Spiritual Sacrifices

Et ipsi tamquam lapides vivi superaedificamini, domus spiritualis, sacerdotium sanctum, offerre spirituales hostias, acceptabiles Deo per Jesum Christum Spirituales autem hostias opera nostra, eleemosynas et preces dicit, ad distinctionem carnalium in lege victimarum. Quod autem in conclusione dicit, per Jesum Christum, ad cuncta quae praemiserat pertintet, quia per ipsius gratiam et superaedificamur in illo per architectos sapientes, hoc est ministros Novi Testamenti, et domus spirituales efficimur per Spiritum ejus, contra pluvias, ventos, fulmina tentationum muniti. Et sacaerdotio sancto participare, et boni aliqui acceptabile Deo gerere, non nisi per ipsum valemus. Sicut enim palmites non possunt ferre fructum a semetipsis, nisi permanserint in vite; sic vos nisi in me manseritis Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput II Source: Migne PL 93.49c-d

Be as living stones built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 He speaks of these spiritual sacrifices as our works, almsgiving and prayers, in distinction to the carnal sacrifices of the law. That he concludes with 'through Jesus Christ,' pertains to everything that he has mentioned, because through His grace we are built up and in Him through wise architects, that is, the servants of the New Testament, we made into spiritual houses through His Spirit, walled against the trials of rain and winds and floods. 2 And we cannot participate in the sacred priesthood and bring good things acceptable to God unless through Him. For as branches are not able to bear fruit from themselves unless they remain on the vine, so you unless you remain in me. 3 Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chapter 2 1 1 Pet 2.5 2 Mt 7.24-25 3 Jn 15.1-5

Sweetness And The Stone

Si tamen gustatis, quoniam dulcis est Dominus. Hoc, inquit, pacto dimissa atque emendata cordis vestri malitia et spurcitia, vitalem Christi alimoniam concupiscite, si divinae dulcedinis quanta sit multitudo sapitis. Nam qui nihil de superna suavitate animo gustat, non est mirum si hunc terrestribus illecebris sordidare non evitat. Bene autem Psalmista gustare admonet quam dulcis sit Dominus, quia sunt nonnulli qui de Deo sentiunt, non quod dulce interius sapiat, sed quod excussum exterius sonet. Qui etsi secreta quaedam intelligendo percipiunt, eorum dulcedinem experiri non possunt. Et si noverunt quomodo sunt, ignorant, ut dixi, quomodo sapiunt. Et quoniam in ipso psalmo de quo hunc versiculum assumpsit, praemissum est: Accedite ad illum et illuminamini, recte beatus Petrus subdidit, dicens: Ad quem accedentes lapidem vivum, etc. Et hoc de lapide testimonium sumit ex psalmo, ubi scriptum est: Lapidem quem reprobaverunt aedificantes, hic factus est in caput anguli. Quod ne quis Judaico sensu putaret de materiali lapide a propheta cantatum, qui in aedificatione terrenae cujuslibet domus contra hominum dispositionem divino judicio imponeretur, consulte addidit vivum: Ad quem accedentes, inquiens, lapidem vivum, ut de Christo dictum significet. Qui recte lapis appellatus est, qui in carne veniens, ad aedificationem sanctae Ecclesiae, quo hanc confirmaret, sese inserere dignatus est. Vivus autem qui dicere potuit: Ego sum via, veritas et vita. Qui ab hominibus reprobatus est, cum dicerent: Non habemus regem nisi Caesarem. A Deo autem electus, cum ait ipse: Ego autem constitutus sum rex ab eo, et caetera. Et honorificatus, quando post mortem crucis Deus illum exaltavit, et donavit illi nomen quod est super omne nomen, et caetera. Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput II Source: Migne PL 93.47c-48b

