Blessings And Trials

Μακάριον εἶναι λέγει, τὸν πειρασμὸν ὑπομένοντα. Γενήσεται γὰρ, φησὶν ὁ οὕτως ἀθλητικῶς ἀγαγὼν τὸν ἀγῶνα δόκιμος ἀνὴρ, διὰ πάντων γεγυμνασμενος· οὕτω δὲ ἀναφανέντι ἐκ τν σκυθρωπῶν δοθήσεται στέφανος ζωῆς, εὐτρεπισθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῖς αὐτὸν ἀγαπῶσιν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Την Ἰάκωβου Ἐπιστολὴ Source: Migne PG 39.1749b-1751a

He says that he is blessed who suffers trials. 1 For let it be, he says, that he is proved a man of trial by struggling bravely and exercising himself in everything, and he will then appear from sorrows and receive a crown of life, prepared by God for those who love Him. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Letter of James, fragment 1 Jam 1.12

Commandments And Evil

VERANUS. Quid est quod ait: Qui custodit praeceptum Dei, non experietur quidquam mali|? Quomodo nihil mali experietur qui praecepta Dei custodit, cum sancti viri qui praecepta Dei custodierunt, multa perpessi sint in hoc saeculo? SALONIUS. Verum est, quia qui praecepta Dei custodit, id est omne quod iussit et praecepit Deus non experietur quidquam mali in futuro, hoc est nullum malum patietur, nullum malum sustinebit in die iudicii. Quamvis enim aliqua mala patiatur in hac vita, levia sunt et transitoria; in futura autem vita nihil mali patietur qui pervenerit ad aeternae beatitudinis gloriam. Salonius Viennensis, Expositio Mystica in Ecclesiasten Source: Migne PL 53.1006c

Veranus: Why is it said, 'He who keeps the commandments of God shall not experience any evil?'  1 How does he experience no evil who keeps the commandments of God when holy men who have kept the commandments of God have suffered many things in this world? Salonius: It is true, because he who keeps the commandments of God, that is, everything that God has ordered and commanded, shall not experience any evil in the future, he shall not suffer any evil nor endure any evil on the day of judgement. For although he must suffer evils in this life, they are light and transitory, and in the future life he shall not suffer any evil who comes to the glory of eternal beatitude. Salonius of Geneva, A Spiritual Exposition of Ecclesiastes 1 Eccl 8.5

