Wisdom's Feast

Ἔσφαξεν τὰ ἑαυτῆς θύματα ἐκέρασεν εἰς κρατῆρα τὸν ἑαυτῆς οἶνον καὶ ἡτοιμάσατο τὴν ἑαυτῆς τράπεζαν Ἐκκλινάτω, ἵνα φρόνησιν λάβῃ· ῥώννυται γὰρ ὁ ἀτελὴς ὑπὸ τῶν τῆς σοφίας λόγων καὶ μυστηρίων. Ἔλθατε φάγετε τῶν ἐμῶν ἄρτων καὶ πίετε οἶνον ὃν ἐκέρασα ὑμῖν. Ἡ αὐτὴ τροφὴ καὶ κρέα ὀνομάζεται καὶ ἄρτος καὶ γάλα καὶ οἶνος. Πλὴν οἱ ἄφρονες ὡς ἄρτου αὐτῶν μεταλαμβάνειν λέγονται καὶ ὡς οἴνου κεκερασμένου· εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, πῶς νοήσομεν. Ἄρτον ἀγγέλων ἔφαγεν ἄνθρωπος, Ἄρτον δέ μοι νόει τὰς στερεὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ οἶνον, τὴν ἐκ μελέτης τῶν θείων Γραφῶν ἐπίγνωσιν αὐτοῦ· ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὸ θεῖον σῶμα καὶ τίμιον αἷμα αὐτοῦ Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Παροιμιας, Κεφ' θ’ Source: Migne PG 39.1633a

She has sacrificed her victims, she has mixed her wine and set her table... 1 Sit, that you might gain understanding, for the imperfect are fortified by the words of wisdom and the mysteries. Come, eat my bread and drink the wine which has been mixed for you. 2 This food is named meat and bread and milk and wine. But the foolish, they say, partake of their own bread and the wine they have mixed. And if so, how shall we understand: 'Man ate the bread of angels?' 3 But understand my bread to be the firm commandments of God and the wine to be the knowledge of God from meditation on the Divine Scriptures. Likewise it is with His body and precious blood. Didymus the Blind, On Proverbs, Chapter 9 1 Prov 9.2 2 Prov 9.5 3 Ps 77.25

The Need Of Flesh And Blood

Eἶπεν οὖν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς: ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐὰν μὴ φάγητε τὴν σάρκα τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ πίητε αὐτοῦ τὸ αἷμα, οὐκ ἔχετε ζωὴν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς. ὁ τρώγων μου τὴν σάρκα καὶ πίνων μου τὸ αἷμα ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον, κἀγὼ ἀναστήσω αὐτὸν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ. Ὅταν περὶ πνευματικῶν διαλογώμεθα, μηδὲν ἔστω βιωτικὸν ἐν ταῖς ἡμετέραις ψυχαῖς, μηδὲν γὴῖνον· ἀλλὰ πάντα ἀναχωρείτω, πάντα ἐξοριζέσθ τὰ τοιαῦτα, καὶ ὅλοι γινώμεθα τῆη τῶν θείων λογίων ἀκροάσεως μόνης. Εἰ γὰρ βασιλέως ἐπιβαίνοντος πόλει, ἄπας ἀπελαύνεται θόρυβος· πολλῷ μᾶλλον τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡμῖν διαλεγομένου, μετὰ πολλῆς μὲν ἠσυχίας, μετὰ πολλῆς δὲ τῆς φρίκης ἀκούειν ἡμᾶς δεῖ. Καὶ γὰρ φρίκης ἄξια τὰ λεγόμενα σήμερον. Καὶ πῶς, ἄκουε. Ἀμὴν, γὰρ, φησὶ, λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐὰν μὴ τις μου φάγῇ τὴν σάρκα, καὶ πίῃ μου τὸ αἷμα, οὐκ ἔχει ζωὴν ἐν ἑαυτῷ. Ἐπειδὴ ἔμπροσθεν ἔλεγον, ὅτι ἀδύνατον τοῦτό ἐστι, δείκνυσιν αὐτὸς οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἀδύνατον, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα ἀναγκαῖον. Διὸ καὶ ἐπάγει· ὁ τρώγων μου τὴν σάρκα καὶ πίνων μου τὸ αἷμα ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον, κἀγὼ ἀναστήσω αὐτὸν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔλεγεν, ὅτι Ὁ τρώγων ἐκ τοῦ ἄρτου τούτου οὐκ ἀποθανεῖται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα· εἰκος δὲ ἦν αὐτοῖς προσστῆναι τοῦτο, καθώς καὶ πρότερον ἒλεγον, Ἀβραὰμ ἀπέθανε, καὶ οἱ προφῆται ἀπέθανον, καὶ πῶς σὺ λέγεις, οὐ μὴ γεύσεται θανάτον; τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἔθηκε, λύων τὸ ζητούμενον, καὶ δηλῶν ὅτι οὐκ ἀποθανεῖται εἰς τέλος. Συνεχῶς δὲ στρέφει τὸν περὶ τῶν μυστηρίων λόγον, δεικνὺς τοῦ πραγματος τὸ ἀνακαῖον, καὶ ὅτι αὐτὸ πάντως γενεσθαι δεῖ. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Υπόμνημα Εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Ἰωάννην τὸν Ἀπόστολον και Εὑαγγελιστην, Ὁμιλία ΜΖ’ Source: Migne PG 59.261-363

Jesus then said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, he has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day.' 1 When we converse of spiritual things, let there be nothing worldly in our souls, nothing of the earth, let all such thoughts be gone and be banished, and let us be completely attentive to the Divine words alone. For if for the coming of a king to a city all disorder is put away, so much more do we have need of great stillness and great awe for hearing when the Spirit speaks. And what is said today is worthy of awe. Hear how it is so: 'Truly I say to you, if a man does not eat my flesh and drink my blood, he has no life in him.' Since they had said that it is impossible, He shows not only that it is not impossible but indeed that it is absolutely necessary. Thus He adds, 'He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, he has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.' For since He had said, 'He that eats of this bread shall not die forever,' 2 and it was likely that this would be obstacle for them, as before they said, 'Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead; and how can you say that he shall not taste of death?' 3 so He brings forward the resurrection to solve the question, and to show that such a man shall not die at the end. He continually attends to the reason of the Mysteries, showing the necessity of the deed, and that it must by all means be done. Saint John Chrysostom, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint John, Homily 47 1 Jn 6.54-55 2 Jn 6.50-52 3 Jn 8.52

The Bread Of Life

Ego sum panis vitae. Et hoc credentibus, quia, sicut dicitur Proverbiorum tertio, lignum vitae est his qui apprehenderint eam, scilicet per fidem; et qui tenuerit eam beatus, qui tenuerit per comprehensionem. Et quod sit panis vitae, ostendit per effectum , quia scilicet dat vitam gratiae et vitam gloriae; vitam graliae, quam non dabat panis ille typicus; unde dicit: Patres vestri manducaverunt manna in deserto. Per quadraginta annos scilicet, sicut dicitur Deuteronomii octavo: Dedit tibi cibum manna, quod ignorabas; et mortui sunt, morte scilicet culpae et infidelitatis; ad Hebraeos quarto: Non profuit eis sermo auditus, non admixtus fidei. Hic est panis de caelo descendens. Per incarnationem , ut, si quis ex eo manducaverit, per fidem et dilectionem; non moriatur, per praevaricationem; quia, sicut dicitur Habacuc secundo, iustus in fide sua vivit. Sicut fides a morte liberat, sic etiam dilectio; primae loannis tertio: Nos scimus, quoniam translati sumus de morte ad vitam, quoniam diligimus fratres; qui non diligit manet in morte. Nec tantum dat vitam gratiae, immo etiam vitam gloriae; propter quod subdit: Ego sum panis vivus. Per essentiam, quia vitam habens in semetipso; supra quinto: Sicut Pater habet vitam in semetipso, sic dedit et Filio vitam habere in semetipso. Qui de caelo descendi, per misericordiae abundantiam; Exodi tertio: Vidi afflictionem populi mei in Aegypto et dolorem eius et descendi, ut liberem eum. Si quis manducaverit ex hoc pane, vivet in aeternum. Per gloriam. De hac comestione Canticorum quinto: Comedite, amici, et bibite et inebriamini, carissimi; hoc erit in gloria. Ab huiusmodi comestione prohibitus est peccator in figura Adae; Genesis tertio: Nunc ergo, ne forte sumat de ligno vitae et comedat et vivat in aeternum. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput VI Source: Here, p681-2

'I am the bread of life.' 1 And this for the faithful, because, as it is said in the third chapter of Proverbs: 'She is a tree of life for those who grasp her,' that is, through faith. 'And he who holds to her is blessed,' 2 who holds by understanding. And what the bread of life may be is shown through the effect, because it gives the life of grace and the life of glory, which the former type of bread did not give. Whence He says: 'Your fathers ate manna in the desert...' That is, for forty years: 'He gave you the bread of manna, which you did not know,' as it says in the eighth chapter of Deuteronomy 3 'And they died,' dying because of fault and faithlessness. In the fourth chapter of Hebrews: 'Hearing the word did not profit them, for it was not joined with faith.' 4 'This is the bread that comes down from heaven.' Through the incarnation, so that if someone eats of it, in faith and love, he shall not die because of sin, because, as it says in the second chapter of Habakkuk: 'The righteous man lives by his faith.' 5 And as faith frees from death, so indeed does love. In the third chapter of the First Letter of John: 'We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. He who does not love remains in death.' 6 Not only does He give the live of grace, but even the life of glory, on account of which He adds: 'I am the bread of life.' Through essence, because He has life in Himself. Above in the fifth chapter 'As the Father has life in Himself, so He has given it to the Son to have life in Himself.' 7 He who came down from heaven, and that by an abundance of mercy. In the third chapter of Exodus: 'I saw the affliction of my people in Egypt and their sorrow, and I came down, that I might liberate them.' 8 'If someone shall eat of this bread, he shall live forever.' Through glory. And concerning this eating, in the fifth chapter of the Song of Songs: 'Eat, my friends, and drink and be inebriated, O dear ones.' 9 This shall be in glory. And from this feasting the sinner is prohibited in the figure of Adam, in the third chapter of Genesis: 'Now he need but take from the tree of life and eat and live forever.' 10 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 6 1 Jn 6.48 2 Prov 3.18 3 Deut 8.3 4 Hebr 4.2 5 Hab 2.4 6 1 Jn 3.14 7 Jn 5.26 8 Exod 3.7-8 9 Song 5.1 10 Gen 3.22

