The One Church

Περὶ τῆς νοητῆς Ἰερουσαλὴμ, τουτέστι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, γέγραπται τό· Ἧς ἡ μετοχὴ αὐτῆς ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό. Πάντες γὰρ οἱ πιστεύοντες, ἔν σῶμα, καὶ ἔν πνευμα, μία πόλις τῷ τρόπῳ ὑπάρχοντες, συνερχόμενοι ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ, ἐν τῷ συνδέσμῳ τῆς εἰρήνης, καὶ τῆς ἀγάπης, ὁμοθυμαδὸν μετέχομεν τῶν χαρισμάτων τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΝΗ' Σαβουριῳ Κομητι Source: Migne PG 79.177d

Concerning the celestial Jerusalem, that is, the Church, it is written, 'being one in fellowship.' 1 For all the faithful, in one body, and one spirit, and one city, are gathered as one, in a bond of peace and of charity, with one soul participating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 258 To Count Saburius 1 Ps 121.3

The Spirit's Dwelling

Habitat Deus in santis suis secundum promissionem qua dixerat: Habitabo in illis. Quod vero Dominus Jesus dicit in Evangelio: Manete in me et ego in vobis, probat hoc Paulus dicens: An nescitis quia Jesus Christus est in vobis? Hoc autem totum in Spiritus habitatione adimpletur, sicut memorat Joannes: Ex hoc, inquit, scimus quia in nobis, quia de Spiritu suo dedit nobis. Similiter et Paulis: Nescitis quia templum Dei estis, et Spiritus Dei habitat in vobis? Et iterum dicit: Glorificate et portate Deum in corpore vestro. Quem Deum? utique Spiritum sanctum, cujus templum esse videmur. Victor Vitensis, Historia Persecutionis Africae Provinciae, Liber III, Professio Fidei Catholicorum Episcoporum Hunerico Regi Oblata Source: Migne PL 58.230a-b

God dwells in his holy ones according to the promise which He spoke: 'I shall dwell among them.' 1 Which the Lord Jesus in the Gospel spoke: 'Remain in me and I am in you.' 2 Which Paul approves saying, 'Do you not know that Jesus Christ is in you?' 3 All which is fulfilled in the dwelling of Spirit, as John remembers, saying, 'From this we know that He is in us, because of the Holy Spirit He has given to us.' 4 And similarly Paul says, 'Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?' 5 And again he says, 'Glorify and bear God in your body.' 6 Which God? Even the Holy Spirit, the temple of whom we appear to be. Victor Vitensis, History of the Persecution of the African Province, Book 3, from the Profession of Faith of the Catholic Bishops to King Huneric 1 2 Cor 6.16 2 Jn 14.4 3 2 Cor 13.5 4 1 Jn 4.13 5 1 Cor 3.16 6 1 Cor 6.20

The Spirit And The Sword

Non veni pacem mittere, sed gladium. Gladium utique verbi Dei, de quo Paulus apostulus: Et gladium, inquit, Spiritus, quod est verbum Dei. Quia Deus Spiritus est. Hic est autem gladius, qui procedit de ore Dei, utraque parte acutus. Et bene ex utraque parte acutus. quia aeque perimit peccatores et impios, ut moriantur prius peccato, et deinceps melius vivant Deo: aeque etiam hoc gladio verbi feriuntur qui nolunt converti et agere poenitentiam; ut mortui Deo, male vivant perempti suppliciis aeternis. Hic est gladius, quo accingi incarnatus a Patre jubetur: Accingere, inquit, gladio tuo super femur tuum, potentissime. Quo nimirum gladio, dum sibi sponsam ducit, venit debellare sibique prostenere omnes adversarios suos. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber IV, Cap X Source: Migne PL 120.431a-b

'I do not come to bring peace but a sword.' 1   The sword is the word of God, concerning which the Apostle Paul says: 'And the sword is the spirit, which is the word of God.' 2 Because God is a spirit. 3 This is the sword which proceeds from the mouth of God, sharp on both edges. 4 And well it is that it is sharp on both edges, because equally it slays sinners and the impious, that they might die before sin and then better live to God. Indeed with this sword of the word in like manner they are struck who are unwilling to convert and make penance, lest dead to God, they live wickedly, condemned to eternal punishment. This is the sword with which to be girt the incarnate from the Father is commanded; it says: 'Gird your sword on your thigh, most powerful one.' 5 Certainly by which sword, while He conducts the bride to himself, He comes to make war and to prostrate all His enemies before Him. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 4, Chap 10 1 Mt 10.34 2 Ephes 6.17 3 Jn 4.24 4 Apoc 1.16 5 Ps 44.4

