Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
God promises the Jews returning from Babylon to Jerusalem, on account of their diligence and labor expended on the construction of the temple, a joyful and long-lived offspring, an abundance of crops, and His blessing, if they cultivate justice, truth, and charity. Then, in verse 19, He responds to the question proposed by the Jews in chapter VII, namely whether they should still observe the fasts decreed on account of the destruction of the city and temple, that these should be changed into joyful feasts and banquets, and that henceforth Jerusalem will be cheerful, happy, and renowned, so that peoples and nations will flock to it from everywhere. All of which things literally came to pass to some extent in Jerusalem after the return and the building of the temple, as the Prophet says in verse 9. But they far more truly and fully apply to the Church foreshadowed by Jerusalem, and there begun, when by God's doing the law passed into the Gospel, Moses into Christ, the Synagogue into the Church. Here therefore is described the happiness of Jerusalem, so that in it, as in a type, the happiness of the Christian Church might be foreshadowed: hence certain things are said which scarcely and only faintly suit Jerusalem, but plainly and fully suit the Church. Such is that statement in verse 7: I will save My people from the land of the East and from the land of the setting of the sun. And verse 22: Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem. And verse 23: Ten men from all the languages of the nations shall take hold, and shall take hold of the hem of a Jewish man, saying: We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you. These words signify the conversion of all nations to Christ and the Church; see Canons V and VI, which I prefixed to the Major Prophets. So St. Jerome, Theodoret, Cyril, Haymo, Remigius, Hugo, Lyranus, and others: indeed Rupert, Arias, and Vatablus literally think that the happiness of the Church, not of Jerusalem, is depicted here. Moreover, the Rabbis expect the good things promised in this chapter only from their Messiah, whom they still await.
Vulgate Text: Zechariah 8:1-23
1. And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying: 2. Thus says the Lord of hosts: I have been jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and with great indignation I have been jealous for her. 3. Thus says the Lord of hosts: I have returned to Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the sanctified mountain. 4. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall yet dwell in the streets of Jerusalem: and a man's staff shall be in his hand because of the multitude of his days. 5. And the streets of the city shall be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets. 6. Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it shall seem difficult in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, shall it be difficult in My eyes, says the Lord of hosts? 7. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save My people from the land of the East and from the land of the setting of the sun. 8. And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and in justice. 9. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Let your hands be strengthened, you who hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, in the day when the house of the Lord of hosts was founded, that the temple might be built. 10. For before those days there was no hire for men, nor was there hire for beasts; neither was there peace for him that went in or out because of the affliction: and I let loose all men, every one against his neighbor. 11. But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people according to the former days,
I will deal with the remnant of this people, says the Lord of hosts; 12. but there shall be the seed of peace: the vine shall give its fruit, and the earth shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew: and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13. And it shall come to pass: as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you shall be a blessing: do not fear, let your hands be strengthened. 14. For thus says the Lord of hosts: As I purposed to afflict you, when your fathers provoked Me to wrath, says the Lord, 15. and I showed no mercy: so turning I have purposed in these days to do good to the house of Judah and Jerusalem: do not fear. 16. These then are the things that you shall do: Speak truth each one with his neighbor: judge truth and the judgment of peace in your gates. 17. And let none of you think evil in your hearts against his friend: and love not a false oath: for all these are things that I hate, says the Lord. 18. And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: 19. Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth shall be for the house of Judah unto joy and gladness, and unto illustrious solemnities: only love truth and peace. 20. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Until peoples come and dwell in many cities, 21. and the inhabitants go, one to another, saying: Let us go and entreat the face of the Lord, and let us seek the Lord of hosts: I too will go. 22. And many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the face of the Lord. 23. Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days, in which ten men from all the languages of the nations shall take hold, and shall take hold of the hem of a Jewish man, saying: We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you.
