A Healthy Mind

...et invenerunt hominem sedentem, a quo daemonia exierant, vestitum ac sana mente. In continentia sapientiae. Mens enim est quae rerum rationes et veritates mensurat. Sana autem tunc est, quando id perfecte facere potest. Continentia autem, ut dicit Aristotcles, virtus est quae facit homincm permanere in mensura mentis, ita quod non abducitur violentia passionis et tentationis. Jerem. xvii, Sana me, Domine, et sanabor: salvum me fac, et salvus ero: quoniam laus mea tu es. Psal. cii: Qui sanat omnes infirmitates tuas. Ilaec sanitas mentis perficitur per continentiam passiones mensura sanae mentis refraenantem. Eccli. xv: Qui continens est justitiae, apprehendet illam, et obviabit illi quasi mater honorificala. Cibabit illum pane vitae et intellectus. Firmabilur in illo, et non flecletur: et continebit illum, et non confundetur. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput VIII Source: Here p572

'...and they found the man from whom the demons had been expelled, sitting and clothed and with a healthy mind. 1 A mind healthy in the continence of wisdom. For the mind is that which reckons the reason and the truth of things. A mind is healthy, then, when it is able to do that without fault. Continence, as Aristotle says, is a power which allows a man maintain the reckoning of his mind, 2 and thus it is not dragged off by violent passions and temptations. In the seventeenth chapter of Jeremiah, 'Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed. Save me and I shall be saved, because you are my praise.' In the fifty second Psalm, 'He who heals all your infirmities.' 3 The health of the mind is fashioned by continence restraining the passions from the reckoning of a healthy mind. In the fifteenth chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 'He who is continent by righteousness, he apprehends wisdom, and she comes to meet him as an honourable mother, who shall feed him with the bread of life and understanding. She shall be strengthened in him and not be bent, she will make him continent and he will not be confounded.' 4 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 8 1 Lk 8.35 2 Aristot. Nic. Eth. 1145b 3 Jerem 17.14, Ps 52.3 4 Sirach 15.1-4

The Demoniac Healed

Et egressi sunt videre quid esset factum. Et veniunt ad Jesum, et vident illum qui a daemonio vexabatur sedentem, vestitum et sanae mentis, et timuerunt... In Evangelio Lucae scriptum est, Sedentem ad pedes ejus. Significat autem multitudinem vetusta sua vita delectatam, honorare quidem, sed nolle pati Christianam legem, dum dicunt quod eam implere non possunt, admirantes tamen fidelem populum a pristina perdita conversatione sanatum. Sedere namque ad pedes Domini, est eum a quo daemonia exierant, eos qui a peccatis correcti fuerint, fixa mentis intentione vestigia sui Salvatoris quae sequantur intueri. Vestitum resumere, est virtutum studia quae vesani perdiderant, jam sana mente recipere. Cui figurae apte congruit illa Domini parabola, in qua rediens ad patrem filius luxuriosus et prodigus, mox stola prima cum annulo induitur, manifeste insinuans quod quisquis vero corde de amissis poenituerit, potest donante Christi gratia, prima justitiae opera de quibus ceciderat, cum annulo inviolatae fidei recuperare. Sanctus Beda, In Marci Evangelium Expositio, Liber II, Caput V Source: Migne PL 92.146e-146d

And they went out to see what had happened, and they came on Jesus and saw the man who had been troubled by a demon seated and clothed and of sane mind, and they were afraid... 1 In the Gospel of Luke it is written that the man was sitting at His feet. 2 This signifies the multitude who delight in the old life, that may honour the Christian law but does not wish to endure it, for they say they are not able to fulfil it, though they may wonder at the faithful people who have been made healthy from their old ruin. Then to sit at the feet of the Lord is for him from whom demons have gone out, those who have been corrected from sins, who with a fixed intention of mind look to follow in the way of the Saviour. They are clothed when with a healthy mind they receive an eagerness for virtue which their madness ruined. To which figure that parable of the Lord aptly refers, in which the prodigal and self indulgent son returns to the father, who immediately bestows on him a robe and ring, 3 openly intimating that whoever repents of what has been lost with an honest heart is able, with the gift of the grace of Christ, to regain those former works of righteousness from which he had fallen, with the ring of inviolate faith. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 2 1 Mk 5.14-15 2 Lk 8.35 3 Lk 15.22

Faith And The End

Κριτής τις ἦν τὸν Θεὸν μὴ φοβούμενος... Ἐπισυνάπτει γοῦν καὶ παραβολὴν τὴν περὶ τοῦ κριτοῦ τῆς ἀδικίας, πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι καὶ μὴ ἐκκακεῖν. Τὸ δὲ εἰπεῖν· Ἆρα ἐλθὼν ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εὑρήσει τὴν πίστιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς; ἔκλειψιν δηλοῖ τῆς πίστεως, ὡς μηδένα πιστὸν εὑρεθήσεσθαι, ἢ εἴ που ἄρα σπάνιόν τινα κατὰ τὸν τῆς δευτέρας αὐτοῦ θεοφανείας χρόνον. Ὅπερ μέγα τεκμήριον τυγχάνει τοῦ καιροῦ τῆς ἀποστασίας, ἐν ᾧ σπάνιος ἔσται ὁ εὑρεθησόμενος πιστός· τάχα δὲ οὐδὲ εἷς ἔσται, διὰ τὸ τοὺς μὲν παραληφθήσεσθαι, τοὺς δὲ καταλειφθήσεσθαι τοῖς ἀετοῖς παραδοθησομένους· οὕτω τε ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἐκλειπούσης τῆς πίστεως, αὐτὸς λοιπὸν ἐπιστήσεται τὴν ἐκδίκησιν ποιησόμενος τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ τῶν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνῃρημένων. Ἐν τάχει δὲ ποιήσει τὴν ἐκδίκησιν, διὰ τὸ βοᾷν πρὸς αὐτὸν νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας· βοᾷν δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐδίδαξε διὰ τῆς παραβολῆς τοῦ κριτοῦ τῆς ἀδικίας. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν Ἐπαγγελιον, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 24.588c-d

There was a certain judge who did not fear God...1 He adds the parable of the wicked judge, that one should always pray and never cease on account of weariness. And when He says, 'When the Son of Man comes shall he find faith on earth?' 2 He reveals the future lack of faith, so that there is no one who is faithful, or that such a man will be very rare around the time of His second coming. Thus this shall be a great sign of the time of apostacy, when it is rare to find one who has faith. However perhaps there will not be one, because some shall have been taken up and some shall have been left behind, and indeed handed over to the eagles. 3 Therefore when there is no more faith among men, He shall come and His holy ones who have been separated from the ruin of the wicked will be vindicated. In a moment He shall be avenged, for which the former cry out to him day and the night. And that we should cry out to Him He teaches in the parable of the wicked judge. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary On the Gospel of Saint Luke, Fragment 1 Lk 18.2 2 Lk 18.8 3 Lk 17.34-37

