Servants And Dispensers

Ita nos existimet homo, ut ministros Christi, et dispensatores mysteriorum Dei. Hoc signifiacit, quia minus de illo sentiebant aliqui Corinthiorum, sed ut homo hoc de illo sentiret, quod et Deus, qui illum elegerat; ideo ministros Christi ait, et dispensatores mysteriorum Dei. Quando enim non verborum strepitu, neque humana sapientia nitebatur intelligi; debuit sacramentum Christi dispensare, in quo non verba, sed virtus fulgebat: non per quod homo, sed Deus gloriosus videretur; collega enim piscatorum, non aliter quam illi, Christum praedicabat. Cum ergo ministrum se Christi et sacramentorum Dei probat, pseudoapostolos notat, et abnegat Christi esse quod tradunt, per id quod discordarent a traditione apostolica. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 17.202b-c

Let a man think of us as servants of Christ, and dispensers of the mysteries of God. 1 This signifies that some among the Corinthians thought little of him, but a man should think this of him, that God chose him. Therefore he says, 'ministers of Christ, and dispensers of the mysteries of God.' For it was not with the cry of words nor with human wisdom that he was striving to be understood, for the mystery of Christ should be dispensed where power blazes forth and not words, and where the glory of God and not man appears, since as a colleague of fishermen and nothing else he preached Christ. Therefore when he asserts himself to be a servant of Christ and the mysteries of God, he refers to false apostles, and denies they can give the things of Christ, because they are in disagreement with the Apostolic tradition Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 4 1 1 Cor 4.1

Inheriting The Kingdom

Ὅτι σάρξ καὶ αἷμα βασιλείαν Θεοῦ κληρονομή και οὐ δύνανται. Συνίστησι τὸ τῆς ἀναστάσεως και διὰ τούτου μυστήριον. Ἕως μὲν γὰρ ἐστι ἡ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον σάρξ καὶ αἷμα, τουτέστι θνητὸν καὶ φθαρτὸν, Θεοῦ βασιλείαν, τουτέστι τὸ εἶναι δηνεκῶς, οὐκ ἂν δύναιτο κληρονομεῖν. Πᾶσα δὴ οὖν ἀνάγκη καταπίνεσθαι τὴν φθορὰν καὶ ἀφανίζεσθαι τὸ εὐμάραντον, μεταπλάττεσθαι δὲ πρὸς ἀφθαρσίαν αὐτὸ, καὶ θείᾳ τινὶ καὶ ἀποῤῥήτῳ δόξῃ καταφαιδρύνεσθαι κληρονομήσει γὰρ τότε τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ βασιλείαν. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τὴν Πρωτάν Ἐπιστολήν Παύλου Πρὸς Κορινθίους, Ἐκλογαι Source: Migne PG 74.912b

For flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 1 With this he understands the mystery of the resurrection. While the human body is flesh and blood, that is, mortal and corruptible, it cannot inherit the kingdom of God, which is immortal. Therefore it is necessary for corruption to be absorbed and for whatever is fallen to be taken away. Thus being turned into what is incorruptible it is illuminated with a certain Divine and ineffable glory, for then it shall possess the kingdom of God. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the First Letter to the Corinthians, Fragment 1 1 Cor 15.50

Trials And Prayers

Ὁ συνιὼν τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου Παύλου μυστικῶς εἰρημένον, τὴν πάλην ἡμῶν πρὸς τὰ μνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας φήσαντος, γνώσεται καὶ τὴν παραβολὴν τοῦ Κυρίου, πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι καὶ μὴ ἐκκακεῖν. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.949d

He who understands what is said by Saint Paul when he openly speaks of our wrestling with spirits of wickedness, 1 he also grasps the parable of the Lord which would have us praying always and not growing weary. 2 Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works 1 Ephes 6.12 2 Lk 18.1

Inside And Outside

Et exiit, inquit, Moyses ad populum, et locutus et ad eum verba Domini. Donec verba Domini audit Moyses et ab ipso docetur, intus est, et in interioribus consistit atque in intimis secretis habetur. Ubi vero turbis loquitur et populis, ministrat ei qui intus non potest stare, exire dicitur foras. Quid ergo formae talis continet sermo? Quod omnis doctor, et magister Ecclesiae si de profundioribus mysteriis aliquid moveat, is arcanum quid et reconditum de Dei sapientia proferat inter perfectos, donec in profundis sensibus versatur, intus esse, et in interioribus consistere dicendus est. Cum vero loquitur ad turbas, et ea profet quae sufficiant iis qui foris sunt, quae potest vulgus audire, foras dicitur exisse, et loqui ad populum verba Domini. Hoc video et Paulum fecisse, et intus quidem fuisse, cum diceret: Sapientiam autem loquimur inter perfectos, sapientiam autem non hujus mundi, neque principum hujus mundi, qui destruentur. Sed loquimur Dei sapientiam in mysterio absconditam quam nemo principum hujus mundi cognovit. Vides quomodo intus est, et interna atque arcana divinae sapientiae penetrat Paulus, cum haec loquitur. Cum autem procedit ad populum, audi quid loquitur: Omni sermo malus de ore vestro non procedat; et: Qui furabatur, jam non furetur; et: Unusquisque vir uxorem suam habeat; et: Unusquisque proximum suum sicut seipsum diligat; et: Unaquaeque mulier virum suum habeat. Haec et si qua hujusmodi sunt, Paulus secundum Moysis formam foras exiens, ad populum loquitur. Origen, In Numeros, Homilia VI, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense Source: Migne PG 12.607b-c

