The Pentecostal Fast

Hodiernam, dilectissimi, festivitatem descensione sancti Spiritus consecratam sequitur, ut nostis, solemne jejunium, quod animis corporibusque curandis salubriter institutum, devota nobis est observantia celebrandum. Repletis namque apostolis virtute promissa, et in corda eorum Spiritu veritatis ingresso, non ambigimus inter caetera coelestis sacramenta doctrinae, hanc spiritalis continentiae disciplinam de Paracleti magisterio primitus fuisse conceptam: ut sanctificatae jejunio mentes conferendis sibi charismatibus fierent aptiores. Aderat quidem Christi discipulis protectio omnipotentis auxilii, et principibus nascentis Ecclesiae tota Patris Filiique Divinitas in praesentia sancti Spiritus praesidebat. Sed contra instantes impetus persequentium, contra minaces fremitus impiorum, non corporis fortitudine, nec carnis erat saturitate certandum; cum hoc maxime hominis interiora corrumpat, quod exteriora delectat; et tanto fiat rationalis anima purgatior, quanto fuerit substantia carnis afflictior. Hi itaque doctores, qui exemplis et traditionibus suis omnes Ecclesiae filios imbuerunt, tirocinium militiae christianae sanctis inchoavere jejuniis: ut contra spiritales nequitias pugnaturi, abstinentiae arma caperent, quibus vitiorum incentiva truncarent. Invisibiles enim adversarii et incorporales hostes non erunt contra nos validi, si nullis carnalibus desideriis fuerimus immersi. Cupiditas quidem nocendi in tentatore perpetua est, sed inermis atque inefficax erit, si nihil in nobis unde contra nos pugnet invenerit. Quis autem hac fragili carne circumdatus, et in isto mortis corpore constitutus, etiam qui multum valideque profecerit, ita jam de sua salute securus sit, ut ab omnium se illecebrarum periculo credat alienum? Donet licet sanctis suis quotidianam gratia divina victoriam, non aufert tamen dimicandi materiam: quia et hoc ipsum de misericordia protegentis est, qui naturae mutabili, ne de confecto praelio superbiret, semper voluit superesse quod vinceret. Igitur post sanctae laetitiae dies, quos in honorem Domini a mortuis resurgentis, ac deinde in coelos ascendentis, exegimus, postque perceptum sancti Spiritus donum, salubriter et necessarie consuetudo est ordinata jejunii: ut si quid forte inter ipsa festivitatum gaudia negligens libertas et licentia inordinata praesumpsit, hoc religiosae abstinentiae censura castiget: quae ob hoc quoque studiosius exsequenda est, ut illa in nobis quae hac die Ecclesiae divinitus sunt collata permaneant. Templum enim facti Spiritus sancti, et majore quam umquam copia divini fluminis irrigati, nullis debemus concupiscentiis vinci, nullis vitiis possideri, ut virtutis habitaculum nulla sit contaminatione pollutum. Quod utique regente atque adjuvante Domino omnibus obtinere possibile est, si per jejunii purificationem, ac per misericordiae largitatem studeamus et peccatorum sordibus liberari, et charitatis fructibus esse fecundi. Quidquid enim in cibos pauperum, in curationes debilium, in pretia captivorum, et in quaelibet opera pietatis impenditur, non minuitur, sed augetur, nec umquam apud Deum perire poterit quod fidelis benignitas erogarit, dum quodcumque tribuit ad subsidium, id sibi recondit ad praemium. Beati enim misericordes, quoniam ipsorum miserebitur Deus; neque delictorum memoria erit ubi testimonium pietatis affuerit. Quarta igitur et sexta feria jejunemus; sabbato autem apud beatissimum Petrum apostolum vigilias celebremus, cujus nos orationibus et a spiritalibus inimicis et a corporeis hostibus confidimus liberari. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo LXXVIII, De Jejunio Pentecostes I Source: Migne PL 54.415b-418a

Today's feast, dearly-beloved, consecrated by the descent of the Holy Spirit, is followed, as you know, by a solemn fast, which being a salutary institution for the healing of soul and body, we should attend to with devout observance. For when the Apostles had been filled with the promised power and the Spirit of Truth had entered into their hearts, we do not doubt that among the rest of the mysteries of heavenly teachings this discipline of spiritual continence was first thought of at the prompting of the Paraclete so that minds sanctified by fasting might be more fit for the chrism which was to be bestowed on them. The disciples of Christ had the protection of Almighty aid, and the princes of the infant Church were watched over by the whole Godhead of the Father and the Son by the presence of the Holy Spirit. But against the threatened assaults of persecutors, and against the terrifying cries of the impious, they could not struggle with bodily strength or with pampered flesh, since that which delights the outer man gravely corrupts the inner man, and the more one's fleshly substance is afflicted the more the rational soul is purified. Thus these teachers, who have imbued all the sons of the Church with their example and their traditions, established the rudiments of Christian warfare with holy fasts, so that having to fight against spiritual wickedness men might take up the armour of abstinence to cut off the incentives to vice. Invisible adversaries and incorporeal enemies will have no power over us if we are not entangled in any of the desires of the flesh. Certainly the tempter always desires to hurt us, but he will be disarmed and powerless if he can find nothing in us by which he might attack us. But encompassed with this frail flesh and established in this body of death, even if a man has made evident progress, who can be so certain of his safety so that he thinks himself far from the peril of all allurements? Although Divine Grace gives daily victory to its holy ones, it does not remove the need for struggle, because even this is part of His protecting mercy, He who, lest we become proud over a battle ended, has always designed for our changeable nature that they should be something to win. Therefore, after the days of holy joy which we have devoted to the honour of the Lord rising from the dead and then ascending into heaven, and after the reception of the gift of the Holy Spirit, a fast is ordained as a wholesome and needful practice so that if through neglect or disorder amid the joys of the feast any undue license has come about it may be corrected by the censures of holy abstinence, which must be most scrupulously carried out so that what was on this day Divinely bestowed on the Church may remain in us. For having been made the temple of the Holy Spirit and watered with a greater supply than ever of the Divine Stream, we should not be conquered by any desires, nor possessed by any vices, by which the habitation of virtue is defiled with pollution. And it is possible for everyone to obtain this with the Lord's aid and guidance, if by the purification of fasting and by merciful liberality we strive to be freed from the filth of sins and to be rich in the fruits of love. For whatever is spent on feeding the poor, on caring for the sick, on ransoming prisoners, or on any other deed of piety, is not diminished but increased, nor will what the kindness of one of the faithful has expended ever be lost to God, since whatever a man gives for relief he lays up for his own reward. For 'Blessed are the merciful, since God shall have mercy on them.' 1 Nor will errors be remembered where the witness of piety is present. On the fourth and and sixth days, therefore, let us fast, and on Saturday let us keep vigil in the presence of the most blessed Apostle, Peter, by whose prayers we surely trust to be set free both from spiritual foes and bodily enemies, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. Pope Leo the Great, Sermon 78, On The Pentecostal Fast 1 Mt 5.7

Two Loves

Duo namque amores sunt ex quibus omnes prodeunt voluntates, ita diversae qualitatibus, sicut dividuntur auctoribus. Rationalis enim animus, qui sine dilectione esse non potest, aut Dei est amator aut mundi. In dilectione Dei nulla nimia, in dilectione autem mundi cuncta sunt noxia. Et ideo aeternis bonis inseparabiliter inhaerendum, temporalibus vero transeunter utendum est: ut peregrinantibus nobis et ad patriam redire properantibus, quidquid de prosperitatibus mundi hujus occurrerit, viaticum sit itineris, non illecebra mansionis. Ideo beatus Apostolus praedicat dicens: Tempus breve est: reliquum est ut qui habent uxores, tamquam non habentes sint; et qui flent, tamquam non flentes; et qui gaudent, tamquam non gaudentes; et qui emunt, tamquam non possidentes; et qui utuntur hoc mundo, tamquam non utantur. Praeterit enim figura hujus mundi. Sed quod de specie, de copia, de varietate blanditur, non facile declinatur, nisi in illa visibilium pulchritudine Creator potius quam creatura diligatur, qui cum dicit: Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota mente tua, et ex tota virtute tua, in nullo nos vult ab amoris sui vinculis relaxari. Et cum huic praecepto proximi quoque copulat charitatem, imitationem nobis suae bonitatis indicit: ut quod diligit diligamus, et quod operatur operemur. Quamvis enim Dei agricultura simus, et Dei aedificatio, et neque qui plantat sit aliquid, neque qui rigat, sed qui incrementum dat Deus; in omnibus tamen exigit nostri ministerii servitutem, et nos dispensatores suorum vult esse donorum, ut qui fert Dei imaginem, Dei faciat voluntatem. Propter quod in oratione Dominica sacratissime dicimus: Adveniat regnum tuum, fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo et in terra. Quibus verbis quid aliud postulamus, quam ut Deus quos necdum sibi subdidit subdat, et sicut in coelo angelos, ita et in terra homines ministros suae faciat voluntatis? Hoc autem petentes amamus Deum, amamus et proximum; et non diversa in nobis, sed una dilectio est, quando et servum servire, et dominum cupimus imperare. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XC, Caput III Source: Migne PL 54.448b-449a

