Freedom And Knowledge

Σκολάσατε καὶ γνῶτε, ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Θεὸς, ὑψωθήσομαι ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, ὑψωθήσομαι ἐν τῇ γῇ.   Ἐπειδὴ λοιπὸν πέπαυτο τὰ τοῦ πολέμου καὶ λέλυτο τὰ τῆς ταραχῆς, ἐιρήνη δὲ βαρεῖα δέδοτο τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς ἄπασαν· εἰκότως βούλεται εἰς ἀγαθὸν χρῆσθαι τῷ καιρῷ, καὶ σχολὴν ἀναλαβεῖν ψυχῆς σωτήριον. Διό φησι· Σκολάσατε καὶ γνῶτε· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἑτέρως ἔστι γνώσεως μετασχεῖν θείας, μὴ σχολάσαντα τῶν  ἀφελκόντων ἐπὶ τὰνατια. Ἔνθεν εἰκότως ὁ τῆς Αἰγύπτου βασιλεὺς, πρὸς τὴν τοιαύτην διαβεβλημένος σχολὴν, τοῖς φάσκουσιν· Ὁδὸν τριῶν ἡμερῶν πορευσόμεθα, καὶ λατρεύσομεν Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν, ἀποκρίνεται λέγων· Σκολάζετε, σχολασται ἐστε. Εἶτα, μὴ βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς τῷ Θεῷ σχολάζειν, καταπνεῖ τῷ πηλῷ καὶ τῇ πλινθείᾳ. Ἀλλ' ἡμῖν γε οἱ καταστάντες ἄρχοντες ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γὴν ἐπιβοῶσι σχολάζειν, καρπὸν τῆς σχολῆς ἐπαγγελλόμενοι τὴν ἔνθεν γνῶσιν. Λαλεῖ δὲ ὁ Θεὸς δι' αὐτῶν λέγων· Γνῶτε ὅτι ἐγω εἰμι ὁ Θεὸς· ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅτι ὑψωθήσομαι ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, ὑψωθήσομαι ἐν τῇ γῇ. Πὰλαι μὲν γὰρ παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις ἐγινωσκόμην μόνοις, ὅτε γνωστὸς ἐν  τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ ὁ Θεὸς, ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ μέγα τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ· νυνὶ δὲ ὑμῖν παρακελεύομαι σχολὴν ἄγειν, ὡς ἂν μάθοιτε καὶ γνῶτε τίνα τρόπον καὶ παρὰ πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὑψωθήσονμαι, δοξαζόμενος παρ' αὐτοῖς μᾶλλον ἢ παρὰ τοῖς πάλαι με εἰδέναι νομιζομένοις. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους, ψαλμος ΜΕ' Source: Migne PG 23.412-413

Be free and know that I am God; I shall be exalted among the peoples and exalted on the earth. 1 Because wars have at last ceased and trouble has passed away, and deep peace is for all who were dwelling in that part of the earth, rightly He wishes for good in that time and to lead the soul at leisure to salvation. Whence he says, 'Be free and know,' for no one is able to partake of the Divine knowledge unless he is free from things that will drag him off to what is contrary. Whence with reason the king of Egypt against such leisure argued, opposing those who said, 'Three days we shall go on our journey, and we shall attend to the Lord our God,' to these words replying, 'You are at leisure, you are lazy.' And unwilling to give them leisure for God, he afflicted them with the making of mud bricks. 2 But to us who across the whole world have established rulers crying out that one should be free, the promised fruit of leisure is known there. And truly through them God speaks, saying, 'Know that I am God,' and even that,' I shall be exalted among the peoples, and exalted on the earth.' Of old only among the Jews was He know, when it was that, ' God is known in Judea, in Israel His name is great;' 3 But now indeed I exhort you to be free, that you might learn and know, and that I may be exalted among all the peoples, and indeed be celebrated more by them than by those who once thought they knew me. Eusebius of Caesarea, from Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 45 1 Ps 45.11 2 Exodus 5 1-18  3 Ps 75. 2

Kings And Sacrifice

A templo tuo in Jerusalem tibi afferent reges munera Templum in Jerusalem est, in quo hostiarum legitima offerebantur: nunc autem a templo in Jerusalem a regibus sunt munera afferenda. Quod utique contra locorum significationem rationemque gestorum est: ut illic quo inferri magis oporteret, id est de templo, offerenda sint munera. Sed quia est coelestis illa nobis mater Jerusalem, et primitivorum conscriptorum, et frequentantium coetus  omnisque in Christo renatus Dei templum est, maxime in quo non mors magis sit regnatura, sed vita; et qui ipse rex sit ejus, cujus servus fuerat ante, peccati, hostiam se ipsum vivam et rationabilem et placentem Deo offerens: tum ergo ab hoc templo, id est, ab hac sancta corporis sui habitatione, in illo conventu angelorum frequentantium, id est in illa coelesti Jerusalem, si qui reges sint, id est, qui peccato ultra non serviant, offerent se ipsos Deo munus. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum LXVII Source: Migne PL 9 464-5

From your temple in Jerusalem kings shall offer gifts to you. 1 The temple is in Jerusalem, in which rightly they offered sacrifice; now however from the temple in Jerusalem gifts must be brought by kings, and this seems opposed to the usage of the places and the reason of the acts, for they should rather bring in, that is, into the temple, the gifts they offer. But because the celestial Jerusalem is our mother, and in the earliest writers there is a gathering of throngs, 2 and all who are reborn in Christ are the temple of God, in whom death reigns no more, but life, and he is now a king who was before a servant of sin, there is an offering living, rational and pleasing to God, and so from this temple, that is, the sacred habitation of the body, in that gathering of throngs of angels, that is, in that celestial Jerusalem, if they are kings, that is, if they are no longer slaves of sin, they shall offer themselves as a gift to God. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 67 1 Ps 67.30 2 Heb 12.22

Love And Glory

Τῷ ἀγαπῶντι ἡμᾶς καὶ λύσαντι ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ αἵματι αὐτοῦ, 6 καὶ ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς βασιλείαν, ἱερεῖς τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ, αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων: ἀμήν. Τούτῳ. φησὶν, ἡ δόξα πρέπει τῷ δι' ἀγάπην τῶν δεσμῶν τοῦ θανάτου ἡμᾶς λύσαντι, καὶ τῶν τῆς ἁμαρτίας κηλίδων λούσαντι τῇ ἐκχύσει τοῦ ζωοποιοῦ αἷματρος αὐτοῦ καὶ ὕδατος· καὶ ποιήσαντι ἡμᾶς βασίλειον ἱεράτευμα· ἀντὶ ἀλογῶν θυσιῶν θυσίαν ζῶσαν τὴν λογικὴν λετρείαν προσφέροντας. Ἀνδρέας Καισαρείας, Ἑρμηνεια Εἰς Την Αποκαλυψιν Source: Migne PG 106 225

To Him who loved us and freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a royal race of priests, to serve God, his Father; glory and power be His through endless ages, Amen. 1  To this one, it says, glory is proper, to Him who by love liberated us from the chains of death, and washed us from the filth of sin in the pouring out of His life giving blood and water; even making us a royal priesthood; and for irrational sacrifices the living sacrifice offering for rational worship. Andrew of Caesarea, from The Commentary on the Apocalypse 1 Apoc 1.5-6

