Keeping The Lamp Lit

Non exstinguitur lucerna eius tota nocte. Nemo accendit lucernam et ponit sub modio. Tu illuminabis lucernam meam Domine. Lucerna eius, spes eius. Ad illam operatur omnis homo, quidquid boni ad spem facit. Et in nocte ardet lucerna ista. Si enim quod non videmus speramus, ideo nox est. Si autem et non videmus et non speramus, et nox est et lucerna non ardet. Quid infelicius talibus tenebris? Ut autem non deficiamus in tenebris et per patientiam exspectemus quod non visum speramus, tota nocte ardeat lucerna nostra. Qui enim nobis quotidie loquitur verbum tamquam oleum infundit ne lucerna exstinguatur. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Sermo XXXVII, Sermo Habitus in Natale Martyrum Scillitanorim In Basilica Novarum Ubi Dicit: Mulierem Fortem Quis Inveniet Source: Migne PL 38.226-227

Her lamp is not put out all night long. 1 'Nobody lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel.' 'You will light up my lamp, O Lord.' 2 Her lamp is her hope. Everyone works by its light, at whatever good they do in hope, and this lamp burns in the night. If we do not see what we hope for it is night, but if we do not see and we do not hope it is night and the lamp is not lit. What could be more wretched than such darkness? That we do not perish in the dark, but that with patience we may wait for that which we hope for and is not yet seen, let our lamp burn through the whole night. He who speaks the word to us every day is as one who pours in oil to save the lamp from guttering. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 37, Given in the New Market Basilica on the Birthday of The Scillitan Martyrs, Where it says, 'A strong woman who will find?' 1 Prov 31.18 2 Mt 5.15, Ps 17.29

Ways And Paths

Perfice gressus meos in semitis tuis, ut non moveantur vestigia mea. Viae Dei sunt praecepta levia. Semitae Dei sunt strictiora mandata, in quibus pauci ambulare possunt. In via Dei ambulat qui proximo suo malum non facit. In semitia Dei ambulat qui etiam malum inferentem diligit. Qui vero adhuc ambulare nescit in semita, saepe movetur a via, quia saepe charitatem deserere cogitur qui non didicit adhuc diligere, nisi eum a quo amatur. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber II, Caput XX, De Viis et Semitis Dei Source: Migne PL 177.599c-d

Perfect my walking in your paths, so that my feet do not stumble. 1 The ways of God are the lighter precepts, the paths of God are the stricter commands in which few are able to walk. He walks in the way of God who does no evil to his neighbour. He walks in the path of God who loves him who does him evil. However, he who does not yet know what it is to walk in the path, often stumbles on the way, since  he is often driven to abandon love because he has not yet learnt how to love anyone unless they love him. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 2, Chapter 20, On the Ways and Paths of God 1 Ps 16.5

Flesh And Blood

Σάρξ καὶ αἷμα , φησὶν, βασιλείαν Θεοῦ οὐ κληρονομήσουσι· τουτέστιν, οἱ σαρκικοὶ τὸν τρόπον ὑπάρχοντες ἔξω τῆς βασιλείας ῥιφθήσονται. Ὑμεῖς δὲ, φησίν, οἱ πιστοὶ, καὶ πνευματικοί , οὐκ ἐστὲ ἐν σαρκί , ἀλλ' ἐν πνεύματι. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ POB', Σωφρονι Τριβουνῳ Source: Migne PG 79.149c

'Flesh and blood,' he says, 'shall not inherit the kingdom of God,' 1 that is, those who hold to the way of the flesh shall be cast outside the kingdom. 'But you,' he says, 'are faithful and spiritual, and you are not in the flesh but in the spirit.' 2 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 172 to Sophronius the Tribune 1 1 Cor 15.50 2 Rom 8.9

Killings In Bethlehem

Τότε Ἡρώδης ἰδὼν, ὅτι ενεπαίχθη ὑπὸ τῶν Μάγων... Ὥσπερ τῷ Φαραὼ ἐνέπαιξεν ὁ Θεὸς διὰ Μωϋσέως, οὕτω καὶ τῷ Ἡρώδῃ διὰ τῶνΜάγων· ἐπεὶ καὶ ἄμφω, καὶ Ἡρώδης καὶ Φαραὼ, παιδοκτόνοι. Ὁ μὲν Φαραὼ τὰ τῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ Ἑβραίων ἄῤῥενα φονεύων, ὁ δὲ Ἡρώδης, τὰ τῶν ἐν Βηθλεέμ. Ἐθυμώθη λίαν, καὶ ἀποστείλας ἀνεῖλε πάντας τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς ἐν Βηθλεέμ. Τὴν κατὰ τῶν Μάγων ὀργὴν, κατὰ τῶν οὐδὲν ἀδικησάντων, ἐνδείκνυται . Τίνος δὲ ἕνεκεν συνεχωρήθησαν' οἱ παῖδες σφαγῆναι; Ἵνα δειχθῇ τοῦ Ἡρώδου ἡ κακία· ἀλλ᾽ ἴσως ἐρεῖς μοι· Καὶ τὶ τοῦτο; ἵνα δειχθῇ ἡ ἐκείνου κακία, διὰ τοῦτο ἠδικήθησαν οἱ παῖδες; ῎Ακουε τοίνυν, ὅτι οὐκ ἠδικήθησαν, ἀλλὰ στεφάνων ἠξιώθησαν. Πᾶς γὰρ ὁ·κακόν τι πάσχων ἐνταῦθα, ἢ εἰς ἁμαρτημάτων διάλυσιν πάσχει , ἢ εἰς στεφάνων προσθήκην· ὥσπερ δὴ καὶ οὗτοι οἱ παῖδες, μειζόνως στεφανωθήσονται. Καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς, ἀπὸ διετοῦς καὶ κατωτέρω, κατὰ τὸν χρόνον ὂν ἠκρίβωσε παρὰ τῶν Μάγων. Τότε ἐπληρώθη τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ Ἱερεμίου τοῦ προφήτου, λέγοντος, Ἴνα μή τις νομίσῃ, ὅτι ἄκοvτος τοῦ Θεοῦ γέγονεν ἡ τῶν νηπίων ἀναίρεσις, δείκνυσιν ὅτι καὶ προεγίνωσκε καὶ προείπεν. Φωνὴ ἐν Ῥαμᾷ ἡκούσθη. Ἡ Ῥαμά, τόπος ἦν τῆς Παλαιστίνης ὑψηλός. Τοῦτο γὰρ σημαίνει τὸ ὄνομα, ὑψηλήν· ἔλαχε δὲ εἰς κλῆρον τῇ φυλῇ τοῦ Βενιαμίν, ὃς ἦν τῆς Ῥαχὴλ υἱός· ἡ δὲ Ῥαχὴλ, ἐv τῇ Βηθλεὲμ ἐτάφη. Λέγει τοίνυν τὴν Βηθλεὲμ ὁ προφήτης , Ῥαχήλ, διότι ἐν αὐτῇ ἐτάφη ἐκείνη· τὸν δὲ κλαυθμὸν καὶ τὸν θρῆνον, ἀκουσθῆναι ἐν τῇ ὑψηλῇ. Ἄκουε τοίνυν τοῦ προφήτου· θρῆνος καὶ κλαυθμὸς, καὶ ὀδυρμὸς πολύς· Ραχήλ κλαίουσα τὰ τέκνα αὐτῆς, τουτέστιν, ἡ Βηθλεέμ, καὶ οὐκ ἤθελε παρακληθῆναι , ὅτι οὐκ εἰσίν. Ἐν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ οὐκ εἰσὶν, ἐπεὶ ἀἱ ψυχαὶ, ἀθάνατοι. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ B' Source: Migne PG 123.169a-c

Then Herod, perceiving that he had been tricked by the Magi... 1 As Pharoah was outwitted by God through Moses, so Herod was through the Magi, since both Herod and the Pharoah were murderers of children. Pharaoh killed the first born boys of the Hebrews in Egypt 2 and Herod the those of Bethlehem. 'He was exceedingly angry and commanded that all the male boys in Bethlehem should be slain.' He reveals his anger against the Magi who offended in nothing. But why were the boys allowed to be killed? So that the wickedness of Herod might be shown. But perhaps you will say to me, 'Why in this way? Can his wickedness not be exposed but that little boys must suffer violence?' Hear then, that it was to win crowns they there were afflicted. All who suffer some injury here, either suffer that sin might be cleansed, or that a crown might be gained, and so even these boys were crowned. 'And to all the borders, from two years and under, according to the time that had been reckoned by the Magi. Then were fulfilled the words of Jeremiah the prophet, who said... Lest anyone think that the killing of the little ones was done without God's knowledge, he shows it was foreknown and predicted. A cry in Rhama was heard... 3 Rhama was a high place in Palestine, and the name signifies a high place, and it was part of the lot of the tribe of Benjamin, who was a son of Rachel, and Rachel was buried in Bethlehem. 4 Therefore the prophet speaks of Bethlehem and Rachel because Rachel was buried there, and weeping and groaning was heard in the heights. Hear, then, the prophet, 'Lamentation and tears and much weeping. Rachel weeping for her children,' that is, of Bethlehem, 'and she was unwilling to be consoled, because they are no more.' 3 They are no more in this world, because their souls are immortal. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 2 1 Mt 2.16 2 Exod 1.8-22 3 Jerem 31.15 4 Genes 35.17-20

