Grief And Joy

Cui autem simile existimabo generationem istam? Similes sunt pueris sedentibus in foro, etc. Tantus est Joannes, sed vos nec ei, nec mihi voluistis credere, et ideo, cui vos similes aestimabo? Per generationem accipit communiter et Judaeos, et se etiam cum Joanne, quia aliter non diceret: Similis est pueris, etc., cum non solum Judaei, sed ipse etiam Joannes et Jesus pueris comparentur. Pueri dicunt sociis in ludo: Vos non estis socii nostri, quia quando cecinimus modo in ludo, vos non saltavistis, et quando ploravimus in ludo, vos noluistis nobiscum plorare. Similiter sunt duo status in sanctis, luctus pro peccatis, gaudium pro Redemptione nostra, quae utraque prophetaverunt antiqui prophetae. Alius enim dicit: Convertimini in toto corde vestro, etc. David vero ad gaudium nos invitat, cum ait: Haec est dies quam fecit Dominus, exsultate et laetate in ea. Similiter Christus et Joannes nos invitaverunt, alius ad lucem, sicut Joannes, qui jejunavit, et ad poenitentiam invitavit. Alius ad gaudium, sicut Christus qui in signum aeternae refectionis non jejunabat cum apostolis, sed comedebat, et ad gaudium nostrae redemptionis invitabat, quasi dicat: Ego, et sequaces mei apostoli et prophetae cecinimus in foro, id est in Jerusalem, ubi omnes conveniebant, id est gaudium vestrae redemptionis praedicavimus, et vos, qui eratis nobis coaequales, quia de eadem gente et promissione, noluistis saltare, id est mente et corpore, de redemptione vestra congaudere. Joannes et alii prophetae lamentaverunt, id est ad luctum poenitentiae invitaverunt, et vos noluistis cum eis plangere. Imo vocastis Joannem daemoniacum, qui tantum potest jejunare, me autem voracem, qui in signum vestri gaudii, et aeternae refectionis manduco. Sed ego, quidquid vos dicatis, qui sum sapientia Patris, justificor a filiis meis, id est juste agere dicor ab apostolis. Vel sapientia justificatur a filiis suis, id est ab operibus suis, id est opera quae ipse facit et generat, ostendunt sapientiam justam esse. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput XI Source: Migne PL 162.1352b-1352d

To what shall I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplace... 1 John is great, yet you do not believe in him nor in me, and therefore to what shall I liken you? By 'generation' the Jews are commonly understood, and even Himself and John, because otherwise He would have said, 'It is similar to children,' when not only the Jews but even John and Jesus are being compared to children. Children are saying to their peers in play, 'You are not our friends, because when we sing to you in play you do not dance, and when we lament in play you do not weep with us.' Likewise there are two states among the holy, sorrow for sin and joy for our redemption, which both the prophets of old made prophecy about. For one says, 'Convert in your whole hearts.' But David invites us to joy, when he says, 'This is the day that the Lord made, exult and delight in it.' 2 Similarly Christ and John invite us, one to sorrow, like John, who fasts and invites us to penance, and the other to joy, as Christ, who as a sign of eternal refreshment does not fast with the Apostles but eats, and invites us to the joy of our redemption, as if He said, 'I and my followers the Apostles and the prophets sang to you in the marketplace, that is, in Jerusalem, when all were gathered together, that is, we proclaimed the joy of your redemption, and you, who were our peers, because we are of the same people and promise, did not wish to dance, that is, in the mind and body, in joy at your redemption. John and other prophets lamented, that is, they invited you to the sorrow of penance, and you did not want to weep with them. Then you call John a demoniac, who is a great faster, and me a glutton who eat as a sign of your joy and eternal refreshment. But whatever you say, I, who am the wisdom of the Father, am justified by my sons, that is, I am spoken of by the Apostles through righteous conduct . Or 'Wisdom is justified by her sons,' that is, from their works, that is, the works performed and brought forth show wisdom to be righteous. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 11 1 Mt 11.16 2 Joel 2.12, Ps 117.24

The Denials

Τρὶς τὸν Κύριον ἀρνησάμενος τῶν ἀποστόλων ὁ ἔξαρχος, τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων πάντων ἁμαρτίαν ὑπο ἔδειξε, τρὶς ἀθετησάντων τὸν Κτίσαντα, ἐν τῇ δόσειτῆς πρώτης ἐντολῆς , ἐν τῇ θέσει τοῦ νόμου τοῦ γραστοῦ, ἐν τῇ σαρκώσει τοῦ Λόγου καὶ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν· ἣν τριπλῇ πάλιν μεταγνώσει ἰάσατο, ἀνάλογον τῷ τραύματι πορισάμενος καὶ τὸ φάρμακον, καὶ δείξας ὡς πάντων τῶν κακῶν θεραπεία, ἡ τοῦ Κυρίου γέγονε παρουσία. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤΝϚ’, Σελευκῳ Source: Migne 78.385b

The prince of the Apostles' denial of the Lord three times points to the sin of all men who rejected the Lord three times, in the giving of the first command, in the establishment of the written law, in the putting on of humanity by the Word and God, 1 which three time denial is again healed by penance, which is as the bringing of medicine to a wounded man, for which reason the Lord came, showing care for every evil. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 356, To Seleucus 1 Gen 2.16-17, Exod 32, Jn 1.11

Hunger And Thirst

Christus hodie in schola eruditionis evangelcae per filium prodigum nobis competentissime proponit poenitentiae et humilitatis exemplum. Qui cum afficeretur gravissima fame, cogitavit redire ad patem, et inter mercenarios unus esse. Quis est qui dilapidat omnia bona vivendo luxuriose, nisi peccator quiliet, qui bona gratuita et naturalia peccando corrumpit et perdit? Sed reversus ad cor, et justitiam incipiens esurire, humiliat se in oculis suis, de de filiali dignitate ad mercenarii sortem devota humilitate descendit. Beati quidem sunt qui esuriunt justitiam, quoniam ipsi saturabuntur. Esurientes, inquit implevit bonis. Qui enim divitias temporales appetunt,non satiabuntur eis. Haec est aqua d puteo Samariae, de qua qui biberit, sitiet iterum. Haec aqua non reficit, quia non sufficit. Divites egereunt et esurient: inquirentes autem Dominum non minuentur omni bono. Cibus autem justitiae dum plus appetitur, plus dulcescit. Unde et ille qui factus est nobis a Deo sapienta et justitia dicit: Qui edunt me, adhunc esurient, et qui bibunt me, adhuc sitient. Non est tamen ita insatiabilis appetitus justitiae, sicut amor pecuniae; nam in istis est appetitus sine satietate, in illa est satietas sine attaediatione. Unde Propheta: Ego in justitia apparebo in conspecto tuo: sataibor cum apparuerit gloria tua. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XV, In Quadragesima, De Facienda Poenitentia Source: Migne PL 207.603a-c

