Age And Ability

Et factum est in tricesimo anno, in quarto mense, in quinta mensis. Hoc autem quod dicitur, quia tricesimo anno spiritum prophetiae acceperit, indicat aliquid nobis considerandum, videlicet quia juxta rationis usum doctrinae sermo non suppetit nisi in aetate perfecta. Unde et ipse Dominus anno duodecimo aetatis suae in medio doctorum in templo sedens, non docens, sed interrogans voluit inveniri. Ut enim non auderent homines in infirma aetate praedicare, ille anno duodecimo aetatis suae interrogare homines est dignatus in terra, qui per divinitatem suam semper angelos docet in coelo. Quia enim ipse est Dei sapientia, de ipso angeli videndo vivunt hoc quod beatitudine aeterna satiantur. Quod Moyses quoque sub allegoriae mysterio admonet, dicens: Non arabis in primogenito bovis. Primogenitum enim bovis accipimus in infirma aetate primi nostri temporis bonam operationem. In qua tamen arandum non est, quia cum prima sunt adolescentiae vel juventutis nostrae tempora, nobis adhuc a praedicatione cessandum est, ut vomer linguae nostrae proscindere non audeat terram cordis alieni. Quoadusque etenim infirmi sumus, continere nos intra nosmetipsos debemus, ne dum tenera bona citius ostendimus, amittamus, quia et arbusta plantata si prius in terra radicata non fuerint, manu tacta citius arescunt; at si semel radicem fixerint, manus tangit, et tamen nil officit; venti impellunt, nec tamen impellentes laedunt. Et constructi parietes si impellantur, eruuntur, nisi a suo prius fuerint humore siccati. Mens itaque quousque ab humore pravitatis suae perfecte non fuerit exsiccata, alienae linguae manu tangi non debet, ne priusquam plene percipiat, perdat soliditatem suam, ne impulsa ruat, ne velut arbustum sine radicibus, dum plus quam tolerare valet concutitur, arescat. Ad exemplum ergo non sunt ostendenda nisi quae firma sunt. Prius etenim convalescere debet mens, atque ad utilitatem proximorum postmodum demonstrari, cum jam nec per laudem elevata corruat, nec per vituperationem percussa contabescat. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia II Source: Migne PL 76.796b-797a

And it happened in my thirtieth year, on the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month.... 1 This which is said, that the prophet received the spirit in his thirtieth year, indicates something which we must consider, that is, according to the use of reason one should not take up the word of teaching until a mature age. Hence even the Lord Himself at twelve years of age, sitting in the midst of the teachers in the temple, did not teach, but questioned, wishing to discover. 2 Thus that men should not venture to preach at a young age it was fitting for Him at twelve years of age to question men on earth, He who through His Divinity is always teaching the angels in heaven, because He is the wisdom of God, whom the angels seeing live by and are satiated with eternal beatitude. And Moses also admonishes this in the mystery of allegory, saying, 'You shall not yoke a bull in its first year to the plough.' 3 For we understand that the first year of the bull is the good work of the immature age of our early years, in which however there is no ploughing, because in the first years of our immaturity, or our youth, there must be no preaching from us, whence the ploughsnare of our tongues does not cut into the earth of a foreign heart. For as long as we are immature, we should contain ourselves within ourselves, lest while we swiftly expose tender goods, we lose them, because even plants planted in the earth, if they have not yet rooted, may be damaged by the mere brush of a hand, but once the roots are firm, the hand which brushes them does no harm, and even gusts of wind do not injure them. And when walls are built, if first the moisture in them is not dried up, they fall at a blow. Thus when the mind is not perfectly dry of the moisture of defects, it should not be touched by the hand of a foreign tongue, lest before it fully understands, it destroys its solidity, and lest struck it falls, as plants which are not rooted wither when struck by more than they can bear. With this example, then, things should not be exposed if they are not firm. First the mind must gain strength and then later its utility for others will be revealed, but now it must not fall by praise's elevation, nor wither because of the blows of scorn. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 2 1 Ezek 1.1 2 Lk 2.46 3 Deut 15.19

Giving Life And Dying

Caro enim factus est, ut nos spiritales faceret; benigne inclinatus est, ut levaret; exiit, ut introduceret; visibilis apparuit, ut invisibilia monstraret; flagella pertulit, ut sanaret; opprobria et irrisiones sustinuit, ut ab opprobrio aeterno liberaret; mortuus est, ut vivificaret. Agamus ergo gratias vivificanti et mortuo, et ideo amplius vivificanti, quia mortuo. Unde bene salutem nostram, et passionem illius Isaias contemplatus ait: Ut faciat opus suum, alienum opus ejus; ut operetur opus suum, peregrinum est opus ejus ab eo. Opus etenim Dei est animas quas creavit colligere, et ad aeternae lucis gaudia revocare. Flagellari autem atque sputis illini, crucifigi, mori, atque sepeliri, non hoc in sua substantia opus Dei est, sed opus hominis peccatoris, qui haec omnia meruit per peccatum. Sed peccata nostra ipse pertulit in corpore suo super lignum. Et qui in natura sua manet semper incomprehensibilis, in natura nostra comprehendi dignatus est ac flagellari, quia nisi ea quae erant infirmitatis nostrae susciperet, nunquam nos ad suae fortitudinis potentiam sublevaret. Ut ergo faciat opus suum, alienum opus ejus; et ut operetur opus suum, peregrinum est opus ejus ab eo, quia incarnatus Deus, ut nos ad suam justitiam colligeret, dignatus est pro nobis tanquam peccator homo vapulare. Et alienum opus fecit ut faceret proprium, quia per hoc quod infirmans mala nostra sustinuit, nos qui creatura illius sumus, ad fortitudinis suae gloriam perduxit, in qua vivit et regnat cum Deo Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Secundus, Homilia IV Source: Migne PL 76.984a-c