After Six Days

Καὶ μεθ᾽ ἡμέρας ἓξ, παραλαμβάνει ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὸν Πέτρον καὶ τὸν Ἰάκωβον καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην, καὶ·ἀναφερει αὐτοὺς εἰς ὅρος ὑψηλὸν κατ᾿ ἰδίαν μόνους, καὶ μετεμορφώθη ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν, καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια͵ αὐτοῦ ἐγένοντο στίλβοντα, λευκά λίαν ὡς χιὼν, οἷα κναφεὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς οὐ δύναται λευκᾶναι. Λουκᾶς δὲ, μετὰ ὀκτὼ ἡμέρας, φησὶν, οὐκ ἐναντιούμενο; τούτῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα συνάδων. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ, καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν ἡμέραν καθ᾽ ἣν ἐφθέγξατο, κἀκείνην καθ' ἣν ἀνήγαγεν, εἶπεν· ὁ δὲ Μάρκος τὰς μεταξὺ τούτων μόνας. Λαβὼν τοίνυν τοὺς κορυφαίους, ἀναφέρει αὐτοὺς εἰς ὅρος ὑψηλόν· Πέτρον μὲν, ὡς ὁμολογήσαντα καὶ ὡς ἀγαπῶντα· Ἰωάννην δὲ, ὡς ἀγαπώμενον· καὶ Ἰάκωβον, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸν μεγαλοφωνότατον καὶ θεολογικώτατον. Οὕτω γὰρ ἦν βαρὺς τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, ὥστε καὶ Ἡρώδης ἀρέσαι βουλόμενος τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτόν. Εἰς ὄρος δὲ ὑψηλὸν ἀναφέρει, ἵνα μᾶλλον ἐνδοξότερον εἴη τὸ θαῦμα. Καὶ κατ' ἰδίαν· μυστήριον γὰρ ἔμελλεν ὑποδείξαι. Τὴν μεταμόρφωσιν δὲ νόει, οὐχὶ τοῦ χαρακτῆρος ἐξαλλαγὴν, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι μένοντος τοῦ χαρακτῆρος οἷος καὶ πρώην ἦν, φωτὸς προσθήκη ἀρρήτου ἐπεγένετο. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Μάρκον, Κεφαλὴ Θ' Source: Migne PG 123.580a-b

And after six days Jesus took Peter and James and John and led them to a high mountain, and He was transformed before them, and His vestments were made a splendid white, more than any fuller on earth could make them. 1 Luke says it was after eight days, but he is not disagreeing with Mark, he is in harmony with him, for Luke speaks of that day when He spoke and the day when He went up, but Mark speaks only of the days in between. Therefore He led certain disciples to a high mountain, Peter because of his confession and his love, John because he was loved, and James because he was the most vocal theologian, for he was to be a burden to the Jews so that Herod would kill him on account of a wish to please them. 2 He led them to a high mountain, then, where there was to be a glorious miracle, and it was done above because it was a mystery to be demonstrated above. Do not think of a change of appearance and clothes with the Transfiguration but an emanation of the character that was there already, an increase of the ineffable light already present. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Mark, Chapter 9 1 Mk 9.1-2 2 Acts 12.1-3

Sending Out

Et misit illos praedicare regnum Dei, et sanare infirmos. Tangit suae legationis auctoritatem, et finem. Auctoritatem in hoc quod dicit: Et misit illos. Misit enim illos ut in eis sua auctoritas honoraretur, ut sua voluntas per eos omnibus exponeretur, ut fides per eos praedicaretur, et ut omnes non credentes per eos de infidelitate convincerentur. De primo quidem horum dicitur, Matth. x: Qui recipit vos, me recipit. Et, Luc. x: Qui vos spernit, me spernit. Et hoc etiam intelligendum est de apostolicis legatis. Sed non sunt apostolici legati, qui in auctoritate et vita et verbo non veniunt Apostolorum, qui in veritate non habent gratiam curandi, sed potius daemone pessimo impletur, et infirmatur omne cui manus imponunt. De secundo dicitur, II ad Corinth. v: Pro Christo legatione fungimur, tamquam Deo exhortante per nos. Obsecramus pro Christo, reconciliamini Deo. De tertio, Marc. xvi, 15 : Euntes in mundum universum, prgedicate Evangelium omni creaturse, Psal. xviii: Caeli enarrant gloriam Dei. Et sequitur: In omnem terram exivit sonus eorum. Ad Roman. x: Fides ex auditu, auditus autem per verbum Christi. Et supra: Quomodo praedicabunt nisi mittantur? De quarto, Psal. cxlix: Exaltationes Dei in gutture eorum, et gladii ancipites in manibus eorum. Exaltationes in faucibus, sunt gratiarum actiones de credentibus. Gladii autem in manibus, sunt testimoniorum condemnationes contra non credentes. Marc. xvi: Qui vero non crediderit, condemnabitur . Finem autem legationis subjungit, dicens: Praedicare regnum Dei. Tangit autem duos fines: primum quidem veritatis, alterum autem virtutis tam in spiritu quam in corpore. Finis veritatis est regni Dei praedicatio. Finis virtutis est infirmorum sanatio. In primo horum notantur duo: veritatis scilicet propositio, et veritatis ratio. Propositio importatur cum dicit: Praedicare. Praedicatur enim, ut dicit Chrysostomus, cujus ratio probans ipsum non habetur: sed cum sit super intellectum, et sit de indemonstrabilibus, oportet quod supermundanis probetur miraculis. Est enim praedicare quoddam prophetare, vel prophetias exponere. Prophetiae autem omnes innituntur revelationi. Revelatio autem non habet causam per quam possit doceri, sive demonstrari. II ad Timoth. iv: Praedica verbum, insta opportune, imporlune. Marc. xvi: Praedicate Evangelium omni creaturse. Isa. lxi: Misit me ut prsedicarem captivis indulgentiam, et clausis apertionem. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput IX Source: Here p609

And He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 1 This touches on the authority of those sent and the end. Authority in this which is said, 'And He sent them out.' For He sends them out so that in them shall be the honour of His authority, that His will through them should be set forth before everyone, that the faith through them be preached and that all who do not believe shall be convicted of faithlessness. Concerning the first of these it is said in the tenth chapter of Mathew, 'He who receives you, receives me.' And in the tenth chapter of Luke, 'He who rejects you, rejects me.' 2 And this must be understood of the Apostles who were sent out. For they are not Apostles sent out who in authority and life and word do not come as Apostles, who in truth do not have the grace of curing but rather are possessed by the worst of demons and they make everyone they lay their hands on sick. Concerning the second, it is said in the fifth chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians, 'We are the ambassadors of Christ, with God exhorting you through us. We entreat you in Christ, be reconciled to God. ' 3 Concerning the third, in the sixteenth chapter of Mark, 'Going out into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature.' In the eighteenth Psalm 'The heavens announce the glory of God,' and it follows, 'In every land the cry goes forth.' In the tenth chapter of Romans, 'Faith is by hearing and hearing is through Christ's word.' And a little before, 'And how shall they preach unless they are sent out?' 4 Concerning the fourth, in the one hundred and forty ninth Psalm, 'In their throats the exaltations of God and two edged swords in their hands.' The exaltations in their throats are the thanksgiving of the faithful. The swords in their hands are the testaments of condemnations against those who do not believe. In the sixteenth chapter of Mark, 'But he who shall not believe, he shall be condemned.' 5 And the end of their sending out follows: 'To preach the kingdom of God.' And this touches on two ends, the first of truth, and the other of virtue that it is as much in the spirit as in the body. The end of truth is the preaching of the kingdom of God, the end of virtue is the healing of the sick. In the first of these two things should be noted the proposition of truth and the reason of truth. The proposition is set forth when He says, 'Preach.' For it is preached, says Chrysostom, when reason approves what it did not have. But when it is beyond understanding and indemonstrable is it necessary that what is beyond the world be proved with miracles. For to preach is a sort of prophecy, and prophecy is a kind of setting forth, and all prophecy depends on revelation, but revelation does not have a cause by which it can be taught or demonstrated. In the fourth chapter of the second letter of Timothy, 'Preach the word, in season and out of season.' In the sixteenth chapter of Mark, 'Preach the Gospel to every creature.' In the sixty first chapter of Isaiah, 'He sent me that I might preach forgiveness to captives and open the eyes of the blind.' 6 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 9 1 Lk 9.2 2 Mt 10.40, Lk 10.16 3 2 Cor 5.20 4 Mk 16.15, Ps 18.1,5, Rom 10.17 5 Psalm 149.6, Mk 16.16 6 2 Tim 4.2, Mk 16.15, Isaiah 61.1

