The First And Eighth Beatitude

Octava nihil est, nisi prima repetita. Unde et eamdem remunerationem habet cum prima. Sed agamus nunc de remunerationibus. Pauperibus promittitur regnum coelorum, quia majus non potest haberi quam illud, quod est commune et generale praemium. Sed quum in octava eadem retributio repetatur, differre tamen intelligendum est. Sic enim intelligitur: Beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum. Qui abdicant terrena, eorum est jam regnum coelorum in spe, et si in purgatorio igne quidam horum ad horam purgantur, tamen non ambigunt se recepturos regnum coelorum. Qui autem patiuntur persecutionem, habent regnum coelorum, non tantum in spe, sed etiam in re. Qui enim moriuntur pro Christo, statim ascendunt in coelum. Hoc ideo ita legitur, non quod utrique non recipiant in re regnum coelorum, sed ut designetur quanta differentia est inter illum, quia habet in spe, et illum qui habet in re, tanta differentia est retributionis illius qui non patitur, et illius qui patitur. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput V Source: Migne PL 162.1289a-b

The eighth beatitude 1 is nothing but a repetition of the first, whence it has the same reward as the first. But let us now look into the rewards. The kingdom of heaven is promised to the poor, because it is not possible to have anything greater than it, which is the common and general reward. But the same reward repeated in the eighth beatitude must be understood to differ. For with 'Blessed are the poor of spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven,' is understood those who forsake worldly things, and theirs is the kingdom of heaven in hope, and even if they must be purified in the fire of purgatory for a time, they do not doubt they shall be received into the kingdom of heaven. But those who suffer persecution, they have the kingdom of heaven in that, and not only in hope, for those who die for Christ instantly ascend to heaven. It should be read, then, in this way: that it is not that both receive the kingdom of heaven immediately truth, but there is much difference between the one who possesses in hope, and the one who possesses in truth, so great is the difference between the reward of the one who does not suffer, and the one who does. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.10

Asking And Receiving

Καὶ προσπορεύονται αὐτῷ Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἰωάννης, οἱ υἱοὶ Ζεβεδαίου, λέγοντες· Διδάσκαλε, θέλομεν ἕνα ὁ ἐὰν αἰτήσωμεν, ποιήσῃς ἡμῖν. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς · Τί θέλετε ποιῆσαί με ὑμῖν ; Οἱ δὲ εἶπον αὐτῷ· Δὸς ἡμῖν ἵνα εἷς ἐκ δεξιῶν σου , καὶ εἷς ἐξ εὐωνύμων σου καθήσωμεν ἐν τῇ δόξῃ σου. Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Οὐκ οἶδατε τί αἰτεῖσθε. Δύνασθε πιεῖν τὸ ποτήριον ὁ ἐγὼ πίνω, καὶ τὸ βάπτισμα ὁ ἐγὼ βαπτίζομαι, βαπτισθῆναι; Οἱ δὲ εἶπον αὐτῷ· Δυνάμεθα. ῎Αλλος εὐαγγελιστής φησιν ὅτι ἡ μήτηρ αὐτῶν προσἦλθε τῷ Χριστῷ . Εἰκὸς δὲ ἐστιν ἀμφότερα γενέσθαι· καὶ τοὺς ἀποστόλους αἰσχυνομένους προβαλέσθαι τὴν μητέρα αὐτῶν , εἶτα καὶ αὐτοὺς προσελθεῖν ἰδίᾳ· διὸ καὶ ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς ἐπισημαίνεται τοῦτο, λέγων· Προσπορεύονται , ἀντὶ τοῦ, ἰδίᾳ προσέρχονται, τῶν ἄλλων ἀποχωρισθέντες. Τί δὲ ἦν ὁ ᾐτοῦντο, μάθωμεν. Ἐνόμιζον ὅτι τοῦτο ὁ ἀνέρχεται εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα, διὰ τὸ βασιλεύσειν ἀνέρχεται αἰσθητὴν βασιλείαν. Καὶ μετὰ τὸ βασιλεῦσαι, τότε πείσεται ὁ ἔμελλε παθεῖν. Ταῦτα οὖν ἐννοοῦντες, αἰτοῦνται καὶ τὴν ἐκ δεξιῶν καὶ τὴν ἐξ εὐωνύμων καθέδραν· διὸ καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐπιτιμᾷ αὐτοῖς ὡς ἀνόητόν τι ζητοῦσιν. Οὐκ οἶδατε γὰρ, φησὶ, τί αἰτεῖσθε . Ὑμεῖς γὰρ νομίζετε αἰσθητὴν εἶναι τὴν ἐμὴν βασιλείαν, καὶ αἰσθητὴν τὴν καθέδραν αἰτεῖσθε. Οὐκ ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο· ἀλλὰ ταῦτα πάντα ὑπὲρ νοῦν εἰσι. Καὶ τὸ καθίσαι ἐκ δεξιῶν μου μέγα ἐστὶ , καὶ τὰς ἀγγελικὰς ὑπερβαῖνον τάξεις, καὶ ὑμεῖς μὲν ἐπὶ δόξαν κεχήνατε, ἐγὼ δὲ εἰς θάνατον ὑμᾶς καλῶ. Ποτήριον γὰρ καὶ βάπτισμα τὸν σταυρὸν ὀνομάζει· ποτήριον μὲν, ὡς εἰς ὕπνον εὐθὺς ἄγον καὶ ὡς ἡδέως ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ προσδεχθέν· βάπτισμα δὲ, ὡς καθαρισμὸν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ποιησάμενον· οἱ δε, μὴ νοήσαντες τί λέγοι, ὑπέσχοντο, νομίζοντες λέγειν περὶ ποτηρίου αἰσθητοῦ, καὶ βαπτίσματος οἶῳ ἐβαπτίζοντο οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, πρὸ τοῦ φαγεῖν πλυνόμενοι. Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Τὸ μὲν ποτήριον ὁ ἐγὼ πίνω, πίεσθε, καὶ τὸ βάπτισμα ὁ ἐγὼ βαπτίζομαι, βαπτισθήσεθε. Τὸ δὲ καθίσαι ἐκ δεξιῶν μου καὶ ἐξ εὐωνύμων μου, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸν δοῦναι , ἀλλ᾿οἷς ἡτοίμασται. Τὸ μὲν μαρτύριον, φησὶν, ὑπεισελεύσεσθε, καὶ ἀποθανεῖσθε τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας θάνατον. Τὸ δὲ καθίσαι, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸν δοῦναι. Ἐνταῦθα δὲ δύο τινὰ ζητοῦνται. Εν μὲν τόδε. ῎Αρα ἡτοίμασταί τινι τὸ καθίσαι; ἕτερον δὲ, ἆρα ὁ πάντων Δεσπότης οὐ δύναται ταύτην τὴν καθέδραν δοῦναι; Λέγομεν οὖν ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἐκ δεξιῶν καθίσει ἢ ἐξ ἀριστερῶν. Ἀλλὰ κἂν πολλαχοῦ τῆς Γραφῆς καθέδρας ἀκούῃς, μὴ καθέδραν νόει, ἀλλὰ τιμὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν. Τὸ δὲ, Οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸν δοῦναι, τοιοῦτον ἔχει τὸν νοῦν· Οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμοῦ τοῦ δικαίου κριτοῦ, τὸ δοῦναι ὑμῖν κατὰ χάριν τὴν τιμὴν ταύτην· οὐ γὰρ ἂν δίκαιο; εἴην· ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀγωνισαμένοις, ἐκείνοις ἡτοίμασται ἡ τιμὴ αὕτη , ὥσπερ ἂν εἰ βασιλεὺς δίκαιος προεκάθητο ἀγῶνός τινος , εἶτα προσέλθοιεν αὐτῷ τινες φίλοι αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἴποιεν · Δὸς ἡμῖν τοὺς στεφάνους , εἶπεν ἂν , Οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸν τὸ δοῦναι , ἀλλ᾿εἴ τις ἀγωνίσεται καὶ νικήσει, ἐκείνῳ ἡτοίμασται ὁ στέφανος· ὥστε καὶ ὑμεῖς , οἱ τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου παῖδες, μαρτυρήσετε μὲν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, ἐὰν δὲ τις εὑρεθείη μετὰ τοῦ μαρτυρίου, καὶ τὴν ἄλλην πᾶσαν ἀρετὴν ἔχων ὑπὲρ ὑμᾶς, ἐκεῖνος προάξει ὑμᾶς Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατά Μάρκον, Κεφαλ. I’ Source: Migne PG 123.605a-607a

