The Mustard Seed

῎Αλλην παραβολὴν παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· Ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν κόκκῳ σινάπεως, ὃν λαβὼν ἄνθρωπος ἔσπειρεν ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ, αὐτοῦ· ὁ μικρότερον μὲν ἐστιν πάντων τῶν σπερμάτων. Ὅταν δὲ αὐξηθῇ , μεῖζον πάντων τῶν λαχάνων ἐστὶ, καὶ γίνεται δένδρον, ὥστε ἐλθεῖν τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ κατασκηνοῦν ἐν τοῖς κλάδοις αὐτοῦ. Κόκκος σινάπεως, τὸ κήρυγμα καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι· ὀλίγοι γὰρ δοκοῦντες οὗτοι, τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην περιέλαβον· ὥστε τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ εὐρανοῦ, τουτέστι, τοὺς κούφην καὶ πτερωτὴν πρὸς τὰ ἄνω ἔχοντας γνώμην, ἀναπαύεσθαι ἐν αὐτοῖς. Καὶ σὺ τοίνυν ἔσο κόκκος σινάπεως, μικρὸς μὲν τὸ φαινόμενον, οὐ γὰρ δεῖ θεατρίζειν τὴν ἀρετὴν, θερμὸς δὲ καὶ ζηλωτὴς καὶ δριμὺς καὶ ἐλεγκτικός· οὕτω γὰρ γενήσῃ μείζων τῶν λαχάνων, τουτέστι, τῶν ἀσθενῶν καὶ οὐ τελείων, τέλειος αὐτὸς ὡν , ὥστε καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, τουτέστι, τοὺς ἀγγέλους, ἐν σοὶ ἀναπαύεσθαι ἀγγελικὴν ζῶντι ζωήν. Χαίρουσι γὰρ καὶ οὗτοι ἐπὶ τοῖς δικαίοις. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ IΓ' Source: Migne PG 123.235c

He told them another parable, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is life a mustard seed, which when a man takes it and sows it in his field, is certainly the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown, it is the largest among the herbs, and it becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and nest in its branches.' 1 The mustard seed is preaching and the Apostles, for these seem to be small things, and yet they have come to occupy the whole world, and thus as the birds of heaven, the light and winged ones who have their minds in the heavens, find their rest in them. And you should also be a mustard seed, which certainly seems small, for it is not necessary to boast about virtue, or to be fervid and zealous and bitter in reproof. So you will be great among the other herbs, that is, perfect among the weak and the flawed, so that the birds of heaven, that is, the angels, shall dwell in you who live an angelic life, for they rejoice in those who are righteous. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 13 1 Mt 13.31-32

The Cherubim And The Flaming Sword

Et collocavit ante paradisum voluptatis cherubim et flammeum gladium atque versatilem ad custodiendam viam ligni vitae. Item quia cherubim scientiae multitudo, sive scientia multiplicata interpretatur, bene cherubim et flammeus gladius ad custodiendam viam ligni vitae collocatus esse perhibetur; quia nimirum per disciplinae nobis scientiam coelestis, et per laborem temporalium afflictionum, reditus ad supernam patriam patet, ex qua per stultitiam praevaricationis, perque appetitum carnalium voluptatum discessimus. Et bene non simpliciter flammam, sed gladium dicit flammeum ante paradisum esse collocatum, ut feriendas in nobis illecebras concupiscentiae temporalis insinuet gladio spiritus quod est verbum Dei, si ad lignum vitae, quod est Dominus Christus, penetrare concupiscimus. Bene eumdem gladium versatilem esse refert, ut indicet mystice non nobis semper hunc necessarium esse gladium, sed, ut scriptum est, tempus esse belli, tempus pacis denuntiet: belli videlicet, cum in hujus vitae studio adversum aereas potestates, vel etiam nostrae mentis et corporis vitia, certamus; pacis autem, cum perfecta victoria coronamur. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Genesim, Liber I, Caput XX Source: Migne PL 107.501a-502a

And He placed before the paradise of pleasure Cherubim, and a flaming sword, turning every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. 1 Because 'Cherubim' is interpreted as 'multitude of knowledge' or 'knowledge multiplied,' it is said that the Cherubim and the flaming sword were assigned to guard the way to the tree of life, certainly because it is through the discipline of heavenly understanding and endurance of temporal afflictions that there is an opening for us to return to the heavenly fatherland from which we were cut off by the foolishness of transgression and the appetite of carnal pleasure. And well does it not say just a flame, but a flaming sword was set before paradise, so that the snares of temporal pleasures we bear in us might be destroyed by the Spirit's insertion of the blade that is the word of God, 2 if to the tree of life, which is the Lord Christ, we desire to penetrate. And well is it said that sword is turning, for spiritually this indicates that this sword will not always be necessary for us, but as it is written, there is a time of war and there is a time of peace, 3 that is, the time of war is when we struggle with zeal in this life against the powers of the air, 4 or indeed against the vices of our own minds and bodies, but there is peace when we are crowned with consummate victory. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Genesis, Book 1, Chapter 20 1 Gen 35.24 2 Ephes 6.17 3 Eccles 3.8 4 Ephes 2.2, 6.12

An Earthly Dwelling's End

Ἲδαμεν γὰρ ὅτι ἐὰν ἡ ἐπίγειος ἡμῶν οἰκία τοῦ σκήνους καταλυθῇ κ.τ.λ Ἐπιγεον ἡμῶν οἰκίαν τοῦ σκήνους αὐτὸ περιφραστικῶς ὀνομάζει τὸ σκῆνος, ἢτοι τὸ σῶμα. Γεγραπται γὰρ ἐν τῷ Ἰώβ· Τοὺς δὲ κατοικοῦντας οἰκίας πηλίνας· ἐξ ὦν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πηλοῦ ἐσμεν. Ἴσμεν οὖν ἄρα, φησὶν, ὡς καταλύσαντος τοῦ θανάτου τὴν ἐπίγειον ἡμῶν τοῦ σκήνους οἰκίαν, τουτέστι τὸ σῶμα, διαδέξεται καὶ οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν, κατὰ τὸν τῆς ἀναστάσεως δῆλον ὅτι καιρὸν, οἰκητήιον τὸ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, τουτέστιν ἡ ἀφθαρσία. Ἄνωθεν δὲ αὐτὴν εἶναί φησι, πρῶτον μὲν ὅτι δοτὸν τὸ χρῆμα ἐστιν· εἴτα πρὸς τούτῳ διάτοι τὸ πάντας τοὺς τὴν ἄνωθεν οἰκοῠντας πόλιν, φημὶ δὴ τὰ τῶν ἁγιων ἀγγέλων συντάγματα, ἐν ἀφθάρτοις καὶ ἀνθλέθροις εἶναι σώμασιν· ἀπήλλακατι γὰρ τῆς γεώδους ταυτησὶ παχύτητος ἡ ἀγγέλων φύσις. Οἰκοδομὴν τοιγαροῦ ἐκ Θεοῦ καὶ ἀχειροποίητον οἰκον καὶ μὴν καὶ αἰώνιον ὀνομάζει, τὴν ἀφθαρσίαν. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τὴν Δευτέραν Ἐπιστολήν Παύλου Πρὸς Κορινθίους, Ἐκλογαι Source: Migne PG 74.939b-c

