The Spirit's Inspiration

Post haec vidi et ecce ostium apertum in coelo. Ostium apertum in caelo, Novum Testamentum praedicatur. Et vox prima quam audivi tanquam tubae loquentis mecum, dicens: ascende huc. Quando apertum ostenditur , clatisum fuisse antea hominibus manifestum est. Satis autem et plene patefactum est, quando Christus cum corpore in coeios ad Patrem ascendit. Vox autem prior quam audierat, cum dicit illam secum esse locutam , sine contradictione arguit eos, qui aliuin in prophetiis , alium in Evangelio dicunt fuisse locutum, cum magis ipse qui venit, ipse sit qui in prophelis locutus est. Joannes enim ex circumcisione erat; et omnis ille populus qui VeterisTestamenti praedicatiouem audierat, illa voce aedificatus est. Illa eademque vox, inquit, quam audieram, illa mihi dixit: Ascende huc. Id est spiritus, quem paulo ante quam filium hominis inter candelabra aurea ambulantem se vidisse fatetur: et nunc exinde recolit, quae per legem in similitudinibus praenuntiata erant, et per hanc scripturam conjungit omnes priores, et aperit scripturas. Et quia postquam invitavit in coelum omnes credentes in nomine suo Dominus noster, statim Spiritum sanctum effudit qui ferturus ad coelum, ait: Statim fui in spiritu. Et cum aperiatur per Spiritum sanctum mens fidelium, et illud eis manifestetur, quid et prioribus est praedictum, significater ait. Victorinus Petavionensis, Scoli in Apocalypsin Beati Joannis Source: Migne PL 5.323c-324a

After that I saw a door open in heaven. 1 The door open in heaven speaks of the New Testament. And the first voice that I heard, speaking to me like a trumpet, said, 'Come up here.' When it is shown to have been opened, it is manifest that it was closed before to men. It was plainly thrown right open when Christ in the body ascended to the Father in the heavens. But the voice which he had previously heard, when he says that it spoke to him, without contradiction disputes with those who say that one thing was spoken in the prophets and another in the Gospel, when rather He who came is He who spoke through the prophets. For John was of the circumcision and all that people who heard the Old Testament preached were edified by that voice. 'That same voice,' he says, 'which I heard, that said to me, 'Come up here.' That is, the Spirit, whom a little before he says he had seen walking like a son of man in the midst of the golden candlesticks. And he now gathers from Him what had been foretold in similitudes by the Law, and through  Scripture joins up all that came before, and thus open up the Scriptures. And because after our Lord invited all who believe in His name into heaven, He then poured out the Holy Spirit which brings to heaven, he says: 'Immediately I was in the Spirit.' Since when the mind of the faithful is opened by the Holy Spirit, that is made manifest to them which was foretold to those who came before, he distinctly says. Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of St John 1 Apoc 4.1-2

Speech And Understanding

Quare loquelam meam non cognoscitis? Nota, quod Dominus loquitur nobis aliquando per signa creaturae; aliquando per litteras Scriptarae; aliguando quasi per nuntios, et hoc in praedicatione; aliquando quasi voce viva, et hoc interna inspiratione. Loquitur ergo per signa creaiiirae; Proverbiorum primo: Sapientia foris praedicat, id est in creaturis; unde Proverbiorum sexto: Vade ad formicam, o piger , et considera vias eius. Loquitur per litteras Scripturae; unde Exodi vigesimo: Locutus est Dominus cunctos sermones hos; et leremiae trigesimo sexto: Tolle volumen et scribe in eo omnia verba, quae locutus sum tibi adversus Israel et ludam . Loquitur per nuntios in praedicatione, quibus dicitur Matthaei decimo: Non vos estis, qui loquimini, sed Spiritus Patris vestri, qui loquitur in vobis. Loquitur voce viva et interna inspiratione; unde in Psalmo: Audiam, quid loquatur in me Dominus Deus; et Osee secundo: Ducam eam in solitudinem et loquar ad cor eius. Cum igitur Dominus loquatur signis, litteris , nuntiis et verbis, recte improperat indoctis: Quare loquelam meam non cognoscitis? Quia non potestis audire sermonem meum. Nota, quod gravis fuit Christus malis ad audiendum; unde hic: Quia non potestis etc. Ad videndum; Sapientiae secundo: Gravis est nobis etiam ad videndum. Ad sustinendum; loannis undecimo: Quid facimus, quia hic homo multa signa facit? Si dimittimus eum sic, omnes credent in eum; hoc dicebant ludaei graviter ferentes Christum. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput VIII, Collatio XXXV Source: Here, p577

