Faith And Mountains

Qui confidunt in Domino, sicut mons Sion : non commovebitur in aeternum, qui habitat in Jerusalem. Fides quae ad Deum est, stabilem facit vitam nec ullis tentationibus moveri potest, qui supra firmam petram suam construit domum. Quis est mons Sion nisi Christus, qui est in vertice montium, et elevabitur super colles, et fluent ad eum omnes gentes? Sion est Ecclesia, in qua speculum vitae et aeternitatis visio, cujus caput est Christus. Ecce quaerit iste ascensor spiritalium graduum, qualis sit ista Jerusalem, in qua sanctorum chorus habitat, et respondetur ei: Montes in circuitu ejus, et Dominus in circuitu populi sui, ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum. Isti montes sunt angeli, sunt prophetae, et praedicatores sancti, qui muniunt istam Jerusalem. Et ne hoc tibi parvum videretur, quod tales montes habet in circuitu, statim subjunxit: Et Dominus in circuitu populi sui. Ecce quales habemus muros, quales munitiones, quales defensores! Maneamus intra septa Jerusalem, et non timeamus insidias diaboli, nec sagittas ejus, tales habentes defensores; et hoc non ad tempus, sed in aeternum, ideo dicit: Ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum. Alcuinus, Expositio in Psalmos Graduales, Psalmus CXXIV Source: Migne PL 100.626a-c

They who trust in the Lord are like mount Sion. He who dwells in Jerusalem shall never be moved. 1 Faith in God makes life firm, and he who has established his house on His rock cannot be shaken by any trial. 2 Who is mount Sion but Christ, who is on the peak of the mountain, and is lifted up over the hills, and all the peoples flow to him? 3 Sion is the Church, in which is the mirror of life and the vision of eternity, and of which Christ is the head. Note that he who goes up the spiritual steps asks what this Jerusalem is in which the chorus of the saints dwell, and he is answered, Mountains encircle it, and the Lord is around his people, now and forever. These mountains are the angels and the prophets, and the holy preachers, who make the walls of this Jerusalem. And lest it seem to be a little thing to you, that such mountains surround it, immediately he adds, 'And the Lord is around His people.' Behold what walls we have, what bastions, what defenders. Let us remain in the boundaries of Jerusalem, and let us not fear the plots of the devil, nor his shafts, since we have such great defenders, and not only for a time but forever, and therefore it says, 'now and forever.' Alcuin of York, Commentary on the Gradual Psalms, from Psalm 124 1 Ps 124.1 2 Mt 7.24-27 3 Isaiah 2.2

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

Hope And Confidence

Exspectemus itaque cum fiducia, fratres, Salvatoris adventum. Certus sum, inquit, quia apparebit in fine,et non mentietur. Si moram fecerit: exspectabo eum. Sed et ille qui mandat salutes Jacob, salutat per Oseam propheam amicam suam Ecclesiam, quam sibi desponsavit in fide, et consolatur eam: et ut confidat in ea cor viri sui, docet qualiter eum debeat exspectare: Dies multos, inquit, exspectabis me, non fornicaberis: et non eris cum amatore alieno. Ab antiquis diebus dicta sunt haec, fratres. Unde et Isaias dicit: Nonne Dominus venit de longinquo? Nos autem sumus, in quos fins saeculi devenerunt. Ideoque in proximo est ut veniat: Sponsus, ut veniat rex noster, legifer noster. Cito enim veniet, et non tardabit. Et nos ergo similes hominibus expectantibus dominum suum, faciamus quod praecipit, ut non fornicemur, ut non sequamur alios amatores. Fallax amator est mundus; animabus proditoria deceptione illudit. Hic est Sichem filius Hemor, qui Dinam filiam Jacob raptam et corruptam balnditiis lenit. Misera enim anima abstracta et illecta a concupiscentiis suis, dum mundo et diabolo consentiens fornicatur a Domino, primam fidem irritam facit, atque in passione desideriorum et peremptoria voluptate seipsam Deo abnegat. Dolosos amatores, quia praesentialiter se offerunt, sequitur; et Dominum gloriae Christum Jesum sponsum et salvatorem suum juste, pie et sobrie non exspectat. Nos itaque juxta consilium Apostoli, sobrie, et juste, et pie vivamus in hoc s aeculo, exspectantes beatem spem, et advetum gloriae magni Dei. Est pietas hominis ad Dominum, justitia ad proximum, sobrietas ad seipsum. Perniciosus est nobis Adventus Domini, nisi ipsum cum pietate et sobrietate et justitia exspectemus. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo III, De Advento Domini Source: Migne PL 207.568d-569b

Let us hope with confidence in the Lord's advent, brothers.'I am certain,' he says, 'that He shall appear in the end, and He does not lie. If He delays, I shall expect Him.' 1 But even He who commands greetings to Jacob, gives greetings in Hosea the prophet to his friend the Church which is espoused to Him in faith, and consoles her, even that she should have confidence in the heart of her man, thus also teaching that she should expect Him. 'Many days,' he says, you shall expect me, and you shall not fornicate, and you shall not go with another lover.' 2 These things were said in the days of old, brothers. Whence even Isaiah says, 'Shall not the Lord come from afar?' 3 And we are those, brothers, on whom the final days have come. 4 Therefore He comes as to a neighbour, as the Bridegroom, and as our king He comes, and as our legislator. For quickly He shall come, and He shall not delay. And we, therefore, like men who await their master, should do what He commands, and thus not fornicate or go off with other lovers. The world is a false lover. It deceives with the traitorous deceptions, and is as Sichem the son of Hemor, who with blandishments seized and corrupted Dinah. 5 Wretched it is to have the soul carried off in the snares of such desires, and to consent while apart from the Lord to fornicate with the world and with the devil, making one's first faith a burden, and in the passions of desire and the demands of pleasure forsaking God. Woeful are the lovers who follow those who presently offer themselves, and do not expect the Lord of glory, Jesus Christ the bridegroom, and their Saviour, in justice, piety and sobriety. For thus according to the counsel of the Apostle, 'in sobriety, and justice, and piety let us live in this world, hoping with a blessed hope, even for the coming of the Lord of great glory.' 6 The piety of a man is for the Lord, justice is for his neighbour, and sobriety is for himself. The advent of the Lord is wicked for us unless we expect Him in piety and sobriety and justice. Peter of Blois, from Sermon 3, On The Advent of the Lord 1 Hab 2.3 2 Hosea 3.3 3 Isaiah 30.27 4 1 Cor 10.11 5 Genes 34 6 Tit 2.12-13