We know that when this earthly dwelling tent of ours comes to an end... 1 Our earthly dwelling tent is a periphrasis for the tent of our bodies. As it is written in Job, 'Those who dwell in houses of mud,' 2 from which even we are constituted, that is, from mud. 3 Thus we know, he says, that when death dissolves this earthly dwelling tent, He shall receive us, and by no means long after, but clearly in the time of the resurrection, in a heavenly dwelling, that is, in incorruption. He speaks of something supernal, firstly because it is something bestowed, then because every dweller in the heavenly city, that is, the orders of the angels, is in a state of incorruption and not in bodies that shall pass away. The nature of angels lack this earthly burden. Therefore he speaks of incorruption as a temple and the house of God, not one made by any hand, but one that is eternal. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Second Letter to the Corinthians, Fragment 1 2 Cor 5.1 2 Job 4.19 3 Gen 2.7

Wisdom And Angels

Quid est quod ait: Sapientia confortabit sapientem super decem principes civitatis? Quae est haec sapientia, aut qui sunt isti principes? SALONIUS. Sapientia in hoc loco Dominum Iesum Christum significat, qui est virtus et sapientia Dei: principes civitatis, sancti angeli sunt intelligendi, qui sunt principes civitatis, id est coelestis Ierusalem. Sunt et principes Ecclesiae, quia ipsi quotidie regunt eam et custodiunt. VERANUS. Cur ergo decem dicuntur? SALONIUS. Quia decem fuerunt ordines angelorum, sed unus cecidit per superbiam; et idcirco boni angeli semper ad hoc laborant, ut de hominibus numerus adimpleatur, et perveniat ad perfectum numerum, id est denarium. VERANUS. Quomodo ergo sapientia confortat sapientem super decem principes civitatis? SALONIUS. Quia maius est auxilium sapientiae, id est Domini Iesu Christi, quam sit angelorum. Salonius Viennensis, Expositio Mystica in Ecclesiasten Source: Migne PL 53.1005d-1006a

Veranus: 'Wisdom shall strengthen wisdom more than ten princes of a city.' 1 Salonius: In this passage wisdom signifies the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the virtue and power of God. 2 The princes of the city is are to be understood as angels who are the princes of the city which is the heavenly Jerusalem. And they are princes of the Church because they rule and watch over it every day. Veranus: Why are there ten? Salonius: Because there were ten orders of angels, but one fell through pride. And therefore the good angels always labour for this, that they might restore their number from men and achieve the perfect number which is ten. Veranus: How, then, does wisdom strengthen wisdom more then the ten princes of a city? Salonius: Because the help of wisdom, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, is greater that that of angels. Salonius of Geneva, A Spiritual Exposition of Ecclesiastes 1 Eccl 7.20 2 1 Cor 1.24

The Guard Of Angels

Felices proinde fratres nostri, qui jam liberati sunt de laqueo venantium, qui de tabernaculis militantium ad atria quiescentium transierunt, malorum timore sublato, in spe singulariter constituti! Uni istorum, imo universitati dicitur: Non accedet ad te malum, et flagellum non appropinquabit tabernaculo tuo. Sane considera, non ad hominem qui secundum carnem vivit, sed ad eum qui in carne degens secundum spiritum ambulat, hanc fieri promissionem: si quidem non est distinguere inter illum, et tabernaculum suum. Confusa in eo sunt omnia, tanquam in filio Babylonis. Denique hujusmodi homo etiam caro est, nec in eo spiritus manet. Ubi autem non fuerit spiritus bonus, quando deerit malum? Porro ubi malum, flagellum quoque appropinquare necesse est. Semper enim malum poena comitatur. Non accedet ad te malum, et flagellum non appropinquabit tabernaculo tuo. Magna promissio: sed unde id sperare licet? Quomodo malum et flagellum evadam, quomodo effugiam, quomodo elongabo, ut non appropinquent mihi? Quo merito, qua sapientia, qua virtute? Quoniam angelis suis mandavit de te, ut custodiant te in omnibus viis tuis. In quibus omnibus viis? Quibus declinas a malo, quibus fugis a ventura ira. Multae sunt viae, et genera multa viarum: magnum profecto periculum viatori. Quam facile in multarum occursu errabit in via sua, qui viarum discretione caruerit! Nam neque angelis mandavit ut in omnibus viis custodiant nos, sed in omnibus viis nostris. Sunt autem a quibus, non in quibus [alias, et in quibus] oporteat custodiri. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In Psalmum XC, Qui Habitat, Sermo XI, De versu undecimo, Quoniam angelis suis mandavit de te ut custodiant te in omnibus viis tuis. Source: Migne PL 183.225c-226a

Happy are those brothers of ours who have already been freed from the trap of the hunters, who from the tents of war have passed over to the courts of peace, drawn out from the fear of evils and singularly established in hope. I shall speak of one of these for all. 'Evil shall not befall you, and the whip shall not draw near your tent.' 1 Consider it well, that this promise is not for a man who lives according to the flesh, but it is for him who casting off the flesh walks according to the spirit, certainly it is not for him who cannot be separated from his tent. In him everything is confused like a child of Babylon. Likewise a man is indeed flesh if no spirit remains in him. When there is no good spirit, how shall one be free of evil? But where there is evil it is also necessary that the whip draws near. Sin is always accompanied by punishment. Let evil not come to you, and the whip shall not draw near your tent. Great is the promise, but how is it possible to hope for it? How shall I avoid evil and the whip, how shall I flee, how set myself far off so that it does not come near me? By what merit, what wisdom, what virtue? 'Because He has commanded His angels to guard you in all your ways.' 2 In every way? In whatever leads away from evil, by which you may flee the coming anger. Many are the ways, and many are the types of ways, and certainly the danger to the traveller is grave. How easily shall a man go on many of them and wander in his way, if he has no care to discern the ways. For He has not commanded angels to guard us in all ways, but in all our ways. And there are some from which, not on which, they should guard us. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons For The Year, On Psalm 90, He who dwells ..., from Sermon 11, On the eleventh verse, 'Because He has commanded His angels to guard you in all your ways.' 1 Ps 90.10 2 Ps 90.11

Angels Ascending and Descending

Et dormiens vidit scalam subnixam, innitentem coelo, et angelos Dei ascendentes et descendentes. Porro scala Christus est, qui dixit: Ego sum via. Per hanc ascendunt, et descendunt angeli, in quibus significati sunt evangelistae, et praedicatores Christi. Ascendentes utique, cum ad intelligendam ejus supereminentissimam divinitatem excedunt universam creaturam, ut eum inveniant in principio verbum, Deum apud Deum, per quem facta sunt omnia. Descendentes autem, ut eum inveniant factum ex muliere, factum sub lege, ut eos qui sub lege erant redimeret. In illa enim scala a terra usque in coelum, a carne usque ad spiritum, carnales proficiendo, velut ascendendo, spirituales fiunt; ad quos lacte nutriendos etiam ipsi spirituales descendunt quodammodo, cum eis non possunt loqui, quasi spiritualibus, sed quasi carnalibus. Ipse est sursum in capite suo; ipse deorsum in corpore suo, quod est Ecclesia. Ipsum ergo scalam intelligimus, quia ipse dixit: Ego sum via. Ad ipsum ergo ascenditur, ut in excelsis intelligatur. Et ad ipsum descenditur, ut in membris suis parvulus nutriatur. Et per illum se erigunt, ut eum sublimiter spectent. Per ipsum etiam se humiliant, ut eum sublimiter ac temperanter annuntient. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput XXIV Source: Migne PL 83.258a-d