'Why do you not understand what I say?' 1 Observe that the Lord sometimes speaks to us through the signs of created things, and something through the letters of Scripture, and sometimes through messengers, which is by preaching, and sometimes with the living voice, which is internal inspiration. Of the signs of created things it is said in the first chapter of Proverbs: 'Wisdom preaches outside,' that is, through created things, whence in the sixth chapter of Proverbs: 'Go to the ant, sluggard, and consider his ways.' 2 He speaks through the letters of Scripture in the twentieth chapter of Exodus: 'The Lord spoke all these words,' and in the thirty sixth chapter of Jeremiah: 'Take up the book and write in it all the words I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah.' 3 He speaks through messengers by preaching, concerning which it is said in the tenth chapter of Matthew: 'It is not you who speak but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.' 4 And He speaks with the living voice by internal inspiration, whence in the Psalm: 'I shall hear what the Lord God shall say in me.' And in the second chapter of Hosea: 'I shall lead her into solitude and I shall speak to her heart.' 5 When, therefore, the Lord speaks in signs and letters and messengers and words, rightly He reproves the unlearned with: 'Why do you not understand what I say?' 'Because you cannot hear my word.' Observe that hearing Christ was a burden to the wicked, whence here: 'You cannot...' and also in seeing, in the second chapter of Wisdom: 'It is burdensome for us even to see.' And in enduring, in the eleventh chapter of John, 'What shall we do, because this man makes many signs? If we leave him alone, everyone will believe in him.' 6 This they said who were bearing Christ as a burden. Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 8 1 Jn 8.43 2 Prov 1.20, Prov 6.6 3 Exod 20.1, Jerem 36.2 4 Mt 10.20 5 Ps 84.9, Hosea 2.14 6 Wisdom 2.15, Jn 11.47

Ruling The Waters

Σὺ δεσπόζεις τοῦ κράτους τῆς θαλάσσης τὸν δὲ σάλον τῶν κυμάτων αὐτῆς σὺ καταπραΰνεις... Τοῦ δεσπόζειν σὺν τῇ λοιπῇ κτίσει καὶ τῆς θαλάττης, πίστις τὸ λέγεσθαι ἐν Ἰωνᾷ· Ἐξήγεισε Κύριος κλύδωνα ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ· καὶ πάλιν· Θελήσει αὐτοῦ ἔστη ἡ θάλασσα ἐκ τοῦ σάλου αὐτῆς. Ταύτῃ δὲ καὶ Ἰησοῦς ἐπετίμησεν, δεικνὺς ὡς ἔστιν Υἱος τοῦ, Δεσπότου τοῦ κράτους αὐτῆς. Εἰ δὲ τὸν τῶν ἀνθρώπων βίον ἡ θάλασσα δηλοῖ, κράτος αὐτῆς ὁ Πονηρὸς, ἐν ᾧ ὁ κόσμος ὅλος κεῖται, τουτέστιν ἡ θνητὴ καὶ ἐπίκαιρος πολιτεία. Ὤν ἐκνευρίσας ὁ Κύριος, δέδωκε τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίω, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ, καταπραῦων τὰς ἀστάτους ὁρμὰς, κύματα καλουμένας αὐτῆς. Ὡς ἂν καὶ βάσιμος τοῖς ἐπιβαίνουσι γένηται· ὦν ὁ Πέτρος εἰκών. Οὑδεὶς γὰρ χωρὶς Ἰησοῦ πατεῖν δύναται τοῦ βίου τὴν θάλατταν, τὰς τούτου νικῶν ἡδυπαθείας τε καὶ μερίμνας, ἀλλ' οὖν συμβαδίζοντος. Αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ Περιπατῶν ὡς ἐπ' ἐδάφους ἐπὶ θαλάσσης, πρὸς ὄν εἴρηται· Ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἡ ὁδός σου, καὶ αἱ τρίβοι σου ἐν ὕδασι πολλοῖς. Τρίψαντος ἐν τῷ βίῷ τά τε πάθη καὶ τὰς μερίμνας, ὦν ἐπιβαίνειν ἔνεστι τοῖς ἴχνεσιν ἐπακολουθοῦντας αὐτοῦ. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος ΠΕ’ Source: Migne PG 39.1488d-1489b

