The Seed And Stony Ground

Aliud vero cecidit super petrosa: ubi non habuit terram multam, et statim exortum est: quoniam non habebat altitudinem terrae: et quando exortus est sol, exaestuavit: et eo quòd non habebat radicem, exaruit Secunda diversitas seminis fructum non facientis. Sunt autem petrosa corda dura,quae nec timore,ad poenitentiam conuertuntur:nec amore, molliuntur: nec pluvia doctriae, interius humectantur. De quibus dicitur, Cor durum male habebit in novissimo. Cor eius indurabitur quasi lapis: et strigetur quasi malleaporis incus. Quanto enim plus verberibus atteritur, tanto plus per obdurationem ſtringitur ad malum. Sicut incus quæ ftringitur ictibus malleorum. Haec igitur est terra petrosa ubi non habuit terram multam. Ex litera ista videtur quod petrosa terra dicatur, cuius fundus eſt petra solida; et parvam et tenuem desuper habet terrae corticem. Et talis ad literam terra male fructificat, quia calor qui pro tempore est ex radio solis, in petra confortatur , et incenfiuus, et combuftivus efficitur: et comburit illud modicum terrae, quod est desuper et incinerat: ita quod amarum ad modum salis efficitur: et ideo infructuosum. Terram fructiferam in salsuginem a malitia inhabitantium in ea. Adhuc autem algor hyemis etiam confortatur in lapide: et terram paucam prius incineratam et amaricatam calore, convertit in frigiditatem mortificatiuam, et hoc iterum mortificat radices plantarum: ita quod talis terra efficitur sterilis. Ante faciem frigoris eius, quis sustinebit? Hoc est igitur quod dicit: Ubi non habuit, semen proiectum, terram multam, hoc est, profundam, quae defendi posset à qualitatibus lapidis incensiuis, et congelatiuis. Hoc autem est cor, quod quasi nihil habet humanae et terrenae compassionis, et contemperationis ad virtutem: sed sua ignita libidine ad turpia incenditur: et algore ab omni charitate , timore mundano, et humano congelatur. Incensa igni et suffossa ab increpatione vultus tui peribunt. Incensa quidem, igne libidinis:et soffossa, timoris algore quia omnis timor frigidus est. Ad literam. Et ideo pallor occupat timentes. Sequitur et statim paucula et parvula radice exortum est ad modicum viroris apparentis coram hominibus. Habentes quidem speciem pietatis: virtutem autem penitus abnegantes, et quoniam non habebat altitudinem terrae, hoc est, profunditatem in qua dulcedo laetaminis incombusta, et non congelata, iuxta radicem conferuaretur et ideo quando exortas est sol tribulationis in persecutione , vel laboribus paenitentiae exaestuavit combustiones aestu extrahente ad exterius virtutem seminis. Iacob.1 . Exortus est sol cum ardore et exsiccauit faenum, et flos eius decidit: et decor vultus eius deperiit, eo quod non habebat radicem, profunde fixam, quae dulcedinem succi fibi continue imbibitam herbae exorta subministraret, exaruit, et ariditate illa periit, combustum et exsiccatum ab omni humore pietatis. Arefactum est faenum et cecidit flos: quia et spiritus Domini exsufflavit in eo. Sanctus Albertus Magnus, Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput IV Source: Here p40

But some seed fell on stony ground where there was not much earth, and instantly they shot up, but they gained no height over the earth, for when the sun had risen, it scorched them and because they had no root they withered. 1 The second type of seed yields no fruit. The stony soil are hard hearts which are neither turned to penitence by fear nor softened by love, nor are they watered within by the rains of teaching. Concerning which it is said in the third chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 'A hard heart shall have evil in the end.' In the forty fourth chapter of Job, 'His heart shall be hardened like a stone and be made as firm as the anvil of a blacksmith.' 2 For the more it is stuck with blows so the more it is made firm in its obstinacy to do evil, like an anvil which is strengthened by the blows of hammers. This, then, is the stony earth where there is not much earth. And according to the letter it seems that what is called stony earth which is solid below and has a little thin film of earth upon it. And according to the letter the earth is poor of fruit because the heat which comes from the rays of the sun is further strengthened by the stones, and made may fierce and fiery, and it burns that which lacks much earth, which is above and scorched, so that it is made like bitter salt, and therefore it does not yield fruit. In the hundred and sixth Psalm, 'A fruitful land made barren because of the wickedness of the inhabitants in it.' 3 Then the cold of winter is also intensified by the stones and the earth that had been a little before scorched and made bitter with heat is then filled with a mortal coldness and this again kills the roots of the plants, and thus such earth is sterile. In the hundred and forty seventh Psalm, 'Before the face of his cold, who shall stand?' 4 This, then, is what he says, that the seed is thrown where there is not much earth, which when it has depth is able to protect from the searing or frozen stones. And this is the heart which has no human and worldly compassion and is contemptuous of virtue, but by the fire of its own lust it blazes up for vile things, and it is frozen out of all charity, being chilled with the fear of the world and men. 'Things set on fire and dug down shall perish at the rebuke of your face.' 5 Things on fire, which is the fire of lust, and dug down with the chill of fear, because all fear is a sort of freezing, and therefore those who fear acquire a pallor. It follows that the seeds immediately shot up with little and slender roots and before men they appeared to have some vigor. In the third chapter of the second letter to Timothy, 'Having a certain appearance of holiness.' 6 For losing all strength because there is no depth of earth, that is, deepness in which there is a sweetness of joy that cannot be touched by heat or cold, which supports the root, therefore when the sun of tribulation has arisen in persecution, or in the toils of penitence, the scorching of heat draws out all the strength of the seed. In the first chapter of the letter of James, 'For the sun rose with a burning heat, and parched the grass, and the its flower fell and its beauty perished.' 7 Because it had no deeply fixed root, from which sweet sap rose from below to continually water itself, it was scorched and it perished because of aridity, being burnt and dried up of all the moisture of piety. In the fortieth chapter of Isaiah, 'The grass is burnt up and the flower fallen, because the spirit of the Lord has blown upon it.' 8 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 4 1 Mk 4.5-6 2 Sirach 3.27 , Job 41.15 3 Ps 106.34 4 Ps 147.17 5 Ps 79.17 6 2 Tim 3.5 7 James 1.11 8 Isaiah 40.7

A Lack Of Understanding

Et ait illis: Nescitis parabolam hanc? et quomodo omnes parabolas cognoscetis? Secundum est, in quo increpat ruditatem cordis eorum.Nescitis parabolam hanc? Ac si dicat: Hoc est mirum post tot documenta suscepta, post tot miracula visa, post tot testimonia adhibita. Matth. xv: Adhuc et vos sine intellectu estis? Ad Hebr. v: Cum deberetis magistri esse propter tempus, rursus indigetis ut vos doceamini quae sint elementa exordii sermonum Dei: et facti estis quibus lacte opus sit, et non solido cibo. Et quomodo omnes parabolas cognoscetis? cum istam quae facilior est inter alias, et seipsam offert ad interpretationem, non intelligitis. Vos enim magistri esse debetis aliorum: et ideo capaciori sensu, perfectiora intelligere deberetis. Joan. iii: Tu es magister in Israel, et haec ignoras? Sanctus Albertus Magnus, Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput IV Source: Here p42

And He said to them, 'Do you not understand this parable? How shall you understand all the parables?' 1 Secondly He reproves the sluggishness of their hearts. 'Do you not understand this parable?' As if He said, 'This is indeed a wonder after all you have witnessed, after all the miracles you have seen, after all the testimony given.' In the fifteenth chapter of Matthew, 'Are you still without understanding?' In the fifth chapter of Hebrews, 'When you should be teachers according to your age, again you are so deficient that you must be taught the elements of the beginning of the word of God, and you have become as those who are in need of milk and not solid food.' 2 'And how will you understand all the parables?' When you do not understand this one that is the easiest to understand among all the other ones, and offers itself for interpretation? In the third chapter of John, 'You are a teacher in Israel, and you do not know these things?' 3 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 4 1 Mk 4.13 2 Mt 15.16, Heb 5.12 3 Jn 3.10