There are two loves from which proceed all wishes, as different in quality as they are in their sources. For the reasonable soul, which cannot exist without love, is the lover either of God or the world. In the love of God there is no excess, but in the love of the world all is harmful. And therefore we must cleave inseparably to eternal treasures, but we must make use of temporal things as those who pass by. Like travellers hurrying to return to our fatherland, all the good things of this world which we encounter should be as aids on the way, not snares which detain. Therefore the blessed Apostle preaches, saying, 'The time is short. It remains that those who have wives to be as though they had none, and those who weep to be as though they do not weep, and those who rejoice to be as though they do not rejoice, and those who buy, as though they possessed not; and those that use this world, as though they used it not. For the form of this world passes away.' 1 But as the world attracts us with its appearance and its abundance and variety, it is not easy to turn away from it unless amid the fairness of visible things the Creator rather than the creature is loved; for, when He says, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your mind, and all your strength,' 2 He wishes that we should not loosen the bond of love in any way. And when to this command He also joins the love of our neighbour, He enjoins on us the imitation of His own goodness, that we should love what He loves and do what He does. For although we are 'God's husbandry and God's building,' and 'Neither is he who plants anything, nor he who waters, but God gives the increase,' 3 yet He will have the labour of our service in everything, and He wishes us to be apportioners of His gifts, so that he who bears God's image may do God's will. Therefore in the Lord's prayer we devoutly say 'Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.' 4 For what else do we ask for in these words but that God may subdue those whom He has not yet subdued, and as in heaven He makes the angels the servants of His will, so also He may make men on earth? And in seeking this we love God and we love our neighbour, and the love within us is not various but one, when we desire that the servant serve and the Lord rule. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 90 1 1 Cor 7.29-31 2 Mt 22.37 3 1 Cor 3.9,7 4 Mt 6.10

Fufilment

Sicut ergo nemo est credentium, dilectissimi, cui dona neganda sint gratiae, ita nemo est qui non sit Christianae debitor disciplinae: quai etsi remota est mysticae legis asperitas, voluntariae tamen observantiae crevit utilitas, dicente evangelista Joanne: Quia lex per Mosen data est, gratia autem et veritas per Jesum Christum est. Omnia enim quae secundum legem, sive in circumcisione carnis, sive in diversitatibus hostiarum, sive in sabbati observantia praecesserunt, Christum testificata, Christi sunt gratiam praelocuta. Et ipse est finis legis, non evacundo significationes ipsius, sed implendo. Qui licet idem sit autor veterum qui novorum, figuratarum tamen promissionum sacramenta mutavit, quia promissa perfecti, et denuntiatonibus cessationem imposuit, quoniam denuntiationibus advenit. In praeceptis autem moralibus nulla prioris Testamenti decreta reprobata, sed evangelico magisterio multa sunt aucta: ut perfectiora et lucidiora essent dantia salutem quam promittentia Salvatorem. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo LXIII, De Passioni Domini XII Source: Migne PL 54.356a-b

As therefore there is no one faithful, most beloved, to whom the gifts of grace are denied, so there is no one who is not a debtor in the matter of Christian discipline, because even if the severity of the mystic Law has been put aside, yet the usefulness of its voluntary observance have grown, as the evangelist John says, 'Because the Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth through Jesus Christ.' 1 For everything according to the Law which preceded, whether in the circumcision of the flesh, or in the multitude of sacrifices, or in the keeping of the Sabbath, bore witness to Christ, and foretold the grace of Christ. And He is the end of the Law, 2 not annulling its meanings, but fulfilling them. For although He is the author of both the Old and of the New, yet He changed the figurative rituals of the promises, because He fulfilled the promises and ended their announcements, since the one who they announced came. But as for the moral precepts, no decrees of the previous Testament are rejected, but many are amplified by the teaching of the Gospel, so that the things which give salvation are more perfect and clearer than those which promised a Saviour. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 63, On The Passion of the Lord 1 Jn 1.17 2 Rom 10.4

The Son And The Sun

Habentes ergo tantae spei fiduciam, dilectissimi, in fide qua fundati estis stabiles permanete, ne idem ille temptator, cuius iam a vobis dominationem christus exclusit, aliquibus vos iterum seducat insidiis, et haec ipsa praesentis diei gaudia fallaciae suae arte corrumpat, inludens simplicioribus animis de quorumdam persuasione pestifera, quibus hic dies sollemnitatis nostrae, non tam de nativitate Christi, quam de novi, ut dicunt, solis ortu videatur honorabilis. Quorum corda vastis tenebris obvoluta, et ab omni incremento verae lucis aliena sunt. Trahuntur enim adhuc stultissimis gentilitatis erroribus, et quia supra id quod carnali intuentur aspectu, nequeunt aciem mentis erigere, ministra mundi luminaria divino honore venerantur. Absit ab animis christianis impia superstitio prodigiosum que mendacium. Ultra omnem modum distant a sempiterno temporalia, ab incorporeo corporea, a dominatore subiecta, quae etsi mirandam habent pulchritudinem, adorandam tamen non habent deitatem. Illa ergo virtus, illa sapientia, illa est colenda maiestas, quae universitatem mundi creavit ex nihilo, et in quas voluit formas atque mensuras terrenam caelestem que substantiam omnipotenti ratione produxit. Sol, luna et sidera sint commoda utentibus, sint speciosa cernentibus, sed ita ut de illis gratiae referantur auctori, et adoretur Deus, qui condidit, non creatura, quae servit. Laudate igitur Deum, dilectissimi, in omnibus operibus eius atque iudiciis. Sit in vobis indubitata credulitas virgineae integritatis et partus. Reformationis humanae sacrum divinum que mysterium sancto atque sincero honorate famulatu. Amplectimini Christum in nostra carne nascentem, ut eumdem Deum gloriae videre mereamini in sua maiestate regnantem, qui cum Patre et cum Spiritu Sancto manet in unitate deitatis in saecula saeculorum. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XXII, In Nativitate Domini Source: Migne PL 54.198b-199a

Having therefore so confident a hope, dearly beloved, remain firm in the faith in which you have been established, lest that same tempter whose domination over you Christ has already cast out, seduce you again with any of his wiles and corrupt even the joys of the present day by his deceitful art, misleading simpler souls with the pestilential idea of some to whom this day of our solemnity seems to derive its honour, not so much from the nativity of Christ, but, as they say, from the rising of the new sun. Such hearts are wrapped in great darkness and are estranged from any increase in the perception of the true light. For they are still drawn away by the most foolish errors of paganism, and because they cannot lift the acuity of the mind above that which they see with carnal sight, they venerate with divine honours the luminaries that minister to the world. May wicked superstitions and egregious lies be far from Christian souls. Temporal things are separated from the Eternal by all measure, and likewise corporeal things from the incorporeal, and things governed from Him who governs, which even if they may possess an admirable beauty, yet have no divinity to be adored. That power, then, that wisdom, that majesty, is to be adored which created everything out of nothing and by His almighty reason made into what forms and dimensions He willed the substance of the earth and sky. The sun and the moon and the stars may be useful to us, they may be most fair to look on, but only if we give thanks to their Maker for them and worship God who made them, not the created thing which serves. Thus praise God, dearly beloved, in all His works and judgments. May there be in you an undoubting belief in the Virgin's integrity and the birth. Honour the sacred and Divine mystery of man's restoration with holy and sincere service. Embrace Christ born in our flesh, that you may merit to see the same God of glory reigning in His majesty, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit remains in the unity of the Godhead for ever and ever. Amen. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 22, On The Nativity Of The Lord

