Sending Out

Et misit illos praedicare regnum Dei, et sanare infirmos. Tangit suae legationis auctoritatem, et finem. Auctoritatem in hoc quod dicit: Et misit illos. Misit enim illos ut in eis sua auctoritas honoraretur, ut sua voluntas per eos omnibus exponeretur, ut fides per eos praedicaretur, et ut omnes non credentes per eos de infidelitate convincerentur. De primo quidem horum dicitur, Matth. x: Qui recipit vos, me recipit. Et, Luc. x: Qui vos spernit, me spernit. Et hoc etiam intelligendum est de apostolicis legatis. Sed non sunt apostolici legati, qui in auctoritate et vita et verbo non veniunt Apostolorum, qui in veritate non habent gratiam curandi, sed potius daemone pessimo impletur, et infirmatur omne cui manus imponunt. De secundo dicitur, II ad Corinth. v: Pro Christo legatione fungimur, tamquam Deo exhortante per nos. Obsecramus pro Christo, reconciliamini Deo. De tertio, Marc. xvi, 15 : Euntes in mundum universum, prgedicate Evangelium omni creaturse, Psal. xviii: Caeli enarrant gloriam Dei. Et sequitur: In omnem terram exivit sonus eorum. Ad Roman. x: Fides ex auditu, auditus autem per verbum Christi. Et supra: Quomodo praedicabunt nisi mittantur? De quarto, Psal. cxlix: Exaltationes Dei in gutture eorum, et gladii ancipites in manibus eorum. Exaltationes in faucibus, sunt gratiarum actiones de credentibus. Gladii autem in manibus, sunt testimoniorum condemnationes contra non credentes. Marc. xvi: Qui vero non crediderit, condemnabitur . Finem autem legationis subjungit, dicens: Praedicare regnum Dei. Tangit autem duos fines: primum quidem veritatis, alterum autem virtutis tam in spiritu quam in corpore. Finis veritatis est regni Dei praedicatio. Finis virtutis est infirmorum sanatio. In primo horum notantur duo: veritatis scilicet propositio, et veritatis ratio. Propositio importatur cum dicit: Praedicare. Praedicatur enim, ut dicit Chrysostomus, cujus ratio probans ipsum non habetur: sed cum sit super intellectum, et sit de indemonstrabilibus, oportet quod supermundanis probetur miraculis. Est enim praedicare quoddam prophetare, vel prophetias exponere. Prophetiae autem omnes innituntur revelationi. Revelatio autem non habet causam per quam possit doceri, sive demonstrari. II ad Timoth. iv: Praedica verbum, insta opportune, imporlune. Marc. xvi: Praedicate Evangelium omni creaturse. Isa. lxi: Misit me ut prsedicarem captivis indulgentiam, et clausis apertionem. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput IX Source: Here p609

And He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 1 This touches on the authority of those sent and the end. Authority in this which is said, 'And He sent them out.' For He sends them out so that in them shall be the honour of His authority, that His will through them should be set forth before everyone, that the faith through them be preached and that all who do not believe shall be convicted of faithlessness. Concerning the first of these it is said in the tenth chapter of Mathew, 'He who receives you, receives me.' And in the tenth chapter of Luke, 'He who rejects you, rejects me.' 2 And this must be understood of the Apostles who were sent out. For they are not Apostles sent out who in authority and life and word do not come as Apostles, who in truth do not have the grace of curing but rather are possessed by the worst of demons and they make everyone they lay their hands on sick. Concerning the second, it is said in the fifth chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians, 'We are the ambassadors of Christ, with God exhorting you through us. We entreat you in Christ, be reconciled to God. ' 3 Concerning the third, in the sixteenth chapter of Mark, 'Going out into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature.' In the eighteenth Psalm 'The heavens announce the glory of God,' and it follows, 'In every land the cry goes forth.' In the tenth chapter of Romans, 'Faith is by hearing and hearing is through Christ's word.' And a little before, 'And how shall they preach unless they are sent out?' 4 Concerning the fourth, in the one hundred and forty ninth Psalm, 'In their throats the exaltations of God and two edged swords in their hands.' The exaltations in their throats are the thanksgiving of the faithful. The swords in their hands are the testaments of condemnations against those who do not believe. In the sixteenth chapter of Mark, 'But he who shall not believe, he shall be condemned.' 5 And the end of their sending out follows: 'To preach the kingdom of God.' And this touches on two ends, the first of truth, and the other of virtue that it is as much in the spirit as in the body. The end of truth is the preaching of the kingdom of God, the end of virtue is the healing of the sick. In the first of these two things should be noted the proposition of truth and the reason of truth. The proposition is set forth when He says, 'Preach.' For it is preached, says Chrysostom, when reason approves what it did not have. But when it is beyond understanding and indemonstrable is it necessary that what is beyond the world be proved with miracles. For to preach is a sort of prophecy, and prophecy is a kind of setting forth, and all prophecy depends on revelation, but revelation does not have a cause by which it can be taught or demonstrated. In the fourth chapter of the second letter of Timothy, 'Preach the word, in season and out of season.' In the sixteenth chapter of Mark, 'Preach the Gospel to every creature.' In the sixty first chapter of Isaiah, 'He sent me that I might preach forgiveness to captives and open the eyes of the blind.' 6 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 9 1 Lk 9.2 2 Mt 10.40, Lk 10.16 3 2 Cor 5.20 4 Mk 16.15, Ps 18.1,5, Rom 10.17 5 Psalm 149.6, Mk 16.16 6 2 Tim 4.2, Mk 16.15, Isaiah 61.1