You have power over the might of the waters, and you calm the tumult of its waves... 1 That He rules over the sea just as He does the rest of creation, the faith of Jonah tells, saying, 'The Lord raised a storm in the sea,' and again, 'He willed that the sea become still from its raging.' 2 And Jesus commanded it, showing Himself to be the Son, He who has power over the sea. 3 Which if the sea stands for the life of men, yet His power is not something like the devil's, 4 to whom all the world is captive, that is, to the domination of mortality and transience, but opposing him the Lord gave power to His disciples to tread down serpents and scorpions, and over all his power, 5 restraining the assailing surging ones of his flood, who are called the waves of the sea. For which reason one can find a way through their assaults, of which an image is Peter, for it was not by his own strength apart from Jesus that he was able to tread on the sea of life, triumphing over the pleasurable passions and the troubles of the world, but it was possible because he was an associate of Jesus. 6 For He Himself walked on the sea as if on the earth, of whom it was said: 'In the sea is your way, and your path in the many waters.' 7 He trod down all the passions and cares in life, and so may you by following in His footsteps. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 88 1 Ps 88.10 2 Jonah 1.4, 1.15 3 Mt 8.24-27 4 1 Jn 5.19 5 Lk 10.19 6 Mt 14.24-31 7 Ps 76.20

Blessings And Belief

Et beata quae credidit, quoniam perficientur ea quae dicta sunt ei a Domino... Vides non dubitasse Mariam, sed credidisse, et ideo fructum fidei consecutam. Beata, inquit, quae credidit. Et vere beata, quae sacerdote praestantior. Cum sacerdos negasset, virgo correxit errorem. Nec mirum si Dominus, redempturus mundum, operationem suam inchoavit a matre, ut per quam salus omnibus parabatur, eadem prima fructum salutis hauriret ex pignore. Pariterque notandum quanta Elisabeth animum gratia, Maria intrante, ditavit, quem simul de praeterito, praesenti, atque futuro, per prophetiae spiritum illustravit. Dicens enim, Beata quae credidisti, aperte indicat quia verba angeli quae dicta ad Mariam fuerant per spiritum agnovit. Atque subiungens: Perficientur ea quae dicta sunt tibi a Domino, quae etiam eam in futuro sequerentur praevidit. Matrem vero Domini sui nominans, quia Redemptorem humani generis in utero portare intellexit. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Caput I Source: Migne PL 92.321b

And blessed she who believed that these things which were said to her from the Lord shall be fulfilled...1 You see that Mary did not doubt, but believed, and therefore the fruit of faith followed. 'Blessed,' she says, 'she who believed.' And truly she is blessed who surpasses a priest. When he denied, the Virgin corrected the error. Do not wonder if the Lord who shall redeem the world begins His work with His mother, that she through whom salvation was prepared for all is the first to receive the fruit of salvation from Him who guarantees it. Along with which it should be noted how much the soul of Elizabeth was enriched by Mary's coming, she who at the same time, through the spirit of prophecy, was able to offer enlightenment concerning the past, present and the future. For saying, 'Blessed she who has believed,' she openly indicates that through the Spirit she knew the words which were spoken to Mary. And adding, 'These things which were said to you from the Lord,' she foresees what will follow in the future. And she names her mother of her Lord because she understands that the Redeemer of the human race is carried in her womb. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 1 1 Lk 1.45

The Holy Spirit's Word

Cum per Moysen ac David et Esaiam vel alios prophetas specialiter spiritus sanctus locutus esse referatur, Deum locutum vox divina profitetur, sicut in Pentateuchi volumine frequentatur: locutus est inquit, Dominus ad Moysen dicens, sollicitius requiramus, si specialiter spiritus sanctus in prophetis loquatur. Habemus, ut praefati summus, in actibus apostolorum Paulo arguente Iudaeos: bene, inquit, spiritus sanctus per Esaiam locutus est ad patres nostros: auditu audietis et non intellegetis, in eadem lectione: viri fratres, oportet impleri scripturam, quam praedixit spiritus sanctus per os David. Et in epistola Petri legimus: non enim voluntate humana allata est aliquando prophetia, sed spiritu sancto loctui sunt sancti Dei homines. Agnoscamus propheticam gratiam evidenter ad potentiam sancti spiritus pertinere, et de psalmo David ita ad Hebraeos legimus: quapropter sicut dicit Spiritus sanctus: Hodie si vocem eius audieritis et cetera. Et hic apertissime per David spiritum sanctum locutum esse testatur. Sanctus Faustus Reiensis, De Spiritu Sancto Liber II, Cap VII Source: here

