The Cure Of Peace

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

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

Poverty And Blessings

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

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

Sitting And Teaching

Videns autem Jesus turbas, ascendit in montem... Ut vitaret eas, quia coram eis tam alta non erant praedicanda. In his ergo docet quod praedicator debet dicere juxta capacitatem audientium. Et cum sedisset, accesserunt ad eum discipuli ejus. Ideo sedit, ut doceret se esse magistrum. Magistrorum enim et docentium est sedere. Accedunt discipuli, ut vicinius audiant quae adimplenda properant. Et aperiens os suum. Per hoc quod dicit aperiens, significat quod non pauca sed multa, non humilia sed profunda, quasi thesaurum aperiens, dicturus erat. Allegoria. Christus ascendit in montem, id est, in Ecclesiam, ut impleretur quod dictum erat per David: Ego autem constitutus rex ab eo super Sion montem. Quod significat ibi Sion, hic et mons iste. Sedere, est humiliari per humanitatem assumptam. Aliter non doceret nos, nisi formam nostram assumendo sederet, id est, se nobis inclinaret, et via sessione ejus humilitatis, potuerunt ei discipuli accedere, quia quandiu erat in throno majestatis suae, non poterant eum homines comprehendere. Unde dicitur: In mundo erat, et mundus eum non cognovit. Et qui prius nobis erat locutus in prophetis, in Filio suo locutus est, et proprium os Filius nobis modo aperuit. Alia lex data est in terrore, quia fumus et turbae et procellae fuerunt circa montem. In datione vero Novi Testamenti nihil horum, sed totum in tranquillitate fuit factum, ut doceret hanc legem non timore, sed amore complendam esse. Alia lex scripta in lapididus, ista in cordibus. Aliter enim Novum a Veteri Testamentio non distaret. Unde Apostolus: Multo melioris Testamenti mediator est. Et per prophetam ait Dominus: Hoc Testamentum quod disponam domui Israel, post dies illos, dando leges meas in mentes eorum, et in corde eorum superscribam eas etc. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput V Source: Migne PL 162.1283b-1284a

And seeing the crowds Jesus went up the mountain... 1 That He might avoid them, because in their presence high things should not be preached. With this, then, He teaches that the preacher should speak according to the capability of the hearers. And when He sat, His disciples came to Him. Therefore He sits that He may teach, He who is the teacher, for it is of teachers and instructors to sit. And the disciples came that they might listen closely to what should be swiftly fulfilled. And He opened His mouth. This opening signifies that the things to be said were not few but many, and not common but profound, as with the opening of a treasury. Allegorically Christ went up the mountain, that is, into the Church that He might fulfill what was written through David, 'I have been established as a king by Him over mount Sion.' 2 And what Sion signifies is this mount. To sit is to be humble through the assumption of humanity. And He could not teach us unless He sat in the form He had taken up, that is, when He inclined Himself to us, and by the way of the sitting of His humility the disciples were able to draw near Him, because while He was enthroned in His majesty, no man was able to grasp Him. Hence it is said, 'In the world He was, and the world did not know Him.' 3 And He who previously spoke to us through the prophets, now spoke in His Son, and the Son opened His own mouth to us. Another law was given in fear because there was smoke and turmoil and storms around the mountain, 4 but in the giving of the New Testament there was none of these things, but all was done peacefully, so that He might teach that this law was not to be fulfilled through fear but love. Another law was written in stone, this law in the heart. But He did not separate the New and Old Testaments, hence the Apostle says, 'He is the mediator of the much better Testament.' 4 And through the prophet the Lord says, 'This testament which I shall give to the house of Israel after those days shall be a giving of my laws into their minds, and I will inscribe it in their hearts.' 5 Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.1 2 Ps 2.6 3 Jn 1.10 4 Exod 19.16-18 5 Heb 5.8 6 Heb 8.10, Jerem 31.33

Peace And Wisdom

Beati pacifici, quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur. Postquam omnes supradictas virtutes habet homo, nihil aliud restat, nisi ut Deum, qui est vera pax, praemium habeat. Deus in tanta pace, quod neque in personis est dissensio aliqua, sed perfecta concordia, neque in seipso variatur, quamvis res, in quibus est, variantur. Suos vero similes sibi faciet, quia erunt incorruptibiles, et impassibiles, et incommutabiles, et ita sunt concordes, quod de bonis aliorum gaudebunt, tanquam de suis. Septimo loco ponitur, quia in sabbato vero, requiei dabitur illa pax transactis septem aetatibus, quam Adam nondum habebat, sed quam transferendus in coelum completa obedientia accepturus erat. Haec est pax illa, de qua Apostolus dicit: Et pax Dei, quae exsuperat omnem sensum. Haec est illa, de qua Christus dicit: Pacem meam do vobis, pacem relinquo vobis. Illic do, hic relinquo, quia illa pax non potest haberi, nisi in futuro, sed tamen aliquae reliquiae dantur in praesenti, quod potest videri in illis, qui ita habent sedatos illicitos motus corporis, quod nullum civile bellum patiuntur in se, sed habet anima requiem suam in hac vita, nec etiam conturbari posset quolibet modo, vel quantumcunque verberentur, sed in se quieti sunt, et alios reconciliare laborant. Unde dicitur: Pax multa diligentibus legem tuam, non tamen perfecta. Illa perfecta pax et spiritus sapientiae non differunt. Aliud est intelligentia, aliud sapientia. Intelligentia est quando res investigatur et discutitur. Sapientia est quando non investigamus, sed jam sapientes sumus, et in ipso bono sapientiae delectamur. Haec eadem est illa pax, quando Deum scrutari non laborabimus, sed in eo tamen cognito delectabimur, et tunc erimus filii Dei, quia similes ei efficiemur. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput V Source: Migne PL 162.1288b-d

