Appearance And Nature

Et vidi quasi speciem electri. Quid est quod aspectus hominis videtur in throno quasi species electri, nisi quod in electro, sicut longe superius diximus , aurum argentumque miscetur, ut res una ex metallis duobus fiat? In qua et per argentum auri claritas temperatur, et per auri claritatem species clarescit argenti. In Redemptore autem nostro utraque natura, id est divinitatis et humanitatis inconfuse ac inseparabiliter unita sibimet atque coniuncta est ut et per humanitatem divinitatis eius claritas nostris posset oculis temperari, et per divinitatem humana in eo natura claresceret, atque exaltata fulgorem ultra hoc quod creata fuerat haberet. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia VIII Source: Migne PL 76.865b-c

And I saw his appearance as electrum... 1 Why is it that the sight of the man on the throne seems to have the appearance of electrum, unless that in electrum, as we have said some time before, gold and silver are mixed and one thing is made from two metals? In which the brightness of the gold is tempered by the silver, and the appearance of silver is brightened by the brightness of the gold. In our Redeemer each nature, that is the human and the Divine, are unmixed and inseparable in union and conjunction, so that by humanity the brightness of His Divinity is tempered to our eye and by Divinity the humanity in that nature is brightened, and exalted He had a glory beyond that which was created. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 8 1 Ezekiel 1.27

Incarnation And Wedding

Quod Dominus dixit, Simile est regnum coelorum homini regi qui nuptias filio suo: nuptias dixit Verbum incarnatum, quia in ipso homine suscepto Ecclesia Deo copulata est. Quod dixit, Tauri mei et altilia occisa sunt: tauros dixit principes plebium, altilia vero, omnia saginata. Quod dixit Dominus, Ite ad exitus viarum, et quoscumque inveneritis, vocate ad nuptias: viae intelliguntur dogmata Gentium, quia ex omnibus illis ad nuptias venerunt, id est, Christo crediderunt. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Questiones in Evangelium Secundum Matthaeum, Liber Primus, XXXI Source: Migne PL 35 1329

When the Lord said: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a man who prepared the wedding of his son.' 1 He spoke of the wedding of the Incarnation of the Word; since by this adoption of man, the Church was bound to God. By saying: 'My bulls and my poultry have been slain,' he spoke of bulls as the leaders of the people and by poultry everything that fattens. When the Lord said: 'Go out to the crossings of the roads and invite those you find to the wedding,' the ways are understood as the teachings of the Gentiles, because from all of them guests came to the wedding, that is, they believed in Christ. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Questions on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 1, 31 1 Mt 22.2

The Incarnation And Forgiveness

Non itaque de re parva disserimus, nec vile aliquid quaerimus, cum de remissione peccatorum, quantum divina largitas adiuvat, disputamus. Per hanc enim de potestate tenebrarum eripiuntur quos Deus transferet in regnum filii dilectionis suae . Per ipsam liberantur ab aeterna poena, ut potiantur aeterna laetitia. Per illam deponitur onus, seu quod nativitas vitiosa traxit, sive quod iniquitas vitiosae iuventutis adiecit. Per eam Christus eos qui laborant et onerati sunt venientes ad se reficit, quibus lene iugum levemque sarcinam suae caritatis imponit. Per ipsam gratis iustificatur impius, ut reputetur fides eius ad iustitiam. Per illam caret mala vita, qua fuerat implicatus; et accipit gratis bonam, qua fuit indignus. Per ipsam fit ut in bona vita deinceps, dono misericordiae praevenientis illuminatus ambulet, et in ea deductus misericordiae subsequentis munere perseveret: ut indebita gratia bene vivendi donum inchoet in homine, peccatorum remissione donata; quod perficiat perseverandi virtute concessa. Per remissionem peccatorum gratis homines discernuntur ab illis qui cruciabuntur in aeternum cum diabolo, et adiunguntur his qui sine fine regnabunt cum Christo. Postremo talis est remissio peccatorum, ut pro ipsa fieret homo Unigenitus Dei, pro ipsa etiam sanguis eius fuisset effusus. Unum horum vox angelicae visionis aperuit; alterum vero ipse Dominus indicavit. Nam cum desponsata esset Maria mater eius Ioseph, et, sicut evangelista testatur, priusquam convenirent, inventa esset in utero habens de Spiritu sancto, conceptionis illius causa nescienti Ioseph istis est verbis ab angelo nuntiata: Ioseph fili David, noli timere accipere Mariam coniugem tuam: quod enim in ea natum est, de Spiritu sancto est. Pariet autem filium, et vocabis nomen eius Iesum. Ipse enim salvum faciet populum suum a peccatis eorum. Quid vero aliud est a peccatis salvare, nisi peccata dimittere? Nam et ipse Salvator noster, qui venit salvum facere quod perierat, ob hoc se venisse testatur, ut vocaret peccatores in poenitentiam. Sanctus Fulgentius Ruspensis, De Remissione Peccatorum, Lib I, Cap IV Source: Migne 65.530b-531a

Thus we are not speaking of some small matter, nor seeking something vile, when as much as the Divine largess aids, we discuss the forgiveness of sins. By it, those whom God will assign to the kingdom of His beloved Son are seized from the power of darkness. 1 By it they are freed from the eternal punishment so that they may attain eternal bliss. By it that burden is left behind which either birth in sin has contracted, or to which the wickedness of an evil life has added. By it Christ refreshes those who labour and are heavily burdened and who come to Him, and on them he imposes the mild yoke and light burden of His love. 2 By it the sinner is freely justified that his faith may be accounted justice. By it he leaves behind the evil life in which he was snared and freely receives a good one, of which he was unworthy. By this it happens that from now on, illuminated by the gift of mercy given, he may walk in the path of goodness, and, being led along on it, he may persevere with further gifts of mercy, so that, by an undeserved grace, the gift of good living will start in a man, and the forgiveness of sins having been given, this will be brought to perfection when the power of perseverance has been granted. By the forgiveness of sins men are separated from those who will be tormented for eternity with the Devil, and they will be added to those who will reign with Christ without end. Finally, such is the forgiveness of sins that for it the Only Begotten of God became man, for it His blood was poured out. The first of these the voice of the angel revealed in its vision, the other the Lord Himself disclosed. For when His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph and as the evangelist bears witness, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit, and then the cause of His conception was announced by the angel to Joseph who was ignorant of it, in these words: 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what is conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. For He shall save the people for their sins.' 3 And what, then, is it to save from sins unless to forgive sins? For our Saviour who came to save that which was lost, 4 testifies that He had come for this, that He call sinners to penitence. 5 Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, On the Forgiveness of Sins, Book 1, Chap 4 1 Colos. 1.13 2 Mt. 11.28 3 Mt. 1.18-21 4 Mt 18.11 5 Lk 5.32

Children And The Last Hour

'Pueri, novissima hora est.' In hac lectione pueros alloquitur; ut festinent crescere, quia novissima hora est. Aetas corporis non est in voluntate. Ita nullus secundum carnem crescit quando vult; sicut nullus quando vult nascitur: ubi autem nativitas in voluntate est, et crementum in voluntate est. Nemo ex aqua et Spiritu nascitur nisi volens. Ergo si vult, crescit: si vult, decrescit. Quid est crescere? Proficere. Quid est decrescere? Deficere. Quisquis novit natum se esse, audiat quia puer est et infans; avide inhiet uberibus matris, et cito crescit. Est autem mater Ecclesia; et ubera eius duo Testamenta Scripturarum divinarum. Hinc sugatur lac omnium sacramentorum temporaliter pro aeterna salute nostra gestorum, ut nutritus atque roboratus perveniat ad manducandum cibum, quod est: In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Lac nostrum Christus humilis est; cibus noster, idem ipse Christus aequalis Patri. Lacte te nutrit, ut pane pascat: nam corde contingere Iesum spiritaliter, hoc est cognoscere quia aequalis est Patri. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis,In Evangelium Ionannis, Tractatus III Source: Migne PL 35.1997-1998

Children, it is the last hour. 1 In this passage he addresses the children that they may make haste to grow, because 'it is the last hour.' The age of the body is not determined by one's own will. Thus no one grows in respect of the flesh when he will, just as no one is born when he will, but where being born is a matter of the will, the growth also is with the will. No one is 'born of water and the Spirit,' 2 unless he wills it. Therefore if he will, he increases; if he will, he decreases. What is it to grow? To advance. What is it to decrease? To go back. Whoever knows that he is born, let him hear that he is a child; let him eagerly cling to the breasts of his mother, and he grows quickly. The mother is the Church, and her breasts are the two Testaments of the Divine Scriptures. Hence let him suck the milk of all the the mysteries which were done in time for our eternal salvation, that nourished and strengthened he may attain to the eating of solid food, which is, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' 3 Our milk is Christ who is humble, our solid food the same Christ equal with the Father. With milk He nourishes you, that He may feed you with bread, for to touch Christ spiritually in the heart is to know that He is equal with the Father. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from the Third Tractate on the First Letter of John 1 1 Jn 2.18 2 Jn 3.5 3 Jn 1.1

From The World

Ipsi de mundo sunt, ideo de mundo loquuntur... Antichristi, id est, heretici, etsi nomen Christi invocant, si signo Christi se notant, ipsi tamen de mundo sunt, id est, de illorum numero qui mundana sapiunt, qui infirma quaerunt, qui colestia ignorant. Et ideo ipsi de mundo loquuntur, mundanae videlicet sapientiae ratione Christianae fidei adversantes, dicendo non posse fieri ut Filius Dei sit Patri coaeternus, ut virgo intacta pariat, ut caro de pulvere resurgat, immortalis, ut homo de terra editus mansionem percipiat in coelis, ut recens natus pravulus reatu primi hominis teneatur astrictus, nisi aqua baptisimi renatus in Christo salvetur. Sanctus Beda, In I Epistolam Sancti Joannis, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 93.107a-b

