Withering And Flowering

...ἐπαλαιώθην ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς μου ... Ὅρα εἰ δύναται τὸ, Ἐπαλαιώθν ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἐχθροῖς μου, καὶ ἑτέραν νόησιν ἔχειν. Ὅτε σὺν δικαιοσύνῃ ἔζων, ἐνέαζον ἀεὶ ζῶν κατὰ τὴν καινότητα τοῦ πνεύματος καὶ τὴν καινὴν διαθήκην· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐξ ἀποροσεξίας ἡμετέρας μετέστην τοῦ ἐπαινετῶς ζῇν παρὰ τοῖς ἑχθροῖς γενάμενος, πεπαλαίωμαι, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκείνου παλαιότητα, ὄν ἐνδυσώμεθα τὸν νέον ἄνθρωπον, τὸν κατὰ Θεὸν κτισθέντα ἐν ὁσιότητι καὶ γνώσει τῆς ἀληθείας· οὗτος δὲ ἐστιν ὁ βίος ὁ ἀκηλίδωτος. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος Ϛ’ Source: Migne PG 39.11177c-d

...I withered amid all my enemies... 1 Note that 'I have withered amid all my enemies' can have another meaning. 'When I was living righteously, I was always being renewed in my life according to the newness of the spirit and new faith. But after, because of fault, cut off from the midst of that glorious life, I withered among enemies, as if with old age, like that old man whom Paul exhorts us to slough off, so that we may put on the new man, who is created according to God in holiness and the knowledge of the truth, 2 and this is the immaculate life. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 6 1 Ps 6.8 2 Ephes 4.24

Understandings Of Man

Tribus modis hominem Scriptura appellat: Per naturam, ut Faciamus hominem; per culpam, ut Vos sicut homines moriemini; per infirmitatem, ut Maledictus qui confidit in homine. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber VI, Tit LXXVI De triplici hominis acceptione Source: Migne PL 177.848b

There are three ways in which Scripture names man. According to nature, as with 'Let us make man.' 1 According to fault, as 'You shall die like men.' 2 According to weakness, as 'Cursed is he who puts his trust in man.' 3 Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 6, Chapter 76, On The Threefold Understanding of Man 1 Gen 1.26 2 Ps 81.7 3 Jerem 17.5

Prayer And The Spirit

Similiter autem et spiritus adjuvat infirmitatem nostrae orationis... Quoniam superius ingemiscere nos, et precari liberationem memoravit, et in dolore positi, aut quae longe futura dicta sunt, mox fieri volumus, aut cito tolli, per quae ad meritum perveniamus; et videmur imbecilla oratione precari, dum illi denegatur effectus. Infirma est enim, qui contra rationem postulat: ac per hoc infirmitatem hanc a sancto Spiritu dato nobis adjuvari ostendit. Adjuvat autem, quia quae aut ante petuntur, quam peti debeant, aut sunt contraria, non sinit fieri. ...Nam quid oremus sicut oportet, nescimus... Infirmitatem orationis nostrae ignorantiam significare declaravit; fallimur enim putantes prodesse quae poscimus, cum non prosint. Denique eidem Apostolo tertio deprecanti, ut tentationes ab eo cessarent, quia crebrae erant, dictum a Domino est: Sufficit tibi gratia mea; nam virtus in infirmitate perficitur, id est, sic meritum quis collocat, dum in tribulationibus patiens invenitur. Didicit ergo contra se esse quod petebat. Est et aliquando superba et stulta petitio, sicut fuit duorum apostolorum Jacobi et Joannis, quibus incongrua et immensa petentibus dictum est: Nescitis quid petatis. Sed ipse Spiritus postulat pro nobis gemitibus inenarrabilibus. Non humanis eloquiis postulare pro nobis dicitur Spiritus Domini, sed more naturae suae. Cum enim quod de Deo est, Deo loquitur; eo more loquatur necesse est, quo ille loquitur, de quo est. Nemo enim cum cive suo alia lingua loquitur. Superfundit enim se precibus nostris Spiritus datus nobis; ut imperitiam, et improvidentiam nostram motu suo operiat; et illa nobis a Deo petat, quae prosint nobis. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Romanos, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 17.126d-127b

Likewise the Spirit helps us in the weakness of our prayer... 1 Because he mentioned above that we groan and pray for deliverance 2 and set in sorrow either desire that which is far off in the future should soon happen, or to be quickly taken away, which we shall come to by merit, so while the outcome is denied we appear to pray with a weak prayer. And it is weak because it asks for what is contrary to reason, and because of this he shows that this weakness is helped by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. But He helps because He does not allow us to ask for anything before the proper time, or for anything inappropriate. ...For we do not know what we should pray for... He declares that the weakness of our prayer signifies ignorance, for we err in thinking that the things we ask for will benefit us, but they do not. For when this same Apostle prayed three times that his trials might pass from him, because they were happening so often, the Lord said: 'My grace is enough for you, virtue is made perfect in weakness.' 3 That is, a man will gain merit when he is found to be patient in tribulation. Therefore he teaches that what he was asking for was opposed to him. And sometimes a petition can be arrogant and foolish, like the one made by the two Apostles James and John, whose inappropriate and weighty entreaties were answered: 'You do not know for what you ask.' 4 ...But the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. He says that the Spirit of the Lord does not intercede for us with human speech but according to the manner of His own nature. For when what is from God speaks to God, it is necessary that He will speak in the same way as the One from whom He is. No one speaks in another tongue to a compatriot. And the Spirit given to us overflows with our prayers, so that He might cover our ignorance and lack of forethought by His action, and ask for us from God the things that will be of benefit to us. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Letter of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 8 1 Rom 8.26 2 Rom 8.23 3 2 Cor 12.7-9 4 Mt 20.22

