Admonishments And Sacrifice

Deus autem spei repleat vos omni gaudio et pace in credendo; ut abundetis in spe et virtute Spiritus sancti. Certus sum autem, fratres, et ego ipse de vobis, quia et ipsi pleni estis dilectione, repleti omni scientia; ita ut possitis alterutrum monere. Haec exhortationis sunt: per laudem enim provocat eos ad meliorem et intellectum et vitam. Qui enim videt se laudari, data opera elaborat ut vera sint quae dicuntur. Ideo non dixit, ut invicem se doceant, sed admoneant; hoc enim solet moneri, quod cum sciatur, aliquando subterfugit animo. Caetera non sunt obscura, ut indigeant explanatione. Audacius autem scripsi vobis fratres ex parte, tamquam in memoriam vos reducens : propter gratiam, quae data est mihi a Deo, ut sim minister Christi Jesu in gentibus: sanctificans Evangelium Dei, ut fiat oblatio gentium accepta, et sanctificata in Spiritu Sancto. Non enim temere se scripisse significat, auctoritatem enim sibi datam per Dei gratiam dicens, , ut omnibus gentibus audeat scribere, admonens et confirmans propositum eorum in Christo; ut sollicitudinem suam ostendat in ministerio Evangelii, quasi magister gentium, et sacrificium eorum possit acceptum fieri sanctificationis causa in Spiritu sancto. Quidquid enim fide integra, et mente sobria offertur, a Spiritu sancto purificatur. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Romanos, Caput XV Source: Migne PL 17.175a-b

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope and in the power of the Holy Spirit. And I am certain, brethren, that you also are full of love and filled with all knowledge, so that you are able to admonish one another. 1 This is the manner of this exhortation, to provoke them through praise to a better understanding and life. For he who considers himself praised, gives thought to his works, that what is said might be true. Therefore he does not say, 'that you teach one another,' but that you admonish, when it is known that something is lacking in the soul. The other things here are not so obscure that they need explaining. But I have written to you, brethren, more boldly in a way, as it were putting you in mind, because of the grace that has been given to me from God, that I am a servant of Christ Jesus among the Gentiles, sanctifying the gospel of God, that the oblation of the Gentiles may be made acceptable and sanctified in the Holy Spirit. 2 He does not mean he has written recklessly, for he says he has been given grace from God so he might venture to write to all the peoples, admonishing them and confirming them in their intentions in Christ, which care for them shows in his service of the Gospel, as a teacher of the nations, even that he is able to make their cause of sanctification acceptable in the Holy Spirit, for whatever is offered with pure faith and a sober mind is purified by the Holy Spirit Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Letter of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 15 1 Rom 15.13-14 2 Rom 15.15-16

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

The Acceptable Sacrifice

Γέγραπας δηλωθῆναι σοι, δι' ἥν αἰτίαν ὁ δεῖνα παραγινόμενος τοὺς πτωχοὺς εὖ ποιῆσαι, κίνδυνον ἀργαλέον ὑπέμεινε, καὶ οὐκ ἐξείλετο αὐτὸν τῶν συμπτωμάτων ἡ πρόθεσις. Ἐπειδὴ, φημὶ, οὐ χαίρει Θεὸς ἐξ ἀδικίας θυσίαις, καὶ οὐ προσίεται κίβδηλα δῶρα. Οὐ γὰρ πᾶς ὁ βουλόμενος εὖ ποιεῖ, ἀλλ' ὁ ἀξίως Θεοῦ καὶ κτησάμενος, καὶ ἐπαγγειλάμενος τὴν θυσίαν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΚΘ', Ἡρμινῳ Κομητι Source: Migne PG 78.325a

You have written to have it made clear to you how it is that he who would do well to the poor should be embroiled in tribulations and suffer grave trials, and his disposition does not save him from such occurrences. I say that God does not rejoice in an unrighteous sacrifice and does not accept base offerings. It is not everyone who wishes it that does good, but worthy of God is he who makes the promised sacrifice. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 229, to Count Herminos

Sinners And The Righteous

Et videntes Pharisaei dixerunt discipulis ejus, quare cum publicanis et peccatoribus manducat magister vester? Duplici errore tenentur Pharisaei: Cum magistro veritatis de susceptione peccatorum detrahant, arbitrantes se esse justos, qui a justitia longe erant, et eos criminantur injustos, qui resipiscendo a peccatis non parum justitiae appropinquabant. Errabant ergo Pharisaei, qui nec aliena nec sua noverant corda, sed Deus qui novit occulta cordis, eos quos jam poenitentes susceperat, amplius in fide confortat, et illos quos adhuc superbos tolerat et impios, ad humilitatis ac pietatis gratiam provocat. Nam Jesus audiens et pravas eorum cogitationes attendens ait: Non est opus valentibus medico, sed male habentibus. Tangit hic Scribas et Pharisaeos, qui justos putantes se, consortia aliorum declinabant. Seipsum vero medicum dicit, qui miro medicandi genere propter iniquitates nostras vulneratus est, ut vulnus peccatorum nostrorum sanaret: sanos quidem appellans eos, qui suam volentes statuere justitiam, justitiae Dei non sunt subjecti. Male habentes vocat eos, qui suae fragilitatis conscientia devicti, nec per legem videntes se justificari, poenitendo submittunt se gratiae. Euntes autem, discite quid est, misericordiam volo, et non sacrificium. Pharisaeis de falsa justitia tumidis, dat consilium correctionis. Faciebant saepe sacrificia in templo, ut justi apparerent coram populo, sed non exercebant opera misericordiae, ubi comprobatur vera justitia. Si enim vere justi essent, peccatoribus condescenderent, et de salute illorum, sicut de sua laborarent, quasi dicat: Vos aestimatis vos esse justos, sed euntes ad prophetas, discite, quid est vera justitia, discite quod ait Dominus per Prophetam. Ait enim: Misericordiam volo, et non sacrificium, tamen non despicit Deus sacrificium, sed sacrificium sine misericordia. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput IX Source: Migne PL 162.1330d-1331b