They are from the world, therefore they speak from the world... 1 Antichrists, that is, heretics, even if they call on the name of Christ, even if they mark themselves with the sign of Christ, yet they are from the world, that is, from the number of those know worldly things, who seek base things, who are ignorant of heavenly things. And therefore they speak from the world, obviously opposing the Christian faith by reason of worldly wisdom, saying that it is not possible that the Son of God and the Father are coeternal, that a virgin may give birth intact, that flesh shall rise up from dust, that man from earth shall take possession of a mansion in the heavens, 2 that a child recently born is bound by the sin of the first man, unless being reborn in the water of baptism he is saved in Christ. Saint Bede, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint John, Chapter 4 1 1 Jn 4.5 2 Jn 14.2

An End Of Speech

Ὑπάρχων δὲ πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου ἀτενίσας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἶδεν δόξαν θεοῦ καὶ Ἰησοῦν ἑστῶτα ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ εἶπεν, ἰδοὺ θεωρῶ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς διηνοιγμένους καὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκ δεξιῶν ἑστῶτα τοῦ θεοῦ. κράξαντες δὲ φωνῇ μεγάλῃ συνέσχον τὰ ὦτα αὐτῶν, καὶ ὥρμησαν ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐπ' αὐτόν, καὶ ἐκβαλόντες ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἐλιθοβόλουν. Καὶ μὴν εἰ ἑψεύδετο, ὡς μαινόμενον ἔδει ἀφεῖναι. Ὁ δὲ οὕτως εἴπε, βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς ἐπαγαγέσθαι. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ εἰπὼν περι τοῦ θανάτου μόνον, περὶ ἀναστάσεως οὐδὲν διελέχθη, καὶ τοῦτο λοιπὸν εὐκαίρως προστίθησι τὸ δόγμα. Οὕτω δὲ αὐτῷ λέγει φανῆναι, ὥς που διέξεισιν, ἵνα κἂν οὕτω δέξωνται τὸν λόγον, ὃς, ἐπεὶ τὸ εἰπεῖν καθῆσθαι φορτικὸν αὐτοῖς ἧν, τέως τὸν περὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως κινεῖ λόγον, καί φησιν αὐτὸν ἴστασθαι. Ἀπὸ τούτου στοχάζομαι καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ δεδοξάσθαι. Ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς φιλάνθρωπος ὤν, δῐ ὤν ἐπεβουλεύοντο ἐκεῖνοι, δι' αὐτῶν ἐβούλετο αὐτοὺς ἐκκαλέσασθαι, εἰ καὶ μηδὲν πλέον ἐγένετο, Καὶ ἐκβαλόντες ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἐλιθοβόλουν. Πάλιν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ὁ ὁ θάνατος, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ θανάτῳ ἡ ὁμολογία καὶ τὸ κήρυγμα διαγγελόμενον. Καὶ οἱ μάρτυρες ἀπέθεντο τὰ ἰμάτια αὐτῶν παρὰ πόδας νεανίου καλομένου Σαύλου, καὶ ἐλιθοβόλουν τὸν Στέφανον ἐπικαλοὺμενον τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ λέγοντα· Κύριε Ἰησου Χριστὲ, δέξαι τὸ πνεῦμα μου. Δεικνύοντος ὁμοῦ τοῦτο καὶ διδασκοντος αὐτούς ἐστιν, ὅτι οὐκ ἀπόλλυται. Καὶ θεὶς τὰ γόνατα, ἔκραζε φωνῇ μεγάλῇ· Κύριε, μὴ στήσῃς αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην. Ὥσπερ ἀπολογούμενος, ὅτι οὐδὲ τὰ πρότερα θυμοῦ ἧν, φησί· Κύριε, ἤ καὶ βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς ταύτῃ ἐπισπάσασθαι. Τὸ γὰρ ἀφεῖναι μὲν τὸν θυμὸν καὶ τὴν ὀργὴν τῷ φόνῳ, καθαρὰν δεῖξαι δὲ τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ πάθους, εὐπαράδεκτον ἐποίει τὸν λόγον. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος Ὑπομηνμα εἰς τας Πραξεις των Ἀποστολων, Ὁμολια ΙΗ' Source: Migne PG 60.141

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.' Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed on him as one, and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. 1 And yet, if he lied, as one who is mad, they should have let him go. But he spoke as one who wished to bring them to him. And since he had spoken of the death and had said nothing of the resurrection, he would appropiately add this teaching. And thus he says He appeared to him like this, that as He was shown, they might receive the word; for since His sitting was offensive to them, for the present he brings forward only what concerns the resurrection. Because of this his face was glorified. For God, loving men, amid their plotting wished to call them to Himself, and if nothing else were done: 'They cast him out of the city and stoned him.' Again, 'outside the city,' there was death, as with Christ and on account of Him, and in death the giving of confession and preaching. 2 'And the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, who called upon God, saying, Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit.' This is meant to show and teach them that he is not perishing. 'And kneeling, he cried with a loud voice, Lord, charge them not with this sin.' To clear himself, that he show that his former words were not from passion, he says, 'Lord,' and then the rest, wishing to win them over by it. For to show that he forgave them their wrath and rage in murder, and that his own soul was free from passion, was to make his speech more acceptable. Saint John Chrysostom, On The Acts Of The Apostles, from Homily 18 1 Acts 7.55-58 2 Heb 13.11-15

Reasons For Joy

Nimis dulce quod natus est; nimium salubre quod datus est, Cum audis etiam tibi natum, gaude. Cum audis etiam tibi datum, multo magis laetare. Sed inter patrem et natum, et inter datorem et datum, secundum divinam naturam non contingat tibi ullam tibi credere differentiam. Unius enim substantiae sunt secundum deitatis essentiam pater et natus, dator et datus. Tantus est ille qui datus est quantus est ille a quo datus est. Et qualis est ille qui genitus est, talis est ille a quo genitus est. Non praecessit tempore genitor; non est genitore genitus interior. Ejusdemque naturae, potentiae et majestatis creditur et praedicatur Spiritus sanctus, quo superveniente suscepit Verbum Dei sanctissimae et semper Virginis uterus, cujus singularem partum universus hodie recolit mundus. Tantae enim rei tamque divinissimi mysterii et ineffabilis sacramenti gratia, non solum in terris exsultant justi;sed etiam summae divinitatis in excelsis tripudiant ministri. Odilo Cluniacensis Abbas, Sermo I, De Nativitate Domini Salvatoris Source: Migne PL 142.993a-b

Exceedingly delightful is what is born, very wholesome is that which has been given. Indeed when you hear what has been born for you, be glad, when you hear what has been given to you, much more rejoice. But between the Father and the child, and between the giver and the given, let it not occur to you to think that there is some difference in the Divine nature. For the Father and the Child, the giver and the given, are of one substance according to the essence of Divinity. He who is given is as great as He from whom He is given. And as He who is born is He from whom he was begotten. He who begot did not precede in time, nor is He who was begotten inferior to Him who begot. And the Holy Spirit is believed and preached to be of the same nature and power and majesty, by whose coming the womb of the most holy and always Virgin Mary received the Word of God, whose singular birth the whole world reflects on today. For of such a thing and so Divine a mystery and by the grace of ineffable sacrament, not only do the righteous exult on earth, but indeed in the heights the ministers of the highest Divinity rejoice. Saint Odo of Cluny, from Sermon 1, On The Nativity of The Lord

Birth And Sanctity

Ideoque, et quod nascetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei. Ad distinctionem nostrae santitatis, Jesus singulariter sanctus nasciturus asseritur. Nos quippe et si sancti efficimur, non tamen nascimur, quia ipsa naturae corruptibilis conditione constringimur. Ut merito cum Propheta gementes singuli dicamus: Ecce enim in inquitatibus conceptus sum, et in delictis peperit me mater mea. Ille autem solus veraciter sanctus est qui, ut ipsam conditionem naturae corruptibilis vinceret, ex commistione carnalis copulae conceptus non est. Sanctum, inquit, vocabitur Filius Dei. Quid hic dicis, Nestorinae, qui beatam Mariam Dei negans esse genitricem, apertam niteris impugnare veritatem? Ecce Deum dixit superventurum, Dei Filium nasciturum. Quomodo ergo aut Dei Filius non est, aut quae Deum edidit, quomodo Θεοτόκος, id est, Dei genitrix non esse potest? Sanctus Beda,In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber Primus Source: Migne PL 92.319a-b

Therefore since what will be born of you is holy, He shall be called the Son of God. 1 In distinction to our sanctity, it is asserted that Jesus alone shall be born holy. For we, even if we are made holy, are not born so, because we are constrained by the condition of our corruptible nature. So rightly, groaning with the Prophet, each one of us may say, 'Behold, I was conceived in iniquity and in sin my mother birthed me.' 2 He alone is truly holy who, that He conquer that condition of corruptible nature, was not conceived by the mixing of carnal copulation. 'Holy,' he says, 'He shall be called the Son of God.' And what do you say, Nestorian, who denying the blessed Mary to be mother, endeavour to impugn the manifest truth? Behold, he said, God shall come, the Son of God shall be born. How, then, is He not the Son of God, or how can it be that she from whom God came forth, is not Theotokos, that is, the Mother of God? Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 1 1 Lk 1.35 2 Ps 50.7