2. I have been jealous, that is: I was jealous and indignant toward Jerusalem, that is, toward the Synagogue of the Jews, because she, My bride, had so forsaken Me, her bridegroom who so loved her, and had fled to idols, that I too was compelled to spurn and abandon her who so unworthily spurned Me: whence it happened that she fell into the hands of the Chaldeans, and was treated by them for seventy years as a captive handmaid, despoiled and miserably abused. So Theodoret, Remigius, Haymo, Lyranus, and Vatablus. But because she, afflicted and instructed by these evils, came to her senses and desired to return to My favor; hence secondly, I in turn, from My former love and zeal for her, will receive her back into favor and the marriage bed, I will dwell with her in Jerusalem, and I will fiercely pursue and punish her enemies. So St. Jerome. For zeal is an immense love of the beloved thing, which begets immense anger against those who strive to harm the beloved thing or to snatch it from the lover, as I said on Zephaniah III, 8.
Verse 3: And Jerusalem Shall Be Called the City of
3. And Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the sanctified mountain. — "Of truth," first, because after the return from Babylon, the true knowledge of God, the true faith, the true religion, the true worship of God continuously flourished in it up until Christ. So Hugo and Lyranus. Second, "of truth," in Hebrew emeth, that is, of stability, constancy, faithfulness, meaning that henceforth she would not violate the faith given to Me, but would constantly adhere to Me as to her bridegroom and her God, nor would she turn aside any more to idols, as in fact after the return from Babylon she never did turn aside to them. Whence the Syriac translates: Jerusalem shall be called the holy city. So also the Arabic.
Allegorically, the Synagogue was a type of the Church, which is "the pillar and foundation of truth," 1 Timothy III, 13, because its teacher is Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life; and the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth, proceeding as He does from the eternal wisdom and truth, which is the Word of the Father, and therefore teaching all truth, both of faith and religion, and of morals: for both were taught by Christ and the Apostles after receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Jerusalem, and then throughout the whole world, according to that saying of Isaiah II, 3: "From Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." So Theodoret and Rupert.
The mountain of the Lord of hosts. — The Syriac and Arabic render: the mountain of the Lord, the mighty one, inasmuch as it is attended by so many angelic hosts. He alludes to Isaiah II, 3: "Many peoples shall go, and shall say: Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths." This mountain is Zion and Moriah, on which the temple was built, which was a type of the Church.
Hence it is called "the sanctified mountain," first, by the sacrifice of Abraham: because on it Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac, Genesis chapter XXII, 14, as a sign that on the same mountain (for Mount Calvary, on which Christ was crucified, is a part, or ridge, of Mount Moriah) Christ was to be sacrificed; who then was actually crucified in that very place, and by this sacrifice of Himself supremely sanctified this mountain. Second, because on it Solomon erected the temple, and sanctified and consecrated it to God. Again, God was worshiped on it with holy sacrifices, ceremonies, psalms, praises, vows, prayers, etc. Finally, on the same mountain Christ began to gather, teach, and establish His Church, which He sanctified by His doctrine, grace, merits, and sacraments.
Verse 4: Old Men Shall yet Dwell
4. Old men shall yet dwell. — He then predicts that Jerusalem will be peaceful and happy, so that it will abound with citizens of every age and sex, with boys and girls playing in the streets, and that they will prolong their life into old age and be long-lived: and that this indeed happened is clear from 2 Maccabees III, 1. So St. Jerome, Theodoret, Remigius, and Lyranus.
Allegorically, the peace, multitude, and longevity of the Church and of the faithful are signified, which Isaiah predicted in chapter II, 4: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into sickles: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they be trained any more for war." And in chapter LXV, 20: "There shall be no more an infant of days there, nor an old man who shall not fill out his days." See what was said there.
And a man's staff. — So the Roman edition reads. The longevity of men in Jerusalem and the Church is signified, so that every old person in it will have a staff to lean on in old age, whether it be a stick, or a servant, or a son, just as among the Romans Scipio served as such for his aged parent (for the parent leaned on him as on a staff), from whom the noble Scipio family took its origin and name. The meaning is, as if to say: So great will be the health and prosperity of the citizens of Jerusalem, that the old people will be both very distinguished and very numerous, by whose counsel the commonwealth will be wisely and happily governed. For in the elderly there is experience, maturity, the settling of passions, and hence wisdom and prudence: whence the senate was of old chosen and named from the elders. Note the Hebraism, whereby "man" is put for each one, as if to say: "A man's," that is, each old man's, "staff will be in his hand," by which he signifies that not just one or two, but very many will be old. So Sanchez.
