The Mustard Seed And Other Seeds

Simile est regnum coelorum grano sinapis etc. Regnum coelorum praesens Ecclesia dicitur, quae diversis figuris, non secundum se totam, sed secundum aliquam partem sui comparatur. Hic autem grano sinapis secundum fidem assimilatur, quod homo, id est Christus seminavit in agro, id est in cordibus credentium, quod minimum est omnibus seminibus. Fides enim nostra vilior omnibus doctrinis philosophicis videtur. Quid enim stultius sapientibus hujus mundi aestimabatur, quam in occisum et sepultum credere, visibilia contemnere, et invisibilibus iuhiare? Caetera autem semina, scilicet libri philosophorum excellere videntur, quia de maximarum rerum agunt subtilitate, et ornati sunt rhetorica compositione. Sed, ut ait Apostolus, quod infirmum est Dei, fortius est hominibus, ideo cum crescit in mente recipientis, et in toto mundo exaltatur, major apparet omnibus oleribus, et fit arbor, ita ut, etc. Scientiae philosophicae enim sunt olera, sed ad nullius utilitatis robur perveniunt. et ideo facile ex vanitate sua arescunt. Rami vero hujus arboris sunt partes fidei multiplices, in quibus habitant volucres coeli, id est animae fidelium delectantur et pascuntur, quae pennis virtutum ad coelestia volant. Unde dictum est: Quis dabit mihi pennas sicut columbae, et volabo, et requiescam? Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput XIII Source: Migne PL 162.1374d-1375b

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed... 1 He speaks of the present Church by the use of different figures, for not in its totality but according to its different parts it has its comparisons. Here, then, the mustard seed is likened to faith, which a man, that is, Christ, sowed in a field, that is, in the hearts of the believers, and it is the smallest of all the seeds. Indeed our faith seems to be more valueless than all the teachings of the philosophers. What shall be judged more foolish by the wise of this world than to have belief in a man who was killed and buried, and to scorn visible things and to desire things unseen? And there are other seeds, that is, the books of the philosophers which seem to be excellent because they treat subtly of the greatest things and they are composed in an admirable style, but as the Apostle says, the weakness of God is stronger than men 2 therefore when our seed grows in the mind that receives it, it rises up amid the whole world, and it appears greater than all other herbs, and indeed is like a tree. The teachings of the philosophers are the other herbs, but the strength of their usefulness comes to nothing, and therefore on account of their vanity they wither away. But the branches of our tree are the many parts of the faith which with the wings of virtue fly off to heavenly things. Whence it has been said, 'Who shall give to me the wings of a dove, that I might fly away and be at peace?' 3 Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 6 1 Mt 13.31-32 2 1 Cor 1.25 3 Ps 54.7

Advancing In Wisdom

Νόμιζε μοι τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφίαν μητέρα τινὰ εἶναι, καὶ νῦν μὲν τῷ νηπίῳ τὸν μαστὸν ἐπιδιδοῦσαν, καὶ βοῶσαν, Καλὸν, καλον, τοῦτό γε, εἶθ' ὕστερον πρὸς τὴν στερεὰν τροφὴν τὸν παῖδα ἐλαύνουσαν, καὶ χολῇ τὸν μαστὸν περιχρίουσαν, καὶ κράζουσαν συνεχῶς, Σαπρὸν, σαπρὸν τοῦτό γε. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΚϚ, Βενιαμιν Ἑβραιῳ Source: Migne PG 79.137a

Think, as I do, that the wisdom of God is something like a mother, who now gives her breast to the infant, saying, 'Good, this is good,' and later, so that the growing boy may take to solid food, she smears a bitter herb on the breast, and says to him, 'Bad, this is bad.' 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 126, To Benjamin the Hebrew 1 cf 1 Cor 3.1-2

Prayer And Vanity

Σὺ δὲ ὅταν προσεύχῃ, εἴσελθε εἰς τὸ ταμεῖόν σου καὶ κλείσας τὴν θύραν σου πρόσευξαι τῷ Πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ: καὶ ὁ Πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ ἀποδώσει σοι. Τί οὖν; ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ μή προσεύξωμαι; Καὶ πάνυ· ἀλλὰ μετὰ γνώμης ὀρθῆς, καὶ ὥστε μὴ ἐπιδείκνυσθαι, ἐπεὶ ὁ τόπος οὐ βλάπτει, ἀλλ' ὁ τρόπος καὶ ὁ σκοπός. Πολλοὶ γοῦν ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ εὐχόμενοι, πρὸς ἀνθρωπαρεσκίαν τοῦτο ποιοῦσιν. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ Ϛ' Source: Migne PG 123.204b

And you, when you pray, go into your inner room and close the door and pray to your Father in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 1 What then? Shall I not pray in church? Certainly, but with an upright soul, and without ostentation. The harm is not in the place, but in the manner and the intention. Many pray unseen, yet do so to please men. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 6 1 Mt 6.6

Knowledge, Sorrow, And Improvement

Scientia autem ista in primo gradu operatur poenitudinem et dolorem, ut risum in luctum, cantum in planctum, gaudium in moerorem convertat, et incipiant tibi displicere quae vehementer ante placuerant; et illa specialiter horreas quae specialiter appetebas. Sic enim scriptum est, Quia qui addit scientiam, addit et dolorem, ut veracis et sanctae scientiae sit dolor subsequens argumentum. In secundo vero gradu operatur correctionem, ut jam non exhibeas membra tua arma iniquitatis peccato, sed coerceas gulam, jugules luxuriam, superbiam deprimas, et facias servire corpus sanctitati, quod iniquitati ante servierat. Poenitudo enim sine correctione non proderit, sicut Sapiens ait: Unus aedificans, et unus destruens quid prodest eis nisi labor? Unus orans, et unus maledicens; cujus vocem exaudiet Deus? Qui enim baptizatur a mortuo, et iterum tangit eum, nihil proficit lavatio ejus, sed, juxta Salvatoris sententiam, verendum est ne ei aliquid deterius contingat. Sed quia haec diutius haberi non possunt, nisi circa se multa circumspectione mens indefessa vigilet et attendat; in tertio gradu operatur sollicitudinem, ut jam sollicitus incipiat ambulare cum Deo suo, et ex omni parte scrutetur, ne vel in levissima re tremendae illius majestatis offendat aspectus. In poenitudine accenditur, in correctione ardet, in sollicitudine lucet, ut interius et exterius renovetur. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In Vigilia Nativitatis Domini, Sermo II Source: Migne PL 183.96b-d

But for its first step such knowledge brings forth penance and sorrow, so that laughter becomes sorrow, singing becomes groaning, and joy is turned into grief, and what very much pleased you previously begins to displease you, and that which was especially desired becomes particularly horrid. For so it is written, 'He who adds to knowledge, adds to sorrow,' 1 and thus the consequent sorrow is the proof of true and holy knowledge. Now in the second step correction is performed, so that you no longer exhibit your members as arms of iniquity for sin, but you grasp the throat, throttling luxury and choking off pride, in order to make your body a servant of sanctity, that which before had served wickedness. For penance without correction does not profit, as Wisdom says, 'One man builds up, another casts down, and what is the gain for them but the toil of it? One prays and another curses, whose voice does the Lord hear? For he who is washed after touching a corpse, and again he touches it, his washing profits not at all.' 2 And according to understanding of the Lord, one must fear lest something worse befall. 3 But because men shall not able to hold to these things for a long time unless the mind shall be unwearyingly circumspect in watchfulness and attention, so the third step is the work of concern, in which with great care a man begins to walk with His God, for every part must be scrutinised, unless even something which is most light offend the sight of His wondrous majesty. In penance a man is kindled, in correction he catches flame, in concern he gives light, so that the interior and exterior is renewed. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons For The Year, On the Vigil of the Nativity of the Lord, from Sermon 2 1 Eccl 1.18 2 Sirach 34. 23-25 3 Jn 5.14