And the sons of Zebedee, James and John, came to Him, saying, 'Teacher, we wish to ask you to do one thing for us.' And He said to them, 'What do you wish?' They said to Him, 'Grant to us that one of us may sit at your right hand and one at your left hand in your glory.' Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I shall drink and be baptised with the baptism with which I shall be baptised?' And they said to Him, 'We can.' 1 Another evangelist says that it was their mother who approached Christ. But both accounts are true, for it was out of modesty that the apostles first sent their mother, and then they themselves approached. Therefore the evangelist here attends to the latter pair, saying that they came to Him, that is, they brought themselves near and so separated themselves from the others. What it was they sought, let us consider. They thought that He was going up to Jerusalem to reign in some temporal kingdom and that after He had reigned those things which He had spoken of that He would suffer would occur. Thinking such things they sought a seat at his right and at His left hand, and therefore the Lord warned them that they were asking foolishly. 'You do not know,' He said, 'what you are asking.' 'For you believe my kingdom to be a material thing and you seek a temporal seat, but it is not so, but all these things are above the minds of men. And to sit at my right hand is a great thing and excels the angelic orders. You are certainly keen for glory, but I am called to death.' For He speaks of the cross under the name of a cup and baptism. Certainly the cup is what swiftly brings sleep and because of that is taken up with joy, and baptism is purification from sins. But they did not understand what He said was promised, thinking He spoke of a material cup and the washing the Jews would perform so as to be clean before eating. Jesus said to them, 'The cup I shall drink, you shall drink, and the baptism with which I shall be baptised you shall be baptised, but to sit at my right and left is not for me to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.' 2 You shall come to martyrdom, He says, and die for the truth, but to give the seat is not mine to give. In this place two questions are often asked: firstly, for whom is the seat prepared, and then how is it that the Lord of all things is not able to give this seat? We say, then, that no one shall actually sit at His right hand and at His left hand. For when you often hear in Scripture about a seat you should not understand a seat, but an excellence of dignity. And 'it is not for me to give,' has this meaning: it is not for me, the righteous judge, to give to you this honour for free, for that would not be right, but this dignity is prepared for those who labour. It is as if a righteous king presided over a contest and then certain friends approached him and said, 'Give us laurels.' He would say 'That is not for me to give, but if a man will compete and triumph, for him a crown is prepared.' And thus even you, O sons of Zebedee. You shall be martyrs for me, but if some youth shall come to martyrdom, and if he possess all the other virtues more than you, he shall precede you.' Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Mark, Chapter 10 1 Mk 10.35-39 2 Mk 10.39-40

Trials And Victory

Dixitque Dominus ad eum: Numquid considerasti servum meum Job, quod non sit ei similis in terra, homo simplex et rectus, ac timens Deum, et recedens a malo? A commendatione justi incipit: Non enim qui se ipsum commendat, ille probatus est, sed quem Deus commendat; illasque virtutes ei proponit, quas amplius habebat exosas, ut inimicum vehementius torqueat et provocet ad tentandum. Vult enim Dominus servos suos fortiter tentari, ut faciat etiam cum tentatione proventum. Gaudet princeps militiae, si militem suum cum forti adversario strenue pugnantem aspexerit. Exsultat Christus cum martyrem suum videt nunc flagellari, nunc extendi in eculeo, nunc ferreis laniari unguibus, nunc sagittis exponi, nunc membris truncari, nunc ignibus superponi. Stat martyr afflictus quidem, sed invictus, vidensque sanguinem suum ex diversis partibus corporis ebullire, non sua, sed Redemptoris vulnera attendit. Inter anxietates ergo acerrimas tripudians et triumphans, dolores corporis lacerati non sentit, quia peregrinatur a corpore. Non facit hoc stupor, sed amor; non deest dolor, sed pro Christo contemnitur. Sic Dominus et possessiones, et personam servi sui Job malitiae tentarois exponit, ita per interiora et exteriora afflictus, munitus tamen a Domino a dextris et a sinistris, et cresceat in gratiam, et proficiat ad coronam Petrus Blenensis, Compendium In Job: Ad Henericum II Illustrissimum Anglorum Regem, Caput I Source: Migne PL 207.805d-806a

And the Lord said to Satan: 'Have you not considered my servant Job, that there is no one like him on the earth, a simple and upright man, who fears God and avoids evil?' 1 He begins with a commendation of the righteous man, 'For it is not he who commends himself who is approved, but him whom God commends.' 2 And He proposes those virtues to him, which the more he has, so the more vehemently he provokes the tempter to put him to the test. And indeed the Lord wishes that His servants be put to strong trials so that 'even in trial there is advance.' 3 A leader of soldiers rejoices if one of his own men fights bravely against the enemy, and Christ exults when He sees His martyr now whipped, now stretched on the rack, now with his sides pierced with iron nails, now having fire put upon him. Certainly the martyr is afflicted, but he is unconquered, he sees his own blood flow out of various parts of his body, but he does not think of his own wounds but of Christ's. Therefore exultant and triumphant amid bitter pains, he does not feel the sufferings of his torn body, but he wanders far from the body. And the cause of this is not some doltish insensitivity, but love. He is not free of pain, but he scorns it for Christ. So the Lord exposed the possessions and person of Job to the evils of the tempter, so that afflicted within and without, yet walled by the Lord to the right and to the left, he might grow in grace and advance to the crown. Peter of Blois, Compendium On Job, To Henry II Most Illustrious King Of The English, Chapter 1 1 Job 1.8 2 2 Cor 10.18 3 1 Cor 10.13

Other Baptisms

Et forte si quis existimet sibi in Sacramento baptismi perfectam illam innocentiae, et coelesti vita dignam redditam puritatem; Joannem Baptistam dixisse recolat, Ego quidem baptizo vos in aqua poenitentiae; qui autem post me venit, fortior me est: ipse vos baptizabit Spiritu sancto, et igni: ipsum autem Dominum baptizatum a Johanne cum adhuc esset in corpore meminerit locutum, Adhuc habeo alio baptismo baptizari. Est ergo, quantum licet existimare, perfectae illius emundatio puritatis etiam post baptismi aquas reposita: quae nos sancti Spiritus sanctificet adventu, quae judicii igni nos decoquat, quae per mortis injuriam a labe morticinae et societate purgabit, quae martyrii passione devota ac fideli sanguine abluet. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 9.519a-b

And if perhaps someone judges himself to have a perfection of innocence and a purity worthy of the heavenly life by baptism, let him recall what John the Baptist said, 'I baptise you with water for repentance, but he who comes after me is greater than me, who will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.' 1 And the Lord Himself, having been baptised by John, when yet He was in the body, recalled what was spoken, 'I yet have another baptism to baptise.' 2 It is therefore eminently possible to think that a cleansing for perfect purity awaits after the waters of baptism, when we are sanctified by the coming of the Holy Spirit, who with the fire of judgement refines us so that we are purged of the wound of death and association with the fatal fall, which the passion of the martyr washes clean with devout and faithful blood. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Mt 3.11 2 Lk 12.50

Reckoning The Slain

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

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

Peter And Paul

Apostilici natalis gaudio, fratres carissimi, Petri et Pauli, quorum hodie beatissimis passionibus jucundamur, laetior per universum mundum Christi exsultat Eccleisa; quae licet omnium se sanctorum martyrio certa sit adornari; quandoquidem videt de hoc saeculo ipsos fidei patres et magistros martyrum triumphasse. Quid enim insignius Petro, qui in carne positus, mensuram carnis egressus, Christum Jesum, vivi Dei Filium verum confitetur, et quod omnium adhuc mortalium pectus latebat, prima Petri lingua novo est sermone confessa. Quid, fratres mei, magnificentius Petro, qui tantae confessionis merito, cum corruptibili adhuc esset in corpore, et nec dum ipse ascendisset in coelum, regnum illi coeleste et claudere et aperire permissum est? Quid sublimius ejus fide qui, gradiente Domino super aquas, humanae conditionis oblitus, viam sibi in fluctibus dari et poposcit et meruit; tantaque mentis ejus confidentia fuit, ut crederet se posse per fidem quod sciebat homini impossibile per naturam? Nam quia postea mergebatur, ut mihi videtur, necessarium fuit, ne tanti sublimitate miraculi in perniciem forte sui aequata Christo carnis fragilitas superbiret. Fuerit certe infirmitatis corporeae, quod paulo post timuit; quis tamen ambigat inimitabilis fidei fuisse, quod eum descendentem de navi, tremula, et inconcussa humanis gressibus maris unda sustinuit? Sed jam veniamus ad beatissimum Paulum; cujus tanta est nihilominus plenitudo fidei, ut peculiarem quodammodo eum sibi ducem ad illuminanda gentium corda cunctorum praescius Salvator eligeret. Erat enim tam praecipuus in doctrina, animi virtute tam potens, innocentia et integritate tam sanctus, ut uno eodemque tempore hinc eum sacerdotes ac principes Judaeorum per aemulationem legis antiquae, data in Christianos persequendi auctoritate, dirigerent; hinc illum ad Ecclesiae solatium atque omnium credentium firmamentum Christus vocaret e coelo; cujus ab hoc sunt a Domino caecati oculi, ut, suscepta gratia veritatis, coelesti acie et lumine clariore fulgerent; pariterque adverteret Christiani nominis princeps futurus Christum, quem persequebatur, caecandi illuminandique habere virtutem. Ut autem praeteream caetera quae eum universo orbi mirabilem faciunt, unum illud, quod ad omnes ejus sufficit laudes, quis valeat aestimare quantae sit gloriae, quod cum inter homines ageret, speciali quadam Divinitatis gratia, et paradisus illi penetrabilis, et coelum pervium fuit? Quid ergo, fratres, hoc doctore perfectius, qui in coelo didicit quod in terris doceret? Quid hoc teste veracius, cui elevato super coelos oculis videre et approbare concessum est quod postmodum promitteret credituris? Haec sunt igitur apostolorum Petri et Pauli stupenda merita; per haec incedentes miracula apostolatum suum Domino ac Deo nostro effusione devoti sanguinis consecrarunt. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LXIX, De eodem natali Sanctorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli II Source: Migne PL 57.397a-398b

