The Sabbath

Τοῦτο τὸ ῥημα ὄ ἐλάλησε Κύριος· Σάββατα, ἀνάπαυσις ἁγία τῷ Κυρίῷ αὕριον. Ἀπογράφομαι τὰ περὶ τοῦ σαββάτου εἰρημένα· πρῶτον κατὰ το ῥητὸν, ἵν' ἴδωσι τί σημαίνει τὸ γράμμα· δεύτερον δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἀναγωγὴν, καθ' ἤν εἴποιμι ἂν ἡμέραν σαββάτου ἑνεστηκέναι τῷ δικαίῳ καταλύσαντι τὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἔργα, καὶ δοξάζοντι τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ σχολάζοντι, μήτε τοῦ τόπου ἐν ᾦ ἔστηκε τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἀφισταμένῳ· μήτε πῦρ καίοντι, κατὰ τὸ μηδὲν ἁμαρτάνειν· μήτε βαστάγματα αἴροντι. Βάσταγμα ὄρους βαρύτερον πᾶσα ἁμαρτία· διὸ ἔλεγεν ὁ Ὑμνῳδὸς· Ὠσεὶ φορτίον βαρὺ ἐβαρύνθησαν ἐπ' ἐμέ. Ἑτέρα δὲ ἀπογραφὴ ἂν εἴη σαββάτου, καθ' ἤν ἀπολείπεται σαββατισμὸς τῷ λαῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀνάπαυσις ἱερὰ καὶ ἁγία. Ὁ δὲ ποιήσας πάντα τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ, ἄξιος κρίνεται ἐκείνου τοῦ Σαββάτου· σχολάζων οὐδενὶ ἢ τῇ θεωρίᾳ της αληθείας, καὶ τῆς σοφίας. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Την Ἐξοδον Source: Migne PG 12.289a-b

This is the word the Lord spoke, 'Tomorrow is the Sabbath, the rest holy to the Lord.' 1 I shall expound what is said concerning the Sabbath first according to the plain word, so that what the letter means shall be apparent, and then according to the spiritual understanding, according to which I may say that the Sabbath day is fitting for the righteous man to make an end of the works of the world, and to glorify God, and to be at peace, and not to withdraw from the place in which he stands, which is obviously Christ, nor does he kindle the fire of sin, nor does he carry burdens. Heavier than the weight of a mountain is every sin, as the Psalmist said: 'As a burden weighing greatly upon me.' 2 Another exposition of the Sabbath is that 'there remains a Sabbath for the people of God,' 3 which is sacred and holy rest. And he who has performed all his work is judged worthy of this Sabbath, having leisure for nothing else but the contemplation of truth and wisdom. Origen, On Exodus, Fragment 1 Exod 16.23 2 Ps 37.5 3 Heb 4.9

Souls And Enrichment

Quid est quod ait: Anima quae benedicit, impinguabitur: et quae inebriat, ipsa quoque inerbriatur? Plures namque sunt qui inebriant alios, sed ipsi non inebriantur; non dicit hoc corporali ebrietate, sed de spiritali: Anima ergo quae benedicit, impinguabitur, quia quicunque exterius praedicando benedicit, spiritalem pinguedinem accipit, id est spiritali gratia augetur et crescit. Similiter qui sacro eloquio mentes subditorum studet inebriare, inebriabitur et ipse, quia sancti Spiritus gratia repletur. Quare non dixit, homo, sed, anima quae benedicit, impinguabitur? In Scripturis divinis saepius poni solet pars pro toto, id est anima pro toto homine. Totum vero ponitur etiam pro parte, ut illud: Tulerunt Dominum meum. Dominum dixit, pro corpore Domini. Honorius Augustodunensis, Quaestiones Et Ad Easdem Responsiones In Duos Salomonis Libros, In Proverbia, Caput XI Source: Migne PL 172.318c

Why is it said: 'The soul which blesses shall be enriched, and that which intoxicates shall also be made drunk?' 1 For there are many who intoxicate others, but they are not intoxicated. This does speak of corporeal ebriety but of spiritual matters. Therefore the soul which blesses shall be enriched because whoever it blesses outside in preaching, it receives spiritual enrichment, that is, an increase and growth of spiritual grace. Similarly he who strives to intoxicate the minds of those who hear with sacred speech, even he shall be made drunk, because he is filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit. Why did it not say 'a man' but 'a soul' which blesses is enriched? It is often the habit of Divine Scripture to give a part for the whole, that is, the soul for the whole man. But the whole may also be given for a part, as in 'They have taken my Lord away,' 2 for she says 'The Lord' for the body of the Lord. Honorius of Autun, Questions and Answers on Two Books of Solomon, On Proverbs, Chapter 11 1 Prov 11.25 2 Jn 20.13

Wonder And Teaching

Et mirabantur Judaei... Hic tangitur secundum, scilicet Judaeorum admiratio. Ratio admirationis erat, sicut dicit Augustinus, quod nunquam viderant eum literas dicentem, audiebant autem de lege disputantem; propter quod dicitur: Et mirabuntur Judaei dicentes: Quomodo hic literas scit, cum non didicerit? Unde poterat Dominus dicere illud Prov. trigesimo: Sapientiam non didici, et novi scientiam Sanctorum. Luc. secundo: Stupebant autem omnes, qui eum audiebant, super prudentia et responsis ejus. Respondit eis Jesus, et dixit: Mea doctrina... Hic ponitur tertium, scilicet Christi responsio, qua admirationi eroum satisfacit, ostendens se non habere scientiam per acquisitionem, sicut habent alii homines; sed a sua origine, propter quod dicit: Mea doctrina, scilicet quam doceo, non est mea, id est, a me, vel ad meam gloriam, vel a me acquisita, sed ejus, qui misit me, id est, a Patre, qui misit me; omnia enim, quae habet Filius, a Patre accipit, supra quinto: Non potest Filius a se facere quidquam, nisi quod viderit Patrem facientem, ita nec docere quemquam. Et quia haec responsio manifesta non est nisi his, qui recte audiunt, et hi sunt qui audiunt, ut faciant, propterea dicit: Si quis voluerit voluntatem ejus, scilicet Dei Patris, facere, cognscet de doctrina, utrum ex Deo fit, an ego a me ipso loquar; quia aliter nec me, nec doctrinam meam potest cognoscere vere. Ideo dicitur primae Joan. secundo: Qui dicit se Deum nosse, et mandata ejus non custodit, mendax est, et in hoc veritas non est. Et sic doctrine Christi est commendabilis ab origine. Est etiam commendabilis a fine in hoc quod in docendo non quaerit gloriam propriam. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput VII Source: Here, p717-718

And the Jews were amazed... 1 Here he touches on the second part, that is, the wonder of the Jews. The reason for the amazement was, as Augustine says, that they had never seen anyone teach Him, but then they heard him disputing on the Law, 2 on account of which it is said: 'And the Jews were amazed, saying, 'How does this man have his learning when He was not taught?' Whence the Lord could have spoken that passage in the thirtieth chapter of Proverbs: 'I knew no learning and I had the knowledge of the holy.' 3 And in the second chapter of Luke: 'All who heard Him were astonished at His wisdom and His replies.' 4 Jesus answered them, saying, 'My teaching...' Here he sets down the third part, that is the reply of Christ, which stirs up their wonder, showing Him not to have knowledge by acquisition, as other men have, but from His origin, on account of which He says: 'My teaching,' that is, what I teach, 'is not my own,' that is, from me, or for my own glory, or acquired by me, 'but it is of Him who sent me,' that is, the Father, who sent me. For everything which the Son has, He has received from the Father, as in chapter five of this Gospel: 'The Son is not able to do anything of Himself, unless what He sees the Father doing,' 5 and thus not to teach anything. And because this answer was not given for anyone but those who hear rightly,  those who hear that they might do, because of this He says: 'If someone would do His will,' That is, of God The Father, 'he will know if this teaching is from God, or if I speak from myself.' Because otherwise neither me nor my teaching can be truly known. Therefore it is said in the second chapter of the first letter of John: 'He who says he knows God and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.' 6 And thus the teaching of Christ is commendable by its origin, and again it is commendable by its end, in that in teaching He does not seek His own glory. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 7 1 Jn 7.15 2 August Tract On John 29.2 3 Prov 30.3, but here the Vulgate rather asserts ignorance of the knowledge of the holy, and the Hebrew the same. The Septuagint has God teaching him learning and knowledge of the holy. 4 Lk 2.47 5 Jn 5.19 6 1 Jn 2.4