Apostles And Tradition

Traditionem itaque Apostolorum in toto mundo manifestatam, in omni Ecclesia adest perspicere omnibus qui vera velint videre, et habemus annumerare eos qui ab Apostolis instituti sunt Episcopi in ecclesiis, et successiones eorum usque ad nos, qui nihil tale docuerunt, neque cognoverunt, quale ab his deliratur. Etenim si recondita mysteria scissent Apostoli, quae seorsim et latenter ab reliquis perfectos docebant, his vel maxime traderent ea quibus etiam ipsas ecclesias committebant. Valde enim perfectos et irreprehensibiles in omnibus eos volebant esse, quos et successores relinquebant, suum ipsorum locum magisterii tradentes: quibus emendate agentibus fieret magna utilitas, lapsis autem summa calamitas. Sed quoniam valde longum est, in hoc tali volumine omnium ecclesiarum enumerare successiones, maximae, et antiquissimae, et omnibus cognitae, a gloriosissimis duobus apostolis Petro et Paulo Romae fundatae et constitutae ecclesiae, eam quam habet ab Apostolis traditionem, et annuntiatam hominibus fidem, per successiones Episcoporum pervenientem usque ad nos indicantes, confundimus omnes eos, qui quoquo modo, vel per sibiplacentiam malam, vel vanam gloriam, vel per caecitatem et malam sententiam, praeterquam oportet colligunt. Ad hanc enim ecclesiam propter potentiorem principalitatem necesse est omnem convenire Ecclesiam, hoc est, eos qui sunt undique fideles, in qua semper ab his, qui sunt undique, conservata est ea quae est ab Apostolis traditio. Sanctus Irenaeus Lugdunensis, Adversus Haereses, Liber III, Caput III Source: Migne PG 7.848a-849a

The tradition of the Apostles manifested throughout the whole world is within the power of everyone in every Church to contemplate clearly who may wish to see the truth, and we are in a position to reckon up those who were instituted bishops in the Churches by the Apostle and the succession of these men to our own times, who neither taught nor did they know anything of what these men rave about. If the Apostles had known hidden mysteries which they taught to the perfect apart from the rest, they would have certainly delivered these things to those whom they were committing the Churches. For they wished these men should be perfect and blameless in everything, these whom they were leaving behind as successors, and to whom they were handing over their own place of headship, which if such men acted well it would be a great boon, but if they fell the greatest calamity. But because it would be a very lengthy exercise in such a volume as this to enumerate the successions of all the Churches, we point at the very great and very ancient and universally known Church founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul, which has its tradition from the Apostles, and the faith preached to men which comes down to us by the successions of the Apostles, to confute all those, who in whatever way, by evil self pleasing, or vainglory, or blind and wicked opinion, gather together. For with this Church, because of its preeminent authority, it is necessary that every church should agree, that is, with those who are faithful in every way, by which in these who are faithful in every way has been preserved the tradition that is from the Apostles. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 3, Chapter 3

The Ruin Of The Impious

Ἐπετίμησας ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἀπώλετο ὁ ἀσεβής· τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐξήλειψας εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος. Οὐ γὰρ ἠνέσχου, φησὶν, ἐπὶ πλεῖστον περιϊδεῖν τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύσιν ὑπὸ τοῦ πικροῦ τυράννου δουλουμένην κακῶς, ἀλλ' οἷόν τις δικαστὴς, ἐπὶ θρόνου τινὸς ὑψηλοῦ καὶ φοβεροῦ βήματος καθίσας, τοιαύτην αὐτῷ τιμωρίαν ἐπ ήνεγκας, ὥστε λήθῃ παντελεῖ τούτου παραδοθῆναι τὴν μνήμην. Τὸ δέ γε, Ἐπετίμησας ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἀπ ώλετο ὁ ἀσεβὴς, ταύτην ἔχει τὴν διάνοιαν· ∆ιὰ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀποστόλων, καὶ τῶν μετ' ἐκείνους τῆς ἀλη θείας κηρύκων, προσήνεγκες τοῖς ἔθνεσι τὰ θεῖα δόγματα· ἐκείνων δὲ δεξαμένων, καὶ τῆς πλάνης ἀπαλλαγέντων, ἀπώλετο ὁ ἀσεβὴς, τοὺς ἀπατωμέ νους καὶ προσκυνοῦντας οὐκ ἔχων. Οὕτω Βαρνά βας καὶ Παῦλος θῦσαι πειραθεῖσι Λυκάοσιν ἐπετί μησαν βοῶντες· Τί ποιεῖτε, ἄνδρες; καὶ ἡμεῖς ὁμοιοπαθεῖς ἐσμεν ὑμῖν ἄνθρωποι, ἀπὸ τούτων τῶν ματαίων πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὑμᾶς ἐπιστρέφοντες. Οὕτω Γαλάταις ὁ μακάριος ἐπετίμησε Παῦλος· Ὦ ἀνόητοι Γαλάται, τίς ὑμᾶς ἐβάσκανεν, οἷς κατ' ὀφθαλμοὺς Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς προεγράφη ἐσταυρωμέ νος; Οὕτω Κορινθίοις· Ὅλως ἀκούεται ἐν ὑμῖν πορνεία, καὶ τοιαύτη πορνεία, οἵα οὐδ' ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὀνομάζεται. Ἐπετίμησε τοίνυν ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἀπώλετο ὁ ἀσεβὴς, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐξήλειψεν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος. Ἐσβέσθησαν γὰρ παν τελῶς τῆς ἀσεβείας αἱ τελεταὶ, καὶ λήθῃ παντελεῖ παρεδόθησαν, ὡς μηδένα τῶν νῦν ἀνθρώπων εἰδέ ναι τὰ τῆς ἀσεβείας μυστήρια. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός Θ’ Source: Migne PG 80.924a-b

The nations cried out, and the wicked perished, their name you have destroyed forever, for all the ages. 1 For you do no tolerate for long that human nature should be despised and reduced by that bitter tyrant to slavery, but as a judge upon his high throne in a fearful tribunal you imposed such a punishment on him so that his memory would be lost in forgetfulness forever. But these words, 'The nations cried out and the wicked perished,' has this meaning, that through the holy Apostles, and the proclaimers of truth who came after them, you brought the Divine teachings to the nations, who when they received them were freed from error, and so wickedness perished, no longer having any persuasive adulators. So Paul and Barnabas cried out loudly to the Lycaones who were about to offer sacrifice to them, 'O men, what are you doing? We are but mortal, just like you men. Be done with these vain offerings to God.' 2 So even Paul cries out to the Galatians, 'O foolish Galatians, who has enthralled you, before the eyes of whom Jesus Christ was openly crucified? And to the Corinthians, 'What fornication is heard among you, that is not even named among the Gentiles.' 3 Therefore the nations cried out, and the wicked perished, and their name was destroyed forever, for all the ages. For all their impious rites came to an end and were sunk in oblivion, so that none among men now know the mysteries of their impieties. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 9 1 Ps 9.6 2 Acts 14.14 3 Galat 3.1, 1 Cor 5.1

