Hands And Wings

Et manus hominis sub pennis eorum... Qui erit servus in saeculum, ut esse post saeculum liber possit. In saeculum etenim servus est, qui per activam vitam hominibus servire disposuit, ut post praesens saeculum ad libertatem veram valeat pervenire. De qua per Paulum dicitur: Quia et ipsa creatura liberabitur a servitute corruptionis in libertatem gloria filiorum Dei. Tunc enim in nobis vera libertas erit, cum ad gloriam filiorum Dei adoptio nostra pervenerit. Nunc vero non solum activa vita in servitute est, sed ipsa quoque contemplatio, qua super nos rapimur, libertatem mentis adhuc perfecte non obtinet, sed imitatur, quia illa quies intima in aenigmate videtur. Ipsa tamen in quantalibet sit contemplationis angustia, activa vita jam valde est latior atque sublimior, quae ad quamdam mentis libertatem transit, temporalia non cogitans, sed aeterna. Quia itaque contemplativa vita ad superiora evolat, et activae vitae longe superest quadam, ut ita dicam, dignitate securitatis suae, apte nunc dicitur: Et manus hominis sub pennis eorum. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia III Source: Migne PL 76.811d-812a

And the hands of a man under their wings.... 1 A man shall be a servant in the world so that he might be a free man after this world. He is a servant in the world who disposes himself to serve men in the active life, so that after the present world he might be able to come to true freedom. Concerning which it is said by Paul, 'Because creation itself will also be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.' 2 Then we shall possess true freedom, when our adoption brings us to the glory of the sons of God. Now however not only is the active life a matter of servitude but so is the contemplative life, in which when we are taken up, yet the freedom of the mind does not obtain perfection, but it is a shadow, because that peace within is in mystery. Yet however great the struggle of contemplation, it is already broader and more sublime than the active life, for it passes over to a certain freedom of mind, thinking not of transient things but eternal things. Because, then, the contemplative life flies up to things on high and far surpasses the active life ,so I might say, it is worthy of its protection, and now aptly it is said, 'And they had the hands of a man under their wings.' Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 3 1 Ezek 1.8 2 Rom 8.21

Inside And Outside

Et exiit, inquit, Moyses ad populum, et locutus et ad eum verba Domini. Donec verba Domini audit Moyses et ab ipso docetur, intus est, et in interioribus consistit atque in intimis secretis habetur. Ubi vero turbis loquitur et populis, ministrat ei qui intus non potest stare, exire dicitur foras. Quid ergo formae talis continet sermo? Quod omnis doctor, et magister Ecclesiae si de profundioribus mysteriis aliquid moveat, is arcanum quid et reconditum de Dei sapientia proferat inter perfectos, donec in profundis sensibus versatur, intus esse, et in interioribus consistere dicendus est. Cum vero loquitur ad turbas, et ea profet quae sufficiant iis qui foris sunt, quae potest vulgus audire, foras dicitur exisse, et loqui ad populum verba Domini. Hoc video et Paulum fecisse, et intus quidem fuisse, cum diceret: Sapientiam autem loquimur inter perfectos, sapientiam autem non hujus mundi, neque principum hujus mundi, qui destruentur. Sed loquimur Dei sapientiam in mysterio absconditam quam nemo principum hujus mundi cognovit. Vides quomodo intus est, et interna atque arcana divinae sapientiae penetrat Paulus, cum haec loquitur. Cum autem procedit ad populum, audi quid loquitur: Omni sermo malus de ore vestro non procedat; et: Qui furabatur, jam non furetur; et: Unusquisque vir uxorem suam habeat; et: Unusquisque proximum suum sicut seipsum diligat; et: Unaquaeque mulier virum suum habeat. Haec et si qua hujusmodi sunt, Paulus secundum Moysis formam foras exiens, ad populum loquitur. Origen, In Numeros, Homilia VI, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense Source: Migne PG 12.607b-c

And Moses went out to the people and he spoke the words of the Lord to them. 1 While Moses hears the words of the Lord and is taught by Him he is inside, and he is firmly fixed in things most profound and he takes hold of the deepest and innermost secrets, but when he speaks to the crowd and ministers to those who were not able to be inside he is said to go outside. What, then, is to be found in such words? That every teacher and instructor of the Church, if he is imbued with the profound mysteries, should be within setting forth the secret and hidden mysteries of God to the perfect, until the deepest understanding is achieved, which is said to be established in the deepest things. When however he speaks to the crowd he should offer to them what is fitting for those who are outside, that which it is possible for the multitude to hear, and then he is said to be outside. I see Paul did this, he who certainly was inside when he said, 'But we speak wisdom among the perfect, not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of the world who shall be ruined, but we speak a hidden wisdom of God in mystery which none of the princes of the world have known.' 2 See how he is inside, and that he grasps the inmost secrets of Divine wisdom when he says these things. But when he goes out to the people, hear what he says: 'Let no evil speech come out of your mouth,' and 'He who has stolen let him stop stealing.' and 'Let each man have his own wife,' and 'Let everyone love his neighbour as himself,' and 'Let every woman have her own husband.' 3 Paul speaks these things and things like them in the manner of Moses going outside. Origen, On Numbers, from the Sixth Homily, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Numb 11.24 2 1 Cor 2.6 3 Ephes 4.29, 4.28, 1 Cor 7.2, Ephes 5.33, 1 Cor 7.2

The Treasure Of Wisdom

Infinitus enim thesaurus est hominibus: quo qui usi sunt, participes facti sunt amicitiae Dei, propter disciplinae dona commendati. Infinitum ideo thesaurum dicit esse sapientiae, quia quanto quis studiosius eam discit, tanto profundiorem esse cognoscit; et quanto magis in ea meditando profecerit, tanto ipsam altius petere intelliget; ideoque ipsius meditatores amicitiae Dei participes facti sunt, quia praeceptorum et voluntatis Dei veri fiunt agnitores: de quo ipsa Veritas ad discipulos in Evangelio ait: Jam non dicam vos servos, quia servus nescit quid faciat Dominus ejus. Vos autem dixi amicos: quia omnia quaecunque audivi a Patre meo nota feci vobis. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Librum Sapientiae Wisdom, Liber II, Caput III Source: Migne PL 109.669c

She is an endless treasure to men, by use of which they become friends of God, being commended for the gift of discipline. 1 The treasure of wisdom is said to be an endless because the more a man is more studious in learning from her, so the much more he is able to know deeply, and the more he advances in contemplation, so the much more he understands how to seek high things. Therefore those who meditate in this manner are made participants in the friendship of God, because they have truly become those who know the commandments and will of God, concerning which the Truth says to the disciples in the Gospel, 'Now I do not call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master will do, but I say you are friends because everything which I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.' 2 Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on the Book of Wisdom, Book 2, Chapter 3 1 Wisdom 7.14 2 Jn 15.15

Nothing Better

Deprehendi, nihil esse melius, quam laetari hominem in opere suo. Id est, praesentialiter delectari, sicut carnales faciunt, de quibus Isaiae quinquagesimo sexto: Venite, sumamus vinum et impleamur ebrietate, et erit sicut hodie, sic et cras et multo amplius. Et ista commendatio est erronea, quia non ponit aliam remunerationem nec aliam vitam; unde subdit: Et hanc esse partem illius, quasi nihil aliud exspectet; unde Isaiae vigesimo secundo in persona talium dicitur: Comedamus et bibamus; cras enim moriemur; et Sapientiae secundo: Ubique relinquamus signa laetitiae, quoniam haec est pars nostra, et haec est sors. Et erronea opinio ista ortum suum habet a iudicii incertitudine; propter quod dicit: Quis enim eum adducet, ut post se futura cognoscat? id est, quis ostendet illi, quod futura sint atque bona, quae debeat exspectare? quasi dicat: nullus. Et certe nullus persuadebit, nisi elevetur ad spiritualia contemplanda; non contemplantibus nobis, quae videntur, sed quae non videntur; quae enim videntur temporalia sunt, quae autem non videntur, aeterna, secundae ad Corinthios quarto. Quia vero carnalis homo non respicit nisi visibilia, ideo non exspectat aeterna; ideo primae ad Corinthios secundo: Animalis homo non percipit ea quae Dei sunt. Ideo si vult futura bona cognoscere, necesse est carnalitatem deponere. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Ecclesiasten, Caput III Source: Here, p36