And sleeping he saw a ladder set on the earth, and the top of it touched heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending. 1 The ladder is Christ who said, 'I am the way,' 2 By this angels ascend and descend, in which are signified the evangelists and the preachers of Christ. They ascend when they bring every creature to the understanding of His supereminent Divinity, so that they find Him to be the Word in the Beginning, God with God, through whom all things were made. 3 And they descend so that they find Him born of a woman, under the law, so that He might redeem those who were under the law. 4 For in that ladder stretching from earth to heaven is the advance from the flesh to the spirit, when a carnal people advance on its ascent and becomes spiritual, and the spiritual descent is to those who are nourished on milk, when they cannot be spoken to as spiritual people but only as carnal people. 5 He is above as the head and He is below as the body, which is the Church. 6 We understand Him, then, as the ladder, because He said, 'I am the way.' And therefore to Him there is ascent in the understanding of high things. And in Him there is descent so that in His members the little one is nourished. And through Him they rise so that they look on Him sublimely, and indeed through Him they are lowered so that they preach sublimely and temperately. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chapter 24 1 Gen 28.12 2 Jn 14.16 3 Jn 1.1-3 4 Gal 4.4-5 5 1 Cor 3.2 6 Colos 1.18

An Angel's Descent

Angelus autem Domini descendit cum Azaria et sociis ejus in fornacem, et excussit flammam ignis de fornace... Oppressa perturbationibus anima, et variis molestiis occupata, cum hominum desperaverit auxilium, et tota ad Dominum fuerit mente conversa, descendit ad eam angelus Domini, scilicet, sermo divinus, et excutit flammae aestuantis ardores: ut nequaquam ignita jacula inimici cordis nostri arcana penetrent, nec illius fornace claudamur. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Daniel, Caput III Source: Migne PL 25.510b-c

And an angel of the Lord came down among Azarias and his companions in the furnace... 1 When the soul is oppressed by troubles and occupied by many worries, when it despairs of the help of men, and with all its mind it turns to the Lord, the angel of the Lord descends, that is, the divine word, and it extinguishes the fire of scorching flames, so that the blazing shaft of the enemy does not penetrate into the secret chambers of our heart, nor are we shut up in his furnace. Saint Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 3 1 Dan 3.49

Service And Angels

In supernis enim spiritibus non solum admirabilis dignitas, sed et dignatio amabilis invenitur. Dignum est proinde, fratres, ut gloriam non capientes, tanto magis amplectamur misericordiam, qua nimirum constat nihilominus abundare domesticos Dei, coeli cives, principes paradisi. Testatur denique Apostolus ipse, qui raptus usque ad tertium coelum, beatae illi curiae meruit interesse, atque ejus nosse secreta, quoniam omnes administratorii sunt spiritus, missi in ministerium propter eos, aui haereditatem capiunt salutis. Neque id cuiquam incredibile videatur; quandoquidem ipse quoque Creator et rex angelorum venit, non ministrari, sed ministrare, et animam suam dare pro multis. Utquid ergo ministerium illud angelorum quispiam dedignetur, in quo praecedit eos, cui in excelsis tota cum aviditate et felicitate ministrant? Si et hinc dubitas, utique qui vidit, testimonium perhibuit: Millia, inquiens, millium ministrabant ei, et decies centena millia assistebant ei. Alius quoque propheta ad Patrem de Filio loquens, ait: Minuisti eum paulo minus ab angelis. Sic plane, sic decet ut vincat et humilitate. qui sublimitate vincebat; sitque tanto minor angelis, quanto inferiori sese ministerio mancipavit: qui tanto excellentior est, quanto differentius prae eis nomen haereditavit. Sed quaeras fortasse, in quo minoratus videatur ab angelis, cum ministrare venit; quandoquidem, ut supra meminimus, in ministerium mittuntur et illi. In eo utique quod non modo ministravit, sed et ministratus est, eratque unus et idem qui ministrabat, et qui ministrabatur. Merito proinde sponsa in Canticis canticorum: Ecce, inquit, venit is saliens in montibus, transiliens colles. Ministrans enim saliit inter angelos: sed et ipsos transiliit ministratus. Ministrant enim angeli, sed de alieno, offerentes Deo bona opera, non sua, sed nostra, ac nobis ejus gratiam referentes. Unde et Scriptura dicens: Quoniam ascendit fumus aromatum in conspectu Domini de manu angeli, sollicite praemisit data ei 0449A fuisse incensa multa. Nostros enim sudores, non suos; nostras, non suas lacrymas offerunt Deo: nobis quoque ejus munera referunt, et non sua. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Sanctis, Sermones de Sanctis, In Festo Sancti Michalis, Sermo I De angelorum erga nos officiis... Source: Migne PL 183.448b-d

Among the heavenly sprits there is not only an admirable dignity but there is also found love. Worthy it is then, brothers, that not seizing on glory we much more embrace the mercy which certainly abounds in the servants of God, the inhabitants of heaven, the princes of paradise. The Apostle himself, who was caught up to the third heaven, and who merited to be among the cares of those blessed ones, and to know secrets, testifies that they are all ministering spirits sent to minster to those who seize on the inheritance of salvation. 1 Let this not appear incredible when the Creator Himself and king of the angels came not to be served but to serve, and to give his soul for many. 2 Therefore shall that ministry of angels be scorned, in which He excels them, who in the heights they minister to with all avidity and joy? If this is doubted, he who has seen has given witness to it, saying, 'Thousands on thousands ministering to Him, and ten hundred thousands assisting Him.' 3 Another prophet speaking about the Son to the Father says, 'You made him a little less than angels.' 4 So it is clear that it fitting that He who conquers through humility, who triumphed sublimely, who was so less than angels, transferred to them a lesser ministry, He who is so much more excellent, as great as the difference over them is the name He inherited. 5 But perhaps you ask, in what was He less than angels when He came to serve, when certainly as we have mentioned, they are sent to minister. In this, that He not only served but was served and He was the one and same who ministered and was ministered to. Rightly, then, the bride says in the Song of Songs, 'Behold he comes leaping on the mountains, springing on the hills.' 6 For in ministering He leaps among the angels, in being ministered to He surpasses them. For the angels serve but they offer good works from others, even ours, and not their own, and to us they refer His grace. Thus Scripture says that the smoke of incense from the hand of the angel rose up in the sight of God, and anxiously he sent for much incense to be given to him. 7 For it is our works not theirs, our tears not theirs, that they offer to God, and they refer His gifts to us, not their own. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Saints, On The Feast Of Saint Michael, from Sermon 1, Concerning the offices of the angels for us... 1 2 Cor 12.2-4, Heb 1.14 2 Mt 10.28 3 Dan 7.10 4 Ps 8.6 5 Phil 2.9 6 Song 2.8 7 Apoc 8.4-3

