The Glory of the Vestments of Jesus

At times, God deigns to show the inward effect of grace in the outward appearance of a person, as in the case of Moses, when he descended from Mount Sinai with the tablets of the Ten Commandments.  When The Lord Jesus came down the mountain after his Transfiguration, he too was altered in appearance, as we can see from the reaction of the crowd which awaited him: "All the people, seeing Jesus, were astonished and struck with fear" (Mark 9, 14).  In his commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew, that great student of the Scriptures, Origen (d. 254), provides his insights into the Transfiguration of Jesus:

"His vestments seemed as white as light to those who were led apart by him onto the high mountain.  The 'vestments' of Jesus are the words and letters of the Gospels with which he is clothed.  I also consider the letters of the Apostles, which explain matters which pertain to Jesus, to be the 'vestments' of Jesus, made white to those who climbed the high mountain with Jesus.  But since there are differences among things that are white, his vestments are made as the brightest and purest white, that is, as light.  Therefore, when you see someone not only explaining the theology of Jesus accurately, but also the words of the Gospels, do not be slow to say that the vestments of Jesus have been made as white as light to him.  After the transfigured Son of God is so understood and considered that his face is as the sun, and his vestments reflect the light by their whiteness, the one who truly sees Jesus shall also see Moses -- that is, the law -- and Elijah -- who stands not only for himself but even for all the prophets -- conversing with Jesus . . . If anyone understands the spiritual law as speech with Jesus, and understands the wisdom hidden in the prophets as a mystery, then when he sees Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus, he sees them in their glory." 

The Coming of The Lord for Judgment

Concern ran high for the early Christians regarding the end times, as can be seen in St. Paul's two letters to the Thessalonians.  Much apocalyptic literature existed in those early centuries of the Church, both Jewish and Christian.  Victorinus (d. 303), bishop of Pannonia, near the Danube, wrote one of the first expositions on the Book of Revelation, which is also known as the Book of the Apocalypse, which tells of the world's final days.  While much of his work has been lost, enough remains to give us valuable insight and food for thought.  Here is his commentary on Chapter 10 of the Book of the Apocalypse:

" 'I saw another mighty Angel descending from heaven, clothed with a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet were as columns of fire.  He had in his hand an open book and he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land' (Revelation 10, 1-2).  This 'mighty Angel' which John says descended from from heaven and was clothed with a cloud, signifies our Lord.  'His face was as the sun' -- due to the Resurrection.  'A rainbow over his head'.  This indicates the judgment which was made, or would be made, by him.  'An open book' -- the revealing of works in the future judgment.  Or, the Book of Revelation which John received.  'His feet'.  These are the Apostles.  This signifies that all the coastlands and places on the earth would be trod upon by him and be made subject to his 'feet'.  The Lord is called an 'angel', that is, the messenger of the Father, for he is called the 'Angel of great counsel' (cf. Isaiah 9, 6).  John said that he shouted with a great voice.  The voice is 'great' to announce the words of the almighty God of heaven to men, and to call men to witness that after the time for repentance closed, there would be no future hope.  

" 'Seven thunders sounded their voices.'  The 'seven thunders' signify the Holy Spirit of seven-fold power, who proclaimed all future events through the prophets.  John renders testimony to the world by his voice.  He said that he was about to write such things as the thunders had spoken, that is, whatever had been obscure in the prophesies of the Old Testament, but he was forbidden to write them, and to leave them sealed because he was an Apostle, for it was not fitting for the grace of the succeeding era to be laid out in the current era.  'The time is near.'  The Apostles overcame unbelief through powerful works, signs, portents, and mighty words.  After the Apostles, the solace of the interpretation of the prophetic Scriptures is given to the same united churches.  After the Apostles, as I have said, there would be prophets for interpreting the Scriptures.  As the Apostle said: 'Indeed, he set in the Church first, the Apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers' (1Corinthians 12, 28).  In another place, he said: 'Let two or three prophets speak, and the others weigh it' (1Corinthians 14, 29).  He also said: 'Every woman who prays and prophesies with her head uncovered, shames her head' (I Corinthians 11, 5).  When he says, 'Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh it', he is not speaking of Catholic prophecy that is unheard of and unknown, but that which is foretold and known.  Let the others weigh whether the interpretation is fitting to the testimonies of the prophetic speech.  It is clear that this was not necessary for John, who was equipped with superior virtue, although the Body of Christ, which is the Church, adorned with her members, ought to respond to it.

" 'I took the book from the hand of the Angel and ate it.'  To take a book and 'eat' it is to commit it to memory, and this was done after it had been shown.  'And in my mouth it was as sweet honey.'  The fruit of speaking is sweetness in the mouth of the one preaching, and very sweet in the ears of one who hears it, but it is most bitter to those who preach and persevere through their suffering in its commandments. 

" 'And he said to me: It is necessary for you to prophesy again to the peoples, to those of different languages, to the nations, and to many kings.  He says this because at the time when John saw these events, he had been condemned by the emperor Domitian to the mines on the island of Patmos, and there he saw the events of the Apocalypse.  And now that he was an old man, he thought that he would receive his end through his suffering, but with the killing of Domitian, all his judgments were overthrown.  John was released from the mines and so handed on the same Apocalypse he had taken from God.  The meaning of the Angel's words is this: It is necessary for you to preach again to the nations, for you see the crowds of the Antichrist rising up, and other crowds are to stand facing them, and they are to slay one another with the sword." 

The Graces of St. Martha

Following is another excerpt from a work by the monk Rabanus Maurus that tells of the lives of Sts. Martha, Mary Magdalene, and Lazarus:

"Bethany, so often named among the evangelists, was the villa of Mary Magdalene, Lazarus, and Martha.  It was situated near Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives, fifteen stadia from the holy city, facing the east.  It was a most noble meeting place for those who belonged to our Lord and Savior.  It was dedicated to its guests, celebrated for its hospitality, famous for miracles, memorable for tears, distinguished for a procession, marked by its footsteps, and admirable in its ascent.  The venerable hostess and most devoted attendant of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, the very beautiful Martha, was born of this city.  Her mother was the most noble Eucharia, who came from a royal Israelite family.  Her father was the Syrian Theophilus, who was not only illustrious of race, but also of the most famous nobility.  Indeed, he held the first rank among the satraps of the province, and was the worthy leader and prince of all Syria and its maritime region.  But afterwards he became a disciple of Christ and left behind the signs of his authority, and humbly followed the footsteps of Christ.  Mary, the sister of the blessed Martha, shone with her beauty.  Their brother, Lazarus, was of an egregious nature and lively youth.  Their abilities together with their good works thrived among the three.  They were taught in their childhood and were filled with the knowledge of the Hebrew language.  Besides this, they seemed to match each other in beauty of appearance, manners, and grace.

"As I have said already, they were of noble heritage and of respectable family.  They possessed a very large inheritance that consisted of manors, money, and also servants.  They owned a great part of the city of Jerusalem as well as three manors: Bethany of Judea, two thousand paces from Jerusalem; Magdala in Galilee, situated on the left bank of the Sea of Geneseret, in the hollow of a mountain, two thousand paces from Tiberius; and Bethany across the Jordan, also in Galilee, where John baptized.  They lived together in all these places and abounded in nice things.  Martha's brother and sister wished for her, as the first-born, to have most of the property and the greatest of the manors.  She was not accustomed to waste her property.  She was feminine in her heart, manly in her bearing, and generous in her soul.  She was manly in that she had no husband, and was renowned for the glory of her continence.  She was sweet and kind to the members of her family; humble and friendly to the poor; and merciful and generous to all.  And, as I shall say briefly, she was a woman to be respected and honored by all because she was of noble heritage and talented in many ways.  She was celebrated for her beauty and her glorious modesty.  She was bountiful in her hospitality, and gracious to all.  This was Martha."

How We Pray the Prayer of The Lord Jesus

The subject of prayer had great importance and urgency for members of the early Church, who faced ostracism and persecution.  An early bishop, St. Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258), who was himself martyred, wrote a beautiful commentary, "On the Lord's Prayer", which begins with these words:

"My dearest brothers, the Gospel precepts are nothing other than divine teachings which lay the foundations for hope, strengthen the support of faith, foster the nourishment of the heart, steer the rudder for the journey, and obtain the reward of salvation.  When they are taught to minds on earth that are docile, they lead to the eternal kingdom.  God wills that many teachings be spoken and heard through his servants the prophets, but how much more he wills us to hear what his Son speaks.  The word of God which was with the prophets he now witnesses with his own voice.  The word does not now command that his way be prepared for his coming, but he himself comes and opens and shows us the way, so that we who were blind and unable to foresee, wandering in the darkness of death, are enlightened by the light of grace, and hold tight to the way of life with The Lord leading and guiding us.