The Carnal And The Spiritual Fast

Cum ergo universa vitia per continentiam destruantur, et quidquid avaritia sitit, quidquid superbia ambit, quidquid luxuria concupiscit, hujus virtutis soliditate superetur; quis non intelligat quantum nobis praesidii per jejunia conferatur? In quibus indicitur, ut non solum a cibis, sed etiam ab omnibus carnalibus desideriis temperetur. Alioqui superfluum est suscipere esuriem, et iniquam non deponere voluntatem; reciso affligi cibo, et a concepto non resilire peccato. Carnale est, non spiritale jejunium, ubi soli corpori non parcitur, et in iis quae omnibus deliciis nocentiora sunt, permanetur. Quid prodest animae foris agere quasi dominam, et intus servire captivam, membris propriis imperare, et jus propriae libertatis amittere? Et merito plerumque patitur famulam rebellantem, quae non reddit Domino debitam servitutem. Jejunante ergo corpore ab escis, mens jejunet a vitiis, et curas cupiditatesque terrenas regis sui lege dijudicet. Meminerit primam dilectionem Deo, secundam deberi proximo, omnesque affectus suos hac regula dirigendos, ut nec a cultu recedat Domini, nec ab utilitate conservi. Quomodo autem Deus colitur, nisi ut quod ipsi placet, placeat et nobis; nec ab ejus imperio noster umquam resultet affectus? Quoniam si hoc quod ille vult volumus, ab illo sumet infirmitas nostra virtutem, a quo ipsam accepimus voluntatem: Deus est enim, sicut ait Apostolus, qui operatur in nobis et velle et perficere pro bona voluntate. Nec superbia itaque homo inflabitur, nec desperatione frangetur, si bonis divinitus datis in gloriam dantis utatur, et ab iis desideria sua revocet quae sibi nocitura cognoscit. Abstinens enim ab invidiae malignitate, a luxuriae dissolutione, a perturbatione iracundiae, a cupiditate vindictae, purificabitur veri sanctificatione jejunii, et incorruptibilium deliciarum voluptate pascetur, ut per usum spiritalem etiam terrenas copias in coelestem noverit transferre substantiam, non sibi condendo quae acceperit, sed magis magisque multiplicando quod dederit. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XIX, De Jejunio Source: Migne PL 54.187a-188b

Since therefore all vices are destroyed by continence, and whatever avarice thirsts for, and whatever pride strives for, and whatever luxury lusts after, is overcome by the firmness of this virtue, who does not understand how much protection may be given to us by fasting? In which is signified not only restraint from food, but from all carnal desires. Otherwise it is pointless to take up hunger and yet not cast out an iniquitous will, to be afflicted by cutting off food and yet not to shrink from sinful thought. That is a carnal, not a spiritual fast, where the body alone is restrained and those things persisted in are more harmful than all delights. What profit to the soul to act outwardly as mistress of the house and within to be a captive and a slave, to command the limbs and to lose the right to her own liberty? Rightly does she for the most part suffer rebellion from her servant who does not pay to God the service due. Therefore when the body fasts from food, let the mind fast from vices, and give judgment on all worldly cares and desires by the law of its king. Be mindful that love is firstly for God, secondly for our neighbour, and that all our affections should be directed by that rule which never draws one away from the worship of God, nor from being helpful to a fellow servant. 1 And how shall we worship God unless that which is pleasing to Him is also pleasing to us? For if what He wills we will, our weakness will take up strength from Him, from whom we received the will. As the Apostle says: 'For it is God who works in us, both to will and to act for His good pleasure.' 2 So neither will pride puff up a man, nor will he be crushed by despair, if he uses the goods God has given to His glory, and withholds his desires from those things which he knows will harm him. For in abstaining from the wickedness of envy, and from the dissolution of luxury, and from the perturbations of anger, and from the lust for vengeance, he will be purified to sanctification by true fasting, and will be fed with the joy of incorruptible delights, so that he will know how to transform worldly riches by spiritual use into heavenly substance, not by hoarding up for himself what he has received, but by multiplying it more and more by what he gives. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 19, On Fasting 1 cf Mk 12.30-31 2 Philip. 2.13

Various Escapes

Adorato autem Domino, magi, et omni devotione completa, secundum admonitionem somnii non eodem quo venerant itinere revertuntur. Oportebat enim ut jam in Christum credentes non per antiquae conversationis semitas ambularent, sed novam ingressi viam a relictis erroribus abstinerent. Tum ut etiam Herodis vacuarentur insidiae, qui in puerum Jesum impietatem doli per simulationem disponebat officii. Unde quia spes istius erat soluta commenti, in majorem furorem iracundia regis ardescit. Nam recolens tempus quod indicaverant magi, in omnes Bethleem pueros rabiem crudelitatis effundit, et caede generali universae civitatis illius in aeternam gloriam transituram trucidat infantiam; aestimans fore ut, nullo illic parvulo non occiso, occideretur et Christus. At ille, qui sanguinem suum pro mundi redemptione fundendum in aliam differret aetatem, Aegypto se parentum ministerio subvectus intulerat, repetens scilicet Hebraeae gentis antique cunabula, et principatum veri Joseph majoris providentiae potestate disponens, ut illam diriorem omni inedia famem qua Aegyptiorum mentes veritatis inopia laborabant, veniens de caelo panis vitae et cibus rationis auferret; nec sine illa regione pararetur singularis hostiae sacramentum, in qua primum occisione agni, salutiferum crucis signum et pascha Domini fuerat praeformatum. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XXXIII, In Epiphaniae solemnitate III Source: Migne PL 54.242c-243b

When the wise men had adored the Lord and completed all their devotions, according to the warning of a dream, they do not return by the same road by which they had come. For it was not befitting for them who now believed in Christ to walk the paths of their old way of life, but having entered a new way to avoid the errors they had left. Which indeed confounded Herod's plot, who under the appearance of duty was inclined to a wicked crime against the infant Jesus. Hence when his hope in his design unravelled, the anger of the king rose to a greater fury. For considering the time which the wise men had indicated, he poured out his cruel rage on all the male children of Bethlehem, and in a general massacre in the whole of that city slew the infants who thus passed to their eternal glory, thinking that, if every single babe was killed there, Christ too would be slain. But He who was delaying the shedding of His own blood for the world's redemption until another time, was carried and brought into Egypt by the aid of His parents, and thus sought the ancient cradle of the Hebrew race, and by the power of a greater providence took up the princely office of the true Joseph, in that He, the Bread of Life that came down from heaven 1 and the Food of reason, removed that worst of all famines, the lack of truth, in which the minds of the Egyptians were labouring. Nor without a stay in that land would the mystery of that unique victim have been complete, in which by the first slaying of the lamb was prefigured the saving sign of the Cross and the Lord's Passover. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 33, On The Epiphany 1 Jn 6.59

Word And Man

Verbum igitur Dei Deus, Filius Dei, qui in principio erat apud Deum, per quem facta sunt omnia et sine quo factum est nihil, propter liberandum ab aeterna morte hominem, factus est homo: ita se ad susceptionem humilitatis nostrae sine diminutione suae majestatis inclinans, ut manens quod erat, assumensque quod non erat, veram servi formam ei formae in qua Deo Patri est aequalis uniret, et tanto foedere naturam utramque consereret, ut nec inferiorem consumeret glorificatio, nec superiorem minueret adsumptio. Salva igitur proprietate utriusque substantiae et in unam coeunte personam, suscipitur a maiestate humilitas, a virtute infirmitas, ab aeternitate mortalitas, et ad dependendum conditionis nostrae debitum, natura inviolabilis naturae est infusa passibili, Deusque verus homo verus in unitatem domini temperatur, ut quod nostris remediis congruebat, unus atque idem Dei hominumque mediator et mori posset ex uno et resurgere posset ex altero. Merito virgineae integritati nihil corruptionis intulit partus salutis, quia custodia fuit pudoris editio veritatis. Talis ergo, dilectissimi, nativitas decuit Dei virtutem et Dei sapientiam Christum, qua nobis et humanitate congrueret et divinitate praecelleret. Nisi enim esset Deus verus, non afferret remedium, nisi esset homo verus, non praeberet exemplum. Ab exultantibus angelis nascente Domino gloria in excelsis Deo canitur, et pax in terra bonae voluntatis hominibus nuntiatur. Vident enim caelestem Hierusalem ex omnibus mundi gentibus fabricari de quo inenarrabili divinae pietatis opere quantum laetari debet humilitas hominum, cum tantum gaudeat sublimitas angelorum? Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XXI, In Nativitate Domini Source: Migne PL 54.191c-192b