Verse 7: From the Land of the East and from
7. From the land of the East and from the land of the setting of the sun. — Under these two principal regions of the world, He means all four, namely under the East He includes the south, under the West the north, as if to say: Wherever the Jews were scattered through the Babylonian captivity, from there I will save them and bring them back to Jerusalem. Nor is there any doubt that, although they were directly carried off to Chaldea, which lies to the north of Judea, yet many from there migrated to other Eastern and Western kingdoms. Again, that others, when the Chaldeans came into Judea, fled to the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Syrians, etc., is clear from Isaiah chapter XVI, 4. These therefore, hearing of the return of their people from Babylon to Jerusalem, and of the rebuilding of the city and temple, as well as the prosperity and happiness of its inhabitants, hastened back there. So St. Jerome, Theodoret, Rupert, and others.
Allegorically, and more truly, the gathering of all nations from every region of the world to Christ and the Church is signified, according to that saying of Isaiah XLIX, 12: "Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold those from the north and from the sea, and these from the land of the south;" in Hebrew, from the land of Sinim, that is, of the Chinese. And chapter LXVI, 19: "And I will send some of those who are saved to the nations in the sea, to Africa and Lydia, those who draw the bow: to Italy and Greece, to the distant islands." This is what Christ says in Matthew VIII, 11: "Many shall come from the East and the West, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." And chapter XXIV, 31: "He shall send His angels with a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the heights of the heavens even to their uttermost bounds." So St. Jerome.
Verse 8: And They Shall Be my People, and I
8. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and in justice. — That is, so that they may worship Me with true faith and constant fidelity, as well as with just and holy conduct; and I in turn will truly, that is, faithfully and justly, provide them with the care, protection, peace, and prosperity that I promised. This was true of the Jews, but it is truer of Christians. So Vatablus and Arias, who rightly refer the phrase "in truth and in justice" both to God and to the people making a covenant with God. For in a covenant, each party making the agreement binds his own faith to the other, and must render it truly and justly.
Verse 9: Let your Hands Be Strengthened
9. Let your hands be strengthened — both so that you may complete the building of the temple already begun, as follows; and so that you may fulfill the laws and commands of God by bravely resisting difficulties, temptations, and enemies, especially the neighboring Gentiles.
Verse 10: For Before Those Days There Was no Hire
10. For before those days there was no hire for men. — He exhorts the Jews to vigorously pursue the building of the temple, by setting before them the past plague of sterility inflicted on them by God on account of their neglect of the building, and the present fertility on account of their care and diligence for the same. He calls "hire" the fruit and profit of labor, as if to say: Before you set your hand to the building of the temple, you devoted yourselves to building houses and to cultivating your fields and tending your livestock; but the hire, that is, the fruit and harvest, did not correspond to your labor, nor to that of your livestock: for fields, farms, pastures, and vineyards, as well as livestock, after all your cultivation, labor, and fattening, remained barren, and yielded scant grain, grapes, offspring, and young animals. So St. Cyril.
Nor was there peace — that is: From every side the Samaritans, Moabites, and other neighboring enemies were assailing and harassing you. So St. Jerome and Cyril.
I let loose all men — that is: I permitted not only external wars, so that your neighbors might vex you; but
also internal seditions, so that each person rose up against his neighbor.