The Lamp And Good Deeds

Lucerna corporis tui est oculus tuus. Si oculus tuus fuerit simplex, totum corpus tuum lucidum erit. Si autem oculus tuus fuerit nequam, totum corpus tuum tenebrosum erit. Si ergo lumen, quod in te est, tenebræ sunt: ipsae tenebræ quantae erunt? Lucerna, etc. Superius insinuavit, quod nulla bona mala intentione debent fieri, et hoc in proximo ubi dixit: Ubi est thesaurus tuus, ibi est cor tuum. Quod ita probatur. Ideo pura intentione omnia debetis facere, quia oculus tuus, id est, bona intentio, est lucerna, id est illuminatio corporis tui, id est congeriei bonarum actionum. Si enim oculus tuus, etc. Determinat quomodo oculus est lucerna, scilicet si simplex est intentio, id est pura, non duplex, id est partim propter temporalia, partim propter coelestia, totum corpus lucidum est, id est, tota actio erit bona. Non tamen intelligendum est de malis, si bona intentione fiant, quod, ideo bona sint. Nullum enim per se malum bonum potest esse, etiamsi bona intentione fiat. Furtum enim facere, ut darem pauperibus, non esset bonum. Sed quaedam sunt quae indifferentia existunt, quae possunt flecti ad bona per intentionem, et ad mala. Sicut levare lapidem ut ponam in aedificio templi, et levare lapidem ut feriam hominem, et si dum bonum facio bona intentione, malum tamen inde contingat alicui, non est imputandum mihi pro peccato, sicut si dum levo lapidem in aedificium ecclesiae, lapis super hominem caderet et eum interficeret. Sed bona, si mala intentione fiant, mala sunt: sicut si jejuno propter laudem. Unde sequitur. Si oculus, id est, intentio, est nequam, id est, prava, et totum corpus, id est, tota actio est mala. Si ergo, etc. Et quandoquidem propter malam intentionem bona fiunt mala, ergo mala, per se facta mala intentione quanta erunt? Et hoc est: Ergo si lumen, id est intentio quae debet esse lumen operum, quod in te est, id est, in tua manu, tenebrae sunt, id est, prava et mala per se mala intentione facta, tenebrae quantae erunt, postquam malae intentioni unitae erunt? Vel aliter: Lumen est intentio dicta, quia nota est illi qui intendit. Exitus vero rei, quia incertus est, tenebrae dicitur. Ille enim qui intendit, licet cognoscat quid intendat, nescit tamen quid de facto eveniat, sive bonum sive malum. Ut cum alicui aliquid do vel ago, nescio utrum bono cedat illi an malo. Dicit ergo: Si intentio qua facis quae tibi nota est, appetitu temporalium sordidatur, quanto magis ipsum factum, cujus exitus dubius est? Quod etsi bene cedat alicui, quod non bona intentione facis, nihil tibi prodest, quia quomodo feceris tibi imputatur, non quomodo illi evenit. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput VI Source: Migne PL 162.1311a-1311d

The eye is the lamp of the whole body. If your eye is clear, the whole of your body will be lit up. But if your eye is wicked, your whole body will be in darkness. If, therefore, the light which is in you is darkness, how great shall the darkness be? 1 'The lamp...' Previously He has said that no good should be done with evil intent, 2 and just before this passage He said, 'Where is your treasure, there is your heart.' 3 Which thus is demonstrated. Therefore you should do everything with pure intent, because your eye, that is, your intent, is the lamp, that is, the illumination of your body, that is, for the acquirement of good acts. 'If your eye...' He determines how the eye is a lamp, that is, if it is simple in intent, pure, not twofold, that is, if it does not have a part for temporal things, and a part for heavenly things, then the whole body is light, that is, all action will be good. Regarding evil it must not be thought that if things are done with good intent, that therefore they are good. For no evil can be good even if it is done with good intent. To become a thief so that you may give to the poor is not a good. But those things which are indifferent, these may be turned to good by intention, or to evil. Just as I may lift up a stone and place it in the building of a temple, and then lift up a stone to cast it at a man. And if I do good with good intent, but evil touches it, sin must not be imputed to me, just as if I were to raise up a stone for the building of a church, but the stone falls on a man and kills him. Yet if goods are done with evil intent they are evils, as if I fast for the sake of praise. Whence it follows, 'If your eye,' that is your intent, 'is wicked,' that is, depraved, 'the whole body', that is the total action, is evil. 'If, therefore...' And whenever on account of evil intent we make goods evil, then how greater are the evils which are done with evil intent? And this is: 'Therefore if the light,' that is your intent, which should be the light of works, 'which is in you,' that is, in your hand, 'is darkness,' that is, depraved and evil, made so by evil intent, 'how great shall the darkness be?' after, when it is united with the evil intent? Or otherwise, the light is spoken for intent because it is known to him who intends, but the outcome of the thing, because it is uncertain, is called darkness. For to him who intends it is possible to know what he intends, however he does not know how the matter will fall out, whether it will be good or bad. Then when I give something to someone or do something to someone, I do not know whether it will turn out good or bad for him. Therefore, He says, if the intention by which you act, which is known to you, is defiled with temporal desire, how much more what is done, of which the outcome is doubtful? Because even if it falls out well for someone, because you did not act with good intent, it profits you not at all, because how you acted is imputed to you, not how things turned out. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 6 1 Mt 6.22 2 Mt 6.1-18 3 Mt 6.21

Judgement And Joseph

Joseph autem vir ejus esset justus, et nollet eam traducere, voluit occulte dimittere eam. Bene justus, quoniam justitiae custos erat, videbat namque sponsam concepisse suam, quam noverat a nullo viro fuisse attactam; videbat gravidam, quam vere noverat castam, et quia legerat in propheta de radice Jesse exiet virga, et flos de radice ejus ascendet, et noverat beatam Mariam originem duxisse de stirpe David, qui fuit filius Jesse, legeratque etiam: Ecce Virgo in utreo concipiet, et pariet filium, idcirco non discredebat, vel diffidebat hanc prophetiam esse implendam in ea, et cum esset justus, et omnia juste vellet agere, dignum existimavit ut haec nulli proderet, et tamen eam non acciperet uxorem, sed, mutato proposito nuptiarum, dimitteret eam, ut maneret sponsa sicuti fuerat. Et hoc est quod dicit evangelista, et nollet eam traducere, id est palam facere, sed occulte voluit dimittere, id est tempus nuptiarum mutare; quod si fecisset, perpauci essent qui non magis autumarent eam meretricem quam virginem, et idcirco repente consilium Joseph divino mutatum est consilio, nam haec eo cogitante, ecce angelus Domini in somnis apparuit ei. Justo Joseph, juste omnia cogitanti, et disponenti bene justus directus est nuntius, qui ad conservandam Virginis famam monuit ut eam acciperet uxorem. Hinc beatissimus Ambrosius ait: Maluit Dominus quosdam de suo ortu, quam de matris pudore dubitate; maluit aliquos modum suae conceptionis ignorare, quam castitatem suae Genitricis infamare; hoc est magis elegit ut filius fabri diceretur, quam ut ejus mater adultera vocaretur. Per hoc vero quod angelus in somnis apparuit Jospeh, requies designatur mentis, et quia requiescebat a curis saecularibus, idcirco angelica visitatione pariter et locutione meruit perfrui. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Homilia IV Source: Migne PL 131.887a-d

Joseph, her man, was righteous, and unwilling to disgrace her, he wished to send her away quietly... 1 Certainly he was a righteous man, because he was a guardian of righteousness, for he saw his betrothed had conceived, whom he knew no man had touched, he saw her pregnant whom he truly knew to be chaste, and because he had read in the prophet, 'From the root of Jesse shall come forth a shoot, and a flower from the root shall rise up,' 2 and he knew the blessed Mary's lineage to be of the seed of David, who was the son of Jesse, and he had also read, 'Behold a virgin shall conceive in her womb and she shall give birth to a son,' 3 therefore he did not disbelieve or doubt that this prophecy had been fulfilled in her, and since he was righteous and wished to do everything justly, he judged it best that he would not give her over to disgrace. Yet he did not receive her as his wife, but changing the intention of marriage, he wished to send her way, so that she would remain betrothed just as she was. And this is what the Evangelist says, 'And unwilling to disgrace her,' that is, to do so publicly, 'he wished to send her away quietly,' that is to postpone the time of marriage, which if he had done, there would have been few who would not have deemed here a harlot rather than a virgin, and therefore suddenly the plan of Joseph was altered by the Divine plan, for as he was thinking on this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. To the righteous Joseph, who thinking of all things rightly, and well disposed, was yet directed by a messenger, who admonished him to preserve the reputation of the Virgin by taking her as his wife. Hence the most blessed Ambrose says that the Lord preferred that some should doubt the mother's birth than her modesty, and to be ignorant of her conception than question the mother's chastity, that is, He chose that He should be called the son of a carpenter than his mother be called an adulteress. And then through this, that an angel appeared in a dream to Joseph, the mind's rest is indicated, even that because it rested for worldly cares it thus merited the enjoyment of an angelic visitation together with its speech. Remigius of Auxerre, from Homily 4 1 Mt 1.19 2 Isaiah 11.1 3 Isaiah 7.14

