The Beginning Of Perfection

Εἰ καὶ τελείους ἡμᾶς εἶναι ὁ θεῖος βούλεται νόμος, ὁμώνυμε, ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἀνάβασιν καὶ προκοπὴν πρὸςτὴν τελείωσιν φθάσαντας, πρότερον γάλακτι ποτιζομένους, ὡς ἀρτιγένητα βρέφη, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ εἰς σωτηρίαν αὐξάνοντας. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΥΜA' Ἰσιδωρῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne 78.425a

Even if the Divine law wishes us to be perfect, my namesake, it is necessary that we come to it by ascent and advance, as little infants who are nourished by the drinking of milk and by it grow to salvation. 1 Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 441, To Isidore The Deacon 1 1 Pet 2.2

Higher And Higher

Δεῦρο ἀπὸ λιβάνου, νύμφη, δεῦρο ἀπὸ λιβάνου· ἐλεύσῃ καὶ διελεύσῃ ἀπὸ ἀρχῆς πίστεως Tί τοίνυν ἐν τούτοις ὑπενοήσαμεν; ἀεὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἡ πηγὴ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν τοὺς διψῶντας ἐφέλκεται, καθὼς ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ φησὶν ἡ πηγὴ ὅτι Εἴ τις διψᾷ, ἐρχέσθω πρός με καὶ πινέτω· ἐν τούτοις γὰρ οὔτε τῆς δίψης οὔτε τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁρμῆς οὔτε τῆς ἐν τῷ πίνειν ἀπολαύσεως ἔδωκεν ὅρον, ἀλλὰ τῷ παρατατικῷ τοῦ προστάγματος πρὸς τὸ διηνεκὲς ποιεῖται τὴν προτροπὴν καὶ τοῦ διψῆν καὶ τοῦ πίνειν καὶ τοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν τὴν ὁρμὴν ἔχειν. Tοῖς δὲ γευσαμένοις ἤδη καὶ τῇ πείρᾳ μαθοῦσιν ὅτι χρηστὸς ὁ Kύριος οἷόν τις προτροπὴ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πλείονος μετουσίαν ἡ γεῦσις γίνεται. Διὰ τοῦτο οὐδέποτε λείπει τῷ ἀναβαίνοντι ἡ γινομένη πρὸς αὐτὸν προτροπὴ ἡ πάντοτε πρὸς τὸ μεῖζον ἐφελκομένη· ὑπομνησθῶμεν γὰρ τῆς πολλάκις ἐν τοῖς φθάσασιν ἤδη γεγενημένης παρορμήσεως παρὰ τοῦ λόγου τῇ νύμφῃ. Ἐλθέ, ἡ πλησίον μου, λέγει καὶ πάλιν Δεῦρο περιστερά μου, καὶ Δεῦρο σεαυτῇ ἐν σκέπῃ τῆς πέτρας. Kαὶ ἄλλας τοιαύτας φωνὰς προτρεπτικάς τε καὶ ἑλκτικὰς τῆς τῶν μειζόνων ἐπιθυμίας ὁ λόγος πρὸς τὴν ψυχὴν ποιησάμενος καὶ μαρτυρήσας ἤδη τῇ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀνιούσῃ τὸ διὰ πάντων ἀμώμητον εἰπὼν ὅτι Ὅλη καλὴ εἶ καὶ μῶμος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν σοί, ὡς ἂν μὴ τῇ μαρτυρίᾳ ταύτῃ ἐγχαυνωθεῖσα πρὸς τὴν τῶν μειζόνων ἄνοδον ἐμποδισθείη, πάλιν διὰ τῆς προτρεπτικῆς ταύτης φωνῆς ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν ὑπερκειμένων ἐπιθυμίαν ἀναβῆναι παρακελεύεται λέγων Δεῦρο ἀπὸ λιβάνου, νύμφη. Tὸ δὲ λεγόμενον τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· καλῶς, φησίν, ἐν τοῖς φθάσασιν ἠκολούθησας, ἦλθες μετ’ ἐμοῦ πρὸς τὸ ὄρος τῆς σμύρνης, συνετάφης γάρ μοι διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος εἰς τὸν θάνατον, συνανῆλθές μοι καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν βουνὸν τοῦ λιβάνου, συνανέστης γάρ μοι καὶ ὑψώθης ἐν τῇ τῆς θεότητος κοινωνίᾳ, ἣν ἐνδείκνυται τοῦ λιβάνου τὸ ὄνομα, ἀνάβηθί μοι καὶ ἀπὸ τούτων ἐπὶ ἕτερα ὄρη προκόπτουσά τε καὶ ὑψουμένη διὰ τῆς ἐνεργοῦς γνώσεως, δεῦρο τοίνυν ἀπὸ τοῦ λιβάνου, φησίν, οὐκέτι μνηστὴ ἀλλὰ νύμφη. Oὐ γάρ ἐστι δυνατὸν ἐμοὶ συζῆσαι μὴ ἀλλοιωθέντα διὰ τῆς τοῦ θανάτου σμύρνης πρὸς τὴν τοῦ λιβάνου θεότητα. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐν τούτῳ γέγονας ἤδη τῷ ὕψει, μὴ στῆς ἀνιοῦσα ὡς ἤδη διὰ τούτων ἐπιβᾶσα τῆς τελειότητος· ἀρχὴ γάρ σοι πίστεως ὁ λίβανος οὗτος γίνεται, οὗ μετέσχες διὰ τῆς ἀναστάσεως, ἀρχὴ δὲ τῆς ἐπὶ τὰ ὑψηλότερα τῶν ἀγαθῶν πορείας. Ἀπὸ τοίνυν τῆς ἀρχῆς ταύτης, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ πίστις, ἐλεύσῃ καὶ διελεύσῃ· τουτέστι καὶ νῦν ἥξεις καὶ εἰς ἀεὶ διερχομένη διὰ τῶν τοιούτων ἀνόδων οὐκ ἀπολήξεις. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων, Ὁμιλία Hʹ Source: Migne PG 44.941d-944c

Come away from frankincense, O bride, come away from frankincense, come and pass through the beginning of faith. 1 What, then, are we to understand by this? The wellspring of good things always draws the thirsty to itself, as in the Gospel the wellspring says, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink,' 2 in which He sets no limit to thirst, or to the urge to come, or to the enjoyment of the drinking, but by the openness of His injunction He proclaims a continuing invitation to both thirsting and drinking and the urge to come. To those who have already tasted and have learned from the experience 'that the Lord is good,' 3 the tasting becomes an invitation to partake of more tasting. Because of this the invitation that is always drawing us to what is greater is never lacking in the one who is travelling upwards. Let us recall what was often said by the Word to the bride earlier, 'Come, my close one,' He says,' and again, 'Come, my dove, and come for yourself … to the shelter of the rock.' 4 Indeed the Word has also addressed other such things, fashioned to exhort the soul and make it desire greater things, and He has already given witness of its flawlessness in everything as it rises to Him, saying, 'You are wholly beautiful and there is no flaw in you.' 5 But lest it become proud by this witness, which would hinder its ascent to greater things, again with a voice of exhortation He calls on it to rise up to a desire which yet lies beyond, 'Come away from frankincense, O bride.' What is being said is something like this, 'You have followed well in what has gone before. You came with me to the mountain of myrrh, for you were buried with me by baptism into death, 6 and you even accompanied me to the hill of frankincense, for you rose with me and were lifted up to communion with the Godhead, which is what the word frankincense indicates, now rise with me from these to other heights, advancing and ascending by the working of knowledge.' 'Come, then, from frankincense,' he says, 'no longer as one betrothed, but as the bride.' For it is not possible to live together with me unless you are transformed by the myrrh of death into the deity of frankincense. Since, then, you have already come to this height, do not pause in your ascent, for you have not reached perfection by these accomplishments. This frankincense, which you have come to share, is the beginning of faith for you through the resurrection, and it is the beginning of a journey toward greater heights of goodness. Come, then, from this beginning which is faith, come and pass over,' that is, 'even now you shall come, and you shall pass forever through such ascents and not cease.' Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 8 1 Song 4.8 LXX 2 Jn 7.37 3 Ps 33.9, 1 Pet 2.3 4 Song 2.13-14 5 Song 4.7 6 Rom 6.4

