Trials And Blessings

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

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

The Resurrection And The Seals

Flebat Joannes in Apocalypsi quia non inveniebat qui solveret septem signacula signati libri. Cum enim Joannes Baptista, qui major erat inter natos mulierum, iam se publice judicasset indignum solvere corrigiam calceamenti: perinde erat ac si diceret: Non sum dignus solvere signaculum libri. Nihil est aliud signaculum libri quam ligatura calceamenti. Unus autem de senioribus dixit ei: Ne fleveris. Dignus est Agnus, qui occisus est, accipere librum, et solvere septem signacula ejus. Hic est liber involutus, sicut in propheta legitur, scriptus digito Dei, in pergameno uteri virginalis. Liber iste in quo legunt angeli delectationes aeternas. Septem fuerunt hujus libri signacula. Deus enim gloriam suae majestis in carne abscondens, pretium nostrae redemptionis quasi in sacculo consignavit. Nonne saccus fuit carnis mortalis assumptio? Posuitisti, inquit vestimentum meum cilicium. Et iterum: Conscidisti saccum meum et circumdedisti me laetitia. In hoc sacculo attulit species pretiosas, veniam peccatorum, profectum virtutum, praemium meritorum. Haec saccum texuit divina sapientia novem mensibus: nam de illa legitur: Manum suam misit ad fortia et dirigit ejus apprehenderunt fusum. Hunc saccum in Jordane lavit, in passione torsit, in cruce siccavit. Humanitas Christi vocatur liber, quia in eo est scientia vitae et disciplinae. Fuit ergo vivum signaculum, ut non posset ejus divinitas comprehendi, dispensatio Virginis, corporis infirmitas, circumcisio, fuga in Aegyptum, fames in deserto, humilitas crucis, sepultura. Quae licet ultimum signaculum, multum tamen clausit et abscondit de gloria divinae majestatis. Haec omnia Christus hodie solvit, non rupit; nam omnibus quae ad dispensationem carnis assumptae pertinebant, obedienter impletis, hodie de miseri humanitatis resurgit in gloriam deitatis. Opportebat siquidem Christum pati, et resurgere et sic intrare in gloriam suam. Suam dico, imo et nostram. Non enim per aliud ostium intrabit caput, et per aliud membra. Volo, inquit, ut ubi ego sum, illic sit et minister meus. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XXI, In Resurrectione Source: Migne PL 207.621a-d

In the Apocalypse John wept because he was not able to find anyone to undo the seven seals of the sealed book. 1 For when John the Baptist, compared to whom no one greater was born among woman, openly proclaimed that he was not worthy to undo a strap of His sandal, it was as if he had said, 'I am not worthy to undo a seal of the book.' 2 There is no difference between the seal of the book and the strap of the sandal. Then one of the elders said to John, 'Do not weep. The lamb who was slain is worthy to receive the book and undo the seven seals.' This is the book that is bound up, as is read in the prophet, 3 and was written by the finger of God on the parchment of the Virgin's womb. This is the book in which the angels read all the eternal joys. There were seven seals on this book. For leaving the glory of His majesty for the flesh, God consigned the reward of our redemption as if in a sack. Was this sack not the taking up of mortal flesh? 'And I made haircloth my garment.' And again, 'You have cut off my sackcloth and surrounded me with joy.' 4 In this sack He brought precious wealth, the forgiveness of sins, the perfection of virtue, the reward of merit. The Divine wisdom fashioned this sack in nine months, for concerning it we read, 'She has put her hand to strong things and her fingers have taken hold of the spindle.' 5 He washed this sack in the Jordan, He wrung it in the Passion, He dried it on the Cross. The book he speaks of is the humanity of Christ, because in it is the knowledge of life and discipline. It then had a living seal, so that it was not possible to understand His Divinity, the dispensation to the Virgin, the infirmity of the body, the circumcision, the flight into Egypt, the hunger in the desert, the humility of the cross, or the tomb. This last seal hid and obscured much of the glory of the Divine majesty. Today Christ undoes all these, and does not break them, for He obediently fulfilled everything of the dispensation of the taking up of the flesh, and today He rises from the wretchedness of humanity to the glory of Godhood. It was necessary that Christ suffer and rise and so enter into His glory. 6 His own, I say, and even ours. For it is not that the head enters through one gate and the members through another. 'I wish,' He says, 'that where I am, that there is my servant.' 7 Peter of Blois, from Sermon 21, On The Resurrection 1 Apoc 5.4 2 Lk 7.28, Lk 3.16 3 Ezek 2.9 4 Ps 68.12, Ps 29.12 5 Prov 31.19 6 Lk 24.26 7 Jn 12.26

Making Rich And Poor

...et mercatores terrae de virtute deliciarum ejus divites facti sunt... Divites peccatis dici eos qui pro abundantia temporali suas infelici mercatu animas commutant. Nam nimietas luxuriae pauperes potius quam divitis facit Sanctus Beda, Explanatio Apocalyspsis, Liber III, Caput XVIII Source: Migne PL 93.185c

...and the merchants of the earth made rich by the power of her delicacies... 1 It speaks of those rich in sin, those who barter their souls away in a wretched market for temporal wealth, for excessive luxury makes men poor rather than rich. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Apocalypse, Book 3, Chapter 18 1 Apoc 18.3

