Song of Solomon 1

This Book was written by Solomon and composed throughout from beginning to e mystically, by way of enigmatical allegory for the meaning of its doctrines is not open but hid.

Nevertheless, if diligently sought after, it is found wherefore it becomes those who have understanding, to address them selves to the whole of this book as to a allegory, lest, through the ignorance of the unlearned, the things spoken in it fall into contempt. It is called the Song of Songs, because it comes after other songs, but after it no other is to be expected; by other, I mean not book, but things signified in the book. What I say is this: All Divine Scripture prophesies of the descent of the Word to us, and of His coming in the Flesh. For this is the will of God; and in the Prophets, and in all Holy Scripture this is primarily set forth. But to this Divine theme they add discourses concerning the nations, Babylon, Damascus, Moab, and others; and in every part of Scripture they rebuke sinners, and the wicked are urged to repentance, and are threatened with the future judgment of fire. Other Scriptures, indeed, foretell: as Moses, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like into me;(Deut 18:15)" and Isaiah, " Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bring forth a son'(Is 7:14); and Micah, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be exalted to the top of the mountains;(Mi 4:1)" and others prophesied in divers manners, according to the grace of the Spirit. But from all which they spoke, the Lord, Whom they foretold, was expected. Thus many predicted Him, and until He came ceased not to prophesy of Him. And these all are songs. But the Song of Songs is not as a prophecy or sign; but Him, Whom others foretold, it shows, as it were, to be already come, and to have taken Flesh; wherefore, as on the marriage of the Word and Flesh, the Song of Songs sings the Epithalamium. The other Scriptures, indeed, speak of the Savior, and meanwhile discourse of various things, but this Book sings only the marriage of the Word and Flesh. Wherefore in other Scriptures are found words of indignation and wrath, and terrible threats; but this Book, since it signifies nothing else but the appearance of the Word, breathes only sweetness, joy, and cheerfulness. For when the Bridegroom is come, it behooves all to rejoice, and none to mourn, as the Lord said. For when He came He bare our infirmities, and turned our sorrows into joy. As, therefore, after the Dispensation of the Savior, we expect no other prophet, so after the things treated of in the Song of Songs, is there nothing else signifying what is later to be expected. And the things allegorized in this Song are found spoken at intervals in the Prophets and other Scriptures. Again, as John pointed to the Lamb of God, and the Law and the Prophets are until John, so the things which are signified in the Song of Songs are the completion of all that is contained in all Holy Scripture, For what is to be expected after the Advent of Christ but judgment and retribution? therefore, they who bring in Prophets after the Lord are deceived and condemned as heretics. For which cause it is "the Song of Songs"' in that after it no other is to be expected. And as under the Law there was the Holy Place, and after it the Holy of Holies, but after the Holy of Holies no other place within; so after other songs is the Song of Songs, and after the Song of Songs is not to be expected any further or later promise: for the Word was once made Flesh, and finished the work. And this whole Book is full of Dialogues between the ancient people and the Word, and the whole human race and the Word, and the Church from among the Gentiles and Him—and again, between the Word and her, and the whole human race—then between the Gentiles and Jerusalem, and between Jerusalem and the Word, concerning the called from among the Gentiles and herself. Afterwards is the preaching by ministering angels to those who are called among men. These, therefore, are the words of the ancient people entreating Him to come down and be joined to Flesh: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for my breasts are better than wine," and again, they invite Him in these words: " Things new and old have I laid up for Thee, my Beloved." And, generally, all is to the Word, that He would assume our Flesh: " Oh, that Thou wert as my Brother, that sucked the breasts of my Mother; when I should find Thee without I would kiss Thee, yea, I should not be despised. I would lead Thee, and bring Thee unto my Mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me." For they prayed Him that He would take flesh not of another, but of that very womb of which we were born, although not as ourselves of man and woman. For, as Creator, He took to Himself from the Virgin only, but yet of human nature, for of that nature was Mary, the Mother of God. And this is the language of the Word' now assuming flesh unto those who desired Him: " I am come into thy garden, My Sister, My Spouse; I have gathered My myrrh with My spice, I have eaten My bread with My honey, I have drink My wine with My milk." For having entered into His own garden, the creature, He took to Himself a body of the Virgin, and was made Man. For the body was mortal, but joined to the sweet savour of the Most Holy Word. And although, as man, He admitted the food of milk into His body, yet He imparted to it the wine of His own perfection. For as He partook of milk, so of Himself He wrought the work of Divinity. Then the Word, having clothed Himself with a body, calls to His ancient people, as those to whom were first committed the Oracles, in these words: "Rise up, My Love, My Fair One, My Dove; for, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, and the flowers appear in the earth; the pruning-time is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; the fig-tree putteth forth her green figs, the vines yield their fruit." For thus He instructs His first people as having received temporarily the shadow of the law, and as knowing the voice of the turtle. Then the Word, having called to Jerusalem, afterwards calls to those of the Gentiles (for there is one Lord, both of Jews and Gentiles): 'Come with Me from Lebanon, My Spouse, with Me from Lebanon; look from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards." For from idolatry and the fierce manners of wild beasts, He calls her to Faith: she therefore, being called from the Gentiles, and now filled with compunction, says thus to the Word: "Tell me, Thou whom my soul loveth, where Thou feedest, where Thou makest Thy flock to rest at noon; for why should I be as one that tumeth aside by the flocks of Thy companions?" For, having learnt by experience how prone she was to changes, she desires to be confirmed and strengthened for the future, lest she should suffer the like again. And the Word, being called upon.

teacheth her in these words: "If thou knowest not thyself, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents." For none can know God, unless he first knows himself. For piety towards God is the first principle of knowledge; but it is not a knowledge from without, but the understanding of the soul herself, joined with faith. Jerusalem, beholding the calling of the Gentiles through the uncircumcision of faith, exclaims with wonder: "What see ye in the Shulamite, who comes as a band of singers from the camp?" For not from one, but every nation, do they come, and leaving their own camps, and breaking their swords, occupy their thoughts henceforth in the things of peace. And the Church of the Gentiles, beholding Jerusalem as reproaching her, defends herself, that not in vain is her calling: "I am black, but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me. My mother's children fought against me; they made me keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept." I am black, yet am under the sun itself; for, although I am uncircumcised, she says, yet have I renounced idols, and am come out from my mother's house, as did Abraham; for I am of the same faith. Wherefore, I entreat you, bring me to the house of wine, set love over me: comfort me with ointments, heap me up citrons, for I am wounded with love'. Regard not my uncircumicision, but receive me in love, Law and Prophets. For although I cast forth an ill scent from cruelty, yet do thou instruct me, and strengthen with thy sweet savor, for I am wounded with love. Therefore " I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, among the herds and powers of the field, that ye stir not up nor awaken Love until He please." I adjure you, O fathers, not by the powers, for that is unlawful, but among the powers of Paradise, that looking to Him, as unto Adam, ye would so receive me; for there was then no circumcision, and now the state of Adam is renewed. The Word, beholding and accepting the faith of the Gentiles, saith, " Thou art beautiful, My Love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners." For they, who are of the Gentiles, must not be otherwise than as Jerusalem, that they may be one people. And this is done when we both honour the Law and believe in Christ. For there is one God, both of the Law and the Gospel; and he who is not as Jerusalem, is not the friend of the Word. Jerusalem, beholding the faith of her children, and the love of the Word towards man, says, "I went down into the garden of nuts, to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished and the pomegranates budded: or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib." "Into the garden of nuts," that is, into the Scriptures; which are as nuts, hard without and spiritual within. I saw that I must be yoked, as in a chariot, to the called of the Gentiles. Therefore when both people are joined, then is the preaching sent forth to all the world, and its ministers are the angels, saying, "Go forth, and behold King Solomon with the crown, wherewith his mother crowned him, in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart." For he who goes forth from wickedness shall see the immutable oneness of the Word and Flesh. For when the espousals of the "Word were made with us through His union with the Flesh, then He obtained the victory over death, for which cause all things are filled with joy. Such are some of the dialogues in this Song of Songs, from which any one may take example, and be able to adapt like parts in like manner, according to his under-standing.

SERMON 1 ON THE TITLE OF THE BOOK

The instructions that I address to you, my brothers, will differ from those I should deliver to people in the world, at least the manner will be different. The preacher who desires to follow St Paul's method of teaching will give them milk to drink rather than solid food, and will serve a more nourishing diet to those who are spiritually enlightened: "We teach," he said, "not in the way philosophy is taught, but in the way that the Spirit teaches us: we teach spiritual things spiritually." And again: "We have a wisdom to offer those who have reached maturity," in whose company, I feel assured, you are to be found, unless in vain have you prolonged your study of divine teaching, mortified your senses, and meditated day and night on God's law. Be ready then to feed on bread rather than milk. Solomon has bread to give that is splendid and delicious, the bread of that book called "The Song of Songs." Let us bring it forth then if you please, and break it.

2. Now, unless I am mistaken, by the grace of God you have understood quite well from the book of Ecclesiastes how to recognize and have done with the false promise of this world. And then the book of Proverbs - has not your life and your conduct been sufficiently amended and enlightened by the doctrine it inculcates ? These are two loaves of which it has been your pleasure to taste, loaves you have welcomed as coming from the cupboard of a friend. Now approach for this third loaf that, if possible, you may always recognize what is best. Since there are two evils that comprise the only, or at least the main, enemies of the soul: a misguided love of the world and an excessive love of self, the two books previously mentioned can provide an antidote to each of these infections. One uproots pernicious habits of mind and body with the hoe of self-control. The other, by the use of enlightened reason, quickly perceives a delusive tinge in all that the world holds glorious, truly distinguishing between it and deeper truth. Moreover, it causes the fear of God and the observance of his commandments to be preferred to all human pursuits and worldly desires. And rightly so, for the former is the beginning of wisdom, the latter its culmination, for there is no true and consummate wisdom other than the avoidance of evil and the doing of good, no one can successfully shun evil without the fear of God, and no work is good without the observance of the commandments.

3. Taking it then these two evils have been warded off by the reading of choice books, we may suitably proceed with this holy and contemplative discourse which, as the fruit of the other two, may be delivered only to well prepared ears and minds.

Before the flesh has been tamed and the spirit set free by zeal for truth, before the world's glamour and entanglements have been firmly repudiated, it is a rash enterprise on any man's part to presume to study spiritual doctrines. Just as a light is flashed in vain on closed or sightless eyes, so "an unspiritual person cannot accept anything of the Spirit of God.'' For "the Holy Spirit of instruction shuns what is false," and that is what the life of the intemperate man is. Nor will he ever have a part with the pretensions of the world, since he is the Spirit of Truth. How can there be harmony between the wisdom that comes down from above and the wisdom of the world, which is foolishness to God, or the wisdom of the flesh which is at enmity with God? I am sure that the friend who comes to us on his travels will have no reason to murmur against us after he has shared in this third loaf.

4. But who is going to divide this loaf? The Master of the house is present, it is the Lord you must see in the breaking of the bread. For who else could more fittingly do it ? It is a task that I would not dare to arrogate to myself. So look upon me as one from whom you look for nothing. For I myself am one of the seekers, one who begs along with you for the food of my soul, the nourishment of my spirit. Poor and needy, I knock at that door of his which, "when he opens, nobody can close,'' that I may find light on the profound mystery to which this discourse leads. Patiently all creatures look to you, O Lord. "Little children go begging for bread; no one spares a scrap for them;'' they await it from your merciful love. O God most kind, break your bread for this hungering flock, through my hands indeed if it should please you, but with an efficacy that is all your own.

5. Tell us, I beg you, by whom, about whom and to whom it is said: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.'' How shall I explain so abrupt a beginning, this sudden irruption as from a speech in mid-course? For the words spring upon us as if indicating one speaker to whom another is replying as she demands a kiss— whoever she may be. But if she asks for or demands a kiss from somebody, why does she distinctly and expressly say with the mouth, and even with his own mouth, as if lovers should kiss by means other than the mouth, or with mouths other than their own ? But yet she does not say: "Let him kiss me with his mouth"; what she says is still more intimate: "with the kiss of his mouth." How delightful a ploy of speech this, prompted into life by the kiss, with Scripture's own engaging countenance inspiring the reader and enticing him on, that he may find pleasure even in the laborious pursuit of what lies hidden, with a fascinating theme to sweeten the fatigue of research. Surely this mode of beginning that is not a beginning, this novelty of diction in a book so old, cannot but increase the reader's attention. It must follow too that this work was composed, not by any human skill but by the artistry of the Spirit, difficult to understand indeed but yet enticing one to investigate.

6. So now what shall we do? Shall we by-pass the title? No, not even one iota may be omitted, since we are commanded to gather up the tiniest fragments lest they be lost. The title runs: "The beginning of Solomon's Song of Songs." First of all take note of the appropriateness of the name "Peaceful," that is, Solomon, at the head of a book which opens with the token of peace, with a kiss. Take note too that by this kind of opening only men of peaceful minds, men who can achieve mastery over the turmoil of the passions and the distracting burden of daily chores, are invited to the study of this book.

7. Again, the title is not simply the word "Song," but "Song of Songs," a detail not without significance. For though I have read many songs in the Scriptures, I cannot recall any that bear such a name. Israel chanted a song to Yahweh celebrating his escape from the sword and the tyranny of Pharaoh, and the twofold good fortune that simultaneously liberated and avenged him in the Red Sea. Yet even though chanted, this has not been called a "Song of Songs"; Scripture, if my memory serves me right, introduces it with the words: "Israel sang this song in honor of Yahweh." Song poured from the lips of Deborah, of Judith, of the mother of Samuel, of several of the prophets, yet none of these songs is styled a "Song of Songs." You will find that all of them, as far as I can see, were inspired to song because of favors to themselves or to their people, songs for a victory won, for an escape from danger or the gaining of a boon long sought. They would not be found ungrateful for the divine beneficence, so all sang for reasons proper to each, in accord with the Psalmist's words: "He gives thanks to you, O God, for blessing him.'' But King Solomon himself, unique as he was in wisdom, renowned above all men, abounding in wealth, secure in his peace, stood in no need of any particular benefit that would have inspired him to sing those songs. Nor does Scripture in any place attribute such a motive to him.

8. We must conclude then it was a special divine impulse that inspired these songs of his that now celebrate the praises of Christ and his Church, the gift of holy love, the sacrament of endless union with God. Here too are expressed the mounting desires of the soul, its marriage song, an exultation of spirit poured forth in figurative language pregnant with delight. It is no wonder that like Moses he put a veil on his face, equally resplendent as it must have been in this encounter, because in those days few if any could sustain the bright vision of God's glory. Accordingly, because of its excellence, I consider this nuptial song to be well deserving of the title that so remarkably designates it, the Song of Songs, just as he in whose honor it is sung is uniquely proclaimed King of kings and Lord of lords.

9. Furthermore if you look back on your own experience, is it not in that victory by which your faith overcomes the world, in "your exit from the horrible pit and out of the slough of the marsh," that you yourselves sing a new song to the Lord for all the marvels he has performed? Again, when he purposed to "settle your feet on a rock and to direct your steps," then too, I feel certain, a new song was sounding on your lips, a song to our God for his gracious renewal of your life. When you repented he not only forgave your sins but even promised rewards, so that rejoicing in the hope of benefits to come, you sing of the Lord's ways: how great is the glory of the Lord! And when, as happens, texts of Scripture hitherto dark and impenetrable at last become bright with meaning for you, then, in gratitude for this nurturing bread of heaven you must charm the ears of God with a voice of exultation and praise, a festal song. In the daily trials and combats arising from the flesh, the world and the devil, that are never wanting to those who live devout lives in Christ, you learn by what you experience that man's life on earth is a ceaseless warfare, and are impelled to repeat your songs day after day for every victory won. As often as temptation is overcome, an immoral habit brought under control, an impending danger shunned, the trap of the seducer detected, when a passion long indulged is finally and perfectly allayed, or a virtue persistently desired and repeatedly sought is ultimately obtained by God's gift; so often, in the words of the prophet, let thanksgiving and joy resound. For every benefit conferred, God is to be praised in his gifts. Otherwise when the time of judgment comes, that man will be punished as an ingrate who cannot say to God: "Your statutes were my song in the land of exile."

10. Again I think that your own experience reveals to you the meaning of those psalms, which are called not Songs of Songs but Songs of the Steps, in that each one, at whatever stage of growth he be, in accord with the upward movements of his heart may choose one of these songs to praise and give glory to him who empowers you to advance. I don't know how else these words could be true: "There are shouts of joy and victory in the tents of the just." And still more that beautiful and salutary exhortation of the Apostle: "With psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles, singing and chanting to the Lord in your hearts."

11. But there is that other song which, by its unique dignity and sweetness, excels all those I have mentioned and any others there might be; hence by every right do I acclaim it as the Song of Songs. It stands at a point where all the others culminate. Only the couch of the Spirit can inspire a song like this, and only personal experience can unfold its meaning. Let those who are versed in the mystery revel in it; let all others burn with desire rather to attain to this experience than merely to learn about it. For it is not a melody that resounds abroad but the very music of the heart, not a trilling on the lips but an inward pulsing of delight, a harmony not of voices but of wills. It is a tune you will not hear in the streets, these notes do not sound where crowds assemble; only the singer hears it and the one to whom he sings - the lover and the beloved. It is preeminently a marriage song telling of chaste souls in loving embrace, of their wills in sweet concord, of the mutual exchange of the heart's affections.

12. The novices, the immature, those but recently converted from a worldly life, do not normally sing this song or hear it sung. Only the mind disciplined by persevering study, only the man whose efforts have borne fruit under God's inspiration, the man whose years, as it were, make him ripe for marriage years measured out not in time but in merits - only he is truly prepared for nuptial union with the divine partner, a union we shall describe more fully in due course. But the hour has come when both our rule and the poverty of our state demand that we go out to work. Tomorrow, with God's help, we shall continue to speak about the kiss, because today's discourse on the title sets us free to resume where we had begun.

For thus is it called the Canticle of Canticles, inasmuch as it is above every canticle that Moses and Mary in Exodus and Isaiah and Habakkuk and others sang. These are better canticles because they give praise to the Lord with joyful mind and soul for the liberation of the people, or for their conversion, or in gratitude for the divine works. Here they are superior also because the voice of the singing church and of God is heard. Because the divine and human are united with one another, therefore, it is called the Canticle of Canticles, that is, the best of the best.

Another Solomon is signified here: one who is also descended from the seed of David according to the flesh, one whose name means peace, the true king of Israel and builder of God's temple. This other Solomon comprehends the knowledge of all things. His wisdom is infinite and his very essence is wisdom, truth, as well as every exalted, divine name and thought. [Christ] used Solomon as an instrument and speaks to us through his voice first in Proverbs and then in Ecclesiastes. After these two books he speaks in the philosophy set forth in the Song of Songs and shows us the ascent to perfection in an orderly fashion.…It is not accidental, I think, that the book is ascribed to Solomon. This serves as an indication to readers to expect something great and divine.… Proverbs teaches in one way and Ecclesiastes in another; the philosophy of the Song of Songs transcends both by its loftier teaching.

And where is all this rich knowledge? and where are these mysteries? and where are the books? For the only ones extant are Proverbs, and Wisdom, and Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. What then? Does the Scripture speak falsely? God forbid. But the matter of his writings was various, as is shown in the phrase "Song of Songs; "for that indicates that in this one book he digested the contents of the 5,000 songs. In the days moreover of Hezekiah, there were some of the books selected for use, and others set aside. Whence the Scripture says, "These are the mixed Proverbs of Solomon, which the friends of Hezekiah the king copied out." And whence did they take them, but out of the books containing the 3,000 parables and the 5,000 songs? Out of these, then, the wise friends of Hezekiah took those portions which bore upon the edification of the Church. And the books of Solomon on the "Parables" and "Songs," in which he wrote of the physiology of plants, and all kinds of animals belonging to the dry land, and the air, and the sea, and of the cures of disease, Hezekiah did away with, because the people looked to these for the remedies for their diseases, and neglected to seek their healing from God.

Solomon, a lover of peace and of the Lord, corrects morals, teaches nature, unites Christ and the church, and sings a sweet marriage song to celebrate that holy bridal.

This book seems to me to be an epithalamium, that is, a marriage song, written by Solomon in the style of a drama, which he sang like a bride who is getting married and burning with a heavenly love toward her husband, which is the Word of God.…Let us come to the things that must be discussed: first, to examine a few things about love itself, which is the main reason for this writing, and next about the order of the books of Solomon, in which this book seems to have been placed in the third place. Then we will examine the title of the book itself, why it is given the superscription "Song of Songs."

And let us first attempt to investigate concerning the reason why it is that, although the churches of God have received three volumes written by Solomon, the book of Proverbs was put first among them, then second the book which is called Ecclesiastes, and the volume of the Song of Songs is reckoned in the third place.… We can call these moral, natural, and contemplative.… Now the moral discipline is called that through which the honest morals of living are applied and practices that tend toward virtue are prepared. It is called the natural discipline where the nature of each and every object is discussed so that nothing is done contrary to nature in life, but each thing is considered in its uses for which it was made by its Creator. It is called the contemplative discipline by which we pass over visible things and contemplate something about the divine and heavenly matters and view them with that mind alone, because we are passing over their bodily appearance.Some wise men of the Greeks taught things that they had taken from Solomon, on the grounds that he had taught them through the Spirit of God in a time and age long before them.… Solomon found these things before them and taught them through the wisdom that he received from God, as it is written, "And God gave Solomon understanding and very much wisdom and a breadth of heart like the sand on the shore of the sea. And wisdom multiplied in him above all the ancient sons of men and above all the wise men of Egypt." Therefore, since Solomon wished to distinguish and separate those three disciplines (i.e., the moral, the natural and the contemplative), which earlier we said were the general disciplines, he published them in three books, with the individual books connected to the one following, each one in its own order. Therefore, first in Proverbs he taught the moral topic by writing down the practices of life in succinct and brief adages. But he covered the second topic, which is called "natural," in Ecclesiastes, in which he discusses many things about the world, separates the empty and vain items from the useful and necessary, and admonishes us to leave vanity and pursue the useful and proper things. He handles the contemplative topic in this book, which is now held in our hands, that is, in the Song of Songs, in which he instills into the soul the love of heavenly affairs and the desire for divine matters, all under the guise of a bride and groom, thereby teaching how to arrive at fellowship with God through the paths of charity and love. This book is located last so that someone would come to it when he has been cleansed in his morals and has learned the knowledge of and distinction between corruptible and incorruptible things. This is so that he may not be offended in any of those figures by which the love of the bride for her heavenly bridegroom (which is really the love of the perfect soul for the Word of God) is described and formulated. For once those things have been dealt with, by which the soul is purified through its acts and morals and is led to the distinguishing of natural matters, one comes competently to dogmatics and to mystical matters and ascends to a contemplation of the Godhead with a sincere and spiritual love.

Therefore, in this book, which had to be written about the love of the groom and the bride, it is well written so that neither "son of David" nor "king" nor any of those things is used as the groom's name, because it could be understood to pertain to the corporeal realm. Thus, rightly let the bride now made perfect say about him, "Although we knew Christ at some time according to the flesh, now we however no longer know him in this way," lest someone think that she loved something corporeal or enfleshed and lest some fault be believed to be brought into her love. Therefore, it is only "the Song of Songs of Solomon" and not "of the Son of David" or "the king of Israel" and no other understanding at all of a fleshly name is mixed among them.

But even here it does not escape notice that some write the title of this book as "Songs of Songs," which is not written correctly, for it is not a plural but a singular "Song" that is written here: "Song of Songs."They take it to mean that this "Song" is "of the Songs of Solomon," as if he designated this one alone from his rather many songs. But how will we accept an interpretation of this kind, when the church of God has not accepted any songs of Solomon outside the canon that must be read and, when among the Hebrews, from whom the eloquence of God seems to have been brought to us, no other song is held canonical other than these three books of Solomon that are canonical among us?

Let us, therefore, understand the church as the bride, and Christ as the bridegroom, and as the young girls attending the bride souls that are pious and youthful, who have not yet attained the virtue of the bride and been accorded perfection—hence their attending on the bride but not being called brides.

It is also necessary to say by way of introduction that three works belong to Solomon: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs. Proverbs offers those interested moral benefit, while Ecclesiastes comments on the nature of visible realities and thoroughly explains the futility of the present life so that we may learn its transitory character, despise passing realities and long for the future as something lasting. The Song of Songs … brings out the mystical intercourse between the bride and the bridegroom, the result being that the whole of Solomon's work constitutes a kind of ladder with three steps—moral, physical and mystical. That is to say, the person approaching a religious way of life must first purify the mind with good behavior, then strive to discern the futility of impermanent things and the transitory character of what seems pleasant, and then finally take wings and long for the bridegroom, who promises eternal goods. Hence this book is placed third, so the person treading this path comes to perfection.

Let us set about the commentary by making this considerable recommendation to those reading it, not to charge us with plagiarism if they find in our commentary something said by the fathers. We admit, in fact, that we have found in them the basis for clear exposition; far from being plagiarism, however, such material is an inheritance from our forebears. Some things that we include we have taken from them, other things we came up with ourselves and added; some things expressed at length by certain commentators we abbreviated, other things requiring further work we developed.

Let us consider why on earth Solomon the sage called it not Song but "Song of Songs"; after all, the fact that nothing that is the result of the divine Spirit's action is said idly and to no purpose is clear to people of a sober and pious mind. This being the case, the question needs to be asked why the work is called "Song of Songs" and not Song. In fact, we find many songs, psalms, hymns and odes, oral and written, both in blessed David and in the biblical authors before him and after him.…Solomon the sage … composed a song that was not for triumph in battle or for morning prayer but for a wedding.… The Song of Songs … outlines his wedding and depicts his love for the bride. "Bride" is the term he uses of the people who in the above songs have been freed from captivity, have attained their freedom and associated themselves to the king, retaining an indelible memory of his favors, giving evidence of great benevolence and affection for him and constantly attending on him. Then, when the powers on high enquire, "Who is the king of glory?" they long to be with him, unable to bear being separated even for a short space of time from their savior. This is the reason this book is called the Song of Songs, the phrase suggesting that those other songs were composed with a view to this song, and the others lead to this one.… This is the reason, therefore, that the book is called the Song of Songs, in that it teaches us the major forms of God's goodness and reveals to us the innermost recesses and the holiest of holy mysteries of divine loving-kindness.

Some commentators misrepresent the Song of Songs, believe it to be not a spiritual book [and] come up instead with some fanciful stories inferior even to babbling old wives' tales and dare to claim that Solomon the sage wrote it as a factual account of himself and the Pharaoh's daughter.… Those of a more serious frame of mind, on the contrary, gave the name "royal" to the material, and saw the people referred to as the bride and the groom.…My view is that when they read this composition and noticed in it unguents, kisses, thighs, belly, navel, cheeks, eyes, lilies, apples, nard, ointment, myrrh and the like, in their ignorance of the characteristics of the divine Scripture they were unwilling to get beyond the surface, penetrate the veil of the expression, gain entrance in spirit and behold the glory of the Lord with face unveiled. Rather, they gave the text a corporeal interpretation and were drawn into that awful blasphemy.

But why do we doubt? The church has believed in his goodness all these ages and has confessed its faith in the saying, "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; for your breasts are better than wine," and again, "And your throat is like the goodliest wine." Of his goodness, therefore, he nourishes us with the breasts of the law and grace, soothing our sorrows by telling of heavenly things. And do we then deny his goodness, when he is the manifestation of goodness, expressing in his person the likeness of the eternal bounty, even as we showed above that it was written, that he is the spotless reflection and counterpart of that bounty?

"You gave me no kiss, but she, from the moment she entered, has not ceased to kiss my feet." A kiss is a mark of love. How, then, can a Jew have a kiss, who has not known peace, who has not received peace from Christ when he said, "My peace I give you, my peace I leave unto you"? The synagogue has no kiss, but the church has, for she waited and loved and said, "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." She wished with his kiss to quench gradually the burning of the long desire that had grown with longing for the Lord's coming; she wished to satisfy her thirst with this boon.

But the church does not cease to kiss Christ's feet, and she demands not one but many kisses in the Song of Solomon, since like blessed Mary she listens to his every saying, she receives his every word, when the gospel or prophets are read, and she keeps all these words in her heart.

Therefore, this soul also desires many kisses from the Word, in order to be illuminated by the light of divine knowledge. For this is indeed the kiss of the Word, namely, the light of sacred knowledge. For God the Word kisses us when he illuminates our heart, the very core of our spiritual being, with the light of divine knowledge, by which the soul, endowed with the pledge of marital charity, joyfully and exultantly declares: "I have opened my mouth and breathed." For the kiss is the means by which lovers cling to each other and enjoy the sweetness of inner grace. Through this kiss the soul is united to God the Word, by which the spirit of the one who kisses is poured into himself: just as those who kiss each other are not satisfied with a mere touching of lips, but seem to pour their own spirit into each other. Therefore, showing not only the appearance of the Word and a certain countenance, but also loving all its inner depths, he adds to the grace of kisses: "For your breasts are better than wine, and the scent of your ointments is above all aromatic spices." She asked for a kiss: God the Word poured himself out to her entirely, and revealed his breasts to her, that is, his doctrines, and the teachings of his inner wisdom, and he filled the air with the sweet fragrance of his ointments. He says that, once captured, there is a more abundant delight in divine knowledge than in the joy of all bodily pleasure.

Having embraced the Word of God, [the soul] desires him above every beauty; she loves him above every joy; she is delighted with him above every perfume; she wishes often to see, often to gaze, often to be drawn to him that she may follow. "Your name," she says, "is as oil poured out," and that is why we maidens love you and vie with one another but cannot attain to you. Draw us that we may run after you, that from the odor of ointments we may receive the power to follow you.

SERMON 2 VARIOUS MEANINGS OF THE KISS

During my frequent ponderings on the burning desire with which the patriarchs longed for the incarnation of Christ, I am stung with sorrow and shame. Even now I can scarcely restrain my tears, so filled with shame am I by the lukewarmness, the frigid unconcern of these miserable times. For which of us does the consummation of that event fill with as much joy as the mere promise of it inflamed the desires of the holy men of pre-Christian times? Very soon now there will be great rejoicing as we celebrate the feast of Christ's birth. But how I wish it were inspired by his birth! All the more therefore do I pray that the intense longing of those men of old, their heartfelt expectation, may be enkindled in me by these words: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." Many an upright man in those far off times sensed within himself how profuse the graciousness that would be poured upon those lips. And intense desire springing from that perception impelled him to utter: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth," hoping with every fiber of his being that he might not be deprived of a share in a pleasure so great.

2. The conscientious man of those days might repeat to himself: "Of what use to me the wordy effusions of the prophets? Rather let him who is the most handsome of the sons of men, let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. No longer am I satisfied to listen to Moses, for he is a slow speaker and not able to speak well. Isaiah is a man of unclean lips, Jeremiah does not know how to speak, he is a child ; not one of the prophets makes an impact on me with his words. But he, the one whom they proclaim, let him speak to me, "let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." I have no desire that he should approach me in their person, or address me with their words, for they are "'a watery darkness, a dense cloud;" rather in his own person "let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth;" let him whose presence is full of love, from whom exquisite doctrines flow in streams, let him become "a spring inside me, welling up to eternal life." Shall I not receive a richer infusion of grace from him whom the Father has anointed with the oil of gladness above all his rivals, provided that he will bestow on me the kiss of his mouth? For his living, active word is to me a kiss, not indeed an adhering of the lips that can sometimes belie a union of hearts, but an unreserved infusion of joys, a revealing of mysteries, a marvelous and indistinguishable mingling of the divine light with the enlightened mind, which, joined in truth to God, is one spirit with him. With good reason then I avoid trucking with visions and dreams; I want no part with parables and figures of speech; even the very beauty of the angels can only leave me wearied. For my Jesus utterly surpasses these in his majesty and splendor. Therefore I ask of him what I ask of neither man nor angel: that he kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.

Note how I do not presume that it is with his mouth I shall be kissed, for that constitutes the unique felicity and singular privilege of the human nature he assumed. No, in the consciousness of my lowliness I ask to be kissed with the kiss of his mouth, an experience shared by all who are in a position to say: "Indeed from his fullness we have, all of us, received."

3. I must ask you to try to give your whole attention here. The mouth that kisses signifies the Word who assumes human nature; the nature assumed receives the kiss; the kiss however, that takes its being both from the giver and the receiver, is a person that is formed by both, none other than "the one mediator between God and mankind, himself a man, Christ Jesus." It is for this reason that none of the saints dared say: "let him kiss me with his mouth," but rather, "with the kiss of his mouth." In this way they paid tribute to that prerogative of Christ, on whom uniquely and in one sole instance the mouth of the word was pressed, that moment when the fullness of the divinity yielded itself to him as the life of his body. A fertile kiss therefore, a marvel of stupendous self-abasement that is not a mere pressing of mouth upon mouth; it is the uniting of God with man. Normally the touch of lip on lip is the sign of the loving embrace of hearts, but this conjoining of natures brings together the human and divine, shows God reconciling "to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven.'' "For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into one.'' This was the kiss for which just men yearned under the old dispensation, foreseeing as they did that in him they would "find happiness and a crown of rejoicing," because in him were hidden "all the jewels of wisdom and knowledge.' Hence their longing to taste that fullness of his.

4. You seem to be in agreement with this explanation, but I should like you to listen to another.

Even the holy men who lived before the coming of Christ understood that God had in mind plans of peace for the human race. "Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants, the prophets." What he did reveal however was obscure to many. For in those days faith was a rare thing on the earth, and hope but a faint impulse in the heart even of many of those who looked forward to the deliverance of Israel. Those indeed who foreknew also proclaimed that Christ would come as man, and with him, peace. One of them actually said: "He himself will be peace in our land when he comes." Enlightened from above they confidently spread abroad the message that through him men would be restored to the favor of God. John, the fore-runner of the Lord, recognizing the fulfillment of that prophecy in his own time, declared: "Grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ." In our time every Christian can discover by experience that this is true.

5. In those far-off days however, while the prophets continued to foretell the covenant, and its author continued to delay his coming, the faith of the people never ceased to waver because there was no one who could redeem or save. Hence men grumbled at the postponements of the coming of this Prince of Peace so often proclaimed by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times. As doubts about the fulfillment of the prophecies began to recur, all the more eagerly did they make demands for the kiss, the sign of the promised reconcilement. It was as if a voice from among the people would challenge the prophets of peace: "How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? You are always foretelling a peace that is never realized; you promise a world of good but trouble on trouble comes." At various times in the past and in various different ways this same hope was fostered by angels among our ancestors, who in turn have passed the tidings on to us. 'Peace! Peace!' they say, "but there is no peace. If God desires to convince me of that benevolent will of his, so often vouched for by the prophets but not yet revealed by the event, then let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth, and so by this token of peace make my peace secure. For how shall I any longer put my trust in mere words ? It is necessary now that words be vindicated by action. If those men are God's envoys let him prove the truth of their words by his own advent, so often the keynote of their predictions, because unless he comes they can do nothing. He sent his servant bearing a staff, but neither voice nor life is forthcoming. I do not rise up, I am not awakened, I am not shaken out of the dust, nor do I breathe in hope, if the Prophet himself does not come down and kiss me with the kiss of his mouth."

6. Here we must add that he who professes to be our mediator with God is God's own Son, and he is God. But what is man that he should take notice of him, the son of man that he should be concerned about him? Where shall such as I am find the confidence, the daring, to entrust myself to him who is so majestic ? How shall I, mere dust and ashes, presume that God takes an interest in me? He is entirely taken up with loving his Father, he has no need of me nor of what I possess. How then shall I find assurance that if he is my mediator he will never fail me? If it be really true, as you prophets have said, that God has determined to show mercy, to reveal himself in a more favorable light," let him establish a covenant of peace, an everlasting covenant with me" by the kiss of his mouth. If he will not revoke his given word, let him empty himself," let him humble himself, let him bend to me and kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. If the mediator is to be acceptable to both parties, equally dependable in the eyes of both, then let him who is God's Son become man, let him become the Son of Man, and fill me with assurance by this kiss of his mouth. When I come to recognize that he is truly mine, then I shall feel secure in welcoming the Son of God as mediator. Not even a shadow of mistrust can then exist, for after all he is my brother, and my own flesh. It is impossible that I should be spurned by him who is bone from my bones, and flesh from my flesh.

7. We should by now have come to understand how the discontent of our ancestors displayed a need for this sacrosanct kiss, that is, the mystery of the incarnate word, for faith, hard-pressed throughout the ages with trouble upon trouble, was ever on the point of failing, and a fickle people, yielding to discouragement, murmured against the promises of God. Is this a mere improvisation on my part? I suggest that you will find it to be the teaching of the Scriptures: for instance, consider the burden of complaint and murmuring in those words: "Order on order, order on order, rule on rule, rule on rule, a little here, a little there.'' Or those prayerful exclamations, troubled yet loyal: "Give those who wait for you their reward, and let your prophets be proved worthy of belief." Again: "Bring about what has been prophesied in your name." There too you will find those soothing promises of consolation: "Behold the Lord will appear and he will not lie. If he seems slow, wait for him, for he will surely come and he will not delay." Likewise: "His time is close at hand when he will come and his days will not be prolonged." Speaking in the name of him who is promised the prophet announces: "Behold I am coming towards you like a river of peace, and like a stream in spate with the glory of the nations." In all these statements there is evidence both of the urgency of the preachers and of the distrust of those who listened to them. The people murmured, their faith wavered, and in the words of Isaiah: "the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.'' Therefore because Christ was late in coming, and the whole human race in danger of being lost in despair, so convinced was it that human weakness was an object of contempt with no hope of the reconciliation with God through a grace so frequently promised, those good men whose faith remained strong eagerly longed for the more powerful assurance that only his human presence could convey. They prayed intensely for a sign that the covenant was about to be restored for the sake of a spiritless, faithless people.

8. Oh root of Jesse, that stands as a signal to the peoples, how many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it!

Happy above them all is Simeon, by God's mercy still bearing fruit in old age! He rejoiced to think that he would see the long-desired sign. He saw it and was glad; and having received the kiss of peace he is allowed to go in peace, but not before he had told his audience that Jesus was born to be a sign that would be rejected. Time proved how true this was. No sooner had the sign of peace arisen than it was opposed, by those, that is, who hated peace;" for his peace is with men of good-will, but for the evil-minded he is "a stone to stumble over, a rock to bring men down." Herod accordingly was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. Christ "came to his own domain, and his own people did not accept him." Those shepherds, however, who kept watch over their flocks by night, were fortunate for they were gladdened by a vision of this sign. Even in those early days he was hiding these things from the learned and the clever, and revealing them to mere children. Herod, as you know, desired to see him, but because his motive was not genuine he did not succeed. The sign of peace was given only to men of good-will, hence to Herod and others like him was given the sign of the prophet Jonah." The angel said to the shepherds: "Here is a sign for you," you who are humble, obedient, not given to haughtiness, faithful to prayer and meditating day and night on God's law. "This is a sign for you," he said. What sign? The sign promised by the angels, sought after by the people, foretold by the prophets; this is the sign that the Lord Jesus has now brought into existence and revealed to you, a sign by which the incredulous are made believers, the dispirited are made hopeful and the fervent achieve security. This therefore is the sign for you. But as a sign what does it signify? It reveals mercy, grace, peace, the peace that has no end. And finally, the sign is this: "You will find a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." God himself, however, is in this baby, reconciling the world to himself. He will be put to death for your sins and raised to life to justify you, so that made righteous by faith you may be at peace with God. This was the sign of peace that the Prophet once urged King Achez to ask of the Lord his God, "either from the depths of Sheol or from the heights above." But the ungodly king refused. His wretched state blinded him to the belief that in this sign the highest things above would be joined to the lowest things below in peace. This was achieved when Christ, descending into Sheol, saluted its dwellers with a holy kiss, the pledge of peace, and then going up to heaven, enabled the spirits there to share in the same pledge in joy without end.

9. I must end this sermon. But let me sum up briefly the points we have raised. It would seem that this holy kiss was of necessity bestowed on the world for two reasons. Without it the faith of those who wavered would not have been strengthened, nor the desires of the fervent appeased. Moreover, this kiss is no other than the Mediator between God and man, himself a man, Christ Jesus, who with the Father and Holy Spirit lives and reigns as God for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMON 1 ON THE TITLE OF THE BOOK

5. Tell us, I beg you, by whom, about whom and to whom it is said: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.'' How shall I explain so abrupt a beginning, this sudden irruption as from a speech in mid-course? For the words spring upon us as if indicating one speaker to whom another is replying as she demands a kiss— whoever she may be. But if she asks for or demands a kiss from somebody, why does she distinctly and expressly say with the mouth, and even with his own mouth, as if lovers should kiss by means other than the mouth, or with mouths other than their own ? But yet she does not say: "Let him kiss me with his mouth"; what she says is still more intimate: "with the kiss of his mouth." How delightful a ploy of speech this, prompted into life by the kiss, with Scripture's own engaging countenance inspiring the reader and enticing him on, that he may find pleasure even in the laborious pursuit of what lies hidden, with a fascinating theme to sweeten the fatigue of research. Surely this mode of beginning that is not a beginning, this novelty of diction in a book so old, cannot but increase the reader's attention. It must follow too that this work was composed, not by any human skill but by the artistry of the Spirit, difficult to understand indeed but yet enticing one to investigate.

SERMON 10 THE BREASTS AND THEIR PERFUMES

I do not pretend that, left to myself, I can make any new discovery, for the reason that I lack sufficient depth of understanding and powers of penetration. But the mouth of Paul is a mighty and unfailing fountain, ever open to us all; and as I have often done before, so now too I draw from its resources in my attempt to interpret the breasts of the bride. "Rejoice," he said, "with those who rejoice, and be sad with those who sorrow." In these few words we find the description of a mother's affections, because she shares both health and sickness with her children. She cannot avoid being conformed to them in the depths of her being in these experiences. Therefore, following Paul's guidance, I shall assign these two affective movements to the bride's two breasts, compassion to one, joyful sympathy to the other. For if she were not prompt to rejoice with those who rejoice, and ready to be sad with those who sorrow, her breasts would still be undeveloped; she would be no more than a girl too immature to marry. Should a person devoid of these affective qualities be confided with the direction of souls, or the work of preaching, he will do no good to others and great harm to himself. How utterly shameful then, if he should intrude himself into these tasks!

2. But we must return to the subject of the bride's breasts, and see how the milk of one differs in kind from that of the other.

Joyful sympathy yields the milk of encouragement, compassion that of consolation, and as often as the spiritual mother receives the kiss, so often does she feel each species flowing richly from heaven into her loving heart. And you may see her unhesitatingly nourishing her little ones with the milk of these full breasts, from one the milk of consolation, from the other that of encouragement, according to the need of each. For example, if she should notice that one of those whom she begot by preaching the Good News is assailed by temptation, that he becomes emotionally disturbed, is reduced to sadness and pusillanimity and therefore no longer capable of enduring the force of the temptation, will she not condole with him, caress him, weep with him, comfort him, and bring forward every possible evidence of God's love in order to raise him from his desolate state? If, on the contrary, she discovers that he is eager, active, progressive, her joy abounds, she plies him with encouraging advice, fans the fire of his zeal, imparts the ways of perseverance, and inspires him to ever higher ideals. She becomes all things to all, mirrors in herself the emotions of all and so shows herself to be a mother to those who fail no less than to those who succeed.

3. And if I may speak of those who have undertaken the direction of souls, how many there are today who reveal their lack of the requisite qualities! Only with a feeling of pain can I speak of this subject at all -- how they melt down in the furnace of their covetousness the insults endured by Christ, the spittle, the scourging, the nails, the lance, the cross, his death itself, and squander them in the pursuit of shameful gain. The very price of the world's redemption is bundled into their purses; and only in this do they differ from Judas Iscariot, that he reckoned the total value of these things at a paltry sum of money, while they, with a more ravening greed, demand riches beyond counting. They display an insatiable passion for gains that they constantly fear to lose, and bewail after they have lost. In this love of money they find their rest, provided they are ever free from the anxiety of securing, or even further increasing, what they have acquired. Neither the peril of souls nor their salvation gives them any concern. They are certainly devoid of the maternal instinct. Grown fat, gross, bloated to excess on the heritage of the crucified Christ, "about the ruin of Joseph they do not care at all." There is no pretense about a true mother, the breasts that she displays are full for the taking. She knows how to rejoice with those who rejoice, and to be sad with those who sorrow, pressing the milk of encouragement without intermission from the breast of joyful sympathy, the milk of consolation from the breast of compassion. And with that I think we may desist from further discussion on the breasts of the bride and the milk that fills them.

SERMON 12 ON THE PRECIOUS OINTMENT OF PIETY; AND ON THE REVERENCE TO BE SHOWN BY SUBJECTS TOWARD THEIR PRELATES

11. But hear a brief word on the present chapter. Whoever both inebriates with words and is fragrant with good deeds, let him consider it said to himself: Because your breasts are better than wine, fragrant with the best ointments (Song 1:1-2). And for these things who is sufficient? Who among us possesses even one of these fully and perfectly, so that he is not at times both more barren in speaking and more lukewarm in doing? But there is one who rightly and without doubt glories in this praise: the Church, assuredly, who from her universality never lacks both that with which she may inebriate and that with which she may be fragrant. For what is lacking to her in one, she has in another, according to the measure of the gift of Christ and the moderation of the Spirit, who distributes to each as he wills (Eph 4:7; 1 Cor 12:11). The Church is fragrant in those who make friends for themselves from the mammon of unrighteousness; she inebriates in the ministers of the word, who pour the wine of spiritual joy upon the earth and make it drunk and bring forth fruit in patience. She boldly and securely calls herself the bride, inasmuch as she truly has breasts better than wine and fragrant with the best ointments. And even if none of us may presume to claim this for himself, so that anyone should dare to call his soul the bride of the Lord; yet since we are of the Church, who rightly glories in this name and in the reality of the name, not without right do we claim a share in this glory. For what we all together possess fully and entirely, each one of us without contradiction shares in. Thanks be to you, Lord Jesus, who have deigned to unite us to your most dear Church, not only that we might be faithful, but that we might also be joined to you in the manner of a bride in joyful, chaste, and eternal embraces, we too with unveiled face beholding your glory, which is yours equally together with the Father and the Holy Spirit unto the ages of ages. Amen.

SERMON 3 ON THE KISS OF THE LORD'S FOOT, HAND, AND MOUTH

1. Today we read in the book of experience. Turn to yourselves, and let each one attend to his own conscience concerning the things that are to be said. I would like to discover whether it has been given to any of you ever to say with full conviction: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth" (Song 1:1). For it is not given to any and every man to say this from the heart; but if anyone has even once received a spiritual kiss from the mouth of Christ, his own experience surely urges him on, and he gladly seeks it again. I think that no one can even know what it is unless he who receives it: for it is a hidden manna, and only he who eats will still hunger. It is a sealed fountain, with which no stranger may share; but only he who drinks will still thirst. Hear one who has experienced it, how he seeks it again. "Restore to me," he says, "the joy of your salvation" (Ps 50:14). Let not, therefore, a soul like mine, burdened with sins, still subject to the passions of its own flesh, which has not yet tasted the sweetness of the spirit, ignorant of and wholly inexperienced in the joys of the interior life, presume to claim this for itself.

2. I shall show, however, to such a soul a place in the way of salvation fitting for it. Let it not rashly rise up to the mouth of the most serene Bridegroom, but let it lie trembling with me at the feet of the most severe Lord, and with the publican, trembling, let it look upon the earth and not upon the heavens (Lk 18:13), lest the face accustomed to darkness, confounded by the luminaries of heaven, be overwhelmed by the glory, and, struck back by the unaccustomed splendors of majesty, be wrapped again in the blindness of a denser darkness. Do not let that place seem vile or contemptible to you, O whatever sort of soul you may be, where the holy sinful woman laid aside her sins and put on holiness. There the Ethiopian woman changed her skin, and restored to a new whiteness, she then confidently and truthfully answered those who reproached her with the word: "I am black, but beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem" (Song 1:4). Do you wonder by what art she was able to do this, or by what merits she obtained it? Receive it in few words. She wept bitterly, and drawing long sighs from her inmost depths, she was shaken within herself by wholesome sobs, and vomited forth her bitter humors. The heavenly physician came to her aid most swiftly: for "swiftly runs his word" (Ps 147:15). Is the word of God not a potion? It is indeed, and a strong and powerful one, "searching hearts and reins" (Ps 7:10). For "the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints also and marrow, and is a discerner of thoughts" (Heb 4:12). By the example, therefore, of this blessed penitent, cast yourself down, you too, O wretched one, that you may cease to be wretched; cast yourself down, you too, upon the earth; embrace the feet, appease with kisses, water with tears, by which, however, you wash not him but yourself, and you may become one of the flock of the shorn ones ascending from the washing (Song 4:2); so indeed may you not dare to lift up your face, suffused as it is with shame and grief, until you hear, you also: "Your sins are forgiven you" (Lk 7:37-48); until you hear: "Arise, arise, O captive daughter of Zion; arise, shake yourself from the dust" (Isa 52:1-2).

3. Having thus received the first kiss at the feet, you should not presume at once to rise up to the kiss of the mouth, but there shall be for you a step toward it, a certain other intermediate kiss, which you shall receive in the second place upon the hand: of which receive also such an account. If Jesus says to me: "Your sins are forgiven you," unless I cease to sin, what will it profit? I have put off my tunic; if I put it on again, how much have I advanced? If again I soil my feet, which I had washed, will the washing have availed anything? Filthy with every kind of vice, I lay long in the mire of the dregs; but it will without doubt be worse for one who falls back than for one who lay there. For he who made me whole, I remember, said this to me: "Behold, you are made whole; go, sin no more, lest something worse befall you" (Jn 5:14). But he who gave the will to repent must also add the virtue of continence, lest I repeat what must be repented of, and make my last state worse than my first. Woe indeed to me, even as a penitent, if he should at once withdraw his hand, without whom I can do nothing. Nothing, I say, because neither to repent nor to be continent. I hear therefore what the Wise Man counsels: "Do not," he says, "repeat a word in your prayer" (Sir 7:15). I tremble also at what the Judge threatens against the tree not bringing forth good fruit (Mt 3:10). I confess that for this reason I am not at all content with the first grace, by which I am now penitent for my evils, unless I shall also receive the second, that I may bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, and henceforth not return to my vomit.

4. This therefore remains for me first to seek and to receive, before I presume to touch things higher and more sacred. I do not wish to become suddenly the highest; I wish to advance gradually. As much as the impudence of the sinner displeases God, so much does the modesty of the penitent please him. You will appease him more quickly if you keep your measure and do not seek things higher than yourself. The leap from the foot to the mouth is a long and steep one, and the approach is not fitting. For what? Still sprinkled with fresh dust, will you touch the sacred lips? Yesterday dragged out of the mud, today you present yourself before the face of glory? Let the hand be your passage. Let it first cleanse you, let it raise you up. How does it raise you? By giving you grounds for confidence. What is that? The beauty of continence, and fruits worthy of repentance, which are works of piety. These will raise you from the dung heap to the hope of daring greater things. Indeed, in receiving the gift, kiss the hand: that is, give glory not to yourself but to his name. Give it once, and give it again, both for the sins forgiven and for the virtues bestowed. Otherwise see whence you will fortify your brow against these blows: "What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" (1 Cor 4:7).

5. Now at last, having in two kisses a twofold proof of divine condescension, perhaps you will not be confounded in presuming to approach holier things. For as much as you grow in grace, so much are you enlarged in confidence. From this it comes about that you both love more ardently and knock more boldly for that which you feel to be lacking to you. Moreover, to the one who knocks it shall be opened. Now that highest kiss, whatever it may be, of supreme condescension and wondrous sweetness, I believe will not be denied to one so disposed. This is the way, this is the order. First we fall at the feet, and we weep before the Lord who made us for the things that we have done. Second, we seek the hand of the one who lifts us up and strengthens failing knees. Last, when we have obtained these things with many prayers and tears, then at last we perhaps dare to raise our head to that very mouth of glory, trembling and quaking I say, not only to gaze upon it, but even to kiss it; because "a spirit before our face is Christ the Lord," to whom, clinging in the holy kiss, by his condescension we are made one spirit with him.

6. To you, Lord Jesus, to you rightly has my heart said: "My face has sought you; your face, O Lord, I will seek." For you made me hear your mercy in the morning, when, as I lay first in the dust and kissed your reverend footsteps, you forgave what I had lived badly. Moreover, in the progress of the day you gladdened the soul of your servant, when next in the kiss of the hand you also granted the grace of living well. And now what remains, O good Lord, except that now in the fullness of light, in the fervor of the spirit, graciously admitting me also to the kiss of the mouth, you would fill me with joy with your countenance? Show me, O sweetest one, O most serene one, show me where you pasture, where you rest at midday. Brothers, it is good for us to be here; but behold, the trouble of the day calls us away. For those who are now announced to have arrived compel us to break off rather than to finish our welcome discourse. I shall go out to the guests, lest anything be lacking to the duties of that charity of which we speak, lest perhaps it should happen that we too must hear: "For they say, and do not do" (Mt 23:3). In the meantime, pray that God may make the free offerings of my mouth pleasing, for your own edification, and for the praise and glory of his name.

SERMON 4 THE KISS OF THE LORD'S FEET, HANDS AND MOUTH

Yesterday our talk dealt with three stages of the soul's progress under the figure of the three kisses. You still remember this, I hope, for today I intend to continue that same discussion, according as God in his goodness may provide for one so needy. We said, as you remember, that these kisses were given to the feet, the hand and the mouth, in that order. The first is the sign of a genuine conversion of life, the second is accorded to those making progress, the third is the experience of only a few of the more perfect. The book of Scripture that we have undertaken to expound begins with this last kiss, but I have added the other two in the hope that you will attain a better understanding of the last. I leave it to you to judge whether this was necessary, but I do really think that the very nature of the discourse clearly suggests that they be included. And I should be surprised if you did not see that she who said: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth," wished to make a distinction between the kiss of the mouth and another or several other kisses. It might have been enough for her to have said simply: "Let him kiss me." Why then should she distinctly and pointedly add: "with the kiss of his mouth," a usage that is certainly not customary? Is it not that she wished to indicate that this kiss at the summit of love's intimacy is not the sole one? People normally say, do they not: "Kiss me," or "Give me a kiss"? Nobody adds the words: "with your mouth," or, "with the kiss of your mouth." When we wish to kiss somebody, we do not have to state explicitly what we want when we offer our lips to each other. For example, St John's story of Christ's reception of the traitor's kiss simply says: "He kissed him," without adding "with his mouth or with the kiss of his mouth." This is normal procedure then both in speech and in writing. We have here three stages of the soul's growth in love, three stages of its advance toward perfection that are sufficiently known and intelligible to those who have experienced them. There is first the forgiveness of sins, then the grace that follows on good deeds, and finally that contemplative gift by which a kind and beneficent Lord shows himself to the soul with as much clarity as bodily frailty can endure.

2. Perhaps I should here attempt a better explanation of my reason for calling the first two favors kisses. We all know that the kiss is a sign of peace. If what Scripture says is true: "Our iniquities have made a gulf between us and God," then peace can be attained only when the intervening gulf is bridged. When therefore we make satisfaction and become reconciled by the re-joining of the cleavage caused by sin, in what better way can I describe the favor we receive than as a kiss of peace? Nor is there a more becoming place for this kiss than at the feet; the amends we make for the pride of our transgressions ought to be humble and diffident.

3. But when God endows us with the more ample grace of a sweet friendship with him, in order to enable us to live with a virtue that is worthy of such a relationship, we tend to raise our heads from the dust with a greater confidence for the purpose of kissing, as is the custom, the hand of our benefactor. It is essential however that we should not make this favor the occasion of self-glorification, we must give the glory to him from whom it comes. For if you glory in yourself rather than in the Lord, it is your own hand that you kiss, not his, which, according to the words of Job, is the greatest evil and a denial of God. If therefore, as Scripture suggests, the seeking of one's own glory is like kissing one's own hand, then he who gives glory to God is quite properly said to be kissing God's hand. We see this to be the case among men. Slaves beg pardon of their offended masters by kissing their feet, and the poor kiss their benefactor's hand when they receive an alms.

4. This poses a problem for you? God is spirit, his simple substance cannot be considered to have bodily members, so then, you say, show us what you mean by the hands and feet of God; explain to us the kiss of these hands and feet. But if I in turn put a question to my critic about the mouth of God — for, after all, Scripture does speak of the kiss of the mouth — will he tell me that this of course does refer to God. Surely if we attribute a mouth to God we may also attribute hands and feet, for, if he lacks these latter he must lack the former too.

But God has a mouth by which "he teaches men knowledge," he has a hand with which "he provides for all living creatures," and he has feet for which the earth is a footstool. When the sinners of the earth are converted from their ways, it is in abasement before these feet that they make satisfaction. I allow of course that God does not have these members by his nature, they represent certain modes of our encounter with him. The heartfelt desire to admit one's guilt brings a man down in lowliness before God, as it were to his feet; the heartfelt devotion of a worshiper finds in God renewal and refreshment, the touch, as it were, of his hand, and the delights of contemplation lead on to that ecstatic repose that is the fruit of the kiss of his mouth. Because his providence rules over all, he is all things to all, yet, to speak with accuracy, he is in no way what these things are. If we consider him in himself, his home is in inaccessible light, his peace is so much greater than we can understand, his wisdom has no bounds. No one can measure his greatness, no man can see him and live. Yet he who by his very nature is the principle through whom all creatures spring into being, cannot be far from any of us, since without him all are nothing. More wonderful still, though no one can be more intimately present to us than he, no one is more incomprehensible. For what is more intimate to anything than its own being? And yet, what is more incomprehensible to any of us than the being of all things? Of course when I say that God is the being of all things, I do not wish it to be understood in the sense that he and they are identical, but rather in the sense of the words of Scripture: "All that exists comes from him, all is by him and in him." He is the creator, the efficient cause, not the material, of every creature. Such is the way the God whose majesty is so great has decided to be present to his creatures: as the being of all things that are, as the life of all things that live; a light to all those who think, virtue to all who think rightly and glory to those who prevail in life's battle.

In this work of creation, of government, of administration, of imparting motion, of steering toward particular ends, of renewal and strengthening, he has no need of bodily instruments. By his word alone he had made all things, both corporeal and spiritual. Souls have a need for bodies, and bodies in turn a need for senses, if they are to know and influence each other. Not so the omnipotent God, who by the immediate act of his will, and that alone both creates and governs at his good pleasure. His influence touches whom he wills, as much as he wills, without calling on the aid or service of bodily powers. What possible help could he receive from bodily senses when he decides to take cognizance of the things he brought into being? Nothing has the remotest chance of hiding from him, or of escaping that light of his that penetrates everywhere; sense awareness can never be the medium of his knowledge. Not merely does he know all things without a body's intervention, he also makes himself known to the pure in heart without the need for recourse to it. I have spoken extensively on this point in order to make it more plain for you, but now pressure of time demands that I come to an end, so we must postpone further discussion till tomorrow.

SERMON 5 ON THE FOUR KINDS OF SPIRITS

5 As you know, spirits can be divided into classes: that of the animal, that of man, that of the angel, and that of God who created all the others. Each of these, with one exception, needs a body or a body's likeness, either for its own sake or for the sake of others or for both. The exception is he whom every creature, whether corporeal or spiritual, is called on to acknowledge in sentiments like the Psalmist: "You are my God because you have no need of my goods (Ps 15,2)." If we consider the animal we see that its spirit, its life principle, cannot even exist without a body. When the animal dies its soul ceases to live at the same moment that it ceases to impart life. We indeed continue to live after the body's death, but only by means of the body do we gain those merits that lead to a life of blessedness. St Paul sensed this, saying: "The invisible things of God are understood through the things he has made (Rm 1,20)." All creatures that he has made, creatures that possess a body and are therefore visible, can be understood by our minds only through the body's instrumentality. Therefore our souls have need of a body. Without it we cannot attain to that form of knowledge by which alone we are elevated toward the contemplation of truths essential to happiness. If one of you will object that baptized infants who die before acquiring a knowledge of the material creation are believed nevertheless to enter heaven, I shall reply briefly that this is a gift of grace, not a reward of merit. For the moment this discussion deals with normal processes, not with the special interventions of God.

2. Let us now study the case of heavenly spirits. We can be absolutely sure that these have a need of bodies from those divinely inspired words: "Are they not all spirits whose work is service, sent to help those who will be the heirs of salvation?" (He 1,14) How will it be possible for them to fulfill this service without a body, especially among beings who possess bodies? Is it not true that only creatures with bodies can run to and fro and pass from place to place ? Do we not know on unimpeachable authority that angels have frequently acted that way? You recall how they were seen by the patriarchs of old, how they entered their tents, shared their meal, and had their feet washed. And so we see that though both animal and angelic spirits have need of bodies, it is not for their own sakes but in order to render some service to others.

3. The animal kingdom is destined by nature to serve, and that service is fulfilled in alleviating the temporal and physical needs of man; the animal spirit or soul is limited by time, it dies with the body. You know then "the slave does not continue in the house forever," but those who treat him well will discover that the usage of this temporal service will redound to eternal rewards. The angel, however, in the freedom of his spirit, applies himself with eagerness to the demands of his duty, which is to bring prompt and swift assistance to us mortals in our striving for the blessings that are to come. He knows that we are destined to be fellow-citizens with him; and co-heirs of the bliss of heaven. Therefore both the animal and the angel need bodies that they might be of help to us, the first that he may give us the service appropriate to his nature, the second that he may lovingly support us. What benefit they themselves may derive from a body I cannot see, at least with regard to eternal life. The spirit of the animal can indeed perceive corporeal things by means of the body, but is this body of such potential value to him that the material world which he experiences through the senses enables him to advance to a knowledge of spiritual and intellectual truths? Surely not. On the other hand, within the limits of its corporeal and temporal service, the body does provide a gateway to a knowledge of these truths for those who transmute their usage of the things of time into coin of eternal reward, "dealing with this world as though they had no dealing with it."

4. We must understand too that if the angel can soar to a grasp of the highest truths and penetrate their profoundest depths, he does so by the vital force and kinship of his nature rather than with the aid of a body, or with the awareness of things that bodily senses provide. St Paul implied this when he said: "The invisible things of God are understood through the things he has made," adding the qualification, "by the creature of the world (Rm 1,2)." Because this is not so for the creature of heaven. For, what the spirit clothed in flesh and dwelling on the earth strives to achieve gradually and little by little, through the knowledge it derives from the senses, that same the dweller of the heavens attains with all speed and ease, because of the native fineness and sublime quality of its being. No prop of bodily sense sustains its poise, no bodily member ministers aid to its effort, no bodily medicine whatsoever contributes to its vision. Why should they search for spiritual meanings among bodily substances when they can find them in the book of life without any discordance, and understand them without any hardship. Why should a man work his sweat out winnowing grain from the chaff, pressing wine from grapes and oil from olives if he has an abundance of all these things ready to hand? Who will beg his food from door to door when his own house is stocked with bread? Will he bother to dig a well, to explore with might and main for springs of water in the bowels of the earth, for whom a burbling fountain pours out full-flowing, limpid streams? Neither angelic nor brute spirit therefore can benefit from corporeal aids in acquiring the knowledge that makes a spiritual being happy. The brute's natural stupidity renders him incapable of that knowledge, while the angel, by a prerogative of splendor and excellence, has no need of a bodily intermediary.

5. We come now to the spirit of man. This, since it holds a middle place between the extremes of bestial and angelic spirits, manifestly has a twofold need of a body: without it the soul can act neither for its own advantage nor for the benefit of others. For, to say nothing of the other members of the body or of the duties they perform, how, I ask, can you instruct the listener if you have no tongue, or receive instruction if you have no ear ?

6. Therefore, since without the support of the body the brute spirit cannot offer the service it owes, nor the heavenly spirit fulfill its labor of love, nor the rational spirit of man succeed in providing for its own and its neighbor's salvation, it follows that every created spirit certainly has a need of bodily faculties whether it be mercy to assist others, or, as in the case of man, to assist as well as being assisted. What then if there be some living things whose existence seems to confer no benefit on themselves, nor to minister in any obvious way to the needs of humanity? Well, are they not good to look at, if not to use? They are for the mind's study rather than the body's utility, there their advantage lies. Even if injurious, and an obstacle to human welfare in this world, their bodies still serve a purpose for all those whom he had called according to his purpose to be saints. If these creatures do not provide food or perform a service, they certainly make man use his wits in accord with that progress in understanding common to all who enjoy the use of reason, by which the mysteries of God may be apprehended and contemplated through the things he has made. For both the devil and his satellites, whose intentions are always evil are ever bent on hurting those who do what is right. To these latter St Peter said "Who can hurt you if you are determined to do only what is right?" (1P 3,13) God forbid that they should be able to harm you. The truth rather is that in spite of themselves they benefit the good.

7. As for the rest, whether the bodies of angels be natural to them as bodies are to men; whether, immortal though they be, their bodies have an animal nature like man's, which in this life is not immortal; whether they change these bodies and turn them into whatever form and figure suits them when they wish to become visible, imparting to them the density and solidity that fits their purpose, while at the same time, in the reality of their own nature with its essential subtlety, they remain impalpable to us and beyond our power of vision; or whether again, while continuing to exist as simple spiritual substances, they merely assume bodies when they find a need for them and then, once the need has passed, allow them to dissolve again into the elements from which they were formed all these are questions which I prefer that you should not ask me. The Fathers seem to have held divergent views on the problem, and I must confess that I cannot come to a decision about the view I might be justified in teaching. But I am of the opinion that knowledge of these matters would not contribute greatly to your spiritual progress.

8. Try to understand this however, that no created spirit can of itself act directly on our minds. This means that without the mediation of a bodily instrument it cannot make contact with or infuse itself into our minds, so that thereby we either acquire knowledge or increase it, acquire virtue or improve on it. No angel, no created spirit has power to influence me in this way, nor can I influence them. Even the angels lack this power over each other.

That is a prerogative reserved to that supreme and infinite Spirit, who alone, when he imparts instruction to man or angel, does not require an ear to hear him nor a mouth to speak. He communicates himself directly to the mind, he makes himself known directly; a pure spirit himself, he is received by us in proportion to our rectitude. He alone has need of no one, he alone, by reason of his omnipotent will, is sufficient for himself and for all.

9. Nevertheless, there are boundless and countless achievements that he carries through by means of his subject creatures, whether corporeal or spiritual, but he uses them as master rather than as suppliant. For example, he now employs my tongue for his purpose of instructing you, when he could certainly impart the same knowledge directly with greater facility on his part and more pleasure for you. This mode of acting that he has chosen represents an indulgence on his part, not indigence. He makes this promotion of your welfare an occasion of merit for me; it does not mean that he needs my assistance. This is a truth that every man should remember when he does good deeds, lest he give glory to himself and not to the Lord for the fruits of grace. There is furthermore the case of the person, be he bad angel or bad man, who performs good deeds against his will. It is plain that the good of which he is the agent does not benefit himself since no good can benefit one whose will is set against it. He is therefore merely a dispenser of good, but, I know not why, we seem to feel that the good which comes to us through an evil agent is on that account more gratifying and pleasurable. This is the reason why God makes use of the wicked to benefit the just; it by no means implies that he needs their help in doing good.

10. And who will doubt that God has less need still of those creatures that lack sense or reason? But when these do have a share in the doing of good we are reminded that all creatures are the servants of that God who can so rightly say: "The world is mine (Ps 149,12)." Again, because he knows the means that best suit his purpose, he does not choose a bodily creature for the sake of the efficacy of its action but rather for the fittingness of it. Granted then that bodily agents are often and opportunely used in promoting the works of God, for example, the showers that quicken the seeds, that multiply the crops and ripen the fruit, what need has he, I ask, for a body of his own when to his least desire all bodies, both in heaven and on earth, are equally obedient? A body of his own would be superfluous to one for whom none exists outside his sway. But if I were to include in this present sermon all the points that might be dealt with on this subject, it would be unreasonably prolonged, and I should perhaps overtax the endurance of some. We shall find another occasion to discuss them.

SERMON 6 ON THE SUPREME AND UNCIRCUMSCRIBED SPIRIT, WHO IS GOD: AND IN WHAT WAY MERCY AND JUDGMENT ARE CALLED THE FEET OF THE LORD

1. That the following sermon may cohere with the preceding one, do you retain what was given above, that the supreme and uncircumscribed Spirit alone does not need the instrument or service of a body for everything that he wishes to do or to have done? Let us therefore securely grant to God alone, as true immortality, so also true incorporeality: that he alone among spirits so far transcends every corporeal nature that he needs no body whatsoever for any work whatsoever, content with a spiritual nod alone, when he wills, for whatever things he wills to accomplish. Therefore that majesty alone is the one which needs the work of no corporeal instrument, neither on account of itself nor on account of another, at whose omnipotent decree every work is unhesitatingly at hand, every lofty thing bows down, every adversity yields, every creature complies, even with no bodily or spiritual aid intervening or assisting. He teaches and admonishes without a tongue; he gives and holds without hands; without feet he runs and comes to the aid of those who perish.

2. He was doing these things also with the fathers in earlier ages; men were experiencing his diligent benefits, but the benefactor was hidden from them. He indeed was reaching from end to end mightily; but disposing all things sweetly, he was not perceived by men. And they rejoiced in the good things of the Lord; and the Lord of Sabaoth, because he judged all things with tranquility, they utterly did not know. They were from him, but not with him; through him they lived, but not for him; from him they had wisdom, but not of him—alienated, ungrateful, senseless. Hence at length it came about that what they were, what they lived, what they understood, they did not attribute to the Author, but ascribed to nature, or certainly, what was more foolish, to fortune; many also arrogated many things to their own industry and virtue. How much did seducing spirits usurp for themselves! How much was given to the sun and the moon! How much was attributed to lands and waters! How much even was assigned to the manufactured and wrought works of mortals! To herbs, shrubs, and the most minute and worthless seeds worship was offered as to divinities.

3. Alas! Thus men lost and exchanged their glory for the likeness of a calf that eats hay (Ps 105:20). God, having pity on their errors, graciously going forth from the shady and thick mountain, set his tabernacle in the sun (Ps 18:6). He offered flesh to those wise in the flesh, through which they might learn to understand the spirit as well. For while in the flesh and through the flesh he does works not of the flesh but of God, indeed commanding nature and overcoming fortune, making foolish the wisdom of men, and conquering the tyranny of demons, he manifestly shows himself to be the one through whom the same things were also done before, when they were done. In the flesh, I say, and through the flesh, powerfully and openly working wonders, speaking salutary words, suffering indignities, he evidently shows that he himself is the one who powerfully, but invisibly, had founded the ages, wisely governed them, and kindly protected them. Finally, while he preaches the gospel to the ungrateful, gives signs to the unbelieving, and prays for his own crucifiers, does he not clearly declare himself to be the one who with his Father daily makes his sun to rise upon the good and the evil, and sends rain upon the just and the unjust? (Mt 5:45) For this is what he himself was saying: If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe (Jn 10:37).

4. Behold, he opens the mouth of his flesh, teaching the disciples on the mountain, who in silence teaches the angels in the heavens. Behold, at the touch of his bodily hand leprosy is healed, blindness is driven away, hearing is restored, the mute tongue is loosed, the disciple nearly drowned is raised up; and he is recognized without doubt as the one to whom David had said long before: You open your hand, and fill every living thing with blessing (Ps 144:16); and again: When you open your hand, all things shall be filled with goodness (Ps 103:28). Behold, lying at his bodily feet and repenting, the sinful woman hears: Your sins are forgiven you (Lk 7:48), and she recognizes him of whom she had read written from many ages past: The devil shall go forth before his feet (Hab 3:5). For where sin is forgiven, there without doubt the devil is expelled from the heart of the sinner. Hence he says universally of all the penitent: Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the prince of this world be cast out (Jn 12:31): namely, that God forgives the sin of the one who humbly confesses; and the devil loses the dominion which he had invaded in the heart of man.

5. Finally, he walks upon the waves with his bodily feet (Mt 14:25), he to whom, not yet clothed in flesh, the Psalmist had already sung: Your way is in the sea, and your paths in many waters; which is to say: You trample the swelling hearts of the proud, and you restrain the unstable desires of the carnal, justifying the ungodly and humbling the proud. Yet because this is done invisibly, the carnal man does not perceive by whom it is done. Whence he also adds: And your footsteps shall not be known (Ps 76:20). Hence again the Father says to the Son: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet (Ps 109:1); that is: Until I subject all who despise you to your will, whether unwilling and wretched, or willing and blessed. And so, because the flesh did not perceive this work of the Spirit (for the natural man does not perceive those things which are of the Spirit of God (1 Cor 2:14)), it was necessary that, bodily falling at his bodily feet and bodily kissing those same feet with bodily lips, the sinful woman should receive the forgiveness of sins; and thus that change of the right hand of the Most High (Ps 76:11), by which he wonderfully but invisibly justifies the ungodly, should become known even to the carnal.

6. But those spiritual feet of God, which the penitent must first kiss spiritually, I ought not to pass over. I know your curiosity, which allows nothing to pass by altogether uninvestigated of its own accord. Nor indeed should it be held in contempt to know with what feet Scripture so frequently commemorates that God now stands, as there: We will worship in the place where his feet have stood (Ps 131:7); now walks, as there: And I will dwell in them, and I will walk among them (Lev 26:12; 2 Cor 6:16); now even runs, according to that: He exulted as a giant to run his course (Ps 18:6). If the Apostle rightly judged it fitting to refer the head of Christ to the Divinity (1 Cor 11:3), I think it may also not unfittingly seem to us that the feet pertain to the humanity; of which let us name the one mercy, and the other judgment. These two words are known to you; and from many places of Scripture both together, if you reflect, come to mind. That God indeed took up the foot of mercy in the flesh to which he united himself, the Epistle to the Hebrews teaches, declaring that Christ was tempted in all things according to our likeness without sin, that he might become merciful (Heb 4:15). What of that other one, which has been called judgment? Does not God the man himself openly signify that it too pertains equally to the humanity he assumed, where he declares that power to execute judgment has been given to him by the Father, because he is the Son of Man? (Jn 5:27)

7. With these two feet, then, fittingly coming together under the one head of the divinity, born of a woman, made under the law, the invisible Emmanuel was seen on earth and conversed with men (Bar 3:38). With these certainly he passes through even now, doing good and healing all who are oppressed by the devil, but spiritually, but invisibly. With these feet, I say, he walks through devout minds, unceasingly examining and searching the hearts and inward parts of the faithful. But see whether perhaps these are those legs of the Bridegroom which the Bride so magnificently commends in what follows, comparing them, if I am not mistaken, to marble columns set upon bases of gold (Song 5:15). Most beautifully indeed; since in the incarnate Wisdom of God, which is designated by gold, mercy and truth have met together (Ps 84:11); for all the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth (Ps 24:10).

8. Happy the mind into which the Lord Jesus has once fixed both feet! By two signs recognize the mind which is of this kind, which necessarily bears with it the impressions of the divine footsteps. These are fear and hope; the one representing the image of judgment, the other of mercy. Rightly is God well-pleased with those who fear him, and with those who hope in his mercy (Ps 146:11): since fear is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 1:7), and hope is its progress; for love claims for itself the consummation. Since these things are so, the fruit is not small in this first kiss, which is received at the feet; only take care that you be deprived of neither of them. For indeed, if you are now pierced by sorrow for sin and by the fear of judgment, you have pressed your lips to the footstep of truth and judgment. But if you temper your fear and sorrow by consideration of the divine goodness and by the hope of obtaining pardon, know that you also embrace the foot of mercy. Otherwise it is not expedient to kiss the one without the other; for the remembrance of judgment alone casts one headlong into the abyss of despair, and the deceitful flattery of mercy alone engenders the worst security.

9. It has been given even to me, a wretch, sometimes to sit beside the feet of the Lord Jesus, and to embrace now this one, now that one, with all devotion, insofar as his goodness deigned to admit me. But whenever, forgetful of his compassion, with my conscience goading me, I clung to the foot of judgment a little too long, at once, cast down by incredible fear and wretched confusion, and enveloped in dark horror, I could only cry out trembling from the depths: Who knows the power of your wrath, and for fear of you can reckon your anger? (Ps 89:11-12) But if, leaving that foot behind, it happened that I held the foot of mercy too much, on the contrary I was dissolved into so great a carelessness and negligence that at once both prayer grew more tepid, and action more sluggish, and laughter more ready, and speech more incautious, and in short the whole state of both the inner and outer man appeared more inconstant. Therefore, instructed by experience as my teacher, I will no longer sing of judgment alone, or of mercy alone; but of mercy together with judgment will I sing to you, O Lord (Ps 100:1). Forever I will not forget these justifications; both together shall be my song in the place of my pilgrimage, until, mercy having been exalted above judgment, misery falls silent, and my glory alone sings to you hereafter, and I am pierced no more.

SERMON 7 INTIMACIES OF THE LOVE OF GOD

I can see now that I involved myself in more work when I thoughtlessly laid myself open to your questions! After I had introduced the subject of the first kiss I went on to explain, rather protractedly, the spiritual feet of God with their signification and names. Now you proceed to ask about the hand to which the second kiss is given. Well -- I submit! I must try to comply with your wishes; and even more than you wish; I shall treat not only of one hand but of two, each under a particular name. One I shall call liberality because it gives generously; the other fortitude because it powerfully defends whatever it gives. One who will not be found ungrateful must kiss each of these hands, in order to acknowledge and praise God as the giver and conserver of all-good things.

I should think that by now I have said enough about these two kisses, so we shall pass on to the third.

2. "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth," she said. Now who is this "she"? The bride. But why bride? Because she is the soul thirsting for God. In order to clarify for you the characteristics of the bride, I shall deal briefly with the diverse affective relationships between persons. Fear motivates a slave's attitude to his master, gain that of wage-earner to his employer, the learner is attentive to his teacher, the son is respectful to his father. But the one who asks for a kiss, she is a lover. Among all the natural endowments of man love holds first place, especially when it is directed to God, who is the source whence it comes. No sweeter names can be found to embody that sweet interflow of affections between the Word and the soul, than bridegroom and bride. Between these all things are equally shared, there are no selfish reservations, nothing that causes division. They share the same inheritance, the same table, the same home, the same marriage-bed, they are flesh of each other's flesh. "This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body." The bride for her part is bidden to "forget her nation and her ancestral home," so that the bridegroom may fall in love with her beauty. Therefore if a love relationship is the special and outstanding characteristic of the bride and groom, it is not unfitting to call the soul that loves God a bride. Now one who asks for a kiss is in love. It is not for liberty that she asks, nor for an award, not for an inheritance nor even knowledge, but for a kiss. It is obviously the request of a bride who is chaste, who breathes forth a love that is holy, a love whose ardor she cannot entirely disguise. For note how abruptly she bursts into speech. About to ask a great favor from a great personage, she does not resort, as others do, to the arts of seduction, she makes no devious or fawning solicitations for the prize that she covets. There is no preamble, no attempt to conciliate favor. No, but with a spontaneous outburst from the abundance of her heart, direct even to the point of boldness, she says: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth."

3. Does not this seem to you to indicate that she wished to say: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing upon earth that I desire besides you."

Her love is surely chaste when it seeks the person whom she loves, and not some other thing of his. It is a holy love, the impulse of an upright spirit rather than of carnal desire. And it is an ardent love, blinded by its own excess to the majesty of the beloved. For what are the facts? He is the one at whose glance the earth trembles, and does she demand that he give her a kiss? Can she be possibly drunk? Absolutely drunk! And the reason? It seems most probable that when she uttered those passionate words she had just come out from the cellar of wine; afterwards she boasts of having been there. David in his turn cried out to God concerning people such as the bride: "They shall be inebriated with the plenty of your house; and you will make them drink of the torrent of your pleasure." How great this power of love: what great confidence and freedom of spirit! What is more manifest than that fear is driven out by perfect love!

4. There is a certain modesty in the fact that she directs that utterance of hers not to the Bridegroom himself but to others, as if he were absent: "Let him kiss me," she exclaimed, "with the kiss of his mouth." A sublime favor is petitioned, and hence there is need that the petitioner should be commended by a becoming modesty in the manner of the request. One who seeks access to the interior of the home goes round to the intimate friends or members of the household to attain what he desires. In this present instance who might these people be? In my opinion they are the holy angels who wait on us as we pray, who offer to God the petitions and desires of men, at least of those men whose prayer they recognize to be sincere, free from anger and dissension. We find proof of this in the words of the angel to Tobias: "When you prayed with tears and buried the dead, and left your dinner and hid the dead by day in your house, and buried them by night, I offered your prayer to the Lord." I feel that you are fully persuaded of this from many other testimonies of Scripture. That the holy angels do condescend to mingle with us when we praise God in psalmody is very clearly stated by the Psalmist: "The princes went before, joined with the singers, in the midst of young damsels playing on timbrels." He also said: "I will sing praise to you in the sight of the angels."

