Birth And Witnesses

Proxima dominica dilectionem vestram admonuimus, fratres, de diei hujus adventu, in qua diximus nos natalem Domini hodie etiam mundo teste suscipere. Mundus enim testimonium perhibet, dum nascente Christo, et ipse renascitur. Renascitur enim, cum de profundis noctium tenebris partu quodam lucis eruitur. Renascitur, inquam, cum ejus defectio finitur, claritas reparatur. Atque ideo in ortu Christi oportet magis ortum saeculi nos vocare. In hac enim die ad salvanda omnia oritur. Oritur enim die hac lux mundo, defunctis resurrectio, vita mortalibus ac propterea hodie non tam Salvatoris natalis est quam salutis. Nascitur ergo salus omnium Christus, quem regem gentium prophetae testantur: nascitur ex virgine, sicut Isaias declarat dicens: Ecce virgo in utero accipiet, et pariet filium, et vocabunt nomen ejus Emmanuel, quod est interpretatum nobiscum Deus. Probat ergo veritatem Domini ordo nascendi. Concepit virgo virilis ignara consortii: impletur uterus nullo libatus amplexu, et Spiritum sanctum castus venter excepit, quem pura membra servarunt, innocens corpus gessit. Videte miraculum matris dominicae. Virgo est, cum concipit, virgo cum parturit, virgo post partum. Gloriosa virginitas, et praeclara fecunditas! Virtus mundi nascitur, et nullus est gemitus parturientis; vacuatur uterus, infans excipitur, nec virginitas violatur. Dignum enim erat ut Deo nascente meritum cresceret castitatis: nec per ejus adventum violaretur integritas, qui venerat sanare corrupta: nec per eum pudicitia corporis laederetur, per quem donatur virginitas baptismatis impudicis. Natus igitur puer ponitur in praesepio, et haec sunt Dei prima cunabula: nec regnator coeli has indignatur angustias, cui habitaculum fuit virgineus venter. Idoneum plane Maria Christo habitaculum, non pro habitu corporis, sed pro gratia originali. Ergo exonerata felici onere Maria matrem se laeta cognoscit; quae se nescit uxorem; et est gloriosa de sobole, quae est ignara de conjuge; atque infantem se genuisse miratur, cum Spiritum sanctum se suscepisse testatur; nec, quia peperit innupta, terretur, quia testimonio utitur virginitatis et sobolis. Soboles enim dominicum Patrem indicat; virginitas stupentium suspicionem excusat. Inde virginitati divinitas testimonium perhibet; hinc naturae secretum. Testimonium, inquam, perhibet divinitas partui virginali. Ut concipiatur enim Christus secundum praenuntiationem Evangelii Spiritus sancti repletur gratia; virtute Dei Patris obumbratur, sicut ad Mariam dictum est: Spiritus sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi, et ideo quod nascetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei. In nativitate ergo Salvatoris completa est illa divina sententia, quae dicit: Duobus aut tribus testibus stabit omne verbum. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia V, Ante Natale Domini Source: Migne PL 57.235b-238a

We exhorted your love for the Lord's day that is near, which is His advent, concerning which we have said that even the world is a witness of the birthday of the Lord. For the world has its witness, since when Christ was born it was reborn. For it is reborn when from the deep darkness of its nights a light shone forth on account of a certain birth. It is reborn, I say, when its defect comes to an end and brightness is restored. Therefore, with this rising of Christ, we should also declare the rising of the world. For on this day everything rose up for salvation. On this day there is light for the world, resurrection for the dead, life for mortals, and so today is not only the birth of the Saviour but of salvation. Therefore Christ, the salvation of everyone, is born, whom a prophet gives witness to as the king of the nations, born from a virgin, for so Isaiah declares, saying, 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive in her womb, and give birth to a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,' which translated is, God is with us. 1 The arrangement of the birth proves the truth of the Lord. A virgin who did not know a consort conceived, without amorous embraces her womb was filled, that chaste womb received the Holy Spirit, which pure members guarded, and an innocent body bore. See the wonder of the mother of the Lord. A virgin when she conceived, a virgin when she gave birth, a virgin after birth. Glorious virginity, wondrous fecundity. The world's virtue is born and she who gives birth does not groan. The womb is emptied, the infant comes out, and virginity is not harmed. For it was right that with God being born the merit of chastity should grow, and the coming of the one who came to heal corruption should do no harm to integrity. Through Him there was no injury to the modesty of the body, Him through whom virginity is given to the soiled by baptism. Thus the boy who is born is placed in a manger, and this is the first cradle of God, nor is this narrowness unworthy of the ruler of heaven, who had the womb of the virgin for a little house. It was fitting indeed that Mary was the dwelling place of Christ, and not for the covering of the body, but because of original grace. Therefore Mary was adorned with a happy burden and joyfully knew herself a mother, she who did not know herself a wife, she who is glorious through her offspring, she who knew not conjugal union, and wondered at the infant she had carried, when she bore witness to the Holy Sprit she had received, and because of the witness given by virginity and children she was not aggrieved when she gave birth unmarried. For the offspring declared a lordly father and dismissed the suspicion of senselessness. Hence Divinity gives witness to virginity , a secret of nature. Divinity, I say, gives witness to the virgin birth. For as Christ was conceived according to the foretelling of the Gospel, by the Holy Spirit filling with grace and with the shadowing power of God the Father, so it was said to Mary, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most High will shadow you, and therefore what will be born from you is holy, and shall be called the Son of God.' 2 Therefore with the Divine nativity the Saviour completes the Divine sentence that says, 'With two or three witnesses confirm every word.' 3 Saint Maximus of Turin, Homily 5, Before the Nativity of the Lord 1 Isaiah 7.14 2 Lk 1.35 3 Mt 18.16, Deut 19.15

The Mountain And The City

Dixitque Lot ad eos : Quaeso, domine mi, quia invenit servus tuus gratiam coram te, et magnificasti misericordiam tuam quam fecisti mecum, ut salvares animam meam, nec possum in monte salvari, ne forte apprehendat me malum, et moriar: est civitas hæc juxta, ad quam possum fugere, parva, et salvabor in ea: numquid non modica est, et vivet anima mea? Est civitas parva. Id est, Segor quae antea Bale dicebatur secundum quod dixit: Est civitas parva, quae vocata est Segor, id est parvula. Mystice mons celsitudinem virtutum, significat ad quem nos angelus cohortatur, dicens: In montem salvum te fac, sicut verbi gratia est contemptus omnium facultum. Ad quem perfectionem Dominus invitat dicens: Si vis perfectus esse, vade, et vende omnia quae habes, et da pauperibus, et veni, sequere me, et habebis thesaurum in caelo. Qui vero se viderit ad hunc montem non posse conscendere, melius est ut in Segor, hoc est, in parvula remaneat, contentus laicali vita et communi conversatione, quam post arreptum virtutis montem ad humilia, id est ad saecularia redeat. Virginitas quoque celsissimus mons est ad quem doctor gentium hortatur, dicens: Bonum est homini, si sic permanserit sicut et ego. Hortatur ergo angelus Lot ut ad hunc montem conscendat, fugiens incendia libidinum. Sed qui se viderit hoc non posse servare descendat ad Segor, hoc est, utatur legitimo conjugio, quia melius mediocri bono uti quam per abrupta libidinum praecipitari. Unde et Dominus apostolis dicentibus: Si sic est causa uxoris, non expedit nubere, respondit: Non omnes capiunt verbum hoc, sed quibus datum est: qui potest capere, capiat. Et Apostolus: Propter fornicationem, inquit, unusquisque suam uxorem habeat. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Commentarius In Genesim, Caput XIX Source: Migne PL 131.92a-c

And Lot said to them: 'I beg, my Lord, since your servant has found favour before you, and you have magnified your mercy which you showed to me, that you save my soul. I cannot go up the mountain and be saved, lest some evil seize me and I perish, but there is a city close by to which I can flee, a little city, and I shall be saved there. Is it not small, and shall my soul not live?' 1 'A little city.' That is, Segor, which was also called Bale, according to which he said. 'There is a little city which is called Segor,' that is, small. Spiritually the mount is the height of the virtues, signifying that to which the angel exhorts us, saying, 'On the mountain save yourself,' which for the sake of a word is contempt of things here. To which perfection the Lord invites us, saying: 'If you will be perfect, go, and sell what you have, and give it to the poor, and come, follow me, and you shall have treasure in heaven.' 2 But he who sees that he is not able to ascend this mountain, it is better that he should dwell in Segor, that is, in little things, content with the lay life and common intercourse, and so after considering the mountain of virtue he returns to humble things, that is, the world. Virginity is also a heavenly mountain to which the teacher of the Gentiles exhorts us, saying, 'It is good for a man if he shall remain as I am.' 3 Therefore the angel tells Lot to go up the mountain that he might flee the fire of lust. But he who looks on himself as one who cannot do this, he goes down to Segor, that is, he makes use of lawful marriage, because a lesser good is better than to be suddenly cast into lust. Whence when the Apostles said: 'If this is the case with a wife, it does not profit to marry,' the Lord answered: 'Not everyone can receive this word, but to those it is given. He who is able, let him do it.' 4 And the Apostle says: 'Because of fornication let each man have his own wife.' 5 Remigius of Auxerre, Commentary On Genesis, Chapter 19 1 Genes 19.18-20 2 Mt 19.21 3 1 Cor 7.8 4 Mt 19.10-12 5 1 Cor 7.2