Sitting And Rising

Tu cognovisti sessionem meam et resurrectionem meam. Quid hic sessio? quid hic resurrectio? Qui sedet, humiliat se. Sedit ergo Dominus in passione, surrexit in resurrectione. Tu, inquit, hoc cognovisti: id est, tu voluisti, tu approbasti; secundum voluntatem tuam factum est. Si autem volueris accipere vocem capitis ex persona corporis, dicamus et nos: Tu cognovisti sessionem meam et resurrectionem meam. Sedet enim homo, quando humiliat se in poenitentia; surgit autem remissis peccatis, quando erigitur in spem vitae aeternae. Propterea et in alio psalmo dicitur: Surgite posteaquam sedistis, qui manducatis panem doloris. Panem doloris poenitentes manducant, qui cantant in alio psalmo, et dicunt: Factae sunt mihi lacrymae meae panis die ac nocte. Quid est ergo: Surgite posteaquam sedistis? Nolite exaltari, nisi humiliati fueritis. Multi enim volunt surgere, antequam sederint; volunt se iustos videri, antequam peccatores se esse confessi sint. Ergo si ex persona capitis nostri accipis, sic intellege: Tu cognovisti sessionem meam et resurrectionem meam, passionem meam et resurrectionem meam. Si ex persona corporis: Tu cognovisti sessionem meam et resurrectionem meam; coram oculis tuis et peccata confessus sum, et tua gratia iustificatus sum. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, Enarratio in Psalmum CXXXVIII Source: Migne PL 37 1786

'You have known my sitting and my rising.' 1 What here is sitting, and what here is rising? He who sits, he humbles himself. The Lord then sat in His Passion, and He rose in His Resurrection. You, he says, have known this; that is, You have willed, You have approved; according to which Your will was done. But if one wishes to refer the words of the Head to the person of the Body: a man then sits when he humbles himself in penitence, and he rises up when his sins are forgiven, when he is lifted up to hope of everlasting life. Therefore it is said in another Psalm, 'You rise up after sitting who eat the bread of grief,' 2 They who are penitent eat the bread of grief, who sing in another Psalm and say, 'They were made for me my tears bread day and night.' 3 What is this, then, 'You rise up after sitting'? Not to exalt unless you have been humbled. Many wish to rise before they have been seated; they wish to be seen to be righteous before they have confessed that they are sinners. So if you would receive this passage of our Head, so understand, 'You have known my sitting and my rising,' as my Passion and Resurrection, and if you would receive 'You have known my sitting and rising' of the Body, understand: before your eyes I have confessed my sins, and by your grace I have been justified. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Enarrations on the Psalms from Psalm 138 1 Ps 138.2 2 Ps 126.2 3 Ps 41.4

A New Life

Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ διολώλασι μὲν τὰ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων πρωτότοκα, σέσωσται δὲ πανοικὶ καὶ διέδρα τὸν ὀλοθρευτὴν ὁ ἠγαπημένος Ἰσραὴλ, τῷ αἵματι τοῦ ἀμνοῦ κατακεχρισμένος ὅσον εἰς τύπον Χριστοῦ τοῦ δι' ἡμᾶς ἐν νεκροῖς, ἵνα καταργήσῃ τὸν θάνατον, ταύτῃτοι δικαίως εἶεν ἂν ἑαυτῶν μὲν οὐκέτι τὰ σεσωσμένα· πρέποι δ' ἂν μᾶλλον αὐτὰ διακεκτῆσθαι λοιπὸν ὡς ἴδια τὸν ὑπὲρ ἑαυτῶν κεκινδυνευκότα. Ὃν γὰρ τρόπον οἱ τοὺς ἤδη γεγονότας ὑποχειρίους βαρβαρικοῖς ἀπαλλάττειν ἰσχύοντες, καὶ τῆς ἀδοκήτως ἐπενεχθείσης δουλείας ἐλευθεροῦν διὰ τοῦ τὴν πρὸς ἐκείνους ἀνατλῆναι μάχην, μονονουχὶ τὴν δεσπότου λοιπὸν ἐπέχουσι τάξιν, αἵματι τῷ ἰδίῳ τοὺς ἁλόντας κατακτώμενοι· κατὰ τὸν ἴσον, οἶμαι, τοῦτον λόγον καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, τὸ τῶν ἀκαθάρτων δαιμόνων καταδήσας στῖφος, καὶ τὸ ἴδιον αἷμα τεθεικὼς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν· ἀποστήσας τε οὕτω τὸν θάνατον, καὶ καταλύσας τὴν φθορὰν, ἰδίους ἡμᾶς ποιεῖται λοιπὸν, ὡς τὴν ἑαυτῶν μὲν οὐκέτι, τὴν αὐτοῦ δὲ μᾶλλον διαζῶντας ζωήν. Εἰ μὴ γὰρ ἀπέθανεν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, οὐκ ἂν διεσώθημεν· καὶ εἰ μὴ γέγονεν ἐν νεκροῖς, οὐκ ἂν τὸ δυσάντητον τοῦ θανάτου κατεσείσθη κράτος. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος Παῦλος μεμυσταγώγηκε, λέγων, τοὺς διὰ Χριστοῦ σεσωσμένους· Χριστῷ συνεσταύρωμαι· ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγώ· ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός. Ὃ δὲ νῦν ζῶ ἐν σαρκὶ, ἐν πίστει ζῶ τῇ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ  ἀγαπήσαντός με, καὶ δόντος ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ. Ὥσπερ οὗν μονονουχὶ τὴν τοῦ σφαγέντος ἀμνοῦ ζωὴν ἔζων οἱ ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ, οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς οὐχὶ τὴν ἰδίαν ἔτι ζῶμεν ζωὴν, ἀλλὰ τὴν τοῦ δι' ἡμᾶς ἀποθανόντος Χριστοῦ, εἰ καὶ ἀνεβίω πάλιν. Ζωὴ γὰρ ἦν κατὰ φύσιν, ὡς Θεός. Χρὴ τοίνυν ἡμῶν ἁγίαν εἶναι τὴν ζωήν· τοιαύτη γὰρ ἡ Χριστοῦ. Ἁγίως δὲ ζῇν ᾑρημένοι, τὴν ἀξιάγαστον αὐτοῦ καταπλουτήσομεν εἰκόνα, σύμμορφοί τε γεγονότες τῷ δι' ἡμᾶς καθ' ἡμᾶς, καὶ Μονογενεῖ μὲν ὡς Θεῷ, πρωτοτόκῳ δὲ διὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, ἱερεῖον ἀνάθεμα καὶ ἀξιόληπτον ἀληθῶς ἐσόμεθα τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρί. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Γλαφψρων Εἰς Την Ἐξοδον, Βιβλιον Β' Source: Migne PG 69 437

