Separated For The Gospel

Segregatus in evangelium Dei. Εὐαγγέλιον, bonum nuntium interpretatur, quo peccatores ad indulgentiam convocantur. Apostolus autem quo modo in Judaismo locum doctoris habebat, ut pote Pharisaeus, ita a Judaismi praedicatione separatum se dicit in evangelium Dei, ut a lege dissimulans Christum praedicaret. Aliter: Segregatus, hoc est, a grege apostolico separatus, ut gentibus praedicaret. Sicut in Actibus apostolorum Spiritus sanctus dicit: Segregate mihi Saulum et Barnabam, in opus ad quod elegi eos. Segregatus dicitur in evangelium Dei, sicut alibi ipse de se dicit: Cum autem placuit Deo, qui me segregavit de utero matris meae, ut revelaret Filium suum in me: ex quo intelligimus, quod justi separentur a ventre. Ergo et Paulus quidem segregatus in Evangelium dicitur, segregatus a ventre matris suae. Causas in eo et merita quibus in hoc segregari debuerit, vidit ille quem non latet mens: praevidit enim quod abundantius quam caeteri omnes laboraturus esset in evangelio, quod in siti, et in fame, et in frigore, et in nuditate, in periculis latronum, in periculis fluminum, in periculis maris praedicaturus esset evangelium Christi. In evangelium Dei. Unum atque idem est dicere, et evangelium Dei, evangelium Christi, quod ipse Dominus dicit: Ego et Pater unum sumus. Et iterum dicit ad Patrem: Omnia mea tua sunt, et tua mea. Ergo evangelium Patris, evangelium Filii est. Sedulius Scotus, Collectanea in omnes B. Pauli epistolas, In Epistolam ad Romanos, Caput Primam Source: Migne PL 103.12a-c

Separated for the Gospel of God... 1 Euaggelion is translated as good news, by which sinners are called to forgiveness. The Apostle held the position of teacher in Judaism, while a Pharisee, and thus he says that he was separated from the preaching of Judaism for the Gospel of God, so that detached from the law he might preach for Christ. Otherwise, he was separated from the flock of the Apostles so that he might preach to the Gentiles. As in the Acts of the Apostles when the Holy Spirit says, 'Set apart for me Saul and Barnabas, I have chosen them for a work.' 2 It is said, then, he was separated for the Gospel of God and also elsewhere he says of himself, 'When it was pleasing to God, he separated me from the womb of my mother, so that He might reveal His Son in me.' 3 From which we understand that the righteous are separated from the womb. Therefore Paul is said to be separated for the Gospel by being separated from the womb of his mother. The reasons and merits by which he deserved to be separated for this, He sees whom nothing escapes, for He foresees that he would labour more abundantly then any other in the the Gospel, so that in thirst and in hunger, and in cold and in nakedness, and in peril of bandits and in peril of rivers and of seas, he would preach the Gospel of Christ. 4 'For the Gospel of God.' One and the same thing is it to say the Gospel of God and the Gospel of Christ, since the Lord says, 'I am the Father are one.' And again He says to the Father, 'Everything mine is yours and yours is mine.' 5 Therefore the Gospel of the Father is the Gospel of the Son. Sedulius Scotus, Commentary On The Letters of Saint Paul, On the Letter to the Romans, Chapter 1 1 Rom 1.1 2 Acts 13.2 3 Galat 1.15-16 4 2 Cor 11.27 5 Jn 10.30, 17.10

The Ruin Of The Impious

Ἐπετίμησας ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἀπώλετο ὁ ἀσεβής· τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐξήλειψας εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος. Οὐ γὰρ ἠνέσχου, φησὶν, ἐπὶ πλεῖστον περιϊδεῖν τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύσιν ὑπὸ τοῦ πικροῦ τυράννου δουλουμένην κακῶς, ἀλλ' οἷόν τις δικαστὴς, ἐπὶ θρόνου τινὸς ὑψηλοῦ καὶ φοβεροῦ βήματος καθίσας, τοιαύτην αὐτῷ τιμωρίαν ἐπ ήνεγκας, ὥστε λήθῃ παντελεῖ τούτου παραδοθῆναι τὴν μνήμην. Τὸ δέ γε, Ἐπετίμησας ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἀπ ώλετο ὁ ἀσεβὴς, ταύτην ἔχει τὴν διάνοιαν· ∆ιὰ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀποστόλων, καὶ τῶν μετ' ἐκείνους τῆς ἀλη θείας κηρύκων, προσήνεγκες τοῖς ἔθνεσι τὰ θεῖα δόγματα· ἐκείνων δὲ δεξαμένων, καὶ τῆς πλάνης ἀπαλλαγέντων, ἀπώλετο ὁ ἀσεβὴς, τοὺς ἀπατωμέ νους καὶ προσκυνοῦντας οὐκ ἔχων. Οὕτω Βαρνά βας καὶ Παῦλος θῦσαι πειραθεῖσι Λυκάοσιν ἐπετί μησαν βοῶντες· Τί ποιεῖτε, ἄνδρες; καὶ ἡμεῖς ὁμοιοπαθεῖς ἐσμεν ὑμῖν ἄνθρωποι, ἀπὸ τούτων τῶν ματαίων πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὑμᾶς ἐπιστρέφοντες. Οὕτω Γαλάταις ὁ μακάριος ἐπετίμησε Παῦλος· Ὦ ἀνόητοι Γαλάται, τίς ὑμᾶς ἐβάσκανεν, οἷς κατ' ὀφθαλμοὺς Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς προεγράφη ἐσταυρωμέ νος; Οὕτω Κορινθίοις· Ὅλως ἀκούεται ἐν ὑμῖν πορνεία, καὶ τοιαύτη πορνεία, οἵα οὐδ' ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὀνομάζεται. Ἐπετίμησε τοίνυν ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἀπώλετο ὁ ἀσεβὴς, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐξήλειψεν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος. Ἐσβέσθησαν γὰρ παν τελῶς τῆς ἀσεβείας αἱ τελεταὶ, καὶ λήθῃ παντελεῖ παρεδόθησαν, ὡς μηδένα τῶν νῦν ἀνθρώπων εἰδέ ναι τὰ τῆς ἀσεβείας μυστήρια. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός Θ’ Source: Migne PG 80.924a-b

The nations cried out, and the wicked perished, their name you have destroyed forever, for all the ages. 1 For you do no tolerate for long that human nature should be despised and reduced by that bitter tyrant to slavery, but as a judge upon his high throne in a fearful tribunal you imposed such a punishment on him so that his memory would be lost in forgetfulness forever. But these words, 'The nations cried out and the wicked perished,' has this meaning, that through the holy Apostles, and the proclaimers of truth who came after them, you brought the Divine teachings to the nations, who when they received them were freed from error, and so wickedness perished, no longer having any persuasive adulators. So Paul and Barnabas cried out loudly to the Lycaones who were about to offer sacrifice to them, 'O men, what are you doing? We are but mortal, just like you men. Be done with these vain offerings to God.' 2 So even Paul cries out to the Galatians, 'O foolish Galatians, who has enthralled you, before the eyes of whom Jesus Christ was openly crucified? And to the Corinthians, 'What fornication is heard among you, that is not even named among the Gentiles.' 3 Therefore the nations cried out, and the wicked perished, and their name was destroyed forever, for all the ages. For all their impious rites came to an end and were sunk in oblivion, so that none among men now know the mysteries of their impieties. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 9 1 Ps 9.6 2 Acts 14.14 3 Galat 3.1, 1 Cor 5.1

