Losing The Light

Auferetur ab impiis lux sua. Neque enim eos nunc Dei lumen illustrat, qui iniquitatis suae malitiam fidei nomine palliant. Nam dum iuxta praedicationem fidei vivere negligunt, et tamen eamdem fidem specie tenus venerantur, honorem vitae praesentis ex nomine religionis quaerunt, hocque eis ex fide lucet, quod eos fides coram hominibus refovet. Sunt vero nonnulli, qui aeterna quae audiunt veraciter credunt, et tamen eidem quam tenent fidei male vivendo contradicunt. Habent hi quoque in tenebris lucem suam, quia dum perversa agunt, et tamen de Deo recta sentiunt, ne tenebrescant funditus, ex quadam parte fulgore luminis illustrantur. Qui dum plus terrena quam coelestia, plus quae vident quam quae audiunt, diligunt, pulsante persecutionis articulo, quod rectum credere videbantur amittunt. Quod illo maxime tempore multiplicius agitur, quando, surgente ipso iniquorum capite, in sanctam Ecclesiam persecutione ultima, liberis suis viribus eius fortitudo grassatur. Ibi tunc cor uniuscuiusque ostenditur, ubi quidquid in occultis latebat aperitur; et qui nunc ore sunt pii, et corde sunt impii, publicata malitia corruunt, et lucem fidei quam specie tenus tenuerant perdunt. Sed inter haec necesse est ut unusquisque nostrum ad cordis sui secretum redeat, et actionis suae damna pertimescat, ne, exigentibus meritis, per districtam iustitiam iudiciorum Dei in talium hominum numerum incurrat. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Moralia, sive Expositio in Job, Liber XXIX, Caput VII Source: Migne PL 76.484a-c

From the wicked their light shall be taken away. 1 For the light of God does not now shine on those who veil the malice of their iniquity with the name of faith. For while they neglect to live according to the preaching of faith, and yet in appearance reverence that same faith, they seek the honour of this present life under the name of religion, and this that is drawn from faith shines on them, since the faith endears them in the sight of men. But there are some who truly believe the eternal truths which they hear and yet by living wickedly contradict these same things they hold of the faith. They also have their light in darkness, for while they act perversely and yet think rightly about God, they are partially illuminated by brightness, lest they be sunk in darkness. And these while they love the things of earth more than those of heaven, and those that they see more than those they hear, when the time of persecution strikes them, they are seen to lose that right belief, which certainly shall be much more the case at the time of the last persecution when the head of the wicked himself rises against Holy Church, and with his boldness attacks it with unrestrained strength. Then the heart of each one shall be laid open, and whatever lays concealed shall be exposed, and they who are now holy in words and unholy in heart shall fall with their wickedness made public and lose the light of faith which they seemed to possess. And amidst all of this it is necessary for each of us to return to the secret place of his heart, and to fear the condemnation of his deeds, lest he fall as his merits demand by the strict justice of the judgments of God into the number of such men. Saint Gregory the Great, Moralia, or Commentary on Job, Book 29, Chapter 7 1 Job 38.15

Hands And Wings

Et manus hominis sub pennis eorum... Qui erit servus in saeculum, ut esse post saeculum liber possit. In saeculum etenim servus est, qui per activam vitam hominibus servire disposuit, ut post praesens saeculum ad libertatem veram valeat pervenire. De qua per Paulum dicitur: Quia et ipsa creatura liberabitur a servitute corruptionis in libertatem gloria filiorum Dei. Tunc enim in nobis vera libertas erit, cum ad gloriam filiorum Dei adoptio nostra pervenerit. Nunc vero non solum activa vita in servitute est, sed ipsa quoque contemplatio, qua super nos rapimur, libertatem mentis adhuc perfecte non obtinet, sed imitatur, quia illa quies intima in aenigmate videtur. Ipsa tamen in quantalibet sit contemplationis angustia, activa vita jam valde est latior atque sublimior, quae ad quamdam mentis libertatem transit, temporalia non cogitans, sed aeterna. Quia itaque contemplativa vita ad superiora evolat, et activae vitae longe superest quadam, ut ita dicam, dignitate securitatis suae, apte nunc dicitur: Et manus hominis sub pennis eorum. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia III Source: Migne PL 76.811d-812a

And the hands of a man under their wings.... 1 A man shall be a servant in the world so that he might be a free man after this world. He is a servant in the world who disposes himself to serve men in the active life, so that after the present world he might be able to come to true freedom. Concerning which it is said by Paul, 'Because creation itself will also be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.' 2 Then we shall possess true freedom, when our adoption brings us to the glory of the sons of God. Now however not only is the active life a matter of servitude but so is the contemplative life, in which when we are taken up, yet the freedom of the mind does not obtain perfection, but it is a shadow, because that peace within is in mystery. Yet however great the struggle of contemplation, it is already broader and more sublime than the active life, for it passes over to a certain freedom of mind, thinking not of transient things but eternal things. Because, then, the contemplative life flies up to things on high and far surpasses the active life ,so I might say, it is worthy of its protection, and now aptly it is said, 'And they had the hands of a man under their wings.' Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 3 1 Ezek 1.8 2 Rom 8.21

Age And Ability

Et factum est in tricesimo anno, in quarto mense, in quinta mensis. Hoc autem quod dicitur, quia tricesimo anno spiritum prophetiae acceperit, indicat aliquid nobis considerandum, videlicet quia juxta rationis usum doctrinae sermo non suppetit nisi in aetate perfecta. Unde et ipse Dominus anno duodecimo aetatis suae in medio doctorum in templo sedens, non docens, sed interrogans voluit inveniri. Ut enim non auderent homines in infirma aetate praedicare, ille anno duodecimo aetatis suae interrogare homines est dignatus in terra, qui per divinitatem suam semper angelos docet in coelo. Quia enim ipse est Dei sapientia, de ipso angeli videndo vivunt hoc quod beatitudine aeterna satiantur. Quod Moyses quoque sub allegoriae mysterio admonet, dicens: Non arabis in primogenito bovis. Primogenitum enim bovis accipimus in infirma aetate primi nostri temporis bonam operationem. In qua tamen arandum non est, quia cum prima sunt adolescentiae vel juventutis nostrae tempora, nobis adhuc a praedicatione cessandum est, ut vomer linguae nostrae proscindere non audeat terram cordis alieni. Quoadusque etenim infirmi sumus, continere nos intra nosmetipsos debemus, ne dum tenera bona citius ostendimus, amittamus, quia et arbusta plantata si prius in terra radicata non fuerint, manu tacta citius arescunt; at si semel radicem fixerint, manus tangit, et tamen nil officit; venti impellunt, nec tamen impellentes laedunt. Et constructi parietes si impellantur, eruuntur, nisi a suo prius fuerint humore siccati. Mens itaque quousque ab humore pravitatis suae perfecte non fuerit exsiccata, alienae linguae manu tangi non debet, ne priusquam plene percipiat, perdat soliditatem suam, ne impulsa ruat, ne velut arbustum sine radicibus, dum plus quam tolerare valet concutitur, arescat. Ad exemplum ergo non sunt ostendenda nisi quae firma sunt. Prius etenim convalescere debet mens, atque ad utilitatem proximorum postmodum demonstrari, cum jam nec per laudem elevata corruat, nec per vituperationem percussa contabescat. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia II Source: Migne PL 76.796b-797a

