Called And Chosen

Vocatus Apostolus... Nomen hoc, id est vocatus, quia ad omnes pertinet qui in Christo credunt, generale potest videri sed unusquisque secundum id quod in eo praevidit et elegit Deus, aut apostolus vocatur, aut propheta, aut magister, aut liber ab uxore, aut servus in conjuge; et pro diversitate gratiae completur illud quod scriptum est: Multi sunt vocati, pacui autem electi. Sciendum tamen est quod possibile est aliquem esse vocatum apostolum, aut vocatum prophetam, aut vocatum magistrum, et si neglexerit vocationis suae gratiam, decidere ex ea, sicut et Judas, qui apostolus vocactus est, et negligens vocationis suae gratiam, ex apostolo effectus est proditor. Et fuit quidem vocatus apostolus, sed non fuit electus apostolus. Sed et ille prophet qui in tertio Regnorum libro refertur prophetasse de Jeroboam, vocatus propheta fuit; si autem electus, ipse discutito, quonaim quidem prohibitus panem manducare in Israel, manducavit, et interemptus est a leone. Sunt et multi vocati magistri per omnes Ecclesias Dei, et vocati ministri; sed necscio qui in his electi magistri sint, et electi ministri. Sic et puto esse quosdam vocatos quidem ut patiantur pro Christo, non tamen electos; id est, vocatos martyres, sed non electos martyres; ut sunt illi qui post tormentorum agones et carcerum, non usque ad finem in confessionis tolerantia perdurarunt. Est et vocata virgo, sed non electa virgo; quae scilicet non fuerit sancta corpore et spiritu. Et est vocatus pastor, sed non electus pastor, qui praeest quidem gregi, et lacte ejus utitur, et lanis ejus operitur; sed infirmum non requirit, et claudum non colligit, et fortem circumscribit in labore. Ita est et vocatus abstinens, sed non electus abstinens, scilicet qui jejunat tristis, et exterminans faciem suam ut hominibus placeat. Sed et per singulos gratiarum gradus similiter invenies multos quidem vocatos, paucos autem electos. Origenes, Commentariorum In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Romanos, Liber Primus, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense Source: Migne PG 14.840a-842a

Called to be an Apostle...1 This word, that is 'called,' because it pertains to everyone who believes in Christ, it is possible to consider generally, but each one, according to what God foresees and chooses in him, either is called to be an Apostle, or prophet, or teacher, or free from a wife, or a servant in marriage, and according to the diversity of grace it is fulfilled with is written, 'Many are called, few are chosen.' 2 It must be known, however, that it is possible that someone is called as an Apostle, or prophet, or teacher, and if he neglects the grace of his vocation, he is cut off from it, as Judas, who was called an Apostle, and neglecting the grace of his vocation was made a traitor from an Apostle. And certainly he was called to be an Apostle, but he was not a chosen Apostle. Even that prophet in the third book of Kings who was said to have prophesised to Jeroboam, was called a prophet, but if chosen, he ruined himself, because being prohibited to eat bread in Israel, he ate and was slain by a lion. 3 There are many who are called teachers throughout all the Churches of God, and ministers, but I do not know who among them are chosen teachers and ministers. So I think there are some called to suffer for Christ, but they are not chosen, that is, they are called martyrs, but they are not 'chosen' martyrs. They are the ones who after the agony of torments and prison, do not endure in the patience of confession to the end. She is called to be a virgin, but not a chosen virgin, who shall not be holy in body and spirit. And he is called a shepherd but not a chosen shepherd, who has charge of the flock, and makes use of its milk and covers himself in its wool, but he does not seek out the weak, and he does not attend to the lame, and he heaps toil on the strong. 4 Thus a man called abstains, but in abstincence he is not chosen, as he who grieves to fast and disgures his face that he might please men. 5 And through each step of grace similarly we find many who are called and few who are chosen. Origen, from the Commentary on the Letter of Paul to the Romans, Book 1, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Rom 9.3 2 Mt 22.14 3 3 Kings 13.1-25 4 Ezek 34.3-4 5 Mt 6.16

Knowing Better

Dicit ei iterum: Simon Joannis, diligis me? Ait illi: Etiam Domine, tu scis quia amo te. Dicit ei Petrus, jam firmus ut petra, non vacillans ad vocem ancillae, Etiam, Domine hoc est, Ita, Domine. Non audet Petrus invocare conscientiam propriam in qua prius deceptus fuit: sed Domini conscientiam invocat, dicens: Tu scis, Domine, quia amo te. Ac si dicat: Tu nosti plus quam ego. Tu, Domine, qui corda nosti omnium, ostende quem elegeris. Sanctus Albertus Magnus, Commentarium in Joannem, Caput XXI Source: Here, p336

Again He said to him, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' He said to him: 'Indeed, Lord, you know that I love you.' 1 'He said to him.' Peter, now firm as a rock, not wavering as at the voice of the maid-servant, says, 2 'Indeed, Lord,' that is, 'So it is, Lord.' Peter does not dare invoke his own conscience in which he was deceived before, but he invokes the conscience of the Lord, saying, 'You know,' Lord, 'that I love you.' As if he said, 'You know better than I.' 'You, O Lord, who know all hearts, show the one whom you have chosen.' 3 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St John, Chapter 21 1 Jn 21.16 2 Mt 26.69-75 3 Acts 1.24

Building On The Rock

Omnis ergo qui audit verba mea hæc, et facit ea, similabo eum, inquit, viro sapienti, qui aedificavit domum suam supra petram. Quaerendum igitur quis sit iste architectus, qui aedificavit domum suam supra petram, cui assimilari debeat is qui audit et facit verba Salvatoris? Non enim simpliciter de quolibit artifice domorum accipiendum puto, quae saepe supra petras aedficatae impulsu ventorum praecipitanter ruunt, sed forte de illo qui ait: Ut sapiens architectus fundamentum posui. Magnum itaque est quempiam Paulo assimilari. Ipse enim hoc ait; sed si veraciter inspicimus, magis adhuc est quod promittitur. Quia nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum, in vanum laborant omnes qui aedificant eam. Idcirco licet Petrus aedificet, licet Paulus, licet quilibet sanctorum seu doctorum, Christus est vir sapiens qui aedificat; non quascunque domos, sed unam coelestem in coelis, supra se, qui recte petra est appelatus, fundamento fidei collocatam. Unde in hoc eodem Evangelio Perto dicitur: Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, id est: A qua tu Petrus sortiris nomen, pro firmitate fidei, supra ipsam eamdemque petram aedificabo fundamento fidei Ecclesiam, quae est domus Dei vivi constructa in coelestibus lapidibus pretiosis. Ubi nullus haereticorum aedificat, nullus hypocrita, nullus terrenarum thesaurizatorum, nullus vitiorum sectator, sed soli qui audiunt quod docuit, et faciunt ut docuit. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Lib IV Cap VII Source: Migne PL 120.329b

Therefore everyone who hears my words and does them, I shall liken him to that wise man who built his house on a rock. 1 One must ask, therefore, who this architect is, who built his house on the rock, to whom he should be likened who heard and did the words of the Saviour. For it is not, I think, that this is to be understood as about any builder of houses, which often being set on rock are yet thrown down by blasts of the wind, but perhaps concerning him who said: 'As a wise architect I have placed the foundation.' 2 Great, then, it is for anyone to be likened to Paul. He himself said this, but if we truly inspect it, more is promised. Because 'unless the Lord builds the house, all labour in vain who build it.' 3 So when Peter builds, when Paul, when which ever one of the saints and teachers, Christ is the wise man who builds, and not any sort of house, but the heavenly one in heaven, and upon Himself, who rightly is named the rock, 4 it is set, on the foundation of faith. Whence in this same Gospel it is said to Peter: 'You are Peter and on this rock I shall build my church.' 5 That is, from that which you, Peter, draw your name, on account of the firmness of your faith, on that same rock I shall build my Church, on the foundation of faith, which is the house of the living God constructed in heaven with precious stones. Where no heretic builds, no hypocrite, none who heap up worldly riches, none who pursue the vices, but only the one who hears what He teaches and does what He teaches. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 4, Chap 7 1 Mt 7.24 2 1 Cor 3.10 3 Ps 126.1 4 1 Cor 10.4 5 Mt 16.18