He was made flesh that He might make us spiritual, He kindly came down that He might lift up, He went out that He might bring in, He appeared visibly that He might reveal things unseen, He suffered the whip that He might heal, and He sustained abuse and ridicule that He might deliver from eternal shame, and He died that He might give life. Therefore let us give thanks to the one who gives life and who died, and therefore more to the one gives life because He died. Whence Isaiah well contemplated our salvation and His passion when he said, 'So that He make a work, a strange work, and so that might accomplish a work which is alien to Him.' 1 For it is the work of God to gather the souls He created and to recall them to the joy of the eternal light. To be covered with spittle and crucified and to die and to be buried are not works consonant with the substance of God, but it is work for man the sinner, who has deserved all these things because of sin. 'But He bore our sins in His body on the cross,' 2 and He who in His nature remans incomprehensible was understood in our nature to be worthy of being whipped, because unless He took up the things of our weakness we would never have been lifted up to the power of His might. Therefore so that He might make His work, a strange work and so that might accomplish a work which is alien to him, God was incarnated, so that He might gather us to His righteousness, and worthy it was that for us he was whipped as a sinful man. And He made this foreign work so that He might perform His own, because through this, that in weakness he endured our evils, He led us who our His creations to the glory of His might, in which he lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, through every age forever. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, from Homily 4 1 Isaiah 28.21 2 1 Pet 2.24

Doubt And The Resurrection

Quod resurrectionem dominicam discipuli tarde crediderunt, non tam illorum infirmitas quam nostra, ut ita dicam, futura firmitas fuit Ipsa namque resurrectio illis dubitantibus per multa argumenta monstrata est: quae dum nos legentes agnoscimus, quid aliud quam de illorum dubitatione solidamur? Minus enim mihi Maria Magdalene praestitit, quae citius credidit quam Thomas qui diu dubitavit. Ille etenim dubitando vulnerum cicatrices tetigit, et de nostro pectore dubietatis vulnus amputavit. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarum in Evangelia Liber III, Homilia XXIX Source: Migne PL 76.1213c

That the disciples were slow to believe in the Lord's resurrection 1 was not so much a matter of their weakness as, so to speak, for our future strength, for the resurrection had been shown to them through many arguments, which reading and recognising, are we anything but strengthened amid their doubts? Mary Magdalene who was quick to believe stands in less rank to me than Thomas who doubted for a long time. Indeed he was doubting even as he touched the scars of the wounds, by which he cut off the wound of doubt from our hearts. 2 Saint Gregory the Great, Homilies On The Gospels, Book 3, from Homily 29 1 Mk 16.11 2 Jn 20.24-29

Angelic Visitations

Attendite, fratres, medicinalis gratia lineas, divina nobis benignitate monstratas. Tunc ad Eva angleus malus accessit, ut per eam homo, quem Deus fecerat, a Deo separaretur; nunc autem ad Mariam bonus angelus venit, ut in ea humanae naturae Deus Unigenitus uniretur. Venit ad Evam diabolus, ut vitam nobis malignus auferret; venit ad Mariam Gabriel, ut vitam reddendam hominibus nuntiaret. Per primi hominis culpam coepit diabolus homini dominari, per secundi hominis gratiam coepit ab homine superari: super primum superbus, sub secundo captivus. Per illum nos captivatos tenuit, per istum nos liberatos amisit. Primus Adam nobis auctor exstitit culpae, novissimus Adam nobis auctor exstitit gratiae. Ille de limo plasmatus terrenos protulit, iste de Spiritu sancto natus coelestes effecit. Per illum perdidimus gratiam priorem, per istum recepimus ampliorem. Ille quippe nobis intulit peccati maculam, cum qua nasceremur ad supplicium; iste nobis contulit justificationis gratiam, ut renasceremur ad regnum. Per illum nos filios saeculi generatio carnalis effecit, per istum nos filios Dei generatio spiritalis exhibuit. Ille nos vitiis subdidit, iste nos florere virtutibus fecit. Ille nos per vitia dejecit, quo primus cecidit: iste nos per virtutes elevat, quo primus ascendit. Ille quippe primus cecidit in infernum, iste primus conscendit in coelum. Sanctus Fulgentius Ruspensis, Sermo II, De duplici Nativitate Christi , una aeterna ex Patre, altera temporali ex Virgine Source: Migne PL 65.728d-729b

Observe, brothers, the lineaments of medicinal grace shown to us by the Divine benevolence. Once an evil angel came to Eve so that through her the man whom God had made might be separated from God, and now a good angel comes to Mary so that in her the only begotten God might be joined to human nature. 1 The devil came to Eve so that the wicked one might take away life from us, Gabriel came to Mary to announce that life is to be restored to man. Through fault the devil began to rule over the first man, by the grace of the second man he began to be conquered by man. Over the first man the devil vaunted, beneath the second man he was made captive. By the first he took us into captivity, by the second he lost us to freedom. The first Adam was our author of fault, the second Adam was the author of our grace. The former shaped from mud made us earthly, the latter man born of the Holy Spirit made us heavenly. Through the first man we destroyed the grace that had been given, by the second we received greater grace. The former brought the stain of sin, because of which we are born to suffering, the latter brought the grace of justification so that we might be reborn to the kingdom. Through the first man carnal generation made sons of the world, through the second man spiritual generation exhibited us as sons of God. The former subdued us to the vices, the latter made us flower with the virtues. The former cast us down among faults, by which the first fell, the latter lifts us up through the virtues by which the first arose. The former was the first to fall into hell, the latter was the first to rise into heaven. Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, from Sermon 2, On The Twofold Nativity of Christ, One Eternal from the Father, and One Temporal from the Virgin 1 Gen 3, Lk 1.26-35

Questioning Priests

Conveniant namque singuli vero examine conscientiam suam, et ita deprehendent an secundum rectam rationem sacerdotali cathedrae insideant. Videamus, inquam, quid salvator mundi and factorque dicat. Vos estis inquit sal terrae: quod si sal evanuerit, in quo salietur? Ad nihilum valet ultra, nisi ut proiciatur foras et conculcetur ab hominibus. Hoc unum testimonium ad confutandos impudentes quosque abunde sufficere posset. Sed ut evidentioribus adhuc astipulationibus, quantis semetipso intolerabilibus scelerum fascibus falsi hi sacerdotes opprimant, verbis Christi comprobetur, aliqua annectenda sunt. Sequitur enim: Vos estis lux mundi. Non potest civitas abscondi supra montem posita, neque accedunt lucernam et ponunt eam sub modio, sed supra candelabrum, ut luceat omnibus, qui in domo sunt. Quis ergo sacerdotum huius temporis ita ignorantiae caecitate possessus, ut lux clarissimae lucernae in aliqua domu cunctis noctu residentibus scientiae simul et bonorum operum lampade luceat? Quis ita universis ecclesiae filiis tutu publicum conspicuumque refugium, ut est civibus firmissima forte ut editi montis civitas vertice constituta, habetur? Sed et quod sequitur: Sic luceat lux vestra coram hominibus, ut videant opera vestra bona et magnificent Patrem vestrum, qui in caelis est: quis eorum uno saltim die potst implere? Quin potius denissima quaedam eorum nebula atraque peccaminum omni insulae ita incumbit nox, ut omnes paene a via recta avertat ac per invios impeditosque scelerum calles errare faciat, quorum non modo Pater caelestis non laudatur per opera, sed etiam intolerabiliter blasphematur. Sanctus Gildas Sapiens, De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae Source: Migne PL 69.382d-383c