And it happened in my thirtieth year, on the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month.... 1 This which is said, that the prophet received the spirit in his thirtieth year, indicates something which we must consider, that is, according to the use of reason one should not take up the word of teaching until a mature age. Hence even the Lord Himself at twelve years of age, sitting in the midst of the teachers in the temple, did not teach, but questioned, wishing to discover. 2 Thus that men should not venture to preach at a young age it was fitting for Him at twelve years of age to question men on earth, He who through His Divinity is always teaching the angels in heaven, because He is the wisdom of God, whom the angels seeing live by and are satiated with eternal beatitude. And Moses also admonishes this in the mystery of allegory, saying, 'You shall not yoke a bull in its first year to the plough.' 3 For we understand that the first year of the bull is the good work of the immature age of our early years, in which however there is no ploughing, because in the first years of our immaturity, or our youth, there must be no preaching from us, whence the ploughsnare of our tongues does not cut into the earth of a foreign heart. For as long as we are immature, we should contain ourselves within ourselves, lest while we swiftly expose tender goods, we lose them, because even plants planted in the earth, if they have not yet rooted, may be damaged by the mere brush of a hand, but once the roots are firm, the hand which brushes them does no harm, and even gusts of wind do not injure them. And when walls are built, if first the moisture in them is not dried up, they fall at a blow. Thus when the mind is not perfectly dry of the moisture of defects, it should not be touched by the hand of a foreign tongue, lest before it fully understands, it destroys its solidity, and lest struck it falls, as plants which are not rooted wither when struck by more than they can bear. With this example, then, things should not be exposed if they are not firm. First the mind must gain strength and then later its utility for others will be revealed, but now it must not fall by praise's elevation, nor wither because of the blows of scorn. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 2 1 Ezek 1.1 2 Lk 2.46 3 Deut 15.19

Commandments And Love

Sed quaerit Gregorius primo de hoc quod dicit: Hoc est praeceptum meum, ut diligatis invicem: Cum cuncta divina eloquia dominicis sint plena praeceptis, quid est, quod de dilectione singulariter dicit: Hoc est praeceptum meum.? Et respondet, quod divina praecepla multa sunt et unum: multa per diversitatem operis, unum in radice dilectio . Et dilectionem radicem dicit, quia non habet viriditatem ramusculus boni operis, nisi manserit in radice dilectionis. Quia ergo mandata ad praeceptum dilectionis referuntur, in quo omnia uniuntur et implentur; inde est, quod dicit: Hoc est praeceptum meum, singulariter. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XV Source: Here, p451

Concerning this Gregory asks why He said, 'This is my commandment, that you love one another,' 1 when the whole of the Divine speech is full of commandments, and so why should He especially say of love, 'This is my commandment?' And he answers that there are many Divine commandments and there is one, that is, there are many though the diversity of works and one in the root of love. And He speaks of the root when he says that the little branch of a good work does not have greenness unless it remains in the root of love. 1 Therefore He refers the commandments to the precept of love, in which all things are united and fulfilled, and this is why He says, 'This is my commandment,' especially. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 15 1 Jn 15.12, Greg Great Hom In Evang 2.27.1 2 Jn 15.5

Giving Life And Dying

Caro enim factus est, ut nos spiritales faceret; benigne inclinatus est, ut levaret; exiit, ut introduceret; visibilis apparuit, ut invisibilia monstraret; flagella pertulit, ut sanaret; opprobria et irrisiones sustinuit, ut ab opprobrio aeterno liberaret; mortuus est, ut vivificaret. Agamus ergo gratias vivificanti et mortuo, et ideo amplius vivificanti, quia mortuo. Unde bene salutem nostram, et passionem illius Isaias contemplatus ait: Ut faciat opus suum, alienum opus ejus; ut operetur opus suum, peregrinum est opus ejus ab eo. Opus etenim Dei est animas quas creavit colligere, et ad aeternae lucis gaudia revocare. Flagellari autem atque sputis illini, crucifigi, mori, atque sepeliri, non hoc in sua substantia opus Dei est, sed opus hominis peccatoris, qui haec omnia meruit per peccatum. Sed peccata nostra ipse pertulit in corpore suo super lignum. Et qui in natura sua manet semper incomprehensibilis, in natura nostra comprehendi dignatus est ac flagellari, quia nisi ea quae erant infirmitatis nostrae susciperet, nunquam nos ad suae fortitudinis potentiam sublevaret. Ut ergo faciat opus suum, alienum opus ejus; et ut operetur opus suum, peregrinum est opus ejus ab eo, quia incarnatus Deus, ut nos ad suam justitiam colligeret, dignatus est pro nobis tanquam peccator homo vapulare. Et alienum opus fecit ut faceret proprium, quia per hoc quod infirmans mala nostra sustinuit, nos qui creatura illius sumus, ad fortitudinis suae gloriam perduxit, in qua vivit et regnat cum Deo Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Secundus, Homilia IV Source: Migne PL 76.984a-c

He was made flesh that He might make us spiritual, He kindly came down that He might lift up, He went out that He might bring in, He appeared visibly that He might reveal things unseen, He suffered the whip that He might heal, and He sustained abuse and ridicule that He might deliver from eternal shame, and He died that He might give life. Therefore let us give thanks to the one who gives life and who died, and therefore more to the one gives life because He died. Whence Isaiah well contemplated our salvation and His passion when he said, 'So that He make a work, a strange work, and so that might accomplish a work which is alien to Him.' 1 For it is the work of God to gather the souls He created and to recall them to the joy of the eternal light. To be covered with spittle and crucified and to die and to be buried are not works consonant with the substance of God, but it is work for man the sinner, who has deserved all these things because of sin. 'But He bore our sins in His body on the cross,' 2 and He who in His nature remans incomprehensible was understood in our nature to be worthy of being whipped, because unless He took up the things of our weakness we would never have been lifted up to the power of His might. Therefore so that He might make His work, a strange work and so that might accomplish a work which is alien to him, God was incarnated, so that He might gather us to His righteousness, and worthy it was that for us he was whipped as a sinful man. And He made this foreign work so that He might perform His own, because through this, that in weakness he endured our evils, He led us who our His creations to the glory of His might, in which he lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, through every age forever. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, from Homily 4 1 Isaiah 28.21 2 1 Pet 2.24

Doubt And The Resurrection

Quod resurrectionem dominicam discipuli tarde crediderunt, non tam illorum infirmitas quam nostra, ut ita dicam, futura firmitas fuit Ipsa namque resurrectio illis dubitantibus per multa argumenta monstrata est: quae dum nos legentes agnoscimus, quid aliud quam de illorum dubitatione solidamur? Minus enim mihi Maria Magdalene praestitit, quae citius credidit quam Thomas qui diu dubitavit. Ille etenim dubitando vulnerum cicatrices tetigit, et de nostro pectore dubietatis vulnus amputavit. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarum in Evangelia Liber III, Homilia XXIX Source: Migne PL 76.1213c

That the disciples were slow to believe in the Lord's resurrection 1 was not so much a matter of their weakness as, so to speak, for our future strength, for the resurrection had been shown to them through many arguments, which reading and recognising, are we anything but strengthened amid their doubts? Mary Magdalene who was quick to believe stands in less rank to me than Thomas who doubted for a long time. Indeed he was doubting even as he touched the scars of the wounds, by which he cut off the wound of doubt from our hearts. 2 Saint Gregory the Great, Homilies On The Gospels, Book 3, from Homily 29 1 Mk 16.11 2 Jn 20.24-29

