Manna And The Holy Spirit

Scriptum est de manna, quia secundum tempus illud si quis id ita assumpsisset ut praeceperat Deus, nutriretur ex eo; si quis vero contra præceptum Dei, et contra statutum divinitus modum voluisset assumere, non frueretur eo , ut vitali cibo, sed vermes ebullirent ex co. Et ita fiebat, ut una atque eadem species mannæ aliis quidem vermes et putredines generaret, aliis vero salubrem cibuin conferret, et vitae necessarium. Igitur et nostrum manna verbum Dei est, et apud nos ergo sermo Dei aliis efficitur ad salutem, aliis cedit ad poenam. Et propter hoc arbitror quod ipse Dominus et Salvator, qui est vivum Dei verbum, dicebat: In judicium ego veni in hunc mundum, ut non videntes videant, et videntes caeci fiant . Quanto melius esset nonnullis omnino nec audire verbum Dei , quam audire cum malitia, vel audire cum hypocrisi. Melius autem dicimus ad comparationem Vere autem melius , et vere rectius , ac perfectius est, ut qui audit verbum Dei , audiat corde bono et simplici , audiat corde recto et parato, ut quasi in terra bona fructificet et crescat. Haec in praefatione diximus propter nonnullos eorum qui ad audiendum non simplici, nec fideli mente conveniunt. De quibusdam dico catechumenis, quibus fortasse nonnulli etiam eorum qui jam baptismum consecuti sunt, sociantur. Non enim omnes qui ex Israel, ii sunt Israelitae; neque omnes qui loti sunt aqua, continuo etiam sancto Spiritu loti sunt: sicut econtrario non omnes qui in catechumenis numerantur, alieni sunt et expertes Spiritus sancti. Invenio enim in Scripturis divinis nonnullos catechumenorum dignos habitos Spiritu sancto, et alios accepto baptismo indignos fuisse sancti Spiritus gratia. Cornelius catechumenus erat, et antequam ad aquam veniret , meruit accipere Spiritum sanctum. Simon baptismum acceperat, sed quoniam cum hypocrisi accessit ad gratiam , repudiatur a dono Spiritus sancti. Nolo dubites et nunc esse in populo catechumenorum aliquos Cornelios , ad quos dici possit , quia misericordiae et orationes tuæ ascenderunt in coelam; et rursum in populo fidelium esse aliquos Simones, quibus confidenter dicendum sit: O plene omni dolo et fallacia, fili diaboli, inimice omnis justitiae. Haec ego ad correptionem mei ipsius loquor, non solum auditorum. Unus enim et ego sum ex iis, qui audiunt verbum Dei . Origen, In Numeros, Homilia III, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense Source: Migne PG 12.593c-594b

It is written concerning the manna, that if according to the time the Lord commanded it someone took it up, then he would be nourished by it, but if against the commandment of the Lord and against the divine statute someone wished to take it up, it would be of no benefit to him, even to such a degree that worms would crawl forth from the life giving bread. 1 Thus one and the same type of manna generated worms and rottenness for some and on others it conferred wholesome food, and what is needful for life. Therefore even with our manna among us, which is the word of God, for some the word is effective for salvation, but for others it brings forth punishment. Therefore that judge who is the Lord and Saviour, who is the living word of God, said, 'In judgment I have come into this world, even that those who do not see might see, and that those who do see become blind.' 2 How much better it would be for some not to hear the word of God at all, than to hear it in wickedness or as hypocrites. But it is better for us to give a comparison. Truly it is better and more righteous and more perfect that he who hears the word of God, hears it with a good and innocent heart, and with an upright and prepared heart, so that on earth he may put forth good fruits and grow. We have brought forth these remarks first because a number of those who hear are not innocent, nor are they faithful in their minds. About whom I say to the catechumens, regarding those with whom they associate and who have perhaps already received baptism, 'Not everyone from Israel is an Israelite.' 3 Not all who have been washed with water, then have the further washing of the Holy Spirit, and likewise and in an opposite sense not all who are accounted among the catechumens are foreign and unknown to the Holy Spirit. I have found in the Holy Scriptures that several catechumens were worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit, and others who had received baptism were unworthy of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Cornelius was a catechumen and even before he come to the water he was worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit. Simon received baptism but because he was a hypocrite for grace, he was denied the gift of the Holy Spirit. I do not doubt that even now there are some who are Cornelius among the people of the catechumens, to whom it is possible to say, that your mercy and prayers have ascended to heaven, and again that among the gathering of the faithful there are some who are Simon, to whom it must be forcefully said 'O full of every guile and deceit, O son of the devil, O enemy of all righteousness.' 4 I do not say these things only to the audience but even for my own correction, for I am one of those who hears the word of God. Origen, On Numbers, from the Third Homily, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Exod 16.20 2 Jn 9.39 3 Rom 9.6 4 Act 10 Act 13.10

