Judging And Judgement

Existimas autem hic, O homo omnis qui judicas eos qui talia agunt, et facis illa, quia tu effugies judicium Dei? Si omnia quae Lex loquitur, his qui in lege sunt loquitur; et quae Evangelium, vel Apostolus nunc loquitur, non principibus saeculi, nec regibus mundi, sed Ecclesiarum rectoribus et principibus loquitur, his videlicet qui judicant eos qui intus sunt, id est episcopis, vel presbyteris et diaconibus. His ergo dicit ne existiment se effugere judicium Dei, si ea commitant ipsi, de quibus alios judicant et condemnant. Et ideo oportet unumquemque de sua prius conscientia judicate, et tunc ejus quem judicat, gesta discutere. Quod si fieret, omnis penitus adeundi honoris ecclesiastici abscinderetur ambitio, si se judicandos potius quam judicatoros hi qui praeesse volunt populis cogitarent. Nemo ergo existimet quod effugere possit judicium Dei, sicut et Propheta dicit: Quo ibo a spiritu tuo, et a facie tua quo fugiam? Et quia haec ad eos maxime dicuntur qui praesunt judiciis populorum, idcirco et alibi dicit, quod de domo Dei incipiet judicium. Et item alibi Dominus dicit: In his qui approximent mihi sanctificabor; sicut in Nadab et Abiud gestum est, cum alienum ignem, id est non sacrum, divinis altaribus obtulerunt. Incipit ergo judicium a filiis prius. Flagellat enim Deus omnem quem in numerum recipit filiorum. Verum, ut ego existimo, nec, si posset quis, deberet velle effugere judicium Dei. Non venire enim ad judicium Dei, hoc est ad emendationem, vel ad sanitatem, et remedium non venire. Origenes, Commentariorum In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Romanos, Liber II, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense Source: Migne PG 14.873c-874b

Do you think, O man, that when you judge those who do such things and then you do them, that you will escape the judgement of God? 1 If everything which the Law speaks is spoken for those who are in the Law, then what the Gospel or the Apostle speaks is not for the rulers of the age, nor the kings of the world, but speaks to the leaders and rulers of the Churches, obviously those who judge those who are within, that is, the bishops, or priests, or deacons. To these, therefore, he speaks, that they should not think that they might escape the judgement of God if they do those things for which they judge and condemn others. And therefore it is necessary that everyone should first judge himself by his own conscience, and then cut himself off from what he convicts himself. For if it should be that every ambition for the obtaining of ecclesiastical honours should be cut off, let those who wish to be preeminent among the people think that they should judge themselves rather than be those who judge. Therefore let no one think that he can escape the judgement of God, as even the prophet says: 'Where shall I go from your spirit, and where shall I flee from your face?' 2 And because these things are said especially to those who are preeminent in judgement among the people, therefore it says elsewhere that 'judgement begins from the house of God.' 3 And again in another place the Lord says: 'I shall be holy to those who come near me.' As happened with Nadab and Abiud, when they brought foreign fire to the holy altars, that is, when they brought that which was not sacred. 4 Therefore judgement first begins with the sons. 'For God tries all who wish to be reckoned as sons.' 5 Truly I think that even if it were possible to do so, no one should flee the judgement of God. For not to come to the judgement of God is not to come to improvement and healing and cure. Origen, from the Commentary on the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans, Book 2, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia 1 Rom 2.3 2 Ps 138.7 3 1 Pet 4.17 4 Levit 10.1-3 5 Prov 3.12

Perserverance And Discipline

Perseverandum nobis est in arcto et in angusto itinere laudis et gloriae; et cum quies et humilitas et bonorum morum tranquillitas Christianis omnibus congruat, secundum Domini vocem, qui neminem alium respicit nisi humilem et quietum et trementem sermones suos, tum magis hoc observare et implere confessores oportet, qui exemplum facti estis caeteris fratribus, ad quorum mores omnium vita et actus debeat provocari. Nam, sicut Judaei a Deo alienati sunt, propter quos nomen Dei blasphematur in Gentibus, ita contra Deo chari sunt per quorum disciplinam nomen Domini laudabili testimonio praedicatur, sicut scriptum est, Domino praemonente et dicente: Luceat lumen vestrum coram hominibus, ut videant opera vestra bona, et clarificent Patrem vestrum qui in coelis est. Et Paulus apostolus dicit: Lucete sicut luminaria in mundo. Et Petrus similiter hortatur: Sicut hospites, inquit, et peregrini, abstinete vos a carnalibus desideriis, quae militant adversus animam, conversationem habentes inter gentiles bonam, ut, dum detractant de vobis quasi de malignis, bona opera vestra aspicientes de magnificent Dominum. Sanctus Cyprianus, Epistula VI, Ad Rogantium Presbyterum Et Caeteros Confessors Source: Migne PL 3.236b-237b

We must persevere in the straight and narrow road of praise and glory, and since peacefulness and humility and the tranquillity of good conduct befits all Christians, according to the word of the Lord, who looks on no one but the one who is humble and quiet and in awe of His words, 1 so it is more necessary that confessors observe and fulfil this, they who have been made as an example for the rest of the brethren, the behaviour of whom should call all to the imitation of such a life and deeds. For as the Jews were alienated from God, on account of those through whom 'the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles,' 2 so on the other hand they are precious to God through whose discipline the name of God is spoken of with a testimony of praise, as it has been written, with the Lord Himself forewarning and saying, 'Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.' 3 And Paul the Apostle says, 'Shine as lights in the world.' 4 Peter likewise exhorts: 'As strangers and pilgrims, abstain from the desires of the flesh which war against the soul, having an upright way of life among the Gentiles, so that though they defame you as if you were wicked folk, by the sight of your good works they may glorify the Lord.' 5 Saint Cyprian of Carthage, from Letter 6, to Rogantius the Priest and other Confessors 1 Isaiah 66.2 2 Rom 2.24 3 Mt 5.16 4 Philip 2.15 5 1 Pet 2.11-12