Mockery And The Cross

Et praetereuntes blasphemabant eum, moventes capita sua, et dicentes: Vah qui destruis templum Dei, et in tribus diebus reaedificas: salvum fac temetipsum, descendens de cruce. Tangitur hic de irrisione crucifixi: irrisio autem haec facta est a tribus generibus hominum: scilicet , praetereuntibus, sacerdotibus, et latronibus et secundum haec tria recipit divisionem. Irrisio praetereuntium habet tria: blasphemiam, motus capitis, et improperium in verbis. Dicit igitur et prætereuntes qui vagos in mundi vanitatibus significant, stabiliter in veritate non manentes. Ierem, Populus hic dilexit movere pedes suos, et Domino non placuit. Vir vanus in superbiam erigitur, et tanquam pullunt onagri se natum liberum putat. Blasphemabant eum: dicentes eum virtutes quas fecerat in principe daemoniorum perfecifle. Qui blasphemaverit in Spiritum sanctum, non habebit remissionem in aeternum. Isa, Dereliquerunt Dominum blasphemaverunt ſanctum Israel, abalienati sunt retrorsum, in signum comminationis et irrisionis: unde de Sennacherib dicitur Ifa. Post te movebit caput virgo filia Sion. Et haec irrisio per comminationem Propheticam est causa captivitatis ipsorum, Caput circuitus eorum, labor labiorum ipsorum operiet eos. Quia movendo capita circumdabant ipsum, et dicentes, improperando, Vah, Interietio est indignantis. Cum audierit sonitum buccinae, dicet vah. Qui destruis templum Dei, sicut dixisti Ioan, et in tribus diebus reaedificas tua virtute, quae nunc tam infirma apparere. Habac. Ibi abscondita eſt fortitudo eius. Salvum fac temetipsum. Virtute quam de te in potestate reaedificandi templum praedicasti Descendens de cruce. Sed isti non cognoverunt quod non venerat ut seipsum temporaliter salvaret, sed omnes: et ideo non descendat de cruce, sed potius ascendat, loan, Ego si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad me ipsum. Si serpens de palo deponitur Num, nullus a morsu serpentis liberatur . Ioan, Sicut Moyses exaltavit serpentem in deserto: ita exaltari oportet filium hominis, ut omnis qui credit in ipsum non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam Sanctus Albertus Magnus, Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput XV Source: Here p183

And passers by blasphemed Him, and shook their heads saying, 'Ha, you who would destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross.' 1 He touches here on the mockery of the crucified, and the mockery is performed by three types of men, that is, by the passers by and by the priests, and by the thieves, and according to these three the division is made. The mockery of the passers by has three parts, blasphemy and the shaking of the head, and the insult in words. It speaks, then, of the passers by as being those who wander in the vanity of worldly things, and who do not remain in the truth. 2 In Jeremiah, 'This people love to move their feet, and it does not please the Lord.' 3 The vain man is lifted up in his pride and as a wild ass brought forth he thinks himself nobly born. They had blasphemed Him before, saying that the powers He showed were performed by demons, as previously in the third chapter of Mark. 'He who blasphemes the Holy Spirit shall not have forgiveness in eternity.' 4 In Isaiah, 'They forsake the Lord, they blaspheme the Holy One of Israel, they have turned their backs,' 5 as a sign of condemnation and mockery. Hence is it said of Sennacherib in Isaiah, 'Behind you the virgin daughter of Sion shall shake her head. ' 6 And through the warning of the prophet this mockery is the cause of their captivity. 'Their heads surrounded me, the toil of their lips shall cover them.' Because with the shaking of their heads they surrounded him, 7 saying insultingly, 'Ha,' which is an indignant interjection. 'When he hears the sound of the trumpet, he will say, Ha.' 8 You who would destroy the temple, as was said in John, and in three days rebuild it with your power, that appears so very weak now, In Habakkuk, 'There his strength is lost,' 9 'Save yourself,'  with the power of the rebuilding of the temple which you foretold for yourself. But they do not know that He did not come to save Himself in temporal things, but to save all men, and therefore He does not come down from the cross, but rather He rises up to it. In the twelfth chapter of John, 'And if I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all things to myself.' If the serpent is not set up in Numbers, no one is delivered from the bite of the serpent. In the third chapter of John, 'As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so it is necessary that the Son of man shall be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.' 10 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 15 1 Mk 15.29 2 Jn 8.44 3 Jerem 14.10 4 Mk 3.22-30 5 Isaiah 1.4 6 Isaiah 37.22 7 Ps 139.10 8 Job 39.25 9 Jn 2.19, Hab 3.4 10 Jn 12.32, Numb 21, Jn 12.14-15

The Angel And The Annunciation

Et respondens Angelus... Nota processum Angeli et Virginis. Primo ingreditur Angelus salutans, secundo consolans, tertio annuntians, quarto rei annuntiatae modum explanans: per salutationem se ostendens Angelum pacis, per consolationem spiritum benignitatis, per annuntiationem fidelitatem suae ostendens legationis, per explanationem modi se probans Angelum lucis. Angelus enim pacis probatur fuisse per hoc quod postea dixit: Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Ecce columba cum ramo virentis olivae reversa ad arcam Domini. Per consolationem Virginis se probat esse nuntium ejus, qui dixit: Quomodo si cui mater blandiatur, ita ego consolabor vos. Per legationis fidelitatem ostendit quomodo vere de ea scriptum est, Proverb. xiii: Legatus fidelis, sanitas. Per modum explanationis ostendit se esse Angelum lucis, sicut scriptum est: Ecce Angelus Domini stetit circa illos, et claritas Dei circumfulsit illos. Angelus ergo iste erat Angelus lucis. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput I Source: Here p92

The angel answered... 1 Consider the interaction of the angel and the Virgin. Firstly the angel greets, secondly he comforts, thirdly he announces, fourthly he explains the way of what has been announced. With the greeting he shows himself an angel of peace, with his comforting he shows himself a benevolent spirit, with the annunciation he shows the fidelity of the herald, and through the explanation of the way he proves himself to be an angel of light. Indeed he was proved to be an angel of light by what he said later, 'And on earth peace to men of good will.' 2 Behold, the dove with the green olive branch returns to the ark of the Lord. 3 With the comforting of the Virgin he proves himself to be His messenger who said, 'As him who a mother caresses, so I shall comfort you.' 4 With the fidelity of the herald he shows how truly it was written of this in Proverbs, 'A faithful herald is health.' 5 Through the explanation of the way he shows himself an angel of light, as it is written, 'Behold, an angel of the Lord stood near them, and the light of God shone around them.' 6 Therefore this angel is an angel of light. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 1 1 Lk 1.35 2 Lk 2.14 3 Gen 8.11 4 Isaiah 66.12 5 Prov 13.17 6 Lk 2.9

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

The Waters Of Teaching

Psal. CIII: Inter medium montium pertransibunt aquae, hoc est, aquae doctrinae inter medium duorum testamentorum. Hoc significatum est, Ezechiel.XLVII: Sanabuntur aquae. Et omnis anima vivens, quae serpit, quocumque venerit torrens, vivet. Torrens iste torrore solis fluens, hoc est, calore charitatis Christi, qui est sapientia Dei, sanat aquas doctrinae humanae. Et anima serpens in deliciis, et divitiis, et honoribus vivet, gustans aquas istas Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput V Source: Here p362

In the hundred and third Psalm, 'Through the midst of the mountains the water shall flow' 1 that is, the waters of teaching through the midst of the two Testaments. This was signified in the forty fifth chapter of Ezekiel, 'The waters shall heal, and every living soul which creeps, wherever the torrent shall come, it shall live.' 2 The torrent is the torrent flowing from the sun, that is, from the warmth of the love of Christ, who is the wisdom of God, which heals human teaching, and the soul creeping in worldly pleasures and riches and honours, when it tastes these waters, it shall live. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 5 1 Ps 103.10 2 Ezek 47.8-9

Walking The Way

Dicit Glossa super Joan. xiv: Ego sum via, et veritas, et vita: via qua itur, veritas qua pes dirigitur, vita ad quam pervenitur: via per praeceptum, consilium, et exemplum: veritas per doctrinae verbum: vita per praemium. Eccli. xxiv: In me gratia omnis viae et veritatis, in me omnis spes vitaeet virtutis. Virtus enim confortat ad viam per meritum, et veritas illuminat ad vitam per doctrinam et Spiritus sancti inspirationem. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput II Source: Here p200

The gloss on John chapter fourteen, verse six, 'I am the way and the truth and the life,' says that the way is the path, and truth is that by which the step is directed, and life is that to which is comes. The way is through precept and counsel and example, the truth is through the word of teaching, life is the reward. In the twenty fourth chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 'In me all grace of the way and truth, in me all hope of life and virtue.' Virtue strengthens on the way through merit, and truth illuminates for life through teaching and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 2