Angel's Bread

Ἄρτον ἀγγελῶν ἔφαγεν ἄνθρωπος. Ἀντι δὲ τοῦ, Ἄρτον ἀγγελῶν ἔφαγεν ἄνθρωπος, ὁ Ἁκύλας, Ἄρτον δυναστῶν ἔφαγεν ἀνὴρ ἡρμήνευσεν ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος Καὶ πυρὸν οὐρανιον παρέσχεν αὐτοῖς, ἄρτον μεγάλων ἔφαγεν ἄνθρωπος. Καὶ τήρει ὅπως ἡ Ἐβραῖκὴ φωνὴ οὐ περιέχει τὸ Ἄρτον ἁγγέλλων· ἀλλ' ἤτοι κατὰ τὸν Ἀκύλαν, ἄρτον δυναστῶν· ἤ κατὰ τὸν Θεοδοτίωνα, ἄρτον δυναστῶν· ἤ κατὰ τὴν πέμπτην ἔκδοσιν, ἄρτον δυναστῶν. Ἀγελλῶν δὲ, οὐδεὶς ἡρμήνευσεν. Ἐπεὶ μηδὲ τὸ Ἐβραῖκὸν τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν πρόπον, ἵνα μή τις νομίσῃ καὶ τὰς ἀγγελικὰς δυνάμεις αἱσθητῇ χρῆσθαι τροφῇ. Μέμγεται δὲ καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ καὶ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις τοῖς νομίζουσιν, ὅτι ἀγγέλων ἦν τροφὴ τὸ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ χορηγηθὲν τῷ λαῷ μάννα· διὸ ἔλεγεν· Ἀμὴν, ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῶν· οὐ Μωσῆς δέδωκεν ὑμῖν τὸν ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὸν ἀληθινόν· καὶ πάλιν· Οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν ἔφαγον ἐν τῆ ἐρήμῳ τὸ μάννα, καὶ ἀπέθανον. Οὗτος ἐστιν ὁ ἄρτος ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβαίνων, ἵνα τιη ἐξ αὐτοῦ φάγῃ καὶ μὴ ἀποθνήσκῃ. Εἰ μὲν οὖν, φησὶν, οὐράνιος ἦν ἄρτος, ᾧ χρῆσθαι τοὺς ἀγγέλλους εἰκὸς, οὐδ' ἂν ἀπέθανον οἱ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ μετασχόντες ἄρτου· νῦν δὲ ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἦν οὐράνιος, οὐδὲ ἦν ἀληθῶς ἄρτος ἀγγέλων, διὰ τοῦτο ἀπέθανον. Οὗτος δὲ ἐστιν ἀληθῶς οὐράνιος ἄρτος, οὗ ὁ μεταλαβὼν οὐκ ἂν ἀποθάνοι ποτέ. Καὶ τίς οὗτος ἦν διδάσκει λέγων· Ὁ γὰρ ἄρτος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν ὁ καταβαίνων ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ζωὴν διδοὺς τῷ κόσμῳ· παρίστησί τε αὐτὸν λέγων· Ἐγω εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς· ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρὸς μὲ οὐ μὴ πεινάσει, καὶ ὁ πιστεύων εἰς εμε, οὐ μὴ διψήσει πώποτε· καὶ αὖθις· Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος ὁ ζῶν ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς. Ἐαν τις φάγῃ ἐκ τοῦ ἐμου ἄρτου, ζήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Οὐκοῦν καὶ αἱ ἀγγελικαὶ δυνάμεις ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Λόγου μεταλήψεως αἰώνιον ζωὴν καρποῦνται. Μόνος γὰρ ὁ μονογενὴς τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος πάσης λογικῆς οὐσίας θρεπτικὸς τυγχάνει. Διόπερ ἀκριβῶς ἡ Ἑβραϊκὴ ἀνάγνωσις ἐν τοῖς προκειμένοις οὐ περιέχει τὸ, Ἄρτον ἀγγέλων ἔφαγεν ἄνθρωπος. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμὸς ΖΕ’ Source: Migne PG 23.917c-920a

Man ate the bread of angels. 1 But Aquila translates this as, 'Man ate the bread of the powers,' and Symmachus has 'And He gave to them heavenly wheat, and man ate the bread of the great ones' It should be noted that the Hebrew does not have this 'bread of angels' but according to Aquila it is 'bread of the powers,' and according to Symmachus 'bread of the great ones,' and then Theodotian's translation has 'the bread of powers,' and a fifth version has 'bread of powers.' But no one translates it as 'of angels' because the Hebrew exemplar does not have it, lest someone think that the angelic powers are some sort of sensible nourishment. And in the Gospels our Lord and Saviour disputes with those who thought that the manna that was given in the desert to the people was the bread of angels, when he says: 'Truly, Truly, I say to you, Moses did not give to you true bread from heaven.' 2 And again, 'Your fathers ate manna in the desert and they are dead. Here is the bread which comes down from heaven, which if someone eats of it, he shall not die.' 3 If then, He says, it was the heavenly bread, by which it is much like angels, they would not die who tasted that bread in the desert, but because it was not heavenly, nor was it the bread of angels, therefore they died. Here is the true heavenly bread, of which whoever partakes he shall never die. What this bread is He teaches with these words: 'The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.' Proclaiming the same He says: 'I am the bread of life, he who comes to me shall not hunger and he who believes in me shall not thirst.' And again 'I am the living bread who comes down from heaven. If someone shall eat my bread, he shall live forever.' 4 Thus the angelic powers flourish forever because of participation in the life of the Word. For it is the Only Begotten Word alone who is the nourishment of rational substances. So rightly the Hebrew text does not have 'Man ate the bread of angels.' Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 75 1 Ps 9.10-11 2 Jn 6.32 3 Jn 6.49-50 4 Jn 6.33, 35, 51-52

Sealed With Light

Ἐσημειώθη ἐφ' ἡμᾶς τὸ φῶς τοῦ προσώπου σου, Kύριε... Κρυφιωδέστερον δὲ καὶ μυστικώτερον, πρόσωπον μὲν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς, ὀ Υἱὸς, φῶς δὲ τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ πεμπόμενον Πνεῦμα εἰς ἡμᾶς· δι' οὗ κατεφραγίσμεθα, εἰς εἰκόνα τὴν πρώτην ἀναμορφούμενοι· δι' οὗ καὶ δεδιδάγμεθα τὰ ὄντως ἀγαθὰ, δι' ἃ καὶ τὴν νοητὴν εὐφροσύνην ἐσχήκαμεν τὴν εἰς νοῦν καὶ καρδίαν, βεβαιούμενοι πρὸς ἐλπίδα τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐσομένοις ἀγαθοῖς. Οἱ μὲν ἄγγελοι βλέπουσι διὰ παντὸς· τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ Θεοῦ, οἱ δὲ ἄνθρωποι τὸ φῶς τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ. Πρόσωπον δὲ Κυρίου ἐστὶ θεωρία πνευματικὴ πάντων τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς· φῶς δὲ προσώπου ἐστὶν ἡ μερικὴ γνῶσις τούτων αὐτῶν· εἶπερ, κατὰ τὴν σοφὴν Θεκωῗτιδα, ὡς ἄγγελος Θεοῦ ἦν ὁ Δαβὶδ εἰδὼς τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς πάντα. Και ποῖον ἄρα ἐστὶν τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς, οὗ τὸ φῶς ἐφ' ἡμᾶς σεσημείωται; Ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱος, ἡ ἀπαράλλακτος εἰκων· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο λέγων· Ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ, ἐωρακε τὸν Πατέρα μου. Ἐσημάνθη δὲ ἡμῖν, συμμόρφους ἡμᾶς ἀποδείχας ἑαυτῷ, καὶ τὸν διὰ πνεύματος τοῦ ἰδίου φωτισμὸν ἐγχαράξας ὡς θείαν εἰκόνα τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς αὐτὸν. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμός Δ’ Souce: Migne PG 69.739b-c

Sealed on us is the light of your face, O Lord. 1 In a more hidden and mystical sense the face of God the Father is the Son, and the light from Him to us is the sending of the Spirit, with which we were sealed, refashioned to image of the first man, through which we have received good things, and by which we receive spiritual joy in the heart and mind, being confirmed in the hope of future goods. Certainly angels always gaze on the face of God, 2 but men see the light of His face. And the face of the Lord is spiritual insight into all the things on the earth, and the light of his face is a partial knowledge of these things, since according to the wise woman from Thecua, David was like an angel of God because he knew all the things on earth. 3 Now what is the face of God the Father that is sealed on us? It is the Son of God, the unchangeable image, because of which He says: 'He who sees me, sees my Father.' 4 And thus He has been sealed on us so that he may make us conform to Himself, and by the enlightenment of His Spirit He has impressed the Divine image on those faithful to Him. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 4 1 Ps 4.7 2 Mt 18.10 3 2 Kings 14.20 4 Jn 14.9