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

The White Horse

Et vidi coelum apertum, et ecce equus albus... Dominus qui est via, veritas et vita, et cui per prophetam dicitur: Quoniam fecisti mirabilia, cogitationes antiquas fideles, amen: ad debellandas aereas potestates candidi corporis, id est, immaculati conscendit sedem. Et in justitia judicat et pugnat. Judicat ut rex saeculorum. Pugnat, quia in suis membris semper compassus dimicat. Oculi autem ejus sicut flamma ignis. Oculos Dei aliquando praecepta dicit, aliquando spiritum. Lucerna, inquit, pedibus meis verbum tuum, Domine. Et de Spiritu: Ignem veni mittere in terram. Et in capite ejus diademata multa. In quo faciemus virtutem, in ipso multitudo sanctorum coronatum dicitur habere decorem. Habens nomen scriptum quod nemo novit nisi ipse. Nisi ipse, ait, quia in illo est omnis Ecclesia. Verbi enim Dei perfecta cognitio illis manifestatur, qui corpus Christi et membra esse meruerunt. Eodem modo et Dominus ait: Nemo ascendit in coelum, nisi qui de coelo descendit, Filius hominis qui est in coelo. Et vestitus erat veste aspersa sanguine. Vestis Christi pro locis intelligi debet. Hic ergo videtur ipsum opus indicare passionis, ut in equo albo nativitas incorrupta, in veste sanguinolenta mors innoxia, designetur. Et vocabatur nomen ejus Verbum Dei. Quia idem qui homo passurus ad tempus apparuit, in principio Deus apud Deum erat. Verbum enim dicitur, quia nihil in substantia naturae ejus visibile vel corporeum est, vel quia per eum omnia condidit Pater. Cujus ad integrum notitia naturae sibi tantum, ut superius ait, et Patri cognita est. Pax enim Dei exsuperat omnem sensum, id est, ea pax qua Deus ipse sibi pacatus est omnem creaturae, sive humanae, sive etiam angelicae, transcendit intellectum. Sapientiae enim ejus non est numerus. Nam quod dicitur: Et cui voluerit Filius revelare, id est, Filium et Patrem novit, ad modum creaturae respicit. Sanctus Beda, Explanatio Apocalyspsis, Liber III, Caput XIX Source: Migne PL 93.189a-d

And I saw heaven opened, and, behold, a white horse... 1 The Lord who is the way and the truth and the life, even Him whom through the prophet it is said, 'Because you have done wonderful things, your faithful thoughts of old,' for the vanquishing of the powers of the air with the bright body, that is, He mounts the seat immaculate. 2 And in righteousness He shall judge and fight... He judges as the king of the ages. He fights because He contends in the suffering of His members. His eyes as flame... The eyes of God are sometimes the commandments, and sometimes the Spirit. 'Your word is a lamp for my feet, O Lord.' And concerning the Spirit, 'I have come to place fire on the earth.' 3 And on His head many crowns. In that we act virtuously, we shall be adorned with the many crowns of the saints. Having a name written that no one knows but Himself. But Himself, it says, because in Him is all the Church, and the flawless knowledge of the Word of God is manifested to those who have merited to be the body and members of Christ. In the same way the Lord says, 'No one ascends to heaven unless He who comes down from from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven.' 4 And He was clothed with a garment speckled with blood. The garment of Christ should be understood by other passages. Therefore here it seems to signify the work of the passion, so that the white horse is the incorruption of the Nativity and and blood stained garment is the guiltless death. And His name was called the Word of God. Because He who appeared for a time as a suffering man was God with God in the beginning. 'The Word' because nothing in the substance of His nature is visible and corporeal, or because through Him the Father made all things. 5 And the perfection of His nature is known by Him alone, as said above, and by the Father. For the peace of God exceeds all understanding, that is, that peace which God Himself is, which transcends the understanding of every creature, whether human or angelic. 'For His wisdom is without number.' 6 And it is said, 'And to whom the Son shall choose to reveal it,' 7 that is, according to the manner of the creature is the knowledge of the Son and the Father. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Apocalypse, Book 3, Chapter 19 1 Apoc 6.2 2 Jn 14.6, Isaiah 25.1, Ephes 2.2 3 Ps 118.105, Lk 12.49 4 Jn 3.13 5 Jn 1.1-3 6 Phil 4.7, Ps 146.5 7 Mt 11.27

An Open Door

Ecce, inquit, ostium apertum in coelo. Ositum apertum Christum dicit natum et passum ac suscitatum, qui est janua, ipso dicente: Ego sum ostium. Coelum Ecclesiam dicit, eo quod sit habitaculum Dei, ubi coelestia geruntur. Hoc est quod sicut in coelo voluntatem Dei, ita fieri postulamus in terra. Aliquando autem coelum et terram et Ecclesiam dicit, propter terram quae et coelum consistit, sive cum infideles rectis fidelium praedicationibus acquiruntur, sive cum caro spiritui subditur, sive cum terrena coelestibus reconciliata junguntur. Ecce vox illa prima quam audivi ut tuba loquentem mecum: Ascende huc, inquit, et ostendam tibi quae fieri post haec oportet. Vox praedicatio; ideo dicitur: Quasi tuba exalta vocem tuam. Ascensus est, quando cum despectu mundi venire ad Ecclesiam quisque vel compellitur, vel meretur. A convalle autem plorationis ascenditur ad hujus apicem dignitatis; hinc legimus: Venite, ascendamus in montem Domini et ad domum Dei Jacob, et docebit nos vias suas. Sed etiam fideles ad coelum invitantur ascendere, quando non quae super terram, sed coelestia appetere jubentur et sapere. Primasius Adrumetanensis Commentaria in Apocalypsim, Liber I, Caput III Source: Migne PL 68.813d-814a

Behold, a door open in heaven... 1 By the open door he speaks of the birth and suffering and raising up of Christ, who is the door, as He Himself said, 'I am the door.' 2 He speaks of the Church as heaven, because it is the dwelling place of God, where heavenly things are brought forth. This is as the will of God is in heaven so we entreat it to be on earth. 3 But sometimes he speaks of the Church as heaven and earth because the earth is established by heaven, either as when the faithless are brought among the faithful by right preaching or when the flesh is ruled by the spirit, or when earthly things are brought into harmony with heavenly things. 'Behold, the first voice I heard, like a trumpet sounding forth, said to me, 'Come up here and I shall show you the things that must be after this.' The voice of preaching, therefore it is said, 'Lift up your voice like a trumpet.' 4 The ascent is when with the world set aside someone comes to the Church either by compulsion or by merit. And from the valley of tears he ascends to the peak of dignity, hence we read, 'Come, let us go up to the mount of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and He shall teach us His ways.' 5 For the faithful are invited to ascend to heaven when they are commanded to desire and know heavenly things, not worldly things. Primasius of Hadrumetum, Commentary On The Apocalypse, Book 1, Chapter 3 1 Apoc 3.8 2 Jn 10.9 3 Mt 6.10 4 Isaiah 58.1 5 Isaiah 2.3