Glory And Disgrace

..αἰσχύνθητε ἀπὸ καυχήσεως ὑμῶν ἀπὸ ὀνειδισμοῦ ἔναντι Kυρίου. Ἴδωμεν δὲ χαὶ ἑξῆς ἐπίπληξιν ἀναγχαίαν ἣν καλὸν εἰς τὸν ἐθιχὸν τόπον ἀναλαθεῖν λέγουσαν" Αἷσχύγθητε ἀπὸ καυχήσεως ὑμῶν, ἀπὸ ὀνειδισμοῦ ἐναντίον Κυρίου. Ἔστι τινὰ ἐν οἷς χαυχώμεθα δια τὴν ἄνοιαν, οὐχ οὖσιν χαυχήσεως ἀξίοις" οἷον ἐάν χαυχήσηταί τις, ὅτι πλούσιός ἐστι, χαὶ πολλὰ χέχτη ται, λέγοιτ᾽ ἂν πρὸς αὐτόν - Αἰσχύγθητε ἀπὸ καυχήσεως ὑμῶν. Ἐὰν χαυχήσητα! τι; ἐπὶ εὐγενείξ ταύτῃ τῇ ἐχτὸς, λεχθήσεται πρὸς αὐτόν" Αἰσχύγθητε ἀπὸ καυχήσεως ὑμῶν. Ἐὰν χαυχήσηταί τις ἐπὶ πολυτελείᾳ ἱματίων, ἐπὶ οἰχοδομῇ οἰχίας πλουσίως χατεσχευασμένης, ἀλλοτρία ἐστὶν ἡ καύχησις χαυχῆς σεως ἁγίων" διὸ λεχθήσεται πρὸς τὸν τοιοῦτον᾽ Αἰσιχὺγθητε ἀπὸ καυχήσεως ὑμῶν. Άkουε τοῦ λόγου τοῦ προφήτου Ἱερεμίου χελεύοντος ἡμᾶς μὴ καυχᾶσθαι· Μηδὲ ὁ σοφὸς ἐπὶ τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτοῦ, μηδὲ ὀϊσχυρὸς ἐν τῇ ἰσχύϊ αὑτοῦ, μηδὲ ὁ πιλούσιος ἐν' τῷ πιλούτῳ αὐτοῦ, μηδὲ ἐν τούτῳ καυχάσθω ὁ καυχώμενος, συγιεῖν καὶ γιγώσκειν, ὅτι ἐγώ εἶμι Κύριος. θέλεις καυχᾶσθαι, καὶ καυχώμενος μὴ ἀκοῦσαι, Αἰσχύνθητε ἀπὸ καυχήσεως ὑμῶν; Καύχησαι ὡς ᾿Απόστολος, καὶ εἰπέ ᾿Εμοὶ δὲ μὴ γέγοιτο καυχᾶσθαι εἰ μὴ ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι' οὗ ἐμοὶ κόσμος ἐσταύρωται, κἀγὼ τῷ κόσμῳ. Θέλεις kαυχᾶσθαι ἵνα μὴ ἐλεγχθῇς· Αἰσιχύνθητε ἀπὸ kαυχήσεως ὑμῶν; Ἄκουε Παύλου καυχωμένου, καὶ μάνθανε, ὅταν λέγῃ· Ἥδιστα οὗν καυχήσομαι ἐν ταῖς ἀσθεγείαις μου, ἵν ἐπισκηγώσῃ ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ ἡ δύναμις τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἄκουε οἷα καυχᾶται καυχήματα Eν κόποις περισσοτέρως. Τίς δύναται ἡμῶν τοῦτο εἰπεῖν; Ἐν φυλακαῖς ὑπερβαλλιόντως. ἐν θανάτοις πολλιάκις ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων πεντάχις τεσσαράκοντα παρὰ μίαν ἔλαβον, τρὶς ἐῤῥαῦδίσθην, ἅπαξ ἐλιθάσθηγν, τρὶς ἐραυάγησα. Μανθάνομεν οὖν χαὶ χαυχήσεων εἶναι διαφοράς᾽ ὥς τινας μὲν χαυχήσεις εἶναι αἰσχύνης ἀξίας, ἐφ᾽ οἷς λέγοιτ᾽ ἂν ἐχεῖνο τὸ ἀποστολιχόν᾽ Καὶ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ αἰσχύνῃ αὐτῶν. Ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἔδει αὐτοὺς αἰσχύνεσθαι, ἐπὶ τούτοις οἴονται δοξάζεσθαι. Ὠριγένης Ἰερεμίας, Ὁμολία IA' Source: Migne PG 13.324c-325a

...you are disgraced in your glorying, in your shame before me 1 Let us see what else there is here for needful correction, which we should receive in a moral sense: 'You are disgraced in your glorying, in your shame before me.' There are many things in which we glory and show our lack of sense. For example, if some glory in their many possessions, He says to them, 'You are disgraced in your glorying.' If some glory in the nobility of their family, it is said to them, 'You are disgraced in your glorying.' If someone fall into boasting over expensive clothing, over a house adorned with much wealth, he is far from the glory of the saints, and it is said to him: 'You are disgraced in your glorying.' Hear what the Divine speech says to Jeremiah, exhorting us not to glory in our wisdom, 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the rich man in his riches, he who would glory let him glory in understanding and knowing that I am the Lord.' 2 You wish to glory and not hear in your glorying: 'You are disgraced in your glorying.' ? Glory like the Apostle and say, 'Let it no be for me to glory but in the cross of Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.' 3 You wish to glory and not hear, 'You are disgraced in your glorying'? Hear Paul glorying and learn when he says, 'Gladly, then, I glory in my weaknesses so that the power of Christ might dwell in me.' 4 Hear what the glories are that he glories in, 'In much labour.' Who can say this? 'In a long time in prison, often among the dead, from the Jews who gave me forty five lashes less one, three blows of the stick, and once I was stoned, three times I suffered shipwreck.' 5 Let us learn the differences between glories and that some glory in what is shameful, and some in the things the Apostle speaks of. 'And their glory is in their disgrace.' 6 Over things which disgrace them, these they think make them glorious. Origen, from the Eleventh Homily on Jeremiah 1 Jerem 12.13 2 Jerem 9.23-24 3 Galat 6.14 4 2 Cor 12.9 5 2 Cor 11.23-25 6 Philip 3.19