The Father And The Son

Affert plerisque obscuritatem sermo Domini, cum dicit: Ego in Patre, et Pater in me, et non immerito; natura enim intelligentiae humanae rationem dicti istius non capit. Videtur namque non posse effici, ut quod in altero sit, aeque id ipsum extra alterum sit; et cum necesse sit ea, de quibus agitur, non solitaria sibi esse, numerum ac statum tamen suum, in quo sint, conservantia, non posse se invicem continere, ut qui aliquid aliud intra se habeat, atque ita maneat manensque semper exterior, ei vicissim, quem intra se habeat, maneat aeque semper interior. Haec quidem sensus hominum non consequetur, nec exemplum aliquod rebus divinis comparatio humana praestabit: sed quod inintelligibile est homini, Deo esse possibile est. Hoc non a me ita dictum sit, ut ad rationem dicti ea tantum sufficiat auctoritas, quod a Deo dictum sit. Cognoscendum itaque atque intelligendum est quid sit illud: Ego in Patre, et Pater in me; si tamen comprehendere hoc ita ut est valebimus: ut quod natura rerum pati non posse existimatur, id divinae veritatis ratio consequatur. Atque ut facilius intelligentiam difficillimae istius quaestionis consequi possimus, prius Patrem et Filium secundum divinarum Scripturarum doctrinam cognosci a nobis oportet, ut de cognitis ac familiaribus absolutior sermo sit. Aeternitas Patris, ut libro anteriore tractavimus, locos, tempora, speciem, et quidquid illud humano sensu concipi poterit, excedit. Ipse extra omnia et in omnibus, capiens universa et capiendus a nemine, non accessu decessuve mutabilis; sed invisibilis est, incomprehensibilis, plenus, perfectus, aeternus, non aliunde quid sumens, sed ad id quod ita manet sibi ipse sufficiens. Hic ergo ingenitus ante omne tempus ex se filium genuit, non ex aliqua subjacente materia, quia per Filium omnia; non ex nihilo, quia ex se filium: non ut partum, quia nihil in Deo demutabile aut vacuum est; non partem sui vel divisam vel discissam vel extensam; quia impassibilis et incorporeus Deus est, haec autem passionis et carnis sunt, et, secundum Apostolum, in Christo inhabitat omnis plenitudo divinitatis corporaliter. Sed incomprehensibiliter, inenarrabiliter, ante omne tempus et saecula, Unigenitum ex his quae ingenita in se erant procreavit, omne quod Deus est per charitatem atque virtutem nativitati ejus impertiens: ac sic ab ingenito, perfecto, aeternoque Patre, unigenitus et perfectus et aeternus est Filius. Ea autem, quae ei sunt secundum corpus quod assumpsit, bonitatis ejus ad salutem nostram voluntas est. Invisibilis enim et incorporeus et incomprehensibilis, utpote a Deo genitus, tantum in se et materiae et humilitatis recepit, quantum in nobis erat virtutis ad intelligendum se et sentiendum et contuendum; imbecillitati nostrae potius obtemperans, quam de his in quibus erat ipse deficiens.Igitur perfecti patris perfectus filius, et ingeniti Dei unigenita progenies, qui ab eo qui habet omnia accepit omnia, Deus a Deo, spiritus a spiritu, lumen a lumine, confidenter ait: Pater in me, et ego in Patre: quia ut spiritus Pater, ita et Filius Spiritus; ut Deus Pater, ita et Filius Deus; ut lumen Pater, ita et Filius lumen. Ex iis ergo, quae in Patre, sunt ea in quibus est Filius, id est, ex toto Patre totus Filius natus est; non aliunde, quia nihil ante quam Filius; non ex nihilo, quia ex Deo Filius; non in parte, quia plenitudo deitatis in filio; neque in aliquibus, quia in omnibus: sed ut voluit qui potuit, ut scit qui genuit. Quod in Patre est, hoc et in Filio est; quod in ingenito, hoc et in unigenito; alter ab altero, et uterque unum; non duo unus, sed alius in alio, quia non aliud in utroque; Pater in Filio, quia ex eo Filius; Filius in Patre, quia non aliunde quod Filius; unigenitus in ingenito, quia ab ingenito unigenitus. Ita in se invicem; quia ut omnia in ingenito patre perfecta sunt, ita omnia in filio unigenito perfecta sunt. Haec in Filio et Patre unitas, haec virtus, haec charitas, haec spes, haec fides, haec veritas, via, vita, non calumniari de virtutibus suis Deo, nec per secretum ac potestatem nativitatis obtrectare Filio; Patri ingenito nihil comparare, Unigenitum ab eo nec tempore nec virtute discernere, Deum filium quia ex Deo est confiteri. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, De Trinitate, Liber Tertius Source: Migne PL 10.76a-78a

The words of the Lord bear much obscurity when He says, 'I in the Father, and the Father in Me,' 1 and with merit, because the nature of the human intellect cannot grasp the meaning of what has been said. It does not seem possible that one thing should be both within another and also outside that other, or, since they do not dwell apart but retain their separate existence and condition and number, that they can reciprocally contain one another, so that the one who has the other within Himself, because of which He is always on the outside, is also enclosed by the one whom He has, and always remains within. This is something that the mind of man cannot follow, nor will any human comparison find an example for this condition of Divinity, but what is unintelligible to man is possible for God. 2 I do not mean that this which is said, because it was said by God, is thus reasonable because of its authority. One must think and try to understand what this might be, 'I in the Father and the Father in me,' if however we shall be able to comprehend this at all, since what the universe does not allow to be possible, the reason of Divine truth may establish. That we might more easily understand this difficult question, it is necessary that we first come to know the Father and Son according to the teaching of the Divine Scriptures, which knowledge will thus allow us to speak of known and familiar matters. The eternity of the Father, as we wrote toward the end of the last book, transcends space and time and appearance and whatever can be conceived by the human mind. He is outside everything and inside everything, He contains the universe and is contained by nothing, He does not change by increase or loss, and is invisible and incomprehensible, and full, perfect, eternal, not taking anything else from another, but if anything should be derived from Him, He remains self-sufficing. He, therefore, who is the Unbegotten, before time begot a Son from Himself, not from any underlying matter, for all things are through the Son, and not from nothing, for the Son is from the Father, and not by childbirth, for there is nothing changeable or empty in God, and not as a part of Himself cut or torn off or extended, because God is passionless and bodiless, and such things are of passion and of the flesh, and according to the Apostle, 'In Christ dwells all the fullness of Divinity bodily.' 3 But incomprehensibly, ineffably, before all time and the ages, He begot the Only Begotten from His own unbegotteness, through love and power imparting upon that birth everything which is God, and so He who is from the only unbegotten and perfect and eternal Father is the Only Begotten, the perfect and eternal Son. But these things which He took up according to the body are on account of His benevolence for our salvation. For He who is invisible and bodiless and incomprehensible, as the Son of God, took upon Himself only that matter and humility which was needed to make Him intelligible and perceivable and open to contemplation according to the power that is in us, this being rather a stooping to our weakness rather than a failing of those things that are His. Therefore the perfect Son of the perfect Father, and the only begotten offspring of the unbegotten God, who from Him who has everything has received everything, God from God, spirit from spirit, light from light, says confidently: 'The Father in me and I in the Father,' 4 because as the Father is spirit, so the Son is spirit, as the Father is God, so the Son is God, and as the Father is light so the Son is light. Therefore those things which are in the Father, those are the things in which the Son is, that is, the whole Son is born from the whole Father, not from somewhere else, because there was nothing before the Son, and not from nothing because the Son is from God, and not in part, since the fullness of the deity is in the Son, and not in some things, but in all, things, as He wished who was able, as He knows who begot. What is in the Father is in the Son also, what is in the Unbegotten is in the Only Begotten. One is from the other and the two are one, not as two made one, but as one in the other, for there is not something else in both. The Father is in the Son because the Son is from Him, and the Son is in the Father because the Father is His only source. The Only Begotten is in the Unbegotten, because He is the Only Begotten from the Unbegotten. Thus they are each in each other, for as everything in the Unbegotten Father is perfect, so everything in the Only Begotten Son is perfect. This is the unity of the Son and the Father, this the power, the love, the hope, the faith, the truth, the way, the life, not to dispute with God concerning His own powers, nor disparage the mystery and power of His nativity, but to compare nothing to the Unbegotten Father and to grasp the Only Begotten as differing neither in time or power, and to confess God the Son because He is from God. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, On The Trinity, Book 3 1 Jn 14.11 2 cf Mt 19.26 3 Colos 2.9 4 Jn 10.38

The Trinity And The Waters

Dominus diluvium inhabitat, et sedebit Dominus rex in aeternum. Dominus virtutem populo suo dabit, et benedicet populum suum in pace. Decursis virtutibus Spiritus septiformis, in tertio ordine ad Trinitatis complexionem mirabili dispositione pervenit. Dicendo enim in his duobus versiculis tertio Dominus, ostendit sanctam Trinitatem diluvium, id est aquas baptismatis inhabitare; sicut in Evangelio dictum est: Euntes baptizate omnes gentes in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus sancti. Sed quaeramus cur hic diluvium pro sacris fontibus positum est? Merito, quoniam illud quod factum est sub Noe, baptismatis sacri gerebat imaginem. Nam sicut istud purgat animas sordibus peccatorum, ita et illud diluvium mundi crimina probrosa delevit. Merito ergo pro baptismate diluvium positum est, ad cuius similitudinem constat effectum. Nam quod tertio Dominus repetiit, sine distinctione personarum, licet intelligi primum dictum de Spiritu sancto, Dominus diluvium inhabitat. Sequitur, et sedebit Dominus Rex in aeternum; hoc autem de Filio recte intelligimus. Dominus virtutem populo suo dabit, de Patre competenter advertimus. Populo suo, significat Christiano, quem de sacri baptismatis munere conquisivit. Subiunxit etiam: Et benedicet populum suum in pace. Non dixit benedicent, sed benedicet, quia unus est Dominus Deus noster. In pace, propter illud Evangelii: Pacem meam do vobis, pacem meam relinquo vobis. Una est enim pax et Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus sancti. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XXVIII Source: Migne PL 70.201d-202b

The Lord makes a dwelling place of the flood, and the Lord shall sit as king in eternity. The Lord shall give virtue to His people, and He shall bless His people with peace. 1 For the pouring forth of the virtues, the seven formed Spirit, third in the order of the complex of the Trinity, comes by a wondrous arrangement. For in speaking of the Lord three times in these two lines, he reveals the flood is the Holy Trinity, that is, that it dwells in the baptismal waters, like He said in the Gospel, 'Go and baptise all the nations in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.' 2 But shall we not ask why the flood is set down here for the holy waters? Rightly, because what was done with Noah bears the image of baptism. For as baptisms purge the souls of sinners of defilement, so even the flood removed shameful wickedness from the world. Rightly, then, is the flood set down for baptism, for they have a similarity of effect. And in his calling on the Lord three times, without distinction of person, one may understand the first to be be the Holy Spirit, 'The Lord makes a dwelling place of the flood.' And then what follows, 'The Lord shall sit as king in eternity,' we understand to about the Son.  And 'The Lord shall give virtue to His people,' aptly refers to the Father. 'To his people,' signifies Christians, whom He has sought out with the gift of holy baptism. After this it is written, 'And He shall bless His people in peace.' It does not say, 'They shall bless,' but 'He shall bless,' because the Lord our God is one. 'With peace,' according to the Gospel: 'My peace I give to you, my peace I leave to you.' 3 For the peace of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is one. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 28 1 Ps 28.10 2 Mt 28.10 3 Jn 14.27