The Angel And The Tomb

Ὀψὲ δὲ σαββάτων, τῇ ἐπιφωσκούσῃ εἰς μίαν σαββάτων, ἦλθεν Μαριὰμ ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ καὶ ἡ ἄλλη Μαρία θεωρῆσαι τὸν τάφον. Kαὶ ἰδοὺ σεισμὸς ἐγένετο μέγας: ἄγγελος γὰρ Kυρίου καταβὰς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καὶ προσελθὼν ἀπεκύλισεν τὸν λίθον καὶ ἐκάθητο ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ. Ἦν δὲ ἡ εἰδέα αὐτοῦ ὡς ἀστραπὴ, καὶ τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ λευκὸν ὡς χιών. Ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ φόβου αὐτοῦ ἐσείσθησαν οἱ τηροῦντες καὶ ἐγενήθησαν ὡς νεκροί. ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἄγγελος εἶπεν ταῖς γυναιξίν: μὴ φοβεῖσθε ὑμεῖς: οἶδα γὰρ ὅτι Ἰησοῦν τὸν ἐσταυρωμένον ζητεῖτε. Oὐκ ἔστιν ὧδε: ἠγέρθη γὰρ, καθὼς εἶπεν: δεῦτε ἴδετε τὸν τόπον ὅπου ἔκειτο. Kαὶ ταχὺ πορευθεῖσαι εἴπατε τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἠγέρθη ἀπὸ τῶν νεκρῶν... Τὸν δὲ ἄγγελον ὁ μὲν Ματθαῖος ἔφη καθῆσθαι ἐν τῷ λίθῳ· ὁ δὲ Μάρκος ἀποκυλίσαντα τὸν λίθον, ἔνδον τοῦ μνημείου καθῆσθαι , ἐν τοῖς δεξιοῖς· ἄρ᾽ οὖν ἐναντιομωνοῦσιν; Οὐχι· ἀλλ᾽ εἰκὸς ἐστι φανῆναι πρῶτον τὸν ἄγγελον καθήμενον ἐν τῷ λίθῳ , εἶτα εἰσελθουσῶν τῶν γυναικῶν, προάγειν τὸν ἄγγελον, καὶ πάλιν φανῆναι ἐντὸς τοῦ μνημείου καθήμενον ἐν τοῖς δεξιοῖς. Εἶπε δὲ πρὸς τὰς γυναῖκας Μὴ φοβεῖσθε ὑμεῖς, τουτέστιν, Οἱ μὲν φύλακες ἄξιοί εἰσι φοβεῖσθαι· ὑμεῖς δὲ αἱ τοῦ Κυρίου μαθήτριαι , μὴ φοβεῖσθε . Μεθ᾽ ὁ δὲ ἀπαλλάττει αὐτὰς τοῦ δέους, εὐαγγελίζεται αὐταῖς τὴν ἀνάστασιν. Ἔδει γὰρ πρότερον ἐκβαλεῖν τὸ δέος, εἶτα εὐαγγελίσασθαι. Οὐκ αἰσχύνεται δὲ ἐσταυρωμένον ὀνομάζων τὸν Κύριον. Τῷ γὰρ σταυρῷ ὥσπερ τροπαίῳ τινὶ ἐγκαυχᾶται , πάντα τὰ ἀγαθὰ προεξενηκότι ἡμῖν. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ KH' Source: Migne PG 123.480c

On the night after the Sabbath, at  dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalen and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. And, behold, there was a great shaking of the earth, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and he rolled away the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning and his garments were white as snow, and the guards shook with fear and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid. I know you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead...' 1 Matthew says that the angel sat on the stone, but Mark that he rolled away the stone and sat within the tomb, on the right side. Is there not disagreement between them here? 2 Hardly, for it appears that first the angel sat on the stone and then went in before the women, and was seen there in the tomb sitting on the right side. And he said to the women, 'Do not be afraid,' that is, 'It is fitting that the guards should be struck with fear, but since you are followers of the Lord, do not be afraid.' And after he had delivered them from their fright, he evangelizes them as regards the resurrection, for it is first necessary to cast out fear, and then to evangelize. Nor does he blush to speak of the Lord as Him who was crucified. For one should boast of the cross, since by it every good is given to us. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 28 1 Mt 28.1-6 2 Mk 16.5

Judgement And Joseph

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

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

A Troubling Word

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

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

The Praise Of Angels

Dominus noster atque Salvator nascitur in Bethlehem, et multitudo coelestis exceritus laudat Deum et dicit: Gloria in excelsis Deo, et super terram pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Haec autem loquitur multitudo coelestis exercitus, quia jam defecert praebere hominibus auxilium et videbat se opus quod sibi creditum fuerat, implere non posse absque eo qui vere salvare poterat, et praesules quoque ipsos juvare, ut homines salvarentur. Quomodo igitur scriptum est in Evangelio, quod quidam remis sulcantes mare adversus contrarios ventos jam fessi erant, et viginti quinque, sive triginta stadiis laborantes, portum tenere non poterant, et postea Dominus supervenit, et quiescere fecit fluctus tumentes, navemque cujus hinc inde latera tundebantur, ab imminenti discrimine liberavit: sic intellige quoniam et angeli volebant quidem hominibus praebere auxilium, et eis ab aegrotationibus suis tribuere sanitatem, quia omnes sunt apparitores spiritus in ministerium missi propter eos qui consecuti sunt salutem: qui quantum in suis viribus erat, adjuvabant homines. Videbant autem multo inferiorem suam esse medicinam, quam illorum cura poscebat. Porro ut de exemplo possis intelligere quod dicimus, vide mihi urbem in qua aegrotent plurimi, et medicorum frequens adhibeatur manus: sint diversa vulnera, quotidie in emortuam carnem serpens putredo penetret: et tamen medici qui adhibiti sunt ad curandum, nequeant alia ultra invenire medicamina, et artis suae scientia magnitudinem mali vincere; cum haec in talibus nacti sint, eveniat aliquis archiater qui habeat summam in arte notitiam, et illi qui prius sanare nequiverant cernentes magistri manu putredines cessare vulnerum, non invideant, non livore crucientur, sed in laudes erumpant archiatri, et praedicent Deum qui et sibi et aegrotantibus tantae scientiae hominem miserit. In hanc ergo similitudinem et multitudo exercitus angelorum audita est dicens: Gloria in excelsis Deo, et super terram pax in hominibus bonae voluntatis. Origenes, Homiliae in Lucam, Homilia XIII, Interprete Sancto Hieronymo Source: Migne PG 13.1830c-1831a

Our Lord and Saviour is born in Bethlehem and a multitude of the heavenly host praises God and says: 'Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men of good will.' 1 And the multitude of the heavenly host says this because it has wearied itself in giving help to men, and it saw that the labour which it believed to be its own cannot be completed without Him who truly can save, even Him who is also the master who helps them so that men might be saved. Recall how is it written in the Gospel that certain men plying the oars were wearied in their struggle against contrary winds, and they laboured for twenty five or thirty stades and were not able to reach port, and later the Lord intervened and quietened the churning waves of the sea that were beating at the sides of the boat, and freed them from their pressing plight. 2 So understand that the angels wished to help men and bring them from sickness to health, because 'they are all ministering spirits sent to minister to them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation,' 3 as much as it is in them to help men. But they saw how inferior their own medicine is for what the cure requires. Perhaps by an example you shall be able to understand what I am saying. Imagine a city in which there are many sick people and the hands of physicians are frequently employed. There are many wounds and every day the worm enters into dying bodies, and however much the physicians exert themselves in healing they can do no more than their art allows them and as their knowledge can prevail over the evil, and when into such a situation the chief physician comes, he who knows everything about the art, when they see the hand of the master close up the festering wounds of those who they were not able to heal before, they are not envious, they are not distressed by it, but they burst out in praise of the chief physician and tell of God who has sent a man of such great knowledge to them and the sick. In this way, then, hear the host of angels saying, 'Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men of good will.' Origen, Homilies on Luke, from Homily 13, Translated by Saint Jerome 1 Lk 2.13-14 2 Jn 6.19-21 3 Heb 1.14