But if you taste that the Lord is sweet...1 In this way, he says, with a heart rid and cleansed of your evils and defilements, desire the life giving food of Christ, if you will taste the how sweet is the abundance of the Divine sweetness. For if someone tastes nothing of the supernal sweetness in his soul, it is not to be wondered if he cannot avoid being defiled by the snares of the world. And well does the Psalmist exhort that the Lord is sweet, 2 because there are some who think on God, but it tastes not the sweetness within, but only touches and sounds the exterior. They who even if they grasp at hidden things with some understanding, are not able to experience the sweetness of them. And if they do know something of them, they are ignorant, as I have said, of how they taste. And because in this Psalm from which the line is taken, it is preceded by: 'Come to him and be illuminated,' 3 rightly the blessed Peter adds: ...to which living stone coming... Concerning this stone, He takes up the testimony of the Psalm, where it is written: 'The stone which the builders rejected has been made the cornerstone.' 4 Which lest someone think in a Jewish sense that the prophet sings of material stone, so that it was imposed by Divine judgement against the wish of man during the terrestial construction of some house, wisely he adds 'living,'  saying,'To which living stone coming,' that signifies he spoke of Christ. He who rightly is called a stone, He who came in the flesh for the building of the holy Church, by which He strengthens it, Himself being worthy to be set there. The living one who is able to say: 'I am the way, the truth and the life.' 6 He who was reproved by men when they said: 'We have no king but Caesar.' 6 But is chosen by God when he says, 'I am estabnlished a king by Him,' and the rest. 7 And worthy of honour, when after death on the cross, God exalted Him, and gave to Him the name which is above all other names. 8 Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chapter 2 1 1 Pet 2.3 2 Ps 33.9 3 Ps 33.6 4 Ps 117.22 5 Jn 14.6 6 Jn 19.15 7 Psal 2.6 8 Philip 2.9

Trials And Rewards

Qui in virtute Dei custodimini per fidem, etc. Et Dominus ait in Evangelio: In domo Patris mei mansiones multae sunt. Et iterum: Non est meum dare vobis, sed quibus paratum est a Patre meo. Paratae ergo sunt sedes in regno Dei, paratae mansiones in domo Patris, parata salus in coelis, tantum faciat se dignum qui accipere desiderat. Sed quia nemo suo tantum conamine dignus fieri, suisque viribus ad aeternam potest venire salutem, recte praemittitur: Qui in virtute Dei custodimini per fidem. Neque enim quisquam suae libertatis potentia custodiri valet in bonis, sed illius per omnia quaerendum est auxilium, ut perficiamur, a quo initium bonae actionis accepimus. In quo exsultabitis, etc. Quod dicit In quo, significat in eo quod tempore novissimo salus parata revelabitur, ac dignis dabitur. De quo et Dominus ait: Iterum autem videbo vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum, et gaudium vestrum nemo tollet a vobis. Modicum nunc, si oportet, contristari. Oportet, inquit, contristari, quia non nisi per tristitiam saeculi labentis et afflictiones potest ad gaudia aeterna perveniri. Modicum autem dicit, quia ubi merces aeterna retribuetur, breve videbitur ac leve totum fuisse quod in saeculi tribulationibus grave videbatur et acerbum. Ut probatio fidei vestrae multo pretiosior sit auro, etc. Et Sapientiae liber passiones sanctorum auro quod per ignem examinatur comparat, dicens de Domino: Tanquam aurum in fornace probavit illos, et quasi holocausti hostiam accepit illos. Quia nimirum quos in camino tribulationis fideles probaverit, hos in gaudio retributionis quasi placabilem sibi hostiam assumet. Et bene patientia sanctorum auro assimilatur, quia sicut in metallis pretiosius auro aliquid non est, ita haec apud Deum omni est laude dignissima. Hinc etenim scriptum est: Pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum ejus. Sicut enim aurum in fornace clausum ignibus examinatur, prolatum vero foras cujus sit fulgoris apparebit, ita fidelium constantia inter infidelium quidem pressuras contemptibilis videtur ac stulta; sed ubi tempus retributionis, finito certamine tribulationum, adfuerit, tunc quantae fuerit gloriae quantum flammis passionum profecerit, eorum virtus ostenditur. Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput I Source: Migne PL 93.43b-44a