Freedom And The Commandments

Omnis qui didicit contemnere praesens saeculum quod figuraliter Ægyptus appellatur, et per verbum Dei, ut secundum Scripturas dicam, translatus est, et non invenitur, quia ad sæculum futurum festinat ac tendit, de hujusmodi anima dicit Dominus: Ego sum Dominus Deus tuus, qui eduxi te de terra Aegypti, de domo servitutis. Non ergo hæc ad illos tantum dicuntur, qui de Ægypto profecti sunt, sed multo magis ad te, qui nunc audis ista, si tamen proficiscaris ex Aegypto,et Aegyptiis ultra non servias, dicit hæc Deus : Ego sum Dominus Deus tuus, qui eduxi te de terra Aegypti, de domo servitutis. Vide si non negotia sæculi,et actus carnis, domus est servitutis : sicut rursum econtrario relinquere sæcularia, et secundum Deum vivere, domus est libertatis, sicut et Dominus in Evangelio dicit: Si permanseritis in verbo meo, vos agnoscetis veritatem, et veritas liberabit vos. Ergo Aegyptus domus est servitutis, Judæa vero et Jerusalem,domus est libertatis. Audi et Apostolum de his secundum sapientiam quæ eiin ministerio data fuerat, pronuntiantem : Quæ autem sursum est, inquit , Hierusalem, libera est, quæ est mater omnium nostrum. Sicut ergo Ægyptus, ista terrena provincia, filiis Israel domus dicitur servitutis, ad comparationem Judææ et Hierusalem, quæ eis domus efficitur libertatis : ita ad comparationem cœlestis Hierusalem, quæ, ut ita dicam, mater est libertatis, totus hic mundus, et omnia quæ in hoc mundo sunt, domus est servitutis. Et quoniam de paradiso libertatis pro pœna peccati ad hujusmodi ventum fuerat servitutem, idcirco primus sermo Decalogi, id est prima mandatorum Dei vox de libertate profertur, dicens: Ego sum Dominus Deus tuus, qui eduxi te de terra Aegypti, de domo servitutis. Hanc vocem in Aegypto positus audire non poteras, etiamsi tibi injungatur ut Pascha facias, etiamsi accingaris lumbos , et sandalia accipias in pedibus, etiamsi virgam teneas in manu, et azyma cum amaritudine comedas. Et quid dico in Ægypto positus hæc audire non poteras ? Sed ne inde quidem profectus in prima statim mansione hæc audire potuisti, nec in secunda,nec in tertia, nec cum transires Rubrum mare, etiamsi ad Merrhain veneris, et fuerit ibi amaritudo in dulcedinem versa, etiamsi in Helim veneris ad duodecim fontes aquarum, et septuaginta arbores palmarum, etiamsi Raphidim præterieris , cæterosque profectus ascenderis : nondum ad hujuscemodi verba idoneus judicaris, sed cum perveneris ad montem Sina. Multis ergo ante laboribus peractis, multis ærumnis et tentationibus superatis, vix aliquando mereberis præcepta suscipere libertatis, et audire a Domino: Ego sum Dominus Deus tuus, qui eduxi te de terra Aegypti, de domo servitutis. Origenes, In Exodo, Homilia VIII Source: Migne PG 12.350a-351a

Everyone who has learnt to scorn the present world, which is figuratively named Egypt, even through the word of God, that is, according to he Scriptures, is one who has passed on and is not found, and he hurries to the future age and cleaves to it, and to his soul the Lord speaks in this way , 'I am the Lord your God who led you from the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude.' 1 Therefore these things are not only said to those who came out of Egypt, but much more to you, who now hear these things. If you have advanced from Egypt and no longer serve there, the Lord says this, 'I am the Lord your God who led you from Egypt from the house of servitude.' Consider whether it is not that the affairs of the world and the deeds of the flesh is the house of servitude, and again to give up worldly things and live according to God is the house of freedom, as the Lord says in the Gospel, 'If you remain in my word, you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.' 2 Therefore Egypt is the house of bondage, but Judea and Jerusalem is the house of freedom. Hear the Apostle declare with that wisdom that was given to him for his ministry  that the Jerusalem which is above is free, the mother of us all. 3 As, then, Egypt is this world and a house of servitude to the sons of Israel, in comparison to Judea and Jerusalem, which is made the house of freedom for them, thus in comparison to the heavenly Jerusalem, which as I have said is the mother of freedom, all this world and everything in this world is the house of bondage. And because we came into servitude from the paradise of freedom through the penalty of sin, therefore the first words of the Decalogue, that is the first words of the commandments of God, is given about freedom, saying. 'I am the Lord your God who led you out of the land of Egypt and the house of servitude.' You were not able to hear this voice while you were in Egypt, even if the Pasch was enjoined on you, even if you girded your loins and you put your sandals on your feet, even if you held your staff in your hand, and you ate unleavened bread with bitter herbs. Why do I say that you were not able to hear this when you were in Egypt? Because not even when you came to the first resting place could you hear it, nor at the second, nor at the third, nor when you crossed the Red Sea, nor when you came to Mara where bitterness was turned into sweetness, nor when you came to Elim with the twelve fountains of water and the seventy palm trees, nor even as you passed through Rephidim, and you rose up over others, not even there were you yet capable of judging these words, not until you came to mount Sinai. Therefore with many labours performed, with many pains and trials overcome, only then did you deserve to receive the commandments, and to hear the Lord say, 'I am the Lord your God, who led you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude.' Origen, On Exodus, from Homily 8 1 Exod 20.2 2 Jn 8.31-32 3 Galat 4.26

Rising And Serving

Et stans super illam imperavit febri: et dimisit illam. Et continuo surgens, ministrabat illis. Et continuo surgens... Hoc est corpore et mente in superiora se agens. Ad Coloss III: Quae sursum sunt sapite, non qua super terram. Ministrabat eis, Hoc est,mensam parabat et necessari, in signum restitutionis omnium virium et operationum. Hoc autem spiritualiter impletur: quando sicut servivimus peccando diabolo, ita curati servimus Dei. Ad Roman VI: Sicut exhibuistis membra vestra servire immunditae et iniquitati ad iniquitatem, ita nunc exhibete membra vestra servire justitiae in sanctificationem Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput IV Source: Here p347

And standing over her He commanded the fever and it left her, and rising immediately, she served them. 1 'And rising immediately.' That is, turning the body and mind to higher things. In the third chapter of the letter to the Colossians, 'Think on things above, not the things of the earth.' 2 'And she served them.' That is, she prepared the table and all that was necessary as a sign of the restoration of all strength and function. This is fulfilled spiritually when as we have served the devil in sin, we are healed and serve God. In the sixth chapter of Romans: 'As you gave your members to serve uncleanliness and wickedness for wickedness, so now give your members to serve righteousness for sanctification.' 3 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 8 1 Lk 4.39 2 Colos 3.2 3 Rom 6.19

