The Wisdom Of The Flesh And The Spirit

Qui enim secundum carnem sunt quae carnis sunt sapiunt qui vero secundum Spiritum quae sunt Spiritus sentiunt Sapientia odit malitiam. Quid est sapientia, nisi sapor boni? Quid malitia, nisi sapor mali? Quibus ergo sapit et dulce est in corde, sive bonum, sive malum, ipsi sunt qui sapiunt vel sentiunt quae sunt spiritus, vel quae sunt carnis: ipsi sunt et qui ambulant vel secundum spiritum, vel secundum carnem. Sequitur: Nam prudentia carnis mors est. Bene post saporem ponitur prudentia, quia sicut gustus est discernere cibos, quidquid sapiat, sic prudentiae est perpendere quid expediat. In quo si quis hoc tantum quaerit quod sapit carni, prudentia carnis est: quae mors animae est. Sicut enim anima vita est corporis, sic vita animae Deus est, et quidquid infra Deum appetit, mors illi est. Prudentia vero spiritus est quaerere vitam suam, quae Deus est: et pacem quae est in Deo, quae pax ei non potest, qui sapit quae carnis sunt: quia sicut dictum est sapientia odit malitiam: et sapientia carnis inimica est Deo, Legi enim Dei non est subjecta, nec enim potest. Quid est: neque enim potest? Non homo non caro, non spiritus, non ulla natura, non potest, sed prudentia carnis non potest. Vitium non potest, sed natura, quomodo si diceres: Claudicatio rectae ambulationi non est subjecta, nec enim potest. Pes potest, sed claudicatio non potest. Tolle claudicationem, et videbus rectam ambulationem. Quandiu claudicatio est, non potest, sic quandiu prudentia carnis est, non potest. Non sit prudentia carnis, et homo potest. Guillelmus S Theodorici Abbas, Expositio In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Liber II, Caput VIII Source: Migne PG 180.627d-628d

Those who are of the flesh know the things of the flesh but those of the spirit understand the things of the spirit. 1 Wisdom hates evil. What is wisdom unless the flavour of the good. What is wickedness but the flavour of evil? Therefore by the things it knows and are sweet to the heart, whether good or evil, there are those who know or know the things of the flesh and those who understand the things of the spirit, and there are those who walk according to the spirit and there are those who walk according to the flesh. It follows, 'For the wisdom of the flesh is death.' Rightly is wisdom placed after flavour, because as foodstuffs are distinguished by taste, whatever is known, it is of wisdom to reckon what is beneficial. In which if someone seeks only what he knows according to the flesh, it is the wisdom of the flesh, which is the death of the soul. For as the soul is the life of the body, so the life of the soul is God, and whatever is desired below God is its death. But the wisdom of the spirit is to seek its own life, which is God, and the peace which is in God, which peace is not possible for him who knows the things of the flesh, because as it was said, wisdom hates evil, and the wisdom of the flesh is the hatred of God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor is it able to be. What does it mean, that it is not possible? It is not man, nor flesh, nor the spirit, nor any nature, that is not able, but it is the wisdom of the flesh that is not able. Vice is not able, by its nature. As if you were to say, 'Lameness is not subject to correct walking, for it is not able.' The foot is able, but lameness is not able. Remove lameness, and you shall see correct walking. While there is lameness, it is not possible, and so while there is the wisdom of the flesh, it is not able. Let there be no wisdom of the flesh, and a man is able. William of St Thierry, Commentary on Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans, Book 5, Chapter 8 1 Rom 8.5

The Kiss Of Wisdom

Osculetur me osculo oris sui... Vos quoque, ut caute in arcanis sensibus pedem figatis, mementote semper, quod sapiens admonet: Altiora, inquit, te ne quaesieris, et fortiora te ne scrutans fueris. In spiritu ambulate in illis, et non in sensu proprio. Doctrina Spiritus non curiositatem acuit, sed charitatem accendit. Merito proinde sponsa, quem diligit anima sua inquirens, non se suae carnis sensibus credit, non curiositatis humanae inanibus ratiociniis acquiescit; sed petit osculum, id est Spiritum sanctum invocat, per quem accipiat simul et scientiae gustum, et gratiae condimentum. Et bene scientia, quae in osculo datur, cum amore recipitur; quia amoris indicium osculum est. Scientia ergo quae inflat, cum sine charitate sit, non procedit ex osculo. Sed nec qui zelum Dei habent, et non secundum scientiam, sibi ullatenus arrogent illud. Utrumque enim munus simul fert osculi gratia, et agnitionis lucem, et devotionis pinguedinem. Est quippe Spiritus sapientiae et intellectus, qui instar apis ceram portantis et mel, habet omnino et unde accendat lumen scientiae, et unde infundat saporem gratiae. Neuter ergo se osculum percepisse putet, sive qui veritatem intelligit, nec diligit; sive qui diligit, nec intelligit. Sane in osculo isto nec error locum habet, nec tepor. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, In Cantica Canticorum, Sermo VIII, Quomodo per osculum oris Dei significatur Spiritus Sanctus Source: Migne PL 183.812d-813b

Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth... 1 You also, if you would prudently fix your foot in the understanding of the mysteries, should always remember what the wise man warns, 'Do not seek after things too high, nor grapple with things that are too difficult.' 2 You must walk in the Spirit in these things and not according to your own mind. The teaching of the Spirit does not sharpen curiosity but it inspires love. Rightly, then, the bride, seeking him whom her heart loves, does not trust the corporeal senses, nor does she give herself to the inane thoughts of human curiosity, but she asks for a kiss, that is, she calls upon the Holy Spirit, through whom she receives, at the same time, the taste of knowledge and the seasoning of grace. And well it is that the knowledge given in the kiss is received with love, since the kiss is the mark of love. Therefore the knowledge that puffs up, since it lacks love, does not come from the kiss. 3 Even those who have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, may not for any reason lay claim to it. The favour of the kiss bears a twofold gift, the light of knowledge and the fervour of devotion. He is in truth the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, who, like the bee carrying its burden of wax and honey, has the power both of kindling the light of knowledge and infusing the delicious fragrance of grace. Therefore no one should think they have been given the kiss, who knows the truth and does not love, nor should anyone who loves without understanding. Certainly in this kiss there is no place for error, nor tepidity. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Commentary On The Song of Songs, from Sermon 8, How the Holy Spirit is signified by the kiss of the mouth of God 1 Song 1.1 2 Eccl 3.22 3 1 Cor 8.1

The Treasure Of Wisdom

Infinitus enim thesaurus est hominibus: quo qui usi sunt, participes facti sunt amicitiae Dei, propter disciplinae dona commendati. Infinitum ideo thesaurum dicit esse sapientiae, quia quanto quis studiosius eam discit, tanto profundiorem esse cognoscit; et quanto magis in ea meditando profecerit, tanto ipsam altius petere intelliget; ideoque ipsius meditatores amicitiae Dei participes facti sunt, quia praeceptorum et voluntatis Dei veri fiunt agnitores: de quo ipsa Veritas ad discipulos in Evangelio ait: Jam non dicam vos servos, quia servus nescit quid faciat Dominus ejus. Vos autem dixi amicos: quia omnia quaecunque audivi a Patre meo nota feci vobis. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Librum Sapientiae Wisdom, Liber II, Caput III Source: Migne PL 109.669c

She is an endless treasure to men, by use of which they become friends of God, being commended for the gift of discipline. 1 The treasure of wisdom is said to be an endless because the more a man is more studious in learning from her, so the much more he is able to know deeply, and the more he advances in contemplation, so the much more he understands how to seek high things. Therefore those who meditate in this manner are made participants in the friendship of God, because they have truly become those who know the commandments and will of God, concerning which the Truth says to the disciples in the Gospel, 'Now I do not call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master will do, but I say you are friends because everything which I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.' 2 Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on the Book of Wisdom, Book 2, Chapter 3 1 Wisdom 7.14 2 Jn 15.15

Wisdom And Knowledge

Μακρόθυμος ἀνὴρ, πολὺς ἐν φρονήσει· ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ λόγοις σοφίας παραβάλλων τὸ οὗς αὐτοῦ. Χωρὶς μνήμης Θεοῦ, γνῶσις ἀληθὴς εἶναι οὐ δύναται· ἐκτὸς γὰρ τῆς προτέρας, ἡ δευτέρα νόθος ὑπάρχει. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ Source: Migne PG 65.924b

The long suffering man is a man of much thoughts and likewise with the one whose ear receives the words of wisdom. Without mindfulness of God, true knowledge is impossible, for without the former the latter is spurious Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law.