From The Beginning

Quod fuit ab initio... Hanc Epistolam beatus Apostolus Joannes de fidei et charitatis perfectione conscripsit, laudans devotionem eorum qui in unitate Ecclesiae perseverabant; porro illorum impietatem coarguens, qui Ecclesiae pacem vesano dogmate turbabant, Cerinthi maxime et Marcionis, qui Christum ante Mariam non fuisse contendebant. Propter quos etiam Evangelium suum scripsit, ibi quidem et suis et ipsius Domini verbis consubstantialem Patri Filium affirmans, hic autem quae a Domino didicit propriis sermonibus depromens, et haereticorum stultitiam apostolica auctoritate refellens. Unde mox in capite Epistolae divinitatem simul et humanitatem veram ejusdem Dei et Domini nostri Jesu Christi designat dicens: Quod fuit ab initio, quod audivimus. Fuit enim ab initio Filius Dei, sed eumdem Filium Dei in homine apparentem audierunt, et oculis viderunt discipuli, quod ipsum in Evangelio latius explicavit. Nam quod hic ait: Quod fuit ab initio, hoc est quod in Evangelio dicit: In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Hoc erat in principio apud Deum. Et quod hic subdidit: Quod audivimus, quod vidimus oculis nostris, hoc est quod ibi latius subdit: Et Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis, et vidimus gloriam ejus, gloriam quasi Unigeniti a Patre. Et ne parum dicere videretur in eo quod ait: Quod vidimus oculis nostris, adjunxit: Quod perspeximus, et manus nostrae contrectaverunt de Verbo vitae. Non solum quippe corporalibus oculis sicut caeteri Dominum viderunt, sed et perspexerunt, cujus divinam quoque virtutem spiritualibus oculis cernebant. Maxime illi qui eum in monte clarificatum viderunt, e quibus unus erat ipse Joannes. Quod autem ait: Et manus nostrae contrectaverunt de Verbo vitae, Manichaeorum vincit insaniam, qui Dominum veram assumpsisse carnem negant; quam apostoli veram esse dubitare non poterant, ut pote cujus veritatem non solum videndo, sed et tangendo probarent; maxime Joannes ipse, qui, in sinu ejus in coena recumbere solitus, tanto licentius ejus membra, quanto vicinius tangebat. Sed et post resurrectionem ejus a mortuis, manus eorum tractaverunt de Verbo vitae, cum veram eum recepisse carnem, quamvis jam incorruptibilem, absque ulla dubietate cognoverunt, audientes ab illo ipso: Palpate et videte, quia spiritus carnem et ossa non habet, sicut me videtis habere. Bene autem dicitur: Et manus nostrae contrectaverunt de Verbo vitae, quia cum veritatem resuscitatae carnis ejus a mortuis etiam manibus contrectando probarent, certius eum Verbum vitae, hoc est Deum verum, esse cognoverunt. Sanctus Beda, In I Epistolam Sancti Joannis, Caput I Source: Migne PL 93.85b-86b

That which was from the beginning... 1 The Apostle John wrote this letter about the perfection of faith and charity, praising the devotion of those who persevered in the unity of the Church, but disputing the impiety of those who troubled the peace of the Church with their irrational teachings, especially Cerinthus and Marcion, who contended that Christ did not exist before Mary. Indeed it was on account of them that he wrote his Gospel, and there with the very words of the Lord affirmed the consubstantiality of the Son and Father. But here in his own words he sets forth what the Lord taught and with Apostolic authority refutes the foolishness of heretics. Whence at the very beginning of the letter he designates the Divinity and true humanity of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, saying, 'That which was from the beginning, that we heard.' For the Son of God was from the beginning, but that same Son of God the disciples also heard and saw with their own eyes in the appearance of a man, which he explains more broadly in his Gospel. For as here he says, 'That which was from the beginning,' so in the Gospel he says, 'In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. In the beginning He was with God.' 2 Then here he adds, 'That we have heard and seen with our eyes,' that is, what is more broadly given in the Gospel as, 'The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father.' And lest it seems he says less here when he says, 'What we have seen with our eyes,' he adds, 'What we have perceived and our hands have  touched, the Word of Life.' They did not only see the Lord with the eyes of the body, as with other things, but they even looked on and perceived the Divine virtue with spiritual eyes, certainly those who saw Him transformed on the mountain, one of whom was John himself. 3 And saying, 'and our hands have touched, the Word of Life.' he overthrows the madness of the Manichees, who denied that the Lord had taken up the flesh, which truth the Apostles could not doubt, since they not only saw His truth, but they even proved it by touching, especially John himself, who alone reclined in His lap at the Last Supper, his members given as much freedom as a neighbour who touched. 4 But even after His resurrection from the dead, their hands touched the Word of Life, when He has received true flesh, now incorruptible, and without any doubt they knew, hearing from Him, 'Touch and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.' 5 And it is well said, 'And our hands have touched, the Word of Life,' because when by touch they proved the truth of the flesh raised up from the dead, they more certainly knew that He was the Word of Life, that is, the true God. Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Saint John, Chapter 1 1 1 Jn 1.1 2 John 1.1-2 3 Mt 17.1-8 4 Jn 13.23 5 Lk 24.39

Freedom Of Speech

Τοῦτο παῤῥησία ἀνδρὸς τὸν σταυρὸν ἔχοντος. Μιμώμεθα τοίνυν καὶ ἡμεῖς ταύτην, εἰ καὶ πολέμου οὐκ ἔστι καιρὸς, ἀλλὰ παῤῥησίας ἀεὶ καιρός ἐστιν. Ἐλάλουν γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐν τοῖς μαρτυρίοις σου ἐναντίον βασιλέων, καὶ οὐκ ᾐσχυνόμην. Ἂν τοίνυν Ἕλλησι συμπλεκώμεθα, οὕτως αὐτοὺς ἐπιστομίζωμεν χωρὶς θυμοῦ, χωρὶς τραχύτητος. Ἂν μὲν γὰρ μετὰ θυμοῦ τοῦτο ποιῶμεν, οὐκ ἔτι παῤῥησία, ἀλλὰ πάθος εἶναι δοκεῖ· ἂν δὲ ἐπιεικῶς, ὄντως ἐστὶν αὕτη παῤῥησία. Οὐ γὰρ δυνατὸν ὁμοῦ κατὰ ταυτὸν καὶ κατόρθωμα εἶναι καὶ ἐλάττωμα. Ἡ παῤῥησία, κατόρθωμα· ὁ θυμὸς, ἐλάττωμα. Δεῖ τοίνυν ἡμᾶς, εἰ μέλλομεν παῤῥησίαν ἔχειν, καθαροὺς εἶναι τοῦ θυμοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἐκείνῳ τις λογίσηται τὰ ῥήματα. Κἂν δίκαια λέγῃς μετὰ θυμοῦ, τὸ πᾶν ἀπώλεσας, κἂν παῤῥησιάζῃ, κἂν νουθετῇς, κἂν ὁτιοῦν πράττῃς. Ὅρα τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον οὐ μετὰ θυμοῦ διαλεγόμενον· οὐ γὰρ δὴ ὕβρισεν, ἀλλὰ προφητικοῦ αὐτοὺς ἀνέμνησε λόγου. Ὅτι γὰρ οὐκ ἦν θυμοῦ, ἔδειξεν, ὅτε κακῶς ἔπασχε, τότε ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν εὐχόμενος καὶ λέγων· Μὴ στήσῃς αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην. Οὕτως οὐκ ὀργιζόμενος αὐτοῖς, ἀλλὰ ἀλγῶν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν καὶ δακνόμενος, ταῦτα ἐφθέγγετο· ἐπεὶ καὶ περὶ τῆς ὄψεως διὰ τοῦτο εἶπεν, ὅτι Εἶδον τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ πρόσωπον ἀγγέλου, ἵν' αὐτοὺς ἐφελκύσηται. Καθαροὶ τοίνυν θυμοῦ ὦμεν. Οὐ κατοικεῖ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἔνθα θυμός· ἐπικατάρατος ὁ θυμώδης. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος Ὑπομηνμα εἰς τας Πραξεις των Ἀποστολων, Ὁμολια ΙΖ' Source: Migne PG 60.137

Such is the freedom of speech of a man bearing the Cross. Let us then also imitate Stephen, for even if it is not a time of war, yet it is always the time for freedom of speech. 'For, I spoke your testimonies before kings,' says another, 'and I was not ashamed.' 1 If, then, we are among those who do not believe, let us close their mouths without anger, and without harshness, for if we do it with anger, it is no longer freedom of speech but it seems to be passion; if we do it with gentleness, there is freedom of speech. Success and failure cannot exist together in one and the same thing. Freedom of speech is success, anger is failure. Therefore if we are to be free in our speech, we must be cleansed of anger so that no one may attribute our words to that. Even though you speak righteously, when you speak with anger, you ruin it all, no matter how freely you speak, or how fairly you reprove. Look to Stephen, see how free from passion he is as he speaks to them, for he did not utter abuse, but he reminded them of the words of the Prophets. And to show it was not anger, when he was suffering evil, he prayed for them, saying, 'Do not hold this sin against them.' 2 Thus he was not angry with them, but he said these things in grief and sorrow, and this is why it speaks of his appearance, that they saw his face and it was like the face of an angel, so that they might be moved. Let us then be cleansed of anger. The Holy Spirit does not dwell where there is anger, but the angry man is cursed. Saint John Chrysostom, On The Acts Of The Apostles, from Homily 17 1 Psalm 118.46 2 Acts 7.59