For when the firstborn of the Egyptians perished, He protected each house of his beloved Israel from the exterminator, which was turned aside by the unction of the blood of the lamb, which is a type of Christ for us, who died that He abolish death, by which rightly it be that they no longer consider their salvation for themselves, but rather that they become His who ventured this for them. For as they were liberated from subjection to the power of barbarians and from the shameful servitude which was imposed on them, He guarding them in the way He did against blows in the struggle, it was not that they might take some other lord, but only that by the blood they have their Lord. In this way then, I judge, Christ our Lord, from the profligate crowd of unclean demons, by His own blood poured out for us, with the destruction of death and the abolition of corruption, freed us for Himself, and brought us into His service, lest after we live for ourselves rather than Him. For unless He died for us it is certain that we would never have been saved. Unless He had died for us never would the savage power of death had been conquered. So even the holy Paul instructs us concerning the saving power of Christ: 'I am crucified with Christ, I live now not I, but Christ lives in me. Though I live now in my flesh, in faith I live for the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.' 1 As then the Israelites lived by the sacrifice of the life of the lamb, so we should no longer live our own life, but His, Christ, who died for us, as even He lived again. For life was according to His nature, as God. Therefore our life should be holy, for so was the life of Christ. For striving to live a holy life, we shall be enriched to become an image of Him, being conformed to Him, He who for us, that we be made so, the only begotten of God, was first born according to human nature, that we offer a holy and most acceptable sacrifice to God the Father Saint Cyril of Alexandria, from Glaphrya on Exodus, Book 2 1 Galat 2.19-20

Resurrection And Revelation

Qui praedestinatus est Filius Dei in virtute secundum spiritum sanctificationis ex resurrectione mortuorum Jesu Christi Domini nostri. Filium Dei dicens, Patrem significavit Deum; addito autem spiritu sanctificationis, ostendit mysterium Trinitatis. Hic ergo qui incarnatus, quid esset, latebat; tunc praedestinatus est secundum spiritum sanctificationis in virtute manifestari Filius Dei, cum resurgit a mortuis, sicut scriptum est in psalmo octogesimo quarto: Veritas de terra orta est. Omnis enim ambiguitas et diffidentia resurrectione ejus calcata est, et compressa; siquidem adhuc in cruce positum, centurio videns magnalia, Dei Filium confitetur. Nam et discipuli in morte ejus dubitaverunt, dicente Cleopha in Emmaus: Nos putabamus quia ipse erat, qui incipiebat Israel. Et ipse Dominus ait: Cum exaltaveritis Filium hominis, tunc cognoscetis quia ipse ego sum; et iterum: Cum exaltatus fuero a terra omnia traham ad me, id est, tunc cognoscar omnium esse Dominus. Ideo autem non dixit ex resurrectione Jesu Christi, sed ex resurrectione mortuorum; quia resurrectio Christi generelem tribuit resurrectonem. Haec enim major videtur virtus in Christo et victoria, ut ea postestate operaretur mortuus, qua operatus fuerat et vivus. Quo facto apparuit illusisse mortem, ut redimeret nos; unde Dominum nostrum hunc vocat. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Caput Primum Source: Migne PL 17 50

'He who was marked out as the Son of God in the power of the spirit of sanctification from the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.' 1 Saying 'the Son of God' he signifies God the Father, and with the addition of 'the spirit of sanctification' he declares the mystery of the Trinity. He, then, who was incarnated, what He was, was hidden, and then, marked out by the spirit of sanctification, in power He was manifested as the Son of God when He rose from the dead; as it is written in the eighty fourth Psalm: 'Truth from the earth has arisen.' 2 Every uncertainty and lack of confidence is trodden down and crushed by His resurrection. Certainly while He was yet placed on the cross, the centurion, perceiving wonders, confessed the Son of God, 3 but even the disciples doubted in His death, with Cleophas saying in Emmaus: 'We thought that He was the one who would restore Israel.' 4 And the Lord himself said, 'When you have raised up the Son of Man you will know that I am.' 5 and again, 'When I am lifted up from the earth I shall draw all to me.' 6 that is, then I shall be known as the Lord of all. Therefore he does not say 'from the resurrection of Jesus Christ', but 'from the resurrection of the dead,' because the resurrection of Christ was given for the general resurrection. For this power appears greater in Christ, and the victory, being done while dead, than what was done while living. By which He appeared to mock death, that he might redeem us, whence he calls Him Our Lord. Ambrosiaster, from the Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 1 1 Rom 1.4 2 Ps 84.12 3 Mt 27.54 4 Lk 24.21 5 Jn 8.28 6 Jn 12.32

Sacrifice And Freedom

Voluntarie sacrificabo tibi. Legis sacrificia, quae in holocaustomatis et oblationibus hircorum atque taurorum sunt, non habent in se voluntatis professionem, quia malediciti sententia legem sit decreta violantibus. Quisquis enim a sacrifcio destitiseet, ipse obnoxium se efficiebat esse maledicto. Necesse ergo erat effici quod foebat: quia sacrificii negligentiam maledicti non admittebat adjectio. A quo maledicto nos Dominus noster Jesus Christus exemit, Apostolo dicente, Christus nos redemit de maledicto legis, factus pro nobis ipse maledictum, quia scriptum est: Maledictus omnis qui pendet in ligno. Maledictorum se ergo obtulit morti ut maledictum legis dissolveret, hostiam se ipse Deo patri voluntarie offerendo; ut per hostiam voluntariam maledictum, quod ob hostiae necessariae et intermissae reatum erat additum, solveretur. Cujus sacrificii alio loco meminit in Psalmis: Hostiam et oblationem noluisti, perfecisti autem mihi corpus; Deo patri legis sacrificia respuenti, hostiam placentem suscepti corporis offerendo. Cujus oblationis beatus Apostolis ita meminit: Hoc enim fecit semel se ipsum offerens hostiam Deo; omnem humani generis salutem oblatione sancae hujus et perfectae hostiae redempturus. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum LIV Source: Migne PL 9 345

'Freely I sacrifice to you.' 1 The sacrifices of the law, holocausts and oblations of goats and bulls, have not in themselves the profession of the will, because the law decrees that they are cursed who are violators of it. Whoever then declines to sacrifice puts himself under a curse. 2 Necessary, therefore, it was that  man do what he did, because the neglect of sacrifice was not permitted. From which curse Our Lord Jesus Christ freed us, with the Apostle saying, 'Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, making himself a curse for us, because it is written: Cursed is everyone who hangs upon a tree.' 3 For the sake of the cursed He thus brought himself to death, that He destroy the curse of the law, freely offering Himself in sacrifice to God the Father, that by a freely given sacrifice He lift the curse, which to necessary sacrifice added the guilt of neglect. Of which sacrifice in another place in the Psalms it is said: 'Sacrifice and oblation you did not wish, you have prepared a body for me.' 4 The sacrifices of the law being rejected by God the Father, a pleasing sacrifice of the body offered is taken up. Of which oblation the blessed Apostle says, 'This He did once offering himself as a sacrifice to God;' 5 acquiring salvation for the human race with this holy offering and perfect sacrifice.' Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 54 1 Ps 54. 8 2 Deut 27.26 3 Gal 3.13, Deut 21.23 4 Ps 39.7 LXX, Vet Lat 5 cf Hebr 7.27

