States Of Death And Life

Qui in monumentis sunt audient vocem Filii Dei, et qui audierint vivent. In istis verbis tangitur ordo spiritualis suscitationis, et tanguntur ibi tria. Tangitur enim ibi status mortis et status vitae et via perveniendi ad vitam de morte. Status mortis est status culpae, et hic tangitur, cum dicitur: Qui in monumentis sunt. Via perveniendi ad vitam est verbum doctrinae, et haec tangitur, cum dicitur: Audient vocem Filii Dei vivi. Status vitae est status gratiae , et hic tangitur , cum dicitur: Et qui audierint vivent ac si diceretur: qui sunt in morte culpae audient vocem doctrinae et vivent vita gratiae. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput V, Collatio XXV Source: Here, p563

Those in their tombs shall hear the voice of the son of God, and those who hear shall live. 1 With these words He touches on the order of spiritual revival, and it is touched on in a threefold manner. For there is a state of death and of life and of coming to life from death. The state of death is the state of sin and this is touched on when it is said, 'Those in their tombs.' The way of coming to life is the word of teaching, and this is touched on when it is said, 'They shall hear the voice of the son of the living God.' The state of life is the state of grace, and this is touched on when it is said, 'And those who hear shall live,' as if it was said, 'Those who are dead in sin shall hear the voice of teaching and live the life of grace.' Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 5 1 Jn 5.25

Signs And Showings

Et accesserunt ad eum Pharisaei et Sadducaei tentantes, et rogaverunt eum ut signum de coelo ostenderet eis. O quam duricordes! Signa quaerunt, quasi quae viderant opera Deitatis signa non fuerint. Sed quid quaerant ostendit Evangelista cum ait: Et rogaverunt ut signum de coelo ostenderet eis. Quaerebant ergo signum de coelo, ut jam supra, aut in morem Eliae, ignem de sublimi venire, aut in similitudinem Samuelis, aestivo tempore tonitrua concrepare, coruscare fulgura, imbres ruere, de quibus etiam supra dictum est, quasi non possent ista, et alia hujuscemodi calumniari ac dicere, ex occultis et variis aeris passionibus accidisse. Qua de causa sensus patet, quod non ob aliud de coelo quaerunt signum ut credant, sed ut ea quae secundo facta sunt de panibus, evacuent. Quanquam et in Evangelio Joannis monstretur eos post hoc miraculum de panibus, quaesisse ut manna more Moysi de coelo eis daret. Dicit enim Joannes eos ita dixisse: Quid ergo tu facis ut videamus et credamus tibi? Quid operaris? Patres nostri manna manducaverunt in deserto, sicut scriptum est: Panem de coelis dedit eis manducare. Ac si dicerent, ut qui multa millia hominum secundo pavisti in deserto paucis de panibus, fac in exemplum Moysi nobis manna venire de coelo, ut credamus tibi. Et hoc vere non de puritate fidei dixerunt, sicut nec patres eorum, quando dicebant: Nunquid panem poterit dare, aut parare mensam in deserto? Quae nimirum vox, non de credulitate venit, sicut nec istorum, sed de infidelitate et duritia cordis ut calumnientur et evacuent quae facta sunt a Domino, ne credentes salvi fiant. At ille respondens ait illis. Porro in Marco habetur quod ingemiscens spiritu dixerit: Generatio mala et adultera, praetermissis in medio quae Matthaeus commemorat, quoniam sicut supra turbam credentem coelestibus beneficiis refecturus, gratias agebat; ita nunc ob stultam Pharisaeorum non credentium perfidiam, et tentationis callidam fraudis petitionem, gemit et contristatur. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber VII, Caput XVI Source: Migne PL 120.550d-551b

And Pharisees and Sadducees came to Him to test Him, and they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. 1 O what hard hearts. They seek a sign, as if what they saw of the works of the Lord were not signs. But why they sought the Evangelist shows when he says, 'And they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.' Therefore they sought a sign from heaven as it was before, either in the manner of Elijah, that fire would come from the heights, or like Samuel when thunder sounded out a clear summer sky and lightening flashed and rain fell, which things have been spoken of above, as if they could not calumniate these things and those like them and say they happened because of various disturbances of the air. For which reason it is obvious that they did not seek a sign from heaven so that they might believe but so that they might make light of those things which had been done with bread. John says they spoke like this, 'What do you do that we might see and believe in you? What works? Our fathers ate manna in the desert, as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' 2 As if they had said that He who had just fed with a few loaves of bread many thousands of men in the desert for a second time  should act 'in the manner of Moses for us and make manna come from heaven, so that we might believe in you.' And this was not said out any sort of pure faith, just like their fathers, who said, 'Can He give us bread or prepare a meal in the desert?' 3 Which voice, then came not from belief, just like those, but from faithlessness and a hard heart, so that they might calumniate and make light of the things the Lord had done, lest believing they be saved. 'He then answered them.' But Mark has it that He groaned in His spirit and said, 'A wicked and adulterous generation,' 4 passing over here what Matthew remembers, that the crowd who were to be refreshed with the heavenly benefactions gave thanks, and thus now because of the folly of the Pharisees, and not the treachery of believers, and their clever and deceitful request, He groaned and sighed. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 7, Chapter 16 1 Mt 16.1 2 Jn 6.30-31 3 Ps 77.19 4 Mk 8.1-12, Mt 15.31