A Lack Of Understanding

Et ait illis: Nescitis parabolam hanc? et quomodo omnes parabolas cognoscetis? Secundum est, in quo increpat ruditatem cordis eorum.Nescitis parabolam hanc? Ac si dicat: Hoc est mirum post tot documenta suscepta, post tot miracula visa, post tot testimonia adhibita. Matth. xv: Adhuc et vos sine intellectu estis? Ad Hebr. v: Cum deberetis magistri esse propter tempus, rursus indigetis ut vos doceamini quae sint elementa exordii sermonum Dei: et facti estis quibus lacte opus sit, et non solido cibo. Et quomodo omnes parabolas cognoscetis? cum istam quae facilior est inter alias, et seipsam offert ad interpretationem, non intelligitis. Vos enim magistri esse debetis aliorum: et ideo capaciori sensu, perfectiora intelligere deberetis. Joan. iii: Tu es magister in Israel, et haec ignoras? Sanctus Albertus Magnus, Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput IV Source: Here p42

And He said to them, 'Do you not understand this parable? How shall you understand all the parables?' 1 Secondly He reproves the sluggishness of their hearts. 'Do you not understand this parable?' As if He said, 'This is indeed a wonder after all you have witnessed, after all the miracles you have seen, after all the testimony given.' In the fifteenth chapter of Matthew, 'Are you still without understanding?' In the fifth chapter of Hebrews, 'When you should be teachers according to your age, again you are so deficient that you must be taught the elements of the beginning of the word of God, and you have become as those who are in need of milk and not solid food.' 2 'And how will you understand all the parables?' When you do not understand this one that is the easiest to understand among all the other ones, and offers itself for interpretation? In the third chapter of John, 'You are a teacher in Israel, and you do not know these things?' 3 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 4 1 Mk 4.13 2 Mt 15.16, Heb 5.12 3 Jn 3.10

A Chosen People

ΕΡΩΤ ΛΕ' Τί ἐστιν , Εσεσθέ μοι λαὸς περιούσιος ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν · ἐμὴ γὰρ ἐστι πᾶσα ἡ γῆ; Πάντων εἰμὶ , φησί , ποιητὴς καὶ Δεσπότης , καὶ πάντων ὡς ποιητὴς προμηθοῦμαι· ὑμᾶς δὲ οἷόν τινα λαὸν ἐξαίρετον ἐμαυτῷ ἀφιέρωσα . Τοῦτο γὰρ ἐπήγαγεν· Ὑμεῖς δὲ ἔσεσθέ μοι εἰς βασίλειον ἰεράτευμα, ἔθνος ἅγιον. Ωσπερ γὰρ τοὺς Λευΐτας, Ἰσραηλίτας ὄντας , τῶν ἄλλων φυλῶν προτετίμηκε, καὶ εἰς τὴν θείαν ἀφιέρωσε λειτουργίαν οὐ τῶν ἄλλων ἀμελῶν , ἀλλὰ διὰ τούτων τὴν ἐκείνων ποιούμενος ἐπιμέλειαν· οὕτω τὸ τοῦ ᾿Αβραὰμ , καὶ Ἰσαὰκ , καὶ Ἰακώβ , ἐξελέξατο σπέρμα· πρῶτον ἐπειδὴ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἤμελλε κατὰ σάρκα βλαστάνειν ὁ Δεσπότης Χριστός· ἔπειτα διὰ τῶν εἰς τούτους γινομένων τὴν οἰκείαν ἐπιδεικνὺς δύναμιν , καὶ πάντας ἀνθρώπους διδάσκων τὴν τῆς θεογνωσίας ὁδόν. Τούτων μέντοι εἰρημένων · Απεκρίθη πᾶς ὁ λαὸς, καὶ εἶπε· Πάντα ὅσα εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς ποιήσομεν, καὶ ἀκουσόμεθα. Αὕτη δὲ τοῦ λαοῦ ἡ συνθήκη ὑπογραφῇ τινι ἔοικε γραμματίου· ὅθεν τὴν οἰκείαν παραβάντες ὁμολογίαν , ταῖς τῆς νομοθεσίας ἀραῖς ὑπεβλήθησαν , ὧν τοὺς εἰς αὐτὸν πεπιστευκότας ὁ Δεσπότης Χριστὸς ἠλευθέρωσε . Χριστὸς γάρ, φησὶν , ἐξηγόρασεν ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς κατάρας τοῦ νόμου, γενόμενος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν κατάρα. Τὸ μέντοι περιούσιος, ἐξαίρετος ὁ Σύμμαχος ἡρμήνευσεν. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Εἰς Τὴν Ἐξοδον Source: Migne PG 80.232b-c

Question 35 Why is it said, 'You shall be my chosen people before all the nations, for all the earth is mine'? 1 'I am the Creator and Lord of all things,' He says, 'and as the Creator I have care for all things, and I have consecrated you to myself as a certain elect people.' Then He adds, 'You shall be a royal priesthood and a holy people.' For as the Levites, who were of the Israelites, were chosen before the other tribes and appointed to the Divine office, it is not therefore that He neglects the other tribes, but it is through them He might care for all of them. So He chose the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, firstly that Christ the Lord might arise from them according to the flesh, and then that through them His power would be made manifest, and He might teach all men to know the way and reason of God. When, then, He said this, all the people replied and said, 'All that God has said we shall do and we shall hear.' And this way of the people is like signing a treaty, whence acting against their own agreement they were made obnoxious, and came under the curse of those who dispute the law, from which Christ the Lord vindicated those who believe in him, 'For Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, becoming a curse for us.' 2 For 'chosen' here Symmachus translates, 'elect.' Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Questions On Exodus 1 Exod 19.5 2 Galat 3.13

