Treasuries Of Wisdom And Knowledge

Et eduxit me ad atrium exterius, et ecce gazophylacia, et pavimentum stratum lapide in atrium per circuitum. Quia sermone Graeco φυλάττειν servare dicitur, et gazae lingua Persica divitiae vocantur, gazophylacium locus appellari solet quo divitiae servantur. Quid itaque per gazophylacia designatur, nisi, ut praediximus, corda doctorum sapientiae atque scientiae divitiis plena? Quia, juxta Pauli vocem: Alii datur per spiritum sermo sapientiae, alii sermo scientiae in eodem spiritu. Sunt enim quidam qui per donum gratiae et ipsa intelligunt quae exponi a doctoribus non audierunt; hi videlicet sermonem sapientiae perceperunt. Et sunt quidam qui per semetipsos intelligere audita nequeunt, sed ea quae in expositoribus legerint retinent, atque scienter proferunt quae lecta didicerunt. Unde itaque isti nisi sermone scientiae pleni sunt? Quamvis hoc intelligi et aliter possit, quia sapientia ad vitam, scientia vero pertinet ad doctrinam. Qui igitur bene vivit, et prudenter praedicat, gazophylacium spiritalis aedificii recte nominatur, quia ab ejus ore coelestes divitiae dispensantur. His divitiis abundare discipulos idem magister gentium viderat, cum dicebat: Divites facti estis in illo, in omni verbo et omni scientia. Sunt itaque in sanctae Ecclesiae aedificio constructa gazophylacia, quia abundat divitiis scientiae lingua doctorum. Has veras esse divitias ipsa per se Veritas denuntiat, cum de transitoriis divitiis dicit: Fallacia divitiarum suffocat verbum. Sapientia etenim atque scientia doctrinae spiritalis verae sunt divitiae, in quarum comparatione quae transire possunt falsae nominantur. De his divitiis per Salomonem dicitur: Thesaurus desiderabilis requiescit in ore sapientis. Excepto autem eo, quod ad aeternam patriam divitiae spiritales ducunt, est eis a terrenis divitiis magna distantia, quia spiritales divitiae erogatae proficiunt, terrenae autem divitiae aut erogantur et deficiunt, aut retinentur et utiles non sunt. Qui ergo has in se veras divitias continent, recte gazophylacia dicuntur. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber II, Homilia VI Source: Migne PL 76.998b-999a

And He led me to the outer courtyard and behold the treasury, and the pavenment was of stone around the courtyard. 1 Because the Greek word 'phyllatein' means to guard, and in the Persian tongue 'gazae' means wealth, this place where wealth is guarded is named the 'gazophylacium'. Why, then, is it designated a treasury , unless that, as we have said, it is the hearts of teachers full of the riches of wisdom and knowledge? Because, according to the voice of Paul, 'To one man by the spirit is given the wise word, to another the word of knowledge by the same spirit.' 2 For there are those who by the gift of grace understand what they have not heard expounded by teachers, and these certainly have received the word of wisdom. And there are some who by themselves are not able to understand what they have heard, but they hold fast to the things they have read in expository works and they bear the knowledge of what they have leant from writing. And what is this but to be full with the word of knowledge? But it is possible to understand this another way, that wisdom pertains to the living of life, knowledge, however, to teaching. He, therefore, who lives well and preaches prudently, is rightly named the treasury of a spiritual building, because from his mouth heavenly riches are dispensed. And with these riches the teacher of the nations sees his pupils abound when he says, 'You have been made rich in Him, in every word and every sort of knowledge.' 3 Thus there is raised up in the building of the Church a treasury, because the tongue of teachers abounds with Divine knowledge. This is true wealth, which the Truth Himself proclaims when concerning transitory wealth He says: 'And the deceit of wealth chokes the word.' 4 Indeed wisdom and knowledge of spiritual teaching is true wealth, in comparison to which that which passes can be named false. And concerning the former Solomon says, 'A desirable treasure rests in the mouth of the wise man.' 5 With that said, the spiritual riches which lead to the eternal fatherland are most distant from terrestrial wealth, because when spiritual riches are given they grow, but when worldly riches are given they decrease, or they are retained and useless. They, then, who have these true riches in themselves, rightly are they called treasuries. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, from Homily 6 1 Ezek 40.3 2 Rom 6.9 3 Apoc 19.16 4 Isaiah 63.2-3

Wisdom's Feast

Σοφία ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐαυτῇ οἶκον Χρσιτὸς, φησὶν, ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς σοφία καὶ δύναμις, ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐαυτῇ οἶκον, τὴν ἐκ Παρθένου σάρκωσιν, καθὼς προείρηκεν· Ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν. Ὡς μαρτυρεῖ καὶ ὁ σοφὸς προφὴτης· Ἡ πρὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος, φησὶ, καὶ παρεκτικὴ ζωῆς, ἡ ἄπειρος σοφία τοῦ Θεοῦ ᾠκοδόμησε τὸν οἶκον ἑαυτῇ ἑξ ἁπειράνδρου μητρὸς, ναὸν γοῦν σωματικῶς περιθέμενος. Καὶ ὑπῄρησε στύλους ἑπτὰ· τὴν τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος εὐωδίαν, ὡς φησὶν Ἠσαϊας· Καὶ ἀναπαύσεται ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἑπτὰ πνεύματα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἄλλοι δὲ λέγουσιν εἴναι στύλους ἑπτὰ, τὰ ἑπτὰ θεῖα τάγματα τὰ διὰ τῆς ἱερᾶς αὐτοῦ καὶ θεοπνεύστου διδακαλίας τὴν κτίσιν βαστάζοντα, ἤγουν τοὺς προφήτας, τοὺς ἀσκητὰς, τοὺς ὁσίους καὶ τοὺς δικαίους. Τὸ δὲ, ἔσφαξε τὰ ἑαυτὴς θύματα, τοὺς προφήτας φησὶ καὶ μάρτυρας, τοὺς κατὰ πᾶσαν πόλιν καὶ χώραν καθ' ἐκάστην ὑπὸ τῶν ἀπίστων ὥσπερ ἄρνας ἀναιρουμένους ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας, καὶ βοῶντας· Ἕνακά σου θανατούμεθα ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν. Ἐλογίσθημεν ὡς πρόβατα σφαγῆς. Καὶ ἐκέρασεν εἰς κρατῆρα τὸν ἑαυτῆς οἴνον, εἰς τὴν παρθένον τὴν ἑαυτοῦ θεότητα ἐνώσας τῇ σαρκὶ ὡς οἴνον ἄκρατον, ὁ Σωτὴρ ἑγεννήθη ἐξ αὐτῆς ἀσυγχύτως Θεὸς καὶ ἄνθρωπος. Καὶ ἠτοιμάσατο τὴν ἑαυτῆς τρὰπεζεν, τὴν ἐπιγνωσιν τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος κατεπαγγελλομένην· καὶ τὸ τίμιον καὶ ἄχραντον αὐτοῦ σῶμα καὶ αἵμα ἄπερ ἐν τῇ μυστικῇ καὶ θείᾷ τραπέζῃ καθ' ἐκάστην ἐπιτελοῦνται θυόμενα εἰς ἁνάμνησιν τῆς ἀειμνήστου καὶ πρώτης ἐκείνης τραπέζης τοῦ μυστικοῦ θείου δείπνου. Τὸ δὲ, ἀπέστειλε τοὺς ἑαυτῆς δούλους ἡ Σοφία, ὁ Χριστὸς δηλονότι, συγκαλοῦσα μετὰ ὑψηλοῦ κηρύγματος. Ὅς ἐστιν ἄφρων, ἐκκλινάτω πρὸς μὲ φάσκουσα τοὺς ἱεροὺς ἀποστόλος πρόδηλον, τοὺς εἰς τὸν σύμπαντα κόσμον διαδραμόντας καὶ προσκαλέσαντας τὰ ἔθνη εἰς τὴν ἐκείνου ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθῶς τῷ ὑψηλῷ καὶ θείῳ τούτων κηρύγματι. Τὸ δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἐνδεέσε φρενῶν εἶπε, τοῖς μήπω κεκτημένοις τὴν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος δύναμιν δηλονότι· Ἤλθετε, φάγετε τὸν ἐμὸν ἄρτον, καὶ πίετε οἶνον ὄν κέκρακα ὑμίν, τὴν θείαν αὐτοῦ σάρκα καὶ τὸ τίμιον αὐτοῦ αἷμα δέδωκεν ἡμῖν, φησὶν, ἐσθίειν καὶ πίνειν εἰς ἂφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν. Ἅγιος Ἱππόλυτος Ρώμης, Εἰς Τας Παροιμίας Source: Migne PG 10.625c-628c

