Understanding a Birth

Fratres, humani sensus non est virginei partus aperire mysterium: quod natura non habet, auctoris est, non naturae: est opus superni spiritus, quod sentire non potest caro: ubi non est humanitatis indicium, ibi deitatis est signum, dicente propheta: Ipse Dominus Deus dabit signum. Ecce virgo in utero accipiet. Ubi nil est terreni usus, est ibi coelestis ordinis totum: quod de mundo non est, mundano intellectui non potest subjacere. Conceptus qui virginem servat, partus virginem qui relinquit, divinum est quod generat, non humanum; Deus graditur, ubi vestigum nullatenus humani transitus invenitur; consuetudo deficit, miracula cum geruntur: consuetudines non respiciunt signa, singularitas non admittit exemplum. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CLIII

Brothers, it is not for the human mind to elucidate the mystery of the virgin birth, because that nature it does not have, it is an act of the Creator not of nature, it is a work of the heavenly Spirit which flesh is not able to know. Where there is no declaration of humanity, there is a sign of the Deity. As the Prophet says, 'God Himself shall give a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive in her womb.' 1 Where there is no earthly operation, there is the method of heaven, because it is not of the world, it is not subject to the mundane intellect. He who protected the virgin was conceived, He who was born left her a virgin, a thing Divine happened not something human, God walks where no trace of human passage is to be found, that which is normal perishes when a miracle is made, wondrous signs do not indicate what is customary, unique events do not admit of examples. Saint Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 153 1. Is 7.14

The Shepherds

Natus est Dominus meus Jesus, et angelus descendit de coelo annuntians nativitatem ejus. Videamus itaque quem quaesierit, ut ejus nuntiaret adventum. Non venit Jerosolymam, non quaesivit Scribas et Pharisaeos, non synagogam ingressus est Judaeorum, sed pastores reperit super greges suos vigilias excubantes, eisque loquitur: ' Natus est hodie Salvator, qui est Christus Dominus.' Putasne nihil aliud divinus Scripturarum sermo significat, sed tantum hoc quod ad pastores venerit angelus et eis locutus sit? Audite, pastores Ecclesiarum, pastores Dei, quod semper angelus ejus descendant e coelo, et annuntiet vobis quoniam natus est vobis hodie Salvator, qui est Christus Dominus. Etenim pastores Ecclesiarum, nisi ille pastor venerit, per se bene gregem servare non poterunt, infirma est eorum custodia, nisi Christus cum eis paverit atque servaverit. Dudum in Apostolo lectum est, Dei cooperatores sumus. Pastor bonus, qui imitatur pastorem bonum, cooperator est Dei et Christi. Et propterea pastor bonus est, qui habet secum pastorem optimum compascentem sibi. Origenes, Homiliae in Lucam, Homilia XII, Interprete Sancto Hieronymo Source: Migne PG 13.1828d-1829a

My Lord Jesus has been born and an angel has descended from heaven announcing His birth. Let us see who the angel sought out to announce His coming. He did not come to Jerusalem, he did not seek out Scribes and Pharisees, he did not enter a Synagogue, but finding shepherds keeping watch over their flocks, he said to them, 'Today is born a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.' 1 Do you think that the words of Scripture signify nothing more, but only that the angel came to the shepherds and spoke to them? Listen, shepherds of the Churches, shepherds of God, His angel always descends from heaven and announces to you that today is born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. For the shepherds of the Churches, unless that shepherd comes, will not be able to protect their flock well. Their guard will be weak unless Christ pastures and protects along with them . A little while ago the Apostle was read, saying, ' We are coworkers with God.' 2 A good shepherd who imitates the good shepherd is a coworker with God and Christ. And he is a good shepherd because he has the best shepherd working with him. Origen, Homilies on Luke, from Homily 12, Translated by Saint Jerome. 1 Lk 2.8 2 1 Cor 3.9

A New Day

Ἀνατέλλοντος φωτὸς, ὁ ὄρθρος ὑποχωρεῖ. Ἡλίου ἄνίσχοντος λαμπρῶς, τὰ τῶν ἀστέρων ἀμαυροῦται χορεύματα. Ὅτε αἴθριος ἡμέρα ἐπιφανῇ, τὰ τῆς ἔω ἀπολήγει σκιάσματα. Ὅτε ἡ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου σοφία ἐξέλαμψεν, ἡ τοῦ νόμου παιδαγωγία ἐσχόλασεν. Οὕτω κωφεύει Ζαχαρίας, τὰ τοῦ νέου καὶ παραδόξου ἀσπασμοῦ ἀκηκοὼς εὐαγγέλια. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΣΝΖ' , Εὐλογιῳ

The rising light removes the daybreak. The bright sun rising dims the companies of the stars. When the clear day is present the shadows of dawn reach their end. When the wisdom of the Gospel shines forth the introductory law comes to its rest. Thus Zachariah was dumb hearing things new and joyful, and a wondrous salutation. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 257, to Eulogius