The Spirit's Rebuke

Ex cuius ore Spiritus Sanctus cunctis mundi potestatibus intonuit, denuntiando primo regi apud Hebraeos dumtaxat Sauli pro eo, quod quaedam de mandatis Domini non compleverat, dicens: Stulte egisti nec custodisti mandata Domini Dei tui, quae praecepit tibi. Quod si non fecisses, iam nunc pararet Deus regnum tuum super Israhel in sempiternum: sed nequaquam regnum tuum ultra consurget. Quid ergo simile huius temporis sceleribus?  Adulteriumne vel parricidium fecit ? Nullo modo. Sed iussionis ex parte mutationem, quia, ut bene quidam nostrum ait, non agitur de qualitate peccati, sed de transgressione mandati. Itemquc illum obiecta, velut putabat, purgantem et apologias, ut generi humano moris est, sagaciter hoc modo adnectentem: Immo audivi vocem Domini et ambulavi in via, per quam misit me, tali animadversione multavit. Numquid vult, inquit, Dominus holocausta aut victimas et non potius, ut oboediatur voci Domini? Melior est enim oboedientia quam victimas, et audire magis quam offerre adipem arietum, quoniam sicut peccatum ariolandi est repugnare et quasi scelus idolatriae nolle adquiescere. Pro eo ergo, quod abiecisti sermonem Domini, abiecit et te, ne sis rex. Et post pauca : Scidit, inquit, Deus regnum Israhel a te hodie et dedit illud proximo tuo meliori te. Porro triumphator in Israhel non parcet et paenitudine non flectetur, necque enim homo est, ut agat paenitentiam; subauditur: super duris malorum praecordiis. Notandum ergo est, quod dixit scelus idolatriae esse nolle Deo adquiescere. Non sibi scelerati isti, dum non gentium diis perspicue litant, subplaudant, siquidem conculcantes porcorum more pretiosissimas Christi margaritas, idolatrae. Sanctus Gildas Sapiens, De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae Source:  Migne PL 69.355b-d

From the mouth of Samuel the Holy Spirit thundered out to all the powers of the world, when he denounced Saul, the first king of the Hebrews, because he had not fulfilled certain commands of the Lord, saying, 'You have acted foolishly, you have not kept the commandments of the Lord, which He commanded you, which if you had done God would now establish your kingdom over Israel forever; but your kingdom shall arise no further.' 1 How is there likeness to the crimes of this age? Did he commit adultery or murder? Not at all. But there was a partial change of the command, because, as a certain one of ours has well said, 'It is not a matter of the kind of sin but the transgression of a command.' 2 And he being so charged, cleansed himself, so he thought, and wove together defences, as is the custom with men, in the following plausible manner: 'Truly I have heard the voice of the Lord and walked in the way by which He sent me;' 3 And the Prophet punished him with this censure: 'Does the Lord want,' he says, 'burnt offerings or victims, and not rather obedience to the voice of the Lord? For better is obedience than victims, and  hearing more than to offer the fat of rams, because resistance is as the sin of witchcraft, and refusal as the crime of idolatry. Therefore, because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you from being king.' 4 And a little after : 'God has torn away from you today,' he says, 'the kingdom of Israel and given it to your neighbour, one better than you. Truly the Victor in Israel will not spare and by penitence will He not be bent; for He is not a man, that He should repent,' 5 that is to say, because of the hard hearts of the wicked. We must, therefore, observe that he says that the crime of idolatry is the refusal to obey God. Let not those wicked ones applaud themselves, when they do not offer sacrifice to the gods of the Gentiles, since by treading under foot, like swine, the most precious pearls of Christ, they are idolaters. Saint Gildas The Wise, from On The Destruction and Ruin of Britain 1 1 Kings 13.13-14 2  Source unknown 3 1 Kings 15.20 4 1 Kings 15.22-23,26 5 1 Kings 15.28-29

Pleasing Others

Et non nobismetipsis placere.  Hoc est, non quod nobis prosit et placeat vindicare, sed et quod fratri; quia invicem curam nostri agere debemus. Unusquisque proximo suo placeat in bono ad aedificationem Nunc personam suam discrevit; hos enim commonet, ut charitati studentes proximis placeant ad id, quod est utile. Haec est aedificatio, sicut alibi ait: Ego, inquit, per omnia omnibus placebo. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Ad Romanos, Caput XV Source: Migne PL 17.172 a-b