And Moses went out to the people and he spoke the words of the Lord to them. 1 While Moses hears the words of the Lord and is taught by Him he is inside, and he is firmly fixed in things most profound and he takes hold of the deepest and innermost secrets, but when he speaks to the crowd and ministers to those who were not able to be inside he is said to go outside. What, then, is to be found in such words? That every teacher and instructor of the Church, if he is imbued with the profound mysteries, should be within setting forth the secret and hidden mysteries of God to the perfect, until the deepest understanding is achieved, which is said to be established in the deepest things. When however he speaks to the crowd he should offer to them what is fitting for those who are outside, that which it is possible for the multitude to hear, and then he is said to be outside. I see Paul did this, he who certainly was inside when he said, 'But we speak wisdom among the perfect, not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of the world who shall be ruined, but we speak a hidden wisdom of God in mystery which none of the princes of the world have known.' 2 See how he is inside, and that he grasps the inmost secrets of Divine wisdom when he says these things. But when he goes out to the people, hear what he says: 'Let no evil speech come out of your mouth,' and 'He who has stolen let him stop stealing.' and 'Let each man have his own wife,' and 'Let everyone love his neighbour as himself,' and 'Let every woman have her own husband.' 3 Paul speaks these things and things like them in the manner of Moses going outside. Origen, On Numbers, from the Sixth Homily, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Numb 11.24 2 1 Cor 2.6 3 Ephes 4.29, 4.28, 1 Cor 7.2, Ephes 5.33, 1 Cor 7.2

Sickness And Cure

Infelix homo! quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus? Hic quatuor consideranda: infirmus, causa morbi, medicus et remedium. Medicus Deus, infirmus homo, causa morbi amor mundi, remedium amor Dei. Horum differentia haec est: Amor mundi in principio dulcis, in fine amarus nimis; amor Dei ab amaritudine incipit, finitur in dulcedinem magnam. Unde architrictinus sponso; Omnis homo primum bonum vinum ponit; sed inebriati fuerint, tunc id quod deterius est, etc. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber VI, Tit V, De infirmo, causa morbi, medico, et remedio morbi Source: Migne PL 177.813c

Wretched man, who shall free me from this body of death? 1 Four things must be considered here, the infirmity, the cause of sickness, the physician and the remedy. The physician is God, the infirmity is man, the cause of sickness is love of the world, and the remedy is the love of God. Among these last two things this is the difference, in the beginning the love of the world is sweet, but in the end it is most bitter, while the love of God begins in bitterness and ends in great sweetness. Hence the chief steward says to the bridegroom, 'Every man serves the best wine first, and then when the guests are drunk he pours out the worst.' 2 Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 6, Chapter 5, On Infirmity, the Cause of the Sickness, the Physician, and the Remedy for Sickness 1 Rom 7.24 2 Jn 2.9-10

The Law And The Gospel

Αὐτὸς ὁ μέγας Ἀπόστολος, ὁ πλεῖον πάντων κoπιάσας, ὁ τὸν νόμον ἀκριβῶς μετελθὼν, παιδευσάτω σε, νηπίαν εἶναι ἐν αὐτῷ γνῶσιν τῆς θείας παιδεύσεως , ὡς ἐν σκιᾷ κεκαλυμμένην, καὶ ἀμυδρώς δια ερωμένην . Σκιὰν εἶχεν ὁ νόμος τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, ἀποφαινόμενος, οὐκ αὐτὴν τὴν εἰκόνα τῶν πραγμάτων , ἣν ἐπιστεύθη τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον , πρὸς ἣν οἱ τύποι ἐπέβλεπον. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΥΜΔ' Ἰσιδωρῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne 78.425d

Let the great Apostle himself, who toiled more than anyone, 1 and diligently attended to the law, teach you that there was slight knowledge of Divine teaching there, as if it were covered with a veil, and hardly gave itself to be seen. For the law, he proclaims, is a shadow law of future things, 2 not an image of the things themselves, for which the Gospel was given, and to which it points as a figure. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 444, To Isidore The Deacon 1 1 Cor 15.10 2 Heb 10.1