The Naming Of Peter

Invenit hic primum fratrem suum Simonem, et dicit ei: Invenimus Messiam, quod est interpretatum Christus. Et adduxit eum ad Jesum. Et adduxit eum ad Jesum. Intuitus autem eum Jesus, dixit: Tu es Simon, filius Jona; tu vocaberis Cephas, quod interpretatur Petrus. Quaeritur de hoc quod dicitur: Tu vocaberis Cephas, utrum hoc nomen ei tunc imponat. Quod non videtur: 1 Per interlinearem Nondum imponit ei nomen, sed praesignat. 2 Item Marci tertio dicitur, quod Dominus vocavit duodecim; et tunc imposuit Simoni nomen Petrus. 3 Item Matthaei decimo sexto dicitur, quod tunc imposuit, quando confessus fuit. Respondetur communiter, quod hoc nomen Petrus hic fuit praesignatum, Marci tertio impositum, Matthaei decimo sexto confimatum. Sed Augustinus huic solutioni contradicit dicens, quod hoc nomen fuit Petro impositum, quando ab Andrea ductus est ad Christum; et Beda similiter dicit super Marci tertio, quod non tunc impositum, sed ante. Propter hoc dicendum, quod modo fuit ei impositum, sed tamen non fuit vulgatum; quia adhuc non ex tunc appellabatur ab aliis Petrus, sed alio nomine suo priori; sed post, Marci tertio, voluit, quod hoc nomine vocaretur; Matthaei vero decimo sexto haec nominatio celebris redditur per dignitatem nomini congruentem. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput I Source: Here, p488-9

Andrew first found his brother Simon and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah, which means the Christ,' and he led him to Jesus. Having looked at him, Jesus said, 'You are Simon, son of Jonah, and you shall be called Cephas, which means Peter.' 1 It is asked concerning this which is said: 'You shall be called Cephas,' whether this name was given then. It seems not: 1 According to the gloss: 'It was not yet given but foretold.' 2 In the third chapter of Mark it is said that when the Lord called the twelve, that then He gave the name of Peter to Simon. 2 3 In the sixteenth chapter of Matthew is it said that He gave it when Peter confessed. 3 It is commonly answered that this name of Peter was here foretold, in the third chapter of Mark given, and in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew confirmed. But Augustine speaks against this solution, saying that the name of Peter was given when Andrew led him to Christ, 4 and similarly Bede says on the third chapter of Mark, that it was not given then but before. 5 Because of this it must be said that it was given here and yet not as commonly understood, because not from then was he called Peter by others, but by his previous name, then after, in the third chapter of Mark, he wished that he be called by this name, and in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew this celebrated naming is given because of the fitting dignity of the name there. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 1 1 Jn 1.41-42 2 Mk 3.14-16 3 Mt 16.15-18 4 Aug Consensu Evangelist 2.17.34, PL 34.1094 5 Bede Com Mark Lib 1.3, PL 92.159d

The Naming Of John

Et dixerunt ad illam: Quia nemo est in cognatione tua qui vocetur hoc homine. Innuebant autem patri ejus etc. Joannes est nomen est... Hoc est non ei nos nomen imponimus qui jam a Deo nomen accepti. Habet vocabulum suum quod agnovimus, non quod elegimus. Nec mireris si nomen mulier, quod non audivit asseruit, quando ei Spiritus sanctus qui angelo mandaverat revelavit, neque poterat Domini ignorare praenuntium, quae prophetaverat Christum. Et bene additur quia nemo in cognatione ejus vocatur hoc nomine, ut intelligas nomen non generis esse, sed vatis. Sanctus Beda,In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Caput I Source: Migne PL 92.324b

And they said to her: 'No one in your family is called by this name.' And they made signs to his father ... 'John is his name ...' 1 That is, we do not give a name to him who already has received his name from God. He has his title which we know, not that which we have chosen. Nor wonder if the woman asserts this because she did not hear it, when to her the Holy Spirit revealed what He commanded the angel, she was not able to be ignorant of the foretelling of the Lord, who made prophecy of Christ. 2 And well it is added that no one in his family was called by this name, that you understand the name was not of a family but of a prophet. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 1 1 Lk 1.61-63 2 Lk 1.41-45

Light And Fire

Audite ergo, fratres, quid de Joanne loquatur, cujus solemnis hodie nativitas celebratur. Ille, inquit, erat lucerna ardens, et lucens. Magnum testimonium, fratres mei: magnus enim est cui perhibetur, sed major est ipse qui perhibet. Ille, inquit, erat lucerna ardens, et lucens. Est enim tantum lucere vanum, tantum ardere parum: ardere et lucere perfectum. Audi quid dicat Scriptura: Sapiens permanet ut sol, stultus autem ut luna mutatur. Quia enim splendet luna sine fervore; modo plena, modo exigua, modo nulla videtur. Mutuatum siquidem lumen nunquam in eodem permanet statu, sed crescit, deficit, extenuatur, annihilatur, et penitus non comparet. Sic qui conscientias suas in alienis labiis posuerunt, modo magni, modo parvi sunt, modo nulli, secundum quod adulantium linguis vel vituperare placuerit, vel laudare. At vero solis splendor igneus est, et cum fervet acrius, etiam oculis lucidior exhibetur. Sic sapientis ardor internus foris lucet: et si non ei datur utrumque, curat semper ardere magis, ut Pater suus qui videt in abscondito, reddat ei. Vae nobis, fratres, si luxerimus tantum. Nam lucemus quidem, et magnificamur ab hominibus; sed mihi pro minimo est, ut ab humano judicer die. Qui enim judicat me, Dominus est, qui fervorem ab omnibus exigit, splendorem vero non ita. Ignem, inquit, veni mittere in terram; et quid volo nisi ut accendatur? Hoc nempe commune mandatum, hoc est quod exigitur ab universis; nec ulla, si deesse contigerit, admittitur excusatio. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, In Nativitate Sancti Joannis Baptistae, Sermones de Sanctis, Sermones de Sanctis Source: Migne PL 183.399a-c

Hear, then, brothers, what may be said of John, whose solemn nativity is celebrated today. He says: 'He was a lamp blazing and shining forth.' 1 A great testimony, my brothers, for great is he to whom is it given, but greater is He who gives it. He says: 'He was a lamp blazing and shining forth.' For to shine alone is vain, and to blaze alone a small thing. To blaze and to shine is perfection. Hear what Scripture says: 'A wise man is like the sun, but a fool changes like the moon.' 2 Because the moon shines without heat, however full, however small, it appears to be nothing. Then changeable light never remains in a stable state, but it grows, it lessens, it fades, it is extinguished, and it is not seen at all. So they who have placed their understanding on foreign lips, however great, however little they are, it is nothing, whether it shall please the tongues of adulators to revile or praise. But the splendour of the sun is fiery and its blaze is more ardent, and indeed it appears brighter to the eye. So the inner ardour of the wise man shines outside. But if both are not given to him to do, he always cares more that he blaze, so that his Father who sees in secret rewards him. 3 Woe to us, brothers, if we have only shone. For certainly we shine and we are extolled by men, but that is little to me, that I am judged by men for a day. For he who judges me is the Lord, who demands fervour from everyone; however it is not so with splendour. He says: 'I have come to place fire on the earth, and what do I wish but that it blaze up?' 4 Without doubt this is a common command, this is what is demanded from all; no one, if he happens to lack this, will have any excuse. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, On The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, Sermons on The Saints 1 Jn 5.35 2 Sirach 27.12 3 Mt 6.6 4 Lk 12.49

John And The Lamp

Nos ergo magnificentiam gloriae sanctitatis in Joanne loquamur, quam si non possumus imitari, studeamus tamen cum gaudio admirari. Si non possumus splendere ut lucerna quam praeparavit Dominus Christo suo, ambulemus saltem in splendoribus hujus lucernae. Quod Joannes lucerna sit perhibet ille cujus testimonia credibilia facta sunt nimis; Christus scilicet in Evangelio loquens: Erat, inquit, Joannes lucerna ardens et lucens. Erat Joannes quasi lucerna sub modio, dum adhuc in utero matris clausus, ardebat desiderio Domini sui venientis et in occursum suum gestiens exsultabat. Sed lucerna quae tunc erat sub modio, ponenda erat super candelabrum, ut luceret omnibus, qui in domo sunt, et quae illuminabat tunc solum modium, totum mundum novis irradiatura est fulgoribus. Nonne modium suum, illuminabat qui matri suae, mediante Spiritu sancto, tanti sacramenti notitiam revelabat? Et unde hoc mihi, dixit Elisabeth, ut veniat Mater Domini mei ad me? Quis tibi indicavit, o mulier sancta, quod veniret ad te Mater Domini tui? Ut facta est, inquit, vox salutationis tuae in auribus meis; exsultavit infans in gaudio, in utero meo. Ardebat itaque Joannes, quia de excelso missus fuerat ignis per os Gabrielis in alvum Virginis, ut per os Virginis ad parvulum veniens sanctus Spiritus ardorem infunderet, ipsuumque lucernam Domino praepararet. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XXVII, In Festo Sancti Joannis Baptisae Source: Migne PL 207.642b-d