Glory And Disgrace

..αἰσχύνθητε ἀπὸ καυχήσεως ὑμῶν ἀπὸ ὀνειδισμοῦ ἔναντι Kυρίου. Ἴδωμεν δὲ καὶ ἑξῆς ἐπίπληξιν ἀναγχαίαν ἣν καλὸν εἰς τὸν ἐθικὸν τόπον ἀναλαθεῖν λέγουσαν" Αἷσχύγθητε ἀπὸ καυχήσεως ὑμῶν, ἀπὸ ὀνειδισμοῦ ἐναντίον Κυρίου. Ἔστι τινὰ ἐν οἷς καυχώμεθα δια τὴν ἄνοιαν, οὐχ οὖσιν καυχήσεως ἀξίοις οἷον ἐάν καυχήσηταί τις, ὅτι πλούσιός ἐστι, καὶ πολλὰ χέχτηται, λέγοιτ᾽ ἂν πρὸς αὐτόν Αἰσχύγθητε ἀπὸ καυχήσεως ὑμῶν. Ἐὰν καυχήσηται τι; ἐπὶ εὐγενείξ ταύτῃ τῇ ἐκτὸς, λεχθήσεται πρὸς αὐτόν" Αἰσχύγθητε ἀπὸ καυχήσεως ὑμῶν. Ἐὰν καυχήσηταί τις ἐπὶ πολυτελείᾳ ἱματίων, ἐπὶ οἰκοδομῇ οἰχίας πλουσίως κατεσχευασμένης, ἀλλοτρία ἐστὶν ἡ καύχησις καυχῆς σεως ἁγίων" διὸ λεχθήσεται πρὸς τὸν τοιοῦτον᾽ Αἰσιχὺγθητε ἀπὸ καυχήσεως ὑμῶν. Άkουε τοῦ λόγου τοῦ προφήτου Ἱερεμίου χελεύοντος ἡμᾶς μὴ καυχᾶσθαι· Μηδὲ ὁ σοφὸς ἐπὶ τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτοῦ, μηδὲ ὀϊσχυρὸς ἐν τῇ ἰσχύϊ αὑτοῦ, μηδὲ ὁ πιλούσιος ἐν' τῷ πιλούτῳ αὐτοῦ, μηδὲ ἐν τούτῳ καυχάσθω ὁ καυχώμενος, συγιεῖν καὶ γιγώσκειν, ὅτι ἐγώ εἶμι Κύριος. θέλεις καυχᾶσθαι, καὶ καυχώμενος μὴ ἀκοῦσαι, Αἰσχύνθητε ἀπὸ καυχήσεως ὑμῶν; Καύχησαι ὡς ᾿Απόστολος, καὶ εἰπέ ᾿Εμοὶ δὲ μὴ γέγοιτο καυχᾶσθαι εἰ μὴ ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι' οὗ ἐμοὶ κόσμος ἐσταύρωται, κἀγὼ τῷ κόσμῳ. Θέλεις kαυχᾶσθαι ἵνα μὴ ἐλεγχθῇς· Αἰσιχύνθητε ἀπὸ kαυχήσεως ὑμῶν; Ἄκουε Παύλου καυχωμένου, καὶ μάνθανε, ὅταν λέγῃ· Ἥδιστα οὗν καυχήσομαι ἐν ταῖς ἀσθεγείαις μου, ἵν ἐπισκηγώσῃ ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ ἡ δύναμις τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἄκουε οἷα καυχᾶται καυχήματα Eν κόποις περισσοτέρως. Τίς δύναται ἡμῶν τοῦτο εἰπεῖν; Ἐν φυλακαῖς ὑπερβαλλιόντως. ἐν θανάτοις πολλιάκις ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων πεντάχις τεσσαράκοντα παρὰ μίαν ἔλαβον, τρὶς ἐῤῥαῦδίσθην, ἅπαξ ἐλιθάσθηγν, τρὶς ἐραυάγησα. Μανθάνομεν οὖν χαὶ χαυχήσεων εἶναι διαφοράς᾽ ὥς τινας μὲν χαυχήσεις εἶναι αἰσχύνης ἀξίας, ἐφ᾽ οἷς λέγοιτ᾽ ἂν ἐχεῖνο τὸ ἀποστολιχόν᾽ Καὶ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ αἰσχύνῃ αὐτῶν. Ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἔδει αὐτοὺς αἰσχύνεσθαι, ἐπὶ τούτοις οἴονται δοξάζεσθαι. Ὠριγένης Ἰερεμίας, Ὁμολία IA' Source: Migne PG 13.324c-325a

...you are disgraced in your glorying, in your shame before the Lord. 1 Let us see what else there is here for needful correction, which we should receive in a moral sense: 'You are disgraced in your glorying, in your shame before me.' There are many things in which we glory and show our lack of sense. For example, if some glory in their many possessions, He says to them, 'You are disgraced in your glorying.' If some glory in the nobility of their family, it is said to them, 'You are disgraced in your glorying.' If someone fall into boasting over expensive clothing, over a house adorned with much wealth, he is far from the glory of the saints, and it is said to him: 'You are disgraced in your glorying.' Hear what the Divine speech says to Jeremiah, exhorting us not to glory in our wisdom, 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the rich man in his riches, he who would glory let him glory in understanding and knowing that I am the Lord.' 2 You wish to glory and not hear in your glorying: 'You are disgraced in your glorying.' ? Glory like the Apostle and say, 'Let it no be for me to glory but in the cross of Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.' 3 You wish to glory and not hear, 'You are disgraced in your glorying'? Hear Paul glorying and learn when he says, 'Gladly, then, I glory in my weaknesses so that the power of Christ might dwell in me.' 4 Hear what the glories are that he glories in, 'In much labour.' Who can say this? 'In a long time in prison, often among the dead, from the Jews who gave me forty five lashes less one, three blows of the stick, and once I was stoned, three times I suffered shipwreck.' 5 Let us learn the differences between glories and that some glory in what is shameful, and some in the things the Apostle speaks of. 'And their glory is in their disgrace.' 6 Over things which disgrace them, these they think make them glorious. Origen, from the Eleventh Homily on Jeremiah 1 Jerem 12.13 2 Jerem 9.23-24 3 Galat 6.14 4 2 Cor 12.9 5 2 Cor 11.23-25 6 Philip 3.19

Paul And Mercy

Merito, fratres, apostolis sanctis attribuit mater Ecclesia, quod in Sapientiae libris legitur: Hi sunt viri misericordiae, quorum justitiae oblivionem non acceperunt: cum semine eorum permanent bona. Sunt enim hi plane viri misericordiae, sive quia misericordiam consecuti, sive quia misericordia pleni, seu quia misericorditer a Deo nobis donati sunt. Vide quam misericordiam consecuti sunt. Paulum interroga de se ipso, vel magis sponte confitentem ausculta. Qui fui blasphemus, et persecutor, et iniquus; sed misericordiam consecutus sum. Quis enim non audivit quanta mala fecerit sanctis in Jerusalem? nec solum in Jerusalem, sed et per totam Judaeam insaniae ferebatur habenis, ut Christi membra laniaret in terris. Denique hac furia vectus ibat, sed praeventus a gratia est. Ibat spirans minarum et caedis in discipulos Domini, et discipulus Domini factus est, cui ostenderetur quanta eum oporteret pro nomine ipsius pati. Ibat dirum toto corpore virus exhalans, et subito in electionis vas mutatus est, ut jam cor illius eructaret verbum bonum, verbum pium, et diceret: Domine, quid me vis facere? Haec utique, haec mutatio dexterae Excelsi. Merito proinde loquebatur: Fidelis sermo et omni acceptione dignus, quoniam Dominus Jesus venit peccatores salvos facere quorum primus ego sum. Hoc ergo apud beatum Paulum fiduciae et consolationis accipite, fratres, ut ad Dominum jam conversos non nimis cruciet praeteritorum, conscientia delictorum; sed tantum humiliet vos, sicut et ipsum. Ego sum, inquit, minimus apostolorum, qui non sum dignus vocari apostolus, quia persecutus sum Ecclesiam Dei. Ita et nos humiliemur sub potenti manu Dei, et fiduciam habeamus, 994 quia et nos misericordiam consecuti sumus, abluti sumus, sanctificati sumus. Et hoc quidem omnibus nobis quoniam omnes peccavimus, et egemus hac gloria Dei. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Sanctis, Sermones de Sanctis, In Festo SS Petriet Pauli Apostolorum, Sermo III, De lectione libri Sapientiae: Hi sunt viri misericordiae. Source: Migne PL 183.412c-413a

