Wealth And Scripture

Ἀκούω σε ταῖς θείαις Βίβλοις ἐμμελετᾷν, καὶ ταῖς αὐτῶν κεχρῆσθαι μαρτυρίαις ἀρμοδίως πρὸς ἄπαντας, εἶναι δὲ πελονέκτην, καὶ τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἐπιμαινόμενον βίοις. Καὶ πάνυ μοι θαυμάζειν ἐπέρχεται, ὅτι σε ὁ θεῖος ἔρως οὐκ ἕτρωσεν ἐκ τῆς συνεχοῦς ἀναγνώσεως, μεταβολὴν τῆς προθέσεως ἐργασάμενος, ὁ μὴ μόνον τῶν ἀλλοτρίων κωλύων ἐρᾷν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ προσόντα σκορπίζειν νουθετῶν. Ἥ τοίνυν ἀναγινώσκων ἐπίγνωθι, ἤ μὴ ἐπίγνώσκων ἀνάγνωθι. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΚΖ' Φαρισμανιῳ Εὐνουχῳ του Παλατιου Source: Migne PG 78.200b

I hear that you are well exercised in the Divine Scriptures and would put their testimonies to use fitly in all things, and yet you are avaricious and madly desire the goods of others. It amazes me that it has happened that by your extensive reading the Divine has not lovingly wounded you and effected a change in your wishes, not only prohibiting lust for what belongs to others, but even admonishing you to distribute what is yours. Either then understand what you read, or lacking understanding read. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 27, To Pharismanius A Eunuch Of The Palace

Considerations Of Wealth

Πλούτου τοίνυν μεταληπτέον ἀξιολόγως καὶ μεταδοτέον φιλανθρώπως, οὐ βαναύσως οὐδὲ ἀλαζονικῶς, οὐδὲ ἐκτρεπτέον τὸ φιλόκαλον εἰς φιλαυτίαν καὶ ἀπειροκαλίαν, μή πῃ ἄρα καὶ πρὸς ἡμᾶς φήσῃ τις· ὁ ἵππος αὐτοῦ πεντεκαίδεκα ταλάντων ἐστὶν ἄξιος ἢ τὸ χωρίον ἢ ὁ οἰκέτης ἢ τὸ χρυσίον, αὐτὸς δὲ χαλκῶν ἐστι τίμιος τριῶν. Αὐτίκα γοῦν περίελε τὸν κόσμον τῶν γυναικῶν καὶ τοὺς οἰκέτας τῶν δεσποτῶν, οὐδὲν διαφέροντας τῶν ἀργυρωνήτων εὑρήσεις τοὺς δεσπότας, οὐκ ἐν βαδίσματι, οὐκ ἐν βλέμματι, οὐκ ἐν φθέγματι· οὕτως τοίνυν τοῖς ἀνδραπόδοις ἐοίκασιν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ ἀσθενέστεροι εἶναι τῶν οἰκετῶν διακρίνονται καὶ τῷ νοσηλότερον ἀνατεθράφθαι. Ἄριστον γοῦν δογμάτων τοῦτο ᾄδειν παρ' ἕκαστα χρή, ὡς ὁ μὲν ἀγαθὸς ἀνὴρ σώφρων ὢν καὶ δίκαιος ἐν οὐρανῷ θησαυρίζει τὰ χρήματα· οὗτος ὁ τὰ ἐπίγεια καταπωλήσας καὶ πτωχοῖς ἐπιδοὺς τὸν ἀνώλεθρον ἐξευρίσκει θησαυρόν, ἔνθα οὐ σής, οὐ λῃστής· μακάριος οὗτος ὄντως, ἐάν τε σμικρὸς καὶ ἀσθενὴς καὶ ἄδοξος ᾖ, καὶ πλοῦτον ὄντως πλουτεῖ τὸν μέγιστον· ἐὰν δὲ ἄρα πλουτῇ μὲν Κινύρα τε καὶ Μίδα μᾶλλον, ᾖ δὲ ἄδικος καὶ ὑπερήφανος, καθάπερ ὁ ἐν τῇ πορφύρᾳ καὶ βύσσῳ τρυφῶν καὶ τὸν Λάζαρον ὑπερηφανῶν, ἄθλιός τέ ἐστι καὶ ἀνιαρῶς ζῇ καὶ οὐ ζήσεται. Ἐοικέναι γοῦν μοι δοκεῖ ὁ πλοῦτος ἑρπετῷ, οὗ εἰ μή τις ἐπίσταιτο λαβέσθαι ἀβλαβῶς, πόρρωθεν ἀκινδύνως ἄκρας οὐρᾶς ἀνακρημνὰς τὸ θηρίον, περιπλέξεται τῇ χειρὶ καὶ δήξεται· δεινὸς δὲ καὶ ὁ πλοῦτος ἰλυσπώμενος παρὰ τὴν ἔμπειρον ἢ ἄπειρον αὐτοῦ λαβὴν προσφῦναι καὶ δάκνειν, εἰ μή τις αὐτῷ καταμεγαλοφρονῶν ἐπιστημόνως χρῷτο, ἵνα σὺν τῇ ἐπῳδῇ τοῦ λόγου καταξέσηται μὲν τὸ θηρίον, αὐτὸς δὲ ἀπαθὴς μείνῃ. Ἀλλ', ὡς ἔοικεν, τὰ πλείονος ἄξια κεκτημένος πλούσιος ὢν μόνος ἐλελήθει· πολλοῦ δὲ ἄξια οὐ λίθος, οὐκ ἄργυρος, οὐκ ἐσθής, οὐ κάλλος σώματος, ἀλλ' ἡ ἀρετή, ὅς ἐστι λόγος διὰ τοῦ παιδαγωγοῦ παραδιδόμενος εἰς ἄσκησιν·λόγος οὗτος ὁ τὴν τρυφὴν ἐξομνύμενος, τὴν δὲ αὐτουργίαν διάκονον παρακαλῶν καὶ τὴν εὐτέλειαν ἐξυμνῶν τῆς σωφροσύνης τὴν ἔγγονον, λάβετε παιδείαν, φησί, καὶ μὴ ἀργύριον, καὶ γνῶσιν ὑπὲρ χρυσίον δεδοκιμασμένον· κρείσσων γὰρ σοφία λίθων πολυτελῶν, πᾶν δὲ τίμιον οὐκ ἄξιον αὐτῆς ἐστι. Καὶ πάλιν· ἐμὲ καρπίζεσθαι ὑπὲρ χρυσίον καὶ λίθον τίμιον καὶ ἄργυρον· τὰ γὰρ ἐμὰ γενήματα κρείττω ἀργυρίου ἐκλεκτοῦ. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Ὁ Παιδαγωγός, Λογὸς Τρίτιος, Κεφ' Ϛ' Source: Migne PG 8.604b-605b

