Seeking And Finding

Quidam Christum quaesierunt , et non invenerunt. Quidam quaesierunt, et invenerunt, sed non retinuerunt, quia non quaesiverunt ut haberent, sed ut venderent. Quidam Christum quaesiverunt et invenerunt, et retinuerunt, quia non quaesiverunt ut venderent, sed ut possiderent. Primis dixit: Quo ego vado vos non potestis venire. Quaeretis me, et non invenietis, sed in peccatis vestris moriemini. Secundis dixit: Ego sum, si me quaeritis, sinite eos abire. Et injecerunt manus et tenuerunt eum. Tertiis dixite: Avete. Et accesserunt et tenuerunt pedes ejus. Primi quaesiverunt, et non invenerunt. Secundi vivum invenerunt, et inventum occiderunt. Tertii mortuum quaesiverunt, et vivum invenerunt. Sic multi sapientiam quaerunt, et non inveniunt, quia inutiles judicantur et abjiciuuntur. Alii sapientiam quaerunt et inveniunt, sed non diligunt, quia ad lucrum et laudem humanam adipiscendam eam exponunt, et prostituunt. Isti Christum vivum inveniunt, sed occidunt, quia ex hoc in eis sapientia moritur quod ejus dulcedine nullo amoris sensu perfruuntur. Alii mortuam quaerunt, et vivam inveniunt, quia dum eam ad hujus vitae usum non appetunt, verius intus ad illius dulcedinem et suavitatem pertingunt. Hi assumuntur ut eleventur et glorificentur Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I, Tit XII Quod Christus et sapientia a diversis variis quaeruntur modis Source: Migne PL 177.484a-c

Some have sought Christ and not found Him. Some have sought and found but they did not retain because they did not seek that they might have but that they might sell. Some have sought Christ and found and retained, and that because they did not seek so that they might sell but that they might possess.To the first sort He says: 'Where I am going you are not able to come. You will seek me and not find me, but you will die in your sin.' 1 To the second He says 'I am. If you seek me, let them go. And they put their hands on Him and seized Him.' 2 To the third sort He says: 'Hail. And they approached and held His feet.' 3 The first have sought and have not found. The second have sought the living one and finding Him they slew Him. The third sought the dead one and found the living one. So it is that many seek wisdom and they do not find, because they are judged unworthy and cast off. Others seek wisdom and find it but they do not love it, because they use it only for material gain and human praise, and so they prostitute it. These sort find the living Christ and slay Him, because wisdom dies in them when with no sweetness of love they enjoy it in the mind. These shall be summoned to a heavy judgement and cast down. The others seek what is dead and find that which is living, because while they did not desire to put it to use for this life, then indeed within they touch on its sweetness and joyfulness. These are taken up, so that they might be lifted up and glorified. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chapter 12, That Christ and wisdom are sought in different ways 1 Jn 7.33-34, 8.21 2 Jn 18.8 3 Mt 28.9

Jars And Water And Wine

Et die tertio nuptiae factae sunt in Cana Galilaeae... Moraliter Nuptiae istae sunt Dei et Animae ipsa reconciliatone animae ad Deum. Oseae secundo: Sponsabo te mihi in fide, et scies, quia ego Dominus. Ad has nuptias faciendas venit Dominus Jesus, sed invitatus. Apocal tertio: Ecce ego sto ad ostium, et pulso, si quis audierit vocem meam, et aperuerit mihi januam, introibo ad illum, et coenabo cum illo. Vinum in his nuptiis defecit. Hoc vinum est interna devotio, de quo in Psal Vinum laetificat cor hominis. Et Matth nono: Nemo mittit vinum novum in utres veteres. Istud vinum deficit, cum homo efficitur aridus et indevotus, sicut dicit anima sancta in Psal Anima mea, sicut terra sine aqua, tibi. Sed ad preces Virginis, quae compatitur miseris, Dominus implet hydrias aqua compunctionis, quae convertitur in dulcedinem devotionis. Unde Exodo quinto decimo dicitur, quod aquae Marath in dulcedinem conversae sunt. Nota igitur, quod hyrdria, in qua hauritur aqua, est consideratio. Hydria vacua est consideratio defectus, et vacuitatis, quam incurrit homo per peccatum. Ista hydria impletur aqua, cum homo ex consideratione tali lacrymis perfunditur. Est igitur hydria prima consideratio defectus cognitionis; Tob quinto: Quale gaudium mihi erit, qui in tenebris sedeo, etc Secunda hydria consideratio defectus circumspectus circa hostem, secundae ad Cor. undecimo: Timeo autem, ne sicut serpens seduxit Hevam asturia sua, ita corrumpantur sensus vestri, et excidant a simplicitate, quae est in Christo. Tertia est consideratio defectus internae consolationis. Jer secundo: Vide quia malum, et amarum est, te reliquisse Dominum Deum tuum. Quarta est consideratio defectus virtutis ad resistendum; Psal Dereliquit me virtus mea, et lumen oculorum, et ipsum non est mecum. Quinta est consideratio defectus stabilitatis; Gen octavo: Sensus et cogitatio humani cordis in malum prona sunt ab adolescentia sua. Sexta est consideratio defectus securitatis ad proemium expectandum; Ecclesiastici nono: Nescit homo, utrum amore, an odio dignus fit. Tunc implentur istae hydriae aqua usque ad summum, quando anima poenitens lavat per singulas noctes ex his considerationibus, lectum suum. Et ex aqua vinum fit optimum devotionis, de quo Zach nono: Quid bonum ejus, et quid pulchrum ejus, nisi frumentum electorum, et vinum germinans virgines? In hoc converitur aqua compunctionis, unde sancta anima in Psal Convertisti planctum meum in gaudium mihi. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput II Source: Here, p507

