The Spirit And Speech And Silence

Τὸ στόμα μου ἤνοιξα καὶ εἴλκυσα Πνεῦμα, καὶ δίδωμι τὰ ἐμαυτοῦ πάντα, καὶ ἐμαυτὸν τῷ Πνεύματι, καὶ πρᾶξιν, καὶ λόγον, καὶ ἀπραξίαν, καὶ σιωπήν· μόνον ἐχέτω με, καὶ ἀγέτω, καὶ κινείτω καὶ χεῖρα, καὶ νοῦν, καὶ γλῶσσαν, ἐφ' ἂ δεῖ καὶ βούλεται· καὶ ἀπαγέτω πάλιν ἀφ ὦν δεὶ, καὶ ὦν ἄμεινον. Ὄρανόν εἰμι θεῖον, ὄρνανον λογικὸν, ὄργανον καλῷ τεχνίτῃ τῷ Πνεύματι ἁρμοζόμενον καὶ κρουόμενον. Χθὲς ἐνήργει τὴν σιωπήν; τὸ μὴ λέγειν ἐφιλοσόπουν. Σήμερον κρούει τὸν νοῦν; ἠχήσω τὸν λόγον, καὶ φιλοσοφήσω τὸ φθέγγεσθαι. Καὶ οὔτε λόγος οὕτως εἰμὶ, ὡς λέγειν ἐπιθυμεῖν, τὸ σιωπᾷν ἐνεργούμενος· οὔτε σιωπηλὸς οὔτω καὶ ἀμαθὴς, ὡς ἐν καιρῷ λόγου τιθέναι φυλακὴν τοῖς χείλεσιν· ἀλλὰ καὶ κλείω καὶ ἀνοίγω τὴν ἐμὴν θύραν Νῷ, κιὰ Λόγῳ, καὶ Πνεύματι, τῇ μιᾷ συμφυϊᾳ τε καὶ θεότητι. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Λόγος ΙΒ´ Source: Migne PG 35.844a-b

I opened my mouth and I drew in the Spirit, 1 and I give my all and myself to the Spirit, both action and speech, and inaction and silence, only let Him hold me and guide me, and move both hand and mind and tongue where it is needed and He wills, and again restrain it as it is needed and is best. I am a divine instrument, a rational instrument, an instrument tuned and played by an adept artist, the Spirit. Yesterday His work was silence. I thought not to speak. Does He strike my mind today? Speech shall be heard, and I will think on speaking. I am neither so talkative, as to desire to speak, when He works silence, nor so reserved and unlearned as to set a guard on my lips when it is time to speak, but I close and open my door according to the Mind and Word and Spirit of one nature and Deity. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, from Oration 12 1 Ps 118.131

Gifts Of The Spirit

Eἰ οὖν ὑμεῖς πονηροὶ ὄντες οἴδατε δόματα ἀγαθὰ διδόναι τοῖς τέκνοις ὑμῶν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς δώσει ἀγαθὰ τοῖς αἰτοῦσιν αὐτόν. Δόματα δὲ ἀγαθὰ καλεῖ τὰς πνευματικὰς δωρεάς, ὁ δὲ Λουκᾶς Πνεῦμα ἅγιον εἶπεν ἀντὶ τοῦ εἰπεῖν ἀγαθά. Kαὶ οὐδὲν τὸ διάφορον· τὸ γὰρ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα αὐτό ἐστι τὸ φύσει ἀγαθόν. διὸ καὶ τοῖς μετό χοις δίδωσιν ἀγαθά. τοῖς δὲ ἄγαν πονηροῖς διὰ τὸ ἀνενδότως ἁμαρτάνειν τρόπον τινὰ φύσις αὐτοῖς ἡ κακία γίνεται, οἷός ἐστιν ὁ σατανᾶς καὶ οἱ δαίμονες· δύναται γάρ τις καὶ τούτους φύσει κακοὺς εἰπεῖν, καίπερ μὴ φύσει κακοὺς δημιουργηθέντας, ἀλλ' ἐξ αὐτοπροαιρέτου κακίας ἀπεσκληκότας. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον Source: Migne PG 72.386d-388a

If, then, you who are wicked know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father in heaven give goods to those who ask Him. 1 The goods He speaks of are spiritual gifts, and so Luke speaks of 'the Holy Spirit' for 'goods'. 2 Indeed there is no difference, for the Holy Spirit is good by nature and therefore to those who participate in Him He gives goods. But with the wicked, on account of their persistent sinning, their nature is in a certain way an evil, just like Satan and the demons, for one may say they have an evil nature, although they were not created wicked by nature, because by their own choice they have become hardened in evil. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Fragment 1 Mt 7.11 2 Lk 11.13

The Holy Spirit's Word

Cum per Moysen ac David et Esaiam vel alios prophetas specialiter spiritus sanctus locutus esse referatur, Deum locutum vox divina profitetur, sicut in Pentateuchi volumine frequentatur: locutus est inquit, Dominus ad Moysen dicens, sollicitius requiramus, si specialiter spiritus sanctus in prophetis loquatur. Habemus, ut praefati summus, in actibus apostolorum Paulo arguente Iudaeos: bene, inquit, spiritus sanctus per Esaiam locutus est ad patres nostros: auditu audietis et non intellegetis, in eadem lectione: viri fratres, oportet impleri scripturam, quam praedixit spiritus sanctus per os David. Et in epistola Petri legimus: non enim voluntate humana allata est aliquando prophetia, sed spiritu sancto loctui sunt sancti Dei homines. Agnoscamus propheticam gratiam evidenter ad potentiam sancti spiritus pertinere, et de psalmo David ita ad Hebraeos legimus: quapropter sicut dicit Spiritus sanctus: Hodie si vocem eius audieritis et cetera. Et hic apertissime per David spiritum sanctum locutum esse testatur. Sanctus Faustus Reiensis, De Spiritu Sancto Liber II, Cap VII Source: here

When through Moses and David and Isaiah, or the other prophets, it is said the Holy Spirit had spoken, the Divine voice announces that God has spoken, as in the books of the Pentateuch it is frequently said: 'The Lord said to Moses,' and so we should more carefully inquire if the Holy Spirit especially spoke among the prophets. We have, as we have said before, in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul disputing with the Jews, and saying, 'Well did the Holy Spirit speak through Isaiah to our fathers: you hear and you do not understand.' 1 In the same book: 'Men and brothers, it is necessary that Scripture be fulfilled, what the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David.' 2 And in a letter of Peter we read: 'For not by the human will is prophecy ever uttered, but by the Holy Spirit holy men have spoken of God.' 3 Let us acknowledge, then, that prophetic grace pertains overtly to the the power of the Holy Spirit, and in a Psalm of David in the letter of Hebrews we read: 'whence as the Holy Spirit says: Today if you should hear His voice, etc.' 4 And here it is most evidently witnessed that the Holy Spirit spoke through David. Saint Faustus of Riez, On The Holy Spirit, Book 2 1 Acts 28.25 2 Acts 1.16 3 2 Pet 1.21 4 Heb 3.7, Ps 94.8

A Foreign Fire

Descendit itaque hodie Spiritus sanctus in igne et in sono. In igne, ut apostoli possent alios in Christi amore accendere; in sono ut in spiritu vehementi possent Dei magnali praedicare. Porro non est in nobis ignis hodie, non est sonus. Ignem altaris Domini convertistis in ignem alienum, id est amorem Dei in amorem terrenum. Hic est ignis malitiae. Hic est ignis a quo devorantur Nadab et Abiu, filii Aaron. Hic est ignis quo Abimelech succendebat oppidum Thebes. Hoc igne Amalecitae succendebant Siceleg. Inimicus enim humani generis apponit assidue nobis ignem et stipulas tentationis, ut in nobis accendat et subruat domum Dei. De hoc inge pessimo scriptum est: Supercecidit ignis et non viderunt solem. Supercecidit ignis malitiae, et non viderunt solem justitiae. Addicti eramus obsequio Christi; nunc autem lentescimus in via ejus: imo nguis oitoque vacamus. Certe otiositas inimica est animae teste Hieronymo. Peccatum Sodomorum fuit otiositas et abundantia panis. Quaeritur Aegisthus quare sit factus adulter. In promptu causa est: desidiosus erat. Cernis ut ignavum corrumpunt otia corpus, Et capiunt vitium, ni moveantur, aquae. De talibus legitur: In labore hominum non sunt, et cum hominibus non flagellabuntur: imo cum daemonibus. Electi eramus in sortem Domini, ut meditaremur in lege Domini, et delectaremur in ea, ut possemus dicere cum Propheta: Quomodo dilexi legem tuam, Domine, tota die meditatio mea est. In capite libri scriptum est de beatitudine viri qui meditatur in lege Domini die ac nocte. Scriptum est: Maledictus omnis qui facit opus Dei negligentur. Vereor ne maledictio haec illos respiciat, qui Deo serviunt negligenter et ficte. Ubi enim est fictio, non est Deus, non est Spiritus sanctus. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XXIV, In Die Pentecostes Source: Migne PL 207.633b-d