Encouraging Peter

Et ait ad Simonem Jesus: Noli timere: ex hoc jam homines eris capiens. Ecce hic ponitur instructio, propter quam tota introducitur historia. Adhuc enim carnales erant Apostoli : et oportuit quod ex corporalibus quae noverunl et quorum usum habuerunt, paulatim ad intellectum spiritualium deducerentur. El hoc bene significatur in Canticis, vii, ubi dicitur, Dixi: Ascendam in palmam et apprehendam fructus ejus. Qui enim ascendit, primo inferiora apprehendit, quibus ad altius nititur: et postea media, et sic per omnia media venit ad alta: et tandem stat exaltatus in palmam, et decerpit dulcedinis fructum. Et sic est de carnalibus ad spiritualia ascendere. Primo corporalia per similitudines spiritulia referre, et sic continuo studere quousque spiritualia per seipsa possit accipere. Ista est scala Jacob quae in una parte stat in terra, et in cacumine tangit coelum. Noli timere. Tria hic dicuntur : confortatio, et instructio, et confortationis et instructionis plenus et intentus effectus. De confortatione dicit: Noli timere, tuam scilicet parvitatem, quia ego tc faciam magnum : tuam indignitatem, quia te faciam dignum : tuam infirmitatcm, quia ego te faciam potentissimum : tuam rusticitatem, quia ego te faciam eruditum et doctum in omni scientia et sapientia spiritus. De primo horum, I Reg ii: Suscitat de pulvere egenum, et de stercore elevat pauperem, ut sedeat cum principibus, et soliurn glorise teneat. II Reg vii: Feci tibi nomen grande, juxta nomen magnorum qui sunt in terra. De secundo, Apocal v: Fecisti nos Deo nostro regnum, et sacerdotes. Et ita dignos, II ad Corinth: Idoneos nos fecit ministros Novi Testamenti, non littera, sed spiritu. De tertio, Matth. xvi: Tibi dabo claves regni caelorum .... et portse inferni non preevalebunt adversus eam, scilicet Ecclesiam. De quarto, Matth. x: Non vos estis qui loquimini, sed Spiritus Patris veslri qui loquitur in vobis. Eccli xv: Cibabit illum pane vitse et intellcctus, et aqua sapientiae salutaris potabit illum. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput V Source: Here p369-70

And Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid, because of this you shall be a fisher of men.' 1 Observe that here He gives the teaching for which the whole episode has been introduced. The Apostles were yet carnal and it was necessary that from carnal things which they knew and made use of they should gradually be led to the understanding of spiritual things. And this is well signified in the seventh chapter of the Song of Songs, where it is said, 'I said, I shall ascend the palm and I shall seize its fruit.' 2 For he who ascends first understands lesser things and by these he strives to higher things, and so after middling things, even passing through all middling things, he comes to the highest things, reaching the height of the palm and seizing the sweetest fruit. This is to ascend from carnal things to spiritual things. First corporeal things refer to spiritual things by likeness, and then with continual zeal those things which are spiritual in themselves can be received. And this is the ladder of Jacob, one part of which stood on the earth, and the top of it touched heaven. 3 'Do not be afraid.' Three things are said here, about strengthening and instruction, and the full and intended effect of strengthening and instruction. Concerning strengthening He says, 'Do not be afraid,' that is, of your littleness, because I will make it great, nor of your unworthiness, for I shall make you worthy, nor of your weakness for I shall make you most powerful, nor your rusticity for I shall make you learned and educated in all knowledge and the wisdom of the spirit. Concerning the first of these, in the second chapter of the first book of Kings: 'He takes up the needy man from the dust, and He lifts up the poor man from the dung heap, that he might sit with princes and hold the throne of glory.' In the seventh chapter of the second book of Kings, 'I have made your name great, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth.' 4 Concerning the second, in the fifth chapter of the Apocalypse: 'You have made us for our God a kingdom and priests.' And therefore worthy. In the second letter to the Corinthians, 'He has made us capable ministers of the New Testament, not in the letter, but in the spirit.' 5 Concerning the third in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew, 'I shall give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven...and the gates of heaven shall not prevail against it.' 6 That is, the Church. Concerning the fourth. 'It is not you who speak but the spirit of your Father who speaks in you.' In the fifteenth chapter Ecclesiasticus, 'He shall feed him with bread and wine and understanding, and give him to drink of the waters of wisdom's salvation.' 7 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 5 1 Lk 5.10 2 Song 7.8 3 Genes 28.12 4 1 King 2.8, 2 King 7.9 5 Apoc 5.10, 2 Cor 3.6 6 Mt 16.18-19 7 Mt 10.20, Sirach 15.3

Prayer And The Mountain

Exiit Tangit hic sex spectantia ad orationem, scilicet, orantis ad solitudinem segregationem, spiritus orantis elevationem, formam quam decet habere orationem, orantis in oratione perseverationem, tempus quoad orationis et secreti congruitatem, et orationis finem. De segregatione orantis dicit: Exiit, hoc est, a suis intimis et a curis se segregavit: non quia ipse hoc indigeret, sed ut nobis orantibus formam daret. Matth. xxvi: Sedete hic, donec vadam illuc et orem. Luc. XXII: Ipse enim avulsus est ab eis quantum jactus est lapidis. Genes. xxii: Exspectate hic cum asino: ego et puer illuc usque properantes, postquam adoraverimus, revertemur ad vos. Hoc dixit Abraham servis suis. ...in montem... In quo significat orantis in spiritu et justitia elevationem. Psal lxiii, 7: Accedet homo ad cor altum. Jerem XXXI: Benedicat tibi Domitius pulchritudo justitiae, mons sanctus. Genes xxii: In monte Dominus videbit, hoc est, in altitudine spiritus et veritatis. Joan IV: Spiritus est Deus: et eos qui adorant eum, in spiritu et veritate oportet adorare. Psal. lxvii: Mons in quo beneplacitum est Deo habitare in eo : etenim Dominus habitabit in finem. ...Orare. In hoc dat formam quam decet habere orationem. Intelliguntur autem tres modi et formae, secundum tres orationis diffinitiones. Prima est quoad ea quae petuntur ut sint decentia, hoc est, ad salutem pertinentia. Unde Damascenus dicit, quia oratio est petitio decentium a Deo. Matth VI: Quaerite primum regnum Dei, et justitiam ejus: et haec omnia adjicientur vobis. Secunda forma est secundum affectum orantis, hoc est quod sit devota et pia oratio. Unde Augustinus : " Oratio est pius affectus mentis in Deum directus. Pius autem affectus, est liquescens in Deum ex fervore devotionis et fluens affectus. Psal CXI: Dirigatur oratio mea sicut incensum in conspectu tuo. Cantic III: Sicut virgula fumi ex aromatibus myrrhae, et thuris, et universi pulveris pigmentarii. Tertia forma est accepta secundum intellectum orantis, ut exaltetur intellectus in veritatem incircumscirptam. Unde Joannes Damascenus dicit, quod oratio est ascensus intellectus in a Deum. Et Dionysius dicit, quod virtus orationis est in Deum ascendere et Deo appropinquare. Eccli xxxv: Oratio humiliantis se nubes penetrabit: et donec propinquet non consolabitur: et non discedet donec Altissimus adspiciat. Ista ergo est forma orationis. Et erat... Ecce in tempore consignato tangitur orationis instantia cum perseverantia. Luc xviii: Quoniam oportet semper orare, et non deficere. Ad Roman XII: Orationi instantes: necessitatibus sanctorum communicantes. 1 ad Thessal v: Sine intermissione orate. ...pernoctans... Ecce tempus quieti et secreto orationis congruum intempestae noctis silentio. Psal CXVIII: Media nocte surgebam ad confitendum tibi. Item, ibidem: Memor fui nocte nominis tui, Domine. Thren ii: Consurge, lauda in nocte, in principio vigiliarum tuarum. Isa XXVI: Anima mea desideravit te in nocte, sed et spiritu meo in praecordiis meis de mane vigilabo ad te. ...in oratione Dei. Ecce finis. Dei enim est oratio per finem, et non honores, vel divitiae, vel deliciae, vel pertinens ad hoc saeculum. Et ideo dicit Glossa: Dei, non saeculi. De oratione enim saeculi dicitur, II Machab IX: Orabat autem hic scelestus Dominum, a quo non esset misericordiam consecuturus. Isa I: Cum multiplicaveritis orationem, non exaudiam. Sed Deum petens in oratione auditur, Isa. xxxviii: Audivi orationem tuam, et vidi lacrimas tuas. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput VI Source: Here p405-6