The Word Made Flesh

Verbum caro factum est. In carne nascitur Verbum, et ecce, aeternitas temporalis; ad Galatas quarto: Ubi venit plenitudo temporis, misit Deus Filium suum factum ex muliere, factum sub Lege. Si factum: ergo temporale. Hoc est Verbum factum, de quo Lucae secundo: Transeamus usque Bethlehem et videamus hoc verbum, quod factum est etc. Videamus, inquam, Verbum secundum carnem factum, qui videre nunquam potuimus Verbum, quod secundum Divinitatem nec est factum nec creatum, sed genitura. Psalmus: Cantate, inquit, Domino, quia mirabilia fecit. Fecit enim, ut sit maiestas abiecta, et immensitas parva, aeternitas facta; quod totum memorat Evangelista, cum dicit: Verbum carofactum est. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput I Collatio II Source: Here, p537

The Word was made flesh. 1 The Word was born in the flesh, and behold, eternity in time. In the fourth chapter of the letter to the Galatians, 'When the fullness of time had come, He sent His own Son, made from a woman, made beneath the law.' 2 If made, therefore in time. This is the Word made, concerning which it says in the second chapter of Luke, 'Let us pass over to Bethlehem and let us see this word, what has been done.' 3 Let us see, I say, the Word made flesh, we who were never able to see according to His Divinity, which is not something done, nor created, but begotten. The Psalm says, 'Sing to the Lord, because He has made miracles.' 4 For He has made His majesty abject, His greatness small, His eternity something done, which all things the Evangelist comprehends when he says, 'The Word was made flesh.' Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 1 1 Jn 1.14 2 Galat 4.4 3 Lk 2.15 4 Ps 97.1

Words And Deeds

Ἡ δὲ Μαριὰμ πάντα συνετήρει τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα, συμβάλλουσα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς... Ποῖα ῥήματα συνετήρει ἡ Παρθένος; Τινές μὲν λέγουσιν ὅτι ὅσα εἰρήκει αὐτῇ ὁ ἄγγελος , καὶ ὅσα οἱ ποιμένες εἶπον , ἐπετήρει γὰρ ταῦτα καὶ συνἐβαλλεν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς, τουτέστι, συνέκρινε , καὶ εὕρισκεν ἐκ πάντων μίαν σύμφωνον γνώμην, ὅτι Θεός ἐστιν ὁ Υἱὸς αὐτῆς. Ἐμοὶ δὲ δοκεῖ ῥήματα ἐνταῦθα τὰ πράγματα λέγεσθαι· ὥστε εἶναι τὸ λεγόμενον τοιοῦτον· ἡ δὲ Μαριάμ συνετήρει πάντα τὰ ῥήματα, ἤτοι τὰ πράγματα ταῦτα, ἃ νῦν ἐγὼ λέγω καὶ ποιῶ εἶναι ῥήματα· τὸ γὰρ πρᾶγμα ὅταν λεχθῇ, γίνεται ῥῆμα. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν, Κεφαλὴ Β' Source: Migne PG 123.725a-b

And Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart... 1 What words did the Virgin keep? She kept those which the angel spoke to her and which the shepherds told, and she pondered them in herself, and she found that there was one harmonious sense in them, that her own son was God. But it seems to me that the words in this passage are also things or deeds, when such things are spoken. So 'Mary kept all these words,' means that both what I say and what I do are words, for when deeds are told they are spoken of in words. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Luke, Chapter 2 1 Lk 2.19

Birth And Witnesses

Proxima dominica dilectionem vestram admonuimus, fratres, de diei hujus adventu, in qua diximus nos natalem Domini hodie etiam mundo teste suscipere. Mundus enim testimonium perhibet, dum nascente Christo, et ipse renascitur. Renascitur enim, cum de profundis noctium tenebris partu quodam lucis eruitur. Renascitur, inquam, cum ejus defectio finitur, claritas reparatur. Atque ideo in ortu Christi oportet magis ortum saeculi nos vocare. In hac enim die ad salvanda omnia oritur. Oritur enim die hac lux mundo, defunctis resurrectio, vita mortalibus ac propterea hodie non tam Salvatoris natalis est quam salutis. Nascitur ergo salus omnium Christus, quem regem gentium prophetae testantur: nascitur ex virgine, sicut Isaias declarat dicens: Ecce virgo in utero accipiet, et pariet filium, et vocabunt nomen ejus Emmanuel, quod est interpretatum nobiscum Deus. Probat ergo veritatem Domini ordo nascendi. Concepit virgo virilis ignara consortii: impletur uterus nullo libatus amplexu, et Spiritum sanctum castus venter excepit, quem pura membra servarunt, innocens corpus gessit. Videte miraculum matris dominicae. Virgo est, cum concipit, virgo cum parturit, virgo post partum. Gloriosa virginitas, et praeclara fecunditas! Virtus mundi nascitur, et nullus est gemitus parturientis; vacuatur uterus, infans excipitur, nec virginitas violatur. Dignum enim erat ut Deo nascente meritum cresceret castitatis: nec per ejus adventum violaretur integritas, qui venerat sanare corrupta: nec per eum pudicitia corporis laederetur, per quem donatur virginitas baptismatis impudicis. Natus igitur puer ponitur in praesepio, et haec sunt Dei prima cunabula: nec regnator coeli has indignatur angustias, cui habitaculum fuit virgineus venter. Idoneum plane Maria Christo habitaculum, non pro habitu corporis, sed pro gratia originali. Ergo exonerata felici onere Maria matrem se laeta cognoscit; quae se nescit uxorem; et est gloriosa de sobole, quae est ignara de conjuge; atque infantem se genuisse miratur, cum Spiritum sanctum se suscepisse testatur; nec, quia peperit innupta, terretur, quia testimonio utitur virginitatis et sobolis. Soboles enim dominicum Patrem indicat; virginitas stupentium suspicionem excusat. Inde virginitati divinitas testimonium perhibet; hinc naturae secretum. Testimonium, inquam, perhibet divinitas partui virginali. Ut concipiatur enim Christus secundum praenuntiationem Evangelii Spiritus sancti repletur gratia; virtute Dei Patris obumbratur, sicut ad Mariam dictum est: Spiritus sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi, et ideo quod nascetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei. In nativitate ergo Salvatoris completa est illa divina sententia, quae dicit: Duobus aut tribus testibus stabit omne verbum. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia V, Ante Natale Domini Source: Migne PL 57.235b-238a

We exhorted your love for the Lord's day that is near, which is His advent, concerning which we have said that even the world is a witness of the birthday of the Lord. For the world has its witness, since when Christ was born it was reborn. For it is reborn when from the deep darkness of its nights a light shone forth on account of a certain birth. It is reborn, I say, when its defect comes to an end and brightness is restored. Therefore, with this rising of Christ, we should also declare the rising of the world. For on this day everything rose up for salvation. On this day there is light for the world, resurrection for the dead, life for mortals, and so today is not only the birth of the Saviour but of salvation. Therefore Christ, the salvation of everyone, is born, whom a prophet gives witness to as the king of the nations, born from a virgin, for so Isaiah declares, saying, 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive in her womb, and give birth to a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,' which translated is, God is with us. 1 The arrangement of the birth proves the truth of the Lord. A virgin who did not know a consort conceived, without amorous embraces her womb was filled, that chaste womb received the Holy Spirit, which pure members guarded, and an innocent body bore. See the wonder of the mother of the Lord. A virgin when she conceived, a virgin when she gave birth, a virgin after birth. Glorious virginity, wondrous fecundity. The world's virtue is born and she who gives birth does not groan. The womb is emptied, the infant comes out, and virginity is not harmed. For it was right that with God being born the merit of chastity should grow, and the coming of the one who came to heal corruption should do no harm to integrity. Through Him there was no injury to the modesty of the body, Him through whom virginity is given to the soiled by baptism. Thus the boy who is born is placed in a manger, and this is the first cradle of God, nor is this narrowness unworthy of the ruler of heaven, who had the womb of the virgin for a little house. It was fitting indeed that Mary was the dwelling place of Christ, and not for the covering of the body, but because of original grace. Therefore Mary was adorned with a happy burden and joyfully knew herself a mother, she who did not know herself a wife, she who is glorious through her offspring, she who knew not conjugal union, and wondered at the infant she had carried, when she bore witness to the Holy Sprit she had received, and because of the witness given by virginity and children she was not aggrieved when she gave birth unmarried. For the offspring declared a lordly father and dismissed the suspicion of senselessness. Hence Divinity gives witness to virginity , a secret of nature. Divinity, I say, gives witness to the virgin birth. For as Christ was conceived according to the foretelling of the Gospel, by the Holy Spirit filling with grace and with the shadowing power of God the Father, so it was said to Mary, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most High will shadow you, and therefore what will be born from you is holy, and shall be called the Son of God.' 2 Therefore with the Divine nativity the Saviour completes the Divine sentence that says, 'With two or three witnesses confirm every word.' 3 Saint Maximus of Turin, Homily 5, Before the Nativity of the Lord 1 Isaiah 7.14 2 Lk 1.35 3 Mt 18.16, Deut 19.15