Thus today the Holy Spirit comes down in fire and sound. In fire so that the Apostles are able to be enflamed for others with the love of Christ, and in sound that with the force of the Spirit they be able to preach the greatness of God. However that fire is not in us today, nor is the sound. You have changed the fire of the altar of God for a foreign fire, that is, the love of God for the love of the world. This is the fire of wickedness. This is the fire which devoured Nadab and Abiu the sons of Aaron. 1 This is the fire with which Abimelech burnt the town of Thebes. 2 With this fire the Amalekites burnt Siceleg. 3 The enemy of the human race assiduously sets down this fire among the stalks of temptation, that it might set fire to the house of God in us and overthrow it. Concerning this worst of fires it is written: 'Fire fell upon them and they did not see the sun.' 4 The fire of wickedness fell upon them and they did not see the sun of righteousness. We are bound to please Christ and now we tarry in His way. Indeed we loiter over trifles and at leisure. Certainly that leisure is an enemy of the soul Jerome bears witness: 'The sin of Sodom was leisure and an abundance of bread.' 5 It is asked why Aegisthus became an adulterer. The answer is clear: he was a man of leisure. 6 You see that leisure corrupts the body that is idle; Even water, unless it is stirred, becomes foul. 7 Concerning such things it is said: 'They are not amid the labours of men, and with men they are not whipped.' 8 Indeed they are with demons. We were chosen for the part of the Lord, that we might meditate on the law of the Lord, and that we might delight in it, that we might be able to say with the Prophet: 'How I loved your law, Lord, all day it is my meditation.' 9 At the beginning of a book it has been written about the blessedness of a man, he who 'meditates on the law of the Lord day and night.' 10 And again it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is negligent in the work of God.' 11 I fear lest this curse bear down on you, you who serve God so negligently and falsely. Where there is a lie, there is no God, there is no Holy Spirit. Peter of Blois, from Sermon 24, On Pentecost 1 Num 3.2-4 2 Judges 9.46-55 3 1 Kings 30.1-6 4 Ps 57.9 5 Ezech 16.49, Jerome PL 25 Com Ezek 155a 6 Ovid, De Rem Amor 161-2 7 Ovid, Ex Pont 1.5.5-6 8 Ps 72.5 9 Ps 118.97 10 Ps 1.2 11 Jerem 48.10

Two Fires

Et ignis involvens. Ignis enim nomine, cum per significationem dicitur, aliquando Spiritus sanctus, aliquando autem mentis malitia designatur. De bono enim igne scriptum est: Ignem veni mittere in terram; et quid volo, nisi ut accendatur. Ignis quippe in terram mittitur cum per ardorem sancti Spiritus afflata terrena mens a carnalibus suis desideriis concrematur. De malo autem igne dicitur: Et nunc ignis adversarios consumet, quia cor pessimum ex sua malitia tabescit. Sicut autem ignis amoris mentem erigit, ita ignis malitiae involvit, quia et Spiritus sanctus cor quod replet elevat, et ardor malitiae ad inferiora semper incurvat. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber I, Homilia II Source: Migne PL 76.800c-d

Wrapped in fire... 1 By the name of fire, when it is spoken as a sign, sometimes the Holy Spirit is meant, but sometimes the wickedness of the mind. Concerning the good fire it is written: 'I have come to place fire on the earth, and what would I wish but that it blaze up.' 2 Now fire is placed on the earth when by the flame of the Holy Spirit the worldly mind is inspired to burn to ash its carnal desires. Concerning the evil fire it is said: 'And now a fire will consume adversaries.' 3 because the wretched heart melts away in its own wickedness. For as the fire of love lifts up the mind, so the fire of wickedness devours it, because the heart which the Holy Spirit fills is lifted up, and the blaze of wickedness always bends down to inferior things. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 2 1 Ezek 1.4 2 Lk 12.49 3 Hebr 10.27

The Good Spirit

O quam bonus et suavis est, Domine, spiritus tuus in omnibus. Propter quod hos qui exerrant partibus corripis, et de quibus peccant admones, et alloqueris ut relicta malitia credant in te, Domine. Suavis est enim spiritus Dei, quoniam ipse est amor Dei, et largitor totius boni, ipse corripit homines, quia eos quos replet corripere facti peccantes, sicut ipsa Veritas in Evangelio discipulis ait: Ego veritatem dico vobis, expedit vobis ut ego vadam. Si enim non abiero, Paraclitus non veniet ad vos; si autem abiero, mittam eum ad vos. Et cum venerit ille, arguet mundum de peccato, et de justitia, et de judicio. De peccato quidem, quia non credunt in me. De justitia vero, quia ad Patrem vado et jam non videbitis me. De judicio autem, quia princeps hujus mundi judicatus est. Beatus homo qui hujus magistri audit vocem, et obedit mandatis, quia posessor futurus erit ergni coelestis. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Librum Sapientiae Wisdom, Lib II, Caput XII Source: Migne PL 109.725a-b

O how good and sweet is your spirit, Lord, in all things! Because of which you correct those who wander apart, and you warn those who sin, and you call out to them, so that they might abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O Lord. 1 Sweet is the spirit of God, because He is the love of God, and He gives every good. He corrects men, because those He fills He turns to the correction of their sins, as the Truth Himself said to His disciples in the Gospel: 'I speak the truth to you. It profits you that I shall go. If I did not go, the Paraclete would not come to you. But if I go, I shall send Him to you. And when He comes to you, He shall dispute with the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgement. Concerning sin, that they do not believe in me. Concerning righteousness, that I go to the Father and they do not see me. Concerning judgement, that the prince of this world has been judged.' 2 Blessed the man who hears the voice of this teacher and obeys His directions, because he shall be a future possessor of the heavenly kingdom. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Wisdom, Book 2, Chapter 12 1 Wisd 12.1-2 2 Jn 16.7-11

The Spirit And The Keys

Et habeo claves mortis et inferni. Non solum, inquit, mortem resurrectione devici; sed et ejusdem mortis habeo dominium. Quod etiam Ecclesiae Spiritum sanctum insufflando tribuit. Quorum, inquiens, dimiseritis peccata, dimittuntur eis, et caetera. Sanctus Beda, Explanatio Apocalyspsis, Liber I, Caput I Source: Migne 93.137a

And I have the keys of death and hell... 1 Not only, He says, have I conquered death with resurrection, but I even have dominion over death. Which He gives to the Church with the inbreathing of the Holy Spirit. 'Which sins you shall forgive, shall be forgiven them,' and the rest. 2 St Bede, Commentary On The Apocalypse, Book 1, Chapter 1 1 Apoc 1.18 2 Jn 20.22-232

Attaining Excellence

Kύριε τίς παροικήσει ἐν τῷ σκηνώματί σου καὶ τίς κατασκηνώσει ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ ἁγίῳ σου; Πορευόμενος ἄμωμος, καὶ ἐργαζόμενος δικαιοσύνην. Οὐ γαρ μία πρᾶξις τελειοῖ τὸν σπουδαῖον, αλλὰ παντὶ προσῆκε τῷ βίῳ ταις κατ' ἀρετὴν ἐνεργείαις συμπαρατείνεσθαι, ἵνα ἄμωμοι καὶ ἀνέγκλητοι κατ' αὐτὴν γενώμεθα τὴν ὁδόν. Είη δ' ἄν αὕτη ἡ σωτήριος γνῶσις, ἦν αὐτὸς παριστὰς ἔλεγεν· Ἐγώ εῖμι ἡ ὁδός. Δεῖ γὰρ πρὸς τῷ πρώτῳ κατορθώματι, καὶ τῆς δι' ἔργων καὶ πράξεων τῶν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ πρόνοιαν ποιεῖσθαι. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους, ψαλμος ΙΔ´ Source: Migne PG 23.152c

O Lord, who shall dwell in your tabernacle and who shall come to rest on your holy mount? He who comes blameless and works righteousness. 1 For it is not with a single deed that excellence is accomplished, but one comes to it with works of virtue stretching out through the whole of life. Thus we become blameless and faultless on the way. And this may be that saving knowledge which He brought forth with these words: 'I am the way.' 2 For it is necessary that with the first thing rightly done, one fashion through works and deeds of righteousness what is foretold. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 14 1 Ps 14.1-2 2 Jn 14.6

Natural Inequality

Ex corporalibus consideremus spiritualia. Alius velox est pedibus, sed non fortis manu. Ille tardus incessu, sed stabilis in praelio est. Hic pulchram habet faciem, sed raucae vocis est. Alius tetram, sed dulci modulatione cantat. Illum ingeniosum, sed obliviosum: hunc memorem, sed tardi videmus ingenii. In ipsis controversiis, in quibus quondam pueri lusimus, non omnes similiter vel in prooemiis, vel in narrationibus, vel in excessibus, vel in argumentis, aut exemplorum copia, et epilogorum dulcedine se agunt: sed eloquentiae suae alia atque alia in parte dissimiles sunt. De viris magis ecclesiasticis loquar. Multi super Evangelia bene disserunt, sed in explanatione Apostoli impares sui sunt. Alii cum in Instrumento novo optime senserint, in Psalmis et veteri Testamento muti sunt. Hoc totum dico, quod non omnia possumus omnes: rarusque aut nullus est divitum, qui in omni substantia sua paria universa possideat. Sanctus Hieronymus, Dialogus Adversus Pelagianos, Liber I Source: Migne PL 23.517b-c