The Scattered And The Shepherd

In omnem montem, et in omnem collem, et in omnem faciem terrae dispersae sunt. Quid est: In omnem faciem terrae dispersae sunt? Omnia terrena sectantes, ea quae in faciem terrae lucent, ipsa amant, ipsa diligunt. Nolunt mori, ut abscondatur vita eorum in Christo. Super omnem faciem terrae, dilectione terrenorum, et quia errantes oves sunt per totam faciem terrae. Non omnes haeretici per totam faciem terrae, sed tamen haeretici per totam faciem terrae. Alii hic, alii ibi, nusquam tamen desunt. Ipsi se non norunt: alia secta in Africa, alia haeresis in Oriente, alia in Aegypto, alia in Mesopotamia, verbi gratia. Diversis locis sunt diversae: sed ea una mater superbia omnes peperit sicut una mater nostra catholica omnes christianos fideles toto orbe diffusos. Non ergo mirum, si superbia parit discissionem, caritas unitatem. Tamen ipsa catholica mater, ipse pastor in ea ubique quaerit errantes, confortat infirmos, curat languidos, alligat confractos, alios ab istis, alios ab illis non se invicem scientibus. Sed tamen illa omnes novit, quia cum omnibus fusa est. Verbi gratia, est in Africa pars Donati, Eunomiani non sunt in Africa, sed cum parte Donati est hic Catholica. Sunt in Oriente Eunomiani, ibi autem non est pars Donati, sed cum Eunomianis ibi est Catholica. Illa sic est tamquam vitis, crescendo ubique diffusa; illi sic sunt tamquam sarmenta inutilia, agricolae falce praecisa merito sterilitatis suae, ut vitis putaretur, non ut amputaretur. Sarmenta ergo illa ubi praecisa sunt, ibi remanserunt. Vitis autem crescens per omnia, et sarmenta sua novit quae in illa manserunt, et iuxta se quae de illa praecisa sunt. Inde tamen revocat errantes, quia et de ramis fractis dicit Apostolus: Potens est enim Deus iterum inserere illos. Sive dicas oves errantes a grege, sive dicas ligna praecisa de vite, nec ad revocandas oves, nec rursus ad inserenda ligna minus idoneus est Deus, quia ille summus pastor, ille verus agricola. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, De Ovibus, Sermo XLVI, De Pastoribus In Ezekial XXXIV Source: Migne PL 38.280-1

'They were scattered over every mountain and over every hill, and over the whole face of the earth.' 1 What is this, that they were scattered over the whole face of the earth? It is the pursuit of all the earthly things that shine on the face of the earth, and the loving of them and the cherishing of them. They do not want to die so that their life may be hidden with Christ. Over every land of the world, because of their love of earthly things, they are sheep straying all over the face of the earth. Not every type of heretic is to be found all over the face of the earth, and yet heretics are to be found all over the face of the earth. Some here, others there, nowhere is spared. They do not know each other. For example one heresy is in Africa, another in the East, another in Egypt, another in Mesopotamia. Different ones in different places, but one mother, pride, gave birth to them all, just as our one Catholic mother bore all the faithful Christians spread out through the whole world. And it is not to be wondered that pride gives birth to division, and charity to unity. Yet this Catholic mother, this shepherd in her, everywhere seeks those who stray, she strengthens the weak, cares for the sick, binds up the broken, some from this group, others from that group, those who do not know each other. But she knows them all because she is poured out among all of them. There is the party of Donatus in Africa, for example, but there are no Eunomians in Africa, and yet there with the party of Donatus is the Catholic Church. There are the Eunomians is the east, but no party of Donatus there, yet the Catholic Church is there with the Eunomians. It is like a vine which has spread everywhere by growing, but they are like useless twigs cut off by the farmer's sickle because of their sterility, so that the vine be pruned, but not cut down altogether. So where those twigs have been cut off, there they have remained. But the vine that grows everywhere knows both its branches that have remained with it and those that have been cut off. But it calls back those who stray, because concerning broken branches the Apostle says, 'For God has the power to graft them in again.' 2 Whether you call them sheep straying from the flock, or you call them branches cut from the vine, God does not lack the capability of calling back the sheep and grafting in the branches again, because He is the chief shepherd, he is the true farmer. 3 Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 46, On The Shepherds in Ezekial 34 1 Ezek 34.6 2 Rom 11.23 3 Jn 15.1

The Earth Of The Meek

Beati mites, quoniam ipsi possidebunt terram Hieronymus: Non terram Judaeae, nec terram istius mundi, nec terra maledictam spinas et tribulos afferentem, quam crudelissimus quisque et bellator magis possidet, sed terram quam Psalmista desiderat, dicens: Credo videre bona Domini in terra viventium. Hujuscemodi possessor, et post victorim triumphator etiam in quadragesimo quarto psalmo describitur: Et intente, prospere procede, et regna propter veritatem, et mansuetudinem, et justitiam. Nemo enim terram istam per mansuetudinem, sed per superbiam possidet. Augustinus: Significat enim quamdam soliditatem et stabilitatem haereditatis perpetuae, ubi anima per bonum affectum, tanquam loco suo requiescit, sicut corpus in terra; et inde cibo suo alitur, sicut corpus ex terra: ipsa est requies et vita sanctorum. Mites autem sunt qui cedunt improbitatibus, et non resistunt malo, sed vincunt in bono malum. Rixentur ergo immites, et dimicent pro terrenis et temporalibus rebus: Beati autem mites quoniam ipsi haereditate possidebunt terram, de qua evelli non possint.  Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Matthaeum, Liber II, Cap V Source: Migne PL 107.795b-d

Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth. 1 Jerome: 2 This is not the earth of Judea, not the earth of this world, not the cursed earth that bears thorns and thistles, 3 which the most cruel warmonger delights to possess, but the land which the Psalmist desires, saying, 'I believe I will see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.' 4 This possessor triumphant after victory is described in the fourty fourth Psalm: 'And look, and go forth prosperously and reign on account of truth and meekness and righteousness.' 5 For none possess this earth because of meekness but because of pride. Augustine: 6 This signifies a certain firmness and stability of the perpetual inheritance, where the soul though its good disposition rests as in its own place, just as the body rests on the earth, and it is nourished from there with its own food, as the body is from the earth. This is the rest and life of the saints. But the meek are those here who give way to wickedness and do not resist the evil man, 7 but overcome evil with good. 8 Let those, then, who are not meek dispute and fight for earthly and temporal things, but 'blessed are the meek,' for by inheritance they shall possess the earth, from which they will not be able to be uprooted. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 5 1 Mt 5.4 2 Jerome Com Mat, chap 5 3 Gen 3.18 4 Ps 26.13 5 Ps 44.5 6 Augustine, Our Lord’s Sermon On the Mount 2 7 Mt 5.39 8 Rom 12.21

Evil And Resistance

Ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν μὴ ἀντιστῆναι τῷ πονηρῷ: ἀλλ' ὅστις σε ῥαπίζει εἰς τὴν δεξιὰν σιαγόνα, σου στρέψον αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν ἄλλην. Πονηρὸν ἐνταυθα τὸν διάβολον λέγει, τὸν διὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐνεργοῦντα. Οὐ δεῖ οὖν ἀντίστασθαι τῷ διαβόλῳ; ναί· ἀλλ' οὐχὶ διὰ τοῦ αντιπλήττειν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦ ὑπομένειν. Οὐ γὰρ πυρὶ σβέννυται πῦρ, ἀλλ' ὕδατι. Μὴ νόμιζε δὲ ὅτι περὶ τῆς εἰς τὴν σιαγόνα πληγῆς λέγει μόνης, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ πάσης ἄλλης καὶ παντὸς ἁπλῶς δεινοῦ. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον , Κεφ Ε' Source: Migne PG 123.200c

But I say to you, do not resist the evil man. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other one towards him also. 1 He calls the devil the evil man here, he who works through men, Should we not resist the devil? Yes, yet not by returning blows but by enduring. Fire is not put out with fire, but with water. And do not think this is said only of blows upon the cheek, for it concerns every other evil that may be inflicted. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.39

Prayer And Gain

Servavi mandata tua et testimonia tua, quia omnes viae meae in conspectu tuo, Domine. Servat autem praecepta et testimonia, qui vias Dei incedit, nec quidquam in actu vel cogitatu agit, quod divine contemplatione habeatur indignum. Appropinquet oratio mea in conspectu tuo, Domine, juxta eloquium tuum da mihi intellectum. Proximam tibi fieri orationem meam deprecor, Domine, ut a te intellectum capiens, nil aliud nisi quod oportet exorem. Inret oratio mea in conspectu tuo, Domine, secundum eloquium tuum eripe me. Gradatim ascendit sancta petitio nostra: qui ante dixit: Appropinquet, nunc dicit intret. Prius fuerat, ut appropinquaret, deinde ut in conspectum Domini intrare posset. Et superius dixit, secundum eloquium tuum da mihi intellectum, hic dicit, secundum eloquium tuum eripe me, ut et ibi superna videat, quae desideat, et hic aeternae concupiscentiae labe purgetur. Alcuinus, Expositio In Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 100.618c-d

I have kept your commandments and testimonies, because all my ways are in your sight, O Lord. 1 He guards the commandments and testimonies who walks on the ways of God, neither in deed nor in thought having anything that is unworthy of Divine contemplation. May my prayer come near your sight, O Lord, according to your word give me understanding... I entreat that my prayer might come near to you, O Lord, so that gaining understanding from you, I obtain nothing else but what I should. May my prayer enter into your sight, O Lord, according to your word seize me. Gradually our holy petition ascends, he who before said, 'May it come near' now says 'may it enter.' Before it was, 'may it come near,' now it is possible to enter into the sight of the Lord. And previously he said, 'according to your word give me understanding,' now he says here 'according to your word seize me,' so that even there he might see the supernal things which he desires, and here be purged of fault by eternal longings. Alcuin of York, from the Commentary on Psalm 118 1. Ps 118.168

Hate And Wickedness

Contempta autem saecularium opum cupiditate, omnem a se occasionem perversae et pravae voluntatis recidit. Diligens enim super aurum et topazion mandata Dei, dehinc ait, Propter hoc ad omnia mandata tua dirigebar, omnem viam iniquam odio habui. Non deflectitur, non detorquetur per terrenas cupiditates, sed ad omnia Dei mandata dirigitur: non occupant obvia. Vidit aurum, scivit hoc terrae limum esse: vidit gemmas, meminit esse aut montium aut maris calculos: vidit illicem ad lasciviam vultum, scit tamquam avibus coeli ex his sibi laqueis evadendum. Resistit ergo coalitis sibi naturae suae vitiis, et omnem viam iniquitatis odit. Ideo itaque et ad mandata omnia dirigitur, quia ea super terrena desideria diligit: et dirigitur, ne particeps eorum fiat quibus dicitur: Natio prava et perversa. Et omnem viam iniquitatis odit, ut sit in eo quia est via, Domino scilicet nostro, qui est benedictus in saecula saeculorum. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 9.613a-c