On the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee... 1 Morally these nuptials are of God and the soul, in the reconciliation of the soul to God. In the second chapter of Hosea: 'I shall espouse you to me in faith, and you shall know I am the Lord.' 2 For the performance of these nuptials comes the Lord Jesus, even uninvited. In the third chapter of the Apocalypse: 'Behold I stand and the door and I knock, if someone hears my voice and opens the door to me, I shall enter and feast with him.' 3 The wine at the wedding ran out. This wine is internal devotion, concerning which in the Psalm: 'Wine which delights the heart of a man,' 4 and in the ninth chapter of Matthew: 'No one puts new wine in old wineskins.' 5 This wine runs out when a man is made arid and undevout, as the holy soul says in the Psalm, 'As a land without water to you,' 6 but to the prayers of the Virgin, who has compassion on your misery, the Lord fills the jars with the water of compunction, which are then turned into the sweetness of devotion. Whence in the fifteenth chapter of Exodus it is said that the waters of Mara turned sweet. 7 Therefore note that the jars from which the water is drawn is consideration. An empty jar is defective consideration and it holds nothing, and because of it a man hurries to sin. But this jar is filled with water when a man in such consideration is drenched with tears. Thus the first jar is consideration of defective knowledge. In the fifth chapter of Tobit, 'What joy shall there be for me who sit in darkness?' 8 The consideration of the second jar concerns the defect of wariness regarding the enemy. In the eleventh chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians: 'But I fear lest as the serpent seduced Eve with its cleverness, so your minds are corrupted and you are cut off from the simplicity which is in Christ.' 9 The third jar is the consideration of the defect of internal consolation. In the second chapter of Jeremiah: 'See that it is wicked and bitter that you have forsaken the Lord your God.' 10 The fourth consideration is the defect of virtue for resisting. In the Psalm: 'My virtue has gone from me, and the light of my eyes is not with me.' 11 The fifth consideration is of the defect of stability. In the eighth chapter of Genesis: 'The mind and thought of the human heart is inclined to wickedness from its youth.' 12 The sixth consideration is a defect in hope for the expected reward. In the ninth chapter of Ecclesiastes: 'A man does not know if he is worthy of love or hate.' 13 And then the jars are filled even to the brim when the penitent soul washes itself with these considerations each night on its own bed. And from this water is made the best wine of devotion, concerning which it is said in the ninth chapter of Zachariah: 'What is His good, and what is His beauty, unless the wheat of the elect and wine bringing forth virgins?' 14 One is changed into this by the water of compunction, whence the holy soul says in the Psalm: 'You turned my weeping into joy.' 5 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 2 1 Jn 2.1 2 Hosea 2.19 3 Apoc 3.10 4 Ps 103.15 5 Mt 9.17 6Ps 142.6 7 Exod 15.23 8 Tob 5.12 9 2 Cor 11.3 10 Jerem 2.19 11 Ps 37.11 12 Gen 8.21 13 Eccl 9.1 14 Zach 9.17 15 Ps 29.12

The Lost Sheep

Erravi sicut ovis quae periit; quaere servum tuum, Domine, quia mandata tua non sum oblitus. Una ovis, est congregatio sanctorum et fidelium; et unus est Pastor Dominus Christus eorum. Et respice quam infimae rei comparati sunt homnes, quando Christi gratiam deserunt: ovi videlicet erranti, quae pericula patitur luporum; et bene dictum est, quae perierat, ut cognosceres misericordia Domini fuisse repertam. Alcuinus, Expositio In Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 100.620a

I wandered like a sheep that was lost; seek your servant, O Lord, because I have not forgotten your commandments. 1 One is the sheep, and it is the congregation of the saints and the faithful, and one is the shepherd, Christ their Lord. And see how men are compared to such a lowly thing when they lack the grace of Christ, certainly a wandering sheep exposed to the peril of the wolves. And well it is said that he was lost, that you might know he was found by the mercy of the Lord. Alcuin of York, from the Commentary on Psalm 118 1. Ps 118.176

