Arrows And Paul

Sagittae tuae acutae, potentissimae... Verba cor transfigentia, amorem excitantia. Unde dicitur in Canticis canticorum: Quia vulnerata caritate ego sum. Dicit enim vulneratam se esse caritate, id est, amare se dicit, aestuare se dicit, suspirare sponso, unde accepit sagittam verbi. Sagittae tuae acutae, potentissimae: et transfigentes, et efficientes: acutae, potentissimae. Populi sub te cadent. Qui ceciderunt? Qui percussi sunt, et ceciderunt. Populos videmus subditos Christo, cadentes non videmus. Exponit ubi cadunt: in corde. Ibi se erigebant adversus Christum, ibi cadunt ante Christum. Blasphemabat Saulus Christum, erectus erat: supplicat Christo, cecidit, prostratus est: occisus est inimicus Christi, ut vivat discipulus Christi. De coelo emissa sagitta, corde percussus est Saulus, nondum Paulus, adhuc Saulus, adhuc erectus, nondum prostratus: accepit sagittam, cecidit in corde. Non enim quod prostratus est in facie, ibi cecidit, sed ubi ait: Domine, quid me iubes facere? Modo ibas ad Christianos alligandos et perducendos ad poenam; et modo dicis Christo: Quid me iubes facere? O sagittam acutam, potentissimam, qua accepta cecidit Saulus ut esset Paulus! Ut ille, ita et populi. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Enarrationes In Psalmos, Psalm XLIV Source: Migne PL 38.503

Your arrows are sharp and most powerful...1 These are words that pierce the heart, exciting love. Hence it is said in the Song of Songs, 'Because I am wounded with love.' 2 For she says of herself that she is wounded with love, that is, she speaks of her loving, and of being inflamed with sighing for the Bridegroom, from whom she received the arrow of the Word. 'Your arrows are sharp and most powerful.' They are piercing and effective, sharp and most powerful. 'The peoples shall fall under you.' Who have fallen? They who were wounded have also fallen. We see the nations subdued to Christ, but we do not see them fall. He explains where they fall, that is, in the heart. It was there they lifted themselves up against Christ, it is there that they fall down before Christ. Saul blasphemed Christ, then he was lifted up. He prays to Christ, he falls, he is prostrate. The enemy of Christ is slain so that the disciple of Christ may live. By an arrow launched from heaven Saul was stuck in the heart, he who was not yet Paul, but still Saul. When he was still lifted up and still not yet prostrate, he is wounded in the heart. He received the arrow, he fell in his heart. For though he fell prostrate on his face, it was not there that he fell down in his heart, but it was where he said aloud, 'Lord, what do you command me do?' 3 You were just about to bind Christians and lead them off to punishment, and now you say to Christ, 'What do you command me to do?' O sharp and most powerful arrow by whose stroke Saul fell so they he might become Paul. As with him, so with the peoples.  Saint Augustine of Hippo, Expositions On The Psalms, Psalm 44 1 Ps 44.6 2 Song 2.5, 5.8 3 Acts 9.6

Bread And The Word

Non in solo pane vivit homo, sed in omni verbo quod procedit de ore Dei. Ubi non quasi Deus sua utitur potestate, sed quasi homo, ut homo disceret admodum pugnare Scipturarum potitur auctoritate. Et docet quod altera pars coeli sit, atque altera terrae. Idcirco non in solo pane, per quem non nisi exterior homo in commune cum pecoribus vivit, sed in omni verbo per quos interius angelis coaequaretur. Omne quippe verbum Deus charitas jure accipitur, in qua legis et prophetarum omnia pendent verba, sine qua nemo in Deo unquam vel cum Deo vivit. Quod bene Paulus insinuat: Et si quod est aliud mandatum, inquiens, in hoc verbo instauratur. Diliges proximum tuum tanquam teipsum. Ac si diceret, etiam est cibus alius quo pascatur interior homo, habeat aliquis charitatem, et omnibus abundavit bonis, quia fruitur illo verbo ad quod concurrunt universa. Nam in Christo Jesu Deus et homo erat; quisquis illo utitur verbo, charitate pascitur Dei et hominis, quia omnes in Christo diligit et veneratur ut membra Christi; et qui necdum sunt in Christo, curat ut ad eum perveniant, et compleantur omnia membra Christi. Alioquin si habeat omnia rerum verba, et compleat etiam reliqua quasi virtutum opera, factus est omnium reus, si non vixerit hoc omni verbo. Est autem hoc verbum generale omnium verborum, in quo pendent omnia verba, non qualiacunque, sed quae procedunt de ore Dei. Caeterum verba haereticorum et poetarum ac philosophorum, extra hoc verbum sunt, quia non sunt in charitate, neque Christo fruuntur, Patris videlicet Verbo, et ideo quae in Christo sunt omnino diligere nequeunt. Huic sane verbo Moyses intentus panem desiderare non potuit, illoque pastus Elias famem prolixioris inediae omnino non sensit. Non enim qui hoc verbo vescitur panem terrenum, deliciis angelorum satiatus, inquirit. Sed et omnia Scripturarum sanctarum verba, cujuscunque enuntientur officio, sic quasi ex ore Dei sumantur, quia non ejus sunt a quo ex ministerio debite narrantur, sed Dei ex cujus ore procedunt. Quod si quidpiam doctor aliud voluerit interserere, quam quod in hoc omni verbo invenitur, quia non ex ore Dei profertur, neque ex charitate subsistit, tanquam venenum, tanquam virus lethiferum respuatur. Quandoquidem non humanis divina ministrantur officiis, sed inimica, sed fraudulenta diabolicis suggeruntur officiis. Et notandum quod ait: Non in solo pane vivit homo. Ex quo datur indicium quia non deitas, sed homo tentatur, ita ut quomodo praemisi, tota haec tentatio exterius facta credatur. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber III, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 120.192b-193a

A man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. 1 Where He uses His power as a man, not as God, so that man might learn how a man might fight by the authority of the Scriptures. He teaches that there is one part which is heaven and another of earth. Therefore it is not on bread alone, on which the exterior man alone lives, in the manner of beasts, but on every word by which the interior is made equal to angels. Certainly every word is rightly received as 'God is love,' on which all the words of the Law and the Prophets hang, 2 and without which no one lives in God or with God. Which Paul well suggests, saying, 'And as for any other commandment, with these words it is summed up, 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' 3 As if He had said, even if there is some other bread on which the interior man may feed, let a man have love, and he has abounded with every good, because he enjoys that Word to which everything hastens. Because in Christ Jesus was God and man, whoever makes use of that word is fed with the love of God and man, for all in Christ love and revere as members of Christ, and those who are not yet in Christ, have care that they might come to Him and complete the members of Christ. Besides if someone has every word and he fulfills all the rest as works of virtue, he is made guilty of all if he has not lived with these words for all. 4 For these words are the general word of all words, from which hangs all words, and it is not just any word, but what comes forth from the mouth of God. There are other words of heretics and poets and philosophers which are outside these words, because they are not spoken in love, nor are they fruitful in Christ, He who is the Word of the Father, and therefore they cannot love at all what is in Christ. Certainly, being intent on this Moses had no desire for bread, and when Elijah was fed on them he did not feel the starvation of a long famine. For he who feeds on this word does not seek the bread of the earth, but he is satiated with the delights of angels. And whoever has the duty of proclaiming all the words of Scripture, he takes them as from the mouth of God, for he should not tell them as if they were something of his own work, but as proceeding from the mouth of God. So if some teacher should wish to insert something other than what is found in these words, then because it does not proceed from the mouth of God, nor is it founded on love, so it is a poison and it is spat forth as a fatal venom. Whenever men do not minister to human affairs with Divine things, but with things that are harmful and deceitful, so they are brought under the devil's service. And it must be noted that He says, 'Man does not live on bread alone,' by which a sign is given that it is not Godhood that is tested here but man, so that, as we have said, this whole trial should be thought to be a matter of the exterior. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 3, Chapter 4 1 Mt 4.4 2 1 Jn 4.8, Mt 22.40 3 Rom 13.9 4 James 2.10