Let us then speak of the magnificence of the glory of the holiness in John, which if we cannot imitate, then let us strive with joy to admire it. If we cannot shine as a lamp which was prepared for his Lord Christ, let us at least walk in the splendour of this lamp. That John is a lamp the testimony of that one who is certainly to be trusted is given, 1 that is, Christ, who said in the Gospel: 'John was a lamp blazing and shining forth.' 2 John was like a lamp beneath a bushel; 3 while he was yet enclosed in the womb of his mother, he blazed up with a desire for the coming of His Lord and exalted joyfully at meeting Him. But the lamp which was then beneath a bushel, was to be placed on a stand, that it shine forth for all who are in the house, and that which then gave light only to the bushel, was to cast forth its new rays through the whole world. Is it not that he illuminated the bushel, who revealed to his mother, by the mediation of the Holy Spirit, the knowledge of such a great mystery? Elizabeth said, 'Why is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me?' Who told you, O holy woman, that the Mother of your Lord came to you? She said, 'The voice of your greeting came to my ears and the child leapt up joyfully in my womb.' 4 Thus John blazed up, because fire was sent from on high through the mouth of Gabriel into the womb of the Virgin, that through the mouth of the Virgin coming to the little one the Holy Spirit pour fire, and he be prepared as a lamp for the Lord. Peter of Blois, from Sermon 27, On The Feast of Saint John the Baptist 1 Ps 92.5 2 Jn 5.35 3 Mt 5.15 4 Lk 1.43-44

Three Ways

Utinam dirigantur viae meae... Tres sunt viae: Via Dei, via hominis, via diaboli. Via Dei est veritas, via hominis est necessitas, via diaboli iniquitas. Via Dei et diaboli numquam flecti possunt, ut ad aliud tendant, quia nec via Dei mala, nec via diaboli bona aliquando esse potest. Via hominis mutabilis est, et ad diversa inflectitur; hoc est, vel ad viam Dei vel ad viam diaboli. Si enim necessitas intorquetur ad cupiditatem, et cupiditas ad iniquitatem, via hominis flectitur, ad viam diaboli. Si autem diriguntur ad mensuram, et mensura ad justitiam, via hominis directa est ad viam Dei. Propterea ait: Utinam dirigantur viae meae. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber II, Caput LXIX Source: Migne PL 177.628b-c

O that my ways were directed...1 There are three ways: The way of God, the way of man, the way of the devil. The way of God is truth, the way of man is need, the way of the devil wickedness. The ways of God and the devil cannot be bent, so that they tend to something else, because it is not possible that the way of God is evil at any time, nor may the way of the devil be good. The way of man is changeable, and it is bent to different things, that is, either to the way of God or to way of the devil. If need bends it to excessive desire, and that to wickedness, the way of man is bent to the way of the devil. But if it is directed by moderation, and moderation to righteousness, the way of man is directed to the way of God. Therefore it is said, 'O that my ways were directed...' Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 2, Chapter 69 1 Ps 118.5

The Fathers Of Men

Sunt itaque filiorum Adam patres: Deus, homo, diabolus. Deus propter naturam, homo propter speciem, daibolus propter malitiam. In his ergo quae hominis sunt, esse habent necessitate; in his quae Dei, bona voluntate; in his quae diaboli, malignitate. Si naturam, in qua bonus a bono bene, et ad bonum creatus es, diligis, custodis, et ad id ad quod facta est, dirigis, in his quae Dei patris tui sunt manes, nec a Jerusalem recedis; et super prudentia ac responsis, quibus mille tentationibus carnis, mundi, diaboli, respondes, quae te argute et valde cavillose, dum tentant, interrogant, mirari facis ipsos spiritus nequam, qui tentatores tui sunt. Quod si honorem conditionis tuae naturae non intelligis, quae facta es pulchra inter mulieres, et abis post vestigia gregum, incipiens assimilari jumentis insipientibus; si etiam ipsum bonum, quod in te est, malitia a maligno concepta infeceris, ut sis superbia tumidis, invidia tabidus, ira turbulentus, tristia dejectus, anxius avartitia, gula avidus, luxuria immundus: in his quae patris tui sunt diaboli, manifeste esse convinceris. In his autem, quae hominis patris sunt, propter animale adhuc corpus, necessitatem essendi, vel potius transeundi habentes, victum et vestitum quaeramus: nec nos tentatio apprehendat, nisi humana, quominus his velimus esse contenti. Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, Sermo VIII Source: Migne PL 194.1717d-1718b

Those who are the children of Adam have three fathers, God, man and the devil. God for their nature, man for their kind, the devil for their wickedness. The things which are of man are theirs by necessity, the things which are of God by a good will, the things of the devil by wickedness. If you guard the nature in which good from good is created for the good and you direct it to that for which it was made, you will remain in God the Father, you will not leave Jerusalem, and because of your wisdom and replies to those thousand temptations of the flesh, the world, the devil, who dispute with you extremely captiously, you shall astonish the spirits of iniquity who test you while they put you to trial. 1 But if you do not understand the value of your nature given by the Creator, which makes you beautiful among women, and you go after the tracks of the herd, 2 becoming like mindless beasts, 3 and if you defile that good which is in you with wickedness begotten by the wicked one, so that you become swollen with pride, and rotten with envy, and vexed with wrath, and cast down by sorrow, and anxious because of avarice, and greedy with desire, and filthy with lust, then you are manifestly convicted of being in those things which belong to your father the devil. As for those things in which man is our father, while yet in the animal body, let us seek only that food and clothing which our present, or rather passing, needs require, 4 so that content in these things 'No trial shall seize us unless human.' 5 Isaac of Stella, from Sermon 8 1 Lk 2.47 2 Song 1.7 3 Ps 48.13 4 1 Tim 6.8 5 1 Cor 10.13

Calling On Him As Father

Et si Patrem invocatis eum... Dicendo in oratione: Pater noster, qui es in coelis... Qui sine acceptione personarum judicat... Non ut pater carnalis qui filiis peccantibus indulgentius parcere quam famulis consuevit. Pater autem Deus tantae justitiae et pietatis est, ut et servos humiles atque obedientes, imo et hostes sibi manum dantes mutet in adoptionem filiorum, et rursum eos qui filiorum nomine videntur honorabiliores, pro culpa inobedientiae prorsus haereditatis perpetuae reddat exsortes. In timore incolatus vestri tempore conversamini... Ne videlicet per desidiam et negligentiam tanto Patre existatis indigni, et dum tempore praesentis incolatus securi sitis, ad promissam patriae beatitudinem pervenire non possitis. Sanctus Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput I Source: Migne PL 92.46a-b

And if you call on Him as Father... 1 Saying in prayer: Our Father, who are in heaven...' 2 He judges without regard to persons... Not as a carnal father who is accustomed to be more indulgent to erring sons than servants. For God the Father has such great righteousness and piety that even humble and obedient servants, and even enemies given into His hand, he may change into sons of adoption, and again those who seem to have the more honourable name of sons, for the fault of disobedience he will utterly strip of the eternal inheritance. Dwelling in fear spend your time. Lest by ildleness and negligence you live unworthy of such a Father, and while you dwell secure in the present time, you are not able to come to the promised blessedness of the fatherland. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the First Letter Of Peter, Chap 1 1 1 Pet 1.17 2 Mt 6.9

Fathers And Harmony

Et ibant filii ejus, et faciebant convivia, etc. Quum pro divisione haereditariae sortis frequenter soleat esse zelus et aemulatio inter fratres; patet prudentia Job, qui sic vitam instituerat filiorum, ut se mutua caritate diligerent, et sese ad amica convivia per vicissitudines invitarent. Bonum siquidem est et jucundum, habitare fratres in unum. Quia quanto gratior est in conspectu Dei et hominum amor fraternus, tanto enormius est, si inter eos dissensiones et schismata nutriantur. Propter hoc dicit apostolus: Obsecro vos fratres, per nomen Domini nostri Jesu Christi, ut idipsum sentiatis, et non sint in vobis schismata. Erat itaque plena concordia inter filios et filias ad patrem, ut secundum apostolum servarent invicem unitatem spiritus in vinculo pacis. Si enim a patre filii dissentirent, jam non esset inter eos caritas, quia non observarent patri debitam caritatem. Avelle a Sole Solis radium, et non lucet: praecide rivum a fonte, et arescit : abscinde ramum ab arbore, et siccatur; et membrum a corpore, et putrescit. Separa filium a devotione paterna, et jam non est illius, sed frater et collega illorum, quibus dicitur: Vos ex patre diabolo estis. In principio Isaiae legitur: Filios enutrivi et exaltavi: ipsi autem spreverunt me. Ultimum autem verbum ejusdem prophetae est: Vermis eorum non morietur, et ignis eorum non extinguetur. In veteri testamento praecipiebatur Agnus Paschalis comedi in una domo, ut in habitantibus consonantia morum et affectuum notaretur identitas, sicut scriptum est: Qui inhabitare facit unius moris in domo. Idipsum itaque beato Job ad aliarum virtutum cumulum accedebat, quod filios suos nutrierat in amore, et vagos adolescentiae motus sub censura cohibuerat disciplinae. Heli enim, licet in aliis justus esset, ideo visus est reprobatus a Domino, sellaque in qua sedebat eversa, collo fracto, cecidit, quia filios non correxit. Dilexisti, dicit ei Dominus, magis filios tuos quam me. Periit igitur, quia circa filiorum correctionem negligens fuit. Uxor etiam ejus abortiendo mortua est, et filii ejus Ophni et Phinees sunt occisi. Caveant patres spirituales, qui in cathedris sedent, ne ob negligentiam ipsorum sui filli occidantur, ne destruatur Ecclesia, ne in ipsorum confusionem et perniciem cathedrae subvertantur. Petrus Blenensis, Compendium In Job: Ad Henericum II Illustrissimum Anglorum Regem, Caput I Source: Migne PL 207.801b-802a