Verse 11: But Now (since you Have the Building of
11 and 12. But now (since you have the building of My house at heart) there shall be the seed of peace. — First, as if to say: Abundant and secure crops will come to you, such as are usual in time of peace, when fields are cultivated excellently and there is no enemy to hinder the sowing or carry off the harvest. So Vatablus and a Castro. Whence the Septuagint translates: I will show peace, to such a degree that not only men, but even the elements will be peaceful toward you, indeed will conspire for your good and nourishment. For, as follows: "The vine shall give its fruit, and the earth shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew." Second, by catachresis, "of peace" means of abundance, fertility, and prosperity. For of these, indeed of all good things, peace is both the cause and the symbol, according to Psalm CXXII, 7: "Let there be peace in your strength, and abundance (which usually follows from peace) in your towers," as if to say: I will make your seed fertile, so that it may produce abundant ears and crops. Third, others explain it thus: The seed shall be of peace, that is, of blessing, as if to say: I will bless your seeds. For peace is a great blessing, and brings a greater one with it. Hence Christ and the Apostles were accustomed to use this greeting according to the rite of the Hebrews: "Peace be with you," by which phrase they invoke every blessing. Fourth, others translate: The seed shall be unto peace, that is, it will be peacefully preserved, and will grow and ripen, as if to say: In peace, that is, I will keep your crops whole and unharmed from blight and every defect of the atmosphere, as well as from the enemy, both at the time of sowing and thereafter, and at harvest. Fifth, the Hebrew schalom, that is, peace, also signifies whole, perfect. Hence the Chaldean and Tigurina translate: The seed will be full and perfect, both in itself and consequently in the ears and grains which it will produce, full and perfect from itself. All these interpretations come to the same thing: yet the first two are more genuine and conformable to the Hebrew phrase. These things literally happened to the Jews returning from Babylon; but spiritually they more truly apply to Christians returning from unbelief or sin to the Church and to God, and building for Him a mystical temple in their soul. For to these God causes all their seed to be of peace, that is, all that they undertake and attempt to prosper, and to come forth happily and fruitfully, and from this they gather fruits, especially spiritual fruits of virtue, both in themselves and in their neighbors. So St. Jerome, Theodoret, Remigius, and Lyranus.
You will object: This seed and blessing in verse 13 is promised not only to Judah, but also to Israel: but to Israel this did not literally come to pass, since they did not return from the Assyrian captivity. Therefore Israel and Judah are here understood not carnally but spiritually, namely as the faithful people. On account of this argument the Jews consider that these things have not yet been fulfilled, but are to be fulfilled by their Messiah whom they await. But I reply that mention is here made of Israel because many of the Israelites, followers of the true and ancestral faith and religion, had crossed over to Judah, and having been carried off with them to Babylon, returned equally with them, and thus were partakers of the peace and happiness here promised to them, inasmuch as they were united with them and coalescing into one nation.
Morally, learn that religion and the worship of God is the seed of all happiness. Cicero saw this through a shadow: for in book II of On the Nature of the Gods, he attributed the happiness, empire, and triumphs of the Romans to religion: "If," he says, "we wish to compare our affairs with those of foreigners, in other matters we shall be found either equal or even inferior: in religion, that is, in the worship of the gods, far superior." And shortly after: "Among our ancestors, the force of religion was so great that certain generals even devoted themselves to the immortal gods, with veiled heads and prescribed words, for the sake of the republic." The same author, in his speech against P. Clodius, which is the thirtieth in number: "Who," he says, "is so senseless as not to understand that by the will of those gods this great empire was born, and increased, and maintained? However much we may love ourselves, yet neither in number do we surpass the Spaniards, nor in strength the Gauls, nor in cunning the Carthaginians, nor in arts the Greeks, nor finally in this very domestic and native sense of this race and land do we surpass the Italians and Latins themselves; but in piety and religion, and in this one wisdom, that we have perceived that all things are ruled and governed by the will of the immortal gods, we have surpassed all peoples and nations." See what was said on Haggai I, 6, where he treats the same argument as Zechariah here, being his contemporary and a helper given by God to promote the building of the temple, as is clear from 1 Ezra V, 1. St. Cyprian says excellently in his treatise On the Lord's Prayer: "Since all things are God's," he says, "he who has God will lack nothing, if he himself does not fail God." Therefore the same author rightly admonishes elsewhere that we should give to God not half our heart, not a divided heart, but the whole of it, since it is His, and He demands it all, and He alone fills and satisfies it: "You suffice, O soul, for God; let your God also suffice for you." For, as St. Augustine says in his Soliloquies, chapter XIX: "He loves You less, O Lord, who loves something with You which he does not love for Your sake."