The Shadowing Of Mary

Et respondens angelus, dixit ei: Spiritus sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi. Non virili, inquit, quod non cognoscis, semine, sed Spiritus sancti quo impleris, opere concipies, Erit in te conceptio, libido non erit. Concupiscentiae non erit aestus, ubi umbram faciet Spiritus sanctus. Verum in eo quod ait, Et virtus Altissimi obumbravit tibi, potest etiam incarnati Salvatoris utraque natura designari. Umbra quippe a lumine solet et corpore formari. Et cui obumbratur, lumine quidem vel calore solis quantum sufficit reficitur, sed ipse solis ardor, ne ferri nequeat, interposita vel nubecula levi, vel quolibet alio corpore temperatur. Beatae itaque Virgini, quia quasi pura homo omnem plenitudinem divinitatis corporaliter capere nequibat, virtus Altissimi obumbravit, id est, incorporea lux divinitatis corpus in ea susceptit humanitatis. Sanctus Beda,In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber Primus Source: Migne PL 92.318d-319a

And the angel answered her, saying, 'The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you.' 1 You shall not conceive by man's seed, which you do not know, but by the Holy Spirit, by whom you shall be filled. There shall be in you a conception without lust. When the Holy Spirit brings shade there shall be no heat of concupiscence. Truly in this which is said, 'And the power of the Most High will cover you,' it is indeed possible to distinguish the incarnation of the Saviour in both natures. Certainly a shadow is accustomed to be formed by the sun and a body. And the one who is shadowed from the light or the heat of the sun is refreshed in as much as shade is provided, and so against that blaze of the sun, lest it not be able to be borne, there is interposed a light cloud, or some other body, which tempers it. Therefore the power of the Most High shadowed the blessed Virgin, because even a pure human cannot corporeally contain the whole plenitude of Divinity, that is, the incorporeal light of Divinity that was taking up a human body in her. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 1 1 Lk 1.35

A Troubling Word

...turbata est in sermone ejus.. Ecce causa turbationis. Turbatur enim in sermone, non de sermone : quia ea quae sermo dixit, ipsa in oratione petivit. Sed quia in sermone, sermonem ad eam tam humilem convertit, ideo turbata est. Fuit enim sermo terribilis in auditu, profundus in sensu, et admirabilis in dictis. Locutio enim Angeli ad Moysen terribilis fuit: quod dicit Apostolus, ad Hebr. Ita terribile erat quod videbatur, quod ipse Moyses qui primus inter homines fuit, dicit: Exterritus sum, ettremebundus. Et ideo dicitur in Psalmo lxxvi: Vox tonitrui tui, Deus, in rota, hoc est, sonus terribilis Angeli in Galilaea. Job, XXVI: Cum vix parvam stillam sermonis ejus audierimus, quis poterit tonitruum magnitudinis illius intueri? Propter quod etiam dicitur, Joan. XII, cum blande de clarificatione Pater loqueretur ad Filium, turbae adstantes existimabant tonitruum factum esse. Et similiter, Act. IX, cum de caelo Christus loqueretur Paulo, ipse Paulus corruit: et caeteri qui comitabantur cum eo stabant stupefacti. Ista autem Virgo omnibus constantior et fortior non cecidit, nec confusionem passa est: sed in sermone humanum et puellare aliquid passa, est turbata. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput I Source: Here p68

...she was troubled at his word... 1 Observe the cause of her trouble. She is troubled at the word not about the word, for what that word said she had sought in prayer. But because it is 'at his word,' it turns on the word that was addressed to her so humbly, because of which she was troubled. For the word was wondrous to hear, profound in meaning, admirable in telling. The word of the angel to Moses was wondrous, whence the Apostle says in the twelfth chapter of Hebrews: 'Thus it was wondrous what he saw, because Moses who was the best among men said, 'I am terrified, and I am shaking.' 2 And therefore in the seventy sixth Psalm: 'The voice of your thunder, O God, in your circuit,' 3 that is, the wondrous sound of the angel in Galilee. In the twenty sixth chapter of Job, 'When we will scarcely hear the slight dew of His word, who shall be able to endure the great magnitude of His thunder?' 4 On account of which it is said in the twelfth chapter of John that when the Father spoke to the Son softly for clarification, the crowd standing nearby reckoned it had thundered. 5 And similarly in the ninth chapter of Acts when Christ speaks to Paul from heaven, Paul collapses, and the others who were with him stand by stupefied. 6 But the Virgin, more constant and stronger than all these, did not fall, nor did she suffer confusion, but because the speech was delivered in such a kindly fashion and in a way befitting a girl, she was troubled. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 1 1 Lk 1.29 2 Heb 12.21 3 Ps 76.19 4 Job 26.14 5 Jn 12.29 6 Acts 9.3-7

The Words Of The Wise

Quare verba sapientium stimulis et clavis assimilantur? Sic enim dicit Salomon: Verba sapientium sicut stimuli, et quasi clavi in altum defixi? Aptissime verba sapientium, stimuis et clavis comparantur, qui peccatorum culpas nesciunt palpare, sed pungere. Qui enim sunt veraciter sapients, eorum procul dubio verba clavi sunt et stimuli, qui peccatores non blandimentis fovent, sed aspera increpatione redarguut, et secretas eorum conscientias quasi pungendo, ad lamenta et ad laborem excitant ut corrigantur. Honorius Augustodunensis, Quaestiones Et Ad Easdem Responsiones In Duos Salomonis Libros, In Ecclesiasten, Caput XII Source: Migne PL 172.345b-c

Why are the words of the wise compared to nails and goads, so that Solomon says, 'The words of the wise are like goads, and as nails hammered deeply within.'? 1 Most aptly are the words of the wise compared to goads and nails because they do not know how to indulge the faults of sinners, but they strike them. Without doubt the words of those who are truly wise are nails and goads, since they do not delight sinners with pleasant speech, but bitterly dispute with them, and as if striking the secrets of their conscience, they drive them to laments and toil so that they might improve themselves. Honorius of Autun, Questions and Answers on Two Books of Solomon, On Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12 1 Eccl 12.11

Truth And Reward

Ἔστιν ὁ ἀλήθειαν λέγων καὶ ὑπὸ ἀφρόνων μισούμενος, κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον· καὶ ἔστιν ὁ ὑποκρινόμενος καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀγαπώμενος. Ὅμως οὐδέτερον τῶν ἀνταποδόσεων τούτων πολυχρόνιον γίνεται, διότι ὁ Κύριος, ἐν ἰδίῳ καιρῷ, ἐκάστῳ τὸ δέον ἀνταποδίδωσιν. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.957b

He who speaks the truth shall have the hatred of the mindless, according to the Apostle, 1 and he who lies shall be loved because of that. But neither of these rewards last for a long time, rather it is the Lord who to each in his own time shall give the fitting reward. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works 1 Jn 8.40

Mourning And Comfort

Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται. Οἱ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασι πενθοῦντες, οὐχὶ ἐπὶ τινι τῶν βιωτικῶν· πενθοῦντες δὲ εἴπε, τουτέστιν, ἀεὶ καὶ οὐχ ἅπαξ· καὶ οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἁμαρτημάτων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν τοῦ πλησίον. Παρακληθήσονται δὲ καὶ ἐνταῦθα· ὁ γὰρ πενθῶν δι' ἁμαρτίαν, χαίρει πνευματικῶς· καὶ ἐκεῖ δὲ πολλῳ μᾶλλον. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ E' Source: Migne PG 123.188b

Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 1 They who mourn sins, not temporal things. And He speaks of mourning here as something that is being done continually and not just once, and that this is not only for our own sins but even for the sins of our neighbours. And 'they shall be comforted' even here, for he who mourns on account of sin, he rejoices spiritually, and there shall much more. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.5