Draw Me After You

Oleum effusum nomen tuum; ideo adolescentulae dilexerunt te. Trahe me, post te curremus in odorem unguentorum tuorum. Allegorice: Adolesentulae sunt quasi novellae, quia baptisma et gratiam Spiritus sancti renovatae. Dicit ergo Ecclesia sponso, id est Chriso: Trahe me post te. Per gratiam imitandum dicunt adolescentulae, id est Ecclesiae ejus filiae, Curremus, et nos fide et dilectione, in odore unguentorum tuorum, id est in consideratione miraculorum tuorum vel in fama operum tuorum, vel in fide aeternorum bonorum. Tropologice: fidelis anima, bonum volens, et per se non valens, clamat Christo: Trahe me post te. Hoc est, da gratiam ut post tua vestigia ad te, qui es via, veritas et vita. Nullus enim homo ad poenitentiam convertitur, nisi per gratiam trahatur. Anagogice: Ecclesia peregrinans, superna appetens, et per se assequi non valens, clamat: Trahe me post te. De hoc mundo ad coelestem gloriam, ut te in illa face ad faciem videam, quia nullus per se ad illam pervenitre poterit, nisi gratia et dextera Dei illum traxerit. Honorius Augustodunensis, Expositio in Cantica Canticorum, Caput I Source: Migne PL 172.365d-366a

Your name is oil poured out, therefore the young maidens love you. Draw me, after you we shall run, in the fragrance of your ointments. 1 Allegorically the young maids are the new plantings who have been renewed through baptism and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the Church says to the bridegroom, that is, Christ, 'Draw me, after you...' Through grace they are portrayed as young maids, that is, the daughters of His Church. 'We shall run,' even us in faith and love, '...in the fragrance of your ointments,' that is, in the remembrance of your miracles and in the fame of your works, and in the faith of eternal goods. Tropologically the faithful soul, wishing for the good and unable to come to it itself, cries out to Christ, 'Draw me, after you...' That is, give me grace so that in your footsteps I might come to you, who are the way and the truth and the life. 2 For no man turns to penance unless he is drawn by grace. Anagogically the pilgrim Church, desiring heavenly things, and by itself unable to attain it, cries out, 'Draw me, after you...' From this world to heavenly glory, so that I might see you face to face, 3 because no one is able to come there by himself, unless grace and the right hand of God should draw him. Honorius of Autun, Commentary on The Song of Songs, Chapter 1 1 Song 1.2-3 2 Jn 14.6 3 1 Cor 13.12

Apostles And Tradition

Traditionem itaque Apostolorum in toto mundo manifestatam, in omni Ecclesia adest perspicere omnibus qui vera velint videre, et habemus annumerare eos qui ab Apostolis instituti sunt Episcopi in ecclesiis, et successiones eorum usque ad nos, qui nihil tale docuerunt, neque cognoverunt, quale ab his deliratur. Etenim si recondita mysteria scissent Apostoli, quae seorsim et latenter ab reliquis perfectos docebant, his vel maxime traderent ea quibus etiam ipsas ecclesias committebant. Valde enim perfectos et irreprehensibiles in omnibus eos volebant esse, quos et successores relinquebant, suum ipsorum locum magisterii tradentes: quibus emendate agentibus fieret magna utilitas, lapsis autem summa calamitas. Sed quoniam valde longum est, in hoc tali volumine omnium ecclesiarum enumerare successiones, maximae, et antiquissimae, et omnibus cognitae, a gloriosissimis duobus apostolis Petro et Paulo Romae fundatae et constitutae ecclesiae, eam quam habet ab Apostolis traditionem, et annuntiatam hominibus fidem, per successiones Episcoporum pervenientem usque ad nos indicantes, confundimus omnes eos, qui quoquo modo, vel per sibiplacentiam malam, vel vanam gloriam, vel per caecitatem et malam sententiam, praeterquam oportet colligunt. Ad hanc enim ecclesiam propter potentiorem principalitatem necesse est omnem convenire Ecclesiam, hoc est, eos qui sunt undique fideles, in qua semper ab his, qui sunt undique, conservata est ea quae est ab Apostolis traditio. Sanctus Irenaeus Lugdunensis, Adversus Haereses, Liber III, Caput III Source: Migne PG 7.848a-849a

The tradition of the Apostles manifested throughout the whole world is within the power of everyone in every Church to contemplate clearly who may wish to see the truth, and we are in a position to reckon up those who were instituted bishops in the Churches by the Apostle and the succession of these men to our own times, who neither taught nor did they know anything of what these men rave about. If the Apostles had known hidden mysteries which they taught to the perfect apart from the rest, they would have certainly delivered these things to those whom they were committing the Churches. For they wished these men should be perfect and blameless in everything, these whom they were leaving behind as successors, and to whom they were handing over their own place of headship, which if such men acted well it would be a great boon, but if they fell the greatest calamity. But because it would be a very lengthy exercise in such a volume as this to enumerate the successions of all the Churches, we point at the very great and very ancient and universally known Church founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul, which has its tradition from the Apostles, and the faith preached to men which comes down to us by the successions of the Apostles, to confute all those, who in whatever way, by evil self pleasing, or vainglory, or blind and wicked opinion, gather together. For with this Church, because of its preeminent authority, it is necessary that every church should agree, that is, with those who are faithful in every way, by which in these who are faithful in every way has been preserved the tradition that is from the Apostles. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 3, Chapter 3

Ruth And The Church

Videamus nunc et Ruth. Habet enim ista typum Ecclesiae. Primum, quod alienigena est ex populo gentili, quae, relicta patria, et omnibus quae illic erant, vadit in terram Isreal. Et, cum prohiberet eam socrus sua pergere secum, perseverabat, dicens: Quocunque perexeris, pergam; populus tuus, populus meus, et Deus tuus, Deus meus; quae te moriente terra susceperit, in ea moriar. Quae vox sine dubio typum in illa fuisse Ecclesiae manifestat. Sic enim Ecclesia ex gentibus ad Dominum convocata, relicta patria sua, quod est idololatria, et omissa universa conversatione terrena, profitetur Dominum Deum suum esse, in quem sancti crediderunt, et illuc se ituram, ubi caro Christi post passionem ascendit, et ob ejus nomen in hoc saeculo pati usque ad mortem, et cum sanctorum populo, patriarchis scilicet, et prophetis consociandam; de quorum societate, quod sanctis ex stirpe Abrahae venientibus consociaretur, Moyses in Cantico ostendit, dicens: Laetamini, gentes, cum plebe ejus, id est, qui ex gentibu istis credituri, cum illis qui primi electi sunt aeterna laetitia exulstate. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, De Ruth Source:Migne PL 83.390c-391a

Let us now consider Ruth. She is a type of the Church. First, because she is foreign born from the Gentile people, she who, abandoning her homeland, and everything there, goes to the land of Israel, and when her mother in law prohibits her from journeying with her, she perseveres, saying, 'Wherever you shall go, I shall go, and your people shall be my people, and your God shall be my god, and the earth that shall receive you when you die, there I shall die.' 1 Which voice undoubtedly manifests a type of the Church. For so the Church, being gathered to the Lord from the Gentiles, abandoned its homeland, which was idolatry, and setting aside every way of worldly living, confessed the Lord her own God, in whom the holy had believed, and from there set out to where the flesh of Christ ascended after the passion, even to suffer death in this world because of His name, and to be joined with a holy people, that is, the patriarchs and the prophets, concerning which society, that it was to be an association with the holy ones from the seed of Abraham, Moses in his song shows, saying, 'Rejoice, nations, with His people,' 2 that is, that those who from the Gentiles were going to believe, should exult with eternal joy with those who were the first to be chosen Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Ruth 1 Ruth 1.16-17 2 Deut 32.43