The Given Spirit

In hoc cognoscimus quoniam in eo manemus, et ipse in nobis: quoniam de Spiritu suo dedit nobis. Hoc ipsum, quia de Spiritu suo dedit tibi, unde cognoscis? Interroga viscera tu. Si plena sunt chartitate, habes Spiritum Dei, Paulo attestante qui ait: Quia charitas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spritium sanctum qui datus est nobis. Sanctus Beda, In I Epistolam Sancti Joannis, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 93.110b

In this we know that we remain in Him, and that He is in us, because He has given of His Spirit to us. 1 How do we know this, that He has given of His Spirit to us? Question your heart. If it is full of love, you have the Spirit of God. Paul also gives witness to this, saying, 'Because the love of God has been diffused in our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.' 2 Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Saint John, Chapter 4 1 1 Jn 4.13 2 Rom 5.5

Commandments And Love

Sed quaerit Gregorius primo de hoc quod dicit: Hoc est praeceptum meum, ut diligatis invicem: Cum cuncta divina eloquia dominicis sint plena praeceptis, quid est, quod de dilectione singulariter dicit: Hoc est praeceptum meum.? Et respondet, quod divina praecepla multa sunt et unum: multa per diversitatem operis, unum in radice dilectio . Et dilectionem radicem dicit, quia non habet viriditatem ramusculus boni operis, nisi manserit in radice dilectionis. Quia ergo mandata ad praeceptum dilectionis referuntur, in quo omnia uniuntur et implentur; inde est, quod dicit: Hoc est praeceptum meum, singulariter. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XV Source: Here, p451

Concerning this Gregory asks why He said, 'This is my commandment, that you love one another,' 1 when the whole of the Divine speech is full of commandments, and so why should He especially say of love, 'This is my commandment?' And he answers that there are many Divine commandments and there is one, that is, there are many though the diversity of works and one in the root of love. And He speaks of the root when he says that the little branch of a good work does not have greenness unless it remains in the root of love. 1 Therefore He refers the commandments to the precept of love, in which all things are united and fulfilled, and this is why He says, 'This is my commandment,' especially. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 15 1 Jn 15.12, Greg Great Hom In Evang 2.27.1 2 Jn 15.5

Peacemaking

Μακάριοι τοίνυν οἱ εἰρηνοποιοὶ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ Θεοῦ κληθήσονται. Τίνες οὗτοι; Οἱ μιμηταὶ τῆς θείας φιλανθρωπίας, οἱ τὸ ἴδιον τῆς θείας ἐνεργείας ἐπὶ τοῦ ἰδίου δεικνύντες βίου. Ἀναιρεῖ καθόλου καὶ εἰς τὸ μὴ ὂν περιίστησιν, ὁ τῶν ἀγαθῶν εὐεργέτης καὶ Κύριος, πᾶν ὅσον ἐστὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἔκφυλόν τε καὶ ἀλλότριον. Ταύτην νομοθετεῖ καὶ σοὶ τὴν ἐνέργειαν, ἐκβάλλειν τὸ μῖσος, καταλύειν τὸν πόλεμον, ἀφανίζειν τὸν φθόνον, ἐξορίζειν τὴν μάχην, ἀναιρεῖν τὴν ὑπόκρισιν, κατασβεννύειν ἔνδοθεν τὴν ὑποσμύχουσαν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μνησικακίαν· ἀντεισάγειν δὲ ἀντὶ τούτων, ὅσα τῇ ὑπεξαιρέσει τῶν ἐναντίων ἀντικάθηται. Ὡς γὰρ τῇ τοῦ σκότους ὑποχωρήσει τὸ φῶς ἐπιγίνεται, οὕτω καὶ ἀνθ' ἑκάστου τούτων, ὁ τοῦ πνεύματος καρπὸς ἀντεισέρχεται, ἀγάπη, χαρὰ, εἰρήνη, χρηστότης, μακροθυμία, ἅπας ὁ τῷ Ἀποστόλῳ κατειλεγμένος τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀριθμός. Πῶς οὖν οὐ μακάριος ὁ τῶν θείων δωρεῶν διανομεύς; Ὁ μιμητὴς τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ χαρισμάτων; Ὁ τῇ θείᾳ μεγαλοδωρεᾷ τὰς ἰδίας ἐξομοιῶν εὐποιίας; Τάχα δὲ οὐ πρὸς τὸ ἀλλότριον ἀγαθὸν μόνον ὁ μακαρισμὸς βλέπει· ἀλλ' οἶμαι κυρίως εἰρηνοποιὸν χρηματίζειν, τὸν τὴν ἐν ἑαυτῷ στάσιν τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ τοῦ πνεύματος, καὶ τὸν ἐμ φύλιον τῆς φύσεως πόλεμον εἰς εἰρηνικὴν συμφωνίαν ἄγοντα, ὅταν μηκέτι ἐνεργὸς ᾖ ὁ τοῦ σώματος νόμος, ὁ ἀντιστρατευόμενος τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ νοὸς, ἀλλ' ὑποζευχθεὶς τῇ κρείττονι βασιλείᾳ ὑπηρέτης γίνεται τῶν θείων ἐπιταγμάτων. Μᾶλλον δὲ μὴ τοῦτο νομίσωμεν συμβουλεύειν τὸν λόγον, τὸ ἐν δυάδι νοεῖσθαι τῶν κατωρθωκότων τὸν βίον· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὰν ἐξαιρεθῇ τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν φραγμοῦ τὸ μεσότοιχον τῆς κακίας, εἷς οἱ δύο τῇ πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἀνακρίσει συμφυέντες γίνονται. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἁπλοῦν τὸ θεῖον καὶ ἀσύνθετον, καὶ ἀσχημάτιστον εἶναι πεπίστευται, ὅταν καὶ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον διὰ τῆς τοιαύτης εἰρηνοποιΐας, ἔξω τῆς κατὰ τὴν διπλῆν συνθέσεως γένηται, καὶ ἀκριβῶς εἰς τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐπανέλθῃ, ἁπλοῦν τε καὶ ἀσχημάτιστον, καὶ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἓν γενόμενον, ὡς ταὐτὸν εἶναι τῷ κρυπτῷ τὸ φαινόμενον, καὶ τῷ φαινομένῳ τὸ κεκρυμμένον· τότε ἀληθῶς κυροῦται ὁ μακαρισμὸς, καὶ λέγονται κυρίως οἱ τοιοῦτοι υἱοὶ Θεοῦ, μακαρισθέντες κατὰ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Logos Z', Μακάριοι τοίνυν οἱ εἰρηνοποιοὶ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ Θεοῦ κληθήσοντα Source: Migne PG 44.1289b-1292a