You who by the virtue of God are guarded through faith...1 And the Lord says in the Gospel: 'In the house of my Father there are many dwelling places.' 2 And again: 'It is not for me to give this to you, but they are for whom my Father has prepared it.' 3 Thus the seats are prepared in the kingdom of God, and rooms are prepared in the house of the Father, and salvation is prepared in heaven, only let him make himself worthy of it who desires to be received. But because no one is made worthy to come to eternal salvation by his own exertions and strength, rightly it is set down first: 'You who by the virtue of God are guarded through faith.' For no one is able to guard himself in good things by the power of his own will, but it is from Him whose help must be sought in everything, that we be perfected, from whom we receive the beginning of every good deed. In which you shall exult... By 'in which' he signifies that last time when the salvation that has been prepared shall be revealed and given to those who are worthy. Concerning which the Lord says: 'But again I shall see you, and your hearts shall rejoice, and no one shall take your joy from you.' 4 If now it is necessary to suffer a little... It is necessary to suffer, he says, because only through the sorrows and afflictions of a fallen word is it possible to come to eternal joy. And he says 'a little,' because when the eternal reward shall be given, brief and light shall seem all of that which amid the tribulations of the world seemed so burdensome and bitter. That the trial of your faith, much more precious than gold... The book of Wisdom compares the passions of the saints to the examination of gold by fire, saying of the Lord: 'As gold in the furnace He tired them, and as the sacrifice of a holocaust He received them.' 5 Because certainly those who are proved faithful in the way of tribulation are those who are taken up as a pleasing sacrifice in the joy of the reward. And rightly is the endurance of the saints likened to gold, because as among metals there is nothing more precious than gold, thus with God these are most worthy of all praise. Hence indeed it has been written: 'Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.' 6 For as gold set in the furnace is examined with fire, and when it is drawn out its splendour appears, so the constancy of the saints amid the impositions of the godless seem contemplible and foolish, but come the time of reward, with the end of the struggle of tribulations, then with as much glory as were produced by the flames of passion, so their virtue will be shown. Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chapter 1 1 1 Pet 1.5 2 Jn 14.2 3 Mk 10.40 4 Jn 16.22 5 Wisd 3.6 6 Ps 115.15

The Ark And Salvation

In quae pauci, id est, octo animae salvae factae sunt... Formam baptismi assimilatam dicit arcae et aquis diluvii. Et recte omnino, quia et ipsa fabricatio arcae de lignis laevigatis constructionem significat Ecclesiae, quae fit de collectione animarum fidelium per architectos verbi. Et quod pereunte orbe toto, pauci, id est, octo animae, salvae factae sunt per aquam, significat quod ad comparationem pereuntium gentilium, Judaeorum, haereticorum, et falsorum fidelium, multo brevior est numerus electorum. Unde de angusta porta et arcta via, quae ducit ad vitam, dicitur: Et pauci sunt qui inveniunt eam. Et iterum: Nolite timere, pusillus grex, quia complacuit Patri vestro dare vobis regnum. De quo pusillo grege et hic apte subjungitur: Non carnis depositio sordium, sed conscientiae bonae interrogatio in Deum , per resurrectionem Domini nostri lesu Christi. Ubi enim est conscientia bona, nisi ubi est et fides non ficta? Docet namque apostolus Paulus quia finis praecepti est charitas de corde puro, et conscientia bona, et fide non ficta. Quod ergo aqua diluvii non salvavit extra arcam positos, sed occidit, sine dubio praefigurabat omnem haereticum, licet habentem baptismatis sacramentum, non aliis, sed ipsis aquis ad inferna mergendum, quibus arca sublevatur ad coelum. Ipse quoque octonarius numerus animarum quae salvae factae sunt per aquam significat quia sancta Ecclesia in sacramentum dominicae resurrectionis baptismi lavacrum percepit, ut sicut ipse resurrexit a mortuis per gloriam Patris, ita et nos, expurgati a peccatis per aquam regenerationis, in novitate vitae ambulemus. Octava namque die, hoc est post septimam Sabbati, Dominus, a mortuis resurgens, et exemplum nobis futurae resurrectionis, et mysterium novae conversationis, qua in terris positi coelestem vitam ageremus, ostendit. Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput III Source: Migne PL 93.59d-60b

