Tuesday of the 19th week after Pentecost
Anastasía of Rome
Martyr Anastasia the RomanOur Holy Father Abramius (366) and his niece Mary (371) of Mesopotamia
Divine Liturgy
Philippians 1:8–14
§ 236
Brethren, God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God ... But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the Gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear...
Luke 5.12-16
§ 18
And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.
καὶ ἐκτείνας τὴν χεῖρα ἥψατο αὐτοῦ εἰπών· θέλω, καθαρίσθητι. καὶ εὐθέως ἡ λέπρα ἀπῆλθεν ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ.
И҆ просте́ръ рꙋ́кꙋ, коснꙋ́сѧ є҆гѡ̀, ре́къ: хощꙋ̀, ѡ҆чи́стисѧ. И҆ а҆́бїе прока́за ѿи́де ѿ негѡ̀.
He heals in the same manner in which He had been entreated to heal, as it follows, And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, &c. The law forbids to touch the leprous man, but He who is the Lord of the law submits not to the law, but makes the law; He did not touch because without touching He was unable to make him clean, but to show that he was neither subject to the law, nor feared the contagion as man; for He could not be contaminated Who delivered others from the pollution. On the other hand, He touched also, that the leprosy might be expelled by the touch of the Lord, which was wont to contaminate him that touched.
Catena Aurea by AquinasIn the words which follow, I will, be thou clean, you have the will, you have also the result of His mercy.
Catena Aurea by AquinasHe says then, I will, for Photinus, He commands, for Arius, He touches, for Manichæus. But there is nothing intervening between God's work and His command, that we may see in the inclination of the healer the power of the work. Hence it follows, And immediately the leprosy departed from him.
Catena Aurea by AquinasBut if the word is the healing of leprosy, the contempt of the word is the leprosy of the mind.
Catena Aurea by AquinasAnd extending his hand, he touched him saying: I am willing; be cleansed. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. There is nothing between the work of God and the command, because in the command is the work. For he said, and they were made. You see therefore that it cannot be doubted because the will of God is power. If therefore his will is power, those who assert one will, certainly assert one power. Therefore, as having the power to heal, and the authority to command, he did not avoid the testimony of working. For he says "I am willing" because of Photinus; he commands, because of Arius; he touches, because of Manichaeus. And indeed the law prohibits touching the leprous, but he who is the Lord of the law does not obey the law, but makes the law. Therefore he did not touch because he could not cleanse without touching, but to prove that he was not subject to the law, nor did he fear infection as men do, but because he who could not be contaminated and freed others, the leprosy was driven away by the touch of the Lord, which used to contaminate the one touching. Likewise, it is miraculous that he healed in the manner in which he was beseeched: If you wish, you can cleanse me. "I am willing," he said, "be cleansed." You have the will, you also have the effect of piety.
On the Gospel of LukeThird, the operation of the physician is added, when it says: Extending his hand, he touched him saying etc., which indeed was admirable both by reason of clemency, and by reason of power, and by reason of efficacy.
On account of clemency he says: He touched him: for although he could have healed by word alone, he preferred to touch, in order to show his benevolence: whence Proverbs, last chapter: "She opened her hand to the needy." Whence this man could no longer murmur against Christ, as Naaman did against Elisha: Fourth Kings, chapter five: "I thought that he would come out to me and touch the place of leprosy with his hand and heal me." But certainly there is no contradiction between the Prophet and the Lord, because the Prophet was subject to the Law, and therefore did not wish to touch, lest according to the Law he become unclean: but the Savior was above the Law, and therefore according to the Law he did not contract uncleanness and was able to abolish the Law, and therefore he touched. — To intimate his power, there is added: Saying: I will, be cleansed. In this he asserts that he wills, and commands that the man be cleansed, because he is of such great power that to will is for him to be able to do: Isaiah, chapter forty-six: "My counsel shall stand, and all my will shall be done." But he willed his cleansing not so much bodily as spiritual: whence First Thessalonians, chapter four: "This is the will of God: your sanctification." — To intimate the efficacy, he adds: And immediately the leprosy departed from him, so that there was nothing between the word and the deed; "for he spoke, and they were made." By word therefore and by touch he healed, in order to show himself the Word made flesh: by word also and by touch he healed, in order to heal interiorly and exteriorly: whence John, chapter seven: "I have made a whole man sound," etc. And in testimony of this, word and element concur equally in the Sacrament.
Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5He accepts his petition and confesses that he is able and says, "I will; be cleansed." He grants him also the touch of his holy and all-powerful hand. Immediately the leprosy departed from him, and his affliction was ended. Join with me, therefore, in adoring Christ, thus exercising at the same time both a divine and a bodily power. For it was a divine act so to will as for all that he willed to be present unto him. To stretch out the hand, however, was a human act. Christ, therefore, is perceived to be One of both, if, as is the case, the Word was made flesh.
COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 12(Orat. 1. in Resur. Christ.) And because the Deity is united with each portion of man, i. e. both soul and body, in each are evident the signs of a heavenly nature. For the body declared the Deity hidden in it, when by touching it afforded a remedy, but the soul, by the mighty power of its will, marked the Divine strength. For as the sense of touch is the property of the body, so the motion of the will of the soul. The soul wills, the body touches.
Catena Aurea by AquinasFor His sacred flesh has a healing, and life-giving power, as being indeed the flesh of the Word of God.
Catena Aurea by AquinasAnd he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
καὶ αὐτὸς παρήγγειλεν αὐτῷ μηδενὶ εἰπεῖν, ἀλλὰ ἀπελθὼν δεῖξον σεαυτὸν τῷ ἱερεῖ καὶ προσένεγκε περὶ τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ σου καθὼς προσέταξε Μωϋσῆς εἰς μαρτύριον αὐτοῖς.
И҆ то́й заповѣ́да є҆мꙋ̀ никомꙋ́же повѣ́дати: но ше́дъ покажи́сѧ і҆ере́ови, и҆ принесѝ ѡ҆ ѡ҆чище́нїи твое́мъ, ꙗ҆́коже повелѣ̀ мѡѷсе́й, во свидѣ́тельство и҆̀мъ.
The authority of power in the Lord is here compared with the steadfastness of faith manifest in the leper. He fell on his face because it is a mark of humility and modesty that each feel shame for the sins of his life, but shyness did not restrict his confession. He showed the wound, he begged for the remedy, and the very confession is full of piety and faith. "If you will," it says, "you can make me clean." He conceded the power to the Lord's will. But he doubted concerning the Lord's will, not as if unbelieving in piety, but as if aware of his own impurity, he did not presume. The Lord replies to him with a certain holiness. "I will: be clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him." For there is nothing between God's command and his work, because the work is in the command. Thus he spoke, and they came into being. You see that it cannot be doubted that the will of God is power. If, therefore, his will is power, those who affirm that the Trinity is of One will affirm that it is of one power. Thus the leprosy departed immediately. In order that you may understand the effect of healing, he added truth to the work.
Commentary on LukeHe is commanded to show himself to the priest and sacrifice for his cleansing. In offering himself to the priest, the priest may understand that he was cured not by the ordinance of the law but by the grace of God above the law. When the sacrifice is performed according to Moses' precept, the Lord shows that he did not destroy the law but fulfilled it. Furthermore, by proceeding according to the law, he was seen to heal above the law those whom the remedies of the law had not healed. "For the law is spiritual," and therefore it is seen that a spiritual sacrifice is commanded.
Commentary on LukeBut lest leprosy should become rife among us, let each avoid boasting after the example of our Lord's humility. For it follows, And he commanded him that he should tell it to no one, that in truth he might teach us that our good deeds are not to be made public, but to be rather concealed, that we should abstain not only from gaining money, but even favour. Or perhaps the cause of His commanding silence was that He thought those to be preferred, who had rather believed of their own accord than from the hope of benefit.
Catena Aurea by AquinasAnd that the Priest also should know that not by the order of the law, but by the grace of God above the law, he was cured. And since a sacrifice is commanded by the regulation of Moses, the Lord shows that He does not abrogate the law, but fulfil it. As it follows, And offer for thy cleansing according as Moses commanded.
Catena Aurea by AquinasOr because the law is spiritual He seems to have commanded a spiritual sacrifice. Hence he said, As Moses commanded. Lastly, he adds, for a testimony unto them. The heretics understand this erroneously, saying, that it was meant as a reproach to the law. But how would he order an offering for cleansing, according to Moses' commandments, if he meant this against the law?
Catena Aurea by Aquinas(de Qu. Ev. l. ii. qu. 3.) He seems here to approve of the sacrifice which had been commanded through Moses, though the Church does not require it. It may therefore be understood to have been commanded, because not as yet had commenced that most holy sacrifice which is His body. For it was not fitting that typical sacrifices should be taken away before that which was typified should be confirmed by the witness of the Apostles' preaching, and the faith of believers.
Catena Aurea by AquinasAnd he commanded him to tell no one. Why is he commanded to tell no one, unless to teach that our benefits are not to be made public, but kept hidden? So that we may abstain not only from the reward of money, but also of grace.