Numerous Advents

Christi nascentis diem anniversarim exspectamus; qui nobis in proximo videndus, Domino annuente, promittur. Hoc sane gaudium nostrum tale videtur exigre Scriptura, ut spiritum noster levans se super se, Christo venienti quodammodo occurere gestiat: et desiderio se extendens in anteriora, impatiensque morarum, jam videre contendat futura. Ego namque non solum ad secundum adventum, sed etiam ad primum arbitror pertinere, quod tot locis Scripturarum i monemur occurrere. Quomodo, inquis? Quia videlicet sicut secundo adventui occurremus motu et exsultatione corporisl sic et primo occurrndum est affectu et exsultatione cordis. Scitis enim quia resumptis in resurrectione corporis novis, secundum doctrinam Apostoli, rapiemur in nubibus obviam Christo in aera, et sic semper cum Domino erimus. Sic nec modo desunt nubes, quae spiritus nostros, si nimis non fuerint pigri terraeque affixi, sublevabunt ad altiora; et sic cum Domino erimus, vel hora dimidia. Agnoscit, ni fallor, experientia vestra quod loquor, cum aliquando vocem dederunt nubes, id est, sonerunt in Ecclesia prophetarum, vel apostolorum voces, ad quam sublimia sensus vestri, quasi vehiculo nubis, fuerint subvecti; et eo usque nonnunquam excesserint, ut gloriam Domini quantulumcunque mererentur speculari. Tunc, ni fallor, vobis innotuit veritas illius sermonis, qum Dominus de illa nube pluit, quam quotidie ponit ascensum vobis: Sacrificium laudis honorificabit me: et illic iter, quo ostendam illi salutare Dei. Ita ergo sit, ut ante adventum suum Dominus veniat ad vos, et antequam mundo generaliter adveniat, familiariter invisat vos. Non vos, inquit, relinquam orphanos: vado, et veniam ad vos. Et quidem pro merito cujusque, vel studio, creber est ad unumquemque iste Domini adventus, hoc tempore medio inter adventum primum et novissimum, conformans nos adventui primo, et praeparans novissimo. Ad hoc nempe venit modo in nos, ne primo adventu frustra venerit ad nos, vel ne in novissimo veniat iratus adversus nos. Hoc siquidem adventu satagit reformare sensum superbiae nostrae, configuratum sensui humilitatis suae, quam primo veniens exhibuit; ut perinde reformet corpus humilitatis nostrae, configuratum corpori claritatis suae, quam denuo rediens exhibebit. Prorsus optandus omnibus votis, et expetendus studiis adventus iste familiaris, qui nobis gratiam impertiat adventus primi, et gloriam promittat novissimi. Guerricus Ignaciensis, De Adventu Domini, Sermo II Source: Migne PL 185.15d-16d

We are waiting for the anniversary of the day of the Christ's birth, which soon we shall see, which was promised with the Lord's approval. It seems that Scripture would have us joyful, so that our spirits are lifted up, eager to hurry to the approaching Christ, and while reaching out to what is to come its desire is impatient with the delay, and seems in dispute with what is to be. I think that all the passages in Scripture which exhort us to hurry, refer not only to the first advent but even to the second. How is this, you ask? Because as at the second coming we shall run with all eagerness and joy in the body, so even at the first we should run with all happiness and exultation of heart. You know that at the resurrection, with the putting on of the new body, according to the teaching of the Apostle, we shall be taken up into the clouds to meet Christ in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord, 1 but even now there is no lack of clouds which will carry off our spirits to the heights if we are not sluggish and bound up in worldly things, and so we we will be with the Lord, if for half an hour. If I do not err, your own experience knows what I am speaking about, when sometimes the clouds thunder, that is, when in the Church the prophets or the apostles give forth their voices, and your minds are swept up to high things, as transported on clouds, and not a few have gone further, so that they have merited to look a little on the glory of the Lord. Then, if I do not err, the truth of the word is made known to you, which the Lord rains down from the cloud that he appoints to raise us up every day. 'The sacrifice of praise shall give me honour, and there is the path by which I shall show forth the salvation of God.' 2 Therefore it may be that the Lord will come to you before His advent, and before He comes to the whole world, He will come to you in particular. 'I shall not leave you orphans,' He said, 'but I go and I shall come to you.' 3 And whether for merit or for zeal, the advent of the Lord to us is not uncommon in the time between the first and the second advent, conforming us to the first and preparing us for the last. For certainly He comes to us now, lest it is in vain that He came to us in His first advent, and lest He comes against us in anger in the last. In this middle advent He comes to reform our proud minds and to shape us to the sense of His humility which He showed in His first coming, so that He may reform the body of our humility into the likeness of His own glorified body, which He shall show when He returns again. 4 The wish of all our prayers and the striving of our zeal should be this personal advent of His, which bestows on us the grace of the first advent and promises the glory of the last. Guerric of Igny, from the Second Sermon on the Advent Of the Lord 1 Thes 4.16 2 Ps 76.18, 103.3, 49.23 3 Jn 14.18 4 Phil 3.21

Hope And Confidence

Exspectemus itaque cum fiducia, fratres, Salvatoris adventum. Certus sum, inquit, quia apparebit in fine,et non mentietur. Si moram fecerit: exspectabo eum. Sed et ille qui mandat salutes Jacob, salutat per Oseam propheam amicam suam Ecclesiam, quam sibi desponsavit in fide, et consolatur eam: et ut confidat in ea cor viri sui, docet qualiter eum debeat exspectare: Dies multos, inquit, exspectabis me, non fornicaberis: et non eris cum amatore alieno. Ab antiquis diebus dicta sunt haec, fratres. Unde et Isaias dicit: Nonne Dominus venit de longinquo? Nos autem sumus, in quos fins saeculi devenerunt. Ideoque in proximo est ut veniat: Sponsus, ut veniat rex noster, legifer noster. Cito enim veniet, et non tardabit. Et nos ergo similes hominibus expectantibus dominum suum, faciamus quod praecipit, ut non fornicemur, ut non sequamur alios amatores. Fallax amator est mundus; animabus proditoria deceptione illudit. Hic est Sichem filius Hemor, qui Dinam filiam Jacob raptam et corruptam balnditiis lenit. Misera enim anima abstracta et illecta a concupiscentiis suis, dum mundo et diabolo consentiens fornicatur a Domino, primam fidem irritam facit, atque in passione desideriorum et peremptoria voluptate seipsam Deo abnegat. Dolosos amatores, quia praesentialiter se offerunt, sequitur; et Dominum gloriae Christum Jesum sponsum et salvatorem suum juste, pie et sobrie non exspectat. Nos itaque juxta consilium Apostoli, sobrie, et juste, et pie vivamus in hoc s aeculo, exspectantes beatem spem, et advetum gloriae magni Dei. Est pietas hominis ad Dominum, justitia ad proximum, sobrietas ad seipsum. Perniciosus est nobis Adventus Domini, nisi ipsum cum pietate et sobrietate et justitia exspectemus. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo III, De Advento Domini Source: Migne PL 207.568d-569b

Let us hope with confidence in the Lord's advent, brothers.'I am certain,' he says, 'that He shall appear in the end, and He does not lie. If He delays, I shall expect Him.' 1 But even He who commands greetings to Jacob, gives greetings in Hosea the prophet to his friend the Church which is espoused to Him in faith, and consoles her, even that she should have confidence in the heart of her man, thus also teaching that she should expect Him. 'Many days,' he says, you shall expect me, and you shall not fornicate, and you shall not go with another lover.' 2 These things were said in the days of old, brothers. Whence even Isaiah says, 'Shall not the Lord come from afar?' 3 And we are those, brothers, on whom the final days have come. 4 Therefore He comes as to a neighbour, as the Bridegroom, and as our king He comes, and as our legislator. For quickly He shall come, and He shall not delay. And we, therefore, like men who await their master, should do what He commands, and thus not fornicate or go off with other lovers. The world is a false lover. It deceives with the traitorous deceptions, and is as Sichem the son of Hemor, who with blandishments seized and corrupted Dinah. 5 Wretched it is to have the soul carried off in the snares of such desires, and to consent while apart from the Lord to fornicate with the world and with the devil, making one's first faith a burden, and in the passions of desire and the demands of pleasure forsaking God. Woeful are the lovers who follow those who presently offer themselves, and do not expect the Lord of glory, Jesus Christ the bridegroom, and their Saviour, in justice, piety and sobriety. For thus according to the counsel of the Apostle, 'in sobriety, and justice, and piety let us live in this world, hoping with a blessed hope, even for the coming of the Lord of great glory.' 6 The piety of a man is for the Lord, justice is for his neighbour, and sobriety is for himself. The advent of the Lord is wicked for us unless we expect Him in piety and sobriety and justice. Peter of Blois, from Sermon 3, On The Advent of the Lord 1 Hab 2.3 2 Hosea 3.3 3 Isaiah 30.27 4 1 Cor 10.11 5 Genes 34 6 Tit 2.12-13

