Judgement And Salvation

Οὔτε ἡ ἀρετὴ, οὔτε ἡ κακία μένει αμετάπτωτος, καὶ ἀκίνητος, ἐπειδὴ ἐθελότρεπτόν ἐστι ἀνθρώπινον γένος. Ὂνπερ τοίνυν ὑπολαμβάνεις τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἀμελέστατον εἶναι, ὅνπερ νομίζεις ἁμαρτωλὸν ὑπο ἄρχειν, οὐκ οἶδας, μήποτε καθ' ἑαυτὸν στενάξας, καὶ μεταβαλλόμενος ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον, παρὰ Θεῷ σώζεται. Σὺ δὲ ἀγονῶν εὐτελίζεις πολλάκις τὸν τοιοῦτον, καὶ λοιδορεῖς , καὶ πικρῶς κατακρίνεις τὸν ὑπὲρ σὲ σωζόμενον ἄνθρωπον. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Δεύτερον, ΡΚΔ' Εὑλυσιῳ Μοναχῳ Source: Migne PG 79.253b

Since the human race is changeable neither virtue nor wickedness remain constant and unchanging. He, then, whom you reckon to be the most negligent brother and whom you judge to be a sinner, you do not know that  sometimes he groans over himself and is changing into something better, being saved by God. And being ignorant you often think such a man is worthless and you abuse and bitterly scorn him who is being saved over you. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 2, Letter 124 to Eulysios the Monk

Errors And Forgiveness

Saule, Saule, quid me persequeris? Et ille, Quis es, Domine? Hinc profecto datur intelligi quia vere circumfusa erat illi claritas, non infusa. Audiebat Paulus vocem Domini, sed faciem Domini non videbat; quoniam erudiebatur ad fidem: et ut ipse postea docuit, Fides ex auditu. Quis es, inquit? Ignotum enim persequebatur, et ideo consecutus est misericordiam, quia ignorans in incredulitate hoc fecit. Discite ex hoc, fratres, justum judicem Deum, non modo quid fiat, sed et quo animo fiat, considerare; et cavete deinceps, ne quis parva reputet, quamlibet parva scienter delinquere convincatur. Nemo dicat in corde suo: Levia sunt ista, non curo corrigere; non est magnum si in his maneam venialibus minimisque peccatis. Haec est enim, dilectissimi, impoenitentia, haec blasphemia in Spiritum sanctum, blasphemia irremissibilis. Paulus quidem blasphemus fuit, sed non in Spiritum sanctum, quia ignorans fecit in incredulitate. Non in Spiritum sanctum dixit blasphemiam; ideo consecutus est misericordiam. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Sanctis, Sermones de Sanctis, In Conversione Sancti Pauli, Sermo I, Quomodo ad exemplum ejus converti debemus. Source: Migne PL 183.362d-363b

Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? 1 And he says, 'Who are you, Lord?' Without question this is given to be understood that though he was surrounded by light he was not yet infused with it. Paul heard the voice of the Lord but he did not see the face of the Lord, because he was being educated for the faith, even as he later taught, 'Faith is from hearing.' 2 'Who are you?' he says, for he was ignorant of what he was persecuting and therefore mercy followed, because being ignorant he did this in disbelief. Learn from this, brothers, that God is a righteous judge, who considers not only what a man does, but the state of his soul, and then be wary lest someone reckon something to be trivial and erring in it he is overthrown. Let no one say in his heart, 'These are light things, I have no need to correct them. It is not important if I remain in these small and venial sins.' For this, most beloved, is impenitence, and this is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and it is unforgiveable blasphemy. 3 Certainly Paul blasphemed, but not against the Holy Spirit, because in ignorance he acted in disbelief. He did not speak blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and therefore mercy followed. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Saints, On the Conversation of Saint Paul, from Sermon 1, that we should be converted by his example 1 Acts 9.4 2 Rom 10.7 3 Mt 12.31 Mk 3.28-29

Life And Light

Et vita erat lux hominum. Quo verbo aperte docetur quod ipsa vitalis per quam omni disposita sunt et reguntur: non omnem creaturam, sed rationabilem tantum, ut sapere possit illuminat. Homines namque, qui ad imaginem Dei facti sunt, percipere sapientiam possunt, animalia non possunt. Sed animalis quicunque est homo, non percipit ea quae sunt Spiritus Dei. Unde bene cum dixisset: Et vita erat lux hominum, subjunxit, et de his qui ab humanae conditionis honore procul recedentes, comparati sunt jumentis insipientibus, et similes facti sunt illis, atque ideo rectae voluntatis luce privantur. Sanctus Beda, In Ioannis Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Caput I Source: Migne PL 92.639c

And the life was the light of men. 1 With which words he openly teaches that it is through this living one that all has been arranged and is ruled, but He does not illuminate every creature but only those who are rational, that is, those who are able to know. For men, who are made according to the image of God, can all attain to wisdom, and animals cannot. Yet there is a bestial man who does not perceive the things which are of the Spirit of God. 2 Whence it is well said, 'And the light was the light of men,' which alludes to those who have withdrawn far from the honour of the human condition, comparing them to mindless beasts, and that they made like them, 3 and therefore they are deprived of the light of a good will. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 1, Chapter 1 1 Jn 1.4 2 1 Cor 2.14 3 Ps 48.13

