Clashing Concerns

Εἰ τῆς ἀνοχῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τῆς μακροθυμίας, ὦ τάλας, καταφρονεῖς, κἂν τὰ παρόντα αἰδέσθητι. Πολλοὶ γὰρ πρὸς τὰ μέλλοντα ἀβλεπτοῦντες, τὰς ἐνταῦθα ἐκκλίνουσι κωμῳδίας. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ταῦτα κάκεῖνα καταφρονεῖς, ἐνταῦθα γελασθήσῃ, κάκεῖ θρηνηθήσῃ. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΠΔ', Ζωσιμῳ Source: Migne PG 78.301c

If you scorn the patience and forbearance of God, O wretched man, then present things will be your concern. For many blind to future things turn to things here which please them. And if because of these things you scorn those other things, you shall laugh here, and weep there. 1 Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 184, to Zosimus 1 Lk 6.25

The Corrupted Mountain

Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ πρὸς σὲ τὸ ὄρος τὸ διεφθαρμένον τὸ διαφθεῖρον πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐκτενῶ τὴν χεῖρά μου ἐπὶ σὲ καὶ κατακυλιῶ σε ἀπὸ τῶν πετρῶν καὶ δώσω σε ὡς ὄρος ἐμπεπυρισμένον. Ὅρος τὴν Βαθυλῶνα διὰ τὸ τῆς βασιλείας ὕψος kαλεῖ' ὅπερ ἦν ἐξ εἰδωλολατρείας καὶ τῶν ἀδίχων ἔργων, δι᾿ ὧν διέφθειρε τοὺς ἄλλους διεφθαρμένον. Ἦν δὲ καὶ ἐφ᾽ ὕψους ἡ πόλις διὰ τὸν παραχεΐμενον ποταμὸν, ἐξ οὗ τινες ἀναδαθμοὶ πρὸς τὴν πόλιν ἀνέφερον, διμερῆ, τε οὖσαν καὶ ἐξ ἑχατέρας ὄχθης παραχειμένην τῷ ποταμῷ, πρὸς τῷ καὶ εἶναι τὰ τείχη τῆς πόλεως ὑψηλότατα. Χεῖρα δὲ τὴν τιμωρητιχὴν δύναμιν τὴν τῆς ἰδίας αὐτὴν ὡς ἐχ πετρῶν χαθαεροῦσαν ἀσφαλείας τε χαὶ φρουρᾶς εἰς ἄχρηστον δὲ χαὶ τοὺς λίθους αὐτῆς διὰ τὸ πῦρ ἀφανίζουσαν, ὡς μὴ συνίστασθαι λίθον πρὸς στεῤῥοϊέραν οἰχοδομίαν. ᾿Αναγωγῆς δὲ λόγῳ καὶ ὁ διάδολος ὄρος ὠνόμασται, ὡς ἐν τῷ Ζαχαρίᾳ' Τίς εἶ σὺ τὸ ὄρος τὸ μέγα, τὸ πρὸ προσὠπου Ζοροδάδε; Καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἔχοντος χωφὸν καὶ ἄλαλον δαιμόνιον ἔλεγεν ὁ Σωτήρ' Ἑὰν ἔχητε κίστιν ὡς χόχχον σιγάπεως, ἐρεῖτε τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ' Μετάδηθι, καὶ μεταδήσεται. Ὅρος οὖν ὁ διάδολος ἀπὸ τῆς ἰδίας διεφθαρμένον kαkίας, καὶ διαφθεῖρον τοὺς, ὅσοι φρονοῦσι τὰ γήϊνα. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαι Εἰς Ἱερεμαιν Source: Migne PG 13.603b-c

Behold I am against you, corrupted mountain that corrupts the whole earth, with my hand stretched out against you I shall tear you from your stones, and I shall make of you a burnt heap. 1 Babylon is called a mountain because of the eminence of its kingdom, which being corrupted with its idolatry and wicked works corrupted others. And the city itself was set on a high place because of the proximity of the river, from which steps rose up to the city, on two sides, even from both banks of the river. And besides this the city walls were very high. But the hand is the punishing power that tears it from its own security and fortifications, as from a stone foundation, and its stones will be of no more use because of the coming fire, and there shall not be one of them able to make firm its construction. And by reason of anagoge the devil is also called a mountain, as in Zachariah, 'Who are you, great mountain, who are before the face of Zorobabel?' 2 And concerning him who had a deaf and dumb demon, the Saviour said, 'If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mountain, Go, and it would go.' 3 Thus the mountain is the devil corrupted by his own depravity, and he corrupts those who know the things of the earth. Origen, Commentary On Jeremiah, Fragment 1 Jerem 51.25 2 Zach 4.7 3 Mt 17.19

On The Pinnacle of The Temple

Et stauit eum supra pinnaculum templi... Cogitavit enim apud se: si miserit se per aerem, scio quoniam est Filius Dei: sine dubio enim mittet se, ut cognoscatur quod est; si autem non potuerit se mittere, scio quoniam homo est. Sicut ergo concupiscentia vanae gloriae ipse ruit de caelo: nam cum esset angelus, volens se ostendere Deum, perdidit et illud quod erat, dum voluit apparere quod non erat: sic putavit et Christum concupiscentia vanae gloriae ferri. Nam sicut difficile aliquem suspicatur mlaum, qui ipse est bonus: sic difficile aliquem suspicatur bonum, qui ipse est malus. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia V Source: Migne PG 56.666

