Sin And Sickness

'Et ecce quidam de scribis dixerunt intra se: Hic blasphemat.' Quid dicunt esse blasphemiam, Marcus consequenter exponit, dicens: Quis, inquiunt, potest dimittere peccata, nisi solus Deus?' Haec commemorantes, qui eum tantum hominem putabant, licet nescientes verum, dicebant: Quia nemo potest dimittere peccata, nisi solus Deus,' et quibus ipse dat potestam dimittendi; et ideo Christus probatur esse verus Deus, dimittens peccata quasi Deus. 'Et cum vidisset Jesus cogitationes eorum,' etc. Et quodam loco ostendit se Deum, qui potest occulta cordis cognoscere, modo tacens loquitur: Dum vestras cogitationes intueor, ex vobis intelligite quid paralyticus consequatur. Quid est facilius dicere: Dimittuntur tibi peccata, aut dicere: Surge et ambula?' utrum sint paralutico peccata dimissa, solus noverat, qui dimittebat. Surge autem et ambula, tam ille qui surgebat quam hi qui videbant approbare poterant; et ideo fit signum carnale, ut probetur spiritale, ei datur intelligi quia ob peccata corporum in debilitates veniunt; idcirco primo dimittuntur peccata, ut sanitas restituatur. Quinque siquidem sunt differentiae causarum, pro quibus in hac vita corporalibus molestiis affligimur: aut augenda merita per patientiam, ut beatus Job; aut ob custodiam virtutum, sicut apostolo Paulo datus est stimulus carnis suae, angelus Satanae colaphizans, ne magnitudine revelationum extolleretur; aut ad corrigenda peccata, sic ut Maria soror Aaron, propter temeritatis verba lepra percussa est; aut ad gloriam Dei, sicut infirmitas Lazari non ad mortem, sed pro gloria Dei fuit; aut ad inchoationem aeternae damnationis, quod reproborum est proprium, sicut Antiochus et Herodes praesenti miseria cunctis ostendebunt quod passuri perpetuo erant in gehenna. Unde dicitur: Duplici contritione contere eos. Sanctus Beda, In Matthaei Evangelium Expositio, Liber II, Caput IX Source: Migne PL 92.45c-46b

And behold some of the scribes said among themselves, 'This man blasphemes.' 1 Why they speak of blasphemy, Mark consequently explains, saying, 'Who, they said, 'is able to forgive sins but God alone?' Aware of this, those who thought Him but a man, not knowing the truth, said, 'Because no one is able to forgive sins, but only God,' 2 and to those whom He gives power to forgive, and therefore Christ is proved to be true God, forgiving sins like God. ' And when Jesus saw their thoughts...' And here He shows himself to be God, who is able to know the hidden things of the heart, as if He silently said, 'While I gaze on the thoughts within you, you yourselves shall understand what is achieved with the paralytic.' 'What is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or 'Rise and walk?' Whether the sins of the paralytic were forgiven only He knew who forgives them. But 'Rise and walk,' so that those who see the one who rises are able to confirm it. So it is that a corporeal sign proves a spiritual one, being given to the mind through the defects of the body; thus first sins are forgiven and then health is restored. There are five different reasons why we are afflicted by troubles in this life: either to augment our merit by endurance, like the blessed Job; or on account of guarding virtue, as the apostle Paul was given a goad of the flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet him lest he become puffed up by the magnitude of revelation; or for correction of sin, like Miriam the sister of Aaron who on account of her bold words was struck down by leprosy; or for the glory of God, as the sickness of Lazarus, which was not to death but for the glory of God; or even as a prelude to eternal damnation, which is fitting for the reprobate, as it was with Antiochus and Herod who by their present misery showed what they would suffer in Hell. 3 Whence it is said by Jeremiah, 'A twofold affliction shall crush them.' 4 Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Book 2, Chapter 9 1 Mt 9.3 2 Mk 2.6-7 3 2 Cor 12.7, Numb 12.10, Jn 11.1-4, Acts 12.21-23, 2 Macc 9.1-28 4 Jerem 17.18

The Flower Of The Field

Ego flos campi, et lilium convallium. Sicut lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias. Ego flos. Vox sponsi, et commovet Ecclesiam ad passionem sustinendam, et proponit se eis ad exemplum, quia sine sua necessitate multa sustinuit, ut si diceret: Vocavi te pulchram et tu es, sicut lilium inter spinas. Sicut enim spinae vento motae lacerant lilium ac perforant, sic filiae, id est, mollitiis saeculi dediti, inspiratione diaboli agitati, laniant sanctam Ecclesiam, nec tu debes fugere, imo sis lilium, quia ego cum non indigebam fui lilium, id est, ego fui flos campi, et fui lilium, scilicet punctus multis persecutionibus, ego quidem qui fui lilium ut pungerer, fui et lilium, id est decus convallium, id est humilium. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes in Cantica canticorum, Caput II Source: Migne PL 162.1196d-1197a

I am a flower of the field and a lily of the valley. Like a lily among thorns, so my love among the maidens. 1 The voice of the spouse, and He encourages the Church to the endurance of suffering, and proposes Himself to them as an example, because without necessity He endured many things. As if He said, 'I have called you beautiful, and you are, as a lily among thorns. For as thorns moved by the wind scratch and pierce the lily, so the maidens, that is, those shaped by the softness of the world, agitated by the influence of the devil, wound the holy Church, which you should not flee, though you are a lily, because I did not scorn to become a lily, that is, I was a flower of the field, and a lily, that is, I was pierced by many blows. I certainly was one who was a lily that was assaulted, I was a flower of the field and a lily, that is, the adornment of the valley, that is, of the humble.' Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Song of Songs, Chapter 2 1 Song 2.1-2

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

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

The First And Eighth Beatitude

Octava nihil est, nisi prima repetita. Unde et eamdem remunerationem habet cum prima. Sed agamus nunc de remunerationibus. Pauperibus promittitur regnum coelorum, quia majus non potest haberi quam illud, quod est commune et generale praemium. Sed quum in octava eadem retributio repetatur, differre tamen intelligendum est. Sic enim intelligitur: Beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum. Qui abdicant terrena, eorum est jam regnum coelorum in spe, et si in purgatorio igne quidam horum ad horam purgantur, tamen non ambigunt se recepturos regnum coelorum. Qui autem patiuntur persecutionem, habent regnum coelorum, non tantum in spe, sed etiam in re. Qui enim moriuntur pro Christo, statim ascendunt in coelum. Hoc ideo ita legitur, non quod utrique non recipiant in re regnum coelorum, sed ut designetur quanta differentia est inter illum, quia habet in spe, et illum qui habet in re, tanta differentia est retributionis illius qui non patitur, et illius qui patitur. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput V Source: Migne PL 162.1289a-b

