For The Benefit Of Souls

Ita ut elegit nos in ipso ane constitiutionem mundi, ut essemus sancti.. Ergo mysterio quod hic implevit, et carne, et cruce, et morte, et resurrectione, subventum est animis: etsi in Christo fides sumatur, ille suscipit hujusmodi animas et adjuvat et liberat. Christum enim credere, et in Christum fidem sumere, jam spiritaliter sentire, et jam tolli a desideriis carnalibus et materialibus: et ex hoc veluti cognatio intelligendi nos jungit et sociat Christo: et dum Christo sociaverit, inquit, et Deo. Per Christum enim Deo jungimur, neque spes ulla salutis nostrae nisi Christum credere. Hoc est spiritaliter jam sentire, et capere sensum, et mundi et materiae motibus non exagitari: quibus omnibus homo totus in spiritu vero est, et ex hoc jam in Christo est vita: cum autem in Christo vita est; jam mysterio acto a Christo recipimur, et per Christum in numerum filiorum suscipimur a Deo, spiritales facti, ut nos quoque de mundo resurgamus et de morte per Dei voluntatem, sed in Christo tamen. Hoc enim et nunc, et saepe et ubique praecipitur, ut in Christo tota sit vita nostra, tota spes, totus intelligendi labor. Omnis enim ratio aeternitatis nostrae et gloriae et salvationis, et Christus est, et in Christo est, si projicientes omnia spiritaliterque sentientes, separemus a nobis mundanas cogitationes, mundanos affectus, carnalia quodammodo desideria, carnales dignitates, carnales potestates, et mundi etiam velle potentias vel dignitates. Omne enim quidquid mundanum est, licet coeleste sit in mundo etiam vel aetherium vel quodlibet aliud divinum nominatur secundum mundum et aeternum, sed secundum mundum tamen, neque divinum est neque aeternum est; etenim materiale: et quicquid materiale est, et temporale est et caducum et corruptibile. Victorinus Afrus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber Primus, Caput I Source: Migne PL 8.1240c-1241a

Thus He chose us before the establishment of the world, so that we would be holy... 1 Therefore in a mystery He fulfills it, and the flesh and the cross and the death and the resurrection were for the benefit of souls. Even if we have taken up faith in Christ, He is the one who takes up souls and helps and frees them. For to believe in Christ and to take up faith in Christ is to understand spiritually, and so to be taken from carnal desires and things. And from this, with a certain likeness of understanding, we are joined and associated with Christ, and while we associate with Christ, he says, it is also with God. For it is through Christ that we are joined to God, and there is no hope of salvation unless to believe in Christ. This is to understand spiritually, and to grasp the sense, and not to be troubled by the changes of the world and matter, because of which the whole man becomes truly spiritual, and through this there is now life in Christ, and when there is life in Christ we are received by Christ in mystery, and through Him we are taken up into the number of the sons of God, having been made spiritual, so that we also rise up from the earth and from death by the will of God, but in Christ. Indeed here and now, and often and everywhere, it is exhorted that our whole life, our whole hope, the whole work of our understanding, should be in Christ. For every cause of our eternity and glory and salvation is Christ, and is in Christ, if advancing in all spiritual understanding we separate ourselves from worldly thought, and from worldly loves, and from every carnal desire and honour and power, and every office and dignity of the world. For everything worldly, even if named celestial, ethereal, or divine, is named according to the world and eternity, but according to the world there is nothing divine nor anything eternal, for matter, and whatever is of matter, is transient, and passes away and is corruptible. Victorinus Afrus, On the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book One, Chapter One 1 Ephes 1.4

Healing The Paralytic

Et venerunt ad eum ferentes paralyticum, qui a quatuor portabatur. Curatio paralytici hujus salvationem designat animae post diuturnam illecebrae carnalis inertiam ad Christum suspirantis, quae primo omnium ministris qui eam sublevent et Christo afferant, id est bonis doctoribus qui spem sanationis opemque intercessionis suggerant, indiget. Qui bene quatuor fuisse referuntur, sive quia quatuor sancti Evangelii libris omnis praedicantium virtus, omnis sermo firmatur, seu quia quatuor sunt virtutes quibus ad promerendam sospitatem fiducia mentis erigitur. De quibus in aeternae sapientiae laude dicitur: Sobrietatem enim et sapientiam docet et justitiam et virtutem, quibus utilius nihil est in vita hominibus. Quas nonnulli diversis nominibus prudentiam, fortitudinem, temperantiam et justitiam nuncupant. Sanctus Beda, In Marci Evangelium Expositio, Caput II Source: Migne PL 92.146e-146d