From Whom Is Everything

Nobis tamen unus Deus Pater, ex quo omnia, et nos in illo... Omnia enim ex illo quaeque sunt, ubicumque sunt. Cum autem dicit: Et nos in illo, discrevit nos a caeteris, qui cum ex illo sint, non tamen sunt in illo, dum adhuc non credunt. Et unus Dominus Jesus, per quem omnia, et nos per ipsum. Omnia enim ex Patre quidem, sed per Filium creata sunt. Sed cum dicit: Et nos per ipsum, reformatos nos per ipsum, per quem creati fueramus, significat in Dei cognitione; quia facti per ipsum cum caeteris, post stuporem mentis et ignorantiae nos per ipsum agnovimus mysterium unius Dei. Unum ergo Deum Patrem dixit, et unum Dominum Jesum Filium ejus; ut quia Deus non potest non esse Dominus, similiter et Dominus intelligatur esse et Deus, unum esse Deum et Dominum demonstraret, modum unius principii conservando. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 17.227a-b

But to us God the Father is one, from whom is everything and we in Him... 1 Everything is from Him, whatever they are and wherever they are. But when he says: 'And we in Him,' he distinguishes us from others, who when they are from Him are yet not in Him while they do not yet believe. 'And one Lord Jesus through whom is everything and we though Him.' Certainly everything is from the Father but created through the Son. And when he says: 'And we through Him' it means us renewed through Him, through whom we had been created, in the knowledge of God, because made through Him with others, after the stupor of the mind and ignorance, through Him we come to know the mystery of the One God. Therefore he says that God the Father is one and one is Lord Jesus Christ His Son, for it is not possible  that God is not Lord, and likewise the Lord should be understood to be God, whence he demonstrates One God and Lord, in maintaining the way of one beginning. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 8 1 1 Cor 8.6

The Spirit's Way

Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἐπανίωμεν. Ὅτι διάνοια ἡ δυνηθεῖσα τῶν τε ὑλικῶν καθαρεῦσαι παθῶν, καὶ τὴν νοητὴν κτίσιν πᾶσαν καταλιπεῖν, καὶ οἷόν τις ἰχθὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ βυθοῦ πρὸς τὴν ἄνω ἐπιφάνειαν ἀνανήξασθαι, ἐν τῷ καθαρῷ τῆς κτίσεως γενομένη, ἐκεῖ ὄψεται τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ὅπου Υἱὸς, καὶ ὅπου Πατὴρ, πάντα ἔχον καὶ αὐτὸ συνουσιωμένως κατὰ τὴν φύσιν, τὴν ἀγαθότητα, τὴν εὐ θύτητα, τὸν ἁγιασμὸν, τὴν ζωήν. Τὸ Πνεῦμα γάρ σου, φησὶν, τὸ ἀγαθόν· καὶ πάλιν, Πνεῦμα εὐθές· καὶ πάλιν, Τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον. Καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος· Ὁ νόμος τοῦ Πνεύματος τῆς ζωῆς. Τού των οὐδὲν ἐπίκτητον αὐτῷ, οὐδὲ ὕστερον ἐπιγενόμενον πρόσεστιν· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἀχώριστον τῷ πυρὶ τὸ θερμαίνειν, καὶ τῷ φωτὶ τὸ λάμπειν· οὕτω καὶ τῷ Πνεύματι τὸ ἁγιάζειν, τὸ ζωοποιεῖν, ἡ ἀγαθότης, ἡ εὐθύτης. Ἐκεῖ τοίνυν ἕστηκε τὸ Πνεῦμα, ἐκεῖ, ἐν τῇ μακαρίᾳ φύσει, οὐ μετὰ πλήθους ἀριθμούμενον, ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ Τριάδι θεωρούμενον· μοναδικῶς ἐξαγγελλόμενον, οὐκ ἐμπεριειλημμένον τοῖς συστήμασιν. Ὡς γὰρ Πατὴρ εἷς, καὶ Υἱὸς εἷς· οὕτως ἓν καὶ τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα. Τὰ δὲ λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα καθ' ἕκαστον τάγμα πλῆθος ἡμῖν ὑποφαίνει δυσεξαρίθμητον. Μὴ τοίνυν ζήτει ἐν τῇ κτίσει τὸ ὑπὲρ τὴν κτίσιν· μὴ καταγάγῃς τὸ ἁγιάζον μετὰ τῶν ἁγιαζομένων. Τοῦτο πληροῖ ἀγγέλους, πληροῖ ἀρχαγγέλους, ἁγιάζει δυνάμεις, ζωοποιεῖ τὰ σύμπαντα. Τοῦτο εἰς πᾶσαν κτίσινμεριζόμενον, καὶ ἄλλως ὑπ' ἄλλου μετεχόμενον, οὐδὲν ἐλαττοῦται παρὰ τῶν μετεχόντων. Πᾶσι μὲν τὴν παρ' ἑαυτοῦ χάριν δίδωσιν· οὐκ ἀναλίσκεται δὲ εἰς τοὺς μετέχοντας· ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ λαβόντες πληροῦνται, καὶ αὐτό ἐστιν ἀνενδεές. Καὶ ὥσπερ ὁ ἥλιος ἐπιλάμπων τοῖς σώμασι, καὶ ποικίλως ὑπ' αὐτῶν μετεχόμενος, οὐδὲν ἐλαττοῦται παρὰ τῶν μετεχόντων· οὕτω καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα πᾶσι τὴν παρ' ἑαυτοῦ χάρινπαρέχον, ἀμείωτον μένει καὶ ἀδιαίρετον. Πάντας φωτίζει πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ κατανόησιν, ἐμπνεῖ τοῖς προφήταις, νομοθέτας σοφίζει, ἱερέας τελειοῖ, ἐνισχύει βασιλεῖς, καταρτίζει δικαίους, σεμνύνει σώφρονας, ἐνεργεῖ χαρίσματα ἰαμάτων, ζωοποιεῖ τοὺς νεκροὺς, λύει τοὺς πεπεδημένους, υἱοθετεῖ τοὺς ἠλλοτριωμένους.Ταῦτα διὰ τῆς ἄνωθεν γεννήσεως ἐνεργεῖ. Ἐὰν τελώνην λάβῃ πιστεύοντα, εὐαγγελιστὴν ἀποδείκνυσιν· ἐὰν ἐν ἁλιεῖ γένηται, θεολόγον ἀποτελεῖ· ἐὰν διώκτην εὕρῃ μετανοοῦντα, ἀπόστολον ἐθνῶν ἀπεργάζεται, κήρυκα πίστεως, σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς. ∆ι' αὐτοῦ οἱ ἀσθενεῖς ἰσχυροί· οἱ πτωχοὶ πλουτίζουσιν· οἱ ἰδιῶται τῷ λόγῳσοφώτεροί εἰσι τῶν σοφῶν. Παῦλος ἀσθενὴς, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν παρουσίαν τοῦ Πνεύματος τὰ σουδάρια τοῦ χρωτὸς αὐτοῦ ἴασιν παρεῖχε τοῖς ὑποδεχομένοις. Πέτρος καὶ αὐτὸς σῶμα περικείμενος ἀσθενείας, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν ἐνοικοῦσαν χάριν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡ ἐκπίπτουσα τοῦ σώματος σκιὰ ἀπεδίωκε τὰς νόσους τῶν καταπονουμένων. Πτωχὸς Πέτρος καὶ Ἰωάννης· οὐ γὰρ εἶχον ἀργύριον, οὐδὲ χρυσίον· ἀλλ' ἐχαρίζοντο ὑγίειαν πολλῶν χρυσίων τιμιωτέραν. Παρὰ πολλῶν γὰρ λαβὼν χρυσίον ὁ χωλὸς, ἔτι προσαίτης ἦν· παρὰ δὲ Πέτρου δεξάμενος τὴν χάριν, ἐπαύσατο προσαιτῶν, ἁλλόμενος ὥσπερ ἔλαφος, καὶ αἰνῶν τὸν Θεόν. Οὐκ ᾔδει Ἰωάννης τὴν τοῦ κόσμου σοφίαν, ἀλλ' ἐφθέγξατο ῥήματα τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ Πνεύματος, οἷς οὐδεμία σοφία προσβλέψαι δύναται.Τοῦτο καὶ ἐν οὐρανῷ ἕστηκε, καὶ τὴν γῆν πεπλήρωκε, καὶ πανταχοῦ πάρεστι, καὶ οὐδαμοῦ περιέχεται. Ὅλον ἑκάστῳ ἐνοικεῖ, καὶ ὅλον ἐστὶ μετὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Οὐ λειτουργικῶς διακονεῖ τὰς δωρεὰς, ἀλλ' αὐθεντικῶς διαιρεῖ τὰ χαρίσματα. ∆ιαιρεῖ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἰδίᾳ ἑκάστῳ, καθὼς βούλεται. Ἀποστέλλεται μὲν οἰκονομικῶς, ἐνεργεῖ δὲ αὐτεξουσίως. Τοῦτο παρεῖναι ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν εὐξώμεθα, καὶ μηδένα καιρὸν ἡμᾶς ἀπολιμπάνειν ἐν χάριτι τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας,Ὁμολία ΙΕ', Περὶ Πίστεως Source: Migne PG 31.468c-472a