And seeing this the Pharisees said to His disciples, 'Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?' 1 Two errors have taken hold of the Pharisees. When they denigrated the master of truth for receiving sinners, they judged themselves to be righteous, they who were far from righteousness, and then they denounced those unrighteous ones who were looking to their sins and were not far from approaching righteousness. Therefore the Pharisees erred, neither caring to renew their own hearts or the hearts of others. But God 'who knows the secret things of the heart,' 2 received those who were becoming penitent, that He might fortify their faith, and yet tolerating those proud and wicked ones, He called them to humility and the grace of the piety. For hearing them and discerning their depraved thoughts, Jesus says,  'They who are healthy have no need of a physician, but those who are sick do.' He refers here to the Scribes and Pharisees, who thinking themselves righteous, refused to associate with others. He speaks of Himself as the physician who as a sort of wondrous medicine was wounded for our evils so that He might heal our sins. Certainly He calls them healthy who are pleased to stand in their own righteousness and not be subject to the righteousness of God. And He calls them sick who are cast down by the awareness of their own weakness, and seeing that they are not justified by the law, submit themselves to the grace of penance. Go and learn what this means: 'I wish for mercy and not sacrifice.' 3 To the Pharisees who were puffed up with false righteousness He gives counsel for correction. They would often make sacrifices in the temple so that they might appear righteous before the people, but they did not exert themselves in the works of mercy whereby true righteousness is proved. For if they were truly righteous, they would have cared for sinners and for their salvation, just as they laboured for themselves, whence it is as if He says: 'You who judge yourselves to be righteous, go to the prophets and learn what true righteousness is. Attend to what the Lord said through the prophet: 'I wish for mercy and not sacrifice.' Not that God despises sacrifice, but rather sacrifice without mercy. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 9 1 Mt 9.11 2 Ps 43.22 3 Hosea 6.6

Love And Sacrifice

Ἐὰν οὖν προσφέρῃς τὸ δῶρόν σου ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον κἀκεῖ μνησθῇς ὅτι ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἔχει τι κατὰ σοῦ, ἄφες ἐκεῖ τὸ δῶρόν σου ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου, καὶ ὕπαγε πρῶτον διαλλάγηθι τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου, καὶ τότε ἐλθὼν πρόσφερε τὸ δῶρόν σου. Καταφονεῖ ὁ Θεὸς τῆς οἰκείας τιμῆς, ἵνα ἡμεῖς μόνον ἀγαπῶμεν. Ἐαν δὲ ἔχῃ τι κατὰ σοῦ ὁ ἀδελφός σου εἰπὼν, οὐδὲν ἄλλο προσέθηκεν. Εἴτε γὰρ δικαίως εἴτε ἀδίκως ἔχει, διαλλάγηθι. Καὶ οὐκ εἴπεν, Ἐὰν ἔχῃς σὺ κατ' ἐκείνου, ἀλλ', Ἐὰν ἔχῃ ἐκεῖνος τι κατὰ σοῦ, σπούδασον αὐτὸν φιλιῶσαι σοι. Προστάττει δὲ ἀφεῖνα τὸ δῶρον, ἵνα σοι ἀνάγκην ἐνθήσῃ τοῦ καταλλαγηναι· σὺ γὰρ θέλων προσεϝεχθῆναι τὸ δῶρον σου, ἀναγκασθήσῃ διαλλαγῆναι. Ἄμα δὲ δεικνύει ὅτι ἡ αγάπη ἐστὶν ἡ ὄντως θυσία. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ E' Source: Migne PG 123.196b

If, then, you are offering a gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift. 1 God reproves our own self love in which we love ourselves alone. And when He says, 'If he has something against you,' He adds nothing more. For whether he has something rightly or wrongly against you, you should be reconciled. And He does not say, 'If you have something against him,' but, 'if he has something against you,' you must try to restore friendship. Thus He commands you to leave the gift and imposes on you the need for reconciliation, and contrary to your wish to offer the gift, He orders the restoration of friendship. And here He teaches that the true sacrifice is love. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.23-24

Gifts And Offerings

Respexit Dominus ad Abel et ad munera eius... Sed quaeri potest quare Deus respexit ad munera Abel, ad Cain vero munera non respexit? Nunquid enim plus placet peculiaris hostia quam sacrificium Deo de fructibus? Sed sciendum quia Deus plus mentes offerentium, quam id quod offerebatur, attendit, et ideo respexit, id est, acceptum habuit et placuit illi munus ejus. Potest et aliud dici, quia avaritia detestatus est in labore Cain. Sunt enim quidam qui plus justo desudant in laborando, non tantum ut habeant sufficientiam, sed ut superflua quaeque et minus necessari congregent. Hunc laborem superfluum vidit Deus in Cain et ideo ad munus ejus non respexit. Ars vero pastoralis simplex est et innocua, quam post Abel sancti Patres habuisse leguntur. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Commentarius In Genesim, Cap IV Source: Migne PL 131.68d-69a

The Lord looked on Abel and his gift... 1 But one may ask: why did God look on the gifts of Abel but not on the gifts of Cain? Shall it be that the offering of one's own animals is more pleasing to God than a sacrifice of fruits? But it must be understood that God looks more on the mind of those who offer, than what is offered, and therefore He looked on, that is, he accepted and was pleased, by his gift. It is possible to say something else, that the avarice that was in the labour of Cain was detested. For there are some who toil more in their labour than the righteous man, so that they might not only have what is sufficient, but that they even gather to themselves what is superfluous and quite unneeded. God sees this superfluous labour in Cain and therefore He does not look on his gift. The art of the shepherd is simple and harmless, which one reads that the holy patriarchs possessed after Abel. Remigius of Auxerre, Commentary On Genesis, Chapter 4 1 Gen 4.4

Honey And Salt

Nec quidquam fermenti aut mellis adolebitur in sacrificiis; sed in omni sacrificio offeres sal. Mel in sacrificio prohibetur offerri, quai nihil voluptuosum et suave hujus mundi apud Deum placet, nihil quo non habeat aliquid mordacis veritatis. Unde paschalis agnus cum lactucis agrestibus et amaris manducabatur. Sal vero in omni sacrifico offertur, quia sale rationis et discretionis omnia debent condiri. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber IV, Tit XVIII, Sal discretionis, non mel adulationis nec voluptatis, esse sacris adhibendum Source: Migne PL 177.708a