Riches, then, are to be partaken of rationally, bestowed lovingly, not vulgarly, or pompously, nor is the love of what is beautiful to be turned into self-love and ostentation, lest it be that someone says to us, 'His horse, or land, or servant, or gold, is worth fifteen talents, but the man himself three coppers.' Take away, then, directly ornamentation from women, and servants from masters, and you will find the masters no different from bought slaves, but in step, or look, or voice they are like their slaves. But they are distinguished in that they are weaker than their slaves, having had a more sickly upbringing. This best of maxims, then, one must be repeatedly declaim: 'The good man, being temperate and just, treasures up his wealth in heaven.' He who has sold his worldly goods and given them to the poor discovers the imperishable treasure, 'where is neither moth nor robber.' 1 This man is truly blessed, though he may be insignificant and feeble and obscure, even then he is truly rich with the greatest of all riches. Even if a man is richer than Cinyras and Midas, and he is wicked and haughty, as he who was luxuriously clothed in purple and fine linen and despised Lazarus, 2 he is miserable, and lives in trouble, and he shall not live. Wealth, then, seems to me to be a serpent, which if one knows not how to lay hold of it without danger by the point of the tail, it will twist around the hand and bite, and riches, wriggling either in the experienced or inexperienced grasp, are fearfully adept at clinging and biting, unless one, despising them, uses them wisely, so as to crush the beast by the charm of the Word, and oneself remain unhurt. But this it seems, is not recognised: that only he who possesses what is worth most is truly rich. And it is not jewels, nor money, nor clothing, nor fairness of body, but virtue, which is the Word given by the Teacher put into practice. This is the Word who abjures luxury but calls to one's own work as a servant, and praises frugality, the child of temperance. 'Receive instruction,' he says, ' and not silver, and knowledge over proven gold, for Wisdom is better than precious stones and nothing valuable is worthy of her.' 3 And again: 'Acquire me over gold and precious stones and silver, for my yields are better than choicest silver.' 4 Clement of Alexandria, The Teacher, Book 3, Chapter 6 1 Mt 6.20 2 Lk 16.19- 3 Prov 8.10-11 4 Prov 8.19

Wealth Of Earth And Heaven

Ubi enim fuerit thesauros tuus, ibi erit cor tuum... Qui collocat thesauros in terra, non habet quod speret in caelo. Ut quid enim aspiciat in caelum, ubi nihil repositum habet? Propterea sive laetatur, in carnalibus et terrenis laetatur: sive tristatur, de carnalibus et terrenis tristatur. Qui autem divitias sua reponit in caelo, non habet spem in terra. Ut quid enim delectatur in terra, qui nihil habet in terra? Ideo sive laetatur, in spiritualibus laetatur: sive tristatur, de spiritualibus tristatur. Ergo peccatorum et laetitia mala, et tristia pejor, quia aut de lucro terreno laetantur, aut de damno tristantur: justorum autem et laetitia bona, et tristitia melior, quoniam aut de justitia laetantur, aut de peccato tristantur. Si enim aliqua causa mortis advenerit, si quidem spes illius in terra sit, tristatur, quasi de domo sua ad peregre vadens, ut non dicam ad tormenta: si autem spes ejus in caelo sit, gaudet quasi de peregre ad domum propriam reversurus, ut non dicam ad regnum caeleste. Secundo, qui thesaurizat in terris, dupliciter facit peccatum. Primum, quia male congregat: secondo, qui cor habens in terra, numquam quae Dei sunt recordatur, sed semper quae terrae. Et qui thesaurizat in caelo dupliciter justitiam facit. Primum, quia bene foenerat: secundo, quia spem habens in Deo, semper quae Dei sunt cogitat et mediatatur, et non quae terrae. Et quamadmodum qui semel congregare coeperit in terra, ipsa concupiscentia terrena facit eum magis sollicitum esse, nec solum ne minuat inde, sed ut magis augeat: sic et qui thesaurizat in caelo, ipsa concupiscentia spiritualis facit eum sollicitum, non solum ut non perdat quod habet, sed adhuc ut augeat super id quod habet. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XV  Source: Migne PG 56.747

For where your treasure is, there will be your heart. 1 He who gathers treasure on earth does not have hope in heaven. Why should he look to heaven, where he has nothing stored up? Therefore if he is happy, he is happy in carnal and worldly things, or if he is sad, he grieves over carnal and worldly things. But he who stores up his wealth in heaven, he has no hope on earth. Why would he delight in the world who has nothing in the world? Therefore if he is happy, he is happy in spiritual things, and if he is sad he grieves over spiritual things. So the joy of sinners is evil, and their grief is worse, because either they take joy in worldly wealth or grieve over its loss. But the joy of the righteous is good, and their grief better, because they are joyful on account of righteousness, or sorrowful over sin. If some cause of death nears, if a man's hope is in the world, he grieves, as if going into exile from his own house, I shall not say to torment. But if his hope is in heaven, he rejoices as if returning to his own proper house, I shall not say to the kingdom of heaven. Secondly he who heaps up on the earth, commits a twofold sin. Firstly because he gathers in error, secondly because he who has his heart on the world, is never mindful of the things of God, but always of the things of the world. And he who heaps up in heaven makes a twofold righteousness. Firstly because he harvests wisely, secondly, because he has hope in God, he always thinks and meditates on the things of God. And as he who has once began to gather on earth, because of his worldly desire, takes care to make his treasure grow, not only that it not diminish but that it increase, so it is with him who heaps up in heaven, that because of his spiritual desire, he has care to make his treasure grow, not only that he not lose what he has, but that it grow greater than what he has. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 15 1 Mt 6.21

Bringing Glory And Honour

Ἐνέγκατε τῷ Κύρίῳ δόξαν καὶ τιμήν... Ἐνέγκατε τῷ Κύρίῳ, φησὶ, δόξαν καὶ τιμήν. Πῶς οὖν ἡμεῖς, ἡ γῆ καὶ σποδὸς, τᾧ μεγαλῷ Κύρίῳ δόξαν προσφέρομεν; πῶς δὲ καὶ τιμήν; Δόξαν μὲν διὰ τῶν ἀγὰθῶν ἔργων, ὅταν λάμπῃ τὰ ἔργα ἡμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὥστε ἰδόντες τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τὰ ἔργα ἡμῶν δοξάσαι τὸν Πατέρα ἡμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Καὶ διὰ σωφροσύνης καὶ τοῦ ἐπιβάλλοντος τοῖς τὴν εὐσέβειαν ἐπαγγελομένοις ἁγιασμοῦ δοξάσαι δυνατόν ἐστι τὸν Θεὸν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Παύλου παραίνεσιν, λέγοντος· Δοξάσατε δὴ τὸν Θεὸν ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ὑμῶν. Ταύτην καὶ ἀπειτεῖ παρὰ τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν πιστευόντων καὶ τῷ χαρίσματι τῆς υἱοθεσίας τετιμημένων τὴν δόξαν ὁ Κύριος. Υἱὸς γὰρ φησὶν, δοξὰζει πατέρα· καὶ Εἰ πατήρ εἰμι ἐγὼ, ποῦ ἔστιν ἡ δόξα μου; Τιμὴν δὲ φέρει τῷ Θεῷ ὁ κατὰ τὴν Παροιμίαν τιμῶν τὸν Θεὸν ἀπὸ τῶν δικαίων ἑαυτοῦ πόνων, καὶ ἀπαρχόμενος αὐτῷ ἀπὸ καρπῶν αὐτοῦ δικαιοσύνης. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον Ψαλμον ΚΗ´ Source: Migne PG 29.283b-c