Wisdom Amid Good And Evil

In duobus servitur Deo, faciendo bonum et patiendo malum. In confessoribus remuneratur bona actio, in martyribus passio Ad agendum bonum necessaria est sapientia; ad tolerandum malum necessaria patientia. Sapientia ut bonum bene fiat; patientia, ne malum patiens malus fiat. Qui enum bonum facit in bona materia operatur, sed si bonum bene non facit, per malam formam bona materia deformatur. Bona est forma, ubi nec plus nec minus justo est. Si plus justo sit, peccatum est, si minus justo sit, delictum. Igitur qui bonum bene facit, quasi bonae materiae bonam formam imprimit. Ad tolerantiam autem mali patientia necessaria est, quia qui malo per impatientiam cedit, a bono recedit. Sicut enim malum quod est culpa faciendum non est, sic malum quod est poena patiendum est. Poena autem dolor est, dolor vero aliud non est nisi cum amittitur quod amatur; vel in abrenuntiatione culpae, cum peccatum quod prius delectabat relinquitur vel in abrenuntiatione possessionis propriae, cum terrena substantia quae foris possidebatur, deseritur, vel in abrenuntatione delectionis mundanae cum carnalium sensuum lascivia mortificatur. In omnibus his labor est, nec sine dolore quidquam horum fieri potest. Haec igitur est patientia sanctorum. Qui sustinentiam deserunt, apostatunt. Post ultimam abrenuntiationem, primo per vanitatem, quia mundanam jucunditatem ad voluptatem repetunt. Post secundam, secundo per cupiditatem, quia postpositas divitias mundi ad superfinitatem ambiunt. Post primam, tertio per iniquitatem, qua anteacta peccata et dimissa iterare praesumunt. Itaque patientia ad tolerantiam necessaria est, ne habeat homo per vanitatem in consilio impiorum, nec stet per cupiditatem in via peccatorum, nec sedeat per iniquitatem in cathedra pestilentia. Job ad mundi jucunditatem minime respexerat qui dicebat: Si vidi solem cum fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare, ordine suo. Post divitias mundi apostatare David nos prohibet dicens: Noli aemulari in eo qui prosperatur in via sua. Post peccata dimissa apostatare ipse Dominus prohibet, dicens: Vade et amplius noli peccare. Et propheta: Observabo me ab iniquitate mea. Igitur homo accednes ad servitutem Dei stet in loco suo per patientiam, ut non cedat nec recedat. Operetur bonum pro adimplendo primo debito, patiatur malum pro expiando primo delicto. Nam ut faciat bonum? factus est homo, ut patiatur malum, fecit homo. Pro eo igitur quod factus est facit bonum, pro eo quod fecit patiur malum. Primus enim homo sic factus est ut proficeret de bone innocentiae, per bonum obedientiae, ad bonum gloriae. Sed mutans locum et innocentiam deserens, deficere coepit, et ire de malo iniquitatis per malum mortalitatis ad malum damnationis. Venit autem Salvator, et monstravit aliam viam, qua ad patriam revertatur homo, per bonum justitiae et malum poenae ad bonum gloriae. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I, Tit CVII, De sapientia in faciendo bono, et de patientia in tolerando malo Source: Migne PL 177.536c-537b

In two things there is service to God, the doing of good and the suffering of evil. In the good deed is reward for the faithful, in suffering for martyrs. Wisdom is necessary for the doing of good, patience for the endurance of evil. Wisdom so that the good may be done well, patience so that evil may not be suffered badly. He who does good works with good material but if he does not do good well he deforms the good material with bad form. The form is good when there is no more and no less than what is fitting. If there is too much it is an error, too little a fault. Therefore he who does good well, impresses a good form on good material. Now for the endurance of evil patience is necessary, because whoever falls into evil because of impatience, falls from the good. Thus as the evil which is culpable must not be done, so the evil which is a penalty must be endured. Punishment is sorrow, yet sorrow is nothing but the loss of what is loved, either in the renunciation of fault when the sin which once delighted is abandoned, or in the renunciation of one's possessions, when worldly substance, which was held exteriorly, is given up, or in the renunciation of worldly pleasure when the lust of corporeal sense is mortified. In all these there is toil, and they cannot be done without grief. This, then, is the patience of the saints, but he apostatizes who flees endurance. Now after this last renunciation mentioned first comes vanity, because a man again seeks worldly joys and pleasure. After the second renunciation, comes the desire for riches because the wealth of the world, opposing the infinite, surrounds one. After the first renunciation comes wickedness because of the thought of those sins formerly committed and a presumption of repeated forgiveness. Therefore patience for the sake of suffering is necessary, lest a man because of vanity receive the counsel of the wicked, and because of avarice stand in the way of sinners, and because of wickedness sit in the chair of pestilence. 1 Job hardly looked again to the joys of the world, saying, 'If I saw the sun when it blazed, and the moon when it shone...' 2 in their way. David prohibits us to apostatize after the wealth of the world when he says: 'Do not imitate him who prospers in his own way.' 3 The Lord prohibits apostasy after sin is forgiven when He says: 'Go and do not sin again.' 4 And the prophet says: 'I shall guard myself from my wickedness.' 5 Therefore let a man who comes to the service of God stand fast in his place by patience, so that he does not fall and turn away. Let him work good for the fulfilment of the first debt, and suffer evil for the expiation of the first sin. For man was made to do good, and that he suffers evil was the work of man. Therefore he does good because of Him who made him, and he suffers because of him who did evil. The first man was made to advance from the good of innocence in the good of obedience to the good of glory. But changing his place and losing innocence he began to fall, and to go from the evil of iniquity through the evil of mortality to the evil of damnation. But the Saviour came and showed another way, which returns a man to his fatherland through the good of righteousness and suffering the evil of the penalty to the good of glory. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chapter 107, On wisdom in doing good and in the suffering of evil. 1 Ps 1.1 2 Job 31.26 3 Ps 36.7 4 Jn 8.11 5 Ps 17.24

Day And Night, Men And Beasts

De die ista, dilectissimi,quae mane tertia, sexta, nona, undecima, et vespera, in evangelica parabola distinguitur ad laborem laborisque mercedem, quod heri diximus, nequaquam hodie permutamus, videlicet conversionem ad Deum sensu et affectu diem accipi, sicut aversionem noctem, qua nemo potest operari. Sunt enim in hominibus sensus et appetitus, secundum quos animalia dicuntur, nec a bestiis ulla per hos eminentia secernuntur: quibus tamen si supponitur ratio, ut utrique principetur, existent quidem simul sensu et affectu animalia, ac mente rationali, mortalitateque poenali, homines necessario post peccatum, ac pro peccato morituri: qui ante peccatum, et sine peccato poterant non mori. In quibus ergo sensus vel affectus rationem nondum sequitur, sed reluctatur, et ut, proh pudor, in nonnullis obtingit, ipsa contra ipsam ratione abutitur: hi nimirum, quamlibet astuti, callidi, sensati, gratiosi, placidive, nondum homines sunt: aut si ob rationem dicendi homines asseruntur, utique quia capite deorsum gradiuntur, non tam homines quam de hominibus monstra esse convincuntur. Os, inquit poeta, homini sublime dedit.  In talibus, dilectissimi, aliquando reluctatur quidem, sed tamen superatur, ac trahitur captiva, quae sola est ratio. Vae enim soli, quia si ceciderit, non est qui sublevet eum. Aliquando vero sponte enervis, effracta, et evirata sequitur, succumbuit, a omni spurcitiae libenter se contradit. Primi ergo mali, secundi pessimi: utrique noctis et tenbrarum filii, sed alii noctem suam amant, alii diem desiderant, alii nihil habentes hominis, alii parum, alii soluti, alii vincti. Utrique in tenebris sunt, in tenebris ambulant, bestiis silvae, id est carnalibus passionibus, ac saecularibus desideriis: et catulis leonum, id est spiritualibus nequitiis in coelestibus nocturna praeda effecti, sicut scriptum est: Posuisti tenebras, et facta est nox, in ipsa pertransibunt omnes bestiae silvae, catuli leonum, etc. Dum igitur ad seipsum advertitur homo, sive ad suum sensum, sive ad viluntatem, sive etiam ad rationem, licet eo usque profecerit, ut jumentum exuens, hominem induat: utique nec noctem evadit, nec in diem vadit. Ad meipsum, ait Videns, contrubata est anima mea: propterae memor coepit esse Dei tanquam diei. Deus enim totus lux est, et in eo solo tenebrae non sunt ulla. Nam sancti angeli etsi in ipso mane inveniant, in se tamen vespere offendunt: quibus verpere sui, et mane Dei, perficitur dies unus, seu primus. In se ergo solus Deus diem invenit: qui dum menti rationali praeveniente gratia illucere incipit, ei mane facit; et inter tenbras ac lcuem dividit. Est itaque spiritualis diei antelucanam mane gratia, quae rationem praevenit, et a se ad Deum convertit; ac de tenebris ignorantiae, vel ut dictum est, impotentiae, seu etiam malitiae, in die sapientiae, virtutis ac justitiae, id est Christi Domini, inducit. Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, Sermo XVII, In Septuagesima II Source: Migne PL 194.1745b-1746a

