23rd Sunday after Pentecost

(v. 23 seqq.) 'When you have completed cleansing it, you shall offer an unblemished calf from the herd and an unblemished ram from the flock. You shall present them before the Lord, and the priests shall sprinkle salt on them and offer them as a burnt offering to the Lord. For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it; then the altar shall be most holy, and whatever touches the altar shall become holy.' On the eighth day and beyond, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar, and I will be appeased with you, says the Lord God. LXX: And when you have completed the purgation, you shall offer a calf from the herd without blemish, and a ram from the flock without blemish, and you shall offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall sprinkle salt upon them; and they shall offer them as burnt offerings to the Lord. For seven days you shall make atonement with a goat for sin daily, and a calf from the herd, and a ram from the flock without blemish shall be offered for seven days. And they shall purify the altar, and cleanse it, and fill their hands, and accomplish the days. And from the eighth day and beyond, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings upon the altar, for your salvation. And I will receive you, says the Lord God. After the altar and its measurements were shown on the top of the mountain, and the purification and consecration of it were demonstrated to the prophets, through one unblemished calf and a male goat, or two young goats, the first of which we refer to the Lord and Savior, and the two that followed to the apostles and ministers, so that in the consecration of the spiritual altar and specifically pertaining to the Church, it may not seem that the law and the prophets were excluded. Therefore, after the altar had been consecrated, an unblemished calf and a ram are taken and offered in the sight of the Lord; and the sons of Zadok, that is, the righteous priests, sprinkle salt upon their heads, so that both the law and the prophets may be seasoned with the taste of the Gospel. And there is no sacrifice (according to the command of the law and the interpretation of the Apostle, who says (Col. IV, 6): Let your speech be seasoned with salt) that is lacking in salt. Both, however, are offered as a burnt offering to the Lord, like the fat of the letter, which is signified in the Law, and the prophecy, like a cloud of fire of the Lord, that is, the Holy Spirit, of whom Paul says, fervent in spirit (Rom. XII, 11), are transformed into a spiritual and thin substance. We want to know more clearly what the calf of the unblemished herd is, and the ram with the purest fleece from the sheep, let us understand Moses and Elijah (Num. XII, III Reg. XIX); the former of whom was the gentlest among all men who dwelt on the earth; the latter was similar to Moses in fervor of faith. Hence he dared to say: I am left alone. But what is written in Hebrew as 'You shall offer a calf', in the Septuagint it is written as 'the priests shall offer', there is no question about it. And indeed Ezekiel himself, to whom these things are said, is from the number of priests, full of age and perfect; and the grace of prophecy increased the priestly rank in him. And Moses and Elijah appear on the mountain with the Lord, that is, the law and the prophets, who announced to him what he would suffer in Jerusalem. But after the altar is cleansed, for seven days a goat or a young goat is offered for sin daily, and a bull from the herd, and an unblemished ram from the flock, so that through these sacrifices the altar may be cleansed for seven days and made perfect. In seven days the Sabbath is observed, which according to the Apostle (Hebrews IV) is reserved for the people of God: in which we hope for eternal and true rest, and do no servile work of sin. However, in the goat, and the calf, and the ram, three general sins are demonstrated, to which all human beings are subject. For we sin either in thoughts, or in speech, or in action. Thoughts are referred to the ram, which is the first of all sins, and from which the other two sins arise. But the goat, or rather the male goat, is known for its eloquence or discourse, always engaging in higher-level discussions. However, it is specifically designated for agricultural work, being bound to the plow and toil and earthly labor. Therefore, we must offer these blameless things for the true Sabbath, which lasts for seven days, and cleanse the altar, so that our prayer may reach God in purity. The phrase that follows, 'And they shall cleanse it, and fill his hand,' as translated by both the Hebrew and other interpreters, signifies that the offerings for the expiation of the altar itself should also be fulfilled, just as offerings are made for the priests, the people, and the high priest, so that nothing may appear empty in the sight of the Lord. For what reason they set aside the Septuagint: both will clean it, and they will fill their hands, so that the priests may be heard, who when they are full of good works, for this reason their hands are full, after the Sabbath has passed, they may come to the eighth day of resurrection, and may say with the Apostle: We have risen with Christ (Rom. VI, Coloss. III); and beyond the eighth day, they may strive for heavenly things, and may offer burnt offerings for us, or those which are for the peace of our sins and our salvation: so that through the fire of the Holy Spirit, everything that we think, speak, and do, may be transformed into spiritual substance: and the Lord, pleased with such sacrifices, may be appeased towards us.

Who is this gate, if not Mary? Is it not closed because she is a virgin? Mary is the gate through which Christ entered this world, when He was brought forth in the virginal birth and the manner of His birth did not break the seals of virginity.

Some quite emphatically understand this closed gate through which only the Lord God of Israel passes... as the Virgin Mary, who remains a Virgin before and after childbirth. In fact, she remains always a Virgin, in the moment in which the Angel speaks with her and when the Son of God is born.

(Chapter 44, verses 1 onwards) And he brought me back to the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces eastward and was closed. And the Lord said to me: This gate shall be closed and shall not be opened, and no man shall enter through it, for the Lord God of Israel has entered (or will enter) by it; it shall be closed for the prince. The prince himself shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord. Through the vestibule (that is, the porch), he shall enter by the gate, and he shall go out by its way. For it is written in Hebrew: 'It shall be shut to the prince.' The Septuagint translated it as: 'It shall be shut, for the leader himself shall sit in it.' There are many gates described in the Scripture of the temple of Ezekiel, both inside and outside. The previous discourse also covers the representation, consecration, and sacrifices of the altar. After this, he comes to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east and is shut. And immediately, the man who was the guide of the prophet and showed him everything spoke to him: This gate that you are looking at will always be shut and will not be opened, and no man will pass through it. And it gives the reason why it is always closed: because the Lord God of Israel has entered, or will enter through it: and it will be closed according to the Hebrew, to the prince, whom the LXX translated as leader. The prince and leader, that is, the Nasi, will sit in it to eat bread before the Lord: and he will enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and he will go out through it. What is this gate that is always closed, and only the Lord God of Israel enters through it? Namely, the one about which the Savior speaks in the Gospel: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! And woe to you, teachers of the law, who take away the key of knowledge! You yourselves do not enter, and you hinder those who are entering (Matthew 23:23). Isaiah also writes about this book under this name: The words of this book shall be like the words of a sealed book: if you give it to a man who cannot read, saying, 'Read this,' he will say, 'I cannot read.' And they shall give the book to a man who knows letters, saying: Read; and he shall say: I cannot read, for it is sealed (Isa. XXIX, 11). But this is the book that no one can unseal or open the seals, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, except for the one of whom it is said in the Apocalypse of John: Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root and offspring of David, has conquered, so that he may open the book and unseal its seals (Rev. V, 5). For before the Savior assumed a human body and humbled himself, taking on the form of a servant (Phil. II), the Law and the Prophets, and all the knowledge of the Scriptures, were closed, and paradise was closed. But after he hung on the cross, and spoke to the thief, 'Today you will be with me in paradise' (Luke XXIII, 43), immediately the veil of the temple was torn, and everything was opened; and with the veil removed, we say: But we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory (II Cor. III, 18). But if all things are revealed, for in Christ, according to the words of Paul, all things are revealed (Ibid., XIII), how will the gate be closed and not opened, and a man not pass through it? From these things we learn that even though we have come to the ultimate knowledge, compared to divine knowledge, we now know in part and understand in part; but when that which is perfect comes, then that which is in part will be done away with. Hence, in another place, the Apostle himself speaks of being imperfect and, again, perfect. But if it lacks interpretation, it seems to be the opposite. For he says: Not that I have already obtained, or am already perfect. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it; but one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12, 14). And when we thought that he, according to his profession, was not yet perfect, and that he was seeking rather than having found what is true, he not only says this about himself, but also about others: Therefore, let us all who are perfect have this same attitude. But the meaning of this place is as follows: Compared to other people who do not have care of the knowledge of the Scriptures or the mysteries of God, I confess that I am perfect; but as for the understanding of the divine majesty, I now see it in an enigma and through a cloud and darkness, and I say with the prophet: Your knowledge is amazing to me, it is confirmed, and I will not be able to attain it (Ps. 138:6). Therefore, this gate, which is closed to everyone (for a man will not pass through it and perish), will be closed to the prince or leader, and it will be opened by his arrival, who will sit in it to eat bread before the Lord, about whom he himself testifies in the Gospel, saying: My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work (John 4:34). He is the prince and the high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. He is the offering and the priest who, in the presence of the Father, eats heavenly bread with us and drinks wine, of which he speaks in the Gospel: I will not drink of the fruit of this vine until I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom (Matthew 26:29): in that kingdom, of which he himself and elsewhere says: The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). And the gate will be closed. No one can truly understand the passion of the Lord, his body and blood as the sacraments of the divine mystery. Such is the greatness of his goodness and the prince of his mercy, that even though he alone sits at the closed door and eats bread before the Lord, he desires to have more companions at his table and feast, and says: Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone opens to me, I will enter in and dine with him, and he with me (Rev. 3:20). But he alone eats bread in the presence of the Lord, because his substance and divine nature are separate from all the substances of creatures. He himself enters and exits through the same gate of the vestibule: for he is both inside and outside, that is, infused and encompassing all; entering through the gate in order to bring with him those who cannot enter without his teaching and help; and exiting in order to bring in others again; and speak to those who do not understand difficult things. But inasmuch as the Eastern gate outside the boundaries of the world is always closed and never opens to human sight, the Gospel of John proves the words of the one who said: No one has ever seen God: the Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has revealed Him (John 1:18). In other words, it will be closed to everyone except the ruler. The ruler alone will sit in it, to eat the bread of perfect and complete knowledge. For no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal (Matthew 11:27). Some understand beautifully that the closed gate through which only the Lord God of Israel enters, and the leader to whom the gate is closed, to be the Virgin Mary, who both before childbirth and after childbirth remained a virgin. Indeed, at the time when the angel spoke: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus (Luke 1:35), and when he was born, the virgin remained eternal; to confound those who claim that after the birth of the Savior, she had other sons by Joseph, based on the occasion of his brothers who are mentioned in the Gospel (Mark 3). I know that I wrote a small book in my youth, against Helvidius, the heretic of that time, in Rome.

But just as He who was conceived kept her who conceived still virgin, in like manner also He who was born preserved her virginity intact, only passing through her and keeping her closed. [Ezekiel 44:2] The conception, indeed, was through the sense of hearing, but the birth through the usual path by which children come, although some tell tales of His birth through the side of the Mother of God. For it was not impossible for Him to have come by this gate, without injuring her seal in anyway.

The ever-virgin One thus remains even after the birth still virgin, having never at any time up till death consorted with a man.

On the contrary, It is written (Ezekiel 44:2): "This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it; because the Lord the God of Israel hath entered in by it." Expounding these words, Augustine says in a sermon (De Annunt. Dom. iii): "What means this closed gate in the House of the Lord, except that Mary is to be ever inviolate? What does it mean that 'no man shall pass through it,' save that Joseph shall not know her? And what is this—'The Lord alone enters in and goeth out by it'—except that the Holy Ghost shall impregnate her, and that the Lord of angels shall be born of her? And what means this—'it shall be shut for evermore'—but that Mary is a virgin before His Birth, a virgin in His Birth, and a virgin after His Birth?"

What is that gate of the sanctuary, that outer gate facing the east and remaining closed? Is not Mary the gate through whom the Redeemer entered this world?

What means this closed gate in the House of the Lord, except that Mary is to be ever inviolate? What does it mean that 'no man shall pass through it,' save that Joseph shall not know her? And what is this - 'The Lord alone enters in and goeth out by it' - except that the Holy Ghost shall impregnate her, and that the Lord of angels shall be born of her? And what means this—'it shall be shut for evermore' - but that Mary is a virgin before His Birth, a virgin in His Birth, and a virgin after His Birth?

The word was made flesh without sexual intercourse, being conceived altogether without seed; then he was born without injury to her virginity.

Before the Savior took a human body and humbled himself, the law and the prophets and all knowledge of Scriptures were closed, and so paradise was as well.

Some people nobly understand the Virgin Mary as the door that is closed, who before and after birth remained a virgin, through which only the Lord God of Israel enters.

Could it be possible that in that entrance there were both seven steps and eight? Just notice what he says: the east gate, the gate from which the light enters—our Lord and Savior. There is indeed a gate, and no one enters it except the high priest. And what does holy Scripture say about it? "This gate is to remain closed"; it is not opened, moreover, except to the priest. Even so the Covenant, both Old and New, has always been closed; it has not been opened except to the Savior.… One gate, then, has both seven steps and eight. In the Old Testament, for example, the divine mysteries point to the Gospels, and in the New Testament back to the law.

The Lord God, maker of the universe, enters and departs through one gate, made from sensible material and always closed.

There is a key of knowledge to open what is closed.

Even though my God has not come, the law was closed, the prophetic word closed, the text of the Old Testament veiled.

It is very likely that these words refer to the womb of the Virgin, through which no one enters and from which no one departs other than the only one who is the Lord.

So great is the goodness and compassion of our sovereign that when he alone sits in the door that is closed and eats in the presence of the Lord, he wants to have more companions to share with him at table.… For he alone eats bread before the Lord: he separated from the substance all creatures because he himself has the divine nature. He goes in and out of the same door of the forecourt.

Christ himself is a virgin, and his mother is also a virgin; though she is his mother, she is a virgin still. For Jesus has entered in through the closed doors, and in his tomb—a new one hewn out of the hardest rock—no one is laid either before him or after him.… Mary is the east gate, spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel, always shut and always shining and either concealing or revealing the Holy of Holies.

Without seed the Son of God was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and in the Virgin's womb he formed for himself a fleshly body, animate with a reasonable and intelligent soul. From it [he came] forth in one substance but in two natures, perfect God and perfect man. It preserved undefiled, even after birth, the virginity of her that bore him. Being made of like passions with ourselves in all things, yet without sin, he took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. For, since by sin death entered into the world, he who was to redeem the world had to be without sin, and not by sin subject to death.

As the priest does not eat his food in the house or in any other place, except in the Holy of Holies, so does my Savior eat the bread, and no one can eat with him.

Each one of us asks for "daily bread" and when asking for "daily bread" does not receive either the same bread or the same measure. So without ceasing, thanks to pure prayers and a clean conscience, in the works of justice, we eat daily bread. And if anyone is less pure, he eats the daily bread in another way.

(Verse 4 and following) And he brought me through the way of the north gate in the sight of the house, and I saw, and behold, the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord, and I fell on my face. And the Lord said to me, Son of man, set your heart and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I speak to you concerning all the statutes of the house of the Lord, and concerning all its laws, and set your heart upon the entrance of the temple and on all the exits of the sanctuary. The man who is the leader of the prophet, and who knows everything in the temple by showing, after he showed the closed gate that must never be opened, and yet opened to him who had entered through closed doors. He leads the prophet to the way of the North gate, which is also in the sight of the house, undoubtedly signifying the temple. And when the prophet saw the fullness of the house of the Lord's glory, namely the same house that he saw from the opposite side in the North area, he immediately fell on his face, unable to bear the majesty of the Lord's glory. Because he had been brought low by his humility, the Lord says to him, not as a man but as the Lord: Son of man, set your heart, and so on. In the completion of the tabernacle and the building of the temple constructed by Solomon, the glory of the Lord appeared, which was later destroyed by comparison to the glory of the Gospel, as the Apostle says: For that which was glorified has not been glorified in this respect, because of the excellent glory. For if that which is destroyed is by glory, much more that which remains is in glory (2 Corinthians 3:10). And we must beware lest we think the destruction of the previous glory is an abolition; but we must think thus, that after what is perfect has come, that which was in part will be destroyed: just as if you compare the rays of the sun to a lamp, or the light of a lamp to a small lantern. Therefore, it is also said about John the Baptist: He was a shining lamp in the house (John 5:35). However, when the sun of justice came, the light of the lamp was hidden, as the prophet himself and John the Baptist said: He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30). The prophet fell on his face, lest, desiring to see more than human frailty can behold, he should lose even the light of his eyes. Hence the Lord calls him more familiarly "son of man," and commands him to set his heart, and see with his eyes, and hear with his ears. For first the mind must be opened to understand what is said; secondly, the heart must understand with the eyes, concerning which it is said to Abraham: Lift up your eyes and see the stars of heaven (Gen. 15:5); thirdly, it must be heard with these ears, of which the Savior says: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke 8:8), so that he may understand all the ceremonies of the temple and its legal requirements, and finally set his heart on the ways of the temple; for there are different approaches to God. Whether through the paths of the temple, it signifies the order of ceremonies, and the exit of the sanctuary. Therefore, it is the prologue and preparation of the prophet, to understand what he will subsequently learn about the order of the temple. And it should be noted that in this world, the plague which is positioned in the evil and placed in the cold of the North, the celestial order of ceremonies is shown to us.

The Angel, when he announced the hidden mysteries to the Virgin, that he might build up her faith by an example, related to her the conception of a barren woman. When Mary heard it, it was not that she disbelieved the oracle, or was uncertain about the messenger, or doubtful of the example, but rejoicing in the fulfilment of her wish, and consicentious in the observance of her duty, she gladly went forth into the hill country. For what could Mary now, filled with God, (plena Deo) but ascend into the higher parts with haste!

The grace of the Holy Spirit knows not of slow workings. Learn, ye virgins, not to loiter in the streets, nor mix in public talk.

(Geometer.) But to Elisabeth alone she has recourse, as she was wont to do from their relationship, and other close bonds of union.

She went so that she could offer her congratulations concerning the gift which she had learned her fellow servant had received. This was not in order to prove the word of the angel by the attestation of a woman. Rather it was so that as an attentive young virgin she might commit herself to ministry to a woman of advanced age.

But every soul which has conceived the word of God in the heart, straightway climbs the lofty summits of the virtues by the stairs of love, so as to be able to enter into the city of Juda, (into the citadel of prayer and praise, and abide as it were for three months in it,) to the perfection of faith, hope, and charity.

First, therefore, the encounter of the Virgin greeting is introduced as eager and familiar. — On account of the haste, he says: And Mary arising in those days, went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah: as if to say: she did not delay, but arose at dawn, according to that passage in Song of Songs 2: "Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come." Whence that passage in Proverbs 31, which is said of the valiant woman, who "rose up while it was still night and gave prey to her household and food to her handmaids," is fitting for her; for she arose to minister to Elisabeth, who was aged and weak. Whence "neither did the roughness of the journey delay her," according to what is said in the Gloss, and the text indicates, because she went into the hill country, namely with haste, to ascertain the truth, like those spies, Joshua 2: "Go up into the hill country"; or even with the Bridegroom himself, Song of Songs 2: "Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains and bounding over the hills." Nor did the length of the way delay her, which is noted there: Into a city of Judah, that is, Jerusalem, so that she might now cry out with Isaiah 2: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob." Nor did she delay on the journey, because with haste, like Rachel, Genesis 29, who, when she saw Jacob, "hastened to tell her father."