Bring to the Lord glory and honour... 1 'Bring to the Lord,' he says 'glory and honour.' And how do we, who are earth and ash, bring glory to the Lord on High? How do we bring Him honour? It is by  glory through good works, when our deeds shine before men, so that they who know our works give glory to our Father in heaven. 2 And similarly by temperance and holiness, to those who profess piety, it is possible that there shall come praise to God, according to the exhortation of Paul, who says, 'Glorify God in your members.' 3 Indeed this is the glory that God requires from those who believe in Him, and who are worthy of the gift of adoption. 'For a son,' it is said, 'glorifies the father.' And 'If I am a father where is my glory?' 4 He who brings glory to God, according to Proverbs, is he who honours God by his righteous labours and gives to Him the first fruits of his righteousness. 5 Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 28 1 Ps 28.2 2 Mt 5.16 3 1 Cor 5.20 4 Malachi 2.6 5 Prov 3.9

We Are Trees

Arbores sumus, fratres, in agro dominico constitutae. Deus est autem noster agricola: ille nos compluit, ille colit, ipse fecunditatem donat, ipse fructificandi gratiam subministrat. Pluvia Dei est sermo sanctae praedictionis, cultura Dei est infusio gratiae spiritalis. Deus igitur praecepto nos compluit, adjutorio colit. Dum compluit, aufert a nobis ignorantiae siccitatem; dum colit, bene vivendi condonat ubertatem; dum pluit, terram nostri cordis irrigat; dum vero colit, de ipsa terra spinas et tribulos mundanae cupiditatis exstirpat. Debemus itaque fecundari coelestibus pluviis, debemus congrua fructificatione manibus superni respondere cultoris. Et si non possunt omnes arbores aequales fructus afferre, nulla tamen debet in agro dominico sterilis permanere. Sanctus Fulgentius Ruspensis, Sermo Primus, De Dispensatoribus Domini Source: Migne 65.722c

We are trees, brothers, planted in the field of the Lord. God is our farmer, He waters us, He tends, He gives fecundity, He supplies the grace of fruitfulness. The rain of God is the word of holy preaching, the tending of God is the infusion of spiritual grace. God, then, waters us with precept, tends us with aid. While He waters He takes from us the aridity of ignorance; while He tends, He gives the richness of good living; while He rains He irrigates the earth of our hearts; while He tends He pulls up the thorns and thistles of worldly desires. Thus we should be fruitful by the heavenly rains and return appropriate fruits to the supernal hands of the farmer. And if we cannot all be equal in the fruits we bring forth, there should be no sterility in the field of the Lord. Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, from Sermon 1, On The Stewards of the Lord

An Empty House

Vis videre mundatam, ornatam et vacantem domum? Hominem intuere qui confessus est, et deseruit manifesta peccata praecedentia ad judicium, et nunc solas movet manus ad opera mandatorum, corde penitus arido, ductus consuetudine quadam, plane quasi vitula Ephraim, docta diligere trituram. Exteriorum quae ad modicum valent, ne unum iota praeterit aut apicem unum; sed camelum glutit, dum culicem liquat. In corde enim servus est propriae voluntatis, cultor avaritiae, gloriae cupidus, ambitionis amator; aut haec omnia, aut singula quaeque intus vitia fovens: et mentitur iniquitas sibi, sed Deus non irridetur. Videas enim interdum sic palliatum hominem, ut seducat etiam semetipsum, penitus non attendens vermem, qui interiora depascitur. Manet enim superficies, et salva sibi omnia arbitratur. Comederunt, ait propheta, alieni robur ejus, et ignoravit. Dicit: Quia dives sum, et nullius egeo: cum sit pauper, et miser, et miserabilis. Nam et inventa occasione ebullire saneim, quae latebat in ulcere, et excisam, non exstirpatam arborem in silvam pullulare videas densiorem. Quod periculum si volumus declinare, securim ponamus necesse est ad radices arborum, non ad ramos. Non sola inveniatur in nobis exercitatio corporalis, ad modicum valens: sed inveniatur utilis ad omnia pietas, et exercitium spirituale. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermo II, Sermones De Sanctis, De Domo Mundanda, Ornanda, Implenda Source: Migne PL 183.419d-420b

You wish to to see a house clean and adorned and empty? Look to a man who has confessed and has forsaken overt sin before judgement and now sets his hands only to the works of the commandments, with a heart utterly dry, led by a certain custom, certainly as the heifer of Ephraim trained to love the threshing. 1 On the outside for a little while he flourishes, not omitting one iota or dot, but he swallows the camel while he strains out the gnat. 2 In his heart he is a slave to his own will, a worshipper of avarice, desirous of glory, a lover of ambition, and all these, or each one, nurtures the evil within, and iniquity deludes itself, but God is not mocked. 3 See meanwhile that a man who is so cloaked seduces even himself, so that he does not at all attend to the worm which feeds on him within. In appearance all things are judged to be well with him. The prophet says: 'Foreigners devoured his strength and he did not know it.' 4 He says: 'Rich I am and I need nothing, when he is poor, and wretched and pitiful.' 5 For even if there is occasion when the pus which was hidden in the ulcer boils over, and it is excised, the tree is not uprooted which you see shoots put forth in the deeper wood. If you wish to avoid that danger, it is necessary to place an axe to the roots of the tree, not to the branches. 6 Let there not be found in us only corporeal exertions, in which we flourish for a little time, but let what is useful to all piety be found in spiritual exertions. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, from Sermon 2, On The Saints, That a house should be clean, adorned and filled 1 Hosea 10.11 2 Mt 23.24 3 Galat 6.7 4 Hosea 7.9 5 Apoc 3.7 6 Mt 3.10