Therefore the Word of God, God Himself, the Son of God, who in the beginning was with God, through whom all things were made and without whom was nothing made, 1 with the purpose of liberating man from eternal death, was made man. So He lowered Himself to take on our humility without decrease in His own majesty, that remaining what He was and assuming what He was not, He might unite the true form of a slave to that form in which He is equal to God the Father, 2 and by such compact join both natures, so that the inferior was not swallowed up in its glorification, nor the superior diminished by what it has taken up. Therefore with preservation of the properties of both substances which came together in one person, humility was taken up by majesty, weakness by strength, mortality by eternity, and for the paying of the debt of our condition, passible nature was infused with inviolable nature, and true God and true man were combined in the unity of the Lord, so that, as was fitting for our remedy, there be one and the same Mediator between God and men, 3 that it be possible both die with the one and rise again with the other. Rightly, therefore, the birth of salvation brought no corruption to the Virgin's purity, because the bringing forth of Truth was the keeping of chastity. Such then, most beloved, was the nativity which was fitting for the Power of God and Christ the Wisdom of God, by which He might join with us in humanity and excel us in Divinity. For unless He were true God He could not bring a remedy, unless He were true Man He could not give an example. Therefore the exulting angels at the birth of the Lord sing: 'Glory to God in the Highest and peace on earth to men of good will.' 4 For they see that the heavenly Jerusalem is being built up out of all the peoples of the world, and concerning this indescribable work of Divine love, how great should be the rejoicing of the humbleness of men, when the joy of the angels above is so great? Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 21, On The Nativity Of The Lord 1 Jn 1.1-3 2 Philip 2.6 3 1 Tim 2.5 4 Lk 2.14

Thinking Of The Trinity

Cum igitur ad confitendum Patrem, et Filium, et Spiritum sanctum aciem mentis intendimus, procul ab animo formas visibilium rerum et aetates temporalium naturarum, procul corpora locorum et loca corporum repellamus. Discedat a corde quod spatio extenditur, quod fine concluditur, et quidquid nec semper ubique, nec totum est. Cogitatio de Deitate Trinitatis concepta nihil per distantiam intelligat, nihil per gradus quaerat: ac si quid dignum de Deo senserit, nulli hoc ibi audeat negare personae, tamquam honorificentius Patri ascribat, quod Filio Spirituique non tribuat. Non est pietas Unigenito praeferre Genitorem; Filii contumelia Patris injuria est; quod uni demitur utrique detrahitur. Nam cum illis et sempiternitas sit communis et Deitas, nec omnipotens Pater, nec incommutabilis et Deitas, nec omnipotens Pater, nec incummutabilis aetimatur, si aut minorem se genuit, aut quem non habuit, habendo profecit. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo LXXVII Cap IV Source: Migne PL 54.413b-c

When, therefore, we turn our minds to confessing the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, let us thrust far from the soul the forms of visible things and the spans of temporal natures, and all material bodies and places. Let that which is extended in space, that which is bound by limit, and whatever is not always everywhere and entire, be cut off from the heart. Thought of the Divine Trinity must understand nothing by separation; and if someone thinks something worthy of God, let him not dare to deny it to any of the Persons, like ascribing more honour to the Father, which he does not give to the Son and Spirit. It is not pious to put the Father before the Only Begotten. A slight to the Son is an insult to the Father; what is denied to one is refused both. For when their Eternity and Divinity are common, the Father is accounted neither omnipotent nor Divinity unchangeable if He begot One less than Himself, or gained by having One whom before He did not. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 77 Chap 4

The Wise Men's Service

Deducti igitur, dilectissimi, in Bethleem magi stellae praecedentis obsequio, gavisi sunt gaudio magno valde, sicut evangelista narrauit, et intrantes domum, invenerunt puerum cum Maria matre eius, et procidentes adoraverunt eum, et apertis thesauris suis, obtulerunt ei munera, aurum, tus et myrram. O perfectae scientiae mirabilem fidem, quam non terrena sapientia erudivit, sed Spiritus sanctus instituit! Unde enim hi viri, cum proficiscerentur de patria, qui nondum viderant Jesum, nec aliquid contuitu ejus, quod tam ordinate venerarentur, adverterant, hanc deferendorum munerum servavere rationem? Nisi quia praeter illam stellae speciem, quae corporeum incitavit obtutum, fulgentior veritatis radius eorum corda perdocuit, ut priusquam labores itineris inchoarent, eum sibi significari intelligerent, cui in auro regius honor, in thure divina veneratio, in myrrha mortalitatis confessio deberetur. Et haec quidem, quantum ad inluminationem fidei pertinebat, potuerunt illis credita et intellecta sufficere, ut corporali intuitu non inquirerent quod plenissimo visu mentis inspexerant. Sed diligentia sagacis officii usque ad videndum puerum perseverans, futuri temporis populis et nostri saeculi hominibus serviebat, ut sicut omnibus nobis profuit, quod post resurrectionem Domini vestigia vulnerum in carne eius Thomae exploravit manus, ita ad nostram utilitatem proficeret, quod infantiam ipsius magorum probavit aspectus. Viderunt itaque magi et adoraverunt puerum de tribu Iuda, de semine David secundum carnem, factum ex muliere, factum sub lege, quam non solvere venerat, sed implere. Viderunt et adoraverunt puerum, quantitate paruum, alienae opis indigum, fandi inpotem, et in nullo ab humanae infantiae generalitate dissimilem. Quia sicut fidelia erant testimonia, quae in eo maiestatem invisibilis divinitatis assererent, ita probatissimum esse debebat Verbum carnem factum, et sempiternam illam essentiam filii Dei veram hominis suscepisse naturam, ne vel ineffabilium operum secutura miracula, vel excipiendarum supplicia passionum, sacramentum fidei ex rerum diversitate turbarent, cum iustificari omnino non possent, nisi qui dominum Iesum et verum Deum et verum hominem credidissent. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XXXIV, Caput III Source: Migne PL 54.246b-247b

Led then, dearly beloved, into Bethlehem by obedience to the star which went before them, the wise men 'rejoiced with very great joy,' as the Evangelist has told us, 'and entering the house they found the child with Mary, His mother, and falling down they worshipped Him, and opening their treasures they offered to Him gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh.' 1 What wondrous faith of perfect knowledge, which was not taught by earthly wisdom, but the Holy Spirit instructed! For why was it that these men, when they came from their homeland, having not yet seen Jesus, having nothing by observation of Him which would so compose their veneration, attended to this way for the offering of gifts? Unless that besides the sight of the star, which attracted the bodily gaze, the brighter rays of truth taught their hearts that before they began their difficult journey they should understand Him who was signified, to Whom was owed in gold royal honour, in incense Divine adoration, in myrrh the confession of mortality. Certainly this, as much as it was the enlightenment of their faith, might have been sufficient belief and understanding for themselves, that they need not enquire with their bodily eyes into that which they had looked on with their mind's fullest sight. But their diligence in wise duty, persevering until they saw the child, performed service for peoples of future times, even for the men of our own age, so that, as it was of profit to us all that after the Lord's resurrection the hands of the Apostle Thomas explored the marks of the wounds in His flesh, 2 so it was useful for us that His infancy should be given witness by the appearance of the wise men. So the wise men saw and adored the child of the tribe of Judah, 'of the seed of David according to the flesh,' 3 'made from a woman, made under the law,' 4 which law He had come 'not to destroy but to fulfil .' 5 They saw and adored the Child, small in size, powerless to help others , incapable of speech, and in nothing different to the generality of human infants. Because, as the testimonies were trustworthy which asserted in Him the majesty of invisible Godhead, so it should be most certain that 'the Word became flesh,' 6 and the eternal essence of the Son of God took up the true nature of man, lest either the ineffable marvels of His works which were to follow, or the torment of sufferings to be inflicted, should disturb the mystery of our Faith by their difference, when no one at all can be justified but those who have believed that the Lord Jesus is both true God and true Man. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 34 Chap 3 1 Mt 2.10-11 2 Jn 20.24-29 3 Rom 1.3 4 Galat 4.4 5 Mt 5.17 6 Jn 1.14