For this reason it makes me sad to see some of you deep in the throes of sleep during the night office, to see that instead of showing reverence for those princely citizens of heaven you appear like corpses. When you are fervent they respond with eagerness and are filled with delight in participating in your solemn offices. What I fear is that one day, repelled by our sloth, they will angrily depart. Too late then shall we remorsefully cry out to God: "You have turned my friends away from me and made me repulsive to them;" or again: "You have turned my friends and neighbors from me, my acquaintances from my misery;" or yet again: "They that were near me stood afar off, and they that sought my soul used violence." It is certain indeed that if the good spirits withdraw from us, we shall not easily withstand the obsessions of the evil ones. And so I must warn the slothful: "Cursed be he who does the work of God half-heartedly." It is not I but the Lord who says: "Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, I will spew you out of my mouth." Be mindful then of these angelic princes when you go to pray or to sing the psalms; stand with disciplined reverence and be proud that your angels continuously see the face of the Father. Since they are all spirits whose work is service, sent to help those who will be the heirs of salvation, they bear our prayers to God in heaven and return laden with graces for us. Let us make use of the service of those in whose company our lot is cast, that by the mouths of children and babes in arms praise may be made perfect. Let us invite them: "Sing praises to God, sing praises!" And let us hear them in turn responding: "Sing praises to our king, sing praises!"

5. Joined therefore as you are in songs of praise with heaven's own singers, since you too are citizens like all the saints, and part of God's household, sing wisely. As food is sweet to the palate, so does a psalm delight the heart. But the soul that is sincere and wise will not fail to chew the psalm with the teeth as it were of the mind, because if he swallows it in a lump, without proper mastication, the palate will be cheated of the delicious flavor, sweeter even than honey that drips from the comb. Let us with the Apostles offer a honey-comb at the table of the Lord in the heavenly banquet. As honey flows from the comb so should devotion flow from the words; otherwise if one attempts to assimilate them without the condiment of the Spirit "the written letters bring death." But if like St. Paul you sing praises not only with the spirit but with the mind as well, you too will experience the truth of Jesus' statement: "The words I have spoken to you are spirit, and they are life;" the truth too of the words of Wisdom: "My spirit is sweet above honey."

6. Doing this your soul shall be delighted in fatness, you will find your holocaust acceptable; you will conciliate the king, give pleasure to his princes and win the favor of the whole assembly above. And when they smell this sweet fragrance in the heavens, they will surely say of you too: "What is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, breathing of myrrh and frankincense and every perfume the merchant knows?"

"The princes of Judah," the Psalmist exclaimed, "are their leaders, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali;" the angelic princes are the leaders of those whose work is the praise of God; who live lives of continence, lives of contemplation. Our angelic princes know how pleasing to their King are the praises of psalmody, the fortitude of chaste souls, the singleness of purpose of contemplatives; and they are eager to discover in us these and other first-fruits of the Spirit, which are none other than the first and purest fruits of wisdom. You are not unaware that in Hebrew the word Judah means one who praises or makes acknowledgment, the word Zebulun, a fortified dwelling, and Naphtali, a swift hind, whose powers of agile leaping signify the ecstatic ardors of the contemplative mind. As the hind penetrates the wood's dark avenues, so does the contemplative spirit penetrate the obscure meanings of things. And finally we have God's own words: "Whoever offers praise, his sacrifice honors me."

7. Now if praise is unseemly in a sinner's mouth, do you not see how entirely necessary is the virtue of continence, if you are not to let sin reign in your mortal bodies? Nevertheless, continence will gain you no credit before God if you flaunt it for the praises of men. Consequently there is the greatest need too for that uprightness of intention by which you will both strive to please God alone and find the strength to adhere to him. This adherence to God is nothing less than that vision of God granted as a unique favor only to the pure in heart. That David had this clean heart is evident from his words: "My soul clings close to you"; and again: "My joy lies in being close to God." His vision of God brought him close to God, his closeness assured the vision. The man who lives in this state habitually will have the angels for his frequent and familiar guests, especially if they frequently find him in prayer. How I desire, O benign princes, that through you my requests may be made known to God! I do not refer here to God's normal knowledge, for the very thought of man is known to him, but rather that they be apprehended in the actual presence of God, by those who abide with God, both the holy angels and the glorified souls of men. Who will raise me up, in my poverty, from the dust, in my indigence from the dunghill, that I may share a place with the princes and be assigned a seat of honor? I am convinced that they will welcome with joy into their mansions him whom it pleased them to visit on the dunghill. Is it possible that we should be snubbed in heaven by those whom our conversion here below made so happy?

8. I think, therefore, that it was to these members of the household and her companions, that the bride addressed her request, to these she revealed her heart's desire when she said: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." See the familiar and friendly communication there is between the aspiring soul who is still in the flesh and those powerful heavenly spirits. Her desire is to be kissed, she asks for what she desires; but she doesn't call her lover by name, she is certain that they know him because he has been so often the subject of her conversation with them. Accordingly she does not say: "Let this one or that one kiss me;" but simply: "let him Kiss me." This was the way Mary Magdalen behaved; she did not mention the name of the person she sought when she spoke to the man whom she took to be the gardener: "Sir, if you have taken him away ...." Who is this "him"? She names no name, she takes for granted that what her own heart could not forget, even for a moment, must be plain to all. And so the bride's words to the Bridegroom's companions imply that they know her secret, that her inward state is manifest to them, and no name passes her lips in that impulsive pleading about her beloved: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." Today I shall speak no more to you about this kiss, I shall detain you no longer, but tomorrow you will hear from me whatever your prayers may win from him whose anointing teaches about all things. For flesh and blood do not reveal such a secret, but only he who searches the depths of God, the Holy Spirit who, proceeding from the Father and the Son, lives and reigns equally with them for ever. Amen.

SERMON 8 THE HOLY SPIRIT: THE KISS OF THE MOUTH

As I promised yesterday, and as you well remember, today we are to speak of the supreme kiss, that of the mouth. You must listen with more than usual attention to a theme that is sweet to the spirit above all others, that is so rare an experience and more difficult to understand. I think I should begin by considering the higher truths, and it seems to me that a kiss past comprehension, beyond the experience of any mere creature, was designated by him who said: "No one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." For the Father loves the Son whom he embraces with a love that is unique; he who is infinite embraces his equal, who is eternal, his co-eternal the sole God, his only-begotten. But the Son's bond with him is not less affectionate, for it led him even to death, as he himself testifies: "That all might know that I love the Father, rise, let us go." And he went forth, as we know, to his passion. Now, that mutual knowledge and love between him who begets and him who is begotten -- what can it comprise if not a kiss that is utterly sweet, but utterly a mystery as well?

2. For my part I am convinced that no creature, not even an angel, is permitted to comprehend this secret of divine love, so holy and so august. Does not Paul proclaim from his own experience that this is a peace which passes all understanding, even that of the angels? And hence the bride, although otherwise so audacious, does not dare to say: "Let him kiss me with his mouth," for she knows that this is the prerogative of the Father alone. What she does ask for is something less: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." Do you wish to see the newly-chosen bride receiving this unprecedented kiss, given not by the mouth but by the kiss of the mouth? Then look at Jesus in the presence of his Apostles: "He breathed on them," according to St John, "and he said: 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" That favor, given to the newly-chosen Church, was indeed a kiss. That? you say. That corporeal breathing? O no, but rather the invisible Spirit, who is so bestowed in that breath of the Lord that he is understood to proceed from him equally as from the Father, truly the kiss that is common both to him who kisses and to him who is kissed. Hence the bride is satisfied to receive the kiss of the Bridegroom, though she be not kissed with his mouth. For her it is no mean or contemptible thing to be kissed by the kiss, because it is nothing less than the gift of the Holy Spirit. If, as is properly understood, the Father is he who kisses, the Son he who is kissed, then it cannot be wrong to see in the kiss the Holy Spirit, for he is the imperturbable peace of the Father and the Son, their unshakable bond, their undivided love, their indivisible unity.

3. He it is then who inspires the daring spirit of the bride, he it is whom she trustingly petitions to come to her under the guise of a kiss. But this boldness in her request is justified by something that she knows. For when the Son said: "No one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son," he added: "and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." But the bride has no doubt that if he will reveal himself to anybody, it will be to her. Therefore, she dares to ask for this kiss, actually for that Spirit in whom both the Father and the Son will reveal themselves to her. For it is not possible that one of these could be known without the other. That is why Christ said: "To have seen me is to have seen the Father;" and John in his turn: "No one who has the Father can deny the Son, and to acknowledge the Son is to have the Father as well." From these declarations it is clearly evident that the Father cannot be known apart from the Son, nor the Son apart from the Father. Rightly therefore did Christ point out that one achieves supreme happiness not by knowing any one of them, but by knowing both, when he said: "Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." As a consequence, those who follow the Lamb are said to have his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads," which is to be glorified by this twofold knowledge.

4. But one of you may interpose and say: "Therefore knowledge of the Holy Spirit is not necessary, because when he said eternal life consisted of the knowledge of the Father and Son, he did not mention the Holy Spirit." True enough; but where there is perfect knowledge of the Father and the Son, how can there be ignorance of the goodness of both; which is the Holy Spirit? For no man has a complete knowledge of another until he finds out whether his will be good or evil. So, although it has been said: "Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent," still, if that act of mission demonstrates the good pleasure both of the Father lovingly sending his Son and of the Son freely obeying the Father, then the Holy Spirit is not passed over in complete silence, for he is implied in the mention of so immense a grace. The Holy Spirit indeed is nothing else but the love and the benign goodness of them both.

5. When the bride asks for the kiss therefore, she asks to be filled with the grace of this threefold knowledge, filled to the utmost capacity of mortal flesh. But it is the Son whom she approaches, since it is by him it is to be revealed, and to whom he wills. He reveals himself therefore, and the Father as well, to whom it pleases him. And it is certain that he makes this revelation through the kiss, that is, through the Holy Spirit, a fact to which St Paul bears witness: "These are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit." It is by giving the Spirit, through whom he reveals, that he shows us himself; he reveals in the gift, his gift is in the revealing. Furthermore, this revelation which is made through the Holy Spirit, not only conveys the light of knowledge but also lights the fire of love, as St Paul again testifies: "The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us."

And that is perhaps the reason why, in the case of those who, knowing God, yet refused to honor him as God, we do not read that they knew by a revelation of the Holy Spirit; for even though they possessed knowledge they did not love. As St Paul states: "God has shown himself to them," but he does not add: "through the Holy Spirit," lest those impious minds should usurp to themselves the kiss of the bride. They were content with the knowledge that gives self-importance, but ignorant of the love that makes the building grow. The apostle actually tells us the means by which they knew; they perceived him in the things that he had made. From all this it is clear that even their knowledge was not perfect, because they did not love. For if their knowledge had been complete, they would not have been blind to that goodness by which he willed to be born a human being, and to die for their sins. Just listen to what was revealed about God to them: "his everlasting power and deity," says St Paul. As you see, they in their presumption of spirit -- their own spirit, not God's -- studied his attributes of sublimity and majesty. That he was gentle and humble in heart they failed to understand. Nor must we be surprised at this, because we read of their leader, Behemoth, that he beholds everything that is high, nothing that is humble. On the contrary David did not walk among great things nor in wonders above himself; he would not be a searcher of majesty lest he be overwhelmed by glory.

6. You too, if you would make prudent progress in your studies of the mysteries of the faith, would do well to remember the Wise Man's advice: "Do not try to understand things that are too difficult for you, or try to discover what is beyond your powers." These are occasions when you must walk by the Spirit and not according to your personal opinions, for the Spirit teaches not by sharpening curiosity but by inspiring charity. And hence the bride, when seeking him whom her heart loves, quite properly does not put her trust in mere human prudence, nor yield to the inane conceits of human curiosity. She asks rather for a kiss, that is she calls upon the Holy Spirit by whom she is simultaneously awarded with the choice repast of knowledge and the seasoning of grace. How true it is that the knowledge imparted in the kiss is lovingly received, since the kiss is love's own token. But knowledge which leads to self-importance, since it is devoid of love, cannot be the fruit of the kiss. Even those who have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, may not for any reason lay claim to that kiss. For the favor of the kiss bears with it a twofold gift, the light of knowledge and the fervor of devotion. He is in truth the Spirit of wisdom and insight, who, like the bee carrying its burden of wax and honey, is fully equipped with the power both of kindling the light of knowledge and infusing the delicious nurture of grace. Two kinds of people therefore may not consider themselves to have been gifted with the kiss, those who know the truth without loving it, and those who love it without understanding it; from which we conclude that this kiss leaves room neither for ignorance nor for lukewarmness.

So therefore, let the bride about to receive the twofold grace of this most holy kiss set her two lips in readiness, her reason for the gift of insight, her will for that of wisdom, so that overflowing with joy in the fullness of this kiss, she may be privileged to hear the words: "Your lips are moist with grace, for God has blessed you forever."

Thus the Father, when he kisses the Son, pours into him the plenitude of the mysteries of his divine being, breathing forth love's deep delight, as symbolized in the words of the psalm: "Day to day pours forth speech." As has already been stated, no creature whatsoever has been privileged to comprehend the secret of this eternal, blessed and unique embrace; the Holy Spirit alone is the sole witness and confidant of their mutual knowledge and love. For who could ever know the mind of the Lord, or who could be his counselor?

7. But I feel that one of you may now want to say: "What voice thundered forth to you a secret that, you insist, was made known to no creature?" Unhesitatingly I answer: "It is the only Son, who is in the Father's bosom who has made it known." But he has made it known, I will say, not to the sorry and unworthy creature that I am, but to John, the Bridegroom's friend, whose words these are; and not only to him but to John the Evangelist also, the disciple Jesus loved. For his soul was pleasing to the Lord, entirely worthy both of the name and the dowry of a bride, worthy of the Bridegroom's embraces, worthy that is, of leaning back on Jesus' breast. John imbibed from the heart of the only-begotten Son what he in turn had imbibed from the Father. Nor is John the only one, it is true also of all to whom the Angel of the Great Counsel said: "I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father." Paul drank of it, because the Good News he preached is not a human message nor did he receive it through men, it is something he learned only through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

All of these indeed could say with felicity and truth: "It is the only Son who is in the Father's bosom who has made it known to us." And this revelation -- what can you call it but a kiss? But it was the kiss of the kiss, not of the mouth. Listen if you will know what the kiss of the mouth is: "The Father and I are one;" and again: "I am in the Father and the Father is in me." This is a kiss from mouth to mouth, beyond the claim of any creature. It is a kiss of love and of peace, but of the love which is beyond all knowledge and that peace which is so much greater than we can understand. The truth is that the things that no eye has seen, and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, were revealed to Paul by God through his Spirit, that is, through him who is the kiss of his mouth. That the Son is in the Father and the Father in the Son signifies the kiss of the mouth. But the kiss of the kiss we discover when we read: "Instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us."

8. But we must make a clearer distinction between the two. He who received the fullness is given the kiss of the mouth, but he who received from the fullness is given the kiss of the kiss. Paul was certainly a great man, but no matter how high he should aim in making the offer of his mouth, even if he were to raise himself right into the third heaven," he would still of necessity find himself remote from the lips of the Most High. He must abide content within the limits of his capacity, and since he cannot of himself reach that glorious countenance, let him humbly ask that it may lean down to him, that, the kiss be transmitted from on high. He however who did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, since he could dare to say: "The Father and I are one," because he was joined to him as an equal and embraced him as an equal -- he does not beg for a kiss from an inferior position; rather on equally sublime heights mouth is joined to mouth, and by a prerogative that is unique he receives the kiss from the mouth. For Christ therefore, the kiss meant a totality, for Paul only a participation; Christ rejoiced in the kiss of the mouth, Paul only in that he was kissed by the kiss.

9. Felicitous, however, is this kiss of participation that enables us not only to know God but to love the Father, who is never fully known until he is perfectly loved. Are there not surely some among you who at certain times perceive deep within their hearts the Spirit of the Son exclaiming: "Abba, Father"? Let that man who feels that he is moved by the same Spirit as the Son, let him know that he too is loved by the Father. Whoever he be let him be of good heart, let his confidence never waver. Living in the Spirit of the Son, let such a soul recognize herself as a daughter of the Father, a bride or even a sister of the Son, for you will find that the soul who enjoys this privilege is called by either of these names. Nor will it cost me much to prove it, the proof is ready to hand. They are the names by which the Bridegroom addresses her: "I come into my garden, my sister, my bride." She is his sister because they have the one Father; his bride because joined in the one Spirit. For if marriage according to the flesh constitutes two in one body, why should not a spiritual union be even more efficacious in joining two in one spirit? And hence anyone who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. But we have witness too from the Father, how lovingly and how courteously he gives her the name of daughter, and nevertheless invites her as his daughter-in-law to the sweet caresses of his Son: "Listen, daughter, pay careful attention: forget your nation and your ancestral home, then the king will fall in love with your beauty." See then from whom this bride demands a kiss. O soul called to holiness, make sure that your attitude is respectful, for he is the Lord your God, who perhaps ought not to be kissed, but rather adored with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMON 9 ON THE BREASTS OF THE BRIDEGROOM

1. Let us come now to the book, and give an account of the reason and sequence of the bride's words. For they hang suspended, and totter precipitously without a beginning. And therefore we must set forth what they may fittingly cohere with. Let us suppose, then, that those whom we have called the companions of the bridegroom had come now also to the bride, for the sake of visiting and greeting her, as yesterday and the day before; and that they found her murmuring and weary, wondered at the cause, and addressed her, as it were, in this manner: What new thing has happened? Why do we see you sadder than usual? What is the cause of this unexpected murmuring? Surely when you went, turned away and estranged, after your lovers, with whom it went badly for you, compelled at last to return to your former husband, did you not press with many prayers and tears that you might at least deserve to touch his feet? I recall it, she says. What then? Having obtained that, and at the same time having received in the kiss of the feet pardon for your offenses, did you not again grow impatient, and by no means content with so great a condescension, but desirous of greater familiarity, petition and obtain a second grace as well, with the same urgency as before, so that in the kiss of the hand you gained not a few and not small virtues? I do not deny it, she says. And they: Indeed, are you not the one who used to swear and protest that if ever it were given you to attain to the kiss of the hand, it would be enough for you; that you would ask for nothing further? I am. What then? Perhaps you will allege that something of those things you had received has been taken away? Nothing. Or do you fear that what you had presumed upon, the pardon granted to you regarding your former evil manner of life, will be demanded back? No.

2. Come then, tell us how we might satisfy you. I will not rest, she says, unless he kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. Thanks for the kiss of the feet, thanks also for the kiss of the hand; but if he has any care for me, let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth (Song 1:1). I am not ungrateful, but I love. I have received, I confess, things greater than my merits, but certainly less than my desires. I am carried by desire, not by reason. Do not, I ask, accuse me of presumption, where affection urges. Modesty indeed protests; but love overcomes. Nor am I unaware that the honor of the king loves judgment (Ps 98:4); but headlong love neither waits for judgment, nor is tempered by counsel, nor is bridled by modesty, nor is subject to reason. I ask, I entreat, I demand: let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. Behold, by his own grace, for many years now I take care to live chastely and soberly, I devote myself to reading, I resist vices, I apply myself frequently to prayer; I keep watch against temptations, I recall my years in the bitterness of my soul. I consider myself to live without complaint, as far as it is in me, among the brethren; I am subject to the higher powers, going out and coming in at the command of my elder. I do not covet what belongs to others; rather I have given both my goods and myself. In the sweat of my face I eat my bread: yet what is in all these things stands entirely upon habit, of sweetness there is nothing. What am I but, according to the prophet, a heifer of Ephraim taught to love the threshing? (Hos 10:11). Finally, in the Gospel, he who does only what he ought to do is reckoned an unprofitable servant (Lk 17:10). Perhaps I fulfill the commandments in some fashion; but my soul is like a land without water in them. Therefore, that my holocaust may be made fat: let him kiss me, I pray, with the kiss of his mouth.

3. Very many of you also, as I recall, are accustomed to complain to me in your private confessions about this kind of languor of an arid spirit and dullness of a stolid mind, that they are unable, namely, to penetrate the high and subtle things of God, that they perceive nothing, or very little, of the sweetness of the spirit. What do these do, but sigh for the kiss? They sigh indeed, and yearn for the spirit of wisdom and understanding: of understanding, certainly, by which they may reach those things; of wisdom, that they may taste what they have apprehended by understanding. I believe the holy Prophet prayed in this very affection when he said: Let my soul be filled as with fat and richness, and my mouth shall praise with lips of exultation (Ps 62:6). He was altogether seeking a kiss, and that kiss at whose touch, his lips having been suffused with the richness of a special grace, there would follow what the same man prays for elsewhere: Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may sing your glory, all the day your greatness (Ps 70:8). Finally he also poured forth when he had tasted: How great is the multitude of your sweetness, O Lord, which you have hidden for those who fear you (Ps 30:20). This kiss has detained us long enough, and I do not yet trust, to tell the truth, that I have expressed it worthily enough. But let us pass on to the remaining things; because it becomes known better when impressed than when expressed.

4. There follows: For your breasts are better than wine, fragrant with the finest ointments (Song 1:1-2). And whose words these are, the author does not say, leaving us free to comment on which person they most fittingly belong to. For my part, I do not lack grounds for assigning them congruently either to the bride, or to the bridegroom, or even to the companions of the bridegroom. And first I shall indicate how they fit the bride. Meanwhile, as she and they were conversing together, he himself, of whom the conversation was, arrived. Certainly he gladly draws near to those speaking of him. This is his custom. Thus to those going to Emmaus, and conferring among themselves, he offered himself a pleasant and eloquent companion (Lk 24:15). For this is what he promises in the Gospel: Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am in the midst of them (Mt 18:20); and through the prophet: Before they cry, he says, I will hear them; and while they are yet speaking I will say: Behold, I am here (Isa 65:24). So therefore now also, uncalled, he was present, and delighted by the words, he anticipated the prayers. I think that sometimes he does not even wait for words, but is called by thoughts alone. Finally, the man who was found according to the heart of God says: The Lord has heard the desire of the poor; the preparation of their heart your ear has heard (Ps 9:17). Attend also, you yourselves, to yourselves in every place, knowing that God who searches hearts and reins knows all your things, he who formed your hearts one by one and understands all your works. The bride, therefore, perceiving that the bridegroom was present, stopped (for she is ashamed of the presumption in which she understands herself to have been caught, for she had thought it more modest to arrange the matter through intermediaries); and straightway turning to him, she tries to excuse her boldness as best she can: For your breasts are better than wine, she says, fragrant with the finest ointments. As if to say: If I seem to think lofty things, you have caused it, O bridegroom, who by the sweetness of your breasts have nourished me with so great a condescension, that with all fear driven out by your love, not by my boldness, I dare perhaps more than is fitting. I dare indeed, mindful of your tenderness, unmindful of your majesty. Let these things be said for the sake of the sequence of the words.

5. Now let us see what this commendation of the bridegroom's breasts is like. The two breasts of the bridegroom are the two proofs of his innate gentleness: that he both patiently waits for the one who sins, and mercifully receives the one who repents. A twofold sweetness of tenderness, I say, overflows from the breast of the Lord Jesus: longsuffering in waiting and readiness in giving. And hear that this is not my invention. You read indeed concerning longsuffering: Do you despise the riches of his goodness, and patience, and longsuffering? And again: Do you not know that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Rom 2:4). For to this end he long suspends the sentence of vengeance from the one who scorns, so that he may at some time bestow the grace of remission upon the penitent. For he does not will the death of the sinner, but that he be converted, and live. Let us set forth examples of the other breast as well, which was said to be the readiness of forgiving. You read also of this: In whatever hour the sinner shall groan, his sin shall be forgiven him (Ezek 33:11-12); you read: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for he is abundant in pardoning (Isa 55:7). David beautifully comprehended both in few words, saying: Longsuffering and abundant in mercy (Ps 102:10). The bride, therefore, confesses that by the experience of this twofold goodness she has grown into such confidence that she dared to ask for the kiss. What wonder, she says, if I thus presume of you, O bridegroom, I who have experienced from your breasts so great an abundance of sweetness? Therefore, the sweetness of your breasts provokes me to daring, not the confidence of my own merits.

6. But when she says: Your breasts are better than wine, this is the meaning: The richness of grace which flows from your breasts is more efficacious for my spiritual progress than the biting reproof of prelates. And not only are they better than wine, but also fragrant with the finest ointments; because not only do you nourish those present with the milk of inward sweetness, but you also sprinkle the absent with the pleasing fragrance of a good reputation, having a good testimony both from those within and from those without. You have, I say, milk within and ointments without; since indeed there would be none whom you might refresh with milk, if you did not first attract them by the fragrance. But concerning these ointments, if they contain anything worthy of consideration, it will be seen hereafter, when we come to that place where she says in what follows: We will run in the fragrance of your ointments (Song 1:3). Now, according to our promise, let us see whether these same words, which have been given to the bride, may also fit the bridegroom.

7. While the bride was speaking of the bridegroom, suddenly, as I had said, he is present; he assents to her desire, gives her the kiss, and fulfills in her the word that is written: You have granted him the desire of his heart, and have not withheld the request of his lips (Ps 20:3). And this he proves from the filling of her breasts. For so great is the efficacy of the holy kiss that, from the moment the bride receives it, she conceives, her breasts swelling and, as it were, growing fat with milk, in testimony. Those of you who make it your practice to pray frequently have experienced what I say. Often we approach the altar with a tepid and dry heart, and apply ourselves to prayer. But for those who persist, grace is suddenly infused, the breast grows fat, an inundation of devotion fills the inward parts; and if there be one to press, they will not delay in abundantly pouring forth the milk of the sweetness conceived. Let him say, therefore: You have, O bride, what you sought, and this is your sign, that your breasts have become better than wine. By this, namely, you shall know yourself to have received the kiss: that you perceive yourself to have conceived. Whence your breasts have swollen, having become in the abundance of milk better than the wine of worldly knowledge, which indeed intoxicates, but with curiosity, not with charity; filling, not nourishing; puffing up, not building up; gorging, not strengthening.

8. But let us grant these words also to the companions to utter. Unjustly, they say, do you murmur against the bridegroom; for what he has already given is worth more than what you ask. For what you seek indeed delights you; but the breasts with which you nourish the little ones, whom you also bear, are better, that is more necessary, than the wine of contemplation. For it is one thing that gladdens the heart of one man, and another that builds up many. For even if Rachel is more beautiful, yet Leah is more fruitful. Do not, therefore, insist too much upon the kisses of contemplation; for the breasts of preaching are better.

9. There occurs also another sense, which indeed I had not proposed, but I will by no means pass over. For why should we not say that these words belong rather to those very ones over whom she presides in her care, as little ones to their mother or nurse? For the young and still tender souls do not bear with equanimity that she should be free for rest, whose teaching they desire to be more fully instructed by, and by whose examples they desire to be formed. Is not, in fact, the restlessness of such ones checked in what follows, where under a solemn adjuration they are forbidden to arouse the beloved until she herself wills it? (Song 2:7). These therefore, perceiving that the bride yearns for kisses, seeks privacy for herself, flees from public life, avoids crowds, and prefers her own rest to the care of them: Do not, they say, do not; for there is greater fruit in breasts than in embraces. For through them you deliver us from carnal desires, which war against the soul; you snatch us from the world and win us for God. This therefore is what they say: For your breasts are better than wine. The carnal pleasure, they say, by which a little before, as by wine, we were held intoxicated, is overcome by these spiritual delights which your breasts distill for us.

10. And beautifully do they compare carnal affection to wine. For as a grape, once pressed, no longer has anything more to pour forth, but is condemned to perpetual dryness, so the flesh in the pressure of death is utterly dried up from all its delight, nor does it ever again grow green for lusts. Whence the prophet: All flesh is grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass has withered, and the flower has fallen (Isa 40:6-7); and the Apostle: He who sows in the flesh, from the flesh shall also reap corruption (Gal 6:8); and again: Food is for the belly, and the belly for food; but God will destroy both the one and the other (1 Cor 6:13). But see whether not only to the flesh, but also perhaps to the world this comparison may apply. For the world itself also passes away, and the desire of it: and since all things that are in the world have an end, the end of them will not be the end. But the breasts are not so. For when they have been emptied, they draw again from the fountain of the maternal breast what they may offer to those who suck. Rightly therefore are the breasts of the bride declared better than the love of the flesh or of the world, because no number of nurslings ever dries them up, but they always abound from the bowels of charity, to flow again. For rivers flow from her belly, and there springs up in her a fountain of living water leaping unto eternal life (Jn 7:38; 4:14). Then the praise of the breasts is heaped further with the fragrance of ointments: that they not only feed by the savor of their words, but are also sweet-smelling by the reputation of their deeds. Now what the breasts are, with what milk they swell, with what ointments they are anointed, we shall show under another beginning of discourse, with the help of Christ: who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, through all the ages of ages. Amen.

In short, you deserve Christ's kiss and the continuance of your virginal glory forever, for these words are spoken to you: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth, for your breasts are better than wine, smelling sweet of the best ointments," and the other verses which that divine book includes with its mystical proclamation. - "Exposition of the Psalms, Preface"

You deserve, in fact, to kiss Christ and to maintain forever that beauty which is your virginity, for these words are spoken to you: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth, for your breasts are better than wine, fragrant with the best ointments" and the other passages which that divine book includes in its mystical proclamation.

For the son of God assumed humanity, which He put on [received] from the Church, and in return gave back His sacred flesh to be partaken of in the sacrament.

"Your breasts are better than wine," signifying by the breasts the heart. Nobody will err if he understands by the heart the hidden, secret power of God. One would rightly suppose that the breasts are the activities of God's power for us by which he nourishes each one's life and bestows appropriate nourishment.

But the Gentiles, once called, do not cease to kiss the footsteps of their Redeemer, because they continually sigh in love for him. Hence also in the voice of the bride concerning this same Redeemer it is said in the Song of Songs: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." Rightly does she desire the kiss of her Creator, who prepares herself to serve him through love.

"You gave me no kiss; but she, from the time she entered, has not ceased to kiss my feet." A kiss is indeed a sign of love. And that faithless people did not give God a kiss, because they did not wish to love him out of charity, whom they served out of fear. But the Gentiles, once called, do not cease to kiss the footsteps of their Redeemer, because they continually sigh in love for him. Hence also in the voice of the bride concerning this same Redeemer it is said in the Song of Songs: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." Rightly does she desire the kiss of her Creator, who prepares herself to serve him through love.

The Lord had sent angels to her, patriarchs and prophets to her, bearing spiritual gifts; but she sought to receive the gifts not through the servants of the bridegroom, but through the bridegroom himself. Let us place before our eyes the entire human race from the beginning of the world to the end of the world, that is, the whole Church, as one bride who had received pledges through spiritual gift by the Law; but nevertheless she sought the presence of her bridegroom, she who says: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." For the holy Church, sighing for the coming of the Mediator of God and men, for the coming of her Redeemer, makes prayer to the Father, that he may send the Son and illuminate her with his presence: so that he may address the same Church no longer through the mouths of the prophets, but with his own mouth. Hence also concerning the same bridegroom it is written in the Gospel, when he sat on the mountain and spoke the words of lofty precepts: "And opening his mouth he said" (Matt. 5:2): as if it were openly said: Then he opened his own mouth, who had previously opened the mouths of the prophets for the exhortation of the Church. But behold, while she sighs, while she seeks him as though absent, she suddenly beholds him present. The grace of our Creator has this quality, that when we speak of him while seeking him, we enjoy his presence. Hence it is written in the Gospel that while Cleophas and another were speaking about him on the road, they deserved to see him present. Therefore, while the holy Church desires the bridegroom who is yet to be incarnate, still absent, she suddenly beholds him present, and adds: "For your breasts are better than wine. And the fragrance of your ointments is above all spices."

The wine was the knowledge of the Law, the knowledge of the prophets. But when the Lord came, because He wished to preach wisdom through the flesh, He caused it, as it were, to lie hidden in the breasts of the flesh: for what we could by no means grasp in His divinity, we might recognize in His incarnation. Hence not undeservedly are His breasts praised, because the condescension of His preaching accomplished in our hearts what the teaching of the Law could by no means achieve: for the preaching of the incarnation nourished us before the teaching of the Law did. Let her therefore say: Your breasts are better than wine. Confirming this still further, she adds and says: And the fragrance of your ointments is above all spices. The ointments of the Lord are His virtues; the ointment of the Lord was the Holy Spirit, of whom it is said through the prophet: God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions (Ps. 44:8). With this oil He was anointed when He became incarnate; for He did not first exist as a man and afterward receive the Holy Spirit, but because He became incarnate through the mediation of the Holy Spirit, He was anointed with this same oil when He was created as man. The fragrance of His ointment, therefore, is the sweet scent of the Holy Spirit, who proceeding from Him, remained in Him; the fragrance of His ointments is the sweet scent of the virtues which He worked. Now the Church had spices, because she had many gifts of the Holy Spirit, which in the house of God, that is, in the congregation of the saints, gave off the aroma of good reputation and announced the sweetness of the future Mediator. But the fragrance of your ointments is above all spices: because the sweet scent of the Bridegroom's virtues, which came about through His incarnation, surpassed the proclamations of the Law, which had been bestowed in advance by the Bridegroom as pledges. For the Church grew in understanding by as much as she merited to be illumined by the grace of a fuller vision. Those spices of the Law were administered through angels; this ointment was given through His presence. But because by the brightness of His presence the goods of the Law, which were believed to be sublime, were surpassed, let it rightly be said: The fragrance of your ointments is above all spices.

But what we have said generally about the whole Church, let us now understand specifically about each individual soul. Let us set before our eyes a certain soul clinging to the pursuit of gifts, receiving understanding from the preaching of others, which through divine grace desires to be illuminated itself as well — so that at some point it may also understand by itself, since it considers that it understands nothing except through the words of preachers — and says: 'Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.' Let him touch me within, that I may know by understanding, and no longer enjoy the voices of preachers, but delight in the touch of interior grace. He was kissing Moses, as it were, with the kiss of his mouth, when he extended understanding to him through the confidence of familiar grace. Whence it is written: 'If there be a prophet, I will speak to him in a dream; but not as to my servant Moses: for I speak to him mouth to mouth' (Num. 12:6). For to speak mouth to mouth is, as it were, to kiss, and to touch the inner understanding with the mind. There follows: 'For your breasts are better than wine.'

The breasts of God are, as we said before, the condescension of His most humble incarnation. But the wisdom of the world is like a certain wine: for it intoxicates the mind, because it renders it alien to the understanding of humility. Philosophers are intoxicated as if by a certain wine, while they pass through the worldly love of the crowd. Let the Church despise this wisdom and desire the most humble preaching of the Lord's incarnation (let what nourishes her through the weakness of His flesh please her more than what this world exalts through the pride of false prudence), and let her say: 'Because your breasts are better than wine', that is, the most humble preaching of your incarnation surpasses the veiled wisdom of the world. Whence it is written: 'The weakness of God is stronger than man; and the foolishness of God is wiser than man' (1 Cor. 1:25). But because those wise men of this world sometimes seem to devote themselves to certain virtues (for you may see many of them possessing charity, maintaining gentleness, practicing outward respectability in all things — virtues which they display not to please God but to please men; and for this reason these virtues are not virtues, because they do not seek to please God; yet they have a fragrance in human nostrils, since they produce a good reputation in human judgment) — let these be compared to the true fragrance of our Redeemer, let them be compared to true virtues, and let it be said: 'The fragrance of your ointments surpasses all spices.' That is, the sweet scent of your virtues surpasses every appearance of virtue among the wise of this world, because it transcends their counterfeit images by its truth. Because we said that this which has been stated can be understood in a second sense concerning each individual soul, let us still pursue that same meaning more subtly, if we can, with the Lord's help.

Every soul that fears God is already under his yoke, but still far off, because it fears: for each one advances toward God only insofar as he loses the punishment of fear and receives from him the grace of charity. Let us place before our eyes the soul of any of the elect, which is kindled by continual desire into love of the vision of the bridegroom, because what it cannot perfectly perceive in this life, it contemplates his loftiness and is pierced with compunction from that very love; for that very compunction which comes through charity, which is also kindled by desire, is as it were a kind of kiss; for as often as the soul is pierced with compunction in love of him, so often does it kiss God. For there are many who already indeed fear the Lord, who already undertake good works; but they do not yet kiss him, because they are not at all pierced with compunction by love of him. This was well signified at the banquet of the Pharisee, who, when he had received the Lord, and when he disparaged in his heart the woman kissing his feet, heard: "When I entered your house, you gave me no kiss; but she, from the moment she entered, has not ceased to kiss my feet" (Luke 7:44). Everyone who already gives alms, who already devotes himself to good works, as it were receives Christ at a banquet, feeds Christ, who does not cease to sustain him in his members; but if he is not yet pierced with compunction through love, he does not yet kiss his feet. Therefore the woman who kisses is placed above the host, because he who is pierced with compunction in desire for the Lord by the inward ardor of the mind is placed above the one who gives his outward possessions. And well was it said: "She has not ceased to kiss my feet." For it is not enough to be pierced with compunction once in the love of God and then rest, but compunction ought to exist and to increase; whence the woman is praised because she did not cease to kiss, that is, she did not at all cease to be pierced with compunction. Whence it is said through the prophet: "Appoint a solemn day with frequent observances, even to the horn of the altar" (Psalm 117:27). The solemn day of the Lord is the compunction of our heart; but then a solemn day is appointed with frequency when one is continually moved to tears for love of him. To which, as if we were to say: "How long shall we do these things? How long shall we be afflicted with tribulations?" He immediately added the limit until which this should be done, saying: "Even to the horn of the altar." For the horn of the altar is the exaltation of the interior sacrifice, where, when we shall have arrived, it will no longer be necessary for us to make a solemn day to the Lord from our lamentation. Therefore let the soul that already desires to be pierced with compunction through love, that already longs to contemplate the vision of its bridegroom, say: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth."

Or certainly the kiss of his mouth is the very perfection of interior peace, upon reaching which nothing further will remain for us to seek. Hence what follows is also fittingly added: 'For your breasts are better than wine.' For wine is the knowledge of God which we have received while situated in this life; but the breasts of the bridegroom we embrace when we already contemplate him in the eternal homeland through the embrace of his presence. Let her say therefore: 'Your breasts are better than wine.' As if to say: Great indeed is the knowledge which you have bestowed upon me about yourself in this life; great is the wine of your acquaintance, with which you inebriate me; but your breasts are better than wine, because then through direct vision and through the sublimity of contemplation, whatever is now known about you through faith is transcended. 'And the fragrance of your ointments is above all spices'; while she excels by the power of knowledge, the power of chastity, the power of mercy, the power of humility, the power of charity. If the life of the saints did not possess the fragrance of spices from their virtues, Paul would not say: 'We are the good fragrance of Christ to God in every place' (II Cor. 1:15). But far more excellent is that anointing of God to which we are one day to be led; far more excellent is the fragrance of God's ointments than the spices of our virtues. And even if what we have already received is great, nevertheless what we are to receive from the contemplation of our Creator is far more excellent. Whence let the soul pant and say: 'The fragrance of your ointments is above all spices'; that is, those good things which you prepare through contemplation transcend all these gifts of virtues which you have bestowed in this life. Let us say to this Church, let us say to this soul, so loving, so burning with love for her bridegroom, whence she perceived so great a desire. Whence she apprehended knowledge of his divinity. But behold, she tells whence she could express it.

When it says "your breasts are better than wine," it signifies that the commandments of Christ delight the heart like wine. For, as infants suck upon breasts in order to extract some milk, so also all who suck on the law and the gospel obtain the commandments as eternal food.

I see two attributes that, by coming together, are made one. Justice and peace have kissed. All this becomes one in the mystery of the Lord Savior, the Son of man and of God who is our truth, kindness, peace, justice, in whom the justice of the first people and the mercy of the second people are joined together into one peace. The apostle says, in fact, "He himself is our peace, he it is who has made both one." This is the mystery for which the church longs and cries out in the Song of Solomon: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." This is the kiss of which Paul the apostle says, "Greet one another with a holy kiss."

But now let us consider first, what are the songs, of which "Songs" this is said to be a "Song." Therefore, I think that they are those songs, which formerly were being sung through the prophets or through the angels. Indeed, "the law" is said "to have been delivered through angels by the hand of an intermediary." Therefore all those things which were announced to them were the excellent songs of the groom given through friends; that one song is what now the groom himself had to sing as a marriage song when he was about to receive his bride. In this song the bride does not wish to be sung to through the friends of the groom, but she desires to hear the words of the groom himself when he is then present. Thus she says, "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." Thus, it is rightly honored above all songs, for the other songs, which the Law and the Prophets sang, seem to be sung to the bride when she was still a child and had not yet entered the passageway of adulthood, but this song seems to be sung to a woman who is now grown and very strong and who is now capable of manly strength and the perfect mystery.

One must remember what we admonished beforehand in the preface, that this book has the appearance of a marriage song and is composed in the style of a drama. But we have said that a drama is where certain characters are introduced who speak—where some arrive suddenly, others withdraw or come near—and thus everything takes place in the interchanges of the characters. Therefore, this will be the appearance of the entire book; in accordance with this, an historical exposition will be applied by us with all our might. But nonetheless, according to what we have indicated in the preface, a spiritual understanding is established underneath the guise of bride and groom; it is either about the church speaking to Christ or about the soul being joined to the Word of God.Therefore, now let a certain bride be introduced in the guise of an historical account. She will have received from her most noble groom some engagement and dorwry gifts most befitting her title. But as her groom makes a delay for a long time, she worries out of a desire for his love and grows weary as she lies at home and does everything, as much as possible, to see her groom sometime and to enjoy his kisses. Because she sees that her love is kept waiting and cannot acquire what it longs for, she turns to prayer and begs God, since she knows that he is the Father of her groom.… These are those matters, composed in the style of a drama, that an historical explanation covers. But let us see if an inner understanding can aptly be applied in this manner. Let it be the church desiring Christ, her husband … and thus let this church be as one person who speaks for all.

What would any one say concerning the angers, the griefs, the various oaths, the repentances, the curses, the revenges, the manifold and dubious excuses for the failure of promises, the battle of giants in Genesis, during which He is said to scheme against those powerful and great men, and this when they were contriving the building, not with a view to injustice towards other people, but on behalf of their own safety? And that counsel devised in heaven to deceive and mislead Achab; and those mundane and meritricious passions of the Canticles; and all the other sacred compositions which appear in the description of God, which stick at nothing, as projections, and multiplications of hidden things, and divisions of things one and undivided, and formative and manifold forms of the shapeless and unformed; of which, if any one were able to see their inner hidden beauty, he will find every one of them mystical and Godlike, and filled with abundant theological light.

Let no earthbound and materially minded person, however, be abashed at the mention of "kisses." Let them, on the contrary, consider that also at the moment of holy communion we receive the bridegroom's limbs, caress and embrace them, press them to our heart with our eyes, imagine a kind of embrace, believe ourselves to be with him, embrace him, caress him, love driving out fear, in the words of the divine Scripture.…The Song of Songs introduces the bride saying, "Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth." Now, by "kiss" we understand not the joining of mouths but the communion of pious soul and divine Word. It is like the bride saying something of this kind, I experienced your words in writing, but I long to hear your very voice as well, I wish to receive the sacred teaching directly from your mouth and to caress it with the lips of my mind.

After this, you went up to the priest. Consider what followed. Was it not that of which David speaks: "Like the ointment upon the head, which went down to the beard, even Aaron's beard"? This is the ointment of which Solomon, too, says, "Your name is ointment poured out, therefore have the maidens loved you and drawn you." How many souls regenerated this day have loved you, Lord Jesus, and have said, "Draw us after you, we are running after the odor of your garments," that they might drink in the odor of your resurrection.Consider now why this is done, for "the eyes of a wise man are in his head." Therefore the ointment flows down to the beard, that is to say, to the beauty of youth; and therefore, Aaron's beard, that we, too, may become a chosen race, priestly and precious, for we are all anointed with spiritual grace for a share in the kingdom of God and in the priesthood.

The fragrance of the finest ointments. The finest ointments are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, by which the breasts of Christ have a fragrance, because the holy teachers, the ministers of the evangelical milk, progress in the love of virtues through the anointing of the Spirit. And indeed the ointments were good, with which the prophets and priests were visibly anointed under the law; but those ointments are the finest with which the apostles and their successors are invisibly anointed. Of these Paul says: And He who anointed us is God, and who sealed us, and gave us the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts (2 Cor. 1). And the apostle John: And the anointing which you have received from Him, remains in you (1 John 2). And you do not need anyone to teach you, but as His anointing teaches you about all things, etc. (Ibid.). Also, they are fragrant with the finest ointments when they spread the reputation of their good works or preaching far and wide; just as they themselves say: But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ Jesus, and manifests the fragrance of His knowledge through us in every place (2 Cor. 2). Moreover, he gives the reason why His breasts are fragrant with the finest ointments, while he adds:

Oil poured forth is your name. Nor is it to be wondered if his limbs exude with ointments, for he himself received his name from oil, so that by anointing he is called Christ, that is, the anointed one. That anointing indeed of which Peter says: "How God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power" (Acts 10). For indeed, the Holy Spirit is accustomed to be understood by the name of oil, as the prophet testifies, who in the praises of the same bridegroom says: "God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions" (Psalms 45). Therefore, his name is not oil dropped, but poured forth, because as his precursor said of him: "God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand" (John 3). He is also rightly considered by the name of poured oil among his elect, upon whom, appearing in the flesh, he lavishly poured out the gift of his Spirit, so that the things once held secret in one nation, Judea, now, by clear grace, flooded the ends of the whole world, fulfilling the prophecy which said: "I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh" (Joel 2). Explaining this, the apostle Peter said: "Exalted therefore at the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured forth this gift which you see and hear" (Acts 2). Therefore, his name is oil poured forth, because it is rightly named for what it is, that is, full of the Holy Spirit, rightly named for what his gift of the Spirit works, anointing the hearts of the elect.

Therefore, the young maidens have loved you. He calls young maidens the souls which, reborn in Christ, have cast away the filth of the old man. These adhere so much more to the love of their Creator, as they recognize themselves to receive solely by His grace, both the remission of sins and the gifts of the Spirit, through which they advance in virtues. Hence, they openly profess and say that the Love of God, namely the root of all virtues, has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Rom. V). It is also not to be doubted that the earlier saints loved the Lord with a perfect love, and that their pious throngs can mystically be called young maidens, who trampled the examples of the old sinner through the faith of truth, and pursued the rewards of a new life with undoubting hope. Therefore, one of them, certain already of the future good things, speaks to his soul, saying: Your youth will be renewed like the eagle's (Psal. CII). But these things now more aptly fit the heirs of the New Testament, because they are specifically regenerated to God as sons of adoption through the washing of grace. The more they love Him, the greater gifts they receive from Him, so that as soon as they are freed from the flesh, if they have lived rightly, they ascend to the joys of the heavenly kingdom.

SERMON 10 THE BREASTS AND THEIR PERFUMES

4. Now I shall try to explain the nature of the ointments of which the breasts are redolent, and so I ask the aid of your prayers that I may benefit my hearers by a worthy expression of the thoughts that inspire me. Just as the breasts of the Bridegroom differ from those of the bride, so do the ointments with which they are perfumed. In the previous sermon I have indicated the place in which I hope to speak of the Bridegroom's breasts. Here we must concentrate on the ointments of the bride with an attention worthy of the scriptural eulogy that commends them not merely as good but as the best. I mention several kinds of ointments, so that given a choice, we may select the ones that seem especially appropriate to the breasts of the bride. There is the ointment of contrition, that of devotion and that of piety. The first is pungent, causing some pain; the second mitigates and soothes pain; the third heals the wound and rids the patient of the illness. And now let us discuss each of these more extensively.

5. A soul entangled in many sins can prepare for itself a certain ointment once it begins to reflect on its behavior, and collects its many and manifold sins, hems them together and crushes them in the mortar of its conscience. It cooks them, as it were, within a breast that boils up like a pot over the fire of repentance and sorrow, so that it can exclaim with the Prophet: "My heart became hot within me. As I mused the fire burned." Here then is one ointment which the sinful soul should provide at the beginning of its conversion and apply to its still smarting wounds, for the first sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit. And even though the sinner be poor and in want, devoid of the means to compound a better and more precious ointment, let him make sure in the meantime to prepare at least this one, no matter how degenerate the materials, because God will not scorn this crushed and broken heart. The more despicable he believes his offering to be because of his consciousness of sin, the more acceptable it will appear to God.

6. However, if we say that this invisible and spiritual ointment was symbolized by the visible ointment with which the sinful woman, as the Gospel describes, visibly anointed the corporeal feet of God, we cannot regard it as entirely worthless. For what do we read in the Gospel? "The house," it says, "was full of the scent of the ointment." It trickled from the hands of a courtesan, pouring over the feet, the body's extremities; and yet it was not so paltry, not so contemptible, as to prevent the house's being filled with the power of its aroma, the sweetness of its scent. So if we consider how great the fragrance with which the Church is perfumed in the conversion of one sinner, what a sweet smell of life leading to life each penitent can become! Provided that his repentance is wholehearted and visible to all, may we not with equal assurance say of him: "The house was full of the scent of the ointment." We can even say that this perfume of repentance reaches to the very abodes of the blessed in heaven because we have the witness of Truth itself that there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner. Rejoice then, you penitents; do not be afraid, you fainthearted ones. I am speaking to those of you who have recently come to us from the world, who have renounced your sinful ways and are inevitably gripped by the bitterness and confusion of the repentant soul that, like the pain of fresh wounds, torment and distract beyond bearing. Safely may your hands drip with the bitterness of myrrh in the course of this salutary anointing, because God will not scorn this crushed and broken spirit. This kind of anointing, that not only inspires men to amend their lives but even makes the angels dance for joy, must not be easily spurned nor cheaply priced.

7. But there is another ointment, more precious still, compounded of far superior elements. To obtain the elements of the former we do not have to travel far, we find them to hand without any trouble, and may cull them from our little gardens as often as necessity demands. For does not every man know, unless he deceives himself, that he has it within the power of his will to commit manifold sins and iniquities? But these, as you recognize, are the elements of the ointment we have just described. The spices of this second ointment, on the contrary, are not produced on our earth at all, we seek to gain them for ourselves from afar. I mean that all that is good, everything that is perfect, is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light. For this ointment is made from the gifts of God bestowed on the human race. Happy the man who makes it his business to gather these carefully for himself and keep them in mind with due thanksgiving. When they shall have been pounded and refined in the heart's receptacle with the pestle of frequent meditation, all of them fused together in the fire of holy desire, and finally enriched with the oil of gladness, you will have an ointment more excellent than the former, and far more precious. Enough proof can be found in the words of him who said: "Whoever makes thanksgiving his sacrifice honors me." No one doubts that the recalling of favors is an incentive to praise.

8. Furthermore, since the only thing that Scripture says of the former ointment is that God does not despise it, it follows that the second one, which especially glorifies him, is the more highly commended. Therefore the former is applied to the feet, the latter to the head. St Paul says: "God is the head of Christ," so in speaking of Christ we may understand the head as referring to his divinity, and it is beyond doubt that he who offers thanks anoints the head, because he makes contact with God, not man. I do not mean that he who is God is not also man, for the one Christ is both God and man; I mean that all things which are good, even those of which man is the agent, really come from God rather than man. "It is the spirit," we are told, "that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer." Hence there is a curse on the man who puts his trust in man, for although our whole hope rightly depends on God made man, it is not because he is man but because he is God. Therefore the first ointment is applied to the feet, the second to the head, because the humiliation of a broken heart fittingly corresponds to the lowliness of the flesh, and honor is owed to majesty. See then what an ointment I have been describing for you, with which he before whom even the Principalities stand in awe, does not disdain to be anointed on the head. Rather does he regard it as a matter of signal honor, for he says: "Whoever makes thanksgiving his sacrifice honors me."

9. From all this we may conclude that the poor, the needy and the pusillanimous cannot prepare an ointment of this kind. Confidence alone can lay hold of its spices and ingredients, a confidence that is itself the fruit of liberty of spirit and purity of heart. The mind that is lacking in courage and of little faith, that is fettered by the scantiness of its own resources, is, through sheer indigence, deprived of the leisure that might be occupied with the praises of God or with that contemplation of his beneficence out of which praise is born. And if it does at times make a genuine attempt to scale the heights, almost at once it is pulled back to its native state by the pressing demands of domestic needs, and so by its very destitution it is forcibly confined within its own narrow limits. If you ask of me the cause of this miserable state, I shall reveal something that, unless I be mistaken, you will recognize as either present now in yourselves, or as having once been present. The weakness and misgiving exhibited by this type of person seem to me usually to arise from either of two causes, from the fact that he has been but recently converted, or because he lives in a lukewarm fashion even though converted for long years. Both of these conditions humiliate, depress, and agitate the mind, since either because of its lukewarmness or because of the recentness it perceives the old passions of the soul to be still alive and it is forced to concentrate on cutting out from the garden of the heart the briers of sinful habits and the nettles of evil desires. Such a man cannot get away from himself. How else can it be? Can he who is worn out with groaning exult at the same time in the praises of God? Isaiah talks of thanksgiving and the sound of music. In what manner will it sound in the mouth of a man given over to groaning and lamenting. It is just as the Wise Man says: "A tale out of time is like music in mourning." And of course thanksgiving is made after receiving a favor, not before. But the soul that still languishes in sadness is not enjoying a favor, rather it needs one. It has a good reason for offering prayers of petition, but scarcely a reason for returning thanks. How can it rejoice in the memory of a favor not yet received? Quite rightly then did I say that the man whose resources are poor is not called upon to prepare this ointment, for this is the work of one who can draw on the memory of divine favors. He whose gaze is held by the darkness cannot see the light. Bitterness holds him in its grip, the unpleasant recollection of his sins preoccupies his memory to the exclusion of every joyful thought. It is to souls like this that the Prophet says: "It is vain for you to rise before light." He points out that it is useless for you to aspire to the contemplation of truths that give delight, until the sins that disquiet you have been blotted out in the light of consolation. This second ointment therefore is not a product of impoverished souls.

10. But let us take a look at those who may rightly boast of possessing an abundance of it. "They left the presence of the Sanhedrin glad to have had the honor of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name of Jesus." They whose gentleness remained unshaken in the face both of reproaches and blows, had surely been filled from the overflowing richness of the Spirit. For they were rich in the charity that no amount of self-giving can exhaust; out of its resources they easily found what sufficed to offer up "fat holocausts." Those drenched hearts of theirs poured out at random a holy unction, with which they were more fully imbued, when they proclaimed in various languages, according as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech, the marvels of God. And surely we must believe that an abundance of these same ointments was lavished on those of whom St Paul says: "I never stop thanking God for all the graces you have received through Jesus Christ. I thank him that you have been enriched in so many ways, in all speech and in all knowledge; the witness to Christ has indeed been strong among you, so that you will not be without any of the gifts of the Spirit." How I wish that I were able to offer thanks for similar graces on your behalf, that I might see you men rich in virtue, prompt to sing God's praises, overflowing with an increasing wealth of this spiritual anointing in Christ Jesus our Lord.

SERMON 20 THREE QUALITIES OF LOVE

I would like to begin with a word from St Paul: "If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus, let him be anathema." Truly, I ought to love the one through whom I have my being, my life, my understanding. If I am ungrateful, I am unworthy too. Lord Jesus, whoever refuses to live for you is clearly worthy of death, and is in fact dead already. Whoever does not know you is a fool. And whoever wants to become something without you, without doubt that man is considered nothing and is just that. For what is man, unless you take notice of him? You have made all things for yourself, O God, and whoever wants to live for himself and not for you, in all that he does, is nothing. "Fear God, and keep his commandments," it is said, "for this is the whole duty of man." So if this is all, without this, man is nothing. Turn toward yourself, O God, this little that you have granted me to be; take from this miserable life, I beg you, the years that remain. In place of all that I lost in my evil way of living, O God, do not refuse a humble and penitent heart. My days have lengthened like a shadow and passed without fruits I cannot bring them back, but let it please you at least if I offer them to you in the bitterness of my soul. As for wisdom -- my every desire and intention is before you -- if there were any in me, I would keep it for you. But, God, you know my stupidity, unless perhaps it is wisdom for me to recognize it, and even this is your gift. Grant me more; not that I am ungrateful for this small gift, but that I am eager for what is lacking. For all these things, and as much as I am able, I love you.

2. But there is something else that moves me, arouses and enflames me even more. Good Jesus, the chalice you drank, the price of our redemption, makes me love you more than all the rest. This alone would be enough to claim our love. This, I say, is what wins our love so sweetly, justly demands it, firmly binds it, deeply affects it. Our Savior had to toil so hard in this, in fact in making the whole world the Creator did not labor so much. Then he spoke and they were made; he commanded and they were created. But in saving us he had to endure men who contradicted his words, criticized his actions, ridiculed his sufferings, and mocked his death. See how much he loved us. Add to this the fact that he was not returning love but freely offering it. For who had given him anything first, that it should be returned to him? As St John said: "Not that we had loved him, but that he first loved us." He loved us even before we existed, and in addition he loved us when we resisted him. According to the witness of St Paul: "Even when we were still his enemies we were reconciled to God through the blood of his Son." If he had not loved his enemies, he could not have had any friends, just as he would have had no one to love if he had not loved those who were not.

3. His love was sweet, and wise, and strong. I call it sweet because he took on a human body, wise because he avoided sin, strong because he endured death. Even though he took a body, his love was never sensual, but always in the wisdom of the Spirit. "A Spirit before our face is Christ the Lord," jealous of us but with the jealousy of God, not man, and certainly not like that of the first man, Adam, for Eve. So those whom he sought after in a body, he loved in the spirit and redeemed in power. How sweet it is to see as man the Creator of humanity. While he carefully protected nature from sin, he forcefully drove death from that nature also. In taking a body he stooped to me, in avoiding sin he took counsel with himself, in accepting death he satisfied the Father. A dear friend, a wise counselor, a strong helper. Should I not willingly entrust myself to the one who had the good will, the wisdom, the strength to save me? He sought me out, he called me through grace; will he refuse me as I come to him? I fear neither force nor fraud which can snatch me from his hand. He is the one who conquered all things, even death, and tricked the serpent, the seducer of the world, with a holy deception. He was more prudent than the one, more powerful than the other. He took to himself a true body but only the likeness of sin, giving a sweet consolation to weak men in the one and in the other hiding a trap to deceive the devil. To reconcile us to the Father he bravely suffered death and conquered it, pouring out his blood as the price of our redemption. His divine majesty would not have sought me in chains unless he had loved me so tenderly, but he added wisdom to his affection by which he deceived the serpent. Then he added patience with which to appease his divine Father who had been offended.

These are the qualities of love of which I promised to tell you. But I have shown them to you first in Christ, to make them so much more acceptable to you.

4. Christian, learn from Christ how you ought to love Christ. Learn a love that is tender, wise, strong; love with tenderness, not passion, wisdom, not foolishness, and strength, lest you become weary and turn away from the love of the Lord. Do not let the glory of the world or the pleasure of the flesh lead you astray; the wisdom of Christ should become sweeter to you than these. The light of Christ should shine so much for you that the spirit of lies and deceit will not seduce you. Finally, Christ as the strength of God should support you so that you may not be worn down by difficulties. Let love enkindle your zeal, let knowledge inform it, let constancy strengthen it. Keep it fervent, discreet, courageous. See it is not tepid, or temerarious, or timid. See for yourself if those three commands are not prescribed in the law when God says: "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul and your whole strength." It seems to me, if no more suitable meaning for this triple distinction comes to mind, that the love of the heart relates to a certain warmth of affection, the love of the soul to energy or judgment of reason, and the love of strength can refer to constancy and vigor of spirit. So love the Lord your God with the full and deep affection of your heart, love him with your mind wholly awake and discreet, love him with all your strength, so much so that you would not even fear to die for love of him. As it is written: "For love is strong as death, jealousy is bitter as hell." Your affection for your Lord Jesus should be both tender and intimate, to oppose the sweet enticements of sensual life. Sweetness conquers sweetness as one nail drives out another. No less than this keep him as a strong light for your mind and a guide for your intellect, not only to avoid the deceits of heresy and to preserve the purity of your faith from their seductions, but also that you might carefully avoid an indiscreet and excessive vehemence in your conversation. Let your love be strong and constant, neither yielding to fear nor cowering at hard work. Let us love affectionately, discreetly, intensely. We know that the love of the heart, which we have said is affectionate, is sweet indeed, but liable to be led astray if it lacks the love of the soul. And the love of the soul is wise indeed, but fragile without that love which is called the love of strength.

5. See how many examples support what we say. When the disciples were sad at the departure of their Master just before his ascension, after they had heard him talk about this subject, they heard him say: "If you loved me you would rejoice because I am going to the Father." How can he say this? Didn't they love him when his departure made them so sad? In a way they loved him, and in another way they did not. Their love was more tender than prudent, it was sensual but not reasonable; they loved with the whole heart but not with the whole soul. What they loved was not for their own welfare, and so he said to them: "It is good for you that I am going," correcting not their feelings but their foresight. When he was speaking in the same way about his approaching death, Peter who loved him so dearly, tried to stand in the way. When, as you remember, he rebuked him, what was it but his imprudence that he was correcting? Finally what did he mean in saying: "You do not mind the things of God," except: you do not love wisely, you are following your human feeling in opposition to the divine plan. He even called him Satan because although it was in ignorance, he was impeding salvation in trying to prevent the Savior's death. Peter, who had been corrected, later when the sad prophecy was repeated, no longer objected to death but promised he would die with him. But he could not fulfill this promise because he had not yet reached that third degree where he would love with all his strength. Taught to love with his whole soul, Peter was still weak. He was well instructed but not well prepared, aware of the mystery but afraid of bearing witness to it. Obviously that love was not as strong as death which still yielded before it. Later, robed with strength from on high according to the promise of Jesus Christ, Peter began to love with such strength that when forbidden by the Council to proclaim the holy Name, he boldly answered those who gave the order: "We must obey God rather than men." Then finally he attained the fullness of love, when for love's sake he would not spare even his own life. Truly "greater love than this no man has, than that he lay down his life for his friends." Even if Peter did not actually surrender his life then, he did offer it.

So then, to love with your whole heart, your whole soul and your whole strength means not being led astray by allurements, or seduced by lies, or broken by injuries.

6. Notice that the love of the heart is, in a certain sense, carnal, because our hearts are attracted most toward the humanity of Christ and the things he did or commanded while in the flesh. The heart that is filled with this love is quickly touched by every word on this subject. Nothing else is as pleasant to listen to, or is read with as much interest, nothing is as frequently in remembrance or as sweet in reflection. The soul prepares the holocausts of its prayers with this love as if they were the fattened offerings of bullocks. The soul at prayer should have before it a sacred image of the God-man, in his birth or infancy or as he was teaching, or dying, or rising, or ascending. Whatever form it takes this image must bind the soul with the love of virtue and expel carnal vices, eliminate temptations and quiet desires. I think this is the principal reason why the invisible God willed to be seen in the flesh and to converse with men as a man. He wanted to recapture the affections of carnal men who were unable to love in any other way, by first drawing them to the salutary love of his own humanity, and then gradually to raise them to a spiritual love. Were they not at just this level when they said: "See, we have left everything and have followed you"? It was only by the love of his physical presence that they had left everything. They could not even bear to hear a word of his approaching passion and death, although this was to be their salvation. Even after it had all happened they could not gaze upon the glory of his ascension without deep sorrow. This is why Christ said to them: "Because I have said this to you sadness has filled your hearts." So it was only by his physical presence that their hearts were detached from carnal loves.

7. Afterwards he showed them a higher degree of love when he said, "It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing." I think Paul had reached this level when he said: "Even if we once knew Christ in the body, we know him thus no longer." Perhaps this was also true of the Prophet who said: "A Spirit before our face is Christ the Lord." When he adds: "Under his shadow we will live among the heathens," he seems to me to speak on behalf of the beginners, in order that they may at least rest in the shade since they know they are not strong enough to bear the heat of the sun. They may be nourished by the sweetness of his humanity since they are not yet able to perceive the things which are of the Spirit of God. The shade of Christ, I suggest, is his flesh which overshadowed Mary and tempered for her the bright splendor of the Spirit. Therefore in this human devotion there is in the meantime consolation for whomever does not as yet have the Spirit which gives life, at least who do not have him in the same way as those who say: "A Spirit before our face is Christ the Lord," and again: "If we once knew Christ in the flesh we know him thus no longer." For there is no love of Christ at all without the Holy Spirit, even if this love is in the flesh, and without its fullness. The measure of such love is this: its sweetness seizes the whole heart, and draws it completely from the love of all flesh and every sensual pleasure. Really this is what it means to love with the whole heart. If I prefer to the humanity of my Lord someone joined to me by ties of blood, or some sensual pleasure, this would obviously prove that I do not love with my whole heart since it is divided between its own interests and the love of the one who taught me as a man, both by his words and examples. Would I not seem to give my love partly to him and partly to my own? As he once said: "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." To put it briefly, to love with the whole heart means to put the love of his sacred humanity before everything that tempts us, from within or without. Among these temptations we must also count the glory of the world, because its glory is that of the flesh, and those who delight in it without a doubt are men of the flesh.

8. Of course this devotion to the humanity of Christ is a gift, a great gift of the Spirit. I have called it carnal with comparison to that other love which does not know the Word as flesh so much as the Word as wisdom, as justice, truth, holiness, loyalty, strength, and whatever else could be said in this manner. Christ is truly all these things. "He became for us the wisdom of God, and justice, and sanctification and redemption." Take as an example two men: one of them feels a share in Christ's sufferings, is affected and easily moved at the thought of all that he suffered; he is nourished and strengthened by the sweetness of this devotion to good and honest and worthy actions. But the other is always aflame with zeal for justice, eager for the truth and for wisdom. His life, his habits are saintly, ashamed of boasting, avoiding criticism, never knowing envy, hating pride. He not only flees all human glory but shrinks from it and avoids it, every stain of impurity both in body and soul he loathes and eradicates; finally he spurns every evil as if naturally, and embraces what is good. If you would compare the feelings of these two men would it not appear how the latter was superior in respect to the former, whose love was somehow more carnal?

9. But that carnal love is worthwhile since through it sensual love is excluded, and the world is condemned and conquered. It becomes better when it is rational, and becomes perfect when it is spiritual. Actually it is rational when the reason is so strong in faith that in all things concerning Christ it strays in not even the slightest degree because of any false likeness of truth, nor by any heretical or diabolical deceit does it wander from the integrity of the sense of the Church. In the same way when speaking on its own it exercises such caution as never to exceed the proper limits of discretion by superstition or frivolity or the vehemence of a too eager spirit. This is loving God with the whole soul, as we said before. If, with the help of the Spirit, the soul attains such strength that it remains steadfast no matter what the effort or difficulty, if the fear of death itself cannot make it act unjustly, but even then it loves with the whole strength, this then is spiritual love. I think the name is very fitting for this special love because of the special fullness of the Spirit in which it excels. This is enough for those words of the bride: "Therefore the young maidens love you so much." In those things that are to follow may he open to us the treasure of his mercy, the one who guards them, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMON 11 THANKSGIVING FOR CHRIST'S SAVING WORK

I said at the end of my last sermon, and I have no hesitation in repeating it, that I long to see you all sharing in that holy anointing, that religious attitude in which the benefits of God are recalled with gladness and thanksgiving. This involves a twofold grace: it lightens the burdens of the present life, makes them more supportable for those who can give themselves with joy to the work of praising God; and nothing more appropriately represents on earth the state of life in the heavenly fatherland than spontaneity in this outpouring of praise. Scripture implies as much when it says: "Happy those who live in your house and can praise you all day long." It was with a special reference to this anointing that the Prophet exclaimed: "How good, how delightful it is for all to live together like brothers; fine as oil on the head." These words do not seem applicable to the first anointing. Though that is good in itself, it is not by any means pleasant; because the recollection of one's sins begets bitterness rather than pleasure. Nor do those involved in it live together, since each one bewails and mourns over his own particular sins. Those, however, who are employed in the work of thanksgiving are contemplating and thinking about God alone, and so they cannot help but dwell in unity. That which they do is good because they offer to God the glory that is most rightly his; and it is also pleasant, since of its very nature it gives delight.

2. And for that reason my advice to you, my friends, is to turn aside occasionally from troubled and anxious pondering on the paths you may be treading, and to travel on smoother ways where the gifts of God are serenely savored, so that the thought of him may give breathing space to you whose consciences are perplexed. I should like you to experience for yourselves the truth of the holy Prophet's words: "Make the Lord your joy and he will give you what your heart desires." Sorrow for sin is indeed necessary, but it should not be an endless preoccupation. You must dwell also on the glad remembrance of God's loving-kindness, otherwise sadness will harden the heart and lead it more deeply into despair. Let us mix honey with our absinthe, it is more easily drunk when sweetened, and what bitterness it may still retain will be wholesome. You must fix your attention on the ways of God, see how he mitigates the bitterness of the heart that is crushed, how he wins back the pusillanimous soul from the abyss of despair, how he consoles the grief-stricken and strengthens the wavering with the sweet caress of his faithful promise. By the mouth of the Prophet he declares: "For my praise I will bridle you, lest you should perish." By this he seems to say: "Lest you should be cast down by excessive sadness at the sight of your sins, and rush despairingly to perdition like an unbridled horse over a precipice, I shall rein you in, I shall curb you with my mercy and set you on your feet with my praises. Then you will breathe freely again in the enjoyment of my benefits, overwhelmed though you be by evils of your own making, because you will find that my kindness is greater than your culpability." If Cain had been curbed by this kind of bridle he would never have uttered that despairing cry: "My iniquity is greater than that I may deserve pardon." God forbid! God forbid! His loving mercy is greater than all iniquity. Hence the just man is not always accusing himself, he does so only in the opening words of his intercourse with God; he will normally conclude that intercourse with the divine praises. You can see therefore that the order of the just man's progress is expressed in the words: "After reflecting on my behavior, I turn my feet to your decrees," that is, he who has endured grief and unhappiness in following his own ways can finally say: "In the way of your decrees lies my joy, a joy beyond all wealth." Therefore, if you are to follow the just man's example, if you are to form a humble opinion of yourselves, you must think of the Lord with goodness. So you are told in the Book of Wisdom: "Think of the Lord with goodness, seek him in simplicity of heart." You will all the more easily achieve this if you let your minds dwell frequently, even continually, on the memory of God's bountifulness. Otherwise, how will you fulfill St Paul's advice: "In all things give thanks to God," if your hearts will have lost sight of those things for which thanks are due? I would not have you bear the reproach flung at the Jews of old, who, according to Scripture, "had forgotten his achievements, the marvels he had shown them."

3. We must admit though that it is impossible for any man to remember and recount all the benefits that the Lord, so merciful and tender-hearted, ceaselessly bestows on mortal men, for who can recount the Lord's triumphs, who can praise him enough? Yet one at least of his benefits, the work by which he redeemed us, his chief and greatest achievement, should by no means be allowed to slip from the memory of the redeemed. Concerning this work I wish to suggest for your consideration two important points that now occur to me, which I shall state as briefly as possible in accord with the Wise Man's saying: "Give the wise man an opportunity, he grows wiser still." The two are these: manner and fruit. The manner involved the self-emptying of God, the fruit was that we should be filled with him. Meditation on the former is the seed-bed of holy hope, meditation on the latter an incentive to the highest love. Both of them are essential for our progress, because hope without love is the lot of the time-server, and love without reward grows cold.

4. I shall add, too, that the fruit we must expect as our love's fulfillment should be worthy of the promise of him whom we love. "A full measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap." And that measure, as I have heard, will be without measure.

But what I should like to know, however, is the nature of that which is to be measured out, what that immense reward is which has been promised. "The eye has not seen, O God, besides you, what things you have prepared for them that love you." Tell us then, since you do the preparing, tell us what it is you prepare. We believe, we are confident, that in accordance with your promise, "we shall be filled with the good things of your house." But I persist in asking what are these good things, what are they like? Would it be with corn and wine and oil, with gold and silver or precious stones? But these are things that we have known and seen, that we have grown weary of seeing. We seek for the things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man. To search after these things, whatever they may be, is a source of pleasure and relish and delight. "They will all be taught by God," says Scripture, and he will be all in all. As I see it, the fullness that we hope for from God will be only something of God himself.

5. Who indeed can comprehend what an abundance of goodness is contained in that brief expression: "God will be all in all"? Not to speak of the body, I discern in the soul three faculties, the reason, the will, the memory, and these three may be said to be identified with the soul itself. Everyone who is guided by the Spirit realizes how greatly in the present life these three are lacking in integrity and perfection. And what reason can there be for this, except that God is not yet "all in all"? Hence it comes about that the reason very often falters in its judgments, the will is agitated by a fourfold perturbation and the memory confused by its endless forgetfulness. Man, noble though he be, was unwillingly been subjected to this triple form of futility, but hope nonetheless was left to him. For he who satisfies with good the desire of the soul will one day himself be for the reason, fullness of light, for the will, the fullness of peace, for the memory, eternity's uninterrupted flow. O truth! O love! O eternity! Oh blessed and beatifying Trinity! To you the wretched trinity that I bear within me sends up its doleful yearnings because of the unhappiness of its exile. Departing from you, in what errors, what pains, what fears it has involved itself! Unhappy me! What a trinity we have won in exchange for you! "My heart is throbbing," and hence my pain; "my strength is deserting me" and hence my fear; "the light of my eyes itself has left me," and hence my error. O trinity of my soul, how utterly different the Trinity you have offended in your exile.

6. And still, why so downcast, my soul, why do you sigh within me? Put your hope in God. I shall praise him yet, when error will have gone from the reason, pain from the will, and every trace of fear from the memory. Then will come that state for which we hope, with its admirable serenity, its fullness of delight, its endless security. The God who is truth is the source of the first of these gifts; the God who is love, of the second; the God who is all-powerful, of the third. And so it will come to pass that God will be all in all, for the reason will receive unquenchable light, the will imperturbable peace, the memory an unfailing fountain from which it will draw eternally. I wonder if it seems right to you that we should assign that first operation to the Son, the second to the Holy Spirit, the last to the Father. In doing so, however, we must beware of excluding either the Father or the Son or the Holy Spirit from any one of these communications, lest the distinction of Persons should diminish the divine fullness proper to each of them, or their perfection be so understood as to annul the personal properties. Consider too that the children of this world experience a corresponding threefold temptation from the allurements of the flesh, the glitter of life in the world, the self-fulfillment patterned on Satan. These three include all the artifices by which the present life deceives its unhappy lovers, even as St John proclaimed: "All that is in the world is the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life." So much for the fruit of the redemption.

7. Now with regard to the manner, which if you remember, we defined as God's self-emptying, I venture to offer three important points for your consideration. For that emptying was neither a simple gesture nor a limited one; but he emptied himself even to the assuming of human nature, even to accepting death, death on a cross. Who is there that can adequately gauge the greatness of the humility, gentleness, self-surrender, revealed by the Lord of majesty in assuming human nature, in accepting the punishment of death, the shame of the cross? But somebody will say: "Surely the Creator could have restored his original plan without all that hardship?" Yes, he could, but he chose the way of personal suffering so that man would never again have a reason to display that worst and most hateful of all vices, ingratitude. If his decision did involve painful weariness for himself, it was meant also to involve man in a debt that only great love can pay. Where the ease with which man was created sapped his spirit of devotion, the hardship with which he was redeemed should urge him on to gratitude. For how did man the ingrate regard his creation? "I was created freely indeed but with no trouble or labor on my Creator's part; for at his command I was made, just like every other thing. What is big about that gift if not the great facility of the word that made it?" Thus does human impiety belittle the boon of creation, and turn that which of its nature is a source of love into an occasion for ingratitude. Those who live by these sentiments share the godlessness of evil-doers. But these lying mouths are silenced. For, more obvious than the light of day is the immense sacrifice he has made for you, O man; he who was Lord became a slave, he who was rich became a pauper, the Word was made flesh, and the Son of God did not disdain to become the son of man. So may it please you to remember that, even if made out of nothing, you have not been redeemed out of nothing. In six days he created all things, and among them, you. On the other hand, for a period of thirty whole years he worked your salvation in the midst of the earth. What endurance was his in those labors! To his bodily needs and the molestations of his enemies did he not add the mightier burden of the ignominy of the cross, and crown it all with the horror of his death? And this was indeed necessary. Man and beast you save, O Lord. How you have multiplied your mercy, O God.

8. Meditate on these things, turn them over continually in your minds. Refresh those hearts of yours with perfumes such as these, hearts writhing so long under the repugnant odor of your sins. May you abound with these ointments, as sweet as they are salutary. But yet, you must beware of thinking that you now possess those superior ones that are commended to us in the breasts of the bride. The necessity of bringing this sermon to an end does not allow me to begin discussing them now. But all that has been said about the others you must retain in your memory and reveal in your way of life; and do please help me with your prayers that I may worthily portray with appropriate sentiments those superior delights of the bride, that I may fill your own souls with the love of the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ our Lord.

SERMON 22 ON THE FOUR OINTMENTS OF THE BRIDEGROOM AND THE FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES

If the ointments of the bride are as precious and exquisite as you have heard them portrayed, how matchless must those of the Bridegroom be! And though any exposition of mine will fail to do justice to them, we must accept that their power is great and their grace efficacious, since their odor alone is enough to make not only the maidens but even the bride run. As you notice, she has not dared to make any such promise about her own ointments. She does indeed rejoice that they are flawless; but she does not say that they have inspired her to run, or that they will do so. This she attributes solely to the Bridegroom's ointments. But if the merest fragrance of these so excites her that she must run, what would the consequences be if she should experience the ointment itself being poured out in her? What wonder if she should even fly! But some of you must want to say: "Desist now from praising these gifts. When you begin to explain them we shall see clearly enough what they are." But no. I make no such promise. For believe me, I have not as yet decided whether I ought to express all the thoughts that suggest themselves. My opinion is that the Bridegroom has a varied and plentiful stock of perfumes and ointments. Some are solely for the pleasure of the bride who enjoys more intimate and familiar relations with him: others are wafted out to the maidens; and others again reach out to strangers afar off, so that "nothing can escape his heat." For although "the Lord is good to all," he is especially kind to those who live in his house, and the more one is assimilated to him by a virtuous life and an upright will, the more sensitive I think he will be to the fragrance of the newer perfumes and the sweeter ointments.

2. In matters of this kind, understanding can follow only where experience leads, and I shall be the last to intrude rashly where the bride alone may enter. The Bridegroom knows the delights with which the Holy Spirit charms the one he loves, the inspirations with which he reanimates her affections, the perfumes that enhance her loveliness. Let her be as a fountain entirely his own, unshared by any stranger, untouched by unworthy lips: for she is "a garden enclosed, a sealed fountain," though rivulets flow from it into the streets. These I may use, though I want no trouble or ingratitude from anyone if I offer what I draw from a public source. I shall even pay myself a mild compliment in this matter, for no small effort and fatigue are involved in going out day by day to draw waters from the open streams of the Scriptures and provide for the needs of each of you, so that you may have at hand spiritual waters for every occasion, for washing, for drinking, for cooking of foods. God's word is a water of the wisdom that saves; when you drink it you are made clean, as the Lord himself points out: "You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you." The word of God, winged with the Holy Spirit's fire, can cook the raw reflections of the sensual man, giving them a spiritual meaning that feeds the mind, and inspiring him to say: "My heart became hot within me, and as I meditated a fire burst forth."

3. Far from disapproving of those whose purer mind enables them to grasp more sublime truths than I can present, I warmly congratulate them, but expect them to allow me to provide a simpler doctrine for simpler minds. How I wish that all had the gift of teaching: I should be rid of the need to preach these sermons! It is a burden I should like to transfer to another, or rather I should prefer that none of you would need to exercise it, that all would be taught by God, and I should have leisure to contemplate God's beauty. Now however I must confess, not without tears, that I have no time to seek after God, much less to contemplate him; no time to see the king in his beauty seated upon the Cherubim, on a throne raised aloft; to see him in that form in which, as the Father's equal, he was born before the dawning amid the sacred splendors. This is the form in which the angels long to contemplate him forever, God with God; and I, a man, describe him to men according to the human form that he adopted in order to reveal himself with the maximum of esteem and love; "made lower than the angels," he came out of his chambers like a Bridegroom and pitched a tent in the sun. I present him as attractive rather than sublime, as God's appointed servant and not a remote deity, as the one whom the Spirit of the Lord anointed and sent "to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken, to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison; to proclaim a year favorable to the Lord."

4. Every person, therefore, is free to pursue the thoughts and experiences, however sublime and exquisite, that are his by special insight, on the meaning of the Bridegroom's ointments. For my part, I offer for the common good what I have received from a common source. He is the fountain of life, a sealed fountain, brimming over from within the enclosed garden through the pipe of St Paul's mouth. This is that true wisdom which Job says, "is drawn out of secret places," divides into four streams and flows into the streets, where it indicates to us him who has been made by God "wisdom and righteousness, and holiness, and redemption." From these four streams as from priceless perfumes -- there is nothing to prevent us seeing them either as water or as perfume, water because they cleanse, perfume because of their scent -- from these four as from priceless perfumes blended from heavenly ingredients "upon the spicy mount" so sweet an odor fills the nostrils of the Church, that she is roused even to the four corners of the earth by its sheer delightfulness. She hurries to meet her heavenly Bridegroom, like the Queen of the South who hastened from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, drawn by his fame as by a sweet scent.