Spiritually, moreover, we are given to understand from this that haste is necessary for one who wishes to attain perfection; Hebrews 4: "Let us hasten to enter into that rest"; therefore 1 Corinthians 9: "So run, that you may obtain." Against which it is said of the foolish virgins, Matthew 25, that "they came last"; and Sirach 5: "Do not delay to turn to the Lord, and do not defer from day to day."

(Hom. iv. in Matt.) Or else the Virgin kept to herself all those things which have been said, not revealing them to any one, for she did not believe that any credit would be given to her wonderful story; nay, she rather thought she would suffer reproach if she told it, as if wishing to screen her own guilt.

Better men go to weaker men to give them some advantage by their visits. Thus the Savior came to John to sanctify John's baptism.… Jesus was in her womb, and he hastened to sanctify John, who was still in his own mother's womb. Before Mary came and greeted Elizabeth, the infant did not rejoice in her womb. But as soon as Mary spoke the word that the Son of God, in his mother's womb, had supplied, "the infant [John] leaped in joy." At that moment Jesus made his forerunner a prophet for the first time.

For Jesus who was in her womb hastened to sanctify John, still in the womb of his mother. Whence it follows, with haste.

The Virgin, having heard from the Angel that Elizabeth had conceived, hastened to her, partly rejoicing in the good fortune of her kinswoman, and partly, as one most prudent, wishing to confirm conclusively whether what had appeared to her was true, so that by the truthfulness of what was said about Elizabeth she might not doubt what concerned herself. For although she hoped, she nevertheless feared lest she might somehow be deceived, and this was not from unbelief, but from a desire to know the matter more precisely. Zachariah lived in the hill country; therefore the Virgin hastens there.

She went into the mountains, because Zacharias dwelt there. As it follows, To a city of Juda, and entered into the house of Zacharias. Learn, O holy women, the attention which ye ought to show for your kinswomen with child. For Mary, who before dwelt alone in the secret of her chamber, neither virgin modesty caused to shrink from the public gaze, nor the rugged mountains from pursuing her purpose, nor the tediousness of the journey from performing her duty.

And she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. Learn, O virgin, the humility of Mary, so that you may be chaste in body and devout in heart. The younger visits the elder, the virgin greets the wife. For it is fitting that the more chaste the virgin, the more humble she should be, and by deferring to elders, she may commend the habit of chastity with the testimony of humility. Alternatively: Mary to Elizabeth, the Lord came to John, so that this one might be filled with the Holy Spirit, and that one might consecrate baptism. The humility of the greater is indeed the exaltation of the lesser. Consequently, it follows:

The encounter of the Virgin was eager, and it was also familiar; on account of which he says: And she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elisabeth. She entered, I say, so that she might dwell together familiarly; Wisdom 8: "Entering into my house, I shall find rest with her." She entered, she did not stand outside, like that "wandering woman, impatient of rest and unable to stay in her house with her feet," Proverbs 7. She also entered, not to quarrel, but to greet, according to what is customary among the Saints: Romans 16: "Greet one another with a holy kiss." She greeted, I say, not only by wishing well, but also by bringing salvation to Jerusalem, so that that word of Isaiah 62 might be fulfilled: "For the sake of Zion I will not be silent, and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not rest, until her just one goes forth as brightness, and her Savior is kindled as a lamp"; and afterward: "Say to the daughter of Zion: Behold, your Savior comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him." — And note that the Virgin first entered the house and afterward greeted, because the Virgin was already beginning to comply with the evangelical precepts: for below in the tenth chapter it is said: "Greet no one along the way"; and afterward it is added: "Into whatever house you enter, first say: Peace to this house." Which the blessed Virgin also did.

Learn also, O virgins, the lowliness of Mary. She came a kinswoman to her next of kin, the younger to the elder, nor did she merely come to her, but was the first to give her salutations; as it follows, And she saluted Elisabeth. For the more chaste a virgin is, the more humble she should be, and ready to give way to her elders. Let her then be the mistress of humility, in whom is the profession of chastity. Mary is also a cause of piety, in that the higher went to the lower, that the lower might be assisted, Mary to Elisabeth, Christ to John.

But soon the blessed fruits of Mary's coming and our Lord's presence are made evident. For it follows, And it came to pass, that when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb. Mark the distinction and propriety of each word. Elisabeth first heard the word, but John first experienced the grace. She heard by the order of nature, he leaped by reason of the mystery. She perceived the coming of Mary, he the coming of the Lord.

(Geometer.) For the Prophet sees and hears more acutely than his mother, and salutes the chief of Prophets; but as he could not do this in words, he leaps in the womb, which was the greatest token of his joy. Who ever heard of leaping at a time previous to birth? Grace introduced things to which nature was a stranger. Shut up in the womb, the soldier acknowledged his Lord and King soon to be born, the womb's covering being no obstacle to the mystical sight.

We see instances of leaping not only in children but even in animals, although certainly not for any faith or religion or rational recognition of someone coming. But this case stands out as utterly uncommon and new, because it took place in a womb, and at the coming of her who was to bring forth the Savior of humankind. Therefore this leaping, this greeting, so to speak, offered to the mother of the Lord is miraculous. It is to be reckoned among the great signs. It was not effected by human means by the infant, but by divine means in the infant, as miracles are usually wrought.

(Epist. ad Dardanum 57.) But in order to say this, as the Evangelist has premised, she was filled with the Holy Spirit, by whose revelation undoubtedly she knew what that leaping of the child meant; lamely, that the mother of Him had come unto her, whose forerunner and herald that child was to be. Such then night be the meaning of so great an event; to be known indeed by grown up persons, but not understood by a little child; for she said not, "The babe leaped in faith in my womb," but leaped for joy. Now we see not only children leaping for joy, but even the cattle; not surely from any faith or religious feeling, or any rational knowledge. But this joy was strange and unwonted, for it was in the womb; and at the coming of her who was to bring forth the Saviour of the world. This joy, therefore, and as it were reciprocal salutation to the mother of the Lord, was caused (as miracles are) by Divine influences in the child, not in any human way by him. For even supposing the exercise of reason and the will had been so far advanced in that child, as that he should be able in the bowels of his mother to know, believe, and assent; yet surely that must be placed among the miracles of Divine power, not referred to human examples.

And it happened when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. See the distinction and the proprieties of each word. Elizabeth heard the voice first, but John felt the grace first. She heard by the order of nature, he leaped by the reason of the mystery. She sensed the coming of Mary, he sensed the coming of the Lord. These speak of grace, those inwardly work, and they undertake the mystery of piety by the progress of the mothers, and with a double miracle, the mothers prophesy by the spirit of the little ones. The infant leaped, and the mother was filled. The mother was not filled before the child, but as the child was filled with the Holy Spirit, he also filled the mother.

Nor is it to be wondered at, that our Lord, about to redeem the world, commenced His mighty works with His mother, that she, through whom the salvation of all men was prepared, should herself be the first to reap the fruit of salvation from her pledge.

Second, the effect of the virginal greeting is introduced, which was the stirring of the mother and the gladdening of the child. — On account of the stirring of the mother it is said: And it came to pass that when Elisabeth heard the greeting of Mary. For Elisabeth had heard the greeting of the Virgin, because she loved her: Song of Songs 8: "You who dwell in the gardens, friends listen for you; make me hear your voice"; and John 8: "He who is of God hears the words of God"; whence First Thessalonians 2: "When you had received from us the word of the hearing of God, you received it not as the word of men, but, as it truly is, the word of God." She heard indeed the word of salvation from her who had conceived the incarnate Word, in whom alone is salvation, according to that word of James 1: "In meekness receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."

Therefore the mother was stirred by the word of the Virgin, and the offspring too was gladdened: whence it says: He leaped, with joy, the infant in her womb. In this it is shown that John was the preeminent friend of the Bridegroom, according to what is written of him in John 3: "The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears his voice, rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom's voice." He leaped, I say, with desire, as did the Fathers; John 8: "Abraham rejoiced to see my day: he saw it and was glad." He leaped at the presence of the Lord and Savior, as if eager to greet and rise before his Lord, whose forerunner he was. Whence it is said in the Gloss of Bede, "because he could not with his tongue, he greets with an exulting spirit and begins the office of his forerunning. Behold, what the Angel had said is made manifest: 'He shall be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb.'" — From this it is given to understand spiritually that a holy purpose cannot remain hidden without manifesting itself, and that interior love bursts forth into action: whence Gregory says: "The love of God is never idle."

That although from the beginning He had been the Son of God, yet He had to be begotten again according to the flesh. In the second Psalm: "The Lord said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of me, and I will give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance, and the bounds of the earth for Thy possession." Also in the Gospel according to Luke: "And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and she was filled with the Holy Ghost, and she cried out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? " Also Paul to the Galatians: "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent His Son, horn of a woman." Also in the Epistle of John: "Every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. But whosoever denies that He is come in the flesh is not of God, but is of the spirit of Antichrist."

John jumped for joy to make an announcement concerning his future preaching. The infant of the barren woman exulted before the infant of the virgin. He sought out his mother's tongue and desired to pronounce a prophecy concerning the Lord. Therefore Elizabeth's conception was kept hidden from Mary for six months, until the infant would have limbs sufficiently formed to exult before the Lord with his jumping and become a witness to Mary through his exultation. Moreover, that he exulted in the womb of his mother was not of himself, nor because of his five months, but so that the divine gifts might show themselves in the barren womb that was now carrying him. It was also so that the other womb, that of the Virgin, would know the great gifts given to Elizabeth, and that the two soils might believe in the seeds they had received through the word of Gabriel, cultivator of both grounds. Since John could not cry out in his exultation and render witness to his Lord, his mother began to say, "You are blessed among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." Our Lord prepared his herald in a dead womb, to show that he came after a dead Adam. He vivified Elizabeth's womb first, and then vivified the soil of Adam through his body.

Not yet born, already John prophesies and, while still in the enclosure of his mother's womb, confesses the coming of Christ with movements of joy—since he could not do so with his voice. As Elizabeth says to holy Mary, "As soon as you greeted me, the child in my womb exulted for joy." John exults, then, before he is born. Before his eyes can see what the world looks like, he can recognize the Lord of the world with his spirit. In this regard, I think that the prophetic phrase is appropriate: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came forth from the womb I sanctified you." Thus we ought not to marvel that after Herod put him in prison, he continued to announce Christ to his disciples from his confinement, when even confined in the womb he preached the same Lord by his movements.

(vid. etiam Tit. Bos.) He was not filled with the Spirit, until she stood near him who bore Christ in her womb. Then indeed he was both filled with the Spirit, and leaping imparted the grace to his mother; as it follows, And Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. But we cannot doubt that she who was then filled with the Holy Spirit, was filled because of her son.

However, even these have life, each of them in his mother's womb. Elizabeth exults with joy, (for) John had leaped in her womb; Mary magnifies the Lord, (for) Christ had instigated her within.

Therefore even Elisabeth must be silent although she is carrying in her womb the prophetic babe, which was already conscious of his Lord, and is, moreover, filled with the Holy Ghost. For without reason does she say, "and whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? " If it was not as her son, but only as a stranger that Mary carried Jesus in her womb, how is it she says, "Blessed is the fruit of thy womb? What is this fruit of the womb, which received not its germ from the womb, which had not its root in the womb, which belongs not to her whose is the womb, and which is no doubt the real fruit of the womb-even Christ? Now, since He is the blossom of the stem which sprouts from the root of Jesse; since, moreover, the root of Jesse is the family of David, and the stem of the root is Mary descended from David, and the blossom of the stem is Mary's son, who is called Jesus Christ, will not He also be the fruit? For the blossom is the fruit, because through the blossom and from the blossom every product advances from its rudimental condition to perfect fruit.

And John, having received a certain special gift beyond other people, leaps in his mother's womb, which is why he is also "more than a prophet" (Matt. 11:9), for they prophesied after their birth, but he was deemed worthy of such a gift while still in his mother's womb. Notice: the Virgin "greeted Elizabeth," that is, she began to speak with her.

She who had hid herself because she conceived a son, began to glory that she carried in her womb a prophet, and she who had before blushed, now gives her blessing; as it follows, And she spake out with a loud voice, Blessed art thou among women. With a loud voice she exclaimed when she perceived the Lord's coming, for she believed it to be a holy birth. But she says, Blessed art thou among women. For none was ever partaker of such grace or could be, since of the one Divine seed, there is one only parent.

(Geometer.) This fruit alone then is blessed, because it is produced without man, and without sin.

(Severus.) From this place we derive the refutation of Eutyches, in that Christ is stated to be the fruit of the womb. For all fruit is of the same nature with the tree that bears it. It remains then that the virgin was also of the same nature with the second Adam, who takes away the sins of the world. But let those also who invent curious fictions concerning the flesh of Christ, blush when they hear of the real child-bearing of the mother of God. For the fruit itself proceeds from the very substance of the tree. Where too are those who say that Christ passed through the virgin as water through an aqueduct? Let these consider the words of Elisabeth who was filled with the Spirit, that Christ was the fruit of the womb. It follows, And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

[Elizabeth is attributed] properly with a great voice because she recognized the great gifts of God … [and] she sensed that he whom she knew to be present everywhere was also present bodily there. Indeed, by a "great" voice is not to be understood so much a loud voice as a devoted one. She was not capable of praising the Lord with the devotion of a moderate voice. Being full of the Holy Spirit, she was on fire, harboring in her womb the one than whom no one of those born of woman would be greater. She rejoiced that he had come there—he who, conceived from the flesh of a virgin mother, would be called, and would be, the Son of the Most High.

"Blessed is the fruit of your womb"—since through you we have recovered both the seed of incorruption and the fruit of our heavenly inheritance, which we lost in Adam.

And she cried out with a loud voice and said: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. It should be noted that the prophecy about Christ mentioned previously is fulfilled not only through the miracles of events but also through the specificity of the words. For this is the fruit that is promised to the patriarch David under oath: From the fruit of your womb, I will place someone on my throne (Psalm 131). At the same time, it should be observed that Mary is blessed by Elizabeth with the same voice as by Gabriel, showing that she is to be revered by both angels and humans and rightly preferred above all other women.

Mary is blessed by Elisabeth with the same words as before by Gabriel, to show that she was to be reverenced both by men and angels.

This is the fruit which is promised to David, Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. (Ps. 132:11.)

Fourth is the fullness of restoring fruits. Isaiah says: "The branch of the Lord will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor." And when was this? When the woman said: "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb!"

Third, there is subjoined the great affection of Elizabeth in her greeting and kindly. — On account of its greatness it is said: And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out with a loud voice. For the greatness of the voice is a sign of great affection, because "words are signs of the passions"; Sirach 15: "The Lord will fill him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding"; and: "He himself will send forth the words of his wisdom like showers, and in prayer he will give thanks to the Lord." But therefore she cried out with a loud voice, because she contained in her womb him who was the voice of the Word, according to what is said of him in Isaiah 40: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord." To whom it is also said in the same place: "Get up onto a high mountain, you who bring good tidings to Zion; lift up your voice with strength, you who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift it up, do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah: Behold, your God, behold, the Lord God will come with strength."

Nor was her voice so much loud as it was devout; whence, to express the kindness of her affection, she adds, saying: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Elizabeth blesses the Virgin together with her offspring, so as to complete the angelic salutation. She wishes blessing upon her and announces her already blessed with that blessing which the Lord had promised to Abraham in Genesis 12: "I will bless you and magnify your name, and you shall be blessed. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you, and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed." This blessing Isaac foretold under the figure of a field, in Genesis 27: "Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a full field, which the Lord has blessed." This Jacob confirmed, in the penultimate chapter of Genesis: "The Almighty shall bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep lying beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb; the blessings of your father are strengthened by the blessings of his fathers, until the desire of the everlasting hills should come." This Moses desired and this he invoked, in Deuteronomy 28: "Blessed is the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land." And therefore let us sing with David: "You have blessed, O Lord, your land."

Fulfilled also in Mary is that word of Ecclesiasticus 24: "Among the multitude of the elect she shall have praise, and among the blessed she shall be blessed." Blessed indeed was Jael, in Judges 5: "Blessed among women is Jael." Blessed was Ruth, in Ruth 3: "Blessed are you by the Lord, daughter." Blessed was Abigail, in 1 Kings 25: "Blessed are you, who have kept me this day from avenging myself by my own hand." Blessed was Judith, in chapter 13: "Blessed are you, daughter, by the Lord God most high above all women upon the earth." Among these women and above these women, blessed is the Virgin Mary, because those blessings were fulfilled in her.

And when He says, "Hear, O house of David," He performed the part of one indicating that He whom God promised David that He would raise up from the fruit of his belly (ventris) an eternal King, is the same who was born of the Virgin, herself of the lineage of David. For on this account also, He promised that the King should be "of the fruit of his belly," which was the appropriate [term to use with respect] to a virgin conceiving, and not "of the fruit of his loins," nor "of the fruit of his reins," which expression is appropriate to a generating man, and a woman conceiving by a man. In this promise, therefore, the Scripture excluded all virile influence; yet it certainly is not mentioned that He who was born was not from the will of man. But it has fixed and established "the fruit of the belly," that it might declare the generation of Him who should be [born] from the Virgin, as Elisabeth testified when filled with the Holy Ghost, saying to Mary, "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy belly;" [Luke 1:42] the Holy Ghost pointing out to those willing to hear, that the promise which God had made, of raising up a King from the fruit of [David's] belly, was fulfilled in the birth from the Virgin, that is, from Mary. Let those, therefore, who alter the passage of Isaiah thus, "Behold, a young woman shall conceive," and who will have Him to be Joseph's son, also alter the form of the promise which was given to David, when God promised him to raise up, from the fruit of his belly, the horn of Christ the King. But they did not understand, otherwise they would have presumed to alter even this passage also.

Elizabeth, who was filled with the Holy Spirit at that moment, received the Spirit on account of her son. The mother did not inherit the Holy Spirit first. First John, still enclosed in her womb, received the Holy Spirit. Then she too, after her son was sanctified, was filled with the Holy Spirit. You will be able to believe this if you also learn something similar about the Savior. (In a certain number of manuscripts, we have discovered that blessed Mary is said to prophesy. We are not unaware of the fact that, according to other copies of the Gospel, Elizabeth speaks these words in prophecy.) Mary also was filled with the Holy Spirit when she began to carry the Savior in her womb. As soon as she received the Holy Spirit, who was the creator of the Lord's body, and the Son of God began to exist in her womb, she too was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Believe what says the angel who was sent From the Father's throne, or if your stolid ear Catch not the voice from heaven, be wise and hear The cry of aged woman, now with child. O wondrous faith! The babe in senile womb Greets through his mother's lips the Virgin's Son, Our Lord; the child unborn makes known the cry Of the Child bestowed on us, for speechless yet, He caused that mouth to herald Christ as God.

