Spiritual Sacrifices

Et ipsi tamquam lapides vivi superaedificamini, domus spiritualis, sacerdotium sanctum, offerre spirituales hostias, acceptabiles Deo per Jesum Christum Spirituales autem hostias opera nostra, eleemosynas et preces dicit, ad distinctionem carnalium in lege victimarum. Quod autem in conclusione dicit, per Jesum Christum, ad cuncta quae praemiserat pertintet, quia per ipsius gratiam et superaedificamur in illo per architectos sapientes, hoc est ministros Novi Testamenti, et domus spirituales efficimur per Spiritum ejus, contra pluvias, ventos, fulmina tentationum muniti. Et sacaerdotio sancto participare, et boni aliqui acceptabile Deo gerere, non nisi per ipsum valemus. Sicut enim palmites non possunt ferre fructum a semetipsis, nisi permanserint in vite; sic vos nisi in me manseritis Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput II Source: Migne PL 93.49c-d

Be as living stones built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 He speaks of these spiritual sacrifices as our works, almsgiving and prayers, in distinction to the carnal sacrifices of the law. That he concludes with 'through Jesus Christ,' pertains to everything that he has mentioned, because through His grace we are built up and in Him through wise architects, that is, the servants of the New Testament, we made into spiritual houses through His Spirit, walled against the trials of rain and winds and floods. 2 And we cannot participate in the sacred priesthood and bring good things acceptable to God unless through Him. For as branches are not able to bear fruit from themselves unless they remain on the vine, so you unless you remain in me. 3 Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chapter 2 1 1 Pet 2.5 2 Mt 7.24-25 3 Jn 15.1-5

Poor Teaching

Egent sane populi quibus praeestis vel potius quos decepistis audire. Attendite verba Domini ad apostolos et turbas loquentis, quae et vos, ut audio, in mediu crebro proferre non pudet. Super cathedram Moysi sederunt scirbae et Pharisaei. Omnia ergo quaecumque dixerint vobis, servate et facite: secundum vero opera eorum nolite facere. Dicunt enim et ipsi non faciunt. Periculosa certe ac supervacua sacerdotibus doctrina est, quae pravis operibus obfuscatur. Vae vobis, hypocritae, qui clauditis regnum caelorum ante homines, vos aute non intratis nec introientres sinites intrare. Non solum enim prae tantis malorum criminibus, quae geritis in futuro, sed etiam pro his qui vestro cotdie exemplae pereunt, poenali poena plectemini: quorum sanguis in die iudicii de vestris manibus requiretur. Sed quid mali, quod servi parabola praetenderit, inspicite, dicentis in corde suo: Moram facit Dominus meus venire. Qui pro hoc forsitan inceperat percutere conservos suos manducans et bibens cum ebriis. Veniet ergo, inquit, Dominus servi illius in die, qua non sperat, et hora qua ignorat, et dividet eum, a sanctis scilicet sacerdotibus, partemque eius ponet cum hypocritis, cum eis certe qui sub sacerdotali tegminie multum obumbrant nequitiae, illic, inquiens, erit fletus et stridor dentium, quibus in hac vita non crebro evenit, ob cotidianas ecclesiae matris ruinas filiorum vel desideria regni caelorum. Sed videamus quid Christi verus discipulus magister gentium Paulus, qui omni ecclesiastico doctori imitandus est, sicut ipse hortatur: Imitatores mei estote, inquiens, sicut et ego Christi, in tali negotio praeloquatur in prima epistola dicens: quia cum cognoverunt Deum, non sicut Deum magnificaverunt aut gratias egerunt, sed evanuerunt in cogitatioibus suis et obcaecatum est insipiens cor eorum dicentes se esse sapientes, stulti facti sunt. Licet hoc gentibus dici videatur, intuemini tamen, quia competenter isitius aevi sacerdotibus cum populis coaptabitur. Sanctus Gildas Sapiens, De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae Source: Migne PL 69.384c-385a

Certainly the people over whom you preside, or rather whom you deceive, have need of hearing. Attend to the words of the Lord spoken to the Apostles and the crowds, words which even you, I hear, do not blush to bring forth often in public. 'The Scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses, therefore, whatever they say to you, listen to and do, but do not act according to their works, for they speak and they do not do.' Perilous and vain for the priest is the teaching darkened by evil acts. 'Woe to you hypocrites who shut the kingdom of heaven to men but do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who would go in to enter.' 1 You will be punished with a grave penalty not only for the huge crimes of sins which you bear for the future time, but also because of those who perish every day because of your example. On the day of judgement the blood of those men will be required at your hands. Observe what evil is set forth in the parable of the servant who said in his heart, 'My Lord delays.' Before which he had probably 'begun to beat his fellow servants, eating and drinking with those who were drunk.' It is then said, 'The Lord of the servant shall come on a day when he does not expect it, and at an hour that he does not know, and he shall separate him and place his portion with the hypocrites,' that is, he shall be separated from holy priests and placed with the hypocrites, doubtless those who conceal much evil beneath a veil of priesthood. 'There where there shall be a weeping and a gnashing of teeth,' 2 which frequently happens in this life because of the daily loss of the sons of mother church, or because of defections from the kingdom of heaven. But let us see what a true disciple of Christ exhorts, Paul the teacher of the Gentiles, who should be imitated by every teacher in the Church. 'Be imitators of me as I am of Christ,' 3 And then about such affairs in his first letter, 'Because when they knew God, they did they give Him glory as God or thanks, but they became vain in their reasoning and their senseless hearts were blinded, and proclaiming themselves wise they became fools.' 4 Although this appears to be addressed to the Gentiles, observe that it will also fittingly apply to the priests and people of this time. Saint Gildas The Wise, On The Destruction and Ruin of Britain 1 Mt 23.2, Mt 23.13 2 Mt 24.49, 24.50-51 3 1 Cor 11.1 4 Rom 1.21-22

Troubled And Shaken

Turbati sunt, et commoti sunt sicut ebrius, et omnis sapientia eorum devortata est. De ipsis adhuc dicit de quibus superius ait, anima eorum in malis tabescebat. Turbati sunt, ad confusionem pertinet sensus; commoti sunt, ad iras protinus evomendas. Quapropter talium sapientiam dicit esse deglutitam, quia sapientia non potest nisi apud quietos et imperturbatos animos inveniri. Sapientia eorum bene de illis dicitur qui sibi ante videbantur esse doctores: sed eam constat esse deglutitam, quae perturbatis mentibus non praevalet apparere. His igitur exemplis monentur sacerdotes, ut Domino supplicent; quatenus cor eorum in humilitate consolidet, ne diabolicis tentationibus ventilentur. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus CVI Source: Migne PL 70.773b-c

They were troubled and shaken like a drunkard, and all their wisdom was devoured. 1 He still speaks of those of whom he said before: 'Their souls withered in wickedness.' That 'they were troubled,' pertains to confusion, and that they were shaken and immediately moved refers to anger. For which reason the wisdom of such men, he says, was gobbled up, because wisdom can be found only in quiet and untroubled souls. And it is well said that it is 'their wisdom,' for this is spoken of those who had seemed so learned to themselves, but since it is obvious that wisdom does not stand firm in troubled souls it befits them to be devoured. With these examples he warns priests to supplicate the Lord, that their hearts be set fast in humility, lest they be winnowed and thrown about by the trials of the devil. 2 Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 116 1 Ps 116.27 2 cf Lk 22.31-32