Admonishments And Sacrifice

Deus autem spei repleat vos omni gaudio et pace in credendo; ut abundetis in spe et virtute Spiritus sancti. Certus sum autem, fratres, et ego ipse de vobis, quia et ipsi pleni estis dilectione, repleti omni scientia; ita ut possitis alterutrum monere. Haec exhortationis sunt: per laudem enim provocat eos ad meliorem et intellectum et vitam. Qui enim videt se laudari, data opera elaborat ut vera sint quae dicuntur. Ideo non dixit, ut invicem se doceant, sed admoneant; hoc enim solet moneri, quod cum sciatur, aliquando subterfugit animo. Caetera non sunt obscura, ut indigeant explanatione. Audacius autem scripsi vobis fratres ex parte, tamquam in memoriam vos reducens : propter gratiam, quae data est mihi a Deo, ut sim minister Christi Jesu in gentibus: sanctificans Evangelium Dei, ut fiat oblatio gentium accepta, et sanctificata in Spiritu Sancto. Non enim temere se scripisse significat, auctoritatem enim sibi datam per Dei gratiam dicens, , ut omnibus gentibus audeat scribere, admonens et confirmans propositum eorum in Christo; ut sollicitudinem suam ostendat in ministerio Evangelii, quasi magister gentium, et sacrificium eorum possit acceptum fieri sanctificationis causa in Spiritu sancto. Quidquid enim fide integra, et mente sobria offertur, a Spiritu sancto purificatur. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Romanos, Caput XV Source: Migne PL 17.175a-b

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope and in the power of the Holy Spirit. And I am certain, brethren, that you also are full of love and filled with all knowledge, so that you are able to admonish one another. 1 This is the manner of this exhortation, to provoke them through praise to a better understanding and life. For he who considers himself praised, gives thought to his works, that what is said might be true. Therefore he does not say, 'that you teach one another,' but that you admonish, when it is known that something is lacking in the soul. The other things here are not so obscure that they need explaining. But I have written to you, brethren, more boldly in a way, as it were putting you in mind, because of the grace that has been given to me from God, that I am a servant of Christ Jesus among the Gentiles, sanctifying the gospel of God, that the oblation of the Gentiles may be made acceptable and sanctified in the Holy Spirit. 2 He does not mean he has written recklessly, for he says he has been given grace from God so he might venture to write to all the peoples, admonishing them and confirming them in their intentions in Christ, which care for them shows in his service of the Gospel, as a teacher of the nations, even that he is able to make their cause of sanctification acceptable in the Holy Spirit, for whatever is offered with pure faith and a sober mind is purified by the Holy Spirit Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Letter of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 15 1 Rom 15.13-14 2 Rom 15.15-16

Arrows And Paul

Sagittae tuae acutae, potentissimae... Verba cor transfigentia, amorem excitantia. Unde dicitur in Canticis canticorum: Quia vulnerata caritate ego sum. Dicit enim vulneratam se esse caritate, id est, amare se dicit, aestuare se dicit, suspirare sponso, unde accepit sagittam verbi. Sagittae tuae acutae, potentissimae: et transfigentes, et efficientes: acutae, potentissimae. Populi sub te cadent. Qui ceciderunt? Qui percussi sunt, et ceciderunt. Populos videmus subditos Christo, cadentes non videmus. Exponit ubi cadunt: in corde. Ibi se erigebant adversus Christum, ibi cadunt ante Christum. Blasphemabat Saulus Christum, erectus erat: supplicat Christo, cecidit, prostratus est: occisus est inimicus Christi, ut vivat discipulus Christi. De coelo emissa sagitta, corde percussus est Saulus, nondum Paulus, adhuc Saulus, adhuc erectus, nondum prostratus: accepit sagittam, cecidit in corde. Non enim quod prostratus est in facie, ibi cecidit, sed ubi ait: Domine, quid me iubes facere? Modo ibas ad Christianos alligandos et perducendos ad poenam; et modo dicis Christo: Quid me iubes facere? O sagittam acutam, potentissimam, qua accepta cecidit Saulus ut esset Paulus! Ut ille, ita et populi. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Enarrationes In Psalmos, Psalm XLIV Source: Migne PL 38.503

Your arrows are sharp and most powerful...1 These are words that pierce the heart, exciting love. Hence it is said in the Song of Songs, 'Because I am wounded with love.' 2 For she says of herself that she is wounded with love, that is, she speaks of her loving, and of being inflamed with sighing for the Bridegroom, from whom she received the arrow of the Word. 'Your arrows are sharp and most powerful.' They are piercing and effective, sharp and most powerful. 'The peoples shall fall under you.' Who have fallen? They who were wounded have also fallen. We see the nations subdued to Christ, but we do not see them fall. He explains where they fall, that is, in the heart. It was there they lifted themselves up against Christ, it is there that they fall down before Christ. Saul blasphemed Christ, then he was lifted up. He prays to Christ, he falls, he is prostrate. The enemy of Christ is slain so that the disciple of Christ may live. By an arrow launched from heaven Saul was stuck in the heart, he who was not yet Paul, but still Saul. When he was still lifted up and still not yet prostrate, he is wounded in the heart. He received the arrow, he fell in his heart. For though he fell prostrate on his face, it was not there that he fell down in his heart, but it was where he said aloud, 'Lord, what do you command me do?' 3 You were just about to bind Christians and lead them off to punishment, and now you say to Christ, 'What do you command me to do?' O sharp and most powerful arrow by whose stroke Saul fell so they he might become Paul. As with him, so with the peoples.  Saint Augustine of Hippo, Expositions On The Psalms, Psalm 44 1 Ps 44.6 2 Song 2.5, 5.8 3 Acts 9.6