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 1 Who are these? Those who imitate the Divine love for men, those who show the mark of the Divine energy on themselves. The Lord and Giver of good things utterly eliminates anything that is without likeness and foreign to goodness, and He also enjoins this work on you, to cast out hatred and abolish conflict, to obliterate envy and drive out strife, to destroy hypocrisy and to extinguish any smouldering memory from within the heart, and then against these things which have been removed to establish what is contrary to them. For as light appears with the removal of darkness, so each of these things is replaced with the fruit of the Holy Spirit, love and joy and peace and kindness and generosity, all the good things reckoned up by the Apostle. How, then, should the one who gives the Divine gifts not be blessed, he who imitates the charity of God and conforms his own good deeds to the Divine munificence? But perhaps the beatitude does not look to the good of others alone, for I think he is called the masterly peacemaker who brings order to the flesh and the spirit, and a harmonious peace to the war that is inherent in nature, so that the law of the body no longer strives against the law of the mind, 2 but being subjected to the greater rule becomes ordered by what is Divine. Yet because the Word counsels this we should not think that the life of righteousness should be conceived to be a duality, but rather that the dividing wall of evil that blocks up is removed, and two things become one being united to what is better. Since, then, the Divine is believed to be simple and not composite and without deceit, humanity by such peacemaking also goes beyond its twofold composition and returns completely to the good and simple and is without deceit, and thus is truly made one, so that what appears is what is hidden, and what is hidden is what appears. Then the Beatitude is truly achieved, for such men are rightly called sons of God, since they are called blessed according to the promise of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Seventh Oration, on 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.' 1 Mt 5.9 2 Rom 7.21-23

The Debt Of Love

Quantum cupio sanctitati vestrae debitum reddere de caritate sermonem, tantum me caritatis magis fieri video debitorem; nec invenio qualiter possim verbis explicare praeconium caritatis, in qua sic debemus, quandiu in hoc saeculo vivimus, crescere invicem diligendo, sicut eam jubemur semper debere reddendo. Beatus namque apostolus Paulus, dum nos omnibus debitis praecepisset absolvi, solo nos mutuae caritatis debito semper voluit detineri, dicens: Nemini quidquam debeatis, nisi ut invicem diligatis. Ista est apostolicae summa doctrinae. Haec sunt consulta caritatis paternae, ut nemini quidquam debeamus, nisi ut invicem diligamus. Cum ergo audimus, ut nemini quidquam debeamus, non in hoc verbo remaneamus, sed audiamus et faciamus quod sequitur, ut nos invicem diligamus: et inveniemus sanctam caritatem, quam semper debendo reddamus, et reddendo salubriter debeamus. Magna res caritas est, dilectissimi fratres, quam docente Apostolo sic jubemur semper reddere, ut eam nihilominus jubeamur sine intermissione debere. O caritatis debitum bonum, debitum sanctum, debitum coelestibus refertum commodis, debitum sempiternis plenum omnino divitiis! Sanctus Fulgentius Ruspensis, Sermo V, De caritate Dei ac Proximi Source: Migne PL 65.737b-d

As greatly as I desire to return the debt of your holiness with a sermon on love, just as greatly I see myself as a debtor to love, for I do not find I am able to explain the glory of love, in which, while we live in this world, we should grow in love to one another, because of which we are commanded always to return it. The blessed Apostle Paul, while he commands us to dismiss all debts, wished us only to be detained by the one debt of mutual love, saying, 'Owe nothing to anyone, only that you love one another.' 1 This is the summit of the Apostolic teaching, this is the counsel of paternal love, that we should owe nothing to anyone, only that we love one another. When, therefore, we hear that we should owe nothing to anyone, we should not stop there, but we should hear and do what follows, that is, we should love one another, and thus we shall find heaven's love, which we should always return, and profitably return. Love is such a great thing, dearest brothers, which the Apostle teaches us we should always return, so that we are commanded to it without pause. O good debt of love, o holy debt, o debt that bears off to heaven, debt full of eternal riches. Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, from Sermon 5, On the Love of God and one's Neighbour 1 Rom 13.8

Loving Enemies

Ego autem dico vobis, Diligite inimicos vestros Quoniam ignorantibus mysterium naturae humana impossibile videtur diligere inimicum. Et vere impossibile est, quantum ad carnis naturam, quia passionibus subjacet: quantum autem ad animam, possibile est, quia propri judicii est ideo: et regere et reinere potest carnem a passionibus. Numquam enim anima passibilem regeret carnem, si ipsa passionibus esset subjecta. Puto autem, sicut illud quod dictum est: Ego autem dico, non concupisces: non loquiter Deus ad carnis naturam, quae non potest fieri ut non concupiscat quod suum est: sed ad animam, quae non concupiscere potest. Nam quando quis corporalibus quidem motibus excitatur, voluntas autem illius non inclinatur, ut faciat opus quod facere instigatur, sed stabilii proposito, continentia et operatione justitiae, irrationabiles motus corporis frangit, et si corpore concupiscit, animus ejus non concupiscit; si autem consenserit explere quod cogitat, tunc vere dicitur animo concupiscere: sic in hoc loco: caro quidem inimicum suum diligere non potest, quemadmodum nec est possibile, ut injuriam non sentiat sibi illatam; anima autem inimicum diligere potest, quia dilectio vel odium carnis in sensu est, animae autem in intellectu. Propterea anima quidem secundum rationem vertitur, caro autem invertibilis in passione tenetur: quoniam anima libera est, et sub principatu Dei est; caro autem captiva est, and sub principatu diaboli est, sicut et mundus qui in maligno positus est, quoniam et ipsa caro de mundo est. Quando ergo nocemur ab aliquo, etsi odimus eum, non tamen exsequimur odium nostum, considerantes Dei justitiam, sed magis confringentes motus doloris nostri, et benedicimus ei, et benefacimus. Cognosce quia caro quidem nostra odit inimicum suum, quae nocita diligere non potest, anima autem diligit inimicum. Alioqui si unusquisque motus suae carnis considerat, nullum bonum facere invenitur: quia omne bonum, adversante carnis natura, contradicentibus nobis ipsis explemus. Deinde qui te innocentem injuriatur, si incipias considerare quomodo a diabolo possidetur et agitur, quomodo voluntatem suam adimplet per ministerum ejus, non solum non irasceris ei, sed ahuc misereberis ejus: miseratio autem excitat affectum. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XIII Source: Migne PG 56.702-3

