The Vineyard And Righteousness

Simile est regnum caelorum homini patrifamilias, qui exiit primo mane conducere operarios in vineam suam. Homo paterfamilias Christus est, cui caeli et terra quasi una est domus: familia autem quasi caelestium et terrestrium multitudo creaturarum, qui quasi tristegam domum aedificavit, id est, inferos, caelum et terram, ut super terram habitarent certantes, in inferno autem victi, in caelo victores: ut et nos, in medio constituti, non contendamus ad eos descendere, qui sunt in inferno, sed ad eos ascendere, qui sunt in caelo. Et ne forte nescias quid debeas fugere, aut quid debeas sequi, utriusque dedit tibi quasi modicum gustum inter lumen et tenebras habitanti: noctem de inferno, lumen de caelo. Nox tibi referat de tenebris inferorum, et lux tibi referat de splendore caelesti. Conducere operarios in vineam suam. Quae est vinea Dei hic? Non homines, sicut alibi: homines enim vineae cultores dicuntur. Vinea enim justitia est, in qua diversae species justitiarum positae sunt, quasi vites: utputa, mansuetudo, castitas, patientia, longanimitas, caeteraque innumerabilia bona, quae omnia generaliter justitiae appellantur. Attendamus ergo, cum quali studio caelestem vineam colamus. Adam enim positus est in paradiso, colere et operari eam: sed quia neglexit eam, projectus est de ea. Et nos positi sumus super colendam justitiam; si neglexerimus, projiciemur de ea, sicut et Judaei projecti sunt: de quibus scriptum est: Appone iniquitatem super iniquitatem eorum, ut non intrent in tuam justitiam. Ruina praecedentium admonitio debet esse sequentium. Si autem et nos sequentes ceciderimus in ipsam, magis veniam merentur illi, qui primi ceciderunt, quam nos qui secundi. Sicut autem mercenarius positus in vinea, si neglexerit eam, non solam mercedem suam perdet, sed etiam desertae vineae exigetur ab eo damnum: sic et nos, si neglexerimus justitiam nobis commissam, non solum nullam mercedem habebimus, sed etiam dissipatae justitiae dabimus rationem. Vinea enim Dei non extra nos, sed in nobis ipsis plantata est. Ideo qui peccatum facit, dissipat in se justitiam Dei: qui autem bona opera facit, colit eam in se. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXXIV Source: Migne PG 56.816-7

The kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard... 1 Christ is the householder, to whom the heavens and the earth are as one house, and His family is as the multitude of created things of heaven and earth, He who has established it as a house with three floors, that is, hell, heaven and the earth, so that on the earth dwell those who struggle, and in hell those who have been conquered, and in heaven the victors, so even we who are set in the midst of this should strive to avoid being with those who descend and to be with those who ascend and who are in heaven. And if perhaps you do not know what you should flee, or what you should follow, He gives to you as a slight taste the light and darkness where you dwell, the night as hell, daylight as heaven, night referring to the gloom of hell, and light to the splendor of heaven. 'To hire labourers for his vineyard.' What is the vineyard of God here? It is not men, as elsewhere, for men are said to be cultivators of the vineyard. The vineyard is righteousness, in which many types of righteousness are set, just like vines, that is, meekness, chastity, patience, long suffering, and other innumerable goods, which are all called righteousness in general. Let us look, therefore, to what zeal we should tend the vineyard. For Adam was placed in paradise to tend and work, but because he neglected it he was cast from it. And we have been placed to tend to righteousness, which if we neglect it, we shall be cast out, as even the Jews were cast out, concerning whom it is written, 'Place their wickedness on wickedness so that they do not enter into your righteousness.' 2 The ruin of those who came before should be a warning to those who come after. For if we who follow fail in this, those who failed first will have more cause for forgiveness than we who are second. So the hired man is placed in the vineyard, and if he neglects it, not only will he lose his pay, but he will be thrust out of the vineyard he has damaged, and so if we neglect the righteousness committed to us, not only shall we not have our reward, but we shall give cause for the ruin of righteousness. And the vineyard of God is not outside us but it is planted within us, and therefore he who sins ruins the righteousness of God in himself, and he who performs good works tends it in himself. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 34 1 Mt 20.1 2 Ps 68.28

A Woman Healed

Et circumspiciebat videre eam, quae hoc fecerat. Mulier vero timens et tremens, sciens quod factum esset in se, venit et procidit ante eum, et dixit ei omnem veritatem. Ille autem dixit ei: Filia, fides tua te salvam fecit : vade in pace, et esto sana a plaga tua. Et circumspiciebat videre... Eam quae ex hoc visu et respectu moveretur, quod hoc factum in gloriam Dei publicaret. Gratia et misericordia est in sanctis eius: et respectus eius in electos illius. Mulier autem timens... Corde, timore reverentiae, et tremens corpore, ad maiestatem Deitatis, cuius virtutem iam in se experta fuit.Timor et tremor venerunt super me, per experimentum quod factum esset in se, facitatis miraculum. Venit... Fidei devotione Et procidit ante eum... Poenitentia confitens quod vere Deus esset: quia eam de tam intima et miserabili poena infirmitatis erexerat . Cadens in terra pronuntiat quod vere Deus in nobis fit. Et dixit ei... Confitendo publice omnem veritatem scilicet de de quantitate et prolixitate infirmitatis, et de fide et devotione tangendi, et de perceptione integrae sanitatis. Veritatem Dico in Christo Iesu: non metior, testimonium perhibente mihi conscientia mea in Spiritu sancto. Iesus autem dixit ei. Sicut salutis auctor: ostendens id quod dicitur. Tu es qui vitae et mortis habes potestatem. Deducit ad inferos et reducit. Filia... Iam ad imaginem meam in gratia reformata. Fides tua te salvam fecit, Hoc est, hanc salute tibi meruit. Mulier magna est fides tua: fiat tibi sicut petisti. Vade in pace... Mea, mihi per devotionem reconciliata.  Fides tua te salvam fecit: vade in pace. Pacem meam do vobis. Esto sana... Perseverantia sanitatis perceptae.9 A Plaga tua. Confirma hoc Deus, quod operatus es in nobis. Sic dicitur: Quod vidit Deus cuncta quae fecerat, et erant valde bona. Qui enim fecerat potestate Deitatis, vidit oculo beneplaciti, confirmans, ut manerent: et sic manentia, essent valde bona. Bona enim erant facta: sed valde bona erant perseverantia. Hoc igitur est quod leo de tribu Iuda ostendit contra tentationes in carne, quae in fluxu sanguinis istius mulieris designantur. Sanctus Albertus Magnus, Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput V Source: Here p54-55

And He looked about to see who had done this. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done to her, came and fell down before Him, and she told Him all the truth. And He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has made you whole. Go in peace, and be healed of your disease.' 1 And He looked about to see... She who was moved by this sight and looking would thus make public what was done to the glory of God. In Wisdom, 'Grace and mercy are among His holy ones and His eyes are on his chosen ones.' 2 But the woman fearing... In her heart with the fear of reverence, and trembling in her body at the majesty of God, whose power she had just experienced in herself. In the hundred and fourth Psalm, 'Fear and trembling came on me,' 3 from the experience of what was performed in her, the miracle of healing. 'Came...' In the devotion of faith. 'And fell down before Him...' In penance confessing that he was truly God, because He had relieved her of such an intimate and wretched a burden of sickness. 'Falling on the earth he shall proclaim that God is truly among us.' 4 And she told Him... Openly announcing the whole truth, that is, the gravity and length of the sickness and the faith and devotion of her touching, and the awareness of the restoration of her health. 'I speak the truth in Jesus Christ, I do not lie, my conscience bears witness to me in the Holy Spirit.' 5  Then Jesus spoke to her, as the author of salvation, revealing what is said in Wisdom, 'You are the one who has power over life and death,' 6 In Kings, 'He leads down into hell and He brings back again.' 7 'Daughter...' Now to my image by grace you have been renewed. 'Your faith has saved you...' That is, your faith merited it. In Matthew, 'Your faith is great, woman. May it be done to you as you have asked.' 8 'Go in peace...' Mine, through which devotion to me you have been reconciled. In Luke, 'Your faith has saved you, go in peace.' In John, 'My peace I give you.' 9 'Be healed...' Persevere in the reception of health. 'Of your disease.' In the Psalm, 'Confirm this, O God, which you have wrought among us.' 10 So it is said in the first chapter of Genesis, 'God saw all that he had made and it was very good.' 11 He who makes with the power of the Deity looks on with a benevolent eye, and gives strength so that they might persist, and so they do, and are very good. For good things were made, but it was very good that they persisted. This, then, is what the lion of Juda showed against the trials of the flesh, which is signified with this woman with the flow of blood. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 5 1 Mk 4.5-6 2 Sirach 3.27 , Job 41.15 3 Ps 54.6 4 1 Cor 14.25 5 Rom 9.1 6 Wisd 16.13 7 1 Kings 2.1 8 Mt 15.28 9 Lk 7.50 Jn 14.27 10 Ps 67.29 11 Gen 1.31