Concerning that day which the parable divides into the morning, and the third hour and the sixth hour and the ninth hour and the eleventh hour and the evening, for labour and the reward of labour, 1 which we spoke of yesterday, we shall not dismiss today, that is, turning to God with the mind and with the heart will still be understood as the day and turning away as the night 'in which no one is able to work.' 2 Men possess sense and appetite, according to which they are said to be animals, and by which they cannot be distinguished from beasts, but if reason is added so that it rules both, with animal senses and appetite existing at the same time with the rational mind, then with the penalty of death men perish after sin and because of sin, who before sin and without sin did not die. 3 In those, then, who possess sense and appetite, yet who do not follow reason but rather fight against it, as, alas, happens in many, reason is used against itself. These sort, however clever they are, however learned, however sensible, however charming or gentle, are not human, or if by a habit of speech they are called men, yet because they walk with their heads thrust down, so they are convicted of being men who are monsters among men. 'Man was given a face for the heights,' as a poet says. 4 In such folk, dearest brothers, forsaken reason is dragged off to captivity, for though they may sometimes struggle yet they are overthrown. 'Alas for the man who is alone, because if he falls there is no one to lift him up.' 5 Then sometimes reason is so enervated, daunted, and unmanned, that of its own accord it follows, succumbs to, and happily gives itself to any sort of vileness. The former sort are wicked, the latter worse, and both are children of the night and of the darkness. The latter love the night and the former desire the day. The latter have nothing human about them, the former retain a little. The former wear loose bonds, the latter are utterly conquered. But both are in darkness, and 'in darkness they walk,' 6 beasts of the wood, that is, they walk in the carnal passions and in worldly desires, and are made the prey of the whelps of the lion, that is, of 'the wicked spirits of the heavens.' 7 As it is written, 'You have placed the darkness and night falls, in which pass all the beasts of the wood, the whelps of lions.' 8 When, therefore, a man turns to himself, or even to reason, so that he might improve himself by stripping off the animal and putting on the man, he neither escapes the night nor does he come to the light of the day. 'My soul has troubled me,' he says looking about himself, and because of this he begins to think of God as of the day. 'For God is all light and there is no darkness at all in Him.' 9 For even if the holy angels find the morning in Him, yet in themselves they stumble in the evening, which evening of theirs and the morning of God make one day, the first day. 10 Therefore God alone has the day in Himself, and when He begins to shine grace into rational minds, He creates the morning and separates the light from the darkness. 11 Thus grace is the dawn of the spiritual day, which not only precedes reason but turns it from itself to God and leads it from the darkness of ignorance or, as has been said, of impenitence, and even of wickedness, into the daylight of wisdom, and virtue, and righteousness, that is, into the day of Christ our Lord. Isaac of Stella, from Sermon 17, The Second Sermon for Septuagesima 1 Mt 20.1-16 2 Jn 9.4 3 Rom 8.10 4 Ovid Meta 1.84 5 Eccl 4.10 6 Ps 81.5 7 Ephes 6.12 8 Ps 103.20-21 9 Ps 41.7, 1 Jn 1.5 10 Gen 1.5 11 Gen 1.4

Desire And Rule

Sub te est, o homo, appetitus tuus, et tu dominaberis illi. Potest inimicus excitare tentationis motum: sed in te est, si volueris, dare seu negare consensum. In tua facultate est, si volueris, inimicum tuum facere servum tuum, ut omnia tibi cooperentur in bonum. Ecce enim inflammat inimicus desiderium cibi, vanitatis aut impatientiae cogitationes ingerit, aut excitat libidinis motum: tu solummodo ne consenseris; et quoties restiteris, toties coronaberis.Verumtamen negare non possumus, fratres, molesta sunt haec, et periculosa: sed, et in ipso certamine, si viriliter resistimus, quaedam pia tranquillitas de conscientia bona nascitur. Credo etiam, si cogitationes istas quam cito in nobis advertimus, non patimur remorari, sed in spiritu vehementi animus adversus illas excitatur, quoniam inimicus confusus abscedet a nobis, nec tam libenter illico revertetur. Sed qui sumus nos, aut quae fortitudo nostra, ut tam multis tentationibus resistere valeamus? Hoc erat certe quod quaerebat Deus, hoc erat ad quod nos perducere satagebat: ut videntes defectum nostrum, et quod non est nobis auxilium aliud, ad ejus misericordiam tota humilitate curramus. Propterea rogo vos, fratres, ut semper ad manum habeatis tutissimum orationis refugium. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In capite Jejunii, Sermo V, De triplici modo orationis Source: Migne PL 183.179b-d

But your desire is beneath you, O man, and you may rule over it. 1 The enemy is able to stir up the trial of temptation, but it is for you, as you choose, to give or to refuse consent. You have the ability, if you wish, to make your enemy your slave, so that everything works for your good. For behold, the enemy inflames you with a desire for food, he fills your thoughts with vanity or impatience, or he excites lust, but you may not consent, and then as many times as you resist, so as many times you are crowned. We are not able to refuse these troubles and perils, brothers, but if we bravely resist in the struggle a certain pious tranquility shall be born from a good conscience. Indeed I believe that these thoughts which suddenly come to you should not be suffered to remain with you, but the soul should rise against them with an ardent spirit, because a foe that is confused withdraws from us, nor does he eagerly return there. But who are we, or what is our power, that we might have the strength to resist so many temptations? This is certainly what God asked, this was what He troubled us to consider, so that looking on our defects and noting that there is no other help for us, we should hasten to His mercy in all humility. Therefore I entreat you, brothers, always have that most secure refuge of prayer to hand. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons For The Year, At the Beginning of the Fast, from the Fifth Sermon, Concerning the three ways of prayer 1 Gen 4.7

Kings And Reigns

Tam Filio Dei, quam Antichristo regnandi studium est. Sed et Antichristus regnare desiderat, ut occidat quos sibi subjecerit; Christus ad hoc regnat ut salvet. Et unusquisque nostrum, si felix est; regnatur a Christo sermone, sapientia, justitia, veritate. Si autem amatores voluptatis sumus magis quam amatores Dei, regnamur a peccato, de quo Apostolus loquitur: Non ergo regnet peccatum in vestro mortali corpore. Duo igitur reges certatim regnare festinant: peccati rex peccatoribus diabolus, justitiae rex justis Christus. Origenes, Homiliae in Lucam, Homilia XXX, Interprete Sancto Hieronymo Source: Migne PG 13.1877a-b

As it is with the Son of God, so the Antichrist has a zeal to rule. But the Antichrist desires to rule so that he may ruin those who are subject to him, whereas Christ wishes to save us. Each of us, if we are blessed, rule through Christ, in word, and in wisdom, and in righteousness, and in truth. But if we are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, then we are ruled by sin, concerning which the Apostle says, 'Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body.' 1 Thus two kings are eager to reign, the devil over sinners in sin, and Christ over the righteous in righteousness. Origen, Homilies on Luke, from Homily 30, Translated by Saint Jerome 1 Rom 6.12

Foreign To Me

Manu mea scripsi atque condidi verba ista danda et tradenda, militibus mittenda Corotici, non dico civibus meis neque civibus sanctorum Romanorum sed civibus daemoniorum, ob mala opera ipsorum. Ritu hostili in morte vivunt, socii Scottorum atque Pictorum apostatarumque. Sanguilentos sanguinare de sanguine innocentium Christianorum, quos ego in numero Deo genui atque in Christo confirmavi! Postera die qua crismati neophyti in veste candida, flagrabat in fronte ipsorum dum crudeliter trucidati atque mactati gladio supradictis, misi epistolam cum sancto presbytero quem ego ex infantia docui, cum clericis, ut nobis aliquid indulgerent de praeda vel de captivis baptizatis quos ceperunt: cachinnos fecerunt de illis. Idcirco nescio quid magis lugeam: an qui interfecti vel quos ceperunt vel quos graviter zabulus inlaqueavit. Perenni poena gehennam pariter cum ipso mancipabunt, quia utique qui facit peccatum servus est et filius zabuli nuncupatur. Quapropter resciat omnis homo timens Deum quod a me alieni sunt et a Christo Deo meo, pro quo legationem fungor, patricida, fratricida, lupi rapaces devorantes plebem Domini ut cibum panis, sicut ait: Iniqui dissipaverunt legem tuam, Domine, quam in supremis temporibus Hiberione optime benigne plantaverat atque instructa erat favente Deo. Non usurpo. Partem habeo cum his quos advocavit et praedestinavit evangelium praedicare in persecutionibus non parvis usque ad extremum terrae, etsi invidet inimicus per tyrannidem Corotici, qui Deum non veretur nec sacerdotes ipsius, quos elegit et indulsit illis summam divinam sublimam potestatem, quos ligarent super terram ligatos esse et in caelis. Unde ergo quaeso plurimum, sancti et humiles corde, adulari talibus non licet nec cibum nec potum sumere cum ipsis nec elemosinas ipsorum recipi debeat donec crudeliter per paenitentiam effusis lacrimis satis Deo faciant et liberent servos Dei et ancillas Christi baptizatas, pro quibus mortuus est et crucifixus. Sanctus Patricius Hibernorum Apostolus, Epistola Ad Coroticum Source: Migne PL 53.815a-c