Achieving The Promise

Nam cum sumus in hoc corpore, id est, mortali, ingemiscimus gravati; eo quod nolumus exui, sed superindui; absorbeatur mortale hoc a vita. Idem sensus est, ideo enim dicit gravatos nos passionibus corporis, et ipsius mundi tempestatibus, postulationes ad Deum dirigere, ne immutemur victi, et indigni efficiamur: sed ut contigerit exitus, perseverantes in fide, induti inveniamur sancto Spiritu, qui in substantia Christus est. Tunc enim superindui promissa gloria poterimus, si exuti corpore, non despoliati a sancto Spiritu fuerimus. Sic mortale absorbetur a vita, id est, ut resurgentes superinduamur immortalitate cum gloria; ne ultra mori possit, aut passionibus implicari: et hoc est absorberi a vita; non enim dicendus est absorberi a vita, qui ad hoc surgit, ut poenis agatur. Qui autem perficit nos in hoc ipsum, Deus est: qui etiam dedit nobis pignus Spiritum. Hoc quod ingemiscentes poscimus, id est, non ut exui, sed ut superindui mereamur, juxta supradictum sensum, in die judicii Deum perficere dicit; quia promisit, et fidelis est, dans hujus rei implendae pignus Spiritum; ipse est enim signaculum adoptionis nostrae. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Secundum, Caput V Source: Migne PL 17.293d-294a

'For while we are in this body,' that is, the mortal body, 'we groan deeply, not that we be stripped of it, but that we be superendowed, this mortality absorbed by life.' 1 The meaning is the same, therefore he says that with us weighed down by the passions of the body and the tempests of the world, we ask God to guide us, lest we be changed into those conquered and made unworthy, but rather that we reach the end preserved in faith, being found endowed with the Holy Spirit, who in substance is Christ. For then superendowed we shall achieve the glorious promise, if by the Holy Spirit we are stripped of the body, not despoiled. So what is mortal is absorbed by life, that is, that rising we are superendowed with immortality in glory, not able to die anymore, or be embroiled in the passions. This is to be absorbed by life, for it is not to be said that he is absorbed from life who rises to it, as if a punishment were enacted. He who perfects us in this is God, who gives us the seal of the Spirit. This is what we ask for in our groaning, that is, not that we be stripped, but that we merit to be superendowed, according to the aforementioned understanding, on the day of judgement when he says that God will perfect, because He has promised and He is faithful, giving the Spirit as the pledge of the things to be fulfilled, He who is the sign of our adoption. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Second Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 5 1 2 Cor 5.4

Light's Loss

Et inde exsurgens... Spiritualiter tamen doctor salutis Dominus exsurgit, quia corda audientium sursum erigit, sicut sol se exaltans cuncta ad se trahit quae lumine suo tangit. Oritur sol, et occidit: et ad locum suum revertitur. Sol, vas admirabile opus Excelsi. Sic ergo, exinde exsurgens, et se exaltans in lumine, quaedam loca relinquit, et ad quaedam accedit. Relicta vel despiciens, propter indevotionem: vel sibi relinquens, ad propriae fragilitatis considerationem: vel tentationi exponens, propter virtutis exercitationem. De primo horum dicitur: Ecce relinquetur vobis domus vestra deserta. Dico enim vobis, non me videbitis amodo. Ipsi fuerunt rebelles lumini. Tales sol exsurgens deserit, sicut lumen deserit caecos a se aversos: quosdam autem deserit ad suae fragilitatis considerationem. Si ignoras te, o pulcherrima inter mulieres, egredere, et abi post vestigia gregum, et pasce hoedos tuos juxta tabernacula pastorum. Hoc est, si tu, quae pulcherrima es pulchritudine et compositione virtutis, ignoras te per oblivionem propriae fragilitatis, egredere, hoc est, egredieris de sereno tuae lucis quae te tenet et venustat: et statim relicta sequeris vestigia gregum ad modum bestiarum: et abi dissoluta effecta, et pasces sensuum delectatione haedos foetidos, et pecorinos motus, juxta tabernacula pastorum, hoc est, ad similitudinem aliorum pastorum pecorinos motus pascentium. Dimisi eos secundum desideria cordis eorum: ibunt in adinventionibus suis. Sic Paulus de lumine aeternae contemplationis projectus est in stimulum carnis. Quosdam autem deserens, tentationi exponit ad virtutis exercitationem, Quia acceptus eras Deo, necesse fuit ut tentatio probaret te. In hoc sensu dicitur: Cum sedero in tenebris, Dominus lux mea est. In tenebris enim tentationis caute et patienter sedens, ad lucem pro certo consolationis deveniet. Hoc pro certo habet omnis qui te colit, quod vita ejus, si inprobatione fuerit, coronabitur. si autem in tribulatione fuerit, liberabitur: et si in correptione fuerit, ad misericordiam tuam venire licebit. Non enim delectaris in perditionibus nostris : quia post tempestatem, tranquillum facis: et post lacrymationem et fletum, exsultationem infundis. In hoc sensu dictum est illud Psalmi et: Nox sicut dies illuminabitur: et nox illuminatio mea in deliciis meis. Deus meus, illumina tenebras meas: quoniam in te eripiar a tentatione. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput X Source: Here p108