In which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved...1 He says that the form of baptism is likened to the ark and the waters of the flood. And quite rightly because the making of the ark from the arrangement of smoothed wood signifies the Church, which is made from the gathering of the souls of the faithful by the architects of the Word. And passing through the whole world, a few, that is, eight souls, are saved through water, which signifies that compared to the passing through of the pagans, Jews, heretics, and the falsely faithful, the number of the chosen are very few. Whence it is said of the narrow gate and difficult way which leads to life, 'And few there are who find it.' 2 And again, 'Do not fear, little flock, because it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.' 3 Concerning which flock it appropriately continues: Not as dirt removed from the flesh, but as an interrogation of good conscience in God, through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. For where is good conscience unless where there is faith and not falsehood? The Apostle Paul teaches that the end of the commandment is love from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and faith not falsehood. 4 Because, therefore, the waters of the flood did not save those outside the ark, but killed them, it without doubt prefigured every heretic, for it is possible to have the sacrament of baptism, but not the rest, and then those waters drag down to hell, which same waters lifted the ark to heaven. That eight is the number of the souls that were saved through the waters signifies that the holy Church understands the resurrection of the Lord in the cleansing sacrament of baptism, that as He rose from the dead in the glory of the Father, so even we, cleansed from sin through the waters of regeneration, shall walk in the new life. 5 For on the eighth day, which is after the seventh of the Sabbath, the Lord, rising from the dead, gives us an example of the future resurrection and the mystery of the new life, which heavenly life we should live placed on the earth. Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chapter 3 1 1 Pet 3.20 2 Mt 7.14 3 Lk 12.32 4 1 Tim 1.5 5 Rom 6.4

Good Deeds And Suffering

Melius est enim benefacientes, si velit voluntas Dei, pati, quam malefacientes. Haec sententia illorum stultitiam eleganter arguit, qui cum pro culpis arguuntur a fratribus, vel etiam poenis coercentur, patienter omnino tolerant; at cum absque culpa, vel verborum contumelias, vel damna rerum, vel adversa quaeque patiuntur a proximis, mox ad iracundiam prorumpunt, et qui hactenus videbantur innoxi, per impatientiam se et murmurationem noxios reddunt. Ut autem flagellorum distania in disparibus meritis longe dispar appareat, videmaus una eademque caecetatis molestia Tobiam, Saulum, Elymam fuisse percussos. Sed Tobiam ob hoc, ut virtus patientiae ejus latius in exemplum cunctis claresceret; Saulum ob hoc, ut de Saulo persecutore in Paulum mutaretur apostolum; Elymam vero, ut, dignas suae perfidiae poenas luens, ab eorum quoque qui credituri erant dementatione cessaret. Et mihi si detur optio, malim cum tanto Patre sive divinis seu humanis subjacere justis verberibus, quam ob injustitam verberum vi ad justitia studia trahi. Rursumque malim a culpis flagello retrahi, quam pro insanabili pondere peccatorum aeternae ultioni subjici. Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput III Source: Migne PL 93.57c-d

For it is better to do good and suffer, if God wills it, than to do evil.1 This sentence elegantly refutes the stupidity of those who patiently suffer when they are corrected by brothers, or even undergo punishment, but when they lack fault and suffer insolent speech, or the loss of things, or anything adverse from their neighbours, they are swift to burst out in anger, and who as far as this goes appear innocent, but by their impatience and muttering they make themselves guilty. That it might be clear that there is a difference in blows for differing merits, let us look at the one and same affliction of blindness that struck Tobit 2 and Saul 3 and Elymas. 4 Now Tobit because of this, by the virtue of his patience, shone most brightly as an example to all, and Saul because of this was changed from Saul the persecutor to Paul the Apostle. But Elymas paid the price worthy of his treachery, so that he would no longer madly obstruct those who would believe. And if the choice were given to me, I would greatly prefer to suffer righteous blows, whether from the Father or any of the Divine, or from men, so that because of my wickedness the violence of blows brought me to a zeal for righteousness. And again I would prefer to be driven out from errors by the whip, rather than by the weight of my sins to incur the eternal punishment that cures not at all. Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chapter 3 1 1 Pet 3.17 2 Tob 2.9-3.17 3 Acts 9.1-9 4 Acts 13.6-12