With my own hand I have written and put together these words to be given and handed on and sent to the warriors of Coroticus. I cannot say that they are my fellow citizens, nor fellow citizens of the saints of Rome, but rather, because of their evil deeds, they are fellow citizens of demons. By their hostile ways they live in death, friends of the godless Scots and Picts. They are covered in blood, blood stained with the blood of innocent Christians, whose number I had given birth to in God and confirmed in Christ. The newly baptised and anointed were dressed in white robes, the anointing was still to be seen clearly on their foreheads, and they were cruelly slain and sacrificed by the sword of the ones I have referred to. On the day after that, I sent a letter by a holy priest whom I had taught from infancy, with clerics, to ask that they return to us some of the booty of the baptised prisoners they had captured. They laughed at them. So I don't know what I should lament the more, those who were slain, or those who were made captives, or those whom the devil has so gravely ensnared, who will be delivered up to the eternal pains of Gehenna equally along with the devil, because whoever commits sin is rightly called a slave and a son of the devil. 1 For this reason, let every man who fears God know that these people are foreign to me and to Christ my God, for whom I am an ambassador, they who are patricides and fratricides, savage wolves devouring the people of God, just as they would bread for food. 2 It is just as it is said: 'The wicked have routed your law, O Lord,' 3 the very law which in recent times He so graciously planted in Ireland and that has taken root with God's help. I am not overreaching in my office, I have a part with those whom God called and destined to preach the Gospel, even in persecutions that are no small matter, even to the ends of the earth, even amid the malice of the enemy through the tyranny of Coroticus, who respects neither God nor his priests, those whom God has chosen, granting to them the Divine and sublime power that whatever they should bind on earth will also be bound in heaven. 4 Therefore, before everything else, I ask all who are holy and humble of heart not to speak well of such men, nor even to share food or drink with them, nor accept alms from them, 5 until such time as they make satisfaction to God in severe penance and shedding of tears, and until they release the servants of God and the baptised handmaids of Christ, for whom He died and was crucified. Saint Patrick Apostle of the Irish, from The Letter to Coroticus 1 Jn 8.34-44 2 Ps 13.4 3 Ps 118.126 4 Mt 16.19 5 cf 2 Jn 10-11

Advice To Those In The World

Ἤκουσά τινων ἐν κόσμῳ ἀμελῶς διακειμένων, εἰρηκότων πρός με· Πῶς δυνάμεθα ὁμοζύγῳ συζῶντες, καὶ δημοσίαις φροντίσι περικείμενοι τὸν μοναδικὸν βίον μετελθεῖν; Πρὸς οὔς ἀπεκρίθημεν. Πάντα ὅσα δύνασθε ποιεῖν ἀγαθὰ, ποιήσατε· μηδένα λοιδορήσητε· μηδένα κλέψητε· μηδενὶ ψεύσησθε· μνδενὸς κατεπερθῆτε· μηδένα μισήσητε· τῶν συνάξεων μὴ χωρίζησθε· τοῖς δεομένοις συμπαθήσατε· μηδένα σκανδαλίσητε· ἀλλοτρίᾳ μερίδι μὴ προσεγγίσητε· καὶ ἀρκεῖσθε τοῖς ὀψωνίοις τῶν γυναικῶν ὑμῶν. Ἐὰν οὗτως ποιήσατε, οὐ μακρὰν ἔσεσθε τῆς Βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος, ἡ Κλίμαξ, Λογος A’ Source: Migne PG 88.640c-641a

I have heard some who live happily in the world ask me: 'How can we lead the monastic life when we are married and beset with worldly cares?' I answered them: 'Do every good thing that you can. Do not speak ill of anyone. Do not steal from anyone. Do not lie to anyone. Do not scorn anyone. Do not hate anyone. Do not neglect to attend Church. Show compassion to those in need. Do not scandalise anyone. Do not attach yourself to another man's wife but be content with what your own wife gives you. If you act like this, you will not be far from the kingdom of Heaven.' Saint John Climacus, The Ladder, from Step 1

The Ways

Intrate per angustam portam, usque, Et pauci sunt qui inveniunt eam. Lata via est quae tendit ad saeculi voluptates, cujus inquisitione aut inventione opus non est, quia sponte se offerunt. Angustam vero viam omnes inveniunt, nec qui inveniunt statim ingrediuntur per eam, siquidem multi de medio itinere veritatis, saeculi voluptatibus capti, revertuntur. Sanctus Beda, In Matthaei Evangelium Expositio, Lib I, Caput VII Source: Migne PL 92.37c

'Enter through the narrow gate ...' up to '...there are few who find it.' 1 The way is wide that directs to worldly pleasures, in the acquisition and discovery of which there is no toil, but immediately they are set before one. Yet not all who find the narrow way immediately walk on it, for many, seized by worldly pleasures, turn aside from travelling on the way of truth. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Book 1, Chapter 7 1 Mt 7.13-14

The Falling Tree

Quid est ait, Si ceciderit lignum ad austrum, aut ad aquilonem, in quocunque loco ceciderit ibi erit? Nunquid lignum quod cadit contra aquilonem aut meridiem, ibi erit? Nonne saepe movetur in alias mundi partes? Nulli hoc dubium est, sed haec sententia spirituliter debet intelligi. Per lignum homo designatur quoniam unusquisuqe quasi lignum est in silva generis humani. Per aquilonem, qui est frigidus ventus, designatur inferni supplicium, et est sensus: Ubicunque homo sibi locum et futuram sedem praeparaverit, ibi erit cum mortuus fuerit, hoc est, si bene vivendo sibi praeparaverit ad austrum,cum ceciderit, id est cum mortuus fuerit, in requie paradasi et gloria regni coelestis permanebit in aeternum; sin male vivendo sibi locum ad boream praeparaverit, inferni poenas in saecula saeculorum habebit. Honorius Augustodunensis, Quaestiones Et Ad Easdem Responsiones In Duos Salomonis Libros, In Ecclesiasten, Caput XI Source: Migne PL 172.345b-c

Why is it said, 'If a tree falls to the south or to the north, in whatever place it falls there it shall be.'? 1 Shall a tree that falls to the north or to the south be there? Is it not often moved to some other place in the world? Let there be no doubt but that this should be understood spiritually. By the tree man is designated, because each one is like a tree in the forest of the human race. By the north wind, which is a cold wind, the punishment of hell is signified, and the meaning is that wherever a man has prepared as a future place and seat for himself, there he shall be when he is dead. Thus if he lives well he shall have prepared a place for himself to the south when he falls, that is, when he is dead, and he shall dwell forever in the rest of paradise and in the glory of the heavenly kingdom, but if he lives wickedly he shall have prepared himself a place to the north, and he shall dwell amid the punishments of hell forever. Honorius of Autun, Questions and Answers on Two Books of Solomon, On Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11 1 Eccl 11.3

Withering And Flowering

...ἐπαλαιώθην ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς μου ... Ὅρα εἰ δύναται τὸ, Ἐπαλαιώθν ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἐχθροῖς μου, καὶ ἑτέραν νόησιν ἔχειν. Ὅτε σὺν δικαιοσύνῃ ἔζων, ἐνέαζον ἀεὶ ζῶν κατὰ τὴν καινότητα τοῦ πνεύματος καὶ τὴν καινὴν διαθήκην· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐξ ἀποροσεξίας ἡμετέρας μετέστην τοῦ ἐπαινετῶς ζῇν παρὰ τοῖς ἑχθροῖς γενάμενος, πεπαλαίωμαι, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκείνου παλαιότητα, ὄν ἐνδυσώμεθα τὸν νέον ἄνθρωπον, τὸν κατὰ Θεὸν κτισθέντα ἐν ὁσιότητι καὶ γνώσει τῆς ἀληθείας· οὗτος δὲ ἐστιν ὁ βίος ὁ ἀκηλίδωτος. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος Ϛ’ Source: Migne PG 39.11177c-d

...I withered amid all my enemies... 1 Note that 'I have withered amid all my enemies' can have another meaning. 'When I was living righteously, I was always being renewed in my life according to the newness of the spirit and new faith. But after, because of fault, cut off from the midst of that glorious life, I withered among enemies, as if with old age, like that old man whom Paul exhorts us to slough off, so that we may put on the new man, who is created according to God in holiness and the knowledge of the truth, 2 and this is the immaculate life. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 6 1 Ps 6.8 2 Ephes 4.24