And he set Him on the pinnacle of the temple... 1 The devil thought to himself: If he bears himself up in the air I will know he is the son of God, for without doubt by bearing himself so it will be known what he is, and if he is not able to bear himself up, I will know he is a man. As, therefore, because of a desire for vainglory he fell from heaven when he was an angel, and wishing to show himself God he destroyed what he was, in wishing to appear as what he was not, so he thought Christ bore the desire for vainglory. For as it is difficult for a good man to suspect evil, so it is difficult for an evil man to suspect good. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 5 1 Mt 4.5

Ascending And Descending

Quod autem ascendit, quid est nisi qui et descendit in inferiora terrae? Positum est in psalmo ascendens altitudinem ex quo verbo capiamus intelligentiam quia is ascendit, qui descendit. Natura etenim rei sic se habet, ut ascendere in coelum non possit nisi qui inde descendit. Hoc circa coelestia: nam circa alia hujusmodi terrena potest aliquis ascendere, qui non descendit: sed in coelum atque in coelos nemo ascendit, nisi qui inde descendit. Sic enim Salvator in Evangelio dixit: nisi quis renatus fuerit, non potest regnum Dei tenere. Deinde subjunxit, quoniam quod ex carne nascitur, caro est; quod autem ex spiritu nascitur, spiritus est. Spiritus autem de supernis est; ergo spiritus ad superna redit. Nam et cum resurrectio fuerit, omnia spiritus erunt; et totus homo spiritus factus, in coelum ascendet, scilicet per spiritum. Ergo necessarium factum est ut qui ascendit in coelum, ipse sit qui descendit. Christus ergo, de quo dictum est, quia ascendit in coelum, intelligitur quod descenderit: et si descendit, utique in terrae inferiora descendit; non solum in terram, sed in inferiora terrae. Lectum est enim, quia in infernum descendit Salvator passione illa crucis, ut omnem animam liberaret, et ex omnibus locis redimeret membra sua. Victorinus Afrus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber Secundus, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 8.1273d-1274a

And who ascends but he who descends into the interior of the earth? 1 It has been written in the Psalm: 'Rising to the height,' 2 from which we should understand that this one who ascends is he who descends. Indeed the nature of it is such that he who ascends into heaven cannot do so unless he came down from there. And this ascent is into the heavenly places, for someone is able to ascend into some other terrestrial place who does not descend, but no one ascends into heaven and heavenly things unless he who descends from there. So the Saviour says in the Gospel: 'Unless a man has been reborn, he is not able to lay hold of the kingdom of God.' Then He continues, 'Because what is born from flesh is flesh and what is born from the spirit is spirit.' 3 And the spirit is from above, therefore the spirit returns to things above. For come the resurrection everything will be spirit, and having been made a spirit the whole man will ascend into heaven, that is, through the spirit. Therefore it was necessary that he who ascends into heaven is he who descends. Therefore Christ says about this that he who ascends into heaven is understood as he who has descended, 4 and if he descends, he descends even into the interior of the earth; and not only to earth, but even into the interior of the earth. For it is written that in the passion of the cross the Saviour descended to hell so that he might free every soul and redeem his members from every place. 5 Victorinus Afrus, On the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book Two, Chapter Four 1 Ephes 4.9 2 Ps 67.19 3 Jn 3.5-6 4 Jn 3.13 5 1 Peter 3.18-19

Resurrection And Ascension

Secundum quod Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis, nutritus crevit. Passus, mortuus et resuscitatus accepit hereditatem regnum caelorum. In ipso homine accepit resurrectionem et vitam aeternam. In ipso homine accepit. In Verbo autem non accepit, quia incommutabiliter manet ab aeterno in aeternum. Quia ergo accepit resurrectionem et vitam aeternam caro illa, quae resurrexit et vivificata ascendit in caelum, hoc nobis promissum est. Ipsam hereditatem exspectamus, vitam aeternam. Adhuc enim non totum corpus accepit, quia caput in caelo est, membra adhuc in terra sunt. Nec caput solum accepturum est hereditatem, et corpus relinquetur. Totus Christus accepturus est hereditatem, totus secundum hominem, id est, caput et corpus. Membra ergo Christi sumus, speremus hereditatem. Quia cum ista omnia transierint, hoc bonum accepturi sumus quod non transibit, et hoc malum evasuri quod non transibit. Aeterna sunt enim utraque. Non enim aliquid non aeternum promisit suis, et aliquid temporale minatus est impiis. Quomodo vitam beatitudinem, regnum, hereditatem sempiternam sine fine promisit sanctis, sic ignem aeternum minatus est impiis. Si quod promisit nondum amamus, saltim quod minatus est timeamus. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Sermo XXII, De Psalmo LXVII Source: Migne PL 38.154-155