Turning And Turning

Καὶ σὺ, Κύριε, ἕως πότε; Ἐπίστρεψον, Κύριε, ῥῦσαι τὴν ψυχήν μου· σῶσον με ἕνεκεν τοῦ ἐλέους σου. Ὡς ἀποστραφέντος δὲ αὐτὸν ἐν οἷς ἡμάρτανε τοῦ Θεοῦ· διὸ πάντα τὰ κατ' οἶκον γέγονεν αὐτῷ δυσχερῆ, καὶ ἡ τοῦ παιδὸς ἐπανάστασις. Ἐπίστρεψον, φησὶ, Κύριε, γενόμενος λοιπὸν εὐμενὴς, καὶ τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάσωσον ἐκ τῆς ἀσθενείας ψυχὴν, διὰ τὴν σὴν μόνην φιλανθρωπὶαν. Τὸ ̓Επίστρεψον διττῶς νοεῖται. δηλοῦται γὰρ ὁτὲ μὲν νόησις τοιαύτη· ἐπεὶ ἀπέστρεψας τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἐπ' ἐμοῦ, διὰ τί μοι χρήσιμον παρακαλῶ, ὅπως ἐπιστρέψῃς καὶ ἐπιφάνῃς μοι αὐτό. ὁτὲ δὲ παρίσταται θεωρία τοιαύτη· ἐπεὶ ἡ ψυχή μου ἁμαρτάνουσα ἀπεστράφησεν ἐπὶ κακῷ τῷ ἑαυτῆς, ἐπιστρέψας αὐτὴν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἀνακαλούμενος κατὰ τὸ ̓Επιστράφητε, υἱοὶ ἀφεστηκότες, λυτρῶσαι αὐτὴν ἀπὸ τῶν μακρυνάντων ἁμαρτημάτων καὶ τῶν ἐνεργουσῶν αὐτὰ πονηρῶν δυνάμεων. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος Ϛ´ Source: Migne PG 39.1177a-b

And you, O Lord, how long? Turn to me, O Lord, and deliver my soul, save me for your mercy's sake. 1 With the Lord turning away from him because of those things in which he sinned, so it was the cause of every domestic calamity to him, even to the rebellion of his son. Turn, he says, O Lord, and so after be benevolent, and guard my soul from weakness on account of your singular kindness. 'Turn' can be understood in two ways. Sometimes the meaning is: 'Since you have turned your face from me, therefore I plead for what is beneficial to me, even that your face shine upon me.' At other times the sense is: 'Since by sinning my soul has turned to my own evil, may it be that you turn it back and recall it to you.' According to which it is said: 'Turn, you sons, who have stood far off,' 2 which is the deliverance of the soul from its long course of sin and from the wicked causes of its works Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 6 1 Ps 6.4-5 2 Jerem 3.14,22

Plots And Aid

Ne tradas me, Domine a desiderio meo peccatori: cogitaverunt adversum me, ne derelinquas me, ne unquam exaltentur. A desiderio suo traditur peccatori, quisque per concupiscentias carnis diabolo relinquitur possidendus. De quibus dicit Apostolus: Propterea tradidit illos Deus in desideria cordis eorum, in immunditiam. Sed ne hoc fiat, sequitur res omnino probabilis, ut sicut inimici consilium faciunt in malum, ita virtus divina praestare dignetur auxilium. Ad postremum dicitur causa justissima, ne revera exaltentur perditione justorum, qui de fidelis populi subversione gloriantur. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus CXXXIX Source: Migne PL 70.997a-b

O Lord, do not hand me over from my desire to the sinner. They have plotted against me, do not abandon me, lest at any time they be exalted. 1 From his desire he is handed over to the sinner, who through the desire of the flesh is forsaken to become a possession of the devil. Concerning which the Apostle says: 'On account of which God gave them over to the desires of their hearts, to uncleanliness.' 2 But that this not be, what is certainly possible follows, that as the enemy plots his evils, so Divine virtue may condescend to offer help. Finally a most righteous reason is declared, that they may not be exalted in the ruin of the righteous who glory in the fall of faithful people. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 139 1 Ps 139.9 2 Rom 1.24

Conquering The World

Confidite, quia ego vici mundum Nota, quod Dominus dicit, se fecisse tria in mundo, scilicet reliquisse mundum, loannis decimo sexto: Relinquo mundum et vado ad Patrem; vicisse mundum; unde hic Ioannis decimo sexto: Confidite, quia vici mundum; reprehendisse mundum; loannis septimo: Me odit mundus, quia testimonium perhibeo de eo, quia opera eius mala sunt; per hoc ostendens fidelibus suis, quod relinquendae sunt mundanae prosperitates , sustinendae sive superandae mundanae adversitales , arguendae perversitates mundanae. Sic mundum conversatione reliquit, passione superavit, praedicatione reprehendit. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XVII, Collatio LXI Source: Here, p610

Be confident, because I have conquered the world. 1 Note that the Lord says He has done three things in the world, that is, He has left it, in the sixteenth chapter of John, 'I leave the world and go to the Father,' 2 He has conquered it, whence it says here, 'Be confident, because I have conquered the world.' And He has reproved it in the seventh chapter of John, 'The world hates me because I give testimony of it, that its works are wicked.' 3 By this He shows His faithful ones that one must leave worldly riches, and endure, and overcome worldly adversities. So He left the world's way of living, and He overcame in suffering, and He reproved the world in preaching. Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 17 1 Jn 16.33 2 Jn 16.28 3 Jn 7.7