When through Moses and David and Isaiah, or the other prophets, it is said the Holy Spirit had spoken, the Divine voice announces that God has spoken, as in the books of the Pentateuch it is frequently said: 'The Lord said to Moses,' and so we should more carefully inquire if the Holy Spirit especially spoke among the prophets. We have, as we have said before, in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul disputing with the Jews, and saying, 'Well did the Holy Spirit speak through Isaiah to our fathers: you hear and you do not understand.' 1 In the same book: 'Men and brothers, it is necessary that Scripture be fulfilled, what the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David.' 2 And in a letter of Peter we read: 'For not by the human will is prophecy ever uttered, but by the Holy Spirit holy men have spoken of God.' 3 Let us acknowledge, then, that prophetic grace pertains overtly to the the power of the Holy Spirit, and in a Psalm of David in the letter of Hebrews we read: 'whence as the Holy Spirit says: Today if you should hear His voice, etc.' 4 And here it is most evidently witnessed that the Holy Spirit spoke through David. Saint Faustus of Riez, On The Holy Spirit, Book 2 1 Acts 28.25 2 Acts 1.16 3 2 Pet 1.21 4 Heb 3.7, Ps 94.8

Speech And Inspiration

Et dixit Dominus ad me: Facilitatis est ad eloquenciam collaco, et hoc est: ecce dedi verba, id est, facilitatem enunciandi verba mea in ore tuo, ut os tuum sit instrumentum, Ego autem motor. Perge, Ego ero in ore tuo. Lingua mea calamus scribe. Spiritus est in hominibus et inspiracio altissimus dat intelligenciam. ideo dicitur Non vos estis qui loquimini sed Spiritus Patris vestri qui loquitur in vobis. Non vos estis loquentes, sed Spiritus Sanctus. An experimentum queritis eius qui in me loquitur Christus? Sapiencia aperuit os muti et linguam infancium fecit disertas. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Super Jeremiam Source: here (pg17)

And the Lord said to me: I have established the faculty of eloquence, which is: 'Behold I have given my words to you,' 1 that is, the ability to speak my words in your mouth, that your mouth be the instrument and I the power. 'Go, I shall be in your mouth.' 2 'My tongue is as the pen that writes.' 3 'The spirit is in men and the inspiration of the Most High gives understanding.' 4 'It is not you who speak but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.' 5 'You are not speaking but it is the Holy Spirit.' 6 'Since you seek a proof that it is Christ who speaks in me.' 7 'Wisdom has opened the mouth of the mute and it has made eloquent the tongues of infants.' 8 Saint Albert The Great, On Jeremiah 1 Jerem 1.9 2 Exodus 4.12 3 Ps 44.2 4 Job 32.8 5 Mt 10.20 6 Mk 13.11 7 2 Cor 13.3 8 Wisd 10.21

Beauty And The Field

Ἔγνωκα πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὡραιότης ἀγροῦ μετ' ἐμοῦ ἐστιν Ἡ δεξαμένη ἀγαθὴ γῆ, τουτέστιν καρδία ὀρθὴ, τὸν ὑπὸ Ἰησοῦ βαλλόμενον σπόρον, καὶ καρποφορήσασα ἐκατὸν, ἐξήκοντα, τριάκοντα, τὸν πλήρη καὶ ὤριμον καρπὸν ἔχουσα, ὠραιότης ἐστὶν ἀγροῦ, οὐ μακράν οὖσα τοῦ σπορέως. Αὐτὸς γάρ φησιν, Ὠραιότης ἀγροῦ μετ' ἐμου ἐστιν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΜΘ' Migne PG 39.1392

I know all the birds of heaven and the beauty of the field is mine. 1 The good field is the upright heart that is receptive to being sowed with the seed of Christ, and it gives fruit a hundredfold and sixtyfold and thirtyfold, 2 and it is full of ripe fruits, which is the beauty of the field, which from the sower is not far, and so He says,'The beauty of the field is mine.' Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 49 1 Ps 49.11 2 Mt 13.8, Mk 4.8