Truth And Freedom

Et vos cognoscetis veritatem, et veritas liberabit vos. Tria dicit, quae faciunt hominem rectum. Primum est rectitudo affectus, et hoc notatur in discipulatu Christi; secundum, rectitudo intellectus, et hoc in cognitione veritatis; tertium, rectitudo effectus per liberationem a culpa, et hoc notatur in liberatione veritatis. Vel: discipuli eritis in via per imitationem; veritatem cognoscetis in animae beatificatione ; et veritate liberabimini ab omni corruptione in animae et corporis felici unione; ad Romanos octavo: Ipsa creatura liberabitur a servitute corruptionis in libertatem gloriae flliorum Dei. Responderunt ei. Tangitur hic secundum, scilicet quomodo liberatio promissa a ludaeis parvipenditur, quia ipsi se liberos reputabant; unde gloriantur de libertate et non curant de liberatione. Propterea dicunt ei: Semen Abrahae sumus et nemini servivimus unquam; et ita liberi sumus per naturam; quomodo tu dicis: Liberi eritis, quasi modo non simus liberi? Ideo dicebant se liberos, quia nati de Abraham per Isaac, qui filius fuit liberae, secundum quod dicitur ad Galatas quarto: Eiice anciliam et filium eius; dictum est de Agar; non enim heres erit filius ancillae cum filio liberae, et tractum est de Genesis vigesimo primo. Respondit eis lesus. Tangitur hic tertium, quia necessitas liberationis ostenditur; et ostendit eos servos, et quod habent opus liberatione et quomodo liberantur. Quod ergo sint servi spiritualiter, ostendit tali ratione: Qui facit peccatum servus est peccati; sed vos facitis peccatum: ergo vos estis servi peccati. Minorem huius rationis tacet, quia infra eam exprimit, et conclusionem tacet; sed proponit maiorem dicens: Amen, amen dico vobis : Qui facit peccatum servus est peccati. Hoc probat beatus Petrus in secundae Canonicae secundo: A quo quis superatus est, huius et servus est. Haec est pessima servitus; unde Augustinus: Miserabilis servitus ! Servus hominis aliquando, sui domini duris imperiis fatigatus, fugiendo requiescit; servus vero peccati quo fugit? Secum trahit malam conscientiam, quocumque eat; quia, quocumque vadit , a se non recedit. Sic patet eos esse servos; et ex hoc probat, quod indigent liberatione, tali ratione: qui non manet in domo in aeternum indiget liberari ab eo qui manet, et per eum potest liberari; sed servus non manet, Filius autem manet: ergo servus per Filium indiget et potest liberari. Sed vos estis servi, ut supra dictum est: si ergo vos Filius liberaverit, vere liberi eritis. Servus non manet in domo in aeternum, Filius manet in aeternum. Augustinus exponit: Qui est servus peccati non manet in domo in aeternum, id est flnaliter, quamvis possit esse de praesenti Ecclesia quantum ad numerum. Tales servi, etsi sint in domo cum bonis , tamen non habent vestem nuptialem; ideo eiiciuntur, secundum illud Matthaei vigesimo secundo: Amice, quomodo huc intrasti, non habens vestem nuptialem? Et post subditur: Proiicite eum in tenebras exteriores. Si ergo Filius vos liberaverit,vere liberi eritis, ille, inquam, Filius solus est liber, quia solus sine peccato; unde in Psalmo: Factus sum sicut homo sine adiutorio, inter mortuos liber. Et ratio redditur infra decimo quarto : Venit princeps mundi huius et in me non habet quidquam. Iste Filius liber, ut nos liberaret, factus est pro nobis quasi servus; ad Philippenses secundo: Humiliavit semetipsum, formam servi accipiens etc. Hic igitur nos liberavit redimendo; Isaiae quinquagesimo secundo: Gratis venundati estis, et sine argento redimemini; quia, sicut dicitur primae Petri primo, non corruptibilibus auro vel argento redempti estis, sed pretioso sanguine quasi Agni immaculati et incontaminati, Christi lesu. Non, inquam, ut iterum simus servi, sed liberi; unde ad Galatas quinto: Vos, inquit, fratres, in libertatem vocati estis, tantum ne libertatem in occasionem detis carnis sed per caritatem spiritus servite invicem Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput VIII Source: Here, p773-6

'And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.' 1 He speaks of three things which make a man right. Firstly the rightness of love, and this is noted in the discipleship of Christ, secondly the rightness of the intellect, and this is the knowledge of truth, and the third is the rightness of the effect in the liberation from fault, and this is noted in the liberation of truth. Or: you shall be disciples in the way by imitation, you shall know the truth in the beatification of your soul, and you shall be freed in the truth from every corruption of soul and body in the blessed union, as in the eighth chapter of Romans: 'This creation shall be liberated from the servitude of corruption in the liberty of the glory of the sons of God.' 2 'They answered Him....' This touches on the second point, that is, the promised freedom weighs little on the Jews because they think themselves free, whence they glory in freedom and do not have care for it. Therefore they say to him: 'We are the seed of Abraham and we have never served anyone, and thus we are naturally free. How do you say we will be free as if we were not free?' 3 Therefore they named themselves free because they were born of Abraham through Isaac, who was the son of the free woman, concerning which it is said in the fourth chapter of Galatians: 'Cast out the slave woman and her son', which is Agar, 'the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.' and as it is written in the twenty first chapter of Genesis. 4 'Jesus says to them...' Here the third point is touched upon, because He shows the necessity of liberation, and He shows them to be slaves, and that they have the work of freedom to do, and how they are liberated. Because, then, they are spiritual slaves, He reveals it by such reason: 'He who sins is a slave to sin.' 5 You sin therefore you are slaves to sin. This minor premise is unspoken, because it is expressed within it, and the conclusion is also unspoken, and he sets forth the major, saying, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, He who sins is a slave to sin.' The blessed Peter approves this in the second chapter of the second canonical epistle: 'By what a man is ruled, he is its slave.' 6 This is the worse servitude. Whence Augustus says: 'Wretched servitude. Sometimes the slave of a man, exhausted by the commands of a hard master, finds peace in flight, but where will a servant of sin flee? He drags his evil conscience with him wherever he may go, because wherever he goes, he does not depart from himself.' 7 So it is evident they are slaves, and with this He proves they need liberation, with such reason: he who does not remain in the house forever is in need of being freed by the one who does remain, and by him he is able to be freed, but the slave does not remain, the Son does. Therefore the slave has need of the Son, so that he can be freed. But you are slaves, as was said above, 'If therefore the son has liberated you, truly you will be free.' 8 'The slave does remain in the house forever, the son remains forever.' Augustine explains: 'He who is a servant of sin does not remain in the house forever, that is, until the end, although it is possible for him to be numbered among the present Church. Such slaves, even if there are in a house full of good things, yet do not have the wedding garment, and therefore they are cast out, according to the twenty second chapter of Matthew: 'Friend, how to you come in here without a wedding garment?' And after: 'Throw him out into the outer darkness.' 9 'If therefore the son has liberated you, truly you will be free.' The Son alone, I say, is free, because He alone is without sin, whence it is said in the Psalm: 'I am made like a man without a helper, a free man among the dead.' 10 And the reason he gives later in the fourteenth chapter here: 'The prince of the world comes and in me he finds nothing.' 11 This son is free, so that He might free us, He who was made as a slave for us, according to the second chapter of Philippians: 'He humbled Himself, taking on the form of a slave...' 12 He then frees us with a ransom. In the fifty second chapter of Isaiah: 'You were sold for nothing and without silver you shall be bought,' 13 because as it is said in the first chapter of the first letter of Peter: 'You were not redeemed with corruptible gold or silver but with the precious blood of the immaculate and spotless lamb, Jesus Christ.' 14 And not, I say, that we become slaves again but that we be free, whence in the fifth chapter of Galatians: 'You, brothers, have been called to freedom, only do not let your freedom become an occasion for the indulgence of the flesh, but serve one another in the spirit of love.' 15 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 8 1 Jn 8.32 2 Rom 8.21 3 Jn 8.33 4 Galat 4.30, Gen. 21.10 5 Jn 8.34 6 2 Pet 2.19 7 August Tractates On John 41.4 8 Jn 8.35-36 9 August Tractates On John 41.8, Mt 22.12-13 10 Ps 87.6 11 Jn 14.30 12 Phil 2.7 13 Isaiah 52.3 14 1 Pet 1.18-19 15 Galat 5.13