Weakness And Aid

Ἔλεγον περι τοῦ ἀββᾶ Μακαρίου τοῦ Αἰγυπτίου, ὅτι ἀναβαίνων ἀπὸ Σκήτεως, καὶ βαστάζων σπυρίδας, κοπιάσας ἐκαθέσθη· καὶ ηὔξατο λέγων, Ὁ Θεος, συ οἶδας ὅτι οὐκ ἰσχύω. Καὶ εὐθέως εὑρέθη ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμόν. Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.269a

They say concerning Father Macarius the Egyptian, that once going up from Scetis bearing a heavy load of baskets, he sat down exhausted and began to say to himself, 'O God, you know that I am not strong enough.' And immediately he found himself at the river. Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Infirmity And Righteousness

Humanum dico propter infirmitatem vestram. Prudens verbi dispensator in prima eos forma doctrinae videns profecisse, humana sicut hominibus censet esse committenda, cum divina mallet, si supra hominem aliquantulum eos profecisse adverteret. Humanum, inquit, quod potestis portatre, dico. Quando exhibuistis membra vestra iniquitati ad flagita perpetranda, timor vos ducebat ad peccatura, an suavitas peccati? Respondebitis, suavitas. Ad peccatum ergo suavitas ducit; ad justitiam vero timor impingit? Hoc inhumanum est. Potius humanum est, ut sicut hoc, sic et illud. Sicut in vobis fuit haectenus libido voluptasque peccati; sic amodo delectatio sit, charitasque justitiae. Et haec quidem nondum videtur perfecta, sed quodammodo adulta justitia. Plus quippe servitutis debetur justitiae quam peccato solent homines exhibere. Nam poena corporis etsi non a voluntate, tamen revocat ab opere peccati; justitia vero sic amanda est, ut ejus operibus etiam poena corporis cohibere non debeat. Sicut ergo ille est iniquissimus, quem nec poenae corporales deterrent ab immundi operibus sordidae voluptatis; ita illo justissimus, qui nec poenarum corporalium terrore revocatur a sanctis operibus luminosae charitatis. Sed humana tibi dico, o homo: Ama justitiam, sicut amasti iniquitatem. In iniquitate secutus es voluptatem; pro justitia tolera persecutionem. Ventum est ad aspera, horrenda, truculenta, minantia; calca, frange et transi. O amare, o ire, o sibi perire, O ad Deum pervenire. Qui amat animam suam perdet eam, et qui perdiderit animam suam propter me, in vitam aeternam inveniet eam. Sic amandus est amator justitiae: sic amandus est amator invisibilis pulchritudinis. Guillelmus S Theodorici Abbas, Expositio In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Liber IV, Caput VI Source: Migne PG 180.610b-d

I speak in human terms on account of your infirmity... 1 The prudent dispensor of words seeing that they had advanced in the first manner of teaching, judges that human things must be committed to men, when he would prefer Divine things, if he had reckoned them to have advanced a little beyond the man. Human things, he says, which you are able to bear, I speak. When you exhibited your members to iniquity for the commission of crimes, did fear lead you to sin, or was it sweetness? You will answer, sweetness. Therefore sweetness leads to sin, fear drives to righteousness? This is inhuman. Rather it is human that they be reversed. As in you there was this desire and pleasure of sin, so may there be a delight in charity and righteousness. And yet this does not yet seem to be a perfect but merely a developed righteousness. Certainly it should be that men are more accustomed to exhibit the service of righteousness than sin. For the punishment of the body, even if it is not a matter of choice, yet withdraws one from the works of sin, righteousness, however, must be loved so much that even the punishment of the body does not restrain one from its works. So he is most iniquitous whom the punishments of the body do not deter from the filth of foul deeds, as he is most righteous who the terror of corporeal punishment does not call back from the holy work of illustrious charity. But I speak human things to you, O man. Love righteousness, as you have loved iniquity. In iniquity you followed pleasure; for righteousness endure persecution. When it comes to bitterness, to terror, hostility, threats, tread it under foot, crush it, and pass on. O to love, O to go on, O to lose oneself, O to come to God. He who loves his own soul shall lose it, and he who loses his own soul for me, he shall find it in eternal life. 2 So loveable is the lover of righteousness, so loveable is the the lover of beauty unseen. William of St Thierry, Commentary on Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans, Book 4 Chapter 6 1 Rom 6.19 2 Mt 10.39, Jn 12.25

Spirit Of Truth

Ego rogabo Patrem, et alium Paracletum dabit vobis, ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum, Spiritum veritatis Tertio promittitur nobis Spiritus in magistrum, cum dicitur: Spiritum veritatis. Ideo enim dicitur Spriitus veritatis, quia docet veritatem. Et quia magister iste non solum docet veritatem ad intelligendum, sed suggerit ad volendum et adiuvat ad exsequendum; ideo nota, quod aliquando dicitur Spriitus veritatis, quia docet veritatem; aliquando Spiritus sanctitatis, quia ad bonum movet voluntatem; aliquando Spiritus virtutis, quia adiuvat virtutem. Dabit ergo nobis Spriitum veritatis ad docendum; de quo Ioannis decimo sexto: Cum venerit ille Spiritus veritatis, docebit vos omnem veritatem. Dabit Spiritum sanctitatis ad suggerendum; Ioannis decimo quarto: Paracletus Spriitus sanctus, quem mittet Pater in nomine meo, ille vos docebit omnia, et suggeret vobis omnia, quaecumque dixero vobis. Dabit etiam nobis Spiritum virtutis ad adiuvandum; Actuum primo: Accipietis virtutem Spiritus sancti supervenientis in vos, et eritis mihi testes, etc. Hic est Spriitus, qui adiuvat infirmitatem nostram, ad Romanos octavo. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Cap XVI Source: Here, p603