And not to please ourselves...' 1 That is, not to demand what profits and pleases us, but that which is beneficial to our brother, because our care should be for one another. Each one pleasing his neighbour in goodness for edification...2 Now exhibiting his own person, he reminds them that with a love that wishes to please their neighbors they do what is useful. That is, they do what edifies, and so elsewhere he says, 'In everything to all I shall be pleasing.' 3 Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To The Romans, Chapter 15 1 Rom 15.1  2 Rom 15.2 3 1 Cor 10.33

Speaking The Word Of God

Si quis loquitur quasi sermones Dei...   Timens videlicet, ne praeter voluntatem Dei, vel praeter quod in Scripturis sanctis evidenter praecipitur, vel dicat aliquid vel imperet, et inveniatur tanquam falsus testis Dei, aut sacrilegus, vel introducens aliquid alienum a doctrina Domini, vel certe subrelinquens et praeteriens aliquid eorum quae Deo placita sunt, cum ipse manifestissime praedictoribus veritatis de his quos ad vitam imbuerint praecipiat, dicens: Docentes eos servare omnia quaecunque mandavi vobis. Et ea enim quae ipse mandavit, nos alia, et haec non ex parte, sed omnia suis auditoribus observanda tradere. Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 93.63a-b

If someone should speak as if the words of God... 1 Fearing certainly, lest someone either speaks or commands outside the will of God, or outside what is evidently commanded in Sacred Scripture, and it is revealed as a false testimony of God, either sacrilegious or introducing some strange thing into the teaching of the Lord, or obscuring or omitting something of it which is pleasing to God, when He, the Truth, has most manifestly taught preachers that they should instill these things for the sake of life, saying, 'Teaching them to guard all these things which I have commanded you.' 2 And the things which He has commanded, we must be sure to give to others who hear, all of it and not just a part. Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chap 4 1 1 Pet 4.11 2 Mt 28.20

Crowds And Teachings

Et locutus est eis multa in parabolis. Multa quidem, sed non omnia. Si enim dixisset omnia in parabolis, absque emolumentio turbae recessissent. Turba autem non unius est scientiaae, sed diversa in singulis voluntas. Propterea eisdem loquitur multis in parabolis, ut juxta varias voluntates suas, diversas reciperent disciplinas. Hinc perspicua miscet obscuris, ut per ea quae planius intelliguntur provocentur ad eorum notitiam quae obscura sunt, ut avidius requirant, et intelligant clarius. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber VII Source: Migne PL 120.484c

'And he spoke to them many things in parables.' 1   Many things, certainly, but not everything. For if everything were in parables, on account of a lack of reward, the crowds would have dispersed. However the crowd is not a thing of uniform knowledge, but there is diversity among their inclinations. On account of which He spoke to them in many parables, that according to their various states they might receive the various teachings. Hence He mixes evident things with obscure things, that by those things which they clearly understand they be called to the awareness of those things which are obscure, that the more keenly seeking them, they may more clearly understand. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, from the Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 7 1 Mt 13.3

Towers Of Ivory

Ὁ τράχηλός σου ὡς πύργος ἐλεφάντινος. Πύργοι δὲ ἐκλήθησαν, οἱ τὰ ἀρεστὰ τῷ νυμφίῳ ποιοῦντες, σκοπευτήριον ἔχοντες τὴν θεωρητικὴν ψυχὴν, ἐκ μετεώρου σκοπεύουσαν ἅπαντα· ἐλεφάντινον δὲ, διὰ τὸ λαμπρὸν καὶ λεῖον· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ κακίας τραχὺ ἐν τῷ τῆς νύμφης τραχήλῳ· οὐκέτι δὲ περὶ τῶν νεκρῶν εἶπεν, οἱ νεμόμενοι ἐν κρίνοις· ὑπεράνω γὰρ ἐγεγόνεισαν κρίνων τῶν ἐν μέσῳ ἀκανθῶν· βούλεται δὲ ἡμᾶς καὶ φιλομαθεῖς ὄντας πολλῶν ἔχειν τὴν ψυχὴν θυγατέρα σοφῶν καὶ ἐν εἰσαγωγαῖς γενέσθαι μαθημάτων πολλῶν, ἃς ἐκάλεσε πύλας· τοσοῦτον, φησὶν, γνώσεως τοῖς ἐν σοὶ διδασκάλοις περίεστι χάρις, ὡς μὴ μόνον τοὺς παρὰ σοὶ ἀπολαύειν αὐτῶν τῆς παιδεύσεως, ἀλλ' ἤδη καὶ τῆς ἔξωθεν καὶ πόῤῥωθεν τῆς αὐτῶν ἀπολαύειν ὠφελείας. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τo Ἀσμα Των Ἀσμάτων, Κεφάλαιον Ζ' Source: Migne PG 17.281c