Blessed are the peacemakers, because they shall be called sons of God. 1 After a man has all the virtues spoken of above, nothing else remains but that he shall have God as his reward, He who is true peace. God is such great peace, because there is no dissension at all among the Persons but perfect harmony, nor is there are variation in Him, although the things in which He is may vary. And He makes those who are His own similar to Himself, because they shall be incorruptible and impassible and unchangeable and thus harmonious, for they will rejoice in the goods of others as their own. This beatitude is placed in the seventh place because on the true sabbath that peace shall be given that surpasses the seven ages, which Adam did not yet have, but which he shall receive when in perfect obedience he shall be transported into heaven. This is the peace of which the Apostle says, 'And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.' This is the peace of which Christ says, 'My peace I give to you, my peace I leave to you.' 2 From there I give it, and here I leave it, because it is only possible to have that peace in the future, and yet a remnant of it is given in the present, which it is possible to observe in those who are tranquil amid the shameful motions of the body because they suffer no internal strife in themselves, but the soul has its rest in this life, and it is not possible to trouble it in any way, and as much as they are struck, yet they remain quiet in themselves, and they labour to reconcile others. Hence it is said, 'Much peace to the lovers of your law,' 3 though it is not that perfect peace. That perfect peace and the spirit of wisdom do not differ. Intelligence is one thing, wisdom is another. Intelligence is when we we investigate something and study it. Wisdom is when we do not investigate but now we are wise and we delight in the good of wisdom. This is that same peace that is not in labouring to know God but rather we shall delight in that knowledge, and then we shall be sons of God, because we shall be made like Him. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.9 2 Phil 4.7, Jn 14.27 3 Ps 118.165

The Blessing Of Mourning

Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες... Τοῦτο οὖν ἔοικεν ἐν ἀποῤῥήτῳ διδάσκειν ὁ μακαρίζων τὸ πένθος, τὸ πρὸς τὸ ἀληθινὸν ἀγαθὸν τὴν ψυχὴν βλέπειν, μηδὲ τῇ παρούσῃ ἀπάτῃ τοῦ βίου καταβαπτίζεσθαι· οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν οὔτε ἀδακρυτὶ ζῇν τὸν ἐπεσκεμμένον δι' ἀκριβείας τὰ πράγματα, οὔτε ἐν λυπηροῖς εἶναι νομίζειν τὸν ταῖς βιωτικαῖς ἡδοναῖς ἐμβαθύνοντα· καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀλόγων τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔστιν ἰδεῖν· οἷς ἐλεεινὴ μὲν ἡ τῆς φύσεώς ἐστι κατασκευή· τί γὰρ ἐλεεινότερον τῆς τοῦ λόγου στερήσεως; αἴσθησις δὲ τῆς συμφορᾶς αὐτοῖς οὐδε μία, ἀλλὰ κατά τινα ἡδονὴν κἀκείνοις ἡ ζωὴ διεξάγεται· καὶ ὁ ἵππος γαυριᾷ, καὶ ὁ ταῦρος κονίζεται· καὶ ὁ σὺς φρίσσει τὴν λοφιάν· καὶ οἱ σκύλακες παίζουσι, καὶ διασκιρτῶσιν οἱ μόσχοι, καὶ ἕκαστον τῶν ζώων ἔστιν ἰδεῖν διά τινων τεκμηρίων τὴν ἡδονὴν ἐνδεικνύμενον, οἷς εἴ τις κατανόησις ἦν τῆς τοῦ λόγου χάριτος, οὐκ ἂν τὸν κωφὸν αὐτῶν καὶ ταλαί πωρον βίον ἐν ἡδονῇ διετίθεντο. Οὕτως καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οἷς οὐδεμία τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐστι γνῶσις, ὧν ἡ φύσις ἡμῶν ἀπεστέρηται, τούτοις καθ' ἡδονὴν ἡ τῆς παρούσης ζωῆς διαγωγή. Ἀκολουθεῖ δὲ τῷ τοῖς παροῦσιν ἥδεσθαι, τὸ μὴ ζητεῖν τὰ βελτίω. Ὁ δὲ μὴ ζητῶν, οὐκ ἂν εὕροι τὸ μόνοις ζητοῦσι παραγενόμενον. Οὐκοῦν διὰ τοῦτο ὁ Λόγος μακαρίζει τὸ πένθος, οὐ δι' ἑαυτὸ κρίνων εἶναι μακάριον, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ἐξ ἐκείνου παραγενόμενον. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Logos Γ', Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται Source: Migne PG 44.1228d-1229b

Blessed are those who mourn... 1 It is this, then, that He seems to teach in the mystery of mourning being blessed, that the soul should look to the true good and not sink itself down into the deceits of this present life, for no one can live without tears who has clearly seen the things of this life, or not think wretched anyone who is immersed in the pleasures of this life, as may be understood with irrational creatures, whose state of nature is indeed pitiable. For what is more pitiful than the absence of reason? Yet not one of them has a sense of their misfortune, but their lives allow for certain pleasures, so the horse prances, the bull kicks up dust, the boar bristles, pups play, and calves leap about, and each animal may be known through certain signs to exhibit pleasure, but if they could grasp the gift of reason they would not spend a mindless and miserable life in pleasure. Like them are men who know nothing of the goods of which our nature has been deprived, and thus in the present life pursue pleasure. It follows from this that to delight in present things is not to seek for things that are better. But if there is no seeking, there is no finding of what comes only to those who do seek. Because of this the Word calls mourning blessed, not judging it to be blessed in itself, but because of what follows from it. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Third Oration, on 'Blessed are they who weep, for they shall be comforted.' 1 Mt 5.5

Weeping the World

Beati qui lugent. Quamvis fidelis res mundi abdicavit, quamvis de injuriis non doluit, tamen in multa incidit aliquando, et ideo necessariae sunt lacrymae quae semper abluant, quia semper peccamus, et in miseriis hujus mundi nos esse videmus. Dolemus etiam de peccatis proximorum. Duo sunt genera compunctionis, quando pro miseriis hujus mundi et peccatis nostris gemimus, et pro desiderio coelestium. Unde filia Caleph petivit a parte irriguum superius et irriguum inferius, quia anima petit compunctionem a Deo, et pro peccatis, et pro desiderio patriae coelestis. Luctum autem pro miseriis hujus vitae et desiderio supernae patriae, non habet nisi solus pauper et mitis, qui mundum non diligit, sed miserum se recognoscit, et ideo coelum concupiscit. His lugentibus pro suis et aliorum peccatis convenit postulare: Debita nostra nobis dimitte, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Haec virtus quae mundi miseriam sentit, et a coelesti patria discernit, descendit a spiritu scientiae. Scientia enim de terrenis est, ut sciamus quae sit ista habitatio terrena, quam gravis, quam misera. Quod autem cogitamus de coelesti patria, hoc ideo fit, ut per comparationem miseriam hujus vitae intelligamus. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput V Source: Migne PL 162.1286a-c