Inasmuch as 'the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,' 1 He was nourished and grew. Having suffered, died and risen again, He received as His inheritance the kingdom of heaven. It was as man that He received resurrection and eternal life. As a man he received it. But as the Word He did not receive it, because the Word abides unchangingly forever. Therefore because it was that flesh that received the resurrection and eternal life, rising again and ascending into heaven revivified, this is also promised to us. We are waiting for that same inheritance of eternal life. The whole body has not yet received it because the head is in heaven and the members yet remain on earth. But it is not that the head is going to receive the inheritance alone and abandon the body. The whole Christ shall receive the inheritance, the whole as man, that is, both the head and the body. Thus we who are members of Christ should hope for the inheritance. Because when all this has passed away we will receive that good which will not pass away and avoid that evil which will not pass away. Both are eternal. He did not promise something eternal to His own and threaten the wicked with something temporal. Just as He promised those who are holy the blessed life and the kingdom as an eternal inheritance without end, so He threatened the wicked with eternal fire. If we do not yet love what He promised, let us at least fear what He threatened. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 22, On Psalm 67 1 Jn 1.14

Faith And Ascent

Primus gradus ascensionis nostrae humilitatis nostrae contribulatio, secundus est fides. Et sciendum est quod nihil aliud sunt hi gradus ascensionis nostrae, nisi salutis nostrae profectus; ideo in his canticis docemur ascendere, sed ascendere in corde, in affectu bono, in fide et spe et charitate, et in desiderio perpetuitatus et vitae aeternae. Unde in hoc sequente psalmo dixit: Levavi oculos meos in montes, unde veniet auxilium mihi. Montes isti, sancti sunt in altitudine positi, claritate illuminati, sed ab illo qui est lux vera, quae illuminat omnem hominem venietem in hunc mundam. Unde consequenter per fidem intellexit iste ascensor ad hoc monte, qui est super verticem montium elevatus, auxilium sibi esse petendum, sperandum accipiendumque. Auxilium meum a Domino, qui fecit coelum et terram. Et subsecutus adjunxit, loquens ad illum montem a qu sibi unicum speravit auxilium: Non des in commotionem pedem meum, neque dormitet qui custodit te. Fac firmum stare pedem meum in ascensione salutis meae, in humilitatis vel rectae fidei gradu. Ad proficiendum charitas pedem movet. Recte ergo iste audiens, ut ascendat et non cadat, ut incola in valle plorationis proficiat, non in tumore superbiae deficiat, ait Domino: Ne des in commotionem pedem meum. Et Deus ait illi: Neque dormitet qui custodit te: crede in eum qui nunquam dormitat. Quis est ille qui nunquam dormitat, nisi ille de quo Apostolus ait: Mors illi ultra non dominabitur? Ideo consequenter addidit: Ecce non dormitabit, neque dormiet, qui custodit Israel. Esto Israel, id est vir videns Deum, in fide et charitate, et nunquam illius dormiet gratia a custodia tua: et quasi iste interrogaret se, quis est qui non dormitat? Dictum est ei: Dominus custodit te. Et quomodo custodiet te? Dominus protectio tua super manum dexterae tuae. Manus potestatem, dextera aeternam felicitatem significat. Dominus protectio tua super per manum dextrae tuae, id est, si crediderit in eum, proteget te, ut potestatem habeas in dextera parte stare aeterni Judicis, et audire desiderabilem senteniam: Venite, benedicti Patris mei, percipite regnum, et reliqua. Adhuc quasi quaerenti respondetur, in quo custodiet eum Dominus? Per diem sol non uret te, neque luna per noctem. Custodiet te, id est, in fide recta servabit te, sive in aeternis, sive in temporalibus; sive in fide sanctae Trinitatis, quae hic solis nomine designatur; sive in fide sanctae Ecclesiae, quae hic lunae nomine demonstratur: ut non erret vel scandalizetur fides tua. Nam motio scandalum significat. Quisquis igitur errat in ipsa substantia veritatis, a sole uritur; et per diem uritur, quia in ipsa sapientia errat. Quisquis in Ecclesia et carne Christi, qui est caput Ecclesiae, non scandalizatur, a luna non uritur. Per diem sol non uret te, neque luna per noctem. Quare? Quia Dominus custodit te ab omni malo, custodiat animam tuam Dominus. A scandalis in sole, et a scandalis in luna. Ab omni malo te custodit, id est, animam tuam ab omni infidelitate, ut ipsa non cedat infidelibus, non frangatur tribulationibus. Dominus custodiat introitum tuum et exitum tuum, ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum. Quando tentamur, intramus; quando vincimus, eximus; custodit ergo nos intrantes ad fidem, custodiat nos exeuntes ad praemia, et hoc in saeculum ubi sancti regnaturi sunt cum Christo. Alcuinus, Expositio in Psalmos Graduales, Psalmus CXX Source: Migne PL 100.621a-622b