And rising up from there... 1 Spiritually, the Lord, the teacher of salvation, rises because He lifts up the hearts of those who hear Him, as the rising sun draws everything to itself which it touches with its light. 'The sun rises and it sets, and it returns to its place.' 2 'The sun, a wondrous vessel made by the Most High.' 3 Therefore 'rising up from there,' and exalting Himself in light, He left that place and went to another. Either scorning those He left because of their lack of devotion, or that in His absence that they might turn to consideration of their fragility, or to expose them to trial for the exercise of virtue. Concerning the first of these it is said: 'Behold a ruined house shall be left to you. I say to you that you shall see me no more...' 4 'They were rebels against the light...' 5 The rising sun forsakes such folk, as the light forsakes the blind who have turned themselves away from it, forsaking them to the consideration of their fragility. 'If you do not know yourself, fairest among women, go out, and follow after the tracks of the flocks and feed your kids beside the tents of the shepherds.' 6 That is, if you, who are most fair by the beauty and arrangement of virtue do not know yourself because of forgetfulness of your own fragility, go out, that is, go out from the tranquillity of your light which supports and beautifies you, and forsaken you shall immediately follow the tracks of the flocks in the way of beasts, and you go off to ruinous deeds, and feed your senses on the pleasure of fetid kids and the desires of cattle, 'beside the tents of the shepherds,' that is, in the likeness of other shepherds who feed the desires of cattle. 'I dismissed them according to the desires of their hearts, and they went off in their ways.' 7 So Paul was cast down with a goad to the flesh from the light of eternal contemplation. 8 Regarding those whom are forsaken for an exposure to trial for the exercise of virtue: 'Because you were acceptable to God, it was necessary that trial prove you.' 9 With this sense it is said: 'When I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light.' 10 For patiently and prudently sitting in the gloom of trial, it is certain that the light of consolation shall come. 'Everyone who worships you is certain of this, that his life, if it has been tested, thus shall be crowned, and if he was in tribulation, so he shall be delivered, and if in correction, he shall be allowed to come to your mercy. For you do not delight in our ruin, but after the storm you make calm, and after tears and weeping you pour forth exaltation.' 11 In this sense it was said in the Psalm: 'Night shall be as bright as day. Night shall be my light in my delights.' 12 And 'My God, illuminate my darkness, because in you I am delivered from trial.' Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 10 1 Mark 10.1 2 Eccl 2.5 3 Sirach 43.2 4 Mt 23.38-39 5 Job 24.13 6 Song 1.7 7 Ps 80.13 8 2 Cor 12.1-7 9 Tob 12.13 10 Micah 7.8 11 Tob 3.21-22 12 Ps 138.11-12

The Splendour Of Judgement

Quantum enim Deus distat ab homine, tantum caeleste judicium a terreno. Istius enim judicii splendor in schemate, illius autem judicii majestas in veritate, testante propheta: Deus manifeste veniet, Deus noster et non silebit. Ignis in conspectu ejus ardebit, et in circuitu ejus tempestas valida. Manifeste, inquit non jam celatus in corpore, sicut antea, ut vix eum etiam boni cognoscerent: sed manifestus in gloria, ut etiam mali eum confiteantur inviti: ut qui contempserunt eum in humilitate, cognoscant eum in potestate. Et qui scire noluerunt quam dulcis et misericordia ejus, sentiant quam gravis et ira ipsius. Deus noster, et non silebit. Non dixit, Et silebut, ostendens quia ipse quidem de se tacebit, sed ipsa gloria ejus de ipso loquatur. Aliquando transfiguratum eum in monte videntes apostoli, acceperunt mandatum ne cui dicerent, ne videretur Christus per potentiam subjugare sibi populum, et non per fidem. Tunc autem jam nemo tacebit, quia non est venturus adhuc tentare fideles, sed jam perdere infideles. Tunc praedicatores necesarii non erunt. Nam etsi vox omnium taceat, visio ipsa clamabit, sicut ipse de secundo suo adventu dicit: Sicut fulgur exit ab Oriente, et paret usque ad Occidentem, sic erit adventus Filii hominis. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia LIV Source: Migne PG 56.646-647

For as great as the distance of God from man, so great is the distance of heavenly judgement from a worldly one. The latter is the splendour of judgement in shadow, the former is the majesty of judgement in truth, as the prophet bears witness: 'God shall come openly, our God, and He shall not be silent. Fire shall blaze in His face, and around Him a great storm.' 1'Openly,' he says, and as before hidden in a body, so that even the good could scarcely know him, but openly in glory, so that even the wicked, though unwilling, shall have to acknowledge Him, and they who scorned him in humility shall know Him in power. And those who did not wish to know how sweet and merciful He is, shall know how heavy is his anger. 'Our God, and He shall not be silent.' He does not say, 'He will be silent' indicating that He shall be silent about Himself, but His glory shall speak of Him. When the Apostles saw Him transfigured on the mountain, they received a command not to speak of it, lest it seem Christ subjugated the people by power, rather than through faith. 2 But then indeed no one shall be silent, because He shall not come to try the faithful but to destroy the faithless. Then preachers shall not be needed. For even if all voices were silent, the sight itself would cry out, just as He says about His second coming: 'As lightning comes from the east and is seen in the west, so shall be the coming of the Son of Man.' 3 Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 54 1 Ps 49.3 2 Mt 19.9 3 Mt 24.27