I rejoice in the feast day of Peter and Paul, my dearest brothers, whose most blessed passions we celebrate today, and through the whole world the Church of Christ more joyfully exults, she who is permitted to adorn herself with the martyrdoms of all the saints, whenever she sees those fathers and teachers' martyrdom to have triumphed in this world. And indeed more notably with Peter, who placed in the flesh, yet going beyond the measure of the body, confessed Jesus to be the Christ, the true Son of the living God, and because the understanding of that was still hidden from all things mortal, Peter's tongue was the first to announce it with novel speech. 1 What, my brothers, is more magnificent than Peter, who merited so great a confession, that when he was still in the corruptible body, and had not yet ascended to heaven, yet it was given to him to close and open the kingdom of heaven? 2 What is more sublime than his faith, which walking to the Lord on the waters, forgetful of the human condition, asked and was worthy to receive a way for himself on the waves? And how great the confidence of his soul, that he believed it was possible for him to do this through faith, which he knew was impossible for the nature of man? And that later he sank, it seems to me, was necessary, for lest by the sublimity of such a miracle he be puffed up ruinously, he was reduced to the fragility of his flesh by Christ. For certainly there was corporeal infirmity there, because after a little while he became afraid, and he who was of peerless faith hesitated, and descending from the boat he trembled; shall the sea's untrodden waves support human steps? 3 But now let us come to the blessed Paul, who had no less greatness in the plenitude of faith, whence the provident Saviour chose him for the special role of illuminating the hearts of all the Gentiles. He who was so advanced in teaching, and so powerful in the strength of his soul, and so holy in innocence and integrity, that at one and the same time, the priests and leaders of the Jews, through zeal for the old law, directed him, giving him authority for the persecution of Christians,  and from this, to the consolation of the Church and the confirmation of all the faithful, Christ called him from heaven, he whose eyes were by this blinded by the Lord, so that, receiving the grace of truth, the light of heaven might shine sharper and brighter. And so the future prince turned to the Christ of the Christian name, of whom he was a persecutor, to have his blindness enlightened with virtue. 4 But passing over other things which were done to the world's wonder, one thing I will touch on which suffices for all his praise: who can judge the greatness of his glory, that while he lived among men, by a certain special grace of the Divinity, there was made present to him the sanctuary of paradise and the way to heaven? 3 What then, brothers, is more perfect than this teacher who in heaven learnt and in the world taught? What is more true than this witness, who with eyes lifted up over the heavens saw and approved what was given and after promised to the faithful? These, therefore, are the wonderous merits of the Apostles Peter and Paul, who advancing with these miracles, consecrated their apostolate in an effusion of devout blood to their Lord and God. Saint Maximus of Turin, Homily 69, On The Feast Day Of The Holy Apostles Peter And Paul 1 Mt 16.15 2 Mt 16.19 3 Mt 14.25-31 4 Acts 9.1-22 5 2 Cor 12.1-4

Deferred Martyrdom

Neque enim in tribus pueris minor fuit martyrii dignitas, quia mortem frustrata de camino ignis incolumes exierunt: aut non consummatus Daniel exstitit in suis laudibus, quia qui leonibus missus fuerat ad praedam, protectus a Domino, vixit ad gloriam. In confessoribus Christi dilata martyria non meritum confessionis minuunt, sed magnalia divinae protectionis ostendunt. Repraesentatum videmus in vobis, quod apud regem fortes atque illustres pueri praedicaverunt, ipsos quidem paratos esse ardere flammis, ne diis eius servirent, aut imaginem quam fecerat adorarent; Deum tamen quem colebant, quemque et nos colimus, potentem esse ut eos de camino illis eximeret, et de regis manibus ac de poenis praesentibus liberaret. Quod invenimus in confessionis vestrae fide, et in Domini circa vos protectione nunc gestum; ut cum vos parati fueritis et prompti omne subire supplicium, Dominus tamen vos poenae subtraheret, et Ecclesiae reservaret. Regredientibus vobis breviata non est in episcopo confessionis suae dignitas, sed magis crevit sacerdotalis auctoritas: ut altari Dei assistat antistes, qui ad confessionis arma sumenda et facienda martyria non verbis plebem, sed factis cohortetur; et imminente Antichristo paret ad praelium milites non solo sermonis et vocis incitamento, sed fidei et virtutis exemplo. Sanctus Cyprianus, Epistola LVIII, Ad Luciam Papam Source: Migne PL 3.973a-974a

The value of martyrdom was not the less for the three youths because their deaths were frustrated when they came forth unharmed from the fiery furnace, nor was Daniel unworthy of praise because when he was sent to the lions as prey, he was protected by the Lord and lived on to glory. 1 Among the confessors of Christ, martyrdoms which are deferred do not diminish the merits of confession, but they do show the greatness of Divine protection. We see represented in you what the brave and illustrious youths announced before the king, that they indeed were prepared to burn in the flames, so that they might not serve his gods, nor worship the image he had made, and that the God whom they worshipped, and whom we also worship, was able to free them from the furnace, and to deliver them from the hands of the king, and from imminent sufferings. Which we now find performed in the faith of your confession, and in the Lord's protection over you, so that while you were prepared and ready to suffer every punishment, yet the Lord delivered you and preserved you for the Church. There has been no reduction of the dignity of the confession of a bishop because of your return, but rather the priestly authority has grown, so that such a man who serves at the altar of God and exhorts the people to take up the arms of confession and to submit to martyrdom when the Antichrist is near, prepares the soldiers for battle not only by the exhortation of his words and voice but by the example of his faith and courage. Saint Cyprian of Carthage, from Epistle 58, To Pope Lucius 1 Dan 3-4

Stephen's Loss

Συνεκόμισαν δὲ τὸν Στέφανον ἄνδρες εὐλαβεῖς καὶ ἐποίησαν κοπετὸν μέγαν ἐπ' αὐτῷ... Ὥωπερ οὗν πᾶν κέρδος ἀποδέχεσθαι δεῖ ἢ μόνον τὸ πρὸς τὴν κυρίως ὠφελεαιν συντελοῦν· οὕτως οὐκ ἐπὶ πάσῃ ζημίᾳ ἢ συμορᾷ δυσχεραίνειν χρὴ, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ μόνων τῶν βλαπτόντων ψυχήν. Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν καὶ ὁ Στέφανος, συνὼν ἀνθρώποις, πρὸς θεοσέβειαν τοῖς ποθεοῦσιν αὐτῆς πολὺ συνεβάλετο, ἀκόλουθον ἦν ἐπὶ τῇ ἀναιρέσει αὐτοῦ ἀνιαρῶς φέρειν, στερηθέντες ἀνδρὸς τοιούτου τῶν ὑστερησάντῶν αὐτοῦ. Ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστι καὶ ἐπὶ θανάτῳ τῶν τυχόντῶν, κἂν ἄλλως φίλτατοι ὦσιν, ὀλοφύρεσθαι λυπουμένους πέρα τοῦ μέτρου. Τύπον γὰρ καὶ περὶ τούτων δίδωσιν ὁ Σωτὴρ, ὃς μέχρι τοῦ δακρῦσαι ἐπὶ τῷ ἀγαπωμένῳ Λαζάρῳ τεθνηκότι ἔφθασεν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Ἐις Τάς Πράξεις Τῶν Ἀποστόλων, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 39.1668c

Stephen was buried by devout men, who mourned greatly over him... 1 As then with every gain it is necessary to receive only that which is truly beneficial, thus no loss or misfortune should upset us, but only as it concerns those things which harm the soul. So it was with Stephen, when men coming together were much afflicted because of the loss of his piety, and it followed that they lamented his killing, bereaved of such a man and in want of him. And when the death of acquaintances may weigh heavily on one, then certainly it will with close friends, and there mourning is allowed, if the grief is not beyond measure. The Saviour gives an example of this, He who over the dead Lazarus, whom He loved, was inclined to tears. 2 Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Acts of the Apostles, Fragment 1 Acts 8.2 2 Jn 11.33

The Death Of A Good Man

Germanus: Ergo si interemptus justus non solum nihil mali perpessus est, sed etiam mercedem passionis assequitur, quomodo in reatum vocabitur, qui non nocuit mortem inferendo, sed profuit? Theodorus: Nos de proprietate boni malique, vel ejus quod diximus esse medium disputamus, non de affectu eorum qui ista committunt. Nec enim quis impius vel iniquus idcirco impunitus erit, quia malitia sua justo nocere non potuit. Tolerantia enim et virtus justi non illi qui mortem vel supplicia intulit, sed illi proficit ad mercedem qui illata sibi patienter excepit. Ideoque et hic merito punietur pro crudelitatis saevitia, qua malum voluit inferre, et ille nihilominus nihil mali perpessus est, quia, virtute animi sui patienter tentationes doloresque sustentans, ea quae malo proposito illata sunt, ad profectum melioris status et aeternae vitae fecit beatitudinem pertinere. Sanctus Ioannes Cassianus, Collationes, Collatio IV, De Nece Sanctorum, Caput VII-VIII Source: Migne PL 49.654b-655a

