For The Benefit Of Souls

Ita ut elegit nos in ipso ane constitiutionem mundi, ut essemus sancti.. Ergo mysterio quod hic implevit, et carne, et cruce, et morte, et resurrectione, subventum est animis: etsi in Christo fides sumatur, ille suscipit hujusmodi animas et adjuvat et liberat. Christum enim credere, et in Christum fidem sumere, jam spiritaliter sentire, et jam tolli a desideriis carnalibus et materialibus: et ex hoc veluti cognatio intelligendi nos jungit et sociat Christo: et dum Christo sociaverit, inquit, et Deo. Per Christum enim Deo jungimur, neque spes ulla salutis nostrae nisi Christum credere. Hoc est spiritaliter jam sentire, et capere sensum, et mundi et materiae motibus non exagitari: quibus omnibus homo totus in spiritu vero est, et ex hoc jam in Christo est vita: cum autem in Christo vita est; jam mysterio acto a Christo recipimur, et per Christum in numerum filiorum suscipimur a Deo, spiritales facti, ut nos quoque de mundo resurgamus et de morte per Dei voluntatem, sed in Christo tamen. Hoc enim et nunc, et saepe et ubique praecipitur, ut in Christo tota sit vita nostra, tota spes, totus intelligendi labor. Omnis enim ratio aeternitatis nostrae et gloriae et salvationis, et Christus est, et in Christo est, si projicientes omnia spiritaliterque sentientes, separemus a nobis mundanas cogitationes, mundanos affectus, carnalia quodammodo desideria, carnales dignitates, carnales potestates, et mundi etiam velle potentias vel dignitates. Omne enim quidquid mundanum est, licet coeleste sit in mundo etiam vel aetherium vel quodlibet aliud divinum nominatur secundum mundum et aeternum, sed secundum mundum tamen, neque divinum est neque aeternum est; etenim materiale: et quicquid materiale est, et temporale est et caducum et corruptibile. Victorinus Afrus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber Primus, Caput I Source: Migne PL 8.1240c-1241a

Thus He chose us before the establishment of the world, so that we would be holy... 1 Therefore in a mystery He fulfills it, and the flesh and the cross and the death and the resurrection were for the benefit of souls. Even if we have taken up faith in Christ, He is the one who takes up souls and helps and frees them. For to believe in Christ and to take up faith in Christ is to understand spiritually, and so to be taken from carnal desires and things. And from this, with a certain likeness of understanding, we are joined and associated with Christ, and while we associate with Christ, he says, it is also with God. For it is through Christ that we are joined to God, and there is no hope of salvation unless to believe in Christ. This is to understand spiritually, and to grasp the sense, and not to be troubled by the changes of the world and matter, because of which the whole man becomes truly spiritual, and through this there is now life in Christ, and when there is life in Christ we are received by Christ in mystery, and through Him we are taken up into the number of the sons of God, having been made spiritual, so that we also rise up from the earth and from death by the will of God, but in Christ. Indeed here and now, and often and everywhere, it is exhorted that our whole life, our whole hope, the whole work of our understanding, should be in Christ. For every cause of our eternity and glory and salvation is Christ, and is in Christ, if advancing in all spiritual understanding we separate ourselves from worldly thought, and from worldly loves, and from every carnal desire and honour and power, and every office and dignity of the world. For everything worldly, even if named celestial, ethereal, or divine, is named according to the world and eternity, but according to the world there is nothing divine nor anything eternal, for matter, and whatever is of matter, is transient, and passes away and is corruptible. Victorinus Afrus, On the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book One, Chapter One 1 Ephes 1.4

Power And Corruption

Ὡς ὁ πλοῦτος τοὺς οὐ προσέχοντας ἐκτραχηλίζειν εἲωεν, οὕτω καὶ ἡ ἀρχή. Ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ εἰς πλεονεξίαν, αὕτη δὲ εἰς ἀπόνοιαν ἄγει. Ὄρα γοῠν τὸ ἀρχόμενον πλῆθος τῶν Ἰουδαίων ὑγιαῖον, τοὺς δὲ ἄρχοντας διεφθαρμένους. Ὅτι γὰρ οὕτοι αὐτῷ ἐπίστευον, λέγουσι μὲν συνεχῶς οἱ εὐαγγελισταὶ, ὅτι Πολλοὶ ἐκ τοῦ ὄχλου ἐπίστευσαν αὐτῷ. Ἐκ δὲ τῶν ἀρχόντων ἠπίστουν. Καὶ αὐτοὶ λέγουσιν, οὐχὶ ὁ ὄχλος, Μὴ τις τῶν ἀρχόντων ἐπίστευσεν εἰς αὐτὸν; Ἀλλὰ τί φησι; Τὸ πλῆθος, οἱ μὴ εἰδότες τὸν Θεὸν, ἐπικατάρατοί εἰσι. Τοὺς πιστεύοντας ἐπικαταράτους ἔλεγον, ἑαυτοὺς δὲ ἀναιροῦντας, συνετούς. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Υπόμνημα Εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Ἰωάννην τὸν Ἀπόστολον και Εὑαγγελιστην, Ὁμιλία ΞϚ’ Source: Migne PG 59.365

As wealth will ruin those who are not prudent, so it is with power. The first leads into covetousness, the second into pride. See how the subject multitude of the Jews is sound and the rulers are corrupt. For the Evangelists continually tell us that the former believed in Christ, saying, 'Many of the multitude believed in Him,' 1 but the rulers did not believe. And it is they themselves, not the multitude, who say, 'Has any of the rulers believed in Him?' But what says one of them? 'The multitude do not know God, they are accursed.' 2 They call the believers accursed, and themselves, the slayers, wise. Saint John Chrysostom, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint John, from Homily 66 1 Jn 7.31 2 Jn 7.48-49

Seeking Him

In simplicitate cordis quaerite illum; quoniam invenitur ab his qui non tentant illum, apparet autem eis qui fidem habent in illum. Et bene dixi : In simplicitate etc. quoniam invenitur, per gratiam in praesenti, secundum illus Canticorum tertio: Invenit quem diligit anima mea. Ab his qui non tentant illum... Aliud exterius praetendendo, aliud interius intendendo, sicut Scribae et Pharisaei Chrisum tentantes; et hoc dicit contra hypocrisim et duplicitatem; Matthaei vigesimo secundo, Quid me tentatis hypocritae? Apparet autem... Scilicet in futuro per gloriam; primae Ioannis tertio: Cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus; et ad Colossenes tertio: Cum autem Christus apparuerit, vita vestra, tunc et vos apparebitis cum ipso in gloria. His qui fidem habent in illum. hoc dicit contra haeresi et infidelitatem. Et nota, quod dicit: In illum, quid non sufficit credere illi vel illum, sed credere in illum, quod est actus fidei formatae, secundum Augustinum. Vel: invenitur propter devotionem affectus; apparet, per contemplationem intellectus; Psalmus: Gustate, affectu; videte, intellectu. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Caput I Source: Here, 360d-e