Festive Advice

Laetitia quanta sit, quantusque concursus, cum imperatoris mundi istius natalis celebrandus est, bene nostis, quemadmodum duces eius et principes omnes, etiam militantes accurati sericis vestibus, accincti operosis cingulis, auro fulgente pretiosis, ambiant solito nitidius in conspectu regis incedere. Credunt enim maius esse imperatoris gaudium, si viderit maiorem suae apparitionis ornatum, tantoque illum laetum futurum quanto ipsi fuerint in eius solemnitate devoti: ut quia imperator tanquam homo corda non conspicit, affectum eorum erga se probet vel habitum contuendo: ita fit, ut splendidius se accuret, quisquis regem fidelius diligit. Deinde quia in die natalis sui sciunt eum largum futurum, ac donaturum plurima vel ministris suis, vel his, qui in domo eius abiecti putantur, et viles, tanta prius thesauros eius replere divitiarum varietate festinant; ut in quantum praerogativa voluerit, in tantum praerogatio copiosa non desit, et ante voluntas donandi deficiat, quam substantia largiendi. Haec autem ideo sollicite faciunt, quia maiorem sibi remunerationem pro hac sollicitudine sperant futuram. Si ergo, fratres, saeculi istius homines propter praesentis honoris gloriam terreni regis sui natalis diem tanta apparitione suscipiunt: quanta nos accuratione aeterni regis nostri Iesu Christi natalem suscipere debemus, qui pro devotione nostra non nobis temporalem largietur gloriam, sed aeternam; nec terreni honoris administrationem dabit, quae successore finitur, sed coelestis imperii dignitatem, quae non habet successorem? Qualis autem remuneratio nostra sit futura, dicit propheta: Quia oculus non vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quae preparavit Deus diligentibus se. Quibus indumentis nos exornari oportet. Quod autem diximus nos, hoc est animas nostras, quia rex noster Christus non tam nitorem vestium, quam animarum requirit affectum, nec inspicit ornamenta corporum, sed considerat corda meritorum; nec fragilis cinguli praecingentis lumbos operositatem miratur, sed fortis castimoniae restringentis libidinem ad pudicitiam plus miratur. Ambiamus ergo inveniri ante ipsum probati fide, compti misericordia, moribus accurati: et qui fidelius Christum diligit, nitidius se mandatorum eius observatione componat, ut vere nos in se credere videat, cum ita in eius solemnitate fulgemus, et eo magis laetus sit quo nos perspexerit puriores. Atque ideo ante complures dies castificemus corda nostra, mundemus conscientiam, purificemus spiritum, ac nitidi, et sine macula immaculati suscipiamus adventum: ut cuius nativitas per immaculatam virginem constitit, eius natalis per immaculatos servos procuretur. Quisquis enim in illa die sordidus fuerit, ac pollutus, natalem Christi, votumque non curat. Intersit licet dominicae festivitati corpore, mente tamen longius a Salvatore separatur. Nec societatem habere poterunt immundus et sanctus, avarus et misericors, corruptus et virgo, nisi quod magis ingerendo se indignus offensionem contrahit, cum minime se cognoscit. Dum enim vult officiosus esse, iniuriosus existit: sicut ille in Evangelio qui, in coetu sanctorum invitatus, ad nuptias venire ausus est vestem non habens nuptialem; et cum alius niteret iustitia, alius luceret fide, alius castitate fulgeret, ille solus conscientiae foeditate pollutus, cunctis splendentibus deformi horrore sordebat: et quando plus simul discumbentium beatorum candebat sanctitas, tanto magis peccatorum illius apparebat improbitas, qui potuerat minus displicuisse forsitan, si in consortium iustorum minime se dedisset. Propterea ergo sublatus manibus et pedibus, in tenebras exteriores expellitur, non solum quod peccator erat, sed quia cum peccator esset, sanctitatis sibi meritum vindicabat. Igitur, fratres, suscepturi natalem Domini, ab omni nos delictorum faece purgemus, repleamus thesauros eius diversorum munerum donis, ut in die sancta sit, unde peregrini accipiant, reficiantur viduae, pauperes vestiantur. Nam quale erit, si in una eademque domo inter servulos unius domini alter exsultet in holosericis, alter consumetur in pannis; alius aestuet cibo, alius famem frigusque sustineat; ille eructet hesternam indigestionis crapulam, hic hesternam ieiunii inediam non resolvat? Aut quis erit nostrae orationis effectus? Petimus ut liberemur ab inimico, qui non sumus liberales in fratres. Simus imitatores Domini nostri. Si enim ille pauperes in coelesti gratia voluit nobis esse consortes, cur nobis non sint in substantia terrena consortes? Nec extranei sunt alimoniis, qui fratres sunt sacramentis, nisi quod rectius apud Deum per ipsos agimus causam nostram, ut nostris eos alamus sumptibus, qui illi gratiam agant. Quidquid autem pauper Domino benedicit, illi proficit, quo faciente Domino benedicit. Et sicut scriptum est de illo: Vae illi homini, per quem nomen Domini blasphematur; ita et de illo scribitur: Pax huic homini, per quem nomen Domini benedicitur Salvatoris. Quale est autem meritum largientis, ut solus quis operetur in domo et per multos in Ecclesia Dominus deprecetur; et quod ille fortassis petere de Divinitate non audeat, plurimorum interpellantium orationibus, etiam quod non sperabat accipiat? Quod ad adiutorium nostrum commemorans beatus Apostolus ait: Ut per multos gratiarum actio referatur pro nobis. Et iterum: Ut fiat oblatio nostra accepta sanctificata in Spiritu sancto. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia I, Ante Natale Domini Source: Migne PL 57.221a-226a

How much joy there is and how great a crowd when the birth of a ruler of this world is celebrated, well you know, when his leaders and princes all, and even soldiers take care to wear silken garments, and are bound with elaborate belts, and shine with precious gold, and enter surrounded with this customary glittering into the sight of the king. For they believe that the joy of the emperor will be greater if he looks on the appearance of greater ornamentation, and so great that future joy will be, as much as they have devoted themselves to his celebration, because as the emperor is a man who does not look into the heart, so he judges their love for him by their display. Thus it is that he who more splendidly arrays himself, more faithfully loves the king. Finally, because they know of the coming largess on his birthday, and the many gifts that shall be given to his servants, or to those who in his house are judged to be inferior and common, so much more they make haste to be first to take their fill of the varied riches of his treasury, that in as much as he wishes to be first, so much more he will gain the first riches, not being deprived of his preferred gift, as the substance is given out. This, then, they do with grave anxiety, because of their anxious hope for greater reward to come. If therefore, brothers, the men of this world, on account of the glory of the present honour of a worldly king's birth adopt such appearances, how much should be our care for ourselves on the birthday of our king Jesus Christ, who for our devotion shall not gift to us temporal glory, but an eternal one, who shall not give to you the office of some worldly honour, with terminates with a successor, but the dignity of the heavenly kingdom, which has no successor? The nature of our reward to come the Prophet tells: 'What the eye has no seen, nor the ear heard, nor has it arisen in the heart, what God has prepared for those who love him.' 1 With what vestments is it necessary to adorn ourselves? What we have said, that is, our souls, because Christ our king seeks not glittering garments but the love of the soul. He does not look on the ornaments of the body, but he considers the merits of the heart. He does not admire waists bound with slender belts of elaborate design, but He more admires the binding of lust by the strength of chastity for modesty. Let us surround ourselves, then, that we are found to be approved before Him with faith, adorned with mercy, attentive to morals. And he who loves Christ more faithfully, he shall be arranged spendidly by the observation of His commandments, that truly He might see our faith in Him, when we shine forth on His solemnity, by which He shall be more joyful the purer He perceives us. And therefore before the days, let us cleanse our hearts, let us wash our conscience, let us purify our spirit, and so shine, and without spot let us be immaculate in the reception of His coming, that as His nativity was founded on the Immaculate Virgin, His nativity may be attended by immaculate servants. For whoever shall be foul on that day, and defiled, cares not for the birth and promise of Christ. It is possible to be present in body at this feast of the Lord, and to be far separated from the Saviour in one's mind. Nor are the impure and holy able to have association, nor the avarious and the merciful, not the defiled and the virginial, unless the nearer he approaches the more he causes offence by his unworthiness, as that one in the Gospel who invited to the gathering of the saints, dared to come to the wedding feast without the nuptial garment, and then when there one shines with righteousness, another glows with faith, another blazes with chastity, he alone is stained with a filthy conscience, he alone defiles with the horror of his repulsiveness all those resplendant, and when at that time the great sanctity of the sitting saints shines forth, so much more is evident the disgrace of sinners, who perhaps were able to be less displeasing, in having had hardly any association with the gathering of the righteous. For which reason, therefore, borne by hand and foot, he is cast out into the exterior darkness, 2 not only because he was a sinner, but because when he was a sinner, the merit of sanctity was demanded of him. Therefore, brothers, coming to receive the birth of the Lord, let us purge ourselves of every filth of sin, let us take our fill of His treasury with its gifts of diverse riches, so that on that holy day, wanderers are received, widows refreshed, poor folk clothed. For how shall it be that among the little servants of a lord in one and the same house, that one wears silk and one is wrapped in rags, that one is warm with food and another suffers hunger and cold, that one man belches forth yesterday's excess and another is enervated by yesterday's foodless fast? What then will be the use of our prayers? We seek to be liberated from an enemy, who practise no liberality to our brothers. We are imitators of our Lord. If He wished by grace that the poor should be our consorts in heaven, why are they not our associates in worldly things? Nor are they foreign to our providing who are brothers in the sacraments, for more rightly through them we plead our cause before God, that is, as we provide for them with our possessions, so they shall give thanks to Him. For whatever poor man blesses the Lord, he benefits him by whose deeds the Lord is blessed. And it is written about him: 'Woe to that man through whom the name of God is blasphemed,' about him again it is said: 'Peace to the man through whom the name of our Lord and Saviour is blessed.' What sort of merit does largess have when it is only found among the family and vanishes among the many in the Church the Lord; what does such a man dare seek from the Divinity, with many repeated prayers, what shall he hope to receive? Which for our help the blessed Apostle mentions, saying: 'That through many thanks be given for us.' 3 And again 'That our offering might be acceptable and sanctified in the Holy Spirit.' 4 Saint Maximus of Turin, First Homily, Before The Birth of Our Lord. 1 1 Cor 2.9, Isaiah 64.4 2 Mt 22.1-14 3 2 Cor 1.11 4 Rom 15.16

The Camel And The Rich Man

Dic mihi, quid est hoc quod dixit Dominus in Evangelio: Facilius est camelum per foramen acus transire, quam divitem in regnum Dei introire? Respondit: Quid per camelum, nisi gentiles homines significat? Quia antequam Christus veniret, tortuosi, et gembrosi erant, idola adorando, vel colendo. Quid per illud foramen, nisi incarnato Christi in utero sanctae Mariae describitur? Quid per illum divitem, nisi Judaei, qui de legis littera se divites sperabant? Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, De Veteri et Novo Testamento Quaestiones, Quaestio XXXVI Source: Migne PL 83.206a-b

