Brightening The Eyes

Praeceptum Domini lucidum, illuminans oculos Revera lucidum, quia sincere purun el immaculatum, quale a Patre luminum prodire docet. Hoc iliuminat oculos, non istos carnales quos et pecora nobiscum possunt habere communes, sed illos utique interiores qui divino munere spiritualiter clarificantur. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XVIII Source: Migne PL 70.141a

The commandment of the Lord is bright, illuminating the eyes. 1 Truly bright, he teaches, because perfectly pure and immaculate, as from the Father of lights. 2 This illuminates the eyes, but not the carnal eyes, not those which animals have in common with us, but those interior ones which are spiritually brightened by the Divine gift. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 18 1 Ps 18.9 2 James 1.17

Despising The Name

Ad vos, o sacerdotes, qui despicitis nomen meum, et dixistis: In quo despeximus nomen tuum? Offertis super altare meum panem pollutum, et dicitis : In quo polluimus te? in eo quod dicitis : Mensa Domini despecta est. LLX: Vos, o sacerdotes, qui despicitis nomen meum, et dixistis: In quo despeximus nomen tuum? Offerentes ad altare meum panes pollutos et dixistis: In quo polluimus ipsos? In eo quod dicitis, mensa Domini despecta est, et quae superpoista sunt despexistis Quod autem sequitur: et qua superposita sunt despexistis, obelo praenotavimus, quia in Hebraico non habetur, et de sequentibus additum est. Ad vos, igitur, o sacerdotes, qui despicitis nomen meum, iste sermo dirigitur: qui reversi de Babylone, metu praeteritae servitutis, debueratis ad Dominum plena mente converti: et non solum hoc non facitis, sed imitantes Cain, superbis contra Deum vocibus respondentes, sciscitamini ab eo quem occulta non fallunt, et dicitur: In quo despeximus nomen tuum? ut dissimulationis impudentia, vulnus conscientiae protegatis. Vultis ergo scire in quo despexeritis nomen meum? Offertis super altare meum panem pollutum: panes videlicet propositionis, quos juxta traditiones Hebraicas, ipsi serere, ipsi demetere, ipsi molere, ipsi coquere debebatis: et nunc sumitis quoscumque de medio, et voce temeraria respondetis, et dicitis, in quo polluimus eos, sive te? Dum enim sacramenta violantur, ipse cujus sunt sacramenta violatur. Hoc autem quod sequitur: In eo quod dicitis, mensa Domini despecta est, possumus ita interpretari: Quod reversi de Babylone, necdum templo aedificato, manentes in casulis, et in ruinis urbis antiquae, altare tantum exstruxerant, non ejusdem gloriae, cujus pristinum fuerat, et putabant deesse religionis sanctimoniam, quia deerat aedificationis ambitio. Tenues lineas duximus, quibus imprimenda est explanatio spiritualis. Corripit sermo divinus episcopos, atque presbyteros et diaconos negligentes, sive quoniam genus sacerdotale et regale sumus, omnes qui baptizati in Christo, Christi censentur nomine, cur despiciant nomen Dei: et interrogantibus, in quo despexerint nomen ejus, causas monstrat offensae: Offertis, inquit, super altare meum panem pollutum. Polluimus panem, id est, corpus Christi, quando indigni accedimus ad altare, et sordidi mundum sanguinem bibimus, et dicimus, mensa Domini despecta est; non quod hoc aliquis audeat dicere, et quod impie cogitat scelerata voce, proferre; sed opera peccatorum despiciunt mensam Dei. Possumus et aliter dicere: Doctor Ecclesiae qui spiritualem conficit panem, et eum populis dividit, si vel propter humanam gloriam, vel lucra saeculi quae gloriam consequuntur, loquatur in populis et divitibus blandiatur, et honoret peccatores, et juxta Jacobum suscipiat eos, qui cum annulis aureis ad se veniunt, et pauperes sanctos repellat, nomen Dei despicit, et panem polluit doctrinarum, et in ipsum Deum jacit contumelias, mensam Scripturarum ejus mensis idolorum saecularisque doctrinae putans esse communem. Sanctus Hieronymous, Commentarium In Malachiam Prophetam, Caput I Source: Migne PL 25.1548a-1549a

To you, O priests, who despise my name, and have said, 'How have we despised your name?' You offer polluted bread on my altar and you say, 'How have we polluted you?' By what you say the table of the Lord has been made contemptible.' The Septuagint has, 'You, O priests, who despise my name and have said, 'How have we despised your name?' You are offering polluted bread at my altar and you say 'How have we polluted it?' By what you say the table of the Lord is made contemptible and you have despised what has been set on it.' 1 We warn in advance that we have omitted what comes last here, 'and you have despised what you have set on it,' because it it not found in the Hebrew and has been added to comment on what precedes. To you, therefore, O priests, who despise my name, this speech means that having returned from Babylon you neglected reverence in service, you who should have fully turned your minds to the Lord, and it is not only that which you do, but imitating Cain, you reply to the Lord with proud voices, 2 and you enquire of Him who is not deceived by hidden things with, as it is said, 'How have we despised your name?' So you dissimulate with insolence, covering up the wound of your conscience. You wish to know how you have despised my name? You offer polluted bread on my altar, that is, the bread of showing, which according to the traditions of the Jews you should sow and reap, and grind and bake, but now you take up whatever you have and with a bold voice answer and say, 'In what way have we polluted it or you?' While what is holy is violated, He who hold these things as holy is insulted. In that which follows: 'By what you say the table of the Lord has been made contemptible,' we are able to understand this, that returning from Babylon, with the temple yet unbuilt, you dwelt in huts in the ruins of the old city, and the altar alone you set up, but not in its glory as it was of old, for you thought to be careless in the sacred things of religion because you were negligent in your eagerness to rebuild. We have thus considered these few lines, from which we must now take up the spiritual understanding. Here the Divine word cries out against negligent bishops and priests and deacons, or indeed, because we are a priestly and royal race, 3 all who have been baptised in Christ and are reckoned by the name of Christ, asking why they scorn the name of God, and to those addressed, regarding how they have despised his name, He shows the cause of the offense, 'You offer polluted bread on my altar.' We pollute the bread, that is, the body of Christ, when we come unworthily to the altar and in uncleanliness drink the pure blood. Thus we say, 'The table of the Lord has been made contemptible.' Not that someone would dare to say this and give voice to impious thoughts, but the works of sin despise the table of the Lord. We can also speak of this in another manner. A teacher of the Church who fashions spiritual bread and distributes it among the people, if he seeks human glory or worldly advantage in it, he then speaks among the people to flatter the rich and to honour sinners, and according to James, he receives those who come to him with golden rings, and he turns away those who are poor and holy, 3  and thus he despises the name of God and pollutes the bread of teachings, and he boasts insolently before God, thinking that the table of the Scriptures is much like the table of idols and the world's teaching. Saint Jerome, from the Commentary on The Prophet Malachi , Chapter 1 1 Malac 1.7 2 Gen 4.9 3 1 Per 2.9 4 James 2.2-3