Questioning Paternity

Et dicebant: Nonne hic est filius Joseph? Ecce hic secundum Chrysostomum tangitur effectus Verbi Dei in indevotis Scribis et Pharisaeis. Omnes enim de populo sanctificabant eum, et testimonium illi dabant. Soli autem Scribae et Pharisaei, ut dicit Chrysostomus, similes sunt terrae arenosae, quae quanto plus pluit, tanto magis aret. Et ideo maledicti sunt: sicut dicit Apostolus, ad Hebr. VI: Terra saepe venientem super se bibens imbrem, et generans herbam opportunam illis a quibus colitur, accipit benedictionem a Deo: proferens autem spinas ac tribulos, reproba est, et maledictioni proxima: cujus consummatio in combustionem ignis. Dividitur autem haec pars in tres partes: in quarum prima Scribarum et Pharisaeorum in paucis verbis innuit contemptum: in secunda autem Christus excludit ipsorum tacitam objectionem quam fecerunt, populum a fide concepta volentes avertere: in tertia autem aperta eorum ponitur malignitas, ad quam induxerunt populum, et quam volebant Domino violenter inferre. Primum horum est valde parvum, sed praegnans magna malignitate: Et dicebant, Supple, Scribae et Pharisaei ad populum qui jam fidem et devotionem conceperat, Nonne hic est. Despectionis nota est demonslratio ejus, quem nominare non sunt dignati. Sapient. ii: Gravis est nobis etiam ad videndum. Psal. xv: Nec memor ero nominum eorum per labia mea. Filius Joseph? Minus hic dicit Evangelista quod tam Matthaeo quam a Marco plenius sciverat esse positum. Matth.xiii, Nonne hic est fabri filius? Nonne mater ejus dicitur Maria, et fratres ejus, Jacobus, et Joseph, et Simon, et Judas: et sorores ejus, nonne omnes apud nos sunt? Marc vi: Nonne hic est faber, filius Mariae, frater Jacobi, et Joseph, et Judae, et Simonis? Haec omnia despective dicta sunt. Faber enim lignarius dicitur fuisse Joseph, arte et usu manuum victum quaerens, et non in otio et deliciis panem manducans, sicut Scribae et Pharisaei fecerunt. Maria etiam quam objiciunt ei quaestuaria fuit, ut dicit Hieronymus, colo et consilio manuum victum quaerens. Fratres autem vocant hic consobrinos ejus, filios sororis Beatae Virginis ex Cleopha patre, tres Apostolos Simonem, et Judam, et Jacobum minorem. Quartus autem Joseph fuit qui justus cognominabatur: qui cum Matthia sortes habuit quis eorum in locum Judse substitueretur. Et est sensus: Hic despectae et pauperrimae nativitatis faber lignarius vocatione, non potest esse Christus Dominus quem unxit Deus. Et ideo sibi non est credendum tam rusticano et tam vili. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput IV Source: Here p331-332

And they said, 'Is this not the son of Joseph?' 1 Observe that according to Chrysostom this touches upon the effect the Word of God had on the disbelieving Scribes and Pharisees. 'For all the people blessed Him and bore witness to Him.' 1 Only the Scribes and the Pharisees, as Chrysostom says, are like the dust of the earth, so that the more it rains, the more they thirst. And therefore they are cursed, as the Apostle says in the sixth chapter of the letter to the Hebrews, 'The earth which drinks down the rain which comes upon it and gives birth to plants in their seasons for those who till it, receives a blessing from God, but that which brings from forth thorns and thistles is reprobate and near to a curse, whose end is to be burnt with fire.' 2 This may be divided into three parts, in which first is made known in few words the contempt of the Scribes and Pharisees, in the second part Christ rejects the tacit objection they make, choosing to point to a people conceived by faith, and in in the third part is set down their malignity, to which they had led the people, and what they wished to bring violently on the Lord. The first part is very brief but bears much wickedness, 'And they said,' Understand that the Scribes and Pharisees said 'Is this not?' to the people who had just laid hold of faith and devotion, which demonstrates their scorn of Him whom they are not worthy to name. In the second chapter of Wisdom, 'The sight of Him is burdensome to us.' In the fifteenth Psalm, 'I shall not remember their names on my lips.' 3 'The son of Joseph?' Here the Evangelist says less than Matthew who wrote more extensively about what Mark set down. In the twelfth chapter of Matthew 'Is this man not the son of a carpenter? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers, Jacob and Joseph and Simon and Judas, and do not his sisters dwell among us?' In the sixth chapter of Mark, 'Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of Jacob and Joseph and Judas and Simon?' 4 This is all said disrespectfully. Is it said that Joseph was a carpenter, seeking his living with the work of his hands, and not in leisure and pleasure eating his bread, as the Scribes and Pharisees did. Mary they object to as a woman for hire, as Jerome says, who with her spinning and counsel made her living. Those called his brothers here are his cousins, the sons of the sister of the Blessed Virgin, who had Cleophas for a father, the three Apostles Simon, Judas and James the less. Joseph, the fourth one, was surnamed the Just, who with Matthias had the lots cast for the replacement of Judas. 5 This is the sense of what they said, that the occupation of carpenter entails a base and impoverished birth and it is not possible for Him to be the Lord Christ whom God anointed, and therefore one should not believe in one so rustic and common. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 4 1 Lk 4.22 2 Heb 6.7-8 3 Wisd 2.15, Ps 15.4 4 Mt 13.55-56, Mk 6.3 5 Acts 1.23-26

Saving The Lost

Venit enim Filius hominis salvare quod perierat. Venit enim filius hominis, etc. Ratio est sumpta ab utilitate et fine Incarnationis, quem vult frustrare, qui scandalizando perdit quos ille sanguine suo acquisviit: et hoc est quod dicit: Salvare quod perierat: Venit enim Filius hominis quaerere et salvum facere quod perierat: Quod perierat requiram. Quanto magis putatis deteriora mereri supplicia, qui Filium Dei conculcaverit, et sanguinem testamenti pollutum duxerit, in quo sanctificatus est, et spiritui gratiae contumeliam fecerit? Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Mattheum, Caput XVIII Source: Here p321

For the Son of Man came to save what is lost. 1 'For the Son of Man came...' The reason is given for the utility and the goal of the Incarnation, which he wishes to frustrate who makes men lost with scandal, he who has thus acquired their blood. This is what He says: 'To save what is lost.' The Son of Man comes to seek and save what was lost. 'What has been lost I shall seek.' 2 'Should you not think he merits much worse punishment who has crushed down the Son of God and profaned the blood of the covenant with which He was sanctified, and has given offence to the Spirit of grace?' 3 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Matthew, Chapter 18 1 Mt 18.11 2 Ezek 34.16 3 Heb 10.29

Lifting Up The Humble

Exaltavit humiles. Humiles sunt ab humo cui prostrati sunt, dicti: eo quod nihil inferius se reputant nisi humum, et se conculcandos omnibus exhibent: et isti exaltari propter hoc merentur. Isa. xl, i: Omnis vallis exaltabitur, et omnis mons et collis humiliabitur. Placet enim Deo ut quaelibet creatura sibi congruentia cogitet. Et ideo qui factus est de humo, humiliari debet: et exaltatio sibi non debetur, nisi per humilitatis meritum. I Petr. v: Humiliamini sub potenti manu Dei, ut vos exaltet in tempore visitationis. Debentur autem humili quatuor praemia per quatuor quae sunt ipso. Est enim in eo sui depressio, sensus suae vacuitati exiguitas, et abjectio, Per depressionem, debetur ei exaltatio: per vacuitatem, impletio: per exiguitatem, gratia: per abjectionem autem sui, gloria. De primo dicitur, Luc xiv: Omnis qui se humiliat, exaltabitur. De secundo dicitur, IV Reg. iv, quod mulier offerentibus sibi fliis implevit vasa vacua, non pauca. Do tertio, Jacob iv, et I Petr v: Humilibus dat gratiam. De quarto, Proverb xxix: Humilem spiritu suscipiet gloria. Sic ergo exaltavit humiies. Ad Philip. ii: Semetipsum exinanivit formam servi accipiens, in similitudinem hominis factus, et habitu inventus ut homo. Et sequitur: Propter quod et Deus exaltavit illum, etc. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput I Source: Here p141

He has lifted up the humble. 1 They are humble who are from the earth and to Him are prostrate on it, because nothing is thought so low as earth, and so they exhibit themselves to all as crushed down, and they are exalted because they have merited it. In the fortieth chapter of Isaiah, 'Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill brought low.' 2 For every creature is pleasing to God that has thoughts appropriate to itself. Therefore he who was made from earth should be humble and he should not exalt himself, unless by humility he merits it. In the fifth chapter of the first letter of Peter, 'Humble yourself under the powerful hand of God so that he might exalt you in the time of his visitation.' 3 There should be four rewards for the humble through four things that are his. That is, in his lowliness, in the sense of his emptiness, in his littleness, and in his abjection. Through lowliness exaltation should be his, through emptiness, fullness, through littleness, grace, and though his abjection, glory. Concerning the first of these things in the fourteenth chapter of Luke, 'All who humble themselves shall be exalted.' Concerning the second it is said in the fifth chapter of the fourth book of Kings that the woman filled the empty jars her sons brought her, and they were not a few. Concerning the third, in the fourth chapter of the letter of James and in the fifth chapter of the first letter of Peter, 'He gives grace to the humble.' Concerning the fourth, in the twenty ninth chapter of Proverbs, 'Glory shall lift up the humble of spirit.' 5 So He lifts up the humble. In the second chapter of Philippians, 'He emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant, made in the likeness of a man, and found in the way of man.' And it follows, 'Because of which God lifted Him up.' 5 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 1 1 Lk 1.51 2 Isaiah 40.4 3 1 Pet 5.6 4 Lk 14.11, 4 Kings 4.5-6, James 4.6, 1 Pet 5.5, Prov 29.23 5 Phil 2.7,9