Captivity And Servitude

Super flumina Babylonis illic sedimus et flevimus... Itaque et hanc corporalem populi captivitatem, referri in exemplum spiritalis captivitatis oportet. Captae enim mentes nostrae sunt corporum saeculique dominatu, captae a daemonibus sunt jure vitiorum, quae imperium in nos summ per diversa ministeriorum genera exercent: dum nos ebrietas possidet, dum luxus subigit, dum avaritia devincit, dum ambitio occupat, dum malevolentia obtinet, dum ira usurpat, dum omnia in nobis regnant haec incentiva vitiorum. Venit enim Dominus, secundum prophetam, captivitatem avertere, cum dicitur. Praedicare captivis remissonem. Venit ligatos solvere, cum ait: Hanc filiam Abrahae, quam ligaverat Satanas decem et octo annis, nonne oportuit solvi in die sabbati? Venit servientes in libertatem deducere, dicens: Amen, dico vobis, quoniam omnis qui fact peccatum, servus est peccati. Servus autem non manet in domo in aeternum, filius manet in aeternum. Si vero Filius vos liberaverit, vere liberi eritis. Capimur ergo et ligamur et servimus, non tam corpore, quam et mente. Et mihi in praesenti psalmo omnis virtus et ratio verborum non tam corporlem captivitatem tractare, quam spiritalem videtur. Ea enim et in querelis et in incolis, et in rebus et in nominibus momenta sunt, ut spiritalem potius captivitaem haec lamentabilis Prophetae querela significet. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXXXVI Source: Migne PL 9.778a-c

By the rivers of Babylon where we sat and wept...1 This corporeal captivity of the people should direct as an example of spiritual captivity. For our minds our captive when they are dominated by corporeal and worldly things, when by the vices they are rightly made captive by demons, which exert rule over us through many types of activity: when we are inebriated, when we are subjugated by luxury, when we are conquered by avarice, when ambition seizes us, when malevolence grips us, when wrath rises up in us, when all the provocations of the vices reign in us. And the Lord comes, according to the prophet, to cast aside captivity. 2 He preaches freedom to captives. He comes to undo bonds when He says, 'This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years, should she not be freed on the Sabbath day?' 3 He comes to lead slaves to liberty, saying: 'Behold, I say to you that everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. A servant does not remain in the house forever, a son remains forever. If the Son has liberated you, truly you shall be free.' 4 Thus we are seized and bound and made slaves, not so much in the body but rather in the soul. And it seems to me that in this Psalm all the force and the reason of the words does not speak so much of corporeal captivity but rather of spiritual servitude. For these sorrowful complaints of the prophet spoken in grief and exile, even the use of things and names, signify rather a spiritual captivity. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 136 1 Ps 136.1 2 Isaiah 61.1, Lk 4.18 3 Lk 13.16 4 Jn 8.31-36

Slave And Free

Caeterum quod ad moralem pertinet locum, quia omnes vult salvos fieri Dominus Deus noster, dedit per Joseph etiam iis qui sunt in servitute solatium: attribuit magisterium; ut discerent etiam in ultima conditione posse mores esse superiores, nec ullum statum immunem esse virtutis, si animus se uniuscujusque cognoscat: carnem servituti subditam esse, non mentem: multosque servulos esse dominis liberiores, si in servitute positi a servilibus putent operibus abstinendum. Servile est omne peccatum, libera est innocentia. Unde et Dominus ait: 'Omnis qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati. Quomodo enim non servus omnis avarus, qui pro exiguo pecuniae lucello se ipsum auctionatur? Timet omnia, ne congesta amittat, qui non utenda congessit, majore periculo servaturus quo majora quaesivit. Quomodo non mendicus, cui sunt parva quae possidet? Nam etsi mihi dives videatur, sibi eget: nec testimoniis sua vota solatur, qui quod optat nescit credere. Quomodo autem non et ille servus, qui subditus est libidini? Primum suis ardet incendiis, et pectoris sui facibus exuritur. Quibus recte dicit propheta: Ambulate in lumine ignis vestri, et in flamma quam accendistis. Suscepit omnes metus, insidiatur somno singulorum; ut unius cupiditate potiatur, fit servus omnium. Servit igitur hanc miseram quidem servitutem, qui ipse sibi dominos facit, ipse vult habere quos timeat. Nihil enim tam speciale servitutis est, quam semper timere ille vero in quavis conditione servitii semper liber, qui mundi amore non capitur, avaritiae vinculis non tenetur, metu criminis non alligatur, qui securus spectat praesentia, quem futura non terrent. Nonne videtur tibi iste in servitude dominari: ille autem in libertate servire? Serviebat Joseph, regnabat Pharao: beatior hujus servitus, quam regnum illius. Denique tota Aegyptus collapsa esset fame, nisi regnum suum consilio servuli subdidisset. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Jospeph Patriarca, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 14.649c-650b