Contemptuous of the desire for worldly wealth, he withdraws himself from every occassion of perverse and depraved choice, for loving the commandments of God above gold and topaz, 1 so he says: 'On account of this I was directed to all your commandments, and for every wicked way I had hate.' 2 He is not turned aside or twisted about by worldly desires, but he is directed to every commandment of God, nor is he delayed on the way. He has looked on gold, and has known that it is but scrapings of the earth, he has seen jewels, and has remembered that they are but stones of the mountains or of the sea. He sees an attractive and alluring face and he knows that he must escape from it like the birds of heaven from traps that are laid for them. Therefore he resists because of his awareness of the nature of the vices, and for every wicked way he has hate. Thus he is directed to the commandments of God, because he loves with a desire beyond the things of the world, and he is directed lest he become one among those to whom it is said, 'a people depraved and perverse.' 3 Indeed for every wicked way he has hate, so that the way might be in him, that is, the way of our Lord, He who is blessed forever. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.127 2 Ps 118.128 3 Lk 9.41

Teaching And Judgement

Αὐτίκα γοῦν ὁ Μωσῆς, τῷ τελείῳ προφητικῶς παραχωρῶν παιδαγωγῷ τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα καὶ τὴν παιδαγωγίαν προθεσπίζει καὶ τῷ λαῷ παρατίθεται τὸν παιδαγωγόν, ἐντολὰς ὑπακοῆς ἐγχειρίσας· προφήτην ὑμῖν ἀναστήσει, φησίν, ὁ θεὸς ὡς ἐμὲ ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὑμῶν, τὸν Ἰησοῦν τὸν τοῦ Ναυῆ αἰνιττόμενος τὸν Ἰησοῦν τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ υἱόν· σκιαγραφία γὰρ ἦν τοῦ κυρίου τὸ ὄνομα τὸ Ἰησοῦ προκηρυσσόμενον ἐν νόμῳ. Ἐπιφέρει γοῦν, τὸ λυσιτελὲς τῷ λαῷ συμβουλεύων, αὐτοῦ ἀκούσεσθε λέγων, καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ἂν μὴ ἀκούσῃ τοῦ προφήτου τούτου, τούτῳ ἀπειλεῖ. Τοιοῦτον ἡμῖν ὄνομα σωτηρίου προφητεύει παιδαγωγοῦ. Διὰ τοῦτο αὐτῷ ῥάβδον περιτίθησιν ἡ προφητεία, ῥάβδον παιδευτικήν, ἀρχικήν, κατεξουσιαστικήν, ἵν' οὓς ὁ λόγος ὁ πειθήνιος οὐκ ἰᾶται, ἀπειλὴ ἰάσεται, οὓς δὲ ἡ ἀπειλὴ οὐκ ἰᾶται, ἡ ῥάβδος ἰάσεται, οὓς δὲ ἡ ῥάβδος οὐκ ἰᾶται, τὸ πῦρ ἐπινέμεται. Ἐξελεύσεται, φησί, ῥάβδος ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης Ἰεσσαί. Ὅρα καὶ τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν καὶ τὴν σοφίαν καὶ τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ παιδαγωγοῦ· οὐ κατὰ τὴν δόξαν, φησί, κρινεῖ, οὐδὲ κατὰ τὴν λαλιὰν ἐλέγξει, ἀλλὰ κρινεῖ ταπεινῷ κρίσιν καὶ ἐλέγξει τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς τῆς γῆς. Καὶ διὰ Δαβίδ· Kύριος παιδεύων ἐπαίδευσέν με καὶ τῷ θανάτῳ οὐ παρέδωκέν με· τὸ γὰρ ὑπὸ κυρίου παιδευθῆναι καὶ παιδαγωγηθῆναι θανάτου ἐστὶν ἀπαλλαγή. Καὶ διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ προφήτου φησίν· ἐν ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ ποιμανεῖς αὐτούς. Ταύτῃ καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος κινηθεὶς ἐν τῇ πρὸς Κορινθίους τί θέλετε; φησίν, ἐν ῥάβδῳ ἔλθω πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἢ ἐν ἀγάπῃ πνεύματί τε πραΰτητος; Ἀλλὰ καὶ "ῥάβδον δυνάμεως ἐξαποστελεῖ Kύριος ἐκ Σιὼν δι' ἄλλου προφήτου λέγει. Ἡ δὲ παιδαγωγικὴ αὕτη ἡ ῥάβδος σου καὶ ἡ βακτηρία σου παρεκάλεσάν με, εἶπέν τις ἕτερος. Αὕτη τοῦ παιδαγωγοῦ ἡ δύναμις ἡ σεμνή, ἡ παρακλητική, ἡ σωτήριος. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Ὁ Παιδαγωγός, Λόγος Πρώτος, Κεφ Ζ’ Source: Migne PG 8.321c-324b

Now Moses, prophetically giving place to the perfect teacher, the Word, predicts both the name and the office of the Teacher, and giving to the people the commands of obedience, sets before them the Teacher. 'From among the brethren God will raise up a prophet for you like me,' pointing toward Jesus the Son of God by allusion to Jesus the son of Nun. For the name of Jesus predicted in the Law was a shadow of Christ. Then caring for the advantage of the people, he adds: 'You shall listen to him,' and he warns 'the man who will not hear this prophet.' 1 This name he predicts is that of the Teacher, the author of salvation. Whence prophecy equips Him with a rod, a rod of discipline and of rule and of authority, so that those whom the persuasive word does not heal, warnings may heal, and those whom warnings do not heal, the rod may heal, and those who the rod does not heal, fire shall devour. 'There shall come forth,' it is said, 'a rod out of the root of Jesse.' And then see the care and wisdom and power of the Teacher: 'He shall not judge according to opinion nor according to report, but He shall give judgement for the humble and reprove the sinners of the earth.' 2 And through David: 'The Lord in His teaching has instructed me and not given me over to death.' 3 For to be chastised by the Lord and instructed is deliverance from death. And through the same prophet He says: 'You shall rule them with a rod of iron.' 4 Thus also the Apostle, being troubled, in the Epistle to the Corinthians says, 'What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love with a spirit of meekness?' 5 And He says through another Prophet: 'The Lord shall send a rod of power from Sion,' And regarding this same rod of instruction, someone else said, 'Your rod and staff have comforted me.' 6 Such is the power of the Teacher, sacred, comforting, saving. Clement of Alexandria, The Teacher, Book 1, Chapter 7 1 Deut 18.15, 19 2 Isaiah 11.1-4 3 Ps 117.18 4 Ps 2.9 5 1 Cor 4.21 6 Ps 109.2, Ps 22.4