The Spirit and Grace

Et ingressus est in me spiritus, postquam locutus est mihi, et statuit me super pedes meos. Ecce divina vox jacenti prophetae jussit ut surgeret. Sed surgere omnino non posset, nisi in hunc omnipotentis Dei spiritus intrasset, quia ex omnipotentis Dei gratia ad bona opera conari quidem possumus, sed haec implere non possumus, si ipse non adjuvat qui jubet. Sic Paulus cum discipulos admoneret, dicens, Cum metu et tremore vestram ipsorum salutem operamini, illico quis in eis haec ipsa bona operaretur adjunxit, dicens: Deus est enim qui operatur in vobis et velle et perficere pro bona voluntate. Hinc est quod ipsa Veritas discipulis dicit: Sine me nihil potestis facere. Sed in his considerandum quia sic bona nostra si omnipotentis Dei dona sunt ut in eis aliquid nostrum non sit, cur nos quasi pro meritis aeternam retributionem quaerimus? Si autem ita nostra sunt ut dona Dei omnipotentis non sint, cur ex eis omnipotenti Deo gratias agimus? Sed sciendum est quia mala nostra solummodo nostra sunt; bona autem nostra, et omnipotentis Dei sunt, et nostra, quia ipse aspirando nos praevenit ut velimus, qui adjuvando subsequitur ne inaniter velimus, sed possimus implere quae volumus. Praeveniente ergo gratia, et bona voluntate subsequente, hoc quod omnipotentis Dei donum est fit meritum nostrum. Quod bene Paulus brevi sententia explicat, dicens: Plus illis omnibus laboravi. Qui ne suae videretur virtuti tribuisse quod fecerat, adjunxit: Non autem ego, sed gratia Dei mecum. Quia enim coelesti dono praeventus est, quasi alienum se a bono suo opere agnovit, dicens: Non autem ego. Sed quia praeveniens gratia liberum in eo arbitrium fecerat in bonum, quo libero arbitrio eamdem gratiam est subsecutus in opere, adjunxit: Sed gratia  Dei mecum. Ac si diceret: In bono opere laboravi, non ego, sed et ego. In hoc enim quod solo Domini dono praeventussum, non ego; in eo autem quod donum voluntate subsecutus, et ego. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia IX

'And the Spirit went into me after He had spoken to me, and He stood me on my feet.' 1 See that the Divine voice is given to the Prophet commanding that he should rise. But he cannot rise at all, unless the spirit of the omnipotent God has entered, because it is by the grace of almighty God that we are able to attempt good works, and these things we cannot do if He who commands them does not aid. So when Paul admonishes his pupils, saying, 'With fear and trembling work out your salvation,' 2  He who in them works these good works he then refers to, saying, 'God it is who works in you, and He wishes to perfect you with a good will.' 3 Whence the Truth Himself says to His disciples: 'Without me you would be able to do nothing.' 4 But in these things we must consider, that as they are our goods, if as gifts of the omnipotent God they are and if there is nothing of ours in them, why do we seek eternal reward on account of merit? And then if indeed they are ours so that they are not gifts of the omnipotent God, why do we seek the grace of almighty God? Let it be known that our evils alone are ours, and our goods are of omnipotent God, and yet also ours, because He in hope comes before that we wish, who in the act of aiding it follows we do not wish vainly, but we are able to do what we wish. Therefore grace precedes, and the good will follows, and this is the gift of the omnipotent God which makes our merit. Which well Paul in brief words explains, saying, 'More than them in all things I have labored.' 5 He whom, lest he seem himself to attribute the virtue of what he had done to himself, adds, 'Not even I but the grace of God with me.' 5 For the celestial gift having come before, he knew it as a foreign thing, apart from his good work, saying, 'Not even I.' But because the preceding grace in him inclined his free will to the good, by which free will the same grace flows into works, he adds, 'But the grace of God with me.' And so it was as if he had said, ' In good works I have laboured, not I and yet I. For in that which is the gift of the Lord alone and comes before, it is not I, and in that which follows the gift in the will, it is I.' Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, Homily 9 1 Ezek 2.2 2 2 Phil 2.12.  3 Phil 2.13  4 Jn 15.5  5 1 Cor 15.10