A Good Example

Sed si benefacientes, patienter sustinetis... Notandum attentius quam summe conditionem servorum glorificet, quos benefacientes et absque culpa, vapulantes a dominis crudelibus et improbis, imitatores esse dominicae passionis affirmat. Audis autem quia passus est pro nobis, et gaudes quia pro te mortuus est, attende quod sequitur: Relinquens vobis exemplum ut sequamini vestigia ejus. Exemplum tribulationum non deliciarum, contumeliarum, flagellorum, dolorum, opprobriorum, spinarum, crucis, vulnerum, mortis. In psalmo scriptum est: Propter verba labiorum turoum ego custodivi vias duras. Propter quae verba labiorum Dei nisi quibus promittit vitam aeternam? Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Cap II Source: Migne PL 93.54a-b

But if doing good, you patiently endure...1 It must be noted with all attention how he highly glorifies the the state of slaves, who doing good and lacking fault, are beaten by their cruel and immoral masters, affirming them to be imitators of the Lord's passion. And you who hear that He suffered for us, and rejoice that He died for us, look to what follows: Leaving to you an example, that you follow in His steps. 2 An example of tribulations not pleasures, of contumely, of whippings, of sorrow, of shame, of thorns, of the cross, of wounds, of death. In the Psalm it is written: 'Because of the words of your lips I have kept the hard ways.' 3 And because of what words of the Lord, unless the promise of eternal life? Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chap 2 1 1 Pet 2.20 2 1 Pet 2.21 3 Ps 16.4

Calling On Him As Father

Et si Patrem invocatis eum... Dicendo in oratione: Pater noster, qui es in coelis... Qui sine acceptione personarum judicat... Non ut pater carnalis qui filiis peccantibus indulgentius parcere quam famulis consuevit. Pater autem Deus tantae justitiae et pietatis est, ut et servos humiles atque obedientes, imo et hostes sibi manum dantes mutet in adoptionem filiorum, et rursum eos qui filiorum nomine videntur honorabiliores, pro culpa inobedientiae prorsus haereditatis perpetuae reddat exsortes. In timore incolatus vestri tempore conversamini... Ne videlicet per desidiam et negligentiam tanto Patre existatis indigni, et dum tempore praesentis incolatus securi sitis, ad promissam patriae beatitudinem pervenire non possitis. Sanctus Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput I Source: Migne PL 92.46a-b

And if you call on Him as Father... 1 Saying in prayer: Our Father, who are in heaven...' 2 He judges without regard to persons... Not as a carnal father who is accustomed to be more indulgent to erring sons than servants. For God the Father has such great righteousness and piety that even humble and obedient servants, and even enemies given into His hand, he may change into sons of adoption, and again those who seem to have the more honourable name of sons, for the fault of disobedience he will utterly strip of the eternal inheritance. Dwelling in fear spend your time. Lest by ildleness and negligence you live unworthy of such a Father, and while you dwell secure in the present time, you are not able to come to the promised blessedness of the fatherland. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the First Letter Of Peter, Chap 1 1 1 Pet 1.17 2 Mt 6.9