Blessed are those who weep... 1 Although the faithful man has forsaken the things of the world, although he has not been grieved because of injuries, however from time to time and in many things he falls, and therefore cleansing tears are always necessary, because we always sin, and we see ourselves among the wretched things of this world, and then we also grieve for the sins of our neighbours. There are two types of compunction, one when we groan for the wretchedness of this world and for our sins, and one in our desire for heavenly things. Hence the daughter of Caleb sought a part of both the higher land and the lower land, 2 because the soul seeks forgiveness from God both because of sin and with a desire for the heavenly fatherland. A man does not groan over the miseries of this life and with the desire for the supernal fatherland unless he is poor and meek, unless he is one who does not love the world but recognises his own wretchedness, and therefore desires heaven. With this groaning over himself, it also befits him to petition for the sins of others, 'Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.' 3 This virtue which feels the wretchedness of the world is learned from the heavenly fatherland and descends from the spirit of knowledge. For it is a knowledge of worldly things, so that we might know the things of this terrestrial dwelling, which are burdensome and which are wretched, and because we think of the heavenly fatherland, so it is that compared to it we understand the wretchedness of this life. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.5 2 Jud 1.12-15 3 Mt 6.12

The Poor Of Spirit

Beati pauperes spiritu: quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum. Pauper spiritu est humilis corde: id est, pauperem spiritum habens, qui non maga sapit de se. Sicut ex diverso dives spiritu intelligitur magna de se sapiens, et superbus, qui non implet mandatum Christi dicentis: Nisi conversi facti fueritis sicut puer iste, non intrabitis in regnum coelorum. Qui enim jam conversus factus est sicut puer, ille est et pauper spiritu. Et qui pauper est spiritu, ille conversus factus est sicut puer. Et secundum testimonium quidem Christi,et Apostoli, Plentiudo legis dilectio est; tamen nutrix dilectionis humilitas est, et totius mali odii mater superbia. Ergo totius boni initium humilitas est, et totius mali superbia. Denique et perditionis initium a superbia coepit per diabolum, initiumque salutis ab humilitate per Christum: propterea convenienter et ominum beatituduinem humilitarem fecit initium. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia IX Source: Migne PG 56.680

Blessed are the poor of spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 1 Poverty of spirit is a humble heart, 2 that is, he who is poor of spirit does not think great things about himself. So on the contrary he is rich in spirit who thinks great things about himself and he is proud and does not fulfil the commandment of Christ which says, 'Unless you turn and become as this child you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.' 3 For he who has turned is like a child who is poor in spirit, and he who is poor in spirit has turned and become as a child. And according to the testimony of Christ and the Apostle, 'Love is the fullness of the law,' 4 but humility is the nurse of love, and pride is the mother of every hateful evil. Therefore humility is the beginning of every good, and pride of every evil. Finally the beginning of damnation begins by pride through the devil, and the beginning of salvation by humility through Christ. Hence it was fitting that He made humility the beginning of all the beatitudes. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 9 1 Mt 5.3 2 Lk 6.20 3 Mt 18.5 4 Rom 13.10

A Beginning Of Blessings

Έπεὶ ούν έμπέφυκέπως τὸ κατά τήν ἔπαρσιν πάθος παντὶ σχεδὸν τὸ κοινωνοῦντι της άνθρωπίνης φύσεως, διά τούτο έντεΰθεν τών μακαρισμών ό Κύριος άρχεται, οίον άρχέγονόν τι κακὸν έκβάλλων έκ της ἔξεως ήμών τήν ύπερηφανίαν, έν τώ συμβουλεύειν μιμήσασθαι τὸν έκουσίως πτωχεύσαντα, ὁς έστιν άληθώς μακάριος, ΐνα έν ᾡ δυνάμεθα καθώς ἂν οἴοί τε ὦμεν ὁμοιωθέντες έκ τοῦ πτωχεῦσαι κατά προαίρεσιν, καὶ τήν τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ κοινωνίαν έφελκυσώμεθα. Τούτο γάρ φρoνείσθω, φησὶν, ἐν ὑμίν, ὃ καί έν Χριστφ Ίησον· ὃς έν μορφῇ θεον ύπάρχων, οὐχ άρπαγμὸν ήγήσατο τὸ είναι ἰσα θεω· άλλ' έαυτον έκένωσε μορφών δούλον λαβών. Τί πτωχότερον έπὶ θεοῦ τῆς τοῦ δούλου μορφής; Τί ταπεινότερον έπὶ τοῦ βασιλέως τών ὂντων, ή τὸ είς κοινωνίαν της πτωχής ήμών φύσεως έλθεϊν; Ό Βασιλεύς τών βασιλευόντων, καὶ Κύριος τών κυριευόντων έθελόντως τήν της δουλείας μορφήν ύποδύεται· ὁ Κριτής τοῦ παντὸς, ὑπόφορος τοϊς δυναστεύουσι γίνεται· ό τής κτίσεως Κύριος έν σπηλαίῷ κατάγεται· ό τοΰ παντὸς περιδεδραγμένος ούχ εύρίσκει τόπον έν τώ καταλύματι, άλλ' έν τή φάτνη τών άλόγων ζώων παραρριπτεῖταί ό καθαρὸς καὶ άκήρατος. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Logos A', Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Source: Migne PG 44.1201b-c