Clouds and Prophets

Σκοτεινὸν ὕδωρ ἐν νεφέλαις ἀέρων ἀπὸ τῆς τηλαυγήσεως ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ αἱ νεφέλαι διῆλθον ̓Εν πολλοῖς τόποις τῆς γραφῆς τὰς νεφέλας ἀλληγορικῶς φερομένας εὑρίσκομεν. Τὸν γὰρ οι κον τοῦ ̓Ισραὴλ ἀμπελῶνα εἰπών, νεφέλας ἐντολὰς λαμβανούσας μὴκ' ετι βρέχειν αὐτόν, οὐκ αλλας η τοὺς προφήτας εὑρίσκομεν. Οὐκ ετι γοῦν παρ' ἐκείνοις τὸ Τάδε λέγει κύριος, καὶ τὸ ̓Εγένετο λόγος κυρίου πρός με· μέχρι τούτων τῶν νεφελῶν ἡ ἀλήθεια λάμπει. Αὐται γοῦν αἱ νεφέλαι ψυχαῖς ῥέουσαι πνευματικῶν λόγων ὑετὸν οὐ γῆς ἀλλ' ἀέρος εἰσίν· τοῖς γὰρ ἐπιγείοις ἀποταξάμεναι καὶ μηκέτ' αὐτὰ φρονοῦσαι, μετεωριζόμεναι καὶ ἐπαιρόμεναι ὑπὸ τῆς σφῶν ἀρετῆς καὶ τοῦ ἐνεργοῦντος πνεύματος ἀέρος εἰσίν. Τὸ ἐν αὐταῖς οὖν ὐδωρ, πρὶν ὑπὸ ̓Ιησοῦ ἐκβάσεως καὶ σαφηνείας τυχεῖν, διὰ τὸ τοῖς πολλοῖς δυσθεώρητον σκοτεινὸν ει ναι λέγεται. Ὁταν δὲ λαλήσαντος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῷ υἱῷ ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν πληρωθῶσιν ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται, ̓Απὸ τῆς τηλαυγήσεως (τουτέστιν ἐπιλάμψεως αὐτοῦ) ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ συνελεύσονται, νεφέλαι φανεραὶ καὶ ἀρίδηλοι γινόμεναι διὰ τὸ παρεῖναι τὸν προαναφωνηθέντα ὑπ' αὐτῶν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΙΖ'

Dark waters in the clouds of heaven; before the brightness of His face the clouds pass. 1 In many places of the Scriptures we find that clouds allegorically indicate the prophets. For calling the house of Israel a vine, the clouds receive the command not to rain on it, and so we do not find prophets there, nor things such as: 'These things says the Lord,' nor, 'And the word of the Lord came to me,' until the truth brightens the clouds. These clouds, then, are the souls flowing with spiritual speech, water not of the earth, but of the air, pouring in drops onto the earth, and not, as they are disposed, with the appropriate power and spirit within that allows them to be suspended in the air. Such, then, was the moisture among them in that time before the descent and revelation of the Saviour by which they spoke obscurely to many. For with the speech of God in the Son in recent times, fulfilled were the Law and the Prophets, and so before the brightness of His face the clouds pass, and through His presence brighter are made the things they preached about him.  Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 17 1 Ps 17. 12-13

The First and the Second

Sed dicit aliquis quia scriptum est: Primus homo ex terra terrenus, secundus homo de caelo coaelestis  Verum attende quid dicat. Secundus, inquit homo; quasi hominem secundum dixit. Et ego dico quia primus est secundum divinitatem, ante quem nullus: secundus autem secundum carnem quia post Adam. Ego plus dico, non solum ego secundum hominem, sed etiam novissimum. Denique sic habes scriptum: 'Factus est primus homo Adam in animam viventem, novissimus Adam in spiritum vivificantem . Vide clementiam Christi: ipse est primus et novissimus. Qui primus erat, propter nos se novissimum fecit. Primus, quia per ipsum omnia: novissimus, quia per ipsum resurrectio. Descendit enim et projecit se, ut caderet, infra omnes se faciens ut omnes jacentes levaret. Unde et ait Ecclesiastes: Quia si ceciderit unus, alter eriget socium suum: et nae illi uni cum ceciderit, et non est secundus, ut eum erigat. Et quidem si dormiant duo, est calor illis: et unus, quomodo calefiet? Hoc est, qui Christum habet secum, etsi ceciderit, resurget: etsi mortuus fuerit, reviviscet; quia adest illi qui venit ignem in terram mittere. Denique et Elisaeus cum puerum resuscitaret, insufflavit illi, ut infunderet vitae calorem. Habeto ergo tecum hunc ignem in pectore tuo, qui te resuscitet; ne frigus tibi perpetuae mortis irrepat. Hic ergo juvenis se projecit, qui venit per Mariam, et infundebat vitae calorem pectoribus audientium. Unde dicunt illia in Evangelio: 'Nonne cor nostrum ardens erat in nobis, cum aperiret nobis Scripturus? Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Institutione Virginis, Caput XI