The first song of ascent concerns the trials of our humility, this second one is about faith. And it must be understood that these steps of our ascent are nothing but the advance of our salvation, therefore in these songs we are taught to ascend, that is, to ascend in the heart, in good affection, and in faith and in hope and in love, and in the ceaseless desire for eternal life. 'I lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from where help shall come to me.' 1 These mountains are the saints set on the heights who have been illuminated with brightness, that is, by Him 'who is the true light, who illuminates every man, coming into this world.' 2 Whence it follows that this one who would ascend has understood that it is through faith, which is elevated above the peaks of the mountains, that help must be sought for oneself, and hoped for and received. My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. And following this he adds, speaking to that mount from which alone he hopes for help from himself: You shall not allow my feet to stumble, nor shall He sleep who protects you. He makes my foot stand firm in the ascent of my salvation, in the step of humility or correct faith. He moves my foot to the perfection of love. Rightly, therefore, hearing this, so that he might ascend and not fall, so that he may advance from the valley of clamour and not perish in bloating of pride, he says to the Lord, 'You shall not allow my feet to stumble.' And the Lord says to him, 'Nor shall He sleep who protects you.' Believe in Him who never sleeps. Who is the one who never sleeps but Him concerning whom the Apostle says, 'Death shall not rule over Him anymore.'? 3 Thus in consequence he says: Behold, He shall not sleep nor slumber who protects Israel. Behold Israel, that is, the man who looks on God in faith and love, and never shall His grace sleep from protecting you. And as if he were asking himself, 'Who is the one who shall not sleep.' It is said to him, The Lord protects you. And how shall He protect you? 'The Lord is your protection, over your right hand.' The hand signifies power, the right one eternal joy. 'The Lord is your protection, over your right hand,' that is, if you believe in Him, He shall protect you, so that you shall have the power to stand on the right hand of the eternal judge, and hear the desired sentence: 'Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom,' 4 and the rest. Yet, as if answering a questioner, 'In what shall the Lord protect him?' Through the day the sun shall not burn you, nor the moon through the night. He shall protect you, that is, He shall maintain you in the right faith, in eternal things and in temporal things, in the faith of the holy Trinity, which is designated here by the one name, so that you shall not err, nor shall your faith be scandalised. For movement signifies scandal. Therefore whoever errs in the substance of the truth, he is burnt by the sun, and through the day he is burnt, because he wanders in the truth. Whoever is not scandalised by the Church and the flesh of Christ, he is not burnt by the moon. 'Through the day the sun shall not burn you, nor the moon through the night' Why? Because The Lord guards you from every evil, may the Lord guard your soul. From scandals in the sun, and from scandals in the moon. From every evil He guards you, that is, your soul from every unfaithfulness, so that he does not fall into disbelief, nor is he crushed by tribulation. May the Lord guard your coming in and your going out, from now even to eternity. When we are tried, we come in, when we conquer, we go out. Therefore He protects us when we come in with faith, and He shall protect us when we go out to the reward, and this forever when the saints shall rule with Christ. Alcuin of York, Commentary on the Gradual Psalms, Psalm 120 1 Ps 120.1 2 Jn 1.9 3 Rom 6.9 4 Mt 25.34

The City And The Height

Oὕτως εἶπεν Kύριος ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστρέψω τὴν ἀποικίαν Ιακωβ καὶ αἰχμαλωσίαν αὐτοῦ ἐλεήσω, Καὶ οἰκοδομηθήσεται ἡ πόλις ἐπὶ τὸ ὕψες αὐτῆς. Εἴποις δ᾽ ἂν, ὅτι Kαὶ τὴν ἰδίαν ἐπιδείχνυσιν ἀγαθότητα, δι᾽ ἣν kαὶ τὴν ἀποτομίαν ἐπάγει τοῖς αὐτῆς ἐν χρείᾳ τυγχάνουσι. Διὸ, μετὰ τὸ εἰς ἀλγεινὸν θεραπευθῆναι, οἰκοδομηθήσεται, φησὶν, ἡ πόλις ἐπὶ τὸ ὕψος αὑτῆς. Ποῖον ὕψος ; Οὐ δύναται πόλις ἐπάνω ὄρους κειμένη κρυδῆναι, ὁποία ἐστὶν, ἡ μηδὲν φρονοῦσα ταπεινὸν ἣ ἀνθρώπινον, ἡδονάς, φῆσι χαὶ πλοῦτον ἐν γῇ χαὶ δοξάρια. Συνηγέρθη γὰρ τῷ Χριστῷ, καὶ τὰ ἄνω ζητεῖ. Ταῦτά σου ποιοῦντος, οἰχοδομηθήσεται ἡ πόλις σου ἐπὶ τὸ ὕψος αὐτῆς. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαι Εἰς Ἱερεμαιν Source: Migne PG 13.580b

Thus says the Lord, 'I will bring back the tent of Jacob and I will have pity on the ruins, and the city shall be built on her height.' 1 One may say that here His benevolence is manifested, because of which it was necessary to act severely with those who needed it. Therefore, after a painful cure, He says that 'the city shall be built up on her height.' On what height? It is not possible to hide a city built on a hill, 2 that is, it knows nothing base or human, and I speak here of pleasures and worldly wealth and glory. For rising with Christ it seeks the things which are above. 3 In the doing of such things the city shall be built on her height. Origen, Commentary On Jeremiah, Fragment 1 Jerem 30.18 2 1 Mt 5.14 3 Colos 3.1-2