From corporeal things let us consider spiritual things. One man is swift-footed, but weak of grip. That man moves slowly but is immovable in battle. This man has a handsome face, but his voice grates. Another is ugly but sings sweetly. That man we see to be one of great ability yet he is forgetful, this one has a fine memory but he is slow of wit. In those rhetorical disputes we amused ourselves when we were boys, not all were alike in their introductions, or in the narrative, or in digressions, or in argument, or in wealth of illustrations, or in charm of peroration, but eloquence was dissimilar in this part and that. Of men of the Church I will say more. Many discourse well on the Gospels, but in explaining the Apostle's meaning are unequal to themselves. Others, although they excel in the New Testament, are mute when it comes to the Psalms and the Old Testament. Here I tell it all: 'Not everyone is able to do everything.' 1 Seldom or never is there found a rich man who in all his wealth has everything in equal amount. Saint Jerome, Dialogue Against the Pelagians, Book 1 1 cf Verg Ecl 7.23

Parts Of The Body

Sed multo magis quae videntur membra corporis infirmiora esse, necessariora sunt. Manifestum est, quia quamvis aliquis dignitate sublimis sit, si subjectus tamen defuerit, qui obsequiis suis illum faciat gloriosum, ipsa dignitas contemptibilis erit, officium enim est, per quod dignitas constat. Tale est si imperatori desit exercitus. Quamvis ergo magnus sit imperator, necessarium tamen habet exercitum; membrum est enim corporis, ante se habens tribunos, comites, et magistros. His omnibus inferiores sunt milites, et magis necessarii sunt, sicut membra corporis, quae cum inferiora videntur, plus utilia sunt; sine oculis enim manus operatur, et pes ambulans victum quaeritat. Et quae putamus ignobiliora esse membra corporis, his abundantiorem honorem circumdamus. Similis est sensus, quia qui putantur sine dignitate esse, inveminus in eis quod laudemus, sicut et in membris vilioribus, quod plus nobis placeat, quam quod in caeteris invenimus. Quo enim honore dignae sunt manus, quando quod volumus, tenemus. Vel pedes, cum quibus quo volumus, imus. Propterea et nos addimus eis honorificentiam, ut puta pedibus; quos quia humiles sunt et sine dignitate, calceamentis ornamus. Et quae inhonesta sunt nostra, abundantiorem honorem habent. Manifestum est quia pudenda nostra, quae turpia videntur, dum aspectus publicos vitant, honestate se contegunt, ne per irreverentiam horreant. Simili modo et quidam fratum, cum sint egestate et habitu inhonesti; non tamen sunt sine gratia, per quam membra sint corporis nostri: nam solent succincti vesticula tetrica, nudo pede, incedere. Cum ergo videantur contemptibiles, magis honori sunt; quia solent vitam habere mundiorem. Quod enim hominibus videtur despectum, solet a Deo pulchrum judicari. Quae autem honesta sunt nostra, nullius egent. Apertum est quia caput non eget, neque facies, neque manus, ut his addatur per quod decorentur: ita et fratribus, in quibus studium peritiae, et conversationis viget honestas, nihil est quod a nobis additur; debit enim illis redditur honor. Despectis vero vel humilibus exhortatio necessaria est, per quam addatur illis aliquis honor, ut fiant utiles: si quominus, ipso contempu negligenties circa se erunt, in quibus proficiendum est. Sed Deus temperavit corpus, ei cui deerat, abundantiorem tribuendo honorem; ut non sit schisma in corpore, sed pro invicem sollicita sint membra. Sic dicit a Dei moderatum humanum corpus, ut omnia membra ejus necessari sint; ac per hoc pro se invicem sollicita, quia aliud sine altero esse non potest: et quod inferius putatur, magis necessarium est; sicut et de fratribus expositum est, vel disputatum, quia nullus debet velut inutilis despici. Et si quid patitur unum membrum, compatiuntur omnia membra. Hoc de membris corporis carnis ambiguum non est; quia si oculus, aut pes, vel manus capiatur aegritudine aliqua infirmitatis, totum corpus condolet: ita et nos docet condolere fratribus, si aliquid hujusmodi, aut necessitatis emersit. Sive glorificatur unum membrum, congaudeant omnia membra. Manifestum est quia laetum est caput sive caetera membra, si pedes fuerint accurati vel sani. Sic debemus et nos alacres fieri, si fratrem aliquem viderimus cultorem Dei, et auctum honestate morum, hoc est, sanum esse consilio. Vos autem estis corpus Christi et membra de membro. Ostendit aperte nostram se causam per membrorum carnalium rationem tractasse; quia non omnes possumus eadem, sed singuli pro qualitate fidei et gratiam habemus concessam. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput XII Source: Migne PL 17.248b-249c

But much more necessary are the parts of the body that seem to be weaker. 1 It is manifest that although someone may have the highest dignity, if however he lacks what is subject to him, that which makes obeisance to that glory, that dignity shall be contemptible, for it is by the office that dignity stands. So is it is if an emperor lacks an army. Although the emperor may be great, it is yet necessary he has an army; it is a member of his body. Before him he has tribunes, and counsellors and magistrates, and to all these the soldiers are inferior, and they are more necessary, for as members of the body, though they seem inferior, they are more useful. For without the eyes the hand can act and the foot by walking seek food. And what are thought to be ignoble parts of the body, we surround these with greater honour. The sense is similar, because they who are thought to be without dignity, when we find in them what is worthy of praise, since it is found in more vile members, it should please us more than to find it in others. What honour is the hand worthy of with which what we want we seize! Or the feet with which where we wish to go, we go! Besides, that we do add honour to them, consider the feet, which though they are lowly and without dignity, we adorn with shoes. And what is unseemly has more abundant honour. Manifestly our private parts, which because they seem to be vile, are hidden from public view, being covered by modesty lest shamelessness offend. In like manner certain brothers, when they are needy and clothed poorly, are not however without grace, by which they are members of our body, for they are accustomed to bind their loins with dirty cloths and to walk with bare feet. When, therefore, they seem to be contemptible, more is their honour, because they strive to have a cleaner life. For what seems despicable to men, is often adjudged fair by God. But God has ordered the body so that to that which is lacking more abundant honour be given, by which there may not be division in the body, but the members may have care for one another. So it is said that the human body is arranged by God so that every one of its members is necessary and that by this each part has care for one another, because one without the other cannot be, and what is deemed inferior is more necessary, as has been explained concerning brothers, or argued for, because no one should be despised as useless. And if one member suffers, so every member suffers. This is not obscure when related to bodily members, because if the eyes or the foot is gripped by some ailment of infirmity, all the body suffers with it. Thus we are taught to suffer with our brothers, if something like this, or of need, has befallen them. And then if one member is glorified all the members rejoice with it. Manifest it is that the head is glad, and the other members also, if the feet are functioning and healthy. So even we should be cheerful if we see a brother reverent before God, and grown in virtuous conduct, that is, if he is of healthy mind. You are of the body of Christ and each members of it. He openly shows why he has developed this account of us as bodily members, because we are not all the same, but each according to the manner of his faith has been given grace. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 12 1 1 Cor 12.22

The Crowds Below

Et descendente eo de monte, sequutae sunt eum turbae multae... Vide quia super montem discipuli tantum dicuntur ascendisse ad Jesum: descendente autem eo de monte, sequntae sunt eum turbae, et merito multae turbae: quia mons est virtutis fastigum, cacumen Ecclesiae, in quo appropinquare Christo non possunt turbae, vel peccatis gravatae, vel curis mundialibus oneratae. Nec possunt imitari Christum, nec sublimes audire sermones, qui dicuntur in monte: sed soli dicipuli, qui a passionibus vitiorum liberi sunt, qui curis mundialibus onerati non sunt. Propterea, quasi leves et expediti, ad Christum accedere possunt, facti imitatores ejus in omnibus, ut sublimiores sermones ipsius possint audire. Et tamen cum descenderet ad humilia de altitudine pietatis propter infirmitatem hominum sequi eum non potentium super montem, tunc sequuntur eum turbae multae. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXI Source: Migne PG 56.747

And when He came down from the mountain great crowds followed him... 1 Observe that only the disciples are said to have gone up to Jesus, but when He came down from the mountain, crowds followed Him, and rightly 'great crowds,' because the mountain is the height of virtue, the summit of the Church, where the crowds cannot approach Christ, because they are weighed down by sins, or burdened with the cares of the world. They cannot imitate Christ, nor hear the sublime words which are spoken on the mountain, but only the disciples can, who have been freed from the passions of the vices, who are not burdened with mundane concerns. Because of which, being light and unencumbered, they can come near to Christ, having been made imitators of Him in all things, so that they can listen to His sublime words. And yet when He goes down to the lowly from the heights of piety, because of the weakness of men who are unable to follow him on the mountain, then great crowds follow Him. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 21 1 Mt 8.1