Making The Face Firm

Fili hominis, obfirma faciem tuam super filias populi tui quae prophetant de corde suo... Primum de eo quod dicitur: Obfirma faciem tuam, requirendum. Deinde si Dominus dederit, investigare debemus filias populi prophetantes de corde suo, et facientes ea, in quibus eas Dei sermo corripiat. Et quod sit alia facies praeter hanc corporis nostri faciem, licet ex multis manifestum sit, attamen et ex his, quae Apostolus memorat, indicatur: Nos vero omnes revelata facie gloriam Domini speculantes, in eamdem imaginem transformamur a gloria in gloriam, quasi a Domini spiritu. Hanc faciem corporalem omnes homines habemus revelatam, nisi forte calamitatibus et angustiis premimur. Vultus autem ille, de quo sermo Apostoli est, in multis tectus est, et in paucis revelatus. Qui enim fiduciam habet in vita immaculata, in sensu sano, in fide vera, iste tantummodo non habet confessionis, fraudulentiae, peccatique velamen; sed propter puram conscientiam, revelata facie gloriam Domini contemplatur. Procul autem absit a nobis, ut velatam habeamus hanc faciem. Haec pauca de facie, ut possimus intelligere quid sit, quod sequitur: Obfirma faciem tuam super filias populi tui. Ista facies, id est, principale ( ἡγεμονικὸν) cordis nostri, nisi obfirmata fuerit super eo, quod intelligendum est, ut quomodo videt, sic annuntiet gentibus, illud quod aspicitur, non videtur. Impossibile quippe est, ut aliquis sine obfirmatione vultus, vagus, fluctuabundus, circumlatus omni vento doctrinae, videat quod debet, videat ut debet. Oportet enim volentem intelligere habere faciem, in eo quod intelligere nititur, obfirmatam: ob hanc semper causam prophetaturis primum jubetur, ut faciem suam obfirment; ut nostram autem et nos possimus obfirmare faciem in Evangelio, in Lege, in Prophetis, in apostolis, obfirma eam super Christo, et non super saeculi negotiis. Sed cum in mundialibus curis anima nostra versetur, cum semper ardeat habendi fame, non obfirmamus faciem nostram super ea, quae imperavit Deus, sed super ea, quae Dei sunt adversa praeceptis. Quis, putas, in nobis immundus est ob obfirmationem faciei super his, quae interdicta sunt? Quis in tantum sollicitus et cautus, ut diebus ac noctibus in ea obfirmet cordis sui faciem, quae jubentur? Nunc quoque si intellecturi fuimus praesentem scripturam quomodo prophetae dicatur: Obfirma faciem tuam super filias populi tui, ut videat ea quae dicturus est, debemus obfirmare intelligentiam, plenum in intentatione cordis habere tractatum, quod sit hoc, quod significetur, ut tandem ratione superati, recedamus a littera. Ac secundum communem quidem intellectum, videntur quaedam filiae populi prophetantes hoc quod sequitur admisisse peccatum. Assumentes cervicalia consuebant; consuentes non ponebant ea sub capite, sed sub cubito audientium, et velaminibus quibusdam tegebant capita universae aetatis. Haec sunt, quae prophetantibus filiabus populi reputantur quasi magna peccata. Quis autem potest in verbo consistens dicere, quia si quis cervicalia consuat, et consuta sub cubito ponat alterius, delinquat, et a Deo corripiatur? Quis potest asserere, quia si quis velamina faciat ad tegendum caput universae aetatis, impie agat? Invitis nobis ab ipsa Scriptura necessitas imponitur, ut ab apicibus litterae recedentes, verbum, et sapientiam, et voluntatem ejus requiramus ad aperienda peccata, quae clausa sunt, ad illuminanda quae caligant, ut possimus a maledicto extranei fieri, omni cubito manuum, sive manus. Qui in victu corporis occupati sunt, et ne per somnium quidem spirituales videre delicias, quas nos habere vult sermo divinus dicens: Delectare in Domino, et dabit tibi petitiones cordis tui; qui non noverunt voluntatem beatorum, de qua scribitur: Torrente voluptatis tuae potabis eos: requirunt quasi amatores luxuriae, et non amatores Dei, semper in corporalibus esse deliciis. Signum autem mihi videtur voluptatis carneae, sub cubito manuum cervical assutum. Quia enim in tempore discumbendi ad beneficia corporalia videmur uti consutis quibusdam, et acu pictis sub cubito manuum nostrarum, forsitan sermo divinus per istius modi figuram et argumentum eos culpat magistros, qui per vaniloquentiam, et beatas quasque repromissiones, multitudinem audientium libidini, vitiis, voluptatique permittunt. Debet enim Dei verbum, et Deus homo ea proferre, quae saluti sunt audienti, quae illum hortentur ad continentiam, ad conversationem sanorum actuum, ad cuncta, quae homo studiosus laborum, et non libidinum, debet incumbere, ut possit ea consequi, quae a Deo sunt repromissa. Cum ergo aliquis aptus moribus populi, ut placeat eis, quibus aures pruriunt, loquitur quae gratanter accipiant, loquitur quae vicina sunt voluptati, talis magister consuit cervicalia sub omni cubito manus. Sequitur hoc peccatum habentem, ut faciat etiam amictus ad velandum caput omnis aetatis. Cujus autem rei figura sit etiam velamen, cautius consideremus. Qui fiduciam habet, et vere vir est, velamen non habet super caput suum, sed intecto capite orat Dominum, intecto capite prophetat: per signum corporalis rei etiam spiritalem latenter ostendens, ut quomodo non habet velamen super caput carnis suae, ita non habeat velamen super principale cordis sui. Si quis vero confusionis velamen gerit, et peccati, iste quasi muliebria velamina habet super caput suum. Itaque cum aliquis docuerit ea, quae aurem populi mulceant, et strepitum potius laudatorum, quam gemitum moveant, si blandus inimicus palpaverit potius quam secuerit vulnera, talis homo amictus contexit in capite. Cum autem in luxuriosam orationem dicentis se sermo fuderit, et in lascivum persultaverit eloquium, contexit velamen super caput omnis aetatis; non modo puerorum et juvenum, verum et senum. Quomodo enim faciat signa et portenta ad decipiendos, si fieri potest, etiam electos falsus Christus, et falsus propheta: similiter et hi, qui ad voluptatem meditata deportant, et ista semper inquirunt, quae delectent potius audientes, quam convertant a vitiis, faciunt velamina super caput non modo puerorum et juvenum, sed, si fieri potest, senum quoque et patrum, intantum ut etiam eos decipiant, qui juxta laborem animae in spiritali aetate et senio processerunt Origenes, Homila Tertia Ezekial, Interprete Hieronymo Source Migne PG 13.687c-690a

Make firm your face over the daughters of your people who prophesy from their own hearts... 1 First we shall look into that which is said, 'Make firm your face,' and then, if the Lord allows, we shall investigate the daughters of the people who prophesy from their own hearts, and do things for which the word of the Lord corrects them. Now what the other faces might be apart for this bodily face we possess has been made manifest in many places, but from these, let what the Apostle mentions be declared: 'But we all with uncovered face looking on the glory of the Lord, being transformed into that image, from glory to glory, as by the spirit of the Lord.' 2 This bodily face which all of us men have is uncovered, unless perhaps because of calamity and distress we hide it away, but the face of which the Apostle speaks is hidden in many ways and is rarely revealed. For he who has confidence in the immaculate way, in good sense, in true faith, he alone does not wear the veil of guilt and deceit and sin, but because of a pure conscience he contemplates the glory of the Lord with the face uncovered. May it be far from us that we should have this face covered. And with these things briefly said about the face, so we may understand what follows: 'Make firm your face over the daughters of your people.' The face, then, that is the ruling part of the heart, which unless it has been been made firm about what should be understood, it does not appear how it may see what it should that it might announce it to the people. For it is impossible that someone who does not have a firm face, but a wandering one that shifts about, and is tossed about by the winds of teaching, 3 shall see what he should and shall see as he should. It is necessary to understand the will as the face, which is made firm by the struggle to understand, because of which, for the cause of prophesying, it is always first commanded that the face be made firm. And so even we can make our face firm, in the Gospel and the Law and the Prophets and in the Apostles, making it firm concerning Christ, and not about worldly affairs. For when our soul is turned to worldly cares, when it is always burning with a hunger for things there, we do not make our face firm in what God has commanded, but for those things which are inimical to His teaching. Do you not think that he who has been made unclean among us is he who strengthens his face over those things which are prohibited? And who is the man so intently concerned and prudent over those things which are commanded, so that day and night he makes firm the face of his heart concerning those things? Now also, if we are to understand this present passage of Scripture, how it was said to the prophet: 'Make firm your face over the daughters of your people,' we should make firm our understanding, so that it might look on the things which are to be said, having the intent of our heart fully taut about what this may be and what it means, so that with elevated reason, we pass beyond the letter. According to a certain sort of common understanding, these daughters of the people who prophesy appear to be those who have permitted sin. They embroider the cushions, and do not place them under the head but beneath the arm of the hearer, and they cover the head with a covering that endures. 4 These things, which the prophesying daughters of the people did, are reputed to be weighty sins. But who is able to speak a word about what they are? Because if someone embroiders a cushion, and places it beneath the arm of someone else, should they be corrected by God? And will insist that because someone makes a covering to cover the head for all time, he acts wickedly? Even to those who are unwilling among us, this Scripture imposes the necessity of withdrawing from the sense of the letter to seek its word and wisdom and will for the uncovering of sins which are hidden, and the illumination of what is obscure, so that we can remove ourselves from the exterior curse of every arm or hand. Those who have been seized by the conquest of the body, and in a dream do not look on spiritual joys, which the Divine word wishes us to have, saying, 'Delight in the Lord, and He shall give to you the petition of your heart,' they who do not know the wish of those who are blessed, when it is written: 'A torrent of your joy you shall give them to drink,' 5 they seek as lovers of luxury, and not lovers of God, since they always have their pleasures in the body. Now to place the cushion beneath the arm seems to me to be a sign of carnal pleasure. For when for a time we recline for the sake of corporeal goods, we appear as having something embroidered and decorated with the needle beneath the arm, so perhaps the Divine word by the manner of this figure and argument reproves those teachers who through vain eloquence and certain pleasing promises, permit a multitude of lusts and vices and pleasures to those who listen to them. For it is of the word of God and the God man to offer those things which save to those who hear, which exhort them to continence and to their conversation to a sound life, and to everything which belongs to a studious man of labour, and not of lust, whence the things that are required are those that lead to what has been promised by God. When, then, someone is aware of the ways of people, and so that he might gratify them who have vile ears he speaks what may please them, that is, he speaks of things which lead to pleasure, such a teacher embroiders the cushion to be placed under the arm. It then says that with this sin there is also made a covering that veils the head forever. Let us carefully consider what this veil could be a figure of. He who has faith, and truly is a man, he has no veil upon his head, but with his head uncovered he prays to the Lord, and with his head uncovered he makes prophecy. By the corporeal sign the hidden spiritual thing of the matter is revealed, so that he who does not have a veil upon the head is he who does not have a veil upon the principle part of his heart. If, however, someone bears the veil of confusion, and sin, he is as one who has a woman's veil upon his head. Thus when someone teaches things which softly caress the ears of the people, and he incites a clamour of praise rather than groans, and he strokes rather than cauterises wounds, such a man weaves a covering for the head. And when with luxurious rhetoric he pours out his speech and he makes his eloquence dance about in pleasure, he weaves an enduring veil for the head, and not only for boys and youths, but truly even for the old. For as the false Christ and the false prophet shall make signs and portents for deceiving, if it were possible, even the elect, 6 so likewise these have meditated to carry off with pleasure, and so always seeking what delights those who listen, rather than what turns them from evil, they make a veil for the head, and not only for boys and youths, but even, if it is possible, for the old, even for fathers, inasmuch as they can deceive those who because of the labour of the soul have advanced in spiritual age and seniority. Origen, from the Third Homily on Ezekiel, translated by Jerome 1 Ezek 13.17 2 2 Cor 3.18 3 Ephes 4.14 4 Ezek 3.18 5 Ps 36.4, Ps 35.9 6 Mt 24.24