The White Horse

Et vidi coelum apertum, et ecce equus albus... Dominus qui est via, veritas et vita, et cui per prophetam dicitur: Quoniam fecisti mirabilia, cogitationes antiquas fideles, amen: ad debellandas aereas potestates candidi corporis, id est, immaculati conscendit sedem. Et in justitia judicat et pugnat. Judicat ut rex saeculorum. Pugnat, quia in suis membris semper compassus dimicat. Oculi autem ejus sicut flamma ignis. Oculos Dei aliquando praecepta dicit, aliquando spiritum. Lucerna, inquit, pedibus meis verbum tuum, Domine. Et de Spiritu: Ignem veni mittere in terram. Et in capite ejus diademata multa. In quo faciemus virtutem, in ipso multitudo sanctorum coronatum dicitur habere decorem. Habens nomen scriptum quod nemo novit nisi ipse. Nisi ipse, ait, quia in illo est omnis Ecclesia. Verbi enim Dei perfecta cognitio illis manifestatur, qui corpus Christi et membra esse meruerunt. Eodem modo et Dominus ait: Nemo ascendit in coelum, nisi qui de coelo descendit, Filius hominis qui est in coelo. Et vestitus erat veste aspersa sanguine. Vestis Christi pro locis intelligi debet. Hic ergo videtur ipsum opus indicare passionis, ut in equo albo nativitas incorrupta, in veste sanguinolenta mors innoxia, designetur. Et vocabatur nomen ejus Verbum Dei. Quia idem qui homo passurus ad tempus apparuit, in principio Deus apud Deum erat. Verbum enim dicitur, quia nihil in substantia naturae ejus visibile vel corporeum est, vel quia per eum omnia condidit Pater. Cujus ad integrum notitia naturae sibi tantum, ut superius ait, et Patri cognita est. Pax enim Dei exsuperat omnem sensum, id est, ea pax qua Deus ipse sibi pacatus est omnem creaturae, sive humanae, sive etiam angelicae, transcendit intellectum. Sapientiae enim ejus non est numerus. Nam quod dicitur: Et cui voluerit Filius revelare, id est, Filium et Patrem novit, ad modum creaturae respicit. Sanctus Beda, Explanatio Apocalyspsis, Liber III, Caput XIX Source: Migne PL 93.189a-d

And I saw heaven opened, and, behold, a white horse... 1 The Lord who is the way and the truth and the life, even Him whom through the prophet it is said, 'Because you have done wonderful things, your faithful thoughts of old,' for the vanquishing of the powers of the air with the bright body, that is, He mounts the seat immaculate. 2 And in righteousness He shall judge and fight... He judges as the king of the ages. He fights because He contends in the suffering of His members. His eyes as flame... The eyes of God are sometimes the commandments, and sometimes the Spirit. 'Your word is a lamp for my feet, O Lord.' And concerning the Spirit, 'I have come to place fire on the earth.' 3 And on His head many crowns. In that we act virtuously, we shall be adorned with the many crowns of the saints. Having a name written that no one knows but Himself. But Himself, it says, because in Him is all the Church, and the flawless knowledge of the Word of God is manifested to those who have merited to be the body and members of Christ. In the same way the Lord says, 'No one ascends to heaven unless He who comes down from from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven.' 4 And He was clothed with a garment speckled with blood. The garment of Christ should be understood by other passages. Therefore here it seems to signify the work of the passion, so that the white horse is the incorruption of the Nativity and and blood stained garment is the guiltless death. And His name was called the Word of God. Because He who appeared for a time as a suffering man was God with God in the beginning. 'The Word' because nothing in the substance of His nature is visible and corporeal, or because through Him the Father made all things. 5 And the perfection of His nature is known by Him alone, as said above, and by the Father. For the peace of God exceeds all understanding, that is, that peace which God Himself is, which transcends the understanding of every creature, whether human or angelic. 'For His wisdom is without number.' 6 And it is said, 'And to whom the Son shall choose to reveal it,' 7 that is, according to the manner of the creature is the knowledge of the Son and the Father. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Apocalypse, Book 3, Chapter 19 1 Apoc 6.2 2 Jn 14.6, Isaiah 25.1, Ephes 2.2 3 Ps 118.105, Lk 12.49 4 Jn 3.13 5 Jn 1.1-3 6 Phil 4.7, Ps 146.5 7 Mt 11.27

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

Silence In Heaven

Factum est silentium in caelo quasi media hora Est silentium quod est contemplatio. Coelum est anima justi. Unde: Coleum sedes mea est; et: Coeli enrrant gloriam Dei. Cum igitur quies contemplativae viae agitur in mente, silentium fit in coelo: quae quia in praesenti non est perfecta, non hora, sed media hora fieri perhibetur. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber VI, Tit II De silentio animae contemplativae Source: Migne PL 177.812c

'There was silence in heaven for almost half an an hour.' 1 It is the silence that is contemplation. Heaven is the soul of the righteous man. Hence, 'Heaven is my seat.' 2 And, 'The heavens announce the glory of God.' 3 Therefore when the quiet of the contemplative life is practiced in the mind, there is silence in heaven, which because it is not perfect in the present, lasts not for an hour, but for part of an hour. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 6, Chapter 2, On the Silence of the Contemplative Soul 1 Apoc 8.1 2 Isaiah 66.1 3 Ps 18.2

Winged Creatures

..et quattuor animalia singula eorum habebant alas senas.... Testimonia sunt Veteris Testamenti librorum. Ideo viginti et quatuor totidem faciunt, quot sunt seniores super tribunalia sedentes. Sed sicut animal volare non potest nisi pennas habeat, sic, nec praedicatio Novi Testamenti fidem habeat, nisi habeat per Veteris Testamenti praenuntiata testimonia, per quae tollitur a terra et volat. Semper enim, quod ante dictum est, et postea factum invenitur, illud fidem facit indubitabilem. Rursum et ales si non haereant animalibus, vitam unde trahant, non habent. Nisi enim quae praedixerunt prophetae, in Christo essent consummata, inanis erat praedicatio eorum. Haec est tenet Ecclesia catholica quae et antea predicata, et postea consummata sunt. Et volat quippe et merito tollitur a terra vivum animal. Haereticis autem qui testimonio prophetico non utuntur, adsunt et eis animalia, sed non volant, quia sunt terrena. Judaeis autem qui non accipiunt Novi Testamenti praedicationem, adsunt alae, sed non volant, id est inanem vaticinationem hominibus afferunt, facta dictis non conferentes. Victorinus Petavionensis, Scoli in Apocalypsin Beati Joannis, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 5.325c-326a