Today in the school of evangelical instruction Christ expertly puts forth an example of penitence and humility in the prodigal son, he who when he was afflicted with severe hunger thought to return to his father, and to be one of his hirelings. 1 Who is he who ruins every good in luxurious living but the sinner, he who corrupts both gratuitous and natural goods in sin and destroys them. But turning back to his heart, he begins to thirst for righteousness, he humbles himself in his own eyes, and in devout humility he lowers himself from the dignity of a son to the rank of a hireling. Certainly they are blessed 'who thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.' 'He filled those who thirsted with good things.' 2 But those who desire temporal riches, they shall not be satisfied with them. That is the water from the well of the Samaritan woman, from which he who drinks shall thirst again. 3 This water does not refresh because it is does not suffice. 'The rich hunger and thirst, those who seek the Lord do not lack any good.' 4 The more the bread of righteousness is desired the sweeter it is. Whence even He who was made wisdom and righteousness from God for us says, 'They eat of me and shall yet hunger, and they drink of me and shall yet thirst.' 5 Not that there is an insatiable appetite with righteousness as with the love of money, for in the latter the appetite is never satisfied, but in righteousness there is satiety without weariness, and so the Prophet says: 'In righteousness I shall appear in your sight, and I shall be satisfied when your glory appears.' 6 Peter of Blois, from Sermon 15, In Lent, On Making Penance 1 Lk 15.16-18 2 Mt 5.6, Lk 1.53 3 Jn 4.13 4 Ps 33.11 5 1 Cor 1.30, Sirach 24.29 6 Ps 16.15

Successful And Unsuccessful Baptisms

Baptizatus autem Jesus, confestim ascendit de aqua... Puto autem factum Christi ad mysterium pertinere omnium qui post modum fuerant baptizandi: ideo dixit, Confestim, et non dixit, Egressus est, sed Ascendit; quia omnes, qui digne secundum omnia membra justitiae formati e consummati baptizantur in Christo, confestim de aqua ascendunt: id est, proficiunt ad virtutes, et ad dignatem elevantur caelestem. Qui enim ingressi fuerant in aqua carnales et filii Adam peccatoris, confestim de aqua ascendunt spirituales filii Dei facti. Et ne mihi dicas, quia multi quales fuerant ante baptismum, tales permanent post baptismum, etiam qui non in poenitentia baptizantur, nec toto corde poenitent se illose fuisse quod fuerant, sed retento peccandi proposito baptizantur, ideo non proficiunt confestim de aqua. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia IV Source: Migne PG 56.658

And Jesus being baptized, instantly rose up out of the water... 1 I think this deed of Christ pertains to the mystery of everyone after they have been baptised, therefore it says, 'instantly,' and not, 'came out,' but 'rose up,' because everyone who has been baptized in Christ worthily, with every member formed and perfected in righteousness, instantly rises up out of the water, that is, they advance to the virtues, and they are lifted up to a state of heavenly dignity. For those who have gone into the waters as carnal men and sons of Adam the sinner, instantly rise up from the waters as spiritual sons of God. And lest anyone say to me that after baptism many are just like they were before baptism, this is the case with those who were baptised in impenitence, who were not penitent in their hearts as they should have been, but they were baptised while retaining some attachment to sin, therefore it did not profit them to instantly rise up out of the water. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 4 1 Mt 3.16

Healing And Hell

Ἐλέησόν με, Κύριε, ὅτι ἀσθενής είμι. Ἁρμόττουσα τοῖς ἡμαρτηκόσιν ἡ τοιαύτη φωνή. Ασθενείας γὰρ ἡγουμένης , ἡ ἁμαρτία νικά. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἀσθενήσει τὸ ἐν ἡμῖν λογικὸν, οὐ στασιάσει τὰ πάθη· ἐῤῥωμένου γὰρ τοῦ ἡνιόχου, καὶ μετ᾿ ἐπιστήμης τοὺς ἵππους καὶ στρέφοντος καὶ ἐθύνοντος, οὐκ ἔχει τὰ σκιρτήματα χώραν. Ἲασαί με, Κύριε, ὅτι έταράχθη τὰ ὀστᾶ μου· καὶ ἡ ψυχή μου ἐταράχθη σφόδρα. Ὀστα ἐνταῦθα τοὺς λογισμοὺς ὀνομάζει· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὰ ὀστᾶ στεγανωτέραν ἔχει τὴν φύσιν, καὶ αὐτὰ φέρει τὸ σῶμα, τροπικῶς τοὺς λογισμούς, δι ' ὧν τὸ ζῶον ἰθύνεται, ὀστᾶ προσηγόρευσεν. Ἠ τούτων, φησί, ταραχὴ ἐκλόνησέ με, καὶ διέσεισε. Διόπερ τῆς σης φιλανθρωπίας ἀπολαῦσαι παρακαλώ, ἵνα διὰ ταύτης τὴν ἴασιν δέξωμαι. Καὶ σὺ Κύριε ἕως πότε; Επίστρεψον Κύριε, ῥῦσαι τὴν ψυχήν μου, σωσόν με ἕνεκεν τοῦ ἑλέους σου. Τὸ, ἕως πότε , οὐχ ὡς ἐγκαλῶν λέγει , ἀλλ' ὡς ἐν ὀδύναις ὢν, ἐπιταχῦναι παρακαλεῖ τὴν βοήθειαν. Αρμοδίως δὲ προσέθηκε τὸ, Ενεκεν τοῦ ἐλέους σου. ἡ Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐμαυτῷ, φησί, θαῤῥῶς οὐδὲ τῇ ἐμαυτοῦ δικαιοσύνῃ τὴν σὴν ἐπιγράφω βοήθειαν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν σὸν ἔλεον ταύτης ἱκετεύω τυχεῖν. Τὸ δὲ, ἐπίστρεψον, Κύριε, ὁ ἀντὶ τοῦ, πρόσχες μοι, καὶ μὴ ἀποστρέψῃς τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀπ' ἐμοῦ· ἐκ μεταφορᾶς τῶν ὀργιζομένων, καὶ ἀποστρεφομένων, καὶ τοὺς ἑπταικότας οὐκ ἐθελόντων ὁρᾷν. Οτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ ὁ μνημονεύων σου· ἐν δὲ τῷ ᾅδῃ τίς ἐξομολογήσεταί σοι; Διὰ τοῦτο τῆς θεραπείας ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἀπολαῦσαι παρακαλῶ, ἐπειδὴ οἶδα, ὅτι τοῖς τόνος τὸν βίον ἐξιοῦσι μετὰ τραυμάτων, οὐδεμία λαπὸν θεραπεία δοθήσεται, οὐκέτι χώραν τῆς μετανοίας ἐχούσης. Καὶ κάλλιστα τῷ θείῳ Δαβιδ τοῦτο πεφιλοσόφηται· οὐ γὰρ ἐν θανάτῳ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ζωῇ ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ μεμνημένος. Οὕτως οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ᾅδῃ τοῖς ἀπελθοῦσιν ἐξομολόγησις καὶ διόρθωσις. Συνέκλεισε γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ἐνταῦθα μὲν βίον καὶ πρᾶξιν, ἐκεῖ δὲ τὴν τῶν πεπραγμένων ἐξέτασιν· καίγε ἴδιον τοῦτο τῆς ὀγδόης, τὸ μηκέτι καιρὸν εἰς παρασκευὴν ἀγαθῶν, ἢ κακῶν διδόναι τοῖς ἐν αὐτῇ γινομένοις. Ἀλλ ' ὧν ἂν τις ἑαυτῷ καταβάληται διὰ τῶν ἔργων τὰ σπέρματα, τούτων ἀντιπαρέχειν τὰ δράγματα· οὗ χάριν εναταῦθα ἐνεργεῖν νομοθετεῖ τὴν μετάνοιαν, ὡς ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ τῆς τοιαύτης σπουδῆς ἀπρακτούσης. Φησὶ γάρ Ἐπειδὴ μακρός μοι γέγονεν ὁ τῆς μετανοίας καιρός , δέδοικα μὴ φθάσῃ τὸν παρὰ σοῦ ἔλεον ὁ θάνατος, ἐν ᾧ τὰ τῆς ἐξομολογήσεως οὐκ ἔστι· τούτου χάριν ἐπιταχῦναι τὸν ἔλεον αἰτῶ · εἶτα παιδεύει τὸν ἀκροατὴν, ὅτι μετὰ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας δεῖ καὶ τὰ ἡμέτερα ἕπεσθαι. Ἄν τε γὰρ τὴν ἀσθένειαν προβαλώμεθα, ἄν τε τὴν ταραχήν, ἄν τε τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ἀγαθότητα , τὰ δὲ παρ ' ἡμῶν μὴ προστεθή, οὐδὲν ὄφελος ἡμῖν Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός Ϛ’ Source: Migne PG 80.904a-905a

How mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak. 1 Such a cry befits sinners. For with weakness present, sin conquers. If the reason in us was not weak, we would not be cast down by trials. If the charioteer were strong, and the horses were wisely ruled over and controlled, they would have no space to run wild. 2 Heal me, Lord, for my bones are troubled, and my soul is excessively distressed. Here bones mean thoughts. Because bones have a nature that is more dense and they bear up the body, metaphorically he calls thoughts bones, by which an animal is directed. Therefore he says he says that their troubling strikes and shakes him. Whence I pray that I enjoy your benevolence so that I may recover. And you, Lord, how long? Turn, O Lord, seize my soul, save me on account of your mercy. How does not say 'how long' as one who complains, but as one who begs in sorrow that the deed may be done quickly. Rightly then he sets down, 'On account of your mercy,' For I am not confident in myself, nor do I attribute your aid to my righteousness, but it is because of your mercy that I pray to be made well. 'Turn, O Lord,' means attend to me and do not turn your face from me, which image he takes up from those who are incensed and turning away from those who err will not look at them. For in death there is no memory of you. In hell who shall confess you? Because of this I pray in the present cure I enjoy, since I know of those who have passed on from this life with wounds and that there is no medicine that follows, when there is no longer any place of penance. And this is the philosophy of the blessed David, for he who is mindful of God lives and is not dead. So for those who go down into hell there is no confession, nor any correction. For here God ends life and deeds, and then there is an examination of what is done, and this is the true eighth day when there is no more time given to men in their existence, but the seeds of his works which he has cast down shall be bound together in sheaves. Hence he commands here that one should make penance, since in hell all zeal will be stilled. He says, 'While it was still day I made penance, fearing lest death would come before mercy, in which death there is no confession, and I sought to make mercy hasten.' Finally he teaches the hearer that we should seek the benevolence of God, for whether we incline to weakness or are troubled, there is the kindness of God, but even so we should still not set aside the things we can do. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 6 1 Ps 6.3 2 cf Plato Phaedrus 246a-b

Present And Future

VERANUS: Quare dicit: Tempus flendi et tempus ridendi, tempus plangendi et tempus saltandi? Quis enim ignorat, quia alio tempore flemus, alio autem ridemus? aut quid profuit dicere, tempus saltandi? Nunquid forsitan ostendere voluit, quia oportet nos saltationum exercere ludicra? SALONIUS. Absit; nihil oportet nos scurriliter agere: sed tempus flendi est in vita praesenti; tempus ridendi in vita futura. Qui ergo in praesenti vita, quotidianis fletibus et lacrymis se purgare studuerit, in vita futura ridebit, id est gaudebit. Similiter tempus plangendi est vita praesens; tempus saltandi est vita beata. In motu namque saltationis, homo suae mentis gaudium et animi demonstrat affectum. Qui ergo in hac vita plangendo studet abolere peccata, in futura vita saltabit, id est laetabitur et exsultabit in gloria aeternae felicitatis. Salonius Viennensis, Expositio Mystica in Ecclesiasten Source: Migne PL 53.999c-d

Veranus: Why is it said, 'A time of weeping and a time of laughter, a time of groaning and a time of leaping about?'  1 Who does not know there is one time in which we weep and another in which we laugh? Or what does it profit to say, 'A time of leaping about?' Does he perhaps wish to show that we should exercise ourselves in jumping around in games? Salonius: Let it not be. There is no need for us to act foolishly. The time of weeping is this present life, the time of laughter is the future life. Therefore he who in the present life is intent on weeping every day and cleansing himself with tears, he shall laugh in the future life, that is, he shall rejoice. 2 Likewise the time of groaning is the present life and the time of leaping is the blessed life, because this motion of leaping is the joy of the mind of a man and represents the emotion of the soul. Thus he who in this life is intent on groaning in order to be rid of sin shall leap about in the future life, that is, he shall rejoice and exult in the glory of eternal happiness. Salonius of Geneva, A Spiritual Exposition of Ecclesiastes 1 Eccl 3.4 2 Lk 6.21