The Spirit And Sons

Quotquot enim spiritu Deu aguntur, hi filii sunt Dei Plus est agi quem regi. Qui enim regitur aliquid agit: et ideo regitur, ut recte agat. Qui autem agitur agere ipse aliquid vix intelligitur. Et tamen tantum praestat voluntatibus nostris gratia Salvatoris, ut non dubite Apostolus dicere. Quotquot spiritu Dei aguntur, hi filii sunt Dei. Aguntur quippe filii Dei, ut quod agendum est agant; et cum egerint, illi a quo aguntur, gratias againt, quia sicut agendum est illud agant, id est cum delectatione et dilectione justitiae, et suavitatem quam dedit Dominus, ut terra ejus dare fructum suum, ab eo se accepise guadeant. Nomen enim adjutoris praescribit agenti, quia et ipse aliquid agit. Filii ergo Dei sunt, quicunque aguntur spiritu, non littera, non lege praecipente, minante, promittente, sed spiritu excitante, illuminante, adjuvante. Guillelmus S Theodorici Abbas, Expositio In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Liber VIII, Caput XIV Source: Migne PG 180.631a-b

As many as are led by the Spirit of God, are sons of God. 1 It is better to be led than ruled. For he who is ruled does something and is ruled so that he might do it correctly. But he who is led does something he scarcely can grasp. But this can only be with the grace of the Saviour in our wills, so that the Apostle does not hesitate to say, 'As many as are led by the Spirit of God, are sons of God.' Certainly the sons of God are led so that they do what they should, and when they have done they give thanks to the one who led them, because as it should be done so they have done, that is, with delight and a love of righteousness, 'and the Lord gave such sweetness that His earth gave forth its fruits,' 2 from whom receiving it they rejoice. And He is named as a helper in the deed, because He himself acts. Therefore the sons of God are any of those who are led by the Spirit, who are not commanded by the letter and the law, nor threatened or given promises, but roused by the Spirit, and illuminated by Him and helped by Him. William of St Thierry, Commentary on Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans, Book 7, Chapter 14 1 Rom 8.14 2 Ps 84.13

Paul And Mercy

Merito, fratres, apostolis sanctis attribuit mater Ecclesia, quod in Sapientiae libris legitur: Hi sunt viri misericordiae, quorum justitiae oblivionem non acceperunt: cum semine eorum permanent bona. Sunt enim hi plane viri misericordiae, sive quia misericordiam consecuti, sive quia misericordia pleni, seu quia misericorditer a Deo nobis donati sunt. Vide quam misericordiam consecuti sunt. Paulum interroga de se ipso, vel magis sponte confitentem ausculta. Qui fui blasphemus, et persecutor, et iniquus; sed misericordiam consecutus sum. Quis enim non audivit quanta mala fecerit sanctis in Jerusalem? nec solum in Jerusalem, sed et per totam Judaeam insaniae ferebatur habenis, ut Christi membra laniaret in terris. Denique hac furia vectus ibat, sed praeventus a gratia est. Ibat spirans minarum et caedis in discipulos Domini, et discipulus Domini factus est, cui ostenderetur quanta eum oporteret pro nomine ipsius pati. Ibat dirum toto corpore virus exhalans, et subito in electionis vas mutatus est, ut jam cor illius eructaret verbum bonum, verbum pium, et diceret: Domine, quid me vis facere? Haec utique, haec mutatio dexterae Excelsi. Merito proinde loquebatur: Fidelis sermo et omni acceptione dignus, quoniam Dominus Jesus venit peccatores salvos facere quorum primus ego sum. Hoc ergo apud beatum Paulum fiduciae et consolationis accipite, fratres, ut ad Dominum jam conversos non nimis cruciet praeteritorum, conscientia delictorum; sed tantum humiliet vos, sicut et ipsum. Ego sum, inquit, minimus apostolorum, qui non sum dignus vocari apostolus, quia persecutus sum Ecclesiam Dei. Ita et nos humiliemur sub potenti manu Dei, et fiduciam habeamus, 994 quia et nos misericordiam consecuti sumus, abluti sumus, sanctificati sumus. Et hoc quidem omnibus nobis quoniam omnes peccavimus, et egemus hac gloria Dei. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Sanctis, Sermones de Sanctis, In Festo SS Petriet Pauli Apostolorum, Sermo III, De lectione libri Sapientiae: Hi sunt viri misericordiae. Source: Migne PL 183.412c-413a

Rightly brothers, the holy mother Church has attributed to the holy Apostles what is said in the book of Wisdom, 'These men are merciful, their righteousness shall not be forgotten, with their seed good things will persist.' 1 They are indeed men of mercy, either because mercy followed them, or they were full of mercy, or they were given to us by the mercy of God. And observe how mercy followed them. Paul, questioning himself, or rather of his own accord making an open confession, says, 'I who was a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and wicked, but the mercy of God followed me.' 2 Who has not heard of the evil he did to the saints in Jerusalem? And not only in Jerusalem but throughout the whole of Judea, he who was carried about by a madness to wound the members of Christ on earth. Finally his fury was borne away, but grace came first. He was breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, and he was made a disciple of the Lord, to whom it was shown how much it is necessary to suffer for His name. He went about exhaling a dire poison from his body, and suddenly he was changed into a vessel of election, so that now 'my heart sent forth a good word,' a pious word, and he said, 'Lord, what do you want of me?' 3 This was the changing of the right hand of the Most High. Rightly therefore he said, 'The faithful word, worthy of all reception, because the Lord Jesus came to save sinners, of which I am the first.' 4 Therefore, brothers, receive this confidence and consolation along with Paul, that converted to the Lord, the things that have gone before should not torment, nor should consciousness of crimes, but let it humble you as it did him. 'I am,' he said, 'the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God.' 5 Therefore let us place ourselves humbly under the powerful hand of God, and let us be confident that mercy has followed even us, that we are washed, and that we are sanctified. And this applies to all of us, because we have all sinned, we have all fallen short of the glory of God. 6 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Saints, On The Feast Of Saints Peter and Paul, from Sermon 3, Concerning the passage from the Book of Wisdom, 'These are merciful men...' 1 Sirach 44.10-11 2 Tim 1.13 3 Ps 44.2, Acts 9.1-20 4 1 Tim 1.15 5 1 Cor 15.9 6 Rom 3.23