Mourning And Healing

Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται. Ἔστι μὲν οὖν ἐκ τοῦ προχείρου μακαριστὸν ὑπο λαβεῖν ἐκεῖνο τὸ πένθος, τὸ ἐπὶ πλημμελήμασι καὶ ἁμαρτίαις γινόμενον, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Παύλου περὶ τῆς λύπης διδασκαλίαν, τοῦ φήσαντος, μὴ ἒν εἶναι λύπης εἶδος, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν κοσμικὸν, τὸ δὲ κατὰ Θεὸν ἐνερ γούμενον. Καὶ τῆς μὲν κοσμικῆς λύπης, θάνατον εἶναι τὸ ἔργον· τὴν δὲ ἑτέραν, σωτηρίαν ἐκ μετανοίας τοῖς λυπουμένοις ἐργάζεσθαι. Τῷ ὄντι γὰρ οὐκ ἔξω τοῦ μακαρίζεσθαι τὸ τοιοῦτον τῆς ψυχῆς πάθος ἐστὶν, ὅταν ἐν αἰσθήσει γενομένη τοῦ χείρονος, τὸν ἐν κακίᾳ βίον ἀπολοφύρηται. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν σωματικῶν ἀῤῥωστημάτων, οἷς ἂν πάρετον ἐξ ἐπηρείας τινὸς γένηταί τι μέρος τοῦ σώματος, σημεῖον τοῦ νενεκρῶσθαι τὸ παρειμένον ἡ ἀναλγησία γίνεται· εἰ δὲ κατά τινα τέχνην ἰατρικὴν ἡ ζωτικὴ πάλιν αἴσθησις ἐπαναχθείη τῷ σώματι, χαίρουσιν ἤδη πονοῦντος τοῦ μέρους, αὐτός τε ὁ κάμνων καὶ οἱ τὴν θεραπείαν προσάγοντες, τεκμηρίῳ χρώμενοι τοῦ πρὸς ὑγίειαν τρέψαι τὸ πάθος, τὸ ἐν αἰσθήσει τῶν δριμυσσόντων ἤδη γενέσθαι τὸ μέλος· οὕτως ἐπειδὰν, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ἀπηλγηκότες τινὲς παραδῶσι τῷ καθ' ἁμαρτίαν βίῳ ἑαυτοὺς, νεκροί τινες ὄντως καὶ πάρετοι τοῦ κατ' ἀρετὴν βίου γενόμενοι, οὐδεμίαν ἔχουσιν ὧν ποιοῦσιν τὴν αἴσθησιν. Εἰ δὲ καθάψαιτό τις αὐτῶν ὁ ἰατρεύων λόγος, οἷον διά τινων θερμῶν τε καὶ διακαιόντων φαρμάκων, λέγω δὲ τῶν σκυθρωπῶν τῆς μελλούσης κρίσεως ἀπειλῶν, καὶ διὰ βάθους τὴν καρδίαν τῷ φόβῳ τῶν προσδοκωμένων δριμύξειεν, γεέννης φόβον, καὶ πῦρ μὴ σβεννύμενον, καὶ ἀτελεύτητον σκώληκα, καὶ βρυγμὸν ὀδόντων, καὶ κλαυθμὸν ἀδιάλειπτον, καὶ σκότος ἐξώτερον, καὶ ἅπαντα τὰ τοιαῦτα, οἷόν τινα θερμὰ καὶ δριμέα φάρμακα τῷ νεναρκηκότι διὰ τῶν καθ' ἡδονὴν παθημάτων ἐντρίβων καὶ ἀναθάλπων, εἰς αἴσθησιν αὐτὸν ἀγάγοι τοῦ ἐν ᾧ ἦν βίου, μακαριστὸν αὐτὸν ἀπεργάσηται, τὴν ὀδυνηρὰν αἴσθησιν τῇ ψυχῇ ἐμποιήσας. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Logos Γ', Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται Source: Migne PG 44.1220d-1221b

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted 1 Firstly, then, one can take that mourning to be blessed which follows the errors of sins, according to the teaching of Paul on sorrow, which says that there is not just one kind of sorrow, but there is one of the world and one that is brought about by God, and the work of the worldly sorrow is death, but the other in those mourning works salvation through repentance. 2 For truly such suffering cannot be excluded from the sorrow that is called blessed when a soul bewails its wicked life because it feels its badness. It is as with bodily disorders, so that if because of some accident a limb of the body has become paralysed, then a lack of a sense of pain is a sign that the afflicted limb has gone dead, but if the physician's art restores to the body the sensation of life, there is gladness over the suffering of the part because it is a sign that health is being restored since the limb can now sense that which causes pain. Thus, as the Apostle says, if people give themselves to sin because they no longer feel pain in it, then they have become truly paralyzed and are dead to the virtuous life, for they have no feeling for what they are doing. But if a healing word lays hold of them like some bitter medicine, and I speak here of the fierce threats of the judgement to come, and it pierces the heart to its depths with the fear of the things that are to be expected, the terror of hell, and the unquenchable fire, and the worm that does not die, and the gnashing of teeth, and the perpetual weeping, and the outer darkness, all these things are administered like bitter medicines so that the man who has died by the passions and pleasures is revived again and senses the sort of life he had been leading, and he is made blessed by the pain he feels in his soul. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Third Oration, on 'Blessed are they who weep for they shall be comforted.' 1 Mt 5.4 2 2 Cor 7.10

Suffering And Salvation

Quam ob causam et haec patior sed non confundor... Praedicans Dei donum, diabolum patitur inimicum; ut pressuras ei exsuscitet, quia populum de faucibus ejus eruit. Sed non confundor. In hoc securus, quia pro tribulationibus magna promissa merces est, non confunditur, sed gloriatur in pressuris. Scio enim cui credidi, et certus sum quia potens est depositum meum custodire in illa die. Hoc est quod dicit, qua spe et fiducia magnificentiae Salvatoris securus est; quia quod commendat illi, in tuto est. Quid autem illi commendat, nisi salutem suam? Ut hoc pro illo patiens, salutem inveniat penes illum, cum coeperit judicare; ut puniens infideles, istum dignum aeterna vita pronuntiet. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Timotheum Secundam, Caput I Source: Migne PL 17.487c