Different Teaching

Οἱ μὲν γὰρ δέονται γάλακτι τρέφεσθαι, τοῖς ἁπλουστέροις καὶ στοιχειωδεστέροις τῶν διδαγμάτων, ὅσοι τὴν ἕξιν νήπιοι καὶ ἀρτιπαγεῖς, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις, τὴν ἀνδρείαν τοῦ λόγου τροφὴν οὐ φέροντες· ἣν εἰ προσάγοι τις παρὰ δύναμιν, τάχα ἂν καταπιεσθέντες καὶ βαρηθέντες, οὐχ ἐξαρχούσης τῆς διανοίας, ὥσπερ ἐχεῖ τῆς ὕλης τὸ ἐπεισελθὸν ἑλχῦσαι καὶ οἰχειώσασθα!, ζημιωθεῖεν ἂν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἀρχαίαν δύναμιν· οἱ δὲ τῆς ἐν τοῖς τελείοις λαλουμένης σοφίας χρήζοντες “ἧς ὑψηλοτέρας καὶ στεῤῥυτέρας, τῷ πρὸς διάχρὶσιν ἀληθοῦς τε καὶ ψευδοῦς; ἱχανῶ: γεγυμνάσθαι τὰ αἰσθητήρια, εἰ γάλα ποτίξοιντο καὶ τρέφοιντο λαχάνοις, ἀσθενῶν βρώματι, δυσχεραίνοιεν ἄν" καὶ μάλα εἰχότως, οὐ δυναμούμενοι κατὰ Χριστὸν, οὐδὲ αὔξοντες τὴν ἐπαινετὴν αὔξησιν, ἣν ἐργάζεται λόγος τελειῶν εἰς ἄνδρα, καὶ εἰς μέτρον ἡλιχίας ἄγων πνευματιχῆς, τὸν καλῶς τρεφόμενον. αὶ πρὸς ταῦτα τίς ἱκαγός; Οὐ γάρ ἔσμεν ὡς οἱ πολλοὶ χαπηλεύειν δυνάμενοι τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, καὶ ἀναμιγνύναι τὸν οἶνον ὕδατ· τὸν εὐφραίνοντα καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου λόγον τῷ πολλῷ καὶ εὐώνῳ καὶ χαμαὶ συρομένῳ καὶ ἐξιτήλῳ καὶ εἰχῆ ῥέοντι, ὥστε αὐτοί τι παραχερδαίνειν ἐκ τῆς καπηλείας, ἄλλὸ τε ἄλλως ὁμιλοῦντες τοῖς πλησιάζουσι καὶ πᾶσι πρὸς χάριν· ἐγγαστρίμυθοί τινες ὄντες καὶ κενολύγοι, τὰς ἑαυτῶν ἡδονὰς θεραπεύοντες λόγοις ἐκ γῆς φωνουμένοις καὶ δυομένοις εῑς γῆν· ὡς ἂν μάλιστα εὐδοκιμοῖμεν τοῖς πολλοῖς, ὅτι μάλιστα ζημιοῦντες αὐτοὺς. ἃ ἀπολλύντες, καὶ αἷμα ἀθῶον ἁπλουστέρων ψυχῶν ἐκχέοντες ἐχ τῶν χειρῶν ἡμῶν ἐκζητηθησόμενον. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Λόγος B' Source: Migne PG 35.453c-456a

For some need to be fed with the milk of the simplest and most elementary teachings, those who are in an infant state and, so to say, new-made, and unable to bear the adult food of the word, for if it were to be presented to them beyond their strength, they would likely be overwhelmed and burdened owing to an immaturity of the mind, as happens with the digestion and assimilation of material bodies, and it may even be to the harm of their original power. Others are in need of the wisdom which is spoken among the perfect, 1 and the higher and more solid food, since their senses have been sufficiently exercised to discern the true and the false, 2 and therefore if they are given milk to drink and the diet of invalids, 3 they will be upset, and indeed rightly, for they will not be strengthened according to Christ, nor make that laudable increase which the Word works for the perfecting of men, bringing a man to the measure of spiritual stature with correct nourishment. 4 And who is capable in these things? For we are not, as the many, able to corrupt the word of truth, and mix in water with the wine which gladdens the heart of man, 5 that is, with much that is common and vile and and debased, and of the serpent's earth, all transient and vainly passing away, like some shopkeeper, so that he may profit himself by it, and that we may in some way accommodate ourselves to those we meet, gaining the assent of everyone, as ventriloquists and chatterers do, who serve their own pleasures by words uttered from the earth, and who sink into the earth, so that they may gain the greatest glory and a celebrated name among the multitude, while utterly injuring and indeed ruining ourselves, and shedding the innocent blood of simpler souls, which will be required at our hands. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, from the Second Oration 1 Cor 2.6 2 Heb 5.14 3 Rom 14.2 4 Ephes 4.13 5 2 Cor 2 16-17, Isaiah 1.22, Ps 103.15

The Salt Of The Earth

Vos estis sal terrae... Causa est quare in tribulatione deficere non debetis, quasi diceret: Necesse est, ut tribulationes constanter patiamini, quia vos estis sal terrae, hoc est fortitudo terrenorum, et ideo defectus vester esset defectus aliorum. Nota quod ipsi vocantur sal et lux mundi. Duo enim sunt necessaria fidelibus: illuminatio mentis, et fortitudo operationis. Sunt quidem apostoli lux, per quos alii illuminantur, et a tenebris ignorantiae purgantur, et dicuntur sal quasi salus, qua iidem servantur a corruptione mentis et corporis. Sicut enim sal carnem a corruptione servat, et vermes ibi exstinguit, et fluidos humores siccat, sic et apostoli, postquam aliquos illuminaverint, eos in bono proposito debent servare, et vermes vitiorum exstinguere, et omnem exsiccare carnalitatem. Unde in Psalmo:  Dominus illuminatio mea, et salus. Si enim aliquis Deum cognoscit, et firmitatem propositi non habeat, non prodest: et alibi dicitur per prophetam: Posui te in lucem gentium, ut sis salus mea usque in extremum terrae. Sal quidem facit sterilem terram, quae enim salsa est, sterilis est. Propterea destructis urbibus, victores supra fundamenta arabant, et sal supra seminabant, ut significarent sterilitatem et vastationem. Propterea dicuntur apostoli sal, quia praedicatio eorum est condimentum aliorum. Nulla enim praedicatio valet, nisi condimento apostolicae doctrinae sit suffulta. Quod si sal evanuerit, id est fortitudo vestra defecerit in tribulatione, in quo salietur? id est in quibus populus infirmior confirmabitur? Ad nihilum valet.  Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput V Source: Migne PL 162.1290d-1291c

You are the salt of the earth... 1 Which is the reason why you should not fall in tribulation, as if He said, 'It is necessary that you continually suffer tribulations because you are the salt of the earth, that is, the strength of the earth, and therefore your failure shall be the failure of others.' Note that that they are called both salt and light, for these two are both needful for the faithful, the illumination of the mind and strength in works. They are certainly Apostles who are light, through whom others are enlightened and purged of their darkness of ignorance, and they are called salt as preservers, by which the body and mind is protected from corruption. As salt protects meat from rotting, killing worms there and drying up fluids, so even the Apostles, after they have illuminated others should guard them in their good resolution, killing off the worms of the vices and drying up all carnality. Whence the Psalm says, 'Lord, my illumination and my salvation.' 2 If someone knows God and has no firmness of will, it cannot profit him, as elsewhere it is said through the prophet, 'I have placed you as a light for the peoples, that you may be my salvation even to the ends of the earth.' 3 Salt does make earth sterile, for when it has been salted it is sterile, and because of this when cities are destroyed the victors plough the foundations and seed it with salt to signify its sterility and ruin, but the Apostles are said to salt because their preaching is the flavouring of others. For no preaching avails unless it is suffused with the flavouring of the Apostolic teaching. If the salt is tasteless, if your strength fails in trials, of what use is it? That is, how will a weak people be strengthened? 'It is of no benefit at all.'  Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.13 2 Ps 26.1 3 Isaiah 49.6

Works And Pride

Εἴπε πάλιν· Οἴδα μοναχοὺς μετὰ πολλοὺς κόπους πεσόντας, καὶ εἰς ἔκστασιν φρενῶν ἐλθόντας, διὰ τὸ ἠλπικέναι ἐπὶ τὸ ἔργον αὐτῶν, καὶ παραλογισαμένους τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ εἰπόντος· Ἐπερώτησον τὸν πατέρα σου, καὶ ἀναγγελεῖ σοι. Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.88b

Again Father Anthony said, 'I knew nine monks who fell away after many labours and went off with proud minds, for they trusted in their works and did not consider the commandment that says, 'Ask your father and he will tell you.' 1 Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia 1 Deut. 32.7