Healing Sins

Porro autem, monens et ostendens unde mundi et purgati esse possimus, addidit eleemosynas esse faciendas. Misericors docet et monet misericordiam fieri; et quia servare quaerit quos magno pretio redemit, post Baptismi gratiam sordidatos docet denuo posse purgari. Agnoscamus itaque, fratres charissimi, divinae indulgentiae munus salubre, et emundandis purgandisque peccatis nostris, qui sine aliquo conscientiae vulnere esse non possumus, medelis spiritalibus vulnera nostra curemus. Nec quisquam sic sibi de puro atque immaculato pectore blandiatur, ut, innocentia sua fretus, medicinam non putet adhibendam esse vulneribus, cum scriptum sit: Quis gloriabitur castum se habere cor, aut quis gloriabitur mundum se esse a peccatis? et iterum in Epistola sua Joannes ponat et dicat: Si dixerimus quia peccatum non habemus, nos ipsos decipimus, et veritas in nobis non est. Si autem nemo esse sine peccato potest, et quisquis inculpatum se esse dixerit, aut superbus aut stultus est, quam necessaria, quam benigna est divina clementia, quae, cum sciat non deesse sanatis quaedam postmodum vulnera, dedit curandis denuo sanandisque vulneribus remedia salutaria. Sanctus Cyprianus, De Opere et Eleemosynis Source: Migne PL 4.604a-c

Then admonishing and showing how we should be clean and purged, He added that alms should be given. He who pities teaches and warns us that we should have pity, and because He seeks to save those whom at a great cost He has redeemed, He teaches that after the grace of baptism those who have become soiled may once more be cleansed. Let us then acknowledge, beloved brethren, the wholesome gift of Divine mercy. Let us who cannot be without some wound of conscience heal our wounds by spiritual remedies for the cleansing and purging of our sins. Let no one flatter himself with the notion of a pure and immaculate heart so that depending on his own innocence he thinks that there is no need to apply the medicine to his wounds, when it is written, 'Who shall boast that he has a clean heart, or who shall boast that he is pure from sins?' 1 And again in his letter John sets it down and says, 'If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.' 2 But if no one can be without sin and whoever will say that he is without fault is either proud or foolish, how needful, how kind is the Divine mercy, which knowing that there are still some wounds on those who have been healed, has given wholesome remedies for the curing and healing of their wounds anew. Saint Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise On Works And Alms. 1 Prov 20.9 2 Jn 1.8

Sin And Healing

Cor mundum crea in me, Deus, et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis Hinc pauca quae Dominus dederit, in eius gratia ministrabimus vobis. Psalmus est paenitentis, amissam spem recuperare cupientis, lapsu suo iacentis, et Domini manu surgere deprecantis, tamquam qui fuerit idoneus ad se vulnerandum, et non sit ad sanandum. Sicut enim ipsam carnem nostram percutere et vulnerare cum volumus possumus, ut autem sanetur medicum quaerimus, nec ita nostra potestate sanamur ut nostra potestate sauciamur, ita et ad peccandum anima sibi ipsa sufficit, ad sanandum autem quod peccando laeserit Dei medicinalem dexteram implorat. Unde dicit in alio Psalmo: Ego dixi, Domine, miserere mei. Sana animam meam quoniam peccavi tibi. Ad hoc ait: Ego dixi, Domine, ut constitueret ante oculos voluntatem arbitriumque peccandi ex anima oriri sibique sufficere ut perdat se, Dei autem esse quaerere quod perierat et salvum facere quod se vulneraverat. Venit enim Filius hominis quaerere et salvum facere quod perierat. Huic precem fundentes dicimus: Cor mundum crea in me, Deus, et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis. Dicat anima quae peccavit, ne plus pereat desperando quae se perdidit delinquendo. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Sermo XX, De eo quod scriptum est in Psalmo L, Cor Mundum Crea In Me, Deus Source: Migne PL 38.144-5

Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew an upright spirit within me. 1 What few things the Lord shall give me, by His grace we shall serve you. This is a Psalm of penitence, of someone trying to recover lost hope, laying where he has fallen, entreating that the hand of the Lord might raise him up, like someone who was capable of injuring himself but not of healing himself. As we can strike and wound our own flesh when we wish but we seek a physician for healing since we who can harm ourselves are not able to heal ourselves, so the soul is capable of sinning but for healing when it has been wounded by sin it must implore the medicine of God. Hence it says in another Psalm, 'I said, O Lord, be merciful to me. Heal my soul because I have sinned against you.' 2 He says, 'I said, O Lord,' to set before our eyes that the will and the decision to sin arises from our own souls and we are able to ruin ourselves, but it is for God to seek what has been ruined and to heal what has wounded itself, for the Son of Man came to seek what was lost. 3 To Him we pour out the prayer, saying, 'Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew an upright spirit within me.' Let the soul which has sinned say this, lest it perish again in despair, having ruined itself by wickedness. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 20, On what is written in the Fiftieth Psalm, 'Create a clean heart in me, O God.' 1 Ps 50.12 2 Ps 41.4 3 Lk 19.10

Foreseeing Sins And Penance

Quaeris enim, Quare dixerit Dominus, nimirum praescius futurorum, Elegi David secundum cor meum; cum talia tantaque ipse homo commiserit. Quod quidem, si de ipso David, qui reprobato Saüle et exstincto fuit rex Israël, dictum intelligamus; magis quia Deus praescius futurorum est, praevidit in eo tantam pietatem tamque veracem poenitentiam, ut esset in eorum numero de quibus ipse dicit: Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates, et quorum tecta sunt peccata. Beatus vir, cui non imputavit Dominus peccatum. Cum ergo praesciret eum Deus peccaturum, et peccata sua pia humilitate et sincera poenitentia deleturum, cur non diceret, Inveni David secundum cor meum; cui non erat imputaturus peccatum tam multa bona facienti, et cum tanta pietate viventi, et ipsa pietate pro peccatis suis sacrificium contriti spiritus offerenti? Propter haec omnia verissime dictum est, Inveni David secundum cor meum. Quia licet secundum cor Dei non esset, quod ille peccavit; tamen secundum cor Dei fuit, quod pro peccatis suis congrua poenitentia satisfecit. Hoc solum ergo in illo secundum cor Dei non fuit, quod illi Deus non imputavit. Hoc itaque ablato, id est non imputato, quid remansit, nisi unde verissime diceretur, Inveni David secundum cor meum? Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Ad Dulcitium De Octo Quaestionibus Source: Migne PL 40.168