Numbers And Generations

Omnes ergo generationes ab Abraham usque David generationes quatuordecim. Cum potuisset evangelista breviter numerum generationum explicare, dicens: Ab Abraham usque ad Christum generationes sunt quadraginta duae: qua ratione ter generationes praedicit, et in tres partes divisit per generationes quatuordecim? Quia ter completis quatuordecim generationibus mutatus est in Judaeis hominum status. Ab Abraham enim usque ad David fuerunt sub judicibus: a David usque ad transmigrationem, sub regibus: a transmigratione usque ad Christum, sub pontificibus. Hoc ergo vult demonstrare, quoniam sicut semper ter completis quatuordecim generationibus, mutatus est hominum status: sic completis quatuordecim generationibus a transmigratione usque as Christum, necesse est a Christo mutari similiter hominum statum: quod et factum est. Post Christum enim jam non sub judicibus multis, nec sub regibus multis, nec sub pontificibus multis fuerunt; sed omnes generationes sub uno Christo, et judice, et rege, et pontifice factae sunt: quia trium illorum statuum solus habuit dignitatem. Unde quoniam et judices, et reges, et pontifices, tres Christi dignitates praefigurabant, semper principia eorum in figura Christi. Primus judicum Josue: primus regum David; primus pontificum, Jesus filius Josedech. Hos in figura Christi fuisse dubitat nemo. Forte ideo quatuordecim generationes ponuntur, id est, quater decem, hoc est quater Christus. Iota enim litera Christi mysterium habet. Ideo ergo quatuordecim, quoniam ter quidem figuratus Christus ostensus, quarto autem verus Christus apparuit. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia Prima Source: Migne PG 56.629-630

Thus all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations. 1 When the Evangelist was able briefly to declare the number of the generations, saying: 'From Abraham to Christ there were forty two generations,' for what reason did he speak of the generations three times, dividing them into three groups of fourteen? Because three times with each fourteenth generation there was a change among the Jews regarding the state of man. From Abraham to David they were under judges, from David to the exile they were under kings, from the exile until Christ they were under high priests. Thus he wishes to demonstrate this: that with the each of the three fourteen generations there was always a change in the state of men, and so with the passing of the fourteen generations from the exile to Christ it is necessary by Christ to similarly change the state of men, which was done. For after Christ they were not under various judges, nor under various kings, nor under various high priests, but all the generations were under one Christ, who was judge and king and priest, because He alone had the dignity for all those three states. Whence because the judges and kings and high priests prefigured the three dignities of Christ, the beginning of each one is a figure of Christ. The first judge was Joshua, the first king was David, the first high priest was Joshua son of Jehozadak. That these were a figure of Christ no one doubts. Perhaps, then, the fourteen generations are given, that is, the four plus ten, as a four times Christ. For the 'iota' of Christ contains a mystery. 2 Therefore they are fourteen, because three times Christ was shown prefigured, and the fourth time the true Christ appeared Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from The First Homily 1 Mt 1.1-17 2 Iota in Greek = 10