Suffering And Arms

Christo igitur passo in carne et vos eadem cogitatione armamini quia qui passus est in carne desiit a peccatis... Quisquis sanctorum corpus suum ad martyrium persecutorum violentiae subdidit, nulli dubium quin usque ad vitae terminum, quantum humanae naturae possibile est, sese a peccatis abstinuerit. Quid enim de peccati perpetratione, quid de carnalibus desideriis cogitare, quid nisi voluntatem Dei potuit animo versare, qui vel ligno affixus, vel lapidum ictibus circumdatus, vel bestiarum morsibus subactus, vel ignium flammis superpostitus, vel scorpionum flagris perfossus, vel alio quolibet poenarum genere affectus, hoc tantummodo desiderare cogebatur, ut finito certamine coronam vitae perciperet? Talium ergo mentem nos beatus Petrus cupit semper imitari, cum, proposito dominiciae passionis exemplo, nos eadem cogitatione contra nequitiam pravorum contraque vitiorum oblectamenta praecipit armati?, volens intelligi quod etiam nos in pace Ecclesiae quiescentes, si habitum patientis induimus, facile, adjuvante Domino, lapsus vitamus peccatorum omnium cunctaque desideria divinae voluntatis subjegamus imperiis. Denique et Psalmita Dominum precatur dicens: Infige timore tuo carnes meas, a judiciis enim tuius timui. Et Apostolus: Qui ergo Christi sunt carnem suam crucifixerunt cum vitiis et concupiscentiis. Qui ergo timore judiciorum coelestium carnales in mente concupiscentias exstinguit, jam talis crucifixo ac patienti pro Christo similis, quasi mortuus existens peccatis, Dei tantum servitio vivit. Sanctus Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 92.61b-c

Since then Christ suffered in the flesh even you with the same thought arm yourself, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin... 1 Whoever of the holy gives his own body over to martyrdom under the violence of persecutors, without doubt to the end of life, as much as it is possible for human nature, he withdraws himself from sin. For to what commission of sin, or thought of carnal desire, to what unless to the will of God, would he have been able to turn his soul, who was either nailed to the cross, of struck all around with stones, or overwhelmed with the bites of beasts, of placed in the flames of fires, or gouged by the barbs of the whip, or suffering any other type of punishment, when this only would have driven his desire, that by temporal punishment he receive the crown of life? Thus does Peter desire us to imitate such minds, when, with the example of the Lord's passion, he commands us to be armed with the same thought against the wickedness of the depraved and the blandishments of vices, wishing it to be understood that even when we rest in peace in the Church, if we are endowed with the habit of patience, easily, with the Lord's aid, we shall avoid the falls into every sin and we shall subjugate every desire to the commands of the Divine will. Finally even the Psalmist prays to the Lord, saying: 'Pierce my flesh with fear of you, because I have feared your judgement.' 2 And the Apostle: 'Therefore they who are Christ's have crucified their flesh with its vices and desires.' 3 Thus he who extinguishes carnal desires in his mind by the fear of heaven's judgements already has a similar crucifixion and suffering with Christ, so that as one living dead to sin, he lives only for the service of God. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the First Letter Of Peter, Chap 4 1 1 Pet 4.1 2 Ps 118.120 3 Galat 5.24

Stones And Rejection

Non credentibus autem, lapis quam reprobaverunt aedificantes. Ut sicut illum reprobaverunt cum aedificarent actus suos, nolentes eum ponere in fundamento cordis sui, ita et ipsi reprobentur ab eo in adventu ejus, nolente illo tunc eos qui se reprobaverent in aedificationem accipere domus suae, quae est in coelis. Et haec distinctio honoris credentium, non credentium autem reprobatio hucucque pertingit. Hinc item de credentibus infert: Hic factus est in caput anguli. Quia videlicet sicut lapis angularis duos parietes conjungit, ita Dominus Judaeorum plebem et gentium in una sibi fidei societate copulavit. Et lapis offensionis et petra scandali. Hinc et Pauus: Nos, inquit, praedicamus Christum crucifixum, Judaeis quidem scandalum, gentibus autem stultitiam. His qui offendunt verbo, etc. Offendunt verbo eo ipso quod verbum Dei audire eos contingit. Offendunt animo, dum nolunt credere quod audiunt. Quorum stultitiam exaggerando subjecit: Nec credunt in quod et positi sunt. Quia in hoc positi, id est, in hoc per naturam facti sunt homines, ut credant Deo, et ejus voluntati obtemperent. Salomone attestante cum ait: Deum time, et mandata ejus serva, hoc est omnis homo. Id est, in hoc naturaliter factus est omnis homo, ut Deum timeat, ejusque mandatis obsecundet. Quidem Codices habent: In quo et positi sunt, quod intelliguntur juxta hoc quod Paulus de Deo loquens ait: In ipso enim vivimus, et movemur, et sumus. Sanctus Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput II Source: Migne PL 92.50b-c