And his sons would hold feasts... 1 Among whom, because of the division of inheritance by which there is frequently accustomed to be jealously and envy among brothers, the prudence of Job is made manifest, who so established the life of his sons, that they love one another with mutual love, and through vicissitudes invite one another to friendly feasts. 'How good and joyful it is for brothers to dwell in unity.' 2 Because as much as the fraternal love of men is pleasing in the sight of God, so much more the worse it is if dissensions and divisions are nourished among them. On account of which the Apostle says: 'I beg you brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you agree, so that there are no schisms among you.' 3 Thus there was complete harmony among the sons and daughters for the father, so that according to the Apostle they serve one another in a spirit of unity and in the bond of peace. 4 For if sons are in dispute with the father, there is no love among them, because they do not observe the wanted love of the father. Take the rays from the sun, and it does not shine. Cut off the river from the spring and it dries up. Cut the branch from the tree and it withers, the limb from the body and it rots. Separate a son from paternal devotion, and now he is not his, but a brother and associate of them to whom it is said: 'You are of your father the devil.' 5 In the beginning of Isaiah it reads: 'Sons I nourished and lifted up, but they spurned me.' At the end the words of the same prophet say: 'Their worm will not die, and their fire shall not be quenched.' 6 In the Old Testament it was commanded that the Paschal Lamb should be eaten in one house, that in the harmonious conduct of the dwellers might be noted the same affection, as it has been written: 'He who makes to dwell of one mind in the house.' 7 Therefore the height of virtues approached the blessed Job through others, because he nourished his sons in love, and restrained the unstable variances of youth beneath the censure of discipline. But Eli, who was righteous among other men, was seen to be reproved by the Lord and the seat in which he sat was overturned, and his neck was broken, because he did not correct his sons. 'You have loved your sons more than me,' the Lord said to him. Therefore he perished because he neglected to correct his sons. Indeed his wife died in giving birth, and his sons Ophni and Phinehas were slain. 8 Let spiritual fathers beware, who sit in their seats, lest because of negligence they slay their own sons, lest they destroy the Church, lest in their disorder and wickedness their seats are overthrown. Peter of Blois, Compendium On Job, To Henry II Most Illustrious King Of The English, Chapter 1 1 Job 1.4 2 Ps 132.1 3 1 Cor 1.10 4 Ephes 4.3 5 Jn 8.44 6 Isaiah 1.2, 66.24 7 Ps 67.7 8 1 Kings 1-4

Sins Of The Fathers

Videamus nunc et quod sequitur, quomodo reddit dicuntur peccata patrum in filios, in tertiam et quartam progeniem. In hoc enim sermone solent nos haeretici suggilare, quod non sit boni Dei sermo, qui pro peccatis alterius alium plecti dicat. Sed secundum ipsorum rationem, qui Deum legis mandantem haec licet non bonum, justum tamen dicunt, ne ipsi quidem possunt ostendere, quomodo secundum sensum suum justitiae suae convenire videatur, si alius alio peccante puniatur. Superest igitur ut Dominum deprecemur, ut ostendat nobis quomodo praecepta haec justo bonoque conveniant Deo. Saepe jam diximus, quod Scripturae divina non omnia ad exteriorem hominem, sed perplura ad interiorem loquuntur. Interior igitur homo noster aut Deum dicitur habere patrem, si secundum Deum vivit, et quae Dei sunt agit; aut diabolum, si in peccatis sit, et voluntates illius gerat: sicut evidenter in Evangeliis Salvator ostendit, cum dicit: Vos de patre diabolo estis, et desideria patris vestri facere vultis. Ille homicida fuit ab initio, et in veritate non stetit. Sicut ergo semen Dei in nobis dicitur manere, cum verbum Dei servantes in nobis non peccamus, ut Joannes dicit: Qui autem ex Deo est, non peccat, quia semen Dei manet in eo; ita etiam cum a diabolo ad peccandum suademur, semen ejus suscipimus. Cum vero opere etiam implemus, tunc iam et genuit nos. Nascimur enim ei filii per peccatum. Verum quia peccantes vix fere accidit ut sine adjutore peccemus, sed aut ministros peccati, aut adjutores peccemus, verbi causa, si adulterium quis molitur, non potest hoc solus admittere, sed necesse est etiam adulteram consortem fieri sociamque peccati; tunc praetera etsi non plures, esse tamen necesse est aliquem vel aliquam in ministeriis ad societatem peccati, qui omnes velut unus ex altero secundum persuasionis ordinem generati ex patre diabolo noxiae nativitatis progeniem ducunt. Et ut ad ea quae scripta sunt veniamus, Dominus majestatis Jesus Christus Salvator noster crucifixus est. Hujus piaculi auctor et pater sceleris sine dubio diabolus est. Sic enim scriptum est: Cum autem introisset diabolus in cor Judae Iscariotis, ut traderet eum. Pater ergo peccati diabolus est. Iste in hoc scelere primum filium generat Judam, sed solus hoc Judas implere non poterat. Quid ergo scriptum est? Abiit, inquit, Judas ad Scribas et Pharisaeos, et ad Pontifices, dicens eis: Quid mihi datis, et ego vobis eum tradam? Nascitur ergo ex Juda generatio tertia et quarta peccati. Et hunc ordinem deprehendere poteris etiam in singulus quibusque peccatis. Nunc ergo videamus secundum hanc quam diximus progeniem, quomodo Deus peccata patrum reddat in filios, et in tertiam et in quartam progeniem, et in ipsos non reddat patres. Nihil enim de patribus dixit Deus. Diabolus ergo qui peccandi jam modum excessit, sicut propheta dicit, quemadmodum vestimentum in sanguine concretum, non erit mundum, ita et ipse non erit mundus in hoc saeculo, neque corripitur pro peccato neque flagellatur: omnia namque ei servata sunt in futurum. Unde et ipse sciens sibi illud statutum esse tempus poenarum dicebat ad salvatorem: Quare venisti ante tempus torquere nos? Dum ergo stat hic mundus, peccata sua non recipit diabolus, qui est peccantium pater. Redduntur autem peccata in filios, id est in eos quos genuit per peccatum. Etenim homines in carne positi corripiuntur a Domino, verberantur, flagellantur. Non enim vult Dominus mortem peccatoris, sed ut revertantur, et vivat. Et propterea benignus et misericors Dominus reddit peccata patrum in filios, ut quondam patres, id est diabolus et angeli eius, caeterique principes mundi hujus et rectores tenebrarum harum, et ipsi enim efficiuntur patres peccati, sicut et diabolus, quoniam, inquam, patres indigni sunt qui in hoc saeculo corripiantur, sed in futuro recipient quae merentur, filii eorum, id est, quos peccare persuaserint, et qui nihilominus per ipsos asciti fuerunt ad consortium societatemque peccati, hic recipiant quae gesserunt, ut purgatiores ad futurum saeculum pergant et ultra diabolo socii non efficiantur in poena. Quia ergo misericors est Dominus, et omnes homines vult salvos fieri, propterea dicit: Visitabo in virga ferrea facinora eorum, et in flagellis peccata eorum. Misericordiam autem meam non auferam ab eis. Origenes, In Exodo, Homilia VIII Source: Migne PG 12.358d-359