But I say to you, love your enemies. 1 To those ignorant of the mysteries of human nature it appears impossible to love an enemy. And truly it is impossible as much as it pertains to the nature of the flesh, because it is subject to the passions, but as much as it pertains to the soul it is possible, because it has its own judgement and it is able to rule and restrain the flesh from the passions, but if the soul has become become subject to the passions it can never rule the passion affected flesh. I think, as has been said, as I said about not lusting, that God does not speak of the flesh here, which is not able to be something which does not desire its own things, but to the soul, which is capable of not desiring. For when someone is moved by bodily motions, his will may incline not to do the deed which has been instigated, and with the firm intention of continence and with the work of righteousness, he may stamp down on the irrational movement of the body, if the body desires what his soul does not. But if he shall consent to accomplish what it would, then truly he tells the soul to desire. Therefore, in this passage the flesh is not able to love its enemy and likewise it is not possible that it cannot feel an injury that is inflicted, but the soul can love an enemy, because the love or hate of the flesh is in the sense but the soul's is in the mind. Because of which the soul turns over things according to reason, and the body is held fast by passions, since the soul is free and beneath the power of God and the flesh is captive, beneath the power of the devil, and so the world is in wicked position set, 2 because the flesh is from the world. When, then, we are harmed by someone, even if we hate him, we must not follow our hatred, but considering the righteousness of God, and more the ruinous motions of our grief, we bless him and we do good. Let it be known that our flesh hates our enemy because it is not able to love that which harms it. Besides if anyone should consider the motion of his own flesh he will find no good there, because we fulfill every good in contradiction to the averse nature of the flesh. Finally he who is harmed in innocence, if he considers how the devil possesses and acts, and how his will is fulfilled through his servants, he shall not only refrain from anger, but he shall be merciful and mercy shall kindle love. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 13 1 Mt 5.44 2 1 Jn 5.19

Love And Friends And Enemies

Et si diligitis eos, qui vos diligunt, quae vobis est gratia? Nam et peccatores diligentes se diligunt, etc. Si etiam peccatores, publicani et ethnici, erga dilectores suos natura duce norunt esse benefici, quantum vos, inquit, quibus ut gradus professionis eximior, ita cura necesse est sit virtutis uberior, latiori sinu dilectionis amplecti debetis etiam non amantes? Unde quaesitu dignum videtur quomodo cum Dominus eos qui diligentes se solum diligunt, benefacientibus sibi benefaciunt, amicis fenerantur, non modo perfectam non habere charitatem, verum peccatoribus aequiparari testetur, ille pectoris dominici recubitor Epistolam de Dei et proximi dilectione consummans, non uspiam inimicos monuerit esse diligendos, sed absolute dixerit: Quia si diligamus invicem, Deus in nobis manet, et charitas Dei in nobis perfecta est. Quod si quem movet, sciat eum non de inimicorum amore tacuisse, sed et illos fratrum nomine comprehendisse fraternique amoris intuitu diligi, et pro eis praecepisse orari. Scilicet, ut non semper inimici remaneant, sed resipiscant a diaboli laqueis, nobisque germano foedere socientur. Nec durum videatur, quod nondum credentes, propter spem tamen credendi fratres apellari posse dicimus. Nam idem Joannes, eos etiam filios Dei vocitare legitur. Quia Jesus, inquit, moriturus erat pro gente, et non tantum pro gente, sed ut filios Dei, qui erant dispersi, congregaret in unum. Quandiu enim dispersi, nondum filii sunt Dei, sed conveniendo in unum, jam efficiuntur filii. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Caput VI Source: Migne PL 92.407a-c

And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you. For even sinners love those who love them... 1 If even sinners, tax collectors and gentiles, know by nature that their lovers are of benefit, how much more should you be more excellent, because of which care is needed for a more abundant virtue, so that with a wider lap of love you may embrace with love those who do not love. Now it seems worthwhile to ask how it is that when the Lord says they do not have a perfect love who love only those who love them, and who do good to those who do good to them, and help friends, and He gives witness to it by the comparison with sinners, yet he who reclined on the Lord's breast, concluded his letter about the love of God and neighbour with no exhortation anywhere to the love of enemies, but openly stated, 'Because if we love one another, God remains in us, and the love of God is perfected in us.' 2  If one considers it, one may understand that he has not been silent about the love of enemies, but includes them under the name of brothers who are to be loved with fraternal love, and he has commanded us to pray for them, that is, so that they might not always remain enemies, but recognise the snares of the devil and join us in familial relationship. It does not seem so difficult that we should be able to call them brothers while they are not yet believers on account of the hope of them becoming believers. For the same John even calls them sons of god. 'Because Jesus' it says, 'should die for the people, and not only for the people, but so that the sons of God who are scattered might be gathered into one.' 3 For while they were scattered they were not sons of God, but coming together as one, so they are made sons. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Book 1, Chapter 6 1 Lk 6.32 2 1 Jn 4.12 3 Jn 11.51-52

The Wound Of Love

Ἐὰν εὕρητε τὸν ἀδελφιδόν μου, ἀπαγγείλατε αὐτῷ, ὅτι τετρωμένη ἀγάπης εἰμὶ ἐγώ. Kαλὰ δὲ εἶναι τῆς ἀγάπης τὰ τραύματα καὶ παρὰ τῆς Παροιμίας ἐμάθομεν ἥ φησιν Αἱρετὰ μὲν τοῦ φίλου τὰ τραύματα, κακὰ δὲ τῆς ἔχθρας καὶ τὰ φιλήματα. Tίς δὲ ὁ φίλος οὗ τὰ τραύματα τῶν φιλημάτων τοῦ ἐχθροῦ προτιμότερα, παντὶ δῆλόν ἐστι τῷ μὴ ἀγνοοῦντι τὰ τῆς σωτηρίας μυστήρια. Φίλος μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἀληθινός τε καὶ βέβαιος ὁ καὶ ἐχθροὺς γενομένους ἡμᾶς τοῦ ἀγαπᾶν μὴ παυσάμενος, ἐχθρὸς δὲ ἄπιστός τε καὶ ἀνήμερος ὁ μηδὲν ἠδικηκότας ὑπαγαγὼν τῷ θανάτῳ. Tραῦμα τοῖς πρωτοπλάστοις ἐδόκει ἡ διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς γενομένη τοῦ κακοῦ ἀπαγόρευσις, τραῦμα γὰρ ἐνομίσθη τοῦ ἡδέος ἡ ἀλλοτρίωσις, φίλημα δὲ ἡ πρὸς τὸ ἡδὺ καὶ εὐφανὲς προτροπή. Ἀλλ’ ἔδειξεν ἡ πεῖρα ὅτι τὰ νομιζόμενα τοῦ φίλου τραύματα τῶν φιλημάτων ἦν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ λυσιτελέστερά τε καὶ αἱρετώτερα. Ἐπεὶ οὖν συνέστησεν ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ἀγάπην ὁ καλὸς ἐραστὴς τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν, δι’ ἣν καὶ Ἁμαρτωλῶν ὄντων ἡμῶν Χριστὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀπέθανε, διὰ τοῦτο ἀντερασθεῖσα ἡ νύμφη τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντος δείκνυσιν ἐν ἑαυτῇ ἐγκείμενον διὰ βάθους τῆς ἀγάπης τὸ βέλος, τουτέστι τὴν τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ κοινωνίαν· ἡ γὰρ ἀγάπη ἐστὶν ὁ θεός, καθὼς εἴρηται, ἡ διὰ τῆς κατὰ τὴν πίστιν ἀκίδος τῇ καρδίᾳ ἐγγενομένη. Eἰ δὲ χρὴ καὶ ὄνομα τοῦ βέλους εἰπεῖν τούτου, ἐροῦμεν ὃ παρὰ τοῦ Παύλου ἐμάθομεν ὅτι τὸ βέλος τοῦτό ἐστι Πίστις δι’ ἀγάπης ἐνεργουμένη. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων, Ὁμιλία IΓ’ Source: Migne PG 44.1044b-d