The Persecutors

Subito, ait Lucas, circumfulsit eum lux de coelo. O vere inaestimabilis divinae dignatio pietatis! Illustrat coelesti fulgore vel a foris, intus adhuc luminis incapacem: qui necdum infundi poterat, divina saltem circumfunditur claritate. Et vox facta est. Lucis et vocis testimonia credibilia facta sunt nimis, nec dubitare est de veritate, quae sese ingerit per utrasque, oculorum scilicet auriumque fenestras. Sic nimirum, sic in Jordane quoque supra caput Domini et columba apparuit, et vox sonuit: sic et in monte, quando transfiguratus est coram discipulis, et claritas visa est, et vox nihilominus Patris audita: Saule, Saule, quid me persequeris? Vere deprehensus est Saulus: non est dissimulandi locus, non est facultas ulla negandi. In manibus sunt epistolae crudelissimae legationis, auctoritatis exsecrandae, potestatis iniquae. Quid me persequeris? inquit. Annon persequebatur Christum, qui Christi membra trucidabat in terris? An vero persecuti sunt Christum, qui sacratissimum illud corpus crucis affixere patibulo, et non persequebatur eum qui adversus corpus ejus, quod est Ecclesia, est enim corpus ejus etiam ipsa, odio furebat iniquo? Denique si proprium sanguinem dedit in pretium redemptionis animarum, non tibi videtur graviorem ab eo sustinere persecutionem, qui suggestione maligna, exemplo pernicioso, scandali occasione, avertit ab eo animas quas redemit, quam a Judaeo qui sanguinem illum fudit? Agnoscite, dilectissimi, et expavescite consortia eorum qui salutem impediunt animarum. Horrendum penitus sacrilegium, quod et ipsorum videtur excedere facinus, qui Domino majestatis manus sacrilegas injecerunt. Videbatur jam cessasse persecutionis 956 tempus; sed, ut palam factum est, nunquam deest persecutio Christiano, sed neque Christo. Et nunc, quod gravius est, ipsi Christum persequuntur, qui ab eo utique Christiani dicuntur. Amici tui, Deus, et proximi adversum te appropinquaverunt et steterunt. Conjurasse videtur contra ae? universitas populi Christiani a minimo usque ad maximum: a planta pedis usque ad verticem non est sanitas ulla: egressa est iniquitas a senioribus judicibus, vicariis tuis, qui videntur regere populum tuum. Non est jam dicere, Ut populus, sic sacerdos; quia nec si populus, ut sacerdos. Heu, heu! Domine Deus, quia ipsi sunt in persecutione tua primi, qui videntur in Ecclesia tua primatum diligere, gerere principatum! Arcem Sion occupaverunt, apprehenderunt munitiones, et universam deinceps libere et potestative tradunt incendio civitatem. Misera eorum conversatio, plebis tuae miserabilis subversio est. Atque utinam sola hac parte nocerent! Esset forte qui Dominica praemonitus et praemunitus exhortatione, daret operam ipsorum non exempla imitari, sed observare praecepta, juxta illud: Quae dicunt facite, et ad opera eorum nolite respicere. Nunc autem dati sunt sacri gradus in occasionem turpis lucri, et quaestum aestimant pietatem. Copiosissimae siquidem pietatis inveniuntur in suscipienda, imo accipienda magis animarum cura: sed haec apud eos cura minor, et de animarum salute novissima cogitatio est. An vero Salvatori animarum gravior ulla esse poterat persecutio? Inique agunt et caeteri contra Christum, multique sunt nostris temporibus antichristi. Merito tamen et crudeliorem eam censet persecutionem pro acceptis beneficiis, et graviorem sentit pro potestate, quam propriis sustinet a ministris; licet alii quoque multi contra proximorum salutem multifarie, multisque modis et variis occasionibus agere videantur. Haec videt Christus, et silet; haec Salvator patitur, et dissimulat. Propterea dissimulemus et nos quoque necesse est, et sileamus interim, maximeque de praelatis nostris, magistris ecclesiarum. Sic nimirum, sic placet et ipsis, ut evadant nunc humana judicia, veniatque semel judicium grave his qui praesunt, et potentes patiantur tormenta potenter. Vereor, dilectissimi, ne quis forte sit et in nobis Domini persecutor, quia manifesta docuit ratio, impedire salutem, esse persequi Salvatorem. Quas ego de salute animae meae fratri illi gratias agere possum, qui mihi propinat detractionis fraternae venenum? Merito detractores Deo odibiles describuntur, tanquam persecutores. Quid et is qui exemplo suo ad remissius agendum caeteros provocat, aut singularitate turbat, aut inquietat curiositate, aut impatientia sua et murmuratione molestat; aut quocunque modo contristat Spiritum Dei qui in eis est, scandalizans unum de minimis istis credentibus in eum? nonne et hic manifeste persequitur Christum? Ut ergo persecutorum et nomen, et crimen longe sit semper a nobis, obsecro vos, dilectissimi, benignos semper et mites exhibeamus nos, invicem supportantes in omni patientia, et ad id quod melius et perfectius est, alterutrum provocantes. Quis enim servus sufficere sibi putat non persequi Dominum, sed nec obsequi Domino? Quam habiturus est gratiam, si ut non resistit, sic nec assistit quidem? Denique si quis adeo pusillanimis est, ut satis sibi reputet nec persecutorem esse, nec coadjutorem Dei, audiat quid ipse loquatur: Qui non est mecum, contra me est; et qui non colligit mecum, dispergit. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Sanctis, In Conversione Sancti Pauli, Sermo I, Quomodo ad exemplum ejus converti debemus Source: Migne PL 183.361a-362d

Suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 1 O truly inestimable regard of Divine piety. With heavenly light it illuminates the exterior while the interior is yet incapable. He who is not yet able to be infused, the Divine brightness yet surrounds. And there was a voice. And the witness of Luke to the voice is certainly credible, the truth of it should not be doubted, when it pours itself on both the windows of the eyes and the ears, for certainly the dove appeared over the head of the Lord in the Jordan and a voice resounded, and likewise on the mount when He was transfigured before His disciples and light was seen and the voice of the Father was heard. 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' 1 Paul is caught, there is no room for deception, there is no way of denial. In his hand are the most cruel letters of his commission, of execrable authority and wicked power. 'Why do you persecute me?' He says. Was he not persecuting Christ, who murdered His members on the earth? Were they not persecuting Christ who nailed his body to the gibbet of the cross. Was he not persecuting who raged with wicked hatred against His body which is the Church, for indeed that is His body? Finally if He poured out His blood as the price of the redemption of souls, does it not seem that he who continues the persecution with wicked suggestion, and vile example, and scandalous acts, in order to turn from Him the souls that He has redeemed, is more criminal than those Jews who shed His blood? Know it, most beloved ones, and deplore the association of those who impede the salvation of souls. It is truly such a horrendous sacrilege, that it seems to exceed the wrong of those who laid sacrilegious hands on the glory of the Lord. At present the time of persecution seems to have ended, but the truth of it is that the persecution of Christians and of Christ has never stopped. And now, what is more wretched, is that those who persecute Christ are those who are called Christians. Your friends and neighbours, O Lord, have drawn near and set themselves against you. 2 It seems that all the Christian people, from the highest to the lowest, have been bound against you, and there is no health in them from sole of the foot to the top of the head. Wickedness goes forth from aged judges, and from your representatives who seem to rule the people. One can not say now, 'As the people, so the priest. 3 Alas, O Lord God, to those first ones in rank, who in your church seem to love the first places and to achieve eminence. They have occupied the ark of Sion, that have seized the walls, and then gladly and with exertions of power they have given the city over to the flames. Their conduct is wretched and wretched is the corruption of your people. And that they harmed in this way alone! Perhaps there shall be someone who has been warned and forearmed by the Lord's exhortation, that their works are not to be imitated as an example, but that their teaching should be observed, according to which, 'Do what they say, but do not look to their works.' 4 Now they are given to the sacred way and make it an occasion of filthy wealth, and they judge that to be admirable piety. Certainly they will find abundant riches in what they take up, but only in the taking up of the care of souls, and yet they have little care for that, so that even the salvation of souls is a most uncommon thought. Could there be any heavier persecution of the Saviour of souls? They act wickedly and do everything against Christ, and in our time there are many antichrists. Rightly, however, that persecution is judged to be more cruel for the sake of profit, and thought more grave for the sake of power, than that sustained by his own servants, for it is also true that many others seem to act in many ways and on various occasions against their neighbour. Christ sees this and is silent. The Saviour suffers and does not react. On account on which it is necessary even for us not to react, and meanwhile be silent, especially concerning our prelates and the teachers of the Church. So it certainly pleases them, that they presently avoid human judgement, yet heavier judgement shall fall on those who now excel, and they shall suffer more terrible torments. I fear, most beloved, that there may be a persecutor of the Lord among us, because reason openly teaches that to  persecute Christ is to impede salvation. Can I to give thanks for the salvation of my soul to those brothers who drink for me the poison of fraternal detraction? The detractors of God are rightly called hateful, 5 just like persecutors. What is this man who with his own example provokes others to be careless in acting for others, or who is discontent when alone, who disturbs because of curiosity, or disquiets with his impatience and murmuring, or with whatever grieves the Spirit of God which is in them, scandalising one of the least of the believers in Him? Is it not obvious that this man persecutes Christ? Therefore let the name of persecutors and their crimes always be far from us, I beg you, most beloved, but let us exhibit ourselves as kind and meek, supporting one another in all patience, calling one another to what is better and more perfect. What servant can think he does not persecute the Lord who does not obey Him? Who shall have thanks if he neither resists nor aids? Finally if someone is so weak that he cannot think of himself as a persecutor or a helper of God, let him hear what is said, 'Who is not with me, is against me , and he who does not gather with me, scatters.' 6 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, On The Conversation of Saint Paul, from Sermon 1, How we should be converted by his example 1 Acts 9.4, Mt 3.16-17, Mt 17.2-5 2 Ps 37.12 3 Isaiah 1.6, 24.2 4 Mt. 23.3 5 Rom 1.30 6 Mt 12.30

