Earth And Church

Domini est terra, et plenitudo eius; orbis terrarum, et universi qui habitant in ea. Quamvis terram et in bono et in malo poni saepe noverimus, hic tamen Ecclesiam debemus advertere, quae Domino specialiter pura mente famulatur. Nam licet omnia ab ipso sint condita, tamen illud ipsius esse proprie dicimus, quod eum veneratur auctorem. Et ideo Ecclesia non immerito fructifera bonorum terra suscipitur, quia nutrit et continet populum Christi. Sequitur, et pleniitduo ejus, id est multitudo sancta, qua repletur Ecclesia. Sed ne terram, quam superius dixit, angustam putares aliquam fortasse regionem nunc dicit, orbis terrarum, hoc est universalem Ecclesiam, quae totius mundi ambitu continetur. Intende vero quod dicit, qui habitant in ea; id est, non qui conveniunt et recedunt, sed qui fixa mentis stabilitate perdurant. Habitare enim manere dicimus, quod errantium non est, quod mutabilitati non convenit. Sed ille solus Ecclesiam habitat, qui usque ad obitum suum in fide rectissima perseverat; sicut et alius Psalmus dicit: Ut inhabitem in domo Domini omnibus diebus vitae meae. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XXIII Source: Migne PG 70.172a-c

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness of it, the orb of the earth and all who dwell in it. 1 Although we often note that the earth has good and evil in it, here however we should consider the Church which especially attends to the Lord with a pure mind. For all things were established by Him, but we speak of that which is most properly His, which venerates Him as Creator. And therefore not without reason the Church is understood as the earth bearing good fruits, because it nourishes and maintains the people of Christ. It follows, 'and the fullness of it,' that is, the holy multitude with which the Church is filled. But lest perhaps you think the earth, as said above, is some limited region, now it says: 'the orb of the earth,' that is, the whole Church which encompasses the whole circle of the world. Yet attend to what it then says 'who dwell in it,' that is, not those who come and go, but those who endure fixed in a firm mind. For we say that to dwell is to remain, which is not to wander off, which does not befit changeability. He alone dwells in the Church who even to his death perseveres in the correct faith, as even another Psalm says: 'That I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.' 2 Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, Psalm 23 1 Ps 23.1 2 Ps 22.6