"He who counsels his people for salvation with his salutary admonitions and divine commandments also gave us the form for praying, and which he himself instructed and taught us.  He who made us to live has also taught us to pray, and with that same kindness with which he deigns to give and confer on us other gifts, so that with the prayer and entreaty the Son taught us to speak to the Father, we may be more easily heard.  He had already foretold the hour that was to come when the true adorers would worship the Father in spirit and truth (cf. John 4, 23), and he has fulfilled what he promised: that we who have received the spirit and truth of his sanctification, may adore him truly and spiritually, according to what he handed on to us.  What prayer could be more spiritual than the one given to us by Christ, which also the Holy Spirit sent us?  What prayer to the Father could be more true than the one which was uttered by the mouth of his Son, who is the Truth?  He taught that to pray otherwise would not only be ignorance, but sin, when he said and asserted: 'For, leaving the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men' (Mark 7, 8).

"Let us pray then, dearest brothers, as God our teacher has taught us.  It is a loving and familial prayer with which to beseech God, using his own words, and which rises to his ears through the prayer of Christ.  Let the Father know the words of his Son when we make this prayer.  Let the One who dwells within our heart himself be in our voice.  Let us bring forth the words of our Advocate when we sinners pray for our sins, since we have an Advocate for our sins with God.  Since he told us that whatever we asked the Father for, in his name, he would give us, how much more efficaciously we may ask, when we pray in the name of Christ, if we seek with his own prayer?"

St. Cyprian wrote in Latin.  Although some Fathers in Egypt wrote in Greek, many of the Fathers who lived in northern Africa, like St. Augustine, wrote in Latin because they were descendants of the Roman colonists who settled in those lands after these were conquered by the legions of the Empire, long before.

The Precious Blood of The Lord Jesus

In his merciful providence, God prepared his people for the sprinkling of the Blood of his Son with the sprinkling of the blood of young bulls, which marked the inauguration of the old covenant.  In his commentary on the Mass, Blessed Odo OSB (d. 1113), bishop of Cambrai, wrote of the Precious Blood of our Lord in the Sacrifice of the new covenant:

" 'In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took this precious chalice.'  If Christ took the chalice at the supper, he takes this chalice now.  It is the same chalice, then and now.  Unless it is the same, it cannot be said that he takes the chalice now.  It is one when it is taken by hands in order to be blessed, and it is not yet Blood, but still wine, because of the unity of the Faith, and because of the One to whom and I'm whose honor it is offered.  The chalice is taken daily to be blessed so that what was done then might be done now.  When the chalice is taken, the divine words used then and now are the same because this Faith is one through the whole Church, and the One who to whom it is offered is one, just as it is one altar in all the churches because on it the one Sacrifice of the Body of The Lord is offered daily, according to one Faith.

" 'This precious chalice.'  The chalice of wine is still called 'precious' even though it will be made precious when there shall be Blood in it.  As it is written in Psalm 22, 5: 'My chalice which inebriates me, how precious it is!'  Or, it is so-called in comparison with the chalice offered by Melchizedek or others in the Old Testament, or on account of the majesty of the One to whom it is offered.  That is: We offer this to your precious majesty."

The Heritage of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The story of the Blessed Virgin Mary's parents, Sts. Anne and Joachim, is told by the very early work usually referred to as the "Proto-evangelium of James".  A sermon by Pope Innocent III discusses the question of the lineage of the Blessed Virgin in terms of the Mosaic law:

"The genealogies given by Matthew and Luke do not seem to prove that Mary was of the lineage of [King] David nor even of the tribe of Judah.  But according to the law, through long custom, persons of different tribes could be joined in marriage, but their possessions and inheritances would not be joined together [cf. Numbers 36, 6-9], for two tribes, one priestly [Levi] and one royal [Judah] were joined together legally through a covenant.  Thus, Mary is said to be a relative of Elizabeth, who was of the daughters of Aaron [the tribe of Levi], and she was able to be married to Joseph, who was of royal lineage, of the house and family of David.  Now, although it be granted that Joseph and Mary were members of the same tribe, that of Judah, still it has not been proven that they were members of the same family.  Now, Joseph was descended from the line of David, and Mary could have descended from the same line, or she could have come from another family of that line than Joseph's.  Therefore, the prophets, filled with the Holy Spirit, wished to foretell clearly that Christ was to be descended from the house of David and from royal seed.  In Isaiah 11, 1, it is written that, 'A rod shall go forth from the root of Jesse' -- that is, from King David, who was the son of Jesse, and of royal heritage -- and 'a flower' -- Christ -- 'shall rise up from its root.'  Jeremiah 23, 5: 'I shall raise up to David a just branch, and he shall reign as king, and he shall be wise, and he shall do justice and judgment on the earth, and this will be the name which he is called: Our Just Lord.'  Our word 'Lord' is translated from the Hebrew Adonai, which is the name for God, and this Hebrew word is only used to indicate God.  Thus, it is proven that this 'branch' to David, which is Christ, is God.  In Revelation 5, 5, one of the elders says to John: 'Do not weep.  Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed.'  In 2 Timothy 2, 8, Paul says to Timothy: 'Remember that our Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my Gospel.'  That which is written at the end of the Book of Numbers sufficiently shows that those women who had a part of the inheritance should wed not merely members of their tribe, but even of their same family: 'All the men should take their wives from the same tribe and family, and all the women should take their husbands from the same tribe, so that the inheritance may remain in the family' (Numbers 36, 1-9).  Now, Joachim and Anna did not have a male heir: their first-born was the Virgin Mary.  Thus, the inheritance belonged principally to her.  When the time came for the Holy One to marry, she married a just man from her tribe, according to the law.  And the Virgin Mary was from the same tribe and family as he." 

Thus, Mary seems to have a heritage in both the royal tribe of Judah and the priestly house of Levi, according to Innocent III, appropriate in that her Son would be both King and High Priest.

The Graceful Example of St. James

St. Eusebius of Caesarea (d. 339), in his famous History of the Church, recounts the following about St. James the Apostle, the son of Zebedee:

"At that time, during the reign of the Emperor Claudius, King Herod persecuted certain men of the Church, and killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.  A memory of this event is preserved by Clement, in the seventh book of his Institutions, which has been accepted by the greater number of people.  He says that when the man who brought James to the judge saw how James freely confessed his faith in Christ, he was moved by his constancy and declared that he too was a Christian.  Clement says that both of them were led off to punishment together.  And when the man begged James to forgive him, James delayed but a short time, and said to him, 'Peace be with you,' and immediately kissed him.  In this way, they were beheaded together."

The book mentioned as written by Clement, who was later Bishop of Rome, is apocryphal in nature and was not, in fact, by Clement.  All the same, the book was authored at an early date and so the account related by Eusebius may well preserve a historical event.

The True Manna from Heaven

The Hebrews lived on the manna that God rained down from the sky for them while they wandered in the desert for forty years.  The manna ceased once they reached the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey.  This prefigures the Holy Eucharist, which sustains us while we painfully make our way through this land of our exile to our true home in heaven.  The following reflection is taken from a sermon by St. Albert the Great:

"This Sacrament is food for men.  It is medicinal food against the corruption of the fruit of a death-dealing tree, which was faithlessly infused by the first parents of the human race.  It would be incurable if it had not been remedied by the strongest medicine which could have been applied by the wisdom of God.  Sirach 38, 4: 'The Most High made medicine from the earth' -- that is, from the womb of the Virgin -- 'and the wise man will not shun it.'  As St. Ambrose said: 'The Body of Christ is spiritual medicine which purifies those devoted to it, who taste it with reverence.'  

"To understand the reason for the necessity of the medicine of the Body of Christ, we need to understand that the wicked serpent injected into man the corruption of the three-fold poison of the forbidden fruit: (1) the darkness of ignorance into the soul; (2) the sickness of disordered desire into the body; (3) and death to both the body and soul.  The medicine of the Body of Christ was established against these.  It enlightens the darkness of ignorance, heals the disorder of concupiscence, and destroys our death.  These effects can be described in terms of three sweet foods and medicines for these conditions: for the first, honey; for the second, figs; and, for the third, the fruit of life.

"First, Proverbs 24, 13: 'Eat honey, my child, for it is good.'  Honey signifies the sweetness of the Body of Christ.  It is 'good' because it enlightens the darkness of our minds.  1 Kings 14, 29: 'You have seen that my eyes have been enlightened because I tasted a little of this honey.'  Isaiah 7, 15: 'He shall eat butter and honey so that he may know to reject evil and to choose the good.'  Psalm 26, 1: 'The Lord is my light and my salvation.'  Psalm 33, 6: 'Go to him and be enlightened.'

"Second, Jeremiah 24, 3: 'I see figs, good figs, and very good.'  'Figs' is said twice, signifying the sweetness of the Body of Christ, God and man.  These twice-mentioned figs are 'very good' because they heal the mind and body from the sickness of  disordered concupiscence.  In 4 Kings 20, 7, Isaiah ordered that a lump of figs be brought , and when he placed it on the king's boil, he was cured.  The king's 'boil' is the concupiscence of the flesh.  The lump of 'figs' is the Body of Christ, which contains the sweetness of many good graces as medicine against wicked desires.  