Mercy And Sin

Septem ego in me video misericordias Domini, quas et vos ipsi, credo, facile invenietis in vobis. Prima est, quod a multis peccatis adhuc in saeculo positum custodivit me; prima quidem, inquam, non inter omnes quas mihi impendit, sed prima inter has septem. Quis enim non videat quod sicut in multa cecidi, sic et in alia cecidissem peccata, nisi Omnipotentis pietas me conservasset? Fateor et fatebor, nisi quia Dominus adjuvit me, paulo minus cecidisset in omne peccatum anima mea. Et haec quanta dignatio pietatis, quod ingratum et parvipendentem sic gratia conservabat, quod in multis contrarium et contemnentem nihilominus ab aliis benignissime protegebat? At secunda miseratio tua super me, Domine, quonam poterit explicari sermone, quam benigna, quam liberalis, quamque gratuita fuerit? Ego peccabam, et tu dissimulabas; non continebam a sceleribus, et tu a verberibus abstinebas. Prolongabam ego multo tempore iniquitatem meam; et tu, Domine, pietatem tuam. Sed quid prodesset exspectatio, nisi sequeretur poenitudo? Cumulus esset damnationis, dicente Domino: Haec fecisti, et tacui. Tertia proinde miseratio fuit, quod visitavit cor meum et immutavit, ut amara fierent quae male dulcia prius erant: et qui laetabar cum male facerem, et exsultabam in rebus pessimis, inciperem demum recogitare ei annos meos in amaritudine animae meae. Et nunc, Domine, commovisti terram cordis mei, et conturbasti eam; sana contritiones ejus, quia commota est. Multi enim poenitentia ducti sunt, sed infructuosa; quoniam ipsa quoque eorum poenitentia reprobata est, sicut et prior culpa. Itaque et haec miseratio quarta fuit, quod poenitentem misericorditer suscepisti, ut in eorum numero invenirer, de quibus Psalmista: Beati, inquit, quorum remissae sunt iniquitates, et quorum tecta sunt peccata Sequitur misericordia quinta, per quam mihi continendi deinceps, et emendatius vivendi praestitisti virtutem, ne recidivum paterer, et esset novissimus error pejor priore. Omnino enim manifeste tuae est, Domine Deus, et non humanae virtutis, susceptum semel peccati jugum a cervicibus suis excutere; quoniam omnis qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati, nec est jam liberari nisi in manu forti. Jam vero postquam in his quinque miserationibus a malo liberaveris, ut fiat quod scriptum est: Declina a malo, et fac bonum: in duabus aliis bona largiris. Hae autem duae sunt: gratia promerendi, qua videlicet manus bonae conversationis indulges; et spes obtinendi, qua donas homini indigno et peccatori de tua toties experta bonitate usque ad coelestia speranda praesumere. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, Dominica VI Post Pentecosten, Sermo II, De Septem Misericordiis Source: Migne PL 183.340c-341c

I see the seven mercies of the Lord in myself, which even you, I think, might easily find in yourself. The first is that He has protected me from many sins, though placed in the world. The first, I speak of, not the first of all those which rest on me, but the first among the seven. Who does not see that as in many things I have fallen, so into others things I may have fallen if the piety of the Almighty have not protected me? I confess and shall confess, that unless the Lord had helped me, it is certain that my soul would have fallen into every sin. And how great is the value of piety when grace preserves even the thankless and careless, because though in many things I was contrary and worthy of condemnation, nevertheless from yet others He protected me? And your second mercy over me, O Lord, is it possible to explain in a word, how kind, how generous, how charitable you were? I was sinning, and you ignored it, I did not restrain myself from wrongs, and you withheld your blows from me. I lingered for a long time in my wickedness, and you, O Lord, persisted in your piety. But how would have hope been of any good at all, if penitence did not follow? It would have culminated in damnation, with the Lord saying, 'You did this, and I was silent...' 1 Now His third mercy was that He visited my heart and changed it, so that things that were wickedly sweet to it before became bitter to it, and likewise with those things that delighted it when it did evil, even when it exulted in the vilest things. And at last I began to think on it, my years, in the bitterness of my soul. And then, O Lord, you moved the earth of my heart and you troubled it, healing its wounds in its distress. Much penance was performed but fruitlessly, because the penace was as defective as the earlier faults. Thus there was even a fourth mercy, that you nevertheless mercifully received my penances, so that in a number of them I found what the Psalmist spoke of when he said: 'Blessed those whose sins are forgiven, and those whose sins are hidden.' 2 The fifth mercy followed, through which I finally become continent, and you emended my life with the addition of virtue, lest I fall again, and the last error be worse than the first. Certainly it is manifestly your power, Lord God, and no human power, that with the yoke of sin lifted from the neck, it is then cut off, because all who commit sin are the slaves of sin, 3 and there is no liberation but by a strong hand. Then, however, after we had been freed from evil by these five mercies, that it might be as was written: 'Decline from evil, and do good,' 4 two other goods you bestow, and these are the two, grace by merit which your hand grants to the one who lives well, and hope of gaining more, which you give to the unworthy man, and to the sinner, that because of all your acknowledged benevolence he presumes to hope for heaven. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for the Season, The Sixth Sunday After Pentecost, from Sermon 2, On the Seven Mercies 1 Ps 99.21 2 Ps 31.1 3 Jn 8.34 4 Ps 33.15

Better Judgements

Non secundum visionem oculorum judicabit, neque secundum auditum aurium arguet: sed judicabit in justitia pauperes, et arguet in aequitate pro mansuetis terrae, et percutiet terram virga oris sui, et spiritu labiorum suorum interficiet impium. Et erit justitia cingulum lumborum ejus, et fides cinctorium renum ejus. Haec nos ad primum adventum referimus Salvatoris: Judaei in fine mundi contendunt futura. Porro LXX transtulerunt: Non secundum gloriam judicabit, neque juxta sermonem arguet: sed judicabit humili judicio, et arguet humiles terrae. Nullius enim personam accipit in judicio: sed Scribis et Pharisaeis ac principibus loquitur: Vae vobis, hypocritae: Et, Auferetur a vobis regnum Dei, et dabitur genti facienti fructus ejus. Nec secundum sermonem et auditum aurium corripuit. Illis enim dicentibus: Magister, scimus quia verax es, et viam Dei in veritate doces, et non ad te pertinet de aliquo: neque enim vides in faciem hominum: sciens malitiam eorum, respondebat: Quid me tentatis, hypocritae? et caetera his similia. Judicabat autem in justitia pauperes spiritu, quorum est regnum Dei: et arguebat in aequitate mansuetos et humiles terrae, dicens ad Apostolos: Adhuc et vos insipientes estis? Et iterum: Necdum scitis neque intelligitis? Et ad Petrum specialiter: Modicae fidei, quare dubitasti? Vel certe pro humilibus atque mansuetis alios arguebat, qui eos opprimere conabantur. Percussit quoque omnia terrena opera virga, sive ut LXX transtulerunt, verbo oris sui, loquens in Evangelio: Nolite putare, quia venerim mittere pacem super terram: non enim veni mittere pacem, sed gladium. Et spiritu labiorum suorum interficiet impium: de quo in nono Psalmo legimus: Increpasti gentes, et periit impius: nomen eorum delesti in saeculum et in saeculum saeculi. Et Paulus Apostolus scribit: Quem Dominus Jesus interficiet spiritu oris sui. Percusso autem impio, accinctus est Dominus justitia et veritate et fide. Ipse enim factus est nobis a Deo sapientia, et justitia, et sanctificatio et redemptio, qui et in Evangelio loquitur: Ego sum lux, et vita, et veritas. Et de Psalmis dicitur: Veritas de terra orta est: et justitia de coelo prospexit. Unde et Apostolus hortatur Ephesios: State ergo succincti lumbos vestros in veritate, et induti lorica justitiae. Quod si pro veritate, fides legitur, illud dicendum, quod cingulum Domini, quo cinctus est Jeremias, fides credentium sit. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Isaiam Prophetam, Lib IV Source Migne PL 24.146a-147a