Warning The Prosperous

Similiter ammonendi sunt homines existentes in prosperitate ne extollantur et existentes in adversitate ne terreantur desperando de adversitate. Illi enim qui prosperantur pro voluntate non se offerant, nec in ea presumptuose, nec sustinentes adversa despiciant et mutabilitatem sive labilitatem eius iugiter considerent. Et de eorum ammonitione Gregorius ii pastoralis capitulo xvii. Unde et proverbiorum i: Prosperitas stultorum perdet eos. Augustinus epistola lxxxii: Mundus est periculosior blandus quam molestus. Iob v: Vidi stultum firma radice et maledixi pulcritudini eius. Ibi Gregorius moralium vi: Quasi per amena prata ad carcerem vadit qui per presentis vite prospera ad interitum currit. Iob xviii: Preciptiabit eum consilium suum. Ibi moralium xvi: Prosperitas gressus obligat ut vix ad bona redite possint. Unde Augustinus epistola v: Nichil infelicius felictate peccantium qua penalis nutritur iniquitas et mala voluntas velut hostis interior roboratur. Et sequitur: Si Deus pollere permittat iniquos in prosperitate, tunc indignatur gravius, et si hic impunita dimmitat, tunc punit investius. Ubi inducit illud poete: Luxuriant animi rebus plerumque secundis. De hoc Seneca multum libro de providentia ubi ait: Nichil infelicius eo cui nunquam accidit aliquid adversi quia male iudicaverunt dii de ipso. Et ponit exempla de ipsis qui adversa sustinuerunt sicut de regulo qui quanto plus tormenta sustinuit, tanto plus glorie obtinuit, et quanto plus glorie habuit, tanto uberius et virilius advesa toleravit. Solatium enim magnis viris fruit dura pro honestis tolerare. Et de hoc idem Seneca epistola viii: Munera fortune sunt insidie, et espitola lxxx: Segetum ubertas nimia sternit, rami onere franguntur, ad maritatem non provenit nimia fecunditas. Idem illis evenitur quos nimia felicitas corrumpit. De huiusmodi autem mutabilitate Gregorius iii registrum ante finem bene ubi ait: Dum omnia in hoc mundo mutabilitatis ordo corrumpat, nec elevari prosperis, nec frangi debemus adversis ut humilitati discamus quicquid delinquimus et exaltati adversitatis memoriuam quasi humilitatis anchoram in mente teneamus. Nichil est stabile in hac vita sed ut viator modo per plana modo per ardua pergat, nec est ira sed gracia per quam discimus ita eius dona tanto servemus verius quanto humilius. Artem gubernandi mare tranquillum non ostendit et obsequens ventus nisi aliquid adversum occurrat sed quia animum probet turbatio naufragii. Non est laudandus rector cui gubernacula fluctus eripuit qui fluctuantia vela deseruit. Ille vero laudandus qui predictis restitit. Johannes Gallensis, Communiloquium sive Summa Collationum, Pars secunda, Septima Distinctio, De ammonitione hominum secundum differentias eventus vel fortune. Captitulum primum: De ammonitione existentium in prosperitate Source: here, p154

Similarly to be admonished are men who live in prosperity, that they should not exalt in prosperity, nor finding themselves in adversity should they be terrified to despair because of it. For they who prosper do not willingly imperil themselves, nor are reckless, nor should they scorn the enduring of adversities but consider the changeability and instability of things. Gregory gives this warning to them in the seventeenth chapter of the second book of his Pastoral Rule. And in the first chapter of Proverbs, 'The prosperity of fools ruins them.' 1 In the eighty second letter of Augustine, 'The world is more perilous when it is charming than when it is troublesome.' In the fifth chapter of Job, 'I saw a fool firmly rooted and I cursed his beauty.' Gregory in the sixth book of the Moralia: 'He runs from a fair meadow to a prison who goes through the prosperity of the present life to ruin.' In the eighteenth chapter of Job, 'His own counsel casts him down.' In the sixteenth book of the Moralia: 'Prosperity binds the feet so they can scarcely return to good things.' And Augustine in his fifth letter, 'Nothing is more unfortunate than the happiness of sinners, because wickedness nourishes punishments and evil wills strengthen the interior enemy.' And it follows, 'If God permits the wicked to flourish in prosperity, then indignation shall be heavier, and if here He allows them to be unpunished, then he shall punish more completely.' Whence the poet says, 'Souls are enfeebled by an excess of prosperity.' 2 And concerning this Seneca has much to say in his book on Providence: 'Nothing is more unfortunate than this, that nothing averse ever befalls a man because the gods judged him to be utterly wretched.' 3 And he gives an example of those who have endured adversities, such as Regulus who endured great torments so that he could gain great glory, and the more glory he had so much more effortlessly and manfully he bore torments. The bearing of difficulties with nobility is the comfort that great men enjoy. And concerning the same thing, Seneca says in this eighth letter, 'The riches of fortune are treacherous.' And in the eightieth letter, 'Crops that are too fruitful are bent down to the earth, the overladen bough breaks, excessive fecundity never advances to ripeness.' 4 The same happens to those who are corrupted with excessive fortune. Concerning this same mutability Gregory says in the third book of his registry of letters, well before the end, 'While the rule of changeability corrupts everything in this world, we should neither be exalted by prosperity nor crushed by adversity, but learn to be humble in both what we err in and in what we excel in, holding in the mind the remembrance of adversity as an anchor of humility. Nothing is stable in this life, but it is as a traveller who at one time goes across flat land and at another through rough terrain. Nor let there be anger but thanks for what we learn, for so we serve His great gift more truly the greater is our humility. The art of piloting a ship is not shown on a tranquil sea amid light winds but by the coming of adversity, which adversity may prove the soul a shipwreck. A pilot who flees from waves and the billowing sail is not worthy of praise, but he who endures what we have spoken of is worthy of acclaim.' 5 John of Wales, The Communiloquium, Second Part, Seventh Distinction, First Chapter, On The Warning Of Men According To Different Events And Fortunes, from the First Chapter, On Warning Those Who Live In Prosperity 1 Prov 1.32 2 Ovid Ars Am 2.427 3 Sen De Prov 3.3 4 Seneca Let 8.3, Let 39.4 5 Greg Reg Let 3.52

The Bound Soul

Et tu, fili hominis, ecce data sunt super te vincula, et ligabunt te in eis, et non egredieris in medio eorum. Cum enim praedicator quisque ad conscientiam domus suae reducitur, super eo vincula dantur, et ligatur in eis, quia quanto plus se in cogitatione discusserit, tanto amplius agnoscit justi anima quantis mortalitatis suae infirmitatibus sit ligata. Nisi enim se ligatum conspiceret Paulus, minime dixisset: Desiderium habens dissolvi, et cum Christo esse. Hinc per Psalmistam dicitur: Ut audiret gemitum vinculatorum, et solvat filios interemptorum. Et rursus: Intret in conspectu tuo gemitus compeditorum. Saepe autem cum jam anima ad Redemptoris sui speciem contemplandam exire desiderat, cum coelestibus gaudiis interesse suspirat, ipsa mortalitatis suae vincula conspicit et gemit, quibus adhuc in praesenti mundo ligata retinetur. Hinc est enim quod subtile omnipotentis Dei judicium intuens Jeremias, ait: Circumaedificavit adversum me ut non egrediar, aggravavit compedem meam. Habemus enim compedes, ipsam infirmitatem atque corruptionem mortalitatis nostrae; sed cum tribulatio nobis et gemitus additur, ipsae nostrae compedes aggravantur. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia XII Source: Migne PL 76.923c-d

And you, son of man, see that chains have been placed on you and you shall be bound in them and you shall not go out into the midst of them... 1 When a preacher returns to the house of his conscience, chains are placed upon him, and he is bound in them, because the more he examines himself in thought, so the much more the soul of the righteous man recognises how much it is bound up in the infirmities of his own mortality. For unless Paul had looked upon himself as bound he would have hardly said, 'I have a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ.' 2 Hence it is said by the Psalmist, 'That He might hear the groans of those in chains and free the sons of those ruined.' And again, 'Let the groans of those who are shackled enter into your sight.' 3 Often when the soul desires to depart to the contemplation of the face of its Redeemer and sigh amidst heavenly joys, it looks on the chains of its mortality and groans that it is yet detained by them in the present world. Hence Jeremiah looking on the sublime judgement of almighty God said, 'He has surrounded me with a wall and I may not go out, He has made my shackles heavier.' 4 For we do have shackles, the infirmity and corruption of our mortality, but when tribulation and groans are added our shackles are made heavier. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 12 1 Ezek 3.14 2 Phil 1.23 3 Ps 101.21, Ps 78.11 4 Lam 3.7