On the Gospel of LukeAnd go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them, etc. He is ordered to show himself to the priest, so that the priest might understand that he was cured not by the order of the law, but by the grace of God above the law; however, to offer a sacrifice, so that the Lord might show that he did not abolish the law, but fulfilled it: for walking according to the law, he healed those above the law whom the remedies of the law had not healed. And well he added, As a testimony to them, that is, if they believe in God, if the leprosy of impiety departs. But if it moves someone how the Lord seems to approve a Mosaic sacrifice, as the Church has not received it, let them remember that the holy sacrifice of sacrifices, which is his body, had not yet begun. For he had not yet offered his own holocaust in the Passion. But it was not fitting to remove the significant sacrifices before that which was signified was confirmed by the witness of the preaching apostles and the faith of believing peoples. Because this man typically designates the languid human race by sins, rightly he is described not only as a leper but also as full of leprosy. For all have sinned and need the glory of God (Rom. III). That is, so that, with the Savior's hand extended, that is, with the incarnate Word of God, and touching human nature, they might be cleansed from the diversity of the ancient error, and might be able to hear with the apostles: Now you are clean, because of the word that I have spoken to you (John XV); and those who were separated from the camp of God's people as abominable for a long time, might once again be rendered to the temple and offered to the priest, of course to the one to whom it is said: You are a priest forever (Psalm CIX), hearing from the Apostle: For the temple of God is holy, which you are (I Cor. III); and they might offer for their cleansing as Moses commanded, that is, they might present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God (Rom. XII).
On the Gospel of LukeAnd he commanded him to tell no one. After the cure of the disease, the Evangelist here subjoins the instruction of the one cured. But Christ teaches the cured leper, and in him anyone else, three things: the first is that the proclamation of praise is not to be sought: the second, that the office of the priest is not to be despised: the third is that the commandment of the Law is not to be passed over. The first of these directs the intention: the second, the affection: and the third regulates the action.
He instructs therefore first that the proclamation of praise is not to be sought, when he says: And he commanded him to tell no one. He does not say this because he wished that the man would not speak, since the man preached this everywhere, as is said in Mark, chapter one; but he instructs by his own example to avoid praise. Whence Bede: "He gives an example so that his own, in the great things they do, may wish to be hidden; but that they may benefit others, they are revealed against their will." Ambrose also says this in the Gloss.
Whence note that there is a precept of execution, as in Exodus, chapter twenty: "Honor your father"; and of testing, as the precept to Abraham concerning the immolation of his son, Genesis, chapter twenty-two; and a precept of instruction, as here. Whence this man did not sin when he spread abroad his name.
Chrysostom, however, says that it was a command, but for a time, out of caution, lest, if perchance the priests heard that he had been healed by Christ, they would not receive him as clean when he presented himself to them, on account of the hatred they bore toward Christ.
The first interpretation, however, seems more correct, because He commanded this to other sick persons, who nevertheless did not observe it, according to what is said in Mark 7 concerning the deaf and mute man who was healed: "The more He commanded them, the more they proclaimed it." And rightly so, because, according to what is said in 2 Corinthians 12, "I ought to have been commended by you"; yet no one ought to praise himself unless compelled by the necessity of another. Hence the Apostle: "I have become foolish; you compelled me." Therefore he said that he had become foolish, because he seemed to have acted against the counsel of the wise man: Proverbs 27: "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips."
He also teaches, secondly, that the office of the priest is not to be despised, when He adds: But go, show yourself to the priests, because their office was, according to the Law, to expel lepers and to receive those who had been cleansed, as is stated in Leviticus 13 and 14 throughout nearly the whole of those chapters. Now this office of discerning leprosy was committed to the priests, although it might seem to pertain more to physicians, because to them the wounds of mortal sins, which are signified by leprosy, are to be shown in the time of revealed truth, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus 18: "In the time of sickness, show your manner of life," because, as is said in Proverbs 28, "he who conceals his crimes shall not prosper"; hence, although the Lord cleanses through interior contrition, He nonetheless binds one to sacramental confession. In this command, moreover, He teaches that the priestly office is to be venerated by all, and that it is necessary for the healing of sins. And this is the principal reason for this command. There are, however, also other reasons: namely, that they might be moved to good, having seen the miracle of the certain healing of the leper; and that they might be witnesses of the miracle; and lest He should seem to oppose them; and that the priestly dignity of Christ and the grace of the New Testament and priesthood might become known to them, which can not only show one who has been healed, but also heal.
He instructs thirdly that the precept of the Law is not to be disregarded, when he adds: And offer for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, as in Leviticus 14, cleansed lepers are commanded to offer two living sparrows and a cake of bread and a measure of oil. These were ceremonial matters, and yet the Savior wished them to be offered, in order to show that the Law is good and divinely given, against the perfidy of the Manicheans: Romans 7: "The Law indeed is holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good"; and this, because they still remained in force, since the truth had not yet been revealed: whence the Interlinear Gloss says that "the signs ought not to be taken away unless the things signified have first come." — But those signs of the Law did not give health, but showed it and confirmed it by testimony: and therefore he adds: For a testimony to them: which can be read in two ways: offer to them for a testimony, namely of your healing; or: offer, so that this may be to them for a testimony that you have been healed, and so that they may no longer be able to harm you, since they will have received from you testimonial gifts. And note that this phrase for a testimony to them does not refer to the precept of Moses, but of the Lord. Whence Chrysostom: "Do not understand it as though Moses commanded for a testimony to them, but rather: go and offer for a testimony to them," so that he might receive from them a testimony before the people. For, as is said in 1 Timothy 3, "it is necessary for the Saints to have a good testimony from those who are outside." Whence also the wondrous work of Christ ought to be approved by the testimony of those who lay in wait, for the perfect establishment of faith and its strengthening.
Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5Anyone can see the profound and mighty mystery of Christ written for our benefit in Leviticus. For the law of Moses declares the leper defiled and gives orders for him to be put out of the camp as unclean. What if the malady is relieved? It commands that he should then be capable of readmission. Moreover, it clearly specifies the manner in which he is to be pronounced clean....We may see, then, in the birds (offered at the cleansing of the leper) Christ suffering in the flesh according to the Scriptures but remaining also beyond the power of suffering.... That the one bird then was slain, and that the other was baptized indeed in its blood, while itself exempt from slaughter, typified what was really to happen. For Christ died in our place, and we, who have been baptized into his death, he has saved by his own blood.
COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 12He says then, for a testimony unto them, because this deed makes manifest that Christ in His incomparable excellence is far above Moses. For when Moses could not rid his sister of the leprosy, he prayed the Lord to deliver her. But the Saviour, in His divine power, declared, I will, be thou clean. (Numb. 12:13.)
Catena Aurea by Aquinas(Hom. 26. in Matt.) And since frequently men, when they are sick, remember God, but when they recover, wax dull, He bids him to always keep God before his eyes, giving glory to God. Hence it follows, But go and show thyself to the Priest, in order that the leprous man being cleansed might submit himself to the inspection of the Priest, and so by his sanction be counted as healed.
(ubi sup.) Or, for a testimony against them, i. e. as a reproof of them, and a testimony that I respect the law. For now too that I have cured thee, I send thee for the examination of the priests, that thou shouldest bear me witness that I have not played false to the law.
Catena Aurea by AquinasSo far as renouncing all human glory went, He forbade the man to publish abroad the cure; but so far as the honour of the law was concerned, He requested that the usual course should be followed: "Go, show thyself to the priest, and present the offering which Moses commanded." For the figurative signs of the law in its types He still would have observed, because of their prophetic import.
Against Marcion Book IVBut mark, that after a man has been cleansed he is then worthy to offer this gift, namely, the body and blood of the Lord, which is united to the Divine nature.
Catena Aurea by AquinasBut so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
διήρχετο δὲ μᾶλλον ὁ λόγος περὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ συνήρχοντο ὄχλοι πολλοὶ ἀκούειν καὶ θεραπεύεσθαι ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀσθενειῶν αὐτῶν·
Прохожда́ше же па́че сло́во ѡ҆ не́мъ: и҆ схожда́хꙋсѧ наро́ди мно́зи слы́шати и҆ цѣли́тисѧ ѿ негѡ̀ ѿ недꙋ̑гъ свои́хъ.
The word about him spread all the more, and great crowds came together to hear him and to be cured of their infirmities. The complete salvation of one urges many crowds to the Lord. For, in order to show that he was healed both outwardly and inwardly, he by no means keeps silent about the benefit received or about the one from whom he received it. Rather, as Mark the Evangelist narrates, having fulfilled the duty of a herald, he immediately began to proclaim and spread the word, so much so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a city, but stayed outside in deserted places; yet people came to him from every direction (Mark 1). Therefore, it is rightly asked why the Lord commanded some things he did to be kept hidden, and they could not be hidden even for a moment. Did the eternal Son, co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, desire something that he could not accomplish in this matter? But it should be noted that our Redeemer, through his mortal body, provided us with an example in all that he did. For when performing a miracle, he ordered silence, and yet it could not be kept silent. He thereby indicated that his chosen followers, by following his examples of teaching, should indeed wish to remain hidden in their great deeds, but be revealed against their will for the benefit of others: so that it may be an example of great humility to desire their works to be hidden, and an example of great exaltation that their works cannot be hidden. Therefore, the Lord did not wish to do anything that he could not achieve, but he provided an example of what his members ought to desire and what should be done about them even against their will, by the teaching of his example.
On the Gospel of LukeNow the perfect healing of one brings many multitudes to the Lord, as it follows, And great multitudes came together that they should be healed. For the leprous man that he might show both his outward and inward cure, even though forbid ceases not, as Mark says, to tell of the benefit ho had received.