"Third, Luke 1, 42: 'Blessed is the fruit of your womb' -- the Body of Christ, which is the 'fruit' of life, which has power for the destruction of the Gehenna of death and for the acquisition of eternal life.  Proverbs 3, 18: 'The tree of life is for those who lay hands on it' -- that is, the incarnate Wisdom of God.  For this reason, it is written, in Hosea 13, 14: 'I shall be your death, O Death.'  John 6, 51-58: 'I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone should eat this bread, he would live forever.  And the bread that I will give is my Flesh, for the life of the world . . . He who eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him, and he who eats me, will live because of me.'  Hilary of Poitiers: 'Eat the Flesh of The Lord and drink his Blood, that we may be made in him, and he may be made in us.' "

About a hundred years after the Ascension of our Lord into heaven, questions began to be raised about his so-called 'brothers and sisters', mentioned in the Gospels.  None of the Fathers of the Church taught that these were children of the Virgin Mary, and some, like St. Jerome, wrote works defending her perpetual virginity with great energy against the few heretics who dared to question it.  Following is a comment he makes on a text of Matthew 12, 46-50:

" 'While he was still speaking to the crowds, behold, his Mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to him.  A certain man said to him: Your Mother and your brothers are standing outside, seeking you.  And, responding to the one who spoke to him, he said: Who are my Mother and my brothers?  And he extended his hand over his disciples.'  The Lord was occupied with the work of the word, with the teaching of the people, and with the office of preaching, when a certain man announced that his Mother and brothers came and were standing outside, seeking to speak to him.  It seems to me that this man did not announce this simply and casually, but that he was laying snares for the Savior, to see whether he preferred flesh and blood to the work of the spirit.  The Lord did not deny that he had a Mother and brothers, refusing to go out to them, but he responding to the one seeking to ensnare him when he stretched out his hands over his disciples and said: 'Behold my Mother and my brothers!  For, whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, sister, and mother.'  These are my mother, who daily bear me in the souls of believers.  These are my brothers, who do the works of of Father.  He did not deny his Mother . . . but he preferred his Apostles to his relatives, so that we ourselves may also prefer the spirit to the love of the flesh.

" 'Behold, your Mother and your brothers are standing outside, seeking you.'  Following the nonsense of apocryphal works and the inventions of a certain Melcha or Escha, the 'brothers' of The Lord were the sons of Joseph by another wife.  As we wrote in our book against Helvidius, the 'brothers' of The Lord were not the sons of Joseph but were our Savior's cousins.  We understand that the children of that Mary who was said to be the mother of James the lesser, Joseph, and Jude, were the children of his Mother's sister.  These are the 'brothers' of The Lord, whose names are given in a passage in another Gospel.  All the Scriptures say that these were his cousins."

The Frankish archbishop of Mainz, Rabanus Maurus (d. 856), wrote a biography of St. Mary Magdalene which provides a great number of extra-biblical details of her life as well as of the lives of her sister St. Martha and her brother St. Lazarus.  We learn, for instance:

"Mary, when she attained marriageable years, radiant in the beauty of her body, was exceedingly lovely.  She was brilliant in appearance, becoming in her limbs, charming of face, her dark hair shone, she was most gracious in manner, very sweet in her thoughts, her mouth was well-formed, her lips were adorable, and her skin was a mixture of rose and lily-white.  Her form and the grace of her beauty were so resplendent as to be unique, and as to be called a beautiful work of God.  But because splendor of form is rarely joined to chastity, and the abundance of possessions is usually the enemy of continence, she entered her youth overflowing with pleasures.  At that age, it is usual for a person to rejoice in the nobility of their soul, and also to be drawn into pleasures of the flesh.  Alas!  Oh, sorrow!  'The gold was tarnished' (Lamentations 5, 1)."

After describing her fall into sins of the flesh, Rabanus Maurus tells how Mary Magdalene learned of the preaching and miracles of The Lord Jesus, reconsidered the life she had been leading, repented, and then went to see him at a dinner given for him by Simon the Pharisee:

"Mary entered the feast and looked around, and behold, at a distance she saw the Son of the Virgin Mary.  Thereupon, she prostrated herself and adored him.  Rising up, she reverently went up to the couch on which the Savior was reclining.  She stood trustingly behind the One from whose path she had deviated, and she lowered those eyes of her with which she had longed for worldly goods.  She then began 'to moisten his feet with her tears', wiping them 'with her hair', which she used to arrange to show off the beauty of her face.  She washed his feet with the tears from her eyes and dried them with her hair.  With the mouth she had misused in pride and lust, she 'kissed his feet'; with the perfume she had brought, which she lamented to have used on her body for its sweet smell, she anointed him.  The Pharisee who had invited The Lord to the feast was indignant and looked upon her with spite.  He forgot his own weakness and declared the guilt of her who was about to be saved because she came to be saved, and came in to the Savior.  He said to himself, murmuring, Is he a Jew, or not?  The fact is that, 'If he were a prophet', understanding matters of the past and present without having been present himself, and wisely foreseeing matters of the future, certainly 'he would know' what kind of woman this is, whose service he gladly accepts, and whose touch he does not disdain.  Then God, the Discerner of thoughts and the Prober of intentions, responded to the Pharisee's thoughts: 'Simon,' he said, 'I have something to say to you.'  The haughty Pharisee who had spoken in his heart and with his heart, responded aloud, as though he had not murmured anything at all: 'Master, speak.'  The Lord said: 'Two men were debtors to a certain money-lender.  One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other owed him fifty.  Since neither had that with which to repay him, he forgave them both.  Who do you think loved him more?'  Simon, like a madman who blames the rope for his entanglement in it, considering that no word of his could be expressed so briefly and clearly, and said only: 'The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave more.'  The Lord said to him: 'You have judged rightly.'  He then turned away from the table and towards Mary, on whose love he feasted with more pleasure than on anything at the dinner table.  She offered her own desirable face for him to see, and he looked upon her with his own most serene and kindly eyes.  But before he spoke to her, he mounted a defense of her against the Pharisee, and looking at her while speaking to him, he said: 'Do you see this woman?'  Then, from memory, and going point by point, he mentioned the services of washing, embracing, anointing, and kissing, signifying all the very pleasing services he should have received, plainly reproaching Simon for having failed to provide these, and comparing each to what he received from the woman.  He said: 'I entered your house' -- for I was invited by you -- 'and you gave me no water for my feet' -- either from the well or the river.  It was the usual custom to offer this service.  'But this woman washed my feet with her own tears' -- a completely unheard of service -- 'and she wiped them with her hair', which is more precious than a linen towel.  'You gave me no kiss' -- either of love or as a formality -- 'but she has kissed me' not once, but often: 'for, from the time she entered she has not ceased to kiss my feet.'  Then he continued: 'You did not anoint my head with oil' -- which is a sign of devotion -- 'but she has anointed my feet' -- with a mixture of rose oil.  'Because of this, I say to you, her many sins are forgiven her' -- due to her merit -- 'for she has loved much.'  He explained: 'To the one who loves less, less is forgiven.'  He who is not held for insufficiently loving The Lord, is held onto by God, lest he fall into sin.  

"When he said these words, she understood that the Savior had given joy and great gladness to her hearing [cf. Psalm 50, 9].  Indeed, she heard that the services she had rendered to Christ were numbered and approved.  It was good that she knew that the gift of her services had been preferred to Simon's feast, but it was greater that the shining splendor of her love had been seen by God, and that she had learned of the forgiveness of her sins.  With wonderful eagerness and ineffable sweetness, The Lord consoled the weeping woman who was ceaselessly kissing his feet, and he said to her: 'Your sins are forgiven you.'  The heat of her love had burned away the rust of her sin."

Among the many treatises on the Mass written from the times of the Fathers through the High Middle Ages, the most concise is that of the teacher and later monk at Cluny, Alger of Liege (d. 1131).  The whole of this work of his, is translated and presented below:

"The solemn celebration of the Mass was instituted in order to express the memory of Christ coming into the world, and to refashion the mystery of his Passion.  Thus, the parts of the Mass that are first carried out, from the Introit to the Secrets, which the priest imparts, speaking them to himself, represent the coming of The Lord and the times of the preaching of the Gospel.  Then the Secrets, which are imparted over the offerings, pour forth the prayer which the Savior made three times before his Passion: 'Father, if it may be done, let this chalice pass from me' (Matthew 26, 39).   It is written in that passage that The Lord sweat blood and prayed for a long time in his agony.  The priest, as sinner, should plainly show that he offers the Sacrifice of prayer to God with such contrition of heart and solicitude of spirit as when the Priest of Justice offered himself, sending forth his prayers to the Father with the pouring out of his Blood, and plainly showing to us the power of his compassion.  The lawful Priest, who never enters the holy of holies without his Blood, does this, for according to the Apostle, there is no forgiveness of sins without the pouring out of blood.  Afterwards, our priest greets the people with a loud voice.  He exhorts them to lift up their hearts to The Lord and to give thanks, expressing what The Lord said, turning to his disciples: 'Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation' (Matthew 26, 41).  Next follows that heavenly hymn, 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts', which the winged spirits are said to have sung in the Old Testament.  This shows that the angelic spirits are present at the hour of Sacrifice, showing due reverence for the divine mysteries.