For which reason I also suffer these things, but I am not dismayed... 1 Preaching the gift of God, he suffers the hostility of the devil, who is roused to oppress him who plucks people from his jaws. 'But I am not dismayed.' In this I am secure, that a great reward has been promised for tribulations. I am not dismayed, but I glory amidst trials. 'For I know Him in whom I have believed, and I am certain that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him on that day.' 1 This is what he says, that he is secure in hope and confidence in the magnificence of the Saviour, because what he commits to Him is safe. And what does He commit to him but his own salvation? So that suffering for Him he finds salvation with Him, when He begins to judge, so that while the faithless are punished, he is proclaimed worthy of eternal life. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Second Letter of Saint Paul To Timothy, Chapter 1 1 2 Tim 1.12

Purchasing Glory

Quomodo intelligendum est quod ait: Malum est, malum est, dicit omnis emptor, et cum recesserit, tunc gloriabitur? Secundum litteram, solet emptor vituperare quod emere desiderat, et dicere: Malum est. malum est; verumtamen si bene emerit, cum recesserit gloriabitur. Spiritualiter autem quomodo intelligitur? Ille veraciter est emptor, qui sibi aeterna in coelis praemia comparare desiderat. Ipse nimirum emere studet terrenis coelestia, caducis mansura, temporalibus aeterna. Talis ergo emptor quidquid patitur in praesenti malum esse dicit, quia malum esse intelligit. Attamen quia omnia adversa pro Deo patienter sustinet, cum secesserit de mundo, tunc gloriabitur, quia perveniet ad beatitudinem. Honorius Augustodunensis, Quaestiones Et Ad Easdem Responsiones In Duos Salomonis Libros, In Proverbia, Caput XX Source: Migne PL 172.322b

How should it be understood when it is said, 'Its bad, it's bad,' says every buyer, and when they go away then they glory? 1 According to the letter, a buyer is accustomed to deprecate what he desires to buy and say, 'It's bad, it's bad.' However if he buys well, when he goes away he glories. How is this to be understood spiritually? He is a true buyer who desires to acquire eternal riches for himself in heaven. He is keen to buy heavenly things over worldly things, mansions over ruins, eternal things over temporal things. Therefore such a buyer says it is bad because whatever he suffers in the present he understands it to be an evil. However because he patiently endures every adversity for God, when he goes from the world, then he glories, because he comes to beatitude. Honorius of Autun, Questions and Answers on Two Books of Solomon, On Proverbs, Chapter 20 1 Prov 20.14

Two Crosses

Et tollat crucem suam quotidie, et sequatur me. Duobus etenim modis crux tollitur, cum aut per abstinentiam afficitur corpus, aut per compassionem proximi affligitur animus. Pensemus qualiter utroque modo Paulus crucem suam tulerit, qui dicebat: Castigo corpus meum, et in servitutem redigo, ne forte aliis praedicans, ipse reprobus efficiar. Ecce in afflictione corporis audivimus crucem carnis, nunc in compassione proximi audiamus crucem mentis. Ait: Quis infirmatur, et ego non infirmor? Quis scandalizatur, et ego non uror? Sed in utraque crucis bajulatione notandum quod hanc et quotidie tollere, et ea sumpta Dominum sequi jubemur. Sanctus Beda, In Luci Evangelium Expositio, Liber III, Caput IX Source: Migne PL 92.452c

And let him take up his own cross every day and follow me. 1 Indeed the cross is taken up in two ways, when either the body is afflicted with abstinence or the soul is afflicted with compassion for a neighbour. Let us think of how Paul took up his own cross in two ways, he who said, 'I chastised my body and reduced it to servitude, lest perhaps preaching to others, I make myself blameworthy.' 2  Observe that in the affliction of the body we have heard of the cross of the flesh, and now in compassion for a neighbour let us hear of the cross of the mind. He says, 'Who is weak and I am not weak? Who is scandalised and I do not burn?' 3 And in both struggles of the cross let it be noted that it is to be taken up every day, and with these things taken up we are commanded to follow the Lord. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 9 1 Lk 9.23 2 1 Cor 9.27 3 2 Cor 11.29