Judging And Judgement

Existimas autem hic, O homo omnis qui judicas eos qui talia agunt, et facis illa, quia tu effugies judicium Dei? Si omnia quae Lex loquitur, his qui in lege sunt loquitur; et quae Evangelium, vel Apostolus nunc loquitur, non principibus saeculi, nec regibus mundi, sed Ecclesiarum rectoribus et principibus loquitur, his videlicet qui judicant eos qui intus sunt, id est episcopis, vel presbyteris et diaconibus. His ergo dicit ne existiment se effugere judicium Dei, si ea commitant ipsi, de quibus alios judicant et condemnant. Et ideo oportet unumquemque de sua prius conscientia judicate, et tunc ejus quem judicat, gesta discutere. Quod si fieret, omnis penitus adeundi honoris ecclesiastici abscinderetur ambitio, si se judicandos potius quam judicatoros hi qui praeesse volunt populis cogitarent. Nemo ergo existimet quod effugere possit judicium Dei, sicut et Propheta dicit: Quo ibo a spiritu tuo, et a facie tua quo fugiam? Et quia haec ad eos maxime dicuntur qui praesunt judiciis populorum, idcirco et alibi dicit, quod de domo Dei incipiet judicium. Et item alibi Dominus dicit: In his qui approximent mihi sanctificabor; sicut in Nadab et Abiud gestum est, cum alienum ignem, id est non sacrum, divinis altaribus obtulerunt. Incipit ergo judicium a filiis prius. Flagellat enim Deus omnem quem in numerum recipit filiorum. Verum, ut ego existimo, nec, si posset quis, deberet velle effugere judicium Dei. Non venire enim ad judicium Dei, hoc est ad emendationem, vel ad sanitatem, et remedium non venire. Origenes, Commentariorum In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Romanos, Liber II, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense Source: Migne PG 14.873c-874b

Do you think, O man, that when you judge those who do such things and then you do them, that you will escape the judgement of God? 1 If everything which the Law speaks is spoken for those who are in the Law, then what the Gospel or the Apostle speaks is not for the rulers of the age, nor the kings of the world, but speaks to the leaders and rulers of the Churches, obviously those who judge those who are within, that is, the bishops, or priests, or deacons. To these, therefore, he speaks, that they should not think that they might escape the judgement of God if they do those things for which they judge and condemn others. And therefore it is necessary that everyone should first judge himself by his own conscience, and then cut himself off from what he convicts himself. For if it should be that every ambition for the obtaining of ecclesiastical honours should be cut off, let those who wish to be preeminent among the people think that they should judge themselves rather than be those who judge. Therefore let no one think that he can escape the judgement of God, as even the prophet says: 'Where shall I go from your spirit, and where shall I flee from your face?' 2 And because these things are said especially to those who are preeminent in judgement among the people, therefore it says elsewhere that 'judgement begins from the house of God.' 3 And again in another place the Lord says: 'I shall be holy to those who come near me.' As happened with Nadab and Abiud, when they brought foreign fire to the holy altars, that is, when they brought that which was not sacred. 4 Therefore judgement first begins with the sons. 'For God tries all who wish to be reckoned as sons.' 5 Truly I think that even if it were possible to do so, no one should flee the judgement of God. For not to come to the judgement of God is not to come to improvement and healing and cure. Origen, from the Commentary on the Letter of Paul to the Romans, Book 2, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Rom 2.3 2 Ps 138.7 3 1 Pet 4.17 4 Levit 10.1-3 5 Prov 3.12

Grasping The Divine

Οἶδα τίνος ἐσμὲν λειτουργοὶ, καὶ ποῦ κείμενοι, καὶ ποῦ πέμποντες· οἶδα τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ ὕψος, καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἀσθένειαν, καὶ τὴν δύναμιν πάλιν· Οὐρανὸς ὑψηλὸς, γῆ δὲ βαθεῖα. Καὶ τίς ἀναβήσεται τῶν ἐῤῥιμμένων τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ; Τίς περικείμενος ἔτι τὸν κάτω ζόφον καὶ τῆς σαρκὸς τὴν παχύτητα ὅλῳ νοῒ καθαρῶς ἐποπτεύσει νοῦν ὅλον, καὶ μιγήσεται τοῖς ἑστῶσι καὶ ἀοράτοις ἐν τοῖς ἀστάτοις καὶ ὁρωμένοις; Μόλις γὰρ ἄν τις ἐνταῦθα τῶν σφόδρα κεκαθαρμένων καὶ εἴδωλον τοῦ καλοῦ θεωρήσειεν, ὥσπερ οἱ τὸν ἥλιον ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι. Τίς ὁ μετρήσας τῇ χειρὶ τὸ ὕδωρ, καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν σπιθαμῇ, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν δρακί; Τίς ἔστησε τὰ ὄρη σταθμῷ, καὶ τὰς νάπας ζυγῷ; Τίς τόπος τῆς καταπαύσεως αὐτοῦ, καὶ τίνι τῶν πάντων ὁμοιωθήσεται; Τίς ὁ ποιήσας τὰ πάντα ἐν λόγῳ, καὶ τῇ σοφίᾳ κατασκευάσας ἄνθρωπον, καὶ εἰς ἓν ἀγαγὼν τὰ διεστῶτα, καὶ μίξας τὸν χοῦν τῷ πνεύματι, καὶ συνθεὶς ζῶον ὁρατὸν καὶ ἀόρατον, πρόσκαιρον καὶ ἀθάνατον, ἐπίγειον καὶ οὐράνιον, ἁπτόμενον Θεοῦ καὶ οὐ περιδρασσόμενον, ἐγγίζον καὶ μακρυνόμενον; Εἶπα, σοφισθήσομαι, φησὶν ὁ Σολομῶν, καὶ αὐτὴ ἐμακρύνθη ἀπ' ἐμοῦ μακρὸν ὑπὲρ ὃ ἦν, τὴν σοφίαν λέγων. Καὶ ὄντως ὁ προστιθεὶς γνῶσιν προστίθησιν ἄλγημα· οὐ μᾶλλον εὐφραίνοντος τοῦ εὑρεθέντος ἢ ἀνιῶντος τοῦ διαφεύγοντος· ὅπερ, οἶμαι, φιλεῖ συμβαίνειν τοῖς ἔτι διψῶσιν ἀποσπωμένοις ὕδατος· ἢ κρατεῖν τι οὐ δυναμένοις, ἔχειν νομίζουσιν· ἢ οὓς ἀπῆλθεν εὐθὺς ἀστραπὴ περιλάμψασα. Τοῦτό με ἵστη κάτω, καὶ ταπεινὸν ἐποίει, καὶ εἶναι βέλτιον ἔπειθεν ἀκούειν φωνὴν αἰνέσεως, ἢ ἐξηγητὴν εἶναι τῶν ὑπὲρ δύναμιν· ἡ μεγαλειότης, καὶ τὸ ὕψος, καὶ τὸ ἀξίωμα, καὶ αἱ καθαραὶ φύσεις μόλις χωροῦσαι Θεοῦ λαμπρότητα, ὃν ἄβυσσος καλύπτει, οὗ σκότος ἀποκρυφὴ, φωτὸς ὄντος τοῦ καθαρωτάτου καὶ ἀπροσίτουτοῖς πλείοσιν·ὃς ἐν τῷ παντὶ τῷδε, καὶ τοῦ παντός ἐστιν ἔξω·ὃς καλόν ἐστιν ἅπαν, καὶ ἄνω παντὸς καλοῦ·ὃς νοῦν φωτίζει, καὶ διαφεύγει νοῦ τάχος καὶ ὕψος, ὑπο χωρῶν ἀεὶ τοσοῦτον, ὅσον καταλαμβάνεται, καὶ ὑπ άγων πρὸς τὰ ἄνω τὸν ἐραστὴν τῷ φεύγειν, καὶ τῷ οἷον κρατούμενος κλέπτεσθαι. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Λόγος Β’ Source: Migne PG 35.481b-484a

I know whose priests we are, and where we are set, and to where we guide. I know the height of God, and the infirmity of man, and again, the power. Heaven is high, the earth is low, and who of those who have been cast down by sin shall ascend? He who is yet embroiled in the gloom below and in the grossness of the flesh, shall he gaze clearly with his whole mind on that whole mind, and mixed in with unstable and visible things hold association with what is stable and invisible? For hardly may anyone here, even among those who have been most specially purged, look on even an image of the Good, as those who look on the sun on the water. Who has measured the waters in his hand, and heaven with the hand's span, and the whole earth with a measure? Who has placed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? 1 What is the place of His rest and to who shall He be compared? Who is it who made everything by His Word, and fashioned man by His wisdom, and gathered scattered things into one, and mixed dust with spirit, and put together an animal visible and invisible, temporal and immortal, earthly and heavenly, which may touch God but not grasp Him, coming near and yet far off? Solomon, speaking of wisdom, declares: 'I said, 'I will be wise,' but she was far from me, far beyond what is.' And truly, 'He who increases knowledge increases sorrow.' 2 For the joy of what we have found is no greater than the grief of what escapes us; which, I think, is like what is felt by those who while thirsty are dragged off from water, or who cannot keep hold or what they think they have, or who are suddenly left in the dark by a flash of lightning. This cast me down and kept me humble, and I was persuaded that it was better to hear the voice of praise than to be an expounder of what was beyond my ability; the majesty, and the height, and the dignity, and the pure natures scarce able to contain the splendour of God, whom the deep covers, whom darkness hides, since He is purest light, 3 and utterly inacessible, He who is in all things and He who is beyond all things, He who is all goodness, 4 and above all goodness, He who enlightens the mind and escapes the mind's quickness and height, always retiring as much as He is apprehended, and by His flight withdrawing to the things above the one who desires Him, and stealing away as much as He is grasped. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, from Oration 2 1 Isaiah 40.12 2 Eccles 7.24, 1.18 3 1 Tim 6.16 4 Exod 33.19