The eighth beatitude 1 is nothing but a repetition of the first, whence it has the same reward as the first. But let us now look into the rewards. The kingdom of heaven is promised to the poor, because it is not possible to have anything greater than it, which is the common and general reward. But the same reward repeated in the eighth beatitude must be understood to differ. For with 'Blessed are the poor of spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven,' is understood those who forsake worldly things, and theirs is the kingdom of heaven in hope, and even if they must be purified in the fire of purgatory for a time, they do not doubt they shall be received into the kingdom of heaven. But those who suffer persecution, they have the kingdom of heaven in that, and not only in hope, for those who die for Christ instantly ascend to heaven. It should be read, then, in this way: that it is not that both receive the kingdom of heaven immediately truth, but there is much difference between the one who possesses in hope, and the one who possesses in truth, so great is the difference between the reward of the one who does not suffer, and the one who does. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.10

Seeing The Face

Verumtamen iusti confitebuntur nomini tuo, et habitabunt recti cum vultu tuo. Designatur hoc debere fieri inter quaslibet temporis graves amarasque pressuras. Tunc enim magna virtus est laudare Dominum, quando se istius saeculi blandimenta subducunt. Bonus enim fuit Iob, cum Dominum dives colebat, sed quanto melior, dum eum sub multiplici afflictione laudabat! Tunc ergo amplius desideremus gratias agere, quando nos tentator conatur affligere. Facilius enim inimicus discedit, cum viderit excedere non posse quos deprimit. Nam vide quid sequitur, quia cum vultu eius habitare non desinunt, qui recti sunt. Visio infastidibilis atque perpetua illum semper videre, a quo se solet omnis rationabilis creatura reficere, sicut et in quintodecimo psalmo iam dictum est: Adimplebis me laetitia cum vultu tuo. Ille enim vultus praemiorum omnium munus est, nec potest esse cuiusquam bonitatis indignus, qui illum meruerit habere conspectum. Sed cum legatur: Nemo Deum vidit unquam, istud ad illud tempus referendum est, quando beati Dominum non per speculum, sed, ut ait Apostolus, facie ad faciem contuentur. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus CXXXIX Source: Migne PL 70.998c-d

Certainly they will rejoice in your name and the righteous will dwell with your face. 1 This speaks of those who have endured amid the heavy and bitter pressures of the time. For indeed it is a great virtue to praise the Lord when the allures of this world would corrupt, as Job was good when as a rich man he revered the Lord, but it was much better that he praised Him while he was suffering many afflictions. Therefore we should have greater desire to give thanks when the tempter tries to afflict us. For the enemy swiftly flees when he sees he cannot cast down those he presses on. Then see what follows, that those who are righteous shall not cease to dwell with His face. They shall always see an inexhaustible and endless vision of Him, in which every rational creature finds its rest, as it has already been said in the fifteenth Psalm, 'In joy you shall embrace me with your face.' 2 For that face is the greatest of all rewards, and it is not possible that anyone unworthy of this good shall merit to see it. But when we read: 'No one has seen the face of God,' 3 then what we have here in this Psalm must refer to that time when the blessed do not look on the Lord 'in a mirror' but, as the Apostle says, 'face to face'. 4 Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 139 1 Ps 139.14 2 Ps 15.11 3 Jn 1.18 4 1 Cor 13.12

Truth And Lies

Κωφώθητε οὖν, ὅταν ὑμῖν χωρὶς Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ λαλῇ τις, τοῦ ἐκ γένους Δαυείδ, τοῦ ἐκ Μαρίας, ὃς ἀληθῶς ἐγεννήθη, ἔφαγέν τε καὶ ἔπιεν, ἀληθῶς ἐδιώχθη ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου, ἀληθῶς ἐσταυρώθη καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ ὑποχθονίων. Ὄς καὶ ἀληθῶς ἠγέρθη ἀπό νεκρῶν, ἐγείραντος αὐτὸν τοῦ Πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, κατὰ τὸ ὁμοίωμα ὃς καὶ ἡμᾶς τοὺς πιστεύοντας αὐτῷ οὕτως ἐγερεῖ ὁ Πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, οὗ χωρὶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν ζῆν οὐκ ἔχομεν. Εἰ δέ, ὥσπερ τινὲς ἄθεοι ὄντες, τουτέστιν ἄπιστοί, λέγουσιν, τὸ δοκεῖν πεπονθέναι αὐτόν, αὐτοὶ ὅντες τὸ δοκεῖν, ἐγὼ τί δέδεμαι, τί δὲ καὶ εὔχομαι θηριομαχῆσαι; δωρεὰν οὖν ἀποθνήσκω. ἄρα οὖν καταψεύδομαι τοῦ Kυρίου. Φεύγετε οὖν τὰς κακὰς παραφυάδας τὰς γεννώσας καρπὸν θανατηφόρον, οὗ ἐὰν γεύσηταί φυτεία πατρός. Eἰ γὰρ ἦσαν, ἐφαίνοντο ἂν κλάδοι τοῦ σταυροῦ, καὶ ἦν ἂν ὁ καρπὸς αὐτῶν ἄφθαρτος· δι’ οὗ ἐν τῷ πάθει αὐτοῦ προσκαεῖται ὑμᾶς ὄντας μέλη αὐτοῦ. Oὐ δύναται οὖν κεφαλὴ χωρὶς γεννηθῆναι ἄνευ μελῶν, τοῦ θεοῦ ἕνωσιν ἐπαγγελλομένου, ὅ ἐστιν αὐτός. Ἅγιος Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιοχείας, Προς Τραλλιανοίς Επιστολή Source: Migne PG 5.681b-684a

Be deaf, then, to anyone who speaks to you without Christ, He who was born of David, from Mary, He who truly was born, and who ate and drank, and suffered beneath Pontius Pilate, and was truly crucified and buried and placed under the earth, and who was really raised from the dead, being raised by His Father, in which likeness those who are faithful to Him will by raised by the Father in Jesus Christ, since without Him we have no true life. And if His sufferings were mere appearance, as some godless folk say, that is, those without faith, people who are themselves mere appearance, why am I now in chains, why do I pray to contend with the beasts? For then I die for nothing. Then I tell lies about the Lord. 1 Flee then these evil deadly outgrowths from which fatal fruit is born, they who are not of the planting of the Father. 2 For if they were His, they would appear as branches of the cross and there would be no corruption in their fruit. It is through His passion that He calls you to be His members. A head cannot exist without its members, but the promise of God is unity, and it is Himself. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, from the Letter to the Tralllians 1 1 Cor 15.13-20 2 Mt 15.13