Bearing The Stigmata

Ego autem stigmata Domini Jesu in corpore meo porto. Qui post adventum Christi in carne circumciditur, non portat stigmata Domini Jesu; sed habet gloriam in confusione sua. Qui vero in plagis supra modum, in carceribus frequenter, ter virgis caesus est, semel lapidatus est, et caetera quae in catalogo scripta sunt gloriandi, hic stigmata Domini Jesu in corpore suo portat. Forte et is qui macerat corpus suum, et subjicit servituti, ne aliis praedicans ipse reprobus inveniatur, portat stigmata Domini Jesu in corpore suo. Laetabantur et apostoli quod digni fuerant pro nomine Jesu contumeliam pati. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Epistolam ad Galatas, Liber III, Cap VI Source: Migne PL 26.438a

But I bear the stigmata of the Lord Jesus on my body... 1 He who after the coming of Christ is circumcised in the flesh does not bear the stigmata of the Lord Jesus, but he glories in his confusion. However he who receives blows for the way, and frequent imprisonments, and has fallen three times, and was once stoned, and the other things which are recorded for glory, 2 he bears the stigmata of the Lord Jesus on his body. And perhaps even he who emaciates his body and subjects it to servitude, lest he merit reproof when preaching to others, bears the stigmata of the Lord Jesus on his body. 3 And the Apostles rejoiced that they were worthy to suffer abuse for the name of Jesus. 4 Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Letter to the Galatians, Book 3, Chapter 6 1 Galat 6.17 2 2 Cor 23-25 3 1 Cor 9.27 4 Act 5.41

Labour And Chains

Memor esto Christum Jesum resurrexisse a mortuis ex semine David secundum Evangelium meum, in quo laboro usque ad vincula, quasi latro, sed verbum Dei non alligatum. Quoniam multi futuri erant filii diaboli, qui Filium Dei incarnatum negarent; idcirco hoc memorat, quoniam fallaciter sub nomine apostolorum hoc asseverate nituntur. Subjecit, secundum Evangelium meum, ut excluderet malae mentis falsa colloquia; non enim plus haereticis credendum est de apostolis, quam his ipsis de praedicatione sua testantibus, quam praedictionem cum labore se agere queritur. Pressuris enim tribulabatur et carceribus, eo quod tam Judaeos quam gentiles offenderet, sicut illis videbatur, incredibilia praedicando; iratos enim habebat Judaeos propter Legem, quam cessare docebat: gentiles autem inimicos sibi faciebat, quia unum Deum praedicabat in Christo. Unde quasi latronem hunc tractabant, alligantes, claudentes si posset tacere, nescientes quia verbum Dei alligari non poterat. Denique saepe clausus non dispendium fecit, sed lucrum; neque enim defuit, cui praedicaret in carcere, ut quos libere invitare ad fidem non posset, in vinculis positus pasceret Dei verbo. Ambrosiaster, Commentaria in Epistolam ad Timotheum Secundam, Caput II Source: Migne PL 17.489b

Remember Jesus Christ, resurrected from the dead, from the seed of David, according to my Gospel at which I labour, even to the wearing of chains like a criminal, but the word of God is not fettered. 1 Because there shall be many sons of the devil who deny the incarnation of the Son of God, therefore he reminds him of this which they deceitfully struggle to assert under the name of Apostles. He adds 'according to my Gospel' to exclude the false speech of wicked minds, for heretic apostles should not be trusted more than the testimony of his own preaching, by which preaching with labour he seeks to prove himself. Indeed he suffered persecution and imprisonment because just as he offended Jews, so he offended Gentiles, by preaching, as it seemed to them, unbelievable things. He angered Jews because of the Law which he taught was ended, and he made enemies of Gentiles because he preached one God in Christ. Whence they treated him as a criminal, putting him in chains, as if by shutting him up they might silence him, not knowing that the word of God cannot be fettered. Finally by his frequent imprisonment, he did not suffer loss, but profited, for in prison there was no lack of men to preach to, so that those he was not able to call to faith when free, he fed with the word of God when placed in chains. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Second Letter of Saint Paul To Timothy, Chapter 2 1 2 Tim 2.8-9

Apostles and Prisoners

Paulus vinctus Jesu Christi... In nulla Epistola hoc cognomine usus est, licet in corpore epistolorum, ad Ephesios vidlicet et Philippenses, et Colossense, esse se in vinculis pro confessione testetur. Majoris autem mihi videtur supercilii, vinctum se Jesu Christi dicere, quam Apostolum. Gloriabantur quippe apostoli, quod digni fuerant pro nomine Jesu Christi contumeliam pati; sed necessaria auctoritas vinculorum. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Philemonem Source: Migne PL 26.605a

Paul, a prisoner for Jesus Christ... 1 Paul does not name himself in this way in any other letter, though among the collection of his letters, that is, in Ephesians and in Philippians and Colossians he bears witness that he is in chains because of his confession. But it seems to me it is of more importance to say he is a prisoner of Jesus Christ than an Apostle. Since the Apostles gloried that they were worthy to suffer abuse for the name of Jesus Christ, 2 the prestige of chains is unavoidable. Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Epistle to Philemon 1 Philemon 1 2 Acts 5.41

Grace And Apostleship

Per quem accepimus gratiam et apostolatum... Per quem, sicut reconciliatorem pro peccais nostris, accepimus gratiam, id est ipsorum remissionem peccatorum, per quem, sicut per sapientiam in contemptum praesentium, sapit nobis gratia futurorum. Per quem, inquit, accepimus gratiam et apostolatum: gratiam ad laborum patientiam, apostolatem ad praedictionis auctoritatem, gratiam in persuadendo ea quae persuadenda sunt, apostolatu in coercendo eos qui coercendi sunt. Ad obediendum fidei in omnibus gentibus. Tantam etenim gratiam in hujusmodi apostoli adepti sunt, ut gentes quae erant alienae a testamento Dei and conversatione Israel, non solum in suscipiendo fidem praedictoribus crederent, sed etiam novum vitae modum et religiosae conversationis ordinem pro nominis Christi reverentia suscipere obedirent. Guillelmus S Theodorici Abbas, Expositio In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Liber I, Caput I Source: Migne PG 180.551c-d

