Resurrection And Ascension

Secundum quod Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis, nutritus crevit. Passus, mortuus et resuscitatus accepit hereditatem regnum caelorum. In ipso homine accepit resurrectionem et vitam aeternam. In ipso homine accepit. In Verbo autem non accepit, quia incommutabiliter manet ab aeterno in aeternum. Quia ergo accepit resurrectionem et vitam aeternam caro illa, quae resurrexit et vivificata ascendit in caelum, hoc nobis promissum est. Ipsam hereditatem exspectamus, vitam aeternam. Adhuc enim non totum corpus accepit, quia caput in caelo est, membra adhuc in terra sunt. Nec caput solum accepturum est hereditatem, et corpus relinquetur. Totus Christus accepturus est hereditatem, totus secundum hominem, id est, caput et corpus. Membra ergo Christi sumus, speremus hereditatem. Quia cum ista omnia transierint, hoc bonum accepturi sumus quod non transibit, et hoc malum evasuri quod non transibit. Aeterna sunt enim utraque. Non enim aliquid non aeternum promisit suis, et aliquid temporale minatus est impiis. Quomodo vitam beatitudinem, regnum, hereditatem sempiternam sine fine promisit sanctis, sic ignem aeternum minatus est impiis. Si quod promisit nondum amamus, saltim quod minatus est timeamus. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Sermo XXII, De Psalmo LXVII Source: Migne PL 38.154-155

Inasmuch as 'the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,' 1 He was nourished and grew. Having suffered, died and risen again, He received as His inheritance the kingdom of heaven. It was as man that He received resurrection and eternal life. As a man he received it. But as the Word He did not receive it, because the Word abides unchangingly forever. Therefore because it was that flesh that received the resurrection and eternal life, rising again and ascending into heaven revivified, this is also promised to us. We are waiting for that same inheritance of eternal life. The whole body has not yet received it because the head is in heaven and the members yet remain on earth. But it is not that the head is going to receive the inheritance alone and abandon the body. The whole Christ shall receive the inheritance, the whole as man, that is, both the head and the body. Thus we who are members of Christ should hope for the inheritance. Because when all this has passed away we will receive that good which will not pass away and avoid that evil which will not pass away. Both are eternal. He did not promise something eternal to His own and threaten the wicked with something temporal. Just as He promised those who are holy the blessed life and the kingdom as an eternal inheritance without end, so He threatened the wicked with eternal fire. If we do not yet love what He promised, let us at least fear what He threatened. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 22, On Psalm 67 1 Jn 1.14

Understanding and Revelation

Et respondens unus, cui nomen Cleophas, dixit ei: Tu solus peregrinus es in Jerusalem, et non cognovisti quae facta sunt in illa his diebus? Peregrinum putabant eum, cujus vultum non agnoscebant. Sed et revera peregrinus erat eis a quorum naturae fragilitate percepta jam resurrectionis gloria longe distabat. Peregrinus erat eis, a quorum adhuc fide, ut pote resurrectionis ejus nescia, manebat extraneus. Quibus ille dixit: Quae? Et dixerunt ei: De Jesu Nazareno, qui fuit vir propheta, potens in opere et sermone coram Deo et omni populo. Prophetam et magnum fatentur, Filium Dei tacent, vel scilicet nondum perfecte credentes, vel solliciti ne inciderent in manus Judaeorum persequentium, quia nesciebant quis esset cum quo loquebantur, quod verum credidere celantes. Et quomodo tradiderunt eum summi sacerdotes et principes nostri in damnationem mortis, et crucifixerunt eum. Nos autem sperabamus quia ipse esset redempturus Israel. Merito tristes incedebant, quia et seipsos quodammodo arguebant, quod in illo redemptionem speraverint, quem jam mortuum viderant, et nec resurrecturum credebant. Et maxime dolebant eum sine culpa occisum, quia noverant innocentem. Et nunc super haec omnia, tertia dies est hodie quod haec facta sunt. Sed et mulieres quaedam ex nostris terruerunt nos, quae ante lucem fuerunt ad monumentum, et non invento corpore ejus, venerunt, dicentes se etiam visionem angelorum vidisse, qui dicunt cum vivere. Terruisse dicuntur merito eos, quorum mentibus plus de non invento corpore dominico moestitiam qua dolebant addere, quam denuntiata per angelos ejus resurrectione, gaudium quo recrearentur videre potuerunt. Et abierunt quidam ex nostris ad monumentum, et ita invenerunt sicut mulieres dixerunt, ipsum vero non invenerunt. Cum ipse Lucas supra Petrum dixerit cucurrisse ad monumentum, et nunc Cleopham dixisse, ipse retulerit quod quidam eorum cucurrerant (0626D)ad monumentum, intelligitur attestari quod duo ierint ad monumentum. Sed Petrum solum primo commemoravit, quia illi primitus Maria nuntiaverit. Et ipse dixit ad eos: O stulti et tardi corde ad credendum in omnibus quae locuti sunt prophetae. Nonne haec oportuit pati Christum, et ita intrare in gloriam suam? Et incipiens a Moyse et omnibus prophetis, interpretabatur illis in omnibus Scripturis quae de ipso erant. Hoc nobis in loco non ulla Scripturam interpretandi, sed gemina nosipsos humiliandi necessitas incumbit, qui neque in Scripturis quantum oportet edocti, neque ad implenda quae discere forte potuimus quantum decet sumus intenti. Nam si Moyses et omnes prophetae Christum locuti sunt, et hunc per angustiam passionis in gloriam suam intraturum qua ratione se gloriantur esse Christianos, qui juxta virium suarum modulum neque Scripturas qualiter ad Christum pertineant investigare, neque ad gloriam quam cum Christo habere cupiunt, per passiones tribulationum desiderant attingere? Et appropinquaverunt castello quo ibant, et ipse se finxit longius ire, et coegerunt illum dicentes: Mane nobiscum, quoniam advesperascit, et inclinata est jam dies. Et intravit cum illis. Nihil simplex veritas per duplicitatem fecit, sed quod dicitur: Finxit se longius ire, talem se exhibuit discipulis in corpore, qualis apud illos in mente erat. Probandi autem erant si hi qui eum etsi necdum ut Deum diligerent, saltem ut peregrinum amare potuissent. Sed quia esse extranei a charitate non poterant hi cum quibus veritas gradiebatur, eum ad hospitium quasi peregrinum vocant. Cur autem dicimus vocant, cum illic scriptum sit: Et coegerunt illum? Ex quo nimirum exemplo colligitur, quia peregrini non solum ad hospitium invitandi sunt, sed etiam trahendi. Et factum est dum recumberet cum illis, accepit panem, et benedixit ac fregit, et porrigebat illis, et aperti sunt oculi eorum, et cognoverunt eum. Quem in Scripturae sacrae expositione non cognoverunt, in panis fractione cognoscunt. Audiendo praecepta Dei illuminati non sunt, faciendo illuminati sunt. Quia scriptum est: Non auditores legis justi sunt apud Deum, sed factores legis justificabuntur. Quisquis ergo vult audita intelligere, festinet ea quae jam intelligere potuit, opere implere Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber VI, Caput XXIV Source: Migne PL 92.626a-627b