Flesh And Spirit

Ὁ μακάριος Πέτρος γράφων φησίν· Ἵνα κριθῶσι μὲν ἄπαντες σαρκὶ, ζῶσι δὲ κατὰ Θεὸν πνεύματι. Τὸ μὲν κριθῶσι σαρκὶ, εἴρηται πρὸς τους λέγοντας, μήτε ἀνίστασθαι ἐκ νεκρῶν, μηδὲ κρίνεσθαι σάρκα· τὸ δ' ὅπως ζῶσι κατὰ Θεὸν πνεύματι, τουτέστι μηκέτι πλανώμενοι τὴν ψυχὴν, ὥστε πολλοὺς καὶ ποικίλους ὑποτοπάζειν θεοὺς, ἕνα δὲ καὶ μόνον θεὸν εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ὑπάρχοντας, καὶ ζῶντες, γινώσκοντες ἄπαντες. Τοῦτο δὲ χρήσιμον ἡμῖν τὸ ῥητὸν πρὸς τοὺς θάλποντας τὰ τοῦ Ἀριστοτέλους, καὶ ἰσχυριζομένους ἀπολεπτυνθήσεσθαι ποτε πάσας τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων; καὶ εἰς τὸ μὴ ὄν χωρῆσαι. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡϟΒ' Αγλαιῳ Αντεκηνσορι Source: Migne PG 79 156

The blessed Peter says in his writings, 'That all be judged in the flesh, but that they might live according to God, in the spirit' 1 And 'judged in the flesh,' is directed at those who assert that the flesh does not rise from the dead, nor is there judgement, and 'that they might live according to God, in the spirit' is for those who do not stray in the soul, as those who take up many different gods, but for whom God is one, eternal, existing, living, and knowing all things. And this passage is useful for us against those who delight in the things of Aristotle, and argue that at some time every man loses his soul and that it becomes nothing. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 192, to Aglaius the Antecessor 1 1 Pet 4.6

The Spiritual Body

Quomodo igitur Christus in carnis substantia surrexit, et ostendit discipulus figuras clavorum, et apertionem lateris, haec autem sunt indicia carnis ejus, quae resurrexit a mortuis: sic 'et nos' inquit, suscitabit per virtutem suam. Et iterum ad Romanos ait: Si autem Spiritus ejus, qui suscitavit Jesum a mortuis, vivificabit et mortalia corpora vestra. Quae sunt ergo mortalia corpora? Nunquidnam animae? Sed incorporales animae, quantum ad comparationem mortalium corporum. Insufflavait, enim, in faciem hominis, Deus, flatum vitae, et factus est homo in animam viventem, flatus autem vitae incorporalis. Sed ne mortalem quidem possunt dicere ipsum flatum vitae exsistentem. Et propter hoc David ait: Et anima mea illi vivet; tanquam immortali substantia ejus exisistante. Sed neque spiritum possunt dicere mortale corpus. Quid igitur superest dicere mortale corpus, nisi plasma, id est caro, de qua et sermo est, quoniam vivificabit eam Deus? Haec enim est quae moritur, et solvitur; sed non anima, neque spiritus. Mori enim est vitalem amittere habilitatem, et sine spiramine in posterum, et inanimalem, et immemorabilem fieri, et deperire in illa, ex quibus et initium substantiae habuit. Hoc autem neque animae evenit, flactus est enim vitae; neque spiritui; incompositis est enim et simplex spiritus, qui resolvi non potest, et ipse vita est eorum qui percipiunt illum. Superest igitur ut circa carnem mors ostendatur: quae posteaquam exierit anima, sine spiratione et inanimal efficitur, et paulatim resolvitur in terram ex qua sumpta est. Haec igitur mortalis. Haec autem de qua et dicit: Vivificabit et mortalia corpora vestra. Et propter hoc ait de ea in prima ad Corinthos: Sic et resurrectio mortuorum. Seminatur in corruptione, surget in incorruptione. Etenim tu, ait, quod seminas non vivificatur, nisi prius moriatur. Quid est autem quod ut granum tritici seminatur, et putret in terra, nisi corpora quae in terra ponuntur, in qua et semina jactantur? Et propter hoc dixit: Seminatur in ignobilitate, surget in gloria. Quid enim ignobilius carne mortua? Vel quid iterum gloriosius surgente ea, et percipiente incorruptelam? Seminatur in infirmitate, surget in virtute: in infirmitate quidem sua, quoniam cum sit terra, in terram vadit; virtute autem Dei, qui eam suscitat a mortuis. Seminatur corpus animale, surget corpus spirituale. Indubitate docuit, quoniam neque de anima, neque de spiritu sermo est ei, sed de mortificatis corporibus. Haec sunt enim corpora animalia, id est participantia animae; quam cum amiserint, mortificantur: deinde per Spiritum surgentia, fiunt corpora spiritualia, uti per Spiritum semper permanentem habeant vitam. Nunc enim, inquit, ex parte cognoscimus, et ex parte prophetamus: tunc autem facie ad faciem. Hoc est quod et a Petro dictum est: Quem cum non videritis, diligitis; in quem nunc quoque non videntes creditis, credentes autem exsultabitis gaudio innenarrabili. Facies enim nostra videbit faciem Dei vivi, et gaudebit gaudio inenarrabili; videlicet cum suum videat gaudium. Sanctus Ireneaus Lugdunensis, Adversus Haereses, Lib V, Cap VII. Migne PG 7.1139-41

In like manner, therefore, as Christ rose in the substance of flesh, and showed to the disciples the mark of nails and the opening in the side, 1 these being the signs of that flesh that rose from the dead, so it is said 'And he shall raise us up by His own power.' 2 And again to the Romans it is said, 'But if His Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He shall give life to your mortal bodies.' 3 What, then, are mortal bodies? Are they souls? But souls are incorporeal when compared to mortal bodies. God breathed into the face of man the breath of life, and man became a living soul, 4 and the breath of life is an incorporeal thing. And certainly they cannot say that the very breath of life is mortal. Because of this David says, 'My soul also shall live to Him,' 5 just as if its substance were immortal. But neither can they say that the spirit is the mortal body. What therefore is there left to which we may they may speak of a mortal body, unless it be the thing that was shaped, that is, the flesh, of which it is also said that God will vivify it? This is what dies and decomposes, but not the soul, nor the spirit. For to die is to lose vital power, and to become breathless, inanimate, and immobile, and to pass away into those things from which the substance had its beginning. But this happens neither to the soul, for it is the breath of life, nor to the spirit, for it is simple and not composite, and so cannot be decomposed and is itself the life of those who receive it. It remains, then, that death is shown to concern the flesh; which after the soul departs, becomes breathless and inanimate, and is decomposed gradually into the earth from which it was taken. This, then, is what is mortal. And it is this of which he says, 'He shall give life to your mortal bodies.' And therefore on account of this he says, in the first letter to the Corinthians: 'So also is the resurrection of the dead; it is sown in corruption, it rises in incorruption.' 6 For he says, 'That which you sow cannot be given life, unless first it die.' 7  But what is that which, like a grain of wheat, is sown and decays in the earth, unless it be the bodies which are placed in the earth, into which seeds are also cast? And for this reason he said, 'It is sown in dishonour, it rises in glory.' 8 For what is more ignoble than dead flesh? Or, again, what is more glorious than the same rising and partaking of incorruption? 'It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;' 8 in its own weakness certainly, because since it is earth to earth it goes; but by the power of God, who raises it from the dead. 'It is sown an animal body, it rises a spiritual body.' 8 He has taught, without any doubt, that such speech was not about the soul or the the spirit, but about bodies become corpses. For these are animal bodies, that is, which partake of life, which when they have lost it, die; then, rising by the Spirit, become spiritual bodies, so that by the Spirit they possess perpetual life. The Apostle says, 'For now we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but then face to face.' 9 And this it is which has also been said by Peter: 'Whom having not seen, you love; in whom now also, not seeing, you believe; and believing, you shall rejoice with unspeakable joy.' 10 For our face shall see the face of the living God and shall rejoice with joy unspeakable; that is to say, when it shall see its own delight. Saint Ireneaus of Lyon, Against Heresies, Book 5, Ch 7.  1 Jn 20.20 2 1 Cor 6.14 3 Rom 8.11 4 Gen 2.7 5 Ps 21.31 6 1 Cor 15.42 7 1 Cor 15.36 8 1 Cor 15.43 9 1 Cor 13.9, 12 10 1 Pet 1:8