Let us see now what follows, how the sins of the father are said to be returned to the sons, even to the third and fourth generation. 1 With this passage heretics are accustomed to insult us, that it cannot be the word of a good God who says that for the sins of one he punishes another. For according to their reasoning, with God commanding what is not good, they who yet call Him just are not able to demonstrate how, according to their mind, it seems to befit justice that a man is punished for the sin of another. It remains, then, for us to pray to the Lord, that He show to us how this teaching can befit a good and just God. Often we have said that the divine things of Scripture are not all spoken to the exterior man but far more to the interior man. Therefore the interior man is said to have God for his father if he lives according to God, and he does the things of God, or he has the devil for a father if he is in sin, and he performs his will, as is openly shown in the Gospel of the Saviour, when He says, 'You are from your father the devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and he did not stand in the truth.' 2 So the seed of God is said to remain in us, when attending to the word of God in us we do not sin, as John says, 'He who is from God, does not sin, because the seed of God abides in him.' 3 Thus when the devil persuades us to sin, we receive his seed. When however we fulfil his work, then he gives birth to us. We are born as his sons through sin. Truly because it scarcely happens that we sin without a helper, we require either servants or associates in sin. For the sake of example, when a man commits adultery, it is not possible he does it alone, but it is necessary he has a companion and associate for the sin, and then even if it is not many, yet it is necessary there is someone to serve as associate in sin, who all one from the other, according to the order of persuasion, lead to the generation from the father the devil of the offspring of a vile nativity. And that to these things written we may come, our Lord Jesus Christ and Saviour was crucified. The author of this sin and crime was undoubtedly the devil. For so it is written, 'Then the devil entered into the heart of Judas Iscariot, that he betray Him.' 4 The devil, then, is the father of sin. He by that crime generated his first son Judas, Judas alone was not able to do this. What, then, is written? 'Judas went out,' it is said, 'to the Scribes and Pharisees and to the High Priests, saying to them: 'What will you give me that I hand him over to you?' 5 Thus there is born from Judas the third and fourth generation of sin. And this order you can grasp in each sin. Now, therefore, let us see according to the offspring we have spoken about, how God returns the sins of the fathers to the sons, even to the third and fourth generation, and He does not return it to the fathers themselves. For God says nothing about the fathers. The devil, therefore, has already excelled on the way of sin, as the prophet says, 'as a vestment hardened with blood, he shall not be clean,' 6 so he shall not be clean in this world, he shall not be corrected nor whipped, for everything is reserved for him in the future. Whence even he, aware of the situation regarding the time of punishment, says to the Saviour: 'Why do you come before the time to torment us?' 7 While, then, this world exists, the devil does not receive his sins, he who is the father of sinners. But the sins are returned to the sons, that is, to those he birthed through sin. Indeed men in the flesh are corrected by the Lord, they receive blows, they are whipped. For the Lord does not wish the death of sinners, but that they turn and live. 8 On account of this the kind and merciful Lord returns the sins of the fathers to the sons, because the one-time fathers, that is, the devil and his angels, and the other princes of this world, and the powers of this darkness, 9 (for even they are made fathers of sin, just like the devil,) because, I say, the fathers are unworthy of correction in this world but in the future shall receive what they deserve, their sons, that is, those they have persuaded to sin, and those others who were associated with them as companions and associates of sin, here they receive what they have done, that purified they may go forward to the future age and not be made associates of the devil in punishment. Because, therefore, the Lord is merciful, and He wishes to save all men, 10 so He says: 'I shall visit their crimes with an iron rod and their sins with whips. For my mercy shall not be taken from them.' 11 Origen, On Exodus, from Homily 8 1 Exod 20.5 2 Jn 3.44 3 1 Jn 3.9 4 Jn 13.2 5 Mt 26.14-15 6 Isaiah 9.5 7 Mt 8.29 8 Ezek 33.11 9 Ephes 6.12 10 Tim 2.4 11 Ps 89.32

Sins And Fathers

Deus servabit filiis illius dolorem patris, et cum reddiderit, tunc sciet. Scriptum novimus: Qui reddis peccata patrum in filios ac nepotes, in tertiam et quartam generationem. Et rursum scriptum est: Quid est quod inter vos parabolam vertitis in proverbium istud in terra Israel, dicentes: Patres comederunt uvam acerbam, et dentes filiorum obstupuerunt? Vivo ego, dicit Dominus Deus, si erit vobis ultra parabola haec in proverbium in Israel. Ecce omnes animae, meae sunt; ut anima patris, ita et anima filii, mea est. Anima quae peccaverit, ipsa morietur. In utraque igitur hac sententia dum dissimilis sensus invenitur, auditoris animus ut discretionis viam subtiliter requirat instruitur. Peccatum quippe originale a parentibus trahimus; et nisi per gratiam baptismatis solvamur, etiam parentum peccata portamus: quia unum adhuc videlicet cum illis sumus. Reddit ergo peccata parentum in filios, dum pro culpa parentis, ex originali peccato anima polluitur prolis. Et rursum non reddit parentum peccata in filios: quia cum ab originali culpa per baptismum liberamur, iam non parentum culpas, sed quas ipsi committimus, habemus. Quod tamen intelligi etiam aliter potest: quia quisquis pravi parentis iniquitatem imitatur, etiam ex eius delicto constringitur. Quisquis autem parentis iniquitatem non imitatur, nequaquam delicto illius gravatur. Unde fit, ut iniquus filius iniqui patris non solum sua quae addidit, sed etiam patris peccata persolvat; cum vitiis patris, quibus iratum Dominum non ignorat, etiam suam adhuc malitiam adiungere non formidat. Et iustum est, ut qui sub districto iudice vias parentis iniqui non timet imitari, cogatur in vita praesenti etiam culpas parentis iniqui persolvere. Unde et illic dictum est: Anima patris mea est, et anima filii mea est. Anima quae peccaverit, ipsa morietur: quia in carne nonnunquam filii etiam ex patris peccato perimuntur. Deleto autem originali peccato, ex parentum nequitia in anima non tenentur. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Moralia, sive Expositio in Job, Liber XV, Caput LI Source: Migne PL 75.1110b-1111a

God shall store up the grief of the father for his sons. And when He repays, then he shall know it. 1 We know that it is written, 'He who visits the sins of the fathers upon the sons, and upon the sons of the sons, to the third and fourth generation.' 2 And again it is written, 'Why is it that among you that you turn a parable into a proverb in the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?' As I live, says the Lord, you shall not have this for a proverb any more in Israel. Behold all souls, they are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins, it shall die.' 3 Thus in both these sentences, while a dissimilar meaning is found, the mind of the hearer is instructed that it should carefully search out the way of discernment. Since we derive original sin from our parents, unless we are freed from it by the grace of Baptism, we bear the sins of our parents with us, seeing that we are obviously still one with them. Thus 'He visits the sins of the fathers to the sons,' when because of the guilt of the parent, the soul of the offspring is defiled with original sin. But again He does not 'return the sins of the fathers to the sons,' because when we are freed from original guilt by Baptism, we no longer are in possession of the sins of our fathers, but only those which we have committed ourselves. And this may be understood in yet another way: that anybody who imitates the wickedness of a depraved father is also bound up in his sin. But whoever does not imitate the wickedness of a father, is not burdened with his sin. Whence it happens that the wicked son of a wicked father not only adds to his own sins but even pays for the sins of the father, which he is not ignorant that the Lord has been vexed by and yet he does not fear to add to wickedness. And it is right that he who is beneath the gaze of the judge and who does not fear to imitate the ways of a wicked parent, is compelled to pay in this present life for the evils of a parent. Whence it is said: 'The soul of the father is mine, and the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sins, it shall die,' because by the sin of the father sons are sometimes destroyed in the flesh. But with original sin removed, they are not bound in the soul by the wickedness of the parents. Saint Gregory the Great, Moralia, or Commentary on Job, Book 15, Chap 51 1 Job 21.19 2 Exod 34.7 3 Ezek 18.2-4

Fathers And Children

Et factus est sermo Domini ad me, dicens: Quid est quod inter vos parabolam vertitis in proverbium istud in terra Israel, dicentes: Patres comederunt uvam acerbam, et dentes filiorum obstupuerunt? LXX: Et factus est sermo Domini ad me, dicens: Fili hominis quae est parabola haec in filios Israel, dicentium: Patres comederunt uvam acerbam, et dentes filiorum obstupuerunt? Hoc quod Septuaginta dixerunt, fili hominis, in Hebraico non habetur. Monet autem divina Scriptura illud quod in Exodo dictum est: Ego sum Dominus Deus tuus. Deus aemulator, qui reddo peccata patrum super filios, usque ad tertiam et quartam generationem his qui oderunt me, et facio misericordiam in millia his qui diligunt me, et custodiunt praecepta mea . Et iterum: Descendit Dominus in nube et astitit iuxta Moysen, et invocavit Moyses nomen Domini, et transiit Dominus ante faciem eius, et invocavit eum, dicens: Domine Deus miserator et misericors, patiens et multae misericordiae, et verax, et iustitiam servans, et misericordiam in millia, auferens iniquitates, et iniustitias, et peccata: et non emundabit iniquitates patrum super filios et super filios filiorum, in tertiam et quartam generationem, sic accipi debere, quasi proverbium, et parabolam, ut aliud in verbis sonet, aliud in sensu teneat; quod in parabola quoque duarum aquilarum supra diximus. Unde et Dominus in septuagesimo septimo psalmo: Aperiam, inquit, in parabolis os meum: loquar propositiones ab initio. Et in Evangelio parabolam sementis, et lolii, et sinapis, quod cum sit minimum omnium seminum, in magnam consurgit arborem, ita proponit, ut aliud praetendat in verbis, aliud in sensibus teneat. Et nos usque in praesentem diem putabamus duo testimonia Exodi, quae supra posuimus non esse parabolam, sed simplicem explicare sententiam. Et quamquam non auderemus quidpiam dicere, nec vas fictile loqui contra figulum, quare ita, vel ita me fecisti: tamen scandalum patiebamur occultum, quod iniustitia videretur Dei, alium peccare, et alium luere peccata. Si enim reddit peccata patrum super filios in tertiam et quartam generationem, iniustum videtur ut alius peccet, et alius puniatur. Sed ex eo quod sequitur: his qui me oderunt, comminationis, sive praecepti scandalum solvitur. Non enim ideo puniuntur in tertia et quarta generatione, quia deliquerunt patres eorum, cum patres potius qui fuerunt peccatores puniri debuerint; sed quia patrum exstiterunt aemulatores, et oderunt Deum haereditario malo, et impietate in ramos quoque de radice crescente. Santus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Ezechielem, Lib VI, Caput XVIII Source: Migne PL 25.167b-168a