...and the four creatures each had six wings...' 1 These are the testimonies of the books of the Old Testament. Thus the twenty four wings in total make as many as there are elders sitting upon the thrones. But as an animal cannot fly unless it has wings, so the announcement of the New Testament gains no faith unless it has the foretold testimonies of the Old Testament, by which it is lifted from the earth and flies. For it is always that which has been told before and is later found to have happened that produces an undoubting faith. Again, if the wings are not attached to the living creatures, they do not have that from which they may draw life. For unless what the prophets foretold had been consummated in Christ, their preaching was vain. The Catholic Church holds those things which were both predicted before and afterwards accomplished. And it flies because rightly the living animal is lifted up from the earth. And there are living creatures for heretics who do not make use of the prophetic testimony, but they do not fly, because they are of the earth. And there are wings for the Jews who do not receive the proclamation of the New Testament, but they cannot fly, that is, they bear a vain prophesying to men, not bringing facts into accord with words. Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of St John, Chapter 4 1 Apoc 4.8

The Spirit's Inspiration

Post haec vidi et ecce ostium apertum in coelo. Ostium apertum in caelo, Novum Testamentum praedicatur. Et vox prima quam audivi tanquam tubae loquentis mecum, dicens: ascende huc. Quando apertum ostenditur , clatisum fuisse antea hominibus manifestum est. Satis autem et plene patefactum est, quando Christus cum corpore in coeios ad Patrem ascendit. Vox autem prior quam audierat, cum dicit illam secum esse locutam , sine contradictione arguit eos, qui aliuin in prophetiis , alium in Evangelio dicunt fuisse locutum, cum magis ipse qui venit, ipse sit qui in prophelis locutus est. Joannes enim ex circumcisione erat; et omnis ille populus qui VeterisTestamenti praedicatiouem audierat, illa voce aedificatus est. Illa eademque vox, inquit, quam audieram, illa mihi dixit: Ascende huc. Id est spiritus, quem paulo ante quam filium hominis inter candelabra aurea ambulantem se vidisse fatetur: et nunc exinde recolit, quae per legem in similitudinibus praenuntiata erant, et per hanc scripturam conjungit omnes priores, et aperit scripturas. Et quia postquam invitavit in coelum omnes credentes in nomine suo Dominus noster, statim Spiritum sanctum effudit qui ferturus ad coelum, ait: Statim fui in spiritu. Et cum aperiatur per Spiritum sanctum mens fidelium, et illud eis manifestetur, quid et prioribus est praedictum, significater ait. Victorinus Petavionensis, Scoli in Apocalypsin Beati Joannis Source: Migne PL 5.323c-324a

After that I saw a door open in heaven. 1 The door open in heaven speaks of the New Testament. And the first voice that I heard, speaking to me like a trumpet, said, 'Come up here.' When it is shown to have been opened, it is manifest that it was closed before to men. It was plainly thrown right open when Christ in the body ascended to the Father in the heavens. But the voice which he had previously heard, when he says that it spoke to him, without contradiction disputes with those who say that one thing was spoken in the prophets and another in the Gospel, when rather He who came is He who spoke through the prophets. For John was of the circumcision and all that people who heard the Old Testament preached were edified by that voice. 'That same voice,' he says, 'which I heard, that said to me, 'Come up here.' That is, the Spirit, whom a little before he says he had seen walking like a son of man in the midst of the golden candlesticks. And he now gathers from Him what had been foretold in similitudes by the Law, and through  Scripture joins up all that came before, and thus open up the Scriptures. And because after our Lord invited all who believe in His name into heaven, He then poured out the Holy Spirit which brings to heaven, he says: 'Immediately I was in the Spirit.' Since when the mind of the faithful is opened by the Holy Spirit, that is made manifest to them which was foretold to those who came before, he distinctly says. Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of St John 1 Apoc 4.1-2

The Church And The Devil

Inimicitias ponam inter te et mulierem et semen tuum. Mulierem, hic Ecclesiam dicit, cui diabolus contrarius est. Semen vero mulieris bona opera sunt Ecclesiae, semen serpentis, opera omnis iniquitatis. Haec est enim mulier illa, de qua Joannes in Apocalipsi dicit, quod eam draco perseqeretur, volens eam devorare, postquam etiam fluvium ex ore euo emisit, quia persecutionem gentium contra Ecclesiam suscitavit. Ipsa conteret caput tuum. Id est, Ecclesia conteret caput tuum, id est, initium malae voluntatis, antequam ad opus prorumpat. Unde et in psalmo beatus dicitur qui parvulus Babylonis tenuerit, et ad petram alliserit. Parvuli Babylonis est initium peccati et orgio malae voluntatis. Hi sunt parvuli confusionis qui, antequam proficient, allidendi sunt ad petram, id est Christum. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Commentarius In Genesim, Caput III Source: Migne PL 131.66b-c