And the one named Cleophas answered and said to Him: 'Are you alone a stranger in Jerusalem that you do not know what has happened these past days?' 1 They thought He was a stranger, they did not recognise His face. And indeed He was certainly a stranger to them since by the weakness of their nature they were distant from the glorious teaching of the resurrection. He was a stranger to them because of their faith that was yet ignorant of the resurrection and thus He remained apart from them. He said to them,' What is this?' They said to Him, 'It is about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, powerful in deed and speech before God and all the people.' They called Him a great prophet, but were silent about the Son of God, either because they were not yet perfect believers, or they were worried lest they might fall into the hands of persecuting Jews, and since they did not know who it was they were speaking to they concealed what they truly believed. 'And they handed Him over to the chief priests and our leaders who condemned Him to death, and they crucified Him. But we were hoping that He would be the one who would save Israel.' Rightly they were aggrieved because they reproved themselves, since they had hoped He was to be the redeemer, Him whom they had then seen dead, and they did not believe He would be resurrected. And they also grieved for Him slain without fault because they knew Him to be innocent. 'And now after all these things, today it is three days since they were done. But certain women of ours who were at the tomb before dawn did not find His body there and they were terrified, and they came and said they had seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.' They are rightly said to have been terrified, and more in their minds at not finding the body which they had come to mourn than by the message of the angels about His resurrection in which they would have rejoiced had they been able to see it. 'And some men of ours went to the tomb and they found it just as the women had said, and they did not find Him.' When Luke previously said that Peter had run to the tomb and now he says Cleophas speaks of certain men of theirs running to the tomb, it is understood to bear witness that two had gone to the tomb. But he first recalls Peter only, because Mary had first spoken to him. And He said to them, 'O foolish and slow of heart to believe in everything which the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary that Christ suffer and thus enter into His glory?' And He began to interpret from Moses and all the prophets all the Scriptures about Himself No interpretation of Scripture is given to us here, but it imposes on us the necessity of humility who are neither learned in the Scriptures nor zealous to practice what perhaps we were able to learn as much as it befits. For if Moses and all the prophets had spoken of Christ and that He was to enter into His glory through the anguish of the passion, for what reason should Christians glorify themselves who according to the rule of their own people neither strive to investigate the Scriptures for Christ, nor desire to have that glory with Christ which they attain through the suffering of tribulations? And as they went they came near a village and He made to go onwards, but they imposed on Him, saying, 'Stay with us, for evening falls and the day has passed.' And He went in with them. This is no simple truth He made through concealment, but when it is said, 'He made to go onwards,' in such a way he showed Himself in the body to the disciples as He was in their minds. For they were being tested, so that if they did not yet love him as God, they might yet be able to love Him as a stranger. But because they were estranged from the love of the truth He was not able to walk with them, and they called Him into the inn as a stranger. But why do we say that they called Him when it has been written, 'They imposed on Him,'? It is arranged so for the sake of example, because strangers are not only invited but even drawn. And when they sat with Him, He took bread and blessed it and broke it and he held it out to them, at which their eyes were opened and they knew Him. In the breaking of bread they knew Him whom they did not know in the exposition of the sacred Scriptures. They were not illuminated by hearing the teachings of God, but by the act they were enlightened. Whence it is written, 'It is not the hearers of the Lord that are righteous before God, but they are righteous who are doers of the law.' 2 Thus whoever wishes to understand what they have heard, let him make haste to fulfill in works what he has been able to understand. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 6, Chapter 24 1 Lk 24.18 2 Rom 2.13

The Angel And The Tomb

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

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

Wretchedness And The Passion

Passionis igitur vilitas describitur in incessu, in loco, in genere passionis et in societate patientium. Primo ergo vilitas passionis in incessu notatur in hoc, quod tanquam latro ducitur, et ipse baiulat sibi supplicium; propterea dicit: Susceperunt autem Iesum; Psalmus: Susceperunt me sicut leo paratus ad praedam, scilicet milites Iesum; duxerunt, tanquam maleficum, scilicet extra castra; propter quod ad Herbraeos ultimo: Exeamus ad eum extra castra, improperiu, crucis eius portantes. Et baiulans sibi crucem... In qua scilicet tanquam latro puniretur. Tunc impletum est quod dictum erat Isaiae vigesimo secudo: Dabo clavem David super humerum eius; et Isaiae nono: Factus est principatus super humerum eius, quia ibi triumphavit. De hoc Augustinus: Grande spectaculum! Sed si spectat impietas, grande ludibrium; si pietas, grande mysterium. Exivit in eum qui dicitur Calvariae locus. Hic innuitur vilitas a loco; quia in eo loco passus est, ubi puniebantur latrones et malefici. Calvaria enim dicitur ille locus, quia ibi declavabantur capita damnatorum. Calvaria enim dicitur testa capitis carne undata; Hebracie Golgath, id est, locus decollationis. Ubi eum crucifixerunt. Notatur hic vilitas passionis a genere mortis, quia vilissimum genus mortis erat; Sapientiae secundo: More turpissima condemnemus eum. Et cum eo alios duos, hinc et hinc, medium autem Iesum. Notatur hic vilitas a societate, quia isti duo erant latrones; unde Marci decimo quinto: Crucifigunt cum eo duos latrones. Tunc impletum est quod dicitur Isaiae quinquagesimo tertio: Et cum iniquis deputatus est. Ideo autem in medietate, ut significetur, quonaim mediator, unde in nativitate in medio animalum, Habacuc ultimo; et in passione in medio latronum, quia pax vera, ad Ephesios secundo. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XIX Source: Here, p495-496

The wretchedness of the Passion is described by procession, by place, by the type of passion, and by those associated with the passion. First, then, is the wretchedness of the passion by the procession, in which He is led off as a criminal, and He bears His punishment, whence it is said, 'They took Jesus.' 1 The Psalm: 'They took me like a lion prepared for prey.' 2 that is, the soldiers took Jesus. They led him out as an evildoer, as outside the camp, whence it says in the last chapter of Hebrews: 'Let us go out to Him outside the camp, abused, bearing His cross.' 3 'And bearing His own cross...' By which he was punished as a criminal. Then was fulfilled what was said in the twenty second chapter of Isaiah: 'I shall give the key of David on his shoulder.' 4 And in the ninth chapter of Isaiah: 'And the staff of rule on his shoulder,' because by it He triumphed. 5 Concerning which Augustine says: 'A great spectacle! But if impiety sees, a great amusement, if piety, a great mystery.' 6 'He went to that place which is called Calvary.' Here wretchedness by place is noted, because in that place He suffered, where they punished criminals and evildoers. And that place is called Calvary because they would cut off the heads of the condemned there. For calvary is the skull of the head with the skin stripped off. In Hebrew it is Golgotha, that is, the place of beheading. 'Where they crucified Him.' Here the wretchedness of the passion by the type of death is noted, because it was the most wretched type of death. The second chapter of Wisdom says: 'In the most shameful manner we condemned Him.' 7 'And with Him two others, one on both side, and Jesus in the midst of them.' Here wretchedness is noted by association, because they were two bandits, whence in the fourteenth chapter of Mark: 'They crucified Him with two bandits.' 8 Then were fulfilled the words of Isaiah in the fifty third chapter: 'And we reckoned Him among the wicked.' 9 Then the middle is signified because He is the mediator, whence in the nativity He is in the midst of the animals, as in the last chapter of Habakkuk, 10 and in the passion He is in the midst of thieves, because He is true peace, according to the second chapter of Ephesians. 11 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 19 1 Jn 19.17 2 Ps 16.12 3 Heb 13.13 4 Isaiah 22.22 5 Isaiah 9.6 6 Augustine Tractate John 117.3 7 Wisdom 2.20 8 Mk 14.27 9 Isaiah 54.12 10 Habakkuk 3.2 LXX 11 Ephes 2.14