Peace And Peacemakers

Beati pacifici, quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur. Beatitudo ista, dilectissimi, non cujuslibet consensionis, nec qualiscumque concordiae est, sed illius de qua dicit Apostolus: Pacem habete ad Deum: et de qua dicit propheta David: Pax multa diligentibus legem tuam, et non est illis scandalum. Hanc pacem etiam arctissima amicitiarum vincula, et indiscretae similitudines animorum non veraciter sibi vindicant, si non cum Dei voluntate concordant. Extra dignitatem hujus pacis sunt improbarum parilitates cupiditatum, foedera scelerum et pacta vitiorum. Amor mundi cum Dei amore non congruit, nec ad societatem filiorum Dei pervenit, qui se a carnali generatione non dividit. Qui autem semper cum Deo mente sunt solliciti servare unitatem spiritus in vinculo pacis, numquam ab aeterna lege dissentiunt, fideli oratione dicentes: Fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo et in terra. Hi sunt pacifici, hi bene unanimes, sancteque concordes, vocandi aeterno nomine filii Dei, cohaeredes autem Christi: quia hoc merebitur dilectio Dei et dilectio proximi, ut nullas jam adversitates sentiat, nulla scandala pertimescat; sed finito omnium tentationum certamine, in tranquillissima Dei pace requiescat, per Dominum nostrum, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XCV, De Gradibus Ascensionis Ad Beatitudinem Source: Migne PL 54.465b-466a

'Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the sons of God.' 1 This blessedness, most beloved, belongs not to any type agreement or harmony, but is that of which the Apostle speaks: 'have peace towards God.' 2 And concerning which the Prophet David speaks: 'Much peace have those who love your law, and they have no scandal. 3 This peace even the closest bonds of friendship and the most exact similarity of mind do not truly achieve, if they do not accord with God's will. Outside the dignity of this peace are similarity of shameful desires, association in crimes, pacts in vice. The love of the world does not agree with the love of God, nor does he enter into the alliance of the sons of God who will not separate himself from the carnal generation. However they who always have God in mind, 'anxious to guard the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,' 4 never dissent from the eternal law, speaking that prayer of the faithul: 'Your will be done as in heaven so on earth.' 5These are the peacemakers, these are rightly of one mind and in sacred harmony, who are to be called 'sons of God and fellow heirs with Christ,' 6 because this love of God and the love of neighbour shall merit that we shall feel no calamities now, and fear no scandals, but when comes the end of all trials, there is rest in God's most undisturbed peace, through our Lord, who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 95, On The Steps Of Ascension to Blessedness 1 Mt 5.9 2 Rom 5.1, 2 Cor 13.11 3 Ps 118.16 4 Ephes 4.3 5 Mt 6.10 6 Rom 8.17

Treating Creation

Expergiscere, O homo, et dignitatem tuae cognosce naturae. Recordare te factum ad imaginem Dei; quae, etsi in Adam corrupta, in Christo tamen est reformata. Utere quomodo utendum est visibilibus creaturis, sicut uteris terra, mari, coelo, aere, fontibus atque fluminibus; et quidquid in eis pulchrum atque mirabile est, refer ad laudem et gloriam Conditoris. Noli esse deditus illi lumini quo volucres et serpentes, quo bestiae et pecudes, quo muscae delectantur et vermes. Lucem corpoream sensu tange corporea, et toto mentis affectu illud verum lumen amplectere quod illuminat omnem hominem venitentem in hunc mundum, et de quo dicit Propheta: Accedite ad eum, et illuminamini, et vultus vestri non erubescent. Si enim templum Dei sumus, et Spiritus Dei habitat in nobis, plus est quod fidelis quisque in suo habet animo, quam miratur in coelo. Non itaque vobis, dilectissimi, hoc aut indicimus, aut suademus, et despiciatis opera Dei, aut contrarium aliquid fidei vestrae, in iis quae Deus bonus bona condidit, aestimetis; sed ut omni creaturarum specie, et universo hujus mundi ornatu rationabiliter et temperanter utamini: Quae enim videntur, sicut ait Apostulus, temporalia sunt; quae autem non videntur aeterna sunt. Unde quia ad praesentia sumus nati, ad futura autem renati, non temporalibus bonis dediti, sed aeternis simus intenti. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XXVII, In Nativitate Domini VII, Cap VI Source: Migne PL 54.220b-221b

Awake, O man, and know the dignity of your nature. Remember that you were made in the image of God, 1 which although it was corrupted in Adam, yet was restored in Christ. Use visible creatures as they should be used, as you use earth, sea, sky, air, springs and rivers; and whatever in them is fair and wondrous, ascribe to the praise and glory of the Creator. Do not be subject to that light in which birds and serpents, beasts and cattle, flies and worms delight. Confine the material light to your bodily senses and with all the sense of your mind embrace that true light, which coming into this world enlightens every man, 2 and of which the Prophet says, 'Come to Him and be enlightened, and your faces shall not blush.' 3 For if we 'are a temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in us,'4 that which every one of the faithful has in his own soul is more than what he admires in heaven. Thus we do not, dearly beloved, exhort or counsel you to despise the works of God, or to think there is anything contrary to your faith in what the good God has made good, but that you use every kind of creature and all the ornaments of this world reasonably and moderately; for as the Apostle says: 'the things which are seen are transient, but the things which are not seen are eternal.' 5 So because we are born for the present and reborn for the future, let us not hand ourselves over to temporal goods but be eager for eternal ones. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 27, Chap 6 1 Gen 1.26 2 John 1.9 3 Ps 33.6 4 1 Cor 3.16 5 2 Cor 4:18

Considerations Of The Flesh

Non dissonat, dilectissimi, ab hac fide magister gentium apostolus Paulus, cum dicit: Etsi cognovimus secundum carnem Christum, sed non jam non novimus. Resurrectio enim Domini non finis carnis, sed commutatio fuit, nec virtutis augmento consumpta substantia est. Qualitas transiit, non natura defecit; et factum est corpus impassibile, quod potuit crucifigi; factum est immortale, quod potuit occidi; factum est incorruptibile, quod potuit vulnerari. Et merito dicitur caro Christi in eo statu quo fuerat nota, nesciri: quia nihil in ea passibile, nihil remansit infirmum, ut et ipsa sit per essentiam, et non sit ipsa per gloriam. Quid autem mirum, si hoc de corpore Christi profitetur, qui de omnibus Christianis spiritalibus dicit: Itaque nos ex hoc neminem novimus secundum carnem? Ex hoc, inquit, initium nobis factum est resurrectionis in Christo, ex quo in eo qui pro omnibus mortuus est, totius spei nostrae forma praecessit. Non haesitamus diffidentia, nec incerta exspectatione suspendimur, sed accepto promissionis exordio, fidei oculis quae sunt futura, jam cernimus; et naturae provectione gaudentes, quod credimus jam tenemus. Non ergo nos rerum temporalium occupent species, nec ad se contemplationem nostram a coelestibus terrena deflectant. Pro transactis habeantur quae ex maxima parte jam non sunt; et mens intenta mansuris, ibi desiderium suum figat, ubi quod offertur aeternum est. Quamvis enim spe salvi facti simus, et corruptibilem adhuc carnem mortalemque gestemus, recte tamen dicimur in carne non esse, si carnales nobis non dominentur affectus; et merito ejus rei deponimus nuncupationem, cujus non sequimur voluntatem. Cum itaque Apostolus dicat: Carnis curam ne feceritis in desideriis, non ea nobis interdicta intelligimus quae saluti congruunt et quae humana poscit infirmitas. Sed quia non omnibus desideriis serviendum, nec quidquid caro concupiscit implendum est, de adhibendo temperantiae modo admonitos nos esse cognoscimus, ut carni, quae sub animi est constituta judicio, nec superflua concedamus, nec necessari denegemus. Unde idem Apostolus alibi ait, Nemo enim umquam carnem suam odio habuit, sed nutrit et fovet eam: cum utique non ad vitia, non ad luxuriam , sed ad debitum sit alenda et fovenda famulatum: ut teneat ordinem suum renovata natura, nec perversa ac turpiter superioribus inferiora praevaleant, aut inferioribus superiora succumbant, et vitiis animum superantibus, ibi fiat servitus ubi debet esse dominatus. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo LXXI Cap IV-V Source: Migne PL 54.388c-389b