Undoing The Sandal

Cui quantae reverentiae humilitatem debeat subdendo manifestat Cujus non sum dignus solvere corrigiam calceamenti. Mos apud veteres fuit ut si quis eam quae sibi competeret accipere uxorem nollet, ille ei calceamentum solveret qui ad hanc sponsus jure propinquitatis veniret. Quid igitur inter homines Christus, nisi sanctae Ecclesiae sponsus apparuit? De quo et idem Joannes dicit: Qui habet sponsam, sponsus est. Sed quia Joannem homines Christum esse putaverunt, quod idem Joannes negat, recte se indignum esse ad solvendam corrigiam ejus calceamenti denuntiat. Ac si aperte dicat: Ego Redemptoris nostri vestigia denudare non valeo, quia sponsi nomen mihi immerito non usurpo. Quod tamen intelligi et aliter potest. Quis enim nesciat quod calceamenta ex mortuis animalibus fiunt? Incarnatus vero Dominus veniens quasi calccatus apparuit, quia in divinitate sua morticina nostrae corruptionis assumpsit. Unde etiam per Prophetam dicit: In Idumaeam extendam calceamentum meum. Per Idumaeam quippe gentilitas, per calceamentum vero assumpta mortalitas designatur. In Idumaeam ergo Dominus calceamentum suum se extendere asserit, quia dum per carnem gentibus innotuit, quasi calceata ad nos divinitas venit. Sed hujus incarnationis mysterium humanus oculus penetrare non sufficit. Investigari etenim nullatenus potest quomodo corporatur Verbum, quomodo summus et vivificator spiritus intra uterum matris animatur, quomodo is qui initium non habet, et existit et concipitur. Corrigia ergo calceamenti est ligatura mysterii. Joannes itaque solvere corrigiam calceamenti ejus non valet, quia incarnationis ejus mysterium nec ipse investigare sufficit, qui hanc per prophetiae spiritum agnovit. Quid est ergo dicere: Non sum dignus solvere corrigiam calceamenti ejus, nisi aperte et humiliter suam ignorantiam profiteri? Ac si patenter dicat: Quid mirum si ille mihi praelatus est, quem post me quidem natum considero, sed nativitatis ejus mysterium non apprehendo? Ecce Joannes, prophetiae spiritu impletus, mira scientia emicat et tamen illud de se insinuat quod ignorat. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarum in Evangelia Liber I, Homilia VII, Habita ad populum in basilica sancti Petri apostoli, Dominica quarta in Adventu Domini Source: Migne PL 76.1101b-1102a

John the Baptist reveals how great was the humility and reverence he owed to Christ by saying, 'I am not worthy to undo the strap of His sandal.' 1 It was the custom of those of old that if someone were unwilling to take the wife he should have done, he who should have come to her as bridegroom by right of relationship would undo his sandal. 2 How, then, was Christ among men, but that He appeared as the bridegroom of the holy Church? The same John says of Him, 'He who has the bride is the bridegroom.' 3 Since men thought John was the Christ, which John denied, he was right to proclaim his unworthiness to undo the strap of Christ's sandal. As if he were openly saying, 'I am not able to lay bare the footsteps of our Redeemer, because I do not unrightfully usurp for myself the name of bridegroom.' But this can also be understood in another way. Who does not know that sandals are made from dead animals? Our Lord incarnated appeared as if in sandals because in His Divinity He took up the dead flesh of our corruption. So He says through the prophet: 'Over Edom I shall put forth my sandal.' 4 Edom is the Gentiles, and the sandal the mortality He assumed. The Lord asserts that He puts forth His sandal over Edom because when He became known through the flesh to the Gentiles it was as if Divinity came to us shod in sandals. But the human eye is not sufficient for perceiving the mystery of Christ's incarnation. There is no way we can discover how the Word took up a body, how the great and life-giving Spirit came to life in His mother's womb, and how He who has no beginning both is and is conceived. Therefore the sandal strap is the bond of a mystery. John cannot undo the strap of His sandal because even He is not able to understand the mystery of His incarnation, he who through the spirit of prophecy knew of it. What, therefore, does it mean to say, 'I am not worthy to undo the strap of His sandal,' but he openly and humbly confesses his own ignorance? As if he clearly said, 'Why is it a wonder if He has precedence over me? I see He was born after me, but I do not understand the mystery of His birth.' Behold John who was filled with the spirit of prophecy, and who shone with wondrous knowledge, and yet he implies that there is something he does not understand. Saint Gregory the Great, Homilies On The Gospels, Book 1, from Homily 7, Given to the people in the basilica of Saint Peter, on the fourth Sunday of Advent 1 Mk 1.7 Jn .1.27 2 Ruth 4.7 3 Jn 3.29 4 Ps 59.10

The Leper And The Crowd

Cum descendisset Jesus de monte, etc. Coelum mons est, terra vallis. Deus mons est, homo vallis; Forma Dei mons est, et forma servi vallis. Cum ergo descendisset de coelo in terram Deus in forma Dei, exinanitus est in formam servi, et habitu inventus ut homo. Sequi eum jam non poterant turbae, quae eum exspectabant: quae sine ipso quo vadit ipse, ire non poterant. Quo tamen eos ducit? Primum quidem ad sanandum leprosum, quod fortassis ipsi erant, et nesciebant. Prima aegroti incommoditas est sanitatem non habere; secunda, infirmitatem nescire; tertia medicanate non querere; quarta, oblatam negligere. Ideo sapiens medicus, et benignus Deus eo ducit, ubi docet, ubi occurrat vir videns infirmitatem suam, ac ob hoc quierens sanitatem, confitens potestatem, deprecans voluntatem, quatenus ex eo quod foris turba conspicit, erudiatur, et videntem infirmum infirmior caecus sequatur. Dicit Aposto!us: Abrahae factas promissiones, et semini ejus; ideo et Christum ministrum fuisse circamcisionis propler veritatem Dei, ad confirmandas promissiones Patrum; gentes autem super misericordiam honorare Deum. Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, In Dominica III Post Epiphaniam I Source: Migne PL 194.1726d-1727a

'When Jesus had come down from the mountain...' 1 Heaven is the mountain, the earth is the valley. God is the mountain, man is the valley. The form of God is the mountain, the form of a slave is the valley. When therefore God in the form of God came down to earth, He emptied Himself and took on the form of a slave, and was found in the likeness of a man. 2 The crowds which expected Him were not able to follow Him, for without Him they were not able to go where He goes. But where does He lead them? First to the healing of the leper, because perhaps they were also sick and did not know it. Firstly it is wretched to be sick and lack health, secondly to not know one's own disorder, thirdly not to seek healing, fourthly to neglect something offered. Therefore God the wise and benevolent physician leads the crowd to a place where it might learn, to a place where it comes on a man who knows his infirmity, and because of this is seeking healing, confessing power, and entreating good will. As far as the crowd looked on these exterior things, it was to learn, even that after the sick man who sees comes the more wretched blind one. The Apostle says, 'Promises were made to Abraham and his seed, therefore Christ was to serve the circumcised because of God's truth, for the confirmation of the promises to the patriarchs, and that the Gentiles honour God for His mercy.' 3 Isaac of Stella, from a Sermon on the Third Sunday after the Epiphany 1 Mt 8.1 2 Phil 2.6-7 3 Galat 3.16, Rom 15.8-9