The Cherubim And The Blade

Et collacavit ante paradisum voluptatis cherubim, et flammeum gladium, atque versatilem, ad custodiendam viam ligni vitae Cherubim namque plenitudo scientiae interpretatur. Framea vero versailis, posita ad custodiendam viam ligni vitae, temporales poenae intelliguntur. Nemo enim potest pervenire ad arborem vitae, nisi per has duas res, tolerantiam scilicet molestiarum et scientie plenitudinem, id est, per charitatem Dei et proximi. Plenitudo enim legis charitas est. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Mysticorum Expositiones Sacramentorum Seu Quaestiones In Vetus Testamentum, In Genesin, Caput III Source: Migne PL 83.222c-223a

And He set the Cherubim before the garden of delight, with a sword of fire, that turned this way and that for the guarding of the way to the tree of life. 1 The name of Cherubim is interpreted as 'fullness of knowledge.' But the turning blade that is placed for the guarding of the way to the tree of life is understood to be temporal suffering. For no one is able to come to the tree of life, unless through these two things, obviously endurance of troubles and the fullness of knowledge, that is, through the love of God and neighbour, for the fullness of the Law is love. 2 Saint Isidore of Seville, Expositions of Sacred Mysteries or Questions on the Old Testament, On Genesis, Chapter 3 1 Gen 3.24 2 Rom 13.10

Angels And The Resurrection

Cum enim a mortuis resurrexerint neque nubent neque nubentur: sed sunt sicut angeli Dei in caelis... Tangit hic secundum qualitatem veram resurgentium in duobus: in remotione erroirs, et in doctrina veritatis. De primos dicit, cum enim a mortuis, illi qui mortui sunt, resurrexerint, sive boni sive mali, neque nubent neque nubentur. Gloss. Graeco idiomati, Latina consuetudo non respondet: nubere enim proprie mulieres dicuntur, et viri uxores: sed nos simpliciter dictum intelligamus sic, neque nubant viri, neque nubentur mulieres. Unde Augustines dicit, quod ibi erunt membra genitalis, non quae libidinem provocent: sed quae sapientiae admirationem indicant. In resurrectione neque nubent neque nubentur: sed omnis ibi foecunditas est ex coniunctione spiritus creati cum increato, sed erunt, tangit doctrinam veritatis dicens, sed erunt, in futuro, sicut angelis, non in natura Angeli: sed sicut Angeli in proprietate spiritualitatis et immortalitatis. Et quia nuptiae sunt bonum mortalium, ideo neque nubent neque nubentur, in caelis, autem dicit, ne in terra in aurea Ierusalem resurrectio putetur esse futura. Filii huius seculi nubunt et traduntur ad nuptias: illi vero qui digni habebuntur illo seculo et resurrectione, neque nubent, neque ducent uxores, neque enim ultra mori poterunt: aequales enim sunt Angelis, et filii sunt Dei, cum filii sunt resurrectionis. Unde Gloss, Nemo ibi mortiur, nemo ibi nascitur, nec infans nec senex ibi erit. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput XII Source: Here p146

For when they are resurrected from the dead they shall neither marry nor be married, but they are like the angels of God in heaven...1 This touches on the true state of those who rise in two parts, in the removal of error and in the teaching of truth. Concerning the first He says, 'from the dead,' those who have died, they are resurrected, whether good or evil, and shall not marry or be married. The gloss says: 'This is a Greek idiom to which the Latin does not answer, for woman are properly said to marry, and men to take a wife,' but we should understand what is said in a simple sense, that neither will men marry, nor will woman be married. Whence Augustine says 2 that there there shall be generative members there but not to provoke to lust, but to signify the admiration of wisdom. 'In the resurrection they shall neither marry nor be married,' 3 but all there is a harmony in the joining of the created spirits with the uncreated. But they shall be, and here He touches on the teaching of truth, saying that in the future they shall be like angels, yet not by nature angels, but like angels by the possession of spirituality and immortality. And because marriage is a good of the mortal state, thus they shall not marry or be married in heaven, which means that it is not on earth, nor in some gilded Jerusalem, that the future resurrection should be thought to be. 'The children of this world marry and are given in marriage, but those who are worthy shall have the future and the resurrection, and they shall not marry nor take wives, nor shall they be able to die, but they shall be equal to angels, and sons of God, sons of the resurrection.' 4 Whence the gloss says: 'No one dies there, no one is born there, nor is there a babe there, nor an old man.' Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 12 1 Mark 10.1 2 Aug 3 Mt 22.30 4 Lk 20.34-36