"Next, our priest begins the words of the Canon, and as if entering the holy of holies, first pours forth a general prayer on behalf of the whole Church, making the sign of the Cross, pouring the Blood of Christ over this offering, for as often as he imparts the sign of the Cross to the heavenly offering, he sprinkles the Blood of Christ over the offering.  Those things which he offers he first calls 'gifts', because they are given to us by the Father of lights.  Second, he calls them 'offerings', because we offer the one who is praying through them.  Third, he calls them 'sacrifices', because we are washed from our sins through them, and when we have been reconciled, we have peace with God.  The second prayer in the canon is made on behalf of those who either have offered the bread for the sacrifice, or they are present at the sacred mysteries.  The priest implores the assistance of the saints in the third prayer, and dutifully imposes the incense of prayer in order to, as it were, overshadow the offering of the heavenly Priest with a cloud of compunction.  Next, the priest prayers for this sacrifice to be made blessed so that we may be filled with every heavenly blessing through it.  He prays for it to be approved so that by its efficacious power we may be approved in the book of the living.  And he prays for it to be ratified so that, rooted or established in faith through its power, in no wise may we be snatched away from the love of God.

"Next, the priest recounts the Lord's words, which Christ said, by whose power and grace the bread is changed into his Body, and wine into his Blood, and which the Catholic Faith confesses.  But why is the chalice of his Blood called a new and eternal covenant?  Because the forgiveness of our sins and the receiving of an eternal kingdom is promised to us through faith in the Blood of Jesus Christ.  It is said to be both new and eternal in that we are made new when he purges us from our sins, and he grants us a kingdom when he changes that which is lifted up in offering from that which is corrupt and unstable into eternal and incorruptible.  Further on, the Christian Faith holds that this is a mystery of faith.  The Faith confesses the truth that this mystery is both and at the same time a sacrament, and the matter of the sacrament, under the appearances of bread and wine.  Indeed, the exterior color and taste of the bread and wine are present, but the interior substance of the Body and Blood is afforded to the eyes of faith alone.  The priest is then able to call the visible elements of the Sacrifice pure because he has purged it from all that is vile.  He calls them holy because they confer the grace of the virtues.  He calls them immaculate because they grant the glory of incorruption to the just.  The priest prays for this Sacrifice to be made acceptable just as were the gifts of Abel, whose innocence signifies the innocence and life of Christ; as was the sacrifice of Abraham, because it signifies the sanctity of the Lord's Passion; and as the sacrifice of Melchizedek, which prefigured the daily Sacrifice of the Church in bread and wine.  The priest then prays The Lord that he command that this Sacrifice be raised up by the hands of a holy angel unto his altar on high, that the Sacrament may be manifest at that time, the bread united to the Body of The Lord, and joined in the unity of the same substance.  He next kisses the altar in order to show that he wishes to be made a sharer in this Sacrament, and he strengthens himself with the sign of the Cross in order to prepare himself for the reception of this mystery.  He follows this by praying for the dead and also for himself, and, at the end, he includes the names of the saints, as though he were another Aaron, speaking on behalf of the twelve Patriarchs whose names were inscribed on his breast (cf. Exodus 28, 29).

"After this, he prays, 'Through whom you create all these good things, O Lord', by bringing forth the substance of his Flesh from the bread; 'You make holy', by the gathering together the abundance of spiritual virtues; 'You bless', by granting the efficacy of all graces.  Subsequently, he removes the corporal from the chalice and makes the sign of the Cross over it with the sanctified Bread, showing the Crucifixion of Christ.  Then he places the Host on the altar again, he covers the chalice with the corporal to signify the three days The Lord spent in the tomb.  He tells us that this Sacrament of power has been completed when he prays, 'Through him', who gives richly to all and does not reproach anyone; 'With him', who rules and governs all things; 'In him', in whom we live, and move, and have our being.  The Lord's Prayer follows, concluding with the words, 'Deliver us from evil'.  At the end of this prayer, the priest divides the Bread of The Lord into three parts.  The first he puts into the chalice.  The second part he himself consumes.  The third part he offers to one who receiving Communion.  The fraction of the Bread signifies the Passion of Christ during which the Temple of his Body was broken and destroyed, and three days afterwards it was awakened by the divine power.  The chalice signifies the tomb of The Lord, in which Christ was swallowed up by death, so that he lay in the heart of the earth for three days just as Jonah was swallowed up by the belly of the fish for three days.  The priest prays for those who have already gone out from their bodies With the first part of the Host, which is mixed with the Blood, the priest prays for those who have already gone out from their bodies, but bound by the sins of their bodies, they have in themselves that which must be tried and purged by the pains of purgatory.  With the middle part he prays for those who still live in the flesh, and, as though in a middle position, they are able to decide with their own free will whether they wish to go to the right or to the left hand of The Lord.  With the third part he gives thanks for the saints established in glory for whom there is no need for prayer.  In this way, the Passion of Christ profits everyone: the dead, for forgiveness; the living, for grace; and the saints, for glory.  Likewise, the Sacrament brings good to each person: it purges the dead, justifies the living, and crowns the saints.  Through him who lives and reigns for ever and ever.  Amen."

The Pharisees had many reasons for plotting to put Our Lord Jesus Christ to death.  Underlying their hatred for him was a complete lack of seeing his love for them and for all people.  The work of the Christian is to repair this blindness by seeing into the depths of his Sacred Heart, and this can be very efficaciously done by meditating upon the heart of his Mother, always so close to his.  St. Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153) wrote a very moving little book called, On the Passion of The Lord and on the Sorrows and Laments of His Mother, from which the following is drawn:

"O Jews, who have crucified my Son, do not spare me!  Crucify the Mother, or destroy her with whatever kind of savage death.  O Death, you rob the world with your rod so that a widow may lose her Son, her joy, her sweetness!  My Life, my Salvation is destroyed, and my Hope is taken from the earth.  Why does a Mother live after her Son, in sorrow?  Take and hang up the Mother with her Child.  You do not spare the Son, so do not spare me.  Obey me, O Death!

"Then I shall rejoice greatly if I may die together with my sweet Christ, and he die with a wretched Mother.  But the death I wish for, departs.  Oh woe, unhappy me!  Death conquers you, O Jesus!  It is better for me to die than to live a sweet life.  But Death flees from a wretched woman, and abandons me, unhappy as I am.

"O Son of my love, my kind Son, my Son born from on high!  Hear the prayers of your wretched Mother!  Cease your hardness to your Mother, to whom you were ever kind in all things.  Take your Mother into death with you so that she may live with you forever after death.  There is nothing sweeter to me than to live and die with you.  Nothing is more bitter to me than to live after your death." 

The Prophet Isaiah, seeing far ahead, spoke of the Savior of the world as a lamb who would be slain for the sins of all people.  St. John the Baptist, pointing out the Savior to his own disciples, called him, "the Lamb of God."  In a commentary on the Holy Mass, attributed to St. Isidore of Seville (d. 636), we read:

"Then the priest prays, singing: 'Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.'  The lamb is said to be innocent because he harms no man or any beast.  And when he is sacrificed, he does not strike at the one killing him, but after he is killed he refreshes his killer.  In like manner, Christ does not strike at anyone.  As the Apostle says: 'He committed no sin, neither was their deceit found in his mouth' (1 Peter 2, 22).  But after his Passion, he refreshed and made believers of many of his converted persecutors  through the communion of his holy Body and Blood.  He himself took away the sins of the world when he forgave us the guilt of our sins.  

"We read that the just and sinners went down into hell before his Passion, and that there was no forgiveness of sins, under the old covenant.  But Christ promised us not only the forgiveness of sins through repentance, but even angelic joy: 'There will be joy among the angels of God over one sinner who repents' (Luke 15, 7).  We pray that Christ, the innocent Lamb of God, who suffered for the salvation of the world, may have mercy on us, saying, 'Have mercy on us.'  Under the old covenant, the lamb was offered for the sins of the people.  Under the New Covenant, Christ offered himself to God the Father that the human race might be freed from sin through his Passion.  And so the 'Lamb of God' is sung at the time when the Body and Blood of Christ is eaten [by the priest], that we may all believe that the Body and Blood of the Lamb -- who took away the sins of the world in his dying -- that is then eaten, grants us eternal life.  This Lamb is Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever.  Amen."