Prayer And The Mountain

Exiit Tangit hic sex spectantia ad orationem, scilicet, orantis ad solitudinem segregationem, spiritus orantis elevationem, formam quam decet habere orationem, orantis in oratione perseverationem, tempus quoad orationis et secreti congruitatem, et orationis finem. De segregatione orantis dicit: Exiit, hoc est, a suis intimis et a curis se segregavit: non quia ipse hoc indigeret, sed ut nobis orantibus formam daret. Matth. xxvi: Sedete hic, donec vadam illuc et orem. Luc. XXII: Ipse enim avulsus est ab eis quantum jactus est lapidis. Genes. xxii: Exspectate hic cum asino: ego et puer illuc usque properantes, postquam adoraverimus, revertemur ad vos. Hoc dixit Abraham servis suis. ...in montem... In quo significat orantis in spiritu et justitia elevationem. Psal lxiii, 7: Accedet homo ad cor altum. Jerem XXXI: Benedicat tibi Domitius pulchritudo justitiae, mons sanctus. Genes xxii: In monte Dominus videbit, hoc est, in altitudine spiritus et veritatis. Joan IV: Spiritus est Deus: et eos qui adorant eum, in spiritu et veritate oportet adorare. Psal. lxvii: Mons in quo beneplacitum est Deo habitare in eo : etenim Dominus habitabit in finem. ...Orare. In hoc dat formam quam decet habere orationem. Intelliguntur autem tres modi et formae, secundum tres orationis diffinitiones. Prima est quoad ea quae petuntur ut sint decentia, hoc est, ad salutem pertinentia. Unde Damascenus dicit, quia oratio est petitio decentium a Deo. Matth VI: Quaerite primum regnum Dei, et justitiam ejus: et haec omnia adjicientur vobis. Secunda forma est secundum affectum orantis, hoc est quod sit devota et pia oratio. Unde Augustinus : " Oratio est pius affectus mentis in Deum directus. Pius autem affectus, est liquescens in Deum ex fervore devotionis et fluens affectus. Psal CXI: Dirigatur oratio mea sicut incensum in conspectu tuo. Cantic III: Sicut virgula fumi ex aromatibus myrrhae, et thuris, et universi pulveris pigmentarii. Tertia forma est accepta secundum intellectum orantis, ut exaltetur intellectus in veritatem incircumscirptam. Unde Joannes Damascenus dicit, quod oratio est ascensus intellectus in a Deum. Et Dionysius dicit, quod virtus orationis est in Deum ascendere et Deo appropinquare. Eccli xxxv: Oratio humiliantis se nubes penetrabit: et donec propinquet non consolabitur: et non discedet donec Altissimus adspiciat. Ista ergo est forma orationis. Et erat... Ecce in tempore consignato tangitur orationis instantia cum perseverantia. Luc xviii: Quoniam oportet semper orare, et non deficere. Ad Roman XII: Orationi instantes: necessitatibus sanctorum communicantes. 1 ad Thessal v: Sine intermissione orate. ...pernoctans... Ecce tempus quieti et secreto orationis congruum intempestae noctis silentio. Psal CXVIII: Media nocte surgebam ad confitendum tibi. Item, ibidem: Memor fui nocte nominis tui, Domine. Thren ii: Consurge, lauda in nocte, in principio vigiliarum tuarum. Isa XXVI: Anima mea desideravit te in nocte, sed et spiritu meo in praecordiis meis de mane vigilabo ad te. ...in oratione Dei. Ecce finis. Dei enim est oratio per finem, et non honores, vel divitiae, vel deliciae, vel pertinens ad hoc saeculum. Et ideo dicit Glossa: Dei, non saeculi. De oratione enim saeculi dicitur, II Machab IX: Orabat autem hic scelestus Dominum, a quo non esset misericordiam consecuturus. Isa I: Cum multiplicaveritis orationem, non exaudiam. Sed Deum petens in oratione auditur, Isa. xxxviii: Audivi orationem tuam, et vidi lacrimas tuas. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput VI Source: Here p405-6