Seeing Angels

...Et angelos Dei ascendentes et descendentes super Filium hominis. Ad litteram, angeli ad ipsum descenderunt, secundum quod dicitur matthaei quarto, Accesserunt angeli et ministrabant ei, spiritualiter vero, ut dicit Augustinus, quod dictum est Nathanaeli modo impletur in Christianis, quia, postquam Deus homo ascendit, credentibus in eum aperitur aditus caeli, et vident angelos, id est, praedicatores, ascendentes, dum arcana Deitatis considerant; et descendentes, dum humana de eo praedicant. Ista visio signata est Genesis vigesimo octavo, ubi dicitur, quod Iacob vidit Dominum innixum scalae et Angelos ascendentes et descendentes. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput I Source: Here, p496-7

...And angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man. 1 According to the letter, angels descended on Him according to what is said in the fourth chapter of Matthew: 'And angels came and ministered to Him.' 2 Spiritually, however, as Augustine says, 3 what was said to Nathanael was in a way fulfilled among Christians, because after the God man ascended, the sanctuary of the heavens was opened to those who believe in Him, and they see angels, that is, the preachers, ascending, when they contemplate the hidden things of His Divinity, and then descending, when they preach about the human things of Him. This vision was signified in the twenty eighth chapter of Genesis, where it is said that Jacob saw the Lord leaning on a ladder and the angels ascending and descending. 4 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 1 1 Jn 1.51 2 Mt 4.11 3 August Tract Ioan 7.23, contra Faustum 26, Serm 122.2.2 4 Genes 28.11-13

Angels And Spirits

...qui facit angelos suos spiritus et ministros suos ignem urentem... Commendandum est animo, quia hic specialiter de angelis dicitur, quod in libro Geneseos evidentius non habetur. Nam et verba ipsa sunt discutienda subtilius. Spiritus generale nomen est incorporalis potentisque substantiae, visibiliter sive invisibililter operans quod ei divinitus inspirature. Angelorum enim nomen non significat naturam, sed obsedientem. Angelus enim Graeca Lingua dicitur, qui Latine nuntius interpretatur: nam quando mittuntur angeli fiunt, cum tamen natura spiritus esse noscantur. Addidit, suos, ut illos ostenderet qui recta mente Domini voluntatibus obsecundant. Ordo enim verborum talis est: Qui spiritus suos facit angelos. Sequitur, et ministros suos ignem urentem. Minister Dei est omnis quo divinas exsequitur voluntates, et charitatis fervore semper accensus est. Talis enim vir coelestis ignis efficitur, quando verbo praedicationis peccantium nequitias urere et consumere posse monstratur. Sic enim ipse Dominus dicit: Ignem veni mittere in terram, ignis utique vitalis, ignis salutis, qui dum peccata consumit, animas nutrit. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus CIII Source: Migne PL 70.729b-c

...He who makes His spirits angels, and His ministers blazing fire... 1 It must be received by the soul, that here angels are spoken of in a special sense, which is not openly found in the book of Genesis. And these words must be distinguished most subtly. A spirit is a general name for an incorporeal and powerful substance, which working visibly or invisibly, is inspired by the Divinity. The name of angels does not signify the nature, but obedience, for 'angel' in the Greek tongue is translated into ours as 'messenger', since when they are sent out they are messengers, but their nature is known to be spiritual. He adds, 'His' to show them to be right minded followers of the Lord's wishes. For the sense of the words is: 'He who makes His spirits messengers.' It follows: 'And his ministers blazing fire.' A servant of God is everyone in whom the Divine wishes are followed, and he is always aflame with the fire of love. For the heavenly man is made fire when by the words of preaching the wickedness of sins is shown to be burnt and consumed. So the Lord says 'I have come to place fire on the earth,' 2 Life giving fire, the fire of salvation, which while it consumes sin, nourishes the soul. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 103 1 Ps 103.4 2 Lk 12.49

Two Loves

Duo namque amores sunt ex quibus omnes prodeunt voluntates, ita diversae qualitatibus, sicut dividuntur auctoribus. Rationalis enim animus, qui sine dilectione esse non potest, aut Dei est amator aut mundi. In dilectione Dei nulla nimia, in dilectione autem mundi cuncta sunt noxia. Et ideo aeternis bonis inseparabiliter inhaerendum, temporalibus vero transeunter utendum est: ut peregrinantibus nobis et ad patriam redire properantibus, quidquid de prosperitatibus mundi hujus occurrerit, viaticum sit itineris, non illecebra mansionis. Ideo beatus Apostolus praedicat dicens: Tempus breve est: reliquum est ut qui habent uxores, tamquam non habentes sint; et qui flent, tamquam non flentes; et qui gaudent, tamquam non gaudentes; et qui emunt, tamquam non possidentes; et qui utuntur hoc mundo, tamquam non utantur. Praeterit enim figura hujus mundi. Sed quod de specie, de copia, de varietate blanditur, non facile declinatur, nisi in illa visibilium pulchritudine Creator potius quam creatura diligatur, qui cum dicit: Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota mente tua, et ex tota virtute tua, in nullo nos vult ab amoris sui vinculis relaxari. Et cum huic praecepto proximi quoque copulat charitatem, imitationem nobis suae bonitatis indicit: ut quod diligit diligamus, et quod operatur operemur. Quamvis enim Dei agricultura simus, et Dei aedificatio, et neque qui plantat sit aliquid, neque qui rigat, sed qui incrementum dat Deus; in omnibus tamen exigit nostri ministerii servitutem, et nos dispensatores suorum vult esse donorum, ut qui fert Dei imaginem, Dei faciat voluntatem. Propter quod in oratione Dominica sacratissime dicimus: Adveniat regnum tuum, fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo et in terra. Quibus verbis quid aliud postulamus, quam ut Deus quos necdum sibi subdidit subdat, et sicut in coelo angelos, ita et in terra homines ministros suae faciat voluntatis? Hoc autem petentes amamus Deum, amamus et proximum; et non diversa in nobis, sed una dilectio est, quando et servum servire, et dominum cupimus imperare. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XC, Caput III Source: Migne PL 54.448b-449a