A Bishop Warned

Παρέργως ποιῇ τὴν τῶν θείων νόμων ἀνάγνωσιν, ἤ καὶ αὐτὴν ἀγνοεῖς τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν. Ἡνίκα γὰρ εἰς τὸν θεῖον ναὸν ἱερουργεῖν Ἀαρὼν, καὶ οἱ ἐξ ἐκείνου εἰσῄεσαν, πάντα τὰ ἐξ ἐρίας ἀποτιθέντες ἐσθήματα, στολὰς ἐκ λίνου παρεβάλλοντο ἐχούσας καὶ τὸ ἀπόῥῥητον, καὶ τῶν ἔξω θορύβων ἐπιλησμονεῖν σημαινούσας. Ὁ γὰρ Θεῷ λειτουργεῖν προσιὼν, οὐδὲν ἀλλότριον καὶ τῆς ὅλης ἐφόλκιον ἐπιφέρεσθαι δύναται. Εἰ τοίνυν μετὰ τοιαῦτα τεκμήρια βιάζεσθαι κατατολμᾷς τὴν ἁλήθειαν, συγχύσεις καὶ φλυαρίας ἐπεισφέρων τοῖς ἀνακτόροις, οἷς πᾶσα σιγὴ κεχρεώστηται, ὁμιλίας ἀτόπους, χειροθεσίας ἀθέσμους, εἰς ἔσχατον πέπεισο ἐξωθῶν σαυτὸν κατακρίσεως κίνδυνον. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΜΕ' Μαρτυριῳ Ἐπισκοπῳ Source: Migne PG 78.209c-212a

You either read the Divine laws carelessly, or you do not know the reading of them at all. For when Aaron and his successors entered into the temple for the sake of sacrifice, they took off every woollen vestment and clothed themselves in linen garb, 1 which contains a certain mystery: that we must put external concerns from the mind. He who approaches God to officiate cannot bring along with himself any foreign or unwanted matter. If, then, after such proofs you are still driven to insolence against the truth, and will yet bring in baseness to the sacred places, where silence is needful, with unbefitting words and sacrilegious laying on of hands, be persuaded that you lead yourself to the final peril of condemnation and casting out. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 45, To Martyrius The Bishop 1 Exodus 28.5

Corrupted Clergy

Studebant augendo patrimonio singuli, et, obliti quid credentes aut sub Apostolis ante fecissent aut semper facere deberent, insatiabili cupiditatis ardore ampliandis facultatibus incubabant. Non in sacerdotibus religio devota, non in ministris fides integra, non in operibus misericordia, non in moribus disciplina. Corrupta barba in viris, in feminis forma fucata, adulterati post Dei manus oculi, capilli mendacio colorati. Ad decipienda corda simplicium callidae fraudes, circumveniendis fratribus subdolae voluntates. Jungere cum infidelibus vinculum matrimonii, prostituere gentilibus membra Christi. Non jurare tantum temere, sed adhuc etiam pejerare: praepositos superbo tumore contemnere; venenato sibi ore maledicere, odiis pertinacibus invicem dissidere. Episcopi plurimi, quos et hortamento esse oportet caeteris et exemplo, divina procuratione contempta, procuratores rerum saecularium fieri, derelicta cathedra, plebe deserta, per alienas provincias oberrantes, negotiationis quaestuosae nundinas aucupari, esurientibus in Ecclesia fratribus, habere argentum largiter. A velle, fundos insidiosis fraudibus rapere, usuris multiplicantibus foenus augere. Quid non perpeti tales pro peccatis ejusmodi mereremur, cum jam pridem praemonuerit ac dixerit censura divina: Si dereliquerint legem meam et in judiciis meis non ambulaverint, si justificationes meas profanaverint et praecepta mea non observaverint, visitabo in virga facinora eorum et in flagellis delicta eorum. Sanctus Cyprianus, Liber De Lapsis Source: Migne PL 4.469a-471a

Each one desired to increase his estate and forgetful of both what the faithful had done before in the times of the Apostles, or always should do, with the insatiable passion of covetousness they dedicated themselves to the increase of property. Among priests there was no devotion in religion, among ministers there was no sound faith, in works no mercy, in manners no discipline. The beards of men were corrupted, women coloured their faces, eyes were altered from what God's hand had made, hair was coloured to deceive. For the deception of the hearts of the simple there were cunning frauds and subtle meanings for circumventing the brethren. They joined in the bond of marriage with unbelievers, they prostituted the members of Christ to the Gentiles. They would swear not only rashly, but more so to perjure, they would despise those set over them while swelling with pride, they would speak evil of one another with envenomed lips, and dispute with one another with stubborn hatred. Many bishops, they who should give both exhortation and example to others, despising their divine office, became agents of worldly business. Foresaking their thrones, deserting their people, they wandered around foreign provinces, hunting in the markets for profitable merchandise. While in the Church brethren were starving they sought out hoards of silver. They seized estates by crafty deceit, they increased their gains by multiplying usuries. What do such as we not deserve to suffer for sins of this kind, when even already the Divine rebuke has forewarned us, and said, 'If they shall forsake my law and do not walk in my judgments, if they shall profane my decrees and not observe my commandments, I will visit their offenses with a rod, and their sins with scourges? ' 1 Saint Cyprian of Carthage, On The Lapsed 1 Ps 88.31-33

Priests And People And Punishment

Secundum multitudinem eorum, sic peccaverunt mihi: gloriam eorum in ignominiam commutabo, peccata populi mei comedent, et ad iniquitatem eorum sublevabunt animas eorum, et erit sicut populus, sic sacerdos, et visitabo super eum vias eius, et cogitationes illius reddam ei. LXX: Secundum multitudinem eorum, sic peccaverunt mihi, gloriam eorum in ignominiam ponam: peccata populi mei comedent, et in iniquitatibus eorum accipient alii animas eorum, et erit sicut populus, sic et sacerdos, et ulciscar super eum vias eius, et cogitationes illius reddam ei. Quot homines habuit Israel, tot aras exstruxit daemonibus, in quorum victimis peccavit mihi. Propterea gloriam eorum, in qua gloriabantur sibi, et Deo idola praeferabant, in ignominiam commutabo, ut et sacerdotes capiantur et populi. Siquidem sacerdotes peccata populi mei comedunt, de quibus scriptum est: Qui devorant plebem meam, sicut escam panis. Et idcirco peccata populi mei comedunt, consentientes sceleribus delinquentium: quia cum eos peccare perspexerint, non solum non arguunt, sed laudant atque sustollunt, et beatos praedicant. De quibus et Isaias loquitur: Populus meus, qui beatos vos dicunt, seducunt vos, et semitas pedum vestrorum supplantant. De his et per Psalmistam clamat: Quoniam laudatur peccator in desideriis animae suae, et iniquus benedicitur. Unde aequaliter populus et sacerdos indignantis Dei sententiam sustinebunt; quia non solum opera eorum visitabit, quae appellantur viae, in quibus ingrediuntur; sed et cogitationes, quibus ut talia facerent, tractaverunt. Non solum enim opus, sed et cogitatio mali operis poenas luet. De haereticis facilis intelligentia est, quod quanto plures fuerint, tanto magis delinquunt Deo, et glorientur in populis: et idcirco decipiant infelices, ut peccata populi comedant, et per dulces sermones devorent domus viduarum. Cum enim viderint aliquos delinquentes aiunt: Nihil aliud quaerit Deus nisi fidei veritatem, quam si custodieritis, non curat quid agatis. Haec enim dicentes, in iniquitatibus eorum sublevant animas eorum, ut non solum non agant poenitentiam, nec humilientur; sed gaudeant in sceleribus suis, et erecta cervice gradiantur. Unde et populus et sacerdos, et hi qui docti sunt, et hi qui docuerunt, pari iudicio constringentur. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Osee Prophetam, Liber I Cap IV Source: Migne PL 25.848d-849c