Germanus: Therefore if a righteous man who is slain not only suffers no evil by being killed, but indeed gains a reward from his suffering, how shall he be called guilty who has done him no harm by killing him but advantaged him? Theodore: We are discussing the actual properties of things good and bad, and what we call indifferent, and not the characters of those who do these things. Nor should any impious or evil man go unpunished because his wickedness was not able to harm a righteous man. For the endurance and virtue of a righteous man does not profit the one who causes death or suffering, but he who patiently endures what is inflicted on him advances to the reward. Thus he who meant to do evil is rightly punished for savage cruelty, and the other suffers no evil, because in the virtue of his soul he patiently endures his trial and suffering, by which the evil deliberately inflicted upon him is to his advantage for a better state, and leads to the bliss of eternal life. Saint John Cassian, Conferences, Conference 6, On The Death of the Saints, Chaps 7-8

A Bishop Praised

Dedit enim eis benedictionem qui legem dederat, ut ambularent de virtute in virtutem: de virtute fidei sincerissimae in virtutuem conflictionis constantissimae; de virtute caritatis flagrantissimae in virtutuem passionis gloriosissimae. Credidit enim, locutus est; dilexit, et secutus est. Audierat enim a Domino dictum: Qui me diligit, sequitur me; et iterum: Qui credit in me, non morietur in aeternum. Et pater fidelis secutus est vestigia Salvatoris. Interritus contempsit principum jussa et et judicum edictum. Paratus excepit percussoris ictum, et animum soli Deo subditum etiam ipsa mors servavit invictum. Denique nihil eum revocavit a pastoris gregisque custodia, exsilii locus, apparitor violentus, persecutionis tempus, judicis metus, imminens gladius, proximus mortis occasus. Nam et in exsilio constitutus, atque ab Ecclesia sibi commissa corpore tantum non mente separatus, pauperum alimenta; et in occulto absconditus, disciplinae censuram; et a principe detentus, virginum pudicitiam; et ad tribunal exhibitus, clericorum tutelam; et minis actus, robustam conscientiam; et subdole consumptus, spiritalem cautelm; et inique judicatus, Christianam patientiam custodivit. Plebem frequentibus litteris admonens, inopes largioribus eleemosynis fovit, martyres hortamentis pariter et exemplis ad subeundum praelium promovit, et donce ponat animam, non deserit curam. Sanctus Fulgentius Ruspensis, Sermo VI, De Sancto Cypriano Martyre Source: Migne 65.740d-741a

He gave to them a blessing who gave the law, that they might walk from virtue to virtue, 1 from the virtue of sincere faith to the virtue of perfect constancy in conflict, from the virtue of blazing love into the virtue of a most glorious passion. For he believed and he spoke; he loved, and he followed. He heard from the Lord the words: 'He who loves me, follows me,' and again: 'He who believes in me shall never die.' 2 The faithful father followed in the way of the Saviour. This fearless one scorned the judgement of princes, and the sentence proclaimed. He was prepared to receive the blow of the executioner, and his death preserved unconquered a soul obedient to God alone. And then nothing turned him from caring for the flock of the shepherd, no exile, no appearance of violence, no period of persecution, no fear of a judge, no threat of the sword, no approach of the coming of death. For even in exile and from the Church removed in body, but not separated in the mind, he attended to the feeding of the poor; and hidden in a concealed place, to the judgement of discipline; and detained by the prince, to the modesty of virgins; and arraigned before the tribunal, to the guardianship of priests; and sent threats, to the firmness of conscience; and assailed with cunning, to the watching over of the spirit; and judged in wickedness, to the guarding of Christian patience. He admonished the people with frequent letters, and cherished the poor with bountiful alms, and with words and example he encouraged martyrs to endurance in the conflict, and he did not abandon his duty until he placed down his soul. Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, from Sermon 6, On Saint Cyprian The Martyr 1 Ps 83.8 2 Jn 11.2

Casting Off The Skin

Inter prudentias ejus illa nos spiritualiter erudit et informat; quia, cum sibi videt imminere tempora senectutis, inter angustissimos lapides ingrediens ibi deponit vetestae pellis exuvias. Sed et nos si volumus veterem hominem deponere cum actibus suis, oportet nos ingredi angustias poenitentiae, angustias viae illius quae ducit ad vitam, et sic induere novum hominem, qui secundum Deum creatus est. Sane illic benedictus apostolus, cujus hodie memoria in benedictione est, pellem vetustatis, pellem mortis deposuit; ut pellem gloriae et jucunditatis indueret. Pellem, inquit, pro pelle, et omnia quae habet homo, dabit pro anima sua. Dat homo pellem mortificationis pro pelle glorificationis. Pellem hanc deponemus, cum corruptibile hoc induet incorruptionem, et mortale hoc immortalitatem. Aliamque pellem sumemus, cum Christus reformabit corpus humilitatis nostrae configuratum corpori claritatis suae, et superinduar ego pelle nova, et in pelle mea videbo Deum Salvatorem meum. Juxta verbum Jeremiae, hodie deponit Aethiops pellem suam, et pardus varietates suas. Erat pellis quam hodie deponit Apostlous pellis mortalitatis, et ideo Aethiopis; hodie, apostole Dei, renovatur ut aquila juventas tua. De hac pelle dicit Job: Numquid implebis sagenas pelle ejus, et gurgustium piscium capite illius? Haec est pellis caprina, quae ponitur in lectulo David, ut innocens manus persecutoris evadat. Hodie, Domine, conscidisti saccum apostoli, et circumdedisti eum laetitia. Vetus Adam incidit in latrones, qui spoliaverunt eum tunica innocentiae et gloriae; hanc hodie fortiter recuperat miles et athleta Christi fortissimus. O malitia daemonum! O crudelitas hominum! O virtus Dei! O constantia martyrum, ubi erat cor apostoli, quando has angustias tolerabat? Certe in Christo, in cruce Christi et in doloribus ejus. Memoriam passionis Christi ipsum propriae passionis immemorem faciebat. Si quaereretur ab eo utrum pellem suam, utrum carnem suam diligeret, responderet: Diligo; nemo carnem suam odio habuit, sed magis diligo Christum quam me ipsum. Si modo spolior, Christus me superinduet; pondusque hoc tribulationis meae immensum gloriae pondus operabitur in me. Scio cui credidi, et certus sum, non mentietur quia Veritas est. Sed pro Christo patior, et conregnabo, et pro brevi, et transitoria tribulatione coronam immarcescibilem, et interminabilem jucunditatem, et exsultationem securus exspecto. Quam nobis praestare dignetur, per meritabeati Bartholomaei, Jesus Christus, cui est honor et gloria in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XXXVII,De Sancto Bartholomaeo Source: Migne PL 207.671c-672c

The prudence of the snake spiritually teaches and informs us, because when he sees himself nearing the time of old age, he goes among close set stones and there casts off the strips of his old skin. And we, if we wish to put off the old man with his acts, 1 we should enter into the narrows of penitence, those narrow ways which lead to life, and so endow ourselves with the new man, who is created according to God. Certainly the holy Apostle whom we hold in blessed memory today, cast off the old skin, the skin of death, that he might put on the skin of glory and of happiness. 'Skin for skin,' it says, 'and everything which the man has, he shall give for his soul.' 2 A man gives the skin of mortification for the skin of glorification. We put this skin off when this corruption is endowed with incorruptibility, and this mortality for immortality. 3 We shall take up another skin when Christ refashions the body of our humility into conformance with the body of His brightness, and I shall be superendowed with a new skin, and in my new skin I shall see God my Saviour. According to the word of Jeremiah, today the Ethiopian puts off his skin, and the leopard his spots. 4 The skin which the Apostle put off this day was the skin of mortality, and therefore the Ethiopian. Today the Apostle of God is renewed as the eagle's youth. 5 Concerning this skin Job says: 'Will you fill nets with his skin and the cabins of fishes with his head?' 6 This is the skin of the goat which is placed on the bed of David, that an innocent man might escape the hands of his persecutors. 7 Today, Lord, you tore off the covering of the Apostle, and you surrounded him with joy. The old Adam fell among thieves, who despoiled him of the tunic of innocence and glory, today a stronger solider recovers, a most sturdy athlete of Christ. O wickedness of demons! O cruelty of men! O power of God! O constancy of martyrdom, where was the heart of the Apostle when he suffered these torments? Certainly in Christ, on the cross of Christ and with His sorrows. Mindful of the passion of Christ he made his own passion unforgettable. If it should be asked of him whether he loved his own skin or his own flesh, he would answer: 'I love. No man hates his own flesh, 8 but I love Christ more than what is mine. If I am stripped, Christ endows me, and the burden of my tribulation shall work for me an immense weight of glory. I know Him whom I have believed in, and I am certain, because He does not lie who is the truth. I suffer for Christ and I shall reign with Him, and for a little while, with a temporary trial, I am secure in the hope of an incorruptible crown, and endless joy and exaltation.' Which may we be worthy to be given, through the merits of the blessed Bartholomew. Peter of Blois, from Sermon 37, On Saint Bartholomew 1 Ephes 4.22 2 Job 2.4 3 1 Cor 15.53 4 Jerem 13.23 5 Ps 102.5 6 Job 40.26 7 1 Kings 19.9-16 8 Ephes 5.29