He shall not judge according to the vision of the eyes, nor shall he determine according to the hearing of the ear, but He shall judge the poor justly and the shall determine fairly for the meek of the earth, and He shall strike the earth with the staff of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt about His waist, and faith the girdle of His loins. 1 We refer this to the first coming of the Saviour, the Jews argue that it is about the end of the world. The Septuagint translation runs: 'He shall not judge according to glory, not shall he determine according to speech, but He shall judge with a humble judgement and determine for the humble of the earth.' For He is no respecter of persons, but He says to the Scribes and Pharisees and elders: 'Woe to you hypocrites.' And: 'The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and it shall be given to a people to produce fruits from it.' 2 He shall not chastise according to the hearing of the ear. For when they said, 'Master, we know you are true, and you teach the way of God in truth, and you are not in awe of any man, nor are you are respecter of persons,' He was aware of their cunning, and answered: 'Why do you test me, hypocrites?' 3 And other things similar to this. But He shall judge justly the poor in spirit, of whom is the kingom of heaven, and he shall determine fairly among the meek and humble of the earth, saying to the Apostles: 'Are you yet so witless?' And again: 'Do you not know nor understand?' And to Peter specifically: 'O man of little faith, why did you doubt?' 4 Or certainly he will dispute with others for the humble and meek, against those who strive to oppress them. He also strikes all worldly works with a rod, or as the Septuagint translation has it: 'With the word of His own mouth,' saying in the Gospel: 'Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth, for I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.' 5 'And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.' Concerning which in the ninth Psalm we read: 'You cried out against the people and the wicked perished, you destroyed their name in the age and forever.' 6 And Paul the Apostle writes: 'Whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of His own mouth.' 7 For when the Lord is girded with righteousness and truth and faith, the wicked are struck down. For He was made by God for us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, He who says in the Gospel: 'I am the light and life and truth.' 8 And in the Psalms it is said: 'Truth has arisen from the earth, and justice looks down from the skies.' Whence the Apostle exhorts in Ephesians: 'Therefore stand with your loins bound with truth, and wearing the breastplace of righteousness,' 9 Because if faith is read for truth, it must be said that the girdle of the Lord, with which Jeremiah was bound, is the faith of believers. 10 Saint Jerome, Commentary On The Prophet Isaiah, Book 4 1 Isaiah 11.3-4 2 Mt 23.13, 21.43 3 Mt 22.15-18 4 Mark 8.17 5 Mt 10.34 6 Ps 9.6 7 2 Thes 2.8 8 1 Cor 1.30, Jn 8.6 9 Ps 84.2, Ephes 6.14 10 Jerem 13

Error And Correct Judgement

Vos secundum carnem iudicatis.. Primae ad Corinthios tertio: Cum sit inter vos zelus et contentio, nonne carnales estis et secundum hominem ambulatis? sive iudicatis, quiaipsum purum hominem esse credebant et gloriam suam ut homo quaerere; et ideo eius testimoniumarguebant. Ego autem non iudico quemquam, in praesenti scilicet; supra tertio: Non misit Deus Filium suum in mundum, ut iudicet mundum. Non iudico, condemnando, sicut vos me modo condemnatis; et hoc non, quia non possim vel nesciam, immo scio et possum; propterea dicit: Et si iudico ego, iudicium meum verum est... Non carnale, non incertum neque secundum faciem; Isaiae undecimo: Non secundum visionem oculorum iudicabit, neque secundum auditum aurium arguet; et ideo in iudicio errare non possum: Quia solus non sum, sed ego et qui misit me Pater. Unde quia in iudicando ab ipso non discedo, ideo non erro; supra quinto: Non possum a me ipso facere quidquam, sed sicut audio, iudico, et iudicium meum iustum est. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput VIII Source: Here, p760-761

You judge according to the flesh.... 1 In the third chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians: 'When there is jealousy and contention among you, are you not carnal creatures and walking according to men?' 2 Or judging so, because they believe themselves to be pure men and as men they seek their own glory, and therefore they dispute His testimony. 'But I do not judge anyone,' that is, in the present. Above in the third chapter: 'God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world.' 3 That is, I do not judge to condemn, as you now condemn me, and not because I cannot or do not know how, for indeed I do know and am able, therefore He says: And if I judge, my judgement is true... 4 Not carnal, not uncertain, not according to appearance. In the eleventh chapter of Isaiah: 'He shall not judge according to the vision of the eyes, nor shall he determine according to the hearing of the ear.' 5 Therefore I cannot err in judgement, 'because it is not me alone, but I and He who sent me, the Father.' Whence because I am not cut off from Him in judgement, therefore I do not err. In the fifth chapter above: 'I cannot do anything from myself, but as I hear so I judge, and my judgement is just.' 6 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 8 1 Jn 8.15 2 1 Cor 3.3 3 Jn 3.17 4 Jn 8.16 5 Isaiah 11.3 6 Jn 5.30

Judgement And Mercy

Ἴσθι, θαυμάσιε, ὡς ἡ κρίσις ἀνέλεος τῷ μὴ ποιήσαντι ἔλεος, οὐκ ἐκ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων μόνον δωρεῶν, ὦν αὐτὸς τοὺς πτωχοὺς ἀποστερεῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ τῶν οἰκείων, ὦν ἐκουσίως τὴν μετάδοσιν ποιεῖσθαι χρεωστεῖς. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΥϟΒ’ Ευσεβιῳ Ἐπισποκῳ Source: Migne PG 78.449c

Know, excellent fellow, that as there will be a judgement without mercy for those who are not merciful, 1 so not only with the gifts of others do you deprive the poor of what is theirs, but truly even with your own goods, which of your own will you should share with others. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 492, To Eusebius the Bishop 1 James 2.13

Mercy And Justice

Beati misericordes, quoniam ipsi misericordiam consequentur... Quia per solam justitiam nullus ad alta ascendere potest, nisi iter faciat nobis Deus, plus quam justum sit, per misericordiam suam; ideo misericordia Dei acquirenda est, quae suppleat quod nostra justitia non potest adipisci. Quomodo autem illa acquiri possit, dat consilium cum dicit: Estote misericordes, quia pater vester misericors est. Ecce via qua ad misericordiam Dei pervenitur, si misericordes efficimur. Oportet ergo misericordiam addere justitiae, ut non solum faciamus proximo quod justum est, sed etiam plus quam justum. Misericordiam habet duas partes, dare et dimittere. Unde dicitur: Date et dabitur vobis, dimittite et dimittetur vobis. Hae duae virtutes ita conjunctae sunt, ut altera ab altera contemperari debeat. Justitia sine misericordia crudelitas est; misericordia sine justitia dissolutio est. Rebelles corrigere ex justitia; poenitentibus condonare debemus ex misericordia. Sed quia alii plus quam alii exercentur in justitia quam in misericordia; alii plus in misericordia, quam in justitia: ideo isti dicuntur beati propter misericordiam, illi propter justitiam, cum tamen non dissocientur. Haec misericordia postulatur, cum dicitur: Fiat voluntas tua in nobis, scilicet ut misericordes simus, ut aliis condonemus. Nam haec est voluntas Dei, haec descendit ex spiritu consilii. Hoc enim est consilium, quod nobis datur, si misericordiam Dei adipisci volumus, misericordiam aliis faciamus. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput V Source: Migne PL 162.1287b-d

Blessed are the merciful because they shall receive mercy... 1 Because no one is able to rise up to the heights by justice alone, unless God makes a way for us with more than what is just, through His mercy. Therefore the mercy of God must be acquired, which supplements what our justice is not able to obtain. And He gives counsel about how one can acquire it when He says: 'Be merciful, as your Father in heaven is merciful.' 2 Behold the way by which we come to the mercy of God, if we are merciful. One must, then, add mercy to justice, that not only do we act justily to our neighbour, but we are even more than just. Mercy has two parts, to give and to forgive. Whence it is said: 'Give and it shall be given to you. Forgive and you shall be forgiven.' 3 So it is that these two virtues are joined, even that the one by the other should be moderated. Justice without mercy becomes cruelty, mercy without justice is laxity. The rebellious are corrected by justice, by mercy we should forgive the penitent. But because some more than others exert themselves in justice more than mercy, and others in mercy more than justice, therefore the latter are blessed on account of mercy, the former on account of justice, when however they should not be separated. This mercy is requested, when it is said, 'May your will be in us,' 4 that is, so that we may be merciful, so that we may forgive others. For this is the will of God, this comes down from spiritual counsel. And this is the counsel which is given to us, that if we wish to obtain mercy, we should be merciful to others. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.7 2 Lk 6.36 3 Lk 6.37-38 4 cf Mt 6.10

Correction From On High

Ὁ Θρόνος σου, ὁ Θεὸς, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος· ῥάβδος εὐθύτητος, ἡ ῥάβδος τῆς βασιλείας σου.  Ἐπειδὴ πολλὰ πρὸς τὸ ἀνθρώπινον ἀνατεινόμενος διελέχθη, ἐπανάγει νῦν ἐπὶ τὰ ὕψη τῆς περὶ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς δόξης τὸν λόγον. Ὁ Θρόνος σου, φησὶν, ὁ Θεὸς, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος· τουτέστιν, ἡ βασιλεία σου ἐπέκεινα τῶν αἰώνων, καὶ ἐννοίας πάσης ἐστὶ πρεσβυτέρα. Καὶ καλῶς μετὰ τὴν τῶν λαῶν ὑποταγὴν τὸ μεγαλοπρεπὲς τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀνυμνεῖ. Ῥάβδος εὐθύτητος, ἡ ῥάβδος τῆς βασιλείας σου. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἀπέδωκεν αὐτῷ τὴν ἰδίαν προσηγορίαν, σαφῶς αὐτὸν ἀναγορεύσας Θεόν· Ὁ Θρόνος σου, ὁ Θεὸς. Παιδευτική τίς ἐστιν ἡ ῥάβδος τοῦ Θεοῦ· παιδεύουσα δὲ, εὐθείας καὶ οὐ παρατετραμμένας ἐπάγει τὰς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ προσηγόρευται. Ἐὰν γὰρ ἐγκαταλίπωσιν οἱ υἱοὶ αύτοῦ τὸν νόμον μου, καὶ τοῖς κρίμασι μου μὴ πορευθῶσιν, ἐπισκέψομαι ἐν ῥάβδῳ τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτῶν. Ὁρᾷς τὴν δικαίαν κρίσιν τοῦ Θεοῦ; Οὐκ ἐπὶ τῶν τυχόντων χρῆται, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων. Αὔτη δὲ καὶ παρακλήσεως λέγεται ῥάβδος· Ἡ ῥάβδος γάρ σου, φησὶ, καὶ ἡ βακτηρία σου, αὖταί με παρεκάλεσαν. Αὔτη καὶ συντριμμοῦ ἐστι ῥάβδος. Ποιμανεῖς γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἐν ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ ὡς σκεῦος κεραμέως συντρίψεις αὐτούς. Συντρίβεται δὲ τὰ χοῖὰ καὶ πήλινα ἐπ' εὐεργεσίᾳ τῶν ποιμαινομένων· καθὸ καὶ παραδίδοται Εἰς ὅλεθρον τῆς σαρκὸς, ἵνα τὸ πνεῦμα σωθῇ. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΜΔ' Ψαλμον Source: Migne PG 29.404b-d