Coming To Him

Nemo potest venire ad me... Nemo, inquam, potest ex se; cuius causa est triplex, scilicet quia homo est gravis, quia via difficilis, quia virtus debilis. Virtus enim debilis non potest ferre molem gravem per viam diflicilem. Nemo ergo potest venire ad me, quia moles est gravis; Sapientiae nono: Corpus, quod corrumpitur, aggravat animam, et terrena inhabitatio deprimit sensum multa cogitantem; et lob septimo: Factus sum mihimetipsi gravis. Quia via difficilis, Matthaei septimo: Quam angusta et arcta est via, quae ducit ad vitam; ecce, quia difflcilis ad progrediendum; et pauci inveniunt eam; ecce, quia difficilis ad arripiendum. Quia virtus est debilis; loannis decimo quinto: Sine me nihil potestis facere; et loannis decimo quinto: Sicut palmes non potest facere fructum a semetipso, nisi manserit in vite; sic nec vos, nisi in me manseritis. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput VI, Collatio XXVIII Source: Here, p567

None is able to come to me... 1 No one, I say, by himself, the cause of which is threefold, that is, because man is a burden, because the way is difficult, because strength is feeble. Feeble strength is not able to bear a heavy burden on the difficult way, and therefore No one is able to come to me, because the burden is heavy, in the ninth chapter of Wisdom, 'The body which corrupts, weighs down the soul, and a worldly habitation oppresses the understanding with many thoughts.' And in the seventh chapter of Job, 'I am made a burden to myself.' 2 That the way is difficult, in the seventh chapter of Matthew, 'How rough and narrow is the way which leads to life.' Behold, because it is difficult to advance. 'And few find it.' 3 Behold, because it is difficult to gasp. That strength is feeble, in the fifteenth chapter of John, 'Without me you can do nothing.' And again, 'As branches are not able to put forth fruit from themselves unless they remain on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.' 4 Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 6 1 Jn 6.44 2 Wisd 9.15, Job 7.20 3 Mt 7.14 4 Jn 7.5, Jn 7.15,4

Care And Salvation

Ὁ φιλανθρωπότατος Σωτὴρ τῶν ὅλων Χριστός, τό γε ἧκον εἰς αὐτὸν, πάντας ἀνθρώπους παρεγένετο σῶσαι. Καὶ βλέπομεν, ὅτι οὐ πάντες ἑαυτοὺς ἐπιδιδόατι τῇ σωτηρίᾳ ἑαυτῶν. Τοίνυν καταγνῶμεν , καὶ ἑαυτοὺς ταλανίζωμεν τῆς ἀμελείας, καὶ τῆς κακοφασύνης, καὶ μὴ τῷ ἀγαθῷ Δεσπότῃ ἐπάγωμεν τὰ ἐγεκλήματα. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤΙϚ', Πιεριῳ Συγκλητικῳ. Source: Migne PG 79.196d

The most loving Christ, the Saviour of us all, because He looked to it, came to save all men, yet we see that not everyone gives themselves to their salvation. Let us then recognise and deplore their negligence and depravity, lest we attribute fault to the good Lord. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 316, to Pierius the Syncleticus

Commandments And Love

Sed quaerit Gregorius primo de hoc quod dicit: Hoc est praeceptum meum, ut diligatis invicem: Cum cuncta divina eloquia dominicis sint plena praeceptis, quid est, quod de dilectione singulariter dicit: Hoc est praeceptum meum.? Et respondet, quod divina praecepla multa sunt et unum: multa per diversitatem operis, unum in radice dilectio . Et dilectionem radicem dicit, quia non habet viriditatem ramusculus boni operis, nisi manserit in radice dilectionis. Quia ergo mandata ad praeceptum dilectionis referuntur, in quo omnia uniuntur et implentur; inde est, quod dicit: Hoc est praeceptum meum, singulariter. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XV Source: Here, p451