Neither leaven nor honey shall be burnt with the sacrifices, but with every sacrifice you shall offer salt. 1 Honey is forbidden to be offered in sacrifice, because nothing pleasurable and sweet of this world pleases God, nothing that does not have the bite of truth. Whence the Paschal lamb was eaten with wild and bitter herbs. 1 But salt is offered with every sacrifice, because everything should be established with the salt of reason and discretion. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 4, Chapter 18, On the salt of discretion, and that the honey of adulation and pleasure is not to be allowed in sacred things 1 Levit 2.11,13 2 Exod 12.8

Sacrifices And Abominations

Abominationes, inquiunt, Aegyptiorum immolabimus Domino Deo nostro... Oves quippe Aegyptii edere dedignantur. Sed quod abominantur Aegyptii, hoc Israelitae Deo offerunt, quia simplicitatem conscientiae, quam sapientes hujus saeculi, hoc est, cives Aegypti, quasi fatuitatem deputant: hanc justi Deo in sacrificium immolant, et per id Deo placere procurant, quod saeculo et mundo abjectum et contemptibile esse considerant, secundum Apostolum qui ait: Nam quae stulta sunt mundi, elegit Deus, ut confundat sapientes. Ex quo autem loqui coepit Moyses ad Pharaonem, affligitur populus Dei, id est, ex quo in animam hominis sermo Dei perlatus fuerit, acrius callidus hostis consurgit, et majora vitia quibus vincatur immittit. Prius vero quam veniret sermo qui argueret vitia, in pace durabant; sed ubi sermo Dei facere ceperit uniuscujusque discrimen, tunc conturbatio magna consurgit. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Exodum, Caput XI Source: Migne PL 83.291c-d

For we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God what are abominations to the Egyptians... 1 Certainly the Egyptians scorned to eat sheep. But what offends the Egyptians, this is what the Israelites offer to God, because simplicity of conscience, which is thought to be foolishness to the wise of this world, that is, the Egyptian people, this is what the righteous offer in sacrifice to God, and through it they please God, with that which to the age and the world is considered abject and contemptible, according to the Apostle who said, 'For what is foolish to the world, God chose, that He might confound the wise.' 2 And because of what Moses began to say to Pharaoh, the people of God were afflicted, that is, when the word of God comes into the soul of man, so more bitterly does the cunning of the enemy rise up, and he stirs up the great vices by which he conquers. For before the coming of the word which disputes with the vices, the vices dwell in peace, but when the word of God begins to make a division between each one, then great trouble rises up. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Exodus, Chapter 11 1 Exod 8.26 2 1 Cor 1.27

Burnt Offering And Sacrifice

Super quas ponunt vasa in quibus immolatur holocaustum et victima. Quid enim sunt animae fidelium, nisi vasa sancta quae verba pietatis capiunt, ut ex eorum mentibus holocaustum vitae atque orationis immoletur? Hinc est enim quod Paulus cum adhuc rudis esset in fidei vocatione, quia jam Domini verba perceperat, et coelesti gratia plenus erat, vas appellatur, cum dicitur: Vas electionis mihi est. Hinc pastores atque doctores propheta admonet, dicens: Mundamini qui fertis vasa Domini. Ipsi etenim quasi mensae vasa Domini portant, qui vitam fidelium erudiendo tolerant, ut quandoque hanc Domino ad holocaustum et sacrificium perducant. Sed neque hoc negligenter intuendum est, quod in eisdem vasis holocaustum et victima dicitur immolari. Holocaustum enim, sicut et superius diximus, victima est, non tamen victima semper holocaustum, quia cum quid ex parte offertur, et ex parte retinetur, sacrificium quidem est, sed holocaustum non est. Sunt vero in multitudine magna fidelium alii qui ea quae mundae sunt omnia relinquunt, cuncta quae possident tribuunt, nil sibimetipsis reservant, ad aeternam patriam medullitus anhelant, seque ex toto corde in lacrymis mactant. Hi videlicet vasa super mensam sunt, in quibus immolatur holocaustum. Et sunt alii qui curam propriae domus gerunt, de filiis cogitant, eisque haereditatem servant, qui tamen, aeterni judicii memores, misericordiam pauperibus impendunt, alimenta ac vestimenta eis ex parte qua decreverint tribuunt. Hi nimirum vasa super mensam sunt, in quibus victima immolata est, non holocaustum. Quia enim patientia et doctrina sanctorum admonendo et sustinendo, suadendo atque terrendo, aliorum corda usque ad hoc erudiunt, ut omnia deserant, et totos se in amore Domini accendant, aliorum vero ad hoc usque instruunt, ut quia omnia relinquere non valent, vel ex parte qua praevalent, misericordes fiant, et carnis curam cum animae cura partiantur, mensae Domini de quadris lapidibus instructae vasa portant, in quibus immolatur holocaustum et victima, quia et perfecti, sicut dictum est, cum omnia deserunt, totum cor in amorem Domini accendunt, et imperfecti sacrificium offerunt, quod ex parte devoverunt. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Secundus, Homilia IX Source: Migne PL 76.1049c-1050b

On which they place the vessels in which are sacrificed the burnt offering and the sacrificial victim.... 1 What are the souls of the faithful, unless holy vessels with contain the sacred words, that from their minds shall be sacrificed a burnt offering of life and prayer. Hence Paul when he was yet raw in the vocation of the faith, because now the grasped the words of the Lord, and was full of the heavenly grace, was named a vessel, when it is said 'He is a vessel of election to me.' 2 Whence the prophet admonishes the shepherds and teachers, saying, 'Be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord.' 3 Indeed they are as the tables that bear the vessels of the Lord, who hold up the life of the faithful in teaching, that sometime they might bring it to the Lord as a holocaust and sacrifice. But this should not be considered negligently, when it is said that there is a holocaust and a victim to be sacrificed in the same vessels. For the burnt offering, as we have said, is a sacrifice, however a sacrifice is not always a burnt offering, because when there is a partial offering and partial retention, that is a sacrifice, but it is not a holocaust. Yet there are some in the great multitude of the faithful who forsake all worldly things and give away everything they possess, and keep nothing from themselves, so that they can breathe the true air of the eternal fatherland, and with their whole heart they sacrifice themselves in tears. These certainly are the vessels on the table in which the burnt offering is sacrificed. And the others are those who have care for their families, and take thought for their children, and keep an inheritance for them, and yet are mindful of eternal judgement, being merciful to the poor, giving food and clothing to them from a portion which diminishes. These certainly are vessels on the table in which a victim is sacrificed and not a holocaust. Because by the patience and teaching of the saints, their warnings and encouragement and persuasion, some hearts are instructed to a burnt offering, so that they abandon everything and set fire to it all in love of the Lord, others, however, are instructed to a sacrifice, that because they are not able to give up everything, what they are able to do in part, being merciful, and having partly care for the flesh and partly for the soul, they carry to the designated four stone tables of the Lord in the vessels in which is sacrificed the holocaust and the victim, because, as has been said, the perfect, when they forsake everything, set fire to the whole heart in the love of God, and the imperfect offer a sacrifice which is vowed from a part. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, from Homily 9 1 Ezek 40.42 2 Acts 9.15 3 Isaiah 52.11