5. The Church was devoid of the power to run in the odor of her Solomon until he who from all eternity was the Wisdom begotten of the Father, became Wisdom from the Father for her in time, and so enabled her to perceive his odor. Thus he has become for her righteousness and holiness and redemption, that she might run in the odor of these gifts too, since these also were equally in him before all things began. "In the beginning was the Word," but the shepherds hurried to see him only when his human birth was announced. Then it was that they said to each other: "Let us go to Bethlehem and see this word that was made, which the Lord has made known to us." Scripture adds that "they came in haste." Before that, while the Word remained solely with God, they did not stir. But when the Word, which was, was made, when the Lord accomplished this and revealed it, then they came with haste, they ran. And therefore, just as the Word was in the beginning, but with God, so, when he began to live among men he was made. Even in the beginning he was wisdom and righteousness and holiness and redemption, but only for the angels; in order that he might become so to men as well, the Father made him all these things because he is the Father. Therefore it says he became our Wisdom from God. It does not say merely that he became Wisdom, but that he became Wisdom for us, because all that he was to the angels he became in turn to us.

6. But you will say: "I cannot see how he could have brought redemption to the angels. The Scriptures give no grounds for thinking that they were ever the captives of sin or doomed to death," and therefore in need of liberation, excepting only those who incurred the incurable sin of pride, and afterwards could not merit to be redeemed. If therefore the angels were never set at liberty, some not needing it because they never fell, others not meriting it because fallen irrevocably, on what grounds do you say that Christ the Lord is their redemption? Listen for a moment. He who raised up fallen man and freed him from slavery, enabled the angels not to fall by guarding them from slavery. Thus he was equally the liberator of both, providing release for one, protection for the other. It is clear then that just as the Lord Christ was righteousness and wisdom and holiness for the angels, so too he was their redemption; it is also clear that he was made flesh with these four gifts for the sake of men, who can contemplate the invisible things of God only by studying the things he has made. All that he was for the angels, he became for us. What? Wisdom and righteousness, and holiness and redemption: wisdom in preaching, righteousness in forgiving of sins, holiness in social contacts with sinners and redemption in the passion he endured for sinners. When therefore he was made these by God, then the Church perceived the odor, then it ran.

7. Take note therefore of the fourfold anointing, recognize the superabundant and indescribable sweetness of him whom the Father has anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. You lived, O man, in darkness and the shadow of death through ignorance of the truth; you were a prisoner and your sins were your shackles. He came down to you in your prison, not to torture you but to liberate you from the power of darkness. And first of all, as the Teacher of Truth, he banished the murk of your ignorance by the light of his wisdom. By "the righteousness that comes of faith," he loosed the bonds of sin, justifying the sinners by his free gift. By this twofold favor he fulfilled those words of David: "The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind." Furthermore, by living holily in the midst of sinners he laid down a pattern of life that is a pathway back to the fatherland. As a supreme gesture of love he surrendered himself to death and from his own side produced the price of satisfaction that would placate his Father, thus clearly making his own the verse: "It is with the Lord that mercy is to be found, and a generous redemption." Utterly generous, for not a mere drop but a wave of blood flowed unchecked from the five wounds of his body.

Remember their names and enjoy their fragrance, but forbear to question the manner in which they are made or the number of ingredients they contain. For the knowledge of the nature of the ointments of the Bridegroom cannot be as easily ascertained by us as was that of the ointments of the bride, that we have previously discussed. For in Christ these are in their fullness, unnumbered and unmeasured. His wisdom is infinite, his righteousness is like the mountains of God, mountains that are eternal, his holiness is unique, his redeeming work inexplicable.

10. It must be remarked too that the wise of this world have multiplied arguments about these four virtues to no purpose; they had no chance of grasping their true meaning, because they knew nothing of him whom God made our wisdom in order to teach us prudence, our righteousness to forgive our sins, our holiness through his example of chaste and temperate living, and our redemption through patience in his resolute acceptance of death. Perhaps one of you will say: "They are all suitably applied except holiness, which seems to bear no proper relation to temperance." To this I answer, first, that temperance and continence imply the same thing. Secondly, scriptural usage identifies continence or cleanliness with holiness. And finally, what else were those frequent rites of sanctification decreed by Moses but purifications consisting of abstinence from food, from drink, from sexual intercourse and similar things? But take special note of the freedom with which the Apostle attributed this meaning to the word holiness: "What God wants is for you all to be holy so that each one of you might know how to possess his body in holiness, not giving way to selfish passion;" and again: "God did not call us into uncleanness, but into holiness." It is clear that he identifies holiness with temperance.

11. Now that I have thrown light on what seemed obscure, I return to the point from which I digressed. What have you to do with righteousness if you are ignorant of Christ, who is the righteousness of God? Where, I ask, is true prudence, except in the teaching of Christ? Or true justice, if not from Christ's mercy? Or true temperance, if not in Christ's life? Or true fortitude, if not in Christ's Passion? Only those can be called prudent who are imbued with his teaching; only those are just who have had their sins pardoned through his mercy; only those are temperate who take pains to follow his way of life; only those are courageous who hold fast to the example of his patience when buffeted by sufferings. Vainly therefore will anyone strive to acquire the virtues, if he thinks they may be obtained from any source other than the Lord of the virtues, whose teaching is the seed-bed of prudence, whose mercy is the well-spring of justice, whose life is a mirror of temperance, whose death is the badge of fortitude. To him be honor and glory for evermore. Amen.

SERMON 12 ON THE PRECIOUS OINTMENT OF PIETY; AND ON THE REVERENCE TO BE SHOWN BY SUBJECTS TOWARD THEIR PRELATES

1. I recall having set forth two ointments for you. One of contrition, embracing many sins; the other of devotion, containing many benefits: both salutary, but not both sweet. For the first is felt to be stinging, because the bitter remembrance of sins moves one to compunction and causes pain, while the second is soothing, the contemplation of divine goodness giving consolation and calming pain. But there is an ointment that far surpasses both of these: and this I would call the ointment of piety, because it is made from the needs of the poor, from the anxieties of the oppressed, from the troubles of the sorrowful, from the faults of those who transgress, and lastly from the miseries of all the wretched, even if they be enemies. These ingredients seem despicable; but the ointment that is compounded from them is above all aromatics. It is healing: for blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Mt 5:7). Therefore the many miseries collected and beheld with the eye of piety, these are the ingredients from which the best ointments are composed, worthy of the breasts of the bride, pleasing to the senses of the bridegroom. Happy the soul that has taken care to enrich and fatten itself with the collection of such aromatics, pouring upon them the oil of mercy and cooking them down with the fire of charity. Who, do you think, is the joyful man who shows mercy and lends (Ps 111:5), ready to feel compassion, prompt to help, judging it more blessed to give than to receive: easy to forgive, slow to grow angry, refusing utterly to take revenge, and in all things regarding the needs of his neighbors equally as his own? O whatever soul you are who is so disposed, so imbued with the dew of mercy, so overflowing with the bowels of piety, so making yourself all things to all, so becoming to yourself as a vessel that is destroyed, that you may be at hand everywhere and always to meet the needs of others and to aid them; so at last dead to yourself that you may live for all: you plainly and happily possess the third and best ointment, and your hands have dripped with the liquor of every sweetness. It shall not be dried up in the time of evil, nor shall the heat of persecution drink it up: but God shall always be mindful of all your sacrifice, and your holocaust shall be made fat.

2. There are men of wealth in the city of the Lord of hosts: I ask whether these ointments may be found among any of them. And the first to present himself to me, as he is wont to do everywhere, is Paul, the vessel of election, truly an aromatic vessel, a fragrant vessel, filled with every kind of spice-powder. For he was the good fragrance of Christ unto God in every place (2 Cor 2:15). Surely the breast that had been so moved by the care of all the churches was spreading far and wide the fragrance of great sweetness. See indeed what ingredients and what aromatics he had heaped up for himself. Every day, he says, I die, by your glory (1 Cor 15:31); and again: Who is made weak, and I am not weak? who is scandalized, and I am not on fire? (2 Cor 11:29). And with many such things, which are well known to you, that rich man abounded in compounding the best ointments. For it was fitting that the breasts which suckled the members of Christ should be fragrant with the finest and purest aromatics, those breasts of which Paul was assuredly the mother, giving birth again and again, until Christ should be formed in them (Gal 4:19), and the members be conformed to their head.

3. Hear also of another rich man, how he had at hand choice ingredients from which to compound the best ointments. The stranger, he says, did not remain outside. My door was open to the traveler (Job 31:32); likewise: I was an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame. I was a father to the poor, and I broke the jaws of the wicked, and snatched the prey from his teeth (Job 29:15-17). If I denied what the poor desired, and made the eyes of the widow wait. If I ate my morsel alone, and the orphan did not eat of it. If I despised him that was passing by because he had no garment, and the poor man without covering. If his sides did not bless me, and he was warmed with the fleece of my sheep (Job 31:16-20). With how great a fragrance, do we think, had this man sprinkled the earth with these works? Each work was a separate aromatic. With these he had filled his own conscience, so that he might temper for himself the stench of putrid flesh with the exhalation of inward sweetness.

4. Joseph, after he had made all Egypt run after him in the fragrance of his ointments, at last bestowed the same fragrance even upon those who had sold him. And indeed he brought forth words of reproach with an angry face; but tears burst forth from the richness of his heart (Gen 43:30; 45:2), not as tokens of anger but as betrayers of grace. Samuel mourned for Saul (1 Sam 4:35), who was seeking to kill him, and as his breast grew warm at the fire of charity, the fat of piety melted within him and flowed out through his eyes. On account, finally, of the good fragrance of his reputation that he had diffused on every side, Scripture reports of him that all from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was a faithful prophet of the Lord (1 Sam 3:20). What shall I say of Moses? With how great a fatness and richness had he too filled his inmost being? Not even that provoking house, in which he dwelt for a time, was ever able, in all its murmuring and fury, to extinguish the anointing of the spirit with which he had once been imbued, so as to prevent him from persisting in his meekness amid constant quarrels and daily disputes. Rightly did the Holy Spirit testify of him that he was the meekest of all men who dwelt upon the earth (Num 12:3). For with those who hated peace, he was peaceable (Ps 119:7), to such a degree that not only did he not grow angry at the ungrateful and rebellious people, but he even softened God's anger by his intercession, as it is written: He said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen one stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath lest he should destroy them (Ps 105:23). Finally: If you will forgive, he says, forgive; but if not, blot me out of your book which you have written (Ex 32:31-32). O man truly anointed with the anointing of mercy! He speaks plainly with the affection of a parent, whom no happiness can delight apart from the children she has brought forth. For example, if some rich man should say to a poor woman: Come to my banquet, but leave the infant you carry outside, because he cries and is a nuisance to us: would she do it? Would she not rather choose to fast than, having exposed her dear child, to dine alone with the rich man? So too it does not please Moses to be brought alone into the joy of his Lord, while the people remain outside; to whom, though restless and ungrateful, he clings with the role and affection alike of a mother. His bowels are in pain, but he judges the twisting more tolerable to himself than the tearing out.

5. What was more gentle than David, who mourned the death of the one who had always thirsted for his own? (2 Sam 1:11) What more kind, that he should be grieved at the departure of the one whom he himself was succeeding in the kingdom? But also at the death of his parricide son, how reluctantly did he admit consolation? (2 Sam 19:4) Such affection surely displayed a great abundance of the best ointment: and therefore he prayed with confidence, saying: Remember, O Lord, David and all his meekness (Ps 131:1). Therefore all these men possessed the best ointments, with which they give forth the sweetest fragrance to this day throughout all the churches. And not they alone, but all who in this life have shown themselves so benevolent and beneficent, who have striven so to live humanely among men, that whatever grace they were seen to possess they did not keep for themselves but brought into the common good, counting themselves debtors alike to friends and enemies, to the wise and to the foolish. And since they had been useful to all, humble among all, they stood out above all as beloved of God and of men; whose fragrance is in blessing. As many, I say, as have gone before of such a kind, they were fragrant in their own times, and they are fragrant also today with the best ointments. You also, if you willingly impart to us your fellows the gift you have received from above; if you show yourself everywhere among us dutiful, affectionate, gracious, tractable, humble, you will have testimony from all that you too are fragrant with the best ointments. Everyone among you who not only patiently bears the infirmities of the brethren, both of body and of soul, but moreover, if it is permitted and if he is able, helps them with services, strengthens them with words of comfort, instructs them with counsel, and if he cannot do this on account of the rule, does not cease at least to comfort the sick with earnest prayers: everyone, I say, who does such things among you, spreads a thoroughly good fragrance among the brethren, and a fragrance from the best ointments. As balsam in the mouth, so is such a brother in the community; he is pointed out with the finger, and all say of him: This is the lover of the brethren and of the people of Israel; this is he who prays much for the people and for the whole holy city (2 Macc 15:14).

6. But let us return to the Gospel, and seek something that may perhaps pertain also to these ointments. Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Salome, bought aromatics, that coming they might anoint Jesus (Mk 16:1). What are these ointments, so precious that they are prepared and purchased for the body of Christ, so copious that they suffice for the whole body? For neither of the two preceding ointments is read to have been either bought or made specially for the service of the Lord, or to have been poured over the whole body. But suddenly a woman is introduced, in one place kissing his feet and anointing them with ointment (Lk 7:38; Jn 12:3); in another place, either she herself or another, having an alabaster jar of ointment, and pouring it on his head (Mk 14:3). But now it says: they bought aromatics, that coming they might anoint Jesus. They buy not ointments but aromatics: and the anointing for the service of the Lord is not taken ready-made, but newly compounded; nor for anointing merely some part of the body, for example the feet or the head; but as it is written: That coming they might anoint Jesus; which is an embracing of the whole, not a designation of a part.

7. You also, if you put on the bowels of mercy, and show yourself generous and kind, not only to your parents or your relatives, or to those whom you hold as your benefactors, or whom you hope will benefit you: for even the pagans do this (Mt 5:47); but, following Paul's counsel, you strive to do good to all (Gal 6:10), so that for God's sake you consider that even to an enemy neither a bodily nor a spiritual service of humanity should be denied or withdrawn: it is established that you too abound in the best ointments, and that you have undertaken to anoint not only the head or the feet of the Lord, but as much as lies in you, the whole body, which is the Church. And perhaps for this reason the Lord Jesus did not wish the preparation made ready for him to be expended on his dead body, so that he might preserve it for the living one. For the Church lives, which eats the living bread that came down from heaven. She is the dearer body of Christ, for which, lest it should taste death, that other body was delivered unto death, as no Christian is unaware. He desires her to be anointed, her to be cherished; he wants her weak members to be relieved with more careful attentions. For her, therefore, he kept back the precious ointments, when, anticipating the hour and hastening the glory, he did not mock but rather instructed the devotion of the women. He refused to be anointed, but sparing, not spurning; not refusing the service, but reserving the profit. The profit, I say, not of this material and bodily ointment, but plainly of the spiritual one which was signified in it. In this, therefore, the Master of piety spared the best ointments of piety, which he altogether desired to be bestowed upon his needy members, both bodily and spiritually. After all, a little before, when ointment was poured upon his head, or even upon his feet, and that quite costly ointment, did he forbid it? On the contrary, he even opposed those who would forbid it. For to Simon who was indignant that he allowed himself to be touched by a sinful woman, he wove a long parable of reproof; and to others who complained of the waste of ointment he answered, saying: Why do you trouble this woman?

8. Sometimes I, to make a small digression, when I sat at the feet of Jesus in sorrow, and offered the sacrifice of a troubled spirit in remembrance of my sins; or perhaps at his head, if ever on rare occasion I stood and exulted in the remembrance of his benefits, I heard people saying: Why this waste? Complaining, that is, that I lived only for myself, who, as they supposed, could be of profit to many. And they said: For it could have been sold for much and given to the poor (Mt 26:8-10). But it is no good bargain for me, even if I should gain the whole world, to lose myself and bring about my own destruction. Whence, understanding that these words are those flies of which Scripture speaks, the dying flies which destroy the sweetness of the ointment (Eccl 10:1), I recalled that divine sentence: My people, those who call you blessed lead you into error (Isa 3:12). But let them hear the Lord excusing and answering on my behalf, they who accuse me as it were of idleness: Why, he says, are you troubling this woman? which is to say: You see the outward appearance, and therefore you judge according to appearances. This is not a man, as you suppose, who could put his hand to mighty deeds, but a woman. Why do you try to impose upon him a yoke for which I perceive him to be insufficient? He works a good work in me. Let him stand in the good, so long as he does not grow strong enough for the better. If at some time he shall have advanced from a woman into a man, and a perfect man, he will be able to be taken up also into a work of perfection.

9. Brothers, let us revere our bishops, but let us also dread their labors. If we weigh their labors, we shall not covet their honors. Let us recognize our unequal strength, and let it not please us to place soft and womanly shoulders beneath the burdens of men; and let us not scrutinize them, but honor them. For inhumanely do you criticize the works of those whose burdens you refuse to bear. Rashly does the woman spinning at home rebuke the man returning from battle. For I say, if one who is from the cloister should apprehend that one who works among the people sometimes conducts himself less strictly or less circumspectly, for example in speech, in food, in sleep, in laughter, in anger, in judgment; let him not leap at once to pass judgment, but let him remember that it is written: Better is the iniquity of a man than a woman who does good (Sir 42:14). For you indeed do well in being watchful over the keeping of yourself; but he who helps many does better, and more manfully. But if he cannot fulfill his duty without some iniquity, that is, without a certain unevenness in his life and conduct, remember that charity covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet 4:8). These things are said against the twofold temptation by which religious men are often incited by diabolical provocations either to covet the glory of bishops or to judge their failings rashly.

10. But let us return to the ointments of the bride. Do you see how this ointment of piety is to be preferred above the rest, about which alone it was not permitted that any waste be made? So far is there no waste of it, that not even the gift of a cup of cold water is left without reward (Mt 10:42). Good nonetheless is the ointment of contrition, which is made from the remembrance of sins, and is poured upon the feet of the Lord; because a contrite and humbled heart God will not despise (Ps 50:19). However, I judge far better that which is called the ointment of devotion, made from the remembrance of the benefits of God; seeing that it is reckoned worthy even of the head, so that God himself testifies of it: The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me (Ps 49:23). But the anointing of piety surpasses both, which is made from regard for the wretched, and is poured out over the entire body of Christ. The body, I say, not the one that was crucified, but the one that was acquired by his passion. It is truly the best ointment, in comparison with which he who says: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice (Mt 9:13), shows that he does not even look upon the others. I think, therefore, that the breasts of the bride are fragrant with this virtue above all the rest, she who desires to conform in all things to the will of the bridegroom. Did not Tabitha give forth the fragrance of mercy even in death? And therefore she quickly recovered from death (Acts 9:39-41), because the fragrance of life prevailed.

11. But hear a brief word on the present chapter. Whoever both inebriates with words and is fragrant with good deeds, let him consider it said to himself: Because your breasts are better than wine, fragrant with the best ointments (Song 1:1-2). And for these things who is sufficient? Who among us possesses even one of these fully and perfectly, so that he is not at times both more barren in speaking and more lukewarm in doing? But there is one who rightly and without doubt glories in this praise: the Church, assuredly, who from her universality never lacks both that with which she may inebriate and that with which she may be fragrant. For what is lacking to her in one, she has in another, according to the measure of the gift of Christ and the moderation of the Spirit, who distributes to each as he wills (Eph 4:7; 1 Cor 12:11). The Church is fragrant in those who make friends for themselves from the mammon of unrighteousness; she inebriates in the ministers of the word, who pour the wine of spiritual joy upon the earth and make it drunk and bring forth fruit in patience. She boldly and securely calls herself the bride, inasmuch as she truly has breasts better than wine and fragrant with the best ointments. And even if none of us may presume to claim this for himself, so that anyone should dare to call his soul the bride of the Lord; yet since we are of the Church, who rightly glories in this name and in the reality of the name, not without right do we claim a share in this glory. For what we all together possess fully and entirely, each one of us without contradiction shares in. Thanks be to you, Lord Jesus, who have deigned to unite us to your most dear Church, not only that we might be faithful, but that we might also be joined to you in the manner of a bride in joyful, chaste, and eternal embraces, we too with unveiled face beholding your glory, which is yours equally together with the Father and the Holy Spirit unto the ages of ages. Amen.

SERMON 13 OUR THANKSGIVING AND GOD'S GLORY

Just as the sea is the ultimate source of wells and rivers, so Christ the Lord is the ultimate source of all virtue and knowledge. For who has power to endow us with virtues if not he who is the King of Glory? And what are we told in the canticle of Anna but that God himself is the Lord of all knowledge? Hence from him as from a well-head comes the power to be pure in body, diligent in affection and upright in will. Nor is this all. From him too come subtlety of intellect, splendor of eloquence, urbanity of bearing; from him, knowledge and words of wisdom. Indeed in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Shall I add still more? Chaste thoughts, just judgments, holy desires -- are they not all streams from that one spring? If the waters that surround us inevitably return to the sea by hidden underground channels, only to gush forth again without fail and without weariness for the refreshing of our sight and the relief of our needs, why should not those spiritual streams return unerringly and without ceasing to their native source, and flow back without interruption to irrigate our souls? Let the rivers of grace circle back to their Fountain-Head that they may run their course anew. Let the torrent that springs in heaven be channeled back to its starting point, and be poured on the earth again with fertilizing power. You ask how this will be done. It will be done in accord with Paul's advice: "In all things give thanks to God." If you can credit yourself with wisdom or with virtue, realize that the credit is due rather to Christ, who is the Power and the Wisdom of God.

2. "Who is so mad," you say, "as to presume otherwise?" Actually nobody. Even the Pharisee gives thanks, although his justice merits no praise from God. And if, as the Gospel points out, his act of thanksgiving does not increase his grace, why is this so? Because the pieties that our mouths proclaim will not justify the pride of our heart in the sight of him who is repelled by the arrogant. "God is not mocked, O Pharisee. What do you have that was not given to you?" "Nothing," he says, "and therefore I offer thanks to the giver." "But if there is really nothing, then you had no antecedent merit to warrant your reception of the things of which you boast. And if you admit this, then in the first place it is futile to give yourself airs at the expense of the publican who does not possess as much as you because he has not received as much. Secondly, make sure you realize that God's gifts are entirely his own; if you attribute to yourself some of the glory and honor that are his, you may deservedly be convicted of fraud, of attempting to defraud God. If you brazenly boast of gifts as though they were your own, I should prefer to believe you are deceived, not that you wish to defraud. It is an error I should hope to correct. But when you make thanksgiving, you manifest that you regard nothing as your own, you wisely acknowledge that your merits are really God's gifts. When you despise others, however, you betray the inner reality of your condition, you are speaking from a double heart, with one lending your tongue to a lie, with the other usurping the honor due to truth. Never would you judge the publican more despicable than yourself if you did not consider that you are more honorable than he. But how will you reply to the principle laid down by the Apostle: 'Honor and glory to the only God?' How reply to the angels who in their teaching distinguish between what God reserves for himself and what he is willing to share with men? Their song is: 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to men of good-will.' Do you not perceive that the Pharisee, in offering thanks, honors God with his lips but in his heart pays tribute to himself? And so, through force of habit more than by intention or inclination, you will hear people of all sorts pronouncing words of thanks, for even the wickedest persons will offer a perfunctory thanks to God in achieving a sexual conquest, for any kind of crime because things fell out well and prosperous, at least according to their estimation, when their perverse will was fulfilled. For instance, when the thief has bagged the loot for which he has planned, he celebrates in the privacy of his hide-out and says: "Thank God! I have not watched in vain, the night's work has not been wasted." The murderer will brag and express his thanks for the overthrow of a rival, for having had revenge on an enemy. And the adulterer will utter an irreverent "Thank you God," as he capers with delight on having gone to bed at last with the woman he has long pursued.

3. It is clear then that God will listen only to the thanks that spring from a pure and genuine simplicity of heart. I say "pure heart," because when those who boast of their evil conduct presume to thank God for it, they bring him down to the level of their own profligacy and make him share their wicked pleasures. God says to people of this kind: "Do you really think I am like you? I charge, I indict you to your face." I have added the word "genuine" because of the hypocrites who praise God for the goods they possess, but only with their lips; the heart denies what the tongue professes, and since they act deceitfully in God's very sight, their knavery can merit only hatred. The former impiously seek to involve God in their evil doings; the latter, by a fraudulent twist, would make God's gifts their own. The vice of the former is so stupid, so worldly, and even in a sense so brutish, that I do not feel impelled to put you on your guard against it; that of the latter, however, constitutes an habitual temptation in the lives of religious and spiritual persons. Great and rare is the virtue of those who do great things without becoming conscious of their greatness, whose holiness is manifest to all but to themselves. To me there is no virtue like that, when you are universally admired, and remain contemptible in your own eyes. You are indeed a faithful servant if you do not try to grasp for yourself the manifold glory of God, which while not coming from you, nevertheless passes through you. Then, in the words of the Prophet, you reject extortionate profit and wave away bribes from your hands. Then, in accord with the Lord's command, your light shines before men, not for your own glory but for that of your Father in heaven. An imitator of Paul and of all the loyal preachers who would not preach themselves, you seek not your own interests but those of Jesus Christ. Consequently you too will be privileged to hear: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater."

4. Although Joseph knew that he was entrusted with the care of his Egyptian master's home and all its goods, he was also aware that its mistress was an exception, and he refused to have relations with her. "My master," he said, "has handed over all his possession to me. He has withheld nothing from me except yourself, because you are his wife." He knew that woman is the reflection of man's glory, and that it would be base ingratitude on his part to tarnish the honor of the man by whose will he had been raised to honor. Gifted with the wisdom of God, he perceived that a husband is extremely concerned about his wife's honor because identified with his own; so much his own that he will not entrust her to another. Hence he would not presume to tamper with what was outside his control.

What then? Shall a man be jealous of his own glory and yet dare to wish to defraud God of his, as if God were indifferent? But God says otherwise: "I will not yield my glory to another." But what will you give to us, O Lord, what will you give to us?" "Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you." "It is enough for me; I accept gratefully what you give and I give up what you keep for yourself. This contents me, I do not doubt that it is for my advantage. I renounce all claim to glory lest by usurping what you do not permit, I may deservedly lose what you offer. I wish for peace, I yearn for it and for nothing more. The man who is not satisfied with peace is not satisfied with you. For you are our peace, you have made us both one. To be reconciled with you, to be reconciled with myself, this is necessary for me, and it suffices. For whenever you set me in opposition to you I become a burden to myself. I am on my guard, and will neither be ungrateful for the gift of peace nor intrude sacrilegiously on your glory. May your glory remain yours, O Lord, in undiminished splendor; all will be well with me if I shall have your peace."

5. After the overthrow of Goliath the people were happy to have peace restored; David alone basked in the glory of it. Joshua, Jephthah, Gideon, Samson, and even Judith who was but a woman, had glorious victories over their enemies in their day; and though their people enjoyed the hard-won peace, they did not share in the heroes' glory. Judas Maccabaeus too was renowned for the many triumphs by which his bravery in battle gained peace for a jubilant people, but were they privileged to participate in his glory? Scripture says there was very great joy, not glory, among the people. Now I ask: has the Creator of all things achieved less than these heroes, that he should not be allowed his unique glory? Alone he made all things, alone he conquered the enemy, alone he freed the captives, and then in his glory is he to be saddled with a colleague? "My own arm then was my mainstay." he said; and again: "I have trodden the wine-press alone. Of the men of my people not one was with me." What right have I to share in the triumph if I stood outside the battle? It would be sheer impertinence on my part to lay claim to glory without victory, or to victory without a fight. But let the mountains bring a message of peace for the people, a message of peace for us rather than glory. To him who alone both fought and conquered is glory reserved. This is how I desire it to be: "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to men of good-will." But an evil will rather than a good one characterizes the man who refuses to be content with peace, whose haughty looks and proud heart are bent on grasping at the glory that is God's. He is therefore ever devoid of peace, never within reach of glory.

Who would believe the wall if it said it produced the ray of light that falls on it through the window? Or if the clouds should proclaim that they create the showers, what would they merit but ridicule? It is utterly clear to me that the channels do not beget the rivers that run between their banks, nor lips and teeth the words of wisdom that proceed from them, although my bodily senses may tell me that and no more.

6. If I discern in the saints something that is worthy of praise and admiration, and proceed to examine it in the clear light of truth, I become aware that what makes them appear praiseworthy and admirable really belongs to another, and I praise God in his saints. Both Elisha and the great Elijah raised the dead to life, but not by any power of their own. They were the ministers of a power that became manifest to us in these new and wonderful deeds, the power of God who lived in them. By his own nature invisible and inaccessible, he becomes somehow visible and a source of wonder in the lives of those who love him. But he alone is worthy of admiration, for he alone performs the marvels that merit it. We do not praise the pen or the brush when we judge a script or painting, nor do we attribute fame for eloquence to the lips and tongue of the orator. Listen for a moment to the Prophet: "Does the axe claim more credit than the man who wields it, or the saw more strength than the man who handles it? It would be like the cudgel controlling the man who raises it, or the club moving what is not made of wood!" Thus everybody who boasts is against the Lord unless his boasting is in the Lord. If I am to boast, then I learn from Paul why and in what: "Our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience."

I may boast securely if my conscience tells me that I in no way detract from the glory of my Creator, because I shall be speaking in the Lord rather than against him. Not only are we not forbidden to boast in this fashion, we are even encouraged by the words: "You seek glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God." This ability to glory in God alone can come solely from God. Nor is this glory a small thing; it is as real as the truth which is its object, and is a truth so rare, that only an exceptional few even of the perfect can glory in perfectly possessing it. Off with them then, those men who are but a breath, men who are but a delusion; let them deceive each other in their vanity. For the man who makes a wise boast will put his work to the test, he will carefully scrutinize it in the light of the truth, and then his reason for boasting will be in himself and not in the patronage of his neighbor. I am but a fool if I entrust my reputation to the casket of your lips, and then begin to beg it of you when I feel the need for it. Am I not simply putting myself in your power, to be praised or blamed as you please? But I am determined to be responsible for myself, I shall be loyal in my own regard. And yet not entirely to myself; rather have I put my trust in him who can take care of all that I have committed to him until that Day. It is safe in his hands, it will be given back in full. Then all those who set no store by the praise of men will receive the sure praise of God. For those whose glory is in earthly loves will find confusion at the end, even as David said: "Those who please men are confounded, because God has rejected them."

7. Dear brothers, if you can grasp these truths none of you will hanker after praise in this life, because if you win any favor here below and fail to thank God for it, you are defrauding him. How is it possible for you to glory, you who are but stinking dust? Will you dare glory in holiness of life? But it is the Spirit who makes holy; that Spirit who is God's, not yours. Even if you are resplendent with prodigies and miracles it is still God's power working through your hands. Or have you made an elegant speech that wins the plaudits of the crowd? But it is Christ who has given you the eloquence and wisdom. For what is your tongue but the pen of a writer? And it is yours only on loan, a talent committed to you, to be demanded again with interest. If you work willingly and persevere in producing results, you will receive the reward of your labor. If you do otherwise your talent will be taken from you, but the interest will still be demanded, and you will suffer the fate of a dishonest and lazy workman. All praise, therefore, for the manifold gifts of grace with which you are endowed, must be given to him who is the author and giver of all that is praiseworthy. Make sure your thanks are not the pious cant of the hypocrite, nor the empty gesture of the worldling, nor yet the constraint imposed on beasts of burden; but, as one has a right to expect of dedicated men, let it be full of confident sincerity, of meaningful devotion and of becoming, well-regulated cheerfulness. Therefore, while offering up the sacrifice of praise and fulfilling our vows from day to day, let us make every endeavor to put meaning into our observance, to fill the meaning with love, our love with joy and our joy with realism; let that realism be tempered with humility and our humility be buoyant with liberty. Then we shall advance toward our goal with the untrammeled passions of a purified mind. We may even find ourselves at times living beyond our normal powers through the great intensity of our affections and our spiritual joy, in jubilant encounters, in the light of God, in sweetness, in the Holy Spirit, all showing that we are among those envisioned by the Prophet when he said: "Lord, they will walk in the light of your favor; they will rejoice in your name all day and exult in your righteousness."

8. But perchance one of you will say to me: "What you say is good, but your words ought to be relevant to your theme." Just wait a little while; I am not unmindful. Have I not undertaken to expound that text: "Your name is oil poured out"? This is my set task, at this I must toil. Whether what I have so far said is necessary you will see; my purpose now is to explain to you briefly that it is not irrelevant. Do you not remember that the last commendation of the breasts of the bride concerned the sweet-smell of the ointments? Is it not becoming then that the bride should acknowledge this fragrance to be the Bridegroom's gift rather than claim it as her own? It is along these lines that all I have hitherto said must be understood. "If my breasts exhale this sweet perfume," she says, "if they are so attractive, it is not because of any art or merit of mine, O my Bridegroom, but because of your generosity, because the oil of your name has been poured out." So much for the relevance of my text.

9. Finally, the explanation of the little verse that has been the occasion of this prolonged sermon on the abominable vice of ingratitude, must wait for another time and another sermon. Now it suffices to remind you that if the bride would not in the least dare to attribute to herself any virtue or any grace, how much less should we, who are mere youths? Let us therefore imitate this attitude of the bride and say: "Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory." Let us assert this not merely in word and in speech but in deed and in truth lest something that I fear very much may be said even of us: "But though they outwardly loved him and used their tongues to lie to him, in their hearts they were not true to him, they were unfaithful to his covenant." Let us cry out therefore with a voice that comes more from the heart than from the lips: "Save us, O Lord, our God, and gather us from among the pagans, that we may praise your holy name rather than our own, and find our happiness in praising you instead of ourselves, for ever and ever."

SERMON 14 ON THE CHURCH OF THE FAITHFUL CHRISTIANS, AND ON THE SYNAGOGUE OF THE FAITHLESS JEWS

1. God is known in Judah, in Israel his name is great (Ps 75:2). The people of the nations who walked in darkness saw a great light (Isa 9:2), which was in Judah and in Israel, and wished to draw near and be illuminated, so that those who were once not a people might now be a people (1 Pet 2:10); and that one cornerstone might receive both walls coming from different directions into itself, and henceforth the place of his peace might be established. Moreover, the voice of the one inviting gave confidence, which had already sounded forth: Rejoice, O nations, with his people (Deut 32:43 LXX; Rom 15:10). Therefore she wished to draw near; but the Synagogue forbade it, declaring the Church from the nations to be unclean and unworthy, reproaching her with the dregs of idolatry and the blindness of ignorance, and was saying: For you, by what merit? Do not touch me. Why? she replies. Is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the nations? (Rom 3:29). And if merit is certainly lacking to me, yet compassion is not lacking to him. Is he only just? He is also merciful. Lord, let your mercies come upon me, and I shall live; and again: Your mercies are many, O Lord; give me life according to your judgment (Ps 118:77, 156); which, tempered as it is, is mercy. What will the just and merciful Lord do, when one glories in the law and applauds herself for justice, neither needing mercy but despising the very one who does need it; while the other, on the contrary, acknowledges her own offenses, confesses her unworthiness, refuses judgment, and begs for mercy? What, I say, will the judge do, and that judge, for whom both to judge and to show mercy are each so familiar that neither is more familiar than the other? What indeed could be more fitting than that each should receive according to her own desire: judgment for the one, mercy for the other? The Jew seeks judgment, and let him have it; but let the nations honor God for his mercy. And this is the judgment: that those who despise God's merciful justice and wish to establish their own (which indeed does not justify but accuses), should be left to that justice of their own, to be crushed rather than justified.

2. For it is from the law, which never led anyone to perfection; it is a yoke which neither they themselves nor their fathers were ever able to bear. But the Synagogue is strong; she cares not for a light burden nor a sweet yoke. She is healthy; she has no need of a physician, nor of the anointing of the Spirit. She trusts in the law; let it deliver her if it can. But the law was not given that could give life; moreover, it even kills: For the letter kills (2 Cor 3:6). Therefore, he says, I say to you: You shall die in your sins (Jn 8:24). This, therefore, is the judgment, O Synagogue, which you demand for your error. Blind and contentious, you are abandoned until the fullness of the nations (whom you proudly spurn and enviously repel) enters in, and she too may come to know the God who is known in Judah, and that his name is great in Israel. For to this end Jesus came into this world for judgment: that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind (Jn 9:39). In part, however; for the Lord will not cast off his people (Ps 93:14), wholly preserving for himself as a seed the apostles and the multitude of believers, whose heart was one and soul was one. But neither will he cast them off in the end, being about to save the remnant. For again he will take up Israel his servant, and will remember his mercy (Lk 1:54), so that not even there may mercy as a companion desert the judgment, where she herself finds no place. Otherwise, if he had repaid according to merits, it would be judgment without mercy for him who shows no mercy (Jas 2:13). For Judah has much oil of divine knowledge, and she keeps it enclosed within herself as in a sealed vessel, greedy to retain it. I ask, and she does not take pity, nor does she lend. Alone she wishes to possess the worship of God, alone the knowledge, alone the great name of his; she is not zealous for herself, but envious of me.

3. Therefore you, O Lord, judge my cause, and let your great name be magnified still more, and let the oil which is much be multiplied the more. Let it increase, let it overflow, let it be poured out, let it flow forth even to the nations, and let all flesh feel the salvation of God. How should it be as the ungrateful Jew wishes, that the whole saving unction remain upon the beard of Aaron? It belongs not to the beard, but to the head. And the head belongs not to the beard alone, but also to the whole body. Let the beard receive it first, but not alone. Let it pour back upon the lower members what it has itself received from above. Let it descend, let the heavenly liquor descend even upon the breasts of the Church (for she, most eager, does not disdain to press it out for herself from the beard); and being drenched with the dew of grace, that she may prove herself not ungrateful, let her say: Your name is oil poured out (Song 1:2). But let it abound yet more, I pray, and reach even to the hem of the garment, to me indeed the very least and most unworthy of all, yet still of the garment. For I too claim that oil for myself from the maternal breasts, as a little one in Christ, by the right of piety. But if a man should murmur, whose eye is evil because of the goodness; Lord, answer for me, let my judgment proceed from your countenance and not from the brow of Israel. Rather, answer for yourself, and say to the accuser: For it is against you that he brings his charge, that you give freely; say therefore to him: I wish to give to this last one likewise (Mt 20:14). The Pharisee is displeased. Why do you grumble? My right is the will of the judge. What is more just as to merit, what richer as to reward? Is it not lawful for him to do what he wills? To me indeed mercy is done, but to you no injustice is done. Take what is yours, and go. If he has decided to save me too, what do you lose?

4. Exaggerate your merits as much as you please, and extol your labors: the mercy of the Lord is better than lives (Ps 62:4). I confess, I have not borne the burden of the day and the heat; but I carry a sweet yoke and a light burden according to the good pleasure of the master of the house. My work is scarcely of one hour; and if more, I do not feel it on account of love. Let the Jew exercise his own powers; I prefer to prove what is the good and pleasing and perfect will of the Lord. From that will, indeed, I make up for the losses of work and time. He relies on the terms of an agreement; I rely on the good pleasure of a will. I believe, and it is not unto folly for me: for life is in his will. That will reconciles the Father to me, that will restores my inheritance, even with more abundant grace; it stirs up for me the music, and singing, and feasting, and the most celebrated joys of the whole exulting household. If my elder brother is indignant, who prefers to eat a goat with his friends outside rather than with me a fatted calf in the father's house, it will be answered to him: It was fitting to make merry and rejoice, because this my son was dead and has come to life again, was lost and has been found (Lk 15:32). Still the Synagogue feasts outside with her friends the demons, whom it well pleases that she, foolish, devours the goat of sin, gulping it down and in a certain manner hiding it and storing it away for herself in the belly of her sluggishness and foolishness, while despising the justice of God and wishing to establish her own, she says she has no sin, nor does she need the death of the fatted calf, since she reckons herself clean and just from the works of the law. But the Church, once the veil of the killing letter was torn asunder in the death of the crucified Word, boldly bursts through into his inner chambers, with the spirit of liberty going before her; she is recognized, she pleases, she obtains the place of her rival, she becomes the bride, she enjoys the stolen embraces; and in the heat of the spirit, clinging to Christ the Lord, against whom she presses herself, as the oil of his exultation drips and pours forth on every side, she, receiving this above her companions, says: Your name is oil poured out. What wonder if she is anointed, who embraces the Anointed One?

5. The Church therefore reclines within, but the Church, for the present, of the perfect. Yet there is hope for us too. Let us keep watch at the doors, we who are less perfect, rejoicing in hope. Let the Bridegroom and bride be alone within for the present, let them enjoy mutual and secret embraces, with no clamor of carnal desires, no tumult of bodily phantasms disturbing them. But let the throng of young maidens, who cannot yet be free of such disturbances, wait outside; and let them wait securely, knowing that what they read pertains to them: Virgins shall be led to the king after her, her companions shall be brought to you (Ps 44:15). And that each may know of what spirit she is: I call virgins those who, having been joined to Christ before they were defiled by the embraces of the world, firmly persevere in him to whom they devoted themselves, all the more happily as they did so more promptly; but companions, those who at last blushing at and departing from their former deformity, in which, once conformed to this world, they had shamefully prostituted themselves to the princes of this world, that is, to foul spirits, in every carnal lust, hasten to reform themselves, all the more sincerely as they do so more belatedly, into the form of the new man. Let both these and those advance, not fall back, nor grow weary, even if they do not yet fully feel within themselves that from which they too might say: Your name is oil poured out. For the young maidens do not dare to speak words to the Bridegroom on their own. Yet if they strive to follow more closely in the footsteps of their mistress, they will be delighted at least by the fragrance of the poured-out oil, and they will be stirred even from the perception of the fragrance to desire and seek greater things.

6. I myself frequently -- and I am not ashamed to confess it -- especially in the beginnings of my conversion, being hard and cold of heart, and seeking him whom my soul wished to love (for it could not yet love him whom it had not yet found, or at least loved him less than it wished, and for this reason was seeking in order to love him more; though it would by no means have been seeking him unless it had already loved him in some measure): when therefore I was seeking him in whom my spirit might grow warm again and find rest, being altogether sluggish and languishing, and from no quarter did there appear anyone who might give aid, by whom namely the stiffening frost, which bound the senses between us, might be dissolved, and that springlike sweetness and spiritual pleasantness might return -- then more and more my soul was languishing and growing weary and drowsy; and, out of weariness, sad and almost despairing, murmuring within itself that word: Before this cold of his, who shall stand? (Ps 147:17). When suddenly, perhaps at the word, or even at the sight of some spiritual and perfect man, sometimes even at the mere memory of one dead or absent, the Spirit would blow and the waters would flow; and those tears were my bread day and night. What was this, if not the fragrance exhaled from the anointing with which that man was drenched? For it was not the anointing itself, which indeed did not reach me except through the mediation of a man. And therefore, even if I rejoiced at the gift, I was nevertheless confounded and humbled, because only a thin exhalation and not a rich sprinkling had reached me. Delighted by smell, not by touch, I recognized myself to be unworthy that God should become sweet to me through himself. And even now, if the same thing happens, I eagerly receive the gift bestowed, and I am grateful for it; but I grieve with deep sorrow that I have not merited it through myself, and, as the saying goes, have by no means received it from hand to hand, though I earnestly sought it. It shames me greatly to be moved more by the memory of a man than of God. And then with a groan I cry out: When shall I come and appear before the face of God? (Ps 41:3). I think some of you have experienced the same thing, and still experience it from time to time. In this matter, what should be thought, except that either our pride is convicted, or our humility is guarded, or brotherly charity is nourished, or desire is kindled? One and the same food is both medicine for the sick and a diet for the convalescent; moreover, it strengthens the weak and delights the strong. One and the same food both heals languor and preserves health, and nourishes the body and pleases the palate.

7. But let us return to the words of the bride, and let us take care to hear what she says in such a way that we also strive to savor what she savors. The bride, as I have said, is the Church. She is the one to whom more has been forgiven, and who loves more. What her rival reproaches her with as a disgrace, she herself turns to her own advantage. From this she becomes more gentle for correction, from this more patient in labor; from this more ardent in love, from this more shrewd in caution; from this more humble on account of her conscience, from this more acceptable on account of her modesty; from this more ready for obedience, from this more devoted and more careful in the giving of thanks. At length, while the other, as has been said, murmurs and recalls her own merits, and labors, and the burden of the day and the heat, the Church recollects the benefit, saying: Your name is oil poured out.

8. This is indeed the testimony of Israel for giving thanks to the name of the Lord; yet not Israel according to the flesh, but of him who is according to the spirit. For how could that one say this? Not that he does not have oil, but he does not have it poured out. He has it, but hidden away; he has it in books, but not in hearts. He clings to the outside, in the letter; he handles with his hands a vessel that is full, yet also closed, and he does not open it so as to be anointed. Within, within is the anointing of the spirit; open and be anointed, and you shall no longer be a house of provocation. What good does oil do in vessels, if you do not feel it also in your members? What does it profit you to read over and over the holy name of the Savior in books, and not to have piety in your conduct? It is oil; pour it out, and you will feel its power, which is threefold. But the Jew disdains these things; you, hear. I wish to say why the name of the Bridegroom is compared to oil, which I had not yet said. And three reasons for this matter present themselves. But since he is called by many names, for the reason that no single one by which he might be properly named is found (for he is ineffable), first we must invoke the Holy Spirit, so that of the many names he may deign to reveal to us through himself the one which he wishes to be understood in this place (since he did not choose to designate it in writing). But this too must wait for another time. For even if all things were now ready at hand, and neither you were burdened nor I wearied, the hour nevertheless imposes an end. Hold fast to that point to which I have made you attentive, so that it may not be necessary to repeat it tomorrow. This is the task at hand, this is the work in progress: to teach, namely, why the name of the Bridegroom is compared to oil, and what concerns the names. And since I can say nothing of myself, prayer is prescribed, that the Bridegroom himself may reveal it to us through his Spirit, Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom is honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

SERMON 15 THE NAME OF JESUS

Wisdom is a kindly spirit, and easy of access to those who call upon him. Quite often he anticipates their request and says: "Here I am." Listen now to what, because of your prayers, he has revealed to me about the subject we postponed yesterday; be ready to gather the ripe fruit of your intercession. I put before you a name that is rightly compared to oil, how rightly I shall explain. You encounter many names for the Bridegroom scattered through the pages of Scripture, but all these I sum up for you in two. I think you will find none that does not express either the gift of his love or the power of his majesty. The Holy Spirit tells us this through the mouth of one of his friends: "Two things I have heard: it is for God to be strong, for you, Lord, to be merciful." With reference to his majesty we read: "Holy and terrible is his name;" with reference to his love: "Of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved." Further examples make it clearer still. Jeremiah says: "This is the name by which he will be called: 'the Lord our righteous one'" -- a name suggesting power; but when Isaiah says: "His name will be called Emmanuel," he indicates his love. He himself said: "You call me Master and Lord." The first title implies love, the second majesty. Love's business is to educate the mind as well as to provide the body's food. Isaiah also said: "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, the Mighty One, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." The first, third and fourth signify majesty, the others love. Which of these therefore is poured out? In some mysterious way the name of majesty and power is transfused into that of love and mercy, an amalgam that is abundantly poured out in the person of our Savior Jesus Christ. The name "God" liquefies and dissolves into the title "God with us," that is, into "Emmanuel." He who is "Wonderful" becomes "Counselor"; "God" and "the Mighty One" become the "Everlasting Father" and the "Prince of Peace." "The Lord our righteous one" becomes the "gracious and merciful Lord." This process is not new: in ancient times "Abram" became Abraham and Sarai became "Sara"; and we are reminded that in these events the mystery of the communication of salvation was pre-figured and celebrated.

2. So I ask where now is that warning cry: "I am the Lord, I am the Lord," that resounded with recurring terror in the ears of the people of old. The prayer with which I am familiar, that begins with the sweet name of Father, gives me confidence of obtaining the petitions with which it continues. Servants are called friends in this new way, and the resurrection is proclaimed not to mere disciples but to brothers.

Nor am I surprised if, when the time has fully come, there is an outpouring of Jesus' name as God fulfills what he had promised through Joel, an outpouring of his Spirit on all mankind, since I read that a similar event took place among the Hebrews in former times. But I feel that your thoughts fly ahead of my words, that you already guess what I intend to say. How is it, I ask, that God's first answer to Moses' question was: "I Am Who I Am," and "I Am has sent me to you"? I doubt if even Moses himself would have grasped its import if it had not been poured out. But it was poured and he understood it; and not only poured but poured out, for an inward pouring had already occurred: the citizens of heaven already possessed it, the angels knew it. Now it is sent abroad, and what was infused into the angels as an intimate secret was poured out upon men, so that henceforth they could justly proclaim from the earth: "Your name is oil poured out," if the obstinacy of a thankless people did not prevent it. For he had said: "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob."

3. Run then, O pagans, salvation is at hand, that name is poured out which saves all who invoke it. The God of the angels calls himself the God of men. He poured out oil on Jacob and it fell on Israel. Say to your brothers: "Give us some of your oil." If they refuse, ask the Lord of the oil to give it to you. Say to him: "Take away our reproach."

See that no envious tongue insults your beloved, whom it has pleased you to call from the ends of the earth with a compassion all the greater for her unworthiness. Is it fitting, I ask, that a wicked servant should shut out the invited guests of the master of the house? You have said: "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." Of no more than these? Pour out, continue to pour; open your hand still wider and satisfy the desire of everything that lives.

Let them come from the east and the west and take their places with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Let them come, let the tribes come up, the tribes of the Lord, to praise his name according to his command to Israel. Let them come and take their place, let them feast and be filled with gladness, let the banqueters sing as one man the resounding song of exultation and praise: "Your name is oil poured out." One thing I know: if we find that the porters are Andrew and Philip, we shall not be repulsed when we ask for oil, when we desire to see Jesus. Philip will at once tell Andrew, and Andrew and Philip will tell Jesus. And what will Jesus say? Precisely because he is Jesus he will tell them: "Unless a wheat-grain falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest." Let the grain die therefore, and let the harvest of the pagans spring to fruition. It is necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and that penance and forgiveness of sin should be preached in his name, not alone in Judea but even among all nations, because from the sole name of Christ thousands upon thousands of believers are called Christians, whose hearts all re-echo: "Your name is oil poured out."

4. I recognize now the name hinted at by Isaiah: "My servants are to be given a new name. Whoever is blessed on earth in that name will be blessed by the Lord, Amen." O blessed name, oil poured out without limit! From heaven it pours down on Judea and from there over all the earth, so that round the whole world the Church proclaims: "Your name is oil poured out." And what an outpouring! It not only bathes the heavens and the earth, it even bedews the underworld, so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld should bend the knee in the name of Jesus, and that every tongue should acclaim: "Your name is oil poured out." Take the name Christ, take the name Jesus; both were infused into the angels, both were poured out upon men, even upon men who rotted like animals in their own dung. Thus you became a savior both of men and beasts, so countless are your mercies, O God. How precious your name, and yet how cheap! Cheap, but the instrument of salvation. If it were not cheap it would not have been poured out for me; if it lacked saving power it would not have won me. Made a sharer in the name, I share too in its inheritance. For I am a Christian, Christ's own brother. If I am what I say, I am the heir of God, co-heir with Christ. And what wonder if the name of the Bridegroom is poured out, since he himself is poured out? For he emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave.

Did he not even say: "I am poured out like water"? The fullness of the divine life was poured out and lived on earth in bodily form, that all of us who live in this body doomed to death may receive from that fullness, and being filled with its life-giving odor say: "Your name is oil poured out." Such is what is meant by the outpouring of the name, such its manner, such its extent.

5. But why the symbol of oil? I have yet to explain this. In the previous sermon I had begun to do so when another matter that seemed to demand mention suddenly presented itself, though I may have dallied with it longer than I intended. In this I resembled the valiant woman, Wisdom, who put her hand to the distaff, her fingers to the spindle. Skillfully she produced from her scanty stock of wool or flax a long spool of thread, out of which she wove the material that made warm clothes for the members of her household. The likeness between oil and the name of the Bridegroom is beyond doubt, the Holy Spirit's comparison of the two is no arbitrary gesture. Unless you can persuade me otherwise, I hold that the likeness is to be found in the threefold property of oil: it gives light, it nourishes, it anoints. It feeds the flame, it nourishes the body, it relieves pain: it is light, food, medicine. And is not this true too of the Bridegroom's name? When preached it gives light, when meditated it nourishes, when invoked it relieves and soothes. Let us consider each point.

6. How shall we explain the world-wide light of faith, swift and flaming in its progress, except by the preaching of Jesus' name? Is it not by the light of this name that God has called us into his wonderful light, that irradiates our darkness and empowers us to see the light? To such as we Paul says: "You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord." This is the name that Paul was commanded to present before kings and pagans and the people of Israel; a name that illumined his native land as he carried it with him like a torch, preaching on all his journeys that the night is almost over, it will be daylight soon -- let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light. Let us live decently as people do in the day-time. To every eye he was a lamp on its lamp-stand; to every place he brought the good news of Jesus, and him crucified. What a splendor radiated from that light, dazzling the eyes of the crowd, when Peter uttered the name that strengthened the feet and ankles of the cripple, and gave light to many eyes that were spiritually blind! Did not the words shoot like a flame when he said: "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk"? But the name of Jesus is more than light, it is also food. Do you not feel increase of strength as often as you remember it? What other name can so enrich the man who meditates? What can equal its power to refresh the harassed senses, to buttress the virtues, to add vigor to good and upright habits, to foster chaste affections? Every food of the mind is dry if it is not dipped in that oil; it is tasteless if not seasoned by that salt. Write what you will, I shall not relish it unless it tells of Jesus. Talk or argue about what you will, I shall not relish it if you exclude the name of Jesus. Jesus to me is honey in the mouth, music in the ear, a song in the heart.

Again, it is a medicine. Does one of us feel sad? Let the name of Jesus come into his heart, from there let it spring to his mouth, so that shining like the dawn it may dispel all darkness and make a cloudless sky. Does someone fall into sin? Does his despair even urge him to suicide? Let him but invoke this life-giving name and his will to live will be at once renewed. The hardness of heart that is our common experience, the apathy bred of indolence, bitterness of mind, repugnance for the things of the spirit -- have they ever failed to yield in presence of that saving name? The tears damned up by the barrier of our pride -- how have they not burst forth again with sweeter abundance at the thought of Jesus' name? And where is the man, who, terrified and trembling before impending peril, has not been suddenly filled with courage and rid of fear by calling on the strength of that name? Where is the man who, tossed on the rolling seas of doubt, did not quickly find certitude by recourse to the clarity of Jesus' name? Was ever a man so discouraged, so beaten down by afflictions, to whom the sound of this name did not bring new resolve? In short, for all the ills and disorders to which flesh is heir, this name is medicine. For proof we have no less than his own promise: "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me." Nothing so curbs the onset of anger, so allays the upsurge of pride. It cures the wound of envy, controls unbridled extravagance and quenches the flame of lust; it cools the thirst of covetousness and banishes the itch of unclean desire. For when I name Jesus I set before me a man who is meek and humble of heart, kind, prudent, chaste, merciful, flawlessly upright and holy in the eyes of all; and this same man is the all-powerful God whose way of life heals me, whose support is my strength. All these re-echo for me at the hearing of Jesus' name. Because he is man I strive to imitate him; because of his divine power I lean upon him. The examples of his human life I gather like medicinal herbs; with the aid of his power I blend them, and the result is a compound like no pharmacist can produce.

7. Hidden as in a vase, in this name of Jesus, you, my soul, possess a salutary remedy against which no spiritual illness will be proof. Carry it always close to your heart, always in your hand, and so ensure that all your affections, all your actions, are directed to Jesus. You are even invited to do this: "Set me as a seal," he says, "upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm." Here is a theme we shall treat of again. For the moment you have this ready medicine for heart and hand. The name of Jesus furnishes the power to correct your evil actions; to supply what is wanting to imperfect ones; in this name your affections find a guard against corruption, or if corrupted, a power that will make them whole again.

8. Judea too has had her Jesus -- Messiahs in whose empty names she glories: For they give neither light nor food nor medicine. Hence the Synagogue is in the darkness still, enduring the pangs of hunger and disease, and she will neither be healed nor have her fill until she discovers that my Jesus rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth, until she comes back in the evening, hungering like a dog and prowling about the city. True, they were sent on in advance, like the staff preceding the Prophet to where the child lay dead, but they could not see a meaning in their own names because no meaning was there. The staff was laid upon the corpse but produced neither voice nor movement since it was a mere staff. Then he who sent the staff came down and quickly saved his people from their sins, proving that men spoke truly of him when they said: "Who is this man that he even forgives sins?" He is no other than the one who says: "I am the salvation of my people." Now the Word is heard, now it is experienced, and it is clear that, unlike the others, he bears no empty name. As men feel the infusion of spiritual health they refuse to conceal their good fortune. The inward experience finds outward expression. Stricken with remorse I speak out his praise, and praise is a sign of life: "For from the dead, as from one who does not exist, praise has ceased." But see! I am conscious, I am alive! I am perfectly restored, my resurrection is complete. What else is the death of the body than to be deprived of life and feeling? Sin; which is the death of the soul, took from me the feeling of compunction, hushed my prayers of praise; I was dead. Then he who forgives sin came down, restored my senses again and said: "I am your deliverer." Why wonder that death should yield when he who is life comes down? "For a man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved." The child who was dead is now yawning, he yawns seven times as if to say: "Seven times daily I praise you, Lord." Take note of this number seven. It is not a meaningless number, it bears a sacred significance. But because you are by now sated, we should do well to hold this theme over for another sermon, and come with whetted appetites to a table newly laden, to which we are invited by the Church's Spouse, our Lord, Jesus Christ, who is God over all, blessed for ever. Amen.

13. And now, thus compunct and thus confessed, and therefore assured of your own life, you are also assured, I think, that it is by no means with an empty name that Jesus is called, he who was able and willing to work such things in you, and that he did not follow in vain after the staff he had sent ahead. He did not come emptily, because he did not come empty. For how could he be empty, in whom the fullness dwelt? For the Spirit was not given to him by measure. And so he came in the fullness of time, thereby indicating that he came full. Rightly full, whom the Father anointed with the oil of gladness above his companions; he anointed him and sent him full of grace and truth. He anointed that he might anoint. All have been anointed by him who merited to receive from his fullness. Therefore he says: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to announce good tidings to the meek, to heal the contrite of heart, to proclaim release to the captives and opening to the imprisoned, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. He was coming, as you hear, to anoint our bruises and soothe our pains; and therefore he came anointed, he came meek and mild, and of great mercy to all who call upon him. He knew he was descending to the sick, and he presented himself as was fitting. And since the infirmities were many, the provident physician took care to bring many medicines also. He brought the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord.

14. You see how many vials full of heavenly fragrances the physician has prepared for healing the wounds of that wretched man who fell among robbers? They are seven in number, perhaps suited to arousing those seven yawnings spoken of before. For the spirit of life was in the vials. From these indeed he poured oil into my wounds; he poured wine also, but less than oil. For so it was fitting for my infirmities, that he should exalt mercy above judgment, just as oil floats above wine when poured in. He brought therefore five measures of oil, but only two of wine. For wine was only fear and fortitude; the remaining five designate oil by their proper sweetness. In the spirit of fortitude indeed, like a mighty man flushed with wine, he descended to the underworld, shattered the gates of bronze, and broke the bars of iron; he bound the strong man and seized the vessels of captivity. He descended also in the spirit of fear, but as one to be feared, not as one afraid.

15. O Wisdom! With what great art of healing you restore the health of my soul with wine and oil, strongly sweet, and sweetly strong! Strong for me, and sweet to me. For you reach from end to end mightily, and you order all things sweetly, repelling the enemy and cherishing the weak. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; I will sing psalms and confess your name, and I will say: Your name is oil poured out. Not wine poured out (for I do not wish you to enter into judgment with your servant), but oil, because you crown me with mercy and compassions. Oil indeed, which, since it floats above all liquids with which it is mixed, clearly designates that name which is above every name. O name most sweet and most delightful! O name most glorious, most chosen and most exalted, and superexalted forever! This is truly the oil that makes glad the face of man, that anoints the head of the one who fasts, so that he does not feel the oil of the sinner. This is the new name that the mouth of the Lord has named. Which was also spoken by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. By this name not only the Jew, but whoever shall call upon it shall be saved; so far and wide has it been poured out. This the Father gave to the Son, the Bridegroom of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

SERMON 17 ON THE WAYS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE ENVY OF THE DEVIL

Do you think we have advanced far enough into a sphere that is holy to God, in unraveling this wonderful mystery, or should we dare follow the Holy Spirit into still more secret places to search for meanings that may yet be attained? For the Holy Spirit searches not only the minds and hearts of men but even the depths of God; so whether it be into our own hearts or into the divine mysteries, I shall be secure in following him wherever he goes. He must keep watch over our hearts and our minds, lest we think him present when he is not, and follow the erratic light of our own feelings instead. He comes and goes as he wills, and no man can easily discover whence he comes and whither he goes. Ignorance of this will not lessen our hopes of salvation; but to be ignorant of when he comes and when he goes would certainly involve risk. Unless we use the utmost vigilance in attending to these gift-laden visits of the Holy Spirit, we shall neither desire him when he seems absent nor respond to him when present. If he withdraws from us to stimulate us to a more eager search for him, how shall we seek for him if we do not perceive his absence? Or when he comes to animate us, how shall we give him the welcome due his majesty if his visit passes unnoticed? The man who is indifferent to his absence will be led astray by other influences; the man who is blind to his coming cannot offer thanks for the visit.

2. When Elisha perceived that his master was about to be taken away from him, he asked for a favor. He obtained it, as you know, only on the condition that he would see him as he was being taken. This is an allegory recorded for our instruction. This story of the prophets carries both a lesson and a warning, to make us vigilant and careful about the work of salvation ceaselessly performed in our inmost being with all the skill and sweetness of the Holy Spirit's artistry. If we do not wish to be deprived of a twofold gift, let us make sure that this heaven-sent Director, who can teach us all things, is never taken away from us without our knowledge. Let him never find us unprepared when he comes, but always with faces uplifted and hearts expanded to receive the copious blessing of the Lord. Let him find us like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage-feast, for he never comes empty-handed from heaven's richly-laden table. Therefore we must watch, even hour by hour, for we do not know at what hour he will come and depart again. The Holy Spirit comes and goes, and if a man can stand firmly only with his support, it follows that he must fall when abandoned by him; fall, yes, but never fatally, since the Lord supports him by the hand. Persons who are spiritual or whom the Holy Spirit purposes to make spiritual, never cease to experience these alternations; he visits them every morning and tests them at any moment. For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again, provided that he falls in the daytime and so is able to see his fall, to know that he has fallen, to make up his mind to rise and look for a helping hand, and say: "Your favor, Lord, stood me on a peak impregnable; but then you hid your face and I was terrified."

3. It is scarcely possible to avoid doubts about the truth when we lack the light of the Holy Spirit; but it is another thing to hanker after erroneous opinions which a man might easily guard against if he would acknowledge his ignorance, as Job did when he said: "And even if it be true that I have erred, my error remains with myself." Ignorance, an evil mother, has borne two evil daughters, falsehood and doubt, the first is the more reprobate, the other more an object of compassion; the first more pernicious, the other more troubled. When the Holy Spirit speaks, both of these yield, for he speaks not merely the truth but the certain truth. He is the Spirit of truth with whom falsehood cannot be reconciled; and the spirit of wisdom, who will not accept opinions that are equivocal or obscure, since he is a reflection of eternal life, so pure that he pervades and permeates all things. When this Spirit is silent we must be alert and hold falsehood in abhorrence, even if bound in the clutches of perplexing incertitude. Doubting the truth of an opinion is vastly different from rashly proposing something of which we know nothing. Either let the Holy Spirit always speak, a procedure that no influence of ours can procure; or let him at least warn us when he withdraws into silence, that his very silence may then be our guide; otherwise, mistakenly thinking he is still leading us on, we shall pursue with disastrous assurance an erroneous course of our own. Even if he does keep us in suspense, may he never abandon us to what is false. A man may tentatively express what is false without incurring the guilt of a lie, while another man may lie in asserting a truth of which he has no knowledge. Because the first man, far from maintaining non-facts to be facts, rather states he believes what he does believe, he speaks in truth, even though what he believes is not true; but the second man, who says he is certain when he is not, does not speak in truth, even though what he asserts is true.

4. I have said these things for the sake of those who are unaware of such pitfalls, and now I shall follow what I trust to be the guidance of the Spirit who lights my way, taking account as far as I can of the warnings I have issued. I will try to be faithful to my own teaching lest someone say in turn to me: "You who teach others, will you not teach yourself?" We must observe the distinction between what is clear and what is doubtful, not casting doubt on the one nor rashly upholding the other. This is where we must hope for direction from the Spirit, for even assiduous efforts on our part may be altogether insufficient.

5. What man knows whether the judgment of God over men, that we discussed in a previous sermon, was not preceded by a judgment pronounced in heaven?

6. Is it possible that Lucifer, son of the morning, yielding precipitately to the impulse of pride, began to envy the outpouring of oil on our human race before he was cast out into the darkness? In the rage that possessed him did he murmur and say to himself: "Why this waste?" I do not hold that the Holy Spirit has made this known, nor do I hold the contrary; I simply do not know. But even though some may think it incredible, it could have happened that because of his lofty endowments of wisdom and grace, he could have foreseen that members of the human race would one day be raised to be his equals in glory. And if he did foresee this it was because it was revealed to him in the Word of God. Then, stung by a wild impulse of envy, he plotted to maintain as subjects those whom he scorned as companions. To him they were by nature both lower and weaker, unworthy to be fellow-citizens, to share an equal glory. Was this impious scheming of his the consequence of his presumptuous self-exaltation, of his pretensions to a seat of power? For he said: I will climb up to the heavens; I will sit in the recesses of the north. He would assume the very likeness of the most high God; for just as God, from his throne above the cherubim governs the whole angelic host, so Lucifer, from his usurped position, would control the race of men. God forbid. He plotted mischief in his bed, let him be trapped in his own plot, for we refuse to acknowledge any overlord but our Creator. Not the devil but the Lord will be judge of the world; he who is our God forever and ever will be our ruler forever and ever.

7. In heaven then, the devil conceived a bitter resentment that in the garden of Paradise came forth as iniquity, the offspring of malice, the mother of death and of every other misery; all these evils have pride as their first parent. For although it was through the devil's envy that death entered into the world, every sin has its origin in pride. But what has he gained from it? For you, Lord, are still in our midst, we are called by your name; and the people you have chosen, the Church of the redeemed, cries out: "Your name is oil poured out." And when I in turn am cast forth, this oil comes pouring after me and upon me, because despite your anger you remember to be merciful. Satan however has gained a hold over all who yield themselves to pride. He has made his realm of this world's darkness, yet his proud assaults serve but to increase the realm of the humble. While that realm remains his, temporal as it is, he establishes multitudes of the humble on high and eternal thrones. What a happy outcome, that this tyrant who would hammer the humble into subjection, should unwittingly be fashioning their eternal crowns for them. Attacking along every front, he is everywhere forced to yield. For always and everywhere it is God who will judge his people, it is he who will save the children of the needy and crush their oppressors. Always and everywhere he will defend his own, he will drive off their persecutors, take away the scepter that the wicked wield over the virtuous, lest the virtuous in turn should take to evil. A time is coming when he will break the bow completely, shatter the spear and burn the shields with fire. As for you, unhappy one, you set up your seat in the north, a region of cloud and cold; and see! the poor are being raised up from the dust and the needy from the dunghill, that they may be placed among the princes and attain a seat of honor. To your utter frustration you will see that the poor and needy have cause to praise God's name.

8. We thank you, Father of orphans and Vindicator of abandoned children, because a mountain fat and fertile has shed its warmth upon us. The heavens have poured down rain at the presence of the God of Sinai. The oil is poured out. There is universal glorification of the Name which Satan envied because it was ours, and we live in its shadow. It is acclaimed, I repeat, in the hearts and words of children; even in the mouths of infants and babes at the breast praise is assured. The wicked one will see this and be filled with fury; an unrelenting fury that will feed the unquenchable fire prepared for him and his ministers. "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."

9. How wonderful your love for me, my God, my love! How wonderful your love for me, everywhere mindful of me, everywhere eager for the welfare of one who is needy and poor, protecting him both from the arrogance of men and from the might of evil spirits. Both in heaven and on earth, O Lord, you accuse my accusers, you attack my attackers; everywhere you bring help, always you are close to my right hand lest I be disturbed. "I will sing to the Lord as long as I live, I will sing praise to my God while I have being." How great are his powers, what wonders has he not done! The first and greatest of his achievements is that revealed to me by one initiated to his mysteries, the Virgin Mary: "He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent away empty." The second you have heard of too, it is like the first: "That those without sight may see, and those with sight turn blind." These two judgments are the poor man's consolation, they enable him to say: "Remembering your rulings in the past, Lord, I take comfort."

10. Let us return now to ourselves, let us examine our paths; and in order to accomplish this in truth, let us invoke the Spirit of truth, let us call to him from the deep into which he has led us, because he leads us on the way by which we discover ourselves, and without him we can do nothing. Nor should we be afraid that he will disdain to come down to us, for the contrary is true: he is displeased if we attempt even the least thing without him. For he is not one "who passes and does not return," he leads us on from brightness to brightness because he is the Spirit of the Lord. Sometimes he fills us with rapture by communication of his light, sometimes he adapts himself to our weakness and sends beams of light into the dark about us. But whether we are raised above ourselves or left with ourselves, let us stay always in the light, always walk as children of the light. And now that we have passed through the shadow-land of allegories, it is time to explore the great plains of moral truths. Our faith has been strengthened, let our lives reveal its influence; our intellects have been enlightened, let them prescribe the right behavior. For they have sound sense who do this, if they direct their actions and understanding toward the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed for ever.

SERMON 18 THE TWO OPERATIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

"Your name is oil poured out." Of what truth of our interior life does the Holy Spirit wish to assure us by means of this text? He refers to the experience of a twofold operation, one by which he inwardly strengthens the virtues that lead us to salvation, the other by which he outwardly endows us with serviceable gifts. The former is of benefit to ourselves, the latter to our neighbors. For example, faith, hope and charity are given to us for our own sake, without them we cannot be saved. But the gift of wise and learned speech, the power to heal, to prophesy, and endowments of this kind without which we can fully achieve our own salvation, are undoubtedly meant to be used for our neighbor's salvation. And these operations of the Holy Spirit, that we take note of either in ourselves or in others, are named from their method of functioning: we call them infusion and effusion. To which of them may we suitably apply the words: "Your name is oil poured out"? Is it not to effusion? If he had meant infusion he would have said "poured in." When the bride says: "Your name is oil poured out," she refers to the perfumes sprinkled on her breasts, attributing their scent to the Bridegroom's name, as if it were an unguent poured on her breasts. Any man who perceives that he is endowed with an exterior grace enabling him to influence others, can also say to the Lord: "Your name is oil poured out."

2. At this point we need to be warned not to give away what we have received for our own welfare, nor to retain for ourselves what must be expended for others. For example, you keep for yourself what belongs to your neighbor, if along with your full endowment of interior virtues you are also adorned with the external gifts of knowledge and eloquence, and, through fear or sloth or ill-judged humility, smother this gift of speech that could be of help to so many, in a useless and even pernicious silence; for "the people's curse is on the man who hoards the wheat." On the other hand, you squander and lose what is meant to be your own if, before you are totally permeated by the infusion of the Holy Spirit, you rashly proceed to pour out your unfulfilled self upon others; you contravene the law which says: "You must not put the first-born of your herd to work, nor shear the first-born of your flock." You deprive yourself of the life and salvation which you impart to another if, lacking right intention and inspired by self you become infected with the poison of worldly ambition that swells into a deadly ulcer and destroys you.

3. The man who is wise, therefore, will see his life as more like a reservoir than a canal. The canal simultaneously pours out what it receives; the reservoir retains the water till it is filled, then discharges the overflow without loss to itself. He knows that a curse is on the man who allows his own property to degenerate. And if you think my opinion worthless, then listen to one who is wiser than I: "The fool," said Solomon, "comes out with all his feelings at once, but the wise man subdues and restrains them." Today there are many in the Church who act like canals, the reservoirs are far too rare. So urgent is the charity of those through whom the streams of heavenly doctrine flow to us, that they want to pour it forth before they have been filled; they are more ready to speak than to listen, impatient to teach what they have not grasped, and full of presumption to govern others while they know not how to govern themselves.

I am convinced that no degree of the charity that leads to salvation may be preferred to that suggested by the Wise Man: "Have pity on your own soul, pleasing God." If I have but a little oil, sufficient for my own anointing, do you suppose I should give it to you and be left with nothing? I am keeping it for myself, utterly unwilling to proffer it to anyone except at the Prophet's bidding. And should any of you, thinking me to be better than I seem or than my words suggest, insist on asking for it, here is my answer to him: "There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves." But charity, you reply, does not seek what is its own. And do you know why? It does not seek what is its own precisely because it has it. Who seeks for what he possesses? Charity never lacks what is her own, all that she needs for her own security. Not alone does she have it, she abounds with it. She wants this abundance for herself that she may share it with all; and she reserves enough for herself so that she disappoints nobody. For charity is perfect only when full.

4. But you, my brother, your salvation is not yet assured; your charity as yet is either non-existent or so meager and reed-like that it bends with every breeze, puts its trust in every spirit, and is carried along by every wind of doctrine; or it is so great that you transcend the limits of the commandment by loving your neighbor more than yourself, or yet again so unsound that, contrary to the commandment, it bows to flattery, flinches under fear, is upset by sadness, shriveled by avarice, entangled by ambition, disquieted by suspicions, tormented by insults, exhausted by anxieties, puffed up by honors, consumed by envy. If you discover this chaos in your own interior, what madness drives you to insinuate yourself into other people's business? But listen to what a prudent and vigilant charity advises: "This does not mean that to give relief to others you ought to make things difficult for yourselves: it is a question of balancing." "Do not be over-virtuous." It is enough that you love your neighbor as yourself; this is the balancing to which the Apostle refers. David says: "My soul will feast most richly, on my lips a song of joy and, in my mouth, praise." To preclude a mere empty yawning, he wishes that infusion should precede the effusion, an infusion to the fullest capacity that gushes out. In this he shows prudence, his relieving of others does not embarrass himself; and he has a right intention, since he imitates him of whose fullness we have all received. You too must learn to await this fullness before pouring out your gifts, do not try to be more generous than God. The reservoir resembles the fountain that runs to form a stream or spreads to form a pool only when its own waters are brimming over. The reservoir is not ashamed to be no more lavish than the spring that fills it. And so, he who is the primal Fountain of life, full in himself and filled with himself, gushed forth and danced into the secret places of the heavens about him, to fill them all with his favors. And having endowed these remotest heights and recesses, he burst upon our earth, saving men and beasts through his munificence, multiplying his mercies everywhere. When he had first filled up the secret places, his teeming mercies billowed over; they poured upon the earth and drenched it, to multiply its riches. You must imitate this process. First be filled, and then control the outpouring. The charity that is benign and prudent does not flow outwards until it abounds within. "My son," said Solomon, "do not let yourself drift away." And the Apostle says: "We ought then to turn our minds more attentively than before to what we have been taught, so that we do not drift away." See what is involved here. Are you holier than Paul, wiser than Solomon? Besides, I cannot see myself being enriched by your wasting of your powers. For if you are mean to yourself, to whom will you be good? Help me out of your abundance if you have it; if not, then spare yourself the trouble.

5. But I wish to remind you now of the principles necessary for our salvation and how to apply them, the truths that must be infused into us and their order of importance, before we can presume to pour ourselves out. Circumstances oblige me to be as brief as possible, for the time's quick passage demands that I bring this sermon to a close. Just as a doctor comes to a wounded man, so the Holy Spirit comes to the soul. Is it possible to find any person whom the devil's sword does not wound, even after the wound of original sin has been healed by the medicine of baptism? Therefore, when the Spirit draws near to a soul that says: "My wounds grow foul and fester because of my foolishness," what is the first thing he should do? Before all else he must amputate the ulcerous tumor that has grown upon the wound and prevents its healing. This ulcer, caused by inveterate bad habits, must be sliced away with the scalpel of piercing sorrow. The pain will be bitter, but it can be alleviated with the ointment of devotion which is nothing other than the joy born of the hope of pardon. This in turn springs from the power of self-control, from victory over sin. Soon the victor is pouring out words of thanks: "You have loosed my bonds, I will offer you the thanksgiving sacrifice." He then applies the medicine of penance, a poultice of fastings, vigils, prayers, and other tasks that penitents perform. And as he toils he must be fed with the food of good works that he may not falter. We are not left in doubt about what the necessary food is: "My food," said Christ, "is to do the will of my Father." Hence works motivated by love, that are a sure source of strength, should accompany the performance of penances. For instance it is said: "Alms is a most effective offering for all those who give it in the presence of the Most High." Food causes thirst, therefore one must drink, so let the food of good works be moistened with the beverage of prayer, that a work well done may rest quietly in the stomach of conscience and give pleasure to God. In prayer one drinks the wine that gladdens a man's heart, the intoxicating wine of the Spirit that downs all memory of the pleasures of the flesh. It drenches anew the arid recesses of the conscience, stimulates digestion of the meats of good works, fills the faculties of the soul with a robust faith, a solid hope, a love that is living and true; it enriches all the actions of our life.

6. The sick man has had his food and drink; what should he do now but take his ease and let the sweat of his labors dry while he enjoys the quiet of contemplation? Falling asleep in the midst of his prayer he dreams of God; what he sees is a dim reflection in a mirror, not a vision face to face. However, although it be but a vague apprehension and not an actual vision, a fleeting glimpse of the sparkling glory as it passes, utterly delicate in its impact, yet he burns with love and says: "At night my soul longs for you and my spirit in me seeks for you." A love like this is full of zeal; it is a love becoming the Bridegroom's friend, the love that must inspire the faithful and prudent servant whom the Lord appoints over his household. It fills the soul's capacity, grows heated and brims over, gushing with abandon into streamlets. This is the love that cries out: "Who is weak and I am not weak? Who is scandalized and I am not inflamed?" Let such a man preach, let him bear fruit, let him show new signs and do fresh wonders, for vanity can find no toehold in the man whom charity totally possesses. A total love is the law in all its fullness, it can effectively fill the heart's capacity. Finally God himself is love, and nothing created can satisfy the man who is made to the image of God, except the God who is love, who alone is above all created natures. The man who has not yet attained to this love is promoted to office at the gravest risk to himself, no matter how distinguished he be with other virtues. Even if he knows everything, if he gives all his goods to the poor and lets his body be taken for burning, without charity he is worthless. See how precious the graces that must first be infused, so that when we venture to pour them out we may dispense them from a spirit that is filled rather than impoverished. We need first of all compunction of heart, then fervor of spirit; thirdly, the labor of penance; fourthly, works of charity; fifthly, zeal for prayer; sixthly, leisure for contemplation; seventhly, love in all its fullness. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, accomplished by the process called infusion; and, in so far as it has taken place those services called effusion can be truly and hence safely performed to the praise and glory of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the same Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMON 19 ON THE NATURE, MANNER, AND PROPERTIES OF THE LOVE OF THE ANGELS TOWARD GOD, DISCUSSED ACCORDING TO EACH OF THE ANGELIC ORDERS

Still the bride speaks words of love, still she goes on further pursuing the praises of the bridegroom; and she provokes grace while she shows that the grace she had already received had not been empty in her. For hear what she adds next: "Therefore," she says, "the young maidens have loved you exceedingly" (Song 1:3). As if she were to say: Not in vain nor to no purpose has your name been emptied out, O bridegroom, and poured forth upon my breasts; for therefore the young maidens have loved you exceedingly. On account of what? On account of the name poured forth, and on account of the breasts perfused from it. For from this indeed they were aroused to love of the bridegroom, from this they received the capacity to love. When the bride received the gift poured into her, they at once perceived the fragrance—they who could by no means be far from the mother; and filled with that sweetness they say: "The love of God has been poured forth in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us" (Rom 5:5). Therefore the bride, commending their devotion, says: "This, O bridegroom, is the fruit of your poured-forth name, that therefore the young maidens have loved you." For they perceive it as poured forth, since they could not grasp it whole; therefore they have loved you. For the pouring forth makes the name graspable, the grasping makes it lovable—but only for the young maidens. Those who are more capacious rejoice in it whole, and have no need of the pouring forth.

2. The angelic creature gazes with the unreflected keenness of mind upon the great abyss of the divine judgments, and, blessed with the ineffable delight of their supreme equity, glories moreover that these are committed to execution through its ministry and made manifest; and therefore it rightly loves the Lord Christ. "Are they not all," he says, "ministering spirits, sent for ministry on behalf of those who receive the inheritance of salvation?" (Heb 1:14). Furthermore, the archangels (that we may attribute to them something more distinctive than to those who are simply angels) are, I believe, wonderfully delighted that they too are admitted more intimately to the counsels of the eternal Wisdom, and that through them those same counsels are dispensed each to its proper place and time with supreme governance. And this is the reason that they too love the Lord Christ. Those blessednesses also which are called Virtues—perhaps so named because, divinely ordained to search out and marvel at with blessed curiosity the hidden and perpetual causes of mighty works and prodigies—powerfully produce from all the elements signs upon the earth, of what kind and when they will: and they therefore, not undeservedly, burn with ardor to love the Lord of hosts and Christ the power of God. For it is a thing full of sweetness and grace to behold in Wisdom herself the uncertain and hidden things of wisdom; it is no less full of honor and glory that the workings of causes hidden in the Word of God should be directed through their hands to be beheld and marveled at by the world.