Ascents Of The Heart

Beatus vir cujus est auxilium abs te, ascensiones in corde suo disposuit. Ascensor iste in Scriptura sacra aliquando dicitur ovis perdita, aliquando filius prodigus, recedens a patre. Recessit enim a suo pastore et Patre in desertum hujus mundi, quod regio est a Deo longinqua tribus descensionum gradibus. Primus fuit a Dei magistra voluntate recedere, et suam sibi propriam magistram constituere, divinae voluntati suam praeferendo; secundus fuit a sua voluntate in carnis voluptates descendere, carnis curam in desideriis faciendo; tertius vero, a seipso sub se in terrena effluere, mundum et ea quae in mundo sunt quaerendo. Primum recessit a Deo intro ad se, secundo ab intus extra juxta se, tertio extra se. Prima dieta remotum, secunda remotiorem, tertia eum fecit remotissimum. Prima est voluntatis perversio, secunda carnalis delectatio, tertia terrenorum ambitio. His gradibus ad desertum ad regionem longinquam usque ad Babylonem descendit. Sed quia, juxta prophetam, etiam ibi aliquando liberatur, attendendum quomodo per trinam ascensionem ab hac trina descensione ad Deum redeat, quia inde incipit ascendere, ubi descendendo pervenit. Primus ascensionis gradus est terrena contemnere, paupertatem illam appetendo qua pauper in cella ditior fit in conscientia; secundus est carnis delectationes ex toto conterere, carnalia desideri vigiliis, jejuniis et orationibus domando; tertius voluntatem suam Deo et praelatis suis supponere, humilitatem in corde, patientiam in ore, perseverantiam exhibendo in opere. Nam haec tria verae obedientiae sunt necessaria, exemplo illius qui factus est obediens Patri, mitis et humilis corde, et tanquam ovis ad victimam ductis non aperuit os suum, perserverans usque ad mortem crucis. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber III, Tit LI, De ascensionis cordis ad Deum gradibus Source: Migne PL 177.669c-670a

Blessed the man whose help is from you, he has arranged ascents in his heart. 1 This one who ascends is sometimes spoken in Sacred Scripture as the lost sheep, and sometimes as the prodigal son, leaving the father. For by three descending steps he withdrew from his shepherd and father into the waste of this world, which region is far from God. First was the withdrawing from the magisterial will of God to establish his own will as magisterial, preferring his own to the Divine. Second was the descent from His pleasure to the pleasures of the flesh, completing the cares of the flesh in its desires. The third, however, was to descend from himself, below himself, passing into the things of the world, in the seeking of the world and the things of it. Firstly then he withdrew from God into himself and secondly in himself to those things of him, and thirdly to those things outside. The first made the Deity remote, the second more remote, the third the most remote. The first is the perversion of the will, the second the delights of the flesh, the third worldly ambition. These steps lead down to the waste, to that distant region, and even to Babylon. But because according to the prophet there may sometimes be liberation there, one must consider the three ascents which return one to God from the three descents, for there the ascent begins where the descent has brought one. The first ascent is to scorn the things of the world and to desire that poverty by which the poor man in a cell is more rich in his conscience. The second is to crush down the pleasures of the flesh, conquering the carnal desires with fasting and prayer. The third is to place oneself under the will of God and His prelates. being humble in heart, patient in speech, and exhibiting perseverance in works. For these are the three necessities of true obedience, as according to the example of that one who 'was made obedient to the Father,' 2 'Meek and humble in heart,' 3 'And as a sheep led to slaughter He did not open His mouth,' 'persevering even to death on the cross.' 4 Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 3, Chapter 51, On The Ascending Steps of the Heart to God 1 Ps 83.6 2 Philip 2.8 3 Mt 11.29 4 Isaiah 53.7, Philip 2.8

The Seven Seals

Ecce vicit leo de tribu Juda, radix David, aperire librum, et solvere septem signacula ejus. Septem signacula sunt, temporalis nativitas, legalis circumcisio, matris purgatio, fuga in Aegyptum, carnis necessitudo, baptismus, passio. Haec siquidem sunt vera quaedam humanitatis insignia, quibus se teneri ac ligari voluit incarnata Dei Sapientia. Ipsa quippe est secunda in Trinitate persona: et licet eamdem incarnationem simul fecerint Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus; non tamen Pater aut Spiritus sanctus est incarnatus, sed solus Filius. Implevit quidem et Pater et Spiritus sanctus carnem Filii, a quo neuter eorum poterat separari; sed implevit majestate, non susceptione. Ideoque Filius ostendit in carne potentiam Patris per opera, exhibuit bonitatem Spiritus sancti remittendo peccata; et quod suum erat, imo quod ipse erat, id est Sapientia, se occultavit per illa praedicta signacula. Facta est igitur res mira et obstupenda. Infirmata est virtus summa, et (ut ita dicam, si dici liceat, quod tamen reverenter dico) quasi infatuata est sapientia. Nec crubesco dicere, quod non erubuit Doctor gentium docere. Sic nempe credidit, sic docuit, sic scriptum reliquit. Nos, inquit, praedicamus Christum crucifixum, Judaeis quidem scandalum, gentibus autem stultitiam: ipsis autem vocatis Judaeis atque Graecis, Christum Dei virtutem, et Dei sapientiam; quia quod stultum est Dei, sapientius est hominibus; et quod infirmum est Dei, fortius est hominibus. Verumtamen haec virtus abscondenda erat, et in humilitate perficienda; ut omnium implerentur oracula prophetarum. Passus est ergo in cruce impassibilis Deus, et in carne nostra mortali mortuus ac sepultus immortalis Dei Filius. Sed ecce tertia die resurrexit a mortuis: et, qui agnus exstiterat in passione, leo factus est in resurrectione. Surrexit et vicit leo de tribu Juda; quia mortem, quam ex infirmitate nostra pertulit, ex virtute sua resurgendo calcavit. Resurgens enim a mortuis, jam non moritur, mors illi ultra non dominabitur. Resurgendo autem et in coelum ascendendo, librum aperuit, quia nimirum ex auctoritate sacrae Scripturae, quod Deus esset, innotuit manifeste. Unde scriptum est: Exaltare super coelos, Deus, et super omnem terram gloria tua. Septem quoque ejusdem libri signacula solvit, quando intellectum eloquii sacri fidelium mentibus reseravit: et quidquid de mysteriis suis lex et prophetae sub allegoriis praedixerant, de his scilicet, quae per hominem temporaliter gessit; haec de se praedicta, et in se ac per se completa, luce clarius indicavit. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones de Diversis, Sermo LVII, De septem signaculis per Christum solutis Source: Migne PL 183.680d-681c

'Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, the root of David, even to open the book and break its seven seals.' 1 There are seven seals: the temporal nativity, the circumcision, the purification of the mother, the flight to Egypt, the necessity of the flesh, the baptism, the passion. These are all true signs of humanity, to which the incarnate wisdom of God wished to be held and bound. He certainly is the second person of the Trinity, and it is possible than the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit together made the incarnation, yet is was not the Father or the Holy Spirit that was incarnated but only the Son. Both the Father and the Holy Spirit filled the flesh of the Son, from which He could not be separated, but they filled with majesty not by taking up. Therefore the Son in the flesh showed the power of the Father through works, and He exhibited the benevolence of the Holy Spirit by forgiving sins, and what was His, or rather what He was, that is, Wisdom, He hid by the aforementioned seals. Therefore a wonder and unspeakable thing was done. Weakness is the height of strength, and, if I may say, if it is permitted, yet I do speak reverently, foolishness is wisdom. I do not blush to speak, because the teacher of the Gentiles did not blush to teach. So certainly he believed as he taught and as he left in his writings. 'We,' he said, 'preach Christ crucified, which is a scandal to the Jews, foolishness to the Gentiles, but to those Jews and Greeks who have been called, Christ is the virtue of God, and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than man and the weakness of God is stronger than man.' 2 Truly this virtue was hidden and in humility perfected, that all be fulfilled according to the oracles of the prophets. Therefore the impassible God suffered on the cross and in our mortal flesh died, and the immortal son of God was buried. But, behold, on the third day He rose from the dead, and He who was the lamb in the passion was made the lion in the resurrection. The lion of Judah arose and conquered, because death, which He took on from our infirmity, in his rising He crushed down with His own virtue. 'For rising from the dead, now He cannot die, death had no more dominion over him.' 3 Rising, then, and ascending into heaven, He opened the book, because certainly from the authority of Holy Scripture, because He was God, He became known openly. Whence it is written, 'Exalted over the heavens is God, and over the whole earth His glory.' 4 Also He broke the seven seals, when the understanding of His sacred words opened the minds of the faithful, and whatever the Law had spoken about His mysteries and the prophets had done allegorically, concerning these things certainly which He bore for a time as man, the things spoken before about Himself, in Him and through Him completed, in splendour he declared most clearly. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons On Various Things, Sermon 57, On the Seven Seals Broken by Christ. 1 Apoc 5.5 2 1 Cor 1. 23-25 3 Rom 6.9 4 Ps 107.6