Through whom we have received grace and apostleship... 1 'Through whom,' as reconciliation for our sins, 'we have received grace,' that is, for forgiveness of sins. And 'through whom,' as through the wisdom that is contempt of present things he knows the grace of future things for us. Thus 'through whom,' he says, 'we have received grace and apostleship,' grace for patience in toil, and apostleship for authority in preaching, and grace for persuading those things that must be persuaded, and apostleship for ordering those who need to be ordered. 'For the obedience of faith among all peoples.' So great is the grace that this Apostle has received that peoples who were far estranged from the testament of God and the ways of Israel not only have believed in the taking up of the faith by preaching, but are obedient in the adoption of a new way of life and the rule of religious conduct out of reverence for the name of Christ. William of St Thierry, Commentary on Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans, Book 1, Chapter 1 1 Rom 1.5

The Ways Of Peter And Paul

Christus Saulum in Paulm, Cepham convertit in Petru: nam de ipsis quondoque propheta praedixerat: Et vocabit servos suos nomine alio. Tu es, inquit, Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam. Petra siquidem erat Christus, suumque nomen communicat Petro, ut Petrus petra sit: nam sicut petra sitienti populo aqua in deserto profluxit, ita et a Petro aliis in fide arescentibus salutiferae fidei confessio emanavit. Chrisit ascensurus in coelum Petro suas oves pascendas agnosque commisit; atque post parvae naviculae regimen, eidem gubernaculum magnae navis, id est, totius Ecclesiae magisterium mancipavit. Petro tanquam optimo dispensatori claves domus suae tradidit. Justitia Petri tantam judicandi judicium potestatem, ut de ejus arbitrio coeleste judicium pendeat; nec a Petri sententia etiam angelus appellare praesumat Interrogatus a Domino Petrus quem eum dicerent homines: brevi confessionis compendio divinae majestatis arcanum declarat in Christo. Non revelabit tibi hoc, Petre, caro et sanguis: care enim et sanguis non possidebunt regnum Dei, sed Spiritus Dei Patris, qui in coelis est. Mirabilis piscator, qui olim profunda aequoris scrutabatur, inscrutabile sacramentum deitatis in Christo fideleter confitetur. Interrogante Domino: Petre, amas me? Petrus trinam negationem negotionis confessione delevit. Cum Christus de sacramento suae carnis et sanguinis loqueretur, quidam abierunt retro: multi enim cum Christo ambulant, donec ad edendum carnem ejus et sanguinem veniatur. Quaerente Domino nunquid reliqui vellent abire, Petrus tanquam petra fidei, et publicae veritatis assertor respondens pro omnibus: Domine, inquit, ad quem ibimus? verba vitae aeternae habes. Ac si diceret: Non in solo pane vivit homo, sed in omni verbo quod procedit ex ore Dei. Quam dulcia faucibus meis eloquia tua super mel ori meo. Quid mihi est in coelo, Domine, et a te volui super terram? Coelum et terrae, aer et mare obediunt Petro: Simonem enim Magum, ab aere praecipitat, Tabitham de terra suscitat, super aquas ambulat, Anaiam et Saphiram tanquam Dominus vitae et mortis viventes mortificat: coleum vero potestative claudit et reserat. Audivimus de Petro, vultis audire de Paulo. Audivimus de viro hoc quanta mala fecerit in Jerusalem,qui non solum per Jerosolymam, sed per totam Judeam insania ferebatur ,ut Christi membra laniert in terris. Verumtamen spirans minarum et caedis in discipulos Domini, a Domino in discipulum adoptatur, toto pectore virus exhalans, et blasphemando nomen Domini, de vase blasphemiae factus est vas electionis ut nomen Domini portaret coram regibus. Ubi ergo abundavit delictum, superabundavit et gratia: ideoque mutatus in alterum virum dicebat. Fidelis sermo, et omni acceptione dignus, quoniam venit Dominus Jesus salvos facere peccatores, quorum primus ego sum. Paulus dum adhuc conversaretur in trra, rptus in tetriu caelum, in schola sanctae Trinitatis didicit quod ei aliis communicae non licuit. Si ergo nobis aperuit quae mens humana non potest comprehendere, quanta sunt ea quae nobis prohibitus est aperire? Quia Paulum schola coelestis instuxerat, ei tanquam idoneo doctori Dominus magisterium ecclesiasticae instructionis injunxit. Quod Elymam percussit, quod Eutychum morti abstulit, quod fame, quod nuditatem, quod sitim, quod omnia fere humane conditionis pericula pro Christo sustinuit, et caetera quae in Actis apostolorum leguntur Paulo cedunt ad cumulum gloriae et honoris. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XXVIII, De SS. Petro et Paulo Source: Migne PL 207.644b-645c