Women Restored

Ὡς δὲ ἐπορεύοντο ἀπαγγεῖλαι τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἰδοὺ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀπὴντησεν αὐταὶς, λέγων· Χαίρετε. Αἱ δὲ προσελθοῦσαι ἐκράτησαν αὐτοῦ τοὺς πόσας καὶ προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ. Κεκέρδακε τὸ θῆλυ γένος καὶ λύσιν ὀνειδισμοῦ καὶ κατάρας ἀνατροπήν. Ὁ γὰρ εἰπὼν πάλαι πρὸς αὐτάς· Ἐν λύπαις τέξῃ τέκνα, παῦλαν αὐταῖς  ἔδωκε συναντήσας αὐταῖς ἐν τῷ κήπῳ, καὶ εἰπών· Χαίρετε. Μεθ' ὑπερβαλλούσης εὐφροσύνης αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῷ προσδραμοῦσαι ἐλάμβανον, καὶ διὰ τῆς ᾱφῆς, τεκμήριον καὶ πληροφορίαν τῆς ἀναστάσεως, καὶ προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ. Τί οὖν αὐτός; Μὴ φοβεῖσθε· πάλιν καὶ αὐτὸς τὸ δέος ἐκβάλλει προοδοποιῶν τῇ πίστει, καὶ διὰ τῶν γυναικῶν τοὺς μαθητὰς εὐαγγελίζεται· ὃ πολλάκις εἶπον, τὸ μάλιστα γένος ἀτιμωθὲν εἰς τιμὴν ἄγων, καὶ χρηστὰς ἐλπίδας, καὶ τὸ πεπονηκὸς ἰώμενος. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον Migne PG 72. 469

And as the women went off to tell His disciples, behold Jesus met them saying, 'Hail.' And falling at His feet and touching them, they adored Him. 1 The class of women here acquire release from opprobrium and an overturning of the curse. When it was once said to them, 'In grief you shall bear children,' 2 now He gives rest to them by a meeting in the garden, saying 'Hail'. With great joy the women in meeting Him receive the proof and certitude, even through touch, of the resurrection, and they adore him. And what then from Him? He says, 'Do not fear.' Again He casts out fear from the way of faith, and through the women he announces it to the disciples. How often I have said that to this sex lacking honour He affixes the greatest honour and favours with hope, that what He wrought He heal. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Fragment 1 Mt 28.9 2 Gen 3.16

Sacrifice And Salvation

Ego autem in voce laudis immolabo tibi: quaecumque vovi reddam pro salute Domino. LXX: Ego autem cum voce laudis et confessionis immolabo tibi, quaecumquae vovi reddam tibi salutare Domino. Qui custodiunt vanitates, suam misericordiam reliquerunt: ego autem qui pro multorum salute devoratus sum, in voce laudis et confessionis immolabo tibi, mesipsum offerens: quia Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus. Et quasi verus pontifex et ovis seipsum pro nobis obtulit. Et confitebor, iniquit, tibi ut ante confessus sum, dicens: Confiteor tibi, Pater Domine coeli et terrae; et reddam vota, quae feci pro salute omnium Domino, ut omne quod dedisti mihi non pereat in aeternum. Cernimus quid in sua passione Salvator pro nostra salute promiserit: non faciamus mendacem Jesum: ergo mundi simus, et ab universis peccatorum sordibus separati, ut nos Deo Patri offerat victimas quas voverat. Et dixit Dominus pisci: et evomuit Jonam in aridam. LXX: Et praecepit ceto, et ejecit Jonam super siccum. Haec quae supra legimus sub persona Jonae Dominus deprecatus est in ventre ceti, de quo et Job mystice loquitur: Maledicat ei qui maledixit diei, ille qui magnum cetum capturus est. Praecipitur ergo huic magno ceto, et abyssis et inferno, ut terris restituant Salvatorem: et qui mortuus fuerat, ut liberaret eos qui mortis vinculis tenebantur, secum plurimos educat ad vitam. Quod autem scribitur evomuit, ἐμφατικώτερον debemus accipere: quod ex imis vitalibus mortis, victrix vita processerit Sanctus Hieronimus, Commentarius In Jonam Prophetem Source: Migne PL 25 1138

'I shall sacrifice to you in a voice of praise, whatever I have vowed I shall return with thanks to the Lord.' The Septuagint reads: 'I shall sacrifice to you in a voice of praise and confession, whatever I have vowed I shall return with thanks to the Lord'. 1 Those who cling to vanities have forsaken mercy; I ,however, who am devoured for the salvation of many, in a voice of praise and confession shall sacrifice to you, offering myself, because our Paschal lamb sacrificed for us is Christ. 2 And as a true priest and sheep He offers himself for us. And I shall confess to you, He says, what I have confessed before, saying, I confess to you, Father, Lord and heaven and earth, 3 and I shall return my vow, which I made for the salvation of all in the Lord, that all you have given me not perish forever. We see in His passion that the Saviour makes the promise for our salvation; let us not make Jesus a lie; though we are in the world, let us separate from all filth of sin that we offer to God the Father the sacrifices which He has vowed. 'And the Lord spoke to the fish and He vomited Jonah onto dry land.' The Septuagint reads, 'And He commanded the fish and it cast up Jonah onto dry land.' The things which we read above under the person of Jonah the Lord entreated in the belly on the whale, concerning which Job speaks mystically saying, 'Let him curse him has cursed the day, that one who shall seize the great whale.' 4 Command is given, therefore, to the great whale, the abyss and hell, that they restore the Saviour to the land, He who had died, that He liberate those who were held in the chains of death, with Himself leading many to life. And when it is written 'he vomited' we should understand that from the depths of death life victorious proceeded. Saint Jerome, from the Commentary on Jonah 1 Jonah 2.10 2 1 Cor 5 3 Mt 11.25 4 Job 3.8