The Order of Ancestors

Gradum, quem Mattheaus in ordine regiae successionis ediderat, Lucas in sacerdotali origine computat. Quem dum uterque dinumerat, cognationem in Domino utriusque tribus uterque significat. Recteque generationis gradus ponitur: quia sacerdotalis et regiae tribus societas per Dvid ex conjugio inita, jam a Salathiel in Zorobabel confirmetur ex genere. Atque ita dum Matthaeus paternam originem, quae ex Juda proficiscebatur, recenset, Lucas vero acceptum per Natham ex tribu Levi genus edocet; suis quibusque partibus Domino nostro Jesu Christo, qui est aeternus et rex et sacerdos, etiam in carnali ortu utriusque generis gloriam probaverunt. Quod vero Joseph potiusquam Mariae nativitas recensetur, nihil refert: eadem enim est totius tribus atque una cognatio. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap I

The order which Matthew gives by the royal succession, Luke reckons according to the priestly origin. One reckons by the bloodline of the Lord and the other by His tribe. It is quite right to present the sequence of the Lord's generation in this way since the association of the priestly and royal ancestry begun by David in his marriage is thereafter confirmed through the lineage of Shealtiel to Zerubbabel. And so while Matthew attends to His paternal origin which stemmed from Judah, Luke speaks of the lineage proceeding through Nathan from the tribe of Levi. By both of these ways then is demonstrated the glory of the double genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is eternal king and priest, even in his corporeal birth. That his nativity is traced from Joseph rather than Mary does not matter, for there is one and the same bloodline for the entire ancestry. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 1

Receiving The Word

Ecce enim ut facta est vox salutationis tuae in auribus meis, exsultavit gaudio infans in utero meo: et beata quae credidisti.   Vides non dubitasse Mariam, sed credidisse; et ideo fructum fidei consecutam. Beata, inquit, quae credidisti. Sed et vos beati, qui audistis, et credidistis; quaecumque enim crediderit anima et concipit et generat Dei Verbum, et opera ejus agnoscit. Sit in singulis Mariae anima, ut magnificet Dominum: sit in singulis spiritus Mariae, ut exsultet in Deo. Si secundum carnem una mater est Christi; secundum fidem tamen omnium fructus est Christus. Omnis enim accipit Dei Verbum, si tamen immaculata et immunis a vitiis, intemerato castimoniam pudore custodiat. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Expositio Evangelii Secundum Lucam, Liber II

For behold the voice of your greeting in my ears, the child in my womb jumped for joy, and blessed you who have believed. 1 You see that Mary had not doubted but believed, and therefore the fruit of faith followed.  Blessed, she said,  you who have believed. But even you are blessed, you who have heard and have believed, for that soul which has believed conceives and generates the Word of God, and knows His works. May the soul of Mary be in each one of you so that it magnifies the Lord. May the spirit of Mary be in each one of you so that it exults in God. If according to the flesh one woman is the mother of Christ, Christ is the fruit of everyone according to faith. Everyone receives the word of God, if immaculate and cleansed from vice he guard his chastity undefiled from shame. Saint Ambrose, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Book 2 1 Lk. 1.44

He Came To His Own

'In propria venit,' id est, in sua venit: et sui eum non receperunt. Quae ergo spes est, nisi quia quotquot receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri? Si filii fiunt, nascuntur: si nascuntur, quomodo nascuntur? Non ex carne, non ex sanguinibus, non ex voluntate carnis, non ex voluntate viri; sed ex Deo nati sunt. Gaudeant ergo, quia ex Deo nati sunt; praesumant se pertinere ad Deum; accipiant documentum, quia ex Deo nati sunt: 'Et Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis.' Si Verbum non erubuit nasci de homine, erubescunt homines nasci de Deo? Hoc autem quia fecit, curavit: quia curavit, videmus. Hoc enim quod 'Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis,' medicamentum nobis factum est, ut quia terra e caecabamur, de terra sanaremur: et sanati quid videremus? Et vidimus, inquit, gloriam eius, gloriam tamquam Unigeniti a Patre, plenum gratia et veritate Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis,In Evangelium Ionannis, Tractatus III

'He came to His own,'1 that is to say, He came to what is his: 'and His own did not receive Him.'1 What, then, is the hope, unless that 'As many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God'?2 If they become sons, they are born; if born, how are they born? Not of flesh, 'nor of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man; but of God are they born.'3 Let them rejoice, therefore, that they are born of God; let them presume they are of God; let them receive the proof that they are born from God: 'And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.'4 If the Word was not ashamed to be born of man, are men ashamed to be born of God? And because He did this, He cured us; and because He cured us, we see. For this, that 'the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,'4 became a medicine unto us, so that as by earth we were blinded, by earth we might be healed. And being healed what might we see? 'And we saw,' he says, 'His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.'4 Saint Augustine of Hippo, On the Gospel of John, Tractate 3 1 Jn 1.11 2 Jn 1.12  3 Jn 1.13  4 Jn 1.14