Hidden Work

Πολλὰ ὁ Θεὸς λαληθότως ἐργάζεται πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον ἡμῖν, κἂν σκυθρωπὰ δοκῇ τὰ συμπίπτοντα. Ἡμεῖς δὲ τὸν λόγον τῶν συμπτωμάτων οὐ πολυπραγονοῠμεν ὡς πιστοὶ καὶ γνήσιοι οἰκέται. Ἔν γὰρ μόνον χρὴ πεπεῖσθαι, ὅτι συμφερόντως, καὶ ὠφελίμως ἡμῖν ἄπαντα ἐπιφέρεται παρὰ τοῦ προνοητοῦ τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν, τὸν δὲ τρόπον μηκέτι ζητεῖν μήτε ἀγνοοῦντας ἀσχάλλειν καὶ ἀθυμεῖν· οὐ δὲ γὰρ λυσιτελεῖ τὸ ἐπίστασθι, τὸ μὲν διὰ τὸ θνητοὺς εἶναι, τὸ δὲ διὰ τὸ εὐκόλως πρὸς τῦφον ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἀπόνοιαν αἴρεσθαι. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΛΕ’ Εὐσεβιῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 79.170b

Most often the work of God is hidden for our benefit and what befalls seems sorrowful. We, however, as faithful and true sons should not be disquieted by being too curious regarding the causes of what happens. We should trust in one alone, whatever comes upon us, for everything usefully and profitably comes for the care of our souls. There is no way for us to seek it out, nor does being vexed or downcast by ignorance profit understanding, but rather since we are mortal we are easily puffed up by pride and by folly. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 235, to Eusebius the Deacon

Wisdom Amid Good And Evil

In duobus servitur Deo, faciendo bonum et patiendo malum. In confessoribus remuneratur bona actio, in martyribus passio Ad agendum bonum necessaria est sapientia; ad tolerandum malum necessaria patientia. Sapientia ut bonum bene fiat; patientia, ne malum patiens malus fiat. Qui enum bonum facit in bona materia operatur, sed si bonum bene non facit, per malam formam bona materia deformatur. Bona est forma, ubi nec plus nec minus justo est. Si plus justo sit, peccatum est, si minus justo sit, delictum. Igitur qui bonum bene facit, quasi bonae materiae bonam formam imprimit. Ad tolerantiam autem mali patientia necessaria est, quia qui malo per impatientiam cedit, a bono recedit. Sicut enim malum quod est culpa faciendum non est, sic malum quod est poena patiendum est. Poena autem dolor est, dolor vero aliud non est nisi cum amittitur quod amatur; vel in abrenuntiatione culpae, cum peccatum quod prius delectabat relinquitur vel in abrenuntiatione possessionis propriae, cum terrena substantia quae foris possidebatur, deseritur, vel in abrenuntatione delectionis mundanae cum carnalium sensuum lascivia mortificatur. In omnibus his labor est, nec sine dolore quidquam horum fieri potest. Haec igitur est patientia sanctorum. Qui sustinentiam deserunt, apostatunt. Post ultimam abrenuntiationem, primo per vanitatem, quia mundanam jucunditatem ad voluptatem repetunt. Post secundam, secundo per cupiditatem, quia postpositas divitias mundi ad superfinitatem ambiunt. Post primam, tertio per iniquitatem, qua anteacta peccata et dimissa iterare praesumunt. Itaque patientia ad tolerantiam necessaria est, ne habeat homo per vanitatem in consilio impiorum, nec stet per cupiditatem in via peccatorum, nec sedeat per iniquitatem in cathedra pestilentia. Job ad mundi jucunditatem minime respexerat qui dicebat: Si vidi solem cum fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare, ordine suo. Post divitias mundi apostatare David nos prohibet dicens: Noli aemulari in eo qui prosperatur in via sua. Post peccata dimissa apostatare ipse Dominus prohibet, dicens: Vade et amplius noli peccare. Et propheta: Observabo me ab iniquitate mea. Igitur homo accednes ad servitutem Dei stet in loco suo per patientiam, ut non cedat nec recedat. Operetur bonum pro adimplendo primo debito, patiatur malum pro expiando primo delicto. Nam ut faciat bonum? factus est homo, ut patiatur malum, fecit homo. Pro eo igitur quod factus est facit bonum, pro eo quod fecit patiur malum. Primus enim homo sic factus est ut proficeret de bone innocentiae, per bonum obedientiae, ad bonum gloriae. Sed mutans locum et innocentiam deserens, deficere coepit, et ire de malo iniquitatis per malum mortalitatis ad malum damnationis. Venit autem Salvator, et monstravit aliam viam, qua ad patriam revertatur homo, per bonum justitiae et malum poenae ad bonum gloriae. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I, Tit CVII, De sapientia in faciendo bono, et de patientia in tolerando malo Source: Migne PL 177.536c-537b

In two things there is service to God, the doing of good and the suffering of evil. In the good deed is reward for the faithful, in suffering for martyrs. Wisdom is necessary for the doing of good, patience for the endurance of evil. Wisdom so that the good may be done well, patience so that evil may not be suffered badly. He who does good works with good material but if he does not do good well he deforms the good material with bad form. The form is good when there is no more and no less than what is fitting. If there is too much it is an error, too little a fault. Therefore he who does good well, impresses a good form on good material. Now for the endurance of evil patience is necessary, because whoever falls into evil because of impatience, falls from the good. Thus as the evil which is culpable must not be done, so the evil which is a penalty must be endured. Punishment is sorrow, yet sorrow is nothing but the loss of what is loved, either in the renunciation of fault when the sin which once delighted is abandoned, or in the renunciation of one's possessions, when worldly substance, which was held exteriorly, is given up, or in the renunciation of worldly pleasure when the lust of corporeal sense is mortified. In all these there is toil, and they cannot be done without grief. This, then, is the patience of the saints, but he apostatizes who flees endurance. Now after this last renunciation mentioned first comes vanity, because a man again seeks worldly joys and pleasure. After the second renunciation, comes the desire for riches because the wealth of the world, opposing the infinite, surrounds one. After the first renunciation comes wickedness because of the thought of those sins formerly committed and a presumption of repeated forgiveness. Therefore patience for the sake of suffering is necessary, lest a man because of vanity receive the counsel of the wicked, and because of avarice stand in the way of sinners, and because of wickedness sit in the chair of pestilence. 1 Job hardly looked again to the joys of the world, saying, 'If I saw the sun when it blazed, and the moon when it shone...' 2 in their way. David prohibits us to apostatize after the wealth of the world when he says: 'Do not imitate him who prospers in his own way.' 3 The Lord prohibits apostasy after sin is forgiven when He says: 'Go and do not sin again.' 4 And the prophet says: 'I shall guard myself from my wickedness.' 5 Therefore let a man who comes to the service of God stand fast in his place by patience, so that he does not fall and turn away. Let him work good for the fulfilment of the first debt, and suffer evil for the expiation of the first sin. For man was made to do good, and that he suffers evil was the work of man. Therefore he does good because of Him who made him, and he suffers because of him who did evil. The first man was made to advance from the good of innocence in the good of obedience to the good of glory. But changing his place and losing innocence he began to fall, and to go from the evil of iniquity through the evil of mortality to the evil of damnation. But the Saviour came and showed another way, which returns a man to his fatherland through the good of righteousness and suffering the evil of the penalty to the good of glory. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chapter 107, On wisdom in doing good and in the suffering of evil. 1 Ps 1.1 2 Job 31.26 3 Ps 36.7 4 Jn 8.11 5 Ps 17.24