Concerning this Gregory asks why He said, 'This is my commandment, that you love one another,' 1 when the whole of the Divine speech is full of commandments, and so why should He especially say of love, 'This is my commandment?' And he answers that there are many Divine commandments and there is one, that is, there are many though the diversity of works and one in the root of love. And He speaks of the root when he says that the little branch of a good work does not have greenness unless it remains in the root of love. 1 Therefore He refers the commandments to the precept of love, in which all things are united and fulfilled, and this is why He says, 'This is my commandment,' especially. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 15 1 Jn 15.12, Greg Great Hom In Evang 2.27.1 2 Jn 15.5

Peacemaking

Μακάριοι τοίνυν οἱ εἰρηνοποιοὶ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ Θεοῦ κληθήσονται. Τίνες οὗτοι; Οἱ μιμηταὶ τῆς θείας φιλανθρωπίας, οἱ τὸ ἴδιον τῆς θείας ἐνεργείας ἐπὶ τοῦ ἰδίου δεικνύντες βίου. Ἀναιρεῖ καθόλου καὶ εἰς τὸ μὴ ὂν περιίστησιν, ὁ τῶν ἀγαθῶν εὐεργέτης καὶ Κύριος, πᾶν ὅσον ἐστὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἔκφυλόν τε καὶ ἀλλότριον. Ταύτην νομοθετεῖ καὶ σοὶ τὴν ἐνέργειαν, ἐκβάλλειν τὸ μῖσος, καταλύειν τὸν πόλεμον, ἀφανίζειν τὸν φθόνον, ἐξορίζειν τὴν μάχην, ἀναιρεῖν τὴν ὑπόκρισιν, κατασβεννύειν ἔνδοθεν τὴν ὑποσμύχουσαν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μνησικακίαν· ἀντεισάγειν δὲ ἀντὶ τούτων, ὅσα τῇ ὑπεξαιρέσει τῶν ἐναντίων ἀντικάθηται. Ὡς γὰρ τῇ τοῦ σκότους ὑποχωρήσει τὸ φῶς ἐπιγίνεται, οὕτω καὶ ἀνθ' ἑκάστου τούτων, ὁ τοῦ πνεύματος καρπὸς ἀντεισέρχεται, ἀγάπη, χαρὰ, εἰρήνη, χρηστότης, μακροθυμία, ἅπας ὁ τῷ Ἀποστόλῳ κατειλεγμένος τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀριθμός. Πῶς οὖν οὐ μακάριος ὁ τῶν θείων δωρεῶν διανομεύς; Ὁ μιμητὴς τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ χαρισμάτων; Ὁ τῇ θείᾳ μεγαλοδωρεᾷ τὰς ἰδίας ἐξομοιῶν εὐποιίας; Τάχα δὲ οὐ πρὸς τὸ ἀλλότριον ἀγαθὸν μόνον ὁ μακαρισμὸς βλέπει· ἀλλ' οἶμαι κυρίως εἰρηνοποιὸν χρηματίζειν, τὸν τὴν ἐν ἑαυτῷ στάσιν τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ τοῦ πνεύματος, καὶ τὸν ἐμ φύλιον τῆς φύσεως πόλεμον εἰς εἰρηνικὴν συμφωνίαν ἄγοντα, ὅταν μηκέτι ἐνεργὸς ᾖ ὁ τοῦ σώματος νόμος, ὁ ἀντιστρατευόμενος τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ νοὸς, ἀλλ' ὑποζευχθεὶς τῇ κρείττονι βασιλείᾳ ὑπηρέτης γίνεται τῶν θείων ἐπιταγμάτων. Μᾶλλον δὲ μὴ τοῦτο νομίσωμεν συμβουλεύειν τὸν λόγον, τὸ ἐν δυάδι νοεῖσθαι τῶν κατωρθωκότων τὸν βίον· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὰν ἐξαιρεθῇ τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν φραγμοῦ τὸ μεσότοιχον τῆς κακίας, εἷς οἱ δύο τῇ πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἀνακρίσει συμφυέντες γίνονται. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἁπλοῦν τὸ θεῖον καὶ ἀσύνθετον, καὶ ἀσχημάτιστον εἶναι πεπίστευται, ὅταν καὶ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον διὰ τῆς τοιαύτης εἰρηνοποιΐας, ἔξω τῆς κατὰ τὴν διπλῆν συνθέσεως γένηται, καὶ ἀκριβῶς εἰς τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐπανέλθῃ, ἁπλοῦν τε καὶ ἀσχημάτιστον, καὶ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἓν γενόμενον, ὡς ταὐτὸν εἶναι τῷ κρυπτῷ τὸ φαινόμενον, καὶ τῷ φαινομένῳ τὸ κεκρυμμένον· τότε ἀληθῶς κυροῦται ὁ μακαρισμὸς, καὶ λέγονται κυρίως οἱ τοιοῦτοι υἱοὶ Θεοῦ, μακαρισθέντες κατὰ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Logos Z', Μακάριοι τοίνυν οἱ εἰρηνοποιοὶ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ Θεοῦ κληθήσοντα Source: Migne PG 44.1289b-1292a