Suffering And Blessings

Mακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν Τίς οὐκ οἶδεν, ὅσῳ τοῦ ἀγαπᾶσθαι τὸ ἐπιβουλεύεσθαι χαλεπώτερον κέκριται; Τοῦτο µέν τοι πολλάκις τὸ δοκοῦν χαλεπὸν, καὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον εὐκληρίας πολλοῖς αἴτιον γίνεται, οἷον περὶ τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ ὁ λόγος ἐνδείκνυται· ὃς ἐπιβουλευθεὶς παρὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν, καὶ τῆς µετ' αὐτῶν συν διαγωγῆς ἀπελαθεὶς, διὰ τῆς πράσεως βασιλεὺς ἀν εδείχθη τῶν ἐπιβεβουλευκότων, οὐκ ἂν ἴσως προελθὼν ἐπὶ τὸ τηλικοῦτον ἀξίωµα, µὴ τοῦ φθόνου διὰ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς ἐκείνης τὴν βασιλείαν ὁδοποιήσαντος. Ὥσπερ τοίνυν εἴ τις τοῦ µέλλοντος τὴν γνῶσιν ἔχων, προεῖπε τῷ Ἰωσὴφ, ὅτι Ἐπιβουλευθεὶς µακάριος ἔσῃ, οὐκ ἂν ἐκ τοῦ προχείρου πιθανὸς ἔδοξε τῷ ἀκούοντι, πρὸς τὸ παραχρῆµα λυπηρὸν ὁρῶντι· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ᾠήθη δυνατὸν εἶναι κακῆς προαιρέσεως ἀγαθὸν ἀνα δειχθῆναι τὸ πέρας· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὁ τῶν τυράννων τοῖς πιστοῖς ἐπαγόµενος διωγµὸς, πολὺ κατὰ τὴν αἴσθησιν τὸ ἀλγεινὸν ἔχων, δυσπαράδεκτον ποιεῖ τοῖς σαρκωδεστέροις τὴν διὰ τῶν ἀλγεινῶν αὐτοῖς προκειµένην τῆς βασιλείας ἐλπίδα· ἀλλ' ὁ Κύριος τὸ σαθρὸν ὑπεριδὼν τῆς φύσεως, προαναφωνεῖ τοῖς ἀσθενεστέροις, οἷόν ἐστι τῆς ἀγωνίας τὸ πέρας, ἵνα τῇ τῆς βασιλείας ἐλπίδι τὴν πρόσκαιρον τῶν ἀλγεινῶν αἴσθησιν εὐκόλως καταπαλαίσωσιν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Λόγος Ηʹ Source: Migne PG 44.1296a-b

Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 1 Who does not know how more difficult it is to bear if instead of being loved we are schemed against? Yet often what seems hard becomes a cause of happiness for many even in this life, which is shown in the story of Joseph, he who was plotted against by his brothers and they expelled him from their company, but because of this he became the king of those who had plotted, 1 and perhaps he would not have attained to such great dignity had not the envy of the plotters made a way for that kingdom. If, then, someone who had knowledge of the future had told Joseph, 'You are being plotted against, you will be blessed,' it would not have appeared immediately believable to him who heard, for looking only to present distress, he would not have thought it possible that evil purpose could reach a good end. So here the persecution of the faithful by tyrants, in which there is much material pain, makes it difficult for those who are more worldly minded to admit the hope of the kingdom that is to be brought forth by these pains, but the Lord, looking down on the infirmity of our nature, foretells to the weak what the goal of the struggle is, so that with hope of the kingdom they more easily triumph over the transient feelings of pain. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Eighth Oration 1 Mt 5.10 2 Gen 37-45