The Cure Of Peace

Mακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί... Τί ἐστιν ἡ εἰρήνη πρῶτον νοήσωμεν. Τί ἄλλο, ἢ ἀγαπητική τις πρὸς τὸ ὁμόφυλον συνδιάθεσις; τί οὖν ἐστι ἐξ ἐναντίου τῇ ἀγάπῃ νοούμενον; Μῖσος, ὀργὴ, θυμὸς, φθόνος, μνησικακία, ὑπόκρισις, ἡ κατὰ πόλεμον συμφορά. Ὁρᾷς ὅσων καὶ οἴων ἀῤῥωστημάτων ἀντιφάρμακόν ἐστιν ἡ μία φωνή; Ἡ γὰρ εἰρήνη κατὰ τὸ ἴσον ἑκάστῳ τῶν εἰρημένων ἀντικαθίσταται, καὶ ἀφανισμὸν ποιεῖ τοῦ κακοῦ τῇ ἑαυτῆς παρουσίᾳ, Ὡς γὰρ ὑγιείας ἐπιλαβούσης ἡ νόσος ἐξαφανίζεται, καὶ φωτὸς φανέντος οὐχ ὑπολείπεται σκότος· οὕτως καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης ἐπιφανείσης, λύεται πάντα τὰ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου συνιστάμενα πάθη. Τοῦτο δὲ ὅσον ἐστὶν ἀγαθὸν, οὐδὲν οἶμαι χρῆναι διεξιέναι τῷ λόγῳ αὐτός· σὺ κατὰ σεαυτὸν ἐπιλελόγισαι, οἷος ὁ βίος τῶν ἀλλήλους δι' ὑποψίας καὶ μίσους ἐχόντων, ὧν δυσάντητοι μὲν αἱ συντυχίαι, βδελυκτὰ δὲ αὐτοῖς τὰ ἀλλήλων πάντα· ἄφθογγα δὲ τὰ στόματα, καὶ ἀπεστραμμένα τὰ βλέμματα· καὶ ἀκοὴ πεφραγμένη τῇ τοῦ μισοῦντος καὶ μισουμένου φωνῇ. Πᾶν δὲ φίλον ἑκατέρῳ αὐτῶν, ὃ τῷ ἑτέρῳ μὴ φίλον· καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου πᾶν ἐχθρὸν, καὶ πολέμιον, ὃ τῷ δυσμενεῖ καταθύμιον. Ὥσπερ τοίνυν τὰ εὐώδη τῶν ἀρωμάτων, τῆς ἰδίας εὐπνοίας τὸν παρακείμενον ἀέρα πλήρη ποιεῖ· οὕτω σοι βούλεται κατὰ περιουσίαν πλεονάζειν τῆς εἰρήνης τὴν χάριν, ὥστε τὸν σὸν βίον θεραπείαν εἶναι τῆς ἀλλοτρίας νόσου. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Logos Z', Mακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ θεοῦ κληθήσονται. Source: Migne PG 44.1284b-d

Blessed are the peacemakers...1 Let us first consider what peace is. What but a loving disposition towards one's neighbour. What, then, is considered to be the opposite of love? Hate and wrath, anger and envy, bearing resentment, hypocrisy and strife. Do you see how this one word is an antidote for many different diseases? For peace is equally opposed to all the things mentioned and makes the evils disappear by its presence. Just as sickness vanishes when health arrives, and as no darkness remains when light begins to shine, so it is that with the appearance of peace all the passions connected with its opposite cease. I do not think I need describe in detail how great a good this is. You yourself may consider what sort of life they lead who treat each other with suspicion and hatred. Conversations are difficult, all interaction is despised, tongues are silent, eyes are turned away, and hearing is blocked to the voice of him who hates and is hated. Whatever is dear to the one is not to the other, and conversely, whatever is an enemy and a threat to one pleases the one who bears him ill will. Therefore as it is with the pleasant scent of sweet spices that fill the air around with their fragrance, so He wants the grace of peace to abound fully in you, so that your life may heal the sickness of others. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Seventh Oration, on 'Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.' 1 Mt 5.9

The Soul's Flight

Fugiamus hinc. Potes animo fugere, et si retineris corpore. Potes et hic esse, et adesse ad Dominum, si illi adhaereat anima tua, si post ipsum cogitationibus tuis ambules, si fide, non specie vias ejus sequaris, si ad ipsum confugias. Est enim refugium et virtus, cui dicit David: Ad te confugi, et non sum deceptus. Ergo quia Deus refugium, Deus autem in coelo, et supra coelos: utique hinc illo confugiendum est, ubi pax, ubi requies ab operibus, ubi epulemur sabbatum magnum, sicut dixit Moyses: Et erunt sabbata terrae vobis escae. Epulatorium enim et plenum jucunditatis et tranquillitatis est, requiescere in Christo, et ejus delectationem videre. Qui ergo confugimus ad Deum, ad mundum revertemur? Qui peccato mortui sumus, peccata repetemus? Qui renuntiavimus saeculo et usui ejus, iterum in luto ejus haerebimus? Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Fuga Saeculi, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 14.590b-c

Let us flee from here. You can flee in the soul, even though detained in the body. You can both be here and in the presence of the Lord if your soul cleaves to Him and you walk after Him in your thoughts, if you follow His ways, not in appearance but in faith, if you take refuge in Him. For He is a refuge and strength, as David says to Him, 'I fled to you for refuge and I was not deceived.' 1 And so because God is a refuge and because He is in heaven and above the heavens, surely we must flee from here to there where there is peace, where there is rest from labors, where we can feast upon the great sabbath as Moses said, 'And the sabbaths of the land shall be food for you.' 2 For to rest in Christ and to look on His delight is a banquet, one filled with joy and serenity. We have taken refuge with God, and shall we return to the world? We have died to sin, shall we seek sins again? We have renounced the world and its use, shall we stick fast again in its mire? Saint Ambrose, On Flight from the World, Chapter 8 1 Ps 76.3 2 Levit 25.6

Interior Peace

Εἶπε πάλιν· ῎Ατρωτος διαμένει μοναχὸς ἀπὸ τῶν βελῶν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, ὁ ἀγαπῶν ἡσυχίαν· ὁ δὲ συναναμιγνύμενος πλήθεσι συνεχεῖς δέχεται πληγάς Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.305c

Again Father Nilus said, 'The monk who loves interior peace will remain invulnerable to the shafts of the enemy, but he who mixes with crowds constantly receives blows.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

An Ignorant Critic

Ἒοικας ἀγνοεῖν ὅσην ὁ ἀπράγμων βίος ἔχει τὴν εὐφροσύνην· τάχα δὲ οὐκ αὐτὸς μόνος , ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ τὸν αὐτόν σοι βίον ἐπανῃρημένοι, ἅτε μηδέποτε ταύτης γευσάμενοι καθαρῶς . Πέπαυσο τοίνυν μὴ μόνον πολυπραγμονῶν , καὶ συκοφαντῶν , ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς συκοφάντας συγκροτῶν. Κινδυνεύεις γὰρ εἰς ἀναλγησίαν ἐκπεπτωκώς , τὴν μὲν κακίαν περιἐπειν, τὴν δ' ἀρετὴν προπηλακίζειν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Δεύτερον, Ἐπιστολὴ K', Μαρωνι Source: Migne PG 78.469d-472a

You appear to be ignorant of how great the joy is in the life that is far from daily business, and perhaps this applies not only to you, but even to those who live a life like yours, who never taste of that purity. Be done, then, not only with questioning something utterly foreign to you and slandering it, but also applauding those who disparage it. For you are in danger of falling into foolishness, and embroiling yourself in vices, and abusing virtue. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 2, Letter 30, To Maro

Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, And The Song Of Songs

Veranus: Quid ait Salomon in Proverbiss, aut docet in Ecclesiaste, vel Cantico Canticorum? Salonius: In Proverbiis docet parvulum, et per varias sententias, instruit quasi filium. In Ecclesiaste vero jam perfectae aetatis virum imbuit, ut intelligat quia in hujus mundi rebus nihi est perpetuum, nihil gloriosum aut magnum; sed omnia sunt brevia, caduca et vana, quae cerniums. In Cantico Cnticorum jam consummatum virum atque perfectum in omnibus, et variis exornatum virtutibus, sponsi, id est, Domini nostri Jesu Christi amplexibus jungit. Salonius Viennensis, Expositio Mystica in Ecclesiasten Source: Migne PL 53.993d

Veranus: What does Solomon say in Proverbs, and what does he teach in Ecclesiastes, and what in the Song of Songs? Salonius: In Proverbs he teaches the child, and through various sentences he instructs as he would a son. But in Ecclesiastes he instructs the adult man, so that he might understand that nothing in this world is forever, that nothing is glorious and great, but everything is brief, perishing and vain, as we see. In the Song of Songs he joins the consummate man, perfect in all things, and adorned with the different virtues, with embraces to the bridegroom, that is, our Lord Jesus Christ. Salonius of Geneva, A Spiritual Exposition of Ecclesiastes

Knowledge And Toil

Φιλομαθὴς ὤν, γίνου καὶ φιλοπονος· ἡ γὰρ ψιλὴ γνῶσις, φυσιοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.932a

If you are a lover of learning, become also a lover of toil, for he who loves knowledge alone merely puffs up the man. 1 Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works 1 1 Cor 8.1

Two Wisdoms

Nam prudentia carnis, mors est: prudentia autem spiritus, vita et pax: quoniam sapientia carnis inimica est Deo: legi enim Dei non est subjecta, nec enim potest. Ostendit quid dixerit inimica, ne quis putaret ex adverso aliud venire principium, subjungit et dicit, Legi enim Dei non est subjecta, nec enim potest. Ergo facere contra legem, hoc est inimicum esse in Deum, non quia Deo aliquid nocere potest, sed sibi potest nocere, quisquis resistit voluntati Dei, hoc est enim calcem mittere adversus stimulum. Sic est dictum: Legi enim Dei non est subjecta, neque enim potest. Tanquam si diceretur, nix non calefacit, sed resolvi potest et fervere ut calefaciat, sed cum hoc facit, jam nix non est. Sic et prudentia carnalis, cum anima pro magnis bonis temporalia bona desiderare coeperit contemnere, et spiritualia desiderare, desinit esse carnis prudentia, et spiritui non resistit. Ea namque anima cum inferiora appetit, prudentiam carnis habere dicitur; cum superiora, prudentiam spiritus, non quia prudentia carnis substantia est, qua induitur anima vel exuitur, sed ipsius animae affectatio est, quae omnino desinit cum se totam ad superna convertit. Sedulius Scotus, Collectanea in omnes B. Pauli epistolas, In Epistolam ad Romanos, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 103.71-d

For the wisdom of the flesh is death, but the wisdom of the spirit is life and peace. Because the wisdom of the flesh is an enemy of God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor can it be. 1 He shows why he says 'enemy,' and lest someone think there is some other source for opposition, he adds to it and says, 'For it is not subject to the law of God, nor can it be.' Therefore to act against the law is to be an enemy of God, not because something can harm God but because one is able to harm oneself, that is, whoever resists the will of God kicks about the pricks. 2 So it was said, 'It is not subject to the law of God, nor can it be.' As if he said, snow cannot give off warmth, but it is possible to dissolve it by heating so that it does give off warmth, but when this is done it is no longer snow. So it is with the wisdom of the flesh, that when the soul begins to desire greater goods and condemns temporal goods and desires spiritual things, the wisdom of the flesh ceases, and there is no resistance to the spirit. For when the soul desires inferior things, then it is said to have the wisdom of the flesh, and when it desires higher things the wisdom of the spirit, not because the wisdom of the flesh is something that the soul puts on or puts off, but it is the state of the soul, which ceases entirely when it turns to heavenly things. Sedulius Scotus, Commentary On The Letters of Saint Paul, On the Letter to the Romans, Chapter 8 1 Rom 8.6-7 2 Acts 26.14

A Lack Of Understanding

Quod abscondisti haec a sapientibus, et prudentibus et revelasti ea parvulis. Gratias agit, exsultat in Patre, quod apostolis adventus sui aperuerit sacramenta quae ignoraverint Scribae et Pharisaei, qui sibi sapientes videntur, et in conspectu suo prudentes. Justificata est sapientia a filiis suis. Ubi pulcher sapientibus et prudentibus non insipientes et hebetes, sed parvulos, id est, humiles opposuit, ut probaret se tumorem damnasse, non acumen. Quia haec est clavis, de qua dicit: Tulistis clavem scientiae, hoc est, humilitatem fidei Christi, qua ad divinitatis ejus agnitionem pervenire potertatis, spernentes abjicere maluistis. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber III, Caput X Source: Migne PL 92.466c-d

Because you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to children. 1 He gives thanks, He exults in the Father, because His coming will have opened the mysteries to the Apostles of which the Scribes and Pharisees were ignorant, they who seemed so wise to themselves and so prudent in their own sight. 'Wisdom is justified by her sons.' 2 Here quite beautifully He does not oppose the wise and prudent with the foolish and dull, but with children, that is, those who are humble, to show that they had condemned themselves by pride not by insight. And this is the key, concerning which He says, 'You have taken away the key of knowledge.' 3 that is, the humbleness of faith in Christ, because you were able to come to the understanding of His Divinity, but you preferred to spurn it and cast it down. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Book 3, Chapter 10 1 Lk 10.21 2 Lk 7.35 3 Lk 11.52

Speaking The Truth

Quod dico vobis in tenebris, dicite in lumine: et nolite timere eos, qui occidunt corpus. Quo minus dicatis in lumine, quod audistis in tenebris. Vide quoniam non solum ille transgressor est veritatis, qui palam denegat veritatem, sed etiam ille, qui propter timorem eorum, qui possunt occidere corpus, tacet veritatem. Et quid dicam? Quia propter timorem mortis tacent homines veritatem, et propter miserum ventrem, et propter spem vani honoris, in conspectu infidelium tacent homines veritatem. Utputa, eunt homines ad convivium impiorum sacerdotum, et confugiunt ad patrocinium malorum haereticorum; fit sermo de fide: ille sacerdos impius, vel patronus, blasphemat veritatem tuam, quasi mendacium: fidem tuam, quasi perfidiam, ut aut seducat, aut vulneret conscientiam tuam, et faciat eam infirmam, etsi ad plenum capere non potuerit; tu autem etsi non denegaveris palam veritatem, tamen non contendis cum persona ejus, cujus panem inanem manducas, ut non perdas spem patrocinii, aut rapacitatis: veritatem, quam oportebat te libere defendere, tacens, confundis eam in conspectu inimicorum ejus, ut videatur a te tacente falsa quae vera est. Et quomodo non es tu proditor veritatis? Sed forte dicis: Si taceo veritatem ante adversarios, numquid consentio mendacio eorum? Dic mihi, si princeps aliquis imperatoris, videns civitatem Romanam ab hostibus expugnari, cum possit liberare eam, et neglexit defendere: num ipse videbitur tradidisse, quam potuit liberare, si voluisset? Sic et tu videns veritatem ab impiis expugnari, cum eam potuisses defendere, si loqui voluisses, tacens expugnasti, per hoc ipsum quod compassus es expugnari. Et si propter timorem eorum, qui occidunt corpus, tacere veritatem, sicut praesens scriptura testatur, impietas est: quomodo non sit impietas major, tacere veritatem propter miserum ventrem, et spem vani honoris, et meliorem facere gratiam panis et honoris quam gloriam veritatis Dei? Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXV Source: Migne PG 56.762