So, the voice of the Virgin was the voice of God incarnating within Her, and therefore He also granted grace to the Forerunner while still in the womb and made him a prophet, for the prophetic words of Elizabeth to Mary were not the words of Elizabeth, but of the infant; and the lips of Elizabeth only served him, just as the lips of Mary served the One dwelling in Her womb — the Son of God. For Elizabeth was then filled with the Spirit when the infant leaped in the womb; if the infant had not leaped, she would not have prophesied. Just as it is said of the prophets that they first entered into a supernatural state and were inspired, and then prophesied, so perhaps John too, as if inspired, first leaped, then prophesied through the lips of his mother. What did he prophesy? "Blessed are You among women." Then, since many holy women bore unworthy children, for example Rebekah bore Esau, he says: "and blessed is the fruit of Your womb." It can also be understood differently: "Blessed are You among women." Then, as if someone were asking: why? — he states the reason: for "blessed is the fruit of Your womb," that is, for "the fruit of Your womb" is God, since God alone is blessed, as David also says: "Blessed is He who comes" (Ps. 117:26). For in Scripture, it is customary to use the conjunction "and" in place of the conjunction "for"; for example: "Give us help from trouble, and vain is the salvation of man" (Ps. 59:13) instead of "for vain is the salvation of man"; and again: "Behold, You were angry, and we sinned" (Isa. 64:5) instead of "for we sinned." He calls the Lord the "fruit of the womb" of the Mother of God, because the conception was without a man. Other infants are the offspring of fathers, but Christ is the fruit of the womb of the Mother of God alone, for She alone bore Him.

But because there have been other holy women who yet have borne sons stained with sin, she adds, And blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Or another interpretation is, having said, Blessed art thou among women, she then, as if some one enquired the cause, answers, And blessed is the fruit of thy womb: as it is said, Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord. The Lord God, and he hath showed us light; (Ps. 118:26, 27.) for the Holy Scriptures often use and, instead of because.

A sinner sometimes seeks in something that which he cannot attain, but the just does attain it. Prov. 13:22, "By the just is the substance of the sinner guarded." Thus Eve sought the fruit, and in that she did not find all that she desired; but the Blessed Virgin in Her Fruit found all that Eve desired. For Eve in her fruit desired three things. First, that which the Devil falsely promised her, that is, that they would be as gods, knowing good and evil. "You shall be," that liar said, "as gods," just as is said in Gen. 3:5. And he lied, because he is a liar, and the father of him. For Eve on account of eating of the fruit was not made like to God, but unlike: because by sinning she receded from God her Savior, whence she was also expelled from Paradise. But this the Blessed Virgin found, and all Christians, in the Fruit of Her womb: because through Christ we are conjoined and assimilated to God. 1 Jn. 3:2, "When He shall appear, we shall be like Him, since we shall see Him just as He is."

Second, in her fruit Eve desired delight, because it was good to eat; but she did not find this, because she immediately recognized herself to be naked, and was sorrowful. But in the Fruit of the Virgin we find sweetness and salvation. Jn 6:55, "He who eats My Flesh has eternal life."

Third, the fruit of Eve was beautiful in sight; but more beautiful was the Fruit of the Virgin, upon Whom the angels desire to look. Psalm 44:3, "Sightly in form before the sons of men": and this is, because He is the Splendor of the Father's glory. Therefore, Eve could not find in her fruit what even no sinner can find in sins. And for that reason, that which we desire, we seek in the Fruit of the Virgin. Moreover, this Fruit is blest by God, because He has so filled Him with every grace that He comes to us by exhibiting reverence to Her: Ephes. 1:3, "Blessed be the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blest us in every spiritual blessing in Christ": by the angels: Apoc. 7:12, "Blessing and clarity and wisdom and thanksgiving, honor and virtue and fortitude to our God"; by men: the Apostle says in Phil. 2:11, "Let every tongue confess, that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father." Psalm 117:26, "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord." Thus, therefore, is the Virgin blessed; but more blessed is Her Fruit.

Now she rightly calls the Lord the fruit of the virgin's womb, because He proceeded not from man, but from Mary alone. For they who are sown by their fathers are the fruits of their fathers.

She says it not ignorantly, for she knew it was by the grace and operation of the Holy Spirit that the mother of the prophet should be saluted by the mother of his Lord, to the advancement and growth of her own pledge; but being aware that this was of no human deserving, but a gift of Divine grace, she therefore says, Whence is this to me, that is, By what right of mine, by what that I have done, for what good deeds?

And how has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? She does not inquire as if she does not know what she indeed recognizes to be of the Holy Spirit, namely, that she is blessed by the mother of the Lord for the advancement of her offspring, but, struck by the novelty of the miracle, she confesses that this is not of her own merit but of divine gift.

"And whence does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Oh! What great humility in the mind of the prophet! How true the utterance of the Lord, in which he said, "Upon whom does my spirit rest if not upon one who is humble and quiet and who trembles at my words?" As soon as Elizabeth saw the one who had come to her, she recognized that she was the mother of the Lord. But she discovered in herself no such merit by which she might have become worthy to be visited by such a guest. "Whence does this happen to me," she asked, "that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Undoubtedly the very Spirit who conferred upon her the gift of prophecy at the same time endowed her with the favor of humility. Filled with the prophetic spirit, she understood that the mother of the Savior had drawn near to her. But being discreet in the spirit of humility, she understood that she herself was less than worthy of Mary's coming.

He therefore introduces an admirative proclamation when Elizabeth says: And whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? For this is greatly praiseworthy and also wonderful, that a woman should be the Mother of God, and that the Mother of God should visit the handmaid of God. Whence she could say, as Araunah said to King David in the last chapter of 2 Kings: "What is the reason that my lord the king comes to his servant?" For it is a greater thing to be the Mother of God; whence it was a condescension of the Mother of the Lord of all to visit on her own feet another's dwelling. Whence the Virgin glories in Ecclesiasticus twenty-four: "I am the mother of fair love and of fear and of holy hope"; because on account of her maternal dignity the Virgin Mary is to be loved, to be venerated and to be approached with all confidence as the mother of supreme mercy.

This is the prophetess Elisabeth, who by the Holy Spirit was privileged to prophesy both concerning the Lord Christ and the Holy Virgin, speaking thus: And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Thus both the father and the mother of the forerunner were privileged to announce beforehand the Lord Christ.

(super Ezech. lib. i. Hom. i. 8.) She was touched with the spirit of prophecy at once, both as to the past, present, and future. She knew that Mary had believed the promises of the Angel; she perceived when she gave her the name of mother, that Many was carrying in her womb the Redeemer of mankind; and when she foretold that all things would be accomplished, she saw also what was to follow in the future.

(non occ. vide Theoph. et. Tit. Bost.) Now in saying this, she coincides with her son. For John also felt that he was unworthy of our Lord's coming to him. But she gives the name of "the mother of our Lord" to one still a virgin, thus forestalling the event by the words of prophecy. Divine foreknowledge brought Mary to Elisabeth, that the testimony of John might reach the Lord. For from that time Christ ordained John to be a prophet. Hence it follows, For, to, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded, &c.

Just as later, when Christ came to be baptized, John forbade Him out of reverence, saying, "I am not worthy" (Matt. 3:14, 11), so now he proclaims through his mother: "How is it that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?" calling her who bore Him in her womb "Mother" before she had given birth to the Lord. Other women, before they give birth, are not customarily called mothers, out of fear of an unsuccessful delivery, that is, a miscarriage; but with regard to the Virgin there was no such suspicion whatsoever.

For behold, as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the child leaped for joy in my womb. Elizabeth was embarrassed by the burden of pregnancy as long as she did not know the mystery of the religion. But she who hid herself because she had conceived a son began to boast because she was bearing a prophet. And she who was previously embarrassed now blesses, and she who doubted before is now affirmed. For behold (she says), as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the child leaped for joy in my womb. Therefore, she cried out with a loud voice when she sensed the Lord's coming, because she believed the birth to be religious. For there was no cause for shame where faith in the given birth of the prophet newly ascended, not affected.

Secondly she adds an approbative indication, when she says: For behold, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leapt for joy: and this is a sign that "grace is poured forth upon your lips"; and therefore it is certain that "God has blessed you forever," in the Psalm. And since the infant leapt beyond nature, it is certain that the Lord of nature came to meet him. And since the little infant responds from the womb, it is certain that you have conceived him who calls from the womb, according to that passage of Isaiah forty-nine: "The Lord has called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he has remembered my name," etc. And again, since the child leapt for joy, it is certain that what is said in Isaiah has now been truly fulfilled: "Exult and give praise, O habitation of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel"; and that passage of Zechariah nine: "Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, your king comes to you, just and a savior."

You see that Mary did not hesitate, but believed; and therefore she obtained the fruit of faith. Blessed, he says, are you who believed. But blessed are you also, who have heard and believed; for whatever the soul believes, it conceives and gives birth to the Word of God, and recognizes His works. Let the soul of Mary be in each one of us, so that we may magnify the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each one of us, so that we may rejoice in God. If according to the flesh she is the one mother of Christ, yet according to faith Christ is the fruit of all. Indeed, the soul receives the Word of God, but only if it is immaculate and free from vices, preserving chastity with unblemished modesty.

You see that Mary doubted not but believed, and therefore the fruit of faith followed.

But happy are ye also who have heard and believed, for whatever soul hath believed, both conceives and brings forth the word of God, and knows His works.

And blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord. You see that Mary did not doubt, but believed, and therefore attained the fruit of faith. Blessed (she says) is she who believed. And indeed she is truly blessed, who is more excellent than the priest. While the priest doubted, the virgin corrected the error. Nor is it surprising if the Lord, about to redeem the world, began His work with His mother, so that she through whom salvation was being prepared for all, might receive the first fruit of salvation from the pledge. And it is equally noteworthy how much grace adorned the soul of Elizabeth when Mary entered, whom she enlightened simultaneously concerning the past, present, and future by the spirit of prophecy. For by saying, Blessed is she who believed, she clearly indicates that she recognized by the spirit the words of the angel that were spoken to Mary. And by adding: For there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told you by the Lord, she also foresaw what would follow in the future. And naming her the mother of her Lord, because she understood that she was carrying the Redeemer of the human race in her womb.

Since therefore the precursor leapt wondrously, she now had a certain indication that the Savior had come; and since she now had a certain indication, therefore thirdly there is added to the truth a testimony, or an affirmative oracle, when it is said: Blessed are you who believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to you by the Lord. For faith makes one blessed: Matthew sixteen: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven"; and John twenty: "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." — Moreover faith makes the blessed, because by beginning in merit it disposes toward consummation in reward: Philippians one: "Being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will perfect it," and this by the merit of faith; whence Matthew eight: "Go, and as you have believed, let it be done for you"; and so it was done for Mary.

Note that in Scripture not only believers are called blessed, but also those who hope: Psalm: "Blessed is the man whose hope is the name of the Lord." Likewise, those who love: Ecclesiasticus forty-eight: "Blessed are they who saw you and were adorned with your friendship." Likewise, those who fear: Ecclesiasticus twenty-five: "Blessed is he to whom it has been given to have the fear of God"; again, Psalm: "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord." Likewise, those who act: John thirteen: "If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them"; and below in the eleventh chapter: "Blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it." Likewise, those who endure: First Peter three: "But even if you suffer something for the sake of righteousness, blessed are you"; and Matthew five: "Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you, lying, for my sake." Likewise, those who contemplate: Third Kings ten: "Blessed are your men, and blessed are your servants, these who stand before you always and hear your wisdom."

For all these reasons the Virgin Mary was blessed, and for a singular reason she was most blessed, because she conceived the Son of God: below in the eleventh chapter: "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked." And for this reason she herself says below in the same chapter: "For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed." Blessed therefore are you who believed, because by believing you conceived, and by conceiving you brought forth blessedness for all nations as regards its sufficiency. As a figure of this, Genesis thirty: "Leah said: This is for my blessedness, for all women shall call me blessed."

O Mary! Even before You gave birth, You are a Mother, and blessed, because You believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to You by the Lord.

The mother of our Lord had come to see Elisabeth, as also the miraculous conception, from which the Angel had told her should result the belief of a far greater conception, to happen to herself; and to this belief the words of Elisabeth refer, And blessed art thou who hast believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told thee from the Lord.

As evil came into the world by a woman, so also is good introduced by women; and so it seems not without meaning, that both Elisabeth prophesies before John, and Mary before the birth of the Lord. But it follows, that as Mary was the greater person, so she uttered the fuller prophecy.

(Athanasius.) As if she said, Marvellous things hath the Lord declared that He will accomplish in my body, but neither shall my soul be unfruitful before God. It becomes me to offer Him the fruit also of my will, for inasmuch as I am obedient to a mighty miracle, am I bound to glorify Him who performs His mighty works in me.

(in Psalm 33) For the Virgin, with lofty thoughts and deep penetration, contemplates the boundless mystery, the further she advances, magnifying God; And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord.

And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord. And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. The Lord has raised me up to such and such an unheard-of honor, which cannot be explained by the service of any language, but can barely be comprehended by the feeling of the innermost heart, and thus I offer all the strength of my soul in praiseful thanks, I joyfully devote whatever I live, feel, and know in contemplation of His greatness, which has no end, because my spirit rejoices in the same Jesus, that is, the Savior, in whose eternal divinity my flesh rejoices in temporal conception. Similar to this is what the Psalmist says: And my soul shall exult in the Lord, and shall be delighted above His salvation (Psalm 35). For he indeed venerated the Father and the Son with equal love.

And Mary said, etc. After the testimony of prophecy follows the song of joy, in which the most blessed Virgin Mary praises divine mercy for the most excellent grace conferred upon her. In this canticle three things are noted. The first is the affection of the one praising. The second is the reason for praising. The third is the amplification of divine praise. For praise is not perfect unless there is present a fitting affection, a fitting cause, and a fitting manner.

There is therefore first intimated the affection of the one praising, as grateful, by magnifying the divine power, when she says: Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, that is, the divine power. "For great is our Lord, and great is his power"; and therefore he ought to be praised with great affection, because he works great things; Daniel 4: "I praise and magnify and glorify the King of heaven, because all his works are true"; and to this the devout soul invites in the Psalm: "Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together." Then our soul truly magnifies the Lord, when under him it captivates and humbles itself: Sirach 3: "How great is the power of God alone, and he is honored by the humble alone." Whence the Virgin Mary, because she humbled herself beyond all others, magnified the Lord more highly than all others. And therefore she began from magnification, because this was fitting to the humility of the Virgin singing. — It was also fitting to the dignity of God, whose supreme condescension is not known unless his dignity is first known; whence the Apostle: "Who, though he was in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal to God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant." — It was also fitting to the intention of the canticle, which is to praise God perfectly: Sirach 43: "Glorifying the Lord as much as you can, he will still surpass, and admirable is his magnificence." — It was also fitting to Mary's canticle, because it was about great, indeed about the greatest benefits; whence Proverbs 8: "Listen, for I am about to speak of great things"; and below: "Because he has done great things for me," etc. — It was also fitting to an orderly progression, which is by beginning from fear: whence the Psalm: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." But the fear of reverence magnifies the Lord.

I think, too, it will do us no harm to remember that, in becoming Man, He bowed His neck beneath the sweet yoke of a heredity and early environment. Humanly speaking, He would have learned this style, if from no one else (but it was all about Him) from His Mother... is this the only aspect in which we can say of His human nature 'He was His Mother's own son'? There is a fierceness, even a touch of Deborah, mixed with the sweetness in the Magnificat to which most painted Madonnas do little justice; matching the frequent severity of His own sayings. I am sure the private life of the holy family was, in many senses, 'mild' and 'gentle', but perhaps hardly in the way some hymn writers have in mind. One may suspect, on proper occasions, a certain astringency; and all in what people at Jerusalem regarded as a rough north-country dialect.

[Mary] revealed to Elizabeth what the angel spoke to her in secret, and that he called her blessed because she believed in the realization of the prophecy and the teaching that she heard. Then Mary gently brought forth the fruit of what she heard from the angel and Elizabeth: "My soul bless the Lord." Elizabeth had said, "Blessed is she who has believed," and Mary replied, "From henceforth all generations will call me blessed." It was then that Mary began to preach the new kingdom.

(super Ezech. lib. i. Hom. i. 8.) She was touched with the spirit of prophecy at once, both as to the past, present, and future. She knew that Mary had believed the promises of the Angel; she perceived when she gave her the name of mother, that Many was carrying in her womb the Redeemer of mankind; and when she foretold that all things would be accomplished, she saw also what was to follow in the future.

For who else is there who can reign uninterruptedly over the house of Jacob for ever, except Jesus Christ our Lord, the Son of the Most High God, who promised by the law and the prophets that He would make His salvation visible to all flesh; so that He would become the Son of man for this purpose, that man also might become the son of God? And Mary, exulting because of this, cried out, prophesying on behalf of the Church, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For He hath taken up His child Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spake to our fathers, Abraham, and his seed for ever." [Luke 1:46-47] By these and such like [passages] the Gospel points out that it was God who spake to the fathers; that it was He who, by Moses, instituted the legal dispensation, by which giving of the law we know that He spake to the fathers.

Therefore Abraham also, knowing the Father through the Word, who made heaven and earth, confessed Him to be God; and having learned, by an announcement [made to him], that the Son of God would be a man among men, by whose advent his seed should be as the stars of heaven, he desired to see that day, so that he might himself also embrace Christ; and, seeing it through the spirit of prophecy, he rejoiced. [Genesis 17:17] Wherefore Simeon also, one of his descendants, carried fully out the rejoicing of the patriarch, and said: "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace. For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people: a light for the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of the people Israel." [Luke 2:29, etc.] And the angels, in like manner, announced tidings of great joy to the shepherds who were keeping watch by night. [Luke 2:8] Moreover, Mary said, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my salvation;" [Luke 1:46] — the rejoicing of Abraham descending upon those who sprang from him — those, namely, who were watching, and who beheld Christ, and believed in Him; while, on the other hand, there was a reciprocal rejoicing which passed backwards from the children to Abraham, who did also desire to see the day of Christ's coming. Rightly, then, did our Lord bear witness to him, saying, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad."

Elizabeth prophesies before John. Before the birth of the Lord and Savior, Mary prophesies. Sin began from the woman and then spread to the man. In the same way, salvation had its first beginnings from women. Thus the rest of women can also lay aside the weakness of their sex and imitate as closely as possible the lives and conduct of these holy women whom the Gospel now describes.