'Wisdom has built her house.' 1 Christ, it says, the wisdom and power of God the Father, has built His house, that is, His nature in the flesh derived from the Virgin, even as it is proclaimed: 'The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.' 2 So the wise Prophet testifies: that which was before the world and is the source of life, the infinite Wisdom of God, has built her house, by a mother who knew no man, that is, as He assumed the temple of the body. 'And she has raised seven pillars,' 1 That is, the fragrance of the all holy Spirit. As Isaiah says: 'And the seven spirits of God shall rest on Him,' 3 But others say that the seven pillars are the seven divine orders which sustain the creation by His holy and inspired teaching; that is, the Prophets, the Apostles, the Martyrs, the Hierarchs, the Ascetics, the Saints, and the Righteous. 'She has killed her beasts,' 4 Speaks of the Prophets and Martyrs who in every city and country are slain like sheep every day by the faithless for the sake of the truth, and who cry aloud, 'For your sake we are killed all the day long, we are accounted sheep for the slaughter.' 5 'She has mixed her wine in the bowl,' 4 Tells of the Saviour, uniting He is Godhead, like pure wine, with the flesh of the Virgin, being born of her at once God and man, without confusion of the one with the other. 'And she has prepared her table,' 4 Which is the promised knowledge of the Holy Trinity. And it also refers to His honoured and undefiled body and blood, which day by day are administered and offered sacrificially at the spiritual divine table, as a memorial of that first and ever memorable table of the spiritual divine supper. And 'She has sent forth her servants,' 6 Which is the Wisdom that is Christ summoning them with lofty announcement. 'Whoever is simple, let him turn to me,' 7 She says, clearly speaking of the holy Apostles, who traversed the whole world, and called the peoples to true knowledge of Him, with their lofty and divine preaching. And to those that want understanding she said...' That is, to those who have not yet obtained the power of the Holy Spirit. 'Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mixed for you,' 8 Which is that He gave His Divine flesh and honoured blood to us, to eat and to drink it for the remission of sins. Saint Hippolytus of Rome, Fragment On Proverbs 1Prov 9.1 2 Jn 1.14 3 cf Isaiah 11.2 4 Prov 9.2 5 Ps 44.22, Rom 8.36 6 Prov 9.3 7 Prov 9.4 8 Prov 9.5

Eucharist And Resurrection

Ὁπότε οὖν καὶ τὸ κεκραμένον ποτήριον καὶ ὁ γεγονὼς ἄρτος ἐπιδέχεται τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ γίνεται εὐχαριστία καὶ σῶμα Χριστοῦ, ἐκ τούτων τε αὔξει καὶ συνέστηκεν ἡ τῆς σαρκὸς ἡμῶν ὑπόστασις, πῶς δεκτικὴν μὴ εἶναι τὴν σάρκα λέγουσι τῆς δωρεᾶς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἥτις ἐστὶ ζωὴ αἰώνιος, τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος καὶ αἵματος τοῦ Κυρίου τρεφομένην καὶ μέλος αὐτοῦ ὑπάρχουσαν; Καθὼς ὁ μακάριος Ἀπόστολός φησιν ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ἐφεσίους ἐπιστολῇ ὅτι Μέλη ἐσμὲν τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων αὐτοῦ, οὐ περὶ πνευματικοῦ τινος καὶ ἀοράτου ἀνθρώπου λέγων ταῦτα, τὸ γὰρ πνεῦμα οὔτε ὀστέα οὔτε σάρκας ἔχει, ἀλλὰ περὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸν ἀληθινὸν ἄνθρωπον οἰκονομίας, τῆς ἐκ σαρκῶν καὶ νεύρων καὶ ὀστέων συνεστώσης, ἥτις καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ποτηρίου ὅ ἐστιν αἷμα αὐτοῦ τρέφεται καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἄρτου ὅ ἐστι σῶμα αὐτοῦ αὔξεται. Καὶ ὅνπερ τρόπον τὸ ξύλον τῆς ἀμπέλου κλιθὲν εἰς τὴν γῆν τῷ ἰδίῳ καιρῷ ἐκαρποφόρησε, καὶ ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σίτου πεσὼν εἰς τὴν γῆν καὶ διαλυθεὶς πολλοστὸς ἠγέρθη διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ συνέχοντος τὰ πάντα, ἔπειτα δὲ διὰ τῆς σοφίας τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς χρῆσιν ἐλθόντα ἀνθρώπων καὶ προσλαμβανόμενα τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐχαριστία γίνεται, ὅπερ ἐστὶ σῶμα καὶ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, οὕτως καὶ τὰ ἡμέτερα σώματα ἐξ αὐτῆς τρεφόμενα καὶ τεθέντα εἰς τὴν γῆν καὶ διαλυθέντα ἐν αὐτῇ ἀναστήσεται ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ καιρῷ, τοῦ Λόγου τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ἔγερσιν αὐτοῖς χαριζομένου εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρός, ὃς ὄντως τῷ θνητῷ τὴν ἀθανασίαν περιποιεῖ καὶ τῷ φθαρτῷ τὴν ἀφθαρσίαν προσχαρίζεται, ὅτι ἡ δύναμις τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελειοῦται, ἵνα μὴ ὡς ἐξ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν ἔχοντες τὴν ζωὴν φυσιωθῶμεν καὶ ἐπαρθῶμέν ποτε κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀχάριστον ἔννοιαν ἀναλαβόντες, πείρᾳ δὲ μαθόντες ὅτι ἐκ τῆς ἐκείνου ὑπεροχῆς ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐκ τῆς ἡμετέρας φύσεως τὴν εἰς ἀεὶ παραμονὴν ἔχομεν, μήτε τῆς περὶ τὸν Θεὸν δόξης ὡς ἔστιν ἀστοχήσωμεν, μήτε τὴν ἡμετέραν φύσιν ἀγνοήσωμεν, ἀλλ’ εἰδῶμεν τί ὁ Θεὸς δύναται καὶ τί ἄνθρωπος εὐεργετεῖται, καὶ μὴ σφαλῶμέν ποτε τῆς ἀληθοῦς περὶ τῶν ὄντων ὡς ἔστι καταλήψεως, τουτέστι Θεοῦ τε καὶ ἀνθρώπων. Καὶ μήτι γε, καθὼς προείπαμεν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἠνέσχετο ὁ Θεὸς τὴν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἡμῶν ἀνάλυσιν, ὅπως παντοίως παιδευθέντες ἐν πᾶσιν εἰς τὸ μέλλον ὦμεν ἀκριβεῖς, μήτε Θεὸν μήτε ἑαυτοὺς ἀγνοοῦντες; Εἰρηναίος Λυώνος, Έλεγχος και Ανατροπή της Ψευδωνύμου Γνώσεως, βιβλίον Ε' Κεφ β' Source: Migne PG 7.1125b-1128b

When, then, the mixed cup and the manufactured bread receives the Word of God, and the Eucharist of the blood and the body of Christ is made, from which the substance of our flesh is increased and supported, how can they affirm that the flesh is incapable of receiving the gift of God, which is life eternal, which flesh is nourished from the body and blood of the Lord, and is a member of Him? As the blessed Paul says in his Epistle to the Ephesians: 'We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.' 1 He does not say these things of some spiritual and invisible man, 'for a spirit has not bones nor flesh,' 2 but of that dispensation of the true man, of flesh, and nerves, and bones, which flesh is nourished by the cup which is His blood and increases from the bread which is His body. And as a cutting from the vine planted in the ground produces fruit in its season, and as a grain of wheat falling into the earth decomposes and then rises with manifold increase by the Spirit of God who contains all things, and then, through the wisdom of God, serves for the use of men, and having received the Word of God, becomes the Eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ, so also our bodies which are nourished by it, and placed in the earth, and decompose in it, shall rise at their appointed time, the Word of God giving to them resurrection to the glory of God, even the Father, He who freely gives immortality to that which is mortal, and incorruption to that which is corruptible, 3 because the strength of God is made perfect in weakness, 4 in order that we may never become puffed up, as if we had life from ourselves, with ungrateful minds exalted against God, but learning by experience that from Him who is and not from our own nature we have eternal duration, we neither underrate that glory which surrounds God as He is, nor be ignorant of our own nature, so that we know what God can do and what good is done to man, and never err in the true comprehension of things as they are, that is, concerning God and man. And might it not be, as I have said, that God permitted our dissolution into the earth for this, that we, being instructed in every way, may be accurate in everything to come, being ignorant neither of God nor of ourselves? Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 2 1 Ephes 5.30 2 Lk 24.39 3 1 Cor 15.53 4 2 Cor 12.3

Prayer And Bread

Procedente oratione postulamus et dicimus: Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie. Quod potest et spiritaliter et simpliciter intelligi, quia et uterque intellectus utilitate divina proficit ad salutem. Nam panis vitae Christus est, et panis hic omnium non est, sed noster est. Et quomodo dicimus Pater noster, quia intelligentium et credentium pater est, sic et panem nostrum vocamus, quia Christus eorum qui corpus ejus contingunt panis est. Hunc autem panem dari nobis quotidie postulamus, ne qui in Christo sumus et Eucharistiam quotidie ad cibum salutis accipimus, interecedente aliquo graviore delicto, dum abstenti et non communicantes a coelesti pane prohibemur, a Christi corpore separemur, ipso praedicante et monete: Ego sum panis vitae qui de coelo descendi. Si quis ederit de meo pane, vivet in aeternum. Panis autem quem ergo dedero caro mea est pro saeculi vita. Quando ergo dicit in aeternum vivere si quis ederit de ejus pane, ut manifestum est eos vivere qui corpus ejus attingunt et Eucharistiam jure communicationis accipiunt, ita contra timendum est et orandum ne, dum quis abstentus separatur a Chrsiti corpore, procul remaneat a salute, comminante ipso et dicente: Nisi ederitis carnem Filii hominis et biberitis sanguinem ejus, non habebitis vitam in vobis. Et ideo panem nostrum, id est Christum, dari nobis quotidie petimus, ut, qui in Christo manemus et vivimus, a sanctificatione ejus et corpore non recedamus. Sanctus Cyprianus, De Oratione Dominica Source: Migne PL 4.531a-532b