But let us return to what was proposed. The mind which has been able to purify itself of the passions of material things and has withdrawn thought from every created thing, and has swum like a fish from the depths to the apparent heights, now established in the purity of creation, there shall see the Holy Spirit, where the Son is, and where the Father is, being coessential according to His nature, in goodness, rectitude, holiness, and life. 'For your spirit,' he says, 'is good,' and again, 'a right Spirit,' and again, a 'Holy Spirit' 1 And the Apostle says 'The Law of the Spirit of life.' 2 None of which things are added to Him, nor is anything endowed after, but as heat cannot be separated from fire, nor brightness from light, so neither can sanctification or vivification or goodness or rightness from the Spirit. Here, then, is the Spirit established, here in a blessed nature, where there is no multitude by number, but in the Trinity He is beheld, being enunciated alone, but not understood as a separated part of a group. Thus as the Father is one and the Son is one, so the Holy Spirit is one. And yet each one of the multitude of spiritual services He shows to us can scarely be counted. Do not, then, seek in created things what is above created things, nor suppress what has been sanctified to holiness. 3 He fills angels, and archangels, and makes powers holy, and gives life to all things. He is in every created thing, but His participation is such that he is not diminished at all by his participants. Certainly His grace is bestowed on all, but He is not used up by those who participate, and they who receive are filled and He lacks nothing. As when the sun illuminates bodies and by these he is received variously, so He is not diminished by those who receive Him. Thus it is with the grace of the Holy Spirit given to everything, He remains whole and undivided. He enlightens all for the gaining of the knowledge of God, He inspires the prophet, and teaches law makers wisdom, and consecrates priests, and strengthens kings, and perfects the righteous, and gives honour to the wise, and works gifts of healing, and raises the dead, and breaks chains, and adopts strangers as sons.This He works through a birthing from above. 4 If he receives a believing tax collector, He makes Him an Evangelist, if He comes upon a fisherman, He makes him a theogloian, if He drives a persecutor to penance, He makes him an Apostle of the nations, a preacher of the faith, a vase of election. 5 Through Him the weak become strong, the poor are enriched, and fools and poor speakers shine forth with the wisdom of the wise. Paul was weak and yet by the presence of the Holy Spirit they took rags damp with the sweat of his body for healing. Peter was clothed with an infirm body, by by the indwelling of the grace of the Holy Spirit, the sickness of those whom illness had laid low fled from the shadow of his body. Peter and John were poor men, for they had neither silver nor gold, but they were able to give the health that is more precious than many coins of gold. For He who had been lame for many years, who despite the receipt of much gold was yet a beggar, on receiving Peter's blessing, stopped begging and leapt up like a stag, and praised God. 6 John did not know the wisdom of the world, but by the power of the Holy Spirit he brought forth words which no wisdom can look upon. The Holy Spirit set in heaven fills the earth, and He is everywhere, but nothing contains him. He dwells wholly in each one and He is wholly with God. He does not give gifts in the manner of a servant, but by his own authority He allocates them. He apportions, it is said, to each one as He wills. 7 He is sent forth according to the way of the dispensation, but He acts on His own power. Let us pray to Him that He be in our souls, that He not forsake us at any time, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom glory and rule to forver and ever. Amen. Saint Basil of Caesarea, from Homily 15, On Faith 1 Ps 142.10, Ps 50.12, 13 2 Rom 8.2 3 1 Thes 5.19 4 Jn 3.3 5 Mt 9.9, Mt 4.21-22, Acts 9.15 6 Acts 19.12, Acts 5.15, Acts 3.1-11 7 1 Cor 12.11

Blasphemy And The Son And The Holy Spirit

Πολυδύναμον καὶ πολυθύλλητον ἐπεζήτηας ζήτημα, πολλοῖς μὲν ἐρευνηθὲν, μόνοις δὲ τοῖς θεοπνεύστοις καταληφθὲν, Ὃς ἂν εἴποι λόγον κατὰ τοῦ Υἰοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ· ὃς δ' ἂν εἴπῃ κατὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου, οὐκ ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ, οὔτε ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, οὔτε ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι. Καὶ τί, ὅτι μιᾶς οὐσης τῆς οὐσίας τῆς θεῖκῆς Τριάδος, ἡ κατὰ τοῦ Υἱοῦ βλασφημία, ἔφης, οὐκ ἐκδικεῖται, ἀλλ' ἡ κατὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος μόνη; Ἄκουε τοίνυν· Ὅς ἂν εἴποι κατὰ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου βλάσφημον λόγον, οὐ κρίνεται, εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος· ἐπειδὴ τοῖς λημῶσι τὸν τῆς τῆς διανοίας ὄφθαλμὸν, δυσκατάληπτος καὶ δυσθεώρητος ὁ ἠνωμένος ἀῥῥήτως Θεὸς τῇ εὐτελείᾳ τῆς φαινομένης σαρκὸς, ἀγνοουμένης τῆς κρυπτομένης θεότητος. Τοῖς δὲ καθαροῖς τὴν διάνοιαν, οἶς ἐπεφάνη ἡ σαρκωθεῖσα θεότης, οὐδε ἀπιστία ὅλως ἐγγέγονεν, οὐδὲ ἡ τῆς κρίσεως ἠπείληται ἀνταπόδοσις. Ἡ δὲ κατὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου βλασφημία διὰ τοῦτο ὑπάρχει ἀσύγγνεσωος, ἐπειδὴ αὔτὰ τὰ ἔργα φαινόμενα, ἀγνώμονας καὶ ἀχαρίστους ἐλέγχει τοὺς βλασφημοῦντας. Τῶν γὰρ παθῶν ἔκκοπτομένων, καὶ τῶν δαιμόνων ἐλαυνομένων ἐν τῇ δυνάμει τῆς θεότητος, ἐν τῷ βεελζεβοὺλ ταύτας γίνεσθαι τὰς θεοσημείας οἱ γογγυσταὶ Ἰουδαῖοι ἐσυκοφάντησαν. Ταύτην οὖν τὴν βλασφημίαν τὴν κατὰ τῆς θείας τρανῶς οὖσαν οὐσίας, ἀσυγχώρητον εἶναι ὁ Κύριος ἀπεφήνατο. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΙΘ' Γοργονιῳ Source: Migne PG 78.220c-221b

You have asked a very powerful and weighty question, which many others have enquired into, and only those inspired with the Divine spirit have grasped it, 'He who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him, but he who speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, not in this age, nor in the age to come.' 1 And why, since they are of one substance of the Divine Trinity, does He say that blasphemies against the Son of Man will not be punished, but only those against the Holy Spirit? Hear, then, that he who shall speak blasphemously against the Son of Man shall not be judged, says the Lord, because those who have the eye of the mind blinded to the secret God so hard to grasp and perceive united with the inferior and more overt flesh, do so in ignorance of the hidden Divinity. Understanding is for the pure, to whom the Divinity in the flesh has appeared, not for the faithless to whom it has never happened, and that is not denounced with a judgement of punishment. But he who speaks against the Holy Spirit lacks hope of forgiveness because its overt works refute the ignorance and unthankfulness of blasphemers. For when the power of Divinity casts out sickness and drives out demons, the Jews asserted that these Divine signs were done through Beelzebub. Whence the Lord proclaimed that this blasphemy, which opposes the revelation of the Divine essence, is without any forgiveness. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 59, To Gorgonius 1 Mt 16.16

The Spirit And Bitterness

Et abii amarus in indignatione spiritus mei... Pensate, fratres charissimi, cui dona sancti Spiritus creverant cur amarus abibat? An omne cor quod idem spiritus assumit amarum in indignatione sui spiritus facit? Unde sciendum est quia cui adhuc praesens vita dulcis est, etiamsi verbum Dei loqui videatur, elevatus et assumptus praedicator non est. Mentem enim quam Spiritus sanctus replet in amaritudinem temporalium delectatione aeternorum commovet. Dulce enim est esse in rebus humanis, sed ei qui adhuc de coelestibus gaudia nulla gustavit, quia quanto minus aeterna intelligit, tanto delectabilius in temporalibus requiescit. At si quis jam cordis ore gustaverit quae sit illa dulcedo coelestium praemiorum qui illi hymnidici angelorum chori, quae incomprehensibilis visio sanctae Trinitatis, huic quanto illud dulce fit quod intus videt, tanto in amaritudinem vertitur omne quod foris sustinet. Rixatur secum de his quae male egisse se recolit, et sibimetipsi displicet, cum ei ille placere jam coeperit qui omnia creavit. Reprehendit se de cogitationibus, insequitur de verbis, et punit flendo de factis. Supernis inhiat, terrena jam omnia per mentis despectum calcat. Et quandiu illud quod desiderat adhuc per speciem non habet, flere dulce habet, seseque continuis lamentis affligere. Et quia necdum se esse in patria ad quam creatus est videt, in hujus vitae exsilio nil ei plus aliud quam sua amaritudo placet. Dedignatur etenim subjacere temporalibus, et ardenter suspirat aeternis. Unde recte quoque per Salomonem dicitur: Eo quod in multa sapientia multa sit indignatio, et qui apponit scientiam apponit dolorem. Coelestia etenim cognoscentes, terrenis animum subdere dedignamur. Et dum plus sapere incipimus de his quae male egimus, nobis ipsis irascimur, et fit in multa sapientia multa indignatio, quia quanto plus proficimus in cognitione, tanto nobis indignamur amplius de perverso opere. Atque cum scientia dolor crescit, quia quanto magis aeterna cognoscimus, tanto magis esse nos in hujus exsilii miseria dolemus. Vel sicut in translatione alia dicitur: Et qui addit scientiam addit laborem. Quo enim scire incipimus quae sint coelestia gaudia, eo magis ut errorum nostrorum laqueos possimus evadere, flendo laboramus. In multa ergo sapientia multa est indignatio, quia si aeterna jam sapimus, concupiscere temporalia dedignamur. Si aeterna jam sapimus, nosmetipsos despicimus egisse hoc quod nos potuit ab aeternitatis amore separare. Reprehendit semetipsam conscientia, accusat quod egit, damnat per poenitentiam quod accusat, fit rixa in animo, parturiens pacem cum Deo. Sic Achab, rex iniquus, a propheta reprehensus, cum contra se divinam sententiam audisset, pertimuit, et magno moerore depressus est, ita ut prophetae suo Dominus diceret: Nonne vidisti humiliatum Achab coram me? Quia igitur humiliatus est mei causa, non inducam malum in diebus ejus. In quibus Domini verbis pensandum est quomodo ei in electis suis moeror amaritudinis placeat qui amittere timent Dominum, si sic ei et in reprobo poenitentia placuit qui timebat perdere praesens saeculum? Aut quomodo ei grata sit spontanea afflictio pro culpis in eis qui placent, si haec ad tempus placuit et in illo qui displicebat? Sed sciendum quia nullus haec pro amore omnipotentis Domini ex toto corde agere praevalet, nisi is cujus animum Spiritus sanctus assumpserit. Nam quando homo ex sua virtute sufficiat terrena despicere, coelestia amare, pacem cum Deo quaerere, secum rixam subire, in cogitatione semetipsum reprehendere, et gemitibus punire? Nullus haec agere nisi quem divina gratia roboraverit valet. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia X Source: Migne PL 76.903d-905c