Seek Him in simplicity of heart, for He is found by those who do not test Him, and He appears to those who have faith in Him. 1 Well it is said 'In simplicity' because He is found through grace in the present, according to the third chapter of the Song of Songs, 'My soul found him whom it loves.' 2 'By those who do not test Him...' Pretending one thing outwardly while intending another inwardly, as the Scribes and the Pharisees tested Christ, and this is said against hypocrisy and duplicity. In the twenty second chapter of Matthew, 'Why do you test me, hypocrites?' 3 'And He appears...' That is, in the future, in glory. In the third chapter of the first letter of John, 'When He appears we shall be like Him.' And in the third chapter of Colossians, 'When Christ shall appear, your life, then even you will appear with Him in glory.' 4 'To those who have faith in Him.' This is said against heresy and disbelief. Note that it says 'in Him,' because it is not enough to believe Him but to believe in Him, which is the act of mature faith, according to Augustine. 5 Otherwise we could say He is found according to the devotion of love, and He appears in the contemplation of the mind. In the Psalm, 'Taste,' with love, 'see,' with the understanding. 6 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Chapter 1 1 Wisdom 1.2-3 2 Song 3.4 3 Mt 22.18 4 1 Jn 3.2, Col 3.4 5 Aug, Tractate 29 On John, 6 6 Ps 33.9

Questioning Paternity

Et dicebant: Nonne hic est filius Joseph? Ecce hic secundum Chrysostomum tangitur effectus Verbi Dei in indevotis Scribis et Pharisaeis. Omnes enim de populo sanctificabant eum, et testimonium illi dabant. Soli autem Scribae et Pharisaei, ut dicit Chrysostomus, similes sunt terrae arenosae, quae quanto plus pluit, tanto magis aret. Et ideo maledicti sunt: sicut dicit Apostolus, ad Hebr. VI: Terra saepe venientem super se bibens imbrem, et generans herbam opportunam illis a quibus colitur, accipit benedictionem a Deo: proferens autem spinas ac tribulos, reproba est, et maledictioni proxima: cujus consummatio in combustionem ignis. Dividitur autem haec pars in tres partes: in quarum prima Scribarum et Pharisaeorum in paucis verbis innuit contemptum: in secunda autem Christus excludit ipsorum tacitam objectionem quam fecerunt, populum a fide concepta volentes avertere: in tertia autem aperta eorum ponitur malignitas, ad quam induxerunt populum, et quam volebant Domino violenter inferre. Primum horum est valde parvum, sed praegnans magna malignitate: Et dicebant, Supple, Scribae et Pharisaei ad populum qui jam fidem et devotionem conceperat, Nonne hic est. Despectionis nota est demonslratio ejus, quem nominare non sunt dignati. Sapient. ii: Gravis est nobis etiam ad videndum. Psal. xv: Nec memor ero nominum eorum per labia mea. Filius Joseph? Minus hic dicit Evangelista quod tam Matthaeo quam a Marco plenius sciverat esse positum. Matth.xiii, Nonne hic est fabri filius? Nonne mater ejus dicitur Maria, et fratres ejus, Jacobus, et Joseph, et Simon, et Judas: et sorores ejus, nonne omnes apud nos sunt? Marc vi: Nonne hic est faber, filius Mariae, frater Jacobi, et Joseph, et Judae, et Simonis? Haec omnia despective dicta sunt. Faber enim lignarius dicitur fuisse Joseph, arte et usu manuum victum quaerens, et non in otio et deliciis panem manducans, sicut Scribae et Pharisaei fecerunt. Maria etiam quam objiciunt ei quaestuaria fuit, ut dicit Hieronymus, colo et consilio manuum victum quaerens. Fratres autem vocant hic consobrinos ejus, filios sororis Beatae Virginis ex Cleopha patre, tres Apostolos Simonem, et Judam, et Jacobum minorem. Quartus autem Joseph fuit qui justus cognominabatur: qui cum Matthia sortes habuit quis eorum in locum Judse substitueretur. Et est sensus: Hic despectae et pauperrimae nativitatis faber lignarius vocatione, non potest esse Christus Dominus quem unxit Deus. Et ideo sibi non est credendum tam rusticano et tam vili. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput IV Source: Here p331-332

And they said, 'Is this not the son of Joseph?' 1 Observe that according to Chrysostom this touches upon the effect the Word of God had on the disbelieving Scribes and Pharisees. 'For all the people blessed Him and bore witness to Him.' 1 Only the Scribes and the Pharisees, as Chrysostom says, are like the dust of the earth, so that the more it rains, the more they thirst. And therefore they are cursed, as the Apostle says in the sixth chapter of the letter to the Hebrews, 'The earth which drinks down the rain which comes upon it and gives birth to plants in their seasons for those who till it, receives a blessing from God, but that which brings from forth thorns and thistles is reprobate and near to a curse, whose end is to be burnt with fire.' 2 This may be divided into three parts, in which first is made known in few words the contempt of the Scribes and Pharisees, in the second part Christ rejects the tacit objection they make, choosing to point to a people conceived by faith, and in in the third part is set down their malignity, to which they had led the people, and what they wished to bring violently on the Lord. The first part is very brief but bears much wickedness, 'And they said,' Understand that the Scribes and Pharisees said 'Is this not?' to the people who had just laid hold of faith and devotion, which demonstrates their scorn of Him whom they are not worthy to name. In the second chapter of Wisdom, 'The sight of Him is burdensome to us.' In the fifteenth Psalm, 'I shall not remember their names on my lips.' 3 'The son of Joseph?' Here the Evangelist says less than Matthew who wrote more extensively about what Mark set down. In the twelfth chapter of Matthew 'Is this man not the son of a carpenter? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers, Jacob and Joseph and Simon and Judas, and do not his sisters dwell among us?' In the sixth chapter of Mark, 'Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of Jacob and Joseph and Judas and Simon?' 4 This is all said disrespectfully. Is it said that Joseph was a carpenter, seeking his living with the work of his hands, and not in leisure and pleasure eating his bread, as the Scribes and Pharisees did. Mary they object to as a woman for hire, as Jerome says, who with her spinning and counsel made her living. Those called his brothers here are his cousins, the sons of the sister of the Blessed Virgin, who had Cleophas for a father, the three Apostles Simon, Judas and James the less. Joseph, the fourth one, was surnamed the Just, who with Matthias had the lots cast for the replacement of Judas. 5 This is the sense of what they said, that the occupation of carpenter entails a base and impoverished birth and it is not possible for Him to be the Lord Christ whom God anointed, and therefore one should not believe in one so rustic and common. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 4 1 Lk 4.22 2 Heb 6.7-8 3 Wisd 2.15, Ps 15.4 4 Mt 13.55-56, Mk 6.3 5 Acts 1.23-26

Sickness And Infirmity

Et circumibat Iesus totam Galilaeam docens in synagogis eorum et praedicans evangelium regni et sanans omnem languorem et omnem infirmitatem in plebe Quod dixit, Languorem, ad passiones pertinere voluit corporales: quod autem dicit Et omnem infirmitatem ad passiones animae spirituales. Non enim pauciores morbi animam vexant quam corpus. Etsi quidem dixisset, Sanas languores et infirmitates, poteramus utrumque ad passiones intelligere corporales, ut languores quidem intelligerentur graviores passiones, infirmitates autem taedia leviora. Nunc autem cum dicens, Omnem langourm, omnes genus sive gravium, sive leium passionum concludit, alterius clausulae videtur adjectio esse superflua, nisi unam quidem ad passiones corporales intelligamus, alteram autem ad spirituales. Possumus tamen et utramque clausulam, ad utrasque intelligere passiones ita: id est, Omnem languorem, sive corporalem, sive spiritualem: et Omnem infirmitatem, sive corporalem, sive spiritualem: ut languorem quidem intelligamus animae morbum passionis alicujus, infirmitatem autem infideliatem: utputa qui avaritiae morbo subditus est, aut libidinis, aut vanae gloriae, languorem animae patitiur: qui autem mysterium vocationis Dei ignorant, ille infirmus habetur in fide. Multi enim sunt qui possunt bona opera facere, et Deo placere, sed non faciunt: quia mysterium vocationis Dei ignorant, et ipsi sunt infirmi. Quidam autem sic passionibus carnalibus sunt mancipati, ut etiam si sciant mysterium vocationis Dei, tamen bene agere non permittunur, et ipsi sunt languorem habentes. Sed passiones corporales divinitatis virtute sanavit, spirituales autem verbo pietatis. Sicut enim medicina languenti corpori, sic verbum prodest animae aegrotanti, Deinde vide, quod non prius posuit, Sanas omnem languorem, et omnem infirmitatem, sed primum, Praedicans et docens Evangelium regni, et postea, Sanas, propter duas causas. Primum quia miracula virtutum aedificant animas secundum verba pietatis. Ideo autem premittitur quod magis necessarium aestimatur. Deinde quia non verba pietatis virtutes miraculorum commendant, sed virtutes miraculorum veritatis sermones. Nec ideo credebatur Christus posse facere virtutes, quia veritatem praedicabat: sed ideo credeatur veritatem praedicare, quia poterat facere virtutes. Nec ideo credebatur Christus posse facere virtutes, quia veritatem praedicabat: sed ideo credebatur veritatem praedicare, quia poterat facere virtutes. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia Octava Source: Migne PG 56.678-9