The Apostle Paul, teacher of the Gentiles, most dearly beloved, does not disagree with this belief, when he says, 'Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet not now do we know Him.' 1 For the resurrection of the Lord was not the ending of the flesh, but the changing of it, and by an increase in virtue His substance was not destroyed. The quality altered, the nature did not pass away; the body that was able to be crucified was made impassible; that which was able to be wounded was made incorruptible. And rightly is it said that Christ's flesh is not known in that state in which it had been known, because nothing remained passible in it, nothing remained weak, so that it was the same in essence and not the same in glory. But why wonder if he maintains this about Christ's body, when he says of all spiritual Christians 'Thus henceforth we know no one according to the flesh.' 2 Henceforth, he says, is the beginning in us of the resurrection in Christ, since that time when in Him, who died for all, the form all our hopes were foreshown. We do not hesitate in diffidence, we are not held up in uncertain expectation, but having received the first example of the promise, we now see with the eyes of faith the things which will be, and rejoicing in the uplifting of nature, what we believe we already possess. Therefore let us not be occupied by the appearances of temporal things, nor lower our contemplation from heavenly things to worldly things. As accomplished let things be which have not for the most part come to be, and the mind intent on things that persist, there let its desire be fixed, where that which is offered is eternal. For though by hope we are saved, 3 we yet bear corruptible and mortal flesh, and yet rightly we are said not to be in the flesh, if we not dominated by carnal affections, 4 and rightly we do not have the name of what we have put aside, not following its will. When then the Apostle says: 'Do not have care for the flesh in its desires,' 5 we do not understand that these things are prohibited to us which befit health and are demanded by human infirmity. But because not every desire should be attended to, nor whatever the flesh desires be fulfilled, we know that we are admoinished to cleave to temperance, so that to the flesh, which in judgement is set below the soul, we do not concede things which are superflouous, nor do we deny what is necessary. Whence the same Apostle says elsewhere: 'No one ever hates his own flesh but he nourishes it and cares for it,' 6 that is, when he nourishes and cares for it not for vice, not for luxury, but as a duty to a servant, that nature restored holds to its order, the inferior not prevailing in perversity and baseness over the superior, nor the higher succumbing to the inferior, so that the soul is overcome with vice and there is servitude when there should be rule. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 71, Chap 4-5 1 2 Cor 5.16 2 2 Cor 5.16 3 Rom 8.24 4 Rom 8-8-11 5 Rom 13.14 6 Ephes 5.29

The Highest Reason

Hoc ipsum autem, dilectissimi, quod Christus nasci elegit ex Virgine, nonne apparet altissimae fuisse rationis? Ut scilicet natam humano generi salutem diabolus ignoraret, et spiritali latente conceptu, quem non alium videret quam alios, non aliter crederet natum esse quam caeteros. Cujus enim similem cum universis advertit naturam, parem habere arbitratus est cum omnibus causam; nec intellexit a transgressionis vinculis liberum, quem ab infirmitate mortalitatis non invenit alienum. Verax namque misericordia Dei, cum ad reparandum humanum genus ineffabiliter ei multa suppeterent, hanc potissimum consulendi viam elegit, qua ad destruendum opus diaboli, non virtute uteretur potentiae, sed ratione iustitiae. Nam superbia hostis antiqui non immerito sibi in omnes homines ius tyrannicum vindicabat, nec indebito dominatu premebat, quos a mandato Dei spontaneos in obsequium suae voluntatis illexerat. Non itaque iuste amitteret originalem humani generis servitutem, nisi de eo quod subegent vinceretur. Quod ut fieret, sine virili semine conceptus est Christus ex virgine, quam non humanus coitus, sed Spiritus sanctus fecundavit. Et cum in omnibus matribus non fiat sine peccati sorde conceptio, haec inde purgationem traxit, unde concepit. Quo enim paterni seminis transfusio non pervenit, peccati se illic origo non miscuit. Inviolata virginitas concupiscentiarn nescivit, substantiam ministravit. Assumpta est de matre Domini natura non culpa. Creata est forma servi sine conditione servili, quia novus homo sic contemperatus est veteri, ut et veritatem susciperet generis, et vitium excluderet vetustatis. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XXII, Cap III, In Nativitate Domini II Source: Migne PL 54.196b-197a

And that, dearly beloved, Christ chose to be born of a Virgin, does it not appear to be have been a matter of the highest reason? That is, that the devil should be ignorant that Salvation had been born for the human race, and by the hidden nature of the spiritual conception, when he saw Him not unlike others, he should judge Him born in no different way to the rest. For when he observed that His nature was like that of all others, he deemed that He had the same origin as everyone else; he did not understand that He was free from the chains of transgression because he did not find Him a stranger to the weakness of mortality. For though the true mercy of God had unspeakably many ways for the restoration of mankind, it chose the way most potent for the destruction of the work of the devil, not by the use of the power of might but by the reason of justice. For the pride of the ancient foe not without reason had the right of tyrannous rule over all men, and with no unwarrantable supremacy lorded it over those who had been of their own accord lured away from God's commands to the service of his will. And so he would not justly lose the immemorial servitude of the human race, were he not conquered by that which he had subjugated. And that this be, without the seed of a man Christ was conceived of a virgin, she who was made fruitful not by human intercourse but by the Holy Spirit. And whereas in all mothers conception may not happen without the stain of sin, this one received purification from the source of her conception. For where there was no transfer of paternal seed, so there was no mixing with the origin of sin. Unviolated virginity knew no lust when it ministered to the substance. The Lord took from His mother the nature but not the fault. The form of the slave was fashioned without the servile condition, because the new man was so mixed with the old that it both assumed the reality of the race and excluded the ancient fault. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 22, Chap 3, On The Nativity Of The Lord

The Unworldly

Nemo tam sanctum est ut non sanctior, nemo tam devotus ut non debeat esse devotior. Quis enim in hujus vitae constitutus incerto, aut immunis a tentatione, aut liber inveniatur a culpa? Quis est qui nihil virtutis sibi adjici, aut qui nihil vitii sibi optet auferri? cum et adversa neceant et secunda corrumpant, nec minoris sit perienti carere desideratis quam abundare concessis. Insidiae sunt in divitiarum amplitudine, insidiae in pauperiatis angustiis. Illae elevant ad superbiam, hae incitant ad querelam. Tentat sanitas, tentat infirmitas, dum et illa materia est negligentiae, et haec cause tristitiae. Laqueus est in securitate, laquens est in timore; nec interest utrum animus, qui terreno tenetir affecti, gaudiis occupetur an curis, cum per morbus sit vel sub vana delectatione languescere, vel sub anxia sollicitduine laborare. Impletur itaque per omnia sententia Veritatis qua discimus angustam esse et arduam viam quae ducit ad vitam; et cum latitudo itineris ad mortem trahentis multis frequentetur agminibus, in salutis semitis paucorum intrantium sunt rara vestigia. Unde autem populosior est via laeva quam dextera, nisi quia ad mundana gaudia et corporalia bona multitudo proclivis est? Et quamvis caducum incertumque sit quod cupitur, libentius tamen suscipitur labour pro desiderio voluptatis quam pro amore virtutis. Ita cum innumeri sint qui visibilia concupiscant, vix inveniuntur qui temporalibus aeterna praeponant. Et ideo, dicente beato apostolo Paulo: Quae videntur temporalia sunt, quae autem non videntur aeterna sunt; latet quodammodo et in abscondito est virtutum via, quoniam spe salvi facti summus, et fides vera id super omnia diligit, quod nullo sensu carnis attingit. Magni est ergo operis et laboris mobilitatem cordis ab omnibus continere peccatis, et cum undique innumerae voluptatum illecebrae blandiantur, ad nulla contagia vigorem animi relaxare. Quis picem tangit, et non inquinatur ab ea? Quis non infirmatur in carne? Quis non sordescit in pulvere? Quis postremo est tantae puritatis, ut iis non polluatur sine quibus vita non ducitur? Jubet enim per Apostolum doctrina divina, ut qui habent uxores, tamquam non habentes sint: et qui flent, tamquam non flentes; et qui gaudent, tamquam non gaudentes; et qui emunt, tamquam non possidentes; et qui utuntur hoc mundo, tamquam non utantur: praeterit enim figura mundi hujus. Beata igitur mens quae peregrinationis suae tempora casta sobrietate transcurrit, et in iis per quae necesse est eam ambulare non remanent, ut hospita magis quam domina terrenorum, nec affectibus desit humanis, et promissionibus sit innixa divinis. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XLIX Source: Migne PL 54.301c- 303a