If you should find my kinsman, say to him that I am wounded by love. 1 That the wounds of love are beautiful we have learnt from Proverbs, which says, 'The wounds of a friend are desirable, but the kisses of an enemy are evil.' 2 And the answer to the question of who the friend is whose wounds are more beneficial than the kisses of a foe is obvious to everyone who is not ignorant of the mysteries of salvation. The friend is the true and unshakable One who even when we were foes never stopped loving us, and the enemy is the faithless and savage one who brings death to those who have done him no harm. To the one who was first formed, the commandment’s prohibition of evil seemed a wound, since the separation from what gives pleasure was thought to be a wound, while a kiss is an incitement to what gives pleasure and appears good. But experience has shown that things thought as wounds from a friend are more profitable and more desirable than the kisses of an enemy. Since, then, the beautiful lover of our souls has commended His love, because of which 'Christ died for us when we were sinners,' 3 the bride, having returned her beloved's love, reveals the shaft of love deeply fixed within her, that is, her fellowship with the Deity. For God is love, 4 as it has been said, and He has come to dwell in the heart by the means of the shaft of faith. And if it is needful to give a name to this shaft, we repeat what we have learned from Paul, that this shaft is 'faith working through love.' 5 Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 13 1 Song 5.8 2 Prov 27.6 3 Rom 5.8 4 1 Jn 4.8 5 Galat 5.6

Considering Reconciliation

Οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ παντελῶς μοι δοκεῖ τῶν μὴ δεχομένων τὴν πίστιν ἀλλοτριοῦν ἑαυτούς, ἀλλὰ ποιήσασθαί τινα τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐπιμέλειαν κατὰ τοὺς παλαιοὺς θεσμοὺς τῆς ἀγάπης, καὶ ἐπιστεῖλαι αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ μιᾶς γνώμης, πᾶσαν παράκλησιν μετ̓ εὐσπλαγχνίας προσάγοντας, καὶ τὴν τῶν πατέρων πίστιν προτεινομένους προκαλεῖσθαι αὐτοὺς εἰς συνάφειαν: κἂν μὲν πείσωμεν, κοινῶς αὐτοῖς ἑνωθῆναι: ἐὰν δὲ ἀποτύχωμεν, ἀρκεῖσθαι ἡμᾶς ἀλλήλοις, τὸν δὲ ἐπαμφοτερισμὸν τοῦτον ἐξορίσαι τοῦ ἤθους, ἀναλαβόντας τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν καὶ ἄδολον πολιτείαν, ᾗ συνέζων οἱ ἐξ ἀρχῆς προσελθόντες τῷ λόγῳ. ἦν γάρ, φησί, τῶν πιστευσάντων καρδία καὶ ψυχὴ μία. ἐὰν μὲν οὖν πεισθῶσί σοι, ταῦτα ἄριστα. Ἐἰ δὲ μή, γνωρίσατε τοὺς πολεμοποιούς, καὶ παύσασθε ἡμῖν τοῦ λοιποῦ περὶ διαλλαγῶν ἐπιστέλλοντες. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ἐπιστολή PKH' Εὐσεβίῳ, Ἐπισκόπῳ Σαμοσάων Source: Migne PG 32.557a-b

It does not seem to me to be our absolute duty to cut ourselves off from those who do not receive the faith, but rather to have consideration for them in accordance with the old law of love, and to write to them with one mind, with full exhortation and with pity, proposing to them the faith of the fathers, and inviting them to union, and if we shall persuade we will be united in communion with them, but if we fail we must be content with one another and purge our conduct of this uncertain spirit, restoring the evangelical and upright way of living followed by those who accepted the Word from the beginning. 'There was,' it is said, 'one heart and one soul among the faithful.' 1 It will be best if they are persuaded by you, but if they are not, recognise the authors of this strife, and in the future do not write to me any more letters about reconciliation. Saint Basil of Caesarea, from Letter 128, To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata. 1 Acts 4.32

Ways And Paths

Perfice gressus meos in semitis tuis, ut non moveantur vestigia mea. Viae Dei sunt praecepta levia. Semitae Dei sunt strictiora mandata, in quibus pauci ambulare possunt. In via Dei ambulat qui proximo suo malum non facit. In semitia Dei ambulat qui etiam malum inferentem diligit. Qui vero adhuc ambulare nescit in semita, saepe movetur a via, quia saepe charitatem deserere cogitur qui non didicit adhuc diligere, nisi eum a quo amatur. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber II, Caput XX, De Viis et Semitis Dei Source: Migne PL 177.599c-d

Perfect my walking in your paths, so that my feet do not stumble. 1 The ways of God are the lighter precepts, the paths of God are the stricter commands in which few are able to walk. He walks in the way of God who does no evil to his neighbour. He walks in the path of God who loves him who does him evil. However, he who does not yet know what it is to walk in the path, often stumbles on the way, since  he is often driven to abandon love because he has not yet learnt how to love anyone unless they love him. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 2, Chapter 20, On the Ways and Paths of God 1 Ps 16.5

A Great Mystery And Sign

Magnum mysterium, dilectissimi fratres, magnum divinae dilectionis indicium. Homo Deum contemnens a Deo discessit, Deus hominem diligens ad homines venit. Dilexit impium, ut faceret justum; dilexit infirmum, ut faceret sanum; dilexit perversum, ut faceret rectum; dilexit mortuum, ut faceret vivum. Et quid amplius dicam? quandoquidem Deus unigenitus humanam naturam tantum dilexit, ut eam non solum a potestate mali angeli liberaret, verum etiam in seipso super omnes bonos angelos in Patris dextera collocaret. Natura enim quae in primo homine a malo angelo captivata fuerat, ipsa nunc in secundo homine super omnes bonos angelos regnat. Natura quae in primo homine mundum peccato polluit, ipsa in secundo homine mundum a peccato mundavit. Primus homo de terra terrenus, secundus homo de coelo coelestis. Primum hominem mulier corrupta mente decepit, secundum hominem virgo incorrupta virginitate concepit. In primi hominis conjuge nequitia diaboli seductam depravavit mentem, in secundi autem hominis matre gratia Dei et mentem integram servavit et carnem: menti contulit firmissimam fidem, carni abstulit omnino libidinem. Quoniam igitur miserabiliter pro peccato damnatus est homo, ideo sine peccato mirabiliter natus est Deus homo. Sanctus Fulgentius Ruspensis, Sermo II, De duplici Nativitate Christi , una aeterna ex Patre, altera temporali ex Virgine Source: Migne PL 65.728b-c