Achan And Corruption

Furatur interea de anathemate urbis Jericho Achan pallium, et linguam auream, pro quo, irascente Deo, perierunt quidam manu hostili ex populo. Jericho itaque, ut dictum est, mundi gerit figuram. De anathemate ergo ejus fraudans in tabernaculo suo abscondit, qui saeculares mores in secretis Ecclesiae inserit; qui, sub cultu Dei manens, solemnitates saeculi vel spectacula diligit; qui sortilegos, haruspices et augures inquirit, vel qui caeteros ritus persuadet, qui prius in Jericho, id est, in hoc saeculo habebantur; ipse ergo, quia post fidei indumentum conversationis saecularis cultum inducit, quasi pallium de anathemate tollit. Sed et ille de anathemate Jericho fraudat, qui in Ecclesia haereticorum infert dogmata, vel superstitiosa saecularium litterarum studia. Haec est enim lingua aurea luculento sermone aptate. Hanc furati sunt Arius, Marcion et Basilides. Furati sunt enim isti regulas aureas de Jericho, qui philosophorum sectam conati sunt in Ecclesiam introducere et maculare omnem Ecclesiam Domini, uta ut disperderentur multi per eos; ideoque abjecti sunt per anathema, et quasi acervo lapidum, ita multitudine peccatorum suorum oppressi atque exstincti sunt. Quorum errore perempto, rex Hai, hoc est, diabolus, qui per illorum impietatem fidelium quosdam evicerat, rursum superatus evincitur, atque a populo Dei suspensus, ligni crucis virtute necatur. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Josue, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 83.374d-375b

Meanwhile Achan, despite the ban on the city of Jericho, plundered a cloak and a bar of gold, by which,  because of the anger of God, he perished by the hostile hands of the people. 1 Thus Jericho, as has been said, is a figure of the world, and against the ban he hides his deceit in his tent who brings worldly customs into the sanctuary of the Church, he who though he remains within the worship of God, loves the weighty things of the world and its amusements, who enquires of fortune tellers, haruspices, and augers, and persuades others to do such things which were once done in Jericho, that is, in this world. Therefore he who brings in the cult of worldly cares after putting on the clothing of faith is he who takes a cloak against the ban. And he also flouts the ban concerning Jericho who brings heretical teachings into the Church, or the superstitious studies of worldly letters, for this is the golden tongue which fair speech furnishes. Whence Arius and Marcion and Basilides are plunderers, since they are plunderers of the golden bars of Jericho who try to introduce the schools of the philosophers into the Church and sully the whole of the Church of the Lord so that they might ruin many by it, and thus they are cast down by the ban, and with the mass of their sins, as with a heap of stones, they are burdened and perish. And with their fatal error, because of the impiety of those who were faithful, king Ai, that is, the devil, conquered them, but he in turn is conquered, and by the people of God hung up, slain with the power of the wood of the cross. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Joshua, Chapter 8 1 Joshua 7

Judith's Blessing

Joacim autem summus pontifex de Jerusalem venit in Bethuliam cum universis presbyteris suis ut videret Judith. Quae cum exisset ad illum, benedixerunt eam omnes una voce, dicentes: Tu gloria Jerusalem; tu laetitia Israel; tu honorificentia populi nostri: quia fecisti viriliter, et confortatum est cor tuum, eo quod castitatem amaveris, et post virum tuum, alterum nescieris : ideo et manus Domini confortavit te, et ideo eris benedicta in aeternum. Et dixit omnis populus : Fiat, fiat. Quid per Joachim summum pontificem de Jersualem nisi Redemptor noster intelligitur, qui factus est a Deo nobis pontifex in aeternum secundum ordinem Melchisidech, per quem habemus accessum ad Patrum, et spem vitae aeternae. Quod etiam nominis ejus interpretatio exprimere videtur: interpretatur enim Joachim Domini resurrectio. Unde ipsa Veritas in Evangelico ait: Ego sum resurrectio et vita: qui credit in me, non morietur in aeternum. Hic ergo pontifex venit de Jerusalem in Bethuliam, cum de coelis descendit in uterum virginis, ex qua carnem assumens homo factus est pro nobis. Unde elegit discipulos, quos ipse fratres suos in Evangelico nominavit; qui merito presbysteri propter honoris dignitatem et sapientiae perfectionem nominantur, ut videret Judith, ut probaret scilicet Ecclesiae suae fidem et confessionem. Quae cum exisset ad illum, hoc est, devotionem mentis sua bona operatione ostenderet, benedixerunt illam omnes una voce dicentes: Tu gloria Jerusalem, tu laetitia Israel, tu honorificentia populi nostri. Benedixit ergo Ecclesiam suam Dominus, cum eam gratiarum suarum ubertate replet, et omnibus laudabilem esse demonstrat, pro quo et ad Patrem gratias agens in Evangelio ait: Confiteor, tibi, Pater, Domine coeli et terrae, quia abscondisti haec a sapientibus et prudentibus, et revelasti ea parvulis. Hinc e per Salomonem dicitur: Surrexerunt filii ejus, et beatissimam praedicaverunt; vir ejus, et laudavit eam. Gloria ergo Jersulaem est sancta Ecclesia, quia ad coelestem pertinet civitatem Dei, et societatem et beatitudinem sanctorum angelorum, quae fecit viriliter, contra mundi confligens principatum, contemnendo minas e persecutione hostium; castitatem amavit, quia sinceritatem fidei servavit, per quam omnem multitudinem fidelium Apostolus se colesti regi deponasse gloriabatur dicens: Desponsavi enim vos uni viro, virginem castam exhibere Christo. Cujus thoro immaculatam ipsa se custodit, nec haereticoum errori communicare ullo modo consentit. Ad benedictionem pontificis e presbyterorum respondit: Fiat, fiat, hoc est: Amen, amen: quia a majoribus sive minoribus filiis matris Ecclesiae ipsa sola in toto orbe predicabitur, et condigna coelesti sponso ubique et semper laudabitur. Rabanus Maurus, Expositio in Librum Judith, Caput XIII Source: Migne PL 109.579b-580a