I shall set hostility between you and the woman and your seed. 1 'The woman,' he speaks of the Church, against which the devil is hostile. But the seed of the woman is the good works of the Church, and the seed of the serpent is every work of wickedness. Indeed this is the woman of whom John speaks in the Apocalypse, that the dragon shall persecute her, wishing to devour her, and later he pours forth a river from his mouth, because he stirs up the persecution of the Gentiles against the Church. 2 'She shall crush your head.' 1 That is, the Church 'shall crush your head,' that is, the beginning of evil desires, before they burst forth into deeds. Whence it is said in the Psalm: 'Blessed is he who takes hold of one of the little ones of Babylon, and smashes it against a rock.' 3 The little ones of Babylon are the beginning of sin and the source of evil desire. These are the little ones of confusion who before they come forth should be smashed against the rock which is Christ. Remigius of Auxerre, Commentary On Genesis, Chapter 3 1 Gen 3.15 2 Apoc 12.13 3 Ps 136.9

The End Of Death And Death

Ecce tabernaculum Dei cum hominibus, etc. Ipse Deus erit electis aeternae beatitudinis praemium, quod ab eo possessi possidebunt in aeternum. Et absterget Deus omnem lacrymam ab oculis eorum. Tanta illius civitatis et tam celsa de Dei munere claritas apparebit, ut nulla remaneant vestigia vetustatis. Quandoquidem et corpora coelestis incorruptio sublimabit, et mentes aeterni Regis pascet intuitus. Et mors ultra non erit, etc. Praedixerat enim mortem in stagnum ignis missam. Nam etiam sic eadem potest sententia intelligi, ut, sancta civitate novissimo judicio glorificata, dolor, luctus, et mortalitas tantum in gehenna remaneant. Sanctus Beda, Explanatio Apocalyspsis, Liber III, Caput XXI Source: Migne PL 93.194d-195a

Behold the tabernacle of God with men... 1 God Himself shall be the reward of the eternal blessedness of the elect, which gaining from Him they shall possess forever. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes... So great shall appear the light of that city and the high gift of God, that there will remain no trace of what has passed. When bodies are glorified by heavenly incorruption, then even the vision of the eternal king shall feed minds. And death shall be no more... He has spoken of the death which sends into the lake of fire. 2 So it is possible to understand the same meaning, that with the holy city glorified in the last judgement, grief, sorrow and mortality shall be found in hell alone. St Bede, Commentary On The Apocalypse, Book 3, Chapter 21 1 Apoc 21.3 2 Apoc 20.9

Souls Like Sparrows

Anima nostra sicut passer erepta est de laqueo venantium; laqueus contritus est, et nos liberati sumus... Totus hic versiculus, imo totus hic psalmus est gratiarum actio et vox laudis. Sancti enim quorum solemnitas hodie agitur, olim similes nobis passibiles habitaverunt domos luteas, et in corpore mortis hujus tentationis laqueos, et inimici malitias graviter sunt experti. Nunc autem, quia eduxit Dominus eorum animas de periculis hujus vitae, loquitur Propheta in persona eorum et dicit: Anima nostra sicut passer, etc. Huic verbo concinit et concordat quod Joannes in Apocalypsi ait: Sub altari Dei audivi vocem occisorum dicentium: Vindica, Domine, sanguinem servorum tuorum qui effusus est. Nec est vox ista exspectantium ultionem, sed desiderantium sui corporis glorificationem. Nam sub altari Dei constitutae sunt animae quae de corporibus exierunt, et in tranquilla quiete stolam secundam, id est glorificationem corporis gaudentes expectant. Altare Dei sancti Patres intelligunt corpus Christi glorificatum: in cujus visione sunt ad tempus deliciae animarum, donec impleatur numerus fratrum suorum. Hae sunt aquilae, quae congregantur ad corpus. Sicut scriptum est: Ubicunque fuerit corpus, ibi congregabuntur et aquilae. Delectantur ergo in aspectu glorificatae carnis in Christo, qui eis stolam animae nunc tribuit, et tandem glorificationem corporis tribuet, atque in hac requie gloriam perfectae glorificationis expectant. Hinc est vox quae dicit: me exspectant justi, donec retribuas mihi. Sane illi qui glorificationem corporis exspectabant, divinum acceperunt responsum, quod eis in Apocalypsi dictum est: Susinete modicum tempus, donec impleatur numerus fratrum vestorum. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XLI, In Festo Ominum Sanctorum Source: Migne PL 207.685a-c

Our souls like the sparrow have been seized from the trap of the hunters. The trap was broken and we were freed... 1 The whole of this passage, and indeed the whole of this Psalm, is an act of thanks and a voice of praise. For the saints of this solemnity that is held today once like us suffered and dwelt in habitations of clay and in this body of death amid the snares of trials, and experienced the grave wickedness of the enemy. But now, because the Lord has led their souls from the perils of this life, it is said of them in the person of the Prophet: 'Our souls like the sparrow...' With this what John says in the Apocalypse sings together and harmonises: 'Beneath the altar of God I heard the voice of those slain, saying: O Lord, vindicate the blood of your servants which was poured out.' 2 This cry is not in hope of some vengeance but because of a desire for the glorification of the body, since the souls which have gone out of their bodies are placed beneath the altar of God and in tranquil rest they hope for the second robe, that is, they hope to rejoice in the glorification of the body. The Holy Fathers understood the altar of God to be the glorified body of Christ, in which for a time the souls had sight of their delight, until the number of their brethren was complete. These are the eagles which gather at the body. So it is written, 'Where the body is, there the eagles shall gather.' 3 They delight, therefore, in the sight of the glorified flesh in Christ, He who has already given them the robe for the soul, and finally shall give to them the glorification of the body, in which rest, then, they hope for the glory of perfect glorification. Hence the voice which says: 'The righteous hope in me, until I shall reward them.' 4 Indeed those who have hoped for the glorification of the body, they received the Divine response which was said to those in the Apocalypse: 'Endure for a little while, until the numbers of your brethren is complete.' 5 Peter of Blois, from Sermon 41, On The Feast Of All Saints 1 Ps 123.7 2 Apoc 6.9-10 3 Mt 24.28, Lk 17.37 4 Ps 141.8 5 Apoc 6.11