Sacrifice And Righteousness

Θύσατε θυσίαν δικαιοσύνης, καὶ ἐλπίσατε ἐπὶ Κύριον. Καὶ διὰ τούτων τῶν ῥημάτων τὴν νομικὴν λατρείαν, ὡς περιττὴν, ἀποπέμπεται, καὶ τὴν τῆς δικαιοσύνης θυσίαν προσφέρειν νομοθετεῖ· πάσης γὰρ ἑκατόμβης καὶ χιλιόμβης τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἡ κτῆσις θυμηρεστέρα τῷ Θεῷ, συνημμένης αὐτῇ δηλονότι τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν ἐλπίδος. Ἐπεὶ πολλοὶ καὶ Ἑλλήνων καὶ Ἰουδαίων, καὶ τῶν τἀναντία φρονούντων αἱρετικῶν, καὶ σωφροσύνην, καὶ δικαιοσύνην ἔστιν ὅτε μετίασιν· ἀλλὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐστερημένοι, καρπὸν ἐντεῦθεν οὐδένα πορίζονται. Διὸ τὸ πανάγιον Πνεῦμα διὰ τοῦ θεσπεσίου Δαβὶδ παρεγγυᾷ, οὐ μόνον θῦσαι θυσίαν δικαιοσύνης, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐλπίσαι ἐπὶ Κύριον. Οὕτω δὲ καὶ ὁ Δεσπότης Χριστός φησι τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς, Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινὴ, ὑμεῖς τὰ κλήματα, καὶ ὁ Πατήρ μου ὁ γεωργός ἐστι. Πᾶν κλῆμα ἐν ἐμοὶ μὴ φέρον καρπὸν, αἴρει αὐτό· καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἶπε, Μὴ φέρον καρπὸν, ἀλλ' ἐν ἐμοὶ μὴ φέρον καρπὸν, τουτέστι, κατὰ τὰς ἐμὰς ἐντολὰς, κατὰ τὰς ἐμὰς νομοθεσίας, μετὰ τῆς εἰς ἐμὲ πίστεως ὥς τινων καὶ δίχα τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν ὁμολογίας διὰ δόξαν ἀνθρωπίνην ἀρετῆς ἐπιμελεῖσθαι δοκούντων. Πολλοὶ λέγουσι, Τίς δείξει ἡμῖν τὰ ἀγαθά; Αἰνίττεται οὓς βαρυκαρδίους ὠνόμασεν, ὡς δυσχεραίνοντας ἐπὶ τοῖς προσπίπτουσι λυπηροῖς, λέγειν τοῦτο τολμῶντας. Ἐσημειώθη ἐφ' ἡμᾶς τὸ φῶς τοῦ προσώπου σου, Κύριε· ἔδωκας εὐφροσύνην εἰς τὴν καρδίαν μου. Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν τοιαῦτα καὶ λογίζονται καὶ φθέγγονται· ἡμεῖς δὲ οἱ τῆς σῆς θεογνωσίας τὴν αἴγλην δεξάμενοι, καὶ ταῖς παρὰ σοῦ φωτισθέντες ἀκτῖσι, καὶ ἐν αὐταῖς ταῖς ἐπανισταμέναις ἡμῖν συμφοραῖς ἀποχρῶσαν ἔχομεν παραψυχὴν τὴν εἰς σὲ ἐλπίδα. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός Δ´ Source: Migne PG 80.892c-893a

'Sacrifice a sacrifice of righteousness and hope in the Lord.' 1 By these words he casts down the law's worship as something useless, and he commands that a sacrifice of righteousness should be offered, for against every sacrifice of a hundred or a thousand bulls the possession of righteousness is more pleasing to God, if however it is joined to hope in Him. Because many Greeks and Jews and heretics, whose thoughts oppose us, yet do sometimes exercise themselves in temperance and righteousness, even so, deprived of piety, they gain no fruit from it. Whence the Holy Spirit gives exhortation through the blessed David not only to sacrifice a sacrifice of righteousness but even to hope in the Lord. So the Lord says to His disciples, 'I am the true vine, you are the branches, and my Father is the farmer. He cuts off every branch that does not bear fruit in me.' 2 He does not simply say, 'That does not bear fruit,' but 'That does not bear fruit in me,' that is, according to my commands and my laws, with faith in me, because without doubt some seem to have care for virtue without the confession of God, for the sake of glory among men. 'Many say, who shall show us good things?' He shows those he has named 'heavy in heart', are those who, indignant in the adversities into which they have fallen, dispute the Divine Providence, and dare say this. 'The light of your face is sealed upon us, you have given joy to my heart.' They, then, think and say such things, but we receiving the light of the knowledge of God from you, and enlightened by your rays, even in the same calamities which befall us, we have sufficient comfort in hope in you. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 4 1 Ps 4.6 2 Jn 15.1-2

Going Out Of Egypt

Post haec intrant ad Pharaonem Moyses et Aaron petentes viam trium dierum profiscisci in deserto populum Israel, et ibi sacrificare Domino Deo. Quae est via trium dierum, quae nobis incedenda est, ut exeuntes de Aegypto pervenire possimus ad locum in quo immolare debeamus? Via est Christus est, qui dixit: Ego sum via, veritas, et vita. Quae via triduo nobis incedenda est. Qui enim confessus fuerit Dominum Jesum in ore suo, et crediderit in corde suo quod Deus suscitavit eum a mortuis tertia die, salvus erit. Haec est ergo tridui via, per quam pervenitur ad locum in qui Domino immoletur et reddatur sacrificium laudis. Abominationes, inquiunt, Aegyptiorum immolabimus Domino Deo nostro. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Exodum, Caput XI Source: Migne PL 83.292d-293b