Undoing The Sandal

Cui quantae reverentiae humilitatem debeat subdendo manifestat Cujus non sum dignus solvere corrigiam calceamenti. Mos apud veteres fuit ut si quis eam quae sibi competeret accipere uxorem nollet, ille ei calceamentum solveret qui ad hanc sponsus jure propinquitatis veniret. Quid igitur inter homines Christus, nisi sanctae Ecclesiae sponsus apparuit? De quo et idem Joannes dicit: Qui habet sponsam, sponsus est. Sed quia Joannem homines Christum esse putaverunt, quod idem Joannes negat, recte se indignum esse ad solvendam corrigiam ejus calceamenti denuntiat. Ac si aperte dicat: Ego Redemptoris nostri vestigia denudare non valeo, quia sponsi nomen mihi immerito non usurpo. Quod tamen intelligi et aliter potest. Quis enim nesciat quod calceamenta ex mortuis animalibus fiunt? Incarnatus vero Dominus veniens quasi calccatus apparuit, quia in divinitate sua morticina nostrae corruptionis assumpsit. Unde etiam per Prophetam dicit: In Idumaeam extendam calceamentum meum. Per Idumaeam quippe gentilitas, per calceamentum vero assumpta mortalitas designatur. In Idumaeam ergo Dominus calceamentum suum se extendere asserit, quia dum per carnem gentibus innotuit, quasi calceata ad nos divinitas venit. Sed hujus incarnationis mysterium humanus oculus penetrare non sufficit. Investigari etenim nullatenus potest quomodo corporatur Verbum, quomodo summus et vivificator spiritus intra uterum matris animatur, quomodo is qui initium non habet, et existit et concipitur. Corrigia ergo calceamenti est ligatura mysterii. Joannes itaque solvere corrigiam calceamenti ejus non valet, quia incarnationis ejus mysterium nec ipse investigare sufficit, qui hanc per prophetiae spiritum agnovit. Quid est ergo dicere: Non sum dignus solvere corrigiam calceamenti ejus, nisi aperte et humiliter suam ignorantiam profiteri? Ac si patenter dicat: Quid mirum si ille mihi praelatus est, quem post me quidem natum considero, sed nativitatis ejus mysterium non apprehendo? Ecce Joannes, prophetiae spiritu impletus, mira scientia emicat et tamen illud de se insinuat quod ignorat. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarum in Evangelia Liber I, Homilia VII, Habita ad populum in basilica sancti Petri apostoli, Dominica quarta in Adventu Domini Source: Migne PL 76.1101b-1102a

John the Baptist reveals how great was the humility and reverence he owed to Christ by saying, 'I am not worthy to undo the strap of His sandal.' 1 It was the custom of those of old that if someone were unwilling to take the wife he should have done, he who should have come to her as bridegroom by right of relationship would undo his sandal. 2 How, then, was Christ among men, but that He appeared as the bridegroom of the holy Church? The same John says of Him, 'He who has the bride is the bridegroom.' 3 Since men thought John was the Christ, which John denied, he was right to proclaim his unworthiness to undo the strap of Christ's sandal. As if he were openly saying, 'I am not able to lay bare the footsteps of our Redeemer, because I do not unrightfully usurp for myself the name of bridegroom.' But this can also be understood in another way. Who does not know that sandals are made from dead animals? Our Lord incarnated appeared as if in sandals because in His Divinity He took up the dead flesh of our corruption. So He says through the prophet: 'Over Edom I shall put forth my sandal.' 4 Edom is the Gentiles, and the sandal the mortality He assumed. The Lord asserts that He puts forth His sandal over Edom because when He became known through the flesh to the Gentiles it was as if Divinity came to us shod in sandals. But the human eye is not sufficient for perceiving the mystery of Christ's incarnation. There is no way we can discover how the Word took up a body, how the great and life-giving Spirit came to life in His mother's womb, and how He who has no beginning both is and is conceived. Therefore the sandal strap is the bond of a mystery. John cannot undo the strap of His sandal because even He is not able to understand the mystery of His incarnation, he who through the spirit of prophecy knew of it. What, therefore, does it mean to say, 'I am not worthy to undo the strap of His sandal,' but he openly and humbly confesses his own ignorance? As if he clearly said, 'Why is it a wonder if He has precedence over me? I see He was born after me, but I do not understand the mystery of His birth.' Behold John who was filled with the spirit of prophecy, and who shone with wondrous knowledge, and yet he implies that there is something he does not understand. Saint Gregory the Great, Homilies On The Gospels, Book 1, from Homily 7, Given to the people in the basilica of Saint Peter, on the fourth Sunday of Advent 1 Mk 1.7 Jn .1.27 2 Ruth 4.7 3 Jn 3.29 4 Ps 59.10

Greater Trials

Sed mox ut animus amare coelestia coeperit, mox ut ad visionem pacis intimae tota se intentione collegerit, antiquus ille adversarius qui de coelo lapsus est invidet, et insidiari amplius incipit, et acriores quam consueverat tentationes admovet, ita ut plerumque sic resistentem animam tentet, sicut ante nunquam tentaverat quando possidebat. Unde scriptum est: Fili, accedens ad servitutem Dei, sta in justitia et timore, et praepara animam tuam ad tentationem. Unde et daemoniacus qui a Domino sanatur, ab exeunte daemone discerpitur, sicut scriptum est: Et clamans et multum discerpens eum, exiit ab eo. Quid est enim quod obsessum hominem antiquus hostis quem possessum non discerpserat, deserens discerpsit, nisi quod plerumque dum de corde expellitur, acriores in eo tentationes generat, quam prius excitaverat quando hoc quietus possidebat? Unde et Israelitae quoque ad Moysen et Aaron dicunt: Videat Dominus, et judicet, quoniam fetore fecistis odorem nostrum coram Pharaone et servis ejus, et praebuistis ei gladium, ut occideret nos. In Moyse enim et Aaron lex et prophetae figuratae sunt. Et saepe apud se infirmus animus quasi contra sacra eloquia murmurat, quia postquam verba coelestia audire et sequi coeperit, regis Aegyptii adversitas, id est maligni spiritus tentatio, excrescit. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia XII Source: Migne PL 76.929d-930b

But as soon as the soul begins to love heavenly things, as soon as it has gathered up all its intention to have that vision of perfect peace, then that old enemy who fell from heaven envies it, and begins to plot extensively, and he troubles it with more bitter trials than it was accustomed to, so that he takes hold of the resisting soul as he has never tempted it when he possessed it. Whence it is written, 'O son, coming to the service of God, stand in righteousness and fear, and prepare your soul for trial.' 1 Whence the demoniac that the Lord healed was severely shaken by the demon as it came out, as it is written, 'And crying out loudly and shaking him, it came out of him.' 2 Why it is that the ancient enemy coming out of a man besieged shakes him, unless that often when he is expelled from the heart, he generates more bitter trials than he had incited when he quietly was in possession? So the Israelites say to Moses and Aaron, 'Let the Lord see and judge because our aroma has become a foul stench before Pharoah and his servants, and you have inclined him to take up the sword and slay us.' 3 For Moses and Aaron are figures of the law and the prophets, and often the weak soul murmurs in itself against sacred speech, because after hearing heavenly words and beginning to follow them, the adversity of the king of Egypt, that is, the trial of a wicked spirit, rises up. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 12 1 Sirach 2.1 2 Mk 9.25 3 Exod 5.21

The Strengthening Hand

Manus enim Domini erat mecum, confortans me. Ad bona quippe assurgere perfecte non possumus, nisi nos spiritus et praeveniendo elevet, et subsequendo confortet. Sed quaerendum est, cum superius de volumine quod acceperat scriptum sit: Et factum est in ore meo sicut mel dulce, qua ratione postmodum dicitur: Abii amarus in indignatione spiritus mei? Mirum quippe valde est si dulcedo simul et amaritudo conveniant. Sed juxta superiorem sensum sciendum est quia cui sermo Dei in ore cordis dulcis esse coeperit, hujus procul dubio contra semetipsum animus amarescit. Quo enim in illo subtiliter discit qualiter reprehendere se debeat, eo se durius per amaritudinem poenitentiae castigat, qui tanto sibi magis displicet, quanto in sacro volumine amplius de omnipotente Deo videt quod amet. Sed quia ad ista proficere sua virtute non valet homo, recte nunc dicitur: Manus Domini erat mecum, confortans me. Manus enim Domini in sacro eloquio aliquando etiam unigenitus Filius appellatur, quia omnia per ipsum facta sunt. Et de cujus ascensione per Moysen Pater omnipotens loquitur, dicens: Tollam in coelum manum meam. Haec manus quae electorum suorum corda confortat, discipulis dicebat: Sine me nihil potestis facere. In omne ergo quod cogitamus, in omne quod agimus, semper orandum est, ut et ipso aspirante cogitemus, et ipso adjuvante faciamus, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre inunitate Spiritus sancti Deus in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia X Source: Migne PL 76.903d