Elijah And Moses

Kαὶ ὤφθη αὐτοῖς Ἠλίας σὺν Μωϋσεῖ, καὶ ἦσαν συλλαλοῦντες τῷ Ἰησοῦ. Ἠλίας καὶ Μωσῆς φαίνονται συλλαλοῦντες, διὰ πολλὰς αἰτίας· δύο δὲ ἀρκοῦσιν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔφησαν οἱ μαθηταὶ, ὅτι οἱ ὄχολοι, οἱ μὲν Ἠλίαν αὐτὸν λέγουσιν, οἱ δὲ, ἕνα τῶν προφητῶν, δείκνυσιν αὐτοῖς τοὺς κορυφαίους τῶν προφητῶν, ἵνα κὰντεῦθεν μάθωσι τὸ μέστον τῶν δούλων καὶ τοῦ Δεσπότου· μία μὲν αὕτη αἰτία. Ἑτέρα δὲ, ἐπειδὴ ἀντίθεον οἱ πολλοὶ αὐτὸν ἐνόμιζον, ὡς λύοντα τὸ Σάββατον, καὶ τὸν νόμον παραβαίνοντα, δείκνυσιν ἐν τῷ ὄρει τοὺς προφήτας· ὦν ὁ μὲν νομοθέτης ἦν, ὁ δὲ ζηλωτής. Οὐκ ἂν οὖν ὡμίλουν οἱ τοιοῦτοι προφῆται τῷ τὸν νόμον λύειν δοκοῦντι, εἰ μὴ ἤρεσκεν αὐτοῖς ἃ λέγει. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατά Μάρκον Εὐαγγέλιον, Κεφ' Θ' Source: Migne PG 123.580c-d

And Elijah and Moses appeared to them, and they spoke with Jesus... 1 Elijah and Moses appeared speaking for many reasons, but let two suffice. Because the disciples reported that people said that Christ might be Elijah, or one of the number of the prophets, 2 He shows to them certain eminent ones among the prophets, that they might learn the great distance between the servant and the Lord. This is certainly one of the reasons. But another is that since many thought He was an opponent of God, and that he would end the Sabbath and that He discounted the Law, He showed the prophets on the mount, one who was a legislator and the other one a zealot. For such prophets would not converse with Him who was seen to make an end of the Law, unless they had been pleased with the things He had said. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Mark, Chapter 9 1 Mk 9.4 2 Mt 16.13-14

Transfiguration And Judgement

Et facta est, dum oraret, species vultus ejus altera: et vestitus ejus albus et refulgens. Tranfiguratus Salvator non substantiam verae carnis amisit, sed gloriam futurae, vel suae vel nostrae resurrectionis ostendit. Qui qualis tunc apostolis apparuit, talis post judicium cunctis apparebit electis. Nam in ipse tempore judicandi et bonis simul et malis, in forma servi videbitur, ut videlicet impii quem sprevere, Judaei quem negavere, milites quem crucifixere, Pilatus Herodesqie quem judicavere, queant agnoscere judicem. Vestitus autem domini, sanctorum illius chorus accipitur, quem glorificans Aposotlus ait: Quotquot ergo in Christo baptizati estis, Christum induistis. Qui videlicet habitus domino in terris consistente despectus, aliorumque simili videbatur, sed illi, montem petente novo candore refulget, quia nunc filii Dei sumus, et nondum apparuit, quod erimus. Scimus qui cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus, videbimus enim eum sicuti est. Unde bene Marcus haec vestimenta describens ait: qualia fullo super terram non potest candida facere. Nam quia ille hoc loco intelligendus est fullo, quem poenitens Psalmsita precatur: Amplius lava me ab injustitia mea, et a delicto meo munda me, non potest suis fidelibus in terre dare claritatem, quae eos conservata manet in coelis. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber III, Caput IX Source: Migne PL 92.453c-d

And while He prayed the appearance of His face changed, and His garments blazed with whiteness... 1 The Saviour transfigured did not lose the substance of the true flesh, but he revealed the glory of the future resurrection, His own or ours. As he appeared to the Apostles then, so after judgement shall he appear to all the elect. For in the time of the judgement of the good and the evil He shall appear in the form of a servant, so that indeed the wicked who scorned Him, and the Jews who denied Him, and the soldiers who crucified Him, and Pilate and Herod who condemned Him, shall be able to know judgement. By the garments of the Lord understand the hosts of His saints, which the Apostle glorifies saying, 'Therefore as many of you have been baptised in Christ, are clothed with Christ.' 2 They who are clothed with the Lord seem little while they dwell on the earth, and just like others, but having sought the mount they shall blaze with a new light, because now we are sons of God, and 'it has not yet appeared what we shall be. Because we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, and we shall see Him as He is.' 3 Whence Mark speaks well when he describes the vestments: 'as no fuller on earth could make so white,' 4 For He who in this place should be understood as a fuller, to whom the penitent Psalmist entreats: 'Wash me utterly from my injustice and cleanse me from my sin,' 5 is not able to give such brightness on earth to His faithful ones, which is reserved for them in heaven. Saint Bede, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 3, Chapter 9 1 Lk 9.29 2 Galat 3.27 3 1 Jn 3.2 4 Mk 9.2 5 Ps 50.4