Joachim the high priest came from Jerusalem to Bethulia with all his elders to see Judith. When she had come out to him, they all blessed her with one voice, saying, 'You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the joy of Israel, you are the honour of our people, for you have acted bravely and your heart has been strengthened because you loved chastity, and after your husband you have not known any other, therefore the hand of the Lord has strengthened you and you will be blessed forever.' And all the people said: 'So be it, so be it.' 1 What is to be understood by Joachim the high priest coming from Jerusalem but that he is our Redeemer, who was made by God a high priest for us in eternity according to the order of Melchizedek, through whom we have access to the Father, and hope of eternal life. Whence his name seems to be expressed by the interpretation 'the raising of the Lord,' 2 and the Truth Himself says in the Gospel: 'I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in me shall not die in eternity.' 3 Therefore this high priest comes from Jerusalem to Bethulia when from heaven He descended into the womb of the Virgin, from whom He took up flesh and was made man for us. Whence He chose disciples, who He names in the Gospel His brothers, 4 and who are rightly named here elders on account of the dignity of their honour and consummate wisdom, and so he sees Judith so that He might approve the faith and confession of the Church. And she came out to him, that is, she showed the devotion of her mind in good works, and all blessed her with one voice, saying, 'You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the joy of Israel, you are the honour of our people.' Thus the Lord blessed His Church, filling it abundantly with His graces, and He shows it to be worthy of praise by everyone, for which He gives thanks to the Father in the Gospel, saying, 'I confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and the clever and revealed them to children.' Whence He says through Solomon, 'Her children have risen up, and they have spoken blessings, and her husband praised her.' 5 Therefore the Church is the glory of Jerusalem, because it refers to the heavenly city of God and the society and blessedness of the holy angels. And she acted bravely by fighting against the powers of the world, and by scorning the threats of the enemy's persecutions, and living chastely, by which she guarded the purity of the faith, and through the whole multitude of the faithful the Apostle himself glories in having presented her to the heavenly king, saying, 'I have espoused you to one man, exhibiting you as a chaste virgin to Christ.' 6 And she guarded herself unstained for His throne by not consenting to any touch of the errors of heretics. And then to the blessing of the high priest and elders it was answered, 'So be it, so be it,' because by the greatest and the least of the sons of mother Church she herself, the Church, will alone be proclaimed throughout the whole world, and everywhere and always praised as being worthy of the heavenly husband. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Judith, Chapter 13 1 Judith 15.9-12 2 The Hebrew translates litterally as 'God raises up' 3 Jn 11.25 4 Jn 20.17 5 Mt 11.25, Prov 31.28 6 2 Cor 11.2

The King And The Cellar

Introduxit me rex in cellaria sua... Secundum allegoraim autem Ecclesia a Christo per gratiam in sacram Scripturam tracta dicit: Introduxit me rex in cellaria sua. Cellaria, in quibus varii potus servantur, sunt libri sacrae Scripturae, de quibus variae sententiae sitientibs justitia propinantur. Cum enim lectio de Joseph legitur, quasi poculum contra adulterium porrigitur; cum vero Judith Scriptura recitatur, quasi castitatis propinatur. In haec cellaria Christus sponsam introduxit, quando sensum ei aperuit, ut intelligeret Scripturas. Christus autem proprie rex dicitur secundum carnem, qua humano generi a Patre praeficiutr, ut scriptum est: Ego autem constitutus sum rex ab eo. Et item ad Pilatum: Tu dicis: Quia rex sum ego. Item: Data est mihi omnis potestas in caelo et in terra. Et iterum: Ipse est qui constitutus est a Dei judex vivorum et mortuorum. Hic solus potest introducere in Scripturam, qui solus potuit septem signacula libri solvere, quae erant ejus incarnatio, nativitas, passio, inferni spoliatio, resurrectio, ascensio, futurum judicium. Honorius Augustodunensis, Expositio in Cantica Canticorum, Caput I Source: Migne PL 172.366d-367a

The King brought me into his cellar.. 1 According to the allegorical sense, 'the king brought me into his cellar,' speaks of the Church that has been drawn into Sacred Scripture by the grace of Christ. The cellar, in which various drinks are kept, are the books of Sacred Scripture and by the drinking of the various passages those who drink are brought closer to righteousness. For when they read of Joseph, it is as they take a drink against adultery, and when Judith is recited it is as if they are brought near to chastity. Into this cellar Christ has brought the bride when He opens her mind so that she might understand the Scriptures. And Christ is called king according to the flesh since He has been set over the human race by the Father, and thus it is written: 'I have established a king for them.' 2 And again to Pilate: 'You say that I am a king.' 3 Again, 'All power is given to me in heaven and earth.' 4 And again: 'He has been established by God as the judge of the living and the dead.' 5 He alone brings us into the Scriptures, He alone is the one who is able to unseal the seven seals of the book, 6 which were His Incarnation, His Nativity, His Passion, His Despoiling of Hell, His Resurrection, His Ascension, and Final Judgement. Honorius of Autun, Commentary on The Song of Songs, Chapter 1 1 Song 1.2 2 Ps 2.6 3 Jn 18.37 4 Mt 28.18 5 Acts 10.42 6 Apoc 5

Calling Out

Ad Dominum, cum tribularer, clamavi, et exaudivit me... Tribulatio est haec vita, ex qua, qui humiliter ad Deum clamant, sicut Publicanus qui ait: Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori, exaudiuntur. Sed videamus quid iste poentients clamet: Domine, libera a labiis inquius, et a lingua dolosa... Labia iniqua sunt, quae nos suggerendo ad iniquitatem sollicitare nituntur, lingua dolosa est, quae nos avertere vult de via justitiae. Illa nos ad peccandum suggerunt; ista nos a benefaciendo retrahit. Sed consideremus, quid nobis ad has preces respondeat Dominus. Quid detur tibi, aut quid apponatur tibi ad linguam dolosam? Ecce quid tibi dabitur ad respondendum linguae dolosae, quae solet, non consulendo tibi, sed subvertendo te, dicere: Non potes saeculum dimittere, non potes tam arctam viam et tam angustam portam ingredi. Sagittae potentis acutae cum carbonibus desolatoriis. Id est, quid in Evangelio dicitur: Apud homines hoc impossibile est, apud Deum omnia possibilia sunt. Sagittae potentis verba Dei sunt, quae transfigunt corda nostra ad contemnendum saeculum, et ad amandum Deum: ex quibus sagittis amor excitatur, non interitus comparatur. Cum carbonibus desolatoriis, id est vastatoriis. Sed si parum est verbis sagittare, sufficiat exemplis demonstrate. Qui fuerunt peccatis nigri et frigidi, iterum charitate Dei accensi vestaverunt et destruxerunt opera diaboli in cordibus suis, ut praepararent habitationem Deo in semetipsis, et post multa peccata multum dilexerunt Deum: ideo multum dimittetur eis. Heu me! quia incolatus meus prolongatus est, habitavi cum habitantibus Cedar, multum incola fuit anima mea. Ecce iste a lingua dolosa liberatus, verbo Dei sagittatus, exemplis multorum robortus, quid proficiat, quove ascendere quaerat, videamus. Heu me! inquit, quod incoltus meus prolongatus est! Vox dolentis et miseriam plangentis, quod diu peregrinatione hujus mortalitatis incolatus ejus prolongetur. Incola vero est qui terram alienam colit. Unde iste se plangit, et ad patriam suspirans redire, addidit: Habitavi cum habitantibus Cedar. Cedar tenebrae interpretantur. Significat autem peccatores, inter quos in hoc saeculo justi peregrinantur, necdum extremo judicii ventilabro area, id est Ecclesia, purgata et segregate: unde iste desiderans ascendere ait: Multum incola fuit anima mea. Corpus locis, et anima affectibus peregrinatur. Unde iste sagitta charitatis vulneratus toto desiderio ad coelestem anhelat patriam. Alcuinus, Expositio in Psalmos Graduales, Psalmus CXIX Source: Migne PL 100.619c-621a