And I found there was nothing better than for a man to rejoice in his work... 1 That is, to delight in present things, as worldly men do, concerning whom it says in the forty sixth chapter of Isaiah, 'Come, let us take up wine and let us be filled with drunkenness, and today shall be like tomorrow and many more.' Thus commendation is erroneous, because it does not consider any other reward nor any other life, whence he adds here, 'And this is his lot.' because they hope for nothing else, as in the twenty second chapter of Isaiah, in the person of such people it is written, 'Let us eat and let us drink, for tomorrow we must die.' 2 And in the second chapter of Wisdom, 'Let us leave signs of our joy everywhere, because this is our part and this is our fate.' 3 This erroneous opinion has arisen from uncertainty in judgement, because of which it is then said here, 'For who shall guide him that he might know the things of the future after him?' 1 That is, who shall reveal to him the future and the things he should expect? As if he said, 'No one'. Certainly no one will be persuaded unless they are lifted up to the contemplation of spiritual things. 'Our contemplation is not of what is seen but of what is not seen, for what is seen is transitory but what is not seen is eternal.' says the fourth chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians. 4 But because worldly men see nothing but visible things, therefore they do not expect eternal things, and thus in the second chapter of first letter to the Corinthians, 'The animal man does not grasp the things which are of God.' 5 Therefore if a man wishes to know future goods he must be rid of worldliness. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3 1 Eccles 3,22 2 Isaiah 46.12, 22,13 3 Wisd 2.9 4 2 Cor 4.18 5 1 Cor 2.14

Silence In Heaven

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

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

Steps To The Heights

Sponsionis nostrae et itineris ordo compellit ut abbatis Nesterotis praeclari in omnibus summaeque scientiae viri institutio subsequatur. Qui cum sacrarum Scripturarum nos aliqua memoriae commendasse et eorum intelligentiam desiderare sensisset, talibus nos adorsus est verbis: Multa quidem scientiarum in hoc mundo sunt genera, tanta siquidem earum quanta et artium disciplinarumque varietas est. Sed cum omnes aut omnino inutiles sint, aut praesentis tantum vitae commodis prosint, nulla est tamen quae non habeat proprium doctrinae suae ordinem atque rationem, per quam ab expetentibus possit attingi. Si ergo illae artes ad insinuationem sui certis ac propriis lineis diriguntur, quanto magis religionis nostrae disciplina atque professio, quae ad contemplanda invisibilium sacramentorum tendit arcana, nec praesentis quaestus, sed aeternorum retributionem expetit praemiorum, certo ordine ac ratione subsistit! Cujus quidem duplex est scientia. Prima practice, id est, actualis, quae emendatione morum et vitiorum purgatione perficitur; altera theorice, id est, quae in contemplatione divinarum rerum et sacratissimorum sensuum cognitione consistit. Quisquis igitur ad theoreticen voluerit pervenire, necesse est ut omni studio atque virtute actualem primum scientiam consequatur. Nam haec practice absque theoretica possideri potest, theoretice vero sine actuali omnimodis apprehendi non potest. Gradus enim quidam ita ordinati atque distincti sunt, ut humana humilitas possit ad sublime conscendere: qui si invicem sibi ea qua diximus ratione succedant, potest ad altitudinem perveniri, ad quam sublato primo gradu non potest transvolari. Frustra igitur ad conspectum Dei tendit, qui vitiorum contagia non declinat: Spiritus namque Dei effugiet fictum, nec habitabit in corpore subdito peccatis Sanctus Ioannes Cassianus, Collationes, Collatio XIV, De Spirtiali Scientia Source: Migne PL 49.953b-955b

The order of our promise and course demands that the instruction of the Abbot Nesteros should follow, a man of excellence in all points and of the greatest knowledge. When he had seen that we had committed some parts of Holy Scripture to memory and desired understanding of them, he addressed us in these words. 'There are indeed many different kinds of knowledge in this world, certainly as great a variety as there is of the arts and sciences. But though all are either utterly useless or useful only for the goods of this present life, there is yet not one that does not have its own system and method for learning it, by which it can be grasped by those who seek it. If then those arts are guided by certain specific rules for the understanding of themselves, how much more does the system and expression of our religion, which tends to the contemplation of the secrets of invisible mysteries and seeks nothing of the present but only the gain of eternal rewards, depend on a fixed order and scheme? The knowledge of this is twofold: first, practical, which is brought about by an improvement of morals and purification from faults; second, theoretical, which consists in the contemplation of Divine things and the knowledge of most sacred thoughts. Whoever then would arrive at theoretical knowledge must first pursue practical knowledge with all his resolve and might. For this practical knowledge can be acquired without the theoretical, but the theoretical cannot possibly be gained without the practical. For there are certain stages, ordered and distinct, by which human humility is able to rise to the heights, and if these follow each other in turn in the way as we have said, man can attain to a height to which he could not fly if the first step were removed. Vainly, therefore, does one who does not refuse the pollution of the vices strive for the vision of God, 'For the spirit of God hates deception and dwells not in a body subject to sins.' 1 Saint John Cassian, Conferences, Conference 14, On Spiritual Knowledge 1 Wisdom 1.4-5

Fixing The Heart

Serenus: Periculosae praesumptionis est, necdum rebus recte discussis, nec certe ratione collecta, de natura cujuslibet rei proponere, definire, ac de fragilitatis suae consideratione capere conjecturam, nec de statu et qualitate ipsius disciplinae vel de aliorum experientia proferre sententiam. Nec enim si quis ignarus natandi, sciens pondus corporis sui ferre aquarum liquorem non posse, experimento suae voluerit imperitiae definire neminem penitus posse liquidis elementis solida carne circumdatum sustineri, idcirco vera eius opinio iudicanda est, quam secundum experientiam suam visus est protulisse, cum hoc non solum non esse impossibile, sed etiam perfacile ab aliis fieri, ratione certissima et oculorum fide non dubia comprobetur. Νοῦς itaque, id est, mens, ἀεὶκινητὸς, καὶ πολὺκινητὸς, id est, semper mobilis, et multum mobilis definitur. Quod etiam in sapientia, quae dicitur Salomonis, scriptum est, Γηίνον οἴκημα βαρύνει νοῦν πολὺ φροντίζοντα, id est, Terrenum habitaculum aggravat mentem multa cogitantem. Haec igitur pro conditione naturae numquam potest otiosa consistere, sed necesse est eam, nisi provisum habuerit ubi suos exerceat motus, et in quibus iugiter occupetur, propria mobilitate discurrere, et per omnia volitare, donec longo exercitio, usuque assuefacta diuturno, quod vos incassum dicitis laborare, experiatur et discat quas memoriae suae materias debeat praeparare, erga quas circumagat indefessos volatus, et immorando robur acquirat, et ita praevaleat adversas inimici suggestiones, quibus distrahebatur, extrudere, atque in illo quem desiderat statu et qualitate durare. Non ergo hanc evagationem cordis nostri vel naturae humanae, vel Deo creatori eius, debemus ascribere. Vera est enim Scripturae sententia, quia Dominus hominem fecit rectum, et ipsi quaesierunt cogitationes malas. A nobis ergo earum qualitas pendet. Quia cogitatio bona, inquit, scientibus eam appropinquat, vir autem prudens inveniet eam. Quidquid autem ut inveniri possit nostrae prudentiae industriaeque subiectum est, si non fuerit inventum, sine dubio nostrae desidiae vel imprudentiae, non naturae vitio reputandum est. Cui sensui Psalmista quoque congruit, dicens: Beatus vir cuius est auxilium abs te, Domine, ascensiones in corde suo disposuit. Videtis ergo in nostra ditione consistere, ut sive ascensus, id est, pertingentes ad Deum cogitationes, sive descensus, ad terrena scilicet et carnalia corruentes, in nostris cordibus disponamus. Quae si non in nostra potestate consisterent, nec Pharisaeos Dominus increpasset: Quid cogitatis mala in cordibus vestris? Nec per prophetam praecepisset, dicens: Auferte malum cogitationum vestrarum ab oculis meis. Et: Usquequo morabuntur in te cogitationes noxiae? Nec in die iudicii earum qualitas, quemadmodum operum exigetur a nobis, ita per Isaiam Domino comminante, Ecce ego, inquit, venio ut congregem opera et cogitationes eorum cum omnibus gentibus et linguis. Sed nec condemnari quidem earum testimonio vel defendi in illo terribili atque metuendo examine, secundum beati Apostoli sententiam, meremur, ita dicentis, Inter se invicem cogitationibus accusantibus, aut etiam defendentibus, in die qua iudicabit Deus occulta hominum, secundum Evangelium meum. Sanctus Ioannes Cassianus, Collationes, Collatio VII, De Animae Mobilitate et Spiritalibus Nequitiis, Caput IV, Disputatio Senis de Statu Animae ac Virtute ejus Source: Migne PL 49.671c-673a