According to their multitude, so they sinned against me. I shall change their glory into shame. They feed on the sin of my people, and in their wickedness they lift up their souls, and it shall be like people, like priest. I shall punish them for their ways, and requite them for their thoughts. The Septuagint has: According to the multitude of them, so they sinned against me. I shall turn their glory into shame. They ate the sins of my people, and in their wickedness received their souls, and it shall be like people, like priest. I shall be revenged on their ways, and requite them for their thoughts.' 1 As many as Israel had men, so as many were the altars they raised up to demons, with the victims of which they sinned against me. Because of which their glory in which they glory among themselves, and prefer idols to God, I shall change to disgrace, so that both the priests and the people shall be seized. Certainly the priests eat the sins of my people, concerning which it is written: 'They who devour my people like food of bread.' 2 And therefore they eat the sins of my people by consenting to the crimes of the delinquent, because they see them sin and they do not dispute with them, but they praise them and they lift them up, and they declare them happy. Concerning which Isaiah says: 'My people, they who call you blessed, they deceive you, and they confuse the paths of your feet.' 3 Concerning these things the Psalmist cries out: 'Because the sinner is praised in the desires of his own soul, and the wicked man is blessed.' 4 Both people and priest alike shall suffer the sentence of God, because not only their works shall I punish, which are called 'ways', but even their thoughts they have employed, by which they might do such things. Not only the work but even the thought of evil shall receive its punishment. This is readily understood of heretics, that the more there are, so much the more they err against God, and they receive glory among the peoples, and therefore they deceive the unfortunate, that they may eat the sins of the people, and with sweet words they devour the houses of widows. 5 For when they see others erring they say: 'God seeks nothing but the truth of faith, which if you shall guard, you should not care about what you do.' Saying these things they raise up their souls in wickedness, that not only do they not do penance or seek to be humble, but they rejoice in their crimes, and they walk with heads held high. Whence both the people and the priest, those who are taught and those who teach, shall be bound with the same judgement. Saint Jerome, Commentary on Hosea, Book 1, Chap 4 1 Hosea 4.7-9 2 Ps 13.4, 52.5 3 Isaiah 3.12 4 Ps 9.24 5 Lk 20.47

The Shepherd's Watch

Pastorum est vigilare super gregem propter tria necessaria: videlicet ad disciplinam, ad custodiam, ad preces. Ad disciplinam, propter morum correctionem, ne grex commissus propria molestia deficiat. Ad custodiam, propter diabolicam suggestionem, ne hostili seducatur calliditate. Ad preces, propter tentationum instantiam, ne vincatur a pusillanimitate. in discplina rigor justitiae, in custodia spiritus consilii, in prece affectus compassionis. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sententiae Source: Migne PL 183.750a-b

It is for shepherds to watch over the flock for three reasons: for discipline, for guarding, for prayers. For discipline on account of the correction of morals, lest the flock committed to one perish by its own troubles. For guarding on account of the temptation of the devil, lest it be seduced by malevolent cleverness. For prayers on account of present trials, lest it be overthrown by weakness. In discipline is the rigour of justice, in guarding the spirit of counsel, in prayer compassion. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sentences

A New Shepherd

Νῦν δὲ, ὦ ποιμένων ἄριστε καὶ τελεώτατε, δεῦρόμοι καὶ τὸν σὸν ἀπολάμβανε λαὸν σὺν ἡμῖν τε καὶ πρὸ ἡμῶν, ὃν ἐνεχείρισέ σοι τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ὃν προσάγουσιν ἄγγελοι, ὃν ὁ βίος καὶ ὁ τρόπος ἐπίστευσεν. Εἰ δὲ διὰ πειρασμῶν καὶ κωλυμάτων τὸν θρόνον κληρονομεῖς, μὴ θαυμάσῃς· οὐδὲν τῶν μεγάλων ἀδόκιμον, οὐδὲν ἀβασάνιστον. Ἕπεται γὰρ φύσει τοῖς μὲν ταπεινοῖς τὸ ῥᾴδιον, τοῖς δὲ ὑψηλοῖς επιτρέπετα τὸ δύσκτητον. Ἤκουσας τοῦ εἰπόντος, Ὅτι δεῖ ἡμᾶς διὰ πολλῶν θλίψεων εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν· εἰπὲ καὶ αὐτός· Διήλθομεν διὰ πυρὸς καὶ ὕδατος, καὶ ἐξήγαγες ἡμᾶς εἰς ἀναψυχήν. Ὢ τοῦ θαύματος! Τὸ ἑσπέρας· ηὐλίσθη κλαυθμὸς, καὶ εἰς τὸ πρωῒ ἀγαλλίασις.  Ἔα ληρεῖν τοὺς πολεμοῦντας καὶ περιχάσκειν, ὡς κύνας ὑλακτοῦντας διακενῆς· ἡμεῖς δὲ μὴ πολεμώμεθα. Δίδασκε προσ-κυνεῖν Θεὸν τὸν Πατέρα, Θεὸν τὸν Υἱὸν, Θεὸν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἐν τρισὶν ὑποστάσεσιν, ἐν μιᾷ δόξῃ τε καὶ λαμπρότητι. Τὸ ἀπολωλὸς ἐκζήτει· τὸ ἀσθενὲς ἐνίσχυε· τὸ ἰσχυρὸν φύλασσε. Τοσαύτην ἀπαιτοῦμέν σε τὴν ἐν τοῖς πνευματικοῖς εὐδοκίμησιν, ὅσην ἐπὶ τῶν κοσμικῶν συνέγνωμεν. Τὴν μὲν οὖν τελεωτέραν ὅπλισιν δέχοιο παρὰ τῶν μειζόνων στρατηγῶν, δι' ἧς δυνήσῃ τὰ βέλη τοῦ πονηροῦ τὰ πεπυρωμένα σβέσαι, καὶ παραστῆσαι τῷ Κυρίῳ λαὸν περιούσιον, ἔθνος ἅγιον, βασίλειον ἱεράτευμα, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Λόγος ΙΓ' Source: Migne PG 35.856a-c

And now, best and most excellent of shepherds, come and receive your people with us and for us, which the Holy Spirit has entrusted to you, which the angels bring, which your life and conduct has commended. And if you succeed to the throne at a time of trial and opposition, do not wonder; nothing great is untested and untried. It is a law of nature that what is base is easy, but what is excellent is achieved with difficulty. You have heard it said: 'That through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of heaven.' 1 Say yourself also, 'We went through fire and water, and you led us into rest.' 2 A wonder! ' In the evening tears and in the morning joy.' 3 Let those who would war, but uselessly and ineptly, gape like dogs barking vainly, but let us not be embroiled. Teach the worship of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as three in their persons, one in glory and splendour. Seek the lost, strengthen the weak, and preserve the strong. 4 We ask you to become as distinguished in spiritual affairs as much as we know you are in the world. May you receive a more perfect armour by your greater commanders by which you will be able to quench all the burning shafts of the evil one, 5 and deliver up to the Lord His own people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood. 6  Saint Gregory Nazianzus, from Oration 13 1 Acts 14.21 2 Ps 65.12 3 Ps 29.6 4 cf Ezek 34.4,16 5 Ephes 6.16 6 1 Pet 2.9