The Crystal Window

Maria virginitas fuit multipliciter privilegiata. A patriarchis quisbusdam operibus praefigurata. Praefigurata enim fuit in fenestra crystallina, quam Noe fecit in arca secundum quod tradunt Hebraei, quae excludebat aquam crystallina, suscepta aliunde luce. Arca Maria, fenestra crystallina euius virginitas, quae excludit ab ea aqua carnalium voluptatum, et qua digna fuit in se suscipere Christum lucem veram. Unde eleganter dicit quidam: Si crystallus fit humesta, atque soli fit subiecta, scintillat igniculum. Nec crystallus nec in partu soluitur pudoris signaculum Sanctus Albertus Magnus, De Laudibus Beatae Mariae Virginis, Liber Quartus, De Virtutibus Mariae, Caput IX, De Virginitate Mariae Source: Here, p113

The virginity of Mary was privileged in many ways. She was prefigured by certain works of the patriarchs. Indeed she was prefigured by the crystal window which Noah made in the ark according to the traditions of the Hebrews, which crystal excluded the water and received light from elsewhere. Mary is the ark, the crystal window is her virginity, which kept from her the water of carnal pleasure and by which she was worthy to receive Christ into herself, the true light. Whence elegantly it has been said that if crystal is moistened and exposed to the sun, it flashes with sparks. The crystal does not dissolve, nor does the seal of modesty in her delivery. Saint Albert The Great, On the Praises of The Blessed Virgin Mary, Book 4, On The Virtues of Mary, Chapter 9, On The Virginity of Mary

Virginity And Virtue

Ὅτι ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης αὐτοῦ· ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦοί με πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί. Ἀλλ' οἷον τὸ τῆς παρθενίας χρῆμα; Τὰς μὲν γὰρ ἄλλας ἀρετὰς ἀσκῆσαι θέλων ἕκαστος, ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου ῥυθμίζεται, δὲ παρθενία, τὸν νόμον ὑπερβᾶσα καὶ μείζονι σκοπῷ τὴν ἀγωγὴν τῆς πολιτείας ἔχουσα, γνώρισμα μέν ἐστι τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος, εἰκὼν δὲ τῆς τῶν ἀγγέλων καθαρότητος. Πολλὰ μὲν οὖν εἰπεῖν τις ἔχοι περὶ αὐτῆς· ἵνα δὲ μὴ ἐν φανεροῖς ἐνδιατρίβω λέγων, ἓν ἀντὶ πάντων τοῦτ’ εἰπών, τῆς ἀρετῆς ταύτης δείξω τὸ μέγεθος. Ὁ γὰρ Δεσπότης τοῦ παντὸς ὁ Θεὸς Λόγος, θέλοντος τοῦ Πατρὸς ἀνεγεῖραι καὶ ἀνακαινίσαι τὰ πάντα, μητέρα τοῦ σώματος οὗ ἔμελλε φορεῖν οὐδένα πλὴν παρθένον ἠθέλησε γενέσθαι καὶ γέγονε· καὶ οὕτως ἡμῖν ἅνθρωπος ἐπεδήμησεν ὁ Κύριος· ἵν’ ὥσπερ τὰ πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, οὕτω καὶ παρθενία ἐξ αὐτοῦ γένηται καὶ δι’ αὐτοῦ πάλιν εἰς ἀνθρώπους χάρις αὕτη δοθῇ καὶ αὔξουσα διαμείνῃ. Ὅσον τοίνυν καύχημα παρθένων ἐστὶ τοῦτο καὶ γνώρισμα τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ θεότητος, ἔξεστιν ἐκ τούτου μαθεῖν· Εἰ τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων οἱ γονεῖς εἶσι περίβλεπτοι διὰ τὴν τῶν υἱῶν ἀνδρίαν καὶ χαίρει Σάρρα τεκοῦσα τὸν Ἰσαάκ, καὶ μακάριοι ὅσοι ἔχουσιν ἐν Σιὼν σπέρμα καὶ οἰκείους ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ, ὥς φησιν ὁ προφήτης, πόσον ἄν τις εἴποι τὸ καύχημα τῆς ἁγίας Παρθένου καὶ θεοειδοῦς Μαρίας, ὅτι μήτηρ Λόγου κατὰ τὴν γένεσιν τῆς σαρκὸς γέγονέ τε καὶ χρηματίζει; καὶ γὰρ τὸν θεῖον τόκον τοῦτον στρατιὰ μὲν ἀγγέλων ὕμνησε· γυνὴ δὲ τὴνφωνὴν ἐπάρασα ἔλεγε· Μακαρία κοιλία ἡ βαοτάσασά σε καὶ μαστοὶ οὓς ἐθήλασας. Καὶ αὐτὴ δὲ ἡ κυριοτόκος Μαρία καὶ ἀειπάρθενος, εἰδυῖα τὸ έν αὐτῇ γενόμενον, ἔλεγεν· Ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦσί με πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί. Ὃ δε γέγονε τῇ Μαρίᾳ, τοῦτο πάσαις ταῖς παρθένοις εἰς εὔκλειάν ἐστιν. Αὗται γὰρ ὡς ἀπὸ ρίζης ἐκείνης λοιπον κλάδοι κρέμανται παρθενικαί. Ἅγιος Ἀθανάσιος ο Μέγας, Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λούκαν Εὐάγγελιον, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 27.1393a-c

For He has looked on the humility of His handmaiden, and behold now all generations will call me blessed. 1 But what sort of thing is this virginity? If someone wishes to exert themselves in some other virtue, they are directed by the law, but virginity, which exceeds the law, even works the establishment of a greater goal of life, indicating the future life, it being an image of angelic purity. I might say many things in support of this, but lest I delay too much in speaking of obvious things, one thing among all I shall speak of that I might show that this virtue is superior to all the others. For God the Word, the Lord of all, when the Father wished to renew and raise up all things, chose for the mother of the body He would bear nothing else but virginity, which was done and so the Lord dwelt as a man among us, whence as everything was made through Him, 2 so virginity was lifted up by Him, and through Him was given as a grace to men and guarded for growth. That virginity is so glorious that it is an indication of His Divinity, one may learn by considering that if the parents of the holy martyrs are amazed by the fortitude of their children, if Sarah rejoiced to give birth to Isaac, and blessed is every seed of Sion and the families of Jerusalem, as the Prophet says, 3 how much more might one say and proclaim it of the glory of the Holy Virgin and blessed Mary, who was the mother of the Word according to the birth of the flesh? Indeed that Divine birth was celebrated by a host of angels, 4 and a woman with raised voice said, 'Blessed the womb that bore you and the breasts that gave you suck.' 5 For indeed that bearer of the Lord, the ever virgin Mary, when she knew she carried Him in herself, said: 'From now all generations will call me blessed.' 6 He whom Mary carried, is the glory of all virgins. For from that root they hang as virgin branches. Saint Athanasius The Great, Fragment on Luke 1 Lk 1.48 2 Jn 1.3 3 Isaiah 35.10 4 Lk 2.13-14 5 Lk 11.27 6 Lk 1.48