Serenus: It is dangerous presumption when things are not yet rightly discussed nor grasped with certain reason regarding the nature of whatever is proposed, to define it, and amid our own fragility, to make conjectures, without bringing forward the judgement of the state and quality of the practice itself and the experience of others. For if someone ignorant of swimming knew that the weight of his body could not be supported by water and he wished from the proof his inexperience provided to assert that no one composed of solid flesh could possibly be supported by the liquid element, we should not therefore judge his opinion to be true, which he seems to have put forward in accordance with his own experience, since it can be shown to be not merely possible but even extremely easily done by others, with the clearest proof and ocular demonstration allowing no doubt. Thus the νοῦς, that is, the mind, is defined as ἀεικίνητος καὶ πολυκίνητος, that is, ever shifting and shifting much. And indeed in the wisdom that is called Solomon's it has been written, καὶ γεῶδες σκῆνος βρίθει νοῦν πολυφρόντιδα, that is, 'And the earthly tabernacle weighs down the mind that thinks on many things.' 1 The mind, then, in accordance with its nature can never be idle, and unless provision is made for it to exercise its motions in what will continually occupy it, it must because of its restlessness wander and stray over all kinds of things, until accustomed by long practice and daily use, where you say that you have toiled without result, it attempts and learns what food for the memory it should prepare that will bring it back from its ceaseless fluttering about and give it strength to be still, which thus may succeed in driving away the hostile suggestion of the enemy by which it is distracted and drawn away from that state and condition it desires. We should not, therefore, ascribe this wandering inclination of our heart either to human nature or to God its Creator, for it is a true statement of Scripture, that 'God made man upright, and they have sought out many evil thoughts.' 2 Thus the quality of these thoughts depends on us, for it has been said that a good thought comes near to those that know it, but a prudent man will find it. For where anything is subject to our prudence and diligence so that it can be found, if it is not found we must attribute that to our own idleness or carelessness and not to a fault of our nature. The Psalmist also agrees with this understanding, saying, 'Blessed the man whose help is from you, in his heart he has disposed ascents.' 3 You see, therefore, that it is in our power to dispose our hearts either to ascents, that is, thoughts for God, or to descents, that is, thoughts that sink to carnal and earthly things. And if this was not in our power the Lord would not have rebuked the Pharisees with, 'Why do you think evil in your hearts?' Nor would He have commanded the prophet, saying, 'Take away the evil of your thoughts from my eyes,' and 'How long shall wicked thoughts remain in you?' Nor would the character of them as our works be taken into consideration on the day of judgment, as the Lord admonishes us through Isaiah, 'Behold, I come that I may gather together their works and thoughts with all peoples and tongues.' 4 Nor would it be right that we should be condemned or acquitted by their evidence in that terrible and dreadful examination. As the blessed Apostle says, 'Their thoughts between themselves accusing or defending one another, in the day when God shall judge the hidden things of men according to my Gospel.' 5 Saint John Cassian, Conferences, Conference 7, On Instability of Mind and Spiritual Wickedness, Chapter 4, A Discourse of the Elder on the State of the Soul and its Excellence 1 Wisdom 9.15 2 Eccl 7.30 3 Ps 83.6 4 Mt 9.4, Isaiah 1.16, Jerem 4.14 ,Isaiah 66.18 5 Rom 2.15-16

The Soul's Sustenence

Hoc igitur verum et summum bonum, si illo concupiscibili suo et delectabili anima gustaverit, et duabus his hauserit affectionibus, excludens dolorem et formidinem, incredibiliter exaestuat. Osculata enim Verbum Dei, modum non capit, nec expletur, dicens: Suavis es, Domine, et in jucunditate tua doce me justificationes tuas. Osculata Dei Verbum, concupiscit super omnem decorem, diligit super omnem laetitiam, delectatur super omnia aromata, cupit frequenter videre, saepe intendere, cupit attrahi, ut sequi possit. Unguentum, inquit, exinanitum est nomen tuum; propterea te diligimus adolescentulae, propterea certamus, sed comprehendere te non possumus. Attrahe nos, ut possimus currere, ut odore unguentorum tuorum accipiamus virtutem sequendi. Festinat etiam interna mysteria videre, ipsam requiem Verbi, ipsam boni illius summi habitationem, et lucem ejus, et claritatem. In illo sinu ac recessu patrio festinat audire sermones ejus; et cum audierit, super omnem suavitatem accipit. Doceat te Propheta, qui gustavit, et ait: Quam dulcia faucibus meis verba tua, super mel et favum ori meo. Quid enim aliud desiderat anima, quae semel suavitatem Verbi gustaverit, quae semel claritatem ejus viderit? Moyses in monte positus quadraginta diebus Legem accipiens, cibum corporis non requirebat : Elias ad illam festinans requiem, rogabat ut acciperetur a se anima sua: Petrus aspiciens et ipse in monte Dominicae resurrectionis gloriam, nolebat descendere, dicens: Domine, bonum est nos hic esse. Quanta igitur illa divinae substantiae gloria, quanta Verbi bona, in quae concupiscunt et angeli prospicere! Anima igitur quae illud videt, corpus hoc non requirit, minimamque sibi familiaritatem cum eo esse debere intelligit, renuntiat saeculo, abducit se a vinculis carnis, exuit omnibus voluptatum istarum nexibus. Denique Stephanus Jesum videbat, et lapidari non formidabat; immo cum lapidaretur, non pro se, sed pro illis a quibus perimebatur, rogabat. Paulus quoque raptus usque ad tertium coelum, cum corpore esset, an sine corpore, nesciebat: raptus, inquam, in paradisum, usum proprii jam non sentiebat corporis; et audiens verba Dei, quomodo ad corporis infirmitates descenderet, erubescebat. Itaque sciens quid vidisset in paradiso, vel quid audisset, clamabat dicens: Quid adhuc velut videntes de hoc mundo decernitis? Ne tetigeritis, ne attaminaveritis, ne gustaveritis quae sunt omnia ad corruptelam ipso usu. Volebat enim nos in figura esse istius mundi, non in possessione atque usu; ut ita utamur hoc mundo tamquam non utamur, tamquam praetereuntes, non tamquam residentes: ambulantes tamquam in imagine saeculi, non in cupiditate, ut velocissima disputatione ipsam imaginem hujus mundi transeamus. Denique ipse fide ambulans, non specie, peregrinabatur a corpore, aderat Domino; et cum esset in terris, non in terrenis, sed in coelestibus conversabatur. Ergo anima nostra, quae Deo vult appropinquare, elevet se a corpore, semper illi summo adhaereat, illi bono quod est divinum, quod est semper, et quod erat ab initio, et quod erat apud Deum, hoc est, Dei Verbum. Ipsum est illud divinum, in quo vivimus, et sumus, et movemur. Ipsum est quod erat in principio, ipsum est quod est. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Epistula XXIX, Irenaeo Source: Migne PL 16.1056d-1058b