First Lessons

Ἀρχὴ δὲ πάντων χαλεπῶν φιλαργυρία. εἰδότες οὖν ὅτι οὐδὲν εἰσηνέγκαμεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ ἐξενεγκεῖν τι ἔχομεν, ὁπλισώμεθα τοῖς ὅπλοις τῆς δικαιοσύνης καὶ διδάξωμεν ἑαυτοὺς πρῶτον προεύεσθαι ἐν τῇ ἐντολῇ τοῦ Kυριοῦ· ἔπειτα καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ δοθείσῃ αὐταῖς πίστει καὶ ἀγάπῃ καὶ ἁγνείᾳ στεργούσας τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ἄνδρας ἐν πάσῃ ἀληθείᾳ καὶ ἀγαπώσας πάντας ἐξ ἴσου ἐν πάσῃ ἐγκρατείᾳ, καὶ τὰ τέκνα παιδεύειν τὴν παιδείαν τοῦ φόβου τοῦ θεοῦ· τὰς χήρας σωφρονούσας περὶ τὴν τοῦ Kυρίου πίστιν, ἐντυγχανούσας ἀδιαλείπτως περὶ πάντων, μακρὰν οὔσας πάσης διαβολῆς, καταλαλιᾶς, ψευδομαρτυρίας, φιλαργυρίας καὶ παντὸς κακοῦ, γινωσκούσας ὅτι εἰσὶ θυσιαστήριον θεοῦ καὶ ὅτι πάντα μωμοσκοπεῖται, καὶ λέληθεν αὐτὸν οὐδὲν οὔτε λογισμῶν οὔτε ἐννοιῶν οὔτε τι τῶν κρυπτῶν τῆς καρδίας. Ἅγιος Πολύκαρπος Σμύρνης, Πρὸς Φιλιππήσιους Έπιστολή Source: Migne PG 5.1008c-1009a

'But the love of money is the root of all evils.' 1 Knowing, therefore, that 'as we brought nothing into the world, so we can bear nothing out,' 2 let us arm ourselves with the armour of righteousness, 3 and first let us teach ourselves to walk in the commandments of the Lord. Then teach your wives to walk in the faith given to them, and to love their own husbands dearly and tenderly and in all truth, and to love everyone equally and in chastity, and to raise their children in the knowledge and fear of God. Teach widows to be sensible regarding the faith of the Lord, praying continually for all, 4 being far from all slandering, evil-speaking, false-witnessing, land the love of money, and every sort of evil, knowing that they are the altar of God, and that He sees all things clearly and nothing is hidden from Him, neither reasoning, nor reflections, nor any one of the secret things of the heart. Saint Polycarp of Smyrna, from the Letter to the Philippians. 1 1 Tim 6.10 2 1 Tim 6.7 3 Ephes 6.11 4 1 Thes 5.17

The Gathering

Et congregatae sunt, ad eum turbae multae, ita ut naviculam ascendens sederet: et omnis turba stabat in littore Turba multa ad Dominum docentem congregata, significat frequentiam populorum, praedicantibus apostolis, ad Christum confluentium. Quod ascendens navim, sedebat in mari, significat quod Christus per fidem ascensurus erat in mentes gentilium, et Ecclesiam collecturus in mari, id est in medio nationum contradicentium, in qua Ecclesia dicitur sedere, hoc est regnare et dominari. Turba vero quae stabat in littore, quae neque in mari, neque in navi erat, gerit figuram recipientium verbum Dei, et jam fide a mari, id est a reprobis separatorum, sed necdum per gratiam baptismatis in Ecclesia intromissorum. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput XIII Source: Migne PL 162.1369b

And great crowds gathered to Him, so that He went up into a boat and sat, and all the multitude stood on the shore. 1 Many crowds were gathered for the teaching of the Lord, which signifies the many peoples sent flowing to Christ by the preaching of the Apostles. That He got up into the boat and was sat in the sea signifies that by faith Christ was to rise up in the minds of the Gentiles and the Church was to be gathered in the midst of the sea, that is, in the midst of dissentient peoples, in which the Church is said to sit, which is to rule and reign. But the crowd that stood on the shore, who were neither in the sea nor in the boat, these bear the figure of those who receive the word of God and by faith have been drawn out of the waters, that is, from among the wicked, but they have not yet entered into the Church through the grace of baptism. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 13 1 Mt 13.2

Teachers And Pupils

Πρέπει μέν που καὶ πατράσι παίδων ἰδίων πρόνοια καὶ γεωργοῖς φυτῶν ἢ σπερμάτων ἐπιμέλεια, καὶ διδασκάλοις μαθητῶν φροντίς, μάλιστα ὅταν δἰ εὐφυΐαν βελτίους ἐφ̓ ἑαυτοῖς ὑποφαίνουσι τὰς ἐλπίδας. χαίρει γὰρ πονῶν καὶ γεωργός, ἁδρυνομένων αὐτῷ τῶν ἀσταχύων ἢ τῶν φυτῶν αὐξανομένων, εὐφραίνουσι δὲ καὶ μαθηταὶ διδασκάλους, καὶ παῖδες πατέρας, οἱ μὲν πρὸς ἀρετήν, οἱ δὲ πρὸς αὔξησιν ἐπιδιδόντες. ἡμεῖς δὲ τοσοῦτον μείζονα μὲν ἐφ̓ ὑμῖν ἔχομεν τὴν φροντίδα, κρείττονα δὲ τὴν ἐλπίδα, ὅσον εὐσέβεια πάσης μὲν τέχνης, πάντων δὲ ζώων ὁμοῦ καὶ καρπῶν ἐστιν ἀμείνων, ἣν ἐν ἁπαλαῖς ἔτι καὶ καθαραῖς ταῖς ὑμετέραις ψυχαῖς ῥιζωθεῖσαν ὑφ̓ ἡμῶν καὶ τραφεῖσαν ἰδεῖν εὐχόμεθα καὶ προελθοῦσαν εἰς ἀκμὴν τελείαν καὶ εἰς καρποὺς ὡραίους, συλλαμβανομένης ἡμῶν ταῖς εὐχαῖς τῆς ὑμετέρας φιλομαθείας. Eὖ γὰρ ἴστε καὶ τὴν ἡμετέραν εἰς ὑμᾶς εὔνοιαν καὶ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ συνεργίαν ταῖς ὑμετέραις ἐναποκεῖσθαι γνώμαις, ὧν πρὸς τὸ δέον εὐθυνομένων, Θεὸς συνεργὸς καλούμενος παρέσται καὶ ἄκλητος, καὶ πᾶς φιλόθεος ἄνθρωπος πρὸς διδασκαλίαν αὐτεπάγγελτος. ἀνίκητος γὰρ ἡ προθυμία τῶν διδάσκειν τι χρήσιμον δυναμένων, ὅταν αἱ τῶν μανθανόντων ψυχαὶ πάσης καθαρεύωσιν ἀντιτυπίας. Οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ σώματος κωλύει χωρισμός, τοῦ δημιουργήσαντος ἡμᾶς δἰ ὑπερβολὴν σοφίας καὶ φιλανθρωπίας μὴ συμπεριορίσαντος τοῖς σώμασι τὴν διάνοιαν, μήτε μὴν τῇ γλώττῃ τῶν λόγων τὴν δύναμιν, δόντος δέ τι πλεῖον καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ χρόνου τοῖς ὠφελεῖν δυναμένοις, ὡς μὴ μόνον τοῖς μακρὰν διεστηκόσιν, ἀλλὰ δὴ καὶ τοῖς λίαν ὀψιγόνοις παραπέμπειν δύνασθαι τὴν διδασκαλίαν. καὶ τοῦτον ἡμῖν ἡ πεῖρα πιστοῦται τὸν λόγον, ἐπείπερ οἵ τε πολλοῖς πρότερον ἔτεσι γενόμενοι διδάσκουσι τοὺς νέους, σωζομένης ἐν γράμμασι τῆς διδασκαλίας: ἡμεῖς τε κεχωρισμένοι τοσοῦτον τοῖς σώμασι, τῇ διανοίᾳ σύνεσμεν ἀεί, καὶ προσομιλοῦμεν ῥᾳδίως, τῆς διδασκαλίας οὔτε ὑπὸ γῆς οὔτε θαλάσσης κωλυομένης, εἴ τίς ἐστιν ὑμῖν τῶν ἰδίων ψυχῶν φροντίς. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ἐπιστολή ΣϞΔ' Φήστῳ καὶ Μάγνῳ Source: Migne PG 32.1036c-1037b