What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light, and do not fear those who kill the body. 1 Do not refrain from speaking in the light what you have heard in the darkness. See that not only is he a transgressor of the truth who denies the truth but even he who on account of the fear of those who can kill the body is silent about the truth. What shall I say? Because of the fear of death men are silent about the truth, and likewise because of the wretched belly, and then they will not speak the truth because of the hope for vain honours in the sight of faithless men. It is as when men go to a meal held by impious priests, or they flee to the protection of wicked heretics, and a speech is made about the faith, and that impious priest or patron blasphemes the truth as a lie, and your faith as perfidy, so that he either seduces you, or wounds your conscience and weakens it, even if he was not able to seize it completely. And even if you do not deny the truth, however since you do not dispute with this person, whose vain bread you eat so that you do not lose the hope of his protection, or because of your rapacity, because you are silent about the truth you should gladly defend, you cast shame on it in the eyes of its enemies, so that on account of your silence it appears that the truth is a lie. How are you not a traitor to the truth? But perhaps you say, 'If I am silent about the truth before my enemies, do I consent to their lies?' Tell me, if a general of the emperor, seeing a Roman city assailed by its enemies, neglects to defend it when he is able to deliver it, shall he not be seen to have betrayed it, when he was able to save it if he wished? So you, seeing the truth attacked by the wicked, when you were able to defend it if you wished to speak, by your silence also attacked it, because you allowed it to be attacked. And if your silence regarding the truth is because of the fear of those who kill the body, so the present Scripture bears witness that it is wicked. And then how is it not more wicked to be silent because of the wretched stomach, or because of hope for vain honours, and to judge thanks for food and honour as better than the glory of the truth of God? Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 25 1 Mt 10.27

Philosophy And Virtue

Hanc se sectari philosophi quoque profitentur, sed tam illic patientia falsa est quam et falsa sapientia est. Unde enim vel sapiens esse uel patiens possit qui nec sapientiam nec patientiam Dei novit? Quando ipse de his qui sibi sapere in mundo videntur moneat et dicat: perdam sapientiam sapientium et prudentiam prudentium reprobabo. Item beatus apostolus Paulus plenus Spiritu sancto et vocandis formandisque gentibus missus contestetur et instruat dicens: Videte ne qui vos depraedetur per philosophiam et inanem fallaciam secundum traditionem hominum, secundum elementa mundi et non secundum Christum, quia in ipso habitat omnis plenitudo divinitatis. Et alio loco, Nemo se, inquit, decipiat. si qui putat sapientem se esse in vobis, mundo huic stultus fiat ut fiat sapiens. sapientia enim huius mundi stultitia est aput Deum. scriptum est enim: reprehendens sapientes in astutia ipsorum. et iterum: cognovit Deus cogitationes sapientium quia sunt stultae. Quare si sapientia illic vera non est, esse non potest et vera patientia. Nam si patiens ille est qui est humilis et mitis, philosophos autem nec humiles videmus esse nec mites sed sibi multum placentes et hoc ipso quod sibi placeant Deo displicentes, apparet illic non esse patientiam, ubi sit insolens adfectatae libertatis audacia et exerti ac seminudi pectoris inverecunda. Nos autem, fratres dilectissimi, qui philosophi non verbis sed factis sumus, nec vestitu sapientiam sed veritate praeferimus, qui virtutum conscientiam magis quam iactantiam nouimus, qui non loquimur magna sed vivimus, quasi servi et cultores Dei patientiam quam magisteriis caelestibus discimus obsequiis spiritalibus praebeamus. Est enim nobis cum Deo virtus ista communis. Inde patientia incipit, inde claritas eius et dignitas caput sumit. Origo et magnitudo patientiae Deo auctore procedit. Diligenda res homini quae Deo cara est: bonum quod amat maiestas divina commendat. Sanctus Cyprianus, De Bono Patientiae Source: Migne PL 4.623a-624a

Philosophers also profess that they pursue this virtue of endurance, but their patience is as false as their wisdom. For how can he be either wise or patient, who has not known the wisdom nor the patience of God, when He Himself says in admonishment of those who seem to themselves to be wise in the world, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will rebuke the understanding of the prudent.' 1 Likewise the blessed Apostle Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, and sent for the calling and forming of the Gentiles, gives witness and instruction, saying, 'See that no man rob you with philosophy and vain deceit, according to the tradition of men, and according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ, because in Him dwells all the fullness of Divinity.' 2 And in another place he says, 'Let no man deceive himself, if any man among you thinks himself wise, let him become a fool to this world so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. It is written, 'I will rebuke the wise in their cleverness.' And again, 'The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are foolish.' 3 So if their wisdom is not true, nor is their patience. For if he who is enduring is humble and meek, and we do not see philosophers are either humble or meek, but they are greatly pleased with themselves, and because they please themselves, they displease God, it is apparent that there is no patience where there is the insolent audacity of an affected liberty, and the immodest boastfulness of an exposed and half-naked chest. But we, most beloved brethren, are philosophers in deeds and not in words, and we do not display our wisdom in our garments, but in truth; we are more acquainted with the consciousness of the virtues than with the boast of them, not speaking great things, but living them, showing ourselves as servants and worshippers of God in our spiritual obedience, which patience we learn from the heavenly teachings. And we have this virtue in common with God. From Him patience begins, from Him its glory and its dignity arise. The origin and greatness of patience proceed from God as its author. Man should love what is dear to God. The good which the Divine Majesty loves, it commends. Saint Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise On The Good of Patience. 1 Isaiah 29.14 2 Colos 2.8 3 1 Cor 3.18-20

Truth And Division

Et iterum interrogabant eum Pharisaei, quomodo videret... Et modum quaerunt et modum audiunt; unde: llle autem dixit eis: Lutum posuit mihi super oculos meos, el lavi et modo video; breviter repetit, quia ipsi iam ab aliis audierant, sed ad maiorem certitudinem ex ipsius ore requirebant. Et apparet hic constantia caeci, qui veritatem non timuit confiteri, servans illud Ecclesiastici quarto: Pro anima tua non confundaris dicere verum. Dicebant ergo ex Pharisaeis quidam. Tangitur hic tertium, scilicet in reprehendendo dissensio; unde dicit: Dicebant ergo ex Pharisaeis quidam, fatui zelatores Legis; ad Romanos decimo: Aemulationem quidem Dei habent, sed non secundum scientiam. Dicebant: Non est hic homo a Deo, per conformitatem et complacentiam; qui Sabbalum non cuslodit, quod custodiri a Deo praeceptum est, Exodi vigesimo et in pluribus aliis locis. Alii autem dicebant: Quomodo potest homo peccator haec signa facere? Et isti erant magis iiluminati; unde isti habebant aliquid luminis; sed alii obtenebrati; ideo sequitur, quod schisma erat inter eos, id est divisio, iusto Dei iudicio dividentis lucem a tenebris et bonos a malis; propter quod dixit Matthaei decimo: Non veni pacem mittere,sed gladium. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput IX Source: Here, p882

And again the Pharisees asked him how he saw... 1 They seek how and they hear how, hence, 'He said to them, 'He placed mud on my eyes and washed them and I saw.' He relays it briefly because they had already heard it from others, but for greater certainty they sought it from the man's mouth. And here appeared the constancy of the blind man, who did not fear to confess the truth, as in the fourth chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 'For the sake of your soul do not be dismayed in speaking the truth.' 2 Therefore some among the Pharisees said... This touches on the third matter, that is, on the disagreement in reproof, hence it says, 'Therefore some among the Pharisees said,' those foolishly zealous for the Law, as in the tenth chapter of Romans, 'They are zealous for God but not according to knowledge.' 3 They said, 'This is not a man from God,' because of conformity and complacency, 'he does not keep the Sabbath,' which God had commanded to be kept in the twentieth chapter of Exodus, 4 and in many other places. But others said, 'How is he a sinful man who can perform these signs?' And these were more enlightened, hence they had some light but the others were benighted. Therefore it follows, 'There was division among them,' that is, the division which the righteous judgement of God makes between light and darkness and good and evil, because of which it is said in the tenth chapter of Matthew, 'I have not come to bring peace but a sword.' 5 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 9 1 Jn 9.15 2 Sirach 4.24 3 Rom 10.2 4 Exod 20.8 5 Mt 10.34

The Amazed Crowd

Et factum est cum consummasset Jesus verba haec, admirabantur turbae super doctrinam ejus Quaenam turbae miratae dicuntur, cum superius ad eum soli discipuli legantur accessisse? Nisi quia aut turba discipulorum, ex quibus duodecim elegerat, dicitur admirate, quos, pernoctans in oratione, cum dies factus esset accesierat; aut certe cum descendisset, secundum Lucam, et stetisset in loco campestri, ubi et mulitudo plebis fuisse legitur. Tunc utique cum finisset eumdem sermonem quem jam forsitan supra habuerat, miratae dicuntur turbae, et non discipuli. Quia, discipulis fides potius et dilectio congruebat quam admiratio. Admiratio ergo signum est infidelitatis, qui necdum mens bene de virture Dei sentiens, stupet ad ea quae prius necdum crediderat. Prorsus et ideo fiunt miracula, ut mens ad ea commoveatur quatenus incipiat credere, et de illo cui nihil impossibile est, in nullo dubitate. Consummatio igitur sermonis plenitudo et integritas intelligatur doctrinarum, qui nihil imperfectionis habet sermo Christi. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber III, Caput VII Source: Migne PL 120.331c-332a