Giving And Withholding

Nolite sanctum dare canibus, et margaritas vestras nolite mittere ante porcos. Ac si dicat, Mandavi vobis diligere inimicos vestros, et non judicare eos, ut vos exhibeam misericordes ad illos, ut benefaciatis eis de corporalibus vestris, non de meis spiritualibus bonis, quoniam in natura vobis communes sunt, et non in fide. Mandavi autem vobis, ut non judicetis eos, qui in vobis peccaverint. Id vero non ideo praecepi, ut mysteriorum meorum secreta non pandatis eis, qui nolentes me scire, blasphemant, et spernunt. Videte Patrem vestrum Deum, ad cujus exemplum volui vos esse misericordes: carnalia beneficia dignis, et non dignis similiter praestat, numquid gratias spirituales? Nec enim dixi vobis de illo, qui Spiritum sanctum jubet descendere super gratos et ingratos, et dat benedictiones suas super justos et injustos: propter quod in vestris quidem estote simplices et benigni, in meis autem prudentes et cauti. Si tu vestiarium tuum studiosum, et clavicularium cellarii tui fidelem tibi requiris: quanto magis Deus talem requirit dispensatorem gratiarum suarum, qui bene tractando gratias ejus, faciat gratiores, non, male dispensando, reddat ingratas? Sicut enim si canibus dederis sanctum, aut porcis margaritas, nec sanctum canes sanctificat, nec margaritae nutriunt porcos, sed e contra canes coinquinant sanctum, et porci margaritas sordidant, vel confringunt: ita si hominibus caninos vel porcinos mores habentibus sanctum dederis, aut mysteria secreta credideris, nec sanctum illos sanctificat, nec mysteria veritatis eos illuminant, sed e contra ipsi sanctum coinquinant, et mysteria veritatis blasphemant. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XVII Source: Migne PG 56.727-8

Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not cast your pearls before swine. 1 As if He says, 'I commanded you to love your enemies and not to judge them so that I might exhibit you as merciful to them, so that you may be of help to them in bodily matters, but not in my spiritual goods, because you have a common nature but not a common faith. And I commanded you not to judge those who have sinned against you, but I did not instruct you to reveal to them the secrets of my mysteries, for those who do not wish to know me will blaspheme and spurn them. Look to God the Father, for by His example I wish to make you merciful. May it not be that at the same time men are worthy of bodily benefits but not of spiritual graces? I did not say to you that He commands the Holy Spirit to descend upon the grateful and the ungrateful, and that He gives His blessing over the just and unjust. Because of which you should be simple and kind among yourselves, but in me prudent and cautious. If you are jealous of your wardrobe and you require trust for the key of your cellar, how much more does God require it for the dispensing of His graces, He who in the giving out His grace well makes grateful, and who does not dispense it poorly and give it to the ungrateful? So if you were to give something holy to a dog, or pearls to pigs, that which is holy would not sanctify the dogs, nor would pearls nourish pigs, but on the contrary the dogs would defile what is holy and the pigs would soil the pearls, or crush them. Thus if you give what is holy to men who have the ways of dogs and pigs, or you entrust the sacred mysteries to them, that which is holy will not sanctify them, nor will the mysteries of the truth enlighten them, but rather they will defile what is holy and blaspheme the mysteries of the truth. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 17 1 Mt 7.6