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Why is it that among you turn this parable into a proverb in the land of Israel saying, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge?' 1 The Septuagaint reads: 'And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Son of man, what is this parable among the sons of Israel, saying: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge?' The 'son of man' which the Septuagint has here is not found in the Hebrew. Divine Scripture gives warning about this in Exodus where it says, 'I am the Lord your God. I am a jealous God, who visits the sins of the father on the sons, even to those of the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, and I am merciful to thousands who love me and keep my teachings.' 2 And again, 'The Lord descended in a cloud and stood next to Moses, and Moses called on the name of the Lord, and the Lord passed before his face, and he called on Him, saying, 'O Lord, merciful and compassionate God, patient and greatly merciful and true, guard of righteousness, merciful to thousands, taking away iniquity and injustice and sin, He who shall not cleanse the iniquities of the father from the son or from the sons of the sons, even to the third and fourth generation.' 3 So it should be understood, as a proverb and as a parable, where there is one thing spoken and another should be grasped by the mind, as in the parable above where we spoke of the two eagles. 4 Whence in the seventy seventh Psalm the Lord says: 'I shall open my mouth in a parable, I shall speak sayings from the beginning.' 5 And thus in the parable of the sower in the Gospel, and in the tares, and with the mustard seed, which is the smallest of all the seeds, which rises up to a great tree, something is given in words and something else grasped by the mind. Yet we, even to the present day, think the testimonies from Exodus, which we have set forth above, are not a matter of parable, but have a simple meaning. And that we should not dare speak a word, as that earthenware pot against the potter, 'Why did you make me so?' 6 However we suffer hidden scandal, because it seems to be an injustice of God, that one sins and another is scourged for sin. For if He returns the sins of the father to the sons into the third and fourth generation, it seems unjust that one man sins and another is punished. But from that which follows, 'those who hate me', the threat, or the scandal of the teaching, is resolved. For they are not punished in the third and fourth generation because of the errors of their fathers, when it should be that the fathers who were sinners should be punished, but because they emulate their fathers and by evil inheritance hate God. The impiety of the root reaches even to the branches. Saint Jerome, Commentary On Ezekiel, Book 6, Chapter 18 1 Ezek 18.2 2 Exod 10.5, Deut 5.9-10 3 Exod 34.5- 4 Ezek 17.1-10 5 Ps 77.15 6 Isaiah 45.9

Hearing The Voice

Φωνὴ τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου. Ἐθὰς γὰρ γενομένη τῶν ἱερῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων, ἐπιγινώσκει αὐτοῦ τὴν φωνήν· ὡς καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς Εὐαγγελίοις φησί· Τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἐμὰ τῆς φωνῆς μου ἀκούει. Ἀλλοτρίῳ δὲ μὴ ἀκολουθήσουσιν, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδασι τῶν ἀλλοτρίων τὴν φωνήν. Οἶδε τοιγαροῦν ἡ νύμφη τὴν τοῦ νυμφίου φωνήν· οἶδε διαφορὰν μοιχοῦ καὶ νυμφίου. Καὶ τῶν μὲν μοιχῶν, καὶ λύκων, καὶ μισθωτῶν βδελύττεται τὰς φωνάς· τοῦ δὲ νυμ φίου καὶ ποιμένος τοὺς λόγους ποθεῖ. Διόπερ αὐτίκα ἐν αἰσθήσει γενομένη τῆς ἐκείνου παρουσίας βοᾷ· Φωνὴ τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ μου· καὶ οὐκ ἀνέχεται καθῆσθαι, ἀλλ' ἀνίσταται, καὶ καραδοκεῖ, καὶ περισκοπεῖ... Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Το Ἀσμα Των Ασμάτων, Λόγος Δεύτερος Source: Migne PG 81.96b-c

The voice of my beloved. 1 Because she is accustomed to His holy words, she recognises His voice. As the Lord says in the Holy Gospels: 'My sheep hear my voice.' 2 They do not follow the stranger because they do not know the voice of strangers. Therefore the bride knows the voice of the bridegroom; she knows the difference between the adulterer and the groom, and certainly she is averse to the voice of adulterers and wolves and mercenaries, 3 but she loves the words of the shepherd and the groom. Therefore as soon as she senses his coming, she cries out, 'The voice of my beloved.' And allowing herself no quiet she rises and watches eagerly and looks about... Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Song of Songs, Book 2 1 Song 2.8 2 Jn 10.27 3 Jn 10.5-13

Seeking Him

In lectulo meo quaesivi per noctes quem diligit anima mea: quaesivi illum et non inveni. Surgam et circuibo civitatem, per vicos et plateas quaeram quem diligit anima mea: quaesivi illum et non inveni. Invenerunt me vigiles qui custodiunt civitatem. Num quem diligit anima mea vidistis? Paululum cum pertransissem eos, inveni quem diligit anima mea: tenui illum, nec dimittam donec introducam eum in domum matris meae, et in cubiculum genitricis meae. In lectulo meo. Vox minorum, et ubi ostenditur conversio minorum, manifestatur effectus praedicationis majorum, ac si ita responderent modo minores: Tu, mater nostra, precaris Deum ut nos inspiret, quod nobis necesse est, quia aliter ad ipsum venire non possumus, quia per priorem vitam voluptatum nostrarum invenire ipsum non possumus, et hoc est quod dicit: In lectulo meo, hoc est, in mundanis voluptatibus, in quibus omnino quiescebam, quaesivi illum. Mens enim cujusque naturaliter somniat bonum et investigat. Quaesivi illum dico, sed per noctes, id est per ignorantias, scilicet per haec temporalia, ut si quis per divitias exspectat sufficientiam. Illum quidem quem modo diligit anima mea, id est tota affectio mentis meae, et non inveni illum. Non enim potest aliquis Deum adipisci per has dilectiones. Quod bis ponit quaesivi, notat affectionem quaerentis, et multiplicitatem inquisitionis. Surgam, etc. Quia in lectulo non inveni, ideo surgam a lectulo, scilicet relinquam mundi appetitum. Et circuibo, scilicet fragiles diligenter convertam, et inquiram cognitionem Dei, civitatem, scilicet matrem meam Hierusalem, convocationem quidem sanctorum, quae mihi praedicavit, per vicos, id est inquirendo ab illis qui strictiora praecepta sectantur. Per plateas accipimus illos qui laxiora praecepta sequuntur, ut conjugatos quibus licitum est mundo uti. Quaesivi illum et non inveni. Ponit causam quare ab istis quaerat quoniam prius quaesivi ubi non erat, et non inveni. Invenerunt me. Dixi surgam, surrexi et quaesivi; et me quaerentem invenerunt, id est meam affectionem cognoverunt vigiles, id est sancti pastores qui custodiunt Ecclesiam Dei. Cum dicit se prius inventam quam invenisse, notat nobis vigilantiam et diligentiam quam debent habere pastores in Ecclesia, scilicet ut ex quo movetur aliquis compunctione, parati sint pastores ut eum commoneant, et ad notitiam Dei pertrahant. Num quem diligit. Invenerunt me vigiles ita dicentem eis: Num vidistis? id est cognitionem amici mei habuistis; per hoc quod dicit prius locutum quaerentem, cum prius a vigilibus inventus esset, notat diligentiam et magnam affectionem quaerentis. Paululum. Quaesivi ab illis, sed eorum ostensione contenta non fui, sed transivi altius quaerendo eum, et per ipsos, quia ipsi me instruxerunt quomodo eum quaerere debemus, et tandem inveni, scilicet bonitatem et dulcedinem aliquantulum degustavi; paululum ideo dicit, quia sine magno labore cognito Dei habetur. Ex quo enim percipit Deus affectionem quaerentis, ipse seipsum offert, et sponte ingerit. Inveni dico et tenui, id est firmiter adhaesi: nec dimittam donec introducam eum in domum matris meae, id est in plenitudinem gentilitatis, quae me in carnalibus desideriis educavit, et in cubiculum genitricis meae, id est, donec faciam aliquos de gentibus sibi lectulum in quo quiescat sine offensa. Matrem dicit quantum ad educationem, genitricem quantum ad creationem: et notatur hic Ecclesia in eo statu in quo plenitudo gentium subintravit. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes in Cantica canticorum, Caput III Source: Migne PL 162.1202a-1203a