Since, then, the fault of arrogance is implanted in almost everyone who partakes of human nature, the Lord begins the Beatitudes with 'Blessed are the poor in spirit,' 1 and with this beginning uproots the evil of pride from our character by counselling us to imitate Him who became poor of His own will, He who is the truly blessed, so that, as far as we are able, we may become like Him in this way, that by being poor by our own choice we are drawn to partake of His blessedness. 'Be of this mind,' as it was said, 'which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, yet emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant.' 2 What greater poverty is there for God than the form of a servant? What is more humbling for the King of all things than to partake of our poor nature? The King of kings, the Lord of lords, chooses to put on the garment of servitude, the Judge of all things becomes a subject of rulers, the Lord of creation dwells in a cave, He who encompasses everything finds no place in the inn but is cast aside into the manger of irrational beasts. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the First Oration, on 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' 1 Mt 5.3 2 2 Phil 2.5-7

Mourning And Healing

Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται. Ἔστι μὲν οὖν ἐκ τοῦ προχείρου μακαριστὸν ὑπο λαβεῖν ἐκεῖνο τὸ πένθος, τὸ ἐπὶ πλημμελήμασι καὶ ἁμαρτίαις γινόμενον, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Παύλου περὶ τῆς λύπης διδασκαλίαν, τοῦ φήσαντος, μὴ ἒν εἶναι λύπης εἶδος, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν κοσμικὸν, τὸ δὲ κατὰ Θεὸν ἐνερ γούμενον. Καὶ τῆς μὲν κοσμικῆς λύπης, θάνατον εἶναι τὸ ἔργον· τὴν δὲ ἑτέραν, σωτηρίαν ἐκ μετανοίας τοῖς λυπουμένοις ἐργάζεσθαι. Τῷ ὄντι γὰρ οὐκ ἔξω τοῦ μακαρίζεσθαι τὸ τοιοῦτον τῆς ψυχῆς πάθος ἐστὶν, ὅταν ἐν αἰσθήσει γενομένη τοῦ χείρονος, τὸν ἐν κακίᾳ βίον ἀπολοφύρηται. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν σωματικῶν ἀῤῥωστημάτων, οἷς ἂν πάρετον ἐξ ἐπηρείας τινὸς γένηταί τι μέρος τοῦ σώματος, σημεῖον τοῦ νενεκρῶσθαι τὸ παρειμένον ἡ ἀναλγησία γίνεται· εἰ δὲ κατά τινα τέχνην ἰατρικὴν ἡ ζωτικὴ πάλιν αἴσθησις ἐπαναχθείη τῷ σώματι, χαίρουσιν ἤδη πονοῦντος τοῦ μέρους, αὐτός τε ὁ κάμνων καὶ οἱ τὴν θεραπείαν προσάγοντες, τεκμηρίῳ χρώμενοι τοῦ πρὸς ὑγίειαν τρέψαι τὸ πάθος, τὸ ἐν αἰσθήσει τῶν δριμυσσόντων ἤδη γενέσθαι τὸ μέλος· οὕτως ἐπειδὰν, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ἀπηλγηκότες τινὲς παραδῶσι τῷ καθ' ἁμαρτίαν βίῳ ἑαυτοὺς, νεκροί τινες ὄντως καὶ πάρετοι τοῦ κατ' ἀρετὴν βίου γενόμενοι, οὐδεμίαν ἔχουσιν ὧν ποιοῦσιν τὴν αἴσθησιν. Εἰ δὲ καθάψαιτό τις αὐτῶν ὁ ἰατρεύων λόγος, οἷον διά τινων θερμῶν τε καὶ διακαιόντων φαρμάκων, λέγω δὲ τῶν σκυθρωπῶν τῆς μελλούσης κρίσεως ἀπειλῶν, καὶ διὰ βάθους τὴν καρδίαν τῷ φόβῳ τῶν προσδοκωμένων δριμύξειεν, γεέννης φόβον, καὶ πῦρ μὴ σβεννύμενον, καὶ ἀτελεύτητον σκώληκα, καὶ βρυγμὸν ὀδόντων, καὶ κλαυθμὸν ἀδιάλειπτον, καὶ σκότος ἐξώτερον, καὶ ἅπαντα τὰ τοιαῦτα, οἷόν τινα θερμὰ καὶ δριμέα φάρμακα τῷ νεναρκηκότι διὰ τῶν καθ' ἡδονὴν παθημάτων ἐντρίβων καὶ ἀναθάλπων, εἰς αἴσθησιν αὐτὸν ἀγάγοι τοῦ ἐν ᾧ ἦν βίου, μακαριστὸν αὐτὸν ἀπεργάσηται, τὴν ὀδυνηρὰν αἴσθησιν τῇ ψυχῇ ἐμποιήσας. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Logos Γ', Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται Source: Migne PG 44.1220d-1221b

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted 1 Firstly, then, one can take that mourning to be blessed which follows the errors of sins, according to the teaching of Paul on sorrow, which says that there is not just one kind of sorrow, but there is one of the world and one that is brought about by God, and the work of the worldly sorrow is death, but the other in those mourning works salvation through repentance. 2 For truly such suffering cannot be excluded from the sorrow that is called blessed when a soul bewails its wicked life because it feels its badness. It is as with bodily disorders, so that if because of some accident a limb of the body has become paralysed, then a lack of a sense of pain is a sign that the afflicted limb has gone dead, but if the physician's art restores to the body the sensation of life, there is gladness over the suffering of the part because it is a sign that health is being restored since the limb can now sense that which causes pain. Thus, as the Apostle says, if people give themselves to sin because they no longer feel pain in it, then they have become truly paralyzed and are dead to the virtuous life, for they have no feeling for what they are doing. But if a healing word lays hold of them like some bitter medicine, and I speak here of the fierce threats of the judgement to come, and it pierces the heart to its depths with the fear of the things that are to be expected, the terror of hell, and the unquenchable fire, and the worm that does not die, and the gnashing of teeth, and the perpetual weeping, and the outer darkness, all these things are administered like bitter medicines so that the man who has died by the passions and pleasures is revived again and senses the sort of life he had been leading, and he is made blessed by the pain he feels in his soul. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Third Oration, on 'Blessed are they who weep for they shall be comforted.' 1 Mt 5.4 2 2 Cor 7.10