'Your throne, O God, is forever, the rod of correction is the rod of your kingdom.' 1 After concerning itself with human nature and having expended many words about it, now the prayer returns to the glorious height of the Only Begotten. 'Your throne, O God is forever,' it says. That is, your kingdom is established beyond the ages and is most ancient in every understanding. And wondrously, when your people have become obedient, they shall celebrate the magnificence of your kingdom. 'A rod of correction is the rod of your kingdom.' Whatever is the title given to Him, it is clearly calling Him God. 'Your throne, O God.' The rod is that which corrects and while it corrects it improves, and since it does not bring about perverse judgement, it is proclaimed to be of His kingdom. 'For if his sons forsake my law and do not walk in my judgements, I shall requite their iniquities with a rod.' 2 You see the just judgement of God? He does not act against just anyone but against sinners. And this same rod is  said to be one of consolation, 'For your rod and staff,' he says,'are my consolation.' 3 'You shall rule them with a rod of iron, as an earthen vessel you will shatter them.' 4 For earth and mud will be shattered because of the pleasures which rule over them, whoever is given over 'to the dissolutions of the flesh,' and 'that they might be saved.' 5 Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 44 1 Ps 44.7 2 Ps 88.31,33 3 Ps 22.4 4 Ps 2.9 5 1 Cor 5.5

Judging Rightly

Et factum est verbum Domini ad Zachariam, dicens: Haec ait Dominus exercituum, dicens: Judicium verum judicate, et misericordiam et miserationes facite, unusquisque cum fratre suo. Et viduam, et pupillum, et advenam, et pauperem nolite calumniari: et malum vir fratri suo non cogitet in corde suo. Et noluerunt attendere, et averterunt scapulam recedentem, et aures suas aggravaverunt ne audirent. Et cor suum posuerunt ut adamantem, ne audirent legem, et verba quæ misit Dominus exercituum in spiritu suo per manum prophetarum priorum: et facta est indignatio magna a Domino exercituum. Et factum est sicut locutus est, et non audierunt: sic clamabunt et non exaudiam, dicit Dominus exercituum. Et dispersi eos per omnia regna quæ nesciunt: et terra desolata est ab eis, eo quod non esset transiens et revertens: et posuerunt terram desiderabilem in desertum. LXX: Et factus est sermo Domini ad Zachariam dicens: Haec dicit Dominus omnipotens, dicens: Judicium justum judicate, et misericordiam et miserationem faciat unusquisque ad fratrem suum: et viduam, et pupillum, et pauperem non opprimatis: et malitiae unusquisque fratris sui nolite meminisse in cordibus vestris. Et noluerunt attendere, et dederunt dorsum contemnens: et aures suas aggravaverunt, ut non audirent: et cor suum posuerunt inobediens, ut non audirent legem meam, et verba mea quae misit Dominus omnipotens in spiritu suo, in manibus prophetarum priorum. Et facta est ira magna a Domino omnipotente, et erit sicut dixi, et non audierunt eum. Sic clamabunt, et non exaudiam eos, dicit Dominus omnipotens: et ejiciam eos in omnes gentes quas ignoraverunt: et terra desolata est post eos a perambulante et revertente, et posuerunt terram electam in solitudinem. Haec magis volui, ista quaesivi, quae non facientes, captivitati estis traditi; et non desolationis ac mortis quinti mensis septimique jejunium. Justum judicium judicate, ne audiatis in Psalmis: Usquequo judicatis iniquitatem, et personas peccatorum sumitis? Judicate pupillo et viduae: humilem et pauperem justificate, ne vobis quoque loquatur Isaias: Qui justificant impium propter munera: et quod justum est justo auferunt: et propter vos Abaccuc ex persona eorum qui opprimuntur, Deo faciat invidiam: Contra me factum est judicium, et judex accipit: ideo dissipata est lex, et non pervenit usque ad finem judicium, quia impius opprimit justum. Nec novum putemus Dei esee praeceptum, olim per Moysen ista mandaverat: Sic magnum judicabis ut parvum: personam non accipies, et pauperis non misereberis in judicio: quoniam Dei judicium est. Misericordiam quoque et miserationes faciet unusquisque cum fratre suo. Post judicii serveritatem sequatur in cunctos clementia, et maxime in fratres, quos vel ejusdem sanguinis, vel unius nobiscum fidei esse perspicimus. Viduam quoque et pupillum, de quibus nobis praeceptum est: Esto pupillis pater, et pro viro matri eorum; judicans pupillum, et justificans viduam. Et advenam et pauperem nolite calumniari, quia alterum peregrinatio, alterum egestas humilem facit. Et malum vir fratri suo non cogitet in corde suo, sive ut a Septuaginta dicitur: Et malitiae unusquisque fratris sui non meminerit in cordibus suis. Fratrem autem et proximum, vel omne hominum genus debemus accipere; quia ex uno sumus parente generati, vel eos qui domestici fidei sunt, juxta parabolam Evangelii, quae proximum non consanguineum, sed omnes homines vult intelligi. Quod autem ante debeat ira finiri, quam sol occumbat, et omnium malorum quae ab liis passi sumus, deleri memoria, et in multis locis legimus, et maxime in Jeremia, qui ex persona Dei loquitur: Et malitiae proximi sui unusquisque in cordibus vestris ne memineritis. Cum ego ista praeceperim, illi attendere noluerunt, et verterunt scapulam recedentem, sive dorsum contemnens, ex habitu corporis mea imperia respuentes. Solemus enim quando rugata fronte, et nare contracta contemnimus admonentes, dorsum vertere, juxta illud quod scriptum est: Verterunt ad me dorsa, et non facies suas. Sanctus Hieronymous, Commentariorum In Zachariam Prophetam, Liber II Cap VII Source: Migne PL 25.1461a-1462b

The word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: Judge with true judgement, and show mercy and compassion, each one to his brother. Do not speak ill of the widow, the orphan, the  migrant and the poor man. Let a man not think evil of his brother in his heart. And they did not listen. They turned their shoulders away, they made their ears deaf lest they hear, they hardened their hearts to adamant lest they hear the Law, even the words which the Lord of hosts sent with His spirit through the works of the prophets in times before, and the indignation of the Lord of hosts was great. And it was done as said, they did not hear. So when they called out I do not attend to them, says the Lord of hosts. So it was I scattered them thourgh every land they did not know, and their land was made desolate because of them, a place were no one came or went, for they made a land so fair a waste. The Septuagint has: 'The word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: Judge with true judgement, and show mercy and compassion, each one to his brother. Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the migrant and the poor man, and let no one be mindful of the wickedness of his brother in his heart. And they did not hear, and they gave their backs to scorn, and they made deaf  their ears so they did not hear and they fixed their hearts in disobedience that they not hear my Law, and even the words which the Almighty Lord sent with His spirit through the hands of the prophets in times before. And the anger of the Almighty Lord was great, and it shall be as I have said, and they did not hear him. So they shall cry out, and I shall not hear them, says the Lord Almighty. I shall cast them out among all the people they do not know, and the land will be desolate because of them, for he who comes and goes, they who have made the chosen land a waste.' 1 These things I wished for, these things I sought, and because they were not done, you were handed over to captivity, and not to the desolation and mortification of the fifth and seven month fasts. 2 Judge justly lest you hear as in the Psalm: 'How long will you judge for wickedness, and put on the mask of the sinner? Judge for the orphan and the widow, justify the humble and the poor.' 3 Lest Isaiah also say to you: 'They who justify the wicked for gifts, and strip justice from the righteous man,' 4 and because of you, Habakkuk, in the person of those who are oppressed, shall speak their grievance to God, 'Judgement was made against me, and the judge received it, therefore the law is flouted, and there is no coming to true judgement, because the wicked oppress the righteous.' 5 Nor think this is a new teaching of God, that which was once commanded through Moses: 'So you shall judge the great as the small, you shall not be in awe of persons, and the poor you shall not  indulge in judgement, because it is the judgement of God.' 6 Also let everyone be merciful and compassionate with his brother. After the severity of judgement let clemency follow for all, and especially brothers, who are of your same blood, or who we see to be of the same faith with us. Also with the widow and orphan concerning which we are commanded: 'Be a father to orphans and a husband to their mother, judging for the orphan and justifying the widow.' 7 And do not speak ill of the migrant and the poor man, because you were once wanderers and you were once made needy by want. 8 And let a man not think evil of his brother in his heart, or as the Septuagint says, 'Let no one be mindful of the wickedness of his brother in his heart.' And for 'brother' we should understand a neighbour and every type of man, because we are all descended from one parent, or they are the servants of the faith, according to the parable of the Gospel, that wishes a neighbour to be understood not by blood relation but as all men. But let anger cease before the sun sets, 9 and let us suffer every evil from men, ridding ourselves of the memory of it, as we read in many places, and especially in Jeremiah, who in the person of God says: 'Let no one have the memory of a neighbour's wickedness in his heart.' 10 But when I commanded this, they were unwilling to attend, and they turned their shoulders away, or they scorned me with their backs, disregarding my teaching by a gesture of the body. For we are accustomed to ignore admonishments with the brow furrowed, and the nostrils narrowed, and with the back turned, according to which it is written: 'They turned their backs on me, and not their faces.' 11 Saint Jerome, Commentary on The Prophet Zechariah, Book 2, Chapter 7 1 Zech 7.8-14 2 Zech 7.5 3 Ps 81.2-3 4 Isaiah 5.23 5 Hab 1.3-4 6 Deut 1.17 7 Sirach 4.10 8 Deut 10.19 9 Lk 10.25-37, Ephes 4.26 10 cf Jerem 31.34 11 Jerem 2.27