Let us consider the Virgin's prophecy. She says, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior." Two subjects, "soul" and "spirit," carry out a double praise. The soul praises the Lord, the Spirit praises God—not because the praise of the Lord differs from the praise of God but because he who is God is also Lord, and he who is Lord is also God.We ask how a soul can magnify the Lord. The Lord can undergo neither increase nor loss. He is what he is. Thus, why does Mary now say, "My soul magnifies the Lord?" … My soul is not directly an image of God. It was created as the image of an Image that already existed.… Each one of us shapes his soul into the image of Christ and makes either a larger or a smaller image of him. The image is either dingy and dirty, or it is clean and bright and corresponds to the form of the original. Therefore, when I make the image of the Image—that is, my soul—large and magnify it by work, thought and speech, then the Lord himself is magnified in my soul, because it is an image of him. Just as the Lord is thus magnified in our image of him, so too, if we are sinners, he diminishes and decreases. But surely the Lord is not diminished, nor does he decrease. Rather, we create other images in ourselves instead of the Savior's image. Instead of being the image of the Word, or of wisdom, justice and the rest of the virtues, we assume the form of the devil.

Now if the Lord could neither receive increase or decrease, what is this that Mary speaks of, My soul doth magnify (magnificat) the Lord? But if I consider that the Lord our Saviour is the image of the invisible God, and that the soul is created according to His image, so as to be an image of an image, then I shall see plainly, that as after the manner of those who are accustomed to paint images, each one of us forming his soul after the image of Christ, makes it great or little, base or noble, after the likeness of the original; so when I have made my soul great in thought, word, and deed, the image of God is made great, and the Lord Himself, whose image it is, is magnified in my soul.

Elizabeth exults with joy, (for) John had leaped in her womb; Mary magnifies the Lord, (for) Christ had instigated her within. The mothers recognise each their own offspring, being moreover each recognised by their infants, which were therefore of course alive, and were not souls merely, but spirits also.

The Virgin, being completely convinced of the truth of what was foretold to Her, glorifies God, attributing the miracle not to Herself but to Him; for He, She says, looked upon Me, the lowly one, and not I looked upon Him; He showed Me mercy, and not I sought Him out. Observe: first the soul magnifies the Lord, then the spirit rejoices. Or what is the same: he magnifies God who walks worthily of God. You are called a Christian — do not then diminish the dignity and name of Christ through unworthy deeds, but magnify it through the accomplishment of great and heavenly works, and then your spirit too will rejoice, that is, the spiritual gift received by you through great works will leap and prosper, and will not be diminished and, so to speak, put to death.

The soul of Mary therefore magnifies the Lord, and her spirit rejoiced in God, because with soul and spirit devoted to the Father and the Son, she worships with a pious affection the one God from whom are all things. But let every one have the spirit of Mary, so that he may rejoice in the Lord. If according to the flesh there is one mother of Christ, yet, according to faith, Christ is the fruit of all. For every soul receives the word of God if only he be unspotted and free from sin, and preserves it with unsullied purity.

(ubi sup.) The first-fruit of the Spirit is peace and joy. Because then the holy Virgin had drunk in all the graces of the Spirit, she rightly adds, And my spirit hath leaped for joy. (exultavit.) She means the same thing, soul and spirit. But the frequent mention of leaping for joy in the Scriptures implies a certain bright and cheerful state of mind in those who are worthy. Hence the Virgin exults in the Lord with an unspeakable springing (and bounding) of the heart for joy, and in the breaking forth into utterance of a noble affection. It follows, in God my Saviour.

(ubi sup.) But if at any time light shall have crept into his heart, and loving God and despising bodily things he shall have gained the perfect standing of the just, without any difficulty shall he obtain joy in the Lord.

Because the spirit of the Virgin rejoices in the eternal Godhead of the same Jesus. (i. e. the Saviour,) whose flesh is formed in the womb by a temporal conception.

There is also intimated the affection of the one praising not only as grateful, but as joyful, by exulting in the divine salvation, when it is added: And my spirit has exulted in God my savior, that is, in God the savior, so that she could say that word of the Psalm: "My soul shall exult in the Lord and shall delight in his salvation"; and again: "My heart and my flesh have exulted in the living God." Truly she could now say that word of Song of Songs 1: "The king has brought me into his storerooms: we shall exult and rejoice in you," etc. Now there was verified in Mary what the Psalmist desired: "Let all who seek you exult and rejoice in you, and let those who love your salvation always say: Let the Lord be magnified." Since therefore the Virgin Mary sought the Lord and loved his salvation, therefore her soul magnified the Lord, and her spirit exulted in the salvation of God. Therefore that word of Anna is fitting for her, 1 Kings 2: "My heart has exulted in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in my God, because I have rejoiced in your salvation."

And note that spirit is taken for the substance of the soul: Ecclesiastes 3: "Who knows if the spirit," etc.; for the higher part: Malachi 2: "Guard your spirit"; and Romans 8: "The Spirit intercedes for us with unutterable groanings"; for the imagination: First Corinthians 14: "For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays," etc. Here, however, it is taken for the soul according to its highest part, and soul is taken in relation to the body, as in First Thessalonians 5: "That your spirit and soul and body may be preserved whole and without complaint at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." For because the spirit had inwardly exulted, therefore the soul magnified with her voice — and therefore she places the exultation in the past tense and the magnification in the present tense, because exultation is prior by nature.

But the soul first magnifies the Lord, that it may afterwards rejoice in God; for unless we have first believed, we can not rejoice.

Know also that Scripture, seemingly, simply calls spirit and soul one and the same thing, but properly it distinguishes between them. For it calls the psychical man one who lives according to nature and is guided by human reasoning — for example, when hungry he eats, he hates his enemy, and in general in nothing appears to rise above nature; but it calls spiritual the one who overcomes the laws of nature and sets his mind on nothing human. Such is the distinction in Scripture between soul and spirit (1 Cor. 2:14–15; Gal. 6:8). Perhaps physicians distinguish them differently, but we must attend to Scripture, and let the physicians err.

But he magnifies God who worthily follows Christ, and now that he is called Christian, lessens not the glory of Christ by acting unworthily, but does great and heavenly things; and then the Spirit (that is, the anointing of the Spirit) shall rejoice, (i. e. make him to prosper,) and shall not be withdrawn, so to say, and put to death.

(Isidore.) She gives the reason why it becomes her to magnify God and to rejoice in Him, saying, For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden; as if she said, "He Himself foresaw, therefore I did not look for Him." I was content with things lowly, but now am I chosen unto counsels unspeakable, and raised up from the earth unto the stars.

(Metaphrastes.) She does not call herself blessed from vain glory, for what room is there for pride in her who named herself the handmaid of the Lord? But, touched by the Holy Spirit, she foretold those things which were to come.

For if as the Prophet says, Blessed are they who have seed in Sion, and kinsfolk in Jerusalem, (Isa. 31:9. apud LXX.) how great should be the celebration of the divine and ever holy Virgin Mary, who was made according to the flesh, the Mother of the Word?

(Pseudo-Aug. Serm. de Assumpt 208.) O true lowliness, which hath borne God to men, hath given life to mortals, made new heavens and a pure earth, opened the gates of Paradise, and set free the souls of men. The lowliness of Mary was made the heavenly ladder, by which God descended upon earth. For what does regarded mean but "approved?" For many seem in my sight to be lowly, but their lowliness is not regarded by the Lord. For if they were truly lowly, their spirit would rejoice not in the world, but in God.

Because He has regarded the humility of His handmaid. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. She whose humility is regarded rightly rejoices, named blessed by all, just as on the contrary, she whose pride is condemned with disdain, Eve, that is, woe, or by the name of calamity, punished, languishes. For it was fitting that just as by the pride of our first parent death entered the world, so again by the humility of Mary the entry of life might be opened.

In the following words she teaches us how worthless she felt of herself and that she received by the heavenly grace that was lavished on her every sort of good merit that she had. She says, "For he has considered the humility of his handmaid. For behold from this time on all generations will call me blessed." She demonstrates that in her own judgment she was indeed Christ's humble handmaid, but with respect to heavenly grace she pronounces herself all at once lifted up and glorified to such a degree that rightly her preeminent blessedness would be marveled at by the voices of all nations.

But she, whose humility is regarded, is rightly called blessed by all; as it follows, For, behold, from henceforth all shall call me blessed.

For it was fitting, that as by the pride of our first parent death came into the world, so by the lowliness of Mary should be opened the entrance into life.

Because He has regarded the lowliness, etc. After the affection or devotion of the one praising has been described, there is here added the reason for praising, which is drawn from a twofold cause. The first is the benefit of grace, which made her lovable to God and praiseworthy to men. Because lovable to God, she says: Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid. In Genesis 29, a figure of this preceded in Leah, who, having conceived offspring, said: "The Lord has seen my lowliness; now my husband will love me." And humility was the disposition for the regard of grace: Isaiah, last chapter: "To whom shall I look except to the poor and contrite in spirit and the one who trembles at my words?" Because, as it is said in the Psalm, "the Lord is exalted and regards the lowly, and knows the lofty from afar." Hence concerning the just man, Sirach 11: "The eye of God regarded him for good and raised him from his lowliness"; and therefore the Prophet prayed in the Psalm: "Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor."

That benefit of grace also made her praiseworthy to men, and therefore she adds: For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed, both men and women: Proverbs, last chapter: "Her children rose up and proclaimed her most blessed; her husband also praised her." Now the Virgin Mary was blessed on account of the merit of chastity: Psalm: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way"; and Apocalypse 16: "Blessed is he who keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame"; and Wisdom 3: "Happy is the barren and undefiled woman, who has not known the bed in transgression." — She was also more blessed on account of the counsel of virginity: First Corinthians 7: "But she will be more blessed if she so remains, according to my counsel." — She was also most blessed on account of the privilege of fruitfulness, on account of which the other women proclaim her most blessed, Song of Songs 6: "The daughters of Sion saw her and proclaimed her most blessed."

The Middle Ages carried their reverence for one Woman to a point at which the charge could be plausibly made that the Blessed Virgin became in their eyes almost 'a fourth Person of the Trinity'.

I do not think we are entitled to assume that the use of the word Blessed when we speak of the Virgin Mary is 'necessary'; otherwise, we should have to condemn both the Nicene and the Apostles' Creed for omitting it. Should we not rather recognize that the presence or absence of such prefixes constitutes a difference, not in faith or morals, but simply in style?

who even before his birth announced with great joy the dignity of her son, and said: For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

Those runners gather impetus as they run. Ages afterwards they still speak as if something had just happened. They have not lost the speed and momentum of messengers; they have hardly lost, as it were, the wild eyes of witnesses. In the Catholic Church, which is the cohort of the message, there are still those headlong acts of holiness that speak of something rapid and recent; a self-sacrifice that startles the world like a suicide. But it is not a suicide; it is not pessimistic; it is still as optimistic as St. Francis of the flowers and birds. It is newer in spirit than the newest schools of thought; and it is almost certainly on the eve of new triumphs. For these men serve a mother who seems to grow more beautiful as new generations rise up and call her blessed. We might sometimes fancy that the Church grows younger as the world grows old.

"For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed." If I take "all generations" literally, I apply it to believers. But, if I search for something more profound, I will notice how valuable it is to join to it, "because he who is powerful has done great things for me." For "everyone who humbles himself will be exalted." God looked upon the blessed Mary's humility, and on account of it "he who is powerful did great things for her, and holy is his name."

But why was she lowly and cast down, who carried in her womb the Son of God? Consider that lowliness, which in the Scriptures is particularly praised as one of the virtues, is called by the philosophers "modestia." And we also may paraphrase it, that state of mind in which a man instead of being puffed up, casts himself down.

"From now on all generations will call Me blessed," not Elizabeth alone, but also the generations of believers. And for what reason will they call Her blessed? Is it for Her virtue? No! But because God has shown His greatness upon Me.

And therefore she says, all generations, not only Elisabeth, but also every nation that believed.

(sup.) What great things hath He done unto thee? I believe that a creature thou gavest birth to the Creator, a servant thou broughtest forth the Lord, that through thee God redeemed the world, through thee He restored it to life.

(in Ps. 33.) But holy is the name of God called, not because in its letters it contains any significant power, but because in whatever way we look at God we distinguish his purity and holiness.

Because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. This refers back to the beginning of the hymn, where it is said: My soul magnifies the Lord. For indeed, the soul to which the Lord deigns to do great things usually magnifies Him with fitting praises, and can exhort her companions of the same vow and purpose saying: Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together (Psalm 33). For whoever neglects to magnify the Lord, whom he has known, and to sanctify His name, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. His name is called holy because, by the peak of His unique power, He surpasses all creation and is far separated from all that He has made. This is better understood in the Greek expression in which the word itself, ἅγιον (hagion), signifies being beyond the earth. By imitation of this, we also, to the extent of our ability, are commanded to be separated from all that is not holy or dedicated to God. The Lord said: Be holy, for I am holy (Leviticus 11). For whoever consecrates himself will rightly be seen as beyond the earth and beyond the world. Such a one can also say, while walking on the earth, we have our conversation in heaven.

But this has reference to the beginning of the hymn, where it is said, My soul doth magnify the Lord. For that soul can alone magnify the Lord with due praise, for whom he deigus to do mighty things.

For in the height of His marvellous power He is far beyond every creature, and is widely removed from all the works of His hands. This is better understood in the Greek tongue, in which the very word which means holy, (ἅγιον) signifies as it were to be "apart from the earth."

The second reason for praising is the miracle of power, which was great and devout. Because it was great, she says: Because he who is mighty has done great things for me. This refers to the mystery of the incarnation, as Bede says in the Gloss; and concerning this, Job 5: "Who does great and unsearchable and wonderful things without number." The mystery of the incarnation is great and inscrutable, and therefore wondrous: and this he who is mighty has done, because "in miraculous things, as Augustine says, the entire reason for the deed is the power of the one doing it"; Ecclesiastes 8: "Whatever he wills, he shall do, because his word is full of power, nor can anyone say to him: Why do you act thus?"

It was also devout, and therefore she says: Holy is his name. Whence he does holy and devout things, to show the holiness of his name; Daniel 3: "Blessed be the name of your glory, which is holy"; and the Psalm: "Holy and terrible is his name." And the reason for this is premised: "He sent redemption to his people." And because holiness befits his name, therefore we pray: "Hallowed be your name," Matthew 6; and again the Psalm: "Holiness befits your house, O Lord, for length of days." Concerning these two, namely greatness and devotion, 1 Timothy 3: "And manifestly great is the sacrament of devotion, which was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, appeared to angels, was preached to the nations, was believed in the world, was taken up in glory"; great indeed by reason of the Divinity, holy by reason of the assumed humanity: above in the same chapter: "That which shall be born of you, the Holy One, shall be called the Son of God." And therefore the Virgin in the conception was magnified and sanctified: the Psalm: "The Most High has sanctified his tabernacle." And these two correspond to the two things stated above, because she was magnified and sanctified, therefore she magnified and exulted: thus she renders the reason most fittingly.

She called Him "Mighty" so that everyone would believe Her words, considering that the Lord is mighty to do this. She called "His Name" "holy" to show that the Most Pure One, being conceived in the womb of a woman, is in no way defiled, but remains Holy.

And therefore she says, all generations, not only Elisabeth, but also every nation that believed.

The Virgin shows that not for her own virtue is she to be pronounced blessed, but she assigns the cause, saying, For he that is mighty hath magnified me.

But where are the great things, if they be not that I still a virgin conceive (by the will of God) overcoming nature? I have been accounted worthy, without being joined to a husband, to be made a mother, not a mother of any one, but of the only-begotten Saviour.

But she says, that is mighty, that if men should disbelieve the work of her conception, namely, that while yet a virgin, she conceived, she might throw back the miracles upon the power of the Worker. Nor because the only-begotten Son has come to a woman is He thereby defiled, for holy is his name.

Mary abode with Elisabeth until she had accomplished the time of her bringing forth; as it is said, And Mary abode, &c.

Now it was not only for the sake of friendship that she abode so long, but for the increase also of so great a prophet. For if at her first coming the child had so far advanced, that at the salutation of Mary he leaped in the womb, and his mother was filled with the Holy Spirit, how much must we suppose the presence of the Virgin Mary to have added during the experience of so long a time? Rightly then is she represented as having shown kindness to Elisabeth, and preserved the mystical number.

(Metaphrastes.) For it is the custom for virgins to go away when the pregnant woman brings forth. But when she reached her own home, she went to no other place, but abode there until she knew the time of her delivery was at hand. And Joseph doubting, is instructed by an Angel.

But Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home. Mary stayed so long until, with the completion of Elizabeth's pregnancy, she saw the birth of the precursor of her Lord, especially for whom she had come. It has been said above that every pure soul which has conceived the spiritual desire of the word must soon undergo the high yoke of heavenly exercise, and remain there almost for a period of three months, until it shines with the perfect light of the chief virtues. Describing these months of the most perfect brightness, the Apostle says: "And now these three remain: faith, hope, love. But the greatest of these is love" (I Cor. XIII).

For the chaste soul which conceives a desire of the spiritual word must of necessity submit to the yoke of heavenly discipline, and sojourning for the days as it were of three months in the same place, cease not to persevere until it is illuminated by the light of faith, hope, and charity.

But Mary remained, etc. After the testimony of prophecy and the canticle of joy, the service of benevolence is added, which the Virgin Mary showed to Elizabeth, her kinswoman: in which she is commended for three things, namely for the diligence of her service, the perseverance of her purpose, and the propriety of her companionship. — On account of the diligence of her service, he says: But Mary remained with her, namely with her pregnant kinswoman. She did not depart immediately, but acted according to what the Lord commands his disciples in Matthew 10: "But remain in the same house until you depart." Mary remained; she did not go out like Dinah, of whom Genesis 34 says: "She went out to see the women of that region"; and it follows afterward that she was violated. She remained like a diligent attendant; she did not go about like a curious busybody; 1 Timothy 5, concerning younger widows: "Being idle, they learn to go about from house to house, and not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, speaking things they ought not." Against which Seneca says: "It is a sign of a well-ordered mind to be able to tarry with oneself and to remain with oneself."

On account of the perseverance of her purpose, he adds: About three months, that is, until the time of the birth, according to what Bede says in the Gloss: "Mary remained so long until, when the time of Elizabeth's delivery was completed, she might see the birth of the forerunner of her Lord, for whose sake she had especially come"; and this was signified in 2 Kings 6, where it is said that "the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom for three months." — Mystically, however, by the three months is designated the progress of the three virtues, according to what is said in the Gloss. For "it is necessary that the chaste soul, which conceives the desire of the spiritual word, ascend the lofty heights of the heavenly host and, having remained there as it were for the days of three months, not cease to persevere until it is irradiated with the light of faith, hope, and charity."