After this Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh seeking that the people of Israel go out three days into the desert and there sacrifice to the Lord God. 1 What is this way of the three days which we must advance along, so that going out from Egypt we are able to come to the place in which we should sacrifice? This way is Christ, He who said: 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.' 2 This is the way of three days we must walk. For he who shall have confessed the Lord Jesus in his mouth, and believed in his heart that God took Him up from the dead on the third day, he shall be saved. This is the way of three days, by which he comes to the place in which he shall sacrifice and give a sacrifice of praise. 'Abominations to the Egyptians,' they say, 'we sacrifice to the Lord our God.' 3 Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Exodus, Chap 11 1 Exodus 3.18 2 Jn 14.6 3 Exodus 8.26

Sacrifice and Last Judgement

Τὰ γυμνὰ καὶ τετραχηλισμένα ἐκ μεταφορᾶς τῶν ἱερείων, τῶν ἐις θυσίαν προσαγομένων, τῷ πολύφρονι γέγραπται Παύλῳ. Ὥωπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖνα τῶν δορῶν ἀφαιρούμενα, πάσης τῆς φαινομένη; ἀπογυμνοῦται περιβολῆς, καὶ τῶν κεκρυμμένων ἔνδοθεν ἐπιδείκνυται τὴν διάθεσιν, καὶ τραχηλίζεται εἰς ἔρευναν παντὸς ὀστεου καὶ μέλους, πρὸς τὸ πάντα ἐκκαθαρθῆναι, διὰ τὴν τοῦ πράγματος ᾧ προσαγονται καθαρότητα· οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς μεγάλης τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμέρας ἡ τῶν ἀδήλων καὶ ἀφανῶν ἡμῶν πράξεων ἀνακάλυψις, ἀπογυμνώσει καὶ τραχηλισμῷ ἐοικυῖα φανήσεται, οὐδενὸς λαθεῖν δυναμένου, ἀλλὰ πάντῶν εἰς τὸ ἐμφανὲς ἀγομένων. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου,Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ϟΔ' Πανσοφιῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 78.248a-b

'Things naked and open' 1 is written by the most thoughtful Paul in reference to the offering of the holy victims which are used for sacrifice, for as those, when they are stripped of pelts, are despoiled of what is overtly worn and the state of things hidden within is revealed, even to every bone and member being broken open, that everything, for which reason it is brought, is purified, in like manner on the great day of the Lord there will be a revelation of our hidden and unknown deeds, which stripping shall appear similar to a dissection. For nothing will be able to be hidden when everything is brought into the open. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 94 To Pansophius the Deacon 1 Heb 4.13

The Fifth Seal

Et cum aperuisset quintum sigillum Quia Ecclesiam dixerat in praesenti multipliciter afflictam, dicit et gloriam animarum post corporum poenam. Vidi, inquit, eas sub altare, id est, in secretario laudis aeternae. Ara enim aurea et interius posita, et prope dominici corporis arcam, non ut exterior carnem et sanguinem, sed sola offert Domino thymiamata laudis. Et qui nunc exhibent corpora sua hostiam viventem, tunc, diruptis carnis vinculis, illi sacrificant hostiam laudis. Potest autem et per hyperbaton esse, ut non sub ara viderit, sed sub ara occisos, id est, sub testificatione nominis Christi, sicut de Machabaeis dictum est. Sub testamento Dei ceciderunt. Sanctus Beda, Explanatio Apocalyspsis, Caput VI Source: Migne 93.147d-148a

'And when He opened the fifth seal...' 1 Because he has spoken of the much afflicted Church in the present, he even tells of the glory of souls after the suffering of the body. 'I saw,' he says, 'those beneath the altar,' that is, those in the sanctuary of eternal praise. And the altar is gold and placed within and near the ark of the body of the Lord, so that it is not the exterior flesh and blood that is offered to the Lord but the sacrifice of praise alone. And they who now exhibit the body as a living sacrifice, then, with carnal chains broken, they sacrifice the sacrifice of praise. 2 And it is possible that this is hyberbaton, that he did not see them beneath the altar, but slain beneath, that is, bearing witness under it in the name of Christ, as it is said of the Maccabees. 'Beneath the witness of God they fell.' 3 St Bede, from Commentary On The Apocalypse, Chapter 7 1 Apoc 6.9 2 Ps 115.8 3 2 Mac 7