Seed And Weeds and Wheat

Ἄλλην παραβολὴν παρέθηκεν αυτοῖς, λέγων· Ωμοιώθη ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ σπείραντι καλὸν σπέρμα ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ αὐτοῦ, ἐν δὲ τῷ καθεύδειν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους , ἦλθεν αὐτοῦ ὁ ἐχθρὸς, καὶ ἔσπειρε ζιζάνια ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σίτου , καὶ ἀπῆλθεν. Ὅτε δὲ ἐβλάστησεν ὁ χόρτος καὶ καρπὸν ἐποίησε, τότε ἐφάνη καὶ τὰ ζιζάνια . Προσελθόντες δὲ οἱ δοῦλοι τοῦ οἰκοδεσπότου, εἶπον αὐτῷ· Κύριε, οὐχὶ καλὸν σπέρμα ἔσπειρας ἐν τῷ σῷ ἀγρῷ; Πόθεν οὖν ἔχει τὰ ζιζάνια; Ὁ δὲ ἔφη αὐτοῖς· Ἐχθρὸς ἄνθρωπος τοῦτο ἐποίησεν. Οἱ δὲ δοῦλοι εἶπον αὐτῷ· Θέλεις οὖν ἀπελθόντες συλλέξωμεν αὐτά; Ὁ δὲ ἔφη Οῦ· μήποτε συλλέγοντες τὰ ζιζάνια, ἐκριζώσητε ἅμα αὐτοῖς τὸν σἴτον. "Αφετε οὖν συναυξάνεσθαι ἀμφότερα μέχρι τοῦ θερισμοῦ, καὶ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τοῦ θερισμοῦ ἐρῶ τοῖς θερισταῖς· Συλλέξατε πρῶτον τὰ ζιζάνια, καὶ δήσατε αὐτὰ εἰς δέσμας πρὸς τὸ κατακαῦσαι αὐτὰ, τὸν δὲ σἴτον συναγάγετε εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην μου. Ἐν τῇ προτέρᾳ παραβολῇ εἶπε τὸ τέταρτον μέρος τοῦ σπόρου πεσεῖν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθὴν , ἐν δὲ τῇ παρούσῃ δείκνυσιν , ὅτι οὐδὲ αὐτὸ ἐκεῖνο τὸ πεσὸν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθὴν, ἀδιάφθορον εἴασεν ὁ ἐχθρὸς , διὰ τὸ καθεύδειν καὶ ῥαθυμεῖν ἡμᾶς. Ἀγρὸς οὖν , ὁ κόσμος, ἢ ἡ ἑκάστου ψυχή . Ὁστείρας, ὁ Χριστός. Καλὸν σπέρμα, οἱ ἀγαθοὶ ἄνθρωποι ἢ λογισμοί. Ζιζάνια, αἱ αἱρέσεις ἢ οἱ πονηροὶ λογισμοί . Ὁ σπείρας δὲ ταῦτα, ὁ διάβολος . Καθεύδοντες δὲ ἄνθρωποι, οἱ διὰ ῥαθυμίαν χώραν διδόντις τοῖς αἱρετικοῖς καὶ τοῖς πονηροῖς λογισμοῖς. Δοῦλοι δὲ, οἱ ἄγγελοι, οἱ ἀγανακτοῦσιν ἐπὶ τῷ εἶναι αἱρέσεις, ἢ πονηρίας ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ, καὶ βούλονται ἀνασπᾶν καὶ ἐκκόπτειν ἐκ τοῦ βίου τοὺς τε αἱρετικοὺς καὶ τοὺς τὰ πονηρὰ λογιζομένους. Ὁ Θεὸς οὐ συγχωρεῖ τοὺς αἱρετικοὺς διὰ πολέμων ἀναλίσκεσθαι, ἵνα μὴ συμπάσχωσι καὶ συν αλίσκωνται καὶ οἱ δίκαιοι. ῾Ομοίως οὐδὲ διὰ τοὺς πονηροὺς λογισμούς θέλει ὁ Θεὸς ἐκκόπτειν τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἵνα μὴ καl ὁ σἶτος συνδιαφθαρῇ. Οἷον ἐὰν ὁ Ματθαῖος ζιζάνιον ὧν ἐκόπη ἐκ τῆς ζωῆς, συνεξεκόπη ἂν αὐτῷ καὶ ὁ ὕστερον μέλλων ἐξ αὐτοῦ βλαστῆσαι τοῦ λόγου σἶτος· ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ Παῦλος, καὶ ὁλῃστής· οὗτοι γὰρ ζιζάνια ὄντες , οὐκ ἐξεκόπησαν , ἀλλὰ συνεχωρήθησαν ζῇν, ἵνα αὐξηθῇ ἡ μετὰ ταῦτα αὐτῶν ἀρετή. Λέγει τοίνυν τοῖς ἀγγέλοις , ὅτι, Ἐν τῇ συντελείᾳ, τότε συνάξετε τὰ ζιζάνια, ἤτοι τοὺς αἱρετικούς. Ἀλλὰ πῶς ; Εἰς δέσμας, τουτέστι, δήσαντες αὐτῶν χεῖρα ; καὶ πόδας· οὐκ ἔτι γὰρ δύναται τις ἐργάσασθαι τότε, ἀλλὰ πᾶσα πρακτικὴ δύναμις δεσμεῖται. Ὁ δὲ σἴτος, ἤτοι οἱ ἅγιοι, συνάγονται παρὰ τῶν θεριστῶν ἀγγέλων εἰς τὰς οὐρανίους ἀποθήκας. ὑμοίω; οὖν καὶ οἱ πονηροὶ λογισμοὶ οὓς εἶχεν ὁ Παῦλος ὅταν ἐδίωκεν , ἐκαύθησαν τῷ πυρὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ ἦλθε βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὁ δὲ σἴτος, ἤτοι οἱ ἀγαθοὶ λογισμοί, συνήχθησαν εἰς τὰς ἀποθήκας τῆς Ἐκκλησίας. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ IΓ' Source: Migne PG 123.284c-285b

And He set before them another parable. Here is an image, He said, of the kingdom of heaven. There was a man who sowed his field with good seed, but while men slept, an enemy of his came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. So when the blade had sprung up and come into ear, the weeds, too, came to light. His servants went to him and said, 'Master, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? How is it, then, that there are weeds in it? He said, An enemy has done this.' And the servants said to him, 'Would you have us go and gather them up?' He said, No, lest while you are gathering the weeds you will tear up the wheat with them. Leave them to grow side by side until the harvest, and when it comes I will give the word to the reapers, 'Gather up the weeds first, and tie them in bundles to be burned, and store the wheat in my barn.' 1 In the previous parable that He told, a quarter of the seed fell on to good ground, 2 but in this one He shows that while we sleep and are indolent the seed which fell on good ground is not immune to corruption by the enemy. The field is the world, or the soul of a man. However Christ is the sower. The good seed is good men or good thoughts. The weeds are heresies or wicked thoughts and he who sows that seed is the devil. But men are the sleepers, who on account of their indolence give a place for heretics and wicked thoughts. The servants are angels who are indignant that there are heresies or wickedness in the soul, and they wish to uproot heretics and tear them up of from life, and it is the same with wicked thoughts. But God does not permit heretics to be consumed by war lest the righteous also suffer and be consumed. Similarly God does not want evil thoughts cut out of a man lest at the same time the wheat is ruined. For the sake of an example, if Mathew had been uprooted from this life when he was a weed, likewise the wheat of his writing, which later arose in himself, would have been torn up. It is the same for Paul and the thief. For they were weeds and they were not pulled up but they were allowed to live so that they might later grow in virtue. He then speaks of the angels who in the end shall gather up the weeds, that is heretics. But how? In sheaves, that is, bound hand and feet, for then they shall no longer be able to act, but their power of acting shall be chained. But the wheat, that is, those who are holy, shall be gathered at the harvest by the angels for the heavenly granaries. Similarly the evil thoughts which Paul had when he was a persecutor were burnt up in the fire of Christ, which he came to place on the earth, 3 but the wheat, that is, the good thoughts, they were gathered into the granary of the Church. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 13 1 Mt 13.24-30 2 Mt 13.3-8 3 Lk 12.49