Seeing Miracles

...et nuntiaverunt in civitatem et in villas. Exierunt autem videre quod factum est, et venerunt ad Jesum. Hic ponitur consequens effectus miraculi ex parte civium regionis. Dicuntur autem hic tria: exitus videlicet ad probandum, veritatis probatio per visum et auditum, timoris irrationabilis perculsio ex veritate probata. De primo dicuntur tria: exitus ex auditu causatus, finis exitus qui est probatio per visum, et perventio exeuntium usque ad Dominum. Exitus autem de civitate et villis, exitum significat pristinee conversationis et societatis. Genes: Egredere de terra tua, et de cognatione tua, et de domo patris tui, et veni in terram quam monstrabo tibi. Cantic: O pulcherrima inter mulieres, egredere. Apocal: Exite de illa, populus meus. Videre quod factum est. Quia, ut dicit Horatius, Segnius irritant animum demissa per aures, Quam qua sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus. Job: Auditu auris audivi te, nunc aulem oculus meus videt te. Idcirco ipse me reprehendo, et ago poenitentiam. Joan: Jam non propter tuam loquelam credimus: ipsi enim audivimus, et scimus quia hic est vere Salvator mundi. Sic et nobis exeundum est a nobis, et nostris, ut videamus Dominum Jesum. II ad Corinth: Revelata facie qloriam Domini speculantes, in eamdem imaginem transformamur. Cantic: Egredimini et videte, filiae Sion, regem Salomonem, etc. Quod factum est. Quia interim in factis suis Dominus videtur, donec per speciem in futuro clarius perspiciatur. I ad Corinth: Videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate. tunc autem facie ad faciem. Ad Roman: Invisibilia Dei a creatura mundi, per ea quae facta sunt, intellecta, conspisciuntur: sempiterna quoque ejus virtus, et divinitas. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput VIII Source: Here p570

...and they announced it in the cities and villages, and they went out to see what had been done, and they came to Jesus. 1 Here is set down the consequence of the working of the miracle on the part of the people of the region. And it speaks of three things, the going out, that is, for proof, and the proof of truth through seeing and hearing, and the blow of irrational fear from the proof of truth. Concerning the first of these three matters, the going out is caused by hearing and the aim of going out is proof by seeing, and the way of those going out is to the Lord. The going out from the city and villages signifies the going out from the old life and society, 'Go out from your land and your kin and from the house of your father, and come to a land which I will show you.' In the Song of Songs, 'Most beautiful among women, go out.' In the Apocalypse, 'Come out of her, my people.' 2 'To see what had been done.' Because as Horace says, 'What passes through the ear moves the soul less than what comes before the faithful eyes.' 3 In Job, 'With the hearing of my eyes I have heard of you and now I look on you. Therefore I blame myself, and I am penitent.' In the Gospel of John, 'Now we do not believe because of your words, for we ourselves have heard, and now we know that He is the Saviour of the world.' So even we must go out from ourselves and what is ours so that we might see the Lord Jesus. In the second letter to the Corinthians, 'Looking on the revealed face of the Lord's glory we are transformed into that same image.' In the Song of Songs 'Go out and see king Solomon, daughters of Sion.' 4 'What had been done.' Because the Lord is seen through His deeds until He is perceived more clearly in the future through His face. 'We see now in a mirror, in mystery, but then face to face.' In Romans, 'The unseen things of God are seen from the created things of the world, understood through what has been done, even His eternal power and Divinity.' 5 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 8 1 Lk 8.34-5 2 Gen 12.1, Song 1.7, Apoc 18.14 3 Horace Ars Poe 180-1 4 Job 42.5-6, Jn 4.42, 2 Cor 3.18, Song 3.11 5 1 Cor 13.12, Rom 1.20

A Healthy Mind

...et invenerunt hominem sedentem, a quo daemonia exierant, vestitum ac sana mente. In continentia sapientiae. Mens enim est quae rerum rationes et veritates mensurat. Sana autem tunc est, quando id perfecte facere potest. Continentia autem, ut dicit Aristotcles, virtus est quae facit homincm permanere in mensura mentis, ita quod non abducitur violentia passionis et tentationis. Jerem. xvii, Sana me, Domine, et sanabor: salvum me fac, et salvus ero: quoniam laus mea tu es. Psal. cii: Qui sanat omnes infirmitates tuas. Ilaec sanitas mentis perficitur per continentiam passiones mensura sanae mentis refraenantem. Eccli. xv: Qui continens est justitiae, apprehendet illam, et obviabit illi quasi mater honorificala. Cibabit illum pane vitae et intellectus. Firmabilur in illo, et non flecletur: et continebit illum, et non confundetur. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput VIII Source: Here p572

'...and they found the man from whom the demons had been expelled, sitting and clothed and with a healthy mind. 1 A mind healthy in the continence of wisdom. For the mind is that which reckons the reason and the truth of things. A mind is healthy, then, when it is able to do that without fault. Continence, as Aristotle says, is a power which allows a man maintain the reckoning of his mind, 2 and thus it is not dragged off by violent passions and temptations. In the seventeenth chapter of Jeremiah, 'Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed. Save me and I shall be saved, because you are my praise.' In the fifty second Psalm, 'He who heals all your infirmities.' 3 The health of the mind is fashioned by continence restraining the passions from the reckoning of a healthy mind. In the fifteenth chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 'He who is continent by righteousness, he apprehends wisdom, and she comes to meet him as an honourable mother, who shall feed him with the bread of life and understanding. She shall be strengthened in him and not be bent, she will make him continent and he will not be confounded.' 4 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 8 1 Lk 8.35 2 Aristot. Nic. Eth. 1145b 3 Jerem 17.14, Ps 52.3 4 Sirach 15.1-4

A Revealing Change

Et facta est, dum oraret, species vultus ejus altera, et vestitus ejus, albus et refulgens. Dicit igitur: Et facta est, non quidem per transmutationem substantiae, vel circumpositionem qualitatis, vel figurae alienae, quia fingere non convenit veritati: sed potius per effulsionem claritatis internae mortalis habitus tunc non clausit quomodo ante. Et sic nihil assumpsit alienum, nihil amisit sibi et nobis proprium. ...species ejus... Hoc est,speciositas ejus 'altera' non alia. Et in hic solo altera,quia mortalis species exterior non clausit fulgorem deitatis interiorem: nec fulgor interior consumpsit mortalem speciem exterior, sed obtexit horam. Et in hoc solo species vultus ejus facta est altera. Quia cum ante in colore vultus humani esset speciosus forma pro filius hominum, nunc resplendens super solem in vultu divino humanato, speciosus factus est prae vultibus Angelorum: ostendens quam mirabilis est humanitatis nostrae futura glorificatio, quae in suo vultu praemonstrata omnium Angelorum excessit claritatem. Hanc videns in spiritu Psalmista ait, Psal. xliv: Specie tua et pulchritudine tua intende, prospere procede, et regna. Hoc figuraturn est, Exod. xxxiii ubi in monte ex consortio Domini resplenduit facies Moysi: ita ut dicat Apostolus, II ad Corinth. iii, quod non poterant intendere filii Israel in faciem Moysi propter gloriam vultus ejus, nisi velaretur. Sed veritas excedit umbram: quia incomparabiliter plus illuxit facies nostri Salvatoris ex consortio unitae sibi deitatis, quam facies Movsi ex consortio divini sermonis. Unde, Matth. xvii dicitur, quod resplenduit facies ejus sicut sol. Et impletum est Isaiee, lxii vaticinium: Egrediatur ut splendor Justus ejus, et Salvator ejus ut lampas accendatur . Sicut enim pellis lucernae retinendo omnia propria, emittit ex se splendorem luminis, et non tegit ipsum: et videtur candens in lumine in se clauso, et non in colore proprio, quem tamen vere habet: ita resplenduit unita carnis deitas in colore mortalis corporis. Et color corporis in candore splendoris videbatur, et non amittebatur. Est enim Dei Filius etiam in humana carne splendor gloriae Patris, et figura substantise ejus, sicut habetur, ad Hebr. i. Sapient. vii: Speculum sine macula Dei majestatis, et imago bonitatis illius. Et, ibidem dicitur, quod est candor lucis aeternae. Unde non mirum si vel semel candor ille immensus emicuit et refulsit, ut fides regni Dei in nobis confirmaretur. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput IX Source: Here p657-8

'And it happened that as He prayed His face and His vestments were changed, being made white and shining.' 1 'And it happened,' not through a transmutation of substance, nor an imposition of quality or some foreign form, because a pretence is not fitting for the truth, but rather it was by an effusion of internal brightness through the mortal covering which no longer hid as it did before. And so He took to Himself nothing that was not Himself, nor did He lose anything of Himself. ...His face... That is, His appearance changed but not into something else. And not into something else because his exterior mortal form no longer hid the blaze of Godhood within, and nor did this inner brightness consume the exterior mortal appearance, but it covered it for a time. In this only is the appearance of His face changed. Because before His face was human in hue and the form of His appearance was as a son of man, 2 but now the face is resplendent beyond the sun with Divine humanity, made fair before the faces of angels, showing how wonderful is the future glorification of our humanity, which in His face is foreshown to exceed the brightness of all the angels. Seeing this in the spirit the Psalmist said, 'With your appearance and fairness revealed, go forward prosperously and rule.' 3 This figure was given when the the face of Moses shone on the mountain from meeting the Lord, 4 and thus the Apostle says in the Second Letter to the Corinthians, 'The children of Israel could not look on the face of Moses unless it was veiled because of the glory of his face.' 5 But truth exceeds the shadow, for the face of our Saviour shone incomparably more from His association with the unity of the Deity than the face of Moses because of his association with the Divine speech. Whence in Matthew it is said, 'His face shone like the sun.' 6 And the prophecy in Isaiah is fulfilled, 'His righteous one shall go out as a splendour and His Saviour shall blaze up like a lamp.' 7 For as a covering on a lamp keeps in what is proper to it and it emits the splendour of its light when it is uncovered, but it is still blazing with light when it is covered and has not its proper colour which it truly has, thus shone the union of Godhood with flesh in the hue of the mortal body. And the hue of the body in the brightness of the splendour appeared and was not lost, for the son of God even in human flesh is 'the splendor of the glory of the Father and a figure of His substance,' as it says in Hebrews. 8 And Wisdom says, 'A mirror without flaw of the majesty of God and an image of His goodness.' And in the same place it is said, 'that is the brightness of eternal light.' 9 Whence one should not wonder if that immense brightness flashed forth and shone so that faith in the kingdom of God might be strengthened in us. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 9 1 Lk 9.29 2 Ps 44.3 3 Ps 44.5 4 Exod 33.9 5 2 Cor 3.7 6 Mt 17.2 7 Isaiah 62.1 8 Heb 1.3 9 Wisdom 7.26