Therefore if the soul with its faculties of desire and pleasure has tasted the true and greatest good and has by the means of these two affections drunk it in, untouched by sorrow and fear, it is wonderfully kindled. For having kissed the Word of God, it knows no measure and yet feels no satiety, saying. 'You are sweet, O Lord, amid your joy teach me your justifications.' 1 Having kissed the Word of God, it desires Him above all beauty, it loves Him above all joy, it delights in Him above all scents, it desires to see Him often, to look on Him often, and to be drawn to Him that it might follow. 'Your name,' she says, 'is as ointment poured out, because of which we maidens love you, and we strive but we cannot grasp you. Draw us out that we may run, that by the fragrance of your ointments we may be given the strength to follow.' 2 Indeed the soul hurries to see internal mysteries, to the rest of the Word, to the very dwelling of that greatest Good, His light and brightness. Into that paternal lap it hurries to hear His words, and when it has heard, it receives them as something sweeter than all things. Let the Prophet teach you, he who tasted and said, 'How sweet are your words in my throat, far beyond honey and the comb in my mouth.' 3 For when it has once tasted the sweetness of the Word and seen His brightness, what else shall the soul desire ? When Moses received the Law he remained forty days on the mount and required no food for his body. Elijah, hastening to this rest, prayed that his soul might be taken away. Peter, looking on the glory of the Lord’s resurrection on the mount, did not wish to descend, saying, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here.' How great then is the glory of the Divine substance, how great the goods of the Word on which even the angels desire to look? 4 Therefore the soul which beholds this greatest good does not need the body, and it understands that it should have as little familiarity with it as possible. It renounces the world, withdraws itself from the chains of the flesh, and removes itself from all the bonds of earthly pleasures. Thus Stephen beheld Jesus and did not fear to be stoned. Indeed while he was being stoned, he did not pray for himself but for those who were killing him. Paul also, when caught up to the third heaven, did not know if he was in or out of the body. 5 Caught up, I say, into Paradise, he no longer knew the use of his own body, and then hearing the words of God he blushed to descend again to the infirmities of it. And thus knowing what he had seen in Paradise and what he had heard, he cried out saying, 'Why do you yet judge as though looking on the world? Touch not, taste not, handle not, for all are corrupted in the using.' 6 He wants us to have this world as a figure, not for use or possession, but that we make use of the world as though we did not, as passers by and not dwellers, walking as if in an image of the world, not in the desire for it, so that we may pass over the image of this world as quickly as possible. So he walked, by faith and not by sight, 7 travelling from the body and drawing near to the Lord, and on the earth he did not associate with earthly things but heavenly things. Therefore let our soul, which wishes to draw near God, lift itself from the body, and ever adhere to that greatest height, which is Divine, which is everlasting, which was from the beginning, and which was with God, that is, the Word of God. This is the Divine One, 'in whom we live and are and move.' That which was in the beginning, is that which is. 8 Saint Ambrose, from Letter 29, to Irenaeus 1 Ps 118.68 2 Song 1.2 3 Ps 118.103 4 Exod 34.28, 1 Kings 19.4, Mt 17.4, 1 Pet. 1.12 5 Acts 7.55, 2 Cor 12. 2 6 Col 2.20–22 7 2 Cor 5.8 8 Jn 1.1, Acts 17.28, Exod 3.14

Perfect Joy

Ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι, Κύριε, ἐν ὅλῃ καρ δίᾳ μου, διηγήσομαι πάντα τὰ θαυμάσιά σου. Εὐφρανθήσομαι καὶ ἀγαλλιάσομαι ἐν σοί· ψαλῶ τῷ ὀνόματί σου, Ὕψιστε. Τῶν τελείων ἴδιον τὸ πᾶσαν ἀνατιθέναι τῷ Θεῷ τὴν καρδίαν, καὶ πᾶσαν αὐτῷ καθιεροῦν τὴν διάνοιαν. Ἀγαπήσεις γὰρ, φησὶ, Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου. Ὁ δὲ μερίζων τοὺς λογισμοὺς εἰς μαμωνᾶν καὶ Θεὸν, εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ χρυσὸν, εἰς τὸν παρόντα καὶ τὸν μέλ λοντα βίον, οὐ δύναται ἀληθεύων λέγειν· Ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι, Κύριε, ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ μου. Ὁ δὲ προφήτης πνευματικοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τὰ ἐσόμενα προ ϊδὼν, οὐκ ἐξομολογεῖται μόνον ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ διηγεῖται αὐτοῦ πάντα τὰ θαυμάσια, κοινωνοὺς τοὺς ἀκούοντας τῆς ὑμνῳδίας ποιούμενος, καὶ βου λόμενος μόνον τὸν εὐεργέτην ὑμνεῖν· καὶ θυμη δίας ἀφορμὴν οὐ πλοῦτον ἔχειν καὶ δυναστείαν, οὐδὲ ὑγίειαν καὶ σώματος εὐεξίαν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν μνήμην. Εὐφρανθήσομαι γὰρ, φησὶ, καὶ ἀγαλλιάσομαι ἐν σοί. Οὕτω καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ· Ἐμνήσθην τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ηὐφράνθην. Καὶ ἑτέρωθι, Εὐφράνθητε ἐπὶ Κύριον, καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε δίκαιοι. Καὶ πάλιν· Εὐφρανθήτω καρδία ζητούντων τὸν Κύριον. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός Θ’ Source: Migne PG 80.921a-b

I shall confess to you, O Lord, with my whole heart, I shall speak of all your wonders. I shall rejoice and I shall exult in you, I shall sing to your name, O most High. 1 It is the property of perfect men to dedicate the whole heart to God and consecrate all the mind to Him: 'Love the Lord your God,' it is said, 'with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind.' 2 He who mixes thoughts of mammon and God, and Christ and gold, and this present life and the future life, he cannot truly say: 'I confess to you, O Lord, with my whole heart.' But foreseeing the future with spiritual eyes, the prophet not only confesses in his heart, but indeed speaks of all His wonders, making those who hear participants in the singing of the hymn, and wishing only the creator of blessings to be sung and to be the cause of joy, not wealth or power, or health, or the customary goods of the body, but only the contemplation of God. 'I shall rejoice,' he says, 'and I shall exult in you.' So elsewhere it is said, 'I was mindful of God and I was joyful.' And again, 'Rejoice in the Lord and exult, you righteous ones.' And again, 'Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.' 3 Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 9 1 Ps 9.2 2 Deut 6.5, Mt 22.37 3 Ps 76.3, Ps 21.11, Ps 104.3

The Two Chambered Tomb

Abraham conjugem mortuam in spelunca duplici sepelivit... Quia viator animam suam a mundi actibus mortuam, sub bonae operationis et contemplationis regimine abscondit. Activa enim sepulcrum est, ut quae a pravis operibus mortuos sepelit, sed contemplativa perfectius tegit: quae a cunctis mundi desideriis, suspectos in intimis, funditus dividit, quales erant de quibus Paulus ait: Mortui estis, et vita vestra abscondita est cum Christo in gloria. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber IV, Tit XXVII Quid sit in spelunca duplici sepeliri Source: Migne PL 177.710b