He went off... 1 This touches on the six marks of prayer, that is, the separated solitude of prayer, the spiritual elevation of prayer, the form which it befits prayer to have, the need of perseverance in prayer, the time which is appropriate for private prayer, and the goal of prayer. Concerning separation in prayer it says, 'He went off...' that is, He separated Himself from His companions and cares, not because He had need of this, but to give us an example of prayer. In the twenty sixth chapter of Matthew, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray.' In the twenty second chapter of Luke, 'And He withdrew from them a stone's cast.' In the twenty second chapter of Genesis: 'Wait here with the ass. I and the boy shall go on ahead, and after we have prayed we shall return to you,' which Abraham says to his servant. 2 ...to a mountain... In which is signified the elevation of prayer in spirit and righteousness. In the sixty third Psalm, 'An uplifted heart comes on a man.' In the thirty first chapter of Jeremiah, 'The Lord bless you, the beauty of justice, the holy mountain,' In the twenty second chapter of Genesis, 'The Lord shall look on the mountain,' that is, on the height of spirit and truth. In the fourth chapter of John, 'God is a spirit and those who adore Him should adore in spirit and truth.' In the sixty seventh Psalm, 'The mountain on which God is pleased to dwell, for there the Lord will dwell to the end.' 3 ...to pray. In this he gives the form which it befits prayer to have. But form should be understood in three ways, according to the three differences of prayer. First that what is sought is fitting for God to give, that is, it pertains to salvation. Whence John Damascene says that prayer is an asking of fitting things from God. In the sixth chapter of Matthew, 'Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything will be given to you.' The second form concerns the love that is in prayer, that is, that it should be devout and pious, whence Augustine says that prayer is the pious love of the mind directed to God. And love is pious when it is flowing toward God from a fervour of devotion and onrushing love. In the hundred and eleventh Psalm, 'May my prayer be directed like incense into your sight.' In the third chapter of the Song of Songs, 'Like a pillar of smoke of odorous myrrh and frankincense and all the powders of the perfumer.' The third form is the receptivity of the intellect for prayer so that the understanding is exalted to the unbounded truth. Whence John Damascene says that prayer is the ascent of the intellect to God. And Dionysius says that the power of prayer is to ascend to God and to draw near God. In the thirty fifth chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 'The prayer of one who humbles himself pierces the clouds, and until it comes near is shall not be content, and it shall not depart from the eyes of the Most High.' 4 These are the three forms of prayer. And He was... Observe in the time assigned that it touches on intent with perseverance. In the eighteenth chapter of Luke, 'Because it is always necessary to pray and not to become weary.' In the twelfth chapter of Romans, 'Intent in prayer, communicating the needs of the saints.' In the first Letter to the Thessalonians, 'Pray ceaselessly.' 5 ...through the night... Observe that the still silence of the night is fitting for a time of quiet and private prayer. In the hundredth and sixteenth Psalm 'In the middle of the night I rose up and confessed to you,' and again, 'In the night I was mindful of your name, O Lord.' In the second chapter of Lamentations, 'Rise up, give praise in the night, at the beginning of your vigils.' In the twenty sixth chapter of Isaiah, 'My soul desired you in the night, but in the spirit in my breast I shall keep watch for you from the morning.' 6 ...praying to God. Observe the end. For prayer is God's according to its end, and not for honour or riches or pleasure, or anything that pertains to this world. The gloss on 'God's' says 'not of the world' Concerning worldly prayer it is said in the ninth chapter of the second book of Maccabees 'And this wicked man prayed to the Lord, from whom he was not to receive mercy.' In the first chapter of Isaiah, 'When you multiply your prayers, I will not hear you.' But the one who seeks God in prayer is heard. In the thirty eighth chapter of Isaiah, 'I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears.' 7 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 6 1 Lk 6.12 2 Mt 26.36, Lk 22.41, Genes 22.5 3 Ps 63.7, Jerem 31.23, Genes 22.14, Jn 4.24, Ps 67.17 4 Mt 6.33, Song 3.6, Ps 111.2, Sirach 35.21 5 Lk 18.1. Rom 12.12-13, 1 Thes 5.17 6 Ps 116.62, Ps 116.55, Lament 2.19, Isaiah 26.9 7 2 Mac 9.13, Isaiah 1.15, Isaiah 38.5

The Filled And The Hungry

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

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

Many Kingdoms

Qui quaesierit, inquit, animam suam salvare, perdet et qui perdiderit eam, salvabit eam. Martyres quaerunt salvare animam suam: propterea perdunt, ut salvent eam. Qui vero volunt salvare animam suam, ut non perdant eam, hi et corpus corpus et animam perdunt pariter in gehennam. Quamobrem nolite timere eos, ait, qui possunt corpus occidere, sed timete magis eum qui potest animam et corpus perdere in gehennam. Hoc ad propositum, juxta vires ingenii nostri breviter dixerimus. Animalis autem non recipit ea quae sunt spiritus: et idcirco salvari non potest. Seminatur corpus animale, surgit corpus spiritale. Porro qui adhaeret Domino, spiritus unus efficitur. Si ergo qui Domino copulatur, cum animalis esset per id in spiritalem vertitur, et unus est spiritus: nos quoque perdamus animam nostram, ut adhaerentes Domino in unum spiritum transformemur. Sed et de regno Dei interrogatus, respondit Salvator Pharisaeis: Quando venerit, inquit, non venit regnum Dei cum observatione, neque dicunt, ecce hic, aut ecce ibi. Regnum enim Dei intra vos est. Non omnibus Salvator dicit, regnum Dei intra vos est: siquidem in peccatoribus regnum peccati est, et absque ulla ambiguitate, aut regnum peccati, aut regnum Dei in corde nostro imperat. Unde sive quae facimus, sive quae loquimur, sive quae cogitamus, contemplemur attentius, et tunc videbimus utrum Dei imperium regnet in nobis, an imperium delictorum. Quam diversitatem sciens Apostolus, quosdam commonet, dicens: Non regnet peccatum in mortali vestro corpore. Si quis nostrum desiderat regnum Dei, regnatur ab eo. Si quis avaritiae ardore cruciatur, regnatur ab avaritia. Porro qui injustitiam reginam habet, regnatur ab ea. Qui vanae gloriae ambitione sustollitur, regnat ei aura popularis. Qui moeret, qui aliquid reformidat, qui amat, qui desiderat, imperant ei singula, prout perturbationibus variis possidetur. Quae omnia cognoscentes, et quam multa sint genera regnorum, surgamus precemurque Deum, ut auferat a nobis regnum inimici, et possimus sub regno esse Dei omnipotentis, id est sub regno sapientiae, pacis, justitiae, veritatis, quae cuncta in unigenito Dei Filio intelliguntur, cui est gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Origenes, Homiliae in Lucam, Homilia XXXVI, De eo quod scriptum est: Qui voluerit animam suam salvare, perdet eam, usque ad eum locum ubi ait: Regnum Dei intra vos est, Interprete Sancto Hieronymo Source: Migne PG 13.1894b-1895b