Rightly brothers, the holy mother Church has attributed to the holy Apostles what is said in the book of Wisdom, 'These men are merciful, their righteousness shall not be forgotten, with their seed good things will persist.' 1 They are indeed men of mercy, either because mercy followed them, or they were full of mercy, or they were given to us by the mercy of God. And observe how mercy followed them. Paul, questioning himself, or rather of his own accord making an open confession, says, 'I who was a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and wicked, but the mercy of God followed me.' 2 Who has not heard of the evil he did to the saints in Jerusalem? And not only in Jerusalem but throughout the whole of Judea, he who was carried about by a madness to wound the members of Christ on earth. Finally his fury was borne away, but grace came first. He was breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, and he was made a disciple of the Lord, to whom it was shown how much it is necessary to suffer for His name. He went about exhaling a dire poison from his body, and suddenly he was changed into a vessel of election, so that now 'my heart sent forth a good word,' a pious word, and he said, 'Lord, what do you want of me?' 3 This was the changing of the right hand of the Most High. Rightly therefore he said, 'The faithful word, worthy of all reception, because the Lord Jesus came to save sinners, of which I am the first.' 4 Therefore, brothers, receive this confidence and consolation along with Paul, that converted to the Lord, the things that have gone before should not torment, nor should consciousness of crimes, but let it humble you as it did him. 'I am,' he said, 'the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God.' 5 Therefore let us place ourselves humbly under the powerful hand of God, and let us be confident that mercy has followed even us, that we are washed, and that we are sanctified. And this applies to all of us, because we have all sinned, we have all fallen short of the glory of God. 6 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Saints, On The Feast Of Saints Peter and Paul, from Sermon 3, Concerning the passage from the Book of Wisdom, 'These are merciful men...' 1 Sirach 44.10-11 2 Tim 1.13 3 Ps 44.2, Acts 9.1-20 4 1 Tim 1.15 5 1 Cor 15.9 6 Rom 3.23

Bearing The Stigmata

Ego autem stigmata Domini Jesu in corpore meo porto. Qui post adventum Christi in carne circumciditur, non portat stigmata Domini Jesu; sed habet gloriam in confusione sua. Qui vero in plagis supra modum, in carceribus frequenter, ter virgis caesus est, semel lapidatus est, et caetera quae in catalogo scripta sunt gloriandi, hic stigmata Domini Jesu in corpore suo portat. Forte et is qui macerat corpus suum, et subjicit servituti, ne aliis praedicans ipse reprobus inveniatur, portat stigmata Domini Jesu in corpore suo. Laetabantur et apostoli quod digni fuerant pro nomine Jesu contumeliam pati. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Epistolam ad Galatas, Liber III, Cap VI Source: Migne PL 26.438a

But I bear the stigmata of the Lord Jesus on my body... 1 He who after the coming of Christ is circumcised in the flesh does not bear the stigmata of the Lord Jesus, but he glories in his confusion. However he who receives blows for the way, and frequent imprisonments, and has fallen three times, and was once stoned, and the other things which are recorded for glory, 2 he bears the stigmata of the Lord Jesus on his body. And perhaps even he who emaciates his body and subjects it to servitude, lest he merit reproof when preaching to others, bears the stigmata of the Lord Jesus on his body. 3 And the Apostles rejoiced that they were worthy to suffer abuse for the name of Jesus. 4 Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Letter to the Galatians, Book 3, Chapter 6 1 Galat 6.17 2 2 Cor 23-25 3 1 Cor 9.27 4 Act 5.41

Labour And Chains

Memor esto Christum Jesum resurrexisse a mortuis ex semine David secundum Evangelium meum, in quo laboro usque ad vincula, quasi latro, sed verbum Dei non alligatum. Quoniam multi futuri erant filii diaboli, qui Filium Dei incarnatum negarent; idcirco hoc memorat, quoniam fallaciter sub nomine apostolorum hoc asseverate nituntur. Subjecit, secundum Evangelium meum, ut excluderet malae mentis falsa colloquia; non enim plus haereticis credendum est de apostolis, quam his ipsis de praedicatione sua testantibus, quam praedictionem cum labore se agere queritur. Pressuris enim tribulabatur et carceribus, eo quod tam Judaeos quam gentiles offenderet, sicut illis videbatur, incredibilia praedicando; iratos enim habebat Judaeos propter Legem, quam cessare docebat: gentiles autem inimicos sibi faciebat, quia unum Deum praedicabat in Christo. Unde quasi latronem hunc tractabant, alligantes, claudentes si posset tacere, nescientes quia verbum Dei alligari non poterat. Denique saepe clausus non dispendium fecit, sed lucrum; neque enim defuit, cui praedicaret in carcere, ut quos libere invitare ad fidem non posset, in vinculis positus pasceret Dei verbo. Ambrosiaster, Commentaria in Epistolam ad Timotheum Secundam, Caput II Source: Migne PL 17.489b

Remember Jesus Christ, resurrected from the dead, from the seed of David, according to my Gospel at which I labour, even to the wearing of chains like a criminal, but the word of God has not been bound. 1 Because there shall be many sons of the devil who deny the incarnation of the Son of God, therefore he reminds him of this which they deceitfully struggle to assert under the name of Apostles. He adds 'according to my Gospel' to exclude the false speech of wicked minds, for heretic apostles should not be trusted more than the testimony of his own preaching, by which preaching with labour he seeks to prove himself. Indeed he suffered persecution and imprisonment because just as he offended Jews, so he offended Gentiles, by preaching, as it seemed to them, unbelievable things. He angered Jews because of the Law which he taught was ended, and he made enemies of Gentiles because he preached one God in Christ. Whence they treated him as a criminal, putting him in chains, as if by shutting him up they might silence him, not knowing that the word of God cannot be fettered. Finally by his frequent imprisonment, he did not suffer loss, but profited, for in prison there was no lack of men to preach to, so that those he was not able to call to faith when free, he fed with the word of God when placed in chains. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Second Letter of Saint Paul To Timothy, Chapter 2 1 2 Tim 2.8-9

Apostles and Prisoners

Paulus vinctus Jesu Christi... In nulla Epistola hoc cognomine usus est, licet in corpore epistolorum, ad Ephesios vidlicet et Philippenses, et Colossense, esse se in vinculis pro confessione testetur. Majoris autem mihi videtur supercilii, vinctum se Jesu Christi dicere, quam Apostolum. Gloriabantur quippe apostoli, quod digni fuerant pro nomine Jesu Christi contumeliam pati; sed necessaria auctoritas vinculorum. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Philemonem Source: Migne PL 26.605a

Paul, a prisoner for Jesus Christ... 1 Paul does not name himself in this way in any other letter, though among the collection of his letters, that is, in Ephesians and in Philippians and Colossians he bears witness that he is in chains because of his confession. But it seems to me it is of more importance to say he is a prisoner of Jesus Christ than an Apostle. Since the Apostles gloried that they were worthy to suffer abuse for the name of Jesus Christ, 2 the prestige of chains is unavoidable. Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Epistle to Philemon 1 Philemon 1 2 Acts 5.41

Grace And Apostleship

Per quem accepimus gratiam et apostolatum... Per quem, sicut reconciliatorem pro peccais nostris, accepimus gratiam, id est ipsorum remissionem peccatorum, per quem, sicut per sapientiam in contemptum praesentium, sapit nobis gratia futurorum. Per quem, inquit, accepimus gratiam et apostolatum: gratiam ad laborum patientiam, apostolatem ad praedictionis auctoritatem, gratiam in persuadendo ea quae persuadenda sunt, apostolatu in coercendo eos qui coercendi sunt. Ad obediendum fidei in omnibus gentibus. Tantam etenim gratiam in hujusmodi apostoli adepti sunt, ut gentes quae erant alienae a testamento Dei and conversatione Israel, non solum in suscipiendo fidem praedictoribus crederent, sed etiam novum vitae modum et religiosae conversationis ordinem pro nominis Christi reverentia suscipere obedirent. Guillelmus S Theodorici Abbas, Expositio In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Liber I, Caput I Source: Migne PG 180.551c-d

Through whom we have received grace and apostleship... 1 'Through whom,' as reconciliation for our sins, 'we have received grace,' that is, for forgiveness of sins. And 'through whom,' as through the wisdom that is contempt of present things he knows the grace of future things for us. Thus 'through whom,' he says, 'we have received grace and apostleship,' grace for patience in toil, and apostleship for authority in preaching, and grace for persuading those things that must be persuaded, and apostleship for ordering those who need to be ordered. 'For the obedience of faith among all peoples.' So great is the grace that this Apostle has received that the peoples who were far estranged from the testament of God and the ways of Israel not only have believed in the taking up of the faith by preaching, but are obedient in the adoption of a new way of life and the rule of religious conduct out of reverence for the name of Christ. William of St Thierry, Commentary on Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans, Book 1, Chapter 1 1 Rom 1.5