Questions And Deeds

Quis est autem iste... Tam magnus, de quo ego talia audio? Quaerit philosophari, et esse bonus. Non est enim quaerendum quis erat, sed cum Nathanaele accedendum et experiendum, ut sic sequeretur vestigia ipsius. Psal xxxiii: Accedite ad eum, et illuminamini: et facies vestrae non confundentur. Sed iste in sola ratione inquisitionis stare voluit, et non exercere opera, simile quid faciens istis, de quibus dicit Aristoteles in libro IV Ethicorum: Ad rationem confugientes, quaerunt philosophari et esse boni. Simile aliquid faciens infirmis, qui medicos quidem audiunt studiose, faciunt autem operandorum nihil. Et quemadmodum isti numquam bene habebunt corpus sic curati, ita nec illi bene habebunt animam sic philosophantes. Quid enim valet bona audire, et non facere? Jacob i: Qui auditor est verbi el non factor, comparabitur viro consideranti vultum nativitatis suae in speculo; consideravit enim se, et abiit, et statim oblitus est qualis fuerit. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput IX Source: Here p616

'Who is this...' 1 Is He so great 'concerning whom I hear such things?' he asks for his philosophising and to be good. But it must not be asked who He was, but with Nathanael one must draw near and one must experience 2 if one would follow in His way. In the thirty third Psalm, 'Come to Him and be enlightened and your faces shall not be confounded.' 3 But Herod who wished only to stand in the reason of questioning and not to exert himself in works is like the one of whom Aristotle speaks in the fourth book of his Ethics, 'Flying to reason they seek to philosophise and be good.' 4 He is similar to a sick man who carefully listens to physicians and then does nothing of what is prescribed. And as they will never have a body that is healthy, so they who philosophise in such a way shall never have a healthy soul. What good does it do to listen and not act? In the first chapter of the letter of James, 'He who hears the Word and does not do it shall be like a man who considers his own face in a mirror, and having considered it he goes away and instantly forgets what sort of man he was.' 5 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 9 1 Lk 9.9 2 Jn 1.45-51 3 Ps 33.6 4 Aris Nic Eth 1105b 10-18 5 James 1.23-24

Sending Out

Et misit illos praedicare regnum Dei, et sanare infirmos. Tangit suae legationis auctoritatem, et finem. Auctoritatem in hoc quod dicit: Et misit illos. Misit enim illos ut in eis sua auctoritas honoraretur, ut sua voluntas per eos omnibus exponeretur, ut fides per eos praedicaretur, et ut omnes non credentes per eos de infidelitate convincerentur. De primo quidem horum dicitur, Matth. x: Qui recipit vos, me recipit. Et, Luc. x: Qui vos spernit, me spernit. Et hoc etiam intelligendum est de apostolicis legatis. Sed non sunt apostolici legati, qui in auctoritate et vita et verbo non veniunt Apostolorum, qui in veritate non habent gratiam curandi, sed potius daemone pessimo impletur, et infirmatur omne cui manus imponunt. De secundo dicitur, II ad Corinth. v: Pro Christo legatione fungimur, tamquam Deo exhortante per nos. Obsecramus pro Christo, reconciliamini Deo. De tertio, Marc. xvi, 15 : Euntes in mundum universum, prgedicate Evangelium omni creaturse, Psal. xviii: Caeli enarrant gloriam Dei. Et sequitur: In omnem terram exivit sonus eorum. Ad Roman. x: Fides ex auditu, auditus autem per verbum Christi. Et supra: Quomodo praedicabunt nisi mittantur? De quarto, Psal. cxlix: Exaltationes Dei in gutture eorum, et gladii ancipites in manibus eorum. Exaltationes in faucibus, sunt gratiarum actiones de credentibus. Gladii autem in manibus, sunt testimoniorum condemnationes contra non credentes. Marc. xvi: Qui vero non crediderit, condemnabitur . Finem autem legationis subjungit, dicens: Praedicare regnum Dei. Tangit autem duos fines: primum quidem veritatis, alterum autem virtutis tam in spiritu quam in corpore. Finis veritatis est regni Dei praedicatio. Finis virtutis est infirmorum sanatio. In primo horum notantur duo: veritatis scilicet propositio, et veritatis ratio. Propositio importatur cum dicit: Praedicare. Praedicatur enim, ut dicit Chrysostomus, cujus ratio probans ipsum non habetur: sed cum sit super intellectum, et sit de indemonstrabilibus, oportet quod supermundanis probetur miraculis. Est enim praedicare quoddam prophetare, vel prophetias exponere. Prophetiae autem omnes innituntur revelationi. Revelatio autem non habet causam per quam possit doceri, sive demonstrari. II ad Timoth. iv: Praedica verbum, insta opportune, imporlune. Marc. xvi: Praedicate Evangelium omni creaturse. Isa. lxi: Misit me ut prsedicarem captivis indulgentiam, et clausis apertionem. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput IX Source: Here p609

And He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 1 This touches on the authority of those sent and the end. Authority in this which is said, 'And He sent them out.' For He sends them out so that in them shall be the honour of His authority, that His will through them should be set forth before everyone, that the faith through them be preached and that all who do not believe shall be convicted of faithlessness. Concerning the first of these it is said in the tenth chapter of Mathew, 'He who receives you, receives me.' And in the tenth chapter of Luke, 'He who rejects you, rejects me.' 2 And this must be understood of the Apostles who were sent out. For they are not Apostles sent out who in authority and life and word do not come as Apostles, who in truth do not have the grace of curing but rather are possessed by the worst of demons and they make everyone they lay their hands on sick. Concerning the second, it is said in the fifth chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians, 'We are the ambassadors of Christ, with God exhorting you through us. We entreat you in Christ, be reconciled to God. ' 3 Concerning the third, in the sixteenth chapter of Mark, 'Going out into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature.' In the eighteenth Psalm 'The heavens announce the glory of God,' and it follows, 'In every land the cry goes forth.' In the tenth chapter of Romans, 'Faith is by hearing and hearing is through Christ's word.' And a little before, 'And how shall they preach unless they are sent out?' 4 Concerning the fourth, in the one hundred and forty ninth Psalm, 'In their throats the exaltations of God and two edged swords in their hands.' The exaltations in their throats are the thanksgiving of the faithful. The swords in their hands are the testaments of condemnations against those who do not believe. In the sixteenth chapter of Mark, 'But he who shall not believe, he shall be condemned.' 5 And the end of their sending out follows: 'To preach the kingdom of God.' And this touches on two ends, the first of truth, and the other of virtue that it is as much in the spirit as in the body. The end of truth is the preaching of the kingdom of God, the end of virtue is the healing of the sick. In the first of these two things should be noted the proposition of truth and the reason of truth. The proposition is set forth when He says, 'Preach.' For it is preached, says Chrysostom, when reason approves what it did not have. But when it is beyond understanding and indemonstrable is it necessary that what is beyond the world be proved with miracles. For to preach is a sort of prophecy, and prophecy is a kind of setting forth, and all prophecy depends on revelation, but revelation does not have a cause by which it can be taught or demonstrated. In the fourth chapter of the second letter of Timothy, 'Preach the word, in season and out of season.' In the sixteenth chapter of Mark, 'Preach the Gospel to every creature.' In the sixty first chapter of Isaiah, 'He sent me that I might preach forgiveness to captives and open the eyes of the blind.' 6 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 9 1 Lk 9.2 2 Mt 10.40, Lk 10.16 3 2 Cor 5.20 4 Mk 16.15, Ps 18.1,5, Rom 10.17 5 Psalm 149.6, Mk 16.16 6 2 Tim 4.2, Mk 16.15, Isaiah 61.1