No one is so holy that he might not to be holier, no one so devout that he might not be more devout. Who is there set in the uncertainty of this life who can be found immune to temptation, or free from fault? Who would not wish for any addition to his virtue, or that from his vices anything be taken away? Since adversity does us harm and success corrupts us, and it is not less perilous to lack what we want then to have it in abundance. There is a trap in the fullness of riches, a trap in the straits of poverty. The one lifts us up in pride, the other incites us to complain. Health tries us, sickness tries us, one being the cause of negligence the other of grief. There is a trap in security, a trap in fear, and it matters not whether the soul given over to earthly thoughts is occupied with pleasures or cares, for it is equally unhealthy to languish amid vain delights, as to labour under the worries of anxiety. And thus is fulfilled in every sense that judgement of the Truth by which we learn that it is the narrow and difficult way that leads to life, 1 and that while the wide way that leads to death is filled with many crowds, the steps are few of those who walk on the way of safety. And why is the left road more populated than the right, save that the multitude is inclined to worldly joys and corporeal goods? And although that which is desired is transient and uncertain, yet men more willingly take up toil for the desire for pleasure than for love of virtue. Thus while those who desire things visible are innumerable, those who prefer the eternal to the temporal are scarcely found. And, therefore, with the blessed Apostle Paul saying, 'the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal,' 2 the path of virtue is in a manner hidden and secret because 'by hope we were saved,' 3 and true faith loves above all things that which it attains to without any knowledge of the flesh. A great work and toil it is then to keep our shifting heart from all sin, and, with the numberless allurements of pleasure to lure it away everywhere, not to let the strength of the soul give way to any influence. Who 'touches pitch, and is not defiled thereby?' 4 Who is not weakened by the flesh? Who is not dirtied by dust? Who, finally, is so pure as not to be polluted by those things without which one cannot live? For the Divine teaching commands by the Apostle that 'they who have wives should be as though they had none, and those who weep should be as though they do not weep, and those that rejoice should be as though they do not rejoice, and those that buy should be as though they do not possess, and those that make use of this world should be as though they do not; for the fashion of this world passes away.' 5 Blessed, therefore, is the mind that passes the time of its pilgrimage in chaste sobriety and tarries not among the things through which it must walk, so that, as a guest rather than the owner of its earthly abode, it may not lack human affections and yet rest on Divine promises.' Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 49 1 Mt 7.14 2 2 Cor 4.18 3 Rom 8.24 4 Sirach 13.1  5 1 Cor 7.29-31

Ascension And Judgment

Tunc igitur, dilectissimi, filius hominis, Dei filius, excellentius sacratiusque innotuit, eum in paternae majestatis gloriam se recepit et ineffabili modo coepit esse Divinitate praesentior, qui factus est humanitate longinquior. Tunc ad aequalem Patri Filium eruditior fides gressu mentis coepit accedere, et contrectatione corporeae in Christo substantiae, qua Patre minor est, non egere: quoniam glorificati corporis manente natura, eo fides credentium vocabatur, ubi non carnali manu, sed spiritali intellectu, par Genitori Unigenitus tangeretur. Hinc illud est quod post resurrectionem suam Dominus cum Maria Magdalene personam Ecclesiae gerens, ad contactum ipsius properaret accedere, dicit ei: Noli me tangere, nondum enim ascendi ad Patrem meum: hoc est, nolo ut ad me corporaliter venias, nec ut me sensu carnis agnoscas; ad sublimiora te differo, majora tibi praeparo. Cum ad Patrem meum ascendero, tunc me perfectius veriusque palpabis, apprehensura quod non tangis, et creditura quod non cernis. Cum autem ascendentem ad coelos Dominum sequaces discipulorum oculi intenta admiratione suspicerent, astiterunt coram ipsis angeli duo mirabili vestium candore fulgentes, qui et dixerunt: Viri Galilaei, quid statis aspicientes in coelum? Hic Jesus qui assumptus est a vobis in coelum, sic veniet, quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in coelum. Quibus verbis omnes Ecclesiae filii docebantur ut Jesus Christus in eadem qua ascenderat carne venturus visibilis crederetur; nec posset ambigi omnia illi esse subjecta, cui ab ipso corporeae nativitatis exordio famulatus servisset angelicus. Sicut enim concipiendum Christum de Spiritu Sancto beatae Virgini angelus nuntiavit, sic et editum de Virgine vox coelestium pastoribus cecinit: sicut resurrexisse a mortuis, supernorum nuntiorum prima testimonia docuerunt, sic ad judicandum mundum in ipsa carne venturum, angelorum officia praedicarunt: ut intelligeremus quantae potestates sint adfuturae cum judicaturo, cui tantae ministraverunt etiam judicando. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo LXXIV Source: Migne PL 54.398-99

Therefore, dearly beloved, the Son of Man and Son of God, gained a more excellent and holier fame, when He took Himself back to the glory of the paternal majesty, and in an ineffable manner began to be more present in his Divinity, after having been made more distant in His humanity. Then a better instructed faith began to draw nearer with the advance of the mind to the equality of the Son with the Father, without the handling of the corporeal substance in Christ, by which He is less than the Father, 1 since, while the nature of the glorified Body remained the faith of believers was called to touch, not with carnal hand, but with spiritual understanding the Only-begotten, equal with the Father. Hence it was that after His resurrection, when Mary Magdalene, representing the Church, hastened to approach and touch, the Lord said: 'Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father' 2 that is, I would not have you come to me in corporeal way, nor recognise Me in carnal fashion, for I put you off for higher things, I prepare you for greater things. When I have ascended to My Father, then you shall grasp me more perfectly and truly, understanding what you do not touch and believing what you do not see. And when the eyes of the disciples followed the ascending Lord to heaven with intent wonder, two angels stood by them in vestments shining with wondrous brightness, and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come as you saw Him going into heaven.' 3 By which words all the sons of the Church were taught to believe that Jesus Christ will come visibly in the same Flesh with which He ascended, and not to doubt that all things are subjected to Him on Whom from the first beginning of His birth the service of the angels had attended. For as an angel announced to the blessed Virgin that Christ should be conceived by the Holy Spirit, so the voice of celestial beings sang of His birth from the Virgin to the shepherds. As supernal heralds gave first witness to His resurrection from the dead, so it was for the angels to speak of His coming in same flesh for the judgement of the world, that we might understand what great powers will be with Him in the future judgement, when such ones ministered to Him even in His being judged. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 74 1 Jn 14.28 2 Jn 20.17  3 Act 1.11