Judgement And Endurance

Et vos, inquit, oves meae, haec dicit Dominus Deus: Ecce ego iudico inter ovem et ovem, et arietes et hircos. Quid hic faciunt hirci in grege Dei? In eisdem pascuis, in eisdem fontibus, et hirci tamen sinistrae destinati dextris miscentur, et prius tolerantur qui separabuntur. Et hic exercetur ovium patientia ad similitudinem patientiae Dei. Separatio enim ab illo erit, aliorum ad sinistram aliorum ad dexteram. Nunc autem ipse tacet, tu vis loqui. Sed unde dico: Tu vis loqui? Unde ipse tacet. A vindicta iudicii, non a verbo correptionis. Ipse nondum separat, tu vis separare. Ipse mixta tolerat, qui seminavit. Si ante ventilationem frumentum vis esse purgatum, tuo vento, pessime ventilaberis. Licuerit servis dicere: Vis, imus, et colligimus ea? Stomachati enim sunt, videndo zizania, et doluerunt segeti bonae permixta zizania. Et dixerunt: Nonne bonum semen seminasti? Unde ergo apparuerunt zizania? Ille rationem reddidit unde apparuerunt; non tamen permisit ut ante tempus evellerentur. Quamvis et ipsi servi stomachati adversus zizania, consilium tamen et praeceptum a domino expetiverunt. Displicebant illa inter segetem, sed videbant servi, quia si vel in ipsis zizaniis evellendis aliquid sua sponte facerent, ipsi zizaniis numerarentur. A Domino expectaverunt praeceptum, iussionem regis sui quaesierunt: Vis, imus, et colligimus ea? Et ille: Non. Et reddidit inde causam: Ne forte, cum vultis colligere zizania, eradicetis simul et triticum. Sedavit ab indignatione, nec reliquit in dolore. Grave enim videbatur servis esse zizania inter frumentum, et vere grave erat. Sed alia est conditio agri, alia quies horrei. Tolera, ad hoc enim natus es. Tolera, quia forte toleratus es. Si semper bonus fuisti, habeto misericordiam; si aliquando malus fuisti, noli perdere memoriam. Et quis est semper bonus? Facilius, si te Deus diligenter discutiat, inveniet te etiam nunc malum, quam tu te semper bonum. Ergo toleranda sunt zizania haec inter frumentum, hirci inter arietes, hoedi inter oves. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, De Ovibus, Sermo XLVII, In Ezechiel cap XXXIV, ab illis verbis, Et vos oves meae... Source: Migne PL 38.298

'And you, my sheep,' thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, and rams and he-goats.' 1 What are he-goats doing here among the flock of God? Though destined for the left hand, in the same fields the he-goats are mixing with those of the right hand, and first they are tolerated who shall be separated. And this is to exercise the sheep in patience in the likeness of God's patience. The separation shall be performed by Him, some to the left and some to the right. But now He is silent, and you wish to speak. But what do I say you wish to speak about? What He is keeping quiet about. About the sentence of judgment, not about a word of correction. He is not yet separating, you wish to do so. He who sowed is tolerating the mixing. If before winnowing time you wish the grain purged, and with your own wind, you will suffer a worse winnowing. It was permitted that the servants say, 'Do you want us to go and gather them?' 2 They were troubled when they saw the weeds, and aggrieved at the weeds mixed with the good crop. And they said, 'Did you not sow good seed? Then from where did the weeds come?' He gave the reason why they appeared, but even so He did not permit the weeds to be pulled up before the time. And though those servants were vexed at the weeds, they sought the counsel and command of their lord. They were displeased by the weeds in the crop, but they saw that if they acted according to their own wish to pull up the weeds, they would be reckoned among the weeds. They waited for the commands of their Lord, they sought their king's decree, 'Do you want us to go and gather them up?' And He said, 'No.' And he gave the reason: 'Lest perhaps when you wish to gather up the weeds, you also uproot the wheat at the same time.' He soothed  indignation, and did not leave them in their upset. It troubled the servants that there were weeds among wheat, and indeed it was troubling. But the state of the field is one thing, the quietness of the barn is another. Endure it, because for that you were born. Endure, because perhaps you have been endured. If you have always been good, be merciful. If you were once bad, don't forget it. And who is always good? It will be easier if God lovingly disciplines you when He finds you bad now, than for you to be good always. So we have to endure these weeds among the corn, the he-goats among the rams, the goats among the sheep. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 47, On The Sheep, On Ezekiel Chapter 34, on the words, 'And you my sheep...' 1 Ezek 34.17 2 Mt 13.28

Glory And Judgement

De gloria quoque dicit Apostolus: Gloria nostra haec est, testimonium conscientiae nostrae. Haec est utique vera gloria, quae est a spiritu veritatis. Ipse enim Spiritus testimonium perhibet spiritui nostro, quod filii Dei sumus. Gloria vero, quam ab invicem accipiunt, qui gloriam quae est a solo Deo non requirunt, vana est, quoniam vani filii hominum. Insipiens tu, qui merces congregas in saccum pertusum, qui thesaurum tuum alieno in ore constituis! ignoras quod arca ista non clauditur, nec seras habet? Quanto melius sapiunt, qui thesaurum suum ipsi servant, aliis non committunt? Verum nunquid semper servabunt? Nunquid semper abscondent? Veniet cum manifesta erunt abscondita cordis; quae vero fuerint ostentata, non comparebunt. Hinc est quod veniente Domino fatuarum virginum lampades exstinguuntur: et qui receperunt mercedem suam, a Domino nesciuntur. Propterea dico vobis, charissimi, utile est abscondere magis quam ostentare, si quid habemus boni; sicut et mendici cum eleemosynam petunt, non pretiosas vestes ostendunt, sed seminuda membra, aut ulcera, si habuerint, ut citius ad misericordiam videntis animus inclinetur. Quam regulam Publicanus ille servavit multo melius Pharisaeo, et ideo descendit justificatus ab illo, id est prae illo.Tempus est, fratres, ut judicium incipiat a domo Dei. Quis finis eorum qui non obediunt Evangelio? quod judicium his in hoc judicio non resurgunt? Quicunque enim judicari dissimulant eo judicio quod nunc est, in quo princeps hujus mundi ejicitur foras, judicem exspectent, vel magis timeant, a quo cum ipso principe suo foras ejicientur et ipsi. Nos autem si perfecte judicamur nunc, securi Salvatorem exspectemus Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, qui reformabit corpus humilitatis nostrae, configuratum corpori claritatis suae. Tunc fulgebunt justi, ita ut videri possint docti pariter et indocti: fulgebunt enim sicut sol in regno Patris eorum. Erit autem claritas solis septempliciter, id est, sicut lux septem dierum. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, De Adventu Domini, Sermo IV, De Duplici Adventu, et Studio Verarum Virtutum Source: Migne PL 183.48a-48c

The Apostle also says about glory: 'This is our glory, the witness of our conscience.' 1 Thus this is true glory, that which is from the spirit of truth. That Spirit which gives witness to our spirit, that we are sons of God. 2 But the glory which men receive from one another and which is not sought from God alone is vain, because vain are the sons of men. 3 You who are foolish, you who gather coin into sacks full of holes, who establish your treasure in the mouths of others, do you not know that the narrow way is not closed nor does it have bars? How much better they understand who take care of their own wealth and do not entrust it to others. Truly shall they always guard it? Shall they always hide it? There shall come a time when all the hidden things of the heart shall be made manifest and what has been shown will not appear. Hence with the coming of the Lord the lamps of the foolish virgins are extinguished and they who have taken up their own reward are not known by the Lord. 4 Therefore I say to you, dear brothers, it is more useful to hide than to show, if we do have something good, as even beggars when they seek alms do not show up in expensive clothing, but in rags exposing their limbs, or wounds, if they have them, so that a soul may more quickly incline to mercy on seeing them. See how the way of the tax collector was a better protection for him than that of the Pharisee, and therefore he went down justified by Him, that is, before Him. 5 In time, brothers, judgement begins from the house of God. 6 What is the end of those who do not obey the Gospel? What judgement in this judgement for those who do not rise? For whoever cares not for their judgement in the judgement that shall come, in which the prince of this world is cast out, let them look to the judge, or better let them fear that they shall be cast out with that prince. But we, if we are judged flawlessly now, we may hope for the sanctuary of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who shall refashion this body of humility into the likeness of His own body of splendour. 7 Then the righteous shall shine, so the learned and the unlearned will appear, blazing like the sun in the kingdom of their father. And the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, like the light of seven days. 8 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for the Season, On The Lord's Advent, from Sermon 4, On the Twofold Advent and Eagerness for the True Virtues 1 2 Cor 1.12 2 Rom 8.16 3 Jn 5.44, Ps 61.10 4 Mt 25.1-12, 6.16 5 Lk 18.14 6 1 Pet 4.17 7 Philip 3.21 8 Mt 13.43, Isaiah 30.26