A Warning Against Looking Back

In Exodo, Judaicus populus, ad umbram nostri et imaginem praefiguratus, cum, Deo tutore et vindice, evasisset Pharaonis atque Aegypti, id est diaboli et saeculi, durissimam servitutem; circa Deum perfidus et ingratus, adversus Moysen mussitat, respiciens solitudinis ac laboris incommoda, et non intelligens libertatis ac salutis beneficia divina, reverti quaerit ad Aegypti, hoc est ad saeculi, servitutem unde fuerat exutus, cum magis fidere deberet in Deum et credere; quoniam qui a diabolo et saeculo liberat populum suum, protegit liberatum: Quid hoc nobis, inquiunt, fecisti in ejiciendo nos de Aegypto? melius est nobis servire Aegyptiis quam mori in solitudine hac. Et dixit Moyses ad populum: Fidite, et state, et cernite salutem quae a Domino est, quam vobis faciet hodie: Dominus ipse pugnabit pro vobis, et vos tacebitis. Quod nos admonens in Evangelio suo Dominus, et docens ne ad diabolum rursus et ad saeculum, quibus renuntiavimus et unde evasimus, revertamur, dicit: Nemo retro attendens et superponens manum suam super aratrum, aptus est regno Dei. Et iterum: Et qui in agro est, non convertatur retro. Memores estote uxoris Loth. Ac, ne quis aliqua vel cupiditate rerum, vel suorum dulcedine retardetur quominus Christum sequatur, addit et dicit: Qui non renuntiat omnibus quae sunt ejus, non est potest meus esse discipulus. Sanctus Cyprianus, Epistola ad Fortunatum, De Exhortatione Martyrii Source:Migne PL 4.660c-661b

In Exodus the Jewish people, prefigured as a shadow and image of us, with God for their protector and avenger, when they had escaped from the most bitter slavery of Pharaoh and of Egypt, that is, of the devil and the world, faithless and ungrateful concerning God, murmur against Moses, and looking back on the discomforts of the desert and of their labour, and, not understanding the Divine benefits of liberty and salvation, they seek to return to Egypt, that is, to the world, the servitude from which they had been drawn forth, when they should rather have trusted and believed in God, because He who delivers His people from the devil and the world, protects them when they are delivered. 'Why have you done this to us,' say they, 'casting us out of Egypt? It is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in this desert.' And Moses said to the people, 'Trust and stand fast, and see the salvation which is from the Lord, which He shall make for you today. The Lord Himself shall fight for you, and you will be silent.' 1 The Lord, admonishing us concerning this in His Gospel and teaching that we should not return again to the devil and to the world which we have renounced and from which we have escaped, says, 'No man looking back and putting his hand to the plough, is fit for the kingdom of God.' 2 And again, 'And let him who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife.' 3 And lest any one should be slowed from following Christ by desire for wealth or the attraction of his own family, He adds and says: 'He who does not forsake all he has cannot be my disciple.' 4 Saint Cyprian of Carthage, Letter to Fortunatus, On Exhortation to Martyrdom 1 Exodus 14.11-14 2 Lk 9.62 3 Lk 17.31-32 4 Lk 14.33

Commending The Soul

Ecce nunc commendo animam meam fidelissimo Deo meo, pro quo legatione fungor in ignobilitate mea. Sed quia personam non accipt, et elegit me ad hoc officium, ut unus essem de suis minimus minister: Unde autem retribuam illi pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi. Seu quid dicam, vel quid promittam Domino meo? Quia nihil valeo, nisi ipse mihi dederit; sed scrutatur corda et renes, quia satis et nimis cupio, et paratus eram ut donaret mihi bibere calicem ejus, sicut indulsit caeteris amantibus se. Quapropter non contingat mihi a Deo meo, ut unquam amittam plebem suam quam acquisivi in ultimis terrae. Oro Deum ut det mihi perserverantiam, et dignetur ut reddam illi testem fidelem usque ad transitum meum propter Deum meum. Et si aliquid boni unquam imitatus sum propter Deum meum quem diligo, peto illum det mihi ut cum illis proselytis et captivis pro nomine suo effundam sanguinem meum, etsi ipse etiam caream sepultura aut miserrime cadaver per singula membra dividatur canibus aut bestiis asperis, aut volucres coeli comederint illud. Certissime reor, si mihi hoc incurrisset, lucratus sum animam cum corpore meo: quia sine ulla dubitatione in die lilla resurgemus in claritate solis, hoc est, in gloria Christi Jesu redemptoris nostri, Filii Dei vivi, et cohaeredes Christi, et conformes futurae imaginis ipsius: quoniam ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso, regnaturi sumus. Sanctus Patricius Hibernorum Apostolus, Confessio, Cap XXIV Source: Migne PL 53.813b-814a

Behold, now I commend my soul to my most faithful God, for whom I act as a representative in my ignobility. But because He does not stand in awe of persons, 1 He even chose me for this office, that I might be the least of his servants: 'What shall I return for all the things He has given to me?' 2 Or what shall I say, or what promise to my Lord? Because I can do nothing, unless He shall give it to me, 3 but as He searches the heart and the soul 4 so I desired enough and indeed excessively, being prepared that He give to me to drink from His cup, as He granted to others who loved Him. Whence it does not grieve me that by my God I may lose any of His people whom I have gathered at the ends of the earth. I pray to God that He gives me perserverance and that I may give the return of being a faithful witness to Him, even at my passing, because of my God. And if I have imitated some good because of the God whom I love, I entreat that He give to me that I pour out my blood for those converts and captives, in His name, even if I should lack a tomb, or be a wretched corpse with each limb torn asunder by the dogs and wild beasts, or that the birds of the air devour it. Most certainly I think, if this should happen to me, that I will have enriched my soul, because without any doubt on that day we shall rise in the light of the sun, that is, in the glory of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, Son of the Living God, even coheirs of Christ and conformed to His future image, 5 because from Him, and through Him, and in Him, we shall reign. Saint Patrick Apostle of the Irish, The Confession, Chap 24 1 Rom 2.11 2 Ps 115.12 3 Jn 15.5 4 Ps 7.10 5 Rom 8.17, 8.29

An End Of Speech

Ὑπάρχων δὲ πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου ἀτενίσας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἶδεν δόξαν θεοῦ καὶ Ἰησοῦν ἑστῶτα ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ εἶπεν, ἰδοὺ θεωρῶ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς διηνοιγμένους καὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκ δεξιῶν ἑστῶτα τοῦ θεοῦ. κράξαντες δὲ φωνῇ μεγάλῃ συνέσχον τὰ ὦτα αὐτῶν, καὶ ὥρμησαν ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐπ' αὐτόν, καὶ ἐκβαλόντες ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἐλιθοβόλουν. Καὶ μὴν εἰ ἑψεύδετο, ὡς μαινόμενον ἔδει ἀφεῖναι. Ὁ δὲ οὕτως εἴπε, βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς ἐπαγαγέσθαι. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ εἰπὼν περι τοῦ θανάτου μόνον, περὶ ἀναστάσεως οὐδὲν διελέχθη, καὶ τοῦτο λοιπὸν εὐκαίρως προστίθησι τὸ δόγμα. Οὕτω δὲ αὐτῷ λέγει φανῆναι, ὥς που διέξεισιν, ἵνα κἂν οὕτω δέξωνται τὸν λόγον, ὃς, ἐπεὶ τὸ εἰπεῖν καθῆσθαι φορτικὸν αὐτοῖς ἧν, τέως τὸν περὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως κινεῖ λόγον, καί φησιν αὐτὸν ἴστασθαι. Ἀπὸ τούτου στοχάζομαι καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ δεδοξάσθαι. Ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς φιλάνθρωπος ὤν, δῐ ὤν ἐπεβουλεύοντο ἐκεῖνοι, δι' αὐτῶν ἐβούλετο αὐτοὺς ἐκκαλέσασθαι, εἰ καὶ μηδὲν πλέον ἐγένετο, Καὶ ἐκβαλόντες ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἐλιθοβόλουν. Πάλιν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ὁ ὁ θάνατος, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ θανάτῳ ἡ ὁμολογία καὶ τὸ κήρυγμα διαγγελόμενον. Καὶ οἱ μάρτυρες ἀπέθεντο τὰ ἰμάτια αὐτῶν παρὰ πόδας νεανίου καλομένου Σαύλου, καὶ ἐλιθοβόλουν τὸν Στέφανον ἐπικαλοὺμενον τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ λέγοντα· Κύριε Ἰησου Χριστὲ, δέξαι τὸ πνεῦμα μου. Δεικνύοντος ὁμοῦ τοῦτο καὶ διδασκοντος αὐτούς ἐστιν, ὅτι οὐκ ἀπόλλυται. Καὶ θεὶς τὰ γόνατα, ἔκραζε φωνῇ μεγάλῇ· Κύριε, μὴ στήσῃς αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην. Ὥσπερ ἀπολογούμενος, ὅτι οὐδὲ τὰ πρότερα θυμοῦ ἧν, φησί· Κύριε, ἤ καὶ βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς ταύτῃ ἐπισπάσασθαι. Τὸ γὰρ ἀφεῖναι μὲν τὸν θυμὸν καὶ τὴν ὀργὴν τῷ φόνῳ, καθαρὰν δεῖξαι δὲ τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ πάθους, εὐπαράδεκτον ἐποίει τὸν λόγον. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος Ὑπομηνμα εἰς τας Πραξεις των Ἀποστολων, Ὁμολια ΙΗ' Source: Migne PG 60.141