'And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every infirmity among the people.' 1 When it says 'sickness' it wishes to refer to corporeal afflictions, but because it says 'every sickness' it refers to the afflictions of the soul. For diseases do not afflict the soul less than the body. If it had said, 'Healing sickness and infirmity,' we would be able to understand that both referred to corporeal afflictions, so that sickness would be understood as the heavier afflictions and infirmity as the lighter ones. But now when it says 'every sickness,' it includes all sorts of afflictions whether they are heavy or light, but then the additional clause seems superfluous, unless we understand one to be referring to bodily afflictions and the other to spiritual afflictions. However we can understand both clauses to be referring to both afflictions, so that 'every sickness' is either of the body or the spirit, and 'every infirmity' is either of the body or spirit, and thus we may understand 'sickness' to refer to the diseases of the soul and infirmity as faithlessness, so that he who is ruled by avarice or lust or vain glory, suffers from a sickness of the soul, but he who knows nothing of the mystery of the call of God is infirm in faith. For there are many who are able to do good works and to please God but they do not do so because they are ignorant of the mystery of the call of God and they are infirm. Certainly when they are delivered from corporeal afflictions, even if they know the mystery of the call of God, yet they are not permitted to do good since they are sick. But He heals bodily afflictions with divine power, and spiritual ones with the word of piety. As medicine is to the sick body so the word is beneficial to the sick soul. Then see that 'healing every sickness and every infirmity' is not placed first, but 'preaching and teaching the gospel of the kingdom,' and then comes healing, and for two reasons. Firstly because the power of miracles edify the soul according to the words of piety. Therefore that which is more needful is set first. Then because it is not words of piety that commend the power of miracles but the power of miracles commend true words. Christ was not believed to be able to perform miracles because He preached the truth, but He was believed to preach the truth because he was able to do miracles. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 8 1 Mt 4.23

Faith And Healing

Et erat quidam regulus, cujus filius infirmabatur Capharnaum. Hic cum audisset quia Jesus adveniret a Judea in Galilaeam, abiit ad eum, et rogabat eum ut descenderet, et sanaret filium ejus: incipiebat enim mori. Dixit ergo Jesus ad eum: Nisi signa et prodigia videritis, non creditis. Dicit ad eum regulus: Domine, descende priusquam moriatur filius meus. Dicit ei Jesus: Vade, filius tuus vivit. Credidit homo sermoni quem dixit ei Jesus, et ibat. Quaest. II. Item quaerit Gregorius de isto regulo, utrum crederet , an non? Quod non, videtur: 1. Quia Dominus increpat eum: Nisi signa et prodigia videritis , non creditis. 2. Hoc ipsum arguitur per litteram: quia petebat, quod descenderet, quasi nisi in praesentia sanare non posset. Sed contra hoc est: si non credidit, quomodo salutem filii postulavit a Domino? Respondeo: Dicendum, quod credidit, sed semiplene: credidit, in Christo esse virtutem ad salvandum filium; sed non credidit, in eo esse Divinitatem per quam posset ubique. Unde fides fuit, cum petiit salutem; sed defectus fidei, cum requirebat praesentiam corporalem. Quaest. III. Item quaerit dictus Gregorius : unde est, quod Dominus ad servum centurionis ire se obtulit, ad filium reguli, cum rogaretur, ire recusavit? Respondeo: Dicendum, quod hoc fuit ad aedificationem fidei et morum: fidei, quia, dum se obtult centurioni, ipsius fidei devotionem nobis manifestavit; dum retraxit se a filio reguli, curando eum in absentia, ad Divinitatis idem invitavit. Ad aedificationem vero morum , ut nostram superbiam constringeret, qui magnos veneramur et parvos despicimus, Dominus se obtulit ire ad centurionis servum, et recusavit ire ad reguli filium. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput IV Source: Here, p278

And there was a certain local ruler, whose son was lying sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judaea to Galilee, he went to him and asked Him to come down and heal his son, who was about to die. Jesus said to him, 'Unless you shall see signs and miracles, you shall not believe.' The local ruler said to him, 'Lord, come down before my child dies.' Jesus told him, 'Go, your son lives.' And the man believed in the word which Jesus had spoken to him, and he went.' 1 Question 2 Gregory asks the same thing regarding this ruler, whether he believed or not. 2 It seems that he did not, 1 Because the Lord admonished him with, 'Unless you shall see signs and prodigies, you shall not believe.' 2 According to what is written it is asserted that he entreated Him to come down, as if unless He was present He could not heal. But against this, if he did not believe why did he ask the Lord to heal his son? I answer that it must be said that he did believe but not fully. He believed that the power of Christ could heal his son, but he did not believe in the Divinity in Him by which He was able to be everywhere. Hence there was faith when he sought healing, but a lack of faith because he sought bodily presence. Question 3 Gregory asks the same question, why did the Lord offer to go to the servant of the centurion 3 but when he was asked to go to the son of the ruler he refused? I answer that it must be said that this was for the edification of faith and morals. Faith because when He offered Himself to the centurion He manifested the devotion of his faith to us, and when He held Himself back from the son of the ruler and cured him in His absence, He signified His Divinity. And to edify morals in that we should suppress our pride, we who admire great men and scorn little men, for the Lord offered Himself to the centurion's servant and refused to go to a ruler's son. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 4 1 Jn 4.46-50 2 Homilies on Gospels 2.28.1 3 Homilies on Gospels 2.28.2, Lk 7.1-10

A Little Faith

Putatis autem, charissimi, nihil dicere etiam illum qui dicit, Intelliam, ut credam? Quid enim nunc agimus, nisi ut credant, non qui non credunt, sed qui adhuc parum credunt. Nam si nullo modo credidissent, hic non essent. Fides eos adduxit, ut audiant. Fides eos fecit praesentes verbo Dei, sed ipsa fides quae germinavit irriganda est, nutrienda est, roboranda est. Hoc est quod agimus. Ego, inquit, plantavi, Apollo rigavit, sed Deus incrementum dedit. Itaque neque qui plantat est aliquid, neque qui rigat, sed qui incrementum dat Deus 16. Loquendo, hortando, docendo, suadendo plantare possumus et rigare, non autem incrementum dare. Noverat autem ille cum quo loquebatur, qui fidei suae germinanti et adhuc tenerae et adhuc infirmae et ex magna parte titubanti, non tamen nullae fidei, sed alicui fidei adiutorem orabat, cui dicebat: Credo Domine Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Sermo XLIII, De eo quod scriptum in Isaia: Nisi credideritis, non intellegetis Source: Migne PL 38.257