Steps To The Heights

Sponsionis nostrae et itineris ordo compellit ut abbatis Nesterotis praeclari in omnibus summaeque scientiae viri institutio subsequatur. Qui cum sacrarum Scripturarum nos aliqua memoriae commendasse et eorum intelligentiam desiderare sensisset, talibus nos adorsus est verbis: Multa quidem scientiarum in hoc mundo sunt genera, tanta siquidem earum quanta et artium disciplinarumque varietas est. Sed cum omnes aut omnino inutiles sint, aut praesentis tantum vitae commodis prosint, nulla est tamen quae non habeat proprium doctrinae suae ordinem atque rationem, per quam ab expetentibus possit attingi. Si ergo illae artes ad insinuationem sui certis ac propriis lineis diriguntur, quanto magis religionis nostrae disciplina atque professio, quae ad contemplanda invisibilium sacramentorum tendit arcana, nec praesentis quaestus, sed aeternorum retributionem expetit praemiorum, certo ordine ac ratione subsistit! Cujus quidem duplex est scientia. Prima practice, id est, actualis, quae emendatione morum et vitiorum purgatione perficitur; altera theorice, id est, quae in contemplatione divinarum rerum et sacratissimorum sensuum cognitione consistit. Quisquis igitur ad theoreticen voluerit pervenire, necesse est ut omni studio atque virtute actualem primum scientiam consequatur. Nam haec practice absque theoretica possideri potest, theoretice vero sine actuali omnimodis apprehendi non potest. Gradus enim quidam ita ordinati atque distincti sunt, ut humana humilitas possit ad sublime conscendere: qui si invicem sibi ea qua diximus ratione succedant, potest ad altitudinem perveniri, ad quam sublato primo gradu non potest transvolari. Frustra igitur ad conspectum Dei tendit, qui vitiorum contagia non declinat: Spiritus namque Dei effugiet fictum, nec habitabit in corpore subdito peccatis Sanctus Ioannes Cassianus, Collationes, Collatio XIV, De Spirtiali Scientia Source: Migne PL 49.953b-955b

The order of our promise and course demands that the instruction of the Abbot Nesteros should follow, a man of excellence in all points and of the greatest knowledge. When he had seen that we had committed some parts of Holy Scripture to memory and desired understanding of them, he addressed us in these words. 'There are indeed many different kinds of knowledge in this world, certainly as great a variety as there is of the arts and sciences. But though all are either utterly useless or useful only for the goods of this present life, there is yet not one that does not have its own system and method for learning it, by which it can be grasped by those who seek it. If then those arts are guided by certain specific rules for the understanding of themselves, how much more does the system and expression of our religion, which tends to the contemplation of the secrets of invisible mysteries and seeks nothing of the present but only the gain of eternal rewards, depend on a fixed order and scheme? The knowledge of this is twofold: first, practical, which is brought about by an improvement of morals and purification from faults; second, theoretical, which consists in the contemplation of Divine things and the knowledge of most sacred thoughts. Whoever then would arrive at theoretical knowledge must first pursue practical knowledge with all his resolve and might. For this practical knowledge can be acquired without the theoretical, but the theoretical cannot possibly be gained without the practical. For there are certain stages, ordered and distinct, by which human humility is able to rise to the heights, and if these follow each other in turn in the way as we have said, man can attain to a height to which he could not fly if the first step were removed. Vainly, therefore, does one who does not refuse the pollution of the vices strive for the vision of God, 'For the spirit of God hates deception and dwells not in a body subject to sins.' 1 Saint John Cassian, Conferences, Conference 14, On Spiritual Knowledge 1 Wisdom 1.4-5

Walking To God

Non omnes uniformiter gradiuntur ad Deum. Quidam lento passu, sicut ii qui terrenorum curis impliciti vix aliquando respirant ut Dei recordentur; quidam modesto incessu, sicut ii qui Domini servitio mancipati Deo quidem serviunt, et tamen erga seipsos indulgeniores existunt; alii veloci, id est, rapido cursu, sicut ii qu super carnem suam intuentes, et sic transitoria contemnentes, celeriter proficiscuntur ad Deum: hoc solummodo cupientes in pace quiescere in idipsum. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber VI, Tit CX, De Inaequalitae gradientium ad Deum Source: Migne PL 177.859d-860a

Not all walk to God at the same pace. Some do so with slow steps, as those who are bound up in worldly cares and scarcely have any time to breathe so that they may be mindful of God. Some walk at a moderate step, as those who are free to serve the Lord and do so and yet they also give way to indulging themselves. And others are swift, that is, their steps are rapid, as those who watching over the flesh and so scorning all transitory things, quickly advance to God, and this alone is to desire to rest in peace immediately. 1 Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 6, Chapter 110, On the Different ways of walking to God 1 Ps 4.9

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

Tribulation And Good Speed

Quinta utilias tribulationis est, quod accelerat iter tuum ad Deum. Unde quot tribulationes habuisti,tot nuncios misit tibi Deus, ut ad ipsum festinares nec in via tardares. Et vide quam prava sunt, quae cor pravum retardant ne homines festinent ad Deum. Quum ergo tribulatio auferat delectationem et amorem in rebus transitoriis, quae retardant hominem ire ad Deum festinanter; unde Gregorius, mala quae hic nos comprimunt, nos ire ad Deum compellunt: noli ergo parvum aestimare beneficium tribulationis, quae a gravi carcere te liberavit, et accelerat iter tuum ad regnum coeli. Juxta illud Ecclesiastis, De carcere catenisque quis introducitur ad regnum. Carcer vocatur ibi quicquid cor inordinate diligit in hoc mundo. Vincula quibus ligatur, sunt affectiones pravae. Et quanto amor est major, tanto carcer est profundior. De hoc carcere Deus te ducit per tribulationem, quando rem inordinate amatam vel in posterum amandam tibi aufert, vel contrariam tibi facit eam. Quod significatum est, ubi dicitur quod Petrus servabatur in carcere Herodis; et sequitur, quod angelus Domini ei astitit, percussoque latere Petri, excitavit eum, dicens: Surge velociter. Per latus intelligitur frater tuus, qui de eodem latere exivit de quo tu, vel, omnes generaliter illi, qui de cognatione vel affinitate tibi sunt juncti. Quando ergo ille, qui jure naturali deberet esse amicus tibi, est contrarius, vel morte subtrahitur, intellige, te percussum latere ad hoc quod de carcere exeas, et cor tuum in solo Deo ponas, qui deficere non potest. Sed considera quod Petrus non conqueritur de ictu in latere, per quem liberabatur a carcere: sic tu conqueri non debes de tribulalione, quae te ab amore mundano malo; vel falso sanat et liberat. Et si forte ictus tribulationis difficilis est tibi sustineri, respice Christum, qui pro te vulneratus erat in latere, et tunc facilius sustinebis. Sicut bonus miles, quando videt vulnera domini sui, non sentit sua. Noli ergo repellere nuncios Domini, qui te ad Dominum revocant, et festinare cogunt: quia qui repellit nuncium, repellit Dominum. Tunc enim nuncius repellitur, quando cor per impatientiam tribulationi contradicit. Et nota quod tribulatio duo facit, scilicet affligit animam ipsam purgando, et purgat affligendo. Sed quando cor cum rebellione recipit tribulationem, ab afflictione non recipit tribulatus purgationem. Unde talis amaritudinem tribulationis accipit, et ejusdem perdit utilitatem, et tamen velit nolit, oportet eum sustinere tribulationem. Petrus Blenensis, De Utilitate Tribulationum Source: Migne PL 207.998d-999c