Your neck is like a tower of ivory. 1 They are called towers who offer their thanks to the groom by having the contemplative soul as a mirror, from on high observing all things. And of ivory on account of splendor and joy, for nothing on account of evil is rough in the neck of the bride. He speaks not about the dead, who are pastured among the lilies, for higher these are than the lilies in the midst of thorns. He wishes us to be studious in many things, to have the daughter's soul of wisdom, and to be versed in the rudiments of many disciplines, which he names the gates. For by being such towers, he says, in you shall be your thanks to your teachers of knowledge, not only benefiting those near you with the teaching, but even profiting those apart and remote. Origen, Commentary On The Song Of Songs, Chapter 7 1 Song 7.4

Seeking And Adhering

Qualiter quis, omnibus aliis spretis, soli Christo inhaereat et intendat? Verumtamen quicumque talem statum aggredi et ingredi desiderat et satagit, opus est omnino, ut velut clausis oculis et sensibus, de nulla re se penitus implicet aut perturbet, sollicitus sit aut curet: sed cuncta tamquam impertinentia et noxia ac perniciosa funditus excutiat: deinde se totum intra se recipiat, nec aliud umquam objectum inibi mente attendat, quam solum Jesum Christum vulneratum: sicque per eum in eum, id est, per hominem in Deum, per vulnera humanitatis ad intima divinitatis suae, sedulo et obnixe intendat: ibique se suaque singula ac cuncta, indiscusse, suae infatigabili providentiae committat expedite et secure, juxta illud Petri: Omnem sollicitudinem vestram projicientes in eum, qui potest omnia. Et iterum: Nihil solliciti sitis. Et rursus: Jacta super Dominum curam tuam, et ipse te enutriet. Et iterum: Mihi adhaerere Deo bonum est. Et:Providebam Dominum in conspectu meo semper. Et sponsa in Canticis: Inveni quem diligit anima mea: quippe venerunt mihi omnia bona pariter cum illa. Nempe hic est thesaurus ille coelestis absconditus, nec non margarita pretiosa, quae prae omnibus comparata fiducia humili, conatu instantissimo, taciturnitate tranquilla, etiam usque ad corporalis commodi, laudis vel honoris jacturam, in fortitudine spiritus quaeritur. Alioquin quid proficit religiosus, si totum mundum lucretur, et animae suae detrimentum patiatur? Aut quid relevat status, professionis sanctitas, perfectionis habitus, tonsura, et exterioris dispositio conversationis, sine vita in spiritu humilitatis et veritatis, ubi Christus habitat per fidem charitate formatam? Hinc est illud: Regnum Dei intra vos est, quod est Christus Jesus Sanctus Albertus Magnus, De Adhaerendo Deo Source:  here

How can one, disdaining everything else, cling to and seek Christ alone? Truly whoever desires and aims to advance to and remain in such a state must above all have eyes and senses closed and not be inwardly involved or troubled about anything, nor anxious or occupied with anything, but should completely cut off all such things as irrelevant, harmful and wicked. Then he should withdraw himself totally within himself and not attend to any object entering the mind except the wounded Jesus Christ alone, and through Him and in Him, that is, through the man and the God, through the wounds of His humanity into the inmost part of His Divinity, he should direct his attention with care and determination. Here, individually and as a whole, without discussion, he can commit himself to God's indefatigable providence, promptly and securely, in accordance with the words of Peter: 'Casting all your care upon Him who can do everything.' 1 And again, 'In nothing be anxious,' 2 and again, 'Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will support you.' 3 Or again, 'For me to adhere to God is good,' 4 and 'I have set the Lord before me in my sight always.' 5 And the bride in the Song of Songs says, 'I have found him whom my soul loves,' 6 and of wisdom it is said, 'All good things came to me along with her.' 7 This, after all, is the hidden treasure of heaven, none other than the pearl of great price, 8 which before all things is to be acquired, with humble faithfulness, intense diligence, and calm silence, even against the body's comfort, or the glories of honour or praise, in strength of spirit seeking it. For what profit to the religious if he gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his soul? 9 Or what is revealed about the state of his life, the holiness of his profession, the virtue of his habit and tonsure, or the outer circumstances of his conduct, if he is without a life of spiritual humility and truth in which Christ abides through a faith fashioned by love? This is the meaning of 'The Kingdom of God is within you,' 10 that is, Jesus Christ. Saint Albert The Great, On Cleaving to God 1 1 Pet 5.7 2 Phillip 4.6 3 Ps 55.22 4 Ps 73.28 5 Ps 16.8 6 Song 3.4 7 Wis 7.11  8 Mt 13. 45-46 9 Mk 8.36, Mt 16.26 10 Lk 17.21