'He who seeks to save his soul,' He says 'shall lose it, and he who loses it shall save it.' 1 Martyrs seek to save their souls , because of which they perish so that they might save them. However, he who wishes to save his soul so that he might not lose it, he loses both his body and soul in hell. 'Do not fear those, He says, 'who can kill the body, but fear more Him who can destroy the soul and the body in hell. 2 Concerning this, according to the men of our understanding, we shall speak briefly. 'But the animal man cannot receive the things of the spirit,' and thus cannot be saved. 'The animal body is sown, the spiritual body rises up.' 3 But he who adheres to the Lord is made one spirit. Therefore if he who is bound to the Lord by that turns what is animal into what is spiritual, the spirit is one, and we lose our own souls, so that adhering to the Lord we might be transformed into one spirit. Then questioned about the kingdom of God, the Saviour answers the Pharisees: 'When it comes, the kingdom of heaven does not come before the eye, nor will they say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' but the kingdom of God is within you.' 4 He does not say 'the kingdom of God is within you,' to everyone, for certainly the kingdom of sin reigns in those who sin, and without any doubt either the kingdom of sin or the kingdom of God reigns in us. Therefore let us carefully think on what we do and what we say and what we think, and then we shall see whether it is the kingdom of God that reigns in us or the kingdom of the wicked. Which difference the Apostle understood, warning them: 'Do not let sin reign in your bodies.' 5 If one of us desires the kingdom of God, it reigns in us. If someone is troubled by avarice, avarice reigns in him. But he who has the kingdom of unrighteousness, he is ruled by that. He who is puffed up with the vainglory of ambition is ruled by the whims of the people. He who groans or fears something, and he who desires, he is ruled by that, and without doubt possessed by various troubles. Which all knowing, let us rise up and pray to God, that as there are many types of kingdoms, He will take from us the kingdom of the enemy, even so that we are able to come under the reign of almighty God, that is, under the reign of wisdom and peace and righteousness and truth, which are all understood in the only begotten Son of God, to whom be glory and rule forever. Origen, Homilies on Luke, from Homily 36, , On that which is written: 'He who wishes to save his soul shall lose it...' to where it is said, 'the kingdom of God is within you.' Translated by Saint Jerome 1 Lk 17.33 2 Lk 12.4-5 3 1 Cor 2.14, 1 Cor 15.44 4 Lk 17.20-21 5 Rom 6.12

The Shadowing Of Mary

Et respondens angelus, dixit ei: Spiritus sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi. Non virili, inquit, quod non cognoscis, semine, sed Spiritus sancti quo impleris, opere concipies, Erit in te conceptio, libido non erit. Concupiscentiae non erit aestus, ubi umbram faciet Spiritus sanctus. Verum in eo quod ait, Et virtus Altissimi obumbravit tibi, potest etiam incarnati Salvatoris utraque natura designari. Umbra quippe a lumine solet et corpore formari. Et cui obumbratur, lumine quidem vel calore solis quantum sufficit reficitur, sed ipse solis ardor, ne ferri nequeat, interposita vel nubecula levi, vel quolibet alio corpore temperatur. Beatae itaque Virgini, quia quasi pura homo omnem plenitudinem divinitatis corporaliter capere nequibat, virtus Altissimi obumbravit, id est, incorporea lux divinitatis corpus in ea susceptit humanitatis. Sanctus Beda,In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber Primus Source: Migne PL 92.318d-319a

And the angel answered her, saying, 'The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you.' 1 You shall not conceive by man's seed, which you do not know, but by the Holy Spirit, by whom you shall be filled. There shall be in you a conception without lust. When the Holy Spirit brings shade there shall be no heat of concupiscence. Truly in this which is said, 'And the power of the Most High will cover you,' it is indeed possible to distinguish the incarnation of the Saviour in both natures. Certainly a shadow is accustomed to be formed by the sun and a body. And the one who is shadowed from the light or the heat of the sun is refreshed in as much as shade is provided, and so against that blaze of the sun, lest it not be able to be borne, there is interposed a light cloud, or some other body, which tempers it. Therefore the power of the Most High shadowed the blessed Virgin, because even a pure human cannot corporeally contain the whole plenitude of Divinity, that is, the incorporeal light of Divinity that was taking up a human body in her. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 1 1 Lk 1.35

A Troubling Word

...turbata est in sermone ejus.. Ecce causa turbationis. Turbatur enim in sermone, non de sermone : quia ea quae sermo dixit, ipsa in oratione petivit. Sed quia in sermone, sermonem ad eam tam humilem convertit, ideo turbata est. Fuit enim sermo terribilis in auditu, profundus in sensu, et admirabilis in dictis. Locutio enim Angeli ad Moysen terribilis fuit: quod dicit Apostolus, ad Hebr. Ita terribile erat quod videbatur, quod ipse Moyses qui primus inter homines fuit, dicit: Exterritus sum, ettremebundus. Et ideo dicitur in Psalmo lxxvi: Vox tonitrui tui, Deus, in rota, hoc est, sonus terribilis Angeli in Galilaea. Job, XXVI: Cum vix parvam stillam sermonis ejus audierimus, quis poterit tonitruum magnitudinis illius intueri? Propter quod etiam dicitur, Joan. XII, cum blande de clarificatione Pater loqueretur ad Filium, turbae adstantes existimabant tonitruum factum esse. Et similiter, Act. IX, cum de caelo Christus loqueretur Paulo, ipse Paulus corruit: et caeteri qui comitabantur cum eo stabant stupefacti. Ista autem Virgo omnibus constantior et fortior non cecidit, nec confusionem passa est: sed in sermone humanum et puellare aliquid passa, est turbata. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput I Source: Here p68

...she was troubled at his word... 1 Observe the cause of her trouble. She is troubled at the word not about the word, for what that word said she had sought in prayer. But because it is 'at his word,' it turns on the word that was addressed to her so humbly, because of which she was troubled. For the word was wondrous to hear, profound in meaning, admirable in telling. The word of the angel to Moses was wondrous, whence the Apostle says in the twelfth chapter of Hebrews: 'Thus it was wondrous what he saw, because Moses who was the best among men said, 'I am terrified, and I am shaking.' 2 And therefore in the seventy sixth Psalm: 'The voice of your thunder, O God, in your circuit,' 3 that is, the wondrous sound of the angel in Galilee. In the twenty sixth chapter of Job, 'When we will scarcely hear the slight dew of His word, who shall be able to endure the great magnitude of His thunder?' 4 On account of which it is said in the twelfth chapter of John that when the Father spoke to the Son softly for clarification, the crowd standing nearby reckoned it had thundered. 5 And similarly in the ninth chapter of Acts when Christ speaks to Paul from heaven, Paul collapses, and the others who were with him stand by stupefied. 6 But the Virgin, more constant and stronger than all these, did not fall, nor did she suffer confusion, but because the speech was delivered in such a kindly fashion and in a way befitting a girl, she was troubled. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 1 1 Lk 1.29 2 Heb 12.21 3 Ps 76.19 4 Job 26.14 5 Jn 12.29 6 Acts 9.3-7