Fox Hunting

Πιάσατε ἡμῖν ἀλώπεκας μικροὺς ἀφανίζοντας ἀμπελῶνας, καὶ αἱ ἄμπελοι ἡμῶν κυπρίζουσιν. Πῶς ἐκεῖνος, περὶ οὗ τὰ τηλικαῦτα λέγεται, ὁ ἀνθρωποκτόνος, ὁ ἐν κακίᾳ δυνατός, οὗ ἡ γλῶσσα ὡσεὶ ξυρὸν ἠκονημένον, περὶ οὗ φησιν ὁ προφήτης ὅτι Τὰ βέλη τοῦ δυνατοῦ ἠκονημένα σὺν τοῖς ἄνθραξι τοῖς ἐρημικοῖς, καὶ Ἐνεδρεύει ὡς λέων ἐν τῇ μάνδρᾳ αὐτοῦ, ὁ δράκων ὁ μέγας, ὁ ἀποστάτης, ὁ ᾅδης ὁ πλατύνων τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ, ὁ κοσμοκράτωρ τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ σκότους, ὁ ἔχων τοῦ θανάτου τὸ κράτος, καὶ ὅσα ἐκ προσώπου αὐτοῦ διηγεῖται ἡ προφητεία, ὁ ἀφαιρούμενος ὅρια ἐθνῶν ἃ ἔστησε, δηλονότι ὁ ὕψιστος, κατ’ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ, ὁ καταλαμβάνων τὴν οἰκουμένην ὡς νοσσιὰν καὶ ὡς καταλελειμμένα ὠὰ αἴρων αὐτήν, ὁ λέγων τιθέναι ἐπάνω τῶν νεφελῶν τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ καὶ ὅμοιος γίνεσθαι τῷ ὑψίστῳ, καὶ ὅσα ἐν τῷ Ἰὼβ ὁ λόγος περὶ αὐτοῦ διεξέρχεται τὰ φοβερὰ καὶ φρικώδη, οὗ χαλκαῖ μὲν αἱ πλευραί, σίδηρος δὲ χυτὸς ἡ ῥάχις, ἔγκατα δὲ αὐτοῦ σμιρίτης λίθος, καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα, δι’ ὧν τὴν φοβερὰν φύσιν ἐκείνην ὑπογράφει ὁ λόγος, οὗτος οὖν ὁ τοσοῦτος καὶ τοιοῦτος, ὁ στρατηγὸς τῶν ἐν τοῖς δαίμοσι λεγεώνων, πῶς ὀνομάζεται παρὰ τῆς ἀληθινῆς τε καὶ μόνης δυνάμεως; μικρὸν ἀλωπέκιον. Kαὶ οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν πάντες, ἡ ὑποχείριος αὐτῷ στρατιά, πάντες κατὰ τὸ ἴσον ἐξευτελισθέντες κατονομάζονται παρὰ τοῦ παρορμῶντος πρὸς τὴν κατ’ αὐτῶν ἄγραν τοὺς θηρευτάς. Eἶεν δ’ ἂν οὗτοι τάχα μὲν αἱ ἀγγελικαὶ δυνάμεις αἱ τῆς δεσποτικῆς παρουσίας ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν προπομπεύουσαι καὶ τὸν βασιλέα τῆς δόξης ἐντὸς τοῦ βίου παράγουσαι, αἱ τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσιν ὑποδεικνύουσαι, Τίς ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης, ὁ κραταιὸς καὶ δυνατὸς ἐν πολέμῳ, ἴσως δ’ ἄν τις εἴποι καὶ τὰ Λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα τὰ εἰς διακονίαν ἀποστελλόμενα διὰ τοὺς μέλλοντας κληρονομεῖν σωτηρίαν, τάχα δὲ θηρευτὰς εἴποι τις ἂν καὶ τοὺς ἁγίους ἀποστόλους εἶναι τοὺς εἰς τὴν ἄγραν τῶν θηρίων τούτων ἐκπεμπομένους, πρὸς οὓς εἶπεν ὅτι Ποιήσω ὑμᾶς ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐνήργησαν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἁλείαν τῇ τῶν λόγων περιβολῇ τὰς τῶν σῳζομένων ψυχὰς σαγηνεύοντας, εἰ μὴ πρότερον ἐκ τῶν φωλεῶν τὰ θηρία ταῦτα ἐξέβαλον, τοὺς μικροὺς ἐκείνους ἀλώπεκας ἐκ τῶν καρδιῶν λέγω, αἷς ἐνεφώλευον, ὥστε ποιῆσαι τόπον τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὅπου ἑαυτοῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀναπαύσει, μηκέτι τοῦ γένους τῶν ἀλωπέκων ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις φωλεύοντος. πλὴν οὕσπερ ἂν ὑποθῆται τοὺς ἀγρευτὰς εἶναι ὁ λόγος, τὸ μεγαλεῖον καὶ ἄφραστον τῆς θείας δυνάμεως διὰ τῶν προστεταγμένων αὐτοῖς διδασκόμεθα· οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν ὅτι θηράσατε τὸν ὗν τὸν ἐκ τοῦ δρυμοῦ τὴν ἄμπελον τοῦ θεοῦ λυμαινόμενον ἢ τὸν μονιὸν τὸν ἄγριον ἢ τὸν ὠρυόμενον λέοντα ἢ τὸ μέγα κῆτος ἢ τὸν ὑποβρύχιον δράκοντα, ἦ γὰρ ἄν τινα δύναμιν τῶν ἀντιμαχούντων διὰ τῶν τοιούτων ὁ λόγος τοῖς θηρευταῖς ἐνεδείκνυτο, ἀλλὰ πᾶσαι, φησίν, ἐκεῖναι αἱ περίγειοι δυναστεῖαι, πρὸς ἃς ἡ πάλη τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐστίν, ἀρχαί τε καὶ ἐξουσίαι καὶ κοσμοκράτορες σκότους καὶ πνεύματα πονηρίας, ἀλωπέκιά ἐστι μικρά, δολερά τε καὶ δύστηνα, πρὸς τὴν ὑμετέραν κρινόμενα δύναμιν. Ἐὰν ἐκείνων κατακρατήσητε, τότε ἀπολήψεται τὴν ἰδίαν χάριν ὁ ἀμπελὼν ὁ ἡμέτερος, ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις, καὶ τὴν τῶν βοτρύων φορὰν διὰ τοῦ ἄνθους τῆς ἐναρέτου πολιτείας προοιμιάσεται. Πιάσατε οὖν ἡμῖν ἀλώπεκας μικροὺς ἀφανίζοντας ἀμπελῶνας καὶ αἱ ἄμπελοι ἡμῶν κυπρίζουσιν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων Ὁμιλία E' Source: Migne PG 44.880c-881d