Verse 13: And it Shall Come to Pass: as you
13. And it shall come to pass: as you were a curse among the nations, etc., so I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. — "A curse," that is, greatly cursed; "a blessing," that is, greatly blessed. So the Chaldean and the Septuagint, who translate: As you were under a curse, so you shall be under a blessing, as if to say: Just as all the nations among whom you dwelt as captives and exiles cursed you, mocked you, and execrated you, so conversely when they see you freed by Me, prospering, enriched, they will bless you, praise you, and celebrate you. Second, "blessing" and "curse" mean an example, parable, and formula of blessing and cursing, which all people use when they wish to curse or bless someone, so that they say: May it be for you as for these Jews, namely, that you may be accursed, a reproach, and an execration of God and men, as they are; or may you be a blessing, that is, a heap of good things, and may praise and glory
come to you, so that God may heap upon you all good things, as He heaped them upon the Jews, and therefore all may praise you, celebrate you, and glorify you. So Vatablus. In a similar manner Jeremiah says of the same people in chapter XXIV, 9: "I will give them over to vexation and affliction to all the kingdoms of the earth: to be a reproach, and a parable, and a proverb, and a curse in all the places to which I have cast them out." And Ezekiel XIV, 8: "I will make him an example and a proverb."
Verse 16: Judge Truth and the Judgment of Peace (that
16. Judge truth and the judgment of peace (that is, a peaceable judgment, as the Chaldean and Septuagint translate, namely a just and fair one, about which no one can justly complain) in your gates — that is, in the courts, tribunals, and judgments which you, O Jews, hold and exercise in the gates of your cities. Second, the Hebrew word for "peace" is schalom, which can be translated as whole, perfect, uncorrupted, sincere, as I said on verse 12, as if to say: Render in your judgments a sincere sentence without respect of persons; do not allow yourselves to be corrupted by bribes, nor judge from favor, fear, or hatred, but from right reason and equity. For in many cases that saying of the Poet is true: "When gold speaks, all speech is vain. Gold persuades anything, though it be silent." Third, some understand by "the judgment of peace," says Vatablus, a judgment that is not obscure, not captious — from which lawsuits usually arise — but clear and straightforward, which reconciles peace and concord between the litigating parties.
Verse 17: Against his Friend
17. Against his friend — against his neighbor; so the Septuagint and the Chaldean; for this word in Hebrew is rea, that is, companion, friend; I gave the reason in Leviticus XIX, 18.
Love not a false oath — rather, hate and detest it with the utmost intensity: this is meiosis; for less is said, but more is understood.
Verse 19: The Fast of the Fourth Month, and the
19. The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth (supply: of the months, not of the days) shall be for the house of Judah unto joy. — Here He responds to the question about fasts proposed by the Jews in chapter VII, 1, says St. Jerome, Remigius, and Haymo. Now the months of the Hebrews begin and are numbered from Nisan, that is, March; for this was the first month of the sacred year, by the decree of God, Exodus XII, 2. The fourth month from it was therefore Tammuz, which corresponds partly to our June, partly to July. On the ninth day of this month the Jews fasted, because on that day the wall of Jerusalem was breached and broken through by the Chaldeans, as is clear from Jeremiah LII, 6. So St. Jerome and Cyril. The fifth month was Ab, which corresponds partly to our July, partly to August. On the tenth day of this month the Jews fasted, because on that day the temple was burned by the Chaldeans, as is clear from Jeremiah LII, 12. The seventh month was Tishri, which corresponds partly to September, partly to October. On the third day of this month they fasted, because on that day Gedaliah was killed by Ishmael, Jeremiah XLI, 2. The tenth month was Tevet, which corresponds partly to December, partly to January. On the tenth day of this month they fasted, because on that day Jerusalem began to be besieged by the Chaldeans, 4 Kings XXV, 4.
Therefore, when the Jews ask whether on those days on which they had until now mourned and fasted on account of the destruction of the city, the people, and the temple, now that the city and temple have been restored, they should still mourn and fast, God responds: By no means; for He will turn their mourning into joy, their sorrow into gladness, their fasts into feasts and festive banquets, because He is about to bless the city, the temple, and its inhabitants, and to heap upon them all good things (if, however, they love and keep peace with their neighbors, and truth, that is, faithfulness, with God); so that henceforth they may spend their months and years in cheerfulness and happiness, and on those very days on which shortly before they used to mourn and fast because of the overthrown city and temple, now with the turn of fortune they may celebrate solemn feasts and banquets; just as the Jews did when freed and exalted by Esther, celebrating the days of Purim, that is, of lots, with solemn feasting and gifts, Esther IX, 19. So St. Jerome, Remigius, Albert, Hugo, Lyranus, and others.