Suffering And Blessings

Mακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν Τίς οὐκ οἶδεν, ὅσῳ τοῦ ἀγαπᾶσθαι τὸ ἐπιβουλεύεσθαι χαλεπώτερον κέκριται; Τοῦτο µέν τοι πολλάκις τὸ δοκοῦν χαλεπὸν, καὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον εὐκληρίας πολλοῖς αἴτιον γίνεται, οἷον περὶ τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ ὁ λόγος ἐνδείκνυται· ὃς ἐπιβουλευθεὶς παρὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν, καὶ τῆς µετ' αὐτῶν συν διαγωγῆς ἀπελαθεὶς, διὰ τῆς πράσεως βασιλεὺς ἀν εδείχθη τῶν ἐπιβεβουλευκότων, οὐκ ἂν ἴσως προελθὼν ἐπὶ τὸ τηλικοῦτον ἀξίωµα, µὴ τοῦ φθόνου διὰ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς ἐκείνης τὴν βασιλείαν ὁδοποιήσαντος. Ὥσπερ τοίνυν εἴ τις τοῦ µέλλοντος τὴν γνῶσιν ἔχων, προεῖπε τῷ Ἰωσὴφ, ὅτι Ἐπιβουλευθεὶς µακάριος ἔσῃ, οὐκ ἂν ἐκ τοῦ προχείρου πιθανὸς ἔδοξε τῷ ἀκούοντι, πρὸς τὸ παραχρῆµα λυπηρὸν ὁρῶντι· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ᾠήθη δυνατὸν εἶναι κακῆς προαιρέσεως ἀγαθὸν ἀνα δειχθῆναι τὸ πέρας· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὁ τῶν τυράννων τοῖς πιστοῖς ἐπαγόµενος διωγµὸς, πολὺ κατὰ τὴν αἴσθησιν τὸ ἀλγεινὸν ἔχων, δυσπαράδεκτον ποιεῖ τοῖς σαρκωδεστέροις τὴν διὰ τῶν ἀλγεινῶν αὐτοῖς προκειµένην τῆς βασιλείας ἐλπίδα· ἀλλ' ὁ Κύριος τὸ σαθρὸν ὑπεριδὼν τῆς φύσεως, προαναφωνεῖ τοῖς ἀσθενεστέροις, οἷόν ἐστι τῆς ἀγωνίας τὸ πέρας, ἵνα τῇ τῆς βασιλείας ἐλπίδι τὴν πρόσκαιρον τῶν ἀλγεινῶν αἴσθησιν εὐκόλως καταπαλαίσωσιν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Λόγος Ηʹ Source: Migne PG 44.1296a-b

Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 1 Who does not know how more difficult it is to bear if instead of being loved we are schemed against? Yet often what seems hard becomes a cause of happiness for many even in this life, which is shown in the story of Joseph, who was plotted against by his brothers and they expelled him from their company, but because of this he became the king of those who had plotted, 1 and perhaps he would not have attained to such great dignity had not the envy of the plotters made a way for that kingdom. If, then, someone who had knowledge of the future had told Joseph, 'You are being plotted against, you will be blessed,' it would not have appeared immediately believable to him who heard, for looking only to present distress, he would not have thought it possible that an evil purpose could reach a good end. So here the persecution of the faithful by tyrants, in which there is much material pain, makes it difficult for those who are more worldly minded to admit hope of the kingdom that is to be brought forth by these pains, but the Lord, looking down on the infirmity of our nature, foretells to the weak what the goal of the struggle is, so that with hope of the kingdom they more easily triumph over the transient feelings of pain. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Eighth Oration 1 Mt 5.10 2 Gen 37-45

Various Hungers

Mακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι αὐτοὶ χορτασθήσονται Ὥσπερ δέ κατά την αίσθητήν ταύτην την τροφήν ἔχομεν, ού των αύτών πάντες έφίενται, αλλά μερίζεται πολλάκις πρὸς τά εἴδη τών ἐδωδίμων ή τῶν μετ εχόντων ἐπιθυμία, καὶ ό μέν τις έπιτέρπεται τοϊς γλυκαίνουσιν, άλλος πρὸς τά ὁριμύσσοντά τε καὶ θερμαίνοντα την ὁρμήν ἔχει· ἕτερος δέ τοϊς άλμώδεσι, καὶ άλλος τοις παραστύφουσιν ήδεται' συμβαίνει δέ πολλάκις μή κατά τδ λυσιτελοΰν έγγίνεσθαι την ὁρμήν έκάστῳ της βρώσεως, κατά γάρ τινα κράσεως ἰδιότητα πρός τι πάθος έπιῥῥεπῶς τις ἒχων, τρέφει τήν νόσον τῇ τών κατ' άλλήλων βρωμάτων ποιότητι· εί δέ πρὸς τά ώφελοΰντα τήν ὁρμήν σχοίη, πάντως έν ύγιεία βιώσεται, τής τροφής αύτώ συντηρούσης τήν εύεξίαν· ούτως καὶ έπ'ι τής ψυχής τροφής ού πάντων πρὸς τὸ αύτὸ ῥέπουσιν αί έπιθυμίαι. Οί μέν γάρ δόξης, ἢ πλούτου, ἢ τίνος κοσμικής περιφανείας ὸρέγονται, άλλοις περὶ τήν τράπεζαν άσχολδς έστιν ή ὀρεξις, ἕτεροι τδν φθoνον, ὥς τινα δηλητηριώδη τροφήν προθύμως άναλαμβάνουσιν είσΐν δέ τίνες οίς τo τή φύσει καλὸν έν ὀρέξει γίνεται. Φύσει δέ καλὸν άεὶ καὶ πάσι τοΰτό έστιν, μή άλλου τινὸς ἒνεκέν έστιν αίρετὸν, άλλ' αύτὸ δι' έαυτὸ ἐπιθυμητὸν, άεὶ ώσαύτως ἔχον, καὶ οὐδέποτε άμβλυνόμενον κόρῳ. Διά τούτο μακαρίζει δ Λδγος ού τοί'ς άπλώς πεινώντας, άλλ' οΐ; πρδς τήν άληθή δικαιοσύνην ή έπιθυμία τήν ῥoπήν ἔχει. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Λόγος Δ' Source: Migne PG 44.1233a-c