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 1 Who are these? Those who imitate the Divine love for men, those who show the mark of the Divine energy on themselves. The Lord and Giver of good things utterly eliminates anything that is without likeness and foreign to goodness, and He also enjoins this work on you, to cast out hatred and abolish conflict, to obliterate envy and drive out strife, to destroy hypocrisy and to extinguish any smouldering memory from within the heart, and then against these things which have been removed to establish what is contrary to them. For as light appears with the removal of darkness, so each of these things is replaced with the fruit of the Holy Spirit, love and joy and peace and kindness and generosity, all the good things reckoned up by the Apostle. How, then, should the one who gives the Divine gifts not be blessed, he who imitates the charity of God and conforms his own good deeds to the Divine munificence? But perhaps the beatitude does not look to the good of others alone, for I think he is called the masterly peacemaker who brings order to the flesh and the spirit, and a harmonious peace to the war that is inherent in nature, so that the law of the body no longer strives against the law of the mind, 2 but being subjected to the greater rule becomes ordered by what is Divine. Yet because the Word counsels this we should not think that the life of righteousness should be conceived to be a duality, but rather that the dividing wall of evil that blocks up is removed, and two things become one being united to what is better. Since, then, the Divine is believed to be simple and not composite and without deceit, humanity by such peacemaking also goes beyond its twofold composition and returns completely to the good and simple and is without deceit, and thus is truly made one, so that what appears is what is hidden, and what is hidden is what appears. Then the Beatitude is truly achieved, for such men are rightly called sons of God, since they are called blessed according to the promise of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Seventh Oration, on 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.' 1 Mt 5.9 2 Rom 7.21-23

Children And Perfection

Κάκεῖνο, ὅπερ ἔφης, συνήγορον εὑρίσκω τῶν πρώην γραφέντων σοι, μὴ παιδία γίνεσθαι ταῖς φρεσὶν, ἀλλὰ τῇ κακίᾳ νηπιάζειν, ταῖς δὲ φρεσὶ τελειοῦσθαι, τοῦ πανσόφου γράψαντος Παύλου. Οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν, οὐκ ἔστι μὴ ἀποσμήξαντας τὴν κακίαν, καὶ νηπιάσαντας πρὸς ἀγνείαν, ἢ φρεσὶ τελειωθῆναι, ἢ εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον εργάτην ἀνεπαίσχυντον ἀναβῆναι. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΥΜΒ', Ἰσιδωρῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne 78.425b

That, which as you say, I set down among the things recently written to you, does not mean that we should be like children in our minds, but that we should be childlike in wickedness while perfecting the mind. Unless we are cleansed of all wickedness it is not possible that we shall regain a childlike purity and chastity, so that we might achieve perfection of mind and be lifted up to the blameless work of the perfect man. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 442, To Isidore The Deacon

Preparing The Soul

Hominis est animam praeparare, etc. Certum est quia neque animum praeparare, neque gubernare linguam, neque aliquid facere boni, absque divina gratia valemus; quia sine me, inquit, nihil potestis facere. Quomodo ergo hominis est animum praeparare, et Dei gubernare linguam, nisi quia hoc proprie in tempore persecutionis significat? de quo Dominus ait: Cum autem tradent vos, nolite cogitare, quomodo aut quid loquamini; dabitur enim vobis in illa hora quid loquamini. Omnes viae hominis patent oculis ejus, etc. Ita vias, id est, actiones omnium, et bonorum videlicet et malorum, Dominus videt, ut spiritus etiam singulorum, quid in occulto cogitent, certa lance discernat. Unde recte subjungitur: Revela Domino opera tua, etc. Domino quippe opera nostra revelamus, quando eum, quem nihil latere novimus, in cunctis quae agimus, in memoriam reducimus, atque illius in omnibus flagitamus auxilium. Et cum hoc devoti agamus, fit ut non opera eadem tantummodo, sed etiam internae nostrae cogitationes illo dirigente procedant. Sanctus Beda, Super Parabolas Salomonis, Liber II, Caput XVI Source: Migne PL 91.986a-c