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.' Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed on him as one, and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. 1 And yet, if he lied, as one who is mad, they should have let him go. But he spoke as one who wished to bring them to him. And since he had spoken of the death and had said nothing of the resurrection, he would appropiately add this teaching. And thus he says He appeared to him like this, that as He was shown, they might receive the word; for since His sitting was offensive to them, for the present he brings forward only what concerns the resurrection. Because of this his face was glorified. For God, loving men, amid their plotting wished to call them to Himself, and if nothing else were done: 'They cast him out of the city and stoned him.' Again, 'outside the city,' there was death, as with Christ and on account of Him, and in death the giving of confession and preaching. 2 'And the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, who called upon God, saying, Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit.' This is meant to show and teach them that he is not perishing. 'And kneeling, he cried with a loud voice, Lord, charge them not with this sin.' To clear himself, that he show that his former words were not from passion, he says, 'Lord,' and then the rest, wishing to win them over by it. For to show that he forgave them their wrath and rage in murder, and that his own soul was free from passion, was to make his speech more acceptable. Saint John Chrysostom, On The Acts Of The Apostles, from Homily 18 1 Acts 7.55-58 2 Heb 13.11-15

Teaching Fear

Δεῦτε, τέκνα, ἀκούσατέ μου· φόβον Κυρίου διδάξω ὑμᾶς. Ἐνδιαθέτου διδασκάλου φωνὴ, προσκαλουμένου εἰς μάθησιν διὰ πατρικῆς εὐσπλαγχνίας. Καὶ γὰρ τέκνον ἐστὶ πνευματικὸν τοῦ διδασκάλου ὁ μαθητής. Ὁ γὰρ παρά τινος τὴν μόρφωσιν τῆς εὐσεβείας δεχόμενος, οὗτος οἰονεὶ διαπλάττεται παρ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἰς σύστασιν ἄγεται, ὥσπερ καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς κυοφορούσης τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ διαμορφούμενα βρέφη. Ὅθεν καὶ Παῦλος ὅλην τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν τῶν Γαλατῶν, ἐκ τῶν προτέρων διαπεσοῦσαν μαθημάτων, καὶ οἰονεὶ ἀμβλωθεῐσαν, πάλιν ἀναλαμβάνων, καὶ μορφῶν ἄνωθεν ἐν αὐτοῖς τὸν Χριστὸν, τέκνα ἔλεγε· καὶ ἐπειδὴ μετ' ὀδύνης καὶ θλίψεως ἐποιεῖτο τῶν ἐσφαλμένων τὴν ἐπανόρθωσιν, ὠδίνειν ἔλεγε τῇ ψυχῇ διὰ  τὴν ἐπὶ τοῐς ἀποπεσοῦσι λύπην. Τεκνία μου, οὒς πάλιν ὠδίνω, ἄχρις οὖ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν. Δεῦτε οὖν, τέκνα, ἀκούσατέ μου. Τί ποτε ἄρα διδάσκειν μέλλει ὁ πνευματικὸς ἡμῶν πατήρ; Φόβον, φησὶ Κυρίου διδάξω ὑμᾶς. Ἐπειδὴ ἄνω προσέταξε φοβεῖσθαι τον Κύριον, καὶ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ φόβου κέρδος ὑπέδειξεν, εἰπὼν, Ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὑστέρημα τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτὸν· νῦν καὶ διδασκαλίαν τινὰ τοῦ θείου φόβου ἡμῖν παραδίδωσι. Τὸ μεν γὰρ, ὅτι χρὴ ὑγιαίνειν, παντός ἐστιν εἰπεῖν, καὶ τοῦ ἰδιώτου· τὸ δὲ, πῶς χρὴ κτήσασθαι τὴν ὑγείαν, τοῦτο ἴδιον ἤδη τοῦ τὴν ἰατρικὴν τέχνην ἐπισταμένου. Οὐ πᾶς φόβος ἀγαθόν ἐστι καὶ σωτήριον, ἀλλ' ἔστι τις καὶ ἐχθρὸς φόβος, ὄν ἀπεύχεται ὁ Προφήτης ἐγγενέσθαι αὐτοῦ τῇ ψυχῇ, λέγων· Ἀπὸ φόβου ἐχθροῦ ἐξελοῦ τὴν ψυχὴν μου. Ἐχθρὸς γὰρ φόβος ὁ θανάτου ἡμῖν δειλίαν ἐμποιῶν, ὁ προσώπων ὑπεροχὰς καταπτήσσειν ἡμᾶς ἀναπείθων. Πῶς γὰρ ὁ ταῦτα φοβούμενος δυνήσεται ἐν καιρῷ μαρτυρίου μέχρι θανάτου πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀντικαταστῆναι, καὶ ἀποδοῦναι τῷ Κυρίῳ τὴν ὀφειλὴν, τῷ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀποθανόντι καὶ ἐγερθέντι; Καὶ ὁ ὑπὸ δαιμόνων εὐπτόητος τὸν ἐχθρὸν ἔχει φόβον ἐν ἑαυτῷ. Καὶ ὅλως, ὁ τοιοῦτος φόβος ἀπιστίας ἔοικεν ἔγγονον εἶναι πάθος. Οὐδεὶς γὰρ πιστεύων ἰσχυρὸν αὐτῷ παρεῖναι τὸν βοηθὸν φοβεῖται ἀπὸ τινος τῶν ἐπιχειρούντων αὐτὸν ἐκταράσσειν. Φόβος δὲ ὁ σωτήριος, καὶ φόβος ἁγιασμοῦ ποιητικὸς, φόβος ὁ κατ' ἐπιτήδευσιν, καὶ οὐχὶ κατὰ πάθος ἐγγινόμενος τῇ ψυχῇ, ποιός ἐστι βούλει διηγήσωμαι; Ὅταν μέλλῃς ἐπὶ τινα ὁρμᾷν ἁμαρτίαν, ἐννόησόν μοι ἐκεῖνο τὸ φρικτὸν καὶ ἀνύποιστον τοῦ Χριστοῦ δικαστήριον, ἐν ᾦ προκαθέζεται μὲν ἐπὶ θρόνου τινὸς ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἐπηρμέμουσα τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἔνδοξον· παράγεσθαι δὲ μέλλομεν καθ' ἕνα εἰς ἐξέτασιν τῶν βεβιωμένων ἡμῖν. Εἶτα τῷ πολλὰ πονηρὰ πεποιηκότι κατὰ τὸν βίον φοβεροί τινες καὶ κατηφεῖς παρίστανται ἄγελλοι, πῦρ βλέποντες, πῦρ ἀναπνέοντεσ, διὰ τὴν πικρίαν τῆς προαιρέσεως, νυκτὶ ἐοικότες τὰ πρόσωπα, διὰ τὸ κατηφὲς καὶ μισάνθρωπον. Εἶτα βάραθρον βαθὺ, καὶ σκότος ἀδιεξόδευτον, καὶ πῦρ ἀλαμπές· ἐν τῷ σκότει τὴν μὲν καυστικὴν δύναμιν ἔχον, τὸ δὲ φέγγος ἀφηρημένον. Εἶτα σκωλήκων γένος ἰοβόλον καὶ σαρκοφάγον, ἀπλήστως ἐσθίον, καὶ μηδέποτε κορεννύμενον, ἀφορήτους ὀδύνας ἐμποιοῠν τῇ καταβρώσει. Εἶτα τὴν πασῶν χαλεπωτάτην κόλασιν, τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν ἐκεῖνον καὶ τὴν αἰσχύνην τὴν αἰώνιον. Ταῦτα φοβοῦ· καὶ τούτῳ τῳ φόβῳ παιδευόμενος, οἰονεὶ χαλινῷ τινι ἀνάκοπτε τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπὸ τῆς  πρὸς τὰ φαῦλα ἐπιθυμίας. Τοῦτο τὸν φόβον τοῦ Κυρίου διδάσκειν ἡμὰς ὁ πατὴρ ἐπηγγείλατο· οὐχ ἁπλῶς διδάσκειν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀκούειν αὐτοῦ προαιρουμένους· οὐ τοὺς μακρὰν ἀποπεσόντας, ἀλλὰ τοὺς δι' ἐπιθυμίαν τοῦ σωθῆναι προστρέχοντας· οὐ τοὺς ξένους τῶν Διαθηκῶν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ βαπτίσματος τῆς υἱπθεσίας οἰκειουμένους τῷ λόγῳ. Διὰ τοῦτο, φησὶ, δεῦτε· τουτέεστι, διὰ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔργων ἐγγίσατέ μοι, τέκνα, υἱοὶ φωτὸς γενέσθαι διὰ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας καταξιωθέντες. Ἀκούσατε, οἱ ἔχοντες τὰ ὧτα τῆς καρδίας ἀνεῳγμένα· Φόβον Κυρίου διδάξω ὑμᾶς. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον Ψαλμον ΛΓ' Source: Migne PG 29.370a-372c