Do you think, most beloved, that he says nothing who says 'Let me understand that I may believe'? What are we doing now unless helping belief, not of those who do not believe, but those who believe a little? If they did not believe at all they would not be here. Faith brought them that they might hear. Faith set them in the presence of the word of God. But this faith which has germinated needs to be watered and nourished and strengthened. This is what we do. 'I planted,' he says, 'Apollo watered, but it is God who gives the growth.' 1 By speaking, exhorting, teaching, and persuading we can plant and water, but we do not give the growth. A man knew with whom He spoke, he had a faith that was germinating, and yet was still tender and still weak, and for a great part hesitant, but it was not an absence of faith, rather he asked for help for his faith, he who said, 'I believe, O Lord.' 2 Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 43, On What Is Written In Isaiah, 'Unless you believe, you will not understand.' 3 1 1 Cor 3.6-7 2 Mk 9.23 3 Isaiah 7.9

Faith And Healing

Quod autem dicit quod in patria signa non fecit, Marc. VI, causa redditur, ubi sic dicitur: Non poterat ibi virtutem ullam facere, nisi paucos infirmos impositis manibus curavit. Haec autem impotentia, sicut patebit ex sequentibus, non fuit in Domino, sed in ipsis. Impedivit enim hoc eorum incredulitas, et indevotio: quia in fide devote non petebant. Et ideo quod Dominus poterat de potentia absoluta, non poterat de justi- tia. Non enim, ut dicit Augustinus super Joannem, aliquem sanabat Dominus in corpore quem prius non sanaret in anima. Et ideo dicitur, Joan. VII, quod totum hominem sanum fecit. Et quia interius sanari ab ipso noluerunt, ideo indigni fuerunt quod exterior sanitas praestaretur eis. Haec ergo est causa quod apud alios etiam Gentiles multas perfecit sanitates, et paucas apud suos. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput IV Source: Here p333

When it says that He was not able to do miracles in His homeland, Mark gives the cause, when he says that there He was not able to perform any act of power unless to cure a few of the sick on whom He placed His hands. 1 This inability, as shall be clear from what follows, was not in the Lord but in them. It was their disbelief that was the impediment, since they did not ask in devout faith. And thus what the Lord could have done according to His absolute power, He was not able to do according to justice. For there is no one, as Augustine says on John, that the Lord healed in the body who was not first healed in the soul. And thus it says in the seventh chapter of John that He made the whole man well. 2 And because here they were not willing to be healed within, therefore they were unworthy of the exterior health He could have bestowed upon them. This, then, is the reason why many were restored to health among others, even Gentiles, and few were among them. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 4 1 Mk 6.5 2 Jn 7.23

The Mustard Seed And Other Seeds

Simile est regnum coelorum grano sinapis etc. Regnum coelorum praesens Ecclesia dicitur, quae diversis figuris, non secundum se totam, sed secundum aliquam partem sui comparatur. Hic autem grano sinapis secundum fidem assimilatur, quod homo, id est Christus seminavit in agro, id est in cordibus credentium, quod minimum est omnibus seminibus. Fides enim nostra vilior omnibus doctrinis philosophicis videtur. Quid enim stultius sapientibus hujus mundi aestimabatur, quam in occisum et sepultum credere, visibilia contemnere, et invisibilibus iuhiare? Caetera autem semina, scilicet libri philosophorum excellere videntur, quia de maximarum rerum agunt subtilitate, et ornati sunt rhetorica compositione. Sed, ut ait Apostolus, quod infirmum est Dei, fortius est hominibus, ideo cum crescit in mente recipientis, et in toto mundo exaltatur, major apparet omnibus oleribus, et fit arbor, ita ut, etc. Scientiae philosophicae enim sunt olera, sed ad nullius utilitatis robur perveniunt. et ideo facile ex vanitate sua arescunt. Rami vero hujus arboris sunt partes fidei multiplices, in quibus habitant volucres coeli, id est animae fidelium delectantur et pascuntur, quae pennis virtutum ad coelestia volant. Unde dictum est: Quis dabit mihi pennas sicut columbae, et volabo, et requiescam? Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput XIII Source: Migne PL 162.1374d-1375b

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed... 1 He speaks of the present Church by the use of different figures, for not in its totality but according to its different parts it has its comparisons. Here, then, the mustard seed is likened to faith, which a man, that is, Christ, sowed in a field, that is, in the hearts of the believers, and it is the smallest of all the seeds. Indeed our faith seems to be more valueless than all the teachings of the philosophers. What shall be judged more foolish by the wise of this world than to have belief in a man who was killed and buried, and to scorn visible things and to desire things unseen? And there are other seeds, that is, the books of the philosophers which seem to be excellent because they treat subtly of the greatest things and they are composed in an admirable style, but as the Apostle says, the weakness of God is stronger than men 2 therefore when our seed grows in the mind that receives it, it rises up amid the whole world, and it appears greater than all other herbs, and indeed is like a tree. The teachings of the philosophers are the other herbs, but the strength of their usefulness comes to nothing, and therefore on account of their vanity they wither away. But the branches of our tree are the many parts of the faith which with the wings of virtue fly off to heavenly things. Whence it has been said, 'Who shall give to me the wings of a dove, that I might fly away and be at peace?' 3 Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 6 1 Mt 13.31-32 2 1 Cor 1.25 3 Ps 54.7

Teaching And Vice

Qui desperantes semetipsos tradiderunt impudicitiae, in opertionem omnis immunditae et avartiae... De gentibus loquitur, quibus caecatum cor est, et nihil sperant, id est mortales se et fatentur et probant; neque de aeternitate sua aliquid credunt: ac propterea vitam mundi, quasi ea frui volentes, et rapiunt, et libidinose vivunt, et cum impudicitia exercentes, ut credunt, voluptatem habendi cupidi, et in usu vivendi ducti omnibus turpissimis voluptatibus. Vos autem non ita didicistis Christum; si tamen audistis illum et in illo credidistis. Contra Ephesios docet non ita vivere ut gentes: quippe qui didicerint Christum: quia Christus ut immortales nos faceret, egit mysterium, praesto in carne fuit, docui ut cognosceremus patrem, et in ipsum fidem haberemus, et est aeternitas nobis viventibus secundum ejus mandata. Vos igitur non ita didicistis, ut gentes: quippe quia vos Christum audistis, si tamen audistis illum, id est intellexistis et credidistis. Hoc est enim quod adjunxit, qui in illum credidistis: quia, ut diximus et dicimus semper, credere in Christum, immortalitem consequi est, et vitam aeternam mereri; ipse enim est vita, ipse lux, ipse aeternitas, ipse qui mortem vincit et vicit, et nobis vicit, per mysterium quod implevit. Victorinus Afrus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber Secundus, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 8.1277b-c