It is for a man to prepare his soul... 1 It is certain that we are not able to prepare the soul, nor guard the tongue, nor do any good without Divine grace, 'Because without me,' He says, 'you can do nothing.' 2 How, then, is a man to prepare the soul and guard the tongue for God, unless this especially signifies a time of persecution, concerning which the Lord says, 'When they hand you over do not think how you will speak or what you will say, for in that hour it will be given to you what you shall say.' 3 All the ways of a man are open to His eyes... The ways that are the deeds of everyone, that is, both good deeds and evil ones, are seen by the Lord, so that even the spirit of each one, which they think is hidden, He certainly discerns. Hence it is rightly added, Reveal your works to the Lord... We reveal our works to the Lord when  we bring Him to mind in everything we do, Him to whom we know nothing is hidden, and we entreat His help in all of them. And when we do this devoutly, we do not do this only in our works, but even in our internal thoughts, from which our deeds proceed and are directed. Saint Bede, Commentary On Proverbs, Book 2, Chapter 16 1 Prov 16.1 2 Jn 15.5 3 Mt 10.19

Giving Life And Dying

Caro enim factus est, ut nos spiritales faceret; benigne inclinatus est, ut levaret; exiit, ut introduceret; visibilis apparuit, ut invisibilia monstraret; flagella pertulit, ut sanaret; opprobria et irrisiones sustinuit, ut ab opprobrio aeterno liberaret; mortuus est, ut vivificaret. Agamus ergo gratias vivificanti et mortuo, et ideo amplius vivificanti, quia mortuo. Unde bene salutem nostram, et passionem illius Isaias contemplatus ait: Ut faciat opus suum, alienum opus ejus; ut operetur opus suum, peregrinum est opus ejus ab eo. Opus etenim Dei est animas quas creavit colligere, et ad aeternae lucis gaudia revocare. Flagellari autem atque sputis illini, crucifigi, mori, atque sepeliri, non hoc in sua substantia opus Dei est, sed opus hominis peccatoris, qui haec omnia meruit per peccatum. Sed peccata nostra ipse pertulit in corpore suo super lignum. Et qui in natura sua manet semper incomprehensibilis, in natura nostra comprehendi dignatus est ac flagellari, quia nisi ea quae erant infirmitatis nostrae susciperet, nunquam nos ad suae fortitudinis potentiam sublevaret. Ut ergo faciat opus suum, alienum opus ejus; et ut operetur opus suum, peregrinum est opus ejus ab eo, quia incarnatus Deus, ut nos ad suam justitiam colligeret, dignatus est pro nobis tanquam peccator homo vapulare. Et alienum opus fecit ut faceret proprium, quia per hoc quod infirmans mala nostra sustinuit, nos qui creatura illius sumus, ad fortitudinis suae gloriam perduxit, in qua vivit et regnat cum Deo Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Secundus, Homilia IV Source: Migne PL 76.984a-c

He was made flesh that He might make us spiritual, He kindly came down that He might lift up, He went out that He might bring in, He appeared visibly that He might reveal things unseen, He suffered the whip that He might heal, and He sustained abuse and ridicule that He might deliver from eternal shame, and He died that He might give life. Therefore let us give thanks to the one who gives life and who died, and therefore more to the one gives life because He died. Whence Isaiah well contemplated our salvation and His passion when he said, 'So that He make a work, a strange work, and so that might accomplish a work which is alien to Him.' 1 For it is the work of God to gather the souls He created and to recall them to the joy of the eternal light. To be covered with spittle and crucified and to die and to be buried are not works consonant with the substance of God, but it is work for man the sinner, who has deserved all these things because of sin. 'But He bore our sins in His body on the cross,' 2 and He who in His nature remans incomprehensible was understood in our nature to be worthy of being whipped, because unless He took up the things of our weakness we would never have been lifted up to the power of His might. Therefore so that He might make His work, a strange work and so that might accomplish a work which is alien to him, God was incarnated, so that He might gather us to His righteousness, and worthy it was that for us he was whipped as a sinful man. And He made this foreign work so that He might perform His own, because through this, that in weakness he endured our evils, He led us who our His creations to the glory of His might, in which he lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, through every age forever. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, from Homily 4 1 Isaiah 28.21 2 1 Pet 2.24

Death And Life

Mortui enim estis, et vita vestra abscondita est cum Christo in Deo. Apud mundi sensum mortuus Christus videtur, et discipuli ejus, cum constet vivere illum cum his omnibus. Idcirco carnalibus ac mundanis abscondita est vita Christi et suorum in Deo extra mundum, in regno ejus coelesti, in quo vivunt. Cum Christus apparuerit vita vestra, tunc et vos apparebitis cum illo in gloria. Vita nostra Christus est; quia legimus in Actis apostolorum hunc esse vitae auctorem, qui a perfidis non creditur futurus judex. Cum autem advenerit in virtute coelesti, et visus fuerit esse, quod minime credebatur, tunc apparebunt cum illo etiam qui crediderunt in illum; et manifestabitur omni perfidiae, quia vivit cum suis in gloria. Haec consolatio fiduciam spei parit; ut securi de futura vita, omnia postponentes, Christum sequamur. Ambrosiaster, Commentaria In Epistolam ad Colossenses, Caput III Source: Migne PL 17.434b-c