Abraham buried his wife in a two chambered tomb... 1 Because the pilgrim has a soul dead to the acts of the world, he hides beneath the discipline of good works and contemplation. The active life is the tomb which buries the dead from all evil works, but the contemplative life covers it more completely, so that those taken deep within are utterly separated from every desire of the world, in which likeness they were, concerning whom Paul said: 'You are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in glory.' 2 Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 4, Chapter 27, On The Burial In The Two Chambered Tomb 1 Gen 23.17-19 2 Colos 3.3

Virtue And Quiet

Ὁ διαπεράσαι θέλων τήν νοητὴν θάλασσαν, μακροθυμεῖ, ταπεινοφρονεῖ ἀγρυπνει, ἐγκρατεύεται. Ἐκτὸς δὲ τῶν τεσσάρων τούτων ἐὰν εἰσελθεῖν βιάσηται, θορυβεῖ τὴν καρδίαν, περάσαι δὲ οὐ δύναται. Ἡσυχία ὠφελεῖ, τῶν κακῶν ἀργήσασα. Ἐὰν δὲ καὶ τὰς τέσσαρας ἀρετὰς ἐν προσευχῇ προσλάβῃ βοήθημα, πρὸς ἀπάθειαν οὐδὲν αὐτῇ συντομώτερον. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.936a

He who would willingly cast himself into the spiritual sea requires long suffering, humility, vigilance and temperance. Without these four, if someone tries to enter, his heart is troubled, and he cannot. Quiet is of benefit when it has leisure from the vices, and if the four aforementioned virtues have been received for help in prayer, since nothing else can achieve the untroubled state. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works

The Sabbath

Τοῦτο τὸ ῥημα ὄ ἐλάλησε Κύριος· Σάββατα, ἀνάπαυσις ἁγία τῷ Κυρίῷ αὕριον. Ἀπογράφομαι τὰ περὶ τοῦ σαββάτου εἰρημένα· πρῶτον κατὰ το ῥητὸν, ἵν' ἴδωσι τί σημαίνει τὸ γράμμα· δεύτερον δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἀναγωγὴν, καθ' ἤν εἴποιμι ἂν ἡμέραν σαββάτου ἑνεστηκέναι τῷ δικαίῳ καταλύσαντι τὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἔργα, καὶ δοξάζοντι τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ σχολάζοντι, μήτε τοῦ τόπου ἐν ᾦ ἔστηκε τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἀφισταμένῳ· μήτε πῦρ καίοντι, κατὰ τὸ μηδὲν ἁμαρτάνειν· μήτε βαστάγματα αἴροντι. Βάσταγμα ὄρους βαρύτερον πᾶσα ἁμαρτία· διὸ ἔλεγεν ὁ Ὑμνῳδὸς· Ὠσεὶ φορτίον βαρὺ ἐβαρύνθησαν ἐπ' ἐμέ. Ἑτέρα δὲ ἀπογραφὴ ἂν εἴη σαββάτου, καθ' ἤν ἀπολείπεται σαββατισμὸς τῷ λαῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀνάπαυσις ἱερὰ καὶ ἁγία. Ὁ δὲ ποιήσας πάντα τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ, ἄξιος κρίνεται ἐκείνου τοῦ Σαββάτου· σχολάζων οὐδενὶ ἢ τῇ θεωρίᾳ της αληθείας, καὶ τῆς σοφίας. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Την Ἐξοδον Source: Migne PG 12.289a-b

This is the word the Lord spoke, 'Tomorrow is the Sabbath, the rest holy to the Lord.' 1 I shall expound what is said concerning the Sabbath first according to the plain word, so that what the letter means shall be apparent, and then according to the spiritual understanding, according to which I may say that the Sabbath day is fitting for the righteous man to make an end of the works of the world, and to glorify God, and to be at peace, and not to withdraw from the place in which he stands, which is obviously Christ, nor does he kindle the fire of sin, nor does he carry burdens. Heavier than the weight of a mountain is every sin, as the Psalmist said: 'As a burden weighing greatly upon me.' 2 Another exposition of the Sabbath is that 'there remains a Sabbath for the people of God,' 3 which is sacred and holy rest. And he who has performed all his work is judged worthy of this Sabbath, having leisure for nothing else but the contemplation of truth and wisdom. Origen, On Exodus, Fragment 1 Exod 16.23 2 Ps 37.5 3 Heb 4.9

Prayer And Gain

Servavi mandata tua et testimonia tua, quia omnes viae meae in conspectu tuo, Domine. Servat autem praecepta et testimonia, qui vias Dei incedit, nec quidquam in actu vel cogitatu agit, quod divine contemplatione habeatur indignum. Appropinquet oratio mea in conspectu tuo, Domine, juxta eloquium tuum da mihi intellectum. Proximam tibi fieri orationem meam deprecor, Domine, ut a te intellectum capiens, nil aliud nisi quod oportet exorem. Inret oratio mea in conspectu tuo, Domine, secundum eloquium tuum eripe me. Gradatim ascendit sancta petitio nostra: qui ante dixit: Appropinquet, nunc dicit intret. Prius fuerat, ut appropinquaret, deinde ut in conspectum Domini intrare posset. Et superius dixit, secundum eloquium tuum da mihi intellectum, hic dicit, secundum eloquium tuum eripe me, ut et ibi superna videat, quae desideat, et hic aeternae concupiscentiae labe purgetur. Alcuinus, Expositio In Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 100.618c-d

I have kept your commandments and testimonies, because all my ways are in your sight, O Lord. 1 He guards the commandments and testimonies who walks on the ways of God, neither in deed nor in thought having anything that is unworthy of Divine contemplation. May my prayer come near your sight, O Lord, according to your word give me understanding... I entreat that my prayer might come near to you, O Lord, so that gaining understanding from you, I obtain nothing else but what I should. May my prayer enter into your sight, O Lord, according to your word seize me. Gradually our holy petition ascends, he who before said, 'May it come near' now says 'may it enter.' Before it was, 'may it come near,' now it is possible to enter into the sight of the Lord. And previously he said, 'according to your word give me understanding,' now he says here 'according to your word seize me,' so that even there he might see the supernal things which he desires, and here be purged of fault by eternal longings. Alcuin of York, from the Commentary on Psalm 118 1. Ps 118.168

The Need Of Flesh And Blood

Eἶπεν οὖν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς: ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐὰν μὴ φάγητε τὴν σάρκα τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ πίητε αὐτοῦ τὸ αἷμα, οὐκ ἔχετε ζωὴν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς. ὁ τρώγων μου τὴν σάρκα καὶ πίνων μου τὸ αἷμα ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον, κἀγὼ ἀναστήσω αὐτὸν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ. Ὅταν περὶ πνευματικῶν διαλογώμεθα, μηδὲν ἔστω βιωτικὸν ἐν ταῖς ἡμετέραις ψυχαῖς, μηδὲν γὴῖνον· ἀλλὰ πάντα ἀναχωρείτω, πάντα ἐξοριζέσθ τὰ τοιαῦτα, καὶ ὅλοι γινώμεθα τῆη τῶν θείων λογίων ἀκροάσεως μόνης. Εἰ γὰρ βασιλέως ἐπιβαίνοντος πόλει, ἄπας ἀπελαύνεται θόρυβος· πολλῷ μᾶλλον τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡμῖν διαλεγομένου, μετὰ πολλῆς μὲν ἠσυχίας, μετὰ πολλῆς δὲ τῆς φρίκης ἀκούειν ἡμᾶς δεῖ. Καὶ γὰρ φρίκης ἄξια τὰ λεγόμενα σήμερον. Καὶ πῶς, ἄκουε. Ἀμὴν, γὰρ, φησὶ, λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐὰν μὴ τις μου φάγῇ τὴν σάρκα, καὶ πίῃ μου τὸ αἷμα, οὐκ ἔχει ζωὴν ἐν ἑαυτῷ. Ἐπειδὴ ἔμπροσθεν ἔλεγον, ὅτι ἀδύνατον τοῦτό ἐστι, δείκνυσιν αὐτὸς οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἀδύνατον, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα ἀναγκαῖον. Διὸ καὶ ἐπάγει· ὁ τρώγων μου τὴν σάρκα καὶ πίνων μου τὸ αἷμα ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον, κἀγὼ ἀναστήσω αὐτὸν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔλεγεν, ὅτι Ὁ τρώγων ἐκ τοῦ ἄρτου τούτου οὐκ ἀποθανεῖται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα· εἰκος δὲ ἦν αὐτοῖς προσστῆναι τοῦτο, καθώς καὶ πρότερον ἒλεγον, Ἀβραὰμ ἀπέθανε, καὶ οἱ προφῆται ἀπέθανον, καὶ πῶς σὺ λέγεις, οὐ μὴ γεύσεται θανάτον; τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἔθηκε, λύων τὸ ζητούμενον, καὶ δηλῶν ὅτι οὐκ ἀποθανεῖται εἰς τέλος. Συνεχῶς δὲ στρέφει τὸν περὶ τῶν μυστηρίων λόγον, δεικνὺς τοῦ πραγματος τὸ ἀνακαῖον, καὶ ὅτι αὐτὸ πάντως γενεσθαι δεῖ. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Υπόμνημα Εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Ἰωάννην τὸν Ἀπόστολον και Εὑαγγελιστην, Ὁμιλία ΜΖ’ Source: Migne PG 59.261-363