For the hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening me.. 1 And certainly we are not able to rise perfectly to good things, unless the Spirit coming beforehand lifts us up, and consequently strengthens us. But it must be asked that when it was previously written concerning the book: 'And in my mouth it was as sweet as honey,' for what reason it is then said: 'I went off bitter in the indignation of my spirit?' It is surely most wonderful if something is at the same time sweet and bitter. But against this understanding let it be known that the word of God which in his heart was first sweet, was also without doubt that by which his soul became bitter against itself. For by it he subtly learns in what manner he should correct himself, because the more heavily he castigates himself amid the bitterness of penitence, the more he displeases himself, and the more he sees clearly what he should love in the sacred book concerning almighty God. Yet because man is not able to advance by his own virtue, rightly it is said here, 'The hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening me.' In sacred speech the hand of the Lord sometimes expresses the Only Begotten Son, because 'through Him everything was made.' 2 And concerning His ascension the almighty Father says through Moses: 'I will take my hand into heaven.' 3 He speaks of this hand which strengthens His chosen ones to his disciples, saying, 'Without me you can do nothing' 4 In everything, therefore, which we think, and all we do, we must always pray, that we might think according to His inspiration and act with His aid, who lives and reigns with the Father in unity with the Holy Spirit forever. Amen. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 10 1 Ezek 3.14 2 Jn 1.3 3 Deut 32.40 4 Jn 15.5

A Great Commotion

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

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

Fear And Offence

Verba eorum ne timeas, et vultus eorum ne formides, quia domus exasperans est. Ideo boni timendi sunt ne offendantur, ne forte per eos ille provocetur ad iram, qui eorum corda semper inhabitat. Nam, sicut superius dictum est, si malos offendimus, timere minime debemus, quoniam illis nostra actio displicet, quibus nec justitia creatoris placet. Quid ergo timendum est, si nobis ingrati sunt, qui Deo amabiles non sunt? Unde recte nunc dicitur: Verba eorum ne timeas, et vultus eorum ne formides, quia domus exasperans est. Ac si aperte diceretur: Timendi essent, nisi me in suis actibus exasperarent. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia IX Source: Migne PL 76.881c

Do not fear their words and do not be dismayed by their faces, because theirs is a house that provokes. 1 That is, the good are fearful lest they offend and lest perhaps they provoke the wrath of Him who is always dwelling in their hearts. For as we have said previously, we should not fear if we offend the wicked, since what we do displeases those who are not pleased with the righteousness of the Creator. Why, then, should there be fear if we are not liked by those who are not loveable before God? Whence rightly it is said: 'Do not fear their words, and do not be dismayed by their faces, because theirs is a house that provokes.' As if it were plainly said: 'Rather let them fear lest they provoke me with their behaviour.' Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 9 1 Ezek 2.6

The Vineyard And The Workers

Simile est regnum coelorum homini patrifamilias qui exiit primo mane conducere operarios in vineam suam. Conventione autem facta cum operariis ex denario diurno, misit eos in vineam suam. Et egressus circa horam tertiam, vidit alios stantes in foro otiosos, et dixit illis: Ite et vos in vineam meam, et quod justum fuerit, dabo vobis. Illi autem abierunt. Iterum autem exiit circa sextam et nonam horam, et fecit similiter. Circa undecimam vero exiit, et invenit alios stantes, et dicit illis: Quid hic statis tota die otiosi? Dicunt ei: Quia nemo nos conduxit. Dicit illis: Ite et vos in vineam meam. Cum sero autem factum esset, dicit Dominus vineae procuratori suo: Voca operarios, et redde illis mercedem, incipiens a novissimis usque ad primos. Cum venissent ergo qui circa undecimam horam venerant, acceperunt singulos denarios. Venientes autem et primi, arbitrati sunt quod plus essent accepturi. Acceperunt autem et ipse singulos denarios. Et accipientes murmurabant adversus patrem familias, dicentes: Hi novissimi una hora fecerunt, et pares illos nobis fecisti, qui portavimus pondus diei et aestus? At ille, respondens uni eorum, dixit: Amice, non facio tibi injuriam. Nonne ex denario convenisti mecum? Tolle quod tuum est, et vade. Volo autem et huic novissimo dare sicut et tibi. Aut non licet mihi quod volo facere? An oculus tuus nequam est quia ego bonus sum? Sic erunt novissimi primi, et primi novissimi. Multi enim sunt vocati, pauci vero electi. Possumus vero et easdem diversitates horarum, etiam ad unumquemque hominem per aetatum momenta distinguere. Mane quippe intellectus nostri pueritia est. Hora autem tertia adolescentia intelligi potest, quia quasi jam sol in altum proficit, dum calor aetatis crescit. Sexta vero juventus est, quia velut in centro sol figitur, dum in ea plenitudo roboris solidatur. Nona autem senectus intelligitur, in qua sol velut ab alto axe descendit, quia ea aetas a calore juventutis deficit. Undecima vero hora ea est aetas quae decrepita vel veterana dicitur. Unde Graeci valde seniores, non gerontos sed presbiteros appellant, ut plus quam senes esse insinuent quos provectiores vocant. Quia ergo ad vitam bonam alius in pueritia, alius in adolescentia, alius in juventute, alius in senectute, alius in decrepita aetate perducitur, quasi diversis horis operarii ad vineam vocantur. Mores ergo vestros, fratres charissimi, aspicite, et si jam Dei operarii estis videte. Penset unusquisque quid agat, et consideret si in Domini vinea laboret. Qui enim in hac vita ea quae sua sunt quaerit adhuc ad Dominicam vineam non venit. Illi namque Domino laborant, qui non sua, sed lucra dominica cogitant, qui zelo charitatis, studio pietatis inserviunt, animabus lucrandis in vigilant, perducere et alios secum ad vitam festinant. Nam qui sibi vivit, qui carnis suae voluptatibus pascitur, recte otiosus redarguitur, quia fructum divini operis non sectatur. Qui vero et usque ad aetatem ultimam Deo vivere neglexerit, quasi usque ad undecimam otiosus stetit. Unde recte usque ad undecimam torpentibus dicitur: Quid hic statis tota die otiosi? Ac si aperte dicatur: Et si Deo vivere in pueritia et iuventute noluistis, saltem in ultima aetate resipiscite, et ad vitae vias cum iam laboraturi multum non estis, vel sero venite. Et tales ergo paterfamilias vocat, et plerumque ante remunerantur, quia prius ad regnum de corpore exeunt quam hi qui iam a pueritia vocati esse videbantur. An non ad undecimam horam venit latro, qui etsi non habuit per aetatem, habuit tamen sero per poenam, qui Deum in cruce confessus est, et pene cum voce sententiae spiritum exhalavit vitae? A novissimo autem reddere denarium paterfamilias coepit, quia ad paradisi requiem prius latronem quam Petrum perduxit. Quanti patres ante legem, quanti sub lege fuerunt, et tamen hi qui in Domini adventu vocati sunt ad coelorum regnum sine aliqua tarditate pervenerunt. Eumdem ergo denarium accipiunt qui laboraverunt ad undecimam quem exspectaverunt toto desiderio qui laboraverunt ad primam, quia aequalem vitae aeternae retributionem sortiti sunt cum his qui a mundi initio vocati fuerant, hi qui in mundi fine ad Dominum venerunt. Unde et hi qui in labore praecesserant, murmurantes dicunt: Hi novissimi una hora fecerunt, et pares illos nobis fecisti qui portavimus pondus diei et aestus? Pondus enim diei et aestus portaverunt hi quos a mundi initio, quia diu hic contigit vivere, necesse fuit etiam longiora carnis tentamenta tolerare. Unicuique enim pondus diei et aestus ferre est per longioris vitae tempora carnis suae calore fatigari. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarum in Evangelia Liber I, Homilia XIX Source: Migne PL 76.1155b-1152b