Note that the author mentions that the priest consumes the Body of Christ during the singing of the Lamb of God.  No prayers were said between the Lamb of God and Holy Communion at this time. 

God revealed himself to Moses as, "I am who am", which is sometimes rendered "Yahweh".  This name or self-definition of God has no precedent and has provided theologians, philosophers, and ordinary Christians much to ponder on in the more than three thousand years since Moses heard these words.  A number of Church Fathers and medieval writers wrote treatises on the Holy Trinity in which they expounded on these words.  St. Hilary of Poitiers (d. 367), a bishop in Gaul, was one of the first to do so.  He had been brought up in a pagan family and had come to Christianity through a broad range of study, including the reading of the Holy Scriptures.  He begins his book by speaking about his search for God.  Finding various pagan philosophical ideas about God unconvincing, he finally came to the Scriptures: 

"Therefore, considering these things and many others, I came upon those books of the Hebrew religion said to have been written by Moses and the Prophets.  They contained the words of God the Creator, testifying of himself: 'I am who am' (Exodus 3, 14).  And again: 'You shall say to the children of Israel: The One who is, sent me to you.'  I wholly admired such an absolute definition of God, which spoke the incomprehensible knowledge of the divine nature in a phrase most adapted for human understanding.  [It means that] no property is known to belong to God that is greater than existence, for existence neither ceases nor begins to be.  But since he himself is eternal existence, with the power of incorruptible happiness, he neither could nor can cease to be.  Therefore, whatever is divine is subject neither to non-existence nor to a beginning.  And since the eternity of God is in no way separable from himself, it was worthy for him to show this one characteristic, that 'he is', as a declaration of his incorruptible eternity."

Almighty God commands all men to worship him.  He does this not in order to gain something for himself from the worship, but because his worshipers will.  Through the worship of God the mortal mind becomes detached from the distractions and temptations of this world and grows in the grace and freedom of God to love and for his capacity to experience love to grow.  Hildebert (d. 1133), archbishop of Tours, in France was among many medieval writers to produce works on the Holy Mass.  In the following extract, he gives reasons for why the Mass is offered, and then gives the reasons why it is offered every day.

"The Mass is celebrated for many reasons.  First, that we may pray to God.  Second, that God may receive our prays and oblations.  Third, to set before God the offerings made for the dead.  Fourth, for the kiss of peace.  Fifth, that the offerings may be sanctified.  Sixth, that the offering of the Body and Blood of Christ may be confirmed by the Holy Spirit.  Seventh, that the Our Father may be sung.  Now, the Our Father contains seven petitions: three spiritual and four temporal.  The Lord first taught this prayer to his disciples and Apostles.  Joel 2, 32, says of this prayer: 'Whoever shall call upon the Name of The Lord, shall be saved.'  The petitions are seven in number according to the number of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or according to the levels in the hierarchy of the Church.  Why should this offering of the Mass be made again every day, since Christ saved the world through his Passion, and he is no longer subject to death?  For many reasons.  First, because we sin every day.  Second, because it is ordered that the Body of Christ be offered for sinners after their sins, that they might find salvation through the Body of Christ, and that they might go forth after their repentance.  Third, that the great benefit of the Passion of Christ not be forgotten.  Fourth, that it might foreshadow the Day of Judgment, on which the just will be separated from the unjust." 

At the heart of The Lord's preaching, while he walked among us, was the call to repentance from sin.  Peter of Blois (d. 1211), a Frenchman who acted in a diplomatic capacity in places as varied as southern Italy and England, wrote an essay on the Sacrament of Confession.  He writes:

"The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'A man on whose skin a different color appears shall go to the priest and show himself to him' (Leviticus 13, 1).  This means that the confession of sin -- the showing of the spot -- must be made to a priest.  Augustine says: 'Let no one say to himself, I shall confess my sin secretly, and I shall do penance before God.'  If this confession were sufficient, the keys of the kingdom were given to Peter in vain.  It would be in vain that it was told him, 'Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.'  All sins are completely washed away by confession.  And, just as 'it is believed in the heart unto justice, so confession of the mouth 'is made for salvation' (Romans 10, 10).  Great is the power of confession.  In his book, On Paradise, blessed Ambrose writes, 'Confession washes the soul, confession opens Paradise.'  A devout confession is like a powerful drink that carefully searches hearts and bowels, extending even to the division between the spirit and soul, emptying out noxious matter from the marrow of the soul. . . . Confessing is so efficacious that if a sinner discloses his guilt in confession, God covers it, excuses the one who is accusing himself, and forgives the one who is acknowledging his sin.  According to Solomon, 'He who hides his sins shall not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them shall receive mercy' (Proverbs 28, 13)."

The Lord Jesus calls us to follow him, and him alone.  The Church Fathers often wrote about what this calling meant.  The following is a section of a sermon delivered by St. Jerome to his fellow monks in his monastery in Bethlehem:

'And passing near the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting their nets into the sea, for they were fishermen.'  Simon was not yet Peter – for he did not yet seek Peter to him call 'Peter'.  Simon and Andrew were fishermen, since they were near the sea and were 'casting their nets into the sea.'  The Scriptures do not say that they cast their nets and caught fish.  The evangelist says that, 'he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting their nets into the sea, for they were fishermen.'   The Gospel points out that they were casting their nets, but it does not say that they caught anything.  Before the Passion it is said that they cast their nets, still it is not written that they caught any fish.  After the Passion, however, they cast their nets caught fish.  Indeed, they caught so many that their nets broke.  'Casting their nets in the sea, for they were fishermen.'

'And Jesus said to them: Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.'  Happy the change in fishing! Jesus catches them, and they catch other fishermen.  First, they become fish so that they might be caught by Christ, and, later, they would catch others.  'And Jesus said: Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.  And at once they left their nets and followed him.  It says: And at once.'  There is no hesitation for true faith.  At once a man hears, at once he believes, at once he follows, and at once he is made a fisherman.  'And at once they left their nets.'  I myself think that leaving their nets means that they forsook the vices of the world.  'And they followed him.'  They could not follow Jesus as long as they had their nets.

'And going further a little, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, and they were in their boat mending their nets.'  Because they were mending their nets, we know that they were rent.  They cast their nets into the sea, but because they were rent, they could not catch fish.  They were mending their nets on the sea; they were sitting on the sea; they were sitting in their boat; they were sitting with their father Zebedee; and they were mending the nets of the law.  We have said this according to the spiritual meaning of the text.  'And they were in their boat mending their nets.'  It says: 'they were in their boat.'  They were in their boat, not on the shore, and not at a firm anchorage.  They were jostled in their boat by the waves.

'And at once he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and they followed him.'  Now, someone may say: Their faith was rash, for what signs did they see, what majesty did they behold, that they were called, and immediately they followed him?  This shows us, reasonably, that the eyes and face of this Jesus gave off a certain divine quality, and looking attentively at his eyes, they were easily converted to him.  Otherwise, if Jesus had said to them: Follow me, they would never have followed him.  If they had followed him without reason, it would not have been faith so much as rashness.  Now, if I were sitting down and anyone at all, passing by, said to me: Come, follow me, and I did follow, would this be faith?  Why have I said all this?  Because the word of the Lord himself is effectual, and whatever he said accomplished his work.  For if, 'he spoke and they were made, he commanded and they were created,'  certainly if the same One spoke, they would have followed him.

We find innumerable examples, in the lives of the saints, of the love of neighbor which Christ commands.  In his biography of St. Martin of Tours (d. 397), his friend Sulpicius Severus (d. 425) tells a story about the neighborly love that filled Martin's heart even while still an unbaptized Roman cavalry officer: 

"One time, in the middle of the winter (which was more severe than usual, so much so that the force of the cold killed many), when he himself had on nothing besides his arms and his simple military dress, he encountered a poor man without any clothes in the port city of Ambianensium [in Gaul].  He was begging the people who were passing by to take pity on him, but everyone continued past the wretched man.  Martin, filled with God, understood that this man was reserved for him, since  none of the passersby had shown any mercy.  But what should he do?  He had nothing but the military cloak which clothed him, for he had already given away the rest of his clothes in similar work.  He snatched out the sword with which he was girded, and cut his cloak down the middle.  He gave part to the poor man, and dressed himself again with what was left.  Meanwhile, he was laughed at by some of the people standing around because he seemed unsightly, with his cloak cut up in that way.  But others, of sounder mind, groaned deeply that they had done nothing similar.  And since they had more, they could have clothed the poor man without leaving themselves naked.  That night, when Martin had given himself over to sleep, he saw Christ dressed with the part of the cloak with which he had clothed the poor man.  He was told to look with great attention at The Lord and to recognize the part of his cloak which he had given.  Then he heard Jesus say in a loud voice to the multitude of angels around him, 'Martin, who is still a catechumen, has clothed me in his cloak.'  The Lord, truly mindful of the words he had said on earth -- 'As often as you did for the least of my brothers, you did for me' -- declared that he had been dressed in the poor man, and to confirm the testimony of so good a work, he deigned to show himself in the same dress which he had received as the poor man.  When the most blessed Martin had seen this, he did not puff himself out in human glory, but recognizing the goodness of The Lord in his work, he ran hastily to be baptized when he was twenty-two years old."

