Judging And Judgement

Existimas autem hoc, o homo, qui judicas eos qui talia agunt, et facis ea, quia tu effugies judicium Dei? an divitias bonitatis ejus, et patientiae, et longanimitatis contemnis? ignoras quoniam benignitas Dei ad poenitentiam te adducit? Tu autem secundum duritiam, et impoenitens cor, thesaurizas tibi iram in die irae, et revelationis justi judicii Dei, qui reddet unicuique secundum opera ejus : iis quidem qui secundum patientiam boni operis, gloriam, et honorem, et incorruptionem quaerunt, vitam aeternam... Hoc est, nunquid tibi examen datum est vel potestas judicandi de malis et stupris, cum eadem agis, et non est qui de te ad praesens judicet? Effugies judicium Dei. Non utique in futuro evades. An divitias bonitatis ejus, et patientiae, et longanimitatis contemnis? Divitiae bonitatis Dei, quibus bona pro malis dat. Patientia vero est, qua peccatores impunitos patienter converti tolerat. Longanimitas est, qua longum spatium poenitentiae dat. Divitias bonitatis ille agnoscere potest, qui considerat quanta in terris mala quotidie homines gerant, tamen his Deum producentem solem suum quotidie, et pluvias ministrantem. Sustentatio vero, vel longanimitas, ac patientia in hoc videtur differre, quod qui infirmitate magis quam proposito delinquunt, sustentari dicuntur: qui vero pertinaci mente velut insultant in delictis suis, patienter ferri dicendi sunt. Sed sicut omnia in mensura fecit Deus, et pondere et numero, ita etiam patientiae ejus certa mensura est. Tu autem secundum duritiam, et impoenitens cor. Impunitatem sperans peccatorum non solum durat, inconversibilis et incontrectabilis manens, sed adhuc peccat, securus quod non sit ultio futura. Cor durum in Scripturis dici videtur, cum mens humana, velut cera a frigore iniquitatis obstricta, signaculum imaginis divinae non recipit. Thesaurizas tibi iram. Hujus verbi in Scripturis significantiam triplicem legimus: dicitur enim in Evangelio thesauros esse quosdam in terris, in quo prohibet Dominus thesaurizari; et alios thesauros in coelo jubet fideles recondere; et hic nunc Apostolus dicit irae thesauros. Ira autem Dei nihil aliud quam justa vindicta intelligitur. Crassitudo vero cordis est, ubi subtilis et spiritualis intelligentiae non recipitur sensus. Qui reddet unicuique secundum opera sua. Sciendum quod ex Jeremia Apostolus hoc testimonium sumpserit. Illud quod in Ezechiele scriptum est, huic sententiae videtur adversari; dicit enim: Cum avertit se justus a justitia sua, et fecerit iniquitatem secundum omnes iniquitates quas fecit iniquus, omnes justitiae ejus quas fecerit non commemorabuntur in lapsu ejus, quo lapsus est: sed in peccatis qui peccavit, in ipsis morietur . In quo videtur latenter hujusmodi inseruisse intellectum, ut si forte non secundum omnes iniquitates quas fecit iniquus, fecerit justus, non omnes justitiae ejus de memoria auferantur. His quidem qui secundum patientiam boni operis gloriam, et honorem, et incorruptionem quaerunt, vitam aeternam. Boni operis merces per patientiam exspectatur, quod in praesenti vita non redditur; per fidem enim ambulamus, et non per speciem: patientiam autem boni operis in illis esse certum est, qui agones et certamina perferunt. Gloriam. Decus formae qua sancti fulgebunt sicut sol. Honorem. Filiorum Dei, quo nihil est majus, per quem etiam angelos judicabunt. Incorruptionem. Vitae scilicet perpetuae. Signanter autem addidit incorruptionem, propter indiscretionem saecularis gloriae atque honoris, qui corruptibilis est. Sedulius Scotus, Collectanea in omnes B. Pauli epistolas, In Epistolam ad Romanos, Caput II Source: Migne PL 103.24b-25b

And you think this, O man, who judges those who do such things and you do the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you scorn the riches of His goodness, and patience, and longsuffering? Do you not know that the benevolence of God should lead you to penance? But you, according to your hardness, and an impenitent heart, you heap up anger for yourself against the day of anger, and the revelation of the just judgment of God, who will return to every one according to his works. To those indeed, who according to patience in good work, seek glory and honour and incorruption, eternal life:.. 1 That is, the investigation and power of judgement of evils and foolishness was never given to you when you do these things, and there is no one to judge you in the present. 'You will not escape the judgement of God.' You will not escape in the future. 'Or do you scorn the riches of His goodness and patience and longsuffering?' The riches are the goodness of God, which gives good for evil. But patience is to endure unpunished sinners patiently for the sake of conversion. Long suffering is the granting of a long time for penitence. He is able to know the riches of goodness who considers how much evil men do in the world every day, yet God brings forth the sun for them and the ministering rains. But endurance and longsuffering and patience seem to differ in this, that they are said to be endured who go astray by weakness more than intent, and they are to be borne with patiently who with a stubborn mind offend with misdeeds. But as God has a measure in all things, and a weight and a number, so indeed His patience has a certain measure. 'But you according to hardness, and an impenitent heart.' The hope that there is no punishment for sins not only hardens, so that one remains unconverted and intractable, but it errs in being secure in the thought that there shall not be a reckoning in the future. In Scripture a hard heart seems to mean that the human mind is frozen like wax by the coldness of wickedness and it does not receive the seal of the Divine image. 'You heap up anger for yourself.' We read a threefold meaning in these words in Scripture, for it is said in the Gospel there is a certain treasure on the earth which the Lord prohibits us to heap up, and there is another treasure in heaven which He commands the faithful to gather, 2 and now here the Apostle speaks of a heaping up of anger. The anger of God is to be understood as nothing else than just punishment, but there is a thickness of heart, when the mind does not receive the subtle and spiritual understanding. 'He who shall return to each one according to a his works.' It must be known that the Apostle takes this testimony from Jeremiah. 3 That which is written in Ezekiel, seems opposed to this sentence, for it says, 'When the righteous man shall turn away from his righteousness and act wickedly according to all the wickedness which the wicked man does, all the good that he had done shall not be remembered in his fall by which he has fallen, and in his sins which he has sinned he shall perish.' 4 In which it seems there is a latent understanding that if perhaps according to his wickedness a wicked man acted, the righteous man who will do so, all his righteous works will be forgotten. 'To those indeed, who according to patience in good works, seek glory and honour and incorruption, eternal life.' The reward of good works which is not given in the present life is expected by patience, for we walk through faith and not by appearance, but the patience of good works is certain in those who endure trials and struggles. 'Glory.' The fairness of form with which the holy shall shine like the sun. 'Honour.' Of the sons of God, to whom nothing is greater, and by whom even angels shall be judged. 5 Incorruption. That is, of eternal life. The reason he adds incorruption is to distinguish it from worldly glory and honour which is corruptible. Sedulius Scotus, Commentary On The Letters of Saint Paul, On the Letter to the Romans, Chapter 2 1 Rom 2.3 2 Mt 6.19 3 Jerem 25.14 4 Ezek 18.24 5 1 Cor 6.3