The fifth usefulness of tribulation is that it hurries you on the way to God. Whence as many troubles as you have, they are so many messengers God has sent to you, so that you might be sped on to Him, lest you tarry in the way. And see how wretched those things are which hold back a wretched heart lest it hurries off to God. This tribulation, then, removes delight and love in transitory things which keep men from going quickly to God. Whence Gregory says, 'Evils which oppress us here, drive us to go to God.' 1 Do not, then, judge the benefit of tribulation slight, which has freed you from the depths of a prison and hurried you on your way to the kingdom of heaven. According to a passage of Ecclesiastes: 'From prison and chains a man is brought into the kingdom.' 2 He names here a prison whatever the heart excessively loves in this world. The chains which bind are depraved affections. And the greater that love, so much more deeper the prison. From this prison God leads you by tribulation, when it makes a thing loved excessively something once loved, or something which is averse to you. Which was signified when it is said that Peter was held in the prison of Herod. And it continues that the angel of the Lord stood beside him and struck him on the side and woke him, saying, 'Rise up quickly.' 3 By the side your brother is to be understood, who came out from the same side which you did, or all those in general who by blood or likeness are joined to you. When, therefore, he who should be a friend to you by natural law is opposed to you, or is taken off by death, understand that you have been struck on the side so that you might leave the prison and that you should set your heart on God alone, who is not able to fail you. But consider that as Peter was not overthrown by the blow on the side, but by it freed from the prison, so you should not be conquered by tribulation, but it should heal and free you from the love of worldly evil or lies. And if perhaps this blow of tribulation is difficult to endure, look to Christ, who was pierced in the side for you and you shall endure more easily, like a good soldier who does not feel his own wounds when he sees the wounds of his lord. Do not, then, drive off the messengers of the Lord who call you back to the Lord and drive you to hurry on, because he who drives off a messenger, drives off the Lord. And then the messenger is driven off when the impatient heart disputes in tribulation. And note that this tribulation is twofold in that it afflicts the soul for cleansing and it cleanses with affliction. But when the heart rebels against the acceptance of tribulation it does not receive cleansing by affliction. Whence it receives the grave bitterness of tribulation and ruins its usefulness, and however it wishes it were not, it is necessary for it to endure tribulation. Peter of Blois, On The Usefulness of Tribulations 1 Greg Mag 2 Eccle 4.14 3 Acts 12.1-11

Advancing In Understanding

Quapropter si vobis cura est ad spiritalis scientiae lumen, non inanis iactantiae vitio, sed emundationis gratia pervenire, illius primum beatitudinis cupiditate flammamini, de qua dictum est: Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt; ut etiam ad illam de qua angelus ad Danielem ait pervenire possitis: Qui autem docti fuerint, fulgebunt sicut splendor firmamenti; et qui ad iustitiam erudiunt multos, quasi stellae in perpetuas aeternitates; et in alio propheta: Illuminate vobis lumen scientiae dum tempus est. Tenentes itaque illam quam habere vos sentio diligentiam lectionis, omni studio festinate actualem, id est, ethicam, quam primum ad integrum comprehendere disciplinam Absque hac namque illa quam diximus theoretica puritas non potest apprehendi, quam hi tantum, qui non aliorum docentium verbis, sed propriorum actuum virtute perfecti sunt, post multa operum ac laborum stipendia, iam quasi in praemio consequuntur. Non enim a meditatione legis intelligentiam, sed de fructu operis acquirentes, cum Psalmographo canunt: A mandatis tuis intellexi. Et excoctis passionibus universis, fiducialiter dicunt: Psallam et intelligam in via immaculata. Ille enim psallens intelligit quae canuntur, qui in via immaculata gressu puri cordis innititur. Et idcirco si scientiae spiritali sacrum in corde vestro vultis tabernaculum praeparare, ab omnium vos vitiorum contagione purgate, et curis saeculi praesentis exuite. Impossibile namque est animam quae mundanis vel tenuiter distentionibus occupatur, donum scientiae promereri, vel generatricem spiritualium sensuum, aut tenacem sacrarum lectionum fieri. Sanctus Ioannes Cassianus, Collationes, Collatio XIV, De Spirituli Scientia, Caput IX, Quod de actuali scientia proficiatur ad spiritalem Source: Migne PL 49.965b-966b

Whence if you have care to come to the light of spiritual knowledge, but not for the fault of empty boasting, but for the sake of being cleansed, first be inflamed with the desire for that blessedness concerning which it was said: 'Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God,' 1 so that you might even achieve what the angel said to Daniel: 'But they who are learned shall shine as the splendor of the firmament, and they who instruct many to righteousness as stars forever and ever.' 2 And in another prophet: 'Enlighten yourselves with the light of knowledge while there is time.' 3 And so keeping to that diligence in reading which I know that you have, hasten with all eagerness to gain first a comprehensive grasp of practical, that is, ethical, discipline. For without this that theoretical purity which we have spoken of cannot be obtained, which only those who are perfected acquire as reward, and not by the words of others who teach, but by the virtue of their own actions, and after much expenditure of effort and toil. For gaining knowledge not from meditation on the law but from the fruit of their own labour, they sing with the Psalmist: 'By your commandments I have understood.' 4 And having overcome all the passions, they confidently say: 'I will sing, and I will understand in the immaculate way.' 5 For as he sings, he understands what he sings who in the immaculate way is striving with the step of a pure heart. And therefore if you wish to prepare in your heart a holy tabernacle of spiritual knowledge, purge yourself from the infection of all sins and strip off the cares of the present world. For it is impossible for the soul which is occupied even lightly with worldly concerns to merit the gift of knowledge, or to become  a spiritual interpreter, or to be diligent in the reading of holy things. Saint John Cassian, Conferences, Conference 14, On Spiritual Knowledge, Chapter 9, How one advances from practical knowledge to spiritual knowledge 1 Mt 5.8 2 Dan 12.3 3 Hosea 10.12 4 Ps 118.104 5 Ps 100.2