Tell me, what is this which the Lord said in the Gospel: 'Easier it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven?' 1 Answer: Why a camel, unless it signifies the Gentiles? Because before Christ came they were twisted and deformed, adoring and worshipping idols. And why through that 'eye' unless it is the incarnation of Christ in the womb of Mary that is described? And why that rich man, unless the Jews, who by the letter of the law hoped to make themselves wealthy? Saint Isidore of Seville, Questions on the Old and New Testaments, from Question 36 1 Mt 19.24, Mk 10.25, Lk 18.25

The Word And The Flesh

Οἱ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς αὐτόπται καὶ ὑπηρέται γενόμενοι τοῦ Λόγου. Τοῦ Λόγου δὲ τοῦ ἐνυποστάτου καὶ ζῶντος αὐτόπτας εἰπὼν τοὺς ἀποστόλους, συμπεφώνηκε τῷ Ἰωάννῃ λέγοντι τὸν Λόγον σάρκα γεγονέναι, καὶ ἐσκηνωκέναι ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ τεθεωρῆσθαι τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς Μονογενοῦς παρὰ Πατρός. Διὰ γὰρ τῆς σαρκὸς, θεωρητὸς ὁ Λόγος κατέστη, ὁρατῆς οὔσης καὶ ψηλαφητῆς καὶ ἀντιτύπου, ἀθεώρητος ὢν τὸ καθ' ἑαυτόν· καὶ πάλιν ὁ Ἰωάννης ἐν τῇ Ἐπιστολῇ· Ὃ ἦν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς, ὃ ἀκηκόαμεν, ὃ ἑωράκαμεν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν, καὶ αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν ἐψηλάφησαν περὶ τοῦ Λόγου ζωῆς, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἐφανερώθη. Οὐκ ἀκούεις ὅτι ψηλαφητὴν ὀνομάζει τὴν ζωήν; ἵνα ἐνανθρωπήσαντα νοῇς τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ ὁρατὸν μὲν κατὰ σάρκα, ἀόρατον δὲ κατὰ τὴν θεότητα. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λούκαν Εὐάγγελιον, Κεφ' Α' Source: Migne PG 72.476a-b

They who from the beginning were eye witnesses, and servants of the Word. 1 When he says the Apostles were eye witnesses of the substantial and living Word, he agrees with John who says that the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and His glory was seen, the glory as of the Only Begotten Son of the Father. 2 For the Word was made visible through the flesh, which is obviously something visible and tangible and solid, while in Himself He was unseen. Again John says in his letter: 'What was from the beginning, which we heard, which we saw with our own eyes and touched with our own hands, concerning the Word of life, life made manifest.' 3 Do you hear that he calls life tangible? So that you know that the Son was made man, and His flesh was visible and but His deity invisible. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Luke, Chap 1 1 Lk 1.2 2 Jn 1.14 3 1 Jn 1.1-2

Becoming Man

Σκοπὸς τοίνυν οὗτος καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ἁγίας Γραφῆς, ὡς πολλάκις εἴπομεν, διπλῆν εἶναι τὴν περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐπαγγελίαν ἐν αὐτῇ· ὅτι τε ἀεὶ Θεὸς ἦν καὶ Υἱός ἐστι, Λόγος ὢν καὶ ἀπαύγασμα καὶ σοφία τοῦ Πατρός· καὶ ὅτι ὕστερον, δι' ἡμᾶς σάρκα λαβὼν ἐκ Παρθένου τῆς Θεοτόκου Μαρίας, ἄνθρωπος γέγονε. Καὶ ἔστι μὲν τοῦτον εὑρεῖν διὰ πάσης τῆς θεοπνεύστου Γραφῆς σημαινόμενον, ὡς αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος εἴρηκεν· Ἐρευνᾶτε τὰς Γραφὰς, ὅτι αὐταί εἰσιν αἱ μαρτυροῦσαι περὶ ἐμοῦ· ἵνα δὲ μὴ, πάντα τὰ ῥητὰ συνάγων, πολὺς ἐν τῷ γράφειν γένωμαι, ἀρκεσθῶμεν ὡς πάντων μνημονεῦσαι, τοῦ μὲν Ἰωάννου λέγοντος· Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος· οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν. Πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν. Εἶτα· Καὶ ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ ἐθεασάμεθα τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ Πατρός· τοῦ δὲ Παύλου γράφοντος· Ὃς, ἐν μορφῇ Θεοῦ ὑπάρχων, οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα Θεῷ· ἀλλ' ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσε, μορφὴν δούλου λαβὼν, ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων γενόμενος, καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς ὡς ἄνθρωπος. Ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτὸν, γενόμενος ὑπήκοος μέχρι θανάτου, θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ. Ἀπὸ τούτων γὰρ, τῇ αὐτῇ δια νοίᾳ διερχόμενός τις πᾶσαν τὴν Γραφὴν, ὄψεται πῶς ἐν ἀρχῇ μὲν εἶπε τούτῳ ὁ Πατήρ· Γενηθήτω φῶς, καὶ, Γενηθήτω στερέωμα, καὶ, Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον· ἐπὶ δὲ συντελείᾳ τῶν αἰώνων ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, οὐχ ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλ' ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος δι' αὐτοῦ· καὶ γέγραπται· Ἰδοὺ ἡ Παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει, καὶ τέξεται Υἱόν· καὶ καλέσουσι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἐμμανουὴλ, ὅ ἐστι μεθερμηνευόμενον, Μεθ' ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός. Ὁ τοίνυν ἐντυγχάνων τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ, ἀπὸ μὲν τῶν Παλαιῶν τὰ ῥητὰ καταμανθανέτω, ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν Εὐαγγελίων θεωρείτω τὸν Κύριον γενόμενον ἄνθρωπον· Ὁ Λόγος γὰρ, φησὶ, σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν. Ἄνθρωπος δὲ γέγονε, καὶ οὐκ εἰς ἄνθρωπον ἦλθε· καὶ τοῦτο γὰρ ἀναγκαῖον εἰδέναι· μήποτε καὶ, εἰς τοῦτο πεσόντες οἱ ἀσεβεῖς, ἀπατήσωσί τινας, κἀκεῖνοι νομίσωσιν, ὅτι, ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν χρόνοις εἰς ἕκαστον τῶν ἁγίων ἐγίνετο, οὕτω καὶ νῦν εἰς ἄνθρωπον ἐπεδήμησεν ὁ Λόγος ἁγιάζων καὶ τοῦτον, καὶ φανερούμενος ὥσπερ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις. Εἰ γὰρ οὕτως ἦν, καὶ μόνον ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ φανεὶς ἦν, οὐδὲν ἦν παράδοξον, οὔτε οἱ ὁρῶντες ἐξενίζοντο λέγοντες· Ποταπὸς ἄρα ἐστὶν οὗτος; καὶ, Διὰ τί σὺ, ἄνθρωπος ὢν, ποιεῖς σεαυτὸν Θεόν; Εἶχον γὰρ τὴν συνήθειαν ἀκούοντες· Καὶ ἐγένετο Λόγος Κυρίου πρὸς ἕκαστον τῶν προφητῶν. Νῦν δὲ, ἐπειδὴ ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, δι' οὗ γέγονε τὰ πάντα, ὑπέμεινε καὶ Υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου γενέσθαι, καὶ ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτὸν, λαβὼν δούλου μορφήν· διὰ τοῦτο Ἰουδαίοις μὲν σκάνδαλόν ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ σταυρὸς, ἡμῖν δὲ Χριστὸς Θεοῦ δύναμις καὶ Θεοῦ σοφία· Ὁ Λόγος γὰρ, ὡς εἶπεν ὁ Ἰωάννης, σὰρξ ἐγένετο· τῆς Γραφῆς ἔθος ἐχούσης λέγειν σάρκα τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ὡς διὰ Ἰωὴλ τοῦ προφήτου φησίν· Ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματός μου ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα· καὶ ὡς Δανιὴλ εἴρηκε τῷ Ἀστυάγῃ· Οὐ σέβομαι εἴδωλα χειροποίητα, ἀλλὰ τὸν ζῶντα Θεὸν, τὸν κτίσαντα τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἔχοντα πάσης σαρκὸς κυρείαν· σάρκα γὰρ καὶ οὗτος καὶ Ἰωὴλ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος λέγουσιν. Πάλαι μὲν οὖν πρὸς ἕκαστον τῶν ἁγίων ἐγίνετο, καὶ ἡγίαζε μὲν τοὺς γνησίως δεχομένους αὐτόν· οὔτε δὲ, γεννωμένων ἐκείνων, εἴρηται, ὅτι αὐτὸς γεγένηται ἄνθρωπος, οὔτε, πασχόντων ἐκείνων, εἴρηται· Πέπονθεν αὐτός. Ὅτε δὲ ἐκ Μαρίας ἐπεδήμησεν ἅπαξ ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τῶν αἰώνων εἰς ἀθέτησιν ἁμαρτίας, οὕτω γὰρ εὐδοκήσας ὁ Πατὴρ ἔπεμψε τὸν ἑαυτοῦ Υἱὸν γενόμενον ἐκ γυναικὸς, γενόμενον ὑπὸ νόμον, τότε εἴρηται, ὅτι σάρκα προσλαβὼν γεγένηται ἄνθρωπος, καὶ ἐν ταύτῃ πέπονθεν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ὡς εἶπεν ὁ Πέτρος· Χριστοῦ οὖν παθόντος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν σαρκί· ἵνα δειχθῇ, καὶ πάντες πιστεύσωμεν, ὅτι, ἀεὶ ὢν Θεὸς, καὶ ἁγιάζων, πρὸς οὓς ἐγένετο, διακοσμῶν τε κατὰ τὸ βούλημα τοῦ Πατρὸς τὰ πάντα, ὕστερον καὶ δι' ἡμᾶς γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, καὶ σωματικῶς, ὥς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, κατῴκησεν ἡ θεότης ἐν τῇ σαρκί· ἴσον τῷ φάναι, Θεὸς ὢν, ἴδιον ἔσχε σῶμα, καὶ τούτῳ χρώμενος ὀργάνῳ, γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος δι' ἡμᾶς. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὰ μὲν ἴδια ταύτης αὐτοῦ λέγεται, ἐπειδὴ ἐν αὐτῇ ἦν, οἷά ἐστι τὸ πεινῇν, τὸ διψῇν, τὸ πάσχειν, τὸ κοπιᾷν, καὶ τὰ ὅμοια, ὧν ἐστιν ἡ σὰρξ δεκτική· τὰ δὲ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Λόγου ἴδια ἔργα, οἷά ἐστι, τὸ ἐγείρειν νεκρeοὺς, καὶ τυφλοὺς ποιεῖν ἀναβλέπειν, καὶ τὴν αἱμοῤῥοοῦσαν ἰᾶσθαι αὐτὸν, διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος αὐτὸς ἐποίει· καὶ ὁ μὲν Λόγος τὰς τῆς σαρκὸς ἐβάσταζεν ἀσθενείας, ὡς ἰδίας· αὐτοῦ γὰρ ἦν ἡ σάρξ· καὶ ἡ σὰρξ δὲ ὑπούργει τοῖς τῆς θεότη τος ἔργοις, ὅτι ἐν αὐτῇ ἐγένετο· Θεοῦ γὰρ ἦν σῶμα. Εὖ δὲ ὁ προφήτης εἴρηκεν, ἐβάσταξε· καὶ οὐκ εἴρηκε, Τὰς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν αὐτὸς ἐθεράπευσεν, ἵνα μὴ, ὡς ἐκτὸς ὢν τοῦ σώματος, καὶ μόνον αὐτὸ ἰασάμενος, ὡς ἀεὶ πεποίηκεν, ὑπευθύνους πάλιν τοῦ θανάτου τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καταλείψῃ. Τὰς δὲ ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν βαστάζει, καὶ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν αὐτὸς φέρει, ἵνα δειχθῇ ὅτι τε ἄνθρωπος δι' ἡμᾶς γέγονε, καὶ σῶμα τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ φέρον αὐτὰς αὐτοῦ ἴδιόν ἐστι· καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν οὐδὲν ἐβλάπτετο ἀναφέρων τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον τῷ σώματι αὐτοῦ, ὡς εἶπεν ὁ Πέτρος· ἡμεῖς δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ἀπὸ μὲν τῶν ἰδίων παθῶν ἐλυτρούμεθα, τῆς δὲ τοῦ Λόγου δικαιοσύνης ἐπληρούμεθα. Ἅγιος Ἀθανάσιος ο Μέγας, Κατὰ Ἀρειανῶν Λόγος Τρίτος Source: Migne PG 26.385a-389c