The Ways Of Peter And Paul

Christus Saulum in Paulm, Cepham convertit in Petru: nam de ipsis quondoque propheta praedixerat: Et vocabit servos suos nomine alio. Tu es, inquit, Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam. Petra siquidem erat Christus, suumque nomen communicat Petro, ut Petrus petra sit: nam sicut petra sitienti populo aqua in deserto profluxit, ita et a Petro aliis in fide arescentibus salutiferae fidei confessio emanavit. Chrisit ascensurus in coelum Petro suas oves pascendas agnosque commisit; atque post parvae naviculae regimen, eidem gubernaculum magnae navis, id est, totius Ecclesiae magisterium mancipavit. Petro tanquam optimo dispensatori claves domus suae tradidit. Justitia Petri tantam judicandi judicium potestatem, ut de ejus arbitrio coeleste judicium pendeat; nec a Petri sententia etiam angelus appellare praesumat Interrogatus a Domino Petrus quem eum dicerent homines: brevi confessionis compendio divinae majestatis arcanum declarat in Christo. Non revelabit tibi hoc, Petre, caro et sanguis: care enim et sanguis non possidebunt regnum Dei, sed Spiritus Dei Patris, qui in coelis est. Mirabilis piscator, qui olim profunda aequoris scrutabatur, inscrutabile sacramentum deitatis in Christo fideleter confitetur. Interrogante Domino: Petre, amas me? Petrus trinam negationem negotionis confessione delevit. Cum Christus de sacramento suae carnis et sanguinis loqueretur, quidam abierunt retro: multi enim cum Christo ambulant, donec ad edendum carnem ejus et sanguinem veniatur. Quaerente Domino nunquid reliqui vellent abire, Petrus tanquam petra fidei, et publicae veritatis assertor respondens pro omnibus: Domine, inquit, ad quem ibimus? verba vitae aeternae habes. Ac si diceret: Non in solo pane vivit homo, sed in omni verbo quod procedit ex ore Dei. Quam dulcia faucibus meis eloquia tua super mel ori meo. Quid mihi est in coelo, Domine, et a te volui super terram? Coelum et terrae, aer et mare obediunt Petro: Simonem enim Magum, ab aere praecipitat, Tabitham de terra suscitat, super aquas ambulat, Anaiam et Saphiram tanquam Dominus vitae et mortis viventes mortificat: coleum vero potestative claudit et reserat. Audivimus de Petro, vultis audire de Paulo. Audivimus de viro hoc quanta mala fecerit in Jerusalem,qui non solum per Jerosolymam, sed per totam Judeam insania ferebatur ,ut Christi membra laniert in terris. Verumtamen spirans minarum et caedis in discipulos Domini, a Domino in discipulum adoptatur, toto pectore virus exhalans, et blasphemando nomen Domini, de vase blasphemiae factus est vas electionis ut nomen Domini portaret coram regibus. Ubi ergo abundavit delictum, superabundavit et gratia: ideoque mutatus in alterum virum dicebat. Fidelis sermo, et omni acceptione dignus, quoniam venit Dominus Jesus salvos facere peccatores, quorum primus ego sum. Paulus dum adhuc conversaretur in trra, rptus in tetriu caelum, in schola sanctae Trinitatis didicit quod ei aliis communicae non licuit. Si ergo nobis aperuit quae mens humana non potest comprehendere, quanta sunt ea quae nobis prohibitus est aperire? Quia Paulum schola coelestis instuxerat, ei tanquam idoneo doctori Dominus magisterium ecclesiasticae instructionis injunxit. Quod Elymam percussit, quod Eutychum morti abstulit, quod fame, quod nuditatem, quod sitim, quod omnia fere humane conditionis pericula pro Christo sustinuit, et caetera quae in Actis apostolorum leguntur Paulo cedunt ad cumulum gloriae et honoris. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XXVIII, De SS. Petro et Paulo Source: Migne PL 207.644b-645c

Christ changed Saul to Paul, and Cephas to Peter, as a prophet once foretold, 'And He shall call His servants by another name.' 1 'You are Peter,' He says, 'and on this rock I shall build my Church.' 2 Certainly, 'the stone was Christ,' 3 and His name He communicated to Peter, so that Peter might be a rock, for as water flowed for a thirsty people in a desert, so from Peter there shoots forth to others a salutary confession of faith. Christ, who was about to rise into heaven, committed the feeding of His sheep and lambs to Peter, 4 and after the steering of little boats, gave to him the piloting of a great ship, that is the headship of the whole Church. He gave the keys of His house to Peter as the best of stewards. The righteousness of Peter has such great power of discernment for judging that on his will the heavenly judgement depends, nor would an angel presume to appeal against the sentence of Peter. Asked by the Lord whom men said He was, Peter with a brief confession of the secret of the Divine majesty declared Him to be Christ. Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, Peter, for flesh and blood shall not possess the kingdom of God, 5 but it was the Spirit of God the Father who is in heaven. Wondrous fisherman, who once scrutinised the depths of the sea, now faithfully confesses the inscrutable mystery of the Godhead in Christ. Asked by the Lord, 'Do you love me?' Peter wiped away the three denials with three confessions. When Christ spoke of the mystery of His flesh and blood, some turned back, for many had walked with Christ until it came to the eating of His flesh and blood, and when the Lord asked if the rest of them wished to go away, Peter as the rock of faith and the witness of open truth answered for everybody, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.' As if he said, 'Not on bread alone does a man live but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' 6 'How sweet in my throat your words, surpassing honey in my mouth.' 'What is there for me in heaven, O Lord, and what have I wished for from you on the earth?' 7 Heaven and earth, air and sea obeyed Peter, for he cast down Simon Magus from the air, and he lifted up Tabitha from the earth, and he walked on water, and he slew Ananias and Sapphira, as the lord of life and death, who has the power to close heaven and to open it. 8 We have heard of Peter, now hear of Paul. We have heard that this man did much evil in Jerusalem, and not only in Jerusalem, but that through all Judea he was borne about by a madness, so that he might wound the members of Christ on earth. However, breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, he was taken up as a disciple by the Lord. 9 Retching forth venom from his breast and blaspheming the name of the Lord, from a vessel of blasphemy he was made into a vase of election of the Lord, so that he might bear the name of the Lord before kings. 'Thus where wickedness abounded so grace abounded more,' 10 and changed into another man he said, 'The word is faithful and worthy of all reception, because the Lord Jesus came to save sinners, of whom I am the first.' 11 Paul while yet living on earth was caught up to the third heaven 12 and in the school of the Holy Trinity learned what he was not permitted to speak of to others. If therefore he revealed to us what the human mind is not able to grasp, how greater are those things which were prohibited to be revealed to us? Because the Lord instructed Paul in the heavenly school, to him alone did He enjoin the teaching office of a capable doctor of the Church. He struck Elymas, he brought back Eutychus from the dead, hunger, nakedness, thirst, and everything that is perilous to the human condition he endured for Christ, 13 and the rest of the things which are told in the Acts of the Apostle which befell Paul for sake of the height of glory and honour. Peter of Blois, from Sermon 28, On The Feast of the Saints Peter and Paul 1 Isaiah 65.16 2 Mt 16.16 3 1 Cor 10.4 4 Jn 21.15-17 5 1 Cor 15.50 6 Jn 6.68, Mt 4.4 7 Ps 118.103, Ps 72.25 8 Acts 8.9-24, Acts 9.36-41, Acts 5.1-11 9 Acts 8.1-20 10 Rom 5.20 11 1 Tim 1.15 12 2 Cor 12.2-5| 13 Acts 13.6-12, Acts 20.9-11, 1 Cor 4.11