Labour And Salvation

Verum si diligenter observem praecepta medici, erit etiam consolationis occasio, Sicut enim gravem agnosco morbum, cui tanla apponitur medicina, sic et ex hoc ipso non incurabilem esse conjector. Neque enim pretiosissimas species frustra insumeret medicus sapiens, imo sapienlia ipsa. Porro frustra insumi constat, non solum si absque eis facilis esset curatio, sed multo magis et si cum eis sit impossibilis. Animat itaque ad poenitentiam, et accendit vehementius desiderium spes concepta. Sane accedit ad consolationem ipsa quoque , quae pastoribus vigilantibus exhibita est, visitatio et allocutio angelorum. Vae vobis, divites, qui habetis consolationem vestram, ut jam non mereamini habere coelestem. Quam multi enim nobiles secundum carnem, quam multi potentes, quam multi sapientes hujus saeculi, hora illa in stratis mollibus quiescebant; et nemo eorum dignus habitus est novam videre lucem, scire magnum illud gaudium, angelos audire cantantes: Gloria in excelsis Deo. Agnoscant igitur homines, quia qui in labore hominum non sunt, visitari ab angelis non merentur. Agnoscant quam placeat supernis civibus labor cujus spiritualis intentio est, quandoquidem et eos qui pro victu corporis, coroporali urgente necessitate laborant, suo dignantur alloquio, et alioquio tam felici. Nimirum humanum in eis agnoscant ordinem, quo constituit Deus ut in sudore vultus sui vescatur Adam pane suo. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In Nativitate Domini Sermo III Source: Migne PL 183.125b-c

Truly if I diligently observe the instructions of the physician there shall be a time of comfort, for as I know the sickness is grave, since such a great cure has been administered, so from this I conjecture that it is not incurable. The wise physician does not take up this most precious form in vain, but on account of His own wisdom, and yet He does apply Himself vainly with those who would have an easy cure, and much more with those who make it impossible. Even so, He stirs to penitence, and He more eagerly kindles the desire of hope conceived. Certainly there is consolation also, which was shown to those watching shepherds with the visitation and speech of angels. 'Woe to you, O rich ones, who have your consolation,' 1 so that now you do not merit heaven. How many are noble according to the flesh, how many powerful, how many wise according to the world, and in that hour they were silent, wrapped up in soft garments, for not one of them was clothed so worthily that they might see the new light, and know that great joy, and hear angels singing, 'Glory to God on High.' 2 Therefore let men know that those who are not amid the labours of men, 3 shall not merit the visitation of angels. Let them know the work that is spiritual in intent pleases the dwellers in heaven, and whenever those labour under bodily necessity for the sustenance of the body, they are worthy of their speech, even a speech so fortunate. Let them know the order for men, which God established, that in the sweat of his face Adam eats his bread. 4 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for the Season, On The Nativity Of The Lord, from Sermon 3 1 Lk 6.24 2 Lk 2.14 3 Ps 72.5 4 Gen 3.19

The Son And Sons

Quotquot autem receperunt dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri... Tangitur hic tertium, scilicet adventus ipsius fructus sive utilitas, quae est divinae filiationis adeptio. Quia haec utilitas non se extendit, nisi ad eos qui eum receperunt et in eum crediderunt; ideo dicit: Quotquot autem receperunt. Ita sui eum non receperunt, sed quotquot receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri. Et haec magna utilitas; primae loannis tertio: Videte, qualem caritatem dedit nobis Pater, ut fiiii Dei nominemur et simus; et in hoc magna utilitas; unde ad Romanos octavo: Si filii,et heredes, heredes quidem Dei, coheredes autem Christi. Ita ergo hanc potestatem filiationis Dei dedit his qui receperunt. Sed quia haec receptio est per fidem, ideo explicat: His qui credunt in nomine eius; ita dedit eis qui receperunt, his qui credunt in nomine eius, id est in re nominis eius. Nomen eius est Emmanuel, id est nobiscum Deus. Ille igitur credit in nomine, qui credit eum Deum et hominem; et hic est filius Dei; primae loannis quinto: Omnis, qui credit, quoniam lesus est Filius Dei, ex Deo natus est. Quia vero filii Dei non fiunt nisi per generationem spiritualem, non carnalem, ideo dicit: Qui non ex sanguinibus, id est commixtione seminum; neque ex voluntate carnis, id est mulieris; neque ex voluntate viri, id est delectatione et pruritu; sed ex Deo nati sunt; quia infra tertio: Quod natum est ex carne caro est, et quod natum est ex spiritu spiritus est; et primae Petri primo: Renati non ex semine corruptibili, sed incorruptibili, per verbum Dei vivi et permanentis in aeternum, hoc est semper. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput I Source: Here, p252

But as many as received Him, He gave the power to be sons of God.. 1 This touches on the third matter, certainly the fruit and usefulness of His advent, which is adoption to Divine sonship. Since this usefulness does not give itself but to those who will receive Him and believe in Him, therefore it says, 'But as many as received Him.' Thus they do not receive it from themselves, but 'as many as received Him, He gave power to be sons of God.' And this is of great benefit. In the third chapter of the first letter of John, 'See how much love the Father had for us, so that we might name ourselves sons and be so.' 2 And in this there is great gain, for in the eighth chapter of Romans, 'If sons, even heirs, heirs of God, and coheirs of Christ.' 3 Thus God gives the power of sonship to those who receive Him. But because reception is through faith, he explains here, 'To those who believe in His name.' Thus it is given to those who receive Him, to those who believe in His name, that is, in the meaning of His name, which name is Emmanuel, that is, God is with us. Therefore He believes in His name who believes Him to be God and man, and he is a son of God. In the fifth chapter of the first letter of John, 'Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God is born from God.' 4 But because the son of God does not come to be unless by spiritual generation and not carnal generation, therefore he says, 'Who not from blood,' that is the mixing of seed, 'nor from the will of the flesh,' that is woman, 'nor from the will of man' that is desire and lust, 'but from God are born.' Because in the third chapter below, 'What is born from flesh is flesh, and what is born from the spirit is spirit.' 5 And in the first chapter of the first letter of Peter, 'Reborn from incorruptible not corruptible seed, through the word of the living God which remains forever.' 6 That is, always. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 1 1 Jn 1.12 2 1 Jn 3.1 3 Rom 8.17 4 1 Jn 5.1 5 Jn 3.6 6 1 Pet 1.23

Life And Light

Et vita erat lux hominum. Quo verbo aperte docetur quod ipsa vitalis per quam omni disposita sunt et reguntur: non omnem creaturam, sed rationabilem tantum, ut sapere possit illuminat. Homines namque, qui ad imaginem Dei facti sunt, percipere sapientiam possunt, animalia non possunt. Sed animalis quicunque est homo, non percipit ea quae sunt Spiritus Dei. Unde bene cum dixisset: Et vita erat lux hominum, subjunxit, et de his qui ab humanae conditionis honore procul recedentes, comparati sunt jumentis insipientibus, et similes facti sunt illis, atque ideo rectae voluntatis luce privantur. Sanctus Beda, In Ioannis Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Caput I Source: Migne PL 92.639c

And the life was the light of men. 1 With which words he openly teaches that it is through this living one that all has been arranged and is ruled, but He does not illuminate every creature but only those who are rational, that is, those who are able to know. For men, who are made according to the image of God, can all attain to wisdom, and animals cannot. Yet there is a bestial man who does not perceive the things which are of the Spirit of God. 2 Whence it is well said, 'And the light was the light of men,' which alludes to those who have withdrawn far from the honour of the human condition, comparing them to mindless beasts, and that they made like them, 3 and therefore they are deprived of the light of a good will. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book1, Chapter 1 1 Jn 1.4 2 1 Cor 2.14 3 Ps 48.13

The World Did Not Know Him

Ο κόσμος δὲ, φησὶν, αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔγνω, ἀντὶ τοῦ, ὁ χυδαῖος λαὸς, ὁ τοῖς τοῦ κόσμου προστετηκώς πράγμασι. Τὸ γὰρ κόσμος όνομα σημαίνει μὲν και τὸ σύμπαν τοῦτο, καθὰ ἐνταῦθα εἴρηται, ὅτι Ὁ κόσμος δι ' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, σημαίνει δὲ καὶ τοὺς τὰ κοσμικὰ φρονοῦντας· καθὰ ἐνταῦθά φησιν ὅτι Ὁ κόσμος αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔγνω, ἀντὶ τοῦ, οἱ γήϊνοι ἄνθρωποι· ἐπεὶ οἶγε ἅγιοι πάντες καὶ οἱ προφῆται ἐπέγνωσαν. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ιὠαννὴν, Κεφαλὴ Α' Source: Migne PG 123.1152a