I shall ask the Father and He shall send another comforter to you, who shall remain with you forever, the Spirit of truth... 1 In three ways the Spirit is promised to us as a teacher when it is said: 'the Spirit of Truth'. For He is called the Spirit of Truth because He teaches the truth. And this teacher not only teaches the truth for understanding but also encourages the will and helps in accomplishing. Therefore note that sometimes He is named the Spirit of Truth because He teaches truth, and sometimes the Spirit of Holiness because He moves to a good will, and sometimes a Spirit of Strength because he aids with strength. Therefore He shall give to us a Spirit of Truth for teaching, concerning which John says in the sixteenth chapter: 'When that Spirit of Truth shall come, He shall teach you every truth.' 2 And he shall give a Spirit of Holiness for supplying the will, as John in the fourteenth chapter: 'The comforter, whom the Father sends in my name, He shall teach you all things, and He shall encourage you in everything I have said to you.' 3 And He gives us the Spirit of strength for aid, in the first chapter of Acts: 'You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses.' 4 This is the Spirit which helps our weakness, as in the eighth chapter of Romans. 5 Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 16 1 Jn 21.7 2 Jn 16.13 3 Jn 14.26 4 Acts 1.8 5 Rom 8.26

Trouble And Thanks

Dominus dedit, Dominus abstulit... Job mel miscet absynthio; persecutioni gratiam et benedictionem, ut in gratiarum actione persecutionis amaritudo dulcescat: nec tantum fiat potus cum lacrymis in mensura, sed afflictionis absynthio, et melle gratiarum nectar acceptabile condiatur. Potasti nos, dicit propheta, vino compunctionis, sive tribulationis: sed huic vino Job de torrente voluptatis apponit: et quasi utatur verbis apostoli dicentis: Libenter gloriabor in infirmitatibus meis. Et: Quando infirmor, tunc fortior sum. Firmat animum suum ad omnium malorum tolerantiam, et de suis angustiis gloriatur. Legitur quod Aod filius Gera, ambidexter utraque manu pugnabat, cujus expressam similitudinem Job gerit, quia non minus sinistra pugnabat, quam dextra: fortis in prosperis, fortior in adversis. Talis erat Apostolus, sciens abundare, et penuriam pati, glorians in infirmitatibus suis, incedens medius per infamiam et bonam famam, per gloriam et ignobilitatem, adversa sine murmuratione sustinens, et faciens in omnibus de necessitate virtutem. Petrus Blenensis, Compendium In Job: Ad Henericum II Illustrissimum Anglorum Regem, Caput I Source: Migne PL 207.812c-813b

The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away... 1 Job mixes honey with wormwood, thanks and blessing with persecution, that by thanksgiving he might sweeten the bitterness of blows. Not only is there that cup measured out with tears, 2 but with the wormwood of affliction and with the honey of thanks an acceptable nectar may be made. 'You have given us,' the Prophet says, 'the wine of compunction to drink,' or 'of tribulation,' 3 but to this wine Job has added a flood of delight; and this is in harmony with the words of the Apostle: 'Happily I glory in my infirmities.' And: 'When I am weak, then I am strong.' 4 He strengthens his soul for the endurance of all evils, and he glories in his own limitations. It is written that Aod, the son of Gera, fought with both hands, 5 and Job bears a certain likeness to him, because he fought no less on his left as on his right, strong in prosperity, stronger in adversity. So also was the Apostle, knowing how to live in abundance and how to suffer poverty, 6 glorying in his infirmities, walking the middle path amid abuse and praise, 7 through glory and disgrace, enduring opposition without murmuring, and from necessity making virtue in everything. Peter of Blois, Compendium On Job, To Henry II Most Illustrious King Of The English, Chapter 1 1 Job 1.21 2 Ps 76.6 3 Ps 59.5 4 2 Cor 12.5,10 5 Judges 3.15-30 6 Phillip 4.11-12 7 2 Cor 6. 3-10

Healing The Soul

Ἐλέησόν με Kύριε ὅτι ἀσθενής εἰμι, ἴασαί με Kύριε ὅτι ἐταράχθη τὰ ὀστᾶ μου Ἴασις ἀσθενειας ψυχῆς, ἡ ἐκ Θεοῦ δύναμις· ὡς λέγειν τὸν ταύτης τυχόντα, Παντα ἰσχὺω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με Χριστᾡ. Ὅτι δὲ οὐκ εἰ ποῦ τῆς Γραφῆς εἴρηται ὀστᾶ, οὐ πάντως περὶ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἐστιν τὸ δηλούμενον, ἐπιστατέον τῷ, Πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ μου ἐροῦσιν, Κύριε, Κύριε, τίς ὅμοιός σοι; Καὶ τῷ Διεσκορπίσθη τὰ ὀστᾶ ἡμων πᾶρὰ τὸν ᾅδην. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος Ϛ' Source: Migne PG 39.1176d-1177a

