕτως βιοῦντι ὡς ὁ Χριστὸς παρέδωκεν. Oὐ γὰρ ὡς κοινὸν ἄρτον οὐδὲ κοινὸν πόμα ταῦτα λαμβάνομεν· ἀλλ’ ὃν τρόπον διὰ λόγου θεοῦ σαρκοποιηθεὶς Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν καὶ σάρκα καὶ αἷμα ὑπὲρ σωτηρίας ἡμῶν ἔσχεν, οὕτως καὶ τὴν δι’ εὐχῆς λόγου τοῦ παρ’ αὐτοῦ εὐχαριστηθεῖσαν τροφήν, ἐξ ἧς αἷμα καὶ σάρκες κατὰ μεταβολὴν τρέφονται ἡμῶν, ἐκείνου τοῦ σαρκοποιηθέντος Ἰησοῦ καὶ σάρκα καὶ αἷμα ἐδιδάχθημεν εἶναι. Oἱ γὰρ Ἀπόστολοι ἐν τοῖς γενομένοις ὑπ’ αὐτῶν ἀπομνημονεύμασιν, ἃ καλεῖται εὐαγγέλια, οὕτως παρέδωκαν ἐντετάλθαι αὐτοῖς· τὸν Ἰησοῦν λαβόντα ἄρτον εὐχαριστήσαντα εἰπεῖν· Τοῦτο ποιεῖτε εἰς τὴν ἀνάμνησίν μου, τοῦτ’ ἐστι τὸ σῶμά μου· καὶ τὸ ποτήριον ὁμοίως λαβόντα καὶ εὐχαριστήσαντα εἰπεῖν· Τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ αἷμά μου· καὶ μόνοις αὐτοῖς μεταδοῦναι. Ἅγιος Ἰουστίνος Μάρτυς, Ἀπολογία Πρῶτη Source: Migne PG 6.428a-429a

But after we have thus washed him who has been persuaded by and has assented to our teaching, we lead him to the place where those who are called brethren are gathered, so that we may make heartfelt prayers in common for ourselves and for the illuminated man, and for all others everywhere, that we may be reckoned worthy, having learnt the truth, and by our works also, to be found good citizens and keepers of the commandments, so that we may be saved with an everlasting salvation. Having ended the prayers, we salute one another with a kiss. Then bread and a cup of wine mixed with water is brought to the presider of the brethren, and taking them he gives praise and glory to the Father of all things, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and he offers thanks at length that we are considered worthy to receive these things from Him. And at the conclusion of these prayers and thanksgivings all the people present assent to it by saying 'Amen,' which word 'Amen' in the Hebrew language means 'so be it.' When the presider has given thanks, and all the people have assented, those called deacons by us give to each of those present to partake of the bread and wine mixed with water over which the thanksgiving was pronounced, and to those who are not present they carry away a portion. And this food which is called the Eucharist among us no one is allowed to partake of but they who believe that the things which we teach are true, and who has been cleansed for the remission of sins and washed to regeneration, and who lives as Christ has taught. For we do not receive these things as common bread and drink, but in the way of the Word of God made flesh, Jesus Christ our Saviour, who had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise we have been taught that the food blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the Apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have so delivered to us what was enjoined on them, that Jesus took bread, and having given thanks, said, 'Do this in remembrance of Me, this is My body.' And likewise, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, 'This is My blood,' and gave it to them alone. Saint Justin Martyr, First Apology