For let each meet his own conscience in true examination and thus understand whether they sit in the priestly chair according to right reason. Let us see, I say, what the Saviour and the creator of the world says. 'You are the salt of the earth, if the salt shall have spoiled, with what will it be salted? It is good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden on by men.' 1 This one testimony should abundantly suffice to confute all those who are shameless, but so that by yet more overt attestations, that is, by the words of Christ, it may be proved with what intolerable burdens of crimes these false priests oppress themselves, some words must be added. It follows, 'You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a lampstand, so that it may shine on all those who are in the house.' 2 Who, then, of the priests of this time, who are possessed by the blindness of ignorance, will shine out as the light of a most clear lamp on those residing in the house at night with the flame of both learning and good works? Who is regarded as such a safe, public and conspicuous refuge for all the children of the Church, so that he is like a strong city set on the summit of a high hill for its citizens? And as for what follows, 'So let your light shine out before men so that may see your good works and magnify your Father who is in heaven,' 3 who among them can fulfil it for just a single day? Rather a certain thick mist and black night of their offences sits on the whole island, so that it leads away almost everyone from the right path and causes them to wander into paths impassable and obstructed by crimes, because of which works the heavenly Father is not praised but is indeed unbearably blasphemed. Saint Gildas The Wise, On The Destruction and Ruin of Britain 1 Mt 5.13 2 Mt 5.14-15 3 Mt 5.16

The Debt Of Love

Quantum cupio sanctitati vestrae debitum reddere de caritate sermonem, tantum me caritatis magis fieri video debitorem; nec invenio qualiter possim verbis explicare praeconium caritatis, in qua sic debemus, quandiu in hoc saeculo vivimus, crescere invicem diligendo, sicut eam jubemur semper debere reddendo. Beatus namque apostolus Paulus, dum nos omnibus debitis praecepisset absolvi, solo nos mutuae caritatis debito semper voluit detineri, dicens: Nemini quidquam debeatis, nisi ut invicem diligatis. Ista est apostolicae summa doctrinae. Haec sunt consulta caritatis paternae, ut nemini quidquam debeamus, nisi ut invicem diligamus. Cum ergo audimus, ut nemini quidquam debeamus, non in hoc verbo remaneamus, sed audiamus et faciamus quod sequitur, ut nos invicem diligamus: et inveniemus sanctam caritatem, quam semper debendo reddamus, et reddendo salubriter debeamus. Magna res caritas est, dilectissimi fratres, quam docente Apostolo sic jubemur semper reddere, ut eam nihilominus jubeamur sine intermissione debere. O caritatis debitum bonum, debitum sanctum, debitum coelestibus refertum commodis, debitum sempiternis plenum omnino divitiis! Sanctus Fulgentius Ruspensis, Sermo V, De caritate Dei ac Proximi Source: Migne PL 65.737b-d

As greatly as I desire to return the debt of your holiness with a sermon on love, just as greatly I see myself as a debtor to love, for I do not find I am able to explain the glory of love, in which, while we live in this world, we should grow in love to one another, because of which we are commanded always to return it. The blessed Apostle Paul, while he commands us to dismiss all debts, wished us only to be detained by the one debt of mutual love, saying, 'Owe nothing to anyone, only that you love one another.' 1 This is the summit of the Apostolic teaching, this is the counsel of paternal love, that we should owe nothing to anyone, only that we love one another. When, therefore, we hear that we should owe nothing to anyone, we should not stop there, but we should hear and do what follows, that is, we should love one another, and thus we shall find heaven's love, which we should always return, and profitably return. Love is such a great thing, dearest brothers, which the Apostle teaches us we should always return, so that we are commanded to it without pause. O good debt of love, o holy debt, o debt that bears off to heaven, debt full of eternal riches. Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, from Sermon 5, On the Love of God and one's Neighbour 1 Rom 13.8

The Bound Soul

Et tu, fili hominis, ecce data sunt super te vincula, et ligabunt te in eis, et non egredieris in medio eorum. Cum enim praedicator quisque ad conscientiam domus suae reducitur, super eo vincula dantur, et ligatur in eis, quia quanto plus se in cogitatione discusserit, tanto amplius agnoscit justi anima quantis mortalitatis suae infirmitatibus sit ligata. Nisi enim se ligatum conspiceret Paulus, minime dixisset: Desiderium habens dissolvi, et cum Christo esse. Hinc per Psalmistam dicitur: Ut audiret gemitum vinculatorum, et solvat filios interemptorum. Et rursus: Intret in conspectu tuo gemitus compeditorum. Saepe autem cum jam anima ad Redemptoris sui speciem contemplandam exire desiderat, cum coelestibus gaudiis interesse suspirat, ipsa mortalitatis suae vincula conspicit et gemit, quibus adhuc in praesenti mundo ligata retinetur. Hinc est enim quod subtile omnipotentis Dei judicium intuens Jeremias, ait: Circumaedificavit adversum me ut non egrediar, aggravavit compedem meam. Habemus enim compedes, ipsam infirmitatem atque corruptionem mortalitatis nostrae; sed cum tribulatio nobis et gemitus additur, ipsae nostrae compedes aggravantur. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia XII Source: Migne PL 76.923c-d

And you, son of man, see that chains have been placed on you and you shall be bound in them and you shall not go out into the midst of them... 1 When a preacher returns to the house of his conscience, chains are placed upon him, and he is bound in them, because the more he examines himself in thought, so the much more the soul of the righteous man recognises how much it is bound up in the infirmities of his own mortality. For unless Paul had looked upon himself as bound he would have hardly said, 'I have a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ.' 2 Hence it is said by the Psalmist, 'That He might hear the groans of those in chains and free the sons of those ruined.' And again, 'Let the groans of those who are shackled enter into your sight.' 3 Often when the soul desires to depart to the contemplation of the face of its Redeemer and sigh amidst heavenly joys, it looks on the chains of its mortality and groans that it is yet detained by them in the present world. Hence Jeremiah looking on the sublime judgement of almighty God said, 'He has surrounded me with a wall and I may not go out, He has made my shackles heavier.' 4 For we do have shackles, the infirmity and corruption of our mortality, but when tribulation and groans are added our shackles are made heavier. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 12 1 Ezek 3.14 2 Phil 1.23 3 Ps 101.21, Ps 78.11 4 Lam 3.7