The kingdom of heaven is like to a householder who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. And having agreed a price with the labourers, he sent them to his vineyard. Then going out about the third hour, he saw others standing about idle in the market place and he said to them, 'Go also to my vineyard and I will give you what will be fair,' and they went. Then again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did the same. But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, 'Why stand here idle all day long?' They said to him, 'Because no man has hired us. 'He said to them, 'Go also into my vineyard.' When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the labourers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first.' When therefore they had come, each one of those who came about the eleventh hour received a coin. And when the first also came, they thought that they should receive more, but each one of them also received a coin. And receiving this they murmured against the master of the house, saying, 'These who came last have worked but one hour and you have made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the heat. But in answer he said to one of them, 'Friend, I do you no harm. Did you not agree to come with me for a price? Take what is yours and go. I will give to those who come last even as I give to you. Or is it not permitted that I may do as I wish? Is your eye evil because I am good? So the last shall be first and the first shall be last. For many are called, but few are chosen. 1 In these different hours of the parable we can distinguish the different times of a man's life. Certainly the morning is to be understood as our childhood. The third hour can be understood as youth, because as the sun advances toward its height, so the heat of the time grows. The sixth hour is manhood, because the sun is fixed at its peak and there is firmness in an abundance of strength. The ninth hour is understood as middle age, when the sun is as declining from its height, because in that time the youthfulness of the heart declines. The eleventh hour is that time which is called decrepitude or advanced old age. In Greek such men are not called 'aged,' but 'elders,' so that there it is more than mere old age that is alluded to in those who have advanced so far. Because, then, as regards the good life, some are in childhood, and some are in youth, and some are in manhood, and some are in middle age, and others have reached old age, so the workers are called to the vineyard at different times. Look, therefore, to the ways of your life, most dearest brothers, and see if you are now workers for the Lord. Let each one think on how he conducts himself and consider if he labours in the vineyard of the Lord. He who seeks out the things of this life has not yet come to the vineyard of the Lord. For they who labour for the Lord do not think of their own advantage but the Lord's, and those who serve with a zeal for charity and an eagerness of piety, watching over their soul's enrichment, hasten to lead others to life with them. For he who lives for himself, he feeds on the pleasures of his own flesh, and rightly he is reproved as an idle fellow, because he does not seek the fruit of Divine work. So those who neglect to live for God until final old age are as those who stand idle at the eleventh hour. Whence rightly it is said to those lazy ones at the eleventh hour, 'Why stand here idle all day long?' As if it were said more plainly, 'Even if you were unwilling to live for God in your childhood and when you were younger, now look to yourselves in your old age, how you have not laboured in the ways of life at all, or how lately you come.' Yet the master calls such fellows, and many of them receive the reward first, because they first went out of the body to the kingdom before those who were seen to have been called from childhood. The thief did not come until the eleventh hour, who even if not advanced in age was made late by his punishment, he who confessed God on the cross, and indeed with the voice of understanding exhaled the spirit of life. 3 The master begins to give reward from the last, because the thief came to the rest of paradise before Peter. How many fathers there were before the law, and how many under the law, and how many who were there at the coming of the Lord, who were called to the kingdom of heaven and went without any delay. Therefore those who laboured at the eleventh hour receive the same payment which they hoped for with all their hearts, and it is the same as those who laboured from the first hour, because they are all given the equal reward of eternal life, they who were all called from beginning of the world, 3 who at the end of the world have come to God. Whence those who went first to their labours, murmuring said, 'These who have come last have worked only for an hour, and you have given the same to them as those who bore the burden and the heat of the day?' Yet even these who came last have borne the burdens of the heat of the day from the beginning of the world, because while they lived there it was necessary that they endure the long trials of the flesh. Each type has his burden and bears the heat, struggling in the sweat of his flesh through life's duration. Saint Gregory the Great, Homilies On The Gospels, Book 1, from Homily 19 1 Mt 20.1-16 2 Lk 23.39-43 3 Ephes 1.4

Virtue And Love

Et posui vectem et ostia, et dixi: Hucusque venies, et non procedes amplius, et hic confringes tumentes fluctus tuos. Quid enim moraliter per ostia, nisi virtutes; quid per vectem, nisi robur charitatis accipimus? Haec itaque ostia, scilicet operationum virtutes, mare saeviens dissipat, nisi eas ex occulto mentis opposita charitas astringat. Facile autem omne virtutum bonum tentatione cordis irruente destruitur, nisi ab intimis fixa charitate solidetur. Unde et Paulus in suis praedicationibus dum quaedam virtutum ostia mari tentationis opponeret, illico eisdem ostiis quasi robur vectis adiunxit, dicens: Super omnia autem haec charitatem habentes, quod est vinculum perfectionis. Perfectionis enim vinculum charitas dicitur, quia omne bonum quod agitur nimirum per illam ne pereat ligatur. A tentatore namque citius quodlibet opus evellitur, si solutum a vinculo charitatis invenitur; si autem mens Dei ac proximi dilectione constringitur, cum tentationum motus quaelibet ei iniusta suggesserint, obicem se illis ipsa dilectio opponit, et pravae suasionis undas virtutum ostiis ac vecte intimi amoris frangit. Quia ergo Dominus per inspiratae charitatis fortitudinem nascentia in corde vitia reprimit, insurgentis maris impetum per obserata claustra compescit. Ira fortasse in occulto exasperat; sed ne quies superna perdatur, perturbationi mentis officium linguae subtrahitur, ne usque ad vocem exeat, quod in sinu cordis tumultuosum sonat. Luxuria in occultis cogitationibus accenditur; sed ne supernam munditiam mens amittat, conceptae immunditiae ea quae famulari poterant membra castigat, ne usque ad corruptionem corporis exhalet fetor cordis. Avaritia stimulat; sed ne coelesti regno mens careat, intra claustra se parcimoniae contenta propriis ligat, ne in pravo se opere dilatet, et usque ad exteriores actus internae concupiscentiae aestus exsudet. Superbia inflat; sed ne veram celsitudinem amittat, considerando quisque quia pulvis est ab altitudine se conceptae elationis humiliat, certans nimirum ne quod in suggestione cogitationis tolerat in exercitationem operis erumpat. Bene ergo dicitur: Posui vectem et ostia, et dixi: Hucusque venies, et non procedes amplius, et hic confringes tumentes fluctus tuos, quia dum electus quisque et tentatur vitiis, et tamen facere male suggesta renititur, quasi mare clausum tenetur. Quod etsi intus tumultuosis cogitationum fluctibus mentem percutit, statuta tamen bene vivendi littora non excedit. Quod mare quidem in tumore se erigit, sed dum fixa deliberatione cordis illiditur, fractum redit. Beatus igitur Iob ne sibi tribuat quod contra procellas cordis fortiter stat, voce divina audiat: Quis conclusit ostiis mare, quando erumpebat, quasi de vulva procedens, et caetera. Ac si ei aperte diceretur: Incassum te exterius in bonis operibus pensas, si non me interius, qui in te tentationis undas compesco, consideras. Ut enim tu fluctus ferre possis in opere, meae virtutis est, qui fluctus frango tentationis in corde. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Moralia, sive Expositio in Job, Liber XXVIII, Caput XXII Source: Migne PL 75.476a-478a