When Jesus had finished speaking these words, the crowd were amazed at His teaching. 1 How is it that the crowd are said to be amazed when previously it was said that only the disciples approached Him? 2 Either because it is the crowd of the disciples that are said to wonder, from which He chose the twelve, who after prayer through the night, when day had come, approached, or because, as Luke says, He went down and stood in the fields, where it is said the multitude of the people were. 3 Then when He had finished speaking there what perhaps He said above, then the crowd are said to be amazed, and not the disciples. And this is because faith and love are more befitting the disciples than amazement, and amazement is thus a sign of a lack of faith, when the mind does not rightly grasp the power of God, and it is astonished at the things in which it does not yet believe. Therefore when miracles are performed the mind is shaken and begins to believe, even that nothing is impossible for Him, and there is no doubt at all. Therefore the end of the speech is to be understood as the fullness and integrity of the teaching, for the word of Christ has no imperfection. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 3, Chapter 7 1 Mt 7.28 2 Mt 5.1 3 Lk 6.17-20

Tests And Signs

Non tentabis Dominum Deum tuum Tentare Deum, est se injicere periculo, ut experiatur an Deus miraculo eripere velit: cum ex humana ratione promptum habeat quid facere possit. Neque tentemus Deum, sicut quidam tentaverunt, et perierunt ab exterminatore. Si tamen a Deo offerretur signum: petere possemus et deberemus. Et ideo reprehenditur Achaz cui cum diceretur: Pete tibi signum etc, respondit; Non petam et non tentabo Dominum: sic enim signum petere: non est tentare Dominum Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Mattheum, Caput IV Source: Here p57

You shall not test the Lord your God. 1 To test God is to cast oneself into peril so that one may find out whether God wishes to save one with a miracle, when it is evident from human reason what it is possible to do. 'We should not test God, as those who tested him and perished by the exterminator.' 2 But if it is matter of receiving a sign from God, we can and should seek. And therefore Achaz was reproved when it was said to him, 'Seek a sign,' and he answered, 'I shall not seek and I shall not test the Lord.' 3 For to seek a sign is not to test God. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Matthew, Chapter 4 1 Mt 18.11 2 1 Corin 10.9-10 3 Isaiah 7.12

Four Thieves

Latrones qui nobis optiam quaeque furantur, quatuor sunt: Hebetatio intellectus, discordia tollens nobis scientiam veritatis. Hic latro ape Psalmistam vocatur negotium in tenebris. Indomitae carnis lasivia, rapiens meritum integritatis, et daemonium dicitur meridianum. Favorabilis jactantia, tollens plenitudinem sanctitatis, et dicitur sagitta volans in die. Vitae hujus amor et appetentia rapiens praemium aeternitatis, et dicitur timor nocturnus. Hi sunt latrones sine intermissione insidiantes. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber V, CXXIII, De furibus rerum nostrarum. Source: Migne PL 177.807c

There are four thieves which steal away the best things we have. The dullness of the intellect, which with its confusion takes away all understanding of truth, and this the Psalmist calls 'the business in darkness;' 1 the untamed lusts of the flesh that take away the merit of our wholeness, which is called 'the noon day demon;' 1 the delight in boasting that takes aways the fullness of holiness, which is called 'the arrow that flies by day;' 1 and the love of this life and the desire for it that steals away the eternal reward, which is called 'the nocturnal fear.' 2 These thieves plot against us without ceasing. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 5, Chapter 123, On the thieves of what is ours. 1 Ps 90.6 2 Ps 90.5

Wounds And Sin

Si vulnus corpori infligatur, aut os confringatur, aut nervorum junctura resolvatur, sub unius horae spatio hujusmodi vulnera solent corporibus accidere, et plurimis postmodum cruciatibus ac doloribus exactis, multo vix tempore sanari; quanti enim tumores in loco, quanta tormenta generantur? Jam vero si accidat, ut in eodem vulnere, vel in eadem fractura iterum et saepius quis vulneretur, frequentiusque frangatur, quantis hoc poenis curari, et quantis potest cruciatibus medicari? Quanto autem tempore, si tamen potuerit, ad sanitatem perducitur? Et vix aliquando ita curabitur, ut vel debilitatem corporis, vel foeditatem cicatricis effugiat. Transi nunc ab exemplo corporis ad animae vulnera. Anima quoties peccat, toties vulneratur. Et ne dubies peccatis eam velut telis et gladiis vulnerari, audi Apostolum monentem ut assumamus scutum fidei, in quo possitis, inquit, omnia jacula maligni ignita exstinguere. Vides ergo peccata maligni esse jacula, quae in animam diriguntur. Patitur autem et anima non solum vulnera jaculorum, sed et fracturas pedum, cum laquei parantur pedibus ejus, et supplantantur gressus ejus. Haec ergo et hujusmodi vulnera quanto tempore putas posse curari? O si possemus per unumquodque peccatum videre quomodo homo noster interior assidue vulneratur, quomodo sermo malus vulnus infigit! Non legisti: Dicunt quia vulnerant gladii, sed non ita ut lingua? Vulneratur ergo per linguam anima, vulneratur et per cogitationes et concepiscentias malas, frangitur autem et conteritur per opera peccati. Quae si omnia videre possemus, et vulneratae animae sentire cicatrices, certum est quod usque ad mortem resisteremus adversum peccatum. Origen, In Numeros, Homilia VIII, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense Source: Migne PG 12.622d-623c

If a wound is inflicted on the body, or a bone is broken, or a joining of nerves is severed, in the space of one hour those wounds are accustomed to befall, and afterwards there is more pain and grief exacted, which much time is scarcely able to heal; for while there are swellings in place, how great is the torment? Then if it happens that on that same wound and on that same fracture there is often a wound or a break, how great shall this damage be and how great will the treatment of the pain need to be? And then how great the time, if it is possible at all, to lead back to health? And it is hardly likely there will be such a cure that removes bodily debility and the ugliness of scarring. Pass, then, from the example of the body to the wounds of the soul. The soul is wounded as many times as it sins. And lest you doubt that it is wounded as with spears and swords, hear the Apostle exhorting us to 'Take up the shield of faith with which you shall be able to extinguish all the fiery shafts of the wicked one.' 1 You see, therefore, that the sins of the wicked one are shafts directed against the soul. And the soul does not suffer the wounds of shafts only, but also fractures of the foot when a snare is prepared for the feet and its way is supplanted. 2 These wounds and those like them, how much time do you think can cure them? O, that we could see any sin and how it deeply wounds our interior man, and how a wicked word inflicts a wound. Do you not read, 'They say that swords wound, but is it not so with the tongue?' 3 The soul is wounded by the tongue, and it is wounded by evil thoughts and desires, and it is broken and fractured by evil works. If we could see all this and feel the scabs of the soul's wounds, it is certain that we would resist sin to the death. Origen, On Numbers, from the Eighth Homily, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Ephes 6.16 2 Ps 139.5-6 3 Sirach 28.22

Wounds And Fighting

Ὥσπερ στρατιώτης γενναῖος ὑπὲρ τοῦ βασιλέως μαχόμενος, ἐὰν βέλεσι κατατοξευθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν ἐναντίων ὑπομείνῃ τὰς ἀλγηδόνας , καὶ μὴ παραχωρήσε τῇ ὀλιγοψυχίᾳ, ἐπιμελείας τυχών, καὶ ἰατρευθείς, ἕξει τὰς οὐλὰς τῶν τραυμάτων εἰς καύχησιν ἀνδρεία; οὕτως καὶ οἱ τρωθέντες παρὰ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ ἐὰν μὴ ἀκηδιάσωσι τοὺς πόνους τῆς μετανοίας, ἀναμφιβόλως σωθέντες καυχήσονται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως· ὁ γὰρ ἀνδρεῖος , κἂν ἐν τραύμασι γένηται, πάντως νικήσει καὶ τραυματίας μαχόμενος. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΞΖ’ Ἡρακλειῳ Ὑποδιακονῳ Source: Migne PG 79.112b