A Great Mystery And Sign

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

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

Undoing The Sandal

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

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

An Open Door

Ecce, inquit, ostium apertum in coelo. Ositum apertum Christum dicit natum et passum ac suscitatum, qui est janua, ipso dicente: Ego sum ostium. Coelum Ecclesiam dicit, eo quod sit habitaculum Dei, ubi coelestia geruntur. Hoc est quod sicut in coelo voluntatem Dei, ita fieri postulamus in terra. Aliquando autem coelum et terram et Ecclesiam dicit, propter terram quae et coelum consistit, sive cum infideles rectis fidelium praedicationibus acquiruntur, sive cum caro spiritui subditur, sive cum terrena coelestibus reconciliata junguntur. Ecce vox illa prima quam audivi ut tuba loquentem mecum: Ascende huc, inquit, et ostendam tibi quae fieri post haec oportet. Vox praedicatio; ideo dicitur: Quasi tuba exalta vocem tuam. Ascensus est, quando cum despectu mundi venire ad Ecclesiam quisque vel compellitur, vel meretur. A convalle autem plorationis ascenditur ad hujus apicem dignitatis; hinc legimus: Venite, ascendamus in montem Domini et ad domum Dei Jacob, et docebit nos vias suas. Sed etiam fideles ad coelum invitantur ascendere, quando non quae super terram, sed coelestia appetere jubentur et sapere. Primasius Adrumetanensis Commentaria in Apocalypsim, Liber I, Caput III Source: Migne PL 68.813d-814a

Behold, a door open in heaven... 1 By the open door he speaks of the birth and suffering and raising up of Christ, who is the door, as He Himself said, 'I am the door.' 2 He speaks of the Church as heaven, because it is the dwelling place of God, where heavenly things are brought forth. This is as the will of God is in heaven so we entreat it to be on earth. 3 But sometimes he speaks of the Church as heaven and earth because the earth is established by heaven, either as when the faithless are brought among the faithful by right preaching or when the flesh is ruled by the spirit, or when earthly things are brought into harmony with heavenly things. 'Behold, the first voice I heard, like a trumpet sounding forth, said to me, 'Come up here and I shall show you the things that must be after this.' The voice of preaching, therefore it is said, 'Lift up your voice like a trumpet.' 4 The ascent is when with the world set aside someone comes to the Church either by compulsion or by merit. And from the valley of tears he ascends to the peak of dignity, hence we read, 'Come, let us go up to the mount of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and He shall teach us His ways.' 5 For the faithful are invited to ascend to heaven when they are commanded to desire and know heavenly things, not worldly things. Primasius of Hadrumetum, Commentary On The Apocalypse, Book 1, Chapter 3 1 Apoc 3.8 2 Jn 10.9 3 Mt 6.10 4 Isaiah 58.1 5 Isaiah 2.3

Greater Trials

Sed mox ut animus amare coelestia coeperit, mox ut ad visionem pacis intimae tota se intentione collegerit, antiquus ille adversarius qui de coelo lapsus est invidet, et insidiari amplius incipit, et acriores quam consueverat tentationes admovet, ita ut plerumque sic resistentem animam tentet, sicut ante nunquam tentaverat quando possidebat. Unde scriptum est: Fili, accedens ad servitutem Dei, sta in justitia et timore, et praepara animam tuam ad tentationem. Unde et daemoniacus qui a Domino sanatur, ab exeunte daemone discerpitur, sicut scriptum est: Et clamans et multum discerpens eum, exiit ab eo. Quid est enim quod obsessum hominem antiquus hostis quem possessum non discerpserat, deserens discerpsit, nisi quod plerumque dum de corde expellitur, acriores in eo tentationes generat, quam prius excitaverat quando hoc quietus possidebat? Unde et Israelitae quoque ad Moysen et Aaron dicunt: Videat Dominus, et judicet, quoniam fetore fecistis odorem nostrum coram Pharaone et servis ejus, et praebuistis ei gladium, ut occideret nos. In Moyse enim et Aaron lex et prophetae figuratae sunt. Et saepe apud se infirmus animus quasi contra sacra eloquia murmurat, quia postquam verba coelestia audire et sequi coeperit, regis Aegyptii adversitas, id est maligni spiritus tentatio, excrescit. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia XII Source: Migne PL 76.929d-930b

But as soon as the soul begins to love heavenly things, as soon as it has gathered up all its intention to have that vision of perfect peace, then that old enemy who fell from heaven envies it, and begins to plot extensively, and he troubles it with more bitter trials than it was accustomed to, so that he takes hold of the resisting soul as he has never tempted it when he possessed it. Whence it is written, 'O son, coming to the service of God, stand in righteousness and fear, and prepare your soul for trial.' 1 Whence the demoniac that the Lord healed was severely shaken by the demon as it came out, as it is written, 'And crying out loudly and shaking him, it came out of him.' 2 Why it is that the ancient enemy coming out of a man besieged shakes him, unless that often when he is expelled from the heart, he generates more bitter trials than he had incited when he quietly was in possession? So the Israelites say to Moses and Aaron, 'Let the Lord see and judge because our aroma has become a foul stench before Pharoah and his servants, and you have inclined him to take up the sword and slay us.' 3 For Moses and Aaron are figures of the law and the prophets, and often the weak soul murmurs in itself against sacred speech, because after hearing heavenly words and beginning to follow them, the adversity of the king of Egypt, that is, the trial of a wicked spirit, rises up. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 12 1 Sirach 2.1 2 Mk 9.25 3 Exod 5.21