Progressing To Good Judgement

Τούτῳ τῷ ἀββᾷ Ἀμμωνᾷ προεφήτευσεν ὁ ἀννᾶς Ἀντώνιος, λέγων, ὅτι Ἔχεις προκόψαι εἰς τὸν φόβον τοῠ Θεοῠ, καὶ ἐξήγαγεν αὐτὸν ἔξω τοῦ κελλίου, καὶ ἔδειχεν αὐτῷ λίθον, καὶ ἔιπεν αὐτῷ· Ὕβρισον τὸν λίθον τοῦτον καὶ τύψον αὐτόν. Ὁ δὲ ἐποίησεν οὕτως. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀντώνιος· Μὴ ἐλάλησεν ὁ λίθος; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Οὑχί. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀντώνιος· Οὕτω και σὺ καταλαβεῖν μέλλεις τοῦτο τὸ μέτρον. Ὅ καὶ ἐγένετο. Προέκοψε γὰρ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀμμωνᾶς οὕτως, ὡς ἀπὸ πολλῆς ἀγαθότητος μηκέτι εἰδέναι τὴν κακίαν. Ἐν οἶς γενομένου αὐτοῦ ἐπισκόπου, προσήνεςκαν αὐτῷ παρθένον λαβοῦσαν ἐν γαστρὶ, καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Ὁ δεῐνα ἐποίησε τοῠτο· δὸς αὐτοῖς ἐπιτιμίαν. Ὁ δὲ σφραγίσας αὐτῆς τὴν κοιλίαν, ἐκέλευσε δοθῆναι αὐτῇ ἔξ ζυγὰς σινδονίων, λέγων· Μήποτε ὡς ἀπέρχεται γεννῆσαι, ἀποθάνῃ ἢ αὐτὴ ἢ τὸ παιδίον, καὶ μὴ εὔρῃ κηδευθῆναι. Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ κατ' αὐτῆς ἐντυχόντες· Τί τοῦτο ἐποίησας; δὸς αὐτοῖς ἐπιτιμίαν. Ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· βλέπετε, ἀδελφοὶ, ὅτι ἐγγύς ἐστι τοῦ θανάτου· καὶ τί ἔχω ἐγὼ ποιῆσαι; Καὶ ἀπέλυσεν αὐτήν· καὶ οὐκ ἐτόλμησεν ὁ γέρων κατακρῖναί τινα. Ἀποφθέγματα Ἀγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.121b-c

Father Anthony spoke a prediction to Father Ammonas, saying that he would progress in the fear of God. He led him outside his cell, and showing a stone to him, said to him, 'Hurt this stone, and beat it.' And he did so. Then Anthony said to him, 'Has the stone said anything?' He replied, 'No.' Then Father Anthony said to him, 'You too will rise to the level of this stone.' And so it was. For Father Ammonas advanced to the point where his goodness was so great, he took no notice of wickedness. Thus, having become bishop, someone brought to him a young girl who was pregnant, saying, 'The wretched girl has done this; give her a punishment.' But he, having marked the young girl's womb with the sign of the cross, commanded that six pairs of fine linen sheets should be given her, saying, 'It is for fear that, when she comes to give birth, she may die, she or the child, and have nothing for the burial.' But her accusers resumed, 'Why did you do that? Give her a punishment.' But he said to them, 'Look, brothers, she is near death; and what shall I to do?' Then he sent her away, for the elder did not dare condemn anyone. Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

The Order of a Birth

Hinc est, fratres, hinc est, quod Christi talis est ordo nascentis: ad virginem diabolus venerat, venit angelus ad Mariam, ut quod malus dejecerat angelus, bonus angelus allevaret. Perfidiam suasit ille, hic fidem: suasori credidit illa, ista credit auctori. Nascitur Christus, ut nascendo corruptam redintegret naturam; infantiam suscepit ille, patitur nutrimenta, percurrit aetates, ut unam perfectam, manentem, quam ipse fecerat, instauret aetatem: portat hominem, ne jam cadere homo possit; quem terrenum feceret, fecit esse coelestem; animatum humano spiritu, spiritum vivificat in divinum: et sic eum totum tollit in Deum, ut in eo quod peccati, quod mortis, quod laboris, quod doloris, quod terrae est, nil relinquat. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CXLIIX

Hence, brothers, hence, such an order of events in the birth of Christ. To a virgin the devil came, to Mary an angel came, the evil angel to throw down, the good angel to lift up. The former persuaded treachery, the latter faith. The former believed the persuader, the latter her Creator. Christ is born that by being born he might restore our corrupted nature. He took up infancy, suffered to be nourished, he passed through his years, that he restore to one perfect abiding age that which He had made. He carries man that now he might not fall. He who had made him earthly made him heavenly. That animated by a human spirit, He enlivens with the Divine spirit, and so lifts up the whole to God, that what is of sin, what is of death, what is of toil, what is of grief, what is of the earth, be left behind. Saint Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 148