Crooked And Straight

Διεστραμμένον γὰρ φησὶν οὐ δυνήσεται ἐπικοσμηθῆναι Tουτέστιν, οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο τῇ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ κοσμηθείσῃ κτίσει οἰκεῖον τὸ ἐνδιάστροφον. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ τεχνίτης ὁ κατὰ πρόθεσίν τι ἑαυτῷ τεκταινόμενος, κανόνι καὶ σπάρτῳ διευθύνει τὰ μέρη τὰ τὴν ἐπεργασίαν τοῦ σκεύους διὰ τῆς τεχνικῆς πρὸς ἄλληλασχέσεως συμπεραίνοντα· εἰ δέ τι τούτων μὴ κατὰ τὴν σπάρτην διευθυνθέι, οὐ παραδέχεται πάντως τὴν διαστροφὴν ἡ εὐθὴς ἁρμονία, ἀλλὰ χρὴ κακεῖνο ὑπαχθῆναι τῇ σπάρτῇ καὶ εὐθὺ γενέσθαι, εἰ μέλλοι τῷ εὐθεῖ συναρμόζεσθαι· οὕτω φησὶν ὁ Ἐκκλησιατὴς, ὅτι ἡ παρὰ τῆς κακίας διαστραφεῖσα φύσις τῇ κεκοσμημένῃ ὑπὸ ὀρθοῦ λόγου κτίσει ἐγγενέσθαι οὐ δύνατα. Καὶ ὑστέρημα, φησὶν, οὐ δυνήσεται ἀριθμηθῆναι. Ὑστερεῖσθαι τὸ λείπεσθαι, ἡ γραφικὴ συνήθεια νοεῖν διδάσκει· καὶ τοῦτο ἑκ πολλῶν ἔστι πιστώσασθια. Ὁ γὰρ ἐν πατνὶ καὶ ἐν πᾶσι μεμνημένος Παῦλος, οἴδε καὶ ὑστερεῐσθαι καὶ περισσεύειν· καὶ ὁ διὰ τῆς ἀσωτίας τὴν πατρικὴν δαπανήσας οὐσίαν, λιμοῦ κατασχόντος, ἤρξατο τοῦ ὑστερεῖσθαι· καὶ περὶ τῶν ἁγίῶν ὁ Παῦλος διεξιὼν, τὰ τε ἄλλα φησὶ περὶ αὐτῶν ἐν οἴς ἐκακοπάθουν τῷ σώματι, καὶ τοῦτο προστίθησιν, ὅτι ὑστερούμενοι καὶ θλιβόμενοι. Οὐκοῦν καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὑστέρημα ὁ λόγος εἰπὼν, τὸ λεῖπον διὰ τῆς φωνῆς ἐνεδείξατο· τὸ δὲ λεῖπον ἐναρίθμιον τοῖς οὖσι γενέσθαι οὐ δυναταυ. Καὶ γὰρ οἱ μαθηταὶ, ἕως μὲν πάντες ἦσαν ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ πληρώματι, δυοκαίδεκα ἧσαν τὸν ἀριθμόν· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀπώλετο ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας, ἐκολοβώθη ὁ ἀριθμὸς, τῷ μή συναριθμεῖσθαι τοῖς οὔσι τὸ λεῖπον· ἕνδεκα γὰρ μετὰ τὸν Ἰούδαν καὶ ἧσαν καὶ ὠνομάζοντο. Τὸ οὖν ὑστέρημα, φησὶν, οὐ δυνήσεται τοῦ ἀριθμηθῆναι. Τί τοῦτο σημαίνει διὰ τοῦ λόγου; Ὅτι ἧν ποτε καὶ τὸ καθ' ἡμας τῷ παντὶ ἐναρίθμιον· συνετελοῦμεν γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς τὴν ἱερὰν τῶν λογικῶν προβάτων ἑκατοντάδα. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀπεβουκολήθη τῆς ὀρείου διαγωγῆς τὸ ἕν πρόβατον, ἡ ἡμετέρα φύσις, διὰ κακίας πρὸς τὸν ἀλμῶντα τοῦτον καὶ αὐχμηρὸν τόπον κατασπασθεῖσα, οὐκέτι ὁ αὐτὸς ἀριθμὸς ἐπὶ τοῦ ποιμνίου τῶν ἀπλανῶν μνημονεύεται, ἀλλ' ἐνενήκοντα καὶ ἐννέα κατονομάζονται· τὸ γὰρ μάταιον ἔξω τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ τῶν ὑφεστώτων γίνεται, διότι ὑστέρημα οὐ δυνήσεται τοῦ ἀριθμηθῆναι. Ἤλθεν οὖν ζητῆσαι καὶ σῶσαι τὸ ἀπολωλὸς, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων ἀναλαβὼν ἀποκαταστῆσαι τοῖς οὖσι τὸ τῇ ματαιότητι τῶν ἀνυπάρκτῶν ἐναπολλύμενον, ἵνα πάλιν ἄρτιος γένεηται ὁ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀριθμὸς, ἀποσωθέντος τοῦ ἀπολωλότος τοῖς μὴ ἀπολλυμένοις. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τον Ἐκκλησιασην, Ὁμιλια Β' Source: Migne PG 44.640c-641c