Catena Aurea by AquinasBut the word went abroad all the more, etc. After the Evangelist has described the healing of the disease and the instruction of the one healed, here thirdly he adds the magnification of the name of Christ, so that from all these things the disciples may be confirmed in faith and love of Christ. The magnification of the name of Christ is therefore described as renowned, as fruitful, as powerful.
First, therefore, the magnification of the name of Christ is described here as renowned, when it is said: But the word went abroad all the more concerning him, namely Christ, the word of his praise with respect to his knowledge and powers. Nor is it surprising if the fame of the Master was spreading, since of his disciples it is said in the Psalm: "Their sound has gone forth into all the earth." A figure of this preceded in Judas Maccabeus, of whom it is said in 1 Maccabees 3 that "he was made like a lion in his works"; and afterwards it is added that "he was renowned even to the ends of the earth."
Then the fruitful magnification of the name of Christ is shown, when it is added: And great multitudes came together to hear: namely for the instruction of the mind, because it is written in Sirach 6: "If you love to hear, you will be wise"; and James 1: "You know, my brothers: Let every man be swift to hear."
They were also coming together on account of the cure on the part of the body; and therefore he adds: And they were healed of their infirmities. On account of which Isaiah was proclaiming in the fifty-third chapter: "Truly he himself bore our weaknesses, and he himself carried our infirmities." And therefore they were acting rightly according to the counsel of the Wise Man, Ecclesiasticus thirty-eight: "My son, in your infirmity do not despise yourself, but pray to the Lord, and he will heal you." — This therefore was the perfect benefit on the part of the soul and body, which came from the fame of the name of Christ. For Christ himself is "the power of God and the wisdom of God"; and therefore those who come to him are illuminated through wisdom and healed through power. And therefore it is said in the Psalm: "Come to him and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be confounded"; and therefore Isaiah forty-nine: "I have given you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation unto the end of the earth."
Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5Though the leper was silent, the voice of the transaction itself was sufficient to publish it to all who acknowledged through him the power of the Curer.
Catena Aurea by AquinasAnd although the Lord in giving out remedies advised telling them to no one, instructing us to avoid pride; yet His fame flew about every where, instilling the miracle into the ears of every one, as it follows, But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him.
Catena Aurea by AquinasAnd he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
αὐτὸς δὲ ἦν ὑποχωρῶν ἐν ταῖς ἐρήμοις καὶ προσευχόμενος.
То́й же бѣ̀ ѿходѧ̀ въ пꙋсты́ню и҆ молѧ́сѧ.
He himself would withdraw to the desert and pray. Do not attribute his withdrawal to pray to the nature that says, "I will, be cleansed," and healed from infirmities, but to the nature that stretched out its hand and touched the leper: not that, according to Nestorius, there are two persons of the Son, but that the same person has two natures and thus also two operations. Alternatively: because he performs miracles in the city but spends the night praying in the desert or the mountain (as it is later read), he offers to us examples of both lives, the active and the contemplative, so that no one, engrossed in contemplation, neglects the care of his neighbors, nor someone overly bound by the care of his neighbors abandons the pursuit of contemplation: so that neither the love of neighbor impedes the love of God, nor the love of God, which transcends, rejects the love of neighbor. For to pray on the mountain is, having forsaken the cares of weak thoughts, for anyone to hasten with the whole mind to the eternal joys of highest contemplation. To withdraw to the desert and pray is to suppress the rising internal clamor of earthly desires, and to seek a certain secret place with the Lord within oneself, where, with external tumult ceasing, one silently speaks to him through inner desires.
On the Gospel of LukeNow that He retired to pray, you would not ascribe to that nature which says, I will, be thou clean, but to that which putting forth the hand touched the leprous man, not that according to Nestorius there is a double person of the Son, but of the same person, as there are two natures, so are there two operations.
Catena Aurea by AquinasLastly it is shown to be virtuous, when it is added: But he himself withdrew into the desert and prayed: because he was not seeking human glory and fame, but was fleeing it, according to that passage in Matthew fourteen: "And having dismissed the crowd, he went up onto the mountain alone to pray." In this he was giving us a model of withdrawing from the world and drawing near to God: on account of which the Apostle said in Galatians one: "If I were still pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ." And therefore, for prayer to be pleasing to God, it ought not to be public in the marketplace, but hidden in the desert; whence Matthew six: "But you, when you pray, enter your chamber." And this is what Bernard says in the Canticles: "O holy soul, be alone, so that you may keep yourself for him alone out of all, whom you have chosen for yourself out of all. Flee the public, flee even your own household, withdraw from friends and intimates and from him who ministers to you. Do you not know that you have a modest bridegroom, one who will by no means grant you his presence while others are present? Withdraw therefore, but in mind, not in body: but in intention, but in devotion, but in spirit: although also in body you do not unprofitably separate yourself at times, especially in the time of prayer."
Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5Not by words alone, but also by deeds has God taught us to pray. He himself prayed frequently and demonstrated what we ought to do by the testimony of his own example. As it is written: "But he himself was in retirement in the desert, and in prayer," and again, "He went out into the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God." But if he who was without sin prayed, how much more ought sinners to pray, and if he prayed continually, watching through the whole night with uninterrupted petitions, how much more ought we to lie awake at night in continuing prayer!
Treatise IV. On the Lord's Prayer 29(26.) And His works He indeed performed among the people, but He prayed for the most part in the wilderness, sanctioning the liberty of resting a while from labour to hold converse with God with a pure heart. For He needed no change or retirement, since there was nothing which could be relaxed in Him, nor any place in which He might confine Himself, for He was God, but it was that we might clearly know that there is a time for action, a time for each higher occupation.
Catena Aurea by Aquinas(Mor. xxviii. c. 13.) Our Redeemer performs His miracles by day, and passes the night in prayer, as it follows, And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed, hinting, as it were, to perfect preachers, that as neither they should entirely desert the active life from love of contemplation, so neither should they despise the joys of contemplation from an excess of activity, but in silent thought imbibe that which they might afterwards give back in words to their neighbours.
Catena Aurea by AquinasThe sick of the palsy is healed, and that in public, in the sight of the people.
Against Marcion Book IV
And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ εἶναι αὐτὸν ἐν μιᾷ τῶν πόλεων καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ πλήρης λέπρας· καὶ ἰδὼν τὸν Ἰησοῦν, πεσὼν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ἐδεήθη αὐτοῦ λέγων· Κύριε, ἐὰν θέλῃς δύνασαί με καθαρίσαι.
[Заⷱ҇ 18] И҆ бы́сть є҆гда̀ бѣ̀ і҆и҃съ во є҆ди́нѣмъ ѿ градѡ́въ, и҆ сѐ, мꙋ́жъ и҆спо́лнь прокаже́нїѧ: и҆ ви́дѣвъ і҆и҃са, па́дъ ни́цъ, молѧ́сѧ є҆мꙋ̀, глаго́лѧ: гдⷭ҇и, а҆́ще хо́щеши, мо́жеши мѧ̀ ѡ҆чⷭ҇тити.
The fourth miracle after Jesus came to Capernaum was the healing of a leprous man. But since He illumined the fourth day with the sun, and made it more glorious than the rest, we ought to think this work more glorious than those that went before; of which it is said, And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy. Rightly no definite place is mentioned where the leprous man was healed, to signify that not one people of any particular city, but all nations were healed.
Catena Aurea by AquinasIn falling upon his face he marked his humility and modesty, for every one should blush at the stains of his life, but his reverence kept not back his confession, he shows his wound, and asks for a remedy, saying, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. Of the will of the Lord he doubted, not from distrust of His mercy, but checked by the consciousness of his own unworthiness. But the confession is one full of devotion and faith, placing all power in the will of the Lord.
Catena Aurea by Aquinas(Ep. ad Adelph. 3.) Now the leper worshipped the Lord God in His bodily form, and thought not the Word of God to be a creature because of His flesh, nor because He was the Word did he think lightly of the flesh which He put on; nay rather in a created temple he adored the Creator of all things, falling down on his face, as it follows, And when he saw Jesus he fell on his face, and besought him.
Catena Aurea by AquinasAnd it came to pass, when he was in one of the cities, there was a man full of leprosy. And seeing Jesus, and falling on his face, he besought him, saying, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Well, where the leper is cleansed, the specific place is not expressed, to show that it was not one people of a specific city, but the people of all nations that were being healed. And since the Lord said: I have not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5), he who was excluded by the law, presuming to be cleansed by the power of the Lord, judged that grace to be above the law, which could wash away the leprosy. Indeed, just as the authority of power is in the Lord, so in him the constancy of faith is declared. He fell on his face, which is a sign of humility and shame, so that each one may blush at the stains of his own life. But shame did not suppress his confession; he showed his wound, asked for a remedy. And this very confession is full of religion and faith. If you are willing (he said), you can make me clean. He attributed power to the will of the Lord. Concerning the will of the Lord, however, he did not doubt as if unbelieving in his mercy, but, aware of his own filth, he did not presume.
On the Gospel of LukeHow typically the leprous man represents the whole race of man, languishing with sins full of leprosy, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; (Rom. 3:23.) that so by the hand put forth, i. e. the word of God partaking of human nature, they might be cleansed from the vanity of their old errors, and offer for cleansing their bodies as a living sacrifice.
Catena Aurea by AquinasAnd it happened, when he was in one of the cities, etc. After the calling of the disciples, he here adds their confirmation through miracles. And this part has two sections. In the first, the miracle of the healing of the leper is introduced: in the second, the liberation of the paralytic, at: And it happened on one of the days.