As a good soldier fights for his king and if he suffers blows from the arms of his enemy, his soul does not despair, because cured and brought back to health the scars of the wounds shall be his boast of bravery, so things are with those who receive wounds from the enemy, if they do not neglect penance, for without doubt they shall have their glory on the day of judgement when salvation follows, for he who is brave, though covered with wounds, may yet fight on and overthrow the one who wounds. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 67, To Heraclius the Subdeacon

Hope And Troubles

Ἡ εἰς τὸ Θεῖον ἐλπὶς , πύργος ἐστὶν ἀῤῥαγής, οὐ τὴν λύσιν μόνον ἐπαγγελλόμενος τῶν δεινῶν, ἀλλ'οὐδὲ παρόντων αὐτῶν ταράττεσθαι συγχωρῶν. Ὁ γὰρ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἀπηλλαγμένος , καὶ τῇ ἄνωθεν ἐλπίδι ἑαυτὸν ἐξαρτήσας, οὐ μόνον ταχίστην ἐπάγεται τῶν δεινῶν τὴν ἀπαλλαγὴν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ παρόντων αὐτῶν θορυβοῦται καὶ ταράττεται, τῇ προσδοκία τῆς ἱερᾶς ἐκείνης ἀγκύρας ὀρθούμενος. Χρῶ τοίνυν αὐτῇ , καὶ πάντων ἔσῃ κρείττων τῶν λυπηρῶν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Δεύτερον, Ἐπιστολὴ IZ', Παμπρεπιῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 78.469b

Hope in God is a firm tower, yet it does not promise the disappearance of wretched things, but rather distress in present things. For he who rids himself of the things of men has suspended himself by hope to things above, but it does not follow that he is freed from all troubles and burdens, rather he is not cast down by the tumults and trials of present things, for he has been renewed and lifted up on the anchor of holy hope. Hold to this and you shall be superior to every distress. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 2, Letter 17, To Pamprepius the Deacon

A Firm Footing

Tοῦ θεμένου τὴν ψυχήν μου εἰς ζωὴν καὶ μὴ δόντος εἰς σάλον τοὺς πόδας μου Οὐ δίδονται εἰς σάλον οἱ πόδες τοῦ ἔσω ἀνθρώπου, ὅταν τις ίδρυνθῇ ἐπὶ τὸν ἀῤῥαγῆ καὶ ἰσχυρώτατον τοῦ Θεοῦ λόγον· ὡς χαριστηρίως εἰπεῖν· Ἔστησας ἐπὶ πέτραν τοὺς πόδας μου. Τίθεται δὲ εἰς ζωὴν ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ τέλος κομιζομένου τῆς πίστεως σωτηρίαν· ὡς εἰπεῖν πιστῇ προθέσει· Kal ἡ ψυχή μου αὐτῷ ζῇ. Ζῇ δὲ ψυχὴ ἀρετὴν ἔχουσα καὶ σοφίαν· ὡς, ψυχὴ ἡ ἁμαρτάνουσα ἀποθανεῖται. Ως εἰπεῖν τῷ Θεῷ· Ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ σου ζῆσόν με. Οὐ σαλεύεται δὲ τοὺς πόδας ὁ τῷ ὀχυρωτάτῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ λόγῳ ἐνιδρυθείς. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος ΞΕ’ Source: Migne PG 39.1439a-b

Who has set my soul to live and does not give my feet to stumbling. 1 The feet of a man are not given to stumbling when they have been fixed to the unbreakable and most firm word of God, so that the man gives thanks, saying, 'You placed my feet on a rock.' 2 And the soul is set to live which is directed to the end, the salvation of faith, and with faith he proclaims, 'And in Him my soul shall live.' 3 And the soul's life is the possession of virtue and wisdom, because the soul that sins dies. 4 Thus he says to God, 'With your righteousness revive me.' 5 So the feet are not shaken which are fixed fast on the most firm word of God. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 65 1 Ps 65.9 2 Ps 39.3 3 Ps 21.31 4 Ezek 18.20 5 Ps 118.40

Losing The Light

Auferetur ab impiis lux sua. Neque enim eos nunc Dei lumen illustrat, qui iniquitatis suae malitiam fidei nomine palliant. Nam dum iuxta praedicationem fidei vivere negligunt, et tamen eamdem fidem specie tenus venerantur, honorem vitae praesentis ex nomine religionis quaerunt, hocque eis ex fide lucet, quod eos fides coram hominibus refovet. Sunt vero nonnulli, qui aeterna quae audiunt veraciter credunt, et tamen eidem quam tenent fidei male vivendo contradicunt. Habent hi quoque in tenebris lucem suam, quia dum perversa agunt, et tamen de Deo recta sentiunt, ne tenebrescant funditus, ex quadam parte fulgore luminis illustrantur. Qui dum plus terrena quam coelestia, plus quae vident quam quae audiunt, diligunt, pulsante persecutionis articulo, quod rectum credere videbantur amittunt. Quod illo maxime tempore multiplicius agitur, quando, surgente ipso iniquorum capite, in sanctam Ecclesiam persecutione ultima, liberis suis viribus eius fortitudo grassatur. Ibi tunc cor uniuscuiusque ostenditur, ubi quidquid in occultis latebat aperitur; et qui nunc ore sunt pii, et corde sunt impii, publicata malitia corruunt, et lucem fidei quam specie tenus tenuerant perdunt. Sed inter haec necesse est ut unusquisque nostrum ad cordis sui secretum redeat, et actionis suae damna pertimescat, ne, exigentibus meritis, per districtam iustitiam iudiciorum Dei in talium hominum numerum incurrat. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Moralia, sive Expositio in Job, Liber XXIX, Caput VII Source: Migne PL 76.484a-c

From the wicked their light shall be taken away. 1 For the light of God does not now shine on those who veil the malice of their iniquity with the name of faith. For while they neglect to live according to the preaching of faith, and yet in appearance reverence that same faith, they seek the honour of this present life under the name of religion, and this that is drawn from faith shines on them, since the faith endears them in the sight of men. But there are some who truly believe the eternal truths which they hear and yet by living wickedly contradict these same things they hold of the faith. They also have their light in darkness, for while they act perversely and yet think rightly about God, they are partially illuminated by brightness, lest they be sunk in darkness. And these while they love the things of earth more than those of heaven, and those that they see more than those they hear, when the time of persecution strikes them, they are seen to lose that right belief, which certainly shall be much more the case at the time of the last persecution when the head of the wicked himself rises against Holy Church, and with his boldness attacks it with unrestrained strength. Then the heart of each one shall be laid open, and whatever lays concealed shall be exposed, and they who are now holy in words and unholy in heart shall fall with their wickedness made public and lose the light of faith which they seemed to possess. And amidst all of this it is necessary for each of us to return to the secret place of his heart, and to fear the condemnation of his deeds, lest he fall as his merits demand by the strict justice of the judgments of God into the number of such men. Saint Gregory the Great, Moralia, or Commentary on Job, Book 29, Chapter 7 1 Job 38.15

Rising And Sitting

Vanum est vobis ante lucem surgere. In vanum est enim intus homini absque divina gratia laborare. Surgite postquam sederitis, qui manducatis panem doloris. Si vultis in excelso esse, estote hic humiles, ubi humilis fuit ille, qui pro nobis pauper fuit factus, ut ibi excelsi sitis, ubi ille sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris. Surrectio exaltationem significat, sessio humilitatem designat. Aliis locis sessio intelligitur ab honore judicandi, ut illic: Sedebitis vos super sedes duodecim. Item sessio humilitatem significat, ut illic: Jesus fatigatus ex itinere sedebat sic super fontem. Nam et in alio psalmo dicitur: Domine, tu cognovisti sessionem meam, et resurrectionem meam, id est, humilitatem meam et exaltationem meam. Ut ergo intelligeretur, ad quam pertineret haec sessio formam, addidit statim: Qui manducatis panem doloris. Manducant panem doloris, qui gemunt in hac peregrinatione. Coelestem ergo desiderio anhelemus patriam: hic humiliatio, illic exaltatio; hic peregrinatio, illic patria. Humiliemur sub potenti manu Dei, ut nos exaltet in tempore visitationis. Alcuinus, Expositio in Psalmos Graduales, Psalmus CXXVI Source: Migne PL 100.628d-629b