Have mercy on me Lord because I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are troubled... 1 The healing of the weak soul is the power of God, as is said when this happens: 'I can do everything in Christ who strengthens me.' 2 But those things which are named bones in Scripture, nearly always refer to material things, whence is understood: 'All my bones shall say: Lord, Lord, who is like you?' 3 And again: 'Our bones scattered beside hell.' 4 Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, Psalm 6 1 Ps 6.3 2 Phil 4.13 3 Ps 34.10 4 Ps 140.7

Weakness And Forgiveness

Φλήναφον συνείρας ἀπολογούμενος, σχετιασμὸν συνθεὶς πολυώδυνον τὴν θείαν λέγων μὴ ἰσχύειν ἀπόφασιν, ἥνπερ τοῖς ἱερεῠσι παρέσχετο, ἀφιέναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ πταίσματα. Εἰ δὲ αὐτὴ ἀνίσχυρος πᾶσα πάντως ἀβέβαιος, καὶ εἰς μάτην ἐλπίζομεν, ὡς αὐτὸς ἐδογμάτισας. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΤΛΗ' Αγελιδῇ Source: Migne PG 78.377a

You string together babble for your defence, fitting together bitter denunciations in saying that the Divine decree granted to priests lacks power to grant forgiveness to men for their errors. 1 But if this is weak, certainly all things are infirm, and in vain we hope, and that is what you teach. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 338, To Agelides The Novatian 1 Jn 20.23

Weakness And Glory

Habentes autem thesaurum hunc in vasis fictilibus; ut excellentia sit virtutis Dei, et non ex nobis. Thesaurum sacramentum significavit Dei in Christo, quod credentibus manifestatur, incredulis vero quodam tectum est velamine; quia sicut thesaurus in occulto ponitur, ita et sacramenta Dei intra hominem, id est, in corde humano absconditur. Hunc ergo thesaurum in animo et corpore dicit esse a Deo datum, ut eminentia virtutis ejus appareat per homines praedicatores dumtaxat; ut reconcilietur omnis lingua Creatori suo, non ad honorificentiam hominum, sed Dei, qui se manifestat per homines: qui cum humiles et imperiti essent, acceperunt potestatem a Deo et loquendi magnalia, et agendi. Fictilia ergo vasa dicens, infirmitatem naturae humanae significat, quae nihil potest, nisi a Deo acciperet virtutem, et ad laudem suam Deus per haec se praedicet, quae infirma sunt; ut gloria illi detur, non homini, qui ex luto fictus est. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Secundum, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 17.290b-d

Having even this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the virtue be God's and not from us.' 1 He means the treasure of the mystery of God in Christ, which is manifested by the faithful, though over unbelievers there is covering and a veil, because as a treasure is placed in a hidden place, so even the mystery of God in a man, that is, it is hidden in the human heart. Therefore he says that this treasure in the soul and body is given by God, that the glory of His virtue may appear through the preaching of men, that every tongue may be reconciled to its Creator, not for the honour of men, but of God, who manifests Himself through men, men who when they were humble and simple received the power of God and were able to speak and do wondrous things. So he speaks of an earthen vessel, signifying the infirmity of human nature, which can do nothing, unless it receives power from God, 2 and God to His own praise by this preaches Himself, through weakness, that glory might by given to Him, and not man, who is fashioned from mud. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Second Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 4 1 2 Cor 4.7 2 Jn 15.5

Stations And Fasting

Intellexisse vos credo, fratres, cur haec nostra jejunia illis mansionibus comparaverim, in quibus populus Israel tanquam in procinctu quodam positus, Pharaonem regem quotidiano labore superavit, et ab inimicis suis quasi quibusdam castris mansionum sese statione defenderit; ita ut quicumque ex illo comitantium numero diurnae stationis spatia non confecit, aut Pharao illum occupaverit, aut solitduo pervaserit. Sic ergo et nos propositum nobis quadraginta dierum iter debemus omni labore conficere, et quibusdam quasi castris nos jejuniorum devotione munire. Castra enim nobis sunt nostra jejunia, quae nos a diabolica oppugnatione defendunt. Denique stationes vocantur, quod stantes et commorantes in eis inimicos insidiantes repellamus. Castra plane sunt jejunia Christianis, a quibus si quis aberraverit, a spirituali Pharaone invaditur, aut peccatorum solitudine devoratur. Peccatorum autem solitudinem patitur, qui deseritur societate sanctorum. Murus igitur quidam est Christiano jejunium, inexpugnabilis diabolo, intransgressibilis inimico. Quis enim unquam Christianorum jejunavit, et captus est? Quis sobrius mansit et victus? Temulentum aggreditur diabolus, luxuriosum oppugnat inimicus. Ubi autem jejunium viderit, inedia, infirmitate prosternitur: prosternitur, inquam, infirmitate, quia Christiana infirmitas fortitudo est. Unde ait Apostolus: Cum infirmor, tunc fortior sum. Sed requirit aliquis, quemadmodum sit fortis infirmitas? Tunc est fortis infirmitas, quando caro tabescit jejuniis; anima puritate pinguescit. Quantum enim illi ciborum succus subtrahiter; tantum huic justitiae virtus augetur. Tunc igitur homo imbecillis quidem est ad saecularia, sed fortis est ad divina opera. Tunc enim magis de Deo cogitat, tunc judicium metuit, tunc voncit inimicum. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia XL Source: Migne PL 57.313b-314b