The Grape Cluster

βότρυς τῆς κύπρου ἀδελφιδός μου ἐμοὶ ἐν ἀμπελῶσιν Εγγαδδι Διπλῆς οὖν οὔσης ἐν τῷ βότρυϊ τῆς ἀπολαύσεως, τῆς μὲν ἐκ τοῦ ἄνθους, ὅταν εὐφραίνῃ τῇ εὐοσμίᾳ τὰ αἰσθητήρια, τῆς δὲ διὰ τοῦ τελειωθέντος ἤδη καρποῦ, ὅταν ὑπάρχῃ κατ' ἐξουσίαν ἢ τῆς βρώσεως κατατρυφᾶν ἢ ἐν συμποσίοις τῷ οἴνῳ φαιδρύνεσθαι ἐνταῦθα ἡ νύμφη ἔτι τὸν ἀνθοῦντα βότρυν καρποφορεῖ κύπρον τὴν οἰνάνθην κατονομάζουσα· τὸ γὰρ γεννηθὲν ἐν ἡμῖν παιδίον, ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὁ ἐν τοῖς δεξαμένοις αὐτὸν διαφόρως προκόπτων σοφίᾳ τε καὶ ἡλικίᾳ καὶ χάριτι οὐκ ἐν πᾶσιν ὁ αὐτός ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ μέτρον τοῦ ἐν ᾧ γίνεται, καθὼς ἂν ὁ χωρῶν αὐτὸν ἱκανῶς ἔχῃ, τοιοῦτος φαίνεται ἢ νηπιάζων ἢ προκόπτων ἢ τελειούμενος κατὰ τὴν τοῦ βότρυος φύσιν, ὃς οὐ πάντοτε μετὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ εἴδους ἐπὶ τῆς ἀμπέλου ὁρᾶται, ἀλλὰ συνεξαλλάσσει τῷ χρόνῳ τὸ εἶδος, ἀνθῶν, κυπρίζων, τελειούμενος, πεπαινόμενος, οἶνος γενόμενος. Ἐπαγγέλλεται τοίνυν ἡ ἄμπελος τῷ ἰδίῳ καρπῷ, ὃς οὔπω μέν ἐστι πρὸς οἶνον ὥριμος, ἀλλ' ἀναμένει τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν καιρῶν, οὐ μὴν ὡς εἰς τρυφὴν ἀναπόλαυστος· τὴν ὄσφρησιν γὰρ εὐφραίνει ἀντὶ τῆς γεύσεως τῇ προσδοκίᾳ τῶν ἀγαθῶν τοῖς ἀτμοῖς τῆς ἐλπίδος ἡδύνων τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς αἰσθητήρια· τὸ γὰρ πιστόν τε καὶ ἀναμφίβολον τῆς ἐλπιζομένης χάριτος ἀπόλαυσις τοῖς δι' ὑπομονῆς ἀπεκδεχομένοις τὸ προσδοκώμενον γίνεται. Oὗτος οὖν ὁ τῆς κύπρου βότρυς ἐστί, βότρυς οἶνον ἐπαγγελλόμενος, οὔπω δὲ οἶνος γινόμενος, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦ ἄνθους, ἡ δὲ ἐλπὶς τὸ ἄνθος ἐστί, τὴν ἐσομένην χάριν πιστούμενος. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων Ὁμιλία Γʹ Source: Migne PG 44.828c-829a

A cluster on a cypress is my beloved to me in the vineyards of Eggadi. 1 There are, then, two ways in which the grape cluster is enjoyable, on the one hand, by its blooms, when it pleases the sense with its smell, and on the other by its ripe fruit, when it serves, as one will, either as delightful food, or by its wine to give joy amid celebrations. Here the bride as yet bears the cluster as a bloom, giving the name 'blossom' to the vine's flower. For the child born for us, Jesus, who within those who receive Him, grows in a variety of different ways in wisdom and in stature and in grace, is not the same in all but according to the measure of the one into whom He comes, appearing as a babe making progress or being perfected, as with the nature of a grape cluster, which does not always have the same form on the vine, but changes its form in time ,as it blossoms, colours, matures, ripens and becomes wine. The vine gives promise, then, by its own fruit, which is not yet ripe enough to make wine but awaits the fullness of the time, 2 and yet it is not meant to be a mere useless luxury, for in the anticipation of good things it delights with its scent rather than taste and pleases the soul's sense with the aromas of hope, for to those of firm faith in patience comes the enjoyment of the grace that is hoped for. Thus, then, is the cluster of grape blossoms a cluster that gives promise of wine; it has not yet become wine but by its blossom, which blossom is hope, there is assurance of the grace to come. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 3 1 Song 1.13 2 Galat 4.4

Attaining Excellence

Kύριε τίς παροικήσει ἐν τῷ σκηνώματί σου καὶ τίς κατασκηνώσει ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ ἁγίῳ σου; Πορευόμενος ἄμωμος, καὶ ἐργαζόμενος δικαιοσύνην. Οὐ γαρ μία πρᾶξις τελειοῖ τὸν σπουδαῖον, αλλὰ παντὶ προσῆκε τῷ βίῳ ταις κατ' ἀρετὴν ἐνεργείαις συμπαρατείνεσθαι, ἵνα ἄμωμοι καὶ ἀνέγκλητοι κατ' αὐτὴν γενώμεθα τὴν ὁδόν. Είη δ' ἄν αὕτη ἡ σωτήριος γνῶσις, ἦν αὐτὸς παριστὰς ἔλεγεν· Ἐγώ εῖμι ἡ ὁδός. Δεῖ γὰρ πρὸς τῷ πρώτῳ κατορθώματι, καὶ τῆς δι' ἔργων καὶ πράξεων τῶν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ πρόνοιαν ποιεῖσθαι. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους, ψαλμος ΙΔ´ Source: Migne PG 23.152c

O Lord, who shall dwell in your tabernacle and who shall come to rest on your holy mount? He who comes blameless and works righteousness. 1 For it is not with a single deed that excellence is accomplished, but one comes to it with works of virtue stretching out through the whole of life. Thus we become blameless and faultless on the way. And this may be that saving knowledge which He brought forth with these words: 'I am the way.' 2 For it is necessary that with the first thing rightly done, one fashion through works and deeds of righteousness what is foretold. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 14 1 Ps 14.1-2 2 Jn 14.6

Ascents Of The Heart

Beatus vir cujus est auxilium abs te, ascensiones in corde suo disposuit. Ascensor iste in Scriptura sacra aliquando dicitur ovis perdita, aliquando filius prodigus, recedens a patre. Recessit enim a suo pastore et Patre in desertum hujus mundi, quod regio est a Deo longinqua tribus descensionum gradibus. Primus fuit a Dei magistra voluntate recedere, et suam sibi propriam magistram constituere, divinae voluntati suam praeferendo; secundus fuit a sua voluntate in carnis voluptates descendere, carnis curam in desideriis faciendo; tertius vero, a seipso sub se in terrena effluere, mundum et ea quae in mundo sunt quaerendo. Primum recessit a Deo intro ad se, secundo ab intus extra juxta se, tertio extra se. Prima dieta remotum, secunda remotiorem, tertia eum fecit remotissimum. Prima est voluntatis perversio, secunda carnalis delectatio, tertia terrenorum ambitio. His gradibus ad desertum ad regionem longinquam usque ad Babylonem descendit. Sed quia, juxta prophetam, etiam ibi aliquando liberatur, attendendum quomodo per trinam ascensionem ab hac trina descensione ad Deum redeat, quia inde incipit ascendere, ubi descendendo pervenit. Primus ascensionis gradus est terrena contemnere, paupertatem illam appetendo qua pauper in cella ditior fit in conscientia; secundus est carnis delectationes ex toto conterere, carnalia desideri vigiliis, jejuniis et orationibus domando; tertius voluntatem suam Deo et praelatis suis supponere, humilitatem in corde, patientiam in ore, perseverantiam exhibendo in opere. Nam haec tria verae obedientiae sunt necessaria, exemplo illius qui factus est obediens Patri, mitis et humilis corde, et tanquam ovis ad victimam ductis non aperuit os suum, perserverans usque ad mortem crucis. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber III, Tit LI, De ascensionis cordis ad Deum gradibus Source: Migne PL 177.669c-670a