Jesus then said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, he has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day.' 1 When we converse of spiritual things, let there be nothing worldly in our souls, nothing of the earth, let all such thoughts be gone and be banished, and let us be completely attentive to the Divine words alone. For if for the coming of a king to a city all disorder is put away, so much more do we have need of great stillness and great awe for hearing when the Spirit speaks. And what is said today is worthy of awe. Hear how it is so: 'Truly I say to you, if a man does not eat my flesh and drink my blood, he has no life in him.' Since they had said that it is impossible, He shows not only that it is not impossible but indeed that it is absolutely necessary. Thus He adds, 'He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, he has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.' For since He had said, 'He that eats of this bread shall not die forever,' 2 and it was likely that this would be obstacle for them, as before they said, 'Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead; and how can you say that he shall not taste of death?' 3 so He brings forward the resurrection to solve the question, and to show that such a man shall not die at the end. He continually attends to the reason of the Mysteries, showing the necessity of the deed, and that it must by all means be done. Saint John Chrysostom, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint John, Homily 47 1 Jn 6.54-55 2 Jn 6.50-52 3 Jn 8.52

The Spirit And Bitterness

Et abii amarus in indignatione spiritus mei... Pensate, fratres charissimi, cui dona sancti Spiritus creverant cur amarus abibat? An omne cor quod idem spiritus assumit amarum in indignatione sui spiritus facit? Unde sciendum est quia cui adhuc praesens vita dulcis est, etiamsi verbum Dei loqui videatur, elevatus et assumptus praedicator non est. Mentem enim quam Spiritus sanctus replet in amaritudinem temporalium delectatione aeternorum commovet. Dulce enim est esse in rebus humanis, sed ei qui adhuc de coelestibus gaudia nulla gustavit, quia quanto minus aeterna intelligit, tanto delectabilius in temporalibus requiescit. At si quis jam cordis ore gustaverit quae sit illa dulcedo coelestium praemiorum qui illi hymnidici angelorum chori, quae incomprehensibilis visio sanctae Trinitatis, huic quanto illud dulce fit quod intus videt, tanto in amaritudinem vertitur omne quod foris sustinet. Rixatur secum de his quae male egisse se recolit, et sibimetipsi displicet, cum ei ille placere jam coeperit qui omnia creavit. Reprehendit se de cogitationibus, insequitur de verbis, et punit flendo de factis. Supernis inhiat, terrena jam omnia per mentis despectum calcat. Et quandiu illud quod desiderat adhuc per speciem non habet, flere dulce habet, seseque continuis lamentis affligere. Et quia necdum se esse in patria ad quam creatus est videt, in hujus vitae exsilio nil ei plus aliud quam sua amaritudo placet. Dedignatur etenim subjacere temporalibus, et ardenter suspirat aeternis. Unde recte quoque per Salomonem dicitur: Eo quod in multa sapientia multa sit indignatio, et qui apponit scientiam apponit dolorem. Coelestia etenim cognoscentes, terrenis animum subdere dedignamur. Et dum plus sapere incipimus de his quae male egimus, nobis ipsis irascimur, et fit in multa sapientia multa indignatio, quia quanto plus proficimus in cognitione, tanto nobis indignamur amplius de perverso opere. Atque cum scientia dolor crescit, quia quanto magis aeterna cognoscimus, tanto magis esse nos in hujus exsilii miseria dolemus. Vel sicut in translatione alia dicitur: Et qui addit scientiam addit laborem. Quo enim scire incipimus quae sint coelestia gaudia, eo magis ut errorum nostrorum laqueos possimus evadere, flendo laboramus. In multa ergo sapientia multa est indignatio, quia si aeterna jam sapimus, concupiscere temporalia dedignamur. Si aeterna jam sapimus, nosmetipsos despicimus egisse hoc quod nos potuit ab aeternitatis amore separare. Reprehendit semetipsam conscientia, accusat quod egit, damnat per poenitentiam quod accusat, fit rixa in animo, parturiens pacem cum Deo. Sic Achab, rex iniquus, a propheta reprehensus, cum contra se divinam sententiam audisset, pertimuit, et magno moerore depressus est, ita ut prophetae suo Dominus diceret: Nonne vidisti humiliatum Achab coram me? Quia igitur humiliatus est mei causa, non inducam malum in diebus ejus. In quibus Domini verbis pensandum est quomodo ei in electis suis moeror amaritudinis placeat qui amittere timent Dominum, si sic ei et in reprobo poenitentia placuit qui timebat perdere praesens saeculum? Aut quomodo ei grata sit spontanea afflictio pro culpis in eis qui placent, si haec ad tempus placuit et in illo qui displicebat? Sed sciendum quia nullus haec pro amore omnipotentis Domini ex toto corde agere praevalet, nisi is cujus animum Spiritus sanctus assumpserit. Nam quando homo ex sua virtute sufficiat terrena despicere, coelestia amare, pacem cum Deo quaerere, secum rixam subire, in cogitatione semetipsum reprehendere, et gemitibus punire? Nullus haec agere nisi quem divina gratia roboraverit valet. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia X Source: Migne PL 76.903d-905c