I believe you have understood, brothers, why I have compared our fast to the stations which the people of Israel established to be ready for battle, 1 they who the Pharaoh strove to overcome every day, and stopping at the stationary camps they made defence against their enemy, and whoever of their number did not take a place in that daily camping, either the Pharoah seized him, or he was devoured by the desert. So, then, even we should make the vow of our way of the forty days with every labour, and wall the camps of our fasting with devotion. For to us the fast is our camp, which defends us from the assaults of the devil. And they are called a station, because standing and watching in them we repel the plots of the enemy. So the camps are the fasting of Christians, from which if we wander, we are seized by the spiritual Pharaoh, or the wasteland of sin devours us. He suffers the wasteland of sin, who forsakes the society of the holy. The fast, then, is a wall for the Christian, insurmountable by the devil, impassable to the enemy. For who of the Christians who has fasted, has been seized? Who remains sober and is conquered? Drunkeness summons the devil, the enemy attacks amid luxury. But when he sees fasting, the absence of eating, he is prostrated by weakness. He is prostrated, I say, by weakness, because Christian weakness is strength. So the Apostle says, 'When I am weak, then I am strong.' 2 But someone may ask: how is strength weakness? Weakness is strong when the flesh withers in fasting and the soul strengthens in purity. As much as the taste of bread is withdrawn, so much does the virtue of righteousness grow. Thus a man is made weak by worldly things, but strong by Divine works. Then indeed the more he thinks of God, then the more he fears judgement, and then the more he tramples down the enemy. Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 40 1 Numbers 33 2 1 Cor 12.10

Leading Into Temptation

Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo... Quoniam multa et magnifica supra mandavit hominibus, ut Deum Patrem suum dicant, ut genus suum de caelo cognoscant, ut regnum Dei petant venire, ut non sint solliciti under pascantur, quae omnia magnae spei et justitia signa sunt: ideo nunc additur humilitatis doctrina, ut dum dicunt, Ne nos inducas in tentaionem, cognoscant se esse infirmos, et consideratio infirmitatis causam gloriationis exstinguat. Duo ergo petimus, primum, ut non inducat nos in tentationem: secundo, ut si induxerit, liberet de periculo tentationis. Nam vere, si secundum veritatem justitiae suae examinaret homines Deus nullus posset fieri salvus. Ideo autem difficule tentat, sciens infirmitatem nostram. Aut si tentat, non tamdiu tentat, quamdiu nos vincamus tentationem, sed quamdiu vincere nos velle ostendimus: id est, non virtutem nostram tentat, sed voluntatem: Apostolo nos confirmante, et dicente: Tentatio vos non apprehendat; nisi humana. Fidelis autem Deus, qui non patietur vos tentari supra id quod potestis sustinere. Volens enim glorificare hominem, tentat eum, non ut cum magno judicio glorificet, sed ut ne sine causa glorificet. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XIV Source:  Migne PG 56.714

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil... 1 How many great things He has commanded for men: that they name God their own father, that they know their race is from heaven, that they seek the kingdom of God, that they not be anxious how they will be fed, all of which are signs of great hope and righteousness, and therefore He adds the teaching of humility, that while they say, 'Do not lead us into temptation,' they know themselves to be weak and the consideration of this weakness extinguish any cause of boasting. Two things, therefore, we seek, first that He not lead us into temptation, second, that if He does lead, He free us from the peril of the trial. For truly if according to the truth of His justice God examined men, not one would be able to be saved. Therefore with a certain difficulty He tests us being aware of our weakness. Or if He tests, He does so not that while He tests us we conquer the trial, but that during it we show that we wish to conquer it, that is, it is not our strength He tests but our will, which the Apostle confirms, saying, 'Temptation shall not seize you unless it is human. God is faithful, He does not allow us to be tested beyond what we are able to endure.' 2 Indeed wishing to glorify man, He tests him, not that he be glorified with mighty judgement but that not without cause he be glorified. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from The Fourteenth Homily 1 Mt 6.13 2 1 Cor 10.13

Enduring Loss

Consolemur nos itaque, fratres, nec usque adeo suspiremnus collapsas esse domos, quia videmus reparationem domorum in dominis reservatam. Completum est, ut apparet, etiam in nobis praeceptum illud Domini de servo suo Job; cum agente adversus eum diabolo, terminum poneret persequendi. Ait enim illi, sicut legitur: Omnia quae habet do in manus tuas; sed ipsum ne tangas. Et iterum Ecce trado illum tibi; tantum ab anima ejus te custodi. Qua jussione inimicus accepta, perdita continuo omni ejus substantia, exulceratoque corpore, ab animae se tantum ejus laesione suspendit. Videte, dilectissimi, quantum fragilitati nostrae parcens vindictam erga nos suam Dominus temperavit, ut diversis urbibus, vastatis agris imminutaque substantia, nec animae nostrae, nec corpora laederentur. Idcirco autem magni illius Job putredine vermium corruptum corpus inhorruit; quia ille vir fortis probabatur ad gloriam, nos vero ut infirmi servabamur ad gratiam. Ac proinde non ambigamus posse nobis Deum posterisque nostris amissa reparare, cum videamus, fidelissimo Job, victo tamen diabolo, congeminatas opes, renovata pignora, et saevissimam corporis ejus plagam mirabili sanitate curatam.  Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia XCIV, In Reparatione Ecclesiae Mediolanensis Source: Migne PL 57 471c-472a