The House And The Rain

Δοκοὶ οἴκων ἡμῶν κέδροι, φατνώματα ἡμῶν κυπάρισσοι. Πάντως δὲ τὰ δηλούμενα διὰ τῶν ξύλων αἰνίγματα φανερὰ τοῖς ἐπακολουθοῦσι τῷ εἱρμῷ τῆς διανοίας ἐστίν. βροχὴν ὀνομάζει τὰς ποικίλας τῶν πειρασμῶν προσβολὰς ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ ὁ Kύριος λέγων ἐπὶ τοῦ καλῶς τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας οἰκοδομήσαντος ὅτι Κατέβη ἡ βροχὴ καὶ ἔπνευσαν οἱ ἄνεμοι καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ποταμοὶ καὶ ἀπαθὲς ἔμεινεν ἐν τούτοις τὸ οἰκοδόμημα. Tαύτης οὖν ἕνεκεν τῆς κακῆς ἐπομβρίας χρεία τοιούτων ἡμῖν ἐστιν δοκῶν. Αὗται δ’ ἂν εἶεν αἱ ἀρεταί, αἳ τὰς τῶν πειρασμῶν ἐπιρροὰς ἐντὸς ἑαυτῶν οὐ προσίενται στερραί τε οὖσαι καὶ ἀνένδοτοι καὶ τὸ πρὸς κακίαν ἀμάλακτον ἐν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς διασῴζουσαι. Mάθοιμεν δ’ ἂν τὸ λεγόμενον τὴν ἐν τῷ Ἐκκλησιαστῇ ῥῆσιν τῷ προκειμένῳ συνεξετάσαντες· Ἐκεῖ γάρ φησιν Ἐν ὀκνηρίαις ταπεινωθήσεται δόκωσις καὶ ἐν ἀργίᾳ χειρῶν στάξει οἰκία. Ὥσπερ γὰρ εἰ ἀσθενῆ τε καὶ ἄτονα ὑπὸ λεπτότητος εἴη τὰ ξύλα τὰ διειληφότα τὸν ὄροφον, ὀκνηρῶς δὲ ἔχοι πρὸς τὴν τοῦ δώματος ἐπιμέλειαν ὁ τοῦ οἴκου δεσπότης, οὐδὲν ἀπώνατο τῆς στέγης τοῦ ὄμβρου διὰ σταγόνων εἰσρέοντος, κοιλαίνεται γὰρ ἐξ ἀνάγκης ὁ ὄροφος εἴκων τῷ βάρει τοῦ ὕδατος καὶ οὐκ ἀντέχει τῶν ξύλων ἡ ἀτονία πρὸς τὴν τοῦ βάρους προσβολὴν ὑποκλάζουσα. Διὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τὰ ἐντὸς διαδίδοται τὸ ἐναπειλημμένον τῇ κοιλότητι ὕδωρ καὶ αἱ σταγόνες αὗται κατὰ τὸν Παροιμιώδη λόγον ἐκβάλλουσι τοῦ οἴκου τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ ὑετοῦ, οὕτως ἡμῖν τῷ τῆς παραβολῆς αἰνίγματι διακελεύεται διὰ τῆς τῶν ἀρετῶν εὐτονίας ἀνενδότους εἶναι πρὸς τὰς τῶν πειρασμῶν ἐπιρροάς, μή ποτε μαλακισθέντες διὰ τῆς τῶν παθημάτων ἐμπτώσεως κοῖλοι γενώμεθα καὶ τὴν ἐπιρροὴν τῶν τοιούτων ὑδάτων ἔξωθεν ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν εἰσρέουσαν ἐντὸς τῶν ταμιείων παραδεξώμεθα, δι’ ὧν φθείρεται ἡμῖν τὰ ἀπόθετα. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων, Ὁμιλία Δ’ Source: Migne PG 44.837b-d

The beams of our house are cedars, our rafters are of cypress. 1 To those following the intent of the thought here, it is quite obvious what the mystery of the timbers signifies. In the Gospel the Lord gives the name of rain to the various assaults of the temptations, saying of the man who wisely built his house upon a rock, 'The rain fell and the winds blew and the rivers flooded, and the foundation remained unharmed in the midst of all this.' 2 It is on account of this evil flood, then, that we need such beams as these, which are the virtues that do not allow entrance to the downpour of the temptations, since they are solid and maintain their firmness against the evils of trials. We may learn about this, if with this passage we have here, we consider what is said in Ecclesiastes, for there he says, 'Because of sloth the beams shall collapse, and because of the idleness of the hands the house shall leak.' 3 For as if the timbers that support the roof are weak and slack, and the owner is slothful about the care of his home, so the roof shall hardly keep off anything, but the rain shall drip in, and eventually the roof will be hollowed out and give way to the weight of the waters, for the slack timbers sinking under the pressure of this weight will offer no resistance, but the water caught in the depression will pour within, and the drops themselves, as Proverbs says, 'Cast the man out of his house on the day of rain.' 4 Thus in the mystery of this parable we are exhorted to resist the assaults of the temptations with the strength of the virtues, lest when we are weakened by the passions that befall men, we are made hollow, and then, as it attacks the heart from outside, the streams of those waters come into our treasure chambers, because of which what we have placed there is ruined. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 4 1 Song 1.16 2 Mt 7.25 3 Eccl 10.18 4 Prov 27.15

The Vineyard And The Workers

Simile est regnum coelorum homini patrifamilias qui exiit primo mane conducere operarios in vineam suam. Conventione autem facta cum operariis ex denario diurno, misit eos in vineam suam. Et egressus circa horam tertiam, vidit alios stantes in foro otiosos, et dixit illis: Ite et vos in vineam meam, et quod justum fuerit, dabo vobis. Illi autem abierunt. Iterum autem exiit circa sextam et nonam horam, et fecit similiter. Circa undecimam vero exiit, et invenit alios stantes, et dicit illis: Quid hic statis tota die otiosi? Dicunt ei: Quia nemo nos conduxit. Dicit illis: Ite et vos in vineam meam. Cum sero autem factum esset, dicit Dominus vineae procuratori suo: Voca operarios, et redde illis mercedem, incipiens a novissimis usque ad primos. Cum venissent ergo qui circa undecimam horam venerant, acceperunt singulos denarios. Venientes autem et primi, arbitrati sunt quod plus essent accepturi. Acceperunt autem et ipse singulos denarios. Et accipientes murmurabant adversus patrem familias, dicentes: Hi novissimi una hora fecerunt, et pares illos nobis fecisti, qui portavimus pondus diei et aestus? At ille, respondens uni eorum, dixit: Amice, non facio tibi injuriam. Nonne ex denario convenisti mecum? Tolle quod tuum est, et vade. Volo autem et huic novissimo dare sicut et tibi. Aut non licet mihi quod volo facere? An oculus tuus nequam est quia ego bonus sum? Sic erunt novissimi primi, et primi novissimi. Multi enim sunt vocati, pauci vero electi. Possumus vero et easdem diversitates horarum, etiam ad unumquemque hominem per aetatum momenta distinguere. Mane quippe intellectus nostri pueritia est. Hora autem tertia adolescentia intelligi potest, quia quasi jam sol in altum proficit, dum calor aetatis crescit. Sexta vero juventus est, quia velut in centro sol figitur, dum in ea plenitudo roboris solidatur. Nona autem senectus intelligitur, in qua sol velut ab alto axe descendit, quia ea aetas a calore juventutis deficit. Undecima vero hora ea est aetas quae decrepita vel veterana dicitur. Unde Graeci valde seniores, non gerontos sed presbiteros appellant, ut plus quam senes esse insinuent quos provectiores vocant. Quia ergo ad vitam bonam alius in pueritia, alius in adolescentia, alius in juventute, alius in senectute, alius in decrepita aetate perducitur, quasi diversis horis operarii ad vineam vocantur. Mores ergo vestros, fratres charissimi, aspicite, et si jam Dei operarii estis videte. Penset unusquisque quid agat, et consideret si in Domini vinea laboret. Qui enim in hac vita ea quae sua sunt quaerit adhuc ad Dominicam vineam non venit. Illi namque Domino laborant, qui non sua, sed lucra dominica cogitant, qui zelo charitatis, studio pietatis inserviunt, animabus lucrandis in vigilant, perducere et alios secum ad vitam festinant. Nam qui sibi vivit, qui carnis suae voluptatibus pascitur, recte otiosus redarguitur, quia fructum divini operis non sectatur. Qui vero et usque ad aetatem ultimam Deo vivere neglexerit, quasi usque ad undecimam otiosus stetit. Unde recte usque ad undecimam torpentibus dicitur: Quid hic statis tota die otiosi? Ac si aperte dicatur: Et si Deo vivere in pueritia et iuventute noluistis, saltem in ultima aetate resipiscite, et ad vitae vias cum iam laboraturi multum non estis, vel sero venite. Et tales ergo paterfamilias vocat, et plerumque ante remunerantur, quia prius ad regnum de corpore exeunt quam hi qui iam a pueritia vocati esse videbantur. An non ad undecimam horam venit latro, qui etsi non habuit per aetatem, habuit tamen sero per poenam, qui Deum in cruce confessus est, et pene cum voce sententiae spiritum exhalavit vitae? A novissimo autem reddere denarium paterfamilias coepit, quia ad paradisi requiem prius latronem quam Petrum perduxit. Quanti patres ante legem, quanti sub lege fuerunt, et tamen hi qui in Domini adventu vocati sunt ad coelorum regnum sine aliqua tarditate pervenerunt. Eumdem ergo denarium accipiunt qui laboraverunt ad undecimam quem exspectaverunt toto desiderio qui laboraverunt ad primam, quia aequalem vitae aeternae retributionem sortiti sunt cum his qui a mundi initio vocati fuerant, hi qui in mundi fine ad Dominum venerunt. Unde et hi qui in labore praecesserant, murmurantes dicunt: Hi novissimi una hora fecerunt, et pares illos nobis fecisti qui portavimus pondus diei et aestus? Pondus enim diei et aestus portaverunt hi quos a mundi initio, quia diu hic contigit vivere, necesse fuit etiam longiora carnis tentamenta tolerare. Unicuique enim pondus diei et aestus ferre est per longioris vitae tempora carnis suae calore fatigari. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarum in Evangelia Liber I, Homilia XIX Source: Migne PL 76.1155b-1152b