Living And Dying

Διωκόμενοι ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐγκαταλειπόμενοι, καταβαλλόμενοι ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀπολλύμενοι, πάντοτε τὴν νέκρωσιν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματι περιφέροντες, ἵνα καὶ ἡ ζωὴ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματι ἡμῶν φανερωθῇ. Ἀεὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς οἱ ζῶντες εἰς θάνατον παραδιδόμεθα διὰ Ἰησοῦν... Δείκνυσι δὲ διὰ τούτων καὶ αὐτοὺς ἀσμένως ὑπομένειν ἐθέλοντας τὸν τῆς σαρκὸς θάνατον, διὰ τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν εὐσέβειαν . Σκοπὸς γὰρ αὐτοῖς οὐκ εἰς τὰ παρόντα βλέπειν, προαθρεῖν δὲ μᾶλλον τὰ ἐσόμενα . Τίς δὲ ἡ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ζωή; Ἡ ἀφθαρσία καὶ ἁγιασμὸς , δόξα τε μεγάλη καὶ ὑπερκόσμιος. Οὕτως γὰρ ἡμῖν ὀφθήσεται κατὰ καιρούς, ὅταν ἡμῖν ἄνωθεν καὶ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καταβαίνῃ κριτής· μετασχηματίσει δὲ καὶ τὸ σῶμα τῆς ταπεινώσεως ἡμῶν σύμμορφον τῷ σώματι τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ , κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τοῦ δύνασθαι αὐτὸν καὶ ὑποτάξαι αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα. Ὥστε ὁ μὲν θάνατος ἐν ἡμῖν ἐνεργεῖται, ἡ δὲ ζωὴ ἐν ὑμῖν. Μεμίμηνται γὰρ τὸν ἑαυτῶν Δεσπότην οἱ τῆς ὑφ᾽ ἡλίῳ μυσταγωγοί· τεθείκασι καὶ αὐτοὶ τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχὰς , ἵνα ἡμεῖς οἱ ποτὲ πλα- νώμενοι , τὴν ἐκ πίστεως τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν ἀποκερδαίνωμεν ζωήν. Τοιγάρτοι φασὶ διὰ τῆς τοῦ Ψάλλοντος φωνής ὡς πρὸς τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν τὸν Χριστὸν ὅτι , Ἕνεκεν σοῦ θανατούμεθα ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν, ἐλογίσθημεν ὡς πρόβατα σφαγῆς. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τὴν Δευτέραν Ἐπιστολήν Παύλου Πρὸς Κορινθίους, Ἐκλογαι Source: Migne PG 74.937b-c

We suffer persecution, but are not forsaken. We are cast down, but we do not perish. We always carry about in our body the mortification of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given over to death on account of Jesus... 1 With these words he refers to those who gladly suffer the death of the flesh for the religion of Christ. For it is not present things they look to but the things of the future. What is life in Jesus? Certainly it is incorruptible and sanctified, and possessed of great glory far above this world. And so He will appear to us when the time comes, when the judge descends from heaven to us, and 'He shall conform this body of our humility to His glorious body, with that power which is able to subject everything to itself.' 2 'As death works in us, so does life in you.' 3 For those who have imitated their Lord are the spiritual teachers of the world, even those who have placed down their own souls so that we who were once wandering might be enriched in faith by life in Christ. And they say with the voice of the Psalmist to our Lord Jesus Christ, 'On account of you we die every day, and we are reputed as sheep for the slaughter.' 4 Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Second Letter to the Corinthians, Fragment 1 2 Cor 4.11 2 Phil 3.21 3 2 Cor 4.12 4 Ps 43.22, Rom 8.36