The Dragon Cast Down

Et draco pugnabat, et angeli ejus... Angeli Satanae non illi tantum qui ei natura sunt et voluntate similes, sed et homines eorum laqueis irretiti, sunt intelligendi. Et non valuerunt. Silicet, toto tempore. Neque locus inventus est eorum amplius in coelo. Et projectus est draco ille magnus in terram. Antiquus hostis de spiritualibus expulsus, arctius in terrenis includitur. Hoc est de coelo praecipitari, et in terram mitti. Cui dicitur: Terram comedes cunctis diebus. In qua terra sanctorum pedibus conteritur, sicut scriptum est: Super aspidem et basiliscum ambulabis. Sanctus Beda, Explanatio Apocalyspsis, Liber II, Caput XII Source: Migne PL 93.167c

And the dragon fought, and his angels... 1 The angels of Satan are to be understood not only as those who are like him in nature and will, but even men who have been caught in their snares. And they did not prevail... That is, for all time. There was no place in heaven for them anymore. And the great dragon was cast down to earth. The ancient enemy, expelled from spiritual things, is closely shut up in the earth. This is to be thrown from heaven and to be cast onto the earth. To whom it is said: 'You shall eat of the earth all of your days.' 2 Which earth is trodden down by the feet of the holy, as it is written: 'You shall walk on the serpent and the basilisk.' 3 St Bede, Commentary On The Apocalypse, Book 2, Chapter 12 1 Apoc 12.7-9 2 Gen 3.14 3 Ps 90.13

Deserving Excommunication

Contestor ego omni audienti verba prophetiae libri huius si quis adposuerit ad haec adponet Deus super illum plagas scriptas in libro isto, et si quis deminuerit de verbis libri prophetiae huius auferet Deus partem eius de ligno vitae et de civitate sancta, et de his quae scripta sunt in libro isto. Dicit qui testimonium perhibet istorum etiam, amen. Venio cito, amen. Veni Domine Jesu. Contestor, postquam commendavit librum per multas auctoritates, quia scivit quosdam haereticos in Asia, quorum mos erat auferre de libris sanctorum quae suis haeresibus contra irent, et interserere suas haereses, ut ex sanctis suos errores confirmarent, excommunicat omnes qui vel apponunt huic libro vel inde subtrahunt, et hoc est, contestor, et caetera. Dicit, quasi dicat: Ego excommunico, et Jesus excommunicat, qui testimonium perhibet istorum, scilicet Jesus, etiam Amen, id est vera sunt omnia quae dicta sunt, et ideo si quis mutaverit, excommunicetur. Venio cito, Amen, et servate ne mutetis verba, quia ego cito venio, ut vindicem mutatores, dicit Dominus. Verba apostoli, et confirmat Christum cito venturum. Veni, Domine Jesu, dicit apostolus Domino ex nimia affectione desiderantis, ut veniat ad remunerandum. Anselmus Laudunensis, Ennarationes In Apocalypsin, Caput XXII Source: Migne PL 162.1586b-d

I give witness to all who hear the words of prophecy of this book that on him who shall add to these things God shall bring the plagues written in this book, and if someone removes words from the prophecy of this book God shall take from him his part of the tree of life and the holy city, and in all of the things written in this book. He speaks who gives witness to these things, amen. I come quickly, amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 1 'I give witness,' after commending the book by many authorities, because he knows there are heretics in Asia, whose habit it is to remove from the books of the saints what is directed against their heresies and to insert their own heresies so that their errors might be confirmed by the saints, he excommunicates all who add or subtract from this book, and this is, 'I give witness,' and the rest. He speaks as if he said, 'I excommunicate, and Jesus excommunicates, 'He who gives witness to these things,' that is, Jesus. 'Amen,' that is, that all the things spoken here are true, and therefore if someone shall change them, he shall be excommunicate. 'I come quickly.' So guard and do not change the words, because I come quickly, and I shall punish the corrupters, says the Lord. The words of the Apostle then confirm that Christ is to come quickly. 'Come, Lord Jesus,' says the Apostle to the Lord, desiring in an excess of love, that He come to reward. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Apocalypse, Chapter 22 1 Apoc 22.18-19

Apostles And Spectacles

Puto enim quod Deus nos apostolos novissimos ostendit, quasi morti destinatos. Hoc personae suae deputat, quia semper in necessitate fuit, persecutiones et pressuras ultra caeteros passus, sicut passuri sunt Enoch et Elias, qui ultimo temporte futuri sunt apostoli. Mitti enim habent ante Christum ad praeparandum populum Dei, et muniendas omnes Ecclesias, ad resistendum antichristo, quos et persecutiones pati et occidi lectio Apocalyspsis testatur. Horum ergo tempus suo tempori comparavit Apostolos dicens: Quasi morti destinatos, ad hoc enim venturi sunt, ut occidantur. Quia spectaculum facti sumus huic mundo, et angelis et hominibus... Quia erunt spectaculum et Enoch et Elias usque adeo, ut corpora eorum in platea projiciantur in conspectu totius populi infidelis; ita et apostoli spectaculum facti sunt, quia publice ridebantur, positi ad injuriam et mortem quam passi sunt. Mundum autem, angelos et homines dixit; quia et anglei mali sunt, dicente David in psalmo septuagesimo septimo: Vexabat illos per angelos malos, et homines mali and increduli; his apostolorum injuriae oblectamento sunt. Mundus autem idcirco infidelias dicitur, quia visibilia sequitur. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 17.204d-b