Tobias And The Fish

Mansit Tobias, duce angelo profectus, prima mansione juxta fluvium Tigrin; et exivit ut lavaret pedes suos, et ecce piscis immanis exivit ad dovorandum eum. Hic denuo passionis dominicae sacramentum manifestius significatur. Piscis enim immanis, qui a Tobia, cum eum devorare appeteret, angelo docente occisus est, antiquum generis humani devoratorem, hoc est diabolum designat, qui dum in Redemptore nostro mortem carnis appeteret, captus est potentia divinitatis. Fluvius Tigris, qui propter rapidissimum cursum a tigride bestia velocissima nomen accepit, decursum nostrae mortis ac mortalitatis indicat. In quo piscis latebat immanis, quia invisibilis humani generis seductor mortis habebat imperium. Mansit Tobias juxta Tigris fluenta, quia Dominus in mundo apparens inter peccatores ac mortales vitam duxit, sed eum nec peccati unda tetigit, neque in illo suum aliquid adveniens princeps tenebrarum reperit. Exivit autem Tobias in fluvium, ut lavaret pedes suos; et Dominus mortem, cui nihil debebat, suscepit, ut fideles omnes, sua videlicet membra, a contagio peccati et mortis ablueret. Occurit Tobiae piscis, devorare illum cupiens; et Domino passo in cruce venit diabolus, qui eum crucifigi docuerat, quaerens si quid forte in ejus anima sceleris inveniret. Expavescens piscem Tobias clamavit voce magna, dicens: Domine, invadit me. Et Dominus, imminente mortis articulo, coepit pavere et taedere, non diabolum pertimescens, sed mortem, quae invidia diaboli intravit in orbem terrarum, naturali carnis fragilitate perhorresens; unde et orabat, ut si fieri posset, transiret ab eo hora. Et dixit: 'Abba Pater, omnia tibi possibilia sunt, transfer calicem hunc a me; sed non quod ego volo, sed quod tu. Dixit angelus Tobiae, Apprehende branchiam piscis, et trahe eum ad te. Apprehendit Dominus diabolum, et eum qui se in morte capere voluit, moriendo cepit and vicit. Apprehendit autem branchiam ejus, ut caput nequissimum a corpore decepto, potentiae suae dextera separaret, id est, nequitiam hostis antiqui ab eorum quos sibi male conjunxerat, et quasi unum corpus secum fecerat, corde auferret, et hos ecclesiae suae corpori pius Redemptor insereret. Branchiam quippe habet piscis in confinio capitis et corporis sui. Sicut autem Dominus noster caput Ecclesiae vero corpus et ejus; ita diabolus caput omnium iniquorum, et omnes iniqui corpus et membra sunt ejus. Apprehendit ergo Dominus branchiam piscis immanissimi, et traxit eum ad se, projecitque in siccum, quia potentiam diaboli comminuens, traduxit palam confidenter, eruitque de potestate tenebrarum, quos filios lucis esse praescivit. Sanctus Beda, In Librum Beati Partis Tobiae Allegorica Interpretatio Source: Migne PL 91.928a-929a

'When the angel had gone Tobias remained in the first house next to the river Tigris, and he went out to wash his feet, and behold a great fish came out to devour him. 1 Here again the sacrament of the passion of the Lord is openly manifested. For the great fish, which was slain by Tobias by the guidance of the angel, when it sought to devour him, is the old devourer of the human race, that is, it is the devil that is designated here, he who while seeking the death of the flesh of our Redeemer was seized by the power of His Divinity. The river Tigris, which on account of its rapid flow has received its name after that most swift beast the tiger, indicates the downward flow of our death and mortality in which the fearful fish hides, because the invisible seducer of the human race has the rule of death. Tobias remains next to the flowing Tigris because the Lord appeared in the world among sinners and led a mortal life, but neither did sin touch Him, nor did the prince of darkness find anything in Him. 2 Tobias went to the river to wash his feet and the Lord took up death, to whom He owed nothing, that He might cleanse all the faithful, His members, from the contagion of sin and death. The fish comes to Tobias, desiring to devour him, and the devil comes to the suffering Lord on the cross, whose crucifixion he has counselled, seeking if there might be some crime in his soul. 'And fearing the fish, Tobit cried out with a great voice, saying, 'Lord, help me.' Even the Lord, in the imminent moments of death, began to fear and be weary, not through fear of the devil, but death, which the envy of the devil had brought into the world. 3 Because of the natural fragility of the flesh He feared, whence even He prayed, that if it were possible that this hour might pass Him by. And He said, 'Abba, Father, with you all things are possible, take this cup from me, but let it be not as I wish, but what you wish.' 4 The angel said to Tobias, seize the gills of the fish and drag him to you. The Lord seized the devil and He drew into death the one who wished to drag Him into death, and triumphed. He even seized on its gills, so that the most wicked head might be detached from the body by the right hand of His power, that is, the body that is those whom the old enemy had joined to himself in evil and made them as one body with himself. So the holy Redeemer drew out the heart and inserted it into the body of His Church. For as our Lord is the head of His body the Church, so the devil is the head of all who are wicked, and everyone who is evil is a member of his body. Therefore the Lord seized the gills of the fearful fish and dragged it toward Himself, and He threw it on to dry land, because by thus shattering the power of the devil, He confidently drew him into the open, and tore from the power of darkness those He foresaw as sons of light. Saint Bede, An Allegorical Interpretation of the Book of Tobit 1 Tob 6.22 2 Jn 14.30 3 Wisd 2.24 4 Mk 14.35-36

Resurrections And Births

Dominus dixit ad me: Filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te. Quaeritis, charissimi, quare beatus Paulus, cum de resurrectione loqueretur, hujus versiculi testimonio usus sit: quippe qui magis natali quam resurrectioni congruere videtur. Nos autem ipsam resurrectionem natale dicere non dubitamus, maxime quia a Salvatore eam dici regenerationem non ignoramus. Si enim regeneratio dicitur resurrectio prima, quae est animae, cur non regeneratio dicetur et secunda, quae est corporis? Resurrectio itaque Christi cum non possit esse nisi una, resurrectionum tamen nostrarum, quae duae sunt, primam significat, teste eodem Apostolo ubi ait: Quemadmodum Christus surrexit a mortuis per gloriam Patris, ita et nos in novitate vitae ambulemus. Secundam initiat, unde et dicitur primitiae dormientium Christus. Sunt itaque hominum tres quodammodo nativitates, duae resurrectiones. Nascimur enim homines de hominibus per homines carnaliter, caro de carne: quae nativitas ubi resurrectio dicatur, non occurrit. Renascimur de Deo dii per spiritum spiritualiter, ubi quod nascitur de spiritu, spiritus est; et haec est resurrectio prima, nativitas secunda: regenerabimur autem de corruptis incorruptibilis, de mortuis immortales, de terrae pulvere in coelestem qualitatem: quae est nativitas tertia, resurrectio secunda. Primam nativitatem ignoravit Christus, secundam suscepit de Virgine, tertiam de sepulcro. Quales enim renascimur de fonte, talis natus est Christus ex Virgine: qualis regeneratus est Christus de tumulo, tales renascemur in futuro. Et hic est status, ad quem factus est homo: nec antea erit homo consummatus, donec perficiatur in eo, ad quod fuit inchoatus. Tunc enim generatus proprie dicetur, cum fuerit pergeneratus; tunc factus, quando completus. Interim vero duabus primis nativitatibus generatur et fit, qui in tertia tantum generatus est, et factus. Unde in die resurrectionis suae congrue ac subtiliter dicitur genitus Christus, tanquam in die perfectionis et consummationis suae pergenitus. Unde et ipse dicit: Hodie et cras sanitates perficio, et tertia die consummor. Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, Sermo XLI, In Die Pascha Source: Migne PL 194.1827d-1828c

'The Lord said to me: 'You are my son, and today I begot you' 1 You wonder why, most beloved ones, that the blessed Paul made use of the witness of this verse when speaking of the resurrection, 2 since it seems more fitting for the nativity than the resurrection? But we do not doubt that the resurrection may be spoken of as a birth, especially because from the Saviour we are not ignorant that it may be spoken of as rebirth. For if the first resurrection, which is of the soul, is called a rebirth, why should it not be called the second rebirth which is of the body? Therefore when the resurrection of Christ could only be once, yet our first resurrection the Apostle speaks of when he says: 'As Christ rose from the dead by the glory of the Father, thus even we shall walk in new life.' 3 The second begins where it is said that Christ is the first fruits of those who sleep. 4 Thus there are three births for men, two resurrections. For we are born men from men and through man in the flesh, flesh from flesh, where a birth that might be called a resurrection does not occur. We are reborn spiritually from God as gods 5 through the spirit, where what is born from the spirit is spirit, 6 and this second birth is the first resurrection. But when we are reborn incorruptable from corruption, and immortal from mortality, and from the dust of the earth to a heavenly likeness, this is the third birth, the second resurrection. Christ did not know the first nativity, the second He took up from the Virgin, the third from the tomb. As we are reborn from the font, so Christ from the Virgin; as Christ was reborn from the tomb, so we shall be in the future. And this is the state for which man was made, who is not the consummate man until he shall be perfected in it, and for which he was begun. Then he is properly said to have been generated when he is produced, then made when he is complete. Meanwhile in the first two nativities he is being generated and being made, who in the third alone has been generated and has been made. Whence on the day of the resurrection it is appropiately and subtly said that Christ is born, as on the day of perfection and production of His consummation. Whence even He says: 'Today and tomorrow I accomplish my healing and on the third day reach my consummation.' 7 Isaac of Stella, from Sermon 41, On Easter 1 Ps 2.7 2 Acts 13. 28-33 3 Rom 6.4 4 1 Cor 15.20 5 cf Ps 81.6 6 Jn 3.6 7 cf Lk 13.32