There are two loves from which proceed all wishes, as different in quality as they are in their sources. For the reasonable soul, which cannot exist without love, is the lover either of God or the world. In the love of God there is no excess, but in the love of the world all is harmful. And therefore we must cleave inseparably to eternal treasures, but we must make use of temporal things as those who pass by. Like travellers hurrying to return to our fatherland, all the good things of this world which we encounter should be as aids on the way, not snares which detain. Therefore the blessed Apostle preaches, saying, 'The time is short. It remains that those who have wives to be as though they had none, and those who weep to be as though they do not weep, and those who rejoice to be as though they do not rejoice, and those who buy, as though they possessed not; and those that use this world, as though they used it not. For the form of this world passes away.' 1 But as the world attracts us with its appearance and its abundance and variety, it is not easy to turn away from it unless amid the fairness of visible things the Creator rather than the creature is loved; for, when He says, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your mind, and all your strength,' 2 He wishes that we should not loosen the bond of love in any way. And when to this command He also joins the love of our neighbour, He enjoins on us the imitation of His own goodness, that we should love what He loves and do what He does. For although we are 'God's husbandry and God's building,' and 'Neither is he who plants anything, nor he who waters, but God gives the increase,' 3 yet He will have the labour of our service in everything, and He wishes us to be apportioners of His gifts, so that he who bears God's image may do God's will. Therefore in the Lord's prayer we devoutly say 'Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.' 4 For what else do we ask for in these words but that God may subdue those whom He has not yet subdued, and as in heaven He makes the angels the servants of His will, so also He may make men on earth? And in seeking this we love God and we love our neighbour, and the love within us is not various but one, when we desire that the servant serve and the Lord rule. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 90 1 1 Cor 7.29-31 2 Mt 22.37 3 1 Cor 3.9,7 4 Mt 6.10

The Good Of Reconciliation

Esto consentiens adversario tuo cito dum es in via cum eo: ne forte tradat te adversarius judici, et judex tradat te ministro: et in carcerem mittaris. Amen dico tibi, non exies inde, donec reddas novissimum quadrantem. Ne forte. Ideo dum es in via debes reconciliari. Ne forte tradat te adversarius, id est sit causa quare tradaris Judici, id est Deo. Et judex ministro, id est angelo messori, etc. Vel aliter: Adversarius est divinus sermo, qui nostrae carnis voluptatibus adversatur: et quandiu est ille adversarius noster quem laesimus, et divinus sermo. Jubet ergo, ut sit consentiens ille qui laesit divino sermoni, qui praecipit diligere adversarios nostros, et eis reconciliari, ne similiter sit causa quare tradatur judici: quadrantem vocat minima peccata, quia quadrans genus est nummi qui habet duo minuta. Quasi diceret: Donec persolvat, id est luat etiam minima peccata, quod nunquam erit. Vel novissimus quadrans dicitur terra, quia quatuor sunt elementa: inferior quadrans est terra et deterior; ignis enim significat charitatem, aer vitam nostram, aqua baptismum, terra omnem corruptionem, et hoc est: Donec persolvat novissimum quadrantem, id est omnia peccata quae per terram designantur. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput V Source: Migne PL 162.1296-1297

Come to an agreement with your adversary quickly whilst you are on the way with him, lest perhaps the adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you are thrown into prison. Truly I tell you you shall not go out from there until you have paid the last penny. 1 'Lest perhaps'. Therefore while you are on the way you should be reconciled. Lest perhaps the adversary deliver you, that is, there be a reason for you to be delivered to the judge, who is God. And the judge gives you to the officer, who is the angel who reaps. Or otherwise: The adversary is the Divine word, which is adverse to the pleasures of our flesh, and as long as He is our adversary it is Him we wound, even the Divine word. He exhorts, therefore, that a man might be aware who injures the Divine word, that commands us to love our enemies, and to be reconciled with them, lest for a similar reason we be delivered to the judge. And He calls the least sin a penny because the penny is a coin which is very small. It is as if He said: 'Until you pay, that is, are cleansed of the least sin, which will never be.' Or the last penny is the earth, because there are four elements. The last penny is the earth and it is the worst, fire signifies charity, air our life, water baptism, the earth every corruption. And this is 'until you pay the last penny,' that is, for every sin that the earth signifies. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.25-26