It is a father's obligation to look to make provision for his offspring, just as it is a farmer's to nurture his plants and crops, and a teacher's to have care for his pupils, especially when an inborn goodness has revealed good hopes concerning them. The farmer finds has joy in his labours when the ears ripen or the plants increase, the teacher is gladdened at his pupils' growth in virtue, and likewise the father at his son's. But so much greater is the care I have for you and the better the hopes, as much as holiness is greater and better than all the arts, and all animals and harvests, which piety I planted in your hearts while they were yet pure and tender, and I cared for them in the hope of maturity and the bearing of fruits in due season, and my prayers were realised by your love of learning. You know well that you have my good wishes and that God's favour waits on your endeavours, for when we are rightly directed, called or uncalled, God is near to advance them. Every man who loves God is inclined to teaching, and indeed when there is the ability to teach things beneficial he has an eagerness that is almost ungovernable, when the souls of those who will learn have been cleansed of all impediments. It is not bodily separation that is a hindrance, for the Creator, in the fullness of wisdom and love for men, did not restrict our minds to our bodies, nor the power of speech to our tongues, and the ability to be of benefit draws an advantage even from the passing time, and thus we are able to instruct not only those who dwell far away but even those who have yet to be born, and let experience prove it to you, for those who lived many years before us still teach posterity by the instruction preserved in their writings. So we, though so far separated in the body, are always near in our minds and converse with ease; teaching is not restricted by sea or land, if a man has care for souls. Saint Basil of Caesarea, from Letter 294, To Festus And Magnus

The Waters Of Teaching

Psal. CIII: Inter medium montium pertransibunt aquae, hoc est, aquae doctrinae inter medium duorum testamentorum. Hoc significatum est, Ezechiel.XLVII: Sanabuntur aquae. Et omnis anima vivens, quae serpit, quocumque venerit torrens, vivet. Torrens iste torrore solis fluens, hoc est, calore charitatis Christi, qui est sapientia Dei, sanat aquas doctrinae humanae. Et anima serpens in deliciis, et divitiis, et honoribus vivet, gustans aquas istas Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput V Source: Here p362

In the hundred and third Psalm, 'Through the midst of the mountains the water shall flow' 1 that is, the waters of teaching through the midst of the two Testaments. This was signified in the forty fifth chapter of Ezekiel, 'The waters shall heal, and every living soul which creeps, wherever the torrent shall come, it shall live.' 2 The torrent is the torrent flowing from the sun, that is, from the warmth of the love of Christ, who is the wisdom of God, which heals human teaching, and the soul creeping in worldly pleasures and riches and honours, when it tastes these waters, it shall live. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 5 1 Ps 103.10 2 Ezek 47.8-9

The House On A Rock

Simulabo eum viro sapienti, qui aedificavit domum suam supra petram, et descendit pluvia, et venerunt flumina, et flaverunt venti... Sicut enim non est possibile, ut ex sola pluvi fructicet terra, nisi falverit super eam ventus: sic non est possibile, ut sola doctrina corrigat hominem, nisi cooperatrus fuerit Spiritus sanctus in corde ipsius. Flumen autem sunt, ex parte quidem mala, hominis immundo spiritu pleni, et in verbositate structi: quales sunt philosophi dogmatum diversorum, ortators, grammatici, caeterique non secundum Deum sapientes: de quorum ventre exeunt flumina aquae mortuae. Ex parte autem bona, evangelistae, doctores populi, caeterique sapientes secundum Deum: de quorum ventre exeunt flumina aquae vivae. Ecclesiam ergo, quam Christus vir sapiens super petram aedificavit, neque pluvia mendacis doctrinae corrumpit, neque diabolicus ventus impelit, neque violentorum fluminum impetus movet. Nam etsi humiliater Ecclesia propter tenationem, tamen perire non potest propter fidem Christi. Nec est contrarium, quod quidam de Ecclesia cadunt: illi enim numquam Christiani fuerunt. Sicut non omnes qui sunt ex Israel, hi sunt Israelitae: sic non omnes qui Christiani dicuntur, sunt et Christi. Christianorum enim opera sunt aspicienda, non nomina. Dicit enim Apostolus: Cognovit Dominus qui sunt ipsius; et discedat ab iniquitate omnis qui invocat nomen Domini Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XX Source: Migne PG 56.678-9

'I shall liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock and the rains fells and the floods came, and the winds blew...' 1 As it not possible that the earth is fructified by rain alone but a wind must blow upon it, so it is not possible that teaching alone will correct a man unless the Holy Spirit works in his heart. There are rivers which are bad, which are men full with unclean spirits and fashioned by verbosity, like the philosophers of the various schools, and orators and grammarians, and the rest who are not wise according to God, and from their stomachs pour out the river waters of death. And there are good rivers, the evangelists, teachers of the people, and others who are wise according to God, from which flow the waters of life. 2 The Church, therefore, which the wise man Christ built on a rock, 3 is not corrupted by the rains of false teaching, nor shaken by the devil's wind, not does the force of raging rivers move it. For even if the Church is humiliated in trials yet it cannot perish because of faith in Christ. On the contrary when some of the Church fall, they never were Christians, since as not all from Israel are Israelites, 4 so not all who are called Christians belong to Christ. The works of Christians must be seen not just the name. The Apostle says, 'God knows who are His, and He shall cut off from every wickedness the one who calls on the name of the Lord.' 5 Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 20 1 Mt 7.24-25 2 Jn 7.38 3 Mt 16.18 4 Rom 9.6 5 2 Tim 2.19

Bad Teachers

Εἰώθασιν γάρ τινες δόλῳ πονηρῷ τὸ ὄνομα περιφέρειν, ἄλλα τινὰ πράσσοντες ἀνάξια Θεοῦ· οὒς δεῖ ὑμᾶς ὡς θηρία ἐκκλίνειν· εἰσὶν γὰρ κύνες λυσσῶντες, λαθροδῆκται· οὓς δεῖ ὑμᾶς φθλάσσεσθαι ὄντας δυσθεραπεύτος. Eἷς ἰατρός ἐστιν, σαρκικός τε καὶ πνευματικός, γεννητὸς καὶ ἀγέννητος, ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ Θεός, ἐν θανάτῳ ζωὴ ἀληθινή, καὶ ἐκ Μαρίας καὶ ἐκ Θεοῦ, πρῶτον παθητὸς καὶ τότε ἀπαθής, Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ὁ Kύριος ἡμῶν. Μὴ οὖν τις ὑμᾶς ἐξαπατάτω, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ ἐξαπατᾶσθε, ὅλοι ὄντες Θεοῦ. ὅταν γὰρ μηδεμία ἔρις ἐνήρεισται ἐν ὑμῖν ἡ δυναμένη ὑμᾶς βασανίσαι, ἄρα κατὰ Θεὸν ζῆτε. περίψημα ὑμῶν καὶ ἁγνίζομαι ὑμῶν Ἐφεσίων, ἐκκλησίας τῆς διαβοήτου τοῖς αἰῶσιν. Oἱ σαρκικοὶ τὰ πνευματικὰ πράσσειν οὐ δύναται, οὐδὲ οἱ πνευματικοὶ τὰ σαρκικά, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ ἡ πίστις τὰ τῆς ἀπιστίας οὐδε ἡ ἀπιστία τὰ τῆς πίστεως. Ἃ δὲ καὶ κατὰ σάρκα πράσσετε, ταῦτα πνευματικά ἐστιν· ἐν Ἰησοῦ γὰρ Χριστῷ πάντα πράσσετε. Ἔγνων δὲ παροδεύσαντάς τινας ἐκεῖθεν, ἔχοντας κακὴν διδαχήν· οὓς οὐκ εἰάσατε σπεῖραι εἰς ὑμᾶς, βύσαντες τὰ ὦτα, εἰς τὸ μὴ παραδέξασθαι τὰ σπειρόμενα ὑπ’ αὐτῶν, ὡς ὄντες λίθοι ναοῦ Πατρός, ἡτοιμασμένοι εἰς οἰκοδομὴν θεοῦ Πατρός, αναφερόμενοι εἰς τὰ ὕψη διὰ τῆς μηχανῆς Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅς ἐστιν σταυρός, σχοινίῳ χρώμενοι τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ· ἡ δὲ πίστις ὑμῶν ἀναγωγεὺς ὑμῶν, ἡ δὲ ἀγάπη ὁδὸς ἡ ἀναφέρουσα εἰς θεόν. Ἐστὲ οὖν καὶ σύνοδοι πάντες, θεοφόροι καὶ ναοφόροι, χριστοφόροι, ἁγιοφόροι, κατὰ πάντα κεκοσμημένοι ἐντολαῖς Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· οἷς καὶ ἀγαλλιώμενος ἠξιώθην δι’ ὧν γράφω προσομιλῆσαι ὑμῖν καὶ συγχαρῆναι, ὅτι κατ’ ἄλλον βίον οὐδὲν ἀγαπᾶτε εἰ μὴ μόνον τὸν θεόν. Ἅγιος Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιοχείας, Ἐπιστολή Προς Ἐφεσιους Source: Migne PG 5.649b-653a