Forgiveness And The Devil

Prae omnibus itaque, nobis est firma credulitate retinendum, misericordem et justum esse Dominum Deum nostrum. Hinc enim facile potest inquirentibus apparere, qualibus peccata Deus dimittat, ubi dimittat, quando dimittat. Quibus cognitis, nec pravam quisquam retineat de Deo sententiam, nec conversionem suam negligat, nec a catholica Ecclesia discedat; aut si quis discessit, celeriter revertatur; nec de tempore sibi velit insulsa cogitatione blandiri, si ad Deum in hac vita quisquam converti nolens, et usque ad mortem iniquitatibus serviens, post hanc vitam se credat adepturum remissionem peccatorum, quando jam praejudicatus tempore tribulationis divinae non peccatum possit vitare conversus, sed supplicii maneat aeternitate damnandus. Multis enim multiplicibusque fraudibus viam coelestis itineris diabolus claudere nititur et celare, cujus hoc est incessabile studium, ut ad cruciatus sui societatem miserorum turbam, quantumcunque potuerit, vel trahat illectam, vel cogat invitam. Nonnullos quippe facit, abjecta consideratione divinae justitiae, solam Dei misericordiam cogitare; ut conversionem suam negligant, existimantes se, etiamsi usque in finem criminosam duxerint vitam, remissionis beneficio potituros esse. Alios autem cogit aut illicit, Ecclesiae catholicae gremio derelicto, ad haereses vel schismata depravati cordis caecitate transire. Quorum animos deceptione falsae promissionis illaqueat, ut vel putent se recto fulciri dogmate, vel sperent sibi pro sola cordis credulitate futurum remissionis beneficium, etiamsi ficto animo, pro temporis vel commoditate vel metu, mortifero haereticorum consortio usque ad mortem teneantur innexi; minus considerantes illam Salvatoris nostri sententiam dicentis: Qui me confessus fuerit coram hominibus, confitebor et ego eum coram Patre meo, qui in coelis est; et qui me negaverit coram hominibus, negabo et ego eum coram Patre meo, qui in coelis est. Et alio loco: Qui me erubuerit, et sermones meos, hunc Filius hominis erubescet, cum venerit in majestate sua, et Patris, et sanctorum angelorum. Plerisque vero humani generis inimicus ad hoc peccatorum suorum recordationem molitur ingerere, ut vel obduratis desperationem remissionis injiciat, et eos remedio conversionis excludat. Haec autem omnia non ob aliud fraudulenta semper agit obtectus fallacia, nisi ut opportunitatem temporis adimat, qua conversis potest donari remissio; ac sic, quantum ad ejus attinet malignitatem, si fieri possit, nemo perveniat ad salutem. Deum namque misericordem justumque esse cognoscit, nec ignorat quod peccatorum remissionem sola de Deo possit elicere cordis vera conversio. Scit etiam quod non alibi quam in solo gremio Catholicae Matris dimitti possint peccata conversis; nec eum latet in praesenti tantum saeculo remissionem omnium peccatorum conversis posse concedi. Sanctus Fulgentius Ruspensis, De Remissione Peccatorum, Liber I, Caput VI Source: Migne 65.531c-532c

Before everything, therefore, let us maintain a firm belief in the mercy and righteousness of the Lord God. Hence it shall easily appear to those who enquire what sort of sins God forgives and where He forgives and when He forgives. By which knowledge, let no one have a depraved understanding regarding God, nor neglect his conversion, nor cut himself off from the Catholic Church, or if he has cut himself off, let him return quickly, not wishing to be charmed by a foolish thought that if someone will not in this life convert to God, but will even maintain his wickedness to death, that after this life he might believe it is possible there shall obtain forgiveness of sins, when already he is forejudged for the time of Divine tribulation, when it is not possible to cast off sin, but he must remain damned to eternal punishment. With many varied deceits he devil strives to close off to us and hide from us the way to heaven, and that with a relentless zeal, so that to his own mob of wretches for punishment he may gain as many as he can, either leading astray those wandering or forcing those unwilling. Certainly not a few he makes think of the mercy of God alone and nothing of divine justice, so that they neglect their conversion, reckoning that even if to the very end they lead a wicked life it is possible to receive the gift of forgiveness. Others he drives or tricks into abandoning the flock of the Catholic Church so that in the blindness of their depraved hearts they pass over to heresy or schism. He snares such souls with the deceit of a false promise, even that the deceived soul may associate with ruinous heretics for a time in either contentment or fear, and even be bound to them to death, with no consideration that our Saviour says, 'He who shall confess me before men, I shall confess before my Father who is in heaven, and he who shall deny me before men, I shall deny before my Father who is in heaven.' 1 And in another place, 'He who shall be ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will shame him when he comes in his glory and the Father's and the holy angels.' 2 More often however the enemy of the human race inclines men to a remembrance of their sins, so that they are cast down into a stubborn despair of forgiveness, and so he excludes them from the remedy of conversion. And all this deceit he works with subtle lies for no other reason but to take way the opportunity in which it is possible that the converted may obtain forgiveness, and so as much as it befits his wickedness, if it were possible, no one should come to salvation. For he knows God to be merciful and just, and nor is he ignorant that the forgiveness of sins from God is not possible unless with a heart that is truly converted. Indeed he knows that there is nowhere else but in the flock of the Catholic Church that it is possible that the converted will have forgiveness of sins, nor is it hidden to him in the present time that it is possible for the converted to obtain forgiveness of every sin. Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, On the Forgiveness of Sins, Book 1, Chapter 6 1 Mt 10.32 2 Lk 9.26

Praise And Humility

In omnibus ergo in quibus adulationum nimietas etiam terminos hominis competentes excessit illud Davidicum recordaveris documentum, in quo ille venena adulationum devitans ait: Corripiet me iustus in misericordia et arguet me, oleum vero peccatoris non impinguat caput meum. Oleum namque peccatoris adulatio est, quae leni quadam et suavi unctione caput interioris hominis, quod est cor, quasi ungendo dinitidat. Melius ergo sibi esse dixit propheta David ab homine iusto argui vel moneri quam a quovis adulatore laudari. Recte autem adulatorem peccatoris nomine denotavit, cuius id maximum ante oculos Dei et detestabile est peccatum, aliud corde tenere, aliud ore proferre. De talibus enim et in alio Psalmo dicit: Mollierunt sermones suos super oleum, et ipsi sunt iacula. De iusto autem dicit: Loquitatur veritatem in corde suo et non egit dolum in lingua sua. Ut autem in his rebus quaevis hominum subtilitas, nullo umquam laudationis titillamento, credulitatem mentis tuae attrahat in consensu, ad ipsius domini nostri Iesu Christi evangelica illa gesta convertere, et invenies illum dominantium Dominum magnum nobis dedisse inter humanas laudes sanctae humilitatis exemplum. Hanc ergo excole, hanc magistram habeto, hanc tibi inter laudationum illecebras arbitram pone. Haec tibi si volueris dicit quota portio ex his quae homines adlaudando tribuunt, vel quanto tempore tua sit. Haec te non permittit placidis auribus audire quae ficta sunt. Sanctus Martinus Bracarensis, Exhortatio Humilitatis, III Source: Migne PL 72.39d-40b