Different Types Of Wisdom

...ἡ γὰρ καύχησις ἡμῶν αὕτη ἐστίν, τὸ μαρτύριον τῆς συνειδήσεως ἡμῶν... Τὸ πρὸς θεὸν ἡμῶν καύχημα μαρτυρεῖται ἐκ τῆς συνειδήσεως· εἴρηται δὲ περὶ τῆς συνειδήσεως τῆς μὴ δεχομένης πρόσωπον. Aὕτη οὖν ἡ καύχησις ἥτις μαρτύριον τῆς συνειδήσεως ἡμῶν ὑπάρχει, παρεσκεύασεν ἐν ἁγιότητι καὶ εἰλικρινείᾳ ἀλλὰ μὴ ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῃ παιδεύσει ἀναστραφῆναι ἐν παντὶ τῷ κόσμῳ, μάλιστα δὲ πρὸς ὑμᾶς· ὁ γὰρ κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον παιδεύων οὐκ ἀνθρωπίνην ἐπαγγέλλεται διδασκαλίαν ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων γινομένην γραφῶν, ἥτις διὰ τὸ ἐκτὸς εἶναι κηλῖδός τινος εἰλικρινής ἐστιν. Σαρκίνην δὲ σοφίαν τὴν περὶ αἰσθητῶν ὠνόμασεν, ἣν ὁ ἔχων οὐ χωρεῖ τὴν τοῦ Πνεύματος σοφίαν, μωρίαν αὐτὴν λογιζόμενος. Ἔθος δὲ τῇ γραφῇ τὰ περὶ τῶν κοσμικῶν καὶ ὑλικῶν μαθήματα σάρκινα καλεῖν· οὕτω γοῦν καὶ φρόνημα λέγεται τῆς σαρκός, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τῆς σαρκὸς καταλέγονται αἱρέσεις, φαρμακεῖαι, εἰδωλολατρεῖαι. οὐ γὰρ ἔτι ταῦτα σάρκινα ῥητέον παρονομαζόμενα ἀπὸ τῆς αἰσθητῆς σαρκός· εἴρηται γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς ὑλικῆς ἕξεως καθ' ἣν ὁ ἐνεργῶν κατὰ σάρκα περιπατεῖν λέγεται, καὶ γίνεται σάρκινος πραθεὶς ὑπὸ ἁμαρτίαν. Ὅμως δὲ εἰ καὶ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ἀνεστράφημεν ἐν ἁγιότητι καὶ εἰλικρινείᾳ, ἀλλ' οὖν τοῦτο πρὸς ὑμᾶς μᾶλλον καὶ μᾶλλον πεποιήκαμεν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Τὴν Δευτέραν Ἐπιστολήν Παύλου Πρὸς Κορινθίους Source: Migne PG 39.1686b

...for it is our boast, whose witness is our conscience... 1 The boast before God has its witness from conscience, which conscience is said to be no respecter of persons. This, then, is the boast whose witness is conscience, that he has conducted himself with holiness and purity, not according to a human way of teaching in any place of the world, especially among you, for he who is educated in the rule of the Gospel can hardly be said to proclaim human teaching, but that which Holy Scripture hands down. And he goes on to speak of a carnal wisdom of sensible things, which he who has, cannot have the wisdom of the Spirit, because it is thought to be foolish. It is the custom of Scripture to name worldly and material disciplines carnal. So there is mention of a carnal wisdom 2 and heresies are reckoned among the work of the flesh, and likewise witchery and idolatry, 3 but it is not that these things which are called carnal, by the giving of such a name, are actually flesh, but they are said rather to come from material affection, by which he who acts is said to walk according to the flesh, and to be handed over to sin. Even so, he then continues, even if in all the world we have conducted ourselves with holiness and purity, we have done so much more with you. Didymus the Blind, On The Second Letter of Saint Paul to The Corinthians, Fragment 1 2 Cor 1.12 2 Rom 8.6 3 Galat 5.20

The Silver Trumpets

Fac tibi duas tubas argenteas ductiles... Quarum varietate vocum populus congregatur ad praelium praeparatum, et in festivitate cantetur. Hae tubae argenteae sunt Petrus et Paulus, qui sunt argentei nitore eloquii, ductiles super incudem cordis Spiritus sancti malleo fabricatam. His ad Ecclesiam nos populi circumcisionis et gentium congregamur, contra hostes vitiorum et daemonum dimicare, et eos superare docemur, ac discimus bene vivendo, mores componendo, et in via mandatorum currendo, qualiter Deo hostias laudis et jubilationis immolemus, gratum Deo festum celebrantes. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber III, Tit LXIX, De duabis tubis argenteis et earum usu ad Petrum et Paulum applicatis Source: Migne PL 177.676d-677a

Make for yourself two trumpets of beaten silver... 1 Which with different voices call the people to gather for preparation for battle and to sing at feasts. These silver trumpets are Peter and Paul, whose eloquence is of the brightness of silver, shaped on the anvil of the heart, fashioned with the hammer of the Holy Spirit. By these the people of the circumcision and of the Gentiles are gathered to the Church to struggle against the opposing forces of the vices and demons, and we are taught how to overcome them, and we learn how to live well, ordering our conduct, and running in the way of the commandments, and in this sacrificing to God sacrifices of praise and joy, celebrating the joyous feast of God. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 3, Chap 69, On the two silver trumpets and their use applied to Peter and Paul 1 Numb 10.2

Peter And Paul

Apostilici natalis gaudio, fratres carissimi, Petri et Pauli, quorum hodie beatissimis passionibus jucundamur, laetior per universum mundum Christi exsultat Eccleisa; quae licet omnium se sanctorum martyrio certa sit adornari; quandoquidem videt de hoc saeculo ipsos fidei patres et magistros martyrum triumphasse. Quid enim insignius Petro, qui in carne positus, mensuram carnis egressus, Christum Jesum, vivi Dei Filium verum confitetur, et quod omnium adhuc mortalium pectus latebat, prima Petri lingua novo est sermone confessa. Quid, fratres mei, magnificentius Petro, qui tantae confessionis merito, cum corruptibili adhuc esset in corpore, et nec dum ipse ascendisset in coelum, regnum illi coeleste et claudere et aperire permissum est? Quid sublimius ejus fide qui, gradiente Domino super aquas, humanae conditionis oblitus, viam sibi in fluctibus dari et poposcit et meruit; tantaque mentis ejus confidentia fuit, ut crederet se posse per fidem quod sciebat homini impossibile per naturam? Nam quia postea mergebatur, ut mihi videtur, necessarium fuit, ne tanti sublimitate miraculi in perniciem forte sui aequata Christo carnis fragilitas superbiret. Fuerit certe infirmitatis corporeae, quod paulo post timuit; quis tamen ambigat inimitabilis fidei fuisse, quod eum descendentem de navi, tremula, et inconcussa humanis gressibus maris unda sustinuit? Sed jam veniamus ad beatissimum Paulum; cujus tanta est nihilominus plenitudo fidei, ut peculiarem quodammodo eum sibi ducem ad illuminanda gentium corda cunctorum praescius Salvator eligeret. Erat enim tam praecipuus in doctrina, animi virtute tam potens, innocentia et integritate tam sanctus, ut uno eodemque tempore hinc eum sacerdotes ac principes Judaeorum per aemulationem legis antiquae, data in Christianos persequendi auctoritate, dirigerent; hinc illum ad Ecclesiae solatium atque omnium credentium firmamentum Christus vocaret e coelo; cujus ab hoc sunt a Domino caecati oculi, ut, suscepta gratia veritatis, coelesti acie et lumine clariore fulgerent; pariterque adverteret Christiani nominis princeps futurus Christum, quem persequebatur, caecandi illuminandique habere virtutem. Ut autem praeteream caetera quae eum universo orbi mirabilem faciunt, unum illud, quod ad omnes ejus sufficit laudes, quis valeat aestimare quantae sit gloriae, quod cum inter homines ageret, speciali quadam Divinitatis gratia, et paradisus illi penetrabilis, et coelum pervium fuit? Quid ergo, fratres, hoc doctore perfectius, qui in coelo didicit quod in terris doceret? Quid hoc teste veracius, cui elevato super coelos oculis videre et approbare concessum est quod postmodum promitteret credituris? Haec sunt igitur apostolorum Petri et Pauli stupenda merita; per haec incedentes miracula apostolatum suum Domino ac Deo nostro effusione devoti sanguinis consecrarunt. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LXIX, De eodem natali Sanctorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli II Source: Migne PL 57.397a-398b