Some Peculiar Births

Εἰπὲ τῷ Ἰουδαίῳ τῷ πρὸς σὲ διενεχθέντι περὶ τῆς θείας σαρκώσεως, καὶ λέγοντι, ὅτι ἀδύνατόν ἐστι φύσει ἀνθρωπείᾳ δίχα συνουσίας καὶ σπέρματος τεκεῖν· ὅτι οὐδὲν ξένον, εἰ καὶ τοῦτο ἀγνοεῖς, μετὰ πάντων τῶν τοῦ νόμου μυστηρίων καὶ δογμάτων. Ὁ γὰρ εὐθέως τὰ προοίμια τοῦ νόμου καταμαθεῖν μὴ δυνηθεὶς, ἐπίδηλα ὅντα καὶ σαπῆ, πῶς δύνασαι εἰς τὸν ἀπόκρυφον αὐτοῦ διιδεῖν, ἢ διακύψαι βυθόν; Γεγραπται γὰρ, ὁτι ' Ἐπέβαλεν ὁ Θεὸς ἔκστασιν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀδὰμ, καὶ ὕπνωσε, καὶ ἔλαβε μίαν τῶν πλευρῶν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀνεπλήρωσε σάρκα ἀντ' αὐτῆς· καὶ ᾠκοδόμησε τὴν πλευρὰν ἥν ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ. Ἰδοὺ οὖν ὁ ἀνὴρ ἐκ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἡ γυην ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, καὶ ἀμφότεροι τῆς συνουσίας χωρίς. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐπώφειλεν ἡ γυνή χρέος τῷ ἀνδρὶ, ἐκ τῆς πλευρᾶς αὐτοῦ δίχα σπορᾶς ὑποστᾶσα, τοῦτο ἀπέτισε καὶ μήτηρ τοῦ Κυρίου, αὐτὸν δίχα σπέρματος ἀποδοῦσα σεσαρκωμένον. Οὐκ ἔστιν οὖν τῇ φύσει ἀδύνατον· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν πρωτοπλάστων ἤδη γεγένητο, ἐπὶ τῆς Δεσποτικῆς οἰκονομίας τετέλεστο· ἐι καὶ τὰ παράδοξα τῷ τόκῳ τούτῳ ὠφείλετο· ἀναγίνωσκε οὖν, ἵνα γινώσκῃς. Εἰ δὲ γινώσκειν οὐ βούλει, μὴ ἀναγίνωσκε, ἵνα μὴ καταγινώσκῃ ὡς ἀγνοῶν ἅ ἀναγινώσκεις. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΜΑ', Ἀδαμαντιῳ

Say to the Hebrew who is in dispute with you concerning the Divine incarnation, who says that it is impossible in human nature that seed come to birth lacking sexual union, that it is not strange at all if this is considered with every other mystery and teaching of the law. For who studying the opening parts of the law is not instantly able, it being clear and open, to gaze on that revealed and look into the depths? For it is written: 'God placed Adam in a trance and with him sleeping he took one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh, and He worked on the rib he took from Adam.' 1 Behold then we have man from earth, and woman from man, and both lacking union. Since then the woman was to be an aid to man, from his rib she was made, a different type of generation, and so it was with the mother of the Lord that by another type of generation flesh was formed. It is not impossible in nature, but as was the fashioning of the first ones, so it was in the manner of the Lord. And if these births should still be amazing, read then that you might know, and if you are unwilling to read, so you shall not understand being ignorant of things to be read. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 141,  to Adamantios 1 Gen 2.21