Children And Humility

Et advocans Jesus parvulum, statuit eum in medio eorum... Vel simpliciter quemlibet parvulum, ut aetatem quaereret, et similitudinem innocentiae demonstraret. Vel certe parvulum statuit in medio eorum seipsum, qui non ministrari, sed ministrare venerat, ut eis humilitatis tribueret exemplum. Alii parvulum interpretantur Spiritum sanctum, quem posuerit in cordibus discipulorum, ut superbiam in humilitatem mutaret. Amen dico vobis, nisi conversi fueritis et efficiamini sicut parvuli, non intrabitis in regnum coelorum. Non praecipitur apostolis, ut aetatem habeant parvulorum, sed ut innocentiam, et quod illi per annos possident, hi possideant per industriam: ut malitia, non sapientia parvuli sint. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentaria in Matthaeum, Liber III, Caput XVIII Source: Migne PL 25.128a-b

And calling a young boy, He stood him in the midst of them... 1 It is possible that He placed a young boy in their midst simply to question its age and to demonstrate an image of innocence, but it is more certain that He did this to give them an example of humility, namely, that of Himself, who had come not to be served but to serve. 2 Others interpret the boy as the Holy Spirit, whom He put into the hearts of the disciples that they might exchange their pride for humility. Truly I say to you that unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. The apostles are not commanded to have the age of little children, but their innocence, and to acquire by their efforts what children have by their age, so that they are children in wickedness not wisdom. Saint Jerome, Commentary on Matthew, Book 3, Chapter 18 1 Mt 18.2 2 Mt 20.28

Adam And The Samaritan

Homo quidam ex Hierusalem descendebat in Hiericho, et incidit in latrones... Si altius consideretur, admiranda signat mysteria. Hiericho enim figura istius mundi est, in quam de paradiso, hoc est, de Hierusalem illa coelesti eiectus Adam praevaricationis prolapsione descendit, hoc est, de vitalibus ad infirma demigrans: cui non loci, sed morum mutatio naturae suae fecit exsilium. Longe enim mutatus ab illo Adam, qui inoffensa beatitudine fruebatur, ubi in saecularia peccata defluxit, incidit in latrones: in quos non incidisset, nisi his mandati coelestis devius se fecisset obnoxium. Qui sunt isti latrones, nisi angeli noctis atque tenebrarum, qui se nonnumquam transfigurant in angelos lucis, sed perseverare non possunt? Hi ante dispoliant quae accepimus indumenta gratiae spiritalis, et sic vulnera inferre consuerunt; nam si intemerata quae sumpsimus indumenta servemus, plagas latronum sentire non possumus. Cave ergo ne ante nuderis, sicut Adam ante nudatus est, mandati coelestis custodia destitutus, et exutus fidei vestimento, et sic lethale vulnus accepit: in quo omne genus occidisset humanum, nisi Samaritanus ille descendens, vulnera eius acerba curasset. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Expositio Evangelii Secundum Lucam, Liber VII Source: Migne PL 15.1718a-b

A man came down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves... 1 If this is considered in a more higher sense it shall indicate admirable mysteries. Jericho is a figure of this world, into which Adam fell from paradise, that is, from that heavenly Jerusalem, 2 having been cast out for the fault of this transgression, that is, from might he passed into weakness, and his exile was not a matter of place but made by the change of his nature. He was greatly changed from that Adam who prospered in the innocence of blessedness, when he tumbled into worldly things by sin, and fell among thieves, to whom he did not come but by his own flouting of the heavenly command. Who are those thieves but angels of night and darkness who can even change themselves into angels of light 3 but are not able to persist in it? They who are accustomed to inflict their wounds by first despoiling us of the heavenly armor we have received, for if we preserve the armour intact we have taken up, we will not be able to feel the blows of the thieves. 4 Therefore take care not to be naked, as Adam was when he stripped himself of the guard of the heavenly commandment and was stripped of the garment of faith, and because of which he received a lethal wound, in which every man would have perished, unless that Samaritan coming down had cured the bitter wounds. Saint Ambrose, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 7 1 Lk 10.25 2 Heb 12.22, Galat 4.26 3 2 Cor 11.14 4 Ephes 6.11-18