Trials And Victory

Dixitque Dominus ad eum: Numquid considerasti servum meum Job, quod non sit ei similis in terra, homo simplex et rectus, ac timens Deum, et recedens a malo? A commendatione justi incipit: Non enim qui se ipsum commendat, ille probatus est, sed quem Deus commendat; illasque virtutes ei proponit, quas amplius habebat exosas, ut inimicum vehementius torqueat et provocet ad tentandum. Vult enim Dominus servos suos fortiter tentari, ut faciat etiam cum tentatione proventum. Gaudet princeps militiae, si militem suum cum forti adversario strenue pugnantem aspexerit. Exsultat Christus cum martyrem suum videt nunc flagellari, nunc extendi in eculeo, nunc ferreis laniari unguibus, nunc sagittis exponi, nunc membris truncari, nunc ignibus superponi. Stat martyr afflictus quidem, sed invictus, vidensque sanguinem suum ex diversis partibus corporis ebullire, non sua, sed Redemptoris vulnera attendit. Inter anxietates ergo acerrimas tripudians et triumphans, dolores corporis lacerati non sentit, quia peregrinatur a corpore. Non facit hoc stupor, sed amor; non deest dolor, sed pro Christo contemnitur. Sic Dominus et possessiones, et personam servi sui Job malitiae tentarois exponit, ita per interiora et exteriora afflictus, munitus tamen a Domino a dextris et a sinistris, et cresceat in gratiam, et proficiat ad coronam Petrus Blenensis, Compendium In Job: Ad Henericum II Illustrissimum Anglorum Regem, Caput I Source: Migne PL 207.805d-806a

And the Lord said to Satan: 'Have you not considered my servant Job, that there is no one like him on the earth, a simple and upright man, who fears God and avoids evil?' 1 He begins with a commendation of the righteous man, 'For it is not he who commends himself who is approved, but him whom God commends.' 2 And He proposes those virtues to him, which the more he has, so the more vehemently he provokes the tempter to put him to the test. And indeed the Lord wishes that His servants be put to strong trials so that 'even in trial there is advance.' 3 A leader of soldiers rejoices if one of his own men fights bravely against the enemy, and Christ exults when He sees His martyr now whipped, now stretched on the rack, now with his sides pierced with iron nails, now having fire put upon him. Certainly the martyr is afflicted, but he is unconquered, he sees his own blood flow out of various parts of his body, but he does not think of his own wounds but of Christ's. Therefore exultant and triumphant amid bitter pains, he does not feel the sufferings of his torn body, but he wanders far from the body. And the cause of this is not some doltish insensitivity, but love. He is not free of pain, but he scorns it for Christ. So the Lord exposed the possessions and person of Job to the evils of the tempter, so that afflicted within and without, yet walled by the Lord to the right and to the left, he might grow in grace and advance to the crown. Peter of Blois, Compendium On Job, To Henry II Most Illustrious King Of The English, Chapter 1 1 Job 1.8 2 2 Cor 10.18 3 1 Cor 10.13

Servant And Master

Non est discipulus super magistrum... Seipsum proponit exemplum patientiae, ut quod Dominus patitur, non sit grave servis tolerare, quasi dicat: Nolite mirari, si ita vos persequuntur, me enim Dominum tractabunt similiter. Non sit ergo turpe pati quod ego patior, quia non est discipulus supra magistrum, id est non est majoris meriti meus discipulus, quam ego magister. Sufficit ergo discipulo meo, id est sufficere debet, ut sit sicut magister ejus, id est ut eum imitetur, et in quo imitetur supponit. Si patrem familias, id est me, avocaverunt Beelzebub, id est principem daemoniorum, quanto magis vos? Hoc est: Si me conviciis aggressi sunt, qui sum Deus, multo magis vos, qui puri homines estis. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput X Source: Migne PL 162.1345a-b

The disciple is not greater than the master... 1 He proposes himself as an example of patience, so that as the Lord suffers, it may not be unbearable for the servants to suffer, as if He said, 'Do not wonder if they persecute you, for they treated me similarly. Therefore let it not be deplorable to suffer what I suffer, because the disciple is not greater than the master, that is, my disciple does not have greater merit than I, the master. 'Thus let it be enough for my disciple,' that is, it should be enough, 'that he be like his master,' that is, that he imitate Him, and in what he imitates be subordinate. 'If the father of the family,' that is, me, 'they have named Beelzebub,' that is, the prince of demons, 'how much more you?' That is, if they have come near to convict me, who am God, so much more you, who are mere men. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 10 1 Mt 10.24

The Cherubim And The Blade

Et collacavit ante paradisum voluptatis cherubim, et flammeum gladium, atque versatilem, ad custodiendam viam ligni vitae Cherubim namque plenitudo scientiae interpretatur. Framea vero versailis, posita ad custodiendam viam ligni vitae, temporales poenae intelliguntur. Nemo enim potest pervenire ad arborem vitae, nisi per has duas res, tolerantiam scilicet molestiarum et scientie plenitudinem, id est, per charitatem Dei et proximi. Plenitudo enim legis charitas est. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput III Source: Migne PL 83.222c-223a

And He set the Cherubim before the garden of delight, with a sword of fire, that turned this way and that for the guarding of the way to the tree of life. 1 The name of Cherubim is interpreted as 'fullness of knowledge.' But the turning blade that is placed for the guarding of the way to the tree of life is understood to be temporal suffering. For no one is able to come to the tree of life, unless through these two things, obviously endurance of troubles and the fullness of knowledge, that is, through the love of God and neighbour, for the fullness of the Law is love. 2 Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chapter 3 1 Gen 3.24 2 Rom 13.10