But to non-believers the stone which the builders rejected... 1 That as they rejected Him when they built up with their own deeds, unwilling to place him as the foundation of their heart, so even He shall reject them in His coming, when He shall not receive those who rejected Him for the building of His house, which is in heaven. And this is the distinction of the honour of believers, that nothing of this rejection touches them. Whence concerning those who believe he says: He became the cornerstone... Which is certainly the stone which joins two walls, thus the Lord binds the people of the Jews and the Gentiles in one faith to Himself. A stone of stumbling and a stone of scandal... Whence Paul: 'We preach Christ crucified, a scandal to the Jews, foolishness to the Gentiles. 2 To those who stumble at the word... They stumble at the word because it falls on them to hear the word of God. And they stumble in soul because they are unwilling to believe what they hear. To emphasise their foolishness he then adds: 'They do not believe in that on which they are placed.' Because on this they are placed, that is, in this by nature they are made men, that they believe in God, and obey his will. Solomon gives witness when he says: 'Revere God and observe His commandments, for this is the whole of man.' 3 That is, by this a man is naturally a man, that he reveres God, and follows His commandments. Certain copies read: 'in whom they are placed,' which is understood according to Paul when he says concerning God: 'In Him we live and move and have our being.' 4 Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the First Letter Of Peter, Chap 2 1 1 Pet 2.7 2 1 Cor 1.23 3 Eccle 12.13 4 Acts 17.28

Lost And Found

Eratis sicut overs errantes... Quomodo et oves dicit et errantes, cum hi qui in errore vitam ducunt, haedorum potius quam ovium nomine censantur, nisi quia novit Dominus qui sunt ejus, qui et multos diu male converantes susinet, quos tamen in ovium suarum numero salvandos esse praevidet? Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput II Source: Migne PL 93.54c

You were wandering like lost sheep... 1 Why does he say that they are both sheep and lost, when they who lived in error, should be reckoned by the name of goats rather than sheep, 2 unless because the Lord knows those who are his, 3 He who even endures many while they live wickedly, those who yet He foresees shall be saved as one of the number of his sheep? Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chap 2 1 1 Pet 2.25 2 Mt 25.33 3 2 Tim 2.19, Numb 16.5

Life And Mercy

Qui secundum magnam misericordiam suam regeneravit, etc. Jure benedicitur a nobis Deus, qui, cum nostris meritis generati fuissemus ad mortem, sua nos misericordia regeneravit ad vitam. Et hoc per resurrectionem Filii sui, cum in tantum nostram dilexerit vitam, ut illum pro hoc mori disponeret, atque eadem morte per resurrectionem destructa, spem nobis exemplumque resurgendi monstraret. Mortuus namque est, ne nos mori timeremus. Resurrexit ex mortuis, ut et nos per eum resurrecturos esse speraremus. Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput I Source: Migne PL 93.42d

He who by His great mercy gave us new birth... 1 Rightly is God blessed by us, who when with our merits we were born for death, were reborn for life by His mercy. And this through the resurrection of His own Son, when in our own life He held so dear, He set Him to die for this, and by that same resurrection death destroyed, revealing to us hope and example for rising. For He died that we might not fear to die. He rose from the dead, that even we through Him might hope to be resurrected. Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chap 1 1 1 Pet 1.3