Righteousness And Appearances

Attendite ne justitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibus, ut videamini ab eis: alioquin mercedem non habebitis apud Patrem vestrum qui in caelis est. Cum ergo facis eleemosynam, noli tuba canere ante te, sicut hypocritae faciunt in synagogis, et in vicis, ut honorificentur ab hominibus. Amen dico vobis, receperunt mercedem suam. Te autem faciente eleemosynam, nesciat sinistra tua quid faciat dextera tua: ut sit eleemosyna tua in abscondito, et Pater tuus, qui videt in abscondito, reddet tibi. Et cum oratis, non eritis sicut hypocritae qui amant in synagogis et in angulis platearum stantes orare, ut videantur ab hominibus : amen dico vobis, receperunt mercedem suam. Tu autem cum oraveris, intra in cubiculum tuum, et clauso ostio, ora Patrem tuum in abscondito: et Pater tuus, qui videt in abscondito, reddet tibi. Instructis illis in perfectiori justitia agit de fine, ut non tamen hoc fine faciant, scilicet propter humanum favorem. Et agit de tribus virtutibus, eleemosyna, jejunio, et oratione, removendo a singulis hunc finem. Non prohibet fieri opera coram hominibus, quia superius dixit: Luceat lux vestra coram hominibus, sed hac intentione fieri prohibet, ut videantur, id est ut velint videri. Cum ergo, etc. Quando quidem nullam justitiam, ergo nec eleemosynam pro laude faciatis. Tangit morem Judaeorum, qui quando pauperes congregare volebant, tuba sonabant in publicis locis, et hoc praecipue faciebant hypocritae, qui sub specie boni laudes quaerebant, quasi dicat: Noli tuba canere, id est noli facta tua notificare et innotescere, ea intentione sicut hypocritae, quia receperunt mercedem laudis: vel receperunt quidam eorum in inferno mercedem suam, id est aptam. Tu autem, etc. Quia aliquis diceret: Ego faciam pro utroque, et pro aeterno bono, et pro humana laude, prohibet illud, quia Deus non patitur secum esse participem. Dextra est amor coelestium bonorum, sinistra vero est amor temporalium bonorum, laudis scilicet et caeterorum: non ergo consocientur isti amores, et nesciat sinistra, id est petitio humanae laudis, quid faciat dextra, id est amor et coelestium respectus: Ut sit eleemosyna tua in abscondito, id est in pura conscientia, ubi homo non videt, sed Deus tantum. Et cum oratis, etc., qui amant orare stantes, quasi cum labore in synagogis, id est in angulis platearum. Duo genera notat hypocritarum, alios qui aperte orant in publico ut viderentur, sicut illi qui orant in synagogis, ubi est totus conventus hominum, et alios qui licet in publico orarent, tamen latere se velle simulabant, cum tamen vellent videri, sicut illi qui in plateis orabant, sed tamen in angulis. Tu autem cum orabis, intra, etc. Ad litteram est hoc bonum facere, tamen aptius accipitur per cubiculum secretum conscientiae, in quo cubili oportet ut non sit litigiosa uxor, id est carnalitas, quae inquietet et faciat foras vagari mentem, non permittens sibi quiescere. Oportet igitur eam domari et comprimi, ut non inquietet et litiget. Sed non valet refugere ad cubiculum, nisi clauso ostio, ne intret turba phantasmatum. Ostia sunt ut quinque sensus corporis, et praecipue timor et amor terrenus. Per haec enim duo ostia intrant omnia phantasmata peccatorum, quae claudenda sunt. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput VI Source: Migne PL 162.1303d-1304c

Take care you do not do your righteousness before men, to be seen by them, otherwise you shall not have a reward from your Father who is in heaven. Therefore when you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honoured by men. Truly I say to you that they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be given in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners, so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, enter into your chamber, and having shut the door, pray to your Father in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 1 Having instructed them in the more perfect righteousness, He treats of the end, that they do not act for this end, that is, for the favour of men. And He treats of the three virtues of alms giving and fasting and prayer, removing this end from each one. He does not prohibit us from doing works before men, because previously He said, 'Let your light shine out before men,' 2 but He prohibits the intention of appearing, that is, that they wish to appear. 'Therefore when...' Do not give alms for praise when then there is no righteousness in it. This touches on a custom of the Jews who when they wished to gather the poor together they would blow a trumpet in a public space, and the hypocrites especially did this, who beneath a mask of goodness sought praise, as if He said with, 'Do not blow a trumpet,' 'Do not proclaim your deeds or exhibit them for notice, for this is to act like a hypocrite,' because they received the reward of praise, and some of them received their reward in hell, as is fitting. 'But you,' Because if someone were to say, 'I act for both reasons, for the eternal reward and also for human praise,' He prohibits it because God does not suffer to be a participant in it. The right hand is the love of heavenly goods, but the left is the love of transient goods, that is, praise and the rest of them. Therefore they should not associate with the latter loves, and the left does not know, that is, the wish for human praise, what the right hand does, that is, for the love and reverence of heaven. 'So that your alms be given in secret.' That is, with a pure conscience, when no man sees but only God. 'And when you pray,' those who love standing in prayer as if toiling in the synagogues, that is, on street corners. He notes two types of hypocrites, one sort who openly pray in the streets so that they might be seen, and those who pray in synagogues when there is a great gathering of men, and it is possible that there others who pray in public, who feign they wish to be hidden but they do wish to be seen just like those who prays in the streets but on the corners. 'You, however, when you pray...' According to the letter prayer is good, but it is more fittingly performed in the secret chamber of the conscience, in which chamber there should not be a nagging wife, that is, carnality, which disturbs and makes the mind wander outside and does not allow quietness. Thus one must rule and suppress this, so that it does not disquiet and provoke to argument. But one cannot withdraw to this chamber unless the door is closed, lest a crowd of illusions enter. The doors are the five bodily senses, and also the fear and love of worldly things. For through these two doors pass in the illusions of errors, which must be shut out. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 6.1-6 2 Mt 5.16

The Vineyard And Righteousness

Simile est regnum caelorum homini patrifamilias, qui exiit primo mane conducere operarios in vineam suam. Homo paterfamilias Christus est, cui caeli et terra quasi una est domus: familia autem quasi caelestium et terrestrium multitudo creaturarum, qui quasi tristegam domum aedificavit, id est, inferos, caelum et terram, ut super terram habitarent certantes, in inferno autem victi, in caelo victores: ut et nos, in medio constituti, non contendamus ad eos descendere, qui sunt in inferno, sed ad eos ascendere, qui sunt in caelo. Et ne forte nescias quid debeas fugere, aut quid debeas sequi, utriusque dedit tibi quasi modicum gustum inter lumen et tenebras habitanti: noctem de inferno, lumen de caelo. Nox tibi referat de tenebris inferorum, et lux tibi referat de splendore caelesti. Conducere operarios in vineam suam. Quae est vinea Dei hic? Non homines, sicut alibi: homines enim vineae cultores dicuntur. Vinea enim justitia est, in qua diversae species justitiarum positae sunt, quasi vites: utputa, mansuetudo, castitas, patientia, longanimitas, caeteraque innumerabilia bona, quae omnia generaliter justitiae appellantur. Attendamus ergo, cum quali studio caelestem vineam colamus. Adam enim positus est in paradiso, colere et operari eam: sed quia neglexit eam, projectus est de ea. Et nos positi sumus super colendam justitiam; si neglexerimus, projiciemur de ea, sicut et Judaei projecti sunt: de quibus scriptum est: Appone iniquitatem super iniquitatem eorum, ut non intrent in tuam justitiam. Ruina praecedentium admonitio debet esse sequentium. Si autem et nos sequentes ceciderimus in ipsam, magis veniam merentur illi, qui primi ceciderunt, quam nos qui secundi. Sicut autem mercenarius positus in vinea, si neglexerit eam, non solam mercedem suam perdet, sed etiam desertae vineae exigetur ab eo damnum: sic et nos, si neglexerimus justitiam nobis commissam, non solum nullam mercedem habebimus, sed etiam dissipatae justitiae dabimus rationem. Vinea enim Dei non extra nos, sed in nobis ipsis plantata est. Ideo qui peccatum facit, dissipat in se justitiam Dei: qui autem bona opera facit, colit eam in se. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXXIV Source: Migne PG 56.816-7

The kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard... 1 Christ is the householder, to whom the heavens and the earth are as one house, and His family is as the multitude of created things of heaven and earth, He who has established it as a house with three floors, that is, hell, heaven and the earth, so that on the earth dwell those who struggle, and in hell those who have been conquered, and in heaven the victors, so even we who are set in the midst of this should strive to avoid being with those who descend and to be with those who ascend and who are in heaven. And if perhaps you do not know what you should flee, or what you should follow, He gives to you as a slight taste the light and darkness where you dwell, the night as hell, daylight as heaven, night referring to the gloom of hell, and light to the splendor of heaven. 'To hire labourers for his vineyard.' What is the vineyard of God here? It is not men, as elsewhere, for men are said to be cultivators of the vineyard. The vineyard is righteousness, in which many types of righteousness are set, just like vines, that is, meekness, chastity, patience, long suffering, and other innumerable goods, which are all called righteousness in general. Let us look, therefore, to what zeal we should tend the vineyard. For Adam was placed in paradise to tend and work, but because he neglected it he was cast from it. And we have been placed to tend to righteousness, which if we neglect it, we shall be cast out, as even the Jews were cast out, concerning whom it is written, 'Place their wickedness on wickedness so that they do not enter into your righteousness.' 2 The ruin of those who came before should be a warning to those who come after. For if we who follow fail in this, those who failed first will have more cause for forgiveness than we who are second. So the hired man is placed in the vineyard, and if he neglects it, not only will he lose his pay, but he will be thrust out of the vineyard he has damaged, and so if we neglect the righteousness committed to us, not only shall we not have our reward, but we shall give cause for the ruin of righteousness. And the vineyard of God is not outside us but it is planted within us, and therefore he who sins ruins the righteousness of God in himself, and he who performs good works tends it in himself. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 34 1 Mt 20.1 2 Ps 68.28

A Woman Healed

Et circumspiciebat videre eam, quae hoc fecerat. Mulier vero timens et tremens, sciens quod factum esset in se, venit et procidit ante eum, et dixit ei omnem veritatem. Ille autem dixit ei: Filia, fides tua te salvam fecit : vade in pace, et esto sana a plaga tua. Et circumspiciebat videre... Eam quae ex hoc visu et respectu moveretur, quod hoc factum in gloriam Dei publicaret. Gratia et misericordia est in sanctis eius: et respectus eius in electos illius. Mulier autem timens... Corde, timore reverentiae, et tremens corpore, ad maiestatem Deitatis, cuius virtutem iam in se experta fuit.Timor et tremor venerunt super me, per experimentum quod factum esset in se, facitatis miraculum. Venit... Fidei devotione Et procidit ante eum... Poenitentia confitens quod vere Deus esset: quia eam de tam intima et miserabili poena infirmitatis erexerat . Cadens in terra pronuntiat quod vere Deus in nobis fit. Et dixit ei... Confitendo publice omnem veritatem scilicet de de quantitate et prolixitate infirmitatis, et de fide et devotione tangendi, et de perceptione integrae sanitatis. Veritatem Dico in Christo Iesu: non metior, testimonium perhibente mihi conscientia mea in Spiritu sancto. Iesus autem dixit ei. Sicut salutis auctor: ostendens id quod dicitur. Tu es qui vitae et mortis habes potestatem. Deducit ad inferos et reducit. Filia... Iam ad imaginem meam in gratia reformata. Fides tua te salvam fecit, Hoc est, hanc salute tibi meruit. Mulier magna est fides tua: fiat tibi sicut petisti. Vade in pace... Mea, mihi per devotionem reconciliata.  Fides tua te salvam fecit: vade in pace. Pacem meam do vobis. Esto sana... Perseverantia sanitatis perceptae.9 A Plaga tua. Confirma hoc Deus, quod operatus es in nobis. Sic dicitur: Quod vidit Deus cuncta quae fecerat, et erant valde bona. Qui enim fecerat potestate Deitatis, vidit oculo beneplaciti, confirmans, ut manerent: et sic manentia, essent valde bona. Bona enim erant facta: sed valde bona erant perseverantia. Hoc igitur est quod leo de tribu Iuda ostendit contra tentationes in carne, quae in fluxu sanguinis istius mulieris designantur. Sanctus Albertus Magnus, Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput V Source: Here p54-55