And I went off in bitterness, in the indignation of my spirit... 1 Consider, dearest brothers, him in whom the gifts of the Holy Spirit were given, why did he go away bitter? Is every heart that the same Spirit lifts up made bitter in the indignation of its spirit? Let it be known that to him whom the present life is sweet, even if he seem to speak the word of God, he is not an elevated and chosen preacher. The soul which the Holy Spirit fills with delight for eternal things is moved to bitterness for temporal things. For it is sweet to be among human things, but only to him who has yet to taste heavenly joys, because the less is his understanding of eternal things, so the more he has rest in temporal pleasures. But if someone shall taste with the mouth of his heart that sweetness of heavenly rewards, where choirs of angels sing, and there is the inexpressible vision of the Holy Trinity, as so much more sweet is that which he sees within, so much more he endures in bitterness everything that is without. He struggles with himself concerning those things which he has done wickedly, recollecting himself, and he is displeasing to himself, which is when he begins to please Him who created all things. He reproves himself in his thoughts, he strikes himself with words, and chastises himself amid tears, concerning his deeds. He desires supernal things, and despises all worldly things with a lofty mind. And while he does not yet have sight of that which he desires, he has the sweetness of tears, and afflicts himself with continual weeping. And because he does not yet behold that fatherland for which he was created, so there is nothing in the exile of this life which pleases because of its bitterness. He scorns to subject himself to temporal things, and he ardently sighs for eternal things. Thus rightly it is said by Solomon: 'In much wisdom there is much indignation, and he who heaps up knowledge heaps up sorrow.' 2 For knowing heavenly things, we revile subjection to worldly things. And as we begin to know more of the evil we have done, so we become angry with ourselves, and thus much wisdom makes much indignation, because the more we progress in knowledge, so we become more indignant concerning our perverse works. Sorrow grows with knowledge, because the more we know eternal things, so much more we grieve to be in this wretched exile. Or as it says in another translation: 'And he who adds to knowledge adds to toil.' 2 For as we begin to know what heavenly joys are, so the more we are able to evade the snares of our faults, weeping in the labour of it. Therefore in much wisdom there is much indignation, because if we know eternal things, we scorn to desire to temporal things. If we know eternal things, we look upon ourselves as those who have done what has separated us from the love of eternity. Conscience reproves a man, it accuses what he has done, he is condemned to penitence for what he is accused, he struggles in his soul, so that he might give birth to peace with God. So when Achab, that wicked king, was reproved by a prophet, and he heard the Divine sentence given against himself, and he was fearful and oppressed with great grief, so the Lord said to His prophet: 'Do you not see the humility of Achab before me? Therefore because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring evil in his days.' 3 In which words of the Lord let it be thought how the grief of bitterness in His chosen ones is pleasing to Him, those who fear to lose the Lord, if the penitence of one reproved has pleased Him, one who feared the loss of the world. Or how is there freely given grace to him for affliction in faults which pleases, if in one thing he has pleased for a time and in another he has displeased? But it must be known that no one can act from his whole heart for the love of almighty God unless the Holy Spirit lifts up the soul. For when has man by his own virtue been able to despise worldly things, to love heavenly things, to seek peace with God, to struggle with himself, to chastise himself in his mind, and punish himself with groans? It never happens, unless he is strengthened with Divine grace.  Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 10 1 Ezek 3.14 2 Eccle 1.18 3 3 Kings 21.29

The Spirit And The Dove

Μία ἐστὶ περιστερά μου, τελεία μου· μία ἐστὶ τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς, ἐκλεκτή ἐστι τῇ τεκούσῃ αὐτήν. Ὅπερ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ διὰ τῆς τοῦ Kυρίου φωνῆς σαφέστερον ἡμῖν ἑρμηνεύεται· πᾶσαν γὰρ τοῖς μαθηταῖς ἑαυτοῦ ἐναποτιθέμενος διὰ τῆς εὐλογίας δύναμιν τά τε ἄλλα διὰ τῶν πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα λόγων ἀγαθὰ τοῖς ἁγίοις χαρίζεται καὶ προστίθησι τῶν ἀγαθῶν τὸ κεφάλαιον, τὸ μηκέτι αὐτοὺς ἐν διαφορᾷ τινι προαιρέσεων ἐν τῇ περὶ τοῦ καλοῦ κρίσει πολλαχῇ διασχίζεσθαι, ἀλλ’ ἓν γενέσθαι τοὺς πάντας τῷ ἑνὶ καὶ μόνῳ ἀγαθῷ συμφυέντας, ὥστε διὰ τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου ἑνότητος, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, τῷ συνδέσμῳ τῆς εἰρήνης διασφιγχθέντας ἓν σῶμα γενέσθαι τοὺς πάντας καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα διὰ μιᾶς ἐλπίδος εἰς ἣν ἐκλήθησαν. βέλτιον δ’ ἂν εἴη αὐτὰς ἐπὶ λέξεως παραθέσθαι τὰς θείας τοῦ εὐαγγελίου φωνάς· Ἵνα πάντες ἓν ὦσι καθὼς σύ, Πάτερ, ἐν ἐμοὶ κἀγὼ ἐν σοί, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἡμῖν ἓν ὦσιν. Tὸ δὲ συνδετικὸν τῆς ἑνότητος ταύτης ἡ δόξα ἐστίν· δόξαν δὲ λέγεσθαι τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον οὐκ ἄν τις τῶν ἐπεσκεμμένων ἀντείποι πρὸς αὐτὰς βλέπων τὰς τοῦ Kυρίου φωνάς· Τὴν δόξαν γάρ, φησίν, ἣν ἔδωκάς μοι, ἔδωκα αὐτοῖς. Ἔδωκε γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς τοῖς μαθηταῖς τοιαύτην δόξαν ὁ εἰπὼν πρὸς αὐτούς· Λάβετε Πνεῦμα ἅγιον. Ἔλαβε δὲ ταύτην τὴν δόξαν ἣν πάντοτε εἶχε πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον εἶναι ὁ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν περιβαλόμενος, ἧς δοξασθείσης διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐπὶ πᾶν τὸ συγγενὲς ἡ τῆς δόξης τοῦ Πνεύματος διάδοσις γίνεται ἀπὸ τῶν μαθητῶν ἀρξαμένη. Διὰ τοῦτό φησι· Τὴν δόξαν, ἣν ἔδωκάς μοι, ἔδωκα αὐτοῖς, ἵνα ὦσιν ἕν, καθὼς ἡμεῖς ἕν ἐσμεν· ἐγὼ ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ σὺ ἐν ἐμοί, ἵνα ὦσι τετελειωμένοι εἰς τὸ ἕν. Ὁ τοίνυν ἐκ μὲν νηπίου πρὸς ἄνδρα τέλειον ἀναδραμὼν διὰ τῆς αὐξήσεως καὶ φθάσας εἰς τὸ μέτρον τῆς νοητῆς ἡλικίας, ἐκ δὲ τῆς δούλης τε καὶ τῆς παλλακίδος τὴν τῆς βασιλείας ἀξίαν μεταλαβών, δεκτικὸς δὲ τῆς τοῦ πνεύματος δόξης γενόμενος δι’ ἀπαθείας καὶ καθαρότητος, οὗτός ἐστιν ἡ τελεία περιστερὰ πρὸς ἣν ὁ νυμφίος ὁρᾷ λέγων ὅτι Μία ἐστὶ περιστερά μου, τελεία μου, μία ἐστὶ τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς, ἐκλεκτή ἐστι τῇ τεκούσῃ αὐτήν. Oὐκ ἀγνοοῦμεν δὲ πάντως τὴν μητέρα τῆς περιστερᾶς ἐκ τοῦ καρποῦ τὸ δένδρον γνωρίσαντες· ὡς γὰρ ἄνθρωπον θεασάμενοι ἐξ ἀνθρώπου αὐτὸν εἶναι οὐκ ἀμφιβάλλομεν, οὕτω καὶ τῆς ἐκλεκτῆς περιστερᾶς τὴν μητέρα ζητοῦντες οὐκ ἄλλην τινὰ ἐκείνην ἢ περιστερὰν ἐννοήσομεν· τῷ γὰρ τέκνῳ πάντως ἡ τοῦ γεγεννηκότος ἐπιθεωρεῖται φύσις. Ἐπεὶ οὖν τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος πνεῦμά ἐστι, περιστερὰ δὲ τὸ τέκνον, περιστερὰ πάντως καὶ ἡ τοῦ τέκνου μήτηρ ἐστίν, ἡ ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰορδάνην ἐξ οὐρανῶν καταπτᾶσα, καθὼς Ἰωάννης μαρτύρεται. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων Ὁμιλία ΙΕ’ Source: Migne PG 44.1116d-1117c

One is my dove, my perfect one, one is she for her mother, the chosen of the one who bore her. 1 The meaning of this is made clearer for us by the voice of Lord in the Gospel, for when by a blessing He conferred all power upon His disciples and also by His speech to the Father endowed those holy ones with other goods things, He also added to all these things the chief of goods, that they would never be divided among themselves by any difference in choices of judgement concerning the beautiful, but instead they would all become one by their growing together with the one and only good, so that through the unity of the Holy Spirit, being bound together in the bond of peace, they would all be one body and one spirit through the one hope to which they had been called. 2 But it would be better to set forth the Divine speech of the Gospel as it was said. 'That they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that even they may be one in us.' 3 And that which holds this unity together is glory, and that this glory speaks of the Holy Spirit no one who looks into it will deny, if one attends to the speech of the Lord, 'For the glory you have given to me, I have given to them.' 4 For He who truly gave such glory to the disciples was He who said to them , 'Receive the Holy Spirit.' 5 He who always had this glory before the world existed, He who took up human nature, and when it was glorified by the Spirit, this addition of the glory of the Spirit was passed on to all the inheritors, with the disciples as the beginning. This is why He said, 'The glory that you have given to me, I have given to them, so that they be one, even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one.' He, then, who has passed from childhood to manhood by growing to the maturity of man, and has come to the measure of the intelligible stature, who from being a slave and concubine has taken up the status of kingship and has received the glory of the Spirit by impassibility and purity, this is the perfect dove on whom the Bridegroom looks as He says, 'One is my dove, my perfect one, one is she for her mother, the chosen of the one who bore her.' And since we grasp the tree from the fruit, we are not completely ignorant of the mother of the dove, for as we do not doubt that a man whom we see is from another man, so here, if we seek who might be the mother of the chosen dove, we shall not think of her as anything else but a dove, for the nature of the one who begets is always seen in the child. Since, then, 'that which is born of the Spirit is spirit,' 6 and the child is a dove, it is certain that the mother of the child is also a dove, the dove that flew down from heaven upon the Jordan, as John gives witness. 7 Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 15 1 Song 6.9 2 Ephes 4.3-4 3 Jn 17.21 4 Jn 17.22 5 Jn 20.22 6 Jn 3.6 7 Mt 3.13-17