Birth, Suffering and Joy

Πληθύνων πληθυνῶ τὰς λύπας σου καὶ τὸν στεναγμόν σου· ἐν λύπαις τέξῃ τέκνα.  Τὰς ὠδῖνας ἐνταῦθα αἰνιττεται καὶ τὸν πολὺν κάματον ἐκεῖνον, ὄν ὑπομένειν ἀνάγκη, καθάπερ φορτίον ἐν μησὶ τοσούτοις τὸ βρέφος βαστάζουσαν, καὶ τὰς κατὰ μέρος φυομένας ἐνταῦθεν ἀλγηδόνας, καὶ τῶν μελων τὸν διασπασμὸν, καὶ τὰς ὀδύνας ἐκείνας τὰς ἀφορήτους, ἂς ἐκεῖναι μόναι ἴσασιν αἵ διὰ τῆς πείρας ἐλθοῦσαι. Ἀλλ' ὅμως τοσαύτην ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Θεὸς παρέσχε μετὰ τῶν λυπηρῶν τὴν παραμυθίαν, ὡς ἰσόῥῥοπον εἶναι τὴν διὰ τὸ τεχθὲν βρέφος εὐφροσύνην τῶν ὠδίνων ἐκείνων τῶν ἐν τοσούτοις μησὶ τὴν γαστέρα διακοπτουσῶν. Αἵ γὰρ τοσοῦτον πόνον ὑπομένουσαι, καὶ οὕτως ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλγηδόνων σπαραττόμεναι, καὶ ὡς εἰπεῖν πρὸς αὐτὴν τὴν ζωὴν ἀπαγορεύουσαι, μετὰ τὸ τεκεῖν καὶ τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν καμάτων εὐφροσύνης ἀπολαῦσαι, πάλιν ὥσπερ ἐπιλαθόμεναι τῶν γεγενημένων ἀπάντων ἑαυτὰς ἐκδιδόασι πρὸς τὴν τῶν τέκνων γονην, τοῦ φιλανθρώπου Θεοῦ οὕτως οἰκονομήσαντος πρὸς σύστασιν τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων σωτηρίας. Ἡ γὰρ ἐλπὶς ἀεὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν κούφως ποιεῖ φέρειν τὰ παρόντα λυπηρά. Καὶ τοῦτο ἴδοι τις ἂν καὶ τοὺς ἐμπόρους ὑπομένοντας, καὶ μακρὰ πελάγη διαπερῶντας, καὶ ναυαγίων ἀνεχομένους καὶ πειρατῶν, καὶ μετὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς κινδύνους ἐκείνους πολλάκις καὶ διαμαρτόντας τῆς προσδοκίας, καὶ μηεδὲ οὕτως ἀποστάντας, ἀλλὰ πάλιν τῶν αὐτῶν ἁπτομένους. Τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν γηπόνων ἔστιν εἰπεῖν· καὶ γὰρ καὶ οὗτοι ὅτε βαθεῖαν αὔλακα ἀνατέμωσι, καὶ πολλὴν τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν τῆς γῇς ἐπιδείξωνται, καὶ δαψιλῆ τὰ σπέρματα καταβάλωσι, πολλάκις αὐχμοῦ γενομένου ἢ ἐπομβρίας, ἢ πρὸς αὐτῷ τῷ τέλει τν δρᾶγμάτων ἐρυσίβης κατενεχθείσης, τῆς ἐλπίδος διήμαρτον· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ οὕτως ἀφίστανται, ἀλλὰ πάλιν τοῦ καιροῦ καταλαβόντος, ἅπτονται τῆς γεωργίας. Καὶ τοῦτο ἐφ' ἐκάστου εὕποι τιη ἂν ἐπιτηδεύματος γινόμενον. Τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον καὶ ἡ γυνὴ καὶ αὐτὴ πολλάκις μετὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς μῆνας ἐκείνους, μετὰ τὰς ὠδῖνας τὰς ἀφορήτους, μετὰ τὰς νύκτας τὰς αυπνους, μετὰ τὸν τῶν μελῶν διασπαμὸν, μικρᾶς τινος περιστάσεως γενομένης, πρὸ τοῦ προσήκοντος καιροῦ τὸ βρέφος ὠθήσασα ἀμόρφωτον καὶ ἀδιατύπωτον, ἢ καὶ νεκρὸν πολλάκις, μόλις τὸν κίνδυνον διέφυγε, καὶ ὅμως ὥσπερ ἐπιλαθομένη τούτων ἀπάντων, τῶν αὐτῶν ἀνέχεται, καὶ συναποθανεῖν τῷ τεχθένται συνέβη, καὶ οὐδὲ τοῦτο τὰς λοιπὰς ἐσωφρόνισε καὶ ἀνέπεισε φυγεῖν τὸ πρᾶγμα· τοσαύτην ὁ Θεὸς ἐγκατέσπειρε τοῖς λυπηροῖς τὴν ἡδονὴν ὁμοῦ καὶ τὴν εὐφροσύνην. Διὰ τοῦτο ἔλεγε, 'Πληθύνων πληθυνῶ τὰς λύπας σου καὶ τὸν στεναγμόν σου· ἐν λύπαις τέξῃ τέκνα. Τοῦτο τοινυν καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς διαλεγόμενος τοῖς μαθηταῖς καὶ δεικνὺς καὶ τῆς ὀδύνης τὸ μέγεθος καὶ τῆς εὐφροσύνης τὴν ὑπερβολὴν, ἔλεγεν· Ἡ γυνὴ ὅταν τίκτῃ λύπην ἔχει, ὅτι ἦλθεν ἡ ὥρα αὐτῆς· εἶτα παραστῆσαι ἡμῖν βουλόμενος ὅπως τὰ μὲν τῆς λύπης ἀθρόον ἐκποδὼν γίνεται, τὰ δὲ τῆς χαρᾶς καὶ τῆς εὐφροσύνης διαδέχεται, φησίν ' Ὅταν δὲ γεννήσῃ τὸ παιδίον, οὐκέτι μνημονεύει τῆς θλιψεως διὰ τὴν χαρὰν, ὅτι ἐγεννήθη ἄνθρωπος εἰς τὸν κόσμον.' Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Ὁμῖλία ΙΖ', Εἰς Την Γενεσιν

'I shall multiply your pains and your groans, in grief you shall birth children.'1  Here is meant the labours of birth and the many troubles which it is necessary to bear, all those months carrying the baby as if in a sack, and there the pains of swollen limbs and the rending cares and the intolerable griefs which only she will know, which only she by experience will suffer. But at the same time the benign God has given consolation with these griefs, compensating with the joy of the birth of the child all those months she suffered carrying it. For she who endures such labour and is wracked by such pains, that it is said that she almost despairs of her life, after she has given birth, all her griefs are dissipated for joy, and all her labours are forgotten by giving birth to a child, for such is the dispensation of the benign God for the preservation of the human race. For he always provides hope for future goods that present difficulties be lightened. And it is as merchants who take themselves aboard ship and who pass over great seas, braving the dangers of shipwreck and pirates, who come through many hazards by which hopes are often frustrated, and then they do not refrain from doing such a thing, but again they turn to it. And here also we may speak of farmers, for they cut their deep furrows and expend much care on the soil and throw down their bounty of seed, and often they suffer drought or excessive rains, and even collecting their sheaves a blight may fall and cut off their hope, and yet then neither do they desist, but again, when the appropriate time comes, they go to their labour. And this we see happening in every good work. So it is often with a woman who after many months, after grave pains, after sleepless nights, after the swelling of members, a little accident befalling, she delivers before the appropriate time an unformed child, and frequently it is lifeless, and scarcely will that peril be avoided, and yet as if she had forgotten all these things, she returns to her labour and she suffers that she might give birth again and it does not occur to her to fear it, nor is she inclined to avoid it, such pleasure and joy has God placed in these griefs. Thus he said: 'I shall multiply your pains and your groans, in grief you shall birth sons'. And Christ said to his disciples, openly referring to great pains and exceeding joy,'When a woman gives birth, she has grief, because her time has come.' 2 And then wishing to declare how all suffering is taken away to be succeeded by happiness and joy, He says, 'When she has given birth to a child, she no longer has memory of her affliction, on account of joy because she given birth to a man in the world.2   Saint John Chrysostom, On Genesis, from Homily 16  1 Gen 3.16 2. Jn 16.21