Note: There were also other fasts decreed among the Hebrews in the months already named, for other reasons. For on the 17th day of the fourth month they fasted, because on that day Moses descending from Sinai, seeing the people worshiping the golden calf, broke the stone tablets on which God had inscribed the Decalogue with His own finger, Exodus XXXII, 19. They also fasted on the first day of the fifth month, because on that day Aaron died, the brother of Moses and the first high priest appointed by God among the Hebrews, Numbers XX, 28; likewise on the ninth day, because on that day the Hebrews were commanded by God, on account of the murmuring of the spies, to wander in the desert for 40 years and to die there. Again, in the seventh month, on the tenth day, there was the fast of expiation sanctioned by God, Leviticus XXIII, 27. Moreover, in the 10th month, on the eighth day, there was a fast because on that day the law was translated into Greek by the Seventy Interpreters, in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and darkness covered the whole world for three days. All these and more are found in the Calendar of the Hebrews, which Genebrard translated into Latin and prefixed to his commentaries on the Psalms. Now, the abolition of these fasts is not what is treated here, though some think so, both because those were ancient: but here the discussion is about new and recently instituted ones; and because some of those were sanctioned by God, such as the fast on the day of expiation, Leviticus XXIII, 27: and it is not likely that they would be revoked and annulled by God here; and because the Jews, in chapter VII, 1, were only asking whether the fasts instituted in the fourth and fifth months because of the destruction of the city and temple should still be observed now that the city and temple had been restored; to which God responds that they should not be observed, but changed into joyful and convivial solemnities; therefore He is not dealing with fasts instituted at other times for other reasons. For those are irrelevant in this place.
Mystically, these fasts of the four months prescribed to the Jews by the Synagogue, foreshadowed the Ember Day fasts prescribed to Christians by the Church,
indeed these were instituted not in imitation of the law and obligation of those (for that ceased with the coming and law of Christ), but in imitation of their continence and piety, or as an example, as St. Leo teaches in sermon 7 On the Fast of the Seventh Month, and St. Callistus in his epistle to Benedict. For since the Hebrews observed the appointed fasts of the four seasons, it was fitting that Christians should observe similar ones, since Christians ought to be more perfect than the Hebrews, and therefore these were sanctioned for other causes and higher ends: of which the first is, that at these seasons we might partly supplicate God for the crops and fruits of the earth growing at that time, and partly give thanks for those already grown and harvested. For at these four seasons the temperature of the air changes most significantly, and all fruits and crops are either sown, or sprout, or ripen, or are gathered. This reason is given by St. Leo in sermons 5 and 8 On the Fast of the Tenth Month. Therefore the Church celebrates these fasts with joy and gladness, especially because immediately after them follow illustrious solemnities, namely the feasts of Easter, the Most Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, the Nativity of Christ, etc.; and also the eternal ones in heaven, which the faithful merit through these fasts.
The second reason is for the ordinations of priests and other ministers of the Church which take place at these four seasons, so that through fasts and prayers God may be invoked to assist and cooperate with the bishops, that the unworthy may be rejected by them and only the worthy ordained, and that those being ordained may through these same fasts be disposed and prepared to receive the Holy Spirit. The third reason is that through the four seasons of the year — namely spring, summer, autumn, and winter — through which these fasts are distributed, and consequently the whole year, we may offer to God in penance and in dutiful service of piety. Again, so that in each month we may dedicate one day to God through fasting. For three days of fasting distributed through the four seasons of the year make in total twelve days, as many as there are months in the year. So Bellarmine in his book On Good Works, in particular, chapter XIX. Indeed St. Leo, sermon 9 On the Fast of the Seventh Month, says: "Therefore the observance of continence itself has been assigned to four seasons, so that, as the course of the whole year returns upon itself, we may recognize that we ceaselessly need divine purification." The same, in sermon 8 On the Fast of the Tenth Month: "The usefulness of this observance," he says, "is chiefly established in ecclesiastical fasts, which by the teaching of the Holy Spirit are so distributed through the cycle of the entire year that the law of abstinence is ascribed to all seasons, since we celebrate the spring fast in Lent, the summer fast at Pentecost, the autumn fast in the seventh month, and the winter fast in this month, which is the tenth, understanding that nothing is without divine precepts." In a similar manner we fast during Lent, so that we may pay to God the tithes of the whole year through abstinence and penance. For divide the 360 days in the year by ten, and you will arrive at 36 days, during which we fast through the six weeks of Lent. These 36 days are therefore, as it were, the tithes of the days of the whole year. So St. Gregory, homily 26 on the Gospels.