It is a great mystery, brothers, it is a great sign of Divine love. Man scorning God is cut off from God, God loving men comes to men. God loved the wicked man so that he might make him righteous, He loved the sick man so that He might make him well, He loved the depraved man so that He might make him upright, he loved the dead man so that He might make him live. What more shall I say? The only begotten God loved human nature so much that not only did He liberate it from the power of the evil angel, but truly in Himself He gathered it to the right hand of the Father above all the angels. For the nature that was in the first man was made captive by the wicked angel, now by the second men rules over all the angels. The nature in the first man that befouled the world with sin, was that which in the second man cleansed the world of sin. 'The first man from earth, earthly, the second man from heaven, heavenly.' 1 The woman deceived the first man with a corrupted mind, an uncorrupted virgin conceived the second with her virginity. The wickedness of the devil depraved a seduced mind with the erring spouse of the first man, the grace of God guarded the mind and flesh of the mother of the second man, bringing firm faith to the mind and casting off all carnal desire. Because, then, man was wretchedly damned for sin, thus the God man was wonderfully born without sin. Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, from Sermon 2, On The Twofold Nativity of Christ, One Eternal from the Father, and One Temporal from the Virgin 1 1 Cor 15.47

The Gates

Portas suas habet mundus quibus stulte ingredi nititur ad Deum. Quae sunt corrupta sensualitas, et incesta cupiditas. Unde est: appropinuaeverunt usque ad portas mortis. Portae inferi sunt caeca dispensatio et dura obstinatio: Portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam. Portae coeli sunt humilis potentia, quae est porta ferrea ducens ad vitam, et amoris concordia, quae est porta orientalis. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber VI, Tit XCIV De variis portis Source: Migne PL 177.802b

The world has its gates through which there is a foolish striving to draw near to God. They are corrupt pleasures and wretched desires. Whence 'They have drawn near to the gates of death.' 1 The gates of hell are blind inclination and hard obstinacy. 'The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' 2 The gates of heaven are the power of humility, which is the iron gate that leads to life, and the harmony of love, which is the gate that faces to the east. 3 Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 6, Chapter 94, On the Different Gates 1 Ps 106.18 2 Mt 16.18 3 Acts 12.10, Ezek 44

Commandments And Trial

Ὁ ποιήσας ἐντολὴν, ἐκδεχέσθω τὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς πειρασμόν· ἡ γὰρ εἰς Χριστὸν ἀγάπη, δι' ἐναντίων δοκιμάζεται. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ Source: Migne PG 65.916d

He who keeps the commandments will endure trials, because the love for Christ is proved by adversity. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law.

The Trinity And Virtue

Perfectio namque hujus vitae non alia est quam per fidem, spem et charitatem, perfecte quae retro sunt oblivisci, et in ea extendi quae ante sunt. Nam et Apostolus hoc dicit: Quotquot, inquit, perfecti sumus, hoc sapiamus. Quicunque ergo vere quaerunt Deum Trinitatem, trium virtutum harum affectent in semetipsis habere trinitatem, et conformare se studeant ad earum disciplinam. Conscientia earum paradisus voluptatis est, pollens affluentia gratiarum, et castis sanctarum deliciis virtutum; ubi homo incola paradisi ipsius cum Deo conversatur; et saepe eum videt, semper ab eo videtur, saepe cum eo loquitur. Tres autem cardinales istae virtutes ubi sunt, ad aliquam similudinem Trinitatis Dei sic sibi invicem connexae sunt et conjunctae, ut sint singulae in omnibus, et omnes in singulis; ut quod, et quantum, et quomodo, quid credit; hoc etiam, et tantum, et eo modo speret et amet: sic etiam speret, quod credit et amat; et amet, quod credit et sperat. Fides enim nomen virtutis est, et magnae et eximiae virtutis. Sed fides quae spem et charitatem non habet, virtus est. Sic enim et daemones credunt, et homines, qui sicut daemones credunt, nisi quod pejores esse videntur ipsis daemonibus homines quidam, in eo quod homines nec timent, ubi daemones contremiscunt. Certamque esse fidem oportet, ut certa sit spes, certa charitatis. Sicut enim recte credi non potest sine spe, nec sperari nisi praecedente fide, sic nec alterius formae spes esse potest quam fides. Creditum quipper bonum suum spei format appetitum, cum credita bonitas crediti dat fiduciam sperandi. Ad similitudinem ergo summae Trinitatis sicut fides spem gignit, sic charitatis ab utroque, hoc est a fide et spe procedit, cum non potest non amari quod creditur et speratur; et eodem utique modo amari, quo creditur et speratur. Sicut enim ibi tres personae coaeternae sibi sunt et consubstantiales, ita et hic fides, spes, charitas, non tempore alia prior, alia posterior est, quantum ad virtutis substantiam quodammmodo consubstantiales licet videantur habere secundum formam differentis affectius, quasi differentias quasdam personales. Guillelmus S Theodorici Abbas, Speculum Fidei Source: Migne PG 180.367b-368a

The perfection of this life is nothing other than by faith, hope and charity, the things behind being completely forgotten in reaching for those things ahead. For as the Apostle says, 'However many of us are perfect, this we shall know. ' 1 Whoever, then, seeks the Divine Trinity desires to have in himself this trinity of virtues, and he is eager to conform himself to their discipline. The awareness of them is the paradise of joys, strong with the abundance of grace and with the chaste delights of the holy virtues, where man placed in paradise dwelt with God, and often he sees Him, and he is always seen by Him, and he often speaks to Him. Now as the three cardinal virtues have a certain similitude to the divine Trinity, so it is that they are in themselves connected and joined, each one being in all, and all in each, so that as much and how someone believes, with this and only with this, is the way he hopes and loves. For faith is the name of a virtue, and it is a great and wonderful virtue, but the faith which does not have hope and charity is no virtue. As demons believe, so even men who are like demons believe, unless they seem to be worse than demons and thus are men who have no fear, whereas demons tremble. 1 It is necessary that faith be certain, that hope be certain, and love be certain. For as one cannot believe rightly without hope, nor can one hope unless faith precedes, and so there is no other way for there to be hope but with faith. Certainly a believed good forms the appetite of hope, for the good that is believed gives confidence to hope in the believing. In the likeness, then, of the Holy Trinity faith begets hope, and love comes from both, that is, it proceeds from faith and hope, since it is impossible not to love what we believe in and hope for, whence in the same way one loves what is believed in and is hoped for. So as there are three coeternal and consubstantial persons, so it is with faith and hope and charity, one is not earlier or later in time, but as much as the substance of the virtue is consubstantial yet they have a difference of form, just as it is with the differences of the Divine persons. William of St Thierry, The Mirror of Faith 1 1 Cor 13.13, Phil 3.13-15 2 James 2.19