You ask why the Lord, who certainly can foresee the future, said, 'I have chosen David, a man according to my heart,' 1 when he would go on to commit such enormities. Because we should understand that which was said of David, who with Saul rejected and dead was king of Israel, was said more because the Lord who foresees the future foresaw in him such great piety and such true penitence that he was of the number of those of whom it is said, 'Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin.' 2 Therefore when the Lord foresaw him sinning and then his sins being wiped away with pious humility and sincere penitence, why should He not have said, 'I have chosen David, a man according to my heart,' that man to whom sin shall not be imputed so much as many good works, and who living with such great piety, with that same piety offered the sacrifice of a contrite spirit for his sins? 3 On account of this everything was spoken most truly with, 'I have chosen David, a man according to my heart.' He was according to the heart of the Lord not because he sinned, but he was according to the heart of God in that he offered the satisfaction of appropriate penance for his sins. Sin alone, therefore, was not in him according to the heart of God, and thus God did not impute it to him. Thus with sin washed away, that is, not to be imputed, what remained unless what was said most truly, 'I have chosen David, a man according to my heart?' Saint Augustine of Hippo, Concerning Eight Questions, To Dulcitius 1 1 Kings 13.14, Acts 13.22 2 Ps 31.1-2 3 Ps 50.19

Wounds And Healing

Qui sanat contritos corde, qui alligat contritiones eorum. Mirabile genus curationis edicitur, ut si restaurari volumus, nosmetipsos vivacissime conteramus. Sed ista contritio ad redintegrationem pertinet, ad soliditatem deducit; et quod supra omne bonum est, illum medicum introducit, qui aeternam tribuit sospitatem. Sequitur, qui alligat contritiones eorum. Metaphora ab artificibus medendi, qui ossa fracta atque contrita quando solidare cupiunt, linteorum illigatione constringunt, ut in soliditatem pristinam ad locum suum redeuntia membra coalescant. Sic coelestis medicus poenitentium corda gravi afflictione contrita, quasi quadam fascia pietatis suae superducta constringit atque consolidat, et ad firmissimam spem sanitatis adducit, sicut et in quinquagesimo psalmo dictum est: Cor contritum et humiliatum Deus non spernit. Nam et ille publicanus qui pectus suum assidua percussione tundebat, ipsam in se contritionem probatus est effecisse, quam reo pectori non desinebat ingerere. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus CXLII Source: Migne PL 70.1034d-1035a

He who heals the contrite of heart, who binds up their wounds. 1 He speaks of a wondrous type of healing, which will have us bruise ourselves if we wish to be healed. But this bruising is for our renewal, and leads to perfection, and because it is above every good, he introduces that physician who gives eternal preservation. It follows, 'He who binds up their wounds.' The metaphor is derived for the arts of healing, from those who when they desire to restore broken and damaged bones bind them with linen bandages so that they may heal members back to their state of original firmness. So with the strips of piety does the heavenly physician bind up and strengthen the heart gravely afflicted with the bruises of penance, even to bring it to the firm hope of healing, as it is has been said in the fiftieth Psalm, 'God does not spurn the contrite and humble heart.' 2 For even that tax collector who struck his own chest with sharp blows, did it to himself to prove himself contrite, rather than by neglect to be burdened with a guilty heart. 3 Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 146 1 Ps 146.3 2 Ps 50.19 3 Lk 18.13

Darkness And Fairness

Nigra sum, sed formosa, filiae Jerusalem, sicut tabernacula Cedar, sicut pelles Salomonis. Merito nigredinem non contemnit in pellibus, decorem qui sub pellibus est advertens. Et ideo quidam illam contempserunt, quia hunc minime cognoverunt: si enim cognovissent, nunquam Dominum gloriae crucifixissent. Non cognovit Herodes, et idcirco despexit; non cognovit Synagoga, quae nigredinem illi passionis et infirmitatis improperans, Alios, ait, salvos fecit, seipsum non potest salvum facere. Christus rex Israel descendat nunc de cruce, et credimus ei. Sed cognovit latro de cruce, licet in cruce, qui et innocentiae puritatem confessus est. Hic autem, inquiens, quid mali fecit? et gloriam regiae maiestatis simul est protestatus: Memento mei, dicens, dum veneris in regnum tuum. Cognovit centurio, qui Filium Dei clamat; cognoscit Ecclesia, quae et aemulatur nigredinem, ut decorem participet. Non confunditur nigra videri, nigra dici, ut dilecto dicat: Opprobria exprobrantium tibi ceciderunt super me. At sane nigra instar pellium Salomonis, foris scilicet, et non intus: neque enim intus nigredinem meus Salomon habet. Denique non ait: Nigra sum sicut Salomon; sed, sicut pelles Salomonis: quod in superficie tantum sit veri nigredo pacifici. Peccati nigredo intus est; et prius interiora culpa commaculat, quam ad oculos prodeat. Denique de corde exeunt cogitationes malae, furta, homicidia, adulteria, blasphemiae: et haec sunt quae coinquinant hominem; sed absit ut Salomonem! Minime prorsus apud verum pacificum istiusmodi inquinamenta reperies. Oportet namque esse sine peccato eum qui tollit peccata mundi, quo ad reconciliandos peccatores inventus idoneus, iure sibi nomen vindicet Salomonis. Sed est nigredo affligentis poenitentiae, cum assumitur lamentatio pro delictis. Hanc fortassis non abhorreat in me Salomon, si sponte tamen induam mihi pro peccatis meis; quia cor contritum et humiliatum Deus non despiciet. Est et afficientis compassionis, si afflicto condoleas; et fraternum te decoloret incommodum. Nec hanc profecto reiiciendam putat noster pacificus, quippe quam et sibi ipse pro nobis dignanter induit, qui peccata nostra tulit in corpore suo super lignum. Est et persecutionis: quae etiam pro summo ornamento habetur, si quidem suscipiatur pro iustitia et veritate. Unde est illud: Ibant gaudentes discipuli a conspectu concilii, quoniam digni habiti sunt pro nomine Iesu contumeliam pati; denique: Beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter iustitiam. Hac potissimum gloriari Ecclesiam arbitror, hanc libentius imitari de pellibus sponsi. Denique et habet in promissione: Si me persecuti sunt, et vos persequentur. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, In Cantica Canticorum, Sermo XXIX, De Nigredine et Formositute Sponsi Source: Migne PL 183.926d-927d