Fasting And The Devil

Καὶ προσελθών αὐτῷ ὁ πειράζων, εἶπεν· Εἰ Υἰὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ , εἰπὲ ἵνα οἱ λίθοι οὗτοι ἄρτοι γένωνται. Ἤκουσε τῆς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ φωνῆς ὁ λῃστής. Πάλιν εἶδὲν αὐτὸν πεινῶντα, καὶ ἀμφέβαλλε λοιπὸν, πῶς ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ πεινᾷ· διὰ τοῦτο τοίνυν πειράζει αὐτὸν, ἵνα μάθῃ. Κολακεύει δὲ αὐτὸν, νομίζων ὑποκλέψαι, ἐν τῷ λέγειν· Εἰ Υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ. 'Αλλ' ἐρωτᾷς· Καὶ τί ἁμάρτημα ἦν τὸ ποιῆσαι τοῦς λίθους ἄρτους; ῎Ἄκουε οὖν, ὅτι τὸ ἀκούειν τοῦ διαβόλου κατά τι, ἁμάρτημά ἐστιν. ῎Αλλως τε ἴδε· οὐκ εἶπεν, ἕνα ὁ λίθος οἱ τος γένηται ἄρτος, ἀλλ᾽ Οἱ λίθοι, θέλων ῥίψαι τὸν Χριστὸν εἰς περιττότητα. Τῷ γὰρ πεινῶντι εἷς ἄρτος ἀρκεῖ πάντως· διὰ τοῦτο ὁ Χριστὸς οὐκ ἤκουσεν αὐτοῦ. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ Δ' Source: Migne PG 123.180c-d

And coming near Him, he tempted Him saying, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.' 1 This criminal heard the heavenly voice, 2 and then he saw Him hunger, and he doubted that the son of God would hunger, and therefore he tested Him that he might learn. And he flattered himself in thinking to trick him by saying, 'If you are the son of God.' But if you ask what is sinful in turning stones into bread, hear that to listen to the devil in anything is a sin. Then see that he did not say, 'Turn this stone into bread,' but 'stones,' wishing to encourage Christ to superfluity, for one loaf is enough for a hungry man. Because of this Christ did not listen to him. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 4 1 Mt 4.3 2 Mt 3.16-17

The Angel And The Virgin

Audivimus, fratres, angelum a Deo Patre ad Virginem missum, audivimus Virginem novo salutationis famine salutatam, et in ipsa salutatione, ut Evangelium loquitur, fuissse turbatam. Audivimus Gabrielem archangelum verbis consolatoriis, ne timeret allocutum, eo quod invenisset gratiam apud Dominum, deinde generaturam et parituram asseruit filium, quem praecepit ut vocaret Jesum. Hunc esse magnum et filium Altissimi, sedem David, et domum Jacob, et regnum sempiternum sine fine secundum humanitatem adepturum praedixit. Quod semper secundum divnitatem cum Deo Patre et Spiritu sancto aeternaliter, antequam mundus fieret, in aeterna sua scientia habuit et disposuit. Post consolationis officiosissima et jucundissima famina, Virgo santissima interrogando et potius in cunctando coepit inquire quomodo fieri posset quod angelus insolitam et inauditam rem tanta auctoritate nuntiare praesumeret; hujus rei factum, quod natura non habuit, quod exemplo caruit, Spiritu sancto superveniente et virtute Altissimi obumbrante angelus fieri posse perdocuit. O inauditum et admirabile singularis humilitatis exemplum! Ea quae se Dominum et Creatorem suum concepisse gaudebat et de se nasciturum non dubitabat, cum posset se cognoscere sine dispendio suae sincerissimae humilitatis omnium fidelium dominam, non distulit se vocare Domini sui ancillam, dicens: Ecce ancilla Domini, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum Odilo Cluniacensis Abbas, Sermo IV, De Incarnatione Dominica Source: Migne PL 142.1002d-1003a

We have heard, brothers, that the angel was sent from God the Father to the Virgin, we have heard the Virgin was hailed by a new speech of greeting, and by that greeting, as the Gospel says, she was troubled. We have heard the archangel Gabriel speak words of comfort, lest she fear the rest, telling her that she had found grace with God, and then that she would conceive and give birth to the Son of God, which he commanded her to name Jesus. He foretells that He who is great and the Son of the Most High, the seat of David and the house of Jacob, and whose kingdom has no end, shall take up humanity. Because according to Divinity He is always with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, before the world was made, in His eternity wisdom arranged and disposed it. After this most dutiful and joyful speech of consolation, the most holy Virgin, questioning, or rather hesitating, began to ask how it was possible that an angel should presume to announce something so strange and unheard of with such authority. He taught that this deed, of which nature was not capable, which lacked all example, was able to come to be by the coming of the Holy Spirit and the overshadowing of the power of the Most High. O unheard and wondrous example of singular humility. She who rejoiced to conceive her Lord and Creator and did not doubt concerning His birth, she who is able to be known, without loss of her own humility, as the Lady of all the faithful, did not refuse to call herself the handmaid of her Lord, saying, 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to my according to your word.' 1 Saint Odo of Cluny, from Sermon 4, On The Incarnation Of The Lord 1 Lk 1.38

Blushes And Believing

Talibus enim obsequiis angelus intentam invenit atque salutavit. Utpote virgo verecunda erubuit; a quo confortata, quae dicebantur credidit, et credendo auctorem nostrae salutis edidit Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum quem partriarchae et prophetae praeviderunt et praedixerunt de virgine nasciturum. Odilo Cluniacensis Abbas, Sermo XIII De Nativitate Beatae Mariae Virginis Source: Migne PL 142.1028d-1029a

With such deference the angel found and saluted her attentive. As is natural in a modest maiden she blushed, by which greatly strengthened she believed in what was said, and in the believing conceived the creator of our salvation our Lord Jesus Christ, whom the patriarchs and prophets foresaw and foretold would be born from a virgin. Saint Odo of Cluny, from Sermon 13, On The Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary

Speaking Of The Ascension

Hujus etenim ascensionis Dominicae nobilitatem et gloriam, Veteris Instrumenti multo ante multipliciter praenuntiavit auctoritas, et ipso ascendente exsultans angelica declaravit sublimitas, evangelicae etiam descriptionis atque apostoliciae praedicationis per totum orbem narravit satis aperte majestas. Apostolica vero praedicto, ut dictum est, mysteria supradicta vehementer enarrat, cum beatus Petrus apostolus, omnium de quibus loquitur, idoneum testem se esse declarat, et apostolica libertate subnixus, ut propositum est, liberalissimo sermone pronuntiat, dicens: Obedire oportet Deo magis quam hominibus. Statim subintulit. Et his cum quibus tunc res ipsa gerebatur dixit: Deus patrum nostrorum suscitavit Jesum, quem vos interemistis suspendentes in ligno. Hunc Deus, Principem ac Salvatorem, exaltavit dextera sua, ad dandam poenitentiam Israel et remissionem peccatorum. Et nos sumus testes horum verborum et Spiritus sanctus, quem dedit Deus hominibus obedientibus sibi. Et in alio loco idem pastor Ecclesiae, Davidico fruitus vaticinio, David igitur, inquit: Propheta cum esset et sciret quia jurejurando jurasset illi Deus de fructu lumbi ejus sedere super sedem ejus, providens locutus est de resurrectione Christi, quia neque derelictus est in inferno, neque caro ejus vidit corruptionem. Hunc Jesum suscitavit Deus, cui omnes nos testes sumus. Dextera igitur Dei exaltatus, et promissione Spiritus sancti accepta a Patre, effudit hoc donum quod vos videtis et auditis. Non enim David ascendit in coelos. Dicit autem ipse: Dicit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis. Paulus denique praedicator egregius, cum hoc nostrae salutis mysterium auditoribus suis commendare vellet, affectu optantis et voto orantis prudentissima et spirituali circumlocutione aggressus est eos, dicens: Deus Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Pater gloriae, det vobis spiritum sapientiae et revelationis in agnitione ejus, illuminas oculos cordis vestri, ut sciatis quae sit spes vocationis ejus, et quae divitiae gloriae hereditatis ejus in sanctis, et quae sit supereminens magnitudo virtutis ejus in nos, qui credidimus secundum operationem potentiae virtutis ejus quam operatus est in Christo, suscitans illum a mortuis, et constituens ad dexteram suam in caelestibus, supra omnem principatum, et potestatem, et virtutem, et dominationem, et omne nomen quod nominatur non solum in hoc saeculo, sed et in futuro. Et: Omnia subjecit sub pedibus ejus, et ipsum dedit caput supra omnem Ecclesiam quae est corpus ipsius. Et ut idem Apostolus ad Timotheum scribit: Columna et firmamentum veritatis. Et manifeste: Magnum est pietatis sacramentum, quod manifestatum in carne, justificatum est in spiritu, apparuit angelis, praedicatum est in gentibus, creditum est in hoc mundo, assumptum est in gloria, sicut per Marcum et lucam descriptio intonat evangelica. Lucas vero cum ad Theophilum scriberet, dicit se sermonem fecisse: de omnibus quae caepit Jesus facere et docere, usque in diem qua praecipiens apostolis per Spiritum sanctum quos elegit, assumptus est. Et Marcus in hodierna lectione: Dominus, inquit, Jesus, postquam locutus est discipulis suis, assumptus est in caelum, et sedet a dextris Dei. Odilo Cluniacensis Abbas, Sermo VIII, De Ascensione Domini Salvatoris Source: Migne PL 142.1012c-1013c

Indeed the nobility and glory of this ascension of the Lord, the authority of the Old Testament often before many times foretells, and His ascension the angelic heights exultant declared, and indeed the Gospels and the Apostolic preaching through the whole earth openly proclaimed its majesty. But with the Apostolic preaching, as it has been said, the mystery aforementioned is overtly declared, when the blessed Apostle Peter, concerning the things he spoke to all, declaring himself an able witness, elated with Apostolic liberty, as it has been recorded, with free speech spoke, saying, 'One must obey God rather than men.' 1 Immediately going on to those deeds then done and saying: 'The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed, hanging Him from a tree. God exalted Him at his right hand, Prince and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witness of these words and the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to men obedient to Him.' 2 And in another place the shepherd of the Church, making use of the Davidic prophecy, says: 'David, then, when he was a Prophet , knowing that God had sworn an oath to him, that one from the fruit of his loins would sit upon his throne, foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of Christ, because neither was He forsaken in hell, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised, and we are all witnesses to Him. Therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He poured out this gift which you see and hear. For David did not ascend into heaven. He himself says: My Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand.' 3 Then Paul, that wondrous preacher, when he wished to commend the mystery of our salvation to hearers, impressing on them the emotion of choosing and the most prudent and spiritual vow of prayer, says: 'The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may he give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in His knowledge, illuminating the eyes of your heart, that you may know the hope of our calling, and what inheritance of Divine glory is with his holy ones, and what is the supereminent greatness of His virtue in us, we who believe according to the work of the power of his virtue which worked in Christ, taking Him up from the dead and establishing Him at His right hand in the heavens, over all principalities and powers and virtues and dominion and every name which is named, not only in this age but even in the future.' 4 And: 'Everything He has made subject beneath His feet and He sets his head over every Church which is His body.' 5 And the same Apostle writes to Timothy: 'A column and firmament of truth.' 6 And openly: 'Great is the mystery of holiness, which has been manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, appeared to angels, is preached among the Gentiles, is believed in this world, and has been taken up in glory,' 7 as Mark and Luke pronounce in the telling of their Gospels. Luke when he wrote to Theophilus, and said in that passage: 'concerning everything which Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when having given commands to the Apostles He had chosen He was taken up.' 8 And Mark in today's reading: 'The Lord Jesus,' he says, 'after he had spoken to His Apostles, was taken up to heaven and sat at the right hand of the Father.' 9 Saint Odo of Cluny, from Sermon 8, On The Ascension Of The Lord 1 Acts 5.29 2 Acts 5.30-32 3 Acts 2.30-34 4 Ephes 1.17-21 5 Ephes 1.22 6 1 Tim 3.15 7 1 Tim 3.16 8 Acts 1.1-2 9 Mark 16.19

Reasons For Joy

Nimis dulce quod natus est; nimium salubre quod datus est, Cum audis etiam tibi natum, gaude. Cum audis etiam tibi datum, multo magis laetare. Sed inter patrem et natum, et inter datorem et datum, secundum divinam naturam non contingat tibi ullam tibi credere differentiam. Unius enim substantiae sunt secundum deitatis essentiam pater et natus, dator et datus. Tantus est ille qui datus est quantus est ille a quo datus est. Et qualis est ille qui genitus est, talis est ille a quo genitus est. Non praecessit tempore genitor; non est genitore genitus interior. Ejusdemque naturae, potentiae et majestatis creditur et praedicatur Spiritus sanctus, quo superveniente suscepit Verbum Dei sanctissimae et semper Virginis uterus, cujus singularem partum universus hodie recolit mundus. Tantae enim rei tamque divinissimi mysterii et ineffabilis sacramenti gratia, non solum in terris exsultant justi;sed etiam summae divinitatis in excelsis tripudiant ministri. Odilo Cluniacensis Abbas, Sermo I, De Nativitate Domini Salvatoris Source: Migne PL 142.993a-b

Exceedingly delightful is what is born, very wholesome is that which has been given. Indeed when you hear what has been born for you, be glad, when you hear what has been given to you, much more rejoice. But between the Father and the child, and between the giver and the given, let it not occur to you to think that there is some difference in the Divine nature. For the Father and the Child, the giver and the given, are of one substance according to the essence of Divinity. He who is given is as great as He from whom He is given. And as He who is born is He from whom he was begotten. He who begot did not precede in time, nor is He who was begotten inferior to Him who begot. And the Holy Spirit is believed and preached to be of the same nature and power and majesty, by whose coming the womb of the most holy and always Virgin Mary received the Word of God, whose singular birth the whole world reflects on today. For of such a thing and so Divine a mystery and by the grace of ineffable sacrament, not only do the righteous exult on earth, but indeed in the heights the ministers of the highest Divinity rejoice. Saint Odo of Cluny, from Sermon 1, On The Nativity of The Lord