Resurrection And Ascension

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

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

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

Calling Out

Ad Dominum, cum tribularer, clamavi, et exaudivit me... Tribulatio est haec vita, ex qua, qui humiliter ad Deum clamant, sicut Publicanus qui ait: Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori, exaudiuntur. Sed videamus quid iste poentients clamet: Domine, libera a labiis inquius, et a lingua dolosa... Labia iniqua sunt, quae nos suggerendo ad iniquitatem sollicitare nituntur, lingua dolosa est, quae nos avertere vult de via justitiae. Illa nos ad peccandum suggerunt; ista nos a benefaciendo retrahit. Sed consideremus, quid nobis ad has preces respondeat Dominus. Quid detur tibi, aut quid apponatur tibi ad linguam dolosam? Ecce quid tibi dabitur ad respondendum linguae dolosae, quae solet, non consulendo tibi, sed subvertendo te, dicere: Non potes saeculum dimittere, non potes tam arctam viam et tam angustam portam ingredi. Sagittae potentis acutae cum carbonibus desolatoriis. Id est, quid in Evangelio dicitur: Apud homines hoc impossibile est, apud Deum omnia possibilia sunt. Sagittae potentis verba Dei sunt, quae transfigunt corda nostra ad contemnendum saeculum, et ad amandum Deum: ex quibus sagittis amor excitatur, non interitus comparatur. Cum carbonibus desolatoriis, id est vastatoriis. Sed si parum est verbis sagittare, sufficiat exemplis demonstrate. Qui fuerunt peccatis nigri et frigidi, iterum charitate Dei accensi vestaverunt et destruxerunt opera diaboli in cordibus suis, ut praepararent habitationem Deo in semetipsis, et post multa peccata multum dilexerunt Deum: ideo multum dimittetur eis. Heu me! quia incolatus meus prolongatus est, habitavi cum habitantibus Cedar, multum incola fuit anima mea. Ecce iste a lingua dolosa liberatus, verbo Dei sagittatus, exemplis multorum robortus, quid proficiat, quove ascendere quaerat, videamus. Heu me! inquit, quod incoltus meus prolongatus est! Vox dolentis et miseriam plangentis, quod diu peregrinatione hujus mortalitatis incolatus ejus prolongetur. Incola vero est qui terram alienam colit. Unde iste se plangit, et ad patriam suspirans redire, addidit: Habitavi cum habitantibus Cedar. Cedar tenebrae interpretantur. Significat autem peccatores, inter quos in hoc saeculo justi peregrinantur, necdum extremo judicii ventilabro area, id est Ecclesia, purgata et segregate: unde iste desiderans ascendere ait: Multum incola fuit anima mea. Corpus locis, et anima affectibus peregrinatur. Unde iste sagitta charitatis vulneratus toto desiderio ad coelestem anhelat patriam. Alcuinus, Expositio in Psalmos Graduales, Psalmus CXIX Source: Migne PL 100.619c-621a

I called out to the Lord when I was troubled and He heard me... 1 This life is tribulation, because of which those who humbly cry out to God, like that tax collector who said: 'May God be propitious to me a sinner,' 2 are heard. But let us see what this penitent one calls out: O Lord, free me from the lips of the wicked, and the evil tongue... Lips are wicked that strive to attract us to wickedness by suggestion. The tongue is evil that wishes to lead us from the way of righteousness. The former counsels us to sin, the latter to turn ourselves from good works. But let us consider what the Lord shall reply to us with these petitions. What shall be given to you, or what appointed for the wicked tongue? Observe what shall be given to you in response to the wicked tongue, the custom of which is not to edify you but to pervert you, saying: 'You cannot cast off the world, you cannot walk on a way so narrow and so difficult.' 3 The sharp arrows of the mighty one, with coals that lay waste. That is, what is said in the Gospel, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.' 4 The arrows of the mighty one are the words of God that pierce our heart for the spurning of the world, and to love God, which arrows rouse love and should not be compared to those that kill. 'With coals that lay waste,' that is, those who ruin. And that words are indeed arrows let it be enough to demonstrate with examples. They who were dark and chilled are clothed with the blazing love of God and they destroy the works of the devil in their hearts, so that they might prepare a dwelling for God in themselves, and after a long time of many sins, love God, and therefore much is forgiven them. 5 Alas for me, that my sojourning is prolonged! I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar, my soul has long been a sojourner. Behold the man who has been freed from the evil tongue, by the archery of the word of God, and who has been strengthened by the examples of many. And how this is to the advantage of one who seeks to ascend, let us see. 'Alas for me,' he says, 'that my sojourning is prolonged!' This is the voice of one who is sorrowful and crying out in misery because his sojourning in the wandering of his mortality is prolonged. He sojourns who dwells in a foreign land. Whence he sighs for himself, and longing to be returned to his fatherland, he adds: 'I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar.' Cedar may be understood as darkness and it signifies sinners, among whom the righteous wander in the world, for the winnowing fan of final judgement has not yet sifted and separated the threshing floor which is the Church. 6 Whence this one who desires to ascend then says, 'My soul has long been a sojourner.' The body wanders in space, the soul in passions. Therefore this one who has been wounded by the arrow of love gasps with all his desire for the heavenly fatherland. Alcuin of York, Commentary on the Gradual Psalms, from Psalm 119 1 Ps 119.1 2 Lk 18.13 3 Mt 7.13-14 4 Mt 19.26 5 Lk 7.47 6 Lk 3.17

In Praise Of Friendship

In rebus humanis nihil dulcius amicitia invenitur, nihil sanctius appetitur, nihil fructuosius custoditur: habet enim fructum vitae quae nunc est et futurae. Ipsa propria suavitate virtutes alias condit, adversa temperat, prospera componit, tristiaque jucundat. Homo sine amico non habet, cui vitam et affectus suos communicet, cui conscientiae suae sinum aperiat, cui ad solatium suum aliquid de molestiis terrentibus evaporet. Solus est, qui sine amico est. Vere dicitur solus, quia si ceciderit, non habet sublevantem. E diverso quanta est jucunditas, quanta securitas, habere cum quo loquaris, ut tecum, cui cordis tui secreta committere audeas, quem in secretioribus tuis habeas ut teipsum, cui plena securitate reveles, quantum in studiis spiritualibus a teipso defeceris, aut profeceris apud Deum. Quid denique desiderabilius, aut dulcius, quam ut duorum tanta sit unio animorum, quod quum alter corripiatur ab altero, vel laudetur, nulla interveniat ira, nulla seditio, nulla inter eos formido criminis, adulationisve suspicio. Amicus, ait Sapiens, est medicamentum vitae. Optima enim medicina est homini homo, qui ejus remediatur adversis, qui ejus condescendit incommodis, qui gravia levigat, qui amici onera quasi juncto humero simul portat. Nec enim verus amicus impatientius propriam injuriam sustinet, quam amici. Verbum Philosophi est: Non aqua, non igne, non aere pluries utimur, quam amico. In omni actu, in omni studio, in rebus certis, in dubiis, in omni eventu, in secreto, in publico, in omni consultatione, domi et foris : et ut multa paucis includam, in omnibus, quae ad divina pertinent et humana, gratia se diligentium mutuo utilis invenitur. Audi Tullium: Tanta est, inquit, amicitiae virtus, quod ejus beneficio absentes amici sibi praesentes assistunt, egentes abundant, valent imbecilles, et quod mirabilius est, mortui vivunt. Demum amicitia est divitibus pro gloria, pro censu pauperibus; exulibus pro patria, imbecillibus pro virtute, pro medicina aegroto, mortuis pro vita. Et sicut idem Tullius aiebat, Solem videntur de mundo tollere, qui de vita hominum amicitiam tollunt. Amicitia, inquit idem, quaedam est vita hominum, sine qua nullum est humanae vitae solatium. Amicitia quidam gradus est hominibus ad Deum. Dilectione enim mediante homo Deo approximat, dum ex hominis amico Dei amicus efficitur. Audi Deum ad homines loquentem, quos in proximi dilectione firmaverat et dicentem : Jam non dicam vos servos, quia servus nescit, quid faciat Dominus ejus. Vos autem dixi amicos, quia omnia quaecunque audivi a Patre meo, nota feci vobis. Quas omnia, sicut plerique Sancti asserunt,in Dei proximique dilectione consistunt. Petrus Blenensis, De Amicitia Christiana, Cap. III, Quam dulcis, et quam fructuosa sit amicitia. Source: Migne PL 207.874c-875c