Knowing God

Confiteor tibi, Domine, Pater caeli et terrae, quia abscondisti haec a sapientibus et prudentibus, et revelasti ea parvulis... Qui sunt sapientes? Antiqui philosophi, et oratores, qui naturali sapientia literarum exercitatione exacuminati, de Dei natura quaerere contendebant, non Deum invenire desiderantes, sed altissima disserere cupientes, victi sunt ingenio, defecerunt sermone: in ultimo nihil se amplius invenire potuisse confessi sunt, nisi quia Deus incognoscibilis est. Et ut quid ergo tantum laborasti, si ignorans es, postquam requisisti, quemadmodum fueras, antequem quaereres? Sicut enim qui innavigabilem oceanum navigare se usurpat, dum non potest eum transire, necesse est, ut per eadem viam revertatur, unde ingressus est: sic et illi ab ignorantia coeperunt, et in ignorantia finierunt. O homo sapiens, magis autem insipiens! Deus invisibilis est, et quis potest videre,nisi ipse se videat? Serva ergo mandata Dei, sanctifica cor tuum, ita ut inhabitet Deus in te, et videas Deum. Magis autem non vides, sed Deus, qui est in te, videt te. Deus incomprehensibilis est. Quis enim potest comprehendere eum, nisi ipse se comprehendat? Serva ergo mandata Dei, sanctifica cor tuum, ita ut Deus habitet in te, et quotidie magis ac magis invenies Deum. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXVIII Source: Migne PG 56.776

I confess to you Lord, Father of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to little ones... 1 Who are the wise? The ancient philosophers and orators who with their natural wisdom exerted themselves in the exercise of letters and disputed in the enquiry of the nature of God, not wishing to find God but desiring to speak cleverly of high things, who were by their own minds overthrown, and cast down in their words, for in the end they confessed they were not able to find out anything more than that God was unknowable. And why, therefore, did you labour so greatly, if being ignorant, after you had ceased, you were as you were before you sought? For like a man who has thrust himself forward to navigate the unnavigable ocean which he is not able to cross, and he must return on the same way he went out, so it is that those who have begun from ignorance shall end in ignorance. O wise man, how much more unwise! God cannot be seen, and who can see Him unless He shall see Himself? Therefore keep the commandments of God, sanctify your heart, so that God may dwell in you, and you will see God, or rather you will not see but God who is in you shall see for you. God is unknowable and who is able to know him unless Him who knows Himself? Therefore keep the commandments of God, sanctify your heart, so that God might dwell in you and with every day that passes you will find God more and more. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 28 1 Mt 11.25

The Knowledge Of The Father And The Son

De die autem illa et hora nemo scit neque angeli in coelo, neque Filius, nisi Pater solus. Sed quaerendum est quare ille dicat Filium nescire ista, et solum Patrem scire, cum ipse dicat: Omnia tradita sunt a Patre meo, et item: Omnia quae habet Pater mea sunt, et illud: Ego et Pater unum sumus. Si enim ipse et Pater unum sunt, quomodo nescit Filius quod scit Pater? Sed ut locus iste sobrie intelligatur videndum est quod sit scire, vel quod nescire. Scire Dei est approbare, unde ait Moysi: Novi te ex nomine, id est approbavit. Aliter scire Dei est alios scientes facere, unde Moyses dixit filiis Israel: Tentat vos Dominus Deus vester ut sciat si diligitis eum, quod non ita accipiendum est quasi ait aliquid quod Deus nesciat; sed sciat dicit, id est scire vos faciat quantum in ejus dilectione profeceritis, quod aliter cognosci non poterat, nisi tentationibus probaretur. Si ergo scire Dei est approbare, nescire illius reprobare est, unde in fine saeculi dicturus est impiis: Nescio vos, id est in doctrina et disciplina mea non vos invenio, non vos approbo. Rursus si scire Dei est alios scientes facere, nescire illius est alios utiliter nescientes facere. Et ideo beatus Marcus dicit Filium nescire, quia ipse utiliter facit alios nescire diem judicii, quod non prodest illis scire; si enim homo diem judicii, vel diem mortis cognosceret, aliud tempus deputaret volupataibus, et aliud poenitentiae; voluit quippe Dominus diem judicii omnibus esse occultum, quatenus semper sit suspectus; voluit esse ignotum, ut omnes sint parati et pervigiles. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Homilia I Source: Migne PL 131.870b-d

Regarding that day and hour no one knows, not the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 1 But it must be asked why He says the the Son does not know this and the Father alone knows, when He says: 'Everything has been given to me by the Father,' and 'Everything which the Father has is mine,' and 'The Father and I are one.' 2 For if He and the Father are one, how does the Son not know what the Father knows? But that this line may be understood correctly it is necessary to look into what 'to know' and  what 'not to know' means. God's knowing is approval, whence He says to Moses 'I know you by name,' 3 that is, I approve of you. Along with this God's knowing is to make others know, whence Moses said to the sons of Israel: 'The Lord your God is testing you that He might know if you love Him.' 4 Which must not be understood as if he speaks of something that God does not understand, but saying 'He might know' is a making you know how much you have advanced in the love of Him, which otherwise would not be known, for such a thing is proved by trials. If then God's knowing is approval, His not knowing is reproval, whence at the end of the world it is said to the wicked: 'I do not know you,' 5 that is, 'I do not find you in my teaching and discipline. I do not approve of you.' Again if God's knowing is to make others know, His not knowing is the useful making of the not knowing of others. And therefore the blessed Mark says the Son does not know, because He usefully makes others not know the day of judgement, for that would be of no benefit to them. If a man knew the day of judgement or the day of his death, he could give a part of his time to indulgence, and another part to penitence. But since the Lord wishes that the day of judgement should be hidden to all, to that extent it must always be expected. Thus He wished it to be unknown so that everyone would be prepared and watchful. Remigius of Auxerre, from Homily 1 1 Mt 24.36 2 Mt 11.27, Lk 10.22, Jn 16.15, Jn 10.30 3 Exod 33.12 4 Deut 13.3 5 Mt 25.12, Lk 13.25

Belonging And Obedience

Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi, qui pascitur inter lilia, donec aspiret dies, et inclinentur umbrae. Dilectus meus mihi haec locutus est, et ego illi, subaudis obediam, qui pascitur inter lilia, hoc est delectatur in operibus eorum qui sunt candidi in virtutibus, qui sunt decus aliorum, ut lilium spinarum. Et tandiu in his pascitur, et tandiu obediam alios docendo, donec aspiret dies, id est donec scientia aeternae claritatis adveniat, ubi omnes verum lumen videant, et donec inclinentur umbrae, id est donec ignorantia praesentis vitae pertranseat. Honorius Augustodunensis, Expositio in Cantica Canticorum, Caput II Source: Migne PL 172.394c-d