Judith And The Elders

Et nunc, fratres, quoniam vos estis presbyteri in populo Dei, et ex vobis pendet anima illorum, ad eloquium vestrum corda illorum erigite, ut memores sint quia tentati sunt patres nostri, ut probarentur si vere colerent Deum suum. Memores esse debenet quomodo pater noster Abraham tentatus est, er per multas tribulationes probatus Dei amicus effectus est. Sic Isaac, sic Jacob, sic Moyses, et omnes qui placuerunt Deo, per multas tribulationes transierunt fideles, Illi autem, qui tentationes non suspecperunt cum timore Domini, et impatientiam suam, et improperium murmurationis suae contra Dominum protulerunt, exterminati sunt ab exterminatore, et a serpentibus perierunt. Praeteritorum principum fortia gesta, praesentium sunt documenta salubria. Unde Judith summos patriarchas gentis Israelitarum, hoc est, Abraham, Isaac, et Jacob, et primum ducem eorum Moysen in exemplum fidei ac patientiae narratione sua introducit; et e contrario impios murmuratores et quaerulosos in testimonium pusillanimitatis et impatientiae suae exhibuit, ut ex bonis utile nobis ad imitandum sumamus exemplum, et ex malis discamus pravitatis suae opus vitare nefarium, ne forte exterminii illorum patiamur tormentum. Unde adhuc subditur: Et nos ergo non ulciscamur nos pro his quae patimur, sed reputantes peccatis nostris haec ipsa minora esse supplicia, flagella Domini, quibus quasi servi corripimur, non ad perditionem nostram evenisse credamus. Haec est enim via veritatis, ut in flagellis Domini humiliemus animas nostras, et patientiam habarere studeamus, reputantes peccatis nostris, quae juste patimur, imo etiam minorem meritis nostris esse vindictam, sed per bonitatem Dei nobis as sufferendum temperatam credamus, qui vult omnes homines salvos esse, et ad agnitionem veritatis pervenire. Miseretur omnium, et nihil odit eorum quae fecit, dissimulans peccata hominum propter poenitentiam, et parcens illis propter magnam misericordiam, quia ipse solus est Deus noster. Et dixerunt illi Ozias et presbyteri: Omnia quae locuta es, vera sunt, et non est in sermonibus tuis ulla reprehensio. Nunc ergo ora pro nobis, quoniam mulier sancta es et timens Deum. Nulla reprehensio est in sermonibus Judith, sed omnia vera sunt quae leguntur. Quia omnia quae Ecclesia catholica in confessione verae fidei, seu in doctrina sanctae religionis profet, laudabilia sunt valde et absque ulla reprehensione. Cujus merito et dignitate credendum est singulos quoque fideles apud Domini clementiam multum adjuvari. Quod ita digne fit, si unusquisque curet, ut sicut probavit verum esse, quod Ecclesia docet, ita actibus imitetur, quod ipsa honestis exemplis persuadet, de quo et subditur. Et dixit illis: Sicut quod potui loqui, Dei esse cognoscitis, ita quod facere disposui, probate si ex Deo est, et orate ut firmum faciat Deus consilium meum. Stabitis vos ad portam nocte ista, et ego exeam cum abra mea; et orate ut, sicut dixistis, in diebus quinque respiciat Dominus populum suum Israel. Commendat Judith presbyteris portam, quia sacerbotibus Christi sancta Ecclesia sollicitam castrorum Dei commendat custodiam, ut pervigili intentione ac solerti cura per arma orationum ea munire, et contra hostium insidias illaesa servare studeant. Rabanus Maurus, Expositio in Librum Judith, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 109.362b-363b

And now, brothers, because you are elders among the people of God, and their souls hang from you, lift up their hearts with your speech, so that they might remember our fathers were tested so that they be proved if they truly worshipped their God. They should be mindful of how our father Abraham was tested and how through many trials he was made an approved friend of God. So Isaac, so Jacob, so Moses, and all who have been pleasing to God, passed faithfully through many trials. But they who did not receive their tribulations in the fear of God and were impatient and murmured improperly against God, they were exterminated by the exterminator, and perished by serpents. 1 The great deeds of the foremost men of the past are wholesome examples for the present. Whence Judith introduces the patriarchs of the Israelite people, that is, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and their first leader Moses, as an example of faith and patience. And on the contrary she exhibited the impious murmurers and querelous folk as a witness of weakness and impatience, so that from the good we take up for ourselves an example to imitate, and from the wicked we learn to avoid the works of depravity of the vile, lest we suffer the torments of those exterminated. Whence she continues: And therefore we are not punished in these things we suffer, but for the repudiance of our sins are these little trials and whips of the Lord, by which we are corrected as a servant, lest we think ourselves to have come to our ruin. For this is the way of truth, that by the whips of the Lord our souls are humbled and we are zealous to maintain endurance, repudiating our sins, for which we justly suffer, not indeed that the least punishment matches what we merit, but that through the benevolence of God we believe our suffering to have been tempered, He who wishes all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth. 2 He is merciful to all, and He hates nothing which He has made, dismissing the sins of men through penance, and sparing them on account of His great mercy, because He alone is our God. And Ozias and the elders said to her: All that you have said is true, and there is nothing reprehensible in your speech. Now therefore pray for us, because you are a holy woman, and fear God. There is nothing reprehensible in the speech of Judith but everything said is true. For everything which the Catholic Church proclaims in the confession of the faith and in the teaching of the sacred religion is extremely praiseworthy and lacks all reprehension. For which with merit and dignity it must be that each and everyone of the faithful is aided by the great mercy of the Lord. By which it is thus right, if a man will care for it, that as what the Church teaches has been proved true, so its deeds are imitated, which with upright example persuades. Concerning which it is written below: And she said to them: As I was able to speak, that you know it to be of God, what I am resolved to do, test and see if it is from God and pray that God makes my counsel firm. Stand at the gate this night, and I shall go out with my handmaid, and pray that, as you have said, in five days the Lord looks on His people Israel. Judith commends the elders to the gate which is the holy Church of Christ, commending the priests to the careful guardianship of the camps of God, that with vigilant attention and sagacious care, through the arms of prayer, they set a wall about them and strive to protect them against the harmful plots of the enemy. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Judith, Chap 8 1 Judith 8.24-26 Vulg 2 1 Tim 2.4

Clergy And Scandal

Vos autem recessistis de via, et scandalizastis plurmos in lege: irritum fecistis pactum Levi, dicit Dominus exercituum. Propter quod et ego dedi vos contemptibiles, et humiles omnibus populis, sicut non servastis vias meas, et accepistis faciem in lege. LXX: Vos autem declinastis de via mea, et infirmos fecistis multos in lege, corrupistis testamentum Levi, dicit Dominus omnipotens. Et ego dedi vos contemptibils, et dissolutos in omnes gentes, pro eo quod non custodistis vias meas, sed accipiebatis personas in lege. Haec ad Christi non pertinere personam, nec ad eos qui illius cultui dedicati sunt, etiamsi ego taceam prudens lector intelligit. Et est sensus: Ego vos volui facere quae priori capitulo continentur, et de quibus per Moysen in Deuteronomio sum locutus: Date Levi doctrinam ejus, et veritatem viro justo, et reliqua: vos autem recessistis de via recta, sive declinastis, dicente me: Non declines neque ad dextram, neque ad sinistram; et infirmos fecistis multos in lege, sive scandalizastis, ut Aquila et Symmachus verterunt. Declinare ad dextram, est abstinere a cibis quos Deus creavit ad utendum: condemnare nuptias, et in illuud incurrere, quod in alio loco scriptum est: Ne sis justus multum. Ad sinistram divertere, est cum quis luxuriae se tradit et libini, et scandalizat nultos in lege: cui melius est, ut mola asinaria ligetur circa collum, et in mare praecipitetur, quam scandalizet unum de minimis. Infirmos autem faciunt multos, qui cum credentes in Christo fidei robur acceperint, infirmari eos faciunt neligentia conversationis suae, quibus rectissime dicitur: Irritum fecistis pactum Levi, pactum vitae et pacis, et caetera, quae pertinere ad officium diximus sacerdotis. Quam ob causam, et ego, inquit, dedi vos contemnerent, et pro honore et gloria, quasi dejectos humilesque calcarent: Sicut non servastis vias meas, et accepistis faciem in lege. Inter omnia peccata Levi, sive eorum qui ex Levi sunt, sacerdotum Dei, illud et ultimum et maximum ponitur, quare accipiant faciem in lege, ut non causas, sed personas considerint, justumque pauperem despicientes, iniquos divites suscipiant et honorent. As quos in octogesimo primo psalmo dicitur: Usquequo judicatis iniquitatem, et facies peccatorum sumitis? Et Paulus ad Galatas: Deus, inquit, personam hominis non accipit. Pleniusque apostolus Jacobus hoc peccatum arguit, atque condemnat. Quidquid autem priori populo dicitur, etiam nobis dictum putemus ut cautiores recedamus a vitiis, et faciem non suscipiamus in lege, nec qui sumus cultores Dei, veritati mendacium praeferamus. Sanctus Hieronymous, Commentarium In Malachiam Prophetam, Caput II Source: Migne PL 25.1557c-1558b