Hunger And Satisfaction

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

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

Teaching And Deeds

Et stupebant in docrina ejus, quia in potestate erat sermo ipsius... Sermo doctoris in potestate fit, cum ea quae docet operatur. Nam qui actis ipse sua dicta destruit, contemnitur. Cui contra doctorem instituens Apostolus ait: Nemo adolescentiam tuam contemnat. Singulariter autem Dominus ac principaliter solus ex potestate bona locutus est, quia ex infirmitate mala nulla commisit. Ex divinitatis quippe potentia habuit id quod nobis per humanitatis suae innocentiam ministravit. Aliter in potestate erat sermo ipsius, sive ut alius evangelista dicit, erat docens eos sicut potestatem habens, et non sicut scribae. Quoniam scribae quae per legem didicerant praecepta, populis dabant. Ipse vero quasi auctor impletorque legis, vel mutando, vel augendo quae minus videbantur, libere agendo substituit. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber II, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 92.379a-b

And they were astonished at His teaching, because there was power in His words... 1 The speech of a teacher has power when he does those things he teaches. For he is scorned who destroys what he has said with his deeds. Against which imposition of such a teacher the Apostle says, 'Do not let anyone scorn your youth.' 2 Only the Lord especially and principally spoke good things from power, because He did no evil from weakness. Certainly from the power of the Divinity He had with which He served us through the innocence of humanity. Otherwise, 'there was power in His words,' because as another Evangelist says, 'He was teaching them as one having power, and not like the scribes,' 3 because the scribes learnt their teaching through the Law and gave it to the people, but He as the author and fulfiller of the Law with deeds openly altered it, either by changing it or supplying what seemed to be lacking. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 2, Chapter 4 1 Lk 4.32 2 Tim 4.12 3 Mt 7.29

Love, Life and Eternity

Σαφῶς ἐν τούτοις παρίσταται ἡ κατὰ τὸν δημιουργὸν τοῦ κόσμου Θεὸν καὶ τὰς αὐτοῦ Γραφὰς κηρυσσομένη ζωὴ αἰώνιος, ἤν κὶα ὁ Σωτὴρ καταγγέλλει. Πυθομένου οὖν τοῦ νομικοῦ· Τί ποιήσας ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω; ἐπὶ τὸν νόμον ἀναπέμπει, ἐκεῖθεν συνάγῃ ἐντολὰς τὰς προσαγούσας τὸν ποιοῦντα αὐτὰς τῇ αἰωνίῳ ζωῇ. Μαρτυρεῖ γοῦν τῷ εἰληθότι ἀπὸ μὲν τοῦ Δευτρονομίου τὸ Ἀγαπήσεις Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου· ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Λευῖτικοῦ τὸ, Τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτὸν, Ὁρθῶς ἀπεκρίθης, καὶ προστίθησι· Τοῦτο ποίει, καὶ ζήσῃ, δηλονότι τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον, περὶ ἦς κάκεῖνός τε ἐπύθετο, καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ διδάσκει. Ταῦτα δὲ εἴρηται πρὸς τοὺς ἀπὸ Οὐαλεντίνου, καὶ Βασιλίδου, καὶ τούς ἀπὸ Μαρκίωνος. Ἔχουσι γὰρ καὶ αὐτοὶ τὰς λέξεις ἐν τῷ καθ' ἑαυτοὺς Εὐαγγελίῳ· καὶ φήσομεν πρὸς αὐτούς· Ὁ μαρτυρήσας τῷ, ὅτι Ἀγαπήσεις Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου, τὴν ἐντολὴν ἀπὸ Νόμου εἰρηκότι, οὐ παρὰ τινος ἄλλου ἤ του δυμιουργοῦ εἰρημένην, καὶ φήσας ἐπὶ τούτοις αὐτῷ, Ὀρθῶς ἀπεκρίθης, τί ἄλλὸ βούλεται ἡμᾶς πράττειν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ζῆσαι τὴν αἰώνιον ζωὴν, ἤ ἀγαπᾷν τὸν Θεὸν, τὸν ἐν νομῳ καὶ προφήταις, ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ; Ὁ Σωτὴρ δὲ ψοῦν ἀπεφήνατο περὶ τῶν δύο ἐντολῶν λέγων· Καὶ ἐν αὐταῖς ὅλος ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται κρέμανται. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν Ἐπαγγελιον Source : Migne PG 13.1904c-d

According to God the creator of the world and the things preached in the Scriptures and as the Saviour declares, eternal life is manifestly offered in these things, whence being questioned by the lawyer, 'What shall I do to have eternal life,' 1 He directs him to the Law, there to gather from the commandments what shall grant eternal life. He gives witness, therefore, to that which is found in Deuteronomy: 'Love the Lord your God,' and in Leviticus: 'Love your neighbour as yourself,' 2 saying, 'You have answered correctly,' then adding, 'Do this and live,' that is, the life that is eternal, about which the man questioned Him, and the Saviour taught. And these things said are opposed to the sectarians of Valentinus and Basilides and Marcion, for they have these same words in their own Gospel, and we say to them, the commandment 'Love the Lord your God,' is quoted from the Law and He does not commend it as anything else but as something said by the Creator, and therefore He says, 'You have answered correctly,' because what else does He wish us to do so that we might live the eternal life but to love God with the whole heart, which is likewise found in the Law and in the prophets? Then the Saviour gives His judgement regarding these two commandments, 'And from these hang all the Law and the prophets.' 3 Origen, On the Gospel of St Luke, Fragment from the Orations of Macarius Chrysocephalus on Luke 1 Lk 10.25 2 Deut 6.5, Levit 19.18 3 Mt 22.40

Baptism And The Spirit

Et descendit Spiritus sanctus corporali specie sicut columba in ipsum. Bene corporali specie, quia in natura dvinitatis a mortablibus videri non potuit. Bene sicut columba, quia spiritus disciplinae effugiet fictum, nec habitabit in corpore subdito peccatis. Et quia ad exemplum Simonis in felle amaritudinis, et iniquitatis obligatione perdurant, sortem in eo partemque habere nullatenus possunt. Unde cum mundi crimina quondam in figuram baptismi diluvio purgerentur, non corvi, sed columbae ore delatus olivae ramus pacem saeculo redditam nuntiavit. Mystice docens solis eis qui in cordis simplicitate baptizati sunt, unctionem sancti Spiritus adfuturam. Nemo enim putet Dominum post baptisma primum Spiritus sancti gratia perunctum, aut aliquem divinae naturae per tempora gessisse perfectum, sed noverit potius a primo conceptus humani tempore quem verum hominem, eumdem et Deum existere verum. Adventu autem columbae demonstratum, quod in corpore eius, id est Ecclesia, praecipue baptizati accipiunt Spiritum sanctum. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Caput III Source: Migne PL 92.358d-359a