Encouraging Peter

Et ait ad Simonem Jesus: Noli timere: ex hoc jam homines eris capiens. Ecce hic ponitur instructio, propter quam tota introducitur historia. Adhuc enim carnales erant Apostoli : et oportuit quod ex corporalibus quae noverunl et quorum usum habuerunt, paulatim ad intellectum spiritualium deducerentur. El hoc bene significatur in Canticis, vii, ubi dicitur, Dixi: Ascendam in palmam et apprehendam fructus ejus. Qui enim ascendit, primo inferiora apprehendit, quibus ad altius nititur: et postea media, et sic per omnia media venit ad alta: et tandem stat exaltatus in palmam, et decerpit dulcedinis fructum. Et sic est de carnalibus ad spiritualia ascendere. Primo corporalia per similitudines spiritulia referre, et sic continuo studere quousque spiritualia per seipsa possit accipere. Ista est scala Jacob quae in una parte stat in terra, et in cacumine tangit coelum. Noli timere. Tria hic dicuntur : confortatio, et instructio, et confortationis et instructionis plenus et intentus effectus. De confortatione dicit: Noli timere, tuam scilicet parvitatem, quia ego tc faciam magnum : tuam indignitatem, quia te faciam dignum : tuam infirmitatcm, quia ego te faciam potentissimum : tuam rusticitatem, quia ego te faciam eruditum et doctum in omni scientia et sapientia spiritus. De primo horum, I Reg ii: Suscitat de pulvere egenum, et de stercore elevat pauperem, ut sedeat cum principibus, et soliurn glorise teneat. II Reg vii: Feci tibi nomen grande, juxta nomen magnorum qui sunt in terra. De secundo, Apocal v: Fecisti nos Deo nostro regnum, et sacerdotes. Et ita dignos, II ad Corinth: Idoneos nos fecit ministros Novi Testamenti, non littera, sed spiritu. De tertio, Matth. xvi: Tibi dabo claves regni caelorum .... et portse inferni non preevalebunt adversus eam, scilicet Ecclesiam. De quarto, Matth. x: Non vos estis qui loquimini, sed Spiritus Patris veslri qui loquitur in vobis. Eccli xv: Cibabit illum pane vitse et intellcctus, et aqua sapientiae salutaris potabit illum. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput V Source: Here p369-70

And Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid, because of this you shall be a fisher of men.' 1 Observe that here He gives the teaching for which the whole episode has been introduced. The Apostles were yet carnal and it was necessary that from carnal things which they knew and made use of they should gradually be led to the understanding of spiritual things. And this is well signified in the seventh chapter of the Song of Songs, where it is said, 'I said, I shall ascend the palm and I shall seize its fruit.' 2 For he who ascends first understands lesser things and by these he strives to higher things, and so after middling things, even passing through all middling things, he comes to the highest things, reaching the height of the palm and seizing the sweetest fruit. This is to ascend from carnal things to spiritual things. First corporeal things refer to spiritual things by likeness, and then with continual zeal those things which are spiritual in themselves can be received. And this is the ladder of Jacob, one part of which stood on the earth, and the top of it touched heaven. 3 'Do not be afraid.' Three things are said here, about strengthening and instruction, and the full and intended effect of strengthening and instruction. Concerning strengthening He says, 'Do not be afraid,' that is, of your littleness, because I will make it great, nor of your unworthiness, for I shall make you worthy, nor of your weakness for I shall make you most powerful, nor your rusticity for I shall make you learned and educated in all knowledge and the wisdom of the spirit. Concerning the first of these, in the second chapter of the first book of Kings: 'He takes up the needy man from the dust, and He lifts up the poor man from the dung heap, that he might sit with princes and hold the throne of glory.' In the seventh chapter of the second book of Kings, 'I have made your name great, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth.' 4 Concerning the second, in the fifth chapter of the Apocalypse: 'You have made us for our God a kingdom and priests.' And therefore worthy. In the second letter to the Corinthians, 'He has made us capable ministers of the New Testament, not in the letter, but in the spirit.' 5 Concerning the third in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew, 'I shall give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven...and the gates of heaven shall not prevail against it.' 6 That is, the Church. Concerning the fourth. 'It is not you who speak but the spirit of your Father who speaks in you.' In the fifteenth chapter Ecclesiasticus, 'He shall feed him with bread and wine and understanding, and give him to drink of the waters of wisdom's salvation.' 7 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 5 1 Lk 5.10 2 Song 7.8 3 Genes 28.12 4 1 King 2.8, 2 King 7.9 5 Apoc 5.10, 2 Cor 3.6 6 Mt 16.18-19 7 Mt 10.20, Sirach 15.3

Prayer And The Mountain

Exiit Tangit hic sex spectantia ad orationem, scilicet, orantis ad solitudinem segregationem, spiritus orantis elevationem, formam quam decet habere orationem, orantis in oratione perseverationem, tempus quoad orationis et secreti congruitatem, et orationis finem. De segregatione orantis dicit: Exiit, hoc est, a suis intimis et a curis se segregavit: non quia ipse hoc indigeret, sed ut nobis orantibus formam daret. Matth. xxvi: Sedete hic, donec vadam illuc et orem. Luc. XXII: Ipse enim avulsus est ab eis quantum jactus est lapidis. Genes. xxii: Exspectate hic cum asino: ego et puer illuc usque properantes, postquam adoraverimus, revertemur ad vos. Hoc dixit Abraham servis suis. ...in montem... In quo significat orantis in spiritu et justitia elevationem. Psal lxiii, 7: Accedet homo ad cor altum. Jerem XXXI: Benedicat tibi Domitius pulchritudo justitiae, mons sanctus. Genes xxii: In monte Dominus videbit, hoc est, in altitudine spiritus et veritatis. Joan IV: Spiritus est Deus: et eos qui adorant eum, in spiritu et veritate oportet adorare. Psal. lxvii: Mons in quo beneplacitum est Deo habitare in eo : etenim Dominus habitabit in finem. ...Orare. In hoc dat formam quam decet habere orationem. Intelliguntur autem tres modi et formae, secundum tres orationis diffinitiones. Prima est quoad ea quae petuntur ut sint decentia, hoc est, ad salutem pertinentia. Unde Damascenus dicit, quia oratio est petitio decentium a Deo. Matth VI: Quaerite primum regnum Dei, et justitiam ejus: et haec omnia adjicientur vobis. Secunda forma est secundum affectum orantis, hoc est quod sit devota et pia oratio. Unde Augustinus : " Oratio est pius affectus mentis in Deum directus. Pius autem affectus, est liquescens in Deum ex fervore devotionis et fluens affectus. Psal CXI: Dirigatur oratio mea sicut incensum in conspectu tuo. Cantic III: Sicut virgula fumi ex aromatibus myrrhae, et thuris, et universi pulveris pigmentarii. Tertia forma est accepta secundum intellectum orantis, ut exaltetur intellectus in veritatem incircumscirptam. Unde Joannes Damascenus dicit, quod oratio est ascensus intellectus in a Deum. Et Dionysius dicit, quod virtus orationis est in Deum ascendere et Deo appropinquare. Eccli xxxv: Oratio humiliantis se nubes penetrabit: et donec propinquet non consolabitur: et non discedet donec Altissimus adspiciat. Ista ergo est forma orationis. Et erat... Ecce in tempore consignato tangitur orationis instantia cum perseverantia. Luc xviii: Quoniam oportet semper orare, et non deficere. Ad Roman XII: Orationi instantes: necessitatibus sanctorum communicantes. 1 ad Thessal v: Sine intermissione orate. ...pernoctans... Ecce tempus quieti et secreto orationis congruum intempestae noctis silentio. Psal CXVIII: Media nocte surgebam ad confitendum tibi. Item, ibidem: Memor fui nocte nominis tui, Domine. Thren ii: Consurge, lauda in nocte, in principio vigiliarum tuarum. Isa XXVI: Anima mea desideravit te in nocte, sed et spiritu meo in praecordiis meis de mane vigilabo ad te. ...in oratione Dei. Ecce finis. Dei enim est oratio per finem, et non honores, vel divitiae, vel deliciae, vel pertinens ad hoc saeculum. Et ideo dicit Glossa: Dei, non saeculi. De oratione enim saeculi dicitur, II Machab IX: Orabat autem hic scelestus Dominum, a quo non esset misericordiam consecuturus. Isa I: Cum multiplicaveritis orationem, non exaudiam. Sed Deum petens in oratione auditur, Isa. xxxviii: Audivi orationem tuam, et vidi lacrimas tuas. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput VI Source: Here p405-6