For some with wicked guile carry about the name but do things unworthy of God, whom you must flee as wild beasts, for they are rabid dogs, biters in secret, whom you must guard against since they are so difficult to cure. There is one physician of flesh and spirit, made and unmade, God in man, true life in death, from Mary and God, first passible and then impassible, Jesus Christ our Lord. Let no one deceive you, as you are not deceived being wholly of God. For when there is no strife raging among you that is able to grieve you, you are certainly living according to God. As an offscouring I require sanctification by your Church of Ephesus, so renowned for the ages. Those who are carnal cannot do spiritual things, nor can they that are spiritual do carnal things, just as faith cannot accomplish the works of unbelief, nor unbelief the works of faith. But even the things you do according to the flesh are spiritual things, for you do all things in Jesus Christ. But I have learnt that some with evil teaching came from elsewhere, whom you did not allow to sow among you, but you stopped your ears so that you might not receive the things sown by them, like stones of the temple of the Father, prepared for the building of God the Father, 1 and drawn up on high by the device of Jesus Christ, which is the cross, making use of the Holy Spirit as a rope, and your faith was how you ascended, and your love was the way which led to God. You, therefore, and all who travel with you, are God-bearers, temple-bearers, Christ-bearers, bearers of holiness, adorned all over with the commandments of Jesus Christ, in whom I also exult, I who have been found worthy through what I write to converse and rejoice with you, because according to your different way of life you love nothing but God alone. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, from the Letter to the Ephesians 1 1 Pet 2.5

Seeking And Preserving

Συνεξάπτει δὲ ἡ γραφὴ τὸ ζώπυρον τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ συντείνει τὸ οἰκεῖον ὄμμα πρὸς θεωρίαν, τάχα μέν τι καὶ ἐντιθεῖσα, οἷον ὁ ἐγκεντρίζων γεωργός, τὸ δὲ ἐνυπάρχον ἀνακινοῦσα. Πολλοὶ γὰρ ἐν ἡμῖν, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον ἀπόστολον, ἀσθενεῖς καὶ ἄρρωστοι, καὶ κοιμῶνται ἱκανοί. Eἰ δὲ ἑαυτοὺς διεκρίνομεν, οὐκ ἂν ἐκρινόμεθα. Ἤδη δὲ οὐ γραφὴ εἰς ἐπίδειξιν τετεχνασμένη ἥδε ἡ πραγματεία, ἀλλά μοι ὑπομνήματα εἰς γῆρας θησαυρίζεται, λήθης φάρμακον, εἴδωλον ἀτεχνῶς καὶ σκιαγραφία τῶν ἐναργῶν καὶ ἐμψύχων ἐκείνων, ὧν κατηξιώθην ἐπακοῦσαι, λόγων τε καὶ ἀνδρῶν μακαρίων καὶ τῷ ὄντι ἀξιολόγων. Tούτων ὃ μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἑλλάδος, ὁ Ἰωνικός, οἳ δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς Μεγάλης Ἑλλάδος, τῆς κοίλης θάτερος αὐτῶν Συρίας ἦν, ὃ δὲ ἀπ' Αἰγύπτου, ἄλλοι δὲ ἀνὰ τὴν ἀνατολήν· καὶ ταύτης ὃ μὲν τῆς τῶν Ἀσσυρίων, ὃ δὲ ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ Ἑβραῖος ἀνέκαθεν· ὑστάτῳ δὲ περιτυχὼν, δυνάμει δὲ οὗτος πρῶτος ἦν, ἀνεπαυσάμην, ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ θηράσας λεληθότα. Σικελικὴ τῷ ὄντι ἦν μέλιττα προφητικοῦ τε καὶ ἀποστολικοῦ λειμῶνος τὰ ἄνθη δρεπόμενος ἀκήρατόν τι γνώσεως χρῆμα ταῖς τῶν ἀκροωμένων ἐνεγέννησε ψυχαῖς. Ἀλλ' οἳ μὲν τὴν ἀληθῆ τῆς μακαρίας σῴζοντες διδασκαλίας παράδοσιν εὐθὺς ἀπὸ Πέτρου τε καὶ Ἰακώβου Ἰωάννου τε καὶ Παύλου τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων, παῖς παρὰ πατρὸς ἐκδεχόμενος, ὀλίγοι δὲ οἱ πατράσιν ὅμοι, ἧκον δὴ σὺν θεῷ καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς τὰ προγονικὰ ἐκεῖνα καὶ ἀποστολικὰ καταθησόμενοι σπέρματα. Kαὶ εὖ οἶδ' ὅτι ἀγαλλιάσονται, οὐχὶ τῇ ἐκφράσει ἡσθέντες λέγω τῇδε, μόνῃ δὲ τῇ κατὰ τὴν ὑποσημείωσιν τηρήσει. Ποθούσης γὰρ οἶμαι ψυχῆς τὴν μακαρίαν παράδοσιν ἀδιάδραστον φυλάττειν ἡ τοιάδε ὑποτύπωσις· ἀνδρὸς δὲ φιλοῦντος σοφίαν εὐφρανθήσεται πατήρ. Tὰ φρέατα ἐξαντλούμενα διειδέστερον ὕδωρ ἀναδίδωσι, τρέπεται δὲ εἰς φθορὰν ὧν μεταλαμβάνει οὐδείς. Kαὶ τὸν σίδηρον ἡ χρῆσις καθαρώτερον φυλάσσει, ἡ δὲ ἀχρηστία ἰοῦ τούτῳ γεννητική. Συνελόντι γὰρ φάναι ἡ συγγυμνασία ἕξιν ἐμποιεῖ ὑγιεινὴν καὶ πνεύμασι καὶ σώμασιν. Oὐδεὶς ἅπτει λύχνον καὶ ὑπὸ τὸν μόδιον τίθησιν, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῆς λυχνίας φαίνειν τοῖς τῆς ἑστιάσεως τῆς αὐτῆς κατηξιωμένοις. τί γὰρ ὄφελος σοφίας μὴ σοφιζούσης τὸν οἷόν τε ἐπαΐειν; ἔτι τε καὶ ὁ σωτὴρ σῴζει αἰεὶ καὶ αἰεὶ ἐργάζεται, ὡς βλέπει τὸν πατέρα. Διδάσκων τις μανθάνει πλεῖον καὶ λέγων συνακροᾶται πολλάκις τοῖς ἐπακούουσιν αὐτοῦ· εἷς γὰρ ὁ διδάσκαλος καὶ τοῦ λέγοντος καὶ τοῦ ἀκροωμένου, ὁ ἐπιπηγάζων καὶ τὸν νοῦν καὶ τὸν λόγον, ᾗ καὶ οὐ κεκώλυκεν ὁ Kύριος ἀπὸ ἀγαθοῦ σαββατίζειν, μεταδιδόναι δὲ τῶν θείων μυστηρίων καὶ τοῦ φωτὸς ἐκείνου τοῦ ἁγίου τοῖς χωρεῖν δυναμένοις συγκεχώρηκεν. Αὐτίκα οὐ πολλοῖς ἀπεκάλυψεν ἃ μὴ πολλῶν ἦν, ὀλίγοις δέ, οἷς προσήκειν ἠπίστατο, τοῖς οἵοις τε ἐκδέξασθαι καὶ τυπωθῆναι πρὸς αὐτά· τὰ δὲ ἀπόρρητα, καθάπερ ὁ θεός, λόγῳ πιστεύεται, οὐ γράμματι. Kἄν τις λέγῃ γεγράφθαι οὐδὲν κρυπτὸν ὃ οὐ φανερωθήσεται, οὐδὲ κεκαλυμμένον ὃ οὐκ ἀποκαλυφθήσεται, ἀκουσάτω καὶ παρ' ἡμῶν, ὅτι τῷ κρυπτῶς ἐπαίοντι τὸ κρυπτὸν φανερωθήσεσθαι διὰ τοῦδε προεθέσπισεν τοῦ λογίου, καὶ τῷ παρακεκαλυμμένως τὰ παραδιδόμενα οἵῳ τε παραλαμβάνειν δηλωθήσεται τὸ κεκαλυμμένον ὡς ἡ ἀλήθεια, καὶ τὸ τοῖς πολλοῖς κρυπτόν, τοῦτο τοῖς ὀλίγοις φανερὸν γενήσεται· ἐπεὶ διὰ τί μὴ πάντες ἴσασι τὴν ἀλήθειαν; διὰ τί δὲ μὴ ἠγαπήθη ἡ δικαιοσύνη, εἰ πάντων ἡ δικαιοσύνη; ἀλλὰ γὰρ τὰ μυστήρια μυστικῶς παραδίδοται, ἵνα ᾖ ἐν στόματι λαλοῦντος καὶ ᾧ λαλεῖται, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐκ ἐν φωνῇ, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ νοεῖσθαι. Δέδωκεν δὲ ὁ θεὸς τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοὺς μὲν ἀποστόλους, τοὺς δὲ προφήτας, τοὺς δὲ εὐαγγελιστάς, τοὺς δὲ ποιμένας καὶ διδασκάλους, πρὸς τὸν καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων, εἰς ἔργον διακονίας, εἰς οἰκοδομὴν τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Στρωματεων, Λογος A’, Κεφ' A’ Source: Migne PG 9.697a-701c