Patience And Reward

Ὁ ἡμέτερος διδάσκαλος Παῠλος παραγγέλλει, παραστῆσαι τὰ σώματα ὑμῶν θυσίαν ζῶσαν, εὐάρεστον τῷ Θεῷ. Κοινὸν μὲν τὸ παράγγελμα, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐπαγγέλλει τοῖς ἁγιωσύνην ἀσκοῦσιν. Ἡ παρθένος τὴν μὲν φύσιν ἐστὶν ὁμοία ταῖς ἄλλαις γυναιξὶ, τῇ δὲ προθέσει τὴν φὺσιν ὑπερβᾶσα. Καὶ τῷ ἁγίῷ ἀγίως προσελθεῖν θελήσασα, εἰ μὲν κατορθῖ ἐνταῦθα, θαῦμα μέγα ἀπηνέγκατο· εἰ δὲ προθεμένη οὐκ ἐτελείωσιν, ἐξαίσιον τὸ τοιοῦτον πτῶμα γεγένηται· καὶ γὰρ χαλεπώτερον ἐστιν ἀπὸ ὑψηλοτέρων πεσεῖν, ἤ ἀπὸ τῶν χαμαὶ καταπίπτειν. Καὶ ὅσῳ μεγάλα ἐστὶν ἡ ἐπαγγελία, τοσούτῳ χείρων ἡ πτῶσις. Ἡ γὰρ ἐπαγγελία ὑπερβαίνει τὴν φήσιν, καὶ εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν αὐτὴν ἀναφέρει, καὶ μετὰ ἀγγέλων χοερεύειν αὐτὴν κατασκευάζει. Ἐντεῦθεν ἥδη τῇ πολιτείᾳ, ὥς φησι καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ τῷ ἀξιώματι τούτῳ μαρτυρων, ὅτι μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν τῶν νεκρῶν ὁ βίος ἐστὶ, φησὶν, ἡ προσδοκία τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Καὶ πάλιν λέγει, ὅτι Οἱ καταξιωθέντες τῆς ἀναστάσεως τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε γαμισκονται. Ὅ τοίνυν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν ταῖς ἐπαγγελίαις ἀπόκειται, τοῦτο προλαβοῦσα ἥ τινων προαίρεσις, ἔχει καὶ κέκτηται. Οἱ γὰρ ἅγιοι, οἵτινες τὸν λογισμὸν ἔχουσιν ἀνατεταμένον πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ἐσθίοντες ἐκ τῆς οὐρανίου τροφῆς, ἠγήσαντο ὡς φυλακὴν τὸν κόσμον τοῦτον, καὶ τὰ σώματα αὐτῶν εἰς μαρτυρίαν παραδεδώκασι, καὶ τὴν ἰδίαν ψυχὴν τετηρήκασιν ἁγνὴν, ἵνα ὁ Θεὸς οἰκήσῃ ἐν αὐτοῖς. Ὑπέμενον δὲ, ὥσπερ ὁ Κύριος ἡμων λέγει, ὅτι Ὁ ὑπομείνας εἰς τέλος, οὕτος σωθησεται· καὶ καθάπερ ὁ Ψαλμῳδός φησιν· Ἐκοπίασεν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ ζήσεται εἰς τέλος· ὅσοι γὰρ δίκαιοι τὴν ἐλπιδα αὐτῶν ἐν τῷ Θεῷ ἔχουσιν, ἀνάπαυσιν σαρκικὴν οὐκ ἐσχήκασι, χωρίζουσαν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἀλλ' ἔμενον ἐν κόποις, μὴ δειλιῶντες, οὔτε μὴν διστάζοντες περὶ τῶν θείθν ἐπαγγελιῶν· ἀλλ' ὑποδεχόμενοι τὰς θλίψεις ἐλαφρῶς, μηνμονεύουσι τοῦ διὰ τοῦ Ἀποστόλου λέγοντος· Καὶ τὴν ἁρπαγην τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ὑμῶν μετὰ χαρᾶς προσεδέξασθε. καὶ μαρτυρεῖ καὶ περὶ τῶν μὴ προσδεξαμένων τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν, ὅτι οὐκ ἤθελον ἀναστρέψαντες πάλιν εἶναι ἐν τοῖς οὐρανίοις· ἡμᾶς δὲ οὐ δεῖ εἶναι ἐν τοῖς κοσμικοῖς, ἀλλὰ μεταβῆναι εἰς τὸ συνεῖναι τῷ Θεῷ. Ἅγιος Ἀθανάσιος, Περὶ Ὑπομονης Source: Migne PG 26.1297a-c

Our teacher Paul exhorts the preparation of our bodies as a living sacrifice pleasing to God. 1 Certainly it is a general command, but more is promised to those exert themselves in holiness. A virgin has a similar nature to other women but with her vow she transcends that nature. And wishing to come to the holy of holies, if she is well presented, a great wonder has been brought, but if she has not perfected what she has proposed, woeful is the calamity, because as the greater the promise, so much the worse the fall. For the promise exceeds nature and lifts it into the heavens and makes it dwell among the angelic choirs. And from there with that way of life, as the Saviour says, it gives witness of its great dignity, for life after the resurrection of the dead is the hope of men. And again He says that those who are worthy of the resurrection amid future goods, neither marry nor are given in marriage. 2 Then with the promise being reserved in the kingdom of heaven, yet some by their own choice run ahead and here have and possess it. For the holy, having fixed their minds on God, even feasting on the heavenly bread, having treated this world as a prison, have handed over their own bodies to martyrdom, they who had guarded their own souls in chastity, so that God might dwell with them. They had patience, and as the Lord said, 'He who has patience to the end, he shall be saved.' 3 and likewise the Psalmist says, 'He laboured for eternity, and he shall live at the end.' 4 For as much as men place their hope in God, and do not cling to carnal contentment, which separates them from God, but endure in their labours, fearing nothing, and not doubting the Divine promises, but readily accepting hardship, they recall that which was said by the Apostle: 'And you accepted the seizure of your goods with joy.' 5 And this also bears witness to those who do not receive redemption, who are unwilling to have their way of life in the heavens. But we should not be in the world, but passing on, that we may be with God. Saint Athanasius, From a Sermon On Patience 1 Rom 12.1 2 Mt 22.30 3 Mk 13.13 4 Ps 48.9-10 5 Heb 10.34

Humility And The Virgin

In illam ergo civitatem missus est angelus Gabriel a Deo. Ad quem? Ad Virginem desponsatam viro, cui nomen erat Joseph. Quae est haec Virgo tam venerabilis, ut salutetur ab angelo; tam humilis, ut desponsata sit fabro? Pulchra permistio virginitatis et humilitatis: nec mediocriter placet Deo illa anima, in qua et humilitas commendat virginitatem, et virginitas exornat humilitatem. Sed quanta putas veneratione digna est, in qua humilitatem exaltat fecunditas, et partus consecrat virginitatem? Audis virginem, audis humilem: si non potes virginitatem humilis, imitare humilitatem virginis. Laudabilis virtus virginitas, sed magis necessaria humilitas. Illa consulitur, ista praecipitur. Ad illam invitaris, ad istam cogeris. De illa dicitur: Qui potest capere, capiat; de ista dicitur: Nisi quis efficiatur sicut parvulus iste, non intrabit in regnum coelorum. Illa ergo remuneratur, ista exigitur. Potes denique sine virginitate salvari; sine humilitate non potes. Potest, inquam, placere humilitas, quae virginitatem deplorat amissam; sine humilitate autem, audeo dicere, nec virginitas Mariae placuisset. Super quem, inquit, requiescet spiritus meus, nisi super humilem et quietum? Super humilem, dixit, non, super virginem. Si igitur Maria humilis non esset, super eam Spiritus sanctus non requievisset; si super eam non requievisset, nec impraegnasset. Quomodo enim de ipso sine ipso conciperet? Patet itaque, quia ut de Spiritu sancto conciperet, sicut ipsa perhibet, respexit humilitatem ancillae suae Deus, potius quam virginitatem. Et si placuit ex virginitate, tamen ex humilitate concepit. Unde constat, quia etiam ut placeret virginitas, humilitas procul dubio fecit. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, De Laudibus Virginis Matris, Super verba Evangelii: Missus est angelus Gabriel etc. Homilia I, Sermones de Tempore Source: Migne PL 183.58d-59b

Therefore into that city the angel Gabriel was sent by God. To whom? To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph. 1 Who is this virgin who is so venerable that she should be greeted by an angel, and so humble that she is espoused to a carpenter? She is a beautiful blend of virginity and humility. That soul is not merely moderately pleasing to God in which humility commends virginity and virginity adorns humility. But of how much veneration do you think she is worthy in which fecundity exalts humility and birth consecrates virginity? You hear 'virgin', you hear 'humble', if you cannot imitate the virginity, imitate the humility of the virgin. Virginity is a praiseworthy virtue, but humility is more necessary. The former is counselled, the latter is commanded. To the former you are invited, to the latter you are driven. Concerning the former it is said: 'He who is able to receive it, let him receive it.' 2 Concerning the latter: 'Unless you become as this child, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.' 3 Therefore the former enriches, the latter is demanded. Without virginity you can be saved, but without humility you cannot. It is possible, I say, for humility to please where the lack of virginity is deplored, but I dare say that without humility the virginity of Mary would not have pleased. 'Over whom,' He says, 'shall my spirit rest, unless the humble and quiet?' 4 Over the humble, it is said, not over the virgin. If, then, Mary had not been humble, the Holy Spirit would not have rested over her. If it had not rested over her, she would not have conceived. How without Him would she have conceived by Him? It is manifest, therefore, that she conceived by the Holy Spirit as she announces, 'God looked on the humility of His handmaid,' 5 rather than because of virginity. And if she had pleased by virginity, yet it was by humility she conceived. Whence it befits that even though virginity pleased, without doubt it was humility that enacted. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, In Praise of the Virgin Mother, On The Words of the Gospel, 'The angel Gabriel was sent...' from the First Homily 1 Lk 1.26-27 2 Mt 19.12 3 Mt 18.3 4 Isaiah 56.2 5 Lk 1.48