Numerous Parents

Duo parentes nos genuerunt ad mortem, duo parentes nos genuerunt ad vitam. Parentes qui nos genuerunt ad mortem, Adam est et Eva; parentes qui nos genuerunt ad vitam, Christus est et Ecclesia. Et pater meus qui me genuit ad mortem, Adam mihi fuit; et mater mea Eva mihi fuit. Nati sumus secundum istam progeniem carnis, ex munere quidem Dei; quia et istud munus non est alterius, sed Dei: et tamen, fratres, quomodo nati sumus. Verte ut moriamur. Pracessores genuerunt sibi successores: numquid genuerunt sibi cum quibus hic semper vivant? Sed tamquam decessuri, qui illis succederent, genuerunt sibi. Deus autem pater et mater ecclesia, non ad hoc generant: generant autem ad vitam aeternam, quia et ipsi aeterni sunt. Et habemus haereditatem promissam a Christo vitam aeternam. Secundum quod Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis, nutrius crevit, passus, mortuus et resuscitatus accepit haereditatem regnum coelorum. In ipso homine accepit resurrectionem et vitam aeternum, in ipso homine accepit: in Verbo autem non accepti; quia incommutabiliter manet ab aeterno in aeternum. Quia ergo accepit resurrectionem et vitam aeternam caro illa, quae resurrexit et vivificata ascendit in coelum, hoc nobis promissum est. Ipsam haereditatem exspectamus, vitam aeternam. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, Sermons ad Populum, Sermones De Scripturis Veteris et Novi Testamenti, Sermo XXII

Two parents birthed us into death, two parents birthed us into life. The parents who birthed us into death are Adam and Eve, the parents who birthed us into life are Christ and the Church. My father who birthed me into death was my Adam and my mother was my Eve. We were born according to the family of the flesh, certainly from the gift of God, because even this gift is not from another but from God, and yet, brethren, in this way being born truly we shall die. Predecessors give birth to their successors. Has there ever been born here those who will live always? But as they pass away, those who succeed them, they give birth. Yet God is also my father and my mother is the church, and not in the way mentioned do they give birth, for they give birth into eternal life, because they themselves are eternal. And we have the promise of the inheritance of eternal life from Christ. 'The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,'1 and nourished he grew and he suffered and he died and being resurrected he received the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. In his humanity he received the resurrection and life eternal, in his humanity he received it, for in the Word he did not receive it, because he remains immutable from eternity to eternity. Therefore because that flesh received resurrection and eternal life, which being resurrected and revivified ascended to heaven, this also is promised to us. This same inheritance we hope for, life eternal. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Sermons on the Old and New Testament, Sermon 22 1 Jn. 1.14

Zachariah's Doubts

Quod ubi Zacharias, fratres, audivit, tantum se meruisse suis precibus sacramentum, rei ipsis consideratione territus, sacramenti ipsius aestimatione turbatus, nec se mereri tantum credidit, et Deum dubitatvit ad haec talia et tanta descendere. Hinc est quod dicit: 'Unde hoc sciam? Ego enim senex sum, et uxor mea processit in diebus suis.' Hoc est dicere, quomodo me habere filium ratio non permittit humana, ista nasci et mori Deum majestas non sinit sempiterna. Cui angelus veniabiliter non credenti peonam signi tantum dedit, non perfidiae: cautelae est tarde de Deo humilia credere, de Deo tardius conumeliosa sentire. Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo XC

But, brothers, when Zachariah heard that he had merited so great a mystery by his prayers, he was terrified when he considered the matter, he was troubled by the thought of this mystery, for he did not believe he merited something so great, and he doubted that God was coming down for such momentous things, which is why he says, ' How may I know this? I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her days.'1 Which is to say, as human nature does not allow me to have a son, so God's eternal majesty does not allow him to be born and die. This lack of belief being a venial matter, the angel gave him a punishment that was only a sign of doubt, not of faithlessness, of the caution of being slow to believe humble things of God, and to be slower to think dishonourably of God. Saint Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 90 1 Lk 1. 18