On account of the propriety of her companionship, it is added: And she returned to her own home, to dwell with her spouse, the guardian of her virginity; whence she could say that passage from Genesis 30: "The Lord has blessed you at my coming. It is just, therefore, that I should at some time also provide for my own household." She returned to her own home, because her spouse and her household desired her return, according to that passage from Song of Songs 6: "Return, return, O Shulamite, return." Thus therefore the Virgin Mary gives an example to be imitated by all, according to what Ambrose says: "Learn," he says, "from Mary devotion, perseverance, and propriety."

"She returned home after three months," so that the Lord whom she was carrying would not begin service before his servant. She returned to her husband to clarify the matter, for if she had become pregnant through human fruit, it would have been appropriate for her to flee from her husband.

(ordin.) For this promise of heritage shall not be narrowed by any limits, but to the very end of time there shall never lack believers, the glory of whose happiness shall be everlasting.

Mary "remained with Elizabeth about three months," then returned. Since Elizabeth was about to give birth, the Virgin departs because of the multitude of people who would gather for the birth, for it was not fitting for the Virgin to be present under such circumstances. And from the fact that the Virgin returned when the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, it is evident that the Angel came to Mary in the sixth month after the conception of the Forerunner; and Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months; so that is nearly nine months. The Virgin remained with Elizabeth about three months, perhaps because she was struck by the miracle and needed some consolation, which she could find in staying with Elizabeth; but when the birth drew near, she departed.

For in the sixth month of the conception of the forerunner, the Angel came to Mary, and she abode with Elisabeth three months, and so the nine months are completed.

But when Elisabeth was going to bring forth, the Virgin departed, as it follows, And she returned; or, probably because of the multitude, who were about to assemble at the birth. But it became not a virgin to be present on such an occasion.

The Lord had a body. And just as he deigned to assume a physical body for our sake, so also did he deign to be hungry and thirsty. As a result of the fact that he deigned to be hungry and thirsty, he condescended to be fed by those he himself enriched. He condescended to be received as a guest, not from need but from favor.Martha was busy satisfying the needs of those who were hungry and thirsty. With deep concern, she prepared what the Holy of Holies and his saints would eat and drink in her house. It was an important but transitory work. It will not always be necessary to eat and drink, will it? When we cling to the most pure and perfect Goodness, serving will not be a necessity.

(Ser. 103.) But the Lord, who came to his own, and his own received him not, (John 1:12.) was received as a guest, for it follows, And a certain woman named Martha received him into her house, &c. as strangers are accustomed to be received. But still a servant received her Lord, the sick her Saviour, the creature her Creator. But if any should say, "O blessed are they who have been thought worthy to receive Christ into their houses," grieve not thou, for He says, For inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matt. 25:40.) But taking the form of a servant, He wished therein to be fed by servants, by reason of His condescension, not His condition. He had a body in which He was hungry and thirsty, but when He was hungry in the desert, Angels ministered to Him. (Matt. 4:11.) In wishing therefore to be fed, He came Himself to the feeder.

Now every work and word of our Savior is a rule of piety and virtue For to this enddid He put on our body, that as much as we can we might imitate His conversation. It is foolish also to take food for the support of the body, and thereby in return to hurt the body, and to hinder it in the performance of the divine command. If then a poor man come, let him receive a model and example of moderation in food, and let us not prepare our own tables for their sakes, who wish to live luxuriously. For the life of the Christian is uniform, ever tending to one object, namely, the glory of God. But the life of those who are without is manifold and vacillating, changed about at will. And how in truth can you, when you set your table before your brother with profusion of meats, and for the pleasure of feasting sake, accuse him of luxury, and revile him as a glutton, censuring his indulgence in that which you yourself afford him? Our Lord did not commend Martha when busied about much serving.

It happened, as they were going, that he entered a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister named Mary. This reading is beautifully connected to the preceding one. For as that one designates love of God and neighbor through words and parables, this one designates it through deeds and truth. These two beloved sisters of the Lord demonstrate the two spiritual lives by which the present holy Church is exercised. Indeed, Martha represents the active life, by which we are united to our neighbor in charity; Mary represents the contemplative life, by which we long for the love of God. For the active life is to give bread to the hungry, to teach the ignorant the word of wisdom, to correct the erring, to bring back the proud to the way of humility, to take care of the sick, to dispense what is expedient to each one, and to foresee how those entrusted to us may be able to subsist. The contemplative life, however, is to retain the love of God and neighbor with the whole mind, but to rest from external action, adhering solely to the desire of the Creator, so that one no longer wishes to act but, having cast aside all cares, the soul burns with the desire to behold the face of its Creator, so that it regrets to bear the burden of the corruptible flesh and with all its desires aspires to join the hymnic choirs of angels, to be mixed with the heavenly citizens, to rejoice in the eternal incorruption in the sight of God.

The love of God and our neighbour, which was contained above in words and parables, is here set forth in very deed and reality; for it is said, Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village.

For the instruction of the disciples, a human example is subjoined, set forth in a twofold manner.

Now it came to pass, as they went, etc. After he handed down a form of living through the divine precept, here secondly he hands it down through a human example. Whence the Gloss of Bede: "Having given a discourse on the love of God and neighbor, he supplies an example of each." For here is introduced literally an example of perfection, an example of the active and contemplative life, and a comparison of the two. Whence this part has two parts: in the first of which there is set forth a rational comparison; and in the second there is added a judicial determination, at the place: And the Lord answering said to her. Concerning the rational comparison, however, four things are introduced: the first is the fellowship of the divine presence, the second is the leisure of the contemplative life, the third is the exercise of the active life, the fourth is the dispute between the two.

First, therefore, as regards the fellowship of the divine presence, it is said: Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain town, either for the sake of preaching the kingdom of God, according to what is said above in the eighth chapter: "He journeyed through cities and towns, preaching and evangelizing the kingdom of God"; or for the sake of seeking lodging, according to what is said above in the ninth chapter, that when the Samaritans were unwilling to receive him and his disciples as guests, they "departed to another town." Concerning this town it is stated more explicitly in John 11: "There was a certain man who was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the town of Mary and Martha, his sisters." In this town, I say, he found lodging.

On account of which it is added: And a certain woman, Martha by name, received him into her house, namely, as one who was poor and needy. Hence to such persons he will say that word at the judgment in Matthew 25: "I was a stranger, and you took me in," namely, to those like Martha, such as Job was, of whom it is said in the thirty-first chapter: "The stranger did not remain outside, and my door was open to the traveler." And in that lodging he was present bodily, just as he is present to those in the active and contemplative lives spiritually, according to that word of Revelation 3: "I stand at the door and knock: if anyone shall open to me, I will enter in to him and will sup with him"; because in Proverbs 8 it is said: "My delights are to be with the sons of men"; and conversely, whence Wisdom 8: "Entering into my house, I shall find rest with her: for her conversation has no bitterness, nor her company any weariness."

By His own example then He teaches His disciples how they ought to behave in the houses of those who receive them, namely, when they come to a house, they should not remain idle, but rather fill the minds of those who receive them with sacred and divine teaching. But let those who make ready the house, go to meet their guests gladly and earnestly, for two reasons. First, indeed, they will be edified by the teaching of those whom they receive; next also they will receive the reward of charity.

To cling always to God and to the things of God—this must be our major effort, this must be the road that the heart follows unswervingly. Any diversion, however impressive, must be regarded as secondary, low-grade and certainly dangerous. Martha and Mary provide a most beautiful scriptural paradigm of this outlook and of this mode of activity. In looking after the Lord and his disciples, Martha did a very holy service. Mary, however, was intent on the spiritual teaching of Jesus, and she stayed by his feet, which she kissed and anointed with the oil of her good faith.… In saying "Mary chose the good portion," he was saying nothing about Martha, and in no way was he giving the appearance of criticizing her. Still, by praising Mary he was saying that the other was a step below her. Again, by saying "it will not be taken away from her," he was showing that Martha's role could be taken away from her, since the service of the body can only last as long as the human being is there, whereas the zeal of Mary can never end.

The name of which village Luke indeed here omits, but John mentions, calling it Bethany. (John 11.)

Great is the good that comes from hospitality, as Martha showed, and it should not be neglected; but an even greater good is to attend to spiritual discourse. For by the former the body is nourished, but by the latter the soul is given life.

What was Mary enjoying while she was listening? What was she eating? What was she drinking? Do you know? Let's ask the Lord, who keeps such a splendid table for his own people, let's ask him. "Blessed," he says, "are those who are hungry and thirsty for justice, because they shall be satisfied." It was from this wellspring, from this storehouse of justice, that Mary, seated at the Lord's feet, was in her hunger receiving some crumbs. You see, the Lord was giving her then as much as she was able to take. But as for the whole amount, which he was going to give at his table of the future, not even the disciples, not even the apostles themselves, were able to take in at the time when he said to them, "I still have many things to say to you, but you are unable to hear them now." ...What was Mary enjoying? What was she eating? I'm persistent on this point, because I'm enjoying it too. I will venture to say that she was eating the one she was listening to. I mean, if she was eating truth, didn't he say himself, "I am the truth"? What more can I say? He was being eaten, because he was the Bread. "I," he said, "am the bread who came down from heaven." This is the bread which nourishes and never diminishes.

Martha then, setting about and preparing to feed our Lord, was occupied in serving; but Mary her sister chose rather to be fed by the Lord, for it follows, And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

(ubi sup.) Now as was her humility in sitting at His feet, so much the more did she receive from Him. For the waters pour down to the lowest part of the valley, but flow away from the rising of the hill.

And she also, sitting beside the feet of the Lord, listened to His word, but Martha was distracted by frequent ministering. No one doubts that these things suit both lives. And the uniform perfection of the contemplative life is indeed to have a mind stripped of all earthly things, and, as much as human weakness allows, to unite with Christ. But the frequent ministry of active life is taught by the Master of the nations, who in the numerous statements of his Epistles, recounts his labors by land and sea for Christ, his dangers. In which, also commending the visions and revelations of the Lord, he signifies that he was also completed in the speculative virtue, which is imitable by very few. Hence he says: For whether we are beside ourselves, it is to God; or whether we are sober, it is for your cause (II Cor. V).

Second, with regard to the leisure of the contemplative life, he adds: And she had a sister, named Mary, who was perfect in the leisure of contemplation; whence it is added: Who also, sitting at the feet of the Lord, heard his word. This indeed was the leisure of this woman: to attend to the Lord, to be at rest, to sit, and to be silent. Whence it is said in John eleven that "Mary sat at home," and this at his feet: because, in Deuteronomy thirty-three, "those who approach his feet shall receive of his teaching." By sitting at his feet is understood humility, which ought to be in contemplative persons so that they may abound in the fruits of devotion, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Who sends forth springs in the valleys," etc. But he who so sits as a humble person is watered by the tears of compunction, according to that passage of Jeremiah fifteen: "I sat alone, because you have filled me with bitterness"; and that is the office of the contemplative soul, namely to devote oneself to the tears of compunction and devotion. Whence this Mary, the exemplar of contemplation, is always described as it were weeping: above, namely in chapter seven, where it is said that "standing behind at the feet of the Lord, she began to wash his feet with tears," etc.; and in John eleven, where it is said that "Mary, when she had come where Jesus was, seeing him, fell at his feet. Jesus therefore, when he had seen her weeping, groaned in spirit"; and in John twenty: "Mary stood at the tomb outside, weeping." And the first are tears of compunction; the second, of compulsion; the third, of devotion, which contemplatives ought to have, sitting at the feet of the Lord.

Mary came and sat at his feet. This was as though she were sitting on firm ground at the feet of him who had forgiven the sinful woman her sins. She had put on a crown in order to enter into the kingdom of the Firstborn. She had chosen the better portion, the Benefactor, the Messiah himself. This will never be taken away from her. Martha's love was more fervent than Mary's, for before he had arrived there, she was ready to serve him. "Do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?" When he came to raise Lazarus to life, she ran and came out first.

Something of the same thing may be said about the incident of Martha and Mary; which has been interpreted in retrospect and from the inside by the mystics of the Christian contemplative life. But it was not at all an obvious view of it; and most moralists, ancient and modern, could be trusted to make a rush for the obvious. What torrents of effortless eloquence would have flowed from them to swell any slight superiority on the part of Martha; what splendid sermons about the Joy of Service and the Gospel of Work and the World Left Better Than We Found It, and generally all the ten thousand platitudes that can be uttered in favour of taking trouble--by people who need take no trouble to utter them. If in Mary the mystic and child of love Christ was guarding the seed of something more subtle, who was likely to understand it at the time? Nobody else could have seen Clare and Catherine and Teresa shining above the little roof at Bethany.

(6. Mor. c. 18.) Or by Mary who sat and heard our Lord's words, is signified the contemplative life; by Martha engaged in more outward services, the active life. Now Martha's care is not blamed, but Mary is praised, for great are the rewards of an active life, but those of a contemplative are far better. Hence Mary's part it is said will never be taken away from her, for the works of an active life pass away with the body, but the joys of the contemplative life the rather begin to increase from the end.

It is not said of Mary simply that she sat near Jesus, but at His feet, to show her diligence, stedfastness, and zeal, in hearing, and the great reverence which she had for our Lord.

"Sat at Jesus' feet and listened to His word." By the feet one can understand active virtue, for they signify movement and walking. And sitting is a sign of immobility. So whoever sits at the feet of Jesus, that is, whoever becomes firmly established in active virtue and through imitation of the walking and life of Jesus is strengthened in it, that person after this arrives at the hearing of divine utterances or at contemplation. Since Mary also first sat down, and then listened to the words.

(ubi sup.) Martha was well engaged in ministering to the bodily wants or wishes of our Lord, as of one who was mortal, but He who was clothed in mortal flesh; in the beginning was the Word. Behold then what Mary heard, The Word was made flesh. Behold then Him to whom Martha ministered. The one was labouring, the other at rest. But yet Martha, when much troubled in her occupation and business of serving, interrupted our Lord, and complained of her sister. For it follows, And said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? For Mary was absorbed in the sweetness of our Lord's words; Martha was preparing a feast for our Lord, in whose feast Mary was now rejoicing. While then she was listening with delight to those sweet words, and was feeding on them with the deepest affection, our Lord was interrupted by her sister. What must we suppose was her alarm, lest the Lord should say to her, "Rise, and help thy sister?" Our Lord therefore, who was not at a loss, for He had shewn He was the Lord, answered as follows, And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha. The repetition of the name is a mark of love, or perhaps of drawing the attention, that she should listen more earnestly. When twice called, she hears, Thou art troubled about many things, that is, thou art busied about many things. For man wishes to meet with something when he is serving, and can not; and thus between seeking what is wanting and preparing what is at hand, the mind is distracted. For if Martha had been sufficient of herself, she would not have required the aid of her sister. There are many, there are diverse things, which are carnal, temporal, but one is preferred to many. For one is not from many, but many from one. Hence it follows, But one thing is needful. Mary wished to be occupied about one, according to that, It is good for me to cling close unto the Lord. (Ps. 73:28.) The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, are one. To this one he does not bring us, unless we being many have one heart. (Acts 4:32.)

(Const. Mon. c. 1.) Now every work and word of our Saviour is a rule of piety and virtue. For to this end did He put on our body, that as much as we can we might imitate His conversation.

(in reg. fus. int. 19.) It is foolish also to take food for the support of the body, and thereby in return to hurt the body, and to hinder it in the performance of the divine command. If then a poor man come, let him receive a model and example of moderation in food, and let us not prepare our own tables for their sakes, who wish to live luxuriously. For the life of the Christian is uniform, ever tending to one object, namely, the glory of God. But the life of those who are without is manifold and vacillating, changed about at will. And how in truth canst thou, when thou settest thy table before thy brother with profusion of meats, and for the pleasure of feasting sake, accuse him of luxury, and revile him as a glutton, censuring his indulgence in that which thou thyself affordest him? Our Lord did not commend Martha when busied about much serving.

And she stood and said: Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her therefore to help me. He speaks from the perspective of those who, still ignorant of divine contemplation, consider that the work of brotherly love alone is pleasing to God, and therefore think that all who wish to be devoted to Christ should be bound to this. And it is well described that Martha stood while Mary sat beside the feet of the Lord, because the active life toils in laborious struggle, while the contemplative life, with the tumults of vices pacified, enjoys the desired repose of the mind in Christ.

Third, with regard to the exercise of the active life, it is added: But Martha was busy about much serving; and this as a good active person, avoiding idleness, according to the counsel of the Wise Man, in Ecclesiastes nine: "Whatever your hand is able to do, work diligently, because neither work nor reason nor wisdom nor knowledge shall be in the netherworld, to which you hasten." Martha always did this; whence it is said in John twelve that "Jesus came to Bethany; and they made a supper for him there, and Martha served." And note that it says she was busy, that is, she was doing enough, about much serving, to show that in her work there was at once perfection and due measure, according to the counsel of blessed Peter, in Second Peter one: "Brothers, be the more diligent, that by good works you may make your calling and election sure." For the work of ministry is that which most pleases the Lord, and in which one most imitates Christ, as is said below in chapter twenty-two: "But I am in your midst as one who serves"; and again in Matthew twenty: "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve." Whence such ministry is pleasing and honorable before God and worthy of reward, according to that passage of John twelve: "If anyone serves me, my Father will honor him," etc.

Fourth, as to the dispute between the two, he adds: Who stood and said: Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Here the industrious Martha complains about the idle Mary, as though she could not alone bear the weight of labor, according to what Moses complained to the Lord in Numbers 11: "I cannot alone sustain all this people, because it is heavy for me." So also Martha, on account of the heaviness of the burden, sought Mary's help, knowing that what is said in Galatians 6 pertains to the law of Christ: "Bear one another's burdens." Therefore she confidently sought Christ's judgment, that she might obtain her sister's help.

For which reason she adds: Tell her therefore to help me, that she might act according to the counsel of the Apostle in Galatians 5: "Through the charity of the Spirit, serve one another"; and in Ephesians 4: "Bearing with one another in charity."

In this dispute Mary is silent; and Gregory gives the reason for this: "Mary does not respond, but as one at leisure commits her cause to the Judge. For if she were preparing a word of response, she would relax her attention to listening." For it is not for contemplatives to contend, but rather to be silent and to listen and to meditate, according to that passage in Lamentations 3: "He shall sit alone and be silent"; whence Job 4: "Moreover, a hidden word was spoken to me, and as if by stealth I received the veins of its whisper." But Mary loses nothing by being silent, because the Lord takes up her cause by defending it. Whence Bernard: "Everywhere the Lord answers for Mary, whether when she is reproached by the Pharisee, above in chapter seven, or when she is accused by her sister, as here, or when by the disciples, as is said in Matthew 26."