Who despairing of themselves have given themselves over to shamelessness, to the doing of every vile thing, and avarice... 1 He speaks of the Gentiles, whose hearts are blind, and who hope for nothing, for they confess themselves to be mortal and act on it, believing nothing of eternal things, and thus they seize on the world's life as something to be enjoyed, and they live lustfully and exert themselves in shamelessness, so that, as they think, they will have the joy of their desires, and by such a way of life they have been led away into every sort of vile pleasure. You did not learn this from Christ, if indeed you have listened to Him and believed in Him... Opposing the Ephesians, he teaches that they should not live like the Gentiles, certainly if they have learnt from Christ, because Christ, so that He might make us immortal, worked a mystery, coming forth in the flesh and teaching so that we might come to know the Father and have faith in Him, and it is eternity for us to live according to His commands. You, therefore, did not have the learning of the Gentiles, but certainly you listened to Christ, if indeed 'you listened to Him,' that is, if you understood and believed. For this is what he adds, you who 'believed in Him,' so that as we have said, and as we shall always say, to believe in Christ achieves immortality, and it merits eternal life, for He is the life and the light and eternity, He is the one who conquers death and conquered it, and conquered for us, through the mystery which He fulfilled. Victorinus Afrus, On the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book Two, Chapter Four 1 Ephes 4.19

The Entombed Soul

Nunquid enarrabit aliquis in sepulcro misericordiam tuam? Hoc negative legendum est, ut illud posuit intelligi, quia vivi homines et fideles misericordiam ejus narrare consuerunt. Sepulchrum enim significat infidelium mentes, de quibus supra dictum est: Sepulcrum patens est gutter eorum. Et meriot sepulcrum dicitur, ubi anima peccatis mortua continetur; id est, illos vult intelligi qui non sunt Domino credituri; quia nullus eis misericordia Domini videtur narrasse, quam non voluerunt devota mente percipere. Illic enim provenisse dicimus actum, ubi aliquem audiens praestat effectum. Tale est et istud quod sequitur, aut veritatem tuum in perditione; quia nemo putatur veritatem dixisse, quem videtur neligens praeterire. Perditio quippe juste vocata est, ubi veritas non admittitur, sed sola obstinatio custoditur. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus LXXXVII Source: Migne PL 70.626a-b

Shall someone in a tomb tell of your mercy? 1 This should be spoken negatively, as he set it down to be understood, because it is living and faithful men who are accustomed to speak of His mercy. The tomb signifies the minds of the faithless, concerning which it has been said, 'Their throat is an open tomb.' 2 And when sin encloses the soul it is rightly called a tomb. That is, he wishes them to be understood as those who will not believe in the Lord because none of them are seen to have spoken of the mercy of the Lord, that which they were not willing to receive with a devout mind. For so we say a word has had an effect when he who hears responds to it. Such is what follows, 'Or your truth in ruin.' Because no one is thought to have spoken the truth who appears to have negligently passed it by. It is rightly called ruin when the truth is not admitted but the only thing clung to is obstinacy. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 87 1 Ps 87.12 2 Ps 5.11

Seeing And Believing

Quaeritur de hoc quod dicitur: Vidistis me, et non creditis. Videtur, quod nihill dicat, quia fides est earum rerum, quae non videntur, ut dicit Apostolus ad Heb undecimo. Ergo nihil potest eos reprehendere de hoc, quod non credunt, cum videant. Si dicas, quod videre est secundum humanitatem, sed credere secundum Divnitatem; hoc nihil est, quia visio humanitatis potius impedit fidem Divnitatis, quam adjuvet: ergo non debet eos arguere ex hoc. Resp. Dicendum, quod intelligitur de visione non humanitatis purae, vel infirmae sed de visione virtutis et potentiae in effectu. Et quoniam videbunt Divinam virtutuem in effectu, ideo credere debebant. Quod objicitur, quod visio repugnat fidei, dicendum, quod verum est de visione essentiae Divinae; sed non est verum de visione, quae est in effectu tanquam in speculo; quia fidei est videre per speculum et in aenigmate. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput VI Source: Here, p677

One must enquire into this which is said: 'You see me and you do not believe.' 1 It seems that nothing is being said here because faith is of things which are not seen, as the Apostle says in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. 2 Therefore it is not possible to find fault with them concerning this, that they do not believe when they see. If you should say that to see is according to humanity and to believe is according to Divinity, this is nothing, because human vision is more of an obstacle to the Divine faith rather than a help, and therefore there should be no dispute with them because of this. I answer that it must be said that this should be understood of a seeing that is not purely human, or weak, but it is a seeing of virtue and power in action. And because they saw the Divine virtue in action, therefore they should have believed. And to the objection that vision is hostile to faith, it must be said that this is true regarding the vision of the Divine essence, but it is not true of the vision which is active as in a mirror, because faith is to see through a mirror darkly. 3 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 6 1 Jn 6.36 2 Heb 11.1 3 1 Cor 13.12

John's Coming

In diebus illis venit Joannes Baptista praedicens... Sol appropians ad processum, antequem appareat, mittit radios suos, et facit albescere orientem, ut procedens aurora adventum diei demonstret. Sic Dominus natus in mundo, antequam appareat, Spiritus sui fulgore transmisso illuminavit Joannem, ut praecedens ille adventum Salvatoris annuntiet: ne forte subito veniens, et dicens se esse Filium Dei, propter ipsam magnam atque terribilem indicationem rei ipsius, magis se incredibiliorem ostenderet. Si enim Joannes praedicavit persona cognitus, genere dignitosus, erat enim fiilius Zachariae sacerdotis, et conversatione mirabilis, tamen infideles Judaei non acquieverunt credere Christo per illum: quanto magis non erant credituri, si nulla ante eum denuntiatio praecessisset? Nam quantumvis fuerit persona laubabilis, in sua causa non potest esse testis idoneus. Venit Joannes quasi magni regis praeparator fidelis. Qualis rex, talis et nuntius regis: natus ex gratia, non ex natura. Sicut Christi conceptionem ante angelus nuntiavit, sic et istius. Sicut illius nomen, antequam conciperetur, auditum est, sic et istius. Sicut illius potestas, antequam nasceretur, ostensa est: sic et istius virtus, anteuqam nasceretur, manifestata est. Haec fuit inter illos differentia: quia Christo concepto, fidelis mater confessa est gratiam Dei, dicens: Ecce ancilla Domini fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Joanne autem concepto, incredulus pater obmutuit: quia Joanne nato, lex de caetero fuerat tacitura; Christo autem nascente postmodum, gratia fuerat loquutura. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia Tertia Source: Migne PG 56.646-647

In those days John came preaching... 1 When the sun nears its rising, before it appears, it sends forth its rays, and it lightens the east, and so the preceding dawn demonstrates the coming of the day. Thus for the Lord's birth in the world, before He appeared, the Spirit, with its light sent forth, illuminated John, so that coming before he might proclaim the advent of the Saviour, lest perhaps with Him suddenly coming, and saying that He was the Son of God, on account of the great and awesome revelation of such a thing, it appear to be more inconceivable. For if John preached as a person well known, and from a distinguished family, for he was the son of Zachariah the priest, and with wondrous conduct, and yet he did not convince the unfaithful of Judah to believe in Christ through him, how much more disbelief would there have been if no proclamation had preceded Him? For however great he was as a praiseworthy person, he was not an able witness in his own cause. John came as a faithful preparer of a great king. And as the king, so the messenger of the king, born from grace, not from nature. As the conception of Christ was announced beforehand, so was his. As His name was heard before His conception, so was his. As His power was shown before He was born, so was his made manifest before he was born. This was the difference among them, that at Christ’s conception, the faithful mother confessed the grace of God, saying: 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word.' 2 but at John's conception, an incredulous father was made mute, since with the birth of John the law became silenced for anything else, and after the birth of Christ, grace was to speak. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 3 1 Mt 8.5-6 2 Lk 1.38