The Garden of the Soul

Hinc hortum illum sibi Plato composuit, quem Jovis hortum alibi, alibi hortum mentis appellavit. Jovem enim et deum et mentem totius mundi dixit. In hunc introisse animam, quam Venerem nuncupat, ut se abundantia et divitiis hujus horti repleret, in quo repletus potu jaceret porus, qui nectar effunderet. Hoc igitur ex libro Canticorum composuit, eo quod anima Deo adhaerens in hortum mentis ingressa sit, in quo esset abundantia diversarum virtutum, floresque sermonum. Quis autem ignorat quod ex paradiso illo, quem legimus in Genesi habentem lignum vitae, et lignum scientiae boni et mali , et ligna caetera, abundantiam virtutum putaverit transferendam, et in horto mentis esse plantandam? Quem in Canticis canticorum Salomon hortum animae significavit, vel ipsam animam. Sic enim scriptum est: 'Hortus clausus, soror mea sponsa, hortus clausus, fons signatus, transmissiones tuae paradisus.' Et infra ait anima: Exsurge, aquilo, et veni, auster, perfla hortum meum, et defluant unguenta mea. Descendat frater meus in hortum suum. Quanto hoc pulchrius quod anima ornata virtutum floribus hortus sit, vel in se paradisum habeat germinantem. In quem hortum invitat Verbum Dei descendere, ut anima illa Verbi imbre coelestis, et ejus copiis irrigata fructificet. Verbum autem Dei pascitur animae virtutibus,quoties obedientem sibi et opimam invenerit, et carpit fructus ejus, atque his delectatur. Cum autem descenderit in eam Dei Verbum, defluunt ex ea salubrium unguenta verborum, et diversarum flagrant longe lateque redolentia gratiarum spiramina. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Bono Mortis, Cap V

Hence that garden which Plato arranged, which elsewhere he named the garden of Zeus, or the garden of the mind. For Zeus he named both god and the mind of the whole world. Into this entered the soul, which he called Venus, that it take its fill of the abundance and riches of the garden, in which Plenty replete with drink lay, pouring forth nectar.1 This is derived from the book of the Song of Songs, by which the soul adhering to God enters into the garden of the mind, in which there are an abundance of diverse virtues and flowers of words. For who is ignorant that from that paradise, which we read in Genesis possessed the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,2 and other trees, Plato has thought to transfer the abundance of virtues and plant it in the garden of the mind, that which in the Song of Songs Solomon names the garden of the soul, meaning the soul itself? So it is written, 'An enclosed garden, my sister bride, an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed , going though your paradise.'3 And below the soul says, ' Rise up, north wind, and come, south wind, blow through my garden and let flow my scents. Let my brother come down into his own garden.'4 How much more beautiful a garden is a soul adorned with the flowers of virtue, or which in itself has planted paradise. In which garden he invites the Word of God to descend, that the soul with rain of the heavenly Word watered may bear rich fruit. The word of God feeds on the virtues of the soul, as many times as it finds it richly obedient, and he picks its fruit and with them he is delighted. When indeed the Word of God  descends into it, there flows from his salutary words perfumes and a diversity of redolent graces is breathed out far and wide. Saint Ambrose, On the Good of Death, Chap. 5 1 cf Plato, Symposium 203b 2 Gen. 2.8 3 Song 4.12 -13  4 Song 4. 16

The Land of the Living

'Πιστεύω τοῦ ἰδεῖν τὰ ἀγαθὰ Κυρίου ἐν γῇ ζώντων.' Οὐ γάρ φυμὶ τὸν Προφήτην, ταύτην ζώντων προειρήκέναι τὴν γῆν τὰ θνητὰ πάντα φύουσαν, καὶ εἰς ἑαυτὴν πάλιν πᾶν τὸ ἐξ αὐτῆς γένος ἀναλύουσαν· ἀλλ' οἰδε γὴν ζώντων, ἥς οὐκ ἐπέβη θάνατος· ἐν ᾗ ὁδὸς ἁμαρτωλῶν οὐκ ἐτριβη, ἤ κακίας ἴχνος ἐφ' ἑαυτῆς οὐκ ἐδέξατο, ἥν οὐκ ἀνέτεμε τῷ ἀρότρῳ τῆς πονηρίας ὁ τὰ ζιζάνια σπείρων, ἡ τριβόμων και ἀκανθῶν ἄγονος· ἐν ᾗ τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς ἀναπαύσεως, καὶ ὁ τῆς χλόης τόπος, καὶ ἡ τετραχῆ μεριζομένη πηγὴ, καὶ ἡ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων γεωργουμένη ἄμπελος, καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα δι' αἰνιγμάτων παρὰ τῆς θεοπνεύστου διδασκαλίας ἀκούομεν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους,

'I believe I shall see the goods things of the Lord in the land of the living.'1 I do not say that the Prophet names this earth the land of the living, that which produces everything mortal and again into itself is resolved everything generated, but he understands the land of the living to be a place untroubled by death, in which the way of the sinner is not trod, where the path of evil is not found, where the plough of wickedness does not cut for the sowing of the false seed which produces spine and thorns, where is the waters of rest, and the place of pasture, and the spring which divides into four, and the vine which by the God of all is tended, and whatever we hear through the mysteries of the Divine Spirit. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes 1 Ps 26.13