Showings And Ascension

Cur secundum Mattheaum et Marcum mandat discipulis: Praecedam vos in Galiliaeam, ibi me videbitis: secundum Lucam vero et Joannem etiam intra conclave obtulit se vivendum? Et quidem quod se videndum frequenter obtulerit, et plusquam quingentibus fratribus, et Patro, et Jacobo, etiam Apostolico probavimus testimonio. Et Lucas in Actibus apostolorum docuit quod discipulis manifestaverit se vivere post passionem suam, in multis argumentis apparens his, et disputans de regno Dei. Ergo quia saepiius et diversis apparuit, cum in Galilaea quando sit visus, nequaquam praescriptum ac definitum tempus Scriptura designaverit: in Hierusalem quando se obtulerit, et diem et horam expresserit; timidiores intra conclavia revisuntur, fortiores ad montem convenerunt. Denique intra conclave, ostiis clausis, inducit Joannes discipulos congregatos propter metum Judaeorum: quos non undecim Lucas, sed plures scripsit fuisse: istos autem Matthaeus undecim solos in Galilaea convenisse non siluit. Denique sic habes: Undecim autem discipuli abierunt in Galilaeam, in montem ubi constituerat illis Jesus, et videntes eum adoraverunt: quidam autem dubitaverunt. Quibus docendi et baptizandi tribuit potestatem. Undecim quoque discumbentibus discipulis et Marcus in fine apparuisse scribit quando similitar praecandi his totum orbem mandat officium. Unde hoc conventientius arbitror, quod Dominus quidem mandaverit discipulis ut in Galilaea se viderent: sed illis metu intra conclave residentibus, primo se obtulisse, postea vero confirmatis animis, undecim illos Galilaeam petisse.Vel certe, hoc quoque diligentibus scriptoribus placuisse reperio, nihil obstat si dicamus pauciores intra conclave, in monte complures fuisse. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Evangelii secundum Lucam, Liber X Source: Migne PL 15.1850b-d

Why according to Matthew and Mark did He command His disciples: 'I shall go before you into Galilee, 1 there you will see me,' 2 but according to Luke and John He brought Himself into the room to be seen? 3 And certainly He often brought Himself to be seen, 4 even to more than fifty, and to Peter, and to James, for we approve the Apostolic testimony. 5 And in the Acts of the Apostles Luke teaches that He had manifested Himself to His disciples after His passion, appearing to them in many ways, and speaking of the kingdom of God. 6 Therefore because He often appeared, and in different ways, Scripture does not designate a definite and foretold time as to when He would be seen in Galilee, but it tells the day and hour when He brought Himself to Jerusalem, so that the more fearful within the room, seeing Him again, be made stronger, that they might gather at the mount. Finally John introduces the disciples gathered in the room with the doors closed on account of fear of the Jews, 7 and in Luke there were not eleven of them but he wrote there were more, 8 and Matthew was not silent that only these eleven gathered in Galilee. So he has: 'The eleven disciples went out to Galilee, onto the mount where Jesus had commanded them, and seeing Him they adored, but a few doubted.' 9 To whom He gave the power of teaching and baptising. Mark, at the end of his Gospel, also writes that He appeared to eleven sitting disciples. 10 when similarly He bestows on these the office of preaching throughout the whole world. Whence I judge this is most appropriate: that the Lord certainly announced to His disciples that they would see Him in Galilee, but since they were fearful in the room, He first showed Himself to them there, and after, when their souls had been fortified, the eleven went to Galilee. Or certainly, and this report has also pleased dutiful writers, there is no obstacle if we say that there were fewer in the room and more on the mountain. Saint Ambrose, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 10 1 Mt 26.32 2 Mk 16.7 3 Lk 24.36 4 Jn 20.19 5 1 Cor 15.6 6 Acts 1.3 7 Jn 20.19 8 Lk 24.33-36 9 Mt 28.16-17 10 Mk 16.7

Many Ascensions

Qui aedificat in caelo ascensionem suam, et fasciculum suum super terram fundavit: qui vocat aquas maris, et effundit faciem terrae: Dominus nomen ejus. LXX: Qui aedificat in caelo ascensionem suam, et promissionem suam super terram fundat, qui vocat aquas maris, et effundit faciem terrae: Dominus nomen ejus. Dominus Deus omnipotens, qui respicit, sive tangit terram, et commovet eam, ipse est qui quotidie aedificat in coelo ascensionem suam, et dicit in Evangelio: Pater meus usque modo operatur, et ego operor. Et non solum de costa Adam in typum Ecclesiae semel aedificavit Evam, sed quotidie credentes et membra corporis sui aedificat, et de terris ad coelum levat, ut in illis ipse conscendat. Ascendit Dominus in coelum cum Enoch, ascendit cum Elia, ascendit cum Moyse, cujus sepulturae locus, quia in coelum ascenderat, in terra non potuit inveniri. Ascendit cum Paulo qui vas electionis, in apostolum de persecutore mutatus est, er de humilibus raptus in sublimia, ita ut ascenderet in coelum tertium, et per Spiritum sanctum et Filium perveniret ad Patrem, et audiret verba ineffabilia, mysterii Trinitatis, quae hominibus audire non licitum est. Iste ergo qui quotidie ascendit in sanctis, fasciculum suum fundavit super terram, de quo in Evangelio loquitur: Ne timeas, grex parvule, quia complacuit Patri meo habitare in te. Iste fasciculus una Domini religione constrictus est. Unde et ipsa religio a religando, et in fascem Domini vinciendo nomen accepit. Porro juxta Septuaginta, repromissionem suam fundat super terram, ut omnes illius repromissiones quas sancti prophetae suo ore cecinerunt, non inanem sonum habeant, et cassa solius tropologiae nomina; sed fundentur in terra. Et cum historiae habuerint fundamenta, tunc spiritualis intelligentiae culem accipiant: ut vere Christus de Virgine natus sit, vere Lazarum mortuum suscitarit, vere ad tactum ejus a)imorrousa sanata sit, vere in adventu Domini caeci viderint, claudi cucurrerint, contractae manus extensae sint, lepra mundata sit; licet secundum tropoligiam quotidie de anima virginali nascatur sermo divinus, quotidie peccato mortui, et vitiorum funibus alligati, de sepulcro scelerum suorum jubeantur exire, quotidie sangunis opera constringantur, caeci in fidelitate Christi lumen ascpiciant, claudicantes prius fide, currant in via Domini, et aridae manus avaritia, extendantur ad eleemosynam, et lepra Mariae, quae contaminat quidquid attigerit, recipiat pristinam puritatem. Iste autem Dominus amarissimas quoque aquas maris vocat, et effudit eas super eos, qui faciem suam verterunt ad Dominum. Ideo autem vocat amaras aquas, ut dulces faciat et educat ventos de thesauris suis, et graves salsugine aquas sua in altum jussione suspendat, eliquansque eas, et aethero calore decoquens, dispenset in pluvias, et emittat super faciem terrae, ut arentia quaeque rigentur imbribus, et ubi abundavit peccatum, superabundet gratia. Sanctus Hieronymous, Commentariorum In Amos Prophetam, Lib III, Cap IX Source: Migne PL 25.1089c-1890c

He who builds His ascension in heaven and has founded His bundle on the earth, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth, the Lord is his name. The Septuagint has: He who builds His ascension in heaven and has founded His promise on the earth, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them on the face of the land.' 1 The Lord God Almighty is He who looks on, or touches, the earth, and moves it. He is the one who every day builds His ascension in heaven, and He says in the Gospel, 'My father even now works, and I work.' 2 And not only did He once make Eve from the rib of Adam as a type of the Church, 3 but every day He makes the faithful into members of His own body, and He lifts them up from earth to heaven, that He rise up in them. The Lord ascends into heaven with Enoch 4 He ascends with Elijah 5 He ascends with Moses, he who because he ascended into heaven has no place on earth where his tomb can be found. 6 He ascends with Paul, that vessel of election, who was changed from a persecutor to an Apostle and from low things was translated to high things, so that he ascended to the third heaven, and through the Holy Spirit and Son came to the Father and heard ineffable words, the mystery of the Trinity, which men are not permitted to hear. 7 He, then, is the one who ascends every day in His holy ones, 'He has established His bundle on the earth,' concerning which it is said in the Gospel, 'Do not fear, little flock, because it has pleased the Father to dwell among you.' 8 And this bundle of the Lord is bound up with religion, whence the name religion is from 'religio', 'to tie up', and with the fasces of the Lord He receives the name of conquerer. However, according to the Septuagint we have: 'He establishes His promise', all His promises which the mouths of the prophets sang, which were not an empty cry, nor the inane name of a mere trope, but established on the earth, and when they had the foundations of the history, then they received the point of spiritual understanding, that truly Christ was born from a Virgin, that truly He rose up Lazarus from the dead, that truly He healed the bleeding woman with His touch, that truly with the advent of the Lord the blind saw, the lame walked, the withdrawn hand was extended, leprosy was cleansed, and, according to the tropological sense, that every day from the virginial soul the Divine word shall be born, that every day where there is death from sin and binding with the bonds of the vices, even from the tomb of crimes they shall be ordered to come out, that every day the works of blood shall be fettered, and the blind in the faith of Christ shall see the light, and those who were cripples by faith shall run in the way of the Lord, and the hand that was withered with avarice shall be held out with alms, and the leprous Miriam who contaminated everything she touched, shall receive her former purity. 9 This Lord also calls the waters of the sea most bitter, and He has poured them out over those who have turned their faces toward the Lord. Therefore He calls the waters bitter which He will make sweet, and He will release His winds from his treasury, and the heavy salty waters shall hang in the heights by His command, and He shall cleanse them and with heavenly heat boil them, and He shall distribute them as rain, and send them forth upon the face of the earth, that aridity be moistened with rain, and where sin abounds, grace be superabundant. Saint Jerome, Commentary on Amos, Book 3, Chap 9 1 Amos 9.6 2 Jn 5.17 3 Gen 2.21-23 4 Gen 5.24 5 4 Kings 12.11-12 6 Deut 34.6 7 2 Cor 12.1-4 8 Lk 12.32 9 Num 12