3. But those spirits also who are named Powers, while they delight to behold and magnify the divine omnipotence of our Crucified One, reaching mightily everywhere, receive the power to cast out and defeat the opposing powers of demons and of men, on behalf of those who receive the inheritance of salvation. Do not these too have a most just cause to love the Lord Jesus? There are also above these the Principalities, who, contemplating him more deeply and clearly perceiving him to be the principle of the universe and the firstborn of all creation, are therefore endowed with such dignity of principality that they have power throughout the whole earth, as if from some supreme hinge of things, to change and order kingdoms and principalities and whatever dignities at their judgment; to make the first last and the last first according to the merits of each; to put down the mighty from their seat and to exalt the humble. And this is their reason for loving also. But the Dominations love too. Why? I know not what more subtle and sublime thing they are borne to investigate concerning the interminable and irrefragable dominion of Christ, with a praiseworthy boldness: namely, that throughout the whole universe, not only powerful but also present, above and below, he compels the courses of times, the motions of bodies, and the inclinations of minds to obey his most righteous will, in an order assuredly most beautiful; and this with a vigilance so watchful that not even a point or an iota may in any way withdraw from any one of all these things, as it is said, its due service; yet with an operation so effortless that the governor feels no disturbance or anxiety whatsoever. Beholding therefore the Lord of hosts judging all things with such tranquility, seized by the excessive yet conscious rapture of most intent and most sweet contemplation into that vast ocean of divine brightness, they withdraw into a certain more secret recess of wondrous tranquility, where they enjoy such peace and security that, while they themselves rest, the remaining multitude appears to minister and serve them as truly dominations, out of reverence for their prerogative.

4. God sits upon the Thrones. And I think that for these spirits, above all those who have been mentioned, there is both a more just cause and a more abundant matter for loving. For if you enter the palace of any human king, when it is full of seats, benches, and chairs, is not the royal seat, placed on high, at once perceived? And there is no need to ask where the king is accustomed to sit: the manifest seat of his, higher and more adorned than the other seats, meets the eye at once. So also understand these spirits to surpass all others in every adornment of beauty, in whom, by a certain special gift of astonishing condescension, the divine majesty has chosen to reside. But if the sitting signifies a teaching office, I think that the Wisdom of God, Christ, who is our one master in heaven and on earth, although he reaches everywhere else on account of his purity, yet illumines these more specially and principally, as his own proper seat, with his presence, and from there, as from a solemn audience chamber, teaches angel and teaches man knowledge. From there comes to the angels knowledge of the divine judgments; from there comes to the archangels knowledge of the counsels; there the Virtues hear when and where and what manner of signs they are to bring forth. There, finally, all of them, whether they be Powers, or Principalities, or Dominations, learn indeed what they owe by duty, what they may presume by their dignity, and—what is especially enjoined upon all of them—not to abuse the power they have received for their own will or glory.

5. Those heavenly hosts, however, which are called Cherubim, if the interpretation of their name be preserved for them, I judge to have nothing that they receive from them or through them, since they may draw to the full from the fountain itself, with the Lord Jesus himself graciously introducing them into all fullness of truth, and most liberally revealing the treasures of wisdom and knowledge which are all hidden in him. But neither do those who are called Seraphim—for God who is love itself has so drawn and absorbed them into himself, and has swept them up into the same ardor of holy affection, that they seem to be one spirit with God; just as fire, which, when it inflames the air, imprints upon it all its own heat and clothes it with its own color, is seen to have made the air not ignited but fire itself. Those spirits indeed love especially to contemplate in God the knowledge of which there is no number; these, however, to contemplate the love which never falls away. Whence also they have received their names from that in which each is seen to excel: for Cherubim indeed means "fullness of knowledge," while Seraphim means "those who set on fire" or "those who are aflame."

6. God is loved, therefore, by the Angels on account of the supreme equity of his judgments; by the Archangels, on account of the supreme governance of his counsels; by the Virtues, on account of the most benign display of miracles, by which he most graciously draws unbelievers to the faith; by the Powers, on account of that force of most just might, by which he is accustomed to drive back and ward off the cruelty of the malicious from the devout; by the Principalities, on account of that eternal and original power by which he gives being and the principle of being to every creature, higher and lower, spiritual and corporeal, reaching from end to end mightily; by the Dominations also, on account of his most placid will, by which, although he rules everywhere in the strength of his arm, yet with a might more powerful, on account of his innate gentleness and imperturbable tranquility, he disposes all things sweetly. He is loved also by the Thrones on account of the benevolence of his teaching wisdom, which communicates itself without envy, and the anointing which teaches freely concerning all things. Moreover, by the Cherubim he is loved because God is the Lord of knowledge, and knowing what each one needs for salvation, he distributes his gifts discreetly and providently to those who worthily ask, as he knows to be expedient. By the Seraphim also, because he is love, and he hates nothing that he has made, and wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

7. All these, therefore, love according to their capacity. But the young maidens, since they have less understanding, also have less capacity, and are by no means sufficient for such sublime things: for they are little ones in Christ, to be nourished with milk and oil. Therefore from the breasts of the bride they must draw the means by which to love. The bride has oil poured forth, at whose fragrance they are aroused to taste and perceive how sweet the Lord is. And when she has perceived them burning with love, turning to the bridegroom she says: "Your name is oil poured forth; therefore the young maidens have loved you exceedingly." What is "exceedingly"? Greatly, vehemently, ardently. Or rather, this spiritual discourse touches you more obliquely, you who have come recently, reproving that less discreet vehemence of yours—which we too have often tried to restrain—indeed an altogether too stubbornly intemperate excess. You do not wish to be content with the common life. The regular fast is not enough for you, nor the appointed vigils, nor the imposed discipline, nor the measure which we apportion to you in clothing and food; you prefer private practices to the common ones. You who once entrusted the care of yourselves to us—why do you again interfere with yourselves? For that own will of yours, with which, as your consciences bear witness, you have so many times offended God—behold, now again you have it as your teacher, not me. She teaches you not to spare nature, not to yield to reason, not to comply with the counsel or example of your elders, not to obey us. Or do you not know that "obedience is better than sacrifices" (1 Sam 15:22)? Have you not read in your Rule that whatever is done without the will or consent of the spiritual father will be reckoned to vainglory, not to merit? Have you not read in the Gospel what pattern of obedience the boy Jesus handed on to holy children? For when he had remained in Jerusalem and had said that he must be about the things that are his Father's, yet when his parents did not agree, he did not disdain to follow them to Nazareth—the Master following disciples, God following human beings, the Word and Wisdom following a carpenter and a woman. What? The sacred history even adds: "And he was," it says, "subject to them" (Lk 2:51). How long will you be wise in your own eyes? God entrusts and subjects himself to mortals; and you still walk in your own ways? You had received a good spirit; but you do not use it well. I fear that in place of this one you may receive another, who under the appearance of good may trip you up; and you who began by the spirit may be brought to completion by the flesh. Or do you not know that the angel of Satan often disguises himself as an angel of light? (2 Cor 11:14). God is Wisdom, and he wills to be loved not only sweetly but also wisely. Whence the Apostle says: "Let your worship be rational" (Rom 12:1). Otherwise the spirit of error will most easily deceive your zeal, if you neglect knowledge; nor does the cunning enemy have a more effective device for removing love from the heart than if he can bring it about that one walks in it carelessly and not with reason. For this reason I am thinking of handing on to you certain guidelines which it is worthwhile for those who love God to observe. But since this sermon requires an end, tomorrow I shall attempt to set them forth, if God preserves for me life and the leisure we now have for discoursing. For then, with senses refreshed by the night's rest, and—what is foremost—with prayer offered beforehand, we shall come, more eagerly, as is right, to the sermon on love, with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMON 9 ON THE BREASTS OF THE BRIDEGROOM

And not only are they better than wine, but also fragrant with the finest ointments; because not only do you nourish those present with the milk of inward sweetness, but you also sprinkle the absent with the pleasing fragrance of a good reputation, having a good testimony both from those within and from those without. You have, I say, milk within and ointments without; since indeed there would be none whom you might refresh with milk, if you did not first attract them by the fragrance.

Then the praise of the breasts is heaped further with the fragrance of ointments: that they not only feed by the savor of their words, but are also sweet-smelling by the reputation of their deeds.

And as we are examining his name, the seal of all we have said may be found in the oracle of Solomon the wisest of the wise, where he says in the Song of Songs: "Your name is as ointment poured forth." Solomon, being supplied with divine wisdom, and thought worthy of more mystical revelations about Christ and his church, and speaking of him as heavenly bridegroom and her as bride, speaks as if to [Christ] and says, "Your name, O Bridegroom, is ointment," and not simply ointment, but "ointment poured forth." And what name could be more suggestive of ointment poured forth than the name of Christ? For there could be no Christ, and no name of Christ, unless ointment had been poured forth. And in what has gone before I have shown of what nature the ointment was with which Christ was anointed.

"Ointment poured forth" is divinity incarnate. For if ointment is in a vessel, it gives off less scent, but if it is poured out, the fragrance of the poured ointment spreads far and wide. The name of God, therefore, is ointment poured forth, because from the immensity of His divinity He poured Himself outward into our nature, and from being invisible, He made Himself visible: for if He had not poured Himself out, He would never have become known to us. The ointment poured itself out when He preserved Himself as God and yet presented Himself as man. Concerning this pouring out, Paul says: "Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant" (Phil. 2:7). What Paul said, "He emptied Himself," Solomon said, "He poured out." Therefore, because the Lord became known to the human race through the humility of the Incarnation, let it be said to Him: "Your name is ointment poured forth." There follows: "Therefore the young maidens have loved you."

What do we understand by "young maidens" in this passage, if not the souls of the elect renewed through baptism? For the life of sin belongs to the old man, and the life of righteousness to the new. Because, therefore, he poured out his ointment abroad, he made the young maidens burn with love for him; because he presented renewed souls as fragrant with desire for him. Childhood does not yet suit love; old age ceases from love. A child is one who has not yet begun the pursuit of an ardent life; an old man is one who had indeed begun, but has ceased. Therefore, since neither those who have not yet begun burn with love for the Lord, nor those who had begun but have grown cold, setting aside both childhood and old age, the young maidens are said to run — that is, those souls who are in the very fervor of love itself.

However, we can understand this in another way. For youth can be referred to weakness. Indeed, the youthful ages are the order of angels, who have been overcome by no frailty, conquered by no weakness. Let it therefore be said: "Your name is oil poured out, therefore the young maidens have loved you;" that is, because through your incarnation you poured out knowledge of yourself outwardly, therefore weak souls are able to love your human nature. For those supreme Powers, as though of youthful age, love you even there where you have not been poured out, because they see you even there where you contain yourself in the state of divinity. You, therefore, who are seen even when not poured out by those highest orders, as by those of youthful age, are poured out outwardly for the sake of men, so that you may also be loved by the young maidens, that is, by weak minds.

"It is as when the precious ointment upon the head runs down over the beard, the beard of Aaron." Oh, if only there were time to explore together each verse; even a day would not suffice! We have read in Exodus the account of how oil is prepared for the anointing of the priest; we have read, too, of the different kind of balm used to anoint kings. There was still another unguent for prophets. What more is there to say? All these oils of unction were different, each with its own spiritual symbolism.… Nothing is ever made sacred except by anointing. It is with this in view that young maidens say in the Song of Solomon, "Your name is a spreading perfume: we will run after you in the odor of your ointments."

Let it not escape our notice that in some manuscripts we find written "because your discourses are better than wine" instead of what we read: "because your breasts are better than wine." Although it evidently seems to have meant those things which we have discussed in our spiritual interpretation, nonetheless we preserve in all matters the things written by the seventy translators, because we are certain that the Holy Spirit wanted the outlines of the mysteries to be concealed in the divine Scriptures and not to be revealed and out in the open.

The Canticle of Canticles sings a sort of spiritual rapture experienced by holy souls contemplating the nuptial relationship between Christ the King and his queen-city, the church. But it is a rapture veiled in allegory to make us yearn for it more ardently and rejoice in the unveiling as the bridegroom comes into view—the bridegroom to whom the canticle sings, "The righteous love you," and the hearkening bride replies, "There is love in your delights."

Some great thing it is we are to see, since all our reward is seeing; and our Lord Jesus Christ is that very great sight. He who appeared humble, will himself appear great and will rejoice us, as he is even now seen of his angels.… Let us love and imitate him; let us run after his ointments, as is said in the Song of Solomon: "Because of the sweet smell of your good ointments, we will run after you." For he came and gave forth a sweet smell that filled the world. Whence was that fragrance? From heaven. Follow then toward heaven, if you do not answer falsely when it is said, "Lift up your hearts." Lift up your thoughts, your love, your hope, that it may not rot upon the earth.… "For wherever your treasure is, there will be your heart also."

Draw me, we will run after you. So far, this is the voice of the Synagogue; that is, of that people who, faithfully devoted, anticipated the incarnation of the Savior, who responded with the prophets preaching for a long time at the beginning of the song: Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth; that is, let him appear himself, and speaking mouth to mouth, may he grant me examples of living, and gifts. Then, in the following verses, she indicated what kind of gifts those would be, how much to be loved by chaste souls. Hence, the voice of the Church is introduced, that is, of those who came to faith after the time of his incarnation. For she first prayed for the Lord to come and bring her the kiss of peace; this one, knowing he has now come in the flesh and already ascended to heaven, no longer asks him to descend to her in the same way, but rather desires to follow him to heaven. Which, seeing that it cannot be done by herself, rightly implores the guidance of him to whom she wishes to come. Draw me, she says, we will run after you. As if she plainly says: Indeed, we would wish to run in your ways, to follow the footsteps of your works which you marked living on earth, to reach you presiding in heaven; but because without you we can do nothing, we pray that you deign to give us your hand; help us running to you with your assistance. Thus, indeed, we can only rightly run and finish the race if we run with you as leader and helper. Hence the Apostle, who boasts, saying: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (II Tim. II), in another place clearly teaches whether he could direct his steps by himself, or ran being drawn by the Lord, saying: But I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me (I Cor. XV). Though it is said in the singular number, Draw me, it is joined, We will run, because the Church of Christ is one throughout the world, and it consists of many faithful souls; who in this place are called maidens, due to the life of new conversation.

The king has brought me into his chambers. The eternal king's chambers are the inner joys of the heavenly homeland, into which the holy Church has now been brought through faith and will be fully brought in the future through reality. The bride, that is, the Church of Christ, speaks to the young maidens, the faithful souls, her members newly reborn in Christ. Therefore, I beseech the bridegroom to help us, running after him, by giving his hand, lest we fail; because I have already tasted the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom, I have already tasted and seen that the Lord is good. I have already known the good things prepared for me in heaven, revealed by him. And then, turning to the one who revealed these things to her, her king and Lord, she hastens to give thanks for his benefits, saying:

We will exult and rejoice in you, etc. Which is to say openly, By no means do we exalt ourselves for the received gifts; but in everything that we live well, we exult, indeed, we will always exult and rejoice in your mercy; remembering always, how much kindness you have shown us, in how you have been pleased to mitigate the austerity of the law with the grace of evangelical faith.

The righteous love you. Therefore, not in ourselves, but we will exult and rejoice in you, mindful of your gifts, because all those who are upright in heart have learned that you are to be loved before all and above all. Nor can those who prefer anything to your love be completely righteous, from whom alone they have whatever good they possess. And consider what he said earlier: The young maidens loved you; but now, he says, The righteous love you. And it should be gathered that he called youth nothing other than the uprightness of heart, when those who have cast off the impurity of the old man put on the new man, which is created according to God in justice, and holiness, and truth. Likewise, the righteous love you, because no one can truly love the Lord unless they are upright. For whoever violates the righteousness of justice by deed, word, or even thought, in a wicked manner, vainly say they love the Creator, whose commands they despise. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, as the evangelist John testifies (1 Epistle V). But after the holy Church has been brought into the cellars of Christ, namely through the knowledge and hope of heavenly goods, after she has learned to love him with an upright heart, and to rejoice and exult only in his grace, it remains to show what struggle she undergoes for the same love of him, and what affliction she endures for the acquisition of the goods she has tasted.

SERMON 21 HOW THE BRIDE, THAT IS THE CHURCH, DESIRES TO BE DRAWN AFTER THE BRIDEGROOM, THAT IS CHRIST

1. "Draw me after you, in the odor of your ointments we will run." What? Does the bride then have need to be drawn, and that after the bridegroom? As if she were unwilling to follow him, and did not follow willingly. But not everyone who is drawn is drawn unwillingly. For it does not displease a weak or feeble person, namely one who cannot go by himself, to be drawn to the bath or to dinner, even though it displeases the guilty one to be drawn to judgment or to punishment. Indeed she who also asks for this wishes to be drawn; but she would not ask if she were able to follow the beloved by herself as she would wish. But why is she not able? Shall we confess that the bride too is weak? If any one of the young maidens called herself weak and asked to be drawn, we would by no means be surprised. But as for the bride, who seemed to be able, as one strong and perfect, to draw even others: to whom does it not sound harsh that she too should have need to be drawn, as though she were weak or feeble? Of what soul, then, shall we be confident that it is strong and sound, if we have consented that she is weak who, on account of her singular perfection and more excellent virtue, is called the bride of the Lord? Or perhaps the Church said this when she beheld her beloved ascending, longing to follow him and to be taken up with him in glory? Although even a soul of however great perfection, so long indeed as she groans under this body of death and is held enclosed in the prison of this evil age, bound by necessities, twisted by sins, must of necessity rise more slowly and sluggishly to the contemplation of sublime things, nor has she entirely free liberty to follow the bridegroom wherever he goes. Hence that tearful voice of the one groaning: "Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from the body of this death?" Hence that suppliant prayer: "Lead my soul out of prison." Let her say, therefore, let even the bride say with groaning: "Draw me after you"; because the body that is corrupted weighs down the soul, and the earthly habitation presses down the mind that thinks upon many things. Or does she say this desiring to depart and be with Christ, especially when she sees those for whose sake it seemed necessary for her to remain in the flesh making good progress, already loving the bridegroom and standing secure in charity? For she had said beforehand: "Therefore the young maidens have loved you." Now, therefore, as if she were to say, "Behold, the young maidens love you, and loving you they cling firmly to you, and they have no further need of me, and there is no reason for me to tarry any longer in this life"; therefore she says, "Draw me after you."

2. This I would accept, if she had said, "Draw me to you." But now, because she says "after you," she seems to me rather to be asking that she might be able to follow the footsteps of his way of life, that she might be able to emulate his virtue and hold fast the rule of his life and grasp the discipline of his conduct. For in these things especially there is need of help, by which she might be able to deny herself and take up her cross and so follow Christ. Here the bride absolutely needs to be drawn, and certainly to be drawn by none other than by him who says: "Without me you can do nothing." I know, she says, that I can by no means reach you except by walking after you; but neither can I do even this unless helped by you: and therefore I pray that you draw me after you. Blessed indeed is the one whose help is from you; he has disposed ascents in his heart in the valley of tears, destined at some time to reach you in the mountains of joys. How few are willing to go after you, O Lord Jesus! And yet there is no one who does not wish to reach you, since all know that delights are at your right hand forevermore. And therefore all wish to enjoy you, but not likewise to imitate you; they desire to reign with you, but not to suffer with you. Of these was he who said: "Let my soul die the death of the just, and let my last end be like theirs." He wished for himself the last things of the just, but not likewise their first things. Even carnal men wish for themselves the death of spiritual men, whose life, however, they abhor, knowing that the death of the saints is precious: because "when he has given his beloved sleep, behold, the inheritance of the Lord"; and because "blessed are the dead who die in the Lord": whereas on the contrary, according to the sentence of the prophet, "the death of sinners is the worst." They do not care to seek him whom they nevertheless desire to find; they desire to attain, but not also to follow. Not so those to whom he said: "You are they who have continued with me in my trials." Blessed are they who were deemed worthy of your testimony, gracious Jesus! They truly went after you, both with their feet and with their affections. You made known to them the ways of life, calling them after you, because you are the way and the life, and you say, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men"; likewise: "He who serves me, let him follow me: and where I am, there also shall my servant be." Therefore they said, glorying: "Behold, we have left all things and have followed you."

3. So likewise your beloved, having left all things for your sake, longs always to go after you, always to cling to your footsteps and to follow you wherever you go: knowing that your ways are beautiful ways, and all your paths are peaceful; and that he who follows you does not walk in darkness. But she prays to be drawn, because your justice is like the mountains of God, and she does not suffice for it by her own strength. She prays to be drawn, as is fitting; because no one comes to you unless your Father draws him. Moreover, those whom the Father draws, you also draw. For the works that the Father does, the Son likewise does. But she asks more familiarly to be drawn by the Son, as by her own bridegroom, whom the Father sent to meet her as guide and teacher, who would go before her in the way of conduct and prepare the path of virtues and instruct her as he did himself and teach her the way of prudence and hand on to her the law of life and discipline; and so he himself would rightly desire her beauty.

4. "Draw me after you, in the odor of your ointments we will run." For this reason I have need to be drawn, because the fire of your love has grown somewhat cold in us; nor can we, before the face of this cold, run now as we did yesterday and the day before. But we will run afterward, when you have restored the joy of your salvation, when the better temperature of grace has returned, when the Sun of justice has again grown warm and the cloud of temptation, which is seen to cover him for a time, has passed away, and at the gentle breath of a breeze more pleasant than usual, the ointments begin to melt and the spices to flow and to give forth their odor. Then we will run, in that odor we will run. When the ointments breathe forth, I say, we will run, because the torpor that now is will depart, and devotion will return, and there will no longer be need for us to be drawn, since, aroused by the odor, we will run of our own accord. But for now, in the meantime, draw me after you. Do you see that the one who walks in the spirit by no means remains in one state, nor always advances with the same ease, and that a man's way is not in himself; but rather, as the Spirit who governs him dispenses as he wills, now more slowly, now more eagerly does he forget the things that are behind and stretch himself out toward what lies ahead? I think that, if you attend to this very thing, your own experience within responds to what I speak without.

5. Therefore when you feel yourself affected by torpor, weariness, or tedium, do not on that account lose confidence or cease from spiritual endeavor; but seek the hand of the one who helps, beseeching to be drawn, after the example of the bride, until, when grace has been roused again and you have been made more ready and eager, you run and say: "I ran the way of your commandments, when you enlarged my heart." Yet while grace is present, delight in it in such a way that you do not reckon you possess the gift of God by hereditary right, being so secure about it as though you could never lose it: lest suddenly, when perhaps he has withdrawn his hand and taken back the gift, you collapse in spirit and become sadder than is fitting. Finally, do not say in your abundance, "I shall never be moved"; lest you be compelled to say even that which follows, though with groaning: "You turned your face away from me, and I was troubled." You will rather take care, if you are wise, following the counsel of the Wise Man, in days of evil not to be unmindful of good things, and in days of good things not to be unmindful of evil things.

6. Therefore in the day of your strength do not be secure, but cry out to God with the Prophet and say: "When my strength fails, do not forsake me." Moreover, in the time of temptation console yourself and say with the bride: "Draw me after you, in the odor of your ointments we will run." So shall hope not desert you in time of evil, nor shall foresight be lacking in time of good, and amid the adverse and prosperous changes of mutable times you will hold a certain image of eternity, namely this inviolable and unshaken equanimity of a constant soul, blessing the Lord at all times, and thereby claiming for yourself even amid the uncertain events and certain failings of this wavering age, a state of perpetual immutability, as it were, when you begin to be renewed and reformed into that ancient distinction of the likeness of the eternal God, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration. For as he is, so also will you be in this world, neither timid in adversity nor dissolute in prosperity. In this, I say, the noble creature made in the image and likeness of the one who made her shows that she is already receiving and about to recover the dignity of her ancient honor, when she considers it unworthy of herself to be conformed to this passing age, striving rather to be reformed, according to the teaching of Paul, in the newness of her mind, into that likeness in which she knows she was created; and through this also compelling, as is fitting, this age, which was made for her sake, to be marvelously conformed to her in turn, as all things begin to work together for her good, as though in their proper and natural form, having cast off their degenerate appearance and recognizing their Lord, for whose service they were created.

7. Whence I consider that saying which the Only-begotten spoke of himself, namely that if he were lifted up from the earth, he would draw all things to himself, can be common also to all his brethren, those indeed whom the Father foreknew and predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And I therefore also, if I have been lifted up from the earth, boldly say, I will draw all things to myself. Nor do I rashly claim for myself, my brethren, the words of him whose likeness I put on. If this is so, let not the rich of this world think that the brethren of Christ possess only heavenly things, because they hear him saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Let them not, I say, reckon that they possess only heavenly things, who hear only those things in the promise. They possess earthly things also, and indeed as having nothing, yet possessing all things: not begging as wretches, but possessing as lords, by so much the more lords as they are the less covetous. Indeed, for the faithful man the whole world of riches is his. The whole, plainly: because adverse things as well as prosperous things alike all serve him and work together for good.

8. Therefore the greedy man hungers for earthly things as a beggar, but the faithful man despises them as a lord. The one begs while possessing, the other preserves by despising. Ask of any of those who with insatiable heart gape after temporal gains what he thinks of those who sell their goods and give to the poor and purchase the kingdom of heaven with their earthly substance: do they act wisely or not? Without doubt he will answer: wisely. Ask in turn why he does not do himself what he approves? "I cannot," he will say. Why? Surely because his mistress avarice does not permit it; because he is not free; because the things he seems to possess are not his own; but neither is he his own master. If they are truly yours, spend them for profit and exchange earthly things for heavenly. If you cannot, confess that you are not the master of your money, but its servant; its keeper, not its possessor. Indeed you are even conformed to your purse, as a servant to his mistress, since, just as the servant necessarily both rejoices with her who rejoices and grieves with her who grieves, so you too grow in spirit together with your growing purse and shrink together with its shrinking. For you are contracted with sorrow when it is emptied, and you are loosened with joy, or certainly puffed up with pride, when it is filled. So much for that man. But let us take care to emulate the freedom and constancy of the bride, who, as one well instructed in all things and learned of heart in wisdom, knows both how to abound and how to suffer want. When she asks to be drawn, she shows what she lacks, not of money, but of virtue. Again, when she no less consoles herself with the hope of returning grace, she proves that she may fail, but not lose confidence.

9. She says therefore: "Draw me after you, in the odor of your ointments we will run." And what wonder if she has need to be drawn, who runs after a giant, who strives to apprehend him who leaps upon the mountains, who bounds over the hills? "His word runs swiftly." She is not able to run on equal terms, she cannot contend with him in equal swiftness, who "rejoices as a giant to run his course"; she cannot do it by her own strength, and therefore she asks to be drawn. I am weary, she says, I faint; do not abandon me, but draw me after you, lest I begin to wander after other lovers, lest I run as though uncertainly. Draw me after you; because it is better for me that you draw me, that is, that you bring some kind of force upon me, whether by terrifying with threats or by disciplining with scourges, than that, sparing me, you abandon me in my torpor, wickedly secure. Draw me in a manner unwilling, that you may make me willing; draw me torpid, that you may render me running. There will come a time when I shall not need one who draws, because willingly and with all eagerness we will run. I shall not run alone, even though I have asked that I alone be drawn: the young maidens too will run with me. We will run together, we will run at once; I aroused by the odor of your ointments, they aroused by my example and exhortation: and through this all of us will run in the odor of your ointments. The bride has imitators of herself, just as she herself is of Christ. And therefore she does not say in the singular, "I will run," but "we will run."

10. But a question arises, why similarly, when she asked to be drawn, she did not also add the young maidens, so as to say, not "Draw me," but "Draw us." For what? Does the bride perhaps need to be drawn and the young maidens do not? O beautiful one, O happy one, O blessed one! Explain to us the reason for this distinction. "Draw me," you say. Why "me" and not "us"? Do you begrudge us this good? Far be it! For you would not forthwith have said that the young maidens would run with you, if you had wished to go after the bridegroom alone. Why then, when you were about to add in the plural "we will run," did you ask in the singular to be drawn? Charity, she says, so required. Learn through this word from me to hope for a twofold help from above in the spiritual exercise: correction and consolation. The one disciplines from without, the other visits within. The one checks insolence, the other raises up to confidence; the one works humility, the other consoles faintheartedness; the one makes us cautious, the other devout. The one teaches the fear of the Lord; the other tempers that very fear with the infused joy of salvation, as it is written: "Let my heart rejoice that it may fear your name"; likewise: "Serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice in him with trembling."

11. We are drawn when we are exercised by temptations and tribulations; we run when, visited by inward consolations and inspirations, we breathe as though amid sweet-smelling ointments. Therefore what seems harsh and hard I keep for myself, as for one strong, as for one sound, as for one perfect, and I say in the singular, "Draw me." What is sweet and gentle I share with you as with one weak, and I say, "We will run." I know that the young maidens are delicate and tender and less fit to endure temptations: and therefore I wish them to run with me, but not to be drawn with me; I wish to have companions in consolation, but not also in labor. Why? Because they are weak, and I fear lest they fail, lest they succumb. Me, she says, O bridegroom, correct, me discipline, me try, me draw after you; because I am ready for scourges and strong to endure. But together we will run: I alone will be drawn, but together we will run. We will run, we will run, but in the odor of your ointments, not in confidence of our own merits: nor do we trust ourselves to run in the greatness of our own strength, but in the multitude of your mercies. For even if we ever ran and were willing, it was not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy. Let mercy return, and we will run. You indeed, in your power, as a giant and as one mighty, run: but we, unless your ointments breathe forth, will not run. You, whom the Father anointed with the oil of gladness above your fellows, run in that very anointing; we will run in its odor: you in fullness, we in odor. It would be time to pay what I remember having promised long above concerning the ointments of the bridegroom, if the length of this sermon did not prevent it. I defer it therefore: for the dignity of the subject does not allow itself to be compressed into a troublesome brevity. Ask the Lord of anointing that he may deign to make the voluntary offerings of my mouth pleasing, for the purpose of instilling into your desires the memory of the abundance of his sweetness, which is in the bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SERMON 22 ON THE FOUR OINTMENTS OF THE BRIDEGROOM AND THE FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES

8. What should he have done for you and has not done? He gave sight to the blind, set captives free, led the wanderers back, reconciled sinners. Who would not run spontaneously and eagerly after him who sets men free from error, overlooks their blundering, bestows merits by his mode of life and acquires rewards for them by his death? What excuse can anyone have for not running in the fragrance of your perfumes, except that the fragrance has not reached him? But the fragrance of your life has gone into every land, because "the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord," and his compassion is over all that he has made. Therefore the man who fails to perceive this life-giving fragrance that permeates all places, and does not run on that account, must be dead or even corrupt. Fragrance signifies fame. When the fragrance of his fame arrives it excites men to run, it leads to the experience of inward grace, to the reward of vision. The joyous throng who attain to it shout all together: "As we have heard so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts." If we run after you, Lord Jesus, it is entirely because of the meekness associated with your name, because you do not spurn the poor nor recoil from the sinner. You did not reject the repentant thief, the weeping sinner, the importunate Canaanite woman, the woman caught in adultery, the man who sat at the customs house, the humble tax collector, the disciple who denied you, the man who persecuted your followers, even those who crucified you. We run in the fragrance that these diffuse. The fragrance of your wisdom comes to us in what we hear, for if anyone needs wisdom let him but ask of you and you will give it to him. It is well known that you give to all freely and ungrudgingly. As for your justice, so great is the fragrance it diffuses that you are called not only just but even justice itself, the justice that makes men just. Your power to make men just is measured by your generosity in forgiving. Therefore the man who through sorrow for sin hungers and thirsts for justice, let him trust in the One who changes the sinner into a just man, and, judged righteous in terms of faith alone, he will have peace with God. Your holiness, for its part, is sweetly and richly radiated not only by your mode of life, but even by your conception. You have neither committed sin nor been contaminated by it. Repentant sinners therefore who wish to attain to that holiness essential for the vision of God, should listen to your warning: "Be holy, for I am holy." Let them pay attention to your ways for you are just in all your ways and holy in all your doings. Finally, how many are inspired to run by the sweet odor of your redemption! When you are lifted up from the earth you draw all things to yourself. Your Passion is the ultimate refuge, a remedy that is unique. When our wisdom lets us down, when our righteousness falls short, when the merits of our holiness founder, your Passion becomes our support. Who would presume that his own wisdom, or righteousness or holiness suffices for salvation? "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our sufficiency is from God." Therefore when my strength is spent I shall not be troubled, I shall not lose heart. I know what I shall do: I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. Enlighten my eyes, O Lord, that I may learn what is pleasing to you at all times, and then I am wise. "Remember not the sins of my youth, or my transgressions," and then I am righteous. "Teach me your way," and then I am holy. And yet, unless your blood cries out on my behalf, I am not saved. To obtain all these gifts we run after you: forgive us, because we cry after you.

9. All of us do not run with equal ardor in the fragrance of all the perfumes; some are more eager for the study of wisdom, others concentrate on doing penance in the hope of pardon, others again are inspired to practice the virtues by the example of Christ's life and behavior, while yet others are roused to fervor more by the memory of his Passion. Is it possible for us to find examples of each kind? Those ran in the fragrance of wisdom who had been sent by the Pharisees and returned to them saying: "No man ever spoke like this man!" They admired his doctrine and praised his wisdom. Nicodemus also was lured into running by this fragrance when he came to Jesus by night, in the clear light of his wisdom, and went back reformed, instructed in many things. Mary Magdalene ran in the fragrance of justice: many sins were forgiven her because she loved much. She had ceased to be the sinner taunted by the Pharisee, and become a virtuous and holy woman. He did not realize that righteousness or holiness is a gift of God, not the fruit of man's effort, and that the man "to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity" is not only just but blessed. Had he forgotten how the Lord had cured his or some other man's bodily leprosy with a touch without contracting it? So, when the just One is touched by the sinner, he imparts rather than loses righteousness, nor is he tarnished with the stain of the sin from which he cleanses her. The tax collector ran in similar fashion; and justice himself bears witness that after he had humbly implored forgiveness for his sins, he "went home again at rights with God." Peter ran when, after his fall, he wept bitterly to wash away his sin and be restored to righteousness. David ran when he acknowledged and confessed his crime and was privileged to be told: "The Lord has put away your sin." Paul testifies that he ran in the fragrance of holiness, when he glories in being an imitator of Christ. He said to his followers: "Take me for a model as I take Christ." And all those were running, too, who said: "We have left everything and followed you." It was because of the desire to follow Christ that they had left all things. A general exhortation to everyone to follow in this fragrance is contained in the words: "He who says he abides in Christ ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." Finally, if you wish to hear of those who ran in the fragrance of the Passion, behold all the martyrs. Such, then, is my explanation of the four ointments: the first, wisdom; the second, righteousness; the third, holiness; and the fourth, redemption.

SERMON 23 ON THE THREE MODES OF CONTEMPLATION CONCERNING GOD, UNDER THE FIGURE OF THREE STOREROOMS

1. "The king has brought me into his storerooms." Behold whence the fragrance, behold whither one runs. She had said that one must run, and in what one must run; but whither one must run, she had not said. Therefore to the storerooms one runs, and one runs in the fragrance which proceeds from them, the bride with her accustomed sagacity perceiving it beforehand and desiring to be brought into the fullness thereof. But what ought we to think concerning these storerooms? Let us consider them meanwhile as certain fragrant places belonging to the bridegroom, full of aromatics, filled with delights. For in a storehouse of this kind, the choicer things from a garden or from a field are stored away to be preserved. Thither, therefore, they run together. Who? Souls fervent in spirit. The bride runs, the maidens run; but she who loves more ardently runs more swiftly, and arrives sooner. Arriving, she suffers not, I say, repulsion, but not even delay. Without delay it is opened to her, as to one of the household, as to a most beloved one, as to one specially cherished and singularly pleasing. But the maidens, what of them? They follow from afar; for since they are still weak, they cannot run with the same devotion as the bride, nor altogether imitate her desire and fervor; and therefore, arriving later, they remain outside. But the charity of the bride does not rest, nor does it grow insolent, as is customary, with her successes, so that she should forget them, but rather consoles and exhorts them to patience, that they might bear with equanimity both their own rebuff and her absence. And so she announces to them the joy she has received, for no other reason, truly, than that they might rejoice with her, while they trust that whatever grace has come to the mother will by no means be alien from them. For she does not so attend to her own advancement as to neglect the care of them; nor does she think her own progress should be furthered by their loss. To whatever heights, therefore, she is raised above them by the prerogative of merits, by charity without doubt and by devoted solicitude she must always be with them. Indeed she ought to imitate her bridegroom, who both seeks the heavens and nonetheless promises that he will be on earth with his own even to the consummation of the age. So also she, however much she advances, however far she is promoted, in care, in providence, and in affection is never removed from those whom she has begotten in the Gospel, never forgets her own offspring.

2. Let her therefore say to them: Rejoice, take confidence. The king has brought me into his storerooms: consider that you also have been brought in together. I seem to have been brought in alone; but it will not profit me alone. All my progress is the progress of you all: I advance for you, I will share with you whatever more I may have merited beyond you. Do you wish to know without doubt that she spoke in this sense and with this affection? Hear what they respond. "We will exult and rejoice in you." In you, they say, we will exult and rejoice: for in ourselves we do not yet deserve it. And they add, "Mindful of your breasts," that is, we bear it patiently until you come, knowing that you will return to us with breasts full. Then we trust we shall exult and rejoice, mindful meanwhile of your breasts. What they add, "more than wine" (Song 1:4), signifies that they are still indeed, on account of their imperfection, assailed by the memory of carnal desires, which are designated by wine; yet that these same desires are overcome by the memory of the abundance of sweetness which they have already experienced flowing from the breasts. I would speak about the breasts, if I did not remember having said enough above (Sermon 9). Now indeed you see how they presume upon the mother, how they reckon her gains and joys as their own, consoling the injury of their own repulsion by her introduction. They would by no means so confide, unless they recognized her as a mother. Let prelates hear this, who always wish to be a terror to those committed to them, rarely a benefit. "Be instructed, you who judge the earth." Learn that you ought to be mothers to your subjects, not masters; strive rather to be loved than feared: and if severity is sometimes needed, let it be paternal, not tyrannical. Show yourselves mothers by cherishing, fathers by correcting. Be gentle, put aside fierceness; suspend the rod, bring forth the breasts; let your hearts be rich with milk, not swollen with pride. Why do you make your yoke heavy upon those whose burdens you ought rather to bear? Why does the little one bitten by the serpent flee from the conscience of the priest, to whom he ought rather to run as to the bosom of a mother? If you are spiritual, instruct such a one in a spirit of gentleness; "each one considering himself, lest he also be tempted" (Gal 6:1). Otherwise that one will die in his sin: "but his blood," he says, "I will require from your hand" (Ezek 3:20). But these things belong elsewhere.

3. Now since the sequence of the letter is manifest from what we have set forth, let us see what we ought to understand spiritually concerning the storerooms. In what follows mention is made also of the garden and of the chamber, both of which I now join to these storerooms and take up in the present discussion: for treated together they will become better known from one another. And let us seek, if you please, these three things in the Holy Scriptures: the garden, the storeroom, the chamber. For in these the soul thirsting for God gladly dwells and lingers, knowing that there without doubt she will find him whom she thirsts for. Let the garden, therefore, be the plain and simple history; let the storeroom be the moral sense; let the chamber be the hidden place of contemplative vision.

4. And first indeed I think that history is not undeservedly assigned to the garden, because in it are found men of virtue, like fruit-bearing trees in the garden of the bridegroom and in the paradise of God, from whose good deeds and characters you pluck as many fruits as you take examples. Or perhaps someone doubts that a good man is a planting of God? Hear what holy David sings of the good man. "He shall be," he says, "like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither" (Ps 1:3). Hear Jeremiah singing in concert with the same spirit, and in almost the same words. "He shall be like a tree," he says, "planted by streams of water, which sends its roots toward the moisture, and does not fear when heat comes" (Jer 17:8). Likewise the Prophet: "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, he shall be multiplied like the cedar of Lebanon" (Ps 92:12). And of himself: "But I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God" (Ps 52:8). History is therefore a garden, and it is itself threefold. For contained in it are the creation of heaven and earth, the reconciliation, and the restoration. Creation indeed, as the sowing or planting of the garden. Reconciliation, as the sprouting of the seeds or plantings. For in its time, when the heavens dropped dew from above and the clouds rained down the righteous one, "the earth opened and brought forth the Savior" (Isa 45:8), through whom the reconciliation of heaven and earth was made. For "he himself is our peace, who made both one" (Eph 2:14), "making peace through his blood between the things that are on earth and the things that are in heaven" (Col 1:20). Furthermore, the restoration will be at the end of the age. For there will be "a new heaven and a new earth," and the good will be gathered from the midst of the evil, like fruit from a garden, to be stored in the storehouses of God. In that day, as it is written, "the branch of the Lord shall be in magnificence and glory, and the fruit of the earth shall be sublime" (Isa 4:2). You have, therefore, three times in the garden of the historical sense.

5. In moral discipline likewise three things are to be noticed, as it were three cells in one storeroom. And perhaps for this reason she said storerooms in the plural, and not storeroom, thinking of this number of cells. Further on, indeed, she glories in having been brought into the "wine cellar" (Song 2:4). We therefore, because we read, "Give occasion to a wise man, and he will become wiser" (Prov 9:9), having the occasion from the name which the Holy Spirit saw fit to impose on this cell, let us impose names also on the other two: "aromatic" on one, and "ointment" on the other. The reasons for these names we shall see afterward. Now however observe that all things with the bridegroom are found to be healthful, all things sweet: wine, ointments, spices. Wine, as Scripture attests, "gladdens the heart of man" (Ps 104:15). No less does one read that the face is made cheerful by oil (ibid.), in which indeed the powder of spices is infused to make ointments. Spices are not only pleasing by the sweet fragrance of their scent, but also useful by their healing power. Rightly does the bride exult that she has been brought in there, where so great an abundance of grace overflows.

6. But I have also other names bearing, I think, a more evident reason of themselves. And that they may be named in their proper order, I would call the first the cell of discipline; the second, of nature; the last, of grace. In the first you learn, according to the reasoning of the ethical part, to be inferior; in the next, equal; in the latter, superior: that is, under another, with another, over another; or thus: to be subject, to coexist, to preside. First, therefore, you learn to be a disciple; second, a companion; third, also a master. And indeed nature has brought forth all men as equals. But since the good of nature was corrupted in morals by pride, men became impatient of equality, striving against one another to be set above, and each desiring to surpass the other, and desirous of vainglory, "envying one another, provoking one another": first of all in the first cell, the insolence of character must be tamed by the yoke of discipline, until the self-willed and obstinate will is humbled and healed, worn down by the harsh and prolonged rules of the elders, and the good of nature which it had lost through pride it may recover through obedience; so that now by natural affection alone, not by fear of discipline, it has learned to keep itself peaceably and quietly, as far as lies within it, with all the companions of its nature, that is, with all men, then at last passing into the cell of nature and experiencing what is written: "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the ointment on the head" (Ps 133:1-2). To disciplined character, as to ground spices, the oil of gladness is added, the good of nature; and a good and pleasant ointment is made. By which, as if anointed, a man is rendered gentle and mild, a man without complaint, circumventing no one, harassing no one, harming no one, exalting or preferring himself above no one, and moreover gladly sharing in the matter of giving and receiving.

7. I think, if you have rightly understood the properties of each cell, you will attest that I have not unfittingly called this one the ointment cell, and that one the aromatic cell. In that one, indeed, just as the violent crushing of the pestle extracts and forces out the powers and fragrance of the spices, so the force of instruction and the strictness of discipline in a certain way elicits and expresses the natural power of right character. In this one, however, the pleasing gentleness of voluntary and, as it were, inborn affection runs forth spontaneously to serve, clearly in the manner of ointment which is on the head, descending and flowing through the whole at the light touch of warmth. And so in the cell of discipline, the dry and simple species of spices, as it were, are contained, and hence I thought it should be called the aromatic cell. In the one that is called of nature, since ointments, already as it were compounded, are stored and preserved, it likewise received its name from the thing itself, so as to be called the ointment cell. For as for the wine cellar too, I judge it to bear no other reason for its name than that in it is stored the wine of zeal fervent in charity. And no one at all who has not yet merited to be brought into it ought to preside over others. He who presides over others must absolutely burn with this wine, just as the Teacher of the Gentiles was burning when he said: "Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I do not burn?" (2 Cor 11:29). Otherwise you quite improperly desire to preside over those whose good you do not seek; and you far too ambitiously claim for yourself the subjection of those for whose salvation you are not zealous. This cell I have also named of grace; not that anyone can obtain even the other two entirely without grace, but on account of the fullness which is singularly perceived in this one. For indeed "the fullness of the law is charity," and "he who loves his brother has fulfilled the law" (Rom 13:10, 8).

8. You have seen the reason for the names; see also the difference between the cells. For it is not of equal ease or of the same ability to restrain wanton and wandering senses and the intemperate appetite of the flesh by the fear of a master and to hold them in check by the rigid censure of discipline, and to agree well with companions by spontaneous affection; to live with corrected morals under the rod, and by the sole guidance of the will to maintain a pleasing manner with equals. For neither would anyone say that it is of one merit or of one virtue both to live in community and to preside usefully. How many, indeed, live quietly under an instructor, whom, if you release them from the yoke, you would see unable to be at rest, nor in any way to keep themselves harmless among equals? And likewise you will see countless people living simply and without complaint among brethren, who above brethren are not only useless but also foolish and harmful. Those who are of this sort are content with a certain good mediocrity, as God has apportioned to them the measure of grace; by no means needing a master, nor yet fit for mastery. The latter, therefore, though they surpass the former in character, are surpassed by those who know how to be superiors. And indeed those who preside well receive in promise that they will "be set over all the goods of their Lord" (Mt 24:47). But few indeed are those who preside usefully; fewer still, those who preside also humbly. Yet he easily fulfills both who has perfectly attained discretion, the mother of virtues, and is nevertheless inebriated with the wine of charity to the contempt of his own glory, to the forgetfulness of his very self, and not to seeking the things that are his own; which is obtained solely and wondrously by the instruction of the Holy Spirit within the wine cellar. For the virtue of discretion without the fervor of charity lies inert, and vehement fervor without the tempering of discretion falls headlong. And therefore laudable is the one who lacks neither, so that fervor may raise up discretion, and discretion may govern fervor. Therefore the one who presides ought to be of such a character. But I would say that the best in character, and the one who has perfectly grasped the summit of this discipline, is the one to whom it is given to traverse and go through all these cells without stumbling: who in nothing at all either resists his superiors, or envies his equals, or is lacking to his subjects in care, or rules over them in pride; obedient to those set above him, agreeable to his companions, usefully condescending to his subjects. This mark of perfection I would without hesitation assign to the bride. The very word she spoke implies this also, because "The king has brought me into his storerooms," since she shows herself brought not into some one cell, but into storerooms, in the plural.

9. Now let us come to the chamber. What is this too? And do I presume to know what it is? By no means do I claim for myself the experience of so great a thing, nor do I glory in a prerogative which is reserved for the blessed bride alone, cautious according to that saying of the Greeks, to know myself; that I may know also with the Prophet "what I lack" (Ps 39:4). Yet if I knew nothing at all, I would say nothing. What I know, I do not begrudge you, nor withhold: what I do not know, may he teach you "who teaches man knowledge" (Ps 94:10). I have said, and you remember, that the king's chamber is to be sought in the hidden place of contemplative vision. But just as I know I said about the ointments, namely that there are many and diverse ointments with the bridegroom, and not all are available to all, but particular ones are granted to particular people according to the diversity of their merits: so too I think there is not one chamber for the king, but several. For neither is there one queen indeed, but several: and concubines are many, and of maidens there is no number. And each one finds her own place of privacy with the bridegroom and says, "My secret is mine, my secret is mine" (Isa 24:16). Not to all is it given to enjoy in one place the beloved and secret presence of the bridegroom, but as is prepared for each by his Father. For we have not chosen him, but he has chosen us and placed us; and where each has been placed by him, there he is. And indeed one woman, pricked in heart, found her appointed place at the feet of the Lord Jesus (Lk 7:38), while another found the fruit of her devotion at his head (Mt 26:7), if indeed she was another. Furthermore, Thomas in the side, John on the breast, Peter in the bosom of the Father, Paul in the third heaven obtained the grace of this secret place.

10. Which of us could worthily distinguish these varieties of merits, or rather of rewards? Lest, however, we should seem to have entirely passed over what we ourselves know; the first woman made her bed in the safe place of humility; the latter, on the throne of hope; Thomas, on the solid ground of faith; John, in the breadth of charity; Paul, in the innermost place of wisdom; Peter, in the light of truth. Thus, therefore, with the bridegroom there are many mansions, and whether it is a queen, or a concubine, or even one from the number of the maidens, each receives a fitting place and limit according to her merits, as to how far it is permitted to her to advance in contemplation and to enter into the joy of her Lord, and to search the sweet secrets of the bridegroom. This I will attempt to demonstrate more distinctly in its proper place, insofar as he himself shall deign to suggest. But now let it suffice to know this: that to none of the maidens, to none of the concubines, to none even of the queens is the approach entirely open to that secret of the chamber which the bridegroom reserves for that dove of his, his beautiful one, his perfect one, his only one. Whence neither do I indeed take it amiss that I am not admitted to it, especially since it is certain to me that not even the bride herself has yet attained to every secret she desires. For indeed she entreats that it be shown to her "where he feeds, where he lies down at noon" (Song 1:7).

11. But hear how far I have attained, or think myself to have attained. For it ought not to be imputed to boasting, what I lay open for your advancement. There is a place with the bridegroom from which he decrees his judgments and arranges his counsels, he who is the governor of the universe, establishing laws for every creature, weight and measure and number. And this place is high and secret, but by no means quiet. For even though he, as far as he is concerned, disposes all things sweetly, he nevertheless disposes; and he does not permit the one contemplating, who may perhaps have reached that place, to be at rest; but wondrously, though delightfully, he wearies the one who searches and marvels, and renders him restless. Beautifully the bride expresses both these things in what follows, namely the delight of this kind of contemplation and the restlessness, where she confesses both that she sleeps and that her heart watches (Song 5:2). For in the sleep of most sweet amazement and placid wonder she signifies that she feels rest; but in the wakefulness of no less restless curiosity and laborious exercise she signifies that she suffers weariness. Hence blessed Job: "If I sleep," he says, "I say, When shall I rise? and again I await the evening" (Job 7:4). Do you perceive in these words a holy soul wishing at times to decline, in a certain way, a burdensome sweetness, and again to desire the same sweet burden? For he would not have said, "When shall I rise?" if the repose of his contemplation had altogether pleased him: but also if it had altogether displeased him, he would not again have awaited the hour of rest, that is, the evening. This place, therefore, is not the place of the chamber, where by no means is there rest in every way.

12. There is likewise a place from which, regarding the rational yet reprobate creature, the most secret and most severe judgment of the just Judge God watches immovably, "terrible in his counsels over the sons of men." He is discerned, I say, in this place by the God-fearing contemplator, God who, by his just but hidden judgment, neither washes away the evils of the reprobate nor accepts their goods; and moreover hardens their hearts, lest perhaps they grieve, and come to their senses, and be converted, and he should heal them. And this is not without a certain and eternal reason, which is so much the more fearful as it stands the more immovably fixed in eternity. Greatly to be dreaded is what we read in the prophet concerning such ones, where God speaking to his angels says thus: "Let us have mercy on the impious one." And when they trembled and asked, "Will he not then learn to do justice?" "No," he said; and adding the cause: "In the land of the saints he has done wicked things, and he shall not see the glory of the Lord" (Isa 26:10). Let clerics fear, let ministers of the Church fear, who in the lands of the saints which they possess, do such wicked things that, not content with the stipends which ought to suffice, they impiously and sacrilegiously retain for themselves the surplus with which the needy should be sustained; and they do not scruple to consume the sustenance of the poor for the uses of their own pride and luxury, sinning assuredly with a twofold iniquity, because they both plunder what belongs to others and abuse sacred things for their own vanities and shameful purposes.

13. When it is perceived, therefore, that he spares and has mercy on such ones at present so that he may not spare them for eternity, he whose "judgments are a great deep," who would seek rest in this place? This vision holds the trembling of judgment, not the security of the chamber. "Terrible is this place," and devoid of all rest. I have shuddered all over, if ever I was caught up into it, turning over within myself with trembling that sentence: "Who knows whether he is worthy of love or of hatred?" (Eccl 9:1). Nor is it surprising if I totter there (I who am surely "a leaf carried by the wind and dry stubble" (Job 13:25)), where even that greatest contemplator confesses that his own feet were almost moved, his steps almost poured out; and he was saying: "I was jealous of the wicked, seeing the peace of sinners. Why? They are not in the labor of men," he says, "and with men they shall not be scourged; therefore pride has held them" (Ps 73:3-6), lest they be humbled unto repentance, but rather be damned for their pride with the proud devil and his angels. For those who "are not in the labor of men" shall surely be in the labor of demons, as the judge says: "Depart, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels" (Mt 25:41). Yet this too is a place of God, clearly nothing other than the house of God and the gate of heaven. For here God is said to be feared; here his name is holy and terrible, and it is, as it were, an entrance to glory: "For the fear of the Lord is truly the beginning of wisdom" (Ps 111:9-10).

14. Let it not trouble you that I have assigned the beginning of wisdom to this last place and not to the former. For there, in a certain kind of auditorium of his, we hear Wisdom teaching about all things as mistress; here we also receive her. There we are instructed indeed, but here we are affected. Instruction makes the learned, affection makes the wise. The sun does not warm all those upon whom it shines; so Wisdom does not immediately kindle to action the many whom she teaches what ought to be done. It is one thing to know great riches, another also to possess them; nor does knowledge make one rich, but possession. Just so, just so, it is one thing to know God, and another to fear him; nor does knowledge make one wise, but fear, which also affects. Would you call him wise whom his own knowledge puffs up? Who but the most foolish would call those wise who, "when they had known God, did not glorify him as God, or give thanks"? I rather hold with the Apostle, who manifestly pronounces their heart "foolish" (Rom 1:21). And rightly is the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom; because God first becomes savory to the soul when he affects it to fear, not when he instructs it to know. You fear the justice of God, you fear his power; and God, just and powerful, becomes savory to you, because fear is a savor. Moreover, savor makes one sapient, as knowledge makes one knowing, as riches make one rich. What then of the former place? It only prepares for wisdom. There you are prepared, that here you may be initiated. Preparation is the knowledge of things. But this is very easily followed by the swelling of elation, if fear does not check it, so that it is rightly said: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," which first opposes itself to the plague of foolishness. There, therefore, is a certain approach to wisdom; here is also the entrance. Furthermore, neither here nor there is rest perfect for the one who contemplates; because there God appears as though anxious, here as though disturbed. Therefore do not seek the chamber in these places, of which the one appears rather as the auditorium of one teaching, the other as the tribunal of a judge.

15. But there is a place where God is truly seen resting and tranquil; a place entirely not of a judge, not of a teacher, but of a bridegroom: and which for me at least, for I do not speak of others, is plainly a chamber, if it should ever happen that I am brought into it. But alas, the hour is rare and the stay is brief! There it is clearly recognized that the mercy of the Lord is from eternity and unto eternity upon those who fear him. And happy is the one who can say: "I am a partaker with all those who fear you and who keep your commandments" (Ps 119:63). The purpose of God stands firm, the sentence of peace stands firm over those who fear him, both overlooking their evils and rewarding their goods: so that in a wonderful way not only good things, but even evil things work together for their good. O he alone is truly blessed to whom the Lord will not impute sin! (Ps 32:2). For no one will be without sin. For "all have sinned, and all fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). Who then shall bring a charge against the elect of God? (Rom 8:33). It suffices me for all righteousness to have him alone propitious to whom alone I have sinned. Whatever he himself shall have decreed not to impute to me, it is as though it had not been. Not to sin is the justice of God; the justice of man is the indulgence of God. I have seen these things, and I have understood the truth of that sentence: "Everyone who is born of God does not sin, because the heavenly generation preserves him" (1 Jn 3:9). The heavenly generation is the eternal predestination, by which God loved his elect and made them accepted in his beloved Son before the constitution of the world, thus appearing to himself in holiness, so that they might see his power and his glory, that they might be sharers of his inheritance, to whose image they also might appear conformed. These, therefore, I perceived as though they had never sinned; because even if they seem to have committed some offenses in time, these do not appear in eternity; because the charity of their Father covers the multitude of sins. And he declared "blessed those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered" (Ps 32:1); when suddenly so great a confidence concerning myself also arose within me, and so great a joy was infused, as certainly the fear in the place of horror, that is in the place of the second vision, had not preceded, so that I seemed to myself to be as it were one of those blessed ones. O if it had lasted! "Again and again visit me, O Lord, in your salvation, that I may see the goodness of your elect, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation" (Ps 106:4-5).

16. O place of true rest, and which I would not undeservedly judge worthy of the name of chamber! in which God is not seen as though disturbed by anger, nor as though distracted by care; but his will is proved in it to be good and well-pleasing and perfect. This vision does not terrify but soothes; it does not excite restless curiosity but calms it; it does not weary the senses but makes them tranquil. Here one truly rests. A tranquil God makes all things tranquil; and to behold him at rest is to rest. It is to see the king after the daily disputes of legal causes, as it were, having dismissed the crowds from himself, declining the burdens of cares, seeking a lodging at night, entering his chamber with those of peace whom he deigns worthy of this secret and this familiarity, resting certainly the more securely the more secretly; holding himself the more serenely the more placidly he looks upon those alone whom he loves. Into this hidden place and into this sanctuary of God, if it should happen that any of you at any hour is so caught up and so hidden, that he is by no means called away or disturbed either by a pressing sense, or a piercing care, or a biting guilt, or certainly those phantasms of bodily images that rush in and are more difficult to remove; such a one, when he returns to us, will indeed be able to glory and to say: "The king has brought me into his chamber" (Song 1:4). Yet whether it is the very same one of which the bride exults, I would not rashly affirm. It is nevertheless a chamber, and a chamber of the king; because indeed of the three places which we have assigned to the threefold vision, this alone has been made a place of peace. For as has been plainly shown, in the first there is perceived little rest, and in the second none: since both there, appearing as wonderful, he exercises curiosity in the zeal of searching; and here, becoming known as terrible, he shakes one's weakness. But in this third place, he deigns to appear not at all terrible, nor so much wonderful as lovable, serene and placid, sweet and mild, and "of great mercy to all who look upon him."

17. Now, so that your memory may hold a summary of these things which have been discussed in a rather lengthy sermon concerning the storeroom, the garden, and the chamber, remember three times, three merits, three rewards, as it were. In the garden observe the times; the merits in the storeroom; the rewards in that threefold contemplation of the one seeking the chamber. And concerning the storeroom, let these things suffice. But if anything concerning the garden or the chamber needs to be added, or if other things than those which have been said should occur as needing attention, let us not pass them over in their proper place. But if not, let what has been said suffice, and let them by no means be repeated, lest ever those things which are brought forth for the praise and glory of the bridegroom of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever, should ever come into weariness, which God forbid. Amen.

SERMON 24 DETRACTION AND MAN'S RIGHTEOUSNESS

2. We ought to begin, if I be not mistaken, with the words: "The righteous love you." Before we begin to explain what this means, let us take a look at its origin, see who spoke it. For we are expected to understand what the author omits to say. Perhaps it is better to assign it to the maidens, as a continuation of their previous conversation. For when they said: "We will exult and rejoice in you as we remember your breasts, more delightful than wine," it is certain they were speaking to their mother; and they continued with the words: "The righteous love you." I think they may have said this because of members of their party who were not of the same mind although they traveled in their company, who insisted on their own way, their lives being neither simple nor sincere. These were filled with envy of their mother's unique glory and took occasion to murmur against her on the grounds that she alone had entered the storehouses. This is the situation described in the Apostle's words: "Danger from false brothers." It is against their reproaches that she is later compelled to justify herself with the answer: "I am black but lovely, daughters of Jerusalem." It is because of these murmurers, these blasphemers, that the good and the simple, the humble and the meek, try to console the bride by telling her: "The righteous love you." "Do not be disturbed," they say, "by the wicked words of these blasphemers, because the righteous do love you." When we are reviled for doing good by evil-minded men, it is a sweet consolation if the righteous love us. The esteem of the good and the testimony of our conscience make full amends for lying mouths. "My soul glories in the Lord, let the humble hear." Let the humble rejoice, he said; let me but please the humble and I shall bear with equanimity whatever the envy of wicked men may fling in my face.

3. I think this to be the meaning of the appendage: "The righteous love you." Nor is it mere fantasy, for in almost any group of young maidens I find some who curiously watch the bride's actions, not to imitate but to disparage them. They are embittered by their elders' good deeds, they feed on what is evil. You may see them walking apart, banding together, sitting in a huddle and immediately unleashing their wanton tongues in odious gossip. They are linked, one to the other, without an air space between them, so great is the desire to smear or listen to the smear. They combine in intimate groups whose end is slander, their unions promote disunion. Among themselves they develop most mischievous friendships, and equally impelled by unanimous malevolence, fete each other in a camaraderie of spite. Herod and Pilate once behaved just like this, for the Gospel says of them that "they became friends with each other that very day," that is, on the day of the Lord's passion. When they meet thus together it is not to eat the Lord's supper, but rather to offer to others "the cup of demons" and to drink of it themselves. They bear on their tongues the virus of death for their fellows, and gladly welcome the death that enters by their own ears. When with prattling mouths and itching ears we busy ourselves in administering the poisoned cup of slander to each other, we fulfill the Prophet's words: "Death has climbed in at our windows." I have no wish to be trapped in the plots of detractors, for the Apostle tells us they are hated by God: "Detractors, hateful to God." God himself through the Psalm confirms this judgment: "Him who slanders his neighbor secretly, I will destroy."

4. No wonder if he should, since this vice is known to assail and victimize more bitterly than the others the love which is God, as you can see for yourselves. For every slanderer first of all betrays that he himself is devoid of love. And secondly, his purpose in slandering can only be to inspire hatred and contempt in his audience for the victim of his slander. The venomous tongue strikes a blow at charity in the hearts of all within hearing, and if possible kills and quenches it utterly; worse still, even the absent are contaminated by the flying word that passes from those present to all within reach. See how easily and in how short a time this swift-moving word can infect a great multitude of men with its sickly malice. Hence the inspired Prophet said of such: "Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood." Swift with the speed of news that brooks no delay. One man speaks, one word is spoken; but that one word, in one moment, penetrates the ears of the multitude and destroys their souls. For a heart embittered by the poison of envy can use the tongue to broadcast only bitter words, just as the Lord said: "A man's words flow out of what fills his heart." This malady has varying forms. Some will spew out, with barefaced disrespect, any wicked slander that enters their heads; others try to hide an irrepressible evil purpose under the guise of simulated modesty. See the prelude of deep sighs, the mingled gravity and reluctance blazoned on his unhappy face, the downcast eyes and somber tones, as the slanderer tells his tale, all the more persuasive the more the audience believes that he speaks with regret and with sympathy rather than malice. "I am really sorry for him," he says, "because I like him so much, but I could never induce him to set himself right in this matter." "I knew well," says another, "that he was guilty of that fault, though I should never have been the one to reveal it. But now that it has been divulged by another I cannot deny that it is true; it pains me to say it, but facts are facts." And he goes on: "It's a great pity, he has so many good qualities; but if we are to be candid, he cannot be excused in this particular thing."

5. I have said my few words about this most deadly vice, so let me return to the theme I set out to explain, and show who are to be understood here as the "righteous." I am sure that nobody here with a right understanding would hold that those who love the bride are being spoken of in regard to physical perfection. It is spiritual righteousness, that of the soul, that must be explained. It is the Spirit who teaches, interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit. Therefore God made man righteous in his soul, not in the body made of earthly slime. He created him according to his own image and likeness. He is the one of whom you sing: "The Lord our God is righteous, and there is no iniquity in him." God in his righteousness made man righteous like himself, without iniquity, since there is no iniquity in him. Iniquity is a fault in the heart, not in the flesh, and so you should realize that the likeness of God is to be preserved or restored in your spirit, not in the body of gross clay. For "God is a spirit," and those who wish to persevere in or attain to his likeness must enter into their hearts, and apply themselves spiritually to that work, until "with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord," they "become transfigured into the same likeness, borrowing glory from that glory, as the Spirit of the Lord enables them."

6. God indeed gave man an upright stance of body, perhaps in order that this corporeal uprightness, exterior and of little account, might prompt the inward man, made to the image of God, to cherish his spiritual uprightness; that the beauty of the body of clay might rebuke the deformity of the mind. What is more unbecoming than to bear a warped mind in an upright body? It is wrong and shameful that this body shaped from the dust of the earth should have its eyes raised on high, scanning the heavens at its pleasure and thrilled by the sight of sun and moon and stars, while, on the contrary, the heavenly and spiritual creature lives with its eyes, its inward vision and affections centered on the earth beneath; the mind that should be feasting on dainties is wallowing in the mire, rolling in the dung like a pig. The body says: "Look on me, my soul, and blush for shame. Blush, my soul, that you have exchanged the divine for a bestial likeness; blush that despite your heavenly origin you now wallow in filth. Created upright and in your Creator's likeness, you received me as a helper like to yourself, at least in bodily uprightness. Whatever way you turn, to God above or to me below -- 'for no man ever hates his own flesh' -- everywhere you encounter reminders of your own beauty, everywhere you find the friendly admonitions that wisdom imparts, intimating the dignity of your state. If I have retained and preserved the prerogative that I received for your sake, why are you not dismayed at losing yours? Why should the Creator continue to behold the loss of his likeness in you, at the same time that he ceaselessly preserves yours in me? All the help due to you from me you have turned to your own disgrace, you abuse my service to you; a brutish and bestial spirit, you dwell unworthily in this human body."

7. Those whose souls are warped in this fashion cannot love the Bridegroom, because they are not friends of the Bridegroom, they belong to this world. Scripture says: "Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." Therefore to pursue and enjoy the worldly warps the soul, while, on the contrary, to meditate on or desire the things that are above constitutes its uprightness.

But if this is to be perfect, it must be not only a conviction of the mind, but a habit of life. I shall judge you to be righteous if your opinions are correct and your deeds do not contradict them. For the state of the invisible soul is made known by one's belief and practice. You may consider a man righteous if you prove him just by his work and Catholic by faith. If otherwise, do not hesitate to appraise him as warped. For Scripture says: "If you offer rightly, but do not divide rightly, you have sinned." You offer rightly either of these, faith or good work, however you do not rightly separate one from the other. Be not one who is righteous in offering but unrighteous in dividing. Why should there be a division between your faith and your conduct? It is a wrong division, it destroys your faith, for "faith without good works is dead." The gift you offer to God is dead. For if devotion is the soul of faith, what is faith that does not work through love but a dead corpse? Can you pay due honor to God with a gift that stinks? Can you who murder your faith hope to please him? What becomes of the sacrifice of peace where this cruel discord reigns? What wonder if Cain attacked his brother when he had already slain his own faith? Why be surprised, O Cain, if your gift is refused by him who holds you in contempt? Divided as you are against yourself, it is no surprise that he pays you no heed. If you set your hand to the sacrifice, why yield your mind to envy? You cannot be reconciled with God while at odds with yourself; you do not please him, rather you sin, not yet because of the impious blow but because of the unrighteous division in your life. Though not yet your brother's murderer, you have murdered your own faith. How can you be right when, while raising up your hand to God, your heart is drawn to earth by envy and fraternal hate? How can you be right when your faith is dead, your purpose to kill, your heart empty of devotion and laden with bitterness? There was faith indeed in your act of worship, but faith devoid of love: the offering was right but the division cruel.

8. The death of faith is the departure of love. Do you believe in Christ? Do the works of Christ so that your faith will live; love will animate your faith, deeds will reveal it. Let no earthly preoccupation bend down the mind that is raised on high by faith. If you say you abide in Christ you ought to walk as he walked. But if you seek your own glory, envy the successful, slander the absent, take revenge on those who injure you, this Christ did not do. You profess to know God, yet reject him by your deeds. There is certainly nothing righteous, but plainly impious, in giving Christ your tongue while surrendering your soul to the devil. Listen then to what he says: "That man honors me with his lips, but his heart is far from me." You are obviously not righteous in maintaining this unrighteous division. You cannot lift a head upwards that is weighed down by the devil's yoke. You have no means at all of raising yourself, for you are held by an evil power. Your iniquities have gone over your head; they weigh like a burden too heavy for you. Iniquity sits upon a talent of lead. You see then that right faith will not make a man righteous unless it is enlivened by love? The man who has no love has no means of loving the bride. But on the other hand, deeds, however righteous, cannot make the heart righteous without faith. Who would call that man righteous who does not please God? But "without faith it is impossible to please God." And God cannot please the man who is not pleasing to him; for if God is pleasing to a man, that man cannot displease God. Furthermore, if God is not pleasing to a man, neither is his bride. How then can he be righteous who loves neither God nor God's Church, to whom is said: "The righteous love you"? If therefore neither faith without good works nor good works without faith suffice for a man's righteousness, we, my brothers, who believe in Christ, should strive to ensure that our behavior and desires are righteous. Let us raise up both our hearts and hands to God, that our whole being may be righteous, our righteous faith being revealed in our righteous actions. So we shall be lovers of the bride and loved by the Bridegroom Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God, blessed for ever. Amen.

"The king introduced me to his chambers." This is the church speaking, who confesses Christ the Son of God to be King. But what is the chamber to which Christ the King introduced his queen, the church, if not the mystery of the heavenly kingdom? For who does not know that Christ introduced his church, that is, his own flesh, to that place from which he had descended without flesh, that is, the gates of heaven? We learn that the church is the flesh of Christ from the authority of the apostle, who said "the flesh of Christ, which is the church."

Hence in the voice of this same Church it is said through Solomon, "Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains and bounding over the hills." For she considered the heights of such great works and said, "Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains." For in coming for our redemption, He made certain leaps, so to speak. Do you wish, dearest brothers, to recognize His very leaps? From heaven He came into the womb, from the womb He came into the manger, from the manger He came to the cross, from the cross He came into the tomb, from the tomb He returned to heaven. Behold, so that He might make us run after Him, the Truth made manifest through the flesh made certain leaps for us, because "He rejoiced as a giant to run His course," so that we might say to Him from the heart, "Draw us after You; we will run in the fragrance of Your ointments."

Do you wish, dearest brothers, to recognize His very leaps? From heaven He came into the womb, from the womb He came into the manger, from the manger He came to the cross, from the cross He came into the tomb, from the tomb He returned to heaven. Behold, so that He might make us run after Him, the Truth made manifest through the flesh made certain leaps for us, because "He rejoiced as a giant to run His course," so that we might say to Him from the heart, "Draw us after You; we will run in the fragrance of Your ointments."

Everyone who is drawn is drawn against his will, either because he is unable or because he is unwilling. But he who says "Draw me" has something that he wills and something that he does not will. Human nature wills to follow God, but overcome by the habit of weakness, it does not prevail to follow as it ought. Therefore it sees that there is one thing in itself by which it strives, and another thing in itself for which it has no strength, and rightly says: "Draw me." Paul had seen himself as willing yet not able when he said: "With my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh the law of sin" (Rom. 7:25); and, "I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind" (ibid., 23). Because, therefore, there is one thing in us that urges us on and another that weighs us down, let us say: "Draw me after you; we will run in the fragrance of your ointments." We run in the fragrance of God's ointments when, breathed upon by His spiritual gifts, we long ardently for the vision of Him.

It should be known that in the matter of men following God, sometimes they walk, sometimes they run, sometimes they run vigorously. He who follows tepidly, as it were, walks after God; he who follows frequently, runs; he who follows perseveringly, runs perfectly. For the heart was immobile for following God, and was unwilling to walk after him, until the coming of the Lord appeared in the world and moved human minds from their insensible standing place. Whence it is written: "His feet stood still, and the earth was moved" (Hab. 3:5, according to the LXX). Here, however, it is not movement but running that is spoken of, because it is not enough that we follow, unless we also run with desire. But because not even running suffices unless one also runs perfectly, Paul says: "So run that you may obtain" (1 Cor. 9:24). And some, while they run too much, slip into indiscretion; for they are wise more than is necessary, and they now set themselves before him whom they were following, while they choose their own virtues and set aside the judgments of him whom they were following. Whence it is well that when it was said, "we will run," it was prefaced with "after you." For they run after God who consider his judgments, who prefer his will to their own, and who strive to reach him through worthy action and discernment. Hence the prophet, considering the will of God, says: "My soul has clung after you" (Ps. 63:9). Hence it is said to Peter when he gives counsel: "Get behind me, Satan; for you do not savor the things of God, but the things of men" (Matt. 16:23; Mark 8:33). Because therefore perfect souls behold the judgments of God with the utmost caution, and presume to anticipate them neither through sluggishness nor through indiscreet fervor, it is well said: "We will run after you in the fragrance of your ointments." For then we run after you, when we both follow by loving and do not anticipate the divine judgments by fearing.

The Church of God is like a kind of royal house; and this house has a gate, has a stairway, has a dining hall, has bedchambers. And everyone within the Church who has faith has already entered the gate of this house; because, just as a gate opens the rest of the house, so faith opens the door to the remaining virtues. Everyone within the Church who has hope has already come to the stairway of the house; for hope elevates the heart, so that it seeks the things above and abandons the things below. Everyone who, placed in this house, has charity walks as if in the dining hall; for charity is broad, which extends even to the love of enemies. Everyone who, placed in the Church, already searches into sublime things, already considers hidden judgments, has as it were entered into the bedchamber. Of the gate of this house someone said: "Open to me the gates of justice, and having entered through them I will praise the Lord" (Psalm 117:19). Of the ascent of hope he said: "He has disposed ascents in his heart" (Psalm 83:6). Of the broad dining halls of this house it is said: "Your commandment is exceedingly broad" (Psalm 118:96). In the broad commandment, charity is specifically designated. Of the king's bedchamber he was speaking who said: "My secret is mine" (Isaiah 24:16). And elsewhere: "I heard secret words which it is not permitted for men to speak" (2 Corinthians 12:4). The first entrance of this house, then, is the gate of faith; the second advance, the stairway of hope; the third, the breadth of charity; the fourth, now the perfection of charity unto the knowledge of the secrets of God. Because the holy Church, in her perfect members, that is, in her holy teachers, in those who are already full and rooted in the mysteries of God, has as it were arrived at sublime secrets, and while still placed in this present voice, already penetrates those things. "The king brought me into his bedchamber," she says: for through the prophets, through the apostles, through the teachers, who while placed in this life already penetrated the sublime secrets of that life, the Church had entered into the bedchamber of her king.

And it must be carefully noted that he does not say "into the chamber of the bridegroom," but "into the chamber of the king." For by naming the king, he wishes to show the reverence due to secrets, because the more powerful the chamber is, the greater the reverence that must be shown regarding those things into which one enters. Therefore, lest anyone, while coming to know the secrets of God, while searching out hidden judgments, while being raised to the heights of contemplation, become puffed up and slip into pride, it is said that one enters the chamber of the king — that is, of him to whom all the greater reverence must be shown, the more the soul is led to know his secrets. So that each person may profit who, already exalted through grace, has arrived at sublime secrets, let him examine himself, and from that very advancement be more deeply humbled. Hence Ezekiel too, as often as he is led to contemplate sublime things, is called "son of man," as if it were said to him: Consider what you are, and do not be exalted by those things to which you are raised. But it belongs to few in the Church to search out and comprehend these sublime and hidden judgments of God. Nevertheless, when we see that strong men are able to attain such great wisdom as to contemplate the secrets of God in their hearts, let us little ones also have confidence — that at some time we may come to pardon, and at some time to his grace.

While the Church, in those who are perfect, enters the chamber of the king, the young maidens promise themselves the hope of exultation; because while the strong attain to the contemplation of sublime things, the weak take hope of pardon for their sins.

This bridegroom has breasts, he who is also called king on account of reverence. He has breasts — holy men clinging to him with their heart. The breasts are fixed in the chest cavity, and by internal nourishment they draw sustenance to those whom they nourish to strength. Holy men, therefore, are the breasts of the bridegroom, because they draw from what is innermost and nourish outwardly. His breasts are the apostles; his breasts are all the preachers of the Church. Wine, as we said above, was in the prophets; wine was in the law. But because greater commandments were given through the apostles than had been given through the prophets, it is rightly now said: "Mindful of your breasts above wine" — because those who can fulfill the things that are commanded in the New Testament without doubt transcend that knowledge of the Law.

Yet we can also understand this in another way: "Remembering your breasts above wine." There are many who indeed have the wine of wisdom, but do not have the knowledge of humility. Knowledge puffs these up, because charity does not build them up. But there are truly many who have the wine of knowledge in such a way that they know how to consider the gifts of doctrine, the gifts of spiritual grace; for the gifts of spiritual grace are like certain breasts on the chest, which subtly minister and nourish through hidden spiritual channels. "Remembering therefore your breasts above wine": because those who know how to pursue the gifts of your grace, so that they do not attribute to themselves what they know, but are not puffed up by the same wisdom they have received—they surpass those who are puffed up and carried away by their own wisdom. For it is more to be wise humbly than merely to be wise; for it is not truly to be wise if one is not wise humbly. "Remembering therefore your breasts above wine": because those who know how to consider the gifts of spiritual grace transcend those who indeed have knowledge, but do not have recognition of the gifts in their memory. Therefore, to speak plainly: "Remembering your breasts above wine": because humility is stronger than knowledge. For wine is the knowledge that intoxicates, while the memory of the breasts is what sobers, what recalls one to the recognition of gifts. "Remembering your breasts above wine": because humility conquers the abundance of knowledge.

The upright love you: As if he were saying: Those not yet upright still fear. The upright love you: for everyone who does good works out of fear, even if he is upright in his work, is not upright in his desire; for he would wish that what he feared did not exist, and he would not do good works. But whoever does good works out of love is upright both in work and in desire, yet the sweetness of love is hidden from those who fear. Whence it is written: How great is the multitude of your sweetness, O Lord, which you have hidden from those who fear you, and have perfected for those who hope in you (Psalm 30:20). For the sweetness of God is unknown to those who fear God, but becomes known to those who love him. Therefore whoever has striven to be upright through love, his love is perfect, so that he does not fear the judge when he comes, so that whatever he has heard about eternal punishments, he does not dread. Whence also Paul, while awaiting the coming of the judge, while seeking the rewards of eternal life, says: Which God has prepared not only for me, but also for all who love his coming (2 Timothy 4:8). For eternal rewards are prepared by the judge for those who love, because everyone who knows that he does evil works fears the judge when he comes; but whoever is confident in his own works seeks the coming of the judge. Therefore rewards are prepared for those who await the coming of God and who love his coming; because they do not love the coming of the judge unless they are confident in their own case. Moreover, all certainty, the uprightness of certainty, is in love; and therefore it is rightly said: The upright love you.

"The king introduced me to his treasures." Who is this king, if not Christ himself? And what are these treasures, if not his chambers? This is the people who say, "We will rejoice and delight in you," for he calls everyone. First, it tells us about the past, then it reveals a time of penance in the future: "We will rejoice and delight in you." "I loved your breasts more than wine," not the wine that was mixed by Christ, surely, but the wine whereby Noah previously languished in drunkenness, the wine that deceived Lot. "We loved your fonts of milk more than this wine" because breasts were the commandments given by Christ; they delight but certainly do not inebriate. For this reason, indeed, the apostle said, "Do not drink so much wine that you become drunk." Therefore the beloved now says, "I loved your breasts more than wine; righteousness loves you," because those who follow the way of righteousness are those who love you, whereas unbelievers hate you and deserve retribution from the judge.

There also—the Lord himself is my witness—when I had shed copious tears and had strained my eyes toward heaven, I sometimes felt myself among angelic hosts and for joy and gladness sang, "Because of the sweet smell of your good ointments, we will run after you."

But because this item is referring either to the church coming to Christ or the soul clinging to the Word of God, what else must we believe the bedroom of Christ and storehouse of the Word of God to be, in which he leads either his church or the soul clinging to him, except the hidden and concealed mind of Christ itself?

She is admitted to the inner chamber, the quarters and rooms of the bridegroom, and boastfully says to her own retinue, "The king introduced me into his chamber," that is, he revealed to me his hidden purposes, the plan concealed from ages and generations he made known to me, the treasuries obscure, hidden, and unseen he opened to me, in keeping with the prophecy of Isaiah.

It is written, "Ethiopia shall stretch out her hand unto God." In this is signified the appearance of holy church, who says in the Song of Solomon, "I am black and comely, O daughters of Jerusalem": black through sin, comely through grace; black by natural condition, comely through redemption, or certainly, black with the dust of her labors. So it is black while fighting but comely when it is crowned with the ornaments of victory.