Lifting Up The Heart

Obsecro vos, fratres mei, non graventur corda vestra in curis saecularibus; nam de crapula et ebrietate, gratias Deo, non magnopere necesse habeo vos admonere. Exonerate, obsecro, corda vestra gravi mole terrenarum cogitationum, ut sciatis mirificatum a Domino Sanctum suum. Levate corda vestra cum manibus quibusdam cogitationum, ut transfiguratum Dominum videatis. Formate in cordibus vestris non modo patriarcharum et prophetarum tabernacula, sed omnes domus illius coelestis multiplices mansiones secundum eum, qui circuibat immolans in tabernaculo Domini hostiam vociferationis, cantans, et psalmum illum dicens Domino: Quam dilecta tabernacula tua, Domine virtutum! concupiscit, et deficit anima mea in atria Domini. Circuite et vos, charissimi, cum pietatis et devotionis affectu vel hostia; visitantes animo sedes supernas, et multas, quae in domo Patris sunt, mansiones, humiliter prosternentes corda vestra ante thronum Dei et Agni; cum reverentia supplicantes singulis ordinibus angelorum, patriarcharum numerum, cuneos prophetarum et senatum apostolicum salutantes, coronas martyrum suspicientes purpureis rutilantes floribus, redolentes liliis choros virginum admirantes, atque ad mellifluum novi cantici sonum, quantum praevalet infirmitas cordis, erigentes auditum. Haec recordatus sum loquitur, et effudi in me animam meam. Quae? Quoniam transibo in locum tabernaculi admirabilis usque ad domum Dei. Et item: Memor fui, inquit, Dei, et delectatus sum. Quem viderunt apostoli, vidit et iste, nec dissimili, ut arbitror, visione: nisi quod spirituale totum habuit hujus visio, corporeum nihil. Omnino non vidit eum sicut is qui dicebat: Vidimus eum, et non erat illi species neque decor. Transfiguratum procul dubio vidit et speciosum forma prae filiis hominum, qui delectatum se perhibet, sicut et apostoli: Bonum est, inquiunt Domino, nos hic esse. Et ut nihil desit propositae similitudini, illi quidem proni cecidisse leguntur, hic vero suum fatetur spiritum defecisse. Quam magna multitudo dulcedinis tuae, Domine, quam abscondisti timentibus te! Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In Ascensione Domini, Sermo IV Source: Migne PL 183.313d-314c

I beg you, my brothers, do not make your hearts heavy with the cares of the world, though, thanks be to God, it is not greatly necessary that I have to warn you from drunkeness and ebreity there. Unburden, I beg you, your hearts from the heavy weight of worldly thoughts, so that you might know the wondrous holiness of the Lord. Lift up your hearts with the hands of your thoughts, that you might see the Lord transfigured. Fashion in your hearts not only the tabernacles of the patriarchs and the prophets but all His houses, the many mansions of heaven, according to him who circled sacrificing in the tabernacles of the Lord, a sacrifice of praise, singing and saying to the Lord in the Psalm: 'How delightful are your tabernacles, O Lord of virtues,' who desired 'and my soul failed in your entrance halls, O Lord.' 1 Surround yourself, most beloved, with the love or sacrifice of piety and devotion, visiting in your soul the supernal seats, even the many mansions in the realm of the Father, humbly prostrating your heart before the throne of God and the lamb, supplicating with reverence each order of angels, the numerous Patriarchs, the ranks of the prophets, saluting the senate of the Apostles, taking up the crowns of the martyrs glowing with purple flowers, admiring the choirs of virgins fragrant with lilies, and opening your ears to the sweet sound of new song, as much as the infirmity of the heart allows. I remember it is said: 'I poured out in myself my soul.' What? 'Because I passed into the place of the wondrous tabernacle, even to the house of the Lord.' And again he says, 'I was mindful of God and I delighted.' 2 He whom the Apostles saw, he saw, and I think that the sight was not dissimilar, if he had a wholly spiritual vision with nothing corporeal in it. Certainly he did not see Him as the one who said: 'We saw him and he was neither fair nor comely.' Without doubt he who had joy in himself, as even the Apostles did, saw Him transfigured and'most fair before the sons of men.' 3 'Good it is that we are here,' they said to the Lord. And that nothing be lacking in the proposal of likeness, we read that 'they fell down on their faces.' 4 How great is the abundance of your sweetness, O Lord, which you have reserved for those in awe of you. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, from Sermon 4 On The Ascension Of The Lord 1 Ps 26.6, Ps 83.2-3 2 Ps 41.5, Ps 76.4 3 Isaiah 53.2, Ps 44.3 4 Mt 17.6