'The world,' it says, 'did not know Him,' 1 that is, the common run of people caught up in worldly affairs. For 'the world' means everything, since it is said here that 'the world was made through Him,' meaning even those who think of worldly things, so here it says that 'the world did not know Him,' that is worldly men, because all who were holy and the prophets did know. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 1 1 Jn 1.10

A Beginning Of Blessings

Έπεὶ ούν έμπέφυκέπως τὸ κατά τήν ἔπαρσιν πάθος παντὶ σχεδὸν τὸ κοινωνοῦντι της άνθρωπίνης φύσεως, διά τούτο έντεΰθεν τών μακαρισμών ό Κύριος άρχεται, οίον άρχέγονόν τι κακὸν έκβάλλων έκ της ἔξεως ήμών τήν ύπερηφανίαν, έν τώ συμβουλεύειν μιμήσασθαι τὸν έκουσίως πτωχεύσαντα, ὁς έστιν άληθώς μακάριος, ΐνα έν ᾡ δυνάμεθα καθώς ἂν οἴοί τε ὦμεν ὁμοιωθέντες έκ τοῦ πτωχεῦσαι κατά προαίρεσιν, καὶ τήν τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ κοινωνίαν έφελκυσώμεθα. Τούτο γάρ φρoνείσθω, φησὶν, ἐν ὑμίν, ὃ καί έν Χριστφ Ίησον· ὃς έν μορφῇ θεον ύπάρχων, οὐχ άρπαγμὸν ήγήσατο τὸ είναι ἰσα θεω· άλλ' έαυτον έκένωσε μορφών δούλον λαβών. Τί πτωχότερον έπὶ θεοῦ τῆς τοῦ δούλου μορφής; Τί ταπεινότερον έπὶ τοῦ βασιλέως τών ὂντων, ή τὸ είς κοινωνίαν της πτωχής ήμών φύσεως έλθεϊν; Ό Βασιλεύς τών βασιλευόντων, καὶ Κύριος τών κυριευόντων έθελόντως τήν της δουλείας μορφήν ύποδύεται· ὁ Κριτής τοῦ παντὸς, ὑπόφορος τοϊς δυναστεύουσι γίνεται· ό τής κτίσεως Κύριος έν σπηλαίῷ κατάγεται· ό τοΰ παντὸς περιδεδραγμένος ούχ εύρίσκει τόπον έν τώ καταλύματι, άλλ' έν τή φάτνη τών άλόγων ζώων παραρριπτεῖταί ό καθαρὸς καὶ άκήρατος. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Logos A', Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Source: Migne PG 44.1201b-c

Since, then, the fault of arrogance is implanted in almost everyone who partakes of human nature, the Lord begins the Beatitudes with 'Blessed are the poor in spirit,' 1 and with this beginning uproots the evil of pride from our character by counselling us to imitate Him who became poor of His own will, He who is the truly blessed, so that, as far as we are able, we may become like Him in this way, that by being poor by our own choice we are drawn to partake of His blessedness. 'Be of this mind,' as it was said, 'which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, yet emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant.' 2 What greater poverty is there for God than the form of a servant? What is more humbling for the King of all things than to partake of our poor nature? The King of kings, the Lord of lords, chooses to put on the garment of servitude, the Judge of all things becomes a subject of rulers, the Lord of creation dwells in a cave, He who encompasses everything finds no place in the inn but is cast aside into the manger of irrational beasts. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the First Oration, on 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' 1 Mt 5.3 2 2 Phil 2.5-7

The Feast Of Dedication

Κἂν ἐν χειμῶναι ἐσμεν τῶν πολλῶν περιστάσεων, οὐ κωλυθησόμεθα ἐπιτελεῖν τὴν ἑορτὴν τῶν ἐγκαινίων ἐν τῇ Ἰερουσαλὴμ, καὶ ᾄδειν τῷ Κυρίῷ, καθά φησιν ὁ Δαυὶδ, ᾆσμα καινὸν, δηλαδὴ εὐαγγελικόν. Ἰερουσαλὴμ γὰρ νῦν νοείσθω μοι ἡ ψυχὴ, ἐν ᾗ ἐπιτελοῦμεν τὴν ἑορτὴν τῆς θεογνωσίας, καὶ παντοίας ἀρετῆς, διωθούμενοι μὲν τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἐπαμφισκόμενοι δὲ τὸν νέον τὸν κατ' εἰκόνα, καὶ ὁμοίωσιν τοῦ Κυρίου κτισθέντα· Ἀνακαινσθήσεται γὰρ ὡς ἀετοῦ ἡ νεότης σου. Ἐγένετο οὖν, φησὶ, τὰ ἐγκαίνια ἐν Ἰεροσολύμοις, καὶ χειμὼν ἦν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΜΒ' Σωσανδρῳ Πριμισκρινιῳ Source: Migne PG 79.172b

Even when we are in a winter of many trials it is not forbidden to celebrate the feast of the dedication in Jerusalem and to sing to the Lord a new song, as David said, which is clearly the Gospel. For now I think of Jerusalem as the soul in which we celebrate the feast of Divine knowledge and all virtue, 'casting off the old man and putting on the new one created according to the image and likeness of the Lord.' 'Your youth shall be renewed like the eagle's.' 'It was then the feast of dedication at Jerusalem,' he says, 'and it was winter.' 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 242, to Sosandros the Primiscrinius 1 Colos 3.10, Ps 102.5, Jn 10.22

Questioning Paternity

Et dicebant: Nonne hic est filius Joseph? Ecce hic secundum Chrysostomum tangitur effectus Verbi Dei in indevotis Scribis et Pharisaeis. Omnes enim de populo sanctificabant eum, et testimonium illi dabant. Soli autem Scribae et Pharisaei, ut dicit Chrysostomus, similes sunt terrae arenosae, quae quanto plus pluit, tanto magis aret. Et ideo maledicti sunt: sicut dicit Apostolus, ad Hebr. VI: Terra saepe venientem super se bibens imbrem, et generans herbam opportunam illis a quibus colitur, accipit benedictionem a Deo: proferens autem spinas ac tribulos, reproba est, et maledictioni proxima: cujus consummatio in combustionem ignis. Dividitur autem haec pars in tres partes: in quarum prima Scribarum et Pharisaeorum in paucis verbis innuit contemptum: in secunda autem Christus excludit ipsorum tacitam objectionem quam fecerunt, populum a fide concepta volentes avertere: in tertia autem aperta eorum ponitur malignitas, ad quam induxerunt populum, et quam volebant Domino violenter inferre. Primum horum est valde parvum, sed praegnans magna malignitate: Et dicebant, Supple, Scribae et Pharisaei ad populum qui jam fidem et devotionem conceperat, Nonne hic est. Despectionis nota est demonslratio ejus, quem nominare non sunt dignati. Sapient. ii: Gravis est nobis etiam ad videndum. Psal. xv: Nec memor ero nominum eorum per labia mea. Filius Joseph? Minus hic dicit Evangelista quod tam Matthaeo quam a Marco plenius sciverat esse positum. Matth.xiii, Nonne hic est fabri filius? Nonne mater ejus dicitur Maria, et fratres ejus, Jacobus, et Joseph, et Simon, et Judas: et sorores ejus, nonne omnes apud nos sunt? Marc vi: Nonne hic est faber, filius Mariae, frater Jacobi, et Joseph, et Judae, et Simonis? Haec omnia despective dicta sunt. Faber enim lignarius dicitur fuisse Joseph, arte et usu manuum victum quaerens, et non in otio et deliciis panem manducans, sicut Scribae et Pharisaei fecerunt. Maria etiam quam objiciunt ei quaestuaria fuit, ut dicit Hieronymus, colo et consilio manuum victum quaerens. Fratres autem vocant hic consobrinos ejus, filios sororis Beatae Virginis ex Cleopha patre, tres Apostolos Simonem, et Judam, et Jacobum minorem. Quartus autem Joseph fuit qui justus cognominabatur: qui cum Matthia sortes habuit quis eorum in locum Judse substitueretur. Et est sensus: Hic despectae et pauperrimae nativitatis faber lignarius vocatione, non potest esse Christus Dominus quem unxit Deus. Et ideo sibi non est credendum tam rusticano et tam vili. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput IV Source: Here p331-332