My beloved is mine and I am his, he who feeds among the lilies, until the day breaks and the shadows decline... 1 'My beloved is mine,' she says, 'and I am his,' meaning I shall be obedient to him, 'who feeds among the lilies,' which is to delight in the works of those who are bright with virtue, who are as worthy among others as 'a lily among thorns.' 2 And on these he shall feed, and my obedience shall teach others, 'until the day breaks,' that is, until the knowledge of eternal brightness comes, when all shall see the true light, and until 'the shadows decline,' which is when the ignorance of the present life passes by. Honorius of Autun, Commentary on The Song of Songs, Chapter 2 1 Song 2.16-17 2 Song 2.2

Reckoning The Slain

Tunc Herodes videns quod illusus esset a Magis, iratus est valde. Et mittens occidit omnes pueros qui erant in Bethlehem, et in omnibus finibus ejus, a bimatu et infra, secundum tempus quod exquisierat a Magis. Omnes igitur occidit, ut unus non effugeret. Sed quanti eorum essent,non facile repritur, etsi quorumdam traditio habeat juxta Apocalypsin Joannis centum quadraginta quator millia fuisse. Nam ibidem e omni tribu duodecim millia leguntur ascripti; hic vero ex Bethlehem atque ejus finibus omnes perhibentur occisi. Rursus alii asseverant per viginti locorum spati duo millia infantum occisos fuisse, ita ut in singulis locis centum perempti essent. Quod nos non astruimus. Quia quod in Scripturis sanctis non legimus, melius ignorare quam temere definire credimus. Hoc tantum ad praesens fatemur, quod Deum non lateant cui omnia vivunt, qui pro domino mortis dispendium subierunt. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber I, Caput II Source: Migne PL 120.142b

Then Herod seeing how he was deceived by the Magi was greatly angered, and he ordered all the young boys who were in Bethlehem to be killed, and in all the surrounding region, from two years and under, according to the time he had learnt from the Magi. 1 Therefore he killed them all, that not one might escape. But it is not easy to reckon how many there were, even if it is the custom of some to hold that according to the Apocalypse of John they were one hundred and forty four thousand. For there they read that it is written that from every tribe there were twelve thousand. But here it is said that all those from Bethlehem and all the surrounding region were killed. 2 Again others assert that in twenty places two thousand children were killed, so that in each place a hundred were slain. We cannot confirm this, because we think that it is better to confess ignorance of what is not told in the Holy Scriptures than to make bold statements. For the present this alone we will say, that they are not unknown to God, with whom they all live, all who have undergone the sentence of death for the Lord. 3 Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 1, Chapter 2 1 Mt 2.16 2 Apoc 7.5

The Shadow Of Death

Quoniam autem ignorantia Dei umbra est mortis, testatur propheta dicens: Et declinasti semitas nostras a via tua, et cooperuit nos umbra mortis. Sine dubio enim operiet eum ignorantia Dei, cujus vita de via Dei fuerit declinata. Regio autem mortis mundus est iste. Sicut enim illa terra vivorum est, de qua dicitur: Credo videre bona Domini in terra viventium: sic terra haec regio mortis est. Propterea ad plenum Deo placere non possumus, degentes in ea, quia ipsi etsi vivi sumus propter opera viva et fidem Christi, teman quia in mundo vivimus, cui diabolus principatur, coinquinati sumus. Ideo et Paulus: Quis liberabit de corpore mortis hujus. Corpus enim hoc, corpus est mortis, quia non vitalibus, sed mortiferis voluptatibus est subjectum. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia VI Source: Migne PG 56.672

That the ignorance of God is the shadow of death, the prophet bears witness, saying, 'And you lower our paths from your way, and the shadow of death covers us.' 1 Without doubt the ignorance of God shall cover him whose life shall have declined from the way of God. And the realm of death is this world. For as there is a land of the living, concerning which it is said, 'I believe I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living, 2 so this earth is the realm of death. Whence we are not able to please God fully while we dwell in it, because even if we live according to the works of life and the faith of Christ, yet because we live in the world, of which the devil is the prince, we are defiled. Therefore even Paul says: 'Who will free me from this body of death.' 3 For this body is the body of death, because it is not subject to life giving but death bringing pleasures. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 6 1 Ps 43.19-20 2 Ps 26.13 3 Rom 7.24

Revelation And Hiding

Ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ καιρῷ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν: ἐξομολογοῦμαί σοι, Πάτερ, Kύριε τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅτι ἔκρυψας ταῦτα ἀπὸ σοφῶν καὶ συνετῶν, καὶ ἀπεκάλυψας αὐτὰ νηπίοις. Ὅ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· Ἐξομολογοῦμαι, ἀντὶ τοῦ Εὐχαριστῶ σοι, ὦ Πάτερ, ὅτι οἱ δοκοῦντες σοφοὶ καὶ ἔμπειροι εἶναι τῶν Γραφῶν Ἰουδαῖοι, ἠπείθησαν, οἱ δὲ ἀμαθεῖς καὶ νήπιοι ἐπίστευσαν καὶ ἔγνων τὰ μυστήρια. Ἀπέκρυψε δὲ τὰ μυστήρια ὁ Θεὸς απὸ τῶν δοκούντῶν εἶναι σοφῶν, οὐχ ὡς φθονῶν ἤ ὡς αἴτιος ἀγνωσίας, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ μὴ εἶναι ἀξίους, ἐξ αὐτοῦ τούτου τοῦ δοκεῖν ἑαυτοὺς εἶναι σοφούς· ὁ γὰρ δοκῶν ἑαυτὸν σοφὸν, καὶ θαῥῥων τῇ οἰκείᾳ γνώσει, οὐδὲ προσαλεῖται Θεόν. Καὶ λοιπὸν ὁ Θεὸς ὡς μὴ προσκαλούμενος οὐδὲ βοηθεῖ αὐτῷ, οὐδὲ ἀποκαλύπτει. Ἄλλως τε, ὁ Θεὸς μᾶλλον διὰ φιλανθρωπίαν οὐκ ἀποκαλύπτει τοῖς πολλοῖς τὰ μυστήρια, ἵνα μὴ πλεῖον κολασθῶσιν, ὡς μετὰ τὸ γνῶναι διαπτύσαντες. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον , Κεφ ΙΑ' Source: Migne PG 123.256c-d

At that time Jesus answered and said, 'I confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden all these things from the wise and clever, and revealed them to little ones.' 1 He says, 'I confess,' that is, I give thanks to you, Father, that the Jews who seem to be wise to themselves and learned in the Scriptures, did not believe, but the uneducated and little ones believed and knew mysteries. For God hides mysteries from those who seem to be wise, not because He begrudges them, or that He is a cause of ignorance, but because they are not worthy, since they seem wise to themselves. But he who is wise to himself and he who is confident in his own knowledge does not call on God. And when one does not call on God, He does not aid, nor does He reveal anything. And besides this, God on account of His love of men does not reveal His mysteries to many, lest more be punished, scorning the things that they teach. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 11 1 Mt 11.25