Exaltations

Ego si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad me ipsum. In verbis istis duo praedicit Dominus: primo, passionis suae modum, cum dicit: Cum exaltatus fuero; secundo, passionis suae fructum , cum dicit: Omnia traham ad me ipsum. Ait ergo: Cum exaltatus fuero a terra. Nota, quod multiplex est exaltatio. Est enim exaltatio hominis-Christi, et hominis iusti, et hominis mali. De exaltalione Christi nota, quod Christus fuit exaltatus in passione, in ascensione et in Apostolorum praedicatione. In passione fuit exaltatus in poena; de qua hic: Cum exaltatus fuero etc.; et Ioannis tertio: Sicut exaltavit Moyses serpentem in deserto, ita exaltari oportet Filium hominis. In ascensione fuit exaltalus in gloria. Tunc enim Deus exaltavit illum et dedit illi nomen, quod est super omne nomen, ut in nomine lesu omne genu flectatur caelestium , terrestrium et infernorum , et omnis lingua confiteatur , quia Dominus lesus in gloria est Dei Patris, ad Philippenses secundo. In Apostolorum praedicalione fuit exaltalus in fama; de quo in Psalmo: Exaltabor in gentibus et exaltabor in terra; et iterum: Exaltare super caelos Deus; quod factum est in ascensione; et in omnem terram gloria tua; quod factum est in Evangelii promulgatione. Sequitur de exaltatione hominis iusti, quae multiplex est. Exaltat enim Deus hominem iustum in gratia, in gloria et in fama. In gratia exaltat, quando de culpa ad gratiam vocat; unde Psalmus: Qui exaltas me de portis mortis. Portae mortis, quibus intratur ad mortem, peccata sunt; portae vero vitae, gratia et virtutes. Tunc ergo exaltatur homo de portis mortis, quando revocatur de statu peccati ad statum gratiae. De hac exaltatione Lucae decimo octavo: Omnis, qui se exaltat, humiliabitur. In gloria exaltat, cum de miseria ad regnum vocat, secundum illud Psalmi: Cornu eius exaltabitur in gloria. De hac exaltatione Lucae decimo quarto: Omnis, qui se humiliat, exaltabitur, et qui se exaltat humiliabitur. In fama exaltat, quando eius gloriam in Ecclesia manifestat, cura facit, ut exaltent eum in ecclesia plebis et in cathedra seniorum laudent eum, secundum quod dicitur in Psalmo, et Matthaei vigesimo tertio: Omnis qui se humiliat, exaltabitur etc, ubi praedicat Dominus de non quaerenda fama in praesenti sive gloria. Nota, quod meretur quis exaltari per tria. Solet enim exaltari servus, quia est officiosus in domo; solet exaltari amicus quia est familiaris in consilio; solet etiam exaltari miles , quando probatus est in proelio. Ista tria genera hominum solent reges exaltare, videlicet fideles servos, amicos familiares et probatos milites: primos propter suum obsequium, secundos propter suum consilium, tertios propter suam fortitudinem. Nota igitur, quod activi exaltabuntur, sicut servi, ratione obsequii; Isaiae quinquagesimo secundo: Ecce, servus meus intelliget et exaltabitur et elevabitur et sublimis erit valde; Matthaei vigesimo quinto: Euge, serve bone et fidelis, quia super pauca fuisti fidelis etc. Exaltantur amici, scilicet contemplativi, propter suam sapientiam; Proverbiorum quarto: Arripe sapientiam, et exaltabit te, et glorificaberis ab ea, cum eam fueris amplexatus. Exaltantur perfecti, sicut Martyres, quasi propter suam militiam, secundum illud Psalmi: De torrente in via bibet, propterea exaltabit caput. Omnibus istis dicitur primae Petri quinto: Humiliamini sub potenti manu Dei, ut vos exaltet in tempore visitationis. Sequitur de exaltatione hominis mali, quae multiplex est. Exaltantur enim mali in corde per superbiam, in ore per iactantiam, in conversatione per pompam. Exaltantur ergo in corde per superbiam, quod prohibetur in Psalmo: Qui exasperant non exaltentur in semetipsis; et lob decimo quinto: Quid te elevat cor tuum , et quasi magna cogitans attonitos habes oculos? Exaltant se in ore per iactantiam, sicut ille Pharisaeus, de quo dicitur Lucae decimo octavo: Quia omnis, qui se exaltat , humiliabitur.  lactabat enim se de bonis suis. Exaltantur in conversatione per pompam, licet non diu; unde in Psalmo: Inimici Domini mox, ut honorificati fuerint et exaltati, deficientes, quemadmodum fumus deficient. Talis exaltatio fugienda est, quia ignominiosa, momentanea et periculosa. Ignominiosa, quia, quanto magis exaltantur, tanto magis eorum crimina conspectius videntur, secundum illud Omne animi vitium tanto conspectius in se Crimen habet, quanto maior qui peccat habetur. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XII, Collatio XLVII Source: Here, p622

And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all things to myself. 1 In these words the Lord speaks of two things, firstly of the way of His passion, when He says: 'When I am lifted up from the earth,' secondly of the fruit of His passion, when He says: 'I shall draw all things to myself.' Therefore He says: 'When I am lifted up from the earth.' Note that 'lifting up' is manifold. There is the lifting up of the man Christ, and of the righteous man, and of the wicked man. Concerning the lifting up of Christ, note that Christ was lifted up in the Passion and in the Ascension and in the Preaching of the Apostles. In the Passion He was lifted up in punishment, concerning which here: 'When I am lifted up...' And in the third chapter of John, 'As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.' 2 In the Ascension he was lifted up in glory. 'Then God exalted Him and gave to Him the name which is above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of heaven, and of the earth, and of hell, and every tongue confess that the Lord Jesus is in the glory of God the Father,' according to the second chapter of Philippians. 3 In the Preaching of the Apostles He was exalted in fame, concerning which the Psalm says: 'I shall be exalted among the nations and I shall be exalted in the earth.' And again: 'Be exalted, God, over the heavens,' which was done at the Ascension, 'and your glory in every land,' which was done with the preaching of the Gospel. 4 The lifting up of the righteous man follows, which is manifold. For God exalts the righteous man in grace, in glory and in fame. In grace He lifts him up, when He calls him from sin to grace, whence the Psalm: 'You who lifted me up from the gates of death.' 5 The gates of death by which we enter into death are sins. The gates of life are grace and the virtues. Thus the righteous man is lifted up from the gates of death when he is called from the state of sin to the state of grace. Concerning this lifting up, the eighteenth chapter of Luke says: 'Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled...' 6 In fame He lifts up, when He manifests His glory in the Church, He makes it a concern that they exalt him in the assembly of the people and that they praise him in the seats of the elders, according to what is said in the Psalm. 7 And in the twenty third chapter of Matthew: 'Everyone who humbles himself shall be exalted,' 8 where the Lord preaches that fame must not be sought in this present life, nor glory. Note that lifting up is merited in three ways. For a servant is accustomed to be exalted when he is dutiful in the house. A friend because he is beneficial in counsel. A soldier when he is proved in battle. Kings are accustomed to exalt these three types of men, that is, the faithful servant, the beneficial friend, and proven soldiers, the first because of service, the second because of counsel, the third because of fortitude. Note, therefore, that they are lifted up by activity, as servants by reason of their service, Isaiah chapter fifty two: 'Behold, my servant understands and he shall be exalted and lifted up and he shall be wonderfully high.' 9 In the twenty fifth chapter of Matthew: 'Well done, good and faithful servant, because you were faithful in little things...' 10 Friends are exalted on account of contemplation, because of their wisdom. The fourth chapter of Proverbs: 'Seize wisdom and she shall exalt you, and you shall be glorified by her when you have embraced her.' 11 The perfect are exalted, like the martyrs, because of their military service, according to which the Psalm says: 'From the torrent in the way he shall drink, because of which he shall lift up his head.' 12 And all of these are spoken of in the fifth chapter of the first letter of Peter: 'Humble yourself beneath the mighty hand of God and He shall exalt you in the time of visitation.' 13 The lifting up of the wicked man follows, which is manifold. The wicked are exalted in the heart by pride, in the mouth by boasting, in conduct by pomp. So they are exalted in the heart by pride which is prohibited in the Psalm: 'They who provoke anger should not exalt in themselves.' 14 And in the fifteenth chapter of Job: 'Why does your heart lift you up and you have eyes as if thunderstuck with great thought?' 15 They exalt themselves in their mouths by boasting, as that Pharisee spoken of in the eighteenth chapter of Luke, 'Because everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled.' 16 For he vaunted himself on account of his goods. They exalt themselves in conduct by pomp, which will not last long, whence in the Psalm it says: 'Soon the enemies of the Lord, who were honoured and exalted, shall perish and pass away like smoke.' 17 One should flee such lifting up, because it is disgraceful, fleeting, and perilous. Disgraceful, because the more they are exalted, the more their wickedness clearly appears, according to which: The wickedness that every vice of the soul has in itself Becomes more apparent the greater the one who bears it. 18 Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 12 1 Jn 12.32 2 Jn 3.14 3 Philip 2.9-11 4 Ps 45.11, 56.6 5 Ps 9.15 6 Lk 18.15 7 Ps 106.32 8 Mt 23.12 9 Isaiah 52.13 10 Mt 25.21 11 Prov 4.8 12 Ps 109.7 13 1 Pet 5.6 14 Ps 65.7 15 Job 15.12 16 Lk 18.14 17 Ps 36.20 18 Juvenal, Sat 8.140-1