I called out to the Lord when I was troubled and He heard me... 1 This life is tribulation, because of which those who humbly cry out to God, like that tax collector who said: 'May God be propitious to me a sinner,' 2 are heard. But let us see what this penitent one calls out: O Lord, free me from the lips of the wicked, and the evil tongue... Lips are wicked that strive to attract us to wickedness by suggestion. The tongue is evil that wishes to lead us from the way of righteousness. The former counsels us to sin, the latter to turn ourselves from good works. But let us consider what the Lord shall reply to us with these petitions. What shall be given to you, or what appointed for the wicked tongue? Observe what shall be given to you in response to the wicked tongue, the custom of which is not to edify you but to pervert you, saying: 'You cannot cast off the world, you cannot walk on a way so narrow and so difficult.' 3 The sharp arrows of the mighty one, with coals that lay waste. That is, what is said in the Gospel, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.' 4 The arrows of the mighty one are the words of God that pierce our heart for the spurning of the world, and to love God, which arrows rouse love and should not be compared to those that kill. 'With coals that lay waste,' that is, those who ruin. And that words are indeed arrows let it be enough to demonstrate with examples. They who were dark and chilled are clothed with the blazing love of God and they destroy the works of the devil in their hearts, so that they might prepare a dwelling for God in themselves, and after a long time of many sins, love God, and therefore much is forgiven them. 5 Alas for me, that my sojourning is prolonged! I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar, my soul has long been a sojourner. Behold the man who has been freed from the evil tongue, by the archery of the word of God, and who has been strengthened by the examples of many. And how this is to the advantage of one who seeks to ascend, let us see. 'Alas for me,' he says, 'that my sojourning is prolonged!' This is the voice of one who is sorrowful and crying out in misery because his sojourning in the wandering of his mortality is prolonged. He sojourns who dwells in a foreign land. Whence he sighs for himself, and longing to be returned to his fatherland, he adds: 'I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar.' Cedar may be understood as darkness and it signifies sinners, among whom the righteous wander in the world, for the winnowing fan of final judgement has not yet sifted and separated the threshing floor which is the Church. 6 Whence this one who desires to ascend then says, 'My soul has long been a sojourner.' The body wanders in space, the soul in passions. Therefore this one who has been wounded by the arrow of love gasps with all his desire for the heavenly fatherland. Alcuin of York, Commentary on the Gradual Psalms, from Psalm 119 1 Ps 119.1 2 Lk 18.13 3 Mt 7.13-14 4 Mt 19.26 5 Lk 7.47 6 Lk 3.17

The Mustard Seed And Other Seeds

Simile est regnum coelorum grano sinapis etc. Regnum coelorum praesens Ecclesia dicitur, quae diversis figuris, non secundum se totam, sed secundum aliquam partem sui comparatur. Hic autem grano sinapis secundum fidem assimilatur, quod homo, id est Christus seminavit in agro, id est in cordibus credentium, quod minimum est omnibus seminibus. Fides enim nostra vilior omnibus doctrinis philosophicis videtur. Quid enim stultius sapientibus hujus mundi aestimabatur, quam in occisum et sepultum credere, visibilia contemnere, et invisibilibus iuhiare? Caetera autem semina, scilicet libri philosophorum excellere videntur, quia de maximarum rerum agunt subtilitate, et ornati sunt rhetorica compositione. Sed, ut ait Apostolus, quod infirmum est Dei, fortius est hominibus, ideo cum crescit in mente recipientis, et in toto mundo exaltatur, major apparet omnibus oleribus, et fit arbor, ita ut, etc. Scientiae philosophicae enim sunt olera, sed ad nullius utilitatis robur perveniunt. et ideo facile ex vanitate sua arescunt. Rami vero hujus arboris sunt partes fidei multiplices, in quibus habitant volucres coeli, id est animae fidelium delectantur et pascuntur, quae pennis virtutum ad coelestia volant. Unde dictum est: Quis dabit mihi pennas sicut columbae, et volabo, et requiescam? Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput XIII Source: Migne PL 162.1374d-1375b

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed... 1 He speaks of the present Church by the use of different figures, for not in its totality but according to its different parts it has its comparisons. Here, then, the mustard seed is likened to faith, which a man, that is, Christ, sowed in a field, that is, in the hearts of the believers, and it is the smallest of all the seeds. Indeed our faith seems to be more valueless than all the teachings of the philosophers. What shall be judged more foolish by the wise of this world than to have belief in a man who was killed and buried, and to scorn visible things and to desire things unseen? And there are other seeds, that is, the books of the philosophers which seem to be excellent because they treat subtly of the greatest things and they are composed in an admirable style, but as the Apostle says, the weakness of God is stronger than men 2 therefore when our seed grows in the mind that receives it, it rises up amid the whole world, and it appears greater than all other herbs, and indeed is like a tree. The teachings of the philosophers are the other herbs, but the strength of their usefulness comes to nothing, and therefore on account of their vanity they wither away. But the branches of our tree are the many parts of the faith which with the wings of virtue fly off to heavenly things. Whence it has been said, 'Who shall give to me the wings of a dove, that I might fly away and be at peace?' 3 Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 6 1 Mt 13.31-32 2 1 Cor 1.25 3 Ps 54.7