The Cross And The Odyssey

Saeculi ferunt fabulae Ulyssem illum, qui decennio marinis jactatus erroribus, ad patriam pervenire non poterat, cum in locum quemdam cursus illum navigii detulisset, in quo Sirenarum dulci cantus crudelis varietate resonabat; et advenientes sic blanda modulatione mulcebat, ut non tam spectaculum voluptatis caperent, quam naufragium salutis incurrerent. Talis enim erat illis oblectatio cantilenae, ut, quisquis audisset vocis sonitum, quasi quadam captus illecebra, non jam tenderet ad eum quem volebat portum, sed pergeret ad exitium, quod nolebat. Igitur cum Ulysses incidisset hoc dulce naufragium, et suavitatis illius vellet declinare periculum; dicitur, inserta cera auribus sociorum, seipsum ad arborem navigii religasse: quo et illi carerent perniciosa auditus illecebra, et se de periculo navigii cursus auferret. Si ergo de Ulysse illo refert fabula, quod eum arboris religatio de periculo liberavit: quanto magis praedicandum est quod vere factum est; hoc est, quod hodie omne genus hominum de mortis periculo crucis arbor eripuit? Ex quo enim Christus Dominus religatus in cruce est, ex eo nos mundi illecebrosa discrimina velut clausa aure transimus; nec pernicioso enim saeculi detinemur auditu, nec cursum melioris vitae deflectimus in scopulos voluptatis. Crucis enim arbor non solum religatum sibi hominem patriae repraesentat, sed etiam socios circa se positos virtutis suae umbra custodit. Quod autem crux ad patriam post multos errones redire nos faciat, Dominus declarat dicens latroni in cruce posito: Hodie mecum eris in paradiso. Qui utique latro diu oberrans, ac naufragus, aliter ad patriam paradisi, de qua primus homo exierat, redire non poterat, nisi fuisset arbori religatus; arbor enim quaedam in navi crux est in Ecclesia, quae inter totius saeculi blanda et perniciosa naufragia incolumis sola servatur. In hac ergo navi quisquis aut arbori crucis se religaverit, aut aures suas Scripturis divinis clauserit, dulcem procellam luxuriae non timebit. Sirenarum enim quaedam suavis figura est mollis concupiscentia voluptatis, quae noxiis blandimentis constantiam captae mentis effeminat. Ergo Dominus Christus pependit in cruce, ut omne genus hominum de mundi naufragio liberaret. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia XLIX, De Passione et Cruce Domini Source: Migne PL 57.339b-340b

The ages tell of fabled Odysseus who for ten years was adrift at sea and was not able to reach his homeland, and in a certain place during the course of his sailing he came upon the cruel song of the Sirens which resounded with such sweet variety, and with its charming melody it beguiled all who came near, and there was no one they seized on with this exhibition of pleasure but rushed into the shipwreck of their salvation. 1 Such was the delight of the song that whoever heard the sound of it was captured by its allure, and then unable to hold to that desination where he wished to come, he turned to the ruin he did not wish. Therefore when Odysseus came upon this sweet shipwreck he wished to avoid the peril of that sweetness, and it is said that he placed wax in the ears of his crew and bound himself to the mast of the ship, by which the crew would be prevented from hearing that ruinous allure, and he would be borne off from danger on the way of his sailing. If the tale tells that thus Odysseus freed himself from danger by binding himself to wood, how much more must it be preached what is true, that is, that today the wood of the tree delivers all mankind from the peril of death? For the Lord Christ was bound on the cross, by which we, as with closed ears, pass by all ruinous perils, for we are neither detained by wicked hearing, nor are we turned from our better course of life onto the rocks of pleasure. For the wood of the tree does not only represent the binding of the man himself for the fatherland, but he even guards His companions set around him by the shelter of His virtue. For after much wandering the cross makes us return to the fatherland, which the Lord declares to the thief who was set on the cross, saying: 'Today you shall be with me in paradise.' 2 He who, as a long erring thief and shipwreck, was not able to return to the fatherland of paradise, from which the first man was expelled, unless he was bound to the tree, for that tree in the ship is the cross in the Church, which alone can protect us among all the charms and perilous shipwrecks of the world. In this ship, then, whoever either binds himself to the cross, or closes his ears with Scripture, should not fear the sweet storm of luxury. Indeed the sweetness of the Sirens is a certain figure of the ennervating desire of pleasure, which noxious allure weakens the strength of the mind it seizes upon. Therefore the Lord hung on the cross, that every race of men might be freed from the shipwreck of the world. Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 41, On The Passion And Cross of the Lord 1 Hom Od 12.39-54, 166-200 2 Lk 23.43

Restoring Love

Stetit Iesus in medio eorum... Nota, quod amor solet formari aliquando ex visu, aliquando ex audito, aliquando ex tactu, aliquando ex convictu. Diligimus enim illum, in quo bonum vidimus, vel a quo bonum audivimus, vel in quo bonum experi sumus, vel cui bene conviximus. His omnibus modis reformat Salvator cartitatem discipulorum in die resurrectionis, quae laesa fuerat in tempore passionis. Dedit enim se discipulis cognoscibilem ex visu; unde hoc dicitur: Stetit in medio eorum; et paulo post: Ostendit eis manus et latus. Ex auditu, quando salutavit eos; unde hoc dicitur: Pax vobis. Ex tactu, cum vocavit eos ad palpandum; Lucae ultimo: Palpate et videte, quia spiritus carnem et ossa non habet, sicut me videtis habere. Ex convictu, quando quaesivit aliquid ad comedendum; unde Lucae ultimo: Habetis hic aliquid, quod manducetur. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XX, Collatio LXXIV Source: Here, p622

Jesus stood in the midst of them... 1 Note that love is sometimes accustomed to be fashioned by sight, sometimes by hearing, sometimes by touch, sometimes by association. For we love him in whom we have seen good, or of whom we have heard good, or with whom we have had proof of love, or with whom we have closely associated. In all these ways, on the day of the resurrection, the Saviour restores the love of the disciples, which was wounded during the time of the passion. He gives to His disciples knowledge by sight, whence it says here: 'He stood in the midst of them,' and a little after: 'He showed them His hands and side.' By hearing when he greets them, whence it says here: 'Peace be with you.' By touch when he calls them to touch him, in the last chapter of Luke: 'Touch and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and blood, as you see that I have.' 2 And by association when He sought something to eat, whence again in the last chapter of Luke: 'Do you have something here which may be eaten?' 3 Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 20 1 John 20.19 2 Lk 24.39 3 Lk 24.41

Resurrections

O quam vera, quam magnifica comminatio illius qui dicebat: Ero, mors tua, o mors, mortem pro omnibus gustans omne imperium mortis absorbuit. Nam sicut Apostolus dicit: Si Spiritus Christi habitat in nobis, qui suscitavit Christum a mortuis, vivificabit et mortalia corpora nostra propter inhabitantem Spiritum in nobis. Mortuus est, inquit Apostolos, Christus propter delicta nostra, et resurrexit propter justificationem nostram. Resurrexit, sed semel et simpliciter, ut nos dupliciter resurgamus. Prima resurrectio nostra est a peccato, ut jam peccatum non dominetur in nobis. Secunda erit in corpore, cum corpus hoc mortale, animale, ignobile, terrenum et luteum configurabitur corpori claritatis Christi. De prima resurrectione scriptum est: Exsurge qui dormis, exsurge a mortuis, et illuminabit te Christus. Prima quidem desiderabilis est; sed desiderabilior est secunda, in qua dabitur duplex stola. Ideo Propheta dicit: Sitivit in te anima mea, quam multipliciter tibi caro mea. Verbum Joannis est: Beatus et sanctus est qui habet partem in resurrectione prima. Ille qui dicit: Ego sum resurrectio et vita, hodei resurgens a mortuis nos erigit in spem vitae et certam exspectationem gloriae filiorum Dei. Exsultabo igitur, quia haec est dies in qua exsultare praecipimur. Haec est, inquit, dies quam fecit Dominus, exsultemus et laetemur in ea. Eeram nudiustertius tristitia et moerore confectus; et ascpiens Christum mortuum, eram quodam desperationis frigore congelatus, et quodammodo mortuus; sed recaluit cor meum intra me. Et audito quia resurrexit Dominus, cor meum et caro mea exsultaverunt in Dominum vivum: quem prius plangebam curcifixum et mortuum. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XX, In Dei Resurrectionis Source: Migne PL 207.619b-d