Ascension And Salvation

Quomodo vel qualiter praesentis solemnitatis gaudia, ascendente Domino, angelica declaravit sublimitas, non potest ore dicere, non corde concipere humana fragilitas. Sed tamen illud unum, ut Lucas narrat, testimonium admirable atque jucundum, officis ecclesiasticis adeo festive recitandum, huic declamatiunculae dignum duximus inserendum. Cumque intuerentur apostoli Dominum euntem in caelum, ecce duo viri astiterunt juxta illos in vestibus albis, qui et dixerunt, Viri Galilaei, quid statis aspicientes in caelum? Hic Jesus qui assumptus est a vobis in caelum, sic veniet quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in caelum. Ascendente Domino angeli apparuisse leguntur in vestibus albis, qui humanum genus, quod fuerat obtectum tenebris mortiferae caecitatis, per gratiam Christi meruit percipere indumentum aeternae jucunditatis, et consortium angelicae dignitatis. Instrumenti Veteris auctoritatem, ut proposuimus, multo ante multipliciter praenuntiasse manifestum est, illis videlicet qui Scriptuam sanctam et studiose legunt et fideliter intelligunt. Quid per Enoch Scriptura divina clamat transaltum, quid per Eliam igneo curro transvectum nisi Dominum Christum hodierna festivitate in dextera paternae majestis elevatum? Sicut ipse per Prophetam in psalmo dicit ad Patrem: Tenuisti manum dexteram meam, et in voluntate tua deduxisti me, et cum gloria assumpsisti me. Ecce illud Domini Salvatoris iter astriferum, sanctus in psalmo vocari voluit cursum. Quod David cursum vocat Salomon in Canticis saltus appellat. Ecce iste venit saliens in montibus, transiliens colles. Et ille: A summo caelo egressio ejus, et occursus ejus usque ad summum ejus. Hunc enim quem David currentem praecinuit, Salomon salientem praevidit. O prudentissimi vates, o tantae prolis felicissimi parentes, cujus meruistis prophetica denuntiatine fieri parentes et testes! De vestra namque radice Isaias propheta virgam cum flore processuram praedixit. De quo ipse alias dicit: Erit in novissimis diebus praeparatus mons domus Domini in verticem montium, et elevabitur super colles. Et in alio loco: Erit germen domus Domini in magnificentia, et fructus terrae sublimis. Quem, fratres, intelligere debemus per montem super verticem montium praeparatum, nisi mediatorem Dei et hominum, hominem Jesum Christum omnium hominum naturam superantum et meritum? Quem per germen Domini magnificum et gloriosum, et fructum terrae sublimem, nisi eumdem Dei hominis filium, hodierna die super caelos coelorum et dignitatem omnium angelorum in dextera Dei Patris assumptum? Ergo, dilectissimi fratres, omnium vitiorum phantasmata fugientes, cunctarum virtutum charismata diligentes, ipsum, de quo loquimur, toto cordis affectu quaeramus, toto mentis ardore diligamus, passibus dilectionis et fidei sequamur, ut per ipsum cum ipso ad eum possimus pervenire, qui per ipsum corruptam generis humani naturam voluit reparare, et reparatam in ipso, hodierna festivitate ad se dignatus est revocare. Qui eum eo vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen. Odilo Cluniacensis Abbas, Sermo VIII, De Ascensione Domini Salvatoris Source: Migne PL 142.1013c-1014c