Cleansing The Temple

Καὶ εἰσῆλθεν Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὸ ἱερόν καὶ ἐξέβαλεν πάντας τοὺς πωλοῦντας καὶ ἀγοράζοντας ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, καὶ τὰς τραπέζας τῶν κολλυβιστῶν κατέστρεψεν καὶ τὰς καθέδρας τῶν πωλούντων τὰς περιστεράς. Ἥν μὲν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ πληθὺς ἐμπόρων, ἀργυραμοιβοὶ, ἤτοι κολλυβισταὶ, καὶ μετ' ἐκείνων βοῶν τε καὶ προβάτων ἔμποροι, τρυγόνας τε πιπράσκοντες καὶ περιστεράς. Ταῦτα δὲ χρήσιμα ταῖς θυσίαις τῆς κατά νόμον λατρείας· ἀλλ' ἧν ἤδη ὁ καιρὸς τοῦ καταλῆξαι τὴν σκιὰν, καὶ ἀναλάμψαι τὴν ἐν Χριστῷ ἀλήθειαν, ἄτε δὴ μετὰ τοῦ ἰδίου Πατρὸς ἐν τῷ παρ' αὐτοῦ ὄντι ναῷ τιμώμενος. Συντέλλεσθαι μὲν τὰς ἐν νόμῳ προστέταχε θυσίας, καὶ τοὺς καπνούς· οἴκον δὲ προσευχῆς ἀναδείκνυσθαι τὸν ναόν. Τὸ γὰρ ἐπιπλήττειν τοῖς ἐμπόποις καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν περιβόλων ἀποσοβειν αὐτοὺς τὰ εἰς θυσίαν χρήσιμα διαπιπράσκοντάς τισι, τοῦτο πάντως ἐστὶ, καὶ ἕτερον οὐδὲν. Ἕτερος δὲ τῶν εὐαγγελιστῶν καὶ φραγέλλιον ἐκ σχοινίων ποιῆσαι λέγει τὸν᾽Ιησοῦν, καὶ πληγὰς ἐπανατείνειν αὐτοῖς· ἔδει γὰρ εἰδέναι τοὺς νομικὴν τιμῶντας λατρείαν, μετὰ τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας ἀνάδειξιν, ὅτι πνεῦμα δουλείας ἔχοντες, καὶ τὸ ἐλευθεροῠσθαι παραιτούμενοι ὑπὸ πάστιγας ἔσονται, καὶ ὑποκείσονται κολάσει δουλοπρεπεῖ. Ἐπιτειχίζει αὐτοῖς καὶ τὸν Ἠσαῗαν κατήγορον, λέγων· Γέγραπται· Ὁ οἴκος μου, οἴκος προσευχῆς κληθήσεται· ἐδει οὖν αὐτῷ προσκυνῆσαι ὡς δεσπόζονται τοῦ ναοῦ. Οἱ δὲ τοῦτο μὲν οὐ πεπράχασιν, ἀγανακτοῦσι δὲ μᾶλλον κατ' αὐτοῦ. Οὐ τοῦτο δὲ μόνον δείκνυσιν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐξουσίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ θεραπεῦσαι ποικίλα νοσήματα. Φησι γὰρ ὁ εὐαγγελιστής Καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ τυφλοὶ καὶ χωλοὶ ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτοὺς. Αἰνιγμα ἧν τὸ γεγονὸς, ὅτι τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐκβληθέντων ἐκ τοῦ ναοῦ σὺν ταῖς τυπικαῖς θυσίαις, οἱ τυφλοὶ καὶ χωλοὶ θεραπεύονται, οἱ τύπον ἔχοντες τῶν ἐνθῶν. Μαθέτωσαν μέντοι καὶ οἱ πωλοῦντες καὶ τὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος χαρίσματα καὶ τὴν ἱερωσύνην, ὅτι τοὺς πωλοῦντας τὰς περιστερὰς ἐξέβαλεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ναοῦ μαστίξας ὁ Κύριος, καὶ παυσάσθωσαν πόρους ἑαυτοῖς ἀπὸ χειροτονιῶν ἀθροίζοντες. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον Source:  Migne PG 72.432c-433a

And Jesus went into the temple and He cast out all the sellers and money changers in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the bankers, and all the seats of the sellers of sparrows. 1 In the temple there were many sellers and money changers, or dealers in coin, and with these sellers of cattle and sheep, and sellers of turtles doves and doves. For these were employed for the cult of the sacrifice of the law; but now it was time to dispel the shadow, and for the truth of Christ to shine forth, certainly that He be honoured with His Father in the true temple. He commanded the rejection of the smoke of the sacrifices of the law, and showed that the temple was a house of prayer; He drove out the sellers and those around eager for sacrifice, who sold those things needed for sacrifice, which without could not be. And another Evangelist says that Jesus made a whip from ropes and threatened them with blows. 2 For He would have known that those who honoured the Law, after receiving the showing of truth, should have a spirit of service, and entreat freedom from future blows which befits subject servants worthy of punishment. And He strengthens their admonishment when He says from Isaiah: 'It is written: My house is a house of prayer.' 3 He was worthy of adoration as the Lord of the temple, they, however, not only did not give it, but they were even indignant. But not only did He show His power in this way, but then He cured many of the sick. For the Evangelist says: And there came to Him the blind and lame in the temple and He cured them. 4 It was a mystery that was done here,  the ejection of the Jews from the temple with the figures of their sacrifices, and the curing of the blind and the lame, who are a figure of the Gentiles. And let those who sell the anointing of the Spirit and the priesthood learn that the Lord has cast out with a whip those who sell doves in the temple; and so let them cease to collect money for themselves by their consecrations. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Fragment 1 Mt 21.12 2 Jn 2.18 3 Mt 21.13, Isaiah 56.7 4 Mt 21.14

Sacrifice And Lives

Εἰσεφέτο μὲν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ὁ Χριστὸς βρέφος ὤν ἔτι βραχύ τε καὶ ὑπομάζιον, καὶ τα ὠρισμένα τῷ νόμῳ πορσῆγε, ζεῦγος τρυγόνων καὶ δύο νεσσοὺς περιστερῶν· σωφροσύνης τε καὶ πραότητος ὁ τύπος, οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλὰ καὶ βίου διαφορᾶς, ὦν ἀμφοτέρων νομοθέτης, γάμου τε καὶ ἁγαμίας. Εἴποις γὰρ ἄν τοὺς μὲν εὐζώνους καὶ πνευματικωτέρους καὶ τὸν μονήρη βίον ἐπανῃρημένους, εἶναι τὰς περιστεράς· τοὺς δὲ παιδοποιίας καὶ τῆς ἄλλης οἰκονομίας πεποιημένους πρόνοιαν, τρυγόνας. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λούκαν Εὐάγγελιον, Κεφ' Β' Source:  Migne PG 72.504b-c

Christ was carried to the temple, yet a little child and taking milk, and they offered what was commanded by the law, a pair of turtle doves and two young doves, 1 And these are a type of temperance and meekness. And they indicate the different of the two sorts of lives, of which both are of the legislator, marriage and celibacy. One is even able to consider these things more spiritually, that the lovers of the solitary life are the doves, and the turtle doves are those who produce young and give themselves to the affairs of the home. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Luke, Chap 2 1 Lk 2.24

Losing Souls

Qui invenit animan suam perdet illum, et qui perdiderit animam suam propter me, inveniet illam.  Nihil igitur magis habet homo quid agat, quam ut animam suam pro Christo et proximo impendat; non solum ut carnem, in passionem pro ipso tadat; verum etiam ut animam quae magis est quam caro, amittere impraesentarium gaudeat. Haec namque est ipsa crux, quam ferre jubet usque in finem, ut salvus fiat. Porro anima quam invenit carnalis quisque, praesens vita est, quam invenisse bene dicitur, quia scire aliam non curavit. Hanc solam sibi sufficere credit, hanc accepisse et invenisse gaudet; quam mavult juxta arbitrii sui libertatem abuti, quam pro Christo crucifigi. Et notandum quod anima diversis dicitur modis; sed nil inferius in ea est quam vita, qua vivitur solummodo cum bestiis. Et ideo qui hanc partem noluerit amittere pro Christo, qua vivitur cum pecoribus, perdet illam, qua perfrui potuit in Christo cum angelis. Perdere autem eam dicit in futuro, cum jam non suo arbitrio perfuetur, sed cruciatibus aeternis male damnabitur. Qui vero perdiderit illam, et crucem suam portaverit, inveniet eam vitam, quae angelica est, et praemia sempiterna. Porro quidam aliter dixere, ut qui invenit animam suam et vult suam salvare, perdat eam, ac si imperativo modo legendum sit, ut crucifigat eam. Et ipse invenit eam, qui in hoc mundo perdiderit, dum detrimento brevis vitae fenus? immortalitatis acquisierit. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber VI Source: Migne PL 120.433c-d