O, how true, how magnificent, that threat of Him who said: 'I shall be your death, O death.' 1 who tasting death for us destroyed death's empire. For as Paul the Apostle said: 'If the Spirit of Christ dwells in us, He who rose Christ from the dead, He shall enliven our mortal bodies according to the dwelling of the Spirit in us.' 2 Again he says: 'Christ died for our sins and rose for our justification.' 3 He rose, but once and plainly, that we might rise up twice. Our first resurrection is from sin, so that sin no longer rules over us. The second resurrection shall be in the body, when this body which is mortal, animal, lowly, made of earth and mud, shall be fashioned according to the glorious body of Christ. Concerning the first resurrection it is written: 'Rise up, you who sleep, rise up from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten you.' 4 The first resurrection is to be desired, the second is to be more desired, in which we will be given the twofold robe. Therefore the prophet says: 'My soul thirsted for you, how much for you my flesh.' 5 The word of John is: 'Blessed and holy is he who has a part in the first resurrection.' 6 And He says: 'I am the resurrection and the life,' 7 who today, rising from the dead, lifted us up to hope of life and certain expectation of the glory of the sons of God. I shall exult, therefore, because this is the day in which we are commanded to exult. It says: 'This is the day which the Lord made, let us exult and rejoice in it.' 8 I was made naked, sorrowful and sick, and seeing Christ dead I was frozen with the ice of despair, and I was as one who was dead, but my heart has blazed up within me, I have heard the Lord has risen, 'my heart and my flesh exults in the living Lord,' 9 whom before I wept crucified and dead. Peter of Blois, from Sermon 20, On The Day of Resurrection 1 Hosea 13.14 2 Rom 8.11 3 Rom 4.25 4 Ephes 5.14 5 Ps 62.2 6 Apoc 20.6 7 Jn 11.25 8 Ps 117.24 9 Ps 83.3

Darkness On The Earth

Ἀπὸ δὲ ἕκτης ὥρας σκότος ἐγένετο ἐφ' ὅλην τὴν γῆν ἕως ὥρας ἐνάτης.... Τὸ σκότος ἐφ' ὅλην τὴν γῆν ἐγένετο ἀπὸ ὤρας ἕκτης ἔως ὦρας ἐννάτης, τοῦ ἠλίου ἐκλείποντος, ἴν' εἰδείεν ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἀπηρτημένος τοῦ ξύλου ὁ σύνοπλον ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν τὴν κτίσιν λαβὼν, ὅτε τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις πεπολέμηκε· δι' αὐτοὺς τὸ ἡλιακὸν ἐκλέποιπε φῶς, καὶ ἀπάσης τῆς αὐτῶν χώρας κατεσκεδάσθη τὸ σκότος, ἡλίου τὴν ἀκτῖνα συστείλαντος καὶ οἶον οὐκ ἀνεχομένου πέμπει αὐτὴν ἔτι τοῖς γεγονόσι κυριοκτόνοις. Καὶ καθ' ἕτερον δὲ τρόπον ἐσκοτίσθαι φαμὲν τὴν Ἰουδαίων χώραν, ἤτοι τοὺς κατοικοῦντας αὐτὴν, ὅτι οὐκ ἐδέξατο τὸν ἥλιον τῆς δικαιοσύνης καὶ τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον Source: Migne PG 72.465c

From the sixth hour onwards there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour... 1 There was darkness on the whole land from the sixth hour to the ninth hour by an obscurity of the sun, that they might know Him who hung upon the cross, He who for their help had taken on the covering of a created thing when he vanquished the Egyptians. 2 Because of this the light of the sun perished and darkness spread through all the land, the rays of the sun being suppressed because He would not suffer them to come to those who now were killers of the Lord. And otherwise we say that the land of the Jews was darkened, that is, those who dwelt in it, because they did not receive the sun of justice and the true light. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Fragment 1 Mt 22.45 2 Exod 14.24

Ruin And Insults

Transeuntes autem blasphemavant eum, moventes capita sua, et dicentes: Vah qui destruis templum Dei, et in triduo reaedificas... Hoc ergo dicebant, quasi dixerit, Possum destruere et reaedificare. Ubi et alii codices habent, qui destruis templum, et in triduo reaedificas, salva temetipsum. Sed unus et sensus, quia saepe interdum insultando, haec ad turbam et ad ipsum loquebantur. Sed quod ait transeuntes, melius in Graeco habet praetereuntes, ut signanter illud de Psalmo intelligamus, ut quid destruxisti maceriam ejus, id est vineae, quam de Aegypto transtulerat, et vindemiant eam, inquit omnes qui praetergrediuntur viam. Praetereuntes autem erant, qui etiam macerie vineae dissoluta, vindemiabant eos qui remanserant in fide, laudantes Deum. Quandiu enim quisque non declinat a via Dei, potest dicere Deo: Statuisti supra petram pedes meos. Et ideo non blasphemat Jesum, qui est caput Ecclesiae, quia in eo, fide fixus stat, nec potest movere caput, sicut qui praeterit, vel transit, vel declinat a via Dei. Quod si fecerit, tunc eum blasphemat, et insultat, dicens: Vah. Juxta illud: Viderunt et moverunt captia sua. Vah enim interjecto est insultantis, vel irridentis. Omnes enim non habentes firmum caput, sed moventes eum sursum atque deorsum, non sunt prudentes, nec habent oculos in capite suo, neque caput firmum in fide tenent, id est mentem, ne moveatur, sed rotatur ut funda mens, et conscientia eroum ad singula. Noluerant igitur hi ambulare recto itinere Scripturarum, neque vias vitae cognoscere, ut starent in via Dei. Et ideo praetergrediebantur, moventes capita sua, quia moverant pedes ne starent in petra, quae Christus est. Et dicebant: Salva temetipsum, si Filius Dei es, descende de cruce. Fatui enim, fatua insultando dicebant: Vah qui destruis templum. Dicebant ergo illud, quod falsi testes supra sibi mendose confinxerant. Non enim dixerat quod ipse destrueret templum Dei, sed Solvite, et ego post triduum reaedificabo illud. Quia quod alii destruunt, ipse reaedificat, sive templum corporis sui, sive templum martyrum suorum, et omnum eorum quo habent testimonium Dei in se. Unde ipse ait: Venit enim hora, quando omnes qui in monumentis sunt audient vocem Filii Dei, et resurgent. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Lib XII, Cap XXVII Source: Migne PL 120.948a-d

Passing by, they blasphemed him, shaking their heads and saying, 'Aha, you who would destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days...' 1 They said this, as if He had said. 'I am able to destroy and rebuild.' Other books have: 'You who would destroy the temple and in three days rebuild it, save yourself.' But the sense is the same, because often while they were casting forth insults, they did so speaking to the crowd, and also to Him. Now when it says 'Passing by' the Greek has 'going by' which indicates that we should understand that Psalm 'Why did you destroy its wall,' that is, of the vine which you brought out of Egypt, 'so that all who are going by along the way may pluck from it.' 2 For they were going by, who with the wall of the vine broken down, plucked at those who remained in the faith praising God. For while someone does not stray from the way of God, he is able to say: 'You have fixed my feet on the rock.' 3 And therefore he does not blaspheme Jesus, who is the head of the Church, because he stands in Him fixed in faith, nor can he shake the head, as those do who go by, or pass by, or stray from the way of God. Because if he had done, than he would blaspheme and insult, saying: 'Aha!' So it is said, 'They saw and they shook their heads.' 4 'Aha,' is an insulting cry, or a mocking one. For all who do not have firm heads, but move them up and down, they are not wise, nor do they have eyes in their head, 5 nor is the head firm in the holding of faith, that is, the mind, lest it be shaken, but it shifts about, just as the mind and the conscience of each one. Therefore these were unwilling to walk rightly in the way of the Scriptures, nor did they know the ways of life, that they might stand in the way of God. So they went by, shaking their heads, because, not standing on the rock, which is Christ, their feet are moved. And they say, 'Save yourself, if you are the son of God, come down from the cross.' For they are fools and they speak foolish insults: 'Aha, you who would destroy the temple...' Therefore they said this because they were false witnesses, having fixed themselves in their lies. For He did not say that He would destroy the temple of God, but 'Destroy it and after three days and I will rebuild it.' 6 Because what others destroy, He rebuilds, that is the temple of His body, or the temple of His martyrs, and all who give witness to God in Him. Whence He says, 'The hour is coming when all those who are in their tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God and rise up.' 7 Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 12, Chap 27 1 Mt 27.39-40 2 Ps 79.13, 9 3 Ps 39.3 4 Ps 113.7 5 Eccl 2.14 6 Jn 2.19 7 Jn 5.28