The kingdom of heaven is like to a householder who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. And having agreed a price with the labourers, he sent them to his vineyard. Then going out about the third hour, he saw others standing about idle in the market place and he said to them, 'Go also to my vineyard and I will give you what will be fair,' and they went. Then again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did the same. But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, 'Why stand here idle all day long?' They said to him, 'Because no man has hired us. 'He said to them, 'Go also into my vineyard.' When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the labourers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first.' When therefore they had come, each one of those who came about the eleventh hour received a coin. And when the first also came, they thought that they should receive more, but each one of them also received a coin. And receiving this they murmured against the master of the house, saying, 'These who came last have worked but one hour and you have made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the heat. But in answer he said to one of them, 'Friend, I do you no harm. Did you not agree to come with me for a price? Take what is yours and go. I will give to those who come last even as I give to you. Or is it not permitted that I may do as I wish? Is your eye evil because I am good? So the last shall be first and the first shall be last. For many are called, but few are chosen. 1 In these different hours of the parable we can distinguish the different times of a man's life. Certainly the morning is to be understood as our childhood. The third hour can be understood as youth, because as the sun advances toward its height, so the heat of the time grows. The sixth hour is manhood, because the sun is fixed at its peak and there is firmness in an abundance of strength. The ninth hour is understood as middle age, when the sun is as declining from its height, because in that time the youthfulness of the heart declines. The eleventh hour is that time which is called decrepitude or advanced old age. In Greek such men are not called 'aged,' but 'elders,' so that there it is more than mere old age that is alluded to in those who have advanced so far. Because, then, as regards the good life, some are in childhood, and some are in youth, and some are in manhood, and some are in middle age, and others have reached old age, so the workers are called to the vineyard at different times. Look, therefore, to the ways of your life, most dearest brothers, and see if you are now workers for the Lord. Let each one think on how he conducts himself and consider if he labours in the vineyard of the Lord. He who seeks out the things of this life has not yet come to the vineyard of the Lord. For they who labour for the Lord do not think of their own advantage but the Lord's, and those who serve with a zeal for charity and an eagerness of piety, watching over their soul's enrichment, hasten to lead others to life with them. For he who lives for himself, he feeds on the pleasures of his own flesh, and rightly he is reproved as an idle fellow, because he does not seek the fruit of Divine work. So those who neglect to live for God until final old age are as those who stand idle at the eleventh hour. Whence rightly it is said to those lazy ones at the eleventh hour, 'Why stand here idle all day long?' As if it were said more plainly, 'Even if you were unwilling to live for God in your childhood and when you were younger, now look to yourselves in your old age, how you have not laboured in the ways of life at all, or how lately you come.' Yet the master calls such fellows, and many of them receive the reward first, because they first went out of the body to the kingdom before those who were seen to have been called from childhood. The thief did not come until the eleventh hour, who even if not advanced in age was made late by his punishment, he who confessed God on the cross, and indeed with the voice of understanding exhaled the spirit of life. 3 The master begins to give reward from the last, because the thief came to the rest of paradise before Peter. How many fathers there were before the law, and how many under the law, and how many who were there at the coming of the Lord, who were called to the kingdom of heaven and went without any delay. Therefore those who laboured at the eleventh hour receive the same payment which they hoped for with all their hearts, and it is the same as those who laboured from the first hour, because they are all given the equal reward of eternal life, they who were all called from beginning of the world, 3 who at the end of the world have come to God. Whence those who went first to their labours, murmuring said, 'These who have come last have worked only for an hour, and you have given the same to them as those who bore the burden and the heat of the day?' Yet even these who came last have borne the burdens of the heat of the day from the beginning of the world, because while they lived there it was necessary that they endure the long trials of the flesh. Each type has his burden and bears the heat, struggling in the sweat of his flesh through life's duration. Saint Gregory the Great, Homilies On The Gospels, Book 1, from Homily 19 1 Mt 20.1-16 2 Lk 23.39-43 3 Ephes 1.4

Sowing And Reaping

Hoc est in lacrymis seminare et gaudia metere, praecedentes vitae actus proprio confutare judicio, et lascivientem animam justo subdidisse supplico. Citio enim tristitia laetitiam consequitur, si districtionem judicis satisfactione praevenias, et admissi criminis culpas assidua castigatione confundas. Sed ne minorem ex hoc gratiam comparasse puteris, afflictis et moerore confectis subvenias, et causam tuam apud pauperes larga erogatione componas. Nam ita dicit Dominus: Beati misericordes, quoniam ipsis miserebitur Deus. Beati qui lugent, quoniam ipsi consolabuntur. Sanctus Valerianus Cemeliensis, Homilia XV, De Bono Martyrii Source: Migne PL 52.739c-d

This is to sow in tears and reap in joy, 1 to condemn the past deeds of one's life by one's own judgement and to subject a lustful soul to righteous punishment. Joy will swiftly follow sorrow if by satisfaction you anticipate the severity of the judge, and by steady chastisement you condemn the faults of the crimes you have committed. But lest you be thought to have stored up only a little grace by this, give help to those who are afflicted and who grieve, and improve your case by bountiful giving to the poor. For the Lord says, 'Blessed are the merciful, for God shall have mercy. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.' 2 Saint Valerian of Cimelium, from Homily 15, On The Good Of Martyrdom 1 Ps 125.5 2 Mt 5.7,5

Trials And Victory

Dixitque Dominus ad eum: Numquid considerasti servum meum Job, quod non sit ei similis in terra, homo simplex et rectus, ac timens Deum, et recedens a malo? A commendatione justi incipit: Non enim qui se ipsum commendat, ille probatus est, sed quem Deus commendat; illasque virtutes ei proponit, quas amplius habebat exosas, ut inimicum vehementius torqueat et provocet ad tentandum. Vult enim Dominus servos suos fortiter tentari, ut faciat etiam cum tentatione proventum. Gaudet princeps militiae, si militem suum cum forti adversario strenue pugnantem aspexerit. Exsultat Christus cum martyrem suum videt nunc flagellari, nunc extendi in eculeo, nunc ferreis laniari unguibus, nunc sagittis exponi, nunc membris truncari, nunc ignibus superponi. Stat martyr afflictus quidem, sed invictus, vidensque sanguinem suum ex diversis partibus corporis ebullire, non sua, sed Redemptoris vulnera attendit. Inter anxietates ergo acerrimas tripudians et triumphans, dolores corporis lacerati non sentit, quia peregrinatur a corpore. Non facit hoc stupor, sed amor; non deest dolor, sed pro Christo contemnitur. Sic Dominus et possessiones, et personam servi sui Job malitiae tentarois exponit, ita per interiora et exteriora afflictus, munitus tamen a Domino a dextris et a sinistris, et cresceat in gratiam, et proficiat ad coronam Petrus Blenensis, Compendium In Job: Ad Henericum II Illustrissimum Anglorum Regem, Caput I Source: Migne PL 207.805d-806a

And the Lord said to Satan: 'Have you not considered my servant Job, that there is no one like him on the earth, a simple and upright man, who fears God and avoids evil?' 1 He begins with a commendation of the righteous man, 'For it is not he who commends himself who is approved, but him whom God commends.' 2 And He proposes those virtues to him, which the more he has, so the more vehemently he provokes the tempter to put him to the test. And indeed the Lord wishes that His servants be put to strong trials so that 'even in trial there is advance.' 3 A leader of soldiers rejoices if one of his own men fights bravely against the enemy, and Christ exults when He sees His martyr now whipped, now stretched on the rack, now with his sides pierced with iron nails, now having fire put upon him. Certainly the martyr is afflicted, but he is unconquered, he sees his own blood flow out of various parts of his body, but he does not think of his own wounds but of Christ's. Therefore exultant and triumphant amid bitter pains, he does not feel the sufferings of his torn body, but he wanders far from the body. And the cause of this is not some doltish insensitivity, but love. He is not free of pain, but he scorns it for Christ. So the Lord exposed the possessions and person of Job to the evils of the tempter, so that afflicted within and without, yet walled by the Lord to the right and to the left, he might grow in grace and advance to the crown. Peter of Blois, Compendium On Job, To Henry II Most Illustrious King Of The English, Chapter 1 1 Job 1.8 2 2 Cor 10.18 3 1 Cor 10.13