'Come, O sons, and hear me, and I will teach you the fear of the Lord.' 1 This is the voice of the benevolent teacher who with a father's compassion calls to learning. For the pupil is the spiritual child of the teacher. Because he who receives a form of piety from someone, he is shaped by him and joined to him in union, as even in pregnancy infants are formed. Whence Paul named all the church of the Galatians sons, they who had fallen from their prior learning, as if he was restoring what had erred, fashioning them anew in Christ, and with grief and anguish he restored those who had strayed, in a spirit of travailing, saying of himself, because of grief conceived for those who had fallen: 'My little ones, whom again I groan for, until Christ be formed in you.' 2 'Come, O sons, and hear me.' And what does our spiritual father wish to teach us? 'I will teach you the fear of the Lord,' he says. He has exhorted the fear of the Lord, and he has revealed the profit of it in these words, 'Because there is no lack for those who fear him.' 3 So now he gives to us a teaching of Divine fear. For indeed all would say that health is needful, even a simple fellow, but how it is that health is created is the knowledge of him who knows medicine. For not every fear is good and beneficial; there is indeed that fear which the Prophet prays against coming to his soul, saying: 'From the fear of the enemy seize my soul.' 4 The fear of the enemy creates in us the fear of death, which impels us to cower before a powerful person. And how is he who fears this able to resist sin unto death in the time of martyrdom, and pay the debt to the Lord who died for us and was risen? And he who is easily terrified by demons has in himself the fear of the enemy. And truly this fear makes him seem as one born from disbelief in suffering. For not believing that any power will come to his aid, he is gripped by the fear of those who try to terrify him. Do you wish me to tell of the fear which belongs to salvation, the fear which confers sanctity, the fear which is not born by the approach of suffering to the soul but of a wish to endure? When in the future you are driven to some sin, think of the terrible and intolerable tribunal of Christ, where presides that judge on His high and sublime throne, whom truly every creature on account of sight of His glory stand trembling, for this truly is the future to which each one of us will come and undergo examination of all we have done in this life. Then beside him who in this life has done many evils will sit hideous and looming angels, with fire blazing from their eyes, and breathing fire, on account of the bitterness of their hatred, with faces like night, on account of their darkness and hatred of men. Then comes the uttermost depth of impenetrable darkness, which lacks the splendour of fire, yet has a certain burning in its darkness, though lacking all light, where there are certain predatory and flesh eating worms, who are insatiably hungry and never satisfied, who come to feed with intolerable bites, and finally there is the heaviest of all torments: eternal disgrace and shame. This fear of the Lord that father promises to teach us, not indiscriminately teaching, but teaching it to those who wish to listen to him, not to those who have fallen far, but those who on account of the desire of salvation are attentive, not to those who are outside the testament, but those who by the baptism of the word of adoption are joined to him. Thus, he says, 'come', that is, by good works come near to me, sons, worthily clothed, who through regeneration have become sons of light. Hear, you who have the ears of the heart open: 'I will teach you the fear of the Lord.' Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 33 1 Ps 33.12 2 Galat 4.19 3 Ps 33.10 4 Ps 63.2

Offering Gifts

Quomodo si, inquit, inferant filii Israel munus in vase mundo in domum Domini; legimus in Apostlo, in domo magna non solum argentea vel aurea, sed etiam lignea vasa et fictilia reperiri. Quae in ipsa graduum diversitate omnia possunt esse usui, etiamsi non sunt aequalia dignitati. Cuilibet distantiae nitor opus est. Potest in fictilibus vasculis, dummodo munditia non deesit, divinae domui munus offerri, si vas ex eadem massa fictum, quia peccando ceciderat in contumeliam, poenitendo redeat ad honorem. Habemus enim thesaurum istum in vasis fictilibus. Haec ergo vascula, ut dixi, poenitentium teneant compunctionem. Porro lignea legitimam conjugatorum praeferant simplicitatem: cruore martyris aurea rubeant; virginitatis radio argentea perlucescant. Vasorum talium capacitas est, quod rationabilis naturae conditi sumus. In haec modo provideat de suo quisque quod offerat: pro qualitate munerum fit pretiositas vasculorum. Istis credo vasculis Heliseus quondam liquorem olei vivacis infudit, quod cum flueret irriguum, non e fluxit impletum. Sancti Aviti Viennensis, Ex sermone die 3 Rogationum Source: Migne PL 59.320b-d

He says that the sons of Israel will bring in gifts in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord, 1 and we read in the Apostle: 'In a great house there are not only vessels of silver and gold but even of wood and earth.' 2 With which difference of grades all can put to use, even if they are not of equal worth. And what may be those differences I will strive to explain. It is possible that in an earthern vessel, provided that beauty is not lacking, gifts may be brought to the Divine house, if that vessel which is from that earthen substance made because it has fallen into sin into dishonour, by penance returns to honour. 'For we have this treasure in eathern vessels.' 3 So there are, as I have said, these vessels which hold the compunction of the penitent. Then the wood bears the simple lawfulness of those who are married, the golden ones shine with the blood of martyrs, the silver gleam with the brightness of virginity. The capacity of such vessels is the state of our rational nature. In this way let a man see what he offers from himself, what sort of worthiness of gift is in the vases. Into these vessels, I think, Elisha once poured the living oil, which when it flowed filled them, and when the vessel was full it stopped flowing. 4 Saint Avitus of Vienne, from a Sermon on the Third day of Rogation 1 Isaiah 66.20 2 2 Tim 2.20 3 2 Cor 4.7 4 4 Kings 4.1-7

Ways Of Confession

Qui confitebitur me coram hominibus, confitebor et ego eum coram Patre meo. Qui autem negaverit me coram hominibus, negabo et ego eum coram Patre meo, qui in cælis est.  Ac si diceret, quales mihi testes eritis coram hominibus, ut vita, moribus, confessione me indefessi praedicetis in terris, tali vos, apud Patrem, cujus et filii estis, testimonio in coelis commendabo. Ad hoc quippe totum valet quod praemiserat, ut in hoc testimonia fidei permanentes usque ad palmam martyrii fortiter decertarent. Quatuor siquidem modis in divinis litteris confessio dicitur, et duobus locis. Est itaque confessio laudis, est et gratiarum actio, quae semper fit in coelis; tertia vero confessio peccatorum, quae nunquam proficue fit nisi in terris: quarta est, de qua hic agitur, in martyrio coram hominibus, in tempore; et unusquisque eam recipiat coram Patre et coram sanctis angelis in aeternitate. Quae negatio vel confessio, non tantum verbis accipienda est, quam et in omnibus bonis operibus et puritate cordis. Unde e contrario Christus electis: Venite, inquit, benediciti Patris mei, et reprobis: Discedite a me, operarii iniquitatis, quia nescio vos. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber VI Source: Migne PL 120.430c-d

He who confesses me before men, I shall confess before my Father. But he who denies me before men, I shall deny him before my Father in heaven. ' 1  As if He said: As you are witnesses to me before men, that by your life, by your conduct, so you preach a ceaseless confession of me on earth, so I will commend you with testimony in the heavens to my Father, whose sons you are. And for this He makes them entirely capable, as He has said, that even to the palm of martyrdom they may strive strongly persisting in the witness of faith. There are four ways in which the Divine Scriptures speak of confession, and in two places. There is the confession of praise and the action of thanksgiving, which shall always be in heaven; then the third is the confession of sins, which cannot happen unless on earth, and the fourth is what we have already mentioned, martydom before men in the world. And each one is received in the presence of the Father and the holy angels in eternity. Thus denial or confession is not only to be understood as a matter of words, but as every good deed and purity of heart. So alternately Christ said to the elect: 'Come, blessed of my Father,' and to the wicked: 'Begone from me, workers of iniquity, I do not know you.' 2 Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 6 1 Mt 10.32-33 2 Mt 25.3

Stephen's Martyrdom

Ecce, inquit beatus Stephanus, video coelos apertos, et Filium hominis stantem a dextris virtutis Dei. Considerate attentius, fratres dilectissimi, cum beatus martyr Dominum mostrum Jesum Christum ad dexteram Dei Patris sedere vidissset, cur se Filium hominis videre testatus est, et non potius Filium Dei, cum utique plus honoris Domino delaturus videretur, si se Dei potius quam hominis Filium videre dixisset? Sed certa ratio postulabat ut hoc ita ostenderetur in coelo, et praedicaretur in mundo; omne enim Judaeorum scandalum in hoc erat, cur Dominus noster Jesus Christus, qui secundum carnem est Filius hominis esse etiam Dei Filius diceretur. Ideo ergo pulchre Scriptura divina Filium hominis ad dexteram Dei Patris stare memoravit, ut ad confundendam Judaeorum incredulitatem, illi martyri ostenderetur in coelo, qui a perfidis negabatur in mundo; et illi testimonium coelestis veritas daret, cui fidem terrena  impietas derogarat. Unde licet juxta psalmum, qui lectus est: Pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum sit, si quid tamen distare inter martyres potest, praecipuus videtur esse qui primus est. Nam cum Sanctus Stephanus ab apostolos ipsos beata ac triumphali morte praecessit: ac sic, qui erat inferior ordine, prior factus est passione; et qui erat discipulus gradu, magister coepit esse martytrio; complens illud quod veatus propheta in psalmo dixit: Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi? Retribuere enim primus voluit Stephanus martyr Domino, quod cum omni humano genere accepit Domino; mortem enim, quam Salvator dignatus est pro omnibus pati, hanc ille primus reddidit Salvatori. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LXIV, In Natali Sancti Stephani Levitae et Protomartyris Source: Migne PL 57.379