Verse 20: Until Peoples Come
20. Until peoples come. — These words depend on the preceding ones, as if to say: The mourning of the fasts will be turned into joyful solemnities, "until," that is, to such a degree, or to such an extent, that peoples attracted by their fame will come and flock together to see them, and to feast upon and delight in them. So St. Jerome. Or, as if to say: You will celebrate joyful and illustrious solemnities, until you celebrate still more joyful and illustrious ones, which will happen when peoples come, etc. Whence the Septuagint, the Chaldean, Pagninus, and the Tigurina translate: Peoples shall yet come, as if a new period begins here, and there is a new and greater promise.
Now these things were fulfilled in some measure among the Jews after the return from Babylon, especially in the time of the Maccabees, when many peoples both from the various cities of Judea and from neighboring nations, seeing the happiness, victories, and glory of Jerusalem and the temple, exhorted one another to hasten there and enjoy those things. For it is clear that at that time many Gentiles in various places embraced Judaism and became proselytes, from Esther chapter VIII, 17, and 3 Ezra V, 50, and Acts II, 11, and chapter VIII, 27. But they were far more truly and fully fulfilled in the time of the Apostles, when through them the nations, converted to Christ and the Church (which is the true Jerusalem), hastened and flocked together in crowds from every quarter, with joy and jubilation, exhorting one another, as Isaiah predicted would happen in chapter II, 2, and Micah in chapter IV, 2. So St. Jerome, Theodoret, Rupert, Hugo, Lyranus, Vatablus, and others throughout.
Verse 21: And the Inhabitants Shall Go, One to Another,
21. And the inhabitants shall go, one to another, saying. — So the Roman edition reads, but Ribera thinks it should be read: And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another; and this seems clearer and more elegant, and so the Hebrew has it. Whence the Septuagint also translates: And those who dwell in the cities shall be gathered into one city, saying; and the Chaldean: And the inhabitants of one city shall go with the inhabitants of another city, saying: Let us go and pray before the face of the Lord. This was true of Jerusalem, but truer of the Church. So we see in Italy entire villages and towns flocking in crowds to Loreto, and exhorting one another to visit and venerate that sacred house of the Blessed Virgin, miraculously transported there by angels from Judea, in which she, greeted by the angel, conceived the Son of God, and the Word was made flesh.
And let us seek the Lord of hosts. — The Chaldean renders: Let us seek teaching from the Lord.
I too will go. — This is the voice of one city and people, or of one person to another; for while inviting him and saying: "Let us go and entreat the face of the Lord," etc., he adds a spur, saying: "I too will go," as if to say: I am so committed to this journey, and will not fail you in it, that I absolutely wish to be a companion and comrade, indeed the leader of the journey. So the literal sense — namely, it is true, worthy, and pleasing to God.
So St. Jerome. Whence the Chaldean translates: This one shall say to that one: I too will go. Others, such as Theodoret, Arias, and Hugo, think this is the voice of citizens indiscriminately offering themselves for the journey, so that each of them says: "I too will go." Hence Vatablus says: Very many will say: I too will go, or I will go with you; so that it is the voice of those associating themselves with others going to Jerusalem, as if to say: Very many, seeing others heading for Jerusalem and the Church, will eagerly flock to them, will seek their company, will join themselves to them, and will undertake the journey with them; for one will say: I too will go. And another: And I. And a third: And I; and so each one will say.
Verse 22: And Strong Nations
22. And strong nations — and consequently those accustomed to being subject to no one, but to ruling over others, now submitting their necks to the Synagogue and the Church, will seek to be governed by her.