Now Martha sometimes complains by placing her own office above others, and then it is blameworthy. Whence the Gloss: "Martha speaks in the person of those who, still ignorant of divine contemplation, say that only the work of fraternal love, which they have learned, is pleasing to God, and therefore think that all who wish to be devoted to Christ should be bound to this work." — Sometimes she complains by preferring Mary's leisure. Whence Bernard: "Do you think that in the house in which Christ is received, the voice of murmuring is heard?" And he adds: "Happy the house and blessed the congregation in which Martha complains about Mary." And the reason for this is that the contemplative life is to be chosen for its own sake without complaint, but Martha, that is, the active life, is to be sustained out of necessity. Whence Jacob chose Rachel, but as was necessary, he first received Leah, as is said in Genesis 29.

It is therefore permissible for Martha to complain in order to be like Mary, because this is of humility; but if she complains about the fact that she is not helped, this is of weakness; but if she complains about the fact that Mary at some time wishes to help, and she herself does not wish it, this is of impiety, because such a complaint impedes the law of charity.

When certain brethren have received God, they will not be anxious about much service, nor ask for those things which are not in their hands, and are beyond their needs. For every where and in every thing that which is superfluous is burdensome. For it begets weariness in those who are wishing to bestow it, while the guests feel that they are the cause of trouble.

Note also the prudence of the Lord. He said nothing to Martha before He received from her an occasion for reproof. But when she attempted to draw her sister away from listening, then the Lord, taking the occasion, reproves her. For hospitality is praiseworthy only so long as it does not distract and draw us away from what is more needful; but when it begins to hinder us in the most important matters, then it is right to prefer the hearing of divine things to it.

Our Lord does not then forbid hospitality, but the troubling about many things, that is to say, hurry and anxiety. And mark the wisdom of our Lord, in that at first He said nothing to Martha, but when she sought to tear away her sister from hearing, then the Lord took occasion to reprove her. For hospitality is ever honoured as long as it keeps us to necessary things. But when it begins to hinder us from attending to what is of more importance, then it is plain that the hearing of the divine word is the more honourable.

Mary was more blessed in accepting the faith of Christ than in conceiving the flesh of Christ. To someone who said, "Blessed is the womb that bore you," he replied, "Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it."Finally, for his brothers, his relatives according to the flesh who did not believe in him, of what advantage was that relationship? Even her maternal relationship would have done Mary no good unless she had borne Christ more happily in her heart than in her flesh.

It happened that, as he was saying these things, a certain woman from the crowd lifted up her voice and said to him: "Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you." This woman is shown to be of great devotion and faith, who, while the scribes and Pharisees were testing and blaspheming the Lord, recognized his incarnation with such sincerity above all, confessed with such confidence, as to confound the calumny of the present nobles and the perfidy of future heretics. For just as the Jews then, by blaspheming the works of the Holy Spirit, denied the true and consubstantial Son of God to the Father, so later heretics, by denying that Mary, ever a virgin, ministered the material of flesh to the only-begotten God born from human members by the operation of the Holy Spirit's power, said that the Son of Man should not be confessed as truly consubstantial to his mother. But if the flesh of the Word of God, born according to the flesh, is proclaimed foreign to the flesh of the virgin mother, the womb that bore him and the breasts that nursed him are blessed in vain. For by what logic is he believed to have been nourished by her milk, whose seed is denied to be conceived? Since both liquids are proven, according to the natural philosophers, to emanate from the origin of one and the same source. Unless perhaps it is thought that the virgin could supply the material of her flesh to nourish the Son of God in the flesh through a lesser and familiar miracle, but could not do so for the incarnation through a greater and unusual miracle. But the Apostle counters this opinion, saying: "God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law" (Gal. IV). Nor should we listen to those who believe it should be read as "born of a woman, made under the law," but rather, "made of a woman." For conceived from the virgin's womb, he drew flesh not from nothing, not from elsewhere, but from maternal flesh. Otherwise, he could not truly be called the Son of Man, who would not have originated from a human. And so, in these words spoken against Eutyches, let us lift up our voice with the Catholic Church, of which this woman was a type, lifting up our minds from the midst of the crowds, and let us say to the Savior: "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that nursed you" (Luke XI). For truly blessed is the mother, who, as someone said, gave birth to the childbearing King. Who holds heaven and earth through the ages, whose divinity and eternal embrace encompasses all things, his empire remaining without end; who, with a blessed womb, having the joys of a mother with the honor of virginity, has neither been seen to have a first like her nor having a second to follow her.

While the Scribes and Pharisees were tempting our Lord, and uttering blasphemies against Him, a certain woman with great boldness confessed His incarnation, as it follows, And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, &c. by which she refutes both the calumnies of the rulers present, and the unbelief of future heretics. For as then by blaspheming the works of the Holy Spirit, the Jews denied the true Son of God, so in after times the heretics, by denying that the Evervirgin Mary, by the cooperating power of the Holy Spirit, ministered of the substance of her flesh to the birth of the only-begotten Son, have said, that we ought not to confess Him who was the Son of man to be truly of the same substance with the Father. But if the flesh of the Word of God, who was born according to the flesh, is declared alien to the flesh of His Virgin Mother, what cause is there why the womb which bare Him and the paps which gave Him suck are pronounced blessed? By what reasoning do they suppose Him to be nourished by her milk, from whose seed they deny Him to be conceived? Whereas according to the physicians, from one and the same fountain both streams are proved to flow. But the woman pronounces blessed not only her who was thought worthy to give birth from her body to the Word of God, but those also who have desired by the hearing of faith spiritually to conceive the same Word, and by diligence in good works, either in their own or the hearts of their neighbours, to bring it forth and nourish it; for it follows, But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

But she was the mother of God, and therefore indeed blessed, in that she was made the temporal minister of the Word becoming incarnate; yet therefore much more blessed that she remained the eternal keeper of the same ever to be beloved Word. But this expression startles the wise men of the Jews, who sought not to hear and keep the word of God, but to deny and blaspheme it.

In Luke: "A certain woman from the crowd, raising her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that nursed you." And Jesus said: "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it."

Not only is she blessed who conceived and nursed him, but also those who follow her. And who are they? Those who hear the word of God and fulfill it. Eve, having transgressed the commandment of God, destroyed the house which God had prepared for us unto salvation; but the wise woman built the house and restored our salvation.

And it came to pass, etc. After the expression of Jewish fraud and the reprobation of the expressed fraud, the Evangelist here adds the commendation of open truth. And this indeed was fitting, so that, with the truth made manifest, Truth itself manifesting itself might be praised openly before the whole multitude. In the description of this commendation, three things are introduced: the first is the condition of the praising person, the second is the expression of divine praise, the third is the approbation of the expressed praise.

First, therefore, as regards the condition of the praising person, he says: And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, namely for the confutation of falsehood: a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him, for the commendation of truth and the confutation of the Pharisees: in which a twofold condition is noted in the praising person, namely courage and lowliness. Courage is noted in this, that she lifted up her voice, according to that passage of Isaiah 40: "Lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, fear not"; lowliness in this, that a certain woman, not named nor noble, but from the crowd, so that that word of the Psalm might be fulfilled: "The poor and needy shall praise your name." From which it is apparent that the praiser of the divine name ought not to be timid, so as not to dare to praise, nor puffed up, so as to blush at praising, but courageous and humble. Whence, while some were silent from fear, and some blasphemed from pride and swelling: this humble and courageous woman neither was silent with the timid nor reviled with the blasphemers: whence in the Gloss: "With great confidence among blasphemers she confesses the Son of God." Therefore that word of Matthew 15 could be said to her: "O woman, great is your faith," which namely has so greatly strengthened you, since it is said in the last chapter of Proverbs: "Who shall find a strong woman?" In you is verified that word of Ecclesiasticus 26: "Eternal foundations upon solid rock, and the commandments of God in the heart of a holy woman."

Second, as regards the expression of divine praise, it is added: Blessed is the womb that bore you; in which she praises Christ the Son of God, extolling the proclamation of his praise from the blessedness of the Mother: as if to say, blessed is the woman who bore so good a son. And rightly so, because it was fitting for the female sex to praise thus, and not only women, but indeed also men. For above in chapter one the Virgin said: "From henceforth all generations shall call me blessed."

And note that she declares blessed the womb of the Virgin, and this because she carried the Son of God for nine months and six days, which are reckoned as one month: Wisdom 7: "In the womb of my mother I was made flesh in a time of ten months." Whence in praise of the Virgin it is said in Song of Songs 7: "Your womb is like a heap of wheat", because Christ was a grain of wheat, according to what is said in John 12: and with this wheat her womb was filled, and therefore blessed on account of three privileges: because, as Bernard says, "she was made fruitful without corruption, pregnant without heaviness, and a mother without pain"; Isaiah, the last chapter: "Who has ever heard such a thing? And who has seen the like of this"? — Or on account of three miracles. The first is the conjunction of infinitely distant things. For there God was made man: the Creator, a creature: the immense, small: the Word, an infant: the Eternal, temporal, according to that saying in John 1: "And the Word was made flesh"; and Jeremiah 31: "The Lord will create a new thing upon the earth: a woman shall encompass a man". The second miracle is that he who made the womb was made in the womb: whence in the Psalm: "Glorious things are said of you, O city of God"; and afterwards: "A man is born in her, and the Most High himself founded her". Concerning this can be expounded that passage from Sirach 43: "A wondrous vessel, the work of the Most High". The third miracle, that he who contains all things is contained in this womb; he is held there, "whom the whole world cannot hold". Whence the Church sings: "Because him whom the heavens could not contain, you bore in your lap"; whence Isaiah 45: "Truly you are a hidden God".

Nor does she declare the Virgin blessed only on account of the carrying, but the breasts on account of the nursing, when she adds: And the breasts which you sucked, blessed, namely: from which it is given to understand that the most blessed one was nursed from the breasts of the Virgin alone. This was prefigured in Moses, who, as it is said, refused to be nursed by an Egyptian woman: and therefore a Hebrew woman was sought, namely his own mother, as is said in Exodus 2. Now this prefigures the Virgin Mary, at whose breasts Christ nursed, according to that passage in Song of Songs 8: "Who will give you to me as my brother, nursing at the breasts of my mother" etc. Now she joined these two together so that it might be shown that the Virgin Mary was the true and perfect mother of Christ, because she not only bore him but also nourished him: and just as she truly nourished him, so she truly bore him: and in this is refuted, as is said in the Gloss, the impiety of the Manicheans and others who say that he brought with him an ethereal body. Whence Bede: "From the same source flows both milk for nourishing and seed for begetting children. Therefore from the seed of the Virgin, according to the physicians, he who could be nourished by her milk could also be conceived".

"Blessed is the womb that bore you." He took blessedness from the one who bore him and gave it to those who were worshiping him. It was with Mary for a certain time, but it would be with those who worshiped him for eternity. "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it."

Knowing therefore these things, let us neither pride ourselves on children that are of good report, unless we have their virtue; nor upon noble fathers, unless we be like them in disposition. For it is possible, both that he who begat a man should not be his father, and that he who did not beget him should be. Therefore in another place also, when some woman had said, "Blessed is the womb that bare Thee, and the paps which Thou hast sucked;" He said not, "The womb bare me not, neither did I suck the paps," but this, "Yea rather, blessed are they that do the will of my Father." Seest thou how on every occasion He denies not the affinity by nature, but adds that by virtue?

Now, as Marcion was apprehensive that a belief of the fleshly body would also involve a belief of birth, undoubtedly He who seemed to be man was believed to be verily and indeed born. For a certain woman had exclaimed, "Blessed is the womb that bare Thee, and the paps which Thou hast sucked!" And how else could they have said that His mother and His brethren were standing without? But we shall see more of this in the proper place. Surely, when He also proclaimed Himself as the Son of man, He, without doubt, confessed that He had been born.

Besides, how could His kingdom be still standing, with its boundaries, and laws, and functions, whom, even if the whole world were left entire to Him, Marcion's god could possibly seem to have overcome as "the stronger than He," if it were not in consequence of His law that even Marcionites were constantly dying, by returning in their dissolution to the ground, and were so often admonished by even a scorpion, that the Creator had by no means been overcome? "A (certain) mother of the company exclaims, `Blessed is the womb that bare Thee, and the paps which Thou hast sucked; 'but the Lord said, `Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.'" Now He had in precisely similar terms rejected His mother or His brethren, whilst preferring those who heard and obeyed God.

But there is also another view of the case: in the abjured mother there is a figure of the synagogue, as well as of the Jews in the unbelieving brethren. In their person Israel remained outside, whilst the new disciples who kept close to Christ within, hearing and believing, represented the Church, which He called mother in a preferable sense and a worthier brotherhood, with the repudiation of the carnal relationship. It was in just the same sense, indeed, that He also replied to that exclamation (of a certain woman), not denying His mother's "womb and paps," but designating those as more "blessed who hear the word of God."

While the Pharisees and scribes disparage the miracles of the Lord, a woman, a guileless and simple person, glorifies Him. Where are those who say that the Lord appeared in mere semblance? For behold the testimony that He was even nursed at the breast!

And they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. Gerasa is a notable city of Arabia beyond the Jordan, adjacent to the mountain Gilead, which was held by the tribe of Manasseh, not far from the lake of Tiberias, into which the swine were cast down. However, it signifies the nation of the Gentiles, which, after the sleep of the Passion and the glory of His Resurrection, the Savior deemed worthy to visit by sending preachers. Hence, it is fitting that Gerasa or Gergesa (as some read) is interpreted as 'casting out the colonist' or 'the stranger approaching.' Specifically indicating that the people of the Gentiles both cast out from their hearts the enemy who wickedly occupied it, and those who were far off were made near by the blood of Christ.

For Geraza is a famous city of Arabia, on the other side of the Jordan, close to the mountain of Galaad, which was possessed by the tribe of Manasseh, and not far from the lake of Tiberias, into which the swine were cast headlong.

Now mystically; Gerasa signifies the Gentile nations, whom after His passion and resurrection Christ visited in His preachers. Hence Gerasa or Gergesa, as some say, is by interpretation "casting out an inhabitant," that is, the devil by whom it was before possessed, or, "a stranger approaching," who before was afar off.

And they sailed to the region, etc. After the Evangelist first showed that Christ has dominion over corporeal creation, here secondly he shows that he has dominion over spiritual creation in the admirable expulsion of the demonic legion. Hence the Evangelist intends in this part to explain the marvelous liberation of the demoniac accomplished through the power of Christ. For the explanation of this miracle, four things are introduced. The first is the violence of the besieging demon; the second is the omnipotence of the Lord who liberates, which is treated there: And they begged him not to command them, etc.; the third is the reverence of the people coming to meet him, there: When those who were feeding them saw what had happened, etc.; the fourth is the benevolence of the cured man obeying, there: And the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him, etc.

The violence of the besieging devil is shown from four things, namely from the roaring of fury, from the clamor of outcry, from the assault of strength, and from the accompaniment of multitude.

First, therefore, regarding the roaring of fury in the demoniac running to meet the Lord as he arrived, it is said: And they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes. "Gerasa, as Bede says, is a city of Arabia"; in which it is shown that after the miracles performed among the Jews, divine dispensation requires that they be performed among the Gentiles; according to what is said in Acts thirteen: "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles," as if in contempt of the rebellious. Hence he adds: Which is opposite Galilee, which refers to the city understood through that people, which is called Gerasa. He sailed there to show the power of his might through miracles and to draw them to himself. For Gerasa is interpreted, as the Gloss says, as "sojourner"; and therefore it designates the Gentiles, according to Ephesians two: "Remember that at one time you were Gentiles, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, having no hope of the promise and without God in this world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near." Hence in this it is clear that "the same Lord of all is rich toward all who call upon him," Romans ten. "For everyone, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved."

It is shown, therefore, that from the aforesaid, according to the literal sense, seven notable points can be gathered: first, that the power of Christ's word alone exceeds the strength of infinite thousands of demons; second, that the fury of demons with respect to the human race is very great; third, that their fear with respect to the man Christ is very great; fourth, that demons are incorporeal, since so many were in one man; fifth, that they can do nothing even over brute animals unless permitted; sixth, that men in possessing these temporal things are nothing but stewards of Christ; seventh, that God showed that the salvation of one man is to be preferred to infinite brute animals.

The Saviour, as He sailed with His disciples, came to a port, as it is said, And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.

Many accurate copies have neither "Gerazenes" nor "Gadarenes," but "Gergezenes." For Gadara is a city in Judæa, but neither lake nor sea is found at it; and Geraza is a city of Arabia, having neither lake nor sea near. But Gergeza, from which the Gergezenes are called, is an ancient city near the lake of Tiberias, above which is a rock hanging over the lake, into which they say the swine were dashed down by the devils. But since Gadara and Geraza border upon the land of the Gergezenes, it is probable that the swine were led from thence to their parts.

We know that in the Gospel according to Matthew, two men attacked by demons met Christ in the country of the Gerasenes. Here St. Luke introduces one such man as naked. Whoever has lost the covering of his nature and virtue is naked. I think that we should not idly disregard but seek the reason why the Evangelists seem to disagree about the number. Although the number disagrees, the mystery agrees. A man who has an evil spirit is a figure of the Gentile people, covered in vices, naked to error, vulnerable to sin.

Now although the number of those healed by Christ is different in Luke and Matthew, yet the mystery is one and the same. For as he who had a devil is the figure of the Gentile people, the two also in like manner take the figure of the Gentiles. For whereas Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet; the family of Shem only was called to the possession of God, and from the other two the people of different nations were descended. He (as Luke says) had devils long time, inasmuch as the Gentile people was vexed from the deluge down to our Lord's coming. But he was naked, because the Gentiles lost the garment of their nature and virtue.

Or what are the bodies of the unbelieving but kinds of tombs in which the word of God abides not?

(Cons. Ev. ut sup.) Whereas Matthew says, that there were two possessed, but Mark and Luke mention only one; you must understand one of them to be a more distinguished and famous person, for whom that neighbourhood was chiefly distressed, and in whose restoration they were greatly interested. Wishing to signify this, the two Evangelists thought right to mention him alone, concerning whom the report of this miracle had been most extensively noised abroad.

(de Quaest. Ev. l. ii. q. 13.) He abode in no house, that is, he had no rest in his conscience; he dwelt among the tombs, because he delighted in dead works in his sins.

And when He had come out onto the land, a certain man who had a demon for a long time met Him. This man represents the people of the Gentiles, who for many times, that is, from nearly the very beginning of the world's birth, were vexed by a furious madness.

And he was not clothed with a garment. Because he lost the covering of his nature and virtue. For, indeed, our first parents, after sinning, are read to have been stripped of the garment of faith and charity. The prodigal son was clothed with this first robe after he returned repentant to the father.