Evil And Resistance

Ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν μὴ ἀντιστῆναι τῷ πονηρῷ: ἀλλ' ὅστις σε ῥαπίζει εἰς τὴν δεξιὰν σιαγόνα, σου στρέψον αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν ἄλλην. Πονηρὸν ἐνταυθα τὸν διάβολον λέγει, τὸν διὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐνεργοῦντα. Οὐ δεῖ οὖν ἀντίστασθαι τῷ διαβόλῳ; ναί· ἀλλ' οὐχὶ διὰ τοῦ αντιπλήττειν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦ ὑπομένειν. Οὐ γὰρ πυρὶ σβέννυται πῦρ, ἀλλ' ὕδατι. Μὴ νόμιζε δὲ ὅτι περὶ τῆς εἰς τὴν σιαγόνα πληγῆς λέγει μόνης, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ πάσης ἄλλης καὶ παντὸς ἁπλῶς δεινοῦ. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον , Κεφ Ε' Source: Migne PG 123.200c

But I say to you, do not resist the evil man. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other one towards him also. 1 He calls the devil the evil man here, he who works through men, Should we not resist the devil? Yes, yet not by returning blows but by enduring. Fire is not put out with fire, but with water. And do not think this is said only of blows upon the cheek, for it concerns every other evil that may be inflicted. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.39

Suffering And Understanding

Propter quod non sustinentes amplius, placuit nobis remanere Athenis, solis: et misimus Timotheum fratrem nostrum, et ministrum Dei in Evangelio Christi, ad confirmandos vos, et exhortandos pro fide vestra: ut nemo moveatur in tribulationibus istis : ipsi enim scitis quod in hoc positi sumus. Nam et cum apud vos essemus, praedicebamus vobis passuros nos tribulationes, sicut et factum est, et scitis. Desiderii supra memorati causas expressit. Idcirco enim praesentes esse apud eos volebant, ita animas eorum firmarent; ne quis ex his scandalum pateretur de pressuris apostolorum, ut qui tanta signa facerent, aliquando infirmarentur; ita humiliati, ut verberibus et vinculis subjicerentur. Ad quam rem excusandam Timotheum missum testatur idoneum doctorem, qui ostenderet hinc merita crescere christianis, si pro nomine Domini passi gratias agant, a quo hujus rei mercedem exspectant, simulque preces Deo funderunt, ut stabiles essent. Quam persecutionem idcirco se passuos praedicaverant; ut per id quod praescientiam hujus rei habere se protestarentur, posses se effuere et declinare has injurias approbarent: sed quia spes magna in his est, ideo dicit illatas sufferre quidem libenter Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Thessalonicenses Primam Caput III Source: Migne PL 17.447a-b

For which reason, when we could bear it no longer, we thought it good to remain at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and servant of God in the Gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and exhort you concerning your faith, that no one should be moved by these tribulations, for yourselves know that this is our lot, for even when we were with you we preached that we would suffer afflictions, just as it has come to pass, and you know. 1 He speaks of the reasons for the desire mentioned. For they wished to be present with them that they might strengthen their souls, lest some scandal be suffered because of the affliction of the Apostles, that they who made such great signs, at another time were weak, and humiliated, so that they were subject to blows and chains. To which he bears witness he sent the capable teacher Timothy to explain the matter, he who was to show how merit increases for Christians if suffering for the name of the Lord they give thanks, by which they may hope for a reward for these things, and at the same time pour forth prayers, that they might remain firm. And this perseuction which they were to suffer they had preached about, so that because of this prescience of the things which they had declared they would have, it were possible they might have approved flight and refusal of these injuries, but because there is great hope in these things, therefore he says that they willingly suffered what came upon them. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Thessalonians, Chapter 3 1 1 Thes 3.1-4

Aid And Salvation

Adjuva me, et salvus ero, et meditabor in justificationibus tuis semper... Superius dixerat, Adjutor et susceptor meus, nunc autem nominum commemoratorum rem precatur, ut quo susceptor est, suscipiat; et qui adjutor, adjuvet. Non abesse a se adjutorium adjuvantis precatur. Non orat ne malignantes non habeat, qui per passionum patientiam fides probatur: sed ut adversus eos adjuvetur orat, quia auxilium a Domino semper orandum est. Sed quemadmodum in superiore susceptus vivet: ita et in hoc adjutus slavabitur. Adhuc enim sibi obeunda mors est, adhunc inferi sustinendi. Tunc salvabitur, cum ex corporea terrenaque natura in spiritalem gloriam transformatus, nullum adversantis inimici periculum metuat, vivat inter electos angelos, sit paradisi incola, et absorpta corruptione ex mortalis immortalis exsistat. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 9.603b

Help me, and I will be saved, and I shall meditate on your justifications always... 1 Previously he had said, 'My helper and protector,' 2 now he prays for what the names refer to, that he be protected by Him who is the protector, and helped by Him who is the helper. He prays that the help of the helper has not been withdrawn from him. He does not pray that he has no tribulations, for faith is proved by the endurance of suffering, but he prays that he be assisted against such things, since one must always pray for help from the Lord. But as previously he lived by being protected, so he is saved by this help. For while death must yet come to him, he must yet endure what comes upon him. Then he shall be saved, when he has been transformed from a corporeal and earthly nature into spiritual glory, when he shall not fear any threats from a hostile enemy, but live among the elect angels, an inhabitant of paradise, immortal with the corruption of mortality absorbed. 3 Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.117 2 Ps 118.1114 3 2 Cor 5.4