The Child And The Man

Τό, Ως νήπιος ἐλάλουν, ὡς νήπιος ἐφρόνουν, εἰρημένον τῷ θεόφρονι Παύλῳ περὶ τῆς κατὰ νόμον ἀγωγῆς αὐτῷ γέγραπται, καθ ' ἣν ὡς νήπιος λαλῶν, ἐφύλαττε τὸν νόμον νηπίοις δεδομένον, ὡς νήπιος φρονῶν, ἐδίωκε τὸν λόγον , ἀμύνων τοῖς τοῦ νόμου. Οτε δὲ γέγονα, φησίν, ἀνήρ, τὰ τοῦ νηπίου κατάήργηκα, οὐδὲ τὸν νόμον ἀκυρῶν, καὶ τοῦ λόγου κατηχών. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΥΜΓ', Ἰσιδωρῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne 78.425c

That 'I spoke as a child, I thought as I child,' 1 spoken by the blessed Paul was written about the discipline of the law according to which he was speaking like a child and given to the service of the law like a child, so that thinking as a child he opposed the Word and defended the law. 'But come the man,' he says, 'and the things of the child pass away,' which is not to annul the law but to be instructed by the Word. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 443, To Isidore The Deacon 1 1 Cor 13.11

Peter, Paul And Stephen

Εἰ μὴ νυκτερινῆς ἄγρας ἀπέτυχεν ὁ Πέτρος, οὐκ ἂν τῆς ἡμερινῆς ἐπέτυχε, κaὶ εἰ μὴ αἰσθητῶς ἐτυφλοῦτο ὁ Παῦλος, οὐκ ἂν πνευματιχῶς ἀνέδλεψε, καὶ εἰ μὴ βλάσφημος ἐσυκοφαντεῖτο ὁ Στέφανος, οὐκ ἂν, τῶν οὐρανῶν αὐτῷ ἀνεῳχθέντων, τὸν Κύριον ἐθεάσατο. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.960b

If Peter had not failed in his nocturnal trial, he would have not have achieved so much in the light of day, and unless Paul had been corporeally blinded, he would not have received spiritual vision, and unless Stephen had been accused of blasphemy by informers, the heavens would not have opened for him and he would not have seen the Lord. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works

Peter's Achievements

Tu es, inquit, Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam. Petra siquidem erat Christus, summque nomen communicat Petro, ut Petrus petra sit: nam sicut a petra sitienti populo quae in deserto profluxit, ita et a Petro aliis in fide arescentibus salutiferae fidei confessio emanavit. Christi 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 obtinuit 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 revelavit tibi hic, Petre, caro et sanguis: caro 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 fideliter confitetur. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XXVIII, De SS. Petro et Paulo Source: Migne PL 207.643b-c

'You are Peter,' He said, 'and on this rock I shall build my Church,' and certainly Christ was the rock 1 and He gave His title to Peter so that Peter might be a rock, for as a rock flowed for a parched people in the desert, so the confession of salutary faith would flow from Peter's faith to a thirsty people. Christ, when He was about to ascend to heaven, committed the feeding of His flocks of sheep to Peter, 2 and after his work on a little boat He gave to the same man the captaincy of a greater ship, that is, He bestowed on him the leadership of the whole Church, giving the keys of His own house to Peter as the best dispenser. 3 The righteousness of Peter obtained such great power of judgement, that from his will hangs the judgement of heaven, and not even an angel may presume to appeal the sentence of Peter. When Peter was questioned by the Lord about who men said He was, with a brief confession He proclaimed the secret of the Divine majesty in Christ, 'Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, Peter,' 'for flesh and blood shall not possess the kingdom of God,' 'but the Spirit of my Father who is in heaven.' 4 A wondrous fisherman, who once gazed down into the depths of the waters, faithfully confessed the mystery of the Divinity in Christ. Peter of Blois, from Sermon 28, On The Feast of the Saints Peter and Paul 1 Mt 16.18, 1 Cor 10.4 2 Jn 21.17 3 Mt 16.19 4 Mt 16.17, 1 Cor 15.50