Lights And Lamps

Neque accendunt lucernam et ponunt eam sub modio. Quod si de seipso insinuat, non esse sub obscuro legis, ut quidem volunt, vel sub modio carnis ponendum; tum recte per candelabrum crux passionis, super quam levandus erat, et per lucernam introrsus lucentem divinitas in carne reserata monstratur. Sed tamen circumstantius apostolos et apostolicos viros lucernas esse putamus, quanquam superius gloriosius lux sint vocati, Nimirum quia etsi luci adhaerentes lux esse meruerant, tamen alterius lumine succensi, sicut lucerna alientis pascitur donis, non oportuit sub modio timoris delitescere illos, vel certe sub commoditate praesentis vitae abscondere. Sed accensi lumine veritatis, ponendi erant in candelabro, super quod septem lampades mystice in templo positae, oleo, videlicet Spiritus sancti gratia, jugiter nutriebantur. Cur autem praeeminentius lampas fidei et bonorum operum lucere debeat, patenter insinuat, cum subjungut, ut luceat, inquit, omnibus qui in domo sunt. Videlicet in Ecclesia, quae una et perfecta domus praedicatur. Vel forte luceat omnibus in domo hujus mundi, quae sub uno coelo quasi camera concluditur. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Lib III Cap V Source: Migne PL 120.235b-c

Nor do they light a lamp and place it beneath a bushel... 1 Because if He hints of Himself here, as not being placed beneath the darkness of the Law, as indeed they wish, or beneath the bushel of the flesh, then rightly on the lamp stand of the cross of the passion, upon which He was to be raised, by the lamp shining within, Divinity is revealed in the uncovered flesh. But we may also think that the surrounding Apostles and Apostolic men are lamps, they who just previously were more gloriously called light, 2 certainly because even if adhering to the light they merited the title of 'light', and although kindled by the light of another, just as a lamp is fed with gifts of another, and it was not done so they that should be hidden beneath the bushel of fear, of indeed obscured beneath the comforts of the present life. But lit by the light of truth they were placed on the lamp stand, on which the seven lamps were mystically set in the temple, 3 and were continually nourished with oil, which is the grace of the Holy Spirit. And why the lamp of faith and good works should be preeminent in shining He clearly suggests when He adds that it should shine on everyone in the house. That is, in the Church, which is proclaimed to be the one perfect house. Or perhaps it should shine on everyone else in the house of the world, which is beneath one heaven as in a vaulted room. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 3, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.15 2 Mt 5.14 3 Exod 25.37

Leaven And Bread

Sciens autem Jesus, dixit eis: Quid cogitatis inter vos, modicae fidei, quia panes non habetis? Nondum intelligitis, neque recordamini quinque panum, et quinque millium hominum, et quot cophinos sumpsistis? Neque septem panum, quatuor millium hominum, et quot sportas sumpsistis? Quare non intelligitis, quia non de pane dixi vobis: Cavete a fermento Pharisaeorum, et Sadducaeorum. Tunc intellexerunt, quia non dixerit, cavendum a fermento panum, sed a doctrina Pharisaeorum et Sadducaeorum. Per occasionem praecepti quo Salvator jusserat dicens: Cavete a fermento Pharisaeorum et fermento Herodis. docet eos quid significent quinque panes et septem, sive pisciculi, aut quinque milia hominum et quatuor millia, quae pasta sunt in eremo; quod licet signorum magnitudo perspicua sit, tamen et aliud in spirituali intelligentia demonstretur. Si enim fermentum Pharisaeorum et Sadducaeorum non corporalem panem, sed traditiones perversas, et haeretica significat dogmata; quare et cibi, quibus nutritus est populus Dei, non veram doctrinam integramque significent? Quaerat aliquis et dicat: Quomodo panes non habebant, qui statim impletis septem sportis, ascenderunt in naviculam, et venerunt in fines Magedan: ibique audiunt navigantes, quod cavere debeant a fermento Pharisaeorum et Sadducaeorum? Sed Scriptura testatur quod obliti sint eos secum tollere. Hoc est fermentum, de quo et Apostolus loquitur; Modicum fermentum totam massam corrumpit. Istiusmodi fermentum, quod omni ratione vitandum est, habuit Marcion, et Valentinus, et omnes haeretici. Fermentum hanc vim habet, ut si farinae mixtum fuerit, quod parvum videbatur, crescat in majus, et ad saporem suum universam conspersionem trahat: ita et doctrina haeretica, si vel modicam scintillam in tuum pectus jecerit, in brevi ingens flamma succrescit, et totam hominis possessionem ad se trahit. Denique sequitur: Tunc intellexerunt, quia non dixisset cavendum a fermento panum, sed a doctrina Pharisaeorum et Sadducaeorum. Sanctus Hieronymus, In Matthaei Evangelium Expositio, Liber Secundus, Caput XVI Source: Migne PL 25.113b-114b