Classes Of Judgement

Teste vero Apostolo, cum quod sine fide agitur peccatum sit, ipsa vero sine operibus fides cum otiosa vel mortua sit deceptores illos praeterire nullatenus animarum debemus, qui contra confirmationem catholicae fidei in qua contineur, quod venturus sit Domnus judicare vivos et mortuos, et saeculum per ignem, et: Qui bona egerunt, ituri in vitam aeternam, qui vero mala, in ignem aeternum, impunitatem omnibus baptizatis promittunt miserrimi scelerum. Ita, inquiunt, pius est Deus et misericors, ut neminem Christianum permittat intrare in infernum. Quanquam verum dicerent, si Christianum fore illum solummodo, qui Christi voluntatem facit, credere possent. Cum vero Peturm audiant dicentem Apostolum: Melius fuerat eis non cognoscere viam veritatis, quam post cognitionem retrosum converti; de quibus, quaeso, dictum conjiciunt? Et cum ordines quatuor sacra teneat auctoritas in judicio extremo futuros: unum scilicet, qui judicet cum Domino; alterum, qui per judicium remuneretur; tertium, qui per judicium damnetur; quartum; qui neque per judicium illum remuneretur, neque damnetur, cum scriptum in Evangelio sit: Qui autem non credit, jam judicatus est; et Psalmistae verbum dicatur: Ideo non resurgent impii in judicio, quasi apertius dicat: Et si quidem resurgunt, non ideo resurgunt ut judicentur, quia jam sint judicati, sed ideo resurgent, ut, receptis corporibus, illuc eant ubi ante saecula sunt destinati, impios autem istos intelligere solummodo debemus incredulos, et minime bapstizatos; quis ergo damnatus tertius ordo tibi videtur, nisi credentium, id est baptizatorum existere, qui pro eo quod fidem habuerunt, sed operibus fidei, quae illic requiruntur, caruerunt, juste damnati in ignem aeternum, qui absque dubio infernus est, ituri. Ratherius Veronensis, Sermo II Source:Migne PL 136.700c-701b

When the Apostle bears witness that without faith there is sin, 1 and yet without works faith is worthless or dead, 2 we should certainly not pass over those deceivers of souls who against the assertion of the Catholic faith, in which it is found that the Lord will come to judge the living and the dead and the world through fire, and 'He who has done good shall enter into eternal life, and he who does evil into eternal fire,' 3 promise that by mercy impunity for crimes is given to all those baptised. 'Thus,' they say, 'since God is pious and compassionate, no Christian shall be allowed to enter hell.' Which truth they would speak if they thought that only of him who was a Christian who made the will of Christ. Let them however hear Peter the Apostle saying: 'Better for them not to know the way of truth, than to have known it and turned back,' 4 concerning which, I ask, what can one think? Sacred authority holds that there are four classes in the last judgement to come. One shall judge with the Lord, 5 another by judgement shall receive its reward, the third by judgement shall be damned, the fourth will neither be rewarded nor be damned by that judgement, since it is written in the Gospel: 'He who does not believe is already judged.' 6 And the Psalmist says: 'Therefore the impious shall not rise in judgement.' 7 As if he openly said: And if they rise, so they will not rise to be judged because they have already been judged, but they rise so that receiving bodies, they go to where they have be destined before the ages. For we should understand the impious to be those who do not believe, even if at least baptised. Who, then, does it seem to you is this third class who are damned, unless believers, who though baptised, though they had faith, yet lacking the works of faith, which are required of them, are justly damned to eternal fire and who without doubt will go to hell. Ratherius Of Verona, from Sermon 2 1 Rom 14.24 2 Jam 2.20 3 Jn 5.29 4 2 Pet 2.21 5 cf 1 Cor 6.3 6 Jn 3.10 7 Ps 1.5

Hope, Good Works And Love

Quae est autem voluntas Patris, nisi quod aut Martha, aut faciebat soror ipsius Maria? Nil quippe nobis aliud praecipitur, nisi ut aut ministremus Christo in membris ipsius, aut assideamus Christo in contemplanda voluntate ipsius. Inde aliquid si negleximus, suspiremus, plangamus, pectora nostra tundamus, poenitentiam agamus, frequens ministerium Domini aut repetamus, aut vacantes orationibus et desideriis coelestibus, a pedibus benigni Jesus nullatenus divellamur, donec ad illud unum, quod solum est necessarium, perveniamus, hoc est eundum, qui nobis solus sufficit, Dominum. Dicis econtra, sic enim est consuetudo dicta humana: Licet non tanta quanta debeo faciam bona, facio aliqua; et perfecte in Deum credens, spero quae Dominus suis fidelibus praecepit speranda. O utinam haec duo fiderem re, fratres, habere! Certus profecto de tua essem salute, videlicet ut in Deum perfecte crederes, et illa tantummodo, quae praecepit speranda, sperares. Dicit vero Psalmista: Spera in Domino. Respondes, spero. Fac bonitam sed dicit ille. Si ergo speras in Domino, suggero: Fac bonitatem, et non inaniter speras, promitto. Dicente enim Jacobo: Quid prodest, fratres, si fidem quis habeat, opera vero non habeat? Nunquid poterit sola fides salvare eum? Una sola audiri ita potest sententia. Si perfecte credis in Deum, et aliud non speras, quam quod ille te sperare praecepit, videlicet si opera habes bona; consequenter de remuneratione, si ita tamen perseveraveris, non est tibi opus dubitare perpetua. Quae sunt autem bona opera, nisi illa quae ex charitate prodecunt: quam solam si non habes, nec in fide, dico tibi, confidas; nec quod suis promisit Dominus fidelibus, speres. Fides, enim, si non habeat opera, mortua est in semetipsa. Et: Spes non confundit, quia charitas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spiritum Sanctum, qui datus est nobis. Si ergo charitatem in corde non habes, spem inutiliter habes. Ratherius Veronensis Sermo XI, De Maria et Martha Source:Migne PL 136.754b-755a

For what is the will of the Father unless that which either Martha or her sister Mary did? 1 Certainly nothing is commanded us, unless that we either serve Christ in His members, or seek Him in the contemplation of His will. Whence if we neglect something, let us sigh, let us weep, let us strike our hearts, let us make penitence, ever seeking to turn back to the service of the Lord, or turning to prayer and heavenly desires, that we never be torn from the feet of the kindly Jesus, while we approach that one and only thing necessary, the same Lord who alone suffices for us. You may say against this, for such is the custom of human speech: It not being possible that I do very much in the making of good works, I do something, even perfectly believing in God and hoping for those things which the Lord commanded His faithful ones to hope for. O, that I could believe you to have these two things, brothers. Certainly I would have you advance to salvation, that you believe perfectly in God, and that you hope only for that which He commands should be hoped for. Truly the Psalmist says: 'Hope in the Lord.' You reply: 'I hope.' But then he says: 'Do good.' 2 If, therefore, you would hope in the Lord, I counsel you: do good, and you will not hope in vain, I promise. For James says: 'What does it benefit, brothers, if a man have faith and yet he have not works? Shall his faith alone save him?' 3 One can hear only one intention here. If you believe perfectly in God, and you do not hope for anything but what He commanded should be hoped for, and if you have good works, from which the reward comes, if indeed you perservere, you should not doubt the eternal reward. For what are good works, unless they come forth from love, which if alone you do not have, neither in faith, I say, should you be confident, nor should you hope in the things the Lord promised His faithful ones. 'For faith, if it have not works, is dead.' 4 And: 'Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God is diffused in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.' 5 If, then, you have no love in your heart, your hope is vain. Ratherius Of Verona, from Sermon 11, On Mary And Martha 1 Lk 10.38-42 2 Ps 36.3 3 Jam 2.14 4 Jam 2.17 5 Rom 5.5