The scope and character of Holy Scripture, as we have often said, is that it contains a double account of the Saviour, that He was always God and is the Son, being the Word and radiance and wisdom of the Father, and that after for us He took flesh from the Virgin Mary the Bearer of God, and was made man. And this is to be found throughout the divinely inspired Scripture, as the Lord Himself said: 'Search the Scriptures, for they bear witness to me.' 1 But lest, in bringing together all the passages I should write too much, let it be enough to recall for all of them, John saying: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In the beginning He was with God. All things were made through Him and without Him not one thing was made.' 2 And then: 'And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as the Only Begotten of the Father.' 3 And Paul writes: 'He who being in the form of God, thought not to seize on equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and being found in the fashion of man, He humbled Himself, being obedient to death, even the death of the cross.' 4 From these, anyone searching through the whole Scripture for their meaning, will see how in the beginning the Father said to Him: 'Let there be light,' and 'Let there be a firmament,' and 'Let us make man,' 5 but in fullness of time He sent Him into the world, not that He judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him, 6 and then how it is written 'Behold, the Virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which is interpreted 'God with us.' 7 So the reader of Divine Scripture having studied the words from the ancient books, will then see that from Gospels the Lord became man; for it says: 'the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.' And He became man, and did not come into a man, for one must know this, lest impious men err here, and delude others, that, as in former times, the Word came into each of the holy ones, so now in that way He dwelt in a man, the Word sanctifying even him, and manifesting Himself as in the others. For if it were so that He only appeared in man, it would have not been so strange, that those observing Him would have been bewildered, saying, 'Where is He from?' And 'Why do you, being a man, make yourself God?' For they were accustomed to hear that the Word of the Lord came to each of the Prophets, but now the Word of God, through whom all things were made, suffered to become even the Son of Man, and humbled Himself, taking the form of a servant, by which the cross is a scandal to the Jews, but to us Christ is the wisdom and power of God. 8 For as John says: 'the Word was made Flesh,' and Joel the Prophet says: 'I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,' 9 and Daniel said to Astyages: 'I do not revere idols made by human hands but the living God who created heaven and earth and has dominion over all flesh,' 10 for both he and Joel call the race of men flesh. Of old, then, He came to each of the holy ones and sanctified those who rightly received Him, but it was not said that when they were conceived He became man, nor when they suffered was it said that He suffered. But when He dwelt among us from Mary, once in the fullness of time, for the abolition of sin, for so it pleased the Father that he send His own Son, made of woman, made under the Law, 11 then, it is said, that taking flesh He became man, and in that suffered for us, as Peter says: 'Christ, then, having suffered for us in the flesh,' 12 that it be revealed, and that all believe, that always being God, and sanctifying those to whom He came, ordering all things to the will of the Father, after, for us, He became man, and as the Apostle says: 'bodily the Godhead dwelt in the flesh.' 13 Which is to say that being God He had His own body, and employing this as an instrument, He became man for us. And because of this the things of the flesh are said to be His, since He was in it, such as to hunger and thirst, to suffer, to be weary, and the like, which is proper to the flesh, and also the works of the Word are His, such as to raise the dead, and make the blind see, and cure the flow of blood, which He did through His own body. And the Word bore the infirmities of the flesh, as His own, for His was the flesh, and the flesh served the works of the Godhead, since it was in it, for the body was God's. And well did the Prophet say 'bore' 14 and did not say, 'He remedied our infirmities,' lest, as being outside the body, and only healing it, as He has always done, He should leave men yet subject to death. But He bears our infirmities, and He Himself bears our sins, that it be shown that He became man for us, and that the body which in Him bore them is His own, and He Himself is unharmed by 'bearing our sins in His body on the tree,' as Peter says, 15 yet we men were freed from our own passions, and filled with the righteousness of the Word. Saint Athanasius The Great, from the 3rd Discourse Against The Arians 1 Jn 5.39 2 Jn 1.1-4 3 Jn 1.14 4 Philip 2.6-8 5 Gen 1.3,6,26 6 Jn 12.47 7 Mt 1.23 8 1 Cor 1.24 9 Joel 2.28 10 Dan 14.5 11 Galat 4.4 12 1 Pet 4.1 13 Colos 2.9 14 Isaiah 53.4 15 1 Pet 2.24

Taking Up Man

Sunt autem stulti qui dicunt: Quare non poterat aliter Sapientia Dei homines liberare, nisi susciperet hominem, et nasceretur de femina, et a peccatoribus omnia illa pateretur? Quibus dicimus: Poterat omnino, sed si aliter faceret, similiter vestrae stultitiae displiceret. Si enim non appareret oculis peccatorum, lumen eius aeternum utique, quod per interiores oculos videtur, inquinatis mentibus videre non possent. Nunc autem quia visibiliter nos commonere dignatus est, ut ad invisibilia praepararet, displicet avaris, quia non aureum corpus habuit; displicet impudicis, quia de femina natus est (multum enim oderunt impudici, quod concipiunt et pariunt feminae); displicet superbis, quod contumelias patientissime pertulit; displicet delicatis, quia cruciatus est; displicet timidis, quia mortuus est. Et ut non vitia sua videantur defendere, non in homine dicunt sibi hoc displicere, sed in Filio Dei. Non enim intellegunt quid sit aeternitas Dei, quae hominem assumpsit; et quid ipsa humana creatura, quae mutationibus suis in pristinam firmitatem revocabatur, ut disceremus, docente ipso Domino, infirmitates quas peccando collegimus, recte faciendo posse sanari. Ostendebatur enim nobis ad quam fragilitatem homo sua culpa pervenerit, et ex qua fragilitate divino auxilio liberetur. Itaque Filius Dei hominem assumpsit, et in illo humana perpessus est. Haec medicina hominum tanta est, quanta non potest cogitari. Nam quae superbia sanari potest, si humilitate Filii Dei non sanatur? Quae avaritia sanari potest, si paupertate Filii Dei non sanatur? Quae iracundia sanari potest, si patientia Filii Dei non sanatur? Quae impietas sanari potest, quae caritate Filii Dei non sanatur? Postremo quae timiditas sanari potest, si resurrectione corporis Christi Domini non sanatur? Erigat spem suam genus humanum, et recognoscat naturam suam; videat quantum locum habeat in operibus Dei. Nolite vos ipsos contemnere, viri; Filius Dei virum suscepit. Nolite vos ipsas contemnere, feminae; Filius Dei natus ex femina est. Nolite tamen amare carnalia; quia in Filio Dei nec masculus nec femina sumus. Nolite amare temporalia; quia si bene amarentur, amaret ea homo quem suscepit Filius Dei. Nolite timere contumelias et cruces et mortem; quia si nocerent homini, non ea pateretur homo quem suscepit Filius Dei. Haec omnis hortatio, quae iam ubique praedicatur, ubique veneratur, quae omnem obedientem animam sanat, non esset in rebus humanis, si non essent facta illa omnia quae stultissimis displicent. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, De Agone Christiano, Cap XI Source: Migne PL: 40.297-298