On my bed through the night I sought him whom my soul loves, I sought him and I did not find him. I shall rise up and I shall go about the city, through the streets and through the squares I shall seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him and I did not find him. The watchmen of the city found me. Have you seen him whom my soul loves? A little while after I had passed them, I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and I shall not let go until I bring him into the house of my mother, into the bed chamber of she who bore me.' 1 'On my bed.' The voice of the lesser, and where is shown the behaviour of the lesser, the effect of the preaching of the greater is made manifest, as if the lesser had responded, 'You, my mother, pray to God that he inspires us with which is needful for us, because otherwise we cannot come to Him, because by the prior life of our pleasures we cannot find him.' And this is what she says: 'On my bed' that is, in worldly pleasures, in which I slept deeply, 'I sought him,' for her mind naturally dreams of the good and seeks it. 'I sought him' I say, but 'though the night', that is, in ignorance, obviously through temporal things, as if someone hoped wealth would be sufficient. That one 'whom my soul loves,' that is, with the total affection of the mind. 'And I did not find him,' for it is not possible that anyone reach God through these loves. Because she twice states, 'I sought,' note the desire of the seeker, and the multiplicity of the seeking. 'I shall rise...' Because I did not find on my bed then I shall rise from it, I shall forsake the desire of the world. 'I shall go about' that is, diligently I shall turn from weak things, and I shall seek the knowledge of God. 'The city,' that is, my mother Jerusalem, the gathering of the saints, who have preached to me. 'Through the streets,' that is enquiring of those who follow stricter teachings. 'Through the squares, ' we understand those who follow easier teachings, as joined to what is permitted in the world. 'I sought him and did not find him.' I give the reason why I sought from them, because before I sought where He was not, and I did not find him. They 'found me.' I said I shall rise, and I rose and sought, and they found me seeking, that is, the watchmen knew my love, who are the holy shepherds who guard the Church of God. When she says she was found rather than finding, let the vigilance and the diligence that should be possessed by the shepherds of the Church be noted by us, which is that when someone is moved by compunction, the shepherds are prepared to instruct him, and to draw him to the knowledge of God. 'Him who my soul loves' The watchmen found me saying to them, 'Have you seen Him?' That is, do you have knowledge of my love? And that this is what the seeker spoke before she was found by the watchmen, let the great diligence of the seeker be noted. 'A little after,' I sought from them, and because I was not contented with their showing, I passed to a higher seeking of him, and yet also through them, because they instructed me how one should seek. And at last 'I found,' that is, I tasted a certain goodness and sweetness. Therefore I said 'a little after,' because the knowledge of God may be had without great labour, for since God perceives the love of the seeker, He offers Himself, and of His own will He brings Himself. 'I found,' I say, and 'I held,' that is, I adhered firmly. 'Nor did I let him go until I brought Him into the house of my mother,' that is, into the multitude of the Gentiles, she who raised me in carnal desires. 'And into the bed chamber of her who bore me,' that is, until I shall make some from the Gentiles a couch on which he may rest without disturbance. She says 'mother' as much as it concerns raising and 'she who bore me' as much as it concerns begetting, and let it be noted here that in this way the Church comes into the multitude of the peoples. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Song Of Songs, Chapter 3 1 Song 3.1-4

A Passing By

ἐγὼ ἀνοῖξαι τῷ ἀδελφιδῷ μου χεῖρές μου ἔσταξαν σμύρναν δάκτυλοί μου σμύρναν πλήρη ἐπὶ χεῖρας τοῦ κλείθρου Ἤνοιξα ἐγὼ τῷ ἀδελφιδῷ μου ἀδελφιδός μου παρῆλθεν ψυχή μου ἐξῆλθεν ἐν λόγῳ αὐτοῦ... Ἡνίκα ἔφθασεν ἡ νύμφη τὸ κλεῖθρον ὥστε τὴν ψυχὴν ἀναπετάσαι τῷ λόγῳ, τότε μόνην τὴν χεῖρα καί τινας ἑαυτοῦ δείξας πράξεις παρελήλυθεν, ὡς μηδέπω τὸ πλέον εἰς θέαν χωρούσης τῆς νύμφης· ἅμα δὲ καὶ οἰκονομεῖ πλέον αὐτῆς ἐπιτεῖναι τὸν ἔρωτα· ἐξέρχεται καὶ ἐκδημεῖ τοῦ σῶματος ἡ ψυχὴ διὰ τὸν τοῦ νυμφίου λόγον ἔχουσα ἐν οὐρανῷ τὸ πολίτευμα. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τo Ἀσμα Των Ἀσμάτων, Κεφάλαιον E´ Source: Migne PG 17.273b

I opened to my beloved with my hands dripping with myrhh, my fingers coated with myrrh on the latch. I opened to my beloved and my beloved passed by; how my soul went from me with the hearing of his voice... 1 When the bride hurries to the latch, as the soul opens to the word, then with the hand only, and what is of it, turning to the correct act, He passes by, as she is not yet fully prepared for the contemplation of the coming of the spouse. And that it may be at the same time that the love of Him may grow greater, He goes by, and the soul passes from the body on account of the word of the groom, having its citizenship in heaven. 2 Origen, Commentary On The Song Of Songs, Chapter 5 1 Song 5.5-6 2 Philip 3.20

The Grape Cluster

βότρυς τῆς κύπρου ἀδελφιδός μου ἐμοὶ ἐν ἀμπελῶσιν Εγγαδδι Διπλῆς οὖν οὔσης ἐν τῷ βότρυϊ τῆς ἀπολαύσεως, τῆς μὲν ἐκ τοῦ ἄνθους, ὅταν εὐφραίνῃ τῇ εὐοσμίᾳ τὰ αἰσθητήρια, τῆς δὲ διὰ τοῦ τελειωθέντος ἤδη καρποῦ, ὅταν ὑπάρχῃ κατ' ἐξουσίαν ἢ τῆς βρώσεως κατατρυφᾶν ἢ ἐν συμποσίοις τῷ οἴνῳ φαιδρύνεσθαι ἐνταῦθα ἡ νύμφη ἔτι τὸν ἀνθοῦντα βότρυν καρποφορεῖ κύπρον τὴν οἰνάνθην κατονομάζουσα· τὸ γὰρ γεννηθὲν ἐν ἡμῖν παιδίον, ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὁ ἐν τοῖς δεξαμένοις αὐτὸν διαφόρως προκόπτων σοφίᾳ τε καὶ ἡλικίᾳ καὶ χάριτι οὐκ ἐν πᾶσιν ὁ αὐτός ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ μέτρον τοῦ ἐν ᾧ γίνεται, καθὼς ἂν ὁ χωρῶν αὐτὸν ἱκανῶς ἔχῃ, τοιοῦτος φαίνεται ἢ νηπιάζων ἢ προκόπτων ἢ τελειούμενος κατὰ τὴν τοῦ βότρυος φύσιν, ὃς οὐ πάντοτε μετὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ εἴδους ἐπὶ τῆς ἀμπέλου ὁρᾶται, ἀλλὰ συνεξαλλάσσει τῷ χρόνῳ τὸ εἶδος, ἀνθῶν, κυπρίζων, τελειούμενος, πεπαινόμενος, οἶνος γενόμενος. Ἐπαγγέλλεται τοίνυν ἡ ἄμπελος τῷ ἰδίῳ καρπῷ, ὃς οὔπω μέν ἐστι πρὸς οἶνον ὥριμος, ἀλλ' ἀναμένει τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν καιρῶν, οὐ μὴν ὡς εἰς τρυφὴν ἀναπόλαυστος· τὴν ὄσφρησιν γὰρ εὐφραίνει ἀντὶ τῆς γεύσεως τῇ προσδοκίᾳ τῶν ἀγαθῶν τοῖς ἀτμοῖς τῆς ἐλπίδος ἡδύνων τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς αἰσθητήρια· τὸ γὰρ πιστόν τε καὶ ἀναμφίβολον τῆς ἐλπιζομένης χάριτος ἀπόλαυσις τοῖς δι' ὑπομονῆς ἀπεκδεχομένοις τὸ προσδοκώμενον γίνεται. Oὗτος οὖν ὁ τῆς κύπρου βότρυς ἐστί, βότρυς οἶνον ἐπαγγελλόμενος, οὔπω δὲ οἶνος γινόμενος, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦ ἄνθους, ἡ δὲ ἐλπὶς τὸ ἄνθος ἐστί, τὴν ἐσομένην χάριν πιστούμενος. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων Ὁμιλία Γʹ Source: Migne PG 44.828c-829a