I think that God shows us to be the last Apostles, as men appointed to die. 1 He attributes this to his own person, because he was always in need and suffered persecutions and pressures beyond all others, as Enoch and Elijah shall suffer, who in the last time shall be Apostles. 2 For being sent before Christ they must prepare the people of God and the walls of all the Churches to resist the Antichrist, they who then shall suffer persecution and be killed, as the book of the Apocalypse bears witness. Therefore the Apostle compares his own time to these, saying: 'As men appointed to die,' for to this they will come, that they be slain. We are made a spectacle to this world, even to angels and men... Because Enoch and Elijah shall be a spectacle, even so much so that their bodies shall be cast into the street in the sight of all the faithless people, so even the Apostles were made a spectacle, because they were publicly ridiculed, and given over to injury, and even to the deaths which they suffered. He speaks of the world and of angels and men, because there are wicked angels, with David saying in the seventy seventh Psalm: 'He distressed them with wicked angels,' 3 and men are wicked and unbelieving, and to these the injuries of the Apostles are a delight. He speaks of the world for unfaithfulness, because it follows visible things. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 4 1 1 Cor 4.9 2 The two witnesses of Apoc 11.3 3 Ps 77.49

The Spirit And The Keys

Et habeo claves mortis et inferni. Non solum, inquit, mortem resurrectione devici; sed et ejusdem mortis habeo dominium. Quod etiam Ecclesiae Spiritum sanctum insufflando tribuit. Quorum, inquiens, dimiseritis peccata, dimittuntur eis, et caetera. Sanctus Beda, Explanatio Apocalyspsis, Liber I, Caput I Source: Migne 93.137a

And I have the keys of death and hell... 1 Not only, He says, have I conquered death with resurrection, but I even have dominion over death. Which He gives to the Church with the inbreathing of the Holy Spirit. 'Which sins you shall forgive, shall be forgiven them,' and the rest. 2 St Bede, Commentary On The Apocalypse, Book 1, Chapter 1 1 Apoc 1.18 2 Jn 20.22-232

The Seven Seals

Ecce vicit leo de tribu Juda, radix David, aperire librum, et solvere septem signacula ejus. Septem signacula sunt, temporalis nativitas, legalis circumcisio, matris purgatio, fuga in Aegyptum, carnis necessitudo, baptismus, passio. Haec siquidem sunt vera quaedam humanitatis insignia, quibus se teneri ac ligari voluit incarnata Dei Sapientia. Ipsa quippe est secunda in Trinitate persona: et licet eamdem incarnationem simul fecerint Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus; non tamen Pater aut Spiritus sanctus est incarnatus, sed solus Filius. Implevit quidem et Pater et Spiritus sanctus carnem Filii, a quo neuter eorum poterat separari; sed implevit majestate, non susceptione. Ideoque Filius ostendit in carne potentiam Patris per opera, exhibuit bonitatem Spiritus sancti remittendo peccata; et quod suum erat, imo quod ipse erat, id est Sapientia, se occultavit per illa praedicta signacula. Facta est igitur res mira et obstupenda. Infirmata est virtus summa, et (ut ita dicam, si dici liceat, quod tamen reverenter dico) quasi infatuata est sapientia. Nec crubesco dicere, quod non erubuit Doctor gentium docere. Sic nempe credidit, sic docuit, sic scriptum reliquit. Nos, inquit, praedicamus Christum crucifixum, Judaeis quidem scandalum, gentibus autem stultitiam: ipsis autem vocatis Judaeis atque Graecis, Christum Dei virtutem, et Dei sapientiam; quia quod stultum est Dei, sapientius est hominibus; et quod infirmum est Dei, fortius est hominibus. Verumtamen haec virtus abscondenda erat, et in humilitate perficienda; ut omnium implerentur oracula prophetarum. Passus est ergo in cruce impassibilis Deus, et in carne nostra mortali mortuus ac sepultus immortalis Dei Filius. Sed ecce tertia die resurrexit a mortuis: et, qui agnus exstiterat in passione, leo factus est in resurrectione. Surrexit et vicit leo de tribu Juda; quia mortem, quam ex infirmitate nostra pertulit, ex virtute sua resurgendo calcavit. Resurgens enim a mortuis, jam non moritur, mors illi ultra non dominabitur. Resurgendo autem et in coelum ascendendo, librum aperuit, quia nimirum ex auctoritate sacrae Scripturae, quod Deus esset, innotuit manifeste. Unde scriptum est: Exaltare super coelos, Deus, et super omnem terram gloria tua. Septem quoque ejusdem libri signacula solvit, quando intellectum eloquii sacri fidelium mentibus reseravit: et quidquid de mysteriis suis lex et prophetae sub allegoriis praedixerant, de his scilicet, quae per hominem temporaliter gessit; haec de se praedicta, et in se ac per se completa, luce clarius indicavit. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones de Diversis, Sermo LVII, De septem signaculis per Christum solutis Source: Migne PL 183.680d-681c

'Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, the root of David, even to open the book and break its seven seals.' 1 There are seven seals: the temporal nativity, the circumcision, the purification of the mother, the flight to Egypt, the necessity of the flesh, the baptism, the passion. These are all true signs of humanity, to which the incarnate wisdom of God wished to be held and bound. He certainly is the second person of the Trinity, and it is possible than the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit together made the incarnation, yet is was not the Father or the Holy Spirit that was incarnated but only the Son. Both the Father and the Holy Spirit filled the flesh of the Son, from which He could not be separated, but they filled with majesty not by taking up. Therefore the Son in the flesh showed the power of the Father through works, and He exhibited the benevolence of the Holy Spirit by forgiving sins, and what was His, or rather what He was, that is, Wisdom, He hid by the aforementioned seals. Therefore a wonder and unspeakable thing was done. Weakness is the height of strength, and, if I may say, if it is permitted, yet I do speak reverently, foolishness is wisdom. I do not blush to speak, because the teacher of the Gentiles did not blush to teach. So certainly he believed as he taught and as he left in his writings. 'We,' he said, 'preach Christ crucified, which is a scandal to the Jews, foolishness to the Gentiles, but to those Jews and Greeks who have been called, Christ is the virtue of God, and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than man and the weakness of God is stronger than man.' 2 Truly this virtue was hidden and in humility perfected, that all be fulfilled according to the oracles of the prophets. Therefore the impassible God suffered on the cross and in our mortal flesh died, and the immortal son of God was buried. But, behold, on the third day He rose from the dead, and He who was the lamb in the passion was made the lion in the resurrection. The lion of Judah arose and conquered, because death, which He took on from our infirmity, in his rising He crushed down with His own virtue. 'For rising from the dead, now He cannot die, death had no more dominion over him.' 3 Rising, then, and ascending into heaven, He opened the book, because certainly from the authority of Holy Scripture, because He was God, He became known openly. Whence it is written, 'Exalted over the heavens is God, and over the whole earth His glory.' 4 Also He broke the seven seals, when the understanding of His sacred words opened the minds of the faithful, and whatever the Law had spoken about His mysteries and the prophets had done allegorically, concerning these things certainly which He bore for a time as man, the things spoken before about Himself, in Him and through Him completed, in splendour he declared most clearly. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons On Various Things, Sermon 57, On the Seven Seals Broken by Christ. 1 Apoc 5.5 2 1 Cor 1. 23-25 3 Rom 6.9 4 Ps 107.6

The Whore's Damnation

Veni, ostendam tibi damnationem meretricis magnae... Perditorum multitudo, quae, relicto Creatore, daemonibus se prostravit constuprandam, in fluctibus, id est, in discordia populorum sedere memoratur. E contrario autem multitudinis credentium erat cor unum et anima una. Quos despondit Apostolus uni viro virginem castam exhibere Christo. Cum qua fornicati sunt reges terrae, etc. Universitas partibus praeeminet. Reges enim et inhabitatores terrae sunt singuli terrena superbe petentes, quos illecebra saeculi, vitiorum libidine constuprat, et insania mentis debriat. Et abstulit me in desertum in spiritu. Desertum ponit divinitatis absentiam, cujus praesentia paradisus est. Sanctus Beda, Explanatio Apocalyspsis, Caput XVII Source: Migne 93.182c-d

Come, I shall show to you the damnation of the great whore... 1 The multitude of the ruined, forsaking God, have prostrated themselves to be ravished by demons, and in the waters, he tells us, she sits, that is, amid the strife of the peoples. For on the contrary the multitude of the faithful are of one heart and soul, which the Apostle declares to be as a presenting of one chaste maiden before the one man Christ. 2 With her the kings of the earth have fornicated... He speaks of a part for all. For 'the kings' are the inhabitants of the earth, each one of whom proudly seek worldly things, who are ravished by the allurements of the world and the lust of the vices, and drunk with maddened minds. And he took me off in the spirit into the desert... The waste he gives for the absence of the Divine, whose presence is paradise. St Bede, Commentary On The Apocalypse, Chapter 17 1 Apoc 17.1 2 2 Cor 11.12

The Leaf And The Word

Et folium ejus non decidet Id est sermo ipsius nullo casu a veritate discedit, sed tanquam in arbore palmae folia manentia sunt, ita et ista infixa veritati certis promissionibus perserverant, sicut in Evangelio legitur: Caelum et terra transibunt, verba autem mea non praeteribunt. Et intuere Domini verba foliis arboris comparata, quia sicut illa fructus tegunt, sic promissiones suas et ista custodiunt. Hae sunt aquae spirituales, haec folia salutaria, de quibus in Apocalypsi beatus Joannes dicit: Et ostendit mihi flumen aquae vivae splendidum, tanquam crystallum, exiens de throne Dei et Agni; in medio plateae ejus, et ex utraque parte fluminis, arborem vitae, quae facti fructum duodecies, singulis mensibus reddens fructum suum, et folia arboris illius sunt ad sanitatem genitum deputata. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus I Source: Migne PG 70.31b-c

And its leaf does not fall... 1 That is, His word does not in any way fall from the truth, but as the leaves of the palm tree remain, so these rooted in the firm promises of truth perservere, as it is said in the Gospel: 'Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.' 2 And see that the words of the Lord are compared to the leaves of a tree, because as they cover the fruit, so even they guard His promises. These are the spiritual waters and these are the leaves of salvation concerning which the blessed John says in the Apocalypse: 'And he showed to me the glittering river of the waters of life, like crystal, coming forth from the throne of God and the lamb, and in the midst of the way, on both sides of the river, the tree of life, bearing its fruit twelvefold, and giving its yield monthly, and the leaves of the tree give health to all the peoples.' 3 Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, Psalm 1 1 Ps 1.5 2 Mt 24.15 3 Apoc 22.1-2

The Fifth Seal

Et cum aperuisset quintum sigillum Quia Ecclesiam dixerat in praesenti multipliciter afflictam, dicit et gloriam animarum post corporum poenam. Vidi, inquit, eas sub altare, id est, in secretario laudis aeternae. Ara enim aurea et interius posita, et prope dominici corporis arcam, non ut exterior carnem et sanguinem, sed sola offert Domino thymiamata laudis. Et qui nunc exhibent corpora sua hostiam viventem, tunc, diruptis carnis vinculis, illi sacrificant hostiam laudis. Potest autem et per hyperbaton esse, ut non sub ara viderit, sed sub ara occisos, id est, sub testificatione nominis Christi, sicut de Machabaeis dictum est. Sub testamento Dei ceciderunt. Sanctus Beda, Explanatio Apocalyspsis, Caput VI Source: Migne 93.147d-148a