And I have set a bar and doors, and said, 'Only to here shall you come, and you shall not go any further, here you will break your swelling waves.' 1 What shall we understand morally by the doors but the virtues, and what by a bar but the strength of love? That is, these doors are the working of the virtues which the wild sea rends asunder unless the charity of the mind, secretly set against them, binds them together. For all the goodness of the virtues is easily destroyed by a temptation of the heart rushing upon them unless it is kept firmly rooted within by love. Whence in his preaching Paul was also opposing certain doors of virtues to the sea of temptation, and he immediately added to them, as it were, the strength of a bar, saying, 'But above all these things having love, which is the bond of perfection.' 2 Love is called the bond of perfection because every good deed which is done is doubtless fastened by it so that it does not perish. For any work is speedily plucked up by the tempter if it is found to lack the bond of love. But if a mind is constrained by the love of God and of neighbour, when the motions of temptations have suggested to it any wicked thoughts, this very love opposes itself to their advance, and by the gates of the virtues and the bar of inmost love breaks the waves of sinful persuasion. Because, then, by the strength of inspired love the Lord restrains the sins which spring up in the heart, so He checks the onset of the rising sea by setting against it barred doors. It may happen that anger exasperates within, but that heavenly peace may not be lost the aid of the tongue is not lent to the agitation of the mind, whence that which sounds tumultuously in the recesses of the heart does not vent itself in words. Lust is kindled in the secret thoughts, but that it lose not its heavenly purity, the mind chastens those limbs which could help to augment the uncleanness conceived within, lest the filthiness of the heart should be exhaled to the corruption of the body. Avarice besets, but that it might not lose not the kingdom of heaven, the mind, contented with its own lot, confines itself within the bounds of parsimony, lest it should break out in wicked deeds, and lest the heat of inward desire should ooze forth into outward acts. Pride puffs up a man, but that he might not lose his true dignity, he brings himself down from the loftiness of his conceived pride by considering that he is dust, doubtless striving so that what he endures by the prompting of thought may not burst forth into outward acts. Well, then, it is said, 'I have set a bar and doors, and to here you shall come, and you shall not go any further, here you shall break your swelling waves,' because when any of the elect are assaulted by sin, yet there is a refusal to act upon evil suggestions, and thus the sea, as it were, is kept within bounds. And though it lashes the mind within with the tumultuous waves of thoughts, yet it does not pass over the appointed bounds of living well. Indeed this sea swells up, but when it dashes against the firm determination of the heart, it is broken and withdraws. Therefore the blessed Job, so that he might not ascribe his standing firmly against the storms of his heart to himself, hears the Divine voice; 'Who shut up the sea with doors, when it was breaking forth as if proceeding from the womb?' and the rest, 3 as if it were plainly said to him, 'In vain you think well of yourself because of exterior good deeds, if you do not consider me within who still the waves of temptation in you. For that you can withstand the waves is by my strength who break the waves of temptation in the heart.' Saint Gregory the Great, Moralia, or Commentary on Job, Book 28, Chapter 22 1 Job 38.10-11 2 Colos 3.14 3 Job 38.8

Judging Oneself And Others

et unumque eorum coram facie sua ambulabat Nam sunt multa peccata quae committimus, sed idcirco nobis gravia non videntur, quia privato nos amore diligentes, clausis nobis oculis, in nostra deceptione blandimur. Unde fit plerumque ut et nostra gravia leviter, et proximorum mala levia graviter judicemus. Scriptum quippe est: Erunt homines seipsos amantes. Et scimus quia vehementer claudit oculum cordis amor privatus. Ex quo fit ut hoc quod nos agimus, et grave esse non existimamus, plerumque agatur a proximo, et nimis nobis detestabile esse videatur. Sed quare hoc quod nobis vile videbatur in nobis grave videtur in proximo, nisi quia nec nos sicut proximum, nec proximum conspicimus sicut nos? Si enim nos sicut proximum aspiceremus, nostra reprehensibilia districte videremus. Et rursum si proximum aspiceremus ut nos, nunquam nobis ejus actio appareret intolerabilis, qui saepe fortasse talia egimus, et nil nos proximo intolerabile fecisse putabamus. Hoc male divisum mentis nostrae judicium corrigere per legis praeceptum Moyses studuit, cum dixit ut justus deberet esse modius, aequusque sextarius. Hinc Salomon ait: Pondus et pondus, mensura et mensura, utrumque abominabile est apud Deum. Scimus quia in negotiatorum duplici pondere aliud majus, aliud minus est. Nam aliud pondus habent ad quod pensant sibi, et aliud pondus ad quod pensant proximo. Ad dandum pondera leviora, ad accipiendum vero graviora praeparant. Omnis itaque homo qui aliter pensat ea quae sunt proximi, et aliter ea quae sua sunt, pondus et pondus habet. Utrumque ergo abominabile est apud Deum, quia si sic proximum ut se diligeret, hunc in bonis sicut se amaret. Et si sic se sicut proximum aspiceret, se in malis sicut proximum judicaret. Debemus ergo nosmetipsos sollicite sicut alios videre, nosque ipsos, ut dictum est, ante nos ponere, ut pennata animalia incessanter imitantes, ne nesciamus quid agimus, coram facie nostra semper ambulemus. Perversi autem, sicut paulo ante jam diximus, coram facie sua non ambulant, quia ea quae agunt nunquam considerant, ad interitum tendunt, in pravis actibus exsultant. De quibus scriptum est: Qui laetantur cum malefecerint, et exsultant in rebus pessimis. Saepe vero justus qui eos conspicit deflet, sed ipsi phreneticorum more planguntur, et rident. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia IV Source: Migne PL 76.819b-820c

...and each one walked with his face set forward. 1 For there are many sins we commit but they do not seem grave to us, because lacking love on account of our own self love, we have closed up our eyes in the charm of our own deceit. Whence it often happens that we judge our defects to be trivial and the trivial faults of our neighbours to be weighty matters. Thus it is written: 'Men shall be lovers of themselves.' 2 And we know that it is by a lack of love that we tightly close up the eye of our heart. Because of which, that which we do ourselves and do not judge to be grave, frequently appears extremely detestable to us when done by our neighbour. But why does that which seems a light thing to us in ourselves appear so grave to us in our neighbour, unless it is that we do not look on our neighbour to be like us, nor that we are like our neighbour? For if we were to see ourselves to be like our neighbor, we would look sternly on our faults. And again if we were to see our neighbour to be like us, never would his act be intolerable to us, we who have perhaps done grave things and then think we have done nothing to our neighbour. This flawed and divisive judgment of our minds is corrected through a teaching of the law that Moses was zealous for, when he said that the measure should be right and the weight fair, 3 Hence Solomon says: 'Different weights, different measures, both are abominable to the Lord.' 4 We know that in the deceits of business there is one weight greater and one less, and likewise men have one weight when they think of themselves and another when they think of their neighbour. They are prepared for the giving of lighter weights and the reception of heavier ones. Thus all men who think of the things of his neighbour in one way and think in another way about his own have different weights, both which are abominable to the God, because if a man should love his neighbour as himself, he should love him to be amid good things. 5 And if he looks on his neighbour to be like himself, he would condemn himself in evil affairs just as he does his neighbour. We should have care, then, to see ourselves like others, so that, as has been said, we place ourselves before ourselves, so that ceaselessly imitating these winged creatures, lest we do not know what we do, we walk with our faces set forward. For the perverted, as we have said a little before, do not walk with the face set forward, because they do not think on the things they do, and racing to ruin they exult in wicked deeds. Concerning which it is written: 'They who rejoice when they do evil, and exult in the worst things.'  6 And though the righteous man who looks on them often weeps, yet they cry out in the manner of madmen, and smile. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 4 1 Ezek 1.9 2 2 Tim 3.2 3 Levit 19.36 4 Prov 20.10 5 Levit 19.18, Mt 5.43.44 6 Prov 2.14

Sickness And Healing

Et vidi, et ecce ventus turbinis veniebat ab Aquilone... Propheta ergo ea quae essent in finem ventura conspiciens, venire ab Aquilone ventum turbinis vidit, quia in extremo saeculi mentes hominum torporis sui frigore malignus spiritus gravius occupabit. Unde scriptum est: Vae terrae et mari, quia descendit diabolus ad vos habens iram magnam, sciens quia modicum tempus habet. Antiquus quippe adversarius insidiarum suarum molimina in humanis mentibus gravius exaggeravit. Contra cujus excrescentem superbiam incarnati manifestata est humilitas Dei: atque ut humanum genus a suo languore sanaret, tunc magna apparuit potentia medici, cum languor crevit aegroti. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia II Source: Migne PL 76.799d-800a