He went off... 1 This touches on the six marks of prayer, that is, the separated solitude of prayer, the spiritual elevation of prayer, the form which it befits prayer to have, the need of perseverance in prayer, the time which is appropriate for private prayer, and the goal of prayer. Concerning separation in prayer it says, 'He went off...' that is, He separated Himself from His companions and cares, not because He had need of this, but to give us an example of prayer. In the twenty sixth chapter of Matthew, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray.' In the twenty second chapter of Luke, 'And He withdrew from them a stone's cast.' In the twenty second chapter of Genesis: 'Wait here with the ass. I and the boy shall go on ahead, and after we have prayed we shall return to you,' which Abraham says to his servant. 2 ...to a mountain... In which is signified the elevation of prayer in spirit and righteousness. In the sixty third Psalm, 'An uplifted heart comes on a man.' In the thirty first chapter of Jeremiah, 'The Lord bless you, the beauty of justice, the holy mountain,' In the twenty second chapter of Genesis, 'The Lord shall look on the mountain,' that is, on the height of spirit and truth. In the fourth chapter of John, 'God is a spirit and those who adore Him should adore in spirit and truth.' In the sixty seventh Psalm, 'The mountain on which God is pleased to dwell, for there the Lord will dwell to the end.' 3 ...to pray. In this he gives the form which it befits prayer to have. But form should be understood in three ways, according to the three differences of prayer. First that what is sought is fitting for God to give, that is, it pertains to salvation. Whence John Damascene says that prayer is an asking of fitting things from God. In the sixth chapter of Matthew, 'Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything will be given to you.' The second form concerns the love that is in prayer, that is, that it should be devout and pious, whence Augustine says that prayer is the pious love of the mind directed to God. And love is pious when it is flowing toward God from a fervour of devotion and onrushing love. In the hundred and eleventh Psalm, 'May my prayer be directed like incense into your sight.' In the third chapter of the Song of Songs, 'Like a pillar of smoke of odorous myrrh and frankincense and all the powders of the perfumer.' The third form is the receptivity of the intellect for prayer so that the understanding is exalted to the unbounded truth. Whence John Damascene says that prayer is the ascent of the intellect to God. And Dionysius says that the power of prayer is to ascend to God and to draw near God. In the thirty fifth chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 'The prayer of one who humbles himself pierces the clouds, and until it comes near is shall not be content, and it shall not depart from the eyes of the Most High.' 4 These are the three forms of prayer. And He was... Observe in the time assigned that it touches on intent with perseverance. In the eighteenth chapter of Luke, 'Because it is always necessary to pray and not to become weary.' In the twelfth chapter of Romans, 'Intent in prayer, communicating the needs of the saints.' In the first Letter to the Thessalonians, 'Pray ceaselessly.' 5 ...through the night... Observe that the still silence of the night is fitting for a time of quiet and private prayer. In the hundredth and sixteenth Psalm 'In the middle of the night I rose up and confessed to you,' and again, 'In the night I was mindful of your name, O Lord.' In the second chapter of Lamentations, 'Rise up, give praise in the night, at the beginning of your vigils.' In the twenty sixth chapter of Isaiah, 'My soul desired you in the night, but in the spirit in my breast I shall keep watch for you from the morning.' 6 ...praying to God. Observe the end. For prayer is God's according to its end, and not for honour or riches or pleasure, or anything that pertains to this world. The gloss on 'God's' says 'not of the world' Concerning worldly prayer it is said in the ninth chapter of the second book of Maccabees 'And this wicked man prayed to the Lord, from whom he was not to receive mercy.' In the first chapter of Isaiah, 'When you multiply your prayers, I will not hear you.' But the one who seeks God in prayer is heard. In the thirty eighth chapter of Isaiah, 'I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears.' 7 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 6 1 Lk 6.12 2 Mt 26.36, Lk 22.41, Genes 22.5 3 Ps 63.7, Jerem 31.23, Genes 22.14, Jn 4.24, Ps 67.17 4 Mt 6.33, Song 3.6, Ps 111.2, Sirach 35.21 5 Lk 18.1. Rom 12.12-13, 1 Thes 5.17 6 Ps 116.62, Ps 116.55, Lament 2.19, Isaiah 26.9 7 2 Mac 9.13, Isaiah 1.15, Isaiah 38.5

Faith And Healing

Quod autem dicit quod in patria signa non fecit, Marc. VI, causa redditur, ubi sic dicitur: Non poterat ibi virtutem ullam facere, nisi paucos infirmos impositis manibus curavit. Haec autem impotentia, sicut patebit ex sequentibus, non fuit in Domino, sed in ipsis. Impedivit enim hoc eorum incredulitas, et indevotio: quia in fide devote non petebant. Et ideo quod Dominus poterat de potentia absoluta, non poterat de justi- tia. Non enim, ut dicit Augustinus super Joannem, aliquem sanabat Dominus in corpore quem prius non sanaret in anima. Et ideo dicitur, Joan. VII, quod totum hominem sanum fecit. Et quia interius sanari ab ipso noluerunt, ideo indigni fuerunt quod exterior sanitas praestaretur eis. Haec ergo est causa quod apud alios etiam Gentiles multas perfecit sanitates, et paucas apud suos. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput IV Source: Here p333

When it says that He was not able to do miracles in His homeland, Mark gives the cause, when he says that there He was not able to perform any act of power unless to cure a few of the sick on whom He placed His hands. 1 This inability, as shall be clear from what follows, was not in the Lord but in them. It was their disbelief that was the impediment, since they did not ask in devout faith. And thus what the Lord could have done according to His absolute power, He was not able to do according to justice. For there is no one, as Augustine says on John, that the Lord healed in the body who was not first healed in the soul. And thus it says in the seventh chapter of John that He made the whole man well. 2 And because here they were not willing to be healed within, therefore they were unworthy of the exterior health He could have bestowed upon them. This, then, is the reason why many were restored to health among others, even Gentiles, and few were among them. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 4 1 Mk 6.5 2 Jn 7.23

A Troubling Word

...turbata est in sermone ejus.. Ecce causa turbationis. Turbatur enim in sermone, non de sermone : quia ea quae sermo dixit, ipsa in oratione petivit. Sed quia in sermone, sermonem ad eam tam humilem convertit, ideo turbata est. Fuit enim sermo terribilis in auditu, profundus in sensu, et admirabilis in dictis. Locutio enim Angeli ad Moysen terribilis fuit: quod dicit Apostolus, ad Hebr. Ita terribile erat quod videbatur, quod ipse Moyses qui primus inter homines fuit, dicit: Exterritus sum, ettremebundus. Et ideo dicitur in Psalmo lxxvi: Vox tonitrui tui, Deus, in rota, hoc est, sonus terribilis Angeli in Galilaea. Job, XXVI: Cum vix parvam stillam sermonis ejus audierimus, quis poterit tonitruum magnitudinis illius intueri? Propter quod etiam dicitur, Joan. XII, cum blande de clarificatione Pater loqueretur ad Filium, turbae adstantes existimabant tonitruum factum esse. Et similiter, Act. IX, cum de caelo Christus loqueretur Paulo, ipse Paulus corruit: et caeteri qui comitabantur cum eo stabant stupefacti. Ista autem Virgo omnibus constantior et fortior non cecidit, nec confusionem passa est: sed in sermone humanum et puellare aliquid passa, est turbata. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput I Source: Here p68

...she was troubled at his word... 1 Observe the cause of her trouble. She is troubled at the word not about the word, for what that word said she had sought in prayer. But because it is 'at his word,' it turns on the word that was addressed to her so humbly, because of which she was troubled. For the word was wondrous to hear, profound in meaning, admirable in telling. The word of the angel to Moses was wondrous, whence the Apostle says in the twelfth chapter of Hebrews: 'Thus it was wondrous what he saw, because Moses who was the best among men said, 'I am terrified, and I am shaking.' 2 And therefore in the seventy sixth Psalm: 'The voice of your thunder, O God, in your circuit,' 3 that is, the wondrous sound of the angel in Galilee. In the twenty sixth chapter of Job, 'When we will scarcely hear the slight dew of His word, who shall be able to endure the great magnitude of His thunder?' 4 On account of which it is said in the twelfth chapter of John that when the Father spoke to the Son softly for clarification, the crowd standing nearby reckoned it had thundered. 5 And similarly in the ninth chapter of Acts when Christ speaks to Paul from heaven, Paul collapses, and the others who were with him stand by stupefied. 6 But the Virgin, more constant and stronger than all these, did not fall, nor did she suffer confusion, but because the speech was delivered in such a kindly fashion and in a way befitting a girl, she was troubled. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 1 1 Lk 1.29 2 Heb 12.21 3 Ps 76.19 4 Job 26.14 5 Jn 12.29 6 Acts 9.3-7