In everything, then, in which there is excessive adulation exceeding even the limits that are set for men, you should remember that composition of David, in which he speaks of avoiding adulation like poison: 'May the righteous man correct me in his mercy and dispute with me, let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head.' 1 Adulation is the oil of the sinner, which is like some light and sweet unction on the head of the interior man, that is, the heart. Better for himself, then, David says, that the righteous man should dispute with him and admonish him, rather than that he should be praised by an adulator. And rightly is the adulator denoted by the name of sinner, for before the eyes of God it is a grave and revolting sin, that is, to have something in the heart and to bring something else out of the mouth. Concerning this it says in another Psalm: 'Their words were softer than oil, and they were blades.' 2 But he says of the righteous man: 'He speaks truth in his heart and does not work deceit with his tongue.' 3 And so that it might be that these things which are most subtle among men, even the pleasure of adulation, shall never draw the belief of your mind to consent, turn to the deeds of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel and you will find that the Lord of lords 4 has given us a great example amid human praise. This, then, honour. Have this for a teacher. Set this beside you as a judge amid the allurements of praise. Have this, if you should choose, he says, for your portion among the things that men praise, and indeed for as long as you shall live. This shall not permit you to hear with eager ears those things which are lies. Saint Martin of Braga, Exhortation to Humility, 3 1 Ps 140.5 2 Ps 54.22 3 Ps 14.3 4 Apoc 19.16

Ruth And The Church

Videamus nunc et Ruth. Habet enim ista typum Ecclesiae. Primum, quod alienigena est ex populo gentili, quae, relicta patria, et omnibus quae illic erant, vadit in terram Isreal. Et, cum prohiberet eam socrus sua pergere secum, perseverabat, dicens: Quocunque perexeris, pergam; populus tuus, populus meus, et Deus tuus, Deus meus; quae te moriente terra susceperit, in ea moriar. Quae vox sine dubio typum in illa fuisse Ecclesiae manifestat. Sic enim Ecclesia ex gentibus ad Dominum convocata, relicta patria sua, quod est idololatria, et omissa universa conversatione terrena, profitetur Dominum Deum suum esse, in quem sancti crediderunt, et illuc se ituram, ubi caro Christi post passionem ascendit, et ob ejus nomen in hoc saeculo pati usque ad mortem, et cum sanctorum populo, patriarchis scilicet, et prophetis consociandam; de quorum societate, quod sanctis ex stirpe Abrahae venientibus consociaretur, Moyses in Cantico ostendit, dicens: Laetamini, gentes, cum plebe ejus, id est, qui ex gentibu istis credituri, cum illis qui primi electi sunt aeterna laetitia exulstate. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, De Ruth Source:Migne PL 83.390c-391a

Let us now consider Ruth. She is a type of the Church. First, because she is foreign born from the Gentile people, she who, abandoning her homeland, and everything there, goes to the land of Israel, and when her mother in law prohibits her from journeying with her, she perseveres, saying, 'Wherever you shall go, I shall go, and your people shall be my people, and your God shall be my god, and the earth that shall receive you when you die, there I shall die.' 1 Which voice undoubtedly manifests a type of the Church. For so the Church, being gathered to the Lord from the Gentiles, abandoned its homeland, which was idolatry, and setting aside every way of worldly living, confessed the Lord her own God, in whom the holy had believed, and from there set out to where the flesh of Christ ascended after the passion, even to suffer death in this world because of His name, and to be joined with a holy people, that is, the patriarchs and the prophets, concerning which society, that it was to be an association with the holy ones from the seed of Abraham, Moses in his song shows, saying, 'Rejoice, nations, with His people,' 2 that is, that those who from the Gentiles were going to believe, should exult with eternal joy with those who were the first to be chosen Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Ruth 1 Ruth 1.16-17 2 Deut 32.43

The Strengthening Hand

Manus enim Domini erat mecum, confortans me. Ad bona quippe assurgere perfecte non possumus, nisi nos spiritus et praeveniendo elevet, et subsequendo confortet. Sed quaerendum est, cum superius de volumine quod acceperat scriptum sit: Et factum est in ore meo sicut mel dulce, qua ratione postmodum dicitur: Abii amarus in indignatione spiritus mei? Mirum quippe valde est si dulcedo simul et amaritudo conveniant. Sed juxta superiorem sensum sciendum est quia cui sermo Dei in ore cordis dulcis esse coeperit, hujus procul dubio contra semetipsum animus amarescit. Quo enim in illo subtiliter discit qualiter reprehendere se debeat, eo se durius per amaritudinem poenitentiae castigat, qui tanto sibi magis displicet, quanto in sacro volumine amplius de omnipotente Deo videt quod amet. Sed quia ad ista proficere sua virtute non valet homo, recte nunc dicitur: Manus Domini erat mecum, confortans me. Manus enim Domini in sacro eloquio aliquando etiam unigenitus Filius appellatur, quia omnia per ipsum facta sunt. Et de cujus ascensione per Moysen Pater omnipotens loquitur, dicens: Tollam in coelum manum meam. Haec manus quae electorum suorum corda confortat, discipulis dicebat: Sine me nihil potestis facere. In omne ergo quod cogitamus, in omne quod agimus, semper orandum est, ut et ipso aspirante cogitemus, et ipso adjuvante faciamus, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre inunitate Spiritus sancti Deus in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia X Source: Migne PL 76.903d