The church, having put on these garments through the laver of regeneration, says in the Song of Songs, "I am black and comely, O daughters of Jerusalem." Black through the frailty of its human condition, comely through the sacrament of faith. And the daughters of Jerusalem beholding these garments say in amazement, "Who is this that comes up made white?" She was black; how is she now suddenly made white?

I am black, etc. Black evidently from the adversity of oppressions, but beautiful in the comeliness of virtues; truly, the more beautiful in the sight of the internal judge, the more harassed and seemingly defiled by the greater oppressions of the foolish. However, the daughters of Jerusalem, to whom she speaks, are called souls imbued with heavenly sacraments, longing for the home of the heavenly homeland. For consoling these in her tribulations, the holy mother says: I am black, but beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem. As if she plainly says, Indeed, I appear very vile in the eyes of the persecutors; but before God, I shine gloriously in the confession of truth. Therefore, it does not behove you to be saddened in this exile of labors, who remember that you are citizens of the heavenly homeland, who hasten toward the vision of eternal peace through the adversities of the fleeting world.

Like the tents of Kedar, etc. Kedar was the son of Ishmael, of whom it was said: His hand against all, and the hand of all against him (Gen. XVII). The truth of which prophecy is proven today by the nation of the Saracens, who are hated by all and descended from him: and the Psalmist, besieged by afflictions, affirms this when he says: I have lived with those who dwell in Kedar, my soul has been a long-time sojourner. With those who hate peace, I was peaceful (Psal. CXIX). For neither is it read that David suffered any hatred from the Ishmaelites themselves; but wanting to exaggerate the evils he suffered from Saul or his other adversaries, he lamented that he was vexed by the wickedness of the nation, which never sought peace with anyone. On the contrary, Solomon was peaceful both in name and in life. Hence, as Scripture testifies, all the kings of the lands desired to see the face of Solomon, to hear the wisdom that God had given into his heart. Therefore, he says: I am black but beautiful, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon; it is distinguished thus: she is black as the tents of Kedar, beautiful as the curtains of Solomon. For the holy Church, often darkened by the afflictions of unbelievers, seems as if it were an enemy to the entire world, fulfilling the word the Lord said, And you will be hated by all because of my name (Matt. X). Thus, she is always beautiful in the sight of her Redeemer, as if truly worthy to be visited by the King of peace himself. And it should be noted that Kedar, by its very name, which signifies darkness, hints at either wicked men or unclean spirits. Just as Solomon, who is interpreted as peaceful, also indicates by the mystery of the name itself; of whom it is written, His empire will be multiplied, and peace will have no end; upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, and so on (Isaiah IX). And when it is said that the Church is black like the tents of Kedar, it is placed not for truth, but for the estimation of the foolish, who think it provides a dwelling for vices or evil spirits within itself. But when it is called beautiful as the curtains of Solomon, it is placed as an example of truth, because, as Solomon was accustomed to make tents for himself out of the skins of dead animals, so the Lord gathers the Church for himself out of those animals who have learned to renounce carnal desires. Hence he said to all: If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (Matt. XVI). And the Apostle says, Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth (Coloss. III). Some, reading this sentence thus, Black am I but beautiful, say that the Church is black in her carnal members or false brethren, like the tents of Kedar; but beautiful in her spiritual members, like the curtains of Solomon. But if we pay attention to what is written about the Lord, We saw him, and he had neither form nor beauty (Isaiah LIII); which was said not about his sin, for he had absolutely no sin, but about his passion, it is evident that the Church too, not because of sins or the vices of sinners, but because of her temptations and her sufferings, with which she is constantly exercised, claims to be black. This sense is affirmed also by the following words, when it is said:

SERMON 3 ON THE KISS OF THE LORD'S FOOT, HAND, AND MOUTH

2. Do not let that place seem vile or contemptible to you, O whatever sort of soul you may be, where the holy sinful woman laid aside her sins and put on holiness. There the Ethiopian woman changed her skin, and restored to a new whiteness, she then confidently and truthfully answered those who reproached her with the word: "I am black, but beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem" (Song 1:4). Do you wonder by what art she was able to do this, or by what merits she obtained it? Receive it in few words. She wept bitterly, and drawing long sighs from her inmost depths, she was shaken within herself by wholesome sobs, and vomited forth her bitter humors. The heavenly physician came to her aid most swiftly: for "swiftly runs his word" (Ps 147:15). Is the word of God not a potion? It is indeed, and a strong and powerful one, "searching hearts and reins" (Ps 7:10). For "the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints also and marrow, and is a discerner of thoughts" (Heb 4:12). By the example, therefore, of this blessed penitent, cast yourself down, you too, O wretched one, that you may cease to be wretched; cast yourself down, you too, upon the earth; embrace the feet, appease with kisses, water with tears, by which, however, you wash not him but yourself, and you may become one of the flock of the shorn ones ascending from the washing (Song 4:2); so indeed may you not dare to lift up your face, suffused as it is with shame and grief, until you hear, you also: "Your sins are forgiven you" (Lk 7:37-48); until you hear: "Arise, arise, O captive daughter of Zion; arise, shake yourself from the dust" (Isa 52:1-2).

I mentioned in the previous sermon that the bride was compelled to give an answer to her envious assailants, who seemed to be physically part of the group of maidens, but alienated from them in spirit. She said: "I am black but beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem." It would appear that her dark skin is the object of their slanderous taunting. But we cannot help noting her patience and kindness. She not only refrained from hurling back curse for curse, but gave them a friendly answer, calling them daughters of Jerusalem when for their wickedness she might properly have called them daughters of Babylon, or daughters of Baal, or any other disreputable name. She had learned from the Prophet, and from Christ himself, the teacher of gentleness, that the crushed reed must not be broken nor the wavering flame be quenched. Hence she decided not to provoke to further outbursts people who had already so upset themselves, nor to add fuel to the fires of envy that tormented them. Conscious of her obligation even to the foolish, she took pains to be peaceful with those who hated peace. She preferred therefore to soothe them with a kind word, because she felt it her duty to labor for the salvation of the weak rather than gratify personal spite.

Perfection of this kind is commendable for all, but is the model for prelates who wish to be worthy. Good and faithful superiors know that they have been chosen, not for the vain prestige of holding office, but to take care of ailing souls. And when they detect the presence of inward discontent by the voicing of complaints, even to the point of insult and contumely, they must see themselves then as physicians, not masters, and rather than retaliate, prepare a medicine for the fevered mind. This is why the bride addressed the scornful and malevolent maidens as daughters of Jerusalem; her soothing words would captivate the malcontents, calm their anger and banish their envy. It is written: "A peaceful tongue appeases strife." Nor did she give them a false name, for in a certain sense these are truly daughters of Jerusalem. For whether because of the sacraments of the Church which they carelessly receive with the good, or because of a communal profession of faith, or the bodily unity of all the faithful, or even the hope of future salvation from which they are never wholly excluded as long as they live and of which they must not despair here below however recklessly they live, they are not unfittingly called daughters of Jerusalem.

Let us next examine what was meant by saying: "I am black but beautiful." Is this a contradiction in terms? Certainly not. These remarks of mine are for simple persons who have not learned to distinguish between color and form; form refers to the shape of a thing, blackness is a color. Not everything therefore that is black is on that account ugly. For example blackness in the pupil of the eye is not unbecoming; black gems look glamorous in ornamental settings, and black locks above a pale face enhance its beauty and charm. You may easily verify this in any number of things, for instances abound in which you will find beautiful shapes with disagreeable colors. And so the bride, despite the gracefulness of her person, bears the stigma of a dark skin, but this is only in the place of her pilgrimage. It will be otherwise when the Bridegroom in his glory will take her to himself "in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing." But if she were to say now that her color is not black, she would be deceiving herself and the truth would not be in her. So there is no reason to be surprised that she said: "I am black," and yet nonetheless gloried that she is beautiful. How can she be other than beautiful since it is said to her: "Come my beautiful one"? Since she is invited to come, she has not yet arrived. So no one should think that the invitation was addressed to a blessed one who reigns without stain in heaven, it was addressed to the dark lady who was still toiling along the way.

But let us try to see why she calls herself black, and why beautiful. Is she black because of the benighted life she formerly led under the power of the prince of this world, still modeled on the image of the earthly man, and lovely because of the heavenly likeness into which she was afterwards changed as she began to live a new life? If that were so would she not have spoken of the past and said: "I was black," and not "I am black"? But if anybody wishes to see it in this light, then in the case of the words that follow: "like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon," the tent of Kedar should be understood of her former life, the tent of Solomon of the new. That curtains may have the same meaning as tent is shown by the Prophet when he says: "My tents are suddenly destroyed, in one moment my curtains have gone." Formerly she was black like the wretched tents of Kedar, but later beautiful like the curtains of the renowned King.

But let us see how both of these refer rather to her present state of life. If we consider the outward appearance of the saints, all that our eyes may discern, how lowly and abject it is, how slovenly through want of care; yet at the same time, inwardly, "with unveiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Lord, they grow brighter and brighter as they are turned by the Spirit of the Lord into the image that they reflect." May not such a soul justly answer those who reproach her for being black: "I am black but beautiful"? Shall I point out to you a person at once both black and beautiful? "They say he writes powerful and strongly worded letters, but when he is with you, you see only half a man and no preacher at all." This was St. Paul. Daughters of Jerusalem, do you measure Paul in terms of his bodily presence, and despise him as blemished and ugly because you see only a runt of a man who has suffered hunger and thirst, cold and nakedness, the hardship of constant labor, countless beatings, often to the verge of death? These are the experiences that denigrate Paul; for this the Doctor of the Nations is reputed abject, dishonorable, black, beneath notice, a scrap of this world's refuse. But surely this is the man who is rapt into paradise, who, traversing the first and second heavens, penetrates by his purity to the third? O soul of surpassing beauty, even though dwelling in a sickly little body, heaven's own loveliness had not scorned your company, the angels on high did not cast you out, God's brightness did not repudiate you! Is this soul to be called black? It is black but beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem. Black in your estimation, but beautiful in the eyes of God and the angels. The blackness you observe is merely external. Not that it makes the slightest difference to Paul whether you find him worthy or not, you who judge according to appearances. "Man looks at appearances but God looks at the heart." Hence though black without, he is beautiful within, intent on pleasing him to whom he must prove himself; for if he still endeavored to be pleasing to you he would not be the servant of Christ. Happy the darkness that begets radiance in the mind, a light of knowledge and cleanness of conscience.

And finally, listen to what God promises through his Prophet to those blemished with this kind of blackness, those who seem discolored as by the sun's heat through the lowliness of a penitential life, through zeal for charity. He says: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be white as wool." The outward blemishes that we may discern in any people are not to be condemned, because they play a part in the begetting of interior light, and so depose the soul for wisdom. For wisdom is described by the wise man as a reflection of eternal life, and brightness befits the soul in which it decides to dwell. If the soul of the righteous man is the seat of wisdom, I may certainly refer to such a soul as bright. Righteousness itself can be called brightness. Paul was a righteous man for whom was laid up "a crown of righteousness." Therefore the soul of Paul was adorned with brightness, and wisdom dwelt there, to enable him to impart wisdom among the mature, a wisdom hidden in mystery, which none of the rulers of this world understood. This wisdom and righteousness of Paul were either produced or merited through the outward impairment of his little body, worn out by constant labors, by frequent fastings and vigils. Hence this ugliness of Paul is more beautiful than jeweled ornaments, than the raiment of kings. No physical loveliness can compare with it, no skin however bright and glowing; not the tinted cheek for which corruption waits, nor the costly dress that time wears out; not the luster of gold nor sparkle of gems, nor any other creature: all will crumble into corruption.

It is with good reason then that the saints find no time for the glamour of jewelry and the elegance of dress, that lose their appeal with the passing hour; their whole attention is fixed on improving and adorning the inward self that is made to the image of God, and is renewed day by day. For they are certain that nothing can be more pleasing to God than his own image when restored to its original beauty. Hence all their glory is within, not without; not in the beauty of nature nor in the praises of the crowd, but in the Lord. With St. Paul they say: "Our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience;" because the sole judge of their conscience is God, whom alone they desire to please, and pleasing him is their sole, true and highest glory. There is nothing mean about that inward glory, for, as David points out, the Lord of glory takes his delight in it: "All his glory is with the daughter of the king." Each one's glory is all the more secure when in his own keeping, and not in another. And the saints glory not only in their inward light but even in the unsightliness of their outward appearance; nothing in them is without its use, "everything works for good." Sufferings are their joy equally with their hope. St Paul says: "I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." How desirable that weakness for which the power of Christ compensates. Let me be not merely weak, then, but entirely resourceless, utterly helpless, that I may enjoy the support of the power of the Lord of hosts! "For virtue is perfected in weakness." And Paul adds: "It is when I am weak that I am strong and powerful."

This being so, how aptly the bride accepted as an enhancement of her glory the insult hurled by those who envied her, rejoicing not only in her loveliness but even in her blackness. She is not ashamed of this blackness, for her Bridegroom endured it before her, and what greater glory than to be made like to him. Therefore she believes that nothing contributes more to her glory than to bear the ignominy of Christ. And hence that note of gladness and triumph as she says: "Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." The ignominy of the cross is welcome to the man who will not be an ingrate to his crucified Lord. Though it involves the stigma of blackness, it is also in the pattern and the likeness of the Lord. Listen to St Isaiah, and he will describe him for you as he saw him in spirit: "A man of sorrows and afflicted with suffering, without beauty, without majesty." And he adds: "We thought of him as a leper, struck by God and brought low. Yet he was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins, and through his wounds we are healed." This is the reason for his blackness. But think at the same time of those words of St David: "You are the fairest of the sons of men," and you will find in the Bridegroom all the traits that the bride, in the words of our text, ascribes to herself.

Does it not seem to you, in accord with what has been said, that he could have replied to the envious Jews: "I am black but beautiful, sons of Jerusalem"? Obviously black, since he had neither beauty nor majesty; black because he was "a worm and no man, scorned by men and despised by the people." If he even made himself into sin shall I shirk saying he was black? Look steadily at him in his filth-covered cloak, livid from blows, smeared with spittle, pale as death: surely then you must pronounce him black. But enquire also of the apostles in what guise they found this same man on the mount, and ask the angels to describe him on whom they long to gaze, and the beauty you discover will compel your admiration. Beautiful in his own right, his blackness is because of you. Even clad in my form, how beautiful you are, Lord Jesus! And not merely because of the miracles of divine power that render you glorious, but because of your truth and meekness and righteousness. Happy the man who, by attentive study of your life as a man among men, strives according to his strength to live like you. The Church in her loveliness has already received from you this blessed gift, the first fruits of her dowry; she is not slow to pattern herself on what is beautiful in you, nor ashamed to endure your ignominies. All this we must recall when she says: "I am black but beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem;" to which she adds the comparison: "like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon." This dictum is obscure however, and beyond the reach of those already wearied. But it is a door on which you are given time to knock. Those who are sincere will there encounter him whose light illumines mysteries; and he will open at once, because he invites you to knock. He it is who opens and no man shuts, the Church's Bridegroom, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

1. Like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon (Song 1:4). We must begin from here, because this is where the preceding sermon left off. You are waiting to hear what this means, and how it is fitted to the chapter treated most recently, since it is a comparison. For this could have been subjoined in such a way that both parts of the comparison answer only to what had preceded there: I am black. But it could also be so that those two things answer to these two, that is, each to each. The former sense is simpler, the latter more obscure. But let us attempt both: and first indeed this one, which appears more difficult. The difficulty, however, is not in the first two, but only in the last two. For Kedar indeed, which is interpreted as "darkness," seems openly enough to agree with blackness; but the curtains of Solomon do not so readily agree with beauty. Furthermore, who does not see that tents likewise converge into the same agreement? For what are tents, if not our bodies, in which we are pilgrims? For we have not here a lasting city, but seek one that is to come (Heb. 13:14). But we also wage war in them, as in tents; altogether violent toward the kingdom. Finally, the life of man upon earth is a warfare (Job 7:1); and as long as we wage war in this body, we are pilgrims from the Lord, that is, from light. For the Lord is light; and insofar as anyone is not with him, to that extent he is in darkness, that is, in Kedar. Let him therefore recognize as his own that mournful cry: Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged! I have dwelt with the dwellers of Kedar, my soul has been long a sojourner (Ps. 119:5-6). Therefore this habitation of our body is not the dwelling of a citizen, nor the house of a native; but either the tent of a soldier, or the stable of a traveler. This body, I say, is a tent, and a tent of Kedar, which indeed defrauds the soul in the meantime of the sight of the uncircumscribed light, as though by interposing itself; nor does it allow it to be seen at all, except through a mirror indeed and in an enigma, but not face to face (1 Cor. 13:12).

2. Do you see whence the blackness of the Church, whence some rust has clung even to the most beautiful souls? From the tent of Kedar, surely; from the exercise of laborious warfare, from the long duration of a wretched sojourn, from the straits of a sorrowful exile, from the fragile and heavy body, in short; because the body which is corrupted weighs down the soul, and the earthly dwelling presses down the mind that thinks upon many things (Wis. 9:15). For this reason they also desire to be dissolved, so that, freed from the body, they may fly away into the embraces of Christ. Whence also one of the wretched, groaning, used to say: Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom. 7:24). She who is of this sort knows indeed that she cannot in the tent of Kedar be entirely free from spot or wrinkle, not even from the smallest blackness; and she desires to depart, that she may be able to strip herself bare. And this is the reason why the bride called herself black like the tents of Kedar. But how then beautiful, like the curtains of Solomon? But I sense something lofty and sacred wrapped up in these curtains, which I by no means dare to touch at all, except indeed at the nod of him who has stored it away and sealed it. For I have read: He who is a searcher of majesty shall be overwhelmed by glory (Prov. 25:27). I refrain therefore and defer. In the meantime it will be your concern to obtain the usual favor by your prayers; that we may return all the more eager, the more confident, to that which requires more attentive minds. And perhaps the devout one who knocks will find what the rash searcher could not. Although indeed both grief commands an end, and the calamity which I suffer.

My brothers, our friend has gone back to his homeland, we have paid the full tribute of human affection to his memory, so I take up again the instruction which I then discontinued. As he is now in the state of happiness it is improper to prolong our mourning for him, it is out of place to appear in tears before a man enjoying a banquet. Even though we do shed tears in our troubles, our grief should not be excessive, or it will seem to express our regret for the service we have lost rather than our love for him. To think that the one we love is in a state of bliss must ease the pain of our bereavement; to realize that he is with God must make his absence from us more bearable. And so, trusting in the aid of your prayers, I shall attempt to throw light on the secret hidden by those curtains that portray the beauty of the bride. We touched on this, as you recall, but did not delve into it, though we had discussed and discovered how she is black like the tents of Kedar. But in what way can she be beautiful like the curtains of Solomon, as if Solomon in all his glory could even remotely resemble the beauty of the bride, or possessed anything to match the splendor of her adornment? Even if I were to say that these mysterious curtains refer to the quality of blackness as well as to the tents of Kedar, I should perhaps be correct; there are arguments to support this, as I shall show later. But if we suppose that the beauty of any sort of curtains is to be compared to the glory of the bride, then we need the help for which you have been praying, if we are to be worthy to unveil this mystery. For must not outward loveliness, no matter how radiant, seem to an enlightened mind to be cheap and ugly, when compared with the inward beauty of a holy soul? What qualities can we find within the framework of this passing world that can equal the radiance of a soul that has shed its decrepit, earthly body, and been clothed in heaven's loveliness, graced with the jewels of consummate virtue, clearer than mountain air because of its transcendence, more brilliant than the sun? So do not look back to the earthly Solomon when you wish to investigate the ownership of those curtains whose beauty delights the bride because so like her own.

2. What does she mean then by saying: "I am beautiful like the curtains of Solomon"? I feel that here we have a great and wonderful mystery, provided that we apply the words, not to the Solomon of this Song, but to him who said of himself: "What is here is greater than Solomon." This Solomon to whom I refer is so great a Solomon that he is called not only Peaceful—which is the meaning of the word Solomon—but Peace itself; for Paul proclaims that "He is our Peace." I am certain that in this Solomon we can discover something that we may unhesitatingly compare with the beauty of the bride. Note especially what the Psalm says of his curtains: "You have spread out the heavens like a curtain." The first Solomon, though sufficiently wise and powerful, did not spread out the heavens like a curtain; it was he, rather who is not merely wise but Wisdom itself, who both created them and spread them out. It was he, and not the former Solomon, who spoke these words of God his Father: "When he set the heavens in their place, I was there." His power and his wisdom were undoubtedly present at the establishing of the heavens. And do not imagine that he stood by idle, as merely a spectator, because he said "I was there," and not "I was cooperating." Search further on in this text and you will find that he clearly states he was with him arranging all things. Therefore he said: "Whatever the Father does, the Son does too." He it was who spread out the heavens like a curtain, a curtain of superlative beauty that covers the whole face of the earth like a huge tent, and charms our human eyes with the variegated spectacle of sun and moon and stars. Is there anything more lovely than this curtain? Anything more bejeweled than the heavens? Yet even this can in no way be compared to the splendor and comeliness of the bride. It fails because it is a physical thing, the object of our physical senses; its form will pass away. "For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

II. 3. The bride's form must be understood in a spiritual sense, her beauty as something that is grasped by the intellect; it is eternal because it is an image of eternity. Her gracefulness consists of love, and you have read that "love never ends." It consists of justice, for "her justice endures forever." It consists of patience, and Scripture tells you "the patience of the poor shall not perish forever." What shall I say of voluntary poverty? Of humility? To the former an eternal kingdom is promised, to the latter an eternal exaltation. To these must be added the holy fear of the Lord that endures for ever and ever; prudence too, and temperance and fortitude and all other virtues; what are they but pearls in the jeweled raiment of the bride, shining with unceasing radiance? I say unceasing, because they are the basis, the very foundation of immortality. For there is no place for immortal and blissful life in the soul except by means and mediation of the virtues. Hence the Prophet, speaking to God who is eternal happiness, says: "Justice and judgment are the foundation of your throne." And the Apostle says that Christ dwells in our hearts, not in any and every way, but particularly by faith. When Christ, too, was about to ride on the ass, the disciples spread their cloaks underneath him, to signify that our Savior, or his salvation, will not rest in the naked soul until it is clothed with the teaching and discipline of the apostles. Therefore the Church, possessing the promise of happiness to come, now prepares for it by adorning herself in cloth of gold, girding herself with a variety of graces and virtues, in order to be found worthy and capable of the fulness of grace.

4. Though this visible, material heaven, with its great variety of stars is unsurpassingly beautiful within the bounds of the material creation, I should not dare to compare its beauty with the spiritual and varied loveliness she received with her first robe when being arrayed in the garments of holiness. But there is a heaven of heavens to which the Prophet refers. "Sing to the Lord who mounts above the heaven of heavens, to the east." This heaven is in the world of the intellect and the spirit; and he who made the heavens by his wisdom, created it to be his eternal dwelling-place. You must not suppose that the bride's affections can find rest outside of this heaven, where she knows her Beloved dwells: for where her treasure is, there her heart is too. She so yearns for him that she is jealous of those who live in his presence; and since she may not yet participate in the vision that is theirs, she strives to resemble them in the way she lives. By deeds rather than words she proclaims: "Lord, I love the beauty of your house, the place where your glory dwells."

III. 5. She has no objection whatever to being compared to this heaven, made glorious by the marvelous and manifold works of the Creator, that reaches out like a curtain, not over mighty spaces but over the hearts of men. Any distinctions that exist there do not consist of colors but of degrees of bliss. Among its inhabitants we find Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Dominations, Principalities, Powers, Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim. These are that heaven's sparkling stars, these are that curtain's shining glories. We are dealing with only one of the curtains of my Solomon, but the one that surpasses all in the radiance of its multiform glory. This immense curtain contains within itself many other curtains of Solomon, for every blessed and saint who dwells there is indeed a curtain of Solomon. They overflow with kindness, their love reaches out till it comes down even to us. Far from begrudging us the glory they enjoy, they want us to share it, and hence find it no burden to accompany us for that purpose, sedulously watching over us and our concerns. They are all spirits whose work is service, sent to help those who will be the heirs of salvation. Therefore, since the multitude of the blessed, taken as a unit, is called the heaven of heavens, so, when taken individually, they are called the heavens of heavens, because each is a heaven, and we may apply to each the words: "You have spread out heaven like a curtain." You now see, I hope, what these curtains are to which the bride so assuredly compares herself, and to which Solomon they belong.

IV. 6. Contemplate what a glory is hers who compares herself to heaven, even to that heaven who is so much more glorious as he is divine. This is no rashness, taking her comparison from whence her origin comes. For if she compares herself to the tents of Kedar because of her body drawn from the earth, why should she not glory in her likeness to heaven because of the heavenly origin of her soul, especially since her life bears witness to her origin and to the dignity of her nature and her homeland? She adores and worships one God, just like the angels; she loves Christ above all things, just like the angels; she is chaste, just like the angels, and that in the flesh of a fallen race, in a frail body that the angels do not have. But she seeks and savors the things that they enjoy, not the things that are on the earth. What can be a clearer sign of her heavenly origin than that she retains a natural likeness to it in the land of unlikeness, than that as an exile on earth she enjoys the glory of the celibate life, than that she lives like an angel in an animal body? These gifts reveal a power that is more of heaven than of earth. They clearly indicate that a soul thus endowed is truly from heaven. But Scripture is clearer still: "I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice from the throne saying: 'Behold the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell among them.'" But why? In order to win a bride for himself from among men. How wonderful this? He came to seek a bride, but did not come without one. He sought a bride, but she was with him. Had he then two brides? Certainly not. "My dove is only one," he says. Just as he wished to form one flock of the scattered flocks of sheep, that there might be one flock and one shepherd, so, although from the beginning he had for bride the multitude of angels, it pleased him to summon the Church from among men and unite it with the one from heaven, that there might be but the one bride and one Bridegroom. The one from heaven perfects the earthly one; it does not make two. Hence he says: "My perfect one is only one." Their likeness makes them one, one now in their similar purpose, one hereafter in the same glory.

7. These two then have their origin in heaven—Jesus the Bridegroom and Jerusalem the bride. He, in order to be seen by men, "emptied himself taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." But the bride—in what form or exterior loveliness, in what guise did St John see her coming down? Was it perhaps in the company of the angels whom he saw ascending and descending upon the Son of Man? It is more accurate to say that he saw the bride when he looked on the Word made flesh, and acknowledged two natures in the one flesh. For when that holy Emmanuel introduced to earth the curriculum of heavenly teaching, when we came to know the visible image and radiant comeliness of that supernal Jerusalem, our mother, revealed to us in Christ and by his means, what did we behold if not the bride in the Bridegroom? What did we admire but that same person who is the Lord of glory, the Bridegroom decked with a garland, the bride adorned with her jewels? So "He who descended is he also who ascended," since "no one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven," the one and same Lord who as head of the Church is the Bridegroom, as body is the bride. This heaven-formed man did not appear on earth in vain, since he endowed a multitude of earthly followers with his own heavenly image. As Scripture says: "the heavenly Man is the pattern of all the heavenly." From that time the lives of many on earth have been like the lives of heaven's citizens, as when, after the example of that exalted and blessed bride, she who came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, embraced the heavenly Bridegroom with a chaste love. Though, unlike the blessed bride, not yet united to him by vision, she is still espoused to him by faith, as God promised through the Prophet's words: "I will betroth you to me in steadfast love and mercy, I will betroth you to me in faithfulness." Hence she strives more and more to resemble her who came from heaven, learning from her to be modest and prudent, learning to be chaste and holy, to be patient and compassionate, and ultimately to be meek and humble of heart. By these virtues she endeavors, even while absent, to be pleasing to him on whom the angels long to look. With a love angelic in its fervor she shows herself to be a fellow-citizen with the saints and a domestic of God, she shows that she is beloved, that she is a bride.

V. 8. I believe that all persons such as I have described are not only heavenly because of their origin but that each so resembles heaven as to merit being so named. Their heavenly origin is most evident since their life is centered in heaven. The holy person whose gift of faith is like a moon and whose virtues are like stars, is truly a heaven. We could mean by the sun zeal for justice and fervent love and by the moon continence. Without the sun there is no brightness in the moon, and without justice and love there is no merit in continence. Hence that saying of Wisdom: "How beautiful is the chaste generation with its love." And to call the stars virtues gives me no qualms, the aptness of the metaphor is so obvious. For just as the stars that shine by night are hidden by day, so true virtue that passes unnoticed in prosperity, becomes conspicuous in adversity. What prudence conceals, necessity forces into the open. So, if virtue be a star, the virtuous man is a heaven. But we are not to suppose that when God, speaking through his Prophet, said "heaven is my throne," he was referring to the wheeling heavens we see above us; no, in another text of Scripture we find what he meant more clearly expressed: "The soul of the just is the seat of wisdom." If you recall the Savior's teaching that God is a spirit, to be adored in spirit, you must realize that God's throne is a spiritual entity. This truth I confidently affirm, in the case of a just man no less than of an angel. My belief in its truth is further strengthened by the faithful promise of the Son: "I and the Father will come to him," that is, to the holy man, "and make our dwelling with him." I feel too that the Prophet meant this heaven when he said: "You dwell in the holy place, the praise of Israel." Finally, the Apostle says explicitly that "Christ dwells by faith in our hearts."

9. No need to be surprised that the Lord Jesus should be pleased to dwell in this heaven, which he not only called into being by his word like the other creatures, but fought to acquire and died to redeem. And when his passion was over the longing of his heart found echo in the words: "This is my resting-place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it." Happy therefore is the one to whom he says: "Come my chosen one, and I shall set up my throne within you." Why are you sad now, my soul, why do you trouble me? Do you not think you will find within you a place for the Lord? Which of us indeed is suited for so much glory, qualified to welcome so majestic a being? Would that I were worthy to worship at his footstool! Who will grant me at least to walk in the footsteps of some holy soul whom he has chosen as his heritage? Would that he anointed my soul with the oil of his mercy, to extend it like a curtain of skin that expands when anointed, and I should be able to say: "I have run the way of your commandments, when you enlarged my heart." Then perhaps I should find within me not so much a great dining-hall where he might recline with his discipline, as a place where he might lay his head. From afar off I gaze toward the truly blessed ones, of whom is said: "I will live in them and move among them."

VI. 10. What a capacity this soul has, how privileged its merits, that it is found worthy not only to receive the divine presence, but to be able to make sufficient room! What can I say of her who can provide avenues spacious enough for the God of majesty to walk in! She certainly cannot afford to be entangled in law-suits nor by worldly cares; she cannot be enslaved by gluttony and sensual pleasures, by the lust of the eyes, the ambition to rule, or by pride in the possession of power. If she is to become heaven, the dwelling-place of God, it is first of all essential that she be empty of all these defects. Otherwise how could she be still enough to know that he is God? Nor may she yield in the least to hatred or envy or bitterness, "because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul." The soul must grow and expand, that it may be roomy enough for God. Its width is its love, if we accept what the Apostle says: "Widen your hearts in love." The soul, being a spirit, does not admit of material expansion, but grace confers gifts on it that nature is not equipped to bestow. Its growth and expansion must be understood in a spiritual sense; it is its virtue that increases, not its substance. Even its glory is increased. And finally it grows and advances toward "mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Eventually it becomes "a holy temple in the Lord." The capacity of any man's soul is judged by the amount of love he possesses; hence he who loves much is great, he who loves a little is small, he who has no love is nothing, as Paul said: "If I have not love, I am nothing." But if he begins to acquire some love however, if he tries at least to love those who love him, and salutes the brethren and others who salute him, I may no longer describe him as nothing because some love must be present in the give and take of social life. In the words of the Lord, however, what more is he doing than others. When I discover a love as mediocre as this, I cannot call such a man noble or great: he is obviously narrow-minded and mean.

11. But if his love expands and continues to advance till it outgrows these narrow, servile confines, and finds itself in the open ranges where love is freely given in full liberty of spirit; when from the generous bounty of his goodwill he strives to reach out to all his neighbors, loving each of them as himself, surely one may no longer query, "What more are you doing than others?" Indeed he has made himself vast. His heart is filled with a love that embraces everybody, even those to whom it is not tied by the inseparable bonds of family relationship; a love that is not allured by any hope of personal gain, that possesses nothing it is obliged to restore, that bears no burden of debt whatever, apart from that one of which it is said: "Owe no one anything, except to love one another." Progressing further still, you may endeavor to take the kingdom of love by force, until by this holy warfare you succeed in possessing it even to its farthest bounds. Instead of shutting off your affections from your enemies, you will do good to those who hate you, you will pray for those who persecute and slander you, you will strive to be peaceful even with those who hate peace. Then the width, height and beauty of your soul will be the width, height and beauty of heaven itself, and you will realize how true it is that he has "stretched out the heavens like a curtain." In this heaven whose width, height and beauty compel our admiration, he who is supreme and immense and glorious is not only pleased to dwell, but to wander far and wide on its pathways.

VII. 12. Do you not now see what heavens the Church possesses within her, and that she herself, in her universality, is an immense heaven, stretching out "from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth." Consider therefore, to what you may compare her in this respect, provided you do not forget what I mentioned a short while ago concerning the heaven of heaven and heavens of heavens. Just like our mother above, this one, though still a pilgrim, has her own heaven: spiritual men outstanding in their lives and reputations, men of genuine faith, unshaken hope, generous love, men raised to the heights of contemplation. These men rain down God's saving work like showers, reprove with a voice of thunder, shine with a splendor of miracles. They proclaim the glory of God, and stretched out like curtains over all the earth, make known the law of life and knowledge written by God's finger into their own lives, "to give knowledge of salvation to his people." They show forth the gospel of peace, because they are the curtain of Solomon.

13. In these curtains then we must discern the likeness of those heavenly figures whom we have just described as part of the Bridegroom's adornment. We must recognize too the queen standing at his right hand, decked with ornaments similar, though not equal, to his. For although she is endowed with no small share of glory and beauty even where she sojourns as a pilgrim, as well as in the day of her strength amid the splendors of the saints, yet the fullness and perfection of the glory of the blessed crowns her Bridegroom in a way that is different. If I do refer to the bride as perfect and blessed, she is not wholly so. In part she resembles the tents of Kedar; but she is also beautiful, both in that part of her which already reigns in heaven, and in those illustrious men whose wisdom and virtues grace her journey through the night, like a heaven spangled with stars. Hence the Prophet's words: "The wise leaders shall shine like the bright vault of heaven, and those who have guided the people in the true path shall be like stars for ever and ever."

14. How lowly! Yet how sublime! At the same time tent of Kedar and sanctuary of God; an earthly tent and a heavenly palace; a mud hut and a royal apartment; a body doomed to death and a temple bright with light; an object of contempt to the proud, yet the bride of Christ. She is black but beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem: for though the hardship and sorrow of prolonged exile darkens her complexion, a heavenly loveliness shines through it, the curtains of Solomon enhance it. If the swarthy skin repels you, you must still admire the beauty; if you scorn what seems lowly, you must look up with esteem to what is sublime. Indeed you must note the prudence, the great wisdom, the amount of discretion and sense of fittingness generated in the bride by that controlled interplay of lowliness and exaltation according as occasion demands, so that amid the ups and downs of this world her sublime gifts sustain her lowliness lest she succumb to adversity; while her lowliness curbs her exaltation or good fortune will bring it toppling down. These poles of her life act so harmoniously. Though of their nature opposites they will work with equal effectiveness for the good of the bride. They subserve her spiritual welfare.

15. So much for the likeness which the bride seems to postulate between her beauty and the curtains of Solomon. With regard to this same text however, we still have to explain that meaning to which I referred at the beginning of this discourse and for which I have given my promise: the extent to which the whole similitude may be applied to her blackness only. You shall not be cheated out of that promise. But it must be postponed till the next sermon, both because the length of this one demands that we do so, and in order that the customary prayers may precede all that we hope to say for the praise and glory of the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God blessed for ever. Amen.

1. You remember, I believe, to which and to whose curtains of Solomon I judged the beauty of the bride to be compared, if indeed the likeness given from these is to be referred to the commendation and display of beauty. But if it should be thought rather to refer to blackness, as also that concerning the tents of Kedar: nothing indeed occurs to me concerning curtains of Solomon of this kind, except those which the king was perhaps accustomed to use for the purpose of a tent, whenever it pleased him to dwell in tents; which certainly, if any such there were, must without doubt have been dark and foul, inasmuch as they were exposed to the daily sun and to the injuries of frequent rains. Nor was this without purpose, but so that the ornament which was stored within might be kept more bright. By this example the bride does not deny her blackness, but excuses it; nor does she count as a reproach whatever appearance charity may form and the judgment of truth may not disapprove. For who is weak, and he is not weak with him? Who is scandalized, and he does not burn? (2 Cor 11:29.) She puts on the blemish of compassion, so that in another she may lighten or heal the disease of suffering; she grows black out of zeal for radiance, for the gain of beauty.

2. The darkening of one makes many bright — not when one is stained by guilt, but when one is affected by care. It is expedient, he says, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish (Jn 11:50): it is expedient that one should be darkened for all in the likeness of sinful flesh, and that the whole nation should not be condemned by the blackness of sin: that the splendor and figure of the substance of God should be veiled in the form of a servant for the life of a servant: that the radiance of eternal life should grow black in the flesh, for the purging of the flesh: that he who is beautiful in form beyond the sons of men, for the illumination of the sons of men should be darkened in his passion, disfigured on the cross, made pale in death: that altogether there should be in him no form nor comeliness, so that he might acquire for himself a beautiful and comely bride, the Church, without spot and without wrinkle. I recognize the skin of Solomon — nay rather, I embrace Solomon himself in his black skin. Solomon too has blackness, but in his skin; outwardly black, in his skin black, not within: otherwise all the glory of the king's daughter is from within (Ps 44:3, 14). Within is the radiance of divinity, the beauty of virtues, the splendor of glory, the purity of innocence: but the more despicable color of weakness covers these things; and his countenance is as it were hidden and despised, while he is tempted in all things according to the likeness without sin. I recognize the form of a darkened nature; I recognize those tunics of skin, the garb of the first parents when they sinned (Gen 3:21). For he darkened himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and found in habit as a man (Phil 2:7). I recognize under the skin of the kid, which signifies sin, both the hand which did no sin, and the neck through which no evil thought passed; and therefore no guile was found in his mouth (Isa 53:9). I know that you are gentle by nature, meek and humble of heart, pleasant in appearance, sweet in spirit, and indeed anointed with the oil of gladness above your companions (Ps 44:8). Whence then are you now hairy and rough like Esau? Whose wrinkled and foul image is this, and whence come these hairs? They are mine: for the hairy hands express the likeness of a sinner. I recognize these hairs as my own; and in my skin I see God my Savior.

3. Yet it was not Rebecca who thus clothed him, but Mary; one so much worthier to receive the blessing, as she who bore him was holier. And rightly in my garb; because the blessing is claimed for me, the inheritance is sought for me. For he had heard: Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession (Ps 2:8). Your inheritance, he says, and your possession I will give to you. How will you give it to him, if it is his? And how do you urge him to ask for what is his? Or how is it his, if he needs to ask? Therefore he asks for me, who for this purpose put on my form, that he might take up my cause. For the chastisement of our peace was upon him, as the prophet says, and the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isa 53:5, 6): whence he had to be made like his brethren in all things, as the Apostle says, that he might become merciful (Heb 2:17). Therefore the voice indeed is the voice of Jacob; but the hands are the hands of Esau (Gen 27:22). What is heard from him is his own: what is seen in him is ours. What he speaks is spirit and life: what appears is mortal and death. One thing is discerned, and another is believed. The sense reports him black; faith proves him radiant and beautiful. He is black, but to the eyes of the foolish: for to the minds of the faithful he is exceedingly beautiful. He is black, but beautiful: black in the estimation of Herod, beautiful in the confession of the thief, in the faith of the centurion.

4. How beautiful he had perceived him to be, who exclaimed: Truly this man was the Son of God! But in what way he perceived this must be noted. For if he were attending to what appeared, how could he be beautiful, how could he be the Son of God? What but deformity and blackness met the eyes of the spectators, when with hands outstretched on the cross, in the midst of two criminals, he gave laughter to the malicious, weeping to the faithful? And he alone was for a laughingstock, who alone could have been a terror, who alone ought to have been an honor. Whence then did he perceive the beauty of the Crucified, and that he is the Son of God, who was reckoned among the wicked? (Isa 53:12.) It is neither fitting nor necessary for us to say anything to this; for neither did the diligence of the evangelist pass this over. For thus you have it: And when the centurion who stood facing him saw that he thus cried out and expired, he said: Truly this man was the Son of God (Mk 15:39). Therefore he believed at the voice, from the voice he recognized the Son of God, and not from the face. For he was perhaps of his sheep, of whom he says: My sheep hear my voice (Jn 10:27).

5. Hearing found what sight did not; the outward appearance deceived the eye, truth poured itself into the ear. The eye pronounced him weak, the eye foul, the eye wretched, the eye condemned by a most shameful death; to the ear the Son of God, to the ear he was made known as beautiful; but not to the ears of the Jews, because they were uncircumcised in their ears. Rightly did Peter cut off the ear of the servant, to make a way for truth, and that the truth might set him free, that is, make him a free man. That centurion was uncircumcised, but not in his ear, who at the single voice of the one expiring, amid so many signs of weakness, recognized the Lord of majesty. And therefore he did not despise what he saw, because he believed what he did not see. But he did not believe from what he saw; but without doubt from what he heard, because faith comes from hearing (Rom 10:17). It would indeed have been worthy for truth to enter the soul through the upper windows of the eyes; but this, O soul, is reserved for us in the future, when we shall see face to face. But now, let the remedy enter by the same way whence the disease crept in, and let life follow death along the same tracks, and light follow darkness, and the antidote of truth follow the venom of the serpent; and let it heal the eye which was troubled, so that being serene it may see him whom, when troubled, it cannot. Let the ear, the first gateway of death, be first opened also for life; let hearing, which took it away, restore sight; since unless we believe, we shall not understand. Therefore hearing is for merit, sight is for reward. Whence the Prophet says: To my hearing you shall give joy and gladness (Ps 50:10): because the faithful recompense of hearing is the blessed vision, and the merit of the blessed vision is faithful hearing. But blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Mt 5:8). Furthermore, it is needful that by faith the eye be cleansed which is to see God, as you have it: Cleansing their hearts by faith (Acts 15:9).

6. In the meantime, therefore, since sight is not yet prepared, let hearing be aroused, let hearing be exercised, let hearing receive the truth. Happy is he to whom Truth bears witness, saying: At the hearing of the ear he obeyed me (Ps 17:45). I am worthy to see, if before I see, I am found to have obeyed; I shall see securely, to whom the gift of my obedience shall have gone before. How blessed is he who says: The Lord God has opened my ear, and I do not contradict, I have not gone back (Isa 50:5). Where you have both the form of voluntary obedience, and the example of perseverance. For he who does not contradict is willing; and he who has not gone back perseveres. Both are necessary; because God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7), and he who perseveres to the end, he shall be saved (Mt 10:22). Would that the Lord would open my ear also, that the word of truth might enter into my heart, might cleanse my eye, and prepare it for the joyful vision, so that I too might say to God: The preparation of my heart your ear has heard (Ps 9:17); that I might hear from God, even I myself with the other obedient ones: And you are clean because of the word which I have spoken to you (Jn 15:3). Nor are all cleansed who hear, but those who obey: Blessed are those who hear and keep it (Lk 11:28). Such a hearing does he require who commands, saying: Hear, O Israel (Deut 6:3); such does he offer who says: Speak, Lord, for your servant hears (1 Sam 3:9); such does he pledge who says: I will hear what the Lord God speaks in me (Ps 84:9).

7. And that you may know that the Holy Spirit also observes this order in the spiritual progress of the soul, namely that he first forms the hearing before he gladdens the sight: Hear, he says, O daughter, and see (Ps 44:11). Why do you strain the eye? Prepare the ear. Do you desire to see Christ? You must first hear him, hear about him, so that when you have seen you may say: As we have heard, so we have seen (Ps 47:9). The brightness is immense, the sight is august, and you cannot attain to it. You can by hearing, but not by looking. For when God cried out: Adam, where are you? (Gen 3:9), I, a sinner, could no longer see, yet I still heard. But hearing will restore sight, if a devout, if a watchful, if a faithful hearing shall have gone before. Faith will purify what impiety troubled; and what disobedience shut, obedience will open. For: From your commandments, he says, I have gained understanding (Ps 118:104): because the observance of the commandments restores the understanding which transgression took away. Observe further in holy Isaac how above the other senses hearing flourished in the aged man. The eyes of the patriarch grow dim, the palate is deceived, the hand is fooled, the ear is not fooled. What wonder, if the ear perceives truth, since faith comes from hearing, hearing through the word of God (Rom 10:17), and the word of God is truth? The voice, he says, is the voice of Jacob. Nothing is truer. But the hands are the hands of Esau (Gen 27:22). Nothing is more false. You are deceived: the likeness of the hands has misled you. Nor is there truth in taste, even if there is sweetness. For how does he have truth who thinks he eats game, when he feeds on the flesh of domestic kids? Much less the eye, which sees nothing. There is no truth in the eye, no wisdom. Woe to you who are wise, he says, in your own eyes! (Isa 5:21.) Not good is the wisdom which is cursed. It is of the world, and therefore foolishness before God (1 Cor 3:19).

8. Good and true wisdom is drawn from hidden things, as blessed Job understands (Job 28:18). Why do you seek it outwardly in the bodily sense? Taste is in the palate, wisdom is in the heart. Do not seek wisdom in the eye of flesh, because flesh and blood do not reveal it, but the spirit (Mt 16:17). Not in the taste of the mouth: for neither is it found in the land of those who live in pleasures (Job 28:13). Not in the touch of the hand, since the holy man says: If I have kissed my hand with my mouth, which is a very great iniquity, and a denial of God (Job 31:27, 28). Which I think happens when the gift of God, which is wisdom, is ascribed not to God but to the merits of actions. Isaac was wise, yet he erred in his senses. Hearing alone possesses truth, because it perceives the word. Rightly is the woman who thinks in a carnal way forbidden to touch the risen flesh of the Word; for she gave more credit to the eye than to the oracle, that is, to the sense of the flesh rather than to the word of God. For him whom she had seen dead, she did not believe risen, though he himself had promised this. And so the eye did not rest, until the sight was satisfied; because there was no consolation of faith, nor was the promise of God held firm. Do not heaven and earth, and whatever the eye of the flesh can reach, have to pass away and perish, before one iota or one tittle of all the things which God has spoken? And yet she ceased from weeping at the sight of her eye, she who would not be consoled by the word of the Lord; esteeming experience more than faith. But experience is deceitful.

9. She is therefore sent to the more certain knowledge of faith; which indeed apprehends what sense does not know, what experience does not find. Do not touch me, he says (Jn 20:17): that is: Unaccustom yourself from this seducible sense; lean upon the word, accustom yourself to faith. Faith knows not how to be deceived; faith comprehending invisible things does not feel the poverty of sense. Indeed it passes beyond the limits even of human reason, the use of nature, the boundaries of experience. Why do you ask the eye for what it cannot reach? And why does the hand try to explore what is above itself? Whatever the one or the other reports is too little. Let faith pronounce concerning me, which diminishes nothing from majesty. Learn to hold that more certain, to follow that more safely, which faith shall have persuaded. Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father (Jn 20:17). As if indeed when he shall have ascended, he would then wish or be able to be touched by her. And indeed she will be able, but by affection, not by hand; by desire, not by eye; by faith, not by the senses. Why do you, he says, now seek to touch me, you who estimate the glory of the resurrection by bodily sense? Do you not know that in the time of my mortality the eyes of the disciples were unable to bear the glory of the body transfigured for a time, destined to die? (Mt 17:6.) Indeed I still comply with your senses, presenting the servile form, which you may recognize by custom. But my glory has been made wonderful beyond you, it has been strengthened, and you cannot reach it. Defer therefore your judgment, suspend your verdict, and do not entrust the determination of so great a matter to sense; reserve it for faith. She will determine more worthily, she will determine more certainly, because she will comprehend more fully. Indeed she comprehends in that mystical and profound embrace of hers, what is the length, the breadth, the height, and the depth. What eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, she carries within herself as though enclosed in a certain wrapping, and keeps it sealed.

10. She therefore will worthily touch me, who will receive me seated with the Father, no longer in humble garb, but in heavenly: in the flesh itself, but in another appearance. Why do you wish to touch the deformed? Wait, that you may touch the beautiful. For he who is deformed now, will then be beautiful; deformed to touch, deformed to sight; deformed indeed to you who are deformed, because you cling more to the senses and less to faith. Be beautiful, and touch me; be faithful, and you are beautiful. Beautiful, you will touch the beautiful one both more worthily and more happily. You will touch with the hand of faith, with the finger of desire, with the embrace of devotion; you will touch with the eye of the mind. But is he still black? Far from it! Your beloved is radiant and ruddy. Beautiful indeed is he whom the flowers of roses and the lilies of the valleys surround; that is, the choirs of martyrs and of virgins: and I who sit in the midst am in harmony with both choirs, a virgin and a martyr. For how am I not in accord with the bright choirs of virgins, I a virgin, the son of a Virgin, and the bridegroom of a virgin? How am I not in accord with the rosy choirs of martyrs, I who am the cause, the power, the fruit, and the pattern of martyrdom? Touch me, such a one, in such a way, and say: My beloved is radiant and ruddy, chosen out of thousands (Song 5:10). Thousands upon thousands are with the beloved, and ten hundred thousands around the beloved, and none is equal to the beloved. Will you need to fear lest perhaps by some mistake you fall upon one of the multitude, when seeking him whom you love? You will not at all be in doubt whom to choose. Easily will the one chosen out of thousands meet you, more distinguished than all, and you will say: This one is beautiful in his robe, striding in the multitude of his strength (Isa 63:1). Not therefore in the black skin, which until now indeed had to be presented to the eyes of persecutors, that they might despise the one to be killed; or even to the eyes of friends, that they might recognize the one risen. Not, I say, will he now appear in the black skin, but in a white garment, beautiful in form, not only beyond the sons of men, but even beyond the faces of the angels. Why do you wish to touch me in humble garb, in servile form, in contemptible appearance? Touch me, beautiful in heavenly appearance, crowned with glory and honor; awesome indeed in divine majesty, but pleasing and gentle in inborn serenity.

11. Amid these things the prudence of the bride must be noted, and the depth of her words, who under the figure of the curtains of Solomon, that is, in the flesh, searched out God; in death, life; the summit of glory and honor amid reproaches; and under the black garb of the crucified, the radiance of innocence and the splendor of virtues, just as those curtains, though they were black and despised, preserved within themselves the precious and most bright ornaments of the exceedingly rich king. Rightly she does not despise the blackness in the curtains, perceiving the beauty which is beneath the curtains. And therefore some despised her, because they did not at all recognize this beauty: for if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:8). Herod did not recognize it, and therefore he despised him; the Synagogue did not recognize it, which, reproaching him with the blackness of his passion and weakness, said: He saved others, himself he cannot save. Let Christ the king of Israel descend now from the cross, and we will believe him (Mt 27:42). But the thief recognized it from the cross, though on the cross, who both confessed the purity of his innocence, saying: But this man, what evil has he done? and at the same time declared the glory of royal majesty: Remember me, he said, when you come into your kingdom (Lk 23:41, 42). The centurion recognized it, who proclaimed him the Son of God (Mt 27:54); the Church recognizes it, which both emulates his blackness, that she may share in his beauty. She is not ashamed to be seen as black, to be called black, so that she may say to her beloved: The reproaches of those who reproached you have fallen upon me (Ps 68:10). But she is black after the manner of the curtains of Solomon, outwardly that is, and not within: for my Solomon does not have blackness within. For she does not say: I am black like Solomon; but, like the curtains of Solomon: because the blackness of the true Peacemaker is on the surface only. The blackness of sin is within; and guilt first stains the interior before it comes forth to the eyes. For from the heart come evil thoughts, thefts, murders, adulteries, blasphemies: and these are the things which defile a man (Mt 15:19, 20); but far be it from Solomon! You will by no means find defilements of this kind in the true Peacemaker. For it is necessary that he who takes away the sins of the world be without sin, so that being found suitable for reconciling sinners, he may rightly claim for himself the name of Solomon.

12. But there is a blackness of afflicting penance, when lamentation is taken up for transgressions. This perhaps Solomon would not abhor in me, if nevertheless I willingly put it on for my sins; because a contrite and humbled heart God will not despise (Ps 50:19). There is also a blackness of compassion that affects, if you share in the suffering of the afflicted; and a brother's misfortune discolors you. Nor does our Peacemaker think that this is to be rejected, since he himself graciously put it on for our sake, he who bore our sins in his body upon the tree (1 Pet 2:24). There is also one of persecution: which is even held as the highest adornment, if indeed it is undertaken for justice and truth. Whence is that saying: The disciples went away rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they were deemed worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus (Acts 5:41); and again: Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of justice (Mt 5:10). In this especially I judge the Church to glory, this she more gladly imitates from the curtains of the bridegroom. Indeed she also has it in the promise: If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you (Jn 15:20).

It is said concerning the church of the Gentiles, "I am dark and beautiful, O daughter of Jerusalem." Why is the church dark and beautiful? She is dark by nature, beautiful by grace. Why dark? "Indeed, in guilt was I born, and in sin my mother conceived me." Why beautiful? "Cleanse me of sin with hyssop, that I may be purified; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

We read in the Song of Songs of the church which bears the image of the Lord Savior, "I am black and beautiful," that is, black physically and beautiful in heavenly merits. He demonstrates why he used the word beautiful: as Christ put it, the world was reconciled to God through grace. - "Exposition of the Psalms 44.3"

Concerning the church which bears the image of the Lord Savior, one reads the following passages in Song of Songs: "I am black and beautiful," that is, black with regard to the physical body, but beautiful because of heavenly merits. Then he shows why he used the term beautiful: as Christ says, the world was reconciled to God by grace.

It adds, "I was dark and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem." I have to confess that I am astonished at how the church is here called dark and beautiful, since it is not possible for what is dark to be beautiful. How can something dark be so beautiful, or something beautiful be so dark? But pay attention to the mystery of the Word and see how elevated is the sense with which the Holy Spirit speaks. The church called herself dark on account of those from the Gentiles who would become believers, all of whom were seen to be blackened with the filthy smoke of idolatry and sepulcher of sacrifices. But they were made beautiful through faith in Christ and the holiness of the Spirit, whom they received. Hence she said, "I was dark" because she had not yet seen herself as the sun.

The bride further speaks to her pupils of an amazing fact about herself in order that we might learn of the bridegroom's immense love for humankind who added beauty to the beloved [bride] through such love. "Do not marvel," she says, "that righteousness has loved me." Although I have become dark through sin and have dwelt in gloom by my deeds, the bridegroom made me beautiful through his love, having exchanged his very own beauty for my disgrace. After taking the filth of my sins upon himself, he allowed me to share his own purity, and filled me with his beauty. He who first made me lovely from my own repulsiveness has showed his love for me.…The bride says, although the beauty given to me by being loved by righteousness now shines forth, I still realize that in the beginning I was not radiant but black. My former life has created this dark, shadowy appearance. Although I am black, I am now this beautiful form, for the image of darkness has been transformed into beauty.… Then the text adds further words for strengthening the minds of its pupils. The cause of darkness is not ascribed to the Creator, but its origin is attributed to the free will of each person.

We know that in the beginnings of the Church, when the grace of our Redeemer had been preached, some believed and others did not believe; but those who believed were despised by the unbelievers, and having suffered a kind of persecution, were judged to have departed, as it were, into the way of the Gentiles. Whence the Church in those same persons cries out against those who were not converted: "I am black, but beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem." I am black indeed by your judgment, but beautiful through the illumination of grace. How black? "Like the tents of Kedar." Kedar is interpreted as "darkness"; for Kedar was the second of the lineage of Ishmael, and the tents of Kedar were the tents of Esau. How then black like the tents of Kedar? Because in your sight I have been judged after the likeness of the Gentiles, that is, after the likeness of sinners. How beautiful like the curtain of Solomon? It is reported that when Solomon built the temple, he covered all those vessels of the temple with curtains of skin. But surely the skins of Solomon could be beautiful in the service of the king. But since Solomon is interpreted as "peaceful," let us understand him as the true Solomon; for all souls clinging to God are skins of Solomon, mortifying themselves and returning to the service of the King of peace. I am indeed in judgment like the tents of Kedar, since I am judged to have departed, as it were, into the way of the Gentiles; but according to the truth I am like the curtain of Solomon, because I cling to the service of the King.

"I am black and beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem." I am a sinner, but even more, I am beautiful, because Christ loved me. "I am black and beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem." All nations, come and gather and look at me, the beloved. "Do not marvel at my countenance because I am darkened or because the sun's glance has made me swarthy." … Nor is it because Christ has despised me, since [Scripture] calls him the true sun, for it says, "And the sun of righteousness will appear to you who fear my name."

Born, in the first instance, of such parentage we are naturally black. Even when we have repented, so long as we have not scaled the heights of virtue, we may still say, "I am black but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem." … "For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be" not as is there said, "of one flesh" but "of one spirit." Your bridegroom is not haughty or disdainful; he has "married an Ethiopian woman." When once you desire the wisdom of the true Solomon and come to him, he will avow all his knowledge to you; he will lead you into his chamber with his royal hand. He will miraculously change your complexion so that it shall be said of you, "Who is this that goes up and has been made white?"

"I am dark and lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the coverings of Solomon." In other manuscripts we read, "I am black and lovely." Again in this passage the character of the bride is introduced as the one speaking, but she is not speaking to those young women who are accustomed to run with her, but "to the daughters of Jerusalem." Although they have derided her for her hideousness, she seems to answer them and say "I am indeed dark" or "black" as far as the color is concerned, "O daughters of Jerusalem," but I am "beautiful, if someone should examine the internal liniments of the limbs." For he also says "tents of Kedar," which is a great nation. They are "black" and the very name of the people "Kedar" means blackness or darkness. But also the "coverings of Solomon" are black and nonetheless the blackness of the coverings did not seem unsightly to the king in all his glory. …This covers the historical drama and the quasi-story that has been set forth. But let us return to the mystical interpretation. This bride who speaks represents the church gathered from the Gentiles; but the "daughters of Jerusalem," with whom she hold this discourse … are the daughters of this earthly Jerusalem, who see the church from the Gentiles, although they see her as lowborn because she cannot ascribe to herself the noble quality of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.… Responding to these things, she says, "Indeed I am black, O daughters of Jerusalem," inasmuch as I am not a descendant from the stock of famous men and I did not receive the illumination of the law of Moses, but I have my beauty with me. For also in me there is that first quality, namely that I was created in the image of God; and now that I have drawn near to the Word of God, I have received my beauty. … I am indeed "black" because of the baseness of my ancestry, but I am "beautiful" because of my repentance and faith. For I received the Son of God in me, I received the Word made flesh. I drew near to him, who is the image of God, the firstborn of all creation and who is the splendor of the glory and the image of the substance of God, and I was made beautiful.… But this can be said about each and every soul that is converted to repentance after very many sins: it was "black" owing to its sins, but "beautiful" because of its repentance and the fruits of repentance.

Thus some such process also happens to us who are in generation. We are dark at the beginning in believing—hence in the beginning of the Canticle of Canticles it is said, "I am very dark and beautiful," and we look like the soul of an Ethiopian at the beginning—then we are cleansed so that we may be more bright according to the passage, "Who is she who comes up whitened?"

[Solomon] took Pharaoh's daughter as his wife. But … she was dark, as all the Egyptian and Ethiopian women are.… The Hebrews and their beautiful wives, and the other princesses as well, ridiculed her on account of her unseemliness, her small height and her dark complexion. To avoid any irritation on her part and so that no hostility would result between him and the Pharaoh, Solomon exclusively built for her a house of valuable stones [and decorated it] with gold and silver. During the meals he chanted [the Song of Songs] in her presence in order to honor her, and he made known with it that she was dark yet beautiful and loved by him.

The bride is saying this no longer to the young girls but to those taking pride in the law, glorying and boasting, and reproaching her not only for her foreign origins but also for her former superstition and the black color coming from it. Hence she says to them, "I am not only black but also beautiful: though once blind, I gained my sight, and though once clad in rags, I am now clothed in a vesture of gold, of a rich variety, enjoying the king's regard. I attend on the king, displacing you for raging against the king, delivering him to death, and defiling the bridal chamber with a series of adulteries. So do not reproach me for my black color, nor bring my former vices to the fore: I am black, I admit, but beautiful and pleasing to the bridegroom.… I too am Ethiopian, then, but the bride of the great lawgiver, daughter of a Midianite priest, an idolatrous man. I forgot my people and my father's house—hence the king desired my beauty.""So do not gaze on me for my being black, because the sun looked at me; you will see me, black though I now am, made white, and you will cry out, 'Who is this who emerges in her whiteness?' I shall tell you also the reason for this blackness: I became black through worshiping creation instead of the Creator, and adoring this visible sun instead of the sun of righteousness. But I saw the difference between the one and the other, and forsook the creature to worship the Creator. So do not gaze on me for being blackened because the sun looked at me—or, as Symmachus says, fastened upon me. In fact, 'I am black and beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem': black as a result of the former impiety, beautiful as a result of repentance; black as a result of unbelief, beautiful as a result of belief. I was as black 'as the tents of Kedar,' which means darkness; I became beautiful 'like Solomon's curtains.' "

In the Song of Songs the bride cries aloud, "I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem"—"black" in the sense of deceived, besmirched by the stench of wild beasts, and "beautiful" in the sense of awaiting for your arrival from heaven as Lord for the sake of my salvation. He suggested at the same time both the gloom of impiety and the charm given by divine grace.

Do not consider me because I am dark, etc. Which is to say openly: Do not marvel at me, O daughters of Jerusalem, that is, souls devoted to God, because I am despised by men, because the heat of temptations, which for my inner beauty I do not cease to endure, has rendered me outwardly dark, whom, nonetheless, the heavenly grace has granted to be inwardly charming. Which is like the apostle Peter: Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings (1 Peter 4). And indeed, sometimes the name of the Lord Himself is signified by the sun, as it is said of His ascension: The sun was lifted up, and the moon stood still in its place; sometimes of His chosen ones, as He says: The righteous shall shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matthew 13). But in this place, it is better that the fervor of tribulations be figured by the appellation of the sun, according to what He Himself says about seeds sown on the rock: When the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away (Matthew 13). Which, later explaining it, He says thus: When tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away (Matthew 13), clearly declaring that tribulation and persecution are figured by the term "sun." Just as those who reside quietly at home often have whiter limbs, while those who work in the vineyard or garden or any other outdoor labor often have darker limbs due to much sun, so does the holy Church, the more earnestly she girds herself for spiritual combat, perceive fiercer snares of the old enemy rising against her. And just as the sinner is often praised in the desires of his soul, and he who commits iniquity is blessed, so sometimes the just man is reproached in the virtues of his soul; and he who acts rightly is cursed, as Paul attests, who says: We bless when reviled; we endure persecution; when slandered, we entreat (1 Corinthians 4). But He Himself, whose cause it is for which it happens, teaches the faithful that this ensnarement of blasphemy should be of little account, indeed that they should rejoice in it, saying, "Blessed are you when men curse you; and if they persecute you and say all manner of evil against you, and so forth (Matthew V)." Because therefore the holy Church sees itself adorned internally with faith and virtues, but bears witness that it is burned externally by persecutions, it remains to show whence it endured the first rage of persecution...

"The sons of my mother fought against me, etc." It is the voice of the primitive Church, which receives the wars of tribulations from the Synagogue itself, from which it derives its carnal origin, as the Acts of the Apostles most fully teach. In this sentence, firstly, it must be noted that the bride of Christ rightly asserts that she has been darkened by the sun, who used to work as a subordinate laborer cultivating and guarding the vineyard. There was, however, one vineyard of Christ in Jerusalem, namely the primitive Church itself, which on the day of Pentecost, that is, on the fiftieth day after the resurrection of the Lord, was dedicated by the coming of the Holy Spirit. At that time, its guardians were the apostles themselves. But after the persecution occurred, during the time of the blessed martyr Stephen, all were dispersed throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles, it happened that there were many vineyards, that is, many churches of Christ in various places, preaching the word to those who were dispersed here and there. Indeed, by the action of divine providence, this dispersion of the Church of Jerusalem was the occasion for establishing many churches. Hence it is well that our codices have "They were scattered;" in Greek it says diesparisan, that is, "they were disseminated throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria." And shortly after, "Those who were disseminated went about evangelizing the word of God:" because the Jewish persecutors, indeed wishing to overthrow the Church, unwillingly spread the seed of the word more widely, and by persecuting one Church in Jerusalem, unwillingly caused many Churches to exist widely. So, when the primitive Church said it was darkened by afflictions, because the sons of its mother, that is, the parricidal Synagogue, hated and attacked it, it immediately added how much it had profited from these same afflictions, adding in the person of those to whom the care of preaching was entrusted: "They made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept."

And as if to say openly, "The bitterness of my persecutors has brought me such advantage and utility, that I have become the keeper of many vineyards, that is, churches of Christ, after the primitive vineyard, that is, the Church which I first began to establish and guard in Jerusalem, was scattered by their multitude. But the not keeping of the vineyard is to be referred not to the mind, but to the place: for indeed at that time, a significant part of the Church withdrew from Jerusalem due to persecution, which nonetheless retained the entire integrity of faith fixed in the heart, and even took up the duty of preaching with devout mouth, as we have said before. Some think that this phrase, 'They made me the keeper in the vineyards, my own vineyard I have not kept,' should be distinguished in such a way that by the name of 'vineyard,' the Church of Christ is indicated; but by the appellation 'vineyards,' the various decrees of the law and the diverse traditions of the Pharisees are understood. And they say, 'They have placed the Church among the vineyards,' who compelled the faithful to be circumcised, and to observe the ceremonies of the carnal law. Among these was he who said, 'And frequently punishing them in all the synagogues who believed, I will persecute them even to foreign cities' (Acts XXII). Therefore, he did not keep his own vineyard, with no small number of the faithful being scattered by him from Jerusalem, as if hewing down the branches of the heavenly vineyard. Yet the root of it could by no means be uprooted. But because the greater the adversity that tempts the faith of the elect, the more urgently it is necessary that they invoke the Redeemer's help, fittingly the holy Church, after lamenting that the sons of her mother rose up against her, and that her vineyard was shaken by their invasion, mindful of the Lord's promise where He said, 'In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world' (John XVI), with a solicitous heart turned to Him, prays...

SERMON 30: HOW THE FAITHFUL PEOPLE OR THE ELECT SOULS ARE SIGNIFIED BY VINEYARDS, OF WHICH THE CHURCH IS CALLED THE KEEPER; AND ON THE PRUDENCE OF THE FLESH, WHICH IS DEATH.

1. "They set me as keeper in the vineyards" (Song 1:6). Who? Those very assailants of yours whom you just mentioned? Listen and understand, whether she does not confess herself to have been promoted by those very ones from whom she also suffered. Nor is it a wonder, however, if indeed the intention of correcting was the cause of the fighting. For who does not know that many have been many times assailed in a friendly and useful manner? How many do we daily experience advancing to better things, being promoted to higher things, by the pious assaults of their superiors? Therefore let us rather demonstrate, if we can, in what manner war was waged against the Church by the sons of her mother, both with hostile intent and with useful harm. For this is more delightful, when those who intend to harm are beneficial even against their will. Both senses, indeed, the foregoing interpretation holds: since there were not lacking those who emulated her both well and badly, fighting with different intention; but both were profitable to her. In the end she glories to have profited so much from those things which she suffered from her rivals, that in place of one vineyard, which they seemed to have taken from her, she rejoices that she has been set over many. This, she says, they accomplished for me by fighting against me and against my vineyard, who say: "Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation thereof" (Ps 137:7), so that I exchanged one for many. For this is what she adds, "My own vineyard I have not kept": as though appending the reason whence it befell her, that she was set as keeper no longer in one, but in many. And the letter indeed stands thus.

2. But if we follow it simply, content with that alone which it seems to sound on the surface, we shall think ourselves to be reading in Holy Scripture about those bodily and earthly vineyards which we daily see receiving from the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, whence they pour forth wine, in which is wantonness: and so we shall seem to have brought forth nothing, I do not say worthy of the Lord's bride, but not even anything fitting for any of the rest, from so holy and divine a Scripture. For what agreement is there between brides and the keeping of vineyards? But even if it be thought fitting, whence shall we show that the Church was ever assigned to such an office? "Does God care about vineyards?" But if in a spiritual sense we interpret vineyards as Churches, that is, faithful peoples, according to the meaning of the prophet who says, "The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel" (Isa 5:7), it will begin perhaps to become clear to us how it is by no means unworthy of the bride to be made keeper in the vineyards.

3. I think that no small prerogative moreover will appear even in this very thing, if anyone more diligently takes care to observe how much she has everywhere throughout the world extended her borders into vineyards of this kind from that day when she was assaulted and driven out from Jerusalem by the sons of her mother, together with that first new plantation of hers; I mean the multitude of believers, of whom it is read that they were "of one heart and one soul" (Acts 4:32). And this is the one which she now confesses she has by no means kept, but not unto foolishness to herself. For she was not so uprooted from there in the persecution that she was not planted elsewhere, and let out to other farmers who would render its fruits in their seasons. Not at all, it did not perish, but migrated; it even grew and was enlarged, as one whom the Lord blessed. Finally, lift up your eyes, and see if "the mountains are not covered with its shadow, and its branches the cedars of God; if it has not stretched forth its branches unto the sea, and its shoots unto the river" (Ps 80:10-11). Nor is it a wonder, for "it is God's building, it is God's field" (1 Cor 3:9). He himself makes it fruitful, he himself propagates it, he himself prunes and cleanses it, that it may bring forth more fruit. For when would he forsake with his care or his labor that which his right hand has planted? Surely it is not to be considered neglected, in which the apostles are the branches, the Lord is the vine, and his Father is the farmer (Jn 15:2, 5, 1). Planted in faith, it sends forth roots in love, dug about with the hoe of discipline, fertilized with the tears of penitents, watered with the words of preachers: and so indeed abounding with wine in which is gladness, but not wantonness; wine of all sweetness, of no lust. This wine certainly gladdens the heart of man; this even the angels are known to drink with gladness. For they rejoice at the conversion and repentance of sinners, thirsting for the salvation of men. The tears of penitents are their wine, because in them is the odor of life, the savor of grace, the taste of pardon, the joy of reconciliation, the soundness of returning innocence, the sweetness of a serene conscience.

4. Therefore from that one vineyard, which the tempest of savage persecution seemed to have destroyed, how many have been propagated throughout all the earth and have flourished again? And in all these the bride has been set as keeper, so that she should not be saddened that she did not keep the first vineyard. Be consoled, daughter of Zion: if blindness in part has befallen Israel, what do you lose? Marvel at the mystery, and do not lament the loss: enlarge your bosom, and gather in the fullness of the Gentiles. Say to the cities of Judah: "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold we turn to the Gentiles" (Acts 13:46). To Moses indeed it was offered by God, if he wished to dismiss the transgressing people and expose them to divine vengeance, that he himself could be made into a great nation: but he refused (Ex 32:9-13). Why? On account, surely, of the exceeding love by which he was strongly bound to that people; and because he was not seeking the things that were his own, but the honor of God, and not what would be useful to himself, but to many. And he indeed thus.

5. But I think by a more secret counsel this gift was divinely reserved, on account of its greatness, for the bride, so that she herself rather, and not Moses, should be sent unto a great nation. For it was not fitting that the friend of the bridegroom should snatch beforehand the bride's blessing; and therefore not indeed Moses, but the new bride, to whom it is said: "Go into all the world, preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mk 16:15); she, I say, was utterly sent unto a great nation. Could she have been sent to a greater one than to the whole world? And the whole world easily yielded to one bearing peace, offering grace. But the grace is not as the law. With how dissimilar a countenance do the sweetness of the one and the severity of the other present themselves to every conscience! Who indeed looks equally upon one who condemns and one who consoles, one who demands and one who pardons, one who strikes and one who embraces? Not with equal desire surely will shadow and light, wrath and peace, judgment and mercy, figure and truth, rod and inheritance, bridle and kiss be received. Heavy indeed were the hands of Moses, as Aaron and Hur witness (Ex 17:12); heavy was the yoke of the Law, as the apostles themselves witness, who cry out that it was unbearable both for themselves and for their fathers (Acts 15:10); a heavy yoke, and a cheap reward: for the promise is of land. For such things Moses was not sent unto a great nation. But you, Mother Church, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come, easily in a twofold grace obtain from all that you be received, both on account of the sweet yoke and on account of the sublime kingdom. Driven from the city, you are received by the whole world, since what you promise so entices that what you impose does not terrify. Why do you still lament the loss of one vineyard, when it has been compensated to you with such great interest? "Because you were forsaken, and hated, and there was none who passed through you: I will make you," he says, "an everlasting pride, a joy from generation to generation; and you shall suck the milk of the Gentiles, and you shall be nursed at the breast of kings; and you shall know that I am the Lord who saves you, and your redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" (Isa 60:15-16). In such a manner, therefore, the bride says she was set as keeper in the vineyards, and that she did not keep her own vineyard.

6. I, on the occasion of this passage, am accustomed to reproach myself, because I have undertaken the care of souls who was not sufficient to keep my own; interpreting vineyards as souls. And if you too approve this interpretation of ours, see also consequently whether we rightly say as well: faith is the vine; the virtues, the branches; the cluster, the work; the devotion, the wine. Since indeed neither is a branch anything without the vine, nor a virtue anything without faith. For "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb 11:6); and perhaps it will even be necessary to displease him. In the end, "everything that is not from faith is sin" (Rom 14:23). This therefore those who set me as keeper in the vineyards ought to have considered, namely whether I had kept my own. But for how long a time it lay uncultivated and desolate, reduced to a wilderness! Wine had utterly failed from it, the branches of the virtues having withered because of the barrenness of faith. There was faith, but it was dead. For how was it not dead without works? And this indeed in secular life. But having been converted to the Lord, I began, I confess, to keep it somewhat better; yet not as was fitting. And who indeed is sufficient for this? Not even the holy Prophet, who says: "Unless the Lord guard the city, he watches in vain who guards it" (Ps 127:1). How many ambushes I remember being exposed to even then from him who "shoots in secret at the blameless"! How much was stolen from us, O my vineyard, by furtive machinations in that very time when we began more vigilantly to attend to the care and custody of ourselves! How many and what quality of clusters of pious works did either anger choke, or boasting carry off, or empty glory defile! How much did we endure from the enticement of gluttony, how much from the spirit of sloth, how much from "faintheartedness of spirit and tempest"! So I was: and nevertheless they set me as keeper in the vineyards, not considering what I was doing or had done with my own, nor heeding the master who reproves and says: "If anyone does not know how to govern his own house, how shall he take care of the Church of God?" (1 Tim 3:5).

7. I marvel at the audacity of many, whom we see gathering nothing from their own vineyards but thorns and thistles, yet not fearing to thrust themselves even upon the Lord's vineyards. They are thieves and robbers, not keepers, nor cultivators. This to them. But woe to me even now from the peril of my vineyard! Nay, rather more now, when being occupied with many things, I am compelled to become less diligent and less solicitous about the one. It is not permitted to surround it with a hedge, nor to dig a winepress in it. Alas! "Its wall is broken down, and all who pass by the way plunder it" (Ps 80:12). It lies open, exposed to sadness, a pathway for anger and impatience. Certain busy little foxes of pressing necessities tear it down; from every side anxieties, suspicions, and cares break in; crowds of quarrelers, troublesome cases are rarely absent for an hour. There is no ability to prohibit, no possibility of escaping, not even space for praying. With what shower of tears shall I suffice to drench the barrenness of my soul? (Ps 35:12.) I meant to say "of my vineyard," but it fell out so from the psalm because of habit, and the meaning is the same; nor does the error displease me which reminds me of the likeness, because the sermon is not about a vineyard but about a soul. Therefore let the soul be understood when a vineyard is read; since under its appearance and name the barrenness of the soul is bewailed. With what tears, then, shall I water the barrenness of my vineyard? All its branches have withered for want; they lie without fruit, because they have no moisture. O good Jesus! What bundles of vine-branches from them does the burning of my contrite heart, with you as witness, daily consume in your sacrifice! Let it be, I beseech you, a sacrifice to you, "a troubled spirit; a contrite and humbled heart, O God, do not despise" (Ps 51:17).

8. And I indeed thus, on account of my imperfection, draw the present passage to myself. But everyone who is perfect will be able to say otherwise: "My own vineyard I have not kept"; in that sense, indeed, in which the Savior speaks in the Gospel, "Whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it" (Mt 10:39). Fit indeed and worthy to be set as keeper in the vineyards is he whom the care of his own vineyard does not impede or delay from the diligence and solicitude of those committed to him; while he does not seek the things that are his own, nor what is useful to himself, but what is useful to many. For this reason indeed that care was entrusted to Peter in so many vineyards which were of the circumcision, because the man was prepared to go both "to prison and to death" (Lk 22:33), to such a degree was he not held back by love of his own vineyard, that is, of his own soul, from attending to the care of those entrusted to him. Deservedly also to Paul among the Gentiles was entrusted so vast a forest of vineyards, because he too was found to be by no means anxious in the custody of his own vineyard; so that he was prepared not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem "for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 21:13). Finally: "I fear none of these things," he says, "nor do I make my soul more precious than myself" (Acts 20:24). An excellent appraiser of things, who judges that nothing of his own should be preferred to himself.

9. How many have preferred a small and worthless sum of money to their own salvation! Paul did not even prefer his soul. "I do not," he says, "make it more precious than myself." Therefore you make a distinction between yourself and your soul? Prudently indeed you are of more worth to yourself than anything that is yours. But how is your soul not you? I judge that because Paul already at that time walked in the spirit, and in his mind consented to the law of God because it is good (Rom 7:16); for this reason he deemed this very mind of his, as a certain principal and supreme part of himself, worthy to be designated rather by the name of himself than of any possession of his; but the remainder, which is established to be of an inferior nature and therefore to cling to the inferior and cheaper essence, which is the body; not only by the office of vivifying and giving sensation, but also by the desire of nourishing and cherishing: this, I say, being sensual and carnal, the spiritual man, judging it unworthy of the appellation of himself, reckoned it should rather be counted among his possessions than that he should be personally expressed through it. "When I say 'me,'" he says, "understand that which is more excellent in me, in which I also stand by the grace of God, that is, the mind and reason. When I speak of 'my soul,' take it in the lower sense, that which you see accommodated to animating the flesh, and even joined to it in concupiscence. That I was this, but now am no longer, I acknowledge, because I no longer walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit" (Rom 8:4). "I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me" (Gal 2:20). According to the mind, I; according to the flesh, not I. For what if the soul even now desires carnally? "It is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells in me" (Rom 7:17). And therefore I would call what in me savors carnally not indeed myself, but nevertheless mine, and that nothing other than the soul itself. For truly the carnal affection of the soul is a portion of it, and the life which it administers to the body. This soul, therefore, Paul despised in comparison with himself, prepared for the Lord's sake not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem, and so to lose his soul according to the Lord's counsel.

10. You also, if you forsake your own will, if you perfectly renounce the pleasures of the body, if you crucify your flesh with its vices and concupiscences, and also mortify your members which are upon the earth: you will prove yourself an imitator of Paul, in that you do not make your soul more precious than yourself; you will prove yourself also a disciple of Christ, even by losing it in a salutary way. And indeed more prudently do you lose it in order to keep it, than keep it in order to lose it. "For whoever would save his soul, shall lose it" (Mt 16:25). What do you say here, you observers of foods, neglecters of character? Hippocrates and his followers teach to save souls in this world; Christ and his disciples, to lose them. Which of the two do you choose to follow as master? But he makes himself obvious who argues thus: this harms the eyes, this harms the head, and that harms the chest or the stomach. Certainly each one brings forth into the open what he has learned from his own master. Have you read these distinctions in the Gospel, or in the prophets, or in the letters of the apostles? "Flesh and blood have surely revealed this wisdom to you, not the Spirit of the Father"; for this is "the wisdom of the flesh." But hear what our physicians think of it. "The wisdom of the flesh," they say, "is death"; likewise: "The wisdom of the flesh is hostile to God" (Rom 8:6-7). Ought I to have set before you the opinion of Hippocrates or Galen, or surely from the school of Epicurus? I am a disciple of Christ; I speak to disciples of Christ: if I introduce a foreign doctrine, I myself have sinned. Epicurus and Hippocrates, the one puts forward the pleasure of the body, the other good physical condition; my Master preaches contempt for both. The life of the soul in the body, which the one with utmost zeal inquires whence to sustain, the other whence even to delight, and teaches others to inquire, the Savior counsels even to lose.