'That which is crooked,' he says, 'cannot be made straight.' 1 That is, nothing crooked befits a creature arranged by God. For as the Creator, who designed everything for Himself, set aright with a ruler and measuring line the parts which contribute towards the whole by having each part carefully related to the others, so if any part is not set right by a measuring line, the measured harmony does not admit that which is crooked, for it is necessary that it conform to the measure if all is to be in harmony. Thus Ecclesiastes says that nature made crooked by evil cannot be arranged to right reason: 'Deficiency,' he says, 'cannot be numbered.' 1 To be deficient is to lack, Scripture is accustomed to teach, and it is confirmed by many examples. One among the many is the celebrated Paul who knows what it is to be deficient and what it is to abound; 2 and also that one who having consumed his inheritance was seized by hunger, suffering deficiency, 3 and speaking of the saints, Paul, along with bodily affliction, adds that they were destitute and afflicted. 4 Therefore, when Scripture speaks of deficiency, it means lack, though lack is not mentioned. For the disciples in their fullness numbered twelve but when the son of perdition perished, 5 their number was incomplete, for their lack was him who was not counted among them, and so a twelfth disciple was named to take the place of Judas. 6 Thus he says: 'deficiency cannot be numbered.' What does he mean by this? That we were once counted with the full group, that is, among the holy one hundred rational sheep. 7 When one sheep strayed from the heavenly way of life, our nature by evil was led to an arid uncultivated place; no longer does that number pertain to the flock which have not wandered but they are reckoned ninety-nine, for vanity does not belong to the number who are included, and so: 'deficiency cannot be numbered.' Therefore He comes to seek and save the one who is lost, and lifting him up on his shoulders he restores that which was lost in the vanity of insubstantial things, that again the whole number of God's creation be made whole, by the saving of the lost along with those who have not been destroyed. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On Ecclesiastes, from Homily 2 1 Eccles 1.15 2 Phil 4.12 3 Lk 15.14 4 Heb 11.37 5 Jn 17.12 6 Acts 1.15-26 7 Mt 18.12

Preparing For The Spirit

Legimus Dominum discipulis praecepiise ut turbas per contubernia discumbere fecissent, quinquagenos et quinquagenos; quos omnes unius panis soliditate refici volebat. Quinquagenarius numerus, in quo lex data est, ipse Spiritus Paraclitus a Patre et Filio missus, qui in centum viginti nomina descendit, remissionem peccatorum significat: quam omnes fideles in ipsius sancti Spiritus gratia accipiunt, primo in sacramento baptismatis; secundo in poenitentiae lacrymis, quibus anima peccatrix abluta ad visionem Dei Salvatoris pervenire merebitur dicente ipsa Veritate: Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. Ecce nunc tempus acceptabile, ecce nunc dies salutis. Mundemus nos ab omni inquinamento carnis et spiritus, perficientes salutem animarum nostrarum.' Haec vero scientes et optime intelligentes, charissimi fratres, nil sordidum in vestra remaneat conscientia, sive de carnis fragilitate contractum, sive de spiritus inquietudine infectum, ut dignam in cordibus vestris Spirits sanctus sibi inveniat habitationem. Nullam malignus hostis in vestra bona conversatione inveniat suae malitiae partem, nec aditum quem quaerit, reperiat vestris in cordibus; sed omni custodia animas vestras confirmate in charitatis munimine, in tutela obedientiae, in muro humilitatis, in castitatis observatione, in sanctae pacis conjunctione. Viriliter pugnate contra antiquum hostem, et communibus manibus debellate eum, qui 'rugiens circuit, quarens quem devorat. Portate in frontibus vexillum crucis, et in cordibus charitatis munimenta, et catholicae fidei firmamentum. Spe firma vosmetipsos erigite ad Deum, et nihil contra vestram valet unanimitatem illius insidiosa calliditas. Alcuinus, Epistola CXI, Ad Fratres in Gothia Source: Migne PL 100.335a-c

We read that the Lord commanded the disciples to make the troubled crowds sit down in groups of fifty when He wished to refresh them all with the one firm bread. 1 Fifty was the number on which the Law was given, 2 the same when the Spirit and Paraclete was sent by the Father and the Son, He who descended on one hundred and twenty, 3 signifying the remission of sins, by which all the faithful receive grace by the same Holy Spirit, first in the sacrament of baptism and secondly in tearful penance by which the sinful soul is cleansed so that it might merit to come to the vision of God, as the Truth says 'Blessed are the Pure in heart, for they shall see God.' 4 'Behold now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation.' 'Let us cleanse ourselves of every defilement of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting the salvation of our souls.' 5 These things truly knowing and well understanding, dearest brothers, let nothing sordid remain in your souls, let no weakness of flesh press upon you, let no unquiet temper infect you, so that the Holy Spirit may discover in your hearts a worthy habitation. Let not the malignant enemy discover in your speech any part of wickedness, nor find any way in which he may enter into your hearts, but strengthen your hearts so that your souls are guarded with powerful love and protective obedience, with the wall of humility and the observance of chastity, all in conjunction with sacred peace. Fight manfully against the old enemy and with shared hands conquer him who 'goes around roaring, looking for someone to devour.' 6 Bear on your brows the banner of the cross and in your hearts the bulwark of charity and the strength of the Catholic Faith. With firm hope build yourself up to God and let no insidious cunning prevail against your unity. Alcuin of York, from Letter 111, To The Brothers in Gothia 1 Lk 9.14 2 According to rabbinic tradition the Law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai fifty days after Passover, celebrated at the feast of Shavuot 3 Acts 1.15 4 Mt 5.8 5 2 Cor 6.2,7.1 6 1 Pet 5.8