The Lord Jesus reminded his disciples that even the hairs of their heads were counted by God, that almighty God knows all things and governs them in his wonderful providence.  This providence held St. Paul awestruck, and the Fathers wrote wonderingly of it.  The Frankish Benedictine monk Ratramus (d. 870), in his book, "On the Providence of God", writes:

"No one whatsoever who believes rightly in God doubts that his presence fills heaven and earth and that divine providence governs the world.  Now, just as nothing is hidden from his wisdom, so his management rules and directs all things.  And just as there is no creature hidden from his sight, so also does he know the actions and thoughts of men.  According to the Scriptures: 'No creature is invisible in his sight, and all things are naked and open to his eyes.  And he who knows all things, disposes all things' (Hebrews 4, 13).  Thus, the Book of Wisdom says: 'All of us are in his hand, and our words, all wisdom, the knowledge of works, and discipline.  He gave me the knowledge of all things that are, that I may know the management of the whole world, the powers of the world, the beginning and end and middle of times, the alterations of their courses, the ends of seasons, changes of manners, the course of the year, the placements of the stars, the force of winds, the thoughts of men, the differences of trees, and the power of roots.  And I have learned of all things hidden and unforeseen, for the Maker of all things taught me wisdom' (Wisdom 7, 16-21).  It is clear that this is said not of some mortal being but only of the Mediator of God and men who is the Power and Wisdom of God the Father, who was made man by him, and from him received the knowledge and understanding of all things.  According to the declaration of the Gospel of John, he was 'full of grace and truth', and to the extent that he was 'made man', constrained within a body, so he was 'the Word made flesh'.  Therefore he knows all things that are hidden and unforeseen', he foresees all things, and knows all intelligible spirits.  And just as he knows all things with the Father, so he manages all things with him."

Our Savior frequently foretold that his followers would suffer savage persecution for his sake.  Indeed, it would seem from The Lord's words that persecution would be the Church's natural state.  During the persecutions launched against the early Christians by the Roman Empire, many heroic men, women, and children obtained the palm of martyrdom.  But at the same time, many people renounced Christ under severe torture, and were subsequently released by the authorities.  Grief-stricken, these fallen folks -- called "lapsi", from the Latin word for "fallen" -- sought to return to the Church.  There were those who opposed their re-admission because they had denied Christ.  Following are two sections of a moving letter written by a fourth century monk named Bacharius on behalf of some "lapsi" to a bishop named Januarius:

"Behold, our brother proceeds into battle with us against our common foes and suddenly, through misfortune, he is struck down.  And you have judged him unworthy of the honor of burial and have left him to be devoured by wild animals and birds.  Where is the mercy of Christian religion, which our Master taught us was better than sacrifice (cf. Matthew 9, 13)?  Behold, our brother lies, beaten by the enemy.  It may be that he is still beating him.  And you yourselves have returned without a wound, and you have assailed him so that the consolation for his wounds is delayed.  Do not be without dread, most blessed brothers, for the enemy has beaten one who is stronger [than yourselves].  Why, I ask you, do you spurn the wounded or think him thus to be dead?  Respha, the daughter of King Saul's concubine, acted better, for, spreading out sackcloth, she guarded with it the bodies of those whom David struck down in revenge for the Gabaonites until water rained down from heaven -- that is, until a drop of heavenly mercy flowed down for their sins (cf. 2 Kings 21, 10).  Judas Maccabeus acted better, too.  He believed that prayer should be made for his dead brothers who were struck down because of the stolen donaries of the idols of the city of Jamnia (cf. 2 Maccabees 40)."

"Most blessed one, I beseech you, let us not bury our brother, who has been plunged into a deep pit by the power of evil with the stones of despair.  Let us imitate that Ethiopian who freed holy Jeremiah, who was cast into a pit by a wicked king, with the aid of the thirty men he brought with him, throwing down to him cloths and rags (cf. Jeremiah 38, 7, 11).  See our brother in a pit!  Let us bring thirty men, that is, the help of the Blessed Trinity, and let us free him who has been thrown down, whether by the suffering of his soul, flesh, or spirit, into a deep pit.  Let us throw down to him old rags: let us recall to his memory the examples of the ancients, who afterwards brought back those who fell by their sin, from the depths of the wicked to the heights, through penance: for when these are set before his eyes, he will not be able to despair.  It is usual for a soldier struck down in the first battle to fight more bravely in the second, and, now furious, he rises up against the one who struck him."  

When The Lord sent his disciples out to preach the Gospel, he gave them the power to perform miracles which would confirm their teaching.  St. Thomas Aquinas, in his commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew, addressed a very good question about miracle-working:

"Why does the Church not do miracles now?  The answer is that miracles are done to prove the Faith, but now the Faith is approved.  And just as someone performing a demonstration in order to prove a conclusion does not need to do so again, so it is in this case.  Now, the greatest miracle is the conversion of the world, and so it is not necessary for other miracles to be made.  And just as some miracles are physical, so there are spiritual miracles that are done every day because the spiritually sick are healed.  The sick are those who have committed sin and so are in sin.  Romans 14, 1: 'Now, take unto you him who is weak in faith', and these are healed by The Lord.  Those who consent to sin are dead because they are separated from The Lord, and these are revived by The Lord.  Ephesians 5, 14: 'Arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead.'  Likewise, the lepers are cleansed.  Those who are infected by something foreign are called 'lepers', and the spot [lepra] is a contagious sickness.  These are sometimes cured.  In 4 Kings 5, it is written that the leprosy of Naaman stuck to [his servant] Giezi.  Also, demons are cast out.  The demons are those whose sin passes into effect.  As it is written of them: 'They [the demons] rejoice when they [sinners] act badly, and they exult in their worst deeds.'  And, as it is written of Judas, in John 13, 27: 'Satan went into him.'  Sometimes these are cured."

Troubled Waters

The Apostles brought the Gospel to peoples from Spain to Ethiopia and India, and they did so with great courage and zeal, at last laying down their lives for the sake of The Lord Jesus.  St. Bede reminds us, though, of the fragility of their faith in the early days of their following The Lord.  The first paragraph of the following extract from his homily seems to indicate how they thought of themselves and their faith before it was tried by a terrible storm.  The text for this homily is Matthew 8, 23-27.

"When Jesus went into the boat, his disciples followed him.  They were not weak, but firm and solid in their faith.  They were peaceable and pious, and had spurned the world.  They were not duplicitous but single-hearted.  And so they followed him, and not merely in his footsteps, but as followers in terms of his sanctity and justice.  

" 'And behold, a great tempest was made in the sea so that the boat was tossed by the waves.'  Although he had shown them many great and wonderful works on the land, he crossed into the sea in order to show them still more excellent works through which he would show them all that he was Lord of earth and sea.  He made the sea to be troubled, he moved the winds, and he stirred up the waves.  Why did he do this?  In order to throw his disciples into fear so that they would ask his aid and beg him to display his power.  This storm did not arise of itself, but he who leads the winds out of their store-houses and established the shore as the boundary for the sea, prepared it by the power of his command.  Did he not say, 'Thus far shall you come and no further, and here shall you break your waves' (Job 38, 11)?  The tempest in the sea arose from this order and precept so that it would be more memorable.  It was a great tempest that was made, not a trivial one, so that a great work, and not a trivial one, might be shown.  As great as were the waves that rocked the boat, so much greater was the fear that rocked the disciples, and so much greater did they desire for miracles of the Savior to free them.  But The Lord slept.  Oh, how wonderful and stupendous!  The One who never sleeps, is sleeping.  The One who governs heaven and earth, is sleeping.  The One who neither sleeps nor may sleep, is himself said to sleep.  He sleeps in his Body, but he keeps watch with his Divinity.  He who disturbs the sea, stirs up the waves, causes the disciples to fear, and who is about to show his power, sleeps in his Body.  He slept as though he were sitting in a grave, worn out and exhausted from the journey, showing that he truly bore a human body, because he put on that which is corruptible [the reverse of 1 Corinthians 15, 53].  He slept with his Body, but with his Divinity he roused the sea and soothed it again.  He slept with his Body in order to wake and rouse the Apostles.  Let us not sleep at all with our soul, intellect, or prudence, but let us keep watch at all times, and let us be eager in rejoice in The Lord, and to pray to him for our salvation.  For, he who sleeps with his Body speaks this holy word: 'I sleep, and my heart keeps watch' (Song of Songs 5, 2).  And it is to him that the disciples come, saying, 'Lord, save us, we are perishing!'  They were terrified with such fear that they were nearly out of their minds.  They rushed to him without temperance.  Nor did they lightly advise him, but roused him violently, saying, 'Lord, save us, we are perishing!'  O blessed, true disciples of God!  You have with you your Lord and Savior, and you fear danger?  Life is with you, and you are anxious about death!  You rouse up the Creator, who is present, as though he were not able to calm and tame the turbulence of the waves.  But what do these most beloved disciples say?  They say, We are little ones.  We are still weak and are not yet robust, and so we fear and are afraid.  We have not yet seen the Cross.  The Passion and Resurrection of The Lord, his Ascension into heaven, and the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, have not yet strengthened us.  Therefore, we shake with weakness, we bear The Lord's rebuke of having little faith, we freely suffer it, we willingly endure it.  And so The Lord says to them, Why are you troubled, little in faith?  Why do you not have fortitude?  Why is there no confidence or trust among you?  And if death rushes in, should you not undergo it with great manliness?"  