There are other things which pertain to the moral of this passage. Because the Lord wishes everyone to be saved, He gave through Joseph a comfort to those who are in a state of servitude, he gave a teaching, that they learn even in this least condition to be greater in conduct, for there is no pure state of virtue if a man does not know his soul. The flesh may be subdued to slavery but not the mind, and many slaves are more free than masters if placed in slavery they think to abstain from slavish works. Every sin is slavish, innocence is freedom. Whence the Lord said, 'Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.' 1 For how is every avaricious man not a slave, who for the least profit of money will even put himself up for sale? He who fears everything, lest it take what he has heaped up, useless things that he hoards, so the greater peril shall be his slavery by the more he has sought. How is he not a beggar to whom whatever he possesses is little? For even if he seems rich to me, he is poor to himself, nor shall the witnesses of his vows free him, he who because of his desire does not know how to believe. How is he not a slave who is conquered by lust? First he burns with his own flame and he kindles the torch of his own heart. Concerning which the prophet rightly said: 'Walk in the light of your fire and in the flame which you have kindled. 2 All sorts of fear seize him and his sleep is troubled by every one of them, so that having one desire, he is made a slave of many things. Thus he who is a slave in this miserable state of servitude, who makes masters for himself, let him fear what he wishes to have. Nothing is a greater mark of slavery than always to be fearful. Truly anyone who is in any state of slavery may be free who is not snared by the love of the world, and is not held by the chains of avarice, who is not bound by fear because of crime, who may securely look at the present, who is not terrified by the future. Does it seem to you this one in servitude rules and that one in freedom serves? Joseph served, Pharaoh ruled, happier was the servant than his king. Certainly all Egypt would have fallen into famine unless he had given his kingdom to the counsel of a slave. Saint Ambrose, On The Patriarch Joseph, Chap 4 1 Jn 8.34 2 Isaiah 50.11

A Good Example

Sed si benefacientes, patienter sustinetis... Notandum attentius quam summe conditionem servorum glorificet, quos benefacientes et absque culpa, vapulantes a dominis crudelibus et improbis, imitatores esse dominicae passionis affirmat. Audis autem quia passus est pro nobis, et gaudes quia pro te mortuus est, attende quod sequitur: Relinquens vobis exemplum ut sequamini vestigia ejus. Exemplum tribulationum non deliciarum, contumeliarum, flagellorum, dolorum, opprobriorum, spinarum, crucis, vulnerum, mortis. In psalmo scriptum est: Propter verba labiorum turoum ego custodivi vias duras. Propter quae verba labiorum Dei nisi quibus promittit vitam aeternam? Sancta Beda, In Primam Epistolam Sancti Petri, Cap II Source: Migne PL 93.54a-b

But if doing good, you patiently endure...1 It must be noted with all attention how he highly glorifies the the state of slaves, who doing good and lacking fault, are beaten by their cruel and immoral masters, affirming them to be imitators of the Lord's passion. And you who hear that He suffered for us, and rejoice that He died for us, look to what follows: Leaving to you an example, that you follow in His steps. 2 An example of tribulations not pleasures, of contumely, of whippings, of sorrow, of shame, of thorns, of the cross, of wounds, of death. In the Psalm it is written: 'Because of the words of your lips I have kept the hard ways.' 3 And because of what words of the Lord, unless the promise of eternal life? Saint Bede, Commentary on the First Letter of Peter, Chap 2 1 1 Pet 2.20 2 1 Pet 2.21 3 Ps 16.4

Mercy And Rejoicing

Τὸν δὲ ἐλπίζοντα ἐπὶ Κύριον ἔλεος κυκλώσει. Ἄπαντες γὰρ ἄνθρωποι, εἰ καὶ τοῖς τῆς ἀρετῆς καλλωπίζονται κατορθώμασι, τῆς θείας προσδέονται χάριτος· διὸ δὴ καὶ ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος βοᾷ· Χάριτί ἐστε σεσωμένοι διὰ τῆς πίστεως· καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν· Θεοῦ τὸ δῶρον. Εὐφράνθητε ἐπὶ Κύριον, καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, δικαιοι, καὶ καυχᾰσθε, πάντες οἱ εὐθεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ. Μηδεὶς τοίνυν ἐπὶ τοῖς οἰκείοις κατορθώμασιν ἀγαλλέσθω, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῷ Θεῷ μέγα φρονείτω, καὶ τὴν ἐντεῦθεν θυμηδίαν καρπούσθω. Καὶ τοῦτο τοῖς ἀποστολικοῖς ἔοικε ῥητοῖς, Ὁ καυχώμενος ἐν Κυρίῳ καυχάσθαω. Καὶ Ὁ δοκῶν ἐστάναι, βλεπέτω μὴ πέσῃ. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ πνεύματι πραότητος παιδεύειν παρεγγυᾷ· Σκοπῶν, φησὶ, σεαυτὸν, μὴ καὶ σὺ πειρασθῇς. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΛΑ´ Source: Migne PG 80.1092c-1093a

Mercy shall surround the one who hopes in the Lord 1 For all men, if they are adorned with the correct deeds of virtue are in receipt of Divine grace. So the blessed Apostle cries out: 'By grace you are saved through faith, and not from yourselves, for it is the gift of God.' 2 Rejoice in the Lord and exalt, you righteous ones, and glory, all you with good hearts. Therefore let no one rejoice in correct deeds, but let a man exalt in God and there seize his joy. And the Apostolic words agree with this: 'He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.' 3 And: 'He who stands, let him look that he does not fall.' 4 Therefore he teaches us to correct with a spirit of lenity, saying, 'Consider yourself, lest even you be tempted.' 5 Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 31 1 Ps 31.10 2 Ephes 2.8 3 2 Cor 10.17 4 1 Cor 10.12 5 Galat 6.1