Catch for us the little foxes that destroy vineyards, even as our vines blossom. 1 How is he described, Satan, of whom these such things are said, that he is a murderer of men, powerful in evil, with a tongue like a sharpened blade, 2 and concerning whom the prophet says, 'The arrows of the mighty one, sharpened with the coals of the wastes,' and 'He lies in wait like a lion in his lair,' he who is the great dragon, the apostate, Hades that opens wide its mouth, the world ruler of the power of darkness, the one who has the power of death, 3 and then prophecy describes him speaking for himself as the one who removes the borders of the nations, which He, obviously the Most High, established according to the number of his angels, 4 and as the one who seizes the inhabited earth as if it were a nest and takes it up like forsaken eggs, and as the one who says that his throne sits above the clouds and that he is like the Most High, 5 and then there are all the fearful and terrible things that the Word tells of him in the book of Job, that his ribs are bronze and his limbs cast iron, and his entrails are powdered stone, 6 and all the statements of this sort by which the Word sketches that fearsome nature, and such he is, then, and so great, the commanding general of the legions of demons, but how is he named by the true and only Power? A little fox! And all who are around him, the army under his orders, all of them are similarly disparagingly named by the one who urges the hunters to pursue them. Certainly these would be the angelic powers, those who go before the Lord's advent on earth, and who lead the King of Glory's way into this life and who make it manifest to the ignorant 'Who this King of Glory is, the one who is strong and mighty in battle.' and in a similar manner one might say they are 'the ministering spirits,' 7 dispatched in the service of those who shall inherit salvation, and then no doubt one might say that the hunters are the holy Apostles sent forth to chase these wild animals, to whom the Lord said, 'I will make you fishers of men,' 8 for they could not have performed the fishing of men with the net of their words, catching up the souls of the saved, unless they had first cast these wild beasts out of their lairs, that is, the little foxes out of the hearts in which they were hiding, thus to make a place for the Son of God, where He may rest His head because the foxes are no longer skulking in those hearts. 9 Besides those whom the Word commands to pursue, we are taught the greatness and the wonder of the Divine power by the things enjoined upon them, for He did not say, 'Hunt the feral pig that ravages God’s vineyard from its thicket, or the wild boar, 10 or the roaring lion, or great Leviathan, or the dragon of the deep,' though the Word did indeed show in such beasts something of the power of the forces that oppose the hunters, but He says, 'All these earthly powers, with whom men struggle, princes and authorities and the world rulers of darkness, and spirits of wickedness, are little foxes, wretched and treacherous, and under your power of judgement. If you prevail over them, then our vineyard, our human nature, will receive the grace proper to it and the harvest of grapes will begin with the blossom of virtuous conduct.' Therefore 'Catch for us little foxes that destroy the vineyards, even as our vines blossom.' Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 5 1 Song 2.5 2 Jn 8.44, Ps 51.3-44 3 Ps 119.4, Ps 9.30, Ezek 29.3, Isaiah 5.14, Eph 6.12, Heb 2.14 4 Isaiah 10.13, Deut 32.8 5 Isaiah 10.14, Isaiah 14.13–14 6 Job 40:18, Job 41.7 7 Ps 23.8, Heb 1.4 8 Mt 4.19 9 Mt 8.20 10 Ps 79.14

The Cherubim And The Blade

Et collacavit ante paradisum voluptatis cherubim, et flammeum gladium, atque versatilem, ad custodiendam viam ligni vitae Cherubim namque plenitudo scientiae interpretatur. Framea vero versailis, posita ad custodiendam viam ligni vitae, temporales poenae intelliguntur. Nemo enim potest pervenire ad arborem vitae, nisi per has duas res, tolerantiam scilicet molestiarum et scientie plenitudinem, id est, per charitatem Dei et proximi. Plenitudo enim legis charitas est. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput III Source: Migne PL 83.222c-223a

And He set the Cherubim before the garden of delight, with a sword of fire, that turned this way and that for the guarding of the way to the tree of life. 1 The name of Cherubim is interpreted as 'fullness of knowledge.' But the turning blade that is placed for the guarding of the way to the tree of life is understood to be temporal suffering. For no one is able to come to the tree of life, unless through these two things, obviously endurance of troubles and the fullness of knowledge, that is, through the love of God and neighbour, for the fullness of the Law is love. 2 Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chapter 3 1 Gen 3.24 2 Rom 13.10

Angels And The Resurrection

Cum enim a mortuis resurrexerint neque nubent neque nubentur: sed sunt sicut angeli Dei in caelis... Tangit hic secundum qualitatem veram resurgentium in duobus: in remotione erroirs, et in doctrina veritatis. De primos dicit, cum enim a mortuis, illi qui mortui sunt, resurrexerint, sive boni sive mali, neque nubent neque nubentur. Gloss. Graeco idiomati, Latina consuetudo non respondet: nubere enim proprie mulieres dicuntur, et viri uxores: sed nos simpliciter dictum intelligamus sic, neque nubant viri, neque nubentur mulieres. Unde Augustines dicit, quod ibi erunt membra genitalis, non quae libidinem provocent: sed quae sapientiae admirationem indicant. In resurrectione neque nubent neque nubentur: sed omnis ibi foecunditas est ex coniunctione spiritus creati cum increato, sed erunt, tangit doctrinam veritatis dicens, sed erunt, in futuro, sicut angelis, non in natura Angeli: sed sicut Angeli in proprietate spiritualitatis et immortalitatis. Et quia nuptiae sunt bonum mortalium, ideo neque nubent neque nubentur, in caelis, autem dicit, ne in terra in aurea Ierusalem resurrectio putetur esse futura. Filii huius seculi nubunt et traduntur ad nuptias: illi vero qui digni habebuntur illo seculo et resurrectione, neque nubent, neque ducent uxores, neque enim ultra mori poterunt: aequales enim sunt Angelis, et filii sunt Dei, cum filii sunt resurrectionis. Unde Gloss, Nemo ibi mortiur, nemo ibi nascitur, nec infans nec senex ibi erit. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput XII Source: Here p146

For when they are resurrected from the dead they shall neither marry nor be married, but they are like the angels of God in heaven...1 This touches on the true state of those who rise in two parts, in the removal of error and in the teaching of truth. Concerning the first He says, 'from the dead,' those who have died, they are resurrected, whether good or evil, and shall not marry or be married. The gloss says: 'This is a Greek idiom to which the Latin does not answer, for woman are properly said to marry, and men to take a wife,' but we should understand what is said in a simple sense, that neither will men marry, nor will woman be married. Whence Augustine says 2 that there there shall be generative members there but not to provoke to lust, but to signify the admiration of wisdom. 'In the resurrection they shall neither marry nor be married,' 3 but all there is a harmony in the joining of the created spirits with the uncreated. But they shall be, and here He touches on the teaching of truth, saying that in the future they shall be like angels, yet not by nature angels, but like angels by the possession of spirituality and immortality. And because marriage is a good of the mortal state, thus they shall not marry or be married in heaven, which means that it is not on earth, nor in some gilded Jerusalem, that the future resurrection should be thought to be. 'The children of this world marry and are given in marriage, but those who are worthy shall have the future and the resurrection, and they shall not marry nor take wives, nor shall they be able to die, but they shall be equal to angels, and sons of God, sons of the resurrection.' 4 Whence the gloss says: 'No one dies there, no one is born there, nor is there a babe there, nor an old man.' Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 12 1 Mark 10.1 2 Aug 3 Mt 22.30 4 Lk 20.34-36