I am dark, but fair, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. 1 Rightly she did not scorn the darkness of the curtains, looking to the beauty beneath them. And therefore some were scornful because they did not know the beauty at all. 'For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.' 2 Herod did not know and therefore he despised Him. The Synagogue did not know, which mocked the darkness of the Passion and weakness, saying, 'He saved others, He cannot save himself. Let Christ the king of Israel come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him.' But the thief on the cross knew Him and on the cross he proclaimed the spotlessness of His innocence, saying 'What evil has this man done?' And at the same time he bore witness to His kingly majesty, saying 'Remember me when you come into your kingdom.' The centurion knew Him, calling Him the Son of God. 3 The Church knows Him and strives to imitate His darkness that she may participate in His beauty. She is not ashamed to appear dark, to be called dark, for she can then say to her beloved, 'The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.' 4 But let the darkness be as Solomon's curtains, that is, on the outside and not within, for my Solomon has no darkness within. Here she does not say, 'I am dark like Solomon,' but 'like the curtains of Solomon,' for the darkness of the true Peaceful One is only on the outside. The darkness of sin is within. Sin stains the interior rather than showing itself to the eyes. 'Out of the heart come evil thoughts, theft, murder, adultery, fornication, blasphemy, and these are what defile a man.' 5 But far be it from Solomon! You will not find these sorts of defilements in the true Peaceful One. For He must be without sin who takes away the sins of the world. 6 So that he is found fit to reconcile sinners he must duly vindicate for himself the name of Solomon. But there is a darkness of the endurance of penance, when sorrow is taken up for sins. Solomon will not be repulsed if I willingly adopt it because of my sins, since 'God will not scorn a contrite and humble heart.' 7 And there is a darkness of compassion, when you comfort a brother in his affliction and his trouble makes you gloomy. Nor does our Peaceful One think of rejecting this, since He Himself graciously underwent it for us, 'He who bore our sins in his body on the tree.' 8 And there is a darkness of persecution, which is a the greatest adornment when endured for righteousness and truth. Thus it is said, 'The Apostles went out from the council rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer abuse for the name of Jesus.' And 'Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness.' 9 I think that the Church glories especially in freely imitating this darkness of the curtains of her Bridegroom. She has the promise, 'If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.' 10 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Commentary On The Song of Songs, from Sermon 29, On The Darkness And Fairness of the Bridegroom 1 Song 1.5 2 1 Cor. 2.8 3 Mt 27.42, Lk 23.41-42, Mt 27.54 4 Ps 68.10 5 Mt 15.19-20 6 Jn 1.29 7 Ps 50.19 8 1 Pet 2.24 9 Acts 5.41, Mt 5.10 10 Jn 15.20

Blessing And Righteousness

Μακάριοι οἱ φυλάσσοντες κρίσιν, καὶ ποιοῦντες δικαιοσύνην ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ. Τῇ αἰσθήσει τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ τῆς ἀρετῆς μακαρισμὸς ὑπεισέρχεται. Ο γὰρ τὰς ὑπὲρ ταύτης εὐθύνας ἐκτίνων μακαρίζει τοὺς ταύτης ἀπηλλαγμένους, καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ τὸν οἰκεῖον βίον διακοσμοῦντας. Μακαρίζει δὲ οὐ τὸν ἅπαξ τῇ δικαιοσύνη χρησάμενον, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἀεὶ καὶ διηνεκῶς τοῖς ταύτης ἑπόμενον ίχνεσι. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΡΕ’ Source: Migne PG 80.1723a

Blessed are those who keep a watch on judgement, and act righteously all the time. 1 It is by an awareness of sin that one enters into the blessing of virtue. For He who disciplines to correct blesses those who are far from such a thing and who have adorned their lives with righteousness. But He does not bless a man who once did some righteous deed, but he who always and continually cleaves to the path of virtue. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 105 1 Ps 105.3

A Great Commotion

Bene autem subditur: Et audivi post me vocem commotionis magnae. Propheta, sancto Spiritu repletus, quasi transacta narrat, quae facienda praevidet, quia et in praedestinatione jam facta sunt, quae adhuc in opere sequuntur. Unde et in translatione veteri per Isaiam dicitur: Qui fecit quae futura sunt. Quid est ergo quod post se propheta vocem audivit commotionis magnae, nisi quod post sermonem praedicationis, qui fit ad corda peccantium, lamenta poenitentium sequuntur? Perversi etenim quique dum prava agunt, et a justis recta non audiunt, nesciunt quam sint gravia quae committunt, atque ex ipsa sua ignorantia, in suo stupore securi sunt; et jacentes in culpis, quasi molliter quiescunt, sicut de quodam peccatore et securo populo dicitur: Requievit in faecibus suis, quia securus jacuit in peccatis. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia X Source: Migne PL 76.896c-897a

Well it is added, 'And I heard the sound of a great commotion behind me. 1 The prophet, filled with the Holy Spirit, speaks of things having happened which he foresees shall be, because in predestination things are already done that are to follow from the deed. Whence in an old translation of Isaiah it is said: 'He who made the things that will be.' 2 What, then, is the sound of a great commotion that the prophet hears behind himself, unless what happens after the act of preaching, which strikes the hearts of sinners so that the lamentations of penance follow? They who do not hear the right things of the righteous while they do vile things are perverse, and they do not know how grave are the things that they do, and because of their own ignorance they are confident in their foolishness and they exult in faults, as if they were happily at peace. So it was said of a certain sinner and a people who felt secure, 'He rested in his own filth,' 3 because as one confident he exulted in his sins. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 10 1 Ezek 3.12 2 Isaiah 45.11 translation from the Septuagint 3 Jerem 48.11

Knowledge, Sorrow, And Improvement

Scientia autem ista in primo gradu operatur poenitudinem et dolorem, ut risum in luctum, cantum in planctum, gaudium in moerorem convertat, et incipiant tibi displicere quae vehementer ante placuerant; et illa specialiter horreas quae specialiter appetebas. Sic enim scriptum est, Quia qui addit scientiam, addit et dolorem, ut veracis et sanctae scientiae sit dolor subsequens argumentum. In secundo vero gradu operatur correctionem, ut jam non exhibeas membra tua arma iniquitatis peccato, sed coerceas gulam, jugules luxuriam, superbiam deprimas, et facias servire corpus sanctitati, quod iniquitati ante servierat. Poenitudo enim sine correctione non proderit, sicut Sapiens ait: Unus aedificans, et unus destruens quid prodest eis nisi labor? Unus orans, et unus maledicens; cujus vocem exaudiet Deus? Qui enim baptizatur a mortuo, et iterum tangit eum, nihil proficit lavatio ejus, sed, juxta Salvatoris sententiam, verendum est ne ei aliquid deterius contingat. Sed quia haec diutius haberi non possunt, nisi circa se multa circumspectione mens indefessa vigilet et attendat; in tertio gradu operatur sollicitudinem, ut jam sollicitus incipiat ambulare cum Deo suo, et ex omni parte scrutetur, ne vel in levissima re tremendae illius majestatis offendat aspectus. In poenitudine accenditur, in correctione ardet, in sollicitudine lucet, ut interius et exterius renovetur. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In Vigilia Nativitatis Domini, Sermo II Source: Migne PL 183.96b-d