Creation and Male and Female

Οὐκοῦν ἐξεταστέον μετ' ἀκριβείας τὰ ῥήματα. Εὑρήσομεν γὰρ, ὅτι ἕτερον μέν τι τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα γενόμενον, ἕτερον δὲ τὸ νῦν ἐν ταλαιπωρίᾳ δεικνύμενον. «Ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς,» φησὶ, «τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν.».Τέλος ἔχει ἡ τοῦ κατ' εἰκόνα γεγενημένου κτίσις. Εἶτα ἐπανάληψιν ποιεῖται τοῦ κατὰ τὴν κατασκευὴν λόγου, καί φησιν. «Ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς.». Παντὶ γὰρ οἶμαι γνώριμον εἶναι, ὅτι ἔξω τοῦτο τοῦ πρωτοτύπου νοεῖται· «Ἐν γὰρ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ,» καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, «οὔτε ἄῤσεν οὔτε θῆλύ ἐστιν.». Ἀλλὰ μὴν εἰς ταῦτα διῃ ρῆσθαι ὁ λόγος φησὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Οὐκοῦν διπλῆ τίς ἐστιν ἡ τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν κατασκευὴ, ἤ τε πρὸς τὸ Θεῖον ὡμοιωμένη, ἥ τε πρὸς τὴν διαφορὰν ταύτην διῃρημένη. Τοιοῦτον γάρ τι ὁ λόγος ἐκ τῆς συν τάξεως τῶν γεγραμμένων αἰνίττεται, πρῶτον μὲν εἰπὼν, ὅτι «Ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν·» πάλιν δὲ τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἐπαγαγὼν, ὅτι «Ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποί ησεν αὐτοὺς,» ὅπερ ἀλλότριον τῶν περὶ Θεοῦ νοουμένων ἐστίν. Οἶμαι γὰρ ἐγὼ δόγμα τι μέγα καὶ ὑψηλὸν διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων ὑπὸ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς παραδίδοσθαι. Τὸ δὲ δόγμα τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· Δύο τινῶν κατὰ τὸ ἀκρότατον πρὸς ἄλληλα διεστη κότων, μέσον ἐστὶ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, τῆς τε θείας καὶ ἀσωμάτου φύσεως, καὶ τῆς ἀλόγου καὶ κτηνώδους ζωῆς. Ἔξεστι γὰρ ἑκατέρου τῶν εἰρημένων ἐν τῷ ἀνθρωπίνῳ συγκρίματι θεωρῆσαι τὴν μοῖραν; τοῦ μὲν θείου τὸ λογικόν τε καὶ διανοητικὸν, ὃ τὴν κατὰ τὸ ἄῤῥεν καὶ θῆλυ διαφορὰν οὐ προσίεται· τοῦ δὲ ἀλόγου τὴν σωματικὴν κατασκευὴν καὶ διάπλασιν εἰς ἄῤῥεν τε καὶ θῆλυ μεμερισμένην. Ἑκάτερον γὰρ τούτων ἐστὶ πάντως ἐν παντὶ τῷ μετέχοντι τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς. Ἀλλὰ προτερεύειν τὸ νοερὸν, καθὼς παρὰ τοῦ τὴν ἀνθρωπογονίαν ἐν τάξει διεξελθόντος ἐμάθομεν, ἐπιγεννηματικὴν δὲ εἶναι τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τὴν πρὸς τὸ ἄλογον κοινωνίαν τε καὶ συγγένειαν. Πρῶτον μὲν γάρ φησιν, ὅτι «Ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς κατ' εἰκόνα τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν ἄνθρωπον,» δεικνὺς διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ὅτι ἐν τῷ τοιούτῳ ἄῤῥεν καὶ θῆλυ οὐκ ἔστιν. Εἶτα ἐπάγει τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως τὰ ἰδιώματα, ὅτι «Ἄῤῥεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς.».   Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Περὶ Κατασκευής Ἀνθρωπου

One must, then, examine the words carefully, for thus we find that that made 'in the image' is one thing, and that now manifested in wretchedness is another. 'God created man,' it says; 'in the image of God He created him,' 1 and there is the end of the creation of what was made 'in the image'. Then resuming the account of creation, it says, 'Male and female He created them.'1 I think that all are so knowledgeable that they are aware that this is a departure from the prototype: for 'in Christ Jesus,' as the Apostle says, 'there is neither male nor female.' 2 Yet the phrase declares that man is thus divided. Thus in a way twofold is the creation of our nature, one being like to God, one being divided according to this distinction, for something like this the passage obscurely tells by its arrangement, first saying that, 'God created man, in the image of God He created him,' and then, adding to what has been said, 'Male and female He created them,' a thing which is alien to the conception of God. I think that through these words Holy Scripture gives to us a certain great and lofty teaching. And the doctrine is this: two natures, the Divine and incorporeal nature, and the irrational life of brutes, are separated from each other as extremes, and human nature is the mean between them, for in man we may see a part of each of the natures mentioned, of the Divine, the rational and intelligent element, which does not permit the distinction of male and female, and of the irrational, our bodily form divided into male and female, for each of these elements is certainly found in all that partakes of human life. But that the intellectual part precedes the other, we learn from the order presented in the account of the making of man, and that the community and relationship with the irrational in man is for the purpose of reproduction. For he says first that 'God created man in the image of God', showing by these words, as the Apostle says, that in such there is no male or female 2, then are added the specific properties of human nature: 'Male and female He created them'1 Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Making of Man  1.Gen 1 . 27 2 Gal 3.28