'And they came to Him bearing a paralytic, who was carried by four men' 1 The curing of this paralytic signifies the soul's salvation in its desire for Christ after long torpor amid carnal snares, which first of all requires helpers to lift up the soul and carry it to Christ, that is, good teachers who counsel hope of healing and intercessory work for the one who is infirm. And these are well said to be four, either referring to the four Gospels, in which is the preaching of all virtue and every word of which strengthens, or the four virtues by which the confidence of the mind is raised to hope of gaining healing. Concerning which it is said in praise of eternal wisdom, 'It teaches sobriety and wisdom and righteousness and virtue,' 2 and there is nothing more useful in human life than these, which not a few speak of under the alternative names of prudence and fortitude and temperance and righteousness. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 2 1 Mk 2.3 2 Wisdom 8.7

Considering The Wretched

Aiunt igitur a Deo omnia praetermitti, quia nec coerceat malos nec tueatur bonos, et ideo in hoc saeculo deteriorem admodum statum esse meliorum; bonos quippe esse in paupertate, malos in abundantia; bonos in infirmitate, malos in fortitudine; bonos semper in luctu, malos semper in gaudio, bonos in miseria et abjectione, malos in prosperitate et dignitate. Primum igitur ab iis qui hoc ita esse vel dolent vel accusant, illud requiro, de sanctis hoc, id est, de veris ac fidelibus Christianis, an de falsis et impostoribus doleant. Si de falsis; superfluus dolor, qui malos doleat non beatos esse; cum utique quicumque mali sunt, successu rerum deteriores fiant, gaudentes sibi nequitiae studium bene cedere; et ideo vel ob hoc ipsum miserrimi esse debent ut mali esse desistant, vindicantes improbissimus quaestionibus nomen religionis, et praeferentes ad sordidissimas negotiationes titulum sanctitatis: quorum scilicet nequitiis si miseriae comparentur, minus sunt miseri quam merentur: quai in quibuslibet miseriis constituti, non sunt tamen tam miseri quam sunt mali. Nequaquam ergo pro his dolendum quod non sunt divites ac beati; multo autem pro sanctis minus: quia quamlibet videantur ignorantibus esse miseri, non possunt tamen esse aliud quam beati. Superfluum autem est ut eos quispiam vel infirmitate vel paupertate vel aliis istiusmodi rebus existimet esse miseros, quibus se illi confidunt esse felices. Nemo enim aliorum sensu miser est, sed suo. Et ideo non possunt cujusquam falso judicio esse miseri, qui sunt vere sua conscientia beati. Nulli enim, ut opinor, beatiores sunt quam qui ex sententia sua atque ex voto agunt. Humiles sunt religiosi, hoc volunt: pauperes sunt, pauperie delectantur: sine ambitone sunt, ambitum respuunt, inhonori sunt, honorem fugiunt, lugent lugere gestiunt, infirmitate laetantur. Cum enim, inquit Apostolus, infirmor, tunc potens sum. Nec immeriot sic arbitratur, ad quem Deus ipse sic loquitur: Sufficit tibi gratia mea: nam virtus in infirmitate perficitur. Nequaquam ergo nobis dolenda est haec afflictio infirmitatum, quam intelligimus matrem esse virtutum. Itaque quidquid illud fuerit, quicumque vere religiosi sunt, beati esse dicendi sunt: quia inter quamlibet dura, quamlibet aspera, nulli beatiores sunt quam qui hoc sunt quod volunt. Soleant quamvis esse nonulli ui turpia atque obscena sectantes, etsi juxta opinionem suum beati sunt, quia adipiscuntur quod volunt; re tamen ipsa beati non sunt, quia quod volunt, nolle debuerant. Religiosi autem hunc cunctis beatiores sunt, quia et habent quae volant, et meliora quam quae habent omnino habere non possunt. Labor itaque, et jejunium, et paupertas, et humilitas, et infirmitas non omnibus sunt onerosa tolerantibus, sed tolerare nolentibus. Sive enim gravia haec, sive levia, animus tolerantis facit. Nam sicut nihil est tam leve quod ei non grave sit qui invitus facit, sic nihil est tam grave quod non ei qui id libenter exsequitur, leve esse videatur. Nisi forte antiquis illis priscae virtutis viris, Fabiis, Fabriciis, Cincinnatis, grave fuisse existimamus quod pauperes erant, qui divites esse nolebant; cum omnia scilicet studia, omnes conatus suos ad communia emolumenta conferrent, et crescentes reipublicae vires privata paupertate ditarent. Numquid parcam illam tunc agrestemque vitam cum gemitu et dolore tolerabant, cum viles ac rusticos cibos ante ipsos quibus coxerant focos sumerent, eosque ipsos capere nisi ad vesperam non liceret? Numquid aegre ferebant quod avara ac divite conscientia auri talenta non premerent, cum etiam argenti usum legibus coercerent? Numquid illecebrae et cupiditatis poenam putabant quod distenta aureis nummis marsupia non haberent, cum patricium hominem, quod usque ad decem argenti libras dives esse voluisset, indignum curia judicarent? Non despiciebant tunc, puto, pauperes cultus, cum vestem hirtam ac brevem sumerent, cum ab aratro arcesserentur ad fasces, et illustrandi habitu consulari, illis fortasse ipsis quas assumpturi erant imperialibus togis madidum sudore pulverem detergerent. Itaque tunc illi pauperes magistratus opulentam rempublicam habebant; nunc autem dives potestas pauperem facit esse rempublicam. Et quae, rogo, insania est, aut quae caecitas, ut egestuosa et mendicante republica divitias posse cedant stare privatas? Tales ergo tunc veteres Romani erant; et sic illi tunc contemnebant divitias, nescientes Deum sicut nunc spernunt sequentes Dominum. Slavian De Gubernatione Dei Source:  Migne PL 53.30c-33b