An Empty House

Vis videre mundatam, ornatam et vacantem domum? Hominem intuere qui confessus est, et deseruit manifesta peccata praecedentia ad judicium, et nunc solas movet manus ad opera mandatorum, corde penitus arido, ductus consuetudine quadam, plane quasi vitula Ephraim, docta diligere trituram. Exteriorum quae ad modicum valent, ne unum iota praeterit aut apicem unum; sed camelum glutit, dum culicem liquat. In corde enim servus est propriae voluntatis, cultor avaritiae, gloriae cupidus, ambitionis amator; aut haec omnia, aut singula quaeque intus vitia fovens: et mentitur iniquitas sibi, sed Deus non irridetur. Videas enim interdum sic palliatum hominem, ut seducat etiam semetipsum, penitus non attendens vermem, qui interiora depascitur. Manet enim superficies, et salva sibi omnia arbitratur. Comederunt, ait propheta, alieni robur ejus, et ignoravit. Dicit: Quia dives sum, et nullius egeo: cum sit pauper, et miser, et miserabilis. Nam et inventa occasione ebullire saneim, quae latebat in ulcere, et excisam, non exstirpatam arborem in silvam pullulare videas densiorem. Quod periculum si volumus declinare, securim ponamus necesse est ad radices arborum, non ad ramos. Non sola inveniatur in nobis exercitatio corporalis, ad modicum valens: sed inveniatur utilis ad omnia pietas, et exercitium spirituale. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermo II, Sermones De Sanctis, De Domo Mundanda, Ornanda, Implenda Source: Migne PL 183.419d-420b

You wish to to see a house clean and adorned and empty? Look to a man who has confessed and has forsaken overt sin before judgement and now sets his hands only to the works of the commandments, with a heart utterly dry, led by a certain custom, certainly as the heifer of Ephraim trained to love the threshing. 1 On the outside for a little while he flourishes, not omitting one iota or dot, but he swallows the camel while he strains out the gnat. 2 In his heart he is a slave to his own will, a worshipper of avarice, desirous of glory, a lover of ambition, and all these, or each one, nurtures the evil within, and iniquity deludes itself, but God is not mocked. 3 See meanwhile that a man who is so cloaked seduces even himself, so that he does not at all attend to the worm which feeds on him within. In appearance all things are judged to be well with him. The prophet says: 'Foreigners devoured his strength and he did not know it.' 4 He says: 'Rich I am and I need nothing, when he is poor, and wretched and pitiful.' 5 For even if there is occasion when the pus which was hidden in the ulcer boils over, and it is excised, the tree is not uprooted which you see shoots put forth in the deeper wood. If you wish to avoid that danger, it is necessary to place an axe to the roots of the tree, not to the branches. 6 Let there not be found in us only corporeal exertions, in which we flourish for a little time, but let what is useful to all piety be found in spiritual exertions. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, from Sermon 2, On The Saints, That a house should be clean, adorned and filled 1 Hosea 10.11 2 Mt 23.24 3 Galat 6.7 4 Hosea 7.9 5 Apoc 3.7 6 Mt 3.10

Ignorance And Sin

Καὶ ἑώρακας αὐτὸν καὶ ὁ λαλῶν µετὰ σοῦ ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν. Πεφώτισαι τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας, ελλαμπόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ φωτὸς τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ. Ὁ ἀπεναντίας ἔχων τούτῳ, τυφλωθεὶς ὑφ' ἦς ἔχει ἀγνοίας, δοκεῖ μὴ ἔχειν ἁμαρτίαν, τῷ μὴ ἑκουσίως πράττειν, ἁδρὰ ἠμαρτηκώς. Αὐτὸ δὲ το ἀγννοεῖν, κατ' ἄλλον τρόπον ἁμάρημά ἐστιν· ἐνῆν γὰρ λογικὸν ὄντα, ἐπιστήμην ἀγαθοῦ καὶ κακοῦ ἔχειν. Ἀμελήσεως οὖν τούτου ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀγνοίας ἐγκαλεῖται. Εἰς τοῦτο λήψῃ τὸ Ὁ δοῦλος ὁ μὴ γνοὺς τὸ θέλημα...δαρήσεται ὀλίγας. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ἰωαννην Εὐαγγελιον Source: Migne PG 39.1652b

Even Him whom you have seen, even He who is speaking to you. 1 The eyes of the heart were illuminated because the true light shone on them. But on the contrary he who is blind is bound to ignorance, and he seems to himself to have no sin, 2 because of which he has no choice but to sin all the more. And this ignorance is sin in another way. For it is possible that since man is rational, he may have knowledge of good and evil. Therefore neglect of it convicts him of ignorance. So understand: 'The servant who does not know the will ... shall be whipped a little.' 3 Didymus the Blind, On The Gospel Of St John, Fragment 1 Jn 9.37 2 1 Jn 1.8 3 Lk 12.48

Goods And Knowledge

Πολλοὶ λέγουσιν· Τίς δείξει ἡμῖν ἀγαθὰ; Ἄλλοι μὲν, φησὶν, ἄλλως διανοούμενοι, καὶ μάλιστα οἱ βαρυκάρδιοι υἱοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οἱ τὴν τοῦ βίου ματαιότητα ἀγαπῶντες, οὐκ εἰδότες τ' ἀληθῶς ἀγαθὰ, οὐδὲ ἐλπίζοντες, οὐδὲ πιστεύοντες ταῦτα ὅψεσθαι, φασί, Τίς δείχει ἡμῖν τὰ ἀγαθά; Οὐ γὰρ συνορῶσιν αὐτὰ, τῷ μὴ καταυγάζεσθαι τῷ φωτὶ τοῦ προσώπου σου· διὸ δὴ μόνα τὰ γεώδη καὶ φθαρτὰ ὑπολαμβάνοντες εἶναι ἁγαθα, περὶ ταῦτα ἀσχολοῦνται καὶ ταῦτα μεταδιώκουσιν. Εἰ δέ τις αὐτοῖς περὶ τῶν θειοτέρων καὶ ἐπουρανίων λέγοι, ἐρωτᾷν εἰώθασιν· Καὶ τίς ἆρά ἐστιν ὁ δείξων ἡμῖν ταῦτα; Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνοι μὲν τοιοῦτοί τινες. Ἡμεῖς δὲ παρ' οἴς ἐσημειώθη τὸ φῶς τοῦ προσώπου σου, ὦ Κύριε, καὶ τὸν δείξοντα καὶ τὸν δώσοντα ἡμῖν αὐτὰ ἐπιστάμεθα ὑπὸ τοῦ σου φωτὸς εἰς τὴν γνῶσιν αὐτῶν ἐληλυθότες· Ἔδωκας εὐφροσύνων εἰς τὴν καρδίαν μου. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους, ψαλμος Δ´ Source: Migne PG 23.108d-109a