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled 1 But as it is with material food that not all desire the same thing, but there is often difference in appetite for the types of food eaten, and some delight in sweet things, and others in sharp and hot things, and others in salty foodstuffs, and others have pleasure in bitterness, and often it happens that it is not for utility and comfort that the appetite for food is found in a man, for if someone with his own temperament inclines to something harmful, he will nourish himself by his predilection on the wrong kinds of food, but then if he begins to desire those things which benefit, by the nourishment of what preserves he will live with an inclination to health, so in the same way it happens with the nourishment of the soul, that not everyone's desire turns and inclines to the same thing. For some desire glory, some wealth, others worldly splendour, and others have the appetite fixed on the things of the table, and others take up the poison of envy for their food, but then there are not a few who desire that which is good and noble. And what is good in its nature is always good for everyone, and it is not desirable for the sake of something else but in itself, and it is always the same and satiety can never suppress it nor dull it. Therefore the Word holds them blessed who not only hunger but who do so with a propensity and inclination for true righteousness. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Fourth Oration 1 Mt 5.7

Ways Of Teaching

Ἰδὼν δὲ τοὺς ὄχλους ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος, καὶ καθίσαντος αὐτοῦ προσῆλθαν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ: καὶ ἀνοίξας τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς λέγων... Διὰ τί πρόσκειται τὸ, Ἀνοίξας τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ; φαίνεται γὰρ, ὅτι περιττόν ἐστιν. Ἀλλ' οὐχί· καὶ μή ἀνοίγων γὰρ τὸ στόμα, ἐδίδασκεν. Πῶς; δὶα τοῦ βίου καὶ τῶν θαυμάτων· νῦν δὲ ἀνοίγων τὸ στόμα, διδάσκει. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ E' Source: Migne PG 123.188a

Seeing the crowd He went up the mountain, and His disciples came to Him sitting there, and He opened His mouth, teaching them, saying... 1 Why does it say here that 'He opened His mouth'? It seems to be superfluous. But it is not at all. He had been teaching them without opening His mouth. How? With His life and miracles. And now opening His mouth, He teaches. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.1-2

The Filled And The Hungry

Vae vobis, qui saturati estis, quia esurietis Saturatus erat dives ille purpuratus, quando epulabatur quotidie splendide, sed dirum vae sustinebat esuriens, quando de Lazari, quem despexerat, digito guttam aquae quaerebat. Aliter. Si beati sunt illi qui justitiae semper esuriunt opera, infelices e contrario sunt aestimandi qui sibi in desideriis placentes, nullam veri et inconcussi boni famem patiuntur, satis se rati beatos, si non ad tempus sua voluptate priventur. Sanctus Beda,In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber II Source: Migne PL 92.404a

Woe to you who are filled, for you shall hunger... 1 That rich man in purple was filled when he feasted splendidly every day, but alas he suffered wretched lack when he sought a drop of water from the finger of Lazarus whom he had scorned. 2 Otherwise, if they are blessed who thirst for the works of righteousness, 3 then on the contrary they are judged to be wretched who pleasing themselves in their desires suffer no hunger at all for the true and unshakeable good, for they reckon themselves blessed if they are not deprived of pleasure in their times. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 2 1 Lk 6.25 2 Lk 16.19-31 3 Mt 5.6

The First And Eighth Beatitude

Octava nihil est, nisi prima repetita. Unde et eamdem remunerationem habet cum prima. Sed agamus nunc de remunerationibus. Pauperibus promittitur regnum coelorum, quia majus non potest haberi quam illud, quod est commune et generale praemium. Sed quum in octava eadem retributio repetatur, differre tamen intelligendum est. Sic enim intelligitur: Beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum. Qui abdicant terrena, eorum est jam regnum coelorum in spe, et si in purgatorio igne quidam horum ad horam purgantur, tamen non ambigunt se recepturos regnum coelorum. Qui autem patiuntur persecutionem, habent regnum coelorum, non tantum in spe, sed etiam in re. Qui enim moriuntur pro Christo, statim ascendunt in coelum. Hoc ideo ita legitur, non quod utrique non recipiant in re regnum coelorum, sed ut designetur quanta differentia est inter illum, quia habet in spe, et illum qui habet in re, tanta differentia est retributionis illius qui non patitur, et illius qui patitur. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput V Source: Migne PL 162.1289a-b

The eighth beatitude 1 is nothing but a repetition of the first, whence it has the same reward as the first. But let us now look into the rewards. The kingdom of heaven is promised to the poor, because it is not possible to have anything greater than it, which is the common and general reward. But the same reward repeated in the eighth beatitude must be understood to differ. For with 'Blessed are the poor of spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven,' is understood those who forsake worldly things, and theirs is the kingdom of heaven in hope, and even if they must be purified in the fire of purgatory for a time, they do not doubt they shall be received into the kingdom of heaven. But those who suffer persecution, they have the kingdom of heaven in that, and not only in hope, for those who die for Christ instantly ascend to heaven. It should be read, then, in this way: that it is not that both receive the kingdom of heaven immediately truth, but there is much difference between the one who possesses in hope, and the one who possesses in truth, so great is the difference between the reward of the one who does not suffer, and the one who does. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.10

Mourning And Comfort

Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται. Οἱ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασι πενθοῦντες, οὐχὶ ἐπὶ τινι τῶν βιωτικῶν· πενθοῦντες δὲ εἴπε, τουτέστιν, ἀεὶ καὶ οὐχ ἅπαξ· καὶ οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἁμαρτημάτων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν τοῦ πλησίον. Παρακληθήσονται δὲ καὶ ἐνταῦθα· ὁ γὰρ πενθῶν δι' ἁμαρτίαν, χαίρει πνευματικῶς· καὶ ἐκεῖ δὲ πολλῳ μᾶλλον. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ E' Source: Migne PG 123.188b

Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 1 They who mourn sins, not temporal things. And He speaks of mourning here as something that is being done continually and not just once, and that this is not only for our own sins but even for the sins of our neighbours. And 'they shall be comforted' even here, for he who mourns on account of sin, he rejoices spiritually, and there shall much more. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.5