Enlightening The Blind

Audierunt quia Jesus transiret. Transitus ille mysterium Incarnationis significat. Dum enim natus est, passus est, resurrexit, ascendit, tunc quasi transitum fecit. Hoc mysterium uterque populus audivit praedicatione apostolorum, et cum audisset, volens illuminari, per fidem clamavit: Domine, fili David. Deum et hominem recognoscunt: cum dicunt, Domine, Deum; cum dicunt, fili David, hominem confitentur. Turba autem, etc. Turba ista sunt carnalia desideria, quae bonum solent impedire affectum; vel etiam persecutores, qui ad fidem venire volentibus, minis vel blanditiis solent obsistere. At illi pulsando, orando, magis instant, donec strepitum turbae vincerent, dicentes: Domine, miserere. Et stetit Jesus, etc. Transiens audit, stans illuminat, quia per humilitatem misertus est quando transiit, et per verbi aeternitatem quod nunquam movetur, lumen reddit. Et ait illis: Quid vultis ut faciam vobis? Quid vellet caecus non ignorabat; sed peti vult hoc quid nos petere et se concedere praenoscit. Importune namque ad orationem nos admonet, et tamen dicit: Scit namque Pater vester quid opus sit vobis, antequam petatis eum: ad hoc ergo requirit ut petatur. Dicunt illi: Domine, ut aperiantur, etc. Caeci a Domino non aurum, sed lucem quaerunt. Parvipendentes extra lucem aliquid quaerere, quia, etsi habere caeci quidlibet possent, sine luce non possent videre quidquam. Imitemur ergo eos, non falsas divitias, non terrena dona, non fugitivos honores a Domino, sed lucem quaeramus: Misertus autem eorum Jesus, tetigit oculos eorum. Quia suo lumine corda eorum illuminavit, et confestim viderunt, quia crediderunt et illuminati sunt, et secuti sunt eum, quia ad imitandum sese paraverunt. Videt et sequitur, qui bonum quod intelligit operatur. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput XVIII Source: Migne PL 162.1422d-1423d

They heard that Jesus was passing by.... 1 And that passing by signifies the mystery of the Incarnation. For when He was born and suffered and ascended, then it was as a passing by. This is the mystery that the people heard from the preaching of the Apostles, and when they heard they wished to be enlightened, and through faith they called out: 'Lord, son of David...' They recognised God and man. When they said, 'Lord,' they confessed God, and when they said, 'son of David'  they confessed man. But a crowd... This crowd is carnal desires, which is accustomed to obstruct the state of goodness, or it is even persecutors, who with threats or persuasion are accustomed to impede those who wish to come to the faith. But they push forward, they beseech, they press on, until they overcome the clamour of the crowd, saying: 'Lord, have mercy.' And Jesus stopped... Passing by He hears, standing He enlightens, because through humility He is merciful when He passes, and through the eternity of the Word which never changes, He gives light. And He said to them: What do you want me to do? He was not ignorant of what a blind man wants, but He wishes that be sought which He foreknows will be sought and given from Him. For He exhorts us to insistent prayer, and yet He says: 'The Father knows what is needful for you before you ask Him.' 2 Because of this, then, He asks, so that they might seek. They say, 'O Lord, that our eyes might be opened.' The blind do not seek gold from the Lord, but light. They have no care for anything but light, because, even if the blind where to have something else, lacking light they would not be able to see it. Therefore let us imitate them, let us not seek false wealth, nor worldly gifts, nor transient honours from the Lord, but light. Jesus was merciful to them, and He touched their eyes, because His light illuminated their hearts, and instantly they saw, because they believed and were enlightened. And then they followed Him, because they prepared themselves for imitation. And he sees and he follows, who understands the good that he should do. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 18 1 Mt 20.30 2 Mt 6.8

Adornments And Grace

Στέφανον χαρίτων δέξῃ τῇ κορυφῇ σου, ὁ Σολομῶν εἴρηκεν. Οὐ γὰρ μία ὑπάρχει χάρις, ᾗ πλέκεται ὁ νοούμενος στέφανος, πολλαὶ δὲ πάνυ χάριτες· καί φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος· Χάρις ὑμιν πληθυνθείη. Βεβούλησαι καὶ τὸν χρύσεον κλοιὸν τὸν τῷ στεφάνῳ ἐφεπόμενον, τίς ἐστιν, ἐπιγνῶναι. Οὗτος δ' ἂν εἴῃ ὁ τοῦ Σωτῆρος Χριστοῦ χρησὸς ζυγὸς ἐπιτιθέμενος τῷ τραχήλῳ τῆς πιστευσάσης τῇ ἀληθείᾳ ψυχῆς. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΠϟΔ' ΠϟϚ, Ἀναξαγορᾳ Γραμματικῳ Source: Migne PG 79.156c-d

'Receive a garland of graces for your head,' Solomon says. 1 For it should not be thought there is just one grace from which the crown is woven, but indeed there are many graces, as the Apostle says: 'May grace be multiplied among you.' 2 And if you desire the golden torque which follows the garland, 1 know that this is the sweet yoke of Christ the Saviour, 3 which is placed on the neck of the truly faithful soul. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 195 and 196, to Anaxagoras the Grammarian 1 Prov 1.9 2 1 Pet 1.2 3 Mt 11.30

Growing And Multiplying

Dixitque ei: Ego Dominus omnipotens: Cresce et multiplicare; gentes et populi nationum erunt ex te; reges de lumbis tuis egredientur; terramque quam dedi Abraham et Isaac, dabo tibi et semini tuo post te; et recessit ab eo. Haec promissio ad spirituale semen Jacob pertinet, sicut de Abraham ante jam dictum est. Omnes enim qui supplantant vitia, et veterem hominem cum acitbus ejus deponunt, mentisque suae oculos ad videndum Deum intentos habent, rite ad Jacob pertinent, cujus fidem et actus imitantur; regesque de lumbis ejus egredientar, hoc est sancti, qui vere reges dicuntur, eo quod veraciter secundum Dei voluntatem semetipsos ac sibi subditos regunt. De ejus semine spirituali, hoc est fidei imitatione in bonis operibus fecundantur. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Genesim, Liber III, Caput XXIII Source: Migne PL 107.616c-d