Nor did he stay in a house, but in tombs. Because he did not rest in his conscience but delighted in dead works, that is, in sins. For what indeed are the bodies of the faithless if not certain sepulchers of the dead, in which not the word of God dwells, but the soul, dead in sins, is enclosed?

Therefore it is added: And when he had gone out onto the land, there met him a certain man, so that just as he had worked wonders on the sea, so also on the land. And through this it is apparent that he is the one of whom it is said in the Psalm: "Whatever the Lord willed, he did in heaven and on earth, in the sea and in all the depths." And he shows this in this man, who is rightly called a certain man of singular suffering, who was a notable person and was notably and miserably possessed. And therefore, although two came to meet him, according to what is said in Matthew 8, Luke nevertheless records only the encounter with one, whose notable torment he specifies by the length of time.

On account of which he says: Who had had a devil now for a long time, so that it had already claimed him for itself as a possession, such that there could be said of him that word of Isaiah 34: "It shall be the lair of dragons and the pasture of ostriches, and demons shall meet, the onocentaur"; this concerns those fully possessed by the devil.

It is aggravated also by the unseemliness of appearance: whence it is also added: And he wore no garment; which was very unseemly, according to what the Lord threatens in Ezekiel 16: "They shall strip you of your garments and take away the ornaments of your beauty." And in this the fury of the demon is apparent, who not only tormented the members of the body but also tore apart the garments, as is said of that one in Acts 19: "When the most wicked demon had prevailed against the two sons of Sceva the Jew, they fled naked and wounded from the house."

It is aggravated also by the horror of the place: therefore he adds: Neither did he abide in a house, but in the tombs, where is a very horrible place. And the princes of darkness seek such places; Job 30: "They dwell in the deserts of the mountains and in the caverns of the earth"; and yet from these the Lord delivers, according to that word of the Psalm: "Who brings forth the bound in might, likewise those who provoke, who dwell in the tombs."

In great misery and nakedness, he wandered among the graves of the dead. He was in utter wretchedness, leading a disgraceful life. He was a proof of the cruelty of the demons and a plain demonstration of their impurity.… Whoever they possess and subject to their power, at once they make him an example of great misery, deprived of every blessing, destitute of all sobriety, and entirely deprived even of reason.Some say, "Why do they possess people?" I answer those who wish to have this explained that the reason of these things is very deep. Somewhere one of his saints addressed God by saying, "Your judgments are a vast abyss." As long as we bear this in mind, we will perhaps not miss the mark. The God of all purposely permits some to fall into their power. He does not do this so that they may suffer but that we may learn by their example how the demons treat us and may avoid the desire of being subject to them. The suffering of one edifies many.

Now his going naked among the tombs of the dead was a mark of demoniacal wildness. But God permits some in His providence to become subject to evil spirits, that we may ascertain through them of what kind the evil spirits are towards us, in order that we may refuse to be made subject unto them, and so by the suffering of one many may be edified.

(Hom. 28. in Matt.) But as soon as our Lord had departed from the sea, He meets with another more awful wonder. For the demoniac, like an evil slave, when he sees Him confirms his bondage, as it follows, And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, &c.

(Hom. 28. in Matt.) Or, Luke selected from the two the one who was most savage. Hence he gives the most melancholy account of his calamity, adding, And he wore no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. But the evil spirits visit the tombs of the dead, to instil into men that dangerous notion, that the souls of the dead become evil spirits.

But the devils could not endure the clearness of the light of heaven, as those who have weak eyes can not bear the sun's rays.

In his sepulchral prison the savage demon had broken. Fetters of iron that bound him; he darts forth and kneels before Jesus. But the Lord sets the man free and orders the devil to madden. Herds of the swine and to plunge with them into the depths of the vast sea.

When he saw Jesus, he fell down before Him and cried out with a loud voice, saying, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" How great is the madness of Arius to believe that Jesus is a creature and not God, when even the demons believe and tremble at Him as the Son of the Most High God! What impiety of the Jews to say that He cast out demons by the prince of demons, when the demons themselves confess that He has nothing in common with them? Moreover, that which they then clamored in fury through the demoniac, they do not cease to say and confess afterwards in the shrines of idols, namely, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Most High God, and that they have nothing of peace or association with Him.

"I beg you, do not torment me." For He commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For many times it had seized him. The enemy of human salvation considers it no small torment to cease harming the man; the longer he has possessed him, the more difficult it is to agree to let him go. Hence, we must strive with the utmost effort that if ever we are overcome by the devil, we immediately strive to avoid his snares, lest if we resist his rule too late, he might be expelled more laboriously at some point.

Secondly, with regard to the tumult of the outcry, as the demon cries aloud and the Lord commands, it is added: When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him. And thus is verified that word of the Psalm: "Before him the Ethiopians shall fall down"; and that word of Isaiah 60: "They who detracted you shall come to you and shall adore the footsteps of your feet," "that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth," Philippians 2. This, however, he did not do out of the humility of devotion, but with murmuring and clamor of outcry.

And therefore he adds: And crying out with a loud voice, he said: What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? This he did not display out of reverence, but rather he abhorred his presence with a cry, through which he showed groaning and pain in his heart, according to that passage of the penultimate chapter of Isaiah: "You shall cry out for pain of heart, and for crushing of spirit you shall howl." Moreover, he cries out and grieves at his presence because there was no agreement with Christ; Second Corinthians 6: "What accord has Christ with Belial? What fellowship has light with darkness, justice with iniquity?" And Ecclesiasticus 13: "What will the wolf share with the lamb? Or what communion has a holy man with a dog?"

And note that in this confession he refutes a twofold error: one of the Jews, who said that Christ had a demon, John 8, and that he cast out demons by Beelzebub, Matthew 12. Whence Bede says: "The Jews say that he casts out demons by the prince of demons — he whom the demons deny to have anything in common with themselves."

He refutes another error of the Arians, who say that Christ is a mere creature, whereas the demon calls him the Son of the Most High God, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 24: "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, the firstborn before every creature." But the demon confesses this not by venerating his dominion, but by dreading his command, according to that passage of James 2: "The demons believe and tremble."

And therefore it is added: I beseech you, do not torment me, namely by that power of which Wisdom 11 says: "Absent and present alike were tormented." Therefore he wanted to confess Christ so that at least by confessing he might find an opportunity of escaping, because, Wisdom 16, "the wicked who denied knowing you were scourged by the strength of your arm."

The Gerasene, or rather the herd of demons lying concealed within him, fell down before Christ's feet, saying, "What is there between me and you, Jesus, Son of God Most High? I beseech you, do not torment me." I ask you to observe here the mixture of fear with great audacity and conceited pride. The words which he is forced to shout are coupled with inflated haughtiness! It is a proof of the pride of the enemy that he ventures to say, "What is there between me and you, Jesus, Son of God Most High?" You certainly know that he is the Son of God Most High.…I beseech you to again observe the incomparable majesty of Christ who transcends all. With irresistible might and unequalled authority he crushes Satan by simply willing that it should be.

Mark here the combination of fear with boldness and great desperation, for it is a sign of devilish despair to speak out boldly, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? but of fear when they pray, I beseech thee not to cast me out. But if thou knowest Him to be the Son of God most high, thou confessest Him to be the God of heaven and earth, and of all things that are contained in them. How then dost thou make use not of thy own but His words, saying, What have I to do with thee? But what earthly prince will altogether endure to have his subjects tormented by barbarians? Hence it follows, For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of him. And He shows the necessity of the command, adding, For oftentimes it had caught him, &c.

And hence it is plain that the rebel hosts against the Divine Majesty were thrust down to hell by the unspeakable power of the Saviour.

Did not the devils know the real nature of this name? It is fitting that the heretics should be found guilty, not by the teachings of the apostles but by the mouth of demons. The latter often exclaim, "What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" The truth drew out this reluctant confession, and being forced to obey, their grief testifies to the strength of this nature. This power overcomes them, since they abandon bodies that they have possessed for a long time. They pay their tribute of honor when they acknowledge the nature of Christ. In the meantime, Christ testifies that he is the Son by his miracles as well as by his name. O heretic, where do you find the name of a creature or the favor of an adoption among those words by which the demons admit who he is?

In his sepulchral prison the savage demon had broken Fetters of iron that bound him; he darts forth and kneels before Jesus. But the Lord sets the man free and orders the devil to madden Herds of the swine and to plunge with them into the depths of the vast sea.

For with the last enemy death did He fight, and through the trophy of the cross He triumphed. Now of what God did the Legion testify that Jesus was the Son? No doubt, of that God whose torments and abyss they knew and dreaded.

(ubi sup.) Now that he was bound by brazen fetters and chains, signifies the harsh and severe laws of the Gentiles, by which also in their states offences are restrained. But, that having burst these chains he was driven by the evil spirit into the wilderness, means that having broken through these laws, he was also led by lust to those crimes which exceeded the ordinary life of men. By the expression that there was in him a legion of devils, the nations are signified who served many devils. But the fact that the devils were permitted to go into the swine, which fed on the mountains, signifies also the unclean and proud men over whom the evil spirits have dominion, because of their worship of idols. For the swine are they who, after the manner of unclean animals without speech and reason, have defiled the grace of their natural virtues by the filthy actions of their life.

And he was bound with chains and shackles. Chains and shackles signify the severe and harsh laws of the Gentiles, by which in their republic sins are also restrained.

And having broken the bonds, he was driven by the demon into the desert. For having even transgressed those laws, he was led by desire to such crimes as already exceeded common custom.

But this supplication availed him little, for it was not voluntary but coerced; therefore it is added: For he was commanding the unclean spirit to go out from the man, a command which it could not resist, according to that passage of Wisdom 19: "Every creature served your commands, that your children might be kept unharmed." Moreover, it feared this command because it is a comfort to the unclean spirit to possess a man and to inflict torment upon him, according to that passage below in chapter 11: "When the unclean spirit has gone out from a man, it walks through waterless places, seeking rest"; and Bede in the Gloss says: "It is a torment for the devil to cease from harming a man, and the longer he possesses, the more reluctantly he lets go. Let him who is harmed by the devil therefore take heed to break the yoke quickly." — But in this petition the demon did not merit to be heard, because it was not from a disposition of devotion, but from impatience and the clamor of outcry; the Psalm: "They cried out, and there was none to save them."

Third, as regards the assault of strength in the demon resisting human binding, it is added: For many times he would seize him, namely by an assault of strength which the possessed man could not resist: according to what is said of Saul in 1 Kings 18, that "the evil spirit of the Lord seized Saul." But with this man it was otherwise than with Saul, because the latter was soothed by the harp, but this man could not be restrained by a chain.

Whence it is added: And he was bound with chains, as regards the hands, guarded with fetters, as regards the feet, which was a very strong restraint, according to that of the Psalm: "To bind their kings in fetters and their nobles in iron manacles."

And although it was so strong, he could not withstand the assault of diabolical strength: on account of which it adds: And breaking the bonds, he was driven by the demon into the desert. In this is shown the pride and audacity of the devil, who could be held back by no restraints, according to that of Jeremiah 2: "From of old you have broken my yoke, you have burst my bonds." Thus indeed do the proud imitators of the devil, against whom Jeremiah, in chapter 5, speaking of the princes: "They have broken the yoke, they have burst the bonds," namely of the divine precepts; although it is said in Ecclesiasticus 6: "Put your foot into his fetters, and be not weary of his bonds." But it is more tolerable for a sinner possessed by the devil to be driven about in the desert than to be bound by these fetters: Job 30: "They dwelt in the deserts of torrents and in the caves of the earth, who rejoiced in such things and counted it delightful to be under thorns."

For these thankless men saw, and by means of His miracles handled the wonder-working God, and yet remained in unbelief. They saw a man, blind from his birth, proclaiming to them the God who had restored his sight. They saw a paralytic, who had grown up, as it were, and become one with his infirmity, at His bidding loosed from his disease. They saw Lazarus, who was made an exile from the region of death. They heard that He had walked on the sea. They heard of the wine that, without previous culture, was ministered; of the bread that was eaten at that spontaneous banquet; they heard that the demons had been put to flight; the sick restored to health. Their very streets proclaimed His deeds of wonder; their roads declared His healing power to those who journeyed on them. All Judea was filled with His benefit; yet now, when they hear the divine praises, they inquire, Who is this?

And they begged him not to order them to go into the abyss. The demons knew that eventually, through the advent of the Lord, they would be sent into the abyss, not by foretelling the future themselves, but by recalling the words of the prophets spoken about them, and thus they thought that the Lord's advent, whose glory they marveled at, would tend to their own destruction.

And they besought him etc. After the violence of the besieging demon, the Evangelist here subjoins the omnipotence of the Lord who liberates. Now in this part Christ is shown to be powerful in every way, namely powerful in commanding, powerful in permitting, powerful in saving, and powerful in destroying.

First, then, he is shown to be powerful in commanding harsh things, in that it says: And they besought him, namely the demons, that he would not command them to go into the abyss: because they could not transgress his command, according to that verse of the Psalm: "He has established a decree, and it shall not pass away." Therefore they besought him, because they knew that he was that Angel of whom Revelation 20 says: "I saw an Angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss," that is, the power of sending into the abyss by his just judgment, as he did to the Egyptians: Exodus 15: "The depths covered them, they descended into the deep like a stone"; and Revelation 20: "Judgment was rendered upon each one according to their works. And hell and death were cast into the lake of fire." The demons feared that this judgment would be hastened upon them by the command of Christ, not as ones foreknowing the future, but on account of the sayings of the Prophets. Whence Ambrose says: "The demons knew that by the coming of Christ they would at some time be plunged into the abyss, not because they themselves were foretelling the future, but because they were recalling what the Prophets had said concerning them."

(Ep. ad Georgium.) Now the Lord ordains for each class of sinners an appropriate punishment. The fire of Hell unquenchable for fleshly burnings, gnashing of teeth for wanton mirth, intolerable thirst for pleasure and revelry, the worm that dieth not for a crooked and malignant heart, everlasting darkness for ignorance and deceit, the bottomless pit for pride. Hence the deep is assigned to the devils as unto the proud, it follows, And there was there an herd of swine, &c.

People are the authors of their own tribulation. If someone did not live like a swine, the devil would never have received power over him. If he did receive power, it would be power not to destroy but to test him. After the Lord's coming, the devil could already not corrupt the good, so perhaps he now does not seek the destruction of all people but only of the fickle. A mugger does not lie in wait for armed men but for the defenseless. He who understands that the strong will despise him or the powerful destroy him troubles only the weak with wrongs. Someone says, "Why does God permit this to the devil?" I say, "So that good people may be tested and the wicked punished, for this is the punishment of sin." This is also according to the law, because the Lord sends fever, trembling, evil spirits, blindness, and all scourges according to the punishment of sinners.

They are carried violently down, for they are reclaimed not by the contemplation of any good deed, but thrust as from a higher place to a lower, along the downward path of iniquity, they perish amidst the waves of this world, shut out from the approach of air. For they who are carried to and fro by the rapid tide of pleasure cannot receive the communication of the Spirit; we see then that man himself is the author of his own misery. For unless a man lived like the swine, the devil would never have received power over him, or received it, not to destroy but to prove him. And perhaps the devil, who after the coming of our Lord can no longer steal away the good, seeks not the destruction of all men, but only the wanton, as the robber lies in wait not for armed men, but the unarmed.

(de vita Anton.) But if they have no power over swine, the evil spirits have much less against men who are made after the image of God. We ought then to fear God alone, but despise them.

(de Con. Ev. l. ii. 24.) The words of Mark, that there was a herd of swine nigh unto the mountains, and of Luke, on the mountains, do not differ from one another. For the herd of swine was so large, that they might be part on the mountain, part near it. For there were two thousand swine, as Mark has stated. (Mark 5:13.)

Now there was there a herd of many pigs, feeding on the mountain, and they begged him to permit them to enter them: and he allowed them. He permitted this because he granted the demons' request, so that the destruction of the pigs would provide an occasion for salvation to humans. For the shepherds, seeing these things, immediately reported them to the city. Let the Manichaean be ashamed. If the souls of men and beasts were of the same substance and from the same author, how could two thousand pigs be drowned for the salvation of a single man? Nonetheless, in their destruction, unclean men are figuratively represented, who lack voice and reason, who feed on the mountain of pride, and delight in filthy acts. Indeed, demons can dominate such individuals through the worship of idols. For unless someone lives like a pig, the devil will never gain power over him, or even if he receives it, it will only be for testing, not for destruction.

Second, he is said to be powerful in permitting losses, in that it is added: And there was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain, into which, although they are brute animals, the demons had no power except by divine permission. For of Christ it was said in the Psalm: "You have subjected all things under his feet"; and afterward: "moreover also the cattle of the field." Whence into this herd they could do nothing except by the permission of God, according to that passage of Matthew 10: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And not one of them shall fall to the ground without your Father," that is, without the power of the Father.

And therefore it is added: And they besought him that he would permit them to enter into them; in which the demons display Christ's power and their own powerlessness, because they can do nothing against beasts unless permitted, much less therefore against a human being. Whence in Job 1 satan said: "Lord, stretch forth your hand and touch all that he possesses." On account of which also in the tribulation that the devil is to inflict upon the Church, the divine permission precedes, according to that passage of Revelation 9: "The four angels were loosed, who were prepared for the hour and the day"; and in chapter 20 it is said that "satan shall be loosed."

And because the Lord by his just judgment permits them many things, it is added: And he permitted them; in which permission he shows himself to be lord not only restraining the demons but possessing the swine, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Mine are all the beasts of the forests, the cattle on the mountains and the oxen." But the owners were merely stewards of the Lord Jesus, and therefore in no way did he do them an injury.

The Lord also showed that He loves the salvation of one man more than thousands of brute animals: First Corinthians 9: "Does God have care for oxen?" Wisdom 11: "But You spare all things, O Lord, because they are Yours, You who love souls." — Again, in this the Lord showed that carnal men, who are designated by the swine, are by the just judgment of God exposed to demons; Romans 8: "If you live according to the flesh, you shall die." Whence in First Corinthians 5 the Apostle says of that carnal man that "he judged to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh." He also did this so that not only His power of saving but also of killing might be made known to the men of that land, according to that passage of Deuteronomy 32: "I will kill and I will make alive, I will strike and I will heal: and there is none who can deliver from My hand."

The multitude of unclean spirits seek therefore to be sent into the herd of unclean swine, like to themselves, for it follows, And they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them.

The Gadarenes established a ruling for themselves that they would not come out or view the signs of our Lord. Consequently he drowned their swine so that they would have to come out against their will. "Legion," which had been chastened, is a symbol of the world. He commanded the demons to enter the swine and not the man. He, concerning whom they had said, "It is by Beelzebub that he casts out," engaged in battle against Satan on the mountain and against Legion, the chief of his force. When they entered the swine, he drowned them at that very moment. The force of the merciful One who was keeping watch over this man was known by this. They were begging him not to send them out of that region and not to send them to Gehenna.