'And when He opened the fifth seal...' 1 Because he has spoken of the much afflicted Church in the present, he even tells of the glory of souls after the suffering of the body. 'I saw,' he says, 'those beneath the altar,' that is, those in the sanctuary of eternal praise. And the altar is gold and placed within and near the ark of the body of the Lord, so that it is not the exterior flesh and blood that is offered to the Lord but the sacrifice of praise alone. And they who now exhibit the body as a living sacrifice, then, with carnal chains broken, they sacrifice the sacrifice of praise. 2 And it is possible that this is hyberbaton, that he did not see them beneath the altar, but slain beneath, that is, bearing witness under it in the name of Christ, as it is said of the Maccabees. 'Beneath the witness of God they fell.' 3 St Bede, from Commentary On The Apocalypse, Chapter 7 1 Apoc 6.9 2 Ps 115.8 3 2 Mac 7

Seven Stars

Et habebat in dextera sua stellas septem. In dextera ejus stellas septem dixit: quia Spiritus sanctus septiformis virtutis datus est in potestate ejus a Patre. Sicut Petrus ad Judeous exclamavit: 'Dextera Dei exultatus acceptum a Patre Spiritum effudit hunc quem videtis et auditis. Sed et Joannes Baptista anticipaverat, discipulis suis dicendo: Non enim ad mensuram dat Spiritum Deus. Pater, inquit amat Filium, et omnia dedit in manu ejus.' Istae septem stellae sunt septem ecclesiae quas nominat in vocabulis suis, et vocat eas ad quas fecit epistolas. Non quia ipsae solae sunt Ecclesiae, aut principes: sed quod uni dicit, omnibus dicit. Nihil enim differunt, ut ex illa ratione quis paucorum similium majori numero anteponat. In toto orbe septennatim ecclesias omnes, septem esse nominatas, et unam esse catholicam Paulus docuit. Et primum quidem ut servaret et ipse typum septem Ecclesiarum, non excessit numerum. Sed scripsit ad Romanoas, ad Corinthios, ad Galatas, ad Ephesios, ad Thessalonicenses, ad Philippenses, ad Colossenses. Postea singularibus personis scripsit, ne excederet numerum septem ecclesiarum. Et in brevi contrahens praedicationem suam, ad Timotheum sic ait: ' Ut scias qualiter debeas conversari in Ecclesia Dei vivi  Hunc typum et ab Spiritu sancto per Esaiam praedicare legimus: 'De septem mulieribus quae apprehenderunt hominem unum.' Unus homo Christus est, non ex semine natus: septem vero mulieres septem ecclesiae sunt, panem accipientes suum, et tunicis suis velatae, quae poscunt auferri improperium suum, tantum ut nomen illius vocetur super illas. Panem Spiritum sanctum, qui nutrit in vitam aeternam, sibi videlicit per credulitatem promissam. Tunicae vero suae, quibus cooperiri se optant, immortalitatis est gloria, de qua Paulus apostolus ait: ' Oportet ergo corruptibile hoc induere in corruptionem, et mortale hoc induere immortalitatem.' Auferri vero improperium suum poscunt, hoc est emundari se a peccatis: improperium enim est peccatum pristinum, quod aufertur in baptismo, et incipiunt vocari homines christiani; quod est, 'invocetur nomen tuum super nos.' Victorinus Petavionensis, Scoli in Apocalypsin Beati Joannis Source: Migne PL 5.319d-320c

'And He had in His right hand seven stars.' 1 He said that in His right hand He had seven stars, because the Holy Spirit of sevenfold virtue was given into His power by the Father. As Peter cried out to the Jews: 'Being exalted at the right hand of God, He has poured forth the Spirit received from the Father, which you see and hear.' 2 Moreover, John the Baptist had also anticipated this, by saying to his disciples: 'It is not by measure God gives the Spirit. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hands.' 3 Those seven stars are the seven churches, which he names in his addresses by name, and calls them to whom he wrote epistles. Not that they are themselves the only, or even the principal, churches, but what he says to one, he says to all. For they are no different, that one should prefer them to the larger number of similar small ones. In the whole world Paul taught that all the churches are arranged by sevens, that they are called seven, and that the Catholic Church is one. And first of all, indeed, that he himself also might maintain the type of seven churches, he did not exceed that number. But he wrote to the Romans, to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Thessalonians, to the Philippians, and to the Colossians. After he wrote to individual persons, so as not to exceed the number of seven churches. And in a short space drawing together his teaching, he says to Timothy: 'That you might know how you should conduct yourself in the Church of the living God.' 4 We read of this type announced by the Holy Spirit through Isaiah: 'Of seven women who took hold of one man.' 5 The one man is Christ, not born of seed; the seven women, however, are the seven churches, receiving His bread, and clothed with his apparel, who ask that their reproach should be taken away, and that they should be called by His name only. The bread is the Holy Spirit, which nourishes to eternal life, promised to them, that is, by faith. And His garments with which they desire to be clothed are the glory of immortality, of which the Apostle Paul says: 'For this corruption must put on incorruption, and this mortality must put on immortality.' 6 Moreover, they ask that their reproach may be taken away, that is, that they may be cleansed from their sins: for the reproach is the original sin, which is taken away in baptism, and they begin to be called Christians, which is: 'Let us be called by your name.' Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of St John 1 Apoc 1.16 2 Acts 2.33 3 Jn 3.34-35 4 1 Tim 3.15 5 Isaiah 4.1 6 1 Cor 15.53