Many say: who shall show us good things? 1 Others certainly, he says, thinking differently, they who are the sons of men with the most heavy hearts, lovers of the most vain things of life, 2 who do not truly know goods, who neither hope nor believe in anything that shall be seen, they say: 'Who shall show us good things?' For indeed the things they see, because they are not illuminated by the light of your face, are only worldly and corruptible goods, which things they must desire and seek. And if someone happens to speak to them of Divine and heavenly things, they are accustomed to ask, 'Who, then, shall show these things to us?' So they are. We however, sealed with the light of your face, O Lord, we know they shall be shown and given to us, with us coming to the knowledge of them by your light, 'You have given joy to my heart.' 1 Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 4 1 Ps 4.6 2 Ps 4.3

A Foolish People

Quia stultus populus meus me non cognovit: filii insipientes sunt et vecordes. Sapientes sunt ut faciant mala: bene autem facere nescierunt. Causa contritionis, vastitatis, fugaeque et buccinae, quia stultus factus est populus, non natura, sed studio voluntatis. Ipsaque stultitia hinc probatur: quia non cognoverunt Deum, et pro filiis sapientibus, stulti filii facti sunt et vecordes. Quae enim major potest esse stultitia, quam, cognoscente bove possessorem suum, et asino praesepe Domini sui, Israel Dominum non cognoscere, et praesentem contemnere quem semper videre cupiebat? Quodque infertur: Sapientes sunt ut faciant mala: bene autem facere nescierunt, hic sapientia pro malitia accipienda est, juxta quod et filii saeculi hujus sapientiores sunt filiis lucis: et villicus iniquitatis quaedam sapienter fecisse narratur; et serpens in paradiso prudentior cunctis bestiis legitur. Illa est ergo vera sapientia quae Dei timori jungitur. Alioquin ubi insidiae sunt et tergiversatio, non sapientia, sed versutia et calliditas appellanda est. Pro eo, quod nos diximus, quia stultus populus meus me non cognovit, Septuaginta transtulerunt: quia principes populi mei me non cognoverunt: ut magistrorum sit magis culpa quam populi Dei scientiam non habentis. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Jeremiam Prophetam, Lib I Cap IV Source Migne PL 24.738b-d

For my people are foolish, they do not know me; they are mindless and senseless children. They are wise in doing evil, but they do not know how to do good.1 The cause of the contrition, of the devastation, of the flight, and of the trumpeting, 2 is that the people have become foolish, not by nature but by the intent of their will. And this foolishness is shown by the fact that they do not know God. Instead of being wise sons they have become foolish and senseless sons. For what could be more foolish than when the ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib, Israel does not know the Lord, and despises Him present, Him whom they have always longed to see? And with what follows: 'They are wise in doing evil but they do not know how to do good, 'wise' should be understood in a wicked sense, as when the sons of his world are wiser than the sons of light, and the dishonest steward is said to have done certain things wisely, 3 or when it is read that the serpent in paradise is wiser than any other wild creature. 4 True wisdom, therefore, is wisdom joined to the fear of the Lord. Otherwise, where there are plots and deception, it should not be called wisdom but cleverness or cunning. Where it is said, 'For my people are foolish, they do not know me,' the Septuagint has translated, 'For the princes of my people do not know me,' so the fault of the teachers is greater than the people's when the people have no knowledge of God. Saint Jerome, from the Commentary on Jeremiah, Book 4, Chapter 4 1 Jerem 4.22 2 Jerem 4.19-21 3 Gen 3.1 4 Lk 16.1-8

Wisdom And Humility

Quia abscondisti haec sapientibus et prudentibus, et revelasti ea parvulis. Gratias agit et exsultat in Patre quod apostolis adventus sui aperuerit sacramenta, quae ignoraverunt scirbae et Pharisaei, qui sibi sapientes videntur et in conspectu suo prudentes. Justificata sapientia a filiis suis. Ubi pulchre sapientibus et prudentibus non insipientes et hebetes, sed parvulos, id est humiles, opposuit, ut probaret se tumorem damnasse non acumen: quia haec est clavis de qua alibi dicit: Tulistis clavem scientiae, id est, humilitatem fidei Christi, quia ad divinitatis ejus agnitionem pervenire poteratis, spernentes, abjicere maluistis. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Matthaeum, Liber IV, Caput XI Source: Migne PL 107.915d

Because you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to little ones. 1 He gives thanks and exults in the Father, that His coming Has opened up the mysteries to the Apostles, of which the Scribes and Pharisees were ignorant, they who seemed wise to themselves and prudent in their own sight. 'Wisdom is justified by her sons.' 2 Where beautifully those opposed to the wise and prudent are not the stupid and the dull, but little ones, that is, the humble, that He might prove that they have condemned themselves with their foolish swelling up, because humility is the key, concerning which it is said elsewhere: 'You have taken away the key of knowledge.' 3 that is, spurning the humility of the faith of Christ, by which you were able to come to understanding of His Divinity, you prefered to cast it away. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 4, Chapter 11 1 Mt 11.25 2 Mt 11.19 3 Lk 11.52