Concerning the miracle of the healing of the leper, three things are introduced. The first is the working of the miracle. The second is the instruction of the leper, at: And he commanded him, etc. The third is the edification of the people, at: But the report about him spread all the more, etc.
Concerning the working of the miracle, three things are to be noted, namely the pitiable infection of the disease, the commendable devotion of the sick man, and the admirable operation of the physician.
First, therefore, the miserable infection of the disease is touched upon, when it says: And it happened, when he was in one of the cities: because the disease was public and perpetual: public, because in a city, where many gather, and thus the infirmity was known to many. And it should be noted that he is said to have been in the city, because he was near the city. For in Matthew chapter eight it is said of this leper that he healed him on the descent from the mountain; whence it can be taken here, as below in chapter thirteen: "It cannot be that a prophet perish outside Jerusalem"; because, as is said in Hebrews chapter thirteen, Christ "suffered outside the gate."
The disease was also perpetual: whence he also adds: Behold, a man full of leprosy, which is an incurable infirmity, especially when it is deep-rooted. Whence that saying of Isaiah chapter one could apply to him: "From the sole of the foot to the top of the head there is no soundness in him." He was also similar to Job, of whom in chapter two: "Satan struck Job with a most grievous sore, from the sole of the foot to the top of the head, who scraped the corruption with a potsherd."
Second, the commendable devotion of the leper is intimated, when it says: And seeing Jesus, because by seeing he adored and praised. — He adored by sign, when it says: And falling on his face, which is the manner of those who adore, as in the Psalm: "Come, let us adore and fall down" etc.; and this the devil demanded, in Matthew chapter four: "All these things I will give you, if falling down you adore me." Whence by this sign he professed that he was the Son of God, like that blind man, of whom in John chapter nine: "Do you believe in the Son of God? Who is he, Lord?" etc.: and afterwards it follows: "I believe, Lord. And falling down he adored him."
And note that he is said to have fallen on his face, which is a good sign: as is said of Moses and Aaron in Numbers chapter twenty, that they fell on their faces before the Lord: not like Eli, in First Kings chapter four: "Eli fell from his seat backwards" etc.
He also praised or professed by word, which is noted when it adds: He besought him saying: Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. In this, that he beseeches, he intimates generosity: Job chapter twenty-two: "You shall beseech him, and he will hear you." In this, that he says: Lord, he intimates dignity: Esther chapter thirteen: "Lord, all things are placed in your dominion." In this, that he adds: you can make me clean, he intimates the faculty of power; Wisdom chapter twelve: "Power is at your disposal whenever you will." And this is what Job said to the Lord, in chapter fourteen: "Who can make clean one conceived of unclean seed? Is it not you, who alone are?" And therefore he could say: "You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed" etc.
For the elucidation of the aforesaid miracle, two things are to be understood here. For first it is necessary to open up the hidden spiritual understanding, then to resolve the apparent controversy.
Concerning this miracle, however, three things present themselves for consideration. The first is what is understood by the disease of leprosy; second, what by the touch of the Lord's hand; third, what by the precept of the Law to be fulfilled. — The disease of leprosy rightly designates mortal sin, because, just as leprosy infects and deforms the flesh, so sin stains and deforms the soul; whence Lamentations, the last chapter: "Their face is made blacker than coals, their skin has clung to their bones." Leprosy also causes one to be cast out from the camp, and so mortal sin from the camp of glory; Ezekiel twenty-eight: "You sinned, and I cast you out from the mountain of God." — This disease, however, has a fourfold distinction, according to what is said in Leviticus thirteen. For there is leprosy in the flesh, leprosy in the hair, leprosy in garments, leprosy in dwellings. Leprosy in the flesh signifies carnal sin; leprosy in the hair of the beard or head, spiritual sin, because by hair thoughts are understood; leprosy in a garment, sin in one's manner of life; leprosy in a house, sin in the congregation. He therefore is full of leprosy who is infected with all these sins. Concerning these distinctions of leprosy, it is spoken of in Leviticus thirteen. As a figure of this, it is also said in Fourth Kings seven that four leprous men were at the gate of Samaria, to designate these four distinctions. The Lord therefore willed that mortal sin be designated by leprosy, so that, just as leprosy is fled both in itself and in association, so also sin.