'He who finds his soul destroys it, and he who loses it for me, finds it. ' 1  Therefore nothing greater may a man do than expend his own soul for Christ and his neighbour, not only in some suffering of the flesh giving it up, but indeed because the soul is greater than the flesh, let him rejoice to withdraw it from present things. For this is that cross which He commands us to carry until the end, that we might be saved. 2 Moreover the soul that a man finds in the flesh is the present life, which he says he has found well because he does not know not to care for another. He trusts that this soul alone suffices for him, and he rejoices that he has received and found it, which he prefers to employ according to the freedom of his own judgement, than to crucify it for Christ. So let it be noted that the soul is spoken of in diverse ways, but nothing is inferior than that life which is lived at the level of beasts. And therefore, he who is unwilling to give up this part for Christ lives with the beasts, and he ruins that which is able to delight with the angels. For He speaks of the ruin of it in the future, when it shall not have joy in His judgement, but in eternal torment shall be damned for evil. He however, who loses it, and has born his cross, he discovers that life which is angelic and the eternal reward. Yet certainly, this may have been spoken in another way, that he who finds his soul and wishes to save it, loses it, and, if in an imperative manner this must be read, so let him crucify it. And he then finds it, who in this world has lost it, by the loss of this brief life acquiring immortality. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 6 1 Mt 10.39 2 Mt 10.38

Cleansing A Leper

Τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἔσται παραλελυμένα. Διὰ τούτων αἰνίττεται μὴ δεῖν συγκρύπτειν τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, καὶ σκεπάζειν αὐτὰ τὸν τὴν ψυχὴν λελεπρωμένον. Ὥσπερ τοῦ παραλελυμένου τὰ ἱμάτια οὖκ ἐσκέπασται ἡ ἀσχημοσύνη· οὕτως βούλεται πᾶσιν ἐκκεῖσθαι μὴ γενόμενον τάφον κεκονιαμένον. Τὸ δὲ γε περιβεβλῆσθαι τὸ στόμα, ἐστὶ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν παῥῥησίαν ἀνοίξαι τὸ στόμα· τὸ δὲ τῆς δὲ τῆς παρεμβολῆς ἐξηίχεσθαι, τὸ μηκέτι τοῖς τῶν ἁγίων αὐτὸν συναυλίζεσθαι χοροῖς. Καὶ σφάξουσι τὸ ὀρνίθιον τὸ ἓν εἰς ἀγγεῖον ὀστράκινον. Θύεται τὸ ὀρνίθιον εἰς ἀγγεῖον ὀστράκινον, προεμβληθέντος εἰς αὐτὸ ὕδατος ζῶντος, ἵνα γένηται ὁ καθαρισμὸς ὕδατι καὶ αἵματι, ἂπερ ἐξῆλθεν ἀπὸ τῆς πλευρᾶς τοῦ Σωτῆρος. Ξύλον δὲ κέδρινόν φησι τὸ τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν ξύλον. Τὸ δὲ κεκλωσμένον κόκκινον τύπος ἧν τοῦ τιμίου αἵματος, δι' οὗ καθαίρεται ὁ κόσμος ὅλος. Οἴμαι δὲ τὸν ὕσσωτον, τὴν διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος θερμότητα· τὸ δὲ σπαρτίον τὸ κόκκινον τὴν σάρκα σύμβασιν τοῦ Λόγου δηλοῦν. Τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν πώγωνα ξυρηθήσεται. Ξυρᾶται τὴν κεφαλὴν, κατὰ τὰ κεφαλαιωδέστερα καὶ ἀρχικώτερα τῶν δογμάτων· κατὰ δὲ τὸν πώγωνα, ὅπερ σύμβολόν ἐστι τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, ἀποτιθέμενος τὰ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἁμαρτήματα· κατὰ δὲ τὰς ὀφρῦς. πᾶσαν οἴησιν, καὶ ἵν' οὕτως ὀνομάσω, ὀφρύωσιν ἀποτιθέμενος. Σύμβολον δέ φησι ταῦτα προσφύντα καὶ ἐξανθήσαντα τῇ ψυχῇ, νεκρότητος τρίχες ὀνομαζόμενα. Ὠριγένης, Εκλογαί Εἰς  ἐν τον Λευϊτικον Source: Migne PG 12.401d-404b

His garments shall be torn... 1 With this is indicated that sin should not be covered and that the leprous soul should not be hidden. As vestments torn do not cover ugliness, so he wishes leprosy to be revealed to all, that there not be a whitened tomb. And to have a cover around the mouth is not to have the freedom of opening the mouth. And to go out from the camp is not to be admitted to the gathering of the faithful. And one little bird shall be slain in an earthenware vase...2 The little bird is sacrificed in the earthenware pot in which has been poured living water, that there may be cleanliness by water and blood, which came out from the side of the Saviour. Then it names cedar wood as the wood of our salvation. And the twist of scarlet is a type of the precious blood by which the whole world is made clean. And I judge the hyssop to be the heat of the Spirit; but by the scarlet thread is signified the descent of the Word to the flesh His head and beard he shall shave...3 The shaved head concerns the principle teachings, the beard which is a symbol man, is removed with the sins of men, and the removal of the eyebrows is the casting down of arrogance. And so dead hair is the figure of these things which adhering to the soul bring forth evil. Origen, Fragment on Leviticus 1 Lev 13.43 2 Lev 14.5 3 Lev 14.9