It is vain for you to rise before the light. 1 It is in vain for the interior man to labour without Divine grace. You rise up after sitting, you who eat the bread of grief. If you wish to be on high, be humble here, where He was humble who was made a poor man for us, so that you may be raised up there where He sits at the right hand of the Father. This rising signifies exaltation, sitting humility. In other places sitting is understood as the honour given to judging, so that, 'You shall sit upon twelve seats.' 2 This same sitting signifies humility, where it says, 'Jesus was weary from the journey and sat on the well.' 3 And in another Psalm it is said, 'Lord, you know my sitting and my rising,' 4 that is, my humility and my exaltation. And so that it might be understood to which sitting this line refers, he immediately added, 'You who eat the bread of grief.' They eat the bread of grief who groan in this journeying. Therefore let us gasp with desire for the fatherland. Here be humble, there be exalted, here is journeying, there is the fatherland. Let us humble ourselves under the powerful hand of God, so that he might exalt us in the time of His visitation. 5 Alcuin of York, Commentary on the Gradual Psalms, from Psalm 126 1 Ps 126.2 2 Mt 19.28 3 Jn 4.6 4 Ps 138.2 1 Pet 5.6

Trials And Blessings

Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem, quoniam cum probatus fuerit, accipiet coronam vitae, quam repromisit Deus diligentibus se. Huic simile est illud in Apocalypsi: Esto fidelis usque ad mortem, et dabo tibi coronam vitae, quam repromisit, inquit, Deus diligentibus se. Aperte admonens quia tanto amplius gaudere in tentationibus oportet, quanto certius claret Deum his quos diligit majus saepe tentationum pondus imponere, ut scilicet per tentationum exercitium probentur in fide perfecti; cum autem probati sint veraciter esse fideles, hoc est perfecti et integri, in nullo deficientes, jure accipiant promissam vitae aeternae coronam. Sanctus Beda, Super Divi Jacobi Epistolam, Caput I Source: Migne PL 93.13d

Blessed the man who suffers trials, for when he is proved he shall receive the crown of life which God promised to those who love Him. 1 This is similar to what is found in the Apocalypse, 'Be faithful even to death and I shall give to you a crown of life, that which God has promised to the those who love Him.' 2 Openly warning that one ought to rejoice so much the more in trials, as it shines more clearly that God often imposes a greater weight of temptations upon those whom He loves, so that through the exertions of trials they are proved to be of perfect faith, and when they have been proved they are truly faithful, that is perfect and unflawed, lacking in nothing, rightly they receive the promised crown of eternal life. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Letter of Saint James, Chapter 1 1 James 1.12 2 Apoc 2.10

Leading On The Way

Ὁδήγησόν με ἐν τῇ τρίβῳ τῶν ἐντολῶν σου, ὅτι αὐτὴν ἠθέλησα. ᾿Ἵνα εἴπῃ τὸν νόμον, ἤτοι τὴν τρίβον· ἔστι γὰρ ἐντολῶν τρίβος. Τρίβος δὲ λέγεται ἡ τετριμμένη ὁδὸς, ἣν πολλοὶ πρὸ ἡμῶν ἐπορεύθησαν τῶν δικαίων. Ἐὰν δὲ τις μὴ ὁδηγῷ χρήσηται τῷ δ καίῳ, οὐ δύναται ὁδεῦσαι κατὰ τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ Χριστοῦ γὰρ ἡμᾶς δεῖ γίνεσθαι μιμητὰς, καὶ αἴρεις τὸν σταυρὸν, καὶ ἀκολουθεῖν ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμὸς ΡΙH' Source: Migne PG 23.1371b

Lead me on the way of your commandments because I have desired it. 1 He speaks of the law as the way, for the law is a way. And the law is spoken of as a well trodden way, which many righteous men have walked on before us. But if someone lacks a righteous guide, he is not able to walk according to the commandments of God, for we must be imitators of Christ, and take up the cross, and follow after Him. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.35

The Midst Of Tribulations

Si ambulavero in medio tribulationis, vivificabis me. Non abnuit justus iste, ne in mediis tribulationibus ambulet. Scit enim quid tribulatio, secundum Apostolum , patientiam operatur. Scit improbabilem virum non placere, scit victorem militem nisi bello non futurum ; scit intentatam fidem languere , scit in tribulationibus, secundum apostolum , gloriandum: Scit imparem se tribulationibus nisi auxilio Dei esse; et idcirco per Deum salutis suae certus est: et eum in mediis tribulationibus ambulet, per eumdem se vivificandum esse confidit. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXXXVII Source: Migne PL 9.790c-d

If I shall walk in the midst of tribulation, you shall preserve me. 1 The righteous man does not refuse to walk in the midst of tribulations. He knows that according to the Apostle tribulation works patience. 2 He knows this does not please the wretched man. He knows there shall be no victorious soldier without battle. He knows that firm faith can grow weak. He knows that according to the Apostle, there is glory in tribulations. 2 He knows that he is no match for tribulations unless with the help of God, and therefore that it is through God that his salvation is certain, and when in the midst of tribulations he shall walk he is confident that he shall be preserved by Him. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 137 1 Ps 137.7 2 Rom 5.3

The Scorned Man

Ὁ ἀθετούμενος ὑπὸ τινος, καὶ μήτε λόγῳ, μήτε ἐννοίᾳ τῷ ἀθετοῦντι φιλονεικῶν, γνῶσιν ἀλεηθῆ κέκτηται, καὶ πίστιν βεβαίαν ἐπιδείκνυται τῷ Δεσπότῃ. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.948b

He who is scorned by another and does not dispute with him in word or thought, he is in possession of true knowledge and exhibits firm faith in the Lord. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works

The Poor Man And Charity

Et tu, pauper, commissam tibi dispensationem non parvam paupertatis existimes si patienter feras, si ingratus non sis, si sis vel in ipsa necessitte sobrius et frugalis; si danti agas gratias, non danti non ingeras blasphemans injurias; si tantum quaeras quantum dat misericordia, non quantum cupiditas importuna compellit. Certe et tu, pauper, qui libenter petis, da etiam tu libenter petentibus. Sed forte dicis, Non habeo: sit dandi animus, et facultas non deerit largiendi, pone advenienti sellam tuam, pone mensam tuam, candelabrum, lucernam: certe ex eo quod accepisti gratanter apppone. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo XXVI Source: Migne PL 52.275a-b

And you, poor man, do not think that the stewardship of poverty committed to you is of little value, if you should bear it patiently, if you should not be ungrateful, if you should be composed and frugal even in need, if you should give thanks to the one who gives and not woundingly abuse the one who does not give, if you should seek only as much as mercy gives and not as much as pressing greed urges. Certainly even you, poor man, who eagerly seek, should also eagerly give to those who seek. But perhaps you say, 'I have nothing.' Then have the spirit of giving and you shall not lack the means for generosity. Offer your chair to the one who approaches, set out your table, your candlestick, your lamp. Gladly provide from whatever you have received. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 26

Poverty And Blessings

Μὴ ἀποβάλῃς, ἀδελφὲ, καὶ τὸν ἕτερον τῆς πτωχείας λόγον, ὃς τοῦ κατ' οὐρανὸν πλούτου πρόξενος γίνεται. Πώλησόν σου, φησὶ, πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ δὸς πτωχοῖς, καὶ δεῦρο, ἀκολούθει μοι, καὶ ἕξεις θησαυρὸν ἐν οὐρανοῖς. Καὶ γὰρ ἡ τοιαύτη πτωχεία δοκεῖ μοι μὴ ἀπᾴδειν τῆς μακαριζομένης πτωχείας. Ἰδοὺ πάντα, ὅσα εἴχομεν, ἀφέντες ἠκολουθήσαμέν σοι, φησὶ πρὸς τὸν Δεσπότην ὁ μαθητής· τί ἄρα ἔσται ἡμῖν; Καὶ τίς ἡ ἀπόκρισις; Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Βούλει νοῆσαι, τίς ὁ πτωχεύων τῷ πνεύματι; Ὁ ἀνταλ λαξάμενος τὸν τῆς ψυχῆς πλοῦτον τῆς σωματικῆς εὐπορίας, ὁ διὰ τὸ πνεῦμα πτωχεύων, ὁ τὸν γήϊνον πλοῦτον οἷόν τι βάρος ἀποσεισάμενος, ἵνα μετάρσιός τε καὶ διαέριος ἄνω φέρηται, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ἐπὶ νεφέλης συμμετεωροπορῶν τῷ Θεῷ. Βαρύ τι χρῆμα τὸ χρυσίον ἐστὶν, βαρεῖα πᾶσα ἡ σπουδαζομένη κατὰ τὸν πλοῦτον ὕλη· κοῦφον δέ τι καὶ ἀνωφερὲς πρᾶγμα ἡ ἀρετή. Ἀλλὰ μὴν ἀντίκειται ταῦτα ἀλλήλοις, τὸ βάρος καὶ ἡ κουφότης. Οὐκοῦν ἀμήχανόν τινα γενέσθαι κοῦφον, τῷ βάρει τῆς ὕλης ἑαυτὸν προσηλώσαντα. Εἰ οὖν χρὴ τοῖς ἄνω προσβῆ ναι, τῶν κάτω καθελκόντων πτωχεύσωμεν, ἵνα ἐν τοῖς ἄνω γενώμεθα. Τίς δὲ ὁ τρόπος, ὑφηγεῖται ἡ ψαλμῳδία· Ἐσκόρπισεν, ἔδωκε τοῖς πένησιν, ἡ δικαιοσύνη αὐτοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος. Ὁ τῷ πτωχῷ κοινωνήσας, εἰς τὴν μερίδα τοῦ δι' ἡμᾶς πτωχεύσαντος ἑαυτὸν καταστήσει. Ἐπτώχευσεν ὁ Κύριος, μὴ φοβηθῇς μηδὲ σὺ τὴν πτωχείαν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Logos A', Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Source: Migne PG 44.1228d-1229b