I rejoice in the feast day of Peter and Paul, my dearest brothers, whose most blessed passions we celebrate today, and through the whole world the Church of Christ more joyfully exults, she who is permitted to adorn herself with the martyrdoms of all the saints, whenever she sees those fathers and teachers' martyrdom to have triumphed in this world. And indeed more notably with Peter, who placed in the flesh, yet going beyond the measure of the body, confessed Jesus to be the Christ, the true Son of the living God, and because the understanding of that was still hidden from all things mortal, Peter's tongue was the first to announce it with novel speech. 1 What, my brothers, is more magnificent than Peter, who merited so great a confession, that when he was still in the corruptible body, and had not yet ascended to heaven, yet it was given to him to close and open the kingdom of heaven? 2 What is more sublime than his faith, which walking to the Lord on the waters, forgetful of the human condition, asked and was worthy to receive a way for himself on the waves? And how great the confidence of his soul, that he believed it was possible for him to do this through faith, which he knew was impossible for the nature of man? And that later he sank, it seems to me, was necessary, for lest by the sublimity of such a miracle he be puffed up ruinously, he was reduced to the fragility of his flesh by Christ. For certainly there was corporeal infirmity there, because after a little while he became afraid, and he who was of peerless faith hesitated, and descending from the boat he trembled; shall the sea's untrodden waves support human steps? 3 But now let us come to the blessed Paul, who had no less greatness in the plenitude of faith, whence the provident Saviour chose him for the special role of illuminating the hearts of all the Gentiles. He who was so advanced in teaching, and so powerful in the strength of his soul, and so holy in innocence and integrity, that at one and the same time, the priests and leaders of the Jews, through zeal for the old law, directed him, giving him authority for the persecution of Christians,  and from this, to the consolation of the Church and the confirmation of all the faithful, Christ called him from heaven, he whose eyes were by this blinded by the Lord, so that, receiving the grace of truth, the light of heaven might shine sharper and brighter. And so the future prince turned to the Christ of the Christian name, of whom he was a persecutor, to have his blindness enlightened with virtue. 4 But passing over other things which were done to the world's wonder, one thing I will touch on which suffices for all his praise: who can judge the greatness of his glory, that while he lived among men, by a certain special grace of the Divinity, there was made present to him the sanctuary of paradise and the way to heaven? 3 What then, brothers, is more perfect than this teacher who in heaven learnt and in the world taught? What is more true than this witness, who with eyes lifted up over the heavens saw and approved what was given and after promised to the faithful? These, therefore, are the wonderous merits of the Apostles Peter and Paul, who advancing with these miracles, consecrated their apostolate in an effusion of devout blood to their Lord and God. Saint Maximus of Turin, Homily 69, On The Feast Day Of The Holy Apostles Peter And Paul 1 Mt 16.15 2 Mt 16.19 3 Mt 14.25-31 4 Acts 9.1-22 5 2 Cor 12.1-4

Building On The Rock

Omnis ergo qui audit verba mea hæc, et facit ea, similabo eum, inquit, viro sapienti, qui aedificavit domum suam supra petram. Quaerendum igitur quis sit iste architectus, qui aedificavit domum suam supra petram, cui assimilari debeat is qui audit et facit verba Salvatoris? Non enim simpliciter de quolibit artifice domorum accipiendum puto, quae saepe supra petras aedficatae impulsu ventorum praecipitanter ruunt, sed forte de illo qui ait: Ut sapiens architectus fundamentum posui. Magnum itaque est quempiam Paulo assimilari. Ipse enim hoc ait; sed si veraciter inspicimus, magis adhuc est quod promittitur. Quia nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum, in vanum laborant omnes qui aedificant eam. Idcirco licet Petrus aedificet, licet Paulus, licet quilibet sanctorum seu doctorum, Christus est vir sapiens qui aedificat; non quascunque domos, sed unam coelestem in coelis, supra se, qui recte petra est appelatus, fundamento fidei collocatam. Unde in hoc eodem Evangelio Perto dicitur: Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, id est: A qua tu Petrus sortiris nomen, pro firmitate fidei, supra ipsam eamdemque petram aedificabo fundamento fidei Ecclesiam, quae est domus Dei vivi constructa in coelestibus lapidibus pretiosis. Ubi nullus haereticorum aedificat, nullus hypocrita, nullus terrenarum thesaurizatorum, nullus vitiorum sectator, sed soli qui audiunt quod docuit, et faciunt ut docuit. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Lib IV Cap VII Source: Migne PL 120.329b

Therefore everyone who hears my words and does them, I shall liken him to that wise man who built his house on a rock. 1 One must ask, therefore, who this architect is, who built his house on the rock, to whom he should be likened who heard and did the words of the Saviour. For it is not, I think, that this is to be understood as about any builder of houses, which often being set on rock are yet thrown down by blasts of the wind, but perhaps concerning him who said: 'As a wise architect I have placed the foundation.' 2 Great, then, it is for anyone to be likened to Paul. He himself said this, but if we truly inspect it, more is promised. Because 'unless the Lord builds the house, all labour in vain who build it.' 3 So when Peter builds, when Paul, when which ever one of the saints and teachers, Christ is the wise man who builds, and not any sort of house, but the heavenly one in heaven, and upon Himself, who rightly is named the rock, 4 it is set, on the foundation of faith. Whence in this same Gospel it is said to Peter: 'You are Peter and on this rock I shall build my church.' 5 That is, from that which you, Peter, draw your name, on account of the firmness of your faith, on that same rock I shall build my Church, on the foundation of faith, which is the house of the living God constructed in heaven with precious stones. Where no heretic builds, no hypocrite, none who heap up worldly riches, none who pursue the vices, but only the one who hears what He teaches and does what He teaches. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 4, Chap 7 1 Mt 7.24 2 1 Cor 3.10 3 Ps 126.1 4 1 Cor 10.4 5 Mt 16.18

The Church Of Rome

Vultis scire, o Paula et Eustochium, quomodo Apostolus unamquamque provinciam suis proprietatibus denotarit? Usque hodie eadem vel virtutum vestigia permanent, vel errorum. Romanae plebis laudatur fides. Ubi alibi tanto studio et frequentia, ad Ecclesias et ad Martyrum sepulcra concurritur? ubi sic ad similitudinem coelestis tonitrui Amen reboat, et vacua idolorum templa quatiuntur? Non quod aliam habeant Romani fidem, nisi hanc quam omnes Christi Ecclesiae: sed quod devotio in eis major sit, et simplicitas ad credendum. Rursum facilitatis et superbiae arguuntur. Facilitatis, ut ibi: Rogo vos, fratres, ut observetis eos qui dissensiones et offendicula, praeter doctrinam quam vos didicistis, faciunt; et declinate ab illis: hujusmodi enim Christo Domino non serviunt, sed suo ventri; et per dulces sermones et benedictiones seducunt corda innocentium. Vestra enim obedientia in omnem locum pervulgata est. Gaudeo igitur in vobis: et volo vos sapientes esse in bono, et simplices in malo. Superbiae vero: Noli altum sapere, sed time. Et: Nolo vos ignorare, fratres, mysterium hoc, ut non sitis ipsi vobis sapientes. Et in sequentibus: Dico enim per gratiam quae data est mihi, omnibus qui sunt inter vos: non plus sapere quam oportet sapere; sed sapere ad sobrietatem. Et apertius: Gaudere cum gaudentibus, flere cum flentibus. Idipsum invicem sentientes. Non alta sapientes; sed humilibus consentientes. Nolite esse prudentes apud vosmetipsos. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Epistolam ad Galatas, Liber II Source: Migne PL 26.355b-356a

Do you wish to know, O Paula and Eustochium how the Apostle describes each province according to its own characteristic? Even until today remain the same traces of virtues, or errors. The faith of the Roman people is praised. 1 Where else do they hurry to the Churches and tombs of the Martyrs with such zeal and so often? Where else does Amen resound like a thunderclap in the sky, and where else are the empty temples of idols shaken? Not that the Romans have a different faith to that which all Christ's Churches have, but their devotion is greater and also their simplicity in belief. Yet they are rebuked for their pliability and pride. For pliability, where Paul says: 'I ask you, brothers, that you watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstructions contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them; such folk do not serve the Lord Christ but their own appetites. By charming talk and flattery they seduce the hearts of the innocent. Your obedience is known everywhere. Therefore I rejoice over you and wish you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil.' 2 And for pride where he says: 'Do not have high minds, but fear.' 3 And: 'I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be wise to yourselves.' And later on: 'By the grace which has been given to me, I say to every one of you: do not know more than you should know, think soberly.' 4 And more openly: 'Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise to yourselves.' 5 Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Letter to the Galatians, Book 2 1 Rom 1.8 2 Rom 16.17-19 3 Rom 2.20, 25 4 Rom 12.3 5 Rom 12.15-16