Discord And Union

Quia autem nil sine concordia Deo placeat. Ipsa per se Veritas demonstrat, dicens: Si offers munus tuum ad altare, et ibi recordatus fueris quia frater tuus habet aliquid adversum te, relinque ibi munus tuum ad altare, et vade prius reconciliari fratri tuo, et tunc veniens offeres munus tuum. Ecce a discordantibus accipere non vult sacrificium, holocaustum suscipere recusat. Hinc ergo perpendite, quantum sit malum discordiae, propter quod et illud abjicitur, per quod culpa laxatur. Quia vero electi semper in charitate conjuncti sunt, et haec eadem eorum charitas sonum laudis reddit auctori, malignis vero spiritibus, id est antiquis suis hostibus poenam incutit timoris. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia VIII Source: Migne PL 76.858b-c

For nothing that lacks harmony is pleasing to God. So the Truth Himself demonstrates to us, saying, 'If you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there and go be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.' 1 Behold, from those in dispute He will not accept sacrifice, and He refuses a holocaust. Whence, therefore, attend to how great may be the evil of discord, on account of which one is spurned, by which fault is increased. The elect, then, are ever joined in love and this same love of theirs is a song of praise given to the Creator, but against wicked spirits, that is, His old enemies, it strikes a fearful blow. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 8 1 Mt 5.23-24

Evaluating Offerings

Concluso ergo illo et convicto Cain crimine, aliud oblationis vitium discutiamus. Obtulit, inquit, ex fructibus terrae, non a primis fructibus primitias Deo. Hoc est primitias sibi prius vindicare: Deo autem sequentia deferre. Itaque cum vere anima corpori tamquam servo domina sit praeferenda, utique primitias ejus, hoc est, animae prius quam corporis offerre debemus. Primitiae animae primatus sunt bonarum disciplinarum. Quae licet tempore posteriores sint, quam corporis primitiae, quae sunt esca, incrementum, visus, auditus, et tactus, odor, vox (mens autem et sensus pars animae) pars corporis, tamen prioris sunt disciplinis. Quarum primitiva est pure corde et simplici sermone oblata Deo gratiarum actio. Haec munera obtulit Abel, et ideo respexit Deus in munera ejus, quoniam e primitivis obtulit. Accedit ergo quia de primitivis ovium, et de adipibus earum. Considera quia non de insensibilibus, sed de animantibus obtulit. Plus est enim animalis, quam terrenus; siquidem animalis proximus spiritali est. Non enim prius quod spiritale est, sed quod animale, deinde quod spiritale. Quod animale spirat, habet vitalem spiritum: non ita quod de terrarum est fructibus. Deinde obtulit non secunda, sed prima; non exigua, sed pinguia:. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Cain et Abel, Liber I, Caput X Source: Migne PL 14. 377a-b

For that end and the criminal conviction of Cain we may discern some fault of offering. He offered offerings to God, it is said, from the fruit of the land, but not from the first fruits. 1Yet this is the offering that first vindicates one, he however brought to God the things that come after. Thus it truly is that the soul to the body, as that which rules to that which serves, must be preferred, and so his offering should have been an offering of the soul not of the body. The great offering of the soul are the goods of discipline. And the things after are the offerings sacrifices of the body, which are food, growth, sight, hearing, touch, smell, voice, all parts of the body, for mind and reason are parts of the soul, however by the former the things of the body are disciplined, of which the greatest are the pure heart and the simple word for offering to God the deed of thanks. And these gifts Abel offered and therefore God looked on his gifts, because from the first of them he offered. It happened so because it was from the first of the sheep, and from the fat of them. And consider that he offered not from insensible things but from animate creatures. For greater indeed is the animal than the earth, as nearer is the animal to the spiritual. For what is spiritual does not come before but what is animal, and then what is spiritual. Since the animal breathes it has the vital spirit, which is not so concerning the fruit of the earth. Thus he offered not what comes second but what comes first, not poor things, but rich things. Saint Ambrose, Cain and Abel, Book 1, Chap 10 1 Gen 4.3

Man With The Animals

Similitudo autem vultus eorum, facies hominis, et facies leonis a dextris ipsorum quatuor; facies autem bovis a sinistris ipsorum quatuor; et facies aquilae desuper ipsorum quatuor. Omnis etenim electus atque in via Dei perfectus, et homo, et vitulus, et leo simul et aquila est. Homo enim rationale est animal. Vitulus autem in sacrificio mactari solet. Leo fortis est bestia, sicut scriptum est: Leo vero fortissimus bestiarum, ad nullius pavebit occursum. Aquila ad sublimia evolat, et irreverberatis oculis solis radiis intendit. Omnis itaque qui in ratione perfectus est, homo est. Et quoniam semetipsum ab hujus mundi voluptate mortificat, vitulus est. Quia vero ipsa sua spontanea mortificatione contra adversa omnia fortitudinem securitatis habet, unde scriptum est: Justus autem quasi leo confidens absque terrore erit, leo est. Quia vero sublimiter contemplatur ea quae coelestia atque aeterna sunt, aquila est. Igitur quoniam justus quisque per rationem homo, per sacrificium mortificationis suae vitulus, per fortitudinem securitas leo, per contemplationem vero efficitur aquila, recte per haec sancta animalia signari unusquisque perfectus potest. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia IV Source: Migne PL 76 815c-816a

For the appearance of their faces was the face of a man, yet each of the four looked like a lion seen from the right, like an ox seen from the left, like an eagle seen from above. 1 Indeed every elect one perfected in the way of God is at the same time a man and a ox and a lion and an eagle. Man is a rational animal. The ox is accustomed to be slain in sacrifice. The lion is a strong creature, as it is written: 'Truly the lion is mightiest of the beasts, and shall not fear the approach of any.' 2 The eagle flies to the heights, and with untroubled eyes gazes at the rays of the sun. Thus everyone who has been perfected in reason is a man. And because he has mortified himself to the pleasure of this world he is an ox. And because of his own will mortified he has secure power against everything, whence it is written: 'The righteous one shall be as a lion confident against every fear.' 3 And so he is a lion. And because he contemplates high things which are heavenly and eternal, he is an eagle. Therefore because the righteous one is by reason a man, by the sacrifice of his mortification an ox, by the security of his power a lion, and by contemplation an eagle, rightly by these holy animals is signified anyone who is perfect. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 4 1 Ezekiel 1.10 2 Prov 30.30 3 Prov 28.1