Scripture kindles the living spark of the soul and directs the eye suitably for contemplation, perhaps inserting something, as the farmer who ingrafts, but even exciting what is there. 'For there are many among us,' according to the holy Apostle, 'who are weak and sickly, and many sleep. But if we judge ourselves, we shall not be judged.' 1 Now this work of writing is not composed for display, but as my memoranda stored up against old age, as a remedy against forgetfulness, and truly as an image and outline of those vigorous and animated discourses which I was privileged to hear from blessed and truly remarkable men. Of these there was one in Greece, an Ionian, another in Magna Graecia, and the first of these was from Coele-Syria and the second from Egypt, and there were others in the East, one who was born in Assyria, and the other was a Jew of Palestine. When I came upon this last one, who was the first in ability, having tracked him down concealed in Egypt, I found rest. He was the true Sicilian bee, gathering the spoil of the flowers of the prophetic and Apostolic meadow, who engendered in the souls of his hearers a certain pure element of knowledge. For preserving the tradition of the blessed teaching derived directly from the holy Apostles, Peter, James, John, and Paul, the sons receiving it from the father, but few are like the fathers, they came by God's will to us also, to deposit those ancestral and Apostolic seeds. And well I know that they will exult in this, not that they will be delighted with this tribute, but solely on account of the preservation of the truth as they delivered it. For I think such a sketch as this will please a soul that desires the preservation of the blessed tradition. 'A man who loves wisdom will make a father glad.' 2 When wells are pumped out they yield purer water, and one which no one uses putrefies. Use keeps steel brighter, but disuse produces rust in it. In a word, exercise produces a healthy condition both in souls and bodies. 'No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel, but on a stand, so that it may shine on those who are regarded worthy of the feast.' 3 For what is the use of wisdom if it does not make him who can hear it wise? For still the Saviour saves, 'and always works, as He sees the Father.' 4 By teaching one learns more, and in speaking one is often a hearer along with the audience. For the teacher of him who speaks and of him who hears is one who waters both the mind and the word. Thus the Lord did not prohibit us from doing good while keeping the Sabbath, but allowed us to communicate Divine mysteries and holy light to those who are able to receive them. He did not disclose to the many what did not belong to the many, but to the few to whom He knew that they belonged and were capable of receiving and being shaped according to what was given. But secret things are entrusted to speech, not to writing, as is the case with God. And if someone will say that it is written, 'There is nothing secret which shall not be revealed, nor hidden which shall not be disclosed,' 5 let him hear from us that what was predicted by this passage is that to him who hears secretly even what is secret shall be made manifest, and to him who conceals what is delivered to him that which is veiled shall be disclosed as truth, and what is a secret to many shall appear manifest to the few. For why do not all know the truth? Why is not righteousness loved, if righteousness belongs to all? But the mysteries are delivered mystically, that what is spoken may be in the mouth and in him who speaks rather than in the voice. 'God gave to the Church some to be apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the holy, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.' 6 Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, Book 1, Chapter 1 1 1 Cor 11.30 2 Prov 29.3 3 Mt 5.15 4 Jn 5.19 5 Lk 8.17 6 Ephes 4.11-12

The Leper And The Crowd

Cum descendisset Jesus de monte, etc. Coelum mons est, terra vallis. Deus mons est, homo vallis; Forma Dei mons est, et forma servi vallis. Cum ergo descendisset de coelo in terram Deus in forma Dei, exinanitus est in formam servi, et habitu inventus ut homo. Sequi eum jam non poterant turbae, quae eum exspectabant: quae sine ipso quo vadit ipse, ire non poterant. Quo tamen eos ducit? Primum quidem ad sanandum leprosum, quod fortassis ipsi erant, et nesciebant. Prima aegroti incommoditas est sanitatem non habere; secunda, infirmitatem nescire; tertia medicanate non querere; quarta, oblatam negligere. Ideo sapiens medicus, et benignus Deus eo ducit, ubi docet, ubi occurrat vir videns infirmitatem suam, ac ob hoc quierens sanitatem, confitens potestatem, deprecans voluntatem, quatenus ex eo quod foris turba conspicit, erudiatur, et videntem infirmum infirmior caecus sequatur. Dicit Aposto!us: Abrahae factas promissiones, et semini ejus; ideo et Christum ministrum fuisse circamcisionis propler veritatem Dei, ad confirmandas promissiones Patrum; gentes autem super misericordiam honorare Deum. Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, In Dominica III Post Epiphaniam I Source: Migne PL 194.1726d-1727a