Trials And Endurance

Εἴτε οὖν βαρὺς ὁ πειρασμός, ἀδελφοί, ὑπομείνωμεν τὰ ἐπίπονα: οὐδεὶς γὰρ μὴ πληγεὶς ἐν ἀγῶσι, μηδὲ κονισάμενος, στεφανοῦται. Eἴτε κοῦφα ταῦτα τοῦ διαβόλου τὰ παίγνια, καὶ οἱ ἐπιπεμφθέντες ἡμῖν, ὀχληροὶ μέν, διότι τούτου εἰσὶν ὑπηρέται, εὐκαταφρόνητοι δέ, ὅτι τῇ πονηρίᾳ αὐτῶν ὁ Θεὸς ἀδυναμίαν συνῆψε, φυλαξώμεθα τὴν κατάγνωσιν, ὡς ἐπὶ μικροῖς παθήμασι μεγάλα ὀδυρόμενοι. Ἓν γάρ ἐστιν ὀδύνης ἄξιον, ἡ αὐτοῦ ἐκείνου ἀπώλεια, τοῦ τῆς προσκαίρου ἕνεκεν δόξης, ῾εἴπερ οὖν δόξαν χρὴ λέγειν τὸ δημοσίᾳ ἀσχημονεῖν̓ τῆς αἰωνίας τῶν δικαίων τιμῆς ἑαυτὸν ἀποστερήσαντος. Tέκνα ὁμολογητῶν, καὶ τέκνα μαρτύρων ἐστέ, τῶν μέχρις αἵματος ἀντικαταστάντων πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Tοῖς οἰκείοις ἕκαστος χρησάσθω ὑποδείγμασι πρὸς τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἔνστασιν. Oὐδεὶς ἡμῶν πληγαῖς κατεξάνθη, οὐδενὸς οἶκος ἐδημεύθη, οὐ τὴν ὑπερορίαν ᾠκήσαμεν, οὐ δεσμωτήριον ἐγνωρίσαμεν. τί πεπόνθαμεν δεινόν; εἰ μὴ τάχα τοῦτο λυπηρόν, ὅτι μηδὲν πεπόνθαμεν, μηδὲ ἐνομίσθημεν ἄξιοι τῶν ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ παθημάτων. Eἰ δὲ ὅτι ὁ δεῖνα τὸν οἶκον κατέχει τῆς προσευχῆς, ὑμεῖς δὲ ἐν τῷ ὑπαίθρῳ προσκυνεῖτε τὸν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς Δεσπότην, τοῦτο ὑμᾶς ἀνιᾷ, ἐνθυμήθητε, ὅτι οἱ μὲν ἕνδεκα μαθηταὶ ἐν τῷ ὑπερῴῳ ἦσαν ἀποκεκλεισμένοι, οἱ δὲ σταυρώσαντες τὸν Κύριον ἐν τῷ περιβοήτῳ ναῷ τὴν Ἰουδαϊκὴν λατρείαν ἐπλήρουν. Ἰούδας γὰρ τὸν δἰ ἀγχόνης θάνατον τοῦ μετ̓ αἰσχύνης ζῇν προτιμήσας, ἔδειξε τάχα τῶν νῦν ἀπερυθριασάντων πρὸς πᾶσαν ἀνθρώπων κατάγνωσιν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀναιδῶς πρὸς τὰ αἰσχρὰ διακειμένων, ἑαυτὸν αἱρετώτερον. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ἐπιστολή ΣΜ’, Νικοπολίταις πρεσβυτέροις Source: Migne PG 32.896b-897a

If, then, the trial is heavy, brethren, let us endure the toil. No one is crowned who is untouched by blows and dust in battle. Are these mockeries of the devil and those sent against us insignificant? They are troublesome because they are his servants, but easy to despise because in them God has mixed wickedness with infirmity, so let us beware of condemnation because of grave laments over a little pain. For one thing alone is worthy of lamentation, the loss of one's self, for the sake of the credit of the moment, if one one may call becoming a public disgrace credit, for there one defrauds one's self of the everlasting reward of the righteous. You are children of confessors, you are children of martyrs, you have stood fast against sin unto blood. Let each one make use of the examples of his own household to gain strength for piety. Not one of us has been cut by lashes. Not one of us has been deprived of property. We have not been driven into exile. We have not endured imprisonment. What great suffering have we undergone? Unless perhaps this grieves, that we have not suffered, that we have not been thought worthy of the sufferings of Christ. But if you are distressed because a wretch occupies the house of prayer and you worship the Lord of heaven and earth in the open air, recall that the eleven disciples were shut up in the upper room and those who had crucified the Lord were worshipping in the far famed temple of the Jews. Perhaps Judas, who preferred death by hanging to a shameful life, showed himself a better man than those who now meet universal condemnation and disgracefully preferring themselves wallow in shame. Saint Basil of Caesarea, from Letter 240, To The Church Of Nicopolis

Commands And Binding

Quapropter multam fiduciam habens in Christo imperandi tibi, quod ad rem pertinet, propter charitaem tamen magis deprecor, cum sis talis, ut Paulus senex, nunc autem et vinctus Christi Jesu. Quantum ratio exigebat, dignum erat imperare discipulo magistrum ex fiducia apostolicae auctoritatis; sed quia vir bonus erat philemon, per affectum illum provocat obaudire, quasi coaevum aetatis, et vinctum Christi Jesu, id est, obligtum negotiis Dominicis, vel propter nomen ejus subjectum vinculis, sicut erant et ipsi apostoli. Tales enim fuerunt Judas et Silas, qui, cum ex plebe essent, primores inter fratres, obligaverant semetipsos Dominicis actibus; ut una cum apostolicis coagonizarent propter fidem Dei. Unde Silas particeps laborum invenitur Apostoli. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Philomenem Source: Migne PL 17.505b

Whence by the possession of great faith in Christ I can command you to act in this affair, yet because of love I rather beg you, who are such as I, an old man, and now even a prisoner for Jesus Christ. 1 Weighty reason demanded that on account of Apostolic authority the master was fit to command the pupil, but because Philemon was a good man, he calls on him to obey out of affection, as men of the same age, and a captive of Jesus Christ, that is, one bound to the affairs of the Lord, indeed on account on His name subject to chains, as the Apostles were. For such were Judas and Silas, 2 who from the common people, first among brothers, bound themselves to the deeds of the Lord, so that they suffered with the Apostles on account of the faith of God. Whence Silas is found to participate in the trials of the Apostle. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To Philemon 1 Philemon 8-9 2 Acts 15.22-