There are some dull folk who say 'Why was the wisdom of God not able to liberate men in a different way, but that He must become a man and be born from a woman and suffer all those things from sinners?' To whom we say, 'Indeed He was able, but if He did otherwise, your dullness would again be displeased. For if He did not appear to the eyes of sinners, wicked minds would not be able to see His eternal light, which is seen by the inner eye. Now indeed because visibly He deigned to warn us that we be prepared for things unseen, He displeases the avaricious because He does not have a golden body, He displeases the lustful because he was born from a woman, for many of them hate this, I mean, that women actually conceive and bear children, and He displeases the proud because He suffered abuse patiently, and He displeases the delicate because He was crucified, and He displeases the cowardly, because He died. And that they seem not to make excuse for their own faults, they say that it is not as man that He displeases, but as the Son of God. For they do not understand the eternity of God, which took up man, and how He recalled this human creature from its mutability to its original stability, which we have learnt by the teaching of the Lord Himself, that the infirmities which we gather up by sinning are able to be healed by acting rightly. For it was shown to us to what weakness man comes by his own fault, from which weakness the Divine help liberates. Thus the Son of God took on man, and in that humanity suffered. And this medicine for men is so great that none greater can be thought. For what is able to heal pride if the patience of the Son of God does not heal it? What is able to heal impiety if it is not healed by the love of the Son of God? What timidity can be healed, if the resurrection of our Lord Christ does not heal it? He lifts up the hope of the human race, that it might examine its nature, that it might see what place it has in the works of God. Do not despise yourself, man, for God has taken up man. Do not despise yourself, woman, for the Son of God is born of a woman. Do not love carnal things, because in the Son of God there is neither male nor female. Do not love temporal things, because if it were good to love these things, the man whom the Son of God took up would have loved them. Do not fear abuse and torments and death, because if they were harmful to a man, the man whom the Son of God took up would not have suffered them. Which whole exhortation, that now everywhere is preached, everywhere revered, which heals every obedient soul, would not be among us, if these things were not done which displease the dullest. Saint Augustine of Hippo, On The Christian Struggle, Chapter 11

Light And Understanding

Et vita erat lux hominum... Hic tangitur quarta conditio, quae est, quod est aliis cognitionem praebens, ideo dicitur lux hominum, quia homines illuminat et videre facit, unde in Psalmo: Signatum est super nos lumen vultus tui, Domine. Sine quo lumine non est videre, sicut dicere Augustinus, quia, sicut non videt oculus, nisi a luce corporali illuminetur; sic non videt intellectus, nisi a luce spiritualissma illustretur. Et licet omnibus cognitionem praebeat, non tamen omnibus praebet cognitionem sui, quia peccatores per ipsam cognoscunt et ipsam non comprehendunt. Ideo dicit: Et lux in tenebris lucet... Cum peccatores facit vera cognoscere; et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt; quia infidelitatis tenebris obcaecati non cognoscunt; Genesis primo: Tenebrae erant super faciem abyssi, id est infidelitas in facie cordis humani. Unde ad Ephesios quinto: Fuistis aliqunado tenebrae, nunc autem lux in Domino; primae Ioannis primo: Deus lux est, et tenebrae in eo non sunt ullae. Si dixerimus, quoniam societatem habemus cum eo et in tenerbis ambulamus; mentimur et veritatem non facimus. Et per hoc eilditur error ille, qui posuit, omnia esse a fortuna, et non esse providentiam, nec Deum cognoscere acta nostra. Sanctus Boneventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput I Source: Here, p513

And the life was the light of men... 1 This touches on the fourth condition, which is, that it is a giving of understanding to others, therefore is it said 'the light of men', because He illuminates men and makes them see, whence in the Psalm: 'The light of your face is sealed on us, O Lord.' 2 Without which light there is no seeing, as Augustine says, 3 because as the eye does not see unless it is illuminated by coporeal light, so the mind does not see unless it is illuminated by that most spiritual light. And He may give cognition to all, but not to all does He give cognition of Himself, because sinners know by it and they do not grasp it. Therefore it is said: And the light shone in darkness... 4 When it makes sinners know truth, 'the darkness did not grasp it', because blinded by the darkness of faithlessness they do not know. In the first book of Genesis it is said: 'Darkness was on the face of the abyss,' 5 which is the faithlessness on the face of the human heart. Whence in the fifth chapter of Ephesians it says: 'You were once in darkness and now you are in the light of the Lord.' 6 The first chapter of the first letter of John says: 'God is light, and there is no darkness in Him. If we say we have association with him and we walk in darkness, we lie and we do not do what is truth.' 7 And by this is removed the error, which says that everything is by chance and there is no providence, and that God does not know our deeds. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 1 1 Jn 1.4 2 Ps 4.7 3 August Soliq 1.8.45 4 Jn 1.5 5 Gen 1.2 6 Ephes 5.8 7 1 Jn 1.5-6

The Incarnation And Darkness

Et posuit tenebras latibulum suum, in circuitu eius tabernaculum eius, tenebrosa aqua in nubibus aeris. Tenebras, incarnationis ejus mysterium dicit, ut qui in natura deitatis suae videri non poterat, incarnationis velamine humanis conspectibus Redemptor piissimus appareret. Unde beatus Joannes Constantinopolitanus episcopus mirabiliter et cathoclice dixit: Illum quem, si nuda deitate venisset, non coelum, non terra, non maria, non ulla creatura sustinere potuisset, illaesa Virginis viscera portaverunt. Memento autem tenebras, et in bono poni, ut est illud in Proverbiis Salomonis: Intelligit quoque parabolam, et tenebrosum sermonem. Omnia enim divina, quae ignoramus, nobis tenebrosa, id est profunda atque obscura sunt, quamvis continuo lumine perfruantur. Latibulum suum, id est secretum majestatis ejus, quod tunc revelat justis, quando eis facie ad faciem divinitatis ipsius gloriam contigerit intueri. In circuitu ejus tabenaculum ejus. Hic dignitas exponitur gloriosa beatorum, ut juxta ipsum habitent qui in ejus Ecclesia fideliter perseverant. In circuitu autem ejus proximitatem significat. Ille enim circuit ac penetrat omnia, non circumdatur ab aliquo, quia loco inamplexibilis est. Potest et illud intelligi, in circuitu ejus, ut non ad loci designationem, sed ad defensionem tabernaculi custodiamque respiciat. Aquam vero dicit, eloquium Domini, quod tenebrosum est in nubibus aeris, id est, in prophetis praedictoribus verbi: quia quamvis se aliquis putet dicta eorum intelligere, ad ipsam, sicuti est, virtutem dictorum in totum vix potest pervenire, sicut dicit Apostolus: Videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate, tunc autem facie ad faciem, quando ipsum videt quod credidit, ipsum cognoscitur respicere quod speravit. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XVII Source: Migne PG 70.127b-c

And He made darkness His covering, in the circuit of His tabernacle, dark waters in the clouds of the air. 1 'Darkness' speaks of the mystery of His Incarnation, that He who in the nature of His Divinity cannot be seen, with the veil of the Incarnation might appear as the most holy Redeemer in human sight. Whence blessed John Chrysostom bishop of Constantinople wonderfully says in a catholic manner: 'He who if He had come with His Divinity uncovered, neither heaven, not earth, nor sea, nor any created thing would have been able to endure, which the womb of the Virgin carried unharmed.' One should be mindful that the darkness was made as a good, as in the Proverbs of Solomon: 'He understands a parable, and an obscure word.' 2 All Divine things of which we are ignorant is darkness to us, that is, they are deep and obscure, although they themselves enjoy endless light. His covering, that is, the secret of His majesty, He reveals to the righteous, when he allows the glory of His Divnity to be seen face to face. 'In the circuit of His tabernacle' Here is expressed the glorious dignity of the saints, that they who faithfully persevere in His Church will dwell with Him. 'In the circuit' signifies their nearness. For He surrounds and penetrates everything, He is not circumscribed by anything, because He is not limited by place. And it is possible to understand that His circuit is not a designation of place, but it refers to the defence and guarding of the tabernacle. Then it speaks of water, the speech of the Lord, which is dark in the clouds of the air, that is, the words of the preaching Prophets, because although someone might think he understands them, to the true power of the words, as it were, he is hardly able to approach, as the Apostle says, 'We see now in a mirror in darkness, and then face to face,' 3 when a man shall see what he has believed, and he look on Him to know what he has hoped for. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, Psalm 36 1 Ps 17.12 2 Prov 1.6 3 1 Cor 13.12

The Visible Word

Tunc autem hoc Verum ostensum est quando homo Verbum Dei factum est, semetipsum homini, et hominem sibimetipsi assimilans, et per eam quae est ad Filium similitudinem, pretiosus homo fiat Patri. In praeteritis enim temporibus, dicebatur quidem secundum imaginem Dei factum esse hominem, non autem ostendebatur. Adhuc enim invisibile erat Verbum, cujus secundum imaginem homo factus fuerat. Propter hoc autem et similitudinem facile amisit. Quando autem caro Verbum factum est, utraque confirmavit; et imaginem enim ostendit veram, ipse hoc fiens, quod erat imago ejus; et similitudinem firmans restituit, consimilem faciens hominem invisibili Patri per visibile Verbum. Sanctus Ireneaus Lugdunensis, Adversus Haereses, Liber V, Caput XVI Source: Migne PG 7.1167b-1168a

And then this Word was manifested when the Word of God was made man, assimilating Himself to man and man to Himself, so that by means of his likeness to the Son, man might become precious to the Father. For in times past it was said that man was created after the image of God, 1 but it was not shown, for the Word was yet invisible, according to whose image man was created. On account of which he easily lost the likeness. When, however, the Word of God became flesh, He confirmed both of these, for He both showed forth the true image, since He Himself became what was His image, and He firmly restored the likeness, by making man similar to the invisible Father by the visible Word. Saint Ireneaus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 16 1 Gen 1.26