'When Jesus had come down from the mountain...' 1 Heaven is the mountain, the earth is the valley. God is the mountain, man is the valley. The form of God is the mountain, the form of a slave is the valley. When therefore God in the form of God came down to earth, He emptied Himself and took on the form of a slave, and was found in the likeness of a man. 2 The crowds which expected Him were not able to follow Him, for without Him they were not able to go where He goes. But where does He lead them? First to the healing of the leper, because perhaps they were also sick and did not know it. Firstly it is wretched to be sick and lack health, secondly to not know one's own disorder, thirdly not to seek healing, fourthly to neglect something offered. Therefore God the wise and benevolent physician leads the crowd to a place where it might learn, to a place where it comes on a man who knows his infirmity, and because of this is seeking healing, confessing power, and entreating good will. As far as the crowd looked on these exterior things, it was to learn, even that after the sick man who sees comes the more wretched blind one. The Apostle says, 'Promises were made to Abraham and his seed, therefore Christ was to serve the circumcised because of God's truth, for the confirmation of the promises to the patriarchs, and that the Gentiles honour God for His mercy.' 3 Isaac of Stella, from a Sermon on the Third Sunday after the Epiphany 1 Mt 8.1 2 Phil 2.6-7 3 Galat 3.16, Rom 15.8-9

Healing The Paralytic

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

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

Encouraging Peter

Et ait ad Simonem Jesus: Noli timere: ex hoc jam homines eris capiens. Ecce hic ponitur instructio, propter quam tota introducitur historia. Adhuc enim carnales erant Apostoli : et oportuit quod ex corporalibus quae noverunl et quorum usum habuerunt, paulatim ad intellectum spiritualium deducerentur. El hoc bene significatur in Canticis, vii, ubi dicitur, Dixi: Ascendam in palmam et apprehendam fructus ejus. Qui enim ascendit, primo inferiora apprehendit, quibus ad altius nititur: et postea media, et sic per omnia media venit ad alta: et tandem stat exaltatus in palmam, et decerpit dulcedinis fructum. Et sic est de carnalibus ad spiritualia ascendere. Primo corporalia per similitudines spiritulia referre, et sic continuo studere quousque spiritualia per seipsa possit accipere. Ista est scala Jacob quae in una parte stat in terra, et in cacumine tangit coelum. Noli timere. Tria hic dicuntur : confortatio, et instructio, et confortationis et instructionis plenus et intentus effectus. De confortatione dicit: Noli timere, tuam scilicet parvitatem, quia ego tc faciam magnum : tuam indignitatem, quia te faciam dignum : tuam infirmitatcm, quia ego te faciam potentissimum : tuam rusticitatem, quia ego te faciam eruditum et doctum in omni scientia et sapientia spiritus. De primo horum, I Reg ii: Suscitat de pulvere egenum, et de stercore elevat pauperem, ut sedeat cum principibus, et soliurn glorise teneat. II Reg vii: Feci tibi nomen grande, juxta nomen magnorum qui sunt in terra. De secundo, Apocal v: Fecisti nos Deo nostro regnum, et sacerdotes. Et ita dignos, II ad Corinth: Idoneos nos fecit ministros Novi Testamenti, non littera, sed spiritu. De tertio, Matth. xvi: Tibi dabo claves regni caelorum .... et portse inferni non preevalebunt adversus eam, scilicet Ecclesiam. De quarto, Matth. x: Non vos estis qui loquimini, sed Spiritus Patris veslri qui loquitur in vobis. Eccli xv: Cibabit illum pane vitse et intellcctus, et aqua sapientiae salutaris potabit illum. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput V Source: Here p369-70

And Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid, because of this you shall be a fisher of men.' 1 Observe that here He gives the teaching for which the whole episode has been introduced. The Apostles were yet carnal and it was necessary that from carnal things which they knew and made use of they should gradually be led to the understanding of spiritual things. And this is well signified in the seventh chapter of the Song of Songs, where it is said, 'I said, I shall ascend the palm and I shall seize its fruit.' 2 For he who ascends first understands lesser things and by these he strives to higher things, and so after middling things, even passing through all middling things, he comes to the highest things, reaching the height of the palm and seizing the sweetest fruit. This is to ascend from carnal things to spiritual things. First corporeal things refer to spiritual things by likeness, and then with continual zeal those things which are spiritual in themselves can be received. And this is the ladder of Jacob, one part of which stood on the earth, and the top of it touched heaven. 3 'Do not be afraid.' Three things are said here, about strengthening and instruction, and the full and intended effect of strengthening and instruction. Concerning strengthening He says, 'Do not be afraid,' that is, of your littleness, because I will make it great, nor of your unworthiness, for I shall make you worthy, nor of your weakness for I shall make you most powerful, nor your rusticity for I shall make you learned and educated in all knowledge and the wisdom of the spirit. Concerning the first of these, in the second chapter of the first book of Kings: 'He takes up the needy man from the dust, and He lifts up the poor man from the dung heap, that he might sit with princes and hold the throne of glory.' In the seventh chapter of the second book of Kings, 'I have made your name great, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth.' 4 Concerning the second, in the fifth chapter of the Apocalypse: 'You have made us for our God a kingdom and priests.' And therefore worthy. In the second letter to the Corinthians, 'He has made us capable ministers of the New Testament, not in the letter, but in the spirit.' 5 Concerning the third in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew, 'I shall give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven...and the gates of heaven shall not prevail against it.' 6 That is, the Church. Concerning the fourth. 'It is not you who speak but the spirit of your Father who speaks in you.' In the fifteenth chapter Ecclesiasticus, 'He shall feed him with bread and wine and understanding, and give him to drink of the waters of wisdom's salvation.' 7 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 5 1 Lk 5.10 2 Song 7.8 3 Genes 28.12 4 1 King 2.8, 2 King 7.9 5 Apoc 5.10, 2 Cor 3.6 6 Mt 16.18-19 7 Mt 10.20, Sirach 15.3

The Word And Men

Sermo Domini vivus est et multiplex, quia loquitur per homines, loquitur et per se: per homines multos, per se unum. Videamus magnum sacramentum. Verbum Dei humana carne vestitum semel visibile apparuit: quotidie idipsum, iterata voce, conditum ad nos venit. Humanitatem Christi mali non solum videre, sed etiam occidere potuerunt. Quotidie sermonem Dei mali audiunt et contemnunt. Quemadmodum autem illi non occidissent, si cognovissent; ita isti nequaquam verba Dei audita contemnerent, si virtutem eorum interno sapore gustarent. Sermo Dei vivus est, quia in eo vita est et cor vivificat. Quod foris est transit, quod intus mutabilitatem non recipit. Vivus est ergo, quia non mutatur; efficax, quia non deficit. Non fallitur judicio promissio ejus, oblivione non moritur, nec intentione mutatur. Operatio ejus difficultate non vincitur, judicium ambiguitate non fallitur. Veraciter permittit, fortiter facit, subtiliter discernit. Vivus est ut credas; efficax ut speres. Penetrabliis in judiciis; vivus in praeceptis et prohibitionibus: efficax in promissis et comminationibus.  Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber VI, Tit XVII De Verbi Dei efficacia Source: Migne PL 177.820b-821a

The word of the Lord is living and manifold since it is spoken through men and through Himself, through many man and through Himself alone. Let us consider this great mystery. The word of God appeared visible, vested in human flesh, and every day by the repeated voice He becomes established in us. The wicked not only saw the humanity of Christ, but they were even able to kill it, just as every day the wicked hear the word of God and scorn it. But as they would not have killed Him if they had known Him, so men would never scorn the words of God they hear if they tasted the power of their inner flavour. The word of God is living, because in Him is life and by Him the heart is brought to life. What is outside passes away, what is within does not change. It is living, therefore, because it does not change, effective, because it does not fail. Its promise does not deceive judgement, nor does it perish in forgetfulness, nor does its meaning alter. Its work is not undone by difficulty, nor is its teaching obscured by ambiguity. It enters in truthfully, acts powerfully, judges with discernment. It is living so that you might believe, effective so that you might hope. It is penetrating for judging, alive for commanding and prohibiting, effective in promises and in warning. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 6, from Chapter 7, On The Effective Word of God