Gaining And Losing Peace

Quisquis autem se per negotiorum saecularium exercitia delectabiliter fundit, holocasti sui medullas cum visceribus subtrahit, et solam victimae pellem Deo, quae offerri prohibetur, adolere contendit; qui vero suave Deo sacrificium offerre desiderat, recessus petat, interiora sectetur, animam suam integram, illibatamque in propria virginitate custodiat; nec discurrendo per lupanaria saeculi immundis corruptoribus, prostibuli more substernat. Ut ergo interni sponsi conspectui placeat, non oculos suos stibio cum Jezabele depingat, id est, non se fucis pompae saecuaris obducat, sed cum Judith myrto optimo sua membra perungat: omnes videlicet mentis suae sensus immortalis unguine castitatis oblineat, ne in mortem per incontinentiam corruens, in fetore luxuriae computrescat. In conclavi igitur sanctae Ecclesiae anima se pudica concludat, sicque in aeterni Regis thalamo jugiter requiescat. Non carnalium propinquorum, non complicium quorumlibet requirat affectus, sed solius veri Sponsi delectetur amplexibus. Neque enim sine causa scriptum est: Audi, filia, et, vide, et inclina aurem tuam, et obliviscere populum tuum, et domum patris tui, quoniam concupivit Rex speciem tuam. In hujus igitur Sponsi cubiculo anima sancta ab omni saecularis strepitus turbine dormitat, super hoc suae virginitatis auctore casti amoris facibus inardescat; cantans nimirum, et dicens: Introduxit me Rex in cellaria sua, exsultabimus, et laetabimur in te. Et iterum: Fasciculus myrrhae dilectus meus mihi, inter ubera mea commorabitur. Si vero cujuslibit occasionis articulus accidat, ut egrediendi necessitas imminere videatur, non mox ad vagadum se leviter proruat, non colloquio consanguinitatis aggliscat, non ad saeculi vanitatem fixus mundo animus incalescat, sed morose ac graviter inter se deliberet, dicens: Exspoliavi me tunica mea, quomodo induar illam? Lavi pedes meos, quomodo inquinabo illos. Si igitur singularis ille Sponsus hoc desiderium animae sanctae inesse perspexerit, quia procul dubio princeps pacis, liberam sibi spiritualis otii requiem tribuit, et omnes emergentium causarum fluctus placida circa illam tranquillitate componit. Hic est enim quod in Canticis canticorum dicit: Adjuro vos, filiae Jerusalem, ne suscitetis, neque evigilare, faciatis dilectam, donec ipsa velit. Quo contra menti reprobae, negotiisque saecularibus inhianti, sub Babylonis specie per prophetam dicitur: Descende, sede in pulvere, virgo filia Babylonis, sede in terra, non est solium filiae Chaldaeorum. Hoc enim loco humana mens, virgo, non incorrupta, ut arbitror, dicitur, sed infecunda. Et quia Babylon filia vocatur, quae in eo quod nequaquam bona opera germinat, dum nullo ordine rectae vitae componitur, quasi confusione matre generatur. Sin autem virgo non infecunda dicitur, sed incorrupta, postquam statum salutis perdidit, ad confusionis suae cumulum appellatur quod fuit. Cui apte per increpationem dicitur divina voce: Descende. In alto quippe humanus animus stat, quando supernis retributionibus inhiat. Sed ab hoc statu descendit, cum turpiter victus sese defluentibus mundi desideriis subjicit. Cui bene mox additur: Sede in pulvere. Descendens enim in pulvere residet, quia coelestia deserens, terrenis cogitationibus asperus in infimis vilescit. Sanctus Peter Damianus, De Contemptu Saeculi,Caput XXII-XXIII Source: Migne PL 145.274d-276a

Whoever, therefore, pours himself happily into the exertions of worldly affairs, takes away the fat of the sacrifice along with the entrails, and he strives to burn the pelt of the victim for God, which it is prohibited to offer. 1 He, however, who wishes to offer a sweet sacrifice, let him seek within, let him pursue interior things, and let him guard the wholeness and integrity of his soul with his own chastity, lest running through the brothels of the world with its foul corrupters, he is prostated by whorish ways. That, therefore, he may be pleasing in the sight of the eternal bridegroom, let him not paint his eyes with the kohl of Jezebel, that is, let him not mark himself with the dyes of worldly pomp, 2 but with the best mytle berries let him anoint himself, 3 and let him smear the understanding of his mind with the oil of immortal chastity, lest he race into death by incontinence and rot in the filth of luxury. Thus in the inner chamber of the holy church let the soul shut itself by modesty, and so it shall rest in the inner room of the eternal king. Let love delight not in seeking a nearness of the flesh, or any other embroilment, but only in the embraces of the true spouse. For not without reason is it written: 'Hear, daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and the house of your father, because the king desires your beauty.' 4 In the bed chamber of her bridegroom the holy soul sleeps from all the troubles of worldly disturbances, on account of the author of her virginity she flares up with torches of chaste love, certainly singing and saying: 'The king brought me into his chambers; we shall exalt, we shall delight in you.' 5 And again: 'A pouch of myrhh is my beloved to me, hung between my breasts.' 6 If, however, some occasion befalls, when it seems necessary that she must go out, she will not instantly rush forth to easy wandering, nor will she delight in talk with her kin, nor with mind fixed in the world shall will she be warmed by some worldly vanity, but glumly and heavily she will deliberate, saying: 'I have taken off my garment, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I soil them?' 7 If therefore, that singular Spouse has seen this desire within the holy soul, since He is the prince of peace, He gives the noble rest of spiritual leisure, and He makes all the waves arising from their causes still in tranquility around the soul. Here indeed is that which is said in the Song of Songs: 'I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not, nor awake love until it please.' 8 By which against the reprobate mind, which longs for worldly affairs, he speaks through the prophet under the appearance of Babylon: 'Come down, sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the earth, there is no throne for the daughter of the Chaldeans.' 9 In this place it calls the human mind a virgin not because it is incorrupt, I judge, but infertile. And because Babylon is understood as confusion, rightly is the mind of the daughter of Babylon called infertile in which no good works are produced, for it is not established in any good order of life, which causes confusion to the mother. But if it does not say virgin for infertility, but she is incorrupted, after the ruin of her state of salvation, on account of the heap of her confusion, she is called what she was. To whom appropriately with a cry the Divine voice says: 'Go down.' For in the height the human soul stands when it desires heavenly rewards. But it goes down from this state when it is viley overwhelmed by the floods of worldly desires. To whom well it continues: 'Sit in the dust.' Going down, then, she sits in the dust, because forsaking the heavens, by worldly thoughts, bitter to the core, she is made vile. Saint Peter Damian, On Contempt For The World, Chapter 22-23 1 Levit 1 2 4 Kings 9.30 3 Judith 10.3 4 Ps 44.10-11 5 Song 1.4 6 Song 1.13 7 Song 5.3 8 Song 2.7 9 Isaiah 47.1

A Greater Depth

Ἀλλ' εἰ κατείληπται ἡμῖν ἡ ὑπερβολὴ τοῦ χαρίσματος, συνιδεῖν προσήκει καὶ τὸ ἀκόλουθον, ὅτι οὐχ ἁπλοῦν, ὡς ἄν τις οἰηθείη, τὸ κατόρθωμα τοῦτό ἐστιν, οὐδὲ μέχρι τῶν σωμάτων ἱστάμενον, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ πάντα διῆκον καὶ διαβαῖνον τῇ ἐπινοίᾳ, ὅσα κατορθώματα ψυχῆς ἐστι καὶ νομίζεται. Ἡ γὰρ τῷ ἀληθινῷ νυμφίῳ προσκολληθεῖσα διὰ παρθενίας ψυχή, οὐ μόνον τῶν σωματικῶν μολυσμάτων ἑαυτὴν ἀποστήσει, ἀλλ' ἐντεῦθεν μὲν ἄρξεται τῆς καθαρότητος, ἐπὶ πάντα δὲ ὁμοίως καὶ μετὰ τῆς ἴσης ἀσφαλείας πορεύσεται, μήπου τῆς καρδίας παρὰ τὸ δέον ἐπικλιθείσης εἰς πονηροῦ τινος κοινωνίαν μοιχικόν τι πάθος κατὰ τὸ μέρος ἐκεῖνο προσδέξηται. Οἷόν τι λέγω πάλιν, γὰρ τὸν λόγον ἐπαναλήψομαι· ἡ τῷ Kυρίῳ προσκολληθεῖσα ψυχὴ εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι πρὸς αὐτὸν ἓν πνεῦμα, καὶ καθάπερ ὁμολογίαν τινὰ συμβιωτικὴν καταθεμένη τὸ μόνον ἐκεῖνον ἀγαπᾶν ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας τε καὶ δυνάμεως, οὔτε τῇ πορνείᾳ προσκολληθήσεται, ἵνα μὴ γένηται σῶμα ἓν πρὸς αὐτήν, οὔτε ἄλλο τι τῶν ἀντικειμένων τῇ σωτηρίᾳ προσδέξεται, ὡς μιᾶς οὔσης ἐν ἅπασι τῆς τῶν μιασμάτων κοινότητος, καί, εἰ δι' ἑνός τινος μολυνθείη,μηκέτι τὸ ἄσπιλον ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτῇ δυναμένη. Ἔστι δὲ καὶ δι' ὑποδείγματος τεκμηριῶσαι τὸν λόγον. Ὥσπερ τὸ ἐν τῇ λίμνῃ ὕδωρ τέως μὲν λεῖόν ἐστι καὶ ἀκίνητον, εἰ μηδεμία τις τῶν ἔξωθεν ταραχὴ προσπεσοῦσα τὸ σταθερὸν τοῦ τόπου διακινήσειε, λίθου δέ ποθεν ἐμπεσόντος τῇ λίμνῃ ὅλον ἐν κύκλῳ συνεκλονήθη τῷ μερικῷ σάλῳ συγκυματούμενο, ὁ μὲν γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ βάρους εἰς τὸν βυθὸν καταδύεται, τῶν δὲ περὶ αὐτὸν κυμάτων κυκλοτερῶς ἐν ἀλλήλοις ἐγειρομένων καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ἄκρα τοῦ ὕδατος ὑπὸ τῆς ἐν τῷ μέσῳ κινήσεως ἐξωθουμένων, πᾶσα ἐν κύκλῳ περιτραχύνεται τῆς λίμνης ἡ ἐπιφάνεια συνδιατιθεμένη τῷ βάθει· οὕτω καὶ τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς γαληναῖον καὶ ἡσύχιον δι' ἑνός τινος παρεμπεσόντος εἰς αὐτὴν πάθους ὅλον συν διεσείσθη καὶ τῆς τοῦ μέρους βλάβης ἐπῄσθετο. Φασὶ δὲ καὶ οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐξητακότες μὴ ἀπεσχίσθαι τὰς ἀρετὰς ἀπ' ἀλλήλων μηδὲ δυνατὸν εἶναι μιᾶς τινος ἀρετῆς κατὰ τὸν ἀκριβῆ περιδράξασθαι λόγον τὸν μὴ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἐφαψάμενον, ἀλλ' ᾧ ἂν παραγένηται μία τῶν ἀρετῶν ἀναγκαίως ἐπακολουθεῖν καὶ τὰς ἄλλας. Οὐκοῦν ἐξ ἀντι στρόφου καὶ ἡ περί τι βλάβη τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν εἰς ὅλον τὸν κατ' ἀρετὴν διατείνει βίον, καὶ ὄντως, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος, τοῖς μέλεσι τὸ ὅλον συνδιατίθεται, ἄν τε πάσχῃ μέλος ἕν, συναλγοῦντος τοῦ παντός, ἄν τε καὶ δοξάζηται, τοῦ ὅλου συγχαίροντος. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Περί Παρθενίας, Κεφ' ΙΔ' Source: Migne PG 44.381b-384a