Grief And Joy

Haec dies, fratres charissimi, quam fecit Dominus, ait Propheta sanctissimus: exsultemus et laetemur in ea. Nunquid, fratres, non et hesternam diem similiter Dominus fecit? Plane, sed illam jejunio, istam laetitiae consecravit; illa discipulis luctum, haec maximum intulit gaudium. Quid ergo, fratres, agendum? Nimirum, ut ratio docet, si heri luximus cum apostolis, gaudeamus hodie cum illis, et omnibus sanctis. Neque vereamur, ne nobis dicatur: Vae vobis qui ridetis nunc, quia lugebitis ac flebitis, cum propter praeteritam abstinentiam atque tristitam, ejusdem refoveamur consolatione dicentis, ut apostolis vero ante passionem, ita nobis ante resurrectionis Dominicae diem: Et vos igitur nunc quidem tristitiam habetis: iterum autem videbo vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum, et gaudium vestrum nemo tollet a vobis. Hoc dictum est apostolis, hoc dicitur et nobis: lucerunt apostoli pro morte, quanquam illis nimium necessaria, Christi, de cujus resurrectione gaudio inaestimabili, et immensa sunt gratulatione laetati; imitati sumus hesterno luctum illorum, imitemur hodie gaudium. Sed si eos volumus imitari, ab eisdem normam sumamus, moneo, gaudii. Dic igitur, sancte Apostole, post omnes quidem vocate, sed usque ad tertium coelum modo quem ipse melius nostri divinitus rapte; dic, inquam satisfac interrogantibus, unde debeamus gaudere. Pascha, inquit, pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus. Non ob aliud? Immolationem nam nos ipsam intellexeramus eamdem, quam Apostoli luxerant mortem, quorum et hesterno sumus imitati moerorem. Rogamus igitur, prosequere quid debeamus hodie vel qualiter agere. Subjungit atque ait: Itaque epulemur, id est, carnem Domini manducemus, et sanguinem ipsius bibamus: Non in fermento tamen veteri, neque in fermento malitiae et nequitiae; sed in azymis sinceritatis et vertitatis. Et veritatis, inquam. Quare hoc? Quia et alibi idem dicit Apostolus: Consepulti sumus Christo per baptismum in mortem: ut quomodo surrexit Christus a mortuis per gloriam Patris, ita et nos in novitate vitae ambulemus. Si enim complantati sumus similitudini mortis ejus, simul et resurrectionis erimus. Hoc igitur sensus, fratres charissimi, servamus operando quod credimus, in Christo renati, in Christo passi, in Christo mortui, in Christo sumus a mortuis suscitati, ac per hoc maxima nobis est ratio gaudi. Hanc ergo diem non sibi solum, sed et nobis quia fecit Dominus, fratres, exsultemus et laetemur in ea. Ratherius Veronensis Sermo IV, De Pascha Source:Migne PL 136.719c-720c

'This day,' dear brothers, 'which the Lord made,' says the most holy Prophet, 'let us exult and let us rejoice in it.' 1 But did not, brothers, the Lord make yesterday as well? Certainly, but that was consecrated for fasting, this day is for joy; that day was for sorrow with the disciples, this day brings in great joy. What, then, brothers, should we do? Without doubt reason teaches that if yesterday we sorrowed with the Apostles, today we rejoice with them, and with all the saints. Let us not fear, let it not be said to us: 'Woe to you who smile now, because you shall lament and weep,' 2 when on account of prior abstinence and grief, His words of consolation shall blaze forth, just as they did to the Apostles before the passion, so to us before the day of the resurrection of the Lord: 'Even you now have a certain sorrow, but again I will see you, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.' 3 This which was said to the Apostles is also said to us. The Apostles grieved for the death of Christ, certainly necessary for them, and in His resurrection they rejoiced with immeasurable joy and immense thanks. Yesterday we imitated their grief, today let us imitate their joy. But if we wish to imitate them, I bid that we take from them our measure of our joy. So speak, holy Apostle, you who were called after the others, but who was swept up to the third heaven by our Divinity for our betterment; speak, I say, and satisfy those who ask: why should we rejoice? 'Christ our Paschal lamb has been sacrificed.' 4 For nothing else? That same sacrifice we have understood, which death grieved the Apostles, the sorrow of whom we imitated yesterday. Let us ask, therefore, what we should do today, or how we should do it. He says a little after: 'Thus let us feast, that is, let us eat the flesh of the Lord, and let us drink His blood. Not, however, with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of wickedness and malice, but with the leaven of sincerety and truth.' 5 Of truth, I say. Why? Because elsewhere the Apostle says: 'We have been buried with Christ in baptism to death, so that as Christ rose from the dead by the glory of the Father, thus even we shall walk in the new life. If indeed we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall be resurrected like Him.' 6 Let us guard this understanding, dearest brothers, in the doing of what we believe, in Christ reborn, in Christ suffering, in Christ dying, in Christ being raised from the dead, and in this the great reason for our joy. Thus this day which the Lord made, not only for Himself, but even for us, brothers, let us exult and rejoice in it. Ratherius Of Verona, from Sermon 4, On The Pasch 1 Ps 117.24 2 Lk 6.25 3 Jn 16.22 4 1 Cor 5.7 5 1 Cor 5.8 6 Rom 6.4-5

The Handmaid

Ecce ancilla Domini, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Videte, fratres, humilitatem Virginis Verbum Dei concipientis. Videte obedientiam Domini ad nos per Virginem venientis. Videte claritatem et delictionem, circa humanum genus, Dei Patris angelum ad Virginem, nomine Mariam, mittentis. Hujus nobilissimi nominis praedulcis interpretatio claritudinem meritorum illius atque virtutum aperta ratione demonstrat. Interpretatur enim Maria stella maris sive domina. Merito vocatur Domina, quia Dominum totius creaturae, salva perpetua sua virginitate, hodierna die concipere et certo tempore gignere meruit. Cui Deus Pater, ut David partriarcha testatur in psalmo, dicens: Data est mihi omnis potestas in coelo et in terra, etc. De quo idem Propheta: Domini est terra et plenitudo eius. Item in eadem psalmo: Dominus fortis et potens, Dominus potens in praelio. Et ut illum fortem et potentem credamus, Gabriel archangelus qui fortitudo Dei dicitur, nasciturum de Virgine evangelizare debuit, quam ad debellandum perditionis principem et mortis imperium destruendum, velut geminae gigantem substantiae omnipotens Pater unicum Filium suum transmisit. Consequens etenim est ut Dei genitrix et semper virgo Maria maris stella vocetur, quia sicut illi qui inter fluctus maris exercitatione navigii laborant, stellis sibi Deo auctore famulantibus, ad portum quietis venire desiderant; ita quisquis in hujus saeculi periculoso naufragio, fluctibus perniciosis irruentibus, sive de animae, sive de corporis vita periclitatur, necesse est ad contemplationem istius stellae aciem mentis dirigat, per cuius meritum et gratiam posse se ab omni periculo liberari non dubitat. Odilo Cluniacensis Abbas, Sermo IV, De Incarnatione Dominica Source: Migne PL 142.1003b-d

Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word. 1 See, brothers, the humility of the Virgin conceiving the Word of God. See the obedience of the Lord coming to us through the Virgin. See the glory and love for the human race of God the Father sending the angel to the Virgin by the name of Mary. The interpretation of this most noble and sweetest name with evident reason shows the clarity of her merits and virtue. For Mary is understood as 'Star of the Sea' and 'Lady.' And rightly 'Lady', because she merited, by the security of her perptual virginity, this day to conceive, and after a certain time to give birth to, the Lord of all creation. To which God the Father, the patriarch David gives witness in the Psalm, saying: 'All power in heaven and earth has been given to me.' 2 Concerning which the same Prophet says: 'The earth is the Lord's and the fullness of it.' 3 And in the same Psalm: 'The Lord strong and powerful, the Lord powerful in war.' 4 And so that we believe Him strong and powerful, it was befitting that the archangel Gabriel, whose name means 'Strength of God,' announce the coming birth from the Virgin, that for the defeat of the prince of ruin and the destruction of the empire of death, as a giant from dual substance, the almighty Father had sent the only Son. Consequently the mother of God and ever virgin Mary is called 'Star of the Sea,' because as they who labour to sail amid the waves of the sea, attend to the stars of God the creator, desiring to come to the port of rest, so for anyone in the perilous shipwreck of the world, with the wicked waves pouring in, endangering either the life of the soul or the body, it is necessary that he direct the attention of his mind to the contemplation of this star, not doubting that by its merit and grace it is possible that he be freed from every danger. Saint Odo of Cluny, from Sermon 4, On The Incarnation Of The Lord 1 Lk 1.38 2 Mt 28.18 3 Ps 23.1 4 Ps 23.8

Prayer And Seeking

Cum vero ita sit, ut et de orationibus, quae nostrum movent animum, minime sileamus; nobiscum reprehendere non cessamus pariter eosdem, quibus Jacobus ait Apostolus: Petitis, et non accipitis, eo quod male petatis. Male namque petit, qui non petit quod Dominus praecipit, sed quod potius interdicit. Ille namque desiderare et petere nos jubet coelestia, nos contra et desideramus et optamus terrena; ille orare pro persequentibus et caluminiantibus, nos e diverso contra persequentes et calumniantes exsecrabiles fundimus preces. Quale autem est illud, quod quidam noctibus psalmodiis et orationibus instant, diebus vero detractionibus, praviloquiis, otiositati et desidiae vacant, cum nox potius quieti, dies sit concessa labori; quod, remur, optime noverat ille, qui postquam dixerat: Media nocta surgebam ad confitendum tibi; et: In matutinis meditabor in te; duas videlicet tantum nocti consecrans horas, septies, ait, in die laudem dixi tibi. Nos vero, fratres, quidquid perperam agitur, cum Dei adjutorio devitantes, atque apostolici illius non immemores: Sive vigilemus, sive dormiamus, simul cum Christo vivamus, in noctibus extollamus manus, id est, opera nostra, in sancta, et benedicamus Domino: post quietem vero surgentes, ut juxta eumdem Apostolum, et jam silentes sine intermissione nos orare debere credamus, illius dicentis omnimodis recordemur: Qui avertit aurem suam ne audiat legem, oratio ejus erit exsecrabilis. At contra veri adoratores adorabunt Patrem in spiritu et veritate, Dominica nobis dicitur voce. Petamus quoque a Deo non quod nos prohibet cupere, sed quod imperat desiderare, ut nobis respondere dignetur quid Salomoni sapientiam postulanti respondit. Cui nimirum responsio illud Evangelium concinit: Quaerite primum regnum Dei et justitiam ejus, et haec omnia, id est corpori necessaria, adjicientur vobis. Ratherius Veronensis Sermo II Source:Migne PL 136.697a-d

As that may be, concerning prayers, which move our soul, we shall not be silent, we shall not cease to admonish ourselves with those to whom James the Apostle said: 'You seek and do not receive because you seek wickedly.' 1 For he seeks wickedly who does not seek what the Lord commanded, but rather what He prohibited. He commanded us to desire and seek heavenly things, we on the other hand desire and seek things of the earth. He prays for persecutors and caluminators, we on the other hand against persecutors and caluminators pour out prayers of cursing. It is like one who takes zealously to nightly prayers and Psalms, but in the day has nothing but detraction and vile speech and cant and chatter, when the night should be for quiet, and the day for labour. That one, I think, knew better who said: 'In the middle of the night I rose up to confess your name,' 2 and: 'At dawn I shall meditate on you.' 3 Certainly only two hours of the night are consecrated and 'seven times in the day I gave praise to you.' We, however, brothers, whatever we do wrong, whenever we stray from the help of God, let us not be forgetful of the Apostolic saying: 'Whether we watch or sleep let us live in Christ.' 4 In the night let us raise up our hands, that is, our works, in holiness, and let us bless the Lord, 5 and then after rising from rest, in accordance with that same Apostle, in unbroken silence let us entrust ourselves to prayer, remembering that saying that in whatever way we do it: 'He who turns away his ear so that he does not hear the law, his prayer shall be accursed.' 6 But opposing this, true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and truth, as the voice of the Lord has spoken to us. 7 Let us, then, not seek from God what He has prohibited but what He has commanded us to desire, that we be worthy to receive the response of wisdom with which He answered Solomon. 8 To which the reply of the Gospel harmonises: 'Seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and all these things,' that is corporeal necessities, 'shall be given to you.' 9 Ratherius Of Verona, from Sermon 2 1 James 4.3 2 Ps 118.62 3 Ps 63.7 4 1 Thes 5.10 5 Ps 133.2 6 Prov 28.9 7 Jn 4.23 8 3 Kings 3.11 9 Lk 12.31

The Lord's Advent

Sed Deus omnipotens, qui hominem ad imaginem suam condidit, noluit illum in sua deformitate aeternaliter perire, misit Filium suum, qui etiam apparuit inter homines speciosus forma prae filiis hominum, ut hominem quem potestate suae divinitatis mirabiliter formaverat humanitatis suae praesentia misericorditer reformaret, et de informi forma formosam in formam transformaret. Susecpit Dominus formam servi, ut reconciliaret nos Deo Patri. In nostra carne visibilis voluit apparere, ut ad amorem invisibilium ipso duce possemus redire. O magnae pietatis indicium! O ineffabile divinae misericordiae sacramentum! Omnipotens Deus hominem decrevit redimere, et redimendo homini etiam se corporaliter ostendit, et ipse, ut ita dixerim, fugitivi sui vestigia subsequens, ad redimendum quem amiserat hominem locus venit. Si enim appellari locus nequaquam Conditor posset, Deum laudans nequaquam Psalmista dixisset: Filii servorum tuorum inhabitabunt ibi. Ibi enim non dicimus, nisi cum specialiter locum designamus. Conditor etenim noster cum sit omnium rerum locus, sed illocalis, veniens in mundum, non habuit proprium locum in terris, sicut ipse dixit: Filius autem hominis non habet ubi caput reclinet. Et secundum Lucam evangelistam, positus est in praesepio, quia non erat integerimae genitrici ejus locus in diversorio. Quis vidit unquam tale? Quis audivit huic simile? Tanta enim erat in assumpta humanitate humilitas, quanta in divina majestate sublimitas. Quam sublimis in suis, quam humilis in nostris, in praesepe jacebat, in coelo residebat. Jacens in sinu matris, sedens in dextera Patris. Cum esset Dei Patris ante tempora unicus, factus est Virginis tempore Filius. Non amittens quod erat, factus est quod non erat. Factus est particeps moralitatis nostrae, ut nos vitae suae participes faceret. Odilo Cluniacensis Abbas, Sermo I, De Nativitate Domini Salvatoris Source: Migne PL 142.992b-993a