A cluster on a cypress is my beloved to me in the vineyards of Eggadi. 1 There are, then, two ways in which the grape cluster is enjoyable, on the one hand, by its blooms, when it pleases the sense with its smell, and on the other by its ripe fruit, when it serves, as one will, either as delightful food, or by its wine to give joy amid celebrations. Here the bride as yet bears the cluster as a bloom, giving the name 'blossom' to the vine's flower. For the child born for us, Jesus, who within those who receive Him, grows in a variety of different ways in wisdom and in stature and in grace, is not the same in all but according to the measure of the one into whom He comes, appearing as a babe making progress or being perfected, as with the nature of a grape cluster, which does not always have the same form on the vine, but changes its form in time ,as it blossoms, colours, matures, ripens and becomes wine. The vine gives promise, then, by its own fruit, which is not yet ripe enough to make wine but awaits the fullness of the time, 2 and yet it is not meant to be a mere useless luxury, for in the anticipation of good things it delights with its scent rather than taste and pleases the soul's sense with the aromas of hope, for to those of firm faith in patience comes the enjoyment of the grace that is hoped for. Thus, then, is the cluster of grape blossoms a cluster that gives promise of wine; it has not yet become wine but by its blossom, which blossom is hope, there is assurance of the grace to come. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 3 1 Song 1.13 2 Galat 4.4

Feeding Men

Dixit ergo Jesus: 'Facite homines discumbere.' Erat autem faenum multum in loco. Discubuerunt ergo viri, numero quasi quinque millia. 'Homines,' quia rationales, et non animales debemus esse in mensa Dei. Animalis homo non percipit ea quae sunt Spiritus Dei. Quorum Deus venter est: et gloria in confusione ipsorum qui terrena sapiunt. Homines enim sunt qui non minus verbum Dei esuriunt, quam cibum sumunt corporalem. Augustinus: Non solae vobis fauces sumant cibum: sed et aures esuriant verbum Dei. Sanctus Albertus Magnus, Commentarium in Joannem, Caput VI Source: Here, p111

Therefore Jesus said, 'Make the men sit down.' For there was much grass in that place. So the men sat, to the number of around five thousand. 1 'Men,' because we should be as reasonable beings and not as animals at the table of God. 'The animal man does not grasp the things of the Spirit of God.' 2 'Whose God is their stomach, and they glory in their shame, those who know the things of the earth.' 3 Men they are who do not eat less the word of God than they consume worldly food. Augustine: 'Let not only your mouths consume food, but let even your ears hunger for the word of God.' 4 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St John, Chapter 4 1 Jn 6.10 2 1 Cor 2.14 3 Phil 3.19 4 Augustine Letter 211.8 and Rule cap 3

Eucharist And Unity

Sed Dominus nihil fidelium conscientiae incertum relinquens, ipsum illum naturalis efficientiae docuit effectum, dicens, Ut sint unum, sicut nos unum sumus, ego in his, et tu in me; ut sint perfecti in unum. Eos nunc, qui inter Patrem et Filium voluntatis ingerunt unitatem, interrogo utrumne per naturae veritatem hodie Christus in nobis sit, an per concordiam voluntatis? Si enim vere Verbum caro factum est, et vere nos Verbum carnem cibo dominico sumimus; quomodo non naturaliter manere in nobis existimandus est, qui et naturam carnis nostrae jam inseparabilem sibi homo natus assumpsit, et naturam carnis suae ad naturam aeternitatis sub sacramento nobis communicandae carnis admiscuit? Ita enim omnes unum sumus, quia et in Christo Pater est, et Christus in nobis est. Quisquis ergo naturaliter Patrem in Christo negabit, neget prius non naturaliter vel se in Christo, vel Christum sibi inesse; quia in Christo Pater, et Christus in nobis, unum in his esse nos faciunt. Si vere igitur carnem corporis nostri Christus assumpsit, et vere homo ille, qui ex Maria natus fuit, Christus est, nosque vere sub mysterio carnem corporis sui sumimus, et per hoc unum erimus, quia Pater in eo est, et ille in nobis; quomodo voluntatis unitas asseritur, cum naturalis per sacramentum proprietas, perfectae sacramentum sit unitatis. Non est humano aut saeculi sensu in Dei rebus loquendum: neque per violentam atque imprudentem praedicationem; coelestium dictorum sanitati, alienae atque impiae intelligentiae extorquenda perversitas est. Quae scripta sunt legamus, et quae legerimus intelligamus: et tum perfectae fidei officio fungemur. De naturali enim in nobis Christi veritate quae dicimus, nisi ab eo didicimus, stulte atque impie dicimus. Ipse enim ait, Caro mea vere est esca, et sanguis meus vere est potus. Qui edit carnem meam, et bibit sanguinem meum, in me manet, et ego in eo. De veritate carnis et sanguinis non relictus est ambigendi locus. Nunc enim et ipsius Domini professione, et fide nostra vere caro est, et vere sanguis est. Et haec accepta atque hausta id efficiunt, ut et nos in Christo, et Christus in nobis sit. Anne hoc veritas non est? Contingat plane his verum non esse, qui Christum Jesum verum esse Deum denegant. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, De Trinitate, Lib VIII Source: Migne PL 10.245b-247b

But the Lord leaves no doubt in the minds of the faithful, He has taught the effect of the operation of His nature , saying, 'That they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be perfected in one.' 1 Now I ask those who bring forward a unity of will between the Father and the Son, whether Christ is in us today by truth of nature or by agreement of will. For if truly the Word has been made flesh and we truly receive the Word made flesh as food from the Lord, must we not believe that He abides in us naturally, He who, born as a man, took up the nature of our flesh now inseparable from Himself, and has joined the nature of His own flesh to the nature of the eternal Godhead in the sacrament by which His flesh is communicated to us? So we are all one, because the Father is in Christ and Christ is in us. Whoever then shall deny that the Father is in Christ naturally must first deny that either he is naturally in Christ or Christ in him, because the Father in Christ and Christ in us make us one in them. Therefore if Christ truly took to Himself the flesh of our body, and truly that man who was born from Mary is Christ, and we truly receive in a mystery the flesh of His body, and by this we shall be one, because the Father is in Him and He in us, how is a unity of will asserted when the property of nature received through the sacrament is the sacrament of perfect unity? One must not speak of the things of God in a human or worldly sense, nor by a violent and foolish preaching must an impious and perverse understanding be extorted from the soundness of the heavenly words. Let us read what has been written, let us understand what we read, and then fulfil the duties of perfect faith. Now concerning what we say about the truth of Christ's nature within us, unless we have been taught by Him, we speak foolishly and impiously. For He Himself says, 'My flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him.' 2 Regarding the truth of the flesh and blood there is no room left for doubt. For now by both the proclamation of the Lord Himself and our own faith it is true flesh and true blood. And these eaten and drunk make it so that both we are in Christ and Christ in us. Is this not the truth? Certainly it may happen that these things are not true to those who deny that Christ Jesus is truly God. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, On The Trinity, Book 8 1 Jn 17.22-23 2 Jn 6.55-56

Wine And Moderation

Μὴ ὕβριζε τὴν θείαν λειτουργίαν. Μὴ ἀτίμαζε τὴν τῶν καρπῶν εὐλογανίαν. Μὴ τῷ κόρῳ τὴν πόσιν πλεονέκτει. Μὴ τῇ ἀμετρίᾳ τὴν συμμετρίαν κακοποίει. Μὴ τὰς φρένας πρόπινε πίνων. Ἀλλὰ μεμνημένος ὡς αἵμα Χριστοῦ τὴν τούτο ἀπαρχὴν τὸ θείον ἐργάζεται Πνεῦμα, οὕτως αὐτῷ κέχρησο, ὡς ἀσθενὴς καὶ χρῇζων αὐτοῦ εἰς βοήθειαν, ἀλλὰ μὴ ὡς δυσμενὴς, ὅπλῳ τῷ οἴνῳ κατὰ πάντων κεχρημένος, καθ' ἑαυτοῦ δὲ μᾶλλον, ὑπὸ τούτου σηπόμενος. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤΙΓ' Ζωσιμῳ Source: Migne PG 78.364c

Do not run riot in the Divine liturgy. Do not dishonour the blessing of the fruits. Do not exceed the appropriate portion. Do not because of immoderation act wickedly against what is well measured. Do not give away your mind in drinking. But mindful that the blood of Christ is the Divine first fruit made by the Holy Spirit, thus attend to it, as weak and needy for its aid, not as an enemy, with wine raising up arms against all, for it is rather against yourself, you being made rotten by this. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 313, To Zosimus