11. For what else sounded to you from the lecture hall of Christ, when just a little while ago it was proclaimed: "He who loves his soul shall lose it"? (Jn 12:25.) "He shall lose it," he said, whether by laying it down as a martyr, or by afflicting it as a penitent. Although it is a kind of martyrdom to mortify the deeds of the flesh by the spirit; milder indeed in horror than that in which the limbs are cut by the sword, but more troublesome by reason of its duration. Do you see that by this judgment of my Master the wisdom of the flesh is condemned, through which either one flows away into the excess of pleasure, or even a good state of bodily health is desired beyond what is fitting? Indeed, that true wisdom does not flow out into pleasures, you have heard from the Wise Man, that it is "not even to be found in the land of those who live pleasantly" (Job 28:13). But he who found it says: "Beyond health and all beauty I loved wisdom" (Wis 7:10). If beyond health and beauty, how much more beyond pleasure and baseness? But what does it profit to abstain from pleasures and to spend daily care investigating the diversities of bodily constitutions and inquiring into varieties of foods? "Legumes," he says, "are gaseous, cheese burdens the stomach, milk harms the head, the chest cannot endure a drink of water, cabbages nourish melancholy, leeks inflame choler, fish from a pond or from muddy water are entirely unsuited to my constitution." What is this, that in all the rivers, fields, gardens, and cellars there can hardly be found something for you to eat?

12. Consider yourself, I beg, to be a monk, not a physician; and judgment is to be made not from your bodily constitution but from your profession. Spare, I beseech you, first indeed your own tranquility, spare then the labor of those who serve, spare the burden on the house, spare conscience. Conscience, I say, not yours, but another's; namely of him who sits near you, and eating what is set before him, murmurs about your singular fasting. For it is a scandal to him either your hateful superstition, or the harshness which he perhaps attributes to the one who is supposed to provide for you. He is scandalized, I say, in your singularity, the brother judging you superstitious, as one seeking superfluous things; or surely blaming me as harsh, who do not seek out the necessities for your diet. In vain do certain ones flatter themselves with the example of Paul, who urged his disciple not to drink water but to use a little wine on account of his stomach and his frequent infirmities (1 Tim 5:23). They ought to attend first indeed that the Apostle by no means urged a thing of this kind upon himself, nor did the disciple equally demand it for himself. Then that this was intimated not to a monk, but to a bishop, whose life was absolutely necessary to the still tender and newborn Church. This was Timothy. Give me another Timothy; and I will feed him, if you wish, even with gold, and give him balsam to drink. But you dispense to yourself, having pity on yourself. Your own dispensation toward yourself is suspect to me, I confess; and I fear that you are being deceived under the cover and name of discretion by the prudence of the flesh. I want you at least to be advised of this, that if the authority of the Apostle so pleases you regarding drinking wine, do not omit the "little" which he added. And enough about this. But let us return to the bride, and let us learn from her to beneficially not keep our own vineyards, especially we who seem to be appointed keepers in the vineyards of the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is over all things God blessed forever. Amen.

13. Whence the bride also adds: Do not consider me because I am dark, for the sun has discolored me (Song 1:5), that is: Do not mark me as deformed, because you see me less flourishing, less adorned according to the glory of the world, on account of the pressing persecution. Why do you reproach the blackness which the heat of persecution, not the shame of conduct, has brought? Or does she call the sun the zeal for justice, with which she is kindled and girded against the wicked, saying to God: The zeal for your house has consumed me (Ps 68:10)? And that saying: My zeal has made me waste away, because my enemies have forgotten your words; and also: Fainting has seized me because of sinners who abandon your law (Ps 118:139, 53); likewise: Have I not hated those who hate you, O Lord, and wasted away over your enemies? (Ps 138:21.) She also carefully observes that saying of the Wise Man: You have daughters, he says? Do not show a cheerful face to them (Sir 7:26): so that to the lax and soft and those who flee discipline, she might display not the brightness of serenity, but the darkness of severity. Or to be discolored by the sun is to burn with fraternal charity, to weep with those who weep, to be weak with the weak, to burn at the scandals of individuals. Or thus: The Sun of justice has discolored me, Christ, with whose love I languish. That languor is a certain destruction of color, and a failing in the desire of the soul: whence she also says: I remembered God, and was delighted, and I was exercised and my spirit failed (Ps 76:3). Therefore, like a burning sun, the ardor of desire discolors her who sojourns in the body, while it makes her impatient with the repulse as she yearns for the face of glory, and the delay torments the lover. Who among us so burns with holy love that, out of desire to see Christ, he disdains and puts aside every color of present glory and joy, proclaiming to him with that prophetic voice: And I have not desired the day of man, you know (Jer 17:16); likewise with holy David: My soul refused to be comforted (Ps 76:7); that is, she disdains to be colored with the empty joy of present goods? Or certainly, the sun has discolored me, by the comparison, that is, of its own splendor, since drawing near to it, I from that very nearness discover myself dark, find myself black, despise myself as foul. Otherwise indeed I am beautiful; why do you call me dark, when I yield only to the beauty of the sun itself? But the things which follow seem rather to agree with the former sense. For when she adds: The sons of my mother fought against me, she openly signifies that she has suffered persecution. But from this we shall begin another discourse, because the things which we have received on this occasion concerning the glory of the Bridegroom of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ, can suffice, by the gift of him who is God blessed for ever. Amen.

SERMON 29: ON DISCORD IN THE CHURCH AND IN COMMUNITIES

1. "My mother's sons turned their anger to me." Annas and Caiaphas, and Judas Iscariot, were sons of the Synagogue; and from the Church's very origin these fought with great bitterness against her, daughter of the Synagogue though she was, and hanged Jesus, her Founder, on a tree. In that moment God fulfilled through their agency what he had formerly foretold through the Prophet: "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." And perhaps it is the voice of that Church we hear in the song of Hezekiah: "My life is cut off, as by a weaver; while I was yet but beginning he cut me off." It is about these and others of that same race who are known to have opposed the Christian name, that the bride complains when she says: "My mother's sons turned their anger on me." Well did she call them sons of her mother and not of her father, for they did not have God for their father but the devil; they were murderers, just as he was a murderer from the beginning. Hence she does not say: "my brother," or "the sons of my father," but: "My mother's sons turned their anger on me." If she had failed to make this distinction, even the Apostle Paul would seem to be included among those of whom she complains, for he once persecuted the Church of God. But because while living as an unbeliever he had acted in ignorance, he received the grace of mercy; and so he exemplified that he had God for father, that he was a brother of the Church both on his Father's side and on his mother's side.

2. Take note how she accuses by name only her mother's sons as if they alone were at fault. But has she not also suffered very much from strangers? For the Prophet says: "Often since I was young have men attacked me," and "they scored my back with scourges." Why then do you complain so particularly about your mother's sons, when you are so well aware that men of various races have so often assailed you? "If you take your seat at a great man's table, take careful note of what you have before you." Brothers, we are seated at the table of Solomon. Who is more wealthy than Solomon? I do not refer to earthy riches, although Solomon has plenty even of these; but I want you to contemplate the table now before you that is spread with heaven's own delicacies. Refreshments both spiritual and divine are set before us here. "Take careful note, therefore," he said, "of what you have before you, knowing that you must in turn prepare a similar table." And so, with all possible care, I study what is set before me in these words of the bride, and for my own instruction and security take note that persecution by members of the household is alone mentioned by name, whereas she passes over in silence numerous and grave trials which she is known to endure all over the world from every nation under heaven, from pagans, from heretics and schismatics. Aware as I am of the discernment of the bride, I know it was neither by chance nor through forgetfulness that she omitted these. The truth is that she expresses her grief so openly about what hurts her so acutely, and what she thinks we must use all vigilance to avoid. And what is it that hurts her? It is domestic quarreling, dissension within. In the Gospel you are clearly informed of this from our Savior's own mouth when he says: "A man's enemies will be those of his own household." The Prophet speaks in like manner: "Even my intimate friend, who shared my table, rebels against me." And again: "Were it an enemy who insulted me, I could put up with that; had a rival got the better of me, I could hide from him. But you, a man one with me, my leader and my friend, who enjoyed my meals with me," that is to say: I feel more keenly, I bear more painfully, what I have to suffer from you, my guest and companion. You know who makes this complaint, and about whom.

3. You can see that the bride complains about her mother's sons with a similar sorrow and in a similar spirit when she says: "My mother's sons turned their anger on me." She repeats the sentiment on another occasion: "My friends and my neighbors drew near and stood against me."

II. I ask you earnestly to keep ever far from you this abominable and detestable vice, you who have experienced and do daily experience "how good and how delightful it is for all to live together like brothers," provided that the end is union and not mutual offence. Otherwise it will be neither delightful nor good, but a great misfortune, a cause of great injury. Alas for that man who disturbs the sweet bond of unity! Whoever he may be he will certainly "bear his judgment." Rather let me die than hear any of you justly complaining: "My mother's sons turned their anger on me." Are you not all sons of this community, like sons of the same mother, all brothers to each other? What outside influence can upset you or make you sad, if you are well disposed to each other within and live in peace like brothers? "Who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is right?" Therefore, "be ambitious for the higher gifts," that you may prove yourselves to be men of good zeal. The gift that excels all others, that is clearly incomparable, is love, a truth which the heavenly Bridegroom is so often at pains to impress on his new bride. At one time he says: "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." At another time: "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another;" and again: "This is my commandment that you love one another," while at the same time he prays that they may be one, as he and the Father are one. Does not Paul himself, who invites you to the better gifts, introduce love among them as being with faith and hope surpassingly greater than knowledge? And when he enumerates the many wonderful gifts of heavenly grace, does he not finally direct us to that more excellent way, which he defines as no other than love? In short, what may we consider comparable to this gift, which is preferred even to martyrdom and to the faith that moves mountains? This therefore is what I say: May peace be yours as the fruit of your zeal, and anything that may threaten from without will not intimidate you because it will not injure you. And on the other hand, though the world outside may smile on you, the solace it offers will be in vain if, God forbid, the seed of discord sprouts in your midst.

4. Therefore my very dear brothers, preserve peace among you, and beware of offending each other, whether by deed or word or any gesture whatever, lest someone, provoked and surprised by passion in a moment of weakness, should be constrained to invoke God against those who injured or saddened him, and impetuously cry out this grave accusation: "My mother's sons turned their anger on me." For those who sin against a brother sin against Christ who said: "In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me." Nor is it enough to avoid only the more serious offences, for example, public insult and abuse or the venomous slander in secret. It is not enough, I say, to guard one's tongue from these and similar kinds of nastiness; even slight offences must be avoided, if anything may be termed slight that is directed against a brother for the purpose of hurting him, since merely to be angry with one's brother makes one liable to the judgment of God. And justly so. Because what you regard as slight, and therefore commit with all the more ease, will be seen in a different light by another, just as a man looking at the outward appearance and judging according to the outward appearance, is prepared to think a splinter to be a plank, and a spark a blazing fire. The love which believes all things is not the gift of all men. A man's heart and thoughts are more prone to suspect evil than to believe good, especially when the obligation of silence does not permit you, whose conduct is in question, to defend yourself, nor him who suspects you to lay bare the wound from which he suffers, that it might be healed. And so he endures the agony, grieving in his heart, till he succumbs from the secret and deadly wound, totally immersed in anger and bitterness, his mind a whirl of unvoiced thoughts on the injury he has received. He cannot pray, he cannot read, nor meditate on anything holy or spiritual. And while this soul for whom Christ died is cut off from the vital influence of the Spirit, and goes to its death through lack of the nourishment it needs, what, I ask, are the thoughts of your own mind in the meantime? What can you find in prayer, or in any work you do, when Christ is sorrowfully crying out against you from the heart of your brother whom you have embittered, saying: "My mother's son is fighting against me, he who enjoyed my meals with me has filled me with bitterness."

5. And if you say that he should not be so gravely perturbed for so slight a cause, I answer: the more slight it is, the more easy for you not to have done it. Furthermore, as I have said already, I do not understand how you call slight something that is more than the feeling of anger, since you have heard from the judge's own mouth that even this is liable to be judged. Just think! And then will you call slight a gesture that offends Christ, that will bring you before the judgement seat of God, since "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God"? So when an offence is committed against you, a thing hard to avoid at times in communities like ours, do not immediately rush, as a worldly person may do, to retaliate dishonorably against your brother; nor, under the guise of administering correction, should you dare to pierce with sharp and searing words one for whom Christ was pleased to be crucified; nor make grunting, resentful noises at him, nor mutter and murmur complaints, nor adopt a sneering air, nor indulge the loud laugh of contempt, nor knit the brow in menacing anger. Let your passion die within, where it was born; a carrier of death, it must be allowed no exit or it will cause destruction, and then you can say with the Prophet: "I was troubled and I spoke not."

III. 6. I understand that there are some who give a more mysterious meaning to the words of our text by applying them to the devil and his angels, who were once sons of that Jerusalem above which is our mother and who, since their fall, do not cease to fight against their sister, the Church. Nor will I argue with anyone who finds it more acceptable to see here a reference to those spiritual men in the Church who make war with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, against their impious brothers, wounding them for their salvation and leading them on to spiritual things by this kind of assault. "Let a good man strike or rebuke me in kindness," wounding and healing, killing and bringing to life, so that even I may dare to say: "I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me." "Come to terms with your opponent," says Christ, "while you are still on the way to court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the torturer." I shall have found a good opponent if after I have come to terms with him, there will be neither judge to speak against me nor torturer. And indeed if some of you have been saddened by me in the past for this reason, I do not regret it; the sadness was for their salvation. I certainly cannot recall ever having done it without experiencing great sadness myself, such as Christ referred to when he said: "A woman in childbirth suffers." But let me no longer remember my anguish, now that I enjoy the fruit of my pain, seeing Christ formed in my offspring. And these, who have convalesced from their weakness after and by means of many corrections, are, I know not how, bound to me by a more tender love than those who have remained strong from the beginning, without need of this kind of remedy.

7. It is in this sense that the Church, or the soul who loves God, can say that the sun has changed her color by commissioning and equipping some of her mother's sons to make salutary warfare against her, and lead her captive to his faith and love, pierced with those arrows of which Scripture says: "The warrior's arrows are sharp," and again: "Your arrows have pierced deep into me." Hence she goes on to say: "There is no soundness in my flesh;" but because, as a consequence, she has grown more sound and courageous in spirit, she is able to affirm: "The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak." Her sentiments are those of Paul: "It is when I am weak that I am strong." Do you see how physical infirmity can be an occasion for increasing spiritual strength, a source of new spiritual powers. On the other hand you know that physical strength can beget weakness of the spirit. What wonder if the enemy's weakness makes you stronger, unless in your madness you make friends with a nature that ever lusts against the spirit? See then, if the Saint who, for his own good, demands to be attacked and pierced with arrows, is not acting prudently when he says: "Pierce my flesh with your fear." How excellent that arrow of fear that pierces and kills the desires of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved. Is it not obvious to you that he who chastises his body and subdues it, is aiding the hand that fights against his lower nature?

IV. 8. There is another arrow: the living and active word of God that cuts more keenly than any two-edged sword, of which our Savior said: "I have not come to send peace but the sword." "A polished arrow" too is that special love of Christ, which not only pierced Mary's soul but penetrated through and through, so that even the tiniest space in her virginal breast was permeated by love. Thenceforth she would love with her whole heart, her whole soul and her whole strength, and be full of grace. It transpierced her thus that it might come down even to us, and of that fullness we might all receive. She would become the mother of that love whose father is the God who is love; and when that love was brought to birth he would place his tent in the sun, that the Scripture might be fulfilled: "I will make you the Light of the Nations, so that you may be my salvation to the ends of the earth." This was fulfilled through Mary, who brought forth in visible flesh him whom she conceived invisibly, neither from the flesh nor by means of the flesh. In the process she experienced through her whole being a wound of love that was mighty and sweet; and I would reckon myself happy if at rare moments I felt at least the prick of the point of that sword. Even if only bearing love's slightest wound, I could still say: "I am wounded with love." How I long not only to be wounded in this manner but to be assailed again and again till the color and heat of that flesh that wars against the spirit is overcome.

9. If worldly-minded maidens should taunt a person undergoing this trial, and say how unsightly she is and devoid of good color, does it not seem to you that she can reply very aptly: "Take no notice of my swarthiness, it is the sun that has burnt me." And if such a person bears in mind that she has arrived at this state through the exhortations and remonstrations of God's servants who "feel a divine jealousy" for her, may she not as a consequence say in truth: "My mother's sons turned their anger on me." The Church or any person inspired by true zeal will speak in this way, using this meaning, not in a mood of grief or complaint, but in joy and thanksgiving and a spirit of triumph that she has been found worthy both to become and to be called dark and unsightly for the name and love of Christ. And this she attributes not to her own merits but to the grace and mercy of the God who anticipated her needs and sent her his preachers. For how could she believe without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent? Not with resentment but with gratitude does she recall that her mother's sons turned their anger on her. Hence what follows: "They made me look after the vineyards." If this statement is examined from the spiritual viewpoint I cannot see that it bears any trace of discontent or rancor, but rather of pleasure. In order to carry out this examination however, and before presuming to attempt it -- "for the place is holy" -- we must offer the usual prayers to consult and win the favor of that Spirit who "searches the depths of God," and of the only-begotten Son who is in the father's bosom, Jesus Christ our Lord, the Church's Bridegroom who is blessed for ever. Amen.

"Do not look at me," it says, "because the sun has not regarded me." The prophet Ezekiel proved that the sun is Christ when he said, "upon you who fear the Lord, the sun of righteousness will rise," who is Christ. For, as I have often said, before the advent of the Son of God, the church of the Gentiles was dark because it had not yet believed in him. But when it was illuminated by Christ the true sun, it was made extremely lovely and decorous, such that the Holy Spirit would say to it through David: "the king desired your beauty."

Hence holy Church rightly says of her weakening members: They made me a keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept. For our vineyards are the deeds which we cultivate through the habit of daily labor. But placed as keepers in the vineyards, we scarcely keep our own vineyard, because while we are entangled in others' affairs, we neglect the ministry of our own action. I think, dearest brothers, that God tolerates no greater injury from others than from priests, when He sees those whom He placed for the correction of others giving examples of wickedness from themselves, when we ourselves sin, we who ought to have restrained sins.

He was regarding the sinful woman, that part which had believed in Christ. But let her say: Do not consider me because I am dark, for the sun has discolored me. The sun itself is the Lord; he himself coming discolored me. By his precepts he showed that I was not beautiful under the precepts of the Law. The sun discolors the one whom it touches more closely; so also the Lord, coming, discolored the one whom he touched more strictly through his grace; because the more we draw near to grace, the more we recognize ourselves to be sinners. Let us see Paul coming from Judea, discolored: But if, seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves were also found to be sinners (Gal. 2:17). He who found himself a sinner in Christ found himself discolored in the sun. But behold, that part which believed from Judea suffered persecution from the unbelieving Jews, afflicted by many tribulations. The sons of my mother fought against me.

Because the children of the Synagogue who remained in unbelief waged a war of persecution against the faithful of the Synagogue; but while that part which came from the Jews to the faith suffered persecution, it departed to the preaching of the Gentiles. They made me the keeper in the vineyards; my own vineyard I have not kept.

For while those who are in Judea persecute me, they have made me a guardian in the Churches. My own vineyard I have not kept, because I abandoned Judea. Whence Paul also says, whence also the apostles: The word of God had been sent to you; but because you judged yourselves unworthy, behold we go to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46). As if to say: We wish to guard our own vineyard, but because you yourselves have rejected us, you send us over to the guarding of others' vineyards. And so what we have said concerning the Synagogue converted to faith, let us now say concerning the Church called to faith: I am black, but beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem. The Church coming from the Gentiles considers the faithful souls which she finds, whom she also calls daughters of Jerusalem. For Jerusalem is said to mean "vision of peace"; she considers what she has done, what she has become; and she confesses her past faults, lest she be proud; she confesses her present life, lest she be ungrateful, and says: I am black, but beautiful. Black by merit, beautiful by grace; black by her former life, beautiful by the way of life that follows. How black like the tents of Kedar? Kedar—they were the tents of the nations, they were the tents of darkness. And to the nations it was said: You were once darkness, but now light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8). How beautiful like the curtain of Solomon? For we have been worn down through penance. The flesh, mortified through penance, is brought like a skin into the service of the king. All who afflict themselves through penance make themselves members of Christ. Therefore the members of Christ afflicted through penance are the skins of Solomon, because they become mortified flesh.

But behold, there were faithful in Judaea who disdained that the Gentiles should come to the faith; whence they also reproached Peter for having received Cornelius. Whence in the Church of the Gentiles it is added: "Do not consider me because I am dark." Do not despise the heathenism of my unbelief, do not despise my former sins, do not regard what I was. Why? "Because the sun has discolored me." The sun discolors in that upon which it presses more closely and severely. When God holds strict judgment, He, as it were, displays His severity more fully; and He discolors while He shines more brightly, because while He exercises His strictness more subtly, He judges severely. For the sun, as it were, withholds its rays when it considers our works mercifully; it, as it were, displays its power severely when it weighs our works strictly. Let the Church therefore say: I am dark for the same reason I am a sinner, because the sun has discolored me; because when my Creator abandoned me, I fell into error.

But O you so afflicted, so forsaken, what have you deserved? What have you obtained as a gift? The sons of my mother fought against me. The sons of the mother are the apostles; for the mother of all is the Jerusalem above. They fought against the Church, while through their preaching they pierced her from unbelief to faith, as if with certain spears. Whence Paul too, as a certain fighter, says: Destroying the counsels of thoughts, and every height that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (II Cor. 10:5). He who destroys a height is certainly a fighter. Therefore these fighters, these sons of mother Jerusalem, conquered the Church from her error, so that they might establish her in righteousness. The sons of my mother fought against me. And what did they do in fighting? They made me a keeper in the vineyards. The vineyards of the Church are the virtues that bear fruit; because while they fight against the vices in me, they drive me out, as it were, from my evil fruitfulness, and they gave me the pursuits of virtues; they made me a keeper in the vineyards, so that they might bring forth fruit. After the conquest, let her say specifically: My own vineyard I have not kept. The vineyard of the Church is the old habit of error, which, when a keeper is appointed over the virtues, abandoned its old habit of error.

We have spoken of the Synagogue coming to faith; we have spoken of the Gentile world converted; let us therefore speak generally of the whole Church together, and specifically of what must be understood concerning each individual soul. Wicked hearers are accustomed not to consider what their teachers are, but what they were. Sound teachers therefore confess to them what they were, and set forth what they are; so that they neither hide themselves as sinners, nor again deny their gifts as if ungrateful. Let the Church therefore say in these words: I am black, but beautiful. Black through myself, beautiful through the gift; I am black from the past, beautiful from what I have been made for the future. How black, how beautiful? Black like the tents of Kedar, beautiful like the curtains of Solomon. And it is not right that anyone should be judged from their past life, and that what one was should be regarded rather than what one is. Whence she adds: Do not consider me that I am dark; because the sun has discolored me. Sometimes in Sacred Scripture, the sun is taken as the excessive heat of earthly desires. Whence then dark? Because the sun has discolored me, and by the burning of earthly love I have been discolored before the bridegroom, that is, I have been made unsightly before the king. The sons of my mother have fought against me.

In all creation two rational creatures have been made, human and angelic: the angel fell; he persuaded man. For the mother of all creation is the goodness and power of God. We therefore and the Angels, from the fact that we were made as rational beings, have as it were a certain fellowship of brotherhood. But because the angels were made by the same power by which we also were made, who nevertheless as fallen angels wage war against us daily, let her say: The sons of my mother the Church fought against me. Behold, while these rational spirits fight, these spirits, sons of the mother, while they fight against the soul, they make her devote herself to earthly things, occupy herself with secular activities, seek transitory things. Whence she also adds: They made me a keeper in the vineyards; my own vineyard I have not kept. For the vineyards are earthly activities. As if she were to say: in earthly activities they made me a keeper, and my own vineyard, that is, my own soul, I have not kept; my life, my mind I have neglected to guard; because while I was outwardly entangled in the activity of earthly things, I slipped away from inward watchfulness. Many people judge themselves by what is near them, not by what they are. Near them are dignities, near them are outward offices; and while they guard what they have near them, they neglect to guard themselves. Let her therefore say: They made me a keeper in the vineyards; my own vineyard I have not kept; that is, while I serve outward guardianship in the activities of the world, I have lost the care of inward guardianship. But behold, the soul brought back to the grace of her Creator, let her now love, let her now seek where she may find her Redeemer.

"Do not look at me because I have become dark, because the sun looked down upon me." …And so people have existed in this way in all that nation of the Ethiopians, to whom a certain natural blackness resides owing to the succession of fleshly seed, because in those places the sun burns with harsher rays and, once the bodies have been burned and blackened, they remain so as the innate flaw is passed down, generation to generation. But the blackness of the soul belongs to a contrary arrangement; for the soul is burned not by the sun looking at it but by the sun's looking down upon it; it is obtained not by birth but by neglect; and thus, just as it is acquired by ignorance, so it is driven out and repulsed by diligence.

Therefore, that visible sun does indeed blacken and burn those bodies upon which it settles at noon, but it preserves in its brightness those bodies that are placed far off and far away from its overhead position. It does not at all burn them, but gives light to them. But, in contrast, the true spiritual sun, which is the sun of righteousness in whose wings healing is said to be, illumines them and surrounds them with every brightness because he has found them of an upright heart and at the zenith of his radiance, but he does not look "askance" as much as "look down upon" those who "approach him askance," since their own fickleness and instability causes this trouble for them.For the world was made not through that visible light, because it too is part of this world, but through that true light, by which light we are said to be despised, if we approach it in a crooked way.

We understand how the bride is both black and beautiful. But if you too do not repent, beware lest your soul be called black and foul and you be made foul by a double ugliness: black because of your past sins and ugly because you persevere in your vices.

"Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where do you feed your flock, where you lie down?" Neither we nor they have any doubt that the bride is speaking to the bridegroom, the church to Christ. But listen to all the words of the bride. Why do you want to attribute to the bridegroom a word that is still in the bride's part? Let the bride say everything she says, and then the bridegroom will reply.…Midday is coming, you see, when the shepherds take refuge in the shade; and perhaps where you are feeding your flock and lying down will escape me; and I want you to tell me, lest perchance I go as one veiled, that is, as one concealed and not recognized. I am in fact plain to see, but lest as one veiled, as one hidden, I stumble on the flocks of your companions.

Why do I want you to tell me where you graze, where you lie down in the noonday? "Lest I should happen, like a veiled woman, on the flocks of your companions." That is the reason, she says, why I want you to tell me where you graze your flock, where you lie down in the noonday. When I come to you I won't lose my way, lest like a veiled woman I should come upon the flocks of your companions, that is to say, I should stumble on flocks that are not yours but belong to your companions.

With good reason then to this shepherd of shepherds, does his beloved, his spouse, his fair one, but by him made fair, before by sin deformed, beautiful afterward through pardon and grace, speak in her love and ardor after him, and say to him, "Where do you feed?" And observe how, by what transport this spiritual love is here animated. And far better are they by this transport delighted who have tasted of the sweetness of this love. They bear this properly who love Christ. For in them, and of them, does the church sing this in the Song of Songs.

Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, where you pasture, etc. Well indeed does she call him whom she seeks for protection, the beloved of her soul, because the more serious the danger from which she wishes to be rescued, the more she loves him through whom she knows she will be saved. This is similar to what the Psalmist says, "I will love you, O Lord, my strength" (Psalm 17). Which openly means, Therefore I do not cease to love you with all my mind, because I perceive that without your grace I can have no strength. She also implies that he is a shepherd, saying, Where you pasture, where you lie at midday. According to what he himself testifies in the Gospel: "I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and my sheep know me" (John 10). He who pastures his sheep lies among them at midday, because he refreshes the hearts of his faithful ones with the memory of heavenly sweetness, so that they do not wither in the heat of temptations, and he is accustomed to mercifully dwell in them. Thus also the Psalmist says, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures" (Psalm 23). Hence John says, "He who abides in love abides in God, and God in him" (1 John 4). Therefore, because many false prophets go out into the world, saying "Look, here is Christ," or "There he is" (Matthew 24), the Church of Christ must always carefully discern who they are in whom he can be found, both in their profession and in their deeds; and she must implore him with pious words to deign to reveal himself: Tell me, she says, O you whom my soul loves, where you pasture, where you lie at midday.

"That I may not begin to wander among the flocks of your companions, etc. As if he says openly, Because the multifarious persecution by my adversaries affects me like the heat of the midday; I beseech you to declare to me, O my Redeemer and Protector, in which places I might find those who are refreshed by the grace of your presence, and what are those teachings among all that align with your evangelical truth, lest, with your help being delayed, I might perhaps stumble upon the congregations of those who err, for without your guidance, I can in no way enter the path of truth. For even heretics can not inappropriately be called his companions, inasmuch as they carry around either the confession or the mysteries of his name. Did not the bride of Christ do this, when the false apostles came to Antioch, namely, his companions, and preached, Except you be circumcised according to Moses, you cannot be saved (Acts XV), already wearied by no small fervor of sedition and question, finally sent Paul and Barnabas to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, to more certainly discern what was the truth of the Gospel? And after the conflict was finished, it was proven among them, whom James, and Cephas, and John, and the other apostles educated, that the Lord Christ was the shepherd and dweller, and that his flock, the Church, was to be safeguarded from the flocks of companions, that is, from the people of the heretics. Did not the bride of Christ also do this in subsequent times, when the sons of her mother fought against her, that is, when heresies rose up against her from within her, soon diligently seeking what was the truth of faith, by convening the councils of the Fathers? But, because the same bride, that is, the Church of Christ, while seeking the help of his presence in her tribulations, adds on behalf of the weak. That I may not begin to wander among the flocks of your companions, he immediately rebukes the same trepidation with kind reproof, as if saying that evangelical thing, Ye of little faith, why did you doubt (Matt. XIV)? For it follows:

"Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon?" The Word, who is the Bridegroom, often makes himself known under more than one form to those who are fervent. Why so? Doubtless because he cannot be seen yet as he is. That vision is unchanging, because the form in which he will then be seen is unchanging; for he is, and can suffer no change determined by present, past or future. Eliminate past and future, and where then is alteration or any shadow of a change? For whatever evolves out of the past and does not cease to move toward future development, passes through the instant that is the present, but one cannot say: it is. How can one say: it is, when it never remains in the same state? That alone truly is, which is neither altered from its past mode of being nor blotted out by a future mode, but "is" alone is predicated of it impregnably and unchangeably, and it remains what it is. No reference to the past can deny that it is from all eternity, nor any reference to the future that it is for all eternity. In this way it proves that it truly is, that is, it is uncreated, interminable, immutable. When he therefore who exists in this manner - who, furthermore, cannot be one moment in this form, another in that - is seen just as he is, that vision endures, as I have said, since no alteration interrupts it. This is the moment when that one denarius mentioned in the Gospel is given in the one vision that is offered to everyone who sees. For as he who is seen is immutable in himself, he is present immutably to all who contemplate him; to these there is nothing more desirable that they wish to see, nothing more enticing that they could see. Can their eager appetite, then, ever grow weary, or that sweetness ebb away, or that truth prove deceptive, or that eternity come to a close? And if both the ability and will to contemplate are prolonged eternally, what is lacking to total happiness? Those who contemplate him without ceasing are short of nothing, those whose wills are fixed on him have nothing more to desire.

2. But this vision is not for the present life; it is reserved for the next, at least for those who can say: "We know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." Even now he appears to whom he pleases, but as he pleases, not as he is. Neither sage nor saint nor prophet can or could ever see him as he is, while still in this mortal body; but whoever is found worthy will be able to do so when the body becomes immortal. Hence, though he is seen here below, it is in the form that seems good to him, not as he is. For example, take that mighty source of light, I speak of that sun which you see day after day; yet you do not see it as it is, but according as it lights up the air, or a mountain, or a wall. Nor could you see even to this extent if the light of your body, the eye, because of its natural steadiness and clearness, did not bear some degree of likeness to that light in the heavens. Since all the other members of the body lack this likeness, they are incapable of seeing the light. Even the eye itself, when troubled, cannot approach the light, because it has lost that likeness. Just as the troubled eye, then, cannot gaze on the peaceful sun because of its unlikeness, so the peaceful eye can behold it with some efficacy because of a certain likeness. If indeed it were wholly equal to it in purity, with a completely clear vision it would see it as it is, because of the complete likeness. And so when you are enlightened you can see even now the Sun of Justice that "enlightens every man who comes into this world," according to the degree of the light he gives, by which you are made somehow like him; but see him as he is you cannot, because not yet perfectly like him. That is why the Psalmist says: "Come to him and be enlightened, and your faces shall never be ashamed." That is very true, provided we are enlightened as much as we need, so that "with our unveiled faces contemplating the glory of God, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the same image, as by the spirit of the Lord."

3. Note that we must approach gently, not intrude ourselves upon him, lest the irreverent searcher of majesty be overwhelmed by glory. This approach is not a movement from place to place but from brightness to brightness, not in the body but in the spirit, as by the Spirit of the Lord; evidently by the spirit of the Lord, not by ours, although in ours. The brighter one becomes, the nearer is the end; and to be absolutely bright is to have arrived. For those thus arrived in his presence, to see him as he is means to be as he is, and not to be put to shame by any form of unlikeness. But, as I have said, this is for the next life.

In the meantime this immense variety of forms, these countless species of creatures, what are they but rays emanating from the Godhead, showing that he from whom they come truly is, but not fully explaining what he is. Hence what you see is what emanates from him, not himself. Nevertheless, though not seeing himself but what comes from him, you are made aware beyond all doubt that he exists, and that you must seek him. Grace will not be wanting to the seeker, nor ignorance excuse the negligent. All have access to this kind of vision. According to the Apostle Paul, it is common to everyone who has the use of reason: "The invisible attributes of God have been clearly perceived in the things that have been made."

4. Another kind of vision is that by which in former times the Fathers were often graciously admitted to sweet communion with God, who became present to them, though they did not see him as he is but only in the form he thought fitting to assume. Nor does he appear to all in a similar manner, but as the Apostle says: "in many and various ways," still remaining one in himself, in accord with his word to Israel: "The Lord your God is one God." This manifestation, though not apparent to everybody, took place exteriorly, and consisted of images or the spoken word. But there is another form of divine contemplation, very different from the former because it takes place in the interior, when God himself is pleased to visit the soul that seeks him, provided it is committed to seeking him with all its desire and love. We are told what the sign of such a visit is, by one who experienced it. "Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries round about." The fire of holy desire ought to precede his advent to every soul whom he will visit, to burn up the rust of bad habits and so prepare a place for the Lord. The soul will know that the Lord is near when it perceives itself to be aflame with that fire, and can say as the Prophet did: "He has sent a fire from on high down into my bones, and enlightened me;" and again: "My heart became hot within me and in my meditation fire burst forth."

5. When the Beloved who is thus sought for pays a visit in his merciful love to the soul that is filled with longing, that prays often, even without intermission, that humiliates itself in the ardor of its desire, that soul may fittingly say with St Jeremiah: "You are good, O Lord, to those who hope in you, to the soul that seeks you." And that soul's angel, one of the friends of the Bridegroom, and by him commissioned to be the minister and witness of that secret and mutual exchange - that angel, I say, must be dancing with joy! Does he not participate in their gladness and bliss, and turning to the Lord, say: "I thank you, Lord of majesty, because 'you have granted him his heart's desire, not denied him what his lips entreated'"? He is everywhere the soul's tireless attendant, never ceasing to lure it on and guide it with constant inspirations, as he whispers: "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desire of your heart;" and again: "Wait for the Lord and keep his way." Or: "If he seems slow, wait for him; he will surely come, he will not delay." Turning to the Lord, he says: "'As a hart longs for flowing streams, so that soul longs for you, O God.' It has yearned for you in the night, and your Spirit within it watched for you from morning onwards." And again: "All the day this soul reaches out to you; grant what it wants because it is shouting after you; relent a little and show your mercy. Look down from heaven and see, and visit this desolate spirit." This loyal groomsman, watching without envy over this interchange of love, seeks the Lord's glory rather than his own; he is the go-between for the lover and his beloved, making known the desires of one, bearing the gifts of the other. He quickens the soul's affections, he conciliates the Bridegroom. Sometimes too, though rarely, he brings them into each other's presence, either snatching her up to him, or leading him down to her: for he is a member of the household, a familiar figure in the palace, one who has no fear of being rebuffed, who daily sees the face of the Father.

6. Be careful, however, not to conclude that I see something corporeal or perceptible to the senses in this union between the Word and the soul. My opinion is that of the Apostle, who said that "he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him." I try to express with the most suitable words I can muster the ecstatic ascent of the purified mind to God, and the loving descent of God into the soul, submitting spiritual truths to spiritual men. Therefore let this union be in the spirit, because "God is a spirit," who is lovingly drawn by the beauty of that soul whom he perceives to be guided by the Spirit, and devoid of any desire to submit to the ways of the flesh, especially if he sees that it burns with love for himself.

One who is so disposed and so beloved will by no means be content either with that manifestation of the Bridegroom given to the many in the world of creatures, or to the few in visions and dreams. By a special privilege she wants to welcome him down from heaven into her inmost heart, into her deepest love; she wants to have the one she desires present to her not in bodily form but by inward infusion, not by appearing externally but by laying hold of her within. It is beyond question that the vision is all the more delightful the more inward it is, and not external. It is the Word, who penetrates without sound; who is effective though not pronounced, who wins the affections without striking on the ears. His face, though without form, is the source of form, it does not dazzle the eyes of the body but gladdens the watchful heart; its pleasure is in the gift of love and not in the color of the lover.

7. Not yet have I come round to saying that he has appeared as he is, although in this inward vision he does not reveal himself as altogether different from what he is. Neither does he make his presence continuously felt, not even to his most ardent lovers, nor in the same way to all. For the various desires of the soul it is essential that the taste of God's presence be varied too, and that the infused flavor of divine delight should titillate in manifold ways the palate of the soul that seeks him. You must already have noticed how often he changes his countenance in the course of this love-song, how he delights in transforming himself from one charming guise to another in the beloved's presence: at one moment like a bashful bridegroom maneuvering for the hidden embraces of his holy lover, for the bliss of her kisses; at another coming along like a physician with oil and ointments, because weak and tender souls still need remedies and medicines of this kind, which is why they are rather daintily described as maidens. Should anybody find fault with this, let him be told that "it is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick." Sometimes, too, he joins up as a traveler with the bride and the maidens who accompany her on the road, and lightens the hardships of the journey for the whole company by his fascinating conversation, so that when he has parted from them they ask: "Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road?" A silver-tongued companion who, by the spell of his words and manners, persuades everyone, as if in a sweet-smelling cloud arising from the ointments, to follow him. Hence they say: "We will run after you in the odor of your ointments." At another time he comes to meet them as a wealthy father of a family "with bread enough and to spare" in his house; or again like a magnificent and powerful king, giving courage to his timid and poverty-stricken bride, stirring up her desire by showing her the ornaments of his glory, the riches of his wine-presses and storehouse, the produce of his gardens and fields, and finally introducing her into his private apartments. For "her husband's heart has confidence in her," and among all his possessions there is nothing that he thinks should be hidden from her whom he redeemed from indigence, whose fidelity he has proved, whose attractiveness wins his embraces. And so he never ceases, in one way or another, to reveal himself to the inward eye of those who seek him, thus fulfilling the promise that he made: "Be assured I am with you always, to the end of time."

8. On all these occasions he is kind and gentle, full of merciful love. In his kisses he shows that he is both loving and charming; with the oil and the ointments that he is boundlessly considerate and compassionate and forgiving; on the journey he is gay, courteous, ever gracious and ready to help; in the display of his riches and possessions he reveals a kingly liberality, a munificent generosity in the bestowal of rewards. Through the whole context of this song you will find images of this nature to delineate the Word. Hence I feel that the Prophet was thinking on these lines when he said: "Christ the Lord is a spirit before our face; under his shadow we shall live among the nations," because now we see in a mirror dimly and not yet face to face. So it will be while we live among the nations; among the angels it will be otherwise. For then we shall enjoy the very same happiness as they; even we shall see him as he is, in the form of God, no longer in shadow.

Just as we say that our ancestors possessed only shadows and images, whereas the truth itself shines on us by the grace of Christ present in the flesh, so also no one will deny that in relation to the world to come, we still live in the shadow of the truth, unless he wishes to deny what the apostle asserts: "our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect;" or when he says: "I do not reckon myself to have got hold of it yet." Why should there not be a distinction between him who walks by faith and him who walks by sight? Hence the just man lives by faith, the blessed rejoices in the vision; the holy person here below lives in the shadow of Christ, the holy angel above is glorified in the splendor of his shining countenance.

9. That the faith is shadowy is a blessing, it tempers the light to the eye's weakness and prepares the eye for the light; for it is written: "He cleansed their hearts by faith." Faith therefore does not quench the light but protects it. Whatever it may be that the angel sees, is preserved for me by the shadow of faith, stored up in its trusty breast, until it be revealed in due time. If you cannot yet grasp the naked truth is it not worthwhile to possess it wrapped in a veil? Our Lord's Mother herself lived in the shadow of faith, for she was told: "Blessed are you who believed." Even the body of Christ was a shadow for her, as implied in the words: "The power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow." That is no mean shadow which is formed by the power of the Most High. Assuredly there was power in the flesh of Christ that overshadowed the Virgin, since by means of the envelope of his vivifying body she was able to bear his majestic presence, and endure the unapproachable light, a thing impossible to mortal woman. That was power indeed by which every opposing might was overcome. Both the power and the shadow put the demons to flight and became a shelter for men: an invigorating power surely, a shadow radiating coolness.

10. We therefore who walk by faith live in the shadow of Christ; we are fed with his flesh as the source of our life. For Christ's flesh is real food. And perhaps for that reason he is now described here as appearing in the guise of a shepherd, when the bride addresses him as though one of the shepherds: "Tell me where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon." The Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep! He gives them his life, he gives them his flesh; his life their ransom, his flesh their food. How wonderful! He is their shepherd, their food, their redemption.

HOW CHRIST IS RECEIVED BY THE HOLY SOUL AS A BRIDEGROOM, AND BY THE WEAK SOUL AS A PHYSICIAN. LIKEWISE ON THE DIFFERENCE OF THOUGHTS, WHENCE THEY ARISE.

1. "Show me where you pasture, where you lie down at midday" (Song 1:7). Here we are, from here we proceed. But before this vision and address begins to be treated, I think the other visions that preceded it should be briefly recapitulated, how they may be spiritually fitted to us according to the desires and merits of each, so that, having grasped those -- if indeed this be granted -- a readier understanding may shine forth in the discussion of this one also. But this is most difficult. For even if those words by which the visions or likenesses themselves are described seem to sound of bodies and bodily things, nevertheless the things ministered to us in them are spiritual, and on that account their causes and reasons must also be sought in the spirit. And who is fit to investigate and comprehend so many affections and advances of the soul, to which this so manifold grace from the presence of the Bridegroom is dispensed? Yet if we enter into ourselves, and the Holy Spirit deigns to show us in his light what he does not disdain to work continually in us by his operation, I think we shall not remain altogether without understanding in these things. For I am confident that we have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may know the things that have been given to us by God (1 Cor 2:12).

2. Therefore if for any of us it is good to cling to God, as with the holy Prophet (Ps 73:28), and -- to speak more plainly -- if anyone among us is so a man of desire that he longs to be dissolved and to be with Christ, and longs vehemently, and thirsts ardently, and meditates unceasingly: he will assuredly receive the Word in no other way than in the form of a bridegroom at the time of visitation, at that hour, namely, when he feels himself clasped inwardly by certain arms of wisdom, and thence infused with the sweetness of holy love. For the desire of his heart will be granted to him, even while he is still a pilgrim in the body, yet in part, and that for a time, and a brief time. For when, after vigils and prayers and much labor and a shower of tears, the sought-for one is present, suddenly, while he is thought to be held, he slips away; and again, to the one weeping and pursuing, he comes to meet, and allows himself to be grasped, but by no means to be retained, while suddenly once more he flies away, as it were, from the hands. And if the devoted soul persists with prayers and weeping, he will return again, and will not defraud her of the will of her lips; but again he will presently disappear, and will not be seen, unless he is sought again with the whole desire. Thus therefore, even in this body, there can be frequent joy from the presence of the Bridegroom, but not fullness; because although the visitation gladdens, the alternation troubles. And the beloved must needs endure this so long, until once the burden of the bodily mass has been laid down, she herself too flies away, lifted on the wings of her desires, freely making her way through the fields of contemplation, and with unencumbered mind following the Beloved wherever he goes.

3. Nor yet even in his passing will he be thus present to every soul, but only to that one whom great devotion, and vehement desire, and the sweetest affection prove to be a bride, and worthy, one to whom the Word, coming with the grace of visitation, will put on beauty, taking the form of a bridegroom. For he who is not yet found so disposed, but rather struck with compunction at the remembrance of his deeds, speaking in the bitterness of his soul says to God: "Do not condemn me" (Job 10:2); or perhaps is even still perilously tempted, drawn away and enticed by his own concupiscence: such a one does not seek a bridegroom, but a physician; and therefore he will receive not kisses indeed or embraces, but only remedies for his wounds, in oil certainly and ointments. Do we not often feel thus, and experience this when praying, we who are daily still tempted by our present transgressions, bitten by past ones? From how great a bitterness you have frequently delivered me by your coming, O good Jesus! How often, after anxious weeping, unspeakable groans and sobs, have you anointed my wounded conscience with the ointment of your mercy, and poured over it the oil of gladness! How often has prayer, which received me nearly despairing, restored me exulting and confident of pardon! Those who are similarly affected, behold, these know that the Lord Jesus is truly a physician, who heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds (Ps 147:3). Those who have not experienced this, let them believe the very same one who says: "The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me, he has sent me to bring good tidings to the meek, to heal the broken-hearted" (Isa 61:2; Lk 4:17, 21). If they still doubt, let them come and prove it, and so learn in themselves what this means: "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice" (Mt 9:13). But let us see the rest also.

4. There are those who, wearied in spiritual pursuits and turned to lukewarmness, and placed in a certain failing of spirit, walk the ways of the Lord in sadness; with dry and weary heart they approach whatever tasks are enjoined, they frequently murmur; they complain of long days, long nights, speaking with holy Job: "If I lie down, I say: When shall I rise? and again I shall wait for evening" (Job 7:4). Therefore when it happens that one suffers something of this sort, if the Lord in mercy draws near to us on the way in which we walk, and he who is from heaven begins to speak of heaven, and indeed to sing for us something pleasing from the songs of Zion, to narrate also of the city of God, of the peace of that city, of the eternity of that peace, of the state of that eternity: I tell you, the glad narration will be as a vehicle for the drowsy and sluggish soul, so as to drive away all weariness from the mind of the hearer, and fatigue from the body. Or does he seem to you to suffer or to ask for something other, who says: "My soul has drowsed from weariness, strengthen me in your words"? And when he has obtained this, will he not cry out: "How I have loved your law, O Lord! It is my meditation all the day"? (Ps 119:97, 28.) For there are certain words of the Word-Bridegroom to us: our meditations on him and his glory, his elegance, his power, his majesty. And not only this, but also when with eager mind we turn over his testimonies and the judgments of his mouth, and meditate on his law day and night; let us know for certain that the Bridegroom is present and is addressing us, so that we may not be wearied by labors, being delighted by his discourses.

5. You therefore, when you feel such things being turned over in your mind, do not think it is your own thought, but recognize him speaking, who says through the prophet: "It is I who speak righteousness" (Isa 63:1). For the thoughts of our mind are most similar to the words of Truth speaking within us; nor does anyone easily discern what the heart gives birth to within, and what it hears, unless he prudently attends to the Lord speaking in the Gospel: "from the heart proceed evil thoughts" (Mt 15:19); and that: "Why do you think evil in your hearts?" (Mt 9:4). And: "He who speaks a lie, speaks from his own" (Jn 8:44). But the Apostle says: "Not that we are sufficient to think anything from ourselves as from ourselves" (that is to say, anything good); "but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Cor 3:5). When therefore we turn over evil things in our heart, it is our own thought; if good things, it is the word of God. The former our heart speaks, the latter it hears. "I will hear," he says, "what the Lord God may speak in me, for he will speak peace upon his people" (Ps 85:8). And so peace, piety, righteousness -- God speaks these in us; nor do we think such things from ourselves, but we hear them within us. But murders, adulteries, thefts, blasphemies, and things like these, proceed from the heart (Mt 15:19): nor do we hear them, but we speak them. For "the fool has said in his heart: There is no God" (Ps 14:1). And "therefore the wicked man has provoked God, because he said in his heart: He will not require it" (Ps 10:13). But there is besides something that is indeed perceived in the heart, yet is not a word of the heart. For it does not go out from the heart, as does our own thought, nor is it that which we have said comes to the heart, namely the word of the Word, since it is evil. But it is sent in by opposing powers, just as there are "sendings through evil angels"; such as, for example, was that which we read the devil put into the heart, that Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, should betray the Lord (Jn 13:2).

6. But who is so watchful and diligent an observer of his own inward motions, whether occurring in himself or from himself, as to clearly distinguish, amid all the illicit feelings of his heart, between a disease of the mind and a bite of the serpent? I think this possible to no mortal, unless one who, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, has received that special gift which the Apostle, among the other charisms he enumerates, names the discernment of spirits (1 Cor 12:10). For however much anyone, according to Solomon, may guard his heart with all custody (Prov 4:23), and observe with the most vigilant attention everything that moves within him; even if he has had perhaps long-continued practice and frequent experience in these matters, he will nevertheless not be able to discern or distinguish purely within himself the one from the other: the evil that is inborn, and the evil that is sown. For "who can understand his offenses?" Nor does it much matter for us to know whence evil is in us, provided we know that it is in us: we must rather watch and pray, wherever it may come from, lest we consent. For the prophet prays against both evils, saying: "From my hidden faults cleanse me, O Lord, and from those of others spare your servant" (Ps 19:12-13). And I cannot hand on to you what I have not received. But I have not received, I confess, a means to assign a sure distinguishing mark between the offspring of the heart and the seed of the enemy. For both are evil, both from evil; both are in the heart, but not both from the heart. This whole matter is certain to me within myself, even if it is uncertain what I attribute to the heart and what to the enemy. And this indeed, as I have said, is without peril.

7. But indeed there is a case where one errs perilously, nay damnably, and there a sure rule is rightly set down for us, lest what belongs to God in us we give to ourselves, thinking a visitation of the Word to be our own thought. Therefore as far as good is distant from evil, so far are these two from each other: since neither does evil come from the Word, nor will good proceed from the heart, unless what it has perhaps first conceived from the Word; because "a good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor a bad tree good fruit" (Mt 7:18). But I believe enough has been said about what belongs to God and what belongs to us in our heart; nor superfluously, as I judge, but so that the enemies of grace may know that without grace the human heart does not suffice even for thinking the good, but its sufficiency is from God; that it is the voice of God, the good that is thought, not an offspring of the heart. You therefore, if you hear his voice, no longer be ignorant whence it comes or where it goes; knowing that it goes out from God and goes to the heart. See to it, moreover, that the word which goes forth from the mouth of God does not return to him empty, but prospers and accomplishes all the things for which he sent it, so that you too may say: "The grace of God in me has not been in vain" (1 Cor 15:10). Happy the mind to which the Word is an inseparable companion, everywhere making himself affable, by whose unceasing sweetness of eloquence she is delighted and vindicates herself from the troubles and vices of the flesh at every hour, redeeming the time from the evil days (Eph 5:16). She will not be wearied, she will not be troubled; because, as Scripture says: "No sadness will befall the just man, whatever may happen to him" (Prov 12:21).

8. Now indeed I think the form of the great Paterfamilias, or of regal majesty, appears to those who, approaching the deep heart, made more magnanimous by the greater liberty of spirit and purity of conscience, are accustomed to dare greater things, restless indeed and curious to penetrate more secret places, and to grasp more sublime things, and to attempt more perfect things, not only of the senses but also of the virtues. For these, by the greatness of their faith, are found worthy to be led into all fullness; nor is there anything at all in all the storerooms of wisdom from which the Lord God of knowledge should judge that the eager seekers of truth, who are not conscious of vanity, ought to be barred. Such was Moses, who dared to say to God: "If I have found grace in your eyes, show me yourself" (Exod 33:13, 18). Such was Philip, who begged that the Father be shown to himself and his fellow disciples (Jn 14:8): such also Thomas, who, unless he touched the wound and the pierced side with his own hand, refused to believe (Jn 20:25). A small faith, but descending in a marvelous way from greatness of soul. Such also was David, who himself too said to God: "My heart has said to you: My face has sought you; your face, O Lord, I will seek" (Ps 27:8). Such therefore dare great things, because they are great: and what they dare, they obtain, according to the word of promise addressed to them, which is of this kind: "Every place upon which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours" (Deut 11:24). For great faith deserves great things; and to the extent you have stretched forth the foot of confidence in the good things of the Lord, to that extent you shall possess.

9. And so to Moses God speaks mouth to mouth; and openly, not through riddles and figures, does he merit to see the Lord, whereas to other prophets he says he appears only in a vision and speaks through a dream (Num 12:6-8). To Philip also, according to the petition of his heart, the Father was shown in the Son, in this undoubtedly: that he immediately heard: "Philip, he who sees me sees the Father also; and, Because I am in the Father, and the Father is in me" (Jn 14:9-10). But Thomas too, according to the desire of his heart, offered himself to be touched (Jn 20:27), and did not defraud him of the will of his lips. What of David? Does he not also indicate that he is not altogether defrauded of his wish, when he says he will not give sleep to his eyes, nor slumber to his eyelids, until he finds a place for the Lord? (Ps 132:4-5.) Therefore to such great spirits the great Bridegroom will come to meet them, and he will magnify his doing with them, sending forth his light and his truth, and leading them and bringing them to his holy mountain and to his tabernacles, so that one who is of this sort may say: "He who is mighty has done great things for me" (Lk 1:49). His eyes will see the King in his beauty (Isa 33:17); going before him to the lovely places of the desert, to the flowers of roses and the lilies of the valleys, to the pleasant places of gardens, the waters of fountains, to the delights of cellars and the fragrances of spices, and finally to the very secrets of the bedchamber.

10. These are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden with the Bridegroom, these are the pastures of life prepared for the refreshment of holy souls. Blessed is the man who has filled his desire from them. Let him be admonished of this one thing only, that he should not wish to have alone what can suffice for many. For perhaps on account of this, after all these things, the Bridegroom is described as appearing like a shepherd, so that the attainer of so many gifts may thereby be admonished of pasturing the flock of the simpler ones, who of course are as unable to grasp these things by themselves as sheep dare not go out to pasture without a shepherd. And so the bride, wisely perceiving this very thing, asks that it be shown to her where he himself pastures and lies down under the noonday heat, prepared (as indeed is given to be understood from this) to be pastured and to pasture with him and under him. For she does not think it safe to drive the flock far from the chief Shepherd, especially on account of the attacks of wolves, most of all those who come to us in sheep's clothing: and therefore she is anxious to pasture in the same pastures equally with him, and to lie down in the same shady places. And she sets forth the reason: "Lest I begin," she says, "to wander after the flocks of your companions." These are they who wish to be seen as friends of the Bridegroom, and are not: and since it is their care to pasture their own flocks, not his, they nevertheless lie in wait on every side and say: "Behold, here is Christ, behold, there he is" (Mk 13:21), in order to lead many astray and draw them away from Christ's flocks and join them to their own. This for the text of the letter. Now as for the spiritual sense which lies hidden therein, await it under another beginning of a sermon, whatever it may be that the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God over all things, blessed forever, may deign in his mercy to impart to me for you as you pray. Amen.

SERMON 3 ON THE KISS OF THE LORD'S FOOT, HAND, AND MOUTH

6. To you, Lord Jesus, to you rightly has my heart said: "My face has sought you; your face, O Lord, I will seek." For you made me hear your mercy in the morning, when, as I lay first in the dust and kissed your reverend footsteps, you forgave what I had lived badly. Moreover, in the progress of the day you gladdened the soul of your servant, when next in the kiss of the hand you also granted the grace of living well. And now what remains, O good Lord, except that now in the fullness of light, in the fervor of the spirit, graciously admitting me also to the kiss of the mouth, you would fill me with joy with your countenance? Show me, O sweetest one, O most serene one, show me where you pasture, where you rest at midday.

"Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it to lie down at noon." But another voice, that of Job, says: "Tell me why you judge me like this?" This man does not complain of the judgment, he merely queries its cause, seeking to gain knowledge from his afflictions rather than be destroyed by them. Still another man made a similar request: "Make your ways known to me, O Lord, teach me your paths." What he means by paths he reveals in another text: "He leads me in the path of righteousness." Therefore the man who longs for God does not cease to seek these three things, righteousness, judgment, and the place where the Bridegroom dwells in glory: the path in which he walks, the wariness with which he walks, and the home to which he walks. About this home the Prophet says: "One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord;" and again: "O Lord, I love the beauty of your house, and the place where your glory dwells." Of the remaining two he says: "Righteousness and judgment are the preparation of your throne." The man who is in earnest rightly seeks these three things, since they are the throne of God and the preparation of his throne. By a special privilege of the bride, all these gifts beautifully and equally concur in the crowning of her virtues: she receives loveliness from the habit of righteousness, prudence from her knowledge of judgments, and chastity from her desire for the presence or glory of her Bridegroom. Such are the gifts that are fitting for a bride of the Lord: beauty, knowledge and chastity. Therefore the petition which I have placed last concerns the Bridegroom's dwelling-place. She asks him whom her soul loves to reveal to her where he pastures his flock, where he makes it lie down at noon.

2. But take note in the first place how exquisitely she distinguishes spiritual love from carnal desire, when, in her wish to draw her Beloved's attention by her affection rather than by his name, she does not say simply, "whom I love," but "O you whom my soul loves," thereby indicating that her love is spiritual.

Consider carefully then, what it is that gives her so much pleasure in the place of pasture. Nor must you overlook the reference to the hour of noon, nor above all that she looks for a place where he who feeds the flock also lies down, a sign of great security. It would seem that the expression "lie down" is used to indicate that in this place there is no need to stand and keep watch for the safety of the flock, since the flock freely wanders in the meadows while the shepherd lies down and rests in the shade. Happy the place in which the sheep move to and fro at will, and no one to frighten them! Who will grant that you and I together may be fed on the mountains, along with the ninety-nine sheep who, we read, were left there when their shepherd went down for the one who had strayed? It was because he had left them in a safe place that he was able to undertake a long journey without hesitation, and hence he could afford to lie down securely. What can the bride do but yearn for that place of rest, of security, of exultation, of wonder, of overwhelming joy. But alas! unhappy me, far from it as I am, and saluting it from afar, the very memory of it causes me to weep with the affection expressed by those exiles: "By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion." Let me cry out both with the bride and with the Prophet: "Praise your God, O Zion! for he strengthened the bars of your gates; he blesses your sons within you." Who would not be filled with vehement longing to be fed in that place, on account of its peace, on account of its richness, on account of its super-abundance? There one experiences neither fear nor distaste, nor any want. Paradise is a safe dwelling-place, the Word is sweet nourishment, eternity is wealth beyond calculation.

3. I too have the Word, but the Word made flesh; and the Truth is set before me, but in the sacrament. An angel is nourished with the richness of the wheat, is satiated with the pure grain; but in this life I have to be content with the husk, as it were, of the sacrament, with the bran of the flesh, with the chaff of the letter, with the veil of the faith. And these are the kind of things whose taste brings death unless they are seasoned in some degree with the first fruits of the Spirit. I shall surely find death in the pot if it be not sweetened with the meal of the Prophet. For without the Spirit the sacrament is received as a judgment, the flesh is of no avail, the letter kills, and faith is dead. It is the Spirit who must give these things life if I am to find life in them. But no matter how great the effusion of the Spirit that enriches these, the husk of the sacrament is not received with the same pleasure as the fat of the wheat, nor is faith the equivalent of vision, nor memory of presence, nor time of eternity, nor a face of its reflection, nor the image of God of a slave's condition. As far as all these are concerned, faith is the source of my riches, my intellect is a pauper. Can there indeed be equal pleasure in understanding and in faith, when the latter is the source of merit, the former the reward? You see then that the foods are as different as the places where they are eaten are distant from each other; and as the heavens are raised far above the earth, so those who dwell there enjoy an abundance of greater gifts.

4. Let us make haste then my sons, let us make haste to a place that is safer, to a pasture that is sweeter, to a land that is richer and more fertile. Let us make haste to a place where we may dwell without fear, where we may abound and never want, where we may feast and never weary. For while passing judgment tranquilly on all things, O Lord of hosts, you feed in security and with fairness all who dwell in that place, you who are at the same time the Lord of armies and shepherd of sheep.

You feed your flock therefore, and at the same time make them rest, but not here below. For you were standing that time you looked down from heaven at one of your little sheep, Stephen, when he was surrounded by wolves here on earth. And so I beseech you, "show me where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon," that is, the whole day long: for that noon is a day that knows no evening. Consequently, "a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere," because its sun never sets. But perhaps it had a sunrise, when that sanctified day first dawned upon us through the tender mercy of our God, in which the Rising Sun visited us from heaven. Truly then "we received your mercy, O God, in the midst of your temple," when, as you rose out of the shadow of death, the morning light shone over us, and in the dawn we saw the glory of God. How many prophets and kings desired to see this, and did not see it! Why should this have been unless because it was night, and that long-awaited dawn on which mercy had been promised had not yet come? Hence that prayer of the Psalmist: "Let me hear in the morning of your mercy, for in you I put my trust."

5. The dawning of this day began when the Sun of righteousness was announced to the earth by the Archangel Gabriel; when the Virgin conceived God in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit, and still remaining a virgin gave birth to him; and it continued as long as he was seen on earth and lived among men. For during all that time only a feeble light, just like the dusk of dawn, was visible, so that almost the whole world failed to realize that day-time for mankind had come. For "if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory." Even the small group of disciples had been told: "up to now you have but little light," because it was still only the dawn, and the beginning, or rather a token light of the coming day, for the Sun concealed his rays rather than shed them over the earth. Paul too said that "the night is far gone, the day is at hand," signifying that the light was as yet so dim that he preferred to say the day was approaching than that it had come. But when did he say this? He said it when the Sun, after its return from beneath the earth, had ascended to the heights of heaven. With what greater reason might he have said it when "the likeness of sinful flesh" still covered that dawn like a dense cloud, since his body resembled ours in its liability to all manner of suffering, to which neither the bitterness of death nor the shame of the cross was wanting? With what greater reason, I insist, might he have said it when the light was so minimal, so meager, that it seemed a reflection of the dawning rather than of the Sun itself.

6. The dawn, then, and a quite clouded one at that, was the whole life of Christ upon earth, which remained obscure until he died and rose again, to put the dawn to flight by the clearer light of his glorious presence. With the coming of sunrise, night was swallowed up in victory. And so we are told that "very early on the Sunday morning, just after sunrise, they came to the tomb." Surely it was morning when the sun had risen? But the resurrection endowed it with a new beauty, with a more serene light than usual, because "even though we once knew him according to the flesh, we know him thus no longer." The Prophet wrote: "He is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength," because he shook off the flesh's frailties like cloudlets and put on the robe of glory. Since then the Sun is risen indeed, and has gradually poured down its rays over the earth; its light has begun to appear increasingly clearer, its warmth to be more perceptible.

However, even though it increases in warmth and strength, though it multiplies and extends its rays over the whole course of our mortal lives - for it will be with us even to the end of the world - it will not attain to its noontide splendor, nor be seen here below in that fullness which it will exhibit hereafter, at least to those who are destined for the privilege of this vision. O true noontide, fullness of warmth and light, trysting-place of the sun; noontide that blots out shadows, that dries up marshes, that banishes evil odors! O perpetual solstice, day that will never decline to evening! O noontide light, with your springtime freshness, your summer-like gracefulness, your autumnal fruitfulness and - let me not seem to omit it - your winter of quiescence and leisure! Although, if you prefer it, winter alone of these is over and gone. Show me this place, she said, where there is so much brightness and peace and fullness, so that, just as Jacob while still in this life saw the Lord face to face and his soul was saved; or as Moses saw him, not by means of images and obscure sayings or through dreams like some of the other Prophets, but in a manner unrivaled and beyond the experience of all others, known only to himself and God; or as Isaiah, after the eyes of his heart had been opened, saw him seated on a high and exalted throne; or just as Paul, rapt into Paradise, heard words that he could not explain and saw his Lord Jesus Christ, so may I too merit the ecstatic grace of contemplating you in your light and beauty, as you generously feed your flock and make them rest securely.

7. Here on earth too, you feed your sheep but not to their full satisfaction; nor is it possible for you to rest, you must stand and keep watch because of the terrors of the night. Alas! there is neither clear light, nor a full repast, nor a safe place to stay; and therefore, "Tell me where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon." You call me blessed when I hunger and thirst for righteousness. But what is this in comparison with the happiness of those who are filled with the good things of your house, who feast and rejoice in the sight of their Lord, who are jubilant with joy? But if I do suffer for the sake of righteousness you nevertheless declare me blessed. To eat is pleasurable, but one does not eat in security if fear be present. To suffer and feast simultaneously is surely a bitter pleasure? All things here below fall short of perfection, many are beyond the reach of my desires, and nothing is safe. When will you fill me with the joy of your presence? Lord, I do seek your face. Your face is the noontide. "Tell me where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon." I know well enough where you pasture it without lying down; tell me where you pasture it and make it lie down. I am not unaware of your accustomed pasturage at other times; but I do wish to know where that pasturage is at noon. For during my time in this life, in this my place of pilgrimage, I am accustomed to feed and be fed under your protection, in the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms, in the meadows of the Gospels; I have found rest too in the company of the apostles; and often I have done my utmost to beg food for myself and those belonging to me from the doings of the saints, from their words and writings. More often, however, because this was closer to hand, I have eaten the bread of pain and drunk the wine of sorrow, "my tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me continually: 'Where is your God?'" My one hope is your table - "for you have prepared a table before me against them that afflict me," from which I receive by favor of your mercy all that I need for refreshment when I feel sad and inwardly disturbed. This is the pasture that I have known and frequented in following you as my shepherd; but tell me also about those secret places that I do not know.

8. There are too, those other shepherds who say they are companions of yours but are not, shepherds whose flocks feed on lands filled with a deadly food; there they are fed neither with you nor by you, and I have not entered their fields nor even approached them. These are the men who say: "Look, here is the Christ," or, "Look, he is there," as they make promises of pastures more rich in wisdom and knowledge; people believe them and multitudes flock to them, to be made twice as fit for hell as they themselves are. Why this, if not because they have neither noontide nor light clear enough to see the truth in its purity? They easily accept what is false because of its likeness to the truth, since in the dusk it is far from easy to distinguish it from the truth, especially as "stolen waters are sweet and bread tastes better when eaten in secret." Hence my request that you tell me "where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon," that is, in the clear light, lest I be seduced and begin to wander after the flocks of your companions, because they are wanderers, devoid of the certain truth that gives stability. Though always learning, they never attain to knowledge of the truth. Such are the comments of the bride on the varied and vain doctrines of the philosophers and heretics.

9. I feel, however, that not alone because of these, but because of the deceits of invisible powers, spirits whose work is seduction, who lie in ambush, "fitting their arrows to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart," because of these, I say emphatically, I feel that we also must yearn for that noontide, so that in its clear light we may detect the tricks of the devil, and be able to distinguish with ease between our angel and that angel of Satan who "disguises himself as an angel of light." For we cannot defend ourselves from the attack of the noontide devil except with the aid of noontide light. I believe that he is styled the noontide devil because some of those wicked spirits, who, because of their obstinate and darkened wills are like the night, even perpetual night, yet, for the purpose of deceiving men, can become bright as day, even as noon. In this they follow their prince, who, not content with being equal to God, opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called or worshiped as a god. Hence when this kind of noontide devil sets out to tempt a man, there is no chance whatever of parrying him; he will tempt and overthrow his victim by suggesting what appears to be good, by persuading him, unsuspecting and unprepared as he is, to commit evil under the guise of good, unless the Sun from heaven shines into his heart with noontide brightness. The tempter really appears like noon, clothed in a certain splendor, when he comes with the suggestion of an apparently greater good.

10. How often, for example, does he not persuade a monk to anticipate the hour of rising, and mock at him as he sleeps in choir while his brothers pray! How often does he not suggest that fasts be prolonged, until a man is so weak that he is useless for the service of God! How often, in envy of a man's fervor in community life, does he not persuade him to live as a hermit in order to achieve greater perfection, until the unhappy man finally discovers how true that saying is which he had read to no purpose: "Woe to him who is alone, for when he falls he has none to lift him up!" How often has he not inspired a man to work harder than necessary at manual labor, until exhaustion makes him unfit for the other regular observances! How many has he not won over to indiscreet indulgence in physical exercises which the Apostle considers of little value, and sapped their spiritual stamina! And lastly, you yourselves will know how some -- to their shame I say it -- were at first so filled with ardor in all they undertook that they could not be restrained, but who in the end became so indolent as to merit the reproach of the Apostle: "Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?" What a degrading alliance they have made with those bodies on which they had previously waged a cruel warfare! For shame! those who once stubbornly refused what was necessary now insistently demand what is superfluous! And if they remain so invincibly obstinate, troubling with their indiscreet fasts and erratic behavior those with whom they are bound to dwell harmoniously in the home, I fail to see how they think they can maintain a loving union with them. They seem to me to have made this possibility more remote. Wise in their own eyes, and determined to accept neither advice nor command, let them reflect on what answer they shall give, not to me but to him who says: "Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness like the crime of idolatry." Just before this he had said that "to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen better than to offer the fat of rams," the offering of self-willed abstinence. Hence the Lord says through the Prophet: "Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?" to show that he will not accept fasting from the proud and the unclean.

11. My fear at the moment is, that while condemning these erring monks I may seem to encourage the gluttonous, that what I speak as a remedy for the former may be interpreted by the latter to their peril.

Therefore let both sides know that there are four kinds of temptation, described by the Prophet as follows: "His truth will surround you with a shield: you will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor invasion, nor the noonday devil." You others should pay attention too, because I trust that this will be of profit to everyone. All of us who have been converted to the Lord have felt and still feel the truth of what Scripture says: "My son, if you come forward to serve the Lord, stand in fear, and prepare your soul for temptation." Our common experience tells us that it is fear which disturbs us at the beginning of our conversion, fear of that dismaying picture we form for ourselves of the strict life and unwonted austerities we are about to embrace. This is called a nocturnal fear, either because in scripture adversity is usually represented by darkness, or because the reward for which we are prepared to suffer adversity is not yet revealed to us. For if we could see the dawn of that day in whose light we should perceive the rewards as well as the trials, our desire of the rewards would entirely obliterate fear, since in the clear light it would be apparent that "the sufferings we now endure bear no comparison with the splendor, as yet unrevealed, which is in store for us." But since this is now hidden from our eyes, and darkness reigns about us, we are subjected to "the terror of the night," and face with dread the endurance of present evils in place of the blessings we do not see. Beginners on the way to God, therefore, must in particular watch and pray against this first temptation, or they will be suddenly overcome by pusillanimity of spirit as by a storm, and unfortunately recoil from the good work they have begun.

12. But when this temptation has been conquered, let us take up arms against the praises of men, who find matter for their compliments in the praiseworthy life we lead. Otherwise we shall be exposed to wounds from "the arrow that flies by day" which is vainglory. For fame is said to fly, and that by day, because it springs from works done in the light. But if this temptation is blown away like the empty air, we shall be confronted with a stronger one, with an offer of the riches and honors of the world, for the man who despises praise may hanker for position. Our Lord himself experienced this order of temptation: after the suggestion that he pitch himself from the temple for the sake of mere vanity, all kingdoms of the world were shown to him and offered to him. And you, following the Lord's example, must refuse what is offered. If not, you will become victims of "the pestilence that stalks about in the darkness," which is hypocrisy. For this has its source in ambition, its dwelling in darkness: for it conceals what it really is and pretends to be what it is not. Active at all times, it retains the appearance of piety as a mask to hide behind, and barters its virtue to purchase honors.

13. The last temptation is that of the noontide devil, whose task is to lay ambushes for the perfect, those persons of tried virtue who have survived all other temptations: pleasures, applause, honors. What further weapons has the tempter with which to fight openly against men of this kind? But what he does not dare openly he will attempt in disguise; and when he is aware that a man will abominate what he sees to be patently evil, he tries to seduce him by means of a counterfeit good. Those who can say with the Apostle: "We are not ignorant of his designs," will be all the more careful to avoid that trap the more they advance. This is why Mary was perturbed by the angel's greeting: unless I am mistaken she suspected some deceit; nor would Joshua receive the angel as a friend until he was sure he was a friend. For, like a man with experience of the plotting of the noontide devil, he enquires whether he is for him or for his enemies. Wearied at the oars, with a hostile wind lashing their ship, the apostles too cried out with fear when they saw the Lord walking over the sea, and took him for a ghost. Was not this cry of fear a sign that they clearly thought him to be the noontide devil? And you recall how Scripture says: "About the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea." In the fourth or final stage, then, let us beware of this temptation. The greater the perfection a man may seem to have attained, the more he must be convinced of the need to watch vigilantly for the noontide devil. He who was the true noontide made himself known to the disciples with the words: "It is I, have no fear," and their mistrust of this strange phenomenon was dispelled. And whenever this painted falsehood tries to take us unawares, may the true Noontide, shining from the heavens, send forth his light and his truth even to us; let him divide the light from the darkness, lest we be numbered by the Prophet among those "who put darkness for light and light for darkness."

14. If you are not worn out by the length of this sermon, I shall try to apply these four temptations in due order to the Church, and Body of Christ. I shall try to be as brief as possible. Consider the Church of the early centuries: was she not most bitterly afflicted by "the terror of the night"? For it was surely night when anyone who killed the saints thought he was doing a service to God. When this temptation had been overcome and the tempest stilled, she became illustrious, and in accord with the promise made to her, soon occupied a position of preeminence in the world. Disappointed by this frustration, the enemy craftily changed his tactics from "the terror of the night" to "the arrow that flies by day," by which he would now wound the Church's members. Vain and ambitious men came into power, intent on making a name for themselves; they abandoned the Church, their mother, and for long afflicted her with diverse and perverse doctrines. This scourge was in turn repelled by the wisdom of the saints, as the first had been by the endurance of the martyrs.

15. The times in which we live are, by the mercy of God, free from these two evils, but are obviously contaminated by "the pestilence that stalks in darkness." Woe to this generation because of the "yeast of the Pharisees - that is, their hypocrisy," if that can be called hypocrisy which is so prevalent that it cannot be hidden, and so impudent that it does not want to be! Today a foul corruption permeates the whole body of the Church, all the more incurable the more widespread it becomes, all the more dangerous the more it penetrates inwardly. For if a heretic were to rebel in public, he would be cast out to wither; if an enemy were to attack her violently, she could perhaps take refuge from him. But as things stand, whom will she cast out, or from whom will she hide herself? Everyone is a friend, everyone an enemy; everyone is indispensable, everyone an adversary; everyone is a member of the household, but not one is peace-loving; all are neighbors to each other, but all insist on their own way. Called to be ministers of Christ, they are servants of Antichrist. Promoted to honors over the possessions of the Lord, they pay the Lord no honor. Hence that bogus splendor that you see every day, that theatrical apparel, that regal pomp. Hence the gold embossments on their bridles, on their saddles, on their spurs: spurs that carry more costly adornment than their altars. Hence the banquet-laden tables with their glittering glassware; the carousing and drunkenness; the music of harp and lyre and flute; the vats overflowing with wine, storehouses crammed to the doors, and a surplus to be stowed elsewhere. Hence the painted casks, the packed money-bags. Such is the goal they aim at when they seek a prelacy in the Church, to be deans or archdeacons, bishops or archbishops. Nor do these come to them by way of merit, but through this agency that works in the darkness.

16. Long ago the following prophecy was made, and now we see its fulfillment: "See how in peace my bitterness is most bitter." It was bitter at first in the slaying of the martyrs, more bitter in later times in the struggle with the heretics, but now most bitter of all in the corrupt morals of the members of the household. She cannot drive them away nor fly from them, so strong have they grown, so numerous beyond counting. This sickness of the Church is deeply rooted and incurable, which is why during peace her bitterness is most bitter. But what is the nature of this peace? It is a peace that is not peace. She has peace from the pagans, peace from the heretics, but not from her own sons. And so today we hear her grief-laden words: "Sons have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me." They have rebelled, they have dishonored me, by their shameful lives, their shameful gains, their shameful trafficking, by all the intrigue that is perpetuated in the darkness. Nothing remains but for the noontide devil to appear in our midst, to seduce those who still abide in Christ, who remain faithful to his truth. For he has already swallowed up the rivers of the wise and the streams of the powerful; he is even confident that Jordan will flow into his mouth, that he will devour the humble and the simple who are still in the Church. For he is Antichrist, who pretends that he is not only the day but the very noon, who "exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship," whom "the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of his mouth," whom he will destroy with the light of his coming, because he is the true and eternal Noontide, the Bridegroom and defender of the Church; he is God, blessed for ever. Amen.

It is fitting meanwhile to consider this contemplation of such great mercy. The deeds of a sinful woman, but one repenting—with what esteem does Truth preserve them in His presence, which He enumerates to her adversary with such detailed distribution. The Lord was reclining at the Pharisee's dinner, but He was delighting in the feasts of the mind at the penitent woman's. At the Pharisee's house, Truth was fed outwardly; at the sinful woman's, yet one who had converted, He was fed inwardly. Hence the holy Church says to Him in the Song of Songs, whom she seeks under the likeness of a young deer: "Show me, O you whom my soul loves, where you feed, where you rest at midday." For the Lord is called a young deer, according to His assumed flesh the son of the ancient fathers. Indeed, a more fervent heat burns at midday, and the young deer seeks a shady place where the fire of heat does not affect it. Therefore, the Lord rests in those hearts which the love of the present age does not inflame, which the desires of the flesh do not burn up, which, set ablaze by their anxieties, do not wither in the lusts of this world.

At midday the sun is more fervent. Everyone who burns in faith burns in the love of desire. This bridegroom who is called below a young stag feeds the greenness of virtues in their heart; in their heart he reclines at midday, in the fervor of charity. Show me, O you whom my soul loves, where you feed, where you lie down at midday. Why she thus seeks where he feeds, where he lies down, she gives the reason for her inquiry. Lest I begin to wander after the flocks of your companions.

The companions of God are His close friends, just as all who live well are; but many appear to be companions and are not companions. For many teachers, while they were promoting perverse doctrine, seemed indeed to be companions, but turned out to be enemies. While Arius, Sabellius, and Montanus were still teachers, they appeared as if companions; but when they were strictly examined and exposed, they appeared as enemies. And very often faithful souls, while they cling to the word of God, while they love in their teachers that from which they may profit, do not know how to guard against the words of perverse teachers, and fall away through their very mouths. For how many congregations there are that trusted in these companions, and while those men pursued them, they wandered astray through the flocks of companions! Let her therefore say: "Show me where you pasture, where you rest at midday, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of your companions." Show me in whose hearts you truly rest, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of those who seem to be your companions, that is, who are believed to be your close friends and are not. All priests, all teachers are companions of God, as far as appearance goes; but as far as their life is concerned, many are not companions but adversaries. But these very things we have said about heretical masters, we can also say about Catholics who do not act rightly. For many little faithful ones within the Church desire to live well, wish to hold to a life of uprightness, and observe the life of the priests who are set over them; and when those very priests do not live well, when those who are in charge do not live rightly, those who follow after slip into error. Wherefore the Church, as if speaking in the person of those little and faithful ones, says: "Show me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture, where you rest at midday." Show me the life of those who truly serve you, so that I may know where you pasture — the verdure of virtues — so that I may know where you rest at midday, that is, where you repose in the fervor of charity; lest while I look upon the flocks of your companions, I myself begin to wander, not knowing to whose words and teachings I should entrust myself. For every hearer, every weak one, must carefully consider whose words he ought to believe, whose instruction he ought to follow, whose examples he ought to imitate.

I linger long in the land of the midday sun, for it was there and then that the spouse found her bridegroom at rest.

You see that it is not in the third hour that the spouse dines or reclines but at midday. Where do you dine, where do you rest, where shall I find you, where do you enjoy delights, where can I find you, O my spouse? Do you want to find me? At noon, in perfect knowledge, in good works, in the bright light. Because we have the noonday, that is why the devil disguises himself as an angel of light and pretends that he has the light, that he has the noonday. When heretics promise any pseudo-mysteries, when they promise the kingdom of heaven, when they promise continence, fasts, sanctity, the renunciation of the world, they promise the noonday. But since their midday is not the light of Christ, it is not the noonday but the noonday demon.

It is logical for the bride to enquire at the time of midday where the bridegroom takes his rest because when the light of knowledge became stronger, heresies developed which, while bearing the name of Christians, were nevertheless devoid of truth. This is the reason she is exercised and anxious to learn the spot where the bridegroom rests the sheep, the risk of falling in with the flocks of so-called companions. It should be understood that just as there were the prophets and the false prophets opposed to them, and likewise apostles and false apostles of an opposite mind, so too false Christs are referred to in the divine Scripture. Hence the Lord also says, "Many false prophets will rise up and will lead many people astray." And blessed Paul was in the habit of speaking not only of false brethren but also of false apostles—hence his remark, "For such people are false apostles." The bride begs not to fall in with these people since they give the appearance of shepherds and likewise seem to have flocks and herds. Of such kind are the people who hold the views of Arius, Eunomius, Marcion, Valentinus, Mani and Montanus. While invested with a Christian appearance and name, building churches, reading divine Scriptures to sheep led astray, wrongly tending their followers and thought to be companions of the bridegroom, they are instead pernicious schemers, providing the sheep with poison instead of nourishing draughts.