And the Holy Spirit in the corporeal form of a dove came down upon Him. 1 And rightly in corporeal form, because He could not be seen in His Divine nature by mortals. And rightly as a dove because the spirit shall flee the lie of discipline and shall not dwell in a body conquered by sin. 2 And because, according to the example of Simon, 3 they who are fixed in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of wickedness, are not able to have a share or part in Him. Whence when once the crimes of the world were cleansed by the flood as a figure of baptism, it was not the crow but the dove that returned with the branch of olive in its beak to announce that peace had returned to the world, 4 which spiritually teaches that only those who have been baptized in simplicity of heart receive the unction of the Holy Spirit. Let no one think that it was after baptism that the Lord was first anointed by the grace of the Holy Spirit, or that a certain perfection of the Divine nature had happened through time, but let it be understood that from the first time of His human conception that He exists as true man and true God. Thus the coming of the dove demonstrated that in His body, that is, the Church, it is especially those who have been baptised who receive the Holy Spirit. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 1, Chapter 3 1 Lk 3.22 2 Wisd 1.5 3 Acts 8.16-24 4 Gen 8.6-11

Stones And Sons

Illis enim qui de Abraham gloriabantur dicit: Et ne incipiatis dicere vobismetipsis, patrem habemus Abraham. Et de gentibus rursum loquitur: Dico enim vobis, quia potest Deus de lapidibus istis suscitare filios Abrahae. De quibus lapidibus? Non utque lapides irrationabiles corporeosque monstrabat, sed homines insensibiles et quondam duros, qui quia lapides et ligna adorabunt, impletum est illud quod in psalmo cantabatur: Similis illis fiant qui faciunt ea, et omnes qui confidunt eis. Vere qui faciunt idola, et confidunt in eis, similes sunt diis suis, absque sensu, sine ulla ratione, in lapides lignaque conversi sunt. Cum enim tantum videant creaturarum ordinem, decorem, officium, tantam mundi pulchritudinem, nolunt de creaturis intelligere Creatorem, neque considerant tantae dispensationis aliquam providentiam, aliquem esse rectorem, sed sunt caeci, his tantum oculis mundum videntes, quibus irrationabilia jumenta et bestiae vident. Non enim animadvertunt in his quae vident ratione regi, aliquam inesse rationem. Haec propterea, quia Joannes dixerat: Potest Deus de lapidibus istis suscitare filios Abrahae. Et nos igitur obsecreumus Deum, ut si quando fuimus lapides, vertamur in filios Abrahae pro his filiis qui ejecti sunt, et repromissonem adoptionemque suo vitio perdiderunt. Unum testimonium adhuc de lapidibus ponam. Siquidem in cantico Exodi scribitur: Vertantur in lapides, donec pertranseat populus tuus, Domine, donec transeat populus tuus iste quem possedisti. Rogatur itaque Deus, ut paulisper convertantur in lapides; hoc enim Graecs sermo significantius sonat, λιθούσθωσαν, donec pertranseat populus Judaeorum. Haud dubium quin postquam illi transierint, gentes lapideae esse cessabunt, et pro duro corde recipient humanam in Christo rationabilemque naturam. Cui est gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Origenes, Homiliae in Lucam, Homilia XXII, Interprete Sancto Hieronymo Source: Migne PG 13.1858d-1856c

To those who gloried in Abraham John says: 'Do not begin to say yourselves, we have Abraham for a father.' And again about the Gentiles he says, 'I say to you that God can raise up sons of Abraham from these stones.' 1 From what stones? He does not mean irrational material stones but senseless and hard hearted men who adore stones and wood, which fulfills what was sung in the Psalm: 'They who make them are made like them, and so are all who trust in them.' 2 Truly those who make idols and trust in them are made like their gods, without sense, without any reason, they are turned into stone and wood. For when they see only the forms of created things, and the fairness of them, and the usefulness of them, and the beauty of the world, they care not to understand the creator through creatures, nor do they consider any providence in such a great dispensation, or any maker, but they are blind, with their eyes seeing only the world, by which they see like mindless cattle and beasts. Nor are they admonished by these things they see to be ruled by reason, and to be in possession of some reason. Because regarding these things John said, 'God can raise up sons of Abraham from these stones,'  therefore let us entreat God that if we have been stones, that we are turned into sons of Abraham, in place of those sons who have been cast out and in their sin and have died to the promise of adoption. One testimony I shall set forth about stones. In the song in Exodus it is written: 'Let them be turned into stones, until your people pass by, O Lord, until your people pass by, whom you have taken up.' 3 Thus God is asked that they be turned into stone for a little while, (and here the Greek word 'lithousthosan,' that is, let them be petrified, is more meaningful,) until the people of the Jews passes by. Without doubt after they have passed by the Gentiles shall cease to be stone, and receive for a hard heart a human one 4 in Christ, and a rational nature, to whom be glory and power forever. Amen. Origen, Homilies on Luke, from Homily 22, Translated by Saint Jerome 1 Lk 3.8 2 Ps 115.8 3 Exod 15.16 4 Ezek 36.26

Born In Bethlehem

Factum est autem cum essent ibi, impleti sunt dies ut pareret... Bene non solum propter indicium regii stemmatis, sed et propter nominis sacramentum Dominus in Bethleem nascitur. Bethleem namque domus panis interpretatur. Ipse namque est, qui ait: Ego sum panis vivus, qui de coelo descendi. Locus ergo in quo Dominus nasceretur domus panis ante vocatus est, quia futurum profecto erat ut ille ibi per materiam carnis appareret, qui electorum mentes interna satietate reficeret. Sed usque hodie, et usque ad consummationem saeculi, Dominus in Nazareth concipi, nasci in Bethleem non desinit, cum quilibet audientium, verbi flore suscepto, domum se aeterni panis efficit. Quotidie in utero virginali, hoc est in animo credentium per fidem concipitur, per baptisma gignitur. Quotidie Dei genitrix Ecclesia suum comitata doctorem, de rota mundanae conversationis quod Galilaea sonat, in civitatem Juda, confessionis, videlicet, et laudis ascendens, censum suae devotionis aeterno regi persolvit. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Caput II Source: Migne PL 92.330c

And it was while they were there that the days were fulfilled when she should give birth... 1 And this was good, for the Lord was born in Bethlehem not only as a sign of the lineage for the kingdom but even for the name of the sacrament. For Bethlehem translated means 'house of bread,' and He is the one who says, 'I am the bread of life that has come down from heaven.' 2 Therefore the place in which the Lord was to be born was called beforehand the house of bread, because undoubtedly in the future He was to appear there in the flesh, He who refreshes the souls of the elect with internal satisfaction. And even today, and even to the end of the ages, the Lord is conceived in Nazareth and born in Bethlehem, when anyone who hears and takes up the bloom of the word is himself fashioned into a house of the eternal bread. Every day in the virginal womb, that is, in the soul of the faithful, He is conceived by faith and grows by baptism. Every day the mother of God, His own Church, accompanied by the teacher, from the wheel of worldly activity, which is what Galilee means, going into a city of Judah, liberates in confession, with praise going up to the eternal kingdom from the treasury of devotion. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 1, Chapter 2 1 Lk 2.6 2 Jn 6.51