And He said to Jacob, 'I am the Lord Almighty. Grow and multiply. Nations and peoples of the nations shall come from you. Kings shall come forth from your lions, and the land I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I shall give to you and your seed after you.' And He withdrew from him. 1 This promise pertains to the spiritual seed of Jacob, as it was spoken to Abraham previously. For all who overthrow vices and cast down the old man with his acts, and have the eyes of the soul intent on seeing God, rightly belong to Jacob, and they imitate his faith and deeds. And kings shall come forth from his lions, that is, saints, who rightly are named kings, because more correctly, according to the will of God, they rule themselves and those below them. Concerning his spiritual seed, it is by the imitation of faith they are made fruitful in good works. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Genesis, Book 3, Chapter 23 1 Gen 35.11-12

Acquiring Greatness

Καὶ ἦλθον εἰς Καφαρναούμ. καὶ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ γενόμενος ἐπηρώτα αὐτούς: τί ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ διελογίζεσθε; οἱ δὲ ἐσιώπων: πρὸς ἀλλήλους γὰρ διελέχθησαν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ τίς μείζων. Kαὶ καθίσας ἐφώνησεν τοὺς δώδεκα, καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς: εἴ τις θέλει πρῶτος εἶναι, ἔσται πάντων ἔσχατος καὶ πάντων διάκονος. Kαὶ λαβὼν παιδίον ἔστησεν αὐτὸ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐναγκαλισάμενος αὐτὸ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς: ὃς ἂν ἓν τῶν τοιούτων παιδίων δέξηται ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματί μου, ἐμὲ δέχεται: καὶ ὃς ἂν ἐμὲ δέχηται, οὐκ ἐμὲ δέχεται ἀλλὰ τὸν ἀποστείλαντά με. Οἱ μαθητὰι ἔτι ἀνθρωπικώτερα φρονοῦτες, διεφιλονείκουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους περὶ τοῦ, ποῖος αὐτων μείζων ἐστὶ καὶ προτιμότερος παρὰ τῷ Χριστῷ. Ὁ δὲ Κύριος τὴν μὲν ἐπιθυμίαν τὴν τῆς προτιμήσεως οὐ κωλύει. Θέλει γὰρ ἡμᾶς ἐπιθυμεῖν τοῦ ἡψηλοτέρου βαθμοῦ. Οὐ μέντοι ἁρπάζειν ἡμᾶς βούλεται τὰ πρωτεῖα, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ταπεινώσεως μᾶλλον κατακτᾶσθαι τὸ ὑψηλόν. Παιδίον γὰρ ἔστησεν εἰς τὸ μέσον, καὶ κατ' ἐκεῖνο γενέσθαι καὶ ἡμᾶς βούλεται. Τὸ γὰρ παιδίον· οὔτε δόξης ἐφίεται, οὔτε φθονεῖ οὔτε μνησικακεῖ. Καὶ οὐ μόνον, φησὶν, ἐὰν αὐτοὶ τοιοῦτοι γενήσεσθε, μισθὸν λήψεσθε μέγαν, ἀλλὰ κἂν ἑτέρους τοιούτους τιμήσητε δι' ἐμὲ, βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν ἀντιλάβοιτε. Ἐμὲ γὰρ δέχεσθε· ἐμὲ δὲ δεχόμενοι, δέχεσθε τὸν ἀποστείλαντά με. Ὁρᾷς οὖν πόσα δύναται ἡ ταπείνωσις, καὶ τὸ ἄπλαστον τοῦ τρόπου καὶ ἄδολον. Τὸν Υἱον γὰρ καὶ τὸν Πατέρα ἐνοικίζει ἐν ἡμῖν. Πρόδηλον δὲ ὅτι καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατά Μάρκον Εὐαγγέλιον, Κεφ' Θ' Source: Migne PG 123.589c-d

They came to Capernaum, and when they were in the house, He asked them: What did you talk of in the way? They were silent, for in the way they had argued among themselves about who was the greatest. Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them: 'If any man wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.' And taking a child, He set him in the midst of them, and having embraced him, He said to them: 'Whoever shall receive one child like this in my name, he receives me. And whoever receives me, receives not me, but Him who sent me. 1 The disciples who were yet thinking in human terms, argued in the way about who was greater and more worthy to be with Christ. Now the Lord did not prohibit the desire for eminence, for He wishes us to aspire to come to a higher rank, but He does not want us to seize the first places as if they were plunder, but rather He wishes us to acquire the higher places by humility. For having placed the boy in the midst of them, He wishes us to become like him. For the boy does not desire glory, nor envies, not bears grudges. And not only, He says, if you become so will you receive a great reward, but if you honour these other ones because of me, you shall obtain the kingdom of heaven. For he who receives me, receives the one who sent me. See, then, how much humility can do, and simplicity and conduct which is without deceit. For it makes the Son and the Father dwell in us. 2 And most manifestly the Holy Spirit. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Mark, Chapter 9 1 Mk 9.31-36 2 Jn 14.23