He went off... 1 This touches on the six marks of prayer, that is, the separated solitude of prayer, the spiritual elevation of prayer, the form which it befits prayer to have, the need of perseverance in prayer, the time which is appropriate for private prayer, and the goal of prayer. Concerning separation in prayer it says, 'He went off...' that is, He separated Himself from His companions and cares, not because He had need of this, but to give us an example of prayer. In the twenty sixth chapter of Matthew, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray.' In the twenty second chapter of Luke, 'And He withdrew from them a stone's cast.' In the twenty second chapter of Genesis: 'Wait here with the ass. I and the boy shall go on ahead, and after we have prayed we shall return to you,' which Abraham says to his servant. 2 ...to a mountain... In which is signified the elevation of prayer in spirit and righteousness. In the sixty third Psalm, 'An uplifted heart comes on a man.' In the thirty first chapter of Jeremiah, 'The Lord bless you, the beauty of justice, the holy mountain,' In the twenty second chapter of Genesis, 'The Lord shall look on the mountain,' that is, on the height of spirit and truth. In the fourth chapter of John, 'God is a spirit and those who adore Him should adore in spirit and truth.' In the sixty seventh Psalm, 'The mountain on which God is pleased to dwell, for there the Lord will dwell to the end.' 3 ...to pray. In this he gives the form which it befits prayer to have. But form should be understood in three ways, according to the three differences of prayer. First that what is sought is fitting for God to give, that is, it pertains to salvation. Whence John Damascene says that prayer is an asking of fitting things from God. In the sixth chapter of Matthew, 'Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything will be given to you.' The second form concerns the love that is in prayer, that is, that it should be devout and pious, whence Augustine says that prayer is the pious love of the mind directed to God. And love is pious when it is flowing toward God from a fervour of devotion and onrushing love. In the hundred and eleventh Psalm, 'May my prayer be directed like incense into your sight.' In the third chapter of the Song of Songs, 'Like a pillar of smoke of odorous myrrh and frankincense and all the powders of the perfumer.' The third form is the receptivity of the intellect for prayer so that the understanding is exalted to the unbounded truth. Whence John Damascene says that prayer is the ascent of the intellect to God. And Dionysius says that the power of prayer is to ascend to God and to draw near God. In the thirty fifth chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 'The prayer of one who humbles himself pierces the clouds, and until it comes near is shall not be content, and it shall not depart from the eyes of the Most High.' 4 These are the three forms of prayer. And He was... Observe in the time assigned that it touches on intent with perseverance. In the eighteenth chapter of Luke, 'Because it is always necessary to pray and not to become weary.' In the twelfth chapter of Romans, 'Intent in prayer, communicating the needs of the saints.' In the first Letter to the Thessalonians, 'Pray ceaselessly.' 5 ...through the night... Observe that the still silence of the night is fitting for a time of quiet and private prayer. In the hundredth and sixteenth Psalm 'In the middle of the night I rose up and confessed to you,' and again, 'In the night I was mindful of your name, O Lord.' In the second chapter of Lamentations, 'Rise up, give praise in the night, at the beginning of your vigils.' In the twenty sixth chapter of Isaiah, 'My soul desired you in the night, but in the spirit in my breast I shall keep watch for you from the morning.' 6 ...praying to God. Observe the end. For prayer is God's according to its end, and not for honour or riches or pleasure, or anything that pertains to this world. The gloss on 'God's' says 'not of the world' Concerning worldly prayer it is said in the ninth chapter of the second book of Maccabees 'And this wicked man prayed to the Lord, from whom he was not to receive mercy.' In the first chapter of Isaiah, 'When you multiply your prayers, I will not hear you.' But the one who seeks God in prayer is heard. In the thirty eighth chapter of Isaiah, 'I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears.' 7 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 6 1 Lk 6.12 2 Mt 26.36, Lk 22.41, Genes 22.5 3 Ps 63.7, Jerem 31.23, Genes 22.14, Jn 4.24, Ps 67.17 4 Mt 6.33, Song 3.6, Ps 111.2, Sirach 35.21 5 Lk 18.1. Rom 12.12-13, 1 Thes 5.17 6 Ps 116.62, Ps 116.55, Lament 2.19, Isaiah 26.9 7 2 Mac 9.13, Isaiah 1.15, Isaiah 38.5

Rewards For Remaining

Si manseritis in me... Supra ostendit, se esse fructus originem per oppositum mansionis; hic nunc ostendit per ipsam mansionm, quae fructum dat et respectu mi et respectu proximi. Respectu sui: Si manseritis in me, et verba mea in vobis manserint; non sicut illi, de quibus Lucae octavo: Ad tempus credunt et in tempore tentationis recedunt; sed sicut illi, de quibus in Psalmo: Qui servant testamentum eius et memores sunt mandatorum ipsius ad faciendum ea. Quodcumque volueritis, petetis, et fiet vobis. Supra nono: Si quis voluntatem Dei facit , hunc exaudi. Non solum est fructus respectu sui, sed etiam proximi convertendi ad Dei gloriam; ideo subdit: In hoc clarificatus est Pater meus, ut fructum plurimum afferatis... Ut scilicet homines convertantur vestro verbo et exemplo ; Matthaei quinto: Sic luceat lux vestra coram hominibus, ut videant opera vestra bona et glorificent Patrem vestrum, qui in caelis est; et ex hoc, Efficiamini mei discipuli, Id est imitatores mei, qui plurimum fructam attuli per meam mortem, sicut supra duodecimo: Si granum frumenti mortuum fuerit , multum fructum affert. Sic etiam Apostoli; unde Ecclesia cantat de eis, quod plantaverunt Ecelesiam sanguine suo; ad Colossenses primo: Adimpleo ea quae desunt passionum Christi. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XV Source: Here, p447-8

'If he remains in me...' 1 Having just shown what the reward will be for those who are opposed to remaining with Him, He now shows what it will be for those who do remain, which reward is given with regards to the one who remains and with regards to his neighbour. As regards the one who does remain: 'If you remain in me, my words shall remain in you.' Not as those who in the eighth chapter of Luke: 'Believe for a time and in the time of trial fall away,' but as those who, as it says in the Psalm, 'Keep His testament and are mindful in the doing of His commandments.' 2 'And whatever you wish, ask, and it shall be yours.' In the ninth chapter of this Gospel: 'If someone does the will of God, he will be heard.' 3 And there is not only reward for the one who remains, but even in the turning of his neighbour to the glory of God. Therefore He adds: 'In this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit...' That is, you convert men by your word and example. In the fifth chapter of Matthew: 'So let your light shine before men, that they might see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.' 4 And because of this, 'You are made my disciples,' That is, imitators of me, as in the twelfth chapter of this Gospel, 'If a grain of wheat dies, it bears much fruit.' 5 So even the Apostles, whence the Church sings concerning them, 'They have nurtured the Church with their blood.' And in the first chapter of the letter to the Colossians: 'I complete those things lacking in the passion of Christ.' 6 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 15 1 Jn 15.7 2 Lk 8.13, Ps 102.18 3 Jn 9.31 4 Mt 5.16 5 Jn 12.25 6 Colos 1.24