A Clash Of Truths

Quae cum abiissent, ecce quidam de custodibus venerunt in civitatem, et nuntiaverunt principibus sacerdotum omnia quae facta fuerunt. Simplex animi qualitas, et indocta hominum rusticitas, saepe veritatem rei, ut est, sine fraude manifestat. At contra versuta malignitas, et exercitata pravae mentis nequitia, dolos versando falsitatem verisimilibus verbis, pro ipso vero commendare decertat, sibique in assensum plures convertere et coadunare festinat. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Matthaeum, Liber VIII Source: Migne PL 107.1150b

When they had gone, behold some of the soldiers came into the city and announced to the elders among the priests all that had happened. 1 A simple quality of soul and an uneducated rusticity of men often reveals the truth of a thing without any deceit. On the contrary, clever wickedness and the evil exertion of a depraved mind, active in deceit for falsity with words that seem to be true, strives to be believed as the truth and hastens to turn and to snare many to assent to itself. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 8 1 Mt 28.11

Easter And Pentecost

Nosse vos credo, fratres, quae sit ratio quod venerabilem hanc Pentecostes diem non minore laetitia celebremus quam sanctum Pascha curavimus, et quod eadem devotione hujus solemnitatis observantiam decurrimus, sicut illius obsequia festivitatis implevimus. Tunc enim, sicut modo fecerimus, jejunamus sabbato, vigilias celebravimus, orationibus pernoctanter institimus; unde necesse est similis observantia similem laetitiam subsequatur. Est laetitia plane consimilis; tunc enim ab inferis resurgentem suscepimus Salvatorem, modo autem Spiritum sanctum exspectamus de coelis: tunc anxii vel solliciti praedicabamus adventum; modo trepidi, vel jejuni Paracleti desideramus adventum; in omnibus enim Deus saluti providit humanae; tunc enim nobis ad resurgendum tartara Salvator aperuit; modo nobis ad regnandum Paracletus coelestia reseravit; et quibusdam quasi profectuum gradibus, tunc de morte ad vitam didicimus remeare; modo autem de terris ad coelos meditamur ascendere. Haec autem omnia operatur in nobis Christus Dominus, qui priusquam rediret ad coelos promisit discipulis suis, dicens: Cum autem ascendero, rogabo Patrem meum, et mittet vobis alium Paracletum, qui vobiscum sit in aeternum, Spiritum veritatis. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LXII, De Solemnitate Sanctae Pentecostes Source: Migne PL 57.375a-b

I think you should know, brothers, the reason why we celebrate this venerable day of the Pentecost with no less joy than Easter, and with the same devotion have attended to the observance of this solemnity, just as we fulfilled the rites of the prior feast. For then, just as we have done, we fasted on the Sabbath, and we celebrated the vigil and we took to prayer through the night, whence it is necessary that from similar observance follow similar joy. And most evident is the similarity of the joy, for then we looked for the resurrection of the Saviour from the dead, and now we hope for the Holy Spirit from heaven; then with worry and care we preached the coming, now with fear and hunger we desire the advent of the Paraclete, for in everything God forsees man's salvation. For then indeed the rising Saviour broke open hell for us, and now the Paraclete has opened the heavenly kingdom for us, and like rising steps, as then we learnt of the return from death to to life, now we consider the ascent from earth to heaven. And all of this is the work of Christ in us, He who before He returned to heaven promised His disciples: 'When I have ascended I shall ask my Father, and He shall send to you another comforter, He who shall be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth.' 1 Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 62, On The Feast Of Pentecost 1 Jn 14.16-17

The Resurrection And Children

Magnum fratres et mirabile donum concessit vobis Deus, hunc Paschae salutarem diem, in quo resurgens Dominus resurrectionem praestitit universis; et de imis ad altiora conscendens, nos quoque ad superiora de inferioribus in suo corpore sublevavit. Sumus enim secundum Apostolum omnes Christiani corpus Christi et membra, resurgente igitur Christo omnia necessario cum eo sua viscera surrexerunt. Dum enim ille ab inferis transit ad superos, nos de morte transire fecit ad vitam. Pascha enim Hebraice transitus dicitur, vel profectus, scilicet quia per hoc mysterium de pejoribus ad meliora transitur. Bonus transitus est transire de peccatis ad justitiam, de vitiis ad virtutes, ad infantiam de senectute; infantiam autem dixerim, non aetatis, sed simplicitatis; habent enim et merita aetates suas, in occiduis enim prius constituti eramus senio peccatorum, resurgente Christo renovati sumus innocentia parvulorum. Habet et Christiana simplicitas infantiam suam; sicut enim infans nescit irasci, fraudare non novit, referire non audet; ita et Christianitatis infantia laedentibus non irascitur; spoliantibus non resistit, caedentibus non repugnat. Denqiue, sicut jussit Dominus, etiam orat pro inimicis, auferentibus tunicam relinquit et pallium, verberantibus maxillam praebet et alteram; nisi quod in hoc melior est Christi infantia quam naturae; illa enim peccare nescit, ista contemnit; ila per infirmitatem innoxia est; ista est innocens per virtutem. Atque ideo laudi magis ascribendum est, non tam malefacere non posse quam nolle. Ergo, sicut diximus, aetates quaedam sunt meritorum; nam et senectus morum invenitur in pueris, et innocentia infantum repetiur in senibus. Denique quod in junioribus senectus quaedam sit honestatis, dicit Propheta: Senectus enim venerabilis non diuturna, nec annorum numere computata; cani enim sunt sensus hominis. Ad apostolos autem jam seniores, et majores natu dicit Dominus: Nisi fueritis, et efficiamini sicut puer iste non intrabitis in regnum coelorum. Revocat igitur eos ad orignis suae fontem, et retrorsum ad infantiam redire compellt, scilicet, ut qui corpore fragili senuerant, innocentiae moribus renascantur, sicut ait Salvator: Nisi quis renatur fuerit ex aqua et Spriitu sancto, non intrabit in regnum Dei. Dicitur ergo apostolis: Nisi conversi fueritis, et efficiamini sicut puer iste. Non dicit sicut pueri isti, sed sicut puer iste; unum eligit, unum proponit. Videamus igitur quis ille tantus sit qui discipulis proponitur imitandus. Non hunc arbitror esse de plebe, non de publico, non de multitudine caeterorum, praecipue qui per apostolos universo mundo tribuit sanctitatis exemplum; non, inquam, hunc de publico esse arbitror, sed de coelo. Ipse est enim de coelo puer, de quo dicit Isaias propheta: Puer natus est nobis, filus datus est nobis. Ipse plane puer est, qui sicut innocens, cum malediceretur, non remaledixit; cum percuteretur, non repercussit; quin potius in ipsa passione pro suis oravit inimicis, dicens: Pater, dimitte eis; nesciunt enim quid faciunt. Ita simplicitatem, quam infantibus natura tribuit, Dominus misericordiae bonitate cumulabat. Iste ergo puer est, qui imitandus parvulis proponitur, et sequendus; nam ipse dicit: Tolle crucem tuam, et sequere me. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LVIII, De Paschae Solemnitate IV Source: Migne PL 57.363c-366b