Hunger And Satisfaction

Beati qui esuritis, quia saturabimini... Quid esurire beati, qui sitire debeant, Matthaeus exponit, videlicet, iustitiam, apertissime nos instituens, nunquam nos satis iustos aestimare debere, sed quotidianum iustitiae semper amare, imo ardere profectum. Cuius perfectam saturitatem, non in hoc saeculo, sed in futuro posse provenire, supernorum desiderio Psalmista flagrans, ostendit, qui ait: Ego autem cum iustitia apparebo in conspectu tuo, satiabor dum manifestabitur gloria tua. Potest et simpliciter accipi: Beati qui nunc esuritis, qui castigatis corpus vestrum, et servituti subiicitis, qui in fame et siti verbo operam datis, quia coelestium tunc gaudiorum habebitis ubertate perfrui. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber II, Caput VI Source: Migne PL 92.401c-d

Blessed are you who hunger because you will be filled... 1 What the blessed hunger for, what they should thirst for, Matthew explains, that is, righteousness, 2 most openly teaching us that we should never be satisfied in judging ourselves righteous, but every day we should always be desiring righteousness and yearning to improve. For its consummate satisfaction is not possible in this world but it is to come in the future, which the Psalmist, burning with the desire for heavenly things, shows, saying, 'But in righteousness I shall appear in your sight, and I shall be satisfied when you reveal your glory.' 3 It is also possible to understand this simply, so that 'Blessed are you who now hunger,' are you who discipline the body and reduce it to servitude, and who amid hunger and thirst give yourself to the work of the Word, 4 because yours shall be the enjoyment of an abundance of heavenly joys. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 2, Chapter 6 1 Lk 6.21 2 Mt 5.6 3 Ps 16.15 4 1 Cor 9.27, 2 Cor 11.27

First Humility

Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἰωάννης τῆς Θηβαῗδος· Ὀφείλει ὁ μοναχὸς πρὸ πάντων τὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην κατορθῶσαι. Αὕτη γὰρ ἐστιν ἡ πρώτη ἐμτολὴ τοῦ Σωτῆρος, λέγοντος· Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ Βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.233d

Father John of the Thebaid said, 'Before everything a monk should improve himself with humility. For this is the first commandment of the Lord, He who said: 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' 1 Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia 1 Mt 5.3

Four Types Of Tears

Beati qui lugent, quoniam ipsi consolabuntur. Notandum autem quod quattor modis fit planctus sanctorum, cum priora peccata deplorant cum in infernum cadentes plangunt, cum in peccatis viventes, cum pro desiderio regni coelestis admodum tristes fiunt, et quatuor species lacrymarum natura continet. Sunt quidem lacrymae humidae, ut abluant sordes peccatorum, et restituant perditum baptismum; sunt salsae et amarae, ut restringant carnis fluxum, et terent dulcedinem voluptatum; sunt calidae, ut praevaleant contra infidelitatis frigus. Sunt purae, ut a pristinis erroribus mundatos, in pura constituant conversatione. Hae ergo pro amissis charis saepius fiunt, ut nos admoneant quatenus amissa bona opera reparemus, et ad desertam a nobis propter praevaricationem paradisi patriam per mandatorum Dei custodiam redeamus. Semper enim luctus inter duas laetitias consistit, id est, inter mundi praecedentem, et coelestis regni appropinquantem, et beatus cui temporalis tristitia aeternam parturiet laetitiam. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Matthaeum, Liber II, Cap V Source: Migne PL 107.796a-b

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 1 It should be noted that there are four ways of weeping for those who are holy, first when they deplore sins once committed, then when they weep over the descent to hell, then when there is living in sin, and then when they are made tearful because of longing for the kingdom of heaven. And these four types of tears are found in nature. There are tears of water, so that the filth of sins may be washed away and the ruin of baptism restored. There are salty and bitter tears that restrain the urges of the body and wear away the sweetness of pleasures, There are warm tears that prevail against the frigidity of faithlessness. And there are pure ones that cleanse from old errors and establish one in a wholesome way of living. And all these most frequently come from a lack of love and admonish us to look to the repair of a lack of good deeds, that from the waste made by us because of sin we may return to the fatherland of paradise by the keeping of the commandments of God. For grief is always found between two joys, between the preceding things of the world and the approaching things of the kingdom of heaven, and blessed is he who in temporal sorrow gives birth to eternal joy. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 2, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.5

Blessedness Perfected

Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam.... Sed quid facimus de eo, quod non ait, quaerunt, sed esurient justitiam, nisi ut intelligamus id esse justitiam animae, quod cibum et potum carni? Ipsa viaticum in itinere, juxta quod ex parte est: ipsa coena in patria, ubi perfecta est, ipsa lac parvulis, ipsa esca viris. Unde illa Prophetae exsecratio: Sicut ablactatus super matre sua, ita retribues in animam meam. Beati ergo qui esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam, quoniam ipsi saturabuntur. Tunc plena beatitas, qunado plena satietas; tunc plena plene satiabor, qui nunc in parte ex parte fruor. Nunc ad medicinam, tunc ad delectationem: nunc ad disciplinam, quae in praesenti videtur habere aliquid difficultatis moeroris, tunc ad gloriam, quando exercitatis per eam pacatissimum feret fructum of ipsius justitiae; ut hic quasi quidam flos justitiae sive omnis virtutis appareat, ibi plenitudo fructus carpatur. Sic sic ab inchoatione per profectum ad perfectum justitiae dirigendi sunt, qui in virtute beatitudinem quaerunt: cujus inchoatio quidem continet, nemini injuriam facere, profectus illatam patienter ferre, perfectio omnibus benefacere, si potest, si minus, velle. Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, Sermo III, In Festo Omnium Sanctorum Source: Migne PL 194.1698d-1699a