For you have withdrawn from the way and you have scandalised many in the Law, you have voided the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts. On account of which I have made you despised, and abased you before all the people, because you have not kept my ways, and you shown partiality in the Law. The Septuagint reads: You have fallen from my way, and you have made many weak in the Law, and you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says The Lord Almighty. And I have given you over to contempt and undone you among all the peoples, because you did not guard my ways, but you showed partiality in the Law. 1 These things do not pertain to the person of Christ, nor to those who are dedicated to His reverence, which even if I were silent the sensible reader would understand. Now this is the meaning: I wished to make you as the previous chapter told, and concerning which I spoke through Moses in Deuteronomy: 'Give to Levi his teaching and truth to the righteous man.' 2 As for the rest, 'you have withdrawn from the way, or fallen away,' though I say: 'Do not decline to the right or to the left.' 3 And you have made many weak in the law, or 'you have scandalised them', as Aquila and Symmachus translate it. To decline to the right is to reject foods which God has created for us, and to condemn marriage, and to rush into that concerning which it is said in another place: 'Do not be righteous overmuch.' 4 To stray to the left is when someone gives himself to luxury and lust, and scandalises many in the Law, for which it is better that the millstone were hung about his neck and he were cast into the sea, than he scandalise one of the little ones. 5 For they make many weak who, when they beleived in Christ and received strength in the faith, were then made weak by the negligence of their way of life, to whom it is rightly said: 'You have voided the covenant of Levi.' 'The covenant of life and peace,' and the rest, 6 which we have said pertains to the duties of the priest. Because of which, he says, I have given you over to contempt and abased you before all the peoples, that they scorn you, and in place of glory and honour they trample on you as men wretched and reviled. 'Because you have not kept my ways, and you have shown partiality in the Law.' Among all the sins of Levi, that one is placed as last and greatest, because showing partiality in the Law, they judge not cases but persons, and despising the righteous poor man they receive and honour iniquitous rich men. To whom it is said in the eighty first Psalm: 'How long will you judge for iniquity, and give honour to sinners?' 7 And Paul says to the Galatians: 'God is no respecter of persons.' 8 And more than all the Apostle James accuses this sin and condemns it. 9 For whatever has been said to the people before, we should think said to us, that being more prudent we keep away from vices, and do not show partiality in the Law, lest we who revere God prefer a lie to truth. Saint Jerome, from the Commentary on The Prophet Malachi , Chapter 2 1 Malac 2.8-9 2 Deut 33.8 Sept 3 Deut 5.32 4 Eccles 7.17 5 Mt 18.6, Mk 9.42, Lk 17.1-2 6 Malac 2.5 7 Ps 88.2 8 Galat 2.6 9 James 21.13

An Exhortation To Preaching

Pio Patri et prudenti magistro, nobisque cum omni amore amplectendo Theodulfo archiepiscopo, humilis levita Alcuinus salutem. Solent ex abundanti charitatis fonte verba fluere dulcudinius, quia quoddam refrigerium est aestuantis in amore cordis sermonibus ostendere, quod mente maxime tenetur. Unde ego privatae charitatis instinctu condictum amicitiae jus pietatis inuitu renovare cupiens, his litterulis vestrae sanctitati fidem meam in memoriam revocare volui, ne thesaurus memoriae longa oblivionis rubigine vilescat: maxime quia filius noster Candidius, vester fidelis famulus, plurima bonitatis insignia nobis de vestrae beatitudinis nomine narrare solet; vel quam libera voce in conventu publico veritatis testimonia pertulisset; vel quam honestis moribus inter majores minoresque personas tuae beatitudinis foret conversatio. Etiam quam pia et religiosa sedulitate ecclesiastica coleres officia; vel qualiter impias disceptationes odio haberes; quoniam omnia certissimum est Deo placare; et Sancti Spiritus gratiam tuo pectori abundanter influere demonstrant, et illam tuo corde ardescere flammam, quam ipsa Veritas testatur se mittere in terram, ut arderet, quoniam nullis poterit fluminibus extingui. Gaudens gaudebo de augmento honoris vestri et de sigillo sacerdotalis dignitatis, quod apostolica vobis superaddidit auctoritas; sed sciens scito quod hujus honoris claritas praedicationis poscit instantiam. Pallium sacerdotale diadema est. Sicut regium diadema fulgor gemmarum ornat, ita fiducia praedicationis pallii ornare debet honorem. In hoc enim honorem suum habet, si portitor veritatis praedicator existit. Memor esto sacerdotalis dignitatis linguam coelestis esse clavem imperii, et clarissimam castrorum Christi tubam; quapropter ne sileas, ne taceas, ne formides loqui, habens ubique operis tui itinerisque Christum socium et adjutorem. Nec enim fas est tam clari luminis, tam affluentis sapientiae lucernam sub modio abscondi, sed in honorem largitoris omnibus splendescere lumine veritatis, qui domum Dei ingrediuntur; quia messis quidem multa est, operarii autem pauci. Sed quo rariores, eo instantiores qui sunt esse necesse est. Exalta, ait Propheta, sicut tuba vocem tuam. Aliusque: Sit guttur tuum sicut aquila tuba super domum Dei. Multi occupant terram, sed quaerenti Christo fructum non afferent. Tua vero, vir venerande, sanctitas honoret ministerium tuum; praedica opportune, importune, et ut trapezeta sapiens multiplica pecuniam Domini, ut denaria mercede dignus efficiaris. Alcuinus, Epistola CXLVII, Ad Theodulfum Archiepiscopum Source: Migne PL 100.391b-393a

To the pious father and prudent teacher, with all our love embracing, Theodulf the archbishop, Alcuin, a humble priest, greetings. Words are accustomed to flow more sweetly from the abundant fount of charity, because there is a certain refreshment shown in the blazing words of a loving heart which is most firmly fixed in the mind. Whence I, by a kindling of private charity, desiring to renew the established right of pious friendship, with these words wished to recall to memory my faith to your holiness, lest the treasury of memory by blight of long forgetfulness be defiled, especially because our son Candidius, your faithful attendant, is accustomed to tell to us of the great fame of your kindness regarding the name of your holiness, or rather with free voice in public assembly he has brought forth the testimony of truth, or rather with frank behavour before the great and lesser he has revered your holiness. Indeed because with pious and sedulous you have adorned the ecclesiastical offices, and likewise you have reviled impious disputants, which all things are certainly most pleasing to God, and display most abundantly the grace of the Holy Spirit in your breast, which flame burning in your heart, the Truth Himself gives witness He has placed on the earth, 1 which flares up because no river is able to quench it. Rejoicing, then, I take joy concerning the increase of your honour and the seal of the priestly dignity, which the Apostolic authority has added to you; but knowing that, let it be known that with the glory of this honour is demanded a greater intensity of preaching. The priestly pallium is a diadem, and as the diadem of kingdoms is adorned by the brightness of gems, so confidence in preaching should adorn the honour of the pallium. And in this is its honour, if the preacher stands with a greater portion of the truth. Keep in mind that the tongue of the priestly dignity is the key of the heavenly kingdom and the most precious trump of the camps of Christ, whence do not be silent, do not hold your tongue, do not fear to speak, but everywhere in your works and ways have Christ your friend and helper. For it is not right that a bright light, a lamp of splendid wisdom, should be hidden beneath a bushel, but in a place of honour the light of truth illuminates more fully all who enter the house of God. 2 Because the harvest is plenty but the workers few, 3 as they are more rare, so it is needful that there be more present. 'Lift up,' says the Prophet, 'your voice like a trumpet.' 4 And another: 'May your throat be as the eagle, a trumpet over the house of God.' 5 Many dwell on the earth, but in the seeking of Christ they bear no fruit. But may your holiness, venerable fellow, honour your ministry. Preach in season and out of season, 6 and as you know how to multiply the money tables of the Lord, so you shall be worthy to receive a rich reward. 7 Alcuin of York, from Letter 147 to the Archbishop Theodulf 1.Lk 12.49 2 Mt 5.15 3 Mt 9.37 4 Isai 58.1 5 Hosea 8.1 6 2 Tim 4.2 7 Mt 25.14-30, Lk 19.11-27