How or in what way the joy of the present solemnity, the Ascension of the Lord, the angelic sublimity declared, neither the mouth of our human fragility is able to tell, nor the heart to conceive. Yet one joyful and admirable testimony, as Luke narrates, is recited during the ecclesiastical offices, which small portion we have thought it worthy to insert here: 'And when the Apostles watched the Lord ascending into heaven, behold two men stood beside them in white vestments, and they said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into the sky? Jesus who ascended from you is in heaven, and so He shall come as you saw Him going into heaven.' 1 With the Ascension of the Lord the angels appear clothed in white vestments, for the human race, which was wrapped in the darkness of death bringing blindness, through the grace of Christ, has merited to take possession of the raiment of eternal joy and the dignity to be associates of angels. By the use of the authority of the Old Testament, as we have said, many things in many ways have openly foretold this: quite obviously to those who have studiously read and understood the Holy Scriptures. What does Divine Scripture cry out by the translation of Enoch? 2 What by Elijah's riding off in the fiery chariot? 3 Is it not today's feast of our Lord Christ elevated to the right hand of the Father's majesty? So through the Prophet in the Psalm He says to the Father: 'You held my right hand, and in your will you led me, and you took me up in glory.' 4 Behold the astral way of the Lord our Saviour, which holy way he wished to speak of in the Psalm. And that way David spoke of, Solomon in the Song of Songs names a leap. 'Behold he comes leaping on the mountains, springing over the hills.' 5 And David again says, 'From heaven's height his going out, and his setting even at its height.' 6 Thus the one whom David foretells as running, Solomon sees as leaping. O most wise prophets, O such parents of happy children, you who with prophetic proclamation merited to be parents and witnesses. For concerning your root the prophet Isaiah foretells the coming of a shoot with a flower. Concerning which he says elsewhere: 'In the last days shall be prepared the mount of the house of the Lord on the peak of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up over all the hills.' 7 And in another place: 'He shall be a seed of the house of the Lord in magnificence and the finest fruit of the earth.' 8 Whom, brothers, shall we understand by the mountain over the peak of the mountain prepared, unless the mediator of God and men, the man Jesus Christ, over all men superior in nature and merit? Whom by the seed of the Lord, magnificent and glorious and the finest fruit of the earth, unless the same son of God and man, who this day is taken up above the heaven of heavens and the dignity of all angels to the right hand of God the Father? Therefore, dear brothers, fleeing the apparitions of every vice, loving the anointings of every virtue, let us seek Him of whom we speak with all the desire of our heart, let us love with all the longing of of our mind, let us follow with the steps of love and faith, that through Him, with Him, to Him, we are able to come. Saint Odo of Cluny, from Sermon 8, On The Ascension of the Lord 1 Acts 1.11-12 2 Gen 5.24 3 4 Kings 4.11 4 Ps 62.24 5 Song 2.8 6 Ps 18.7 7 Isaiah 2.2 8 Isaiah 4.2

Love And The Ascension

Quia amor tamen cordis totus est in affectu, ne sit nimium praeceps, expedit ut sapientia et discretione regatur. Praecipimur ergo Deum tota anima, id est, sapienter diligere. Anima enim sedes est sapientiae. Diligebat Petrus Dominum dulciter quidem, sed non prudenter, quia carnaliter: amor enim cordis ad carnalis affectus proprietates accedit. Ideoque ipsum mori prohibebat, quoniam non sapienter sed dulciter, non discrete sed temere diligebat. Quia etiam discipuli dulciter quidem, sed imprudenter amabant, dictum est eis : Si diligeretis me, gauderetis utique, quia vado ad Patrem, quia Pater major me est. Ac si diceret: si diligeretis me prudenter, desiderabilis esset vobis ascensus meus ad Patrem, qui naturam humanitatis vestrae mecum defero in Patris gloria collocandam. Petrus Blenensis, De Caritate Dei Et Promixi, Cap. XXVII  Source:  Migne PL 207.926d-927a

But because the love of the heart is all affection, lest it be too precipitate, it is expedient that wisdom and discretion rule it. We are thus commanded to love God with all the soul, that is, wisely. For the soul is the seat of wisdom. Peter loved the Lord greatly, but not prudently, since it was according to the flesh; for the love of the heart is properly a thing that inclines to things according to the flesh. Therefore He prohibited him to die, because he loved greatly but not wisely, not prudently but recklessly. 1 And because the disciples loved greatly and yet imprudently, He said to them, 'If you loved me, you would rejoice that I go to the Father, because the Father is greater than me.' 2 This is as if He had said, 'If you loved me wisely, my ascent to the Father would be pleasing to you, for the nature of your humanity I carry off to gather to the glory of the Father.' Peter of Blois, On Love Of God and One's Neighbour, Chap 27 1 Jn 13.36-38 2 Jn 14.28