But if we grasp at last the excellence of this grace, we should come to understand what must follow from it, that it is not to be thought a single correction, not going further than the discipline of the body, but that in intention it reaches to and pervades everything that is and is considered a correct condition of the soul. That soul which truly cleaves to the true Bridegroom by virginity will not only remove herself from all bodily defilement, but she will make that the beginning of her purity, and will carry this security equally into everything else she encounters, fearing lest, with an unseemly inclination of the heart to the wickedness of some common coupling she should give that part to suffering. For example, and indeed I shall repeat my words, that soul which cleaves to the Lord that she become one with Him in spirit, who has made the compact of a common life with Him, that she love Him alone with all her heart and strength, 1 she will not join herself to any fornication that will separate her from being one body with Him, nor to any other of the offenses contrary to salvation, for she knows that between all sins there is a common contamination, and that if she were to defile herself with but one, she would be stained with the rest. An illustration will give proof of our reason. As all the water in a pool remains smooth and motionless while no disturbance of any kind from without comes to trouble the settled nature of the spot, but when a stone is thrown into the pool the movement in that one part will extend in a circle to the whole, and while the stone's weight is taking it down it to the bottom, the waves set into motion around it pass in circles into others, and are driven on to the very edge of the water through all the intervening disturbance, and the whole surface of the pool is troubled with these circles, feeling the movement of the depths, so is the peace and calm of the soul troubled by one invading passion coming into it, and the whole is affected by the injury of a single part. They say, those who have investigated such things, that the virtues are not separate from one other, and that it is impossible to grasp the principle of any virtue if one has not understood what underlies the rest, from which it must follow that he who attains one of the virtues has the rest. Therefore, by contraries, the loss of anything in these will extend to the whole virtuous life; and truly, as the Apostle tells us, the whole is affected by the parts, for 'if one member suffer, all the members suffer with it,' 2 as if one is honoured, all rejoice. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity, Chap 15 1 Deut 6.4-7, Mt 22.37 2 1 Cor 12.26

Faith And Good Works

Moram autem faciente sponso, dormitaverunt omnes et dormierunt. Media autem nocte clamor factus est: Ecce sponsus venit, exite obviam ei. Tunc surrexerunt omnes virgines illæ, et ornaverunt lampades suas... Et dum haec mora tenditur, post perceptam fidem, luceat necesse est lumen fidelium coram hominibus, ut videntes bona opera eorum, glorificent Patrem Deum, qui est in coelis. Hoc quippe est oleum accipere in vasis suis, ad nutrimentum aeterni luminis, ut semper anima et corpus, dum hic vivitur, infundatur bonis actibus, ut habeat iugiter secum oleum laetitiae, et gaudium sancti Spiritus. Quod oleum post perceptam gratiam, reliquae virgines, secum sumere et enutrire quia noluerunt, fatuae dicuntur. Unde dicitur quia ex his quinque erant fatuae, et quinque prudentes, omnes tamen virgines, propter perceptam fidei gratiam; ex qua uno nomine omnis Ecclesia virgo est appellata; de qua Apostolus ait: Desponsavi vos uni viro virginem castam exhibere Christo. Adiunxit etiam et ait: Timeo autem ne sicut serpens Evam seduxit astutia sua, sic et vestri sensus corrumpantur, a castitate quae est in Christo. Et ideo non de solis virginibus, quas sanctimoniales vocamus, hac parabola figuratur, sed de omni Ecclesia; nam in corpore virginitatem pauci habent, in corde autem omnes habere debent. Et ideo per omnes quinque sensus corporis abstinentia bona est, ut ab omnibus se illicitis abstineat mens humana. Unde virginitas nomen accepit, et per hanc incorruptionem omnis Ecclesia Christi virgo dicitur et sponsa. Et non qualiscunque virgo, sed prudens; ita tamen si eius abstinentia a vitiis in laudem Dei reniteat. Alioquin si propter aliud, quaecunque videtur bona agere, inter fatuas deputabitur, eo quod salem sapientiae non habeat. Ob quam causam fatua invenitur, quia plures videntur habere fidem sine operibus; nonnullae vero etiam abstinentiam ab illicitis et ipsa opera bona, sed non propter Deum sinceriter, quamvis laudabilia censeantur. Unde et quinque admittuntur, quia prudentes fuerant, et quinque repelluntur, quia fatuae. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Lib XI Cap XXV Source: Migne PL 120.840a-d

The bridegroom was long in coming, so that they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. And at midnight there was a cry, 'Behold, the bridegroom comes, go out to meet him.' Then all these virgins awoke and trimmed their lamps... 1 And while this delay lasts, after the reception of faith, it is necessary the light of the faithful shine among men, that seeing their good works, they glory God the Father, who is in heaven. 2 This is to receive the oil in one's flask, for the nourishment of eternal light, and ever the soul and the body, while it lives here, should be infused with good acts, that it might have within itself the oil of delight and the joy of the Holy Spirit. Which oil, after receiving grace, the other virgins, being unwilling to receive it and nourish it in themselves, are named foolish. Whence it is said that five of them are foolish and five wise, on account of their reception of the grace of faith, from which name the whole Church is named a virgin, concerning which the Apostle says: 'I have given you to one man, a chaste virgin to show to Christ.' 3 And in addition he then says: 'I fear lest as the serpent seduced Eve with his cleverness, so even your minds will be corrupted,' 4 from that chastity which is in Christ. And therefore this parable touches not only on virgins, those whom we call sanctified, but all the Church, for few have virignity in the body, but all should have it in the heart. And therefore through all the five senses of the body there is good abstinence, so that the human mind withdraws from all wicked things. Whence virginity receives its name, and by this incorruption all the Church of Christ is said to be a virgin and a bride. And not any sort of virgin but one who is wise, that is, if her abstinence from the vices shines back to the praise of God. Otherwise, if on account of something else, whatever good she seems to do, she is reckoned among fools, because she does not have the salt of wisdom. Because of which she is revealed to be foolish, because many seem to have faith without works. And not a few, however, have abstinence from wickedness and good works, but not on account of God sincerely, although they are reckoned worthy of praise. Whence five are admitted, because they were wise, and five refused, because they were foolish. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 11, Chapter 25 1 Mt 25.5-7 2 Mt 5.16 3 2 Cor 11.2 4 2 Cor 11.3

The Shoot And The Flower

Virga quoque a radice virginitas est, sic enim scriptum est: Exiet virga a radice Jesse, et flos a radice ejus ascendet. Non cavata est haec virga, sed solida. Nemo ergo adurat virgam tuam, ut florem tuum custodias. Virga es, O virgo, non curveris, non inflectaris in terram, ut in te flos paternae radicis ascendat. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Institutione Virginis Et Sanctae Mariae Virginitate Perpetua, Cap IX Source: Migne PL 16.321a

Virginity is from the word 'shoot' (virga), so it is written: 'A shoot will come out from the root of Jesse, and from the root a flower will arise.' 1 This shoot is not hollow but firm. Therefore let no one dry up your shoot, that you guard your flower. You are a shoot, O virgin, may you not be bent down, may you not incline to the earth, that the paternal flower rise up in you. Saint Ambrose, on The State of The Virgin And The Perpetual Virgnity of Saint Mary, Chapter 9 1 Isaiah 11.1

Offering Gifts

Quomodo si, inquit, inferant filii Israel munus in vase mundo in domum Domini; legimus in Apostlo, in domo magna non solum argentea vel aurea, sed etiam lignea vasa et fictilia reperiri. Quae in ipsa graduum diversitate omnia possunt esse usui, etiamsi non sunt aequalia dignitati. Cuilibet distantiae nitor opus est. Potest in fictilibus vasculis, dummodo munditia non deesit, divinae domui munus offerri, si vas ex eadem massa fictum, quia peccando ceciderat in contumeliam, poenitendo redeat ad honorem. Habemus enim thesaurum istum in vasis fictilibus. Haec ergo vascula, ut dixi, poenitentium teneant compunctionem. Porro lignea legitimam conjugatorum praeferant simplicitatem: cruore martyris aurea rubeant; virginitatis radio argentea perlucescant. Vasorum talium capacitas est, quod rationabilis naturae conditi sumus. In haec modo provideat de suo quisque quod offerat: pro qualitate munerum fit pretiositas vasculorum. Istis credo vasculis Heliseus quondam liquorem olei vivacis infudit, quod cum flueret irriguum, non e fluxit impletum. Sancti Aviti Viennensis, Ex sermone die 3 Rogationum Source: Migne PL 59.320b-d