As the prayer proceeds, we ask and say, 'Give us this day our daily bread.' 1 And this may be understood both spiritually and simply, because either way of understanding is divinely useful for salvation. For Christ is the bread of life, and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And as we say, 'Our Father,' because He is the Father of those who understand and believe, so we call it 'our bread,' because Christ is the bread of those who are joined with His body. And we ask that this bread should be given to us daily, lest we who are in Christ and daily receive the Eucharist for the food of salvation, by the interposition of some grave sin, are prevented, while abstaining and not communicating, from partaking of the heavenly bread and are separated from Christ's body, as He Himself predicts, and warns: 'I am the bread of life which came down from heaven. If any man eat of my bread, he shall live forever. The bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.' 2 When, therefore, He says that whoever shall eat of His bread shall live forever, so it is manifest that they live who partake of His body and receive the Eucharist by the right of communion are living, and thus, on the other hand, we must fear and pray lest any one, while abstaining and being separate from Christ's body should remain far from salvation, as He Himself warns, saying: 'Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you.' 3 And therefore we ask that our bread, that is, Christ, may be given to us daily, that we who remain and live in Christ may not depart from His sanctification and body. Saint Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise On The Lord's Prayer 1 Mt 6.11 2 Jn 6.51-52 3 Jn 6.54

Taking Drinks

Φυσικὸν μὲν οὖν καὶ νηφάλιον ποτὸν ἀναγκαῖον διψῶσίν ἐστιν ὕδωρ. Τοῦτο ἐκ τῆς ἀκροτόμου πέτρας κατειβόμενον τοῖς παλαιοῖς τῶν Ἑβραίων μονότροπον σωφροσύνης ὁ Kύριος ἐχορήγει ποτόν, νήφειν δὲ μάλιστα ἐχρῆν τοὺς ἔτι πλανωμένους. Ἔπειτα ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἁγία τὸν βότρυν ἐβλάστησεν τὸν προφητικόν. Τοῦτο σημεῖον τοῖς εἰς ἀνάπαυσιν ἐκ τῆς πλάνης πεπαιδαγωγημένοις, ὁ μέγας βότρυς, ὁ Λόγος ὁ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν θλιβείς, τὸ αἷμα τῆς σταφυλῆς ὕδατι κίρνασθαι ἐθελήσαντος τοῦ Λόγου, ὡς καὶ τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ σωτηρίᾳ κίρναται. ∆ιττὸν δὲ τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Kυρίου· τὸ μέν ἐστιν αὐτοῦ σαρκικόν, ᾧ τῆς φθορᾶς λελυτρώμεθα, τὸ δὲ πνευματικόν, τοῦτ' ἔστιν ᾧ κεχρίσμεθα. Καὶ τοῦτ' ἔστι πιεῖν τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, τῆς κυριακῆς μεταλαβεῖν ἀφθαρσίας· ἰσχὺς δὲ τοῦ Λόγου τὸ Πνεῦμα, ὡς αἷμα σαρκός. Ἀναλόγως τοίνυν κίρναται ὁ μὲν οἶνος τῷ ὕδατι, τῷ δὲ ἀνθρώπῳ τὸ Πνεῦμα, καὶ τὸ μὲν εἰς πίστιν εὐωχεῖ, τὸ κρᾶμα, τὸ δὲ εἰς ἀφθαρσίαν ὁδηγεῖ, τὸ πνεῦμα, ἡ δὲ ἀμφοῖν αὖθις κρᾶσις ποτοῦ τε καὶ Λόγου εὐχαριστία κέκληται, χάρις ἐπαινουμένη καὶ καλή, ἧς οἱ κατὰ πίστιν μεταλαμβάνοντες ἁγιάζονται καὶ σῶμα καὶ ψυχήν, τὸ θεῖον κρᾶμα τὸν ἄνθρωπον τοῦ πατρικοῦ βουλήματος Πνεύματι καὶ Λόγῳ συγκιρνάντος μυστικῶς· καὶ γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς μὲν τὸ πνεῦμα ᾠκείωται τῇ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ φερομένῃ ψυχῇ, ἡ δὲ σὰρξ τῷ Λόγῳ, δι' ἣν ὁ Λόγος γέγονεν σάρξ. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Ὁ Παιδαγωγός, Λογὸς Δεύτερος, Κεφ. Β' Source: Migne PG 8.410a-412a

The natural, temperate, and necessary drink for those who thirst is water. This was the simple drink of sobriety, which, flowing from the rock that was struck, was supplied by the Lord to the ancient Hebrews, 1 it being most necessary that they should be temperate in their wanderings. Later the sacred vine produced the prophetic cluster. This was a sign to them to rest from their improving wanderings, which great cluster, the Word, was bruised for us, the blood of the grape, that is, the Word, wishing to be mingled with water, as His blood is mingled with salvation. And the blood of the Lord is twofold; for there is the blood of His flesh, by which we are delivered from corruption, and the spiritual, by which we are anointed. And to drink the blood of Jesus is to become partaker of the Lord's immortality, and the Spirit is the strength of the Word, as blood of flesh. Just as, then,  wine is mixed with water, so the Spirit with man. And the one mixture nourishes to faith, and the other, the Spirit, conducts to immortality. And the mixture of both, of the water and of the Word, is called the Eucharist, renowned and beautiful grace, and they who by faith partake are sanctified in body and soul, the Divine mixture, man, by the Father's will being mystically compounded of the Spirit and the Word. For, in truth, the Spirit is joined to the soul, which is inspired by it, and the flesh to the Word, by reason of which the Word became flesh. Clement of Alexandria, The Teacher, Book II, Ch 2 1 Exod 17.1-7, Numb 20.1-13

