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