Let us be consoled, then, brothers, let us no more sigh over the fall of houses, because we know that the restoration of them is reserved to the Lord. It is done to us, so it appears, as was with that command of the Lord concerning Job, when the devil was given a span to assail him. For He said to him, so it reads, 'Everything which he has I give into your hands; but do not touch the man himself.' 1 And again 'I give him to you, only from his soul I ward you.' 2 Which command the enemy accepted and destroyed all his substance, and afflicted his body, from the soul alone suspending his blows. See, beloved, how much the Lord spares our fragility when he tries us by bringing blows against us, that with diverse cities and fields wasted, and property threatened, yet he harms neither our souls nor our bodies. Thus even the body of Job shuddered at its grave putrescence of worms, because he was a strong man who was being proved unto glory, we however being weak were protected by grace. And it is not to be doubted that afterwards God is able to repair for us all our loses, when we see that to the most faithful Job, with victory over the devil, there was a redoubling of wealth, a renewal of promise, and from the savage blows of the body a restoration to health Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 94, On The Restoration of the Church of Milan 1.Job 1.12 2 Job 2.6

Guarding The Vine

Πιάσατε ἡμιν ἀλώπεκας μικροὺς ἀφανίζοντας ἀμπελῶνας, καὶ αἱ ἄμπελοι ἡμῶν κυρπρίζουσιν. Ταῦτα τοῖς φίλοις ὁ νυμφίος, ἤτοι ἀγγέλιος ἢ ἀνδράσιν ἀγίοις, ὅσοι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας διδάσκαλοι· ὑπὲρ σωτηρίας δὲ τῶν ἀμπελώνων ἡ προτροπή ἵνα τῶν πανούργων συλλαμβανομένων δυνάμεων, αἵ διαφθείρουσαι τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ἐκφύσεως τοῦ καρποῦ, δυνηθῶσιν αἱ ἄμπελοι προκόψαι ἀπὸ τοῦ κυπρίζειν μέχρι τῆς τοῦ καρποῦ τελειώσεως, ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ γεωργούμεναι· διὰ δὲ τὸ αὐτεξουσιν δυνάμεναι ἐνέγκαι καρπόν τι καὶ μή· ἤ τάχα καὶ ἄνθρωποι, ἀλώπεκές τινες δι' ἑτεροδόξου δριμύτητος ἐμποδίζοντες τοῖς ἀρξαμένοις τρέχειν καλῶς· οὔς ἔτι μικροὺς ὄντας βούλεται συλληφθῆναι πρὶν ἐπιπλέον ἀσεβείας προκόψωσι· μέγας γὰρ ἀλώπηξ γενόμενος, ἐκείνοις μὲν ἀνάλωτος, ὑπὸ μόνοῦ δὲ τοῦ νυμφίου θηρεύεται· ἀρχόμενοι γὰρ ἐνεργεῖν τὰ χείρονα, καὶ τοῖς φίλοις εὐάλωτοι· λεγει δ' ἄν καὶ μικροὺς τοὺς ἀμπελῶνας· οὐ δύναται γὰρ κατὰ τῶν μεγάλων ἀλώπηξ. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τo Ἀσμα Των Ἀσμάτων, Κεφάλαιον Β' Source: Migne PG 17.265a-b

Seize the little foxes which ruin the vines, our vines that are flowering. 1 The groom says this to his friends, either angels, or holy men, that is, teachers of the Church; it is an exhortation to look to the safety of the vines against those who joined together in villainy would ruin the first budding of the fruit, that they are able to assist the vines to come from flower to perfect maturity, with God's care, with free will to bear the fruit, or not to bear it. Or perhaps it may be that the men who are like these foxes on account of bitter heterodoxy are better impeded at their beginnings. So they who are yet young He wishes seized before they advance into greater impiety. For the great foxes are unconquerable by all unless by the groom himself. The friends more may easily lay hold of evils in the beginning. And he calls them little who seek the vines because they will not be capable against the great foxes. Origen, from the Commentary On The Song Of Songs, Chapter 2 1 Song 2.15

Tribulations And Relief

Εν θλίψει ἐπλάτυνὰς με. Παυλος γ' οὖν ἤκουσεν· Ἀρκεῖ σοι ἡ χάρις μου· ἡ γὰρ δύναμις μου ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελειοῦται. Καὶ οἱ διελάσαντες δὲ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τοὺς βρόχους, καὶ οἱ ἐν πίστει τελειωθέντες καὶ θλίψεις ὑπὲρ Χριστου καὶ αἰκίας ἀναδεξάμενοι τοῖς ἄνωθεν ἐντρυφήσουσιν ἀγαθοῖς. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμός Δ' Source: Migne PG 69.733,755

In tribulation you brought me relief. 1 And indeed then Paul heard, 'Let my grace be enough for you; for my power is perfected in weakness.' 2 And those who thrust through the snares of sin, and those who have a perfected faith, bear tribulations for Christ and grief in the enjoyment of heavenly goods. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 4  1 Ps 4.2  2 2 Cor 12.9