But almighty God, who made man in His own image, 1 unwilling that he should perish eternally in his deformity, sent His Son, who appeared among men, fair before the eyes of men, 2 so that man whom the power of His divinity had wonderously formed He reform by the merciful presence of His Humanity, and transform unformed form into fairest form. The Lord took up the form of a servant, 3 that He reconcile us with God the Father. He wished to appear visible in our flesh that with Him leading we be able to return to the invisible love. O sign of great piety! O ineffable mystery of Divine mercy! Almighty God decreased to redeem, and for the redemption of man showed himself corporally, and He, as I might say, following the path of His fugitive, for redemption came to the place into which He had expelled man. If indeed it is possible to name a place where the Creator is not, the Pslamist not at all praising God, when he said: 'The sons of your servants dwell there.' 4 For 'there' we do not say, unless we designate a specific sort of place. Our Creator, who is in every place, but unbound by place, coming into the world, does not have His place on the earth, as He said: 'The Son of Man has nowhere to rest His head.' 5 And according to Luke, He was placed in a manger, because there was no place for His immaculate mother in the inn. 6 Who has seen such a thing? Who has heard the like? For so great was His humility in the assumpton of humanity, as is His sublimity in His Divine majesty. As sublime as He is in Himself, so He was humble in ourself, being laid in a manger, in heaven residing, laying in the lap of His mother, sitting at the right hand of the Father. When He was one with the Father before time, He is made the Son of the Virgin in time. He does not lose what He was, being made what He was not. He is made a participent of our mortality, that He might make us participents of His life. Saint Odo of Cluny, from Sermon 1, On The Nativity of The Lord 1 Gen 1.26 2 Ps 41.3 3 Philip 2.7 4 Ps 101.29 5 Mt 8.20, Lk 9.58 6 Lk 2.7

Simeon's Example

Nunc dimittis, Domine, servum tuum in pace, quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum. Nos ergo dilectissimi fratres, hujus sanctissimi senis Simenois exemplum sequentes, Dominum Christum in mundum venisse credamus, ulnis sincerissimae dilectionis adventus ejus memoriam fideliter amplectentes, ei utpote membra capiti conjungamur, ita ut non ab eo separemus, usque dum eum in templo gloriae suae videre mereamur. Vitam quoque istam fallecem et caducam fugientes, ad illam quae vera et permanens est, toto mentis desiderio tendamus, auxiliante Domino nostro Jesus Christo, qui est, ut ipse dicit, via, veritas et vita: via, videlicet recte gradientium; veritas, veritatem amantium; vita, bene viventium. Odilo Cluniacensis Abbas, Sermo III, De Purificatione Sanctae Dei Genitricis Mariae Source: Migne PL 142.1001b-c

Now dimiss your servant in peace, O Lord, for my eyes have seen your salvation.1 Let us then, dearest brothers, following the example of this most holy old man Simeon, believe that the Lord Christ has come into the world, in our arms faithfully embracing the memory of his coming with dearest love, as members joined to Him the head, that we be not separated from Him, until we merit to see Him in the temple of His glory. Fleeing this deceitful and fallen life, let us hold to what is true and permanent with all the desire of our heart, with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is, as He Himself says, The Way, The Truth and The Life. 2 The way certainly of those who walk correctly; the truth of the lovers of truth, the life of those who live well. Saint Odo of Cluny, from Sermon 3, On The Purification of Mary, The Holy Mother Of God 1 Lk 2.29-30 2 Jn 14.6

Ascension And Salvation

Quomodo vel qualiter praesentis solemnitatis gaudia, ascendente Domino, angelica declaravit sublimitas, non potest ore dicere, non corde concipere humana fragilitas. Sed tamen illud unum, ut Lucas narrat, testimonium admirable atque jucundum, officis ecclesiasticis adeo festive recitandum, huic declamatiunculae dignum duximus inserendum. Cumque intuerentur apostoli Dominum euntem in caelum, ecce duo viri astiterunt juxta illos in vestibus albis, qui et dixerunt, Viri Galilaei, quid statis aspicientes in caelum? Hic Jesus qui assumptus est a vobis in caelum, sic veniet quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in caelum. Ascendente Domino angeli apparuisse leguntur in vestibus albis, qui humanum genus, quod fuerat obtectum tenebris mortiferae caecitatis, per gratiam Christi meruit percipere indumentum aeternae jucunditatis, et consortium angelicae dignitatis. Instrumenti Veteris auctoritatem, ut proposuimus, multo ante multipliciter praenuntiasse manifestum est, illis videlicet qui Scriptuam sanctam et studiose legunt et fideliter intelligunt. Quid per Enoch Scriptura divina clamat transaltum, quid per Eliam igneo curro transvectum nisi Dominum Christum hodierna festivitate in dextera paternae majestis elevatum? Sicut ipse per Prophetam in psalmo dicit ad Patrem: Tenuisti manum dexteram meam, et in voluntate tua deduxisti me, et cum gloria assumpsisti me. Ecce illud Domini Salvatoris iter astriferum, sanctus in psalmo vocari voluit cursum. Quod David cursum vocat Salomon in Canticis saltus appellat. Ecce iste venit saliens in montibus, transiliens colles. Et ille: A summo caelo egressio ejus, et occursus ejus usque ad summum ejus. Hunc enim quem David currentem praecinuit, Salomon salientem praevidit. O prudentissimi vates, o tantae prolis felicissimi parentes, cujus meruistis prophetica denuntiatine fieri parentes et testes! De vestra namque radice Isaias propheta virgam cum flore processuram praedixit. De quo ipse alias dicit: Erit in novissimis diebus praeparatus mons domus Domini in verticem montium, et elevabitur super colles. Et in alio loco: Erit germen domus Domini in magnificentia, et fructus terrae sublimis. Quem, fratres, intelligere debemus per montem super verticem montium praeparatum, nisi mediatorem Dei et hominum, hominem Jesum Christum omnium hominum naturam superantum et meritum? Quem per germen Domini magnificum et gloriosum, et fructum terrae sublimem, nisi eumdem Dei hominis filium, hodierna die super caelos coelorum et dignitatem omnium angelorum in dextera Dei Patris assumptum? Ergo, dilectissimi fratres, omnium vitiorum phantasmata fugientes, cunctarum virtutum charismata diligentes, ipsum, de quo loquimur, toto cordis affectu quaeramus, toto mentis ardore diligamus, passibus dilectionis et fidei sequamur, ut per ipsum cum ipso ad eum possimus pervenire, qui per ipsum corruptam generis humani naturam voluit reparare, et reparatam in ipso, hodierna festivitate ad se dignatus est revocare. Qui eum eo vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen. Odilo Cluniacensis Abbas, Sermo VIII, De Ascensione Domini Salvatoris Source: Migne PL 142.1013c-1014c