St. Ambrose wrote several books about the Patriarchs of the Old Testament, showing off their examples and extolling their virtues.  In his book on Jacob, he discusses the episode with his estranged brother Esau, in which Jacob resolved to make a present to him of much of his belongings.  This represented his detachment from the goods of this world.  St. Ambrose speaks here of the night before Jacob set out to meet his brother, when he wrestled with God:

"Jacob, who had cleansed his heart from all falsehood and bore a peaceful disposition after he had rejected all his possessions, remained alone and wrestled with God.  For, whoever renounces worldly things approaches near to the image and likeness of God.  Now, 'wrestling' with God means to undertake a struggle, to be engaged in a contest with something greater than oneself, and to be made a more capable imitator of God than anyone else.  And because his faith and devotion were invincible, The Lord revealed hidden mysteries to him when he touched the sinew of his thigh, that it was of his lineage that The Lord Jesus would be born of a Virgin, and he would not be dissimilar to, nor unequal with, God.  His Cross was signified by the injured sinew to show that when the Cross would be spread throughout the world, it would grant the resurrection of the dead to all 'slow' or 'dull' of body, by the forgiveness of their sins.  It is also not unjustly said that 'the sun rose' (cf. Genesis 32, 31) upon holy Jacob, on whose race the Cross of The Lord shone the light of salvation.  And, at the same time, the Sun of Justice arises on him who knows The Lord, for The Lord himself is the eternal Light.

"Jacob limped because of his thigh: 'Therefore, to this day the children of Israel do not eat the sinew.'  Would that they ate, and believed!  But they did not eat because they would not do the will of God."

Note how an odd detail that does not apparently add anything to the account, becomes, for St. Ambrose, essential to its meaning: the wound given by The Lord to the sinew of Jacob's thigh is seen as a sign of the Holy Cross.  The reference to the "slow" and "dull" means that just as Jacob's body was slowed by his limp, so sin causes the body to die, but the application of the Cross of Christ makes all to live again.  In the final paragraph translated here, St. Ambrose exclaims, "Would that they ate, and believed!"  He means that if the descendants of Jacob had obeyed the will of God (represented by the sinew / Cross), they would have received Jesus as their Savior, when he came.

In the Book of Genesis, we read of appearances of angels and even of God, made to men.  These were preparations for the coming of The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.  St. Albert the Great wrote a sermon for the season of Advent in which he described the biblical signs that would precede and accompany the life of our Lord here amongst us:

"There were multiple signs related to the redemption of man.  Of these, it is written in the present gospel: 'There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and confusion of the nations on the earth'  (Luke 21, 25).  By 'the sun', the Son of God himself is understood, for he himself is 'the sun of justice', as it is written in Malachy 4, 2.  

1.  A great sign appeared in the sun in that it was darkened, as was foretold: 'The sun will be turned into darkness'  (Joel 2, 31).  Was not this 'sun' turned into "darkness", with respect to the Jews, when he was blindfolded, and, after being blindfolded, he was beaten and punched?  And when they said to him, 'Prophesy!  Who was it who hit you?' (Matthew 26, 68).  As though he did not know those who were hitting him.  Whatever splendor there was in the beauty of the face of this 'sun', it was obscured by the spittle of the Jews, who spat at him.  Matthew and Mark testify to this.  Thus also, in Isaiah 53, 2: 'There was no beauty in him, nor comeliness.'

2.  The Virgin Mary is signified by 'the moon'.  A certain saint says in her praise: 'It may be said that you are as beautiful as the moon, and there is merit in the comparison, for, of all the stars, the sun alone is brighter, and by its lustrous, silvery beauty, it outshines the rest of the stars in heaven.  By your glorious, virginal purity, you blaze forth among the myriads of angels serving God in the heights, as the clearest image of the true Sun.'

A wonderful sign was made in this 'moon', that is, the Virgin Mary: namely, that it was turned to blood.  This was foretold in Joel 2, 31:  'The moon will be turned to blood.'  The Virgin Mary was 'turned to blood' when she knew that her own Son had been betrayed, seized, beaten, spat upon, and demanded as a victim for the cross.  The whole 'moon' was made as blood when, assisting at the Cross, she saw the head of her Son lacerated by thorns, and his back, and every part of his Body, stained with blood; and when she saw his hands and feet pierced by nails, and, finally, his side cruelly opened with a lance.  Who is able to sufficiently describe how great we're the sorrows borne by the Virgin Mary?

3.  Signs occurred in the stars, as well.  The Apostles are understood by 'the stars'.  Just as the stars are fixed to the firmament, so they ever stayed fixed to Christ.  Truly, this sign appeared in the stars: namely, that they fell from the firmament.  In Matthew 26, 56, it is written that, 'all the disciples left him, and fled.'  Even Peter, who was more constant than the others, and followed him from a distance, was frightened by the voice of one serving maid, denied the One whom he followed with an oath.  As The Lord said, in Mark 12, 25: 'The stars of the sky fell.'

4.  There was also confusion in the lands.  By 'lands' [terrae] are understood those good women who followed the Lord, and wept and lamented over him, as it is written in Luke 23, 27.  For just as the earth [terra] nourishes men with the fruits which it produces, so did they feed Jesus as he went and preached throughout the land.  As it is written, in Luke 8, 23: 'Mary Magdalene, Joanna, the wife of Chusa, the steward of Herod, Susanna, and many other women who ministered to him out of their resources.'  When these women saw Jesus led to the punishment of death, they suffered the great confusion of sorrow in their hearts.  They suffered this, that is, on account of the cruelty of the Gentiles, who treated their Lord barbarously and wickedly.  

5.  There were also certain men among whom The Lord worked miracles, who seemed to wither out of fear.  They were afraid that the Jews might accuse them, inasmuch as Jesus had cured them in violation of the sabbath.  Their confusion was as great as the sound of the sea and its waves!

6.  Finally, 'the sea' signifies the elders of the .jews, namely, the priests and the chief priests.  The scribes and Pharisees are signified by 'the waves'.  All these had burst out in such rage and anger that they would have gladly erased the memory of Jesus from the earth.  So then they who had loved him before, seemed to wither out of their fear and anxiety of suffering the punishment of those men who had overcome 'the world', that is, Christ.  Christ is called 'the whole world' because, in him, we 'live and move and have our being,' as The Apostle said, in Acts 27, 28. Also, 'the powers, which are in heaven, will be moved.'  For, indeed, the sun, the moon, and the other stars withdrew their brilliance and became as darkness over the whole earth, from the sixth hour until the ninth, as is testified in Matthew 26, 45 and Luke 22, 44.  Behold, how many and how great were the signs that occurred at the time of human redemption!"

The Love of the Cross

St. Paul, passionately in love with The Lord Jesus, exclaimed to the Christians of Galatia: "May I never boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!"  Devotion to The Lord's suffering and Death have always been an intrinsic part of the Christian's spiritual life.  A short work attributed to the holy monk St. Bede, but     probably written after his time, presented brief meditations on the seven hours of monastic prayer in accordance with the events of the Passion of The Lord.  The following is from the meditation for Sext (noon):

"Consider that the people came shouting up to The Place of the Skull and there he was stripped of his clothing before all who saw him.  This caused him terrible pain because his inner clothing greatly adhered to him because of the blood from his flagellation.  Then his Body appeared: once so finely formed, now completely torn.    And then, when his Cross had been set up, they said to him, 'Go up, Jesus, go up!'  Oh, how gladly he ascended it!  With how much love did he bear all this on our account!  What patience, what humility!  Oh Lord, holy Father, how greatly you loved his obedience!  Thus he was raised up completely naked and stretched out on the Cross.  But his most loving Mother, full of solicitude, positioned around him the veil which she had on her head and wrapped it around the place of shame.  Oh, what sad sounds and wailing was heard from his friends, and especially from his most sorrowful Mother, when he was raised up and stretched out, with his entire Body distended and pulled apart!  And when the terrible, huge nails were pounded in, his Blood began to flow at once and to run down the Cross onto the ground.  Consider how he was lifted up, as he himself had foretold: 'It is necessary for the Son of man to be raised up' (John 12, 34).  And how the Hebrews who were bitten by the spying serpent were then healed: 'And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so it is necessary for the Son of man to be lifted up' (John 3, 14).  Just so, there is no medicine so good against the bite and temptation of the devil as to look upon the One who suffered for us on the Cross.  You shall also see The Lord your God standing upon the sun and prepared for judgment.  For this reason, he set two men on either side of him: one who is saved, and one who is damned.  You shall also see how Christ, the High Priest of the good things to come, extends his hands to confer a pure Sacrifice -- his most precious Flesh, offered on the altar."