Jesus was aware, and said to them, 'Why do you think among yourselves, men of little faith, that you have no bread ? Do you not understand, do you not remember the five loaves and the five thousand and how many baskets you filled? Nor the seven loaves and the four thousand and their seven loaves, and how many hampers you filled? Why do you not understand that I did not speak of bread to you when I said, 'Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?' Then they understood that He did not speak a warning against leavened bread but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees 1 Because of the commandment which the Savour gave saying, 'Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of the Herodians,' He teaches them the meaning of the five loaves and the seven, and the fish, and the five thousand men and the four thousand, who were fed in the desert, the greatness of which signs it is easy to grasp, but the spiritual understanding of them may require demonstration. For if the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees is not material bread, but pertains to perverse traditions and heretical teaching, why should the bread which nourished the people of God not signify true authentic teaching? Someone may ask a question about this and say, 'How did they not have bread, who just filled seven sacks and went up into the boat, and then they came to the borders of Magdalen, and there sailing heard that they should beware the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees?' But Scripture bears witness that they had forgotten to bring these with them. This is the leaven, concering which the Apostle says, 'A little leaven corrupts the whole.' 2 This leaven, which in every sense is to be avoided, Marcion has, and Valentinus, and all heretics. This leaven has the power that if it is mixed with flour, then that what seemed small, grows into something great, and its aroma is diffused everywhere. Thus if even a tiny spark of hereritcal teaching is cast into the heart, then in a brief time a great flame rises up and it takes possession of the whole man. So it follows, 'Then they understood that He did not speak a warning against leavened bread but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.' Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Book 2 Chap 16 1 Mt 16.8-12 2 1 Cor 5.6

Differing Parables

Ἄνθρωπός τις ἐποίησε δεῖπνον μέγα, καὶ ἐκάλεσε πολλούς... Ἀλλοτρία αὕτη ἡ παραβολὴ πρὸς τὴν παρὰ τῷ Ματθαίῳ. Ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ βασιλεὺς, καὶ γάμοι υἱοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ κλήτορες πολλοὶ, καὶ οἱ κληθέντες οὐκ ἀπῆλθον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς δούλους ὕβρισαν καὶ ἀπέκτειναν, καὶ στράτευμα κινούμενον κατὰ τῶν ἀνῃρηκότων τοὺς δούλους, καὶ ὁ διὰ τὴν ῥυπαρὰν ἐσθῆτα ἐκβαλλόμενος τοῦ γάμου· ὧδε δὲ ἄνθρωπος εἰσάγεται ψιλὸς, καὶ δεῖπνον ἁπλῶς, καὶ εἷς ἐπὶ τὴν κλῆσιν ἐκπέμπεται, καὶ οἱ κληθέντες παραιτοῦνται μόνον τὴν κλῆσιν, ἀσχολίαν σκηπτόμενοι. Τὸ δὲ κεφαλαιωδέστερον, ὅτι ἐκείνη μὲν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ λέλεκτο πρὸς τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ πρεσβυτέρους τοῦ λαοῦ, αὕτη δ' ἐπὶ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐν οἰκίᾳ τινὸς ἄρχοντος Φαρισαίου· τῶν γὰρ συνανακειμένων τις ἀκούσας τὸ, Μακάριος ἔσῃ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἀνταποδοῦναί σοι· ἀνταποδοθήσεται γάρ σοι ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τῶν δικαίων· τῆς ἀναστάσεως καὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ μιᾶς καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς νοουμένης. Πρὸς οὖν τὸν εἰρηκότα, Μακάριος ὅστις φάγηται ἄρτον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τίς ἂν γένοιτο οὗτος ὁ μακάριος διὰ τῆς παραβολῆς ὁ Σωτὴρ παρίστησι λέγων, Ἄνθρωπός τις ἐποίησε δεῖπνον μέγα· πάλιν αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐν τούτοις ἄνθρωπον ὀνομάζων. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν Ἐπαγγελιον, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 24.572b-c

A certain man prepared a great feast, to which he invited many...1 This is a different parable from the one given by Matthew. For there we have a king and the wedding of the king's son, and many servants are sent out to call, and those who are called do not come, but they scorn the servants and kill them, and an army is despatched against the killers of the servants, and a certain man because of his sordid clothing is cast out of the wedding feast, 1 but here one man is introduced, and it is a private meal, and one servant is sent out to call, and those called decline the invitation because they are busy with other occupations. And this is to be especially noted, that the former was told in the temple before the high priests and elders of the people, and the latter in Galilee in the house of a certain ruler among the Pharisees. And that man reclining heard, 'And you shall be blessed because they have nothing with which they may repay you, but you will have repayment in the resurrection of the righteous.' And the resurrection and the kingdom of God are to understood as one and the same. But now to him who said, 'Blessed is he who eats bread in the kingdom of God,' who this blessed man may be the Saviour declares in this parable, saying, 'A certain man prepared a great feast,' again with these words naming himself as the man. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary On the Gospel of Saint Luke, Fragment 1 Lk 14.16 2 Mt 22.2-14