In human affairs nothing is found sweeter than friendship, nothing more holy is sought, nothing is more fruitfully guarded, for it is has reward for life both now and in the future. With its own sweetness it establishes other virtues, tempers adversity, moderates prosperity, gives cheer to sorrow. A man without a friend does not have one to whom he may communicate life and feelings, to whom he may open the lap of his conscience, in whom he might have comfort for dispelling his burdensome troubles. He is alone who lacks a friend. Truly it is said 'alone' because 'if he falls he has no one to lift him up.' 1 In contrast how much joy there is, how much security, to have someone to whom you may speak and with whom you may dare to commit the secrets of your heart, and with whom you may share your secrets as much as you do with yourself, and to whom you may speak in full confidence, as much of the spiritual desires which you lack as of your advance to God. What, then, is more desirable, or more sweet, or more durable than a union of souls, so that when the one is corrected by the other, or praised, no anger intervenes, nor discord, nor is there fear of any offence between them, nor is there any suspicion of flattery. 'A friend,' says Wisdom 'is the medicine of life.' 2 The best medicine for a man is a man, one who supplies remedies in adversity, who sympathises in difficulties, who eases burdens, who at the same time bears the troubles of a friend as if their shoulders were joined. For he is not a true friend who is more impatient in enduring his own injury than a friend's. The word of the Philosopher is: 'Neither water, nor fire, nor air, are so useful as friendship.' 3 In every act, every passion, in things doubtful and in things certain, in every event, in secret and in public, in every consultation, in the house and outside, and I include many things of little weight, in everything which pertains to Divine and human affairs, the grace of mutual love is found useful. Hear Cicero: 'So great is the virtue of friendship that with its help absent friends stand near and present. In poverty they are rich and in weakness strong, and what is more wonderful, they revive the dead. Finally friendship is glory for the rich, wealth for the poor, a homeland for exiles, strength for the powerless, medicine for the sick, life for the dead.' And likewise the same Cicero says: 'They seem to take the sun from the world, who take friendship from the life of men.' 'There is a certain friendship,' the same man says, 'which is the life of men, without which there is no comfort in life.' 4 Certainly friendship is a stairway from men to God. By the mediation of love a man draws near to God, when from being a friend of men he is made a friend of God. Hear God saying to men, those whom He fortified in the love of their neighbour: 'Now I shall not call you servants but friends, because a servant does not know what his Lord does. I call you friends, because everything which I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.' 5 Which everything, as most of the saints assert, consists in the love of God and neighbour. Peter of Blois, On Christian Friendship, Chapter 3, How sweet and fruitful friendship may be. 1 Eccl 4.10 2 Sirach 6.16 3 Cicero De Amicitia 22 4 Cicero De Amicitia 23, 47, 102 5 Jn 15.15

Love And Knowledge

Ὡς μὲν οὖν ἀντακολουθοῦσιν ἀλλήλαις αἱ ἀρεταί, τί χρὴ λέγειν, ἐπιδεδειγμένου ἤδη ὡς πίστις μὲν ἐπὶ μετανοίᾳ ἐλπίδι τε, εὐλάβεια δὲ ἐπὶ πίστει, καὶ ἡ ἐν τούτοις ἐπιμονή τε καὶ ἄσκησις ἅμα μαθήσει συμπεραιοῦται εἰς ἀγάπην, ἣ δὲ τῇ γνώσει τελειοῦται; ἐκεῖνο δὲ ἐξ ἀνάγκης παρασημειωτέον ὡς μόνον τὸ θεῖον σοφὸν εἶναι φύσει νοεῖσθαι χρή· διὸ καὶ ἡ σοφία δύναμις θεοῦ ἡ διδάξασα τὴν ἀλήθειαν· κἀνταῦθάπου εἴληπται ἡ τελείωσις τῆς γνώσεως. Φιλεῖ δὲ καὶ ἀγαπᾷ τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὁ φιλόσοφος, ἐκ τοῦ θεράπων εἶναι γνήσιος δι' ἀγάπην ἤδη φίλος νομισθείς. Tαύτης δὲ ἀρχὴ τὸ θαυμάσαι τὰ πράγματα, ὡς Πλάτων ἐν Θεαιτήτῳ λέγει, καὶ Ματθίας ἐν ταῖς Παραδόσεσι παραινῶν θαύμασον τὰ παρόντα, βαθμὸν τοῦτον πρῶτον τῆς ἐπέκεινα γνώσεως ὑποτιθέμενος· ᾗ κἀν τῷ καθ' Ἑβραίους εὐαγγελίῳ "ὁ θαυμάσας βασιλεύσει" γέγραπται καὶ ὁ βασιλεύσας ἀναπαήσεται. Ἀδύνατον οὖν τὸν ἀμαθῆ, ἔστ' ἂν μένῃ ἀμαθής, φιλοσοφεῖν, τόν γε μὴ ἔννοιαν σοφίας εἰληφότα, φιλοσοφίας οὔσης ὀρέξεως τοῦ ὄντως ὄντος καὶ τῶν εἰς τοῦτο συντεινόντων μαθημάτων. Kἂν τὸ ποιεῖν καλῶς ᾖ τισιν ἐξησκημένον, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐπίστασθαι, ὡς χρηστέον καὶ ποιητέον, καὶ συνεκπονητέον, καθὸ καὶ ὁμοιοῦταί τις θεῷ, θεῷ λέγω τῷ σωτῆρι, θεραπεύων τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεὸν διὰ τοῦ ἀρχιερέως λόγου, δι' οὗ καθορᾶται τὰ κατ' ἀλήθειαν καλὰ καὶ δίκαια. Eὐσέβεια ἔστι πρᾶξις ἑπομένη καὶ ἀκόλουθος θεῷ. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Στρωματεων, Λογος Β’, Κεφ' Θ’ Source: Migne PG 9.979c-981b

As, then, the virtues follow one another, what need to speak of that which has been demonstrated already, that faith hopes through repentance, and fear through faith, and patience and practice in these, along with learning, culminate in love, which is perfected by knowledge? But what one must note is that the Divine alone must be thought as wise by nature. Therefore wisdom also, which has taught the truth, is the power of God, and in it the perfection of knowledge is embraced. The philosopher loves and likes the truth, being now changed from being a true servant to being considered a friend on account of his love. 1 The beginning of knowledge is a wondering at objects, as Plato says is in his Theaetetus, 2 and Matthias exhorting us in the Traditions, says, 'Wonder at what is before you,' laying this down as the first foundation of further knowledge. So also in the Gospel to the Hebrews it is written, 'He that wonders shall reign, and he that has reigned shall rest.' It is impossible, therefore, for an ignorant man, while he remains ignorant, to philosophise, since he has no grasp of the idea of wisdom and philosophy, which is an effort to grasp that which truly is, and the studies that lead to that. Which is not done to make a man cultivated, but so that there might be knowledge of what is beneficial and how to act and labour, insofar as one has a likeness to God, I mean God the Saviour, by the service of the God of all things through the High Priest, the Word, through whom is seen what is in truth good and right, and piety is conduct suitable for following God. Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, Book 2, Chapter 9 1 Jn 15.15 2 Plato Theat 155d