But for its first step such knowledge brings forth penance and sorrow, so that laughter becomes sorrow, singing becomes groaning, and joy is turned into grief, and what very much pleased you previously begins to displease you, and that which was especially desired becomes particularly horrid. For so it is written, 'He who adds to knowledge, adds to sorrow,' 1 and thus the consequent sorrow is the proof of true and holy knowledge. Now in the second step correction is performed, so that you no longer exhibit your members as arms of iniquity for sin, but you grasp the throat, throttling luxury and choking off pride, in order to make your body a servant of sanctity, that which before had served wickedness. For penance without correction does not profit, as Wisdom says, 'One man builds up, another casts down, and what is the gain for them but the toil of it? One prays and another curses, whose voice does the Lord hear? For he who is washed after touching a corpse, and again he touches it, his washing profits not at all.' 2 And according to understanding of the Lord, one must fear lest something worse befall. 3 But because men shall not able to hold to these things for a long time unless the mind shall be unwearyingly circumspect in watchfulness and attention, so the third step is the work of concern, in which with great care a man begins to walk with His God, for every part must be scrutinised, unless even something which is most light offend the sight of His wondrous majesty. In penance a man is kindled, in correction he catches flame, in concern he gives light, so that the interior and exterior is renewed. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons For The Year, On the Vigil of the Nativity of the Lord, from Sermon 2 1 Eccl 1.18 2 Sirach 34. 23-25 3 Jn 5.14

Mourning And Comfort

Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται. Οἱ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασι πενθοῦντες, οὐχὶ ἐπὶ τινι τῶν βιωτικῶν· πενθοῦντες δὲ εἴπε, τουτέστιν, ἀεὶ καὶ οὐχ ἅπαξ· καὶ οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἁμαρτημάτων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν τοῦ πλησίον. Παρακληθήσονται δὲ καὶ ἐνταῦθα· ὁ γὰρ πενθῶν δι' ἁμαρτίαν, χαίρει πνευματικῶς· καὶ ἐκεῖ δὲ πολλῳ μᾶλλον. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ E' Source: Migne PG 123.188b

Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 1 They who mourn sins, not temporal things. And He speaks of mourning here as something that is being done continually and not just once, and that this is not only for our own sins but even for the sins of our neighbours. And 'they shall be comforted' even here, for he who mourns on account of sin, he rejoices spiritually, and there shall much more. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.5

Sowing And Reaping

Hoc est in lacrymis seminare et gaudia metere, praecedentes vitae actus proprio confutare judicio, et lascivientem animam justo subdidisse supplico. Citio enim tristitia laetitiam consequitur, si districtionem judicis satisfactione praevenias, et admissi criminis culpas assidua castigatione confundas. Sed ne minorem ex hoc gratiam comparasse puteris, afflictis et moerore confectis subvenias, et causam tuam apud pauperes larga erogatione componas. Nam ita dicit Dominus: Beati misericordes, quoniam ipsis miserebitur Deus. Beati qui lugent, quoniam ipsi consolabuntur. Sanctus Valerianus Cemeliensis, Homilia XV, De Bono Martyrii Source: Migne PL 52.739c-d

This is to sow in tears and reap in joy, 1 to condemn the past deeds of one's life by one's own judgement and to subject a lustful soul to righteous punishment. Joy will swiftly follow sorrow if by satisfaction you anticipate the severity of the judge, and by steady chastisement you condemn the faults of the crimes you have committed. But lest you be thought to have stored up only a little grace by this, give help to those who are afflicted and who grieve, and improve your case by bountiful giving to the poor. For the Lord says, 'Blessed are the merciful, for God shall have mercy. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.' 2 Saint Valerian of Cimelium, from Homily 15, On The Good Of Martyrdom 1 Ps 125.5 2 Mt 5.7,5

Cain's Grief

ΕΡΩΤ ΚΜΑ’ Εἰ ἐλυπήθη Κάϊν μὴ δεχθέντων τῶν παρ' αὐτοῦ προσενεχθέντων, δῆλον ὅτι μετεμελήθη· τῶν γὰρ μεταμελουμένων ἡ λύπη. Ἠνίασεν αὐτὸν οὐχ ἡ αὐτοῦ πλημμέλεια, ἀλλ' ἡ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ εὐπραξία. Τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ὁ Ἀκύλας ᾐνίξατο· ἔφη δὲ οὕτως, Καὶ ὀργίλον τῷ Κάϊν σφόδρα, καὶ ἔπεσε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ. Καὶ εἶπε Κύριος πρὸς Κάϊν, Εἰς τί τὸ ὀργίλον σοι. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Εἰς Τὴν Γένεσιν Source: Migne PG 80.143b

Question 41 If Cain grieved because his offerings were not accepted, therefore he was penitent, for penitence is sorrowful. He was not anguished because of his own fault, but because of the good of his brother. To this Aquila alludes when he translates it in this way: 'And Cain was gravely angered, and he cast down his face. And the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry?' 1 Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Questions On Genesis 1 Gen 4.5-6

Baptism And Penitence

Tunc exibat ad eum Hierosolyma et omnis Judaea et omnis regio circa Jordanem, et baptizabantur confitentes peccata sua. Ubi notandum quod ideo confitentur peccata sua, ut digni efficiantur baptismi gratia, secundum quod audierant, poenitantiam agite, appropinquavit enim regnum coelorum. Unde apparet, nullum recte poenitere posse, nisi primum confitaetur peccata sua, et prioris vitae errores damnaverit, ita efficiatur idoneus percipiendae gratiae, et tum demum divinis mysteriorum sacramentis in Christi corpore consecretur. Praeterea ex eo quod Apostolus ait: Quia sine poenitentia dona et vocatio, non incongrue legentibus quaestio generatur. Quia nimirum si sine poenitentia sunt dona mysterii, et nobis in baptismo condonatur remissio peccatorum, videtur non recte ad eum currentibus poenitentia velut indigna praedicari. Sed poenitentiae modus triplex accipitur, dum aliud sit errores vitiorum, et universa diaboli opera per poenitentia abrenuntiando ante ablutionem fontis penitus condemnaeri, aliud post fontem remissionis labi in peccatum, et per poenitentiam iterum renovari. Nec non et illud quod quotidie sancti a talibus purgantur delictis, sine quibus nostra humana mortalitas, aut vix, aut certe minime potest vivere. Quorum prior poenitentiae modus ideo praedicatur, ut homo qui Deum auctorem suum, declinando post ea quae vana sunt, contempserat, et per reatum irae filius factus erat, tandem in semetipsum rediens, pristinos vitae errores rudimento fidei funditus condemnaret. Non enim erat fas duobus dominis servire, imo proprio veniente rectum erat, ut quod infauste tenuerat primum, relinqueret, et puniret in se quidquid in eo male vivebat, quatenus per hoc divinae gratiae capax esset. Verumtamen haec ut ageret non sua libertas, eo quod esset servituti addictus, sed vocantis gratia fuit; quae gratia non solum reis peccata gratis indulsit, sed etiam facultatem agendi quae monebat, dedit; ac deinde meritum, quo perciperet quisque quae promissa sunt, plenius condonavit. Et ideo jure clamat Apostolus: Quod sine poenitentia sunt dona et vocatio, praesertim quod cuncta gratis donantur, in tantum ut etiam ipsa poenitentia Dei donum recte dicatur. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber II Caput III Source: Migne PL 120.154d-155c