'Behold,' said the blessed Stephen,'I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.' 1 Consider attentively, dear brothers, when the blessed martyr saw our Lord Jesus Christ sat at the right hand of God the Father, why he gave witness to seeing the son of Man and not rather the Son of God, when more honour he would seem to speak to the Lord if he had said the Son of of God rather than the Son of Man? But with good reason it was desired that this be so shown in heaven and preached in the world, for every scandal of the Jews was in this: why our Lord Jesus Christ who was according to the flesh the Son of Man, was to be spoken of as the Son of God. Therefore rightly Holy Scripture declares the Son of Man to be standing at the right side of God that the disbelief of the Jews be confounded, showing Him in heaven to that martyr, who by traitors was denied in the world, and to him had given witness to heavenly truth, the faith of whom was denounced on earth by impiety. Whence fittingly according to the Psalm, we read, 'Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His holy ones.' 2 If, however, there is difference among the martyrs, it certainly seems he is the first. For when the blessed Stephan was ordained a deacon by the Apostles, he preceded those same Apostles in a blessed and triumphant death, and so he who was inferior in rank, first made his passion, and he who was a pupil by status became a teacher by martyrdom, fulfilling what the blessed Prophet said in Psalm: What shall I return to the Lord for all the things that he has given me? 3 For the first martyr Stephen wished to give return to the Lord, that when everything human he had received from the Lord, even death, which the Saviour deemed worthy to suffer for all, he first returned to the Saviour. Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 64, On The Feast Day of St Stephen 1.Acts 7.56 2 Ps 115.15 3 Ps 115.12

Trials And Crowns

Gaudere nos et exultare voluit in persecutionibus Dominus, quia quando persecutiones fiunt, tunc dantar coronae; tunc probantur milites Dei, tunc martyribus patent coeli. Neque enim sic nomen militiae dedimus, ut pacem tantummodo cogitare, et detrectare, et recusare militiam debeamus, quando in ipsa militia primus ambulaverit Dominus, humilitatis et tolerantiae et passionis magister, ut quod fieri docuit, prior faceret, et quod pati hortatur, prior pro nobis ipse pateretur. Sit ante oculos, fratres dilectissimi, quod qui omne judicium a Patre solus accepit, et qui venturus est et judicaturus, jam judicii sui et cognitionis futurae sententiam protulerit; praenuncians et contestans, confessurum se coram patre suo consitentes, et negaturum negantes. Si mortem possemus evadere, a merito mortem timeremus. Porro autem cum mortalem mori necesse sit, amplectamur occasionem de Divina promissione  dignatione venientem, et fungamur exitu mortis cum praemio immortalitatis; nec vereamur occidi, quos constet quando occidimur, coronari. Nec quisquam, fratres dilectissimi, cum populum nostrum fugari conspexerit metu persecutionis et spargi, conturbetur, quod collectam fraternitatem non videat, nec tractantes Episcopos audiat. Simul tunc omnes esse non possunt, quibus occidere non licet, sed occidi necesse est. Ubicunque in illis diebus unusquisque fratrum fuerit a grege interim necessitate temporis corpore non spiritu separatus, non moveatur ad fugae illius horrorem, nec recedens et latens deserti loci solitudine terreatur. Solus non est, cui Christus in fuga comes est. Solus non est qui templum Dei servans, ubicunque fuerit, sine Deo non est. Et si fugientem in solitudine ac montibus latro oppresserit, fera invaserit, fames aut sitis aut frigus afflixerit, vel per maria praecipiti navigatione properantem tempestas, ac procella submerserit: Spectat militem suum Christus ubicunque pugnantem, et persecutionis causa pro nominis sui honore morienti praemium reddit, quod daturum se  in resurrectione promisit. Nec minor est martyrii gloria, non publice et inter multos perisse, cum pereundi causa fit propter Christum perire. Sufficit ad testimonium Martyrii sui, testis ille est qui probat martyres et coronat. Sanctus Cyprianus, Epistola LVI Ad Thibaritanos, De Exhortatione Martyrii Source: Migne PL 4.351c-353a

The Lord wished that we should rejoice and leap for joy in persecutions, because, when persecutions come, then crowns of faith are given, then the soldiers of God are proved, then the heavens open for martyrs. Indeed we have not mentioned the name of military service that we should think only on peace and draw back from and refuse service, when in this very service the Lord walked first, the teacher of humility and endurance and suffering, so that what He taught be done, He first did, and what He exhorts to suffer, He first suffered for us. Let it be before your eyes, beloved brethren, that He who alone has received all judgment from the Father, 1 and who will judge, has already declared the decree of His judgment and of His future recognition, foretelling and testifying that He will confess those before His Father who confess Him, and will deny those who deny Him. 2 If we were able to escape death, with reason we might fear death. However, since it is necessary that a mortal man should die, let us embrace the occasion that comes by the Divine promise and condescension, and perform the ending of death with the reward of immortality; let us not fear to be slain, when it is certain that we are slain to be crowned. Nor let any one, beloved brethren, when he sees our people fleeing and scattered by the fear of persecution, be disturbed at not seeing the brotherhood gathered together, and not hearing the bishops speaking. Not all are able to be there, those who may not kill but who must be killed. Wherever, in those days, one of the brethren is separated from the flock for a time, by the necessity of the time, in body, not in spirit, let him not be shaken at the terror of that flight; nor, if he is withdraw and concealed, let him be perturbed by the solitude of a wilderness. He is not alone whose companion in flight is Christ; he is not alone who guards the temple of God; wherever he is, he is not without God. And if a fugitive in the wilds assault you, or a bandit in the mountains, or if a wild beast should attack you, or if hunger, or thirst or cold should distress you, or the tempest and the storm should overwhelm you hastening on a swift voyage over the seas, Christ everywhere looks on His soldier fighting, and on account of persecution, for the honour of His name, gives a reward to him when he dies, as He has promised that He will give in the resurrection. Nor is the glory of martyrdom less because a man has not perished publicly and before many, since the cause of perishing is to perish for Christ. Sufficient testimony for his martyrdom is He who proves martyrs and crowns them. Saint Cyprian of Carthage, from Letter 55, To the People of Thibaris, Exhorting Martyrdom. 1 Jn 5.22  2 Mt 10.33

An Absence Of Priests

Sed nec in illo, fratres dilectissimi, aliqua potest aut religionis, aut fidei jactura sentiri, quod illic nunc sacerdotibus Dei datur offerendi et celebrandi sacrificia divina. Celebratis imo atque offertis sacrificium Deo et pretiosum pariter et gloriosum, et plurimum vobis ad retributionem praemiorum coelestium; cum scriptura divina loquatur et dicat: Sacrificium contribulatus, cor contritum et humiliatum Deus non despicit. Hoc vos sacrificium Deo offertis, hoc sacrificium sine intermissione die ac nocte celebratis, hostiae facti Deo, et vosmetipsos sanctas atque immaculatas victimas exhibentes, sicut Apostolus adhortatur et dicit: Oro ergo vos fratres per misericordiam Dei, ut constituatis  corpora vestra hostiam vivam, sanctam, placentem Deo; nec configuremini seculo huic, sed transformamini in renovatione sensus, ad probandum quae sit voluntas Dei  bona et placens, et perfecta. Hoc est enim quod praecipue Deo placeat: hoc est, in quo majoribus meritis ad promerendam voluntatem Dei opera nostra proveniant: hoc est, quod solum Domino de beneficiis ejus grandibus et salutaribus fidei ac devotionis nostrae obsequia retribuant, praedicante in Psalmis et contestante Spiritu sancto: Quid retribuam, inquit,  Domino pro omnibus quae tribuit mihi? Calicem salutaris accipiam, et nomen Domini invocabo. Pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors justorum ejus. Quis non libenter et promte calicem salutis accipiat? Quis non appetat gaudibundus et laetus, in quo aliquid et ipse Domino suo retribuat? Quis non pretiosam in conspectu Domini mortem fortiter et constanter excipiat; placiturus ejus oculis, qui nos in congressione nominis sui desuper spectans, volentes comprobat, adjuvat dimicantes, vincentes coronat, retributione bonitatis ac pietatis paternae remunerans in nobis quidquid ipse praestitit, et honorans quod ipse perfecit? Sanctus Cyprianus, Epistola LXXVII Ad Nemesianum et Caeteros Martyras in Metallo Constitutos Source: Migne PL 4.417a-418a

But not in that, beloved brethren, can there be felt any loss of either religion or faith, because now there is no opportunity for God's priests to celebrate the divine sacrifices; rather you celebrate and offer a sacrifice to God equally precious and glorious, and which will greatly profit you in the giving of heavenly rewards, since the sacred Scripture speaks, saying, 'The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit; a contrite and humbled heart God does not despise.' 1 You offer this sacrifice to God; you celebrate this sacrifice without pause day and night, being made victims to God, and exhibiting yourselves as holy and unspotted offerings, as the Apostle exhorts and says, 'I beseech you, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God. Do not conform to this world, but be transformed in the renewal of your mind, that you know what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.' 2 For this is that which is especially pleasing to God; this is that in which our works attain to the earning of God's good will with greater rewards; this is that which alone the obedience of our faith and devotion can return to the Lord for His great and saving benefits, as in the Psalms the Holy Spirit declares and witnesses: 'What shall I return,' He says, 'to the Lord for all His benefits to me? I will take up the cup of salvation, and I will invoke the name of the Lord. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His righteous ones.'3 Who would not gladly and readily receive the cup of salvation? Who would not with joy and gladness desire that by which he himself may return something to His Lord? Who would not bravely and without flinching receive a death precious in the sight of the Lord, to please His eyes, who, looking down from above on us who are placed in the conflict for His name, approves the willing, assists those who struggle, and crowns the conquering with the recompense of patience, goodness, and affection, rewarding in us whatever He has given, and honouring what He has accomplished? Saint Cyprian of Carthage, from Letter 76, to Nemesianus and the Other Martyrs in the Mines 1 Ps 50.18 2 Rom 12.1, Phil 3.21 3 Ps 115.12, 13,15