The Least Of All

Et residens vocavit duodecim, et ait illis: Si quis vult primus esse, erit omnium novissimus, et omnium minister. Haec instructio duo continet, scilicet, doctrinam et exemplum. De doctrina dicit, et residens, ut quieto animo, et non ex commotione animi loqui videretur. Non contendet, neque clamavbit, neque audietur foris vox eius. 'Vocavit ad se duodecim' quia illi disputaverant. Alii enim discipuli non erant electi ad dignitates maiores, sed potius in partem solicitudinis erant vocati, sicut dicitur. 'Et ait illis' instruendo ad formam humilitatis 'si quis vult' qui tamen rarus est, quia omnes cum diabolo petunt ascendere. In caelum conscendam, supr astera caeli locabo solium meum, sedebo in monte restanmenti in lateribus Aquilonis, et similis ero Altissimo. Et perrarus est qui cum Christo descendere veli et humiliari. Recumbe in novissimo loco. 'Si' ergo est 'quis' qui rarus est: qui 'vult' ex propria electione et prompto animo. Si voluntas prompta est, secundum id quod habet, accepta est. Nihil autem ita habet in promptu sicut humilitatem: quia causam humilitationis habet in seipso. Quid superbis terra et cinis. 'Primus esse apud Patrem et apud me. 'Erit' reputatione sua, 'omnium novissimus.'Quia sic novissimi erunt primi, et primi novissimi. Sic enim erit Christo similior, de quo dicitur. Exinaniuit semetispum formam servi accipiens. Sic doctrinae eius Discipulus. Discite a me quia mitis sum et humilis corde. Sic ad gratiam Dei Patris idoneus. Deus superbis resistit: humilibus autem dat gratiam. Sic deitatis receptaculum et templum. Respexit humilitatem ancillae suae. Sic locus beatorum Dei pedum, si se ex humilitate omnibus praebet conculcandum: et ideo dicitur, Locus scabelli pedum meorum, ubi habito in medio filiorum Israel. Hic locus pedum meorum, est locus humilis scabelli infimi cordis, quod omnibus se praebet conculcandum. Caelum sedes mea, terra scabellum pedum meorum. Quae est ista domus quam aedificabitis mihi? et qui est iste locus quieris meae? Omnia hac manus mea fecit, et facta sunt universa ista, dicit Dominus. Ad quem autem respicuiam nisi ad pauperculum et contritum spiritu, et trementem sermones meos. Sic ergo et istis de causis sit novissimus. 'Et minister' offico et actu: ut corde fit novissimus, et actione minister. Augustinus Honore coram vobis Praelatus sit, vobis timore coram Deo substratus fit pedibus vestris. Minister autem est formam servi accipiens, et transiens, et ministrans. Ego in medio vestrum sum, sicut qui ministrat. Levitae ministri erunt fratrum suorum in tabernaculo foederis. Sic nos existimet homo ut Christi ministros: et dispensatores mysterii Dei. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput IX Source: Here p103

And sitting down he called the twelve to Himself, and He said to them, 'If someone wishes to be first, he shall be the least of all and the servant of all.' 1 This teaching contains two things, that is, instruction and example. Concerning instruction He speaks, 'sitting down,' that He shall be seen to speak with a quiet soul and not from a troubled one. 'He shall not contend nor cry out, nor shall his voice be heard in the street.' 2 'He called the twelve to Himself,' because they had been arguing. For the other disciples were not elected to greater dignity but rather they were called to care, as is said. 'And He said to them,' instructing them in the form of humility. 'If someone wishes,' which however is rare because all desire to ascend with the devil. 'Into heaven I shall rise, above the stars I shall place my throne, I shall sit on the mountain, in the sides of the north, and I shall be like the Most High.' 3 Most rare is the one who wishes to lower himself with Christ and be humble. 'Sit in the lowest seat' 4 'If,' therefore there is 'someone' who is rare, who 'wishes,' by his own choice and ability of soul. 'If the will is eager, according to its means, it is acceptable.' 5 And nothing it has so easily within reach for it as humility, for it has the cause of its humility in itself. 'Why so proud, earth and ashes?' 6 'To be first,' with the Father and with Me. 'He shall be,' his reputation, 'the least of all.' 'Because the last will be first, the first will be last.' 7 So he will be like Christ, concerning whom it is said, 'Having emptied Himself he took on the form of a slave.' 8 Such is the disciple of His teaching. 'Learn from me because I am meek and humble of heart.' 9 So suitable for the grace of God the Father. 'God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.' 10 So he is the receptacle and temple of God. 'He has looked on the humility of His handmaid.' 11 So the place is at the blessed feet of God, if by his own humility a man offers himself to all to be trodden on, and therefore it is said: 'Here is the footstool of my feet, where I dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel.' 12 Here is the place of my feet, which is the humble footstool of the lowly heart, because to everyone he offers himself to be trodden on. 'Heaven is my throne, earth the footstool of my feet. What is this house you have built for me? And what is this place where you will have me rest? My hand made everything, so everything was made. On whom shall I look but the poor and contrite in spirit, and he who trembles at my words?' 13 By these things one may be the least. 'And a servant' in office and deed, that with the heart one be least, and in deed a servant. Augustine: 'Let a prelate have honour before you, but let him have fear before God as beneath your feet. 14 For the minister takes on the form a slave, in his going and in his serving. 'I am in the midst of you as one who serves.' 15 'The Levites were servants of their brothers in the tabernacle of the covenant.' 16 'So a man judges us as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.' 17 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 9 1 Mk 9.35 2 Isaiah 42.2 3 Isaiah 14.13-14 4 Lk 14.10 5 2 Cor 8.12 6 Sirach 10.9 7 Mt 20.16 8 Philip 2.7 9 Mt 11.29 11 James 4.6, 1 Pet 5.5 11 Lk 1.48 12 Ezek 43.7 13 Isaiah 66.1-2 14 August Rule 7.3 15 Lk 22.27 16 Num 8.26 17 1 Cor 4.1

Understanding What Is Given

Vobis datum est nosse mysteria regni coelorum, illis autem non est datum. Audiant Pelagiani, qui sine gratia Dei quidquam se habere jactitant, quoniam nihil sine dono Dei percipitur. Unde Apostolus: Quid habes quod non accepisti? Propterea nemo praesumat de se, quia nihil habet ex se, nisi sola delicta. Accedat igitur alacer, fide devotus, gratia firmus in charitate, ut audiat cum apostolis in navi, ut intelligat quod datum est illis, quia quod illis et datum est, omnibus est repromissum. Magnum igitur est quod illis datum est nosse, quia haec est vita aeterna, ut cognoscant te solum verum Deum, et, quem misisti, Jesum Christum. Cognitio quippe haec magnum est sacramentum, unde dictum est: Regnum Dei intra vos est. Et quia hoc vere crediderant apostoli, habebant non ex se, sed ex dono Dei jam illud in quo est vita aeterna. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Lib VII Cap XIII Source: Migne PL 120.485b

To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, to them it has not been given. 1 Let the Pelagians hear, they who without the grace of God boast that they have something in themselves, because nothing is received without the giving of God. Whence the Apostle says: 'What do you have that you have not received?' 2 Therefore let no one presume about himself, because from himself he has nothing, unless only faults. So let him come cheerfully, devout in faith, firm in charity by grace, that he hear with the Apostles in the boat, that he understand what is given to them, because what is given to them is promised to all. Great is that which was given to them to know, because this is life eternal, 'that they know you, the only true God, and Him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.' 3 This knowledge is a great mystery, whence it is said: 'The kingdom of God is within you.' 4 And that the Apostles truly believed this, they had not from themselves, but from the gift of God, that in which already is life eternal. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 7, Chap 13 1 Mt 13.11 2 1 Cor 4.7 3 Jn 17.3 4 Lk 17.21