Wolves And Sheep

Sicut oves in medio luporum... Ecce legationis difficultas. Et non dicit: iuxta lupos, sed ut nusquam fit effugere nisi capturam luporum, quia in hoc solo spes est, si lupi, natura lupina deposita, ab ovibus capi possunt. Beniamin lupus rapax mane dividet praedam, et vespere dividet spolia. Tales enim lupi sunt, qui de lupis possunt fieri filii dextrae et nunc praedam, quam mane, dum lupi erant, acceperunt, vespere conversionis spolia dividentes Domino reportant, sicut fecit Paulus. Lupus rapit et dispergit oves. Aestimati sumus sicut oves occisionis. Dedisti nos tanquam oves escarum, et in gentibus tanquam inter lupos dispersiti nos. In huius signum Rachel, quae ovis interpretatur, enixa est Beniamin. De quo dicitur Beniamin lupus rapax. Sanctus Albertus Magnus, Commentarium in Mattheum, Caput X Source: Here

Like sheep in the midst of wolves... 1 Behold the difficulty of the messenger. And He does not say: near the wolves, but that there never shall be escape unless the wolves are captured, because in this alone is hope, if the wolves, whose nature is established as the wolf, they are able to seize from the sheep. 'Benjamin is a rapacious wolf dividing the prey in the morning and in the evening dividing the spoil.' 2 For so are wolves, who yet from wolves can become sons of the right hand, and then the prey, which in the morning, while they were wolves, they took, in the evening, turning to dividing the spoil, they bring it back to the Lord, as Paul did. 'The wolf seizes and scatters the sheep.' 3 'We are judged as sheep for the slaughter.' 4 'You have handed us over as sheep for eating and we are scattered among the Gentiles,' 5 as among wolves. In this is the sign of Rachel, she whose name means sheep, she who gave birth to Benjamin. 6 Concerning which it is said Benjamin is a rapacious wolf. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Matthew, Chapter 10 1 Mt 10.16 2 Gen 49.27 3 Jn 10.12 4 Ps 43.22 5 Ps 43.12 6 Gen 35.16-20

Paul And Purple

Ὥσπερ τὰ ἔρια πρὸς παραδοχὴν βαφῆς ἁλουργοῦ μάλα προστύφεται διὰ τὴν τοῦ ἐσθήματος τιμιότητα· οὕτως ὁ μεγαλόφρων Παῦλος τῆς Ἰουδαίκης ἀποτμηθεὶς ἀλογίας, τριημέρῳ προεστύφθη πηρώσει, ἁλουργὶς Θεοῦ γενόμενος, καὶ πάντας ἀνθρώπους γενέσθαι προτρεπόμενος. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤΜϚ´ Κελσῳ Source: Migne PG 78.380d-381a

As wool, for the reception of purple dye, because of the excellence of the vestment, is first strenuously wrung, in the same way the great minded Paul was removed from the irrationality of the Jews by being wrung with blindness for three days, 1 that he be empurpled for God, and exhort all men to be like him. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 346 to Celsus 1 Acts 9.1-9

Keys And Apostles

Cum omnes beatissimi Apostoli parem gratiam apud Dominum sanctitatis obtineant, nescio quo tamen pacto Petrus et Paulus videntur prae caeteris peculiari quadam in Salvatore fidei virtute praecellere. Quod quidem ex ipsius Domini iudicio possumus approbare. Nam Petro, sicut bono dispensatori, clavem regni coelestis dedit; Paulo, tanquam idoneo doctori, magisterium ecclesiasticae institutionis injunxit: scilicet ut quos iste erudierit ad salutem, ille suscipiat ad quietem; ut quorum corda Paulus patefecerit doctrina verborum, eorum animabus Petrus aperiat regna coelorum. Clavem enim quodam modo a Christo scientiae et Paulus accepit. Clavis enim dicenda est qua ad fidem peccatorum dura corda reserantur, mentium secreta panduntur, et quidquid intrinsecus clausum tenetur, in palam rationabili manifestatione producitur. Clavis, inquam, est quae et conscientiam ad confessionem peccati aperit, et gratiam ad aeternitatem mysterii salutaris includit. Ambo igitur claves a Domino perceperunt; scientiae iste, ille potentiae. Divitias immortalitatis ille dispensat; scientiae thesauros iste largitur. Sunt enim thesauri scientiae, sicut scriptum est: In quo sunt omnes thesauri sapientiae et scientiae absconditi. Ergo beati Petrus et Paulus eminent inter universos Apostolos, et peculiari quadam praerogativa praecellunt. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, LXXII De Natali SS Apostolorum Petri et Pauli V Source: Migne PL 57.402c-404a

Since all the most blessed Apostles received an equal grace of sanctity from the Lord, I do not know how it might be that Peter and Paul seem to excel before the others in a special virtue of faith in the Saviour. Which certainly we can confirm by the judgement of the same Lord. For He gave to Peter the key of the kingdom of heaven, as to a good treasurer, and to Paul, as a capable teacher, He enjoined the teaching office of the Church, that as he educated to salvation, the former received into rest, for Paul opened hearts by the teaching of words, and Peter opened the kingdom of heaven for their souls. And certainly Paul did receive the key of knowledge from Christ. For that should be called a key which opens up the hard hearts of sinners to faith, and reveals the secrets of the soul, and brings out into the open by manifest reason whatever is held shut within. A key, I say, is that which opens up the conscience of the sinner to confession, and encloses him in the eternity of the mystery of salvation. Both, then, took possession of keys from the Lord, the one of knowledge, the other of power. The one dispensed the riches of immortality, the other bestowed the treasury of knowledge. For there are indeed treasuries of knowledge, as it is written: 'In which are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.' 1 Therefore the blessed Peter and Paul are eminent among all the Apostles, and certainly excel by this special privilege. Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 72, On The Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul 1 Colos 2.3

Preaching And Revival

Eductus somne, cecidit de tertio coenaculo deorsum... Inter verba praedicationis occurrit occasio curationis, ut dulcedine miraculi et doctrinae sermo firmetur, et vigiliarum labor arceatur, et memoria magistri jam discessuri arctius mentibus infigatur. Tria vero coenacula in quorum supremo Paulus disputat, fides, spes, et charitas, sunt. Major autum his charitas. Quam si quis per ignaviam deseruerit, et inter Apostoli voces dormitare non timuerit, jam inter mortuos computabitur. Cum enim in uno offenderit, factus est omnium reus. Ad quem cum descendisset Paulus, incubuit super eum... Quod descendit, incumbit, complectitur, hoc est quod ipse dicit: Filioli mei, quos iterum parturio, donec formetur Christus in vobis. Operosior enim est resuscitatio eorum qui per negligentiam, quam qui per infirmitatem peccant. Et haec per Eutychum, illa per Tabitham quam Petrus suscitavit, experimitur. Et ideo illa in diebus infirmata moritur, hic media nocte cadit et moritur. Illa post mortem lota in coenaculo ponitur, hic tertio coenaculo delapsus deorsum mortuus lugetur. Iste praesente et docente, illa absente magistro. Ad hunc Paulus descendit, ad illam Petrus suscitaturus ascendit. Illa mox viso Petro resedit, hic nocte media defunctus tandem mane resurgit, et justitiae sole afflante, redivivus adducitur. Sanctus Beda,Super acta Apostolorum Expositio, Caput XX Source: Migne PL 92.985a-c