And I went off in bitterness, in the indignation of my spirit... 1 Consider, dearest brothers, him in whom the gifts of the Holy Spirit were given, why did he go away bitter? Is every heart that the same Spirit lifts up made bitter in the indignation of its spirit? Let it be known that to him whom the present life is sweet, even if he seem to speak the word of God, he is not an elevated and chosen preacher. The soul which the Holy Spirit fills with delight for eternal things is moved to bitterness for temporal things. For it is sweet to be among human things, but only to him who has yet to taste heavenly joys, because the less is his understanding of eternal things, so the more he has rest in temporal pleasures. But if someone shall taste with the mouth of his heart that sweetness of heavenly rewards, where choirs of angels sing, and there is the inexpressible vision of the Holy Trinity, as so much more sweet is that which he sees within, so much more he endures in bitterness everything that is without. He struggles with himself concerning those things which he has done wickedly, recollecting himself, and he is displeasing to himself, which is when he begins to please Him who created all things. He reproves himself in his thoughts, he strikes himself with words, and chastises himself amid tears, concerning his deeds. He desires supernal things, and despises all worldly things with a lofty mind. And while he does not yet have sight of that which he desires, he has the sweetness of tears, and afflicts himself with continual weeping. And because he does not yet behold that fatherland for which he was created, so there is nothing in the exile of this life which pleases because of its bitterness. He scorns to subject himself to temporal things, and he ardently sighs for eternal things. Thus rightly it is said by Solomon: 'In much wisdom there is much indignation, and he who heaps up knowledge heaps up sorrow.' 2 For knowing heavenly things, we revile subjection to worldly things. And as we begin to know more of the evil we have done, so we become angry with ourselves, and thus much wisdom makes much indignation, because the more we progress in knowledge, so we become more indignant concerning our perverse works. Sorrow grows with knowledge, because the more we know eternal things, so much more we grieve to be in this wretched exile. Or as it says in another translation: 'And he who adds to knowledge adds to toil.' 2 For as we begin to know what heavenly joys are, so the more we are able to evade the snares of our faults, weeping in the labour of it. Therefore in much wisdom there is much indignation, because if we know eternal things, we scorn to desire to temporal things. If we know eternal things, we look upon ourselves as those who have done what has separated us from the love of eternity. Conscience reproves a man, it accuses what he has done, he is condemned to penitence for what he is accused, he struggles in his soul, so that he might give birth to peace with God. So when Achab, that wicked king, was reproved by a prophet, and he heard the Divine sentence given against himself, and he was fearful and oppressed with great grief, so the Lord said to His prophet: 'Do you not see the humility of Achab before me? Therefore because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring evil in his days.' 3 In which words of the Lord let it be thought how the grief of bitterness in His chosen ones is pleasing to Him, those who fear to lose the Lord, if the penitence of one reproved has pleased Him, one who feared the loss of the world. Or how is there freely given grace to him for affliction in faults which pleases, if in one thing he has pleased for a time and in another he has displeased? But it must be known that no one can act from his whole heart for the love of almighty God unless the Holy Spirit lifts up the soul. For when has man by his own virtue been able to despise worldly things, to love heavenly things, to seek peace with God, to struggle with himself, to chastise himself in his mind, and punish himself with groans? It never happens, unless he is strengthened with Divine grace.  Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 10 1 Ezek 3.14 2 Eccle 1.18 3 3 Kings 21.29

Rising And Falling

Sicut humor subtilis per exhaltationes a terra sursum rapitur, sic intellectus cordis humani per meditationes et scrutationes subtilis effectus ad alta levatur. Et quemadmodum humor ascends frigore praestringitur, et relabitur unde venerat, sic multi ab intelligentia summorum per ignorantiam cadunt, propterea quod in bonis quae intelligere poterant agendis per desidiam torpescunt. Sed lapsus nivis nec strepitum facit, nec laedit; lapsus et grandinis et strepitum facit, et pondere laedit: quia multi torpent a bono, et nocent in malo; alii torpentes sunt, non nocentes. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I Tit XXI, De Impedimento Cognitionis Source: Migne PL 177.489c

As a subtle vapour is carried up above by exhalations from the earth, so the understanding of the human heart is lifted up to the heights by the performance of meditations and acute contemplation, but as that rising vapour may be gripped by cold and fall back down to where it came, so many fall from the understanding of high things by ignorance, and because of this, becoming slothful in the good deeds they were able to understand, they grow cold. But as snow falls without a sound and does no harm, and then hail falls noisely and hurts because of its weight, so many who grow cold in good turn to doing harm in evil, while others who grow cold are not harmful at all. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chap 21, On The Obstruction of Understanding

Opening The Eyes

Ἀποκάλυψον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου, καὶ κατανοήσω τὰ θαυμάσια ἐκ τοῦ νόμου σου. Οὐχ ἄπαντες οἱ τοῖς θείοις ἐντυγχάνοντες λογίοις τὰ τούτων κατανοοῦσι θαυμάσια, ἀλλ' οἱ τῆς ἄνωθεν ἀπολαύοντες αἴγλης. Ὅ δὴ καὶ ὁ μακάριος ἔφη Παῦλος· Ὅτ' ἂν δὲ ἐπιστρέψῃ πρὸς Κύριον, περιαιρεῖται τὸ κάλυμμα· ὁ δὲ Κύριος τὸ πνεῦμα ἐστιν. Αὐτὸς μέν τοι τῷ φωτὶ τὼ θείῳ καταυγαζόμενος εἰκότως ἐβόα· Ἡμεῖς δὲ ἂπαντες ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν δόχαν Κυρίου κατοπτρὶζόμενοι τὴν αὐτὴν εἰκόνα μεταμορφούμεθα ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν, καθάπερ ἀπὸ Κυρίου πνεύματος. Ἡμᾶς δὲ προσήκει τὸν Δεσπότην ἀντιβολεῖν, ἵνα τὸ κάλυμμα τῶν τῆς διανοίας ἡμῶν περιελὼν ὀφθαλμῶν, ἀποδείξῃ τῶν θείων λογίων τὴν δύναμιν. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΡΙΗ´ Source: Migne PG 80.1827a-b

Open my eyes and I shall consider the wonders of your law. 1 Not all who come upon the Divine words grasp the wonder of them, but only those who partake of the heavenly splendour. On account of which the blessed Paul says, 'When turned to God, the veil is removed, and the Lord is the spirit.' 2 And the same man, illuminated with the Divine light, rightly cries out, 'But all of us, with the face unveiled, looking on the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, so are transfigured into that likeness, from glory to glory, according to the spirit of the Lord.' 3 It befits us to pray to the Lord, that removing the veil from the eyes of our minds, He might show forth the power of the Divine words. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.18 2 2 Cor 3.16-17 3 2 Cor 3.18

Word And Teacher

Ὡς γὰρ ἀγαθὸς διδάσκαλος κηδόμενος τῶν ἑαυτοῦ μαθητῶν, τοὺς μὴ δυναμένους ἐκ τῶν μειζόνων ὠφεληθῆναι, πάντως διὰ τῶν εὐτελεστέρων συγκαταβαίνων αὐτοὺς παιδεύει· οὕτως καὶ ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐκ ἔγνω ὁ κόσμος διὰ τῆς σοφίας τὸν Θεόν, εὐδόκησεν ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τῆς μωρίας τοῦ κηρύγματος σῶσαι τοὺς πιστεύοντας. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἀποστραφέντες τὴν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν θεωρίαν καὶ ὡς ἐν βυθῷ βυθισθέντες κάτω τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχοντες, ἐν γενέσει καὶ τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς τὸν Θεὸν ἀνεζήτουν, ἀνθρώπους θνητοὺς καὶ δαίμονας ἑαυτοῖς θεοὺς ἀνατυπούμενοι· τούτου ἕνεκα ὁ φιλάνθρωπος καὶ κοινὸς πάντων Σωτήρ, ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, λαμβάνει ἑαυτῷ σῶμα, καὶ ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἀναστρέφεται, καὶ τὰς αἰσθήσεις πάντων ἀνθρώπων προσλαμβάνει, ἵνα οἱ ἐν σωματικοῖς νοοῦντες εἶναι τὸν Θεόν, ἀφ' ὧν ὁ Κύριος ἐργάζεται διὰ τῶν τοῦ σώματος ἔργων, ἀπ' αὐτῶν νοήσωσι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ τὸν Πατέρα λογίσωνται. Ἄνθρωποι δὲ ὄντες καὶ ἀνθρώπινα πάντα νοοῦντες, οἷς ἐὰν ἐπέβαλον τὰς ἑαυτῶν αἰσθήσεις, ἐν τούτοις προσλαμβανομένους ἑαυτοὺς ἑώρων, καὶ πανταχόθεν διδασκομένους τὴν ἀλήθειαν. Εἴτε γὰρ εἰς τὴν κτίσιν ἐπτόηντο, ἀλλ' ἑώρων αὐτὴν ὁμολογοῦσαν τὸν Χριστὸν Κύριον· εἴτε εἰς ἀνθρώπους ἦν αὐτῶν ἡ διάνοια προληφθεῖσα, ὥστε τούτους θεοὺς νομίζειν, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῶν ἔργων τοῦ Σωτῆρος, συγκρινόντων τε ἐκείνων, ἐφαίνετο ἐν ἀνθρώποις μόνος ὁ Σωτὴρ Θεοῦ Υἱός, οὐκ ὄντων παρ' ἐκείνοις τοιούτων ὁποῖα παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου γέγονεν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ εἰς δαίμονας ἦσαν προληφθέντες, ἀλλ' ὁρῶντες αὐτοὺς διωκομένους ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου, ἐγίνωσκον μόνον εἶναι τοῦτον τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγον, καὶ οὐκ εἶναι θεοὺς τοὺς δαίμονας. Εἰ δὲ καὶ εἰς νεκροὺς ἤδη τούτων ἦν ὁ νοῦς κατασχεθείς, ὥστε θρησκεύειν ἥρωας, καὶ τοὺς παρὰ ποιηταῖς λεγομένους θεούς· ἀλλ' ὁρῶντες τὴν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἀνάστασιν, ὡμολόγουν ἐκείνους εἶναι ψευδεῖς, καὶ μόνον τὸν Κύριον ἀληθινόν, τὸν τοῦ Πατρὸς Λόγον, τὸν καὶ τοῦ θανάτου κυριεύοντα. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ γεγέννηται, καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἐφάνη, καὶ ἀπέθανε, καὶ ἀνέστη, ἀμβλύνας καὶ ἐπισκιάσας τὰ τῶν πώποτε γενομένων ἀνθρώπων διὰ τῶν ἰδίων ἔργων, ἵνα ὅπου δ' ἂν ὦσι προληφθέντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ἐκεῖθεν αὐτοὺς ἀναγάγῃ, καὶ διδάξῃ τὸν ἀληθινὸν ἑαυτοῦ Πατέρα, καθάπερ καὶ αὐτός φησιν·Ἦλθον σῶσαι καὶ εὑρεῖν τὸ ἀπολωλός. Ἅγιος Αθανάσιος ο Μέγας, Λόγος περί της Ενανθρωπίσεως του Λόγου Source: Migne PG 25.121c-124b