Times Of Forgiveness

Multiplex misericordia Dei ita lapsibus subvenit humanis, ut non solum per baptismi gratiam, sed etiam per poenitentiae medicinam spes vitae reparetur aeternae, ut qui regenerationis dona violassent, propio se judicio condemnantes, ad remissionem criminum pervenirent: sic divinae bonitatis praesidiis ordinatis, ut indulgentia Dei nisi supplicationibus sacerdotum nequeat obtineri. Mediator enim Dei et hominum homo Christus Jesus hanc praepositis Ecclesiae tradidit potestatem, ut et confitentibus actionem poeniteniae darent, et eosdem salubri satisfactione purgatos, ad communionem sacramentorum per januam reconciliationis admitterent. Cui utique operi incessabiliter ipse Salvator intervenit, nec umquam ab his abest quae ministris suis exsequenda commisit, dicens, Ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi: ut si quid per servitutem nostram bono ordine et gratulando impletur effectu, non ambigamus per Spiritum sanctum fuisse donatum. Si autem aliquis eorum pro quibus Domino supplicamus, quocumque interceptus obstaculo, munere indulgentiae praesentis exciderit, et priusquam ad constituta remedia perveniat, temporalem vitam humana conditione finierit, quod manens in corpore non recepit, consequi exutus carne non poterit. Nec necesse est nos eorum qui sic obierint merita actusque discutere, cum Dominus Deus noster, cujus judicia nequent comprehendi, quod sacerdotale ministerium implere non potuit, suae justitiae reservaverit: ita potestatem suam timeri volens, ut hic terror omnibus prosit, et quod quibusdam tepidis aut negligentibus accidit, nemo non metuat. Multum enim utile ac necessarium est ut peccatorum reatus ante ultimum diem sacerdotali supplicatione solvatur. His autem qui in tempore necessitatis et in periculi urgentis instania praesidium poenitentiae et mox reconciliationis implorant, nec satisfactio interdicenda est, nec reconciliatio deneganda: quia misericordiae Dei nec mensuras possumus penere, nec tempora definire, apud qum nullas patitur vaniae moras vera conversio, dicente Spiritu Dei per prophetam: Cum conversus ingemueris, tunc salvus eris. Et alibi: Dic tu iniquitates tuas prior, ut justificeris. Et iterum: Quia apud Dominum misericordia est, et coposia apud eum redemptio. In dispensandis itaque Dei donis non debemus esse difficles, nec accusantium se lacrymas gemitusque negligere, cum ipsam poenitendi affectionem ex Dei credamus inspiratione conceptam, dicente Apostolo: Ne forte det illis Deus poenitentiam, ut resipiscant a diaboli laquies, a quo captivi tenentur ad ipsius voluntatem. Unde oportet unumquemque Christianum conscientiae suae habere judicium, ne converti ad Deum de die in diem differat, nec satisfactionis sibi tempus in fine vitae suae constituat: quia periculose hac se conditione fragilitas et ignorantia humana concludit, ut ad paucaruum horarum se reservet incertum; et cum possit pleniore satisfactione indulgentiam promereri, illius temporis angustias eligat, quo vix inveniat spatium vel confessio poenitentis, vel reconciliatio sacerdotis. Verum, ut dixi, etiam talium necessitati ita auxiliandum est, ut et actio illis poenitentiae, et communionis gratia, si eam, etiam amisso vocis officio, per indicia integri sensus postulant, non negetur. At si aliqua vi aegritudinis ita fuerint aggravati, ut quod paulo ante poscebant, sub praesentia sacerdotis significare non valeant, testimonia eis fidelium circumstantium prodesse debebunt, ut simul et poenitentiae et reconciliationis beneficium consequantur; servata tamen regula canonum paternorum circa eorum personas qui in Deum a fide discedendo peccarunt. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Epistula CVIII, Ad Theodorum Forojuliensem Episcopum

The manifold mercy of God so helps folk in their falls that not only by the grace of baptism but also by the medicine of penitence is the hope of eternal life repaired, that they who have violated the gifts of regeneration, in their own judgment condemning themselves, may come to forgiveness of their errors, the provisions of the Divine Goodness having ordained that God's indulgence cannot be obtained without the supplications of priests. For the Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, has given this power to those that are set over the Church, that they should both grant a course of penitence to those who confess, and, when they are cleansed by salutary correction, admit them through the door of reconciliation to communion in the sacraments. In which work assuredly the Saviour Himself unceasingly takes part and is never apart from those things which He has committed to his ministers to perform, saying: 'Behold, I am with you all the days even to the end of the age,' 1 so that whatever is accomplished through our service in good order and with satisfactory effects we doubt not that it has been given through the Holy Spirit. But if any one of those for whom we pray to God be prevented by some obstacle and he be cut off from the gift of immediate absolution, and before he come to the remedies appointed, the time of his life in human state is brought to an end, that which he did not receive while in the body he will not be able to obtain stripped of the flesh. And there is no need for us to weigh the merits and acts of those who have thus died, when the Lord our God, whose judgments cannot be comprehended, has reserved for His own judgement that which our priestly ministry could not fulfill, for He wishes His power to be so feared that this fear may benefit all, that all we be in fear of what happens to the tepid or negligent. It is most useful and essential that the guilt of sins should be loosed by priestly supplication before the last day of life. And yet to those in the time of their need and in pressing danger who implore the aid of penitence and then reconciliation, neither amendment nor reconciliation must be forbidden, because we cannot place limits on God's mercy nor set times for Him with whom true conversion suffers no delay of forgiveness, as the spirit God says by the Prophet, 'When you have turned and lamented, then will you be saved.' 2 And elsewhere, 'Tell your iniquities beforehand, that you may be justified.' 3 And again, 'For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption.' 4  And so in dispensing God's gifts we must not be severe, nor neglect the tears and groans of those who accuse themselves, when we believe the very affection of penitence is inspired by God, as the Apostle says, 'Lest perhaps God will give them repentance that they may save themselves from devil's snares, by whom they are held captive at his will.'  5  Hazardous as deathbed repentance is, the grace of absolution must not be refused even when it can be asked for only by signs. Hence it befits each one to attend to the judgment of his own Christian conscience, lest he defers the day of conversion to God and fix the time  at the end of his life, for it is very dangerous for human frailty and ignorance to enclose itself in  the uncertainty of a few hours and instead of gaining indulgence by fuller amendment to choose the narrow limits of that time when scarcely space is found for the penitent's confession or the priest's absolution. But truly, as I said, even such folk's needs must be so assisted that the act of penitence and the grace of communion be not denied them, even if they demand it when their voice is lost by the signs of an undamaged intellect. And if they are so distressed by the force of of their sickness that they cannot signify in the priest's presence what they had just been asking for, the testimony of the faithful standing near must be theirs that they may obtain the benefit of penitence and reconciliation simultaneously, insofar as the regulations of the canons of the Fathers are observed concerning those who have sinned against God by forsaking the faith. Pope Leo the Great, from Letter 108, to Theodore, bishop of Forum Julii 1 Mt 28:20 2 Is 30.15 LXX  3 Is 43.26, LXX  4 Ps 129.7  5 Tim 2:25-26

Hope and the Transfiguration

In qua transfiguratione illud quidem principaliter agebatur, ut de cordibus discipulorum crucis scandalum tolleretur; nec conturbaret eorum fidem voluntariae humilitas passionis, quibus revelata esset abscondita excellentia dignitatis. Sed non minore providentia spes sanctae Ecclesiae fundabatur, ut totum corpus Christi agnosceret quali esset commutatione donandum, et ejus sibi honoris consortium membra promitterent, qui in capite praefulsisset. De qua idem Dominus dixerat, eum ed adventus sui majestate loqueretur: Tunc justi fulgebunt sicut sol in regno Patris sui; protestante hoc ipsum beato Paulo apostolo, et dicente: Existimo enim quod non sunt condignae passiones hujus temporis ad futuram gloriam, quae revelabitur in nobis; et iterum: Mortui enim estis, et vita vesta abscondita est cum Christo in Deo. Cum enim Christus apparuerit vita vestra, tunc et vos apparebitis cum ipso in gloria. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo LXXVIII

The Transfiguration was principally performed to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of the disciples, that their faith should not be troubled by the humiliation of His voluntary Passion by the revelation of the excellence of His hidden dignity. But with no less foresight was laid the foundation of the hope of the Holy Church, that the whole body of Christ might know the character of the change which would be given, and that the members might have confidence in a share in that honour which had shone forth in their Head. To which the Lord referred when He spoke of the majesty of His coming: 'Then will the righteous shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father,' 1 and the blessed Apostle Paul gives witness to the same thing, saying, 'For I judge that the sufferings of this time are not worthy of the future glory which will be revealed in us.' 2 And again, 'For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. For when Christ your life appears, then you will also appear with Him in glory.' 3 Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 78  1 Mt 13:43  2 Rom 8:18  3 Col 3:3