Christ changed Saul to Paul, and Cephas to Peter, as a prophet once foretold, 'And He shall call His servants by another name.' 1 'You are Peter,' He says, 'and on this rock I shall build my Church.' 2 Certainly, 'the stone was Christ,' 3 and His name He communicated to Peter, so that Peter might be a rock, for as water flowed for a thirsty people in a desert, so from Peter there shoots forth to others a salutary confession of faith. Christ, who was about to rise into heaven, committed the feeding of His sheep and lambs to Peter, 4 and after the steering of little boats, gave to him the piloting of a great ship, that is the headship of the whole Church. He gave the keys of His house to Peter as the best of stewards. The righteousness of Peter has such great power of discernment for judging that on his will the heavenly judgement depends, nor would an angel presume to appeal against the sentence of Peter. Asked by the Lord whom men said He was, Peter with a brief confession of the secret of the Divine majesty declared Him to be Christ. Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, Peter, for flesh and blood shall not possess the kingdom of God, 5 but it was the Spirit of God the Father who is in heaven. Wondrous fisherman, who once scrutinised the depths of the sea, now faithfully confesses the inscrutable mystery of the Godhead in Christ. Asked by the Lord, 'Do you love me?' Peter wiped away the three denials with three confessions. When Christ spoke of the mystery of His flesh and blood, some turned back, for many had walked with Christ until it came to the eating of His flesh and blood, and when the Lord asked if the rest of them wished to go away, Peter as the rock of faith and the witness of open truth answered for everybody, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.' As if he said, 'Not on bread alone does a man live but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' 6 'How sweet in my throat your words, surpassing honey in my mouth.' 'What is there for me in heaven, O Lord, and what have I wished for from you on the earth?' 7 Heaven and earth, air and sea obeyed Peter, for he cast down Simon Magus from the air, and he lifted up Tabitha from the earth, and he walked on water, and he slew Ananias and Sapphira, as the lord of life and death, who has the power to close heaven and to open it. 8 We have heard of Peter, now hear of Paul. We have heard that this man did much evil in Jerusalem, and not only in Jerusalem, but that through all Judea he was borne about by a madness, so that he might wound the members of Christ on earth. However, breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, he was taken up as a disciple by the Lord. 9 Retching forth venom from his breast and blaspheming the name of the Lord, from a vessel of blasphemy he was made into a vase of election of the Lord, so that he might bear the name of the Lord before kings. 'Thus where wickedness abounded so grace abounded more,' 10 and changed into another man he said, 'The word is faithful and worthy of all reception, because the Lord Jesus came to save sinners, of whom I am the first.' 11 Paul while yet living on earth was caught up to the third heaven 12 and in the school of the Holy Trinity learned what he was not permitted to speak of to others. If therefore he revealed to us what the human mind is not able to grasp, how greater are those things which were prohibited to be revealed to us? Because the Lord instructed Paul in the heavenly school, to him alone did He enjoin the teaching office of a capable doctor of the Church. He struck Elymas, he brought back Eutychus from the dead, hunger, nakedness, thirst, and everything that is perilous to the human condition he endured for Christ, 13 and the rest of the things which are told in the Acts of the Apostle which befell Paul for sake of the height of glory and honour. Peter of Blois, from Sermon 28, On The Feast of the Saints Peter and Paul 1 Isaiah 65.16 2 Mt 16.16 3 1 Cor 10.4 4 Jn 21.15-17 5 1 Cor 15.50 6 Jn 6.68, Mt 4.4 7 Ps 118.103, Ps 72.25 8 Acts 8.9-24, Acts 9.36-41, Acts 5.1-11 9 Acts 8.1-20 10 Rom 5.20 11 1 Tim 1.15 12 2 Cor 12.2-5| 13 Acts 13.6-12, Acts 20.9-11, 1 Cor 4.11

Encouraging Peter

Et ait ad Simonem Jesus: Noli timere: ex hoc jam homines eris capiens. Ecce hic ponitur instructio, propter quam tota introducitur historia. Adhuc enim carnales erant Apostoli : et oportuit quod ex corporalibus quae noverunl et quorum usum habuerunt, paulatim ad intellectum spiritualium deducerentur. El hoc bene significatur in Canticis, vii, ubi dicitur, Dixi: Ascendam in palmam et apprehendam fructus ejus. Qui enim ascendit, primo inferiora apprehendit, quibus ad altius nititur: et postea media, et sic per omnia media venit ad alta: et tandem stat exaltatus in palmam, et decerpit dulcedinis fructum. Et sic est de carnalibus ad spiritualia ascendere. Primo corporalia per similitudines spiritulia referre, et sic continuo studere quousque spiritualia per seipsa possit accipere. Ista est scala Jacob quae in una parte stat in terra, et in cacumine tangit coelum. Noli timere. Tria hic dicuntur : confortatio, et instructio, et confortationis et instructionis plenus et intentus effectus. De confortatione dicit: Noli timere, tuam scilicet parvitatem, quia ego tc faciam magnum : tuam indignitatem, quia te faciam dignum : tuam infirmitatcm, quia ego te faciam potentissimum : tuam rusticitatem, quia ego te faciam eruditum et doctum in omni scientia et sapientia spiritus. De primo horum, I Reg ii: Suscitat de pulvere egenum, et de stercore elevat pauperem, ut sedeat cum principibus, et soliurn glorise teneat. II Reg vii: Feci tibi nomen grande, juxta nomen magnorum qui sunt in terra. De secundo, Apocal v: Fecisti nos Deo nostro regnum, et sacerdotes. Et ita dignos, II ad Corinth: Idoneos nos fecit ministros Novi Testamenti, non littera, sed spiritu. De tertio, Matth. xvi: Tibi dabo claves regni caelorum .... et portse inferni non preevalebunt adversus eam, scilicet Ecclesiam. De quarto, Matth. x: Non vos estis qui loquimini, sed Spiritus Patris veslri qui loquitur in vobis. Eccli xv: Cibabit illum pane vitse et intellcctus, et aqua sapientiae salutaris potabit illum. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput V Source: Here p369-70

And Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid, because of this you shall be a fisher of men.' 1 Observe that here He gives the teaching for which the whole episode has been introduced. The Apostles were yet carnal and it was necessary that from carnal things which they knew and made use of they should gradually be led to the understanding of spiritual things. And this is well signified in the seventh chapter of the Song of Songs, where it is said, 'I said, I shall ascend the palm and I shall seize its fruit.' 2 For he who ascends first understands lesser things and by these he strives to higher things, and so after middling things, even passing through all middling things, he comes to the highest things, reaching the height of the palm and seizing the sweetest fruit. This is to ascend from carnal things to spiritual things. First corporeal things refer to spiritual things by likeness, and then with continual zeal those things which are spiritual in themselves can be received. And this is the ladder of Jacob, one part of which stood on the earth, and the top of it touched heaven. 3 'Do not be afraid.' Three things are said here, about strengthening and instruction, and the full and intended effect of strengthening and instruction. Concerning strengthening He says, 'Do not be afraid,' that is, of your littleness, because I will make it great, nor of your unworthiness, for I shall make you worthy, nor of your weakness for I shall make you most powerful, nor your rusticity for I shall make you learned and educated in all knowledge and the wisdom of the spirit. Concerning the first of these, in the second chapter of the first book of Kings: 'He takes up the needy man from the dust, and He lifts up the poor man from the dung heap, that he might sit with princes and hold the throne of glory.' In the seventh chapter of the second book of Kings, 'I have made your name great, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth.' 4 Concerning the second, in the fifth chapter of the Apocalypse: 'You have made us for our God a kingdom and priests.' And therefore worthy. In the second letter to the Corinthians, 'He has made us capable ministers of the New Testament, not in the letter, but in the spirit.' 5 Concerning the third in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew, 'I shall give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven...and the gates of heaven shall not prevail against it.' 6 That is, the Church. Concerning the fourth. 'It is not you who speak but the spirit of your Father who speaks in you.' In the fifteenth chapter Ecclesiasticus, 'He shall feed him with bread and wine and understanding, and give him to drink of the waters of wisdom's salvation.' 7 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 5 1 Lk 5.10 2 Song 7.8 3 Genes 28.12 4 1 King 2.8, 2 King 7.9 5 Apoc 5.10, 2 Cor 3.6 6 Mt 16.18-19 7 Mt 10.20, Sirach 15.3