They say, then, that everything is neglected by God, since He neither restrains the wicked nor protects the good, and therefore in this world the state of better men is much worse, certainly with the good in poverty and the wicked in abundance, the good weak and the wicked strong, the good ever in grief and the wicked always joyful, the good in misery and abjection and the wicked prosperous and honoured. Firstly I wish to ask this of those who lament or denounce these things: do they grieve for the saints, that is, the true and faithful Christians, or for the false impostors? If for the false, needless is the grief that bewails the unhappiness of the wicked, since all evil folk are made worse by success in their affairs, who rejoice at some fortunate outcome of their iniquity; yet they should be the most wretched in order that they may cease to be wicked, that they stop vindicating their evil advances under the name of religion and giving the title of sanctity to their most sordid deeds; indeed, if one were to compare their crimes with the misfortunes of sinners they would be shown to be less wretched than they deserve, for in whatever misfortunes they are placed they are not so wretched as they are wicked. Thus one must never grieve because they are not rich and happy, and much less so for the saints, for however wretched they may seem to be to those who are ignorant, they are not able to be anything else but happy. Indeed it is superfluous to think them wretched because of sickness, or poverty, or some similar thing, in which they confess themselves happy. No one is wretched because of the opinion of another, but only in his own mind. And therefore they are not able to be wretched by the incorrect judgement of another who are in their own consciences truly happy. For none, I think, are happier than those who live and act according to their own resolution and vows. The religious are lowly and they choose to be so; they are poor and they delight in poverty; they lack ambition, reviling ambition; they are without honour, fleeing honour; they weep and exult in weeping; they rejoice in weakness. 'For when,' says the Apostle,' I am weak, I am strong.' 1 And not without reason is it so judged by him to whom God Himself said: 'Let my grace suffice for you; virtue is perfected in weakness.' 2 Never then should this affliction of weakness be a cause of sorrow to us, for we understand it to be the mother of the virtues. Therefore, whatever may have befallen, those who are truly religious should be called happy, since amid any hardships or difficulties none are happier than those who are what they wish. Although it is usual that a few pursue things vile and obscene, even if according to their own opinion they are happy when they gain what they wish, yet in truth they are not happy, because what they want they should not. And in this the religious are happier than all others, because they have what they wish and indeed cannot have anything better than they have. So toil, fasting, poverty, humility and infirmity are not burdens to all who bear them, but to those who are unwilling to bear them. Whether something is heavy or light the mind of the one who bears it makes it so. For just as no task is so light that it is not a burden to the one who performs it unwillingly, so none is so heavy that to the one who it does it glady it does not seem light. Unless perhaps to those ancient men of old virtue, the Fabii, Fabricii and Cincinnati, we think that it was a burden that they were poor who did not wish to be rich, when all their cares, all their efforts, were for the common good, and by their private poverty they enriched the growth of the state. Was it, then, with groans and grief that they bore that lean and rustic life, when they ate cheap country foods before the very fire on which they had cooked it, and did not permit themselves to take of it it until evening? Was it that they bore it ill that they were not driven to talents of gold by an avarious and grasping mind, when their laws restricted the use even of silver? Was it that they thought it a punishment according to enticing desire that they did not have purses stuffed with gold, when they judged a patrician unworthy of the senate because he had wished to increase his wealth to the sum of ten pounds? Then, I think, they did not despise the way of the poor who wore only one short and shaggy garment, who from the plow were summoned to the fasces, and, about to be made illustrious in consular robes, perhaps wiped off the dusty mositure of sweat with the imperial togas that they were about to put on. Then the magistrates were poor, but the nation rich; now the wealth of those in power makes the state poor. And what madness is it, I ask, or what blindness, to think that amid the poverty and beggary of the state private fortunes will stand fast? Such, then, were the ancient Romans; so they in their day scorned riches, not knowing God, just as now the followers of the Lord scorn them. Salvian, On The Providence of God 1 1 2 Cor 12.10 2 2 Cor 12.9