Then they came out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and from every region around the Jordan, and they were baptized confessing their sins...' 1 Where one should note that it is by confessing their sins that they are made worthy of the grace of baptism, according to what they heard, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Whence it appears that no one is able to be truly penitent, unless he first confesses his sins and deplores the errors of his earlier life, so that he is made capable of receiving effective grace and by the Divine sacraments of the mysteries consecrated into the body of Christ. And yet the Apostle says: 'Without penitence there are gifts and calling.' 2 which does not without reason question what we have read. Because, indeed, if there are gifts of the mysteries without penitence and in baptism we receive forgiveness for sins, it does not seem right that John said to those who made haste to penitence that they were unworthy. 3 But penitence is understood in three ways: some by penitence renounce and condemn the errors of vices and the works of the devil before the washing at the font; others do so after baptism, so that they receive forgiveness for falling into sin, and again are renewed by penance. Nor is there a day that the holy do not need to be purged from fault, without which we can scarcely, or certainly to a very little extent, live in our human mortality. Of the first way of penitence, therefore, it is declared that the man who has scorned God his creator, later falling into things which are vain, by guilt has been made a son of anger 4 until returning to himself and established on the foundation of faith he deplores the old errors of life. For the service of two masters was not right, but rather with the coming of his true master who had ruled, he should relinquish what he had wretchedly held to and punish in himself whatever he lived with in wickedness, as much as he was able to according to the Divine grace in him. Yet such things were not done by man's own freedom since he was bound in a state of servitude, but by the grace of calling, which grace not only freely dismissed the sins of the guilty, but even admonished as to what should be done. And then there is merit, by which a man seizing on the things promised, makes a full offering. And therefore rightly the Apostle cries out: 'Without penitence there are gifts and calling.' Certainly because everything is given by grace, so that even penitence before God is rightly named a gift. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 2 Chapter 3 1 Mt 3.5-6 2 Rom 9.29 3 Mt 3.7 4 Ephes 2.3

The Two Gates Of Death

Qui cupiditate peccant sumant David exemplum, ut resurgent. Qui timore peccant sumant Petrum exemplum, ut resurgent. Uterque cecidit, et uterque resurrexit, quia Christus utrumque respexit, alterum per se, alterum per prophetam suum. Istae sunt duae portae mortis: cupiditas et timor; quae si cui clauduntur, non erit quo mundus ingrediatur. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I, Tit CXXXIII, De mortis duabus portis Source: Migne PL 177.549d-550a

They who sin because of desire may take up David as an example, so that they may rise. They who sin because of fear may take up Peter as an example, that they may rise. For both fell, and both rose, because Christ looked upon both, one through himself, another through his prophecy. 1 Desire and fear, these are the two gates of death, and to whom they are closed the world shall not find a way to enter. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chapter 133, On The Two Gates Of Death 1 Lk 22.61-62, 2 Kings 11-12

Preparing For The Kingdom

Appropinquabit enim regnum caelorum... Id est, beatitudo regni caelestis: quam praeparavit fidelibus Deus, ac si dicat, Parate vos per poenitentiam et per patientiam ad percipiendam beatitudinem regni caelestis: qui appropinquabit tempus mercedis reddendae. Qui mala timetis, aut concupiscitis bona, attendite, quia appropinquabit regnum caelorum. Si vos mala non terrent, vel bona delectant: aut si regna non concupiscitis, vel tormenta timete. Gaudeant justi, quia jam finiuntur mala eorum, et incipiunt bona. Lugeant peccatores, quia jam transeunt bona eorum, et incipiunt mala. Quid nocuit hominibus justis, quia mala passi sunt, cum coeperint esse in bonis? Nam et recordatio transactorum malorum non solum non nocet, sed adhuc magis delectat. Nam mala quamdiu praesentia sunt, gravia videntur: cum vero transacta fuerint, recordatio eorum gloriata est. Aut quid prodest peccatoribus, quia bona sunt consequuti, cum coeperint esse in malis? Nam recordatio transactorum bonorum non solum non adjuvat, sed adhuc amplius gravat. Nam quamdiu praesentia sunt, delectabilia videntur: cum vero transacta fuerint, recordatio eorum magis affligit. Et ista praedicatio poenitentiae qualem fructum contulit Christo? Seminavit verbum poenitentiae, et immaculatos praedicatores justitiae messuit. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia VI Source: Migne PG 56.674

For the kingdom of heaven is at hand... 1 That is, the blessedness of the heavenly kingdom, that God has prepared for His faithful ones, 2 as if He said, 'Prepare yourself through penance and through patience to take possession of the blessedness of the heavenly kingdom, for the time for the giving of the reward is near.' You who fear evil or desire good things, attend, because the kingdom of heaven is near. If evil things do not trouble you, if you do not delight in good things, either you do not desire the kingdom of heaven, or you do not fear torment. But let the righteous delight, because now their evils are coming to an end, and good things are beginning. But let sinners lament, because now their good things are passing away, and their evils are beginning. How has it harmed righteous men that because they have suffered evils, they now begin to be among good things? For the remembrance of evils undergone not only does no harm, but delights all the more. For while evils were present, they seemed so heavy, when however they have passed away, the memory is glorious. Or how shall it profit sinners, that with their goods passing away, they begin to be among evil things? The remembrance of their bygone goods will not help them, but rather it will increase their distress. For while such things were present, they seemed delightful, but when they have passed away, the memory of them is a greater affliction. And this preaching of penance, what sort of fruit does it bear for Christ? He sows the word of penance, and he reaps immaculate proclaimers of righteousness. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 6 1 Mt 4.17 2 Mt 25.41, 1 Cor 2.9