A Notable Church

Notandum autem, quod haec ecclesia, sicut et aliae per Hiberniam et Walliam plures, abbatem laicum habet. Usus enim inolevit et prava consuetudo, ut viri in parochia potentes, primo tanquam oeconomi seu potius ecclesiarum patroni et defensores a clero constituti: postea processu temporis aucta cupidine totum sibi jus usurparent, et terras omnes cum exteriore possessione sibi impudenter appropriarent, solum altaria cum decimis et obventionibus clero relinquentes; et haec ipsa filiis suis clericis et cognatis assignantes. Tales itaque defensores seu potius ecclesiarum destructores abbates se vocari fecere, et tam nomen indebitum quam rem quoque sibi assignari praesumpsere. In hoc statu ecclesiam hanc invenimus capite destitutam, veteri quodam et inveterato dierum malorum, cui nomen Eden Oen filius Gwaithvoed, se abbatem gerente, et filiis ejusdem altari incumbentibus. Tempore tamen Regis Henrici Primi Anglorum potestate per Cambriam vigente, coenobium S. Petri Gloverniae, praedictam ecclesiam quiete possedit ; sed post obitum regis ejusdem, Anglis expulsis, monachi quoque sunt ejecti, et more praefato tam clerici interius quam laici exterius violenter intrusi. Contigit autem regnante Stephano, qui successit Henrico Primo, militem quendam de Armorica oriundum Britannia, peragratis regionibus multis, ut variarum gentium tam urbes quam mores discerneret, huc tandem forte fortuitu advectum esse; cum itaque die quodam festivo ad missae celebrationem adventum abbatis tam clerus quam populus expectaret, demum abbati venienti cum aliis occursans, vidit turbam juvenum venire circiter viginti more gentis expeditam, et armis munitam: cumque quaerenti, quisnam illorum abbas esset, virum quendam ostenderent cum lancea longa praecedentem: intuens in eum, et admirans ait: Nunquid alium habitum aliumve baculum abbas iste, quam illum, quem nunc praefert, habet? Responderunt, Nequaquam. At ille: Sat, inquit, hodie novitatis vidi, satque miraculi jam audivi. Et ab illa statim hora reversus finem labori posuit et explorationi. Jactat autem gens haec et generatio prava, episcopum quendam ecclesiae istius, quia cathedralis aliquando fuerat, a decessoribus suis interemptum; et hac praecipue allegatione in loco eodemjus sibi vendicant et proprietatem. Elegimus itaque has potius enormitates ad praesens sub dissimulatione transire, quam, nullo ibidem querimoniam deponente, gentem iniquam exasperare. Giraldus Cambrensis, Itinerarium Cambriae, Liber II Caput IV Source: Here, p45-46

It is notable that the church at Llanbardarn Fawr, like many others in Ireland and Wales, has a lay abbot, for a bad custom has prevailed among the clergy of appointing the most powerful men of a parish as stewards, or, rather, patrons and protectors of the churches, who later, with a growing desire for gain, have usurped all rights and insolently appropriated for themselves the possession of all the land, leaving only the altars, with their tenths and oblations, to the clergy, and even assigning these to their sons and other family members attached to the church. Such defenders, or rather destroyers, of the churches, have made themselves be called abbots and presumed to attach to themselves a title, as well as estates. In this condition, without a head, we found the church of Llanbadarn. A certain old man, grown old in wickedness, whose name was Edynwain son of Gwaithfoeth, was abbot and his sons officiated at the altar. But in the time of Henry the First, when the power of the English prevailed throughout Wales, the monastery of Saint Peter of Gloucester held peaceful possession of the church, until with the death of that king, the English were expelled and the monks driven off, and their places were taken by the violent intrusion of native clergy and laymen, as had formerly been the case. In the reign of Stephen, who succeeded Henry the First, a knight who had been born in Brittany and who had travelled in many lands out of a desire to see the cities and ways of living of various peoples, came by chance to this place, and on a certain feast day when the clergy and people were awaiting the arrival of the abbot with others for the celebration of Mass, looking on a crowd of about twenty youths nearing the church who were armed according to the manner of their people, he asked which one of them was the abbot and was shown that it was the man walking at the front bearing a long spear. Staring at him in amazement, he said: 'Does this abbot have no other garments or staff but the one he bears before him now?' They answered, 'Not at all.' And he said: 'I have certainly seen a novelty today and now I have heard of a wonder.' And at that hour he returned home and put an end to his labours and travelling. This wicked people and generation boasts that a certain bishop of this church, for it was once a cathedral, was murdered by his predecessors, and it is especially on this that they base their claims for right and possession. At the time, since no public complaint had been made, we chose to pass over their enormities, lest we exasperate a wicked people. Gerald of Wales, The Journey Through Wales, Book 2, Chapter 4

Baptism And Damnation

Οὗ τὸ πτύο ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ. Μὴ νομίσητε ὅτι ἐὰν βαπτισθῆτε ὑπ' ἐκείνου, εἶτα ἁμαρτάνητε, συγχωρήσαι ὑμῖν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ πτύον ἔχει, τουτέστι, κρίσιν καὶ ἐξέτασιν. Καὶ διακαθαριεῖ τὴν ἀλωά αὐτοῦ. Τουτέστι, τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, ἤτις πολλοὺς μὲν ἔχει βεβαπτισμένους, ὥσπερ ἐν τῇ ἄλωνι πᾶν τὸ γεώργιον· ἀλλ' ἐν τούτοις, οἱ μέν εἰσιν ἄχυρα, ὁσοι κοῦφοί εἰσι καὶ τοῖς μνεύμασι τῆς πονηρίας κινούμενοι· οἱ δὲ, σῖτος, ὅσοι καὶ ἑτέρος ὠφελοῦσι, καὶ τρέφουσι διὰ διδασκαλίας καὶ πράξεως. Καὶ συνάξει τὸν σῖτον εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην αὐτοῦ· τὸ δὲ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρὶ ἀσβάστῳ. Ἄσβεστόν ἐστι τὸ πῦρ ἐκεῖνο· ὥστε φλυαρεῖ ὁ Ὠριγένης, λέγων ὅτι ἔσται τέλος τῆς κολάσεως. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ Γ' Source: Migne PG 123.165a-c

He who has the winnowing fan in His hand... 1 Do not think that if you are baptised by him and then you sin that He will gather you up. But He has the winnowing fan, that is, judgement and interrogation. And He will cleanse His floor... That is, the Church, which has many who are baptised, and as on every threshing floor in the country, there are some who are chaff, who being light are stirred up by spirits of wickedness, and some are wheat, who are of benefit to others, whom they feed with teaching and conduct. And He will gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire. The fire is unquenchable, which reveals Origen as a babbler, who says that there shall be an end to punishment. 2 Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 3 1 Mt 3.12 2 cf De Principiis 2.10.5

Baptism And The Spirit

Et descendit Spiritus sanctus corporali specie sicut columba in ipsum. Bene corporali specie, quia in natura dvinitatis a mortablibus videri non potuit. Bene sicut columba, quia spiritus disciplinae effugiet fictum, nec habitabit in corpore subdito peccatis. Et quia ad exemplum Simonis in felle amaritudinis, et iniquitatis obligatione perdurant, sortem in eo partemque habere nullatenus possunt. Unde cum mundi crimina quondam in figuram baptismi diluvio purgerentur, non corvi, sed columbae ore delatus olivae ramus pacem saeculo redditam nuntiavit. Mystice docens solis eis qui in cordis simplicitate baptizati sunt, unctionem sancti Spiritus adfuturam. Nemo enim putet Dominum post baptisma primum Spiritus sancti gratia perunctum, aut aliquem divinae naturae per tempora gessisse perfectum, sed noverit potius a primo conceptus humani tempore quem verum hominem, eumdem et Deum existere verum. Adventu autem columbae demonstratum, quod in corpore eius, id est Ecclesia, praecipue baptizati accipiunt Spiritum sanctum. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Caput III Source: Migne PL 92.358d-359a