Nor should you disregard, brother, the other understanding of poverty which brings forth the wealth of Heaven. 'Sell,' He says, 'all your possessions and give them to the poor, and come follow me, and you shall have treasure in Heaven.' 1 It seems to me that this kind of poverty does not differ from the one that is called blessed. 'Behold, we have left all we had and followed you,' says the disciple to the Master, 'what then shall we have?' And what is the answer? 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.' 2 Do you wish to know who are the poor in spirit? Those who exchange worldly wealth for the wealth of the soul, who are poor according to the spirit who cast off the burden of worldly possessions so that they might be lifted up and taken up on high, as the Apostle says, 'in the cloud walking on high together with God.' 3 Gold is a heavy thing, and every kind of matter that is sought after for the sake of wealth is heavy, but virtue is light and bears souls upwards. Truly these two, heaviness and lightness, are opposed to each other. Therefore if a man has attached himself to the heaviness of matter, it is impossible for him to become light. Since, then, we should incline to the things above, let us become poor in the things that drag us down, so that we may sojourn in the upper regions. The Psalms show us the way, 'He has distributed, he has given to the poor, his righteousness remains forever and ever.' 4 He who shares with the poor will have his share in Him who became poor for us. The Lord became poor, do not fear to be poor. 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 19.21 2 Mt 19.27, Mt 5.3 3 1 Thes 4.16 4 Ps 111.9

Grace And Man And The Devil

Et ut noveritis, Fratres, quia gratia hoc implet, nemo debet de viribus suis praesumere. Hoc est enim praesumere de gratia Dei. Vocat enim te Deus et iubet ut facias, sed ipse dat vires, ut quod iubet impleri possit. Tibi autem capax fides adhibenda est, ut inundatione gratiae humilies te, supplices Deo nihil de te praesumas; spolies te Golia, induas David. Ad hoc pertinet quod in eodem psalmo dicitur, quod iam commemorare coeperamus: Quid est homo? Hoc enim monet ne de se praesumat homo. Iam videte quomodo incantat adversus Goliam qui de se praesumebat; et commendat tibi David qui infirmus in hominibus in Deo firmissimus erat. Quid est homo? Et dicit quid sit homo: Quoniam innotuisti ei. Hoc est totus homo, si innotescat illi Deus. Si autem non illi innotescat Deus, nihil est homo. Quid est homo, cui non innotuit Deus? Homo vanitati assimilatus est, dies eius velut umbra praetereunt. Ergo, Quid est homo, quoniam innotuisti ei; et filius hominis, quoniam aestimas eum? Quid est, aestimas eum? Placuit tibi eligere illum, et constituere in aliquo superiore et eminentiore loco. Misericordiae tuae est, non meritorum ipsius. Quaere quid sit hominis proprium, peccatum invenies. Quaere quid sit hominis proprium, mendacium invenies. Tolle peccatum, et quidquid consideraveris in homine, Dei est. Non ergo amet homo quod proprium est. Etiam ad hoc potest pertinere illud quod dicit Apostolus: Nemo quod suum est, quaerat. Aliquando enim audiunt illud homines a lectoribus, et aedificantur ad auferendas res alienas. Interest quis tibi dicat: Noli quaerere quod tuum est. Aliquando enim dicitur a malo suasore, aliquando autem dicitur a bono doctore. Deus bonus est doctor. Quando ergo audis a Deo: Noli quaerere quod tuum est, noli sic accipere quomodo dici solet. Aliquid boni est, quod te monet Deus. Quod dicebamus quaerere quid sit tuum, invenies peccatum. Noli ergo quaerere peccatum, et non quaeris tuum. Noli quaerere mendacium, et non quaeris tuum. Veritas enim a Deo est, mendacium abs te. Et si diabolus aliquando aliquid suggerit, consentientem tenet, non cogit invitum. Non enim seducit ille aut trahit aliquem, nisi quem invenerit ex aliqua parte iam similem sibi. Invenit enim eum aliquid cupientem, et cupiditas aperit ianuam intranti suggestioni diaboli. Invenit illum aliquid timentem, monet ut fugiat quod illum invenit timere. Monet ut adipiscatur quod illum invenit cupere. Et per has duas ianuas cupiditatis et timoris intrat. Claude illas, et imples Apostoli illud in hodierna lectione: Non detis locum diabolo. Ibi enim voluit ostendere Apostolus, quia quamvis intret et possideat diabolus, homo illi tamen locum dedit ut posset intrare, Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Sermo XXXII, De Golia et David et de Contemptu Mundi Source: Migne PL 38.200-201

And so that you understand, brothers, that it is grace which achieves this, none of you should rely on his own abilities, for this is to rely on the grace of God. God is exhorting you to do something and it is He who gives you the strength so that you are able to do what He has ordered. What you must provide is abundant faith, so that you might humble yourself under a flood of grace, supplicating God, not trusting in yourself, stripping yourself of Goliath and putting on David. To this pertains what is said in the same Psalm, which I had already began to draw your attention to, 'What is man?' 1 This is a warning to man that he should not rely on himself. Now see how he sings against Goliath who relied on himself, and commends to you David who being weak among men was the strongest in God. 'What is man?' And he says what man is, 'That you would be know by him.' 1 This is the whole man, if God is known by him. But if God is not known man is nothing. What is a man if God is not known by him? Man is likened to a vanity, his days pass like a shadow. 2 Therefore, 'What is man that you are known by him, and a son of man, that you take account of him?' 1 What is it to take account of him? You were pleased to choose him, and establish him in a higher and more eminent place, and this is a matter of your benevolence, not his merits. Look for what is proper to man, and what you will find is sin. Look for what is proper to man, and you will find is falsehood. Take away sin, and whatever you look at in man is of God. Therefore man should not love what is proper to him. And indeed to this it is possible to refer what the Apostle says, 'Do not seek what is yours.' 3 Sometimes men hear this from the lectors and are so edified that they take what belongs to others. It matters who says to you 'Do not seek what is yours.' Sometimes this is said by a wicked seducer, but sometimes it is said by a good teacher. God is a good teacher. Therefore when you hear God saying 'Do not seek what is yours,' don't understand it in the usual way. God is offering you good counsel. As we were saying, seek what is yours and you will find sin. Therefore do not seek sin and you are not seeking what is yours. Don't seek falsehood and you are not seeking what is yours. Truth is from God, falsehood is from you. And if the devil sometimes suggests something, he needs your consent, he cannot compel you unwillingly. Unless he finds something similar to himself in men he cannot seduce or entice. If he finds them greedy for something, it is greed that opens the door for the devil's suggestion to enter. If he finds them afraid of something, he advises them to shun or shirk what they are afraid of. He urges them to go and get what he finds they are greedy for. It is through these two doors of greed and fear that he enters. Shut them, and you fulfill what the Apostle said in today's reading, 'Do not give a space to the devil.' 4 What the Apostle wished to show there was that even though the devil may come in and take possession, yet it is man who gives him a place where he may enter. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 32, On Goliath and David and on Contempt for the World 1 Ps 143.3 2 Ps 143.4 3 1 Cor 10.24 4 Ephes 4.27