Blessed the man whose help is from you, he has arranged ascents in his heart. 1 This one who ascends is sometimes spoken in Sacred Scripture as the lost sheep, and sometimes as the prodigal son, leaving the father. For by three descending steps he withdrew from his shepherd and father into the waste of this world, which region is far from God. First was the withdrawing from the magisterial will of God to establish his own will as magisterial, preferring his own to the Divine. Second was the descent from His pleasure to the pleasures of the flesh, completing the cares of the flesh in its desires. The third, however, was to descend from himself, below himself, passing into the things of the world, in the seeking of the world and the things of it. Firstly then he withdrew from God into himself and secondly in himself to those things of him, and thirdly to those things outside. The first made the Deity remote, the second more remote, the third the most remote. The first is the perversion of the will, the second the delights of the flesh, the third worldly ambition. These steps lead down to the waste, to that distant region, and even to Babylon. But because according to the prophet there may sometimes be liberation there, one must consider the three ascents which return one to God from the three descents, for there the ascent begins where the descent has brought one. The first ascent is to scorn the things of the world and to desire that poverty by which the poor man in a cell is more rich in his conscience. The second is to crush down the pleasures of the flesh, conquering the carnal desires with fasting and prayer. The third is to place oneself under the will of God and His prelates. being humble in heart, patient in speech, and exhibiting perseverance in works. For these are the three necessities of true obedience, as according to the example of that one who 'was made obedient to the Father,' 2 'Meek and humble in heart,' 3 'And as a sheep led to slaughter He did not open His mouth,' 'persevering even to death on the cross.' 4 Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 3, Chapter 51, On The Ascending Steps of the Heart to God 1 Ps 83.6 2 Philip 2.8 3 Mt 11.29 4 Isaiah 53.7, Philip 2.8

Sons And Fathers

Si quis igitur ad perfectionem tendit, de illo primo timoris gradu, quem proprie diximus esse servilem, de quo dicitur: Cum omnia feceritis, dicite, quia servi inutiles sumus, ad altiorem spei tramitem gradu proficiente conscendet, qui iam non servo, sed mercenario comparatur, quia mercedem retributionis exspectat, et quasi de peccatorum absolutione et poenali timore securus, ac bonorum sibi operum conscius, licet placiti praemium videatur expetere, tamen ad affectum illum filii qui de paternae indulgentiae liberalitate confidens, omnia quae patris sunt sua esse non ambigit, pervenire non potuit. Ad quem etiam ille prodigus, qui cum substantia patris etiam filii nomen amiserat, aspirare non audet, dicens: Iam non sum dignus vocari filius tuus; fac me sicut unum de mercenariis tuis. Post illas enim porcorum siliquas, quarum ei satietas negabatur, id est, vitiorum sordidos cibos, qui in semetipsum reversus, et salutari timore compunctus, immunditiam porcorum horrere iam coeperat, ac dirae famis supplicia formidabat, velut iam servus effectus, etiam mercenarii statum de mercede iam cogitans, concupiscit ac dicit: Quanti mercenarii in domo patris mei abundant panibus, et ego hic fame pereo! Revertar ergo ad patrem meum, et dicam illi: Pater, peccavi in coelum et coram te, iam non sum dignus vocari filius tuus; fac me sicut unum de mercenariis tuis. Sed ad istam humilis poenitentiae vocem in occursum eius pater prosiliens, maiore quam emissa fuerat pietate suscepit, eumque non contentus minora concedere, utroque gradu sine dilatione transcurso, pristinae filiorum restituit dignitati. Festinandum proinde nobis etiam est, ut ad tertium filiorum gradum, qui omnia quae patris sunt sua esse credunt, per indissolubilem charitatis gratiam conscendentes, coelestis illius Patris imaginem ac similitudinem recipere mereamur, et ad imitationem veri illius Filii proclamare possimus: Omnia quae habet pater, mea sunt. Quod etiam de nobis beatus Apostolus profitetur, dicens: Omnia vestra sunt, sive Paulus, sive Apollo, sive Cephas, sive mundus, sive vita, sive mors, sive praesentia, sive futura, omnia vestra sunt. Ad quam similitudinem etiam Salvatoris praecepta nos provocant: et vos perfecti, sicut et Pater vester coelestis perfectus est. In illis enim nonnumquam solet interrumpi bonitatis affectus, cum aliquo vel tepore, vel laetitia, vel oblectatione vigor animi relaxatus, aut metum ad praesens gehennae, aut desiderium subtrahit futurorum. Et est quidem in illis gradus cuiusdam profectus imbuens nos, ut dum vel poenarum metu, vel praemiorum spe incipimus vitia declinare, ad charitatis gradum transire possimus, quia Timor, inquit, non est in charitate, sed perfecta charitas foras mittit timorem, quoniam timor poenam habet. Qui autem timet, non est perfectus in charitate. Nos ergo diligamus, quia Deus prior dilexit nos. Non ergo aliter ad illam veram perfectionem conscendere poterimus, nisi quemadmodum nullius alterius nisi nostrae salutis gratia prior nos ille dilexit, ita eum nos quoque nullius alterius rei nisi sui tantum amoris dilexerimus obtentu. Quamobrem nobis studendum est, ut de hoc timore ad spem, de spe ad charitatem Dei, vel ipsarum virtutum amorem, perfecto mentis conscendamus ardore, ut transmigrantes in affectum boni ipsius, immobiliter, quantum humanae possibile est naturae, quod bonum est, retentemus. Sanctus Ioannes Cassianus, Collationes, Collatio XI, De Perfectione, Caput VII-VIII Source: Migne PL 49.853a-855

Therefore if someone aims at perfection, from that first step of fear, which we rightly termed servile, concerning which it is said: 'When you have done all things say: we are useless servants,' 1 he should rise by advancing a step to the higher way of hope, which is compared not to a slave but to a hireling, because it looks to the payment of reward, even as if it were free from the absolution of sins and fear of punishment and conscious of its own good works, but though it seems to look for the promised reward, yet it cannot come to that son's love, who, trusting in his father's forgiveness and liberality, has no doubt that all which the father has is his. To which indeed that prodigal one, who had lost along with the inheritance from his father even the name of son, did not venture to aspire, when he said: 'I am no more worthy to be called your son, treat me as one of your hired men.' For after those husks of the swine, the satisfaction of which was denied to him, that is, the vile food of vice, as he came to himself and was struck by a salutary fear, he already began to loathe the uncleanness of the swine, and to dread the torments of gnawing hunger, and as if already made a servant, thinking of the condition of a hireling and about the remuneration, with desire for it, he says: 'How many hired servants in the house of my father abound with bread and I perish here from hunger! Thus I will return to my father and say to him, 'Father I have sinned against heaven and before you, and am no more worthy to be called your son, treat me as one of your hired men.' But the father who ran to meet him received this voice of humble penitence with greater affection than that piety with which it was spoken, and was not content to allow him lesser things, but hurrying through the two steps without delay restored him to his original dignity of sonship. 2 Whence we also should make haste to that third step of sonship, which believes that all that the father has is his own, rising by means of the indissoluble grace of love, being accounted worthy to receive the image and likeness of our heavenly Father, and able to say after the likeness of the true son: 'All that the Father has is mine.' 3 Which also the blessed Apostle declares of us, saying: 'All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours.' 4 And to this likeness the commands of our Saviour also summon us: 'Be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.' 5 For sometimes in these persons the love of goodness is interrupted, when the vigour of the soul is relaxed by some coldness or joy or delight, and so for a time is drawn away from either the fear of hell, or the desire of things to come. And there is certainly in these things a step leading us to an advance, when from fear of punishment, or from hope of reward, we begin to avoid sin and are able to pass on to the step of love, for it is said: 'Fear is not in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. For he who fears is not perfected in love. Let us love, then, because God first loved us.' 6 So we can only ascend to that true perfection when, as He first loved us for the sake of nothing but our salvation, we also have loved Him for the sake of nothing but His own love alone. Whence we must have zeal to rise with perfect ardor of mind from this fear to hope, and from hope to the love of God, and the love of the virtues themselves, that as we pass on to the love of the good itself, we may, as far as it is possible for human nature, keep firm hold of what is good. Saint John Cassian, Conferences, from Conference 11, On Perfection, Chap 7-8 1 Lk 17.10 2 Lk 15.11-23 3 Jn 16.15 4 1 Cor 3.22 5 Mt 5.48 6 1 Jn 4.18-19