This ("substance"), accordingly, he "squandered; "having been cast by his moral habits far from the Lord, amid the errors and allurements and appetites of the world, where, compelled by hunger after truth, he handed himself over to the prince of this age. He set him over "swine," to feed that flock familiar to demons, where he would not be master of a supply of vital food, and at the same time would see others (engaged) in a divine work, having abundance of heavenly bread.

Which indeed the devils demand, wishing yet longer to mix with mankind.

(ubi sup.) But by their being sent down violently into the lake, it is meant that the Church has been purified, and now that the Gentiles are delivered from the dominion of evil spirits, those who refuse to believe in Christ, carry on their unholy rites in hidden places with dark and secret watchings.

Therefore, the demons went out from the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. This signifies that with the Church now glorified, and the people of the Gentiles liberated from the dominion of demons, they who refuse to believe in Christ conduct their sacrilegious rites in hidden places, submerged in blind and profound curiosity. And it should be noted that the unclean spirits would not have gone even into the pigs unless the kind Savior himself had granted their petition, who certainly could have sent them into the abyss. He wanted to teach us a necessary lesson, namely that we should know that they can harm humans even less by their own power, who could not even harm any animals. However, this power, the just and good God can give to us with hidden justice, but not unjustly.

Third, He is shown to be powerful in saving the infirm in that which is added: The demons therefore went out from the man and entered into the swine: by which departure the man was freed. They went out by the command of divine power, according to that passage of Zechariah 13: "I will cast the unclean spirit out of the land." This was said by Him who says of Himself below in chapter 13: "Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I am consummated." For they went out by the power of Christ, in whose name they were cast out by His disciples, according to what is said in Acts 16, that "Paul said to the pythonic spirit: I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to go out from her; and it went out the same hour." But departing from the man, they enter into the swine, because the unclean spirit seeks unclean dwelling places: Job 37: "The beast shall enter its lair and shall dwell in its cave"; and of Behemoth it is said in Job 40: "He sleeps under the shadow, in the covert of the reed, in moist places." He says this with regard to carnal men, who seek nothing else but shadow and wantonness, like swine.

Fourth, He is shown to be powerful in casting down the proud in that which follows: And the herd rushed headlong over the precipice into the lake and was drowned; in which the Lord's extraordinary power is shown, which did not permit them to enter the swine for rest, but for drowning, so that thus might be fulfilled in them that passage of Exodus 15: "Your spirit blew, and the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters"; in which the submersion of sins is spiritually designated, according to that prophetic passage of Micah, the last chapter: "He will put down all our iniquities and will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

We may also learn this from what befell the herd of swine. Wicked demons are cruel, mischievous, hurtful and treacherous to those who are in their power. The fact clearly proves this, because they hurried the swine over a precipice and drowned them in the waters. Christ granted their request that we might learn from what happened that their disposition is ruthless, bestial, incapable of being softened, and solely intent on doing evil to those whom they can get into their power.If there is anyone among us who is wanton, swinish, filth loving, impure and willingly contaminated with the abominations of sin, God permits such a one to fall into their power and sink into the abyss of damnation. It will never happen that those who love Christ will become subject to them. It will never happen to us as long as we walk in his footsteps, avoid negligence in the performance of what is right, desire those things which are honorable, and belong to that virtuous and praiseworthy lifestyle that Christ has marked out for us by the precepts of the gospel.

But the Lord granted them permission, that this might be among other things to us an occasion of benefit, and the confidence of our safety. It follows, And he suffered them. We must therefore consider that the evil spirits are hostile to those which are subject to them, and this will be evident from their sending down the swine violently into the waters and choking them; as it follows, Then went the devils out of the man and entered into the swine, and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. And this Christ permitted to them which sought it, that it might appear from the event how cruel they are. It was also necessary to show that the Son of God has no less power to foresee than the Father, that equal glory might be manifested in each.

When those who kept the herd saw this they fled. For neither the teachers of philosophy nor the chief of the synagogue can bring a cure to perishing mankind. It is Christ alone who takes away the sins of the people.

(de Qu. Evan. l. ii. q. 13.) Or, by the herdsmen of the swine flying and telling these things, He represents certain rulers of the wicked, who though they evade the law of Christianity, yet proclaim it among the nations by their astonishment and wonder.

When they saw what had happened, those who were feeding the pigs fled and reported it in the city and in the villages. That the pig herders, fleeing, announced these things indicates that even some leaders of the impious, although they flee from the Christian law, nevertheless preach its power among the nations, in awe and wonder.

When they saw what was done etc. Here now thirdly the Evangelist shows the reverence of the people coming to meet him. Concerning the explanation of which four things are introduced, namely the announcement of the truth beheld, the investigation of the truth heard, the discovery of the truth sought, the veneration of the truth found, sought, and announced.

First, therefore, as regards the announcement of the truth beheld, it is said: When they saw what was done, those who were feeding them fled, namely out of fear, like hirelings; John 10: "But the hireling, and he who is not the shepherd, sees the wolf coming and flees"; and Zechariah 11: "O shepherd and idol, abandoning the flock"! Or they fled not from fear of human danger, but from fear of divine judgment, concerning which Job 19: "Flee from the face of the sword, for the sword is the avenger of iniquity, and know that there is judgment." But they fled not to hide, for in the Psalm it is written: "Where shall I go from your spirit, and where shall I flee from your face?" but so that they might quickly narrate what they had seen to those who were absent.

Whence it follows: And they told it in the city and in the villages, just as that messenger, Job 1: "I alone escaped, that I might tell you." And in this they had, as it were, the office of preachers, of whom in the Psalm: "They declared the works of God and understood his deeds"; Philippians 1: "Whether Christ be announced by occasion, in this also I rejoice, yea, and I will rejoice." Whence good things seen concerning Christ are not to be kept silent but to be announced, according to that passage of 4 Kings 7: "Those four lepers said: This is a day of good tidings. If we are silent and do not wish to announce it until morning, we shall be charged with wickedness. Come, let us go and announce it in the court of the king." But evil things are not to be announced; 2 Kings 1: "Do not announce it in Gath, nor announce it in the crossroads of Ashkelon."

Note here that according to the letter, four notable points can be drawn from what has been said. The first is that the Lord willed to be made known to others through lowly and humble persons, such as through swineherds and herdsmen.

Second, that not all are to be admitted to the state of perfection, but only those who are suitable.

Third, that those whom Christ cures from the vexation of the devil are not to be barred from preaching the name of Christ. — Fourth, that we ought to be most ready for the giving of thanks for benefits received, after the example of this demoniac, who announced the benefit of God to all.

(Vide Victor. Ant. in Mark 5.) But the shepherds take flight, lest they should perish with the swine. Hence it follows, When they that fed them saw what was done they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country, and excited the like alarm among the citizens.

Those who came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, at His feet, and they were afraid, etc. This signifies the multitude delighted with ancient sweetness, honoring indeed, but unwilling to endure the Christian law, while they say that they cannot fulfill it, yet admiring the faithful people healed from their formerly lost conduct. For to sit at the feet of the Lord is to gaze upon the footprints of the Savior, supported by the rational examination of someone's mind, which he should follow. To resume being clothed is to be adorned with the studies of virtues, which he had lost by being deceived.

Secondly, as regards the investigation of the truth heard, it is added: And they went out to see what was done, and they came to Jesus. They went out, I say, for inquiry; Song of Songs 3: "Go forth, daughters of Sion, and see king Solomon"; and in the Psalm: "Come and see the works of the Lord, what wonders he has placed upon the earth."

They went out moreover to Jesus, who is the Truth, that they might learn the truth. For, as the diligent inquirer Job says in the twenty-third chapter: "Who will grant me that I might know and find him and come even to his throne"? So the Samaritans, having heard the word of the woman, John 4: "The woman went away into the city and says to those men: Come and see the man who told me all things whatsoever I have done." "They went out therefore from the city and were coming to him."

And it is greatly to be noted that it is said that when they go out to see what had been done, they came to Jesus, because the thing made, when it is beheld, leads to the Maker; Romans 1: "The invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood through the things that have been made"; and Wisdom 13: "From the greatness of the beauty and of the creature, the Creator of these things may be knowably seen." And therefore Sirach 42: "How admirable are his works, and like a spark is what one may contemplate"! In this, however, it is apparent that one must not remain in the thing made, but must press on even to Jesus: Sirach 43: "Look upon the rainbow and bless him who made it"; and in the Psalm: "Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings you have perfected praise," etc.

Third, as regards the discovery of the truth sought, it is added: And they found the man sitting, from whom the demons had gone out; and thus in a fitting state, against restlessness, because he never rested when the devil possessed him: Isaiah 57: "The wicked are like a raging sea, which cannot rest." On the contrary, concerning him in whom the Spirit of the Lord dwells, it is said in Lamentations 3: "He shall sit solitary and shall be silent"; because, according to that passage of the Psalm, "in peace is his place made."

They found him also in fitting attire, against nakedness: on account of which it adds: Clothed. For such attire befits a man both bodily and spiritually: Revelation 16: "Blessed is he who keeps his garments, lest he walk naked." — They found him also in his right sense, against madness: on account of which it adds: And of sound mind: whence he could say that word of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4: "At that very time my understanding returned to me." Which understanding the devil takes away from those whom he possesses, by deranging their minds: Second Corinthians 4: "In whom the God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers."

They found him also in a fitting position, against disorder: on account of which is added: At his feet, as one attentive to his preaching, according to that passage in the penultimate chapter of Deuteronomy: "Those who approach his feet shall receive of his teaching"; and below in the tenth chapter: "Mary sitting at the feet of the Lord heard his word."

And by these signs they manifestly knew him to be set free, from their own sight. Now they had learned the manner and cause of the cure by hearing, because they had heard that this had been done through Christ. On account of which it is added: And they were afraid, namely of Christ, attending to his wondrous power and strength, according to that passage of Jeremiah 10: "Who shall not fear you, O King of the nations? For to you belongs glory; among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you."

But the severity of their loss led them to the Saviour; for it follows, Then they went out to see what was done, and came to Jesus; and here remark, that while God punishes men in their substance, He confers a blessing upon their souls. But when they had set out, they see him in his right mind who had been long vexed. It follows, And they found the man out of whom the devils had departed sitting at the feet of Jesus clothed, (whereas before he was naked,) and in his right mind. For he departed not from those feet, where he obtained safety; and so acknowledging the miracle, they were astonished at the cure of the malady, and marvelled at the event; for it follows, And they were afraid.

To this he adduces sure testimony, therefore he adds: And those who had seen it reported to them, namely the herdsmen. For such persons ought to bear witness; John 19: "And he who saw it bore witness."

How he had been made well from the legion, through Christ's command. Such testimony is to be believed; 1 John 1: "What we have seen and heard and perceived, we testify and announce to you"; the Psalm: "Declaring the praises of the Lord and his wondrous works which he has done"; because, Acts 4, "we cannot but speak what we have heard and seen."

But this thing they discover partly by sight, partly hearing it in words. It follows, They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.

Or there seems to have been a kind of synagogue in the city of the Gerasenes who besought our Lord to depart, because they were seized with great fear. For the weak mind receives not the word of God, nor can it endure the burden of wisdom. And therefore He no longer troubled them, but ascends from the lower parts to the higher, from the Synagogue to the Church, and returned across the lake. For no one passes from the Church to the Synagogue without endangering his salvation. But whoever desires to pass from the Synagogue to the Church, let him take up his cross, that he may avoid the danger.

(de Qu. Evan. l. ii. q. 13.) But by the Gerasenes, when they knew what was done, asking Jesus to depart from them, for they were struck with great fear, he represents the multitude delighting in their old pleasures, honouring indeed, but unwilling to endure the Christian law, saying that they cannot fulfil it, while they still marvel at the faithful released from their former abandoned mode of life.

And all the multitude of the region of the Gerasenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. The Gerasenes, conscious of their fragility, judged themselves unworthy of the Lord's presence, not grasping the word of God, nor being able to sustain the weight of wisdom with their still infirm mind. This is also read to have happened to Peter himself, when he saw the miracle of the fish, and the widow of Zarephath, who perceived she was blessed by hosting the blessed Elijah, nonetheless thought herself burdened by his presence. "What have I to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my iniquities to remembrance, and to kill my son?" (III Kings [I Kings] XVII).

But he himself, boarding the ship, returned. He had said above that the Lord, having left his parents, boarded the ship, and with the waves calmed together with the wind, immediately upon disembarking, he cured the demoniac who met him. By this, we taught that leaving behind the people of Judea, from which he took his origin according to the flesh, he provided for the salvation of the Gentiles after the storm of his passion had passed. Having done these things, he returned to his homeland, because blindness has happened in part to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in; and thus all Israel will be saved (Rom. XI). He boarded the ship, yet neither is he seized by sleep, nor is the ship struck by a storm, because Christ, rising from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has dominion over him (Rom. VI). However, his trophy of passion and the glory of resurrection will be proclaimed to the believing tribes of Judea, and when the preacher of his death, by which he conquered death with the standard, begins to be believed by the Hebrews, he will return to the homeland with the ship in which he had slept, as if repeating.

Fourth, indeed, as regards the veneration of the truth discovered, it is added: All the multitude of the region of the Gerasenes asked him. After they recognized the fearsome dominion of Majesty, they asked him to depart from them. Which indeed they did not say from the contempt of pride, as those of whom Job 21 says: "Who say to God: 'Depart from us; we do not desire the knowledge of your ways'"; but from reverential fear. Whence it is also added: Because they were held by great fear, as Peter, above in chapter 5: "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man"; and as the centurion, above in chapter 7: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof"; because, according to that passage of Sirach 13, "he who associates with one more honorable than himself takes a burden upon himself." Whence Ambrose says: "A weak mind does not grasp the word of God, nor can it sustain the weight of wisdom." And since they were less fit for divine cohabitation, therefore they were heard.

On account of which it is added: But he, boarding the boat, returned. The Lord did not wish to be burdensome to anyone; whence Matthew 10: "And whoever shall not receive you, going out, shake the dust from your feet"; and Matthew 7: "Do not give what is holy to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine." But the Samaritans had acted more prudently than these, of whom John 4 says: "When the Samaritans had come to him, they asked him to remain there. And he stayed with them two days." But astonishment had surrounded these people, just as it had Peter, above in chapter 5. Therefore they could say that passage of Job 31: "I always feared God as waves swelling over me, and I was unable to bear his weight."

In this also it is given to understand spiritually that the Lord, when rejected, departs; 1 Chronicles 28: "If you seek him, you shall find him; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever." It is also intimated that the Lord does not abandon us unless we first repel him, but rather presses himself upon us; whence Revelation 3: "I stand at the door and knock," etc.

They feared lest they should again suffer some loss, as they had suffered in the drowning of the swine.

But they ought to have besought the Lord not to depart from them, but to be the guardian of their country, that no evil spirits might come near them; but through fear they lost their own salvation, asking the Saviour to depart. It follows, Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from, them, for they were taken with great fear.

It says, "The herdsmen saw this and fled." Neither professors of philosophy nor leaders of the synagogue can offer any cure when people perish. Christ alone takes away the sins of the people, provided they do not refuse to submit to healing. He does not want to cure the unwilling and soon abandon the weak for whom it seems that his presence is a burden, like the peoples of the Gerasenes. They went out from that country, which appears to be an image of the synagogue, and begged him to depart from them, because they were very afraid.… Why does Christ not accept the healed man but advise him to return home? Perhaps this occurs to avoid a cause of boasting and give an example to unbelievers, although that home may be an inn by nature. Since he received the healing of his mind, Christ commanded him to depart from the tombs and the graves and to return to that spiritual home. He who had in him the grave of the mind became a temple of God.

(ubi sup.) But that he, now that he is healed, desires to be with Christ, and it is said to him, Return to thy house, and tell what great things God has done for thee, implies that each should understand, that after the remission of his sins he should return to a good conscience as to his home, and obey the Gospel for the salvation of others, in order that there he may rest with Christ, lest by too early wishing to be with Christ he neglect the ministry of preaching necessary for this redemption of his brethren.

And the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and tell how much God has done for you." These words can be rightly understood from the Apostle's sentiment when he says, "My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is necessary on your account" (Philippians 1). Thus, one should understand that after the forgiveness of sins, he must return to a good conscience and serve the Gospel for the salvation of others as well, so that afterward he may rest with Christ. Otherwise, if someone wishes prematurely to be with Christ, he may neglect the ministry of preaching, suited for the redemption of his brothers.

As for Matthew saying that two were cured from the legion of demons, while Mark and Luke mention only one, understand that one of them was a more notable and famous person, whom that region especially grieved for and whose salvation they greatly desired. The two evangelists, wanting to signify this, judged that only this one should be commemorated because the fame of this deed had spread more widely and clearly. But even in the highest concord of allegory, it is concordant because just as one possessed by a demon represents the Jews, so also two represent the types of Gentile peoples not inappropriately. For while Noah had three sons, only one's family was taken into possession by God: from the other two, diverse nations who served idols were born.

And he besought him etc. Here fourthly is described the benevolence of the healed man in his obedience, which the Evangelist commends on four grounds, namely from the offering of service, from the condescension of the Physician, from the commission of office, and from the publication of the benefit, such that one disposes toward the other.

First, therefore, as to the offering of service, it is said: And the man from whom the demons had gone out besought him, namely the healed man besought the physician, that he might be with him, that is, that he might serve him as Lord and Savior, as Ittai the Gittite said to David in 2 Kings 15: "As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, in whatever place you shall be, whether in death or in life, there will your servant be." So Elisha to Elijah, in 4 Kings 2: "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." Moreover, he wished to be with him so that he might be more secure, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus 51: "I will call upon the Lord, the father of my Lord, that he may not forsake me in the day of my tribulation." Also that he might be more perfect: Psalm: "I will keep your justifications; do not utterly forsake me." Also that he might be more blessed: Philippians 1: "I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ"; and John 12: "I will, Father, that where I am, there also my minister may be." — Therefore he wished to dwell together on the way, so that he might dwell together in the homeland.

Secondly, as to the condescension of the Physician, it is added: But Jesus dismissed him, namely in complete freedom, not wishing to impose any other burden upon him, showing that service ought not to be accepted on account of a benefit conferred; whence Matthew 18: "The lord, having compassion on that servant, released him and forgave him the debt."

For as one who had been tried by experience, he feared, lest perhaps when far from Jesus he should again become the prey of evil spirits. But the Lord shows him, that though He is not present with him, He can protect by His grace, for it follows, But Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to thine own house, and show how great things God hath done for thee. But he said not, "how great things I have done for thee," giving us an example of humility, that we should attribute all our righteousness to God.

But as He was departing, the man who had been afflicted will not part from his Saviour, for it follows, Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him.