Weakness And The Disciples

Futurae quoque eos infirmitatis admonuit, et nocte eadem omnes metu atque infidelitate turbandos. Cujus rei fides etiam auctoritate prophetiae veteris continebatur, percusso pastore oves esse spargendas: se tamen regurgentem in Galilaeam praecessurum esse, ut infirmitatem eorum sponsione reditus sui consolatetur. Sed Petrus pro fidei suae calore respondit, caeteris licet scandalizantibus, numquam se scandlizaturum. In tantum enim et affectu et charitate Christi efferebatur, ut et imbecillitatem carnis suae, et fidem verborum Domini non contueretur: quasi vero dicta ejus efficienda non essent. Cui ait: Priusquam gallus cantet, ter me negabis. Sed tam ille, quam caeteri ne mortis quidem metu decessuros se de confessione nominis sui polliceatur: ad omnem enim se ministerii constantiam, intrepida fidei voluntate firmaverant. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap XXX Source: Migne PL 9.1065

The Lord also warned the disciples about their future weakness, that on the same night they all would be confounded by fear and loss of faith. The certainty of this is confirmed by the authority of the old prophecy, 'Strike the shepherd and the sheep are scattered.' 1 Nevertheless He said that when He had risen He would go before them into Galilee, that the promise of His return might console them in their weakness. But Peter responded hotly in defence of his faith, that even if the others be scandalised, he would never be one to be scandalised. For by his great affection and love for Christ he was carried away so much that he did not mark the feebleness of his flesh and the certainty of the words of the Lord, and indeed what Peter said would not come to be. He to whom the Lord said, 'Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.' 2 Then like Peter, the others promised that they would never abandon the confession of His name for fear of death. Yes, in full confidence of their ability, by the fearless will of their faith, they strengthened themselves.   Saint Hilary of Poitiers, from the Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 30 1 Mt 26.31 2 Mt 26.34

Gideon And Christmas

Cum his Gedeon ad praelium pergit, eosque non armis, sed tubis, lampadibus, et lagenis armavit. Nam, sicut illic scriptum est, accensas lampades miserunt intra lagunculas, et tubas in dextera, lagenas autem in sinistra tenuerunt, et ad hostes suos cominus venientes cecinerunt tubis, confregerunt lagunculas, lampades apparuerunt, et hinc tubarum sonitu, illinc lampadarum coruseatione territi hostes in fugam versi sunt. Quid hoc est, quod tale bellum per prophetam ad medium adducitur? An indicare nobis propheta studuit quod adventum Redemptoris nostri contra diabolum illa sub Gedone duce pugnae victoria designavit? Talia illic nimirum acta sunt, quae quanto magis usum pugnandi transeunt, tanto amplius a prophetandi mysterio non recedunt. Quis enim unquam cum lagenis et lampadibus ad praelium venit? Quis contra arma veniens, arma deseruit? Ridicula nobis haec profecto fuerant, si terribilia hostibus non fuissent. Sed victoria ista attestante, didicimus ne parva haec quae acta sunt perpendamus. Gedeon itaque ad praelium veniens? Redemptoris nostri signat adventum, de quo scriptum est: Tollite portas, principes, vestras, et elevamini portae aeternales, et introibit rex gloriae. Quis est iste rex gloriae? Dominus fortis et potens, Dominus potens in praelio. Hunc Redemptorem nostrum non solum opere sed etiam nomine prophetavit. Gedeon namque interpretatur circuiens in utero. Dominus enim noster per majestatis potentiam omnia circumplectitur, et tamen per dispensationis gratiam intra uterum Virginis venit. Quid est ergo circuiens in utero, nisi quia omnipotens Deus Christus intra uterum fuit per infirmitatis substantiam, et extra mundum per potentiam majestatis? Madian vero interpretatur de judicio Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In librum Judicum, Cap V Migne PL 83.383-384

With this company Gideon went to war, men who had no arms but were equipped with trumpets and torches and jars. For, as it is written, burning torches they placed within their jars and trumpets they held in their right hands and jars in their left, and coming near to their enemies they blew their trumpets and broke their jars and their torches appeared, and with this roar of sound and the blazing of the torches the terrified enemy were turned to flight. 1 And then what is this, that such tale of battle is brought to us by the Prophet? 2 Does the Prophet not wish to indicate to us that this victory in battle under the leadership of Gideon is as the advent of the Lord against the devil? Certainly such are the deeds, and the more they pass the common custom of combat, so the more they acquire the mystery of prophecy. For who goes to battle with jars and torches? Who comes against arms lacking arms? Undoubtedly to us these things would be ridiculous if they had not terrified the enemy. But victory being recorded, we learn not to judge these deeds to be slight. Gideon goes to war in such a manner? It signifies the advent of the Lord, concerning which it is written, 'Open your gates, princes, lift up the eternal doors, and the king of glory shall enter. Who is this king of glory? The Lord strong and powerful, the Lord powerful in battle.' 3 And our Redeemer is not only prophesied by the deed but by the name, for Gideon interpreted means 'surrounded in the womb.' For our Lord is surrounded by all power of majesty, however by the dispensation of grace he came into the Virgin's womb. Why is He thus surrounded in the womb unless because in the womb the Divine Christ was in the infirmity of our substance as beyond the world in the power of majesty? And Madian, the place of battle, interpreted is 'concerning judgement'. Saint Isidore of Seville, from Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On the Book of Judges, Chap 5 1 Judg 7.17-21 2 cf Is 9 1-7 3 Ps 23.7-8