Spiritual Sacrifices

Et ipsi tamquam lapides vivi superaedificamini, domus spiritualis, sacerdotium sanctum, offerre spirituales hostias, acceptabiles Deo per Jesum Christum Spirituales autem hostias opera nostra, eleemosynas et preces dicit, ad distinctionem carnalium in lege victimarum. Quod autem in conclusione dicit, per Jesum Christum, ad cuncta quae praemiserat pertintet, quia per ipsius gratiam et superaedificamur in illo per architectos sapientes, hoc est ministros Novi Testamenti, et domus spirituales efficimur per Spiritum ejus, contra pluvias, ventos, fulmina tentationum muniti. Et sacaerdotio sancto participare, et boni aliqui acceptabile Deo gerere, non nisi per ipsum valemus. Sicut enim palmites non possunt ferre fructum a semetipsis, nisi permanserint in vite; sic vos nisi in me manseritis Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput II Source: Migne PL 93.49c-d

Be as living stones built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 He speaks of these spiritual sacrifices as our works, almsgiving and prayers, in distinction to the carnal sacrifices of the law. That he concludes with 'through Jesus Christ,' pertains to everything that he has mentioned, because through His grace we are built up and in Him through wise architects, that is, the servants of the New Testament, we made into spiritual houses through His Spirit, walled against the trials of rain and winds and floods. 2 And we cannot participate in the sacred priesthood and bring good things acceptable to God unless through Him. For as branches are not able to bear fruit from themselves unless they remain on the vine, so you unless you remain in me. 3 Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chapter 2 1 1 Pet 2.5 2 Mt 7.24-25 3 Jn 15.1-5

Blessed Reverence

Μακάριοι πάντες οἱ φοβούμενοι τὸν Κύριον. Οὐ τὸν ἐκ γένους ᾽Αβραὰμ , οὐδὲ τὸν ἐκ σπέρματος Ἰσραὴλ, ὁ προφητικὸς ἐμακάρισε λόγος , ἀλλὰ τὸν τῷ θείῳ φόβῳ κοσμούμενον. Τοῦτο καὶ ὁ μακάριος Πέτρος ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι λέγει· Ἐπ᾿ ἀληθείας καταλαμβάνομαι , ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι προσωπολήπτης ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλ' ἐν παντὶ ἔθνει ὁ φοβούμενος αὐτὸν, καὶ έργαζόμενος δικαιοσύνην, δεκτὸς αὐτῷ ἐστιν. Ὑπέδειξε δὲ ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος καὶ τοῦ θείου φόβου τὸν χαρακτῆρα . Επήγαγε γάρ· Οἱ πορευόμενοι ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ. Οὐ πᾶς γὰρ ὁ λέγων μοι , Κύριε , Κύριε , εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν · ἀλλ' ὁ ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Πατρός μου τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς. Ιδιον τοίνυν τῶν φοβουμένων τὸν Κύριον, τὸ μὴ βαίνειν ἔξω τῶν θείων ὁδῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν αὐταῖς ποιεῖσθαι τὴν πορείαν διηνεκώς. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΡKZ’ Source: Migne PG 80.1893c-d

Blessed are those who revere the Lord. 1 Not him who derives his family from Abraham, or from the seed of Israel, but the prophetic word asserts that he is blessed who is adorned with Divine reverence. And the blessed Peter says this in Acts: 'In truth understand that God has no respect for persons, but among every people they are acceptable who revere Him and act righteously.' 2 And the prophetic word also shows here the character of Divine reverence when it adds: 'Those who walk in His ways.' 'For not all who say to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.' 3 Therefore it is characteristic of those who revere the Lord never to walk apart from the Divine ways, but to make their way in them without interruption. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 127 1 Ps 127.1 2 Acts 10.34-35 3 Mt 7.21

Ruth And The Church

Videamus nunc et Ruth. Habet enim ista typum Ecclesiae. Primum, quod alienigena est ex populo gentili, quae, relicta patria, et omnibus quae illic erant, vadit in terram Isreal. Et, cum prohiberet eam socrus sua pergere secum, perseverabat, dicens: Quocunque perexeris, pergam; populus tuus, populus meus, et Deus tuus, Deus meus; quae te moriente terra susceperit, in ea moriar. Quae vox sine dubio typum in illa fuisse Ecclesiae manifestat. Sic enim Ecclesia ex gentibus ad Dominum convocata, relicta patria sua, quod est idololatria, et omissa universa conversatione terrena, profitetur Dominum Deum suum esse, in quem sancti crediderunt, et illuc se ituram, ubi caro Christi post passionem ascendit, et ob ejus nomen in hoc saeculo pati usque ad mortem, et cum sanctorum populo, patriarchis scilicet, et prophetis consociandam; de quorum societate, quod sanctis ex stirpe Abrahae venientibus consociaretur, Moyses in Cantico ostendit, dicens: Laetamini, gentes, cum plebe ejus, id est, qui ex gentibu istis credituri, cum illis qui primi electi sunt aeterna laetitia exulstate. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, De Ruth Source:Migne PL 83.390c-391a

Let us now consider Ruth. She is a type of the Church. First, because she is foreign born from the Gentile people, she who, abandoning her homeland, and everything there, goes to the land of Israel, and when her mother in law prohibits her from journeying with her, she perseveres, saying, 'Wherever you shall go, I shall go, and your people shall be my people, and your God shall be my god, and the earth that shall receive you when you die, there I shall die.' 1 Which voice undoubtedly manifests a type of the Church. For so the Church, being gathered to the Lord from the Gentiles, abandoned its homeland, which was idolatry, and setting aside every way of worldly living, confessed the Lord her own God, in whom the holy had believed, and from there set out to where the flesh of Christ ascended after the passion, even to suffer death in this world because of His name, and to be joined with a holy people, that is, the patriarchs and the prophets, concerning which society, that it was to be an association with the holy ones from the seed of Abraham, Moses in his song shows, saying, 'Rejoice, nations, with His people,' 2 that is, that those who from the Gentiles were going to believe, should exult with eternal joy with those who were the first to be chosen Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Ruth 1 Ruth 1.16-17 2 Deut 32.43