Seeing Angels

...Et angelos Dei ascendentes et descendentes super Filium hominis. Ad litteram, angeli ad ipsum descenderunt, secundum quod dicitur matthaei quarto, Accesserunt angeli et ministrabant ei, spiritualiter vero, ut dicit Augustinus, quod dictum est Nathanaeli modo impletur in Christianis, quia, postquam Deus homo ascendit, credentibus in eum aperitur aditus caeli, et vident angelos, id est, praedicatores, ascendentes, dum arcana Deitatis considerant; et descendentes, dum humana de eo praedicant. Ista visio signata est Genesis vigesimo octavo, ubi dicitur, quod Iacob vidit Dominum innixum scalae et Angelos ascendentes et descendentes. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput I Source: Here, p496-7

...And angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man. 1 According to the letter, angels descended on Him according to what is said in the fourth chapter of Matthew: 'And angels came and ministered to Him.' 2 Spiritually, however, as Augustine says, 3 what was said to Nathanael was in a way fulfilled among Christians, because after the God man ascended, the sanctuary of the heavens was opened to those who believe in Him, and they see angels, that is, the preachers, ascending, when they contemplate the hidden things of His Divinity, and then descending, when they preach about the human things of Him. This vision was signified in the twenty eighth chapter of Genesis, where it is said that Jacob saw the Lord leaning on a ladder and the angels ascending and descending. 4 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 1 1 Jn 1.51 2 Mt 4.11 3 August Tract Ioan 7.23, contra Faustum 26, Serm 122.2.2 4 Genes 28.11-13

Angels And Spirits

...qui facit angelos suos spiritus et ministros suos ignem urentem... Commendandum est animo, quia hic specialiter de angelis dicitur, quod in libro Geneseos evidentius non habetur. Nam et verba ipsa sunt discutienda subtilius. Spiritus generale nomen est incorporalis potentisque substantiae, visibiliter sive invisibililter operans quod ei divinitus inspirature. Angelorum enim nomen non significat naturam, sed obsedientem. Angelus enim Graeca Lingua dicitur, qui Latine nuntius interpretatur: nam quando mittuntur angeli fiunt, cum tamen natura spiritus esse noscantur. Addidit, suos, ut illos ostenderet qui recta mente Domini voluntatibus obsecundant. Ordo enim verborum talis est: Qui spiritus suos facit angelos. Sequitur, et ministros suos ignem urentem. Minister Dei est omnis quo divinas exsequitur voluntates, et charitatis fervore semper accensus est. Talis enim vir coelestis ignis efficitur, quando verbo praedicationis peccantium nequitias urere et consumere posse monstratur. Sic enim ipse Dominus dicit: Ignem veni mittere in terram, ignis utique vitalis, ignis salutis, qui dum peccata consumit, animas nutrit. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus CIII Source: Migne PL 70.729b-c

...He who makes His spirits angels, and His ministers blazing fire... 1 It must be received by the soul, that here angels are spoken of in a special sense, which is not openly found in the book of Genesis. And these words must be distinguished most subtly. A spirit is a general name for an incorporeal and powerful substance, which working visibly or invisibly, is inspired by the Divinity. The name of angels does not signify the nature, but obedience, for 'angel' in the Greek tongue is translated into ours as 'messenger', since when they are sent out they are messengers, but their nature is known to be spiritual. He adds, 'His' to show them to be right minded followers of the Lord's wishes. For the sense of the words is: 'He who makes His spirits messengers.' It follows: 'And his ministers blazing fire.' A servant of God is everyone in whom the Divine wishes are followed, and he is always aflame with the fire of love. For the heavenly man is made fire when by the words of preaching the wickedness of sins is shown to be burnt and consumed. So the Lord says 'I have come to place fire on the earth,' 2 Life giving fire, the fire of salvation, which while it consumes sin, nourishes the soul. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 103 1 Ps 103.4 2 Lk 12.49

Judith And The Watchmen

Et dixit Judith a longe custodibus murorum: Aperite portas, quoniam nobiscum est Deus, qui fecit virtutem in Israel. Custodes murorum, hoc est, tutores castrorum Ecclesiae, sunt doctores sancti qui verbo et exemplo, atque etiam oratione assidua muniunt vitam credentium, et ad aeternam beatitudinem illis praeparant introitum; de quibus per prophetam dicitur: Super muros tuos, Jerusalem, constitui custodes, tota die, et tota nocte non tacebunt laudare nomen Domini. Possunt angelicae virtutes custodes murorum intelligi spiritualium, quae nobis deputatae sunt, ut nos suis solatiis contra malignos spiritus defendant. Clamat ergo Judith a longe custodibus, postulans sibi aperiri portas, eo quod secum sit Deus. Sic et Ecclesia in peregrinatione istius mundi, et via praesentis vitae constituta totis medullis cordis clamans postulat, ut per suffragia sanctorum sibi supernae patriae pandatur introitus, ut ibi nominis sui expleat officium, dicens cum propheta: Aperite portas justitiae, et ingressus in eas confitebor Domino, haec porta Domini, justi intrabunt per eam. Et unde hoc deposcat addit dicens: quia nobiscum est, qui fecit virtutem in Israel. Valde enim justum est ut qui se unitum cum capite suo agnoscit, de quo scriptum est, Dominus virtutem populo suo dabit, et benedicet populum suum in pace, cum eo ad coelestis regni apicem ascendat, quia sine eo nullo modo illuc pervenire potest. Unde ipsa Veritas in Evangelio ait: Nemo ascendit in coelum, nisi qui descendit de coelo filius hominis, qui est in coelo. Potest et hoc quod dicit Judith custodibus murorum, Aperite portas, devotio cordis auditorum suorum ab ea postulata intelligi, hoc est, ut praeparet intentionem cordis ad accipienda ea quae sibi dicuntur; sicut Salvator in Evangelio per parabolas docens dixit: Qui habet aures audiendi audiat. Et Joannes apostolus in Apocalypsi sua eamdem sententiam saepius repetit dicens: Qui habet aures audiendi audiat quid spiritus dicat ecclesiis. Merito ergo illa, quae virtutes Domini, quas fecit, expromere vult, auditores devotos quaerit, quia scriptum est: Beatus qui causam suam loquitur in aurem audientis. Rabanus Maurus, Expositio in Librum Judith, Caput XIII Source: Migne PL 109.574a-d