Parts And Deeds And States of God

Igitur, ut dictum est, figuraliter in Deo caput esse legimus, ipsam essentiam divinitatis eius, quae praecedit, et cui omnia sunt subiecta intelligere debemus. Capillos vero capitis eius sanctos angelos, seu virtuosos electos typice accipi oportet; de quo in sacramento libri Danielis scriptum est: Aspiciebam donec throni positi sunt, et Antiquus dierum sedit. Vestimentum eius quasi nix candidum, et capilli capitis eius quasi lana munda: hoc enim significat per vestimenta candida Dei, quod et per capillos capitis eius, sanctos videlicet angelos et multitudinem sanctorum dealbatorum. Vel certe ideo capilli lanae mundae comparantur, ut per hoc Antiquus dierum credatur esse. Oculos dicitur Deus habere, pro eo quod omnia videt, et nihil eum latet, in cuius conspectu, ut ait Apostolus, nulla creatura invisibilis est: omnia enim nuda et aperta sunt oculis eius . Aliter vero respectus gratiae eius intelliguntur: ut est illud in psalmo, Oculi Domini super iustos. Item aliter, Oculi Domini praecepta eius, per quae nobis lumen scientiae subministratur, accipiuntur: ut est illud in psalmo, Praeceptum Domini lucidum illuminans oculos. Palpebrae Domini occulta et incomprehensibilia iudicia eius, sive spiritualis in divinis libris eius locutio innuitur. De quibus occultis et incomprehensibilibus sacramentis atque iudiciis in psalmo: Palpebrae eius interrogant filios hominum , id est, probant. Aures habere dicitur Deus, propterea quod omnia audit, et nihil eum in silentio latet: de quo in libro Sapientiae scriptum, Auris coeli audit omnia, et tumultus murmurationum non abscondetur. Nares Dei est inspiratio eius in corda fidelium: ut illud in libro Regum: Ascendit fumus de naribus eius, id est, lacrymosa compunctio poenitentium inspiratio eius. Facies Dei cognitio est divinitatis eius ad omnes: de qua cognitione in psalmis scriptum est: Ostende nobis faciem tuam, et salvi erimus, hoc est, dona nobis cognitionem tuam, quam cognitionem per Filium hominis hominibus innotuit: ipso dicente in Evangelio, Nemo novit Patrem nisi Filius, et cui voluerit Filius revelare. Aliter vero facies Dei significat invisibilem essentiam divinitatis Filii Dei; de qua ipse Dominus ad Mosen per angelum respondens ait: Posteriora mea videbis, faciem autem meam videre non poteris; ac si diceret, divinitatem autem meam videre non poteris. Os Dei Filius Patris, id est, Christus Dominus; pro quo Isaias propheta ex persona Iudaeorum effatus est: Quia os eius ad iracundiam provocavimus. Aliter vero os eius sermo eius sive iussio accipitur; de quo sermone Domini praedictus propheta ait: Os Domini locutum est hoc. Verbum Dei Filius Dei Patris, per quem omnia facta sunt; de quo in Psalmo, Verbo Domini coeli firmati sunt. Et alibi: Misit Verbum suum, et sanavit eos. Et in Evangelio secundum Ioannem, In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Lingua Dei mystice significat Spiritum sanctum, per quem Deus Pater secretum suum manifestavit hominibus; unde in Psalmo: Lingua mea calamus scribentis. Labia Dei mystice utriusque testamenti consonantia intelliguntur: de quibus duobus testamentis in Proverbiis scriptum est: In iudicio non erravit os eius. Brachia Dei Patris Filius eius et Spiritus sanctus intelliguntur; sicut est illud in Isaia: Et brachia mea populos iudicabunt. Brachium Dei singulariter Filius accipitur: de quo Ieremias ad ipsum ait: Et nunc Dominus Deus qui eduxisti populum tuum de terra Aegypti in manu forti, in brachio extento. Idcirco autem Filius Dei Patris brachium dicitur, quia creatura electa ab ipso continetur. Dextera Dei Patris unigenitus Filius accipitur; de quo in psalmo ex persona hominis assumpti: Dextera, inquit, Domini fecit virtutem. Aliter vero Domini dextera gloriam signat Patris et aeternam beatitudinem; de quo in Psalmo ex persona Patris ad Filium. Sede a dextris meis. Dicitur autem et dextera Dei omnis electa creatura in coelo et in terra; sicut per sinistram eius intelligitur reproba creatura, id est, daemones et impii omnes, qui ad laevam positi aeterna supplicia sustinebunt. Manus Dei Patris Filius eius accipitur, pro eo quod per ipsum facta sunt omnia: sicut est illud in Isaia. Omnia haec manus mea fecit, et facta sunt omnia. Aliter vero manus Dei eius potestas intelligitur de qua potestate in Ieremiae libro prophetae: Sicut lutum in manu figuli, sic vos in manu mea, domus Israel. Item manus Domini flagellum accipitur; de cuius percussione in Sophonia propheta scriptum est: Extendam manum meam super Iudam et super habitantes Israel, et disperdam de loco hoc reliquias Baal, etc., pro qua Domini percussione beatus Iob de semetipso ait: Manus Domini tetigit me. Digitus Dei singulariter Spiritus sanctus accipitur, a quo Spiritu sancto, lex duabus in tabulis lapideis in monte Sinai scripta narratur. Ipse scripsit qui scribenda dictavit, id est Spiritus sanctus. De quo Dominus in Evangelio: Si ego, inquit, in digito Dei eiicio daemonia. Sicut enim digitus cum manu vel brachio, manus vero vel brachium cum corpore unum sunt in natura, ita Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus sanctus tres quidem personae sunt, una autem substantia divinitatis. Digiti Dei pluraliter sancti intelliguntur prophetae, per quos Spiritus sanctus libros legis ac prophetarum sua inspiratione describit; de quibus in Psalmo scriptum est: Videbo coelos opera digitorum tuorum: per coelos enim libros legis ac prophetarum, per digitos vero sanctos, ut dictum est, prophetas, mystice insinuari certum est. Imago Dei Patris invisibilis, unigenitus Filius eius est: de quo Apostolus: Imago Dei invisibilis. Aliter namque est imago Dei Patris in Filio suo, quem non aliunde, sed ex semetipso, hoc est, ex substantia sua per omnia sibi similem genuit et aequalem. Aliter vero anima hominis, quam non ex se, id est, de sua substantia, sicut plerique haeretici opinati sunt, genuit, sed ex nihilo creavit. Sicut aliter imago est cuiuslibet regis in filio eius quem ex semetipso sibi similem genuit, id est, homo hominem. Aliter vero in annullo eius, sicut in cera imago eius impressa, quae non est quod et ipsa: sicut filius qui naturaliter hoc est quod et pater. Cor Dei Patris arcanum sapientiae eius mystice innuit, ex quo Verbum, id est, Filium suum impassibiliter genuit sine initio; ipso dicente per Prophetam: Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum. Alas habere dicitur Deus, pro eo quod more avis electos suos tamquam pullos sub se colligit et fovet, et ab insidiis diaboli et malorum hominum protegit. Unde Propheta ait, Sub umbra alarum protege me. Scapulas habere dicitur Deus, quia infirma membra Ecclesiae, quasi in scapulis suis portat. De quo in Psalmo: Scapulis suis obumbrabit tibi. Venter secreta origo substantiae eius accipitur. Unde in Psalmo: Ex utero ante lucem genui te. Aliter: Uterus eius incomprehensibilia iudicia eius, quae rimari nequeunt, mystice insinuantur; de quo occulto iudicio eius in libro beati Iob scriptum est: De cuius utero egressa est glacies, et gelu de coelo quis genuit? Posteriora Filii Dei incarnatio accipitur; de qua posteriori parte Filius in monte Sinai ad Mosen, per angelum loquens ait: Posteriora mea videbis, faciem autem meam videre non potes. Pedes Dei stabilimentum virtutis eius, eo quod ubique praesens, et universa illi sunt subiecta; ipso dicente per Isaiam: Coelum mihi sedes est, terra autem scabellum pedum meorum. Aliter pedes Filii Dei incarnatio intelligitur, quae divinitati subiecta est tamquam capiti pedes. Sicut per caput divinitas, ita per pedes humanitas eius exprimitur: de qua humanitate in Exodo scriptum est: Videre Dominum Iesum: hic est Moses et Aaron, Nadab et Abiu, et septuaginta de senioribus sub pedibus quasi lapides sapphiri, et quasi coelum cum serenum est. Sicut autem per lapidem sapphirum coelestes creaturas, vel sanctos angelos, ita per coelum serenum, sanctam Ecclesiam electorum ex hominibus assumptam signaliter demonstrare voluit, super quas duas creaturas homo assumptus Filius Dei in perpetuum regnat: de quo in Psalmo, omnia, inquit, subiecisti sub pedibus eorum. Aliter autem pedes Domini, id est, Iesu Christi significant sanctos praedicatores, de quibus in Deuteronomio scriptum est: Qui appropinquant pedibus eius, accipient de doctrina eius. Vestimentum Filii Dei aliquando caro eius quae a divinitate assumpta est a divinis libris figuraliter accipitur, de quo indumento carnis Isaias vaticinans ait: Quis est iste, qui venit de Edom, tinctis vestibus de Bosra? Rursus vestimentum eiusdem Domini sancta accipitur Ecclesia, quae per fidem et dilectionem ei coniuncta est: de quo in psalmo scriptum est: Dominus regnavit, decorem induit. Et in alio Psalmo ad ipsum Dominum: Confessionem et decorem induisti, amictus lumine sicut vestimento. Pallium Christi iam dicta Ecclesia intelligitur, de quo in libro Genesi scriptum est: Lavit in vino stolam suam, hoc est, in sanguine passionis carnem suam, et in sanguine uvae pallium suum, id est, Ecclesiam suam. Calciamenta Domini Iesu Christi mystice signant incarnationem eius, quam ex mortalitate humani generis assumere dignatus est. De qua incarnatione sua ipse per Prophetam in Psalmo ait: In Idumaeam extendam calceum meum, id est, in plebem gentilium manifestabo incarnationem meam Gressus adventus Filii Dei in mundum, et regressio eius ad Patrem: de quibus Psalmus ait: Visi sunt gressus