Blessings And The Way

Beati immaculati in via, qui ambulant in lege Domini. Prima igitur haec beatitudo est, beatos esse qui immaculati in via sint: sed non in via fortuita et in incerta et in erratica, sed in via in qua in lege Domini ambulatur. Plures etenim utilem et necessariam viam sese ingressos existimant; sed immaculati in via non erunt, quia non in lege Domini ambulant. Sed via haec non solum ineunda est, sed etiam pergenda . Nemo enim dum in via est, id ad quod per viam tendit obtinuit; secundum quod beatus Paulus ait, Non quod aliquid acceperim, aut jam perfectus sim: sequor autem si apprehendam, in quo et apprehensus sum a Christo. Ergo adhuc ille pergebat: sed pergebat ea quae retro sunt obliviscens, his autem quae in priora sunt se extendens. Itaque viam hanc agens beatus est, qui cum oblivione praeteritorum in futurorum spem extenditur. Et quae via sit in qua unusquisque ambulans beatus sit. Dominus docet dicens: Ego sum via. Quisquis igitur in praeceptis ejus institerit, hic beatus est: dum vitia carnis coercet, dum animi petulantiam edomat, dum avaritiae famem vincit, dum terrenorum honorum gloriam evitat. Qui in his ergo manserit, hic est immaculatus in via, et in lege Domini ambulans. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 9.504c-505a

Blessed are the immaculate on the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. 1 First, then, is this blessing, that they are blessed who are immaculate on the way, but they do not walk by chance or uncertainty or erratically, but in the law of God. Many indeed judge themselves to have entered on a useful and necessary way, but they shall not be immaculate on it because they do not walk in the law of God. But this way must not only be entered on, it must even be travelled on. For no one, while he is on the way, attains that to which he goes. According to which the blessed Paul says: 'Not that I have obtained something, or am now perfect, but I follow that I might gain it, in which I am gained by Christ.' 2 Therefore he was yet walking onward, but walking onward he was forgetting those things which were behind, and to those things which were before he was reaching out. Thus this way is the action of the blessed, who forgetting the past, reach out in hope for the future. And what is that way in which anyone who walks is blessed, the Lord teaches, saying. 'I am the way.' 3 Whoever, therefore, shall stood stood on His commands, he is blessed, while he corrects the vices of the flesh, while he tames the petulance of the soul, while he conquers the hunger of avarice, while he shuns the glory of worldly honours. And he who shall persist in these things, he is immaculate in the way, and he walks in the law of the Lord. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.1 2 Philip 3.12 3 Jn 14.6

Children And The Last Hour

'Pueri, novissima hora est.' In hac lectione pueros alloquitur; ut festinent crescere, quia novissima hora est. Aetas corporis non est in voluntate. Ita nullus secundum carnem crescit quando vult; sicut nullus quando vult nascitur: ubi autem nativitas in voluntate est, et crementum in voluntate est. Nemo ex aqua et Spiritu nascitur nisi volens. Ergo si vult, crescit: si vult, decrescit. Quid est crescere? Proficere. Quid est decrescere? Deficere. Quisquis novit natum se esse, audiat quia puer est et infans; avide inhiet uberibus matris, et cito crescit. Est autem mater Ecclesia; et ubera eius duo Testamenta Scripturarum divinarum. Hinc sugatur lac omnium sacramentorum temporaliter pro aeterna salute nostra gestorum, ut nutritus atque roboratus perveniat ad manducandum cibum, quod est: In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Lac nostrum Christus humilis est; cibus noster, idem ipse Christus aequalis Patri. Lacte te nutrit, ut pane pascat: nam corde contingere Iesum spiritaliter, hoc est cognoscere quia aequalis est Patri. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis,In Evangelium Ionannis, Tractatus III Source: Migne PL 35.1997-1998

Children, it is the last hour. 1 In this passage he addresses the children that they may make haste to grow, because 'it is the last hour.' The age of the body is not determined by one's own will. Thus no one grows in respect of the flesh when he will, just as no one is born when he will, but where being born is a matter of the will, the growth also is with the will. No one is 'born of water and the Spirit,' 2 unless he wills it. Therefore if he will, he increases; if he will, he decreases. What is it to grow? To advance. What is it to decrease? To go back. Whoever knows that he is born, let him hear that he is a child; let him eagerly cling to the breasts of his mother, and he grows quickly. The mother is the Church, and her breasts are the two Testaments of the Divine Scriptures. Hence let him suck the milk of all the the mysteries which were done in time for our eternal salvation, that nourished and strengthened he may attain to the eating of solid food, which is, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' 3 Our milk is Christ who is humble, our solid food the same Christ equal with the Father. With milk He nourishes you, that He may feed you with bread, for to touch Christ spiritually in the heart is to know that He is equal with the Father. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from the Third Tractate on the First Letter of John 1 1 Jn 2.18 2 Jn 3.5 3 Jn 1.1

Direction And Advance

Τὰ διαβήματα μου κατεύθυνον κατὰ τὸ λόγιον σου, καὶ μὴ κατακυριευσάτω μου πᾶσα ἀνομία. Κατὰ τὸ λόγοιν τοῦ Θεοῦ κατευθύνει· τὰ διαβήματα μου, ἐκ κακίας καὶ ἀγνοίας εἰς ἀρετὴν καὶ γνῶσιν τῆς ἀληθείας διαβαίνοντος. Εὐθυντὴρ γὰρ καὶ ἡγεμὼν τῶν τοιούτων διαβημάτων ὁ ὀρθὸς λόγος. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους, ψαλμος ΡΙΗ' Source: Migne PG 23.1388b

Direct my steps according to your word, and let no unrighteousness rule over me. 1 Directed according to the word of God, that my steps be advanced from wickedness and ignorance to virtue and knowledge of the truth. For the right word is the guide and leader of such steps Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.133

Progress And Perfection

Εἰ καὶ τελείους ἡμᾶς εἶναι ὁ θεῖος βούλεται νόμος, ὁμώνυμε, ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἀνάβασιν καὶ προκοπὴν πρὸς τὴν τελείωσιν φθάσαντας, πρότερον γάλακτι ποτιζομένους, ὡς ἀρτιγένητα βρέφη, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ εἰς σωτηρίαν αὐξάνοντας. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΥΜΑ' Ἰσιδορῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 78.425b

Even if the Divine Law wishes us to be perfect, 1 my namesake, so that we might come to ascent and progress to perfection, we first drink milk, as a new born child, and by that grow to salvation. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 441, To the Deacon Isidore 1 Mt 5.48 2 1 Pet 2.5

A Superior Love

Si diligitis eos qui vos diligunt, quam mercedem habetitis? Nonne et publicani hoc faciunt? Et si salutaveritis fratres vestros tantum: quid amplius facitis? Nonne et ethnici hoc faciunt? Estote ergo vos perfecti, sicut et Pater vester, qui in coelis est, perfectus est. Ostendit Dominus meritum nos perfectae dilectionis habere non posse, si eos tantum diligamus a quibus vicem nobis rependi dilectionis mutum noverimus, cum hujusmodi dilectionem etiam gentibus ac peccatoribus sciamus esse communem. Unde vult nos Dominus communem legem dilectionis humanae lege dilectionis evangelicae superare; ut non solum circa eos qui nos diligunt, sed etiam circa inimicos et odientes amoris nostri ostendamus affectum, ut verae pietatis ac bonitatis paternae in hoc imitemur exemplum. Sanctus Chromatius Aquileiensis, In Evangelium Sancti Matthaei, Tractatus XII Source: Migne PL 20.356b-c