But it says somewhere in Scripture: 'The first man from the earth and the second from heaven.' 1 Truly attend to what it says. The second man, it says, like a second man, he means. I say that He is first according to Divinity, before whom nothing is, and second according to the flesh because He is after Adam. And then I say not only the second  but the newest. For then it is written: 'Adam, the first man, was made with a living spirit, the newest Adam with a life giving spirit.' 2 See the mercy of Christ, He is the first and newest. He who was first, for our sake has been made newest. First, because through Him everything was made, newest because through Him is the resurrection. For He came down and flung himself forth that he might fall, among everyone doing it that he might lift up everyone falling. Whence it is said in Ecclesiastes: 'Because if one falls, another, his friend, shall raise him and woe to him who when he falls is alone, and has no other, that he might raise him up. And if two sleep together, they warm one another, and if there is just one, how is he warmed? 3 That is, he who has Christ with him, even if he falls, rises again, even if he dies, he revives, because He is near  who comes to cast fire on the earth. 4 So see that Elisha when he revived the boy breathed in him 5 that he imbue him with the heat of life. Have, then, within you this fire in your heart, He who revives you, lest cold be with you forever when you fall into death. This youth, then, coming forth, who came through Mary, imbued the heat of life in the hearts of his hearers. Whence are said these things in the Gospel: 'Were are hearts not burning within us when he opened the Scriptures to us?' 6 Saint Ambrose, On The Birth of the Virgin, Chap 11 1 1 Cor 15.47 2 1 Cor 15.45 3 Eccles, 9. 4,10,11 4 Lk 12.49 5 4 King 4,32-35 6 Lk 24.32

Visions and Weakness

Fili hominis, vide oculis tuis, et auribus tuis audi. Ad testimonium spiritalium rerum deducto, quid est quod cum dicitur: Vide oculis, additur tuis, et cum subditur Audi auribus, adjungitur tuis? Sed sciendum quia oculi atque aures corporis adsunt etiam carnalibus, eisque sunt in usu rerum quae corporaliter videntur. Oculi vero atque aures cordis solummodo spiritalium sunt, qui invisibilia per intellectum vident, et laudem Dei sine sono audiunt. Has omnipotens Dominus aures quaerebat, cum diceret: Quis habet aures audiendi audiat. Quis namque in illo populo esse tunc poterat, qui aures corporis non haberet? Sed cum dicitur: Qui habet aures audiendi audiat, aperte monstratur quod illas aures quaereret quas omnes habere non poterant. Dicatur ergo: Fili hominis, vide oculis tuis, et auribus tuis audi. In priori autem locutionum nostrarum parte jam diximus cur propheta, quoties ad videnda spiritalia ducitur, filius hominis appellatur. Sed ne hoc mente excesserit, breviter replico, quia hac appellatione memoratur semper quid est ex infirmitate, ne extollatur de contemplationis magnitudine. Et notandum quia diversa sunt ut dicatur, Oculis tuis vide, auribus tuis audi, et tamen filius hominis vocetur. Sed per haec verba quid ei aliud aperte dicitur, nisi, spiritalia spiritaliter aspice, et tamen carnales infirmitates tuas memorare? Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Secundus, Homilia II

Son of man, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears. 1   To the spiritual testimony of things let us attend. What is this which is said: 'See with eyes,' with the addition of 'your,' and then after it, 'Hear with ears,' with 'your' again joined to it? But it must be known that the eyes and the ears of the body are part of the corporeal body and that of them is the use of seeing things material. Truly the eyes and the ears of the heart alone are spiritual, which gaze on invisible things through the intellect, and which without sound hear the praise of God. These are the ears the omnipotent Lord asks for, when He says, 'He who has ears for the hearing, let him hear.' 2 For who in that people  was not able to hear who had corporeal ears? But when He said, 'He who has ears for the hearing, let him hear'  it is obvious that He seeks that which not everyone has. Thus it is said, 'Son of man, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears.' In our previous speeches we have spoken about why the prophet, being led to the contemplation of spiritual things, was named son of man. But lest the mind have wandered, I shall briefly repeat that his title is a reminder always that he is in a state of weakness, and that he should not be carried away by contemplation of greatness. And let the differences be noted, when it is said 'See with your eyes and hear with your ears,' and then when he is called son of man. For by these words what is said to him, unless that spiritually seeing spiritual things, he be mindful of his corporeal weakness? Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 2 1  Ez 40.4 2 Lk 8.8