Judith And The Watchmen

Et dixit Judith a longe custodibus murorum: Aperite portas, quoniam nobiscum est Deus, qui fecit virtutem in Israel. Custodes murorum, hoc est, tutores castrorum Ecclesiae, sunt doctores sancti qui verbo et exemplo, atque etiam oratione assidua muniunt vitam credentium, et ad aeternam beatitudinem illis praeparant introitum; de quibus per prophetam dicitur: Super muros tuos, Jerusalem, constitui custodes, tota die, et tota nocte non tacebunt laudare nomen Domini. Possunt angelicae virtutes custodes murorum intelligi spiritualium, quae nobis deputatae sunt, ut nos suis solatiis contra malignos spiritus defendant. Clamat ergo Judith a longe custodibus, postulans sibi aperiri portas, eo quod secum sit Deus. Sic et Ecclesia in peregrinatione istius mundi, et via praesentis vitae constituta totis medullis cordis clamans postulat, ut per suffragia sanctorum sibi supernae patriae pandatur introitus, ut ibi nominis sui expleat officium, dicens cum propheta: Aperite portas justitiae, et ingressus in eas confitebor Domino, haec porta Domini, justi intrabunt per eam. Et unde hoc deposcat addit dicens: quia nobiscum est, qui fecit virtutem in Israel. Valde enim justum est ut qui se unitum cum capite suo agnoscit, de quo scriptum est, Dominus virtutem populo suo dabit, et benedicet populum suum in pace, cum eo ad coelestis regni apicem ascendat, quia sine eo nullo modo illuc pervenire potest. Unde ipsa Veritas in Evangelio ait: Nemo ascendit in coelum, nisi qui descendit de coelo filius hominis, qui est in coelo. Potest et hoc quod dicit Judith custodibus murorum, Aperite portas, devotio cordis auditorum suorum ab ea postulata intelligi, hoc est, ut praeparet intentionem cordis ad accipienda ea quae sibi dicuntur; sicut Salvator in Evangelio per parabolas docens dixit: Qui habet aures audiendi audiat. Et Joannes apostolus in Apocalypsi sua eamdem sententiam saepius repetit dicens: Qui habet aures audiendi audiat quid spiritus dicat ecclesiis. Merito ergo illa, quae virtutes Domini, quas fecit, expromere vult, auditores devotos quaerit, quia scriptum est: Beatus qui causam suam loquitur in aurem audientis. Rabanus Maurus, Expositio in Librum Judith, Caput XIII Source: Migne PL 109.574a-d

And from afar Judith said to the watchman on the walls: 'Open your gates, because God is with us, He who has power in Israel.' 1 The watchman on the walls, that is, the teachers of the fortresses of the Church, who with their words and example, and even with their prayers, diligently fortify the lives of the faithful, and prepare entry into eternal blessedness, concerning which it is said by the prophet: 'Upon your walls, Jerusalem, I have set watchmen, all day and all night, and they shall not cease to praise the name of the Lord.' 2 It is also possible to understand the angelic powers to be the guards of the spiritual walls, who are given to us so that with their support we might defend ourselves against malignant spirits. Therefore Judith cries out from afar to the guards, asking them to open the gates, because God is with them. So even the Church in its journey in this world, set in the way of this present life, with all the strength of its heart cries out and asks that by the assistance of the saints entry be opened to the heavenly fatherland, so that there may be fulfilled the office of the name, saying with the prophet, 'Open the gates of righteousness, and entering in, I shall confess to the Lord. These are the gates of the Lord, the righteous shall enter through them.' 3 And whence earnestly entreating this, she adds to it, saying: 'Because He is with us, He who has power in Israel.' Certainly it is right that he who knows himself united to the head, concerning whom it is written: 'The Lord shall give strength to his people, and He shall bless His people with peace,' 4 ascends with Him to the height of the heavenly kingdom, because without Him there is no way he can come there. Whence the truth says in the Gospel: 'No one has ascended to heaven, unless He who has descended from heaven, the son of man, who is in heaven.' 5 It is possible that this which Judith says to the the watchmen on the wall, 'Open the gates' is to be understood as touching on the attention of the hearts of her hearers to her requests, that is, she is preparing the intention of the heart for the reception of the things that are said, as the Saviour in the Gospel says, 'He who has ears, let him hear.' And John the Apostle in his Apocalypse often repeats the same meaning, saying, 'He who has ears to hear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches.' Rightly, then, this woman, who is the virtue of the Lord, wishing to show what she has done, seeks devout hearers, because it is written: 'Blessed he who speaks his cause in the ear of one who will hear.' 6 Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Judith, Chap 13 1 Judith 13.13 2 Isaiah 62.6 3 Ps 117.19-20 4 Ps 28.11 5 Jn 3.13 6 Sirach 25.12

Resolving A Difficulty

Μὴ πειρῶ πρᾶγμα σκολιὸν ἐπιλῦσαι διὰ φιλονεικίας, ἀλλὰ δι' ὧν ὁ πνευματικὸς παρακελεύεται νόμος, δι' ὑπομονῆς, καὶ προσευχῆς, καὶ μονολογίστου ἐλπίδος. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ Source: Migne PG 65.905c

Do not try to resolve some difficult matter by contention, but by means of what the spiritual law exhorts, which is patience and prayer and single minded hope. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law.

Finding Rest

Πάντα τὸν χρόνον οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τῶν κακῶν προσδέχονται κακά οἱ δὲ ἀγαθοὶ ἡσυχάζουσιν διὰ παντός Ἡσυχία ἐστιν ἀποχὴ κακίας ἐμπράκτου καὶ ὁράσεων, ἥν οἱ ἀγαθοὶ ἡσυχάζουσιν· οἱ δὲ τοῦ νοὸς καὶ σώματος ὀφθαλμοὶ τῶν κακῶν, πάντα τὸν χρόνον ἐπινοοῦνται κακά. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Παροιμίας, Κεφ ΙE´ Source: Migne PG 17.193c

The eyes of the wicked are always eagerly receiving evils, but the good are ever at rest. 1 Rest is to be rid of wicked deeds and sights, and by this the good have their rest. But the mind and the bodily eyes of the wicked are always contemplating evils. Origen, On Proverbs, Chapter 15 1 Prov 15.15