And they said, 'Is this not the son of Joseph?' 1 Observe that according to Chrysostom this touches upon the effect the Word of God had on the disbelieving Scribes and Pharisees. 'For all the people blessed Him and bore witness to Him.' 1 Only the Scribes and the Pharisees, as Chrysostom says, are like the dust of the earth, so that the more it rains, the more they thirst. And therefore they are cursed, as the Apostle says in the sixth chapter of the letter to the Hebrews, 'The earth which drinks down the rain which comes upon it and gives birth to plants in their seasons for those who till it, receives a blessing from God, but that which brings from forth thorns and thistles is reprobate and near to a curse, whose end is to be burnt with fire.' 2 This may be divided into three parts, in which first is made known in few words the contempt of the Scribes and Pharisees, in the second part Christ rejects the tacit objection they make, choosing to point to a people conceived by faith, and in in the third part is set down their malignity, to which they had led the people, and what they wished to bring violently on the Lord. The first part is very brief but bears much wickedness, 'And they said,' Understand that the Scribes and Pharisees said 'Is this not?' to the people who had just laid hold of faith and devotion, which demonstrates their scorn of Him whom they are not worthy to name. In the second chapter of Wisdom, 'The sight of Him is burdensome to us.' In the fifteenth Psalm, 'I shall not remember their names on my lips.' 3 'The son of Joseph?' Here the Evangelist says less than Matthew who wrote more extensively about what Mark set down. In the twelfth chapter of Matthew 'Is this man not the son of a carpenter? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers, Jacob and Joseph and Simon and Judas, and do not his sisters dwell among us?' In the sixth chapter of Mark, 'Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of Jacob and Joseph and Judas and Simon?' 4 This is all said disrespectfully. Is it said that Joseph was a carpenter, seeking his living with the work of his hands, and not in leisure and pleasure eating his bread, as the Scribes and Pharisees did. Mary they object to as a woman for hire, as Jerome says, who with her spinning and counsel made her living. Those called his brothers here are his cousins, the sons of the sister of the Blessed Virgin, who had Cleophas for a father, the three Apostles Simon, Judas and James the less. Joseph, the fourth one, was surnamed the Just, who with Matthias had the lots cast for the replacement of Judas. 5 This is the sense of what they said, that the occupation of carpenter entails a base and impoverished birth and it is not possible for Him to be the Lord Christ whom God anointed, and therefore one should not believe in one so rustic and common. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 4 1 Lk 4.22 2 Heb 6.7-8 3 Wisd 2.15, Ps 15.4 4 Mt 13.55-56, Mk 6.3 5 Acts 1.23-26

The Son of Man

'Et interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens: 'Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis?'  Non dixit, quem me dicunt esse homines, sed Filium hominis: ne jacanter de se quaerere videretur. Et quod ubicumque scriptum est in veteri Testamento, filius hominis in Hebraeo positum sit, filius Adam. Ut est illud, quod in psalmo legimus: Filii hominum usquequo gravi corde , quod in Hebraei dicitur, filii Adam. Pulchre autem interrogat: Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis? quia qui de Filio hominis loquntur, homines sunt: qui vero divinitatem ejus intelligunt, non homines, sed dii appellantur. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentaria in Matthaeum, Liber III, Caput XVI Source: Migne PL 25.115a

And He asked His disciples saying, 'Who do men say the Son of Man is?' 1 He did not ask who do men say I am, but 'the Son of Man,' lest He seem to be boasting about Himself with His question. And the name which is everywhere written in the Old Testament 'Son of Man' in Hebrew is 'Son of Adam.' As when in the Psalm it reads 'Sons of men, how long will your hearts be heavy?' 2 which in Hebrew reads 'Sons of Adam'. The question, 'Who do men say that the Son of Man is?' is put beautifully, for they who speak of the Son of Man, are men, but they who understand His Divine nature are called not men but Gods. 3 Saint Jerome, Commentary on Matthew, Book 3, Chapter 16 1 Mt 16.13 2 Ps 4.3 3 Ps 81.6

Woman And Virgin

Cum autem venit plenitudo temporis, misit Deus Filium suum, factum ex muliere, factum sub lege. Sed offendit factum ex muliere, quia natum confitemur ex Virgine. Factum non confitemur nisi hominem; Deus autem semper faciens est, fieri nescit ut sit. Fieri nescit Deus; sed fit ut aliquid alicui sit, quo modo dicitur: Domine, refugium factus es nobis; et: Dominus factus est auxiliator meus. Quanta factus, qui numquam est factus? Dominus autem Christus homo factus est, ut esset, ut qui Creator semper erat, creatura esset. Manens enim Deus, factus est homo, ut fieret quod non erat, non ut periret quod erat. Hoc ergo de Virgine quod factum est, quare ex mulier? Quod apud Hebraeos, ubi est prima lingua Scripturae, mulier nomen est significandi sexus, non amissae integritatis. Lege: quando mulier formata est, Extraxit, inquit, Deus unam e costis eius, id est viri, et aedificavit eam in mulierem. Sic mulier Maria; sic ei dictum est, antequam pareret, antequam conciperet: Beata tu inter mulieres. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Sermo XLIX, Ut Homo Diligit Iustitiam et Misericordiam et Iudicium Paratusque sit Ambulare cum Domino Deo Suo, Fragmentum Source: Migne PL 38.257

'When came the fullness of time God sent His Son, made from a woman, made under the law.' 1 But there is a problem with 'made from a woman' because we confess that He was born from a virgin. We do not confess anything but He was made man. And God is always making, to become one knows not what. What God becomes is not known but He may become something to someone, as when it is said, 'Lord you have been made a refuge for me.' and 'The Lord was made my help.' 2 How much making for Him who was never made. But the Lord Christ was made man so that the one who was always Creator became a created thing. For remaining God He was made man so He might become what He was not, and that what He was might not perish. Therefore He was made from a virgin, but why does it say here 'made from a woman?' Because in Hebrew, which is the first tongue of Scripture, the name woman signifies the sex, not a loss of dignity. Read that when woman was formed, 'God drew out one of his ribs,' that is, the man's, 'and fashioned it into a woman.' 3 So Mary was a woman, and so it was said to her before she gave birth, and before she had conceived, 'Blessed are you among women.' 4 Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 49a, 'So that the man who loves righteousness and mercy and judgement and is prepared to walk with the Lord his God.' 1 Galat 4.4 2 Ps 89.1, Ps 29.11 3 Gen 2.21 4 Lk 2.24

A Great Mystery And Sign

Magnum mysterium, dilectissimi fratres, magnum divinae dilectionis indicium. Homo Deum contemnens a Deo discessit, Deus hominem diligens ad homines venit. Dilexit impium, ut faceret justum; dilexit infirmum, ut faceret sanum; dilexit perversum, ut faceret rectum; dilexit mortuum, ut faceret vivum. Et quid amplius dicam? quandoquidem Deus unigenitus humanam naturam tantum dilexit, ut eam non solum a potestate mali angeli liberaret, verum etiam in seipso super omnes bonos angelos in Patris dextera collocaret. Natura enim quae in primo homine a malo angelo captivata fuerat, ipsa nunc in secundo homine super omnes bonos angelos regnat. Natura quae in primo homine mundum peccato polluit, ipsa in secundo homine mundum a peccato mundavit. Primus homo de terra terrenus, secundus homo de coelo coelestis. Primum hominem mulier corrupta mente decepit, secundum hominem virgo incorrupta virginitate concepit. In primi hominis conjuge nequitia diaboli seductam depravavit mentem, in secundi autem hominis matre gratia Dei et mentem integram servavit et carnem: menti contulit firmissimam fidem, carni abstulit omnino libidinem. Quoniam igitur miserabiliter pro peccato damnatus est homo, ideo sine peccato mirabiliter natus est Deus homo. Sanctus Fulgentius Ruspensis, Sermo II, De duplici Nativitate Christi , una aeterna ex Patre, altera temporali ex Virgine Source: Migne PL 65.728b-c

It is a great mystery, brothers, it is a great sign of Divine love. Man scorning God is cut off from God, God loving men comes to men. God loved the wicked man so that he might make him righteous, He loved the sick man so that He might make him well, He loved the depraved man so that He might make him upright, he loved the dead man so that He might make him live. What more shall I say? The only begotten God loved human nature so much that not only did He liberate it from the power of the evil angel, but truly in Himself He gathered it to the right hand of the Father above all the angels. For the nature that was in the first man was made captive by the wicked angel, now by the second men rules over all the angels. The nature in the first man that befouled the world with sin, was that which in the second man cleansed the world of sin. 'The first man from earth, earthly, the second man from heaven, heavenly.' 1 The woman deceived the first man with a corrupted mind, an uncorrupted virgin conceived the second with her virginity. The wickedness of the devil depraved a seduced mind with the erring spouse of the first man, the grace of God guarded the mind and flesh of the mother of the second man, bringing firm faith to the mind and casting off all carnal desire. Because, then, man was wretchedly damned for sin, thus the God man was wonderfully born without sin. Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, from Sermon 2, On The Twofold Nativity of Christ, One Eternal from the Father, and One Temporal from the Virgin 1 1 Cor 15.47

Bringing Forth A Son

Et pariet filium, vocabis nomen ejus Jesum. Non dixit, Pariet tibi filium, sicut ad Zachariam: Ecce Elizabeth uxor tua concipiet et pariet tibi filium: quia mulier, quae ex viro concipit, marito suo filium parit: quia magis illo est, quam de ipsa. Haec autem, quae non de viro conceperat, non filium illi peperit, sed sibi tantummodo. Vide quomodo similitudinem ipsius rei per omnia sequitur, qua facta est in Adam. Sicut enim tunc mulier gustans de ligno, sola seducta est, et peperit mortem; Adam autem non fuit particeps in seductione illius; non enim a diabolo seductus peccavit, sed quia consensit mulieri: sic et modo accipiens Maria de Spiritu sancto, sola credidit, dicens, Ecce jam nunc beatam me dicent omnes generationes. Joseph autem tunc in fide conceptionis illius nihil habuit commune, sed postea tacendo et consentidendo tantum salvatus est. Ideo et in somniis adstitit ei, non palam: ut quemadmodum dormiente Adam creavit mulierem, sic et isti dormienti divintus consignaret uxorem. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia I Source: Migne PG 56.634