The Divine Romance II

St. John the Baptist spoke of The Lord Jesus as the Bridegroom who had come for his Bride.  In the beginning of his commentary on the Song of Songs (called The Canticle of Canticles, in the Douay English translation), the learned Alcuin of Yorkshire (d. 804) interprets the first words of the Song as spoken by the Jewish people, who had waited with longing for the Lord's coming, much as a bride would wait for her Groom to arrive to take her to his house:

" 'Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.'  The Synagogue desired for God to be incarnated and ran to meet him, with devoted loved, when he came.  Hers is the first voice to sound in this Song of love; the holy prophets repeatedly taught her how to live, and showed her the coming of the One who 'comes forth as a Bridegroom from his wedding chamber', enriching the world with a new blessing.  But with the passing of the voices of his heralds, she begins to desire the presence of her King and Savior, saying, 'Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.'  That is, Do not destine me forever for the teaching of the angels and prophets, but let him come some time who has for so long been promised to me, let him shine upon me the light of his presence, and let him console me with the speech of his own mouth, as though he were conferring a kiss.  That is, Do not let him spurn to teach me the way of salvation.  That this was fulfilled, is written in the Gospel: 'When Jesus sat on the mountain, his disciples came to him.  And, opening his mouth, he taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God' (Matthew 5, 1).  Therefore, she says, 'Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.'  That is, Let him touch me with his sweet presence, the promise of which I have heard so often from the prophets."

The Divine Romance

Just as the romance of Abraham and Sarah is one one of the great stories of the Old Testament, so the romance of God and the Virgin Mary is one of the great stories of the New Testament.  In the fertile period of Christian writers which followed the age of the Fathers, the Bride of the Song of Songs was identified more and more as the Virgin Mary, and many beautiful expositions of that biblical book were based on this understanding.  Among them is that of Alain de Lille (d. 1202), a Frenchman who taught at the University of Paris.  The following is from the opening of his commentary on this book: 

" 'Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.'  In other words, Behold the handmaid of The Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.  She heard the heavenly spokesman for her Groom, the archangel Gabriel, who was sent to her.  He had honored the Virgin with a special and unheard of greeting, and rendered unto her a special and spiritual blessing, saying to her: 'Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with you.'  When she heard that the Son of God would be born of her, she was neither afraid of the news, nor elated because of its meaning, nor proud because of her Son; but humbling herself before God in all things and through all things, unafraid of the divine announcement, she said: 'Behold the handmaid of The Lord. Let it be done to me according to you word.'  That is, At your word, I will conceive the Word of God.  And so, 'Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.'

"The Son of the Father is called his 'mouth' for several reasons.  Just as a person speaks to another person with his mouth, so did the Father speak to the world through his Son.  The mouth is of the same nature as the rest of the body, and so the Son shares the nature of the Father.  And just as a kiss is furnished by the mouth, so did the Father provide the gift of grace to the faithful soul through his Son."

Before the law was given to Moses

Before the law was given to Moses, the head of each large household often acted as the priest for his own people.  in the Book of Genesis, Abraham often offers sacrifice to God.  During most of the history of the Jews and then of the Christians, the priest was seen as one set apart for God, and the people respected his office.  But during times of barbarism, this was not always true, and a local lord might have his own priest living in his manor house or castle, and would treat him as his own servant.  Agobard (d. 841) archbishop of Lyon, writes to his fellow bishop, Bernard:

"Nearly no one may be found who pants and grasps for honors and worldly glory, however small, and who has a priest in his house whom he does not obey and incessantly exacts lawful and, at the same time, unlawful obedience from him, not only in divine matters, but also in human concerns, so that many are found waiting on table, mixing the wine, leading dogs or nags upon which women sit . . . or they provide them small fields.  And because such men as of I have spoken are not able to keep good priests in their houses (for what priest would be good if he could disgrace his name and his life with such men as these), they do not care at all what kind of clerics they are, how blind with ignorance they are, how involved with crime, so long as they have their own priests, who use this excuse to desert the churches, officials, and public offices.  That they do not have these clerics for the honor of their religion appears from the fact that they do not hold them in honor.  They show their insolence when they want their clerics to be ordained as priests, saying, 'I have a cleric whom I have brought up from my own servants or beneficiaries, or village folk, or I have obtained him from this or that man, or from this or that villager.  I want you to ordain him for me.'  And when this is done, they do not think that it is necessary for their clerics to receive the major order of the priesthood . . . so that what the Prophet said might be fulfilled in us: 'Your people are as those who contradict the priest.  You will fall today, and even the prophet will fall with you' (Hosea 4, 4-5)."

St. Thomas the Apostle

Ancient sources, such as "The Acts of Thomas", an account by the Syrian philosopher Bardaison (d. 222), as well as traditions in India, tell us that St. Thomas the Apostle labored to convert the people in the regions of Persia and India.  Indeed, Christianity was brought to India in very early times, and the Christians of Kerala trace their origin back to St. Thomas.

St. Jerome passes on this information from his short book, "The Lives of the Apostles":

"Thomas the Apostle preached the Gospel of the Lord to the Parthians, the Medes, the Persians, the Carmanians, the Hyrcanians, the Bactrians, and the Magi, as it has been handed down to us.  He sleeps in the city of Calamina, which is in India [Persia]."

St. Gregory the Great comments, in one of his homilies, on the Gospel account of St. Thomas's doubts regarding the Resurrection of The Lord:

"Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  This disciple was absent, and when he returned and heard what had happened, he refused to believe.  The Lord came again and showed his side to the unbelieving disciple, for him to touch.  He also showed his hands.  When he had showed the mark of his wounds, he healed the wound of Thomas's infidelity.  Dearly beloved, do you believe that it was by chance that the elect disciple was absent at that time so that after he came back, he heard; and after he heard, he doubted; and after he doubted, he touched; and after he had touched, he believed?  This did not happen by chance, but in the divine dispensation.  The Lord acted in this wonderful way, through heavenly mercy, so that when the doubting disciple touched the wounds in the flesh of his Master, The Lord might heal the wounds of our infidelity.  Thomas's infidelity benefitted us more than it benefitted him in restoring him to the faith of the believing disciples, for when he was brought back to the faith through his touching of the wounds of Christ, our minds were solidified in the faith, and every doubt of ours was taken away.  Thus, after his Resurrection, The Lord permitted his disciple to doubt lest he leave us in doubt, just as before his Birth he wished for Mary to have a husband, although there was no intercourse.  And so it came to pass that the disciple who doubted and touched is the witness of the truth of the Resurrection just as Mary's husband was the guardian of her most pure virginity."

July 2

The Book of Genesis, more than any other book of the Bible, contains many mysteries that are hard to understand.  The deacon Alcuin of York (d. 804), the most renowned teacher of his day and Charlemagne's "minister of culture", wrote a manual of questions on the Book of Genesis, with his blunt answers.  Following are questions and answers from his book regarding God's destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah:

"Q: If God is a just judge, why were the children of Sodom burned up at the same time with their parents?   A: In order to turn away the exceedingly wicked sin of the Sodomites.  Their sin reached even unto the death of their children lest some sign remain of its origin.  It was providential for them to die early, lest if they lived for a long time they should follow the example of their parents in sin.  In this way they would suffer more lightly in the future, or even not at all, or to be killed for another reason.  Now, the guilt of  parents affects their children as much as themselves.  The death of the children, then, is the fault of their parents, and in the future life their children will be their accusers."

"Q:  Why did the angels enter, as guests, into Lot's home?  A:   In order to test, prove, and reward the charity of Lot, as well as to show the great goodness of hospitality.  The angels entered the hospitable house in order to free the host, but fire entered the inns closed to them in order to destroy the sinners within them.  Guests are not to be driven away, but invited within."

"Q: Why the the wicked inhabitants of those towns receive their punishment from heaven?   A: Because the shouting of the sinners was said to go up to heaven.  This is why they should have been punished from heaven."

"Q:  Why were they punished with sulfurous fire?   A: So that the most foul heat of their lust might be punished be the most foul-smelling flames and heat."

"Q:  Why was Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt?   A: for the 'seasoning' of the faithful; thus the punishment of the wicked is a lesson for the just."