If you love those who love you, what reward shall you have? Do the tax collectors not do this? And if you greet your brothers only, what great thing do you do? Do the pagans not do this? Be perfect as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.' 1  The Lord shows that we are not able to have the merit of perfect love, if we love only those from whom we know we shall receive a return of the love we give, when this same type of love we know to be common to pagans and sinners. Thus the Lord wishes that the Gospel's law of love surpass the common law of human love, that not only do we love those who love us, but even that we show affection to those who are enemies, and to those who hate us, that in this we imitate the example of the true piety and benevolence of the Father. Saint Chromatius of Aquileia, Commentary on the Gospel of St Matthew, from Tractate 12 1 Mt 5.46

Nothing And Something

Ait propheta, de homine generaliter loquens: Omnes, inquit, gentes quasi non sint, sic sunt coram eo, videlicet qui vere est, ac per se, et in se, non in alio ante se, vel supra se: et quasi nihil et inane reputatae sunt, tanquam de nihilo et inani. Ergo, qui se existimat aliquid esse, cum nihil sit, ipse se seducit. Taceamus itaque aliquid quaerere, cum nihil simus; quaerere quod vere est, cum vere omnino non simus. Ad omnium enim differentiam dictum est: Ego sum qui sum, ut dicere possit omne quod id non est: Ego sum qui non sum: aut non sum qui sum. Eia quo profecimus, fratres? Aliquid quaerentes, invenimus nihil. Deum quaerentes, nosmetipsos perdidimus. Cum enim tenuissima rimula interlucere coepit de nonnihilo aliquid, magno jam nobis lumine claruit, quam de nihilo nihil simus. Domine, vere in lumine tuo videbimus lumen tuum, et tenebras nostras. Isaac Cisterciensis Abbas, Sermo XIX, In Sexagisma III Source: Migne PL 194.1756 a-b

The Prophet spoke concerning men in general, saying: 'All the peoples are as nothing, so they are before Me,' 1 certainly He who truly is, through Himself, and in Himself, not in another before Him, or above Him. 'And as nothing and an emptiness they are reputed,' 1 as from nothing and from emptiness. Therefore, he who judges himself to be something, when he is nothing, deceives himself. And so let us be silent in the seeking of something, when we are nothing, the seeking of what truly is, when truly we are not anything. To distinguish Himself from everything He has said: 'I am He who is,' 2 that everything that is not Him might say: 'I am what is not,' or 'I am not He who is.' And how, considering this, have we advanced, brothers? Seeking something, we have found nothing. Seeking God, we have lost ourselves. But when light begins to shine through the tiniest chink, from nothing there is something, and now He enlightens us with a great light, that we are nothing from nothing. O Lord, truly 'in your light we shall see your light,' and our darkness. 3 Isaac of Stella, from Sermon 19, On Sexagisma, 3 1 1 Isai 40.17 2 Exod 3.14 3 Ps 35.10

Perishing And Progress

Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἔστιν κεκαλυμμένον τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἡμῶν, ἐν τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις ἐστὶν κεκαλυμμένον, ἐν οἷς ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἐτύφλωσεν τὰ νοήματα τῶν ἀπίστων.  Θεὸν τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου τὸν διάβολον εἶναί φησιν, ὡς καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια τῶν ἐθνῶν θεοί, καὶ ἡ κοιλία τῶν γαστριμάργων. στίζουσι δέ τινες εἰς τὸ ἐν οἷς ὁ θεός, ἑξῆς ἀναγινώσκοντες ἀπ' ἰδίας ἀρχῆς· τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἐτύφλωσε τὰ νοήματα τῶν ἀπίστων. ἀμέλει γοῦν καὶ εὐέλεγκτα λέγουσιν· εἰ γὰρ ἄπιστοί τινές εἰσι τούτου τοῦ αἰῶνος, εὑρεθεῖεν ἕτεροι ἄπιστοι οὐκ ὄντες αὐτοῦ. πᾶς γὰρ ἄπιστός ἐστι τούτου τοῦ αἰῶνος· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ὑπερβὰς αὐτὸν καὶ καταξιωθεὶς τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος, τετύφλωται ἐν νοήμασιν, ἀλλ' ἔχει πεφωτισμένους τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς. ἔγνων τινὰς σαφηνίζοντας τὴν προκειμένην λέξιν, φάσκοντας κεκαλυμμένον εἶναι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον οὐ τοῖς πάντη ἀπίστοις· οὐδὲ γὰρ κεκαλυμμένου αὐτοῦ ἢ γυμνοῦ πεῖραν ἔχουσιν. ἔλεγον δὲ οὗτοι ἀπολλυμένους εἶναι ἐν οἷς κεκάλυπται τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, τοὺς παραδεξαμένους μὲν αὐτό, μὴ μὴν ἄνευ καλύμματος προσβαλόντας αὐτῷ. οἷοι ἐτύγχανον οἱ ἐν παραβολαῖς ἀκούοντες τῶν Ἰησοῦ λόγων, τοῦ ἀπολλύμενοι ἐπ' αὐτῶν κειμένου ἐπὶ δηλώσει τοῦ κατ' ἀλλοίωσιν μεταβαλεῖν· οἱ γὰρ προκόπτοντές εἰσι τοιοῦτοι, ἀεὶ ἐξ ἑτέρων ἕτεροι γινόμενοι. ὅθεν οὐκ ἐπὶ ψόγου ἔλεγον κεῖσθαι τὸ ἀπολλύμενοι, ἀλλ' ὡσαύτως τῷ οἱ οὐρανοὶ ἀπολοῦνται, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀπολλύμενοι τὸν αἰῶνα· αἱ γὰρ λέξεις αὗται ἀπόλλυσθαι τίθενται τοῦ ἐν προκοπῇ ἐκ ποιότητος εἰς ποιότητα μεταβαίνοντος. . Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Τὴν Δευτέραν Ἐπιστολήν Παύλου Πρὸς Κορινθίους Source:  Migne PG 39.1698b-d

And if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the faithless. 1  The God of this world they name the devil, as indeed the gods of the Gentiles are demons, 2 and the stomach, and gluttony. 3 But some make a punctuation after 'in whom the god,' and as if from a new beginning, so then have it read: 'He has blinded the minds of the faithless of this world.' But what they propose with this is easily refuted: for if some are the unfaithful of this world, thus are found other unfaithful ones who are not of this world. But whoever is unfaithful is of this world, for no one who has advanced beyond it and has been made worthy of the future is blinded in his mind, but rather he has had his eyes enlightened. I know that some have before explained this passage, saying that it is the veiling of the Gospel to all those unfaithful, those who have no experience of it unveiled. And they say they who are perishing are those to whom the Gospel is veiled, and yet the Gospel is never received without a veil for the sake of the advancement of man. As it happened with those who heard the parables of Jesus: for he who is unmoved by them is perishing, and those who are changed advance, for those who advance in such a way, always change from one thing to another. 4 Whence they do not speak in censure of the stable perishing, but just as the heavens pass away for God, 5 so we perish amid the world, 6 for these passages that speak of the fixed perishing concern progress, which is a transference for one state to another. Didymus the Blind, On The Second Letter of Paul to The Corinthians, Fragment 1 2 Cor 4.3-4 2 Ps 95.5 3 Phillip 3.19 4 2 Cor 3.18 5 Ps 101.27 6 Baruch 3.3