And He looked about to see who had done this, and the woman, in fear and trembling, knowing what was done to her, came and fell down before Him, and she told Him all the truth. And He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has made you whole. Go in peace, and be healed of your disease.' 1 And He looked about to see... She who was moved by this sight and looking would thus make public what was done to the glory of God. In Wisdom, 'Grace and mercy are among His holy ones and His eyes are on his chosen ones.' 2 But the woman fearing... In her heart with the fear of reverence, and trembling in her body at the majesty of God, whose power she had just experienced in herself. In the hundred and fourth Psalm, 'Fear and trembling came on me,' 3 from the experience of what was performed in her, the miracle of healing. 'Came...' In the devotion of faith. 'And fell down before Him...' In penance confessing that he was truly God, because He had relieved her of such an intimate and wretched a burden of sickness. 'Falling on the earth he shall proclaim that God is truly among us.' 4 And she told Him... Openly announcing the whole truth, that is, the gravity and length of the sickness and the faith and devotion of her touching, and the awareness of the restoration of her health. 'I speak the truth in Jesus Christ, I do not lie, my conscience bears witness to me in the Holy Spirit.' 5  Then Jesus spoke to her, as the author of salvation, revealing what is said in Wisdom, 'You are the one who has power over life and death,' 6 In Kings, 'He leads down into hell and He brings back again.' 7 'Daughter...' Now to my image by grace you have been renewed. 'Your faith has saved you...' That is, your faith merited it. In Matthew, 'Your faith is great, woman. May it be done to you as you have asked.' 8 'Go in peace...' Mine, through which devotion to me you have been reconciled. In Luke, 'Your faith has saved you, go in peace.' In John, 'My peace I give you.' 9 'Be healed...' Persevere in the reception of health. 'Of your disease.' In the Psalm, 'Confirm this, O God, which you have wrought among us.' 10 So it is said in the first chapter of Genesis, 'God saw all that he had made and it was very good.' 11 He who makes with the power of the Deity looks on with a benevolent eye, and gives strength so that they might persist, and so they do, and are very good. For good things were made, but it was very good that they persisted. This, then, is what the lion of Juda showed against the trials of the flesh, which is signified with this woman with the flow of blood. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 5 1 Mk 4.5-6 2 Sirach 3.27 , Job 41.15 3 Ps 54.6 4 1 Cor 14.25 5 Rom 9.1 6 Wisd 16.13 7 1 Kings 2.1 8 Mt 15.28 9 Lk 7.50 Jn 14.27 10 Ps 67.29 11 Gen 1.31

The Cure Of Peace

Mακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί... Τί ἐστιν ἡ εἰρήνη πρῶτον νοήσωμεν. Τί ἄλλο, ἢ ἀγαπητική τις πρὸς τὸ ὁμόφυλον συνδιάθεσις; τί οὖν ἐστι ἐξ ἐναντίου τῇ ἀγάπῃ νοούμενον; Μῖσος, ὀργὴ, θυμὸς, φθόνος, μνησικακία, ὑπόκρισις, ἡ κατὰ πόλεμον συμφορά. Ὁρᾷς ὅσων καὶ οἴων ἀῤῥωστημάτων ἀντιφάρμακόν ἐστιν ἡ μία φωνή; Ἡ γὰρ εἰρήνη κατὰ τὸ ἴσον ἑκάστῳ τῶν εἰρημένων ἀντικαθίσταται, καὶ ἀφανισμὸν ποιεῖ τοῦ κακοῦ τῇ ἑαυτῆς παρουσίᾳ, Ὡς γὰρ ὑγιείας ἐπιλαβούσης ἡ νόσος ἐξαφανίζεται, καὶ φωτὸς φανέντος οὐχ ὑπολείπεται σκότος· οὕτως καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης ἐπιφανείσης, λύεται πάντα τὰ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου συνιστάμενα πάθη. Τοῦτο δὲ ὅσον ἐστὶν ἀγαθὸν, οὐδὲν οἶμαι χρῆναι διεξιέναι τῷ λόγῳ αὐτός· σὺ κατὰ σεαυτὸν ἐπιλελόγισαι, οἷος ὁ βίος τῶν ἀλλήλους δι' ὑποψίας καὶ μίσους ἐχόντων, ὧν δυσάντητοι μὲν αἱ συντυχίαι, βδελυκτὰ δὲ αὐτοῖς τὰ ἀλλήλων πάντα· ἄφθογγα δὲ τὰ στόματα, καὶ ἀπεστραμμένα τὰ βλέμματα· καὶ ἀκοὴ πεφραγμένη τῇ τοῦ μισοῦντος καὶ μισουμένου φωνῇ. Πᾶν δὲ φίλον ἑκατέρῳ αὐτῶν, ὃ τῷ ἑτέρῳ μὴ φίλον· καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου πᾶν ἐχθρὸν, καὶ πολέμιον, ὃ τῷ δυσμενεῖ καταθύμιον. Ὥσπερ τοίνυν τὰ εὐώδη τῶν ἀρωμάτων, τῆς ἰδίας εὐπνοίας τὸν παρακείμενον ἀέρα πλήρη ποιεῖ· οὕτω σοι βούλεται κατὰ περιουσίαν πλεονάζειν τῆς εἰρήνης τὴν χάριν, ὥστε τὸν σὸν βίον θεραπείαν εἶναι τῆς ἀλλοτρίας νόσου. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Logos Z', Mακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ θεοῦ κληθήσονται. Source: Migne PG 44.1284b-d

Blessed are the peacemakers...1 Let us first consider what peace is. What but a loving disposition towards one's neighbour. What, then, is considered to be the opposite of love? Hate and wrath, anger and envy, bearing resentment, hypocrisy and strife. Do you see how this one word is an antidote for many different diseases? For peace is equally opposed to all the things mentioned and makes the evils disappear by its presence. Just as sickness vanishes when health arrives, and as no darkness remains when light begins to shine, so it is that with the appearance of peace all the passions connected with its opposite cease. I do not think I need describe in detail how great a good this is. You yourself may consider what sort of life they lead who treat each other with suspicion and hatred. Conversations are difficult, all interaction is despised, tongues are silent, eyes are turned away, and hearing is blocked to the voice of him who hates and is hated. Whatever is dear to the one is not to the other, and conversely, whatever is an enemy and a threat to one pleases the one who bears him ill will. Therefore as it is with the pleasant scent of sweet spices that fill the air around with their fragrance, so He wants the grace of peace to abound fully in you, so that your life may heal the sickness of others. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Seventh Oration, on 'Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.' 1 Mt 5.9