In Good Time

Καὶ ἐγένετο Κύριος καταφυγὴ τῷ πένητι, βοηθὸς ἐν εὐκαιρίαις, ἐν θλίψεσι. Τὸ, ἐν εὐκαιρίαις, ὁ μὲν Ἀκύλας εἰς καιρὸν, ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος ἐπικαίρως ἡρμήνευσε. Διδάσκει δὲ ὁ λόγος, ὡς ἐν προσφόρῳ καιρῷ τὴν ἡμετέραν ἐπαγματεύσατο σωτηρίαν. Πένητα γὰρ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύσιν ἀποκαλεῖ, διὰ τὴν πολλὴν τῆς παρανομίας πτωχείαν. Τούτου τοῦ καιροῦ τὸ ἐπιτήδειον ὁ μακάριος διδάσκαι Παῦλος· Ὅτε γὰρ ἧμεν, φησὶ, νήπιοι, ὑπὸ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου ἧμεν δεουλωμένοι· ὅτε δε ἤλθε τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου, ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν Υἱον αὐτοῦ, γενόμενον ἐκ γυναικὸς, γενόμενον ὑπὸ νόμον, ἵνα τοὺς ὑπὸ νόμον ἐξαγοράαῃ, ἵνα τὴν υἱοθεσίαν ἀπολάνωμεν. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός Θ' Source: Migne PG 80.925b-c

The Lord is a refuge for the poor man, a helper in good time, in tribulations. 1 For 'in good time', Aquila translates 'in season', and Symmachus 'seasonable'. And the line teaches that the good time is the working of our salvation. The poor man is given for our human nature, on account of the poverty of its iniquity. And the blessed Paul teaches the opportune nature of this time: 'When we were little, being beneath the elements of the world, held in servitude, when came the fullness of time, God sent His own Son, born from a woman, established beneath the law, that He redeem those beneath the law, and they receive the adoption of sons.' 2 Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Interpretation of the Psalms, from Psalm 9 1 Ps 9.10 2 Galat 4.3-5

The Inheritors

Χεβρὼν συζυγὴ ἑρμηνεύεταυ. Διὰ τί δὲ συζυγὴ προσηγορεύθη ὁ τόπος; Ὅτι ἐκεῖ κατὰ συζυγίαν κεῖνται Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Σάῥῥα, Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ῥεβέκκα, Ἰακὼβ καὶ Λία. Καλῶς τοίνυν ὁ θεοφιλὴς Χαλὲβ πολλῇ σπουδῇ καὶ πόνῳ, καὶ ἱδρῶτι ἔλαβε τὴν μνήμην τῶν ἀοιδίμων πατριαρχῶν, ἤτις μητρόπολις ὑπῆρχε τῶν Ἐνακὶμ, καταφρονεύσας τοὺς τῶν ὑπερηφάνων γιγάντων ἀσεβεῖς, καὶ φαύλους ἀπογόνους· καὶ γίνεται κλῆρος τοῦ Χαλὲβ πᾶσα ἡ γῆ, ἐν ᾑπερ ἐτύψχανον οἱ τάφοι τῶν μακαρίων ἐκείνων. Μη ἀθυμήσῃς· καὶ γὰρ καὶ σοὶ δέδοται πιστεύσαντι τῷ ἐκ σπέρματος Ἀβραὰμ γεγεννημένῳ Χριστῷ, κλῆρος νοητός. Θεὸς γάρ σου γέγονεν ὁ Θεὸς τῶν ἀειμνήστων πατριαρχῶν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΟΒ' ΟΓ' Πομπηιῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 79.113c-d

Hebron is translated as union. And why is this place so called? For there lay the conjoined Abraham and Sarah, and Issac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah. Well, then, did the God loving Caleb with zeal and labour and sweat guard the memory of the celebrated Patriachs, which was the metropolis of the Anakim, those impious ones of great arrogance who were cut off with the inferior descendants, and this was the inheritance of Caleb, all that land, in which were the tombs of those blessed ones. 1 Do not despond, then, for to you who believe that Christ rose from the seed of Abraham is given a rational inheritance. For your God is the God of the Patriarchs of eternal memory. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 72-73 to Pompeius the Deacon 1 Joshua 14.13-15

Bethlehem And Judah

Cum natus esset Jesus in Bethlehem Judae Bethlehem, fratres, Hebraice domus panis vocatur. His ergo vocabulis Judae signatur domus, genus vocatur, ut promissionis fides, ut prophetiae veritas impleatur, dicente Jacob: Juda, te laudabunt fratres tui, manus tuae supra dorsum inimicorum tuorum, adorabunt te filii patris tui. Et post Non deficiet princeps ex Juda, nec dux ex femoribus ejus, donec veniat cui reposita, et ipse erit exspectatio gentium. Unde et David, Juda rex meus. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CLVI Source: Migne PL 52.612c-613a

'When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea' 1 Bethlehem, brothers, in Hebrew means house of bread. Therefore with these words the house of Judah is signified, that tribe being named, so that the faith of the promise and the truth of prophecy be fulfilled, with Jacob saying, 'Judah, your brothers shall praise you, your hand shall be upon the backs of your enemies, the sons of your father shall adore you.' And then: 'Judah shall not lack a prince, nor a leader from his loins, until he comes who is laid up for him, even he who is the hope of the nations.' 2 Whence David says: 'Judah my king.' 3 Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 156 1 Mt 2.1 2 Gen 49.8-10 3 Ps 59.9

The Prefigurors

Notandum autem quod ipsi progenitores Christi, qui in genealogia eius adnumerati sunt, non sine grandi mysterio ab evangelista assumuntur, maxime cum Apostolus dicat: Omnia in figura contingebant illis, sed sicut humanam nativitatem Christi praecesserant tempore, ita quoque testimonium illi dabant ex praefiguratione. Nam nullus eorum est, qui non aut nomine, aut actu incarnationem Christi significet, et ipsum esse demonstret, qui in patriarchis praefiguratus, et in prophetis promissus, atque in apostolis praedicatus est. Igitur Abraham, qui interpretatur pater multorum, vel pater videns populum, quem significat hoc nomine, nisi illum de quo ipsi ita promissum est: In semine, inquit, tuo benedicentur omnes cognationes terrae? Et Isaias ait: Si posuerit pro peccato animam suam, videbit semen longaevum, et voluntas Domini in manu eius dirigetur; et item cum inquit: Domine Pater noster, et Redemptor noster, a saeculo nomen tuum. Abraham nescivit nos, et Israel ignoravit nos. Quomodo autem Abraham actu significaverit Salvatorem, testatur illud quod Domini praecepto exivit de terra sua et de cognatione sua, ut apud exteros locupletaretur, et esset in gentem magnam, quod nunc cernimus veraciter impletum, cum Christus, relicta terra et cognatione Iudaeorum, praepollet, ut videmus, in populis gentium. Et illud quod Abraham cum trecentis decem et octo vernaculis suis quatuor reges debellavit, ac Lot liberavit, quid aliud significat, quam quod nos Christus per crucem, quam exprimit tau littera, trecentenarium numerum continens, a dominatu carnalis sensus, qui nos antea variis vitiis captivatos exsuperaverat, liberavit? Isaac quoque, qui interpretatur risus, vel gaudium, significat illum de quo dixit ad pastores angelus: Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum, quod erit omni populo. Et ipsa Veritas suis discipulis ait: Iterum videbo vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum, et gaudium vestrum nemo tollet a vobis. Et item: Petite, inquit, et accipietis, ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Matthaeum, Liber I Source: Migne PL 107.738b-d

It should be noted that these progenitors of Christ, who are enumerated in His genealogy are not taken by up the Evangelist without great mystery, especially when the Apostle says: 'Everything was contained in a figure for them,' 1 but as they preceded the human nativity of Christ in time, so they gave witness to Him by prefiguration. For there is nothing of them, either in name or act, which did not signify the Incarnation, and did not give demonstration of Him to be, He who was prefigured in the Patriarchs, and promised by the Prophets, and preached by the Apostles. Therefore Abraham, which is interpreted Father of many, or Father seeing the people, what does he signify by this name but Him concerning whom it was promised: 'In your seed all the peoples of the earth shall be blessed.' 2 And Isaiah says: 'If he shall give His life for sin, he shall see his seed long lived, and the will of the Lord in his hand shall prosper.' 3 And again when it is said: 'O Lord, our Father and Redeemer, from of old is your name. Abraham did not know us, and Israel was ignorant of us.' 4 For how Abraham signified the Saviour by his deeds, witness is given that by the command of the Lord he went out from his own land and from his own people 5 that he be enriched in exterior things and come to be a great people, which now we certainly see fulfilled, when Christ, forsaking the land and people of the Jews, abounds in power among the Gentile peoples. And that Abraham with three hundred and eighteen of his servants overthrew four kings and liberated Lot, 6 what does that signify, but that Christ liberated us by the cross, which the tau letter expresses, which numbers three hundred in Greek, from the domination of the carnal senses, which before by various vices ruled over us in captivity? Also Isaac, which means laughter or joy, signifies Him concerning whom the angel said to the shepherds: 'I announce to you a great joy, which shall come to all people.' 7 And the same Truth says to His disciples: 'Again I will see you, and your hearts shall rejoice, and your joy no man shall take from you.' 8 And again: 'Seek, and you will receive, and your joy will be fulfilled.' 9 Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 1 1 1 Cor 10.11 2 Genes 22.18 3 Isaiah 53.10 4 Isaiah 63.16 5 Gen 12.1-2 6 Gen 14.14-17 7 Lk 2.10 8 Jn 16.22 9 Jn 16.24