Silence And Speech

Quare cum silentio? Quia in multiloquio non effugietur peccatum, quia hoc admonuit Apostolus, quia ante Apostolum propheta dixit: Obmutui et humiliatus sum et silui, etiam, a bonis: et dolor meus renovatus est. Nihil magis extra se cor hominiis effundit, quam multiloquium; nihil citius incurrit vaniloquium, aut stultiloquium, aut etiam turpiloquium, quam multiloquium. Ideo propter multiloquium fugiendum, silemus etiam a bonis, ne detar occasio malis.     ...Tectus magis aestuat ignis. Unus motus animi, si verbositate foras non effunditur, jugi rotatu, sicut flamma ignis, intus circumvolvitur; omniaque interioris conscientiae perlustrans, ea offendit de quibus ei dolor compunctionis salubriter renovatur. Cor quoque quia foris non evaporat, intus concalescens ex igne compunctionis urente, ignem creat lucentuem, quem in meditatione sursum dirigit. In meditatione, inquit, meae exardescet ignis. Sic fit ut qui silente? foris hominibus didicit, ipsi Deo intus loqui incipiat. Locutus sum, inquit, in lingua mea: Notum fac mihi, Domine finem meum. Praesentium contemptor, et quae retro sunt oblitus, de fine interroget: ecce quare silentio. Isaac Cisterciensis Abbas, Sermo L, In Natali Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, Source: Migne PL 194.1859a-b

And why silence? Because loquacity does not drive sin to flight, which the Apostle admonished, and before the Apostle the Prophet said, 'I was dumb and I was humiliated and I was silent,' and even, 'for the sake of the good, and my grief was renewed.' 1 He who is always speaking pours out nothing more than his own heart to men, and nothing so swiftly runs into vain speech or foolish speech, and even talk of filth, than much speech. Therefore one must fly loquacity. Let us be silent for the sake of the good, lest we give an occasion for evil. ...Hotter the blaze of the hidden fire.  2   There is one movement of the soul if verbosity does not pour it outside itself; it revolves in its yoke, like a flame of fire, turning around within and brightening all the things of the interior conscience, those things which offend by which the grief of compunction is well renewed. Also, the heart which does not let itself evaporate outside itself, with the burning of the fire of compunction heating it within, creates the light of the fire which in meditation directs one above. 'In meditation,' he says, 'my fire blazed up.' 3 So will it not be for him who is silent? He has learned from men outside, within he begins to speak to God. 'I spoke with my tongue,' he says, ' make known to me, O Lord, my end.' 4 He who has contempt for present things, and forgets what is behind, will enquire concerning the end. And so understand why he is silent. Isaac of Stella, from Sermon 50, On the Feast of Peter and Paul 1 Ps 38.3 2. Ovid Met 4.64 3. Ps 38.4 4 Ps 38.5

Hearts Hard And Soft

Κακία ἐν λογισμοῖς μελετωμένη, θρασύνει καρδίαν· ἀναιρουμένη δι' ἐγκρατείας καὶ ἐλπίδος, συντρίνει αὐτήν. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ  Source:  Migne PG 65 908a

When evil is contemplated in thought, it hardens the heart. Lifted up by temperance and hope, it is softened. Saint Mark The Ascetic, from On The Spiritual Law.

Neglect Chastised

Εἰ μήτε τῆς θείας παιδείας εἰς νουθέτησιν ὑμῖν γινομένης αἰσθάεσθε, μήτε τὰς ἡμετέρας ὑπομνήσεις εἰς μετάγνωσιν δέχεσθε, Χάρυββις τίς ἐστε, ἃδῃ καὶ ἀπωλείᾳ ἐοικυῖα, πάντα τὰ διδόμενα εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καταπίνουσα, ἧς ὁ πάντων δυνάστης Χριστὸς ἐμφράξει τὸ στόμα, ἵνα φυλάξητε τὰς θείας ἐντολάς, καὶ κἂν ὀψέ ποτε παλινῳδιαν ᾄσῃτε. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΤΜΖ' Μαρτινιανῳ και Ζωσιμῳ Source: Migne PG 78.382a

If neither the Divine teachings are able to move you to correction, nor do you receive our reminders that would induce you to change your mind, you are a sort of Charybdis, an apparent hell and place of destruction, where everything given to it is sucked down into oblivion, which mouth may Christ, the ruler of all things, block up, until you come to guard the Divine commandments and after sing the palinode. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 347, To Martinianus and Zosimus