Bad Fathers

Ubi tentaverunt me patres vestri; probaverunt me, et viderunt opera mea. Ubi, sicut superius dixit, significat in deserto; illic enim fragilitas humana Deum tentavit; sed statim virtus Divinitatis apparuit, quando esca venit ex aere, potus ex lapide. Sed petra produxit aquas; corda vero infidelium duruerunt in lapideam siccitatem. Sed quae dementia est adhuc sequi pravitates illorum in quibus tam vehementer cognoscitur vindicatum? Nam cum dicit, patres vestri, et eos quoque significat obstinatos, quia illum unusquisque habet patrem quem cognoscitur imitari, sicut Iudaeis in Evangelio ipse Dominus dicit: Vos ex patre diabolo estis. Sequitur, probaverunt me, et viderunt opera mea. Probaverunt utique, quando manna esurientibus pluit, quando illis coturnicum tributa est multitudo, quando irriguae aquae de saxorum siccitate fluxerunt. Nam quod addidit, et viderunt opera mea, infidelitas eorum arguitur, qui carnalibus oculis intuiti sunt, quod cordis lumine minime crediderunt; et ideo viderunt dixit, non, crediderunt. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XCIV Source: Migne PL 70.674d-675

'When your fathers tested me, they tried me and they saw my deeds.' 1 'When,' as said above, is in the desert, for there human fragility tested God, and immediately the power of God appeared, when it sent food from the air, water from stone. But though the rock produced water, the hearts of the faithless remained as dry as stone. And what madness is it to still follow their depravities for which there is known to be such vehement punishment? For when it says here, 'your fathers' it also signifies those who are obstinate, because each of us has a father whom he is known to imitate, as the Lord Himself said to the Jews in the Gospel: 'You are from your father the devil.' 2 It follows, 'They tried me and they saw my deeds.' So they tried Him and He rained down manna for eating, and a multitude of quails were given to them, and water flowed forth from stone to wet the dust. For when is added, 'and they saw my deeds,' their unfaithfulness is reproved, which saw with carnal eyes, because they could not believe with the light of the heart. And therefore it says 'they saw' and not 'they believed.' Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 94 1 Ps 94.8 2 Jn 8.44

In The Midst

Δανιὴλ μὲν ὡς οἰκέτης γνήσοις διὰ προσευχῆς τὰ τῶν λεόντων ἐν τῷ λάκκῳ ἐνέφραξε στόματα. Χριστὸς δὲ ὁ τούτου Δεσπότης ἰδίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ, τῶν πυλωρῶν τοῦ ᾅδου καὶ τῶν ἀμειδῶν φρουρῶν τῆς ἐκεῖσε ζοφερωτάτης εἰρκτῆς τοὺς φάρυγγας ἔκλεισεν. Καὶ γὰρ εἴρητο προφητικῶς ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ τοῦ Ἰώβ· Ἀνοίγονται σοι φόβῳ πύλαι θανάτου, πυλωροὶ δὲ ᾅδου ἰδοντες σε ἔπτηξαν. Ζῶντες λέγονται οἱ πιστεύσαντες τῷ Χριστῷ, νεκροὶ δὲ ὅσοι μὴ ἐπιστευσαν· διόπερ γέγραπται· Καὶ ἐστάθη Ἀαρὼν ὁ ἱερὺς ἀνάμασον τῶν ζώντων καὶ τῶν ἀποθανόντων. Μεταξὺ γάρ ἐστιν ὁ Δεσπότης Χριστὸς, τῶν τε παραδέξασθαι καὶ τῶν μὴ βουληθέντων παραδέξασθαι. Καὶ μαρτυρεῖ Ἰωάννης ὁ Βαπτιστὴς λέγων τῷ λαῷ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, ὅτι Μέσος ὑμῶν ἔστηκεν, ὄνπερ ὑμεῖς ἀγνοεῖτε. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΠΗ', Ἀκακιῳ Μεμοριαλιῳ Source: Migne PG 79.121b

Daniel the faithful servant stopped up the mouths of the lions in the pit by prayer, 1 but Christ his Lord by His own authority closed up the mouths of the gate keepers of hell and the cruel guards of that blackest prison, which was foretold in the book of Job: 'The gates of death open to you in fear and the guards of the gates of hell cowered.' 2 They who believe in Christ are those who live, but the dead are those who do not believe, whence it is written: 'And the priest Aaron stood in the midst of the living and the dead.' 3 For certainly the Lord Christ is in the midst of those who receive Him and those who do not want to receive Him. And John the Baptist gives witness to this when he says to the people at the Jordan that 'There is one standing among you whom you do not know.' 4 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 88, to Acacius the Historian 1 Dan 6 2 Job 38.17 3 Numb 16.48 4 Jn 1.26

Noah And Faith

Πίστει χρηματισθεὶς Νῶε περὶ τῶν μηδέπω βλεπομένων, εὐλαβηθεὶς κατεσκεύασε κιβωτὸν εἰς σωτηρίαν τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ· δι' ἧς κατέκρινε τὸν κόσμον, καὶ τῆς κατὰ πίστιν δικαιοσύνης ἐγένετο κληρονόμος. Πίστει, φησὶ, χρηματισθεὶς Νῶε. Καθάπερ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ περὶ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ παρουσίας διαλεγόμενος ἔλεγεν· Ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τοῦ Νῶε ἐγάμουν καὶ ἐγαμίσκοντο· οὕτω καὶ οὗτός φησιν. Εἰκότως δὲ αὐτοὺς οἰκείας εἰκόνος ἀνέμνησε· τὸ μὲν γὰρ ὑπόδειγμα τοῦ Ἐνὼχ πίστεως ἦν ὑπόδειγμα μόνον, τὸ δὲ τοῦ Νῶε καὶ ἀπιστίας. Αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἀπηρτισμένη παράκλησις καὶ προτροπὴ, ὅταν μὴ μόνον οἱ πιστεύσαντες εὑρίσκωνται εὐδοκιμοῦντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ ἀπιστοῦντες τἀναντία πάσχοντες. Τί γάρ φησι; Πίστει χρηματισθεὶς Νῶε. Τί ἐστι τοῦτο; Προλεχθὲν ἦν αὐτῷ, φησί. Χρηματισμὸν δὲ τὴν προφητείαν καλεῖ· καὶ γὰρ ἀλλαχοῦ οὕτως εἶπε· Καὶ ἦν αὐτῷ κεχρηματισμένον ὑπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος· καὶ πάλιν· Καὶ τί λέγει ὁ χρηματισμός; Ὁρᾷς τοῦ Πνεύματος τὸ ἰσότιμον; ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς χρᾷ, οὕτω καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον. Τίνος δὲ ἕνεκεν οὕτως εἶπεν; Ἵνα δείξῃ ὅτι ὁ χρηματισμὸς προφητεία ἐστί. Περὶ τῶν μηδέπω βλεπομένων, φησί· τουτέστι, τοῦ ὑετοῦ· Εὐλαβηθεὶς κατεσκεύασε κιβωτόν. Ὁ μὲν λογισμὸς οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον ὑπέβαλλεν· ἐγάμουν γὰρ καὶ ἐγαμίσκοντο, ἀὴρ ἦν καθαρὸς, σημεῖα οὐκ ἦν· ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐφοβήθη ἐκεῖνος· διὸ καὶ οὕτως εἶπε· Πίστει χρηματισθεὶς Νῶε περὶ τῶν μηδέπω βλεπομένων, εὐλαβηθεὶς κατεσκεύασε κιβωτὸν εἰς σωτηρίαν τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ. Πῶς; ∆ι' ἧς κατέκρινε τὸν κόσμον. Ἔδειξεν αὐτοὺς ἀξίους ὄντας κολάσεως, οἵ γε οὐδὲ διὰ τῆς κατασκευῆς ἐσωφρονίζοντο. Καὶ τῆς κατὰ πίστιν, φησὶ, δικαιοσύνης ἐγένετο κληρονόμος· τουτέστιν, ἀπὸ τούτου δίκαιος ἐφάνη, ἀπὸ τοῦ πιστεῦσαι τῷ Θεῷ. Τοῦτο γὰρ ψυχῆς ἐστι γνησίως πρὸς αὐτὸν διακειμένης, καὶ μηδὲν πιστότερον τῶν αὐτοῦ ῥημάτων εἶναι κρινούσης, ὡσπεροῦν ἡ ἀπιστία τοὐναντίον. Ἡ δὲ πίστις εὔδηλον ὅτι δικαιοσύνην ἐργάζεται. Ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς ἐχρηματίσθημεν περὶ γεέννης, οὕτω κἀκεῖνος. Καίτοι γε ἐγελᾶτο τότε, καὶ ὠνειδίζετο καὶ ἐχλευάζετο· ἀλλ' ὅμως πρὸς οὐδὲν τούτων εἶδε. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς τὴν πρὸς Ἑβραίους Ἐπιστολὴν, Ὁμιλια ΚΓ' Source: Migne PG 63.159-160