Storms And Salvation

Vovistis vos Deo servire paternisque regi consiliis. Nolite vosmetipsos super rectores exaltare vesros, ne eorum judicare acta vel consilia; sed contenti tantummodo estote eorum judicio, quidquid agatis, regularisque vitae praeceptis, in quibus maxime humilitas obediendi cum charitate praecipitur. Hora vero vestra omnes animabus estris utiles inveniantur, vel in opere manuum, vel in lectionis studio, vel in orationis gratia. Oret operarius corde,ut duplici mercede dignus habeatur. Similiter in refectione corporis anima reficiatur in gratiarum actione Deo; vel si corpus labore afficiatur, mens compunctione confirmetur. Sic vero armatum monachum duplici suffragio, nil antiquus hostis, nocere poterit, qui quaerit per vagationem mentis mercedem minuere laborantis. Ego vero saeculi tempestatibus turbatus, casso multis in locis fabore desudavi; sed modo quasi naufragus, Deo miserante, ad portum dejectus quietis: in quo me fessus et vulneratum jacentem, deprecor, sanctarum assiduitate orationum vestram unanimitatem auxiliari, ut quandoque ad florentia virtutem rura pervenire merear, et bona securitate illi soli servire, in quo solo est totius spes salutis, sine quo nec cadens resurgere, nec bene stans firmo gradu stare poterit. Alcuinus, Epistola CXI, Ad Fratres in Gothia Source: Migne PL 100.335d-336a

You have vowed to serve God and to be ruled by paternal counsels. Do not, then, exalt yourselves over your directors, nor dispute their acts and counsels, but be content only with their judgements whatever you do, and with the regular precepts of the life in which humility commands obedience with love. But let all your hours be useful for your souls, either in manual labour, or in study, or in the grace of prayer. Let the worker pray with his heart that he shall be worthy of a twofold reward. Similarly in the refreshment of the body let the soul be refreshed in giving thanks to God, or if the body is wearied by labour let the mind be fortified with compunction. So the monk is armed with a double support, lest the ancient enemy be able to harm us, he who seeks through the wandering of the mind to deprive us of the reward of our labours. I also, troubled by the storms of the world, have exerted myself for nothing in many places, but like some shipwreck, by the mercy of God, I have been thrown up into a peaceful haven, in which, weary and prostate with wounds, I entreat that your unity be maintained by the diligence of holy prayers, so that I at some time might merit the virtue to come to the flowering country and serve that sun with good confidence, in which alone is all our hope of salvation, and without which one who is falling could never rise, nor would he ever have been able to stand firm. Alcuin of York, from Letter 111, To The Brothers in Gothia

The Acceptable Sacrifice

Γέγραπας δηλωθῆναι σοι, δι' ἥν αἰτίαν ὁ δεῖνα παραγινόμενος τοὺς πτωχοὺς εὖ ποιῆσαι, κίνδυνον ἀργαλέον ὑπέμεινε, καὶ οὐκ ἐξείλετο αὐτὸν τῶν συμπτωμάτων ἡ πρόθεσις. Ἐπειδὴ, φημὶ, οὐ χαίρει Θεὸς ἐξ ἀδικίας θυσίαις, καὶ οὐ προσίεται κίβδηλα δῶρα. Οὐ γὰρ πᾶς ὁ βουλόμενος εὖ ποιεῖ, ἀλλ' ὁ ἀξίως Θεοῦ καὶ κτησάμενος, καὶ ἐπαγγειλάμενος τὴν θυσίαν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΚΘ', Ἡρμινῳ Κομητι Source: Migne PG 78.325a

You have written to have it made clear to you how it is that he who would do well to the poor should be embroiled in tribulations and suffer grave trials, and his disposition does not save him from such occurrences. I say that God does not rejoice in an unrighteous sacrifice and does not accept base offerings. It is not everyone who wishes it that does good, but worthy of God is he who makes the promised sacrifice. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 229, to Count Herminos

Achan And Corruption

Furatur interea de anathemate urbis Jericho Achan pallium, et linguam auream, pro quo, irascente Deo, perierunt quidam manu hostili ex populo. Jericho itaque, ut dictum est, mundi gerit figuram. De anathemate ergo ejus fraudans in tabernaculo suo abscondit, qui saeculares mores in secretis Ecclesiae inserit; qui, sub cultu Dei manens, solemnitates saeculi vel spectacula diligit; qui sortilegos, haruspices et augures inquirit, vel qui caeteros ritus persuadet, qui prius in Jericho, id est, in hoc saeculo habebantur; ipse ergo, quia post fidei indumentum conversationis saecularis cultum inducit, quasi pallium de anathemate tollit. Sed et ille de anathemate Jericho fraudat, qui in Ecclesia haereticorum infert dogmata, vel superstitiosa saecularium litterarum studia. Haec est enim lingua aurea luculento sermone aptate. Hanc furati sunt Arius, Marcion et Basilides. Furati sunt enim isti regulas aureas de Jericho, qui philosophorum sectam conati sunt in Ecclesiam introducere et maculare omnem Ecclesiam Domini, uta ut disperderentur multi per eos; ideoque abjecti sunt per anathema, et quasi acervo lapidum, ita multitudine peccatorum suorum oppressi atque exstincti sunt. Quorum errore perempto, rex Hai, hoc est, diabolus, qui per illorum impietatem fidelium quosdam evicerat, rursum superatus evincitur, atque a populo Dei suspensus, ligni crucis virtute necatur. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis,Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Josue, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 83.374d-375b