A great and wonderful gift God has given to us, this salutary day of the Pasch, in which the rising Lord set the resurrection before all, and with His rising from the depths to the heights, we are also lifted up from inferior to superior things in His body. For according to the Apostle we Christians are all members of the body of Christ, 1 and therefore, with Christ's rising, it must be that all the parts have arisen with Him. For while He passed from the depths to the heights, He makes us pass over from death to life. The Hebrew Pasch means 'a passing over', or 'a going forward', and so through this mystery we pass over from things worse to things better. A good passing over is to pass over from sin to righteousness, from vices to virtues, from old age to childhood; a childhood, I say, not of years, but of simplicity. Years have their merits, for before in our ways we were old in sin, but with the rising of Christ we are renewed in the innocence of little ones. Christian simplicity has its childhood, for as an infant does not know wrath, nor how to deceive, nor strikes back, so even the childhood of Christianity is not angered by blows, it does not resist thieves, it does not return the blows of those who assail. And then, as the Lord commands, we pray for our enemies, we give up our shirt and cloak to those who would carry them off, and we offer the other cheek to those who strike. Unless in this the childhood of Christ is better than that of nature, for the latter does not know how to sin, the former spurns it, the latter by weakness is harmless, the former by the strength of the virtues. And, therefore, more praise must be ascribed to that which does not wish to do evil than that which is incapable of doing it. Thus, as we have said, the years have their merits, for even an old age of conduct is found in children, and an innocence of infants in the old. And then in youths a certain old age may be noble, as the Prophet says: 'Venerable old age is not measured by length of time, nor the number of years, but by white hair is understanding for men.' 2 For the Apostles were all adults, and to those old by birth the Lord says: 'Unless you turn and become as this child, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.' 3 He thus recalls them to the fount of their origin, and He compels them to return to childhood, that they who age in the fragile body be renewed in the innocence of conduct, as the Saviour says: 'Unless a man is born of water and the Holy Spirit, he shall not enter the kingdom of God.' 4 And therefore it is said to the Apostles: 'Unless you turn and become as this child.' And He does not say 'like these children', but 'like this child'. He chooses one. He proposes one. Let us consider, then, who this might be who is proposed to the disciples that they should imitate. I do not think him to be from the common people, nor from the wider public, nor from other multitudes, especially since he through the Apostles was given as an example of holiness to the whole world. No, I say, he is not from the public, but from heaven. For He is that child from heaven of whom Isaiah says: 'A boy is born for us, a son is given to us' 5 This plainly is the boy, who is innocent, who when cursed, does not return the curse, when struck, does not return the blow, but rather in his suffering prays for enemies, saying: 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.' 6 Thus the simplicity which nature gives to infants, the Lord heaped up with the kindness of mercy. He, then, is the child, the little one who is proposed for imitation and for following, for He says: 'Take up your cross and follow me.' 7 Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 58, On The Paschal Solemnity 4 1 1 Cor 12.27 2 Wisd 4.8-9 3 Mt 18.3 4 Jn 3.3 5 Isaiah 9.6 6 Lk 23.34 7 Mt 16.24

Roles And The Resurrection

Motus vero terrae tempore matutino, diei dominici resurrectionis est virtus: cum contuso mortis aculeo, et illuminatus illius tenebris, resurgente Virtutum coelestium Domino, infernorum trepidatio commovetur. Angelus autem Domini de coelo descendens, et lapidem revolvens, et sepulcro adsidens, misericordiae Dei Patris insigne est, resurgenti filio ab inferis Virtutum coelestium minsteria mittentis. Atque ideo prior ipse resurrectionis est index, ut quodam famulatu paternae voluntatis resurrectio nuntiaretur. Sed confestim Dominus mulierculis per angelum adhortatis occurrit, et consalutat: ut nuntiaturae exspectantibus discipulis resurrectionem, non angeli potis quam Christi ore loquerentur. Quod vero primum mulierculae Dominum vident, salutantur, genibus advolvuntur, nuntiare apostolis jubentur; ordo in contrarium causae principalis est redditus: ut quia a sexu isto coepta mors esset, ipsi primum resurrectionis gloria et visus et fructus et nuntius redderetur. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap XXXIII Source: Migne PL 9.1076a-c

The earth being shaken in the morning, 1 is the power of the resurrection of the Lord's day. With the blunting of the sting of death and the illumination of its darkness by the rising of the Lord of heavenly power, a trembling shakes hell. For the angel of the Lord descending from heaven and rolling back the stone and sitting beside the tomb, is a sign of the mercy of God, who for the rising of the Son from hell sends the ministry of the powers of heaven. And therefore before Him he is a herald of the resurrection, that the resurrection be announced by a servant of the Father's will. But swiftly the Lord comes to the women who had been exhorted by the angel, and greets them, that they be heralds of hope of the resurrection to the disciples, speaking not with the mouth of an angel but with the mouth of Christ. That the women first see the Lord, and are greeted, and grasp His knees, and are commanded to be heralds to the Apostles, is the giving of the reversal of the order since the beginning. Because death first began by their sex, so that sex was first given the glory and power and fruit and declaration of the resurrection. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 33 1 Mt 28.2

Grief And Joy

Haec dies, fratres charissimi, quam fecit Dominus, ait Propheta sanctissimus: exsultemus et laetemur in ea. Nunquid, fratres, non et hesternam diem similiter Dominus fecit? Plane, sed illam jejunio, istam laetitiae consecravit; illa discipulis luctum, haec maximum intulit gaudium. Quid ergo, fratres, agendum? Nimirum, ut ratio docet, si heri luximus cum apostolis, gaudeamus hodie cum illis, et omnibus sanctis. Neque vereamur, ne nobis dicatur: Vae vobis qui ridetis nunc, quia lugebitis ac flebitis, cum propter praeteritam abstinentiam atque tristitam, ejusdem refoveamur consolatione dicentis, ut apostolis vero ante passionem, ita nobis ante resurrectionis Dominicae diem: Et vos igitur nunc quidem tristitiam habetis: iterum autem videbo vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum, et gaudium vestrum nemo tollet a vobis. Hoc dictum est apostolis, hoc dicitur et nobis: lucerunt apostoli pro morte, quanquam illis nimium necessaria, Christi, de cujus resurrectione gaudio inaestimabili, et immensa sunt gratulatione laetati; imitati sumus hesterno luctum illorum, imitemur hodie gaudium. Sed si eos volumus imitari, ab eisdem normam sumamus, moneo, gaudii. Dic igitur, sancte Apostole, post omnes quidem vocate, sed usque ad tertium coelum modo quem ipse melius nostri divinitus rapte; dic, inquam satisfac interrogantibus, unde debeamus gaudere. Pascha, inquit, pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus. Non ob aliud? Immolationem nam nos ipsam intellexeramus eamdem, quam Apostoli luxerant mortem, quorum et hesterno sumus imitati moerorem. Rogamus igitur, prosequere quid debeamus hodie vel qualiter agere. Subjungit atque ait: Itaque epulemur, id est, carnem Domini manducemus, et sanguinem ipsius bibamus: Non in fermento tamen veteri, neque in fermento malitiae et nequitiae; sed in azymis sinceritatis et vertitatis. Et veritatis, inquam. Quare hoc? Quia et alibi idem dicit Apostolus: Consepulti sumus Christo per baptismum in mortem: ut quomodo surrexit Christus a mortuis per gloriam Patris, ita et nos in novitate vitae ambulemus. Si enim complantati sumus similitudini mortis ejus, simul et resurrectionis erimus. Hoc igitur sensus, fratres charissimi, servamus operando quod credimus, in Christo renati, in Christo passi, in Christo mortui, in Christo sumus a mortuis suscitati, ac per hoc maxima nobis est ratio gaudi. Hanc ergo diem non sibi solum, sed et nobis quia fecit Dominus, fratres, exsultemus et laetemur in ea. Ratherius Veronensis Sermo IV, De Pascha Source:Migne PL 136.719c-720c