By faith, Noah, being warned of things not yet seen, made fearful, prepared an ark for the saving of his house, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is by faith. 1 'By faith,' he says, 'Noah, being warned by God.' As the Son of God, speaking of His own coming, said, 'In the days of Noah they married and were given in marriage,' 2 therefore he here also speak to recall to them an appropriate image. For the example of Enoch was an example only of Faith, 3 but that of Noah, on the other hand, also of unbelief. And this is a complete consolation and exhortation, when not only believers find approval but the faithless suffer the opposite. For what does he say? 'By faith, Noah, being warned...' What is this? He says that it was foretold to him. But why does he call it a Divine communication? 4 For in another place it is also said that it was foretold to him by the Spirit, and again, what does the Divine communication say? 5 Do you see the equal dignity of the Spirit? For as God declares, so also does the Holy Spirit. But for what reason did He speak so? The Divine communication is shown to be a prophecy. Of things not yet seen, he says, that is, of the rain. '...made fearful, prepared an ark...' It was not reason that suggested anything like this, for they were marrying and being given in marriage, the air was clear, there were no signs of anything, but nevertheless Noah feared. He says, 'By faith, Noah, being warned by God of things not yet seen, being moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his house.' And then how is it that '...by which he condemned the world?' He showed them to be worthy of punishment, since they were not made sensible even by this preparation. And it says he '...became an heir of the righteousness which is by faith,' which is that he was shown to be righteous by believing God. For this is a soul truly inclined to Him, which judges nothing more worthy of belief than His words, just as unbelief is its opposite. Faith, it is obvious here, works righteousness. For as we have been warned of hell by God, so he was, and yet at that time he was mocked, and he was despised and ridiculed, but he cared not at all for such things. Saint John Chrysostom, On Saint Paul's Letter to The Hebrews, from Homily 23 1 Heb 11.7 2 Luke 17.26-27 3 Heb 11.5, Gen 5.22 4 Lk 2.26 5 Rom 11.4

Blessings And Belief

Et beata quae credidit, quoniam perficientur ea quae dicta sunt ei a Domino... Vides non dubitasse Mariam, sed credidisse, et ideo fructum fidei consecutam. Beata, inquit, quae credidit. Et vere beata, quae sacerdote praestantior. Cum sacerdos negasset, virgo correxit errorem. Nec mirum si Dominus, redempturus mundum, operationem suam inchoavit a matre, ut per quam salus omnibus parabatur, eadem prima fructum salutis hauriret ex pignore. Pariterque notandum quanta Elisabeth animum gratia, Maria intrante, ditavit, quem simul de praeterito, praesenti, atque futuro, per prophetiae spiritum illustravit. Dicens enim, Beata quae credidisti, aperte indicat quia verba angeli quae dicta ad Mariam fuerant per spiritum agnovit. Atque subiungens: Perficientur ea quae dicta sunt tibi a Domino, quae etiam eam in futuro sequerentur praevidit. Matrem vero Domini sui nominans, quia Redemptorem humani generis in utero portare intellexit. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Caput I Source: Migne PL 92.321b

And blessed she who believed that these things which were said to her from the Lord shall be fulfilled...1 You see that Mary did not doubt, but believed, and therefore the fruit of faith followed. 'Blessed,' she says, 'she who believed.' And truly she is blessed who surpasses a priest. When he denied, the Virgin corrected the error. Do not wonder if the Lord who shall redeem the world begins His work with His mother, that she through whom salvation was prepared for all is the first to receive the fruit of salvation from Him who guarantees it. Along with which it should be noted how much the soul of Elizabeth was enriched by Mary's coming, she who at the same time, through the spirit of prophecy, was able to offer enlightenment concerning the past, present and the future. For saying, 'Blessed she who has believed,' she openly indicates that through the Spirit she knew the words which were spoken to Mary. And adding, 'These things which were said to you from the Lord,' she foresees what will follow in the future. And she names her mother of her Lord because she understands that the Redeemer of the human race is carried in her womb. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 1 1 Lk 1.45

The Necessity Of Revelation

Haec eo cogitante, apparuit ei angelus in somnis, dicens... Quoniam ergo auditio verborum Mariae, et consideratio vitae ejus, mala suspicari de ea non sinebat Joseph: considerato autem conceptionis ejus non permittebat eum ad plenum bona aestimare de ea, et sic animus ejus inter utrasque partes fluctubat, et tenere eam timebat, et tradere eam non audebat: propter hoc necessaria fuit ei revelatio illa divina. Si enim ipsa Maria, quae angelum viderat, et audierat sibi loquentem tam de sua conceptione, quam de Elizabeth, ascendit in montana, ut videret Elizabeth, et ipso confirmaretur aspectu: quanto magis Jospeh post verba conceptionis Mariae, post considerationem vitae ejus, adhuc nutabundus necessariam habuit revelationem divinam? Propter tres ergo causas apparuit ei. Primum ne justus homo ignorans faceret rem injustam ex propositio justo; deinde propter honorem matris ipsius. Nam si dimissa fuisset, etsi non apud fideles, tamen apud infideles turpi suspicione carere non poterat. Tertio, ut intelligens Joseph sanctam conceptionem diligentius se in futurum custodiret illa, quam prius. Prius enim servavit se propter disciplinam justitiae, postea autem et propter timorem partus hujusmodi. Quare non ante conceptionem virginis venit ad Joseph? Ut ne cogitaret quae cogitavit, ne pateretur quae passus est Zacharias, qui culpa infidelitatis incurrit de conceptione conjugis jam longaevae. Incredibilior enim erat res virginem posse concipere, quam anum. Si ille sacerdos constitutus rem faciliore fore non credidit, quanto magis iste popularis rem difficiliorem fieri non credidisset? Si ipsa Maria, angelo sibi dicente de conceptione sua, pene non credebat propter virginitatem suam, dicens: Quomodo fiet hoc, quoniam virum non cognosco, quomodo Jospeph fuertat crediturus referenti de altero quod sine viro conciperet? Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia I Source: Migne PG 56.639