Salvation and Prayer

Τινὲς τῷ θέρει ἐκ λιμένων ἀναχθένες ἐναυάγησαν, τινὲς δὲ ἐν χειμῶνι πλεύσαντες ἀκινδύνως ἐσώθησαν. Πόσοι δ' ἀθληταὶ ἀνενδοίαστον νίκην προσδοκήσαντες ἡττήθηαν; οἱ δε καὶ δευτερείων ἀπεγνωκότες τὰ πρωτεῖα ἐστεφανηφόρησαν; Μήτε οὖν καταφρονῶμεν, μήτε ἀπελπίζωμεν, ἀλλ' ἐφ' ἄπασι πράγμασι τῇ εὐχῇ κολληθῶμεν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ Ι', Πτολεμαιῳ

Some relaxing in summer heat suffer shipwreck, some blown by winter's blasts are saved from danger. How many athletes promising to themselves undoubted victory have failed? How many despairing even of the lesser prizes have been crowned with the first? Therefore let us not be negligent, let us not be weak in mind, let us in all things cleave to prayer. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 10, To Ptolemaius

Woe to the Pregnant

Vae praegnantibus et nutrientibus... Simpliciter quidem istud propter moram potest: quia ventris onere impeditas, imminentem temporum ruinam effugere sit molestum. Sed quid conditio, sexus et generationis ordo commeruit? Nisi forte aetas illa mulierum, quae in illa tempora inciderint, proprie sit futura maledicta. Sed absit istud, ut quidquam sit, quod homini nisi sua culpa malum fiat. Non igitur de fetarum onere Dominum admonuisse credendum est, cum dicit: Vae praegnantibus: sed animarum peccatis repletarum ostendisse gravitatem, quae neque in tecto positae, neque in agro manentes repositae irae tempestatem vitare possint. Dolor enim praegnantes ex natura consequitur: et partus sine totius corporis vexatione non funditur. Quae  ergo tales animae reperientur, in suo et onere et dolore continebuntur. Illis quoque vae erit quae nutrientur. Est infantia lacte depulsa non minus ad fugam inutilis, quam ea quae etiamnum lacte alatur. Et quomodo vae illi quae nutriatur; cum nihil intersit aetatis ac temporis, nutriri lacte, et decessisse de lacte? Sed perinde hic etiam infirmatatm animarum, quae ad cognitionem Dei tamquam lacte adhuc alantur ostendit: quae perfecti cibi  virtute indigentes, tenui divinae cognitionis infirmoque gustatu imbuantur. Et idcirco vae ipsis erit: quia et ad effugiendum antichristum graves, et ad sustinendum imperitae, nec peccata effugerint, nec cibum veri panis acceperint. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap XXV

Woe to the pregnant and those at the breast... 1   Taken simply this can be understood as a matter of delay, because the impediment of a heavy womb makes flight from the imminent moment of ruin difficult. But why should the condition, pertaining to sex and the process of generation deserve it? Unless perhaps the women of that age, those who then happen to exist, are especially the target of a future curse. But let it not be that there may be something evil of man unless by it is by his own fault. It should not be thought, then, that the Lord gave warning on account of the weight of the unborn child when he said, 'Woe to the pregnant'  but that He was speaking of a soul full with the weight of its own sin, which may neither on the roof, nor remaining in the field, avoid the coming storm. For the pains of pregnancy follow from nature and birth without the suffering of the whole body is not possible. Those, then, who have such souls, are hindered by burdens and pain. And woe, it is also said, to those at the breast. The weaned infant is no less useless for flight than those who are still taking milk, and so how may there be woe to those who are still at breast, when there is no difference between the one fed with milk and the one weaned? But here is shown the infirmity of the souls, whom concerning the knowledge of God, are like those still taking milk, 2 who lacking the strength of perfect food are imbued with the faint and weak taste of the Divine knowledge. And therefore woe is proclaimed to these two types, because either they are too burdened to escape the Antichrist, or too ignorant to resist, having not fled from sin, having not yet taken the true bread. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25 1 Mt 24.19 2 cf 1 Cor 3.2

Weakness and Temptation

Post quae ad discipulos redit, et dormientes deprehendit, et Petrum coarguit cur secum una saltem hora non vigilet. Petrum ideo ex tribus, quia prae caeteris non se scandalizaturum fuerat gloriatus. Superioris autem metus sui indicat causas, dicens, Orate ne intretis in tentationem. Hoc erat igitur quod volebat; et ideo in oratione tradiderat. Non inducas nos in tentationem, ne quid in nos infirmitati carnis liceret. Cur autem ne in tentationem venirent orare eos admonuisset, ostendit dicens, Spiritus quidem promptus, caro autem infirma, non utique de se: ad eos enim hic sermo conversus est. Aut quomodo nunc de se spiritus promptus, si superius tristis est anima usque ad mortem? Sed vigilari praecipit et orari, ne in tentationem incidant, ne infirmitati corporis succumbat; et idcirco si possibile est ut a se transeat calix orat, quia bibendi ejus caro omnis infirma sit. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap XXII

After which He returned to the disciples and He found them sleeping, and He chided Peter, asking him why he could not watch one hour with Him. Peter it was of the three, because before the others he boasted that he would not be scandalised. His fear before this had revealed the cause, saying, 'Pray lest you enter into temptation.' This is what he wished, and therefore He entered into prayer. Do not lead us into temptation, lest our weakness of flesh permit it. He reveals why He warns them to pray, lest they come into temptation, saying, 'The spirit is ready, but the flesh is weak,' This is not about Himself but He speaks to them. Or how now is His spirit ready, if before grief afflicted His soul to death? But He commands them to be watchful and to pray, lest they fall into temptation, lest they succumb to the the weakness of the body; and so if it is possible that the cup pass from Him He prays, because in its drinking all flesh is weak. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 22