'This day,' dear brothers, 'which the Lord made,' says the most holy Prophet, 'let us exult and let us rejoice in it.' 1 But did not, brothers, the Lord make yesterday as well? Certainly, but that was consecrated for fasting, this day is for joy; that day was for sorrow with the disciples, this day brings in great joy. What, then, brothers, should we do? Without doubt reason teaches that if yesterday we sorrowed with the Apostles, today we rejoice with them, and with all the saints. Let us not fear, let it not be said to us: 'Woe to you who smile now, because you shall lament and weep,' 2 when on account of prior abstinence and grief, His words of consolation shall blaze forth, just as they did to the Apostles before the passion, so to us before the day of the resurrection of the Lord: 'Even you now have a certain sorrow, but again I will see you, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.' 3 This which was said to the Apostles is also said to us. The Apostles grieved for the death of Christ, certainly necessary for them, and in His resurrection they rejoiced with immeasurable joy and immense thanks. Yesterday we imitated their grief, today let us imitate their joy. But if we wish to imitate them, I bid that we take from them our measure of our joy. So speak, holy Apostle, you who were called after the others, but who was swept up to the third heaven by our Divinity for our betterment; speak, I say, and satisfy those who ask: why should we rejoice? 'Christ our Paschal lamb has been sacrificed.' 4 For nothing else? That same sacrifice we have understood, which death grieved the Apostles, the sorrow of whom we imitated yesterday. Let us ask, therefore, what we should do today, or how we should do it. He says a little after: 'Thus let us feast, that is, let us eat the flesh of the Lord, and let us drink His blood. Not, however, with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of wickedness and malice, but with the leaven of sincerety and truth.' 5 Of truth, I say. Why? Because elsewhere the Apostle says: 'We have been buried with Christ in baptism to death, so that as Christ rose from the dead by the glory of the Father, thus even we shall walk in the new life. If indeed we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall be resurrected like Him.' 6 Let us guard this understanding, dearest brothers, in the doing of what we believe, in Christ reborn, in Christ suffering, in Christ dying, in Christ being raised from the dead, and in this the great reason for our joy. Thus this day which the Lord made, not only for Himself, but even for us, brothers, let us exult and rejoice in it. Ratherius Of Verona, from Sermon 4, On The Pasch 1 Ps 117.24 2 Lk 6.25 3 Jn 16.22 4 1 Cor 5.7 5 1 Cor 5.8 6 Rom 6.4-5

Pasch And Sacrament

Interea fit pascha : in occisione agni occiditur Christus, de quo in Evangelio dicitur : Ecce agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi. Vespere immolatur agnus, in vespera mundi passus est Domiinus. Prohibentur qui pascha faciunt ossa frangere; non franguntur in cruce ossa Domini, attestante evangelista, qui ait: Os ejus non comminuctis. Sanguine agni illiniuntur Israelitarum postes, ne vastator angelus adueat inferre perniciem. Signantur signo dominicae passionis in frontibus fideles populi ad tutelam salutis, ut hi soli ab interitu liberentur, qui cruore dominicae passionis corde et fronte signati sunt, qui etiam opere loquuntur: Signatum est super nos lumen vultis tui, Domine. Unde et appelatur ipsa solemnitas Phase, quod nos transitum possumus vocare, eo quod de perjoribus ad meliora pergentes, tenebrosam Aegyptum derelinquimus. Quod autem ait de agni illius est: Omnis alienigena non comedet ex eo, et in una domo comedetur, nec efferetis de carnibus ejus foras, hoc de Christi corporis sacramento, cujus agnus ille figuram obtinuit, proprie tenetur scriptum: cujus corpus et sanguis in una domo, id est, in una Ecclesia vesci praecipitur, nec efferri foras, in plebibus scilicet haereticorum, quae ab eadem Eccelsiae catholicae unitate foris vagantur. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Exodum, Caput XV Source: Migne PL 83.294d-295b

Meanwhile the Passover is performed 1: in the killing of the lamb is the killing of Christ, concerning which it says in the Gospel: 'Behold the lamb of God, behold he who takes away the sins of the world.' 2 The lamb is sacrificed in the evening, in the evening of the world the Lord suffered. They who perform the Passover are prohibited from breaking a bone; the bones of the Lord were not broken on the cross, as the Evangelist bears witness, who says: 'His bones were not broken.' 3 With the blood of the lamb the door posts of the Israelites are daubed, lest the devastating angel venture to bring ruin. The faithful are signed with the sign of the Lord's passion on their brows for the security of salvation, as only those who are signed with the blood of the Lord's passion in their hearts and on the brow are delivered from ruin, who even it being done, say: 'Sealed on us is the light of your face, O Lord.' 4 Whence this solemnity is named 'Phase' which is what we call 'a passing over', by which passing from the worst to best, we abandon the darkness of the Egyptians. And when it is said, 'No foreigner shall eat of it, and in one house it shall be eaten, and you shall not take the flesh outside,' 5 this concerns the sacrament of the body of Christ, of which the lamb is a figure, and that especially it be held that which is written: 'the body and blood of it be in one house,' that is, it is commanded to be eaten in one Church, not outside, that is, not among the people of the heretics who wander outside the unity of the Catholic Church . Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Exodus, Chap 15 1 Exod 12 2 Jn 1.29 3 Jn 19.32-33 4 Ps 4.7 5 Exod 12.43-46

Love And The End

'Sciens ergo Iesus quia venit hora eius ut transiret ex hoc mundo ad Patrem, cum dilexisset suos qui erant in mundo, in finem dilexit eos.' Utique ut et ipsi de hoc mundo ubi erant, ad suum caput, quod hinc transisset, eius dilectione transirent. Quid est enim, in finem, nisi, in Christum? Finis enim Legis Christus, ait Apostolus, ad iustitiam omni credenti. Finis perficiens, non interficiens: finis quo usque eamus, non ubi pereamus. Sic omnino intellegendum est: Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus. Ipse est finis noster, in illum est transitus noster. Nam video posse ista verba evangelica quodam humano modo etiam sic accipi, tamquam usque ad mortem Christus dilexerit suos, ut hoc videatur esse, in finem dilexit eos. Humana est haec sententia, non divina: neque enim nos hucusque ille dilexit, qui semper et sine fine nos diligit. Absit ut dilectionem morte finierit, qui non est morte finitus. Etiam post mortem, quinque fratres suos dilexit dives ille superbus atque impius, et usque ad mortem nos dilexisse putandus est Christus? Absit, carissimi. Nequaquam ille nos diligendo usque ad mortem veniret, si dilectionem nostram morte finiret. Nisi forte ita sit intellegendum, in finem dilexit eos: Quia tantum dilexit eos, ut moreretur propter eos. Hoc enim testatus est dicens: Maiorem hac caritatem nemo habet, quam ut animam suam ponat quis pro amicis suis. Ita sane non prohibemus intellegi, in finem dilexit, id est, usque ad mortem illum dilectio ipsa perduxit. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis,In Evangelium Ionannis, Tractatus LV Source: Migne PL 35.1785

'When Jesus knew that His hour had come when He should pass out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.' 1 And so that when they passed from the world in which they were to their head, they might pass by His love. For what is 'to the end,' unless to Christ? 'For the end of the law is Christ,' says the Apostle, 'for righteousness to all who believe.' 2 The end which perfects and does not destroy. The end to which we may go, not where we perish. So should we understand: 'Christ our Passover is sacrificed.' 3 He is our end, in Him we pass over. For I see that it is possible to receive the words of the Gospel in a human sense, so that it might seem that even to death Christ had loved them because he had loved them up to that end. This is a human understanding, not Divine, for He did not love until this point, who loves us without end. Let it not be that love ended with death, the love of Him who did not end in death. Even after death that rich and proud and impious man loved his five brothers, 4 and shall Christ be thought of loving us only up to death? Let it not be, most beloved. By no means did He did come to love us up to death, as if our love shall lend in death. Unless perhaps it should be understood: 'He loved them to death,' means that He loved them so much that He would die for them. For to this He did give witness, saying: 'Greater love has no man than to lay down his soul for his friends.' 5 We certainly do not prohibit this understanding, that He loved them to death, that is, it was that love which lead Him to death. Saint Augustine of Hippo, On the Gospel of John, Tractate 55 1 Jn 13.1 2 Rom 10.4 3 1 Cor 5.7 4 Lk 16.27-28 5 Jn 15.13