Seeking What Is Above

Si ergo dilectissimi, consurrexistis in anima interim sola cum Christo resurgente in carne sola, quae sursum sunt quaerite, intentione et desiderio animae, ubi Christus est in dextera Dei sedens, etiam corpore. Multi enim, quae sursum sunt, quaerunt desorum, quales sunt, qui dignitatem et gratiam, sufficientiam et delectionem quaerunt in terrenis. Isti sunt, qui statuerunt oculos suos declinare in terram, quaerentes summa in imis. Alii autem quae deorsum sunt, quaerunt sursum; id est in virtute vanam gloriam, in sapientia jactantiam, in veritate curiositatem, ad extremum in studio spirituali, et habitu religioso emolumentum aliquod temporale, vel laudis, vel dignitatis, vel pecuniae, vel licentiosae liberatatis. Alii, quae deorsum sunt, quaereunt deorsum, terrena videlicet in terrenis, et in carnalibus carnalia; qui omnes omnino quae super terram sunt sapiunt, et non quae sursum. Alii vero quae sursum sunt quaerunt sursum, id est, in veris vera, in spiritualibus spiritualia, in coelestibus coelestia, et in divinis divina, sapientes quae Dei sunt, et in novitate vitae ambulantes, complantati similitudini mortis Christi, dum peccato et carni et mundo mortui sunt, configurati resurrectioni Christi, dum alienati a prioris corruptelae, et sensualitatis vita, in carne quodammodo supra carnem degunt, consedentes quoque cum eo in coelestibus, dum eorum requies et conversatio in coelis est, et conregnantes illi, dum omnia sua ad spiritualem profectum deservire compellunt. Praeterea, qui coelestem remunerationem quaerunt in actibus terrenis, profecto laudabiliter summa quaerunt in imis, sicut reprehensibiliter ima in summis, qui terrenum in spiritualibus. Minus quidem ab his reprehensibiliter agunt, qui ima quaerunt in imis; omnium vero laudabilius, qui summa in summis, quae est, dilectissimi, professio, et propostium. Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, Sermo XL in Die Paschae Source: Migne PL 194.1827a-d

If then, most beloved, you have risen, in the soul alone for the time being, with Christ rising in the body, you must seek what is above, with all intent and desire of soul, where Christ now sits at the right hand of God, even in the body. Many there are who seek what is above below, the sort who look for dignity and favour, for abundance and pleasure, in earthly things. These are the ones 'who have set their eyes to bend down to earth,' 1 seeking high things in the lowest. But others seek what is below above, that is, vainglory in virtue, boasting in wisdom, entertainment in truth, and they even go to the extreme of seeking some temporal profit in the religious habit, either praise, or honour, or money, or unrestricted freedom. Others seek below what is below, the earthly in earthly things, the carnal in carnal things, all who know everything which is on the earth and nothing above. Others, however, seek above what is above, things true in what is true, things spiritual in what is spiritual, things heavenly in the heavenly, things divine in what is divine, knowing what belongs to God, walking in the new life, buried in the likeness of the death with Christ, 2 being dead to sin and flesh and the world. being shaped in the resurrection of Christ, having been estranged from a former life of corruption and sensuality, in the flesh living as above the flesh, enthroned with Him in the heavens, 3 for their rest and converse is in the heavens, 4 and even ruling with Him, compelling everything to serve their spiritual advance. Moreover, they who seek heavenly reward in worldly deeds are doubtless more praiseworthy seeking high things in low things, as they are more reprehensible who seek low things in high things, worldly things in spiritual things. Certainly less blameworthy than them are those who seek low things in low things, but the most praiseworthy of all are those who seek high things in the heights, which is, most beloved, our profession and purpose. Isaac of Stella, from Sermon 40, On Easter 1 Ps 16.11 2 Rom 6.4-5 3 Ephes 2.6 4 Philip 3.20

Rejoicing And Exalting

Ἐξομολογήσομαι σοι, Κύριε, ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ μου, διηγήσομαι πάντα τὰ θαυμάσιά σου. Εὐφρανθήσομαι καὶ ἀγαλλιάσομαι ἐν σοί· ψαλῶ τῷ ὀνόματί σου, Ὕψιστε. Τῶν τελείων ἴδιον, τὸ πᾶσαν ἀνατιθέναι τῷ Θεῷ τὴν καρδίαν, καὶ πᾶσαν αὐτῷ καθιεροῦν τὴν διάνοιαν. Ἀγαπήσεις γὰρ, φησὶ, Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου. Ὁ δὲ μερίζων τοὺς λογισμοὺς εἰς μαμωνᾶν καὶ Θεὸν, εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ χρυσὸν, εἰς τὸν παρόντα καὶ τὸν μέλλοντα βίον, οὐ δύναται ἀληθεύων λέγειν· Ἐξομολογήσομαι σοι, Κύριε, ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ μου. Ὁ δὲ προφήτης πνευματικοῖς ὀφθλαμοῖς τὰ ἐσόμενα προιδὼν, οὐκ ἐξομολεῖται μόνον ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ διηγεῖτα αὐτοῦ πάντα τὰ θαυμάσια, κοινωνοὺς τοὺς ἀκούοντας τῆς ὑμνῳδίας ποιούμενος, καὶ βουλόμενος μόνον τὸν εὐεργέτην ὑμνεῖν· καὶ θυμηδίας ἀφορμὴν οὐ πλοῦτον ἔχειν καὶ δυναστείαν, οὐδὲ ὑγίειαν καὶ σώματος εὐεξίαν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν μνήμην. Εὐφρανθήσομαι γὰρ, φησὶ, καὶ ἀγαλλιάσομαι ἐν σοὶ. Οὕτω καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ· Ἐμνήσθην τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ηὐφράνθην. Καὶ ἑτέρωθι Εὐφράνθητε ἐπὶ Κύριον, καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε δίκαιοι. Καὶ πάλιν· Εὐφρανθήτω καρδία ζητούντων τὸν Κύριον. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός Θ´ Source: Migne PG 80.921a-b

I confess to you, Lord, in my whole heart, I shall tell all your wonders. I shall rejoice and exalt in you, I shall sing your name, O Most High. 1 It is the special property of the perfect to dedicate the whole heart to God and to consecrate the whole heart to Him. 'You shall love the Lord your God,' He says, ' with your whole heart, your whole soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind.' 2 He who divides his thoughts between mammon and God, 3 between Christ and gold, between the present life and the life to come, is not able to say truly: 'I confess to you, Lord, in my whole heart,' The prophet, foreseeing things to come with spiritual eyes, does not confess only in his heart, but indeed tells all His wonders, making the hearers participants in the song, wishing only to sing of the one who gave the blessings, that there is the occasion for delight, not in possessions or power or health, or any good of the body, but only in thought of God. 'I shall rejoice and exalt in you,' he says. And elsewhere, 'I was mindful of God and I delighted.' 4 And elsewhere: 'Rejoice in the Lord and exult, righteous ones.' 5 And again: 'Let the hearts of the seekers of the Lord rejoice.' 6 Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Interpretation of the Psalms, from Psalm 9 1 Ps 9.1-3 2 Mt 22.37, Mk 12.30, Lk 10.27, Deut 6.4-5 3 Mt 6.24 4 Ps 76.3 5 Ps 21 11 6 Ps 104.3

Guarding And Reward

Nam et servus tuus custodiet ea, in custodiendo illa retribulatio multa. Cum dicit: Servus tuus, justum significat et devotum. Custodiet ea, dulcedine scilicet illa pellectus, quia nequissimis mentibus iudicia Domini semper amara sunt. Et inspice quod dictum est, custodiet ea; ut non solum ad tempus earum rerum suscipi videatur affectus, sed usque in ultimum vitae spatium in tali devotione versetur. Post obedientiam praemia subsequuntur, id est retributio multa. Tanta enim divinae clementiae dona sunt, quae nequeunt comprehendi. Sic enim de his Apostolus dicit: Quod nec oculus vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quae praeparavit Deus diligentibus se. Merito ergo dicta sunt multa, quia comprehendi non poterant universa. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XVIII Source: Migne PL 70.142a-b