For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 1 According to the understanding of the world Christ seems to be dead, and likewise His disciples, yet it is certain He lives on with all of them. Therefore the life of Christ and His followers is hidden to the carnal and the worldly in God outside the world. When Christ your life shall appear, then even you shall appear with Him in glory. Christ is our life, because we read in the Acts of the Apostles that He is the creator of life, He who the faithless do not believe will be the future judge. 2 But when He shall come in the power of heaven and He is seen, which few believed, then those who have believed in Him shall appear with Him, and every faithlessness shall be exposed, because He lives with His followers in glory. This is the consolation of firm hope, so that confident of the future we may set aside all other things and follow Christ. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Letter to The Colossians, Chapter 3 1 Colos 3.2 2 Acts 3.15

For The Benefit Of Souls

Ita ut elegit nos in ipso ane constitiutionem mundi, ut essemus sancti.. Ergo mysterio quod hic implevit, et carne, et cruce, et morte, et resurrectione, subventum est animis: etsi in Christo fides sumatur, ille suscipit hujusmodi animas et adjuvat et liberat. Christum enim credere, et in Christum fidem sumere, jam spiritaliter sentire, et jam tolli a desideriis carnalibus et materialibus: et ex hoc veluti cognatio intelligendi nos jungit et sociat Christo: et dum Christo sociaverit, inquit, et Deo. Per Christum enim Deo jungimur, neque spes ulla salutis nostrae nisi Christum credere. Hoc est spiritaliter jam sentire, et capere sensum, et mundi et materiae motibus non exagitari: quibus omnibus homo totus in spiritu vero est, et ex hoc jam in Christo est vita: cum autem in Christo vita est; jam mysterio acto a Christo recipimur, et per Christum in numerum filiorum suscipimur a Deo, spiritales facti, ut nos quoque de mundo resurgamus et de morte per Dei voluntatem, sed in Christo tamen. Hoc enim et nunc, et saepe et ubique praecipitur, ut in Christo tota sit vita nostra, tota spes, totus intelligendi labor. Omnis enim ratio aeternitatis nostrae et gloriae et salvationis, et Christus est, et in Christo est, si projicientes omnia spiritaliterque sentientes, separemus a nobis mundanas cogitationes, mundanos affectus, carnalia quodammodo desideria, carnales dignitates, carnales potestates, et mundi etiam velle potentias vel dignitates. Omne enim quidquid mundanum est, licet coeleste sit in mundo etiam vel aetherium vel quodlibet aliud divinum nominatur secundum mundum et aeternum, sed secundum mundum tamen, neque divinum est neque aeternum est; etenim materiale: et quicquid materiale est, et temporale est et caducum et corruptibile. Victorinus Afrus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber Primus, Caput I Source: Migne PL 8.1240c-1241a

Thus He chose us before the establishment of the world, so that we would be holy... 1 Therefore in a mystery He fulfills it, and the flesh and the cross and the death and the resurrection were for the benefit of souls. Even if we have taken up faith in Christ, He is the one who takes up souls and helps and frees them. For to believe in Christ and to take up faith in Christ is to understand spiritually, and so to be taken from carnal desires and things. And from this, with a certain likeness of understanding, we are joined and associated with Christ, and while we associate with Christ, he says, it is also with God. For it is through Christ that we are joined to God, and there is no hope of salvation unless to believe in Christ. This is to understand spiritually, and to grasp the sense, and not to be troubled by the changes of the world and matter, because of which the whole man becomes truly spiritual, and through this there is now life in Christ, and when there is life in Christ we are received by Christ in mystery, and through Him we are taken up into the number of the sons of God, having been made spiritual, so that we also rise up from the earth and from death by the will of God, but in Christ. Indeed here and now, and often and everywhere, it is exhorted that our whole life, our whole hope, the whole work of our understanding, should be in Christ. For every cause of our eternity and glory and salvation is Christ, and is in Christ, if advancing in all spiritual understanding we separate ourselves from worldly thought, and from worldly loves, and from every carnal desire and honour and power, and every office and dignity of the world. For everything worldly, even if named celestial, ethereal, or divine, is named according to the world and eternity, but according to the world there is nothing divine nor anything eternal, for matter, and whatever is of matter, is transient, and passes away and is corruptible. Victorinus Afrus, On the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book One, Chapter One 1 Ephes 1.4