Crooked Hearts

Si direxerit ad eum cor suum, spiritum illius et flatum ad se trahet.  Curva hominum corda, cum vult, ad se erigendo, dirigit. Curvum cor est cum ima appetit, dirigitur cum ad superna sublevatur. Si ergo homo cor suum ad Dominum dirigit, spiritum et flatum illius Dominus ad se trahit. Spiritum videlicet pro internis cogitationibus, flatum vero qui per corpus trahitur,  pro externis actionibus ponit. Deo ergo spiritum hominis et flatum a se trahere est ad conversionem sui desiderii et interiora nostra et exteriora commutare, ut nihil iam menti exterius libeat, nihil caro inferius, vel si appetit, adipisci conetur; sed omne quod homo est ad eum videlicet a quo est et interius desiderando ferveat, et exterius se edomando constringat. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Moralia, sive Expositio in Job, Liber XXIV, Cap XXI

If he has directed his heart towards Him, He will draw to Himself his spirit, and his breath. 1 The hearts of men are crooked when, as he wishes, stirred by self, it is directed. The heart is crooked when it desires things below. When it is directed to things above it is lifted up. If a man therefore direct his heart to the Lord, the Lord draws to Himself his spirit and his breath. Spirit here means inward thoughts, but breath, which is drawn through the body, is external actions. For God, then, to draw the spirit and breath of man to Himself, is for Him to change our own desires, both within and without, to turn towards Him, that nothing without may any longer please the mind, and that the flesh, even if it wishes, may not try to lay hold of any inferior object, but that the whole man may be inflamed by internal desire for Him from whom it is, and may be by greater control bound to Him. Saint Gregory the Great, Moralia, or Commentary on Job, Book 24, Chapter 21 1 Job 34.14

Compositions of the Holy Spirit

Ἔδει πληρωθῆναι τὴν Γραφὴν, ἣν προεῖπε τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον διὰ στόματος Δαυῒδ περὶ Ἰούδα·  ἐν ᾧ ψαλμῷ τὰ περὶ τοῦ Ἰούδα γέγραπται.  Εἴποι τις ἂν, ὅτι οὐ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον λαλεῖ·  σαφῶς γὰρ τοῦ Σωτῆρός εἰσιν οἱ λόγοι λέγοντος·  Ὁ Θεὸς, τὴν αἴνεσίν μου μὴ παρασιωπήσης·  ὅτι στόμα ἁμαρτωλοῦ, καὶ στόμα δολίου, ἐπ' ἐμὲ ἠνοίχθη·  καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ἕως·  Καὶ τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν αὐτοῦ λάβοι ἕτερος.  Πῶς οὖν, εἰ ὁ Σωτήρ ἐστιν ὁ ταῦτα λέγων, φησὶν ὁ Πέτρος·  Ἔδει πληρωθῆναι τὴν Γραφὴν, ἣν προεῖπε τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον διὰ στόματος Δαυΐδ;  Μήποτε οὖν ὃ διδασκόμεθα ἐνταῦθα, τοιοῦτόν ἐστι.  Προσωποποιεῖ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐν τοῖς προφήταις·  καὶ ἐὰν προσωποποιήσῃ τὸν Θεὸν, οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Θεὸς ὁ λαλῶν, ἀλλὰ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ λαλεῖ·  καὶ ἐὰν προσωποποιήσῃ τὸν Χριστὸν, οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ λαλῶν, ἀλλὰ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Χριστοῦ λαλεῖ.  Οὕτω, κἂν προσωποποιήσῃ τὸν προφήτην, ἢ τὸν λαὸν ἐκεῖνον, ἢ τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον, ἢ ὅ τι δήποτε προσωποποιεῖ, τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμά ἐστι τὸ πάντα προσωποποιοῦν.   Ὠριγένης, Ὁμιλίαι Εἰς Τας Πραξεις Των Ἀποστολων

'There is scripture that needs to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of David concerning Judas.' 1 In which Psalm these things are written concerning Judas: ' O God, do not be silent in my praise, because the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the deceiver has opened against me,' even to these words: 'and may another have his office.' 2 But someone may say that it is not the Holy Spirit who speaks here, for it is obviously the words of the Saviour; but how then if the Saviour is the one who said this, does Peter say, 'There is Scripture that needs to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of David?' Perhaps here what we should teach is this: that the Holy Spirit composes by means of the Prophets, and if he composes as God, it is not God who is speaking, but the Holy Spirit speaking in the person of God. If  he composes as Christ, it is not Christ who is speaking, but the Holy Spirit speaking in the person of Christ. Thus even if he brings forward a Prophet, or of this or that person, whenever he introduces someone, it is the Holy Spirit who composes everything. Origen, Fragment from a Homily on The Acts of The Apostles 1 Act 1.16 2 Ps 108.2, 8