tui, Deus, gressus Dei mei, Regis mei qui est in sancto. De coelo venit in uterum Virginis, de utero vero nascendo positus in praesepio. Postquam omnia implevit, pro quibus a Patre missus venerat, appensus est in ligno crucis; de cruce autem depositus, secundum corpus sepultus est, secundum vero animam ad inferna descendit; tertia autem die per potentiam suae divinitatis carnem suam de sepulcro suscitavit, et post diem resurrectionis suae quadragesimam videntibus Apostolis ascendit in coelum, et sedet ad dexteram Patris, id est, in gloria sua: sunt enim gressus Filii Dei, iste est descensus et ascensus eius, qui frequenter in Scripturis sacris legitur. Ascendere dicitur Deus, cum Filius carnem ex nobis assumptam in coelum veluti captivam duxit captivitatem, quia naturam humani generis, quae diabolo in mundo captivo retinebatur, assumens secum in coelum, ubi numquam antea fuerat, tamquam captivam deportavit. Abscondere Deus faciem legitur, cum quibusdam eorum ex gentibus culpis, cognitionem suam abscondit, sicut in populo Iudaeorum nunc impletum esse videmus, quia negantes Filium Dei, scientiam veri Dei ita perdiderunt, ut similes forent gentibus, quae Dominum non noverunt. Ostendere dicitur Deus faciem suam, cum respectu gratiae suae, quibus vult, scilicet electis suis seipsum in corda eorum occulta inspiratione insinuat, et ad diligendum se amorem suum infundit. Sedere dicitur non corporaliter humano more, sed potentialiter super omnem creaturam rationabiliter praesidere: ut est illud in Psalmo: Regnavit Dominus super omnes gentes, Deus sedet super sedem sanctam suam. Sedere etiam Deus dicitur super Cherubin. Qui interpretatur multitudo seu plenitudo scientiae, per quod significantur sancti angeli sive mentes spiritualium virorum, in quibus Deus invisibiliter praesidet et regnat. In illis enim sedet qui scientia eius et dilectione pleni sunt. In Proverbiis quippe Salomonis scriptum est, Anima eius sedes sapientiae; sapientia vero Dei Patris Christus est, qui in animis sanctorum dicitur sedere. Descendere Deus in mundum dicitur quando aliquid novum quod antea non fuerat in creatura humana operatur, sicut Filius Dei descendisse narratur, quando veram carnem ex Maria virgine propter redemptionem nostram suscepit, et verus homo fieri dignatus est, non amittendo quod erat, sed assumendo quod non erat. De cuius descensione, id est, incarnatione in Psalmo scriptum est: Et inclinavit coelos et descendit, et caligo sub pedibus eius. Coelos inclinavit, qui ante adventum suum praenuntios angelos sive prophetas misit, quod eius adventum hominibus annuntiarent. Caligo sub pedibus eius fuit, quia impii homines ob suam malitiam incarnationem eius agnoscere non potuerunt, sed neque adhuc possunt. Stare dicitur Deus cum nos infirmos, id est, suam creaturam ad poenitentiam et conversionem patienter sustinet, ut est illud in Habacuc propheta: Stetit et mensus est terram, et dissolvit; id est, stetit ad superveniendum, et dissolvit credentes in se a vinculis peccatorum. Transire dicitur Deus, cum de cordibus quorumdam hominum, in quibus ante per fidem credebatur, postea subrepente perfidia, vel quolibet delicto ab eis recedit, et ad alios transit, quemadmodum de Iudaeis ad gentes, de haereticis ad catholicos, seu de quibuslibet irreligiosis ad religiosos. Recedere dicitur Deus et ad alios transire, quod non localiter aut visibiliter, sed invisibiliter occultoque iudicio ac iusto facere aliquid consuevit. Ambulare dicitur Deus, non de loco ad locum transeundo, quia impium est ita credere, sed ambulatio eius in cordibus sanctorum delectatio, sicut scriptum est: Et inhabitabo in eis, et ambulabo, et ero illorum Deus. Vel certe ambulare Dei est in sanctis praedicatoribus suis de loco ad locum transire. Loqui Dei invisibiliter sine sono vocis vel quolibet strepitu occulte mentibus sanctorum voluntatem suam atque rectum intellectum inspirare, seu futura, sicut in sanctis prophetis revelare. Quae locutio Dei, ut quidam volunt, tribus modis accipitur. Primo namque modo per subiectam creaturam, sicut ad Mosen in rubo apparuit. Vel sicut ad Abraham atque Iacob, et caeteris sanctis, quibus in angelis apparere dignatus est. Secundo vero modo in somnis, sicut Iacob et Zachariae prophetae et Ioseph sponso Mariae, et sanctis aliis, quibus secretum suum revelare voluit. Tertio autem modo neque per creaturam visibilem neque hominem, sed occulta tantum inspiratione invisibiliter corda suorum tangendo loquentes efficit, quemadmodum in libris prophetarum scriptum est, cum ipsi prophetae subito afflati spiritu divino exclamabant, haec dicit Dominus . Videre Dei est acta bona approbare, sicut est illud in Genesi: Vidit Deus cuncta quae fecerat et erant valde bona, id est, intelligentibus bona demonstravit. Aliter, Videre Dei est mala hominum sciendo reprobare, sicut est illud in Isaia propheta, Et vidit Deus, et malum apparuit in oculis eius. Item aliter videre Dei est, nos videntes facere, ut est illud in Psalmo, Proba me, Deus, et scito cor meum, et caetera: et vide si via iniquitatis in me est. Modus iste locutionis etiam in libro B. Iob similiter reperitur, ubi de sapientia Dei Patris per quam plurima insignia locutus est, de Patre adiecit, Tunc vidit illam et enarravit, et investigavit, et praeparavit; id est, videntes fecit, et praedicantes, et investigantes, atque aliis annuntiantes. Cognoscere Dei, est cognoscentes facere, sicut ait ad Abraham, Nunc cognovi quod timeas Dominum. Neque enim in tempore novit, qui omnia scit antequam fiant. Sed cognoscere dicitur Deus cognoscentes facere; ut quod prius de se quales essent incogniti erant, per eius interrogationem probatione sibimetipsi manifesti fierent. Tale est illud in lege Moysi de populo Israelitico, Ut tentem, inquit, eos, utrum custodiant mandata mea, an non. Nescire Dei, est quosdam reprobos reprobare, sicut est illud in Evangelio, Nescio vos unde sitis; recedite a me qui operaris iniquitatem. Zelare dicitur Deus, cum creaturam suam quam non vult perire, saepe castigat, corripit, atque flagellat, et flagellando ad se reducit. Vel zelare dicitur Deus, cum nullum peccatum impunitum vult relinquere. Iustus est enim, et ideo omnis iniustitia exsecrabilis est illi, quam, ut dictum est, nullo modo impunitam patitur. Irasci dicitur Deus, non animi motu, vel qualibet perturbatione, quae illi omnino accidere non potest: sed creaturae delinquenti, id est, hominibus impiis, et peccatoribus, iustam dicitur inferre ultionem, hoc est, reddere illis quod merentur: et haec ultio divina, furor eius dicitur. Poenitere dicitur Deus, non quod more hominum pro transactis operibus scilicet poeniteat; qui enim novit antequam fiant, pro perpetratis actibus poenitere non potest, sed poenitentia Dei, statuta mutare, et quod prius aliter fuerat, in aliud mutare, id est, aut de bonis exigentibus culpis in malum, sicut de Saul legitur poenituisse Dominum, quod constituisset eum regem; vel sicut nunc videmus in populo Iudaeorum actum, qui cum esset populus Dei, ob impietatem suam facti sunt synagoga Satanae. De malo vero in bonum, sicut accidit in populo gentium, qui ante non populus Dei, nunc autem per Christi gratiam, populus Dei factus est. Hoc quippe modo occulto Dei iudicio, Iudas proditor de apostolatus gradu lapsus, inferni baratro demersus est. Latro vero prius crimen rapacitatis operans, de cruce ad paradisum translatus est . Hanc quoque mutationem de bono ad melius, ut dictum est; sive de bono ad malum, seu de malo ad bonum, quae occulto Dei iudicio, ac iusto, per severitatem iustitiae suae, sive per misericordiam eius fiat, poenitentiam Dei dicimus: quod expressius in libro Ieremiae scriptum est. Non poenitere Dei, statuta nullo modo mutare, ut est illud in Psalmo: Iuravit Deus, et non poenituit eum; id est, Pater ad Filium: Tu es Sacerdos in aeternum, secundum ordinem Melchisedech. Sacerdos tamen Patris dictus est Filius Dei, non secundum divinitatem, sed secundum humanitatem, in qua se pro nobis per passionem et mortem suam, acceptabile sacrificium Deo Patri obtulit, ut ipse esset sacrificium, qui sacerdos. Oblivisci Deus dicitur, cum quibusdam impiis et peccatoribus non miseretur. Quod utique non facit per crudelitatem quae in Deo non est, sed per occultum iustumque iudicium suum. Indurare Deus dicitur quorumdam malorum corda, sicut de Pharaone rege Aegypti scriptum est; non quod omnipotens Deus per potentiam suam eorum corda induret, quod impium est ita credere, sed exigentibus eorum culpis, cum duritiam cordis qua ipsi omnia mala perpetrando invertunt, non aufert: quasi illos induret, quos iusto iudicio indurari sinit. Dormire Dei est, cum unigenitus Filius Patris in assumpta carne mori pro nobis dignatus est: cui mors recte dulcis praedictus est somnus, ipso dicente per Ieremiam prophetam, Ideo quasi de somno excitatus sum, et vidi, et somnus meus dulcis est mihi. Aliter dormire dicitur Deus, cum fides eius inter prosperitates huius mundi et inter quorumdam corda fidelium non vigilat, sed dormit. Hanc dormitionem ipse Iesus significavit, cum in mari inter fluctus maris dormivit. Vel certe, dormire Dei, est anxiis tardius subvenire, sicut est illud in psalmo: Exsurge, quare obdormis, Domine, etc. Vigilare Dei, est in defensione electorum suorum se manifestum demonstrare. Sanctus Eucherius Lugdunensis, Liber Formularum Spiritalis Intelligentiae, Caput I Source: Migne PL 50.730c-737c