Choosing Suffering

Ὁ δὲ Ἰἠσοῦς εἶπειν αὐτῷ· Ἑταὶρε, ἐφ' ᾧ πάρει; Τότε προσελθόντει, ἐπέβαλον τὰς χεῖρας ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰησοῦν, καὶ ἐκράτησαν αὐτόν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ὅτι μάλιστα τὸ συμβὰν οὐχὶ πάντη τε καὶ πάντως θελητὸν ἧν αὐτῷ, ἀλλ' οὖν τῆς πάντων ἕνεκα σωτηρίας καὶ ζωῆς, ἐκούσιον ἐποιήσατο τὸ ἐπὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ πάθος, Ἥδει τὰ ἐντεῦθεν ἐσόμενα κατορθώματα, καὶ ὅτι τὴν ἀνθρώπου φύσιν ἀνακαινεῖ, καὶ αἵματι τῷ οἰκείῳ κατακτήσεται τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρί. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἐποιήσατο θελητὸν, καίτοι ἀβούλητον ὅν τὸ παθεῖν, τίς ἂν νοοῖτο λοιπὸν ἡ πρόφασις τοῦ προσεύχεσθαι καὶ λέγειν αὐτὸν, Πατερ, εὶ δυνατὸν, παρελθέτω ἀπ' ἐμοῦ τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο; Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα. Θέα δὲ πῶς ἀνεθέλητον μὲν τῷ Σωτῆρι τὸ πάθος· ἐπειδὴ δὲ πάντη τε καὶ πάντως ὑπομεῖναι ἐχρῆν διὰ τὰ ἐκ τοῦ παθεῖν ἀγαθὰ, θελητὸν ἐποιήσατο δι' ἡμᾶς. Οὐ γὰρ ἠπείλσε τῷ προδότῃ τὸ παντὸς ἐπέκεινα διελᾶσαι κακοῦ, καὶ ὅτι κρεῖττον ἧν αὐτῷ τὸ μὴ γενέσθαι τὴν ἀρχὴν, ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἂν ὅλωη κολάσεως ἄξιον ἡγήσατό ποτε τῶν ἰδίων θελημάτων τὸν ὑπουργὸν, εἴπερ ἧν αὐτῷ θελητὸν τὸ παθεῖν. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον Migne PG 72. 456

And Jesus said, 'Friend, why do you come?' And then they drew near and put their hands on Him and held Him. 1 For even if it was not at all according to His will that these things come to be, yet on account of the salvation and life of all, He made the choice for the suffering of the cross. For certainly He knew that from that would come victory and it would bring about the renewal of the nature of man, his own blood given to God the Father. And yet if He had made the passion His choice, although averse, why was it that He prayed, saying, 'Father if possible, take this cup from me,' 2 and the rest after that? Observe how the passion was not wished for by the Saviour, but because He should suffer all that by suffering good come to all, so He made His choice for us. For after this decision He does not cry out against the traitor on account of him commiting the gravest crime, nor does He now say 'Better if this man had not been born,' 3 for he is not now to be censured with the threat of punishment when he acts according to the determination of His will, since He had chosen to suffer. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Fragment 1 Mt 26.50 2 Mt 26.42 3 Mt 26.24

Naked Flight

Ὁ γυμνὸς φεύξεται ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρα, φησὶν ὁ προφήτης. Προχείρως μὲν τὰ ἐν τῷ πάθει τοῦ Κυρίου συμβάντα προθεωρῶν, καὶ τὸν γυμνὸν πεφευγότα δηλῶν, ὅς σινδόνα περιβεβλημένος ἐπὶ γυμνῆς, τὴν πεῖραν τῶν Κυριοκτόνων ἀπέφυγε, καταλιπὼν αὐτοῖς τὴν σινδόνα. Ἡ δὲ κεκρυμμένη τούτου καὶ παρακεκαλυμμένη διάνοια, σημαίνει τὸν ἰσχνὸν καὶ ἀπέριττον, καὶ τῶν βαρῶν τῆς σαρκὸς ἀμέτοχον, μηδὲν κώλυμα πρὸς τὴν ἐντεῦθεν ἀνάνασιν ἔχοντα· κοῦφον καὶ εὐπάλλακτον τῆς θνητῆς ἀναχωροῦντα ἰλύος, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἄφθαρτον ζωὴν, πτηνὸν ἀπαντῶντα. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΝΓ' Θεοδουλῳ Source: Migne PG 78.216b

'Naked let him flee on that day,' says the Prophet. 1 By which he points to the things which happened during the passion of the Lord, and that one who fled naked clearly is the one who was wrapped in a linen cloth and cast it off to nakedness, and leaving it behind, fled the murderous trial of the Lord. 2 And if you consider the hidden and veiled sense here, it means that one should be stripped and unencumbered, having no burden of the flesh, having no impediment to ascent, and then with lightness and swiftness one may go forth from the filth of mortal things and fly on wings to the immortal life. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 53, To Theodoulos 1 Amos 2.16 2 Mk 14.52

Weakness And The Disciples

Futurae quoque eos infirmitatis admonuit, et nocte eadem omnes metu atque infidelitate turbandos. Cujus rei fides etiam auctoritate prophetiae veteris continebatur, percusso pastore oves esse spargendas: se tamen regurgentem in Galilaeam praecessurum esse, ut infirmitatem eorum sponsione reditus sui consolatetur. Sed Petrus pro fidei suae calore respondit, caeteris licet scandalizantibus, numquam se scandlizaturum. In tantum enim et affectu et charitate Christi efferebatur, ut et imbecillitatem carnis suae, et fidem verborum Domini non contueretur: quasi vero dicta ejus efficienda non essent. Cui ait: Priusquam gallus cantet, ter me negabis. Sed tam ille, quam caeteri ne mortis quidem metu decessuros se de confessione nominis sui polliceatur: ad omnem enim se ministerii constantiam, intrepida fidei voluntate firmaverant. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap XXX Source: Migne PL 9.1065

The Lord also warned the disciples about their future weakness, that on the same night they all would be confounded by fear and loss of faith. The certainty of this is confirmed by the authority of the old prophecy, 'Strike the shepherd and the sheep are scattered.' 1 Nevertheless He said that when He had risen He would go before them into Galilee, that the promise of His return might console them in their weakness. But Peter responded hotly in defence of his faith, that even if the others be scandalised, he would never be one to be scandalised. For by his great affection and love for Christ he was carried away so much that he did not mark the feebleness of his flesh and the certainty of the words of the Lord, and indeed what Peter said would not come to be. He to whom the Lord said, 'Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.' 2 Then like Peter, the others promised that they would never abandon the confession of His name for fear of death. Yes, in full confidence of their ability, by the fearless will of their faith, they strengthened themselves.   Saint Hilary of Poitiers, from the Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 30 1 Mt 26.31 2 Mt 26.34

The Woman And The Ointment

Accessit ad eum mulier, et reliqua. Mulier ista Maria Magdalena fuit, quae alias adhuc peccatrix pedes rigavit, nunc vero justificata, caput illius oleo santo perfudit. Alabastrum est genus candissimi marmoris, variis coloribus intertincti, in quo unguenta optime incorrupta servare perhibent: et nascitur circa Thebes Aegyptias and Damascum Syria caeteris candidius, probatissimum vero in India. Porro unguentum illud Mariae juxta alios Evangelistas ex nardo principali arbore in unguentis esse perhibetur, et pusticum, id est fidele, eo quod solent aliqui medicorum similibus herbis unguenta adulterare; πίστις enim Graece fides dicitur, unde pisticum derivatur; et a Marco spicatum asseritur, id est, non solum a radice nardi, sed etiam quo prestiosius esset, spicarum quoque et foliorum adjectione odoris ac virtutis illius erat accumulata gratia. Mystice haec devotio Mariae fidem sanctae designat Ecclesiae, quae caput Salvatoris unguento sancto perfundit, cum potentiam divinae virtutis ejus digna reverentia confitetur et praedicat. Cum vero assumptae humanitatis ejus mysteria indigna suscipit reverentia in pedes utique Domini unguenti nardi pisticum, id est, fidele ac verum profunditur. Sanctus Beda, In Matthaei Evangelium Expositio, Caput XXVI Source: Migne PL 92 111