"If you do not know yourself, go out, you, in the tracks of the flocks, and graze your goats in the tents of the shepherds." Go out in the tracks, not of the flock but of the flocks, and graze, not like Peter my sheep but your goats; in the tabernacles, not of the shepherd but of the shepherds; not of unity but of division, not established in the place where there is one flock and one shepherd.By this answer she has been stiffened, built up, made stronger as the beloved wife, ready to die for her husband and live with her husband.

If you do not know yourself, O fairest among women, go forth, etc. Why, he says, do you speak in such a way as if you could by any means be abandoned by me amidst temptation, and you complain that you have been darkened by the excessive fervor in guarding our vineyard from the enemies, as if by the sun of midday, which I myself have endowed through the washing of regeneration to be already fair among women, that is, among the synagogues of other doctrines, but I have decided that you should be rendered much fairer by the examination of tribulations? But if you perhaps do not know this, do you not now remember that no one is crowned unless he has competed according to the rules (II Tim. II)? Withdraw from my company, and follow after the footsteps of the flocks; that is, imitate the acts of those who err, although I have decreed you rather to be the keeper of my one flock, which was to have one fold and one shepherd.

And feed your kids beside the tents of the shepherds. That is, feed lost listeners, having followed the doctrines of foolish teachers, abandoning the words of the wise, which are given by the counsel of teachers from one shepherd. For indeed if you love me, I have ordered you to feed my lambs, that is, the souls serving me simply and innocently with the word of salvation; I have wanted you to devote such care to this duty, that you would prefer to endure all adverse things, even to undergo the torment of death itself, rather than desist from their feeding. But if you do not know that you have been betrothed to me under such a condition, rather feed your kids, that is, those united with erring teachers, yielding to the luxurious and proud; who are rightly called kids, and your kids, namely, who are to be placed on the left in judgment. Yours indeed, because they are not instructed according to the rule of my commandments, but rather according to your errors, that is, those whom you retained before you were joined to me. However, the Lord does not say this by commanding, but rather by threatening, and by indicating what happens to those who, not bearing the adversities of temptations, separate themselves from the unity of the peace of the church. As in the Gospel, when he says: Either make the tree good and its fruit good; or make the tree bad and its fruit bad (Matt. XII). He does not command us to do evil, but teaches what reward awaits evildoers. Because indeed the Lord does not want the holy Church to be ignorant of itself, but earnestly desires it to learn what it has received from him as gifts, and what it must suffer or do for his love, he consequently indicates to it what its state is when he adds:

In Which Humility and Patience Are Treated

1. "If you do not know yourself, O beautiful one among women, go forth, and go after the flocks of your companions, and pasture your kids beside the tents of the shepherds" (Song 1:7). Once holy Moses, because he presumed much upon the grace and familiarity which he had found with God, aspired to a certain great vision, so that he said to God: "If I have found grace in your eyes, show me yourself." But he received in place of it a vision far inferior, from which nevertheless he might at some time arrive at the very one he desired (Ex 33:13-23). The sons of Zebedee also, walking in the simplicity of their heart, dared something great themselves, but were likewise brought back to the step by which one must ascend (Mt 20:21-23). So too now the bride, since she seems to ask for a great thing, is indeed checked by a rather severe response, but one plainly useful and faithful. For it is necessary that one striving toward higher things think humbly of himself, lest, while he is raised above himself, he fall from himself, unless he has been firmly established in himself through true humility. And because the greatest things are by no means obtained except by the merit of humility, therefore he who is to be advanced is humbled by correction, and by humility he merits. You therefore, when you see yourself humbled, take this as a sign entirely for the good, as an indication that grace is drawing near. For as the heart is exalted before a fall (Prov 16:18), so it is humbled before exaltation. Indeed you read both in Scripture, namely that God both resists the proud and gives grace to the humble (Jas 4:6). Did he not, after all, when he judged that his servant Job, after his remarkable triumph and so great and so proven a patience, should be rewarded with a generous blessing, first take care to humble him in many and searching interrogations, and so prepare the way for the blessing? (Job 38ff.)

2. But it is a small thing if, when God humbles us through himself, we then accept it willingly, unless when he does this also through another, we are similarly wise. Wherefore receive a wonderful lesson of this matter from holy David. Once he was cursed even by a servant; but he did not feel the heaped-up injury, because he foresaw the grace. "What have I to do with you, sons of Sarvia?" he said (2 Sam 16:10). O truly a man after God's own heart, who thought he should be angry with the one avenging him rather than with the one reproaching him! Whence also with a clear conscience he spoke: "If I have repaid those who rendered evil to me, let me rightly fall empty before my enemies" (Ps 7:4). He therefore forbade the restraining of the cursing reviler, reckoning the curses as gain. And he adds: "The Lord sent him to curse David" (2 Sam 16:10). Utterly after God's heart, he who drew his judgment from the heart of God. The cursing tongue raged, and he was attending to what God was doing in secret. The voice of the one cursing was in his ears, and his mind inclined itself to blessing. Was God in the mouth of the blasphemer? By no means! But he used him for humbling David. Nor was this hidden from the Prophet; for God had manifested to him the uncertain and hidden things of his wisdom (Ps 50:8), and therefore he says: "It is good for me that you have humbled me, that I may learn your statutes" (Ps 118:71).

3. You see that humility justifies us? I said humility, and not humiliation. How many are humiliated who are not humble? Some are humiliated with resentment, others patiently, others even gladly. The first are guilty, the next are innocent, the last are just. Although innocence too is a portion of justice, yet the consummation of it is found in the humble person; and he who can say, "It is good for me that you have humbled me," he is truly humble. He who tolerates it unwillingly cannot say this; still less, he who murmurs. To neither of these do we promise grace because he is humiliated: although indeed these two differ greatly from one another, and the one possesses his soul in his patience, while the other perishes in his murmuring. But truly even if one avoids wrath, neither merits grace; because God gives grace not to the humiliated, but to the humble. Now he is humble who converts humiliation into humility, and he it is who says to God: "It is good for me that you have humbled me." For no one at all is it a good thing that he bears patiently; it is plainly burdensome. But we know that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7). Whence also when we fast, we are commanded to anoint our head with oil and to wash our face (Mt 6:17), so that our good work may be seasoned with a certain spiritual joy, and our holocaust may become rich. For only joyful and unconstrained humility merits the grace which it displays. For that which is forced or extorted, such as is indeed found in that patient man who possesses his soul: this humility, I say, although it obtains life on account of patience, will nevertheless not have grace on account of its sadness. For that word of Scripture does not suit him who is of this sort: "Let the humble man glory in his exaltation" (Jas 1:9); since he is not humbled willingly, nor gladly.

4. But do you wish to see a humble man rightly glorying, and truly worthy of glory? "Gladly," he says, "will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me" (2 Cor 12:9). He does not say that he patiently bears his infirmities, but that he even glories, and gladly glories in them, proving also that it is good for him that he is humbled; nor is it at all sufficient that he possess his soul as one patiently humbled, unless he also receives grace as one voluntarily humbled. But hear hence the general rule: "Everyone who humbles himself," he says, "will be exalted" (Lk 14:11). He signifies indeed that not every humility will be exalted, but only that which comes from the will, not from sadness, nor from necessity. Nor indeed, conversely, will everyone who is exalted be humbled; but only he who exalts himself will be humbled, namely on account of voluntary vanity. So therefore not he who is humbled, but he who voluntarily humbles himself, will be exalted; namely on account of the merit of the will. For suppose that the matter of humility is furnished through another, for example, reproaches, losses, punishments; not on that account will that man rightly be said to have been humbled by another rather than by himself, who has determined that all those things are to be undergone with a quiet and joyful conscience, for the sake of God.

5. But where are we going? Patiently, as I perceive, you endure this digression in a discourse on humility and patience; but let us return to the place from which we departed. For this occurred to us from the occasion of the response by which the bridegroom judged that the bride, who was presuming great things, should be checked, and not to her foolishness; but so that from it an occasion of more praiseworthy and greater humility might be given, through which she would become more worthy of greater things and more capable of those very things she was seeking. Nevertheless, because we are still at the threshold of the present chapter, let us begin the discussion of it, if you please, at the start of another sermon, especially lest the words of the bridegroom be either recounted or heard with tedium. May he himself avert this from his servants, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God over all things, blessed forever. Amen.

The Bridegroom Reproves the Bride — Two Kinds of Ignorance

1. "If you do not know yourself, go forth." What a hard and bitter reproof: "Go forth." This is the kind of language that slaves hear from masters smarting with anger, or slave-girls from mistresses they have gravely offended: "Get out of here, get away from me, clear out of my sight, away from this house." And this kind of harsh and bitter expression, extremely reproachful, is now used by the Bridegroom against his beloved, but with this condition: if she does not know herself. Nothing he could say was more warranted to frighten her than the threat that she should go forth. And you can see this if you think well on the place she is to go forth from and where she is told to go. From where and to where, if not from the spirit to the flesh, from things that are the soul's delight to desire of earthy pleasures, from the inward repose of the mind to the world's clattering bustle where worry allows no peace; in all of which there is nothing but toil and sorrow and spiritual suffering. The soul has been taught by the Lord and received the power to enter into itself, to long for the presence of God in its inmost depths, to seek his face continually -- for God is a spirit, and those who seek him ought to walk by the promptings of the Spirit rather than of the flesh, lest they live according to the flesh. Would that soul regard a temporary experience of hell as more horrible, more punitive, than having once tasted the sweetness of this spiritual desire, to have to go out again to the allurements or rather the irksome demands of the flesh, and be involved as before in the insatiable prurience of the body's senses? Ecclesiastes says: "The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing." Listen to a man who has experienced the things I speak of: "The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him." To attempt to turn this holy man away from that good, would cause him to feel as if driven out of Paradise, from the very gateway to glory. Listen to another man with a similar experience: "My heart says to you: 'My face has sought you;' your face, O Lord, I shall seek." Whence he said: "It is good for me to adhere to God;" and he addresses his soul with the words: "Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you." Therefore I say to you: There is nothing so feared by a man who has once received this favor, than, abandoned by grace, to have to go out again to the fleshly consolations, which are really desolations, and to endure once more the tumult of physical desire.

2. "Go forth and pasture your kids:" it is a terrible, an awe-inspiring threat. As much as to say: know yourself unworthy of that familiar and sweet contemplation of things heavenly, things of the spirit, divine things. Therefore go forth from that heart of yours which has been my sanctuary, where it was your custom to drink sweet draughts from the secret, holy teachings of truth and wisdom; be like a woman of the world, become entangled in pandering to the nourishment and delights of your flesh. Since through them sin enters the soul like death through the windows, he calls the restless, wanton senses of the body kids, which signifies sin -- at the judgment they are to be placed on the left. The words that follow in the text, "beside the shepherds' tents," agree suitably with this interpretation. For unlike lambs, kids are fed not above but beside the shepherds' tents. Even though during the days of their service here below they dwell in tents set upon the earth and made of earth, namely, their own bodies, shepherds who are worthy of the name are accustomed to feed the flocks of the Lord with food from the heavenly pastures, not from the earth; it is the Lord's will that they preach, not their own. The kids however, the bodily senses, do not need heavenly things, but staying beside the shepherds' tents, they choose their foods from all the material goods of this world, which is the body's sphere; but desire, far from being satisfied, is but stimulated by these foods.

3. What a shameful change of occupation! Her previous occupation was to nourish her exiled pilgrim soul with holy meditations, feeding on heavenly truths, to seek after God's good-pleasure and the mysteries of his will, to penetrate the heavens by the power of her love and wander in thought through the abodes of the blessed, to pay homage to the patriarchs and apostles and throngs of prophets, to admire the triumphs of the martyrs and be lost in wonder at the superb beauty of the angel choirs. Now she has to abandon all these, and subject herself to the shameful task of serving the body, of obeying the flesh; she must satisfy stomach and palate, and beg throughout the world, this world whose form is passing away, for the means to gratify in some degree her perpetually ravenous curiosity. My tears flow like streams for a soul in this plight: she who once fed so delicately now lies grovelling on the dunghill. One may say with the blessed Job that she fed the barren, childless woman and did no good to the widow.

It is worth noting that he did not simply tell her to go forth, but to go after the flocks of her companions and to feed her kids. It seems to me that here he is warning us of something very important. What is that? Alas! that one who was so excellent, at one time a member of the flock and now, in wretched decline from bad to worse, is not permitted to remain with the flocks but commanded to go behind them. You ask what I mean. You yourselves can read: "When man was being honored, he did not understand; and now he is compared to senseless beasts and becomes like them." That is how one so excellent is made one of the flock. And the brutes, if they could speak, would surely say: "See, Adam has become like one of us." He who was being honored! "How honored?" you ask. His dwelling was in Paradise, he spent his days in the midst of delights. His food the sweet-smelling apples, his bed the flowered banks, he was crowned with glory and honor, made keeper of the things his Creator had made, and knew neither trouble nor want. A gift still more sublime was the divine likeness he bore, that destined him for companionship with the angel hosts, with the multitudes of heaven's armies.

4. But he "exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass." That is why the bread of angels became like grass in the manger, set before us for the beasts that we are. For the Word was made flesh, and according to the Prophet, all flesh is grass. But the grass of the Word has not been withered nor has its bloom turned pale, because the Spirit of the Lord has rested upon him. And even though the grass may wither and the flower fade, the Word of the Lord remains forever. Therefore if the grass is the Word, and the Word remains forever, the grass too of necessity remains forever. How could it bestow eternal life if it did not itself remain forever?

5. Let us ponder together on the voice of the Son addressing the Father in the words of the Psalm. "You will not allow your Holy One to see corruption." He is obviously speaking of the body that lay lifeless in the tomb. This is that same Holy One of whom the angel spoke when he announced to the Virgin Mary: "The Holy One to be born of you will be called the Son of God." How could it be possible for that holy grass to see corruption, sprouting as it was in the spring-like meadows, perpetually green, of an incorruptible womb? It can even hold fast the eager eyes of the angels in a joy that will never grow weary. The grass will lose its freshness only if Mary will lose her virginity. And so he who is food for man has changed himself into fodder for beasts, because man has been changed into a beast. Alas! a sad and pitiable change, that man, a native of Paradise, lord of the earth, citizen of heaven, member of the household of the Lord of hosts, a brother of the blessed spirits and co-heir of the heavenly powers, finds himself lying in a stable by a sudden transformation due to his own weakness, in need of grass because of his animal likeness, and tied to the manger because of his untamed roughness. As it is written: "Curbed by bit and bridle, the jaws of those who will not stay close to you." Acknowledge, O ox, your owner and you, ass, your Lord's crib, that God's Prophets may be found trustworthy in their foretelling of these wonderful works of God. Acknowledge, Beast, him whom in your human condition you did not acknowledge; adore in the stable him from whom you fled in Paradise; pay honor now to the crib of one whose rule you scorned; eat now as grass him for whom as bread, the Bread of angels, you lost all taste.

6. You ask: "What is the cause of this debasement?" Simply that when man was in honor he lacked understanding. What did he not understand? The Psalmist does not explain, but let me explain. Placed in a position of honor, he was so intrigued by the dignity of his rank that he did not understand that he was but clay, and soon experienced in himself what a member of the captive race both wisely noted and truly expressed at a much later date: "If anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself." Woe to that first unhappy man that no one was then present who could say to him: "Dust and ashes, why are you proud?" From then on this fairest of creatures was reduced to the level of the herd; from then on the likeness of God was changed to the likeness of a beast; from then on association with the animals took the place of fellowship with the angels. You see how careful we must be to shun this ignorance that has brought evils by the thousands on the whole human race! For the Psalmist compares man to the senseless beasts, for the reason that he lacked understanding. We must avoid ignorance at any cost, or if we are found to be still without understanding even after chastisement, more serious evils than the former will multiply upon us and it will be said of us: "We tried to cure Babylon; she has gotten no better." And rightly so, if the chastisement has failed to make us understand what we have heard.

7. And see if perhaps it was not for this reason that the Bridegroom, in order to fill his beloved with a fear of this ignorance by the thunder of his threatening, did not say "Go forth with the flocks," or "go forth to the flocks," but "Go forth after the flocks of your companions." Why does he speak in this manner? Surely for the purpose of showing that the second ignorance was more to be feared, to be ashamed of, than the first, for the first brought man to a level with the beasts, the latter made him lower. Because men, unaccepted or reprobated on account of their ignorance, have to stand before the dreaded judgment seat and be committed to the unquenchable fire, but not so the beasts. Men of this type will fare worse in relation to the beasts than if they did not exist at all. "It would have been better for that man," he said, "if he had not been born." He does not mean if he had not been born at all, but if he had not been born a man; better to have been a beast or any other irrational creature, which, since it lacks the faculty of judging, will not be brought to judgment, nor through this to punishment. The rational soul then, that is ashamed of its first ignorance, should remember that though it has beasts for companions in the enjoyment of earthly goods, it will not have their company in its endurance of hell's torments; that it will ultimately be banished with shame even from the flocks of its bestial companions; that it will not travel with them but plainly after them; for when they shall have ceased to feel any evil, it will be exposed to evils of all kinds from which it will never be set free, if indeed it has added the second ignorance to the first. Accordingly man goes forth and walks alone after the flocks of his companions, since he alone is thrust into the pit of hell. Does he not seem to you to hold the last place who is bound hands and feet and thrown out into the dark? The last state of that man will obviously be worse than the former, for then he was on terms of equality with the beasts, now he is reduced to a lower condition.

8. If you pay close attention, I think you will decide that even in this life man has a lower position than the beasts. Do you not think that man endowed with reason but failing to live reasonably is more of a beast than the beasts themselves? For if the beast does not control himself by reason he has an excuse based on his very nature, for that gift was totally denied to him; but man has no excuse, because reason is a special prerogative of his nature. A man then in this condition is rightly judged to go forth from the company of other living creatures and drop to a lower level, since he is the only creature who violates the laws of his nature by a degenerate way of life. Gifted with reason, he imitates those who lack it in what he does and in what he loves. It is demonstrably clear therefore, that man is inferior to the herds, in this life by the depravity of his nature, in the next by the severity of the punishment.

9. That is how a man becomes accursed when he is found to be ignorant of God. Or should I say ignorant of self? I must include both: the two kinds of ignorance are damnable, either is enough to incur damnation. And do you want to know why? It should be perfectly obvious about ignorance of God if you can see that there is only one eternal life: to acknowledge the Father as true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Therefore hear the Bridegroom plainly and openly condemning the soul's ignorance of itself. For what does he say? Not "if you do not know God," but "if you do not know yourself." It is clear therefore that he who does not know will not be known, whether the ignorance refers to himself or to God.

The Acquiring of Knowledge

1. Here I am as I promised; here I am, both in compliance with your request and to give to God the service I owe him. Three reasons therefore compel me to speak to you: fidelity to my promise, brotherly love, and the fear of the Lord. If I refuse to speak, my own mouth condemns me. But what if I do speak? Then I dread a similar judgment, that my mouth will condemn me as one who speaks but fails to accomplish. Help me therefore with your prayers that I may always speak as I ought, and act in accord with my words. You are aware that I propose to speak today of ignorance, or rather of different kinds of ignorance. You remember I mentioned two kinds, one with regard to ourselves, the other with regard to God. And I warned that we must beware of these two, because both are reprehensible. It remains for me now to expound this more clearly and at greater length. But first I think we must try to discover if all ignorance is reprehensible. It seems to me that this is not true - nor does all ignorance occasion loss - since there are various and countless things of which one may know nothing without detriment to salvation. If you are ignorant of the craftsman's art, for example that of the carpenter or mason, or any other craft practiced by men for the purposes of the present life, does this prevent your being saved? But while unacquainted with any of the liberal arts though not denying that they may be learned and practiced for honorable and useful ends - how many people are saved by living well and doing good, those whom the Apostle mentions in the Epistle to the Hebrews, men who were dear to God not because of knowledge of literature but because of a good conscience and a sincere faith? They all pleased God in their lives by the merits of their lives, not by their knowledge. Peter and Andrew and the sons of Zebedee, and all the other disciples, were not chosen from a school of rhetoric or philosophy; and yet through them the Savior made his salvation effective throughout the world. Unlike a certain holy man who made this claim for himself, it was not because their wisdom surpassed that of all other living men, but because of their faith and meekness, that he made them his friends, sanctified them, and appointed them teachers. And when they revealed to the world the paths of life, it was not with sublime language or the polished words of human wisdom. Rather it pleased God, since the world in its wisdom did not recognize him, that through the foolishness of their preaching believers should be saved.

2. Perhaps you think that I have sullied too much the good name of knowledge, that I have cast aspersions on the learned and proscribed the study of letters. God forbid! I am not unmindful of the benefits its scholars conferred, and still confer, on the Church, both by refuting her opponents and instructing the simple. And I have read the text: "As you have rejected knowledge, so do I reject you from my priesthood;" read that the learned will shine as brightly as the vault of heaven, and those who have instructed many in virtue as bright as stars for all eternity. But I recall reading too that knowledge puffs up, and "the more the knowledge, the more the sorrow." There are then different kinds of knowledge, one contributing to self-importance, the other to sadness. Which of the two do you think is more useful or necessary to salvation, the one that makes you vain or the one that makes you weep? I feel sure you would prefer the latter to the former, for vanity but pretends to health whereas pain expresses a need. Anyone who thus demands is on the way to being saved, because the one who asks receives. Furthermore, Paul tells us that he who heals the brokenhearted abhors the proud: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Paul also said, "By the grace given to me I bid every one among you not to think more than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment." He does not forbid thinking, but inordinate thinking. And what is meant by thinking with sober judgment? It means taking the utmost care to discover what are the essential and primary truths, for the time is short. All knowledge is good in itself, provided it be founded on the truth; but since because of the brevity of time you are in a hurry to work out your salvation in fear and trembling, take care to learn, principally and primarily, the doctrines on which your salvation is more intimately dependent. Do not doctors of medicine hold that part of the work of healing depends on a right choice in the taking of food, what to take first, what next, and the amount of each kind to be eaten? For although it is clear that all the foods God made are good, if you fail to take the right amount in due order, you obviously take them to the detriment of your health. And what I say about foods I want you to apply to the various kinds of knowledge.

3. I prefer though to let you consult the Master. The doctrine I have preached is not really mine but his; though mine as well insofar as it is the word of him who is Truth. For Paul said: "If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know." He does not approve of the well-read man who observes no scale of values in the knowledge he possesses. See how the fruit and usefulness of knowledge is determined by the manner in which one knows. And what does that manner imply? It implies the order, the application, and the sense of purpose with which one approaches the object of study. The order implies that we give precedence to all that aids spiritual progress; the application, that we pursue more eagerly all that strengthens love more; and the purpose, that we pursue it not through vain-glory or inquisitiveness or any base motive, but for the welfare of oneself or one's neighbor.

For there are some who long to know for the sole purpose of knowing, and that is shameful curiosity; others who long to know in order to become known, and that is shameful vanity. To such as these we may apply the words of the Satirist: "Your knowledge counts for nothing unless your friends know you have it." There are others still who long for knowledge in order to sell its fruits for money or honors, and this is shameful profiteering; others again who long to know in order to be of service, and this is charity. Finally there are those who long to know in order to benefit themselves, and this is prudence.

4. Of all these categories, only the last two avoid the abuse of knowledge, because they desire to know for the purpose of doing good. People with sound judgment act in this way. Let all others heed the warning: he who knows what he ought to do and fails to do it, commits sin; just as food eaten but not digested is injurious to one's health. Food that is badly cooked and indigestible induces physical disorders and damages the body instead of nourishing it. In the same way if a glut of knowledge stuffed in the memory, that stomach of the mind, has not been cooked on the fire of love, and transfused and digested by certain skills of the soul, its habits and actions - since, as life and conduct bear witness, the mind is rendered good through its knowledge of good - will not that knowledge be reckoned sinful, like the food that produces irregular and harmful humors? Is not sin a humor of evil? Are not bad habits humors of evil? Will not a man in this condition suffer in his conscience inflammations and torments, since he does not act as he knows he should? And will he not find within himself the threat of death and damnation as often as he calls to mind the saying of God, that the man who knows what his Lord wants, but fails to respond as he should, will receive many strokes of the lash? Perhaps the Prophet was lamenting in the guise of such a man when he said: "There is an anguish within me, anguish within!" Or perhaps the repetition of the woes hint at a different meaning that I ought to follow up. It is possible that the Prophet spoke these words in his own person when, filled with a knowledge and overflowing with a love that he longed with all his soul to communicate, he found no one who wanted to listen; the knowledge that he could not impart became a burden on his mind. This holy teacher of the Church therefore, bewails both those who scorn to learn how to live, and those who, knowing the truth, yet live evil lives. This could explain the prophet's repetition of those words.

5. Do you not see then, how truly the Apostle perceived that knowledge puffs up?

I wish therefore that before everything else a man should know himself, because not only usefulness but right order demand this. Right order, since what we are is our first concern; and usefulness, because this knowledge gives humility rather than self-importance, it provides a basis on which to build. For unless there is a durable foundation of humility, the spiritual edifice has no hope of standing. And there is nothing more effective, more adapted to the acquiring of humility, than to find out the truth about oneself. There must be no dissimulation, no attempt at self-deception, but a facing up to one's real self without flinching and turning aside. When a man thus takes stock of himself in the clear light of truth, he will discover that he lives in a region where likeness to God has been forfeited, and groaning from the depths of a misery to which he can no longer remain blind, will he not cry out to the Lord as the Prophet did: "In your truth you have humbled me"? How can he escape being genuinely humbled on acquiring this true self-knowledge, on seeing the burden of sin that he carries, the oppressive weight of his mortal body, the complexities of earthly cares, the corrupting influence of sensual desires; on seeing his blindness, his worldliness, his weakness, his embroilment in repeated errors; on seeing himself exposed to a thousand dangers, trembling amid a thousand fears, confused by a thousand difficulties, defenseless before a thousand suspicions, worried by a thousand needs; one to whom vice is welcome, virtue repugnant? Can this man afford the haughty eyes, the proud lift of the head? With the thorns of his misery pricking him, will he not rather be changed for the better? Let him be changed and weep, changed to mourning and sighing, changed to acceptance of the Lord, to whom in his lowliness he will say: "Heal me because I have sinned against you." He will certainly find consolation in this turning to the Lord, because he is "the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort."

6. As for me, as long as I look at myself, my eye is filled with bitterness. But if I look up and fix my eyes on the aid of the divine mercy, this happy vision of God soon tempers the bitter vision of myself, and I say to him: "I am disturbed within so I will call you to mind from the land of the Jordan." This vision of God is not a little thing. It reveals him to us as listening compassionately to our prayers, as truly kind and merciful, as one who will not indulge his resentment. His very nature is to be good, to show mercy always and to spare. By this kind of experience, and in this way, God makes himself known to us for our good. When a man first discovers that he is in difficulties, he will cry out to the Lord who will hear him and say: "I will deliver you and you shall glorify me." In this way your self-knowledge will be a step to the knowledge of God; he will become visible to you according as his image is being renewed within you. And you, gazing confidently on the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, will be transformed into that same image with ever increasing brightness, by the work of the Spirit of the Lord.

7. You can see now how each of these kinds of knowledge is so necessary for your salvation, that you cannot be saved if you lack either of them. If you lack self-knowledge you will possess neither the fear of God nor humility. And whether you may presume to be saved without the fear of God and humility, is for you to judge.

On the Twofold Knowledge and the Twofold Ignorance, and on the Evils or Losses Which They Beget

1. I think we have no need now to exhort you to be watchful, since without doubt that reproving sermon is keeping you awake, being still recent, which yesterday was charitably delivered by us and well awakened some of you. You hold then in memory that I hold your assent: that no one is saved without knowledge of himself, from which indeed the mother of salvation, humility, arises, and the fear of the Lord, which itself, just as it is the beginning of wisdom, so also is the beginning of salvation. No one, I say, is saved without that knowledge, who yet has the age and faculty of knowing. This I say on account of little children and the mentally deficient, whose case is different. What if you are ignorant of God? Can there be hope of salvation with ignorance of God? Not even this. For you can neither love one whom you do not know, nor possess one whom you have not loved. Know yourself therefore, that you may fear God; know him, that you may likewise appease him. In the one you are initiated into wisdom, in the other you are also brought to perfection, because the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and the fullness of the law is love. Both ignorances therefore must be guarded against by you, just as without the fear and love of God salvation cannot exist. The rest are indifferent, having neither salvation if they are known, nor damnation if they are not known.

2. I do not say, however, that knowledge of letters is to be despised or neglected, which adorns the soul and instructs it, and makes it able to instruct others also. But those two things ought and are expedient to come first, in which the preceding argument declared the sum of salvation to consist. And see whether he was not contemplating and teaching this order who said: Sow for yourselves unto justice, reap the hope of life; and then at last, he says, illuminate for yourselves the light of knowledge. He placed knowledge last, as a painting, which cannot stand upon an empty surface; and therefore he set those two things before it and placed them beneath it, as if he were laying something solid beneath a painting. I shall now attend to knowledge in safety, if first through the benefit of hope I shall have received security of life. You therefore have sown for yourself unto justice, if from true knowledge of yourself you have been awakened to fear God, have humbled yourself, have poured forth tears, have lavished alms, and have given yourself over to other works of piety, if you have afflicted your body with fasts and vigils, if you have wearied your breast with beatings and heaven with cries. For this indeed is to sow unto justice. Good works are the seeds, good pursuits are the seeds; tears are the seeds. They went, he says, and wept, casting their seeds. But what? Shall they weep forever? Far from it! But they shall come with exultation, carrying their sheaves. Rightly with exultation, when they carry back the sheaves of glory. This, you say, will be at the resurrection on the last day, and the waiting is too long. Do not be broken in spirit, do not fail from faintheartedness of spirit; you have in the meantime from the first fruits of the Spirit what you may reap in exultation for the present. Sow, he says, for yourselves unto justice, reap the hope of life. He does not send you now to the last day, when the thing will already be in reality and not in hope; but he speaks of the present. Truly great is the joy and much and exceedingly great the exultation, when life shall have come.

3. But shall the hope of so great a joy be without joy? Rejoicing in hope, says the Apostle. And David said not that he would rejoice but that he had rejoiced, because he hoped he would go into the house of the Lord. He did not yet hold life, but he had assuredly reaped the hope of life; and he was experiencing in himself the truth of the Scripture that testifies that not only the reward but the very expectation of the just is joy. This is brought forth in the soul of the one who has sown for himself unto justice: the presumed pardon of sins, if indeed the pardon itself is attested by the efficacy of grace received for living more holily henceforth. Everyone among you who feels these things being worked within himself knows what the Spirit speaks, whose voice and working never disagree with one another. Therefore he understands the things that are said, because what he hears outwardly he feels inwardly. For he who speaks in us and works in you is one and the same Spirit, dividing to each as he wills: to some indeed to speak, to others to work what is good.

4. Whoever among you therefore, after those bitter and tearful beginnings of his conversion, rejoices that he has breathed again into hope and, lifted up on the wings of grace, has flown forth into a certain serenity of heavenly consolation; he indeed already reaps, receiving the temporal fruit of his tears; and he himself has seen God and has heard the voice of him who says: Give to her from the fruits of her hands. For how has he not seen God, who has tasted and seen that the Lord is sweet? How sweet and gentle you were felt to be, Lord Jesus, by him to whom not only were his sins forgiven by you, but also the gift of holiness was granted; and not that alone, but moreover the promise of eternal life was added to the heap of good things! Happy is he who has already reaped so much, having in the meantime indeed his fruit in sanctification, but the end eternal life! Rightly he who wept upon finding himself rejoiced upon seeing the Lord; at whose merciful regard he has already lifted up such great sheaves: remission, sanctification, hope of life. O how true is the word that is read in the Prophet: They that sow in tears shall reap in exultation. Where both kinds of knowledge are briefly comprehended: the knowledge of ourselves indeed sowing in tears; but the knowledge of God reaping in joy.

5. When therefore this twofold knowledge has gone before in us, knowledge that may perhaps have grown up afterward does not at all puff up, since it can bring nothing of earthly advantage or honor that is not indeed inferior to the hope conceived, and to the joy of hope already more deeply rooted in the soul. But hope does not put to shame, because the love of God has been poured forth in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Therefore that hope does not put to shame, because this love pours in certainty. For through this love the Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are children of God. What then could come to us from our knowledge, however great, that would not be less than this glory, by which we are numbered among the children of God? I have said too little: not even the world itself and its fullness can be regarded in comparison with it, even if the whole of it should fall to any one of us as a possession. Moreover, if ignorance of God holds us, how shall we hope in him whom we do not know? If ignorance of ourselves, how shall we be humble, thinking ourselves to be something when we are nothing? But we know that neither the proud nor those in despair have part or fellowship in the lot of the saints.

6. Consider therefore now with me how great the care and solicitude with which we ought to repel from ourselves both these ignorances, of which the one begets the beginning of every sin, the other the consummation; just as of the two kinds of knowledge on the other side, the one begets the beginning of wisdom, the other the perfection: the one the fear of the Lord, the other love. But this concerning the two kinds of knowledge was shown above. Now see concerning the ignorances. For just as the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, so the beginning of all sin is pride; and just as the love of God claims for itself the perfection of wisdom, so despair claims for itself the full consummation of all wickedness. And just as from knowledge of yourself the fear of God comes into you, and from knowledge of God the love of God likewise; so on the contrary, from ignorance of yourself comes pride, and from ignorance of God comes despair. But ignorance of yourself begets pride in you in this way: when your deceived and deceiving thought falsely tells you that you are better than you are. This indeed is pride, this is the beginning of all sin, when you are greater in your own eyes than before God, than in truth. And therefore he who first sinned this great sin (I speak of the devil), of him it was said that he stood not in the truth, but is a liar from the beginning; because what he was in his own thought, he was not in truth. What if he had disagreed with truth in this, that he thought himself lesser and lower than the truth held him to be? His ignorance would without doubt excuse him, and he would not at all be reckoned proud, nor would his iniquity be found so much to be for hatred, as his humility perhaps for grace. For if we could clearly know in what state God holds each one of us, we should neither depart above nor below, acquiescing in the truth in all things. But now, because this counsel has placed darkness as its hiding place, and the word is hidden from us, so that no one knows whether he is worthy of love or of hatred, more justly and more safely surely, according to the counsel of Truth itself, we choose for ourselves the last place, from which afterward we may be led up higher with honor, than we presume a higher place, from which we must soon withdraw with shame.

7. There is therefore no danger, however much you humble yourself, however much you think yourself less than you are, that is, less than the truth holds you to be. But it is a great evil and a dreadful danger if you exalt yourself even slightly beyond the truth, if in your thought you set yourself before even one person whom the truth perhaps judges to be your equal, or even your superior. For just as if you were passing through a doorway whose lintel, to speak so as to be understood, were too low, it would not harm you however much you stooped; but it would harm you if you raised yourself even a finger's breadth more than the measure of the door allows, so that you would strike and be bruised with your head battered; so in the soul there is plainly no humiliation however great to be feared, but rather the slightest self-exaltation rashly presumed is to be dreaded and exceedingly feared. Wherefore do not compare yourself, O man, to those greater, nor to those lesser, nor to any, nor to one. For what do you know, O man, whether that one person whom you perhaps consider the most vile and most miserable of all, whose most wicked and singularly foul life you shudder at, and on that account you think him to be despised not only in comparison with yourself, who perhaps already trust that you live soberly, and justly, and piously, but also in comparison with all other sinners as the most sinful of all -- what do you know, I say, whether by the change of the right hand of the Most High he is to be better than both you and them in himself, and indeed in God already is? And for this reason he willed us to choose not a middling place, not even the second to last, not even a place among the last, but: sit down, he says, in the last place; so that you alone sit as the last of all, and do not, I will not say place yourself before anyone, but do not presume even to compare yourself to anyone. Behold how great an evil comes from ignorance of ourselves: namely, the sin of the devil and the beginning of all sin, pride. What ignorance of God also brings forth, we shall see another time. For now the shortness of the hour does not permit, since today we assembled late. Let it therefore suffice for now that each one has been admonished not to be ignorant of himself, not only by our sermon but also by the condescension of the Bridegroom of the Church himself, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is over all things God blessed forever. Amen.

Ignorance of God Leads to Despair; the Beauty of the Bride

1. To what then does ignorance of God lead? We must begin here, for this is where, as you will recall, we finished yesterday. What does it lead to? I have already told you: despair. Now I shall explain how. Imagine a man who decides to take stock of his way of life, who, unhappy in his sinful conduct, wants to reform and abandon his evil and carnal ways. If he does not know how good God is, how kind and gentle, how willing to pardon, will not his sensually-inspired reason argue with him and say: "What are you doing? Do you want to lose this life and the next? Your sins are too grave and too many; nothing that you do, even to stripping the skin from your flesh, can make satisfaction for them. Your constitution is delicate, you have lived softly, a lifetime's habits are not easily conquered." Dismayed by these and similar arguments, the unhappy man quits the struggle, not knowing how easily God's omnipotent goodness could overthrow all these obstacles, since he wills that no man should perish. Instead there is final impenitence, the greatest crime of all, an unforgivable blasphemy. In his agitation he is either swallowed up by excessive sadness and lost in a deep depression from which he will never have the consolation of emerging, in accord with scripture's saying that the wicked man shows only contempt when caught in the midst of evils; or he will dissimulate, flatter himself with false reasonings and, as far as in him lies, surrender irrevocably to the world, to find his pleasure and delight in what advantages it offers. But just when he believes that he has peace and security, misfortunes of all kinds will overwhelm him and he will not escape. Thus despair, the greatest evil of all, follows on ignorance of God.

2. The Apostle says that there are some who have no knowledge of God. My opinion is that all those who lack knowledge of God are those who refuse to turn to him. I am certain that they refuse because they imagine this kindly disposed God to be harsh and severe, this merciful God to be callous and inflexible, this lovable God to be cruel and oppressive. So it is that wickedness plays false to itself, setting up for itself an image that does not represent him. What are you afraid of, you men of little faith? That he will not pardon your sins? But with his own hands he has nailed them to the cross. That you are used to soft living and your tastes are fastidious? But he is aware of our weakness. That a prolonged habit of sinning binds you like a chain? But the Lord loosens the shackles of prisoners. Or perhaps angered by the enormity and frequency of your sins he is slow to extend a helping hand? But where sin abounded, grace became superabundant. Are you worried about clothing and food and other bodily necessities so that you hesitate to give up your possessions? But he knows that you need all these things. What more can you wish? What else is there to hold you back from the way of salvation? This is what I say: you do not know God, yet you will not believe what we have heard. I should like you to believe those whom experience has taught, for "if you do not believe you will not understand." Not everyone however, has faith.

3. God forbid that we should think the bride has been admonished on the grounds of ignorance of God, for she has been gifted not merely with great knowledge of him who is both her Bridegroom and God, but with his friendship and familiar intercourse. She has enjoyed his frequent colloquys and kisses, and with a daring born of this intimacy can say to him: "Tell me where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon." It is not he that she demands to be shown, but the place where his glory dwells, although his domicile and his glory are no other than himself. But he thinks fit to reprove her on account of her presumption, and hints that she lacks self-knowledge by judging herself ready for a vision so great: in her excitement she may have overlooked that she was still living on this earth, or hoped against hope that even while still in this earthly body she could draw near to his inaccessible brightness. Hence he at once recalls her to her senses, proves her ignorance to her, and reprimands her boldness: "If you do not know yourself," he told her, "go forth." Here the Bridegroom speaks to his beloved not as a bridegroom, but with the awesome tones of a master. He is not venting his anger; his intention is to inspire the fear that purifies, that by this purification she may be made ready for the vision she longs for. It is a vision reserved for the pure of heart.

4. How aptly he describes her as beautiful, not in every sense, but beautiful among women; a qualification meant to restrain her, to enable her to know her limitations. I believe that by women he means people who are sensual and worldly, people devoid of manliness, whose conduct lacks both fortitude and constancy, people who are entirely superficial, soft and effeminate in their lives and behavior. But the person who is spiritual, although enjoying a beauty that comes from following the ways of the Spirit rather than the ways of the flesh, will still fall short of perfect beauty by the fact of living in the body. Hence the bride is not beautiful from every aspect, but beautiful among women, among people whose ideals are worldly, people who, unlike herself, are not spiritual; but not among the angels in their bliss, not among the Virtues, the Powers, the Dominations. And just as one of the Fathers was said to be a man of integrity among his contemporaries, surpassing all of his time and generation, and Tamar is shown to be righteous when compared with Judah, that is, more righteous than he, and the tax collector in the Gospel is said to have gone down from the temple at rights with God rather than the Pharisee, and even as the great John was once magnificently acclaimed as having no rival for greatness, but only among those born of women, not among the blessed choirs of heavenly spirits, so the bride is declared beautiful now, but, for the time being, among women, and not among the blessed spirits of heaven.

5. Therefore as long as she is on earth she must cease from searching too curiously into the nature of the things of heaven, lest by intruding on God's majesty she be overwhelmed by glory. As long as she lives among women she must refrain from prying into the truths that are proper to the citizens of heaven, truths that are visible to them alone, lawful for them alone; heaven's realities are for its citizens. "The vision that you ask for, Bride of mine, is above your capacity, you are as yet unable to gaze upon that sublime noontide brightness that is my dwelling place. You have asked where I pasture my flocks, the place where I rest at noon. But to be drawn up through the clouds, to penetrate to where light is total, to plunge through seas of splendor and make your home where light is unapproachable, that is beyond the scope of an earthly life or an earthly body. That is reserved for you at the end of all things, when I shall take you, all glorious, to myself, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Do you not know that as long as you live in the body you are exiled from the light? With your beauty still incomplete how can you consider yourself fit to gaze on beauty in its totality? And why should you want to see me in my splendor, while you still do not know yourself? Because if you had a better knowledge of yourself you would know that, burdened with a perishable body, you cannot possibly lift up your eyes and fix them on this radiant light that the angels long to contemplate. The time will come when I shall reveal myself, and your beauty will be complete, just as my beauty is complete; you will be so like me that you will see me as I am. Then you will be told: "You are all fair my love, there is no flaw in you." But for now, though there is some resemblance, there is also some want of resemblance, and you must be content with an imperfect knowledge. Be aware of what you are, do not hanker after truths that are too high for you, nor for experiences beyond your power to bear. Otherwise, you do not know yourself, O beautiful among women — for ever I give you the title beautiful, but beautiful among women, with a beauty that is imperfect. When the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. Therefore, "If you do not know yourself...." But the words that follow have been dealt with, and there is no need to deal with them again. I promised to put some helpful thoughts before you about the two kinds of ignorance; if I have failed to satisfy you fully, give me credit for my good-will. For I certainly have the will to do it, but the means to accomplish it I do not have, except in so far as the Church's Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, enables me by his kindness to work for your well-being. May he be blessed for ever. Amen.

Every soul ought to care for nothing more than to know itself. For he who knows himself, recognizes that he was made in the image of God, and ought not to follow the likeness of beasts, nor dissolve himself either in luxury or in present appetite. Concerning this ignorance it is said elsewhere: 'Man, when he was in honor, did not understand; he was compared to senseless beasts, and became like them' (Psalm 48:13). The footsteps of the flocks are the actions of the peoples, which the more numerous they are, the more entangled, the more perverse they are. Let it therefore be said to the Church: 'If you do not know yourself, O beautiful one among women, go forth, and go after the footsteps of the flocks, and pasture your kids beside the tents of the shepherds.' O you, who were foul through ignorance, and through faith have been made beautiful among the souls of others. This is clearly spoken to the Church of the elect: 'If you do not know yourself'—that is, you do not know this very thing, that you were made in my image—'go forth', that is, outside. If indeed you do not recognize by whom you were made, go forth and depart; go after the footsteps of the flocks; follow not my examples, but the examples of the peoples, and pasture your kids beside the tents of the shepherds. Our kids are carnal impulses; our kids are unlawful temptations. 'Go after the footsteps of the flocks'—that is, descend after the footsteps of the peoples—'and pasture your kids'—that is, nourish your carnal impulses, no longer spiritual senses, but carnal impulses. 'Go beside the tents of the shepherds': if you pasture lambs in the tent of the shepherds, you will be pastured—that is, in the teachings of the masters, in the teachings of the Apostles, in the teachings of the prophets. But if you pasture kids, pasture them beside the tents of the shepherds, so that you may be called Christian by faith, and not by works; because you appear to be within through faith, and not within through works. Because behold, you have rebuked, behold, you have reproved (for what do you not say?)—but what have you yourself kindly accomplished?

Therefore, this is what the present passage teaches the soul under the guise of a woman, so that she may know herself.…And for this reason, where she has neglected knowledge, it is is now necessary that she "be borne about by every wind of doctrine to be deceived by errors," so that now she pitches her tent now by that shepherd, that is, a teacher of the word, and now by another shepherd. And in this way she is borne about as she shepherds not sheep, which is a simple animal, but goats, namely lascivious and restless feelings that lead to sin, while she has sought out various teachers and cultivated them for this very purpose. And this will be the punishment of the guilt of that soul, which was not eager to know itself and to follow that shepherd alone, who "lay down his life for his sheep."

I have likened you, my friend, to my horse-drawn chariots of Pharaoh. For indeed, He calls His cavalry the army of the children of Israel, whom He freed from Egyptian bondage, leading them across the Red Sea into the desert, and brought into the land of the inheritance promised long ago, while the chariots of Pharaoh, which pursued them and wanted to drag them back to servitude, were drowned in the same sea. He calls it a cavalry because just as a charioteer is accustomed to presiding over his cavalry, so the Lord Himself then presided over that people, governing and leading them through the path of salvation. And He compared His Church, which He made His friend through the water of regeneration, to that cavalry: for just as the people were indeed greatly terrified by the approaching chariots of Pharaoh, but were nevertheless saved by heavenly protection, so He has always taught the Church to trust in His protection amidst the threats of persecutors. For even the fact that a pillar of fire then illuminated the people of God, while thick darkness overshadowed the Egyptian troops, so that throughout the whole night they couldn't approach each other; this too never ceases to happen in the night of this age, when the divine dispensation, separating the just from the reprobate with precise judgment, illuminates the just with His grace, but leaves the others in the deserved blindness. And even this, when they came to the Red Sea, the children of Israel were freed with the waters divided, while the Egyptians, with the waters returning upon them, were drowned with their horses and chariots, is it not evident that the very wave of death, which will face all mortals, carries the wicked to destruction, but opens the path to salvation for the pious? The other events too, which we read happened to the cavalry of God, that is, the people of Israel, during the time of the Egyptian persecution, are found, the more diligently they are explained, the more clearly they reveal themselves as a foreshadowing in the holy universal Church, of which that was a part. And since it is taught in this verse how the Lord protects the Church amidst adversities, it remains to be shown how much the Church itself maintains the love of the same Lord and protector in the face of adversities. It is added:

"To my company of horsemen amid Pharaoh's chariots have I likened you, O my love." For a start we are free to infer from these words that the Fathers prefigured the Church, and that the mysteries of our salvation were foreshown to them. The grace of baptism that both saves men and washes sins away, is clearly expressed in the exodus of Israel from Egypt, when the sea performed that twofold marvel of service in providing a passage for the people and taking vengeance on their enemies. "Our fathers were all under the cloud," said St Paul, "and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea." But as usual I must show the sequence of the words, the connection between the present text and those we have already dealt with, and draw from them as well as I can some consoling doctrine to improve our lives. So when the bride is harshly rebuked for her presumption, lest she succumb to sadness, she is reminded of the favors she has already received and promised that others are to come. He even acknowledges again her beauty and calls her his love. "My love," he says, "if I have spoken to you harshly, do not suspect me of hating you or of being spiteful, for the very gifts with which I have honored and adorned you are clear signs of my love for you. Far from intending to withdraw them I shall add still more."

Or he could say it this way: "My love, do not be disappointed that your request is not being answered now; you have already received quite a lot from me, and even greater favors will be yours if you follow my directions and persevere in my love." The text may thus be linked up with the previous ones.

2. Now let us see what those gifts are that he says he has bestowed on her. The first is that he has compared her to his horsemen amid Pharaoh's chariots: by putting to death all the flesh's sinful tendencies he has freed her from the bondage of sin, just as his people were freed from the slavery of Egypt when the chariots of Pharaoh were overturned and swallowed up in the sea. That is surely a very great mercy, and I shall not be foolish if I wish to glory in having received it. I speak only the truth. I declare and will go on declaring: "If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have found its dwelling in hell." I am neither ungrateful nor forgetful, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever. But this is as far as I compare myself with the bride. As for the rest, by a unique privilege after her deliverance she has been accepted as his beloved and adorned with a splendor befitting the Lord's own bride, but for the present time only on the cheeks and neck. She has been promised necklaces for ornamentation, made of costly gold, inlaid with beautiful silver. Can anyone not be entirely pleased with such an endowment? Firstly his mercy sets her free, secondly he favors her with his love, thirdly he makes her clean and pure, and finally he promises to enrich her with gems of rarest quality.

3. I have no doubt that some of you understand what I am saying from your own experience, which enables you even to anticipate my words. But running through my mind is the verse: "The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple," and because of these I feel that a little more extensive treatment is justified. For wisdom is a kindly spirit that is pleased with a teacher who is kind and diligent, who, despite his anxiety to gratify his intelligent students, does not hesitate to adapt himself to the backward ones. Wisdom herself says that they who explain her shall have life everlasting, a reward I would by no means be deprived of. For even those matters whose meaning seems obvious have certain aspects that can be obscure, and time is not wasted in discussing them in more detail with capacious and quick-witted minds.

4. But now let us take a look at the comparison drawn from Pharaoh and his army and the horsemen of the Lord. The comparison is not between the two armies, they are merely the basis of it. For light and darkness have nothing in common, the faithful no partnership with the unfaithful. But there is a clear comparison between the person who is holy and spiritual and the horsemen of the Lord, and between Pharaoh and the devil and both their armies. And do not be surprised that one person is compared to a company of horsemen, for if that one person is holy an army of virtues is at hand: well-ordered affections, disciplined habits, prayers like burnished weapons, actions charged with energy, awesome zeal, and finally unrelenting conflicts with the enemy and repeated victories. Hence in later texts we read: "Terrible as an army set in array," and "What shall you see in the Shulamite but the companies of the camps?" If this explanation fails to satisfy you, then recall that the spiritual person is never without a company of angels who display a divine jealousy in guarding her for her husband, to present her to Christ as a pure bride. And do not say to yourself: "Where are they? Who has seen them?" The prophet Elisha saw them and obtained by his prayers that Gehazi should see them, too. You do not see them because you are neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet. The patriarch Jacob saw them and exclaimed: "This is God's camp." The Teacher of the Nations saw them and said: "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?"

5. The bride therefore, progressing on her course with the support of ministering angels, with the aid of the heavenly host, does resemble the horsemen of the Lord that by a stupendous miracle of divine power once triumphed over the chariots of Pharaoh. If you pay careful attention, the wonder aroused in you by the magnificent achievements in the Red Sea can still be aroused by the achievements of today. Rather her victories today are even more magnificent, for the physical exploits of that occasion find spiritual fulfillment now. Surely you see that greater courage is shown and greater glory achieved in overthrowing the devil rather than Pharaoh, in conquering spiritual powers rather than Pharaoh's chariots? There the battle was waged against flesh and blood; here it is waged against sovereignties and powers, against the forces that control this world's darkness, the spiritual army of evil in the heavens. Let us examine together the details of this comparison. There you have a people rescued from Egypt, here man is rescued from the world; there Pharaoh is vanquished, here the devil; there Pharaoh's chariots are overturned, here the passions of the flesh that attack the soul are being undermined; there it was the waves that triumphed, here our tears; the former with the sea's might, the latter in bitterness. If the demons encounter a soul of this quality I can hear them now crying out: "Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord is fighting for him."

Would you wish me to designate some of Pharaoh's captains by their proper names, and describe his chariots for you, so that you may discover for yourselves if there be any others like them: One mighty captain of the spiritual and invisible king of Egypt is Malice, another is Sensuality, another Avarice. Each of them possesses, under his king, the territory assigned to him. Malice therefore is in command wherever the wicked commit their crimes, Sensuality presides over shameful rites of lust, while thievery and fraud are within the domain of Avarice.

6. And now let us look at the chariots prepared by Pharaoh for his princes to persecute the people of God. Malice has a chariot with four wheels named Cruelty, Impatience, Recklessness and Impudence. This chariot's swift sorties mean the shedding of blood, nor can it be stopped by innocence, nor delayed by patience, nor checked by fear nor inhibited by shame. It is drawn by two vicious horses ready to destroy as they go, earthly Power and worldly Pomp. They are the source of its dazzling speed, for Power gallops where evil beckons, and Pomp courts popular favor in pursuit of dishonest ends. Hence the Psalmist says that the sinner is praised for his evil desires and the dishonest man gets a blessing; hence, too, the other words: "This is your hour and the power of darkness." And these two horses are driven by two coachmen called Arrogance and Envy; Arrogance drives Pomp, Envy urges on Power. The former is borne rapidly along by a diabolical love of vain display that fills his heart. But the man with genuine self-possession, who is prudently circumspect, seriously concerned about modesty, firmly established in humility, wholesomely chaste, will never be lightly carried away by this empty wind. In like manner the beast of earthly Power is driven by Envy, urged on by jealousy's spurs, by worry about possible failure and the fear of being surpassed. One spur is the haunting fear of being supplanted, the other the fear of a rival. These are the goads by which earthly Power is ever disquieted. This is what one finds in the chariot of Malice.

7. The chariot of Sensuality also rolls along with four vices for wheels: Gluttony, Lust, Seductive Dress and Enervation, that is, the offspring of sloth and inertia. And it is drawn by two horses, Prosperous Life and Abundance of Goods. The two coachmen are Lazy Languor and False Security, for wealth is the ruin of the slothful and Scripture says that the prosperity of fools destroys them, not because they are successful but because it gives them false security. "When people say, 'there is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them." These coachmen have neither spurs nor whips nor any instrument of this kind; instead they carry a canopy for shade and a fan to freshen the air. The canopy's name is Dissimulation, and its purpose to provide a shade to ward off the heat of human cares. A person used to soft, effeminate ways will dissemble even when faced with necessary cares, and rather than experience life's perplexing troubles he will conceal himself in the thickets of dissimulation. The fan is Permissiveness, that stirs up flattery like a breeze. For voluptuaries have liberal hands and buy with their gold the flattery of the sycophant. I shall say no more on this subject.

8. Avarice, too, has vices for its four wheels: Pusillanimity, Inhumanity, Contempt of God, Forgetfulness of Death. The beasts to which it is yoked are Obstinacy and Rapacity, and one coachman drives them whose name is Greed for Gain. Avarice is a solitary vice that cannot endure many retainers; one servant suffices. But he is a prompt and tireless executor of the task in hand, lashing his horses onward with cruel whips called Craving to Acquire and Fear of Loss.

9. The ruler of Egypt has still other captains whose chariots are used in their lord's service, for example Pride, who is one of the more important captains, along with that enemy of the faith, Impiety, whose position is so influential in Pharaoh's palace and kingdom. Besides these, Pharaoh's army contains many officers and nobles of inferior rank whose number is almost countless. What their names are and their duties, their armor and equipment, I leave to you yourselves to pursue as a project of study. But trusting in the prowess of these captains and their chariots, the invisible Pharaoh rushes to and fro, inspired by a tyrannical rage, as he directs his attacks with all the power he can muster against the entire family of God. Even in these very days he is persecuting the people of Israel as they escape from Egypt. And these, neither supported by chariots nor clad in armor, but strengthened solely by the hand of God, sing out with confidence: "I will sing to the Lord for he has gloriously triumphed; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea." "Some boast of chariots and some of horses, but we boast of the name of the Lord our God." Now you have heard what I wished to say on the suggested comparison between the horsemen of the Lord and the chariots of Pharaoh.

10. In this text he calls her his love. He was her lover even before she was freed from sin, for if he had not loved her he would not have set her free; it was through this gift of freedom that she was won over to become his love. St John's words explain it: "It was not that we loved him, but first he loved us." Recall the story of Moses and the Ethiopian woman and see that even then there was a foreshadowing of the union between the Word and the sinner. Try to identify too if you can, what you savor most in pondering on this sweetest of mysteries: the most benign gesture of the Word, or the unfathomable glory of the soul, or the unpredictable confidence of the sinner. Moses could not change the color of his Ethiopian wife, but Christ could. For the text continues: "Your cheeks are beautiful as the turtle dove's." But this must wait for another sermon, so that always eagerly partaking of the food provided for us on the Bridegroom's table, we may continue to praise and glorify him, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God blessed for ever. Amen.

"My horses are with Pharaoh's chariots," it says. The horses of the Lord, that is, the people of the Gentiles, were formerly with Pharaoh's chariots, that is, in the power of the devil, since they had not yet believed in Christ. He forewarns them, therefore, not to submit themselves again to that yoke through contempt of the faith. For, as I have already said, the people of the Gentiles who required horses were held under the Pharaoh's yoke, that is, with the chariots of the devil, before the Lord's advent, even though the Lord already foreknew them to be his own. But there is no doubt that the Pharaoh is the devil, for the devil tyrannizes the world like the Pharaoh did Egypt. Moreover, just as the Pharaoh persecuted the sons of Israel, so does the devil persecute the saints in this world.… Yet, now liberated by the grace of Christ from the yoke of tyrannical servitude, having been made sons of God through faith, and destined for celestial glory with a pure heart and true devotion in all holiness and righteousness, let us hold firmly to the same faith through which we live and are saved.

But let us now see whether he is saying in the mystical interpretation that "the chariots of Pharaoh and his four-horse chariots" which he himself leads and drives to persecute God's people and to oppress Israel are the souls that have been placed under that spiritual "Pharaoh" and under spiritual wickedness. For it is certain that the temptations and tribulations that the demons stir up against the saints they stir up through some souls that have been made fit and convenient for this purpose. By mounting these "chariots" they irritate and assault either the church of God or some individuals among the faithful.

All who serve lust, who serve pride, who serve greed, who serve envy, who serve deceit, are still under the chariot of Pharaoh, that is, under the rule of the devil; but everyone who is fervent in humility, in chastity, in teaching, in charity, has already become a horse of our Creator, has already been placed in the chariot of God, already has God as his rider. Whence to a certain one over whom the Lord presided, it is said: "It is hard for you to kick against the goad" (Acts 9:5). As if he were saying: You are my horse; you can no longer kick against me; I already preside over you. Of these horses it is said elsewhere: "You sent your horses into the sea, stirring up many waters" (Habakkuk 3:15). God therefore has chariots, because he presides over holy souls and travels everywhere through holy souls. Whence it is written: "The chariots of God are ten thousand, the manifold thousands of those rejoicing in the Lord" (Psalm 67:18). Pharaoh has chariots, which nevertheless were submerged in the Red Sea, because many wicked people have been changed through baptism. Let the Bridegroom therefore say: "I have compared you, my beloved, to my cavalry among the chariots of Pharaoh"; that is, while you were still among the chariots of Pharaoh, while you still served demonic works, I compared you to my cavalry, because I considered what I had done in you through predestination, and I compared you to my horses. For God sees many still serving lust, still serving greed, and yet he considers in his secret judgment what he has already worked in them, because God has horses — but he sees that many are still horses of Pharaoh. And because he considers by hidden judgment and hidden predestination that they are to be changed for the good, he already regards them as similar to his own horses, because he sees that he will lead to his own chariot those who previously served in the chariot of Pharaoh. Here the hidden judgments must be considered, because many seem through preaching, through wisdom, through chastity, through generosity, through patience to be horses of God, and yet by the hidden judgment of God they are likened to the horses of Pharaoh; and many seem through greed, through pride, through envy, through lust to be horses of Pharaoh, and yet by the hidden judgment of God they are likened to the horses of God. Because he sees those turning from good things to evil, and these being brought back from evil things to good. Therefore, just as by discernment many who seem to be horses of God are horses of Pharaoh through the reprobate life that follows them, so through piety many who seem to be horses of Pharaoh, his elect through the holy life which they will preserve at their end, are likened to the horses of God. Whence the Bridegroom speaks tenderly and says: "I have compared you, my beloved, to my cavalry among the chariots of Pharaoh." That is, you were still serving in subjection among the chariots of Pharaoh, you were running under vices, but I considered what I had done concerning you through predestination. "I have compared you to my cavalry," that is, I regarded you as similar to my elect.

Here in figurative fashion he referred by "Pharaoh" to the implacable foe of our nature, the noxious enemy common to us all whom he drowned in the holy waters of baptism like Pharaoh. My mare, then, which I used when I overwhelmed Pharaoh's chariots, I judge you to resemble since you are close to me and have love for me.… So from the apostolic words we understand the mystical words of the Song, and hear the bridegroom saying, I declare that you, being close to me, and hence called an intimate, getting the name from the fact, are like my mare, which I used when drowning the spiritual Pharaoh with his chariots, and I granted you freedom.

Your cheeks are beautiful, etc. It is said to be the nature of the turtle-dove that, if deprived by the loss of its mate, it does not unite with another. This suitably applies to the chastity of the Church, which, although widowed by the death of its Lord and Bridegroom, is so bound by His memory—knowing that He has risen from the dead and now reigns in heaven—that it cannot accept the company of others, content with the love of Him alone, to whom it hopes eventually to reach. Hence, instructed by the words of an excellent teacher, it usually declares that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. VIII). Therefore, since the seat of modesty is typically in the cheeks, it is rightly said to the holy Church, fearing that it might stray from the way of truth through the examples of the wicked (as it says: Lest I begin to wander through the flocks of your companions), by the response of Truth itself: Your cheeks are beautiful, like those of a turtle-dove. This means, I have adorned you with such a virtue of saving modesty that you may never be corrupted, either by the desire of transient things or by the hearing of perverse doctrines, from the chastity of the faith promised to me. And what is the greatest grace for preserving this sobriety, He reveals by adding the following.

Your neck is like jewels, etc. Through the neck, we transfer food into the body to be nourished, and we utter words to reveal the secrets of our hearts to others. Thus, rightly in the neck of the Church, the figure of teachers is designated, who instruct the ignorant with the word of edification, and with the office of the same instruction, transmit the food of salvation to the members of the holy Church entrusted to them. This neck rightly resembles necklaces. Necklaces are ornaments that usually hang on the necks of virgins. Although by the word "necklaces," sometimes all ornaments of matrons are denoted, because the steadfastness of spiritual teachers is fortified and adorned with heavenly virtues, as they show by their deeds what they teach with their words. Little chains are also ornaments for the neck of a virgin; namely, chains of gold interwoven with small rods, and sometimes varied with added silver rods, as this thought proves, which take their name from the resemblance to the sea eel. These aptly signify the woven nature of the divine Scriptures, by which the beauty of the holy Church increases, as each of the faithful, seeing the sayings and deeds of the fathers, strives to shine more and more with virtues. For the gold, from which the little chains are said to be made, is the brightness of spiritual understanding; the silver, with which they are said to be interwoven, is considered the brightness of heavenly eloquence. What he promises in the plural number, "We will make for you," is about those through whom the sacred Scripture, by the acting and cooperating Spirit of God, was ministered to us; many of whom, at the time when Solomon was prophesying this, were yet to come. Therefore, he surrounds the neck of the bride with golden little chains, interwoven with silver, because he prepared divine apexes to be instilled in those he placed in charge of teaching the faithful in the Church. He surrounds his neck with little necklaces composed of craftsmanship, while every faithful soul, in all that it speaks and acts, indeed in all that it lives and breathes, continually directs its attention to the Holy Scriptures, diligently guiding its mind and words according to their examples. Thus this little verse is connected to the previous one, stating that they are beautiful like the cheeks of the holy Church's turtle-dove, that is, its inviolate modesty persists; because frequent meditation on the divine Scripture does not allow it to err. The ancient translation has this passage: "We will make gold likenesses for you with silver markings until the king is in his resting place." In which assuredly, the brightness of the heavenly homeland is properly expressed by the name of gold, whose likenesses, and not that incorruptible brightness itself, are shown to us in this life through the Holy Scriptures, the Apostle saying: "For now we see through a glass darkly, that is, in likenesses; but then face to face" (I Cor. XIII). Finally, Moses himself, to whom, as we read in Exodus, God spoke face to face, as a man speaks to his friend (Exod. XXXIII), knowing that he had not seen His glory itself, prayed, saying: "If I have found grace in your sight, show me your way, that I may know you," and again, he said, "Show me your glory"; which the Lord also revealed when responding to him, saying, "You will not be able to see my face; for no man shall see me and live" (Exod. XXXIII). Therefore, the vision of the divine face is not denied to us, but it is denied to those still living in this mortality; yet, it is promised to the pure-hearted in the future. Furthermore, this likeness of his face and perpetual beatitude is shown not only to the fathers, appearing in the angels of the Lord, but it is also not obscurely shown to us reading the writings of the fathers today, as we strive with our mind always to retain what they said about the glory of the heavenly homeland and continually sigh to see it. These likenesses with the distinctions are made of silver because with the shine of spiritual words, heavenly mysteries are revealed to us. And because in this life alone, and not in the future, we need the comforts and aids of such likenesses, it is aptly added:

"Your cheeks are beautiful as the turtle dove's." The bride's modesty is a delicate thing; and I feel that at the Bridegroom's reproof a warm flush suffused her face, so heightening her beauty that she immediately was greeted with: "Your cheeks are beautiful as the turtle dove's." You must not give an earthbound meaning to this coloring of the corruptible flesh, to this gathering of blood-red liquid that spreads evenly beneath the surface of her pearly skin, quietly mingling with it to enhance her physical beauty by the pink and white loveliness of her cheeks. For the substance of the soul is incorporeal and invisible, possessing neither bodily limbs not any visible coloring. Try then as best you can to grasp the nature of this spiritual entity by means of a spiritual insight; and to conserve the fittingness of the proposed comparison take note that the mind's intention is the soul's face. The quality of work is evaluated from the intention, just as the body's beauty from the face. We may see in this flush on the cheek an unassuming disposition in which virtue and beauty thrive and grace increases. "Your cheeks then are beautiful as the turtle dove's" When describing her beauty he referred as is customary to her face, for when a person's beauty is praised the normal thing to say is that she has a beautiful or comely face; though I cannot see what was the purpose of speaking of cheeks in the plural except that it cannot have been without a purpose. For the one who speaks is the Spirit of Wisdom, who performs no action, not even the smallest, in vain, nor speaks except according to his nature. Whatever it be, there is a reason why he prefers to speak of cheeks in the plural than of face in the singular. And unless you can offer something better, I shall give you my view of the reason.

2. The intention which we have referred to as the face of the soul must have two elements: matter and purpose, what you intend and why. It is from these two that we judge the beauty or deformity of the soul, and hence the person in whom they are found correct and pure may justly and truly be told: "Your cheeks are beautiful as the turtle dove's." But she who lacks one of these cannot be complimented that her cheeks are beautiful as the turtle dove's, because of her partial deformity. Much less can it be suitably said to one who possesses neither of these qualities. But all this will become more clear by giving examples. If, for instance, a person makes up his mind to pursue the truth, and that solely from a love of truth, is it not obvious that for him both matter and motive are equally correct and that he had achieved the right to be told that his cheeks are beautiful as the turtle dove's, since on neither cheek does an unbecoming blemish appear? But if his reason for pursuing the truth is self-glorification or the attainment of some worldly advantage, then even though one of his cheeks should seem perfectly formed, I feel you would not hesitate to consider him partially deformed because of the baseness of the motive that disfigures the other cheek. But if you discover a man who has no good motives, who is entangled in the net of sensual desire, a glutton and voluptuary like those whose god is the belly, who glory in their shame, whose minds are set on earthly things: what of him? If his intention is vitiated both in matter and motive will you not judge him to be totally repellent?

3. Therefore to direct one's mind completely to worldly pursuits rather than toward God is the sign of a worldly person whose cheeks are totally devoid of beauty. To direct one's mind as it were toward God but not for the sake of God, betrays the attitude of the hypocrite, one of whose cheeks may seem attractive because of a vaunted concern for God, but whose presence nullifies every form of attractiveness and contaminates the whole with its ugliness. Again, if one directs one's mind to God solely or chiefly because of the necessities of the present life, I cannot say that it stinks with the dregs of hypocrisy, but it is so befogged by pettiness of spirit that it cannot merit acceptance. On the contrary, to give one's attention to something other than God, although for God's sake, means to embark on Martha's busy life rather than Mary's way of contemplation. I do not say that this soul is deformed, but it has not attained to perfect beauty, for it worries and frets about so many things, and is bound to be stained to some degree with the grime of worldly affairs. This however is quickly and easily cleansed at the hour of a death made holy by the grace of a pure intention and a good conscience. And therefore, to seek God for his own sake alone, this is to possess two cheeks made most beautiful by the two elements of intention. This is the bride's own special gift, the source of that unique prerogative by which she may be told with all propriety: "Your cheeks are beautiful as the turtle dove's."

4. But why as the turtle dove's? This is a chaste little bird that leads a retired life, content to live with one mate; if it loses this mate it does not seek another but lives alone thence forward. In order that you who hear me may not hear in vain the doctrines that were written for your sake, that now for your sake are being examined and discussed: you I say who are moved by the urgings of the Holy Spirit and long to perform all that is required of one who would be the bride of God, strive to ensure that both elements of your intention are like two beautiful cheeks; then, in imitation of that most chaste of birds, and following the advice of the Prophet, abide in solitude because you have raised yourself above yourself. You are well above yourself when espoused to the Lord of angels; surely you are above yourself when joined to the Lord and become one spirit with him? Live alone therefore like the turtle dove. Avoid the crowds, avoid the places where men assemble; forget even your people and your father's house and the king will desire your beauty. O holy soul, remain alone, so that you might keep yourself for him alone whom you have chosen for yourself out of all that exist. Avoid going abroad, avoid even the members of your household; withdraw from friends and those you love, not excepting the man who provides for your needs. Can you not see how shy your Love is, that he will never come to you when others are present? Therefore you must withdraw, mentally rather than physically, in your intention, in your devotion, in your spirit. For Christ the Lord is a spirit before your face, and he demands solitude of the spirit more than of the body, although physical withdrawal can be of benefit when the opportunity offers, especially in time of prayer. To do this is to follow the advice and example of the Bridegroom, that when you want to pray you should go into your room, shut the door and then pray. And what he said he did. He spent nights alone in prayer, not merely hiding from the crowds but even from his disciples and familiar friends. He did indeed take three of his friends with him when the hour of his death was approaching; but the urge to pray drew him apart even from them. You too must act like this when you wish to pray.

5. Apart from that the only solitude prescribed for you is that of the mind and spirit. You enjoy this solitude if you refuse to share in the common gossip, if you shun involvement in the problems of the hour and set no store by the fancies that attract the masses; if you reject what everybody covets, avoid disputes, make light of losses, and pay no heed to injuries. Otherwise you are not alone even when alone. Do you not see that you can be alone when in company and in company when alone? However great the crowds that surround you, you can enjoy the benefits of solitude if you refrain from curiosity about other people's conduct and shun rash judgment. Even if you should see your neighbor doing what is wrong, refuse to pass judgment on him, excuse him instead. Excuse his intention even if you cannot excuse the act, which may be the fruit of ignorance or surprise or chance. Even if you are so certain that to dissemble is impossible, you must still endeavor to convince yourself by saying: "It was an overwhelming temptation; what should become of me if it attacked me with the same force?" Remember too that all this time I have been speaking to the bride, not to the friend of the Bridegroom, who has another reason for keeping careful watch to prevent his charge from sinning, to examine if sin has been committed, and to administer correction when it has. The bride is free from this kind of obligation, she lives alone for the love of him who is her Bridegroom and Lord, who is God blessed for ever. Amen.

1. "Your neck is like jewels" (Song 1:9). The neck is accustomed to be adorned with jewels, not to be compared to them. But let those do this for whom, because beauty does not inhere of their own, it is necessary to beg from elsewhere that by which they may feign themselves beautiful. For the neck of the bride is so beautiful in itself, and so becomingly formed as if by nature, that it does not require adornment from without. For what need is there to apply the cosmetics of foreign colors, when its own and, as it were, innate beauty suffices, to such a degree that it can even equal the splendor of those very jewels which are sought for adorning? This indeed is what he who said it wished to be understood, who said that the jewels by no means hang from the neck, as is customary, but rather that the neck itself is like jewels. Now the Holy Spirit need not be invoked by us, that just as by his condescension he granted us to find the spiritual cheeks of the bride, so also he may deign to reveal her spiritual neck. And to my understanding indeed (because it falls to me to speak what I perceive) nothing in the meantime shines forth more plausible or probable than that the intellect itself of the soul is designated by the name of the neck. You too, I think, will approve of the same, if you attend to the rationale of the likeness. For does it not seem to you that the intellect performs, in a certain manner, the function of the neck, through which your soul conveys into itself the vital nourishment of the spirit, and pours it forth into certain inward parts of its character and affections? This neck of the bride, therefore, that is, her pure and simple intellect, since it shines sufficiently of itself with the naked and open truth, has no need of adornment; but rather it becomingly adorns the soul, like a precious jewel, and for this reason is described as like jewels themselves. A good jewel is truth, a good jewel is purity or simplicity, plainly a good jewel is to be wise unto sobriety. The intellect of the philosophers or of the heretics does not have in itself this splendor of purity and truth: and therefore they take great care to color and paint it with the trappings of words and the cunning of syllogisms, lest, if it appear naked, the shamefulness of its falsity also appear.

When the naturally beautiful neck is endowed with the adornment of jewels, such industry undoubtedly increases happiness and, as though they were worthy, the honor of necklaces and the loveliness of necks as well. This is also true with you, therefore, whose generosity is constituted by doctrine, so that discipline would perfect the virtues which nature began.

Wishing to inspire a spirit of humility in her actions, the Word says this: "Your neck is as if circled with jewels." For just as he describes "the stiff neck" of the proud as "a sinew of iron" because of its stiffness, so too he describes the neck of a modest person as a necklace [with strings of jewels]. He thus designates the form of the virtue by its shape. For modest persons (even if such people stand tall) are bent down in the manner of a necklace when they think humbly of themselves and restrain the vanity of pride that accompanies virtue, which is a fact of the weakness of human nature. For the memory of earth and the ancient parentage of clay is sufficient to destroy such vainglory even if the honor of the image and the excellence of the actions may cause an inflation of pride.And the Word does not call the neck of the humble simply a "necklace," for there are indeed those who by affectation take the appearance of humility while they pursue human glory. To them the Word says, "If you bend your neck like a ring." Wishing to show the difference between them and a perfect soul, he has compared their behavior to the ring of iron which those who are condemned wear in punishment, for virtue contrived for the sake of deception ends by assuming the aspect of punishment. But the virtue of the bride he has compared to a necklace of gold, letting her [inner] condition be intimated through her appearance while the substance [of that virtue] is thus proven. … If then the necklace indicates humility, such a neck, compared with a necklace that is praiseworthy, also reveals the abundance of virtues and the lowliness pertaining to each of them. For just as the necklace, forged at right angles, is eventually curved to its own given use, so too persons who are perfect in virtue are humbled by submission. Although being upright in their manner of life, they take on a curvature in the disposition of their minds.

The turtledove, after it has once lost its mate, never joins itself to another, but always dwelling in solitude perseveres in mourning; because not finding the one it loved, it searches. So every holy soul, while it is absent from its Bridegroom, does not withdraw from love of him, but always pants and groans in desire for him; and while it does not find him whom it greatly loves, because it draws itself back from every foreign love, as if in the modesty of its cheeks it shows the chastity of its heart by its very bearing and outward conduct. There follows: 'Your neck is like jewels.' By the neck of the bride, the preachers of holy Church are designated. In jewels, gems are set in gold. By gold, indeed, wisdom is expressed; by stones, works. The neck of the bride therefore is like jewels; because every upright preacher of the Church both clothes himself inwardly with wisdom and outwardly exercises the works which he sees in wisdom.

"How beautifully made your cheeks, like those of a turtledove." Zoologists claim that the turtledove not only likes solitude but is also not promiscuous, the male mating with one female, and the female associating with one male, and at the death of its mate it refrains from mating with another bird. Appropriately, then, he says the church in its relationship to Christ is like her, shunning relations with others, and reluctant after his death to abandon him, awaiting instead the resurrection and looking forward to his second coming. He also says her neck is like a necklace; this is a choker, a kind of ornament beautifying the neck. He is commending her for nicely carrying the yoke of religion, of which the bridegroom says in the Gospels, "Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden light."

We may appropriately understand of them, what was said to the bride in the Canticle of Canticles: "We shall make you likenesses of gold inlaid with silver while the king is reclining at his table," that is, while Christ is in his secret place, because "your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life shall appear, then you too will appear with him in glory."

There comes about in our case too what follows: "And the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment." In accord with our capacity will the world be filled with the renown of our devotion, by which we prove that we venerate and love God and our neighbors with a simple and pure heart. There is accomplished what the bride glories of in the canticle of love, "While the king was resting [on his couch], my spikenard gave forth its fragrance." Here it is clearly shown that what Mary did as a type, the entire church and every perfect soul should do always.

2. There follows: "We will make you chains of gold, studded with silver." If he had said, "I will make," in the singular, and not in the plural, "we will make," I would have pronounced absolutely and without doubt that the Bridegroom also spoke this. But now consider whether we might not more fittingly and suitably assign it to his companions, as if consoling the bride with such a promise, that until she arrives at the vision of him, for whom she so burns with desire, they will make for her beautiful and precious chains, which are ornaments of the ears. And this, I believe, for the reason that faith comes from hearing; and as long as one walks by faith and not by sight, effort must be given rather to instructing the hearing than to exercising the sight. For in vain is the eye strained which has not been purified by faith, since the abundance of seeing is promised only to those who are pure of heart (Mt 5:8). But it is written: "Purifying their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:9). Since therefore faith comes from hearing, and from faith comes the purification of sight, rightly they were intent on adorning the ears, since hearing, as reason has taught, is the preparation for sight. "You, O bride," they say, "are gaping for the brightness of the beloved to be beheld; but that belongs to another time. We give for the present ornaments to your ears, which will be for you in the meantime a consolation, and also a preparation for this very thing you ask for," as if they say to her that word of the prophet: "Hear, O daughter, and see" (Ps 44:11). "You desire to see, but hear first. Hearing is a step toward seeing. Therefore hear, and incline your ear to the ornaments which we make for you, so that through the obedience of hearing you may arrive at the glory of vision. We give to your hearing joy and gladness. For it is not ours to give to the sight (in which is the fullness of joy and the fulfillment of your desire), but it belongs to him whom your soul loves. He himself, that your joy may be full, will show himself to you; he himself will fill you with gladness with his countenance. You in the meantime accept these chains for consolation from our hand; but for the rest, delights are in his right hand forevermore."

3. One must consider what kind of chains they offer her. "Golden," he says, "and studded with silver." Gold is the splendor of divinity, gold is the wisdom that is from above. They promise that with this gold they will fashion certain shining tokens, as it were, of truth, those to whom this ministry belongs, heavenly goldsmiths, and insert them into the inner ears of the soul. Which I do not think to be anything other than to weave certain spiritual likenesses, and in these to bring the most pure senses of divine wisdom before the sight of the contemplating soul, so that she may see, at least through a mirror and in a riddle, what she is not yet able in any way to behold face to face. Divine are the things we speak of, and utterly unknown except to those who have experienced them; how, namely, in this mortal body, while faith still holds its place, and the substance of the clear light is not yet revealed, nevertheless the contemplation of pure truth already at times presumes to perform its part within us, even if only in part; so that it is permitted for even one of us, to whom this has been given from above, to borrow that word of the Apostle: "Now I know in part"; likewise, "We know in part, and we prophesy in part" (1 Cor 13:12, 9). But when something more divine has flashed upon the mind that exceeds in spirit, swiftly and as if with the speed of a flashing light, whether for the tempering of the excessive splendor or for the purpose of instruction, immediately, I know not whence, there appear certain image-like likenesses of lower things, suitably fitted to the divinely infused senses, by which that most pure and most brilliant ray of truth, being in a certain way overshadowed, both becomes more tolerable to the soul itself, and more capable of being received by those to whom it wishes to communicate it. I think, however, that these forms are shaped in us by the suggestions of the holy angels, just as conversely there is no doubt that contrary and evil impulses are thrust upon us through evil angels.

4. And perhaps from this comes that mirror and riddle, as I said, through which the Apostle was seeing (1 Cor 13:12), fabricated as if by the hands of angels out of pure and beautiful images of this kind: so that we may perceive that what is pure and without any phantasm of corporeal images is of God; and that we may attribute to angelic ministry whatever elegant likeness it has appeared worthily clothed in. Another translation seems to have signified this more expressly, saying: "We will make you likenesses of gold, with distinctions of silver" (Song 1:10, according to the Septuagint). It is one and the same thing, "with distinctions of silver" and "studded with silver." In this it seems to me to signify that not only are likenesses suggested inwardly through the angels, but also the splendor of eloquence is ministered outwardly through them, so that, suitably and becomingly adorned by it, the likenesses may both be more easily grasped by hearers and more delightfully received. But if you say: "What have eloquence and silver to do with each other?" the prophet says to you: "The words of the Lord are pure words, silver tried by fire" (Ps 11:7). So therefore those heavenly ministering spirits make for the bride, who is a pilgrim on earth, chains of gold, studded with silver.