The Spirit And Bitterness

Et abii amarus in indignatione spiritus mei... Pensate, fratres charissimi, cui dona sancti Spiritus creverant cur amarus abibat? An omne cor quod idem spiritus assumit amarum in indignatione sui spiritus facit? Unde sciendum est quia cui adhuc praesens vita dulcis est, etiamsi verbum Dei loqui videatur, elevatus et assumptus praedicator non est. Mentem enim quam Spiritus sanctus replet in amaritudinem temporalium delectatione aeternorum commovet. Dulce enim est esse in rebus humanis, sed ei qui adhuc de coelestibus gaudia nulla gustavit, quia quanto minus aeterna intelligit, tanto delectabilius in temporalibus requiescit. At si quis jam cordis ore gustaverit quae sit illa dulcedo coelestium praemiorum qui illi hymnidici angelorum chori, quae incomprehensibilis visio sanctae Trinitatis, huic quanto illud dulce fit quod intus videt, tanto in amaritudinem vertitur omne quod foris sustinet. Rixatur secum de his quae male egisse se recolit, et sibimetipsi displicet, cum ei ille placere jam coeperit qui omnia creavit. Reprehendit se de cogitationibus, insequitur de verbis, et punit flendo de factis. Supernis inhiat, terrena jam omnia per mentis despectum calcat. Et quandiu illud quod desiderat adhuc per speciem non habet, flere dulce habet, seseque continuis lamentis affligere. Et quia necdum se esse in patria ad quam creatus est videt, in hujus vitae exsilio nil ei plus aliud quam sua amaritudo placet. Dedignatur etenim subjacere temporalibus, et ardenter suspirat aeternis. Unde recte quoque per Salomonem dicitur: Eo quod in multa sapientia multa sit indignatio, et qui apponit scientiam apponit dolorem. Coelestia etenim cognoscentes, terrenis animum subdere dedignamur. Et dum plus sapere incipimus de his quae male egimus, nobis ipsis irascimur, et fit in multa sapientia multa indignatio, quia quanto plus proficimus in cognitione, tanto nobis indignamur amplius de perverso opere. Atque cum scientia dolor crescit, quia quanto magis aeterna cognoscimus, tanto magis esse nos in hujus exsilii miseria dolemus. Vel sicut in translatione alia dicitur: Et qui addit scientiam addit laborem. Quo enim scire incipimus quae sint coelestia gaudia, eo magis ut errorum nostrorum laqueos possimus evadere, flendo laboramus. In multa ergo sapientia multa est indignatio, quia si aeterna jam sapimus, concupiscere temporalia dedignamur. Si aeterna jam sapimus, nosmetipsos despicimus egisse hoc quod nos potuit ab aeternitatis amore separare. Reprehendit semetipsam conscientia, accusat quod egit, damnat per poenitentiam quod accusat, fit rixa in animo, parturiens pacem cum Deo. Sic Achab, rex iniquus, a propheta reprehensus, cum contra se divinam sententiam audisset, pertimuit, et magno moerore depressus est, ita ut prophetae suo Dominus diceret: Nonne vidisti humiliatum Achab coram me? Quia igitur humiliatus est mei causa, non inducam malum in diebus ejus. In quibus Domini verbis pensandum est quomodo ei in electis suis moeror amaritudinis placeat qui amittere timent Dominum, si sic ei et in reprobo poenitentia placuit qui timebat perdere praesens saeculum? Aut quomodo ei grata sit spontanea afflictio pro culpis in eis qui placent, si haec ad tempus placuit et in illo qui displicebat? Sed sciendum quia nullus haec pro amore omnipotentis Domini ex toto corde agere praevalet, nisi is cujus animum Spiritus sanctus assumpserit. Nam quando homo ex sua virtute sufficiat terrena despicere, coelestia amare, pacem cum Deo quaerere, secum rixam subire, in cogitatione semetipsum reprehendere, et gemitibus punire? Nullus haec agere nisi quem divina gratia roboraverit valet. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia X Source: Migne PL 76.903d-905c

And I went off in bitterness, in the indignation of my spirit... 1 Consider, dearest brothers, him in whom the gifts of the Holy Spirit were given, why did he go away bitter? Is every heart that the same Spirit lifts up made bitter in the indignation of its spirit? Let it be known that to him whom the present life is sweet, even if he seem to speak the word of God, he is not an elevated and chosen preacher. The soul which the Holy Spirit fills with delight for eternal things is moved to bitterness for temporal things. For it is sweet to be among human things, but only to him who has yet to taste heavenly joys, because the less is his understanding of eternal things, so the more he has rest in temporal pleasures. But if someone shall taste with the mouth of his heart that sweetness of heavenly rewards, where choirs of angels sing, and there is the inexpressible vision of the Holy Trinity, as so much more sweet is that which he sees within, so much more he endures in bitterness everything that is without. He struggles with himself concerning those things which he has done wickedly, recollecting himself, and he is displeasing to himself, which is when he begins to please Him who created all things. He reproves himself in his thoughts, he strikes himself with words, and chastises himself amid tears, concerning his deeds. He desires supernal things, and despises all worldly things with a lofty mind. And while he does not yet have sight of that which he desires, he has the sweetness of tears, and afflicts himself with continual weeping. And because he does not yet behold that fatherland for which he was created, so there is nothing in the exile of this life which pleases because of its bitterness. He scorns to subject himself to temporal things, and he ardently sighs for eternal things. Thus rightly it is said by Solomon: 'In much wisdom there is much indignation, and he who heaps up knowledge heaps up sorrow.' 2 For knowing heavenly things, we revile subjection to worldly things. And as we begin to know more of the evil we have done, so we become angry with ourselves, and thus much wisdom makes much indignation, because the more we progress in knowledge, so we become more indignant concerning our perverse works. Sorrow grows with knowledge, because the more we know eternal things, so much more we grieve to be in this wretched exile. Or as it says in another translation: 'And he who adds to knowledge adds to toil.' 2 For as we begin to know what heavenly joys are, so the more we are able to evade the snares of our faults, weeping in the labour of it. Therefore in much wisdom there is much indignation, because if we know eternal things, we scorn to desire to temporal things. If we know eternal things, we look upon ourselves as those who have done what has separated us from the love of eternity. Conscience reproves a man, it accuses what he has done, he is condemned to penitence for what he is accused, he struggles in his soul, so that he might give birth to peace with God. So when Achab, that wicked king, was reproved by a prophet, and he heard the Divine sentence given against himself, and he was fearful and oppressed with great grief, so the Lord said to His prophet: 'Do you not see the humility of Achab before me? Therefore because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring evil in his days.' 3 In which words of the Lord let it be thought how the grief of bitterness in His chosen ones is pleasing to Him, those who fear to lose the Lord, if the penitence of one reproved has pleased Him, one who feared the loss of the world. Or how is there freely given grace to him for affliction in faults which pleases, if in one thing he has pleased for a time and in another he has displeased? But it must be known that no one can act from his whole heart for the love of almighty God unless the Holy Spirit lifts up the soul. For when has man by his own virtue been able to despise worldly things, to love heavenly things, to seek peace with God, to struggle with himself, to chastise himself in his mind, and punish himself with groans? It never happens, unless he is strengthened with Divine grace.  Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 10 1 Ezek 3.14 2 Eccle 1.18 3 3 Kings 21.29