Verse 23: In Those Days (namely, These Things so August
23. In those days (namely, these things so august which I declare and predict shall come to pass: in those days, I say), in which ten men (that is, very many: for the number ten, because it is the first after the single digits, which are called "fingers," and it combines and multiplies them, is hence the symbol of multitude and universality. Thus in Leviticus XX, 26, "ten women" means many, so St. Cyril) from all the languages of the nations shall take hold, and shall take hold of the hem of a Jewish man, saying: We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you — as if to say: Very many from all nations will become proselytes, so as to worship the one true God with the Jews, and therefore at the appointed feasts they will go up to Jerusalem. This was true in a beginning way in the Synagogue, as Theodoret holds. But it is fully and completely verified in the Church, as St. Jerome holds; for few Gentiles became Jews, but nearly all became Christians. The Prophet therefore here flies from the type to the antitype, that is, from Jerusalem to the Church, yet in such a way that he alludes to the type and touches upon it in passing, and thus mixes the type with the antitype. See Canons IV and V, which I prefixed to the Major Prophets. Therefore by "the Jew" here understand both the carnal one, and more especially the spiritual and mystical one, namely the Apostles and the first faithful, who, born from the Jews, were truly Jews, that is, those who confess God and the Messiah sent by Him. For when these preached the Gospel and proclaimed with great zeal, holiness, and miracles, the Gentiles adhered to them; because from these they recognized that God was with them. So St. Jerome, Cyril, Remigius, and others. Again, St. Jerome by "the Jew" understands Christ, born from the tribe of Judah, who restored to Judah the scepter and kingdom — not a temporal but a spiritual one — according to the oracle of Jacob in Genesis XLIX, 10. But that not only Christ is here called a Jew, but also the Apostles, is clear from the fact that it says in the plural: "We will go with you." Thus "Jew" is understood mystically for the faithful and the Christian, Romans II, 28, where it says: "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter" — namely, this is the true circumcision, worthy and pleasing to God.
And Philippians III, 3: "For we are the circumcision (that is, the circumcised, namely Jews), who serve God in spirit, and glory in Christ Jesus." And Revelation II, 9: "You are blasphemed by those who say they are Jews (that is, those who confess God and are worshipers of God) and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan."
Mystically, the true Jew is a devout worshiper of God, an observer of his rule of life; a mirror of religion, modesty, piety, and every virtue, whom when secular people see, moved and inflamed by the spirit of God, they take hold of his hem, so as to embrace his way of life and habit, saying: "We will go with you; for we have heard," indeed we see, "that God is with you;" for you are the seed whom the Lord has blessed. Indeed nothing so invites secular people to the state of perfection as the holy and exemplary life of those who dwell in it. Hence we see that monasteries and Orders in which discipline and religion flourish are eagerly sought by very many, so much so that many suffer rejection; but those in which life is more lax are neglected and deprived of both persons and sustenance. For there is no magnet, no lure, no enticement that more powerfully attracts and draws even hearts of iron than the holiness of life and example. Thus St. Augustine narrates in book VIII of his Confessions, chapters V, VI, VII, and XI, that by the example of Victorinus many were drawn to the faith, and by that of St. Anthony to contempt of the world, both himself and many others being enticed and inflamed. "Let there be," says St. Leo in his sermon On St. Lawrence, "an easy and effective method of persuasion; yet examples are stronger than words, and it is more complete to teach by deed than by voice." Moreover Seneca in epistle 6 says: "The living voice and daily companionship will benefit you more than a speech: first, because people believe their eyes more than their ears; then because the path through precepts is long, but short and effective through examples." So in the Lives of the Martyrs we frequently read that spectators, attracted and inflamed by their courage and eagerness, spontaneously rushed to martyrdom. So St. Bernard gives these praises to St. John the Baptist in his sermon On the Privileges of the Baptist: "John, the joy of his parents, the nobility of his race, the example of the world, the end of the law, the beginning of the Gospel, the expulsion of death, the gate of life, the glory of men, the splendor of conversion, the principality of all justice." The same author exhorts his sister, in the book On the Way of Living Well, chapter XVI, to set before herself for imitation, and to ask of God, "the humility of Christ, the devotion of Peter, the charity of John, the obedience of Abraham, the patience of Isaac, the endurance of Jacob, the chastity of Joseph, the meekness of Moses, the constancy of Joshua, the kindness of Samuel, the mercy of David, the abstinence of Daniel, and the other worthy deeds of the former Saints."
Whence, he says, it is said in the Canticle: "How beautiful are your steps in sandals, O daughter of the prince! But what are the sandals of the Church, if not the examples of the Holy Fathers, by which we are protected on the way of this world, so that those sandals may walk through all tribulations?"