Fire And Oil

Propter has divisiones charismatum designatur Spiritus sanctus, nunc per ignem, nunc per oleum, nunc per vinum, nunc per aquam. Ignis est, quia semper ad diligendum accendit, quia semel eo accensus ardere, id est ardenter diligere non desistit. Ignem, inquit, veni mittere in terram et quid volo nisi ut ardeat? De hoc igne dicit Moyses: Ignis semper ardebit in altari. Et Jeremias: Factus est in corde meo quasi ignis exaestuans, claususque in ossibus meis, et defeci non sustinens. Spiritus sanctus oleum est ratione diversarum similitudinum. Natura enim olei est quod interomnes liquores superiorem locem semper tenet. Sic et gratia Spiritus sancti, qui abundantia suae pietatis merita supplicum excedit et vota, excellentior est omnibus donis et omnibus bonis. Oleum medicinale est, quia dolores mitigat, sed et Spiritus sanctus vere oleum est, quia consolator est, qui consolatur nos in omni tribulatione nostra. Oleum naturam habet immiscibilem: nam est Spiritus sanctus fons est, cui non communicat alienus. Oleum aquis omnibus superfertur; nam et Spiritus sanctus ferebatur super aquas. Anteqam Petrus accepisset Spiritum sanctum, erat caro ejus infirma, ad novem ancillae times et negans;sed postquam indutus est virtute ex alto, et unxit eum oleo Deus misericordiae suae, immutata est caro propter oleum, atque, juxta verum Isaiae, datum est ei oleum gaudii pro luctu, et pallium laudis pro spiritu moeroris. Hoc est oleum laetitiae, quo Christus unctus est prae participibus suis, abundanter et super effluenter infusum est oleum capiti nostro, id est Christo; unguentum vero quod erat in capite descnedit non solum in barbam, sed etiam in oram vestimenti. Haec est unctio de qua Joannes in canonica Epistola loquens, ait: Unctio quam acceptistis a Deo, maneat in vobis. Et non erit vobis necesse ut quis vos doceat, quia unctio ejus docebit vos de omnibus. Habemus itaque quia Spiritus sanctus nunc per ignem, nunc per oleum designatur. Bis enim est datus Spiritus sanctus apostolis: prius ante passionem, secundo post resurrectionem. Nam et David bis unctus fuisse legitur, et in veste sacerdotali coccus bis tinctus apponebatur. Vide quanta est ardoris materia in apostolis: non sufficit oleum infundere, nisi oleum calefiat; non sufficit ignem apponere, nisi ignis olei infusione accendatur. Hoc igne ardentes discipuli, ibant gaudentes a conspectu concilii, in tribulationibus gloriantes. Unde et vox Principis apostolorum haec erat: Si pro Christo patimini, beati. Non solum, inquit, datum est vobis ut credatis in ipsum, sed ut patiamini pro ipso. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XXV, In Die Pentecostes Source: Migne PL 207.636a-c

On account of the difference of gifts the Holy Spirit is signified now through fire, now through oil, now through wine, now through water. He is fire because He inflames with love, and because once inflamed to love by Him, one does not cease to love ardently. He said, 'I have come to place fire on the earth and what do I wish unless that it blaze up?' 1 Concerning this fire Moses says: 'Fire shall always burn on the altar.' 2 And Jeremiah: 'In my heart there was something like a fire blazing up, and it was enclosed in my bones, and I struggled to bear it.' 3 The Holy Spirit is oil by the diversity of its likenesses. For it is of the nature of oil that among all liquids it excels in maintaining its place. So the grace of the Holy Spirit, who by the abundance of his piety exceeeds the merits and vows of prayer, is more excellent than every gift and every good. Oil is medicinal, because is lessens pains, but the Holy Spirit is the true oil because He is the Paraclete who consoles us in all our tribulations. 4 It is of the nature of oil to be unmixable, for even the Holy Spirit is a fount which does not communicate with strangers. And oil floats on water, and the Holy Spirit was borne above the waters. 5 Before Peter received the Holy Spirit, his flesh was weak and he was troubled by the voice of the handmaid and he made his denials, but after he was imbued with virtue from on high and anointed with the oil of the mercy of God, his flesh was changed by oil, 6 and, according to the word of Isaiah, there was given to him 'an oil of joy for sorrow, and a covering of praise for a spirit of grief.' 7 This is the oil of joy, by which Christ is anointed above His fellows, 8 and this is poured out abundantly and with excessive flow on our head who is Christ, an oil which does not only run down the head, but even the beard, and even to the edges of the vestment. 9 This is the anointing concerning which John says in his letter: 'May the anointing which you received from God remain in you. And it shall not be necessary that someone teach you, because His anointing shall teach you everything.' 10 Thus we have it that the Holy Spirit is signified now through fire, and now through oil. For the Holy Spirit was given to the Apostles twice, first before the Passion, and secondly after the Resurrection. Even David is said to have been anointed twice, and the sacredotal vestment was twice anointed with scarlet. 11 See how great the fuel of love was in the Apostles. It is not enough to pour on oil unless the oil gives heat. It is not enough to apply fire unless by the infusion of oil it blazes up. Blazing with this fire the disciples went rejoicing from the sight of the counsel, glorying in tribulation. 12 Whence even the voice of the prince of Apostles said: 'If you suffer for Christ you are blessed.' 13 And it says: 'Not only has it been given to you to believe in Him, but to suffer for Him.' 14 Peter of Blois, from Sermon 35, On the Feast Of Pentecost 1 Lk 12.49 2 Levit 6.12 3 Jerem 20.9 4 2 Cor 1.3-4 5 Gen 1.2 6 Ps 108.24 7 Isaiah 61.3 8 Ps 44.8 9 Ps 132.2 10 1 Jn 2.27 11 1 Kings 16,13, 2 Kings 5.3, Exod 28.33 12 Acts 5.41 13 1 Pet 3.14 14 Phil 1.29

Prayer And The Spirit

Similiter autem et spiritus adjuvat infirmitatem nostrae orationis... Quoniam superius ingemiscere nos, et precari liberationem memoravit, et in dolore positi, aut quae longe futura dicta sunt, mox fieri volumus, aut cito tolli, per quae ad meritum perveniamus; et videmur imbecilla oratione precari, dum illi denegatur effectus. Infirma est enim, qui contra rationem postulat: ac per hoc infirmitatem hanc a sancto Spiritu dato nobis adjuvari ostendit. Adjuvat autem, quia quae aut ante petuntur, quam peti debeant, aut sunt contraria, non sinit fieri. ...Nam quid oremus sicut oportet, nescimus... Infirmitatem orationis nostrae ignorantiam significare declaravit; fallimur enim putantes prodesse quae poscimus, cum non prosint. Denique eidem Apostolo tertio deprecanti, ut tentationes ab eo cessarent, quia crebrae erant, dictum a Domino est: Sufficit tibi gratia mea; nam virtus in infirmitate perficitur, id est, sic meritum quis collocat, dum in tribulationibus patiens invenitur. Didicit ergo contra se esse quod petebat. Est et aliquando superba et stulta petitio, sicut fuit duorum apostolorum Jacobi et Joannis, quibus incongrua et immensa petentibus dictum est: Nescitis quid petatis. Sed ipse Spiritus postulat pro nobis gemitibus inenarrabilibus. Non humanis eloquiis postulare pro nobis dicitur Spiritus Domini, sed more naturae suae. Cum enim quod de Deo est, Deo loquitur; eo more loquatur necesse est, quo ille loquitur, de quo est. Nemo enim cum cive suo alia lingua loquitur. Superfundit enim se precibus nostris Spiritus datus nobis; ut imperitiam, et improvidentiam nostram motu suo operiat; et illa nobis a Deo petat, quae prosint nobis. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Romanos, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 17.126d-127b

Likewise the Spirit helps us in the weakness of our prayer... 1 Because he mentioned above that we groan and pray for deliverance 2 and set in sorrow either desire that which is far off in the future should soon happen, or to be quickly taken away, which we shall come to by merit, so while the outcome is denied we appear to pray with a weak prayer. And it is weak because it asks for what is contrary to reason, and because of this he shows that this weakness is helped by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. But He helps because He does not allow us to ask for anything before the proper time, or for anything inappropriate. ...For we do not know what we should pray for... He declares that the weakness of our prayer signifies ignorance, for we err in thinking that the things we ask for will benefit us, but they do not. For when this same Apostle prayed three times that his trials might pass from him, because they were happening so often, the Lord said: 'My grace is enough for you, virtue is made perfect in weakness.' 3 That is, a man will gain merit when he is found to be patient in tribulation. Therefore he teaches that what he was asking for was opposed to him. And sometimes a petition can be arrogant and foolish, like the one made by the two Apostles James and John, whose inappropriate and weighty entreaties were answered: 'You do not know for what you ask.' 4 ...But the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. He says that the Spirit of the Lord does not intercede for us with human speech but according to the manner of His own nature. For when what is from God speaks to God, it is necessary that He will speak in the same way as the One from whom He is. No one speaks in another tongue to a compatriot. And the Spirit given to us overflows with our prayers, so that He might cover our ignorance and lack of forethought by His action, and ask for us from God the things that will be of benefit to us. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Letter of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 8 1 Rom 8.26 2 Rom 8.23 3 2 Cor 12.7-9 4 Mt 20.22

Empty Or Full

Οὐκ ὀφθήσῃ ἐνώπιόν μου κενός. Ἴσθι ὅτι πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ἢ κενὸς ἐστὶν, ἢ πλήρης· εἰ μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἔχει ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, οὐκ ἔχει γνῶσιν τοῦ κτίσαντος, οὐ παρεδέξατο τὴν ζωὴν Ἰησοῦν τὸν Χριστὸν· εἰ οὐκ οἶδε τὸν Πατέρα τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· εἰ οὐ βιοῖ κατὰ τὸν λόγον, κατὰ νόμον τὸν οὐράνιον, οὐ σωφρονεῖ, οὐ δικαιοπραγεῖ· ὁ τοιοῦτος κενός ἐστιν· εἰ δὲ κεχώρηκε τὸν εἰπόντα Θεὸν, ἐνοικήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσω, καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτοῖς Θεὸς, οὗτος οὐκ ἔστι κενὸς, ἀλλὰ πλήρης. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Την Ἐξοδον Source: Migne PG 12.296c