Songs And Education

Εἰς τὸ τέλος ὑπὲρ Ἰδιθοὺμ, Ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαβίδ.   Δύο Ψαλμοὺς ἒγνωμεν Ὑπὲρ Ἰδιθοὺμ ἔχοντας τὴν ἐπιγραφήν· τόν τε τριακοστὸν ὄγδοον καὶ τὸν ἐν χερσὶ. Καὶ λογιζόμεωα μὲν Δαβὶδ εἶναι τὴν σύνταχιν τῆς πραγματείαης· τῷ μέντοι Ἰδιθοὺμ δεδόσθαι εἰς ὠφέλειαν αὐτοῦ, ἐπὶ διορθώσει τῶν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ παθημάτων, καὶ εἰς μελῳδίαν τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ λαοῦ· δι' ἧς καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐδοξὰζετο, καὶ οἱ ἀκούοντες τῆς ἁρμονίας ἐανωρθοῦντο τὰ ἤθη. Ἦν γὰρ καὶ ὁ Ἰδιθοὺμ ἱεροψάλτης, ὡς μαρτυρεῖ ἡμῖν ἡ ἱστορία τῶν Παραλειπομένων, λέγουσα· Καὶ μετ' αὐτῶν Αἰμὰν καὶ Ἰδιθοὺμ, σάλπιγγές τε καὶ κύμβαλα τοῦ ἀναφωνεῖν, καὶ ὄργανα τῶν ᾠδῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ μετ' ολίγα φησί· Καὶ ἔστησε Δαβὶδ ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες τῆς δυνάμεως εἰς τὰ ἔργα τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἀσὰφμ ςαὺ Αἰμὰν, καὶ Ἰδιθοὺμ, τοὺς ἀποφθεγγομένους ἐν κινύραις, καὶ ἐν νάβλαις, καὶ ἐν τυμπάνοις. Περὶ ὑπομονῆς, τοίνυν ἐκάτερος ψαλμὸς τὴν πλείστην ποιεῖται πραγματείαν, δι' ἧς καταστέλλεται μὲν τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ θυμούμενον, ὑπερηφανίας δὲ πάσης ἐξορισθείσης, κατορθοῦται τεπείνωσις. Ἀμήχανον γὰρ τὸν μὴ καταδεξάμενον τὸ πρὸς πάντας ὑποδεὲς καὶ ἔσχατον δυνηθῆναι ποτε ἢ λοιδορούμενον θυμοῦ κρατῆσαι, ἤ θλιβόμενον διὰ μακροθυμίας περιγενέσθαι τῶν πειρασμῶν. Ὁ γὰρ τὴν ἄκραν τεπαίνωσιν κατορθώσας, ἐν μὲν ταίς λοιδορίαις πλείονα ἑαυτοῦ προκαταγνοὺς τὴν εὐτέλειαν, οὐ κινηθήσεται τὴν ψυχὴν ὑπὸ τῶν ῥημάτων τῆς ἀτιμίας· ἀλλ' ἐὰν μὲν ακούσῃ πένης, οἶδεν ἑαυτὸν πτωχὸν ὄντα, καὶ πάντων ἐνδεῆ, καὶ τῆς καθ' ἡμέραν παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου χορηγίας ἐπιδεόμενον· ἐὰν δὲ ἀκούσῃ δυσγενὴς καὶ ἐξ ἀφανῶν, προειλημμένον ἔχει ἐν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ καρδίᾳ τὸ ἐκ πηλοῦ γεγενῆσθαι. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΞΑ' Ψαλμον  Source: Migne PG 29 469b-472a

To the end, for Idithum, a Psalm of David. 1 We know two Psalms which have the inscription, 'For Idithum,' the thirty eighth and this one we have before us. And we judge that this is a work composed by David but given to Idithum for his use, that the passions of the soul be corrected by a pleasing melody in the presence of the people, by which God is glorified and the manners of the people who hear the harmony are improved. For Idithum was a musican of the sacred Psalms, to which the history found in the Paralipomena bears witness, saying, 'And after them Heman and Idithum for the playing of the trumpet and cymbals and the instruments for the songs of God.' 2 And a little after it continues, 'King David and the princes of the army set apart the sons of Asaph and Heman and Idithum for the making of song on the cithar and harp and cymbals. 3 And both Psalms for the greater part speak of patience, by which the indignation of the soul is soothed, thus exterminating all pride, and correcting to humility. For it is not possible that he who does not wish to have the lowest and last place among all 4 is able either to control his passion while being abused, or in affliction is able to overcome temptation by endurance. He who comes to the height of humility, before he is abused already knows the greater part of his vileness, and so by ignominious words is not moved, but if he is called a beggar, he knows himself to be impoverished and unworthy of anything, even to have the daily work of God for his coin, if however he is called ignoble and obscure, before it is said he is conscious in his own heart that he was made from mud.  Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 61 1  Ps 61.1 2 1 Chron 16.41-42 3 1 Chron 25.1  4 Lk 14.10