Desiring A Teacher

Doce me facere voluntatem tuam, quia tu es Deus meus. Nolebat prorsus errare qui tanti magistri cupiebat esse discipulus. Dicit enim: Doce me, tanquam ignarum tanquam imperitum, tanquam nihil de sua virtute praesumentem. Quem sensum Apostolus ponit cum dicit: Si quis existimat se scire aliquid, necdum cognovi quemadmdum eu operteat scire. Addidit, quia tu es Deus meus. Fide petitio, competens ratio, a clemente Domino ideo postulare benficium, eo quod ipse sit Dominus supplicantis. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus CXLII Source: Migne PL 70.1013b

Teach me to do your will, because you are my God. 1 He wished not to err who desired to be the pupil of such a great teacher. For he says, 'Teach me,' as one who is ignorant and inexperienced and who presumes nothing of his own ability. Which sense the Apostle takes note of when he says, 'If someone judges himself to be something, he does not yet know as it is needful to know.' 2 Then here he adds, 'Because you are my God,' A faithful petition, a reasonable enquiry, asking for something of benefit from the mercy of the Lord, because he is the Lord of those who supplicate Him. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 142 1 Ps 142.11 2 1 Cor 8.2

Ways Of Teaching

Ἰδὼν δὲ τοὺς ὄχλους ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος, καὶ καθίσαντος αὐτοῦ προσῆλθαν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ: καὶ ἀνοίξας τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς λέγων... Διὰ τί πρόσκειται τὸ, Ἀνοίξας τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ; φαίνεται γὰρ, ὅτι περιττόν ἐστιν. Ἀλλ' οὐχί· καὶ μή ἀνοίγων γὰρ τὸ στόμα, ἐδίδασκεν. Πῶς; δὶα τοῦ βίου καὶ τῶν θαυμάτων· νῦν δὲ ἀνοίγων τὸ στόμα, διδάσκει. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ E' Source: Migne PG 123.188a

Seeing the crowd He went up the mountain, and His disciples came to Him sitting there, and He opened His mouth, teaching them, saying... 1 Why does it say here that 'He opened His mouth'? It seems to be superfluous. But it is not at all. He had been teaching them without opening His mouth. How? With His life and miracles. And now opening His mouth, He teaches. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.1-2

Corruption And Cleansing

Nescitis quia modicum fermentum totam massam corrumpit? Ita et peccatum unius, quod cognitum non arguitur, multos contaminat; immo omnes qui norunt, et non devitant, aut cum possint arguere, dissimulant. Non enim sibi videtur peccare, quando a nullo corripitur aut vitatur. Expurgate vetus fermentum, ut sitis nova conspersio. Hoc duplici genere accipiendum est, quia est et fermentum humana doctrina, dicente Salvatore: Cavete a fermento Pharisaeorum, id est a doctrina. Et ad malam ergo doctrinam cavendam, et ad hanc causam dictum est, quia eiecto fornicatore, vetus fermentum eiicitur. Ideo autem vetus quia antiqui erroris peccatum est. Nova autem compositio, Christi doctrina est. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput V Source: Migne PL 17.209a-c

Do you not know that a little leaven corrupts the whole mass? 1 Thus even one sin, which is known and not disputed, infects many. Indeed all who know and do not admonish it or dispute it when they are able to do so, they lie. For it does not seem a sin to a man when he is not corrected nor condemned by anyone. Clean out the old leaven that you may be a new lump. This must be understood in two ways, because there is a leaven of human teaching, concerning which the Saviour says: 'Beware the leaven of the Pharisees.' 1 That is, beware their teaching, and therefore it is a warning against wicked teaching, and for this reason it was said, because with the ejection of the fornicator, the old leaven is ejected. Therefore it is old because it is the sin of the old error. But the new lump is the teaching of Christ. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 5 1 1 Cor 5.6 2 Mt 16.11

Poor Teaching

Egent sane populi quibus praeestis vel potius quos decepistis audire. Attendite verba Domini ad apostolos et turbas loquentis, quae et vos, ut audio, in mediu crebro proferre non pudet. Super cathedram Moysi sederunt scirbae et Pharisaei. Omnia ergo quaecumque dixerint vobis, servate et facite: secundum vero opera eorum nolite facere. Dicunt enim et ipsi non faciunt. Periculosa certe ac supervacua sacerdotibus doctrina est, quae pravis operibus obfuscatur. Vae vobis, hypocritae, qui clauditis regnum caelorum ante homines, vos aute non intratis nec introientres sinites intrare. Non solum enim prae tantis malorum criminibus, quae geritis in futuro, sed etiam pro his qui vestro cotdie exemplae pereunt, poenali poena plectemini: quorum sanguis in die iudicii de vestris manibus requiretur. Sed quid mali, quod servi parabola praetenderit, inspicite, dicentis in corde suo: Moram facit Dominus meus venire. Qui pro hoc forsitan inceperat percutere conservos suos manducans et bibens cum ebriis. Veniet ergo, inquit, Dominus servi illius in die, qua non sperat, et hora qua ignorat, et dividet eum, a sanctis scilicet sacerdotibus, partemque eius ponet cum hypocritis, cum eis certe qui sub sacerdotali tegminie multum obumbrant nequitiae, illic, inquiens, erit fletus et stridor dentium, quibus in hac vita non crebro evenit, ob cotidianas ecclesiae matris ruinas filiorum vel desideria regni caelorum. Sed videamus quid Christi verus discipulus magister gentium Paulus, qui omni ecclesiastico doctori imitandus est, sicut ipse hortatur: Imitatores mei estote, inquiens, sicut et ego Christi, in tali negotio praeloquatur in prima epistola dicens: quia cum cognoverunt Deum, non sicut Deum magnificaverunt aut gratias egerunt, sed evanuerunt in cogitatioibus suis et obcaecatum est insipiens cor eorum dicentes se esse sapientes, stulti facti sunt. Licet hoc gentibus dici videatur, intuemini tamen, quia competenter isitius aevi sacerdotibus cum populis coaptabitur. Sanctus Gildas Sapiens, De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae Source: Migne PL 69.384c-385a

Certainly the people over whom you preside, or rather whom you deceive, have need of hearing. Attend to the words of the Lord spoken to the Apostles and the crowds, words which even you, I hear, do not blush to bring forth often in public. 'The Scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses, therefore, whatever they say to you, listen to and do, but do not act according to their works, for they speak and they do not do.' Perilous and vain for the priest is the teaching darkened by evil acts. 'Woe to you hypocrites who shut the kingdom of heaven to men but do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who would go in to enter.' 1 You will be punished with a grave penalty not only for the huge crimes of sins which you bear for the future time, but also because of those who perish every day because of your example. On the day of judgement the blood of those men will be required at your hands. Observe what evil is set forth in the parable of the servant who said in his heart, 'My Lord delays.' Before which he had probably 'begun to beat his fellow servants, eating and drinking with those who were drunk.' It is then said, 'The Lord of the servant shall come on a day when he does not expect it, and at an hour that he does not know, and he shall separate him and place his portion with the hypocrites,' that is, he shall be separated from holy priests and placed with the hypocrites, doubtless those who conceal much evil beneath a veil of priesthood. 'There where there shall be a weeping and a gnashing of teeth,' 2 which frequently happens in this life because of the daily loss of the sons of mother church, or because of defections from the kingdom of heaven. But let us see what a true disciple of Christ exhorts, Paul the teacher of the Gentiles, who should be imitated by every teacher in the Church. 'Be imitators of me as I am of Christ,' 3 And then about such affairs in his first letter, 'Because when they knew God, they did they give Him glory as God or thanks, but they became vain in their reasoning and their senseless hearts were blinded, and proclaiming themselves wise they became fools.' 4 Although this appears to be addressed to the Gentiles, observe that it will also fittingly apply to the priests and people of this time. Saint Gildas The Wise, On The Destruction and Ruin of Britain 1 Mt 23.2, Mt 23.13 2 Mt 24.49, 24.50-51 3 1 Cor 11.1 4 Rom 1.21-22