Therefore, as said, when we read 'head' of God, it should be understood as referring figuratively to His Divine essence, which is primary and after which everything comes. However, the hairs of his head should be understood as his holy angels, or his virtuous chosen ones, concerning which it is written in the holy book of Daniel: 'I looked while the throne was placed and the Ancient of Days sat. His vestment was like snow shining, and the hairs of his head like washed wool.' 1 For that which is signified by the bright garb of God and by the hairs of His head are the angels and the mulitude of the holy made clean. Or certainly the hairs are compared to washed wool, as by this the term 'ancient of days' may be believed It is said that God has eyes by which He sees everything and nothing escapes Him, as the Apostle says, 'No creature is unseen. Everything is exposed and open to His eyes. 2 But besides this, the consideration of His grace may be understood, that is, as said in the Psalm: 'The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous.' 3 And again elsewhere, the eyes of the Lord are His commands through which the light of His knowledge is given down to us, as it says in the Psalm: 'The command of the Lord is a light illuminating the eyes.' 4 The glance of the Lord is His hidden and incomprehensible judgements, or the meaning of the spiritual speech of His Divine books. Concerning which hidden and incomprehensible mysteries and judgements the Psalm says: 'His glance questions the sons of men.' 5 that is, it proves them. It is said God has ears by which He hears all things, and nothing escapes Him in silence, concerning which it is written in the book of Wisdom: 'The ear of heaven hears all things, and the tumult of murmuring does not escape him.' 6 The nose of God is his inspiration in the hearts of the faithful, as found in the book of Kings: 'Smoke rose from his nostrils,' 7 that is, the tearful compunction of the penitent is His inspiration. The face of God is the knowledge of His Divinity among all: concerning which knowledge it is written in the Psalm: 'Show us your face and we shall be saved.' 8That is, the gift to us of your knowledge, which knowledge by the Son of man was revealed to man, as it says in the Gospel: 'No one knows the Father but the Son, and him to whom the Son wishes to reveal it.' 9 But besides this the face of God signifies the invisible essence of the Divinity of the Son of God, concerning which the Lord Himself spoke to Moses through an angel, answering: 'You shall see my back, and you shall not be able to see my face,' 10 as if He had said: 'My Divinity you are not able to see.' The mouth of God is the Son of the Father, that is, Christ the Lord, for whom Isaiah in the person of the Jews said:'We have provoked His mouth to anger.' 11 Besides this, His mouth is understood as His command, concerning which word of the Lord the Prophet said: 'The mouth of the Lord said this.' The Word of God is the Son of God the Father, through whom all things were made, concerning which the Psalm says: 'With the word of the Lord the heavens were made firm.' 12 And elsewhere: 'He sent His Word and healed us.' 13 And in the Gospel according to John: 'In the beginning was the Word and the Word with with God and God was the Word.' 14 The tongue of God mystically signifies the Holy Spirit, through which God the Father reveals His hidden things to men, whence in the Psalm: 'My tongue is as a reed writing.' 15 The Lips of God are understood as the harmony of both the Testaments, concerning which two Testaments it is written in Proverbs: 'His mouth does not err in judgement.' 16 The arms of God the Father are understood as His Son and the Holy Spirit, as it is said in Isaiah: 'My arms shall judge the peoples.' 17 The single arm of God is understood to be the Son, concerning which Jeremiah says: 'And now the Lord God who led your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, with an arm extended. 17 Therefore it is said that the arm of God the Father is the Son, because by it a chosen creation is encompassed. The right hand of God the Father is understood as the Only Begotten Son, concerning which in the Psalm, taking up the person of man, it says: 'The right hand of the Lord gives strength.' 18 Besides which the right hand of the Lord signifies the glory of the Father and eternal beatitude, concerning which, in the person of the Father to the Son, the Psalm says: 'Sit at my right hand.' 19 And the right hand of the Lord is all the elect of creation in heaven and earth, as by His left are understood all the reprobate, that is, demons and all impious men, who placed on the left shall suffer eternal punishment. 20 The hand of God is understood as His Son, through whom He made all things, as it is said in Isaiah: 'All these things my hand made, so all things were made.' 21 Besides this, the hand of God is understood as His power, concerning which power it is said in the book of Jeremiah the Prophet: 'As mud in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.' 22 Again the hand of the Lord is understood as a whip, concerning the blow of which it says in Zephaniah the Prophet: 'I shall stretch out my hand over Judah and over the inhabitants of Israel, and I shall scatter from this place the remnants of Baal.' 23 And concerning this blow of the Lord, the blessed Job says concerning himself: 'The hand of the Lord touched me.' 24 The finger of God, on its own, is understood as the Holy Spirit, by whom the two stone tablets on Mount Sinas are said to have been written. 25 He wrote who dicatated what was to be written, that is, the Holy Spirit. Concerning which the Lord says in the Gospel: 'If by the finger of God I cast out the demon...' 26 And as he who fights with the hand or the arm, yet the hand or the arm is of one nature with the body, so the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are three persons but one Divine substance. The fingers of God, in the plural, are understood as the holy Prophets, who through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote the books of the Law and the Prophets, concerning which it is in the Psalm: 'I shall look at the heavens the work of your fingers.' 27 For by the heavens the books of the Law, and the holy fingers, that is to say, the prophets, were mystically indowed is certain. The image of God the Father who is unseen is the Only Begotten Son, concerning which the Apostle says: 'The image of the invisible God.' 28 For the image of God the Father is the Son, who is not from anything but from Himself, that is, from His substance in all things like Him, generated and equal. However, the soul of man, is not produced from himself, that is, from his own substance, as the heretics often propose, but created from nothing. So it as an image of some king in his son whom from himself he sired, similar to himself, that is, a man producing a man. Or as with a ring, in which is an image pressed in wax , which is not what he is, so is the son who naturally is as the father. The heart of God the Father mystically indicates His wisdom, from which the Word, that is, His Son, was born impassibly, without beginning, as the Prophet says: 'My heart cried forth a good word.' 29 It is said that God has wings, on account of the way like a bird he gathers his chicks and warms them beneath Himself, and protects them from the plots of the devil and evil men. Whence the Prophet says: 'Beneath the shadow of your wings protect me.' 30 God is said to have shoulders because He bears the weak members of the Church as on His shoulders. Concerning which it says in the Psalm: 'With his shoulders He shall defend you.' 31 The stomach is understood as the secret fount of His substance. So in the Psalm it says: 'From the womb before the light I bore you.' 32 Otherwise His womb is His incomprehensible judgements, which cannot be probed, are mysteriously imbued, concerning which obscure judgements it is written in the book of the blessed Job: 'From which womb has come ice, and with one has brought froth frost from heaven?' 33 The back of God is understood as the Incarnation of the Son, concerning which part, the Son on mount Sinai, speaking through an angel, said: 'My back you shall see, but my face you cannot see.' 34 The feet of God is the stabilising nature of His power, which is present everywhere, and everything is subject to it, with Him saying through Isaiah: 'Heaven is my seat, the earth is the footstool of my feet.' 35 Otherwise the feet of God are understood as the Incarnation of the Son of God, which is a Divine subjection, as the feet to the head. As by the head is Divinity, so by the feet His humanity is expressed, concerning which humanity it is written in Exodus, for the seeing of the Lord Jesus: 'Here is Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abiu, and seventy of the elders, beneath their feet was sapphire and as the sky when it is clear.' 36 For as like sapphire are heavenly creatures, or the holy angels, so by the clear sky he wishes to show the holy Church of the elect taken up from men, over which two created things, the man taken up, the Son of God, reigns eternally, concerning which the Psalm says, 'Everything is subject beneath His feet.' 37 Otherwise the feet of the Lord, that is, of Jesus Christ, signify holy preachers, concerning whom it is written in Deutronomy: 'They who come near to His feet, they shall receive His teaching.' 38 The vestments of the Son of God is sometimes understood in the sacred books as the flesh which the Divinity took up, concerning which covering Isaiah prophesizes saying: 'Who is this, who comes from Edom, with colored vestments of Bosra?' 39 Again the vestments of the Lord are understood as the Church, which by faith and love are joined to Him, concerning which it is written in the Psalm: 'The Lord ruled, robed in beauty.' 40 And in another Psalm concerning the same Lord: 'You put on confession and beauty, a cloak of light as clothing.' 41 The cloak of Christ is now understood as the Church, concerning which it is written in the book of Genesis: 'I washed my robe in wine,' 42 that is, in the blood of His passion, and in the blood of the grape is His cloak, His Church. The shoes of the Lord Jesus Christ mystically signify His incarnation, when He condescended to take up the mortality of the human race. Concerning which it is said by the Prophet in the Psalm: 'Into Idumaea I have stretched my foot', 43 that is, to the Gentile people I have manifested my Incarnation. The footsteps of God is the coming of the Son of God into the world, and His return to the Father, concerning which the Psalm says: 'Your footsteps have appeared, O God, the footsteps of my God, My King who dwells in holiness.' 44 From heaven He came into the Virgin's womb, and being born from the womb He was placed in a manger. After everything was fulfilled for which He came, sent by the Father, He was hung up on the wood of the cross, from which cross He was taken down, and according to the body buried, but according to the soul descended into hell, and on the third day, by the power of His Divinity, He took up His own flesh from the tomb, and after the fortieth day of His resurrection He was seen by the Apostles to ascend into heaven, and He sat at the right hand of the Father, that is, in His glory. For there are the footsteps of God, that is, His descent and His ascent, which one may frequently read about in Scripture God is said to ascend when the Son took up the flesh from us into heaven, as 'leading the captive captured,' 45 because the nature of the human race, which the devil held captive in the world, taking with Himself into heaven, where it was never before, He bore as a thing captured. It is said that God hides His face, 46 when from the people, on account of fault, He takes away His knowledge, which now we see fulfilled in the people of the Jews, because in denying the Son of God, so they lose the knowledge of the true God, just as were the Gentiles who did not know God. It is said that God shows His face, 47 when in respect of His grace, to those He wishes, His elect, He infuses Himself in their hearts with hidden inspiration, and for the sake of loving infuses them with His own love. He is said to sit, not corporeally, in the human manner, but as in power presiding rationally over all creatures; as it is said in the Psalm: 'The Lord rules over all the peoples, God sits upon His holy throne.'48 And God is said to sit upon the Cherubim, 49 which is understood as a multitude or plentitude of knowledge, by which is signified the holy angels or the minds of spiritual men, in which God unseen presides and regins. For in them He sits in whom are His knowledge and the fullness of love. Certainly In Proverbs Solomon has written: His soul is the seat of wisdom; 50 but the wisdom of God the Father is Christ, 51 who is said to sit in the souls of His holy ones. God is said to descend into the world when He works something new that never before was in human creation, as the Son of God is said to have descended when He took up true flesh from the Virgin Mary for our redemption, and condescended to become true man, not losing what He was, but assuming what He was not. Concerning which descent, that is, the Incarnation, in the Psalm it is written: 'And He bent the heavens and He descended, and darkness was beneath His feet.' 52 He bent down the heavens, who sent His herald angels or prophets before His own advent, that they announce His coming to men. And darkness was beneath His feet because impious men, on account of their wickedness, were not able to understand the Incarnation, nor even now can they. God is said to stand when we who are weak, that is, His creation, He sustains to repentance and enduring conversion, as it is said in Habakkuk the Prophet: 'He stood and measured the earth and it dissolved,' 53 that is, He stood to give aid and dissolved the chains of sin from those who have faith in Him. God is said to pass over, when from the hearts of certain men, in which before there was belief by faith, after gradual betrayal, or some sin, He withdraws, and He passes over to others, as from the Jews to the Gentiles, from heretics to Catholics, or from the irreligious to the religious. God is said to withdraw and pass over to others, not spatially or visibly, but with unseen and hidden righteous judgement He is accustomed to act. God is said to walk, not in the manner of passing from place to place, for it is impious to think so, but His walking is in the joy of the hearts of the holy, as it is written: 'And I shall dwell in them, and I shall walk and I shall be their God.' 54 Or God walks in His holy preachers who pass from place to place. The speech of God is unseen, without the sound of the voice, or any cry, and hidden in the minds of the holy by the inspiration of His will and right understanding, and is of the future as in revelations to the holy prophets. Which speech of God, as they will, is understood to happen in three ways. Firstly in the way of subject creation, as He appeared to Moses in the bush. 55 Or as to Abraham and Jacob, 56 and to other holy men, who he condescended to appear through angels. Secondly by dreams, as Jacob and Zachariah the Prophets and to Joseph the husband of Mary, and to other holy men, by which way He wished to reveal secrets. 57 The third way is neither through visible creation nor men, but the speech is made by the hidden inspiration invisibly touching the heart, as it is written in the books of the Prophets, when the Prophets, suddenly full of the Holy Spirit, cry out: 'This says the Lord.' God's seeing is an approval of good deeds, as it is said in Genesis: 'God saw all the things He had made and they were very good,' 58 that is, it is revealing of good to the understanding. Otherwise, the seeing of God is His reproof in the knowledge of men's evils, as in Isaiah the Prophet: 'And God saw and evil appeared in His eyes.' 59 And again the seeing of God is to make us see, as it says in the Psalm: 'Test me, God, and know my heart,' and then, 'and see if the way of iniquity is in me.' 60 This way of speaking is similarly found in the book of the blessed Job, when concerning the wisdom of God the Father which through many wonders was spoken, concerning the Father it is added: 'Then he saw it and he spoke it, he investigated and he prepared,' 61 that is, He made him see, and preach and question and announce it to others. The knowing of God is His making men know, as He said to Abraham: 'Now I know that you shall fear the Lord.' 62 For there was no time when God did not know, He who knows everthing before it is, but it said God knows by making men know something which before was not known, which by His questioning and proving is made manifest. Such happened in the Law of Moses with the people of Israel: 'I will test them,' He said, 'whether they shall guard my commandments or not.' 63 The ignorance of God is the reproval of certain reprobates, as it is said in the Gospel: 'I do not know where you are from; begone from me, you workers of iniquity.' 64 God is said to be jealous, when He does not want His creation to perish, and often the chastens, correction and strikes, and in striking brings about a return to Him. Or God is said to be jeaous when He does not wish to leave any sin unpunished. For he is just, and therefore every injustice is vile to Him, whence, as it is said, there is no way He shall allow punishment to pass. God is said to be angry, not by a commotion of the soul, which cannot happen at all, but when He brings righteous vengeance on erring creations, that is, impious men, and sinners; that is, when He returns to them what they merit, and this is said to be Divine vengance and His fury. 65 God is said to repent, not in the manner of man who repents over something he has done, for God knows it before it is, and so for acts performed it is impossible for Him to repent, but the repentance of God is by a change of state in something, that what was before is otherwise, becoming something else, that is, when goods are thrust out by fault for evil. So concerning Saul we read that God repented because He set him as king over them, 66 or as we now see in the deeds of the Jewish people, who when they were the people of God, on account of impiety, become the synagoge of Satan. 67 As for evil turning to good, so it happened with the Gentiles, for before were not the people of God, and now through the grace of Christ they have been made the people of God. 68 This is certainly one of the hidden judgements of God: Judas the traitor fell from the number of the Apostles into the depths of hell, but the thief, who was before a practioner of violent crime, was carried off from the cross to Paradise. 69 And so there is a change from good to better, as it is said, or from good to evil, or from evil to good, which comes about by the hidden and just judgement of God, through the rigour of his justice, or by his compassion, and which we call the repentance of God, which more openly is written about in the book of Jeremiah. 70 The non repentance of God is not at all by some change of state, as it says in the Psalm: 'God has sworn it and does not repent it,' that is, the Father to the Son, 'You are a priest for eternity, of the order of Melchisedech.' 71 But the Son is called a priest of the Father not according to His Divinity but on account of His humanity, in which He for us through His suffering and death offered and acceptable sacrifice to the Lord, that He be the sacrifice who was the priest. God is said to forget, when He has no mercy on some sinners and impious folk. Which He does not do through cruelty, which is not to be found in God, but by incomprehensible and just judgement. God is said to harden the hearts of certain evil folk, as it is written of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 72 Not that  almighty God by His power hardens their hearts, which is impious in believe, but by their pressing faults the hardness of the heart which their evil deeds have caused is not taken away; so He hardens them who He allows to be hardened against his just judgement. God is said to sleep when the only Begotten Son of the Father condescended in the taking of the flesh to die for us; which death is rightly proclaimed a sweet sleep, with Jeremiah the Prophet saying, 'So as from a sleep I am roused, and I see, and my sleep is sweet to me.' 73 Otherwise God is said to sleep when His faith among the prosperous of this world and in the hearts of the faithful is not awake but sleeps. This signifies the sleep of Jesus, when He slept on the sea amid the waves. 74 Or God sleeps when He is slow to aid the anxious, as it is said in the Psalm: 'Rise up, Lord, why do you sleep?' 75 God's vigilance is His manifest demonstration of His protection of His chosen ones. Saint Eucherius of Lyon, Rules Of The Spiritual Intelligence 1 Dan. 7.9 2 Heb 5.13 3. Ps 33.64 4. Ps 18.9 5 Ps 10.5 6. Wisd 1.10 7. Kings 22.9 8. Ps 79.4 9. Mt 11.27 10 Exod 23.23 11. Isaiah 1.20 12. Ps 32.6 13. Ps 106.26 14. Jn 1.1 15. Ps 44.2 16. Prov 16.10 17. Isaiah 51.1 18. Ps 117.16 19. Ps 109.1 20. Mt 25.33 21. Isaiah 66.2 22. Jerem 18.6 23. Zeph 1.4 24. Job 19.21 25. Exod 32.16 26. Lk 11.20 27. Ps 8.4 28. Col 1.15 29. Ps 44.2 30. Ps 16.8 31. Ps 90.4 32. Ps 109.3 33. Job 38.29 34. Exod 33.23 35. Isaiah 61.1 36. Exod 24.10 37. Ps 8.8 38. Deut 33.3 39. Isaiah 63.1 40. Ps 92.1 41. Ps 103.2 42. Gen 49.11 43. Ps 59.10 44. Ps 67.25 45. Ps 67.19 46. Deut 22.20 47. Ps 79.4 48. Ps 46.9 49. Ps 98.1 50. Ps 67.25 51. 1 Cor 1.24 52. Ps 17.10 53. Hab 3.6 54. 2 Cor 6.16 55. Exod 3.2 56. Gen 18,32 57. Gen 28.12, Zach 4.1, Mt 1.20 58. Gen 1.31 59. Isaiah 59.15 60. Ps 138.23 61 Job 28.27 62. Gen 22.12 63. Exod 16.4 64. Lk 13.27 65. Ps 6.1 66. 1 Kings 15.12 67. Apoc 2.9 68. Rom 9.26 69. Lk 23.43 70. Jerem 18.8 71. Ps 109.4 72. Exod 7.3 73. Jerem 31.26 74. Mt 4.38 75. Ps 48.23