For as a kind teacher who cares for His pupils, if some cannot profit by higher subjects, lowers himself to them and teaches them in a much simpler fashion, so also did the Word of God. As Paul also says: 'For since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God to save those who believe through the foolishness of the word preached.' 1 For since men had turned away from the contemplation of God and with their eyes downward, as though sunk into the deep, they were seeking out God in nature and with the senses, feigning gods for themselves of mortal men and demons, because of this the loving and common Saviour of all, the Word of God, takes a body to Himself, and goes about among men as a man, and takes hold of the senses of all men, so that those who think that God is corporeal may perceive the truth by what the Lord does through the works of His body, and through Him infer the Father. Thus men being men, in all their thoughts, on whatever they fixed their senses, there they saw themselves laid hold of and taught the truth from every side. For if they wondered at creation, yet they saw how it confessed Christ as Lord, or if their minds turned to men, so that it thought them to be gods, yet from the works of the Saviour, when they compared them, the Saviour alone appeared the Son of God among men, for there were no such things done among them as were done by the Word of God. Or if they were inclined to spirits, yet seeing them cast out by the Lord, they knew that He alone was the Word of God and that the spirits were not gods. Or if their minds had sunk down even to the dead, so that they revered the heroes and the gods spoken by the poets, yet seeing the resurrection of the Saviour, they confessed them as lies and the Lord alone as true, the Word of the Father, having power even over death. For this He was both born and appeared as Man, and died, and rose again, by His own works dulling and casting into shadow the deeds of all the men who had been, that in whatever direction the inclination of men might turn, from there He might call them and teach them about His true Father, as He Himself says: 'I have come to save and find that which was lost.' 2 Saint Athanasius the Great, On The Incarnation of The Word 1 1 Cor 1.21 2 Lk 19.10

Three Kinds Of Enemy

Eduxi te de terra Aegypti... Egredientes de Aegypto Deus a tribus generibus hostium liberavit: In Aegypto ab Aegyptiis insequentibus, in medio ab Amalecitis, in ingressa terrae promissionis ab Amorrhaeis occurentibus. Sunt igitur generae hostium tria, a tergo, a latere, a facie. Primi in conversione; secundi in conversatione, quasi in medio; tertii in solutione carnis et animae, et ita in fine. Haec sunt illa tria difficilia apud Solomonem. Via colubri super terram, id est, suggestio; via navis inmedio maris, id est tentatio vitae hominis super terram in amaritudine; via aquilae in coelo, id est intentio alicujus circa finem, scilicet contemplatio, qua in coelum pennis virtutum anima justi quasi aquila volat. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber III, Tit XXIII Source: Migne PL 177.647a-b

I led you out of the land of Egypt...1 He freed those going out of Egypt from three kinds of enemy: in Egypt from the pursuing Egyptians, in the midst of the journey from the Amalekites, and on entering the Promised Land from encounters with the Amorites. There are therefore three types of enemy, from behind, from the side, and from in front. The first come in association, the second in living, as in the middle, and the third in the dissolution of the flesh and the soul, and thus at the end. These are the three difficulties mentioned by Solomon. 2 'The way of a serpent on the earth,' that is, suggestion; 'the track of a ship in the midst of the sea,' that is, the trial of life of a man on the earth amid bitterness; 'the way of an eagle on high,' that is the thought someone gives to the end, that is, contemplation, by which the soul of the righteous man flies like an eagle in heaven on the wings of the virtues. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 3, Chap 23 1 Mich 6.4 2 Prov 30.18-19

The Gates

Ἀνοίξατε μοι πύλας διακαιοσύνης εἰσελθών ἐν αὐταῖς ἐξομολογήσομαι τῷ Κυρίῳ· αὕτη ἡ πύλη τοῦ Κυρίου, δίκαιοι εἰσελεύσονατι ἐν αὐτῇ. Ἐξομολογήσομαι σοι, ὅτι ἐπήκουσάς μου, καὶ ἐγένου μοι εἰς σωτηρίαν. Τὸ μὲν οὖν γενικὸν ὀνομα πασῶν τῶν ἀρετῶν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ προγράγεται, κατ' εἶδιος δὲ λοιπὸν διαιρῶν, τις εἴποι ἀναλόγως τὸ Ἀνοίξατε μοι πύλας διακαιοσύνης, καὶ πύλας φρονὴσεως, καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν τῶν κατὰ Θεὸν πράξων. Ἐπειδὰν διὰ πασῶν παρέλθῃ τῶν πυλῶν, λοιπὸν ἐπὶ τὸ τέλος τῶν, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις, ἐνδοτάτω ἁγίων ἐλθὼν, οὐκέτι πολλὰς, ἀλλὰ μίαν ὄψεται πύλαην τὴν αὐτοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου, δι' ἧς πάντες εἰσελεύσονται οἱ δίκαιοι. Εἴποι δ' ἂν τις ταύτην τὴν ὑστάτην καὶ τελευταίαν, ἧς ἐπέκεινα οὐκέτι οἶόν τε εἶναι προσελθεῖν. Ὑστάτη δὲ πύλη τοῦ Κυρίου ἡ θεωρία ἂν εἴη αὐτοῦ, κατὰ τὸ Μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὄψονται. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΡΙΖ´ Source: Migne PG 23.1362d-1363a

Open to me the gates of righteousness, going through them I shall confess to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall go in through it. I shall confess to you, that you heard me, and are made my salvation. 1 In general, then, the name of righteousness is written for all the virtues, so that when they are separated into their parts, someone may rightly say that 'Open to me the gates of righteousness,' is the gates of prudence and the rest of the other works according to God. After he has passed through all these gates, coming into the innermost place of the holy, someone may say, 'I see now not many, but the one gate of the Lord, through which all the righteous shall enter.' But someone might say, 'This is the last and final gate beyond which one might not go. The last gate of the Lord is the contemplation of Him,' according to which, 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.' 2 Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 117 1 Ps 117.19-21 2 Mt 5.8