For the hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening me.. 1 And certainly we are not able to rise perfectly to good things, unless the Spirit coming beforehand lifts us up, and consequently strengthens us. But it must be asked that when it was previously written concerning the book: 'And in my mouth it was as sweet as honey,' for what reason it is then said: 'I went off bitter in the indignation of my spirit?' It is surely most wonderful if something is at the same time sweet and bitter. But against this understanding let it be known that the word of God which in his heart was first sweet, was also without doubt that by which his soul became bitter against itself. For by it he subtly learns in what manner he should correct himself, because the more heavily he castigates himself amid the bitterness of penitence, the more he displeases himself, and the more he sees clearly what he should love in the sacred book concerning almighty God. Yet because man is not able to advance by his own virtue, rightly it is said here, 'The hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening me.' In sacred speech the hand of the Lord sometimes expresses the Only Begotten Son, because 'through Him everything was made.' 2 And concerning His ascension the almighty Father says through Moses: 'I will take my hand into heaven.' 3 He speaks of this hand which strengthens His chosen ones to his disciples, saying, 'Without me you can do nothing' 4 In everything, therefore, which we think, and all we do, we must always pray, that we might think according to His inspiration and act with His aid, who lives and reigns with the Father in unity with the Holy Spirit forever. Amen. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 10 1 Ezek 3.14 2 Jn 1.3 3 Deut 32.40 4 Jn 15.5

Fear And Offence

Verba eorum ne timeas, et vultus eorum ne formides, quia domus exasperans est. Ideo boni timendi sunt ne offendantur, ne forte per eos ille provocetur ad iram, qui eorum corda semper inhabitat. Nam, sicut superius dictum est, si malos offendimus, timere minime debemus, quoniam illis nostra actio displicet, quibus nec justitia creatoris placet. Quid ergo timendum est, si nobis ingrati sunt, qui Deo amabiles non sunt? Unde recte nunc dicitur: Verba eorum ne timeas, et vultus eorum ne formides, quia domus exasperans est. Ac si aperte diceretur: Timendi essent, nisi me in suis actibus exasperarent. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia IX Source: Migne PL 76.881c

Do not fear their words and do not be dismayed by their faces, because theirs is a house that provokes. 1 That is, the good are fearful lest they offend and lest perhaps they provoke the wrath of Him who is always dwelling in their hearts. For as we have said previously, we should not fear if we offend the wicked, since what we do displeases those who are not pleased with the righteousness of the Creator. Why, then, should there be fear if we are not liked by those who are not loveable before God? Whence rightly it is said: 'Do not fear their words, and do not be dismayed by their faces, because theirs is a house that provokes.' As if it were plainly said: 'Rather let them fear lest they provoke me with their behaviour.' Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 9 1 Ezek 2.6

Advice To Those In The World

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

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

The Vineyard And The Workers

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

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

Poor Teaching

Egent sane populi quibus praeestis vel potius quos decepistis audire. Attendite verba Domini ad apostolos et turbas loquentis, quae et vos, ut audio, in mediu crebro proferre non pudet. Super cathedram Moysi sederunt scirbae et Pharisaei. Omnia ergo quaecumque dixerint vobis, servate et facite: secundum vero opera eorum nolite facere. Dicunt enim et ipsi non faciunt. Periculosa certe ac supervacua sacerdotibus doctrina est, quae pravis operibus obfuscatur. Vae vobis, hypocritae, qui clauditis regnum caelorum ante homines, vos aute non intratis nec introientres sinites intrare. Non solum enim prae tantis malorum criminibus, quae geritis in futuro, sed etiam pro his qui vestro cotdie exemplae pereunt, poenali poena plectemini: quorum sanguis in die iudicii de vestris manibus requiretur. Sed quid mali, quod servi parabola praetenderit, inspicite, dicentis in corde suo: Moram facit Dominus meus venire. Qui pro hoc forsitan inceperat percutere conservos suos manducans et bibens cum ebriis. Veniet ergo, inquit, Dominus servi illius in die, qua non sperat, et hora qua ignorat, et dividet eum, a sanctis scilicet sacerdotibus, partemque eius ponet cum hypocritis, cum eis certe qui sub sacerdotali tegminie multum obumbrant nequitiae, illic, inquiens, erit fletus et stridor dentium, quibus in hac vita non crebro evenit, ob cotidianas ecclesiae matris ruinas filiorum vel desideria regni caelorum. Sed videamus quid Christi verus discipulus magister gentium Paulus, qui omni ecclesiastico doctori imitandus est, sicut ipse hortatur: Imitatores mei estote, inquiens, sicut et ego Christi, in tali negotio praeloquatur in prima epistola dicens: quia cum cognoverunt Deum, non sicut Deum magnificaverunt aut gratias egerunt, sed evanuerunt in cogitatioibus suis et obcaecatum est insipiens cor eorum dicentes se esse sapientes, stulti facti sunt. Licet hoc gentibus dici videatur, intuemini tamen, quia competenter isitius aevi sacerdotibus cum populis coaptabitur. Sanctus Gildas Sapiens, De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae Source: Migne PL 69.384c-385a

Certainly the people over whom you preside, or rather whom you deceive, have need of hearing. Attend to the words of the Lord spoken to the Apostles and the crowds, words which even you, I hear, do not blush to bring forth often in public. 'The Scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses, therefore, whatever they say to you, listen to and do, but do not act according to their works, for they speak and they do not do.' Perilous and vain for the priest is the teaching darkened by evil acts. 'Woe to you hypocrites who shut the kingdom of heaven to men but do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who would go in to enter.' 1 You will be punished with a grave penalty not only for the huge crimes of sins which you bear for the future time, but also because of those who perish every day because of your example. On the day of judgement the blood of those men will be required at your hands. Observe what evil is set forth in the parable of the servant who said in his heart, 'My Lord delays.' Before which he had probably 'begun to beat his fellow servants, eating and drinking with those who were drunk.' It is then said, 'The Lord of the servant shall come on a day when he does not expect it, and at an hour that he does not know, and he shall separate him and place his portion with the hypocrites,' that is, he shall be separated from holy priests and placed with the hypocrites, doubtless those who conceal much evil beneath a veil of priesthood. 'There where there shall be a weeping and a gnashing of teeth,' 2 which frequently happens in this life because of the daily loss of the sons of mother church, or because of defections from the kingdom of heaven. But let us see what a true disciple of Christ exhorts, Paul the teacher of the Gentiles, who should be imitated by every teacher in the Church. 'Be imitators of me as I am of Christ,' 3 And then about such affairs in his first letter, 'Because when they knew God, they did they give Him glory as God or thanks, but they became vain in their reasoning and their senseless hearts were blinded, and proclaiming themselves wise they became fools.' 4 Although this appears to be addressed to the Gentiles, observe that it will also fittingly apply to the priests and people of this time. Saint Gildas The Wise, On The Destruction and Ruin of Britain 1 Mt 23.2, Mt 23.13 2 Mt 24.49, 24.50-51 3 1 Cor 11.1 4 Rom 1.21-22