While he was considering this, an angel appeared to him in a dream, saying... 1 Because therefore the report of the words of Mary and the consideration of her life, did not allow Joseph to suspect wickedness of her, and yet regarding her pregnancy it was not permitted him to judge the true fullness of the good of it, and so his soul wavered between two sides, for he feared to keep her, and he did not dare send her away, on account of this it was necessary that he should receive a Divine revelation. For if Mary who saw the angel and heard him speaking so much about her child bearing and Elizabeth's, then went into the hilly country to see Elizabeth and had it confirmed in her sight, 2 how much more after the report of the pregnancy of Mary and after the consideration of her life, did Joseph, because of his uncertainty, have need of Divine revelation? Therefore on account of three causes the angel appeared to him. Firstly lest a just man do something unjust in ignorance because of an honest decision. Secondly for the sake of the honour of His mother, for if she was sent away, she would not have been spared the suspicion of the wretched faithless, if not of the faithful. Thirdly so that when Joseph understood the holy conception he would guard her more lovingly in the future than he did before. For before he protected her according to the rule of righteousness but afterwards would do so because of reverence due to her bearing. Why did the Virgin not come to Joseph before the pregnancy? Lest he think what Zachariah thought and suffer what happened to him who fell into the fault of disbelief concerning the conceiving of his wife who was advanced in years. 3 For it is more unbelievable that a virgin can conceive than an old woman. If that man who was a priest was so easily moved to disbelief, how much more would Joseph have disbelieved in a thing more difficult to credit among people? If Mary, to whom an angel spoke about her conceiving, was not able to fully believe because of her virginity, saying, 'How could this be, when I have not known a man?' 4 how would Joseph have believed that she had conceived without a man? Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 1 1 Mt 2.3 2 Lk 2.14

Keeping A Secret

Inventa est... A Joseph sicut a viro curioso circa uxorem suam. Habens in utero, id est, gravida post tres menses, scilicet cum de Elizabeth rediisset. Divina voluntate factum est quod virgo noluit annuntiationem angeli marito suo aperire. Si enim puella ei revelaret, non facile sibi crederet, imo aliquam culpam forsitan suspicaretur. Ideo sibi celandum erat, donec angelica demonstratione illum secretum sibi detegeretur... Joseph autem... Cum rem adeo mirabilem inveniat Joseph, in dubium ponitur quid faciat. Cum enim eam castam novisset, et unde malum posset suspicari de ea, nesciret, impium esset si eam diffamaret Ex altera parte justitia non exigebat, ut rei incognitae se copularet, quia aut bona erat aut mala. Si mala erat, rei malae sociari non debebat. Si bona erat, timebat quod non esset dignus. Itaque medium consilium invenit, ut occulte eam dimittat, ut eam dimissam non videatur dimisisse, sed semper loquatur cum ea, et semper procuret eam, et tamen in assidua cohabitatione non recipiat, cum vellet eam dimittere, quia justus erat, occulte, pius nominatur, eam ab infamia defendens, et hoc est, cum justus esset voluit dimittere; cum nollet traducere in publicum, id est, infamare, voluit hoc facere occulte. Ubi nos habemus traducere, Graeci habent propalare. Vel, cum noluit eam traducere in domum suam ad cohabitationem assiduam. Itaque diu cogitavit. In quo notatur animus sapientis, qui nihil temere vult incipere. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput I Source: Migne PL 162.1250a-b

She was found to be with child... 1 By Joseph, as a man attentive to his wife. 'She was found to be with child,' that is, she grew heavy after three months, that is, when she returned from Elizabeth. 2 By the Divine will the Virgin did not wish to disclose the annunciation of the angel to her husband. For if the girl had revealed it to him, he would not easily have believed it, but he would have suspected some fault. Therefore she concealed it from him until that secret was revealed to him by an angelic revelation... 'But Joseph...' When Joseph discovered the wondrous thing, he doubted what was done. For when he knew her to be chaste and he did not know how this wrong could have been done to her, it would have been wicked to defame her. On the other hand justice did not demand that he bind himself to something unknown, whether it was good or evil. If it was evil, he should not associate with it, if it was good, he should fear that he was unworthy of it. Therefore he found a middle course, which was to send her away secretly, so that being dismissed he would not seem to have dismissed her, but he could always speak with her and have care for her, and yet not dwell in close association with her. When he wished to send her away secretly because he was righteous, he is named pious, because he wished to protect her from shame, and that is why as a righteous man he wished to send her away, not wishing to disgrace her in public, that is, to defame her, and so he wished to do so secretly. Now where we have 'disgrace' the Greek has 'make notorious.' So he did not wish to disgrace her in his own house by continual association. Thus he thought long upon it, in which one may note the soul of the wise man, who does not venture to begin anything without consideration. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 1 1 Mt 1.18 2 Lk 1.39-57

Faith And The Shadow

Ergo justus ex fide vivit, beatus exsultat in specie: et ideo sanctus homo vivit interim in umbra Christi, sanctus angelus in splendore vultus gloriae gloriatur. Et bona fidei umbra, quae lucem temperat oculo caliganti, et oculum praeparat luci; scriptum est enim: Fide mundans corda eorum. Fides itaque lucem non exstinguit, sed custodit. Quidquid sane est illud quod videt angelus, hoc mihi umbra fidei servat, fideli sinu repositum, in tempore revelandum. Annon expedit tenere vel involutum, quod nudum non capis? Denique et Mater Domini vivebat in umbra fidei, cui dictum est: Et beata quae credidisti. Habuit et de Christi corpore umbram, quae audivit: Et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi. Nec enim vilis umbra, quae de virtute Altissimi formatur. Et vere virtus in carne Christi, quae virgini obumbravit, ut quod impossibile erat mortali feminae, objectu tamen involucri vivifici corporis ferret praesentiam majestatis, et lucem sustineret inaccessibilem. Virtus plane, in qua omnis contraria fortitudo debellata est; et virtus et umbra fugans daemones, tutans homines; aut certe virtus vegetans, umbra refrigerans. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, In Cantica Canticorum, Sermo XXXI, De excellentia divinae visionis, et quomodo in praesenti sanctis viris gustus divinae praesentiae variatur, pro variis animae desideriis. Source: Migne PL 183.944d-945b

Therefore the just man lives by faith, 1 and the blessed one rejoices in the vision. So the holy man yet lives in the shadow of Christ, and the holy angel above is glorified in the glory of the splendor of His face. But the shadow of faith is a good, for it tempers the light to the darkened eye and prepares it for the light. It is written: 'He cleansed their hearts by faith.' 2 Therefore faith does not extinguish the light but protects it. Whatever the angel truly sees is preserved for me by the shadow of faith, desposited in its faithful lap, to be revealed in time. If you cannot yet grasp it, will it not profit to have it veiled? The Lord's Mother lived in the shadow of faith, to whom it was said: 'And blessed is she who has believed.' 3 Even the body of Christ was a shadow for her, she who heard: 'The power of the Most High will shadow you.' 4 That is no common shadow which is fashioned by the power of the Most High. Certainly there was power in the flesh of Christ that overshadowed the Virgin, since by the barrier of the wrapping of His vivifying body she bore the majestic presence, and endured the unapproachable light, a thing impossible for a mortal woman. Which power indeed overcame every opposing might. Both the power and the shadow puts demons to flight and protects men.Certainly it is an invigorating power, a cooling shade. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Commentary On The Song of Songs, from Sermon 31, On the excellence of the Divine vision, and how in the present the taste of the Divine presence differs for holy men, because of the differing desires of the soul. 1 Habak 2.4 2 Acts 15.9 3 Lk 1.45 4 Lk 1.35