He says that the sons of Israel will bring in gifts in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord, 1 and we read in the Apostle: 'In a great house there are not only vessels of silver and gold but even of wood and earth.' 2 With which difference of grades all can put to use, even if they are not of equal worth. And what may be those differences I will strive to explain. It is possible that in an earthern vessel, provided that beauty is not lacking, gifts may be brought to the Divine house, if that vessel which is from that earthen substance made because it has fallen into sin into dishonour, by penance returns to honour. 'For we have this treasure in eathern vessels.' 3 So there are, as I have said, these vessels which hold the compunction of the penitent. Then the wood bears the simple lawfulness of those who are married, the golden ones shine with the blood of martyrs, the silver gleam with the brightness of virginity. The capacity of such vessels is the state of our rational nature. In this way let a man see what he offers from himself, what sort of worthiness of gift is in the vases. Into these vessels, I think, Elisha once poured the living oil, which when it flowed filled them, and when the vessel was full it stopped flowing. 4 Saint Avitus of Vienne, from a Sermon on the Third day of Rogation 1 Isaiah 66.20 2 2 Tim 2.20 3 2 Cor 4.7 4 4 Kings 4.1-7

The Temple Of The Lord

Nolite confidere in verbis mendacii, dicentes: Templum Domini, templum Domini, templum Domini est: quoniam si direxeritis vias vestras et studia vestra: si feceritis judicium inter virum et proximum ejus: advenae, et pupillo, et viduae non feceritis calumniam (sive non oppresseritis eos) nec sanguinem innocentem effuderitis in loco hoc: et post deos alienos non ambulaveritis in malum vobismetipsis; habitabo vobiscum in isto loco, in terra quam dedi patribus vestris a saeculo usque in saeculum. Hoc quod Septuaginta in hujus capituli addidere principio: in verbis mendacii, quae vobis omnino non proderunt, in Hebraico non habetur. Praecepit autem et tunc populo Judaeorum, et hodie nobis qui videmur in Ecclesia constituti, ne fiduciam habeamus in aedificiorum splendore, auratisque laquearibus, et vestitis parietibus marmorum crustis. Et dicamus: Templum Domini, templum Domini, templum Domini est. Illud enim templum Domini est, in quo habitat vera fides, sancta conversatio, omniumque virtutum chorus. Denique infert: Si rectas feceritis vias vestras, et cogitatio vestra non abierit post errorem, et secuti fueritis justitiam, et malum non feceritis, neque effuderitis sanguinem innocentem, simplices quosque non scandalizantes; et post deos alienos non ambulaveritis, perversa adorantes dogmata, quae de vestro corde simulastis in malum vobismetipsis: vel habitabo vobiscum in loco isto, quem vocatis Templum Dei, et in terra quam dedi patribus vestris, Apostolis scilicet et Apostolicis viris: vel certe firma statione habitare vos faciam a principio usque ad finem. Potest hoc et illis virginibus convenire, quae jactant pudicitiam, et impudenti vultu praeferunt castitatem, cum aliud habeat conscientia, et nesciunt illam definitionem Apostoli virginalem: Ut sit sancta corpore et spiritu. Quid enim prodest corporis pudicitia animo constuprato, si caeteras virtutes quas propheticus sermo descripsit, non habuerit? Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Jeremiam Prophetam, Liber II Caput VII Source Migne PL 24.757d-756b

Do not trust in the deceptive words, 'The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, this is the Temple of the Lord' because if you correct your ways and pursuits, if you truly act justly among men and your neighbours, and do not deceive, (or oppress) the foreigner, and the orphan, and the widow, or pour out innocent blood in this place, and if you do not walk after other gods to your own evil, than I will dwell with you in this place, in the land which I gave of old to your fathers.1 That which the Septuagint has added at the beginning of this passage, 'in the deceptive words which will not profit you at all' is not found in the Hebrew. As it was commanded to the Jewish people then, even today it is to us who seem to be established in the Church, that we should not put our trust in the splendour of buildings and in panelled ceilings overlaid with gold, and walls decorated with coverings of marble, and say, 'The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, this is the Temple of the Lord.' For the temple of the Lord is the place where true faith dwells, and holy conduct, and a chorus of all the virtues. Then it says, 'If you correct your ways, if your thoughts do not wander off after error but you follow justice and do no evil, if you do not pour out innocent blood, and do not scandalise simple folk, and if you do not go after other gods, adoring perverse teachings that you have fashioned from your own hearts to your own evil, then I will dwell with you in this place, which you call the Temple of God, and in the land which I gave to your fathers, that is, the Apostles and apostolic men, or then I will make you dwell with a secure standing, from the beginning to the end. And this may also touch on virgins who boast of their purity and exhibit their chastity with shameless faces, with something quite different in their minds, they who do not know the Apostolic definition of virginity: to be holy in body and spirit. 2 For how does purity of body profit if the soul is ravished, and the other virtues, which the prophetic words describes, are absent? Saint Jerome, from the Commentary on Jeremiah, Book 2, Chapter 7 1 Jerem 7.4-7 2 1 Cor 7.34-36

Eve And Mary

Per feminam mors, per feminam vita: per Hevam interitus, per Mariam salus. Illa, corrupta, secúta est seductorem: haec, integra, peperit Salvatorem. Illa poculum a serpente propinatum libenter accepit et viro tradidit, ex quo simul mererentur occidi: hæc, gratia cælesti desuper infusa, vitam protulit, per quam caro mortua possit resuscitari. Quis est qui hæc operatus est, nisi Virginis Fílius et virginum Sponsus, qui attulit Matri fecunditatem, sed non abstulit integritatem? Quod contulit matri suae, hoc donavit et sponsae suae. Denique sancta Ecclesia quae illi integro integra conjuncta est, quotidie parit membra ejus, et virgo est. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi,De Symbolo Sermo Ad Catechumenos, Cap IV Source: Migne PL 40.655-656

Through a woman came death, through a woman life, by Eve ruin, by Mary salvation. The first, being corrupted, followed the seducer, the second untouched gave birth to the Saviour. The first freely received a cup from the serpent and gave it to the man, from which instantly they merited death, the second, infused with heavenly grace from on high, brought forth life, by which the dead flesh is able to be revived. And who is He who does this, unless the Son of the Virgin and the Spouse of virgins, who brought fertility to Mary but did not remove her integrity? And that which he brought to His mother, He gave to his spouse, for the holy Church undefiled which is joined to Him undefiled, every day bears its members, and is a virgin. Saint Augustine of Hippo, On The Creed To Catechumens, Chap 4

The Handmaid

Ecce ancilla Domini, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Videte, fratres, humilitatem Virginis Verbum Dei concipientis. Videte obedientiam Domini ad nos per Virginem venientis. Videte claritatem et delictionem, circa humanum genus, Dei Patris angelum ad Virginem, nomine Mariam, mittentis. Hujus nobilissimi nominis praedulcis interpretatio claritudinem meritorum illius atque virtutum aperta ratione demonstrat. Interpretatur enim Maria stella maris sive domina. Merito vocatur Domina, quia Dominum totius creaturae, salva perpetua sua virginitate, hodierna die concipere et certo tempore gignere meruit. Cui Deus Pater, ut David partriarcha testatur in psalmo, dicens: Data est mihi omnis potestas in coelo et in terra, etc. De quo idem Propheta: Domini est terra et plenitudo eius. Item in eadem psalmo: Dominus fortis et potens, Dominus potens in praelio. Et ut illum fortem et potentem credamus, Gabriel archangelus qui fortitudo Dei dicitur, nasciturum de Virgine evangelizare debuit, quam ad debellandum perditionis principem et mortis imperium destruendum, velut geminae gigantem substantiae omnipotens Pater unicum Filium suum transmisit. Consequens etenim est ut Dei genitrix et semper virgo Maria maris stella vocetur, quia sicut illi qui inter fluctus maris exercitatione navigii laborant, stellis sibi Deo auctore famulantibus, ad portum quietis venire desiderant; ita quisquis in hujus saeculi periculoso naufragio, fluctibus perniciosis irruentibus, sive de animae, sive de corporis vita periclitatur, necesse est ad contemplationem istius stellae aciem mentis dirigat, per cuius meritum et gratiam posse se ab omni periculo liberari non dubitat. Odilo Cluniacensis Abbas, Sermo IV, De Incarnatione Dominica Source: Migne PL 142.1003b-d

Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word. 1 See, brothers, the humility of the Virgin conceiving the Word of God. See the obedience of the Lord coming to us through the Virgin. See the glory and love for the human race of God the Father sending the angel to the Virgin by the name of Mary. The interpretation of this most noble and sweetest name with evident reason shows the clarity of her merits and virtue. For Mary is understood as 'Star of the Sea' and 'Lady.' And rightly 'Lady', because she merited, by the security of her perptual virginity, this day to conceive, and after a certain time to give birth to, the Lord of all creation. To which God the Father, the patriarch David gives witness in the Psalm, saying: 'All power in heaven and earth has been given to me.' 2 Concerning which the same Prophet says: 'The earth is the Lord's and the fullness of it.' 3 And in the same Psalm: 'The Lord strong and powerful, the Lord powerful in war.' 4 And so that we believe Him strong and powerful, it was befitting that the archangel Gabriel, whose name means 'Strength of God,' announce the coming birth from the Virgin, that for the defeat of the prince of ruin and the destruction of the empire of death, as a giant from dual substance, the almighty Father had sent the only Son. Consequently the mother of God and ever virgin Mary is called 'Star of the Sea,' because as they who labour to sail amid the waves of the sea, attend to the stars of God the creator, desiring to come to the port of rest, so for anyone in the perilous shipwreck of the world, with the wicked waves pouring in, endangering either the life of the soul or the body, it is necessary that he direct the attention of his mind to the contemplation of this star, not doubting that by its merit and grace it is possible that he be freed from every danger. Saint Odo of Cluny, from Sermon 4, On The Incarnation Of The Lord 1 Lk 1.38 2 Mt 28.18 3 Ps 23.1 4 Ps 23.8

Joseph's Ignorance

Quid autem praejudicat Mariae, si coelestis consilii mysterium Joseph non intellexit, et putavit virginem non esse, quam praegnantem videret? Resurrectionem ejus angeli ignoraverunt, quod significant versiculi: Tollite portas, principes, vestras, et elevamini portae aeternales, et introibit Rex gloriae. Quis est iste Rex gloriae? Interrogant quasi ignorent; et alii respondent: Dominus fortis et potens, Dominus potens in praelio, ipse est Rex gloriae. Et repetivit Propheta eosdem versiculos, et nihilominus illi quasi ignorantes iterum interrogaverunt; sic enim scriptum est: Tollite portas, principes, vestras, et elevamini portae aeternales, et introibit Rex gloriae. Quis est iste Rex gloriae? Quomodo ergo homo potuit divinum scire secretum, quod angeli nesciebant? Et in Esaiae libro habes: Quis est iste, qui advenit ex Edom; rubor vestimentorum ejus ex Bosor? Et utique minus erat hominem resurrexisse, quam virginem parturisse. Etenim jam Eliae precibus, Elisaei orationibus mortui resurrexerant: numquam autem ante numquam postea virgo generavit. Hoc autem opinatus est quod traduceret eam quasi ream, antequeam ab angelo moneretur: postea autem quasi fidelis nec dubius virginitatis ejus servavit oraculum. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Institutione Virginis Et Sanctae Mariae Virginitate Perpetua, Caput V Source: Migne PL 16.315c-316b

Now why did Joseph prejudge Mary so unless he did not understand the mystery of the heavenly plan, and he deemed that her whom he saw pregnant was not a virgin? 1 That the angels were ignorant of His resurrection the lines tell us: 'Lift up your gates, princes, and raise up your eternal gates, and the king of glory shall enter. Who is the king of glory?' And they ask this as those who do not know, and the others reply: 'The Lord strong and powerful, The Lord mighty in battle, He is the king of glory.' 2 And the Prophet repeats the same lines, and nevertheless they, as if ignorant, ask again, for so it is written: 'Lift up your gates, princes, and raise up your eternal gates, and the king of glory shall enter. Who is the king of glory?' 3 How, then, is a man able to know the Divine mystery which angels do not know? In the book of Isaiah you have: 'Who is this, who comes from Edom, with vestments of red from Bosor?' 4 And a lesser thing was the resurrection of a man than a virgin giving birth. For already the prayers and petitions of Elisha had raised the dead, 5 but never before and never after did a virgin give birth. Thus he thought to convict her as guilty before he was admonished by the angel. And after that as one faithful, not doubting her virginity, he guarded the oracle. Saint Ambrose, on The State of The Virgin And The Perpetual Virgnity of Saint Mary, Chapter 5 1 Mt 1.18-19 2 Ps 23.7-8 3 Ps 23. 9-10 4 Isaiah 63.1 5 3 Kings 17.22

Judging Joseph

Ὅλην τὴν διάνοιαν πρὸς τὸ σαρκικὸν φρόνημα κατανεύεις, καὶ λέγεις τό· Ἔγνω αὐτήν· εἴ γε καὶ ἔγνω, μίξιν ὑπαινίττεσθαι. Ἀλλὰ γνῶθωι, κομψότατε, ὅτι οὐ φιλήδονος, οὐδὲ λάγνος ὑπῆρχεν ὁ Ἰωσὴφ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάνυ θεοσεβής τε καὶ δίκαιος. Ἀκούσας δὲ παρὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου εἰπόντος περὶ τῆς Παρθένου ἐπιτόκου τυγχανούσης, ὅτι Τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ γεννηθὲν ἐκ Πνεύματός ἐστιν ἁγίου, καὶ τεχθήσεται, καὶ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ βασιλεύσει εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, προσέθετο εὐλαβεῖσθαι ἀπὸ προσώπου Κυρίου, φρίξας τοῦτο δὴ τὸ ἔκπληκτον, καὶ παραδοξότατον μυστήριον. Διόπερ οὐκ ἔτι λοιπὸν ὡς μνηστὴρ, καὶ ἀνὴρ, ἀλλ' ὡς λατρευτὴς, καὶ διάκονος Θεου ἐμβριθέστατος, συσφίγξας τῇ σωφροσύνῃ τοὺς οἰκείους λογισμοὺς, ἐξυπηρετεῖτο σὺν πάσῃ ὁσιότητι, καὶ πολλῇ ἀγνότητι, καὶ φόβῳ θείῳ τῇ λεγομένῃ, οὐ μὴν καὶ οὔσῃ, γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ Μαρίᾳ. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΟΑ' Κυριλλῳ Πρωτευοντι Source: Migne 79.181c-d

Your whole mind bent down in carnal thought, you say, 'He knew her; if he knew her, he had intercourse with her.' 1 But you should know, clever fellow, that Joseph was not given to pleasure or lust, but he was a most pious and righteous man. He understood when he heard from the angel about the Virgin birth: 'That in her is conceived of the Holy Spirit, and He that is born will save His people, and rule in eternity,' 2 that it was a warning coming from the face of God, striking him with fear account of its wonderous and admirable mystery. Whence after, not as a suitor or a husband, but as a most faithful worshipper and servant of God, bound to continence by his own thoughts, with all piety and chastity, by the fearful Divine words, not as his own did he receive Mary. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 271, To Cyrillus The Primate 1 Mt 1. 25 2 Mt 1. 23

Garden, Fount and Gate

Hortus clausus es, virgo, serva fructus tuos: non ascendat in te spinae, sed uvae tuae floreant. Hortus clausus es, filia, nemo auferat sepem tui pudoris: quia scriptum est: Et destruentem sepem mordebit serpens. Sed illam solam auferat, de qua dictum est: Quid incisa est sepis? Nemo parietem tuam destruat, ne sis in conculationem. Paradisus es, virgo, Evam cave. Fons signatus es, virgo, nemo aquam tuam polluat, nemo conturbet; ut imaginem tuam in fonte tuo semper attendas. Porta clausa es, virgo, nemo aperiat januam tuam, quam semel clausit Sanctus et Verus, qui habet clavim David, qui aperit et nemo claudit: claudit et nemo aperit. Aperuit tibi Scripturas, nemo eas claudat: clausit pudorem tuum, nemo aperiat eum. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Institutione Virginis et Sanctae Mariae Virginitate Perpetua ad Eusebium, Caput IX Source: Migne PL 14.321b-c

You are an enclosed garden, 1 O virgin, guard your fruits; let no thorns spring up from you, but let your grapes flourish. You are a closed garden, O daughter, let no one break down your fence, because it is written: 'And the fence destroyed the serpent shall strike.' 2 But let only him remove it concerning which it is said, 'What a breach you have made for yourself.' 3 Let no one destroy your wall, lest you be trampled upon. You are paradise, O virgin, beware of Eve. You are sealed fountain, O virgin, let no one pollute your waters, let no one trouble them, that you may always attend to your image in the fountain. You are closed gate, O virgin, let no one open it, which He who is holy and true has closed, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one closes, He who closes and no one opens. 4 He has opened the Scriptures to you, let no one close them, he has closed up your modesty, let no one open it. Saint Ambrose, On The State of the Virgin And the Perpetual Virginity of the Virgin Mary, To Eusebius, Chap 9 1 Song 4.12 2 Eccles 10.8 3 Gen 38.29 4 Apoc 3.7