The Clean

Dicit ei Simon Petrus: Domine, non tantum pedes meos, sed et manus, et caput. Dicit ei Jesus: Qui lotus est, non indiget nisi ut pedes lavet, sed est mundus totus. Et vos mundi estis... Commedans ergo Apostolos, Veritas ait: Vos mundi estis; mundi, inquam, munditia cordis, munditia oris, munditia operis, et munditia conversationis. Vulgariter enim solemus mundare quatuor, scilicet faciem, os, manus et vestes. Per hunc modum lavant justi faciem cordis; Tobiae tertio ait Sara: Tu scis, Domine, quia numquam concupivi virum et mundam servavi animam meam ab omni concupiscentia; de hoc secundae ad Corinthios septimo: Mundemus nos ab omni inquinamento carnis et spiritus, perficientes sanctificationem. Hanc petebat David in Psalmo, cum dicebat: Cor mundum crea in me, Deus; hoc praecipitur Isaiae primo: Lavamini, mundi estote, etc. Item mundum habent sermonem oris, quod habebat Iob, undecimo, qui dicebat: Purus est, Domine, sermo meus, et mundus sum in conspectu tuo. Hanc monet Apostolus ad Ephesios quinto: Fornicatio et immunditia non nominetur in vobis. Item, munda habent manus operis, quod habebat ille, Genesis vigesimo, qui dicebat: In simplicate cordis mei et in munditia manuum mearum feci hoc, et secundi Regum vigesimo secundo: Restituet mihi Dominus secundum iustitiam meam, et secundum munditiam manuum mearum in conspectu oculorum eius. De hac Iob vigesimo secundo: Salvabitur innocens munditia manuum suarum. Item, mundam habent iusti vestem conversationis, ad quam hortabatur Iacob filios suos, dicens Genesis trigsimo quinto: Abiicite deos alienos, qui in medio vestri sunt, et mundamini et mutate vestimenta vestra. Sic ergo habent munditiam vultus, munditiam oris, munditiam manuum et munditiam vestium Sancti, quibus dicitur a Domino: Vos mundi estis. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XIII, Collatio LI Source: Here, p599

Peter said to Him, 'Lord, wash not only my feet, but my hands and my head.' Jesus said to him, 'A man who has bathed does not need to do any more than wash his feet, but he is clean all over. And you are clean...' 1 Therefore commending the Apostles, the Truth says, 'You are clean.' And clean, I say, in cleanliness of heart, of mouth, of works, and of conduct. Commonly we are accustomed to be clean in four ways, that is, regarding the face, the mouth, the hands, and clothes. In this way the righteous wash the face of the heart: In the third chapter of Tobit Sara says:'You know, O Lord, that I have never lusted for a man, and I have kept my soul clean from all concupiscence.' 2 In the seventh chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians: 'Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of the flesh and spirit, perfecting sanctification.' 3 David seeks this in the Psalm when he says: 'Make my heart clean, O Lord.' 4 This is commanded in the first chapter of Isaiah: 'Wash yourselves, be clean...' 5 The same cleanliness they have in the word of the mouth which Job had in the eleventh chapter: 'My word is pure, O Lord, and I am clean in your sight.' 6 The Apostle gives warning about this in the fifth chapter of Ephesians: 'Let not fornication and uncleanliness but named among you.' 7 Likewise they have cleanliness in works, which he had in the twentieth chapter of Genesis, who said: 'In the simplicity of my heart and with clean hands I did this.' 8 And in the twenty second chapter of the second book of Kings:'Let the Lord return to me according to my righteousness and according to the cleanliness of my hands in the sight of His eyes.' 9 Concerning this in the twenty second chapter of Job: 'The innocent shall be saved by the cleanliness of their hands.' 10 Likewise the righteous have cleanliness in the clothing of conduct, to which Jacob exhorts his sons, saying in the thirty fifth chapter of Genesis: 'Cast out foreign gods from among you, and be clean and change your garments.' 11 Thus they have cleanliness of face, of mouth, of hands, of clothing, the saints, to whom it is said by the Lord: 'You are clean.' Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 13 1 Jn 13.9-10 2 Tob 3.16 3 2 Cor 7.1 4 Ps 50.12 5 Isaiah 1.16 6 Job 11.4 7 Ephes 5.3 8 Genes 20.5 9 2 Kings 22.25 10 Job 22.30 11 Genes 35.2

Apostles And Spectacles

Puto enim quod Deus nos apostolos novissimos ostendit, quasi morti destinatos. Hoc personae suae deputat, quia semper in necessitate fuit, persecutiones et pressuras ultra caeteros passus, sicut passuri sunt Enoch et Elias, qui ultimo temporte futuri sunt apostoli. Mitti enim habent ante Christum ad praeparandum populum Dei, et muniendas omnes Ecclesias, ad resistendum antichristo, quos et persecutiones pati et occidi lectio Apocalyspsis testatur. Horum ergo tempus suo tempori comparavit Apostolos dicens: Quasi morti destinatos, ad hoc enim venturi sunt, ut occidantur. Quia spectaculum facti sumus huic mundo, et angelis et hominibus... Quia erunt spectaculum et Enoch et Elias usque adeo, ut corpora eorum in platea projiciantur in conspectu totius populi infidelis; ita et apostoli spectaculum facti sunt, quia publice ridebantur, positi ad injuriam et mortem quam passi sunt. Mundum autem, angelos et homines dixit; quia et anglei mali sunt, dicente David in psalmo septuagesimo septimo: Vexabat illos per angelos malos, et homines mali and increduli; his apostolorum injuriae oblectamento sunt. Mundus autem idcirco infidelias dicitur, quia visibilia sequitur. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 17.204d-b

I think that God shows us to be the last Apostles, as men appointed to die. 1 He attributes this to his own person, because he was always in need and suffered persecutions and pressures beyond all others, as Enoch and Elijah shall suffer, who in the last time shall be Apostles. 2 For being sent before Christ they must prepare the people of God and the walls of all the Churches to resist the Antichrist, they who then shall suffer persecution and be killed, as the book of the Apocalypse bears witness. Therefore the Apostle compares his own time to these, saying: 'As men appointed to die,' for to this they will come, that they be slain. We are made a spectacle to this world, even to angels and men... Because Enoch and Elijah shall be a spectacle, even so much so that their bodies shall be cast into the street in the sight of all the faithless people, so even the Apostles were made a spectacle, because they were publicly ridiculed, and given over to injury, and even to the deaths which they suffered. He speaks of the world and of angels and men, because there are wicked angels, with David saying in the seventy seventh Psalm: 'He distressed them with wicked angels,' 3 and men are wicked and unbelieving, and to these the injuries of the Apostles are a delight. He speaks of the world for unfaithfulness, because it follows visible things. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 4 1 1 Cor 4.9 2 The two witnesses of Apoc 11.3 3 Ps 77.49