Wisdom's Mixing

Κρατῆρα λόγων, ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφία, ὦ φιλομαθέστατε, τὰς θείας ἐκέρασε Γραφὰς, κρατῆρα, οὐ μέλιτος, οὐ γάλακτος, οὐκ οἴνου, ἀλλὰ παιδείας καὶ φιλοσοφίας πεπληρωμένον, καὶ θείοις χαρίσμασιν ἐστεμμένον, ὅστις τοὺς χρωμένους εἰς ἀρετὴν καὶ εὐσέβειαν προτρέπει, τῶν μὲν ἐπιγείων ἀμελεῖν παρασκευάζων, τῶν δὲ οὐρανίων εἴσω χωρεῖν· κρατῆρα, οὐ μεθόδους περιέχοντα, οὐδὲ σοφίσμτα, οὐδὲ φυσιολογίας ἀτόμους καὶ ἀπείριος, ἀλλ' ἔργα ἀνδρῶν ὀνομαστοτάτων καὶ ἐνδοξοτάτων, οἶς ὅμοια καὶ πράττων καὶ λέγων, ἀρετῆς κόσμον ἔξεις. Ἀλλ' οὐδε τῶν πταισάντων τοὺς βίους καὶ τὰς τιμωρίας ἀπεσιώτησαν· ὅπως μαθὼν, τὰ μὲν καλὰ ἔχιος, εἰ θέλοις, ζηλοῦν· τὰ δὲ φαῦλα, φεύγειν. Ὅσον μὲν οὖν χρήσιμον εἰς τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς φιλοσοφίαν ἐκ τῆς ἐξωθεν παιδεύσεως, ὥσπερ ἡ μέλιττα, δρεψάμενος, πολλὰ γὰρ, εἰ γὰρ τὰληθῆ λέγειν, ἀρετῆς ἔνεκεν πεφιλοσοφήκασι, τὸ λοιπὸν ἄπαν χαίρειν ἔα· μάλιστα ὁρῶν αὐτοὺς κατ' ἀλλήλων διαπρύσιον κεκινηκότας πόλεμον. Ἀριστοτέλης μὲν γὰρ ἐπανέστη Πλάτωνι· οἱ Στωϊκοὶ δὲ πρὸς τοῦτον ἐφράξαντο. Τοῖς δὲ θείοις χρησμοῖς διὰ βίου δίδου σαυτόν. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνων καὶ ἐκ τούτων ὠφελούμενος, μέγὰ καὶ σαυτῷ καὶ πᾶσιν ἔσῇ χρῆμα. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ βούλε τί ἐστιν, Ἐκέρασεν ἡ σοφία τὸν ἑαυτῆς οἶνον, καὶ δι' ἤν αἰτίαν, οὐκ ἄκρατον αὐτὸν προϋθηκε, μάνθανε δι' ὀλίγων πολλά· Τὰ θεϊα καὶ ὑπερφυῆ παιδεύματα, λόγοις καὶ παραδείγμασι σωματικοῖς ἐκέρασεν. Οὐ γὰρ οἷον τε ἦν ἡμᾶς ἄλλως νοῆσαι. Τὴν γοῦν ἔνωσιν τῶν θείων νοημάτων καὶ τῶν ἐπιγείων λόγων, κρᾶσιν οὐκ ἀπεικότως ἐκάλεσε. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Δεύτερον, Ἐπιστολὴ Γ’ Τιμοθεῳ Αναγνωστῃ Source: Migne PG 78.457b-460a

The bowl of words, O lover of learning, which the wisdom of God mixes is the Divine Scriptures, a bowl, I say, not full with honey or milk or wine but with teaching and philosophy, and garnished with Divine grace, which things are used to exhort to virtue and piety, and prepare us to neglect the things of the world, and to seek the things of heaven. It is not a bowl, I say, of sophistry and deceit, nor of the absurd and interminable investigations of natures, but the deeds of most celebrated and most famous men. Which if you imitate with your actions and your words, you shall adorn yourself with virtue. But the lives and punishments of the wicked are not wrapped in silence, that learning of them it might please you to adhere to good things and fly from what is vile. As much as there is anything beneficial to be gathered up in other learning, so much it leads to our philosophy, for often, if we speak truly, they philosophised over virtue, but bid farewell to the rest, certainly seeing that they are the cause of endless combats with one another. Even Aristotle made attacks on Plato, and again the Stoics take up arms against him. Give yourself to the Divine oracles for your whole life. For if from these and from those, you take up what is useful, it will be great to you and beneficial to all. Since this is what is wished with, 'Wisdom has mixed her wine,' 1 and for this reason, that it not be beyond our capability. With few words receive much. So she mixes the teaching of the Divine and high nature with corporeal words and examples. For it was not possible that we could understand in any other way. Whence the joining of Divine thoughts with earthly words is not unreasonably called mixing. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 2, Letter 3, to Timotheus the Lector