The Praise Of Angels

Dominus noster atque Salvator nascitur in Bethlehem, et multitudo coelestis exceritus laudat Deum et dicit: Gloria in excelsis Deo, et super terram pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Haec autem loquitur multitudo coelestis exercitus, quia jam defecert praebere hominibus auxilium et videbat se opus quod sibi creditum fuerat, implere non posse absque eo qui vere salvare poterat, et praesules quoque ipsos juvare, ut homines salvarentur. Quomodo igitur scriptum est in Evangelio, quod quidam remis sulcantes mare adversus contrarios ventos jam fessi erant, et viginti quinque, sive triginta stadiis laborantes, portum tenere non poterant, et postea Dominus supervenit, et quiescere fecit fluctus tumentes, navemque cujus hinc inde latera tundebantur, ab imminenti discrimine liberavit: sic intellige quoniam et angeli volebant quidem hominibus praebere auxilium, et eis ab aegrotationibus suis tribuere sanitatem, quia omnes sunt apparitores spiritus in ministerium missi propter eos qui consecuti sunt salutem: qui quantum in suis viribus erat, adjuvabant homines. Videbant autem multo inferiorem suam esse medicinam, quam illorum cura poscebat. Porro ut de exemplo possis intelligere quod dicimus, vide mihi urbem in qua aegrotent plurimi, et medicorum frequens adhibeatur manus: sint diversa vulnera, quotidie in emortuam carnem serpens putredo penetret: et tamen medici qui adhibiti sunt ad curandum, nequeant alia ultra invenire medicamina, et artis suae scientia magnitudinem mali vincere; cum haec in talibus nacti sint, eveniat aliquis archiater qui habeat summam in arte notitiam, et illi qui prius sanare nequiverant cernentes magistri manu putredines cessare vulnerum, non invideant, non livore crucientur, sed in laudes erumpant archiatri, et praedicent Deum qui et sibi et aegrotantibus tantae scientiae hominem miserit. In hanc ergo similitudinem et multitudo exercitus angelorum audita est dicens: Gloria in excelsis Deo, et super terram pax in hominibus bonae voluntatis. Origenes, Homiliae in Lucam, Homilia XIII, Interprete Sancto Hieronymo Source: Migne PG 13.1830c-1831a

Our Lord and Saviour is born in Bethlehem and a multitude of the heavenly host praises God and says: 'Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men of good will.' 1 And the multitude of the heavenly host says this because it has wearied itself in giving help to men, and it saw that the labour which it believed to be its own cannot be completed without Him who truly can save, even Him who is also the master who helps them so that men might be saved. Recall how is it written in the Gospel that certain men plying the oars were wearied in their struggle against contrary winds, and they laboured for twenty five or thirty stades and were not able to reach port, and later the Lord intervened and quietened the churning waves of the sea that were beating at the sides of the boat, and freed them from their pressing plight. 2 So understand that the angels wished to help men and bring them from sickness to health, because 'they are all ministering spirits sent to minister to them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation,' 3 as much as it is in them to help men. But they saw how inferior their own medicine is for what the cure requires. Perhaps by an example you shall be able to understand what I am saying. Imagine a city in which there are many sick people and the hands of physicians are frequently employed. There are many wounds and every day the worm enters into dying bodies, and however much the physicians exert themselves in healing they can do no more than their art allows them and as their knowledge can prevail over the evil, and when into such a situation the chief physician comes, he who knows everything about the art, when they see the hand of the master close up the festering wounds of those who they were not able to heal before, they are not envious, they are not distressed by it, but they burst out in praise of the chief physician and tell of God who has sent a man of such great knowledge to them and the sick. In this way, then, hear the host of angels saying, 'Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men of good will.' Origen, Homilies on Luke, from Homily 13, Translated by Saint Jerome 1 Lk 2.13-14 2 Jn 6.19-21 3 Heb 1.14

Shepherds And Bishops

Καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἀπῆλθον ἀπ' αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν οἱ ἄγγελοι, οἱ ποιμένες ἐλάλουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους: διέλθωμεν δὴ ἕως Βηθλέεμ καὶ ἴδωμεν τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο τὸ γεγονὸς ὃ ὁ Kύριος ἐγνώρισεν ἡμῖν. Kαὶ ἦλθαν σπεύσαντες, καὶ ἀνεῦραν τήν τε Μαριὰμ καὶ τὸν Ἰωσὴφ καὶ τὸ βρέφος κείμενον ἐν τῇ φάτνῃ: ἰδόντες δὲ ἐγνώρισαν περὶ τοῦ ῥήματος τοῦ λαληθέντος αὐτοῖς περὶ τοῦ παιδίου τούτου. Kαὶ πάντες οἱ ἀκούσαντες ἐθαύμασαν περὶ τῶν λαληθέντων ὑπὸ τῶν ποιμένων πρὸς αὐτούς. Οἱ ποιμένες οὗτοι σύμβολόν εἰσι τῶν πνευματικῶν ποιμένων, τῶν ἀρχιερέων· δεῖ οὖν τοὺς ἀρχιερῖς φυλάσσειν τὴν ποίμνην αὐτῶν καὶ ἀγραυλεῖν, τουτέστιν, ᾄδειν πνευματικά τινα, καὶ διδάσκειν τὸν λαὸν, καὶ οὕτως ἀξιωθήσονται θείων θεαμάτων καὶ ἀκουσμάτων. Βηθλεὲμ δὲ ἑρμηνεύεται οἶκος τοῦ ἄρτου· τίς δὲ ἄλλος ἐστὶν ὁ οἰκος τοῦ ἄρτου, ἤ ἡ Ἐκκλησία, ἐν ᾗ ὁ ἄρτος ἀπόκειται; Ἔργον οὖν ἐστι τοῖς λογικοῖς ποιμέσιν ἐπιζτεῖν οὐράνιον ἄρτον· καὶ μεθ' ὃ ἴδωσι τὸν ἄρτον, ὀφείλουσι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις κηρύττειν· ὥσπερ καὶ οἱ ποιμένες ἰδόντες τὸ βρέφος, διελάλησαν καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν, Κεφαλὴ Β' Source: Migne PG 123.724c-725a

And after the angels departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass, which the Lord has revealed to us.' And they went with all speed and found Mary and Joseph and the infant laying in the manger. And looking, they understood the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child. And all that heard, they wondered at the things that were told to them by the shepherds. 1 These shepherds are a figure of spiritual shepherds and spiritual leaders. Therefore bishops must guard their flock and dwell in the fields, that is, they must sing spiritually and teach the people, even so that they will become worthy of receiving heavenly visions and voices. Bethlehem means 'house of bread,' and what else is the house of bread but the Church in which the bread is placed? Thus the work of the rational shepherd is to seek the heavenly bread, which when they have looked upon, they are obliged to preach to others, just as the shepherds who having looked upon the infant, spoke of him to others. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Luke, Chapter 2 1 Lk 2.15-20

Rule And The Kingdom

Et regnabit in domo Jacob in aeternum, et regni ejus non erit finis. Et Isaias ait: Multiplicabitur ejus imperium, et pacis non erit finis. Super solium David, et super regnum ejus, ut confirmet illud et corroboret in judicio et justitia. Non dixit in acquisitione gloriae gazarumque terrestrium, non in victoria gentium plurimarum, urbiumque debellatione superbarum, sed in judicio et justitia. Per haec enim regnum Christi, et in singulis quibusque fidelibus, et in universa per orbem multiplicatur pariter et confirmatur Ecclesia. Domum namque Jacob totam Ecclesiam dicit, quae vel de bona radice nata, vel cum oleaster esset, merito tamen fidei in bonam est inserta olivam. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Caput I Source: Migne PL 92.318a

And He shall rule in the house of Jacob for eternity, and His kingdom shall have no end. 1 And Isaiah says, 'His empire shall be multiplied and peace shall have no end. On David's throne and over his kingdom He shall be set, and he shall make it firm and strong in judgement and righteousness.' 2 He did not speak of the acquisition of worldly glory and wealth, nor of victory over many nations and the overthrow of mighty cities, but of judgement and righteousness. For through these is the kingdom of Christ, both in each one of the faithful and then multiplied throughout the whole world, by which the Church is strengthened. For he speaks of the whole Church as the house of Jacob, either as what is born from a good root, or as that oleaster which by the merit of faith has been grafted onto the good olive. 3 Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 1, Chapter 1 1 Lk 1.32 2 Isaiah 9.7 3 Rom 11.17