And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. 1 The angel did not say to Joseph, 'She shall bear you a son,' as was said to Zachariah, 'Behold Elizabeth your wife shall conceive and bring forth a son for you,' 2 because that woman conceived from a man, and brought forth a son for her husband, but Mary, who did not conceive from a man, did not bring forth a son for Joseph, but for herself alone. See how a likeness in this follows through everything that was done in Adam. As then the woman tasted from the tree, and was alone seduced and brought forth death, and Adam did not participate in her seduction, for he did not sin by the devil's persuasion but consented to the the woman, so Mary receiving the Holy Spirit, alone believed, saying, 'Behold, now all generations shall call me blessed.' 3 And Joseph then in the faith of conception had no share, but later by his silence and consent he was saved. Therefore the angel came to him in his dreams and not openly, so that as from the sleeping Adam woman was created, so even with him asleep the Divine bore witness to his wife. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 1 1 Mt 1.21 2 Lk 1.13 3 Lk 1.48

Fullness Of Grace

De plenitudine eius nos omnes accepimus et gratiam pro gratia... De plenitudine eius. Notandum, quod est quadruplex plenitudo, scilicet sufficientiae, abundantiae, excellentiae et supereffluentiae. Plenitudo sufficientiae reperitur in quolibet iusto; de qua Psalmus: Aperis tu manum tuam et imples omne animal benedictione. Plenitudo abundantiae reperitur in quolibet viro perfecto, secundum quod legitur Actuum sexto: Stephanus, plenus gratia; et Actuum secundo: Repleti sunt omnes Spiritu sancto etc. Plenitudo excellentiae reperitur in beatissima Virgine, cui dictum est Lucae primo, Ave, gratia plena; quam plenitudinem tractans, beatus Bernardus ait: Legimus Stephanum plenum gratia, Apostolos repletos Spiritu sancto, sed longe dissimiliter in Maria. Non enim habitavit in eis plenitudo Divinitatis corporaliter, quemadmodum in Maria. Plenitudo supereffluentiae reperitur in Christo, de quo, secundum quod hic dicitur, nos omnes accepimus. Unde et ipse dicit Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto: Transite ad me, omnes qui concupiscitis me, et a generationibus meis implerami. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput I, Collatio III Source: Here, p538

And from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace... 1 'From His fullness.' Let it be noted that there is a fourfold fullness, that is, of sufficiency, of abundance, of excellence, and of supereminence. A fullness of sufficiency is found in whoever is righteous, concerning which the Psalm says, 'You open your hand and you fill every creature with a blessing.' 2 A fullness of abundance is found in the perfect man, according to which it is said in the sixth chapter of Acts, 'Stephen, full with grace.' And in the second chapter, 'They were filled with the Holy Spirit.' 3 A fullness of excellence is found in the most blessed Virgin, to whom it was said in the first chapter of Luke, 'Hail, full of grace,' 4 which considering such fullness, the blessed Bernard says, 'We read that Stephen was full of grace and the Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, but there is a great difference with Mary, for they did not have in them the fullness of the Divinity bodily, as Mary did. 5 The fullness of supereminence is found in Christ, concerning whom, according to what is said here, 'we have all received.' Whence He says in the twenty fourth chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 'Pass over to me all who desire me, and from what I bring forth you will be filled.' 6 Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 1 1 Jn 1.16 2 Ps 144.16 3 Acts 6.8, 2,4 4 Lk 1.28 5 Bernard Hom III Missus est 6 Sirach 24.26

Mary And Miracles

Auctor mirabilium Deus tria quaedam mirabilia operatus es in Maria: integritatem munditiae mirabiliter suscitavit, ut arca testamenti auro purissimo tegeretur; puritatem virginalem potentialiter fecundavit, ut rubus ardens non combureretur; ima summis ineffabiliter copulavit, ut, scala Jacob mediante, terrena coelestibus unirentur. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber VI Tit CXXXIV De Tribus Mirabilibus in Maria Source: Migne PL 177.862c-d

God the creator of miracles fashioned three miracles in Mary, He wonderfully elevated the integrity of purity, so that the ark of the testament was covered with pure gold, 1 with power He made untouched virginity fecund, as the burning bush was not touched by fire, 2 and He unspeakably bound depths and heights, as in the midst of Jacob's ladder the things of earth and heaven were united. 3 Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 6, Chapter 134, On The Three Miracles of Mary 1 Exod 30.3, Heb 9.4 2 Exod 3.2 3 Genes 28.12

Undoing The Sandal

Cui quantae reverentiae humilitatem debeat subdendo manifestat Cujus non sum dignus solvere corrigiam calceamenti. Mos apud veteres fuit ut si quis eam quae sibi competeret accipere uxorem nollet, ille ei calceamentum solveret qui ad hanc sponsus jure propinquitatis veniret. Quid igitur inter homines Christus, nisi sanctae Ecclesiae sponsus apparuit? De quo et idem Joannes dicit: Qui habet sponsam, sponsus est. Sed quia Joannem homines Christum esse putaverunt, quod idem Joannes negat, recte se indignum esse ad solvendam corrigiam ejus calceamenti denuntiat. Ac si aperte dicat: Ego Redemptoris nostri vestigia denudare non valeo, quia sponsi nomen mihi immerito non usurpo. Quod tamen intelligi et aliter potest. Quis enim nesciat quod calceamenta ex mortuis animalibus fiunt? Incarnatus vero Dominus veniens quasi calccatus apparuit, quia in divinitate sua morticina nostrae corruptionis assumpsit. Unde etiam per Prophetam dicit: In Idumaeam extendam calceamentum meum. Per Idumaeam quippe gentilitas, per calceamentum vero assumpta mortalitas designatur. In Idumaeam ergo Dominus calceamentum suum se extendere asserit, quia dum per carnem gentibus innotuit, quasi calceata ad nos divinitas venit. Sed hujus incarnationis mysterium humanus oculus penetrare non sufficit. Investigari etenim nullatenus potest quomodo corporatur Verbum, quomodo summus et vivificator spiritus intra uterum matris animatur, quomodo is qui initium non habet, et existit et concipitur. Corrigia ergo calceamenti est ligatura mysterii. Joannes itaque solvere corrigiam calceamenti ejus non valet, quia incarnationis ejus mysterium nec ipse investigare sufficit, qui hanc per prophetiae spiritum agnovit. Quid est ergo dicere: Non sum dignus solvere corrigiam calceamenti ejus, nisi aperte et humiliter suam ignorantiam profiteri? Ac si patenter dicat: Quid mirum si ille mihi praelatus est, quem post me quidem natum considero, sed nativitatis ejus mysterium non apprehendo? Ecce Joannes, prophetiae spiritu impletus, mira scientia emicat et tamen illud de se insinuat quod ignorat. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarum in Evangelia Liber I, Homilia VII, Habita ad populum in basilica sancti Petri apostoli, Dominica quarta in Adventu Domini Source: Migne PL 76.1101b-1102a

John the Baptist reveals how great was the humility and reverence he owed to Christ by saying, 'I am not worthy to undo the strap of His sandal.' 1 It was the custom of those of old that if someone were unwilling to take the wife he should have done, he who should have come to her as bridegroom by right of relationship would undo his sandal. 2 How, then, was Christ among men, but that He appeared as the bridegroom of the holy Church? The same John says of Him, 'He who has the bride is the bridegroom.' 3 Since men thought John was the Christ, which John denied, he was right to proclaim his unworthiness to undo the strap of Christ's sandal. As if he were openly saying, 'I am not able to lay bare the footsteps of our Redeemer, because I do not unrightfully usurp for myself the name of bridegroom.' But this can also be understood in another way. Who does not know that sandals are made from dead animals? Our Lord incarnated appeared as if in sandals because in His Divinity He took up the dead flesh of our corruption. So He says through the prophet: 'Over Edom I shall put forth my sandal.' 4 Edom is the Gentiles, and the sandal the mortality He assumed. The Lord asserts that He puts forth His sandal over Edom because when He became known through the flesh to the Gentiles it was as if Divinity came to us shod in sandals. But the human eye is not sufficient for perceiving the mystery of Christ's incarnation. There is no way we can discover how the Word took up a body, how the great and life-giving Spirit came to life in His mother's womb, and how He who has no beginning both is and is conceived. Therefore the sandal strap is the bond of a mystery. John cannot undo the strap of His sandal because even He is not able to understand the mystery of His incarnation, he who through the spirit of prophecy knew of it. What, therefore, does it mean to say, 'I am not worthy to undo the strap of His sandal,' but he openly and humbly confesses his own ignorance? As if he clearly said, 'Why is it a wonder if He has precedence over me? I see He was born after me, but I do not understand the mystery of His birth.' Behold John who was filled with the spirit of prophecy, and who shone with wondrous knowledge, and yet he implies that there is something he does not understand. Saint Gregory the Great, Homilies On The Gospels, Book 1, from Homily 7, Given to the people in the basilica of Saint Peter, on the fourth Sunday of Advent 1 Mk 1.7 Jn .1.27 2 Ruth 4.7 3 Jn 3.29 4 Ps 59.10