How or in what way the joy of the present solemnity, the Ascension of the Lord, the angelic sublimity declared, neither the mouth of our human fragility is able to tell, nor the heart to conceive. Yet one joyful and admirable testimony, as Luke narrates, is recited during the ecclesiastical offices, which small portion we have thought it worthy to insert here: 'And when the Apostles watched the Lord ascending into heaven, behold two men stood beside them in white vestments, and they said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into the sky? Jesus who ascended from you is in heaven, and so He shall come as you saw Him going into heaven.' 1 With the Ascension of the Lord the angels appear clothed in white vestments, for the human race, which was wrapped in the darkness of death bringing blindness, through the grace of Christ, has merited to take possession of the raiment of eternal joy and the dignity to be associates of angels. By the use of the authority of the Old Testament, as we have said, many things in many ways have openly foretold this: quite obviously to those who have studiously read and understood the Holy Scriptures. What does Divine Scripture cry out by the translation of Enoch? 2 What by Elijah's riding off in the fiery chariot? 3 Is it not today's feast of our Lord Christ elevated to the right hand of the Father's majesty? So through the Prophet in the Psalm He says to the Father: 'You held my right hand, and in your will you led me, and you took me up in glory.' 4 Behold the astral way of the Lord our Saviour, which holy way he wished to speak of in the Psalm. And that way David spoke of, Solomon in the Song of Songs names a leap. 'Behold he comes leaping on the mountains, springing over the hills.' 5 And David again says, 'From heaven's height his going out, and his setting even at its height.' 6 Thus the one whom David foretells as running, Solomon sees as leaping. O most wise prophets, O such parents of happy children, you who with prophetic proclamation merited to be parents and witnesses. For concerning your root the prophet Isaiah foretells the coming of a shoot with a flower. Concerning which he says elsewhere: 'In the last days shall be prepared the mount of the house of the Lord on the peak of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up over all the hills.' 7 And in another place: 'He shall be a seed of the house of the Lord in magnificence and the finest fruit of the earth.' 8 Whom, brothers, shall we understand by the mountain over the peak of the mountain prepared, unless the mediator of God and men, the man Jesus Christ, over all men superior in nature and merit? Whom by the seed of the Lord, magnificent and glorious and the finest fruit of the earth, unless the same son of God and man, who this day is taken up above the heaven of heavens and the dignity of all angels to the right hand of God the Father? Therefore, dear brothers, fleeing the apparitions of every vice, loving the anointings of every virtue, let us seek Him of whom we speak with all the desire of our heart, let us love with all the longing of of our mind, let us follow with the steps of love and faith, that through Him, with Him, to Him, we are able to come. Saint Odo of Cluny, from Sermon 8, On The Ascension of the Lord 1 Acts 1.11-12 2 Gen 5.24 3 4 Kings 4.11 4 Ps 62.24 5 Song 2.8 6 Ps 18.7 7 Isaiah 2.2 8 Isaiah 4.2

Confidence And The Resurrection

Certissima fiducia est Christianorum divinitus promissa resurrectio mortuorum. Hanc enim veritas repromisit; Veritas autem mentiri non potest. Vera est igitur de resurrectione corporum promissio veritas, quia Veritas quae mentiri non novit, totum necesse est impleat quod promisit. Hanc autem resurrectionem corporum, ut futuram certissime noverimus, ipse Dominus nobis in suo corpore dignatus est demonstrare. Resurrexit Christus, ut resurrecturum se non dubitet Christianus. Quod enim praecessit in capite, sequitur in corpore. Nosse autem debemus, dilectissimi fratres, duas esse mortes et duas resurrectiones. Dicitur enim mors prima, dicitur et secunda. Porro primae mortis duae sunt partes: una qua peccatrix anima per culpam descedit a Creatore suo, altera qua, judicante Deo, excluditur per poenam de corpore suo. Mors autem secunda ipsa est mors corporis et animae punitio sempiterna. Per mortem ergo primam, anima boni et mali hominis ad tempus a suo corpore separatur. Per mortem vero secundam, anima solius mali hominis in aeternum cum suo corpore cruciatur. Utraque ergo mors omnem hominem tenebat obstrictum, quia naturae transgressio unumquemque peccati propagine tenebat obnoxium. Venit autem Dei Filius immortalis et justus, et ut moreretur pro nobis, carnem mortalem suscepit ex nobis. In qua carne, quia nullum potuit habere peccatum, sine reatu pertulit peccati supplicium. Secundam itaque primae mortis partem, id est solius corporis mortem, Dei Filius pro nobis accepit, per quam a nobis et dominationem peccati, et poenam aeternae punitionis abstersit. Hoc ergo Christus nunc in mundo misericorditer operatur, his quos ad bene vivendum hortatur, donans fidem ut recte credant, tribuens charitatem ut bonis operibus libenter insistant. In novissimo vero die, ad hoc eos corpore resuscitare dignabitur, ut eis aeternam beatitudinem largiatur. Resuscitati ergo in anima per fidem, dilectissimi fratres, cum justitia vivamus, ut etiam corpore ad aeternam laetitiam resurgamus. Sentiemus primae resurrectionis munus quod nobis largitus est Christus, ut, cum, resurrexerimus corpore mereamus cum ipso Salvatore sine fine regnare, quando absorbebitur mors in victoriam et dabitur fidelibus vera vita veraque laetitia, cum idem omnipotens Deus pro meritis fideli, atque bonorum operum dabit suis fidelibus regna coelorum. Qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen. Odilo Cluniacensis Abbas, Sermo V, De Resurrectione Domini Source: Migne PL 142. 1004b-1005a

Most certain is the confidence of Christians, Divine is the promise of the resurrection of the dead. For this the truth promised, and the Truth is not able to lie. True, therefore, is the promise of the truth concerning the resurrection of bodies; for because the truth does not know how to lie, completely necessary it is that He fulfill what He promised. Indeed this resurrection of the body, that we might know it most certainly will be in the future, the Lord Himself in his own body condescended to demonstrate. Christ rose, that the Christian not doubt his own resurrection. For what goes before in the head follows in the body. We should know, dear brothers, that there are two deaths and two resurrections. 1 For it is said that there is a first death and a second death. However the first death has two parts, one by which the sinful soul is by fault is cut off from its creator, and the other, when by the judgement of God it is shut out as a punishment from its body. The second death is the death of the body and the soul in eternal punishment. By the first death, then, the soul of the good and of the evil man is for a time separated from its body. By the second death, however, only the soul of the evil man along with his body is tormented in eternity. Both deaths, then, have been imposed on every man because by the transgression of nature all were seized by the propagation of sin. But then came the immortal and righteous Son of God, and that He might die for us He took up our mortal flesh. In which flesh, because He was not able to have sin, without guilt He underwent the punishment for sin. The second part of the first death, that is the death of the body alone, the Son of God accepted for us, by which he washed off from us the domination of sin and eternal punishment. Thus Christ in the world acted mercifully, exhorting men to the good life, giving faith that they might believe rightly, offering love that they freely take to good works. However on the last day He will give eternal blessedness to those who are worthy to be raised in the body. Therefore revived in soul by faith, dear brothers, in righteousness let us live, that even in the body we may rise to eternal joy. Let us know the gift of the first resurrection that Christ has given to us, that when we have risen, we merit in the body to rule without end with our Saviour, when death is swallowed up in victory, 2 when true life and joy is given to the faithful, when the same almighty God for the merits of the faithful, and good works, gives to them the kingdom of heaven. He who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God forever and ever. Amen. Saint Odo of Cluny, Sermon 5, On The Resurrection of the Lord 1 Apoc 20.6 2 1 Cor 15.54