Disputes And The Trinity

Nam quod arguat Pater, arguat Filius, arguat Spiritus sanctus ita probandum est. In Psalmo quodragesimo nono legitur: Peccatori autem dcit Deus: Quare tu enarras justitiam meam, et assumis testamentum meum per os tuum? Et infra: Arguam te, et statuam contra faciem tuam. David similiter orans dicit ad Christum: Domine, ne in ira tua arguas me; quia ipse venturus est arguere omnem carnem. Quid vero de Spiritu sancto Salvator in Evangelio dicit? Cum venerit, inquit, Paraclitus, ille arget mundum de peccato, et de justitia, et de judicio. Hoc praevidens David clamabat ad Dominum: Quo ibo a Spiritu tuo, et a facie tua quo fugiam? Nam et quod bonus sit Pater, bonus Filius, bonus Spiritus Sanctus, sic probatur. Dicit propheta: Bonus es tu, Domine, et in bonitate tua doce me justificationes tuas. De se autem ipse Unigentius: Ego sum pastor bonus. De Spiritu aeque sancto David in psalmo dicit ad Dominum: Spiritus tuus bonus deducet me in terram rectam. Victor Vitensis, Historia Persecutionis Africae Provinciae, Liber III, Professio Fidei Catholicorum Episcoporum Hunerico Regi Oblata Source: Migne PL 58.230b-c