I looked and, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north... 1 Therefore the prophet, looking upon those things which shall come at the end, sees the storm wind coming from the north, because at the end of the ages the wicked spirit shall heavily occupy the minds of men with the frozen nature of his torpor, whence it is written, 'Woe to you land and sea, because the devil falls upon you in great anger, knowing that he has but a little time.' 2 The ancient adversary has heaped up a great mass of his snares in human minds, against which excrescence of pride the humility of God was made manifest in the Incarnation, even so that the human race might be healed of its sickness, for then when sluggishness had led to sickness did the great power of the physician appear. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 2 1 Ezek 1.4 2 Apoc 12.12

A Deep Piercing

Unde praedicator egregius, cum loquens subtiliter diceret: Vivus est sermo Dei et efficax, et penetrabilior omni gladio ancipiti, et pertingens usque ad divisionem animae ac spiritus illico subjunxit: Compagum quoque et medullarum, et discretor cogitationum et intentionum cordis. Distinguit enim Dei sermo compages et medullas, quia discernit cogitationes et intentiones cordis. Per compages quippe ossibus ossa junguntur. Et saepe dum quid recta cogitatione agimus, sed subito in laudis amorem declinamus, atque hoc pro laude facimus quod prius facere pro veritate coeperamus, quia cogitationes cogitationibus adjunguntur, quasi quaedam in spiritu compages fiunt. Sed habent ossa, quae in compage juncta sunt, etiam medullas. Quod praedicator sanctus apertius intulit, cum subjunxit: Discretor cogitationum et intentionum cordis. Compages enim nostrae cogitationes sunt, medullae autem intentiones. Et saepe aliud cogitamus, atque aliud est quod per cogitationem intendimus. Nam si quis proposito nummorum praemio pupilli vel viduae causam defendat, et, fortasse Ecclesiam ingrediens, in suis precibus Deo dicat: Tu vides quia causam pupilli et viduae defendo, iste procul dubio quod cogitat scit, sed quo intendat ejus cogitatio ignorat. Aliud quippe cogitat, atque alio intendit. Non enim defensionem pupilli vel viduae, sed mercedem nummorum quaerit. Nam tolle temporale praemium, et pupillum ac viduam non defendit. Sermo itaque Dei discretor est cogitationum et intentionum cordis, quia non aspicit quid apud temetipsum cogitas, sed per medullam compagis, id est per intentionem cogitationis quid accipere requiras. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Secundus, Homilia IX Source: Migne PL 76.1053c-1054a

The word of God is living and active, even sharper than any two edged sword, and it pierces even to the division of soul and spirit, even to joints and marrow, and it discerns between the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. 1 The word of God distinguishes between joints and marrow since it discerns between the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. Bones are joined to bones by joints, and often while we think rightly, yet suddenly we decline from love to praise, and we do for praise what we began to do for truth, because thoughts to thoughts are joined, as if by certain joints in the spirit. But these bones, which by joints are joined, also have a marrow. Which the holy preacher openly brings forth when he adds, 'and it discerns between the thoughts and the intentions of the heart.' For the joints are our thoughts and the marrow is the intent of our heart. And often we think one thing, and we intend something else with the thought. For if someone for the promise of a payment of money defends the cause of a widow or an orphan, and perhaps he enters a church, and in his prayers he says to God, 'You see that I am defending the cause of the orphan and the widow,' this is without doubt what he thinks he knows, but his thought is ignorant of his intent. He thinks one thing and he intends another. For it is not the defence of the orphan or the widow but money he seeks. Take away the temporal reward, and he does not defend the orphan and the widow. Thus the word of the Lord discerns between the thoughts and the intentions of the heart, because it does not look to what you think about yourself, but to the marrow of the joint, that is, to the intent of the thought, what it is that you seek to gain. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, from Homily 9 1 Heb 4.12

Seeing Within

Sacri eloquii mysticos sensus Propheta per aspirationem sancti Spiritus prudenter intelligens, dicit: Mirabilia testimonia tua, ideo scrutata est ea anima mea. Qui rursus ait: Revela oculos meos, et considerabo mirabilia de lege tua. Qui enim necdum occulta de apertis intelligit, oculos velatos habet. Qui vero jam intelligit, revelatis oculis mirabilia de lege Dei considerat, quia, spiritaliter litterae verba discutiens, quae interius magnitudo lateat pensat. An non est mirabile quando aliud auribus sonat, atque aliud exit ad intelligentiam quod non sonabat? Cui ergo verbum sacri eloquii nisi lapidi simile dixerim, in quo ignis latet? Qui manu quidem frigidus tenetur, sed, percussus ferro, per scintillas micat, atque hoc emittit ignem qui post ardeat, quod prius manus frigidum tenebat. Sic etenim, sic verba sunt sacri eloquii, quae quidem per narrationem litterae frigida tenentur; sed si quis haec, aspirante Domino, intento intellectu pulsaverit, de mysticis ejus sensibus ignem producit, ut in eis verbis post animus spiritaliter ardeat, quae prius per litteram ipse quoque frigidus audiebat. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Secundus, Homilia X Source: Migne PL 76.1058a-c

Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the prophet wisely understands the spiritual sense of sacred speech, saying, 'Your testimonies are wondrous, therefore my soul has studied them.' He who says again: 'Open my eyes, and I shall consider the wonders of your law.' 1 For he who does not yet understand hidden things as things revealed, he has his eyes veiled. But he who understands with eyes opened considers the wonders of God's law, because spiritually shattering the literal words, he ponders the greatness hidden within. Is it not to be wondered at that when something resounds in the ear, yet something escapes understanding which is not heard? To what then might I say the word of holy speech is like but a stone in which fire is hidden? It is cold when it is held in the hand but when it is struck with iron, it flashes with sparks, and that which emits the fire is afterward warm, which before was so cold to the touch. So indeed are the words of sacred speech, which by the literal narration are felt to be cold, but if someone, by the inspiration of the Lord, shall strike them with zealous understanding, he shall produce the fire of spiritual understanding, so that after, because of these words, the soul is spirtually aflame, that which before by the letter listened in coldness. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, from Homily 10 1 Ps 118.129, 18

Falling With Open Eyes

Tu autem, fili hominis, audi quaecunque loquor ad te, et noli esse exasperans, sicut domus exasperatrix est. Id est, mala quae fieri conspicis, ipse non facias, ne hoc quod prohibere mitteris ipse committas. Omnis etenim praedicator intenta semper debet mente pensare ne qui missus est lapsos erigere ipse in pravitate operis cum lapsis cadat, et Pauli hunc sententia feriat dicentis: In quo alterum judicas teipsum condemnas. Unde Balaam Dei spiritu repletus ad loquendum, sed tamen in carnali vita suo spiritu detentus, de semetipso loquitur, dicens: Dixit auditor sermonum Dei, qui novit doctrinam Altissimi, et visiones omnipotentis videt, qui cadens apertos habet oculos. Cadens apertos oculos habuit, qui rectum quod diceret vidit, sed recte vivere contempsit. Cadens videlicet in perverso opere, et apertos habens oculos in sancta praedicatione. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia IX Source: Migne PL 76.881d-882a

But you, son of man, hear whatever I say to you, and do not be exasperating, like this house is exasperating. 1 That is, do not do the evil that you see, lest that which you are sent to prohibit you yourself do. Indeed every preacher should always be attentive with a thoughful mind lest he who has been sent to lift up the fallen himself falls into wicked deeds with the fallen. Paul conveys this sense where he says, 'In what you judge another you condemn yourself.' 2 And Balam filled by the spirit of God to speak, and yet snared in the carnal life by his own spirit, said concerning himself: 'One who heard spoke the speech of God, he who knew the teaching of the Most High, and who saw visions of the Almighty, he who is falling with his eyes open.' 3 He falls with his eyes open who sees the rightness of what is said, but scorns to live righteously. That is, he falls into evil deeds, even when he has had his eyes opened by holy preaching. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 9 1 Ezek 3.14 2 Rom 2.1 3 Numb 24.14