Trials And Rewards

Qui in virtute Dei custodimini per fidem, etc. Et Dominus ait in Evangelio: In domo Patris mei mansiones multae sunt. Et iterum: Non est meum dare vobis, sed quibus paratum est a Patre meo. Paratae ergo sunt sedes in regno Dei, paratae mansiones in domo Patris, parata salus in coelis, tantum faciat se dignum qui accipere desiderat. Sed quia nemo suo tantum conamine dignus fieri, suisque viribus ad aeternam potest venire salutem, recte praemittitur: Qui in virtute Dei custodimini per fidem. Neque enim quisquam suae libertatis potentia custodiri valet in bonis, sed illius per omnia quaerendum est auxilium, ut perficiamur, a quo initium bonae actionis accepimus. In quo exsultabitis, etc. Quod dicit In quo, significat in eo quod tempore novissimo salus parata revelabitur, ac dignis dabitur. De quo et Dominus ait: Iterum autem videbo vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum, et gaudium vestrum nemo tollet a vobis. Modicum nunc, si oportet, contristari. Oportet, inquit, contristari, quia non nisi per tristitiam saeculi labentis et afflictiones potest ad gaudia aeterna perveniri. Modicum autem dicit, quia ubi merces aeterna retribuetur, breve videbitur ac leve totum fuisse quod in saeculi tribulationibus grave videbatur et acerbum. Ut probatio fidei vestrae multo pretiosior sit auro, etc. Et Sapientiae liber passiones sanctorum auro quod per ignem examinatur comparat, dicens de Domino: Tanquam aurum in fornace probavit illos, et quasi holocausti hostiam accepit illos. Quia nimirum quos in camino tribulationis fideles probaverit, hos in gaudio retributionis quasi placabilem sibi hostiam assumet. Et bene patientia sanctorum auro assimilatur, quia sicut in metallis pretiosius auro aliquid non est, ita haec apud Deum omni est laude dignissima. Hinc etenim scriptum est: Pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum ejus. Sicut enim aurum in fornace clausum ignibus examinatur, prolatum vero foras cujus sit fulgoris apparebit, ita fidelium constantia inter infidelium quidem pressuras contemptibilis videtur ac stulta; sed ubi tempus retributionis, finito certamine tribulationum, adfuerit, tunc quantae fuerit gloriae quantum flammis passionum profecerit, eorum virtus ostenditur. Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput I Source: Migne PL 93.43b-44a

You who by the virtue of God are guarded through faith...1 And the Lord says in the Gospel: 'In the house of my Father there are many dwelling places.' 2 And again: 'It is not for me to give this to you, but they are for whom my Father has prepared it.' 3 Thus the seats are prepared in the kingdom of God, and rooms are prepared in the house of the Father, and salvation is prepared in heaven, only let him make himself worthy of it who desires to be received. But because no one is made worthy to come to eternal salvation by his own exertions and strength, rightly it is set down first: 'You who by the virtue of God are guarded through faith.' For no one is able to guard himself in good things by the power of his own will, but it is from Him whose help must be sought in everything, that we be perfected, from whom we receive the beginning of every good deed. In which you shall exult... By 'in which' he signifies that last time when the salvation that has been prepared shall be revealed and given to those who are worthy. Concerning which the Lord says: 'But again I shall see you, and your hearts shall rejoice, and no one shall take your joy from you.' 4 If now it is necessary to suffer a little... It is necessary to suffer, he says, because only through the sorrows and afflictions of a fallen word is it possible to come to eternal joy. And he says 'a little,' because when the eternal reward shall be given, brief and light shall seem all of that which amid the tribulations of the world seemed so burdensome and bitter. That the trial of your faith, much more precious than gold... The book of Wisdom compares the passions of the saints to the examination of gold by fire, saying of the Lord: 'As gold in the furnace He tired them, and as the sacrifice of a holocaust He received them.' 5 Because certainly those who are proved faithful in the way of tribulation are those who are taken up as a pleasing sacrifice in the joy of the reward. And rightly is the endurance of the saints likened to gold, because as among metals there is nothing more precious than gold, thus with God these are most worthy of all praise. Hence indeed it has been written: 'Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.' 6 For as gold set in the furnace is examined with fire, and when it is drawn out its splendour appears, so the constancy of the saints amid the impositions of the godless seem contemplible and foolish, but come the time of reward, with the end of the struggle of tribulations, then with as much glory as were produced by the flames of passion, so their virtue will be shown. Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chapter 1 1 1 Pet 1.5 2 Jn 14.2 3 Mk 10.40 4 Jn 16.22 5 Wisd 3.6 6 Ps 115.15

Endurance And Reward

Existimo ergo quod non sint condignae passiones hujus temporis ad futuram gloriam, quae revelabitur in nobis. Exhortatio haec ad superiora pertinet, per quam ostendit parva esse, quae hic possunt a perfidis irrogari, ad comparationem decreti muneris in futuro saeculo. Propterea nos jubet ad omnia exitia paratos esse debere, quia magna pro his repromissa sunt praemia; ut in tribulatione consoletur se animus, et spe crescat. Nam et quosdam, immo multos scimus pro praesentibus lucris, ad modicum utique profuturis, quam asperos et duros subire labores, et ad quae tendunt aliquando, quia ipsa vita fragilis est et incerta, pervenire non possunt. Nautae pro quibus commodis tantis se procellis et tempestatibus credunt; cum sciant in his magis mortem ante oculos esse, quam vitam? Et milites spe praesentis praemii, cum incerta victoria sit, in gladios insurgere non dubitant. Quanto ergo magis pro Christo patiendum est, cujus etiam protelata sunt nobis beneficia: qui pro parvis magnifica, pro terrenis coelestia, et pro temporalibus perpetua praemia cum gloria pollicetur! Pro Christo dicimur pati, cum nobis non illi proficiat, quod patimur: sed quia ille occasionem quaerit remunerandi nos, hoc praecipit; ut bonus enim vel profusus largitor causam quaerit, quomodo donet aut indignis, aut verecundis. Denique ut ipsa exitia tolerari possint, ipse suggerit vires. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Romanos, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 17.124a-b

Therefore I judge that the sufferings of this time are not worth comparing to the glory that shall be revealed to us. 1 This exhortation relates to what we have just read, by which he shows that the things it is possible may inflicted by the wicked here are small in comparison with the reward decreed in the future age. Because of which he admonishes us to be prepared for every sort of mischief, because the rewards promised for these things are so great, whence the soul may be consoled in tribulation and grow in hope. We know how bitter and hard are the labours we undergo for present gain, and for the little we get in the future, and that because life is fragile and uncertain that sometimes there is no gain at all. Consider how sailors give themselves to such great storms and tempests for such things, when they know that in these things death is more likely to be set before their eyes than life. And that soldiers do not hesitate to take up the sword for the hope of present reward, when victory is uncertain. How much more, therefore, should we suffer for Christ, whose blessings are spread out before us, He who offers great things for little things, heavenly things for worldly things, eternal rewards for temporal ones. We are said to suffer for Christ, when it benefits us and not Him, but because He seeks for an occasion to reward us, this is what He commands. For like a good and generous benefactor, He seeks a reason to give to those who are either unworthy or bashful. And then, that adversities be endured, He even supplies the strength. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Letter of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 8 1 Rom 8.18