5. But see how she desires one thing and receives another: and on one who is striving toward the quiet of contemplation, the labor of preaching is imposed; and on one who thirsts for the presence of the Bridegroom, the care of bearing and nourishing the children of the Bridegroom is enjoined. Nor does this happen to her now only; but also on another occasion, as I recall, when she was sighing for the embraces and kisses of the Bridegroom, it was answered to her: "For your breasts are better than wine" (Song 1:1); so that from this she might understand herself to be a mother, and that she was being called back to give milk to the little ones and to nourish her children. Perhaps also in other places of this canticle you yourself will be able to notice this very thing, if you are not too lazy to inquire. Was not this matter prefigured of old in the holy patriarch Jacob, when, frustrated of his longed-for and long-awaited embraces of Rachel, in place of the barren and beautiful one he received, unwilling and unknowing, the fruitful and blear-eyed one? (Gen 29:23-25). So therefore now the bride, desiring and inquiring to know where the beloved pastures and rests at the noon hours, brings back in his place chains of gold, studded with silver; that is, wisdom with eloquence; without doubt for the work of preaching.

6. From this we are taught that the sweet kisses must often be interrupted for the sake of the nursing breasts; and that no one is to live for himself, but for all. Woe to those who have received the gift both of thinking well about God and of speaking well, if they reckon godliness as a source of gain; if they turn to vain glory what they had received to be dispensed for the profits of God; if, being wise in high things, they do not condescend to the lowly. Let them tremble at what is read in the prophet, the Lord saying: "I gave them my gold and my silver; but they wrought for Baal with my silver and gold" (Hos 2:8). Therefore hear what the bride, having received on the one hand a reproof, on the other hand a promise, answered. For she is neither puffed up by the promises nor angered by the rebuff; but, as it is written: "Reprove a wise man, and he will love you" (Prov 9:8); and again, as pertains to gifts and promises: "The greater you are, humble yourself in all things" (Sir 3:20); both of which will become more clear from her response. But the discussion of this, if you please, let it be deferred to the beginning of another sermon, and for the things that have been said, let us glorify the Bridegroom of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is over all things God blessed forever. Amen.

Let us hear what the bride says before that the bridegroom comes to earth, suffers, descends to the lower world, and rises again. "We will make for you likenesses of gold with ornaments of silver while the king sits at his table." Before the Lord rose again and the gospel shone, the bride had not gold but likenesses of gold. As for the silver, however, which she professes to have at the marriage, she not only had silver ornaments, but she had them in variety—in widows, in the continent and in the married. Then the bridegroom makes answer to the bride and teaches her that the shadow of the old law has passed away and the truth of the gospel has come.

Little chains are bound as necklaces around the neck; because both wisdom and devotion are joined to preachers from the Holy Scriptures; for by the little chains, Holy Scripture is understood. These are rightly said to be golden and inlaid with silver; because Holy Scripture shines with wisdom, and is heard throughout the world through resounding preaching. For just as wisdom is signified by gold, so holy preaching is signified by silver.

Logically they said "golden ornaments" and not gold itself, since the bridegroom's presents are greater, and his servants' do not have equal splendor. Hence we show the divine Gospels greater respect, though we also respect the law and the prophets and the writings of the holy apostles.

As long as the king is at his recline. That is, as long as Christ is in his secret, and has not yet appeared to us in the glory of his Father, to render to each according to his work. Then indeed, as Isaiah says: "The eyes of the saints will see the king in his beauty" (Isaiah XXXIII). And hence the Apostle also says: "Your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" (Colossians VIII). But he was in his recline, that is, in his hidden place, the king Christ, not only before his incarnation and ascension into heaven, but even at that time when he appeared visibly to the world in the flesh, because not then either did he show the clarification of the assumed humanity or the eternal glory of divinity to his faithful who remained with him in the flesh, which he promised to all the elect as a reward of faith in the future life. However, our edition, which is translated from the Hebrew source, joins the end of this verse, where it is said: "As long as the king is at his recline," to the following verse, which is to be discussed henceforth. But the Church, having received so many gifts or promises from her Creator, immediately responded, and declared with what devotion of works she received them, by adding, saying:

While the king was at his table, etc. However, he calls the king's table the time of his incarnation, through which he deigned to humble himself for us and be lowered so that we might be raised. In this table, he also wished to refresh his church with vital food and himself to be refreshed by its good deeds. Hence, he says: I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever (John 6). And again, speaking to the disciples about the believing peoples, he says: I have food to eat that you do not know about (John 4). Truly the smell of nard represents the fragrance of good action. While the king was at his table, he says, my nard gave its scent: because when the Son of God appeared in the flesh, the Church grew in the fervor of heavenly virtues. Not that it did not have spiritual and God-devoted men before his incarnation, but because without any doubt, it then dedicated itself to more rigorous pursuits of virtues when it realized that the entrance to the heavenly kingdom would be open to all who live rightly as soon as they were freed from the bonds of the flesh. It should be noted that the description of this verse was also literally fulfilled in the deeds of Mary Magdalene, who held the type of the Church, when she, with the Lord reclining at the dinner, poured ointment of nard on his head and feet, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment, as the holy Gospels testify. In one Gospel, it is also indicated what the nature of this nard is when it says: A woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly ointment of pure nard (Mark 14): because its tops spread like spikes; therefore, the perfumers celebrate the spikes and leaves of the nard with twin gifts. Physiologists write that it is principal among ointments. Hence, it was suitably prepared for the anointing of the Lord's body. Moreover, it is a shrub, they say, with a heavy and thick root, but short, black, and fragile, although it is oily, smelling like cypress with a harsh taste, a small and dense leaf. There are many kinds of it, but all are precious, except the Indian one, which is more precious.

SERMON 42 — FRATERNAL CORRECTION: TWO KINDS OF HUMILITY

"While the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance." These are the bride's words that we have left until today. This is the answer she gave when rebuked by the Bridegroom, not to the Bridegroom however but to his companions, as can easily be gathered from the words themselves. For since she does not address him directly and say: "When you were on your couch, O King," but: "when he was on his couch," it is clear that she does not speak to him but of him. Try to imagine therefore how the Bridegroom, seemingly after he had reproved or repulsed her, sees the blush of shame that covers her cheeks and departs from the room to give her the opportunity to express her feelings freely. If, as often happened, she yielded more than was becoming to dismay and depression, his companions would console and re-assure her. Not that he omits to do this himself, but he waits for the opportune moment. And to show clearly how pleasing to him she was even while correcting her, for she bore that correction becomingly and in the proper spirit, he could not depart till he had praised the beauty of her cheeks and neck in words that came from his heart. Hence those who remain with her, knowing what the Lord has in mind, try to charm her out of her sadness and present her with gifts. Her words then are addressed to them. This is how they fit within the context.

2. But before attempting to extract the kernel of spiritual truth from this shell, I make one brief remark.

Happy the Superior who finds a reaction to his reprimand similar to the example given here. Far more desirable that there should never be a need to reprimand! That would be the better thing. But because "we all make many mistakes," and duty obliges me to correct those who err, I may not remain silent; and indeed love impels me to act. And if, in the fulfilling of my duty, I do correct someone only to see that my reprimand fails entirely to achieve its purpose, echoing its futility back to me like a javelin that strikes and recoils, what do you think, brothers, are my feelings then? Am I not frustrated! Am I not angered! Because of my own lack of wisdom let me quote the words of a Master: "I am caught in a dilemma and know not what to choose." Should I be complacent about what I have said because I have done my duty, or perform a penance for what I have said because I have failed in my purpose? For I wished by overthrowing an enemy to rescue a friend, and did not do so; rather the contrary happened, I have offended him and set him deeper in the wrong. He now despises me. "They will not listen to you," said the Prophet, "because they will not listen to me." Note the greatness of him who is involved in this contempt. Do not imagine that you have despised only me. The Lord has spoken, and what he said to the Prophet he also said to the Apostles: "He who despises you, despises me." I am neither prophet nor apostle, but I dare to say that I fulfill the role both of prophet and apostle; and though far beneath them in merits I am caught up in similar cares. Even though it be to my great embarrassment, though it put me at serious risk, I am seated on the chair of Moses, to whose quality of life I do not lay claim and whose grace I do not experience. What then? That one must withhold respect for the chair because the man sitting there is unworthy? But even though the Scribes and Pharisees be seated on it, Christ has said: "Do what they tell you."

3. Quite often impatience is joined to the contempt, so that the man rebuked not only neglects to amend but is even angry with his corrector, like a madman who spurns his doctor's hand. What extraordinary perversity! While refusing to be angry with the archer who shot him, he is angry with his physician! That one who shoots in the dark at the upright of heart has now shot the death-blow into your own self; and you fail to react against him? Yet you are annoyed with me when all I want is to put you right! "Be angry but do not sin," Scripture says. If your anger is directed against your sin, not only do you not sin but you destroy the sin you had committed. Now however you add sin to sin by spurning the remedy in this senseless fit of anger; this is a sin of special malice.

4. Sometimes the anger is spiced with impudence, as when the correction is not only met with impatience but the error impudently defended. This is obvious recklessness. God can say to such a man: "You have a harlot's brow, you refuse to be ashamed;" and again: "My jealousy will depart from you, I shall be angry with you no more." Merely to hear these words makes me shudder. Do you not feel how perilous it is, how horrible and frightening, to defend one's sin? For God also says: "All whom I love I reprove and discipline." If God's jealous anger has turned away from you, so also has his love; if you think yourself unfit for his chastisement, you will not be fit for his love. It is when God does not show his anger that he is most angry: "We have shown favor to the wicked," he says, "and he does not learn righteousness." This kind of favor is not for me. To be spared on these terms is worse than any anger, it leaves me shut off from the paths of righteousness. Better for me to follow the Prophet's advice and learn discipline, lest the Lord be angry and I fall away from the true path. I prefer that you be angry with me, O Father of Mercies, but with that anger by which you put the sinner right rather than drive him off the path. A correction benignly administered begets the former, an ominous concealment of your anger leads to the latter. It is not when I am ignorant of your anger but when I feel it, that I trust most in your goodwill for me, because when you are angry you will remember to be merciful. "You were a forgiving God to your people," according to the Psalmist, "but an avenger of their wrong-doings." He is speaking of Moses and Aaron and Samuel whom he had previously mentioned, and considers it a mercy that God did not spare their waywardness. But you? Go on defending your error and condemning the correction, and cut yourself off from this mercy forever! But that is surely to call evil good and good evil. And out of this odious impudence shall we not soon see emerging the buds of impenitence, the mother of despair? For who will repent of what he thinks good? Woe to them the Prophet says. And that woe is for eternity. It is one thing for a person to be tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire, but quite another to freely pursue evil as good, to speed toward death with a false security as if on the way to life.

For this reason I should sometimes prefer to remain silent and pretend I had not seen some wrong being done, rather than to bring about so great a calamity by a reprimand.

5. Perhaps you will tell me that my good deed will redound to my welfare; that I have freed my own soul and am innocent of the blood of that man in speaking and warning him to turn away from his evil path that he might live. But though you give me countless reasons they will not comfort me because my eyes rest on a son who is dying. It is as if by that reprimand I sought to achieve my own salvation rather than his. Where is the mother who will be able to restrain her tears when she sees her ailing son at the point of death, even if she knows she has devoted all possible care and attention to him, but in vain, since all her efforts now come to nothing? She weeps because death takes him from her for a time. How much more should I weep and lament for the eternal death of a son of mine even if I am conscious of no failure on my part, even though I have warned him? You see then how great the evils from which a man delivers both himself and me when he responds with meekness on being corrected, submits respectfully, obeys modestly, and humbly admits his fault. To a man like this I shall in all things be a debtor, I shall minister to and serve him as a genuine lover of my Lord, for he is one who can truly say: "while the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance."

6. How good the fragrance of humility that ascends from the valley of tears, that permeates all places within reach, and perfumes even the royal couch with its sweet delight.

The nard is an insignificant herb, said by those who specialize in the study of plants to be of a warm nature. Hence it seems to be fittingly taken in this place for the virtue of humility, but aglow with the warmth of holy love. I say this because there is a humility inspired and inflamed by charity, and a humility begotten in us by truth but devoid of warmth. This latter depends on our knowledge, the former on our affections. For if you sincerely examine your inward dispositions in the light of truth, and judge them unflatteringly for what they are, you will certainly be humiliated by the baseness that this true knowledge reveals to you, though you perhaps as yet cannot endure that others, too, should see this image. So far it is truth that compels your humility, it is as yet untouched by the inpouring of love. But if you were so moved by a love of that truth which, like a radiant light, so wholesomely discovered to you the reality of your condition, you would certainly desire, as far as in you lies, that the opinions of others about you should correspond with what you know of yourself. I say, as far as in you lies, because it is often inexpedient to make known to others all that we know about ourselves, and we are forbidden by the very love of truth and the truth of love to attempt to reveal what would injure another. But if under the impulse of self-love you inwardly conceal the true judgment you have formed of yourself, who can doubt that you lack a love for truth, since you show preference for your own interest and reputation?

7. Convicted by the light of truth then, a man may judge himself of little worth, but you know this is far from the equivalent of a spontaneous association with the lowly that springs from the gift of love. Necessity compels the former, the latter is of free choice. "He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant," and so gave us the pattern of humility. He emptied himself, he humbled himself, not under constraint of an assessment of himself but inspired by love for us. Though he could appear abject and despicable in men's eyes, he could not judge himself to be so in reality, because he knew who he was. It was his will, not his judgment, that moved him to adopt a humble guise that he knew did not represent him; though not unaware that he was the highest he chose to be looked on as the least. And so we find him saying: "Learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart." He said "in heart;" in the affection of the heart, which signifies the will, and a decision arising from the will excludes compulsion. You and I truly know that we deserve disgrace and contempt, that we deserve the worst treatment and the lowest rank, that we deserve punishment, even the whip; but not he. Yet he experienced all these things because he willed it; he was humble in heart, humble with that humility that springs from the heart's love, not that which is exacted by truthful reasoning.

8. So then, I have said that we attain to this voluntary humility not by truthful reasoning but by an inward infusion of love, since it springs from the heart, from the affections, from the will; you must judge whether I am right. But I also submit to the scrutiny of your judgment the rectitude by which I attribute this to the Lord, who under love's inspiration emptied himself, under love's inspiration was made lower than the angels, under love's inspiration was obedient to his parents, under love's inspiration bowed down under the Baptist's hands, endured the weakness of the flesh, and became liable to death, even the ignominious death of the cross. And one more thing I ask you to consider: whether I have been correct in assuming that this humility, aglow with love, is symbolized by that lowly plant, the nard. And if you do assent to all these opinions - and you must give assent to evidence that is so manifest - then if you feel humiliated by that inescapable sense of unworthiness implanted by the Truth that examines both heart and mind in the very being of one who is attentive, try to use your will and make a virtue of necessity, because there is no virtue without the will's co-operation. You will achieve this if you do not wish to appear externally in any way different from what you discover in your heart. Otherwise you must fear that you will read your fate in words like the following: "He flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated." For "diverse weights and diverse measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord." What am I getting at? Will you despise yourself in your own heart when you weigh yourself in the balance of God's truth, and yet deceive the public with a different estimate by selling yourself to us at a greater weight than Truth has indicated? Let the fear of God prevent you from attempting anything so despicable as to commend the man whose unworthiness is revealed by God's truth: for this is to resist the truth, to fight against God. You must rather submit to God and let your will be docile to the Truth; and more than docile, even dedicated. "Was not my soul subject to God," said the Psalmist.

9. It counts for little, however, that you are submissive to God, unless you be submissive to every human creature for God's sake, whether it be the abbot as first superior or to the other officers appointed by him. I go still further and say: be subject to your equals and inferiors. "It is fitting," said Christ, "that we should in this way do all that righteousness demands." If you seek an unblemished righteousness, take an interest in the man of little account, defer to those of lesser rank, be of service to the young. Doing this you may dare to say with the bride: "My nard gave forth its fragrance."

That fragrance is the fervor of your life, the good repute in which all men hold you, so that you might be the good odor of Christ in every place, seen by all, loved by all. Such influence is beyond the man whose humility is compelled by the truth; he is so caught up in self-interest that it cannot flow out so that it will spread abroad. His life bears no fragrance because he lacks fervor, his humility is neither free nor spontaneous. But the bride's humility, like the nard, spreads abroad its fragrance, the warmth of its love, the vigor of its fervor, the inspiring power of its good name. The bride's humility is freely embraced, it is fruitful and it is forever. Its fragrance is destroyed neither by reprimand nor praise. She has heard: "Your cheeks are beautiful as the turtle dove's, your neck like strings of jewels." When promised pendants of gold she acquiesced with humility; the more she is honored the more she humbles herself in all things. She does not boast of her merits nor forget her humility when she hears her praises multiplied. Under this name of nard she humbly vows her lowliness in the spirit of the Virgin Mary's words: "I am unaware of any merit that would warrant all this honor, except that God has been pleased with the lowliness of his handmaid." What else can she mean by saying: "My nard gave forth its fragrance," than that my lowliness was pleasing to him? It was not any wisdom of mine, not any nobility, not any beauty, for these meant nothing to me; it was my humility alone that gave forth fragrance, in its accustomed way. God is habitually pleased with humility; the way of the Lord is to look down lovingly on the humble from the heights of heaven; and therefore while the king was on his couch, in his dwelling-place in the heavens, the fragrance of my humility mounted even to the presence of him of whom the Psalmist says: "He dwells on high and takes account of the lowly things in heaven and on earth."

10. Therefore: "while the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance."

The king's couch is the heart of the Father, because the Son is always in the Father. Never doubt of the mercy of this king, whose eternal resting place is the abode of the Father's love. What wonder that the cry of the humble should reach to him whose dwelling-place is at that source of all kindliness, where his happiness is most intimate and his goodness consubstantial with that of the Father; for he receives all that he is from the Father, and the timorous glance of the lowly will see in his royal power nothing that is not fatherly. Therefore the Lord says: "Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now arise." The bride knows this because she is a well-loved member of his household; she knows that her Bridegroom's favors will not be limited by the poverty of her merits, for she puts her trust solely in her lowliness. Yet she gives him the title of king, for while smarting from the reprimand she does not dare to call him Bridegroom. He is said to dwell on high, but this does not weaken the trust that permeates her humility.

11. You may very suitably apply the text of this sermon to the early church, if you recall those days when, after the Lord had ascended to where he was before and seated himself at the Father's right hand, on that ancient, magnificent and glorious couch, the disciples came together in one place, persevering with one mind in prayer along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers. Do you not feel that was a time when the nard of the tiny and timorous bride gave forth its fragrance? And when suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind and filled all the house where they were sitting, could she not say in her littleness and indigence: "While the king was on his couch my nard gave forth its fragrance"? All who lived in that place clearly perceived the ascent of that fragrance of humility, so agreeable and so welcome, and the immediate response of a rich and glorious reward.

The king then entered his couch, when our Lord Jesus Christ bodily penetrated the interior of heaven. While he rested there, the nard of the bride gave forth its fragrance; because the virtue of the holy Church spread the sweet fame of its goodness far and wide. For the Lord ascended to heaven and sent his Holy Spirit upon the disciples (Acts II); filled with whom, they preached the words of salvation to the world, and through holy works spread the fame of good fragrance all around. Indeed, each faithful soul receives this Spirit in baptism, so that through him it may compose for itself ointments from the preparation of virtues, and refresh its neighbors by the display of example, as if by the fragrance of ointment.

A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, etc. And this, according to the letter, we read was fulfilled concerning our Savior when, after His passion was accomplished and His body taken down from the cross, Nicodemus came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds' weight. And they took His body and wrapped it in linen cloths with spices. Therefore, the beloved of the Church was made a bundle of myrrh when the Lord, anointed with myrrh and aloe, was wrapped in linen cloths: indeed, this bundle abides between the breasts of the bride when the Church unceasingly meditates in her innermost heart on the death of her Redeemer. For who does not know that the place between the breasts is the heart? And the bundle of myrrh shall abide between the breasts of the bride when every soul consecrated to God strives, with intent mind, as much as it can, to imitate the death of Him by whom it knows itself redeemed, mindful of that apostolic saying, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians V). Truly, because the glory of the resurrection soon followed the death of our Mediator and Savior, rightly the bride adds:

Nor was the bride ungrateful for that favor. For hear: no sooner is she possessed by the ardor then she professes herself ready to endure any evil for the sake of his name, for the following text runs: "My beloved is to me a bunch of myrrh that lies between my breasts." But I feel too weak to speak any further. I shall say that under the name of myrrh she includes all the bitter trials she is willing to undergo through love of her beloved. Some other time we shall continue with the remainder of the text, provided that the Holy Spirit will be attentive to your prayers and enable me to understand the words of the bride, since he himself has inspired and composed them in a way befitting the praises of him whose Spirit he is, the Church's Bridegroom, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God blessed for ever. Amen.

1. "A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me; he shall abide between my breasts" (Song 1:12). Before he was king, now he is beloved; before on the royal couch, now between the breasts of the bride. Great is the power of humility, to which even the majesty of the Godhead so easily inclines itself. Quickly the name of reverence was changed into the word of friendship: and he who was far off was in a short time made near. "A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me." Myrrh, a bitter thing, signifies hard and harsh tribulations. Foreseeing that these threaten her on account of her beloved, she speaks this rejoicingly, confident that she will endure all things manfully. "The disciples went away rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they were counted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus" (Acts 5:41). Therefore, indeed, she calls her beloved not a bundle but a little bundle, because she considers light for the sake of his love whatever labor and sorrow may threaten. Rightly a little bundle, because "a child is born to us" (Isa 9:6). Rightly a little bundle, because "the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the future glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom 8:18). For "that which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation," he says, "works for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor 4:17). There shall be therefore for us at some time an immense heap of glory, which is now a little bundle of myrrh. Is it not a little bundle, whose "yoke is sweet and whose burden is light"? (Mt 11:30.) Not because it is light in itself (for neither is the harshness of suffering light, nor the bitterness of death), but light nevertheless to one who loves. And therefore she does not say only: "A bundle of myrrh is my beloved"; but: "To me," she says, who love him, he is a little bundle. Whence she also names him beloved, showing that the force of love overcomes the trouble of all bitternesses, and because "love is strong as death" (Song 8:6). And so that you may know that she glories not in herself but in the Lord, and that she presumes strength not from her own power but from the help of the Lord; she says that he will abide between her breasts, to whom she may securely sing: "Even if I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will not fear evils, because you are with me" (Ps 22:4).

2. I remember that in one of the earlier sermons (Sermon 10, no. 1) I defined the two breasts of the bride as congratulation and compassion, according to the teaching of Paul, who says: "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep" (Rom 12:15). But since, moving amid adversity and prosperity, she knows that dangers are not absent from either side; she wishes to have her beloved in the midst of these breasts of hers, so that, fortified by his continuous protection against both, neither happy things may exalt her nor sad things cast her down. You also, if you are wise, will imitate the prudence of the bride, and will not suffer this little bundle of myrrh, so dear, to be torn away from the center of your breast even for an hour; always retaining in memory and revolving in constant meditation all those bitter things which he endured for you, so that you too may be able to say: "A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me; he shall abide between my breasts."

3. And I, brothers, from the beginning of my conversion, in place of the heap of merits which I knew I lacked, took care to gather this little bundle for myself and to place it between my breasts, collected from all the anxieties and bitternesses of my Lord: first, indeed, from those necessities of his infancy; then from the labors which he endured in preaching, the fatigues in traveling about, the vigils in praying, the temptations in fasting, the tears in showing compassion, the snares in conversing; and lastly, the perils among false brothers, the reproaches, the spittings, the blows, the mockeries, the insults, the nails, and things similar to these, which the forest of the Gospels is known to have brought forth most abundantly for the salvation of our race. Where surely, among so many branches of this fragrant myrrh, I thought that by no means should that myrrh be passed over with which he was given drink upon the cross; but neither that with which he was anointed at his burial. In the first of these he applied to himself the bitterness of my sins; in the second he consecrated the future incorruption of my body. I will pour forth the memory of the abundance of the sweetness of these things as long as I live; I will never forget these mercies for all eternity, because in them I have been given life.

4. These things the holy David of old sought with tears: "Let your mercies come to me," he said, "and I shall live" (Ps 118:77). These also a certain other one of the saints recalled with groaning, saying: "The mercies of the Lord are many. How many kings and prophets wished to see, and did not see. They labored, and I have entered into their labors; I have reaped the myrrh that they planted; for me this saving little bundle has been preserved; no one shall take it from me; it shall abide between my breasts." To meditate on these things I have called wisdom; in these I have established for myself the perfection of righteousness; in these the fullness of knowledge; in these the riches of salvation; in these the abundance of merits. From these comes to me at times a saving drink of bitterness; from these in turn a sweet anointing of consolation. These raise me up in adversity, restrain me in prosperity, and as I walk the royal road amid the joys and sorrows of the present life, they provide safe guidance on both sides, driving away on this side and that the evils that threaten. These reconcile to me the Judge of the world, since they portray as gentle and humble him who is terrible to the powers; since they present as not only appeasable but also imitable him who is inaccessible to principalities, terrible among the kings of the earth. Therefore these things are frequently on my lips, as you know; these always in my heart, as God knows; these are very familiar to my pen, as is plain to see; this is my higher philosophy for the present: to know Jesus, and him crucified. I do not seek, as the bride does, where he lies down at midday (Song 1:6), whom I joyfully embrace as he abides between my breasts. I do not seek where he feeds at midday, whom I gaze upon as Savior on the cross. That is more sublime, this is sweeter; that is bread, this is milk; this nourishes the bowels of little ones, this fills the breasts of mothers: and therefore he shall abide between my breasts.

5. Gather also for yourselves, most beloved, this little bundle so dear; insert it into the depths of the heart; fortify with it the entrance of the breast, so that for you also he may abide between your breasts. Have him always not behind on your shoulders, but before your eyes, lest carrying and not smelling, the burden should press you down while the fragrance does not lift you up. Remember that Simeon received him in his arms (Lk 2:28); Mary bore him in her womb, cherished him in her lap; the bride placed him for herself between her breasts. And, lest I pass over anything, the word came into the hand of Zechariah the prophet, and also of certain others. I think that Joseph too, the husband of Mary, often smiled at him upon his knees. All these had him before them, and none behind. Therefore let them be an example to you, that you also may do likewise. For if you have before your eyes him whom you carry, then certainly, seeing the sufferings of the Lord, you will bear your own more lightly, with the help of him who is the Bridegroom of the Church, who is God blessed above all things forever. Amen.

For this reason it ought to be clear to your minds that the fig tree was an image of the law, just as it is certain that the cluster of grapes prefigured the Savior, as the church declares in the Canticle of Canticles: "My brother is for me a cluster of henna." Christ, indeed, cannot exist without the law or the law without Christ, for we have said that the law is evidence of the gospel, and the gospel is the fulfillment of the law.

The location of the heart is said by experts to lie between the two breasts. Here is where the bride says that she has the sachet in which her treasure is kept. Also, the heart is said to be a source of warmth from which the body's heat is distributed through the arteries. The body's members are thereby heated, animated and nourished by the heart's fire. Therefore the bride has received the good odor of Christ in the governing part of the soul and has made her own heart a kind of sachet for such incense. And so she makes all her actions, like parts of the body, seethe with the breath from her heart so that no iniquity can cool her love for God in any member of her body.

She calls him "nard" because of his working of miracles and service of kindness extended to all, and "bag of myrrh" because of his suffering, death and the infamy represented by his cross, when he concentrated the inactive power of his divinity into his body as if in a little bag. For it is not the same to believe in one who works miracles and is glorified as to trust in one who is crucified, buried and taken for dead. The common response of humanity is to recognize his divinity [only] when they enjoy his benefits and are convinced by numerous signs, for the action of the miracle does not so much relieve the judgment as its plausibility. On the contrary, to see him suffer, exposed to banter and enduring the injuries of malefactors—without doubt or perplexity but rather keeping in every circumstance the same judgment: this is the deed of a very small number or perhaps of only one perfect soul.…That he dwells between the breasts of the bride is a sign that he has humbled himself from infancy and has assumed the human sufferings of hunger, thirst, slumber and physical fatigue.

The cluster of grapes in bloom, suspended from the branch, is not desired by everyone, because it fails to possess an immediate pleasure. Rare indeed are those who rejoice at postponing pleasures, for people attach themselves naturally to the preference of present enjoyment, just as those pleasures whose utility is not immediate but resides in future hope are reckoned not to have the same usefulness. Now it pertains to the science of agriculture to recognize future utility in the present condition of fruit that has not yet reached maturity, and in the unripe grape to discern whether there is any future and assured maturity.In the same way also, the Lord hanging upon the cross, as if to say in a public examination before the eyes of all, evoked a great despair in those who saw him. For who therefore would not be perplexed, understandably, seeing the liberator of the human race undergoing the ultimate punishment, seeing the one who accomplished so many miracles and delivered Lazarus from the bonds of death, nailed to the cross and his life passing over into death? Thus the condemnation inflicted at that time upon the good name which everyone attributed to him induced doubt among those who saw it when compared with the opinion regarding him that everyone entertained then. This was because every eye, filled in an untimely way with the evidence of the suffering by which he was tested and forgetting the miracles, took sides with the suffering it could see. For not only the Jews but also the disciples themselves fell into doubt such that even after learning that "he had been raised from the dead," they did not believe in his resurrection.

The bodies of the dead are customarily preserved with myrrh, lest they putrefy. Indeed, we apply myrrh to bodies lest they putrefy, when we restrain our members from the corruption of lust through their mortification after Christ's example; lest, if we leave them without seasoning, our bodies, dissolved by corruption, become food for eternal worms. But what does it mean that the bride calls her beloved not myrrh, but a bundle of myrrh, unless that when the holy mind considers Christ's life from every angle, it gathers together from the imitation of him virtues that fight against all vices; from which it fashions for itself a bundle, by which it may wipe away the everlasting corruption of its flesh? This bundle is rightly said to dwell between the breasts, because in the love of God and neighbor the holy dwelling place of Christ is built. For when the holy soul so loves God that it does not despise the neighbor, and so carries out love of neighbor that it does not diminish the divine, without doubt it places breasts upon its chest with which, embracing Christ, it nourishes him. For Christ is, as it were, nourished and strengthened by the breasts, when he is delighted by this twofold love so that he clings more firmly.

"It will lodge between my breasts," that is, in the governing part of my soul, which is located in the heart lying between the breasts. This indicates the fulfillment of the prophecy spoken by God, "I shall dwell and walk about among them, and I shall be their God and they shall be my people, says the Lord almighty." The bridegroom in person also makes the promise, "We shall come, my Father and I, and shall make our abode with him."

My beloved is to me a grape-cluster from Cyprus in the vineyards of Engaddi. And indeed, according to the surface of the letter, the sense of this verse is: Just as the Cyprus island is accustomed to produce clusters of grapes larger than other lands, and just as in the city of Judea, called Engaddi, vines more noble than the rest are grown, from which a liquid flows not of wine but of balsam, so my beloved to me is connected with a special love above all others, so much so that no creature can separate me from His affection. Typically, however, just as myrrh, because of its bitterness (for it is as healthy for healing infirmities as it is bitter to taste) signifies the sorrow of the Lord's passion, where He Himself also received myrrhed wine to drink from the soldiers, and buried by the disciples was anointed with myrrh, as we have said; so also the cluster not incongruously announces the joy of His resurrection. For wine gladdens the heart of man (Psalm CIII). Hence, the Lord in His resurrection became a cluster of Cyprus who had been a bundle of myrrh in His passion. Rightly He abides between the breasts of the bride, because the same was turned into a cluster for a vineyard. Holy Church, therefore, never removes the memory of the Lord's death from her heart, because He who died for her transgressions also rose for her justification. And to her who follows in His footsteps, He provided an example of rising after the anguish of death. He is also remembered as being in the vineyards of Engadi; for in the vineyards of Engadi, as we have mentioned before, balsam is produced, which in the making of chrism, is customarily mixed with olive oil, and consecrated by episcopal blessing, so that all the faithful may be signed with this anointing during the laying on of hands by the priest, by which the Holy Spirit is received; with which also the Lord's altar, when it is dedicated, and other things which ought to be sacred, are anointed. Hence, very rightly through the vineyards of Engadi, divine charisms are figured. And the bridegroom is in the vineyards of Engadi, because the Lord himself appearing in the flesh is full of the Holy Spirit, and he himself bestows the gifts of the Spirit upon believers. Therefore, he calls balsam trees vineyards, because they rise in the manner of vineyards, which without supports do not sustain themselves; indeed, they are more similar to the vine than the myrtle, and distinguished by perpetual foliage, their height remains within two cubits; their seed has a taste similar to wine, its color red, the branches thicker than myrtle, which at certain times of the year ooze balsam. And the farmers are accustomed to cut their sprigs with sharp stones or bone knives; for the touch of iron spoils it. Through these incisions, juice of excellent scent flows out, beautifully dripping with tears, collected in small horns of wool. Because it flows through a cavity in the bark, it is often called opobalsamum (for in Greek, opi means cavity), and the richest vein of each tree is struck three times in the summer heats. The most noteworthy is the first tear of the tree, the second from the seed, the third from the bark, the least from the wood. All these things, if considered carefully, most fittingly pertain to our Redeemer: who humble in the flesh, but appearing full of grace and truth, was wounded for our iniquities, and from his wounds poured out for us the sacraments of life and salvation. Hence, he himself, who is the power and wisdom of God, speaks in Ecclesiasticus, "And my scent is as the pure balsam" (Eccli. XXIV). Truly amazing is the order of words, that first the bride says, while the king is at his table, her nard has given forth its fragrance; then she compares him to a bundle of myrrh; thirdly, she calls him a cluster of henna; lastly, she remembers him to be in the vineyards of Engadi. Because first the devoted woman anointed the Lord reclining at the dinner with nard; then the disciples wrapped him anointed with myrrh for burial after the crucifixion, and after these things, he himself distributed spiritual gifts to the faithful with the joy of the resurrection soon to come. Nor should it be overlooked that Engadi is translated as the fountain of the kid: by which name the sacred baptismal font is clearly shown, into which, still sinners and worthy of the left side, we descend; but, cleansed from the foulness of sins, and to be counted among the lambs, we ascend. And right when he meant the joy of the Lord's resurrection, by saying, "A cluster of henna is my beloved to me," he immediately added, "In the vineyards of Engadi," that is, the fountain of the kid, which is plainly to say, "In the spiritual gifts, which from the time of baptism are conferred upon the faithful." Thus far, the Church enumerates the gifts it has received from its Redeemer; these attest to the tokens of love. To which he soon replied in turn for remuneration:

1. "My beloved is to me a cluster of Cyprus in the vineyards of Engaddi" (Song 1:13). If the beloved is in myrrh, how much more in the sweetness of the cluster. Therefore my Lord Jesus, as myrrh to me in death, as a cluster in the resurrection, has tempered himself for me as a most wholesome drink, in tears in due measure. He died for our sins and rose again for our justification (Rom 4:25), that being dead to sins we might live to righteousness (1 Pet 2:24). And so you, if you have wept for your sins, you have drunk bitterness; but if you have already breathed again in hope of life by a holier way of living, the bitterness of myrrh has been changed for you into wine, which gladdens the heart of man. And perhaps this is what was signified by the fact that wine mixed with myrrh was offered to the Savior on the cross, and therefore he would not drink it, because he thirsted for this. You therefore, after the bitternesses of myrrh, as I said, experiencing the wine of joyfulness, not rashly may you also say: "My beloved is to me a cluster of Cyprus in the vineyards of Engaddi." Engaddi has a twofold interpretation, and both serve a single meaning. For it is called "fountain of the kid," and "baptism of the Gentiles"; and it openly designates the tears of sinners. It is also called "eye of temptation," which equally sheds tears; and watches over the temptations that are never at all absent from the life of man upon earth. But the people of the Gentiles also, who walked in darkness, could never by themselves recognize the snares of temptations, and therefore could not escape them, until through the grace of him who enlightens the blind, they received the eyes of faith; until they came to the Church, which has the eye of temptation; until they delivered themselves to spiritual men for instruction, who, enlightened by the spirit of wisdom and taught also by their own experience, can truly say that we are not ignorant of the wiles of the devil, and his designs (2 Cor 2:11).

2. They report that in Engaddi small balsam trees grow, which are cultivated by the inhabitants in the manner of vineyards: and from this perhaps he called them vineyards. Otherwise what would a cluster of Cyprus be doing in the vineyards of Engaddi? Who has ever transported clusters from vineyards into vineyards? For wine is customarily carried from elsewhere to where it is lacking, not to where it is already present. Therefore he calls the vineyards of Engaddi the congregations of the Church, which has the liquor of balsam, the spirit of gentleness, in which it tenderly fosters the tenderness of those who are still little ones in Christ, and consoles the sorrows of penitents. But also if any brother has been overtaken in some fault, the churchman who has already received this spirit will take care to instruct such a one presently in the same spirit of gentleness, considering himself, lest he also be tempted (Gal 6:1). In this type the Church has been accustomed even bodily to anoint with material oil all who are to be baptized.

3. But since the wounds of him who fell among thieves, and was carried upon the beast of the body of the compassionate Samaritan to the inn of the Church, receive healing not in oil alone but in wine and oil together (Lk 10:30-34): the spiritual physician needs also the wine of fervent zeal together with the oil of gentleness, to whom it assuredly belongs not only to console the fainthearted but also to correct the unruly. For if he shall see that the one who was wounded, that is, who sinned, is by no means amended by the gentle and mild exhortations that have been bestowed upon him, but rather is perhaps even abusing his gentleness and becoming more negligent through his patience, and falling asleep in his sin even more securely: when the oil of such sweet admonitions has been frustrated, it will be necessary indeed to use more biting remedies and to pour in the wine of compunction; that is, to deal with him by harsh rebukes and invectives, and, if the case requires it and the hardness is so great, even to strike the contemner with the rod of ecclesiastical censure. But whence comes this wine to him? For in the vineyards of Engaddi wine is not found, but oil. Let him seek it then in Cyprus: for that island is fertile in wine, and the finest wine; and taking from there for himself a great cluster, which the scouts of Israel once carried on a pole (Num 13:24), beautifully prefiguring the prophetic chorus going before and the apostolic following after, with Jesus in the middle: taking then this cluster let him say to himself: "My beloved is to me a cluster of Cyprus."

4. We have seen the cluster; let us see how the wine of zeal is pressed from it. For if a sinful man is by no means indignant at a sinning man, but rather, as it were sweating out upon him a certain dew of sweetest balsam, shows forth a pious affection of compassion; we know whence this comes, and you have already heard, but perhaps you have not noticed. For it was said that from the consideration of his own self there comes to each one the quality of being gentle toward all, since a man, by the counsel of the most wise Paul, in order to know how to condescend piously to those overtaken in sin, considers himself, lest he also be tempted (Gal 6:1). Does not the love of neighbor draw its root from this very source, concerning which it is commanded in the law: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Lk 10:27)? From the inmost depths of human affections, fraternal love draws the beginnings of its origin, and from a certain natural sweetness implanted in man toward himself, as from earthly moisture, it draws without doubt its growth and force, by which, when grace indeed breathes from above, it brings forth fruits of piety: so that what the soul naturally desires for itself, it judges should not be denied by a certain right of humanity to a partner of its nature, that is, to another human being, where it can and where it ought, but should freely and willingly share it. There is present therefore in nature, if it has not become stale through sin, a liquor of this kind of pleasing and excellent sweetness, as it were, so that it feels and shows itself softer toward compassion for sinners rather than harsher toward indignation against them.

5. But because, according to the judgment of the Wise Man, dying flies destroy this ointment of sweetness (Eccl 10:1), and nature has nothing in itself by which to restore what has once been lost, it feels itself by a lamentable change collapsing into what Scripture truly says: "The senses and thoughts of man are prone to evil from his youth" (Gen 8:21). Not a good youth, in which the younger son demands that a portion of the father's substance be separated for himself, and begins to wish to divide a good that is more sweetly possessed in common; and to have alone what is not diminished by sharing but is lost by division. At length: "He squandered," it says, "all his goods living riotously with harlots" (Lk 15:11, 13). Who are these harlots? See whether they are not the very ones that destroy the ointment of sweetness, namely carnal concupiscences, about which Scripture most wholesomely warns you: "Go not after your concupiscences," it says (Sir 18:30). And the Wise Man rightly describes them as dying; since both the world passes away and the concupiscence of it (1 Jn 2:17). Therefore while we wish to satisfy these individually, we deprive ourselves of the singular sweetness of the common and shared good. These are truly filthy and stinging flies, which defile in us the beauty of nature, lacerate the mind with cares and anxieties, and destroy the sweetness of shared grace. Hence man is called "the younger son," because nature, corrupted by a certain slippery slide of senseless youth, has lost all the sap of manly maturity and wisdom; and, turned harsh, with a dry soul he despises everyone except himself, having become without affection.

6. Therefore from the onset of this most wicked and most wretched youth, "the senses and thoughts of man are prone to evil," and nature is readier for indignation than for compassion. Hence man, as though entirely stripped of his humanity, in the matter where he wishes to be helped by other men when he is in need, does not himself wish to help other men who are in need. Rather a sinful man judges, scorns, and mocks men who are sinning, not considering himself, lest he also be tempted. From this evil nature will by no means rise again by itself, as I said, nor will it recover the oil of inborn gentleness that has once been destroyed in it. Nevertheless what nature cannot do, grace can. Therefore when the unction of the Spirit has had mercy on a man and deigns to pour over him anew with its kindness, he will at once return to his humanity, and moreover will receive from grace something better than from nature. In faith and gentleness he will make him holy, and will give him not oil but balsam in the vineyards of Engaddi.

7. Nor indeed is it doubtful that the better gifts flow from the fountain of the kid, whose anointing assuredly turns kids into lambs and transfers sinners from the left hand to the right, who have been more abundantly drenched beforehand with the anointing of mercy, so that where sins abounded, grace may abound all the more (Rom 5:20). Does it not truly seem to you that this man has returned in a certain way to his humanity, who, having laid aside the ferocity of a worldly spirit, and having recovered the anointing of human gentleness, even with the interest of grace, which the flies of carnal desires had utterly destroyed in him; from his own humanity which he bears, or rather which he himself is, draws both the matter and the pattern of having mercy on other men, so that he shudders at it as at a certain savage grimace, not only to do to any man what he would not wish to suffer himself, but also not to do for all men all things whatsoever he would wish to be done for himself?

8. Behold whence the oil comes. The wine, whence? Assuredly from the cluster of Cyprus. For if you love the Lord Jesus with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength: will you, if you see his injuries and contempt, be able in any way to bear it with equanimity? By no means: but immediately, seized by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, and as though a mighty man heated with wine (Ps 77:65), filled with the zeal of Phinehas, you will say with David: "My zeal has consumed me, because my enemies have forgotten your words" (Ps 118:139); and with the Lord: "Zeal for your house has consumed me" (Ps 68:10; Jn 2:17). This most fervent zeal, then, is wine pressed from the cluster of Cyprus, and the love of Christ is an inebriating cup. For our God is a consuming fire (Deut 4:24), and the prophet said that fire was sent from on high into his bones (Lam 1:13), because he was aflame with divine love. Having therefore the oil of gentleness from fraternal love, and the wine of emulation from divine love, approach confidently to heal the wounds of him who fell among thieves, an excellent imitator of the most compassionate Samaritan. Confidently also may you say with the bride: "My beloved is to me a cluster of Cyprus in the vineyards of Engaddi": that is, the zeal of justice, the love of my beloved, is to me in the affections of piety. And about this, enough. For my infirmity also commands a rest, as it often does; so that most of the time I am compelled, as you yourselves know, to leave discussions unfinished and to reserve the remaining chapters for another day. But what of it? I am ready for the scourges (Ps 33:18), knowing that I still receive things far unequal to my merits. Let me indeed be beaten, let me be beaten as one who does evil, if perhaps the blows may be reckoned as merits: perhaps he will have mercy on the one who has been scourged, who finds no good in me to reward, the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is over all things God blessed forever. Amen.

Cyprus is an island in which more abundant vineyards grow than elsewhere. Therefore by Cyprus the universal Church is designated, which nourishes many vineyards, since divided into many churches, it produces the wine that gladdens the heart of man. Engaddi is interpreted as "fountain of the kid." Now the kid was anciently sacrificed for sins. What therefore is figured by the fountain of the kid if not the baptism of Christ? In which, while the body is immersed, the soul is washed clean; and through the faith of him who endured death for sinners, the human soul believes itself to be cleansed from all sins.

Since the image of a dove is placed before us by God so that we may learn the simplicity favored, let us look diligently at its nature, so that from each one of its examples of innocence we may take the principles of a more correct life. [The dove] is a stranger to malice. May all bitterness, anger and indignation be taken away from us, together with all malice. It injures nothing with its mouth or talons, nor does it nourish itself or its young on tiny mice or grubs, which almost all smaller birds [do]. Let us see that our teeth are not weapons and arrows, lest gnawing and consuming one another we be consumed by one another. Let us keep our hands from plundering. "He who has now been stealing, let him steal no more; let him labor by working with his hands, which is a good thing, so that he may have something he can bestow upon one who is suffering need." It is also reported that the dove often supplies nourishment to strangers as though they were her own young. She feeds them with the fruits and seeds of the earth.

Behold, you are beautiful, my friend, etc. Behold, you are beautiful in pure works, by which you conduct yourself soberly, justly, and piously in this age. Behold, you are beautiful in the simplicity of heart, because for the sake of the intention of eternity, you persist in good deeds, awaiting the blessed hope and the coming of the glory of the great God. Your eyes are doves, the eyes of your heart are simple and pure, and entirely free from any duplicity of deceit and pretense. Therefore, they are very blessed, because such shall see God. Likewise, your eyes are doves, because your senses are endowed with spiritual understanding; for since the Holy Spirit descended upon the Lord as a dove, rightly the spiritual sense and gifts are denoted by the term dove or doves. Likewise, the friend of Christ has the eyes of doves, because every soul that truly loves Him inwardly is not kindled by any desire for external things, like the manner of kites, nor does it contemplate anything harmful against any living beings. This is said to be characteristic of dove-like gentleness, which considers all things that occur with a simple, gentle, and humble heart. Hearing, therefore, from the Lord the twin beauty attributed to her, both of work and of intention with the simplicity of a pure heart, she immediately responded with a devoted voice:

"Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold you are beautiful; your eyes are as doves" (Song 1:15). Beautifully, most excellently, from love, the presumption of the bride; from love, the indignation of the bridegroom. The outcome of the matter proves this. For presumption was followed by correction, correction by amendment, amendment by reward. The beloved is present, the master is removed, the king disappears, dignity is laid aside, reverence is set down. For haughtiness yields where affection grows strong. And just as once Moses spoke as a friend to a friend (Ex 33:11), and the Lord responded: so also now between the Word and the soul, as if between two neighbors, a most familiar conversation is carried on. Nor is this surprising. From one fountain of love there flows to both the loving of one another, the cherishing of each other equally. Therefore words sweeter than honey fly back and forth, mutual glances full of all sweetness are exchanged between them, holy signs of love. And so he calls her his love, pronounces her beautiful, repeats that she is beautiful, receiving the same in return from her. Nor is the repetition idle, for it is a confirmation of love, and perhaps it hints at something to be inquired into.

Let us seek the twofold beauty of the soul: for this is what it seems to me to hint at. The beauty of the soul is humility. I do not say this of myself, since the prophet said before me: "You will sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed" (Ps 50:9); by a humble herb that purges the breast signifying humility. With this the king and prophet trusts to be washed after his grievous fall, and so to recover a certain snow-white brightness of innocence. But in one who has gravely sinned, humility, even if it is to be loved, is nevertheless not to be admired. But if someone retains innocence, and nonetheless joins humility to it, does he not seem to you to possess a twofold beauty of soul? Holy Mary did not lose her holiness, and she did not lack humility: and therefore the King desired her beauty, because she joined humility to innocence; and so: "He has regarded," she says, "the humility of his handmaid" (Lk 1:48). Therefore blessed are they who keep their garments clean, namely those of simplicity and innocence, if yet they also add the putting on of the beauty of humility. Assuredly she who is found to be of this kind will hear: "Behold you are beautiful, my love, behold you are beautiful." Would that you would say even once to my soul, Lord Jesus: "Behold you are beautiful." Would that you would keep humility for me! for I have kept the first garment badly. I am your servant. For I do not dare to profess myself a friend, I who do not hear the testimony of my beauty with a repetition. It suffices me if I hear it once. But what if even this is in question? I know what I will do: as a servant I will venerate his love, I, a deformed little man, will admire the abundant beauty in her; I will rejoice at the voice of the bridegroom, who is himself admiring so great a beauty. Who knows if at least from this I may find grace in the eyes of his love, so that by her grace I too may be found among the friends? And so the friend of the bridegroom stands, and rejoices with joy because of the voice of the bridegroom. Behold his voice is in the ears of the beloved: let us hear and let us rejoice. They are present to one another, they speak together; let us stand likewise: let no care of this world, no enticement of the body, withdraw us from this conversation.

"Behold," he says, "you are beautiful, my love, behold you are beautiful." "Behold" is a word of admiration, the rest is of praise. Rightly to be admired, she for whom lost holiness did not bring humility, but rather preserved holiness admitted it. Rightly she is found beautiful, from whom neither beauty was absent. A rare bird upon the earth, either not to lose holiness, or for holiness not to exclude humility: and therefore blessed is she who retained both. And so it has been proved: she is conscious of nothing against herself, and she does not refuse correction. We, even when we sin greatly, scarcely bear to be reproved; but she with an equal mind hears bitter things spoken against her, having sinned in nothing. For, if she desires to see the brightness of the bridegroom, what evil is there? Rather it is even praiseworthy. And yet when rebuked she does penance, and says: "A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, between my breasts he shall abide" (Song 1:13): that is: It suffices me, I wish to know nothing now except Jesus, and him crucified. Great humility! Innocent in deed she takes up the disposition of a penitent; and she who has nothing to repent of, has nevertheless the spirit to repent. Why then, you say, was she rebuked, if she did nothing wrong? But hear now the dispensation and prudence of the bridegroom. Just as Abraham's obedience was once soundly tested, so also now the humility of the bride. And just as he, when his obedience was fulfilled, then heard: "Now I know that you fear God" (Gen 22:12): so also to her now it is said as it were in other words: "Now I know that you are humble"; for this is what he means when he says: "Behold you are beautiful." And therefore he repeats the praise, to mark that the beauty of humility has been added to the glory of holiness. "Behold you are beautiful, my love, behold you are beautiful." "Now I know that you are beautiful, not only from my love, but also from your humility." I do not now call you beautiful among women, nor beautiful in your cheeks, nor in your neck, as I was saying before: but I confess you beautiful simply, not indeed beautiful by comparison, not with distinction, not in part.

And he adds: "Your eyes are as doves." Still openly humility is commended. For this refers to the fact that she, when reproved for her lofty inquiry, immediately did not hesitate to descend to simpler things, so as to say: "A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me." Much indeed is the distance between the face of glory and a bundle of myrrh: and therefore it is a great mark of humility, to consent to be called back from there to here. Therefore "your eyes are as doves." Now, he says, you do not walk in great things, nor in wonders above you: but in the manner of the most simple bird you are content with simpler things, nesting in the clefts of the rock, dwelling upon my wounds, and willingly beholding with a dove-like eye those things which pertain to me as incarnate and having suffered.

Or certainly, because in the form of this bird the Holy Spirit appeared (Mt 3:16), a spiritual rather than a simple gaze is commended in her by the name of the dove. And if this interpretation pleases, you must refer the present passage to what a little earlier the companions promised to make for her, golden earrings (Song 1:11), intending, as I then taught, not to adorn the ears of the body, but to form the hearing of the heart. It could therefore have happened that, by faith which comes from hearing, with the heart more thoroughly cleansed, she was rendered more instructed to see what she could not before. And since from the earrings she received she seemed to have advanced in keener vision toward spiritual understanding, it pleased the bridegroom, to whom it is always more pleasing, as far as lies in him, to be seen in spirit; and counting this too among her praises, he says: "Your eyes are as doves." Now, he says, behold me in spirit, because "Christ the Lord is a spirit before your face" (Lam 4:20). And you have the means by which you can do this, because your eyes are as doves. Before you did not have this, and therefore you had to be restrained: but now have the abundance of seeing, because your eyes are as doves, that is, spiritual. Not indeed the abundance that you were seeking: for not even now are you yet able to attain to that, but an abundance that can meanwhile suffice. Indeed you are to be led from brightness to brightness: and therefore see, as you can, now; and when you can do more, you will see more.

When her own beauty is manifest, the loveliness of her eyes is extolled. The bridegroom says that her eyes are those of a dove that seem to convey this meaning: when the pupils of the eye are clear, the faces of those gazing at them are clearly reflected. Persons skilled in studying natural phenomena say that the eye sees by receiving the impression of images emanating from visible objects. For this reason the beauty of the bride's eyes is praised since the image of a dove appears in her pupils. Whenever a person gazes upon an object he receives in himself the image of that object. He who no longer attends to flesh and blood looks toward the life of the Spirit. As the apostle says, such a person lives in the Spirit, conforms to the Spirit, and by the Spirit puts to death the deeds of the body. This person has become wholly spiritual, neither natural nor carnal.

"Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved, ah, you are beautiful: your eyes are doves!" You who are beautiful and strong, because you resemble him of whom it is sung, "In your beauty and your splendor," will hear from your spouse, "Forget your people and your father's house. So shall the king desire your beauty."

But this beauty of the "cheeks," that is of modesty and chastity, is compared to "turtledoves." They say that the nature of turtledoves is of such a sort that neither the male woos more than one female nor the female puts up with more than one male, so that if it should happen that one is cut off and the other survives, marital love would be snuffed out along with the spouse. Therefore most aptly the image of a turtledove is applied to the church, because it does not know any husband after Christ, or because a multitude marked by continence and modesty much like turtledoves flit about in her.

Our eyes [are not] such as the eyes of Christ's beautiful bride must be, of which eyes the bridegroom says, "Your eyes are doves." He is hinting, perhaps, at the perceptive power of spiritual people, because the Holy Spirit came upon the Lord as a dove, and the Lord is in each one. Nevertheless, even in our condition, we will not hesitate to examine the words of life that have been spoken, and to attempt to grasp their power which streams forth into him who has apprehended them with faith.

The Bridegroom calls His bride beautiful twice, because to her whom He grants love of God and of neighbor, He implants a twofold beauty, in which He delights and which He praises. Her eyes are rightly said to be those of doves, because while she groans amid temporal things and is carried away by desire toward eternal things, she guards her senses in simplicity and detests carnal desires. For the dove moans in love instead of singing. And rightly is the holy soul compared to a dove, because while all the reprobate chatter and rejoice in love of the world, the elect mind is worn away in heavenly desire, because it fears lest it lose what it loves while it is delayed. By the eyes of doves can also be understood the preachers of the Churches, who preserve the simplicity they preach, and despising visible things, pant after eternal things with great groans.

Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, and comely. As if it openly says: Indeed whatever beauty, simplicity, and spiritual grace I have, I have certainly received this through you, by whom I have also obtained forgiveness of sins and the efficacy of good action. But you are truly beautiful and comely without comparison, because you are God before the ages, always begotten from the Father, and when the time of my redemption came, conceived and born of the Holy Spirit and the virgin mother; not only free from all stain of iniquity, but also full of grace and truth, and you came into the world, and lived in the world; moreover, to all who partake of your grace, so that they too might be beautiful with virtues, you have given. Therefore, you are beautiful and comely, that is, wonderful both by the perpetuity of divine nature and the dignity of the assumed humanity. The splendor of whose beauty, because it usually becomes known to hearts at rest from exterior act, the more freely, the more clearly, according to that of the Psalmist, "Be at leisure and see that I am God" (Psalm 46)...

Our bed is in bloom. For sometimes the holy Church, as though in a bed with the Lord, indeed her Bridegroom, rests; sometimes it stands with Him against the enemies in the battlefield; it stands in the battlefield when, in the face of sharper assaults of temptations, it engages in the struggle of faith against the wicked even unto blood; but it rests in the bed when, as times smile with peace, it renders free service to Him, turning the serene gaze of the mind to behold the glory of His majesty. Hence, rightly is the same bed said to be in bloom, because indeed the saints enjoy the tranquility of the times, and then they especially dedicate themselves to sacred readings, fasts, prayers, and other fruits of the Spirit, when they refrain from the labors of tribulations. Then they elevate themselves higher in the contemplation of heavenly matters, when they receive a serene time free from external disturbances. Moreover, the bed of the Church can rightly be understood to be in bloom, not only because of the works of purity, through which each of the elect arrive at the fruit of eternal life, but also because of the offspring of the faithful, whom the Church herself customarily brings forth to God, fragrant with the bloom of faith, through water and spirit. To this action, which indeed the Lord cooperates with and confirms the word, she subjects herself more diligently the more she perceives a tranquil and peaceful time from the persecution of the envious by His granting. And it is to be noted that throughout the text of this little book, the bride always desires to remain in the house or in the bed or any other inner place with her Beloved, which is more fitting for the female sex; but the Bridegroom himself, which is fitting for the male, calls his friend to external works, namely, to the vineyards or gardens or other such things: because indeed the holy Church, if it could be, always desires to converse with the Lord in the peace of worldly tranquility, to propagate and nurture heavenly offspring for Him. But truly, He disposes that she be exercised with frequent tribulations in the present time, in order that she may come to eternal goods purer, and lest, if all temporal things perhaps run prosperous, delighted by the residence of the present exile, she might yearn less for the heavenly homeland. Therefore, the bride of Christ, desiring to live a quiet life with Him, consequently indicates what kind of houses she would like to receive Him in...

I do not think, brothers, I do not think this vision is a mediocre one, nor common to all, even though it be inferior to that by which he is to be seen in the future. For notice from what follows. For it continues: "Behold you are beautiful, my beloved, behold you are beautiful." You see how high she stands, and to what sublime peak of mind she has raised herself, who claims the Lord of all things as her own beloved by a certain special right. For notice how she does not simply say, "Beloved"; but, "my beloved," she says, so as to designate him as her own. A great vision indeed, from which she has grown to such confidence and authority, that she knows the Lord of all not as lord, but as beloved. For I judge that on this occasion there were by no means brought to her senses the images of the flesh, or of the cross, or any other likenesses of bodily infirmities. For in these, according to the prophet, "there was in him no form nor beauty" (Isa 53:2). But she, having beheld him, now pronounces him beautiful and comely, signifying that he appeared to her in a better vision. For mouth to mouth, as once with holy Moses (Ex 33:11), he speaks with the bride; and openly, not through riddles and figures, she sees God. And so she pronounces with her mouth such as she beholds with her mind, in a vision plainly sublime and sweet. Her eyes saw the king in his beauty, yet not as king, but as beloved. Let someone indeed have seen him upon a throne high and elevated; and let another testify that he appeared to him face to face: yet it seems to me that the preeminence in this matter lies with the bride, because there the one seen is read to be the Lord, here, the beloved. For thus you have it: "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated" (Isa 6:1); and likewise: "I saw the Lord face to face, and my soul was saved" (Gen 32:30). "But if I am Lord," he says, "where is my fear?" (Mal 1:6). But if to them the revelation was made with fear; because where there is the Lord, there is fear: I for my part, if the choice were given, would so much more willingly, so much more dearly embrace the vision of the bride, inasmuch as I perceive it was made in the better affection, which is love. For fear has punishment, but perfect love casts out fear (1 Jn 4:18). Much indeed it matters whether one appears terrible in his counsels over the sons of men (Ps 65:15), or appears beautiful in form beyond the sons of men (Ps 44:5). "Behold you are beautiful, my beloved, and comely." These words plainly resound with love, not with fear.

But perhaps thoughts ascend in your heart, and you ask doubtfully within yourself, saying: By what reasoning are words of the Word spoken to the soul referred to, and again of the soul to the Word, so that she heard the voice of him speaking to her, and testifying that she is beautiful, and in turn immediately returned the same praise to her praiser? How can these things be? For we speak by a word, the word does not speak. Likewise the soul has no means by which to speak, unless the mouth of the body forms words for her to speak. You ask well: but consider that a spirit speaks, and what is said must be understood spiritually. Whenever therefore you hear or read that the Word and the soul converse together, and behold one another; do not imagine that bodily voices pass between them, just as neither do bodily images of the speakers appear. Hear rather what you are to think in matters of this kind. The Word is a spirit, and the soul is a spirit, and they have their tongues, by which they address one another and indicate their presence. And the tongue of the Word indeed is the favor of his condescension: but that of the soul, the fervor of devotion. The soul that does not have this is tongueless and speechless, and there can be no conversation at all between her and the Word. Therefore when the Word moves his tongue of this kind, wishing to speak to the soul, the soul cannot fail to perceive it. For the word of God is living and efficacious, and more penetrating than any two-edged sword, reaching to the division of soul and spirit (Heb 4:12). And again when the soul moves her own tongue, the Word will be far less able to be hidden from it; not only because he is present everywhere, but rather because of this, that unless he himself prompts it, the tongue of devotion is by no means moved to speak.

Therefore, for the Word to say to the soul, "you are beautiful," and to call her his love, is to infuse that by which she both loves and presumes herself to be loved. And for her in turn to name the Word beloved, and to confess him beautiful; is to ascribe to him without pretense and without deceit that he loves and that he is loved, and to marvel at his condescension, and to be astonished at his grace. For his beauty is his love of her; and therefore it is the greater, because it is prevenient. From the marrow of the heart therefore, and with the voices of the inmost affections, she cries out all the more greatly and ardently that he is to be loved by her, inasmuch as she perceived him loving before he was loved. And so the speech of the Word is an infusion of a gift, the response of the soul is admiration with the giving of thanks. And therefore she loves the more, because she perceives herself surpassed in loving: and therefore she marvels the more, because she recognizes herself anticipated. Whence she is not content to say "beautiful" once, but repeats "and comely," designating the eminence of his beauty by that repetition.

Or certainly in both substances of Christ she has expressed a beauty worthy of all admiration, in the one of nature, in the other of grace. How beautiful you are to your angels, Lord Jesus, in the form of God, in the day of your eternity, in the splendors of the saints, begotten before the morning star, the brightness and the figure of the substance of the Father, and indeed the perpetual and in no way counterfeit radiance of eternal life! How comely you are to me, my Lord, in this very setting aside of your beauty! For indeed where you emptied yourself, where you stripped the unfailing light of its natural rays; there your mercy shone forth the more, there your love shone forth the more, there grace radiated the more. How brightly you rise for me, O Star out of Jacob (Num 24:17), how luminous you come forth, O Flower from the root of Jesse (Isa 11:1), how pleasant a light in darkness you have visited me, O Dayspring from on high! (Lk 1:78). How glorious and wondrous even to the heavenly Powers in your conception from the Spirit, in your birth from the Virgin, in the innocence of your life, in the streams of your teaching, in the flashing of your miracles, in the revelations of your mysteries! How at last, gleaming after your setting, O Sun of justice, you rise again from the heart of the earth! How beautiful in your robe at last (Isa 63:1), O King of glory, you ascend into the heights of heaven! How shall not for all these things all my bones say: Lord, who is like unto you? (Ps 34:10).

These things therefore, and things like them, consider that the bride perceived as she beheld her beloved, when she said: "Behold you are beautiful, my beloved, and comely." And not these alone, but in addition something beyond doubt of the beauty of his higher nature, which altogether flies past our gaze and escapes our experience. Therefore the repetition designated the beauty of both substances.

"Our little bed is flowering, the beams of our houses are of cedar, our paneled ceilings are of cypress" (Song 1:16-17). She sings a wedding hymn, describing the couch and the chambers in beautiful speech. She invites the Bridegroom to rest. For this is better: to rest and to be with Christ. Yet it is necessary to go out to gain profits for the sake of those who are to be saved. But now, having found the opportunity, as she thinks, she announces that the chamber is adorned, and pointing to the little bed as if with her finger, she invites the beloved, as I have said, to rest, and not enduring the burning of her heart with those going to Emmaus, she draws him to the lodging of her mind, compels him to stay the night with her (Lk 24:29, 32), and speaks with Peter: "Lord, it is good for us to be here" (Mt 17:4).

Now let us inquire what these things contain spiritually. And in the Church indeed I consider the bed in which one rests to be the cloisters and monasteries, in which one lives quietly, free from the cares of the world and the anxieties of life. And this bed is shown to be flowering when the conduct and life of the brethren shines forth, sprinkled as it were with certain sweet-smelling flowers, by the examples and institutions of the fathers.

But note how beautifully the entire state of the Church is comprehended in one brief little verse: namely the authority of prelates, the beauty of the clergy, the discipline of the people, the quiet of monks. In the contemplation of all these things, when all is rightly ordered, holy mother Church rejoices, and then she also offers them for the beloved to behold, when she refers all things to his goodness, as the author of all, attributing nothing of all these things to herself. For when she says "our" and "of our," it is not a sign of usurpation but of love: because, namely, by the confidence of exceeding charity, she considers nothing of him whom she greatly loves to be alien to her. For she does not think herself to be excluded from the companionship of the Bridegroom or from the sharing of his rest, she who has always been accustomed to seek not what is her own but what is his: and this is the reason why she has dared to declare as common to herself and the Bridegroom alike whether the little bed or the houses. For she said: "Our little bed," and "the beams of our houses," and "our paneled ceilings": boldly associating herself in possession with him to whom she does not doubt she is joined in love. Not so she who has not yet renounced her own will, but lies by herself, dwells by herself: or rather not by herself, but lives luxuriously in company with harlots -- I mean the lusts of the flesh -- with whom she squanders her goods, and the portion of substance that she demanded be divided for her (Lk 15:12-13).

Moreover, you who hear or read these words of the Holy Spirit, do you think you are able to apply any of these things that are said to yourself, and to recognize in yourself something of the happiness of the bride, which is sung in this love-song by the Spirit himself, lest it be said to you also that you hear his voice and do not know whence it comes or where it goes? Behold, perhaps you yourself also desire the quiet of contemplation, and you do well: only do not forget the flowers with which you read that the bed of the bride is sprinkled. Therefore take care that you too likewise surround yours with flowers of good works, that you anticipate the holy leisure as fruit with the exercise of virtues as flower. Otherwise you will want to drowse in quite delicate leisure, if you do not seek rest as one who has been exercised, and, neglecting the fruitfulness of Leah, desire to delight yourself in the embraces of Rachel alone. But also the order is reversed if one demands the reward before the merit, and takes food before the labor, since the Apostle says: "He who does not work, let him not eat" (2 Thess 3:10). "From your commandments I have gained understanding," he says (Ps 119:104): so that you may know that apart from the obedience of the commandments the taste of contemplation is not at all owed. Therefore do not think that any prejudice at all should be done to the acts of holy obedience, or the traditions of the elders, out of love for your own quiet. Otherwise the Bridegroom will not sleep with you in one bed, especially that one which you have sprinkled for yourself with the hemlock and nettles of disobedience, instead of the flowers of obedience. For which reason he will not hear your prayers, and when called he will not come: for he will not grant to the disobedient access to himself, he who is so great a lover of obedience that he preferred to die rather than not to obey. Nor does he approve the idle leisure of your contemplation, he who says through the prophet: "I have labored, sustaining" (Jer 6:11); signifying the time when, an exile from heaven and the homeland of supreme quiet, he worked salvation in the midst of the earth. Moreover I fear lest that dreadful sentence may also envelop you, thundering thus against the faithlessness of the Jews: "Your new moons and sabbaths and other festivals I will not endure"; likewise: "Your new moons and your solemnities my soul hates; they have become burdensome to me" (Is 1:13-14). And the prophet will mourn over you and say: "Her enemies saw her and mocked at her sabbaths" (Lam 1:7). For why should the enemy not mock at what the beloved repudiates?

I greatly wonder at the shamelessness of certain ones who are among us, who, when they have disturbed us all by their singularity, irritated us by their impatience, and shown contempt for us by their stubbornness and rebellion, nevertheless dare to invite the Lord of all purity, with every insistence of prayers, to so foul a bed of their conscience. "But when you stretch out your hands," he says, "I will turn away my eyes, and when you multiply prayer, I will not hear" (Is 1:15). For what? The little bed is not flowering, but rather is even putrid; and you drag the King of glory thither? Do you do this for resting or for causing a lawsuit? The centurion forbids him to enter under his roof because of his own unworthiness, whose faith nevertheless is fragrant throughout all Israel (Mt 8:8, 10): and you compel him to enter to you, filthy as you are with the squalor of so many vices? The prince of the apostles cries out: "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man" (Lk 5:8); and you say: "Enter to me, Lord, for I am holy"? "Be all of one mind in prayer," he says, "love the brotherhood" (1 Pet 2:17). And the vessel of election: "Lifting up pure hands," he says, "without anger and disputation" (1 Tim 2:8). Do you see how the prince of the apostles and the teacher of the nations agree with each other, and speak by the same Spirit concerning the peace and tranquility of mind that he who prays ought to have? Go on then, you, stretch out your hands to God all day long, you who trouble the brethren all day long, who attack unanimity, who separate yourself from unity.

"And what do you want me to do?" you say. Assuredly that first you cleanse your conscience from all defilement of anger and disputation, and murmuring, and envy; and that whatever is recognized as contrary either to the peace of the brethren or to obedience to the elders, you hasten to eliminate from the dwelling place of your heart. Then also that you surround yourself with flowers of whatever good deeds and praiseworthy pursuits, and the sweet perfumes of virtues; that is, "whatever things are true, whatever things are modest, whatever things are just, whatever things are holy, whatever things are lovable, whatever things are of good repute, if there is any virtue, if there is any praise of discipline; think on these things" (Phil 4:8), take care to be exercised in them. To such a bed you will safely call the Bridegroom: because when you have brought him in, you too will be able to say truthfully that our little bed is flowering, with your conscience giving forth the fragrance of piety, indeed of peace, of meekness, of justice, of obedience, of cheerfulness, of humility. And concerning the little bed let it be thus.

The beloved is called beautiful and comely, because in both his divinity and humanity he is beheld without any stain of reproach by every mind that loves him. While the bride follows him with full desire, she forgets all the disturbances of the world; and while she rests in his peace, she is adorned more and more. Whence follows: "Our bed is flourishing." What do we understand by the bed of the bride, if not the repose of quiet? For the mind that loves its bridegroom Christ uniquely, inasmuch as it is able, is free from all the anxieties of the world, and accumulates within itself the virtues by which it may please its Bridegroom. While it despises all things that are temporal, it makes for itself a bed with the Bridegroom in the peace of victory, where the more quietly it rests, the more abundantly it finds flowers with which to show itself beautiful to the Bridegroom.

The cedar is suitable for hanging roofs, because this type of wood is tall and spacious, but not burdensome to the walls. The cypress is also suitable for ceilings and gables. Hence, the Church says in the Canticles: "The beams of our houses are made of cedar, our ceilings of cypress," explaining that the decorations of its structure are in these, as if the beams sustain the crown of the Church with their own strength and adorn its peak.

The beams of our houses are of cedar, etc. Indeed, he calls his houses the various assemblies of the faithful throughout the world, from all of which the universal Church consists. However, the beams and ceilings designate the various orders of the faithful in these houses of the Church: for both are usually placed on high, but the beams are made for fortification, while the ceilings contribute more to the decor of the houses than to their fortification. Therefore, the beams signify the holy preachers, by whose word and example the structure of this same Church is supported so that it might stand, who by the strength of their doctrine withstand the storms of heretical attacks, lest they cast it down. The ceilings are likened to the simpler servants of Christ, who know rather to adorn the Church with their virtues than to defend it with words of doctrine and to fortify it against the onslaughts of perverse teachings. The ceilings, however, hang fastened to the beams, because it is necessary that whoever in the holy Church desires to shine with sublime virtues must cling with all their mind to the words and examples of the highest fathers, by which they are raised above earthly pursuits. And it is well said that these beams are cedar and the ceilings are cypress, because it is known that both trees possess the properties of incorruptible nature, exceptional height, and remarkable fragrance, which aptly befits those who can say with the Apostle, We are the good aroma of Christ to God (II Cor. II), and, Our conversation is in heaven (Philip. III), and, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? and the rest (Rom. VIII). But also this, that the scent of cedar is known to drive away serpents, as the poet has said, Learn also to kindle fragrant cedar in your stables, and with the smell of galbanum to drive away heavy snakes: it is fittingly attributed to the high ceilings, that is, to the teachers, who are accustomed by the power of the heavenly word to repel the poisonous doctrines of heretics, and to drive them away from misleading the simple. This too, that its resin, called cedar resin, is so useful in preserving books that when they are smeared with it, they suffer neither moths nor the decay of time, who does not see how well it fits those same holy preachers, by whose spiritual sense the Sacred Scripture was composed, which by no heretical cunning can be corrupted, nor can any age of the passing world consume it; so much so that until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall pass from the law, until all things be fulfilled (Matt. V)? When the Lord said this about the law, how much more did He mean it to be understood about His Gospel? The cypress tree also, in that it is apt for healing the ailments of bodies, and that its graceful foliage is not displaced by any force of winds, expresses constancy, and the action of those who adorn the holy Church with higher virtues as ceilings do. Hence, the bride, that is, the holy Church, or any chosen soul, marvels at the beauty of her beloved; she praises the softness and cleanliness of the flowering bed; she proclaims the internal beauty of her houses, by which she suitably welcomes the beloved. But because toil rather than rest is fitting for the state of the present time, and in this life the elect, with Christ's help, are more engaged in pious deeds than enjoying peaceful leisure, he calls the bride to the exercise of labors and to enduring the companionship of the wicked, adding:

"Our little bed is flowering, the beams of our houses are of cedar, our paneled ceilings are of cypress" (Song 1:16-17). She sings a wedding hymn, describing the couch and the chambers in beautiful speech. She invites the Bridegroom to rest. For this is better: to rest and to be with Christ. Yet it is necessary to go out to gain profits for the sake of those who are to be saved. But now, having found the opportunity, as she thinks, she announces that the chamber is adorned, and pointing to the little bed as if with her finger, she invites the beloved, as I have said, to rest, and not enduring the burning of her heart with those going to Emmaus, she draws him to the lodging of her mind, compels him to stay the night with her (Lk 24:29, 32), and speaks with Peter: "Lord, it is good for us to be here" (Mt 17:4).

Furthermore, understand the houses as the assemblies of Christian people, whom those who are placed in high position, that is, Christian leaders of both orders, like beams strongly bind together the walls by imposing just laws, lest each one living by his own law or will, like leaning walls and fences pushed down, should fall apart from one another, and so the entire structure of the building should collapse and be scattered. But the paneled ceilings, which hang firmly from the beams and adorn the houses remarkably, I think designate the gentle and disciplined manners of a well-ordered clergy, and their duly administered offices. For how shall the orders of clergy and their ministrations stand, if they are not sustained by the beneficence and munificence, and protected by the power of rulers, as by beams?

But as for the fact that the beams are described as of cedar and the paneled ceilings as of cypress, the nature of these species of wood without doubt contains something that corresponds to the aforesaid orders. And cedar indeed, since it is an incorruptible and also a fragrant wood, and of tall stature, sufficiently indicates what sort of men ought to be chosen for the role of beams. Therefore it is necessary that those who are set over others be strong and steadfast, and also long-suffering in hope, lifting the summit of their mind toward things above, who also, spreading everywhere the good odor of their faith and conduct, can say with the Apostle: "For we are the good fragrance of Christ to God in every place" (2 Cor 2:15). Cypress likewise, a wood equally of good fragrance and similarly incorruptible, shows that anyone of the clergy ought to be of incorrupt life and faith, so that he may deservedly be assigned to the beauty of the house and the adornment of the paneling. For it is written: "Holiness befits your house, O Lord, for length of days" (Ps 93:5). Where indeed both the beauty of holiness and the perseverance of unfailing grace are expressed. Therefore it is necessary that the man who is taken up for the ornament and beauty of the house be adorned with good character; and although he himself is always within, he should nevertheless have a good testimony also from those who are without. There are also other things in the nature of these woods that correspond to what is being discussed spiritually, but for the sake of brevity I pass over them.

But note how beautifully the entire state of the Church is comprehended in one brief little verse: namely the authority of prelates, the beauty of the clergy, the discipline of the people, the quiet of monks. In the contemplation of all these things, when all is rightly ordered, holy mother Church rejoices, and then she also offers them for the beloved to behold, when she refers all things to his goodness, as the author of all, attributing nothing of all these things to herself. For when she says "our" and "of our," it is not a sign of usurpation but of love: because, namely, by the confidence of exceeding charity, she considers nothing of him whom she greatly loves to be alien to her. For she does not think herself to be excluded from the companionship of the Bridegroom or from the sharing of his rest, she who has always been accustomed to seek not what is her own but what is his: and this is the reason why she has dared to declare as common to herself and the Bridegroom alike whether the little bed or the houses. For she said: "Our little bed," and "the beams of our houses," and "our paneled ceilings": boldly associating herself in possession with him to whom she does not doubt she is joined in love. Not so she who has not yet renounced her own will, but lies by herself, dwells by herself: or rather not by herself, but lives luxuriously in company with harlots -- I mean the lusts of the flesh -- with whom she squanders her goods, and the portion of substance that she demanded be divided for her (Lk 15:12-13).

But let each one recognize himself to be a spiritual house of God, provided that he no longer walks in the flesh but in the spirit: "For the temple of God is holy," he says, "which you are" (1 Cor 3:17). Take care therefore, brethren, for this spiritual building which you are, lest when it begins to advance to higher things, it should totter and collapse if it has not been supported and bound together with strong timbers. Take care, I say, to give it beams that are incorruptible and immovable: namely the chaste fear of the Lord, that which "endures forever and ever" (Ps 19:9); patience, of which it is written that "the patience of the poor shall not perish forever" (Ps 9:18); also long-suffering, which, persevering unbent under whatever weight of the structure, extends into the infinite ages of blessed life, as the Savior says in the Gospel: "He who perseveres to the end, he shall be saved" (Mt 10:22); but above all charity, "which never fails," because "love is strong as death, jealousy is hard as hell" (Song 8:6). Then strive to lay beneath these beams and bind to them other woods equally precious and beautiful, should those others be at hand for the work of paneling for the beauty of the house: namely the word of wisdom or of knowledge, prophecy, the grace of healings, the interpretation of words, and other such things, which are known to be more suited for ornament than necessary for salvation. Concerning these I have no commandment, but I give counsel: since indeed such woods are found to be laboriously sought and found with difficulty and dangerously worked (for our land, especially in these times, is found to produce them rarely), I counsel indeed and warn that they not be greatly sought after; rather let paneling be prepared from other woods, which, even if they appear less splendid, are nevertheless proved no less strong, and moreover are more easily possessed and more safely.

Would that I too had an abundance of those woods with which the garden of the Bridegroom, the Church, is thickly planted: peace, goodness, kindness, joy in the Holy Spirit, to show mercy with cheerfulness, to give with simplicity, to rejoice with those who rejoice, to weep with those who weep (Rom 12:8, 15). Would you not consider that house (as far as concerns the paneling) sufficiently and abundantly adorned, which you see paneled suitably and in good order with such woods? "Lord, I have loved the beauty of your house" (Ps 26:8). Always give me these woods, I pray, with which I may always present to you an adorned chamber of conscience: of my conscience, I say, and of another's. With these I shall be content. There will be those too who will be willing to acquiesce in my counsel in this matter, because I think you also will be content: the rest I leave to the holy apostles and to apostolic men. But you also, most beloved, even if you do not have those other woods, nevertheless if you have these, be confident; nevertheless with all boldness approach the chief cornerstone, elect, precious; nevertheless upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets you yourselves also as living stones are built up, spiritual houses, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (Eph 2:19-22 and 1 Pet 2:4-9), the Bridegroom of the Church, our Lord, who is over all things God blessed forever. Amen.

Kedar, from the Hebrew, is translated by the Latin word for dark (accordingly, Kedar among the city of the Gentiles at that time seethed with idolatry), for nothing is more forbidding than serving demons. Thus the Lord scolded the people of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah for abandoning the Lord and for worshiping idols made by Gentiles.… And Christ spoke in a prophetic way from the voice of the church that was to be gathered from the Gentiles, saying, "I am dark like the tents of Kedar," that is, like the gathering of Gentiles.

"The beams of our houses are of cedar, our paneled ceilings are of cypress." By the houses, we understand the many churches; by the cedar beams, we designate the preachers; by the cypress paneling, we represent the peoples themselves. For beams support the roof, while paneled ceilings fill and adorn the house. Just so in the holy Church, good preachers carry divine Scripture in their heart and on their lips, which they spread out and preach to the faithful; so that while the Church is instructed by heavenly preaching, it may receive a defense by which it is protected from the storms of temptations. Moreover, cedar and cypress are said to be woods that do not decay. By these all the elect are fittingly represented; because while they pursue temporal things with no desire, they become eternal, inasmuch as they are fixed in mind upon eternal things.