For your servant shall guard these things, and in the guarding there shall be much reward. 1 When he says: 'Your servant' he means the righteous and devout. He shall guard what has attracted with sweetness, because the judgments of God are always bitter to wicked minds. And observe that it is said: 'shall guard' so that not only does it seem that for a time while he is moved he shall take up these things, but even to the end of the span of life he shall conduct himself devotedly about such things. After obedience rewards follow, that is, much reward. The gifts of Divine clemency are so great that they cannot be comprehended. So the Apostle says concerning this; 'What the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, nor the heart of a man risen to, what God has prepared for those who love Him.' 2 Rightly, therefore, they are much, because the whole cannot be comprehended. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, Psalm 18 1 Ps 18.4 2 1 Cor 2.9

Grace And Salvation

Τοσαύτην χάριν ὁ Θεὸς καὶ πρὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος τοῦ μέλλοντος τοῖς μοναχοῖς ἐδωρήσατο, ὥστε τούτους μὲν μὴ θέλειν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην δόξαν, μήτ' ἐπιθυμεῖν τῶν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ παντοίων ἀξιωμάτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ κρύπτεσθαι πολλάκις, καὶ σπουδάζειν μᾶλλον λανθάνειν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους διὰ τὸ ἐγκαταμίξαι ἑκουσίως ἑαυτοὺς τοῖς εὐτελέσι καὶ ἐξουδενωμένοις τῶν ἀδελφῶν· πολλοὺς δὲ μεγιστᾶνας, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ἐν κόσμῳ ἀξίαν, εἴθ' ἑκουσίως, εἴτ' ἀβουλήτως διά τινος περιστάσεως προσφεύγειν τοῖς ταπεινοῖς μοναχοῖς, καὶ λυτροῦσθαι μὲν κινδύνων θανατηφόρων, σωτηρίας δε, καὶ προσκαίρου, καὶ αἰωνίου τυγχάνειν. Ἡ γὰρ θεία πρόνοια συνωθεῖ τους δυνάστας, ἑκόντας τε καὶ ἄκοντας, προσφεύγειν τοῖς ἐλαχίστοις, καὶ σώζεσθαι. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ Α´, Πολεμαιῳ Source: Migne PG 79.81a

Such great grace God has given to monks even before the future age, that they have no care for the glory of men, nor do they desire anything of value in the world, but often they hide themselves, and are zealous rather to be forgotten by men, and by their own will they mingle with the most wretched of men, but many who are great seek every glory of the world, either by their own will, or unwillingly on account of circumstances, which trials humble monks must flee, delivering themselves from fatal dangers, having considered temporal and eternal salvation. Divine Providence drives the powerful, willing or unwilling, to fly to the least to be saved. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 1, To Ptolemaius the Senator

Goodness And Understanding

Ὅταν ἄνθρωπος ἄνθρωπον ὠφελήσῃ ἐν λόγοις ἢ ἐν πράγμασιν, Θεοῦ εἶναι τὴν χάριν νοείτωσαν ἀμφότεροι. Ὁ δὲ μὴ συνιὼν τοῦτο, παρὰ τοῦ συνιέντος ἐξουσιασθήσεται. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ Source: Migne PG 65.913d

When a man is of help to a man by word or deed, let both think on the grace of God. He who does not understand this is overthrown by his understanding. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law.

Asking And Receiving

Venit, inquit, ad amicum suum, cui hospes venerat; et coepit pulsare, et dicere: Hospes mihi venit, commoda mihi tres panes. Respondit ille: Iam requiesco, et mecum servi mei requiescunt. Ille non cessat, astat, instat, pulsat; et tamquam amicus ab amico mendicat. Et quid ait: Dico vobis, quia surgit, et non propter amicitiam eius, sed propter improbitatem dat illi quantos voluerit. Non propter amicitiam, quamvis amicus sit, sed propter improbitatem. Quid est, propter improbitatem? Quia pulsare non destitit: quia et cum esset negatum, non se avertit. Ille qui nolebat dare, quod petebatur fecit, quia ille in petendo non defecit. Quanto magis dabit bonus, qui nos hortatur ut petamus; cui displicet, si non petamus? Sed cum aliquando tardius dat, commendat dona, non negat. Diu desiderata, dulcius obtinentur: cito autem data, vilescunt. Pete, quaere, insta. Petendo et quaerendo crescis, ut capias. Servat tibi Deus, quod non vult cito dare; ut et tu discas magna magne desiderare. Inde oportet semper orare, et non deficere. Si ergo, fratres mei, mendicos suos nos fecit Deus, monendo nos, et hortando et iubendo ut petamus, quaeramus, pulsemus; attendamus et nos qui a nobis petunt. Petimus nos. A quo petimus? qui petimus? quid petimus? A quo, vel qui, vel quid petimus? Petimus a Deo bono: petimus homines mali: petimus autem iustitiam, unde simus boni. Hoc ergo petimus quod in aeternum habeamus: quo cum saturati fuerimus, ulterius non egeamus. Sed ut saturemur, esuriamus et sitiamus; esuriendo et sitiendo petamus, quaeramus, pulsemus. Beati enim qui esuriunt et sitiunt iustitiam. Quare beati? Esuriunt et sitiunt, et beati sunt? Aliquando enim egestas beata est? Non inde beati sunt, quia esuriunt et sitiunt; sed quia ipsi saturabuntur. Ibi erit beatitudo in saturitate, non in fame. Sed praecedat saturitatem fames, ne fastidium non perveniat ad panes. Ergo diximus, a quo petamus, qui petamus, quid petamus. Sed petitur et a nobis. Mendici enim Dei sumus: ut agnoscat ille mendicos suos, agnoscamus et nos nostros. Sed et ibi etiam cogitemus, quando petitur a nobis, qui petunt, a quibus petunt, quid petunt. Qui petunt? Homines. A quibus petunt? Ab hominibus. Qui petunt? Mortales. A quibus petunt? A mortalibus. Qui petunt? Fragiles. A quibus petunt? A fragilibus. Qui petunt? Miseri. A quibus petunt? A miseris. Excepta substantia facultatum, tales sunt qui petunt, quales sunt a quibus petunt. Quam frontem habes petendo ad Dominum tuum, qui non agnoscis parem tuum? Non sum, inquit, talis: absit a me, ut talis sim. Inflatus obsericatus ista loquitur de pannoso. Sed ego nudos interrogo. Non interrogo in vestibus, quales sitis, sed quales nati fueritis. Ambo nudi, ambo infirmi, miseram vitam inchoantes, ideo ambo plorantes. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Sermo LXI, De Verbis Evangelli, Petite Et Dabitur Vobis Source: Migne PL 38.411-412

He to whom a guest has come, goes to his friend and he begins to knock and say, 'A guest has come to me, help me out with three loaves.' The friend answers: 'I am in bed, and my servants like me.' 1 The man who knocks does not stop, he stands, he persists, he knocks, and as a friend from a friend he begs. And I say to you he rises up, not because of friendship, but because of insistence he is pleased to give him as much as he wishes. Not on account of friendship, although he is a friend, but on account of persistence. What is this persistence? Because he does not cease to knock, because even when he is denied, he does not turn away. He who is unwilling to give, because he is pestered, he gives, because the one who sought did not desist. How much shall He who is good give, who exhorts us to seek, who is displeased when we do not seek? But when sometimes He gives tardily, He commends the gift, He does not deny it. The longer something is desired the sweeter the gain of it. That which is given swiftly is cheapened. Ask, seek, persist. Grow in asking and seeking that you might gain. God has care for you because He will not give quickly, so that even you may learn to desire great things greatly. Whence it is necessary to pray, and never stop. 2 If therefore, my brothers, God has made us His beggars, in warning us and exhorting us and commanding us that we should ask and seek and knock, let us look to those who ask from us. We ask. From whom do we ask? Who are we that ask? What do we ask for? From whom, or who does, of what do we ask for? We ask from God, we who are wicked ask, we ask for righteousness by which we may become good. Therefore we seek this that we may gain eternity, by which when we are satisfied, we shall need nothing more. But that we be satisfied we hunger and we thirst, in hunger and in thirst we ask, we seek, we knock. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 3 Why blessed? They hunger and they thirst and they are blessed? Is poverty sometimes blessedness? No, they are not blessed because they hunger and thirst but because they shall be satisfied. There shall be blessedness in satisfaction, not in hunger. But hunger precedes satisfaction, lest a man, because he is scornful, does not come for bread. Therefore we have spoken about the one from whom we ask, we who ask, and what we ask. But there is something asked of us. Since we are the beggars of God, as He knows His beggars, let us also know ours. But even there let us think, when something is asked of us, who it is that asks, whom they ask, what they ask. Who asks? Men. From whom do they ask? From men. Who asks. Mortals. From whom do they ask? From mortals. Who asks? Fragile creatures. Who do they ask? Fragile creatures. Who asks? Wretches. Who do they ask? Wretches. Apart from the matter of substance, they who ask are just like those whom they ask. What boldness do you have that you ask from God and you ignore your equals? 'I am not such a thing, be gone from me, that I might be what I am.' So a proud man in robes speaks to a fellow in rags. But I question the naked. I do not question you clothed, whoever you may be, but as you were born. Both are naked, both wretched, both beginning a wretched life, therefore both cry out. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 61, 'On the words of the Gospel: Ask And It Shall Be Given To You.' 1 Lk 11.5-15 2 Lk 18.1 3 Mt 5.6