And from afar Judith said to the watchman on the walls: 'Open your gates, because God is with us, He who has power in Israel.' 1 The watchman on the walls, that is, the teachers of the fortresses of the Church, who with their words and example, and even with their prayers, diligently fortify the lives of the faithful, and prepare entry into eternal blessedness, concerning which it is said by the prophet: 'Upon your walls, Jerusalem, I have set watchmen, all day and all night, and they shall not cease to praise the name of the Lord.' 2 It is also possible to understand the angelic powers to be the guards of the spiritual walls, who are given to us so that with their support we might defend ourselves against malignant spirits. Therefore Judith cries out from afar to the guards, asking them to open the gates, because God is with them. So even the Church in its journey in this world, set in the way of this present life, with all the strength of its heart cries out and asks that by the assistance of the saints entry be opened to the heavenly fatherland, so that there may be fulfilled the office of the name, saying with the prophet, 'Open the gates of righteousness, and entering in, I shall confess to the Lord. These are the gates of the Lord, the righteous shall enter through them.' 3 And whence earnestly entreating this, she adds to it, saying: 'Because He is with us, He who has power in Israel.' Certainly it is right that he who knows himself united to the head, concerning whom it is written: 'The Lord shall give strength to his people, and He shall bless His people with peace,' 4 ascends with Him to the height of the heavenly kingdom, because without Him there is no way he can come there. Whence the truth says in the Gospel: 'No one has ascended to heaven, unless He who has descended from heaven, the son of man, who is in heaven.' 5 It is possible that this which Judith says to the the watchmen on the wall, 'Open the gates' is to be understood as touching on the attention of the hearts of her hearers to her requests, that is, she is preparing the intention of the heart for the reception of the things that are said, as the Saviour in the Gospel says, 'He who has ears, let him hear.' And John the Apostle in his Apocalypse often repeats the same meaning, saying, 'He who has ears to hear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches.' Rightly, then, this woman, who is the virtue of the Lord, wishing to show what she has done, seeks devout hearers, because it is written: 'Blessed he who speaks his cause in the ear of one who will hear.' 6 Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Judith, Chap 13 1 Judith 13.13 2 Isaiah 62.6 3 Ps 117.19-20 4 Ps 28.11 5 Jn 3.13 6 Sirach 25.12

Jubilation And Cries

Ascendit Deus in jubilatione: Dominus in voce tubae. Veniunt filii Core ad secundum modum, ubi tempus illud pia laude concelebrant, quando corporalibus oculis ascensio Domini gloriosa veritate conspecta est. In jubilatio vero propterea dictum est, quoniam stupentes apostoli tale miraculum ineffabili cordis laetitia replebantur; quorum felicibus oculis datum est ad coelos euntem videre Dominum Salvatorem. Jubilationem vero diximus nimiam quidem esse laetitiam, sed non quae sermonibus explicatur. Vocem quoque tubae verba significant angleorum, quae magno strepitu percussi aeris fragore tonuerunt. Tunc enim de tali visione apostolis stupentibus dixerunt angeli: Viri Galilaei, quid admiramini? Hic Jesus qui assumptus est a vobis sic veniet, quemmadmodum vidistis eum euntem in coelum; ut mundus firmius crederet quod talibus praeconibus insonaret. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XLVI Source: Migne PL 70.334c

God ascends in jubilation, the Lord in the voice of the trumpet. 1 The sons of Kore come to the second measure, where is the time they celebrate with pious praise when with the bodily eyes the glorious ascension of the Lord was seen in truth. 'In jubiliation' it was said, because the Apostles had their hearts filled with ineffable joy by such a miracle, those to whom it was given to look toward the heavens with happy eyes at the Lord Saviour's going. Whatever cannot be expressed in words but is excessively joyful we name 'jubilation.' Now the voice of the trumpet signifies the words of the angels, which strikiing the heavens with a great cry made it resound with thunder. And then, concerning the sight, the angels said to the astonished Apostles: 'Men of Galilee, what are you wondering at? This Jesus who was taken up shall come to you in like manner, as you have seen him going into heaven.' 2 And that the world might more firmly believe it cried out for such preachers. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 46 1 Ps 46.6 2 Acts 1.11

An Angel Was Sent

Τῷ μην τῷ ἕκτῳ, φησὶν, ἀπεστάλη ὁ ἄγγελος Γαβριὴλ ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ πρὸς παρθένον μεμνηστευμένην ἀνδρί. Ἀπεστάλη Γαβριὴλ τὴν παγκόσμιον μηνῦσαι σωτηρίαν· ἀπεστάλη Γαβριὴλ, φέρων τῷ Ἀδὰμ ὑπογραφὴν ἀνακλήσεως· ἀπεστάλη Γαβριὴλ πρὸς παρθένον, ἵνα τὴν ἀτιμίαν τοῦ θήλεος εἰς τιμὴν μεταβάλλῃ· ἀπεστάλη Γαβριὴλ, ἄξιον εὐτρεπίσαι τῷ καθαρῷ νυμφίῳ τὸν θάλαμον· ἀπεστάλη Γαβριὴλ νυμφεύσασθαι τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι· ἀπεστάλη Γαβριὴλ πρὸς τὸ ἔμψυχον τοῦ βασιλέως τῶν ἀγγέλων παλάτιον· ἀπεστάλη Γαβριὴλ πρὸς παρθένον μεμνηστευμένην μὲν τῷ Ἰωσὴφ, τηρουμένην δὲ τῷ Υἱῷ· ἀπεστάλη δοῦλος ἀσώματος πρὸς παρθένον ἀμόλυντον· ἀπεστάλη ὁ ἁμαρτίας ἐλεύθερος πρὸς τὴν φθορᾶ, ἀνεπίδεκτον· ἀπεστάλη λύχνος μηνῦσαι τὸν ἥλιον τῆς δικαιοσύνης· ἀπεστάλη ὄρθρος προτρέχων τοῦ φωτὸς τῆς ἡμέρας· ἀπεστάλη Γαβριὴλ δηλῶν τὸν ἐν κόλποις τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ ἐν ἀγκάλαις τῆς μητρός· ἀπεστάλη Γαβριὴλ, δεικνὺς τὸν ἐν θρόνῳ καὶ ἐν σπηλαίῳ· ἀπεστάλη στρατιώτης, βοῶν τὸ τοῦ βασιλέως μυστήριον· μυστήριον γνωριζόμενον πίστει, οὐκ ἐρευνώμενον πολυπραγμοσύνῃ· μυστήριον προσκυνούμενον, οὐ ζυγοστατούμενον· μυστήριον θεολογούμενον, οὐκ ἐρευνώμενον· μυστήριον ὁμολογούμενον, οὐ μετρούμενον. Ψευδο Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς Τoν Εὐαγγελισμόν Τῆς ὑπερενδόξου Δεσποίνης ἡμῶν Θεοτόκου Source: Migne PG 50.793

'In the sixth month,' it says, 'the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a virgin betrothed to a man.' 1 Gabriel was sent to make known universal salvation. Gabriel was sent bearing the writ for the recall of Adam. Gabriel was sent to the Virgin so that the dishonor of womanhood might be transformed into honor. Gabriel was sent, as is worthy, to rejoice in the chamber of the pure Bridegroom. Gabriel was sent to betrothe the Creator to creation. Gabriel was sent to the spiritual palace of the King of the angels. Gabriel was sent to the Virgin, who though betrothed to Joseph, will bear the Son. The bodiless servant was sent to the spotless Virgin. He who was free of sin was sent to her untouched by corruption. The lamp was sent to announce the sun of righteousness. The dawn was sent as a herald of the light of day. Gabriel was sent to tell of Him who is in the bosom of the Father, and in the arms of the Mother. Gabriel was sent to show Him who is on the throne and in the cave. This soldier was sent to cry out the secret of the King. The mystery is to be known through faith, not sought out by the inquisitive. The mystery is to be revered, not weighed in the scales. The mystery is to be revealed by Divine contemplation, not by investigation. The mystery is to be confessed, not measured. Pseudo John Chrysostom, On The Annunciation 1 Lk 1.26-27