'There came to Him a woman,' etc  1  This woman was Mary Magdalene, she who while a sinner wet His feet, 2 she who now justified, poured sacred ointment on His head. Alabaster is a type of very white marble, interwoven with various colours, in which the best of ointments is kept to preserve them from corruption, and it is found around Thebes in Egypt and Damascus in Syria, and in other places it is more white, most so in India. Further Mary's ointment according to the other Evangelists is principally nard, 3 the ointment being named from the plant, and it is also named pisticum, that is pure, because some are accustomed to mix the ointment with other herbs for the use of physicians, and 'pistis' in Greek means faith, from which pisticum is derived; and Mark calls it spikenard, that is, it is derived not only from the root of the nard, but even from what is more precious, the seeds and the leaves, which added increases the scent and potency of the ointment. In spiritual terms the devotion of Mary is the faith of the holy Church, and the holy ointment which she pours over the head of the Saviour, is when with worthy reverence the power of His Divine virtue is confessed and preached. However when she receives the mystery of the assumption of His humanity with humble reverence, as onto the feet of that Lord the 'pisticum' of the ointment, that is, the true faith, is poured. 4 Saint Bede, from the Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chap 26 1 Mt 26.7 2 Lk 7.36-38 3 Mk 14.3 4 Jn 12.3

A Sheep For An Ass

Ἀλλάττεται δὲ προβάτῳ πᾶν διανοῖγον μήτραν ὄνου.  Καὶ τὶς ὁ λόγος; Ἀνίερον μὲν γὰρ καὶ βέβηλον κατὰ νόμον ἡ ὀνο; ἱερὸν δὲ τὸ πρόβατον· τοιγάρτοι καὶ ὑπὲρ ὄνου προσάγεται. Ὕπαινίττεται δὲ πάλιν ἡμῖν ὁ νόμος ἐν τούτοις, ὅτι καὶ τὸ βέβηλον ἅγιον ἐν Χριστῷ, καὶ τὸ ἀνίερον, καὶ δεκτὸν δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ ἀπαράδεκτον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἧμεν ἁμαρτωλοὶ καὶ ἀκαθαρτοι, γέγονεν αὐτὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἅγιον θῦμα, καὶ εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας. Ἀπέθανε γὰρ ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτωλῶν, δίκαιος ὑπὲρ ἁδίκων, ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀκαθάρτων ὁ καθαρὸς, καθὰ καὶ πρόβατον ὑπὲρ ὄνου. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Γλαφψρων Εἰς Την Ἐξοδον, Βιβλιον Β' Source: Migne PG 69 440

'For every opening of the womb of an ass a sheep shall be given.' 1  What does this mean? For an ass according to the law is polluted and unclean, whereas a sheep is a clean animal, which is then offered for an ass. But again the law is a figure for us, that the profane is restored through the Holy Christ, the unclean by the clean, the reprobate receiving approval. For when we were sinners and unclean there was made for us a holy sacrifice and with an odour of good fragrance, because He died for sinners, the righteous for the unrighteous, the clean for the unclean, the sheep for the ass. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphrya on Exodus, Book 2 1 Exod 13.13

Bearing And Walking

Et duxerunt illum ad Jesum. Et jacentes vestimenta sua supra pullum, imposuerunt Jesum. Eunte autem illo, substernebant vestimenta sua in via... Disce a domestico Dei gestare Christum quoniam prius te ille gestabat, cum pastor errantem reduceret ovem: disce sedula mentis tuae dorse substernere, disce esse sub Christo, ut possis esse supra mundum. Non quicumque facile vehit Christum, sed ille qui potest dicere: Incurvatus et humiliatus sum nimis: rugiebam a gemitu cordis mei. Quod si desideras non moveri, super illa vestimenta sanctorum elutum fige vestigium. Cave enim ne lutulentis pedibus incedas, cave ne transversis gressibus, perstrata tibi propheticarum viarum itinera derelinquas; namque ut tutior venturis gentibus esset incessus, propriis indumentis usque ad Dei templum qui praeibant Jesum, semitam munierant. Ut tu sine offensione gradiaris, discipuli Domini amictu se proprii corporis exuentes, inter adversa turbarum viam tibi suo stravere martyrio. Si quis tamen ita vult accipere, non renitimur, quod pullus iste jam supra Judaeorum vestimenta graderetur. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam, Liber IX Source: Migne PL 15.1796

So they brought the colt to Jesus and spreading out their garments on it, placed Jesus on it. Then going with Him, they strewed the road with their garments...1 Learn from the domestic beast of God to carry Christ, because He also carried, as a shepherd bringing back the lost sheep; 2 learn to sustain with the firm backbone of your mind, learn to be beneath Christ, that you may be able to be above the world. No one easily bears Christ unless they are able to say, 'I am bent down and humiliated excessively, I have groaned from the depths of my heart.' 3 If you desire not to be moved, fix your way over the strewn vestments of the saints; beware lest your feet stray into mud, beware lest with wandering steps you forsake the journey the prophetic ways have laid out for you, for with more safety you may walk among the people who with their own covering have preceded you to the temple of God, making sure the way. And that you may walk without fault, strip off the things of your own body for a garment of a disciple of the Lord, He who has laid out before you, on the way amid hostile crowds, His own martyrdom. If He so wishes to receive, let us not resist, for this young one has already trodden on the vestments of the Jews. Saint Ambrose, from the Commentary On The Gospel of Luke, Book 9 1 Lk 19 35-36 2 Lk 15.6 3 Ps 37.9

Religious Hatred

Nonne odientes te, Domine, odivi, et super inimicos tuos tabescebam? Perfecto odio oderam illos; inimici facti sunt mihi. Est religiosum odium, quotiens in nobis odio est qui Deum odit. Inimicos quidem nostros amare praecipimur, sed nostros, non et Dei. Nam, juxta Deum, et patrem et matrem et conjugem et filios et fratres odisse devotum est. Odit ergo odientes Deum, et inimicorum odio tabescit, et odit odio perfecto, et inimici sibi facti sunt. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXXXVIII Source: Migne PL 9.815

The haters of you, Lord, did I not hate, and did I not wither because of your enemies? With a perfect hatred I hated them, and they have become my enemies. 1 It is a religious hatred as many times as there is in us hatred for him who hates God. Certainly we are commanded to love our enemies, 2 ours, but not God's. For on account of God hatred of father and mother and wife and children and brothers is devotion. 3 He hates, therefore, the haters of God, and because of His enemies he withers, and with a perfect hatred he hates, and they have become his own enemies. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 138 1 Ps 138. 21-22 2 Mt 5.44 3 Lk 14.26

A Perfect Hatred

Τέλειον μῖσος ἐμίσουν αὐτοὺς, κ.τ.ἐ. Εἰ ὁ τέλειος μισήσας τὸ πονηρὸν, ἀπέχεται πάσης κακίας, ὁ μεταλαμβάνων τῆς οἱασδηποτοῦν κακίας αὐτῶν τελείως οὐ μεμίσηκε Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΡΛΗ' Source: Migne PG 12 1664