The Soul's Flight

Fugiamus hinc. Potes animo fugere, et si retineris corpore. Potes et hic esse, et adesse ad Dominum, si illi adhaereat anima tua, si post ipsum cogitationibus tuis ambules, si fide, non specie vias ejus sequaris, si ad ipsum confugias. Est enim refugium et virtus, cui dicit David: Ad te confugi, et non sum deceptus. Ergo quia Deus refugium, Deus autem in coelo, et supra coelos: utique hinc illo confugiendum est, ubi pax, ubi requies ab operibus, ubi epulemur sabbatum magnum, sicut dixit Moyses: Et erunt sabbata terrae vobis escae. Epulatorium enim et plenum jucunditatis et tranquillitatis est, requiescere in Christo, et ejus delectationem videre. Qui ergo confugimus ad Deum, ad mundum revertemur? Qui peccato mortui sumus, peccata repetemus? Qui renuntiavimus saeculo et usui ejus, iterum in luto ejus haerebimus? Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Fuga Saeculi, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 14.590b-c

Let us flee from here. You can flee in the soul, even though detained in the body. You can both be here and in the presence of the Lord if your soul cleaves to Him and you walk after Him in your thoughts, if you follow His ways, not in appearance but in faith, if you take refuge in Him. For He is a refuge and strength, as David says to Him, 'I fled to you for refuge and I was not deceived.' 1 And so because God is a refuge and because He is in heaven and above the heavens, surely we must flee from here to there where there is peace, where there is rest from labors, where we can feast upon the great sabbath as Moses said, 'And the sabbaths of the land shall be food for you.' 2 For to rest in Christ and to look on His delight is a banquet, one filled with joy and serenity. We have taken refuge with God, and shall we return to the world? We have died to sin, shall we seek sins again? We have renounced the world and its use, shall we stick fast again in its mire? Saint Ambrose, On Flight from the World, Chapter 8 1 Ps 76.3 2 Levit 25.6

Interior Peace

Εἶπε πάλιν· ῎Ατρωτος διαμένει μοναχὸς ἀπὸ τῶν βελῶν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, ὁ ἀγαπῶν ἡσυχίαν· ὁ δὲ συναναμιγνύμενος πλήθεσι συνεχεῖς δέχεται πληγάς Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.305c

Again Father Nilus said, 'The monk who loves interior peace will remain invulnerable to the shafts of the enemy, but he who mixes with crowds constantly receives blows.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

An Ignorant Critic

Ἒοικας ἀγνοεῖν ὅσην ὁ ἀπράγμων βίος ἔχει τὴν εὐφροσύνην· τάχα δὲ οὐκ αὐτὸς μόνος , ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ τὸν αὐτόν σοι βίον ἐπανῃρημένοι, ἅτε μηδέποτε ταύτης γευσάμενοι καθαρῶς . Πέπαυσο τοίνυν μὴ μόνον πολυπραγμονῶν , καὶ συκοφαντῶν , ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς συκοφάντας συγκροτῶν. Κινδυνεύεις γὰρ εἰς ἀναλγησίαν ἐκπεπτωκώς , τὴν μὲν κακίαν περιἐπειν, τὴν δ' ἀρετὴν προπηλακίζειν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Δεύτερον, Ἐπιστολὴ K', Μαρωνι Source: Migne PG 78.469d-472a

You appear to be ignorant of how great the joy is in the life that is far from daily business, and perhaps this applies not only to you, but even to those who live a life like yours, who never taste of that purity. Be done, then, not only with questioning something utterly foreign to you and slandering it, but also applauding those who disparage it. For you are in danger of falling into foolishness, and embroiling yourself in vices, and abusing virtue. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 2, Letter 30, To Maro

Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, And The Song Of Songs

Veranus: Quid ait Salomon in Proverbiss, aut docet in Ecclesiaste, vel Cantico Canticorum? Salonius: In Proverbiis docet parvulum, et per varias sententias, instruit quasi filium. In Ecclesiaste vero jam perfectae aetatis virum imbuit, ut intelligat quia in hujus mundi rebus nihi est perpetuum, nihil gloriosum aut magnum; sed omnia sunt brevia, caduca et vana, quae cerniums. In Cantico Cnticorum jam consummatum virum atque perfectum in omnibus, et variis exornatum virtutibus, sponsi, id est, Domini nostri Jesu Christi amplexibus jungit. Salonius Viennensis, Expositio Mystica in Ecclesiasten Source: Migne PL 53.993d

Veranus: What does Solomon say in Proverbs, and what does he teach in Ecclesiastes, and what in the Song of Songs? Salonius: In Proverbs he teaches the child, and through various sentences he instructs as he would a son. But in Ecclesiastes he instructs the adult man, so that he might understand that nothing in this world is forever, that nothing is glorious and great, but everything is brief, perishing and vain, as we see. In the Song of Songs he joins the consummate man, perfect in all things, and adorned with the different virtues, with embraces to the bridegroom, that is, our Lord Jesus Christ. Salonius of Geneva, A Spiritual Exposition of Ecclesiastes

Knowledge And Toil

Φιλομαθὴς ὤν, γίνου καὶ φιλοπονος· ἡ γὰρ ψιλὴ γνῶσις, φυσιοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.932a

If you are a lover of learning, become also a lover of toil, for he who loves knowledge alone merely puffs up the man. 1 Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works 1 1 Cor 8.1