Light And Darkness

Lux in tenerbis lucet... Christus iterum lux est secundum quod Deus; de quo Ioannis duodecimo: Ego lux in mundum veni, ut omnis qui credit in me, non maneat in tenebris; quod refertur ad Divnitatem; credimus enim in Christum Dominum, non in hominem secundum quod homo. Nota autem, quod lux habet puritatem in materia, speciositatem in forma, sublimitatem in situ. Christus autem secundum quod Deus est lux altissima, lux purissima, lux speciosissima. Altitudo attestatur potentiae, speciositas sapientiae, puritas bonitati. Est igitur Christus lux altissima; primae ad Timotheum ultimo: Lucem inhabitat inacessibilem. Lux speciossima, Sapientiae septimo: Speciosior est sole et super omnem dispositionem stellarum luci comparata invenitur prior. Lux purissima, primae Ioannis primo: Deus lux est, et tenebrae in eo non sunt ullae. Haec lux lucet interius secundum operationes divinae naturae. Emittit autem interius triplicem lucem sive lumen, lumen scientiae, Psalmus: Emitte lucem tuam et veritatem tuam, item, Illumina oculos meos, ne unquam obdormiam in morte. Lumen gratiae, Isaiae quinquagesimo ocatvo: Orietur in tenebris lux lua, et sexagesimo: Surge, illuminare, Ierusalem, quia venit lumen tuum. Lumen laetitiae spiritulais, Psalmus: Signatum est super nos lumen vultus tui, Domine; dedisti laetitiam in corde meo, quocontra dicitur Threnorum tertio: Minavit me Dominus et adduxit in tenebras et non in lucem. Sequitur: Et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt... Ubi reprehenditur ignorantia humanae caecitatis. Circa quod considerandum est, quae sint istae tenbrae, et qui illorum defectus. Tenebrae istae peccatores sunt, qui in tenebris sunt, et tenebras quaerunt, et ad tenebras tendunt. In tenebris spiritualibus sunt, tenebras temporales quaerunt et ad tenebras aeternales tendunt. In tenebris sunt, Psalmus: Nescierunt neque intellexerunt in tenebris ambulant. Ecclesiastici undecimo: Error et tenebrae peccatoribus concreata sunt. Tenebras quaerunt, Ioannis tertio: Dilexerunt homines magis tenebras quam lucem, erant enim eorum mala opera. As tenebras tendunt, in Canonica Iudae: Quibus procella tenebrarum servata est in aeternum; Iob decimo: Dimitte me, ut plangam paululum dolorem meum, antequam vadam et non revertar ad terram tenebrosam et opertam mortis caligine. Isti ergo tenebrae sunt. In comprehensione autem lucis deficiunt, quia aversi; Psalmus: Averterunt se et non servaverunt pactum. Quia operti, Psalmus: Operti sunt iniquitate et impietate sua. Quia caeci, Matthaei decimo quinto: Sinite eos, caeci sunt et duces caecorum. Avertuntur Deum deserendo, operiuntur peccatum operando, excaecantur in peccato perseverando. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput I Source: Here, p536

The light shone in the darkness... 1 Again Christ is light in that He is God, concerning which the twelfth chapter of John says: 'I have come as a light to the world that all who believe in me do not remain in darkness,' 2 which refers to His Divinity, for we believe in Christ the Lord, not in the man according to which He is man. And let it be noted that the light has purity in matter, and beauty in form and sublimity in place. Christ in that which He is God is the highest light and the purest light and the most beautiful light. The height declares His power, the beauty His wisdom, the purity His goodness. Therefore Christ is the highest light in the last chapter of the first letter to Timothy: 'He dwells in inaccessible light.' 3 The light is most beautiful in the seventh chapter of Wisdom: 'More beautiful than the sun and the arrangement of the stars, and compared to light found superior.' 4 The light is purest in the first letter of John: 'God is light and there is no darkness at all in Him.' 5 This light shines forth from within according to the works of the Divine nature. And it shines from within according to a threefold light or illumination. The light of knowledge, as in the Psalm: 'Send forth your light and your truth.' 6 And again: 'Illuminate my eyes lest they should ever sleep in death.' 7 The light of grace, as in the fifty eighth chapter of Isaiah: 'Your light shall rise in darkness.' 8 And in the sixtieth chapter: 'Rise, shine, Jerusalem, because your light has come.' 9 The light of spiritual joy as in the Psalm: 'The light of your face is sealed upon us, O Lord; you have given joy to my heart.' 10 Against which the third chapter of Lamentations says: 'The Lord has threatened me and led me into darkness and not into light.' 11 It follows: And the darkness could not comprehend it... Here the ignorance of human blindness is reproved. According to which one must consider what this darkness is and what its defects are. This darkness is sinners, those who are in the darkness, and they seek the darkness and to the darkness they tend. They are in spiritual darkness, and in temporal darkness they seek and to eternal darkness they tend. In darkness they are, as in the Psalm: 'They do not know and they do not understand, they walk in darkness.' 12 In the eleventh chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'Error and darkness were created with sinners.' 13 They seek the darkness, in the third chapter of John: 'Men loved the darkness more than the light, for their works were evil.' 14 In the letter of Jude: 'For whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved forever.' 15 In the tenth chapter of Job: 'Allow me that I might bewail a little less my woes, before I go and do not return into a dark land, covered with the darkness of death.' 16 These are the darkness. And in the comprehension of the light they are deficient because they are averse. In the Psalm: 'They turn themselves away and do not guard the covenant.' 17 Because they are covered, in the Psalm: 'They are covered with iniquity and their impiety.' 18 Because they are blind, in Matthew chapter fifteen: 'Allow them, they are blind and leaders of the blind.' 19 They turn away and because they forsake God they are covered with the working of sin, and they are blinded because they persevere in it. Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 1 1 Jn 1.5 2 Jn 12.46 3 1 Tim 6.16 4 Wisd 7.29 5 1 Jn 1.5 6 Ps 42.3 7 Ps 12.4 8 Isaiah 58.10 9 Isaiah 60.1 10 Ps 4.7 11 Lamen 3.2 12 Ps 81.5 13 Sirach 11.16 14 Jn 3.19 15 Jude 13 16 Job 10.20-21 17 Ps 77.57 18 Ps 72.6 19 Mt 15.14

The Interior Heaven

Ἰδοὺ λοιπὸν καὶ ἡμεῖς οἱ τεθέντες ἐν λάκκῳ ἀγνωσίας βαθυτάτῳ καὶ σκοτεινοῖς πάθεσι, καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου τούτου τοῦ σώματος, περὶ τοῦ ἐπιγείου οὐρανοῦ ἐκ θρασύτητος φιλοσοφεῖν ἀρχόμεθα. Ἔχει μὲν γὰρ τὸ στερέωμα τοὺς ἀστέρας κάλλος, ἡ δὲ ἀπάθεια τὰς ἀρετὰς κόσμον· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἕτερόν τι ἔγωγε ἀπάθειαν ὑπείληφα εἶναι· ἀλλ᾿ ἢ ἐγκάρδιον νοὸς οὐρανόν, τὰς τῶν δαιμόνων πανουργίας, ἀθύρματα λοιπὸν λογιζόμενον. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος, ἡ Κλίμαξ, Λογος ΚΘ' Source: Migne PG 88.1148b