Anna The Widow

Docuit igitur Scriptura quantam collatio conferat gratiam, quantum etiam sit munus divinae benedictionis in viduis. Quibus quoniam honorificentia a Deo tanta confertur, est advertere qualis debeat vita competere; docet enim Anna quales deceat esse viduas, quae immaturo mariti obitu destituta, maturae tamen adoream laudis invenit: non minus religionis officio, quam studio castitatis intenta. Vidua, inquit, octoginta et quator annorum, vidua quae non discederet de templo, vidua quae jejuniis et obsecrationibus die ac nocte serviret. Vides qualis vidua praedicetur, unius viri uxor, aetatis quoque jam probata processu, vivida religioni, et effeta jam corpore: cui diversorium in templo, colloquium in prece, vita in jejunio: quae dierum noctiumque temporibus indefessae devotionis obsequio, cum corporis agnosceret senectutuem, pietatis tamen nesciret aetatem. Sic instituitur a juventute vidua, sic praedicatur in senectute veterana: quae viduitatem non occasione temporis, non imbecillitate corporis, sed virtutis magnanimitate servaverit. Etenim cum dicit septem annis eam cum viro fuisse a virginitate sua, ad adolescentiae utique studiis inchoata predicat subsidia senectutis. Docemur itaque triplicem castitatis esse virtutem: unam conjugalem, aliam viduitatis, tertiam virginitatis; non enim aliam sic praedicamus, ut excludamus alias. Suis quibusque professionibus ista conducunt. In hoc Ecclesiae est opulens disciplina, quod quos praeferat, habet: quos rejiciat, non habet; atque utinam habere numquam possit. Ita igitur virginitatem praedicavimus ut viduas non rejiceremus: ita viduas honoramus, ut suus honos conjugio reservetur. Non nostra hoc praecepta, sed divina testimonia docent. Reminsicamur itaque quemadmodum Maria, quemadmodum Anna, quemadmodum Susanna laudentur. Sed quoniam non laudes earum tantummodo praedicandae sunt, sed disciplinae etiam sunt sequendae, reminiscamur ubi Susanna, ubi Anna, ubi Maria, sint repertae: et advertamus quemadmodum singulae aptis laudibus praedicentur, ut ubinam commorentur: nupta in paradiso, vidua in templo, virgo in secreto. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Viduis, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 16. 241b-242b

Scripture therefore teaches how much grace is given by unity, and how great is the gift of divine blessing in widows. And since such honour is given to them by God, we should observe what sort of life they pursue. Now Anna shows what widows ought to be, she who was left destitute by the early loss of her husband and yet found the reward of full praise, intent not less on the duties of religion than on the care for chastity. A widow, it says, of eighty four years, a widow who did not depart from the temple, a widow who served night and day with fasting and with prayers. 1 You see how a widow is spoken of: the wife of one man, tried also by the advance of age, vigorous in religion even though worn out in body, whose station is the temple, whose conversation is prayer, whose life is fasting, she who through the hours of day and night by a service of unwearied devotion, though the body admit old age, yet she knows no age in piety. So is a widow trained from her youth, so she is spoken of in her old age, she who has guarded her widowhood not by the chance of time, nor by weakness of body, but by magnanimity in virtue. For when it is said that she was seven years from her virginity with her man, it shows us that the things which are the support of her old age began in the zeal of her youth. And so we are taught that the virtue of chastity is threefold, one kind is the married life, the second widowhood, and the third virginity, for we do not exhort one to exclude the others. Each with its own profession leads onward together.  In this the discipline of the Church is rich, that it has those whom it may set before others, but has none whom it rejects, and that it were that it never had any. Thus we have spoken of virginity so that we do not reject widowhood, thus we reverence widows so that we reserve wedlock its own honour. It is not our commands but the Divine sayings which teach this. Let us remember how Mary, how Anna, and how Susanna are praised. But since we must not only tell their praises but also follow their discipline, let us remember where Susanna, 2 and where Anna, 3 and where Mary 4 are found, and note how each is spoken of with her special commendation, and in which place each is mentioned, she that is married in the garden, the widow in the temple, the virgin in her secret chamber Saint Ambrose, On Widows, Chap 4 1 Lk 2.36-37 2 Dan 13.7 3 Lk 2.38 4 Lk 1.28

Marriage And Discipline

Ἐλπίδα οὖν ζωῆς αἰωνίου ἔχοντες, τῶν ἐν τούτῳ τῷ βίῳ καταφρονοῦμεν, μέχρι καὶ τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς ἡδέων. Γυναῖκα μὲν ἔκαστος ἡμῶν, ἣν ἠγάγετο κατὰ τοὺς ὑφ' ἡμῶν τεθειμένους νόμους, νομίζων, καὶ ταύτην μέχρι τοῦ παιδοποιήσθαι. Ὡς γὰρ ὁ γεωργὸς καταβάλλων εἰς γῆν τὰ σπέρματα, ἅμητον περιμένει οὐκ ἐπισπείρων· καὶ ἡμῖν μέτρον ἐπιθυμίας ἡ παιδοποιία. Εὕροις δ' ἂν πολλοὺς τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν,καὶ ἄνδρας καὶ γυναῖκας, καταγηράσκοντας ἀγάμους, ἐλπίδι τοῦ μᾶλλον συνέσεσθαι τῷ Θεῷ. Εἰ δὲ τὸ ἐν παρθενίᾷ καὶ ἐν εὐνουχίᾳ μεῖναι, μᾶλλον παρίστησι τῷ Θεῷ, τὸ δὲ μέχρις ἐννοίας καὶ ἐπιθυμίας ἐλθεῖν ἀπάγει· ὦν τὰς ἐννοίας φεύγομεν, πολὺ πρότερον τὰ ἔργα παραιτούμεθα. Οὐ γὰρ μελέτῃ λόγων, ἀλλ' ἐπιδείξει καὶ διδασκαλίᾳ ἔργων τὰ ἡμέτερα· ἢ οἷός τις ἐτέχθη, μένειν, ἢ ἐφ' ἑνι γάμῳ. Ὁ γὰρ δεύτερος εὐπρεπής ἐστι μοιχεία. Ὃς γὰρ ἂν ἀπολύσῃ, φησὶ, τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, καὶ γαμήσῃ ἄλλην, μοιχᾶται· οὔτε ἀπολύειν ἐπιτρέπων ἧς ἔπαυσέ τις τὴν παρθενίαν, οὔτε ἐπιγαμεῖν. Ὁ γὰρ ἀποστερῶν ἑαυτὸν τῆς προτέρας γυναικὸς, καὶ εἰ τέθνηκε, μοιχός ἐστι παρακεκαλυμμένος, παραβαίνων μὲν τὴν χεῖρα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅτι ἐν ἀρχῇ ὁ Θεὸς ἕνα ἄνδρα ἔπλασε καὶ μίαν γυναῖκα· λύων δὲ τὴν σάρκα πρὸς σάρκα κατὰ τὴν ἔνωσιν πρὸς μίξιν εἰς τοῦ γένους κοινωνίαν. Ἀθηναγόρος, Πρεσβεία Περί Χριστιανών Source: Migne PG 6.965a-966a

Hope, then, having of eternal life, we despise the things of this life, even unto the pleasures of the soul. Each of us reckons her his wife whom he has married according to the laws laid down by us, and this for child bearing. For as the farmer throwing down the seed into the earth awaits the harvest, not sowing more, so to us the measure of desire is the bearing of children. But you may find many among us, both men and women, growing old unmarried, in hope of binding themselves closer to God. But if remaining in maidenhood and as a eunuch brings one nearer to God, and the thought and desire lead away from Him, those thoughts we flee, well before we wish for the deed. For our care is not for words but for the showing and teaching of our deeds, that a man should either remain as born, or marry once. For a second marriage is only a fair seeming adultery. 'For he who divorces his wife,' He says, 'and marries another, is an adulterer,' 1 a man not being permitted to be rid of her whose virginity he has ended, nor to remarry. For he who rids himself of his first wife, even if she is dead, is a cloaked adulterer, fleeing from the hand of God, because in the beginning God made one man and one woman, while he severs the bond of flesh and flesh fashioned for the intercourse of the race. Athenagoras, from The Embassy For The Christians 1 Mt 19.9

Virgins And Virtue

Ἡ κατὰ τὰς δέκα παρθένους παραβολὴ, τῶν τρόπων καὶ τῶν βίων δείκνυσι τὸ διάφορον. Πᾶασι μὲν ἐπαρθένευον, οὐ πᾶσαι δὲ ὁμοίως καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀρετῶν ἐπεμέλοντο, ἀλλὰ ταύτῃ μόνῃ ἀρκεῖσθαι πρὸς τὴν εἴσοδον τῆς βασιλείας ᾦήθησαν. Ἔδέιξε δὲ ἡ κρίσις ἡ ἀδέκαστος, ὅτι οὐδὲν παρθενίας ὄφελος, συμπαθείας ἀπούσης. Καὶ πᾶσα ἡ δόξα τῆς θυγατὸς τοῦ βασιλέως πεποικιλμένη. Πεποικίλθαι χρὴ, φησὶ, τοῖς χρυσαυγέσι κροσσοῖς τῶν ἀρετῶν πασῶν. Εἰ γὰρ παρθωνεύει τις, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ αὐχεῖ, τοῦ μείζονος κατορθώματος τῆς ταπεινώσεως ἀστοχεῖ. Οὐ γὰρ ὁ παρθενεύων γέγραπται, ἀλλ' ὁ ταπεινῶν ἑαυτὸν ὑψωθήσεται.  Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβίον Α', Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΠϚ' Εὐτονιῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 78.349-352

The parable of the ten virgins 1 shows the difference between conduct and the life. All were virgins but not all alike had care for the rest of the virtues, which alone pleases for advancement to the kingdom of heaven. The incorruptible judgement shows that virginity profits not those who were slow to be merciful. With every glory the daughter of the king is adorned. It is necessary, it says, to be adorned with the golden raiment of every virtue. 2 For if someone vaunts virginity and glories in it, then that one strays from a greater virtue, humility. It is not written that he who reveres virginity shall be exalted but he who humbles himself. 3   Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 286, To Eutonius the Deacon 1 Mt 25. 1-13 1 Ps 46.14 2 Mt 23.12