For what the Father disputes, the Son disputes, and the Holy Spirit disputes, thus must be proved. In the forty ninth Psalm we read: 'God said to the sinner: Why do you tell of my righteousness and take up my testament in your mouth?'1 And further on: 'I shall dispute with you and I shall stand against your face.' 2 Similarly David prays, saying to Christ: 'O Lord, do not dispute with me in your anger,' 3 because He is coming to dispute with all flesh. And what does it say of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel? 'When the Paraclete comes,' He says, 'He shall dispute with the world concerning sin and righteousness and concerning judgement.' 4 Foreseeing this David cried out to the Lord: 'Where shall I go from your spirit, and where shall I fly from your face?' 5 For as the Father is good, the Son is good and the Holy Spirit is good, so it is proved. The Prophet says, 'You are good, Lord, and in your kindness teach me your justifications.' 6 And concerning Himself the Only Begotten says, 'I am the good shepherd.' 7 And concerning the equality of the Holy Spirit, David in the Psalm says to the Lord: 'Your good spirit shall lead me into the righteous land.' 8 Victor Vitensis, History of the Persecution of the African Province, Book 3, from the Profession of Faith of the Catholic Bishops to King Huneric 1 Ps 49.16 2 Ps 49.21 3 Ps 6.2 4 Jn 16.8 5 Ps 138.7 6 Ps 118.68 7 Jn 10.11 8 Ps 142.11

Things Of The Father And Of The Son

Ego pro eis rogo, non pro mundo rogo, sed pro his, quos dedisti mihi, quia tui sunt: et mea omnia tua sunt, et tua mea sunt: et clarificatus sum in eis. Qui tui sunt. Neque enim quia Pater eos Filio dedit, amisit ipse quos dedit, cum adhuc Filius sequatur ac dicat: Et mea omnia tua sunt, et tua mea. Ubi satis apparet quomodo unigeniti Filii sint omnia quae sunt Patris; per hoc utique quod etiam ipse Deus est, et de Patre Patri natus aequalis. Hoc enim dictum est de sancta et rationabili creatura, quam eligit Deus, et quae subdita est Patri et Filio, et aequaliter est Patris et Filii. Haec ergo cum sit Dei Patris, non simul esset et Filii, nisi Patri Filius aequlais. Nec fas est ut sancti, de quibus haec locutus est, cujusquam sint, nisi ejus a quo creati et santificati sunt. Ergo cum et Patris et Filii sunt, aequales esse demonstrant, quorum aequaliter sunt. Et clarificatus sum, inquit, in eis. Nunc suam clarificationem tanquam facta sit dicit, cum adhuc esset futura. 'Clarificatus sum in eis,' id est, per eorum praedicationem clarificatus sum in toto mundo. Et quia praedestinatum est ut fieret, certum voluit esse quod futurum erat. Ideo praeteriti temporis verbo usus est. Alcuinus, Commentariorum in Joannem, Lib VII, XXXIX Source: Migne PL 100.963c-d

For them I pray, not for the world, but for these whom you have given to me. For they are yours. All mine is yours, and yours is mine, and I am glorified in them. 1 'They who are yours.' For it is not that the Father gives them to the Son, and He is deprived of those He gives, since the Son continues and says: 'All mine is yours, and yours is mine.' Where it appears abundantly how everything of the only begotten Son is of the Father, by which indeed He is God, and being from the Father is equal to the Father. And this is said regarding holy and rational creatures, whom God chooses, and which are subject to the Father and the Son, and equally to the Father and the Son. These things then which are of God the Father would not be of the Son, unless the Son is equal to the Father. Is it not right that holy men, concerning which this is spoken, belong to anyone but Him by whom they are created and sanctified. Therefore, when they are of the Father and of the Son, they are revealed as equal, of whom the belongings are equal. 'And I am glorified.' He says, 'in them.' Now He speaks of His glorification as something done, when yet it is in the future. 'I am glorified in them,' that is, when by their preaching I am glorified in the whole world. And because it is predestined that it should be, certainly He wished that it was in the future. Therefore He used the past tense. 2 Alcuin of York, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint John, Book 7, Chapter 39 1  Jn 17.9-10 2 Adapted from Augustine's Tractate 107.2 on The Gospel of St John

Christ's Dwelling

In interiore homine Christum habitare per fidem in cordibus vestris. In eo petit eos magis firmari, ut non ambigant, sed magis credant Christum habitare in se, quem non vident his oculis; ut Spiritus datus hoc eis per Dei donum infundat, ut certi sint de Christo quod vivit, et Filius Dei est, et habitat per fidem in cordibus nostris, ipsum habere videamur. Quod eo proficit, ut securi simus de auxiliis ejus; quia non deserit nos, sed semper adest propter fidem suam, quam videt in nobis: quippe cum ideo Spiritus ejus, qui et Dei Patris est, detur nobis; ut vice ejus tutos praestet nos, si ei assentiamus, ut et occulta revelet; per quem utique ipsum in nobis habitare ambigere non debemus. Est enim hic alius paraclitus, inter quos personarum disantia est, non naturae; quia et de eo accipit, et a Deo procedit. In quibus enim naturae unitas est, invicem sui sunt; unde dicit Dominus: Omnia Patris mea sunt, et mea omnia Patris. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Ephesios, Caput III Source: Migne PL 17.384a-b

'To have Christ dwelling in the interior man by faith in your hearts.' 1  By this he seeks their greater firmness, that they not doubt but rather that they more believe that they have Christ dwelling in them, whom they do not see with these eyes, and as the Spirit is poured into them by the gift of God, so that they be certain that Christ lives and is the Son of God, and He dwells by faith in their hearts, let us also appear to have Him. Which profits because by that we are made confident of His help, since He does not abandon us, but He is always near on account of His faith, which He sees in us, for when His Spirit, who is of God the Father, is given to us, so His protection of us excels, if we assent to Him, so that He reveals hidden things, by which we will no longer doubt that He dwells in us. For there is another comforter, among them distinct in person and not by nature, since from God he is given who from God proceeds. 2 In which is the unity of nature of each one of them, whence the Lord says, 'Everything that is my Father's is mine, and what is mine is my Father's' 3 Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To The Ephesians, Chapter 3 1 Ephes 3.17 2 Jn 15.26 3 Jn 16.15

The Siring Of The Apostles And The Church

Jacob autem genuit Judam et fratres ejus. Et noster Jacob genuit duodecim apostolos in spiritu, non in carne: verbo, non sanguine. Nam sicut ille cum suis duodecim descendit in Aegyptum, ut multiplicaretur: sic et Christus cum suis duodecim apostolis descendit in mundum, et multiplicatus est per totum mundum, sicut res ipsa testatur. Item sicut ille descendit, ut medullam Aegypti manducaret, id est, acquireret sibi. Medualla enim hujus mundi sunt homines sancti. Sicut medulla quamdiu in arbore fuerit sana, semper floret; cum autem percomesta fuerit, tota paulatim marcescendo siccatur: et sic quamdiu sunt fideles, stat iste mundus. Nam sicut egredientibus Israelitis de Aegypto, exterminata est Aegyptus: sic et sancti cum de isto mundo defecerint, casurus est iste mundus. Judas autem interpretatur confessor, quoniam Christi imago, qui confessor Patris erat futurus, dicens, Confitebor tibi, Pater, Domine caeli et terrae. Quia sicut Judas meretici conjunctus est, et dedit illi virgam et annulum; sic et Christus ecclesiae meretrici ex gentibus se conjunxit, et dedit illi pro mercede conjunctionis virgam crucis, an annulum Spiritus sancti per baptismum, quasi signaculum fidei praecedentis, quem etiam alibi lascivo filio revertenti dari praecepit pater benignus. Et ideo forsitan Thamar, uxor ejus, interpretatur immutata, vel exacerbatio: quia et in ipsa habet intellectum conventientem et in Ecclesia. In ipsa quidem, quia cum esset casta, in meretricem se immutavit, et facta est exacerbatio Judae in ira, sicut Genesis liber testatur. In Ecclesia autem, quia fuerat eccelsia meretrix, et exacerbatio Dei, postmodum autem immutata per fidem Christi facta est casta. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia Prima Source: Migne PG 56.614

Jacob sired Judah and his brothers. Our Jacob sired the twelve Apostles in the spirit, not in the flesh, with the word, not with blood. For as Jacob with his twelve went down into Egypt that they be multiplied, so even Christ with his twelve Apostles descended into the world and they were multiplied through the whole world, as the thing itself bears witness. And similarly as He went down that he eat the marrow of Egypt, that is, that he gain it for himself, so the marrow of this world are holy men. As while the pith in the tree is healthy it flourishes, and when sick, in a short while it dries up in withering, so while the faithful exist, the world stands. For as with the going out of the Israelites from Egypt the Egyptians were exterminated, so when those who are holy diminish in the world, so falls the world. Now Judah is interpreted confessor, because he is an image of Christ, He who was to be the future confessor of the Father, saying 'I confess to you Father, Lord of heaven and earth.' 1 And because Judah was joined to a whore, and he gave to her a staff and a ring, 2 so even Christ is joined to the meretricious Church drawn from the Gentiles, and for payment for the union He gave to her the wood of the cross and the ring of the Holy Spirit through baptism, a ring of surpassing faith, which indeed in another place, a kind father commanded to be given to a lascivious son who returned. 3 And so perhaps Tamar, his wife, is to be interpreted 'changeless' or 'exaberation', because she has a similar meaning as the Church. Tamar, because she was chaste and changed herself into a whore, became an exaberation to Judah to anger, as the book of Genesis says. But the Church because she was whoreish, and an exasperation to God, yet later by the changeless faith of Christ was made chaste. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from The First Homily 1 Lk 10.21 2. Gen 38.18 3 Lk 15.22