Real Kissing

Salutate invicem in osculo sancto... Osculo sancto, osculo vero, osculo pacifico, osculo columbino, non subdolo, non polluto, quali usus est Joab ad occidendum Amasam, quali Judas ad tradendum Salvatorem, quali utuntur hi qui loquuntur pacem cum proximo suo, mala autem sunt in cordibus eorum. Illi ergo osculo sancto salutant invicem, qui non dliigunt verbo neque lingua, sed opere et veritate. Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput V Source: Migne PL 93.68a-b

Greet one another with a sacred kiss... 1 With a holy kiss, a true kiss, a kiss of peace, a dovelike kiss, not deceitful, not defiled, as Joab gave for the murder of Amasa, 2 as Judas gave for the betrayal of the Saviour, as they give who speak peace in their hearts to their neighbour and have evil in their hearts. 3 They, then, who greet one another with a sacred kiss, do not love merely in word and speech, but in deed and truth. Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chapter 5 1 1 Pet 5.14 2 2 Kings 20.9-10 3 Ps 27.3

Speaking The Word Of God

Si quis loquitur quasi sermones Dei...   Timens videlicet, ne praeter voluntatem Dei, vel praeter quod in Scripturis sanctis evidenter praecipitur, vel dicat aliquid vel imperet, et inveniatur tanquam falsus testis Dei, aut sacrilegus, vel introducens aliquid alienum a doctrina Domini, vel certe subrelinquens et praeteriens aliquid eorum quae Deo placita sunt, cum ipse manifestissime praedictoribus veritatis de his quos ad vitam imbuerint praecipiat, dicens: Docentes eos servare omnia quaecunque mandavi vobis. Et ea enim quae ipse mandavit, nos alia, et haec non ex parte, sed omnia suis auditoribus observanda tradere. Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 93.63a-b

If someone should speak as if the words of God... 1 Fearing certainly, lest someone either speaks or commands outside the will of God, or outside what is evidently commanded in Sacred Scripture, and it is revealed as a false testimony of God, either sacrilegious or introducing some strange thing into the teaching of the Lord, or obscuring or omitting something of it which is pleasing to God, when He, the Truth, has most manifestly taught preachers that they should instill these things for the sake of life, saying, 'Teaching them to guard all these things which I have commanded you.' 2 And the things which He has commanded, we must be sure to give to others who hear, all of it and not just a part. Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chap 4 1 1 Pet 4.11 2 Mt 28.20

Faith And Reason

Parati semper ad satisfactionem omni poscenti vos rationem... Duobus modis de spe et fide nostra rationem poscentibus reddere debemus, ut et justas spei ac fidei nostrae causas omnibus intimemus sive fideliter sive infideliter quaerentibus, et ipsam fidei ac spei nostrae professionem illibatam semper teneamus, etiam inter pressuras adversantium, ostendentes per patientiam quam rationabiliter eam servandam didicerimus, pro cujus amore nec adversa pati nec mortem subire formidemus. Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput III Source: Migne PL 93.57a-b

Always be prepared to give satisfactory reason to all who question you... 1 In two ways we should give reason for our faith and hope to those who question us, that we make known the just causes of our hope and faith, whether the questioners be of the faithful or the faithless, and the same profession of our faith and hope we should hold to unshakably even amid adverse pressures, demonstrating by endurance how reasonably we have learned to guard it, for the love of it fearing neither to suffer, nor to undergo death. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chap 3 1 1 Pet 3.15

Grace And Peace

Gratia et pax multiplicetur. Ut quod bene coepistis, perfecte compleatis. Bene primo gratiam, postea nominat pacem, quia sine gratia Christi ad pacem reconciliationis pervenire non possumus, imo nihil pacificum, nisi per gratiam ejus habere valemus. Sancta Beda,  In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput Primum Source: Migne PL 93 42

May grace and peace abound. 1 That what you begin well, perfectly you complete. And well is grace put first and peace named after, because without the grace of Christ we are not able to come to the peace of reconciliation; nothing makes peace unless through His grace we are able to acquire it. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chap 1 1 1 Pet 1. 2