Behold, here are we who are laying in the deepest pit of ignorance, in the dark passions and in the shadow of death of this body, having the temerity to begin to philosophize about heaven on earth. For the firmament has the stars for its beauty, and dispassion has the virtues for its adornment; and by dispassion I mean nothing else but the interior heaven of the mind, which considers the snares of demons to be mere toys. Saint John Climacus, The Ladder, from Step 29

A Measure Of Ignorance

Ἦ ἴχνος Kυρίου εὑρήσεις ἢ εἰς τὰ ἔσχατα ἀφίκου ἃ ἐποίησεν ὁ παντοκράτωρ. Ὑψηλὸς ὁ οὐρανός καὶ τί ποιήσεις; βαθύτερα δὲ τῶν ἐν ᾅδου· τί οἶδας; ἢ μακρότερα μέτρου γῆς ἢ εὔρους θαλάσσης. Δεϊξαι δὲ βούλεται διὰ πάντων τούτων, ὅτι ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γνῶσις μεμετρημένη ἐστὶ, μὴ ἐφικνουμένη τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ κριμάτων. Καὶ νῦν γοῦν ὁ οὐρανὸς, φησὶν, ἐστὶ, καὶ ᾅδου βαθύτερα, καὶ μακρότερα γῆς, καὶ τοῦ εὔρους τῆς θαλάσσης, λέγε τι περὶ αὐτῶν, εἰ δύναται. Αἰνίττερται δὲ ἴσως, ὅτι κἂν ἐπιχειρήσῃ τις περὶ γῆς, καὶ θαλάσσης, καὶ οὐρανοῦ λαλῆσαι, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὑπὲρ ἐκεῖνα ἀγνοεῖ. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Τον Ιὠβ Source: Migne PG 39.1147a

Would you seek out the ways of the Lord, or grasp the utmost things the Creator of all has done? High as heaven is where you would reach? Deeper than the things of hell you would know? Further than the length of the earth and the breadth of the sea? 1 By all these things he wishes it to be understood that man's knowledge has a certain measure which is not able to attain to the judgements of God. 'And now,' he says, 'do say something about heaven and the depths of hell, and the length of the earth, and the breadth of the sea, if you can.' For he knows, perhaps, that although concerning the earth and the sea and heaven, a man might venture to say something, he will be ignorant of those things which are beyond. Didymus the Blind, On Job, Chapter 11 1 Job 11.7-9

Ignorance And Resurrection

Et repondens Iesus ait illis: nonne ideo erratis, non scientes Scripturas, neque virtutem Dei? Incipit istius tentationis solutio: habet autem tres particulas, scilicet, ignorantiae increpationem, erroris eorum ostensionem, et resurrectionis mortuorum probationem. Dicit igitur increpando etiam humano iudicio de resurrectione mortuorum loquentem, quam putatis carnaliter debere intelligi, dicentes illud, Quomodo resurgent mortui? quali autem corpore venient? Quia enim Pharisei dicunt quod animali corpore venient cibis egentes, et sexus permiscentes: et quia vobis hoc videtur impossible, ideo negatis resurrectionem, nescientes quid scriptura loquitur, quod resurgent mortui cum corporibus immortalibus: qui cibis non egent, et sexus non permiscent: et ideo erratis nescientes scripturas. Ideo captivus ductus est populus meus: quia non habuit scientiam Erit vobis visio omnium quasi visio libri signati, quem si dederis scienti literas, et dicas lege, dicet: non possum, signatus est enim. Et si dederis eum nescienti literas, et dicas lege,dicet: non possum, quia nescio literas. Obscuratum est insipiens cor eorum. Usque in hodiernum diem cum legitur Moyses, velamen est positum super cor eorum quia infirmitatem morientium intuentes, non putabant mortuos posse resurgere, non intelligentes quod virtute Dei erit resurrectio communis. Erratis nescientes scripturas, neque virtutem Dei. Virtus enim Dei resuscitabit mortuos. Mortui audient vocem filii Dei: et qui audierint, vivent: quia etiam insensibilia Deo, cui omnia obediunt, sensibilia efficiuntur. Ante Deum cui credidisti: quia vivificat mortuos, qui vocat ea quae non sunt tamquam ea quae sunt. Haec enim est virtue Dei quam Saducaeu ignoraverunt. Evigilate iusti: ignorantiam enim Dei quidam habent. Haec cogitaverunt et erraverunt, excaecavit enim illis malitia ipsorum. Et nescierunt sacramenta Dei: et non iudicaverunt honorem animarum sanctarum. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput XII Source: Volumen 9, p146 pdf 393

And Jesus answering said to them: 'Therefore do you not err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God?' 1 He begins the solution of this testing, and it has three parts, that is, chastisement of ignorance, revelation of error, and the proof of the resurrection of the dead. Therefore He says in chastisement of human judgement, speaking of the resurrecton of the dead, which you think to understand carnally, saying: 'How shall the dead rise? With what body shall they come?' 2 Because indeed the Pharisees say that they shall be animal bodies in need of food, and of either sex, and because this seems impossible to you, so you deny the resurrection, not knowing what Scripture speaks, that when they rise with immortal bodies, they will not need food, and will be sexless, and so you err in ignorance of the Scriptures. 'Therefore my people were led away captive, because they did not have knowledge.' 3 'A vision shall be yours of all things, as the vision of a sealed book, which if you shall give to one who knows letters, and you tell him to read, he shall say: 'I cannot, it is sealed.' And if you give it to one who is ignorant of letters, and you tell him to read, he shall say, 'I cannot because I do not know letters.' 4 'Their foolish hearts are darkened.' 5 'Even until today when the Moses is read, a veil is placed over their hearts,' 6 because observing the powerlessness of the dead they do not think it to be possible that they arise, not understanding the common resurrection shall be by the power of God. 'You err not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.' 7 For the power of God revives the dead. 'The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they who hear, shall live,' 8 because even insensible to God, to whom everything is obedient, they shall be made sensible. 'Before the God in whom you have believed, because He gives life to the dead, He calls forth things which are not as things which are.' 9 This indeed is the power of God of which the Sadducees were ignorant. 'Be watchful, you righteous ones, for some are ignorant of God.' '10 'They have thought on these things and they have erred, they have been blinded by their evils. They did not know the mysteries of God, they did not discern the honour of holy souls.' 11 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 12 1 Mk 12.24 2 1 Cor 15.35 3 Isaiah 5.13 4 Isaiah 29.11-12 5 Rom 1.21 6 2 Cor 3.15 7 Matt 22.29 8 Jn 5.25 9 Rom 4.17 10 1 Cor 15.34 11 Wisd 2.21-22