Virtue And Love

Et posui vectem et ostia, et dixi: Hucusque venies, et non procedes amplius, et hic confringes tumentes fluctus tuos. Quid enim moraliter per ostia, nisi virtutes; quid per vectem, nisi robur charitatis accipimus? Haec itaque ostia, scilicet operationum virtutes, mare saeviens dissipat, nisi eas ex occulto mentis opposita charitas astringat. Facile autem omne virtutum bonum tentatione cordis irruente destruitur, nisi ab intimis fixa charitate solidetur. Unde et Paulus in suis praedicationibus dum quaedam virtutum ostia mari tentationis opponeret, illico eisdem ostiis quasi robur vectis adiunxit, dicens: Super omnia autem haec charitatem habentes, quod est vinculum perfectionis. Perfectionis enim vinculum charitas dicitur, quia omne bonum quod agitur nimirum per illam ne pereat ligatur. A tentatore namque citius quodlibet opus evellitur, si solutum a vinculo charitatis invenitur; si autem mens Dei ac proximi dilectione constringitur, cum tentationum motus quaelibet ei iniusta suggesserint, obicem se illis ipsa dilectio opponit, et pravae suasionis undas virtutum ostiis ac vecte intimi amoris frangit. Quia ergo Dominus per inspiratae charitatis fortitudinem nascentia in corde vitia reprimit, insurgentis maris impetum per obserata claustra compescit. Ira fortasse in occulto exasperat; sed ne quies superna perdatur, perturbationi mentis officium linguae subtrahitur, ne usque ad vocem exeat, quod in sinu cordis tumultuosum sonat. Luxuria in occultis cogitationibus accenditur; sed ne supernam munditiam mens amittat, conceptae immunditiae ea quae famulari poterant membra castigat, ne usque ad corruptionem corporis exhalet fetor cordis. Avaritia stimulat; sed ne coelesti regno mens careat, intra claustra se parcimoniae contenta propriis ligat, ne in pravo se opere dilatet, et usque ad exteriores actus internae concupiscentiae aestus exsudet. Superbia inflat; sed ne veram celsitudinem amittat, considerando quisque quia pulvis est ab altitudine se conceptae elationis humiliat, certans nimirum ne quod in suggestione cogitationis tolerat in exercitationem operis erumpat. Bene ergo dicitur: Posui vectem et ostia, et dixi: Hucusque venies, et non procedes amplius, et hic confringes tumentes fluctus tuos, quia dum electus quisque et tentatur vitiis, et tamen facere male suggesta renititur, quasi mare clausum tenetur. Quod etsi intus tumultuosis cogitationum fluctibus mentem percutit, statuta tamen bene vivendi littora non excedit. Quod mare quidem in tumore se erigit, sed dum fixa deliberatione cordis illiditur, fractum redit. Beatus igitur Iob ne sibi tribuat quod contra procellas cordis fortiter stat, voce divina audiat: Quis conclusit ostiis mare, quando erumpebat, quasi de vulva procedens, et caetera. Ac si ei aperte diceretur: Incassum te exterius in bonis operibus pensas, si non me interius, qui in te tentationis undas compesco, consideras. Ut enim tu fluctus ferre possis in opere, meae virtutis est, qui fluctus frango tentationis in corde. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Moralia, sive Expositio in Job, Liber XXVIII, Caput XXII Source: Migne PL 75.476a-478a

And I have set a bar and doors, and said, 'Only to here shall you come, and you shall not go any further, here you will break your swelling waves.' 1 What shall we understand morally by the doors but the virtues, and what by a bar but the strength of love? That is, these doors are the working of the virtues which the wild sea rends asunder unless the charity of the mind, secretly set against them, binds them together. For all the goodness of the virtues is easily destroyed by a temptation of the heart rushing upon them unless it is kept firmly rooted within by love. Whence in his preaching Paul was also opposing certain doors of virtues to the sea of temptation, and he immediately added to them, as it were, the strength of a bar, saying, 'But above all these things having love, which is the bond of perfection.' 2 Love is called the bond of perfection because every good deed which is done is doubtless fastened by it so that it does not perish. For any work is speedily plucked up by the tempter if it is found to lack the bond of love. But if a mind is constrained by the love of God and of neighbour, when the motions of temptations have suggested to it any wicked thoughts, this very love opposes itself to their advance, and by the gates of the virtues and the bar of inmost love breaks the waves of sinful persuasion. Because, then, by the strength of inspired love the Lord restrains the sins which spring up in the heart, so He checks the onset of the rising sea by setting against it barred doors. It may happen that anger exasperates within, but that heavenly peace may not be lost the aid of the tongue is not lent to the agitation of the mind, whence that which sounds tumultuously in the recesses of the heart does not vent itself in words. Lust is kindled in the secret thoughts, but that it lose not its heavenly purity, the mind chastens those limbs which could help to augment the uncleanness conceived within, lest the filthiness of the heart should be exhaled to the corruption of the body. Avarice besets, but that it might not lose not the kingdom of heaven, the mind, contented with its own lot, confines itself within the bounds of parsimony, lest it should break out in wicked deeds, and lest the heat of inward desire should ooze forth into outward acts. Pride puffs up a man, but that he might not lose his true dignity, he brings himself down from the loftiness of his conceived pride by considering that he is dust, doubtless striving so that what he endures by the prompting of thought may not burst forth into outward acts. Well, then, it is said, 'I have set a bar and doors, and to here you shall come, and you shall not go any further, here you shall break your swelling waves,' because when any of the elect are assaulted by sin, yet there is a refusal to act upon evil suggestions, and thus the sea, as it were, is kept within bounds. And though it lashes the mind within with the tumultuous waves of thoughts, yet it does not pass over the appointed bounds of living well. Indeed this sea swells up, but when it dashes against the firm determination of the heart, it is broken and withdraws. Therefore the blessed Job, so that he might not ascribe his standing firmly against the storms of his heart to himself, hears the Divine voice; 'Who shut up the sea with doors, when it was breaking forth as if proceeding from the womb?' and the rest, 3 as if it were plainly said to him, 'In vain you think well of yourself because of exterior good deeds, if you do not consider me within who still the waves of temptation in you. For that you can withstand the waves is by my strength who break the waves of temptation in the heart.' Saint Gregory the Great, Moralia, or Commentary on Job, Book 28, Chapter 22 1 Job 38.10-11 2 Colos 3.14 3 Job 38.8