Numbers And Generations

Omnes ergo generationes ab Abraham usque David generationes quatuordecim. Cum potuisset evangelista breviter numerum generationum explicare, dicens: Ab Abraham usque ad Christum generationes sunt quadraginta duae: qua ratione ter generationes praedicit, et in tres partes divisit per generationes quatuordecim? Quia ter completis quatuordecim generationibus mutatus est in Judaeis hominum status. Ab Abraham enim usque ad David fuerunt sub judicibus: a David usque ad transmigrationem, sub regibus: a transmigratione usque ad Christum, sub pontificibus. Hoc ergo vult demonstrare, quoniam sicut semper ter completis quatuordecim generationibus, mutatus est hominum status: sic completis quatuordecim generationibus a transmigratione usque as Christum, necesse est a Christo mutari similiter hominum statum: quod et factum est. Post Christum enim jam non sub judicibus multis, nec sub regibus multis, nec sub pontificibus multis fuerunt; sed omnes generationes sub uno Christo, et judice, et rege, et pontifice factae sunt: quia trium illorum statuum solus habuit dignitatem. Unde quoniam et judices, et reges, et pontifices, tres Christi dignitates praefigurabant, semper principia eorum in figura Christi. Primus judicum Josue: primus regum David; primus pontificum, Jesus filius Josedech. Hos in figura Christi fuisse dubitat nemo. Forte ideo quatuordecim generationes ponuntur, id est, quater decem, hoc est quater Christus. Iota enim litera Christi mysterium habet. Ideo ergo quatuordecim, quoniam ter quidem figuratus Christus ostensus, quarto autem verus Christus apparuit. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia Prima Source: Migne PG 56.629-630

Thus all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations. 1 When the Evangelist was able briefly to declare the number of the generations, saying: 'From Abraham to Christ there were forty two generations,' for what reason did he speak of the generations three times, dividing them into three groups of fourteen? Because three times with each fourteenth generation there was a change among the Jews regarding the state of man. From Abraham to David they were under judges, from David to the exile they were under kings, from the exile until Christ they were under high priests. Thus he wishes to demonstrate this: that with the each of the three fourteen generations there was always a change in the state of men, and so with the passing of the fourteen generations from the exile to Christ it is necessary by Christ to similarly change the state of men, which was done. For after Christ they were not under various judges, nor under various kings, nor under various high priests, but all the generations were under one Christ, who was judge and king and priest, because He alone had the dignity for all those three states. Whence because the judges and kings and high priests prefigured the three dignities of Christ, the beginning of each one is a figure of Christ. The first judge was Joshua, the first king was David, the first high priest was Joshua son of Jehozadak. That these were a figure of Christ no one doubts. Perhaps, then, the fourteen generations are given, that is, the four plus ten, as a four times Christ. For the 'iota' of Christ contains a mystery. 2 Therefore they are fourteen, because three times Christ was shown prefigured, and the fourth time the true Christ appeared Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from The First Homily 1 Mt 1.1-17 2 Iota in Greek = 10

Similarity And Difference

Τίς ὁ μετασχὼν παραπλησίως ἡμῖν αἵματος καὶ σαρκός; ἄνθρωπος γὰρ ψιλὸς σὰρξ καὶ αἵμα τυγχάνων, οὐ μετέχειν λέγεται σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος· εἰ κατὰ πάντα ἡμῖν ὡμοιώθη, τίς ὁ ὁμοιωθείς; Τὸ γὰρ πᾶσιν ὁμοιούμενον, εἴναι πάντως ἀνάγκῃ διαφορον. Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Δαμασκηνός, Κατὰ τῆς Αἱρεσεως Των Νεστοριανών Source: Migne PG 95.189d-192a

Who is He who: 'participating in flesh and blood, was made similar to us?' 1 For man alone is just flesh and blood and is not said to 'participate' in flesh and blood. If He was made similar to us in everything, 2 who is He who was made similar? For being made similar in all things, it is necessary there was quite some difference. Saint John of Damascus, Against the Nestorian Heretics. 1 Heb 2.14 2 Heb 4.15

Mothers And Children

Οὐκοῦν οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι παντες, ὡς ἔφην, εἴεν ἄν καὶ μάλα εἰκότως δια τὸ κεχρίσθαι χριστοὶ, μόνος δὲ χριστὸς Θεὸς ἁληθινὸς ὁ Ἐμμανουήλ. Καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοι τάλαηθοῦς, εἴ τις ἂν ἔλοιτο λέγειν ὡς αἱ τῶν ἄλλων μητέρες χριστοτόκοι μὲν, οὐ μὴν ἔτι καὶ θεοτόκοι. Μόνη δὲ παρ' ἐκείνας ἡ ἁγία Παρθένος χριστοτόκος τε ὁμοῦ αὶ Θεοτόκος νοεῖται τε καὶ λέγεται· γεγέννηκε γὰρ οὐ ψιλὸν ἄνθρωπον, καθ' ἡμᾶς, σαρκωθέντα δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ ἐνανθρωπήσαντα τὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς Λόγον. Ὤνομάσμεθα μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς κατὰ χάριν θεοῖ· πλὴν οὐχ οὕτως Θεὸς ὁ Υἱὸς φύσει δὲ μᾰλλον καὶ ἀληθείᾳ κἂν εἰ γέγονε σάρξ. Ἀλλα' ἴσως ἐκεῖνο ἐρεῖς· Ἄρ οὖν, εἰπέ μοι, θεότητος μήτηρ γέγονεν ἡ Παρθένος; Καὶ πρός γε τοῦτό φαμεν ὅτι γεγέννηται μὲν ὁμολογουμένως ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ Πατρὸς ὁ ζῶν τε καὶ ἐνυπόστατος Λόγος αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἄναρχον ἐν χρόνῳ τὴν ὕπαρξιν ἔχει, ἀεὶ συνυφεστηκὼς τᾡ γεγεννηκότι, ἐν αὐτῷ τε καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ συνυπάρχων καὶ συννοούμενος· ἐν ἐσχάτοις δὲ τοῦ αἰῶνος καιροῖς, ἐπειδὴ γέγονε σὰρξ, τουτέστιν ἡνώθη σαρκὶ ψυχὴν ἐχούσῃ τὴν λογικὴν, γεγεννῆσθαι λέγεται καὶ σαρκικῶς διὰ γυναικός. Ἔοικε δέ πως τῷ καθ' ἡμᾶς τόκῳ τὸ ἐπ' αὐτῷ μυστήριον. Αἱ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς μητέρες ὑπηρετοῦσαι τῇ φύσει πρὸς γέννησιν, ἔχουσι μὲν ἐν μήτρᾳ πηγυμένην κατὰ βραχὴ τὴν σάρκα, καὶ ἀφράστοις τισὶν ἐνεργρείαις Θεοῦ προῖοῦσαν καὶ τελειουμένην εἰς εἴδος τὸ ἀνθρώπινον· ἐνίησι δὲ τῷ ζώῳ τὸ πνεῦμα ὁ Θεὸς, καθ' ὄν οἶδε τρόπον· Πλάττει γὰρ τὸ πνεῦμα ἀνθρώπου ἐν αὐτῷ, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ προφήτου φωνὴν. Ἕτερος δὲ σαρκὸς, καὶ ὁμοίως ἕτερος ὁ ψυχῆς ἐστι λόγος. Ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ γεγόνασι μόνον αὗται τῶν ἀπὸ γης σωμάτων μητέρες, ἀλλ' οὖν ὅλον ἀποτεκοῦσαι τὸ ζῶον, τὸ ἐκ ψυχῆς δὴ λέγω καὶ σώματος, οὐχὶ μέρος λέγονται τεκεῖν.Οὐδ' ἂν εἴποι τις, φέρε εἰπεῖν, τὴν Ἐλισάβετ σαρκοτόκον μὲν, οὐ μὴν ἔτι καὶ ψυχοτόκον· ἐκτέτοκε γὰρ ψυχωθέντα τὸν Βαπτιστὴν, καὶ ὡς ἔν ἐξ ἀμφοῖν, τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ψυχῆς δὴ λέγω καὶ σώματος· τοιοῦτόν τι πεπρᾶχθαι παρδεξόμεθα καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ γεννήσει τοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ. Γεγέννηται μὲν γὰρ, ὡς ἔφην, ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς οὐσίας ὁ μονογενὴς αὐτοῦ Λόγος· ἐπειδὴ δὲ σάρκα λαβὼν καὶ ἰδίαν αὐτὴν ποιησάμενος, κεχρημάτικε καὶ Υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, καὶ γέγονε καθ' ἡμᾶς, οὐδὲν, οἴμαι, τὶ ἄτοπον εἰπεῖν, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἀναγκαῖον ὁμολογεῖν ὅτι καὶ γεγέννηται κατὰ σάρκα διὰ γυναικὸς. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐπιστoλή Α' Source:Migne PG 77.20d-21c

So all other children may be, as Nestorius says, indeed 'christs' on account of an anointing , but only Emmanuel is Christ the true God. Whence he would not err who called other mothers 'bearers of christ' but in no way are they bearers of God. For only she among all women, the Blessed Virgin, is to be thought and named both bearer of Christ and bearer of God, for she bore not a mere man, as we are, but rather the Incarnate Word of God the Father made man. Now we also on account of the grace of God may be named 'gods', 1 but not at all 'God the Son' which He is by nature and in truth, even if being flesh. But perhaps you ask, 'Tell me, do you think the Virgin was made the mother of His Divinity?' To this we say that it should be understood that the Word was born from her of the very substance of God Himself, and is the living and substantial Word of the Father without beginning in time, eternally coexisting with Him, always being in Him and with Him, but in these recent times made flesh, that is united to flesh with a rational soul, according to which flesh he was born of woman. As the mothers of earthly children impart to them their nature in generation which gradually grows in time, so in this work of mystery the Creator took up, He grew bit by bit to the perfection of the human form, but God gives the spirit, as He knows how, in the animal, 'He forms the spirt of man in him,' 2 as the Prophet says. For the flesh is one thing and the rational soul is another. But though these are mothers of the earthly body only, when they give birth, they are said to give birth to the whole, that is, to both the body and soul, and not merely a part. For no one, for sake of example, would say that Elisabeth gave birth to the flesh only and not the soul, but she birthed the Baptist as a creature with soul and a man, as one thing from two, that is, flesh and soul. So do we think it to have happened in the birth of Emmanuel. For the only begotten Word of God was generated from the substance of His Father; but after He took on flesh, making it His own, and was made the Son of Man, endowed with our nature; and so, I think, without any absurdity it is necessary to confess that He was born of a woman according to the flesh. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, from the First Letter 1 Ps 81.6 2 Zachar 12.1