By the touch of the Lord's hand we understand the visitation of divine grace, which the Prophet sought: "Send forth your hand from on high and rescue me"; because, as it is said in Romans seven, "Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord." For through Christ the divine hand touches us, as it is said in the Song of Songs five: "My beloved put his hand through the opening," that is, grace through the opening of Christ's side, whence the Sacraments flow forth; "and my belly groaned," because this grace first gives birth to contrition; whence in the Psalm: "Who looks upon the earth and makes it tremble; who touches the mountains, and they smoke," because contrition gives birth to weeping. — But in order that the sinner may arrive at this state, it is necessary that, with the leper, he see God through faith: First Corinthians thirteen: "We see now through a glass darkly"; it is necessary that he fall down through fear: the Psalm: "Before him the Ethiopians shall fall down," that is, sinners; it is necessary that he trust through hope: Proverbs twenty-nine: "He who hopes in the Lord shall be saved"; and Romans eight: "In hope we have been saved." And these three things give birth to contrition: Isaiah twenty-six: "Before your face, O Lord, we conceived and were as though in labor and brought forth the spirit of salvation."
By the precept of observing the Law we understand the reception of the Sacrament of penance. Hence note that he commands four things, namely to go, to be silent, to show, and to offer: to go, when he says: Go: to be silent: Tell no one: to show: Show yourself: to offer: Offer the gift.
Go, namely by abandoning sins, as to the adulteress, John 8: "Go and sin no more."
He commands to be silent about good things, lest one be like that Pharisee, below in the eighteenth chapter, who said: "I am not like the rest of men." — He commands to show evil things, as Job 31: "If I have hidden my sin as a man"? that is, no: Psalm: "I made my transgression known to you." — He commands to offer works of satisfaction; Psalm: "I will enter your house with holocausts: I will render to you my vows, which my lips have uttered"; Romans 12: "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, your reasonable service."
These four things necessarily concur for the perfect reception of the Sacrament of penance, namely the abandonment of sin, the humiliation of the sinner, the disclosure of sin, and the offering of satisfaction.
Finally, the apparent controversy between Matthew and Luke must be resolved: because Matthew says this miracle was performed after the Lord's sermon on the mount, here Luke narrates it long before the sermon. — To this there is a twofold way of resolving the controversy: either because the sermon Luke narrates was one, and the one Matthew narrates was another — The sign of which is that many things are said in the one sermon that are not said in the other — or because it was the same sermon differing according to greater and lesser explication. Then it must be noted that the Evangelists do not entirely preserve the order of events, but narrate in the manner that better serves the pursuit of their intention. Hence Augustine in the second book of On the Harmony of the Evangelists: "What does it matter in what order anyone places things, whether he inserts something in due order, or recalls something omitted, or anticipates beforehand what was done later, so long as he does not contradict the same or another narrator, or himself, or another? For it is sufficiently probable that each of the Evangelists believed he ought to narrate in that order in which God willed to suggest to his recollection those very things which he was narrating, at least in those matters whose order, whether this or that, diminishes nothing of evangelical authority and truth." — And by this the resolution of every contrariety that seems to arise from a different order is made clear.
Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5For he knew that leprosy yields not to the skill of physicians, but he saw the devils cast out by the Divine authority, and multitudes cured of divers diseases, all which he conceived was the work of the Divine arm.
Catena Aurea by AquinasFrom majesty alone proceeds the royal command, how then is the Only-begotten counted among the servants, who by His mere will can do all things? We read of God the Father, that He hath done all things whatsoever He pleased. (Ps. 115:3; 135:6.) But He who exercises the power of His Father, how can He differ from Him in nature? Besides, whatsoever things are of the same power, are wont to be of the same substance. Again; let us then admire in these things Christ working both divinely and bodily. For it is of God so to will that all things are done accordingly, but of man to stretch forth the hand. From two natures therefore is perfected one Christ, for that the Word was made flesh.
Catena Aurea by AquinasGo, show yourself. This was for the sake of the priests. For the leper was afraid to touch him lest he defile him. But the Lord touched him to show him that he would not be defiled, he, at whose rebuke the defilement fled from the defiled one.
COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 12.21And His works He indeed performed among the people, but He prayed for the most part in the wilderness, sanctioning the liberty of resting a while from labor to hold converse with God with a pure heart. For He needed no change or retirement, since there was nothing which could be relaxed in Him, nor any place in which He might confine Himself, for He was God, but it was that we might clearly know that there is a time for action, a time for each higher occupation.
Since, however, he quotes with especial care, as a proof in his domain, a certain companion in misery (suntalai/pwron), and associate in hatred (summisou/menon), with himself, for the cure of leprosy, I shall not be sorry to meet him, and before anything else to point out to him the force of the law figuratively interpreted, which, in this example of a leper (who was not to be touched, but was rather to be removed from all intercourse with others), prohibited any communication with a person who was defiled with sins, with whom the apostle also forbids us even to eat food, forasmuch as the taint of sins would be communicated as if contagious: wherever a man should mix himself with the sinner.
Against Marcion Book IVLet us learn from the words of the leper not to go about seeking the cure of our bodily infirmities, but to commit the whole to the will of God, Who knows what is best for us, and disposes all things as He will.
Catena Aurea by Aquinas