Directing Deeds

Felix, cujus cogitatio, hoc est verbum nostrum, omnes actiones suas ad justitiam dirigit, ut et intentio sana sit, et operatio recta. Felix, qui passiones corporis sui propter justitiam ordinat, ut quidquid patitur, propter Dei Filium patiatur: quatenus et a corde tollatur murmuratio, et in ore versetur gratiarum actio, et vox laudis. Qui sic extulit se, iste tollit grabatum suum, et vadit in domum suam. Grabatum nostrum corpus est, in quo prius languidi jacebamus servientes desideriis et concupiscentiis nostris. Nunc vero portamus illud, cum spiritui obedire cogimur: et mortuum nostrum portamus, quia corpus mortuum est propter peccatum. Ambulamus tamen, non currimus; quia corpus quod corrumpitur aggravat animam, et deprimit terrena inhabitatio sensum multa cogitantem. Ambulamus etiam in domum nostram. In quam domum? In matrem omnium, quia sepulcra eorum domus illorum in aeternum. Vel potius in domum nostram, quam habemus ex Deo non manufactam, aeternam in coelis. Qui sub hoc onere ambulamus, posito eo, quid putatis quomodo curremus? quomodo volabimus? Plane super pennas ventorum. Amplexatus est nos Dominus Jesus per laborem et dolorem nostrum: amplectamur cum nos quoque vicariis quibusdam amplexibus propter justitiam et ad justitiam suam, actiones ad justitiam dirigendo, passiones propter justitiam sustinendo. Dicamus quoque cum sponsa: Tenui eum, nec dimittam. Dicamus etiam cum patriarcha: Non dimittam te, nisi benedixeris mihi Quid enim jam superest, nisi benedictio? Quid post amplexum, nisi osculum restat? Si sic adhaererem Deo, quomodo non jam exclamare liberet: Osculetur me osculo oris sui? Ciba nos interim, Domine, lacrymarum pane, et potum da nobis in lacrymis in mensura: donec perducas nos ad mensuram bonam, et confertam, et coagitatam, quam dabis in sinus nostros, qui es in sinu Patris super omnia benedictus Deus in saecula. Amen. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, De passione Domini Source: Migne PL 183.270a-d

Happy the one whose thought, that is, our word, directs all his deeds to righteousness, with a healthy intention and upright action. Happy the one who on account of righteousness disciplines the passions of the body, so that whatever is suffered, is suffered for the sake of the Son of God. As much as there may be murmuring in our hearts, let there be thanksgiving in the mouth and the voice of praise. He who lifts himself up, he takes up his pallet, and he goes off to his own house. 1 Our body is the pallet on which we have languished, cast down by the service of our desires and lusts. Now, however, let us carry it, when we are driven to obey the spirit, and let us carry our death, because the body is dead on account of sin. But let us walk and not run, 'Because the body which is corrupted lies heavy on the soul, and a worldly habitation weighs down the sense of many thoughts.' 2 Let us indeed walk to our own house; but to which house? To the mother of us all, because their tombs are their houses forever? 3 Or rather to our house which we have from God, not made, but eternal in heaven. 4 Since we walk beneath this weight, since we are so placed, how do you think we shall run? How shall we fly? Certainly on the wings of the winds. 5 The Lord has embraced us through our labour and our sorrow. We are embraced when we also embrace our neighbour in the way of righteousness and for his righteousness, with our actions directed by righteousness, and suffering because of righteousness. Let us also say with the bride. 'I have held him, I will not let go.' 6 Let us say with the patriarch, 'I shall not go until you have blessed me.' 7 What then is left but to be blessed? What remains after the embrace but a kiss? If I adhere so to God, how shall it not be possible to cry out even now, 'That he kiss me with the kisses of is mouth?'8 Meanwhile for us, O Lord, is the bread of tears, the drink of weeping, given to us in measures, until you lead us to a good portion, gathered up, set together, which you shall pour out into our laps, you who are in the lap of the Father, over all things blessed God forever. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons For The Year, On the Lord's Passion 1 Mt 9.2-7 2 Wisd 9.15 3 Ps 48.12 4 2 Cor 5.1 5 Ps 17.11 6 Song 3.4 7 Gen 32.36 7 Song 1.1

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