Having fallen asleep, he fell down from the third storey... 1 Here among the words of preaching there occurs an occasion for healing, that the sweetness of a miracle fortify the speech of teaching and watch over the labour of vigils, and the memory of the teacher soon to depart be more firmly fixed in the mind. The third storey at which height Paul disputed, are faith, hope and charity, and the greatest of these is charity. 2 Which if someone forsakes by negligence, and does not fear to slumber among the Apostolic voices, he is already to be reckoned among the dead. For when he offends in one thing, he is made guilty in all. 3 And when Paul had gone down to him, he bent over him... 4 He descends, he bends over, he embraces, and this is as he said: 'My children, whom again I carry in the womb until Christ is fashioned in you.' 5 For more laborious is the resuscitation of those who sin by negligence rather than by weakness. And the former is expressed by Eutychius, the latter by that Tabitha whom Peter revived. 6 Thus she died by weakness in the day, he fell and died in the middle of the night. She after death was washed and placed in the upper room, he fallen from the third storey was mourned as one who had died. He was present amid teaching, she had the teacher absent. Paul went down to revive him, Peter went up to her. She quickly sat up at the sight of Peter, he who perished in the middle of the night eventually rose in the morning, and with the sun of righteousness blazing, was led away alive. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the Acts of The Apostles, Chap 20 1 Acts 20.9 2 1 Cor 13.13 3 Jam 2.10 4 Acts 20.10 5 Galat 4.19 6 Acts 9.36-41

Life And Death

Hi sunt viri misericordiae, quorum justitiae oblivionem non acceperant, etc. Natale, dilectissimi, colitur apostolorum Petri et Pauli: et satis congue dicitur mors talis natale, quae gignit ad vitam. Unde et nativitas, qua nati summus ad mortem, mors convenientius diceretur quam natale. Incipimus enim mori, quando nascimur; et vivere, quando morimur. Unde sicut vita ista dicitur mortalis, sic mors illa dici deberet vitalis. Quandiu ergo hic vivimus, morimur; et quando vita defungimur, simul et morte privamur. Odibilis vita, quae sine morte esse non potest; optabilis mors, quae vitae falsitatem terminat, et inchoat veritatem. Res mirabilis, vita mortem confert, mors vitam. Vita natalis est mortis, mors vitae. Sicut facula igne succensa, consumit, a quo consumpta est, ignem, sic vita ista ab initio morte succensa, ipsam tandem ab eadem consumpta consumit, vel sicut vapor ignis semel immissus stipulae, ipsam vorando semetipsum consumit, ita mors quae cum vita seminatur ac concipitur, ipsam necando, se quoque simul interimit. Vapor enim est vita praesens, et fumus ad modicum parens. Quae vero postea est vita, sola est, ac sine mortis consortio vita: under et vitalis in posterum existit. Haec est ergo mortalis, illa vitalis. Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, Sermo XLIX, In Natali Apostolorum Petri et Pauli Source: Migne PL 194.1856a

These were compassionate men, and their righteousness shall not be forgotten... 1 The birthday, beloved, of the Apostles Peter and Paul is revered, and enough it is to say here that such a birth is a death, which births to life. Whence even that birth by which we are born to death is more appropriately called a death than a birth. For we begin to die when we are born and to live when we die. Whence as this life is called mortal, so that death should be called life giving. While, therefore, we live here, we die; and when we have done with life, at once we are rid of death. Life is hateful when it lacks death; death is desirable when it ends the lie of life and introduces truth. It is a wonder that life confers death, death life. The living birth is death's, death is life's. As wood kindled by fire is consumed, and the fire by what it has consumed, so this life from its beginning is consumed by death, and likewise by that which death has consumed it is consumed; or as the smoke of fire is given off by straw, by that which is consumes it consumes itself. And so the death, which with life is sown and conceived, harming the same, at the same time destroys itself. For the smoke is the present life, and it appears just for a little while. However the life which is after is alone the life which is not bound to death, whence what is life-giving awaits after. This life, then, bears death, the other life. Isaac of Stella, from Sermon 49, On The Feast of the Apostles Peter And Paul 1 Sirach 44.10

Seven Stars

Et habebat in dextera sua stellas septem. In dextera ejus stellas septem dixit: quia Spiritus sanctus septiformis virtutis datus est in potestate ejus a Patre. Sicut Petrus ad Judeous exclamavit: 'Dextera Dei exultatus acceptum a Patre Spiritum effudit hunc quem videtis et auditis. Sed et Joannes Baptista anticipaverat, discipulis suis dicendo: Non enim ad mensuram dat Spiritum Deus. Pater, inquit amat Filium, et omnia dedit in manu ejus.' Istae septem stellae sunt septem ecclesiae quas nominat in vocabulis suis, et vocat eas ad quas fecit epistolas. Non quia ipsae solae sunt Ecclesiae, aut principes: sed quod uni dicit, omnibus dicit. Nihil enim differunt, ut ex illa ratione quis paucorum similium majori numero anteponat. In toto orbe septennatim ecclesias omnes, septem esse nominatas, et unam esse catholicam Paulus docuit. Et primum quidem ut servaret et ipse typum septem Ecclesiarum, non excessit numerum. Sed scripsit ad Romanoas, ad Corinthios, ad Galatas, ad Ephesios, ad Thessalonicenses, ad Philippenses, ad Colossenses. Postea singularibus personis scripsit, ne excederet numerum septem ecclesiarum. Et in brevi contrahens praedicationem suam, ad Timotheum sic ait: ' Ut scias qualiter debeas conversari in Ecclesia Dei vivi  Hunc typum et ab Spiritu sancto per Esaiam praedicare legimus: 'De septem mulieribus quae apprehenderunt hominem unum.' Unus homo Christus est, non ex semine natus: septem vero mulieres septem ecclesiae sunt, panem accipientes suum, et tunicis suis velatae, quae poscunt auferri improperium suum, tantum ut nomen illius vocetur super illas. Panem Spiritum sanctum, qui nutrit in vitam aeternam, sibi videlicit per credulitatem promissam. Tunicae vero suae, quibus cooperiri se optant, immortalitatis est gloria, de qua Paulus apostolus ait: ' Oportet ergo corruptibile hoc induere in corruptionem, et mortale hoc induere immortalitatem.' Auferri vero improperium suum poscunt, hoc est emundari se a peccatis: improperium enim est peccatum pristinum, quod aufertur in baptismo, et incipiunt vocari homines christiani; quod est, 'invocetur nomen tuum super nos.' Victorinus Petavionensis, Scoli in Apocalypsin Beati Joannis Source: Migne PL 5.319d-320c

'And He had in His right hand seven stars.' 1 He said that in His right hand He had seven stars, because the Holy Spirit of sevenfold virtue was given into His power by the Father. As Peter cried out to the Jews: 'Being exalted at the right hand of God, He has poured forth the Spirit received from the Father, which you see and hear.' 2 Moreover, John the Baptist had also anticipated this, by saying to his disciples: 'It is not by measure God gives the Spirit. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hands.' 3 Those seven stars are the seven churches, which he names in his addresses by name, and calls them to whom he wrote epistles. Not that they are themselves the only, or even the principal, churches, but what he says to one, he says to all. For they are no different, that one should prefer them to the larger number of similar small ones. In the whole world Paul taught that all the churches are arranged by sevens, that they are called seven, and that the Catholic Church is one. And first of all, indeed, that he himself also might maintain the type of seven churches, he did not exceed that number. But he wrote to the Romans, to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Thessalonians, to the Philippians, and to the Colossians. After he wrote to individual persons, so as not to exceed the number of seven churches. And in a short space drawing together his teaching, he says to Timothy: 'That you might know how you should conduct yourself in the Church of the living God.' 4 We read of this type announced by the Holy Spirit through Isaiah: 'Of seven women who took hold of one man.' 5 The one man is Christ, not born of seed; the seven women, however, are the seven churches, receiving His bread, and clothed with his apparel, who ask that their reproach should be taken away, and that they should be called by His name only. The bread is the Holy Spirit, which nourishes to eternal life, promised to them, that is, by faith. And His garments with which they desire to be clothed are the glory of immortality, of which the Apostle Paul says: 'For this corruption must put on incorruption, and this mortality must put on immortality.' 6 Moreover, they ask that their reproach may be taken away, that is, that they may be cleansed from their sins: for the reproach is the original sin, which is taken away in baptism, and they begin to be called Christians, which is: 'Let us be called by your name.' Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of St John 1 Apoc 1.16 2 Acts 2.33 3 Jn 3.34-35 4 1 Tim 3.15 5 Isaiah 4.1 6 1 Cor 15.53