Counsel For Correction

Si autem peccaverit in te frater tuus, vade et corripe eum inter te et ipsum solum. Si te audierit, lucratus eris fratrem tuum. Hic tangit correctionis et revocationis modum: et dicuntur duo, quorum primum est revocatio: secundum autem est confirmatio sententiae contra obstinatum. In primo tres inducit gradus, correptionis convictionis, accusationis, vel denuntiationis. De gradu correptionis, dicit duo, quis debet corripi, et qualiter. Quis? Si peccaverit. Tria dicit si peccaverit quia non corripitur, nisi qui peccavit, non est autem peccatum, nisi mortale peccatum: de aliis enim venialibus non est correptio. Quia Iac 3 dicitur In multis offendimus omnes. 1 Ioan 1 Si dixerimus, quia peccatum non habemnus, nosipsos seducimus, et veritas in nobis non est. 'In te...' Secundum est, quod dicit: In te. Et in hoc notantur tria secundum Glossam: Primum notatur ex discretione naturae: In te enim peccare, est in hominem peccare, et non in Deum. Si enim in Deum solum peccat: tunc aut peccatum ejus in nullum omnino nocumentum proximi procedit, aut ita est principaliter in Deum, quod etiam per accidens nocet proximo. Primo modo est peccatum occultum, quod nemo scit, nisi solus Deus: et tu ut Deus: et tunc, ut dicit Glossa, Non est nostri arbitrii aliquid facere de peccato illo, nisi forte admonendo in " secreto, sicut Deus monet: sed non " possumus procedere ad publicum adhibendo unum, vel plures, ut prodamus. Alio modo est in Deum principaliter, et secundario in proximum, sicut est blasphemia, vel retractio a sacrificio, vel laude Dei: et de hoc, in quantum est contra proximum, debet fieri correctio: sed de offensa et emenda non est nostri arbitrii aestimare secundum satisfactionem proximi, sed potius secundum injuriam illatam Deo. 1 Reg. 2: Si peccaverit vir in virum, placari ei potest Deus: si autem in Dominum peccaverit vir, quis orabit pro eo? Alio modo, in te, notat discretionem personae: et hoc duobus modis. Uno modo, quantum ad peccati nocumentum quod in te est, et non in alium: sicut si contumeliam, vel damnum irrogat tibi: tunc enim tui arbitrii est remittere injuriam, et monere de correctione peccati, sicut inferius habetur, quod peccanti in nos septuagies septies dimittendum est, si veniam petat. Alio modo in te peccat, sicut dicit Augustinus, quando te sciente peccat. Sed tunc distinguendum est : quia te sciente intelligitur, te sciente tua scientia, quae scientia humana est, hoc est, quando signo, vel facto prodit in tuam notitiam, quod signum, vel factum est infallibilis nuntius peccati: quia tunc fit te sciente, et non temerario judicio tuo. Si autem venit ad te scientia Dei, hoc est, cordis secreti revelatione, non hoc est te sciente, sed. potius Deo sciente, et te ut Deo sciente: et sive ita revelet tibi in forma confessionis, sive sine forma confessionis, non debes procedere ad correctionem. Adhuc, si fallaci nuntio veniat ad te, non fit te sciente: sicut si dicatur tibi, et nullum aliud extet indicium: tunc enim nisi valde confirmetur verbum dicentis, non debes credere: et ideo non ad correctionem procedere. Sed quando visus probat, vel alia certa indicia, tunc Sit te sciente humana scientia, et tunc fit in te, hoc est, contra te : quia te scandalizat, quantum in ipso est: et fit contra cordis tui dilectionem, qua diligis fratrem sicut teipsum : et ideo debes procedere ad correctionem : et hoc est quod dicitur, 1 ad Corinth 7: Sic peccantes in fratres, ei percutientes conscientiam eorum infirmam, in Christum peccatis. Frater Tuus... Deinde tangit, quis peccat, quem debes diligere sicut teipsum: et ideo dicit Augustinus, quod hoc non fit crudeliter, sed misericorditer, ne contagione pestifera plurimos perdat. 2 Machab 6: Multo tempore non sinere peccatoribus ex sententia agere, sed statim ultiones adhibere, magni beneficii est indicium. Levit. 19: Diliges amicum tuum sicut teipsum. Et ideo sicut in meipso volo emendari peccatum sine confusione, si fieri potest, ita volo in proximo. Vade... Sed si prope me est, aequaliter ibo? Responsio. Vade duobus pedibus, compassionis, et charitatis: tunc enim non indignabitur. Jerem. 10: Corripe me, Domine ... verumtamen non in furore tuo, ne forte ad nihilium redigas me. Psal. 6: Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me, neque in ira tua corripias me. Corripe eum... Proverb. 17: Plus proficit correptio apud prudentem, quam centum plagae apud stultum. Proverb. 29: Virga atque correctio tribuit sapientiam. 2 ad Thessal. 3: Nolite quasi inimicum existimare, eum scilicet qui non obedit verbo nostro, sed corripite ut fratrem. Inter te et ipsum solum... Ne forte publicatus, humanam amittat verecundiam: et tunc non curet corrigi. Jerem. 3: Frons mulieris meretricis facta est tibi, noluisti erubescere. Si te audierit... Corrigendo vitium, lucratus es fratrem tuum. Jacob 5: Qui converti fecerit peccatorem ab errore viae suae, salvabit animam ejus a morte, et operiet multitudinem peccatorum. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Mattheum, Caput XVIII Source: Here p322

If your brother sins against you, go and correct him, just you and him alone, and if he hears you, you shall have profited your brother. 1 Here He touches on the way of correction and recalling, and they are spoken of in two ways, of which the first is recalling, and the second is the confirmation of sentence against the obstinate. Firstly He introduces three steps, the conviction of correction, the accusation, and the denunciation. Regarding the step of correction He says two things, who should be corrected and how. Who? He who shall have sinned. And He says three things about him who shall have sinned, that a man is not corrected unless he has sinned, but it is not a sin unless a mortal sin, for concerning the other venial sins there is no correction, since in the third chapter of James it is said, 'We all offend in many things.' In the first chapter of John, 'If we say that we do not sin we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us.' 2 'Against you...' Secondly He says, if he sins 'Against you...' And in this the gloss notes three things: First the discrimination of nature, for to sin 'Against you' is to sin against a man, and not against God. For if he sinned only against God, then either his sin did no harm to a neighbour, or it was principally against God and accidently to the injury of a neighbour. In the first case the sin is hidden, and no one knows of it but God, and you like God. Then, as the Gloss says, 'It is not for us to do something about that sin,' unless perhaps to admonish in secret, as God does, but we are not able to bring it into public view, before one or many, so that we might expose it. There is another way in which there is sin principally against God and secondarily against a neighbour, as in blasphemy, or withdrawal from sacrifice, or praise of God, and concerning this, in much as it is troubles a neighbour, it should be corrected, but it is not of our will to judge for the satisfaction of a neighbour concerning the offense and recompense, but rather according to the injury perpetrated against God. In the second chapter of the first book of Kings: 'If a man sins against a man, it is possible for him to placate God, but if he sins against the Lord, who shall pray for him?' 3 In another way this 'Against you' signifies discrimination of persons, and this in two ways. In one way, as much as the harm of the sin was directed at you and not at another, as with contumely, or some loss inflicted on you, and then it is of your own will to forgive the injury and to admonish so that sin might be corrected, as it is given below, when he who sins against us seventy seven times should be forgiven, if he seeks forgiveness. A man sins against you in another way, as Augustine says, when he knowingly sins against you, but here one must distinguish, because knowingly is understood as you knowing with your knowledge, which is human knowledge, that is, when a sign or thing is set before your awareness, which sign or thing is an infallible proclaimer of sin, since then it is done with your knowledge, and there is no recklessness in your judgment. But if it comes to you through the knowledge of God, that is, by some secret revelation of the heart, this is not with your knowledge but rather God's knowledge, and you thus know like God, and thus when it is revealed in the form of confession, or without the form of confession, you should not proceed to correction. Yet if by a false report it comes to you, it is not by your knowledge, as if it was said to you, 'There is no sign of it,' and then if there is no strong confirmation of what is spoken, you should not believe it, and therefore not proceed to correction. But when sight confirms it, or there are other sure indications, then you know according to human knowledge, and then it is done to you, that is, against you, because you are scandalised, as much as it is against you, and against the love of your heart, by which you love your brother as yourself, and therefore you should proceed to correction, and this is spoken of in the seventh chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians, 'So sinning against brothers, you strike the conscience of those who are weak, sinning against Christ.' 4 'You brother...' Next He touches on the one who sins, whom you should love as yourself, and therefore Augustine says, 'This is not cruel but merciful, lest a corrupting contagion ruin many.' And in the second book of Maccabees: 'That sinners are not allowed to act as they will for a long time but instantly reproof is administered, is a sign of great goodness.' In the nineteenth chapter of Leviticus, 'You shall love your friend as yourself.' 5 Therefore as I would wish to amend my fault without confusion, so as far as it possible I wish act with my neighbour. 'Go...' But if he is close to me, shall I go in justice? Go with two feet, with compassion and charity, then you shall not go resentfully. In the tenth chapter of Jeremiah, 'Correct me, Lord ... but not in your wrath, lest perhaps you reduce me to nothing.' In the sixth Psalm, 'O Lord, do not dispute with me in your wrath, nor correct me in your anger.' 6 'Correct him...' In the seventeenth chapter of Proverbs, 'Correction with prudence profits more than a hundred blows with a fool.' In the twenty nineth chapter, 'A rod and correction gives wisdom.' In the third chapter of the second letter to the Thessalonians, 'Do not judge him as an enemy,' that is, the one who is not obedient to your word, 'but correct him like a brother.' 7 'Just you and him alone...' Lest in public he lacks human modesty and he cares not for correction. In the third chapter of Jeremiah, 'The brow of the harlot woman was yours, you would not blush.' 8 'If he will hear you...' For the correction of fault, '...you have profited your brother.' In the fifth chapter of the letter of James, 'He who turns a sinner from the way of his error, saves his soul from death, and covers a multitude of sins.' 9 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Matthew, Chapter 18 1 Mt 18.15 2 James 3.2, 1 Jn 1.8 3 1 Kings 2.25 4 1 Cor 8.12 5 2 Mac 6.13, Levit 19.18 6 Jerem 10.24, Ps 6.2 7 Prov 17.10, Prov 29.15, 2 Thes 3.15 8 Jerem 3.3 9 James 5.20