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness... 1 But what are we to make of this, that He does not say 'seek' but 'hunger' for righteousness, unless we understand that righteousness to the soul is as food and drink to the flesh? This is the food supplied on the way, according to which it is but partial, and then this is the feast in the fatherland, where it is perfected. This is milk for the babe, and then this is solid food for the man. 2 Whence the outburst of the Prophet, 'Like a weaned boy over his mother, thus you shall return it to my soul.' 3 Blessed, therefore, are those who hunger and thirst, for they shall be satisfied. Then blessedness is complete when there is full satisfaction. Then indeed I shall be fully satisfied with what I now enjoy in part. Now is the medicine, then the joy. Now is discipline, which in the present can seem so difficult and grievous, then the glory, when by exertion in discipline it bears the most peaceful fruit of righteousness. 4 Thus as there may appear here a certain bloom of righteousness, or of any virtue, so there the fullness of the fruit shall be plucked. Thus they who seek blessedness in virtue are directed from the beginning on through improvement to the perfection of righteousness, which beginning certainly consists of doing no harm to anyone, and whose advance is that we should suffer injury patiently, and whose perfection is the wish to do good to everyone, insofar as it is possible, even if little. Isaac of Stella, from Sermon 3 On The Feast Of All Saints 1 Mt 5.6 2 1 Cor 3.1-2 3 Ps 130.2 4 Heb 12.11

Blessings And Heaven

Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. Sex sunt opera misericordia, sicut diximus, quae hominem purificant et emundant. Nonne haec opera sex hydriae in Galilaea positae ad purificationem Judaeorum? Aquae mundat, eleemosyna mundat. Fide, inquit, mundanus corda eorum. Beati autem mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. Nonne vita aeterna est videre te Deum, et quem misisti Jesum Christum? Beati, Domine, qui te viderunt et in te credidetunt, spe non re. Nam et mundi corde hodie te vident, nec tamen beati sunt, vident sed per speculum, et in aenigmate, et quasi sub nube. Erit tempus quando videbunt te facie ad faciem in splendoribus sanctorum, gloria et honore coronatum, non in diademate majestatis tuae, sed quasi unigentium a Patre plenum gratiae et majestatis. Tunc exsultabimus et gaudebit cor nostrum; tunc erit Sabbatum de Sabbato; tunc erit in ore hominum canticum novum, et vox quasi laetentium omnium. Ibi sicut Christus splendor et figura substantiae Dei, sic apparebit in figura Dei et gloria majestatis. O custos hominum et redemptor noster, ad te levavi oculos meos, oculos scilicet cordis mei. Sicut enim oculi servorum in manibus dominorum suorum, ita oculi nostri ad te, Domine, donec miserearis nostri. Verutamen turbatus est a furore oculis meis; dereliquit me virtus mea, et lumen oculorum meorum, et ipsum non est mecum. Non possum videre faciem tuam nisi oculo mundi cordis. In immunditiis concepit me mater mea; et: Quis potest facere mundum de immundo conceptum semine? Nonne tu qui solus es? Cor mundum crea in me, Deus, Deus cordis mei, et pars mea Deus in aeternum. Tibi dixit cor meum; exquisivit te facies mea, faciem tuam, Domine, requiram. Quid enim mihi est in caelo, et a te quid volui super terram? Dominus illuminatio mea, et salus mea, quem timebo? Illumina oculos meas ne unquam obdormiam in morte: nequando dicat inimicus meus: Praevalui adversus eum. Tu es funiculus haerditatis meae, portio mea in terra viventium. In terra, quae promittitur mitibus; in terra consolationis, quae lugentibus offertur, in regno coelorum, quid patientibus et pauperibus datur; in haereditate sanctorum, et pace filiorum Dei; in pace Dei, quae exsuperat omnem sensum, quae filios Dei consortes beatiudinis facit. Beati, enim pacifici quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XLVII, In Festo Omnium Sanctorum Source: Migne PL 207.700d-701c

Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. 1 There are six works of mercy, as we have said, which purify and cleanse a man. Were there not six jugs placed in Galilee for the purification of the Jews? 2 Water cleanses, alms cleanse. With faith, it is said, their hearts were clean. 3 And blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Is it not that eternal life is the seeing of you, God, and Him whom you sent, Jesus Christ? Blessed, O Lord, are those who have seen you and believed in you, not the mere hope of it. For even the pure of heart see you today, yet they are not blessed, but they see through a mirror, in a mystery, 4 and as beneath a cloud. There shall come a time when they shall see you face to face in the splendour of your holy ones, crowned with glory and honour, 5 though your majesty is not in a diadem, but as the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and majesty. Then our hearts shall exult and rejoice, 6 then shall be the Sabbath of Sabbaths, then there shall be a new song in the mouths of men, 7 and the sound shall be as a multitude rejoicing. There as Christ is the splendour and figure of the substance of God, so He shall appear in the figure of God and the glory of majesty. O guardian of men and our Redeemer, to you I lift up my eyes, certainly the eyes of my heart. For as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters, so are our eyes turned to you, O Lord, until you are merciful to us. Truly my eyes were troubled with fury, my strength deserted me, and the light of my eyes was not with me. 8 I am not able to see your face, unless I have a pure heart. In uncleanliness my mother conceived me, and who is able to make me clean from the uncleanliness of the seed of my conception? Is it not you alone? Create a pure heart in me, O God, God of my heart, and my portion in eternity, O God. My heart has said to you, 'My face seeks you, your face, O Lord, I need. What is there for me in heaven, and what from you shall I wish on the earth? O Lord, my illumination and my salvation, whom shall I fear? Illuminate my eyes lest I ever sleep in death, lest my enemy ever say: 'I have prevailed over him.' 9 You are the portion of my inheritance, my gateway into the land of the living. 10 Into that land which is promised to the meek, into the land of consolation which is offered to those who weep, into the kingdom of heaven that is given to the patient and the poor, into the inheritance of the saints, and into the peace of the sons of God, into the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, which makes the sons of God associates of the blessing. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 11 Peter of Blois, from Sermon 47, On The Feast of All Saints 1 Mt 5.8 2 Jn 2.6 3 Acts 15.9 4 1 Cor 13.12 5 Ps 109.3, Ps 8.6 6 Prov 23.16 7 Ps 39.4 8 Ps 122.1,2 -3, Ps 6.8, Ps 37.11 9 Ps 50.7, Job 14.4, Ps 50.12, Ps 72.26, Ps 26.8, Ps 72.25, Ps 26.1, Ps 12.4-5 10 Ps 104.11, Ps 141.6 11 Mt 5.3-9, Phil 4.7