Honour And Priests

Rogamus autem vos, fratres, ut cognoscatis eos, qui laborant in vobis, et praesunt vobis in Domino, et monent vos; ut illis summam honorem habeatis in charitate propter opera ipsorum: pacem habete inter vos. Hoc est, quod dicit in alia epistola presbyteres duplici honore honorandos, qui laborant in verbo doctrinae. Potest enim pigere eum, qui inopiam patitur, exercitium facere, quod prosit audientibus. Quid enim prodest honorem sine fructu habere: aut quid magnum est efferre ei carnali, qui tribuit spiritalia? Sicut enim divitiae negligentiam pariunt salutis, ita egestas dum saturari quaerit, a justitia declinat. Hinc Solomon nec nimis divitem se petit fieri; nec egestuosum. Hoc ipsum tamen in charitate fieri debere; ut honorificentia sacerdotis non de timore magis sit, sed de amore; ut etiam illi proficiat, qui facit. Res enim quae sponte non fit, ad effectum non pervenit; quamvis enim ad praesens proficiat sumenti, nihil tamen proderit in futuro danti. Et quia dissensio multa generat mala, pacificos eos esse hortatur. Ambrosiaster, Commentaria in Epistolam Ad Thessalonicenses Primam Caput V Source: Migne PL 17.452a-b

'We ask you, brothers, that you acknowledge those who labour among you and lead you in the Lord and warn you, that you give them all honor in love on account of their works, having peace among you.' 1  That is, which he says in another letter, 2 that priests have a double share of honor, they who labour in the word of teaching. For it is possible that he who suffers poverty is impeded in exerting himself for the improvement of his hearers. How indeed does it profit to have honour without fruit? Or why is it so important to give material things to him who has given spiritual things? Because as wealth gives birth to carelessness for salvation, so seeking to fulfill needs in poverty leads to a decline from righteousness. Whence Solomon does not seek to be rich, nor to be destitute. 3 But this should be done in love, that the honour given to a priest is not from fear, but from love, which indeed profits him who does it. For that which is not of one's own will does not achieve its end, although indeed in the present it may profit in gain, but in the future such giving will profit not at all. And because much dissention produces evils, he exhorts them to the love of peace. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On Saint Paul's First Epistle to the Thessalonians, Chapter 5 1 Thes 5.12-13 2 1 Tim 5.17 3 Prov 30.8

Reading And Prayer

Oportet vos et assiduitatem habere legendi, et instantiam orandi, quia vita viri justi lectione instruitur, ornatur, et assiduitate lectionis munitur homo a peccato, juxta illum qui dicebat: In corde meo abscondi eloquia tua, ut non peccem tibi. Haec sunt enim arma, lectio videlicet et oratio, quibus diabolus expugnatur: haec sunt instrumenta quibus aeterna beatitudo acquiritur: his armis vitia comprimuntur: his alimentis virtutes nutriuntur. Theodulfus Aurelianensis, Capitula ad Presbyteros Parochiae Suae, Capitula II Source:Migne PL 105.193a-b

It is necessary that you should be assiduous in your reading, and zealous in your prayers, for the life of the righteous man is instructed by reading, and so adorned, and by diligent reading a man is protected from sin, according to which it was said: 'In my heart I placed your word, that I not sin against you.' 1 For these are all arms, reading and prayer, that expel the devil. By these instruments eternal life is acquired. By these arms vices are crushed down. These are the foodstuffs which nourish the virtues. Theodulf of Orleans, Chapters For His Local Priests, Chapter 2 1 Ps 118.11

Cutting Off Clergy

βαδίζοντες δὲ τὴν ἀπλανῆ καὶ ζωηφόρον ὁδὸν, ὀφθαλμὸν, μὲν ἐκκόψωμεν σκανδαλίζοντα· μὴ τὸν αἰσθητὸν, ἀλλὰ τὸν νοητόν· οἶον ἐὰν ὁ ἐπίσοκοπος ἤ ὁ πρεσβύτερος, οἱ ὄντες ὀφθαλμοὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, κακῶς, ἀναστρέφωνται καὶ σκανδαλίζωσαι τὸν λαὸν, χρὴ αὐτοὺς ἐκβάλλεσθαι. Συμφέρον γὰρ ἄνευ αὐτῶν συναθροίζεσθαι εἰς εὐκτήριον οἴκον, ἤ μετ' αὐτῶν ἐμβληθῆναι, ὡς μετὰ Ἂννα καὶ Καϊάφα, εἰς τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός. Ὁμοίως καὶ ἡ χεὶρ ὁ διάκονος, ἐὰν ἀνάξιόν τι πράττῃ, χωριζέσθω τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου Ἅγιος Ἀθανάσιος, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 26.1257c

Walking in the way that does not deceive and gives life, let us tear out the eye if it scandalises, 1 not materially but spiritually; so that if, for example, a bishop or presbyter, who are the eyes of the Church, conduct himself in vile manner and scandalise the people, let him be cast out. For it befits them to be separated from those gathered in the house of prayer, and to be thrown out among those who are, as with Anna and Caiaphas, in the hell of fire. Likewise, if a deacon, who is the hand, 2 should have done something disgraceful, let him be removed from the altar. Saint Athanasius, Fragment 1 Mt 5.29 2 Mt 5.30

Penances For Sodomites

Si quis fornicatus fuerit, sicut Sodomitae fecerunt, si episcopus, vigniti quinque annos poeniteat: quinque ex his in pane et aqua, ex omni officio deponatur, peregrinando finiat dies vitae suae. Presbyter quindecim annos poeniteat, quinque ex his in pane et aqua, superiori sententia deponatur. Diaconus et monachus duodecim annos, tres in pane et aqua, et deponatur. Theodorus Cantuariensis Archiepiscopus, Ex Poenitentiali Romano Source: Here

If someone fornicates in the manner that the Sodomites did, if he is a bishop, he shall do penance for twenty five years, five of them on bread and water, and he shall be removed from all his offices, that he may end his days a wanderer. If he is a presbyter he shall do penance for fifteen years, five of these on bread and water, and he shall removed from his position as the above. If he is a deacon or monk he shall do penance for twelve years, three on bread and water, and he shall lose his position. Saint Theodore of Tarsus, From the Roman Penitential

A Bishop And His People

Deberem, fratres, post hos complures dies aliquid uberius praedicare, et revertens a tanto examine sacerdotum, dulci nos sermone reficere. Bene dixi examine sacerdotum; quia sicut apes de divinarum Scripturarum flosculis suavia mella conficiunt, et quidquid ad medicinam perinet animarum oris sui arte componunt; recte comparantur apibus sacerdotes; quia sicut apes castitatem corporis praeferunt, cibum vitae coelestis exhibent, aculeum legis exercent; puri enim ad sanctification, suaves ad refectionem, serveri sunt ad ultionem. Apibus plane sunt comparandi, qui velut alveario quodam gratia matris Ecclesiae continentur, in qua diversorum meritorm cellulas dulcissimus praedicationibus componentes, de uno Salvatoris examine Christianorum examine multa producunt. Cum semper, fratres, non cessaverim vos paterna pietate corripere, miror nihil vos meis commonitionibus profecisse, et doleo quod frequens praedicato mea non vos profecto aliquo salutis corrigat, sed quadam contestationis poena constringat. Praedication enim sacerdotis in plebe salvandis est correctio, et contestatio judicandis; contestamur enim illis ante judicium, quod illos maneat in ipse judicio, ut tunc omni excusatione submota, et rei sint de peccatis et obnoxii de contemptu. Unde et ego interdum parcens vobis tacere velim: sed malo vos contumaciae causas reddere, quam me negligentiae sustinere judicium. Comperi enim, fratres, quod per absentiam meam ita rari quique ad ecclesiam veniatus, ita pauci admodum procedatis, quasi me proficiscente, mecum pariter veneritis, et quasi cum necessitatibus ego pertrahor, vos mecum traxerit ipsa necessitas. Pariter a domo Dei absentes summus; sed hoc interest, quod me absentem necessitas efficit, vos voluntas. Nescitis quia etsi ego  ab ecclesia desum, Christus ab Ecclesia sua, qui est ubique, non deest? Venis, frater, ad ecclesiam, non invenis ibi episcoporum Episcopum Salvatorem? Nam Christianus qui tunc tantum procedit ad ecclesiam quando episcopus praesens est, non tam Dei causa videtur processisse quam hominis; nec implesse Christiani timentibus officium, sed amici deferentis obsequium. Quid ergo, vos arguo, cum possitis me uno sermo convicere? Convincor enim, cum in hac parte clericus vobis magis video negligentes. Quomodo enim possum corrigere filios, cum fratres, emendare non possim? Aut qua fiducia succenseam laicis, cum a consortibus pudoris verecundia continesca. Ego autem, fratres, non de omnibus loquor. Sunt certe quidam devoti, sunt et alii negligentes: ego neminem nomino, conscientia sua unumquemque conveniat. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia CXII, Increpatio ad Populum de Absentia Sua ab Ecclesia Source: Migne PL 57.515a -516b