'With a perfect hatred I hated them... 1  If the hatred of wickedness is perfect, a man withdraws from all evil, and so inasmuch as he participates in wickedness he does not hate with a perfect hatred. Origen, Excerpta On the Psalms, from Psalm 138 1 Ps 138. 22

Grief And Sin

Ὁ ἐφ᾽ ἁμαρτίας γινόμενος ὀδυρμὸς, γλυκεῖαν κέκτηται τὴν ἀνίαν, καὶ μελιτῶδες αὐτοῦ τὸ πικρὸν εὑρίσκεται, ἐλπίδι ἀγαθῇ καὶ χρηστῇ φαρματτόμενον, διὰ τοῦτο τρέφει τὴν ψυχὴν, γανοῖ τὸ φρόνημα, λιπαῖνει τὴν καρδίαν, εὐθαλὲς ἐργάζεται τὸ τοῦ σώματος σύγκριμα. Καὶ καλῶς ὁ Δαυῗδ ἐμελῷδει· Ἐγενήθη μοι τὰ δάκρυα ἄρτος ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΚ' Ἀριστοτελει Προτευοντι Source: Migne PG 79 164

He who grieves on account of sin  makes sweet his sorrow, and the bitterness of it he discovers is honey, receiving the medicines of good and sweet hope, by which the soul is nourished, the mind made bright, the heart made strong, and the body flourishes. Fairly David sang, 'My tears were my bread day and night.' 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 220, To Aristotles The Primate 1 Ps 41.4

A Prophetic Silence

Cum autem pertransissent septem dies, factum est verbum Domini ad me, dicens.   In eo quod septem diebus moerens sedit, et post diem septimum verba dominicae jussionis accepit ut loqui debuisset, aperte indicat quia eisdem diebus moerens tacuerat. Missus autem ad praedicandum fuerat, et tamen septem diebus sedens tacebat. Quid est hoc quod nobis propheta sanctus in hoc suo silentio innuit, nisi quia ille loqui veraciter novit, qui prius bene tacere didicerit? Quasi enim quoddam nutrimentum verbi, est censura silentii. Et recte per excrescentem quoque gratiam sermonem accipit, qui ordinate ante per humilitatem tacet. Hinc enim per Salomonem dicitur: Tempus tacendi, et tempus loquendi. Non enim ait, Tempus loquendi, et tempus tacendi, sed prius tacendi praemittit tempus, et postmodum subdit loquendi, quia non loquendo tacere, sed tacendo debemus loqui discere. Si ergo propheta sanctus qui missus ad loquendum fuerat diu prius tacuit, ut postmodum recte loqueretur, pensandum nobis est quanta ei culpa sit non tacere, quem nulla cogit necessitas loqui. Sanctus Gregorius Papa I, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia XI Migne PL 76 907

When seven days had passed the word of the Lord came to me saying...1 In which seven days he sat mourning and after the seventh day he received the word of the Lord's command that he should speak, openly indicating that he was silent during those days of mourning. He was sent to preach yet for seven days he sat silent. And what is this that the holy Prophet teaches us in his silence but that only he knows truly how to speak who before speaking has learned to be silent? For as a sort of nourishment of the word is the span of silence. And rightly by a growth of grace he receives the word, who before on account of humility is silent. Whence it is said by Solomon: 'A time for silence, and a time for speaking.' 2 It is not said, 'A time for speaking and a time for silence,' but first comes the time of silence and after comes the time of speaking, because it is not in speaking that we learn to be silent, but by silence that we learn to speak. If therefore the holy Prophet who was sent to speak was first silent that afterward he should speak correctly, we should think how much fault there may be to the one who is not silent, whom no necessity drives him to speak.   Pope Saint Gregory the Great, on Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 11 1 Ez 3.16 2 Eccl 3.7

Hope And Hearts

Χώρημα καρδίας, ἐλπὶς εἰς Θεόν· στενοχωρία δὲ αὐτῆς, φροντὶς σωματική Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Migne PG 65 945

Broadness of heart is hope in God, and the narrowness of it is care for corporeal things. 1 Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works. 1 cf Ps 118.32

Penance And Prayer

Ἡ καλλίστη μετάγνωσις, καὶ σύντονος δέησις καὶ παράκλησις εὐδιάζει τὸν σεσηπότα ταῖς πράξεσιν ἄνθρωπον· δέχεται γὰρ καὶ δέησιν ῥυπαρὰν ὁ φιλανθρωπότατς Δεσπότης Χριστὸς ἐκ στόματος ῥυπαροῦ ἐν ταπεινώσει προσφερομένην πολλῇ. Καὶ πειθέτω σε ὁ φράζων λῃστής· Μνήσθητί μου, Κύριε Ἰησοῦ, ὅταν ἔλθῃς ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ σου, παραυτίκα ἀκούσας· Σήμερον μετ' ἐμου ἔσῃ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡϟΖ' Τρυφωνι Ἀρχιτεκτονι Source: Migne PG 79 155-157

Most beautiful is penance and continual prayer and invocation, offering up a fair odour from the rotten works of men. For the most loving Lord Christ receives even soiled prayers from sordid mouths, if in great humility they are offered. May the thief crying out persuade you: 'Remember me, Lord Jesus, when you come into your kingdom.' He who immediately heard, 'Today you will be with me in paradise.' 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 199, To Trypho the Architect 1 Lk 23.42-43

Grace And Sickness

Ἐλπίσατε ἐπ' αὐτὸν, πᾶσα συναγωγὴ λαῶν, εκχέατε ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν. Ἀμήχανόν ἐστὶ χωρητικοὺς ἡμᾶς γενέσθαι τῆς θείας χάριτος μὴ τὰ ἀπὸ κακίας πάθη προκατασχόντα τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν ἐξελάσαντας. Εἶδον ἰατροὺς ἐγὼ μὴ πρότερον διδόντας τὰ σωτήρια φάρμακα, πρὶν ἐμετοῖς ἀποκενῶσαι τὴν νοσοποιὸν ὕλην, ἣν ἐκ πονηρᾶς διαίτης ἑαυτοῖς οἱ ἀκόλαστοι ἐναπέθεντο. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀγγεῖον προκατειλημμένον ὑπό τινος δυσώδους ὑγροῦ, μὴ ἐκπλυνθὲν, οὐ μὴ δέξηται τοῦ μύρου τὴν ἐπιῥῥοήν. Δεῖ τοίνυν ἐκχυθῆναι τὰ προϋ πάρχοντα, ἵνα δυνηθῇ χωρηθῆναι τὰ ἐπαγόμενα. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΞΑ' Ψαλμον  Source: Migne PG 29 477

'Hope in Him all the gathering of the peoples, pour out your hearts before Him.' 1 It is not possible that we receive Divine grace unless the wicked passions which occupy our souls are expelled. I have known physicians who before they would apply salutary medicines, would evacuate by vomiting the morbid material, which the sick, overcome by the evil of intemperance, had brought on themselves. Even in a vase that smells strongly of liquor, no perfume is poured unless it is washed out. These things, then, must be emptied of what they contain, that they be able to receive the things to come. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 32 1 Ps 61.9