Meanwhile Achan, despite the ban on the city of Jericho, plundered a cloak and a bar of gold, by which,  because of the anger of God, he perished by the hostile hands of the people. 1 Thus Jericho, as has been said, is a figure of the world, and against the ban he hides his deceit in his tent who brings worldly customs into the sanctuary of the Church, he who though he remains within the worship of God, loves the weighty things of the world and its amusements, who enquires of fortune tellers, haruspices, and augers, and persuades others to do such things which were once done in Jericho, that is, in this world. Therefore he who brings in the cult of worldly cares after putting on the clothing of faith is he who takes a cloak against the ban. And he also flouts the ban concerning Jericho who brings heretical teachings into the Church, or the superstitious studies of worldly letters, for this is the golden tongue which fair speech furnishes. Whence Arius and Marcion and Basilides are plunderers, since they are plunderers of the golden bars of Jericho who try to introduce the schools of the philosophers into the Church and sully the whole of the Church of the Lord so that they might ruin many by it, and thus they are cast down by the ban, and with the mass of their sins, as with a heap of stones, they are burdened and perish. And with their fatal error, because of the impiety of those who were faithful, king Ai, that is, the devil, conquered them, but he in turn is conquered, and by the people of God hung up, slain with the power of the wood of the cross. Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Joshua, Chapter 8 1 Joshua 7

Faithful Meditation

Ἐκέκραξα ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ μου ἐπάκουσόν μου Kύριε τὰ δικαιώματά σου ἐκζητήσω. Ἐκέκραξά σε σῶσόν με καὶ φυλάξω τὰ μαρτύριά σου. Προέφθασα ἐν ἀωρίᾳ καὶ ἐκέκραξα εἰς τοὺς λόγους σου ἐπήλπισα. Προέφθασαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου πρὸς ὄρθρον τοῦ μελετᾶν τὰ λόγιά σου. Ὁ ἐν ἀωριᾳ προλαβὼν καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἐπικαλούμενος ἐλευθεροῦνται τῶν νυκρερινῶν ἐπιβουλῶν, καὶ ἐν ὄρθρῳ αὐτοῦ, τουτέστιν ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ τοῦ φωτὸς προφθάνοντος δηλαδὴ, τοὺς ὁφθαλμοὺς προαπαντῶντας κέκτηται, καὶ μελετᾷ τοῦ Θεοῦ σὺν παῥῥησία τα λόγια. Ἐκείνα γὰρ μάλιστα τᾡ νόμῷ χαίρει ψυχὴ, ἥτις αὐτὴ σύνοιδεν ἑαυτῇ την κατόρθωσιν. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμὸς ΡΙH' Source: Migne PG 23.1389a-b

I called out with all my heart. You heard me, O Lord, I shall seek your righteousness. I have called to you, save me, and I shall guard your testaments. I came at night and I called out, and I hoped in your word. Before the dawn my eyes were set on you, meditating on your words. 1 He who comes before the dawn calling on God, wishing to be delivered from the things of the night, and has turned and fixed his eyes on the dawn, that is, the east, where the light rises to enlighten, he faithfully meditates on the word of God. For that soul rejoices most in the Law that is aware of what is right for it. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.145-148

Prayer And Reading

Lectiones oratione praevenimus, quia rogare debemus Dominum messis ut mittat operarios in messem, et aperiat cor nostrum in lege sua et in praeceptis, ne semen verbi quo audituri sumus, aut volucres comedant, aut spinae suffocat, aut duritae petrae frustrate radice supplantet. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber VII, Tit XVI, De Horis Canonicis, De Oratione ante Lectiones Source: Migne PL 177.874d

We come to the readings with a prayer because we should ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to the harvest, 1 even that He might open our heart to His law and commandments, lest the seed of the word that we are about to hear either be devoured by birds, or choked by thorns, or have its vainly reaching roots blocked by hard stones. 2 Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 7, Chapter 16, On The Canonical Hours, On Prayer before the Readings 1 Mt 9.38 2 Mt 13.3-9

The Faithful and the Sanctified

Omnibus sanctis qui sunt Ephesi, et fidelibus in Christo Jesu. Quoniam sanctificata est mulier in fratre fideli et vir infidelis sanctificatus est in muliere fideli. Et sunt vasa quoque sancta, et mutae pecudes quae Deo mactantur in templo: propterea eos quos sanctos dixerat, vocavit et fideles: quia fides ex mente propriae descendit arbitrio: sanctificatio vero ex sanctificantis interdum, absque voluntate nostra, sumimur largitate. Sanctus Hieronymus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber Primus Source Migne PL 26.444a-b

'To all the saints in Ephesus, and to the faithful in Jesus Christ.' 1 Because a woman is sanctified by a faithful brother and a faithless man is sanctified by the faithful wife, 2 and there are sacred vessels and there are dumb beasts that are sacrificed to God in the temple, 3 besides those whom he speaks of as sanctified, he also names the faithful, because faith comes from the judgement of one's own mind, but sanctification is from the one who sanctifies, that without our will we receive by largess. Saint Jerome, Commentary On The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, Book 1 1. Ephes 1.1 2 1 Cor 7.14 3 Num 4. 21