Different Visions

Ἑγένετο δὲ ἐπ' αὐτον ἔκστασις , καὶ θεωρεῖ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνεωγμένον... Οἱ γυναικῶν παραπαιουσῶν ἑλόμενοι εἶναι μαθηταὶ, οὗτοι δὲ εἰσιν οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Φρυγίας, φασὶ τοὺς προφήτας, κατεχομένους ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, μὴ παρακολουθεῖν ἑαυτοῖς παραφερομένοις κατὰ τὸν τῆς προφητείας καιρόν. Δοκοῦσι δὲ ἀπόδειξιν ἔχειν ταύτης τῆς κακοδοξίας, καὶ ἐκ τῆς προκειμένης γραφῆς, λεγούσης ἐξεστακέναι τὸν Πέτρον. Ἀλλ᾽ ἴστωσαν οἱ ἡλίθιοι, οἱ ἀληθῶς παραπαίοντες, ὡς πολλὰ σημαίνει ἡ λέξις αὕτη. Δηλοῖ γὰρ καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ θαυμασμῷ ἔκπληξιν, καὶ τὸ ἔξω τῶν αἰσθητῶν γενέσθαι , ποδηγούμενον ἐπὶ τὰ πνευματικά, καὶ τὸ παρακόπτειν, ὅπερ οὐ λεκτέον οὔτε ἐπὶ Πέτρου, οὔτε ἐπὶ προφητῶν, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἄλλα ἐκ τῆς λέξεως σημαινόμενα. Ἀμέλει γοῦν ὁ ἐκστὰς Πέτρος παρηκολούθει, ὡς ἀπαγγέλλων, ἃ εἶδε καὶ ἤκουσε , καὶ τίνος σύμβολατὰ δειχθέντα ἦν. Ταῦτα καὶ περὶ τῶν προφητῶν πάντων ἐρεῖς παρακολουθούντων , οἷς ἔλεγον τὰ θεωρούμενα. Σοφοὶ γὰρ ἦσαν νοοῦντες ἀπὸ τοῦ ἰδίου στόματος, ἃ προέφερον, τοῦ Κυρίου μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν φανερῶς ἐντειλαμένου μαθητεῦσαι πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. Ἢ πῶς οἱ ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἀπόστολοι ἀκούσαντες τὰ κατὰ τὸν Κορνήλιον, διεκρίνοντο πρὸς τὸν Πέτρον; Πάνυ μὲν οὖν ἐδεῖτο τῆς περὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν θείας ἀποκαλύψεως ὁ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἔξαρχος, Πέτρος, ὁ παν άγιος. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Ἐις Τάς Πράξεις Τῶν Ἀποστόλων, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 39.1677a-c

And an ecstasy came on Peter, and he saw the heavens opened... 1 Those who delight to be disciples of maddened women, who are of the Phrygian sect, 2 say their prophetesses are carried off by the Holy Spirit when they are struck by the prophetic impulse and they do not understand what the say at the time, and in this passage in Scripture they think to find a demonstration of their error, for it says that Peter was struck by an ecstasy of the mind. But let it be known by these fools, who are truly despicable, that these words do not mean that, for what they do signify is an awe arising from wonder, and from being lifted up from sensible things to spiritual things. It is not fitting to say of Peter or the prophets that this is some sort of delirium, but rather this passage signifies something quite different. Certainly Peter, caught up in ecstasy, followed everything and took in all that he saw and heard, and knew what was taught there, which things were given to him to see. And you might say the same of all the things of the prophets, that is, because of which they were able to tell others what they saw. For they were wise, knowing what they said with their mouths, which the Lord after His resurrection was able to teach correctly, so that all the nations would be imbued with His teaching. Besides how would the other Apostles who were in Jerusalem, hearing what had happened with Cornelius, have been able to question Peter? This was the type of revelation concerning the Gentiles Peter had, the leader of the Apostles, a most holy man. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Acts of the Apostles, Fragment 1 Acts 10.10-11 2 Montanists

Peter And Aeneas

Invenit autem ibi hominem quemdam, nomine Aeneam, ab annis octo jacentem in grabato... Aeneas iste genus significat humanum, infirmorum prius delectatione languescens, sed apostolorum opere et ore sanatum. Quia etenim mundus ipse quatuor plagis sublimatur, et cursus saeculi annuis quatuor temporibus variatur, quicunque praesentia labentiaque gaudia complecitur, quasi bis quaternario annorum numero, grabato sternitur enervis. Grabatum quippe est ipse segnities, ubi requiescit animus aeger et infirmus, id est, in voluptate corporis et omni delectatione saeculari. Aenea, sanet te Dominus Jesus Christi. Surge et sterne tibi... Quem de paralyspsi curaverat, mox surgere et sternere sibi praecepit, spiritaliter insinuans ut quisque fidei solidamentum in corde perceperit, non solum torporem, in quo fessus jacuerat, discutiat, sed etiam bona opera, in quibus requiescere valeat, paret. Sanctus Beda, Super acta Apostolorum Expositio, Caput IX Source: Migne PL 92.965a-b

And Peter found there a certain man by the name of Aeneas, who had been laying on a pallet for eight years... 1 This Aeneas signifies a type of person who has been languishing in the pleasures of laxity but who is then cured by the works and words of the Apostles. Because indeed the world is raised up by four corners, and the course of the secular year is varied by the four seasons, so it is with anyone caught up in present joys and delights, he lays stretched out in infirmity, and the number of years are reckoned as two fours. Certainly the pallet signifies sloth, where the sick and weak soul rests, that is, in the pleasures of the body and in worldly delights. Aeneas, the Lord Jesus Christ heals you. Rise up and make your bed... He cures him of paralysis and immediately exhorts him to rise up and make his bed, spiritually intimating that he who takes possession of the firmness of faith in his heart, not only casts off his torpor in which he has been thrown down in weariness, but he even prepares for good works, in which he shall be able to find rest. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Acts of The Apostles, Chapter 9 1 Acts 9.33