You shall not appear empty before me. 1 Know that every man is either empty or full. For if he does not have the Holy Spirit, he does not have the knowledge of the Creator, he does not receive the living Jesus Christ. If he does not know the Father who is in heaven, if he does not live according to the Word, according to the heavenly law, he is not wise, he is not righteous, he is a man who is empty. But if he has the God who says: 'I shall dwell and walk among them and I shall be their God,' 2 he is not empty but full. Origen, On Exodus, Fragment 1 Exod 23.15 2 Levit 26.12,2 Cor 6.16

One Spirit Or Another

Ερωτ ΛΗ’ Πῶς νοητέον τὸ, Πνεῦμα πονηρὸν παρὰ Κυρίον ἔπνιγε τὸν Σαούλ; Τοῦ θείου Πνευματος ἀποστάντος, χώραν ἔλαβε τὸ παμπόνηρον πνεῦμα. Διδασκόμεθα δὲ ἐντεῦθεν μετὰ τοῦ Δαβὶδ βοᾷν· Τὸ Πνεῦμά σου τὸ ἅγιον μὴ ἀντανέλῃς ἀπ' ἐμου. Οὕτω τῆς ἀποστολικῆς χάριοτς τὸν Ἰούδαν καταλιπούσης, εἰσελήλυθεν εἰς αὐτὸν ὁ διάβολος. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Εἰς Τὴν Πρωτην Τῶν Βασιλειων Source: Migne PG 80.564d

Question 38 How should it be understood that 'An evil spirit from the Lord troubled Saul' 1 When the divine Spirit has withdrawn, the wicked spirit takes its place. Which we are taught when David cries out: 'Do not take your Holy Spirit from me.' 2 Likewise the devil entered into Judas when the Apostolic grace left him. 3 Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Questions On The First Book Of Kings 1 1 Kings 16.14 2 Ps 50.11 3 Jn 13.27

Wisdom And Counsel

Quid est: Ne innitaris sapientiae tuae?Quis enim innititur sapientiae suae? Ille qui sua sapientia, aut suis viribus confidit se posse implere divina mandata Ecce iterum dicit: Ne sis sapiens apud temetispsum. Quis enim sapiens apud semetipsum? Ille certe qui se prae caeteris extollit, quasi doctior, et jactat de his quae ex dictis Patrum recete cognoscere et intelligere potuit. Quae est vera sapientia? Dominum timere, et recedere a malo. Unde scis quod haec sit vera sapientia hominis? Quia in libro Job scriptum est: Ecce timor Domini, ipse est sapientia; et recedere a malo, intelligentia. Quis est homo ille de quo Salomon ait: Beatus homo invenit sapientiam? Qui doctrinam veritatis, id est Evangelli, aure corporis simul et cordis percipit, et in Scripturis sacris Domini voluntatem studet cognoscere. Quando affluit prudentia? Quando cum magno amore et sui cordis delectatione audit praecepta divina, et opere studet implere. Quid est quod ait: Viae ejus viae pulchrae et omnes semitae illius pacificae? Quae sunt istae semitae, aut quae sunt hae viae ipsius? Viae sapientiae sunt actiones Domini, quas gessit in carne, sive doctinae ipsius quae continentur in libris Evangeliorum; quae viae pulchrae sunt, quia divinae. Semitae sapientiae sunt mandata et praecepta Domini: quae semitae recte dicuntur pacificae, quia omnia praecepta Domini ad pacem aeternam perducunt. De qua lege, aut de quo consilio dicit Salomon, cum ait: Custodi legem meam atque consilium meum? De lege et consilio sapientiae Domini nostri Jesu Christi, quae est lex sapientiae, quae dicit: Si vis in gredi ad vitam, serva mandata: id est Non occides, Non moechaberis, Non furtum facies etc. Quid est quod ait: Abominatio Domini est omnis illusor? Quis est illusor? Qui verba Dei, quae cognoscit, implere contemnit. Illusor est haereticus, qui verba Dei perverse intelligendo et docendo corrumpit. Et ille est illusor, qui magna Dei promissa quasi parva despicit, et poenam aeternae damnationis quasi tolerabilem spernit. Iterum: Illusor est, qui suos proximos simplices et pauperes insultando contemnit. Omnes hos tales abominatur Dominus, et cum simplicibus est sermocinatio eius, quia illos gratia coelestis sapientiae illuminat, qui se nihil duplicitatis habent. Honorius Augustodunensis, Quaestiones Et Ad Easdem Responsiones In Duos Salomonis Libros, In Proverbia, Caput III Source: Migne PL 172.319a-b

What is 'Do not depend on your own wisdom?' 1 Who depends on his own wisdom? He who is confident that his own wisdom or ability is able to fulfill the Divine commandments. Behold, again he says, 'Do not be wise in your own eyes.' 2 Who is wise in his own eyes? Certainly he who exalts himself over others as one who is more learned, and who boasts about those things rightly said by the fathers which he knows and understands. What is true wisdom? To be in awe of the Lord, and to withdraw from evil. How do you know that this is the true wisdom of man? Because in the book of Job it is written: 'Behold the awe of the Lord, this is wisdom, and to withdraw from evil is understanding.' 3 Who is that man of whom Solomon says: 'Blessed is the man who finds wisdom.' ? 4 He who receives the teaching of truth, that is, the Gospels, both in the ear of the body and in the heart, and is eager to know the meaning of the Holy Scriptures of the Lord. When does 'prudence flourish' ? 4 When with great love and joy in his heart a man hears the Divine commands, and he is zealous to fulfill their works. Why is it said: 'Her ways are the ways of beauty and all her paths are peace?' 5 What are these paths, or what are these ways? The ways of wisdom are the deeds of the Lord which He performed in the flesh, or His teachings which are containted in the books of the Evangelists, which ways are beautiful because they are Divine. The paths of wisdom are the commands and precepts of the Lord, which paths are rightly named peaceful, because every command of the Lord leads to eternal peace. About what law or about what counsel does Solomon speak when he says, 'Keep my law and my counsel.' ? 6 About the law and counsel of the wisdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the law of wisdom, and which says: 'If you wish to enter into the way, keep the commandments; that is, do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal etc.' 7 What is 'An abomination to the Lord is everyone who mocks.' Who is a mocker? 8 He is one who knows the words of God and scorns the fulfillment of them. The mocker is the heretic who corrupts the the words of God by a perverse understanding and teaching. And he is a mocker who looks down on the great promises of God as trivial things and the punishment of eternal damnation as something tolerable. Again, he is a mocker who with insults scorns his simple neighbours and the poor. All such men are an abomination to the Lord, 'and His conversation is with the simple,' 8 because the latter are illuminated with the grace of heavenly wisdom in which there is no deceit. Honorius of Autun, Questions and Answers on Two Books of Solomon, On Proverbs, Chapter 3 1 Prov 3.5 2 Prov 3.7 3 Job 27.28 4 Prov 3.13 5 Prov 3.17 6 Prov 3.21 7 Mt 19.17 8 Prov 3.32

Basic Learning

Commendi sunt fideles ut generaliter omnes, a minimo usque ad maximum, orationem Dominicam et symbolum discant; et dicendum eis, quod in his duabas sententiis omne fidei Christianae fundamentum incumbit, et nisi quis has duas sententias et memoriter tenuerit, et ex toto corde crediderit, et in oratione saepissime frequentaverit, catholicus esse non poterit. Constitutum namque est ut nullus chrismetur, neque baptizetur, neque a lavacro fontis illius suscipiatur, neque coram episcopo ad confirmandum quemlibet teneat, nisi symbolum et orationem Dominicam memoriter tenuerit, exceptis his quos ad loquendum aetas minime perduxit. Theodulfus Aurelianensis, Capitula ad Presbyteros Parochiae Suae, Capitula XXII Source: Migne PL 105.198a-b

The faithful are to be exhorted, that is, all in general, from the least to the greatest, that they should learn the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed, and let it be told to them that in these two works is found the complete foundation of the Christian faith, and unless someone commits these two works to his memory, and believes them with his whole heart, and frequently takes to them in prayer, he cannot be a Catholic. For it is established that no one is to be anointed, nor baptised, nor shall he receive cleansing from the font, nor shall anyone be allowed confirmation by the Bishop, unless he holds in his memory the Apostles' Creed and the Our Father, excepting those whose age utterly precludes the articulation of them. Theodulf of Orleans, Chapters For His Local Priests, Chapter 22

Fufilment

Sicut ergo nemo est credentium, dilectissimi, cui dona neganda sint gratiae, ita nemo est qui non sit Christianae debitor disciplinae: quai etsi remota est mysticae legis asperitas, voluntariae tamen observantiae crevit utilitas, dicente evangelista Joanne: Quia lex per Mosen data est, gratia autem et veritas per Jesum Christum est. Omnia enim quae secundum legem, sive in circumcisione carnis, sive in diversitatibus hostiarum, sive in sabbati observantia praecesserunt, Christum testificata, Christi sunt gratiam praelocuta. Et ipse est finis legis, non evacundo significationes ipsius, sed implendo. Qui licet idem sit autor veterum qui novorum, figuratarum tamen promissionum sacramenta mutavit, quia promissa perfecti, et denuntiatonibus cessationem imposuit, quoniam denuntiationibus advenit. In praeceptis autem moralibus nulla prioris Testamenti decreta reprobata, sed evangelico magisterio multa sunt aucta: ut perfectiora et lucidiora essent dantia salutem quam promittentia Salvatorem. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo LXIII, De Passioni Domini XII Source: Migne PL 54.356a-b

As therefore there is no one faithful, most beloved, to whom the gifts of grace are denied, so there is no one who is not a debtor in the matter of Christian discipline, because even if the severity of the mystic Law has been put aside, yet the usefulness of its voluntary observance have grown, as the evangelist John says, 'Because the Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth through Jesus Christ.' 1 For everything according to the Law which preceded, whether in the circumcision of the flesh, or in the multitude of sacrifices, or in the keeping of the Sabbath, bore witness to Christ, and foretold the grace of Christ. And He is the end of the Law, 2 not annulling its meanings, but fulfilling them. For although He is the author of both the Old and of the New, yet He changed the figurative rituals of the promises, because He fulfilled the promises and ended their announcements, since the one who they announced came. But as for the moral precepts, no decrees of the previous Testament are rejected, but many are amplified by the teaching of the Gospel, so that the things which give salvation are more perfect and clearer than those which promised a Saviour. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 63, On The Passion of the Lord 1 Jn 1.17 2 Rom 10.4