I should, brothers, after these many days, preach to you something fruitful, and returning from a great swarm of priests, refresh us with sweet speech. And well have I said a swarm of priests, because like bees they make sweet honey from the flowers of Divine Scriptures, and whatever pertains to the medicine of souls they compose with the art of their mouths. And rightly are priests compared to bees, because like bees they prefer chastity of body, and exhibit the food of heavenly life, and exert themselves with the sting of the law. For purity is for sanctification and sweetness for refreshment and severity for punishment. And clearly they are compared to bees because their cells contain the grace of mother church, in which are established cells of different merits for sweet preaching, concerning the one swarm of the Saviour which produced the many swarms of Christians. When I do not cease, brothers, to correct you in paternal piety, I wonder that you have not be improved by my chastisements, and I grieve that my frequent preaching does not set you straight to improvement for salvation but it binds you with a certain penalty of witness. For the preaching of the priest is for the correction of the people for salvation, and witness is for judgement, and we bear witness to them before judgement, which shall remain with them in the same judgement when every excuse is removed and they are exposed concerning sin and contempt. From which I have sometimes spared you, choosing to be silent,  but to return to the causes of the evil of your contumacy, which imposes on me the judgement of negligence, know, brothers, that during my absence rare was attendance at church, thus few of you advanced to any extent, as at my departure you came so far with me, and as by necessities I am driven, the same necessity dragged you along with me. We were equally absent from the house of God, but with this difference, that my absence was on account of necessity, yours by your own will. Do you not know that even if I am absent from the Church, Christ is not absent from His Church, He who is everywhere? You come, brother, to Church and do not find the saving shepherd of the shepherds? The Christian who goes to church only when the bishop is present, seems to come not on account of God but man, nor does he fulfill the duty of the reverent Christian who defers to the demands of friendship. Why, then, do I dispute with you, when you can convict me with a word? And I am convicted, when in this place, a cleric among you, I mostly see negligence. How indeed I am able to correct sons, when I am not able to improve my brothers? Or how will I kindle faith in the lay when modesty is besieged by consorts of shamelessness? I do not speak of everyone here, brothers. Certainly some are devout, and others are negligent; I name no one, let each one's conscience be enough for him. Saint Maximus of Turin, Homily 112, A Crying Out to the People concerning his Absence from the Church.

A Chastisment Of Priests

Convenio vos, O prolectarii, uxorii, ac mulierum dominantium ditionibus inserviti, ut quid canonicae santionis jura confundtiis, et a sanctis Patribus institutam puritatis ecclesiasticae regulam violatis? Proh pudor! libidinis vestrae legibus colla submittitis, et promulgata per ora doctorum sancti Spiritus edicta calcatis. Ecce per vos apostolorum labour evertitur, et aedificium, quod doctores Ecclesiae fundaverunt, liquet quod, vobis impugnantibus, obruatur. Et ita fit, ut lex Ecclesiae quam clericalis ordo constituisse dignoscitur, per eumdem rursus ordinem e contrario destruatur. Amnon et Absalon fratres fuerunt, quos unus quidem pater genuit, sed alterum alter exstinguit. Cain trucidavit Abel, malus scilict justum; saepius etiam adulterinus legitimum perimit, sicut Jugurtha, perhibente Crispo, Hiempsal et Adherbal occidit; ita quodammodo spurii fratres legitimos perimuni, cum ii qui se solo nomine clericos prefitentur, sanctorum Patrum judicia destruunt, Et tamquam ipsos videntur exstinguere, quorum non metuunt sententias annullare. Quos videlicet apte significare videtur Abimelech filius Jerobaal, quem Scriptura genitum refert de concubina, quam habuerat in Sichem. Hic enim occidit fratres suos filios Jerobaal, septuaginta viros, super lapidem unum. Quid enim per septuaginta viros, nisi praedictorum Ecclesiae libra signatur? De quibus ait Lucas Evangelista: Quia designavit Dominus  septuaginta, et misit illos binos ante faciem suam in omnem civitatem, et locum, quo erat ipse venturus. Sanctus Peter Damianus, Contra Intemperantes Clericos Source: Migne PL 145.388c-389a

I call you to gather around, charmers, wife takers, servants of powerful women with wealth, and ask you why you cast from you the laws of canonical sanction, and violate the rules instituted by the fathers for the purity of the Church? For shame! You submit your necks to the laws of lust and tread under foot the laws of the teachers spoken through the mouth of the Holy Spirit. Behold, by you the labours of the Apostles are overturned, and the building, which the teachers of the Church founded, you dissolve, which by your battering has been overwhelmed. And thus it is that the ecclesiastical law which was established to distinguish clerics, by the opposition of the same order is destroyed. Amnon and Absalom were brothers and one father sired them, but the one slew the other. 1 Cain murdered Abel, the evil man the righteous man; and indeed more often the adulterous one destroys the law abiding one, so Jugurtha, as Sallust bears witness, killed Hiempsal and Adherbal; 2 and thus the spurious bothers destroy the legitimate ones, when those who are clerics only in name, destroy the laws of the holy fathers. And as they seem to have destroyed them, they do not fear to annul the sentences. Which openly seems to signify Abimelec the son of Jerobaal, whom Scripture tells was born from a concubine, which he had in Sichem. 3 He killed his brothers, the sons of Jerobaal, seventy men, over one stone. Why indeed seventy men, unless it signifies the scales of the  preachers of the church? Concerning which Luke said, 'The Lord chose seventy, and sent them in twos before his face into every city and place, which He was to come.' 4 Saint Peter Damian, Against Intemperate Clerics 1 2 Kings 13 2 cf Sallust, De Bello Jugurth 9-13 3 Judges 9 4 Lk 10.1

Priests And Bridges

Cur igitur Pontifices dicemus, qui se caeteris pontes non faciunt ? Pontifex vero dicitur, qui supra mare hujus mundi factus est pons, usque ad Deum et proximum pertingens. Usque ad Deum pertingit, ex fiducia qua non suam sed illius gloriam quaerit. Usque ad proximum, ex pietate qua ipsi non soli sibi prodesse desiderat. Sed numquid tales isti? Quis insensatus dicit pontem, quem nullae juvant bases, quem mare cadentem recipit, et se profundius involvit.  Petrus Blenensis, Tractatus Quales Sunt, Caput XIV Source:  Migne PL 207.1014a

Why, therefore, shall we call them priests (pontifices) who do not make themselves bridges (pontes) for others? Truly he is a 'Pontifex' who over the sea of this world builds a bridge, stretching to God and to his neighbour. He reaches to God by the faith which does not seek its own glory but God's. He reaches to his neighbour by the piety which does not desire to profit itself alone. But are there such men? Who is so foolish to name something a bridge, the foundations of which offer no support, which the sea receives in its falling, and drags it down into its depths? Peter of Blois, Tractate On What Sort of Things They Are, Chapter 14