And the Holy Spirit in the corporeal form of a dove came down upon Him. 1 And rightly in corporeal form, because He could not be seen in His Divine nature by mortals. And rightly as a dove because the spirit shall flee the lie of discipline and shall not dwell in a body conquered by sin. 2 And because, according to the example of Simon, 3 they who are fixed in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of wickedness, are not able to have a share or part in Him. Whence when once the crimes of the world were cleansed by the flood as a figure of baptism, it was not the crow but the dove that returned with the branch of olive in its beak to announce that peace had returned to the world, 4 which spiritually teaches that only those who have been baptized in simplicity of heart receive the unction of the Holy Spirit. Let no one think that it was after baptism that the Lord was first anointed by the grace of the Holy Spirit, or that a certain perfection of the Divine nature had happened through time, but let it be understood that from the first time of His human conception that He exists as true man and true God. Thus the coming of the dove demonstrated that in His body, that is, the Church, it is especially those who have been baptised who receive the Holy Spirit. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 1, Chapter 3 1 Lk 3.22 2 Wisd 1.5 3 Acts 8.16-24 4 Gen 8.6-11

Shepherds And Bishops

Καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἀπῆλθον ἀπ' αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν οἱ ἄγγελοι, οἱ ποιμένες ἐλάλουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους: διέλθωμεν δὴ ἕως Βηθλέεμ καὶ ἴδωμεν τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο τὸ γεγονὸς ὃ ὁ Kύριος ἐγνώρισεν ἡμῖν. Kαὶ ἦλθαν σπεύσαντες, καὶ ἀνεῦραν τήν τε Μαριὰμ καὶ τὸν Ἰωσὴφ καὶ τὸ βρέφος κείμενον ἐν τῇ φάτνῃ: ἰδόντες δὲ ἐγνώρισαν περὶ τοῦ ῥήματος τοῦ λαληθέντος αὐτοῖς περὶ τοῦ παιδίου τούτου. Kαὶ πάντες οἱ ἀκούσαντες ἐθαύμασαν περὶ τῶν λαληθέντων ὑπὸ τῶν ποιμένων πρὸς αὐτούς. Οἱ ποιμένες οὗτοι σύμβολόν εἰσι τῶν πνευματικῶν ποιμένων, τῶν ἀρχιερέων· δεῖ οὖν τοὺς ἀρχιερῖς φυλάσσειν τὴν ποίμνην αὐτῶν καὶ ἀγραυλεῖν, τουτέστιν, ᾄδειν πνευματικά τινα, καὶ διδάσκειν τὸν λαὸν, καὶ οὕτως ἀξιωθήσονται θείων θεαμάτων καὶ ἀκουσμάτων. Βηθλεὲμ δὲ ἑρμηνεύεται οἶκος τοῦ ἄρτου· τίς δὲ ἄλλος ἐστὶν ὁ οἰκος τοῦ ἄρτου, ἤ ἡ Ἐκκλησία, ἐν ᾗ ὁ ἄρτος ἀπόκειται; Ἔργον οὖν ἐστι τοῖς λογικοῖς ποιμέσιν ἐπιζτεῖν οὐράνιον ἄρτον· καὶ μεθ' ὃ ἴδωσι τὸν ἄρτον, ὀφείλουσι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις κηρύττειν· ὥσπερ καὶ οἱ ποιμένες ἰδόντες τὸ βρέφος, διελάλησαν καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν, Κεφαλὴ Β' Source: Migne PG 123.724c-725a

And after the angels departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass, which the Lord has revealed to us.' And they went with all speed and found Mary and Joseph and the infant laying in the manger. And looking, they understood the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child. And all that heard, they wondered at the things that were told to them by the shepherds. 1 These shepherds are a figure of spiritual shepherds and spiritual leaders. Therefore bishops must guard their flock and dwell in the fields, that is, they must sing spiritually and teach the people, even so that they will become worthy of receiving heavenly visions and voices. Bethlehem means 'house of bread,' and what else is the house of bread but the Church in which the bread is placed? Thus the work of the rational shepherd is to seek the heavenly bread, which when they have looked upon, they are obliged to preach to others, just as the shepherds who having looked upon the infant, spoke of him to others. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Luke, Chapter 2 1 Lk 2.15-20

Rule And The Kingdom

Et regnabit in domo Jacob in aeternum, et regni ejus non erit finis. Et Isaias ait: Multiplicabitur ejus imperium, et pacis non erit finis. Super solium David, et super regnum ejus, ut confirmet illud et corroboret in judicio et justitia. Non dixit in acquisitione gloriae gazarumque terrestrium, non in victoria gentium plurimarum, urbiumque debellatione superbarum, sed in judicio et justitia. Per haec enim regnum Christi, et in singulis quibusque fidelibus, et in universa per orbem multiplicatur pariter et confirmatur Ecclesia. Domum namque Jacob totam Ecclesiam dicit, quae vel de bona radice nata, vel cum oleaster esset, merito tamen fidei in bonam est inserta olivam. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber I, Caput I Source: Migne PL 92.318a

And He shall rule in the house of Jacob for eternity, and His kingdom shall have no end. 1 And Isaiah says, 'His empire shall be multiplied and peace shall have no end. On David's throne and over his kingdom He shall be set, and he shall make it firm and strong in judgement and righteousness.' 2 He did not speak of the acquisition of worldly glory and wealth, nor of victory over many nations and the overthrow of mighty cities, but of judgement and righteousness. For through these is the kingdom of Christ, both in each one of the faithful and then multiplied throughout the whole world, by which the Church is strengthened. For he speaks of the whole Church as the house of Jacob, either as what is born from a good root, or as that oleaster which by the merit of faith has been grafted onto the good olive. 3 Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 1, Chapter 1 1 Lk 1.32 2 Isaiah 9.7 3 Rom 11.17

The Lost Sheep

Erravi sicut ovis quae periit; quaere servum tuum, Domine, quia mandata tua non sum oblitus. Una ovis, est congregatio sanctorum et fidelium; et unus est Pastor Dominus Christus eorum. Et respice quam infimae rei comparati sunt homnes, quando Christi gratiam deserunt: ovi videlicet erranti, quae pericula patitur luporum; et bene dictum est, quae perierat, ut cognosceres misericordia Domini fuisse repertam. Alcuinus, Expositio In Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 100.620a

I wandered like a sheep that was lost; seek your servant, O Lord, because I have not forgotten your commandments. 1 One is the sheep, and it is the congregation of the saints and the faithful, and one is the shepherd, Christ their Lord. And see how men are compared to such a lowly thing when they lack the grace of Christ, certainly a wandering sheep exposed to the peril of the wolves. And well it is said that he was lost, that you might know he was found by the mercy of the Lord. Alcuin of York, from the Commentary on Psalm 118 1. Ps 118.176